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New Apple Maps is Undergoing Public Test in the UK

Charlotte Henry ·

Public tests of the new version of Apple Maps have reached the UK and Ireland. Justine O’Beirne noted the change, the first time the update has been rolled out beyond U.S. shores.

In the past, Apple has spent between 16 and 49 days publicly testing its earlier expansions… and the more populated the area, the longer Apple has typically spent testing. All of this suggests that Expansion #9 will go live for all Apple Maps users sometime between mid September and early October. Given past patterns, iOS 14 is also likely to be released during this same period—so it seems that Expansion #9’s release might coincide with iOS 14’s.

Cool Stuff Found

Apple Updates iMovie With Comic, Comic Mono, Ink Filters

Andrew Orr ·

Apple released an update for Final Cut Pro X for professional video editors. For the editors that are perhaps more casual, iMovie 2.2.10 was also updated. Give your videos a hand-drawn look with 3 new filters: Comic, Comic Mono and Ink; Choose from 25 new soundtracks — in genres including action, chill, and sentimental — that automatically adjust to match the length of your movie; Addresses an issue that could prevent the viewer from updating after duplicating a photo in the timeline; Improves reliability of Redo when editing a trailer; Includes performance and stability improvements.

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Directors of Apple TV+ ‘Boys State’ Discuss ‘Girls State’ Sequel

Andrew Orr ·

The directors of documentary “Boys State” on Apple TV+, Jesse Moss and Amanda Mcbaine, discuss the film. They also mention they are actively developing a sequel to examine a similar program called “Girls State.”

We’re actively developing what we call a sibling, or sequel, to this film which is a look at a Girls State program.  Had there been, as Steven Garza says early in the film, a “people’s state,” we might have been drawn to an experiment that brings both girls and boys together in the same space. The film we made does provide an unexpected and we think valuable look at masculinity in this moment. It’s hard to know how the dynamics would be different, either within an all female space, or a space in which there was equal representation. It’s something we think about a lot.

Cool Stuff Found

New Level Touch Lock Lets You Unlock With Your Finger and Voice

Andrew Orr ·

Level introduced a new lock on Tuesday called Level Touch that lets you unlock it with your finger, voice, or programmable keycard. It also has an app that works with HomeKit and Siri. Features include auto-lock, auto-unlock, sharing access, recent activity, passes, and audio confirmation. With HomeKit you get features like remote connectivity, voice control, automations, and notifications. You can order one today for US$329.

Podcast

Astronomy Professor Dr. Emily Levesque - BGM Interview

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Dr. Emily Levesque is a professor in the University of Washington’s astronomy department. Her research program is focused on improving our overall understanding of how massive stars evolve and die. She received her bachelors in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaii.

Emily knew she wanted to be an astronomer from the moment she saw Halley’s comet in the night sky as a child. As an undergraduate at MIT, she was already developing a technical interest in massive stars, the focus of her career. And so we explored massive stars in some detail: formation, evolution and the final fate for many: supernova. Is Betelgeuse, in our own stellar backyard, about to go supernova? Emily weighs in. We finished with a discussion of her new book The Last Stargazers.. It shares the tales and experiences of astronomical observing. And, finally, spiders and lasers.

TMO Deals

Sign Documents and Get Signatures on Any Device $49.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a 1-year subscription to DottedSign Pro, an electronic signature platform. With this service, you can import documents with your device camera, or from your photos, email, Google Drive, Dropbox, Kdan Cloud, or other apps. It offers real-time status updates for each signer, as well as reminders and automatic expiry dates. It’s $49.95 through our deal.

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‘Mintegral’ iOS App SDK Caught Hijacking Ad Clicks

Andrew Orr ·

An iOS app SDK called Mintegral was found to contain malicious code that would hijack ad clicks so that iOS thinks a user clicked on one of its ads, instead of those belonging to a competitor. This SDK is used by over 1,200 apps representing over 300 million downloads per month.

The malicious code was uncovered in the iOS versions of the SDK from the Chinese mobile ad platform provider, Mintegral dating back to July 2019. The malicious code can spy on user activity by logging URL-based requests made through the app. This activity is logged to a third-party server and could potentially include personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information. Furthermore, the SDK fraudulently reports user clicks on ads, stealing potential revenue from competing ad networks and, in some cases, the developer/publisher of the application.

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Apple Extending Legal Proceedings Against Firm With Green Pear Logo

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple has escalated its claim objecting to the green pear logo of the Prepear app, filing new opposition with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Patently Apple has the latest on a case it thinks it is not doing much for Apple’s reputation.

The logo in question is owned by a company called Super Health Kids, Inc. The company created a meal planner and grocery list app called “Prepear” that helps people discover recipes and more. Unless Apple is planning to offer a similar app expanding their reach into health related apps and features, it’s difficult at this point in time to believe that Apple is trying so hard to stop a logo that has no resemblance to an Apple. It’s clearly a pear. No one will ever say, except for the Apple lawyer filing this nonsense: oh look, Apple has a new logo. It’s not going to happen. It’s not a logo found on a desktop, a notebook, a smartwatch, a tablet or smartphone.