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How to: Change your Artist Image with Apple Music for Artists beta

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

One of the long requested features for Apple Music by artists has been the ability to quickly and easily change bio/profile photos – the main artist image that shows up when someone searches their name on iTunes or Apple Music and also at the top of their artist/catalog page.

Some labels and distributors have the ability to do it via manual submission to Apple, but, unlike Spotify, Apple previously didn’t have a way for artists to do it themselves. That meant lots of independent artists simply got Apple’s default microphone icon in search and no image on their profile page. Now, Apple’s recently launched “Apple Music for Artists” beta has been updated to allow exactly that. The new feature comes alongside Apple’s refreshed and enlarged artist images that appear in iOS 12 set for release this fall.

Here’s how it works…

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Can Facebook Really Stop Election Meddling? We Asked 600+ People. [New Data]

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

On Wednesday afternoon, both Facebook and Twitter came forward with announcements of coordinated election interference campaigns on their respective networks.

Facebook’s Head of Cybersecurity Policy Nathaniel Gleicher, wrote in a statement that the company removed a total of 652 Pages, groups, and accounts for such behavior. Their origin: Iran. Their targets: Facebook users in the Middle East, Latin America, UK, and U.S.

But it wasn’t just Facebook. Twitter also announced that it suspended 284 accounts for similar activity — also based in Iran.

The campaign was discovered thanks in large part to a tip from cybersecurity firm FireEye, which published an analysis of its findings.

Promotional and registration connections between suspect Iranian inauthentic sites and social media

Source: FireEye

But in that study, the authors note, the intent might not have been specifically to influence the U.S. 2018 midterm elections — “as it extends well beyond U.S. audiences and U.S. politics” — but rather, “to promote Iranian political interests.”

The discovery has raised questions.

It was less than a month ago that Facebook announced the removal of 32 Pages and accounts for similar “inauthentic” activity — a number that somewhat pales in comparison to yesterday’s 652.

But are these multiple, recent stories of social networks stopping coordinated misinformation campaigns in their tracks a sign that their efforts to do so — and to curb election interference on their platforms — are working?

We asked more than 600 people what they thought.

Confidence in Coordinated Interference Prevention 

We asked 664 internet users across the U.S. and UK (which were both targets of the latest misinformation campaign discovered by Facebook), as well as Canada: Do you think the actions Facebook is taking to prevent election meddling in the 2018 U.S. midterms will work?

There’s a bit of uncertainty when it comes to those efforts, it seems. Most — about 40% — appear to be undecided.

Do you think the actions Facebook is taking to prevent election meddling in the 2018 U.S. midterms will work_

Data collected using Lucid

The greatest amount of skepticism is in the U.S., where Facebook was infamously weaponized by Russian actors to influence the 2016 presidential election. 

Responses by Region (10)

Data collected using Lucid

This is not the last we’ll hear of any of this. On September 5, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and a representative from Google will testify before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — largely about, it’s predicted, election integrity.

And while the target of this latest misinformation campaign on Facebook may not have been the 2018 U.S. midterm elections — it does show that actors are still looking to weaponize the network.

“This is further evidence that foreign adversaries are actively using social media to divide Americans and undermine our democratic institutions,” said U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in a statement. “I look forward to questioning the leadership of Facebook, Twitter, and Google about this at the Intelligence Committee’s hearing on September 5th.”

Featured image credit: Facebook

HomeKit Weekly: Hyperlocal temperature and humidity with Siri and the Home app

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.

Capturing and checking hyperlocal temperature and humidity with Siri and the Home app is one of my favorite HomeKit tricks. Weather apps that show your city’s current conditions and forecast are great, but knowing the actual temperature right outside your front door in real-time is neat. This can work with both outdoors or with specific rooms inside using the right sensors and configuration.

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Sources: Apple reaches deal with Simply Mac to offer official iPhone screen repairs in ~30 stores across the US

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

Simply Mac is one of the largest Apple Authorised Service Provider chains in the world, however it has had a fractious relationship with Apple in recent months. Repair stores need special equipment to conduct official iPhone repairs, such as machines that pair a Touch ID or Face ID Secure Enclave to the new display unit, but Apple does not give these out freely. Simply Mac had resorted to conducting third-party unofficial screen repairs, which angered Apple.

However, 9to5Mac has learned that the two companies have now reached a deal. Apple is paying to fit the new machinery and implement various security upgrades into about 30 Simply Mac stores. In exchange, Simply Mac will cease conducting all third-party repairs.

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Concept: Reimagining Apple’s Mall of America retail store

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

Since the introduction of a new retail design language in 2015, Apple has remodeled or moved well over 60 of its existing stores in order to better serve the growing demand for Apple products and customer support. The majority of these refreshed stores have been among the earliest opened, some dating back to the start of Apple’s in-house retail efforts in 2001. Surprisingly, one of the last early stores remaining relatively unchanged and in dire need of expansion is located in Bloomington’s Mall of America.

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Satechi takes rare 15% off sitewide for 9to5 readers: USB-C accessories, hubs, docks, more!

by | Aug 22, 2018 |

Satechi is offering an exclusive 15% off sitewide for our readers when promo code 9to5Toys is applied during checkout. This offer is slated to run through Sunday and can be used on anything found over at Satechi, including some of its latest releases. Shipping does vary by location. Satechi’s lineup has solid ratings at Amazon across the board. Head below for our top picks.

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