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Apple prevents apps spying on you, the UK won’t implement Article 13 and Sonos releases an unpopular upgrade.

Quick News:

• Met Police to deploy facial recognition cameras [Link]
• Amazon Music Gains on Apple Music With Over 55 Million Subscribers Globally [Link]
• 23andMe just laid off 100 employees [Link]
• Safari Technology Preview 99 Removes Adobe Flash Support[Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Background location tracking down 68% after iOS 13 launch [Link]
• UK will not implement EU Article 13 copyright law [Link]
• Sonos speaker update sparks anger [Link]

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CES 2020 and when technology has profound effects on the lives of individuals who embrace it.

Quick News:

• AirPods Pro owners complain of worse noise cancellation after firmware updates [Link]
• Mozilla lays off about 70 employees including senior staffers [Link]
• NBC’s Peacock streaming service will launch on July 15th with three different price tiers [Link]
• Microsoft makes ‘carbon negative’ pledge [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• No, the EU isn’t asking Apple to kill the Lightning cable [Link]
• Apple has reignited a privacy battle with the Trump administration by declining to unlock a mass shooter’s iPhones [Link]
• Watch Sonos, Tile, and PopSocket testify against tech giants today [Link]

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CES 2020 and when technology has profound effects on the lives of individuals who embrace it.

Quick News:

• Mattress company Casper still trying to pivot to tech, still a mattress company [Link]
• ‘Outdated’ IT leaves NHS staff juggling 15 logins [Link]
• Ring Fired Employees for Watching Customer Videos [Link]
• Twitter to test ‘block all replies’ function [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• The Verge Awards at CES 2020: welcome to the land of the concept [Link]
• ‘This airplane is designed by clowns’: Damning Boeing emails reveal internal complaints made about 737 Max safety and information being covered up [Link]

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CES 2020, Sonos’ flawed product recycling programme and health technology faces the wrath of patents.

Quick News:

• AI slips ads into online videos’ empty spaces [Link]
• Best-selling smartphone every quarter this year was iPhone XR [Link]
• Spotify is pausing political ads in 2020 [Link]
• Uber Found Travis Kalanick Quits Company Board [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• NYU doctor sues Apple over Apple Watch’s ability to detect atrial fibrillation [Link]
• CES 2020: First look at tomorrow’s freshest tech [Link]
• Sonos in bricked speaker ‘recycling’ row [Link]

To wrap up the year, we thought we’d put together a super quick post to break down some of the numbers for the show in 2019!

• ???? 41 episodes
• ⏰ 36 hours of content (1.5 days non-stop)
• ???? Downloaded in 77 countries

???? Happy New Year everyone and we’ll see you in 2020! ????

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Flickr faces financial issues, Apple open-sources parts of HomeKit and IBM may have made a breakthrough with battery technology.

Quick News:

• Uber promises changes to avoid Germany ban [Link]
• Apple opens bug bounty program to the public [Link]
• Self-Driving Mercedes Will Be Programmed To Sacrifice Pedestrians To Save The Driver [Link]
• Facebook scraps phone number friend recommendations [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Flickr owner SmugMug says it needs more money to ‘keep the Flickr dream alive’ [Link]
• Apple open-sources HomeKit tools to speed up smart home push [Link]
• IBM announces battery technology breakthrough [Link]

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When technology aides real world problems, Apple loses a senior designer and the issue with subscription models.

Quick News:

• A self-driving truck delivered butter from California to Pennsylvania in three days [Link]
• AirPods to hit quarterly sales of $4B, surpassing peak iPod sales [Link]
• Microsoft to kill off Wunderlist in favor of To Do in May 2020 [Link]
• BMW No Longer Charging Monthly Fee for CarPlay in Cars With Newest Software [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• NHS gives Amazon free use of health data under Alexa advice deal [Link]
• Jony Ive has left Apple [Link]
• YouTube needs to chill with its annoying Premium spam [Link]

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Join us for our 10th Annual Christmas Gift Guide – the perfect episode to determine what to buy this holiday season for family, friends and loved ones.

Gizmodo – Do Not Buy Anyone a Ring Camera

Gadgets & Wearables

• Apple Watch
• AirPods / AirPods Pro
• Beats X / Powerbeats 3 / Powerbeats Pro
• Apple TV 4K
• Amazon Fire TV Stick (HD / 4K)
• Google Chromecast
• Kindle tablets (great for kids)
• Kindle e-Readers (still, if not more valid from the day they came out)
• iPad 2019

Peripherals

• Wireless Qi Charging pads (e.g. Anker)
• Anker battery packs
• Anker wall chargers
• Bose QuietComfort 25 wired headphones
• Samsung T5 SSDs

Home

• Philips Hue
  • Starter kit
  • Bulbs
  • Accessories etc.
• SONOS 1 (or Sonos 1 SL) – £199 or £179

Stocking Fillers

• Apple Watch straps
• FitBit straps
• Apple Pencil (Check if you’re buying the right one here)

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Another foldable phone, the Magic MacBook Pro and Google are the latest technology company to open a bank.

Quick News:

• ‘Berlin rocks,’ says Elon Musk as he picks factory [Link]
• Apple removes vaping apps from store [Link]
• Labour pledges free broadband for all [Link]
• Facebook iOS App ‘Bug’ Quietly Turns on Phone Camera in Background [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Huawei launches foldable phone in China [Link]
• 16-Inch MacBook Pro Debuts With New Magic Keyboard, Physical Esc Key, Up to 64GB of RAM, and More [Link]
• Google set to offer banking current accounts [Link]

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GoPro’s sales strengthen thanks to smartphones, the new dot com bubble is here and Apple TV+, again.

Quick News:

• Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by digging into the accounts of kingdom critics [Link]
• AT&T fined $60 million for throttling ‘unlimited’ data plans [Link]
• Disney+ streaming service UK launch date confirmed [Link]
• BritBox: UK broadcasters enter the streaming wars as new service launches [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Smartphones haven’t killed GoPro, they’ve only made it stronger [Link]
• Opinion: The worst part of Apple TV+ is the TV app – 9to5Mac [Link]
• The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising [Link]

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AirPods Pro comes at a pro price, Google buy Fitbit and Apple’s TV+ launches to varied reviews.

Quick News:

• Migrating Russian eagles run up huge data roaming charges [Link]
• Mobile loophole for filming drivers ‘to be closed’ [Link]
• Bloodhound car ramps up its speed to 461mph [Link]
• Twitter bans all political advertising [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Apple TV’s big debut with Aniston and Witherspoon ★★☆☆☆ [Link]
• AirPods Pro Launching on October 30 for $249 [Link]
• Fitbit snapped up by Google in $2.1bn deal [Link]

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Twitter’s advertising dilemma, Facebook’s tax bill and an unrealistic “full fibre” pledge.

Quick News:

• Amazon profits hit by rising shipping costs [Link]
• RBS pulls Samsung Galaxy S10 app over security flaw [Link]
• Pentagon snubs Amazon for $10bn ‘Jedi’ contract [Link]
• Ford will unveil its Mustang-inspired electric SUV on November 17th [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Twitter admits that it showed more ads to less popular users [Link]
• Facebook under fire over ‘outrageous’ UK tax bill [Link]
• Ministers dodge ‘full fibre for all by 2025’ pledge [Link]

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Streaming competition, a work life balance with technology and laptops are still on Apple’s mind.

Quick News:

• O2 launches 5G network in five UK cities and Slough [Link]
• Three phone services restored ‘for majority’ [Link]
• US military finally retires outdated floppy disks in charge of nuclear weapons [Link]
• Any fingerprint unlocks Galaxy S10, Samsung warns [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Banning out-of-hours email ‘harmful to some staff’ [Link]
• Netflix feels the pressure as competitors circle [Link]
• 16-Inch MacBook Pro Possibly Referenced in macOS Catalina 10.15.1 Beta [Link]

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Accessibility of the internet, low effort in Desktop apps and Apple continue to extend their watch capabilities.

Quick News:

• Lithium-ion batteries take chemistry Nobel [Link]
• Blizzard gamers unable to boycott firm over China [Link]
• Dyson scraps plans for electric car [Link]
• Tesla will let you customize your car’s horn and movement sounds [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• Twitter releases new Catalyst app for macOS Catalina [Link]
• Apple may have accidentally revealed a Sleep app for the Apple Watch [Link]
• Why much of the internet is closed off to blind people [Link]

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Apple’s next items to focus on and Right to Repair rules will become common practice in the EU.

Quick News:

• Apple News Plus is now available in the UK and Australia [Link]
• Ikea delays its US smart blinds, again [Link]
• Brits’ internet use ‘peaks on Wednesday nights’ [Link]
• Ransomware-hit hospitals in US turn away patients [Link]

Topics talked about today:

• The next iPhone SE will reportedly look like an iPhone 8, but it’ll be as fast as the iPhone 11 [Link]
• Apple’s noise-canceling AirPods spotted in latest iOS 13 beta [Link]
• ‘Right to repair’ rules brought in for appliances [Link]