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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

Twitter and Snap report strong growth; App Tracking Transparency opt-in high

App Tracking Transparency opt-in high says Snap

Both Twitter and Snap have reported strong growth, and the latter has said that it was seeing higher rates of App Tracking Transparency opt-in than has been generally reported.

Snap had previously warned that it expected ad revenue to be hit by the feature, which reduces the opportunity to sell higher-priced personalized ads, but two factors meant that the impact was lower than expected …

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Best iPhone photos announced in 2021 iPhone Photography Awards

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The IPPAwards page is now showing its pick of the best iPhone photos of 2021, with a surprising winner in the top category.

Transylvanian Shepherds was awarded the Grand Prize, shot on an iPhone 7 by Istvan Kerekes. It’s an interesting shot, but to my eyes doesn’t have an especially great composition, and the subjects are very underexposed …

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XLoader malware infects Macs now; collects keystrokes, screenshots, and more

XLoader malware has now migrated to Macs

XLoader malware has now migrated from Windows machines to attack Macs too. An evolution of the malware known as Formbook, it lets an attacker log keystrokes, take screenshots, and access other private information.

Worryingly, the malware is sold on the dark web for $49, enabling anyone to deploy it against both Windows and Mac users …

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Apple can and must do more to prevent NSO attacks, says Johns Hopkins security professor

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An associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute has said that Apple can and must do more to prevent NSO attacks.

He argues that while it’s true that it is impossible to completely prevent exploits based on zero-day vulnerabilities, there are two steps that the iPhone maker can take to make NSO’s job much harder …

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UK government proposes new antitrust powers to overrule tech giants like Apple

New antitrust powers could overrule tech giants like Apple

The British government has announced plans for new antitrust powers that would give it the ability to overrule commercial decisions made by tech giants like Apple.

Apple has long held the position that it makes its own decisions in what it considers to be the best interests of its customers, and that it should not be forced by law to change its business models. However, the company has been facing global antitrust pressure on the App Store, default apps, relationships with carriers, and more …

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You can check your iPhone for Pegasus spyware (unlikely as it is)

Check your iPhone for Pegasus

It’s extremely unlikely that your phone has been hacked using NSO software, but there is now a way to check your iPhone for Pegasus spyware – or, at least, some tell-tale signs.

The spyware was used to target human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and politicians, and has been linked to assaults and murder of dissidents, so the chances of a random iPhone user being impacted are exceedingly low …

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Tested: Looking Glass Portrait turns iPhone Portrait photos into holograms

Looking Glass Portrait

We tend to be wary about crowdfunding campaigns, as not all deliver, but the Looking Glass Portrait was too interesting to pass up as a way to turn iPhone Portrait mode photos into three-dimensional holograms.

It won’t be available until (at the latest estimate) October, but I got a chance to try a pre-production model which I’m told is very close to the final version, and there’s a mix of good and bad news.

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Fake AirPods cost Apple $3.2B this year, says report on US Customs seizures

Fake AirPods US Customs report | USCBP car shown

Fake AirPods cost Apple around $3.2 billion, estimates a report today, after US Customs and Border Protection revealed data on seizures in the past nine months.

It says that seizures of counterfeit headphones increased from $3.3 million worth in 2019 to $62.2 million worth between October last year and today – and that these are only a fraction of the total made…

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Comment: Apple’s inflexibility on flexible working seems likely to backfire

Flexible working

Reactions were mixed when Apple last month revealed its approach to flexible working post-pandemic. CEO Tim Cook announced that staff would be expected to return to the office three days a week, but would, with line management approval, be free to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Cook described the arrangement as a temporary one, and appeared to be hinting at a fuller return to work next year …

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Tim Cook attends private screening of Ted Lasso season two ahead of premiere

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has attended a private screening of Ted Lasso season two, ahead of next week’s premiere on Apple TV+.

The screening was primarily for the cast and crew of the hit show, but some press and influencers were invited, and Cook was seen arriving (video below). He appears in promo photos alongside title character actor Jason Sudeikis, as well as with Apple TV heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht …

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Analysts raising price targets for AAPL, citing both iPhone 12 and iPhone 13

Analysts raising price targets for AAPL

Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan have both raised their price targets for AAPL, citing both continued strong sales of the iPhone 12 and expected high demand for the iPhone 13 – among other factors.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has raised her target price for the stock twice in three weeks, most recently to $166 …

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