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The Less-of-a-Time-Sink Edition Sunday, January 16, 2022

Apple Support Says iPhone 13 Models Don't Support Noise Cancellation Feature Available In Previous iPhones, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

One of our readers, Steve, shared with us a conversation he had with Apple Support on Twitter. According to him, “after working with Apple and a senior advisor for months saying to wait for an update to fix the issue, I got an update regarding the issue, and apparently, it won’t be fixed and noise cancelation is intentionally disabled for those devices for unspecified reasons.”

Ten Ways To Take Control Of Your Smartphone, by Becca Caddy, The Guardian

Passively scrolling Facebook and comparing your life with other people’s has never been a recipe for happiness. But actively using Twitter for social support can be.

So instead of setting well-intentioned but ultimately unsustainable resolutions or signing up for some kind of extreme “digital detox”, think about changing the settings on some of your apps to make them less of a time sink.

On Security

Backdoor For Windows, macOS, And Linux Went Undetected Until Now, by Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

Researchers from security firm Intezer said they discovered SysJoker—the name they gave the backdoor—on the Linux-based Webserver of a “leading educational institution.” As the researchers dug in, they found SysJoker versions for both Windows and macOS as well. They suspect the cross-platform malware was unleashed in the second half of last year.

Exploiting IndexedDB API Information Leaks In Safari 15, by Martin Bajanik, FingerprintJS

In this article, we discuss a software bug introduced in Safari 15’s implementation of the IndexedDB API that lets any website track your internet activity and even reveal your identity.

On App Stores

Apple Will Allow Dating Apps In The Netherlands To Use Alternative Payment Systems, Developers Must Maintain A Separate App Binary, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Maintaining a wholly separate app binary for one region is not convenient. This obstacle is one way Apple will discourage developers from going down this route; they can avoid all of the inconvenience by continuing to offer Apple In-App Purchase only. Depending on the commission rate Apple sets, it may not be worth it for a third-party developer to offer alternative payment systems at all.

Stuff

Can You Shoot Underwater Photos With An iPhone?, by Jefferson Graham, PetaPixel

If it has to be an iPhone, maybe because your kids or partner is most comfortable with it, I’d buy a used iPhone SE for just over $200, and make that your wet camera. No business, Wi-Fi only, and by picking up the cheapest iPhone, you’re doing fine with the one lens, as you’ll be shooting everything wide anyway.

PocketWell App Debuts To Help Canadian Mental Health During COVID-19, by Gary Ng, iPhone in Canada

The PocketWell app offers new resources, including a self-assessment tool and track that monitors your mental well-being and mood, along with connecting to the WTC portal; the latter offers free confidential sessions with social workers, psychologists and other professionals, via telephone.

Notes

Apple Will Now Require Employees To Submit Proof Of COVID-19 Booster Shot, by Emma Roth and Zoe Schiffer, The Verge

Once an employee is eligible to get a booster shot, they will have four weeks to comply, otherwise, they will need to take frequent tests to enter a retail store, partner store, or Apple office starting on February 15th. Apple will require unvaccinated employees — or those who haven’t yet submitted proof of vaccination — to provide negative COVID-19 rapid antigen tests before entering the workplace beginning on January 24th, although it’s unclear whether this applies to both corporate and retail employees.

‘You May Feel Your Cortisol Levels Declining’: Why Siri Should Be An Irish Man, by Michael Sun, The Guardian

By altering your Siri’s voice setting, you are training your brain to unlearn the coded biases within its subconscious – or at least that’s what you can tell yourself.

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I'm rolling back to Web 1.0, thank you very much.

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Thanks for reading.