The Unofficial Apple Weblog, more commonly referred to as TUAW, has made a return from the dead, almost a decade after it was closed down. Unfortunately, that’s not a good thing …
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Incoming students at Eton – the most famous of Britain’s private boarding schools, and whose alumni include many of the country’s prime ministers – are being told that they must leave their iPhones at home for the whole school year.
Their SIM will be transferred to a Nokia dumbphone which is only capable of phone calls and texts (and, I guess, Snake) …
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A new breed of scambaiting AI systems are now being officially used by telecoms companies to protect their customers from fraud. The systems use more sophisticated versions of Lenny, a delightful simulation of a rambling old man keen to engage in lengthy conversation …
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A deal between the UK and US has seen Wikileaks founder Julian Assange freed from a British jail. A plea deal was agreed with the US Department of Justice which will see him serve no prison time in the US …
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Apple battery supplier TDK has announced the development of a technology it says could be used in next-gen solid-state batteries to offer one hundred times the energy density of existing ones …
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An engineer with extensive experience of working with Bluetooth found himself bamboozled when told that he needed to enable a wireless connection to use a cheap pair of wired Lightning headphones – and that turned out to be correct …
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The Internet Archive, best known for its Wayback Machine, says that it has been under a sustained distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack for several days. The non-profit says that it is in contact with the attackers, though their motivation is as yet unclear …
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Police officers were allowed to force a suspect to use his thumbprint to unlock his phone, according to a federal court ruling.
However, it said the issue was a finely-judged one, and its ruling should not be interpreted to mean that this is lawful in all circumstances …
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Romance scams are getting a whole lot more convincing with the latest tactic: using two phones, one running a face-swap app, to conduct live video calls with victims …
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Canada is introducing a new digital services tax starting this year, which will see foreign tech giants like Apple and Google receive tax demands for income earned in Canada but not currently taxed there.
This follows the example of several European countries, including France, Italy, and the UK – and is designed to address tax avoidance …
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While shooting professional-standard video is possible with an iPhone, it generally requires the use of accessories like lighting and external microphones. The new Rode MagSafe mount is designed to let you do this at an affordable price.
If your video accessory needs are more demanding, there’s also a MagSafe Phone Cage with five cold shoe mounts, as well as plenty of 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch threads for use with tripods, handles and other accessories …
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Dramatically rising streaming prices have lead to an increase in video piracy, and major Hollywood studios are now asking Congress to pass a new law to address it.
The exact same law, in fact, that it tried and failed to get passed in 2012, after major websites went dark in protest …
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Internet service providers (ISPs) now have to display broadband ‘nutrition’ labels, being upfront about the true costs, speeds, and data allowances offered,
The rule was introduced in response to growing consumer complaints about hidden fees, data caps, and other misleading marketing of broadband packages – and takes effect today. You can see below full details of the information which must be provided …
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Subscription creep – the term given to increases in subscription fees after someone has signed up – hit a full two-thirds of US consumers in the past year.
Some of the increases were steep ones, and others imposed with little notice …
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A Right to Disconnect law introduced by a Californian lawmaker aims to end the tyranny of employers who expect their staff to respond 24/7 to emails, Slack alerts, text messages, and other out-of-hours notifications.
It mirrors similar laws already passed in several European countries …
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As 2024 looks like the year that Apple makes its big push into generative AI, the federal government is also encouraging the use of AI by its own agencies …
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Consumer Reports found that some Amazon’s Choice video bells have security so bad that a complete stranger can pair their phone to your doorbell simply by holding the exterior button for eight seconds.
Bad actors can even access still images from thousands of miles away, without needing any credentials for your account, creating a privacy nightmare …
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New York City is suing Meta, Google, Snap, and TikTok for allegedly harming children’s mental health. The state of New York has previously accused social media companies of deliberately seeking to get teens addicted to their apps …
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A new study says that more than seven hours a day of daily screen time is harmful to our health, and the cost of this to the US economy adds up to $73B a year.
Eye-strain, muscle fatigue, neck pain, sleep interference, and even damage to our musculoskeletal system can result from spending too much time in front of a screen, says the report …
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I’ve previously said that much as Vision Pro looks insanely impressive, I’m still not expecting to hand over my cash before a third-gen device. If you’re of the same mind, then the $439 Viture One XR glasses might be worth a look.
To be clear, the company makes no claims to be competing with Vision Pro. Its glasses product are a very different beast, but do tick some of the same boxes – including the ability to view Spatial Video content shot on the iPhone 15 …
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A series of explicit Taylor Swift deep fakes have led to lawmakers proposing new legislation to tackle this in a similar way to existing legislation for so-called revenge porn …
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HP is pushing over-the-air firmware updates to its printers, bricking them if they are using third-party ink cartridges. But don’t worry, it’s not a money-grab, says the company – it’s just trying to protect you from the well-known risk of viruses embedded in ink cartridges …
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The start of a new year is a time many of us use to take stock – of our goals, our habits, the ways in which we spend our time. For me, one significant change has been adopting a more sane approach to social media, and apps in general.
I’m a huge fan of technology, of course, but I also fully acknowledge that tech also has its downsides – and social media in particular has been a very mixed blessing …
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Anyone with a VanMoof ebike is likely concerned after the Dutch company confirmed that it is in financial trouble (and subsequently declared bankrupt).
Update: The new owners have announced details of the rescue plan, set to roll out in the first half of 2024. This will begin with replacement parts being made available to retailers, then new sales, and finally a VanMoof e-scooter. However, reports The Verge, the US situation is more complex. The rescue plan will come to the States, but the timeline is as yet unknown.
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