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The Striking-Similarity Edition Thursday, August 22, 2024

Novel Technique Allows Malicious Apps To Escape iOS And Android Guardrails, by Dan Goodin, Ars Technica

The novel method involves enticing targets to install a special type of app known as a Progressive Web App. These apps rely solely on Web standards to render functionalities that have the feel and behavior of a native app, without the restrictions that come with them. The reliance on Web standards means PWAs, as they’re abbreviated, will in theory work on any platform running a standards-compliant browser, making them work equally well on iOS and Android. Once installed, users can add PWAs to their home screen, giving them a striking similarity to native apps.

‘Apple Tried To Scam The Wrong Person’: Customer Says Apple Offered Her $100 Gift Card When She Bought An iPad. Then They Charged Her For It, by Braden Bjella, Daily Dot

The video shows her going through the purchasing process for an iPad on Apple’s education website. When it comes time to check out, it shows that she is getting $100 off of the iPad as part of a “special offer.”

If one scrolls down, it is revealed that the customer will get a $100 Apple gift card. The website appears unclear that one will be charged for the aforementioned gift card.

‘Monument Valley 3’ Will Be A Netflix Game — Perhaps A Dead Canary In The Apple Arcade Coal Mine, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Apple Arcade, on the surface, sounds like exactly what they’re asking for. And it would give Apple device exclusivity. But Apple has botched this. It’s hard to believe, but they have.

On App Stores

Apple’s App Store Head To Leave In Reorganization Amid Global Scrutiny, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Matt Fischer, a vice president who has run the App Store business since 2010, is leaving the iPhone maker in October, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be identified because the changes haven’t been announced. The App Store group is being split into two teams: one overseeing Apple’s own store and another responsible for alternative app distribution.

Stuff

Gemini 2 Duplicate File Finder Review, by Chris Barylick, Macworld

What’s present here is genuinely well-written, sharp, helpful, fast, works well with all kinds of duplicates, and lends a good feature set to the macOS operating system without being overbearing.

Notes

Typing These Four Characters Could Crash Your iPhone, by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, TechCrunch

A newly discovered bug causes iPhones and iPads to briefly crash. All you need to trigger the bug are just four characters.

[...]

Researchers tell TechCrunch the bug does not appear to be a security issue.

Permission To Speak Freely, Siri?, by Joe Rosensteel, Six Colors

Again, the big problem is that Apple’s update has reset the setting on your behalf, and it’s up to you to change it back without any understanding of why Apple wanted to change it, or how your privacy and security is affected if you change it back.

Brad Pitt And George Clooney Wanted Their New Movie In Theaters. Apple Had Other Plans., by David Canfield, Vanity Fair

You want the movie to be seen, and if you maximize the way that people are able to actually see a movie, I think that is good—I watched so many movies that really influenced me on VHS because I grew up in a small town in Colorado, so we just didn’t have those movies in the theaters. But for me, the theatrical experience is still the number one. It’s up to the people that are able to make those decisions to put them in theaters for people to see, and just have the confidence that people will go see them. People want to go to the movies. People love the movies.

Bottom of the Page

Monument Valley 3 may be my very first Netflix game that I will be playing. But, unlike many others, I still am not convinced Netflix is serious about games.

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Thanks for reading.