The MacValley blog
Welcome to the MacValley blog, your first stop for all the latest MacValley news and views.
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The MacValley blog Editor: Tom Briant
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Saturday, September 23, 2017
Senior Correspondent Arnold Woodworth's Special Update!
REVIEW: The iPhone 8 is incredible, but you should wait for the iPhone X instead
The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are actually great. But an even better phone is on the way.
The iPhone x.
The iPhone x.
Apple has never offered an iPhone lineup as broad as the one it's about to have. You can get an iPhone SE for as little as $349 or, come November, go all the way to the max with the $999 iPhone X. You almost can't make a bad choice; they're all really, really good phones.
But if the price tag doesn't scare you away, hold off on the iPhone 8 and go for the X.
Video:
The 5 best hidden features from the latest iPhone update
Reviewers say the new Apple Watch is pretty bad
Video:
I spent a week using the iPhone 8 and I think you should wait for the iPhone X — here's why
Your iPhone's camera just got an upgrade thanks to iOS 11 — here are all the ways it changed
Why the Apple Watch won't replace your doctor anytime soon
• Apple is working with Stanford to study whether its Apple Watch can detect a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.
• Most cardiologists say screening a general population isn't advisable.
• Regulatory experts say that it won't be easy to convince the FDA.
FDA regulations are a big barrier to most medical uses of the Apple Watch.
Apple Becomes a Chipmaker to One-Up Smart-Phone Foes
The prominence of the new A11 “bionic” chip reflects Apple’s deepening investment in chip design. Last week the company also revealed it had built new custom chips or chip components for artificial intelligence, graphics, and video. And Apple highlighted two new chips in its refreshed smartwatch.
Industry watchers say Apple’s strategy of designing chips itself has given it a big advantage—and arguably made its mobile chips the best on the planet.
Video:
Apple Watch Series 3 review: The smartest smartwatch yet
The watch's LTE cellular connectivity, which is supposed to let users make phone calls directly from their wrists and has been touted by Apple as a key selling point, doesn't always work very well.
Apple is working on a fix, which will be delivered in a future software release, an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider.
Apple Watch Series 3 with LTR Review: Missed Connections
The biggest difference between the Apple Watch Series 3 and older Apple Watches is that this model comes with the option of a built-in cellular modem. That means that even if your phone isn’t nearby, and even if your Watch isn’t connected to a known Wi-Fi network, you should still be able to make and receive calls and messages on the Watch.
A smartwatch with LTE will, in theory, let you call a ride home when your smartphone dies before your watch does. In reality, my Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE failed at the LTE part.
All four of the big wireless carriers in the US — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon — will offer Apple Watch plans, and they’re all $10 per month on top of your phone service plan.
Apple Watch fails to reliably connect for some reviewers
This article quotes statements from several different reviewers, and also has links to their reviews.
Apple is working on a fix for Watch Series 3 LTE issues
An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the problem with TechCrunch, stating, “We have discovered that when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular. We are investigating a fix for a future software release.”
The Apple Watch is still the one to beat
LTE aside, there’s little or nothing here that justifies the price of upgrade over last year’s model. Apple got the smartwatch thing pretty right on its first stab, and each generation makes the product that much better.
The iPhone 8: A Worthy Refinement Before the Next Generation
Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are very good phones.
The best thing about the 8 and 8 Plus is what’s most hidden: It’s the processor that powers everything else. The fastest Android phones, though, are painfully slower that the iPhone 8.
The iPhone 8 represents Apple’s platonic ideal of that first iPhone, an ultimate refinement before eternal retirement.
The iPhone X represents the future.
Apple Watch Series 3 Excels, Even if You Don’t Need Cellular
After testing the cellular watch for a week, I found it to be an excellent smart watch that is a significant improvement over the first Apple Watch, which was slow, confusing to use and deeply flawed.
But the cellular version is a luxury that most people probably will not need. The price you pay for those brief moments of respite from your iPhone is steep: at least $399 for the hardware, plus $10 a month for access on your cellphone plan for some carriers. And I seldom found reasons to use the watch without my iPhone to justify the extra cost.
Uber users on iPhones can now block the app from always tracking their location, thanks to Apple's new iOS update
Good news, Uber users: If you have an iPhone, you can now limit the company's ability to keep tabs on your whereabouts.
Uber has a rocky history when it comes to users' privacy.
Meet the NASA Engineer Suing the Government for Searching His Smartphone
Side Bikkannavar is one of 11 plaintiffs — including journalists, a military veteran and an independent filmmaker — who say they were detained at the U.S. border, coerced by agents and subjected to illegal searches.
The ACLU's lawsuit comes after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 2014 that police may not search the cellphones of criminal suspects upon arrest without a warrant. The court said that smartphones and other electronic devices are not in the same category as wallets, briefcases and vehicles — an exemption, Bhandari says, that applies equally to inspections by border authorities.
"People might say, 'If you have nothing to hide, why are you worried?'" Bikkannavar says. "It's not about having nothing to hide — it's about having to think about this stuff each time I travel. Being apprehensive about travel is not a great way to live your life. If I find myself in this situation for having done nothing wrong."
Video:
How Facebook Is Changing Your Internet
Behind the scenes, Facebook is involved in high-stakes diplomatic battles across the globe that have begun fragmenting the internet itself.
Facebook has made the leaders of many governments feel threatened. So they have started to push back to regain some control over how their citizens communicate.
The fight between governments and companies has begun fragmenting the internet.
Facebook is subsidizing internet connectivity in the developing world to make Facebook accessible to all.
Problem:
Facebook’s free version for third world people only allows access to Facebook and a few other sites. Those third world people can’t seek out alternative sources of information.
Facebook is a space where protests flare up around lies and measured voices are shouted down by more radical groups.
China is the ultimate example of fragmenting the internet.
As nations try to grab back power online, a clash is brewing between governments and companies. Some of the biggest companies in the world — Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba among them — are finding they need to play by an entirely new set of rules on the once-anarchic internet.
If you see this mysterious code on your boarding pass, get ready to be searched
"SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection and it appears on a passenger’s boarding pass when they’ve been selected by TSA’s Secure Flight system for enhanced security screening," a TSA spokesman told Business Insider in a statement.
Video:
Equifax Has Been Pointing People to a Knockoff Phishing Site
Equifax has been inadvertently spreading at least one knockoff scam. The company has been directing people to a fake, copycat version of its own hacking help page instead of the real one for the past couple of weeks. (Thankfully, it was a benign one created by a concerned citizen.)
This particular knockoff site was created by Nick Sweeting, a software developer who has made it his cause to raise awareness about the dangers of phishing.
"As it stands, their site is dangerously easy to impersonate, it only took me 20 minutes to build my clone," Sweeting wrote to Fortune in a direct message on Twitter. "I can guarantee there are real malicious phishing versions already out there."
Equifax sends breach victims to fake notification site
Mixup shows that even company officials can be fooled by look-alike names.
Mixup shows that even company officials can be fooled by look-alike names.
It turns out Equifax has linked to the same fake domain since at least September 9.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/equifax-directs-breach-victims-to-fake-notification-site/
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/equifax-directs-breach-victims-to-fake-notification-site/
More Useful Information for Dealing with the Equifax Data Breach:
What’s the Difference Between a Fraud Alert, Security Freeze and Credit Lock?
A credit lock gives you the power to block access to your Equifax credit file like a security freeze. However, the difference is that this credit lock allows you to lock and unlock your account online easily rather than having to verify your identity every time you want to lift or place a security freeze.
If you want a credit lock (or credit freeze) from all three credit reporting companies, you must contact each one separately and pay a fee to each one separately.
Should You ‘Freeze’ Your Credit Files to Lock Out ID Thieves?
You can stop a thief from using that stolen information to open new financial accounts in your name. To do that, you simply put a “security freeze” on your credit file at the three big credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Most creditors will not issue credit without checking your credit score. A security freeze prevents them from accessing your file or generating a credit score based on that file.
That’s why U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) now advises everyone to put freezes on their accounts, even if they haven’t had their sensitive personal information stolen.
Most creditors will not issue credit without checking your credit score. A security freeze prevents them from accessing your file or generating a credit score based on that file.
That’s why U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) now advises everyone to put freezes on their accounts, even if they haven’t had their sensitive personal information stolen.
“This is the only way to prevent new account identity theft, where someone opens a new account in your name,” said Mike Litt, PIRG’s consumer program advocate. “If the bad guys gets your Social Security number and tries to open a new account, they won’t be able to if the account is frozen.”
Equifax moves to fix weak PINs for “security freeze” on consumer credit reports
A number of customers discovered that the PINs generated by enrolling in Equifax's TrustedID Premier Service were non-random and apparently sequential—in fact, they were essentially date-time stamps of the time of enrollment. Such PINs could potentially be brute-forced by someone attempting to unlock a credit report for the purpose of identity theft.
Equifax is moving to improve the PIN generation process. In response to an inquiry from Ars, an Equifax spokesperson said.
What Equifax Was Lobbying Congress for Before the Hack Will Sicken You
The day Equifax reported it had been hacked, a House Financial Services panel was discussing a bill being pushed by Equifax to limit credit-reporting companies' liability if hacked.
We know Equifax was aware of the breach. We know executives dumped stock. We know the company had legislators in Congress trying to pass a bill. And we know the purpose of that bill: to limit a credit company's liability in the event of a hack. But we don't know if the timing was purely coincidental or when Equifax disclosed the hack to regulators. Hopefully all of that will come out in the not-too-distant future.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk denied the bill was "a credit bureau protection act," saying it was intended "to protect consumers and all Americans."
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