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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

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How Netflix Makes the World Smaller With International Culture

Andrew Orr ·

An opinion piece by Farhad Manjoo caught my eye. He writes how, instead of Netflix exporting American culture, it shares international culture with everyone.

Despite a supposed surge in nationalism across the globe, many people like to watch movies and TV shows from other countries. “What we’re learning is that people have very diverse and eclectic tastes, and if you provide them with the world’s stories, they will be really adventurous, and they will find something unexpected,” Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president for original content, told me.

Mr. Manjoo also mentions the difference between Netflix and other tech companies. Netflix sells subscriptions, not advertising. I think this is an important difference, in case foreigners get a negative impression from our typically garish ads.

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Facebook Shuts Down Onavo Spyware...We Think

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is shutting down its Onavo spyware VPN and associated “research” app. That is, if you believe anything Facebook says.

To preempt any more scandals around Onavo and the Facebook Research app and avoid Google stepping in to forcibly block the apps, Facebook is now taking Onavo off the Play Store and stopping recruitment of Research testers. That’s a surprising voluntary move that perhaps shows Facebook is finally getting in tune with the public perception of its shady actions.

Eh, I wouldn’t go that far. Not with Facebook blaming users when it screws them over.

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Not Satisfied With 5G, Trump Wants 6G Cellular

Andrew Orr ·

Although 5G is barely out the door when it comes to adoption, President Trump isn’t satisfied. He tweeted that he wants 6G.

I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on………

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How This New York Times Reporter Uses Apple Notes for Her Job

Andrew Orr ·

Isabella Kwai has “disturbingly agile millennial thumbs” because she prefers to use Apple Notes instead of pen and paper. Ms. Kwai is a New York Times reporter and writes about her technology.

I still keep a notebook on hand that I’ll occasionally use. But to be honest, I have atrocious handwriting, and deciphering it is arduous. Instead, I use the Notes app. I find it easier to write up thoughts and notes that way — though once, it did freak out a source, who asked me how I was able to type and look her in the eye. (Disturbingly agile millennial thumbs is how.)

I love reading about the tech other people use in their work and personal lives. I’m a big user of Apple Notes with close to 1,000 notes, although my thumbs aren’t very agile.

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Save on Fandango Tickets for the Oscars With Apple Pay

Andrew Orr ·

By using Apple Pay you can save US$5 off two Fandango tickets just in time to watch the Oscars.

During the checkout process, enter the code APPLEGOLD and use Apple Pay to complete your order. This will take $5 off your movie tickets, and you have until February 24 to use the promo code.

You’ll have to buy two or more tickets in a single transaction in the Fandango app or on its website in order to get the discount.

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This Google Nest Device Has a Secret Microphone

Andrew Orr ·

The Nest Secure smart home hub has had a secret microphone this whole time. But poor Google just plain forgot to tell us.

On Tuesday, a Google spokesperson told Business Insider the company had made an “error.” “The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part,” the spokesperson said.

Silly Google, tricks are for kids. Also, get a HomePod.

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Feds Share Terrorist Watch List With 1,400 Private Companies

Andrew Orr ·

The federal government shares its terrorist watch list with over 1,400 private companies, including hospitals and universities. The government has insisted for years it doesn’t share it with private companies, only to have lied this whole time. Why would it be a big deal? It’s relatively easy for innocent people to end up on the list.

The government’s admission comes in a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Alexandria by Muslims who say they regularly experience difficulties in travel, financial transactions and interactions with law enforcement because they have been wrongly added to the list. The Associated Press is the first to report on the disclosure after reviewing the case documents.

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Sharenting is When You Over Share Your Kid Online

Andrew Orr ·

There’s a new phenomenon called sharenting. This is when parents share a large portion of their kids’ lives to the internet, usually without their consent.

Recently a parenting blogger wrote in a Washington Post essay that despite her 14-year-old daughter’s horror at discovering that her mother had shared years of highly personal stories and information about her online, she simply could not stop posting on her blog and social media. The writer claimed that promising her daughter that she would stop posting about her publicly on the internet “would mean shutting down a vital part of myself, which isn’t necessarily good for me or her.”

That was the most ridiculous part to read. Good grief, the world isn’t going to end because you can’t post about your kid anymore Karen. No one cares about them except you.

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iFixit: We Are All Geniuses, Advocates Right to Repair

Andrew Orr ·

Writing for iFixit, Kay Kay Clapp advocates for the right to repair devices and says we are all geniuses.

If all this feels a bit dystopian, take heart! Thanks to repair advocates and brave netizens around the world, the tide is starting to change. This year, Right to Repair legislation has been successfully introduced in 18 states. The movement continues to spread—and for the first time, European repair allies have introduced their own version of repair legislation.

I think it’s nice that people can repair their devices, but it can also be a security risk. If it’s easy for you to repair, it’s easy for bad guys to “repair” and put hardware implants into your device.

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Universal Apps Could Include macOS

Andrew Orr ·

An issue I see with this is pricing. People are used to cheap iOS apps, but if you applied the same pricing to macOS apps, that would be bad for developers. Would the price of universal apps fall somewhere in the middle? Or would everything be a subscription? Apple clearly wants the latter, but no one wants a bunch of subscriptions either.

By 2021, developers will be able to merge iPhone, iPad, and Mac applications into one app or what is known as a “single binary.” This means developers won’t have to submit their work to different Apple App Stores, allowing iOS apps to be downloaded directly from Mac computers — effectively combining the stores.

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Public macOS Mojave 10.14.4 Beta 3 Is Out

Andrew Orr ·

The third public beta of macOS Mojave 10.14.4 is out two weeks after the second beta to developers.

The macOS Mojave update can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store after downloading the appropriate profile from Apple’s beta testing website. Apple’s beta testing site gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.

macOS Mojave 10.14.4 will bring Apple News in Canada, Touch ID Safari Autofill, and automatic Dark Mode in Safari.

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Millennials Should Kill The Medical Industrial Complex

Andrew Orr ·

Big Pharma isn’t satisfied with old-fashioned television ads. Now they’re partnering with Instagram influencers.

In a pink tutu against a pink backdrop, Erin Ziering, wife of former 90210 star Ian Ziering, advertises Allergan breast implants and Botox side by side in a December 2018 post — the same month the company pulled its textured implants from European markets in response to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration that individuals with breast implants are at risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).

Let’s put the “medical industrial complex” on the list of things millennials should kill. Maybe then we wouldn’t have Goldman Sachs asking whether curing patients is sustainable.