Link

Microsoft Updates Privacy Terms Following EU Probe

Charlotte Henry ·

Microsoft updated the data privacy terms and conditions in its commercial cloud contracts on Monday, Reuters reported. It followed the EU finding that the company did not protect data in line with EU law.

The EDPS, the EU’s data watchdog, opened an investigation in April to assess whether Microsoft’s contracts with the European Commission and other EU institutions met data protection rules. It raised concerns about compliance in October. In a statement on its website addressing the issue, Microsoft said: “We will increase our data protection responsibilities for a subset of processing that Microsoft engages in when we provide enterprise services.” The company, the only major cloud provider to offer such terms in the European Economic Area and beyond, expects to offer the new provisions to public sector and enterprise customers in early 2020.

Link

Tim Cook to Talk with Marc Benioff at Salesforce Conference Tomorrow

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple CEO Tim Cook will talk with Salesforce boss Marc Benioff tomorrow at the firm’s Dreamforce conference, MacRumors reported.  It will take place at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time at the Yerba Buena Theater, and will also be live-streamed. It also announced new iOS enterprise apps.

Apple and Salesforce formed a strategic partnership in 2018. Salesforce has since redesigned its customer relationship management app with support for the latest features on iPhone and iPad, including Siri Shortcuts and Face ID. The new Salesforce app is available in the App Store. Salesforce has also announced a Trailhead GO learning app with more than 700 modules covering business and tech skills. Trailhead GO is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Additional features, including support for Dark Mode and Sign in with Apple, are expected to be available later this year.

Link

Twelve South’s AirFly Pro is a Bluetooth Headphone Adapter

Andrew Orr ·

AirFly Pro is a wireless headphone adapter that plugs into a headphone jack to let you use your Bluetooth headphones on devices that don’t support Bluetooth, like the Nintendo Switch.

AirFly Pro works with most popular wireless headphones and earbuds. Even when you pair two sets of headphones with AirFly Pro, you can use any combination of wireless headphone brands. You connect your wireless headphones to this little splitter pretty much the same way you would pair your favorite headphones with any other wireless devices, such as your iPhone.

You can pick one up starting at US$54.99.

TMO Deals

This 1,300mAh Portable Charger Fits on Your Keyring: $34

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a neat portable charger designed to fit on your keyring. It has a 1,300mAh capacity and an integrated, retractable Lightning port for when you need that quick, emergency charge. It’s $39.99 through our deal, but coupon code BFSAVE15 at checkout brings the price down to $34. I’m linking to the Lightning model, as described, but there are also USB-C and micro USB options in the deal listing, and that coupon code works on them, too.

Link

GitHub Preserves its Code in the Arctic World Archive

Andrew Orr ·

GitHub plans to store all of its open source code in the Arctic World Archive to prepare for possible doomsday scenarios.

The data is stored on reels of film coated with iron oxide powder. It can be read by a computer or — in the event of a global power outage — a human with a magnifying glass. Crucially, this film will last for 1,000 years. Among the first data deposit at the vault is the source code for Android and Linux operations systems, as well as a range of programming languages, web platforms, cryptocurrencies and AI tools. GitHub is planning on having all active public repositories stored by February 2020.

This sounds like a neat project. It also sounds like the Arctic World Archive is “around the corner” from the Doomsday seed vault, another preservation project. Note: The photo I chose for the featured image is of that seed vault.

Link

The 16-Inch MacBook Pro Provides Plenty of Reasons to go Back to Mac

Charlotte Henry ·

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro has certainly generated a lot of excitement. Cult of Mac‘s Charlie Sorrell said the device will be the first new Mac he has bought in six years.

The thing that really makes me want a new Mac right now is that macOS and iOS are now very tightly integrated. Handoff means you really can switch between devices at will, even when working on the same article. And Sidecar means that I can use touch, and the Apple Pencil, on Mac apps like Ableton Live and Logic. And all the while, I can enjoy the superior customization options of the Mac. It’s a win-win. Albeit a really expensive one. If I wasn’t in a hurry to move (partially) back to the Mac, I’d wait for the MacBook Air to get its keyboard replaced, or for the first ARM Mac to appear. As it is, I’m happy buying the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Finally a Way to Batch-Rename Files on iOS
Cool Stuff Found

Finally a Way to Batch-Rename Files on iOS

Andrew Orr ·

Every since I bought an iPad Pro I’ve been able to conduct most of my work and personal life on my iPad. But I still need my MacBook Pro for a couple things, like using Automator to batch-rename files (renaming multiple files simultaneously). This isn’t possible to do on iOS, until now. A shortcut I found on RoutineHub lets you do this. It lets you rename your files in custom formats, like alphabetically, prepending text, sorting by date modified, etc.

Link

A Major New Security Feature is Coming to iOS 13.3

Charlotte Henry ·

iOS 13.3 is heading our way soon, and it is set to contain a powerful new security feature. Forbes reported that it will support NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari.

The move is revealed in Apple’s release notes for the second developer beta, which says iOS 13.3 supports NFC, USB, and Lightning FIDO2-compliant security keys in Safari. In other words, when the iOS 13.3 update drops, you will able to use physical security keys such as Yubico’s iPhone compatible YubiKey 5Ci–which was previously unavailable to browsers such as Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. However, it could be used with some password manager apps such as 1Password.

Link

Facebook is Fine With Political Lies But Bans Pro-Vaccination Ads

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is happy to let politicians lie in advertisements on the platform, but it bans pro-vaccination ads that are rooted in science.

The study, published today in the journal Vaccine…found that a small group of “well-connected, powerful people” promoting broad anti-vaccination messages had successfully leveraged the platform’s targeted advertising service to reach select audiences…Meanwhile, those behind pro-vaccine messages well far less well funded and centralised, with their advertising often focusing on inoculating against specific conditions.

Link

The New Motorola Razr is a Blast From the Past

Andrew Orr ·

The Motorola Razr is back. It’s still a flip phone but it’s a foldable screen with the old UI skinned on top of it, and it’s US$1,500.

As I fold the Motorola Razr in half for the first time, it becomes clear that the Razr — with its foldable 6.2-inch screen, 16-megapixel double-duty camera and $1,500 price tag — is the best designed, most completely thought-out foldable phone to date. Streamlined. Utterly pocketable. Nostalgic, with a sharp futuristic edge.

I still think foldable phones are a bit gimmicky for now, but a phone that folds vertically makes more sense to me than a phone that unfolds horizontally to become a tablet-like device.