Apple Shares Soar 9% on News of Warren Buffett Stake in Company
Apple shares have soared 9 percent since American business magnate Warren Buffett revealed his company’s $1.2 billion stake in the company on May 16 (via Fortune).
Apple stock looked to be on the wane following Apple’s earnings call at the end of April, when the company announced its first ever drop in iPhone sales and its first year-over-year revenue drop in 13 years.
Shares of Apple subsequently fell below $90 for the first time in nearly two years amid investors’ concerns over the slump. Later it was revealed that Apple investor Carl Icahn had earlier decided to sell his stake in the company due to concern over China’s attitude towards Apple, while a second Apple investor, David Tepper, had also dumped shares as its value continued to lessen.
However, just over two weeks ago, a regulatory filing by multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway – which is run by Warren Buffett – revealed that as of March 31, the company owned 9,811,747 shares in Apple stock. Since then, shares of Apple have risen by 9 percent and breached the $100 mark, its highest point in a month.
Buffett has something of a reputation for being able to effect stocks, according to Fortune, which points to a dramatic 11 percent upturn of Kinder Morgan shares in February, shortly after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its stake in the company.
However, Apple has also enjoyed a reversal of fortune in recently reported production targets for its next-generation iPhone 7, which is expected to launch this September.
Contradicting previous claims of projected weak demand for the upcoming device, Apple has reportedly asked its Asian suppliers to prepare for the highest iPhone production target in “about two years”.
Apple investors also appeared unperturbed by news this week that the company’s retail expansion in India may fall through, following a ruling from the Indian government that Apple must sell locally sourced goods if it wants to open stores in the country.
Apple remains eager to expand its business in India, where last quarter the company saw its revenue grow 56 percent, surpassing $1 billion. CEO Tim Cook’s recent weeklong visit to the country garnered significant media attention and Apple will have regarded it as a positive step towards its global expansion goals.
Tag: Berkshire Hathaway
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Political Will for Encryption Law Has Weakened Since Apple-FBI Dispute
Support for encryption legislation in the U.S. has flatlined and the push for changes in federal law following the San Bernardino shootings has petered out, according to sources in congressional offices, the administration and the tech sector (via Reuters).
On February 16, a U.S. federal judge ordered Apple to help the FBI to unlock the iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the December 2015 attacks in San Bernardino that left 14 people dead.
Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein.
The FBI asked Apple to create a version of iOS that would both disable passcode security features and allow passcodes to be entered electronically, allowing it to then brute force the passcode on the device.
Apple announced that it would oppose the order in an open letter penned by Tim Cook, who said the FBI’s request would set a “dangerous precedent” with serious implications for the future of smartphone encryption.
Apple claimed the software the FBI asked for could serve as a “master key” able to be used to get information from any iPhone or iPad – including its most recent devices – while the FBI claimed it only wanted access to a single iPhone.
Apple’s dispute with the FBI ended on March 28, after the government found an alternate way to access the data on the iPhone through the help of “professional hackers” and withdrew the lawsuit as a result.
During the controversy, a Senate Intelligence Committee encryption bill was announced by committee leaders Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, which aimed to force companies to provide “technical assistance” to government investigators seeking locked data.
A released draft of the encryption bill in April revealed the scope of the proposed legislation, which was heavily criticized by security experts and the wider technology community, and described variously as “absurd”, “technically inept”, and “dangerous”.
An open letter expressing “deep concerns” about the draft bill was subsequently signed by four coalitions representing Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and other major tech companies. At the same time, the White House chose not to offer public support for the legislation, and the administration remained deeply divided on the issue.
The CIA and NSA were also ambivalent, according to several current and former intelligence officials, because agency officials feared any new law would interfere with their own encryption efforts.
Now, despite Burr repeatedly insisting that legislation is imminent, no timeline exists for the bill, Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence Committee have apparently backed away from the issue, and the political will to support its advance no longer appears to exist.
Despite the change in the political landscape, however, the FBI remains adamant that litigation over the encryption of mobile devices will continue.
In a briefing with reporters earlier this month, FBI director James Comey called encryption an “essential tradecraft” of terrorist organizations like ISIS, suggesting that the debate over whether the government can compel tech companies to unlock personal devices in the interest of national security is far from over.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Tag: Apple-FBI
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Apple Expands iPhone Trade Up Program to France, Italy, and Spain
Apple today expanded its “Trade Up with Installments” program for iPhone to France, Italy, and Spain, enabling customers to trade in an eligible older-generation iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone smartphone and put the value of that device towards a new iPhone based on a 24-month payment plan.
When a customer in Italy trades in a used 16GB iPhone 5s for a new 16GB iPhone SE, for example, an amount of €16.98 must be paid each month for the duration of the two-year installment plan. A total of €425.52 would be owed after interest rates are applied to the price. Exact prices vary depending on the combination.
The program is effectively a loan handled by Apple as an intermediary, so customers will need approved credit to qualify. The exact amounts paid may vary depending on the condition of the smartphone traded in. Apple’s financing partners include Sofinco in France, Agos Ducato in Italy, and Cetelem in Spain.
“Trade Up with Installments” was heretofore exclusive to the U.S., where the program is financed by Citizens Bank with a 0% interest rate.
Apple recommends that customers speak to a Specialist at an Apple Retail Store for more details. The offer is not available online and is set to end on August 31, 2016 in France, Italy, and Spain. Apple’s similar iPhone Upgrade Program remains exclusive to the U.S., so this program is a viable alternative for financing a new iPhone.
(Thanks, setteBIT!)
Related Roundup: iPhone 6s
Tags: Apple trade-in, Italy, Spain, France
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Caution)
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Apple Defends 15-Year Development Plan for Irish Data Center Amidst Environmental Concerns
Over a year after announcing its plan to spend $2 billion on new data centers in Ireland and Denmark, Apple is now defending its decision for the former location amidst rising concern that its state-of-the-art facilities will have negative effects on local animal populations, and could lead to potential flooding concerns on a neighboring golf course (via Business Insider).
Irish planning body An Bord Pleanála managed to temporarily halt construction of the Ireland-based data center thanks to these concerns, which were brought to it by a number of individuals and organizations. Its biggest question was asking why Apple chose the middle of Derrydonnell forest in Galway County, Ireland as its planned site for the server farm, given that there are other places in Ireland designated specifically for data center construction.
Solar panels at Apple’s data center in Maiden, North Carolina
Apple’s senior director of global data center services, Robert Sharpe, explained the vital nature of the European data centers as part of Apple’s continued expansion and support for its various services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Sharpe said that Apple must pursue this phased development (the Derrydonnell Forest center would be constructed over 10-15 years) to continue to accommodate for more smartphones, more services, and more users expecting quality experiences out of both.
“Derrydonnell forest, the site of the proposed development, offers a combination of factors that make it uniquely attractive for a data centre,” Sharpe said. “It is a large site, currently used for commercial forestry, which sits extremely close to two major high voltage power transmission lines in an area rich in renewable energy resources.”
During the hearing, Sharpe also addressed the environmental concerns raised by locals of the county, claiming that there would be both limited visual pollution to the area thanks to the thickness of the forestry, and that Apple would replenish any wildlife it removed during construction.
“The site presents us with an ideal opportunity to develop a very large, sustainable data centre, which meets our projected needs over the next 10 to 15 years. The woodland will enable us to make the site largely invisible beyond the site and we are able to improve the overall biodiversity of the site by increasing the proportion of native broadleaf trees.”
The site in Ireland is planned to consist of eight total buildings each housing thousands of servers for Apple’s various online services. The company’s original planning application — which has now been halted by An Bord Pleanála — is for just one of the eight buildings, so it will have to reapply for each future planned expansion over the next estimated 10-15 years. There was no word yet on the outcome of the hearing in Ireland.
Sharpe address the various concerns presented to Apple — including flooding issues and water drainage plans — in his full opening statement.
Tag: data center
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Amazon Fire TV Stick review – CNET
The Good The Amazon Fire TV Stick can access thousands of the most popular streaming apps. It’s dirt cheap and unlike Chromecast, it actually includes a physical remote. Amazon content launches quickly. The voice remote option allows more convenient search and easy access to the Alexa digital assistant.
The Bad Slower than most other streaming devices. Popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and others take a back seat to Amazon’s own TV shows and movies. There’s no way to customize the interface.
The Bottom Line The inexpensive Fire TV Stick remains a great value for heavy users of Amazon TV shows and movies, but most other new devices work better for Netflix and the rest.
Along with Roku, Apple and Google, Amazon is a major player in streaming TV devices, and the Fire TV Stick is the most popular Amazon streamer. It’s small, cheap and capable, and people seem to like it. In fact it’s the most-reviewed product in Amazon history, with more than 100,000 user reviews, averaging four out of five stars.
Count this as one review that’s less enthusiastic. After a year and a half on the market, the Fire TV stick is showing its age. It’s not the the Fire Stick is a bad device; it’s not. It’s that its similarly price rivals are so good. All of the Fire TV Stick’s competitors have shipped newer streamers since it debuted, and the two closest in price — Roku Streaming Stick and Google Chromecast — are both better right now.
Roku’s new-for-2016 stick costs a bit more, but it’s worth it for the extra apps, speedier response times and more open, customer-friendly interface. The slightly cheaper Chromecast is more appealing for phone-centric users who don’t mind the lack of a remote (though, notably, it lacks the Amazon Prime video app).
Amazon’s Stick is good enough, but struggles to stand out against the tough competition. The Alexa voice assistant is easily accessible if you buy the more expensive version ($50 versus $40) with the voice remote, but since you have to have your TV on, it’s hardly a viable Echo or Dot substitute. Amazon has done a good job adding must-have apps, but they get buried by menus designed — more than any other device I’ve ever used — to make you browse, search for and buy video from just one source: Amazon itself.
Amazon Fire TV Stick product photos
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And if you’re a hardcore “Amazon person,” the Fire TV box might be worth the extra money compared to the Stick. It has better connectivity, 4K capability, and is smoother and faster to use every day. The Stick is still a superior value at less than half the price, however.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon replaces the current Stick with a faster version later this year. Until then there are better devices to choose as your main streamer, and better values.
Editors’ note: This review was completely updated May 27, 2016, to account for changes since the last update in 2015, including the introduction of new devices. The ratings were reduced to account for the changes in the competitive landscape mentioned above.
Sticking to the Amazon basics
If you’re not familiar with streamers in general and sticks in particular, here’s a quick primer. Numerous devices available today let you stream TV shows, movies and other video content, as well as music, via the Internet.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
Sticks like Amazon’s are the smallest and cheapest. They plug into your TV’s HDMI port and use your home Wi-Fi network. They get power either from an included wall adapter or a USB port on your TV, although I recommend using the adapter to avoid the stick needing to boot up every time you turn your TV on.
Almost all streamers can access major apps like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, HBO Now and Watch ESPN. The major exception is Amazon video. Apple TV, Chromecast and Google Android TV devices like the Nvidia Shield can’t access any Amazon content directly. They lack an Amazon video app, so you have to use an inconvenient workaround like AirPlay or screen mirroring from a phone, tablet or computer.
Samsung Gear VR getting its own gamepad? Clips into headset when not in use
The Samsung Gear VR might be a surprisingly capable virtual reality headset, for the price, but controls are limited. This issue appears to be something Samsung has spotted and may soon fix with a new Gear VR gamepad.
The gamepad has leaked in images on SamsungMania showing off the flat handheld device. The leaked gamepad appears to feature an analogue stick control, four gaming buttons and an LED as well as left and right shoulder bumper buttons. This is all finished in a resin black textured back and front, presumably for grip.
The controller itself looks good, if not a little squared off, but Samsung appears to have done this for a reason. The controller is shown clipped into the Gear VR headset. This is a brilliant idea that will allow for the two to remain together for storage and travel.
It should also mean plugging a charger into the headset port charges the controller. This could replace the plastic cover plate, used when the phone is not docked in the headset, meaning the controller doubles as a headset lens protector too.
Samsung already has an official GamePad, that’s more like a console controller. This new VR specialist device should hopefully be more affordable. Perhaps it will even come as part of the Gear VR in future. Expect to hear more, like pricing and release date, soon.
Samsung ManiaSamsung Mania
READ: Best Samsung Gear VR Oculus apps 2016
How to get your Android phone ready to sell
You’ve just bought the latest Android superphone so there are two things you need to take care of: firstly, you need to liberate your content and data from your old Android handset and secondly, you need to sell it, to liberate some cash.
Android offers plenty of options when it comes to transferring data between devices and in many cases you won’t need to do very much at all. The experience, of course, depends a little on how old your phone is, but this method should work for most people.
Backup, backup, backup
Before you wipe your old phone, it needs to be backed-up. There are a lot of manufacturer options, but the easiest is to use Android’s own backup system. Head into the settings of your own phone and there should be a backup and reset option in the menu.
Make sure this is turned on, and your phone will be backed up to your Google account, meaning that many of your settings and apps can be restored on your new phone when you sign in for the first time.
Backup your photos and video
In many cases, it’s your photos and videos that you care about the most. Again, there are a wealth of options to ensure these don’t get lost. Using Google Photos gives you the option to backup to Google Drive, so when you sign-in on your new phone, all your photos are there. You have the option of full size, or reduced size backups.
Better still, you can choose the folder you want backing up – if you don’t want all those WhatsApp or Instagram photos, you don’t have to sync that folder.
You can also use services like Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive to back-up your photos, again letting you access them through the respective apps on your new phone.
Use device transfer tools
Android has a built-in content transfer tool, making it easy to move from an old phone to a new one. In this case, you’ll need to select the option on your new phone when you’re setting it up. This will let you pair with your old phone and transfer over a lot of the important stuff, like your account details.
Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, have their own content transfer tools – and often this can include things like SMS messages if you really want to keep a full history. Alternatively, you can try an app like SMS Backup if you want to move messages from your old phone to a new one.
Transfer your music
If you’ve been buying digital music and downloading to your phone, it’s often easy enough to download it again from the service you used before on your new device. However, if you transferred it to your device, you could sync it with Google Music, again meaning you can access it through your new handset.
Alternatively, you can upload music files to cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox, and download on your new device. If you’re moving big music collections, then having it on a microSD card is the easiest option, assuming both devices support external storage cards.
Wipe your handset
Once you are happy you have all the content from your old phone (and be sure to setup your new phone fully to check) you need to make sure your old phone is wiped clean.
Firstly, remove the microSD card as you will want to keep this and remove the old SIM too. Secondly, use the full reset option on your phone. Some devices offer an option to reset the settings without wiping the content. You don’t want to do that, you want to fully erase the content of your phone. In the Android settings you’ll find the option to reset and you’ll often have to confirm that you’re wiping the content too.
Make sure it’s properly wiped
You might just stop there, but it’s often worth re-accessing your phone to ensure it is actually wiped. You could connect it to a PC or Mac via USB and examine the files and folders to check that things like photo folders are empty to make sure.
Or, you can setup your phone as a new device again and use a wiping app, like AndroShredder. This will write over the blank space on your phone again to make it more difficult to recover data from it.
If you’re really keen, you can setup a new Google Account just for wiping data. Log in with this account on your old device so that your normal data doesn’t all sync again from your main account.
Sell your phone to get the cash back
Just because you’ve finished with an Android phone, doesn’t mean it is without value. You can sell it quickly and easily to get some cash back into your pocket.
Using a service like musicMagpie, all you have to do is head to musicMagpie.co.uk, enter the device you’re selling and the condition it is in and you’ll be able to see how much it’s worth.
Sending the device is simple as there are a range of free sending or collection options. You’ll then be paid on the day that musicMagpie receives your device, if you’ve opted for bank transfer. It’s as simple as that.
Want to sell your old phone? Check out Pocket-lint’s preferred recycling partner musicMagpie.co.uk / decluttr.com to find out how much money you can get for it.
The ISS’ first expandable habitat didn’t unfold as planned
The ISS was supposed to have an expandable module attached to the Tranquility node by now — alas, things didn’t go well for NASA and Bigelow Aerospace. Space station crew member Jeff Williams spent two hours pumping air into the module through a small valve, but some unknown issues prevented BEAM from expanding to its full size. The space agency announced on Twitter when the attempt failed that it’s working with Bigelow Aerospace to figure out what happened. It also said that it may try again later today (May 27th), but that might not push through. According to a follow-up tweet, they’re holding a presscon at 12PM Eastern time today to update us space geeks on what they’ve found out and what their next steps are.
BEAM is Bigelow Aerospace’s experimental inflatable habitat designed to test out its design. It uses Kevlar-like materials and was ferried to the station (folded, to save space) by SpaceX’s historic flight, wherein it landed the Falcon 9 on a barge for the first time. If the ISS crew manages to install and inflate it properly, they’ll go inside the module a couple of times a year during its two-year test run to gather data from its instruments and assess its condition.
Expansion of #BEAM stopped for today; will resume tomorrow after ground teams review data: https://t.co/KX5g7zfYQe https://t.co/h86BknpfiR
— NASA (@NASA) May 26, 2016
We’re working w/ @BigelowSpace to understand why #BEAM didn’t fully expand today. Updates: https://t.co/ws7AQi38ah pic.twitter.com/isA9VnlgFj
— NASA (@NASA) May 26, 2016
Source: NASA, (Twitter), Reuters
Acer reveals Intel Skylake laptops with fingerprint readers
Acer will be launching quite a few devices at Computex this year, including a range of Windows 10 laptops (that come with fingerprint readers) and a new phone. Two of those laptops, a 14-inch and a 15.6-inch TravelMate, are powered by Intel’s 6th-gen core (aka Skylake) processors that became available late last year. They’re also equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 940M graphics cards, can support up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM and will ship with Windows 10 Pro. These models are geared more towards small businesses, so they come bundled with some enterprise-level software. But if you’re shopping for Skylake-based laptops and think either model could be a contender, you can check them out yourself when Acer releases them in North America sometime in the fourth quarter. One will cost you at least $599.
The laptop in the image above, however, is part of Acer’s 2-in-1 budget line for students. There are two models in the series — the Switch V 10 and the Switch One 10 — both of which transform into 10-inch tablets when you detach them from their keyboards. They’re powered by quad-core Intel Atom processors and will ship with Windows 10, though the V 10 also has a USB Type-C port. The tablets will be available in both 32GB and 64 GB configurations, but the keyboard dock adds 500GB of storage. The One 10 will come out in North America in July, with prices starting at $199. Acer doesn’t have an exact release date for V 10 yet, but it’s also coming in the third quarter and will cost you at least $249.
The Taiwanese manufacturer is also announcing US availability for the LTE-enabled, 5.5-inch Android Marshmallow phone called Liquid Zest Plus. It has a 13-megapixel camera with what the company calls “an ultra-fast hybrid tri-focusing system” that can focus on what you want to capture within .03 seconds. Plus, it comes with the ability to take timed selfies when you shake the phone. Zest Plus will set you back $199 if you decide to buy it when it comes out across North America in July.
Besides those laptops and the phone, Acer will also take the chance to show off a new 4K home cinema projector and a 4K monitor at the expo. Our Computex team will be testing out some of the devices on display at the event, so make sure to check back to see them take these laptops, phones and other gadgets for a spin when the show begins on the 31st.
Source: Windows
The government spends billions maintaining archaic IT systems
It’s one thing when an automaker or maybe a school uses incredibly old equipment to keep its internal systems afloat, but when it’s the federal government that’s another matter entirely. Case in point: The United States Government Accountability Office recently released a report stating that President Obama’s IT budget request for the 2017 fiscal year was $89 billion. And a bulk of it is for keeping legacy tech running.
It goes deeper than just 8-inch floppy disks to operate our nuclear arsenal. We’re talking arcane 56 year-old computer code that’s used to generate your tax return at the Department of Treasury and Common Business Oriented Language from the 1950s keeping track of benefit claims being filed and dates of death for the Department of Veteran Affairs. Unlike the DoD’s prehistoric floppies, these latter two issues have no defined plans for replacement or modernization.
There are a few things to take away from this. For starters, some of these old systems are almost assuredly very susceptible to intrusions. But, like Ars Technica notes, a few have been augmented with comparatively modern bits and bobs. The problem there is that even those “upgrades” have been abandoned in terms of support as well. There’s no quick fix here, or, more likely, a fix at all, especially with how slow the wheels of bureaucracy move.
Via: Ars Technica
Source: US Government Accountability Office
AIVAnet 