Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up

Just a few days before the release of the Hollywood romantic comedy film Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, Apple has provided a behind-the-scenes look at how Final Cut Pro X was used to produce the movie. The feature page provides an in-depth profile of how Final Cut Pro X was used for editing, screen-ready effects and post-production.

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/25/final-cut-pro-x-focus-movie/



How to export Apple Health data as a document to share

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2889310/how-to-export-apple-health-data-as-a-document-to-share.html



Apple's Tim Cook takes hardline stance against consumer data sharing, government snooping and terrorism

Apple CEO Tim Cook reaffirmed his commitment to customer data privacy, saying most consumers likely do not know how dire the situation is, but will be "very offended" when they find out.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/02/27/apples-tim-cook-takes-hardline-stance-against-consumer-data-sharing-and-terrorism-



Why I’m Saying Goodbye to Apple, Google and Microsoft
I’m putting more trust in communities than corporations

We are losing control over the tools that once promised equal opportunity in speech and innovation—and this has to stop.

Control is moving back to the center, where powerful companies and governments are creating choke points. They are using those choke points to destroy our privacy, limit our freedom of expression, and lock down culture and commerce. Too often, we give them our permission—trading liberty for convenience—but a lot of this is being done without our knowledge, much less permission.

Part of my conversion stems from an abiding distaste for corporate and government control-freakery.

Apple became the kind of company I prefer not to support: control-freakish to a fault with customers,software developers and the press; and, I came to believe, even dangerous to the future of open networks and user-controlled technology.

Just about every kind of software I need is available for Linux, even if it often isn’t as slick as the Windows or Mac products it replaces.

But I’ve given up the idea that free software and open hardware will become the norm for consumers anytime soon, if ever—even though free and open-source software is at the heart of the Internet’s back end.

https://medium.com/backchannel/why-i-m-saying-goodbye-to-apple-google-and-microsoft-78af12071bd



Here's why iPhone owners only sometimes see accept/decline buttons when receiving calls

It depends on whether your iPhone is currently locked or unlocked.

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-accepting-calls-slider-versus-buttons-2015-2



Apple's iOS is eating Android's lunch in this crucial measure:  Profit

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-ios-is-eating-androids-lunch-in-this-crucial-measure-2015-02-26



Big, beautiful photos of all 22 models of the Apple Watch

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-watch-pictures-of-every-model-2015-2



How the Apple Watch changes everything

Apple has got a huge completely untapped watch market to tap into. Today's smart watches aren't really that smart, and they're not all that good at being watches either.

While there have been plenty of Android and other "smart watches" on the market, I can tell you from experience that trying to use Android smartphone apps on your smart watch makes for a brutal user experience.

I sure wouldn't put a stop loss on Apple stock, as I've seen it pull back 20%-30% or more at various times in the 12 years that I've owned it, which would mean I'd have been stopped out of it many times along the way, instead of just riding it to glory. If you want to own Apple, I think you should just resign yourself to the fact that you will have some "drawdowns"/pullbacks in the stock and prepare to nibble/scale into more Apple when that happens.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-apple-watch-changes-everything-2015-02-26



Websites are dead. Nobody consumes content from the laptop anymore. The only people who spend time on their desktops, or even their laptops, are those use them to work, practice hobbies or do research.

Since the advent of the smartphone, I've begged people to get in front of the App Revolution.

And since the advent of the smartphone and tablet, most people know that the PC market had faded, but have still failed to see all the ramifications of these changes. In the last five years alone, smartphones went from being geeky/rich-people's devices to the primary device that the entire developed world uses.

Best ways to invest in the continuing App Revolution? Apple and Google as I've said from day one.

But the single best way to invest in the App Revolution?  Do like I did with Scutify's four apps for iOS and Android and invest in starting your own app company that revolutionizes the world.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bet-everything-on-the-app-revolution-2015-02-27



Former Apple CEO John Sculley on What Makes a True Mentor

http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/243186



Apple ordered to pay $533 million in iTunes patent lawsuit

An Apple spokeswoman said the company would appeal and slammed Smartflash for what it sees as patent abuse.

"Smartflash makes no products, has no employees, creates no jobs, has no U.S. presence, and is exploiting our patent system to seek royalties for technology Apple invented," Apple said in a statement.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82918490/



More than five billion downloaded Android apps are vulnerable to hacks, and the number of apps designed to steal financial information from users has skyrocketed.

Ninety-six percent of mobile malware targets Android.

Criminals are also increasingly targeting Apple devices by bypassing the company's typical review process for apps by using a program Apple designed for companies to be able to build in-house iOS apps for employees. Those apps aren't subject to Apple's appraisal. The security company called the tactic "an intriguing avenue for attackers in the future," according to the report.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/billions-of-android-apps-vulnerable-to-hackers-2015-02-27



Apple's operating systems and Linux racked up more vulnerability reports than Windows during 2014, according to research from security outfit GFI.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/26/windows_beats_apple_linux_with_fewest_bugs_for_2014/



Apple, Linux, not Windows, most vulnerable operating systems in 2014

Or so this article claims:

OS X, iOS, and Linux were the top three most vulnerable operating systems in 2014, but Internet Explorer was the most vulnerable app.

The top spot for vulnerabilities in operating systems no longer goes to Microsoft Windows; in fact, Windows isn't even listed in the top three. Instead, the most vulnerable OS was Apple Mac OS X, followed by Apple iOS and Linux kernel.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2887240/microsoft-subnet/apple-linux-not-windows-most-vulnerable-operating-systems-in-2014-ie-wins-worst-app.html



Beware the bio-marketing revolution

male or female, our personal biological data are going to be incredibly valuable to marketers. Consumer companies want that data, and will pay for it.

Women in a monogamous relationship were more likely to seek out a broad variety in their choices during their most fertile phase.
married women were even more prone to extra varieties if they had first removed their wedding rings

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/our-bodies-our-sells-beware-the-bio-marketing-revolution-2015-02-23



Everyone Wants You To Have Security, But Not From Them

Eric Schmidt does want your data to be secure. He wants Google to be the safest place for your data - as long as you don't mind the fact that Google has access to your data. Facebook wants the same thing: to protect your data from everyone except Facebook. Hardware companies are no different. Last week, we learned that Lenovo computers shipped with a piece of adware called Superfish that broke users' security to spy on them for advertising purposes.

Governments are no different. The FBI wants people to have strong encryption, but it wants backdoor access so it can get at your data. UK Prime Minister David Cameron wants you to have good security, just as long as it's not so strong as to keep the UK government out. And, of course, the NSA spends a lot of money ensuring that there's no security it can't break.

Corporations want access to your data for profit; governments want it security purposes, be they benevolent or malevolent. But Diffie makes an even stronger point: we give lots of companies access to our data because it makes our lives easier.

We want strong security, but we also want companies to have access to our computers, smart devices, and data. We want someone else to manage our computers and smart phones, organize our e-mail and photos, and help us move data between our various devices.

We'll never solve these security problems as long as we're our own worst enemy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceschneier/2015/02/23/everyone-wants-you-to-have-security-but-not-from-them/



What If Tax Refund Theft Isn't Really About Refund Theft?

when he signed in to his TurboTax account last week, he was more than a little bit surprised to find that Intuit's system said that he had already filed a tax return [even though he hadn't.
TurboTax didn't seem to have any answers for him but they did have an important question: did you have insurance through Anthem?  He did.

The FBI is currently investigating the TurboTax hack but isn't saying much.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2015/02/23/what-if-tax-refund-theft-isnt-really-about-refund-theft/



Interview with Edward Snowden

Whistleblower protection laws, a strong defense of the right for someone charged with political crimes to make any defense they want (currently in the US, someone charged with revealing classified information is entirely prohibited from arguing before the jury that the programs were unlawful, immoral, or otherwise wrongful), and support for the development of technically and legally protected means of communications between sources and journalists. The sad truth is that societies that demand whistleblowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most.

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/snowden-on-reddit-i-would-have-come-forward-sooner/

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth has yet more articles for you

I stopped checking email for a week, and now I realize I've been using it wrong for years

http://www.businessinsider.com/email-is-broken-2015-2



6 signs the selfie craze has gone too far

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-signs-the-selfie-craze-has-gone-too-far-2015-02-20



Firms are getting 20-somethings into stocks by making trading apps look like video games

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-from-grand-theft-auto-to-wall-street-trading-apps-woo-gamers-2015-2



blogs aren’t dying, but they are significantly declining. 2015 might be a rough year.

If you want traffic, Google’s arc makes clear to publishers, you’re going to have to pay for it.

content publishers are moving toward social and viral traffic, because they can no longer count on search to work for them. It’s this addiction to social that makes the web dumber. If you want tonnage, lower your standards.

Everyone’s spending increasingly more consumption time dicking around in apps and snacking on bite-sized social content instead of browsing websites and searching Google.

Publishers are relying more on social traffic not because Google’s squeezing them out, but because that’s where everyone went.

http://www.marco.org/2015/02/16/google-and-blogs-shit



Bitcoin will be bigger than the internet says Star Silicon Valley entrepreneur

every time we do a payment when we're not physically together, we have to trust a third party — whether it's a bank, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, there's always a third party, I have to trust them.

Bitcoin is remarkable in that it allows me to send money to you anywhere in the world, in real time, free, without any third party.

There are a number of problems with today's currency system. It's expensive. It's unsafe. It carries huge transaction costs.

And I think that bitcoin can be the way in which these [5 Billion people outside the world credit system] can participate.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-bitcoin-may-have-more-impact-than-the-internet-2015-2



Earlier this month, just as tax season was nearing its peak, 19 states and Intuit - the maker of TurboTax software - noticed a surge of fraudulent state-tax filings prepared with TurboTax.

In some cases, the fraudulent state and federal filings include data apparently taken from TurboTax clients' 2013 tax returns, according to state tax officials and taxpayers.

Some good Q and A here.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fraud-alert-what-turbotax-users-need-to-know-now-2015-02-16



While it’s not uncommon for Silicon Valley companies to poach employees from the local competition, the practice of enticing talent away from automakers and suppliers is particularly damaging for the auto industry, especially since cars are becoming more software dependent. Several major auto supplier have mentioned to me that one of their biggest challenges is finding and retaining tech talent, and it’s been an issue in Detroitfor quite some time.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougnewcomb/2015/02/20/apples-talent-poaching-is-real-threat-to-auto-industry/



It isn't worth it right now for criminals to hack cars

The problem for hackers is that our cars aren't fully networked.

Complicating matters for hackers is the fact that the operating software used by automakers is proprietary and varied.

The threat of hacked cars isn't a real concern to most drivers these days. Criminals love a big payoff, and at the moment, the payoff from hacking vehicles is simply too small.

But make no mistake: the day is coming when our vehicles will be fully networked ...... make hacking cars a far more lucrative endeavor.

http://www.businessinsider.com/it-isnt-worth-it-right-now-for-criminals-to-hack-cars-2015-2



HUGE SPY PROGRAM EXPOSED: NSA has hidden software in hard drives around the world

That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western cyberespionage operations.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-russian-researchers-expose-breakthrough-us-spying-program-2015-2



Moscow-Based Security Firm Reveals What May Be The Biggest NSA "Backdoor Exploit" Ever

spies made a technological breakthrough by figuring out how to lodge malicious software in the obscure code called firmware that launches every time a computer is turned on.

Disk drive firmware is viewed by spies and cybersecurity experts as the second-most valuable real estate on a PC for a hacker, second only to the BIOS code invoked automatically as a computer boots up.

The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives.

That long-sought and closely guarded ability was part of a cluster of spying programs discovered by Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based security software maker that has exposed a series of Western cyberespionage operations.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-16/moscow-based-security-firm-reveals-what-may-be-biggest-nsa-backdoor-exploit-ever

Editor's bloviation on the topic of a future Apple Car

Apple expands the definition of “personal” and “computer” beyond the desktop Mac, the notebook Mac, the tablet iPad, and the iPhone. Now they apparently want to move into wristwatches and automobiles. I wonder what frontiers will Apple seek out next?

 

Apple will seek out the early adopters for its first iterations. The beautiful fashion model will wear the Apple Watch before the schlubby blogger does. In his defense, this schlubby blogger didn’t buy his first iPad before it came out in Retina. He will wait for the watch to drop in price or add more health monitoring features. 

 

As for the Apple Car, it looks like a long-term project that won’t put wheels on the street before 2020. I keep thinking of Henry J. Kaiser, the American industrialist. He tried to compete with the Big 3 auto makers in the 1940’s after building the  Victory and Liberty ships of World War II. He had expected to lose a lot of money initially, but not to see it disappear so quickly with nothing to show for it! 

 

So the appearance of an Apple Motors sales office in Santa Monica would not surprise me. Just remember that car dealers maintain a stranglehold in much of the United States, requiring that car manufacturers go through them to sell to the public. Just look at Tesla. 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

MacValley's list of Web sites to help you extract data from old 5.25 floppy disks

Dr. Vinton “Vint” Cerf, currently a senior  Google Vice President, spoke recently on how rapidly media formats have become obsolete. This article will concentrate on how to get data from old 5.25” floppy disks and end your own personal “digital dark age.”

First, if you do not want to invest in more computer hardware and don’t need the data right now, then floppy disk.com has a transfer service for Windows & DOS 3.5” and 5.25” floppy disks to a flash drive. They also transfer old ZIP disks in both Windows and Mac format to a flash drive. They also transfer old 1.4 Mb Mac floppy disks to a flash drive. They do not work with the old 400K/800K Mac floppy disks.

What if you want to set up your own 5.25” floppy disk to transfer formats beyond the ubiquitous Windows and Mac HFS+ formats to your Mac/Windows PC/Linux box? Well, I have information on that,too. 

You’ll need the following:

1. Device Side Data’s circuit board for hooking a 5.25” 1.2Mb floppy drive to a USB 1.1/2.0 port. The USB port on your computer powers this board, not the floppy drive itself.

 

 

 

2. Their software, which is downloadable from their site

 

3. A 5.25” 1.2Mb floppy drive, available from floppy disks .com  You will need to scroll down the page to the 5.25” floppy drives. You want the TEAC available for $69.95. This won’t be cheap.

4. Power supply for the TEAC floppy drive. Available from Device Side Data for $25.00

 

 

5. External housing for floppy drive. Check with Device Side Data at 

 

They say they have them in stock now. 

 

 I strongly suggest you look at this article by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth at her Spellbound Blog. She built a 5.25” floppy drive to recover old WordStar files from 5.25” floppys dating back as far as 1984. She also talks about conversion software for the old  Wordstar files into a modern text or HTML format.

The WordStar conversion software was written by Henry Bartlett of Tasmania,  Australia. It is for Windows 9X and Windows XP. Send him an e-mail or Postcard if you found it helpful. 

 

 Summary:

These are the Web sites you will need in order to get data from old 5.25” disks

 

1. Windows & DOS 5.25 floppy disks transfer service at floppy disk dot com.

2. Floppy drive controller board, power supply, and external floppy drive housing at Device Side Data

 3. The 5.25” floppy drive itself at Floppy disk dot com (Scroll down past the 3.5” drives to the 5.25” drives. You want the Teac FD-55 drive)

4. E-mail address for device side data is 

 

I respect a fellow hardware enthusiast’s e-mail privacy.

 

5. Great article on rescuing 5.25” floppy drives from oblivion by Jeanne Kramer-Symth  As I said before, she used the Device Side Data controller board to extract old Wordstar files from old 5.25” DOS formatted 

6. If you want to dig further, go here to http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Rescuing_Floppy_Disks

7. If you have data in old formats that you can’t read, try LibreOffice. It’s available for OS X, Windows, and Linux.

 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

 

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Roundup

10 surprising facts about Apple 10 years ago

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-surprising-facts-about-apple-10-years-ago-2015-2



Apple will fix your older MacBook Pro's video problems for free

You're covered so long as you bought a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro between early 2011 and the end of 2013, including the first two generations of Retina models.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/19/macbook-pro-video-repair-program/



Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers a fantastic, touching speech about why online privacy matters

http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-on-online-privacy-2015-2



The 10 best iPhone widgets you should be using

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-best-iphone-widgets-2015-2



How to fix your cracked iPhone or Samsung phone without leaving the house

Actually, a nifty startup called iCracked will come to you and repair your broken phone on the spot.

If you decide to sell your phone, you'll get handed a pre-paid debit card right then and there which you can then use online or in stores, and you can always withdraw the cash from the card at an ATM.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-fix-a-cracked-iphone-screen-without-leaving-your-house-2015-2



Apple poaching auto engineers to build battery division: lawsuit

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-apple-autos-lawsuit-idUSKBN0LN04Y20150219



Earlier this month, just as tax season was nearing its peak, 19 states and Intuit - the maker of TurboTax software - noticed a surge of fraudulent state-tax filings prepared with TurboTax.

In some cases, the fraudulent state and federal filings include data apparently taken from TurboTax clients' 2013 tax returns, according to state tax officials and taxpayers.

Some good Q and A here.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fraud-alert-what-turbotax-users-need-to-know-now-2015-02-16



The French dating app that lets you track down people you passed on the street seems like a stalker's dream

http://uk.businessinsider.com/happn-dating-app-romance-and-stalking



"The World's Most Sophisticated Cyber Attack" - How Hackers Infiltrated The Banks & Stole Millions

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-15/worlds-most-sophisticated-cyber-attack-how-hackers-infiltrated-banks-stole-millions



How to hide on the internet

http://www.businessinsider.com/hide-invisible-on-internet-tor-vpn-2015-2



Father of the internet: 'If we don’t move now, we risk losing all the data we’ve created in the 21st century'

Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet, says this inability to get to the data in an old floppy disk, or even an old version of Adobe Photoshop, could result in a digital dark age.

http://www.businessinsider.com/vint-cerf-father-of-the-internet-warns-of-a-digital-dark-age-2015-2



A 22-year-old made the ultimate guide on how to use Snapchat

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-snapchat-2015-2



We talked to a bunch of millennials about why they use Snapchat — here's what we found out

users want to share their lives to anyone they choose to elicit possible feedback, but without the necessity of it being stored. Facebook allows you to upload images, but who wants to see 30 images and a few videos of a concert or you playing with your dog? And further, who wants to save or even hold on to that (including you)?

Anyone over the age of 35 registered on Snapchat is probably also registered on Family WatchDog.

I'll never in my life use Snapcash. Snapchat has been hacked one too many times for me to see Snapcash as a viable option for peer-to-peer money exchange.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-millennials-use-snapchat-2015-2



Snapchat tells underage teens to stop sexting: 'Keep your clothes on!'

Half of Snapchat's users are teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17.

http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-tells-underage-teens-to-stop-sexting-2015-2

WhiteHat Aviator - A web browser focused on your security and privacy… finally

WhiteHat Aviator - A web browser focused on your security and privacy… finally: ""

(Via.)

Neil deGrasse Tyson poaches Conan's set, sidekick - CNN.com

Neil deGrasse Tyson poaches Conan's set, sidekick - CNN.com: ""

(Via.)

 

In case you didn’t see this bit on Conan, it’s hilarious and there’s a link to it.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Roundup

14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2




How Apple gets away with breaking the 'laws of success' for business

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-apple-breaks-the-laws-of-business-2015-2





Apple is now an existential threat to Android

For the first time ever, sales of Google's Android mobile devices have gone into decline — an astonishing defeat for a product that is given away free to manufacturers.

It has never been more depressing to be an Android fan than right now.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Google wanted Android to get into the hands of the next 5 billion people.
    The iPhone was for the 1%.
    But Android was The People's Phone.

The People, however, appear to have had other ideas.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-is-an-existential-threat-to-android-2015-2






Why Apple's CEO went to Obama's cybersecurity summit

but not Google, Facebook and Yahoo

According toFBI director James Comey, Apple’s decision, with iOS 8, to encrypt all its devices by default, “will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at all levels.”

Now Apple is upping the ante. It’s trying to turn cybersecurity — Apple Pay, TouchID, powerful encryption, two-step verification — into a marketing tool, another moat it can use to protect ASPs double and triple its competitors’.

It’s a strategy that worked for BlackBerry.

http://fortune.com/2015/02/13/why-apples-ceo-is-going-to-obamas-cybersecurity-summit/








The Patient Will See You Now

Smartphones will empower patients to take charge of their health care, a cardiologist argues.

“We are about to see a medical revolution with little mobile devices,” he writes, ” in which digitally empowered patients will truly take charge of their own health care.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/books/review/the-patient-will-see-you-now-by-eric-topol.html?emc=edit_bk_20150213&nl=books&nlid=11893479&_r=0






List: 10 worst-rated dating apps

Americans hate dating apps more than all other types of apps.

More than one in 10 Americans have used an online dating site or mobile dating app.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-most-hated-dating-app-in-america-is-2015-02-11







54 women who rocked the tech world

http://www.businessinsider.com/54-women-who-rocked-the-tech-world-2015-2








How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life.  And how other tweets blew up other people's lives.

I’ve been interviewing individuals like Justine Sacco: everyday people pilloried brutally, most often for posting some poorly considered joke on social media.

As time passed, I watched these shame campaigns multiply, to the point that they targeted not just powerful institutions and public figures but really anyone perceived to have done something offensive. I also began to marvel at the disconnect between the severity of the crime and the gleeful savagery of the punishment.

Social media is so perfectly designed to manipulate our desire for approval, and that is what led Justine's her undoing. Her tormentors were instantly congratulated as they took Sacco down, bit by bit, and so they continued to do so. Their motivation was much the same as Sacco’s own — a bid for the attention of strangers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html





Net neutrality's foes outspending supporters in Congress

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/net-neutralitys-foes-outspending-supporters-in-congress-2015-02-13

Reader Comment:
If you want to keep the internet "free" then you will be opposing a government takeover of ISPs and the internet - aka net neutrality. Really, this whole net neutrality farce is yet another ploy from the left to expand government and insert it into places it  doesn't need to be. The internet is an information service, we do not need the FCC playing overseer with IP addresses or telling ISPs what they can and cannot do.

Reader Comment:
Why do you think companies like ATT and Verizon are against net neutrality?  You don't suppose it's because they aim to make some money off of it, do you?
Your claims about "gov't expansion" are scare tactics used to fear gov't, instead of considering who's against it and why. 

 

Superior Alternatives to Boring Stock Mac Apps

Superior Alternatives to Boring Stock Mac Apps: ""

(Via.)

Seagate zaps Thunderbolt drives, LaCie to continue lineup | 9to5Mac

Seagate zaps Thunderbolt drives, LaCie to continue lineup | 9to5Mac: ""

(Via.)

 

So it comes down to this:

If you’re a regular consumer, you go with USB 3.0 which you can buy at Costco cheap.

 

If you’re a pro, you go with Thunderbolt, which you can write off on your taxes as a business expense.

 

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

Paper by FiftyThree’s essential tools now free for all iPad users | 9to5Mac

Paper by FiftyThree’s essential tools now free for all iPad users | 9to5Mac: ""

(Via.)

 

This is what the iPad was made for. If you haven’t got it, get it now.

 

I admit I have the artistic capability of a brick, but I still found it fascinating.  Grab it NOW, people.

 

Tom Briant

Editor,  MacVAlley Blog

 

Swatch planning cross-platform smartwatch & mobile payments to compete with Apple Watch, says CEO | 9to5Mac

Swatch planning cross-platform smartwatch & mobile payments to compete with Apple Watch, says CEO | 9to5Mac: ""

(Via.)

 

And so it goes.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

Apple begins training retail employees about the Apple Watch | 9to5Mac

Apple begins training retail employees about the Apple Watch | 9to5Mac: ""

(Via.)

 

Now it begins.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, Macvalley Blog

 

Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs film, starring Michael Fassbender, will hit theaters Oct. 9

Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs film, starring Michael Fassbender, will hit theaters Oct. 9: ""

(Via.)

 

I still say they should have just cast Justin Long and John Hodgeman.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, MacValley Blog

 

Apple Inc iOS 8 HealthKit already in testing at 60 percent of top 23 U.S. hospitals

Apple Inc iOS 8 HealthKit already in testing at 60 percent of top 23 U.S. hospitals: ""

(Via.)

How to get the lowest prices anywhere on Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pros with coupons

How to get the lowest prices anywhere on Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pros with coupons: ""

(Via.)

 

Read the article. Get the MacBook Pro. IT’s that simple.

 

Tom Briant

Editor, Macvalley Blog

How to prepare your iPhoto library for Photos for OS X | Macworld

How to prepare your iPhoto library for Photos for OS X | Macworld: ""

(Via.)

Neil Young's $400 Pono hi-def music player loses to Apple's iPhone in blind audio test

Neil Young's $400 Pono hi-def music player loses to Apple's iPhone in blind audio test: ""

(Via.)

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrapup

Here's a first look at Apple's redesigned 'Photos' app for Macs

Apple is about to replace iPhoto with a new image editor, simply dubbed "Photos." Not only does it bring a drastic redesign (in the style of Yosemite, of course), but it'll also come built into OS X so that you no longer need to download it from the App Store.

The editing tools are better this time around too. Not robust enough to take on Photoshop, mind you, but a clear improvement over iPhoto.

The best thing I noticed about Photos is that it's fast and smooth.  iPhoto hesitates as you click around, if only for a second or two.  Sometimes it beachballs.  Photos doesn't.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/05/apple-photos-app-os-x-yosemite/



Editing with Photos for OS X, Apple’s iPhoto (and Aperture) replacement

The current Photos app is BETA TEST.  It is NOT ready for prime time.

These updates go through quite a bit of testing, and several builds are usually released before they're deemed good enough for general use.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/02/editing-with-photos-for-os-x-apples-iphoto-and-aperture-replacement/



David Pogue says Photos for the Mac Is Clean, Fast, Connected — and Unfinished

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/photos-for-the-mac-is-clean-fast-connected-and-110170322774.html



First Impressions of Photos for OS X: 'Vast Improvement' Over iPhoto

a roundup of some of the more interesting comments and opinions about Photos for OS X, which combines iPhoto and Aperture into one for OS X Yosemite.

Overall, Photos for OS X appears to be a significant improvement for users migrating from iPhoto, but a step down in functionality for those coming from Aperture.

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/05/photos-for-os-x-first-impressions/



Why are hospitals using Apple's HealthKit? It's simple

It's simple for hospitals to connect Apple's HealthKit to their Epic electronic health-record systems.

And it's simple for patients to connect their phones' data through HealthKit to their hospitals.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150205/NEWS/302059938/why-are-hospitals-using-apples-healthkit-its-simple



Apple's 10 Biggest, Riskiest Bets

Even the most vociferous Apple haters can surely admit that Apple is firing on all cylinders.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/81662.html



Five things Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak will tell you about business

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2015/02/05/five-things-apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-will.html



The ultimate guide to how and where to use Apple Pay

http://www.macworld.com/article/2834669/the-ultimate-guide-on-how-and-where-to-use-apple-pay.html



We pitted an iPhone camera against a point-and-shoot and a DSLR to see if there's really any difference

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-6-vs-dslr-and-point-and-shoot-2015-2



The amazing perks of working at Apple

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-things-about-working-at-apple-2015-2



Microsoft Outlook is the best email app out right now

Apple's own Mail app is still the best integrated email app for iPhone users, but I found myself missing the extra features and depth to the email experience that Outlook brings to the table.

Gmail is still stuck using the same bogged down actions to deal with individual emails, Hop and Inbox are too alien for many users, and Mailbox makes it tough to deal with a clogged-up inbox in one swoop — it's perfect if you check your email obsessively though.

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-email-app-goes-to-microsoft-outlook-2015-2



Microsoft is slowly taking over my iPhone

A week ago, the apps on my home screen were dominated by just about every major tech company except Microsoft.

But last week Microsoft relaunched Outlook on iPhone.

After five minutes with the app, I knew Outlook was so good that I could delete Gmail.

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-sunrise-and-outlook-for-iphone-2015-2



Outlook on IOS? Careful Will Robinson!

You believe that Microsoft gives a damn about your data security?  If so, you're not very bright.

http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=229810



Man misses epic moment because he's too busy texting

http://www.businessinsider.com/man-misses-once-in-a-lifetime-moment-because-hes-too-busy-texting-2015-2



Intelligent machines aren't going to overthrow humans

A world in which humans are enslaved or destroyed by superintelligent machines of our own creation is purely science fiction. Like every other technology, AI has risks and benefits, but we cannot let fear dominate the conversation or guide AI research.

http://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-not-danger-to-humanity-2015-2



Can the music industry survive the streaming revolution?

For an 18-month period, I [Rosanne Cash] had 600,000 streams, and I was paid $104.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/music-industry-survive-the-streaming-revolution/

Reader Comment:
You Tube is the lifeblood of many Facebook music groups. This side of music streaming is never covered by the media possibly because it involves technically the unauthorized use of copyrighted material and that can't be ethically promoted.

Reader Comment:
only since the invention of the phonograph and radio that musicians have become wealthy.
For thousands of years musicians were local performers or traveling minstrels that made a living income. Even famed composers like Mozart needed a wealthy sponsor to pay to write symphonies. Streaming media is just a reversion to the historical mean.



11 business facts about Facebook on its 11th birthday

http://fortune.com/2015/02/04/facebook-11th-birthday/



Don’t fall for this Facebook hoax (and 6 things you can do to ensure Facebook privacy)

http://www.businessinsider.com/6-steps-to-ensuring-facebook-privacy-2015-2



Social networking is still in its infancy

Twitter, Facebook are the two social networks that everybody thinks of when it comes to sharing news. I have been a longtime investor in Facebook and recently started buying Twitter in part because of their powerful reach in disrupting the control of media.

there's a lot of upside in social networking growth still to come. Think of it this way - today you watch 100 different TV shows in a year on 30 different TV stations on five different form factors and use maybe one or two social networks on your smartphone, tablet and PC. In five years, you'll be on five different types of social networks that you access from 30 different form factors (thank you, wearables). The size of the social network pie is growing tremendously.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2015/02/02/social-networking-is-still-in-its-infancy/



How Science Fiction Will Help Us Go to Mars

Eventually, our technology will reach a point where it doesn't cost that much to go into space.

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/02/mars-martian-science-fiction-inquiring-minds

Reader Comment:
It won't take long for all those "rocket scientists" in congress to savage NASA's budget. We'll be lucky to get paper planes.



Your old landline could get an early retirement

Major telecom companies have made no secret of their desire to abandon the traditional, copper wire-based phone service.

AT&T wants to complete the switch within five years. Verizon, the dominant landline provider in Maryland, hasn't set a date.

The Federal Communications Commission has said there will come a "tipping point" at which it will no longer make sense to maintain two systems.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-cutting-landlines-20150131-story.html#page=1



Anthem hack raises fears about medical data

Insurance giant Anthem Inc. suffered a massive data breach exposing the personal information of up to 80 million Americans — and it could have been even worse for consumers.

The hackers didn't take sensitive medical information on patients or their credit card data, according to the company, even though it was stored alongside Social Security numbers and other personal information that were stolen.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-anthem-hack-fallout-20150206-story.html#page=1?track=lat-pick



The Anthem hack reveals health insurers don't have to encrypt your private information

Insurers aren't required to encrypt consumers' data under a 1990s federal law that remains the foundation for health care privacy in the Internet age — an omission that seems striking in light of the major cyberattack against Anthem.

The main federal health privacy law — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA — encourages encryption, but doesn't require it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-anthem-hack-reveals-health-insurers-dont-have-to-encrypt-your-private-information-2015-2

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrapup

Apple's OS X 10.10.2 update fixes Wi-Fi connection issues, improves iCloud, patches security holes

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/27/apple-release-os-x-10102-with-security-updates-icloud-enhancements-and-bug-fixes



Quad-Core 2012 Mac Mini Mysteriously Reappears on Apple's U.S. Online Store

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/27/2012-mac-mini-apple-store/



How to make a four-year-old MacBook Pro run like a ‘brand-new computer’ for just $170

Buy and install (a) more RAM and (b) a solid state drive (SSD).

http://www.businessinsider.com/four-year-old-macbook-pro-run-like-new-2015-1



The Incredible 31-Year Evolution Of The Mac

http://www.businessinsider.com/31-year-mac-evolution-2015-1



Apple Just Released A New iPhone Update That May Solve One Of The Biggest Annoyances With iOS 8

The new update reduces the amount of storage required to install software updates on the iPhone. Apple previously required that users have 5GB of free storage on their iPhone or iPad to successfully download and install iOS 8.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-813-iphone-update-release-2015-1



12 ways to save your iPhone's battery

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-save-iphone-battery-2015-1



The Best Free Apps For Your iPhone

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-free-iphone-apps-2015-1



Great Black and White Images with iOS 8

Editing photos on the native iOS platform has always been lacking in refinement, that is until iOS 8. Apple introduced a photo editor that was a one touch simple editor with a second layer of editing control that allows for far more refinement.

Editing in iOS 8 is a far cry from previous editors and allows for a far deeper control. It may seem a little cumbersome at first but after a couple of uses its very intuitive and easy to use. With the varying levels of control this has something for everyone.

http://photofocus.com/2015/01/25/great-black-and-white-images-with-ios-8/



How to make money selling books on the iBookstore, publish your book in Apple's book store

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iphone/how-sell-books-using-apple-ibooks-itunes-3595445/



No One Can Beat The iPhone

The iPhone continues to be a roaring success because it offers unique experiences you simply can't get from the dozens (100+?) of Android devices that launch each year.

Android phone makers haven't been able to nail the kind of innovation that sticks like Apple has.

http://www.businessinsider.com/no-one-can-beat-the-iphone-2015-1



Why Samsung can't stand toe-to-toe with Apple

how is it possible that Samsung could be losing so much money on mobile while selling virtually the same number of smartphones as Apple? It’s complicated.

Both ends of Samsung’s mobile business are being attacked by companies that simply have a better handle on how to attract specific types of consumers of each end.

Samsung benefits far less from after-sale activity on its phones, while Apple continues to see cash roll in [via its app store] long after it has made a mint on the device purchase.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-samsung-cant-stand-toe-to-toe-with-apple-2015-1



Apple Pay's success has rivals scrambling to catch up, could make PayPal an acquisition target

Apple Pay's launch has sent competitors such as Google and Samsung scrambling to respond, through acquisitions or otherwise.

Tim Cook said Apple Pay now represents 80 percent of contactless transactions at Panera Bread, while upscale grocer Whole Foods saw a 400 percent increase in contactless payments since the service launched.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/30/apple-pays-success-has-rivals-scrambling-to-catch-up-could-make-paypal-an-acquisition-target



Apple is now a bigger bricks-and-mortar retailer than Penney and Gap

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-is-a-bigger-bricks-and-mortar-retailer-than-penney-and-gap-2015-01-28



The World's Most Accurate Apple Analyst Predicted Mind-Melting iPhone Sales

Ming Chi Kuo is predicting that Apple will report iPhone sales be up a whopping 43% on a year-over-year basis. And, if Kuo is right, Apple will have sold about $44 billion worth of iPhones.

http://www.businessinsider.com/kgi-iphone-estimates-2015-1



Looks like he got it right.  Apple's performance from October to December 2014 was staggering.

Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones, up 46% compared to the year prior. Analysts were expecting only 65 million units sold.

The average selling price of an iPhone was $687. The average selling price of Android phones is about $300.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-q1-earnings-2015-1



15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Apple's Latest Quarter

Apple's net income last quarter was $18 billion, the largest quarterly earnings for any company ever, according to Wikipedia.

Every other company in the top 25 most profitable quarters of all time is an energy company.

http://www.businessinsider.com/15-mind-blowing-facts-about-apples-q1-15-earnings-2015-1



13 Jaw Dropping Facts about Apple's Billions

http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/feature/a625267/13-jaw-dropping-facts-about-apples-billions.html



Wall Street shocked by Apple's staggering quarter

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/28/wall-street-shocked-by-apples-staggering-quarter-prompting-analysts-to-raise-estimates



Apple’s Big Lessons for Business Leaders

http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2015/01/29/apples-big-lesson-for-business-leaders/



America On-Line (AOL) is shutting down The Unofficial Apple Weblog, better known as TUAW

AOL decided against selling TUAW, leaving open the possibility it could resurrect the site in the future. But for now, a team of writers and editors are out of jobs.

AOL is in the midst of a major reorganization, and is cutting back on media properties it deems as underperforming.

Founded just over 10 years ago in December 2004, TUAW was acquired by AOL in 2005 when it purchased Weblogs, Inc.

Right now AOL has three flagship content properties in The Huffington Post,TechCrunch, and Engadget.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/30/7949485/aol-shutting-down-tuaw-apple



10 things LinkedIn won't tell you

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-linkedin-wont-tell-you-2015-01-30

Reader comment:
Linkedin is a pain in the ass. I have received hundreds of sales calls and targeted emails from people wanting to sell goods and services to the company I work at. When I ask them how they found me, they say "I found you on LinkedIn and guessed your email address" or "I found you on LinkedIn, called your company's main number and asked for you by name." I have now cut my Linkedin profile down to nothing and the sales calls and spam have evaporated. Linkedin is awesome for sellers - a searchable treasure-trove of sales leads with people willingly publishing everything there is to know about them, but it's hell being on the other side.



Norway Has Figured Out How To Solve The Problem Of Music Piracy

So how is Norway managing to buck the trend and reduce the levels of piracy? Simple: Most people in Norway use streaming services instead of buying music.

http://www.businessinsider.com/norway-music-piracy-statistics-2015-1



18 Apps That Earn You Money

http://www.businessinsider.com/apps-that-earn-you-money-2015-1



Education Moment: The Man with 26 Million Students

Zach Sims runs a three-year-old website called Codecademy, which enables users to learn six popular programming languages, via a simple interface, for free.

Zach was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos to talk about online education. He was Codecademy's first student, creating Codecademy to teach himself.

"Its crazy that two kids could start something in a one-bedroom apartment in California, and educate more people in a weekend than a formal institution could in years," he says.

The future of education is online and inexpensive. In this case, free is the operative word.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/01/education-moment-man-with-26-million.html



Google enlists Chrome in push for encrypted Web

Google has taken its first step to flag ordinary sites like Wikipedia and CNN with a security warning because they are unencrypted, allowing all data transmissions to be viewed by the prying eyes of hackers or governments.

Moving toward encryption by default is a profound, monumental change for the Web.

http://www.cnet.com/news/chrome-becoming-tool-in-googles-push-for-encrypted-web/



Before Net Neutrality: The Surprising 1940s Battle for Radio Freedom

To fully understand what's at stake in the fight over the future of the Internet, you have to revisit another era.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/before-net-neutrality-the-surprising-1940s-battle-for-radio-freedom/384924/



These 11 apps and websites will make you miss your childhood

http://www.businessinsider.com/apps-and-websites-that-will-make-you-miss-your-childhood-2015-1



This Is Getting Serious: Intellectual Self-Isolation in China

Back in 2008, China's censorship was shrewd, even brilliant, in that it applied an amazingly light touch.

In the last few months, Internet censorship has clamped way down.
One Chinese person wrote " I will return to China next week and settle down to an Internet that simply does not work."

Now we're seeing surplus repression as well.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/this-is-getting-serious-intellectual-self-isolation-in-china/385053/