Linked List: December 23, 2014

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

According to ThinkUp, this was my most popular tweet of 2014.

New Tumblr site from Apple. Very Tumblr-y.

Apple Pushes First Ever Automated Security Update to Mac Users ★

Reuters:

When Apple has released previous security patches, it has done so through its regular software update system, which typically requires user intervention.

The company decided to deliver the NTP bug fixes with its technology for automatically pushing out security updates, which Apple introduced two years ago but had never previously used, because it wanted to protect customers as quickly as possible due to the severity of the vulnerabilities, Evans said.

“The update is seamless,” he said. “It doesn’t even require a restart.”

Apple does not know of any cases where vulnerable Mac computers were targeted by hackers looking to exploit the bugs, he added.

This would have raised an uproar a decade ago, but times have changed. Worked seamlessly from what I’ve seen.

Bruce Schneier on Whether North Korea Is Actually Behind the Sony Hack ★

Bruce Schneier:

I am deeply skeptical of the FBI’s announcement on Friday that North Korea was behind last month’s Sony hack. The agency’s evidence is tenuous, and I have a hard time believing it. But I also have trouble believing that the U.S. government would make the accusation this formally if officials didn’t believe it.

Sony Changes Mind, Will Release ‘The Interview’ Theatrically ★

Dave McNary, reporting for Variety:

“The president applauds Sony’s decision to authorize screenings of the film,” the statement said. “As the President made clear, we’re a country that believes in free speech and the right of artistic expression. The decision made by Sony and participating theaters allows people to make their own choices about the film and we welcome that outcome.”

The statement came a few hours after the studio reversed its Dec. 17 announcement to withdraw “The Interview” and opted instead for a limited release to independent theaters — and four days after the president said Sony had “made a mistake” by pulling the Seth Rogen-James Franco satire out of theaters.

Hyperlapse’s Best Feature: Real-Time Image Stabilization ★

Ross Miller, writing for The Verge (I’ve had this tab open in the background since October):

Hyperlapse, Instagram’s standalone video app that debuted this past August, is touted for its ability to make dead simple time lapses. But if you really want to enjoy the best feature of Hyperlapse, don’t speed up the footage. The result is some of the smoothest video we’ve seen from a phone — the kind of stuff that could otherwise take thousands of dollars in professional equipment to achieve comparable results. Student art films will never be the same again.

It really does work amazingly. You lose resolution and wider field of view, but the stabilization is terrific.