Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for 4/9/2017

Video:
Apple just released this beautiful drone video of its new 'spaceship’ campus

http://www.businessinsider.com/drone-video-apple-park-spaceship-campus-april-2017-2



New Report: Apple's Mac Is No Longer Virus-Free

So says McAfee — a company that sells anti-virus software.

McAfee says that the number of malware cases affecting Macs grew by 744 percent in 2016.
Most of the cases are advertisement software (adware), which is merely annoying, vs. destructive ransomware or intrusive spyware.
The 744% growth sounds alarming -- but it's still nothing compared to the amount of malware for Windows that McAfee identified.

Nearly 640 million malware instances were found overall by McAfee -- with the vast majority of these coming from Windows. The Mac malware is still a drop in the ocean in comparison.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mac-malware-grows-2016-mcafee-report-2017-4

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5buBct5cGDZbVFYMWY0VFhZcXM/view



Apple will reportedly drop 32-bit app support entirely with iOS 11 this fall

Apple has slowly been cracking down on 32-bit iOS apps, but it appears that it will make a drastic change come this fall. This means that many OLD apps will no longer work.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/04/09/32-bit-apps-ios/



Apple AirPods: Review

They’re expensive, but the work well with Siri and are very convenient.

https://www.wired.com/2017/04/review-apple-airpods/



Apple to ditch the current Mac Pro design

In a rare admission of a misstep, executives conceded the unusual design limited Apple's ability to offer meaningful upgrades and failed to meet many pro users' needs.

https://www.axios.com/apple-to-ditch-the-current-mac-pro-design-but-replacement-wont-arrive--2343465726.html



Apple Says It Is “Completely Rethinking” The Mac Pro
There's a new Mac on the way for pro users, but it isn't hitting shelves anytime soon.

The Mac Pro, Apple’s marquee desktop machine, hasn’t been refreshed since 2013. But lest you think it was forgotten, the diminutive black obelisk is top of mind at Apple these days — specifically how to reimagine it in a way that will appeal to professionals frustrated by its seemingly stalled evolution. To that end, there is officially a new Mac Pro in the pipeline, but it's going to be a while before it arrives.

Though not unprecedented, these are rare admissions for Apple, which has historically taken a “people don't know what they want until you show it to them” approach to product design.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnpaczkowski/apple-says-it-is-completely-rethinking-the-mac-pro?utm_term=.vfrGGE156M#.cmQ44m2p9n



Apple pushes the reset button on the Mac Pro

The news, if you want it straight: Apple is acknowledging that the Mac Pro they introduced in 2013 has run aground on the cleverness of its own design, and they’re re-thinking the entire machine. In addition, they’ll be releasing a new external display — something it had previously opted out of.

But none of that is coming this year.

Fifteen percent of all Mac customers, Phil Schiller says, use “pro” category apps multiple times a week. Basically, they use apps in a professional capacity. Thirty percent of Apple’s Mac customer base use pro apps less frequently than once a week but still do use them. And the vast majority of customers who define themselves as pros use Apple’s notebooks.

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/04/apple-pushes-the-reset-button-on-the-mac-pro/



Sorry about the last Mac Pro, Apple promises major redesign

Includes video.

“We’re in the process of completely rethinking the Mac Pro,” said Phil Schiller.

The Mac Pro’s problems were twofold. First, it was trying to be a one-size fits all for pro customers who happen to spread across an incredibly diverse set of creative and computing disciplines (photos, video, music, science, development and coding).  Second, it wasn’t customizable enough to allow customers to address their widely diverse needs themselves.

For some time now, Apple’s been on a sort of Pro user listening tour, trying to understand those who own the Mac Pro and those who have rejected it. Apple has also paid attention to the chatter in Internet forums where some Mac users wondered if Apple still cared about them.

http://mashable.com/2017/04/04/apple-reveals-mac-pro-imac-plans/



The Mac Pro Lives

Let’s say you’re Apple. You’re faced with the following problem. Three years ago you launched a radical new lineup of Mac Pros. For multiple reasons, you haven’t shipped an update to those machines since. At some point you came to the conclusion that the 2013 Mac Pro concept was fundamentally flawed. 

What do you do? There are really only two options at this point.

The first would be to suck it up and wait until the next-generation Mac Pros are ready to be announced, and suffer in silence while more and more people point to the current Mac Pro’s stagnation as proof that Apple is abandoning the Mac Pro market.

The second would be to bite the bullet and tell the world what your plans are, even though it’s your decades-long tradition — a fundamental part of the company’s culture — to let actual shipping products, not promises of future products, tell your story.

Apple chose the latter.

My takeaway is that the Mac’s future is bright. Mac sales were up in 2016, once again outpacing the PC industry as a whole, and the new MacBook Pros are a hit, with sales up “about 20 percent” year over year. The Mac is a $25 billion business for Apple annually, and according to the company there are 100 million people in the active Mac user base worldwide.

Yes, those numbers are all peanuts compared to the iPhone, but everythingis peanuts compared to the iPhone.

http://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives



Apple's high-end desktop is back from the dead

Until now, the  Mac Pro desktop was the closest Apple had to a forgotten product. The cylindrical desktop tower, intended for a professional content creation audience, was introduced to much fanfare in 2013, but it's remained essentially unchanged ever since.

But Apple has finally given professional Mac users who've felt left out in the cold for the past few years reason for optimism.
The company revealed that an entirely new Mac Pro desktop design is in the works.

If you're still tempted by the current version of the Mac Pro, know that it's a very interesting desktop with some notable features and and an impressive aesthetic. But, it's also less flexible than what a design or creative pro might need.

https://www.cnet.com/uk/products/apple-mac-pro-2017/preview/



EXIF is a file standard for photos — the EXIF data is the supplementary file that’s attached to, for example, a JPEG whenever you take a picture. It includes things like copyright information, camera settings, a thumbnail, and the date and time the photo was taken.

Exif Editor is a $10.99 desktop app for Mac that exists for the sole purpose of editing the metadata on photographs.

The 99 cent iPhone app EXIF-fi lets you view and edit the metadata for any photo on your phone.

AW comment:
  Skip the soap opera discussion in the first half of this article.
  Scroll down just a little over half way down the article to read about Mac and iOS software.

http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2017/4/9/15212702/vanderpump-rules-iphone-photo-james-kennedy-change-timestamp



This might be the best reason to always buy an iPhone

I reliably upgrade to a new iPhone for $125 every year, without any special deals or promos or financing. It relies on the very slow depreciation of iPhones compared to all other devices. I’ve always found that iPhones hold better value than other smartphones, but it’s been difficult to back up my anecdotes with data, until now.

Data from phone reseller Decluttr shows how quickly phones from different manufacturers lose their value.
The graph in the declutter.com article is very interesting.

http://bgr.com/2017/04/07/iphone-vs-android-resell-price/

http://www.decluttr.com/blog/2017/04/05/how-quickly-does-your-phone-depreciate-in-value/



Fixing Your iPhone’s Battery Drain Issues Following a Software Update

Software updates are great, but one of the downsides to them is that they can drain your battery afterward due to old or out-of-date settings from previous versions. But don’t fret as there is a way to fix this without going to buy a new battery.  Just follow the steps below and your phone will be back to normal in no time at all.

http://www.trendintech.com/2017/04/09/fixing-your-iphones-battery-drain-issues-following-a-software-update/



How I added four hours of battery life to my smartphone every day for free

Five tricks to improving your iPhone’s battery life.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/04/09/iphone-android-low-battery-running-out-of-battery/100231638/



iPhone thieves leave selfies, video in victim's iCloud

After realizing her phone had been stolen last week, Bianca Dabi wrote off the device and figured she'd never see the phone or the people who took it again.
Then, the pictures showed up.

Whoever took Dabi's phone outside an ATM in Dallas last week apparently started taking photos and videos of themselves and their friends. What they didn't know is, those photos went to the cloud, where Dabi was seeing them pop up with regularity.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Phone-thieves-leave-selfies-video-in-victim-s-11061143.php



iCloud helps nab kidnappers at South Florida Denny’s

The victim of a South Florida kidnapping can thank iCloud for the arrest of his abductors.

Authorities used the victim’s iCloud account on the iPhone that had been stolen to trace the men back to a Denny’s in Coral Gables. A search of the suspect’s car revealed the victim’s stolen property and the men were arrested.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime--law/new-icloud-helps-nab-kidnappers-south-florida-denny/30wEVpLxDcVATGUk4j6emM/



Apple has a solution to underpowered MacBook Pro graphics: fix it yourself

Some people criticized the MacBook Pro’s lack of sufficient RAM and its inferior graphics card. But users quickly discovered they can use external GPUs to turn them into even more powerful computers.

http://bgr.com/2017/04/05/macbook-pro-2016-external-gpu-upgrade/



The Disposable Society And My MacBook Pro

My 105 year old typewriter works perfectly. It still works great. I can still buy the ribbons it requires and if it needs servicing, there are still places that will service manual typewriters, even those that are more than 100 years old.

My seven year old MacBook Pro doesn’t work anymore.
It cost several thousand dollars. It was the top of the line.
Its battery failed and it can’t be replaced.

The Apple “genius” said: “Tech gets old fast.”
And worthless..” I interjected.
“And worthless,” he agreed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-disposable-society-and-my-macbook-pro_us_58e40379e4b09deecf0e1b2e



MacBook Air 13-inch gets a big price cut, is now $799 new

It was priced at $999 USD, but as of now Best Buy has it listed for $799 USD, a $200 price drop.

AW comment:
Apple often cuts prices of products it plans to discontinue.  The low price won’t last long.

https://www.slashgear.com/macbook-air-13-inch-gets-a-big-price-cut-is-now-799-new-06481203/



I broke up with my beloved Fitbit for the Apple Watch. Here's what happened
After logging nearly 6.7 million steps with her Fitbit, I switched to the Apple Watch and haven't looked back.

Here are my Top 5 favorite things about the device — and not all of them are fitness-related.

http://www.metro.us/body-and-mind/health/i-broke-my-beloved-fitbit-apple-watch-heres-what-happened



"Be Calm, Robots Aren’t About to Take Your Job, MIT Economist Says”

David Autor knows a lot about robots. He doesn’t think they’re set to devour our jobs.
As an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who focuses on the impact of automation on employment, he’s in a good position to know. He’s surrounded by people creating many of the machines behind the latest wave of techno-anxiety.

His is “the non-alarmist view,” he says.

The 50-year-old believes automation has hurt the job market—but in a more targeted way than most pessimists think. He also doesn’t see the automation wave killing a wider array of jobs as quickly as many predict. Machines are invading the workplace, but in many cases as tools to make humans more productive, not replace them.

http://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/2015/02/be-calm-robots-arent-about-to-take-your.html



A recent study put out by PwCestimated that as many as 30% of UK jobs could be "susceptible to automation by robots and AI" by the early 2030s — with 38% in the US at risk, 35% in Germany, and 21% in Japan — although it believes jobs will be created elsewhere in the economy to help offset this.

Are we doing enough to prepare? Absolutely not, says Bob Moritz, global chairman of consultancy firm PwC.

http://www.businessinsider.com/job-losses-automation-pwc-bob-moritz-2017-4



Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation

journalists and even expert commentators tend to overstate the extent of machine substitution for human labor and ignore the strong complementarities between automation and labor that increase productivity, raise earnings, and augment demand for labor.

an economic reality that is as fundamental as it is over- looked: tasks that cannot be substituted by automation are generally complemented by it.

productivity improvements in one set of tasks almost necessarily increase the economic value of the remaining tasks.

https://economics.mit.edu/files/11563



Cyborgs at work: employees getting implanted with microchips

The syringe slides in between the thumb and index finger. Then, with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee's hand. Another "cyborg" is created.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/cyborgs-employees-getting-implanted-microchips-125759240.html

Now here are some interesting comments about this story:

http://www.computerconsultantsforum.com/forum/politics/cyborgs-at-work-employees-getting-implanted-with-microchips/

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for Sunday 4-2-2017

Phone scammers are tricking people with claims of an iCloud hack

 

If you get a phone call claiming to be from Apple warning of an iCloud breach, beware: It's a trick.

Telephone scammers are cold-calling people, claiming that iCloud, Apple's cloud service, has been hacked, and asking them to give up their accounts details.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/phone-scammers-target-victims-claims-icloud-breach-phishing-2017-3

 

 

 

Phone scammers have been contacting Apple customers falsely reporting that their iCloud has been compromised.
The data thieves have been disguising themselves as Apple employees in effort to gain access to iCloud users’ accounts.

 

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/iCoud-scam-apple-phishing-fake-stolen-data--417801373.html

 

 

 

Telephone Scammers Are Falsely Claiming Apple's iCloud Has Been Hacked

 

If you get a phone call claiming to be from Apple warning of an iCloud breach, beware: It's a trick.

Telephone scammers are cold-calling people, claiming that iCloud, Apple's cloud service, has been hacked, and asking them to give up their accounts details.

 

http://www.inc.com/business-insider/scammers-claiming-icloud-hack-phone-call.html

 

 

 

Hackers promised an iCloud apocalypse — but probably can't deliver
The leak that cried wolf

 

ZDNet examined the largest account drop yet — just under 70,000 login / password pairs — and found that 99.9 percent of the pairs matched accounts already included in a database of previous leaks. In short, the Turkish Crime Family was working from recycled public data.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/28/15092076/apple-icloud-hacking-threats-turkish-crime-family-credential-stuffing

 

 

 

How to Protect Your iCloud Account, Juuust in Case Those Hackers Aren’t Joking

 

First, change your password. Especially if it’s one that you also use on other accounts.

 

Second, set up Apple’s two-factor authentication to add an extra security protection to your account that will keep intruders out even if they do have your current password.

 

Whether Turkish Crime Family is legit or full of it, you’ll have improved the security on an important and valuable account.

 

Finally, use a password manager for all your passwords and accounts.

 

https://www.wired.com/2017/03/protect-icloud-account-juuuuust-case/

 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/better-password-security-starts-here/

 

 

 

Earlier on Monday, my wife let me know that “Apple Support” had called about iCloud security. She was dubious, and rightly so. “Apple” then called five more times (and counting). Suffice it to say, it wasn’t Apple, but fraudsters trying to piggyback on reports that a major breach of iCloud credentials could render hundreds of millions of accounts vulnerable.

 

My wife wasn’t taken in, but also didn’t immediately dismiss the call. She hung up, and then told me about it. We have Apple devices and both use iCloud, and we have regular issues with iCloud not working precisely as we expect.

 

Here are some of the “tells” for me that it was a fraud, and that you can teach others about:

Apple called unsolicited

We never give this number out

The message didn’t provide details

The message offered to put me through “to a support adviser right now”: This is not what Apple calls its staff, nor a likely thing for Apple to offer.

The Caller ID number didn’t say Apple on it

The Caller ID number has a shady history: The 855 number provided, when I searched on it via Google, has been used for at least a week with “Apple Support” scams.

They called back multiple times

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/3185485/security/ignore-that-call-from-apple-about-an-icloud-breach.html

 

 

 

How to protect your Apple iCloud account
Worried about hackers destroying your iCloud music, pictures, and documents? Here are three things you should do right now.

 

Back up your iCloud data.

For your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, the easiest way to do this is to back up your device's files to your Mac or PC with an iTunes backup.

 

Change your passwords.

 

Turn on two-factor-authentication (2FA).

 

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-protect-your-apple-icloud-account/

 

 

 

Pictures and Video:

Apple's $5 billion campus opens next month — here's what it looks like now

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-park-campus-drone-flyover-photos-video-2017-3

 

 

 

The complete story behind Apple's futuristic new campus, 'Apple Park’

 

Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said that the new campus was "a shot at building the best office building in the world."

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-park-spaceship-campus-headquarters-explained-2017-3

 

 

 

This upgrade will extend the life of your MacBook Air for years

 

Replace the battery.

 

Apple claims their laptop batteries can complete 1,000 full "charge cycles" before experiencing any degradation, but if you've been using your MacBook Air regularly, you might be noticing it already.

If the only problem with your older computer is the battery, there's no reason to spend the money on a new one. Instead, you can buy a replacement battery and fix the problem yourself.

 

Performing this upgrade will void your Applecare warranty if you have one.

 

AW comment:

But if your computer is old enough to need a new battery, any warranty will have expired by then anyway.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/anker-macbook-air-battery-life-recommendation-2017-3

 

 

 

These simple upgrades can make even older computers run like new

 

To prove my point, I upgraded two components in a 5-year-old MacBook Pro that was running pretty sluggishly.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-old-computer-run-like-new-2016-11

 

 

 

How to use Workflow, the app that Apple just bought and made free for everyone

 

Apple bought an app called Workflow. It automates stuff you do all the time on your iPhone and iPad and turns those tasks into a simple button.

But instead of killing the app, as Apple usually does when it acquires a startup, Apple made it free.

Workflow can do a lot, but you have to play with it for at least a day or two to understand its real potential. It could change the way you use your iPhone or iPad.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-the-workflow-app-2017-3

 

 

 

Despite the long-term benefits Workflow will reap from Apple's acquisition, existing users have already seen features disappear. AppleInsider assesses the pros and cons of the buy.

 

It’s very much like Apple to give people tools everyone can use. However, what's also very much like Apple is the stripping away of features.

 

http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/04/02/workflow-looks-to-have-long-future-at-apple-but-users-face-short-term-changes

 

 

 

Apple just made a historic and risky change to all iPhones — and you probably didn't even notice

 

As part of the iOS 10.3 update, Apple changed a basic part of how every iPhone and iPad works — its file system, or the way the computer stores data and knows where and how to find it.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-103-update-iphone-historic-2017-3

 

 

 

A word of warning to anyone who hasn’t already updated to iOS 10.3

 

If you haven’t already upgraded to iOS 10.3, be sure to back up all of your data before you do.

 

Reason:

Once you update your phone to iOS 10.3 and your file system is converted to APFS, you can no longer roll back without wiping your phone and reinstalling an older iOS build. Why is that significant? Because if something goes wrong and you roll back to an older build, you’ll no longer be able to recover data because everything will have been converted to APFS.

 

http://bgr.com/2017/03/30/ios-10-3-features-list-apple-file-system-warning/

 

 

 

How to securely back up your iPhone or iPad to iCloud or iTunes

 

There are two different ways to backup your iPad or iPhone.

This article has step-by-step instructions for both ways.

 

http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/03/31/how-to-securely-back-up-your-iphone-or-ipad-to-icloud-or-itunes

 

 

 

It's World Backup Day! Here are the best iCloud alternatives for backing up your Mac

 

Here are several other businesses that provide backup services for iCloud.

 

http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/03/31/its-world-backup-day-here-are-the-best-icloud-alternatives-for-backing-up-your-mac

 

 

 

Apple iOS 10.3 Is Now Available: What Is Included In This Major Update?

 

1)  Find My AirPods

2)  Wi-Fi Calling On iCloud Devices With Verizon

 

And several other things.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/03/27/ios-10-3-features/#51c35b69257e

 

 

 

Video:

I switched from Mac to Windows and I'm never going back — here's why

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-windows-10-vs-apple-mac-os-x-2017-3

 

 

 

The best iPad cases for every type of person

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-case-buying-guide-2017-3/

 

 

 

The best iPhone 7 cases for every type of person

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-7-cases-for-every-type-of-person-2016-11/

 

 

 

Police use iCloud to find kidnapping, armed robbery suspects at Denny's
Suspects accused of stealing North Bay Village man's iPhone

 

http://www.local10.com/news/crime/police-use-icloud-to-find-kidnapping-armed-robbery-suspects-at-dennys

 

 

 

Apple quietly added a new privacy control tool in macOS Sierra 10.12.4 that allows you to opt out of sharing iCloud Analytics data. While, I’m OK with the way Apple collects such data, let me show you how to control what you send so you can decide.

 

https://www.macobserver.com/tips/quick-tip/can-opt-sharing-icloud-analytics-macos-sierra-10-12-4/

 

 

 

Check this web page or a new list of free iOS apps every day.
 
http://bgr.com/apps-on-sale/

 

 

The Best New Apple Watch Features In watchOS 3.2: Should You Upgrade?

 

like the iOS 10.3 update, this is not a quick process. I didn’t time it exactly – after all, I use my Watch to do things like that, usually – but it was well over half an hour between authorising the installation on my iPhone and the Watch returning to normal. So don’t do it when you’re about to leave the house.

 

And, don’t forget, the Watch needs to be charged to more than 50%, in range of your iPhone and be on its little wireless charging puck. The update is 233MB in size, so no surprise it takes a little while.

 

When you get your Watch back, you’ll find new features. The biggest one is Theater Mode (or Theatre as my UK English Watch kindly calls it).

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2017/03/31/the-best-new-apple-watch-features-in-watchos-3-2-should-you-upgrade/

 

 

 

How to Use Theater Mode on the Apple Watch in watchOS 3.2

 

https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/watchos-3-2-theater-mode/

 

 

 

The Ultimate Online Privacy Guide

The terrifying scale of the NSA’s attack on public cryptography, and its deliberate weakening of common international encryption standards, has demonstrated that no proprietary software can be trusted.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and the Tor network are the most popular technologies for achieving privacy while on the internet. They hide what you get up to online from your ISP and therefore the government. They can also hide your true identity from websites you visit and services you use.

On the face of it, these two technologies appear to serve a similar purpose. In reality, they are very different beasts. While there is some overlap, their primary use-cases are very different.

Tor is a vital tool for internet users who require the maximum possible anonymity. VPNs, however, are a much more practical privacy tool for day-to-day internet use.

https://www.bestvpn.com/the-ultimate-privacy-guide/

 

Review:

Private Internet Access VPN

 

You should get a virtual private network (or VPN) service such as Private Internet Access. It's one of the best VPN services out there.

 

That said, the minimalism of Private Internet Access is sure to be a turnoff for some. Those in search of a friendlier, more informative user interface should consider fellow Editors' Choice winners KeepSolid VPN and NordVPN.

 

VPNs let you change your geographic location by overriding the IP address assigned by your ISP with one drawn from its pool of servers.

 

Perhaps more important for the average user, is that using a VPN service encrypts all online traffic and ensures that your data remains hidden from third parties when on an open wireless network. This means that the next time you're browsing the Web using the coffee shop's Wi-Fi, you might want to switch on a VPN to make sure no one else is watching.

 

If you're using a VPN service at your coffee shop, at the very least you won't be the lowest-hanging fruit, and that's who the average hacker is likely to target.

 

Regardless of the VPN you use, it will affect your Web browsing speeds. There's no way around it.

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414799,00.asp

 

 

 

Review:

5 Best VPN Services for 2017

 

https://www.bestvpn.com/best-vpn-services/

 

 

 

Review:

5 Best VPNs for Windows

 

https://www.bestvpn.com/vpn-for-windows/

 

 

 

Review:

5 Best VPNs for Mac

 

https://www.bestvpn.com/best-vpn-mac/

 

 

 

How to Delete Your Google Search History – the Definitive Guide

 

https://www.bestvpn.com/delete-google-search-history/

 

 

 

How Tech Is Disrupting American Society (And What We Need to Do About It)

Very interesting graphic about jobs that will be automated out of existence.

Jobs that have formed the bedrock of the American middle class for the last century have begun to disappear and will cease to exist altogether in the next 10 years.

I believe that tech is the key driver behind this disruption. And that we, the tech industry, have a critical role to play in addressing it.

Election data suggest that voters with a high level of economic anxiety voted for the disruption candidate. Specifically, counties with a relatively high proportion of “routine jobs” swung hardest for Trump. These are not necessarily places with low unemployment today, but places where people fear their jobs will go away in the future.

the reality is that off-shoring is only an intermediate step; the end-game for most of these tasks is automation. Indeed, if you visit a modern car manufacturing plant, you’ll see a sea of robots staffed by a dwindling number of people.

Trump’s win was largely due to his effectiveness at tapping into the anxiety this dislocation is creating. And I believe that this dislocation is just beginning. For example, self-driving technology is poised to eliminate many of the most common jobs in the country- truck driver, delivery driver, cab driver, Uber drivers, etc. This will happen within the next 10 years, and the dislocation and anxiety it will produce will strain our society like few things before.

Lastly, the best way to reduce economic anxiety over the long run is to build vibrant industries across the country.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-tech-disrupting-american-society-what-we-need-do-jake-saper

 

Britain’s Home Secretary Amber Rudd called it “unacceptable” that technology firms offered end-to-end encryption, which she said gives terrorists places to hide.

“We need to make sure organizations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other,” Rudd told the British Broadcasting Corp. “We need to make sure that our intelligence services have the ability to get into situations like encrypted WhatsApp.”

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whatsapp-is-giving-terrorists-a-place-to-hide-uk-minister-says-2017-03-27

 

 

 

Tech faces public anger over internet privacy repeal

 

The Republican push to eliminate Obama-era consumer data protections is sparking a new national debate over online privacy, and putting internet companies on the defensive.

The measure blocking the online privacy rules is on the desk of President Trump, who is expected to sign it.

But the firestorm of controversy shows no signs of easing.

 

"We’ll definitely make it pretty clear what right was given away and the extent that it was given way," vowed Ernesto Falcon, legislative analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

 

Despite the public furor, for now, companies are trying to reassure the public that little will change on the privacy front.

 

http://thehill.com/policy/technology/326816-tech-faces-public-anger-over-internet-privacy-repeal

 

 

 

Verizon Insists That It Isn't Going to Install Spyware on All of Its Android Phones

 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a report that Verizon plans to install highly-invasive spyware on its subscribers’ Android phones. Since then, Verizon has insisted that the “AppFlash” software is only a test run and has only been installed on one type of Android device.

 

http://gizmodo.com/verizon-insists-that-it-isnt-going-to-install-spyware-o-1793936712

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Web Wrap-up for Sunday 3-26-2017

Apple released a new iPad that's way less expensive than before

 

The new 9.7 inch iPad starts at $329 (£339 in the UK) for 32 GB with Wi-Fi. The price increases to $459 (£469) if you want a cellular connection.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-launches-new-faster-ipads-that-are-cheaper-2017-3

 

 

 

 

I've had the iPhone 6S Plus for over a year, and I'm so happy I didn't upgrade to the iPhone 7

 

Yes, the iPhone 7 is better, but not by enough to justify spending the money for it.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-7-vs-iphone-6s-why-upgrading-isnt-worth-it-2017-3

 

 

 

Here's everything Apple announced on 2017-03-21

 

New iPads

Special Edition iPhone 7 — Red

Improved iPhone SE

A new app called Clips — for sharing pictures and videos on social media.

New Apple Watch Bands

New iPhone Cases

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-announcement-red-iphone-7-ipads-on-tuesday-2017-3/

 

 

Apple’s Latest Announcements:
Every new product Apple just announced: iPad, red iPhone 7, Apple Watch bands, and more

http://www.macworld.com/article/3183142/consumer-electronics/every-new-product-apple-just-announced-ipad-red-iphone-7-apple-watch-bands-and-more.html

 

Google beat Apple in education, one of its oldest strongholds — but now it's time for round two

 

Over the past few years, Apple, which was synonymous with educational technology, has seen its foothold in the classroom slip.

 

Apple's new low-cost iPad, starting at $329, could change that trend.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ipad-vs-google-chromebook-education-schools-2017-3

 

 

 

The Apple Pencil is one of my favorite iPad accessories, even though I can’t draw

 

I'm bad at drawing. Very bad.

 

For me, someone who has embarked on a journey to scan, archive, and sort thousands of family photos, the Pencil is the ideal tool for retouching.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-pencil-review-2017-1

 

 

 

iCloud may have doxxed a journalist’s Twitter attacker
An anonymous SIM card in a non-anonymous iPhone

 

In theory, it was the perfect setup: an anonymous Twitter account on a prepaid SIM card, bought with cash. With no credit card or other identifiable info tied to the account, there should have been no way to trace tweets back to a human.

But after taking all those precautions, a man named John Rivello was arrested for sending seizure-inducing tweets to Newsweek journalist Kurt Eichenwald.

 

The case is a powerful reminder of how difficult it is to maintain anonymity in modern devices. A prepaid SIM is enough to keep the phone network from knowing who you are, but your device itself also creates a powerful identity trail, particularly for iCloud users.

 

While Apple has resisted law enforcement requests to break phone encryption, it routinely cooperates with lawful search warrants for iCloud accounts.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/20/14987874/eichenwald-twitter-troll-seizure-arrested-icloud-anonymous

 

 

 

iCloud led authorities to journalist's Twitter attacker
The accused sent a journalist a strobing image which allegedly triggered an epileptic seizure.

 

The man who triggered Newsweek journalist Kurt Eichenwald's epileptic seizure through Twitter used a prepaid phone with no identifying info. But a little digging revealed that the Tracfone prepaid SIM card he used was once connected to an iCloud account, which ultimately led to his arrest.

 

https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/21/icloud-journalist-twitter-attacker/

 

 

 

iCloud: Turning Off Desktop and Documents Syncing

 

Step-by-step instructions.

 

https://www.macobserver.com/tips/quick-tip/icloud-turning-off-desktop-and-documents-syncing/

 

 

 

How to take best advantage of iCloud Desktop and Documents across Macs

 

Confused about iCloud Desktop and Documents? Here’s a bit of clarification on how it works.

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/3178609/data-center-cloud/how-to-take-best-advantage-of-icloud-desktop-and-documents-across-macs.html

 

 

 

Guide to iCloud storage plans: How to upgrade & manage your storage

 

Apple includes 5 GB of free cloud storage with each iCloud account, yet with iPhone and iPad cameras improving each year and an expanding amount of ways to utilize iCloud, that free storage fills up fast.

 

If you’ve run out of the 5 GB of free iCloud space and are getting messages saying your device hasn’t been backed up in x amount of days or weeks it is usually well worth $0.99/month for the 50 GB plan. Other iCloud storage pricing includes 200 GB for $2.99/month, 1 TB $9.99/month, and 2 TB for $19.99/month. Most users will be fine with 50 GB for a good amount of time if you’ve run over the free 5 GB.

 

https://9to5mac.com/2017/03/13/guide-to-icloud-storage-plans-how-to-upgrade-manage-your-storage/

 

 

 

WikiLeaks CLAIMS that CIA Hacked Apple Devices in Ways Users Can't Fix

 

Security experts say the exploits are plausible, but suggest they pose little threat to typical users.

 

"The most notable part of this latest WikiLeaks release is that it shows the CIA doing exactly what we pay them to -- exploit specific targets with limited attacks to support our national interests," said Rich Mogull, CEO of the security research firm Securosis.

 

Johannes Ullrich said the Mac exploits all appear old.

 

http://www.cio-today.com/article/index.php?story_id=122003XG3VF0

 

 

 

Apple says Macs and iPhones are safe from newly revealed CIA exploits

 

The Mac and iPhone exploits described in new documents attributed to the CIA were patched years ago, according to Apple.

 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3184212/security/apple-macs-and-iphones-are-safe-from-newly-revealed-cia-exploits.html

 

 

 

Apple totally dissed WikiLeaks

 

Obviously companies like Apple and Microsoft want to patch any possible vulnerabilities as soon as possible, but the way Assange is releasing the CIA files puts them in a terrible position: there's not enough to go on, it's possibly illegal to obtain more details, and WikiLeaks is withholding information.

 

Apple said that WikiLeaks was just like anyone else, despite its stolen CIA files: It could submit bugs through a standard process, and that while they may have been briefly in touch, Apple hasn't seen anything that hasn't been tweeted or posted to the WikiLeaks website.

 

Essentially, tech companies can't treat WikiLeaks differently than any other bug finder.

 

Making it more difficult is that WikiLeaks seems to be misrepresenting the content of the dumps in its widely-viewed announcements, spurring knee-jerk and potentially misleading news coverage, security experts who evaluated the contents of the dump previously told Business Insider.

 

the security community has been laughing at how old and outdated many of the documents published by WikiLeaks have been.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-vs-wikileaks-why-tech-isnt-happy-with-julian-assange-2017-3

 

 

 

Survey: Nearly half of iPhone users don’t trust iCloud

 

Almost half of iPhone users — 47 percent — in a recent survey said they have little to no confidence in storing personal information on iCloud.

 

And 15 percent of iPhone users don’t know which features they are automatically backing up onto iCloud servers.

 

Despite that skepticism, Apple’s iCloud storage service for iOS devices has at least 782 million users and is one of the most popular cloud storage services in the U.S.

 

If users choose strong passwords, use two-factor authentication, stay skeptical of phishing attempts and take other proactive security measures, the odds that their iCloud data will stay secure are strongly in their favor.

 

http://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/03/nearly-half-of-iphone-users-dont-trust-icloud/

 

 

 

Concern over security breaches and a lack of knowledge regarding how iCloud works contribute to skepticism about the safety of storing personal information, according to a new survey.

 

Nearly half of iPhone users have little or no confidence in storing their personal information on iCloud, according to a survey of 1,001 iPhone users conducted by Clutch, a leading B2B ratings and reviews firm.

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nearly-half-of-iphone-users-feel-uncomfortable-with-storing-personal-information-on-icloud-300424657.html

 

 

 

iCloud, with about 782 million users in 2016, is the most popular cloud-based storage service in the US.  Yet, less than half the users (44%) are comfortable storing their personal information on the iCloud, as per a recent survey on iCloud security among users. 

 

Despite iCloud having had a few publicized security breaches, it is still considered to be better than its competitors as it provides security features like 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption which is usually employed by financial institutions to encrypt their data.

 

http://www.readitquik.com/news/cloud-2/unfamiliarity-breeds-distrust-in-icloud/

 

 

Hackers Are Threatening To Wipe Hundreds Of Millions Of iPhones: How To Protect Yourself

A group of hackers calling themselves "Turkish Crime Family" is claiming they can access up to 559 million Apple email accounts on the icloud.com and me.com domains.
They're demanding Apply pay $75,000 in bitcoin or ether, another cryptocurrency, or $100,000 in iTunes gift cards by April 7 in exchange for deleting the data, Vice's Motherboard blog reported.

Apple states that its systems have not been breached and other sources assert the data may have come from pilfered LinkedIn accounts.

Whether or not the hackers are indeed in possession of these passwords, you can protect the contents of your phone in case. Just make sure to follow these three (3) steps before April 7.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2017/03/24/hackers-are-threatening-to-wipe-hundreds-of-millions-of-iphones-how-to-protect-yourself/



Apple iCloud ransom demands: The facts you need to know

Hackers are demanding Apple pay a ransom in bitcoin or they'll blow the lid off millions of iCloud account credentials.

So far, we know that a London-based hacker group, calling itself the Turkish Crime Family, has claimed to have access to 250 million accounts (at the time of writing). The hackers are threatening to reset the passwords on those iCloud accounts and remotely wipe iPhones if Apple doesn't pay a ransom by April 7.

The hackers denied any direct breach of Apple systems. What muddies the water is that the hackers also appear in some cases to have passwords that have been only used for iCloud. Welcome to the wonderful world of security nuance.

Those using two-factor authentication or Apple's trusted device system should be protected.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-icloud-ransom-what-you-need-to-know/

How to set up two-factor authentication for your Apple ID and iCloud account

 

If you aren’t using two-factor authentication to protect your Apple ID and iCloud account, you really should do it today. Hackers who claim to have millions of stolen iCloud credentials are demanding Apple pay a ransom or they’ll release them—and ZDNet obtained a sample set of credentials and determined they’re real.

But guess what? Using two-factor authentication should protect you completely. It’s easy to set up, so take a minute and do it now.

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/3184650/ios/how-to-set-up-two-factor-authentication-for-your-apple-id-and-icloud-account.html

 

 

 

When Fingerprints Are as Easy to Steal as Passwords

 

How do you prove who you are to a computer?

You could just use a password, a shared secret between you and the machine. But passwords are easily compromised.

 

Your thumb-print is less likely to wander off than a password, but that doesn’t mean it’s a foolproof marker of your identity.

Last year, a pair of researchers at Michigan State University used an inkjet printer and special paper to convert high-quality fingerprint scans into fake, 3-D fingerprints that fooled smartphone fingerprint readers—all with equipment that cost less than $500.

 

Face-shape data is susceptible to hacking, too.

 

A compromised password can be reset to a new password.

 

The fundamental trouble with biometrics is that they can’t be reset.

A compromised finger-print CAN’T be reset.  Nor can a retina or face.

 

“If Border Patrol and your bank and your phone all are collecting your fingerprint data, all it takes is one actor who figures out how to manipulate that and you’ve basically wiped out the usefulness of that information,” said Betsy Cooper

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/new-biometrics/520695/

 

 

Why Apple Inc. Is So Profitable

What isn't often talked about -- even in the financial media -- is why Apple's iPhone franchise (and, indeed, Apple itself) is so incredibly profitable.

High revenue, solid gross profit margins, and relatively low operating expenses.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/23/why-apple-inc-is-so-profitable.aspx



26 Insanely Useful iPhone Tips That You May Not Know About

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/03/24/iphone-tips/#9cbf6ff316e0



Designer recounts horrible experience with Apple’s brand new MacBook Pro

Designer Brad Frost penned an interesting post detailing his own experience with Apple’s flagship notebook. Suffice it to say, Frost’s take on the MacBook Pro is anything but positive.

While Frost does find some things to like about the new MacBook Pro — Touch ID for example — he found the overall user experience to be less than ideal and far below Apple’s traditional standard of excellence.

While any new Mac release is bound to draw a rash of initial criticisms, Frost’s write-up is particularly worth checking out because he writes from the perspective of someone who was actually trying to give Apple the benefit of the doubt.

http://bgr.com/2017/03/24/macbook-pro-2016-review-touch-bar-problems/

http://bradfrost.com/blog/post/surviving-the-new-macbook-pro/



The final showdown: The 30 day MacBook Pro challenge week 4 - did a Windows user become a Mac convert?

Side by side, I have to come to the conclusion that both Windows and Mac are good at what they need to do. Mac is let down by a rigid build that lacks customisation; Windows is let down by its ongoing  Windows 10 saga and security issues. 

Both have ethical murky waters (as has been highlighted in the media recently) and both are massive tech giants.

So have I converted to a Mac lover? Not really. I think I can now navigate between Mac and Windows after years of one-sided exposure; but in the end they’re just operating systems that both allow me to work - and play.

https://netguide.co.nz/story/final-showdown-30-day-macbook-pro-challenge-week-4-did-windows-user-become-mac-convert/



How to Identify High-Performance GPU Apps on the MacBook Pro

This article has instructions on how to identify which apps are using up lots of energy and reducing battery life.

When you launch a graphically demanding app, such as Adobe Photoshop, macOS switches to the Radeon processor, which consumes more power. When you quit the power-hungry app, the machine is supposed to turn off the discrete card and switch back to the integrated graphics processor, which offers less graphical power but doesn’t chew as much battery life.

Before 10.12.3, macOS wouldn’t accurately sense that the changeover had happened and would continue to drive the display using the discrete GPU. Since applying that update, my battery life has dramatically improved.

http://tidbits.com/article/17091



It looks like Apple has stopped manufacturing the MacBook Air

The author of this article wrote:
“The MacBook Air was great for photographers"

https://fstoppers.com/originals/pour-one-out-macbook-air-apples-workhorse-photographers-left-dead-169491



The only two things you need to keep your Apple Watch looking pristine

Instead of waiting for the inevitable, get out ahead of things and protect your Apple Watch from damage before it happens. All you need is two inexpensive items...

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/03/22/only-two-things-need-to-keep-your-apple-watch-looking-pristine.html



Here's how to wipe your old iPad/iPhone/iPod touch to make it ready for resale

http://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-to-wipe-your-old-ipad-iphone-ipod-touch-ready-for-resale/

 

 

This ex-Googler wants to fix social media and make you a viral Facebook and Twitter superstar

 

The problem, as Bindu Reddy sees it, is that in its current form, social media can be overwhelming for anybody who's not a millennial power user. Given the ultimate power to say anything, people often find themselves speechless.

 

That's why she launched her new venture, Post Intelligence: A free artificial intelligence-powered personal assistant for social media, designed to turn anybody from zero to hero on Facebook (with Facebook Pages support to start) and Twitter, with more social network support likely coming down the line.

 

As for the business model, Post Intelligence is totally free: It uses some of that MyLikes pedigree to connect you with producers of sponsored posts, so once you have your audience, you can become a brand influencer, Kim Kardashian-style. And Post Intelligence takes a cut.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/post-intelligence-ceo-bindu-reddy-launch-interview-2017-3

 

 

 

3D Printed Houses Built in Less Than a Day Will Change Construction Forever

 

Many were caught up in 3D printing making changes to the parts manufacturing industry and didn’t even think about how it could influence construction and architecture.

 

Previous 3D printed houses were created in parts and then assembled together by hand. Apis Cor’s machine created the whole house in one piece (minus the roof which they chose to lay by hand).

This isn’t even the exciting part. 

In total, the house took 24 hours to build, costing just over $10,000 in materials and labor.

 

The best part about both of these futuristic construction companies is that they use locally-sourced materials. The printer adapts to the needed material, whether clay in rural areas or concrete in urban areas.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3d-printed-houses-built-less-than-day-change-forever-quharrison-terry

 

 

 

Bitcoin is on the verge of splitting in two
Two sides are pushing forward with different versions of the software

 

Bitcoin is in the midst of a civil war.

 

The future remains uncertain, but for now, the cryptocurrency has split in two, with the core development team going in one direction, and a group of influential miners, exchanges, and startups going in another.

 

As the number of users and transactions on the network has grown, backlogs have built up, leading to slow and unreliable payments.
The fight is over how to solve this problem.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/9/10946072/bitcoin-core-classic-software-block-size-debate

 

 

 

Bitcoin is divided. Some are calling it the currency’s "constitutional crisis", a debate that has split its community right down the middle.

The crux of the issue comes down to a single technical detail: the size of bitcoin’s blocks.

 

Currently, each block is allowed to be 1 MegaByte maximum size.

As transactions increase, bitcoin's blocks are filling up – edging further towards this 1MB line.

 

bitcoin is estimated to reach its so-called ‘capacity cliff’ – where all blocks on the network are full – sometime next year.

This could cause payment processing delays.

 

http://www.coindesk.com/what-is-the-bitcoin-block-size-debate-and-why-does-it-matter/

 

 

 

Video:

Your neighbor's WiFi is ruining yours — here's how to fix it

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/neighbor-wifi-interference-change-channel-2017-3

 

 

 

Video:

How Did Tech Become So Male-Dominated?

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/519426/how-did-tech-become-so-male-dominated/

 

 

 

Who Owns Your Face?
Advertising companies, tech giants, data collectors, and the federal government, it turns out.

 

Data brokers already buy and sell detailed profiles that describe who you are. They track your public records and your online behavior to figure out your age, your gender, your relationship status, your exact location, how much money you make, which supermarket you shop at, and on and on and on. It’s entirely reasonable to wonder how companies are collecting and using images of you, too.

 

Facebook already uses facial recognition software to tag individual people in photos. Apple’s new app, Clips, recognizes individuals in the videos you take. Snap’s famous selfie filters work by mapping detailed points on individual users’ faces.

 

Experts have been warning against facial-recognition systems for decades.

 

The accuracy of the agency’s system is also a matter of debate. According to Chaffetz, roughly one in seven searches of the FBI system returned a list of entirely innocent candidates, even though the actual target was in the database. And the agency doesn’t track its own rate of false positives, according to the Government Accountability Office.

 

“An inaccurate system will implicate people for crimes they didn’t commit,” said Jennifer Lynch, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

 

People might not want to think about or talk about it, but we’re going toward a state of constant surveillance.
Actually, we may already be there.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/who-owns-your-face/520731/

 

 

 

Microsoft says it's blocking Windows 7, 8 patches on latest AMD, Intel chips

 

Interesting discussion and links to articles.

 

http://www.computerconsultantsforum.com/forum/discussions/microsoft-says-it's-blocking-windows-7-8-patches-on-latest-amd-intel-chips/

Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Weekly Wrap-up for Sunday 3-19-2017

Video:

Here's why Steve Jobs never let his kids use an iPad

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-steve-jobs-never-let-his-kids-use-ipad-apple-social-media-2017-3

 

 

 

Just What Was in That iOS System Update?

 

Where does Apple officially tell you about all the things that change in iOS upgrades?

 

You can see a list of the new features, added apps, bug fixes and other tweaks Apple has made to each version of its iOS mobile operating system by visiting the iOS Downloads page in the support area of the company’s site.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/technology/personaltech/system-updates-background.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ct_20170316&nl=technology&nl_art=8&nlid=11893479&ref=headline&te=1

 

https://support.apple.com/downloads/ios

 

 

 

Why iPhone users should NEVER say 108 to Siri

 

One-Zero-Eight (108) is the number for emergency services in India.

 

Other numbers in similar pranks are: 112,110, 000 and the US number 911.

 

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3125529/people-are-telling-iphone-users-to-say-108-to-siri-this-is-why-you-should-never-do-it/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#External_links

 

 

 

Man dies while charging iPhone in bath
A UK man plugged his iPhone into an outlet via an extension cord and appears to have rested the charger on his chest in the bath.

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/man-dies-after-charging-iphone-in-bath-electrocution/

 

 

 

How to back up your iPhone before installing iOS 10.3
Although it's not likely you'll run into trouble with the new OS, better safe than sorry. Here's a quick refresher on manually backing up your data.

 

Two sets of instructions:

One for backing up to iTunes.

The other for backing up to iCloud.

 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-back-up-your-iphone-before-installing-ios-10-3/

 

 

 

You can now save as much as $330 on Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pro

 

If you act now — there’s no telling how big Apple’s current supply is — you can pick up the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro in either Silver or Space Gray for $1,269. The sticker price represents 15% in savings and is a solid $230 off the normal list price of $1,499.

 

If you’re looking for a little bit more horsepower and bang for your buck, you can also pick up a refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for just $1,869. This is $330 cheaper than you would otherwise pay for a new machine with the same specs from Apple’s online store.

 

Lastly, for anyone curious about what buying a refurbished MacBook Pro entails, here’s what Apple has to say about the process:

“Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple’s stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, every unit is evaluated to ensure it meets Apple’s quality standards.” 

 

http://bgr.com/2017/03/09/macbook-pro-2016-price-refurbished-apple/

 

 

 

MacBook Pro Touch Bar: cool effects, worryingly easy to hack

 

Fortunately, this hack was done by the good guys, not the bad.

 

As for the specific details regarding how the attack was implemented, that information will be made available to Apple so that they patch up any existing security holes before the public gets a look at how it was all accomplished.

 

http://bgr.com/2017/03/16/apple-security-pwn20wn-macbook-pro-touchbar/

 

http://www.techradar.com/news/macbook-pros-touch-bar-is-pwned-by-ethical-hackers

 

 

 

Rachel Zirin; I love my Apple Watch

 

Last November, I decided to buy myself the Apple Watch Series 2 hoping I wouldn’t lose interest. I hoped that it had apps and settings that were better than the Fitbit. The Apple Watch cost me about $400 and I have to say it was the best thing I ever did.

 

http://www.folsomtelegraph.com/article/3/14/17/rachel-zirin-i-love-my-apple-watch

 

 

 

The Apple Watch is still the best designed smartwatch

 

As things stand today, two years after its release, the Apple Watch still presents the best balance between looks, size, function, battery life, and price.

 

Apple simply designed its way around the shortcomings of smartwatches better than everyone else.

 

For the immediate future at least, the Apple Watch looks like the best designed smartwatch that any of us can get. For many of us, its greatest limitation is that it’s locked inside Apple’s walled garden, remaining a toy only iOS users can have. But that’s by design.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/14/14920986/apple-watch-design-smartwatch

 

 

 

Apple Watch can tell you when you’re going to get sick
You'll know when you're about to get sick, and know what to do about it

 

Data captured by the Apple Watch is already being used to provide warning of poor heart health, but in conjunction with A.I. it already seems capable of identifying other problems early.

 

"Whereas the average medical study struggles to recruit 100 patients, building our study on Apple Watch has let us recruit 10,000 participants in under a year. And unlike the average electronic medical record system, Apple provides clean APIs that let us easily access heart rate, step count, workouts, and more. All in all, we now have about 30 billion data points," Cardiogram co-founder, Brandon Ballinger, told me.

 

Cardiogr.am used data gathered from 66,317 people who are part of the study to figure out which workout routine works best to improve resting heart rate (they turn out to be running and elliptic exercise).

 

Cardiogr.am has developed Cardiogram, a free app for iPhone/Apple Watch that organizes your heart, sleep, and activity data to make it more actionable.

 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3180084/apple-ios/apple-watch-can-tell-you-when-you-re-going-to-get-sick.html

 

 

 

The best writing apps for your Mac, iPad and iPhone

 

All of the apps featured are available for both Mac and iOS, as I feel it’s important that you can work on the move as well as at a desk.

 

https://9to5mac.com/2017/03/14/best-writing-apps-mac-ipad-iphone/

 

 

 

Clickbait Headline of the Day: WIRED magazine

 

Brian Barrett’s piece for Wired claims that Amazon's Alexa is superior to Apple’s Siri.

 

http://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/03/17/clickbait-wired

 

 

 

How the Internet Is Saving Culture, Not Killing It

 

The internet taught a whole generation that content was not something you really had to pay for.

 

But now something surprising has happened.

In the last few years, and with greater intensity in the last 12 months, people started paying for online content. They are doing so at an accelerating pace, and on a dependable, recurring schedule, often through subscriptions. And they’re paying for everything.

 

It’s difficult to overstate how big a deal this is. More than 20 years after it first caught mainstream attention and began to destroy everything about how we finance culture, the digital economy is finally beginning to coalesce around a sustainable way of supporting content. If subscriptions keep taking off, it won’t just mean that some of your favorite creators will survive the internet. It could also make for a profound shift in the way we find and support new cultural talent. It could lead to a wider variety of artists and art, and forge closer connections between the people who make art and those who enjoy it.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/technology/how-the-internet-is-saving-culture-not-killing-it.html?em_pos=large&emc=edit_ct_20170316&nl=technology&nlid=11893479&ref=headline&te=1&_r=0

 

 

 

Mesmerizing maps show where the most educated Americans live

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/where-most-educated-americans-live-2017-3

 

 

 

Gamer's death pushes risks of live streaming into view

Early on February 19, Brian C. Vigneault was nearing the end of a 24-hour marathon of live streaming himself playing the tank warfare video game World of Tanks when he left his computer to buy a pack of cigarettes.

 

He never returned.  During the break, Vigneault died in his Virginia Beach, Virginia, home.

 

Vigneault's friends wonder if the lengthy live streaming on Twitch, a website owned by Amazon that lets people broadcast themselves playing games, may not have helped. At the time of his death, Vigneault, 35, had streamed for 22 hours straight to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Two of his friends said that he often broadcast his game playing for long periods.

 

Vigneault's death followed reports of other players dying during or after lengthy gaming sessions in Taiwan and South Korea, intensifying a discussion about the health risks of a streaming culture that rewards people for staying online for long periods.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/gamers-death-pushes-risks-of-live-streaming-into-view-20170315-guz3yy.html

 

 

 

A book about technology addiction now has me terrified of product designers

 

Adam Alter is an NYU psychology professor and the author of the new book, "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.”  It's a hard, thoughtful look at the ways smartphone apps and social media hijack our brains to crave what those apps deliver.

I am terrified.

 

There are incredibly smart people working to engineer apps that people can't resist. Alter says they wield "tremendous power."

And while Alter says most designers care more about creating a fast, frictionless app — not some darker Machiavellian pursuit — psychology research has found the end result is the same. Apps really can be too well-designed for our own good.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/technology-addiction-product-designers-2017-3

 

 

 

Researchers at the University of Michigan released a paper Tuesday explaining how audio tones can send false readings to devices through the devices' accelerometers. Accelerometers are those sensors in phones, fitness trackers, and tons of other tech toys that tell our devices where they are in space.

 

The results of the hacks the Michigan researchers demonstrated are minor. They caused a Samsung Galaxy S5 to spell out the word "WALNUT" in a graph of the accelerometer's readings (which the user wouldn't likely see), and they tricked a Fitbit fitness tracker into recording steps that no one was taking.

 

But the fact is, something as simple as sound waves can make your devices do something you didn't ask them to do. You probably don't like the sound of that.

 

https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/hack-fitbit-samsung-sound-waves-researchers/

 

The technical details are available in the PDF document at the link below.

 

https://spqr.eecs.umich.edu/papers/trippel-IEEE-oaklawn-walnut-2017.pdf

 

 

 

Researchers show sound waves can be used to hack everything from phones to fitness trackers

University of Michigan researchers reveals that millions of gadgets that use accelerometers are at risk.

Researchers found the tiny sensors can be tricked, registering fake movement and giving hackers a backdoors into devices.

The team used a $5 speaker and precisely tuned acoustic tones to deceive 15 different models of accelerometers into registering movement that never occurred.  
The approach served as a backdoor into the devices - enabling the researchers to control other aspects of the system.

 

The key to the process is hitting the right note.

The researchers recommend ways to adjust hardware design to eliminate the problems. 

They also developed two low-cost software defenses that could minimize the vulnerabilities, and they've alerted manufacturers to these issues.
The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4314112/Sound-waves-hack-phones-cars.html

 

 

 

Sex Toy Maker Pays $3.75 Million to Settle ‘Smart’ Vibrator Lawsuit

 

Think twice about connecting those sex toys to the Internet: A vibrator company has agreed to pay up to $10,000 to U.S. customers who used a smartphone app that relayed their data to the firm's server.

 

Security researchers discovered the company was also using the smart phone app to harvest data about how customers used the vibrators. The apps collected information such as what temperature and intensity settings the owners used, as well as how often they used the toys.

While We-Vibe stressed that no customer data was hacked by outside parties, the data collection nonetheless led two customers to file a class action lawsuit against the company.

 

http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/sex-toy-maker-settlement-smart-vibrator-lawsuit/

 

 

 

Video:

A hacker reveals the most secure thing you can do to your passwords

 

Don’t choose your own passwords.

 

Have computer software (such as LastPass and 1Password) create and manage your passwords for you.

 

Then trust the software to remember your passwords for you so you don’t have to remember them yourself.

 

You will need a “Master Password” to access the many passwords that will be created for you.

That Master Password should be a phrase, sentence or lyric that you can remember easily.

 

The greatest security is using a password manager app and two factor authentication together.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/hacker-explains-importance-password-managers-online-security-privacy-2017-3

 

 

 

Video:

A hacker explains the best way to browse the internet anonymously

 

If you want to protect the anonymity of your internet address, a web browser called TOR is best.

 

TOR uses a network that is designed to hide the people who use it.

 

This is NOT the same as encryption.

To use encryption, a URL should begin with https, NOT http.  The extra “s” stands for secure.

 

There is a “plug-in” called “https everywhere” which makes a web browser use encryption with every web site that it can.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-browse-internet-anonymously-kevin-mitnick-2017-3

 

 

 

This is how Russian hackers broke into millions of Yahoo accounts without passwords, according to the FBI

 

Essentially, the hackers managed to get hold of a secret directory that contained Yahoo usernames, encrypted passwords, and other information. They then used that data to trick Yahoo into thinking their web browsers were already logged into Yahoo's online service — a clever technique that meant they never needed to actually decrypt any passwords.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-russian-hackers-got-into-yahoo-accounts-2017-3

 

 

 

Venezuela is cracking down on 'bitcoin fever’

 

"Bitcoin is a way of rebelling against the system," Caracas-based software developer John Villar told Reuters.

 

Now the Venezuelan government, long caught up in battles with the political opposition and in bloody struggles with rampant crime, has turned its attention to bitcoin users and producers.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/venezuela-bitcoin-use-popularity-restrictions-and-crackdown-2017-3