Month: October 2018

The FBI started investigating Michalski after discovering his ad on Craigslist titled “taboo.” Later, they discovered emails in which he discussed incest and sex with minors with another defendant, William Weekly. Reportedly, they also discussed sexual acts with an individual that Weekly identified in the emails as his daughter.

The FBI have used suspects’ fingerprints to unlock their phones, and even tried to crack an iPhone by 3D-printing a dead person’s finger. Without a fingerprint or face, authorities have thus far been unable to obtain passwords, because even Apple can’t access them. Apple has also refused to create backdoors for law enforcement, with CEO Tim Cook saying it would compromise the security of all users. That argument has some merit, as hacking tools developed by the NSA were stolen by hackers.

That hasn’t stopped third-party companies, however. Israeli firm Cellebrite created an unlocking device that may have been used by the FBI to unlock the San Bernardino killer’s iPhone. Another device called GrayKey can reportedly unlock two iPhones at once in just a couple of minutes.

Surprisingly, using Face ID or similar face recognition systems from Huawei and other device makers to unlock a suspect’s phone has possibly never been tried. As such, it’s not clear if it’s lawful to do so, even though law enforcement can obviously use someone’s face as evidence for witness identification and other purposes.

Reportedly, agents were able to obtain some, but not all data by using the suspect’s Face ID because they were unable to keep the phone open long enough. In any event, Michalski’s lawyer told Forbes that the data may not even be necessary. “That’s a Pyrrhic victory as there was contraband found on other devices but there would be no need to challenge the warrant’s facial recognition feature as my client was not harmed by its use.”

“We believe Apple technology can help unleash every child’s creative genius,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said in a statement. “Working closely with teachers, we have built the Everyone Can Create curriculum to help bring creative expression and the arts into the classroom, and to help students stay engaged through creativity and ultimately be more successful.”

Apple said that since releasing a preview of the curriculum in March, more than 350 schools have started using it. Certainly, making this type of curriculum available for free is good for the teachers who want to use it, but it’s also a way for Apple to woo educators over to the iPad when they’ve typically gravitated towards more affordable tablet options from other companies. When Apple announced its discounted iPad option for teachers in March, a number of educators said it was still too expensive to be feasible for most classrooms.

Everyone Can Create is a follow to Apple’s Everyone Can Code initiative, which provides educators with tools for teaching coding. The Everyone Can Create project and teacher guides are currently available in English and Apple says they’ll be available in more languages by the end of the year. Educators can also get a look at the curriculum during the company’s Today at Apple workshops on Teacher Tuesdays.

There’s also support for mixed-mode commutes. Those who drive and take public transport will now see more information for each leg of their trip, including traffic delays, train departure times, and walking duration. All of this will be factored into your ETA. You’ll also be able to see where your train or bus is in real-time — so you can spend more time eating breakfast in the morning if it’s running late. This feature is rolling out to 80 cities worldwide, with an extra perk for Syndey’s denizens (in conjunction with Transport New South Wales) that shows how full your bus or train is.

Finally, Google Maps will help you keep your eyes on the road when streaming tunes by making Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music available within the app. (Amazon Music‘s exclusion shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the beef between the two titans.) Waze users will recall that the GPS app also added Spotify support on iOS earlier this year. Google’s new commute features are rolling out worldwide on iOS and Android this week.

Right now, Netflix does offer choose-your-own-adventure style storytelling for kids’ programming. Bloomberg points to a series called Puss in Book that allows children to choose the villain for the episode, and then go back after they’ve watched it and pick the other option. These types of narratives can have complicated deals and productions; studios are still trying to figure out pay scale for writers due to longer scripts. Using the feature in a high-profile show like Black Mirror shows that the streaming service is serious about exploring it as a storytelling option.

Netflix is a good avenue through which to explore how well interactive TV can work for consumers. It’s in a position to take risks, with its large user base, and it’s already well known for changing the way we consume entertainment. The company has reportedly already signed a deal for another adult live-action choose-your-adventure type project and has more that are currently in negotiations.