Podcast

Travel Tips, Wi-Fi Troubleshooting, and Dave Got Caught! — Mac Geek Gab 885

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

It’s always interesting when multiple listeners have the same problem, and today you can listen as John and Dave dig into issues with Mac minis and restarting. We think your two favorite geeks have the answer! And that’s what happens here, you ask questions, we provide answers… and Quick Tips… and Cool Stuff Found, too! Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!

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(Update) T-Mobile Customer Data for Sale Affecting Over 100 Million People

Andrew Orr ·

A person in an online forum is offering data for sale that they claim comes from T-Mobile servers. The carrier says it is investigating the accuracy of this alleged breach.

The data includes social security numbers, phone numbers, names, physical addresses, unique IMEI numbers, and driver licenses information, the seller said. Motherboard has seen samples of the data, and confirmed they contained accurate information on T-Mobile customers.

Update: T-Mobile has issued a statement confirming the breach.

Podcast

Mac Gaming, Crypto Credit Cards, iOS 15, with Jeff Butts - ACM 553

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Butts talk about the current state of Mac gaming, with Jeff focusing on improved Mac support at Steam. They also dive deeper into crypto credit cards where you can either spend your crypto and/or earn cryptocurrency rewards like Bitcoin on your purchases. And, Jeff has been deep into iOS 15 betas, and he talks about some of his favorite new features.

Add a Free COVID-19 Vaccine Passport to Apple Wallet Using VaxYes
Cool Stuff Found

Add a Free COVID-19 Vaccine Passport to Apple Wallet Using VaxYes

Andrew Orr ·

Congratulations on being fully vaccinated against COVID-19! Now? Well, you can take a photo of your record or scan it into Files/Apple Notes. And with a service called VaxYes from gogetdoc you can add it to Apple Wallet for greater convenience. You’ll have to give them a picture of your vaccine card as well as a photo of your ID. The company uses AES-256 encryption (referred to as “military grade”) and is fully compliant with HIPAA. Gogetdoc has HIPAA-trained quality control agents and medical staff to ensure appropriate details are collected for verification of the record before issuing a digital vaccine card. Tap on “Get a Free Vaccine Passport” and follow the onscreen instructions. I did it and the process to get the Wallet passport took about 60 seconds. If you live in the UK you can get a passport with this article.

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UK Regulator May Force Facebook to Sell Giphy

Charlotte Henry ·

UK regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that Facebook may have to sell Giphy. The social media giant rejected the preliminary findings, BBC News reported.

The Competition and Markets Authority provisionally found Facebook owning Giphy “could lead it to deny other platforms access to its Gifs”. The CMA will now consult before making a final conclusion. And if its concerns are confirmed, the [sic] it may require Facebook to sell Giphy. Facebook said the findings were “not supported by the evidence”. Giphy’s vast library of looping short video animations is hugely popular – including among Facebook’s competitors.

Scrabble-Like Game ‘wurdweb’ Now Available on Apple Arcade
Cool Stuff Found

Scrabble-Like Game ‘wurdweb’ Now Available on Apple Arcade

Andrew Orr ·

Apple Arcade players who love puzzles should check out the new game wurdweb. Grab words from a list and cross them with words on the board. Puzzle your way towards a Finish Tile, put down enough words, or put down as many
words as you can. In this game, you’ll find: Infinite unique puzzles, generated by an intelligent algorithm; Tangle Mode, where you pick up extra words to put down 15 words; Precise Mode, where puzzles have a single solution; Daily, Weekly and Monthly Mode, where you put down as many words as you can. On top of that, you’ll also find; 20+ word themes, some of which are rather…peculiar; Plenty of puzzle variations to challenge how you play; Cute little characters who walk around in your puzzles doing absolutely nothing. Play with controllers compatible with your device.

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Ledger Crypto Wallet Now Supports Staking ETH With Lido

Andrew Orr ·

Owners of the Ledger hardware wallet can now stake their ETH through Lido as it transitions to Ethereum 2.0.

By staking ETH with Lido, you don’t need to own 32 ETH to become a network validator. Lido allows users to participate in the network with any amount of ETH. You don’t need to maintain complex infrastructure whilst preserving the liquidity of your ETH. Indeed, for each Ether you’ll stake through LIDO you’ll receive stETH in exchange.

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USDC Co-Creator ‘Circle’ Wants to Become a Traditional Bank

Andrew Orr ·

Circle, along with Coinbase, operates USD Coin (USDC) a cryptocurrency that has its valued pegged to the US dollar. Coins of this nature are known as stablecoins. Circle has announced its intentions to become a traditional, FDIC-insured bank. Could this pave the way for USDC to become the de facto digital currency of the U.S.? Axios has a good summary.

Circle chief strategy officer Dante Disparte tells Axios that the company hasn’t yet even properly initiated the process of applying to become a bank; it’s just announced its intention to do so. Disparte says they’re willing to do “whatever the policymakers want.”