Apple’s SVP of software engineering, in The Washington Post:
Security is an endless race — one that you can lead but never decisively win. Yesterday’s best defenses cannot fend off the attacks of today or tomorrow. Software innovations of the future will depend on the foundation of strong device security. We cannot afford to fall behind those who would exploit technology in order to cause chaos. To slow our pace, or reverse our progress, puts everyone at risk.
I can’t believe I didn’t think about this during the recent certificate issues with the Mac App Store, but here’s TidBITS’ Josh Centers:
The Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Intermediate Certificate is required for all apps in the Mac App Store, including OS X installers. When used to sign an app, the certificate enables OS X to confirm that the app has not been corrupted or modified by an attacker. This certificate expired on 14 February 2016, causing error dialogs and preventing some apps from launching. Most apps affected have already been updated with the new certificate. But if you downloaded an OS X installer in case of trouble, you may be in for a surprise the next time you try to use it.
Well, this is just sad. I went to erase a hard drive tonight and noticed something in OS X El Capitan’s new version of Disk Utility:
Here’s what the Erase sheet says:
Erasing “Time Machine” will destroy of all the data stored on it. Enter a name, choose a format.
In addition to the text being so brief it feels incomplete, it has two grammatical errors:
While this may seem silly, it’s this attention to detail stuff that worries me about Apple software.
A couple of weeks ago, this happened on Twitter:
While I’m pretty meh on his new album, Kanye’s tweets did remind of an Apple event and initiative that feels older than it really is.
In January 2012, in New York City, Apple held a small event to discuss textbooks and the iPad.
Apple built the case that American students are falling behind due to a wide range of challenges that the lack of modern tools and technology could address. In a world of laptops and smart phones at home, the classroom felt out of date, according to the company. Student engagement, Phil Schiller said, was an area that Apple could help with using its products.
Mark Gurman reported last week that Apple’s next 9.7-inch iPad won’t be an “iPad Air 3,” but a smaller “iPad Pro,” complete with Pencil and Smart Keyboard support.
I tend to think the iPad name change is accurate. Looking at the Mac the line, it’s not hard to imagine the Air name going away anyway, but more importantly, bringing the Keyboard and Pencil to the 9.7-inch form factor down the line will give developers incentive to support the accessories and may help move people with older devices to purchase a new iPad.
The problem with the Apple Watch is that we’re being asked to strap something to our wrist—to attach it to our very body—without it delivering on the corresponding promise that it will be much faster to use than our phones. The stale data and the lack of speed means that either you have to stare at your Watch for several seconds and hope the data updates; or tap on the complication to load the Watch app, which as we all know takes a good long while as well; or simply give up and pull out your phone.
“In order to comply with the Gov’t demands, Apple would need to create a new “GovtOS” and FBI forensics lab on site that has the potential to be used on hundreds of phones now in law enforcements possession in conflict with existing law as well as the First and Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” says Apple in the act.
Apple also states that the request violates Apple’s constitutional rights. The demand violates Apple’s First Amendment rights against compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination. Apple wrote code for its operating system that reflects Apple’s strong view about consumer security and privacy. By forcing Apple to write software that would undermine those values, the government seeks to compel Apple’s speech and to force Apple to express the government’s viewpoint on security and privacy instead of its own.
Mark Gurman, writing at 9to5 Mac, says Siri is coming to the next version of Mac OS X:
Siri on the Mac will have its own pane in System Preferences and users are said to also have the option to choose a keyboard shortcut for activating the service. Like with recent versions of iOS, users will be able to enable Siri at the first startup of OS X 10.12, according to sources. If the Mac running the new OS X version is plugged into power, a “Hey Siri” command will work much like with recent iPhone and iPad models.
Since we buy so many Mac mini parts, I’ve noticed some real trends over the years. When it comes to upgrading Mac minis, I think we’re in a pretty nice sweet spot right now. I think that most people don’t know the current opportunity so I thought I’d do some digging and get some of that data out.
Brian is right; upgrading an old Mac mini is cheaper than ever before, and these machines are definitely worth the investment.
Apple has published an FAQ tackling a lot of common questions and misconceptions surrounding this FBI thing. This bit jumped out at me:
Is it technically possible to do what the government has ordered?
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.
John Gruber, breaking down the most recent detail in the San Bernardino case:
The FBI screwed this up by directing the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health to reset Farook’s Apple ID password. They did not, and apparently could not, change anything on the phone itself. But once they reset the Apple ID password, the phone could not back up to iCloud, because the phone needed to be updated with the newly-reset Apple ID password — and they could not do that because they can’t unlock the phone.