Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 03/05 - Apple Allows Ads in Push Notifications!?

Starting point is 00:00:00 On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Thursday. March 5th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough today. More coronavirus worries. Apple is allowing ads and push notifications. Google is switching to mobile first indexing. Hackers can hack your car keys. Samsung's 4K and 8K TV lineup is here and why I'm struggling to find a reason not to subscribe to do not pay at this point. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Today in coronavirus, Microsoft is increasingly. encouraging workers in the Seattle area and the Bay Area, who can work from home to do so, if possible, through March 25th. Note that they are suggesting this social distancing, not requiring it yet.

Starting point is 00:01:20 In the case of Seattle, Microsoft has made this decision because King County in Washington has declared a state of emergency due to the number of COVID-19 cases in that area. Workers at Microsoft's corporate headquarters are included in the advisory to work from home. And Mark German says that Apple has warned stores about a shortage of parts and a memo to technical staff. The company said iPhone repair parts and replacement phones would be in short supply for as long as two to four weeks. Quote, some Apple stores have also noticed a shortage of individual parts, according to the employees, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. And Apple spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. When a user brings in a damaged iPhone to an Apple store, the company can replace individual parts.

Starting point is 00:02:05 parts such as the screen or camera. If the device is beyond repair, the company often provides a replacement phone rather than a brand new model. The dearth of iPhone repair parts is one of the first visible effects from the virus on Apple's operations. The company has begun to see shortages for the iPad Pro, Bloomberg news reported recently, while the supply of the iPhone 11 has begun to slightly tighten internationally, end quote. And also, Foxconn, Apple supplier extraordinaire, says its revenue in February fell to $7.26 billion, down 18.13% year over year, but down 40.35% month over month. This was because it was forced to cut production due to coronavirus fears. The former head of Uber's self-driving car unit, Anthony Lewandowski, has been ordered to pay

Starting point is 00:02:59 $179 million to Google due to breach of contract, and this has caused Levendoski to file for bankruptcy, quoting Reuters. LeVendoski, who had been a key engineer in Google self-driving project and colleague Lear Ron, engaged in unfair competition and breached their legal obligations by starting a rival company and bringing over Google employees in arbitration panel ruled in December. Uber, which later acquired the startup co-founded by Levindosky, indemnifies workers under its employment agreements, but Uber has said in financial filings that it expects to challenge paying the big judgment against its ex-employee Levindoski, who is fighting a federal indictment on charges of stealing trade secrets from Google. Uber declined to comment. LeVendoski's attorney Neil Chatterjee did not respond to her request for comment.

Starting point is 00:03:44 Levindoski filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, enabling him to negotiate debts. He has $50 million to $100 million in estimated assets compared with $100 million to $500 million in liabilities, according to his filing, end quote. Apple is now allowing ads in push notifications, but only if users opt in. Quoting the verge. Apple has long banned apps from using notifications for advertising promotions or direct marketing purposes, but that changes today. Apps can now send marketing notifications when, quote, customers have explicitly opted in

Starting point is 00:04:25 to receive them, end quote. Users must also be able to opt out of receiving the ads. The change follows a couple of incidents over the past. two years in which Apple bent its own rules by sending out push notifications that read a lot like ads. Since other companies' apps could be banned or have their push notification privileges revoked for that behavior, the moves were criticized as another example of Apple getting away with special treatment because it controls the platform. Apple's intention has generally been a good one here. No one wants to be spammed with notifications, especially not marketing messages they didn't request.

Starting point is 00:04:57 But the flat-out ban led to some ambiguities that this new policy may be able to clear up. Can a retailer use a push notification to tell you about a sale if you've already installed their app? Can Amazon encourage customers to buy a new phone through its app as it recently did? Some of these notifications might be useful and Apple's new policy could let them through while giving customers control over whether they actually see them, end quote. I don't know, y'all. This sounds like a really bad idea, like an inexplicably bad idea, especially from Apple. Paul Spencer tweeted,

Starting point is 00:05:32 One of the reasons I moved to iOS was the lack of garbage notifications. There are apps that I do want notifications from, but I don't want their advertisements. Pretty disappointed. Alex Hearn tweeted, depressing that after years of enforcing a consumer-friendly policy against everyone but itself, Apple chose to scrap the policy rather than apply it consistently, expecting more of that. And Callum Jones tweeted, following comments that Apple ignores their own rules, they made the one decision nobody wanted here. Impressive, end quote.

Starting point is 00:06:07 Azure Internet of Things and Cisco Internet of Things have formed a partnership to integrate Cisco Edge with Microsoft Azure Internet of Things Hub. The companies say the partnership will enable more edge computing scenarios, quoting Redmond Channel partner. The main idea is that Cisco's Edge intelligence software announced back in January can connect with Microsoft's Azure IoT Hub service, as well as the Azure IoT Hub device provisioning service. Cisco Edge Intelligence is used to extract and transform data for use with various cloud-based services. Cisco pre-integrates its solution with various IoT platforms to facilitate data sharing. The Azure IoT Hub service released four years ago is used for bidirectional messaging between IoT applications and devices. It supports the multiple protocols used by IoT devices.

Starting point is 00:06:53 The IoT Hub device provisioning service offers zero-touch provisioning for IoT devices, according to Microsoft. It validates devices, registers them with an IoT hub, and adds to, It's 256-bit AES subscription for data at rest, end quote. Huge news in the world of SEO. We knew they were going to do this for a while, but now we have an official date. Google says it will switch to mobile first indexing for all websites in September. Mobile first indexing means that when Google looks at a website to index and scans that site for the various signals its algorithms used to rank it in search, it will, going forward,

Starting point is 00:07:32 only be using the mobile version of the site, not the desktop one. Quoting the great Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land, and he's speaking directly to Webmasters and the SEO community here. Google said, to simplify, we'll be switching to mobile first indexing for all websites starting September 2020. Most sites have moved over already, and you can check if your site has moved over by logging into Google Search Console. 70% of sites are already prepared.

Starting point is 00:07:58 From our analysis, most sites shown in search results are good to go for a mobile first indexing and 70% of those shown in our search results have already shifted over, Google said. So chances are your site has already moved over to mobile first indexing. Google started the mobile first indexing process in 2016. Google has been working up to this point for almost four years now. We have had plenty of time to get ready for this and it should come as no surprise to anyone here, end quote. Public service announcement, Wired says that hackers can clone millions of Toyota, Hyundai and Kia car keys due to a flaw in common anti-thetheth systems used by these automakers, quoting Wired. Researchers from KU. Lujan in Belgium and the University of Birmingham in the UK earlier this week revealed new vulnerabilities they found in the encryption systems used by immobilizers,

Starting point is 00:08:54 the radio-enabled devices inside cars that communicate at close range with a key fob to unlock the car's ignition and allow it to start. specifically they found a problem in how Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia implement a Texas Instruments encryption system called DST80, a hacker who swipes a relatively inexpensive Proxmark RFID reader slash transmitter near the key fob of any car with DST80 inside can gain enough information to derive its secret cryptographic value. That in turn would allow the attacker to use the same proxmark device to impersonate the key inside the car, disabling the immobilizer from letting them startup the engine. The researchers say the affected car models include the Toyota Camry, Corolla, and RAV-4, the Kia Optima, Seoul, and Rio, and the Hyundai I-10, I-20, and I-40, end

Starting point is 00:09:44 quote. Actually, the list of effective cars also includes the Tesla S, since researchers reported a similar vulnerability last year, but Tesla, in the meantime, has subsequently pushed a firmware update that blocks the type of attacks just described. Visco, the photo editing app that is also a Gen Z meme has unveiled montage, an editing tool that lets users stack and layer multiple photos and videos to create collages, quoting TechCrunch. Already, Visco allowed users to apply photo-like edits to their videos by doing things like applying filters or adjusting the exposure, for example, but montage is an entirely different sort of video editing experience. Now users will be able to tell longer video stories involving scenes where they can even stack

Starting point is 00:10:32 and layer one or more videos, photos, colors, and shapes in order to create a collage-like finished product, Visco explains. To get started, users will pick an aspect ratio, for example, square, landscape, portrait, as the canvas then begin adding their multiple photos and videos from their camera roll to create their scenes. As you create your montage, you can also adjust the opacity of images you add in the various layers. Visco notes, there's no limit to the number of scenes you add to the video, but only videos two minutes or less can be posted to the Visco feed. The end results can also be shared outside Vimeo if you choose. Visco's investments in video come at a time when the company has seen video editing double, reflecting the

Starting point is 00:11:13 younger generation's increasing interest in video sharing across social media, as with Instagram stories or newly popular apps like TikTok and bite, end quote. Yes, Visco seems to be leaning into video to great success. When we last spoke about then, Visco said it was on pace to surpass 4 million paying subscribers sometime this year and approaching $80 million in annual revenue. Right now, Visco says it has 20 million active users per week and more than 2 million of them are paying customers. Google has started rolling out 4K gaming for Stadia on the web so long as you are a Stadia pro subscriber. Until now, 4K gameplay had been limited to Chromecast Ultras and various TVs, quoting 9 to 5 Google.

Starting point is 00:12:01 Besides noticing the visual improvement over 1080P on computers, you can confirm by opening the in-game menu, Shift Plus tab, or the Stadia button on the controller, and clicking connection. Under data usage status, a mint green 4K icon will appear. An excellent connection is technically required, but we've also hit 4K on good and even OK. Along with internet speeds over 35 mbPS, the $9.99 per month Stadia Pro subscription is needed to access the best visual quality option. So far, that preference, along with HDR, can only be set on the mobile apps and not stadia.com, end quote. Samsung has officially launched its 2020 lineup of 4K and 8K Q LED TVs, including the flagship Q950 TS series, the one with the vaunted infinity screen.

Starting point is 00:12:56 That was one of the highlights of CES this year, quoting the verge. Samsung says, when customers watch from the average viewing distance of 10 to 15 feet, the bezels seem to disappear, creating an effect where the screen appears to elegantly float in the air. But it's the 4K TVs that will matter more to most consumers shopping for a new set this year, especially if they're also planning to pick up an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5. You'll want to largely ignore the Q6T series as it misses out on a lot of features, including variable refresh rate, which Samsung brands as Real Game Enhancer Plus. That along with Adaptive Picture, automatic adjustment of picture settings,

Starting point is 00:13:34 based on room lighting, start in the Q70T series, end quote. Yeah, the 4K series is probably what most of us will be looking at, if we're even remotely imagining, lusting after one of these bad boys. For one thing, the 8K lineup only comes in 65, 75, and 82 inch sizes, and the pricing begins at $3,500,000, and $7,000, respectively. Meanwhile, the 4K series also goes up to 85 inches, but you can get 49 and even 50-inch sizes starting at a thousand bucks. And there are plenty in the usual 55-inch sizes that is all most people can actually usually fit into their living rooms. Finally today, I am just frankly continuing to fall in love with this company. Do Not Pay has launched Digital Health, a new $3 a month tool that automates California's Consumer Privacy Act data

Starting point is 00:14:34 deletion requests. Does it all for you. Plus, the fee gives you access to all of Do Not Pay's other cool services, quoting Fortune. Priced at $3 a month, the service will contact more than 100 data brokers on your behalf and demand they delete you and your family's personal information. It will also show you the types of data the brokers have collected, such as phone number or location info, and even initiate legal proceedings if the firms fail to comply. The monthly fee also gives subscribers access to Do Not Pay's Other Automated Avenging Service. like appealing parking tickets in any city, claiming compensation for poor in-flight Wi-Fi, and Robo Revenge, which sues Robocallers, end quote.

Starting point is 00:15:14 We're reaching the stage where I don't know why I just don't break down and sign up for a do-not-pay subscription. Even if I don't have immediate need to use it, I feel like it would be useful at some point. And frankly, I almost feel charitable to them. Like, I want to give them my money just because I think what they're doing is so cool. What do you think the odds are? We'll all be asked to work from home by the end of next week, maybe? The week after? Seriously, I'm taking odds.

Starting point is 00:15:48 I did buy a second microphone so I can record from home if I have to. Hopefully I don't have to. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 03/05 - Apple Allows Ads in Push Notifications!?

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