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IBM Secretly Used Flickr Photos for Facial Recognition

Andrew Orr ·

IBM secretly used millions of Flickr photos to test its facial recognition system. IBM claimed it was to help reduce bias in facial recognition.

Despite IBM’s assurances that Flickr users can opt out of the database, NBC News discovered that it’s almost impossible to get photos removed. IBM requires photographers to email links to photos they want removed, but the company has not publicly shared the list of Flickr users and photos included in the dataset, so there is no easy way of finding out whose photos are included.

NBC News got a copy of the data set, and created a tool to help you find out if IBM used your photos without your permission.

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Apple News Magazine Subscriptions Heading for macOS

Charlotte Henry ·

lt looks like the Apple News subscription service will launch on macOS as well as iOS. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith shared some screenshots of a the new service as they appear in the latest beta of macOS 10.14.4. MacRumors reported that they showed notifications for subscribers when the latest edition of a magazine is released. We are expecting to hear about Apple’s News subscription service at its March 25th “It’s Showtime” event.

The screenshots show notifications from the Apple News subscription service, which will alert subscribers when new issues of their favorite magazines are available. Similar subscription information has also already been seen in iOS 12.2, with the subscription service called “Apple News Magazines.” Apple’s magazine subscription service is based on Texture, the digital magazine app that it purchased in 2018.

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Scientists Say AirPods May be Linked to Cancer

Andrew Orr ·

Over 250 are signing a petition calling on the United Nations and World Health Organization to create stronger guidelines over devices like AirPods and possible links to cancer.

Some experts believe that AirPods may be especially dangerous since the devices sit deep inside the ear canal where they emit radiation to fragile parts of the ear. The scientists also noted other possible health hazards, including an increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, and neurological disorders.

Further reading: PSA: Wi-Fi Doesn Cause Cancer, Some Guidelines on how to Spot Bad Science.

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DIY: How to Make Apple Watch Bands

Andrew Orr ·

Andrew O’Hara put together a neat DIY video on how to make Apple Watch bands. He tells you what parts and tools you”ll need and how to put it all together.

By putting the band together yourself, you have so many more options opened up to you. Your watch can now represent you and your style without being limited by the Apple Watch market or the steep markups we see for the best bands.

Sell these on Etsy and use words like “bespoke” and “artisanal.” You’ll be drowning in cash.

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Can You Speak Tree Language? New York City Does

Andrew Orr ·

Created by artist Kate Holten, the New York City Tree Alphabet lets anyone send hidden messages in tree language. You can also download it as a font.

A tentative version of Holten’s new Tree Alphabet was shared across the Parks Department for months, as groups across the system chimed in on which trees should stand for which letters–a more complicated idea than one might think, given that the Parks Department is particular about the species it wants planted.

*cries in Ogham*

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Sprint Brands AT&T 5G 'Fake' in New York Times Advert

Charlotte Henry ·

Sprint took out a full-page advert in Sunday’s New York Times hitting out at AT&T’s 5G claims. MacRumors reported that the advert branded AT&T’s claims as “fake 5G”, saying it was not faster than Sprint’s 4G LTE network. In February, Sprint filed a lawsuit against the 5G claims.

In the letter [PDF], Sprint calls AT&T’s 5G Evolution “fake 5G” and clarifies that AT&T is not, in fact, offering faster speeds than other carriers who deliver the same 4G LTE advancements that AT&T has enabled such as three-way carrier aggregation, 256 QAM, and 4×4 MIMO…AT&T first started upgrading customer iPhones to read “5GE” in the iOS 12.2 beta, and the misleading branding will become much more widespread when iOS 12.2 sees a public release.

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Taika Waititi to Direct Series of 'Time Bandits' for Apple

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple’s in-development series Time Bandits will be directed by Taika Waititi, Variety reported.  The series was based on a film, originally released in 1981,  written by Monty Python star Terry Gilliam. It told the story of a young Brit called, Kevin, who finds a time hole in his wardrobe. Apple’s streaming service is expected to be revealed at its March 25th event, confirmed Monday.

Apple’s adaptation will be co-produced by Paramount TV, Anonymous Content, and Media Rights Capital. Waititi will direct and co-write the pilot, as well as executive producing alongside Gilliam and producer Dan Halsted. Waititi was recently announced as one of several directors for the Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian.” The TV adaptation of his horror mockumentary “What We Do in the Shadows” premieres March 27 on FX, and his next film, “Jojo Rabbit,” is slated to comes out this fall.

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John Oliver Robocalls FCC to Protest Ineffective Rules

Andrew Orr ·

John Oliver is robocalling FCC commissioners like Ajit Pai. He argues that the rules are ineffective at stopping them.

“Hi FCC, this is John from customer service,” Oliver’s recorded voice says on the call. “Congratulations, you’ve just won a chance to lower robocalls in America today… robocalls are incredibly annoying, and the person who can stop them is you! Talk to you again in 90 minutes—here’s some bagpipe music.”

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Spotify Premium Users can get Hulu for Free

Charlotte Henry ·

Spotify Premium users can now access Hulu’s ad-supported tier at no extra cost. However, The Verge said that these users cannot add premium channels, such as Showtime or HBO, to their account alongside Hulu. The deal also excludes those who have a family plan on the music streaming service, but others can access Hulu via the ‘Your Services’ section of an account. This offer is time limited though – it will close on June 10th, 2019.  Hulu recently lowered its pricing to $4.99 a month, following Netflix’s recent price hike.

To take advantage of this deal, new Spotify users can sign up now. Just be sure to activate Hulu on the “Your Services” page within account settings. If you already get Hulu through Spotify, you won’t have to do anything to start saving an extra $3 per month. On the other hand, if you subscribe to Hulu and don’t yet have a Spotify account, you’ll need to cancel your billing through Hulu, then set it up through Spotify to receive the discount.

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You'll do Backflips When You See This Robot do Backflips

John Martellaro ·

As bits and pieces of robot dexterity come together, soon we’ll see some remarkable robot athletes. It’s a glimmer of things to come. The Verge writes:

MIT is back with the latest version of its Cheetah quadrupedal robot, the Mini Cheetah, and it’s got a new trick up its sleeve: it can do backflips.

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Amazon Echo Still has no Killer Apps

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon’s Echo range of smart speakers are hugely popular. However, the device has not triggered a huge range of apps, nor standout successes, in the way smartphones did. Both the Apple App Store and Google Play store have far more apps on them, and generate farm more revenue for developers. Bloomberg News spoke to some developers to discover what the issues were.

Echo-branded smart speakers have attracted millions of fans with their ability to play music and respond to queries spoken from across the room. But almost four years after inviting outside developers to write apps for Alexa, Amazon’s voice system has yet to offer a transformative new experience. Surveys show most people use their smart speakers to listen to tunes or make relatively simple requests—“Alexa, set a timer for 30 minutes”—while more complicated tasks prompt them to give up and reach for their smartphone.

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Apple Still Offers Interactive Tour of iPhone 3GS

Andrew Orr ·

As discovered by Reddit, Apple still offers an interactive tour of the iPhone 3GS and all of its features. A tour of the iPhone 4 is available as well.

Meet the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. iPhone 3GS features video recording, Voice Control, up to 32GB of storage, and more.

It’s so interesting to see how far the iPhone has come in terms of hardware and software. This is a cool blast from the past.

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Companies Affected by Box Enterprise Oopsie

Andrew Orr ·

Dozens of companies—including Apple—have been affected by a Box enterprise leak. Data stored in Box enterprise accounts are private by default. But people can share files and folders, which makes the data publicly accessible.

The discoveries were made by Adversis, a cybersecurity firm, which found major tech companies and corporate giants had left data inadvertently exposed…Using a script to scan for and enumerate Box accounts with lists of company names and wildcard searches, Adversis found more than 90 companies with publicly accessible folders.

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Facebook vs Snapchat is Like Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates

Charlotte Henry ·

Facebook’s so-called “pivot to privacy” has elicited a number of reactions. One of the more incisive ones comes from Kara Swisher. In a New York Times Sunday review column, Ms. Swisher compared Facebook’s attempts to bolster private messaging, in direct competition with Snapchat, to the battle between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. In that case, Mr. Jobs’s “stunning creativity” eventually “won out.” This time, the size of Facebook may mean Mr. Zuckerberg can make a success of the Snapchat model. If he really means it.

Mr. Zuckerberg is to Bill Gates as Mr. Spiegel is to Steve Jobs. Mr. Jobs always had better ideas and vision than Mr. Gates. But Apple spent a long time in dire straits while he pushed his high-level concepts about security, privacy, and design and simplicity. Mr. Gates, on the other hand, was an unqualified genius at business models and systems, and he clearly understood the depressing truth that good enough was good enough for a lot of consumers.

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Going Cashless is in Our Near Future

Andrew Orr ·

Jefferson Graham writes how going cashless is the future, with contactless payment apps like Apple Pay ushering this reality in.

“It seems that people are moving away from cash and technology is making it easier than ever to tap and go.” Advantage: faster checkout lines, and the elimination of fees for armored car cash pickups and fear from employees about getting robbed.

For the most part I’m already mostly cashless. The only thing I need cash for is laundry. For everything else I use a debit or credit card.

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Be Sure to Properly Remove Data from Devices

Andrew Orr ·

David Nield implores us to make sure we properly remove data from our devices before we get rid of them.

Your personal data—be it financial spreadsheets or web searches—is not something you want to be leaving behind for other people to find, and totally wiping your activity off devices or the web takes a few more steps than you might have realized. Don’t worry though, as we’re going to walk you through the process.

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Verifications.io Leaked 809 Million Records

Andrew Orr ·

An email marketing company called Verifications.io—which has been taken offline—exposed 809 million records in a database.

In general, the 809 million total records in the Verifications.io trove include standard information like names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses. But many also include things like gender, date of birth, personal mortgage amount, interest rate, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram accounts associated with email addresses, and characterizations of people’s credit scores (like average, above average, and so on).

As always, use the tool HaveIBeenPwned.com to see if your email was included in a data breach.

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Silicon Valley Workers Look to Improve Conditions for Contractors

Charlotte Henry ·

The treatment of contractors was a key issue raised by the recent Google walkout, and by workers and other Silicon Valley firms. Apple itself has been criticized for how non-permanent staff are treated. Now, some workers at Facebook are getting organized. FastCompany reported that they have started a group called Workers for Workers, and are surveying permanent and contractor colleagues about their working conditions.

The fight for solidarity may now be spreading to Facebook, with the launch this week of a group called Workers for Workers. Its website features anonymous stories by Facebook contractors, known as “contingent workers.” The first (and thus far only) post, by someone called “Alice,” states: “The number one thing I’m worried about right now is being stuck in these kinds of contracting roles forever. Never making more than $25 an hour, and being a permanent contractor . . . ”

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Apple AR Headset Set for 2020, According to Top Analyst

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple’s forthcoming AR headset is set to be released 2020, according to high-profile Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He added that manufacturing will beging by the end of 2019, according to AppleInsider. Significantly, it looks like your iPhone is going to most of the hard work, while the glasses act as a display.

 Kuo claims the first generation of Apple’s AR glasses will only act as a display, with a nearby iPhone performing all of the processing, including rendering scenes, providing a data connection, and location-based services like GPS. It is unclear if the accessory would be connected by a cable or take the wireless route and use Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or another similar technology for close-range communications.

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In 2023 Apple Wants to Have Zero Net Cash

Andrew Orr ·

Apple has US$245 of gross cash and other things like long-term securities. It has US$115 billion in long-term debt. This makes its net cash position US$130 billion, and Apple CFO Luca Maestri has said eventually the company wants to have a net cash neutral position. Tiernan Ray writes about issues that may arise because of this.

Come 2023, will investors balk at an Apple suddenly less generous with its capital returns? And if Apple puts off that day as much as possible, plodding along with no significant increase in capital returns, will it lose the support of those fickle buyers hungry for shares with meaningful dividend buyback increases every year?

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There is Only One Blockbuster Left in the World

Charlotte Henry ·

And then there was one. The Blockbuster video rental store in Bend, Oregon is to be the last one remaining. A store in Morely, Australia announced Thursday that it will be closing its doors to rentals. It will permanently close at the end of March, the Verge reported. It is hardly surprising that the Blockbusters are going given the growth of online streaming, but it is nostalgia-inducing all the same.

For anyone who’s been paralyzed by choice at the sheer volume of films available on Netflix, having your choice limited by a physical selection of discs can feel particularly freeing. After today’s final day of rentals, Australia’s last Blockbuster store will remain open until the end of the month to sell off its stock, including DVDs, Blu-rays, and even “shop fittings and fixtures.”

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Musicians Are Happy With Apple Right Now

Andrew Orr ·

Spotify, Google, Pandora, and Amazon are joining forces to appeal a ruling by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board that would increase payouts to songwriters by 44%. Can’t have the people producing music for your service making more money. But Apple isn’t joining the appeal, which makes musicians happy.

We thank Apple Music for accepting the CRB decision and continuing to be a friend to songwriters,” he said. “While Spotify and Amazon surely hope this will play out in a quiet appellate courtroom, every songwriter and every fan of music should stand up and take notice. We will fight with every available resource to protect the CRB’s decision.

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Update Your Chrome Browser Right Now

John Martellaro ·

PC Magazine writes:

Google is urging Chrome users [Mac, Windows, Linux] to update the web browser right away to patch a zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited.

In a Tuesday tweet, Google Chrome Security and Desktop Engineering Lead Justin Schuh said users should install the latest version of the browser—72.0.3626.121—right away.

Like…right now.

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T-Mobile to Launch LTE Home Internet With 5G Coming

Andrew Orr ·

T-Mobile will start testing an LTE Home Internet service soon, and will also offer 5G Home Internet once it’s rolled out.

Home broadband is one of the most un-competitive industries in existence. The New T-Mobile & 5G can and will change all that. And we’ve already got this in the works. T-Mobile will soon begin a pilot of Home Internet service using a 4G router operating over T-Mobile’s LTE network. Customers will get the router for free, and after the merger, it will be upgraded to include 2.5 GHz spectrum and 5G compatible hardware.

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