Friday 5 October 2018

The Morning After: Did China hack Apple and Amazon?

Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Friday, October 05, 2018.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Good morning! We’ve got everything you can expect to see from Google’s fancy Pixel event next week (Phones! Hybrid devices!), claims that China performed a ‘hardware hack’ on both Apple and Amazon servers, as well as more details on the first live-action Star Wars TV series.

(View in browser.)

The 'Your Phone' app is just the start.

Windows 10 and Android are now the perfect match

Now Microsoft is moving beyond merely getting its apps on to other platforms -- it's integrating Android in Windows 10 with the Your Phone app, which gives you instant access to your mobile photos and text messages on the desktop.

During its Surface launch event this week, Microsoft gave us a peek at something even more impressive: the ability to completely mirror your Android phone on Windows 10. All of a sudden, there's a much bigger reason for Windows users to avoid the iPhone.

Clear your calendar for 11 AM ET on October 9th.

What to expect from Google’s Pixel 3 event

Who knows, maybe a Google-branded microwave is on its way. There’s no way everything (like Pixel 3, Home Hub, Pixel Slate and new Chromecast) already leaked, is there?

FYI.

Apple’s ‘software lock’ prevents some repairs on iMac Pro, 2018 MacBook Pros

According to MacRumors and Motherboard, anyone doing significant repair work on these systems won’t be able to use the computer until they run the Apple Service Toolkit 2 diagnostic software. For the MacBook Pro that includes "display assembly, logic board, top case (the keyboard, touchpad and internal housing) and Touch ID board," and on the iMac Pro, it's the logic board or SSD. The trouble, it seems, is the custom T2 chip Apple has embedded that adds on-the-fly encryption, but also could lock out DIY or third-party repairs and replacements.

Get 60+ hours of Adobe Photoshop and design training for $39

International intrigue.

Bloomberg claims China carried out a 'hardware hack' on Apple and Amazon servers

According to Bloomberg's anonymous government and corporate sources, 30 US companies fell prey to an "attack" with surveillance chips surreptitiously installed on SuperMicro motherboards to snatch intellectual property and trade secrets. The only problem is that the two highest-profile targets listed -- Apple and Amazon, not to mention SuperMicro itself -- stridently deny anything ever happened.

The first live-action Star Wars TV series is coming into focus.

'The Mandalorian' image, list of directors revealed

A day after we learned the name of the Star Wars TV show that’s destined for Disney's unnamed subscription streaming service, its official website posted an image of The Mandalorian. We don’t know anything about the cast or anything new about the plot, but well-known directors are in the queue, including Dave Filoni (Clone Wars), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do In The Shadows), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates) and Deborah Chow (The High Cost of Living, Better Call Saul, Man in the High Castle).

The 'stealth lock' is a stylish improvement over the original’s chain system.

VanMoof's new electric bike is seriously smart

VanMoof‘s Electrified S2 and X2 are vast improvements on their predecessors, with bigger batteries, nippier motors and smarter locking mechanisms. If you live in a city and fancy commuting on a bicycle, but fear conniving thieves and the potentially sweaty exercise required to reach the office, this could be your savior. During a two-hour test-ride in London, Nick Summers was impressed with the S2's stylish frame, pedal-assisted power and integrated 'stealth lock.' It's not a cheap purchase, but few electric bicycles are at the moment.

The Electrified S2 and X2 are coming to the US, Europe and Japan for $3,398/£3,198, though the company is offering an early-bird discount of $800/£800. These prices, while steep, are roughly in line with other electric bikes.

Anyone can add their shows by giving the platform their podcast's RSS feed.

Spotify opens up its podcasts section to all

Spotify has opened up to podcasters, by letting anyone add their shows to the podcast section. But the platform won't host podcasts directly. Spotify can make new episodes of your podcast available as soon as you upload them to your aggregator or host. All you need to do is provide Spotify with your podcast's RSS feed, much like you would when adding your show to Apple Podcasts or other services.

The victim's heart rate spiked and stopped when she was with the alleged killer.

Fitbit data helps police arrest another murder suspect

Fitbit may have helped police solve the murder of one of its users, after investigators used heart-rate data to determine the identity of the alleged killer. On September 8th, Anthony Aiello visited his 67-year-old stepdaughter Karen Navarra in San Jose. He claims he brought homemade pizza and biscotti for her, and she walked him to the door and gave him a couple of roses as a thank you. But data from Navarra's Fitbit Alta showed a different story, according to investigators.

The data indicated that Navarra's heart rate "spiked significantly," then rapidly slowed and stopped -- all during the 15 minutes or so that Aiello, 90, was in her home.

But wait, there's more...

1. Elon Musk's next move? Teasing the SEC (Shortseller Enrichment Commission) on Twitter

2. US Department of Transportation updates self-driving car rules

3. $65 million in new funding means MoviePass isn't going anywhere just yet

4. D-Wave takes quantum computers mainstream with 'Leap'

5. NASA activated Curiosity's second 'brain' after it misbehaved

6. Nokia's mirror-finish 7.1 phone is coming to the US for $349

7. 'Daredevil' season 3 trailer ushers in the return of Wilson Fisk

8. Lockheed Martin's concept moon lander can carry four astronauts

9. Samsung projects record-high profit for Q3 2018

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Thursday 4 October 2018

Editor's Pick: 6 Surefire Ways Etailers Can Boost Customer Loyalty

6 Surefire Ways Etailers Can Boost Customer Loyalty

Tom Caporaso
Oct 4, 2018 5:00 AM PT

Given today's data and technological advancements, coupled with an abundance of choices for consumers, the importance of loyalty has never been greater. The marketing landscape has shifted as power has moved from sellers to buyers, and businesses have realized a heightened need for customer loyalty. Market fragmentation has dramatically increased competition, magnifying the need for loyalty. [More...]

More Picks:

7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Netflix
We've all been there: scrolling through a seemingly never-ending carousel of shows and movies available on Netflix, trying to find the one thing we might want to sit down and enjoy. Except we often end up spending more time looking for something to kick back and view than actually watching the thing itself. But fear not! You too can optimize your Netflix viewing experience. [More...]

Antergos Softens Arch Learning Curve
Antergos 8.9 is one of the better Arch Linux options. It is a powerful and modern computing platform, elegantly designed. It gives power users almost all they could desire. Arch distros are not for Linux newcomers -- but for seasoned Linux users who are new to Arch, Antergos has much to offer. One of the biggest challenges in getting started with any Arch distro is surviving the installation. [More...]

How to Prevent the Internet From Ruining Your Company's Reputation
When it comes to business, you're only as good as your reputation. Indeed, your reputation is your brand. It is the substance your logo represents; it is the glue in customer brand loyalty. In a word, reputation is everything. Yet it's not entirely under your control. That doesn't mean you are helpless as a victim of false accusations, ratings, or wrongful attacks on your company's character, however. [More...]

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E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Thursday -- October 4, 2018

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
6 Surefire Ways Etailers Can Boost Customer Loyalty
Oracle's Growing Pains
At Long Last, Apple Delivers iPhone Batterygate Fix - and Much More
Dreamforce 2018
5 Reasons the Sales A-Player's Era Is Ending

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Today's Story Highlights

6 Surefire Ways Etailers Can Boost Customer Loyalty

Given today's data and technological advancements, coupled with an
abundance of choices for consumers, the importance of loyalty has never
been greater. The marketing landscape has shifted as power has moved
from sellers to buyers, and businesses have realized a heightened need
for customer loyalty. Market fragmentation has dramatically increased
competition, magnifying the need for loyalty.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85602.html

Oracle's Growing Pains

People at Oracle must sometimes feel like they're living in Mark Twain's
reality. After hearing that his obituary had been published in the New
York Journal , Twain published a quip for the ages when he wrote, "The
reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." So too with Oracle. Ever
since its earnings miss for its first fiscal quarter, a chorus of
financial analysts have predicted doom.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85600.html

At Long Last, Apple Delivers iPhone Batterygate Fix - and Much More

For those of you who have been suffering due to the iPhone's batterygate
problem over the last year, I have great news. Apple finally fixed this
nagging annoyance. Batterygate was a self-inflicted wound for Apple,
caused by a flaw in last year's iOS release, used by tens of millions of
people. The flaw did not affect everyone, but it was a major problem for
many of those who were impacted.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85599.html

Dreamforce 2018

Salesforce has been very good at skating to where the puck will be, to
paraphrase the great Wayne Gretzky. As a result, the company has a long
line of firsts, beginning with its initial disruption and continuing
through its early adoption of social media and analytics. So it's no
surprise that it is pursuing some very different issues now than it did
almost 20 years ago -- or even five.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85596.html

5 Reasons the Sales A-Player's Era Is Ending

Sales talent for a long time has been broken up into three groups: A-
players, B-players and C-players. Everyone loves the A-players --
they're the ones who bring home the bacon, after all. The B-players show
promise and, with the right training and motivation, could become A-
players. The C-players? Well the less said, the better. This simplistic
method of segmenting a sales force has worked for decades, but it dates
to a simpler era.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/85594.html

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