Apple CEO Tim Cook Talks Tech and Economy With Utah Senator Orrin Hatch
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Friday afternoon to discuss topics like technology and economy, reports BuzzFeed.
Hatch, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee and leads the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, has met with Cook several times in the past and participated in Apple’s ongoing encryption debate with the U.S. government, calling for a private Senate briefing with Apple attorney Ted Olson following the dismissal of the San Bernardino case.
During Friday’s meeting, Hatch told BuzzFeed he and Cook talked about ways to grow the economy and the technology industry. They also spoke about Cook’s trip to Utah in October, where Cook took part in a privacy-related Q&A session hosted by Hatch.
“During today’s meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, we discussed ways to grow the economy and our tech industry, as well as his recent visit with me in Utah,” Sen. Hatch said in an statement to BuzzFeed News. “Given the issues I work on as chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, it’s especially useful to listen to innovators like Tim.”
Cook, along with Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives Lisa Jackson, also had dinner with Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, on Thursday evening. They dined at Italian restaurant Tosca, located near the White House, but it’s not clear what was discussed.
Cook’s meetings with Hatch, Trump, and Kushner follow a December tech summit that saw Cook and other leaders like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, IBM CEO Ginny Rometty, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss topics like trade, immigration, and vocational education.
At the time, Cook told Apple employees he attended the tech summit with Trump because Apple plans to continue to focus on key areas like privacy, security, education, human rights, and combating climate change. “Personally, I’ve never found being on the sideline a successful place to be,” he said. “The way that you influence these issues is to be in the arena.”
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ZeniMax now wants $4 million from Oculus as case goes to jury
VR pioneer Oculus has been on trial for several weeks now, defending itself against claims it stole crucial code from ZeniMax. But the ultimate judgement is now in the hands of a jury. As reported by Polygon, closing arguments have concluded and the jury now has to decided if Oculus chief technology officer John Carmack stole ZeniMax IP and brought it to Oculus when he joined the company in 2013. At the same time as it wrapped up closing arguments, ZeniMax doubled the damages it is asking for. The company now wants a grand total of $4 billion — $2 billion in compensation and $2 billion in punitive damages.
However, the case again Oculus doesn’t seem terribly strong. ZeniMax argued that Oculus creator Palmer Luckey essentially didn’t have the technical know-how to build the Oculus Rift on his own without Carmack’s help. They said that Luckey and Carmack, who had been working at ZeniMax until he left to join Oculus, used ZeniMax’s technology Rage VR testbed and Doom 3 BFG Edition code to built out the Rift’s software (ZeniMax is the owner of id Software, creators of the Doom series).
In its defense, Oculus and its parent company Facebook had a forensics expert testify that there are no parts of the Rage VR or Doom 3 BFG Edition source code in the Oculus code. Furthermore, Oculus employees testified that they never saw any of Carmack’s source code or stated that they developed their code independently.
During the trial, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified, as did Luckey, Carmack and former Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe. Throughout the suit, which was first filed way back in 2014, Facebook, Oculus and the key players involved have all been steadfast in maintaining their innocence. We should find out if the jury agrees sometime next week.
Source: Polygon
Huawei wants to leapfrog Apple, become the world’s largest phone manufacturer
Why it matters to you
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is experiencing meteoric growth but it may need to boost U.S. sales to surpass Apple.
Huawei’s not doing too badly for itself. In the first half of 2016, the privately held Chinese smartphone maker saw sales jump a healthy 40 percent to about $39 billion and shipments climb 25 percent to 61 million. It dethroned Xiaomi as China’s largest smartphone maker. It also bucked an industry trend — in the third quarter of 2016, Huawei managed to move an estimated 33.6 million smartphones at a time when global smartphone sales climbed a measly three percent. But it aspires to do better.
Huawei’s set a goal of more than 140 million smartphone shipments in 2017, up from the 108 million it shipped in 2015. “We want to grow into top two market share, and, in the future, top one by 2021,” CEO Richard Yu told Fortune.
More: Everything you need to know about the Mate 9
That will be a challenge. Its investments in storefronts and brick-and-mortar placement increased the number of outlets selling its device to 35,000, up 116 percent. But the company’s operating margins took a hit as a result, diving six percentage points to 12 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period a year ago.
Huawei’s had particular difficulty breaking into the U.S. In the third quarter of 2016, it sold just 153,000 handsets, and it has yet to crack the list of top 10 smartphone makers in the country, trailing behind budget phone rivals like Blu and OnePlus. And none of the “big four” — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint — has cut a deal with Huawei.
“The past five years, we were not taking the right strategy,” Yu said. “We didn’t have the right people.”
More: Huawei P10: News and rumors
But now, the company’s turning things around. Loans from China’s government helped it build a network business in Africa and Latin America, which helped it to win networking equipment deals with major European carriers like Vodafone. According to IDC, Huawei has doubled its regional market share in first nine months of 2016, to 12 percent, sold 10 times as many smartphones as Apple in Finland, and dominated the sales charts in Portugal and the Netherlands.
That is thanks, in large part, to the company’s strategy. Huawei, which makes the bulk of its revenue — $35 billion a year — selling networking equipment, provides carriers vouchers worth a percentage of their spending on network equipment. Most put those vouchers toward phones from Huawei, which get better marketing placement as a result.
The company hopes to translate that success to the U.S. market. It recently hired Michelle Xiong, a former Verizon wireless executive who has experience negotiating with device makers that will help sell Huawei’s smartphones. It also inked deals with retailers like Best Buy and Walmart that will see more of its unlocked phone portfolio in physical outlets.
More: Super-sleek, newly updated Huawei P8 Lite 2017 gets a U.K. release
Already, it is within striking distance of Apple. The Cupertino, California-based company shipped 45.5 million iPhones in the third quarter — just 10 million more than Huawei.
BlackBerry BBC-100-1 news and rumors
Why it matters to you
BlackBerry fans who don’t have deep pockets will dig these rumors about a budget ‘Berry.
Apparently, all of our predictions about BlackBerry finally exiting the smartphone business were wrong. BlackBerry is preparing to launch yet another smartphone at Mobile World Congress 2017, and while many expect the BlackBerry Mercury to make an appearance, it seems as though the Mercury won’t be the only BlackBerry phone to show up.
In fact, we’ve been hearing rumors of another device called the BlackBerry BBC-100-1, and we may finally have a look at what the specs of the device are. Here’s everything we know about the BlackBerry BBC-100-1 so far.
More: Best BlackBerry Phones
Specs
Twitter user Roland Quandt has leaked what appears to be the specs of the upcoming BlackBerry BBC-100-1, showing that it will most certainly be a more entry-level phone. According to Quandt, the phone will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, a 5.5-inch 720p display, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 13MP rear-facing camera, and an 8MP front-facing camera. The device will also offer a 3,000mAh battery.
As you can see, the phone is clearly an entry-level model, so it will come down to pricing when deciding whether or not it’s a good purchase. BlackBerry seems to be shooting to appeal to all users with its new wave of Android-powered phones.
A new manufacturer?
While BlackBerry has been working with TCL for most of its recent phones, it was recently revealed that the BBC-100-1 will be manufactured by a “local joint venture” in Indonesia — which is where the phone will go on sale, according to Roland Quandt.
Not much else is known about who will be making the new BlackBerry phone, but it will be interesting to see how the phone compares design-wise with other BlackBerry devices on the market because of the differences in manufacturers.
We’ll update this article as we hear more about the BlackBerry BBC-100-1, so stay tuned for more info.
The bigger they come, the harder they fall: Our 35 favorite iPhone 6 Plus cases
The bigger they come, the harder they fall. Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus sports a 5.5-inch display and that rounded body looks potentially slippery to us. It’s a slim device and even with the promise of “ion-strengthened” glass we can already hear the sound of cracking displays as they hit the sidewalk. Why take the chance? Peruse the iPhone 6 Plus cases that are flooding onto the market and get the style and protection you need.
More: Make the most of the iPhone 6 with these 30 essential tricks and tips
Nodus Access Case 2 ($70)
This successor to the Access Case maintains the same stylish appeal as the original, but now comes in more colors and with some small changes to the overall design. The Access Case 2 is made using elegant, vegetable-tanned, Italian leather that’s also water-resistant, and features a rubber pad on the inside that’s covered with suction cups so you’re iPhone will stay in place. Magnetic shielding protects the device from outside interference, while the soft microfiber lining keeps it safe and residue-free. An inner pocket also holds credits cards or your driver’s license. The Access Case 2 has two cover variants, too, for people who like cases that open horizontally or vertically.
Buy one now from:
Nodus
Verus Layered Dandy ($20+)
The Layered Dandy series of cases from Verus is meant to provide storage and protection. Each case is designed to fit snugly on the iPhone 6 Plus, which prevents your phone from shaking inside the case during use or when it’s dropped. Being a wallet case also means that it features a flip cover, as well as three card slots and a money sleeve that’s designed to hold your credit cards. And to keep the cover from opening unexpectedly, it even comes equipped with a magnetic fastener. The case also has a leather texture to it, making it soft to the touch and a pleasure to look at.
Buy one now from:
VRSDesign Amazon
Obliq Premium Skyline Advance ($13+)
If you want style, protection, and a kickstand, Obliq has you covered on all three fronts. The metallic finish on the case gives it an elegant look, while the outer shell makes it look as rugged as ever. You can be confident in its ability to protect your device, too. Protection extends to the inside of the case, as well as the outer bumper, both of which provide shock-absorption. But if your iPhone does fall, the front edges of the case extend outward enough to keep your phone’s display from making contact with the ground. The hidden kickstand also makes it easy to watch videos, and saves you the trouble of having to hold your phone. This case also provides extra grip for added protection while holding your device.
Buy one now from:
OBLIQ Amazon
Cygnett Urbanwrap Case ($25)
This stylish, synthetic leather case looks and feels like the real thing. A lot of phone cases sport cut-outs so the buttons are still easy to press and get to, but the Urbanwrap opts for button covers, and does so without interfering with their functionality. Cygnett’s case is perfect for iPhone owners who want to wrap their device in a seamless, leather-esque design. It also provides a soft feel both inside and out. It’s not rugged, but you can expect it to provide basic protection from small bumps and falls.
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Cygnett
Mophie Juice Pack H2PRO ($130)
While the original Juice Pack provided great protection and supplied more than 14.5 hours of extra battery life, the Juice Pack H2Pro outdoes its predecessor by giving the iPhone 6 Plus up to 70 percent more battery life and better protection. The improvement comes courtesy of the case’s anti-scratch screen protector and, for the first time, waterproof protection. Mophie’s battery pack case now protects your iPhone from drops, dirt, and water, while still allowing you to utilize every feature on your device. The case includes an LED indicator and integrated power button, the latter of which lets you to choose when to charge your phone.
Buy one now from:
Mophie Amazon
PayPal could be on its way to Amazon; CEO says the two are “in conversations”
Why it matters to you
Adding PayPal would add another secure method of payment for Amazon customers.
PayPal is a pioneer of web payments and has made itself known all over the web. There is, however, one major website that has evaded its rise — Amazon. According to recent reports, that could soon change. PayPal confirmed in a report from Bloomberg that it has recently been in talks with Amazon to bring its payment services to the online shopping site.
“We have been in conversations with Amazon,” CEO Dan Schulman said in the interview with Bloomberg. “We’re closing in on 200 million users on our platform right now. At that scale, it’s hard for any retailer to think about not accepting PayPal.”
More: New digital holiday gift cards make sending money more personal
A deal with Amazon would be huge for PayPal. Its shares have been in a slow decline of late and Amazon is estimated to account for 74.1 percent of all online sales.
There is likely a reason it has taken this long for Amazon to adopt PayPal as a payment platform. The company was once owned by Amazon rival Ebay but separated from the company around 18 months ago to focus on expanding its business to other websites and services. Since that split, Schulman has been trying to create as many agreements as possible in an attempt to expand the number of people using PayPal.
Amazon, however, has its own ambitions in the online payments business, according to Bloomberg. In fact, the company recently hired former PayPal employee Patrick Gauthier to head Amazon’s online payments efforts. Not only that, but Amazon began allowing users to pay for things on other websites using their Amazon account.
Many would likely celebrate if the online payment platform finally came to Amazon. Hopefully, the talks between the two companies will end in an agreement.
Satechi’s Power Meter might help save your USB Type-C from short circuiting
Why it matters to you
The Satechi Power Meter is an attempt to address the incompatibility issues around the USB Type-C standard.
USB Type-C has a lot going for it. It’s a universal standard and it replaces bulky, outmoded plugs that hogged a disproportionate amount of space in phones and computers. But it has an obvious downside — a minefield of compatibility problems. Just because two devices have USB Type-C does not mean they will play nicely together. It is tempting to use a Google Pixel USB Type-C plug to charge a MacBook Pro, but doing so could short circuit the laptop’s motherboard.
That is where the Power Meter, a new voltage monitor from Satechi, comes in.
The Power Meter’s a bulbous, rounded USB dongle that looks a little like a memory stick. But there is an important difference: A green LED screen on the front. Plug it into a USB port and the screen displays the USB port’s current volt, amp, and milliamp hour output, while a pass-through port on the other end facilitates electron flow. In theory, it’s the perfect solution for folks who regularly swap between USB Type-C cables, chargers, and devices.
More: Not so fast: Google may slow down quick charge progress with new guidelines
There is some doubt whether it works as advertised, to be fair. Satechi has yet to provide third-party evidence that the device’s readings are accurate, much less consistent. But it’s better than the trial-and-error era of early 2016 when plugging your smartphone into an unfamiliar USB Type-C cable was like playing Russian roulette. Google engineer Benson Leung went so far as to order wall adapters and cables from Amazon to determine whether they met the proper standards for the USB-C spec, a series of reviews which led the online retailer to ban sellers from listing cables that were not up to snuff.
In April, the situation improved slightly with the introduction of a new authentication technology. Now, spec-compliant USB Type-C chargers work behind the scenes to ensure that, say, an incompatible phone isn’t charged with a heavy-duty cable.
But that doesn’t solve the problem of manufacturers who ignore the specification entirely. Global chipmaker Qualcomm was accused of implementing a workaround to get its fast-charging technology, Quick Charge 3.0, to work with USB Type-C connectors.
More: The 7 best USB Type-C cables to keep your gadgets powered
Ultimately, it’s best to check the specs yourself before plugging one thing into another — better to be safe than sorry.
The Satechi Type-C Power Meter is available from Satechi’s website and Amazon for $30. It’s capable of handling voltages between 4V and 20V, and wattage from 50mA to 10W.
Buy on Amazon
Satechi’s Power Meter might help save your USB Type-C from short circuiting
Why it matters to you
The Satechi Power Meter is an attempt to address the incompatibility issues around the USB Type-C standard.
USB Type-C has a lot going for it. It’s a universal standard and it replaces bulky, outmoded plugs that hogged a disproportionate amount of space in phones and computers. But it has an obvious downside — a minefield of compatibility problems. Just because two devices have USB Type-C does not mean they will play nicely together. It is tempting to use a Google Pixel USB Type-C plug to charge a MacBook Pro, but doing so could short circuit the laptop’s motherboard.
That is where the Power Meter, a new voltage monitor from Satechi, comes in.
The Power Meter’s a bulbous, rounded USB dongle that looks a little like a memory stick. But there is an important difference: A green LED screen on the front. Plug it into a USB port and the screen displays the USB port’s current volt, amp, and milliamp hour output, while a pass-through port on the other end facilitates electron flow. In theory, it’s the perfect solution for folks who regularly swap between USB Type-C cables, chargers, and devices.
More: Not so fast: Google may slow down quick charge progress with new guidelines
There is some doubt whether it works as advertised, to be fair. Satechi has yet to provide third-party evidence that the device’s readings are accurate, much less consistent. But it’s better than the trial-and-error era of early 2016 when plugging your smartphone into an unfamiliar USB Type-C cable was like playing Russian roulette. Google engineer Benson Leung went so far as to order wall adapters and cables from Amazon to determine whether they met the proper standards for the USB-C spec, a series of reviews which led the online retailer to ban sellers from listing cables that were not up to snuff.
In April, the situation improved slightly with the introduction of a new authentication technology. Now, spec-compliant USB Type-C chargers work behind the scenes to ensure that, say, an incompatible phone isn’t charged with a heavy-duty cable.
But that doesn’t solve the problem of manufacturers who ignore the specification entirely. Global chipmaker Qualcomm was accused of implementing a workaround to get its fast-charging technology, Quick Charge 3.0, to work with USB Type-C connectors.
More: The 7 best USB Type-C cables to keep your gadgets powered
Ultimately, it’s best to check the specs yourself before plugging one thing into another — better to be safe than sorry.
The Satechi Type-C Power Meter is available from Satechi’s website and Amazon for $30. It’s capable of handling voltages between 4V and 20V, and wattage from 50mA to 10W.
Buy on Amazon
Your Uber driver might be sleeping in his car at night, report reveals
Why it matters to you
If the prospect of being a full-time rideshare driver so you can be your own boss is appealing, ask yourself if you’d be willing to sleep in your car.
When you follow the money living isn’t always easy. Some Uber drivers who travel to distant cities where fares are better than in their hometowns regularly sleep in their cars, according to Bloomberg.
People who drive for Uber as a side gig account for the majority of drivers. Uber states that more than 60 percent of its drivers work less than 10 hours per week. While there are no public figures of the proportion of drivers classified as full time, defined as those who work more than 35 hours per week, Uber confirmed for Bloomberg that the full-time contractor group provides about half of the Uber rides and brings in about half of the company’s revenue.
More: Uber will shell out $20 million to settle claims it misled drivers over wages
Drivers who work for Uber less than 35 hours a week may be taking full advantage of the company’s flexible policy that allows drivers to work where, when, and the hours they choose. Those part-timers can adjust their work hours around other jobs and their own lifestyle. The reverse is often the case for those seeking to make rideshare driving their full-time occupation and sole source of income, however, and they need to adjust their lifestyles to fit the work.
Drivers for rideshare companies who make it a full-time business and stick with it learn how to maximize their incomes, or they don’t stay. Being a smarter driver involves not just how knowing many hours to work, but which hours of the day and which days of the week are most profitable. The other lesson successful drivers learn quickly is where to drive to get calls for the best fares.
According to Bloomberg, most full-time Uber drivers work close to home. However, those who decide to drive to areas where they can get higher-paying fares sometimes make the decision not to drive back home at the end of their workday. Most often, when drivers travel to wealthier areas to drive, the cost of paying for lodging would negate the greater revenue they traveled to earn. Some do make the long drive home. For other drivers, though, the alternative is to find a place to stay the night that won’t be too costly.
Sometimes drivers stay in hostels where bunks are inexpensive, or share low-cost hotel rooms with other drivers, but the least expensive option is to just sleep in their cars. Bloomberg reports that drivers share information about good places to park where they’ll be safe and won’t be hassled by security guards. Often drivers will find parking lots near supermarkets, convenience stores, or airports where groups of drivers park their cars for the safety and social aspects of numbers.
The FBI’s Gamergate report shows lack of consequences for online harassers
Why it matters to you
Gamergate is in the past, but the FBI’s response to online harassment — and death threats — is an increasingly important part of its job.
Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request, the FBI has finally released its report on the investigation into the controversial Gamergate group — though it has been heavily redacted. The information contained in the report reveals the vicious nature of the threats sent to female developers and social critics, but more than that, it illustrates that the FBI may not have taken the events as seriously as it could have.
For those of us who have blocked out the events of Gamergate, a brief refresher: Essentially, a mob of online bullies decided to harass a number of game developers and social critics who had the temerity to criticize the video game industry’s handling of gender roles and sexism.
More: Russia arrests Kaspersky Labs security investigator on treason charges
The FBI got involved when online harassment blossomed into outright death threats. The investigation report details a number of emails sent to unnamed recipients which threaten bombings, shootings, and all sorts of violence. According to The Verge, the recipients of these threats were very likely social critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu, who were popular targets of Gamergate trolls.
Looking into those threats, the FBI as an organization appears to have taken them very seriously — even involving the Behavioral Analysis Unit to try and identify some of the culprits. The agency used a sophisticated Palantir search method to identify the email addresses of some suspects.
But individual FBI agents may not have taken the threats as seriously or may not have understood what it was they were investigating. The report contains emails and filings from individual FBI agents who refer to Twitter as “Tweeter” and TOR as “Thor.”
More: One of the ‘Celebgate’ hackers has just been jailed for 9 months
Additionally, when the FBI tracked down a few of the individuals who admitted being responsible for the death threats, at least two were let off with little more than a warning — despite the horrific levels of violence described in the threatening emails. One suspect apologized, and another — a juvenile — was grounded, but neither suffered criminal penalties.
Wu spoke with the Verge about the FBI report and made it clear that she was not satisfied with the way the investigation was carried out.
“All this report does for me is show how little the FBI cared about the investigation,” Wu said. “Almost nothing we told them is in this report.”
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