Linked List: August 22, 2018

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Apple Removes Facebook’s Onavo VPN App From App Store ★

Deepa Seetharaman, reporting for The Wall Street Journal:

Onavo allows users to create a virtual private network that redirects internet traffic to a private server managed by Facebook. The app, which bills itself as a way to “keep you and your data safe,” also alerts users when they visit potentially malicious sites. Facebook is able to collect and analyze Onavo users’ activity to get a picture of how people use their phones beyond Facebook’s apps.

Earlier this month, Apple officials informed Facebook that the app violated new rules outlined in June designed to limit data collection by app developers, the person familiar with the situation said. Apple informed Facebook that Onavo also violated a part of its developer agreement that prevents apps from using data in ways that go beyond what is directly relevant to the app or to provide advertising, the person added.

Here is the money line from Onavo’s terms of service:

To provide this layer of protection, Onavo uses a VPN to establish a secure connection to direct all of your network communications through Onavo’s servers. As part of this process, Onavo collects your mobile data traffic. This helps us improve and operate the Onavo service by analyzing your use of websites, apps and data. Because we’re part of Facebook, we also use this info to improve Facebook products and services, gain insights into the products and services people value, and build better experiences.

In other words, while you’re using Onavo, Facebook collects everything you do on the Internet — not just on the web but within apps too. As I wrote back in February, it’s spyware, pure and simple. I’m glad Apple cracked down on this, but it shouldn’t have taken until August.

Redesigned New York Times Homepage Removes Reporters’ Bylines ★

This is a terrible mistake. Bylines add credibility. I know they haven’t removed bylines from the actual stories, but they belong on the homepage too.

Edovia’s Screens as a Replacement for Back to My Mac ★

Edovia:

Apple just announced that it will be sunsetting the Back to My Mac service when macOS 10.14 Mojave launches this fall. The company recommends to start using iCloud Drive, use screen sharing or to buy Apple Remote Desktop at $80.

Screens (iOS and Mac) and Screens Connect are a great alternative to Back to My Mac. In fact, Screens Connect essentially behaves like the soon to be defunct service; it manages to open a port on your router and sends that information to our server. Then, Screens retrieves that information in order to connect to your Mac remotely.

Their sibling Screens Express app is a great solution to the problem of remote troubleshooting for family members. They’re running a discount offer on the heels of Apple’s announcement.

Stephen Hackett’s Aqua Screenshot Library ★

Stephen Hackett, writing at 512 Pixels:

I’m really glad to be announcing a project that started at the end of last year. I have worked my way through every major release of macOS since the Mac OS X Public Beta and catalogued them in an extensive collection of screenshots.

Currently, the library includes 1,502 images. That’s 1.6 GB worth of screenshots.

Just a staggering amount of work went into assembling this collection. What a great resource. I love the little things, like looking at how the Finder’s “Go to Folder” sheet has subtly changed over the years.

Question, though: Is the MacOS user interface appearance still called “Aqua”? I tend to think of “Aqua” as the “lickable” buttons, pinstripes and brushed metal look of the early Mac OS X years. Those aspects became more subtle with each passing year, but I can’t really put my finger on a new version that I feel is decidedly not “Aqua” until 10.10’s iOS 7-style flattening. But maybe even the current look and feel is still properly called Aqua? Update: As evidenced by the latest appearance APIs for MacOS 10.14 Mojave, the interface is indeed still named “Aqua”. The dark mode appearance is “Dark Aqua”.

The other odd thing about writing about the MacOS from a historical perspective is that Apple changed its name twice: “Mac OS X” from public beta through 10.7, “OS X” from 10.8 through 10.11, and now just “MacOS” since 10.12. (Don’t get me started on Apple’s marketing preference to capitalize it “macOS”.) If Hackett didn’t call it the “Aqua Screenshot Gallery”, what could he have called it? “Mac OS X Screenshot Gallery” would be my suggestion, but admittedly that feels wrong in a certain sense. “Mac Screenshot Gallery” would be inclusive of all versions of the OS since the Mac OS X public beta, but feels like it should also include the classic Mac OS era. Maybe that’s why Hackett went with “Aqua”.

Also, maybe I overthink things.