Lit Apple Mac, iPhone, iPad User Group

[sandysgeek]

Facebook testing new prompt asking users to allow tracking ahead of Apple’s ATT launc

Facebook strikes back against Apple iOS 14 IDFA privacy change
Facebook strikes back against Apple privacy change, prompts users to accept tracking to get ‘better ads experience’

The battle between Facebook and Apple over the upcoming iOS 14 ad tracking transparency (ATT) feature is ramping up. Starting today, Facebook will begin testing its own prompts asking users to allow app and website tracking. That comes ahead of Apple officially rolling the feature out that will give highlight what apps and websites are tracking them and the ability to easily opt-out.

Facebook has been pushing hard against Apple’s iOS 14 ad tracking transparency feature in recent months. It was originally set to debut last year, but Apple postponed the feature so the industry could prepare for what is expected to be a big change.

Last week, the tension between Facebook and Apple reached a new high with Mark Zuckerberg saying that Apple has an “incentive to interfere” with his company and Tim Cook the next day saying that Facebook’s business model leads to “polarization” and “violence.” Further, Facebook is believed to be preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple over the upcoming iOS 14 ad tracking transparency feature.


Facebook on Monday will begin urging some iPhone and iPad users to let the company track their activity so the social media giant can show them more personalized ads.

The move comes alongside Apple’s planned privacy update to iOS 14, which will inform users about this kind of tracking and ask them if they want to allow it.

The two companies have been at odds for a decade, and have recently engaged in a heated war of words around these privacy changes. Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Apple one of its biggest competitors and said the privacy changes will hurt the growth of “millions of businesses around the world.” The next day, Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to Facebook in a speech at a data privacy conference in Brussels, saying, “If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, it does not deserve our praise. It deserves scorn.”

The battle focuses on a unique device identifier on every iPhone and iPad called the IDFA. Companies that sell mobile advertisements, including Facebook, use this ID to help target ads and estimate their effectiveness.

With a forthcoming update to iOS 14, each app that wants to use these identifiers will ask users to opt in to tracking when the app is first launched. If users opt out, it will make these ads a lot less effective. Facebook has warned investors that these looming changes could hurt its advertising business as soon as this quarter.

Facebook is testing the effects of this update now, before Apple makes it mandatory for all apps early this spring.

As part of this test, Facebook will begin showing some users its own prompts starting on Monday, explaining why it wants to track this activity and asking users to opt in. These prompts will appear on Apple users’ screens immediately before the Apple pop-up appears.

One test version of the Facebook prompt has a bold-faced header asking “Allow Facebook to use your app and website activity?” and claims that Facebook uses that information to “provide a better ads experience.” It will then offer users a choice between “Don’t Allow” and “Allow.” (The precise language and appearance of the Facebook prompt may vary.)

No matter which selection users make on the Facebook prompt, if they choose not to allow tracking on the Apple pop-up, that choice will be final and Facebook will honor it.






My take, Facebook is also hoping to convince users to leave tracking on to “support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.” a.k.a. Facebook and the billions of dollars it makes; and continues increasing Mark Zuckerberk's net worth



Here's an FYI for you. It's not a secret, or even hidden, How much control Mark Zuckerberk has over Facebook, and his personal worth

Zuckerberg gets most of Facebook’s shareholder votes
Shareholders in stocks of publicly traded companies have a certain set of rights related to that investment, including the right to vote on certain corporate matters, such as members of the board of directors, proposed mergers and acquisitions, or executive pay packages.

In most cases, one share of a stock equals one vote, but not always — including at Facebook.

Facebook has what’s called a “dual class” structure of “Class A” shares and “Class B” shares. The Class A shares are what everyday investors on the regular stock market have access to, and they’re one vote per share. The Class B shares, however, are controlled by Zuckerberg and just a small group of insiders. And every Class B share gets 10 votes.

“Companies like Facebook are basically putting in place a share structure that is a bulwark against management change,” Amy Borrus, the deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), a nonpartisan association focused on corporate governance.

That means that whatever shareholders are voting on — typically at Facebook’s annual meeting, usually in May — Zuckerberg and those closest to him are always going to win out. Estimated that Zuckerberg and the group of insiders control almost 70 percent of all voting shares in Facebook. Zuckerberg alone controls about 60 percent.

“Anything that requires a shareholder vote, he gets to ultimately decide whether it’s going to get a majority or not,” Jonas Kron, a senior vice president at Trillium Asset Management, an activist shareholder group with about $2.8 billion in assets under management. “That’s clear as day.”

 

[sandysgeek]

iOS users report apps crashing on opening after syncing iPhone or iPad with M1 Macs

Some iOS users have been reporting that they can no longer open any third-party app on the iPhone or iPad after syncing the devices with the new M1 Macs. The apps crash right after opening them, which makes it impossible to use any installed app.

The first reports of this problem were shared by users as of December 2020, a month after the launch of the new Macs with M1 chip. Similar reports were published on the Apple Support community and also on Reddit.

According to users, third-party apps installed from the App Store simply stopped working after syncing the iPhone or iPad with an M1 Mac using Finder. As shown in a video shared on Reddit, any of these apps close as soon as the user tap to open them. It seems that the bug also prevents the apps from being updated or even new apps from being installed from the App Store.

tl;dr after I sync my iPhone X (on 14.3) with my M1 MBP (on 11.1), no third-party apps will open. Can’t install or update from App Store either; the progress circle will fill up and then immediately turn into the “cloud” download icon.

Another user said in a comment that he was able to make the installed apps work again on the iPhone after connecting and syncing the device with an old Mac running macOS Catalina. However, what causes the bug is still unknown since even Apple Support couldn’t explain it.

On Accident I connected iPhone and MBP M1 via WLAN and synced…. Apps stoped working immediatly. Then connected to my old MBP (2012, latest Calatina) and synced. Apps are all working again.

 

[sandysgeek]

Industry commentators saw dramatic improvement in Apple software quality in 2020

Jason Snell is out with this year’s Six Colors Apple report card, and it indicates that industry commentators saw a dramatic improvement in Apple software quality in the course of 2020.

Unsurprisingly, the single biggest win for Apple was seen as the M1 Macs, but software quality saw the second biggest positive shift…

Snell invites a selection of Apple commentators to score Apple on a five-point scale for each of the following:

• Mac
  
  
• iPhone
  
  
• iPad
  
  
• Watch
  
  
• Apple TV
  
  
• Services
  
  
• HomeKit
  
  
• HW reliability
  
  
• SW quality
  
  
• Dev relations
  
  
• Environ/Social
  
  
• Wearables

Of these, Mac got the single highest score, at 4.7. This was also the biggest jump from the previous year, from 3.6 to 4.7, a 30% year-on-year boost. No surprise there.

But interestingly, we also see a dramatic jump in perceptions of Apple’s software quality. This improved from 2.7 to 3.5, also close to a 30% increase. However, Snell does note that this was because 2019 was a rough year.

Scores for Apple’s software quality were all over the place. It was a big grade leap from 2019, which was a rough one for iOS and macOS alike. (And when you look at the history of this score, it’s clear that Apple has taken a “tick-tock” approach to its software.) But still, while some panelists felt Apple turned things around and started going in the right direction, others were still vexed by software problems. Still, even the more positive observers seem to have the attitude that Apple has plenty more work to do on software before they’re satisfied.

Benjamin Mayo and Zac Hall explained their reasoning.

Mayo: “iOS 14 was a pretty big release in terms of new features and debuted to the public without anything notable going awry. Big Sur has been surprisingly stable too, although some UI decisions are baffling.”

Hall: “The Intel to Apple silicon transition has been flawless in terms of supporting my work and avoiding show-stopping issues.”

Scores were lowest for Apple TV, at just 2.1 out of 5, thanks to another year without any innovation. This also saw the biggest year-over-year fall, matched by Wearables.

2020 was perceived as a treading-water year for Apple Watch by most panelists, and watchOS 7 was also lukewarmly received. But there was a lot of appreciation for Apple’s constant iteration and improvement on the Apple Watch. Panelists were much more enthusiastic about AirPods, though there was a mixed reaction to the new AirPods Max.

Check out the full commentaries over at Six Colors.

 

[sandysgeek]

Some Apple Music features down for users globally

Apple Music is suffering a partial outage, with the personalized "Listen Now" elements of the service unavailable in the US and overseas.

Users in the US and UK are reporting that the "Listen Now" feature in Apple Music, and also direct searches in the service, are not working. Currently Apple does not show any problems on its System Status, but the service has been out of action since approximately 9 a.m. Eastern.

Arun V Sarma
@arunvsarma
@AppleMusic is your service down? Unable to access
2:37 PM · Feb 3, 2021

emi ₇
@nkxn9117
apple music is down...
2:40 PM · Feb 3, 2021

At present, users are able to play any existing downloaded tracks or playlists. They are also able to use the Browse tab and play any listed music, although some playlists appear to be loading slowly.

Similarly, the Radio tab in the Apple Music iOS app continues to work. All three major Apple Music radio stations — Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country — are playing as normal.

What's consistently unavailable is the "Listen Now" tab, and any searches of Apple Music. In each case, a loading page appears and then times out with a message saying "an error occurred."

None of Apple's other services appears to be affected. Apple Music was one of several Apple systems that were affected by the widespread outage in September 2020.

Apple has yet to comment.

 

[sandysgeek]

Facebook's anti-Apple campaign uses misleading figures, marketers claim

Two marketing professionals have accused Facebook of using "cherry-picked" data and "disinformation" in its campaign against Apple and iOS 14's privacy features.

As Facebook continues to claim that Apple's privacy features will be "devastating" to small businesses, the figures it quotes have come under question. Facebook is accused of using misleading data, altering figures, and spreading "disinformation."

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, two academic marketing professionals say they examined the specific claims and found multiple problems that mean numbers were overstated.

This includes Facebook's specific claim that the "average small business advertiser stands to see a cut of over 60% in their sales for every dollar."

Bart de Langhe, associate professor of marketing at Barcelona's Ramon Llull University, and Stefano Puntoni, professor marketing at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, call this figure "eye-popping." They say it comes from comparing the difference between having personalized advertising, and not.

"The problem with the 60% figure is that Facebook doesn't report anything about the two kinds of campaigns it was comparing," they write. "For all we know, they might involve different industries, different companies, different products, different times, different places — and if they did, then Facebook's comparison wouldn't mean much.|

"In fact, it might just show that companies who knew their customers well achieved a higher return on advertising spend than companies that didn't," they continued.

The Harvard Business Review writers take particular exception to Facebook's claim that Apple's privacy move is especially damaging as it comes during the coronavirus pandemic. "Forty-four percent of small to medium businesses started or increased their usage of personalized ads on social media during the pandemic," Facebook has said, "according to a new Deloitte study."

"That number seemed off to us," write the marketing experts, "so we took a close look at the Deloitte study — and discovered that Facebook reported the number incorrectly."

Deloitte had asked companies from nine industries whether they increased their use of personalized or targeted ads during the pandemic. "The industry with the largest increase was Telecom & Technology," reports Harvard Business Review, "but the increase was only 34%."

"Facebook, it seems, cherry-picked the data that best supported its case," they write, "and then increased the size of the cherries it picked by a third."

Facebook is already testing users' reactions to privacy tracking


The experts want to stress that they are not dismissing the concerns of small businesses, nor saying Facebook has no right to argue the case. "But disinformation about advertising effectiveness isn't the way to do that," they conclude.

Facebook has not commented on the report. However, it has recently said it will have to comply with Apple's privacy stance — although it is claimed that Facebook is considering taking Apple to court over it.

The issue concerns the forthcoming addition to iOS 14 that will see users being asked to decide whether to allow an app to track their data use or not. Each app that wants to do this will have to ask explicit permission.



https://hbr.org/2021/02/facebooks-misleading-campaign-against-apples-privacy-policy
Facebook’s Misleading Campaign Against Apple’s Privacy Policy
by Bart de Langhe and Stefano Puntoni
Summary.
Apple will soon require consumers to opt in if they want to allow businesses to track their data and use it for personalized advertising. Facebook is fighting this decision with an aggressive ad campaign, citing evidence that the decision will hurt small businesses. But that evidence turns out to be false, as Facebook surely knows.
.

 

[David1189]

Sorry- test

 

[sandysgeek]

Sorry- test

You've no reason to apologize. Hopefully you'll be contributing and participating.

 

[sandysgeek]

Google still hasn't updated its iOS apps, while pondering Android privacy controls

While it drags its feet on Google Mail and other crucial app updates in what appears to be a bid to delay disclosure of what it collects for user data, Google is rumored to be discussing new privacy features for Android that are inspired by Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature.

Apple will release a new feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5. It will require developers to notify users of cross-app tracking and give them the option to disable it.

Internal leakers told Bloomberg that Google is discussing implementing a similar, if less strict privacy control on Android. The move is said to be driven by a concern that privacy-conscious consumers may switch to Apple if they believe their data is at risk on Android.

The decision would conflict with Google's business model of collecting data for ad targeting. The company hopes to still collect enough data that won't harm its business or effectiveness of ad targeting.

"We're always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while enabling a healthy, ad-supported app ecosystem," a Google spokesman said in a statement to Bloomberg.

Apple's move to surface tracking and educate users has caused controversy among ad companies. Google still hasn't updated most of its iOS apps since before Apple put into place a December deadline for disclosure of data sharing. Plus, Facebook is openly fighting Apple in the name of protecting small businesses.

Users are beginning to notice Google's hesitancy to update its apps. Apple implemented Privacy Labels in the App Store, and Google hasn't updated its primary apps — which would require it to disclose what it does with user data.

Apps like Facebook and Instagram have several pages of data collection in their App Store Privacy Label. Google may be trying to avoid having such an extreme level of tracking when it updates its apps. Apple's push for privacy-focused features has spurred the industry to change, and Google seeking to implement new privacy features is an example of that.

 

[sandysgeek]

PSA: Update Chrome for Mac, as security flaw has been actively exploited

If you use Chrome for Mac, you’ll want to be sure it’s updated today: Google has just fixed a vulnerability that was being actively exploited by North Korean hackers …

Google characterizes it as a high-risk flaw.

This update includes 1 security fix. Please see the Chrome Security Page for more information.

[$TBD][1170176] High CVE-2021-21148: Heap buffer overflow in V8. Reported by Mattias Buelens on 2021-01-24

Google is aware of reports that an exploit for CVE-2021-21148 exists in the wild.

CNET reports on the background, which saw security researchers as one of the targets.

The zero-day, which was assigned the identifier of CVE-2021-21148, was described as a “heap overflow” memory corruption bug in the V8 ********** engine.

Google said the bug was exploited in attacks in the wild before a security researcher named Mattias Buelens reported the issue to its engineers on January 24.

Two days after Buelens’ report, Google’s security team published a report about attacks carried out by North Korean hackers against the cyber-security community.

Some of these attacks consisted of luring security researchers to a blog where the attackers exploited browser zero-days to run malware on researchers’ systems.

While it sounds like this was a targeted state-sponsored attack, once a zero-day exploit is revealed, it is likely to be used by others in more general attacks. Prompt updating is therefore always recommended.

You can update by going to Chrome > About Google Chrome. You’ll also find there an option to switch on automatic updates, which Google recommends.

We can also soon expect a security update from Apple to fix a Sudo bug that was also a heap overflow issue.

The vulnerability, disclosed last week as CVE-2021-3156 (aka Baron Samedit) by security researchers from Qualys, impacts Sudo, an app that allows admins to delegate limited root access to other users. Qualys researchers discovered that they could trigger a “heap overflow” bug in the Sudo app to change the current user’s low-privileged access to root-level commands, granting the attacker access to the whole system.

 

[sandysgeek]

'The Snoopy Show' promotion takes over Apple's website

TV+ original ‘The Snoopy Show\ gets the spotlight with Apple․com homepage takeover


The regular Apple website has been transformed with the addition of characters from "The Snoopy Show" on Apple TV+, including the Red Baron flying an iPhone.

To promote the debut of "The Snoopy Show" on Apple TV+, Apple has handed over its website to characters from the show. Ranging from a regular promotional still, to having "Charlie Brown" characters interacting with Apple's usual product displays, the promotion has taken over the entire front page of Apple.com.

The top of the page shows a banner poster for the show, plus animated dancing from Snoopy. Further down the page, the normal image showing the iPhone 12 range is still there in the same position, and looking the same as before — but Snoopy is flying the red phone.

Similarly, the lightness of the iPad Air 4 beneath it is emphazied. The normal almost completely side-on shot is altered as Woodstock — the little yellow bird — and his friends, apparently lift it up to carry it away.

Then the HomePod mini spot on the page sees Snoopy and Woodstock dancing again. While the regular Apple TV ad that rounds off the page is as it ever was, except the image shown on the television screen is from "The Snoopy Show."

Apple’s partnership with Peanuts started with Snoopy in Space for Apple TV+. Then the beloved Peanuts Charlie Brown holiday specials became Apple TV+ exclusives (then later opened back up to PBS too). Now Apple is promoting the new The Snoopy Show with an Apple.com homepage takeover as the famous Peanuts pup gets the spotlight.

Here’s how Apple describes the new Peanuts Apple TV+ original series:

The world’s most iconic dog is ready for his close-up. Dive into new adventures with the happy-dancing, high-flying, big-dreaming beagle, who’s joined by best friend Woodstock and rest of the Peanuts gang.

In addition to being features at the top of the homepage, Apple has had some fun including the whole Peanuts gang in the rest of the homepage as you swipe/scroll down.

The Snoopy Show season 1 is available to watch now with 6 episodes:

• Happiness Is a Dancing Dog
  
  
• Never Bug a Beagle
  
  
• The Curse of a Fuzzy Face
  
  
• Happiness is a Snow Day
  
  
• Just Your Basic Beagle
  
  
• Bugable, Hugable, Beagle

The Snoopy Show requires an Apple TV+ subscription or you can start watching with a free-trial if you haven’t given the service a shot yet.

The Snoopy Show — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - 1:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-C9hfwvLDc&feature=youtu.be

 

[MarKnowj]

I already have so many ads on Facebook that I don't even understand how there can be even more. I am really annoyed by Instagram ads. If I'm talking on the phone with my friend about a massage, then Instagram will definitely show me ads for massage services in my city. It's only on the iPhone, right? In general, I have been thinking about switching to android for a long time. I even found a program through which I can sell my old phone https://buybackboss.com/iphone-trade-in/ and get good money for it. My friend has already sold several of her phones through this program, and she says that it is very convenient because you do not need to communicate with anyone and publish your ads.

 

[sandysgeek]

Snap, Unity warn of impact from Apple iOS 14 IDFA privacy changes

Facebook’s not the only one worried about Apple’s privacy change — Snap and Unity both just warned investors about it


Snap and Unity Software, which reported fourth quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, both warned of the upcoming impact from Apple’s privacy changes set for this spring.

To target mobile ads and measure how effective they are, app developers and other industry players currently often use Apple’s identifier for advertisers (IDFA), a unique string of letters and numbers on every Apple device. But once a privacy update rolls out, app makers will be forced to ask permission to access a user’s IDFA through a prompt. A significant portion of users are expected to say no, which is expected to make targeted advertising less effective.

The changes have become a major point of contention for ad-supported companies like Facebook, which appears set to lose revenue from the change. But Facebook is far from alone.

Unity Software said in its earnings report that the changes to IDFA will affect the way mobile game developers get new customers and “how they optimize lifetime customer value.”

“Although it’s difficult to estimate, our guidance assumes IDFA changes begin in the spring and will reduce our revenue by approximately $30 million, or 3% of revenue, in 2021,” the company wrote.

In prepared remarks for its Q4 earnings report, Snap chief financial officer Derek Andersen said the Apple changes would present a risk of interruption to demand after they’re implemented.

“It is not clear yet what the longer term impact of those changes may be for the topline momentum of our business, and this may not be clear until several months or more after the changes are implemented,” he said.


Snap chief business officer Jeremi Gorman said Snap has been working with Apple in preparation for the changes, it has been educating its advertisers and it is making long-term investments to use more first-party data for advertising. Additionally, the company plans to provide advertisers with more opportunities to provide their products and services to Snap users directly through Snapchat.

“The reality is we admire Apple, and we believe that they are trying to do the right thing for their customers,” she said. “Their focus on protecting privacy is aligned with our values and the way we’ve built our business from the very beginning.”

She added: “Overall, we feel really well prepared for these changes, but changes to this ecosystem are usually disruptive and the outcome is uncertain.”

Shares of both companies were down in after-hours trading on Thursday, with Snap off more than 10% and Unity down more than 15%.

 

[sandysgeek]

Snap CEO Spiegel says Apple's iPhone privacy change is good for consumers

Unlike Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Spiegel says Apple’s iPhone privacy change is good for consumers


Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said on Friday that while Apple’s upcoming iPhone privacy changes will certainly be disruptive for advertising, it’s ultimately the right choice for its consumers.

“We feel like we’re well prepared for these changes and frankly because these changes are in line with our privacy philosophy, we’ve never allowed device specific targeting, for example, and we’ve always taken a very protective stance when it comes to our users’ data,” Spiegel said in an interview. “We generally view this as a good thing overall for consumers, even if it’s a little disruptive for advertisers in the near term.”

To target mobile ads and measure how effective they are, app developers and other industry players currently often use Apple’s identifier for advertisers (IDFA), a unique string of letters and numbers on every Apple device. But once a privacy update rolls out, app makers will be forced to ask permission to access a user’s IDFA through a prompt. A significant portion of users are expected to say no, which is expected to make targeted advertising less effective.

Spiegel’s more casual nod toward the upcoming change is a dramatically different response than his Facebook peer Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook also hosts a huge online advertising business, deriving nearly all of its revenue from ads.

Facebook has repeatedly blasted Apple for the planned change since it was announced in June, and has claimed that it will hurt small businesses.

“Apple may say they’re doing this to help people but the moves clearly track their competitor interests,” Zuckerberg said during Facebook’s earnings call last week. “We and others are going to be up against this for the foreseeable future.”

That’s not to say that Snap isn’t concerned at all. The company warned investors Thursday in its Q4 earnings report on Thursday that Apple’s changes would present a risk of interruption to demand after they’re implemented.

“The reason that we’re highlighting some of the policy changes Apple is making is that they will impact our ability to effectively measure and optimize advertising outside of Snapchat,” Spiegel said.

Snap said it has been working with Apple to prepare for the changes, and plans to provide advertisers with more opportunities to provide their products and services to Snap users directly through Snapchat.

“The reality is we admire Apple, and we believe that they are trying to do the right thing for their customers,” Snap chief business officer Jeremi Gorman said on the company’s earnings call. “Their focus on protecting privacy is aligned with our values and the way we’ve built our business from the very beginning. Overall, we feel really well prepared for these changes, but changes to this ecosystem are usually disruptive and the outcome is uncertain.”

 

[sandysgeek]

Intel Downplays Apple's M1 Chip With 'Carefully Crafted' Benchmarks

Nearly three months after the launch of Apple's rave-reviewed M1 Macs, Intel has fired back, but there are some asterisks involved.

In a slideshow shared by PCWorld this week, Intel highlighted what PCWorld described as "carefully crafted" benchmarks in an attempt to prove that laptops with the latest 11th Generation Core processors are superior to those with Apple's custom-designed M1 chip.

For example, Intel said that exporting a PowerPoint presentation as a PDF file is up to 2.3x faster on a Windows laptop equipped with an 11th Generation Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM compared to completing the same task on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip and 16GB of RAM, with Intel noting that PowerPoint ran natively on both systems.

Intel also indicated that Topaz Labs' AI-based photo enlargement software Gigapixel AI performed up to 6x faster on the Core i7 system compared to the M1 MacBook Pro. In this case, PCWorld said "the results are pretty real," noting that Topaz Labs' apps are designed to take advantage of the hardware acceleration inside of Intel's processors.

As for gaming performance, the results were mixed, with Intel emphasizing the well-established opinion that Macs are not ideal for gaming and lack support for "countless" games like Gear Tactics, Hitman 2, and others.

Intel also conducted a "real world battery life test" and found that both the M1 MacBook Air and the Acer Swift 5 with an 11th Generation Core i7 processor achieved virtually identical 10-hour battery life when streaming Netflix with additional tabs open. Intel said both notebooks were set to 250 nits display brightness, with the MacBook Air running Safari and the Acer Swift 5 running Chrome for the test.

It's worth noting that Intel switched from the MacBook Pro for the performance benchmarks to the MacBook Air for the battery life test, and Intel used a different Core i7 processor SKU for each of these tests as well.

Apple's website advertises the M1 MacBook Air as having up to 18 hours of battery life when continuously playing back 1080p content in the Apple TV app with display brightness set to 50%, and up to 15 hours of battery life when browsing 25 popular websites in Safari over Wi-Fi with display brightness set to 50%.

Intel added that its processors are about not only performance, but also choice, as they power all sorts of devices from traditional notebooks to tablets with features like touchscreens and support for multiple external displays. Officially, the M1-based MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro only support one external display, but some users discovered that this limitation can be bypassed with DisplayLink adapters as an unofficial solution.


"M1-Unfriendly Benchmarks"


Apple columnist Jason Snell referred to Intel's benchmarks as "M1-unfriendly" in commentary shared on his website Six Colors.

"Inconsistent test platforms, shifting arguments, omitted data, and the not-so-faint whiff of desperation," wrote Snell. "Today's M1 processor is a low-end chip for low-end systems, so Intel only has a small window to compare itself favorably to these systems before higher-end Apple silicon Macs ship and make its job that much harder."

Tom's Hardware's Andrew Freedman also cautioned that all vendor-provided benchmarks should be taken with a grain of salt.

Apple says the M1 chip provides industry-leading performance per watt, with the latest MacBook Air outperforming a maxed-out Intel-based 16-inch MacBook Pro in Geekbench benchmarks. Rumors suggest Apple will launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a redesigned iMac, and more with next-generation Apple silicon later this year.









WTF is wring with Apple lately?

Mark Zuckerberg continues saying how Apple is ruining the "free internet" and how he's standing up to Apple defending small businesses, all since Apple will give the buyers of their devices a ability to help protect them from being tracked around the internet

Now Intel is proving how their chips are better than Apple Silicon Mi used in the lower end Macs.

What's next? Microsoft's Windows and Google's Android respect and protect users privacy?



Still think this is a funny line:

Well, e-mail did hurt us, but you know, computer's gonna be dead in about five years anyway. Post Office will rise again, my friend, we'll rise again!
Frasier, Original Airdate on NBC: April 30th, 2002

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3606592/intel-benchmarks-say-apples-m1-isnt-faster.html
Intel benchmarks say Apple's M1 isn't faster. Let's reality-check the claims
Intel just clapped back with a carefully crafted takedown of Apple's Arm-based M1 chip. Let's review the claims, one by one.
By Gordon Mah Ung
Executive Editor, PCWorld | Feb 6, 2021 11:41 am PST



https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-fires-back-at-apple-m1-processors-with-benchmarks
Intel Fires Back at Apple's M1 Processors With Benchmarks
By Andrew E. Freedman 05 February 2021
Intel wants to take a bite out of Apple and prove its processors to be more worthy

 

[sandysgeek]

Developer exposes multiple scam apps on the App Store

Developer exposes multiple scam apps on the App Store, some bringing in millions of dollars in revenue

Over the last several weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has been highlighting many apparent scam applications on the App Store. The formula for each scam application is virtually identical, and it centers on fake reviews and ratings paired with a deceptive weekly subscription.

Eleftheriou is the developer behind FlickType, a popular Apple Watch keyboard application that brings gesture typing to the wearable device. He was also one of the creators of the Flesky keyboard app, acquired by Pinterest, and Blind Type, acquired by Google.

The thread began two weeks ago, when Eleftheriou began highlighting applications that were essentially non-functional ripoffs of FlickType. One of the most blatant ones was KeyWatch:

Just a few months ago, I was way ahead of my competition. By the time they figured out just how hard autocorrect algorithms were, I was already rolling out the swipe version of my keyboard, quickly approaching iPhone typing speeds. So how did they beat me?

First, they made an app that appeared to fulfill the promise of a watch keyboard – but was practically unusable. Then, they started heavily advertising on FB & Instagram, using my own promo video, of my own app, with my actual name on it.

When users downloaded the app, the first screen was a blank interface with an “Unlock now” button. Tap the “Unlock now” button, and you’d be prompted with Apple’s buy screen to confirm an $8/week subscription for an app that was nonfunctional.

What about App Store reviews and ratings? The KeyWatch developers simply purchased fake ratings and reviews, which flooded the App Store listings and gave users the impression the app was a legitimate Apple Watch keyboard. According to Appfigures data, KeyWatch was generating $2 million a year through its App Store scam.

Fake ratings, and fake reviews. These quickly push the scams to the top of search results, leaving honest & hard-working developers in the dust. An old problem that’s not easy to solve, but one that’s at the core of why App Store app discovery is so problematic.

After Eleftheriou’s Twitter thread gained traction, Apple removed KeyWatch and a handful of other similar scam Apple Watch keyboard apps from the App Store. That being said, the company hasn’t taken as swift of action against similar applications from the same “developer.”

But since then, Eleftheriou has exposed additional scam applications on the App Store. Over the weekend, he posted a simple thread showcasing “how to spot a $5M/year scam on the App Store, in 5 minutes flat.” This time, he showcased Star Gazer+, which is still available on the App Store with a 4.4 rating and over 80,000 ratings.

The situation is nearly the same as the original example of KeyWatch. The “developer” releases a barely-functioning app with a weekly subscription requirement. The App Store listing is flooded with fake ratings and reviews, tricking users into thinking it’s a legitimate service.

Potential solutions

Developer Marco Arment chimed in on Twitter, suggesting that one solution to eliminate these scams would be for Apple to eliminate the weekly subscription billing option altogether. This has proven to be a common tactic used by many of the scammers highlighted by Eleftheriou’s tweets.

Other developers have also joined the conversation suggesting possible solutions. For instance, David Barnard retweeted a concept he first shared back in 2019 about how Apple could redesign the App Store’s “buy sheet” to make the payment terms more clear for users.

Eleftheriou also points out that some of Apple’s marketing materials for the App Store give users the impression that they shouldn’t have to worry about scam apps.

He also described reaching out to Apple directly to about these issues when speaking to TechCrunch:

“They put you in contact with the other developer in question, and oversee the thread while they hope you will resolve the issue with the other party directly,” he explains. “The scammers I complained about in that dispute weren’t even the bigger scammers I mention in my Twitter thread. Yet, the complaint I had with them barely got addressed, and there was no response from Apple whatsoever on the issue of the fake ratings and reviews. Simply a ‘if we don’t hear back from you very soon we consider the matter resolved’. We even reached out to Apple privately after that but got no response.”

Theoretically, App Store Review should be able to filter out some of these applications, but Apple should also make a better effort to weed out fake ratings and reviews. A quick Google search reveals just how advanced this industry is, making Apple’s silence even more deafening.

 

[sandysgeek]

Upgrading a Mac to macOS Big Sur without enough space can result in data loss

macOS Big Sur upgrade can lead to data loss without ample storage

An issue with Apple's macOS Big Sur installer allows users to upgrade from an earlier operating system without first verifying that the target Mac has enough free hard drive space, resulting in installation failure and data loss.

The problem is present in currently shipping Big Sur installers and appears to date back to the first macOS 11 builds launched in November, reports Mr. Macintosh. Interestingly, subsequent point releases and delta updates are unaffected by the bug. (doesn’t affectupdates from one Big Sur installation to another (such as updating from macOS 11.1 to macOS 11.2))

Apple's installers fail to check system hard drive space on initiation and continue to run through the installation process until all storage is exhausted. The resulting failure can lead to an install loop, purgatory in Boot Recovery Assistant with a pop-up reading, "An error occurred preparing the software update," or display of Big Sur's Recovery startup screen that shows no startup disk available.

Macs require at least 35.5GB of free space — not including the 13GB installer — to upgrade to Big Sur.

According to the publication, any Mac that is compatible with macOS Big Sur or has downloaded the macOS Big Sur upgrade is vulnerable to the flaw. Testing has confirmed the issue exists in both macOS Big Sur 11.2 and 11.3 beta versions, and is possibly present in macOS Big Sur 11.1.


A failed installation might be the least of a potential upgrader's worries, however, as Macs with a T2 security chip can suffer data loss when FileVault 2 encryption is activated. As detailed by Mr. Macintosh, users are unable to use their Mac's admin password to initiate the recovery process. Further, attempting to reset the password using Personal Recovery Key or AppleID fails, while Target Disk Mode is rendered unusable on Catalina and Big Sur. Passwords do work in TDM on macOS Mojave and High Sierra, the report says.

Data recovery is possible using a system backup and a second Mac, though the process is complicated when FileVault is enabled. Macs that did not have FileVault enabled prior to upgrade can free up space for a new install through a bit of quick file management in Terminal or transferring data to a second Mac via TDM.

Alternatively, users who do not need to recover data from an affected Mac can simply erase the drive and reinstall macOS. Newer Macs with T2 chips require users to go through an "Erase Mac" step, according to the report.

Mr. Macintosh alerted Apple to the issue, and others have complained of identical problems on Apple's Support Forums, but the company has yet to respond.


You can read more details about this problem on the Mr. Macintosh blog.



macOS Big Sur - Technical Specifications
General Requirements

• 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*

* If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, macOS Big Sur requires 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, macOS Big Sur requires up to 44.5GB of available storage.
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp833?locale=en_US

 

[sandysgeek]

Apple offering battery replacement for 2016/2017 MacBook Pro won’t charge past 1%

Apple offering free battery replacement for 2016/2017 MacBook Pro that won’t charge past 1%

Following the release of macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 with fixes to a bug that prevented MacBook Pro battery from charging, Apple has just announced that the company will replace for free the batteries of 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models that won’t charge past 1%.

According to a new support article published on Apple’s website, a small number of MacBook Pro users have experienced an issue with the battery not charging past 1%. Apple says that the affected devices will show the “Recommended Service” message in the battery menu when running macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 or the latest supplemental update of macOS Catalina 10.15.7.

If macOS indicates that your battery needs service, Apple will replace it for free.

If your 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro exhibits these behaviors, contact Apple to get your battery replaced, free of charge. Your computer will be examined prior to service to verify that it is eligible for the free battery replacement.

This problem affects only 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models:

• MacBook Pro (13*-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-*inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-*inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (13-*inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (15-*inch, 2016)
  
  
• MacBook Pro (15-*inch, 2017)

In order to check the battery health of your Mac, go to the System Preferences app and click the Battery option, then select Battery in the sidebar and click Battery Health. For Mac computers running macOS Catalina, hold the Option key and click the battery icon in the menu bar to reveal the battery status menu.

If your Mac is eligible for the program, you should contact Apple to take it to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.

 

[sandysgeek]

Researcher Breaches Systems of Over 35 Companies, Including Apple, Microsoft & Paypal

A security researcher found a clever way to hack Apple, Tesla, and more than 30 other major companies using a novel open-source software approach.

Microsoft, PayPal, Shopify, Netflix, Yelp, and Uber were among the other companies that found their internal systems breached in the proof of concept …

The attack took advantage of a flaw inherent in many popular installers used by developers to packages and dependencies. By uploading malware to open source repositories, researcher Alex Birsan was able to trick these installers into downloading his malicious code, according to a writeup he posted on Medium.

In the case of Apple, Birsan was able to compromise several machines in the company's internal network after they downloaded malicious code in a Node package that he uploaded to npm, a package manager for **********. Specifically, Birsan was able to breach projects related to the Apple ID authentication system.

Apple told the researcher that the vulnerability could have been used to achieve remote code execution on Apple servers. When Birsan asked whether an attacker could have injected backdoors into Apple ID, the company said that "achieving a backdoor in an operational service requires a more complex sequence of events, and is a very specific term that carries additional connotations."

The Cupertino tech giant fixed the vulnerability within two weeks of disclosure. Although he reported the flaw to Apple in August 2020, Birsan said he had only just received his bug bounty payment prior to the Medium write in February 2021.

The supply chain attack relies on the trust many developers have in these package installers, which can include npm, Python's pip, and Ruby's RubyGems. Another key factor is the use of internal packages that don't exist in public repositories. By uploading a piece of malware under the names of these internally used packages, Birsan was able to fool some programs into downloading his malicious code instead of the legitimate packages. He used DNS to covertly exfiltrate the data.


Birsan only operated within the scope of company bug bounty programs and only collected non-sensitive data from compromised systems, but his research was able to point out flaws in many company's internal configurations.

In total, the researcher discovered dependency confusion vulnerabilities inside 35 organizations to date. The vast majority of them are companies with more than 1,000 employees, which he attributes to the "higher prevalence of internal library usage within larger organizations."

Birsan earned more than $130,000 in bug bounties. Payments of $30,000 each came from Shopify, Apple, and PayPal. In the case of Microsoft, Birsan's research netted him the company's highest amount of $40,000. Microsoft also released a white paper on the issue.

The researcher also believes that the problem will continue to grow.

"Specifically, I believe that finding new and clever ways to leak internal package names will expose even more vulnerable systems, and looking into alternate programming languages and repositories to target will reveal some additional attack surface for dependency confusion bugs," Birsan wrote.


The full write-up (via Bleeping Computer) is worth reading, explaining how Birsan was able to prove that the packages had been installed without triggering any alerts.

 

[sandysgeek]

Two months ago Apple's App Privacy Labels went live (#731). Even posted how App privacy labels show stark contrasts among messaging apps (
#762), which included Facebook's app, despite Mark Zuckerberg public outcry during past few months.

developers must divulge what data is being collected by either itself or a third party, and how that information might be used. Similar to past App Store policies, apps are allowed to remain on the storefront without publishing the privacy labels, though the new rules will be enforced when updates are submitted.

Google on January 5 claimed that it would be adding privacy data to its app catalog "this week or next

Google has since quietly been adding labels to apps like YouTube, but major apps like Gmail, Google Search, Google Photos, Google Maps, and others still do not have privacy details. Even in apps that have gained with labels, there have been no feature or security updates for the most part.

It continues to be unclear why Google is taking so long to add App Privacy labels to its iOS apps, and there's no word yet on when Gmail will get an update. Google has been regularly updating its Android apps, and the last update for the Android Gmail app was released on February 9.

It's been said Google would delay rollout of future updates to avoid exposure of its data collection strategies

There has been speculation that Google is hesitant to provide the privacy label data because of the negative feedback that other companies like Facebook have received, but there's still no confirmed explanation. Also been suggested i that Google's delay could perhaps be due to behind the scenes efforts to overhaul some of its data collection methods, and if there is indeed tweaking like that going on, it would explain why many of the main apps have yet to be updated.

App Privacy labels have been required since iOS 14.3 and are designed to provide customers with details about what data an app collects from them so they can make an informed choice when opting to install an app. App developers are required to self-report privacy information in the **App Store**, and developers must identify all data collection and use cases.


Then last evening Google apps on iOS are showing sign-in warnings amid lack of updates. Little bit later Google appears to have updated its backend to remove the warning as it no longer appears when configuring a new account.



Oh, but now there's more. A U.S. House Committee contacted Apple about it's App Store Privacy Labels, which will try to post later.






Mind you Google also owns Android. so it's updating apps running on Android during the past two months, but not iOS,

And the behind the scenes efforts to overhaul some of its data collection methods are a way to working around how iOS 14 will prevent a user being tracked. Possibly FLoC, Turtledove or Swallow technology. Hey, collecting user data and information is hundreds of billions of dollars business each year.

 

[NemoNautilus]

I adore my iPad. It’s almost never out of my hand or nearby.

The last Mac desktop I had was an SE-20 with a 20megabyte hard drive! It worked just fine for almost 10 years. No internet or virus to slow it down. O/S? Fuggedaboutit. This was one step up from having to load the operating system with a startup disk every time.

I begrudgingly accept the iPhone. I wasn’t real thrilled with the X, up the 12 mini intrigues me. Anybody had some experinice

 

[sandysgeek]

I adore my iPad. It’s almost never out of my hand or nearby.

The last Mac desktop I had was an SE-20 with a 20megabyte hard drive! It worked just fine for almost 10 years. No internet or virus to slow it down. O/S? Fuggedaboutit. This was one step up from having to load the operating system with a startup disk every time.

I begrudgingly accept the iPhone. I wasn’t real thrilled with the X, up the 12 mini intrigues me. Anybody had some experinice

I haven't had personal experience with the iPhone 12 mini, however found this article perhaps you find interesting.


iPhone 12 Mini Diary: Initial thoughts on the smaller battery and device portability

Since Apple released the first “big” iPhone back with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, I’ve bounced from the big phone to the smaller phone almost like clockwork each year. With the iPhone 6 lineup, I went with the 6 Plus. With the 6s lineup, I went back to the smaller one, and I’ve done that each year until then. The iPhone X was the last “normal” size iPhone I used. After nearly a year with the iPhone 11 Pro Max, I had already decided that I was dropping to a smaller size. When the rumors of a “mini” iPhone started to surface, I began to consider it.

Part of what’s changed with my thoughts on the larger iPhone vs. a smaller one is how I use my iPhone. Before COVID–19, I did a bit of traveling for work, so having the longest lasting battery with the largest screen was essential to me. Now that traveling has been nearly halted, having the most portable iPhone possible became something that became a focus of mine. My kids are also getting older, so I am not taking nearly as many pictures as I did when they were babies. When they were little, we would take pictures every single day. Now, we take a handful of a month. So while having a quality camera is important to me, it’s no longer the key thing I look for in an iPhone. I want a nice camera, but I don’t have to have the nicest camera anymore.

When I saw the iPhone 12 lineup, I immediately knew that I would be purchasing the iPhone 12 mini, and on the day that preorders went live, I ordered a 128GB Red iPhone 12 mini, a totallee clear case, and a MagSafe Charger (please note - those are three separate links). The case arrived first, so I was able to spend a few days with it getting a feel for how small the phone was in my hand. As of this writing, I have had a little more than a week with the iPhone 12 mini in day to day life, so I am starting a new Diary series to document how the device works for me over a more extended period.


Smaller battery

To get the iPhone smaller, everything has to be smaller, including the battery. Apple lists the iPhone 12 mini battery as up to 15 hours of video playback (local), 10 hours of video for streamed, and up to 50 hours for audio playback. It’s certainly a smaller battery than I was coming from with the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Apple lists it as 20 hours of video playback for local media, 12 hours for streamed content, and up to 80 hours for audio playback. I’ve never been for one looking at the technical specs for the battery as a lot depends on how you use the iPhone. If you are the type of person who is on their iPhone for hours at a time during the day for work, you’ll be taking the battery, but in much the same way you did smaller iPhones in the past. It’s not that the iPhone 12 mini battery is terrible, but it’s just not as good as the Max phones, but that is an understandable compromise.

iPhone 12 mini battery


In my day to day life, I am at a desk most of the day so that the iPhone can sit on a charger. This past weekend, I forgot to charge my iPhone overnight, and it was almost dead from the previous day by the time I woke up. It’s undoubtedly going to be one of those iPhones that you think more about finding a charge, using an external battery when traveling, etc. So far, it’s been a compromise I can live with day to day. If Apple releases a Magsafe battery charger in the future, I could certainly use it when traveling, but for now, I’ll stick with external batteries when I need an extra charge on the go.


Camera

For my use cases, the camera has been great. Again, as I mentioned earlier, I am not taking that many pictures, so having a “good” camera is precisely what I need at this time. I am a below average photographer, so it doesn’t matter which iPhone I have. It’s a skill I wish I had developed over the years, but it’s just never something that I had a lot of interest in. If you’re like me and want a good camera but are not worried about the best, you’ll be quite happy with the iPhone 12 mini camera.


iPhone 12 mini portability

iPhone 12 Pro Max vs iPhone 12 mini


The most significant change with moving from a Max phone to the mini is the portability. With the iPhone 11 Pro Max, you never had to question if it was in your pocket or not. With the iPhone 12 mini, there have been times that I wasn’t 100% sure if it was in my pocket or not, and that’s something I’ve not had since the iPhone 5 days. If you’ve been wanting the iPhone SE size, but with the latest technology, you’re going to love the iPhone 12 mini.


Wrap up on initial thoughts

I don’t regret my purchase whatsoever. In just a week of using it, it’s been a breath of fresh air with having an iPhone I can use in one hand and easily fit in my pocket. After really thinking about my use cases, I am not a “Pro” device person. I’ve been very content with my MacBook Air, iPad Mini, and now the iPhone 12 Mini. I value portability over power with my computing devices.

 

[sandysgeek]

Intel mocks Apple in new campaign highlighting things users can’t do on a M1 Mac

Intel has had a strong partnership with Apple since 2005, and although Apple now has Mac computers with its own chips, there are still some Macs being shipped with Intel processors. However, as the M1 chip has been praised for its performance and efficiency, Intel is now mocking Apple in a new campaign that highlights things users can’t do on a M1 Mac.

The new campaign has been running on Twitter and other websites claiming that there are some tasks that only Windows PCs can do. In one of the new ads, Intel says that “only a PC offers tablet mode, touch screen and stylus capabilities in a single device,” which is similar to what Microsoft does in Surface ads.

Another ad in the campaign is even more aggressive by claiming that Macs are not ideal for engineers and games, as Windows has a broader catalog of software and games than macOS. It even mentions that “if you can launch Rocket League, you’re not on a Mac,” since the game was discontinued for macOS last year.

In addition to the web ads, the campaign also includes a paid video with YouTuber Jon Rettinger in which he points out advantages of having a regular laptop instead of a M1 MacBook, such as standard USB ports, touchscreen, eGPU support, and working with two external displays.

Last week, Intel shared a slideshow of benchmark results comparing its 11th generation “Tiger Lake” i7 processor against Apple’s M1 chip in an attempt to show that Intel processors are more powerful than a chip that Apple built for low-power, fanless computers.

In the meantime, Apple says that the transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon Chips is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, when the company will no longer have any Mac computers running on Intel. With that said, it’s clear that Intel has nothing left to lose with this campaign against Apple — the company has already lost everything it could.

 

[sandysgeek]

WSJ: Zuckerberg tells staff to ‘inflict pain’ on Apple as privacy battle intensifies

Mark Zuckerberg Reportedly Told Staff Facebook Needs to 'Inflict Pain' on Apple Over Privacy Dispute


Apple and Facebook have been in a very public spat over the course of the last few months as Apple dials up its pro-privacy stance. The two companies have long had tension, but more recently, Facebook is taking shots at an upcoming iOS and iPadOS feature that will require apps and data companies such as Facebook to ask for users' permission before tracking them across other sites and websites.

While for the most part, the war of words between the tech titans has remained professional, Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook have also shared a barrage of attacks toward each other. During a 2018 interview in the midst of Facebook's notorious Cambridge Analytica scandal, Cook was asked how he would lead Apple if it were to face a similar crisis. Cook responded by ruling the hypothetical situation out of the question, saying Apple would not be in the situation Facebook was in, thanks to its differing stance on privacy and user data. Zuckerberg shot back, calling Cook's comments on TV "extremely glib" and "not at all aligned with the truth."

Zuckerberg, outraged by Cook's comments and public influence on Facebook's reputation, reportedly told internal aides and team members that Facebook needs to "inflict pain" on Apple, according to sources who spoke on anonymity to The Wall Street Journal. Last month, during the company's earnings call, Zuckerberg called Apple an increasingly bigger threat to Facebook and accused the Cupertino tech giant of using its platforms to interfere with how Facebook operates its own apps.

The day after the public comments, Cook responded indirectly in a speech during the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference where he condemned Facebook and implied that its business model of maximizing engagement leads to division and violence. During the same speech, Cook censured Facebook's potential role in the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot, blaming the social media company's algorithms for spreading conspiracy theories.

In December, Facebook ran full-page ads attacking Apple's up-and-coming App Tracking Transparency (ATT) requirement that will force apps to ask for users' permission before tracking them across apps and the internet. Facebook is attacking Apple from the standpoint that ATT will hurt small businesses that rely on personalized ads derived from effective tracking. In response, Cook directly weighed in on Twitter, stating that Apple simply wants to give users a choice about whether they wish to be tracked or not.

Despite the personal jabs and attacks, in a statement given to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook spokeswoman Dani Lever refuted the idea that the tension between the companies is personal, suggesting instead that it was "about the future of the free internet." Facebook states that choosing between tracking users for personalized ads and protecting their privacy is a "false-trade off," claiming that it believes it can provide both. The spokeswoman reiterated past remarks by Facebook stating that Apple's privacy features are not meant to preserve user privacy, but are instead about increasing profit, and that Facebook will join others to highlight Apple's "self-preferencing, anticompetitive behavior."

Apple declined to comment on the report.

Facebook is reportedly planning to take its disapproval with Apple to court, as it's allegedly been preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against the Cupertino-based tech company over its "unfair" approach to privacy with ATT and iMessage. As part of its lawsuit, Facebook is considering partnering with other companies such as Epic Games, which is already embroiled in a massive legal battle with Apple, to propel its antitrust case forward. Facebook may, however, scrap its plans to bring forward any form of legal action against Apple.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who leads the Republicans' effort in the Senate antitrust subcommittee, told The Wall Street Journal that the feud between Apple and Facebook sits at the "nexus of privacy and antitrust," and that he doesn't want to "impose regulation that just ends up protecting incumbents and entrenching monopolies."

Apple has committed to launching ATT with iOS and iPadOS 14.5 in the "early spring" and Facebook has seemingly admitted defeat in its failed attempt to stop the new requirement from going into action. Apps have the freedom to customize the prompt that users will receive asking for their permission to be tracked across other apps and the web, and screenshots of Facebook's prompt for its iOS app show that it pleads with users to opt in to tracking in order to receive "a better ads experience."

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.




Huh, Facebook has been going after Apple more than seven months, and last week Intel decided to also beging going at Apple. Yet Microsoft, maker of Windows, also Alphabet, parent company of Google and Android, all three of these products/services also harvest peoples information on-line, yet I don't recall hearing a sound from either of those two behemoths regarding Apple.

 

[sandysgeek]

US Apple Stores begin return to in-store shopping, more locations reopening

Apple is reintroducing in-store shopping appointments at many US Apple Stores that have been operating as Express storefronts. Other temporarily-closed locations are reopening for pickup of online orders.

After months of reduced service and prioritizing pickups during a busy holiday season, your local Apple Store might look a bit closer to normal the next time you visit. Express storefronts — the shielded kiosks introduced ahead of the iPhone 12 launch and deployed at all but a dozen US stores — are disappearing almost as fast as they popped up. That means you’ll soon be able to go inside and get hands-on time with products again.

Since February 8, Apple Stores in Alaska, Oregon, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, and the Washington, D.C. metro area have reintroduced shopping sessions. Locations in Manhattan, Hawaii, and Maine have continued to offer in-store service throughout winter.

In total, 39 US stores offer browsing as of February 12, and more can be expected to make the switch assuming local health conditions remain stable. Stores dropping their Express storefronts are generally located in regions with a falling number of new COVID-19 infections. Shopping online is still the safer option.


Apple is also reopening a handful of stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas for the first time since mid-January. Most locations will initially offer pickup of online orders only, as all regions are still suffering from higher COVID-19 activity. Keep in mind that Apple evaluates health and safety conditions regularly, and store services can change at any time. Just over 200 of Apple’s 270 US stores have reopened, including locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.


Look through these tips to make your Apple Store visit safe and successful:

 

[sandysgeek]