President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race sparked discussions on the state of social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter). The panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, and Jim Rea look at use of social media to deliver messages directly, bypassing traditional media filters. The conversation also covered Google’s discontinuation of its URL shortener, reflecting on adapting to tech changes, humorously blending insights on tech, politics, and media intersections. Oh yes, and iPhones are still secure if the OS is kept up-to-date.
MacVoices #24196: Live! – CrowdStrike: How It Happened, Who Is To Blame, What We Learned
The MacVoices Live! panel dives into the CrowdStrike incident, sharing personal experiences with system crashes caused by the system update to Windows. Chuck Joiner, Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby explore the technical aspects of the issue, highlighting the wide-ranging effects on industries like airlines and hospitals. The conversation turns to the inevitable questions of accountability, legal implications, and the necessity for enhanced change management practices to avoid future crises.
MacVoices #24195: Live! – Figma’s Intentions and HomePod Emergency Warnings
Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, James Baraniak, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Mark Fuccio, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, and Web Bixby look at why Sigma’s interface generation tool so perfectly copied Apple’s app, and the questions it raises about AI training, intellectual property boundaries and corporate responsibility in AI use. On a more humorous note (since it had a happy ending), we talk about how a HomePod alerted a family to a kitchen fire started by their dog.
MacVoices #24194: Live! – Android Phone Ban by Microsoft, Stolen Passwords, Free Affinity Apps
A number of tech stories are on the slate for this MacVoices Live! panel. We start off looking at Microsoft’s ban on Android phones in China and cybersecurity implications. Next, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, James Baraniak, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Mark Fuccio, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, and Web Bixby analyze the removal of VPN apps from the Russian App Store and discuss Apple’s adherence to local regulations. The conversation delves into challenges of VPN services in Russia, Android phone security concerns, and other data privacy issues. A collection of hacked passwords, Authy’s phone number breach, and Ticketmaster’s barcode security flaws round out the bad news, while the availability of the Affinity graphics apps for free for a limited time ends the session on a positive note.
MacVoices #24193: Live! – Rabbit Security and Motorola’s Bluetooth Tracker
Lessons in security and privacy that can be learned from the recent security determinations surrounding the much-maligned Rabbit are highlighted by Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Web Bixby, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Jeff Gamet, and Guy Serle. So many were so anxious to try what was the latest device that they didn’t look before they left. The MacVoices Live! panel dig into how it happened and why it shouldn’t be a surprise. To wrap up, we try to figure out what is behind Motorola’s entry into the Bluetooth tracker market.