Time to dust off the old “X company had a data breach. Here’s free credit monitoring as an apology” routine. T-Mobile US Inc. said an investigation confirmed about 7.8 million current users had information stolen along with more than 40 million records from past or prospective customers who’d applied for credit in a cyberattack. The stolen information included customers’ full names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and IDs such as drivers licenses, the Bellevue, Washington-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. The hack doesn’t appear to have included credit card details or other financial information, it said. Bloomberg Remember…
Category: Stream
Lots of noise is made about “vaccine passports”, but one convenient thing about it is the ease and speed of proving one’s vaccination status when required to enter a building. In NY the Excelsior Pass has been around quite quickly after the vaccines were made available. Acquiring a pass requires verifying some information, then getting a QR code the state issues. The pass also has your name on it. Pair the scanned code with photo ID and you have a verifiable way for a bar or stadium to know if someone is vaccinated. Even if the QR code was a…
Can’t say I’m surprised at this one. The NHL at least had a legit case last season to allow advertising on helmets across the league and even sell the naming rights to the divisions. That’s right, last season was: the Scotia NHL North Division, Honda NHL West Division, Discover NHL Central Division and the MassMutual NHL East Division. Insert facepalm emoji here, right? But with a COVID-ravaged season with zero ticket sales, I could understand a season where more “creative” money had to come in. I hoped it would be a one and done kind of a thing. Now, we…
Six beta versions into iOS 15 and it’s obvious Apple has no idea what they’re going to do with Safari. Back in June at WWDC Apple unveiled a complete overhaul to Safari on all platforms. On the iPhone the address bar is now on the bottom, all controls are basically hidden in the Share menu, and the address bar basically “floats” over content. I kinda liked it, but had my small gripes. It was a big change and people have been vocal (as beta testers can be) about this. Now it seems Apple is making concessions. In Beta 5, Apple…
Over on Twitter, Kosta Eleftheriou announced the discontinuation of FlickType for iPhone. This is a keyboard app specifically for visually-impaired users. The twitter thread goes into some detail about Eleftheriou’s issues with dealing with Apple’s App Review and the insane hoops developers have to jump through. I can’t say I blame him for tossing up his hands on this app and calling it quits. I am disappointed at Apple, especially when they are generally all for accessibility within their products. FlickType for iPhone is an asset to the platform. Thankfully the Apple Watch version of FlickType isn’t going anywhere because…
Talk about taking the wind out of my sails. I’d been hoping to one day book a “cabin” at this fully-immersive Star Wars themed hotel. SFGate (and so many others) confirming Disney spares no expense (and charges accordingly) for the House of Mouse. The idea is that you’re staying on a luxury space cruise, so immersive that the hotel’s windows look out into “space” and you never leave the property unless it’s to “board a transport” to Batuu, the land where Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge takes place. Admission to Hollywood Studios is included in the price, as is all of…
Massive and sustained heat waves across the US are some more of the signs that the Climate Crisis is officially upon us. It’s been so hot that businesses have been forced to close for a day or two so their employees don’t quit or die because of the heat. One restaurant in Portland, Oregon, told social media followers it closed Thursday “to keep you and our crew safe during this incredible heat wave.” A coffee shop in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, said it will be closed for a second day Friday because of the heat. A pizza place in Junction, Vermont, said it will remain closed Friday because…
Stumbled upon a video from Greg over at AppleExplained with this good explainer about why it’s unnecessary to kill iPhone apps from within the App Switcher. It’s quick, concise, and Greg gets right to the point. The video itself is well done. Not killing apps has a bunch of benefits: Easy way to bring up a recently-used app App resumes right where you left off The app does not need to reload everything over again because it was left in a frozen state. iOS manages all the power and memory without the need for a person to intervene While I…
More information is coming to light over on The Verge about Wear OS 3 and what this means going forward with both the software and hardware. This quote strikes at the heart of the matter: It’s not just about improving on the low bar of either Wear OS or Tizen. There are low bars everywhere for Android users. As Wear OS stagnated, OnePlus, RealMe, Oppo, Fitbit, and others have turned to proprietary, simplified platforms that lack the features you’d expect in a smartwatch today. The fact that Wear OS had an entry as the first wearable OS to market and no less…