MWC-Restrictions Due to Coronavirus; Samsung Unpacked Virus Precautions; Impact on iPhone Production; Tesla Patents Touchscreen Steering Wheel; Facebook Grabs Computer Vision Startup

Some major exhibitors have pulled out of the big Mobile World Congress in Barcelona due to coronavirus worries. Techcrunch.com notes that ZTE, LG, Nvidia, and Ericsson have bailed out. MWC has banned visitors from Hubei province, where the virus is thought to have started. Travelers from China will have to prove they have ben out of the country for over 14 days with a passport stamp or health certificate. MWC will utilize temperature screening as well.

Samsung Unpacked is continuing as planned, but with some modifications due to the coronavirus. 9to5google.com says there will be hand sanitizer stations throughout the venue, and thermal imaging cams will be at all entrances to detect fever. Samsung will also have face masks available. They also have medical workers standing by.

A lot of analysts are trying to determine the impact of the Coronavirus on production coming from China. According to most, authorities there aren’t going to let Foxconn open its Shenzhen facility today. Earlier reports from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and others have said that could start having a serious impact on Apple’s iPhone production. It may mean shortages of the so-called SE2 or iPhone 9. One bright spot….a second source besides Kuo has now confirmed a $399 base price for the entry level iPhone. That one comes from Fast Company. Foxconn has said most of the workers have returned, and that the plants have been inspected, but there are differing reports on their getting permission to restart. Right now, production has been delayed by ‘at least several days.’ Another Apple supplier in Shanghai, Pegatron, has already resumed work, but Pegatron has not been able to restart their Kushan plant yet…they haven’t received government permission either.

Patents are issued all the time, and a number never see the light of day. Here’s an interesting one from Tesla. Electrek.co says the have patented a steering wheel with small touchscreens and haptic feedback. One screen, on the bottom leg of the wheel, would replace the gearshift stalk…you would just touch the appropriate spot. Other screens on the left and right legs of the wheel would have a menu of controls. Tesla indicates that this would likely not be implemented until the cars are fully self-driving. The patent even includes gestures as well as touching with the haptics. It would sense the user’s digit approaching a control before it was touched!

Facebook has acquired Scape Technologies, a London based computer vision startup. According to techcrunch.com, the company has been working on ‘location accuracy beyond GPS.’ The tech was initially aimed at augmented reality apps, but also could be used in mobility, logistics, and robotics. The company claims they intend to enable any machine equipped with a camera to ‘understand its surroundings.’

Nintendo Switch Delayed by Coronavirus; Facebook Demands Clearview Stop Scraping; Apple’s ‘CarKey’ Feature for iPhone & Watch; Teens Outsmart Instagram

Earlier, there was some speculation that the coronavirus outbreak in China might delay the freshened, smaller iPhone this spring. Now, geekwire.com reports that production of Nintendo Switch units and some accessories actually HAS been delayed due to the virus. The accessories include JoyCon Controllers and a game- Ring Fit Adventure. Nintendo didn’t say how long they expected the delay to last, but said the initial impact would be to devices shipped to Japan and also other places in China.

We’d all love to tell Facebook, Google, and the rest to stop scraping OUR data! Now, Facebook has sent a case and desist letter to facial recognition startup Clearview AI to stop scraping their (our) data! According to engadget.com, Facebook joins Google and Twitter in the C&D. Facebook also includes subsidiary Instagram in its demand. Clearview has apparently been scraping billions of images from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube without consent to build out a giant facial recognition database, which it then makes available to around 600 police agencies in North America. The startup claims its tech is 99.6% accurate in identifying individuals. So far, no tech has been over 85-90%, and their claim is unverified. In an interesting twist, Facebook board member Peter Thiel was an early investor in Clearview AI. Venmo has also sent a cease and desist to the startup.

In the beta for iOS 13.4 that just went out to developers, eagle-eyed programmers have spotted references to a ‘CarKey’ API, which would make it possible to use an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock, lock, and start your car! 9to5mac.com says this goes beyond most car apps. I already have an app for my car that can start and stop it, lock and unlock it, etc. from my phone. What’s different about Apple’s CarKey is that it will enable using CarKey in NFC compatible cars that would let you just hold the device near the vehicle to use it as a key. You won’t have to use FaceID like with Express Transit Cards. It will EVEN work with and iPhone or Watch that has a dead battery! The pairing is don’t through the Apple Wallet app, which will need to shake hands with the car manufacturer’s app first. The CarKey will live within the more secure Wallet App on both the phone and Watch.

Even the biggest company with a raft of good programmers can be outsmarted by clever kids. Apparently, teens have been using group accounts on Instagram to feed randomized data to the social network and protect their privacy. Cnet.com reports that the teens are relying on a sophisticated network of trusted Instagram users to post content from multiple different devices, from multiple different locations. Facebook said that this method was not against its policies, but didn’t recommend it to people because of security concerns. Nearly everything you do online is tracked. Tech giants like Facebook and Google follow what you do on their services, as well as off. It’s why you might start seeing more posts related to puppies on Instagram after purchasing dog food on Amazon, for example.

Alphabet Rakes in Increased Cash; Foxconn-Coronavirus ‘Fairly Small Impact’; Toyota & Panasonic Partner on EV Batteries; Cards Against Humanity Buys ClickHole

Google parent Alphabet blew past earnings estimates this week. Zdnet.com reports the tech giant pulled in $15.35 a share, up 17% over the previous year. Analysts had expected $12.59 a share. Google Cloud passed $10 billion in annual income for the first time. YouTube was already over $15 billion. Advertising continues to be the big cash cow, with $37.9 billion raked in 4th quarter, and $134.8 billion for the 2019 fiscal year. My Dad used to say with big numbers ‘It’s not very much if you say it real fast.’ I don’t care how fast you say it, $134 billion is a hell of a lot of cash!

Foxconn, which builds the lion’s share of iPhones and other devices for Apple, says they have seen a ‘fairly small impact’ from the coronavirus thus far. According to macrumors.com, Foxconn has warned that there could be a ‘big impact’ to iPhone production if the government of China forces factories to stay closed for another week or more. Foxconn has stopped ‘almost all’ its production in China through February 9th as commanded by the government, but has been able to cover the lost production with their facilities in Vietnam, India, and Mexico so far. A continued closure of Chinese facilities might impact the start of the new cheaper iPhone SE 2 or 9 or whatever it’s called. Apple will probably keep their schedule anyway, but there may be shortages of the cheaper phone for a while.

Toyota and Panasonic have partnered to develop and manufacture batteries for EVs. Engadget.com says the new entity will be called Prime Planet Energy and Solutions, and will begin building square-shaped prismatic cells by April 1st. Toyota will hold 51% of the battery operation, and they will employ around 5100 people at the start. The entity will make batteries for other carmakers besides Toyota, and they plan to develop new types of power cells moving forward…including ones that are more environmentally friendly.

Cards Against Humanity has bought Clickhole from G/O Media, owner of The Onion, Gizmodo, and Deadspin. According to cnet.com, Cards will turn majority ownership of ClickHole.com over to its employees. The site will continue to function independently, and employees there won’t be writing any of the game companies famous (or infamous to some) cards.

I’m Clark Reid

Possible Video Leak of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip; Huawei Outsells Apple in 2019; iPhone Q1 Shipments Down 10% Due to Coronavirus; Amazon Ring- Opt Out Of Police Partnerships

Over the weekend, a video leaked out that seems to show the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip being opened and closed. Businessinsider.com reports that the brief video was first posed by aTwitter user, @BenGeskin, yesterday. The Twitter account claimed it was the ‘first hands on video’ of the Z Flip. The clamshell type flip phone looks about like a large smartphone when open, and is a bit smaller than a wallet closed. The outside screen is really more of a tiny display of the time, etc…not really capable of displaying more than a line or two of text. The inside screen looks beautiful, and even when the user puts a thumb on the area of the hinge to close it, you don’t really see a seam or wrinkles. As we reported last week, the Z Flip will apparently be priced at a wallet deflating $1400.

Huawei was able to outsell Apple in 2019 and vault into second place in the global smartphone race. According to arstechnica.com, Huawei has 16-17% annual growth right now. Samsung is still #1 with 20% of the market, with Huawei now at 16%, Apple at 13%, and Xiaomi and Oppo holding about 8% each. Huawei has primarily made inroads in their home market of China…which has been good for them, since the US Huawei export ban means US companies can’t do business with them right now, effectively collapsing their US market.

Well known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says to look for iPhone shipments to fall 10% in the 1st quarter, due to coronavirus. 9to5mac.com says Kuo also says the 2nd quarter production might be iffy as well. Kuo looks for 36-40 million iPhones this quarter. If second quarter is actually affected, it could crimp the rollout of the smaller iPhone, known right now as the SE 2 or iPhone 9…and could even impact production ramp-up for the iPhone 11 models due out in September. The tariffs in addition to lesser demand in China saw total smartphone shipments to that country down as much as 60% year over year over the New Year holiday period.

More and more people have gotten leery about the surveillance society, and particularly since last year, it was uncovered that Amazon had cut deals with numerous law enforcement agencies to allow access to your Ring doorbell videos. According to mashable.com, you will now be able to opt out of all video request notifications from law enforcement, add or remove shared users from your account, and see your two factor authentication settings. This has been more of an issue with the Ring than some others, since all Ring video is uploaded to the cloud. I purposely bought a different brand that only saves locally and on your phone, but has no cloud storage (or annual fee for same!) In the new Ring update, you will be able to see an ‘Active Law Enforcement Map’ clarifying which local institutions are part of the Neighbor Portal network. The control center update should be rolling out on both iOS and Android in the next few days.

I’m Clark Reid

Switch Numbers Drive Nintendo; Facebook Earnings Beat; Seattle: Tax Amazon & Microsoft for Homeless; Apple- High End Headphones, Wireless Charger, Tag Trackers Coming

Nintendo is upping its profit forecast for the fiscal year that ends March 31st. Venturebeat.com reports that the company sees its operating profit hitting $2.75 billion, up from an earlier projection of $2.38 billion. The Switch continues to drive Nintendo…by December, they had sold 52.5 million to date. Software hit 310.6 million. For comparison, the Wii U only sold 13.56 million units, and 103 million copies of software. Nintendo says the Switch Lite thus far hasn’t cut in to sales of the Switch. By the end of the fiscal year, they expect to sell 19.5 million Switch systems, with 5.2 million of those being the Lite.

With all the bad PR over misinformation and poor protection of user privacy, Facebook has had a rough year. According to cnet.com, it has hit the bottom line. Facebook beat earnings expectations, but profit dipped due to rising expenses. The social network took in $21.08 billion in the last quarter of 2019, surpassing the $20.89 estimate analysts had expected. Revenue grew 25%, down from a 30% rate in the last quarter of 2018. Full year profit was down 16% to $18.49 billion, while expenses were up 51%. A bright spot for Facebook…active users grew to 2.5 billion in the 4th quarter, up 8% over 2018.

Homelessness has been a problem for decades, but the tech era has really caused it to explode…especially in tech heavy areas like the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. Now, geekwire.com says Washington state lawmakers are considering a regional tax that would rake in $121 million a year from the Seattle area’s largest employers, including Microsoft and Amazon, aimed at easing homelessness. The bill would let King County tax payroll at large companies with employees earning more than $150,000 per year. The funds would be directed to affordable housing, homeless services, behavioral health treatment, and other programs to help the homeless population. It’s unclear after 2018’s head tax fight if the bill will pass, or how much pushback it will generate from Big Tech, but the problem certainly isn’t going away, and this is one possibility for easing it.

We are expecting the successor to the iPhone SE this Spring, as well as updated MacBook Pros and Airs, and iPad Pros. Even with all that in the pipeline, Apple is busy working on extras besides phones and computers to try to get you shouting ‘take my money’ and waving cash in the air. Theverge.com reports that after blowing up the expected AirPower wireless charger in the Fall, Apple will take another swing at a new ‘smaller’ wireless charger. It isn’t known if it will be aimed at charging multiple devices simultaneously like the AirPower, and there are plenty of these out already, but Apple can always count on a certain number of fanboys and girls to buy only stuff with their logo on it…for more money! Also apparently in the pipeline is a set of ‘high end Bluetooth headphones’. These will reportedly be Apple-branded, NOT Beats-branded. With all the success Apple has had with AirPods and the AirPods Pro, it isn’t surprising that Cupertino wants to cash in on over or on-ear headphones, too. Rumors are unclear if they will be noise cancelling models at this point. Also expected…Apple Tag or AirTags…Tile-like bits that use Bluetooth to track easily lost items. I knew a guy who could have really used these…he was constantly misplacing his glasses, wallet, and keys. OTOH, if you also misplace your iPhone, AirTags or Tile won’t do you a heck of a lot of good!

I’m Clark Reid

Apple Grows User Base, Makes Bank (Again); Google Translate Getting Audio Transcription; Cadillac Enhances Super Cruise; London Deploying Live Facial Recognition

Apple released their numbers yesterday, and as you might expect, made a bundle of dough in the holiday quarter. Appleinsider.com reports that Apple had an 8% revenue growth year over year, raking in $91.8 billion. That’s a huge number, but the real eye-popping number was the installed user base. Apple now has over 1.5 billion active devices in use by customers around the world, up from 1.4 billion a year ago! Bumping up by 100 million in a year is a pretty sweet jump for Cupertino. CEO Tim Cook also noted that it was Apple’s 5th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth outside iPhone sales, and they set a new record for growth in services. More than ever, they are proving that they are not just an iPhone company.

A new feature is coming to Google Translate that will make it more useful than ever. Google will be adding transcriptions in the next few months…at least on Android versions. As is common, iOS will get the feature later down the road. According to mashable.com, the feature will be similar to the real-time transcription in Google’s Recorder app, but will be translating the speaker’s words (in whatever specific language) as opposed to simply transcribing them. Unlike the transcription feature, the translation and transcription will be done in chunks instead of word by word, so the software can process what is said and make sense of the translation…much like a human translator does when translating speeches of world leaders…there is a bit of a delay. Maybe Apple can license some of the tech…their visual voicemail has enough trouble trying to transcribe calls in English without making absolutely laughable gibberish a lot of the time!

It won’t be retroactive, like Tesla’s software updates to its Autopilot, but Cadillac will be rolling out models with Super Cruise that will be able to change lanes automatically much like Tesla has had for a while now. Techcrunch.com says the update will be available on 2021 CT4, CT5, and Escalade models that will bow later this year. Much like Tesla’s, the software will note that you have signaled, and check on distance between you and the car in front, oncoming traffic, etc and then execute the pass. Caddy has also made some changes to the UI, and added better steering control software and better HD map info that should make the whole process pleasant.

London Metro police will be adding live facial recognition systems to their sensor collection to spot wanted persons walking through targeted areas. Arstechnica.com reports that the system is based on NEC’s NeoFace Watch system and will give the Bobbies the ability to check live footage for people on their ‘watch list,’ including suspects in violent crimes, child exploitation, mission children, and vulnerable adults…’among others.’ The officers monitoring screens will notify officers in the field, who will check out the people spotted. Each department will have what is being called a bespoke ‘watch list’. They claim the system isn’t much different from what’s been used in Vegas for years to spot card counters and others that have been banned from casino gaming floors. As with every other facial recognition system, this one isn’t close to error free, so expect some innocent people being detained, and the like. The long reach of George Orwell continues to stretch into our modern lives.

I’m Big Brother….er…Clark Reid

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip- Cheaper Than New Razr; Clear Your Off-Facebook History; Advanto Shoots for Smaller, Longer Lasting Batteries; Apple- Prelim. Talks With MGM for Movie Library

The Motorola Razr is making some noise with it’s folding format (albeit in flip phone style and tiny outer screen), but now Samsung seems to be about to kneecap the Razr before it even hits the market. 9to5google.com reports that the Razr has basically mid-range specs with a flagship price…$1500! The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will come in at $1400, undercutting it by $100…to say nothing of being $500 less than Samsung’s own Galaxy Fold. Even at that, the price is eye-watering…and hundreds more than the rumored figure of ‘under $1000’ that had been making the rounds. The Z Flip will not only have flagship level innards, but will come in Gold, Black, Purple, and Silver. The silver one is apparently engine turned with a sort of ‘football-like pattern’ on it. The Z Flip will launch on Valentine’s Day for $1400, and may be an AT&T exclusive for a period. It will also be sold unlocked.

A court case set this back a year, but now you should be able to use a Facebook tool to force the social net platform to forget everything it knows about your off-Facebook activity. According to cnet.com, now that the court case that argued valuable evidence would be lost is out of the way, the tool is rolling out globally. If you have it already, on the iOS app go to the menu at the bottom right, hit Settings & Privacy, then Settings, and scroll down to the ‘Your Facebook Information’ header. Then, tap Off-Facebook Activity. If you don’t have it yet, it is rolling out via a silent update, so check back later. **NOTE: You will have to clear this periodically, as Facebook will continue to hoover up your data!

Advanto, a company out of New Orleans, has now pulled in over $18 million in backing to fund their quest to manufacture battery components that will produce more powerful, smaller, and longer lasting batteries. Techcrunch.com says their concepts have now attracted Tony Fadell, the so-called ‘father of the iPod’ and founder of Nest. Advanto claims that by utilizing a silicon anode with lithium ion batteries, they can increase the run time by 10 times, eliminating range anxiety for electric vehicles. There have been 4 stumbling blocks so far in doing this: material expansion, cycle-life, cost, and drop-in manufacturing capability. Fadell says Advanto is the first company to successfully tackle them all, and in addition is using ‘sustainably-sourced’ silicon to fight the environmental effects of our economy’s transfer to electric everything. Time will tell if they really have found the holy grail of battery tech, but getting the interest and money of a big hitter like Tony Fadell is a good indication that they are in the ballpark!

Apple TV+ has a couple of hit shows, and some original movies, but is hobbled compared to Netflix and others with their lack of a deep library. Now, a 2nd report is out (after one in the Wall St. Journal last month) that Apple has had preliminary talks with MGM about an acquisition. 9to5mac.com notes that Netflix had also talked with MGM, but they already have a fat library of films. Besides the library, MGM owns several franchises that could be continued like James Bond, RoboCop, and The Magnificent Seven. MGM believes their content is worth over $10 billion, which is a ton…but kind of a rounding error for Apple. It’s unclear if Apple will go for a back catalog like MGM’s, or stay purely original, but having a solid back catalog may be the only way they have a chance to stay in the game with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

iPhone 12 May Look Identical to 11; GM Dropping $2.2 Billion Building EVs and Self-Drivers; Tesla-Leak Reveals New Hardware Updates, Tinder Panic Button Shares Your Data

Rumors over the last months have had the next iPhones looking like the iPhone 4, with the flat metal wrap around squared edges. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been one that has predicted this. A new rumor from Mac Otakara says the iPhone 12 will have a very similar metal chassis to the 11, but with ‘slightly bowed edges.’ Their sources do confirm the 4 models in 3 sizes: 5.4 inch, two 6.1 inch handsets, and a 6.7 inch screen. Mac Otakara has the biggest phone being taller and slimmer than the current iPhone 11 Pro Max. One detail: no word about the 11’s midnight green continuing, but there may be a new navy blue color, which could be branded ‘phantom blue.’ Word is that Apple was granted a patent for an OLED display with a built in fingerprint reader, but it’s unclear if TouchID will join FaceID in the iPhones due out this September.

We reported on the Cruise Origin last week, the odd (to put it mildly) looking self-driving vehicle from the GM subsidiary. Now, according to theverge.com, GM will be dropping $2.2 billion to retool and retrofit its Detroit area Hamtramck plant to build autonomous and electric vehicles. The factory will build the Origin, and also all-electric SUVs and pickups. GM intends to have 20 electric nameplates by 2023, with the electric pickup out next year. Hamtramck will be GM’s first ‘fully-dedicated’ EV assembly plant. It’s good news for the area, as the General had originally planned to close that factory, which has been building the chevy Impala and Cadillac CT6. The plant employs about 900.

Geeks are always out there, digging through code updates, and finding out things before they are released. Electrek.co says some hackers have discovered new hardware on the way at Tesla via code. The upgrades include new Model S and Model X battery packs, a new suspension update, a new inductive phone charger, new lumbar support (presumably in new seats), and a new charge port type. The seats may only be in Chinese models…all the rest of the features should be worldwide.

Last week, Tinder gave users a ‘panic button’ feature. Sounds like a good idea. Now, it turns out that you have to download Noonlight to use the feature…and thenextweb.com reports that Noonlight is sharing your data with ad tech companies. It is reasonable for Noonlight to gather and share user location, name, phone number, and health related info with law enforcement. Well, after denying it, they admit they are indeed sharing with third party ‘partners’, including Branch and Blaze…companies that connect a user’s behavior across their devices for ‘retargeting’ purposes. Translation: serving you targeted ads! Facebook and YouTube are among the recipients. A panic button is a good thing, but just know you are paying a price to have it.

I’m Clark Reid

GM-Cruise’s First Driverless…Um…Car; Lower Cost iPhone This Spring; Amazon Patents Dalek-Like Delivery Robots; Saudi Prince’s Account Hacked Bezos’ Phone

They aren’t calling it a car, and it sure doesn’t look like one. GM’s Cruise has revealed their first vehicle, which is named the Origin, but which the company so far calls ‘the property.’ Theverge.com got a preview, and in a number of photos and a brief video, you can take a look. My take is that famous designer of iconic GM cars Harley J. Earl must be spinning in his grave like a pinwheel! The doors slide open, and there are a couple bench seats inside for passengers…which face each other. It appears to seat 6. Video screens are above the seating, which can show various things like the pick up or drop off of passengers. There doesn’t appear to be anything like a trunk to store luggage, so it presumably is for short taxi type runs. Cruise says it’s designed for everything to be replaceable, so it can be used over a number of years. The vehicle is about the size of an SUV. There are no pedals, no steering wheel, no controls at all for a human to take over should something go sideways. The running gear and exterior are done by GM, the interior by Honda, and the self driving portion by the Cruise division. If I were predicting, I would predict that there will be a couple more ‘draft’ designs before this hits the streets!

We’ve been reporting that Apple will drop 4 new iPhones this year, including a cheaper model that many have been calling the ‘SE 2.’ Now, 9to5mac.com has picked up a Bloomberg report that the cheaper model will start production next month, and may be out in March…with the other iPhone models coming in September as usual. It will feature Touch ID and not Face ID, and will have the form factor of the iPhone 8…a 4.7 inch screen with a large ‘chin’ and ‘forehead,’ and a single lens camera on the back. The new model will be bulked up with the processor of the iPhone 11…the A13, and will have more memory. Most are predicting it will start around $399. It’s possible they will call it the iPhone 9, since Apple skipped that number a couple years ago.

Amazon has patented delivery robots that can trek around neighborhoods, handling that important ‘last 50 feet’ delivery issue that has many logistics companies attention. Geekwire.com reports that the thing has multiple doors like the Amazon lockers, and the correct one will open for a person to pop out their own package, then the little bot will be on its way to the next drop off. It really does have a creepy resemblance to the lethal Daleks…the evil robots that have haunted Doctor Who for the last 50 years. EX-TER-MIN-ATE!

In other scary Amazon news, a story out in the Guardian yesterday alleges that Jeff Bezos got his phone pwned when he used WhatsApp and communicated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Apparently, the hack happened in May 2018, when Bezos got an unsolicited message from the prince…or at least from some person or persons with control of his WhatsApp account. There was a video file that was later analyzed and said to be ‘highly likely’ to carry malware that allowed ‘large amounts of data’ to be secretly copied from the Amazon CEO’s phone. While the Guardian story shines more light on the mechanics of Saudi cyber-operations, Amazon — and Bezos — had long suspected the kingdom’s involvement in a data breach. In March 2019, following the public airing of Bezos’s extramarital affair, Amazon head of security Gavin de Becker wrote in a piece published by the Daily Beast that “our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information.” Careful about accepting files over your chat service!

6.7 Inch iPhone- Thinner Yet; Cal Uber Drivers to Set Own Pricing; Citrix Pushes VPN Patch; FBI Grabs Data Breach Selling Site

The latest iPhone rumors have a 6.7 inch model that’s been on a reducing plan…it is rumored to be 7.4mm thick, which is 10% thinner than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Macrumors.com also reports that all 4 new iPhones will have OLED displays and Face ID. The smaller 5.4 inch screen model and a 6.1 inch model will have two rear cams, with the other two phones having 3. In addition, the big, 6.7 inch model will have larger sensors for its cams than the 11 Pro Max. We may yet see someday actual phones like the parody one with the entire back covered with camera lenses!

In one response to California’s new gig work law, Uber is going to let drivers increase fares in 10% increments over the base fare set by Uber….for up to 5 times the base price! According to theverge.com, this would create a bidding system where drivers that keep the price down will get the first customers. For now, the test is limited to drivers who are making trips from airports in Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and Sacramento. (Interestingly, this is happening since a major airport van service folded up at the end of 2019…nothing like raising prices when there’s less outside competition!) Uber hopes the new pricing will help them continue to classify drivers as independent contractors, and not employees under the new California law. With Uber’s new system, riders are no longer given an exact price up front…it’s a price ‘range.’ Passengers will also be able to select specific ‘favorites’ and request them again.

Another day, another way for hackers to get into systems. Sigh. Citrix has released some patches for a vulnerability in its Citrix Application Delivery Controller and Citrix Gateway VPN servers. The hold allowed an attacker to remotely execute code on the gateway without a login. There are tens of thousands of known VPN servers, including at least 260 at federal, state, and local government agencies. Arstechnica.com says that at least two VPNs were operated by the US Army! The patches are for versions 11.1 and 12.0, which used to be marketed under the NetScaler name. More patches will be out on January 24th. There are at least 26,000 VPN servers that need to be patched…pronto!

In part of an international operation, the FBI seized and shut down a website called WeLeakInfo. The thieves had sold private user data from over 10,000 data breaches. According to engadget.com, cops in Northern Ireland and the Netherlands hauled in two 22 year olds connected with the site. The site claimed to have over 12 billion usernames and passwords from some 10,000+ breaches at various companies and websites. The operators had organized the info into an easily searchable database, letting users look up and email address and find what passwords, names, phone numbers, and IP addresses were linked. Access by subscription was for as little as $2!