AirPlay 2 brings HomePod stereo pairs and multi-room audio to iOS 11.4
Today sees the release of iOS 11.4 and with it Apple is adding AirPlay 2. This brings some important changes to HomePod, including the stereo pairing option that was missing at launch.
AirPlay 2 also adds multi-room audio to HomePod, bringing Apple's smartspeaker in line with Amazon Echo and Google Home. Other new features of iOS 11.4 include the ability to access iMessages via iCloud on any Apple device.
PUBG sues Epic over similarities between Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Bluehole's PUBG -- the company behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds -- is taking Epic Games to court, alleging that Fortnite's Battle Royale mode violates the copyright of its own game.
Both Fortnight and PUBG have proved to be incredibly popular games, and Bluehole's PUBG has made no secret of the fact that it believes Epic has drawn a little too much inspiration from its own game.
Ghostery makes a huge privacy gaffe when emailing customers about GDPR
Ghostery is a company rooted in privacy, so that the firm should accidentally reveal users' email addresses would come as something of a surprise. Over the weekend, however, this is exactly what happened.
The company -- as many others have been doing recently -- emailed its users with details of its updated privacy policy that complies with GDPR. Unfortunately, the message exposed the email addresses of hundreds of customers as the company failed to make use of the BCC field.
Canada: Bank of Montreal and Simplii Financial hit by hackers
Over the weekend, the Bank of Montreal and Simplii Financial both issued statements indicating that they had fallen victim to hackers. In the case of Simplii Financial, around 40,000 customer accounts have been affected, but numbers have not been revealed for the Bank of Montreal.
Both banks' statements indicate that they were contacted by "fraudsters" on Sunday, May 27, but it is not clear whether the two incidents relate to the same group.
How to check which of your conversations Alexa has been recording -- and delete them
There was concern recently when a couple of Alexa users found that the smart assistant built into their Amazon Echo had not only recorded a conversation they had been having, but had sent it to an acquaintance.
Since this story broke, it is entirely understandable that other people who have Alexa listening in the background are worried that something similar could happen to them. If you want to check whether Alexa has been secretly/inadvertently recording you (delete according to your prejudices), we can show you how. If you find any recordings you want to ensure no one else hears, you can also delete them.
Pandora launches unlimited Premium Family plan for $15 per month -- with a 60-day free trial
With so much choice in the field of streaming music, any package on the market has to offer something special to stand out from the competition. Looking to better compete with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify, Pandora has launched a new Premium Family package.
The new package offers unlimited access to all of Pandora's premium features for up to six people. The price is just $15 per month, but there's a 60-day free trial available so you can try it out for size first.
Trump to hit ZTE with $1.3 billion fine before it can operate in the US again
Having slapped Chinese company ZTE with a denial order which significantly hampered its US operations, President Trump has said that the firm will pay a $1.3 billion fine and change its board and management in order to continue to operate within North America.
ZTE had complained that the denial order was unacceptable, and Trump has more recently indicated a desire to get the company "back into business". Now it seems that the president has come up with a deal that involves the Chinese telecoms firm not only making security guarantees, but also buying components from US companies.
Apple to add details of government app takedown requests to transparency report
Apple has announced that it is to expand the scope of its twice-yearly transparency report. Starting with one of its next report -- the one which will cover the period July 1 to December 31, 2018 -- the company will share details of government app takedown requests.
The announcement was tucked away in the latest transparency report, in which Apple shares details of "Government and Private Party Requests for Customer Information". The company says that it takes the protection of user data very seriously, and this addition to the report sees Apple demonstrating this by providing even more information.
Avast fixes the issue that caused problems with Windows 10 April 2018 Update
It's just a couple of days since Microsoft temporarily disabled Windows 10 April 2018 Update on PCs running Avast antivirus. Just as with certain SSDs, a compatibility issue was making the update problematic.
But now Avast says it has identified the issue and is working to push out an update to people that will avoid the problem. The company also has instructions for people whose computers have been left sitting in a blue screen state.
Amazon Echo secretly records couple's conversation... and then sends it on to a contact
There have long been accusations that digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri are constantly listening in on and recording conversations, and recent events in Portland, Oregon are simply going to serve as extra fuel for conspiracy theorists.
A couple were disturbed to find that Alexa not only recorded a private conversation they had in their house, but then sent it on to a colleague as a message. Danielle says she and her husband felt it was "a total privacy invasion", and it is unlikely that Amazon's explanation will do anything to encourage her to use her Echo every again.
PayPal now offers payments in Gmail, Google Pay, YouTube and more
PayPal has extended its partnership with Google so it now offers more payment options to its customers.
By integrating more deeply with Google, PayPal now allow you to seamlessly make payments in the likes of Gmail, YouTube, Google Pay and Google Store. As there is support for any service that makes use of Google Pay, users will also be able to make peer-to-peer payments.
Some US websites are blocked in the EU as GDPR day arrives
It has been impossible to avoid stories about GDPR over the last few weeks and months, and today the new rules regarding privacy and personal data come into force across the EU.
Inboxes across Europe have been flooded with GDPR-related emails as companies have rushed to comply with the new regulations that require them to seek consent from users to collect data about them. But now GDPR day has arrived, dozens of US websites are blocked in the EU.
New Windows 10 update addresses problems with SSDs
The rollout of Windows 10 April 2018 Update was recently blocked to some computers because of problems with certain SSDs. Now Microsoft has issued an update that addresses the issues.
Releasing the KB4100403 patch, Microsoft says that problems with Intel SSD 600p Series or Intel SSD Pro 6000p Series, and Toshiba XG4 Series, Toshiba XG5 Series, or Toshiba BG3 Series drives, are fixed. After installing it, users should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 April 2018 Update.
Facebook to ask all users to review privacy settings
With the recent scandals involving Facebook coupled with the impending arrival of GDPR in Europe, there has been a lot of talk about privacy recently. Now the social networking giant is to start asking all of its users to review information about privacy and "how to control their experience".
The company says that it introduced updated data policies and made privacy settings easier to find, as well as making other changes, in Europe, and now is rolling out the same things to the rest of the world.
StumbleUpon is closing down -- users can migrate to Mix.com
After 16 years, StumbleUpon is closing down. One of the first high-profile services that gave people a way to discover new websites and online content, it was enjoyed by over 40 million users.
The closure came out of the blue, and was announced by co-founder Garrett Camp in a blog post. He suggests that users might like to migrate to another one of his creations, Mix.com, and says that switching to the newer service has been made "as smooth as possible".
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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