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Black Mirror
Black Mirror
Black Mirror is back to scare the life out of you. Put down your phone. It’s watching you.
Season 4 has just begun and we cannot recommend it enough!
If you haven’t seen the show before, fear not. As the episodes aren’t interlinked and you can watch a different episode from any season and not need to know whats happened.
“Black Mirror” is at its heart a contemporary reworking of ‘The Twilight Zone’ Created by Charlie Brooker, each episode is a stand alone drama, that aims to tap into the technological paranoia of modern society. It’s sharp, suspenseful and often shocking, but it’s incredibly gripping drama.
To download Netflix please click here Apple / Android
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
Apple slows down iPhones
In what wasn’t a surprise to anyone Apple slows down iPhones. Old iPhones specifically.
The reason that Apple disclosed to the public is because the batteries in old iphones are “less capable of delivering peak energy loads.” If they let it run at full capacity it would run hotter and cause damage to other components to the phone. To help ease the anger from the public Apple launched a year long $29 in-store battery replacement service. This would bring your iPhone back to life.
What’s Affected?
- Longer app launch times
- Lower frame rates while scrolling
- Backlight dimming (which can be overridden in Control Center)
- Lower speaker volume by up to -3 decibels
- Gradual frame-rate reductions in some apps
- During the most extreme cases, the camera flash will be disabled as visible in the camera UI
- Apps refreshing in background may require reloading upon launch
There are also a range of things that Apple’s throttling do not affect:
- Cellular call quality and networking throughput performance
- Captured photo and video quality
- GPS performance
- Location accuracy
- Sensors like gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer
- Apple Pay
Do I need to replace?
Apple are working on an app to show you the health of your battery.
But until then, (and before you go needlessly buying a battery you don’t need) it’s best to run a test.
Download Geekbench and test the processor speed. The result that follows will determine if you need to get a new battery. According to the folks over at Digital Trends a score 500 or less means that you require a new battery.
Below are the results of what you should be receiving. Prior to when slows down your phone.
- iPhone 6/6 Plus — 1400
- iPhone 6S/6S Plus — 2300
- iPhone SE — 2400
- iPhone 7/7 Plus — 3400
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
How much does your phone know about you? Location data’s dark secret.
You’re giving away more data than you think to your phone. A lot of it is down to location data!
Here’s how.
Your phone tracks everywhere you go, using location data with geo tagging along the way. It also knows who you were with too.
(If you were wondering it’s when you allow apps to use your location data. Sometimes you allow it even when the app isn’t in use. For example Google Maps uses to tell you how much traffic there is on the road. Ever wondered why Apple Maps knows where you work when you’ve never told it? Location tracking. It knows you’re in a certain area for x amount of time per day, per week. Hence why it knows where ‘Home’ is.)
Apps can also use the microphone in your phone to receive ad beacons from billboards and Tvs to determine location. Facebook coming under fire for this most recently as users have discovered ads for things after discussing them with friends.
Every picture you take has data in it with things such as time and location. Though social media giants facebook, twitter and instagram wipe this upon upload.
(Your phone can also recognise objects. This was showed off at an Apple Keynote and is just iOS’s way of organising things better. We don’t think it’s anything to worry about. For example if you took a picture of your dog and you can’t find it, just type in dog and it will show it)
The things you say, the places your frequent and things you take pictures of, can all be used to sell you things.
So…how much does your phone know about you?
Are you scared?
No – Keep using your apps as you wish.
Yes.
Here’s how to save yourself
Delete your Facebook Account
Delete your google searches and account (they also make a profile on you based on what you search)
Get a dumb phone (I.e. Not smart)
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
Serious Security Flaws
Researchers have discovered 2 serious security flaws that affect a lot of computers. These flaws affect every device that run on a chip processor. Allowing hackers to steal the entire history of your devices memory.
The security flaws are known as Meltdown and Spectre. Affecting intel processors and every other processor respectively. Processors on all of your devices allow your computers and tech gadgets to perform a lot of tasks and calculations per second. For example on your phone, check the weather (whilst also determining your location) whilst listening to music whilst also sending an email.
The security flaws that researchers have discovered could potentially let people access protected parts of your computer or devices memory.
If hackers gain access they can harm your computer in a range of ways such as accessing passwords and emails. That’s not all major companies who use cloud servers for things such as iCloud or Dropbox are also at risk. As they too use the same tech as us, which also run on processors. This is even worse as hackers can gain access to everyone’s cloud based data!
Protection
Update to the latest update on Windows 10 and Apple’s OS 10.13.2 and on iOS download and install 11.2.2
Updates are releasing soon on Google Chrome and Firefox
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
Spotify IPO
Spotify have as recently as the end of December filed for an IPO via a ‘Direct Listing’ this is a very smart move by the Swedish company. This is an alternative route to Snapchats IPO, and regular WallStreet ‘rules’. As there is no public furore leading up to the listing. Thus allowing execs to pitch their buisness to analysts and other suitable and potential investors. Better yet there are no fees to Wall Street underwriters. (As they would price a company’s shares before trading.)
What’s different?
A major difference between Snap Inc’s IPO and Spotify’s ‘Direct Listing’ is because Spotify have a LOT of money. (With over 60M paid subscribers they can afford to) So raising more money isn’t directly in Spotify’s interest.
Instead, they’re offering employees to cash out (at a current private valuation) and sell their shares to new investors!
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
Monster Hunter World – Defeat the Monsters!
Monster Hunter World
We recently got our hands on the incredible monster fighting game Monster Hunter World.
Players embark on incredible gigantic epic battles against huge monsters! These monsters are living in a variety of habitats be that in the water, within caves or roaming the grassland.
The aim that you have is to defeat as many of these monsters as possible. Taking and recieving materials from the corpses of the monsters that you slay. Then using these materials yield stronger weapons and armour to take on the most dangerous of monsters. This game is co-op and we had a lot of fun taking on the monsters as a team of four!
Story
There is a story element of Monster Hunter World too, which is just as fun as the co-op!
Once every decade, elder dragons travel across sea to a place called New World, this act is known as ‘Elder Crossing’. This phenomena has confused and intrigued the ‘Guild.’ (The team that you are a part of) Forming the ‘Research Commission’ the Guild are hoping to learn more about the dragons. Your journey begins when the Fifth Fleet is sent in pursuit of the elder dragon ‘Zorah Magadros’
To buy Monster Hunter World please click here! (Available on January 26th 2018 on both Playstation 4 and Xbox One)
To listen to the guys chatting about this please click here!
