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We’re All Cyborgs and Didn’t Even Realize It

Andrew Orr ·

It’s certainly interesting to think about. Do smartphones count as “external brains?”Does wearing an Apple Watch make us a cyborg? Alex Hern examines the issue, although I disagree on one part: It’s definitely not an Apple-specific phenomenon.

Without us even noticing, Apple has turned us into organisms living symbiotically with technology: part human, part machine. We now outsource our contact books, calendars and to-do lists to devices. We no longer need to remember basic facts about the world; we can call them up on demand.

Read the article, then watch this TEDTalk from cyborg anthropologist Amber Case.

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Facebook Hit With Fine by South Korean Privacy Watchdog For Sharing User Data Without Permission

Charlotte Henry ·

South Korea’s recently launched privacy watched has announced a $6.1 million for Facebook, Reuters reported. It said the social media giant shared millions of users’ data without their permission.

The country’s Personal Information Protection Commission, launched in August this year, said in a statement it fined Facebook after a probe found that the personal information of least 3.3 million of the 18 million Facebook users in Korea were provided to operators other than Facebook without their knowledge, from May 2012 to June 2018. When someone uses another operator’s service through Facebook’s log-in, the personal information of the user’s Facebook friends were provided to other operators without their consent, the commission said. The commission said it will refer Facebook Ireland Ltd, the recipient of the fine, to the country’s prosecution for a criminal investigation.

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How Disney+ Could Change How we Watch Movies

Charlotte Henry ·

With cinemas closed around the world, filmmakers have been forced to rethink how to release their features. As Gizmodo notes, Disney+ is helping its parent company navigate the issues, and the change could be long term.

Key to building on the success of Disney+ and its growing subscriber base is new and exclusive content. It’s not hard to imagine Disney might tap its slate of yet-to-be-released feature films to help bring in new subscribers given how things are looking in the U.S. right now—which is to say, not great. While Disney was tight-lipped about the success of its Mulan release through Premier Access, data from Sensor Tower estimated that app installs of Disney+ between Google Play and the App Store rose by 68% during a three-day period when Mulan hit the service over the same three-day period the week prior, while in-app spending also rose 193% that week.

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In 2021 Comcast Will Enforce 1.2 Terabyte Data Cap

Andrew Orr ·

Comcast announced that its monthly 1.2TB data cap will come to 12 more states and the District of Columbia in 2021.

[…] an update to Comcast’s website said that the cap is coming to Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The cap is also coming to parts of Virginia and Ohio where it wasn’t already implemented. In all, Comcast has nearly 28 million residential Internet customers.

Plenty of people are calling this a money grab since the ISP networks seemed to handle the influx of video conferencing and remote work just fine during this pandemic, with no complaints from these companies.

TMO Deals

Apple Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones: $77.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on a pair of Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones, from Apple’s Beats brand. These earphones feature up to 12 hours of battery life to last through multiple workouts and have secure-fit ear hooks to maximize comfort and stability. They’re $77.99 through our deal.

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Amazon Sidewalk Shares Your Wi-Fi With Neighbors

Andrew Orr ·

Amazon Sidewalk is a new initiative by the company that creates a low-bandwidth network pooled from the personal networks of Amazon device owners.

Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network, coming later this year, that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, and motion sensors work better at home and beyond the front door. When enabled, Sidewalk can unlock unique benefits for your device, support other Sidewalk devices in your community, and even open the door to new innovations like locating items connected to Sidewalk.

Of course, there are numerous privacy and security concerns, although Amazon does claim it has “strong encryption” without going into details.

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Carriers May be Fined 10 Percent of Sales for Breaching UK Huawei Ban

Charlotte Henry ·

Carriers may be hit by fines worth up to 10 percent of their revenue by the UK government for breaching its Huawei ban. It’s part of a proposed new law, reported Bloomberg News.

The Telecommunications Security Bill is meant to oversee 5G mobile and fiber networks and will include electronic equipment and software that handles internet traffic and phone calls, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement Tuesday. Communications regulator Ofcom will be in charge of enforcement. The bill will give the government the power to implement and enforce the ban on Huawei’s 5G equipment that it announced in July. Carriers have until the end of 2020 to stop buying the gear, after the U.K. deemed the Chinese technology giant a security risk, and the companies must remove existing Huawei equipment from their 5G networks by 2027. “This will be a significant step to protect the U.K. from hostile cyber activity by state actors or criminals,” the DCMS said in the statement. “Over the past two years the government has attributed a range of cyber attacks to Russia and China, as well as North Korea and Iranian actors.”

Cool Stuff Found

App Sale: Paprika Recipe Manager is Just $2.99

Andrew Orr ·

Paprika Recipe Manager is a wonderful app I use to keep track of recipes, and it’s currently on sale for US$2.99, down from US$4.99. The sale lasts until the end of November. Here are some of the features: Recipes – Download recipes from your favorite websites, or add your own. Grocery Lists – Create smart grocery lists that automatically combine ingredients and sort them by aisle. Pantry – Use the pantry to keep track of which ingredients you have and when they expire. Meal Planner – Plan your meals using our daily, weekly, or monthly calendars. Menus – Save your favorite meal plans as reusable menus. Sync – Keep your recipes, grocery lists, and meal plans synced between all your devices.

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When an Apple-1 Sold For $210,000

Charlotte Henry ·

A decade ago, recalled Cult of Mac, an Apple-1 sold for $210,000. It was, at the time, the most expensive personal computer ever sold at auction and thought to be one of only around 50 working Apple-machines in existence. It also came with the original packaging and a letter signed by Steve Jobs. (Image credit: Christie’s)

Italian businessman and private collector Marco Boglione bought the Apple-1 in question. Sportswear company owner Boglione possessed an extensive archive of personal computers, including other rare Apple models. “I’m a guy that has been dealing with these machines, let me say loving these machines, and really being attached to these machines, since I was a kid,” Boglione told The Seattle Times in an interview shortly after the auction. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, on hand for the Apple-1 auction, vouched for the machine’s good working order. Boglione announced that the Apple-1 would go on display in Italy’s Museum of the Information Technology Revolution, in his hometown.

TMO Deals

iMazing iOS Device Manager Lifetime License: $19.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on iMazing, the iOS device manager we are big fans of here at TMO. With iMazing, you can browse and manage your backups, extract and print your text messages, drag and drop songs to your iPhone—all without jailbreaking your device. A lifetime license for two devices is $19.99 through our deal. There are also deals for 3 and 5 devices in the deal listing.