Podcast

An iCloud of Uncertainty — Mac Geek Gab 823

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

When iCloud works, it’s great. And, for the most part, that’s how it is. But sometimes…it just gets plain wonky. Several of you had several questions about that this week, and Dave and John dig in to get you sorted! That’s not all, though. Cool Stuff Found, routers, and even some future stuff is all up for discussion when your two favorite geeks get together this week. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!

News

Happy U.S. Independence Day, 2020 Edition

Bryan Chaffin ·

In honor of Independence Day—a U.S. holiday—The Mac Observer is taking off Friday, July 3rd. We will return Monday, July 6th, with our usual Apple, Mac, iPad iPhone, and Apple Watch news. TMO’s Daily Observations podcast is taking off the holiday, too. Enjoy the holiday, keep those masks on, and stay safe!

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Double-Spending Flaw Found in Major Bitcoin Wallets

Charlotte Henry ·

Israeli researchers at wallet startup ZenGeo have found a vulnerability affecting at least three major crypto wallets – Ledger Live, Edge, and Breadwallet. The flaw allows hackers to spend Bitcoin more than once,  Coindesk report,Ed.

The bug, which the Tel Aviv-based firm calls BigSpender, allows a hacker to double-spend a user’s funds and possibly prevent them from ever using their wallet again. It works by exploiting how certain wallet’s handle Bitcoin’s replace-by-fee (RBF) function, a failsafe that enables users to swap an unconfirmed transaction with one that has a higher fee. “[BigSpender] can lead to substantial financial losses and in some cases to make the victim’s wallet totally unusable, with no way for the victim to protect themselves,” ZenGo CEO Ouriel Ohayon said in an email. “So this can be seen as a high severity attack.”

Link

Foxconn Imports Disrupted by India-China Tensions

Charlotte Henry ·

Imports to India by key Apple supplier Foxconn have been slowed as a result of escalating tensions between the country and China. Reuters reported that Apple is amongst the companies seeking to free its shipments.

Customs officers at Indian ports have held back shipments from China and sought additional clearances after deadly clashes at the disputed Himalayan border last month. The checks have been imposed without any formal order. While several companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Dell (DELL.N) have been battling to free stuck shipments, hundreds of employees at Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn’s two plants in the south had no major work to do this week as shipments were delayed, sources said.

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macOS Big Sur and the Return of Whimsical Design

Andrew Orr ·

Designer Michael Flarup writes about how macOS Big Sur will bring back “fun in visual design.”

With this approach Apple is legalising a visual design expressiveness that we haven’t seen from them in almost a decade. It’s like a ban has been lifted on fun. This will severely loosen the grip of minimalistic visual design and raise the bar for pixel pushers everywhere. Your glyph on a colored background is about to get some serious visual competition.

I don’t miss pre-iOS 7 skeuomorphism, but I don’t think I’ll mind some of that era’s icons coming back (just without the gloss). I also wonder if we’ll see them on iOS, or just macOS.

TMO Deals

Albaro Air Posture Corrector: $99.95

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on the Albaro Air Posture Corrector, a device designed to help you improve your posture. It uses a patented ergonomically-designed air pressure cell to fit your unique body, it adjusts the air pressure and creates the most comfortable back support while effectively realigning your balance. The Albaro Air is $99.95 through our deal.