Texas Hold'em Updated for iPad

Apple’s classic Texas Hold’em game has be updated for iPad, 9to5Mac reported. The game can be play in fullscreen, Split View, or Slide Over mode.

With Texas Hold’em iPad support, you can play in full screen or while using other applications thanks to support for Split View and Slide Over multitasking… Apple’s Texas Hold’em game was originally created for the iPod and was one of the first games released for the iPhone in 2008. Apple has breathed new life into the game this year in honor of the App Store’s 10th anniversary (which was technically last year.)

EyeQue Launches Vision Monitoring Kit

Today EyeQue has launched a vision monitoring kit that includes the EyeQue VisionCheck, PDCheck, and the new EyeQue Insight Plus.

The EyeQue Vision Monitoring Kit is available now on Indiegogo, with pledge levels starting at $119 (retail value: $205). The product is slated to ship to backers by the end of November 2019, in time for the holidays (limited quantities). Learn more about EyeQue at eyeque.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more updates.

Oprah Explains Why her Book Club is Coming to Apple

Oprah announced last month that she is bringing her book club to Apple TV+ and Apple Books. In her self-titled magazine, naturally, the media queen explained why she had done so.  And yes, it is all about those pockets!

I’ve joined forces with Apple to create what I hope will be the world’s most vibrant book club, engaging readers everywhere in conversations with one another—and with the authors who conjure the magic. Apple is in a billion pockets, y’all. To me, that presents a magnificent opportunity to connect the world through reading. With each announcement of a new book club selection, you’ll have a chance to buy the book, read it, and then take part in a conversation with the author about the story and the writing process. Authors are my rock stars.

Clean Email 1-Year Subscription: $9.99

We have a deal on a one year subscription to Clean Email, an online bulk email cleaner designed to help you to take control of your mailbox. It relies on powerful rules and filters you can define to efficiently segment your mailbox into relevant groups, allowing you to quickly identify useful and clean up useless emails with a few clicks. One year is $9.99 through our deal.

New York City Partners With Cellebrite to Hack iPhones

Documents reveal that New York City law enforcement has a partnership with Cellebrite to hack iPhones.

Previously, if law enforcement wanted to get into newer devices, they had to send the phones to one of Cellebrite’s digital forensics labs, located in New Jersey and Virginia. But Cellebrite’s new UFED Premium program gave law enforcement the ability to “unlock and extract data from all iOS and high-end Android devices” on their own, using software installed on computers in their offices.

I’ve always wondered if eventually Apple will remove the Lightning port from the iPhone once wireless charging becomes the norm. Side effects may include better waterproofing and worsened hacking.

Charging Cables Are Still Apple's Worst Product

ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley Hughes does not like Apple’s charging cables. At all.

I’m not sure what it is about Apple cables, but the brilliant white rubber coating the company uses just doesn’t seem to be all that robust. After about six months of use — you know, the regular stuff like plugging and unplugging it — the outer starts to get soggy and discolored, and then over time becomes more and more fragile, until one day it starts peeling off, and then it is game over for the cable (unless you want to go through the pantomime of patching it, which buys you a little time). While I’ve long given up on using Apple cables for my iPhone and iPad — and even for my Apple Watch — I had hoped that the USB-C-to-USB-C charging cable for my MacBook Pro would be OK. I mean, how badly can you mess up a USB-C-to-USB-C cable? Pretty bad, if you’re Apple it seems.

Netflix Says No to macOS Catalina, Won't Port its App Over

With the release of macOS Catalina and Catalyst, many developers are now porting their iOS apps to the Mac. But not Netflix.

Last year, Apple Inc. software chief Craig Federighi said developers would be able to easily bring their iPad apps to Mac computers, essentially letting coders write an app once and deploy it across millions more devices. So far, the reality has fallen short for some developers and is even leaving consumers paying twice for apps. Major app developers and service providers like Netflix Inc. are also demurring on taking part, at least at this early stage.

I’ll be interested to see if Hulu ports their app over.

Oops! Twitter Accidentally Used Your Phone Number for Ads

Twitter admitted yesterday that it “unintentionally” used some email addresses and phone numbers for advertising purposes. These phone numbers were specifically used to keep your account safe with two-factor authentication.

We recently discovered that when you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes (for example, two-factor authentication) this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes, specifically in our Tailored Audiences and Partner Audiences advertising system.

This is exactly why SMS-based two-factor authentication needs to go away. SMS is inherently insecure, as the FBI recently noted. Funnily enough, I recently removed my phone number from Twitter, although it’s probably too late.

Lightning Cable That Allows Hackers to Remotely Take Over Your Computer Being Mass Produced.

The O.MG. Cable, a Lightning cable that allowed hackers to remotely take over a victims computer, was demonstrated last summer at Def Con. Now, Fast Company reported, it is being mass-produced.

The O.MG Cable was first reported by Motherboard’s Joseph Cox when the security researcher who created it, a person known as “MG,” first demoed his handmade prototype at the Def Con hacking conference last summer. The O.MG Cable looks like an ordinary Apple-made Lightning cable and works exactly the same—it will charge a device and transfer data to and from the device just like an authentic Lightning cable. However, the O.MG Cable also contains a built-in wireless hotspot. This allows attackers to remotely run commands on the Mac or Windows PC the cable is plugged into, which allows them to do, well, pretty much whatever they want—including reading or even deleting your data… The good news at the time was that the O.MG cable needed to be handmade and was relatively expensive—$200 a pop. But now MG says that he’s found a way to mass-produce the cable in a factory, which will allow thousands of them to roll off an assembly line.

Our Deal for iMazing 2 for Mac and Windows is Back: $19.99

We have a deal on iMazing 2, the Mac and Windows app that lets you manage your iPhone and iPad data and files. You can browse and manage your backups, extract and print your text messages, drag and drop songs to your iPhone—all without jailbreaking your device. We love iMazing at TMO, and I am pleased to be able to offer this deal. You can get your iMazing 2 universal license for Mac and Windows for $19.99 through our deal.

Tile Reveals Adhesive Sticker to Track 'Dumb' Objects

Tile revealed its later product, Sticker, Thursday, to help make ‘dumb’ objects traceable, Techcrunch reported. It comes amid rumors Apple will unveil something similar in the near future.

Today, the startup unveiled Sticker, a new, waterproof tracking device that uses adhesive created in collaboration with 3M to attach to objects to be able to track them by Bluetooth to a range of 150 feet, or further using Tile’s community network by way of its app. Alongside this, the startup is also announcing enhancements to its existing range of Tile tracking devices. The Slim is now in the shape and thinness of a credit card, designed for wallets and other places where you might insert card-shaped information (for example, in luggage ID compartments), and its range has been extended to 200 feet with a battery life of three years. And the Mate and Pro tags — the square-shaped fobs that Tile is most famous for — are also getting their ranges extended respectively to 200 and 400 feet.

Tim Cook Does Not Get Enough Credit

It is eight years since Steve Jobs passed away.  A little over that since Tim Cook succeeded him as CEO of Apple. At Forbes, Chuck Jones argues that Mr. Cook is still not getting the credit his deserves.

Analysts say that there hasn’t been any innovation at Apple over the past eight years, that Cook needs to be replaced and that the company should acquire at least one or more large companies to “take it to the next level.” They seem to ignore some new products that are generating tens of billions of revenue every year… In fiscal 2011 Apple generated just under $3 billion in Services revenue vs. a projected $46 billion in fiscal 2019. Cook has also announced a goal of approximately $50 billion next year, which the iPhone reached in fiscal 2011 or four years after it became available.

Zane Lowe Talks About The Future of Apple Music

Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe talks about where Apple Music is headed in a new interview. When it comes to Beats 1, Apples radio show, the team found something interesting.

It turns out users are four times more likely to complete an album if they’d pre-added it to their collection, 1.5 times more likely to listen to it again and they listen to music four times longer than other Apple Music subscribers. In short, Apple is trying to build a better hype machine than its rivals to counteract the popular, but depersonalised playlists that have come to dominate music streaming.

The Death of iTunes is a Problem for DJs That Relied on it

Many people rejoiced when we learned that macOS Catalina was going to be the end of iTunes. However, the Verge reported, it is going to be a problem for some DJs.

According to Apple, along with Catalina’s removal of iTunes, users are also losing XML file support as all native music playback on Macs moves over to the official Music app, which has a new library format. XML file support is a popular organizational feature for DJs who use it to sort tracks into playlists and utilize the “Share iTunes Library XML with other applications” option to seamlessly transmit data between apps. Tons of popular DJ apps, like Rekordbox and Traktor, read XML files, and over the years, iTunes became the de facto way for lots of DJs to sort through their massive file libraries and quickly find tracks while performing.

Create a macOS Catalina Bootable Drive for Installation

Roman Loyola shares a tip for Apple users looking to upgrade: Creating a macOS Catalina bootable drive.

An external drive that you can use as an installer for macOS Catalina is a handy thing to have. If you have multple Macs to upgrade, it’s a lot more efficient to plug in the USB installer drive and run the installer than to log into the App Store, download the 6.5GB OS installer, and then run it.

U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Apple Over University of Wisconsin

For several years Apple has been in a patent fight with the University of Wisconsin. But recently the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a bid by the university to reinstate its legal victory over Apple.

The licensing body, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), filed suit in 2014, alleging infringement of a 1998 patent on a “predictor circuit” to help speed the way processors carry out computer program instructions. The patent was developed by computer science professor Gurindar Sohi and three of his students at the university, located in Madison, Wisconsin.

NFL to Fine Pittsburgh Steeler's Ben Roethlisberger For Wearing Apple Watch on Sideline

The NFL is going to fine the Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger $5000 for wearing an Apple Watch on the sidelines, ESPN reported.  Electric devices that transmit messaging are banned by the NFL. He is said to be “livid” about the decision.

Roethlisberger wore the Apple Watch on the sideline during the Monday Night Football game. His issue is that he never received any advance warning that he could be in violation, only a fine letter for wearing the device — which he didn’t even realize he had on, according to sources. With Roethlisberger unable to use his right arm, his wife dressed him for the Monday night game and strapped the Apple Watch on his left wrist. Roethlisberger then assumed a position he rarely has in his NFL career — standing in street clothes, including an Apple Watch, on the Steelers’ sideline.

Instances of Android Exploit Patched Two Years Ago Found in The Wild

An exploit affecting a number of popular Android devices, supposedly patched in December 2017, has been found in the wild once again, ZDNet reported. It can allow hackers to take control of smartphones, including those from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Google itself.

Google disclosed today that they found evidence of an Android unpatched vulnerability being used in attacks in the real world — a so-called “zero-day.” The vulnerability resides in the Android operating system’s kernel code and can be used to help an attacker gain root access to the device. Ironically, the vulnerability was patched in December 2017 in Android kernel versions 3.18, 4.14, 4.4, and 4.9, but newer versions were found to be vulnerable…Google researchers also said that the “exploit requires little or no per-device customization,” meaning it should be able to work on a wide range of handsets, although they have not confirmed this with manual reviews, as they did for the devices listed above.

 

AirPods 3 Likely Launching Later This Month

New AirPods could launch later this October, according to the International Business Times. The unveiling is expected at an upcoming event, with some powerful new features set to be revealed.

According to reports, the Cupertino-based tech powerhouse is planning a huge overhauled AirPod design to better compete with Microsoft’s newly launched Surface Earbuds. The news about the upcoming Apple AirPods 3 comes from a new icon unlocked by developers inside the latest iOS 13.2 developer beta. The information showed a new pair of wireless earbuds that can be paired with the iPhone device. Some developers suggest that the upcoming new AirPods will likely be able to work as hearing aids, just like previous wireless earbuds developed by Apple. Other references found inside the latest iOS developer beta suggest that the new AirPods will have different listening modes.

An Apple Sleep App Could be Coming for Apple Watch

Someone found a reference to a mysterious sleep app on the Apple Watch, and it could be an Apple sleep app.

In the App Store listing for Apple’s preinstalled Alarms app on the Apple Watch, there is a screenshot of an unreleased version of the Alarms app with a “Sleep” label and fine print that reads “set your Bedtime and wake up in the Sleep app.”

There is no Sleep app or references to a Sleep app in the Alarms app on watchOS 6.0.1 or watchOS 6.1 beta, but MacRumors uncovered evidence of Apple working on a Sleep app for the Apple Watch in an internal build of iOS 13 last month, so Apple likely shared this screenshot too early by accident.

Amazon Prime Video Will Return to the App Store Soon

Amazon Prime Video was removed from the App Store today due to some kind of technical issue. But it will return soon.

Amazon Prime Video is currently unavailable in the App Store across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Amazon had updated the iOS version of the app shortly before it was removed from the App Store, but it is unclear why the app was pulled or whether this is a temporary move.

Update: MacRumors has been informed this was a technical issue and the app should be back up shortly.

Private Social Network MeWe Reaches 6 Million Members

Private social network MeWe has reached six million members in 2019 and was named the Best Entrepreneurial Company for this year.

MeWe expects over 100 million members by the end of 2020, having achieved 405% growth in 2018 and growing twice as fast on a daily basis in 2019. 60% of MeWe’s traffic is international and 35% of members are active—exceeding industry standards.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t used MeWe since I reviewed it. But I’ll gladly promote alternatives to Facebook, especially if privacy is the number one focus.

Microsoft says Iranian 'Phosphorus' Group Tried to Hack U.S. Presidential Campaign

In a blog post today Microsoft says that Iranian hackers attacked a U.S. presidential campaign, current and former U.S. government officials, journalists covering global politics and prominent Iranians living outside Iran.

Four accounts were compromised as a result of these attempts; these four accounts were not associated with the U.S. presidential campaign or current and former U.S. government officials. Microsoft has notified the customers related to these investigations and threats and has worked as requested with those whose accounts were compromised to secure them.

No word yet on what time President Trump asked Iran to interfere with our elections.