Former Boeing Executive James Bell Joins Apple’s Board of Directors
Apple today announced that former Boeing chief financial officer and corporate president James Bell has joined Apple’s board of directors. Calling himself an “avid user of Apple products” with “tremendous respect” for Apple’s ability to innovate, Bell brings nearly four decades of experience at Boeing to Apple’s board.
“James brings a wealth of global, financial and industrial experience from his successful career at Boeing as corporate president and CFO,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “I am thrilled to welcome him to Apple’s board of directors and I look forward to working with him.”
“We look for outstanding individuals to strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and depth of knowledge, and we are very happy to have identified a fantastic person in James Bell,” said Art Levinson, Apple’s chairman. “I’m confident that he will make many important contributions to Apple.”
Bell becomes the eighth member of Apple’s board of directors, joining CEO Tim Cook, board chairman and former Genentech executive Art Levinson, Al Gore, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger, Grameen president and CEO Andrea Jung, former Northrop Grumman chairman and CEO Ron Sugar, and BlackRock co-founder Sue Wagner.
(Photo courtesy of JPMorgan Chase)
Apple fixes lock screen issue in latest iOS 9 update
Remember that iOS 9 security issue that allows someone to bypass the iPhone lock screen using Siri and access your contacts and photos? And how some folks thought that it wasn’t real? Well, Apple sure did, as the latest iOS 9.0.2 update includes a fix for the problem. Apple said that because of the security hole, “a person with physical access to an iOS device may be able to access photos and contacts from the lock screen.” It addressed the issue by “restricting options on a locked device,” meaning users will no longer be able to exploit Siri to access those areas.
With iOS 9.0.2, Apple also squashed iCloud backup issues, iMessage activation problems and a bug with mobile data settings. Finally, it fixed a screen rotation issue and improved the security of Podcasts. Want the update now? Don’t worry, you should get a notification that it’s available if you haven’t already.
Source: Apple
BBM app lands on Apple Watch before WhatsApp
Apps are continuing to trickle into Apple’s wearable, with recent standouts including Airbnb, Google and…BlackBerry? The company once called RIM has announced Apple Watch support for its messaging service, BBM. When reading the product description on the iTunes store, you find that the companion app will allow you to share photos and voice notes, see when people are responding to your messages, and even offer groundbreaking features like delivered and read receipts. There isn’t a wide variety of alternatives available on the Apple Watch at the moment — with WhatsApp and Facebook messanger still missing from the app store — but maybe there’s a reason for that. What’s your PIN? Let’s discuss this some more through our wearables.
Source: iTunes
USB Drives No Longer Required to Install Windows with Boot Camp in OS X El Capitan
With OS X El Capitan available today to the public, some have begun discovering interesting tidbits and changes the new operating system has to offer. Twocanoes (via The Loop) has discovered that Boot Camp has gained the ability to install a Windows partition without a USB drive.
Image via Twocanoes
Boot Camp comes with a modified interface that places the ISO image selector and partitioning on a single screen, allowing a user to easily select an ISO image and partition their hard drive before installing Windows. Once Boot Camp Assistant completes its tasks, the computer restarts with the normal Windows installation processes.
The change comes from Apple reworking how many partitions Boot Camp Assistant creates, according to Twocanoes.
Boot Camp Assistant doesn’t just create a Boot Camp partition, but also creates an additional partition called “OSXRESERVED” that is FAT32 formatted. It places this partition right after the recovery partition, and before the Boot Camp partition…
The “OSXRESERVED” partition includes all the installer files, Boot Camp drivers and EFI files required for to create and boot the Windows partition. Once Windows is installed and the user boots back into OS X, the “OSXRESERVED” partition is removed and the space reserved for that partition is added back to the OS X partition.
The only El Capitan-running Macs that support the new USB drive-less Windows installation are the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air, the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro.
Logitech Debuts New ‘Logi Circle’ Home Monitoring Camera
Logitech today announced its entry into the home security and monitoring market with the Circle Portable Home Connection Camera, which is debuting under its new Logi brand. The palm-sized Circle is a connected camera that’s designed to let users monitor and interact with pets, children, and people at home while away.
Through a companion app, the Logi Circle streams HD video to an iPhone or iPad. It includes a two-way talk and listen feature that works using Wi-Fi, letting it go beyond simple monitoring. According to Logitech, the Circle includes “Scene Intuition” technology that sets it apart from other similar home camera systems. With Scene Intuition, the Logi Circle is able to learn home life patterns to send alerts only when interesting activity occurs to save people from having to sort through hours and hours of footage.
The app also offers a “Day Briefs” feature, which is an automatically generated 30-second video that sums up the highlights of each day.
“There’s a new movement in home monitoring,” said Vincent Borel, director of new ventures at Logitech. “The nature of today’s connected world is changing the way people interact with cameras in the home. Video surveillance is no longer just about security, it’s about staying connected with our homes and loved ones. Planned or unplanned, magic moments happen in our homes every day and we designed the Logi Circle as your destination for capturing and discovering them no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Now you can watch your kids playing or catch your dog chasing its tail even if you’re running errands, traveling for business or at the office.”
The Logi Circle has an unobtrusive design that lets it fit quietly into any room, and it’s both portable and rechargeable. It can be moved from room to room and charged as needed with an included charging ring, with each charge providing three hours of streaming or 12 hours of standby time.
The camera inside the Logi Circle offers a 135 degree wide angle view and an 8x zoom ability. A light on the device blinks white when someone is watching through the app, and the light also doubles as a battery indicator, blinking red when the battery is low. The Logi Circle will store 24 hours of video at no cost, and Logitech plans to offer subscription options for longer storage times.
The Logi Circle Home Connection Camera is available for pre-order beginning today from the Logitech website. It’s priced at $199.99.
Google Maps for iOS shows you the fastest way to travel in one page
Google Maps for iOS has become a lot easier to use when you’re in a hurry and quickly need to check how to get to your destination. The app now shows you all the possible ETAs for all the transportation types it supports in a single page, just like its Android counterpart. Simply ask the app for directions by typing in your location and where you want to go to whenever you need help in deciding whether you should hoof it, pedal it out, take the car or catch the next bus/train. The feature’s live on the iOS app, and you can get it as soon as you download the latest update. By the way, if you have an Apple Watch, you can now also get directions right on your wrist.
Source: Google Maps
Apple No Longer Signing iOS 8.4.1 and iOS 9
Apple today stopped signing iOS 8.4.1 and the first version of iOS 9 for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, meaning users can no longer upgrade or downgrade to those versions of iOS using iTunes. Apple is now signing iOS 9.0.1 and iOS 9.0.2 only.
Users who have upgraded to iOS 9 are now unable to downgrade back to the last version of iOS 8, iOS 8.4.1. Released in August, iOS 8.4.1 was a minor update that included bug fixes and Apple Music improvements. iOS 8.4.1 also broke the iOS 8.4 untethered jailbreak.
iOS 9 was first released to the public on September 16, and there have been two additional updates since that time. iOS 9.0.1 was released on September 23 and iOS 9.0.2 was released on September 30.
Apple pulls iFixit’s app after it tears down the new Apple TV
The team at iFixit is learning a hard, hard lesson about the importance of honoring developer agreements. Apple has banned an iFixit developer account (and consequently, the iFixit app) after the repair-it-yourself outfit tore down a pre-release Apple TV sent out to developers, violating Apple’s terms and conditions. The crew just couldn’t resist deconstructing new gear, apparently. Before you ask, though, iFixit isn’t trying to stir up internet drama. It knew the risks going in, and isn’t about to fight a decision that most anyone could see coming a mile away. This will have ramifications if you relied on iFixit’s (admittedly old) native app for tips: if you’re on iOS, you’ll have to use the company’s mobile website for help from now on. The tradeoff won’t be all that damaging, but it’s safe to say that other devs will think twice about prying open gear that isn’t strictly off-the-shelf.
Source: iFixit
Apple Bans iFixit Developer Account and Removes App After Apple TV Teardown
After the new fourth-generation Apple TV was announced on September 9, Apple provided developers with Apple TV Dev Kits to be used to create tvOS apps for the device. Teardown site iFixit took apart one of those Apple TV units meant for developers and has now run into some repercussions for doing so.
According to a post on the iFixit blog, the teardown, which unveiled all of the internal components of the new Apple TV, violated Apple’s terms and conditions. As a result, iFixit’s developer account was banned, leading to the removal of the iFixit app from the App Store.
iFixit’s Apple TV unit was sent directly from Apple with the same restrictions placed on Apple TV units sent to other developers, but iFixit ignored the fine print. “We weighed the risks, blithely tossed those risks over our shoulder, and tore down the Apple TV anyway,” reads the blog post.
A few days later, we got an email from Apple informing us that we violated their terms and conditions–and the offending developer account had been banned. Unfortunately, iFixit’s app was tied to that same account, so Apple pulled the app as well. Their justification was that we had taken “actions that may hinder the performance or intended use of the App Store, B2B Program, or the Program.”
Live and learn.
With the iFixit app removed from the Apple Store, iFixit is instead planning to revamp its mobile website and does not have plans to rewrite the app. The decision to focus on the iFixit mobile site came before the app was pulled by Apple, so it was not a huge loss to iFixit. The site says the app was outdated and riddled with bugs caused by iOS 9.
Following the release of Apple TV Developer Kits, many other developers shared photos, unboxings, and feature tidbits about the device. It is unknown if Apple has also contacted these developers about non-disclosure violations.
Mac exploit dodges Apple’s anti-malware app check
If you’ve used a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion or later, you’re well-acquainted with Gatekeeper: it’s the security measure that prevents unsigned apps from running unless you want them to. Unfortunately, it turns out that this first line of defense isn’t quite as secure as it’s supposed to be. Synack security researcher Patrick Wardle has discovered a flaw that lets malware get around Gatekeeper and do what it wants with your system. The trick ‘hijacks’ a signed app to pretend that it’s legit, and uses clever file packaging to launch hostile code once OS X declares the host app safe. Wardle only used one app in a proof of concept demonstration, but other apps should work. You could even use malicious plugins (say, Photoshop add-ons) to bypass Gatekeeper.
Needless to say, this is a potentially nasty flaw. If attackers can convince you to download and install an authentic-looking app, they’ll have a field day. The good news? Wardle took care to notify Apple before disclosing the exploit, and the company says that it’s already working on a patch. It’s not clear when this will arrive, so you’ll want to stay on your toes until then — grab apps only from those sources you can trust.
[Image credit: Getty Images/OJO Images RF]
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Virus Bulletin
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