American voters have their details leaked online, all Apple products sucked in 2015, Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t owe you any money, Google Glass is back, and the teenage gamer who sought revenge.
Voters in the United States have had their personal information exposed online for all to see, and there’s very little anyone can do about it. According to CSO Online, cybersecurity researcher Chris Vickery discovered a database containing the voter records of 191 million people. This database was live online for several days, and was wholly unprotected from prying eyes.
Vickery hasn’t revealed the whereabouts of the database, or who compiled it. However, it’s known to contain the full name, home address, voter ID, gender, date of birth, phone number, date of birth, political affiliation, and recent voting history or everybody included. Which, if the 191 million figure is accurate, is likely to include every single registered voter.
The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has been notified of the database, but no investigation has yet been confirmed. Thankfully, the database is no longer publicly available.
Apple has endured a troubled 2015, with most of the products it has released being received with a slight shrug of the shoulders rather than unbridled joy. Sure, the Apple faithful has continued to buy these products in bulk, making Apple richer than ever, but the company still seems to have lost its way. And that could have a knock-on effect in terms of attracting the next generation of consumers.
This isn’t an original statement, with Gizmodo kicking the whole thing off with an article titled “Everything Apple Introduced This Year Kinda Sucked”. Even The Verge, which usually has a high regard for Apple and its products, admits most of the new Apple products and features launched as if in beta. Which means they are, at best, works in progress, and not the finished article.
Part of the problem is the sheer number of products Apple launched this year. The company used to be known for concentrating on a handful of products, which were made as perfect as possible before they reached consumers. But now we have multiple Macs, multiple iPhones, multiple iPads, the Apple Watch, Apple TV, Apple Music, and more besides. None of which are quite as good as they should be. Unless you disagree, in which case you should tell us why we’re wrong in the comments below.
Just to clarify once and for all, Mark Zuckerberg is not giving money away to random Facebook users. Unfortunately, the post suggesting this is the case is spreading like wildfire. We really wish it was the case, and that we were first in line, but sadly, the truth is much less exciting.
At the beginning of December Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. However, while this charity (which is actually a limited company) will be the beneficiary of most of the value of the couple’s shares in Facebook, people like you and me will not see a penny of it.
In other words, STOP SHARING THIS RIDICULOUS LIE! Please. For the sake of the children. And my sanity.
In January, Google announced the end of Google Glass, at least for the time being. Most people assumed the project was on hiatus, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt confirmed as much in March. Now, almost a year on, it looks like Google Glass is set to make a comeback, with details of a new model having been published on the FCC website.
The new Google Glass looks, well, very much like the old Google Glass. The biggest change appears to be that the new Google Glass can be folded up like a regular pair of spectacles. The prism also looks larger, and the charging port has changed. But beyond that there’s very little to distinguish this from the previous model.
Despite this appearance on the FCC website there is no indication of when, or even if, the new Google Glass will be launched. Current speculation suggests this is the Enterprise Edition likely to be aimed at businesses, with a wildly different product being designed ahead of the consumer reboot, currently codenamed Project Aura.
And finally, Christmas is surely the perfect time to get revenge on someone. That someone being your dad. A good dad. A dad who bought you your first car when you were 16 years old. Because to your addled teenage brain, a Honda Civic just wasn’t as good a gift as an Xbox 360.
To get his own back, the teenage victim of the original prank recreates it eight years later. Now 24 years old, he fools his dad into thinking he’s got an Xbox One when in actual fact it’s just a box of rocks. Still, there’s a happy ending thanks to a satisfying twist.
Are you shocked to discover information on voters being exposed online? Which Apple product(s) disappointed you in 2015? Has anyone you know fallen for the Facebook money scam? Are you still interested in Google Glass? What’s the best gadget you have ever been given for Christmas?
Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.
Tech News Digest is a daily column paring the technology news of the day down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to read and perfect for sharing.
Image Credits: Iain Farrell via Flickr
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