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The Over-And-Over-Again Edition Monday, February 22, 2016

Answers To Your Questions About Apple And Security, by Apple

Yes, it is certainly possible to create an entirely new operating system to undermine our security features as the government wants. But it’s something we believe is too dangerous to do. The only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool isn’t abused and doesn’t fall into the wrong hands is to never create it.

The digital world is very different from the physical world. In the physical world you can destroy something and it’s gone. But in the digital world, the technique, once created, could be used over and over again, on any number of devices.

In Employee Email, Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls For Commission On Interaction Of Technology And Intelligence Gathering, by Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch

Early this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email out to employees about the FBI’s request to unlock an iPhone with the subject line ‘Thank you for your support’. The email outlines some responses to Cook’s open letter last week and paints the issue of Apple’s refusal to cooperate as one of civil liberties.

In the email, Cook calls for the FBI order to be dropped, and outlines some arguments.

Apple Moves To Shift Battle Over Unlocking iPhone To Capitol Hill, by Katie Benner, New York Times

The best way forward, the company said, would be for the government to, “as some in Congress have proposed, form a commission or other panel of experts on intelligence, technology and civil liberties to discuss the implications for law enforcement, national security, privacy and personal freedoms.”

Apple said that it would “gladly participate in such an effort.”

If the Justice Department does not withdraw its demands, Apple has until Friday to file a formal brief opposing the order, which was issued on Tuesday by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Apple Still Holds The Keys To Its Cloud Service, But Reluctantly, by Mike Issac, New York Times

But while company executives have embraced the notion that Apple is no longer able to intervene for law enforcement when investigators want access to an iPhone, it has repeatedly cooperated with court orders for access to online services like its iCloud.

That may sound like hypocrisy, but to people familiar with how Apple’s products and services work, it is simply a matter of technology.

What If San Bernardino Suspect Had Used An Android Instead Of An iPhone?, by Mark Bergen, Re/code

Therein lies Google’s predicament. It’s been the target of frequent fusillades from Apple — the iPhone company wants to protect your data; Google wants to sell it. Even if Google wanted to take a principled stand, like Apple is now, the company’s lack of tight control over its handset world would complicate that.

Stuff

Wellness App Aims To Improve Workplace Nutrition, by Stephanie Strom, New York Times

With an app and a website, Zipongo, a small digital start-up, is aimed at helping employees navigate a company’s cafeteria menu to find choices that best meet a set of preferences and health goals set by the workers themselves.

But Zipongo also extends its reach to takeout meals and the home kitchen, offering recipes, shopping lists and discounts on grocery items like fruits and vegetables.

PhotoScissors For OS X Offers Quick, Easy Photo Cropping, Smoothing, by Dennis Sellers, Apple World Today

Sometimes you need to quickly and easily clean the background of a photograph. PhotoScissors by TeoreX is a good tool for doing this.

Develop

Pirated iOS App Store’s Client Successfully Evaded Apple iOS Code Review, by Claud Xiao, Palo Alto Networks

We recently identified an app that demonstrated new ways of successfully evading Apple’s code review. [...] ZergHelper appears to have gotten by Apple’s app review process by performing different behaviors for users from different physical locations on earth. For users outside of China, it would act as what it claimed: an English studying app. However, when accessing the app from China, its real features would appear.

Notes

Wearables Drive The Component Technology Innovation, by Brian Ballard, TechCrunch

In 2016 we are seeing the tide turn. Manufacturers across the entire mobile industry supply chain are introducing new products directly targeted for wearables. Processors are getting smaller and more power efficient and performance is tuned for the unique needs of the category. The entire industry of flexible electronics, batteries and displays are being driven largely by the needs of the next-generation wearables.

Mobile Phones Are 'Cooking' Men's Sperm, by The Telegraph

Fertility experts are warning man that using a mobile for as little as an hour a day is "cooking sperm" and lowering level significantly.

The new study shows that having a mobile phone close to the testicles - or within a foot or two of the body - can lower sperm levels so much that conceiving could be difficult.

Bottom of the Page

Both parties -- Apple and the FBI -- need to figure out a way to allow each other to take a step back while saving faces. Apple has made the first move. Let's see if the FBI and the federal government can follow suit.

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Thanks for reading.