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Amazon No Longer Including Item Details in Order and Shipment Emails

Charlotte Henry ·

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.

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Amtrak Data Breach Affects Guest Rewards Accounts

Andrew Orr ·

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.

Podcast

Writer and Podcaster Antony Johnston - TMO BGM Interview

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Antony Johnston is a New York Times bestselling writer and podcaster. The Charlize Theron movie Atomic Blonde is based on his graphic novel; his Brigitte Sharp thrillers are critically acclaimed; and Dead Space, his first videogame, redefined its genre. He also hosts a writer’s podcast.

Antony told me about how he transformed his career as graphics artist into successful graphic novels and video game scripting. Later, on his Mac, he delved into novel writing (with Scrivener), most notably the Brigitte Sharp thrillers. Antony recounted how his graphic novel The Coldest City came to be made into a theatrical movie, Atomic Blonde. And to top it all off, Antony told me about his podcast “Writing and Breathing,” a show about “why, how, and what we write,” in which he chats with fellow authors of all kinds.

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‘Hybri’ Can Create a Virtual Companion Based on Real People

Andrew Orr ·

A company called Hybri is creating virtual AI companions that live in augmented and virtual reality. But a feature that may prove to be controversial is letting users scan a photo of a real person to superimpose on the avatars.

But the creepiest feature of Hybri is its Photoscan, which allows you to add a real person’s face to the avatar. That means your unrequited love or celebrity crush could soon become your virtual partner — whether they want to or not.

It sounds like a cool idea to me, but it probably won’t pass the App Store review team.

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Mid-2012 MacBook Pro to Become 'Obsolete'

Charlotte Henry ·

The mid-2012 MacBook Pro is to become “obsolete” at the end of June, according to a memo seen by MacRumors. It means the 15″ device, the first MacBook Pro with a Retina Display, will no longer be eligible for hardware services from Apple.

In an internal memo today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that this particular MacBook Pro model will be marked as “obsolete” worldwide on June 30, 2020, just over eight years after its release. In a support document, Apple notes that obsolete products are no longer eligible for hardware service, with “no exceptions.” Apple already classified the 2012 MacBook Pro as “vintage” in 2018, but it has still continued to service the notebook as part of a pilot program, subject to parts availability. With the 2012 MacBook Pro transitioning to “obsolete” status at the end of this month, it would appear that the notebook will no longer be eligible for any official repairs.

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Apple Card Customers Allowed to Defer June Payment Due to COVID-19 Outbreak

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Card customers can defer payments set for June, 9to5Mac reported. That will be the third month in which Apple and Goldman Sachs have allowed such a deferral, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In response to the continued coronavirus outbreak, Apple and Goldman Sachs are allowing customers to skip their Apple Card payments without incurring interest charges. Apple Card holders should receive an email announcing this “Customer Assistance Program”…  Apple and Goldman Sachs have once again announced an extension of the Apple Card Customer Assistance Program, allowing users to skip their June payments without penalty. Learn how to join the Customer Assistance Program here. |We understand that the COVID-19 situation poses unique challenges for everyone and some customers may have difficulty making their monthly payments. Should you need assistance, please click here to be connected to Apple Card Support via Messages and enroll in our Customer Assistance Program, which will allow you to skip your June payment without incurring interest charges. If you previously enrolled in the Customer Assistance Program, you will need to enroll again.

Podcast

Backtick is Zoomalicious (in Preview) – Mac Geek Gab 817

John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Who knew one key could do THAT? Plus, you can take iPhone pics right from your Mac desktop. Lots of quick tips.

And then a quick discussion about tech support in the time of social distancing. We’ve heard from a few consultants who help John and Dave suss that out.

Wi-Fi is always popular, and this week marks a return to some in-depth discussions about various configurations, including expanding your Wi-Fi… and that of your friends and family members. Plus we’ve got Cool Stuff Found and more. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things with your two favorite geeks!

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Smartphone App Lets Fans Cheer, or Jeer, Their Team as Soccer Returns

Charlotte Henry ·

Soccer leagues around the world are starting to return, with games being played in empty stadiums. When players in Japan next take to the pitch they could be cheered, or jeered, by fans using a smartphone app, the Guardian reported.

The Remote Cheerer system developed by the Japanese firm Yamaha allows fans following the match on TV, the radio or online to encourage – or berate – players via their smartphones, their voices reverberating around the stadium in realtime via loudspeakers. In a recent field test, users in multiple remote locations chose from a range of on-screen options that sent their cheers, applause, chants and boos into the 50,000-seat Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa via 58 speakers set up among the empty seats.