The spread of coronavirus hoax messages has been significantly curtailed by new safeguards put into place earlier this month, says WhatsApp … Any major news event results in a proliferation of either deliberate hoaxes or simply misunderstandings, and the ease with which these can be forwarded electronically means they can spread rapidly around the world. Coronavirus hoax messages have been a particular problem, with everything seen from fake cures to wild conspiracy theories about 5G....

It has very basic features like getting the current time and creating shopping lists with voice commands. However, a couple of basic features it has been missing is the ability to create reminders and set multiple timers. It’s hard to believe such basic functions have been missing this whole time. But, thanks to a recent update it’s now possible as the company beefs up Alexa’s basic abilities. Using Reminders with Alexa on Echo Creating reminders with Alexa works like you’re used to from other digital assistants such as Microsoft Cortana, Google Now, or Apple’s Siri....

In a world that is changing dramatically, it is practically impossible for humans to manage all things at their best level. This is the leading reason humans have invested in smart gadgets to be accurate all the time and to manage things at their level best. Of course, our dependency on technology is increasing rapidly. Although this has added a ton of comfort in our life, there are various novel challenges that have also arrived....

While the #metoo movement has focused attention on the problem of sexual harrassment in the workplace, forcing companies to take the issue more seriously, it can still take courage to file a report … A number of companies are now turning to apps to make the process easier for employees, reports the WSJ. The app introduces a neutral third-party into the equation, which can provide advice and assist employees to file a formal report if they choose to do so....

In conjunction with the iPhone 12, Apple revived the MagSafe branding for a new line of magnetic accessories for the iPhone. The early accessories in the MagSafe lineup include cases, a Leather Wallet, and a MagSafe Charger, but a new concept today from Parker Ortolani imagines how MagSafe could be used for external power. Apple has introduced Smart Battery Cases for the past several iPhone generations. The Smart Battery Case design has stayed largely the same, featuring a hump design on the back and physical connectivity to the iPhone’s Lightning port....

A COVID-19 tracking app has proven an overnight hit in the UK, with the medical researchers behind it hoping to bring it to the US too. The app allows people to self-report coronavirus symptoms, and the app then logs the date, time, and location to help medical professionals identify potential hotspots … COVID-19 tracking app and website TechCrunch reports. The team had already been working with researchers at at Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford, so the plan now is to bring the COVID-19 tracking app to the US....

Apple’s VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, answered the question of whether the company was working on merging iOS and macOS with a huge “No.” on stage at WWDC yesterday. However, he went on to explain that Apple is in the middle of a multi-year project to bring UIKit iOS apps to its desktop platform. Now, Wired was able to get some more clarity from Federighi on how Apple will make this happen, including some details on what developers can expect....

When Apple announced that it was bringing lossless music and Spatial Audio to Apple Music, it majored on the latter and mentioned lossless almost in passing. That struck me at the time as the wrong way around, but listening to Spatial Audio tracks has changed my mind. Spatial Audio – aka Dolby Atmos – had obvious appeal for movies, but with the possible exception of recordings of live performances, I couldn’t see much point in it for music …...

Bloomberg last week reported that Apple is planning to launch an LTE version of the Apple Watch last year. John Gruber then suggested that a new form factor was also in the works – though he later added a sentence somewhat walking back the idea. But assuming there is actually a new form factor on the way, the natural assumption would be that it would be that we’re discussing the same model....

A wristband that zaps you with a 255-volt electric shock if you over-spend is the latest idea from Intelligent Environments, a company that first announced the Pavlock wearable 18 months ago as a way to dissuade owners from visiting time-wasting websites. The band would be triggered, explains the BBC, if your bank balance drops too quickly. Unsurprisingly, no bank has yet signed up for the service. But while the idea may be silly, it seems to me that the underlying concept here is exactly where the Internet of Things should be headed …...

It is commonly said that Life always remains in motion. Nothing around us stops for a while and in order to keep up the pace with the change that is taking place, we have to learn a lot of new things. By learning them, we simply make sure that we are familiar with the algorithms of the motion that are necessary to live a wonderful life. With each day, learning something new is exactly what most people enjoy while others think it’s a daunting task....

10% off is not a Black Friday sale, it’s a rounding error. So here are a few businesses that delivered on the promise of the biggest online shopping day of the year; we’ll be keeping a close eye on them in 2019! Cards Against Humanity The card game company knows how to use satire to promote itself. They’ve rebranded to a (legitimate) chip company and their 2015 Black Friday promotion involved asking everyone to give them $5 for no reason…and they raised $71k, which they then spent on themselves....

The creators of the Conjuring franchise, Chad and Carey Hayes, have announced their next project: a planned franchise based on famous haunted mansions including LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans. They will team up with the newly established company Faster Horse Pictures, which was established by Cindy Bond and Doug McKay earlier this year. The Hayes brothers are responsible for bringing the massively successful Conjuring franchise to life when they wrote the screenplay for the first film....

Apple’s SVP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, sat down with MacStories’ Federico Viticci at WWDC to take a deep dive into the new developer tools announced this week including Catalyst (formerly Marzipan), SwiftUI and its purpose, why it was the right time to introduce iPadOS, and much more. The 45-minute conversation covers a range of in-depth aspects about Catalyst, SwiftUI, iPadOS, updates to the Shortcuts app, and more. When discussing Catalyst – Apple’s tool to bring iPad apps to Mac – Federighi noted that it should create a lot of value and accessibility for developers who haven’t been able to keep employees on staff that are experts in AppKit....

As detailed earlier this afternoon, Craig Federighi is currently testifying during the Apple vs. Epic lawsuit. While facing questioning from Apple’s lawyers, Federighi made some interesting comments about security, particularly noting that the Mac currently has a level of malware that Apple “does not find acceptable.” One of Federighi’s goals is to paint the iPhone ecosystem, including the App Store and lack of side-loading support, as a secure and trusted environment for users....

In the modern world, old trends are widely circulating and attracting the attention of many people. One of the biggest reason believed for the fame of old things and concepts is they make many people remind their past. Thus, they emotionally attract many people and technology giants in the current scenario are also seems to be familiar with this. The same is believed to be one of the leading reason Samsung has launched a flip smartphone in 2020....

With respect to the rise in the overall number of smartphone users across the globe, more and more manufacturers are becoming common and popular. It is very much true that in the present time there are more manufacturers than ever before. Although, users can have many advantages such as low price due to competition, there are several disadvantages as well. You might have no idea but the fact is this sometimes makes selecting a phone a very daunting task....

With many cities, states, and countries asking people to remain at home, Google and Facebook location data is being used to help determine how many people are complying with the coronavirus lockdown… Our sister site 9to5Google reports that Google is aggregating location data for 131 countries, measuring the drop-in visits to places like retail stores and transit stations. Reuters reports that Facebook is doing a similar analysis in the US, including a guide to how many people are staying at home....

There’s an old maxim that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, meaning that anything which appears to be free will have a hidden cost somewhere. In the tech sector, ‘free’ services generally operate using one of two different business models. The first is ad-funded, where – as the more recently-coined saying has it – you’re the product, not the customer. Some cheat the system by using ad-blockers, but most of us recognize that someone has to pay the bills, and accept exposure to ads as fair exchange for the benefit we receive....

Apple caused a furore yesterday when it admitted that it deliberately slows down older iPhones. The issue first came to the fore with a Reddit thread, which showed a significant difference in performance on the same device when fitted with old and new batteries. Geekbench founder, John Poole, confirmed the phenomenon, and developer Guilherme Rambo subsequently identified the code that controlled it. Apple then confirmed the facts, and explained its reasons …...