Apple Opens Cryptographic Libraries to Third-Party Developers to Encourage Security

Apple announced yesterday that the company has opened up its cryptographic libraries so that third-party developers can build more “advanced security features” into their apps (via VentureBeat). The cryptographic libraries being opened to developers are the same ones Apple uses to protect iOS and OS X, as Apple notes on its updated site.

Developers will have access to two of the company’s advanced security features, including Security Framework and Common Crypto. Security Framework gives developers tools for organizing certificates, public and private keys, and trust policies, ensuring that all sensitive information is stored privately in a “secure repository for sensitive user data.” Common Crypto library provides additional support for symmetric encryption, hash-based message authentication codes, and digests.

Both Security Framework and Common Crypto rely on the corecrypto library to provide implementations of low level cryptographic primitives. This is also the library submitted for validation of compliance with U.S. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 1. Although corecrypto does not directly provide programming interfaces for developers and should not be used by iOS or OS X apps, the source code is available to allow for verification of its security characteristics and correct functioning.

Check out Apple’s official website for reference sheets, service guides, and links to the open source releases for Security Framework and Common Crypto libraries.
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Apple’s Culture of Secrecy Slowing its Artificial Intelligence Development

Apple’s strict adherence to an environment of secrecy and privacy in regards to its software and hardware development has been suggested as a major blow to the company’s potential for growth in the field of artificial intelligence. In a new article by Bloomberg, Apple was noted as a non-attendee at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference, an annual confluence of companies including Google and Microsoft where researches get together to discuss the progress and development of AI technologies.

In years past, Apple has attended the conference, but its emissaries were known to keep “a low profile” during the proceedings. In the midst of a mass sharing and celebration of discoveries and findings in the world of AI, many remain unsure of the Cupertino company’s continued success in such departments if it remains attached to such strict secrecy rules. “They’re completely out of the loop,” said Richard Zemel, a professor in the computer science department at the University of Toronto.

The biggest threat posed to Apple due to this level of secrecy, according to Trevor Darrell, managing director of a machine-learning research center at the University of California at Berkeley, is the barrier to entry it creates for graduate students fresh out of college. The stagnant environment and closed-off atmosphere inhibits the company’s employees from interacting with the rest of the scientific community, an issue that most potential hires may not be entirely comfortable with.

“There’s no way they can just observe and not be part of the community and take advantage of what is going on,” says Yoshua Bengio, a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal. “I believe if they don’t change their attitude, they will stay behind.”

“The really strong people don’t want to go into a closed environment where it’s all secret,” Bengio says. “The differentiating factors are, ‘Who are you going to be working with?’ ‘Am I going to stay a part of the scientific community?’ ‘How much freedom will I have?’”

Earlier in the month, Apple acquired two artificial intelligence-related start-ups: VocalIQ and Perceptio. VocalIQ’s natural language API hints at a more naturalistic version of Siri in the future, and even possible integration into the rumored Apple car project. Perceptio suggests the possibility of a more expansive and robust AI system for Apple, without the compromise of the company’s in-depth privacy policies that pull Siri back from services like Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana.

All the same, Bloomberg‘s story suggests that despite Apple’s enthusiasm to innovate in the artificial intelligence sector, the company could continue to lag behind in certain departments — Apple Maps, for example — due to its stances on secrecy and privacy.

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Apple unlocks ‘billions’ more colors in latest iMacs

The latest retina iMacs already display colors very accurately, but with El Capitan, Apple now uses their their full potential. According to German publication Mac & i, the new OS X version now outputs 30-bits of color instead of 24-bits. That means that you’ll now see over a billion colors instead of 16 million on 2014 or 2015 5K iMacs, according to tests by Mac & i, though it may also work on other models. The feature only supports Apple’s Preview and Photos for now, but may come to Final Cut Pro and other apps that can take advantage of it.

Via: Cinema 5D

Source: Mac & i

Best Buy to Begin In-Store Sales of New Apple TV Tomorrow

Best Buy will begin selling the new fourth-generation Apple TV in its retail stores beginning tomorrow. The retailer is also allowing customers who pre-ordered for in-store pickup to pick up their set-top boxes starting tomorrow morning as the stores open up for the day.

While Best Buy began accepting pre-orders for the new Apple TV on Monday, it originally listed November 4 as the date when customers would be able pick them up in stores. Several MacRumors readers who pre-ordered began receiving notices tonight letting them know their purchases would be ready for pickup tomorrow, nearly a week early.

Apple retail stores around the world will also be offering the Apple TV, and in countries where October 30 has already rolled around, stores are already selling the new set-top boxes. Stores in the United States will be revamped overnight to feature advertising for the new Apple TV to prepare for its in-store launch.

Apple will also be selling accessories like the Apple TV Remote Loop and the SteelSeries Nimbus controller, and it also plans to begin selling the new Beats Pill+ speakers in its retail stores beginning tomorrow.

The new Apple TV, which includes features like a full App Store, universal search, Siri integration, and a touch-based remote control, is available in two configurations: 32GB and 64GB. The 32GB model is available for $149 and the 64GB model is available for $199.

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Apple Releases First OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan Beta to Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the first beta of OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan to public beta testers, just days after releasing the first beta to developers and just over a week after the public launch of OS X El Capitan 10.11.1.

The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to those who are enrolled in Apple’s beta testing program. Those wishing to join the program can sign up on Apple’s beta testing website.

It’s not yet known what improvements the latest update to OS X El Capitan will bring, but it’s likely to include bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance improvements to address issues discovered since the release of OS X 10.11.1. Apple’s release notes for the first developer beta asked testers to focus on Graphics, Wi-Fi, Calendar, USB, Notes, Photos, and Spotlight.

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