Monday, April 1, 2019
Daily News Roundup: Another Day, Another Data Breach (And More from the Weekend)
It’s April Fools’ Day, but you won’t find any fake news here. Today we’ll take a look at the top stories from the weekend, including the demise of AirPower, government malware in the Google Play Store, and more.
Apple News: RIP AirPower, 2017-2019
In a shocking bit of new, Apple announced that the AirPower “project” was dead and the product wouldn’t be released.
- Apple kills AirPower, citing failure to meet the company’s high standards. Wild. [Review Geek via TechCrunch]
- Speaking of things Apple decided to kill, the company also announced that it will be shutting down the Texture app on May 28th. It bought this magazine curation app last year, which it then rolled into what we now know as News+. [PC World]
- The company also lost the engineer who led the design of every internally-made chip from the A7 to the A12x. [CNET]
- In happier news, it looks like Apple is gearing up to add Chromecast support to Apple Music. It’s nice to see the company embracing things outside of its own standards. [9to5Google]
It’s unusual to see Apple announce a product while it’s still being tested and designed, and it’s even more unusual for the company to backtrack and cancel and already-announced product. But that’s exactly what happened with AirPower.
You may be curious why AirPower was canceled, even though there are dozens of other multi-device charging pads on the market. The answer is simple: Apple wasn’t satisfied with the status quo and wanted to do something better with AirPower. While most multi-device wireless charging pads have very specific charging spots (where the induction coils are found), Apple wanted AirPower to work in a way that would offer a better experience.
Instead of having to put the phone (or other device) into a specific spot, the company wanted overlapping induction coils so you could just toss your phone, watch, or AirPod case down anywhere and charging would start. No fiddling with finding the exact spot for each device—just a fluid, intuitive experience. It sounds great…on paper, at least.
It turns out it was much harder to execute than the company imagined, and after well over a year of testing, finally proved to be impossible given the company’s high standards. It’s a bummer, no doubt, but I respect them for knowing when to fold ‘em.
Google News: Hey Government, Get Your Malware Out of my Play Store!
In news that we only wish was an April Fools’ joke, a new type of government malware was discovered in the Google Play Store. Also, Google’s goo.gl URL shorter is dead, a new Nest smart display was leaked, and more.
- Motherboard worked with a non-profit research company called Security Without Borders to uncovered a new type of government-backed malware in the Google Play Store. The entire story is fascinating. [Motherboard]
- Google’s goo.gl link shortening service, originally announced in 2009, has now reached its end of life. Existing goo.gl links will still work, but new ones can no longer be created. [Android Police]
- Google accidentally leaked a new product from Alphabet-owned Nest: the Hub Max, a 10-inch smart display with a camera. The leak has since been pulled. [Android Police]
- Firefox and Edge users can now use USB security keys to log into their Google account. This functionality was previously only possible in Chrome. [Engadget]
- In Chrome 75, the first run setup screens got a makeover, which includes setting up dark mode and applying a wallpaper to the start screen. [Techdows]
- Gmail turns 15 years old today! To celebrate, Google is introducing new features, like the ability to schedule sending emails. [Google Blog]
- Google stopped selling the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, leaving only the 3 and 3 XL in the store…for now, at least. Sometimes tells me this is a move to get ready for the upcoming 3a and 3a XL. [Android Police]
- In Android news not directly related to Google, Samsung has promised monthly security updates for the Galaxy S10 family. It also moved a number of other devices, including the S7, to a quarterly update schedule. [Android Police]
Google has protection against malware in the Play Store by way of Google Play Protect, which finds and removes quite a bit of malware every day. But as it’s been proven time and time again, it’s not perfect. This new malware uncovered by Motherboard is proof.
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How to Change the Color of Lights in the Home App for iPhone and iPad
You can do all kinds of great things to make your home look, sound, and feel just how you like with the Home app. If your home has color-changing light bulbs, here’s how to pick the right color for your mood.
After a somewhat slow start, HomeKit is starting to show some of the promise we always knew it had. Its logo is now starting to crop up on the boxes for smart home products from many manufacturers both large and small. That’s great for consumers, but smart homes can be costly. Smart bulbs are a great way to get started without breaking the bank.
Because HomeKit ties into your light bulbs at a deep level, you can use the Home app on your iPhone or iPad to control not just whether the light is on or off, but also what color it is, too.
Using the Home app to Change the Color of Your Lights
To start, open the Home app and locate the light that you want to interact with. If you just want to turn the light on or off, tap it. If you want to change the color, tap and hold, and then choose the “Color” option at the bottom.
The next screen shows a collection of color options, but if you’d prefer more fine-grained control over the color, tap the “Edit” button.
There are now two options to choose from, both at the bottom of the screen. If you’d like to select a color temperature, tap “Temperature.” If you’d rather select a color, tap “Color.” Either option will show a color wheel that can be tapped to select a new color.
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How To Use YouTube’s New Creator Studio
YouTube’s new Creator Studio has left beta and is now set the default studio for all users. It’s laid out much differently and has a lot more features and analytics for you to peruse.
The Dashboard
The dashboard isn’t too useful in its current state. Right now, it just shows how well your latest video is doing, as well as an overview of your channel is doing. There are more cards for YouTube news and its Creator Insider newsletter, which feels like it’s just taking up space.
Hopefully, YouTube will add more cards and the ability to customize the dashboard in the future. Until then, you’ll likely want to move further down the sidebar to find anything useful.
The New Analytics Page
Perhaps the biggest and best change in the new studio, the Analytics page is a significant upgrade from the awful analytics YouTube used to have. The old analytics were not very detailed and took a day or two to update. The new analytics update mostly in real time, faster than the video’s view count. Anything that isn’t real-time updates by the hour, except for revenue which usually takes a day to figure itself out.
The overview page is the first thing you’ll see. This shows basic stats about your channel in a graph over time. The default period is “Last 28 Days,” but you can change the timeframe from the menu in the top right corner.
The graph itself is split into four tabs, which you can switch between as you choose. All of the other analytics pages are laid out the same way, with multiple graphs about each topic. You can also hover over the graph to view the specific stats for that day.
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