Amazon has an army of new Echo devices coming your way! (The 3:59, Ep. 290)

Apple MacBooks at risk from flawed updates, Duo Security says - CNET

My update crashed by 2012 15 inch MacBook Pro.  I had to format the SSD, install Lion then do a Time capsule update then update from Sierra to High Sierra again.  The second time was a charm.  Thanks to Time capsule I lost no data. My 2016 MacBook update with no issues.


Apple MacBooks at risk from flawed updates, Duo Security says - CNET

iPhone 8 Plus VS Galaxy Note 8 Camera Test!

Twitter says it banned more than 200 Russia-linked propaganda accounts - The Verge

"Facing scrutiny from Congress, Twitter today disclosed that more than 200 Russia-linked accounts had been used to spread propaganda and misinformation on the company’s platform.



The news follows similar disclosures from Facebook, and Twitter points out that it found 22 accounts corresponding to those Facebook found. Additionally, Twitter found another 179 accounts. All of those accounts, Twitter said, had been or were soon banned, usually for violating spam rules. Unlike on Facebook, Twitter said the accounts it identified were not registered as advertisers.



Twitter’s blog post, while not quite directly attributing any activity to those accounts, discussed what the company does to combat issues like gaming Trending Topics and automating spam. The company noted that a large source of spam had historically been “Russia and other post-Soviet states,” but said it was “much trickier” tracking activity coordinated by humans.



The company said that, over coming months, it will be introducing new ways to detect malicious activity, although it did not provide specifics. “These are not meant to be definitive solutions,” the company said in the post. “We’ve been fighting against these issues for years, and as long as there are people trying to manipulate Twitter, we will be working hard to stop them.”



Twitter says it banned more than 200 Russia-linked propaganda accounts - The Verge

I won't buy a Pixel 2 without a headphone jack - CNET

No Thanks!



"...The loss of the headphone jack feels like yet another choice that's being forced on smartphone owners -- another way phones are being hammered into forms that are roughly indistinguishable from each other.



Remember when hardware QWERTY keyboards were an option? Remember when flagship phones with small screens were, too?



Those things went away not because phone buyers were asking for bigger screens and software keyboards, but because phone makers and cellular carriers needed big, bold features to drive a new upgrade cycle. Big screens trumped everything else.



Killing off the headphone jack is arguably even worse, because we're seemingly getting nothing in return. We lose guaranteed compatibility with countless millions of audio devices for what, exactly?



It doesn't make a phone much thinner to remove it, and phones are thin enough anyhow. Show me a brick with a three-day battery and an indestructible case, and I'll show you a happy camper. (Literally -- I'll take it camping.) Maybe if a company was getting rid of all its ports -- a wirelessly charging phone with wireless USB -- I could understand it. But that's not a reality yet..."



I won't buy a Pixel 2 without a headphone jack - CNET

iPhone 8 vs. Samsung Galaxy S8 Comparison Smackdown

Amazon Echo Spot first look

Unboxing the Sony Xperia XZ1

Amazon Echo Spot is like a $130 Echo Dot with a screen - CNET

Amazon Echo Spot is like a $130 Echo Dot with a screen - CNET

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro review: plastic and pens - The Verge

"...The Notebook 9 Pro is for the user who wants a large screened Windows laptop, with the added benefits of an S Pen and plenty of power for your dollar. If you’re a fan of the Galaxy Note smartphone, it’s even better.



The added utility of a pen in a laptop doesn’t make using it worlds better, but in the case of the Notebook 9 Pro, it doesn’t take away from it either."



Samsung Notebook 9 Pro review: plastic and pens - The Verge

Google pulls YouTube off the Amazon Echo Show - The Verge

Google pulls YouTube off the Amazon Echo Show - The Verge

Asus C101 Chromebook - Review and First Look

OnePlus 5 Review: 3 Months Later

Apple Watch Series 3 LTE Review

Twitter just doubled the character limit for tweets to 280 - The Verge

"The tweets in your timeline are about to get super-sized. Twitter said today that it has started testing 280-character tweets, doubling the previous character limit, in an effort to help users be more expressive. “Our research shows us that the character limit is a major cause of frustration for people tweeting in English,” the company said in a blog post. “When people don’t have to cram their thoughts into 140 characters and actually have some to spare, we see more people Tweeting — which is awesome!”



About 9 percent of all tweets today are exactly 140 characters, Twitter says. It’s tough to do that on accident, suggesting that users frequently have to edit their initial thoughts to get them under the limit. (It’s certainly true for me.) Now Twitter hopes to ease that burden by doubling the character limit in what it calls “languages impacted by cramming,” which includes every language except for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean."



Twitter just doubled the character limit for tweets to 280 - The Verge

Bill Gates now uses an Android phone - The Verge

"Windows Phone has been dead for a good year now, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has decided it’s also time to move on. In an interview with Fox News Sunday (spotted by On MSFT), Gates reveals he’s now using an Android phone. While Gates doesn’t reveal the exact model, he does note that it has ‘a lot of Microsoft software’ on it, which could suggest it’s a special Microsoft Edition Samsung Galaxy S8 handset with bundled software.

Microsoft started selling the Samsung Galaxy S8 handset in its retail stores earlier this year, and it includes apps like Office, OneDrive, Cortana, and Outlook. Any Android phone also supports these apps, but Microsoft’s customized S8 does suggest the company might continue to offer this for other Android devices in the future.

While Gates is switching to Android, he’s still not interested in an iPhone. Gates famously banned iPhones and iPods at home in the past, but he does admit that Steve Jobs was a ‘genius’ in the Fox interview. Gates is still using Windows-based PCs, but he’s still not switching over to an iPhone, despite the Steve Jobs praise."

(Via.)   Bill Gates now uses an Android phone - The Verge:

Google Pixelbook and Pen

Why Does the iPhone 8 Exist?