For anyone who knows the pain of having to look for a public notary, you may be interested in the new Notarize app that just hit the App Store today. Users can actually get documents legally notarized conveniently from the iPhone. Here’s how it works:
Last month, it was reported that patent troll VirnetX is seeking $532 million in damages from Apple, claiming that the company has taken its intellectual property without permission. The suit focused on a variety of VirnetX patents relating to technology used in creating Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs. VirnetX said that Apple’s own VPN technology, as well as its iMessage and FaceTime services, infringe on its patents. After another week of hearing, the East Texas Federal District Court has now unanimously ruled that Apple owes VirnetX $625 million in damages.
Not too long after the first rumors surfaced, Apple has given its usual non-confirmation that it has acquired Faceshift, the company behind the technology Star Wars used to animate the faces of CGI characters. It’s not an obvious fit for Apple, so what could be the thinking behind the purchase?
Like Apple’s patents, it is sometimes easy, I think, to read too much into some of the company’s acquisitions. Sure, it doesn’t go around acquiring companies randomly, but it may not always be after the complete package. It may well be that there is some small element of the company’s technology that Apple wants, or it may be an acquihire – where it’s the engineers rather than the specific tech the company wants.
But in this particular case, there is reason to suspect that Apple does have an interest in the broad brush-strokes of what Faceshift does …
Expand
Expanding
Close
In a wide-ranging interview with the Telegraph, Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that the company may launch more health-focused products in future – but will keep those separate from the Apple Watch. The reason, he says, is that the FDA approval needed for full-on health devices would slow down the pace of innovation of the Watch.
Cook hints that Apple may have more plans for the health sphere, in a revelation which will intrigue Wall Street, but he doesn’t want the watch itself to become a regulated, government-licensed health product. “We don’t want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn’t mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it — maybe an app, maybe something else.”
This represents a significant change from expectations …
Apple and government officials have been publicly sparring over how to handle privacy and encryption for months, and new rules expected to be proposed in the UK on Wednesday might make Apple’s position much harder to maintain.
The issue boils down to Apple allowing iPhone users to encrypt data behind a password — encryption that Apple can’t break through — and government officials wanting access in instances where de-encrypting smartphones could help law enforcement and security efforts. Services like iMessage and FaceTime are also encrypted end-to-end.
Now The Telegraph reports that the Investigatory Powers Bill being introduced on Wednesday will likely require Apple and other companies to hold a key to encrypted smartphones and services, giving access to government agencies when a warrant is issued.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Some law enforcement officials are frustrated that Apple and other tech companies appear to be winning the PR battle over data privacy, reports the NYT.
Some Justice and F.B.I. officials have been frustrated that the White House has not moved more quickly or been more outspoken in the public relations fight that the tech companies appear to be winning, the law enforcement officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private conversations.
The comments came in the wake of a DOJ drugs and guns investigation where the agency obtained a court order to obtain iMessages between suspects, and Apple responded that it was unable to comply as end-to-end encryption is used, meaning that Apple has no way to decrypt the communications. Tim Cook said of iMessages a year ago that the content is “encrypted and we don’t have the key.”
There has long been tension between Apple and law enforcement agencies over encryption, Apple arguing that its customers right to privacy outweighs the right of law enforcement agencies to intercept communications – a stance strengthened by the Snowden revelations into large-scale electronic surveillance by governments. Law enforcement officials have become increasingly strident and hyperbolic in their statements on the subject.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder said last year that less stringent protection would still “adequately protect personal privacy,” FBI Director James Comey claimed that Apple’s encryption was “putting people beyond the law,” the DOJ suggested that iPhone encryption could eventually lead to the death of a child” and Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr, said that the iPhone would be “the terrorists’ communication device of choice.”
Starting with the iPhone 3GS, every new iPhone has started with 16GB of storage as a base model — a capacity that has come under increasing fire as both videos and apps have grown in size. Despite new capabilities and the presence of 4K video recording in the new iPhones, sources say that the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will retain the same storage tiers as the current iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB. On-contract pricing will also be the same as the 2014 models: $199, $299, and $399 for the iPhone 6S, versus $299, $399, and $499 for the iPhone 6S Plus. We previously posted images of pre-production next-generation iPhone components that indicated that the 16GB option could remain.
Apple has called the iPhone “the world’s most popular camera,” a title originally earned by aggregating all iPhones together for counting purposes. But while the exact sales numbers for each iPhone model are difficult to quantify, there’s no question that Apple has already sold over 750 million iPhones, and well over 100 million iPhone 6 devices. Those are huge numbers, and well beyond the typical sales of individual point-and-shoot cameras.
Few people appreciate that growing iPhone demand has created an unusual challenge for Apple: reliably sourcing the tens of millions of parts needed to meet first month demand for tens of millions of iPhones. To that end, Apple’s camera maker Sony had to upgrade its manufacturing plants twice this year to produce more of the CMOS image sensors needed for smartphones including the iPhone. Even with a partner as large as Sony, however, iPhone-specific engineering requirements and the risk inherent in brand new technologies have led Apple to hold off on using the latest and greatest camera innovations in its devices. Instead, iPhones go with thin, lower-resolution sensors that offer great overall image quality for their size, and never eclipse rivals on raw specs.
So what can we realistically expect from the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus cameras next month? Here are my educated guesses…
With Microsoft’s Windows 10 major operating system update launching today, Apple has issued a new driver update for Windows users with 2015 MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros. Specifically, the FaceTime Camera Driver Update is meant to improve FaceTime camera compatibility with Windows when using OS X’s built-in Boot Camp functionality.
This update improves FaceTime camera compatibility with Windows, and is recommended for all Boot Camp users.
The 1.4 MB software update doesn’t appear to be available through the Mac App Store, but 2015 MacBook owners can download and install it from the Apple’s support site here. Apple also recently released a firmware update specifically for 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro owners.
Code found in the first iOS 9 developer betas reveals that Apple is planning to support some significant camera features and upgrades with the new software version. Presumably planned for the next iPhone hardware version, developer Hamza Sood has discovered code in iOS 9 that reveals support for long-awaited changes to the front-facing FaceTime camera. According to the code, iOS 9 adds support for a FaceTime camera with 1080p video capture, up from the current 720p camera on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus…
Expand
Expanding
Close
If you want the security of knowing your voice, text and picture messages can’t be intercepted, direct peer-to-peer communication with end-to-end encryption is the gold standard: and that’s what BitTorrent offers with its Bleep app.
Every conversation is between you and your friends. There is no cloud to hack because messages are never stored in the cloud.
For text messages and photos, Bleep offers the choice of Whispers – where both text and images disappear when they’ve been read – and Messages, which stores them locally on the device. You can also make voice calls with the same peer-to-peer encrypted technology …
Expand
Expanding
Close
A long-running Apple Support Communities thread with 257 posts complaining of audio issues when using a pre-Bluetooth LE Mac on Yosemite reports that the issue is still present in OS X 10.10.3 and 10.10.4 Beta . The issue reportedly affects a number of machines up to and including late-2011 Macs.
I am experiencing an issue with FaceTime video calls or voice calls (using FaceTime audio or the iPhone handoff feature) where all I can hear is a strange clicking sound, like static. The other person can hear me fine and I can see them fine if on FaceTime video, but I can’t hear them.
Various fixes suggested in the thread seem to work temporarily for some, including a restart and resetting PRAM, but the issue returns.
Some in the thread speculate that OS X 10.10 broke something when Apple attempted to ensure that phone continuity features worked only on Macs with Bluetooth LE. Some have had logic boards replaced by Apple with no change.
Facebook continues to add new capabilities to its Messenger app today with the launch of a new video calling feature. A new video icon at the top of conversation threads will initiate a call, allowing participants to communicate across platforms over Wi-Fi or LTE connections.
The addition puts Facebook in competition with Apple’s FaceTime, Microsoft’s Skype, and other similar services. Interestingly, web-based video chat has been available on the desktop for some time, and was previously powered by Skype.
Glide, the app that lets users send live video messages, today becomes the first to bring the feature to Apple Watch. With an update to Glide’s iOS app, users of Apple Watch will be able to receive live videos messages right on their wrist, although it’s a one-way experience for Apple Watch as the device doesn’t yet include a camera; your responses will be limited to text.
Expand
Expanding
Close
As I noted in Part 1 of How-To: Decode Apple’s Tech Specs pages before buying a new Mac, Apple has designed the Mac purchasing process to be easy: pick a model, pick the good, better, or best configuration, hand over your cash, and enjoy your computer. Since most people get confused by tech specs — bullet points filled with numbers and acronyms — Apple downplays them in its marketing materials, leaving customers to sort through the details and figure out what most of them mean.
But these specs are really important when you’re shopping for the right Mac for your current and future needs. So I’ve created this How-To guide to walk you through each of Apple’s Tech Specs pages using clear explanations, hopefully enabling you to properly understand what you’re about to buy. Part 1 focused on the “big 5″ Mac specs you really need to know about, and this Part 2 looks at the rest — generally things that remain the same in a given model, regardless of the configuration you choose…
In case you weren’t in front of your TV set last night when ABC aired its Apple-centric episode of Modern Family, the “Connection Lost” episode that plays out entirely on a MacBook screen using FaceTime, iMessage, and other Apple products is now available to stream on your own Apple devices…
Expand
Expanding
Close
On the day of the annual Academy Awards ceremony, Apple has begun airing a new iPad Air advertisement highlighting how the tablet is used in the filmmaking industry. The new video advertisement is narrated with excerpts from notable movie director Martin Scorsese’s 2014 commencement speech at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. The video, embedded below, is accompanied by a website highlighting specific stories of the iPad being used to make movies. These video stories were actually filmed and edited on iPads. The new website also discusses key video planning, filming, and editing applications for the iPad such as Final Draft, Garageband (but not the consumer-focused iMovie), and VideoGrade. This film-focused advertisement follows a music-oriented one that aired on the day of the Grammy Awards.
From 9to5Toys.com:
Today only, Walmart offers Apple’s iPad mini (non-Retina) in new condition either Space Gray or Silver for $199 shipped or ship to store. That’s $50 off Apple’s current price (though Walmart mistakenly says $100 off last year’s price) and tied with the lowest price we’ve ever seen. A nice pickup for the same price as the iPod touch. Features:
These often sell out pretty quickly so you might want to jump in early.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today released a report examining three dozen messaging services and ranking them based on what it deemed are seven “security best practices.” While Apple scored the best among what the EFF called “mass-market options”, it didn’t do as well when compared to all 36 messaging services included in the report. Specifically, EFF noted Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime services failed to offer “complete protection against sophisticated, targeted forms of surveillance.”
Expand
Expanding
Close
FaceTime and Skype have long been popular ways to make free video calls to your friends and family from your iPhone and iPad, but Viber has now joined the party. While video calling has been available on the desktop version of Viber for some time, the mobile app had previously been limited to voice, text and photo messages.
With Viber, everyone in the world can connect. Freely. More than 400 million Viber users text, call, and send photo and video messages worldwide over WiFi or 3G – for free […]
Make video calls from your phone to other Viber contacts on mobile or Desktop. You can also transfer video calls between mobile and Desktop!
The USP of Viber is that no username is needed – only your mobile number. When a contact joins Viber, the service spots that their number is in your contacts app and sends you an alert to let you know.
Viber is a free download from iTunes. Voice and video calls between Viber users are free (bar any data charges on LTE/3G). The company makes its money by selling stickers and offering low-cost outgoing calls worldwide.
We first told you about the Nova wireless flash for iPhone last fall when it was merely an idea on Kickstarter having just collected enough funding to ship. The campaign successfully raised over $85,000 and the wireless flash for iPhone is now available for purchase with an iOS app available on the App Store. I recently had the chance to test out the Nova wireless flash for iPhone, and below I’ll share a few insights from my experience.
If you’re familiar with Launch Center Pro, the iPhone and iPad app we’ve covered that enables powerful automation on iOS, then you may recognize Contrast’s new iPhone app debuting today called Contact Center. While its name sounds like it could be an alternative address book, it’s actually a simpler, easier to learn version of Launch Center Pro focused on staying in touch with your favorite contacts.
Contrast describes Contact Center as allowing you to “automatically paste your clipboard into an email or message, jump right to a contact in WhatsApp, automatically paste your clipboard into an email or message” and more; below we’ll take a look at the new app.
When Siri lost its beta tag almost a year ago, I suggested it might be a good time for those who’d been frustrated with its early performance to give it another chance. What I discovered through your comments was that Siri seems to be one of those things that polarizes views: people either loving it and using it every day, or dismissing it as a useless gimmick. Not too many people seem to fall between the two.
But Apple has continued to work hard on improving the service, adding new capabilities as well as refining its ability to handle existing ones. It might not yet be as sophisticated as its creators envisage for the future, but a year on seemed a good point to revisit the topic and find just how many of its capabilities people are using …
Expand
Expanding
Close
A deal that probably won’t last until lunch time in the US from 9to5Toys.com:
Today Staples is offering deep discounts on current generation iPods.
Staples says these are live for a week but they typically start dying within a few hours.