Dell Ships Laptops with Root CA →

November 23, 2015 · 14:22

Rotorcowboy on Reddit:

I got a shiny new XPS 15 laptop from Dell, and while attempting to troubleshoot a problem, I discovered that it came pre-loaded with a self-signed root CA by the name of eDellRoot. With it came its private key, marked as non-exportable. However, it is still possible to obtain a raw copy of the private key by using several tools available (I used NCC Group’s Jailbreak tool). After briefly discussing this with someone else who had discovered this too, we determined that they are shipping every laptop they distribute with the exact same root certificate and private key, very similar to what Superfish did on Lenovo computers. For those that aren’t familiar, this is a major security vulnerability that endangers all recent Dell customers.

Was it Lenovo that started shipping malware with Superfish? This is just another reason to always go Mac—it runs Windows too if needed, but without all that crap to worry about.

via @wojtaszek

CSSGram—Reacrete Instagram Filters with CSS →

November 23, 2015 · 10:50

Una Kravets:

Simply put, CSSgram is a library for editing your images with Instagram-like filters directly in CSS. What we’re doing here is adding filters to the images as well as applying color and/or gradient overlays via various blending techniques to mimic these effects. This means less manual image processing and more fun filter effects on the web!

This is really well done. Una also includes the ability to choose a sample image—that’s my shot of the Eiffel Tower above.

Siri on CarPlay is Far from Brilliant →

November 23, 2015 · 09:30

Matthew DeBord:

Siri on CarPlay, however, is brilliant. It’s like having K.I.T.T. or J.A.R.V.I.S. or the computer from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” installed in your dashboard. You speak simple voice commands, like “Send a text” or “Find me a Starbucks” and Siri responds. It reads your texts and reads them mellifluously. Its machine brain understands your human diction — better, it seems, in a car.

I had the pleasure of driving a Golf R recently and the whole CarPlay experience is simply terrible. I don’t remember anything as bad—ever—since I started driving cars over twenty years ago. Siri is fine if you only use English, but until she can simultaneously read and listen in at least two languages, I’ll do anything and everything to avoid CarPlay in any future cars I might have.

Twitter Button Changes—No More Tweet Count →

November 21, 2015 · 17:58

Twitter:

The Tweet button counts the number of Tweets that have been Tweeted with the exact URL specified in the button. This count does not reflect the impact on Twitter of conversation about your content — it doesn’t count replies, quote Tweets, variants of your URLs, nor does it reflect the fact that some people Tweeting these URLs might have many more followers than others.

The count was built in a time where the only button on the web was from Twitter. Today, it’s most commonly placed among a number of other share buttons, few of which have counts.

For some odd reason, this change has caused many people to have their panties in a bunch.

My iPad Pro Stops Responding and the Screen is Black →

November 21, 2015 · 05:37

Apple Support:

To get back to using your iPad Pro, force restart it by pressing and holding both the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons for at least ten seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Apple is aware of this issue and is investigating.

Connected my iPad for its first charge when I went to sleep. Got a black screen. Had to force a restart. Not cool.

The Panerai Steals the Show →

November 20, 2015 · 23:04

TimeCaptain:

Believe me, I know how you feel. You have built up a respectable timepiece collection. Your collection includes a few fairly expensive pieces — possibly a Rolex Submariner or an Omega Planet Ocean, but something is missing. You realize it when you’re at a cocktail and some guy shows up wearing a Panerai Luminor. Sure, there are many more expensive pieces at this cocktail- plenty of Rolex Daytona and a couple of Patek Philippe Aquanaut pieces. But that Panerai steals the show. It looks…awesome. You don’t know exactly which model it was, but you know you cannot rest until you have your own Panerai.

His words express my thoughts perfectly.

Swiss Watch Sales—Biggest Decline in Six Years →

November 20, 2015 · 18:22

Corinne Gretler for Bloomberg:

Swiss watch exports had their biggest decline in six years in October, led by a 39 percent slump in shipments to Hong Kong, the industry’s largest market.

I have an Apple Watch. My wife has an Apple Watch. So does her sister and many of my friends. But I also have a nice mechanical watch at home, hidden from sight while I work on my fitness and health, trying to close the circles each day.

I was at London Heathrow yesterday and I happened to come across a shop which had Panerai’s1 among many other fine brands. Now I desperately want one. I don’t know why, but I simply love these precise mechanical pieces of art.

  1. Technically, they’re not Swiss. ↩

iFixit tears down the Apple Pencil →

November 20, 2015 · 18:01

iFixit:

What is this—a logic board for ants? Not quite, but weighing in at a whopping 1.0 gram it’s definitely the smallest we’ve ever seen.

Waiting for mine to arrive which should take only 4-5 weeks, which means that I have to make do with iFixit’s excellent teardowns.

Instagram Kills Off API; Still Doesn’t Have an iPad App →

November 19, 2015 · 15:32

Josh Constine:

Instagram is shutting down its feed API to make feature development nimbler and create a more consistent user experience.

Apple has introduced the iPad, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, and iPad Pro since 2010. Instagram still hasn’t gotten around to publishing a universal app for both iPhone and iPad, and they debuted on the App Store in October, 2010.

Header image: Instagram at 1x on iPad Pro.

Google Engineer Warns Not to Use OnePlus USB to USB Type C Cable →

November 19, 2015 · 12:49

Benson Leung:

It is not spec compliant (uses a 3A identifier resistor instead of the “Default USB Power” one), and may cause damage to your charger, hub, or PC USB port if you use it with Chromebook Pixel, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X.

I have one of these and have been using it to connect my Apple TV 4 and MacBook Pro to record video. No damage so far, but I’m having second thoughts now…

Apple and Google Pressured for Encrypted Data Access →

November 19, 2015 · 12:39

Tiffany Kary and Chris Dolmetsch for Bloomberg:

“The line to protect the public should not be drawn by two companies who make smartphones,” Vance said Wednesday at a cybersecurity conference in New York where he unveiled a 42-page white paper on the issue. His plan would require companies to download data for investigators with a warrant, rather than providing the government with a “backdoor.”

I’m extremely proud of the companies who draw the aforementioned line in the sand. It will be a sad day when Apple, Google, and others, stop caring for their customer’s privacy—I truly hope it never comes to this.

Also, these requests seem especially absurd since the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks were using unencrypted methods of communication.

Polish Embassy: There were no Polish concentration camps in World War II →

November 19, 2015 · 12:28

Embassy of the Republic of Poland:

Although the article makes clear who the victims were and who the perpetrators were, the author uses the phrase “Polish” camps to describe Nazi-run institutions. It is simply not right to employ such a phrase…

“There were no Polish concentration camps in World War II. Auschwitz and other such camps in Polish territory were operated by German Nazis.”

iOS 9.2 Beta 4—What’s New?

November 19, 2015 · 12:00

Apple released iOS 9.2 beta 4 yesterday, adding few new features and instead focusing on bug fixes. The most notable features were added in beta 1 to Safari View Controller: Action Extensions and the ability to long press the reload button to either reload the page without content blockers or to request the desktop version of the site.

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