eXtensions - Thursday 26 February 2026
By Graham K. Rogers
An email purportedly from Apple did not stand up to much scrutiny. A deeper analysis showed several cracks, and online sources confirmed my suspicions: phishing. Several rumors look at next week's Apple "Experience". Several good series from AppleTV and Netflix are coming, while the MotoGP season starts this week in Thailand. PetaPixel contributors look at AI risks to camera manufacturers; and what photographers go through confirming their images are not AI.
Once in a while, I will receive email from Apple. If this is not related to a purchase I had recently made or a payment made at the App Store (usually preceeded by a credit card message), I am suspicious. This week I had an email that purported to be from Apple warning me about an unusual payment made with Apple Pay. As I live in Thailand, this service is not available here, so immediately this was a warning sign. So was the salutation, Hello. Apple never writes, Hello. And the exclamation mark. As I looked at other parts of the message, it was clear that this was an attempt to make me click on one of the links. Phishing.
Later, I had a look at the raw text when I opened the message on the Mac. I use the View menu, Message, then select raw text. It was clear from the sender details that this was not from Apple. One of the IP numbers in the message body was also clearly not Apple. It pointed to a service in France. I decided to report this for phishing to Apple, but while I was looking, I came across an article from Andrew Orr (AppleInsider), which had an example of the same email I had received. I sent the message to Apple phishing (reportphishing@apple.com) anyway.
As we approach early March and the Apple "Experience" taking place in New York, London and Shanghai, it is expected that Apple's operating systems will be updated to cover any specific hardware updates that may be announced, Joe Rossignol (MacRumors) reports. He writes that "it is possible that iOS 26.3.1 will include support for some of the new products that Apple is expected to announce". He also reports that the "Experience" may have new product announcements over a 3-day stretch, although this is unconfirmed (as are any 26.3.1 updates): rumor mills. The new low priced Mac (MacBook) is rumored to have the A18 chip. That was used in iPhone 16 models. The iPhone 17 has the A19.
Last week I ran through all 10 episodes of the Netflix spy drama, The Night Agent. I had enjoyed the first series, but the follow-up sagged a little, although still showed some potential for the concept. Several critics commented on the lack of energy. Series 3 lives up to the early promise, with new cast members, some new writing and different direction. One of the scenes showed the bombing of a Mexican terrorist leader's property. The fictional president was insistent on a correct identification of the location (out of 3 possibles) before the attack to minimize collateral damage.
Less than 12 hours after viewing that attack, it was announced that Mexican authorities had killed cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera (El Mencho). Following the death it is reported that "cartel henchmen blockaded highways with burning cars and torched businesses in more than a half a dozen states, paralyzing parts of the country" (RTÉ), and US citizens are being warned to shelter in place. More information is carried in a Guardian report. Art mirrors life?
There are several new releases coming to AppleTV and Netflix here soon, including the latest Drive to Survive (27 Feb) covering the 2025 season with the rivalry between Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. The same day that is released, the new season of For All Mankind becomes available on AppleTV. This alternative timeline of the space race is interesting. In this upcoming series, those on Mars are seeking independence from Earth and it appears an all-out war is on the cards. I would expect distance to be a limiting factor.
We are also expecting new series of Monsters and Ted Lasso, although I will reserve judgement on the latter as I had thought it had reached its limit. The same weekend that Drive to Survive is released (27 Feb), Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) also reports on the arrival of the second part of the Monsters series, with Kurt Russel, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Apart from the original King Kong and the stop motion work of Ray HarryhausenI do not really enjoy monster movies, but this was nicely put together and I am looking forward to this second series.
With the release of a selection of new series, this coming weekend is also the opening of the MotoGP season. The first meeting is at Buriram in the northeast of Thailand. I tend not to visit circuits these days and find the coverage from Dorna (who just merged with Liberty Media), first rate. The behind-scenes information and the informed commentary, keep me up to date and complement the exciting racing on the circuits. Despite all this, I am otherwise engaged this weekend with the annual, international, Invent for the Planet workshops that have students working overtime to come up with solutions for world problems. This time the focus is on Food.
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Last time I included a warning from Michael Wooldridge about the potential "Hindenburg" disaster that was waiting in the wings with AI and the over-confident output it provides. I have also come across a few over-confident writers in recent times who submit articles to journals and then ask me to "improve" the content when they are sent back. One look and the answer is clear: they have trusted the output from the AI they have used (ChatGPT, Gemini, others) and do not have the critical skills to see what rubbish it is.
I have been disturbed by the incorporation of AI tools into photo-editing software in the last couple of years. I stopped using one application that introduced a "sunbeam" feature. Beams of light streaming through the scenery: all in the best possible taste. As Adobe includes more AI tools (and increases the subscription prices) so more photographers are seeking reliable alternatives to edit their images. Apple too includes an AI repair tool, called Clean Up, which can remove major artifacts (people for example), but the repair feature is not as accurate as I think is needed. If I have to clean up an image, I switch to Photomator that has an excellent tool for the job.
I use my Nikon D850 fairly regularly, but in the last couple of years have been taking more film photographs. Last year, I kept 525 photographs from the Hasselblad I use most. I took more (some were duds), and save all scans on disk (I also keep the negatives), but the ones I kept were those I considered usable. My use of film is related to the encroachment of AI in photography, although I am careful not to use any such tricks consciously in my own editing. Jaron Schneider has a warning for camera manufacturers who, he suggests, must surely be thinking about AI inclusion in their products. I do not even want video capabilities in my cameras.
Schneider looks at two examples of cameras that appeared recently with AI features and notes the strong reactions that came from users. These took the manufacturers by surprise. After all, the way "Google and OpenAI won't stop trying to shove AI down the population's collective throat" must make it compelling for some management to think that this is the answer to photography's problems. The reactions suggest, maybe not. Schneider's article is worth a full read. His main idea is that, should any manufacturer actually decide that they must include AI features in a camera, the "irreversible brand damage" will kill the company.
In another PetaPixel article, Nick Didlick has a longish article on image verification. He notes that it is easy for users to manipulate images with the editing software available these days, citing the verb, "photoshopped" as recognition of the damage that can be done. His article explains the step by step approach he takes using a Sony camera and the certification that is developed when an image is used for publication. I admit to being pleased and surprised to see this. My approach is simply to store the original RAW image on disk so that could be referenced if there were any questions about use of AI. With images I will do minimal image editing with basic tools (crop/perspective/keystone; exposure/brightness/contrast/sharpen; and repair when necessary. With the negatives, I keep all original TIFF scans on disk, and of course I have the negatives as well.
Having faced the Supreme Court decision on the legality of tariffs that were imposed almost across the board by Presidential Decree, an angry president lashed out at the Justices and imaginary co-conspirators (mainly Democrats), then as had probably been already decided, imposed a 10% tariff on imports from all countries. Not that any foreign companies will pay. That is not how tariffs work.
Those having to foot the bill are US consumers, US companies that manufacture goods abroad, and anyone buying from those US companies. Less than 24 hours later (Lucy Campbell reports in the Guardian), that temporary 10% has now risen to 15%. There is more fun to come, I am sure and I note that in the State of the Union Address, the president suggested that taxation could be replaced by tariffs. Some TV commentators were agog at that.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader. No AI was used in writing this item.
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