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The Faulty-Logic-Board-Component Edition Saturday, February 3, 2018

Apple Activates Repair Program For iPhone 7 Models Impacted By 'No Service' Issue, by Mikey Campbell, AppleInsider

Apple on Friday initiated a repair program for iPhone 7 devices affected by an issue that caused a "No Service" message to display in the status bar even when cellular network coverage is available, saying a faulty logic board component is to blame for the error.

[...]

Apple has narrowed the component flaw down to a batch of iPhone 7 units manufactured between September 2016 and February 2018 and sold in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao and the U.S. According to supplied information, model numbers eligible for the repair program are A1660 or A1780 in China, A1660 in Hong Kong, Macao and the U.S., and A1779 in Japan.

Please, Somebody Save The Yo App Before It Dies, by Kerry Flynn, Mashable

Unlike many of the apps these days, they weren't seeking immediate profits, they weren't about making money. It was just a reminder that someone was thinking about you, or they needed you, and we could use our smartphones and technology without being invasive into our own or each other's lives.

4 Tidbits We Learned From Apple’s Record Quarterly Results, by Jason Snell, Macworld

Piper Jaffray’s Mike Olson apparently drew the short straw at the Analyst Club meeting this quarter, so he got to be the one to vainly attempt to get Tim Cook to spill secrets about future Apple products, which Apple, never, ever does.

Cellphones Are Still Safe For Humans, Researchers Say, by Denise Grady, New York Times

Despite years of research, there is still no clear answer. But two government studies released on Friday, one in rats and one in mice, suggest that if there is any risk, it is small, health officials said.

Stuff

iMac Pro 18-core Follow Up Review, by Craig A. Hunter

So in summary, we see performance increases ranging from 27% to 79% for the 18-core iMac Pro when compared to the 10-core model. I suspect many computations and applictions will be in the middle of that range depending on how well they can take advantage of multiple cores, but there will certainly be some hot rod uses that get closer to that 79% end of the scale (and may do even better).

February Apple Watch Activity Challenge Rewards Users With Animated iMessage Stickers, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Apple will soon announce a new Activity Challenge for Apple Watch users, celebrating February as Heart Month. In this latest activity challenge, users must complete their exercise ring ring for seven days in a row, from February 8th to February 14th.

Can't Get Your News From Facebook Anymore? Try These 6 Apps, by Josie Colt, Wired

If you get your news primarily from Facebook, you may notice a growing void in your News Feed in the coming months. Maybe you'll miss interacting with the news like you used to: liking stories, sharing articles, joining the treacherous comment thread your cousin started. Even if you don't miss that stuff, you'll still need to get your news as Facebook begins its reincarnation.

Thankfully, a growing number of news-curating and news-aggregating apps are available either on your phone or through your desktop web browser. I can recommend these six based on their usability, their clean design, and their social sharing features.

This $4 Weather App Has Earned A Permanent Spot On My Phone’s Home Screen — Here's Why, by Brandt Ranj, Business Insider

Underneath is a chart of the projected precipitation for the next hour, along with a chart that shows whether the rain or snow will be light, medium, or heavy. This is the feature that's saved my bacon several times; knowing when the rain is going to break lets me plan my walks to and from the subway, or when to take my lunch break. In fact, it's rare that I'll leave my apartment at all without checking it.

Review: Lifeprint's 'Hyperphoto' Printer Lets You Instantly Print Your iPhone Photos And Videos, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

The Lifeprint is convenient and a lot of fun, but be prepared to shell out a decent amount of money for the paper if you purchase the printer.

Develop

App Review Rejecting Apps That Use Apple Emoji For User Interface Icons, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

App Review appears to be more strictly enforcing rules regarding the use of Apple intellectual property in third party apps, which now includes emoji. Developers are reporting that their apps are now getting rejected for using the Apple emoji icon set in screenshots, other marketing and parts of the user interface (such as using emoji in place of custom iconography).

Man Vs Machine

'Fiction Is Outperforming Reality': How YouTube's Algorithm Distorts Truth, by Paul Lewis, The Guardian

Company insiders tell me the algorithm is the single most important engine of YouTube’s growth. In one of the few public explanations of how the formula works – an academic paper that sketches the algorithm’s deep neural networks, crunching a vast pool of data about videos and the people who watch them – YouTube engineers describe it as one of the “largest scale and most sophisticated industrial recommendation systems in existence”.

Lately, it has also become one of the most controversial. The algorithm has been found to be promoting conspiracy theories about the Las Vegas mass shooting and incentivising, through recommendations, a thriving subculture that targets children with disturbing content such as cartoons in which the British children’s character Peppa Pig eats her father or drinks bleach.

If The Internet Is Addictive, Why Don’t We Regulate It?, by Michael Schulson, Aeon

‘Regulation’ is a scary word, especially for those of us accustomed to the libertarian mores that have governed the past two decades of internet growth. It’s understandable that we’re hesitant to talk about regulating distraction-inducing technologies. For one thing, we typically think of compulsive behaviour as the fault of machines or individuals, rather than as a designed experience, angled toward strategic ends. For another, we tend to associate regulation with paternalism that limits the choices of users.

In this case, though, it’s possible to imagine regulation that actually expands users’ choices. It doesn’t need to be especially invasive or dramatic, and it would be designed to give users more control over their experiences online.