Amazon renews podcast-inspired ‘Lore’ series for a second season

Amazon’s podcast-based series Lore will return for a second season. Production for the horror-tinged series begins in April, and in addition to new episodes, it’ll feature a new showrunner, Sean Crouch, who worked on The Exorcist series. There aren’t a ton of details, but Amazon promises that the new season will explore horror stories on a global level. Given the production timeline, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to assume the new episodes will be available by Halloween — just in time to compete with Hulu’s forthcoming macabre show.

Source: Amazon

Tesla Powerwall systems help some Hawaii schools beat the heat

Tesla shipped Powerwall batteries to Puerto Rico last fall — and to Australia last December — and now it’s helping Hawaii. Again. Specifically, it supplied equipment to the island state to help schools combat Hawaii’s tropical temperature and relative humidity. Roadshow reports that Tesla shipped some 300 batteries and solar panels to the island as a way of keeping schools cool using renewable energy. This was after state government challenged the local department of education to cool an additional 1,000 classrooms without bumping electricity usage.

It wouldn’t be the first time Tesla has provided ways to mitigate Hawaii’s energy problem, either. Tesla already has a network of solar panels and batteries that keep Kua’i lit up at night, for instance. Hawaii’s solar grid contained approximately 55,000 cells spread over 45 acres as of last March.

In late January, Governor Ige announced that the original 1,000-classroom goal had been surpassed and that over 1,200 rooms had sustainably powered air conditioning. Last September, Pacific Solar installed 955 solar panels and eight power inverters at Oauhu’s Kamaile Academy, a public charter school. So while Tesla certainly has the most name recognition, local companies are doing their part as well.

Source: Roadshow

Data Extraction Company Cellebrite Advertising New Software for Cracking Devices Running iOS 11

Israel-based software developer Cellebrite, known for breaking into mobile devices like the iPhone to obtain sensitive data, recently began informing customers that it can circumvent the security of iOS devices running iOS 11, reports Forbes.

With a way to break into iPhones running iOS 11, Cellebrite can potentially crack most of the iPhones available on the market. According to Forbes, the Department for Homeland Security was able to obtain data from an iPhone X in an arms-trafficking case in November, probably using Cellebrite technology to do so.

A warrant found by Forbes suggests an iPhone X was sent to Cellebrite on November 20, with data successfully extracted on December 5. Based on the warrant, it’s not clear how data was obtained, but given the time gap, it’s unlikely Face ID was used.

Cellebrite has not publicly announced or shared details on its ability to break into devices running iOS 11, but as noted by Forbes, the company’s documentation [PDF] on what it can access now includes iPhones and iPads running iOS 11. Sources that spoke to Forbes have also confirmed the company is marketing its iOS 11 cracking techniques to law enforcement agencies around the world.

Devices supported for Advanced Unlocking and Extraction Services include:

Apple iOS devices and operating systems, including iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, iPad Pro and iPod touch, running iOS 5 to iOS 11.

Apple continually introduces improvements to the security of its operating systems in order to keep ahead of companies like Cellebrite that are always searching for flaws and vulnerabilities to exploit in order to access the data on locked iOS devices.

In iOS 11, for example, Apple began requiring an iPhone’s passcode to establish trust with a computer, a change from earlier versions of iOS that also would authenticate a connection via Touch ID. Apple also added a secret biometric disabling mechanism to its SOS feature, which shuts down Touch ID or Face ID and requires a password when the SOS screen is triggered by pressing on the Sleep/Wake or Side button five times in rapid succession.

Still, even as Apple works to increase the security of its iOS devices, companies like Cellebrite work to find new ways to crack iOS devices and then sell their services to governments and other entities. Cellebrite also offers software that customers can purchase, but its most sensitive and secret tools, such as its method for unlocking devices running iOS 11, is not included to prevent Apple from finding and patching whatever vulnerability is being exploited.

Instead, Cellebrite requires law enforcement to send locked devices to their labs to keep techniques secret.

Cellebrite first garnered significant attention in 2016, when it was believed the company was enlisted to help the FBI break into the iPhone 5c of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook after Apple refused to provide the FBI with tools to unlock the device.

The FBI did not use Cellebrite’s services for that particular case, but several United States government agencies do regularly work with Cellebrite to unlock iOS devices.

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.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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B&H Photo and Amazon Discount Base iMac Pro by $500

B&H Photo and Amazon have discounted the base model of Apple’s new high-end iMac Pro desktop computer by $500 this week, offering it for $4,499, down from $4,999. Since early January, Micro Center has had the best deal on iMac Pro — pricing the base model at $3,999.99 — but this offer is unobtainable for those who don’t live near one of Micro Center’s locations, so B&H Photo and Amazon’s deals should be good alternatives for online shoppers with their eyes on iMac Pro.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

There are two 27-inch models on sale at B&H Photo, including the base $4,999 configuration and a custom configuration with more RAM and an improved graphics card, both marked down by $500. In comparison, Micro Center’s sale is only on the base model, and prior to that the only other sale was a $250 discount from Best Buy.

• 27-inch 5K iMac Pro, 3.2 GHz, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 – $4,499.00, down from $4,999.00 (B&H Photo / Amazon)
• 27-inch 5K iMac Pro, 3.2 GHz, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 – $5,899.00, down from $6,399.00 (B&H Photo)

Also of note on Amazon today, you can get the Black and Midnight Blue leather iPhone X cases for just $34.99, dropping further down from a price point of about $37 last week, and originally priced at $50 on Apple.com. The only other color on sale is Charcoal Gray, running for $38.72 at the time of writing.

Head to our Deals Roundup for more Apple, Mac, and iPhone-related device and accessory sales, including a $40 discount on the UE Wonderboom speaker this week.

Related Roundups: Apple Deals, iMac ProBuyer’s Guide: iMac Pro (Buy Now)
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Quick Takes: Samsung Pokes Fun at iPhone X, CBS Launches Sports HQ, Xbox One Games on Mac, and More

In addition to our more in-depth coverage of the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, Quick Takes is a new column that will provide a bite-sized recap of other Apple-related headlines on weekdays.

February is generally a slower time of the year for Apple, but Monday’s news cycle has been slightly busier given it is the first day of Mobile World Congress in Spain, where many Apple rivals unveil new products.

Monday, February 26:

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be co-chairman at the annual China Development Forum next month, according to The Wall Street Journal. It will be the second consecutive year that Cook speaks at the forum, and reportedly his fifth appearance at a major event in China in a little over a year.

Context: Cook has been visiting China more frequently in recent years as he attempts to strengthen Apple’s relationship with the Chinese government. Apple is often at the mercy of Chinese laws, such as one requiring iCloud accounts in China to be hosted by a Chinese data center by the end of this month.

CBS today launched CBS SPORTS HQ, a 24-hour digital network offering live streaming of sports news, highlights, and analysis, but not actual games. The stream is free to watch in the United States on the CBS Sports website, and through the CBS Sports app for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and other platforms.

Context: CBS SPORTS HQ should cater to cord-cutters, and the best part is that no cable TV subscription is required. It should be the sports equivalent of CBS’s successful CBSN streaming news network.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC that his company Berkshire Hathaway has purchased more shares of Apple than any other stock over the past year. Berkshire Hathaway increased its Apple holdings by 23.3 percent, to 165.3 million shares, according to SEC filings published a few weeks ago.

Context: Berkshire Hathaway has been increasingly bullish on Apple over the past few years. Buffett believes Apple has an “extraordinary consumer franchise” with a very strong ecosystem. AAPL is up over two percent following the positive comments, and up over 15 percent since February 8.

Samsung indirectly poked fun at the iPhone X during its Galaxy S9 introduction on Sunday. During the presentation, the company’s marketing chief Justin Denison said “and as always, you know, there’s no notch,” referring to the cutout at the top of the iPhone X for the TrueDepth camera system.

Skip to the 18:00 mark to listen to Samsung poke fun at the iPhone X
Context: While some other Android smartphone makers like Huawei and Asus appear to be embracing the notched design, the Galaxy S9 looks virtually identical to the Galaxy S8, with slim top and bottom bezels that uniformly stretch across the device. The device even retains a 3.5mm headphone jack.

A new unofficial app called OneCast has launched that claims to bring Xbox One game streaming to the Mac with 1080p video and low input lag. Features include support for multiple profiles, full screen or windowed mode, and playing with an original Xbox One wireless controller on Mac via USB or Bluetooth.

Context: The app allows Xbox One games to be played remotely, whether in another room away from the TV, or even while away from home by streaming over an internet connection. Keep in mind this app isn’t sanctioned by Microsoft, which only officially supports Xbox One streaming on Windows 10.

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.

Tag: Quick Takes
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