The FBI can’t unlock the Texas church shooter’s phone

At a press conference today, an FBI official investigating the man who killed 26 people in a Texas church on Sunday said the agency can’t open the shooter’s encrypted phone. The agent painted the issue as a growing concern among law enforcement at all levels who can’t access data on devices without their owner’s credentials. It’s essentially the same argument the FBI made two years ago when it demanded Apple help break into the phone of the San Bernardino shooter, a conflict that escalated into the courtroom.

“With the advance of the technology and the phones and the encryption, law enforcement at the state, local, and federal level is increasingly not able to get into these phones,” said FBI special agent Christopher Combs.

FBI official, citing encryption tech, says federal agents have not been able to access the Texas shooter’s phone https://t.co/CacbcOGFxq

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2017

Combs didn’t indicate which phone the Texas shooter had used, for fear that it would promote security capabilities of that device in particular. The agency transported the smartphone back to its offices in Quantico, Virginia for analysis. He also didn’t mention whether the FBI had requested help from whichever company had created the smartphone in question, as it had back in 2015 when it couldn’t access the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.

Nor would the agency necessarily need to. After Apple refused to create a backdoor that would surpass its own phone’s security, a tool that likely would have been used in investigations in the future, the FBI reportedly paid a vendor $900,000 to break into it. And despite repeated attempts, last month a judge cited national security concerns when she blocked multiple journalistic outlets’ FOIA requests for information about the tool and whomever built it.

Via: The Verge

Source: NBC News (Twitter)

Twitter’s 280-character limit comes to the masses

Twitter’s experiment with doubling the maximum tweet length was apparently a success. The social network is expanding support for 280-character tweets to every language “where cramming was an issue” — that is, almost all of them. You’re still capped at 140 if you write in Chinese, Japanese or Korean (the density of their languages already lets them say more, Twitter says), but most users now have a better chance of expressing themselves without resorting to tweetstorms or shortening wrds 2 mk thm fit. And before you ask: no, Twitter doesn’t believe most people will abuse this newfound freedom.

The company has followed up a previous study with data showing that few of those with early 280-character access misused it. Only 5 percent of tweets were longer than 140 characters, and just 1 percent ran up against the new limit. Twitter expects an initial wave of people pushing the limit out of sheer curiosity (just as they did during the test run), but doesn’t expect it to last. In other words, Twitter believes you’ll only use more than 140 characters when you actually need it, and that shouldn’t happen often.

Whether or not that’s how it works in practice is still up in the air. Only a small number of people have had the option of lengthier tweets, and it’s entirely possible that a much broader rollout will produce results Twitter couldn’t have anticipated. It’s safe to say that people aren’t relishing the prospect of wordier hate speech and spam. Still, you could argue that the larger limit was overdue. Twitter chose 140 characters because of its initial dependence on SMS to send tweets, which seems quaint in an era when smartphones are commonplace and tweets can include live 360-degree video. Really, the 280-character move is an acknowledgment that the tech world has come a long way in 11 years.

Source: Twitter Blog

Google Assistant is ready to help on your Sony TV

If you have a Sony TV in your living room, it just got a little smarter. Sony is rolling out an update to many of its Android TV-powered 4K HDR sets (more on that in a moment) to enable Google Assistant. Talk to your remote and you’ll get the same AI helper that you can likely find on your phone. Naturally, Assistant can do a little more than you’re used to on your phone: you can ask about the weather, search for factoids or play videos, but you can also control your TV. Sony is particularly keen to tout the ‘seamless’ smart home control — you should have an easier time dimming the lights when it’s movie time.

Whether or not you can use Assistant depends largely on the age of your set. All 2017 4K HDR sets are covered, but it’s trickier if you have a 2016 TV — you’ll need a Z9D, X800D, X750D or X700D to see what the fuss is about. So long as you meet the criteria, though, you’ll have one less reason to pull out your phone when you’re lounging about on the couch.

Source: PR Newswire

Warby Parker recommends glasses using your iPhone X’s depth camera

The depth-sensing front camera on the iPhone X isn’t just useful for unlocking your phone or making silly emoji clips. Eyewear maker Warby Parker has updated its Glasses app for iOS to include an iPhone X-only recommendation feature. Let the app scan your face and it’ll recommend the frames that are most likely to fit your measurements. This isn’t the same as modeling the frames on your face (wouldn’t the iPhone X be ideal for that?), but it could save you a lot of hemming and hawing as you wonder which styles are a good match.

This is something of a niche use — how often do you go shopping for frames, really? With that said, it illustrates how a depth-aware front cam can serve a genuinely practical purpose. If it can map your face and other objects in a scene, it can measure all kinds of data that just wouldn’t be an option with 2D photos. You might not want to buy an iPhone X just for this, but you may get more value out of it as developers get a feel for what TrueDepth can do.

Via: Joanna Stern (Twitter), The Verge

Source: App Store

How to Use Apple Pay Cash on iPhone and iPad

Apple Pay Cash, Apple’s peer-to-peer payments service, became available for developers and public beta testers in the United States this morning with the release of the second iOS 11.2 public beta.

The feature appears to be still rolling out to some users, but most testers who have iOS 11.2 beta 2 installed should be able to access the service. Here’s how to use it.

Setting Up Apple Pay Cash

Open the Wallet app.
Tap on the Apple Pay Cash card that appears there.
Apple will walk you through the setup process, and ask if you want to enable Apple Pay.
You’ll be directed to the Settings app to confirm your information. From there, Apple Pay Cash will take a few seconds to activate.
Once activated, an Apple Pay Cash card will appear in Wallet and you’ll be able to access Apple Pay Cash in the Wallet app.
Alternatively, you can also use the Settings app to enable Apple Pay Cash. Go to Settings > Wallet > Apple Pay > Apple Pay Cash and tap the button to toggle it on. Sometimes this option won’t show up until it’s been activated through the Wallet app, though.

Sending and Requesting a Payment

Open a conversation in Messages.
Tap the Messages App Store icon.
Choose the “Apple Pay” icon.
Tap the “+” or “-” buttons to enter an amount, or use the keyboard.
Tap “Request” or “Pay.”
You’ll have an option to preview your payment or request for payment.
Press the blue arrow button to send.
When sending a payment, the money you’ve sent will be listed as “pending” in the Wallet app until the person on the receiving end accepts. Once accepted, the payment will be listed in “Last Transaction” under the Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet. While still pending, a payment can be cancelled.

Money that you’re sending will be pulled from a linked debit/credit card or from the Apple Pay Cash card itself if you’ve added funds to that card or received funds from other people. If you send money using the Apple Pay Cash card or a debit card, there’s no charge. For a credit card, there’s a 3% fee.

When accepting a payment, the cash will be added to your Apple Pay Cash card in the Wallet app. From there, it can be used to make purchases where Apple Pay is accepted like any other card or it can be transferred to a connected bank account.

Apple Pay Cash works in any conversation with a single person. The option won’t be available for group messages.

Sending Money via Siri

Activate Siri.
Tell Siri to send a payment. Example: “Send $1 to Eric.”
If multiple payment apps are installed, you’ll need to confirm that you want to use Apple Pay.
Unlock your iPhone using Face ID or Touch ID.
Tap “Send.”
Double click the side button to pay on iPhone X or put a finger on the Touch ID Home button to confirm payment on other devices.

Changing Apple Pay Cash Settings

You can access your Apple Pay settings in the Settings app or through the Wallet app.

Open Settings.
Go to Wallet and Apple Pay.
Tap on the “Apple Pay Cash” card.
From this interface, you can add money to your Apple Pay Cash card, transfer your cash to the bank (which requires adding a bank account) and choose to automatically or manually accept payments.

Verify Identity

Once you’ve sent or received a combined $500 with Apple Pay Cash, you will need to verify your identity. Identity Verification is available in the Settings app, but it may not be fully functional at this time.

Open Settings.
Go to Wallet and Apple Pay.
Tap on the “Apple Pay Cash” card.
Choose “Verify Identity.”
You will be asked to confirm your legal name and address, along with the last four digits of your social security number and date of birth. Apple will also ask questions related to your personal history and request a photo of a driver’s license or state ID card.

Once your identity has been verified, you can have up to $20,000 on your Apple Pay Cash card.

Apple Pay Cash Limits

There are limits on the amount of money that you can send per day and per transaction, and the amount of money you can add to your Apple Pay Cash card.

When adding cash, you must add a minimum of $10 per transaction, but you’re not able to add more than $3,000. Over a 7-day period, you can add a maximum of $10,000 to your Apple Pay Cash card.

When sending or receiving money, you can send/receive a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $3,000. Over the course of a 7-day period, you can send/receive up to $10,000.

Transferring money to your bank can be done at any time. A minimum of $1 can be transferred at a time, or less than a $1 if your total balance is under $1. Up to $3,000 can be transferred in a single transfer, and over 7 days, you can transfer up to $20,000 to your bank account from Apple Pay Cash.

Beta Requirements

To use Apple Pay Cash, the following requirements must be met:

• Both parties must be running iOS 11.2 beta 2.
• An iPhone 6 or later must be used.
• Two-factor authentication must be turned on.
• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must be in the United States with a U.S. credit/debit card and social security number if verification is required.
• An eligible credit or debit card must be available in Wallet.

Along with iPhones and iPads running iOS 11.2 beta 2, Apple Pay Cash can also be used on the Apple Watch on devices that are running the second watchOS 4.2 beta. Sending money from an Apple Watch follows the same general process as the iPhone, with payments made and received through the Messages app.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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Twitter Rolls Out Expanded 280 Character Tweet Limit Worldwide

Twitter today announced that the 280 character limit for tweets that it introduced back in September is being rolled out to all Twitter users. The new 280 character limit, which doubles the existing 140-character limit, is available for all users and is being implemented for all languages where “cramming” was a problem.

Tweet with traditional 140-character limit on left, new 280-character limit on right.

In September, we launched a test that expanded the 140 character limit so every person around the world could express themselves easily in a Tweet. Our goal was to make this possible while ensuring we keep the speed and brevity that makes Twitter, Twitter. Looking at all the data, we’re excited to share we’ve achieved this goal and are rolling the change out to all languages where cramming was an issue.

Twitter said that it noticed people who were using Twitter in English would hit the character limit more often than tweets in languages like Chinese and Japanese, which is why the company ultimately decided to raise the character limit. The changes are rolling out to all languages except for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

According to Twitter’s analytics, most people with access to the 280 character limit continued to share tweets that featured under 140 characters, leaving the “brevity of Twitter” intact.

Only 5 percent of tweets sent out were longer than 140 characters, and only 2 percent were longer than 190 characters, so Twitter believes the new character limit should not “substantially change” timelines for most users.

280-character tweets have been limited to a small group of users since the end of September, but the feature is rolling out to everyone starting today. When the new limit is activated, the tweet interface on the web displays a circle that gradually fills up as you type rather than a numbered countdown.

The new Twitter character limit is already available to many users who did not previously have access. Twitter warns that there may be an uptick in novelty tweets and tweets using the full character limit as the feature rolls out, but the company expects this to die down over the course of the next week or two.

Tag: Twitter
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Max Polyakov and Noosphere Ventures At the First Ever FAI International Drones Conference

Description: During the 2017’s debut of FAI International Drones Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, Max Polyakov’s EOS and Noosphere Ventures were in attendance.

Image credit: FAI / Marcus King via Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/airsports_fai/36837030491/in/album-72157688432111915/

The debut of the FAI International Drones Conference took place in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was a 3-day event which brought all the huge industry players together. There were representatives from huge associations such as Noosphere co-founded by Max Polyakov, Model Aeronautic Association, and the Aerial Sports League.

It was to cover drone innovation, safety and sport, plus workshops and competitions. All these topics were discussed by the speakers of the event.

The speakers and their contributions to the agenda

There were several speakers that took the stage at the event to talk about the different topics that relate to drones. They include:

Frits Brink, FAI President

Brink, as the president of FAI, talked about how governments should address the element of safety in the use of drones. Since they have become a key part in the lives of people, drones should be designed with the right standards in mind for the purpose of safety while in the air.

Vladimir Vasiliev, CTO of EOS

In his speech, he talked about how drones have been used to enable near earth imaging by the public. Drones have been used by civilians to carry out data analysis through observation of the earth and to produce images as a result. He has worked side by side with Max Polyakov, of EOS and Noosphere Ventures, as the CTO, in imaging technology and thus is an expert on the same.

Image credit: FAI / Marcus King via Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/airsports_fai/36775417176/in/album-72157688432111915/

John Langford

Langford came out to make it known that there should be more support for drones. He brought to the attention of the people attending that drones are not receiving the support they should be. He mentioned that, as much as there are many drones flying in the air, which are licensed, support should also be provided to train pilots for those drones. This is because, currently, there are not as many drone pilots as there are drones, in America.

Mikhail Ryabokon, Noosphere Ventures and Association Noosphere

He addressed the development of drones and sport in Ukraine. It has grown tremendously in Ukraine where they, Association Noosphere with huge contribution from Max Polyakov, have held multiple events on the same. For example, Copter Race 2017 in Dnipro, Ukraine, which is FAI World Cup stage in F3U drone racing, was hosted by Max’s Polyakov Association Noosphere and is rather instrumental in providing support in drone racing development around Europe.

The workshop events

There were several workshops during the expo where those in attendance and people of all ages participated. The Aerial Sports League representative Douglas Burnet came out to appreciate the work done by young designers and engineers at the event. He gave praise to a 16-year old pilot who stood out from the rest in the drone race.

The expo

There were different races that those in attendance were involved in. They showcased their unique models, designs and applications. This is where the drones and sports became practical as different designers were involved in taking part in the air sports