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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.

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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.

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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.

An iPhone 7 Photo Won the 2021 iPhone Photography Awards
Cool Stuff Found

An iPhone 7 Photo Won the 2021 iPhone Photography Awards

Andrew Orr ·

The winners of the 2021 iPhone Photography Awards have been announced, and the grand prize winner is Istvan Kerekes from Hungary whose photo was of two Transylvanian shepherds (pictured above) shot using an iPhone 7. In first place is Sharon Shetty of India with a photo of a man and horse using an iPhone X. In second place, Dan Liu from China submitted a beautiful landscape using an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Finally, the third place photo is from Jeff Rayner in the United States, with a photo of a little girl on an iPhone X.

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FCC Increases Enforcement Efforts Against Right to Repair Violations

Andrew Orr ·

On Wednesday the FCC voted to increase law enforcement efforts against violations of Right to Repair laws.

The policy statement adopted today is aimed at manufacturers’ practices that make it extremely difficult for purchasers to repair their products or shop around for other service providers to do it for them. By enforcing against restrictions that violate antitrust or consumer protection laws, the Commission is taking important steps to restore the right to repair.

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UK Man Joseph O’Connor Arrested for Hacking Apple’s Twitter Account

Andrew Orr ·

Joseph O’Connor, also known as “PlugWalkJoe” has been arrested for hacking Apple’s Twitter account in 2020. He also faces charges for “takeovers of TikTok and Snapchat user accounts.”

O’Connor openly identified himself as “PlugWalkJoe” and confirmed that the hackers had obtained Twitter credentials to take over the accounts via an internal company Slack. At the time, O’Connor was fairly bullish about his involvement and apparent safety, “They can come arrest me. I would laugh at them. I haven’t done anything,” he told the Times.

He had also compromised the Twitter accounts of Elon Musk, former President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, President Joe Biden, and a few others.

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Audio App ‘Clubhouse’ Exits Beta With Over 10 Million Users

Andrew Orr ·

Clubhouse, the invite-only social audio platform, has exited beta on Wednesday. The new release is out today on iOS and Android and updates with appear every 1-2 weeks.

This means we have removed our waitlist system so that anyone can join. If you have a club, you can post your link far and wide. If you are a creator with an audience, you can bring them all on. If you’re hosting a public event, anyone can attend. You can bring close friends, classmates, family members, coworkers, and anyone else you like.

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The A15 Chip Would be a Big Boost For The iPad Mini

Charlotte Henry ·

Rumors abound a new iPad mini, and a new version could contain the top-end A15 chip. I’m still not convinced as to where in the device sits in Apple’s product line. On the other hand, Oliver Haslam at iMore thinks it would make it stand out.

Traditionally, Apple’s iPhones get the latest and greatest silicon before it trickles down to other devices. We don’t yet know when the new iPad mini could go on sale, but even if it’s after iPhone 13 it is unlikely to be by much — assuming a 2021 release is in the cards, of course. The thought of an iPad mini shipping with the hot new processor is an intriguing one — and it will be a statement of intent for Apple. No longer will iPad mini be the also-ran. A tablet that exists just because it can. It’ll be a genuinely good iPad, especially for taking notes and whatnot.

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Tumblr Debuts ‘Post+’ Plan for Creators to Make Money

Andrew Orr ·

Tumblr has launched a subscription plan in beta called Post+. It’s a way to help creators make money by letting them charge for blogging access.

As a creator you’ll set up an account for payments in a quick and easy process. You’ll then be able to make a +Post (a post with a paywall), only viewable to you and your supporters. You’ll also be able to offer supporter-exclusive perks.

As a supporter, you’ll back the creators you love with a monthly subscription, giving you access to exclusive content and perks.