Category: Uncategorized

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Michael Tsai – Blog – The “everything” NPM Package: Ironically, this policy trapped PatrickJS in his own web. Upon realizing the impact of his prank, he attempted to remove the everything package but was unable to do so.

Russia tries to stop Western companies fleeing the country – CNN: The ruble plunged by about 25% on Monday, and is now worth about one US cent. It has lost about half its value since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing Crimea and triggering much more limited sanctions. Russia’s stock market hasn’t opened for… Continue reading Russia tries to stop Western companies fleeing the country – CNN

Heck of a read.  To copy a line from Deadwood: “This whole place….smells like shit”/ Michael Tsai – Blog – Court Documents About Epic v. Google and App Store:

Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data to be Shared With Facebook – MacRumors: Users that agree to the updated terms will have their WhatsApp account registration and phone number, transaction data, service-related information, interaction information, mobile device information, IP address, and “other information identified… or obtained upon notice to you or based on… Continue reading Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data to be Shared With Facebook – MacRumors

Google workers form labor union, a rarity in the tech industry: A group of Google engineers and other workers announced Monday they have formed a union, creating a rare foothold for the labor movement in the tech industry. About 225 employees at Google and its parent company Alphabet are the first dues-paying members of the… Continue reading Google workers form labor union, a rarity in the tech industry

Ticketmaster admits it hacked rival company before it went out of business | Ars Technica: In the settlement, Ticketmaster admitted that an employee who used to work for a rival company emailed the login credentials for multiple accounts the rival used to manage presale ticket sales. At a San Francisco meeting attended by at least… Continue reading Ticketmaster admits it hacked rival company before it went out of business | Ars Technica

WhatsApp Soundly Beaten By Apple’s Stunning New iMessage Update: The issue for WhatsApp is that when you claim security and privacy is in your DNA, you open yourself up to a heightened level of scrutiny. Suddenly, those concerns around WhatsApp metadata collection became more real. Now we could easily see that WhatsApp collects the contacts… Continue reading WhatsApp Soundly Beaten By Apple’s Stunning New iMessage Update

Rest In Peace and thank you for your contributions.     IBM Fellow Fran Allen spent her career advancing the field of computing and inspired generations of technologists. Remembering Frances E. Allen | IBM Research Blog:

Great article from Gui Rambo regarding the cost of using 3rd party dependencies in your apps, and how the use of Facebook’s SDK hammered a number of apps this week. The big Facebook crash of 2020 and the problem of third-party SDK creep | Rambo Codes:   Cool, there’s a Facebook SDK issue crashing several high-profile… Continue reading The big Facebook crash of 2020 and the problem of third-party SDK creep

This was my comment.  I spent far too much time on the phone with Apple Support trying to resolve this only to be told ‘mail it in’. Nasty macOS flaw is bricking MacBooks: Don’t install this update | Tom’s Guide: “This bricked my 2019 MBP. Not providing power to devices either. Needs an SMC reset… Continue reading Nasty macOS flaw is bricking MacBooks: Don’t install this update | Tom’s Guide

iOS Vulnerability Prevents VPNs From Encrypting All Traffic – MacRumors:   Until fixed, VPN users can connect to a VPN server, turn on Airplane Mode and then turn off Airplane Mode to kill all existing connections. The mitigation isn’t entirely reliable, however, so iPhone and iPad owners who rely on VPNs should be careful until… Continue reading iOS Vulnerability Prevents VPNs From Encrypting All Traffic – MacRumors

I love my Sonos devices — very happy to see them make the right decision here: Sonos Backtracks on Recycle Mode That Bricked Devices:

“Guardian,” “vanguard,” “sentinel” already “floating around,” according to Space Force email. Spacey McSpaceface: Space Force tries crowdsourcing term for members | Ars Technica: I vote for ‘Explorer’ or ‘Searcher’

Winning an Academy Award makes you feel like you’re ruler of the world, at least for the rest of Oscar night. Taika Waititi, winning a gong for best adapted screenplay, started issuing demands of his favorite technology company shortly after leaving the stage. When asked by reporters about the forthcoming Writers’ Guild of America negotiations,… Continue reading Oscar-winning screenwriter Taika Waititi dunks on Apple’s keyboards | Engadget

This is infuriating: “The Electronic Frontier Foundation found the Ring app was “packed” with third-party tracking, sending out customers’ personally identifiable information. Five companies were receiving a range of information, including names, IP addresses and mobile networks, it said.” The five companies identified as receiving information were: Facebook, via its Graph API – each user’s… Continue reading Ring doorbell ‘gives Facebook and Google user data’

Created my first safari content blocker today — incredibly easy and powerful.   This is a great intro to follow if you’re interested. How to Create a Safari Content Blocker Extension in Swift – iOS-Blog: