Pixelmator Pro 1.7 Update Adds Curved Text
Cool Stuff Found

Pixelmator Pro 1.7 Update Adds Curved Text

Andrew Orr ·

In an update dubbed “Sequoia” Pixelmator Pro 1.7 adds text on a path, canvas rotation, a new welcome screen, and version 3 of ML Super Resolution. The text update lets you type text on a path, a circle, or any other shape with Circular Type, Path Type, and Freeform Type. Canvas rotation lets you rotate the canvas at any angle. Improvements to ML Super Resolution improves the quality of the result, adds a progress bar (yay!), and adds support for upscaling RAW files while preserving the RAW data.

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TikTok Challenger Instagram Reels Arriving Globally in Weeks

Charlotte Henry ·

The global launch of Instagram Reels, Facebook’s challenger to TikTok, is imminent. NBC News reported that it will arrive in the U.S. in and over 50 other countries in the coming weeks.

Like TikTok, Instagram Reels lets users make and share 15-second video clips set to a vast catalogue of music. Like TikTok, users can also borrow and remix audio from other people’s videos. And, like TikTok, users could see their clips go viral in a “Featured Reels” section of the most popular videos. Facebook first launched Reels in Brazil last November and expanded it to France and Germany last month. It launched in India last week — just days after India banned TikTok and more than 50 other Chinese apps citing privacy and security concerns. Facebook will launch Reels in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico and roughly 50 other countries. Users will be able to access Reels through a new icon at the bottom of their screen in Instagram and post Reels to Instagram Stories.

‘Apple News Today’ Now Available in Apple Podcasts
Cool Stuff Found

‘Apple News Today’ Now Available in Apple Podcasts

Andrew Orr ·

Announced with the release of iOS 13.6 on Wednesday, the Apple News Today podcast gives people a guide to the most fascinating stories in news, and how the world’s top journalists are covering the stories. There will be a new episode every day, Monday through Friday. There are two episodes so far coming in at eight and nine minutes, so these are perfect bite-sized pods for your morning commute (do we still have those?)

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Big Twitter Accounts Like Apple, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Were Hacked

Andrew Orr ·

Major Twitter accounts were hacked today, reports Kevin Truong. Accounts like Apple, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Uber, and others were the victim of a hacking campaign that involved bitcoin.

Events kicked off when the Twitter accounts for major cryptocurrency platforms Coinbase, Gemini, and Binance, among others, all put out tweets minutes apart stating they had partnered up with an organization called CryptoForHealth and that they would be “giving back 5000 BTC to the community.” The tweets all included a link to a site that has been tagged by Google and Cloudflare as a phishing site […]

Most of the tweets have been removed already. Apple’s Twitter account appears to be entirely wiped of tweets.

A fascinating hack that clearly took advantage of Twitter vulnerabilities. But I’d also like to point out that Apple has never actually tweeted, so there wasn’t much to wipe.

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Apple Pay Coming to LA Metro TAP Transit Cards

Charlotte Henry ·

The LA Metro said that TAP transit cards will work with Apple Pay later this year, MacRumors reports. The facility had been scheduled to roll out late last year.

The LA Metro said last year that it was working with Apple to add mobile payment support for iPhones by the end of 2019, but the rollout didn’t end up happening and work on the transition continues. In a tweet today, the LA Metro said that ‌iPhone‌ and ‌Apple Watch‌ support for TAP cards will be coming sometime in 2020. Los Angeles has been working to overhaul its TAP system, introducing upgraded fare boxes with real-time data about fares purchased online and developing a new TAP mobile app that allows for payments and TAP account management.

TMO Deals

Ocushield Anti-Blue Light Screen Protector: $29.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on Ocushield, an anti-blue light screen protector. It filters blue light coming from your iPhone (a couple of Android devices are supported, too). It’s made from tempered glass with a scratch-resistant oleophobic coating, and it’s $29.99 through our deal.

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Congressman Wants Apple to Increase Security Over Foreign-Linked Apps

Andrew Orr ·

Rep. Stephen Lynch, chairman of the House subcommittee on national security, sent separate letters to Apple and Google, wanting assurances these companies could warn users about apps with foreign ties.

At a minimum, Apple and Google should take steps to ensure that users are aware of the potential privacy and national security risks of sharing sensitive information with applications that store data in countries adversarial to the United States, or whose developers are subsidiaries of foreign companies.

Apple can only do so much. They probably can’t check the source code of every app to see if it contains Chinese spying code. And what about U.S. spying code?

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App Store Developers Get More Protection Under New EU Regulations

Charlotte Henry ·

The EU passed new rights for developers on Sunday. GamesIndustry.biz explained how it will offer App Store developers greater protection.

The scope of the regulation is limited to platforms that allow developers and publishers to offer their games to players, where the platform facilitates direct transactions between developers and publishers and the players. Console manufacturers’ online stores do not, therefore, identify themselves as marketplaces like Apple’s App Store or Google Play, which clearly fall under the new regulation. Instead, they regard themselves as digital retail stores that enter into direct transactional relations with players, and do not fall under the new regulation as “online intermediation services” that facilitate the initiating of direct transactions between developers/publishers and players.