Monthly Archives: July 2018

Twitterific Loses Push Notifications and Streaming →

July 6, 2018 · 10:56

Chaim Gartenberg, writing for The Verge:

We’ve known for a few months that Twitter is going to further limit third-party apps starting on August 16th when it rolls out some major API changes. But now we’re starting to see the effects of those upcoming changes, starting with the popular third-party Twitter app Twitterific, which announced an update today preparing for the removal of two major features: push notifications and live-updating tweets.

This is the beginning of the end of Twitter for me. Jack is bereft of reality and doing everything he possibly can to screw over Twitter’s most engaged and loyal users, while at the same time shipping a terrible app on just a few platforms.

Oh, before I forget: Fuck you, Jack!

The App Store Turns 10 →

July 6, 2018 · 09:52

I can still remember the days when I would open the App Store on a daily basis, to look for new and interesting software. And to think third-party apps weren’t even planned while the first iPhone was being developed, as Ken Kocienda mentioned last night…

We had no plans for third-party apps during the development cycle for the first iPhone. Zero work was done on public API before the initial announcement in Jan 2007.

Apple has come a long way with the App Store but there’s still a long way to go.

European MEPs Vote to Reopen Copyright Debate Over ‘Censorship’ Controversy →

July 5, 2018 · 16:34

Natasha Lomas, for TechCrunch:

A 318-278 majority of MEPs in the European Parliament has just voted to reopen debate around a controversial digital copyright reform proposal — meaning it will now face further debate and scrutiny, rather than be fast-tracked towards becoming law via the standard EU trilogue negotiation process.

Crucially it means MEPs will have the chance to amend the controversial proposals.

I hope they have experts on hand to explain the possible ramifications of this reform proposal.

Revolut Typeform Breach: What Happened and Is My Data Safe? →

July 5, 2018 · 10:16

We have been alerted that Typeform, a company that we frequently use to survey our customers, has been compromised in a data breach […]

We would like to assure our customers that no sensitive data, such as personal account details or passwords, have been compromised in this breach. Upon reviewing previous surveys, we have only ever asked for details such as your email address and Twitter handle […]

Our focus right now is to contact everyone who has been affected, letting them know exactly what kind of data of theirs was breached, what they should do and how we will stop something like this from happening again.

If you don’t get an email from us on this matter, that means that none of your data was compromised and you have nothing to worry about.

Ulysses Turns 15 Years Old →

July 5, 2018 · 10:12

Max Seelemann:

Ulysses is turning 15 these days. You read that right: fifteen freaking years. In computer terms that’s an eternity. And for me, now 31 years old, it certainly feels like one. This is my story.

So much has happened since that 1st of July, when we released version 1.0 of Ulysses. 2003 was the year of Finding Nemo, Kill Bill and Pirates of the Caribbean, the shipping release of Mac OS X was 10.2, and click-wheel iPods were the hottest thing around. Feeling old already? Well, it is a long time ago.

I knew Ulysses from years ago, but I never knew it was 15 years old! I have been using it daily for a few years now, since Max and his team created the iOS version in early 2015. It’s still the only writing app that integrates so beaufitully with Workflow and it’s hard to imagine life without it. Frankly, were I to switch to Windows 10 on a Surface Book 2, losing Ulysses would be my greatest regret.

Poland Purges Supreme Court and Protesters Take to Streets →

July 5, 2018 · 10:04

Marc Santora, for The New York Times:

Poland’s government carried out a sweeping purge of the Supreme Court on Tuesday night, eroding the judiciary’s independence, escalating a confrontation with the European Union over the rule of law and further dividing this nation. Tens of thousands took to the streets in protest.

Poland was once a beacon for countries struggling to escape the yoke of the Soviet Union and embrace Western democracy. But it is now in league with neighboring nations, like Hungary, whose leaders have turned to authoritarian means to tighten their grip on power, presenting a grave challenge to a European Union already grappling with nationalist, populist and anti-immigrant movements.

The forced retirements of up to 27 of 72 Supreme Court justices, including the top judge, and the creation of a judicial disciplinary chamber were the latest in a series of steps by Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice Party to take over the justice system.

We’re fucked. I assume they’re going to eradicate our Constitution next.

The Surface Book 2 Is the Real Deal →

July 4, 2018 · 19:36

Marco Arment:

The Surface Book 2 is also the real deal. Massive 15” 3:2 screen, detachable to a great-feeling tablet with a great pen that stows easily.

Touch/tablet-hybrid laptops aren’t just the future — they’re the present. Apple’s either being coy about future products or is in denial.

 

The Surface Book 2 Is Everything the MacBook Pro Should Be →

July 3, 2018 · 10:29

Owen Williams, on his blog Charged:

I’m back to say I was wrong, and I’ve found a machine that not only matches Apple’s standard of hardware quality, but goes far beyond it to demonstrate how a laptop of the future should work.

That machine is the 15-inch Surface Book 2 and somehow Microsoft has made the 2-in-1 that Apple should’ve been building all along, to the same level of quality I’d expect from anyone other than Microsoft.

I’ve used the Surface Book 2 as my daily computer for three months now and it’s consistently blown me away with how well considered it is across the board, how great the software works and has completely converted me into the touchscreen laptop camp.

Unless Apple gets their act together, start innovating, post regular CPU/GPU updates, my next notebook will most probably be a Surface Book. It’s not perfect by any means, and I’d miss macOS a lot, but I’d manage. What’s tempting me most is the removable screen which can be used with the full Adobe Lightroom experience. I wouldn’t mind a Surface Studio too, on the condition that it had a replaceable M.2 SSD instead of a hybrid drive and an upgradeable GPU.

Samsung Phones Are Spontaneously Texting Users’ Photos to Random Contacts Without Their Permission →

July 3, 2018 · 10:17

Ashley Carman, writing for The Verge:

Bad news for Samsung phone owners: some devices are randomly sending your camera roll photos to your contacts without permission. As first spotted by Gizmodo, users are complaining about the issue on Reddit and the company’s official forums. One user says his phone sent all his photos to his girlfriend. The messages are being sent through Samsung’s default texting app Samsung Messages. According to reports, the Messages app does not even show users that files have been sent; many just find out after they get a response from the recipient of the random photos sent to them.

I wonder how many people actually received “dick pics” (as in nudes). This sounds funny at first, but it could really be catastrophic, depending on the people involved.