Follow this link. It will tell you if your account was hacked. There is a box near the bottom that looks like this…
Slashdot has more information here.
Mike Williams
Stolen iPhones
Please Note: The following applies equally to iPads as well.
If your iPhone gets stolen and you’ve done a few simple things — the phone is useless to anyone. The phone cannot be used and wiped without your authorization. The iPhone essentially becomes a brick. The most important thing you can do is to make sure that “Find my iPhone” is turned on.
ZDNet has a pretty good article about how a thief can actually use your stolen iPhone but it requires that the iPhone owner do some pretty bad things.
In order for a thief to get your credentials to unlock the stolen phone you would have to give the credentials to them. Most folks wouldn’t knowingly do that but that is exactly how phishing works.
The best thing you can do if someone steals your phone is for you to conduct all business related to it through the official Apple website portal for iCloud. Do not follow any links in an email or elsewhere. Even if the email looks like it comes from Apple, go over to your browser and log in to Apple’s iCloud website that way.
When someone steals an iPhone, the odds are against them. It is exactly the same as if they’d stolen a brick from a construction site. Of course, most bricks do not have a built in GPS tracker.
If your iPhone gets stolen, play it cool and don’t panic. Instead of thinking about it negatively let’s call it a “forced upgrade.”
An Explosion in Allentown
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A car explosion that rocked downtown Allentown left three males dead, including the likely “perpetrator,” officials said Sunday as federal authorities who are leading the investigation looked ahead to autopsies.
via LNP (paid service)
“We know there’s been a criminal incident,” District Attorney James Martin told reporters at a news conference Sunday. “We have a high degree of confidence that the perpetrator was probably killed in the incident.”
Authorities released no information about the possible cause of Saturday night’s blast, including whether it was a bomb, but Martin said, “Loads of us in law enforcement” are confident “this was A. an isolated incident and B. there’s no continuing threat.”
Quote of the Day
“Marriage is all about everyone being unhappy.” – Paraphrase from John Hodgman’s Podcast Judge John Hodgman.
Magnum P.I. Review
I watched the trailers yesterday and became interested in the Magnum P.I. reboot. I watched the show using the CBS app on the Apple TV but had to use the “Live TV” option which meant I was barraged with advertising. I can’t believe just how annoying the advertising has become. Watch 10 minutes of show and 15 minutes of advertising. Awful.
I’m not sure why producers feel the need to change the sex of an established character like Higgins. Now, Higgins is a female ex-MI6 agent. Ok, but that is pretty weird and completely unnecessary.
In the original version, we all couldn’t wait for the Robin Masters reveal at the end of the series that showed that Higgins is actually Robin Masters. In this reboot, that can’t be the case. Higgins is played by a woman and in the pilot episode, Magnum describes meeting Robin Masters and also how much of a good “man” he is. Man. That means that this reboot will have to re-write original show canon. That means messing with a winning formula and thinking that you somehow know better than the 80’s hit show did.
Let’s talk about Justin Lin for a second. CBS brings him in to do amazing pilots. They hook you like Scorpion did and then when lesser directors take over the reigns, the show goes down hill. Scorpion was cancelled after only four seasons. It almost became cartoonish. Justin Lin is known for the Fast and Furious movies. His story telling is top notch. Having said that, this pilot episode seemed a bit rushed to me. It was like scrunching a 2 hour pilot into an hour and all of the cutting room floor pieces that go with it.
I found myself wondering “how did we get here?” most of the time. Sexual tension between Higgins and Magnum will not be enough to keep people watching. The idea has been done to death. The other show characters seem animated. They are likable but the relationship with Magnum is “too” friendly. If you remember, Magnum’s friends used to roll their eyes…a lot.
I think the pilot was ok. They are spending a crap ton more money on the show than the original did. I don’t believe that will be sustainable for a long show run. I would give it 3 stars out of 5. I would love to be wrong about this one. I don’t believe I am.
I think we’ve already watched the best episode.
Shazam!
Apple bought Shazam and I am very happy about this acquisition. Apple just announced that the deal has been finalized. Shazam identifies a song by listening to what you are listening to and then shows you what the name of the song is and who sings it. It even has a component to it that will show you the lyrics in real time as the song plays.
I’ve been using Shazam since it was first introduced. I can’t tell you how many songs I’ve identified with it. I’ve used it in a car, at the movies, in bars, and in restaurants.
For example, yesterday while I was playing Forza Horizon 3 on my xBox and there was a song playing that I was semi interested in. I used Shazam to find out it was a song called Bury It.
Shazam is a piece of AI that is absolutely useful and shows the true potential of the iOS platform.
Coding Error = Death of 293 Cars
This story isn’t really funny. I’m glad Subaru caught it and quickly fixed it.
I’m posting this story because Slashdot comments make me laugh. Scroll down to the bottom of the article to find the comments.
