Juli Clover, writing for MacRumors:

As of iOS 11.3, Messages in iCloud is back and is available for “testing and evaluation purposes,” marking the official return of the feature. According to Apple’s release notes, once iOS 11.3 beta 1 is installed, Messages will prompt users to turn on Messages in the Cloud when it is first launched.

Messages in the Cloud is automatically enabled for users who have two-factor authentication and iCloud Backup enabled, says Apple.

One of the advantages with Messages on iCloud is that, if you want to keep your old messages around, they won’t be taking up space on your devices, and they’ll only count once against your iCloud storage limit (as opposed to now, where old messages are stored in the backups of each device you use).

Josh Constine, writing for TechCrunch:

For the first time, Facebook is opening up to children under age 13 with a privacy-focused app designed to neutralize child predator threats that plague youth-focused competitors like Snapchat. Rolling out today on iOS in the US, “Messenger Kids” lets parents download the app on their child’s phone or tablet, create a profile for them, and approve friends and family who they can text and video chat with from the main Messenger app.

Tweens don’t sign up for a Facebook account and don’t need a phone number, but can communicate with other Messenger and Messenger Kids users parents sign-off on, so younger siblings don’t get left out of the family group chat. “We’ve been working closely with the FTC so we’re lockstep with them. ‘This works’, they said” Facebook product management director Loren Cheng tells me. “In other apps, they can contact anyone they want or be contacted by anyone” Facebook’s head of Messenger David Marcus notes.

This is like Philip Morris introducing officially licensed candy cigarettes. You’re nuts if you sign your kids up for this.

After measuring the charging speed of 44 cables, then sending the top 11 to our electrical engineer for teardown analysis, the $14 Monoprice 3ft MFi Certified Lightning to USB Charge/Sync Cable is the one we'd buy. It may be a third-party cable, but the Monoprice stood out among competitors by being the only third-party cable that had as good, if not better, internal build-quality compared to Apple’s own cable. Plus, it’s cheaper than Apple’s by $5.

Yoni Heisler gives a detailed look at the security mechanisms of Apple Pay, and explains why it may very well be the safest way to make any type of credit card payment. Based on discussions with a few credit card executives involved in the Apple Pay development process, Heisler paints a great pictures of the various security elements behind Apple Pay.... Read the rest of this post here Pay.

So while the Apple Pay user experience has been set up to be impressively simple, there are a myriad of complex safety measures at work behind the scenes to help ensure that sensitive user data remains free from prying eyes. The use of token-based payments is something the banks have been pushing for and something the credit card networks are similarly excited for.

The only variable, really, is how consumers take to it. Safety, though, shouldn’t be a concern.

A must-read for anyone concerned about the security of the system, or simply for anyone interested in learning more about what’s already dubbed as the “most secure payments scheme on the planet.”

Read it all at TUAW

"A closer look at the layers of security behind Apple Pay" is an article by iDownloadBlog.com.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Derek Jeter:

I do think fans deserve more than “no comments” or “I don’t knows.” Those simple answers have always stemmed from a genuine concern that any statement, any opinion or detail, might be distorted. I have a unique perspective. Many of you saw me after that final home game, when the enormity of the moment hit me. I’m not a robot. Neither are the other athletes who at times might seem unapproachable. We all have emotions. We just need to be sure our thoughts will come across the way we intend.

So I’m in the process of building a place where athletes have the tools they need to share what they really think and feel. We want to have a way to connect directly with our fans, with no filter.

Nice design.