Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Week Web Wrap-up for August 30, 2015

Every iOS Setting You Should Check When You Get a New Phone

Once upon a time, iOS "just worked" out of the box. But over the years, Apple's introduced all kinds of features to iOS that most of us don't want to use. I've been an iOS user since the start, and for the first time recently decided to do a clean install instead of loading my settings from a backup. I forgot how many default settings I had to change just to make iOS useable.

http://lifehacker.com/every-ios-setting-you-should-check-when-you-get-a-new-p-1726908274



The 13 best iPhone widgets you should be using

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-iphone-widgets-you-should-be-using



I spent a week switching between the iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 5 — here's how they compare

If you're looking for a phone with a large screen, the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 5 are by far the best choices on the market right now. Both phones have gorgeous metal and glass designs, offer fast performance and long battery life, and capture excellent photos. 

The iPhone is still much more simple to use than Samsung's phone.

Samsung's phone does a lot more. You can open more than one app at a time in a split screen view. You can also open an app in a realizable window on the home screen the same way you would drag a window around your computer's desktop. In my experience, these features came in handy occasionally.

Samsung's version of Android is still too busy for me.

You should definitely check out the conclusion of this article.

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-6-plus-vs-samsung-galaxy-note-5-2015-8



4 reasons the Apple Watch can't win over customers

1. Apple Watch is a companion device - it is dependent on your iPhone
2. Digital timepieces aren't as valuable as mechanical watches - Customers looking for luxury would rather buy a Rolex.
3. Steep learning curve
4. Too narrow a niche - being able to see and react to your notifications at a glance is one of its most important highlights.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-reasons-the-apple-watch-cant-win-over-customers-2015-08-18



This iPhone app could make college campuses and entire neighborhoods safer

Companion is a free iPhone and Android app that's primarily geared toward college students who feel uneasy walking home alone.
But Companion doesn't want to be just for students. If it catches on, the app has the ability to make entire neighborhoods safer.

http://www.businessinsider.com/companion-app-may-help-you-feel-safe-2015-8



3 ways Steve Jobs made meetings insanely productive — and often terrifying

http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-meeting-techniques-2015-8



4 Years in, Apple's Tim Cook Is Doing a Stellar Job

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/08/29/4-years-in-apples-tim-cook-is-doing-a-stellar-job.aspx



Google this week published an interesting blog post which instructed app developers how to disable a major security setting in Apple's upcoming new iOS 9 operating system so Google could send ads.

this isn't the first time Google has resorted to hack to make sure its ads run on Apple devices. In 2012 it was fined $22 million for hacking Safari to disable default privacy settings so Google could serve ads.

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-heres-how-to-disable-ios-9-security-2015-8



Why Ad-Blocking in iOS 9 Benefits Only Apple

Making ad-blocking ubiquitous on iOS will force publishers toward iOS 9’s News app, where users can’t block ads and Apple gets a cut of the advertising placed via its iAd network. Publishers who don’t choose to be a part of the News app will have to build their own native apps and, again, use iAd to monetize their content.

not only will content blocking hurt publishers, but it will also break the marketing tools that websites use to measure and communicate with their visitors. Think Google Analytics, Chartbeat, and Optimizely, which could all be blocked from working.

And no one likes the current model of advertising, or the subscription model that some publishers have chosen as an alternative. But if the tools used to measure and improve the Internet, and even our favorite websites themselves, could become casualties in the process — and if only Apple is benefitting from its implementation of content blocking — that should give us all pause.

http://www.cheatsheet.com/gear-style/why-ad-blocking-in-ios-9-benefits-only-apple.html/?a=viewall



Apple’s Ad-Blocking Is Potential Nightmare for Publishers

Online publishers and mobile advertising companies are bracing for Apple Inc.’s enabling of ad-blocking on its mobile devices, which they say could pose a risk to their businesses.

Ad-blocking won’t be enabled by default on Apple devices – users will have to actively install software to make it work.

For Apple, blocking ads could be popular with many consumers, because it will enable mobile web pages to load faster and remove annoying clutter.

http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/08/28/apples-ad-blocking-is-potential-nightmare-for-ad-sellers/



This author advises business managers "Don’t Be Apple”

So why do I think Apple represents so much of what’s wrong with the tech world?

It’s because they have, I think, an almost Shakespearean tragic flaw: their obsession with centralized corporate control of the devices they sell. Apple sells fantastic hardware, and excellent software … and tries to maintain an iron-fisted grip on both.

You are only permitted to download and install software that has been officially approved by Apple onto your iOS device. This isn’t true of OS X, yet, but that’s clearly only because user control is grandfathered in … and arguably being slowly boiled like the proverbial frog.

I want to believe in a world where individuals, rather than companies, own their own data, maintain control over their own online existence, and choose who (if anyone) is allowed to advertise to them. I realize that sounds hopelessly idealistic. It is, today. But I believe such a decentralized world is (slowly) becoming increasingly plausible–and I cannot help but note that its tenets are, fundamentally, the polar opposites of Apple’s entire software philosophy.

I find it hard to recommend the iOS ecosystem in good conscience, despite its power and beauty, because Apple refuses to return any of the trust it demands from its users.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/22/dont-be-apple/#.dtmyne:1E1H



Hackers release full data dump from Ashley Madison, extramarital dating site

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2973094/security/hackers-release-full-data-dump-from-ashley-madison-extramarital-dating-site.html



The Ashley Madison hack is indeed ripping apart marriages

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/21/technology/ashley-madison-ruined-lives/



7 things we've learned from the Ashley Madison leak

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-things-weve-learned-from-the-ashley-madison-leak-2015-08-19



So you want to find and download Ashley Madison user data? Think twice

We didn't download it, partly because it was so huge and partly because it might have been illegal.

"It certainly could be a crime to receive or possess stolen property," said Joseph Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago. "Once you download or distribute hacked information without specific permission or a fair use license, you've exposed yourself to potential criminal liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. An individual who retweets or forwards a link to a website containing hacked information could potentially be viewed as an accessory to the hack after the fact."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-ashley-madison-data-bsi-20150819-story.html



Ashley Madison proves women aren't interested in casual sex

http://nypost.com/2015/08/22/ashley-madison-proves-women-arent-interested-in-casual-sex/



Five Tourist Destinations With Malicious Wi-Fi

Simply having your cellphone in your pocket in some tourist destinations can put your personal information at risk.

The problem: If a hacker gets access to your phone, he may be able to get access to your Social Security number, bank accounts and other private information. Furthermore, hackers don't even have to physically be in the location to grab your data using their malicious Wi-Fi network.

Here are the five riskiest tourist destinations for cellphone users.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-tourist-destinations-with-the-most-malicious-wi-fi-networks-2015-08-19