GAB’er Page: 1 May 8, 2018

THE GAB’ER
Newsletter of the Greater Albany AppleByters May 2018

Meeting: Tuesday, May 8, 2018

17:00 PM

Panera Bread

161 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany, NY

A map can be found at the GAAB website at

http://applebyters.com/index.php/meeting- information/
meeting_map/
May 2018 GAAB Meeting
Meeting: Tuesday, May 8, 2018
7:00 PM
Panera Bread
161 Washington Ave. Ext., Albany, NY
A map can be found at the GAAB website at
http://applebyters.com/index.php/meeting-
information/meeting_map/infomeeting_map/

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Switch to 64-bit Leaves macOS Developers in Tough Spot

By Nate Swanner April 15, 2018 (https://insights.dice.com/2018/04/15/macos-64-bit-

change-developers/)

Apple has begun sending notices to macOS users that 32-bit apps will soon stop working on
Mac hardware. It’s a move that puts developers in a tough spot, as we can’t quite figure out
what Apple’s desktop aspirations are.

Much as it did with iOS, Apple is turning the corner on 32-bit apps in favor of their better,
more secure (and faster) counterparts. In its support document for the desktop 64-bit switch,
Apple notes all “modern” Macs run 64-bit processors, and technologies such as Metal only
work on 64- bit chipsets.

High Sierra, the latest version of macOS, is the last to run 32-bit apps “without compromise,”
whatever that means. Users are already seeing pop-up notifications alerting them that their
32-bit apps need to be updated by the developer.

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Switch to 64-bit Leaves macOS Developers in Tough Spot (Continued)

Apple isn’t giving a hard drop-dead date for 32-bit macOS apps, but tells users they can
keep 32-bit apps “today.”

For developers, this is a fork in the road. The Mac App Store is a mess, and the ability to
earn via macOs is dubious. Electron apps are attractive, but they won’t provide access to
native frameworks for macOS.

There’s also ‘Marzipan’ to consider. Persistent rumors suggest Apple is working on a project
that will unify the underpinnings of iOS and macOS, effectively making one unique platform.
While details are still sketchy, it seems iOS features such as UIKit will replace

AppKit on macOS, which would blow the desktop doors off their proverbial hinges.

But even more uniquely concerning for the macOS developer is Apple’s possible move away
from Intel, a project reportedly dubbed ‘Kalamata.’ If the company does migrate to ARM
architecture, there would

be a long lead-in for desktop developers. The most glaring issue is x86, Intel’s instruction set
for backwards compatibility; a move to ARM would close the door on Intel’s i-series chipsets
as well as reverse compatibility.

Hopeful macOS developers see the move away from 32-bit as a curve in the road, not a
hard turn. After 64-bit ubiquity, perhaps the company will introduce a way to migrate apps
from x86 to ARM, and then we’re off to some form of unified platform for Apple products.
Bottom line: We just don’t know. WWDC may shed light on this roadmap, but Apple usually
shies away from divulging plans too far in advance. For now, the macOS update method is
similar to iOS: Toggle a few switches in Xcode, and squash bugs.

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy

Worries

By Sarah Schwartz April 6, 2018 (https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/04/11/schools-choose-

not-to-delete-facebook-despite.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news1&M=58442304&U=1951943)

Schools and education organizations are taking a closer look at how they use Facebook in
the wake of a high-profile data-privacy scandal involving the social media company.

The technology giant is facing scrutiny over relevations that a third-party consulting group
collected the data of tens of millions of Facebook users through its platform and used the
data to target political advertising—news that has stirred international outrage and given rise
to a social media hashtag that encourages users to #deleteFacebook.

One education research organization, the National Education Policy Center, has deleted its
Facebook page entirely—and is suggesting schools and districts do the same.

"Until [social media] companies are subject to greater accountability and transparency,
schools should avoid them," said Kevin Welner, the director of NEPC, a nonprofit that has
published papers critical of commercial companies' influence in schools. But while some
school districts are re-examining Facebook's privacy policies or their own security for
students and teachers in light of the Facebook controversy, they also say cutting out the
platform completely just isn't practical.

Many school systems use Facebook as a kind of virtual bulletin board, pushing out
information about snow days or reminders of school events. The platform allows districts to
communicate quickly and publicly, in a forum that they know parents and students already
frequent.

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries

(Continued)

Taking a Second Look

At the heart of the controversy are concerns about what data Facebook collects from users,
who Facebook allows to access those data, and how those data are eventually used.

Four Tips for Educators

Student-data-privacy experts and advocacy groups have offered tips for district leaders, in
the aftermath of the Facebook scandal:

1.) Take stock of how the district is using social media. Is it only being used by the district to
put out information for parents, or are teachers also using the platform in their classrooms?
What kind of student information is being distributed?

2.) Ensure that students aren’t pressured to use Facebook for instructional purposes.
Students shouldn’t be required to communicate with teachers or peers on the platform, or to
share their work there.

3.) Educate students on how to best avoid risk. For example, students should know that
taking a quiz on Facebook that was created by a third party—like Cambridge Analytica—can
result in their profile information being shared with that third party.

4.) Provide other avenues of communication for parents who aren’t comfortable using
Facebook, such as regular updates to a district’s website.

Sources: Consortium for School Networking and National Education Policy Center.
Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm based in Britain and backed by U.S.
Republican donors, used data gathered in a personality quiz administered through Facebook
to create voter profiles. The company then targeted political advertising during the 2016
election, with the goal of swaying the election for then-candidate Donald Trump.

Some 270,000 users downloaded the quiz app. This gave the consulting firm access to their
profiles, and because of the way Facebook's permissions were set up at the time, it also
gave Cambridge Analytica access to their friends' profiles. Most recently, Facebook has said
the profiles of 87 million users were affected.

The news has led some school districts to double check privacy settings and take a closer
look at what information Facebook collects and how that information is being used.

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries

(Continued)

Nancy Byrnes, the director of technology for the Fairfield, Conn. public schools, said after
the scandal broke she devoted a weekend to reviewing Facebook's policies around data
sharing.

Fairfield's Facebook page, run from the central office, mostly posts reminders and
announcements about weather-related closures as well as congratulatory posts about
students' academic and athletic achievements. Individual schools and teachers also
administer closed Facebook groups for students and parents—for example, a high school art
department created a group to showcase student work. The district has reached out to some
of the administrators of the closed groups, asking them to review their privacy settings, too.

Conducting a careful review of social media practices is the first step all districts should be
taking in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica news, said Linnette Attai, the project
director for the Consortium for School Networking's privacy initiative, in an email. Districts

should be reviewing for what purposes they're using the platform, and ensure they're making
intentional choices about what information they're sharing about students.

School systems should also provide options other than Facebook for parent communication,
she said, if they don't already offer such alternatives.

But NEPC, the education research organization that deleted its Facebook page,
recommends that schools should try to avoid the platform altogether. It is possible for
schools to limit the "degrees of exposure" students have on Facebook, Welner said. Districts
can customize privacy settings for school-related groups, and teach kids not to engage with
third-party applications, such as the quiz that Cambridge Analytica used. And at a minimum,
schools shouldn't require students or parents to access the site for any instructional
purposes, he said.

But ultimately, he said, "It's only a matter of mitigating. If you're using these products, you
are providing data. That's the nature of use."

In response to a request for comment, a Facebook spokesperson suggested reviewing the

company's data policies, which are outlined publicly on its website.

Those policies explain that the company records users' activity on the site. Facebook
collects the content of users' posts and messages, as well as metadata—information such
as how long someone spends looking at a page, how often he or she visits a certain page,
or the time of day a comment was posted.

Facebook can then use that information to choose which advertisements to show to certain
users and to personalize the ads' content.

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries

(Continued)

When students and parents visit a school district's Facebook page, the amount of time they
spend there, and the "comments" and "likes" they leave, can become part of the data profile
that Facebook has created for them.

A school district page or group gives Facebook "another data point" on the users who visit it,
said Doug Levin, the founder and president of EdTech Strategies, LLC.

"Those profiles are made richer by schools pushing people in there," he said.

Some districts also have Facebook trackers on their district sites, which could give
Facebook further access to the online activities of people in the school community. Levin's
recent research report, "Tracking: EDU—Education Agency Website Security and Privacy
Practices," found that more than 25 percent of the 159 school district websites he studied
had embedded user tracking tools that reported information back to Facebook.

These kinds of trackers can use information about users' browsing history and other activity
across the web—not just on Facebook—to target ads. Most school district websites that
include these trackers don't disclose in their privacy policies that the data sharing is taking
place, according to Levin's report.

Recently, Facebook created a "privacy shortcuts" page, with the goal of making it easier to
find and understand its policies. The company also employs stricter data-privacy standards
for teenagers, limiting the information that people can use to search for teenagers on the
platform and disabling facial recognition technology for users under 18.

But in many cases, Facebook is collecting the same data on teenage users that it is for adult
users.

Meeting Parents' Needs

The scale and scope of this data collection isn't new, said Byrnes, from Fairfield Public
Schools. She attributed the "incredulity" she's seen after the Cambridge Analytica scandal to
a lack of public knowledge about how pervasive data harvesting is across all social media
sites and applications, not just Facebook.

In Fairfield, the district won't approve instructional apps that claim ownership of students'
uploaded materials, or say they use any student data to market advertisements, said
Byrnes. In past years, Byrnes has instructed teachers in the district to close public groups
featuring student work.

But offering parents the option to get district information via Facebook is a different situation,
said Byrnes. For one, visiting the page is voluntary—parents can get the same information

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries

(Continued)

through updates from the district's student management system, or Remind, a notification
app that Fairfield uses.

And parents want this information source, she said: Facebook is "a broad-based, accepted
product for the age bracket of parents that are in our community."

In the Beaverton, Ore. school district, the opportunity Facebook offers for better parent
communication also takes precedence.

Beaverton uses Facebook similarly to Fairfield, posting inclement weather updates and
celebrations of student achievements on its district page. It's one of several digital
communication tools the district uses, said Steve Langford, the chief information officer, in
an interview. It's also one of the most effective, he said, as students and families are already
on the platform.

Facebook also allows for fast, large-scale communication in developing situations, like
emergency weather cancellations, said Kara Yunck, the district's communications
coordinator, who also manages the district's social media accounts. Parents can post
comments and questions, and the district can issue an up-to-date, centralized, and public
response.

The likelihood that interaction with the district's page will become part of students' and
parents' Facebook data profiles is "out of our control," said Langford. Like Byrnes, Langford
said he has a responsibility to meet parents' needs. If some parents find it useful to get
updates through Facebook, then the district needs to be on Facebook.

Langford said Beaverton doesn't post information on the district page that violates federal
student privacy laws or the district's own privacy rules, and Yunck works with teachers who
create classroom Facebook pages to make sure they're aware of privacy best practices. The
district has a digital-citizenship curriculum and also is launching a cybersecurity awareness
campaign for staff.

But teaching educators and students about data privacy can't just be tasked to schools, said
Langford. When social media companies have access to personal data, it's their
responsibility to be clear with consumers about how they're using the data. This applies to
Facebook, he said, but also education vendors.

For Steve Smith, the news about Facebook's breach of trust resurfaced concerns about a
different tech platform.

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Schools Choose Not to Delete Facebook Despite Data-Privacy Worries

(Continued)

'Swiss Cheese' Privacy

In G-Suite for Education, Google's web-based learning management system used by tens of
millions of students worldwide, districts have the option to authorize third-party apps through
the district Google account, said Smith, the chief information officer for the Cambridge Public
Schools in Massachusetts. Every app authorized via the district could be extracting data
from a student's school account, creating a "swiss cheese effect" when it comes to student
privacy, he said.

To prevent this, Cambridge uses CloudLock, a tool that allows the district to block these app
authorizations.

G-Suite has faced a history of criticism—and legal action—around how it handles student
data privacy.

In 2014, the company was sued in federal court for building hidden profiles of users on the
platform that could be used for targeted advertising. Google told Education Week back in

2014 that it had "scanned and indexed" emails from millions of students using the platform, a
practice which it has since stopped. The potential exists, said Smith, for educational
platforms to allow third-party data harvesting, in a very similar way to how Facebook gave
access to Cambridge Analytica.

Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ -- high quality nylon USB to

Lightning cords

Jeff Richardson, http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2018/01/review-anker-

powerline-ii.html

Last year, I reviewed the Anker PowerLine+ USB to Lightning cord, and I was
incredibly impressed.  It costs less than the cord that Apple sells (or includes with an
iPhone or iPad), and it is far more durable.  Indeed, shortly after I purchased that cord,
two of the Apple Lightning cords that some of my family members had been using
started to fray near the ends.  Rather than risk damage to their iPhones, those cords
went right into the trash and I decided order some more Anker cords from Amazon. 
We got different colors for different family members to avoid confusion, and this also

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Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ II (Continued)

gave me an opportunity to compare the difference between the original version of the
Anker PowerLine+ and the Anker PowerLine+ II. 

Durability

The PowerLine+ I have been using for months seems incredibly durable. The nylon
surrounding the cord protects the cord and makes it virtually impossible to knot the cord.
And the plugs on the ends seem much more durable than the Apple Lightning cords —
which always seem to be the spot where my Apple cords fray over time.

The PowerLine+ II cord also features nylon surrounding the cord, but it is just a hair thicker.
And the plugs on the ends of the PowerLine+ II are a little bit larger and are more tapered
than the PowerLine+ cord. In the following picture, the Lightning end of the PowerLine+ II is
at the top, followed by the Lightning end of the PowerLine+, then the USB end of the
PowerLine+ II, and at the bottom the USB end of the PowerLine+.

What difference does this make? Anker advertises the PowerLine+ as lasting 6 times longer
than other (unspecified) Lightning cables with a 6,000+ bend lifespan. Anker advertises the
PowerLine+ II as lasting 30 times longer than ordinary cables, able to withstand 30,000
bends. So apparently Anker believes that the PowerLine+ II is about five times more durable
than the PowerLine+ cord. Anker says that both cords have a tensile strength that can
support 175 pounds.


The PowerLine+ comes with an 18 month warranty, but the PowerLine+ II comes with a
lifetime warranty. Anker's website says: "We're so confident in PowerLine+ II, we are
offering a hassle-free replacement for all quality issues. Not for half a year, not for 18
months, but for an entire lifetime. It's the only cable you will ever need to buy."

I haven't tried to bend any of these cords 6,000 times, let alone 30,000 times. I have tried to
see what is different between the cords, and I see a few minor differences. First, the nylon
on the PowerLine+ II is thicker and feels a little softer than the PowerLine+. Second, if I
bend the PowerLine+, the cord tends to keep the shape of the bend, but if I bend the
PowerLine+ II, the cord doesn't keep the shape as much. I don't know if either of those two
qualities has anything to do with durability.


I'm sure that the longer plugs on the PowerLine+ II are important for durability. Since that is
a common point of failure for the Apple Lightning cords, I can understand that Anker would
want to make them as strong as possible.

Speaking of the plugs, keep in mind that — as I noted in my prior review — the Lightning
end of the Anker plugs are slightly larger than the Lightning end of Apple's cord. If you have
an iPhone case with a tiny hole for the Lightning cord made precisely for the Apple cord, it is

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Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ II (Continued)

possible that the Anker plug will be too big. Otherwise, I doubt you will notice the difference.


Colors

The PowerLine+ cords come in four colors: gray, red, white and golden. I bought my
original PowerLine+ cord for my car, and the dark gray color is a great match for my car's
interior. My wife picked the red color for her cord, and the red does look really nice. Here
are the gray and red colors:

! !

The PowerLine+ II cords come in four colors: black, red, silver and golden. Here are the
black, silver and golden colors:

The gray of the PowerLine+ is dark enough that it is only a shade lighter than the black of
the PowerLine+ II. The following picture shows all five cords, with the gray PowerLine+ at
the top and the black PowerLine+ II in the middle:

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Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ II (Continued)

Cases

One big difference between the two products is that the PowerLine+ comes with a felt pouch
that folds over, whereas the PowerLine+ II comes with a nicer zippered pouch. Here is the
felt pouch for the PowerLine+:

! !

Here is the pouch of the PowerLine+ II, the 3 foot version on the left, and the slightly larger 6
foot version on the right:

! !

With both cases, you can wind up the cord inside of the case to make the part of the cords
that come out of each side just the length that you need. This works with the leather pouch
because both ends are open; this works with the zippered pouch because it has zippers at
both ends.

I think that most people would prefer the zippered pouch because it zips completely closed.
Both cases give you someplace to store the cord when you are not using it, but the
PowerLine+ II version seems like a nicer case to toss into your purse, briefcase, luggage,
etc.

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Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ II (Continued)

Price difference

Typically, the PowerLine+ II cord costs $1 or $2 more than the same length PowerLine+
cord. But this isn't always true.

You can buy these cords in 1 foot, 3 foot, 6 foot and 10 foot lengths. The cost for the
PowerLine+ versions are $12.99, $14.99, $16.99 and $17.99. For the same length versions
of the PowerLine+ II, the prices are $13.99, $15.99, $17.99 and $19.99. But those prices
can vary, both on Amazon and the Anker website.

Also, if you like the red color, the PowerLine+ can be even cheaper than the PowerLine+ II
because Anker offers a two-pack: two 3 foot cords for $19.99, or two 6 foot cords for
$21.99. And even if you just want a single red cord, as I type this, the 3 foot red cord is
currently $13.99 ($1 cheaper) on Amazon and $11.99 on Anker's website. I don't know if red
is always cheaper or if there are other times in which another color is cheaper.

My recommendation

If you decide that you are ready to get a high-quality Lightning cable, these nylon-coated
Anker cables get my very highest recommendation. If you find that for the price and color
that you want, the PowerLine+ II version is only $1 or $2 more, you might as well get the
PowerLine+ II version. Even to my eyes, the II version appears to be a little more durable,
and Anker apparently thinks the difference is enough to offer the lifetime warranty with the II
version. Plus, the case is much nicer with the II version, which is something that you will
appreciate right away.

But if you find that the price difference is more substantial, opting for the PowerLine+ version
is still a fine choice. When I purchased my new cords, I took advantage of the discount on
the red PowerLine+ two-pack, which meant that I spent $11 on each red 6 foot cord versus
$16 for a red PowerLine+ II version. I'd make that same decision again. For me, the nicer
case and the increase in durability for a product that is already very durable isn't worth
another $5 for each red cord.

Here are links to the sizes and prices I'm seeing on Amazon right now:

PowerLine+ 1 foot ($12.99)

PowerLine+ II 1 foot ($13.99)

PowerLine+ 3 foot ($14.99); red PowerLine+ 3 foot ($13.99)

PowerLine+ 3 foot red two-pack ($19.99)

PowerLine+ II 3 foot ($15.99)

PowerLine+ 6 foot ($16.99)

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Review: Anker PowerLine+ II versus PowerLine+ II (Continued)

PowerLine+ 6 foot red two-pack ($21.99)

PowerLine+ II 6 foot ($17.99)

PowerLine+ 10 foot ($17.99)

PowerLine+ II 10 foot ($19.99)

iPhone J.D. is the oldest and largest website for lawyers using iPhones and iPads. iPhone J.D. is
published by Jeff Richardson, an attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana. This site does not provide
legal advice, and any opinions expressed on this site are solely those of the author and do not reflect
the views of Jeff's law firm, Adams and Reese LLP. iPhone J.D. is not associated with Apple, Inc.

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