Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

[sultrysandy]

Project Quadra 2020 (or, how I spend my time during a pandemic) —

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Working from home at 25MHz: You could do worse than a Quadra 700 (even in 2020)

Famously, Apple's Quadra 700 once helped track dinosaurs. Is it stuck in amber nowadays?

Be a shame if anything happened to those dinosaur paddock gates, so it's a good thing Sam Jackson can monitor this situation with his Quadra 700.


The crop of personal computers available in the last decade of the 20th century were markedly faster, more capable, and more connected than their primitive ancestors. Clock speeds and transistor counts were rapidly increasing, and the decreasing cost of memory and storage was opening up new avenues for the personal computer to evolve from an expensive desk accessory into a tool for multimedia and professional graphics design.

In 1991, the Intel i486DX was one of the hottest processors on the market—literally. It was one of the first that all but required a heatsink, and a cooling fan was a good option for processors with higher clockspeeds. But for Apple, the PowerPC architecture was still below the horizon, leaving just one choice for high-performance Macintosh computers in the early 90s: the Motorola 68040 microprocessor.

What a beast. The '040 was a substantial upgrade over the '030 that had previously been used by Apple. It featured 1.2 million transistors, over four times as many as its predecessor. This processor increased the L1 cache size by a factor of eight to 4096 bytes, and it was the first 68k processor to have an on-board floating-point unit (FPU). While not without its drawbacks, the '040 processor was an obvious candidate for Apple's next line of premium workstations at time. And this line would become known as “Quadra,” starting with the Quadra 700 and 900 models in late 1991.

While the floor-standing tower Quadra 900 was the crème de la crème in regards to overall performance and upgradability, its physical size and price tag were a barrier to entry for some. Its desktop size brother, known as the Quadra 700, was arguably the more impressive of the two computers anyway. After all, it was the Quadra 700 that featured in Apple's Quadra television commercial and went on to appear prominently in a certain Speilberg dinosaur-action blockbuster.


Both computers were marketed towards professionals looking for a home or office-based workstation-class computer, ideal for scientific, business, and design applications.

Fast forward nearly 30 years, and today the Quadra 700 is one of the most sought after vintage Macintosh computers. Part of this may be due to that supporting role next to Jeff Goldblum, but there are other reasons, too.

The 700 is one of the few vintage Apple computers to use tantalum capacitors on the logic board, rather than electrolytic. The latter capacitors inevitably leak electrolytic fluid, causing electrical instability and corroding traces on the logic board. Tantalum capacitors have no electrolytic to leak and are not prone to failure.

Other quality-of-life improvements over its peers include the Quadra's dedicated video RAM (VRAM), which is coupled tightly with the processor. A direct access to the frame buffer significantly improves video performance on the Quadra over other models like the IIsi. Memory expansion capacity was also improved, with the 700 supporting up to a total of 68MB of RAM. This amount was not possible at launch, as the SIMMs that supported this memory density would take several more months to be developed. VRAM could be upgraded to as much as 2MB.

I know all this because I remain a hopeless computer tinkerer who happened to come across a Quadra 700 around the start of 2020. Unlike my road test of the IIsi back in 2018, the Quadra 700 presented a tantalizing opportunity to really push the limits of early 90s desktop computing. Could this decades-old workhorse hold a candle to the multi-core behemoths of the 2020s? The IIsi turned out to be surprisingly capable; what about the Quadra 700 with its top-shelf early ‘90s specs?

Project Quadra 2020 (or, how I spend my time during a pandemic)

The 700 was sold to me in working condition, but otherwise “as-is.” There were a few items that could require immediate attention, not least being the floppy drive. Sticky, hairy, dirty—these were all common symptoms for Apple floppy drives with their doorless design even then. Over the years, this design decision naturally allowed all manner of dust and grime to build up. A full restoration of the drive would have to wait for another day, though, as I had plenty of spare drives to use in the meantime.

Half-assembled, I confirmed that the Quadra powered up just fine. Apple recommends not running the 700 for longer than 20 minutes with the case off, otherwise the passively cooled 68040 processor melts down. Not the best design, but it works fine with the case shut.

Vintage Macs usually require a full teardown and capacitor replacement before they can be safely powered up. The aforementioned electrolytic fluid and underperforming capacitors can cause all sorts of electrical havoc if a thorough cleaning and capacitor replacement isn't performed. With the tantalum capacitors on the logic board, the only real concern left was the power supply. A good dusting with compressed air blew out most of the large chunks of dust. The larger capacitors inside the power supply will need replacing eventually, too.

At this point, we had a working system with a modest amount of RAM and VRAM, a decently sized hard drive, and three empty expansion slots. As far as restorations go, everything went very smoothly. With no leaking capacitors or failing lithium batteries to deal with, the Quadra was in tip-top shape. This would be more than adequate for playing a few rounds of Bolo.

I think we can do better, however.






Sandy -
There are another one or two pages will post Sunday
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[sultrysandy]

Cyber hack on U.S. Treasury by foreign government

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White House acknowledges reports of cyber hack on U.S. Treasury by foreign government

he Trump administration acknowledged reports on Sunday that a group backed by a foreign government carried out a cyberattack on the U.S. Treasury Department and a section of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“The United States government is aware of these reports and we are taking all necessary steps to identify and remedy any possible issues related to this situation,” National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot wrote in an emailed statement to CNBC.

The hack was first reported by Reuters.

The hackers are suspected of targeting the Treasury Department as well as the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, a U.S. agency that is tasked with crafting internet and telecommunications policy, Reuters reported.

The elaborate cyber hack that was launched on NTIA involved the organization’s Microsoft Office 365 platform, according to Reuters.



Ended the post there as the article turned political.
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[sultrysandy]

Google Chrome might be bad, but it’s not slowing down your Mac

This weekend, developer Loren Brichter released a website claiming that Google Chrome for Mac — or more specifically its auto-update mechanism — was causing the WindowServer process on macOS to constantly have high CPU usage, damaging the performance of macOS, even on high-end machines.

The website includes information on how to completely get rid of Chrome and its updater from your Mac to get your performance back, and went as far as calling it “malware” (that word has since been removed). Many users have reported that this does work and that after removing Google Chrome from their machines, everything got a lot faster.

Let me preface this by making it very clear that I’m not a fan of Google Chrome. I do have it installed because some things that I do online require it, but my browser of choice has always been Safari. What piqued my interest was the technical side of this story, and some questions that I thought of while I was reading Loren’s report. Those questions were: Is it possible for a process to hide itself from Activity Monitor while it is running? When does the updater process run and what does it do? Is the Google Chrome updater actually the cause of this WindowServer CPU usage that people are seeing?


Is it possible for a process to hide itself from Activity Monitor while it is running?

I do not have a definite answer for this question. The only practical way I found to do this was to monitor the system for running processes and if Activity Monitor is found, terminate my process so that the user won’t see it in Activity Monitor. I don’t see why Google’s Keystone updater would have to do this, and some quick static analysis of its binaries hasn’t revealed any such tactic.


When does the updater process run and what does it do?

Google’s Keystone service, just like any other service-type apps and processes that run on a Mac, registers itself with the system by employing a launchd property list. Launchd is the daemon responsible for spawning processes on macOS, and a launchd property list is basically a configuration file that tells launchd how it is supposed to treat a given service.

In the case of the Google Chrome updater, it registers two services, which are backed by the same binary, located at ~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.

The “Keystone User Agent” service has a StartInterval set to a value of 3623 seconds, so it will run roughly once per hour to check for updates. The other one, “Keystone XPC Service” is started only when a Google app wants to check for updates itself, on demand. These are not services that will keep running indefinitely, they are only started periodically to check for updates or when a Google app wants to talk to them, which makes the claim that they slow down WindowServer even more interesting.

As to what this updater agent does, I’ve done some basic reverse engineering by statically analyzing the binaries involved using Hopper. It seems to handle things such as uploading crash reports if any are available, as well as checking for updates of Google’s apps, such as Chrome. I have been able to see it in Activity Monitor while it is actually running, in which case it will appear as “Google Software Update.”

Note that this basic research is by no means confirmation that this piece of software doesn’t do anything potentially nefarious, it just means that in the limited time that I had to look into it, I didn’t find anything alarming.


Is the Google Chrome updater actually the cause of this WindowServer high CPU usage that people are seeing?

This was the main question I set out to answer during my tests. The tests were performed on a 2019 16” MacBook Pro with a Core i9 processor and 16GB of RAM. The machine was plugged into an external display, no other apps were actively doing anything other than basic background tasks during the tests and I also left caffeinate running to prevent the machine from sleeping.

Using Instruments, which lets you observe software metrics such as CPU usage over time, I recorded two sessions: One with Google Chrome installed and another one with Google Chrome and the updater services uninstalled. I’ve used the first 30-minute window of the Instruments session to measure the CPU usage of WindowServer in each scenario.

3,468px × 1,674px



As you can see from the comparison above, with Chrome installed, the WindowServer process used about 50s of CPU during the test window. Without Chrome and its updater installed, it used about 49s. I don’t see this as a confirmation of the problem, given that the difference is negligible (way below what would cause visible performance issues).

Apart from that, the entire claim that a process which runs once per hour would cause a completely unrelated system service to have high CPU usage is wild. WindowServer is responsible for rendering the macOS UI to the screen, it spends its time in the CGXUpdateDisplay method, rendering CALayers, a task that has absolutely nothing to do with anything a software update checker (with no UI) would be doing.


Why are people assuming it’s Chrome slowing down their Mac performance?

As to why people are perceiving this problem and its solution, I can think of a few possibilities. One of them is the Placebo Effect: You have a problem, you do something that someone told you should fix the problem, and then you feel like the problem was fixed. This is more common in computers than you’d think. Another one is Confirmation Bias: You hate Google and Google Chrome (hey, not a fan either, we can be friends), and you see a story that matches your perception of the software, so you instinctively believe it.

Another thing that could be at play here is that the instructions on Loren’s website tell you to reboot the machine after performing the steps described, but that is not necessary in order to uninstall Google’s software updater. In fact, on my tests, I uninstalled it by ensuring it wasn’t running, then running launchctl unload, then removing the launchd property lists and binaries from the system. I did that because a computer that’s just been rebooted will always feel faster than one that’s been running for weeks, and I needed to eliminate that variable from my tests.

If you still feel like Google Chrome is slowing down your Mac performance, by all means, go ahead and remove it, I recommend Safari instead.






Sandy note -
Haven't installed any google software on any of my Macs. And why would I? Their web browser records your search results, they track your activity on the web, and their Android operating system records and phones home with your activity. Then they sell all of this info.

I use Firefox and Safari web browsers.
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[sultrysandy]

Mozilla launches campaign in support of Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 privacy features

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Wow, lots going in Apple world today; however even more in my world, so doing what I can.



Mozilla praises Apple anti-tracking privacy features in iOS 14

Mozilla, the organization that maintains Firefox and other open source projects, has launched a new campaign in support of a suite of privacy features that Apple is introducing in 2021.

Specifically, the internet company praised Apple's iOS 14 anti-tracking feature, which makes a specific type of advertising tracking tag opt-in on a per-app basis.

The feature revolves around a new disclosure about Identifier for Advertiser (IDFA) tags. It lets users know that a specific app "would like permission" to track users across other apps and websites, and requires users to explicitly "allow tracking" or disallow it.

"Apple's planned implementation of anti-tracking features is a huge win for consumers, many of whom might not even be aware that they can be tracked across apps on their phone," Mozilla wrote of the feature. "Now, with the option to opt-out of tracking at the point-of-use, consumers won't have to sift through their phone's settings to protect their privacy."

In addition to voicing its support for the anti-tracking feature, Mozilla is collecting virtual "signatures" from users who would like to voice their own support for Apple's privacy stance.

The Cupertino tech giant actually delayed the rollout of the feature until 2021 after companies that rely on advertising, such as Facebook and media publishers, began to push back or raise concerns about it.

Mozilla, in its campaign, said that consumers and companies need to ensure that Apple implements the feature and doesn't "kick the can down the road."

"We need a massive outpouring of support for Apple's decision to help strengthen its resolve to protect consumer privacy," the Firefox maker said.

Facebook has been one of the most vocal critics of the new iOS 14 privacy changes, claiming in one report that it could cause advertising revenue to drop at least 40% and as high as 50%. A group representing various advertising organizations and interests has also urged a "dialogue" about the feature's implementation.

Apple, at this point, doesn't appear to be changing its plans for the release. Besides delaying the rollout to give developers more time to prepare, the company seems to be on track to launch the new privacy feature in 2021.

The Cupertino tech giant in 2020 also launched another privacy feature on the App Store in "nutrition labels" that give users more information about what data apps collect and what is done with that information. That feature, already in effect, should be slowly adopted by app developers as time goes on.
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[sultrysandy]

FTC investigating privacy practices of YouTube, Amazon, Facebook & other platforms

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FTC orders Amazon, Facebook and others to explain how they collect and use personal data

ederal Trade Commission is requiring nine tech companies to share information about how they collect and use data from their users, the agency announced Monday.

Amazon, TikTok owner ByteDance, Discord, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Reddit, Snap, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube were each sent orders to hand over information about their data practices. The companies have 45 days to respond from the date they received the orders.

Along with details about how the services collect and use data, the agency is seeking information about how how they determine which ads to show their users, whether algorithms or data analytics are used on personal information, how they “measure promote, and research” engagement from users and how their data practices impact children and teens.

The FTC is using its authority under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act, which allows it to pursue broad studies separate from law enforcement. The agency launched a separate 6(b) study earlier this year to examine past acquisitions by Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft that would not have been subject to pre-reporting rules for mergers. Chairman Joe Simons said at the time that while a 6(b) study is not connected to an enforcement action, the merger review could “definitely could inform enforcement.”

The FTC filed charges last week against Facebook alleging the company has unlawfully maintained a monopoly in personal social networking services. The lawsuit, filed alongside a separate complaint from a group of 48 states and territories, claims Facebook bought up nascent rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp that it feared would enter its core business area. The enforcers claim Facebook’s actions have harmed consumers in part by diluting the quality of services available, including based on features like privacy. Facebook called the lawsuit “revisionist history” of its two major acquisitions which the FTC itself allowed to go through.

The commissioners voted to issue Monday’s orders in a 4-1 vote with Republican Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips dissenting. In a statement, Phillips wrote that while he appreciates the stated aim of the orders, he believes they are “instead an undisciplined foray into a wide variety of topics, some only tangentially related to the stated focus of this investigation.”

Phillips added, “The breadth of the inquiry, the tangential relationship of its parts, and the dissimilarity of the recipients combine to render these orders unlikely to produce the kind of information the public needs, and certain to divert scarce Commission resources better directed elsewhere.”

Three of the commissioners who voted in favor of the action said in a statement, “The FTC wants to understand how business models influence what Americans hear and see, with whom they talk, and what information they share... And the FTC wants to better understand the financial incentives of social media and video streaming services.”

“We’re working, as we always do, to ensure the FTC has the information it needs to understand how Twitter operates its services,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

“Discord takes user privacy very seriously and we look forward to working with the FTC to answer their questions about our privacy practices,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “Importantly, there are no ads on Discord. We make no money from advertising, selling user data to advertisers, or sharing users’ personal information with others. Instead, the company generates its revenue directly from users through a paid subscription service called Nitro.”

The other companies named in the orders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.





Sandy note -
Other tech companies, like Apple and YouTube parent company Google, were left off of the list. Interesting to me that two the owners of major operating systems that record users data then phones home iwth it are not included.

I want to see Facebook tear into the FTC as they have with Apple.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple updates Privacy website alongside App Store 'nutrition labels'

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New ‘App Privacy’ labels now live in the App Store, offering detailed overviews of app data practices

Apple has updated its privacy-related pages on its website, with the changes this time focusing on the App Store's new privacy nutrition labels, notifications advising of the kind of user data the app may consume or share.

Apple periodically updates its privacy policy to highlight new additions or to provide more transparency. For example, in November 2019 this took the form of a site design that covered hot-button topics like device tracking and message interception, as well as white papers going into deeper technical details for important elements.

For December 2020, the privacy changes are more muted but arguably more important to end users, as it centers around a new element of the App Store experience. On December 8, Apple started to require developers to advise of the different types of data collected by apps, and what the data is used for.

Now, Apple is making the results of those extra questions available for consumers to see via the privacy information section of the App Store listing for the app.

Monday's updates reflect those changes.


Privacy site

Apple has offered a privacy homepage for quite some time, promoting to consumers how it tries to uphold privacy within its apps and services in various ways. In the current iteration, the page gives per-service assurance on important consumer topics, such as how Apple doesn't store, sell, or use data points such as where a consumer uses Apple Pay, what they bought, or how much was paid to a retailer.

Earmarked with a "New" tag, an additional section for the App Store explains the changes "shows you what's in store for your data," referring to the additional "easy-to-read summaries" on app store listings.

"Every one of the more than 1.8 million apps on the App Store is required to follow strict privacy guidelines and report how it uses your data," the section reads, adding that each app is "rigorously reviewed" by its reviewing team. Now, users checking an app will see a summary of privacy practices that the app undertakes, "to help you decide if it works for you."

The section goes on to point out that apps being downloaded "need your permission to access information like your photos or location - and you can always change your mind about what you share."

The labels will largely consist of items in three sections, defining "Data used to track you," "Data linked to you," and "Data not linked to you," with each covering data tied to a user's identity, data that is generated and monitored but not in a way that is user-identifiable, and data used to actively track the user in some way. Under each are indicators advising of the type of data that is being shared, such as contact details, the user's location, financial information, purchases, and browsing history.

Apple also gives customers a heads-up about a feature arriving "in early 2021" for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, which will require developers to gain permission "before tracking your activity across other companies' apps and websites for ads or data brokers."


Features

Under the Features section of the site, headlined "We're committed to protecting your data," Apple has also made alterations to the different subsections of the page, on an app-by-app basis.

For Safari, Apple references the Privacy Report, which shows all the cross-site trackers being blocked by the browser's Intelligent Tracking Protection. Password monitoring is where Safari actively checks to see if saved Keychain passwords have been compromised in data breaches, with checks performed using "secure and private cryptographic techniques," and users informed if the password was compromised, without the password being revealed to Apple at all.

Safari's Extension Controls also get a mention, bringing up how they can be used to track the user's online habits. Apple suggests users can grant extensions access to information "Just Once," "Just for this website," or "Always."

Under Photos, Apple brings up that other apps can request access to photos, but users can choose which images are shared rather than providing full access to the library. Apps are also able to add images without being able to see what else is in the library.

For the Health section, Apple includes details about Exposure Notifications, an element of its COVID-19 response. A brief explanation of how "random Bluetooth identifiers" are rotated every 10 to 20 minutes is included, as well as informing it can be manually turned on and off by the user.

"The system does not collect your device location, and people who report themselves as positive are not identified by the system to other users or to Apple," the section concludes.

Location Services has an addition for "Approximate location," where users can elect to tell an app where they are to "within an area of about 10 square miles" instead of their exact position. Apple suggests this will help keep a user's location private in cases where apps offer location-based services, but not with a need for high levels of precision, such as local weather reports.

The text for Sign In with Apple mentions developers can now offer users the ability to upgrade existing app accounts to use the secure sign-in service instead of other systems. Users will be able to use Face ID and Touch ID for two-factor authentication on signing in, and won't have to set up an entirely new account to do so.

For the App Store, the section mentions the new privacy information section, as well as the inbound app tracking feature, and App Clips. When users use App Clips, the app can only ask for a limited set of data, and requires the same consent as a full app for access to items such as location or the camera.

App Clips also "aren't allowed to ask your permission to track you across other companies' apps and websites - only full apps can do that."


Control

The Control page, which covers how a user can manage what data is being shared on their devices, only has one major change, under the section titled "Learn about privacy settings and controls."

The element is about the privacy information section in the App Store, where developers offer "self-reported summaries of some of their privacy practices in a simple, easy-to-read format." There is also a link to a further section that teaches about privacy information on the App Store.


Privacy policy

Along with the main easier-to-understand consumer site, Apple also made changes to its privacy policy to reflect the changes. However, probably the biggest change is structural, to make the entire document much easier to read for newcomers.

At the top is the same description of what the privacy policy is for, as well as links relating to California privacy disclosures, commercial electronic message information in Canada, and the Apple Health Research Apps privacy policy. New here is a link for visitors to download their own local copy of the privacy policy.

The structural changes start after this section, with Apple framing it into easy to understand chunks covering

• What Is Personal Data at Apple?
  
  
• Your Privacy Rights at Apple
  
  
• Personal Data Apple Collects from You
  
  
• Personal Data Apple Receives from Other Sources
  
  
• Appleʼs Use of Personal Data
  
  
• Appleʼs Sharing of Personal Data
  
  
• Protection of Personal Data at Apple
  
  
• Children and Personal Data
  
  
• Cookies and Other Technologies
  
  
• Transfer of Personal Data Between Countries
  
  
• Our Companywide Commitment to Your Privacy
  
  
• Privacy Questions

Apple then uses plain language to explain its stance for each portion, in what could be considered a bid to be as transparent as possible. Furthermore, the effort to simplify the policy also goes as far as to directly categorize and list the types of data that Apple could collect and use about a user, including how it can be used by the company.

There's also breakdowns on the kinds of data required to perform general actions, such as how it needs to know information to process a transaction, or to "Comply with Law."

Towards the bottom of the document is the "Privacy Questions" section, where it encourages concerned users to contact the company's Data Protection Officer via a web form, or to contact their local Apple Support number.


Third-party pushback

The latest version of its privacy pages is a continuation of the company's efforts to try and keep the privacy of users intact as far as possible. However, as you might expect, Apple has received quite a lot of criticism about its latest efforts.

The most recent pushback Apple's had cover its main two additions, namely the privacy information details and its upcoming tracking-protection features.

For the former, the Facebook-owned WhatsApp has called the privacy label unfair, as it claims Apple's own Messages app doesn't require the same information since it is preinstalled on iPhones by default. "We believe it's important people can compare these 'privacy nutrition' labels from apps they download with apps that come pre-installed, like iMessage," a spokesperson claimed.

Furthermore, the app's developers feel Apple's template doesn't go far enough, and wants to enable apps to offer an explanation about how the data is being used or protected. It is thought that this information about security and privacy features of the app may be lost without being seen by the user, due to the use of overly-broad labels.

Facebook has also warned that the ad-tracking limitations of iOS 14 may affect the company's revenue, as it anticipates many users to refuse to allow the tracking to occur. It was suggested the feature may make it harder for app developers to "grow using ads on Facebook and elsewhere" because of its implementation.

Apple intends to expel apps from the App Store that do not abide by the ad tracking measures.

Advertisers in Europe have cried out about the anti-tracking system, declaring in July that Apple was ignoring the GDPR, strong data protection rules that already apply to the continent. The marketer's argument was that users had to be effectively asked for permission to track twice, increasing the chance users will say no.

In November, a European privacy advocate filed legal complaints in Spain and Germany against Apple over the ad-tracking plans, attacking Apple's IDFA, an Identifier for Advertisers that the complaint claims could be used to track a person without their permission. Apple has responded by calling the claims "factually inaccurate," and that it complies with all European privacy laws.





You can find Apple’s full updated privacy policy right here. Finally, Apple has updated its Privacy webpage to add additional details on the new privacy features in iOS 14, including the aforementioned App Privacy labels.
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[sultrysandy]

Facebook says it hopes proposed EU rules 'set boundaries' for Apple

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Facebook says it hopes new EU legislation will ‘set boundaries’ for Apple

Facebook took another swipe at Apple on Tuesday, saying it hopes Apple's power will be reigned in by new European Union draft proposals.

The European Commission on Tuesday introduced two pieces of draft legislation that would impose new regulations on tech companies in the EU, and levy hefty fines for noncompliance. One of those acts, the Digital Markets Act, would mean major changes for the Apple App Store.

In a statement to Reuters, Facebook said that it hopes the DMA, which could restrict companies highlighting their own products on an app marketplace, "will also set boundaries for Apple."

"Apple controls an entire ecosystem from device to app store and apps, and uses this power to harm developers and consumers, as well as large platforms like Facebook," the company said.

On the other hand, another draft proposal introduced by the EU on Tuesday would also target Facebook. The Digital Services Act would require major platforms to do more to tackle illegal or harmful content. Facebook, which has been criticized for not taking enough action to stem misinformation and hate speech, didn't comment on the DSA.

Facebook has been a vocal critic of certain App Store policies, including the Cupertino tech giant's cut of in-app purchases.

The social media company has also pushed back against a planned iOS 14 privacy feature that would make cross-application tracking opt-in. Facebook says that feature could reduce advertising revenue as much as 50%.

Both companies are known to spar over their divergent business models and policies. In November, Apple took a swipe at Facebook in a letter to advocacy groups, saying that Facebook's business model is to "collect as much data as possible" and "develop and monetize detailed profiles" of users.

In response, Facebook claimed that Apple was "using their dominant market position to self-preference their own data collection while making it nearly impossible for their competitors to use the same data."
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[sultrysandy]

New iOS, Android spyware targeting users in extortion campaign

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Can't keep up with everything going on in Apple world, if it isn't Facebook attacking, there's publishers, also privacy labels, however believe this takes immediate priority

A new mobile spyware is targeting both iOS and Android users in what appears to be an extortion campaign tied to illicit websites.

The malware, dubbed "Goontact," can steal data like contacts, SMS text messages, photos, and location information from an iPhone or Android. It's currently appears limited to Chinese-speaking countries, Korea, and Japan.

According to the Lookout security researchers who discovered it, "Goontact" targets users who visit illicit sites, typically those offering escort services. The ultimate goal seems to be extortion or blackmail tied to users visiting or soliciting services from those sites.

The scam starts when a user is lured to a website hosting the spyware. Although they appear to be talking to an escort, scam victims are actually communicating with "Goontact" operators, who convince them that they need to side-load an app on their iOS or Android devices.

Although the spyware and similar scams are not uncommon, the portion of the campaign targeting iOS users has been previously unreported, Lookout said. The iOS version of "Goontact" primarily steals a user's phone number and contact list, though newer versions can also display a message to the victim.

Like other side-loaded iOS malware threats, "Goontact" operators use an Apple enterprise developer certificate to distribute the spyware outside of the App Store. The certificates used in the Spyware campaign all reference what appear to be legitimate companies, including credit unions and railroad corporations.

It isn't clear if those legitimate companies have been compromised, or if the bad actors masqueraded as representatives of them to obtain the certificates.

During the course of Lookout's research, the team noticed multiple certificates being revoked. Once they were, new identities appeared on distribution sites, indicating that "Goontact" operators had no trouble obtaining new certificates.


Who's at risk, and how to protect yourself

"Goontact" doesn't appear to have spread beyond China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam yet, though there's a chance that it or a similar spyware strain could.

The spyware operators rely on social engineering to convince users to side-load the malicious apps onto devices. Because of that, if you never attempt to side-load anything, you won't be at risk.

As far as general best practices, it's always recommended to only download apps through the official App Store from developers that you trust, and to keep the software on your iPhone, iPad, or other device up to date.
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[sultrysandy]

Facebook blasts Apple in new ads over iPhone privacy change

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Facebook on Wednesday ran newspaper ads, published a new website and ran blog posts outlining its arguments opposing Apple over a privacy change that it claims “threatens the personalized ads that millions of small businesses rely on to find and reach customers.”

Facebook, in its blog post, argued that Apple’s new tracking rules are “about profit, not privacy,” and said it believes Apple is behaving anticompetitively by using control of the App Store in a way that benefits its bottom line at the expense of developers and small businesses.

The company is running print and digital ads in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post that say: “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere.” It also has a new website on an upcoming change to iOS 14 that affects how apps can use ad-tracking tools with Apple’s ad identifier, the IDFA.

“Without personalized ads, Facebook data shows that the average small business advertiser stands to see a cut of over 60% in their sales for every dollar they spend,” Facebook’s print ad reads. “While limiting how personalized ads can be used does impact larger companies like us, these changes will be devastating to small businesses, adding to the many challenges they face right now.”

The ad leads readers to a link for a website on Facebook for Business, which includes videos of interviews from business owners speaking out against the ad change. It also includes explanations of what will happen, and a “toolkit” to make posts with the hashtag ”#SpeakUpForSmall” to talk about the change.

Apple will soon be making a huge change to settings on users’ iPhones in the name of privacy, and it will fundamentally change mobile advertising on those devices. It will take a privacy option that was previously buried deep in users’ phones and put it front and center when they open an app, which is expected to dramatically impact the ability of advertisers to target ads the way they have been since people likely won’t opt in.

Facebook has been outspoken about the change since it was announced in June, accusing Apple of moving the free, ad-supported internet into paid apps and services, where Apple can take its 30% cut, and crush small businesses’ ability to do personalized advertising.

In its blog post, Facebook also made the consumer-facing argument that apps and websites that were once free may start charging people for services or be forced out of business because they can no longer offer free products supported by advertising.

“Paying for content may be fine for the well off, but many people just don’t have room in their budget for these fees,” the blog post, written by Facebook VP of ads and Business Products Dan Levy, says.

Facebook reassured investors that it will not be severely impacted by Apple’s change to iOS.

“We will be fine,” said Levy on a call with reporters Wednesday. He said the company has already been factoring this into its expectations for Facebook’s overall business, which he called “large and diverse.” But he said the impact will be greater on creators and small businesses.

Facebook also argued that Apple isn’t “playing by their own rules,” and said the company isn’t subject to its own iOS 14 policies. An Apple spokesman disagreed, telling CNBC its own apps and services have to comply with its tracking rules and that its own ad network, called SKAdNetwork, is free for developers and Apple doesn’t make any money off it.

“We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not,” Apple said in an emailed statement. “App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising, it simply requires they give users a choice.”

In its blog post, Facebook also said it would provide information in the Epic Games litigation. Fortnite maker Epic Games is embroiled in a legal battle with Apple over the company’s 30% fee and related practices.

Steve Satterfield, a director of privacy and public policy at Facebook, said the company supported Epic and was prepared to provide relevant information about how Apple’s policies are hurting “the millions of people and businesses who use our services.”

Also Wednesday, Facebook accused Apple of using its power to “harm developers and consumers” as it welcomed draft laws outlined by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU. The laws introduce rules for platforms that act as “gatekeepers” in the digital sector, while the Digital Services Act is designed to address illegal and harmful content by asking platforms to quickly take it down.
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[sultrysandy]

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Not attempting to minimize this Facebook and Apple battle due to the new App Store privacy guidelines that were announced earlier this year, but there are two other, and think bigger, things in the works that will that are going to have a much greater impact on helping users with their privacy on the web and net.



Facebook has expressed additional criticism towards Apple over an upcoming iOS 14 privacy measure that will require users to grant permission for their activity to be tracked for personalized advertising purposes.

For the second consecutive day, Facebook is running a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post that claims Apple's tracking change will harm not only small businesses, but the internet as a whole. Facebook says that due to Apple's new policy, many apps and websites will have to start charging subscription fees or add more in-app purchase options to make ends meet, making the internet "much more expensive."

Facebook's ad concludes with a link to its new "Speak Up For Small Business" page where small business owners express concerns about Apple's change.

In an email, a Facebook spokesperson said Apple's move "isn't about privacy, it's about profit," echoing comments the company shared yesterday. "Paying for content may be fine for some, but most people, especially during these challenging times, don't have room in their budget for these fees," the spokesperson added.

"We disagree with Apple's approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple's prompt," Facebook said yesterday. "If we don't, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the people and businesses that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow."

In a statement responding to Facebook, Apple said "we believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users," adding that "users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not." Specifically, users will be prompted to allow or deny ad tracking as necessary when opening apps on iOS 14 starting early next year.

Apple said it welcomes in-app advertising and is not prohibiting tracking, but simply requiring apps to obtain explicit user consent in order to track users for personalized advertising purposes, providing users with more control and transparency.

Sandy note -
Interesting how Facebook companions for so called free internet. Yes users don't pay up front to use website and some apps, but pat in the rear (pun intended) with their privacy violated, personal information stolen, then sold.

Do have a follow up from Apple want to post soon.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple Responds to Facebook's Anti-Tracking Criticism, Says Users Deserve Control and

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Apple Responds to Facebook's Anti-Tracking Criticism, Says Users Deserve Control and Transparency



Apple has responded to Facebook's criticism over an upcoming iOS 14 privacy measure — specifically a change that will require users to grant permission for their activity to be tracked for personalized advertising purposes starting early next year.

Apple said "we believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users," adding that "users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not." The options to allow or deny the tracking will be presented in the form of a prompt that appears as necessary when users open apps.

Apple's full statement:

We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not. App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising, it simply requires they give users a choice.

As part of its response to Facebook, Apple emphasized that it welcomes in-app advertising and is not prohibiting tracking, but simply requiring apps to obtain explicit user consent in order to track users for personalized advertising purposes, providing users with more control and transparency. Apple said tracking can be invasive, and as a result, it believes users have the right to make choices about the permissions they grant to apps.

Apple also highlighted the fact that developers like Facebook will be able to edit a section of the text that appears in the prompt to explain why users should allow tracking, and it provided a screenshot to visualize this.

In the Settings app, users can view which apps have requested permission to track for advertising purposes, and make changes as they see fit. Apple said that if it becomes aware of an app that violates its App Store Review Guidelines in relation to this change, the developer must address the issue or the app will be removed from the App Store.

Apple said that this change has been on its roadmap for years, and that it will apply equally to all developers, including Apple.

Last, Apple noted that it is expanding its privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork ad attribution API, allowing third-party ad networks serving ads across a wide variety of apps to provide ad attribution to developers without knowing the identity of the user. Apple says SKAdNetwork is free to use and that it does not monetize the API.


Facebook's Criticism

Earlier today, in a blog post and a full-page ad published in three major newspapers, Facebook claimed that Apple's tracking change will have a "harmful impact on many small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat."

"We disagree with Apple's approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple's prompt," said Facebook. "If we don't, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the people and businesses that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow."

Facebook said Apple's anti-tracking change is "about profit, not privacy," claiming that small businesses will be forced to turn to subscriptions and other in-app payments for revenue, in turn benefitting Apple's bottom line. Facebook also accused Apple of setting a double standard, claiming that the iPhone maker's own personalized ad platform is not subject to the upcoming iOS 14 policy, a claim that Apple has now denied.

"We believe Apple is behaving anti-competitively by using their control of the App Store to benefit their bottom line at the expense of app developers and small businesses," said Facebook. The company said it would continue to "explore ways to address this concern," including supporting Epic Games in its antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
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[sultrysandy]

Tim Cook responds to Facebook's attack ads with tweet about privacy

Apple's CEO Tim Cook has tweeted in response to Facebook's claims that forthcoming ad tracking in iOS 14 will be "devastating" for small businesses.

Following Facebook's blog post and two newspaper ads claiming Apple's privacy features will irrevocably damage the internet, Tim Cook has tweeted about Apple's position.

Tim Cook
@tim_cook

We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it’s used. Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before, App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first.

11:54 PM · Dec 17, 2020
91.9K
15.6K people are Tweeting about this



While Facebook's public position is that Apple's forthcoming iOS 14 privacy feature will be "devastating" for small business, it expects to lose revenue itself. Having previously estimated a 50% drop in ad revenue, it now predicts 60%.

Ad tracking is now expected to come to iOS 14 in early 2021. It will mean that users are notified that an app wants to track their use, and will ask them to accept or reject this.

Separately, Apple's new privacy labels in the App Store are meant to tell users what their data will be used for, before they download an app.
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[sultrysandy]

Facebook now warning users about impacts on ads due to new iOS 14 privacy features

This week Facebook criticized Apple with a full-page ad in US newspapers due to the new App Store guidelines, which will force apps to offer an option for users not to be tracked across the web. After Apple responded to Facebook, the company started warning iOS users in its official apps about the upcoming changes in advertisements.

As noted by some users today, Facebook is now promoting banners on some of its iOS apps, once again criticizing Apple for the changes in App Store privacy guidelines.

When accessing apps like Facebook Business Suite and Facebook Ads in iOS, users will see a highlighted message at the top of the screen about an “Upcoming impact to your marketing efforts.”

Apple has announced product and policy changes that may significantly impact the way you can run ads, measure performance, and engage customers.

By tapping the Learn More button, the app opens an article written by Facebook in which the company says Apple’s policies announced at WWDC 2020 with iOS 14 will “harm the growth of business and the free internet.” Facebook refers both to the new App Store privacy labels and also an option in iOS 14 that prevents apps from tracking users.

The fact that Facebook is now showing these messages in its iOS apps criticizing Apple demonstrates that the company is trying to get popular appeal to change Apple’s mind about its new App Store privacy rules. That’s because Facebook is one of the companies that will be most impacted by Apple’s new privacy policies as its social networks rely heavily on ads and personal data from users.

In a statement, Apple said it doesn’t want to force Facebook to change its business model, but the company expects Facebook to be more transparent about how it collects data from users and let them choose whether or not to offer such data.

In a related note, Facebook also announced a public webinar for January 7, 2021, that will discuss why the company disagrees “with Apple’s approach to their iOS 14 policy changes under the banner of increased privacy for people.” The webinar will bring Facebook executives to discuss the new iOS 14 privacy policies and the impact they will have on users and professionals working with Facebook.

Last night, Apple CEO Tim Cook argued on Twitter that “users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them” in another direct response to Facebook, suggesting that the battle between the two companies is just beginning.
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[sultrysandy]

EFF Calls Facebook's Criticism of Apple's Pro-Privacy Tracking Change 'Laughable'

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Facebook's recent criticism directed at Apple over an upcoming tracking-related privacy measure is "laughable," according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in the digital world.

Facebook has claimed that Apple's new opt-in tracking policy will hurt small businesses who benefit from personalized advertising, but the EFF believes that Facebook's campaign against Apple is really about "what Facebook stands to lose if its users learn more about exactly what it and other data brokers are up to behind the scenes," noting that Facebook has "built a massive empire around the concept of tracking everything you do."

Starting early next year, developers of iPhone and iPad apps will need to request permission from users to track their activity across apps and websites owned by other companies for personalized advertising purposes. Specifically, users will be presented with a prompt to allow or deny tracking as necessary when opening apps on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.

According to the EFF, a number of studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted advertising does not reach app developers, and instead goes to third-party data brokers like Facebook, Google, and lesser-known firms.

"Facebook touts itself in this case as protecting small businesses, and that couldn't be further from the truth," the EFF said. "Facebook has locked them into a situation in which they are forced to be sneaky and adverse to their own customers. The answer cannot be to defend that broken system at the cost of their own users' privacy and control."

Facebook has argued that Apple's move "isn't about privacy, it's about profit," claiming that Apple's new policy will leave many apps and websites with no choice but to start charging subscription fees or add more in-app purchase options to make ends meet, in turn increasing App Store revenue. Facebook said this scenario will make the internet "much more expensive" and reduce "high-quality free content."

"We disagree with Apple's approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple's prompt," Facebook said. "If we don't, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the people and businesses that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow."

In response to Facebook, Apple expressed that users deserve control and transparency. "We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users," said Apple, adding that "users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not."

The EFF applauded Apple for its pro-privacy change, calling it a great step forward.

"When a company does the right thing for its users, EFF will stand with it, just as we will come down hard on companies that do the wrong thing," the organization concluded. "Here, Apple is right and Facebook is wrong."
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[sultrysandy]

Invisible 'Kismet' iMessage exploit used to hack journalists' iPhones

A group of 37 journalists has fallen prey to an iMessage vulnerability, one that has existed for a year, enabling bad actors supposedly working for governments to spy on the journalists' activities.

A report from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab claims to have uncovered an operation that took place during July and August of 2020, one conducted by government operatives. The campaign attacked 37 iPhones owned by journalists, producers, anchors, and executives at news-gathering organizations, with the main target being Al Jazeera.

The attacks used Pegasus spyware from NSO Group, specifically a vulnerability referred to as "Kismet." It is believed the vulnerability was an "invisible zero-click exploit in iMessage," and was a zero-day exploit against iOS 13.5.1 and possibly other releases.

Logs of compromised iPhones gathered by Citizen Lab indicate a number of NSO Group customers also used the same exploit between October and December 2019, suggesting it is one that wasn't detected or fixed for a considerable length of time.

The group were attacked by four Pegasus operators, including one known as "Monarchy" that was attributed to Saudi Arabia, while "Sneaky Kestrel" was thought to have performed attacks on behalf of the UAE.

It is likely that the operators were connected to the crown princes of the two countries, as a lawsuit from one Al Jazeera anchor blamed the pair for hacking her iPhone, and disseminating doctored photographs of the victim.

Once attacked, a target's iPhone would start to upload large amounts of data, sometimes totaling hundreds of megabytes, without the user's knowledge. It is thought the data that was being transferred included ambient audio recorded by the microphone, the content of encrypted phone calls, photographs taken by the camera, the device's location, and potentially any stored passwords or account credentials.

A statement from Apple seen by The Guardian calls the attacks "highly targeted by nation-states" against individuals. "We always urge customers to download the latest version of the software to protect themselves and their data," Apple added, though also advising it couldn't independently verify the analysis of Citizen Lab.

It seems that the attack vector doesn't work for iPhones updated to run iOS 14 or later, which may mean devices using the operating system are currently safe.
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[sultrysandy]

Apple publishes ‘device and data access when personal safety is at risk’

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Apple publishes new support resources for managing ‘device and data access when personal safety is at risk’

Apple has published a new support guide this week that offers users an in-depth guide at managing their data and information on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. The new document is entitled “Device and Data Access when Personal Safety is At Risk.”

Apple says that the goal of this new manual is to “help you identify risks, and walk you through the steps to help make the technology you rely on as private and secure as you want it to be.” The company explains that its devices make it easy to connect and share data with other users, friends, and family members, but that there are scenarios where you need to revoke previously-granted access to things like location data, photos, and more.

Apple makes it easy to connect and share your life with the people closest to you. What you share, and whom you share it with, is up to you — including the decision to make changes to better protect your information or personal safety.

If you’d like to revisit what you share with other people, or restore your device’s original settings for any reason, this guide can help you understand what information you are sharing via your Apple devices, and how to make changes to protect your safety. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to remove someone’s access to information you’ve previously granted: from location data on the Find My app, to meetings you’ve scheduled via Calendar.

If you’re concerned that someone is accessing information you did not share from your Apple device, this guide will also help you identify risks, and walk you through the steps to help make the technology you rely on as private and secure as you want it to be.

The document itself is 20 pages long, and it includes in-depth details on things like managing location sharing, using the Find My app, protecting your Apple ID, setting up or managing Family Sharing, and much more.

The company has also published a trio of separate checklists with important tips for managing privacy and sharing with other people:

• Checklist: If you want to see if anyone else has access to your device or accounts
  
  
• Checklist: If you want to stop sharing with someone whom you previously shared with
  
  
• Checklist: If you want to make sure no one else can see your location

This is an incredibly important document for Apple to have published. You can find the full PDF right here for easy sharing with friends and family members who might find themselves in search of these tips.
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[sultrysandy]

Google and Facebook allegedy working together to combat antitrust lawsuits

A lawsuit claims Google and Facebook were planning to work together to combat any investigations into their online advertising relationship, an agreement where the two tech giants would attempt to fend off antitrust lawsuits by helping each other out.

The lawsuit was jointly filed by attorneys general in ten states against Google on Wednesday, accusing Google of "engaging in market collusion to rig auctions" in online advertising. While that lawsuit was redacted, a draft version free from censorship reveals Google could have received some help from Facebook on the matter.

The redacted draft version seen by The Wall Street Journal mentions a deal between Google and Facebook to "cooperate and assist one another" in the event either became part of an investigation over their online advertising businesses. The redacted sections refer to internal company documents, which went into more detail about the attorneys' findings.

The lawsuit alleges Google and Facebook made a deal in September 2018, where Facebook would not compete against Google in online advertising, so long as the social network received special treatment when it used Google's tools. The agreement was known as "Jedi Blue," a codename influenced by "Star Wars."

As part of the agreement, the draft version of the lawsuit mentions how Google and Facebook were aware of the possibility there could be antitrust investigations because of the agreement and how to work together to conquer them. This includes language where the companies would "cooperate and assist each other in responding to any Antitrust Action" and "promptly and fully inform the Other Party of any Governmental Communication Related to the Agreement."

There is also mention of the deal being signed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who also emailed CEO Mark Zuckerberg in claiming "This is a big deal strategically." The draft also refers to how Facebook would be locked into spending at least $500 million each year in Google-run ad auctions by the deal's fourth year, and that Facebook was to "win a fixed percent of those auctions."

The deal was also seen by Facebook to be "relatively cheap" to go through with, compared to directly competing against Google. The Facebook team negotiating with Facebook emailed Zuckerberg as well, suggesting the alternatives were to "invest hundreds more engineers" and to spend billions on locking up inventory, exit the advertising business, or to make a deal with Google.

Meanwhile, a Google mentioned that if it couldn't "avoid competing with" Facebook, instead it would work together to "build a moat."

Google executives were apparently worried about competition from Facebook, as well as rival advertising firms working on "header bidding," a method for buying and selling online advertising. A 2016 Google presentation discussed a need to "stop these guys from doing HB," and that Google had to "consider something more aggressive."

The added redacted allegations offer an extra dimension to the antitrust lawsuit, as current US law prevents agreements to fix prices with competitors in such a way. This is also potentially easier for the attorneys to prove than accusations Google is running an illegal monopoly.

Both Google and Facebook have disputed the allegations. A Google spokesperson said the agreements over antitrust threats are common but that the "claims are inaccurate. We don't manipulate the auction." There was also "nothing exclusive" about Facebook's involvement, "and they don't receive data that is not similarly made available to other buyers."

Facebook responded to the allegations by saying "any allegation that this harms competition or any suggestion of misconduct on the part of Facebook is baseless."
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[astuffedshirt_perv]

Personally, I am really intrigued about the Apple car and new battery tech. Now that would be a game changer!

 

[sultrysandy]

Personally, I am really intrigued about the Apple car and new battery tech. Now that would be a game changer!

No, I belive can't use the same one you use on your iPhone.


Oh you said game changer, not battery charger.



Lots of new things past couple of days from production beginning in 2024 with ‘breakthrough battery technology’ to Elon Musk tried to sell Tesla to Apple.
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[sultrysandy]

Facebook Says It’s Standing Up For Small Businesses. Some Employees Don’t Believe It

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Facebook Says It’s Standing Up Against Apple For Small Businesses. Some Of Its Employees Don’t Believe It.
“It feels like we are trying to justify doing a bad thing by hiding behind people with a sympathetic message."

Facebook ran a series of full-page ads in major newspapers as part of its "Speak Up for Small Businesses" campaign against Apple.



Last Tuesday, Facebook launched what it portrayed as a full-throated defense of small businesses. In taking out full-page ads in major newspapers and creating a webpage encouraging people to “Speak Up for Small Businesses,” the social networking giant argued that a change in Apple’s mobile operating system would decimate family-run enterprises by preventing them from targeting people with online ads.

But while the $750 billion company’s public relations effort has presented a united front with small businesses, some Facebook employees complained about what they called a self-serving campaign that bordered on hypocrisy, according to internal comments and audio of a presentation to workers. A change in Apple’s iOS 14 mobile operating system — which requires iPhone owners to opt in to allow companies to track them across other apps and websites — hurts Facebook, some employees argued on the company’s private message boards, and their employer was just using small businesses as a shield.

“It feels like we are trying to justify doing a bad thing by hiding behind people with a sympathetic message,” one engineer wrote in response to an internal post about the campaign from Dan Levy, Facebook’s vice president for ads.


“It feels like we are trying to justify doing a bad thing by hiding behind people with a sympathetic message.”


This isn't the first time the two companies have tangled. In 2018, Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized Facebook for tracking people across the web to gather data for targeted ads, after which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back. But this campaign represents a full-blown attack as Facebook attempts to pit small businesses against the $2.2 trillion iPhone maker.

The stakes for Facebook are high. Analysts project the company will bring in a record $80 billion in ad sales this year, while internal data shared with employees earlier this month shows that the social network has never had more advertisers. In the last six months of 2020, the company had more than 12.6 million monthly active paying advertisers, up from 11.9 million in the first half of this year, while weekly value of its ads grew 26% to $2.3 billion.

Apple’s plan to require iPhone owners to opt in to being tracked across apps and the web would reduce the amount of data Facebook collects, potentially resulting in less effective ads and less revenue. That change comes during a time when the social networking giant is facing an unprecedented threat to its business as state and federal regulators have threatened to break up the company with a series of antitrust lawsuits.

Facebook is also dealing with public complaints from small business advertisers who are frustrated with its failure to provide adequate customer support and to stop scam ads that often sell counterfeit versions of their products.

“Since launching this effort we have heard from small businesses literally around the world who are worried about how these changes could hurt their businesses,” Facebook spokesperson Ashley Zandy. “Because this is such a critical time for [small- and medium-sized businesses], we will continue to share those stories with the public and our employees.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg



Ahead of the Thursday internal talk to explain the anti-Apple campaign, Facebook employees asked or voted up several questions that focused on the consequences of the effort on the social network's already tattered image. The most popular questions expressed skepticism or concern.

“Aren’t we worried that our stance protecting [small- and medium-sized businesses] will backfire as people see it as ‘FB protecting their own business’ instead?” read one top-voted question.

“People want ‘privacy,’” read another. “FB objecting here will be viewed with cynicism. Did we know this would be bad PR, & decide to publish anyway?”

“How do we pick a message that looks less self serving?” one employee asked.

In his answers, Facebook vice president of product marketing Graham Mudd said the company has been “really clear” in marketing materials and calls with analysts and the press that Apple’s iOS change “does have a financial impact on us.” (Facebook’s “Speak Up for Small Businesses” webpage does not mention how the tracking changes would affect the social network.)

“We're not trying to sweep that under the rug,” said Mudd. “We are, you know, a profitable, big company and we're going to get through this and adapt our products and so forth. But the real folks that are going to get hit by this are small businesses, and that's why we made them the focus of the message.”

On the live chat, many Facebook workers chimed in to show their support for the small business entrepreneurs who were part of the presentation. Zandy said the business owners who spoke at the event were not compensated for their time.

Several employees seemed unconvinced by the presentation. Some did not understand how Apple’s changes would negatively affect small businesses, while one said Facebook’s attempt to undermine Apple’s privacy policy made it “a traditional trojan virus.”

“We’re not going to… be the only ones that should be allowed to track people without their consent — any company can do that, even smaller startups and malicious actors,” the employee wrote.

That same person criticized Levy’s post on Workplace, the company’s internal message board.

“The only thing I’m hearing, again and again, is ‘this is bad for the businesses,’ and I’d really like someone at the top to explicitly say, ‘People are better off if they don’t know what we’re doing, if we don’t have to explain ourselves to them, if they don’t get a choice to opt in or opt out of our practices, if we obscure it as much as possible behind interesting features and then get them to accept surreptitious tracking on the back end as long as we downplay it,’” they wrote, before sharing a meme from a British comedy show in which a Nazi officer asks, “Are we the baddies?”

Levy’s post attracted other internal critics. Apple wasn’t preventing tracking, just asking users to consciously choose to be tracked, wrote one employee.

“Why can’t we make opt-in so compelling that people agree to do so,” one worker said. “I can think of a dozen ideas that might make people join. Why couldn't FB create its own version of Prime for example, that gives you discounts on purchases?”

In response to the discussion on his post, Levy said the campaign was “not about our business model.”


“That’s Apple’s marketing working and convincing you to scapegoat us so they can decide how the internet should work — even beyond their devices.”


working and convincing you to scapegoat us so they can decide how the internet should work — even beyond their devices.”

“That’s Apple’s marketing working and convincing you to scapegoat us so they can decide how the internet should work — even beyond their devices,” he wrote. “I’m an optimist who works in technology because I think tech can be a lever for democratizing access and giving opportunity. Including for businesses. And if you think this is going to stop with personalized ads . . . well, then I disagree.”

Facebook has also endured criticism from small businesses who say the company’s lack of customer service and overreliance on automation is hurting them. In October, amid the year’s biggest quarter for e-commerce sales, small business advertisers and agencies saw their Facebook ads accounts disabled by mistake due to what the company said were automation errors that took days or even weeks to be resolved. The issue happened again this month, according to Bloomberg News.

Facebook’s end of year internal ad team report, celebrated saving money on customer service in part through automation. The report said Facebook’s cost per support case decreased by more than 30% compared to the previous six months.

Andrew Foxwell, a marketer who runs Foxwell Digital and helps manage a Facebook group dedicated to social media advertising, said that he spoke to 50 people personally affected by mistaken account bans this quarter. “The thing that’s important to underscore is these are small businesses and people’s jobs that rely on this platform to work,” he said.

On Workplace, one Facebook employee said the mistaken ad account bans and weak customer support show the company fails to live up to the campaign’s messaging. “[They] highlight that we’re probably not doing everything we can to ‘stand up for small [businesses]’ when we don’t provide human customer service support to small advertisers,” he wrote.
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[sultrysandy]

Some iOS 14 users now seeing Apple’s new tracking pop up

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Some iOS 14 users now seeing Apple’s new tracking pop up, full rollout expected in early 2021

Apple is planning a major new privacy feature for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, and it will require that companies request permission before tracking users across other apps and websites. While Apple has not provided details on when this feature will debut, it appears that the early groundwork is starting to roll out.

The privacy feature in question is two-fold. First, users will be able to access privacy controls in the Settings app under the “Privacy” menu. Here, users will be able to see which apps have required permission to track them and revoke or grant permission when necessary.

Users will also see a pop-up message when they open an application for the first time after this feature has rolled out. Users will see the notification for new apps as well as ones that they already have on their devices. This pop-up is where companies like Facebook can explain to users why they should enable tracking.

Facebook has been a vocal critic of this new feature, saying that it will affect small businesses and hurt their ability to reach new customers. Apple has rebuffed this criticism, saying that the feature will not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users, instead only to seek permission.

Some users are now seeing the tracking prompt on their iPhone, but only for certain applications. For instance, one user received a pop-up when opening the NBA app, saying that the app was requesting permission “to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.”

Apple had originally hoped to launch this new privacy feature as part of iOS 14 in September, but it ended up delaying the rollout to give developers more time to prepare. The company has repeatedly doubled down on the feature, however, and promised to launch it in early 2021.

Apple released the first developer and public betas of iOS 14.4 last week following the stable release of iOS 14.3 to everyone. Based on precedent, we would expect iOS 14.4 to be released to everyone sometime in January at the earliest.

However, some iOS users are reporting that they’ve seen this pop up on iOS 14.3 and iOS 14.2. This could mean that it’s a server-side change that Apple is in the process of implementing, or that certain developers have started implementing the feature ahead of an official “release.”
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Apple says fix coming for using an M1 Mac with ultrawide monitors

Apple has acknowledged problems experienced when using an M1 Mac with ultrawide or super-ultrawide external monitors.

M1 Macs don’t seem to recognize the native resolution of these monitors …

Macworld spotted an extremely brief support document.

If the supported resolution isn’t available on an ultrawide or super-ultrawide external display connected to your Mac with Apple M1 chip

If you connect an ultrawide or super-ultrawide monitor to your Mac with Apple M1 chip, some resolutions supported by your display may not be available.

Apple is aware of this issue and resolution is planned for a future macOS update.

To see the additional resolutions for your external display, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Displays, then press and hold the Option key while you click Scaled.

The final line suggests, but doesn’t promise, that you might be able to enable a more appropriate resolution through the scaled options, but it’s unclear whether that might include the native resolution.



A possible fix for this issue is install SwichResX for the proper resolutions.
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Apple iCloud Account and Sign In issue causing device activation, setup problems

Apple's iCloud backend is suffering from an unknown problem that appears to be causing new device setup and account activation failures.

An unspecified issue with Apple's iCloud Account and Sign In service began to impact a subset of users at around 1:45 a.m. Pacific, according to Apple's System Status webpage.

No information is provided with the advisement and Apple notes the issue is ongoing.

A number of users, many of whom received products like iPhone, Apple Watch and HomePod as Christmas presents, have reported device activation troubles on Twitter. Some are noting long wait times for iCloud account creation and new device setup, while others are seeing complete failures.

Apple Support recognized the issue on Twitter.

"We are experiencing a high capacity at this time which is impacting your ability to set up iCloud, please try back in a couple of hours," Apple said in a tweet.

This year's holiday season is anticipated to be especially busy for Apple, which released the latest iPhone 12 series a month later than usual due to manufacturing delays caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the tech giant's HomePod mini and newly released AirPods Max are expected to be popular stocking stuffers this holiday season.
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The best(?) apps and games to buy with the Apple gift card you just unwrapped

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This contains more images than allowed in a single post, so I'm splitting

Apple gift cards are some of the most common gifts every year, especially if you’re a techie who is hard to shop for. Nowadays, Apple gift cards are good not only for apps, but also for Apple Music, Apple TV+, and more. Here are some of the best iOS apps and games to buy with the iTunes gift cards you unwrapped this holiday season.

If you’ve put off buying something for the Apple fan in your life until the last minute, Amazon still has Apple gift cards available with e-mail delivery.

If you’ve already gotten an iTunes gift card from someone this year, but have no idea what to spend it on, have no fear. Here are the best iOS apps, including games, utilities, and more, to buy with your brand new iTunes gift card.


The best iOS apps: Things

Everyone has different opinions and preferences for task managers. My personal pick is Things from Cultured Code. With a sleek design, reliable sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and more, it’s the most powerful and customizable option for my needs.

Download Things on the App Store for $9.99.



Apollo for Reddit

If you’re a Redditor still using the official Reddit app for iOS, it’s time to try something new. Apollo for Reddit is an incredibly powerful Reddit client for iOS with gesture-based navigation, Dark Mode support, and an interface that fits right in throughout iOS.

Download Apollo for Reddit on the App Store for free and use your iTunes gift card to unlock in-app purchases with notifications, thumbing, and more.



Carrot Weather

If you’re looking for a high-quality weather app with a touch (or more) of personality, Carrot Weather is it. With features like Siri Shortcuts integration, rain predictions, animated weather maps, and an Apple Watch app, Carrot Weather is one of our favorite iOS apps here at 9to5Mac.

Download Carrot Weather on the App Store for $4.99. Another great weather app, which is actually now owned by Apple, is Dark Sky. You can download it for $3.99.



AutoSleep

If getting a better night’s sleep is one of your New Year’s resolutions, AutoSleep is a great way to start tracking your sleep. With support for Apple Watch sleep tracking and much more, it offers detailed insights into your sleep quality every night.

Download AutoSleep on the App Store for $3.99.



Tempo

Building on apps that are great for New Year’s resolutions, Tempo for Runners is a great way to start tracking your runs. You can visualize your training progress, see detailed information on splits and pace, and much more.

Download Tempo on the App Store for free. The Tempo Pro subscription unlocks cadence, route maps, graphs, and much more.
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Chirp for Twitter

If you were gifted an Apple Watch this Christmas season, one the favorite dedicated apps is Chirp for Twitter. Chirp allows you to access your Twitter timeline, lists, trending topics, and more directly from your Apple Watch.

Download Chirp for Twitter on the App Store for free, with in-app purchases available for added customization and more.



HomeRun for HomeKit

HomeKit Apple Watch

If you’re a HomeKit user with an Apple Watch, HomeRun is something you need to add to your setup. HomeRun is the best way to run HomeKit scenes from Apple Watch with support for custom complications and much more.

Download HomeRun for HomeKit on the App Store for $2.99.



Widgetsmith

Widgetsmith allows you to create ultra customizable widgets for your iPhone home screen. We recommend putting your gift card funds towards the premium version of the app, which unlocks data-rich widgets for things like weather and more.

You can download Widgetsmith on the App Store right here.



Donut County

Donut County is a simple, but addictive game for iOS. It’s a mindless, story-based physics puzzle game that imagines a world where raccoons have taken over. It’s somewhat hard to explain, so watch the video above for a closer look.

Donut County is a $4.99 download on the App Store.



Alto’s Odyssey

Speaking of games, Alto’s Odyssey is one of the best iOS games of all-time. It was released last year as a follow-up to Alto’s Adventure and it’s an engaging and beautifully designed endless runner that truly excels on the iPhone and iPad.

Download Alto’s Odyssey on the App Store for $4.99.



Desert Golfing

Desert Golfing has been one of my favorite indie games on iOS for a long time. Despite having played it for years, I never get tired of it and its incredibly simple, yet tricky concept. If you’re looking for a simple game to help pass the time, Desert Golfing is a great choice.

Download Desert Golfing on the App Store for $1.99.

Other games

One of the biggest App Store trends we’ve seen recently has been big game studios and companies bringing their iconic franchises to iOS. Here are some of those games:

• Alien: Blackout
  
  
• Assassin’s Creed Rebellion
  
  
• Call of Duty®: Mobile
  
  
• Dota Underlords
  
  
• Dr. Mario World
  
  
• Gears POP!
  
  
• Hot Wheels Infinite Loop
  
  
• Langrisser
  
  
• Lineage 2: Revolution
  
  
• Mario Kart Tour
  
  
• Minecraft Earth
  
  
• Pokémon Masters
  
  
• The Elder Scrolls: Blades
  
  
• The King of Fighters ALLSTAR
  
  
• Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest

Subscriptions

Last but not least, App Store and iTunes gift cards are good for subscriptions, as well. For instance, an iTunes gift card can be used for Apple Music, iCloud Storage, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and much more.

Want to try out Apple Arcade or Apple TV+? Depending on much App Store credit you have, you could even pre-pay for a full year using your gift card, and net a nice savings in the process.



Wrap-up

These are only some of the best iOS apps and games to download with your new iTunes gift card. One of the best things about iOS is its abundance of third-party apps, utilities, games, and more.
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