"Apple is appearing at the year's biggest tech conference for the first time since 1992, and it says a lot about where the company is headed" Business Insider 3:37 PM
"Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance and board members form working group to develop open standard for smart home devices: Project Connected Home over IP Intends to Simplify Development for Device Manufacturers and Increase Compatibility for Consumers" Apple 7:35 AM
"Apple, Amazon, Google partner to make smart home devices more compatible" Reuters 9:37 AM
"Apple, Google and Amazon decide to 'play nice' over smart home tech" BBC 1:14 PM
"Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance to Develop Connectivity Standard for Smart Home" AnandTech 3:03 PM
"Apple, Google, and Amazon team up to create 'CHIP,' a new smart home standard: Will this be the one smart home standard to rule them all or just another entry?" Ars Technica 6:37 PM
"Nine months in, Apple News+ isn't wowing publishers: Nine months after the launch of Apple News+ it is safe to say the latest platform initiative is not a cure-all for publishers' business model issues." ["The publisher said that the revenue of being on Apple News+ isn't much, less than $20,000 a month, but the desire to keep up subscription revenue and numbers keeps the company in it. It's additive, but not by much, but it's enough to consider renewing the contract next year, she said."] Digiday 7:49 AM
"Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance to Develop Open Standard for Smart Home Devices" MacRumors 7:59 AM
"Apple News+ publishers see subscriber benefits amid low revenue" AppleInsider 7:57 AM
"Publishers: Apple News+ isn't 'huge boon' for business" Cult of Mac 7:57 AM
"Lawsuit claims Apple, Microsoft have profited from child miners" New York Post 3:56 PM
"Lawsuit alleges Apple Music streams songs without proper license: A fresh lawsuit filed Wednesday claims Apple is in violation of the U.S. Copyright Act for streaming copyrighted music through Apple Music without first obtaining a license from the copyright owner." AppleInsider 7:29 PM
"Final 'big four' Australian bank folds, announces Apple Pay rollout by mid-2020" AppleInsider 8:59 PM
"Apple Hires Ex-Vox Media Marketer Zach Kahn to Head Podcast PR (Exclusive)" Variety 8:15 AM
"Apple Reportedly Eyeing Office Spaces in Pittsburgh and New York City" MacRumors 10:19 AM
"'Night mode' smartphone features that shift your screen to warmer colors might actually be worse for your sleep, new study finds" Business Insider 9:37 AM
"Broadcom Seeks Buyer for RF Wireless-Chip Unit: Credit Suisse helping chip maker find a buyer for the unit, which could be worth $10 billion" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 1:10 PM
"Apple could be the new owner of Broadcom's RF wireless chip business" 9to5Mac 1:15 PM
"Foxconn to look into alleged fraud involving flawed iPhone parts" Taiwan News 11:45 AM
"Foxconn investigating $43M fraud ring involving faulty iPhone parts" AppleInsider 11:45 AM
"Apple Investigates $1.3B Fraud Scheme That Made Working iPhones from Rejected Parts" iDrop News 3:22 PM
"A milestone: Earthquake early warning system sends first public alert to smartphones in California" ["More than 40 people received the warning, said Jennifer Strauss, project manager for the MyShake app, which was created by UC Berkeley and released publicly in October. It is available on iOS and Android systems."] Los Angeles Times [Paid Membership Required] 1:15 PM
"Earthquake triggers California's early warning app for the first time" Mashable 1:15 PM
"Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant" Cult of Mac 10:19 AM
"Apple's 'Find My iPhone' feature credited with helping teen locate her stolen car" 9to5Mac 9:56 PM
"Are you using one of the world's worst passwords?" Apple Must 9:14 AM
Non-Apple News
"German University Forced to Hand Out 38,000 Passwords in Person: After a malware attack, the University of Giessen is forcing students and employees to pick up new passwords in person to comply with strict legal requirements, prompting long lines of people outside the school gym." PC Magazine 9:56 PM
"Verizon Outages Reported Nationwide: Users reported widespread disruptions as they tried to make outgoing calls and text. The company said it had fixed a problem involving long-distance calls to landlines." New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required] 1:08 PM
"We Tested Ring's Security. It's Awful: Ring lacks basic security features, making it easy for hackers to turn the company's cameras against its customers." Vice 10:19 AM
"R.I.P. Google Glass Explorer Edition" CNET 1:45 PM
"Google has a new answer to Apple iMessage, but it lacks critical privacy features" CNBC 8:21 AM
"Facebook accesses your location even when you've opted out" 9to5Mac 8:07 AM
"Peter Thiel, the bridge between Trump and Facebook" Axios 7:55 AM
"People with epilepsy targeted in Twitter attack" BBC 7:45 AM
"Facebook is using part-time fact-checkers to fight misinformation" Business Insider 7:43 AM
"The Machines Are Learning, and So Are the Students: Artificial intelligence is starting to take over repetitive tasks in classrooms, like grading, and is optimizing coursework and revolutionizing the preparation for college entrance exams." New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required] 7:42 AM
"Meet The Mad Scientist Who Wrote the Book on How to Hunt Hackers" Wired [Free/Paid Registration Required] 7:42 AM
Publications/Podcasts
"Stacktrace Podcast 067: 'The Year of the Pro', with special guest Myke Hurley" 9to5Mac 1:16 PM
"Home Automation Standards, Ring 'Security' Measures – TMO Daily Observations 2019-12-18" The Mac Observer 1:08 PM
"2019 Mac Pro - Thermal & Benchmark Performance" YouTube: Max Tech 12:04 PM
"Realme Buds Air review: A new experience or just another AirPods knockoffs?" The Indian Express 8:21 AM
"If you need $399 worth of de-stressing, Xen earbuds claim to help" Apple World Today 7:44 AM
"The $25 accessory every MacBook (or USB-C laptop, tablet, or smartphone) owner needs: This cheap accessory could save you hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars in repairs if you happen to have a clumsy moment." ZDNet 1:08 PM
"Apollo Max review: Graphene is finally more than science fiction, but don't buy this portable charger" Android Police 9:37 AM
How-To/Tutorial
"Frozen Mac Touch Bar? Here's how to fix it." Cult of Mac 6:45 PM
"How to share audio with wireless headpohnes like AirPods from iPhone" iDownload Blog 1:53 PM
"How to turn Notes into Reminders on iOS and Mac" iDownload Blog 8:01 AM
"How to enable or disable Deep Fusion and Smart HDR on the iPhone 11: Between the two features, you have three options for how they're available." Macworld 7:56 AM
Tips
"Get six months of Apple Music free this Christmas" Macworld UK 1:09 PM
"24+ iOS 13 tips to help you get things done: A curated selection of some of the better iOS 13 tips." Computerworld 8:14 AM
"Apple TV+ Comedy Series 'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' Debuting February 7" MacRumors 3:56 PM
"Apple's new comedy series 'Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' to premiere Friday, February 7/All Nine Episodes of the Comedy Series Executive Produced By Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day to Debut Exclusively on Apple TV+ at Launch; Show Stars McElhenney" Apple TV+ Press 3:47 PM
"Apple TV+ comedy' series Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet' debuts on Feb. 7" AppleInsider 6:44 PM
"Twelve South Announces 'AirSnap Pro' Case for AirPods Pro" MacRumors 8:21 AM
"Emoji Voter lets you have your say on 2020 emoji" 9to5Mac 7:56 AM
"Fortnite's brand-new Battle Lab lets you decide the rules" Cult of Mac 7:50 AM
"AMD's RX 5500 XT GPU is made in China and Taiwan, does that suggest Samsung?" PCGamesN 8:50 AM
"Why one long-time industry analyst argues Intel's $2 billion purchase of AI startup Habana Labs is a direct challenge to Nvidia" [BI Prime] Business Insider 9:29 AM
"Intel Acquires Israeli Habana Labs for $2B; Tech Company Develops AI" The Jewish Voice 9:30 AM
"Intel Core i7 Mini PC to T6 PC Stick: Top minicomputers available in India" Hindustan Times 9:30 AM
"NVIDIA Details DRIVE AGX Orin: A Herculean Arm Automotive SoC For 2022" AnandTech 8:07 AM
"IBM's cobalt-free EV battery uses materials extracted from seawater: It outperforms current lithium-ion batteries and is less like to catch on fire." Engadget 1:46 PM
"IBM's new battery design taps seawater as alternative mineral source" Reuters 10:21 AM
"IBM Research says new battery design lacks heavy metals, can perform better than lithium-ion" ZDNet 10:21 AM
"IBM CTO Sees Smaller Container Platforms Ahead" Container Journal 8:49 AM
"Vodafone Idea and IBM Jointly Launches 'Secure Device Manager'" CISO Mag 8:49 AM
"Vodafone Idea partners with IBM to launch Secure Device Manager" Hindu Business Line 8:49 AM
"Sound Check: IBM's Live Sports Commentator Could Add New Wrinkle to Automated Broadcasts" SportTechie 8:49 AM
"Cisco Builds Custom Silicon To Power Future Internet" Seeking Alpha 8:14 AM
"Cisco Intends to Buy Exablaze to Boost Switches Portfolio" Zacks 8:45 AM
"Cisco: 5 hot networking trends for 2020/Cisco exec says SD-WAN, Wi-Fi 6, multi-domain control, virtual networking and the evolving role of network engineers will be big in 2020" Network World 8:45 AM
"Cisco-Commissioned Report Identifies Potential of 4IR for Positive Impact on GDP, Innovation and Jobs" Al Bawaba 8:45 AM
"Oracle's In For A Bad Ride After Near-Miss On Revenue" Benzinga 1:16 PM
"Toni Sacconaghi's Apple mea culpa — full text" Apple 3.0 11:44 AM
Industry News
"Nasdaq ekes out record to log fifth straight record close; S&P 500 and Dow winning streak ends: Fedex tumbles 10% on poor earnings, disappointing outlook" MarketWatch 3:58 PM
"Nasdaq Closes at Record as Stocks Finish Mixed and End Five-Day Winning Streak: The Nasdaq closed at a record Wednesday as stocks finish mixed, while the House of Representatives moves toward a historic vote on two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump." TheStreet 3:58 PM
"Stock Market Shrugs Off Trump Impeachment Fears, Indexes Mixed; Tesla, Facebook Rise" Investor's Business Daily 3:58 PM
"Stocks hover at record highs as impeachment vote looms" FOXBusiness 3:57 PM
"U.S. Stocks Finish Little Changed: Trading volumes diminish in days ahead of the holiday period" WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required] 3:57 PM
"Asian markets little changed as Brexit fears temper Wall Street's optimism: Nikkei retreats, along with indexes in Hong Kong, mainland China" Associated Press and MarketWatch 8:42 AM
"European stocks stay cautious as Brexit fears return" MarketWatch 8:42 AM
MacSurfer Headline News Staff
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: P. Pearson
Managing & Weekday Editor: D. Mahaffy
Evening Editors: S. Siegling and
D. Mahaffy
Weekend Editors: S. Siegling , A. Spaulding and
D. Mahaffy
CEO: T. Jefferson
CFO: K. Midas
Editor Emeritus: W. Shakespeare
Writers Emeritus: W. Lewis, R. Chandler, W. Morris, G. Simenon, C. Vallejo, F. Garcia Lorca,
P. White, R. Adams, P. Valery, C. Aiken, R. Bradbury, F. Pessoa, S. Bellow, F. O'Connor
Art Directors: V. Van Gogh, C. Monet
Advertising Managers: C. Chaplin, H. Marx
Public Relations Firm: Bits & Bytes
Bomb Squad: Type 11 Errors
Chief Scientists: I. Asimov, S. Hawking
Road Crew: R. Petty, J. Cooper
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General Counsel: #%@*$$$$!