Nike Training Club is a Free Fitness+ Alternative
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Nike Training Club is a Free Fitness+ Alternative

Andrew Orr ·

I tweeted about this app last night and I figured I’d write about it too. If you don’t have an Apple Watch or just don’t want another subscription, Nike Training Club is a free Fitness+ alternative. The premise is similar; it gives you guided video workouts for all fitness levels whether you have gym equipment or not. Once you’ve created an account the app will ask you what you’re looking for like fitness level, intensity level, if you’re in a gym or at home, and if you want to mix it up once in a while with cardio. It will then create a 4 to 8 week program for you. Like Fitness+ it can sync with your Apple Music library during workouts.

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Private Messenger ‘Signal’ Adds Encrypted Group Video Calls

Andrew Orr ·

Good news for users of Signal. The app now supports group video calls, and they are end-to-end encrypted like the rest of the app’s communications.

Now when you open a group chat in Signal, you’ll see a video call button at the top. When you start a call, the group will receive a notification letting them know a call has started.

When you start or join a group call, Signal will display the participants in a grid view. You can also swipe up to switch to a view that automatically focuses the screen on who is speaking, and it will update in real time as the active speaker changes.

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HomePod Software 14.3 Out Now

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple released version 14.3 of its HomePod software on Tuesday, MacRumors reported. It followed a spate of releases on Monday, which included the latest version of iOS with Fitness+.

The ‌HomePod‌ 14.3 is available for the ‌HomePod‌ and the HomePod mini, and according to Apple’s release notes, the update includes general performance and stability improvements. HomePod‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌.

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VSCO Shares its 2020 Year in Review With Top Trends

Andrew Orr ·

VSCO has shared its 2020 Year in Review, exploring the top trends it saw throughout the year like popular hashtags and photo presets. For example, the top third preset of 2020 was B1, aka B&W Classic. That’s my favorite VSCO preset for black and white photography and I have a feeling I was partially responsible for pushing it to the top.

Without the pressure of public likes and comments on VSCO, we saw our community share their most raw and true moments, and how creativity helped them to get through this year’s ups and downs.

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Jetstream Routers Get Firmware Update to Fix Backdoor

Andrew Orr ·

In November, security researchers found a Walmart-branded router called Jetstream contained a way for a third party to remotely control the router and devices connected to it. Walmart responded and said it stopped selling these routers. The manufacturer, Wavlink, also responded. A firmware update includes the following:

Removed unnecessary diagnostic pages; Deleted tcpdump tool; Added codes to block CSRF attack; Improved Web authentication routine.

The researchers haven’t yet tested the update to see if it has been effective.

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Siri on iOS 14.3 Can Mimic Sounds Like Animals

Andrew Orr ·

When you download iOS 14.3 released on Monday, ask Siri if she can quack like a duck. CNBC says she will play a short audio clip of a quacking duck. However, when I asked her she played me an album from Apple Music called “Quack Like a Duck.” But I don’t think I worded it correctly. Ask “What does <blank> sound like?”

If you ask “what does the fox say?”, Siri may simply quote the song that became a YouTube hit in 2013. But asking “what does a fox sound like” brings up an actual call from an arctic fox, which sounds like someone whooping.

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FTC Launches Major Investigation into Tech Privacy

Charlotte Henry ·

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a huge investigation into privacy and data collection practices at major tech firms on Monday. Axios had the scoop.

The big picture: The move comes amid broader scrutiny for the industry and appears to be a wide-reaching inquiry into everything major tech companies know about their users and what they do with that data, as well as their broader business plans. Details: The FTC is asking for a large trove of information and documents from the above platforms, plus Discord, Reddit and Snap. The agency wants much of the usage and engagement data the platforms collect on their users, the metrics they use for measuring such things and short- and long-term business strategies, among many other areas of inquiry.