Wednesday, March 02, 2016

No bias here!
Apple speaks with congress, FBI continues fear-mongering
Apple's Statement
Apple sent Senior Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Sewell to speak with this United States House of Representatives Committee of the Judiciary.
… You can see the entire statement by Bruce Sewell via the House online.
FBI's Statement
The FBI sent its director James Comey to speak with this same congressional panel. After speaking for several paragraphs about how the FBI valued electronic privacy and citizen's right to communicate with one another without unauthorized government surveillance, Comey began listing how terrible it'd be if "criminals and terrorists" got ahold of an iPhone.
… You can read the entire FBI statement if you'd like to go further in-depth via the House.


(Related) There is something a bit “off” here. The FBI has a pretty good forensics team. They would have known what happens when you force a password change.
FBI director admits mistake was made with San Bernardino iCloud reset
FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday conceded it was a mistake to ask San Bernardino County to reset the password of an iCloud account that had been used by gunman Syed Farook.
Changing the password to the account prevented the phone from making a backup to an iCloud account, which Apple could have accessed without bypassing the encryption and security settings on the phone.




Apple is not the only company that law enforcement, the courts or entire governments feel are “under-cooperating.”
Facebook Exec Jailed in Brazil as Court Seeks WhatsApp Data
… While details of the case remain murky, court officials said the judge in Brazil resorted to the arrest after issuing a fine of 1 million reais ($250,000) to compel Facebook to help investigators access WhatsApp messages relevant to their drug-trafficking investigation.
That is likely impossible because WhatsApp began using end-to-end encryption technology in 2014 that prevents the company from monitoring messages that travel across its network, said Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union.
“They are using technology to try to take themselves out of the surveillance business,” Soghoian said.




Ah, the French. The very definition of unpredictable.
David Chazan reports:
French parents are being warned to stop posting pictures of children on social networks in case their offspring later sue them for breaching their right to privacy or jeopardising their security.
Under France’s stringent privacy laws, parents could face penalties as severe as a year in prison and a fine of €45,000 (£35,000) if convicted of publicising intimate details of the private lives of others — including their children – without their consent.
Read more on The Telegraph.




For my Computer Security students. Infographic
A Visual Guide to the Deep and Dark Web
The creatively named Dark Web is a part of the Internet even the almighty Google doesn’t index. But is the dark web a bad place filled with villainy, or is it just misunderstood?




Drones are not fully autonomous, yet. Remember, these are civilian drones. I imagine the military drones are closer to Terminator smart.
DJI Phantom Drone 4 Is Smart And You Can't Hide From It
Fly With Tap
DJI is making it easier for users to fly the Phantom Drone 4 through the iOS or Android apps. All they have to do is to double tap the screen to fly.
The drone's Obstacle Sensing System keeps the drone safe while flying. The system makes use of two forward-facing optical sensors to make sure that the drone will not hit trees, walls and rooftops while maintaining its flight direction.
Visual Tracking
The ActiveTrack feature allows users to track their subject automatically. Pilots will simply tap their subject in the camera's frame. The Phantom 4 will then pick up on the object and keep it in the center of the image even when it changes direction.
… The new Phantom costs $1,399




I've been ignoring the broadcast v cable v satellite war. Perhaps it's time for another look.
Look Ma, No Dish! AT&T To Launch DirecTV Internet Streaming Service
As more and more people cut the cable cord, cable companies, media companies and content creators alike are scrambling to make sure that those who want access to their services have it. Over the past couple of years, we've seen many examples of companies dropping their cable TV exclusivity, with Dish being one of the most notable. Last February, the Dish released a $20/mo package through Sling TV, and without much of a delay, AMC jumped on board, and so did HBO.
AT&T ... just announced that it also will be offering premium content services to those without a cable subscription. You don't even need a current AT&T product to jump on board.




Perspective. And Uber didn't even have to lobby!
MBTA to end late-night service by mid-March
Late-night hours on the MBTA will end March 18, after board members voted unanimously Monday to ax the service.
… Proponents of late-night hours — which extended MBTA service on all subway lines and some bus lines to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturday, from the usual 12:30 — have called it a safe alternative for students and service industry workers. They said it was a blow to low-income residents in an increasingly unaffordable city.




For the political junkies?
The AP debuts “Election Buzz,” a tool that uses Twitter and Google data to track the U.S. elections
Just in time for Super Tuesday, the AP has launched a new tool in partnership with Google and Twitter that helps voters visualize what people are saying about the current elections, candidates and issues, as well as how that interest has changed over time. Effectively, the product, called AP Election Buzz, is a lot like a political-focused Google Trends tool mashed up with Twitter data. And while the online dashboard won’t tell you who to vote for, it does help to display which candidates are dominating online conversation (ahem, Trump) and which topics and issues are currently in the forefront of voters’ minds.




Could be amusing. (This is turn-of-the-20th-century)
Download 2,000 Turn-of-the-Century Art Posters from NYPL
by Sabrina I. Pacifici on Mar 1, 2016
New York Public Libraries Digital Collections – “Explore 674,208 items digitized from The New York Public Library‘s collections. This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.” A recent addition is a collection of over 2,000 Turn of the Century Posters. The collection offers a magical tour of diverse styles and periods, and often recognizable images from magazines, print advertisements, magazine and journals covers.




I should try this… My International students might benefit from it as well.
Quickly Dictate Notes in Multiple Languages on Dictation.io
Dictation.io is a good tool to add to yesterday's list of free tools for dictating notes. On Dictation.io you can simply click "start dictation" then start having your voice transcribed into a text document. No registration is required in order to use Dictation.io. More than two dozen languages are support on Dictation.io. The video embedded below provides a demonstration of Dictation.io.
Dictation.io doesn't require students to register in order to use it. It also supports more than two dozen languages. Those two aspects of Dictation.io make it accessible to students who don't have Google Docs accounts and to those who don't speak English as their first language.


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