Link

Adobe Co-Founder and PDF Developer Charles Geschke Dies Aged 81

Charlotte Henry ·

Charles Geschke (pictured above), who co-founded Adobe and helped develop the PDF, passed away aged 81 on Friday. He helped found the software firm in 1982 and a decade later was kidnapped at gunpoint, eventually being released unhurt after four days. BBC News reported on the tribute paid to Mr. Geschke by the current CEO of the company he created.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said Geschke, widely known as Chuck, “sparked the desktop publishing revolution”. “This is a huge loss for the entire Adobe community and the technology industry, for whom he has been a guide and hero for decades,” he wrote in an email to the company’s employees. “As co-founders of Adobe, Chuck and John Warnock developed ground-breaking software that has revolutionized how people create and communicate,” he said.

(Image via: Wikipedia)

Podcast

Not-So-Silent Ringing — Mac Geek Gab 866

John F. Braun & Dave Hamilton · · 6 Comments

Sometimes your iPhone’s silent, and sometime it’s not. But what about when it decides what to do, not you? That’s when you call John and Dave! Or you can email them. Or you can text them. Or you can post in the forums. Either way, they’ll answer your questions and try to help solve your problems. Listen to all your questions answered, Cool Stuff Found and Quick Tips shared, and you’re guaranteed to learn at least five new things hanging out with your two favorite geeks!

Link

‘The New Oil’ Website is a Resource for Privacy

Andrew Orr ·

The creator of The New Oil shared his website that gives people resources on privacy. But it’s not just a list of private tools to use. Instead the goal is to give people context and explain concepts like data breaches, why strong passwords matter, encryption, and more.

Most of us are not strangers to the concept of surveillance capitalism and targeted advertising. Most of us don’t particularly care, either. After all, who wouldn’t want relevant ads for movies or products that might actually appeal to you or improve your life? The thing is, most of us don’t understand the aggressive measures these companies go to to create those marketing profiles, or the devastating effects they can have on people.

Link

Investigative Report Reveals the Untold Story of the SolarWinds Cyberattack

Andrew Orr ·

We have a bit more news about the SolarWinds hack this week. NPR has wrapped up an investigation and reveals the “behind-the-scenes” story.

“Imagine those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups going into the package and just before the machine comes down and seals the package, some other thing comes in and slides a razor blade into your Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” he said. Instead of a razor blade, the hackers swapped the files so “the package gets sealed and it goes out the door to the store.”

TMO Deals

The Award-Winning Luminar 4 Power Bundle

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on the award-winning Luminar 4 Power Bundle. Luminar 4 is a full-feature photo editor and organizer for Mac and Windows that lets you create edited photos with a single click. This bundle also comes with the Photography Fundamentals Course tutorial from ThinkTapLearn, and four different add-ons, including Skies: Power of Nature Add-On, Sky Objects: Amazing Planets Add-On, Looks: Analog Film Add-On, and LUTs: Street Vibe LUTs. The bundle is $39.99 through our deal.

Link

How Anthony Hopkins Ended up Guest Starring in 'Mythic Quest - Everlight'

Charlotte Henry ·

A special episode of Mythic Quest arrived on Apple TV+ on Friday and (spoiler alert!) it features a guest appearance from Sir Anthony Hopkins. Variety has the background on how the Everlight episode was made, and how The Silence of the Lambs star ended up in it.

“Mythic Quest” is nonetheless set in the video game world and counts Ubisoft among its producers. The special episode is not devoid of an animated game sequence — and this one gets the gift of narration from Anthony Hopkins. Wanting someone with “some heft” so “right from the very beginning [of the episode] it just feels premium, like a cinematic experience,” McElhenney says, they considered such performers as Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellan. But when Hopkins came up, it was kismet. Producer and guest star “Craig Mazin said, ‘Oh I know Anthony Hopkins’ lawyer, let’s just call him up.’ And within 20 minutes I’m talking to Anthony Hopkins,” McElhenney says. In pre-COVID times it may have been hard to get Hopkins to commit, but with the ability to work from anywhere, McElhenney hopped on the phone with him and the Oscar-winner self-recorded his role.

Link

Clipper Card Now Works with Apple Pay For Easier Bay Area Transit

Charlotte Henry ·

Those in the Bay Area can use Apple Pay when using any form of transit that is accessed with a Clipper card. The feature now works on BART, Muni, Caltrain, and the ferryTechCrunch reported.

As noted back in February when this was first confirmed as on the way, Clipper works with Apple’s “Express Transit” feature. That’s just a fancy way to say that you can tap to pay with the digital Clipper card without first needing to punch in your phone’s PIN or using FaceID. On certain newer iPhones, it also lets you keep using the Clipper card for a few hours after your battery has died; a wonderful thing in a pinch, but probably not something you want to rely on regularly.

Link

Alaskan Senate Bill Proposes Statewide Blockchain Voting System

Andrew Orr ·

Under Senate Bill 39, Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower proposes using blockchain technology to support the state voting system.

Furthermore, the bill seeks to increase voter participation by allowing people to use their tribal IDs for voter identification. At the same time, the technology would help in fixing errors that would bar people from voting.

However, the bill’s first version was a center of controversy for ending automatic voter registration through the permanent fund dividend application. The new bill has eliminated the clause.

I think using tribal IDs for voting identification is great. I’m not sure if blockchain voting will make it though.

Link

Apple Studios in Early Discussions to Distribute Original Comedy 'Mr. Lucky' From Kandell Twins

Charlotte Henry ·

There are early discussions taking place regarding Apple Studios serving as a distribution partner for original comedy Mr. Lucky, written by Aaron and Jordan Kandell. It follows the screenwriters selling the pitch to production company ImageMovers, Variety reported.

Inspired by a true story, details are under wraps but it is described as a high concept rom-com that explores luck, and how tragedy and triumph, disaster and fortune are all in the way we choose to view them. Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine are producing for ImageMovers. The Kandells, who just signed with Range Media Partners, are the writers behind the Oscar-nominated Disney epic “Moana” and the 2018 film “Adrift,” starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin. They have a number of notable upcoming projects through their banner Twin Ink.

Link

Reddit Announces Public Bug Bounty Program

Andrew Orr ·

For the past three years Reddit has maintained a privacy bug bounty program for cybersecurity researchers with HackerOne. On Thursday the company announced a public program.

With our continued growth and visibility, we’re now ready to make the program public and expand the participation to anyone wanting to make a meaningful security impact on Reddit. As we scale the program, our priority will remain focused on protecting the privacy of our user data and identities. We know each security researcher has their own skills and perspective that they bring to the program, and we encourage anyone to submit a report that shows security impact. We’re super excited to hit this milestone and have prepared our team for what’s to come.

Link

Adobe Releases Global Emoji Diversity & Inclusion Report

Andrew Orr ·

On Thursday Adobe released the Global Emoji Diversity & Inclusion Report. It surveyed 7,000 emoji users from around the world on how they use diverse and inclusive emojis.

Only half of global emoji users feel their identity is adequately reflected in current emoji options. More representative emoji, inclusive of different cultures, age groups, and ethnicities, are key in helping emoji users better express themselves. This goes a lot deeper than personal identification — it helps people accurately express how they are feeling.