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Treasury Considers ID.Me Alternatives Over Privacy Concerns

Andrew Orr ·

The Treasury Department is looking into ID.me alternatives for accessing the IRS website over privacy concerns.

CEO Blake Hall this week said that the company also used one-to-many technology, which compares selfies taken by users as part of the verification process against a larger database. The company said it maintained an internal database of selfies taken by users and compared new selfies against it using Amazon’s controversial Rekognition technology. As of January 25, 20.9 million users’ selfies had been verified against that database, the company said.

 

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Proton Rolls Out Redesigned 'ProtonMail Bridge' to Paid Customers

Andrew Orr ·

ProtonMail Bridge is being updated with a completely redesigned user interface for ease of use. It gradually rolls out to paid users starting today.

This new version of ProtonMail Bridge is packed with fixes and improvements, but the main change is the new local cache, which now includes full message bodies. This means ProtonMail Bridge stores messages encrypted on your device, so they can be retrieved much faster than when stored remotely on our servers. You can control your cache using the Advanced settings.

Podcast

Silent Failures Are Bad News — Mac Geek Gab 912

Dave Hamilton & John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Everything seems fine, but is it? How do you know if something has failed if you don’t get a notification? Listen to your three favorite geeks talk through how this manifests in several areas of life, including Time Machine, Streaming TV, Cell Service…and propane! That’s not all, though: John F. Braun, Dave Hamilton, and Pilot Pete walk you through a series of Quick Tips and Cool Stuff Found which ensure you learn at least five new things! Press play and enjoy.

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Telecom Lobby in California Loses Case Against Net Neutrality

Andrew Orr ·

Telecom lobbyists in California have lost a case to attack net neutrality law SB 822, considered the strongest such law in the U.S.

The California net neutrality law is now clearly enforceable, and bars telecom companies from blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization, abusing their gatekeeper power in interconnection, or engaging in “zero rating” scams. The court’s decision also clearly paves the way for other states to impose their own net neutrality protections.

‘Deliveries’ App Update Supports Shortcuts on macOS Monterey
Cool Stuff Found

'Deliveries' App Update Supports Shortcuts on macOS Monterey

Andrew Orr ·

The Deliveries app update now supports macOS Monterey and iOS 15. The version notes for Monterey include Shortcuts support. The update includes a lot of improvements and bug fixes, so here is just part of the notes: Shortcuts are now supported on macOS Monterey. Note: due to limitations in macOS, shortcuts only have a written or spoken description, rather than showing the relevant deliveries like on iOS. The “scan a package” shortcut will open the “Add a Delivery” window since scanning barcodes is not supported in Deliveries for Mac. Notifications that a package has been delivered are now marked as Time Sensitive on macOS Monterey. Sharing a single delivery via Messages now just sends a link. Sharing via AirDrop now sends a link instead of a file, so it’s easier to share with someone that doesn’t have the app.

Cool Stuff Found

PSA: Neil Young Still on Apple Music, Amidst Joe Rogan Spotify Row [Updated]

Charlotte Henry ·

Neil Young is headed off of Spotify, having decided he won’t be on the same platform as podcaster Joe Rogan, but he remains on Apple Music. You can get classic albums like 1972’s Harvest and 1989 hit “Rockin’ in The Free World” with a subscription. The service costs $9.99 per month, or $14.99 for family sharing, and is included in all Apple One bundles.

[Update: January 28] Apple Music appears to be trolling Spotify over its Neil Young/Joe Rogan decision. It is posting tweets from its official Twitter accounts as well as push notifications reminding people that the artists is still available there, The Verge reported.

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FCC Now Requires Broadband Nutrition Labels for Consumers

Andrew Orr ·

The FCC will force ISPs to disclose broadband “nutrition labels” to give information on prices, introductory rates, data allowances, broadband speeds, and management practices.

The law directs the Commission “to promulgate regulations to require the display of broadband consumer labels, as described in the Public Notice of the Commission issued on April 4, 2016 (DA 16–357), to disclose to consumers information regarding broadband Internet access service plans.” Id. See also Consumer and Governmental Affairs, Wireline Competition, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus Approve Open Internet Broadband Consumer Labels, GN Docket No. 14-28, Public Notice, 31 FCC Rcd 3358 (CGB/WCB/WTB 2016) (2016 Public Notice).