The Lighthouse IT Podcast - May 6th, 2022
This week, Matt & Griff discuss Apple's new self service kit, Microsoft's new VPN feature, the collapse of CNN+, the predicted decline of Netflix, the buyout of Twitter, Europe's reaction to that, phone tracking, cereal in orange juice, and more.
Listen here!
News
I've only done this once, but apparently, there's demand
- How about a little Tropicana Crunch?
- Just in time for National OJ Day, Tropicana has taken "Big Milk" and their cereal monopoly head-on (but not designed to be applied directly to the forehead).
- It's cereal. But made for OJ, not milk.
- Honey Almond Breakfast Cereal.
- The company also held a sweepstakes last winter for National Brushing Day for Toothpaste that doesn't interact with OJ.
- #fixTheRealProbz
Apple's self service kit is here, and it's huuuugeeee
- When you rent the service kit ($49) to fix your iPhone 12, 13, or third gen SE, you'll get two massive boxes.
- The first box is 43 pounds, the second is 36 pounds.
- It includes battery, display press, covers, and the screwdrivers needed to repair.
Microsoft's Edge...ing up against the competition with VPN feature
- A support page detailing the "Microsoft Edge Secure Network" feature exposes a new data encryption and online tracking prevention feature believed to be provided by Cloudflare.
- It will be a paid feature, requiring you to sign into a Microsoft account for tracking, but reports are suggesting that you'll at least get 1GB free per month to test it out.
- Shameless plug for Opera, which has had this feature for years built in... for free.
How about a laptop to your face!?
- Or maybe it was for your face?
- Meta's latest VR headset (based on Android), is designed to be a Chromebook/Laptop for your face.
- Includes an outward facing camera to enable "mixed reality" experiences, mixing AR with VR.
- Don't worry, Griff - we're not switching yet as it is rumored that the devices won't support Desktop apps that many businesses rely on.
CNN+ - one month later
- Remember all that money that Warner was dumping into CNN+?
- Did you catch all the ads?
- Well, with the Discovery merger complete and the initial numbers in---
- CNN+ shut its doors on April 30th. Just one month after launching.
- Millions was invested - bringing in new talent and shows to puff the content for the new service.
- Discovery is looking to bolster it's ownership with HBO Max, so all may not be lost/useless.
So, I guess Twitter accepted the deal
- Twitter's board accepted Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter and take it private
- As you'll remember, Twitter's board sought to fend off a hostile takeover by adopting a so-called poison pill.
- The announcement ends a weekslong saga Musk kicked off when he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share, which was his "best and final offer."
- The deal is expected to close sometime in 2022.
The EDPS announced this week that it would publicly pilot its own Mastodon server
- As many people get worried about the Future of Twitter, they have been seeking out open-source alternatives, like Mastodon.
- Seems like the European Data Protection Supervisor is right there with them.
- Dubbed EU Voice, it's a way for European institutions and agencies to talk to the public.
- They area also launch EU Video on PeerTube as a YouTube alternative.
- Will no advertising and no profiling be enough to get people to join them?
A surveillance firm tracked NSA and CIA spies as a product demo
- A little-known Virginia data firm called Anomaly Six, or A6, displayed its surveillance capabilities by tracking mobile phones used by employees of the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.
- They claim to be able to track billions of mobile phones.
- The company reportedly uses highly accurate GPS data purchased from mobile apps to triangulate when and where a specific phone user is at any given time. This, along with other collected data points, allows the company to track 3 billion devices in "real time."
Let customers 'Buy with Prime' on your own site
- Buy With Prime extends the benefits of an Amazon Prime Subscription beyond the bounds of amazon.com.
- This is to compete with their fast growing rival, Shopify.
- Merchants who ship products using Amazon's warehouse and delivery services will be able to add Buy With Prime buttons to their sites.
It seems like Netflix is trying to go out of business
- Introducing an ad tier
- You'll start having to pay for sub accounts if you share your account with people outside of your household
READ MORE & READ MORE & READ MORE
Snapchat's drone called Pixy
- Pixy is a small yellow, hand-sized drone.
- It can follow you around and capture video to send back to Snapchat.
- It's available for $230 this week and is unique because it requires no controller.
- Why? Because the CEO stated Snap's mission changed from being a messaging app to empowering people to express themselves.