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Friday 31 January 2020

Apple Close to Deal for Comedy Show Starring Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong

Apple is closing in on a series order for a musical comedy starring "Saturday Night Live" cast member Cecily Strong, reports Deadline.

Photo by Marion Curtis/StarPix/Shutterstock

Written by Despicable Me duo Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, the as-yet untitled comedy series follows a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship when they discover the magical town of Schmigadoon, in which everyone acts as if they're in a studio musical from the 1940s. They then discover that they can’t leave until they find "true love."

Strong will produce as well as star in the series, while Paul will be showrunner and Daurio will serve as consulting producer.

The series has reportedly been in the works at Apple for almost a year. While Strong is thought to be in the final year of her current "Saturday Night Live" contract, her involvement in Apple's comedy series doesn't necessarily mean she's leaving NBC's late-night sketch program.

Earlier this week, Apple announced that it was also nearing a series order for a comedy-drama series starring Rose Byrne. Titled "Physical," the show is set in a 1980s Southern California beach community, in which Byrne plays a housewife who discovers unexpected power in the world of aerobics.

Tags: Apple TV Shows, Apple TV Plus

This article, "Apple Close to Deal for Comedy Show Starring Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Engineers Propose Standardized Format for SMS One-Time Passcodes

Apple WebKit engineers have put forward a proposal to make one-time passcode SMS messages more secure by developing a standardized format for the two-step verification process, reports ZDNet.

Two-step verification logins require a user's password and another element that only the user would know – in this case, a one-time code sent via text message – to gain access to an online account.

As it stands, these SMS messages can arrive in a variety of formats, making it difficult or impossible for apps and websites to detect them and automatically extract their information. They can also

Apple's proposal has two goals. The first is to introduce a way that one-time passcode SMS messages can be associated with the website, by adding the login URL inside the message itself.

The second goal is to standardize the format of the SMS messages, so that browsers and other apps can identify the incoming message, recognize the URL, and then extract the OTP code for automatic insertion into the appropriate login field on the website.

The idea behind automating OTP entry is that it eliminates the risk of users falling for a scam and entering an OTP code on a phishing site with a different URL.

Apple developers provided the following example of the new format SMS message for OTP codes:

747723 is your WEBSITE authentication code.
@website.com #747723

The first line is intended for the user, enabling them to determine the website that the SMS OTP code came from, while the second line is processed by browsers and apps so that they can automatically extract the OTP code and complete the 2FA login operation.

If auto-complete fails, users will be able to check the URL of the website that sent the text against the site they're trying to log in to.

According to the report, Google Chrome engineers are already on board with Apple's proposal, but Mozilla's Firefox team have yet to provide official feedback on the standard.

The new proposals would add another layer of security to Apple's existing security code autofill feature, introduced in iOS 12, that can detect one-time passcodes in Messages and display them conveniently above the user's keyboard.

This article, "Apple Engineers Propose Standardized Format for SMS One-Time Passcodes" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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YouTuber Gives Fake Award to Far Right Activist Who Calls Greta Thunberg an 'Autistic Fucking Wench'

YouTuber Josh Pieters has revealed that he pranked far right British commentator Katie Hopkins by flying her to Prague and presenting her with a fake award. Hopkins, who is frequently retweeted by President Trump and was recently suspended on Twitter, was awarded with the Campaign to Unify the Nation Trophy,…

EU Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Charging Cable Standard, Despite Apple's Protestations

Despite criticism from Apple, EU lawmakers on Thursday voted overwhelmingly in favor for new rules to establish a common charger for all mobile device makers across Europe (via Reuters).

Members of the European Parliament voted by 582-40 for a resolution urging the European Commission, which drafts EU laws, to ensure that EU consumers are no longer obliged to buy new chargers with each new device.

The resolution said voluntary agreements in the industry had significantly reduced the number of charger types, but had not resulted in one common standard.

The Commission should adopt new rules by July, the lawmakers' resolution said, calling for "an urgent need for EU regulatory action to reduce electronic waste, empower consumers to make sustainable choices, and allow them to fully participate in an efficient and well-functioning internal market."

The proposed charging ports for portable devices include Micro-USB, USB-C, and the Lightning connector. Thursday's resolution didn't specify what the mobile charging standard should be, but non-Apple mobile devices and increasingly laptops and tablets are charged by USB-C, so the EU is highly unlikely to choose Apple's Lightning connector.

Apple last week pushed back against proposals for binding measures to make smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices use a standardized charging port such as USB-C.

In a statement, Apple said that the industry was already moving to USB-C and that regulation to force conformity would stifle innovation, harming European consumers. Apple also claimed that such a move would "create an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users."

The European Commission, which acts as the executive for the EU, has been pushing for a common charger for more than a decade. However, the latest resolution makes legislation more likely, with the EU executive having included the common charger standard as one of the set of actions it plans for this year.

Tags: European Union, European Commission

This article, "EU Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly in Favor of Charging Cable Standard, Despite Apple's Protestations" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Thursday 30 January 2020

If You’re Going to Buy Her Lingerie for Valentine’s Day, Buy It From One of These Brands

At the risk of mixing cultural metaphors, Valentine’s Day is the Super Bowl of men buying lingerie for their significant others. Christmas and Hanukkah are celebrated with family, usually, making sexy undergarments a less-than-ideal gift, while anniversaries call for nostalgic presents rather than romantic ones. As…