Apple Mail and Hidden Tracking Images

John Gruber, writing at DaringFireball: In my piece yesterday about email tracking images (“spy pixels” or “spy trackers”), I complained about the fact that Apple — a company that rightfully prides itself for its numerous features protecting user privacy — offers no built-in defenses for email tracking. A slew of readers wrote to argue that Apple Mail does offer such a…

After a Boeing 777 Rained Failed-Engine Debris on Neighborhood Below, More Planes Grounded

After a twin-engine, wide-bodied Boeing 777 took off from a Denver airport — carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew members — its right engine failed. It began dropping debris on several neighborhoods below, CNBC reports. America’s Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying it was “aware of reports of debris in the vicinity of the airplane’s flight path,” CNBC adds, noting…

Vancouver Seaplane Company To Resume Test Flights With Electric Plane

A Vancouver seaplane company says its retro-fitted all electric airplane is set to take to the skies for more test flights this year, as it pushes forward with its plans to make commercial air travel cheaper and greener. CBC.ca reports: “There’s no wavering in our confidence and determination and interest in getting this done,” said Harbour Air CEO Greg McDougall. Founded…

Is that a UFO?! There’s probably an explanation

Most Unidentified Flying Objects aren’t actually unidentified. Here’s a list of phenomena, either natural or human-made, that people often mistake for UFOs. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/if-its-not-a-ufo-what-is-it…

Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier, Dies At 97

jowifi shares a report from NPR: One of the world’s most famous aviators has died: Chuck Yeager — best known as the first to break the sound barrier — has died at the age of 97. Yeager started from humble beginnings in Myra, W.Va., and many people didn’t really learn about him until decades after he broke the sound barrier –…

Is Microsoft’s ‘Find Your Joy’ Holiday Ad Sad?

There’s a zany twist at the end, because “This year more than ever, we felt that it was important to give people a little lift, to remind them that while we are facing a lot of challenges, there are many ways we can connect, be productive and enjoy the time we have at home,” Microsoft’s VP of brand, advertising, and research…

How Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max Experienced a Near-Crash The Day Before 2018’s Fatal Crash

ABC News tells the story of Indonesia-based budget airline Lion Air, which had ordered over 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8s at a cost of $22 billion — and what happened on a flight the day before a fatal crash on October 29th, 2018: [A]fter its first flight in May 2017, the 737 MAX 8 went 17 months without incident. Then, on…

European Regulators Prepare For MAX To Return To Service In 2021

thegreatbob writes: Looks like the main additions over the FAA’s requirements are some additional pilot training requirements. The actual EASA statement can be found here. Confirms what the available information had been pointing to: the plane flies tolerably without its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), but does not meet certification criteria. [The MCAS was a software system installed on the Max…

FAA Chief ‘100% Confident’ of 737 MAX Safety As Flights To Resume

Hmmmmmm shares a report: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson is “100% confident” in the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX but says the airplane maker has more to do as it works to improve its safety culture. Dickson on Wednesday signed an order to allow the best-selling plane to resume flights after it was grounded worldwide in March…