April 6, 2021
Written by Dave Mark
Troy Hunt (who runs Have I Been Pwned):
The headline is pretty self-explanatory so in the interest of time, let me just jump directly into the details of how this all works. There’s been huge interest in this incident, and I’ve seen near-unprecedented traffic to Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) over the last couple of days, let me do my best to explain how I’ve approached the phone number search feature. Or if you’re impatient, you can head over to HIBP right now and search for your number.
And:
There’s over 500M phone numbers but only a few million email addresses so >99% of people were getting a “miss” when they should have gotten a “hit”. The phone numbers were easy to parse out from (mostly) well-formatted files. They were also all normalised into a nice consistent format with a country code. In short, this data set completely turned all my reasons for not doing this on its head.
This Facebook hack just adds more fuel to the fire for me. Facebook. Feh.
Written by Dave Mark
Juli Clover, MacRumors:
Facebook and Apple are squabbling over document requests in the ongoing Epic v. Apple legal battle, according to a new discovery letter filed with the court today. Facebook is involved because Facebook executive Vivek Sharma is set to testify on behalf of Epic.
And:
According to Apple, Facebook has been continually ignoring requests for documents and using delaying tactics. Apple says it served multiple subpoenas to Facebook starting in December and met with Facebook several times to narrow the scope of the requests, but Facebook has refused to produce many of the documents in question.
Fascinating chess match here, with Apple and Facebook coming to an agreement that came unraveled when Epic added Sharma to its witness list.
April 5, 2021
Written by Jim Dalrymple
At the 27th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, actor Jason Sudeikis won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his leading role as the eponymous English soccer coach in Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso.”
Turns out, Ted Lasso is Apple’s premiere show. Who knew.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced that it is closing its mobile business unit. The decision was approved by its board of directors earlier today.
LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services.
I really like LG as a company. I have several LG TVs and they make quality products, but the smartphone business is dominated by Apple and Samsung. It makes sense for LG to focus its efforts in places it can have a larger impact.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple today announced it is introducing two entirely new game categories and adding more than 30 incredible titles to Apple Arcade, its popular gaming subscription service for players of all ages. Apple Arcade offers breakthrough, unique benefits players love: no ads, no in-app purchases, support for Apple’s high user privacy standards, and one all-inclusive subscription offer with access for up to six family members. In addition to new exclusive Arcade Originals, including “NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition,” “Star Trek: Legends,” and “The Oregon Trail,” the service is introducing two new game categories, Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. Arcade Originals are playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Timeless Classics and App Store Greats are available on iPhone and iPad.
With the new categories Apple’s catalog now has 180 games for its users.