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Michigan Prop 2 Passes; Police Need a Warrant to Search Your Devices

Andrew Orr ·

Voters in Michigan overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2 which adds “electronic data and electronic communications” to the state’s search and seizure laws.

The person, houses, papers, possessions, and electronic data and electronic communications of every person shall be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. No warrant to search any place or to seize any person or things or to access electronic data or electronic communications shall issue without describing them, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

Translation: Michigan police need a warrant to search your electronic devices. And as a Michigander myself I definitely voted in favor of this.

Arc Pulse is a Minimalist Titanium Bumper for iPhone 12
Cool Stuff Found

Arc Pulse is a Minimalist Titanium Bumper for iPhone 12

Andrew Orr ·

I have one more piece of iPhone 12 phone case news for today. I was alerted to the Arc Pulse on Indiegogo. It tries to strike a balance between protecting your phone and enjoying its naked beauty. It’s not a case but a couple of metal attachments that slide over the top and bottom, protecting it from drops. There is an aluminum 7075 version and a titanium grade 5 version.

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Mattel Revealed it Suffered a Data Breach on June 28

Andrew Orr ·

Toy company Mattel suffered ransomware attack on June 28, 2020. It revealed this in a 10-Q form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On July 28, 2020, Mattel discovered that it was the victim of a ransomware attack on its information technology systems that caused data on a number of systems to be encrypted. Promptly upon detection of the attack, Mattel began enacting its response protocols and taking a series of measures to stop the attack and restore impacted systems. Mattel contained the attack and, although some business functions were temporarily impacted, Mattel restored its operations.

TMO Deals

6-Foot Magnetic Fidget Cable (Glow/3-Pack): $56.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

Our deal on the Magnetic Fidget Cable is back, only this time it’s the 6-foot version. This Lightning cable has magnets all along its length that allow it to coil automatically. You can also unwind just the amount you need at any given time. Or, you could just play with it—and it glows in the dark. I’m linking to the USB-A-to-Lightning version of the deal, but there are also non-glowing (Black or White) and USB-C options you can choose in the deal listing. Our deal is for a 3-pack of 6-foot cables for $5799. The non-glow models are $56.99 for a three pack.

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Why The 'Vintage' iPhone 5c Lives on

Charlotte Henry ·

The iPhone 5c is now officially vintage, meaning support is “subject to availability of inventory.” However, as Cult of Mac points out, the colorful, budget-friendly, device has had a lasting impact on the iPhone range.

The iPhone 5c was one half of the first bifurcation of an iPhone launch. Up until that point, Apple released just one iPhone each year, the only variations being color and storage capacity. In 2013, with iPhone sales still rocketing upward with no sign of an end in sight, Apple released two different handsets for the first time. There was the premium iPhone 5s, which came with the all-new Touch ID. Then there was the cheaper, primary-colored, “unapologetically plastic” iPhone 5c. Despite being cast as a failure by many, Apple doubled down on the iPhone 5c concept in the years following. For one thing, Apple never again had a year in which it launched just one iPhone. This year, it offers five models: The iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone SE.

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Portland, Maine Votes to Ban Facial Recognition

Charlotte Henry ·

Amongst various ballot initiatives to pass on Tuesday, voters in Portland, Maine decided to ban the use of facial recognition tech by police and city agencies. The Verge reported that private citizens will be entitled to at least $1000 if the police use such technology on them.

The initiative follows a city council vote in August, which put a preliminary ban in place as an ordinance. Today’s vote replaces that ordinance with a stronger measure, which cannot be revoked for at least five years. The ordinance was placed on the ballot earlier this year by the Southern Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, as part of a raft of other progressive initiatives including a $15 minimum wage and new limits on rent increases. The new measure also adds concrete penalties, entitling private citizens to a minimum of $1,000 in civil fees if they are surveilled in violation of the ordinance. Violations of the ordinance are also established as grounds for terminating or suspending a city employee. Private sector use of the technology is not affected.

AirPods Menu Bar Tool ‘ToothFairy’ Updated to Version 2.7
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AirPods Menu Bar Tool ‘ToothFairy’ Updated to Version 2.7

Andrew Orr ·

ToothFairy is a Mac app that lives in the menu bar to connect your AirPods with a single click or key press. It works with other Bluetooth accessories too, like mice, keyboards, and gaming controllers. Version 2.7 readies the app for macOS Big Sur and brings changes: Added AppleScript support for listing devices, getting their properties, and toggling connections; Updated the sample scripts in the “Run shell script after connecting/disconnecting” section of the manual; Added new icons for AirPods Pro, Beats Studio 3, controller, headphones, Playstation, Powerbeats 2020, Siri Remote, and Xbox; The “Improve sound quality by disabling audio input from device” option now works better when a Bluetooth device auto-connects rather than being connected via ToothFairy. It’s also more reliable in cases where macOS reports that it has set the audio input device but actually hasn’t. ToothFairy is available on the Mac App Store for US$4.99.