Tech giants don’t want Obama to give police access to encrypted phone data

Source- The Washington Post

Tech behemoths including Apple and Google and leading cryptologists are urging President Obama to reject any government proposal that alters the security of smartphones and other communications devices so that law enforcement can view decrypted data.

In a letter to be sent Tuesday and obtained by The Washington Post, a coalition of tech firms, security experts and others appeal to the White House to protect privacy rights as it considers how to address law enforcement’s need to access data that is increasingly encrypted.

“Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” said the letter, signed by more than 140 tech companies, prominent technologists and civil society groups.

The letter comes as senior law enforcement officials warn about the threat to public safety from a loss of access to data and communications. Apple and Google last year announced they were offering forms of smartphone encryption so secure that even law enforcement agencies could not gain access — even with a warrant.

“There’s no doubt that all of us should care passionately about privacy, but we should also care passionately about protecting innocent people,” FBI Director James B. Comey said at a recent roundtable with reporters.

Last fall, after the announcements by Apple and Google, Comey said he could not understand why companies would “market something expressly to allow people to place themselves beyond the law.”

FBI and Justice Department officials say they support the use of encryption but want a way for officials to get the lawful access they need.

Many technologists say there is no way to do so without building a separate key to unlock the data — often called a “backdoor,” which they say amounts to a vulnerability that can be exploited by hackers and foreign governments.

The letter is signed by three of the five members of a presidential review group appointed by Obama in 2013 to assess technology policies in the wake of leaks by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The signatories urge Obama to follow the group’s unanimous recommendation that the government should “fully support and not undermine efforts to create encryption standards” and not “in any way subvert, undermine, weaken or make vulnerable” commercial software.

Apple releases cheaper Retina iMac and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch

Apple is starting to bring the price down on its 5K Retina iMac, releasing a new version today that sells for $1,999 and lowering the cost of its high-end model down to $2,299. That's a big drop, as the 27-inch Retina iMac originally sold for $2,499 at launch. The cheaper 27-inch iMac is largely the same as the more expensive model, but it cuts a couple corners to bring the price down. Most notably, it doesn't have one of Apple's hybrid Fusion drives — instead it just uses a standard 1TB drive. This model is also replacing Apple's top-of-the-line non-Retina iMac, so this is the beginning of what may be a slow whittling away of that line of computers.

In addition to the iMac, Apple is also releasing new models of the 15-inch MacBook Prothat include a Force Touch trackpad. Apple says that these models have up to an additional hour of battery life, faster storage, and up to 80 percent faster graphics — though that final item is thanks to a new discrete GPU that only ships on the high-end model. Unlike the iMacs, these changes are actually bringing up the price of the MacBook Pros. The two configurations Apple offers now run for $1,999 and $2,499, up from $1,899 and $2,399. Apple added the Force Touch trackpad to the 13-inch MacBook Pros after announcing it for the new MacBook in March, so it's been expected to arrive in these models alongside a spec bump.

12 iOS 8 Tips Every Apple Fan Should Know

1) Diverse Emojis

Apple has taken some heat over the years for its integrated emoji keyboard only supporting the skin color of Caucasians (or actually, more like Springfieldians; the default yellow hue matches best to Homer Simpson). With iOS 8.3, many emojis now have diversity: hold your finger on an emoji of a face, hand, or figure with visible skin and you'll get a choice of five new colors. (This doesn't work on smilies or cats or the famous poop emoji.)
In fact, Apple added over 300 new emoji, and not just to put diversity on existing pics. There are also new items like the Apple Watch (of course), but also new family configurations, such as same-sex couples.
Also new on the emoji keyboard: continuous left/right scrolling, making it easier to get to the images you want.

2) iCloud Photo Library Is Open

You can keep all your iPhone photos in iCloud (if you've paid to have enough space on the service). Go to the Settings > iCloud > Photos and turn on iCloud Photo Library. This isn't the same as Photo Stream, which syncs photos (no video) across all your iOS devices for 30 days or 1,000 photos. Apple iCloud Photo Library syncs everything, and also allows you to sync with MacOS. In fact, if you turn on iCloud Photo Library, your Photo Stream "disappears"—it's still there, it just isn't made visible in the Photos app. Once it's on, access the uploaded photos on your iOS device by going into the Photos app and tapping the Photos tab (at the bottom).

Because any image you upload via iPhone Photo Library gets downloaded to your other iOS devices, you get extra options in settings to Optimize iPhone Storage (use smaller, lower-quality images) or Download and Keep Originals (higher quality images that take up more space). Choose wisely, depending on the space on your iPhone.

3) Shazam via Siri

When that unrecognizable-yet-oh-so-familiar song comes on, you don't have time to go searching for the Shazam app to make it listen in and tell you who's singing. Thankfully, Shazam's primary function is now integrated with Siri. Just ask your pocket A.I., "Siri, who's singing?" and she'll let you know, complete with a little Shazam logo.

4) Scan Credit Cards with the Camera in Safari

Making an online purchase, but don't want to type your credit card number? In iOS 8, if you're using Safari and run into a CC field, you can take a pic of the card to scan the number. It's automatically added to the credit card field.

5) Recent/Favorite Contacts are a Double Tap Away

The double tap on the home button brings up the App Switcher, a list of your current running or "multitasking" apps (swipe them up and away to close the app). Now, the double tap also shows your most recent contacts at the top; swipe the contacts right to see your Favorite contacts. Tap the contact's icon to make a call, send a message, or contact via FaceTime.

This feature is also a bug, at least when it comes to recent contacts. If you have one visible that you do NOT want to show up there—say, your hated ex—even if you delete your last conversation or all voicemails or evidence of their calls, they still show up. You can turn off either the Favorites or the Recents or both in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Show in App Switcher.

6) Hide Photos and Videos

You take a lot of pictures, but when someone grabs your phone, it might be nice if they didn't see some of the, uh, more private shots or vids. In the Photos app, hold a finger on the item in question and select "Hide." It'll look like it disappeared, but you can still access it via the Albums button at the bottom. (Hiding also doesn't prevent apps like Flickr, Carousel, OneDrive, IFTTT, etc. from auto-uploading your images if you've got that auto-backup feature activated.)

7) Really, REALLY Delete Photos

Did you take some photos on your iOS device and delete them and assume they'd never see the light of your screen again? Be careful. The new iteration of the Photos app added a new Album called Recently Deleted to act as the equivalent of the desktop Trash—deleted images and videos are sent to this album for a 30-day quarantine before truly going away. This is great if you're prone to deleting things and then regretting it—which is why Apple put it in. But if you really, really need to make sure an image is gone from the phone for good, go to that album. You'll see a countdown of days until each image expires; click Select to choose pics to delete entirely (or to recover back to the Photos app.)

8) Go Gray Fulltime

If you're colorblind, don't waste your beautiful iPhone screen showing millions of colors. Go into Settings > General > Accessibility and turn on the Grayscale setting. Tell everyone it's "artsy."
When you do go gray, it's only on the screen. For example, any pictures you take, even screenshots of the "gray" screen, are still in full glorious color. The image above had to be edited with the built-in iOS photo-editing tools to show you what you get when monochromatic.

9) Quickly Adjust all Type

Hate the small font size on iOS? In version 8, go to Settings > Displays & Brightness > Text Size and use the slider to bump it up (or down, if you don't have bifocals) (shut up). Any app that uses the master fonts of the operating system will follow your choice.

10) Send "Temporary" Videos

This two-minute auto-delete works for video you send via Messages, too—they now default auto-delete if you make them from the Message app by holding the camera icon. You can change this time limit at Settings > Messages > Video Messages. Remember, if you attach a pre-created video to a message it doesn't get auto-deleted. This isn't like Snapchat—the person at the other end of the message can save the video (or audio) if they want.

11) New Swipes for Mail

The iOS Mail App now has new features when you swipe a message in the inbox. Move your finger right and you mark a message as read or unread, whatever is opposite its current status. Move your finger left to instantly trash a message, or flag it. Best of all, click More and you get a menu that includes a new feature: Notify Me. It'll bring up an iOS notification if that message thread gets a new reply. You can change what happens when you swipe by going to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Swipe Options.

12) Find Your Phone's Final Resting Place

You better have activated Find My iPhone by now (even if you use an iPad). It's the best way to find a lost or stolen iOS device. With iOS 8, there's a new feature, which is important if your missing device battery was close to dead at the time it went missing. Go to Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone and turn on "Send Last Location." That way you can always find the phone's last ping, even after it's gone dormant—or at least where it was when the battery was "critically low," which on an iPhone could be 20 percent.

Google Fit Can Now Finally Estimate How Many Calories You've Burned

Google has rolled out an update for its Google Fit app with new features that include estimation of distance covered and calories burnt,. The latest version of Google Fit bumps the app version to 1.52.

The updated Google Fit app can now track the distance and let them know how many calories they have burnt in covering the particular distance. Users would need to feed their gender, height and weight, and Google will do rest of the calculations. Grouping the fitness histories by days, weeks and months is also now possible for users.

As a part of the update Google has also introduced a home screen widget that will give users a glimpse of their activity levels. The firm has also added an Android Wear watch face that carries similar functions. "Now with a quick glance at your phone or watch, you'll be able to see how close you are to your goal and stay motivated," says the Google blog post. Users can wait for the update to arrive or can download the Google-signed apk file posted via Android Police.

Google last updated its Google Fit application in December and added 100 new activities that users can add manually to track their health. A number of winter sports such as skiing, biathlon, and skating were also added. The firm also introduced an improved algorithm to measure the steps taken by a user. The app also made its debut on the Android Wear platform in the update.

The firm launched the Google Fit app in October last year, months after introducing a health platform with the same name that provided APIs to developers and manufacturers to create related apps and devices.

Apple Watch OS 1.0 lacks the necessary security features to dissuade thieves

 

The Apple Watch contains security measures to prevent thieves from accessing your data, but it doesn’t include the necessary features to dissuade thieves from trying to steal your device to begin with.

The problem stems from the lack of an Activation Lock-like feature on Watch OS 1.0.

Unlike the iPhone, if someone steals your Apple Watch, they can easily reset the device (bypass the passcode), and pair it with a new iPhone logged in to a different iCloud account. In other words, it’s totally feasible to steal an Apple Watch and set it up on a different device as if you just purchased it from an Apple Store.

As my colleague Timothy Reavis pointed out earlier in our backchannel chatroom, the Apple Watch has a security problem that we haven’t had to worry about for almost two years on iOS. It’s not a security problem from a user data standpoint, but it is a security issue from a device theft standpoint.

The fact that the Apple Watch lacks Activation Lock is an encouragement to thieves. It means that they stand to make a higher profit, as the device that they’re stealing is totally usable for whoever decides to buy the stolen property. Even if the thief doesn’t plan on reselling the Apple Watch, they can simply decide to use it with their own iPhone.

One could make the argument that we dealt with this problem on the iPhone for years, and that’s true. But now that we’ve had Activation Lock for almost two years on iOS, it feels like a step backwards.

What is Activation Lock?

Activation Lock is a feature first introduced in iOS 7 that prevents an iOS device from being activated after being reset without first disabling Find My iPhone. It was a direct response to the alarming amount of iPhone thefts at the time.

With Activation Lock, the only way to disable Find My iPhone is to enter the username and password used to enable the feature, regardless if the device was factory reset or not.

That presents a big problem for thieves. If they can’t disable Find My iPhone, then the device can’t be activated and used as intended, thus lessening the resale value of stolen iOS devices.

The feature has been a large success, as figures state that thefts of iPhone and iPads have been reduced significantly since the security measure was introduced. In fact, as a result of Activation Lock, iPhone thefts have dropped as much as 50% in some locales, much to the delight of governmental authorities.

How a thief can reset your Apple Watch

Sadly, the Apple Watch software has no such security measure at this point. It’s extremely easy to reset an Apple Watch to default settings, bypassing the passcode, and pairing it with a different iPhone.

In fact, I simulated this by resetting my own Apple Watch that was paired with my iPhone 6 Plus, and paired it with my iPhone 5s which is signed in using a different Apple ID.

Needless to say, I was able to get my Apple Watch paired and working on a new device without any stumbling blocks. There was no request to verify the Apple ID that I was using previously, and absolutely nothing present in Watch OS 1.0 to prevent a thief from stealing my watch, resetting it, and pairing it with their own device.

Since news about Activation Lock, or the lack thereof, likely travels fast among thievery circles, it’s important to keep an eye on your Apple Watch and keep yourself out of precarious situations if at all possible.

A possible solution

True, the Apple Watch doesn’t have the ability to establish its own dedicated Wi-Fi or cellular connection, so a proper Find My iPhone-like solution isn’t in the cards. At the very least, it would seem that Apple could make it so that the device checks against the Apple ID of the last paired device, and requires the proper credentials before un-pairing with that device.

Since the Apple Watch requests your Apple ID after pairing with your iPhone, perhaps Watch OS could store that ID, and request its password whenever someone attempts to un-pair from the iPhone or reset the device. Obviously, that’s a very high-level explanation of a potential solution to the problem, and Apple engineers will have to figure out the particulars of the solution.

In the meantime

The positive spin that we can put on this is that the Apple Watch does protect your data. If you have a passcode lock on the device, which we wholeheartedly recommend, at least it will prevent the thief from accessing your personal data on the device.

As to when Apple will implement some sort of security measure like Activation Lock in Watch OS, I’d say it’s only a matter of time. Remember, it took Apple many years before it finally added Activation Lock to the iPhone and iPad with iOS 7, so while it’s disappointing not to have an equivalent feature on Watch OS 1.0, we should keep in mind that the iPhone was just as vulnerable a mere two years ago.

Hopefully it won’t take six additional iterations of Watch OS to implement the necessary security features, but until that time comes, be safe out there my friends.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? WRITE IT IN THE COMMENTS............

Walmart is developing a $50 Amazon Prime-like service

Walmart's apparently gearing up to challenge Amazon on its turf and has conjured up a Prime competitor that will begin testing as soon as this summer. According to sources, the company's unlimited two-to-three-day shipping service for online purchases will cost $50, almost half of what Prime costs ($99). Amazon's version comes with add-ons, though, such as free video and music streaming, which Walmart won't be able to offer for now. However, The Information says Walmart is considering adding features to its codename "Tahoe" service. They may include something that involves Vudu, a video streaming service the company owns, as well as same-day grocery delivery, which it already does in five markets. The chain might also partner with other companies for perks meant to entice customers to sign up.

Walmart is leagues behind Amazon when it comes to online shopping, and up until now, it's been incapable of fulfilling two-day shipping for orders made via its website. This project requires serious investment and a willingness in the part of the old-school retailer (as The Information calls it) to change its ways and improve its online presence and infrastructures. The service launching this summer is invite-only, and the company will only decide where to go from there based on the testers' feedback.

AT&T will sell Hulu subscriptions, but not to watch on your TV

Hulu's push to put its content in front of cable TV customers has a new partner: AT&T. The streaming service already teamed up with Cablevision, and also announced it's working with several smaller cable providers to put Hulu on their customer's TiVo DVRs. While we're still not sure how the Cablevision deal will work, the situation with AT&T (which tried to buy Hulu) is clear: this isn't plugging into U-Verse TV boxes, and you will need a $7.99 subscription to make it work. As shown in the picture above, the two already have a partnership to put some of Hulu's free shows on the AT&T site, so this will expand that to include stuff people will need to pay extra for. While the two are "exploring a possibility" of bringing a Hulu app to TV, when they launch later this year AT&T customers will be able to browse the catalog via a mobile app or on the web.

Of course, you can already get Hulu via web, mobile and connected TV apps, so why is it setting up all of these deals? The idea here is about getting its subscription in front of as many potential customers as possible, while adding more content for viewers who are already paying for TV and watching commercials.

With Netflix millions of customers ahead and already owning mindshare with its original content, Hulu needs a different approach to expose what it has, including current-season TV shows, The Criterion Collection, Seinfeld and a growing slate of original series. In the distant past (2011) customers couldn't get Hulu or Netflix on cable-provided DVRs, even for TiVos which already supported the apps. These are different times, and as TV companies see more customers spending time watch TV streamed from the internet, they'll be looking for a way to get a piece of that action.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? WRITE IT IN YOU COMMENTS........... 

Google suspends Map Maker service after digital vandalism

Google is suspending Map Maker, the service that allows anyone to contribute to Google Maps, following a prank submission that showed the Android mascot urinating on an Apple logo. When the mapping mischief was first discovered, most of us had a good chuckle and wondered who was responsible. Inevitably, Google took it down and later confirmed that it was a user-created edit, which raised questions about Map Maker's review policies.

The service uses a mixture of "Google Reviewers" and trusted users to moderate Map Maker contributions, but clearly the setup has some flaws. As such, Google has already suspended auto-approval and user moderation, instead relying on manual checks from its in-house team. The company says it's quickly accrued a huge backlog of user-contributed edits, so while it develops a new moderation system, it's suspending public submissions entirely. It'll come into effect from May 12th and while Google says it's "a temporary situation," it's also admitted that it'll take more than a few days to fix.

Apple Watch Teardown

Just saw this apple watch teardown by iFixit....
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Android accessibility settings: 5 hidden options everyone should be using

Accessibility options come in all shapes and sizes and many are unique to the particular device or Android version that you have. There are some stock Android accessibility settings you'll find everywhere, like TalkBack, font size, captions and ''touch and hold'' delay time settings, but there's lots more, some that are really cool like using your LED flash as a notification LED. So take a look through your particular device's settings and see what you can make use of. Here's the five I think are the coolest though.

1. Magnification gestures

You know how we've shown you cool one-handed Google Maps gestures in the past, like for zooming in and out? Well, you can do the same thing system wide with the magnification gestures accessibility option. If you enable the option you can triple tap to zoom in and triple tap to zoom out again. If you triple tap and hold, you can temporarily magnify your screen and pan around, then just release to go back to normal. It's a super useful feature once you start using it.

2. Text-to-Speech

Probably the most well known of all accessibility features, you may have even used this already. All you need to do is have the Google Text-to-Speech engine enabled and then download the language pack you want.

I use Text-to-Speech as a simple way to finally get through all the content I save to Pocket for later reading. Which I never get around to. So I simply hit the menu button in an article I've saved to Pocket and let Google read the article to me while I prepare dinner. That, my friends, is the definition of laziness! But I prefer to call it efficiency.

3. Negative colors/Color adjustment/Invert colors

If you have a Samsung and don't really like the dark background vibe, you can simply go into the accessibility settings and check the box next to Negative Colors. Et voila! You will now have a white themed TouchWiz interface. 

The same thing works on the LG G3 too, where it is called Invert Colors, but as you can see in the topmost image, you might get some pretty whacky color combinations. Likewise, both Samsung and LG's accessibility options allow you to adjust screen and content colors for your particular visual needs.

4. TalkBack/Explore by Touch

TalkBack is awesome, especially if your eyesight is as bad as mine or you've lost your glasses. You can even use this if your screen has issues, as long as your touchscreen is still responsive. Once you've enabled the option, whatever you tap, press or activate will be spoken aloud to you. Explore by Touch is the same thing under a different name. The additional settings for TalkBack are enormous and definitely worth checking out further.

5. Interaction control

Interaction control appears on Samsung devices either through the accessibility menu or by pressing Home and the Volume Down buttons. It lets you turn your motion gestures and screen timeout settings on or off, but the coolest part of it is that you can block off specific areas of the screen from responding to touch input, like the status bar or notification shade, for example.

Check your particular device's accessibility settings to see if you have these features listed under a different name. For example, the LG G3 calls Interaction Controls, ''Touch Control Areas,'' so a little bit of exploration is definitely worthwhile. I've added screenshots from a Nexus 5, Galaxy S4 and the LG G3 in this article to give you a quick look at the various options available in Accessibility Settings. Here's the rest of the Galaxy S4's accessibility options for rererence.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE ACCESIBILITY OPTIONS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS