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Ben Lovejoy

benlovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer who started his career on PC World and has written for dozens of computer and technology magazines, as well as numerous national newspapers, business and in-flight magazines. He has also written several books, and creates occasional videos.

He is old enough to have owned the original Macintosh. He currently owns an M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro, an M1 13-inch MacBook Air, an iPad mini, an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and multiple HomePods. He suspects it might be cheaper to have a cocaine habit than his addiction to all things anodised aluminum.

He’s known for his op-ed and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review:

He speaks fluent English but only broken American, so please forgive any Anglicised spelling in his posts.

He gets a lot of emails and can’t possibly reply to them all. If you would like to comment on one of his pieces, please do so in the comments – he does read them all.

Connect with Ben Lovejoy

Tim Cook privacy speech at the IAPP Summit sticks to generalities, defends Apple’s position

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As promised, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s privacy speech was the headline address to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, describing the fight for privacy as “one of the most essential battles of our time.”

His speech followed an earlier call by FTC chair Lina Kahn for a federal privacy law, alongside antitrust legislation to make tech giants less powerful …

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Federal privacy law a step closer as FTC chair says it is time; antitrust action also key

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Consumers and tech giants alike favor a federal privacy law, rather than the piecemeal approach of individual states passing their own laws – and the chair of the Federal Trade Commission says that now is the time to create one.

She made her remarks at a global summit hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, where Apple CEO Tim Cook is also set to speak later today. While the two may agree on privacy issues, they are likely to hold very different views on antitrust action …

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Tested: The Tribit StormBox Micro 2 Bluetooth speaker has absolutely no right to be this good

Tribit StormBox Micro 2 review

When it comes to speakers, there are laws of physics and rules of economics which are hard to defy. A pocketable speaker that costs $60 simply isn’t going to be any good. Yet the Tribit StormBox Micro 2 somehow is.

The laws of speaker physics say that you need a decent-sized driver and housing to sound good, especially when it comes to bass. The rules of economics say that good sound costs money. But audio companies are increasingly sticking their thumbs up to both …

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Apple versus Spotify antitrust latest: iPhone maker faces additional charge in Europe

Man wearing headphones, looking out of window over sea | Apple versus Spotify antitrust latest – iPhone maker faces additional charge in Europe

The Apple versus Spotify antitrust battle took a new turn today, with the European Union saying that the Cupertino company will now face an additional charge of anti-competitive behavior.

This indicates that investigators have found enough evidence to add to the expected antitrust charges relating to the way that Apple treats Spotify and other developers …

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Apple Studio Display firmware update works again; may have been an embarrassing mistake

Apple Studio Display firmware update works again

A problem updating the Apple Studio Display firmware has now been resolved, after multiple users reported an error message saying that it “could not be completed.”

While it initially appeared this might simply be a server issue, it’s now being suggested that the problem was due to an embarrassing mistake by Apple …

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20 years of Apple company growth in one 40-second video

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The story of Apple’s growth from garage startup to multi-trillion dollar business is one that has been told in many different ways by many different people, but still new versions can be found.

Statista has put together the story of the last 20 years of Apple growth in a 40-second hypnotic video, with animated revenue bars showing how the company’s product mix has changed over time …

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iPhone SE orders unchanged, claims supply chain report, challenging Kuo and Nikkei

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Two reputable sources recently reported that Apple was cutting iPhone SE orders in response to lower-than-expected demand. However, a new supply chain report says that there is as yet no evidence of this happening.

Both Nikkei Asia and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is significantly cutting production orders for its latest version of the entry-level iPhone …

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Here are additional AirTag anti-stalking measures Apple could introduce

additional AirTag anti-stalking measures Apple could introduce

Apple offered key AirTag anti-stalking measures when it first launched its tracking devices, and has since offered two rounds of improvements. AirTags unequivocally offer better protection against misuse by stalkers and thieves than any other device on the market – and that’s something we’ve continually stressed.

However, it’s equally undeniable that AirTags have brought a whole new level of awareness to the very existence of small and affordable trackers, and that awareness has increased the risk. So I think it would be beneficial for Apple take additional anti-stalking measures – and here are a few of our ideas …

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Apple defies Russian threats: Restores Smart Voting app to the local App Store

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Apple has defied Russian threats and restored to the App Store the Smart Voting app it removed in September. The app was created by jailed opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, in order to help strategic voting against Putin.

In September of last year, Russian agents had threatened to imprison both Apple and Google staff unless the app was removed within 24 hours – including a particularly chilling threat against Google’s top exec in Moscow …

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OLED iPads in 2024: Growing evidence, as third Apple supplier prepares production plans

Growing evidence of OLED iPads in 2024

Evidence for the launch of OLED iPads in 2024 appears to be growing, as a new supply chain report says that three Apple display providers are gearing up for production.

There have so far been conflicting reports about whether Apple even plans to make iPads with OLED screens, with further disputes about when it might happen, but we do appear to be getting a more coherent picture of late …

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Pegasus hacked the iPhone of award-winning journalist, weeks after Apple’s injunction attempt

Pegasus hacked the iPhone of award-winning journalist

It’s been revealed that NSO’s Pegasus hacked the iPhone of an award-winning journalist, just weeks after Apple sought an injunction that would bar the company from targeting iPhone users.

NSO’s Pegasus software is so dangerous for two reasons. First, it gives access to almost all the data on the phone, including messages, photos, and location. Second, it works via a zero-click approach …

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Apple gift card scam gets criminals $1.5M and a federal prison sentence

Apple gift card scam

We’re used to hearing of Apple gift card scams where fraudsters trick victims into buying gift cards for “release fees” for fictitious fortunes, or as “fines” to avoid arrest for tax evasion – but a pair of criminals found a clever way to generate $1.5M worth of gift cards.

Or more accurately, the method was clever, but the way they spent the cards was dumb …

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Mac emulators for System 7 and Mac OS 8

Mac emulators for System 7 and Mac OS 8 run on M1 Macs in a web browser

There’s always a surprising amount of interest in Mac emulators for classic Macintosh and vintage Mac machines. For the older ones among us, it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane, while for younger readers it’s an interesting peek into the history of the machines we use today.

A couple of years ago saw a Mac app to run Mac OS 8 on a virtual Quadra 900, and now there’s another Quadra emulator running entirely in a browser …

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