Link

Paramount+ and Showtime Apple TV Bundle Seems to be Ending

Charlotte Henry ·

Users are reporting that they are seeing billing issues when trying to pay for their Paramount+ and Showtime Apple TV+ bundle, according to AppleInsider. The suggests that the deal is coming to an end. U.S. users can though get Paramount+ free for a month on Apple TV.

Users on Reddit have reported billing errors, where the usual $9.99 fee for the bundle failed to renew. A check of the subscription in their account shows the bundle as “expired,” and non-accessible. In one case, a customer contacted Apple support and was informed their card was declined. However, on checking with their bank, it seems the payment was sent through, then Apple refunded it. Another Reddit user was informed by a senior supervisor of Apple’s support that it was a “special offer for 1 year” rather than a permanent bundle.

Podcast

DIY Automation, CarPlay, RAID, and More! — Mac Geek Gab 882

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · Add Comment

Sometimes the easy way isn’t the fun way, and this week we’ve got lots of do-it-yourself solutions to share from all of you. Listen as John and Dave share your ideas about automation, launch agents, CarPlay, drive arrays and much more. Of course, it wouldn’t be MGG without your two favorite geeks sharing Quick Tips, Cool Stuff Found, and their answers to all your other questions, would it? Listen, learn five new things, and don’t get caught!

Video Tip

T-Mobile Test Drive

Dave Hamilton & John F. Braun ·

Have You Heard Of T-Mobile’s Test Drive? Through the Network Test Drive app on iOS, you can test the T-Mobile network for free for up to 30 days or 30GB of LTE data, whichever comes first. You won’t leave your current carrier and you won’t lose your existing phone number. Listen to the video below and learn more here

Link

New Public Sculpture Coming to Apple Park Visitor’s Center

Charlotte Henry ·

There’s a new public sculpture coming to the Apple Park Visitor’s Center. It is called ‘Mirage’ and will be created by Katie Paterson and Zeller Moye. Ms. Paterson described the work, which will be installed next year, in a blog post:

Mirage blends art, architecture, science and nature. It will have strong material presence, connecting to the elements. Social and connective, it will create an unexpected gathering place for visitors and staff. The glass columns are glimpsed through the trees from the Visitor Center, the highway and beyond, generating a sense of discovery.

[Image credit: Katie Paterson and Zeller & Moye]

Link

Researchers Hid Malware Inside an AI’s Brain

Andrew Orr ·

This is straight out of a sci-fi novel. Researchers created a proof-of-concept technique that let them hide malware inside of an AI’s neurons to avoid detection.

According to the paper, in this approach the malware is “disassembled” when embedded into the network’s neurons, and assembled into functioning malware by a malicious receiver program that can also be used to download the poisoned model via an update. The malware can still be stopped if the target device verifies the model before launching it, according to the paper. It can also be detected using “traditional methods” like static and dynamic analysis.

Link

Patent Suggests AR Functions Coming to iPhone Measure App

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple is looking to incorporate AR technology into the iPhone’s Measure app in a bid to improve accuracy and allow automatic annotation of the object you’re interested in. That’s according to a new patent, seen by AppleInsider.

In future, pointing your iPhone camera at an object could automatically get you an on-screen notification of its measurements. It will do it through AR, and it will do it in part through Machine Learning on different types of objects. “Automatic measurements based on object classification,” is a newly-revealed patent application. It’s concerned with how to determine which object you’re interested in, then how measure it accurately. The patent application is particularly broad, including “devices, systems, and methods that obtain a three-dimensional (3D) representation of a physical environment.” The detail generated is based on a whole series of different sensors and measurements to do with “depth data and light intensity image data.”

Link

Catholic Publication Used Location Data Against a Priest

Andrew Orr ·

Catholic media publication The Pillar used location data from gay dating app Grindr to track the movements of a priest, then publicly outed him for “improper behavior.”

It wasn’t clear who had collected the information about Burrill. USCCB spokespeople declined to answer questions Tuesday about what it knew about the information-gathering and what its leadership feels about it, except to say the USCCB wasn’t involved. They also declined to comment on whether they knew if Burrill’s alleged actions were tracked on a private or church-owned phone.

This is a good example of how our data can be used against us, and not just by advertisers.

Link

Akamai DNS Outage Took Out Airbnb, LastPass, Steam, UPS, FedEx, Others

Andrew Orr ·

Akamai’s Edge DNS service experienced an issue at around 11AM ET with dozens of websites and apps getting knocked offline. At the time of this writing the outage has been resolved.

Akamai said it was “actively investigating the issue,” but when reached a spokesperson would not say if its outage was the cause of the disruption to other sites and services that are currently offline. Akamai would not say what caused the issue but that it was already in recovery.

Link

HBO Shuts Down Apple TV Channel, Forcing Move to HBO Max

Charlotte Henry ·

HBO shut down its Apple TV channel on Thursday, meaning users have to move to HBO Max. However, MacRumors reported that there are also login issues.

Simultaneously, as HBO shuts down its ‌Apple TV‌ channel, several users are reporting across social media that HBO has removed the ability within its HBO Max app to sign in with an Apple ID account. Users who were previously signed up to HBO via the ‌Apple TV‌ channel had done so through their ‌Apple ID‌. Now, with the channel shut down and the ability to sign in with an ‌Apple ID‌ missing, some users are locked out from their accounts until further notice.