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Energizer SPOT LED Tag Lets You See and Find Your Furry Friend
LAS VEGAS, NV — Energizer is showing SPOT LED Tag for seeing and finding your furry friend, the latest entry in their Energizer Pets line, at CES 2020.
Withings Ups the Health Watch Game with ScanWatch
LAS VEGAS, NV — Withings is adding a third entry to their health watch lineup with ScanWatch, offering both ECG and SPO2 sensing.
Lumicharge Updates Their Multifunction Device Lineup with LumiCharge LD
LAS VEGAS, NV — LumiCharge is showing a new version of their multifunction device, the Lumicharge LD, at CES 2020.
PSA: People Have Been Getting Fake Military Draft Texts
The U.S. Army is warning Americans about fake military draft texts going around. They tell you to report to the nearest Army recruiter “for immediate departure to Iran.”
Some of the fake texts used real names of Army recruiting commanders — while others used fictitious names — lending the false appearance of authenticity, said Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for the US Army Recruiting Command.
US military conscription was suspended in the 1970s. To resume the draft, Congress would need to enact legislation, according to the Selective Service System, the independent agency that would manage the draft in an emergency.
CES Picks, Happy Birthday Aqua – TMO Daily Observations 2020-01-08
Andrew Orr and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss their CES picks, and Bryan and Kelly reminisce about Aqua’s lickable design.
Twitter Adds Touch Bar And Sidecar Support to Official Mac App
The official Twitter app for Mac got an upgrade. It added Touch Bar shortcuts and now supports integration with an iPad via Sidecar, Cult of Mac reported.
The version 8.5 update makes it so that you can put Twitter for Mac on your iPad when using Sidecar. It also adds some (but not many) Touch Bar shortcuts for those using a MacBook Pro. Touch Bar support is basic for now. You’ll see a compose tweet button, plus a toggle that lets you quickly switch between your most recent and most relevant timelines. There’s a lot of empty space for now. Nevertheless, it’s a good start. Future updates will likely add other useful buttons for things like direct messages, search, lists, and more.
CES 2020: Satechi Releases Mega 108W USB-C Desktop Charger
Satechi unveiled a massive 108 watt USB-C PD desktop charger with two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports to charge up to four devices at once.
Ideal for the home, office or travel, the 108W Pro USB-C PD Desktop Charger features an ultra-sleek and modern design that complements users’ favorite accessories. Compatible with a wide variety of USB-C devices, the charger combines four ports into one compact, high-speed power bank, making it the only charger user’s need to take with them while on-the-go.
It’s available now to purchase for US$79.99.
CES 2020: Twitter’s New ‘Conversation Participants’ Feature
Twitter’s director of product management Suzanne Xie announced a feature coming later this year called Conversation Participants.
PaMu Slide Mini Bluetooth 5.0 Earphones: $59.99
We have a deal on a pair of PaMu Slide Mini Bluetooth 5.0 earphones. They offer Bluetooth 5.0 audio quality, up to 10 hours of talk time, and they’re designed to stay in your ears. They come with a charging case, and they’re rated IP6 water and sweat-resistant. These earphones are $59.99 through our deal.
CES 2020: Apple Privacy Chief Defends Company Stance on Encryption and Backdoors
Apple’s senior director for global privacy, Jane Horvath, spoke on a panel at CES. She used the opportunity to defend the company’s stance on user privacy, speaking out in favor of encryption and preventing software backdoors, according to MacRumors.
Jane Horvath, Apple’s senior director for global privacy, joined an all-female panel consisting of representatives from Facebook, Procter & Gamble and the Federal Trade Commission. During the discussion, Horvath defended Apple’s use of encryption to protect customer data on mobile devices. “Our phones are relatively small and they get lost and stolen,” Horvath said. “If we’re going to be able to rely on our health data and finance data on our devices, we need to make sure that if you misplace that device, you’re not losing your sensitive data.” Apple has held a consistent position regarding its use of encryption, even if that means it has limited ability to help law enforcement access data on devices involved in criminal investigations.
Apple Wins Patent for Variable Illumination System for Keyboards
Apple has been granted a patent for a variable internal illumination color system, according to Patently Apple. Such a system could be used in keyboards and other devices.
Apple’s granted patent covers devices, systems and methods that implement variable internal illumination of input devices of electronic equipment. Input devices include keys of computer keyboards, contact areas on a contact pad (trackpad), buttons on instrument control panels, buttons on a computer mouse, and the like. Rather than having a fixed tone (such as a perceived “warmth” or “coolness”, and/or a particular color component such as a hue) or color for the light emitted by the internal illumination, user experience can be improved by using variable internal illumination, i.e., internal illumination that can be varied dynamically during operation of the electronic device.
Sonos Suing Google Over Alleged Patent Infringemenets
Sonos launched legal action against Google, alleging that the search giant stole its multiroom speaker technology.
Samsung Announces Biometric SSD T7 Touch
Samsung announced a biometric SSD called T7 Touch. It’s secured by your fingerprint for an extra layer of security.
Share Your Best iPhone Night Mode Photos to Contest
Starting today through January 29, Apple is holding an iPhone Night Mode contest. Judges will determine the five best photos.
CES 2020: iHeart Media Announces Major Automotive Integrations
iHeartMedia announced upcoming automotive integrations for its iHeartRadio music streaming service and new partnerships at CES.
Texas Sees Surge in Iranian Cyber Attacks
Texas officials say they’ve seen an increase in Iranian cyber attacks. Over the past two days as many as “10,000 probes…per minute” came from the country.
Speaking after a meeting of the Texas Domestic Terrorism Task Force, of which she’s a member, Crawford of the state information resources agency said as far as she knows, none of the attempted cyberattacks on state government networks originating in Iran have been successful.
App Store Brought in $1.4 Billion Between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
Apple celebrated its services, revealing that customers spent a record-breaking $1.42 billion between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve 2019.
Apple Files Trademark for Dark Mode Icons
Apple filed a trademark today that shows a Dark Mode version of the Apple Music icon. It’s possible they could appear in iOS 14.
Here’s What Data is Accessible With Cloud Forensics
When a company like Cellebrite or GrayKey use their devices to break into your iPhone, it’s not just your local data that can be accessed. Using various types of “cloud forensics” or cloud extraction technology, they can get your data in the cloud as well. It’s a long read but worth it.
Cellebrite’s UFED Cloud Analyzer, for example, uses login credentials that can be extracted from the device to then pull a history of searches, visited pages, voice search recording and translations from Google web history and view text searches conducted with Chrome and Safari on iOS devices backed-up iCloud.
CES – Speck's Presidio2 Cases Use Air Capsules to Suspend and Protect your iPhone
LAS VEGAS – At Pepcom here at CES on Monday, Speck was showing off their latest Presidio2 line of cases that use Presidio2 Armor Cloud technology. Like an air bag for your iPhone, Presidio2 incorporates air capsules around edge to resist damage upon impact, cushioning your iPhone when it falls and keeping things safe. Expect to see these available in the spring.
Travelex Infected With Sodinokibi Ransomware, Attacker Wants $3M
A cyber attack infected international foreign currency exchange Travelex with Sodinokibi ransomware. The attackers are demanding US$3 million.
The attack occurred on December 31 and affected some Travelex services. This prompted the company to take offline all its computer systems, a precaution meant “to protect data and prevent the spread of the virus.”
We were told that they deleted the backup files and that the ransom demanded was $3 million; if not paid in seven days (countdown likely started on December 31), the attackers said they will publish the data they stole.
CES - Chronolife Debuts Medical Monitoring Solution with Nexkin
LAS VEGAS, NV — Chronolife is showing Nexkin, a wearable medical monitoring solution, at CES Unveiled 2020.
CES 2020: AURA Strap for Apple Watch Launches in April
Last year at CES 2019 AURA announced an Apple Watch smart strap that could measure body composition, and it ships in April.
MoneyWiz 3 Personal Finance: $19.99
We have a deal on MoneyWiz 3, a personal finance app for the Mac, with 4.4 stars out of 5 on the Mac App Store. You can enter transactions manually, import bank statements or connect to your bank for automatic updates. It also features budgets and its own cloud syncing service. This app is $19.99 through our deal, and it includes and license for the Standard Version (normally $49.99) that includes multi-device sync but excludes online banking access.