Linked Teasers Archive

DuckDuckGo Launches Free Email Protection Service

Andrew Orr · July 20, 2021

Privacy search engine DuckDuckGo has launched an Email Protection Service to protect against email trackers. You can get a free, personalized @duck.com address that will forward emails to your regular inbox.

We remove hidden trackers from incoming emails sent to this address, then forward them to your regular inbox for safer reading. This means if you use an email service like Gmail or Yahoo, it’s no problem! Emails sent to your Personal Duck Address will arrive there as usual so you can read your email like normal, in any app or on the web, worry-free.

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iPod Click Wheel Arrived on This Day in 2004

Charlotte Henry · July 19, 2021

The iPod was already a pretty big deal by the time the fourth generation of the music player was released. And then the Click Wheel was introduced. As Cult of Mac noted, the control mechanism was already in place on the mini version.

The biggest addition was the same Click Wheel that Apple introduced with the iPod mini earlier in 2004. Rather than featuring a physical scroll wheel with separate buttons surrounding it, the iPod Click Wheel combined all the device’s controls. The new solid-state, touch-sensitive scroll wheel sat flush with the face of the iPod. The fourth-gen iPod brought other small improvements, too. For instance, it was the first full-size iPod that could be charged via USB 2.0. This signaled Apple’s move away from the award-winning FireWire technology that had been a key part of the company’s “digital hub” strategy of the late 1990s.

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NSO Group’s ‘Pegasus’ Spyware Targets Journalists and Activists

Andrew Orr · July 19, 2021

Spyware known as Pegasus from NSO Group was used to hack 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, activists, and business executives around the world.

The phones appeared on a list of more than 50,000 numbers that are concentrated in countries known to engage in surveillance of their citizens and also known to have been clients of the Israeli firm, NSO Group, a worldwide leader in the growing and largely unregulated private spyware industry, the investigation found.

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WhatsApp Content Moderator - ‘I Sold My Soul.’

Charlotte Henry · July 16, 2021

WhatsApp content moderators have to review some of the most disturbing content floating around the internet. Time spoke to some of them about the lack of support and their allegations of pay discrimination.

Content moderators working at Accenture for WhatsApp are entitled to 30 minutes of “wellness” breaks per eight-hour shift, employees say, as well as one-on-one access once a month to “wellness coaches” provided by the company. They also undergo training to prepare them for the kinds of content they are expected to look at on the job. But even Accenture acknowledges that the help these resources provide is limited. Moderators working on a Facebook contract for Accenture in Europe were required to sign a document in January 2020 acknowledging “that the wellness coach is not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose or treat mental health disorders.” TIME viewed a copy of the document, which was first reported by the Financial Times. It requires employees to acknowledge that “the weCare Program [wellness] services, standing alone, may not be able to prevent my work from affecting my mental health.” It also notes that the work “could even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” (Facebook told the Financial Times it did not review or approve the document, and was not aware of it.)

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Anonymous Wars With China With Crypto Token ‘Anon Inu’

Andrew Orr · July 16, 2021

Hackivist collective Anonymous is back, and its warring with China and possibly Elon Musk with a cryptocurrency token dubbed “Anon Inu.”

In a recently released video, Anonymous started by touching upon the ongoing crackdown on Bitcoin mining in China. The “sudden flip” by Chinese authorities regarding mining was not only shocking but also bloody for the Bitcoin market.

Apart from China, Anonymous did not mention specifics about waging a war against Elon Musk, but looks like the #Dogefather may meet his match soon in this so-called “meme-war” against “Anon Inu token.”

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Apple Employees Angry as Getting Approval to Work From Home Gets Harder

Charlotte Henry · July 16, 2021

The row over Apple employees returning to the office continues. The Verge reported that staff members feel it is becoming increasingly difficult to get approval to work from home, with some with medical conditions particularly concerned.

One employee said they were currently on an Americans with Disabilities Act accommodation that allowed them to work from home, but were told that accommodation would be denied when the company went back to the office. “I will be out of a job in September,” they wrote in Slack. Apple typically gives employees 30 days to find a new job within the company if their current team denies a medical accommodation. But one worker said in Slack that there weren’t any open remote positions. Some employees say they were told only people with documented medical conditions would be approved for permanent remote work. But the form that Apple employees use to request such an accommodation asks them to release their medical records to the company, which made some people uncomfortable.

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Firefox 90 Update Introduces SmartBlock 2.0 for Tracking Protection

Andrew Orr · July 16, 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 90 recently and it comes with an improved version of its tracking protection called SmartBlock 2.0.

The newest version of Mozilla’s built-in SmartBlock privacy feature makes it easier for users to keep their tracking protection settings cranked up, without breaking individual websites. The updated version seems to especially target Facebook login, which is increasingly used around the web as a third-party authentication and login tool.

Image credit: ArsTechnica

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Google Adds Tool to Quickly Delete Your Last 15 Minutes of Searches

Andrew Orr · July 15, 2021

Google is adding new protections for your search history like quick deletion, requiring verification to access the My Activity section, and more.

You can also try out a new way to quickly delete your last 15 minutes of saved Search history with the single tap of a button. This feature is available in the Google app for iOS, and is coming to the Android Google app later this year.

You could also just turn disable your search history altogether, too.

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Latest iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 Betas Allow System Update Installations With Just 500 MB of Available Storage

Charlotte Henry · July 15, 2021

The latest beta versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 are out now. As 9to5 Mac spotted, they allow system updates to be installed with under 500 MB of storage available.

In the release notes for the latest build of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, which can be found on the Apple Developer website, the company says that today’s updates fix an issue that could prevent users from installing system updates with low available storage on the device. Here’s what Apple says: “Software Update: Resolved in watchOS 8/iOS 15 beta 3: You can now update your device using Software Update if less than 500 MB of storage is available. (78474912)” There aren’t many details about what has been changed or how this will work since some updates actually come in large files, but the release notes claim that system updates can now be installed on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch even when “less than 500 MB of storage is available.”

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Photography Software ‘Capture One’ Coming to iPad in 2022

Andrew Orr · July 15, 2021

Here is some news from last month that I missed. Capture One is a popular software for photo editing and it will come to the iPad in 2022.

This is the beginning of the roadmap and the possibilities it opens up for us in terms of devices and networking is really fantastic. I’m looking forward to getting this out the door, but really looking forward to what this looks like for the future of Capture One and for the future of photography software.

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‘SolarWinds’ Hackers Used iOS Zero Day Against Government Officials

Andrew Orr · July 15, 2021

The Russian hackers behind the SolarWinds attack used an iOS zero day to steal credentials from Western European governments.

Attacks targeting CVE-2021-1879, as the zero-day is tracked, redirected users to domains that installed malicious payloads on fully updated iPhones. The attacks coincided with a campaign by the same hackers who delivered malware to Windows users, the researchers said.

Google published a blog post about zero-days here, and you can read coverage from Ars Technica at the link below.

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Netflix Moving Into Games is a New Challenge For Apple

Charlotte Henry · July 15, 2021

Netflix announced the hiring of Mike Verdu as vice president of game development, on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. The potential move into this new area increases the competition between the streamer and Apple, with its Arcade service.

Video games give Netflix another way to lure new customers and also offer something none of its direct competitors currently provides. Walt Disney Co., AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia and Amazon.com Inc. all have access to live sports, but they don’t have gaming within their main video services. Ultimately, the move may make it easier for Netflix to justify price increases in coming years. Games also serve the purpose of helping market existing shows. Many of the largest tech companies do sell gaming options in addition to their video services. Apple Inc. has a platform called Arcade for games — as well as a TV+ service for original video projects. But it charges extra for the gaming.

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Amazon Launches Pay-To-Read Serial Novels in ‘Kindle Vella’

Andrew Orr · July 14, 2021

Amazon has launched a service called Kindle Vella that introduces pay-to-read serialized books. In this case, “pay-to-read” means that these books offer the first three ”episodes” for free, with later episodes offered through “Tokens” that can be purchased in bundles.

We designed Kindle Vella as a mobile-first experience because we know readers are becoming more and more interested in stories that can be read quickly on their phones. At the same time, readers want the connection that you get from reading a story or author for a long period of time.

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Spotify’s Top Lawyer Leads the Monopoly Campaign Against Apple

Andrew Orr · July 14, 2021

Spotify’s top lawyer, Horacio Gutierrez, is a key player in the monopoly accusations against Apple.

The landscape looks a lot different than it did when Gutierrez first began talking about Apple. His actions “have spawned a lot of the other Apple-related activity across the globe,” says Thomas Vinje, who’s worked with Gutierrez on antitrust issues in Europe. “It’s a snowball Spotify got rolling.”

Image credit: Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

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You Could Run New Windows 365 OS on iPad

Andrew Orr · July 14, 2021

Microsoft revealed a new OS on Wednesday called Windows 365. It’s a cloud-based operating system designed to run in a browser. As Mr. Ortolani points out this means you could run it on an iPad.

The new service is only available for businesses at first, but given Microsoft’s emphasis on cloud platforms, it is highly likely that it will become available for consumers at some point in the future. Microsoft is offering Windows 365 for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a one-person show or a giant organization.

Windows 365 will be available on August 2.

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Is Jason Sudeikis Actually Like Ted Lasso?

Charlotte Henry · July 14, 2021

Jason Sudeikis (pictured above) is the August cover star for GQ. In the accompanying feature, he reflects on “landing like an Avenger” following upset in his personal life and his time on SNL. He also reveals how his castmates think he is similar to Ted Lasso.

After a while, every time he tried to wave off Ted, fellow castmates or old friends of his would correct him to say: “No.” They’d say: “No, that is you. That is you. That’s not the best version of you.” It’s not you on mushrooms, it’s not you hanging off a boat, it’s just…you. One of Sudeikis’s friends, Marcus Mumford, who composed the music for the show, told me, “He is quite like Ted in lots of ways. He has a sort of burning optimism, but also a vulnerability, about him that I really admire.” Hearing people say this, over and over again, Sudeikis said, “brought me to a very emotional space where, you know, a healthy dose of self-love was allowed to expand through my being and made me…”

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It's Never 69 Degrees on the Apple Weather App

Charlotte Henry · July 14, 2021

Apple’s native Weather app won’t ever give the temperature as 69 degrees, The Verge reported. Yes, it’s worth a giggle, bu there’s a couple of explanations as to why this might be.

It’s not clear if this is a bug or an intentional attempt from Apple to cut down on 69-related humor. The rounding is only visible in the weather app itself: clicking through to Apple’s source data from Weather.com will show the proper temperature, as do Apple’s home screen widgets. But the iOS weather app will refuse to show 69 degrees anywhere in the forecast, whether it’s for the current temperature, the hourly forecast for the day, or the extended forecast. A possible explanation for the issue (as pointed out by several people on Twitter) is that Apple may be sourcing data for its iOS Weather app in Celsius and then converting it to Fahrenheit. For example, 20 degrees Celsius converts to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, while 21 degrees Celsius converts to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit — which rounds up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The app appears to have similar issues with temperatures like 65 degrees (where 18 degrees Celsius converts to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit, while 19 degrees Celsius is 66.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

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UK Cops Seize US$249m Worth of Bitcoin Following Money Laundering Probe

Charlotte Henry · July 13, 2021

England’s Metropolitan Police Service has seized almost £180m (US$249m) worth of bitcoin. The seizure came as the result of an investigation into international money laundering, The Guardian reported.

“While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we’re increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money,” said the Metropolitan police’s deputy assistant commissioner, Graham McNulty. A 39-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of money laundering after the first haul was discovered and has been interviewed under caution over the £180m discovery. One bitcoin is worth about £23,500, having fallen from a peak in April of £47,126.48, meaning the sum confiscated may have been worth nearly double three months ago. The assets were seized by the force’s economic crime command and the investigation is continuing.

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Google Unifies Two Desktop Apps Into a Single ‘Drive’ App

Andrew Orr · July 13, 2021

Google is merging its Google Drive sync clients on the desktop: Backup and Sync with Drive File Stream. The new app will be Drive for Desktop on macOS and Windows. The company shares a timeline with other details in its blog post.

Drive for desktop is a unified sync client that provides a consistent experience for anyone who uses Drive, whether for business, education or personal purposes. It enables you to quickly sync and access content directly from Mac or PC, which can save you time by helping you access files and folders in a familiar location.

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Jon Stewart Apple TV+ Show to Shoot in Front of Vaccinated Live Audience

Charlotte Henry · July 13, 2021

Jon Stewart’s return is set to be filmed in front of a live audience. Episodes of the Apple TV+ series will be recorded in New York on July 14 and 16, Deadline reported.

It is the latest “late-night” show to shoot in front of an audience after the likes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! brought back audiences. The Apple TV+ series will require attendees to be fully vaccinated, provide an official vaccination card and complete a wellness screening prior to entering. Audiences and crew members will be required to wear masks at all times. The show, which launches this fall, is a one-hour current affairs format with a single issue topic explored in each episode.

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Adidas is Developing Solar-Powered Headphones

Andrew Orr · July 12, 2021

Adidas is currently developing a pair of solar-powered headphones in partnership with Exeger. Digital Trends interviewed Gustaf Rosell, chief product and innovation Officer at Zound Industries.

One of the key differences is they are powered by any light. Direct sunlight will be the strongest source, but even indoor lighting or, even better, having it close to windows will generate energy. The cells are flexible in their application and not sensitive to being shadowed in the same way as traditional solar cells.

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Amazon Wants to Use Radar to Watch You Sleeping

Andrew Orr · July 12, 2021

On Friday the FCC approved [PDF] Amazon’s idea to create a device that uses radar to monitor a person as they sleep.

The use of Radar Sensors in sleep tracking could improve awareness and management of sleep hygiene, which in turn could produce significant health benefits for many Americans. Radar Sensors will allow consumers to recognize potential sleep issues.

That’s a from No Thank You from me.

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Apple TV+ Signs Overall Deal With ‘Lovecraft Country’ Creator Misha Green

Charlotte Henry · July 12, 2021

Misha Green, creator of Lovecraft Country signed an overall deal with Apple last week. She will develop projects for TV+, reported Variety.

Green is also known for co-creating and executive producing the WGN America series “Underground,” on which she was also co-showrunner. The critically-acclaimed series followed men and women in pre-Civil War America who fought for their freedom on the Underground Railroad. Jurnee Smollett-Bell collaborated with Green on both “Underground” and “Lovecraft Country.” The deal with Apple reunites her with Apple’s heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who previously ran “Underground” producer Sony Pictures Television, as well as Apple’s head of programming Matt Cherniss, who was president and general manager of WGN America and Tribune Studios.

[Image credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com]