Friday, March 29, 2024

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Google’s Play Store Privacy Changes Won’t Match Apple

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Proposed privacy changes for Android developers will fall short of the protections Apple offers, according to new reports.

Google made headlines when it informed developers it would be changing how privacy is handled. Developers will soon be required to disclose the security features their apps offer, whether an app adheres to Google’s Families policy, if the app’s safety section has been independently verified and if data collection is optional or required.

Despite offering significant improvements over the current privacy protections, Google’s level of protection will still fall short of Apple’s recent moves, according to AppleInsider.

In particular, Google wants advertisers to continue to be able to target ads, as well as quantify how effective those ads are. In contrast, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) is specifically aimed at preventing advertising’s from tracking users.

According to AppleInsider, two Google employees say the company is working to improve privacy, but dragging its feet at the same time. The company clearly has more to lose than Apple, since it makes the bulk of its income from advertising. In contrast, Apple makes the bulk of its money from hardware and paid services, meaning it doesn’t treat people’s data as the product.

Amazon Bans Facial Recognition for Police Use Indefinitely

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Amazon has extended a ban on the use of its facial recognition tech by police until further notice amid ongoing privacy concerns.

Last year, amid a wider backlash against police use of facial recognition, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM announced they would no longer sell their technology to police departments. Clearview AI had already been drawing scrutiny for its shady privacy practices, scraping social media platforms and websites to amass a database of billions of photos it used in its facial recognition platform. The death of George Floyd was the final straw, forcing tech companies to evaluate how their technology was being used.

Facial recognition, in particular, has struggled to ensure fairness and equality. Studies have shown that facial recognition software often has racial biases that unfairly impact people of color. There have been published examples of Black individuals wrongly accused of a crime after being misidentified by facial recognition.

Amazon had initially put a one-year hold on sales of its tech, but is now extending that ban until further notice, according to Reuters. Amazon did not comment on the reasons for the move, but its decision has already been met with support.

“Face recognition technology fuels the over-policing of Black and Brown communities, and has already led to the false arrests and wrongful incarcerations of multiple Black men,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, a deputy project director at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Amazon Offering $9 Billion for MGM

On the heels of news Amazon was in talks to acquire MGM, a new report says the offer on the table is $9 billion.

Amazon is already one of the leading streaming platforms, thanks to its Prime Video service being bundled with its Amazon Prime package. Nonetheless, the company has enjoyed critical and popular success with shows like Bosch and The Man in the High Castle. Reports emerged yesterday that Amazon was in talks to purchase MGM in an effort to boost its content catalog even more.

According to a new report by Variety, Amazon is offering $9 billion to make the deal happen. MGM was reportedly looking for a buyer as early as December, but Amazon has emerged as the front-runner among possible suitors.

MGM has an extremely deep movie catalog, boasting the James Bond franchise, Hobbit, the Rocky/Creed franchise, The Silence of the LambsThe Magnificent Seven and Four Weddings and a Funeral. It’s TV catalog includes the Stargate franchise, FargoVikingsAmerican Gladiators and more.

A successful deal would be a major win for Amazon and give it a leg up in the streaming wars.

Apple Preparing MacBook Pro and Air Updates

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Apple is preparing its next round of MacBook Pro and Air updates, adding a 14 and 16-inch Pro and faster M1 processors.

Apple introduced the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini last November, with all of them sporting the company’s new M1 chip. Based on the same designs that have powered the iPad and iPhone for years, the M1 immediately won rave reviews for its performance and battery life.

The company is now preparing to add a 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro as soon as early summer, according to Bloomberg’sMark Gurman. In a move that’s sure to please Apple’s professional customers, the new MacBook Pros are expected to have a redesigned chassis that will include additional ports, an HDMI port and an SD slot — features that were removed from previous models in some of the company’s most unpopular moves.

The new MacBook Pros will have 10-core chips, eight high-performance and two high-efficiency cores. The chips will be offered in two variations, differentiated by either 16 or 32 graphics cores. The chips will also support a maximum of 64GB of memory, a major upgrade over the 16GB in current M1 models.

An updated MacBook Air is also expected as early as the end of the year, building on the success of the current M1 Air. Gurman’s sources say the MacBook Air’s chip will contain the same computing cores, although they will run faster. The graphics cores will also increase from the current 7 or 8 to 9 or 10.

Mark Gurman is one of the most reliable Apple-watchers. If his sources are correct, the updates will bring welcome changes to Apple’s laptop lines and raise the bar for laptop performance.

WhatsApp Delays Privacy Changes in Brazil

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WhatsApp is delaying rollout of its new privacy policy in Brazil amid pushback from the government.

Facebook caused a firestorm of controversy when it announced it would share WhatsApp data with other Facebook-owned companies. The announcement sparked a mass exodus of users to more privacy-conscious apps, such as Signal and Telegram. While users initially would lose access if they failed to agree to the new policy, Facebook later altered course, saying users would experience limited functionality if they failed to agree.

Governments have joined in the pushback as well, with Germany and India opposed to the move. Brazil joins the list of companies with concerns over the changes. The country’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), national consumer body Senacon, competition watchdog Cade and the Federal Prosecution Service have been in talks with WhatsApp, according to ZDNet.

Under the agreement, users will retain full functionality for three more months, while the Brazilian agencies continue to scrutinize the new privacy policy.

“WhatsApp has informed that it will not close any account, and that no user in Brazil will lose access to the application’s features in the 90-day period after May 15 as a result of the enforcement of the new privacy policy and the new terms of service,” said Brazilian authorities in a statement.

Amazon May Purchase MGM to Boost Its Media Content

Amazon is considering purchasing MGM in an effort to boost its already impressive TV offerings.

Amazon Prime is one of the leading TV streaming platforms, with some 200 million subscribers. The platform has an impressive list of original content, including BoschThe Man in the High CastleThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and more.

According to The Information, via AppleInsider, Amazon is considering acquiring MGM in a bid to further its media library. MGM owns Epix and has a large library of film and TV franchises, such as James Bond, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Shark Tank and others.

It is unclear how far along the discussions are, so it’s possible nothing will happen. Should a deal be reached, however, it could give Amazon a significant advantage in an increasingly competitive streaming TV market.

Apple Music Adding Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio With Dolby Atmos

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Apple Music subscribers will soon enjoy Lossless Audio across the entire catalog, as the company also rolls out Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.

Apple Music is one of the most popular streaming music services, and Apple is bringing some major upgrades to it. Lossless Audio ensures subscribers will hear music the way it was recorded in the studio, while Spatial Audio creates multidimensional audio experiences.

“Apple Music is making its biggest advancement ever in sound quality,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “Listening to a song in Dolby Atmos is like magic. The music comes from all around you and sounds incredible. Now we are bringing this truly innovative and immersive experience to our listeners with music from their favorite artists like J Balvin, Gustavo Dudamel, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, The Weeknd, and so many more. Subscribers will also be able to listen to their music in the highest audio quality with Lossless Audio. Apple Music as we know it is about to change forever.”

Subscribers will need to turn on Lossless Audio in Settings > Music > Audio Quality. 

“The soul and life of the mix is sitting in the extra bits of data that are stored in the lossless file,” said Mastering Engineer Piper Payne. “As a mastering engineer, having the ability to convey the music to the listener at its highest quality is the end goal of what I work for every day.”

Apple says Dolby Atmos tracks will automatically play on all AirPods and Beats headphones that contain an H1 or W1 chip. The latest version of the iPhone, iPad and Mac will also support the feature automatically.

“Today marks the introduction of Dolby Atmos on Apple Music — a new music experience that is transforming how music is created by artists and enjoyed by their fans,” said Kevin Yeaman, Dolby Laboratories’ president and CEO. “We are working with Apple Music to make Dolby Atmos widely available to all musicians and anyone who loves music.”

The new features will be available June 2021 at no extra cost.

AT&T and Discovery Create Joint TV Streaming Company

AT&T and Discovery are joining forces and creating a new company that will combine their media assets to better compete.

The streaming market has become a fiercely competitive one, with YouTube TV, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling, Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Apple spending big bucks to gain subscribers and release original content. For smaller players, like Discovery+ and AT&T’s HBO Max, it can be difficult to compete.

According to The Associated Press, the two companies believe their best option is to combine their media offerings, creating a single company that will open the door to better bundling options. Given the two companies control CNN, Food Network, HGTV, HBO, TBS and TNT, it’s a safe bet subscribers would pay to have a bundle including those channels.

The new company may even be able to offer complimentary plans that fill in holes in other streaming packages offered by other companies. For example, fuboTV doesn’t carry CNN, TBS or TNT, making an affordable add-on package an attractive option for fuboTV users.

If the deal is approved, AT&T shareholders would own 71% of the company, as opposed to Discovery’s 29%. It’s believed the combined company would save some $3 billion annually, freeing up more money for original content.

Provided Discovery shareholders sign off on the deal, it is expected to close the middle of next year.

System76 Launches Open Source Configurable Keyboard

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System76 has unveiled the Launch Configurable Keyboard, an open source, customizable keyboard with cross-platform support.

Computer keyboards are often a very personal choice, with some preferring mechanical keyboards, futuristic options or highly ergonomic designs. Some prefer non-QUERTY layouts that offer some efficiency and typing speed benefits.

System76 has an innovative solution, with its Launch Configurable Keyboard. The keyboard allows the user to swap out keys, rearranging them to suit their style of typing. Meanwhile, the included software makes it possible to remap the keys so they send the proper signal. The keyboard supports macOS, Linux and Windows.

Place control back into your hands. Remap keys, swap keycaps, and configure multiple layers to your liking. Launch uses only three keycap sizes to vastly expand your configuration options.

The Launch keyboard is sure to be a hit among those that want more control over their typing experience.

Vizio’s Ad Business Nearly Rivals Its Hardware Sales

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Vizio, known for its TVs, is now making nearly as much money off of the data it collects and ads it sells — at the consumer’s expense.

Vizio has a troubled history of collecting data from its smart TV viewers, with the FCC fining it in 2017 for collecting and selling viewer data without consent. Although the company is now more transparent about its practices, profiting off of viewer data has become a major part of its business.

According to the company’s quarterly results, it had a gross profit of $38.4 million for its Platform+ business, the part of its business that collects data and sells advertising. In contrast, the company had a gross profit of $48.2 million from Devices.

Even more telling, Devices gross profit grew 48%, considerably less than the 152% increase in Platform+ gross profits. The disparity demonstrates how the collection of data, and profiting from it, will continue to be a major focus for the company.

While some customers may be ok with their viewing habits data being collected and sold to advertisers, privacy-conscious consumers would do well to choose a different brand, or take measures to disable data collection.