An investigation revealed that the Trump admin bought access to a commercial database that contains location data from millions of Americans.
Search: smart home
5G Wireless Actually Has 3 Bands—How That Impacts the Next iPhone
The FCC has approved of a total of three 5G wireless bands, each with its own capabilities. This will dictate the design of the 2020 iPhone.
CES Wrap-up, Quick Tips, Cool Stuff Found – Mac Geek Gab 797
John and Dave are back from CES with new stuff they’ve learned, Cool Stuff Found, Quick Tips, and more. Of course, your questions are featured, as well, including analyzing USB power draw, fast external drives, folder permissions, and more. Press play to learn five new things with your two favorite geeks!
Consumer Tech Spending Set to Soar, With Apple in Key Markets
Streaming services, wireless earbuds, 5G connectivity and AI-powered devices will drive record spending on consumer tech in 2020.
CES - Danby Stops Porch Pirates with Danby Parcel Guard
LAS VEGAS, NV — Parcel theft, or “porch pirates” are an increasing issue in many areas. They will take your parcel shortly after it’s been delivered, or when you’re not home. Danby can help secure your parcels and even catch a thief with the technologies in Danby Parcel Guard.
Avoid RISCy Behavior – Mac Geek Gab 795
Ever have an iOS device that won’t stay connected to your Mac? How about needing to connect your Thunderbolt 2 devices to your new Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac? What about proving your location in the past? Or looking up phone numbers?
These are just a few of the questions John and Dave tackle this week. Of course, Cool Stuff Found and Quick Tips are healthily represented as we drive towards the end of 2019. Just make sure to avoid RISCy behavior. Or don’t, and be like Chuck Peddle!
We Are All Tracked, All The Time
The New York Times has published a stunning report showing the full extent of how we are tracked via our smartphones. Obviously, it’s behind a paywall, but if you can get to it the piece is well worth reading.
After spending months sifting through the data, tracking the movements of people across the country and speaking with dozens of data companies, technologists, lawyers and academics who study this field, we feel the same sense of alarm. In the cities that the data file covers, it tracks people from nearly every neighborhood and block, whether they live in mobile homes in Alexandria, Va., or luxury towers in Manhattan. One search turned up more than a dozen people visiting the Playboy Mansion, some overnight. Without much effort we spotted visitors to the estates of Johnny Depp, Tiger Woods and Arnold Schwarzenegger, connecting the devices’ owners to the residences indefinitely.
Geeky Cyber Monday Savings: Sonos, Default Folder, MailSuite, and More
We geeks love both our gadgets and our apps that help us use them. And for this particular geek, well, I have some favorites. Lucky for us all, some of those favorites are offering sales for Cyber Monday 2019, and I wanted to make sure you were aware.
Spotify Free Tier Coming to Alexa, Sonos, And Bose Devices
Spotify’s free tier is coming to Alexa powered devices. It will also work on Sonos and Bose devices, Techcrunch reported. Previously only those with a premium subscription could access their music on such speakers.
In the case of Alexa devices, like Amazon Echo speakers or the Fire TV, users will be able to ask Alexa to play Spotify’s playlist, like “Today’s Top Hits,” or their personalized playlist, “Discover Weekly,” among others. The service can also be set as the default, so you can use commands like “Play my Discover Weekly,” “Like this song,” or “Pause,” and more, without having to say “on Spotify.” Meanwhile, on Sonos and Bose speakers, users can set up Spotify Connect from the Spotify app. This works with Bose smart speakers and soundbars, as well as all Sonos smart speakers, including the new indoor/outdoor speaker Sonos Move and the Symfonisk IKEA WiFi Speaker, integrated with the Sonos Home Sound System.
China Blocks Apple Services Like News, Arcade, More
Apple has been wooing China for years now but it sounds like it’s an increasingly one-sided relationship as China is blocking Apple services.
Apple asks for Tariff Exemptions on iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods
Apple has asked the White House for exemptions from the latest round of tariffs in the trade war between China and the United States.
iCloud Keychain vs. Catalina Cage Match – Mac Geek Gab 786
Today, your two favorite geeks dig into your questions about recovering photo data, removing malware, resolving iCloud Keychain in macOS Catalina, and more. But that’s not all! You’ve got some great tips for automating those un-automatable Personal Reminders, fixing DNS, Mono Podcast Listening, and creating disk images. All of this and more from Dave Hamilton and John F. Braun, as soon as you press play. Do it now and don’t get caught!
Eight (GB) is Enough – Mac Geek Gab 783
Catalina is out and your geeks have migration and installation tips to share from their experiences. Take a listen to this episode before you upgrade, for sure. But Catalina isn’t the only topic this week, folks. Lots of iOS 13 tips and tricks, lots of other macOS stuff, and all of your questions answered, too!
Roku Soundbar and Subwoofer Coming to Walmart
Roku plans to create low-cost versions of its Smart Roku Soundbar and Wireless Subwoofer under Walmart’s onn brand.
Apple Releases iPad OS on Tuesday, New iPad on Wednesday
Apple released iPadOS on Tuesday, and Apple said it will ship its new entry-level iPad (10.2-inch) on Wednesday.
Dealing with Mac Data Bloat
Dr. Mac has literally millions of files on thirteen hard disks stored in two locations (or three if you count the cloud), and now he has the app that helps him wrangle all those files: NeoFinder.
Introducing the iPad 7th Generation for US$329
At Apple’s keynote today, one of the products the company announced was the new iPad 7th generation. It’s a 10.2-inch model for US$329.
Sonos Move: Portable, Weatherproof, Water Resistant, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Voice-Assistant Speaker
In a move that simultaneously felt like a very natural evolution of their product line as well as (finally?) answering every unrequited request ever made of the company, Sonos today announced Sonos Move, a portable, battery-powered, water resistant, weatherproof, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker.
Acronym Soup – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 776
Is Wireless USB as S.M.A.R.T. as NVMe? As users of today’s tech, we sure use a lot of acronyms, don’t we? Listen as Dave and John help you wade through the soup and make sense of not only all the acronyms, but the tech that they describe, too! Press play and enjoy, friends!
Parallels Desktop 15 for Mac Released With Support for Metal
Parallels Desktop 15 was just released, adding support for macOS Catalina features like Sidecar and adding support for Apple’s Metal API.
We Love Dongle World – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 772
Live from MacStock Conference and Expo 2019, John and Dave play Stump the Geek and take listener questions live, with a little help from impromptu co-host Kelly Guimont! Learn about APFS and Fusion Drives, iPhones making sounds when they’re not supposed to, and why we love Dongle World as much as we do. Press play and learn at least five new things!
Save Your Data...Safely – Mac Geek Gab 769
macOS Catalina will bring with it a lot of changes, one of which is that a lotof older apps and related hardware won’t work. Dave and John answer your questions and share your tips about how to navigate these waters ahead of time… to avoid surprises. In addition, your archives are only as good as the method and medium you use. It’s time to talk about data safety and reliability. Plus, your other questions need answers, and that’s what happens here on Mac Geek Gab: everyone learns at least five new things!
Rico Zorkendorfer Left Apple to Join Bumblebee Spaces
Rico Zorkendorfer left Apple in April where he worked in the industrial design team. He recently joined startup Bumblebee Spaces.
Nest Cam Allows Previous Owner to Spy on You
If you buy a used Nest Cam, the previous owner could have access to it. The Wirecutter discovered a way a previous owner can view the images, via the Wink hub. It is unclear if the issue applies to other products. Oh, and there is currently no way to fix it.
If you buy and set up a used Nest indoor camera that has been paired with a Wink hub, the previous owner may have unfettered access to images from that camera. And we currently don’t know of any cure for this problem. We are unsure what further implications there may be regarding Nest’s video service, including whether it may be vulnerable to other methods or through other smart-home device integrations.