Tuesday Morning News

Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2018/02/tuesday-morning-news060218/

Following reports from users saying that the display on the iPhone X does not turn on quickly enough to answer calls, Apple has confirmed to MacRumors that it is investigating the issue. The issue has been described as the iPhone X display failing to turn on for up to 10 seconds, which may be all the time needed to miss a call. While I’ve certainly noticed there’s a certain delayed display activation on the iPhone X display that I’ve never seen before on iPhones — kind of like a very subtle fade-in animation — I haven’t come across this issue.

Apple has announced a new cyber risk management solution for the enterprise in partnership with its business partners. Cisco, Aon, and Allianz provide their own expertise, with Cisco providing secure technologies, Aon bringing cyber resilience evaluation services, and Allianz offering cyber insurance coverage. Security is certainly a hot topic these days, with many businesses now focusing on securing their data, instead of leaving it as an afterthought.

A new partnership with US-based CDW helps enterprises deploy Macs and iOS devices into the workplace as part of a new employee choice initiative. Apple’s partnership with CDW lets businesses continue to work with a trusted vendor to procure their hardware and services. An updated Apple at Work website shows off success stories of Apple products in the workplace, including the Queensland Police’s iPad deployment for police officers in the field.

David Pogue’s hands-on with Apple’s HomePod tells us about it’s the speaker, rather than Siri’s smarts. While Siri can certainly do a lot and has plenty of built-in hooks to many Apple services, the personal assistant’s general information knowledge can be lacking when compared to Google’s Home or Amazon’s Alexa. So it’s good news that HomePod is a speaker first, smart home assistant second.

A paywalled Wall Street Journal article summarised at 9to5Mac tells us about the potential of a subscription service for Apple services and hardware. Analyst Horace Deidu says it would smooth out Apple’s revenue stream, removing a lot of doubt for investors about Apple’s financial results based on the quarter and how many people chose to upgrade their iPhones this year. But I’m not convinced about the benefits to end users. Subscriptions aren’t necessarily a good thing, and for big ticket items like Apple hardware, I’m not sure I always want the latest and greatest.

Speaking of subscriptions, Apple has confirmed Apple Music now has 36 million subscribers worldwide. MacRumors notes that’s up from the 30 million reported in September last year, adding that at current rates, Apple Music could eclipse Spotify’s subscriber base within the US this year. Outside of the US it’s a slightly different story, with Spotify’s 70 million paying subscribers being almost double that of Apple Music.

Nike has let loose with perks for NikePlus members, although the rewards seem relatively tame. Nike offers unlockable exclusive Apple Music playlists for reaching certain achievements, or even months of Apple Music from Nike purchases of certain fitness gear.

Secure messaging app Telegram was briefly pulled from the App Store last week after child pornography was reported on the platform. Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller confirmed in an email that Telegram was pulled following verification of the illegal content, and the app was restored after its removal.

Brett Terpstra’s list of great macOS apps for 2017 has something for everyone in almost every category. And if you’re really into computer nerdery, there’s a bunch of apps there for you, too.

The YouTube TV app is now available on the Apple TV. It’s a subscription service that offers the ability to watch and record live TV channels from the US, which pretty much guarantees that it’s basically useless for Australians.

I don’t see the sense in this. TElegram should just have been told to do something about it (which clearly, it did) but what was the point of pulling it from the store? Thats just nuts.

A post was merged into an existing topic: HomePod - Who’s thinking of getting one, and how many?

I figure it’s a “if we leave this app in the store knowing the content that it provides access to, we could be perceived as condoning it”
Just a guess though

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Maybe. I dunno, I use Telegram all the time and I had NO clue there was any of this stuff on it. A new user downloading likely wouldnt notice either. Beats me.

You’re right a new user probably wouldn’t notice. But you’re thinking about this too logically.

What if there was a community of people distributing inappropriate content, who were like “hey, we’re now using X, download it here and post your username to get in”. If you knew about this and didn’t immediately take the only action you could, I’m pretty sure — I’m not a lawyer, but I’m pretty sure — that would be considered complicit in most courts of law.

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UNless you told Telegram to take the offending shit off. Which they did, since the removal was so quick, who even noticed? I guess that makes it a storm in a teacup in any case.

No, maybe you’re right. Apple should absolutely have kept an app distributing child pornography available for everyone to download.

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Now you are just being daft. That is NOT what I am saying at all. I give up. this is just stupid

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In that case there have been times when Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat (to name a few) should have been removed as well as they have all had issues with inappropriate content distribution and probably still do. Also all web browsers should be removed as well.

It’s like charging a gun company for murder or the soft drink manufacturer for you getting fat when you drink so much. Modern society has a habit of trying to dismiss personal accountability and try and blame other people.

Well, if you’re not saying that Apple should have kept Telegram on the App Store for distributing inappropriate content, what are you saying? Because obviously, I’m not picking up what you’re putting down.

That it’s all a storm in a teacup? I’d agree with that - but it has to be a pretty big teacup for Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing to have commented on the issue to a customer.

That Apple should have left the app in the App Store while it contacted Telegram, then twiddled their thumbs until they removed it? See the “complicit” post above.

If you can’t clearly discern the difference between a web browser, social networks, and a secure messaging app in the context of the story, then I’m not sure your comment holds any water.

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I fail to see your point, the issue here is the distribution of illegal pornography, the medium of transmission is immaterial. All of the platforms I mention allow a form (or in some cases multiple forms) of secure messaging and in many cases allow closed groups for the transmission of content to subscribers/members.

While I think it is admirable to stop the scum that distribute this filth I do not think that punishing the developer that wrote the software is the right move. That is no better than trying to punish gun manufacturers for murder or soft drink companies for making people fat.

While I will happily agree that Apple’s enforcement of inappropriate content is inconsistent at best, I have no problems with how they handled this. Instant removal of the app once they verified inappropriate content, alerting the app developers to take action, and notifying the authorities for further investigation. All followed by the restoration of the app once the banhammer had gotten a good workout.

It’s a minor point, but if you look at Telegram’s age rating on the App Store, it’s set by the developers to be appropriate for ages 4+. Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and every other social media app are all 12+, 14+, or 17+, and either include the warning that the app includes infrequent/mild sexual content or nudity, or “unfiltered web access”, in the case of alternative browsers.

If the distribution of illegal pornography was truly the problem, and the medium of transmission didn’t matter, we should probably shut down the internet. Shut it all down.