Weekly Refresh: #Bendgate, Bone Paste, The Anti-Facebook, And More – Sep 21-27

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From iPhone’s #Bendgate to a bone paste aimed at strengthening bones and a new Anti-Facebook social media website, we’ve covered a lot over the past week here at Techaeris. Here’s a quick recap of some of the stories we covered in our Weekly Refresh.

Tech

Ebayheadquarters
eBay was hit with yet another phishing scam.

eBay was hit again with another phishing scam. This one used Javascript inside of listings that redirected users to another site which was then able to steal your credentials. Is it safe to shop anywhere online anymore?

The T-mobile Personal Cellspot that was announced last month is finally available. Starting September 24, you were able to pick one up in store, or order online, and pay only a $25 deposit. But(!) if you called T-mobile technical support they would process your order before then and waive the $25 deposit.

Have you ever backed a Kickstarter project, only to have it fall flat and get nothing in return? That’s about to change as the company has updated their Terms of Use, effective in October.

iPhone sales have been off the charts once again, with the iPhone 6/6 Plus selling 4 million units in its first day and that number up to 10 million as of yesterday. Problem is, not many of these are in the hands of the users who ordered them yet.

Bendgate_Dali
The Internet was flooded with #Bendgate memes this week.

OH SNAP! O.K, maybe not snapping, but it looks like the new iPhone 6 has a bending problem. Ouch! Of course the Internet had a field day with #bendgate, as consumers are left wondering what Apple will do about the issue.

Facebook is at it again… this time rumor is they’ll be updating their advertising platform to one called Atlas – removing their reliance on cookies and increasing their ability to track your browsing habits across desktop and mobile devices. When asked, Facebook declined to comment on how they planned to do that.

Apple and Google were praised last week by users for enabling encryption in their newest OS versions. Apparently FBI Director James Comey is less than happy with both Google and Apple for this change.

In response to #Bendgate, one of the things Apple did was opened up one of their production facilities to Josh Lowensohn from The Verge into an area that few outside of Apple’s inner-circle are allowed.

News Corp’s Robert Thomson penned an open letter to the EC, detailing their issues with Google. Google has responded with an open letter of their own.

Ello
Is Ello the Anti-Facebook?

We take a look at Ello, a new social media service that many are touting as the “Anti-Facebook”. Read on about what makes them different.

Mobile

With hacks aplenty these days, it’s come to light that a hacker group was targeting Android apps – Flappy Birds was mentioned specifically – and modifying the app to exploit app permissions.

Apple just couldn’t catch a break this week. iOS 8.0.1 update was released – and then promptly pulled – as iPhone 6 users reported it broke calling functionality on their devices. Oops. However, the 8.0.2. update was made available shortly after.

Moshi-iPhone-case
Check out these sharp looking iPhone 6 cases from Moshi!

Moshi has been and continues to be one of the best iPhone accessory makers out there and now they’re rolling out their new iPhone 6 case lineup. Check out what they’re planning on offering!

Those crazy Japanese! KFC Japan hosted a giveaway of a drumstick shaped iPhone 5s case on Twitter.

Take a look at a few of our favorite apps as the staff here at TECHAERIS share in our weekly Appetizers installment.

Reviews

We have a quick review of Thinium’s Charge – a lightweight and super thin wall charger that comes in both Lightning charger and microUSB charger configurations.

Gaming

xbox-one
The Xbox One console launch was delayed in China.

The launch of the Xbox One gaming console, the first foreign video gaming devices to be sold in China, was delayed. Originally slated to launch September 23rd, the release date was bumped by about a week to September 29th.

Editorials

Bloomberg and BGR are reporting that Android users are leaving the platform in “droves” and trade-ins to Gazelle are up 200% all due to the iPhone 6. Alex Hernandez shows us why this still won’t give Apple the lead in the worldwide mobile market.

Science

Axial_Skeleton
Researches have created a bone paste aimed at strengthening bones.

How cool is this? Researchers have come up with a type of bone paste that can help osteoporosis patients regenerate weak bones.

Harry Potter anyone? Scientists have built an invisibility device using lens arrays for around $1000. This array is only a very first step towards a sort of shroud or wearable invisibility cloak.

Business

Apple purchased Beats Music for $3 billion dollars earlier this year and so far we have not heard exact plans for such a large investment. Typically Apple doesn’t share its space with other brands, you either get assimilated into the current brand identity or you get stripped of all valuable assets and kicked to the curb. Time will tell what happens to Beats!

So the iPhone 6 costs $200 to make, and how much off contract? Yeesh, Apple really is continuing the trend of high markup for their products!

netflix-logo-ta
Netflix isn’t taking any guff from Canada’s CRTC.

Netflix isn’t backing down as they’ve refused requests by Canada’s CRTC to provide subscriber numbers and other information during that country’s hearings on the future of television.

We’re not one for rumors, but this one is pretty big. Elusive “Inside Sources” claim that Redbox will shut down its streaming service, Redbox Instant, starting on October first.

That about wraps up our Weekly Refresh – look for our recap every Sunday for a quick glance at what you may have missed over the past week. As always, the staff here at Techaeris thanks you – our readers – for checking us out throughout the week and thank you for your continued support. After all, we write because we love to share what interests us and keep you informed on tech happenings around the world!

Last Updated on November 27, 2018.

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