Uber’s trucking plan will connect drivers with cargo

When Uber bought up Otto’s self-driving truck platform, the initial reaction was to imagine a future fleet of autonomous trucks traveling coast to coast on America’s interstates. According to a new report from Reuters, that reality is still years — possibly decades — away. In the short term, however, Uber plans to leverage the Otto purchase to build up its own freight business and make a name for itself as the go-to technology partner for the trucking industry.

“Uber has already started pitching services to shippers, truck fleets and independent drivers, and the services go well beyond Otto’s initially stated goal of outfitting trucks with self-driving technology,” Reuters reports. “It also plans to compete with the brokers who connect truck fleets and shippers.”

CEO Travis Kalanick has long described Uber as a logistics company and the Otto partnership comes with additional navigation, mapping and tracking technology that will give Uber footing as it looks to build out a freight network connecting shippers and carriers. The company’s UberEats food delivery and UberRush shipping service have already done the same thing on the city-level and, according to Otto co-founder Lior Ron, the new goal is about “building that long-haul piece.”

Whereas an Uber might take three minutes to show up at your door, Ron explained, “the golden standard [in freight] is that it takes (the broker) five hours of phone calls to find your truck. That’s how efficient the industry is today.” Although Otto already employees a handful of truckers to help test the self-driving technology, the company will reportedly start moving real shipments “fairly soon” and Otto’s next goal is to build relationships with independent truckers, much as it did with taxi and delivery drivers — for better or for worse.

Source: Reuters

Verizon technician admits he sold customer data for years

A former Verizon Wireless network technician in Alabama has admitted to using company computers to steal and sell private customers’ location and call data over a period of five years. As Ars Technica reports, Daniel Traeger of Birmingham faces up to five years in prison or a $250,000 fine for the federal hacking charge. As part of a plea deal, Traeger confessed that he sold the data to an unnamed private investigator.

According to the terms of the plea (PDF), Traeger and the PI made a deal sometime in 2009, when Traeger agreed to provide the information even though he was aware he was not authorized to access the data or provide it to a third party. Using two different internal systems, Traeger accessed call records and pinged the victims’ cellphones to get their location. He then compiled all the data into spreadsheets which he passed along to the PI over email.

Traeger made only $50 per month, or about $25 per record, when he started selling the information. By the time he was finally caught in 2014, Traeger had racked up a nest egg of more than $10,000 from Verizon customers’ private data. While Traeger’s relatively small-time hack came from within the company, earlier this year Verizon’s anti-hacking task force was hacked along with a cache of Enterprise customer data. Last year, Buzzfeed also reported that a vulnerability in Verizon’s system made it painfully easy to access the accounts of home internet customers.

*Verizon has acquired AOL, Engadget’s parent company. However, Engadget maintains full editorial control, and Verizon will have to pry it from our cold, dead hands.

Source: Ars Technica

Arduino is making an Internet of Things kit with your help

Arduino boards can certainly be used to create homebrew connected devices, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. What if you’re a rookie who has yet to master programming or wiring? That’s where Arduino’s new, crowdfunded ESLOV kit might save the day. All you have to do to create a basic Internet of Things device is snap in some plug-and-play modules, connect your creation to your PC and draw connections between those modules in an editor. You only have to dive into serious programming if you have specific needs — there’s ready-made code for common devices like air quality sensors, baby monitors and remote-controlled thermostats.

If you like the idea, you can pledge to get one of several ESLOV kits that’s more likely to meet your technological ambitions. Contributing about $55 will get you the core WiFi Hub, which includes a motion sensor. Spending $99 or higher will get you multiple modules, with higher tiers carrying more exotic parts like hall sensors and OLED screens. Arduino hopes to ship its crowdfunded kits in June 2017 if it meets its funding goal. No, this isn’t the cheapest way to get started on DIY devices (an Arduino Uno board costs about $22), but it might be ideal if you’re teaching kids to build electronics or want to gradually ease into a gadget making hobby.

Source: Kickstarter, Arduino Blog

Apple and Deloitte Partnering on Consulting Service to Promote iOS Devices in Enterprise

Apple today announced an enterprise partnership with Deloitte, which will see Deloitte creating an Apple practice with more than 5,000 “strategic advisors” focused on providing businesses with guidance on how to “change the way they work,” updating technology on all of their systems, from retail to R&D to inventory management.

The two also plan to create a new service from Deloitte Consulting called “EnterpriseNext,” which will help Deloitte clients “fully take advantage” of the iOS ecosystem, from hardware to software.

“As the leader in digital transformation strategy, Deloitte is an ideal partner that brings a team of Apple-dedicated strategic advisors to help clients truly revolutionize how they work using iOS, iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone and iPad are transforming how people everywhere get work done. And through this partnership, we’re able to help even more businesses tap into the incredible capabilities that only the Apple ecosystem can deliver.”

EnterpriseNext will offer expertise to businesses across more than 20 industries, providing guidance on how to take advantage of iOS devices, offering workshops on creating iOS solutions, and developing full native apps for businesses from Deloitte Digital Studios.

– EnterpriseNext Value Maps for iOS to help them discover the highest impact possibilities for iPhone and iPad within their industries, align their mobile opportunities and prioritize digital resources;
– EnterpriseNext Workshops for iOS to quickly take ideas from prototype to custom-built iOS solutions; and
– iOS architects, designers and engineers – housed within Deloitte Digital Studios around the world – to help produce easily deployable, high-quality native apps that integrate seamlessly with existing business platforms including ERP, CRM, analytics and HR.

Apple has been ramping up its efforts in the enterprise market over the past few years, first teaming up with IBM to get iPads and iPhones into the hands of businesses and help them to develop a range of custom apps. Apple has also partnered with Cisco and SAP to offer the necessary tools and integrations to make it easy for companies to adopt iOS devices.

Tags: enterprise, Deloitte
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Apple Tracks Who You Contact on Messages, Stores Logs for 30 Days

Conversations in the Messages app feature end-to-end encryption that makes the content of the messages impossible to decipher, but according to documentation found by The Intercept, Apple tracks who its customers send iMessages to and is able to hand that information over to law enforcement when compelled to do so through a court order.

When a text message is sent to someone, the Messages app pings Apple’s servers to see if the person has an iPhone or iPad in an effort to determine whether to send a message via iMessage or SMS. Each ping records date, time, number, and IP address, all of which is kept in a log that Apple says it stores for 30 days

Apple confirmed to The Intercept that it only retains these logs for a period of 30 days, though court orders of this kind can typically be extended in additional 30-day periods, meaning a series of monthlong log snapshots from Apple could be strung together by police to create a longer list of whose numbers someone has been entering.

The data on how Messages works was reportedly obtained by The Intercept from a document entitled “iMessage FAQ for Law Enforcement” that was given to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Electronic Surveillance Support Team. While labled “Law Enforcement Sources” and “For Official Use Only,” it is not clear who wrote it.

Click to enlarge. Image via The Intercept
As The Intercept points out, the documentation suggests that each number entered into the Messages app is transmitted to Apple when a new chat is opened, even if a conversation does not end up taking place. An Apple spokesperson said that the logging information in the iMessage FAQ is “generally accurate” but did not give additional data to make it clearer exactly when the Messages app pings Apple’s servers. Apple did, however, give the following statement:

When law enforcement presents us with a valid subpoena or court order, we provide the requested information if it is in our possession. Because iMessage is encrypted end-to-end, we do not have access to the contents of those communications. In some cases, we are able to provide data from server logs that are generated from customers accessing certain apps on their devices. We work closely with law enforcement to help them understand what we can provide and make clear these query logs don’t contain the contents of conversations or prove that any communication actually took place.

Apple takes a strong stance on privacy and promises to keep customer data private with tools like end-to-end encryption for the Messages app, but it has always maintained that there is some information that it is able to provide to law enforcement officials when compelled to do so.

Apple’s website features a privacy section that details the information it collects and the types of data that it provides for government requests, including a full rundown of what’s available to law enforcement [PDF]. Apple’s documentation does not appear to mention Messages specifically, but it does specify that iCloud connection logs are retained for 30 days and that FaceTime calls logs are also maintained.

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.

Tags: iMessage, privacy
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Apple Likely Aiming for Late October Launch of Redesigned MacBook Pro

With the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 launches having dominated the Apple news cycle in recent weeks, attention is now turning back to the Mac lineup, which has been in need of updates for quite some time as highlighted by our Buyer’s Guide. Looking ahead to the rapidly approaching holiday shopping season, rumors have suggested Apple is preparing to update several of its Mac lines before the end of the year, led by a redesigned MacBook Pro that has been rumored to be ready for launch “as soon as October.”

MacRumors has learned that Apple is indeed moving rapidly toward a launch of the new MacBook Pro models, with the company’s current development work on macOS 10.12.1 focused largely on preparing the operating system to support the updated hardware’s new features, which have been rumored by several sources to include Touch ID support and an OLED “touch bar” replacing the current row of function keys across the top of keyboard. Apple is also said to be shifting to “Polaris” graphics chips from AMD on the higher-end 15-inch models.

Leaked MacBook Pro top case showing space for touch bar in place of function keys
Our understanding is that Apple is planning to seed one more beta version of macOS 10.12.1 for developer and public beta testing early next week, with a goal of finalizing the software update by the end of that week so it can be loaded onto the new hardware currently being produced by Apple’s supply chain partners.

This timeline could of course change should last-minute bugs or other circumstances require adjustments to Apple’s plans, but if it holds true, it appears Apple could have its new MacBook Pro models ready to ship to customers some time in the second half of October.

With an emphasis on preparing for the new MacBook Pro models and thus a need to stick to an aggressive timeline, Apple appears to be pushing off all but the most critical bug fixes and security patches beyond macOS 10.12.1. Less crucial fixes will be incorporated into the following macOS 10.12.2 update, which we understand Apple is aiming to begin seeding to developers around late October with a goal of public release around late November.

In addition to redesigned MacBook Pro models, Apple has also been rumored to be launching updated MacBook Air models with USB-C ports and new iMacs with AMD graphics chips before the end of the year. It is unclear, however, whether all three lines will be updated simultaneously and whether Apple will hold a media event to introduce the hardware or opt for a more low-key introduction via press release, perhaps with some embargoed media reviews alongside.

Finally, Apple is reportedly working with LG on a new 5K external display to replace the discontinued Apple Thunderbolt Display, although a timeframe for that product has yet to be reported. We’ve also yet to hear any word about the Mac Pro and Mac mini, both of which remain in significant need of updates.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer’s Guide: Retina MacBook Pro (Don’t Buy)
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T-Mobile extends free high-speed roaming in Europe and South America until end of 2016

T-Mobile extends roaming privileges until the end of 2016.

T-Mobile always finds a way to put itself in the news. The company has announced that it will be extending free high-speed roaming to postpaid customers until the end of 2016. The original plan was supposed to expire at the end of September.

Specifically, the company says all postpaid customers will be able to roam on LTE at no extra charge in a number of European and South American countries, including Spain, Sweden, UK, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and more.

Of course, not all of T-Mobile’s roaming partners in every country support 4G LTE, but the company promises the “fastest available data” in each place.

T-Mobile says that after introducing the promotion earlier this summer to coincide with the Olympics, it saw a 3x increase in data use in those countries — unsurprising when people didn’t feel they had to count their bandwidth.

Last month, the company introduced T-Mobile One, a single plan that offers unlimited calls, texting and data to all of its customers. After some criticism around the speed of free tethering, T-Mobile then revised the One plan to include faster free 3G tethering, and the option to add 4G LTE hotspot support and unlimited HD video streaming for an extra $25 per month, per line.

The full list of countries eligible for free, high-speed roaming is:

Europe

• Armenia
• Austria
• Croatia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Germany
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Russia
• Serbia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom

South America

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Easter Island
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

What do you think of this move to extend free, high-speed roaming in Europe and Latin America? Let us know in the comments below!

Samsung Galaxy S7, six months on

It’s been half a year since we reviewed the Galaxy S7; now it’s time to revisit things.

Oh how quickly time flies. It’s hard to believe that the Galaxy S7 has already been on sale for over six months, as we published our review on March 8. The GS7 has been what I consider my “primary” phone since then (with requisite time spent away from it with review devices), so I’ve racked up plenty of experience using Samsung’s base-level flagship since it was launched.

Revisiting a phone several months after reviewing it gives necessary perspective, particularly as sales continue and potential buyers keep considering the Galaxy S7. So how has it stood up to a half-year of use? Read on for my experiences.

Still holds up

Galaxy S7 Hardware

I wrote our review of the Galaxy S7 edge, but never could get comfortable with the larger curved screen and immediately gravitated to using the “standard” Galaxy S7 instead. The 5.1-inch screen and svelte overall body are just the right size for me: big enough to not feel cramped, and small enough to fit in my pocket and manage with a single hand.

After months of use, my Galaxy S7 is still looking rather pristine, though I’m admittedly not too rough on any of my phones as they often spend hours a day sitting on a desk. I’m also cognizant of the dangers of scratches, bumps and drops while I travel, and my GS7 usually lives in a clear TPU case or Samsung’s battery pack case when I hit the road.

My GS7 has spent 80% of its life outside a case, and hasn’t picked up any cosmetic damage.

With that being said, my GS7 has probably spent 80% of its life outside of a case, and really hasn’t picked up any cosmetic damage. The metal frame has a few tiny scratches, and the back glass is the one place where damage is pretty unavoidable — you can see a few shallow scratches and swirls from sliding around on various surfaces. No cracks or pits in the glass on either side, though, which is a huge victory — and considering how well the GS7 is made I’m not surprised.

The Galaxy S7’s display continues to be marvelous, from its punchy colors and crisp resolution to its fantastic daylight visibility. Samsung’s displays have been class-topping for a couple years now, and while there are plenty of other phones out there with great displays, they all come up a little short of Samsung’s AMOLEDs. Some people aren’t as drawn to its over-saturated look, but I quite enjoy it — and if you prefer something more true to life you can tune it back in the settings.

Water resistance has saved my phone numerous times, but it’s really about the peace of mind.

Over the past six months I’ve been using some other phones, too, and I’m regularly reminded how awesome it is to come back to the Galaxy S7 with its water resistance. Though more and more phones are adding some level of resistance, it isn’t entirely ubiquitous, nor is it up to the same IP68 rating that Samsung uses. I don’t use the Galaxy S7 to take photos under water, nor am I going out of my way to get it wet — but it’s just one less thing to worry about when I’m carrying around a $650 phone. I set it out when I’m at the pool, rather than stuffing it in a bag. I leave it in my pocket when I’m walking on the beach and don’t have to be worried about a rogue wave ruining it. I can put it on a crowded dinner table even though it’s practically inevitable someone will spill a drink. And importantly for Seattle, I can use the phone while I’m on the sidewalk in the rain and not be worried.

Plenty fast

Galaxy S7 Daily use

The phone’s hardware is a known quantity that doesn’t change with use, but the software and experience can certainly deteriorate over time and erode your enthusiasm for a phone. Modern devices are pretty much always going to be quick and show off their features well when you’re in a store, or in the first couple days of use, but how well those features still work several months on shows the true character of a phone.

Software and performance

We use our phones all day every day, and a common refrain is how they slow down over time. My Galaxy S7 has survived this seemingly inevitable deterioration of performance, thankfully, despite loading it up with all of my usual apps and using it exactly as I do any other phone.

Performance is still absolutely great, even after 6 months of use.

Now considering the Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM inside this really shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the hardware inside really is overkill for most of what we do. It’s difficult to know how well a phone will far longterm during the initial review period. But now I know that the Galaxy S7 handles my daily needs the same now as it did when I first received it.

The software hasn’t had to grow on me at all, as I was already plenty happy with it when I first used the phone. Samsung’s interface is consistent and just fine on the eyes, so my only real complaint at this point is the pile of duplicative apps that can’t be disabled or uninstalled. I often use other apps as my defaults for functions like calendar and email, and I want to be able to remove Samsung’s versions so they’re no longer cluttering my app drawer and settings — this just isn’t possible given how deeply Samsung bakes them into its system. At this point, it’s the one area that still detracts from my enjoyment of Galaxy phones.

When it comes to software updates, Samsung has done better than expected, while at the same time leaving us a bit underwhelmed. The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have both received monthly security patches with a regular cadence, but they’ve been delayed by a few weeks in most cases. They’ve also been inconsistent across carriers and regions, with Canadian carriers being particularly poor at working with Samsung to push updates and some regions not receiving updates at anywhere near a monthly interval.

Battery life

The single downside of the smaller size of the Galaxy S7 is its smaller battery, which leads to consistently adequate — but not astounding — battery life. I know exactly how long my phone’s going to last based on what I’m doing that day, and with my average use that means not worrying about charging until I head to bed at night. I don’t need to watch what I do on the phone, use power saving mode or even turn off the battery-draining Always On Displa. I’ve continued to use the GS7 like I do any other phone and the battery holds up.

If I have to go hard on the phone I may be down in the danger zone by nighttime, and if I’m traveling I’m almost guaranteed to have to pop on the Samsung battery case or hit a wall plug for 45 minutes, but those are fringe cases that don’t ruin the experience for me. Few phones out there can handle a full day of travel or hours of hotspotting on top of my normal use, and I don’t expect the GS7 with its 3000 mAh battery to provide any more than it does.

Cameras

Even six months later, I still hold the Galaxy S7 camera as the standard by which other phones are measured. Not only in terms of overall photo quality in a vast range of situations, but in the general experience. The Galaxy S7 still consistently launches faster — with a simple double press of the home button — than any other phone, presents you with a simple interface and captures shots the instant you press the shutter button.

The photos you can get out of the Galaxy S7 still blow me away, and the consistency from shot to shot is still there. The low light shots are generally fantastic, but are admittedly a little grainy and can sometimes rely too much on a high ISO versus a slow shutter speed in situations where there are both bright and dark parts of a scene. But that decision makes sense from the perspective of keeping images crisp — the main feature most are looking for.

If you’re willing to switch into Manual mode you can tweak things for some really great shots, including long exposures using a tripod, but the important part is that it isn’t necessary. You can get great photos time after time in full Auto with Auto HDR turned on.

Age is just a number

The bottom line, six months on

Samsung has likely already sold tens of millions of Galaxy S7s at this point, and now six months on many of them are coming to the same conclusion that I have: the GS7 is still a damn good phone. Although there will always be questions about fragility of a glass body, the sturdiness and outstanding feel of the GS7’s hardware is undeniable, and I really enjoy using it. The screen hasn’t been surpassed by any phone in the meantime, and I personally appreciate its manageable size next to all of the other mainstream phones that have gravitated toward 5.5 inches.

Just as importantly, the daily experience on offer from the Galaxy S7 is still great, even after several months using the phone and loading it up with all kinds of apps and data. I still wish that Samsung would scale back on its duplicative apps that can’t be disabled or uninstalled, but the interface is slick and fast, with no performance issues. At the same time, battery life is good enough to get your through a day without worrying about hitting a charger. And then you have the camera, always waiting and ready to snap a picture at a moment’s notice with excellent results in a variety of situations.

Considering how well the Galaxy S7 has held up to my use, I still have no hesitation in recommending it someone who wants the best of hardware, performance and camera in a phone that’s still a manageable size. Even six months on with some price cuts the GS7 is still quite expensive, but it continues to offer excellent value that few other phones can match.

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