Backblaze Storage Pod Celebrates 10 Years

Ten years ago, cloud storage company Backblaze introduced the Storage Pod. It’s a custom-built server for reliable, cheap storage. Today is the Pod’s 10th Anniversary.

Back in 2007, when we started Backblaze, there wasn’t a whole lot of affordable choices for storing large quantities of data. Our goal was to charge $5/month for unlimited data storage for one computer. We decided to build our own storage servers when it became apparent that, if we were to use the other solutions available, we’d have to charge a whole lot more money. Storage Pod 1.0 allowed us to store one petabyte of data for about $81,000. Today we’ve lowered that to about $35,000 with Storage Pod 6.0.

It’s an interesting, worthwhile read. Backblaze is a good cloud storage provider in my opinion.

No No-Deal Brexit Could Lead to a Data Disaster

Data currently flows freely between the UK and other EU countries. Daphne Leprince-Ringuet Wired explained why a no-deal Brexit could put this in jeopardy.

The UK is part of the mutually agreed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018 and covers its European members with the world’s strongest data protection rules. This means that personal information gathered in other GDPR-protected countries can enter the UK with no barriers, as it is assured that data will be equally protected in the country. The UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 supplements GDPR, and in some cases goes slightly further, making the UK’s rules more stringent in some specific cases. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Data Protection Act will ensure that personal information processed in the UK will keep enjoying the same level of protection they do now. Still, under EU law, the UK will be automatically considered a third country not bound by GDPR rules, and able to diverge from the current strong standards if parliament so decides. Consequently, data from EU countries would not be able to flow freely to the UK.

How to Prepare Your iPad and Update to iPadOS

A bit ahead of schedule, Apple is releasing iOS 13.1 and iPadOS today. I wrote an update guide for iOS 13 and I’ll share that as a linked teaser, because the steps are identical for iPadOS. Just make sure that your iPad is properly backed up to iCloud or iTunes.

Once your iPhone is backed up, you’re ready to install iOS 13. You can either do so via iTunes, or right on your device. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. After a second or two, iOS 13 will appear and you can tap the install button. You can also enable the option for automatic backups. Like iCloud Backup, your iPhone will update automatically.

Users Have Right to Be Forgotten by Google, But Only in the EU

The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that users have a right to be forgotten by Google. However, Reuters reported, this only applies in the EU.

In its judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union said the right to have personal data protected was not an absolute right. “The balance between the right to privacy and the protection of personal data, on the one hand, and the freedom of information of internet users, on the other, is likely to vary significantly around the world,” it added. Google welcomed the decision, saying: “It’s good to see that the court agreed with our arguments.” The world’s predominant internet search engine has previously warned of the dangers of overreach by Europe. In a blog post two years ago, it said there should be a balance between sensitive personal data and the public interest and no country should be able to impose rules on citizens of another.

As It Turns Out, Yahoo Isn't Actually Dead Yet

In today’s weird news, apparently Yahoo is still around. I only know this because they recently created a new logo, and now the media is reporting on it. Which, of course, was the point. This is Yahoo’s God’s Not Dead moment.

The new logo keeps the purple and the exclamation point, but it ditches any remnants of the company’s many previous marks. Instead, the Pentagram-designed identity is crisp and friendly, with thick and curvy letterforms. Its main surprise is its exclamation point, which is slanted like an italic. To be exact, that slanted angle sits at 22.5 degrees—and it recurs throughout the new branding.

The new exclamation mark is rebellious yet familiar—and definitely masculine, as if Yahoo is wielding it like a club to beat out of your head the knowledge that Yahoo Mail was the biggest data breach so far.

Mac Pro Problems Cause Chaos in Hollywood

Problems in Hollywood as Mac Pros refused to reboot and rumors about a virus attack swirled. Variety reports there were major issues with older versions of macOS and AVID’s Media Composer software.

Film and TV editors across Los Angeles were sweating Monday evening as their workstations were refusing to reboot, resulting in speculations about a possible computer virus attack. Social media reports suggested that the issue was widespread among users of Mac Pro computers running older versions of Apple’s operating system as well as AVID’s Media Composer software… Other users reported that multiple computers at their company were affected by the issue, with social media chatter indicating that a number of different companies were affected by the issue.

Facebook Abuses Collected in Snap's 'Project Voldemort'

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, reportedly has a dossier of anticompetitive behavior Facebook carried out over the years, dubbed Project Voldemort.

According to the WSJ, Snap’s legal team recorded instances where Facebook discouraged prominent social media influencers with a presence on multiple platforms from mentioning Snap on their Instagram accounts. Snap executives also suspected Facebook was suppressing content that originated on Snap from trending on Instagram, when such content was shared there.

Apple Watch Helps Save Mountain Biker

An Apple Watch is credited with helping to save the life of a mountain biker after he suffered a bad fall while biking.

Dad flipped his bike at the bottom of Doomsday, hit his head and was knocked out until sometime during the ambulance ride. The watch had called 911 with his location and EMS had him scooped up and to the hospital in under a 1/2 hr. The fire dept. took his bike back to the station. My brother was already driving by the the hospital when the second update came in and was able to be with him right away.

NordVPN 1-Year Subscription: $60

We have a deal on a 1-year subscription to NordVPN. All data sent through NordVPN’s private tunnels is double encrypted (double data SSL-based 2048-bit encryption). There are 3,521 servers in 61 countries, you can connect up to 6 devices, and you get unlimited data. The company has a no-log policy, too, and it will work with Mac, iOS, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android devices. One year of NordVPN is $60 through us, and there’s a 2-year option available in the deal listing, too.

Universe Splitter Lets You Play With Quantum Mechanics

Everett’s many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics says that there is a single wave function for the entire universe, and at the moment of measurement, the universal wave function splits in two. You see one measurement, and the you in the other universe sees another measurement. Universe Splitter lets you play with this theory. Type two choices into the app. The app will split the wave function in two by activating a quantum device that will send a single photon into an “either/or” state. Then, the app will tell you which universe you’re in. Unfortunately, Many Worlds says that the universes can’t communicate with each other, so you’ll never be able to talk to your copies. App Store: Universe Splitter – US$1.99

iOS 13 Could Be Google and Facebook's Worst Nightmare

Improved privacy and security is a big part of iOS 13. Apple is also used its release to highlight the data collection practices of Facebook and Google. As Kate O’Flaherty noted at Forbes, this could put them under a lot of pressure.

People are certainly becoming more aware of the way their data is used, following incidents such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In this context, many of the changes could be seen as a direct blow to Apple’s rivals Google and Facebook: iOS 13 highlights their data collection practices and gives iPhone users the opportunity to stop them. In this way, it’s an attack on Facebook and Google’s business models. It’s true: There are many apps that track you and collect data on you, and iOS 13 will affect all of these. But it is also worth considering the position that Apple holds in the market. When Apple speaks, people listen.

Analyst Shares Typically Bearish Take on iPhone 11

Jun Zhang of Rosenblatt Securities tends to be pretty Bearish on Apple. His latest notes, seen by Apple Insider, are no exception.

In the latest essay, provided to investors on Monday, Zhang offers dour opinions on the sales of the new iPhones. The iPhone 11 is estimated to make up around 60% of total new model sales, with the iPhone 11 Pro Max at around 22% and the iPhone 11 Pro at 18%. The product mix is skewed towards the iPhone 11 in Rosenblatt’s view more than last year, which saw iPhone XR sales make up 55% of the total, with the iPhone XS Max at about 30% and the iPhone XS at around 15%. The change in mix is obviously going to affect the average selling price (ASP), which Zhang predicts will be between 10% and 15% lower than the second half of 2018, with between 68 and 70 million new iPhones thought to ship this year.