Private tax companies don’t want you to know this, but if your income is below US$66,000 the IRS offers free tax filing software. If your income is above US$66,000 you can still file for free, but you’ll have to do it manually with fillable forms. However, thanks to the long government shutdown this year, tax returns will end up being late.
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.
Articles by Andrew Orr
Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Partner on Stroke Prevention Study
It’s not known how many participants will be in the study, or how long the study will run.
Collection 1 is a Massive New Data Breach
Troy Hunt, creator of the Have I Been Pwned? tool, wrote a blog post about the latest data breach called Collection 1.
Let’s start with the raw numbers because that’s the headline, then I’ll drill down into where it’s from and what it’s composed of. Collection #1 is a set of email addresses and passwords totaling 2,692,818,238 rows.It’s made up of many different individual data breaches from literally thousands of different sources.
To find out if your account credentials were leaked, visit haveibeenpwned.com.
Facebook Ad Preferences Lists User Traits, Interests
Maybe you knew this or maybe not, but under Facebook ad preferences you’ll see a list of traits and interests the platform associates with you.
Questions for Apple in 2019
Since 2015 Above Avalon has published a list of questions for Apple, across hardware, software, services, and “big picture.” Here are the questions for Apple in 2019.
January is a great time to embrace the unknown rather than come up with Apple predictions for the next 12 months. Accordingly, this is my fifth installment of Apple questions as a new year kicks off.
It’s a big, detailed list and lays out things we wonder and things rumors have suggested.
Mastercard Plans to Stop Free Trials That Keep Billing You (Update)
Mastercard announced a new policy for merchants who keep your card information after you sign up with a free trial.
Universal TV Exec Jason Katims Joins Apple
Mr. Katims as created moves like Parenthood, Roswell, About a Boy and Rise. He was also involved with Friday Night Lights, Boston Public, and The Path.
How to Use JavaScript When Creating Shortcuts
Redditor u/keveridge put together a nice guide on how to use JavaScript when creating Shortcuts. JavaScript lets you perform complex actions that would be hard to do with regular shortcut actions.
We make use of the Safari web browser, running within the shortcut, in order to execute the JavaScript. To do so, we:
make an HTML file that contains our code and provides an output;
pass the contents of the file to Safari as a Data URL;
use Get Contents of Web Page to render the page provide the output to the shortcut.
Apple Watch Could Soon Come to Medicare
Apple is in talks with at least three private Medicare plans to subsidize the Apple Watch for at-risk seniors.
27 Adobe Alternatives to Use on Different Platforms
It seems that Adobe is raising the price of its subscription in specific countries, although U.S. users have been spared. Lifehacker compiled a list of 27 Adobe alternatives in response.
I haven’t tried out all of these apps myself, nor am I the target audience for them—as I don’t really dabble in 3D animation, alas. While we normally recommend apps we’ve used at Lifehacker, in this case, I’ve included recommendations from the various Twitter users who have suggested them when applicable.
On my iPad I quickly bought Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer, and both of them work great for my workflow.
YouTube Bans Pranks Like Bird Box Challenge
The guidelines are in response to popular challenges that imitate a Netflix movie called Bird Box.
Changing its Mind, Roku Bans Alex Jones
Doing the opposite of most major internet companies, Roku decided for a couple of hours it would allow Alex Jones on its platform.
“After the InfoWars channel became available, we heard from concerned parties and have determined that the channel should be removed from our platform. Deletion from the channel store and platform has begun and will be completed shortly.”
If Roku was going to cave so quickly it shouldn’t have decided to let Alex Jones on in the first place. At least pretend to put up a fight for a couple more days.
How to Understand Apple Watch Heart Rate Data
Beth Skwarecki wrote a helpful article explaining how to understand Apple Watch heart rate data and what all the numbers mean.
Some major caveats on everything we’re about to say: first, everybody is different, so if your numbers are higher or lower than you’d expect, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with you. There’s a wide range of normal.
Voipo Database Exposed SMS Messages
Voipo CEO Timothy Dick said the company found no evidence in logs or on its network that a data breach happened.
Nike Launches Line of Self-Adjusting Basketball Shoes
Nike launched a line of self-adjusting basketball shoes that you can control with your iPhone. They’re based on the company’s FitAdapt technology.
When a player steps into the Nike Adapt BB, a custom motor and gear train senses the tension needed by the foot and adjusts accordingly to keep the foot snug. The tensile strength of the underfoot lacing is able to pull 32 pounds of force (roughly equal to that of a standard parachute cord) to secure the foot throughout a range of movement.
These basketball shoes look slick.
DuckDuckGo to Use Apple Maps for Private Search
Private search provider DuckDuckGo announced it will use Apple Maps to power location-based searches.
Get Public Government Data on Your iPhone With OPEN Government Data Act
All public data made available by the government must be in a format accessible by electronic devices.
Verizon Unlimited Customers Get Free Apple Music
Customers of Verizon Unlimited plans will get free, full Apple Music as a perk. This is for the Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans.
The bonus Apple Music should be launched in the next couple of days, according to the information that we received. Verizon is yet to make the announcement publicly, but the information comes from a source that has proved reliable in the past.
TD Ameritrade Adds Support for Apple Pay, Apple Business Chat
Brokerage company TD Ameritrade adds support for Apple Pay and Apple Business Chat. This gives customers immediate access to funds transferred to their account.
Goodnotes 5 is Out for $7.99
GoodNotes 5 is a major update to its predecessor GoodNotes 4. It includes many highly requested features, improvements to existing things and some special surprises.
What’s new in GoodNotes 5:
- New folder system: Create unlimited levels of folders and subfolders
- Text & handwriting search across all documents
- Flexible scrolling directions: Horizontal or vertical scrolling
- Favorites view: Shortcuts to important pages, documents, or folders.
- QuickNotes: The fastest way to start taking notes
- Optionally display documents as lists instead of thumbnails
- Improved ink algorithm: More precise and natural writing experience
And a whole lot more.
It's Official: Australia Bans Encryption
Australia bans encryption, the first Western nation to do so. Its parliament recently passed a bill that forces companies to give encrypted data to police upon demand. Companies also have to build tools to bypass encryption.
Cops Can't Force You to Unlock an iPhone via Face ID, Touch ID
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that law enforcement can’t force you to unlock an iPhone or iPad via Face ID or Touch ID.
In the United States, a suspect’s property has the potential to be searched by law enforcement officials as part of an investigation, but some items are typically left alone. While people are protected from having to unlock their devices via a passcode, biometric security has been considered fair game for use by investigators, bypassing the passcode rules.
This will certainly set a precedent for the future. Although it doesn’t completely stop the investigation, it does give people a bit more freedom.
How to Prepare Your Digital Life for When you Die
Whitson Gordon wrote a helpful guide on how to prepare your digital for your death. Although no one wants to think about their mortality, it’s an extremely helpful guide.
It’s impressive to me how many times people don’t recognize the extent of digital assets that they own, says Mark Parthemer, Managing Director and Senior Fiduciary Counsel at Bessemer Trust. With many clients, they’re concerned about financial things, but they need to protect the sentimental assets too, like photographs.
I didn’t know Whitson wrote for Popular Science, but good for him because he’s perfect for that site. Anyway, getting your digital life in order is a must. Many people write out wills but often forget about things like social media accounts.
Blackmagic eGPU Pro Available This Week
The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will be available this week for delivery and in-store pickup, a month after it became available to order.
Delivery of the Apple Store-exclusive Blackmagic eGPU Pro is scheduled for as early as Tuesday, January 15th. In-store pickup is also available for most regions, and we’re seeing Wednesday availability for that.
Like its predecessor, the $1199 Blackmagic eGPU Pro is aimed at customers looking for a set-it-and-forget-it solution, and don’t mind paying a large premium for the privilege.