Satechi Releases USB-C Multi-Port Adapter
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Satechi Releases USB-C Multi-Port Adapter

Andrew Orr ·

Satechi announced on Thursday the launch of a USB-C multi-port dock. It has USB-C PD charging, HDMI and VGA display ports, USB-A data ports, SD card slots, and Gigabit Ethernet, with two detachable USB-C cables – perfect for on-the-go or docked at your desk. Compatible devices include: 2020/2019/2018/2017/2016 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air, 2020/2018 iPad Pro, 2019/2017 iMac, iMac Pro, 2015/2016/2017 MacBook, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3/Surface Pro 7/Go, Google PixelBook Go, ChromeBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S, HP Spectre Convertible, Razer Blade, Huawei Matebook and more USB-C devices. It costs US$99.99 but with the code MULTIPORT20 you can get 20% off. Valid until March 15.

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47,000 iOS Apps Have Misconfigured Cloud Servers

Andrew Orr ·

Researchers at Zimperium analyzed 1.3 million Android and iOS apps to detect common cloud misconfigurations. They found that nearly 84,000 Android apps and 47,000 iOS apps have errors.

The researchers found almost 84,000 Android apps and nearly 47,000 iOS apps using public cloud services—like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure—in their backend as opposed to running their own servers. Of those, the researchers found misconfigurations in 14 percent of those totals—11,877 Android apps and 6,608 iOS apps—exposing users’ personal information, passwords, and even medical information.

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Google Reveals Plan to End Third-Party Cookies

Andrew Orr ·

Google wrote a post updating its plans for its Privacy Sandbox project. Its goal is to make third-party cookies obsolete.

we are confident that with continued iteration and feedback, privacy-preserving and open-standard mechanisms like the Privacy Sandbox can sustain a healthy, ad-supported web in a way that will render third-party cookies obsolete.

Once these approaches have addressed the needs of users, publishers, and advertisers, and we have developed the tools to mitigate workarounds, we plan to phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome.

I don’t know what the new “open standards” will be, but I’m definitely skeptical given the nature of Google’s advertising business. Will there be a new first-party tracking technique? Update: Here’s why the EFF thinks it’s a terrible idea.

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An Inside Look at Apple TV+ Movie 'Cherry'

Charlotte Henry ·

Ahead of its release on Apple TV+ on March 12, there is a new video about Cherry in which the film’s stars provide an inside look. Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo talk about the self-destructive love story their two characters go on. (Cherry is already available in theaters that are open.)

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AWS Announces Ethereum on Amazon Managed Blockchain

Andrew Orr ·

Amazon Web Services announced on Wednesday the general availability of Ethereum on Amazon Managed Blockchain.

With Amazon Managed Blockchain, customers get secure networking, encryption at rest and transport, secure access to the network via standard open-source Ethereum APIs, fast and reliable syncs to the Ethereum blockchain, and durable elastic storage for ledger data. Amazon Managed Blockchain monitors node health, replaces unhealthy nodes, and automates Ethereum software upgrades, improving the availability of customers’ Ethereum infrastructure.

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Brave Prepares to Launch the Brave Search Engine

Andrew Orr ·

Private browser Brave is getting ready to launch its own branded search engine with its acquisition of Cliqz.

The former Cliqz dev team, who had subsequently been working on Tailcat, are moving to Brave as part of the acquisition. The engineering team is led by Dr Josep M Pujol — who is quoted in Brave’s PR saying it’s “excited to be working on the only real private search/browser alternative to Big Tech”.

Interesting move, and I look forward to more private search engines.

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Amazon Fire TV: Over 400 Live Streaming Channels Now Available

Charlotte Henry ·

Amazon Fire TV now has over 400 live streaming channels, Deadline reported. Furthermore,  half of these are free, ad-supported offerings. Some features have been updated too.

Nearly 20 programmers are supplying live channel content, among them bundled subscription services like YouTube TV, Sling TV and Philo. Newly integrated on Fire are free offerings like Xumo and Amazon’s IMDb TV and news app. Plex will soon join the fold. Voice commands via Amazon Alexa have also been added to live TV programs. Alexa will respond to commands to “play Good Morning America” or “play the Seahawks game,” for example. Live shows also now appear in the “App Peek” feature of the updated Fire TV user interface.

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Netflix Introduces New 'Fast Laughs' Feature for iOS

Andrew Orr ·

Netflix is introducing a new feature on its mobile apps called Fast Laughs. It’s a way for people to browse short, funny clips from its video content.

Fast Laughs offers a full-screen feed of funny clips from our big comedy catalog including films (Murder Mystery), series (Big Mouth), sitcoms (The Crew) and stand-up from comedians like Kevin Hart and Ali Wong.

You access the feed through your bottom navigation menu by clicking on the Fast Laughs tab. Clips will start playing – when one ends another begins, to keep the laughs coming.

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The UK Contactless Payment Limit Has Gone up, But it Will Have Little Impact on Apple Pay

Charlotte Henry ·

The UK limit on single contactless transactions  – those that you can simply tap your card to make, no pin or signature required – has increased to £100. However, as Ben Lovejoy at 9to5 Mac noted, this will have little impact on those who want to use Apple Pay to purchase goods as the limit was already significantly higher than that. (In the U.S. of course, the situation is different with different ceilings on when a signature etc is required.)

Apple Pay uses a more sophisticated form of contactless payment reserved for mobile wallet devices that have biometric authentication. With this protocol, banks and retailers can set a much higher payment limit, or even have no limit at all, because the device verifies the identity of the user via Face ID or Touch ID in the case of an iPhone, or the PIN you entered on an Apple Watch when putting it on in the morning. When I asked at the time of launch, my bank hinted that its own limit was £750 ($1,050), and certainly I have made three-figure purchases using Apple Pay. Some people report successfully using Apple Pay for mid-four-figure purchases.

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Watch the Trailer for New Series ‘Calls’ Coming to Apple TV+

Andrew Orr ·

“Calls” is a unique series coming to Apple TV+ told through a 12-minute phone calls. Based on the French series of the same name (Apple ordered an English adaptation in 2018), Calls is an immersive television experience that masterfully uses only audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell bone-chilling stories. Launching in a binge model worldwide, all nine 12-minute episodes are told through a series of phone calls that use sharp writing, compelling voice talent and graphics to aid in transcribing the darkly dramatic conversations onto the screen. These relatable scenarios transport the audience into familiar situations that quickly become surreal with thrilling and frightening moments. Featuring Lily Collins, Rosario Dawson, Mark Duplass, Pedro Pascal, and others. It arrives March 19.

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Apple Watch’s ECG Launch in Australia Imminent Following Approval

Charlotte Henry ·

The launch of the Apple Watch ECG features in Australia seems imminent. The 8-Bit reported that it received approval in February.

The Australian Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved the ECG feature in the country yesterday under “Medical Device Class IIa,” according to a document first spotted by The 8-Bit. This means that Apple Watch users in Australia will soon be able to access the ECG app. According to the document of approval “The ECG app is a software-only mobile medical application that is intended to be used with the Apple Watch to create, record, store, transfer and display a single-channel electrocardiagram (ECG) similar to a Lead I ECG. The ECG app determines the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) or sinus rhythm on a classifiable waveform. The ECG app is not recommended for users with other known arrhythmias.”