Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Update

Apple loses bid to block Samsung phones

http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/news/apple-loses-bid-to-block-samsung-phones-1.1742230#.U_7g8qXvbnc



11 Rare Apps That Were Yanked from Apple’s App Store

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/11-rare-apps-that-were-yanked-from-apples-app-store-96091989324.html



Why Tech Sites have a Horrible Pro-Apple Bias

while accusations of “pro-Apple bias” occur so often that they’re practically meaningless, that doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t have a brilliant strategy for monitoring and manipulating media coverage about the company that is lightyears beyond what Amazon, Microsoft or even Google do.

“Their strategy is to say nothing,” says one of Gurman’s sources. “It keeps everyone guessing what Apple is up to, generates free publicity, and keeps them out of the trouble everyone gets into. Once you start answering questions, you get your foot in your mouth.”

http://www.techly.com.au/2014/08/31/tech-sites-horrible-pro-apple-bias/



Apple tells developers they may not sell personal health data to advertisers

Apple announced in June this year that a new standard app called "Health" will collect data on blood pressure, heart rate, and stats on diet and exercise.

developers "must not sell an end-user's health information collected through the HealthKit APIs to advertising platforms, data brokers or information resellers". Although, the rules add that they could share their data with "third parties for medical research purposes" as long as they get users' consent.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/29/apple-health-data-privacy-developers-advertisers



Apple co-founder Woz calls wearables 'a hard sell,' wants bigger screen
Steve "Woz" Wozniak thinks Apple is poised to take wearables to the next level. But unlike smartphones and tablets, wearables may prove a tougher sell to consumers -- including him.

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-co-founder-woz-calls-wearables-a-hard-sell-wants-bigger-screen/



After Exposing Sexism In The Video Game Industry, This Woman Received Rape Threats On Twitter

http://www.businessinsider.com/game-industry-critic-faces-rape-threats-2014-8



Here's Why This CEO Finds All Her Employees Through LinkedIn

http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-finds-all-employees-through-linkedin-2014-8



Twitter Analytics Is A Gold Mine Of Information About Your Tweets

If you’re looking for an ego boost, look no further: There’s an easy way to see just how many people witness your Twitter brilliance each day.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/37820-twitter-analytics-is-a-gold-mine-of-information-about-your-tweets



Twitter this week opened up its analytics tool to everyone after testing it with a small group of userssince June.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2465499,00.asp



Twitter Now Shows You Exactly How Many People See Your Tweets — And It's Mesmerizing

Sometimes, tweeting is like gazing into the abyss, as Nietzsche may have said. With Twitter Analytics, you can now find out whether the abyss is retweeting you.

it's about finding out the real reasons that your followers find you interesting, and how that compares with your perception of yourself.

And that is why Twitter Analytics is so compelling: It's like seeing yourself in a brutal social media vanity mirror. Sometimes hideous, sometimes not so bad ... but you cannot look away.

http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-analytics-dashboard-launched-2014-8



Celebrities and other big wigs on Twitter have long had access to their accounts' metrics, able to see user engagement and other information on followers and account activity. That feature has been extended to include (almost) every user, regardless of whether they're verified.

Twitter Analytics can now be accessed by anyone who has had a Twitter account for longer than two weeks.

http://www.slashgear.com/twitter-rolls-out-activity-dashboard-for-the-little-people-28343134/



Here's Why Amazon Just Paid Nearly $1 Billion For A Site Where You Watch People Play Video Games

Amazon said Monday it's buying video-streaming site Twitch for $970 million in cash, noting that in just three years it's built a platform that attracts millions of visitors every month.

People love watching other people play games and commenting on them.

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-amazon-paid-almost-1-billion-for-twitch-2014-8



Amazon Buys Twitch? Really?

It's worth a billion dollars to watch someone else play a video game?

I will note that it was worth billions to sell pet supplies over the Internet too.

In 1999.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229343



Twitch.tv Brought Down By Lizard Squad DDoS Attacks

The DDoS attacks came the day after it was announced that Amazon had purchased Twitch for $970 million

http://hothardware.com/News/Twitchtv-Brought-Down-By-Lizard-Squad-Attacks/#!bLYDCp



Study finds human are happy to be managed by robots

HUMAN workers prefer to take orders from robots than their colleagues, researchers have found.

http://www.iol.co.za/business/international/study-finds-human-are-happy-to-be-managed-by-robots-1.1741530#.U_2adaXvbnc



New research from MIT shows that robots are not only more efficient than humans at controlling human workers, but that the workers prefer receiving orders from robots than from another person in a higher-up position.

Instead of coming up with a plan by hand, it's about developing tools to help create plans automatically

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/14097/20140826/should-robots-take-control-mit-scientists-say-yes.htm



Massive, open, online courses (MOOC) were once hailed as the next big disruption to traditional higher education, opening the door to a college education to anyone, anywhere in the world. But the low percentage of students who complete such classes on their own, and the fact that most people who sign up for MOOCs already have a college degree, have educators rethinking how the new format for college coursework can best be put to use.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/still-little-consensus-role-massive-online-courses-higher-education/



ALERT: Malware 'Meteroids'

This author found a particularly-pernicious bit of spyware and had some fun getting rid of it.

It affects Windows machines.  The author doesn't say if it affects Macs.

the service survives the uninstall, and worse, it is capable of and does "hook" a browser session even without an extension loaded!

most anti-virus systems will not pick it up.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229340



How To Never, EVER Worry About Your Passwords Getting Hacked Or Stolen

It's time to get smarter about your passwords by using a password manager app. Such an app makes it ridiculously easy to create unguessable passwords and change them whenever the need strikes.

AW comment:  This borders on being a long advertisement for a product called "Last Pass".  I've never heard of this product before.

AW comment:  That said, password security is very important, and a good password management app can help.

AW comment:  Another product for the Mac called "1Password" is worth a look.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-password-manager-lastpass-2014-8