popSLATE 2 adds a smart second screen to your iPhone -- and it looks amazing [Updated]
Update: Despite raising over $1 million in funding, iPhone E-ink case creator popSLATE closes down
At BetaNews we get bombarded with Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns on a daily basis, the vast majority of which we never cover. Occasionally though, we see something that really makes us sit up and pay attention. popSLATE 2 is such a project.
In Apple vs FBI, it's our freedom at stake
Ever since it was announced that all iPhones would be encrypted by default with no reasonable way for Apple to unlock them, the FBI has been locked in an ever more acrimonious deadlock with the company. In the latest and most explosive development, the FBI has chosen its battle well: could there be a more emotive subject, or seemingly good reason for Apple to comply, than a demand to decrypt a single phone that belonged to a known terrorist?
By drawing its battle-lines in this way, the FBI achieves two things. On a basic level, it makes Apple look unreasonable for refusing, and therefore makes it easy to paint Apple as the "bad guy" who is preventing the "good guys" from protecting the American people against terrorists. This is a powerful argument, and certainly seems to have persuaded all front-running politicians.
Google now sells its Cardboard VR headset for $15
The cost of a standalone virtual reality headset is prohibitive at this point, with prices for devices like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive Pre exceeding the $500 mark. However, if you want to experience this new technology, there are more affordable options to choose from, in the form of smartphone-powered headsets.
Such headsets are dirt cheap in comparison. Apple, for instance, sells one for just under $30 for iPhones through its online store -- it works with Android smartphones too. And now Google is also offering Cardboard, at an even lower price point.
Apple win: New York judge dismisses FBI request in iPhone unlocking case
A New York judge has rejected an FBI demand for Apple to bypass the lock screen of a seized iPhone. Judge James Orenstein ruled that the FBI may not use the All Writs Act to force Apple to "bypass the passcode security" of an iPhone 5S running iOS 7 in a drug case.
This is not the only iPhone the FBI is seeking to have unlocked, and many are looking to the New York case as a precursor to a similar case involving the San Bernadino shooter's iPhone which is set to be heard next month. Talking about the California case, Tim Cook has liken complying with the FBI demands to create a backdoor as the "equivalent of cancer", and Judge Orenstein appears to have recognised that the New York drugs case could be seen to set a precedent.
Mozilla sides with Apple against FBI -- proposes basic principles for government surveillance
The ongoing dispute between the FBI and Apple is absolutely chilling. It shakes me to my core to think our government wants to force a company to write code under the guise of anti-terrorism. Quite frankly, the oft-argued opinion that supporting Apple in this regard is anti-American is not only wrong, but insulting. My soul still aches from 9/11, and I love America, but I also support Tim Cook and the company's fight to protect our civil liberties.
But forget my opinion -- major tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft, are standing up and pledging support for their competitor, Apple. Now, open source darling, Mozilla, is voicing its support too. Taking it a step further, however, the Firefox-maker is also proposing basic principles for government surveillance -- sort of like a bill of rights for encryption and surveillance.
Microsoft stands with Apple against the FBI
Microsoft will join Apple against the FBI and U.S. Justice Department, filing a friend-of-court—or amicus—brief in a case going to court tomorrow. The government wants Apple to create a special version of iOS, referred to by critics as FBIOS, to break into an iPhone 5c security feature. The device manufacturer argues that compliance would set a precedent that would give law enforcement carte blanche with other mobile devices.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's chief legal counsel, says the company "wholeheartedly supports Apple"—a statement that eradicates any potential confusion caused by cofounder Bill Gates. In an interview with Financial Times two days ago, Gates supported the government's demands. I responded, calling his position a "catastrophic occurrence that demands current chief executive Satya Nadella's official response. There needs to be clear policy about government backdoors and the position with respect to the San Bernardino shooting iPhone". The company's position is now unequivocally clear—presuming the legal filing fits with "wholeheartedly".
Apple, encryption, iPhones, and the FBI plainly explained
Most Americans, and many of the world’s iPhone users, are now aware that a court order was filed on February 16 to compel Apple to assist the FBI in retrieving information from an iPhone. This was the phone uncovered in the aftermath of the mass shooting in San Bernardino in December last year. Apple objected to the FBI’s demands and very public legal maneuvering ensued.
In this article I endeavor to explain some of the key issues that this situation raises, for both privacy and security, as they impact companies, consumers, and governments.
Tim Cook goes off-script describing FBI iPhone backdoor request as 'cancer'
Say what you like about Apple, one thing is for sure -- it is one of the most scripted and tightly-controlled companies in existence. Everything is stage-managed to within an inch of its existence. Leaks about upcoming releases are rare, and there is a tight rein on the media and who has access to its products for review. So when the FBI asked Apple to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter it was hardly surprising that the company was a little shaken and unprepared.
This was a media situation Apple was not in control of. Tim Cook has gone on the offensive in recent days, defending his company's decision not to help the FBI, and in a new interview with ABC News the CEO referred to the request to unlock the phone as requiring "software that we view as sort of the equivalent of cancer" -- something of a shocking thing to say when you consider the cause of death of his predecessor, Steve Jobs.
Bill Gates is wrong
I see something disingenuous about Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates supporting the government's demands that Apple selectively unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, Calif. shooters. The former CEO turned philanthropist spoke to the Financial times in an interview posted today. The implications for Microsoft cannot be overstated, and the company's current chief executive should state corporate policy.
Gates' position aligns with the government's: That this case is specific, and isolated, and that the demand would merely provide "access to information". Here's the thing: The interviewer asks Gates if he supports tech companies providing backdoors to their smartphones. The technologist deflects: "Nobody's talking about a backdoor". Media consultants teach publicly-facing officials to offer non-answers exactly like this one. The answer defines the narrative, not the interviewer's question.
Syed Farook's iCloud password was changed by officials; Trump proposes Apple boycott
Apple is standing fast on its decision not to help -- publicly, at least -- the FBI to gain access to the iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino terrorists. In the latest twist in the saga, Apple has revealed that the password for the Apple ID associated with the phone was changed whilst Farook was in custody.
Apple says that this closes off another route to accessing the data the FBI seeks. Had the password not been changed, the company says, it may have been possible to retrieve backup data without the need to create a backdoor into the suspect's phone. Meanwhile, wading in to the Apple/FBI debate with all of the elegance of an epileptic elephant, serial buffoon Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple products -- despite tweeting from an iPhone himself.
Apple is using a straw man argument to fight the FBI
Listen to Tim Cook and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Apple was standing up for the little guy, sticking up for the likes of you and I in fighting the FBI. The FBI, Apple would have you believe, wants Apple to break encryption, thereby weakening security for everyone. But that's not really the case at all.
The FBI has not asked for encryption to be broken; it wants access to data on the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, and it wants to do so by using the (as yet unknown) PIN that has been used to lock it. Get it wrong too many times and the device is wiped. The FBI wants custom firmware to be made available that would allow it to brute force the PIN. It's nothing to do with cracking encryption, but that's not what Apple wants you to believe. It's an exercise in misdirection and a classic straw man argument. The problem is, if the straw man goes up in flames, will Apple too?
Poll: Should Apple help the FBI unlock the San Bernardino iPhone?
The US courts say Apple should help the FBI access the contents of an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, but Apple is refusing, on the grounds that it doesn’t want to erode the security of Apple customers.
I’m personally on Apple’s side, as is my colleague Joe Wilcox, but Donald Trump wants Apple to use "common sense" and open its phone up, while John McAfee is claiming he can help the FBI unlock Apple’s device within "three weeks", primarily through the use of social engineering. The FBI for its part says it doesn’t want Apple to create a backdoor in all iPhones, just unlock the one belonging to the killer.
Apple says sorry for iPhone Error 53 and issues iOS 9.2.1 update to fix it
Apple has a lot of support at the moment for its stance on encryption and refusing the FBI access to an iPhone's contents, but it's only a couple of weeks since the company was seen in a less favorable light. There was quite a backlash when users found that installing an update to iOS resulted in Error 53 and a bricked iPhone.
Apple initially said that Error 53 was caused 'for security reasons' following speculation that it was a bid to stop people from using third party repair shops. iFixit suggested that the problem was a result of a failure of parts to correctly sync, and Apple has been rounding criticized for failing to come up with a fix. Today the company has issued an apology, along with an update that ensures Error 53 won't happen again. But there's more good news.
Apple's new Trade Up With Installments program aims to lure Android users to iPhone
Apple has launched a new program called Trade Up With Installments which makes it possible to upgrade to the latest iPhone in a more affordable way. As the name suggests, this is more than a straight trade-in program -- upgraders can use the trade-in value of their old handset to reduce on-going monthly costs.
This is something that will appeal not only to people with older iPhones who are looking to get their hands on a newer model, but also ex-Android fans -- Apple is opening up the program so Android handsets can be traded in and their value offset against the cost of a new iPhone. Windows Phone handsets are also eligible.
Tim Cook is absolutely right
Some documents are historically significant. They mark moments, comment on them, in manner demanding future citation and even use in courts or classrooms. That's how I read Apple CEO Tim Cook's "Open Letter to Our Customers", about breaking iPhone encryption. His exposition spotlights seminal moment in the United States of America: Government's further expansion of powers encroaching indiviuals' rights to privacy and one company standing up and saying "No".
Some people will scoff at my comparison, but it truly is what I see. Cook is like Rosa Parks, refusing to take a seat at the back of the bus—or in this instance behind one court judge and the FBI. Cook and Apple stand up for us all. I applaud law enforcement's efforts to protect us from terrorism but tyranny shouldn't be the means; taking away Constitutionally-given freedoms to protect them. Tim Cook is right.
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