Apple has to face part of a lawsuit over claims it concealed falling demands for iPhones, particularly in China.
X-Mirage AirPlay for Mac: $9.99
We have a deal on X-Mirage, software that turns your Mac into an AirPlay receiver for mirroring whatever on your iPhone, iPad or iPod screen – apps, games, photos, videos, presentations, websites, and more to the bigger screen. It also offers real-time mirroring and media control. A lifetime license for this software is $9.99 through our deal.
Rounded Rectangles, AR Companions – TMO Daily Observations 2020-06-03
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Steve Jobs’ rectangle preference, and what an AI companion could look like.
Google Facing Lawsuit Overs Alleged Tracking of Users Using Incognito Mode
Google is facing a $5 billion lawsuit amid claims its technology invades the privacy of users even when they are using incognito mode. The class proposed by the complaint could potential involve “millions” of Google users, Reuters reported.
According to the complaint filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins, including smartphone apps, regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads. This helps Google learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said. Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said. Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesman, said the Mountain View, California-based company will defend itself vigorously against the claims.
iOS 14 May Work on an iPhone 6s, And Other Firms Should Take Note
Recent rumors suggest that the iOS 14, likely to revealed at WWDC towards the end of the month, will work on devices going as far back as the iPhone 6s. Which is pretty impressive. Christine Chan at iMore thinks it shows Android device makers have a lot to learn from Apple.
It’s actually quite impressive that Apple continues to support its devices for so long, especially when you compare it to Android devices. With Android, you have hundreds or even thousands of different hardware devices from different manufacturers, and these range from being super cheap models to flagship devices. Google releases a new version of Android every year, and for the most part, Google’s own Pixel devices get first dibs on new software updates. At the same time, other handsets need to wait for their manufacturer to modify that software before it reaches users, and sometimes, others are just left out entirely. And who knows how long it takes before that update reaches a specific manufacturer’s hardware? So even if you buy a flagship Android device today, there’s no guarantee that it will still be getting support or updates five years down the road. So when compared to Apple, where even a five-year-old iPhone 6s will be getting support through at 2021 with the latest iOS 14, it’s a bit of a letdown.
CES 2021 to be Physical Event in Las Vegas
CES 2021 is to be a physical event in Las Vegas, along with some digital elements, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced on Wednesday. However, as The Verge points out, it’s not clear it will be ok to hold large scale events at that point, nor that people will actually want to go.
The stakes are high for CES. It’s one of the largest conventions held each year in Las Vegas, responsible for bringing a huge number of visitors to the city, with around 175,000 attendees last year. The Las Vegas Convention Center, the primary venue where the event is held, is scheduled to complete a $980 million expansion just in time for next year’s show. And while consumers may know CES as the event where new TVs, cars, and other gadgets are announced, it also remains an important venue for meetings between retailers, manufacturers, and all the companies in between. The CTA is promising new health policies for the show. The group intends to “regularly clean and sanitize spaces” and offer “sanitization stations.” It also plans to widen aisles and seats to increase distancing, limit “touch points” by using tech like mobile payments, and provide on-site health services. The CTA says it’ll look into doing temperature scans and that it plans to issue “best practices,” like wearing a mask — though it doesn’t say if they’ll be required.
Eve Cam for HomeKit Secure Video Available to Preorder
Eve Cam for HomeKit Secure Video is available to preorder, Eve Systems announced today. It starts shipping on June 23.
Full Rollout of Apple Pay Express Transit Compatible System in New York Delayed by COVID-19
Coronavirus delayed Apple Pay Express Transit being available across the NYC subway as installation of readers for the OMNY system was paused.
Sinji Flexible Borescope Camera for iPhone and Android: $29.95
We have a deal on the Sinji Borescope, a flexible inspection camera designed to provide a quick and easy overview of hard to reach areas. It comes with a 2-meter cable and 6 adjustable LEDs for lighting your view. It also comes with a hook and magnet for retrieving objects. It’s $29.95 through our deal.
HBO Max Won't Count Against AT&T Data Caps
Streaming on HBO Max will not count against your AT&T data cap, The Verge reported. Not surprisingly, the same does not apply to rival streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, or Apple TV+.
According to an AT&T executive familiar with the matter, HBO Max is using AT&T’s “sponsored data” system, which technically allows any company to pay to excuse its services from data caps. But since AT&T owns HBO Max, it’s just paying itself: the data fee shows up on the HBO Max books as an expense and on the AT&T Mobility books as revenue. For AT&T as a whole, it zeroes out. Compare that to a competitor like Netflix, which could theoretically pay AT&T for sponsored data, but it would be a pure cost. That’s why the last time we looked at AT&T’s sponsored data system, the only three streaming services we could find using it… were owned by AT&T. It’s also why sponsored data systems fly in the face of net neutrality principles.
Apple Pencil in Black Could be on the Way
The Apple Pencil has, thus far, only been available in white. However, AppleInsider picked up on rumors that it may become available in black in the not too distant future.
There haven’t been any rumors about a potential Apple Pencil refresh, though the stylus was last updated in 2018 alongside an iPad Pro overhaul, three years after it first debuted in 2015. Currently, the Apple Pencil is only available in white. On Tuesday, Twitter user Mr. white (@laobaiTD) posted a vague statement that the “New Apple Pencil is Black.” Because of the lack of information, it isn’t clear when a third-generation Apple Pencil could launch, or what the speculation is based on.
That Time Steve Jobs Taught Bill Atkinson About Rounded Rectangles
Here’s a humorous little story from Andy Hertzfeld, a member of Apple’s original Macintosh team. Bill Atkinson did some clever programming to draw circles and ovals quickly on a Mac. But Steve Jobs had something else in mind.
Bill fired up his demo and it quickly filled the Lisa screen with randomly-sized ovals, faster than you thought was possible. But something was bothering Steve Jobs. “Well, circles and ovals are good, but how about drawing rectangles with rounded corners? Can we do that now, too?”
Nearly 10 Percent of U.S. Households Have Apple TV+ Subscription
Apple doesn’t give figures, but a new survey suggests that close to 10 percent of U.S. households may be Apple TV+ subscribers.
Apple's Charitable Efforts, Music App Updates – TMO Daily Observations 2020-06-02
Charlotte Henry joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple’s support for to the Equal Justice Initiative and other orgs in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and changes to the Music app for #BlackoutTuesday.
How the ‘Untappd’ Beer App Was Used to Track Military, CIA Movements
Researchers were able to use beer rating app Untappd to track the location history of military and CIA personnel.
Examples of users that can be tracked this way include a U.S. drone pilot, along with a list of both domestic and overseas military bases he has visited, a naval officer, who checked in at the beach next to Guantanamo’s bay detention center as well as several times at the Pentagon, and a senior intelligence officer with over seven thousand check-ins, domestic and abroad. Senior officials at the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force are included as well.
Not even the CIA is safe against the data industrial complex.
Smartphone Sales Dropped 20 Percent in Q1 2020, With Samsung and Huawei Worst Hit
Smartphone sales to end users collapsed by 20.2 percent in q1 2020, with Apple weathering the storm better than most of its big rivals.
Apple’s Research App Updated With Survey and Hearing Test
Apple updated its Research app today with a COVID-19 survey for participants in the Heart and Movement Study, and a new test for those in the Hearing Study.
Security Researcher Believes Mac Backdoor ‘Tiny Shell” Still Being Used
Mac security researcher Jaron Bradley says he believes hackers are still using an open source macOS backdoor called “Tiny SHell.”
Tinyshell is an open source tool that operates like a shady version of SSH. It’s been a while since I’ve encountered a new sample, but I fully believe attackers are still out there using it. If you watched the Macdoored talk then you’ve seen what attackers are doing “post mortem” with this tool. However, no technical details have been discussed about the malware itself.
Apple Music and Beats 1 Mark Blackout Tuesday in Support of Black Lives Matter
Apple Music and the Beats 1 radio station are marking the Blackout Tuesday campaign in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Theresa Kang-Lowe Signs Multi-Year Deal With Apple TV+
Former talent agency partner at WME Theresa Kang-Lowe is starting her own management company with an Apple TV+ deal.
Earn $50 in Apple Cash When You Spend $50 at Walgreens
Apple and Walgreens are teaming up to offer a deal for new Apple Card customers: Spend US$50 and get US$50 in Daily Apple Cash.
Apple Pay Rolls Out Support for Hong Kong Octopus Card
Apple is rolling out Apple Pay support for Octopus Card, Hong Kong’s popular card for transit and retail.
Amazon No Longer Including Item Details in Order and Shipment Emails
Users have started to notice that Amazon does not include the items you’ve ordered in its confirmation and shipment emails. One Daring Fireball, John Gruber owners whether it is a bid to stop others scraping the data.
Amazon no longer puts a list of items in order confirmation and shipment notice emails. Almost certainly they’re doing this to thwart email-scraping data harvesters from obtaining information about Amazon sales. All sorts of companies harvest this info, and people volunteer to let them do it (including Edison Mail, the iOS mail client whose recent egregious bug granted full access to email accounts to random other users — at least they’re up front about it in their “how we use data” statement). Edison is far from alone in this — there’s an entire cottage industry of email clients and “tools” whose entire business model is based on scraping their users’ email for e-commerce trends. So, from the Department of This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Amazon has responded by removing product information from its emails.
Amtrak Data Breach Affects Guest Rewards Accounts
Discovered on April 16, 2020, Amtrak suffered a data breach that affects its Amtrak Guest Rewards accounts.
The attack vector involved was compromised usernames and passwords, which may suggest the use of credentials previously leaked or stolen, or the use of brute-force methods.
Amtrak says that some personal information was viewable, although the company has not specifically said what data may have been compromised. However, Amtrak was keen to emphasize that Social Security numbers, credit card information, and other financial data was not involved in the data leak.