Linked List: October 24, 2017

Tuesday, 24 October 2017

Max Boot: ‘Republicans Have Stockholm Syndrome, and It’s Getting Worse’ 

Max Boot, writing for Foreign Policy:

It becomes ever harder to disagree with the verdict of foreign-policy sage Robert Kagan, like me an erstwhile Republican, who writes that the GOP in its current form is doomed and that Republicans who cannot stomach Trumpism “should change their registration and start voting for Democratic moderates and centrists, as some Republicans did in Virginia recently, to give them a leg up in their fight against the party’s left wing.” As I’ve explained before, I have my qualms about the Democratic Party, which is lurching to the left, but I am done, done, done with the GOP after more than 30 years as a loyal Republican.

This is truly Trump’s party, and that leaves me to root for Democrats to win a landslide victory in the midterm elections next fall. I have my differences with many Democratic candidates, but on the most important issue facing our nation — whether Trump is fit for office — they are right and Republicans are a disgrace.

Stealing Sensitive Browser Data With the W3C Ambient Light Sensor API 

Lukasz Olejnik:

In this post we describe and demonstrate a neat trick to exfiltrate sensitive information from your browser using a surprising tool: your smartphone or laptop’s ambient light sensor. […]

To better compete with native apps, websites might soon be able to access ambient light readings. There is currently an ongoing discussion within a W3C Device and Sensors Working Group whether to allow websites access the light sensor without requiring the user’s permission. Most recent versions of both Chrome and Firefox have implementations of the API.

I don’t want web browsers to compete with native apps. I want web browsers to be document viewers that I can trust with anything. I don’t want websites to have access to any sensors on my machine. The good news is it doesn’t matter what Chrome and Mozilla do — I doubt there’s any way that Safari would allow access to this sensor without the user’s explicit permission.

Apple Pay Accounts for 90 Percent of All Mobile Contactless Transactions Where Active 

Ingrid Lunden, reporting for TechCrunch:

The advances point to how Apple wants to steal a march when it comes to using phones as a proxy for a card or cash, and there is some anecdotal evidence that it’s working: merchants and others who have partnered with Apple say that Apple Pay is accounting for 90 percent of all mobile contactless transactions globally in markets where it’s available.

“Apple Pay is the future of everyday spend,” said Bailey on stage at the Money 20/20 conference that kicked off in Las Vegas yesterday.

90 percent market share for all mobile payments is rather remarkable for the platform with second-place market share overall.

The Talk Show: ‘Unused VIPs’ 

Posted over the weekend: a new episode of The Talk Show, with special guest Serenity Caldwell. Topics include watches, the problems with the current MacBook keyboards, iOS 11 battery life, my massive windfall from the iBooks antitrust settlement, and more.

Sponsored by:

  • Audible: Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial.
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
  • Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated.
Apple Announces iPhone X Availability 

Apple Newsroom:

iPhone X, the future of the smartphone, featuring a revolutionary new design with a stunning all-screen display, wireless charging and an incredible rear camera with dual optical image stabilization, will be available to customers for pre-order on Friday, October 27 at 12:01 a.m. PDT on apple.com and the Apple Store app.

iPhone X will be available in more than 55 countries and territories, and in Apple Stores beginning Friday, November 3 at 8:00 a.m. local time. Stores will have iPhone X available for walk-in customers, who are encouraged to arrive early.

“Encouraged to arrive early” — yeah, like maybe today.