Bug in iOS Allows for Unlimited Zooming in Photos App
The Photos app for iOS allows users to zoom into images using pinch gestures, but the zooming capabilities are limited and don’t let users to zoom all the way in to a photo. There is, however, a bug in iOS that allows zooming beyond the current limit, shared this morning by iDownloadBlog.
In the iOS Photos app, opening a photo and then using the “Edit” feature and the “Crop” tool to rotate the photo by 90 degrees appears to remove the zooming limit. After rotating the photo sideways, a second edit can be done to rotate it back to the correct angle, leaving the bug intact and allowing for further zooming.
Max normal zoom in Photos on left, extra zoom through Photos bug on right
Unlimited zooming is only available on a photo that’s been rotated through the Crop tool, and exiting the Photos app or switching over to another image resets the photo so the zoom bug no longer works. A video demonstration is below.
Zooming in beyond the current thresholds in the Photos app is of little practical use in most cases, because the image becomes extremely pixellated, but it could be useful to people who want to zoom into a specific area of an photo just a bit further.
The zooming bug works on iPads and iPhones running iOS 9.3.2 and the iOS 9.3.3 beta. It is not clear when it will be fixed as it’s likely a bug that’s not a main priority.
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‘Workflow’ for iOS Gains Apple Music Playlist Support, 20+ New Actions
Popular automation app Workflow has been updated with a number of new features and now provides added support for over 20 new actions.
For anyone not familiar with the app, Workflow is an automation tool that lets users create a variety of workflows to accomplish tasks like creating GIFs from a series of photos, pulling images from a web page, translating an article, calculating a tip, and more.
Users can create their own workflows or download them from the Workflow gallery and other third-party sites.
With the release of Workflow 1.5, the Workflow Composer has been optimized, a search function has been included, and a number of new app actions have been added, introducing enhanced support for integration with the iTunes and App Stores, Safari browser, Ulysses, and more.
For example, the dedicated “Search App Store” action lets users search the App Store and scrape details of selected iOS apps (such as price, release date, and artwork), which can then be passed into subsequent actions inside a workflow.
Additionally, Workflow includes new Apple Music actions that enable users to create playlists and add songs to an existing playlist in their Apple Music library. Support for project management tool Trello has also been included in the latest version.
Workflow 1.5 costs $2.99 and is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Apple faces Caltech lawsuit over WiFi patents
Apple’s legal troubles with schools aren’t over yet: Caltech has sued Apple and chipmaker Broadcom for allegedly violating four WiFi-related patents. Supposedly, most Apple devices (including the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch) from the iPhone 5 onward use Broadcom chips that copy Caltech decoding and encoding technology to improve data flow. As with most such lawsuits, the institute is calling for both damages and a ban on offending hardware.
How well Apple or Broadcom fares isn’t clear, but there’s the very real possibility that they’ll have to pay the piper (either following a trial or an out-of-court settlement). Given that the tech is vital to the 802.11n and 802.11ac WiFi standards, neither company can afford to stop using it — not unless you miss the good old days of 54Mbps wireless access. And as The Verge points out, Caltech isn’t exactly a patent troll relying on dubious claims to make a tidy profit — it’s more likely to have a valid case.
Via: MacRumors, The Verge
Source: USCourts.gov (login required)
‘Pokémon GO’ U.S. Beta Kicks Off as New Battle Details Are Revealed
Beta testing of the upcoming Pokémon GO game for iOS kicked off in the United States today, with Niantic Labs sending out beta invites to customers who signed up to be field testers earlier this month. Beta testing is already underway in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Pokémon GO, first announced last year, is being developed by Niantic Labs in collaboration with The Pokémon Company. It will allow Pokémon fans to search real world locations to collect, battle, and trade more than 100 different Pokémon.
As was detailed in previous posts, Pokémon Go will notify players when they’re near a catchable Pokémon, with the iPhone used to throw a Poké Ball. PokéStops around the world, located at places like public art installations and historical markers, will allow players to stock up on Poké Balls and discover Pokémon Eggs.
Alongside the launch of the U.S. beta test, more details have been revealed about the way the battle mechanics will work in the game. Each Pokémon Go user will be encouraged to join one of three teams to engage in Gym battles with other teams. Gym battles can be undertaken once a team is joined, and Gyms, like Pokémon, are located in real world locations around the world. Evolving Pokémon has also been added to the game.
Battling is essential to any Pokémon game, and Pokémon GO is no different. Players can battle using the Pokémon they’ve caught to gain control of a Gym. By using their own Pokémon’s attacks and dodging incoming attacks by swiping left and right on the screen, Pokémon GO players can defeat the defending Pokémon to reduce the Gym’s Prestige.
Once the Gym’s Prestige reaches zero, the defending team loses control of the Gym, and the victor’s Pokémon can be assigned to defend the Gym. When a team has control of a Gym, team members can increase its Prestige and level by training their Pokémon with other defending Pokémon. As the Gym gets to a higher level, the defending team gains the ability to assign more Pokémon to defend it. They can also team up with friends and battle together at a rival Gym to take down stronger Gyms faster.
Pokémon Go will be free to download when it launches later in 2016. In-app purchases will be available, allowing players to buy PokéCoins for power-ups and extra items. No concrete release date has been provided for Pokémon Go, but with the expansion of the beta test, a launch is growing closer. Customers who want to sign up for the field test can do so on the Niantic Labs website.
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Prototype iPhone 6 with ‘Switchboard’ OS Listed on eBay for $4,999
An alleged prototype version of Apple’s “vintage” iPhone 6 has appeared in an eBay auction with a starting price of $4,999.
The device has the Apple logo and “iPhone” branding, but no FCC logos, serial number or IMEI on the rear, and appears to be in very good condition.
The handset apparently runs a much-sought-after hackable debugging OS called “SwitchBoard” and features a red lightning dock port with a serial number of C39NW00KG876. The seller claims to have bought it from a friend. The auction currently has one bidder.
In October 2014, a similar prototype iPhone 6 with red Lightning port was offered on eBay by someone claiming to have received the handset by accident. The auction garnered almost 200 bids and reached over $100,000, before being pulled by eBay, likely at Apple’s request.
(Via 9to5Mac)
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Apple Sent Two Engineers to Customer’s House to Figure Out Music Deletion Bug
A couple weeks ago Vellum’s James Pinkstone wrote on his blog that Apple Music and iTunes Match deleted 122 GB of his personal music collection. The post kicked off a wave of speculation about whether Apple Music intentionally deletes users’ music. Apple eventually confirmed that the deletion was a glitch and that a fix was incoming. Today, Pinkstone wrote a blog post detailing how two Apple engineers named Tom and Ezra visited his home to try to recreate the problem.
Before they arrived, Pinkstone said that Apple told him a couple of things: Amber, the Apple Support Representative who told him the music deletion glitch was a “feature” functioning as intended, was mistaken and the company was convinced the issue wasn’t user error.
The engineers spent the day at Pinkstone’s house researching the issue, telling Pinkstone to use Apple Music, iTunes and his personal library as he would in the past. The next day, Tom returned to collect the data logs and cleared any evidence of him being on the laptop. Apple’s engineers weren’t able to recreate the problem, though Pinkstone notes that they did think the issue was a glitch that needed to be combatted. Yesterday’s iTunes 12.4 update includes safeguards to protect users from the music deletion bug.
Through an external drive connected to my laptop, we were now using a specialized version of iTunes in the hopes that the deletion would again occur; an idea that we knew may not pan out, since I’d had Apple Music for eight months before that first mass deletion. If something did go wrong, though, this version of iTunes would document what happened in more detail than the consumer version could.
Pinkstone’s Apple engineer visit is a good example of how far the Cupertino company will go to try to correct bugs in its products. MacRumors has heard several reports of Apple sending out engineers to the homes of users experiencing unique problems in an attempt to research them for fixes. The entire visit can be read about on Pinkstone’s blog.
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The good and bad sides of Apple’s classroom hardware initiative
In late 2014, Apple announced that it would donate iPads, Macs and Apple TVs to 114 “underserved” schools as a way of getting more technology in the hands of those who don’t have as much of a chance to use it. With the program well underway, The Wall Street Journal published a report on the good and bad sides thus far. While some studies have shown that schools in which students that heavily use technology actually do worse than students who do so moderately, a big part of that problem comes from not having curriculum developed that the hardware can enhance. In the case of Apple’s trial, the company is providing an employee to spend 17 days per year at each school to help build lesson plans that take advantage of the company’s hardware.
While it’s too early to tell with hard data how the initiative is fairing, teachers the WSJ spoke with in Yuma, Arizona have positive feelings thus far. Fourth-grade teacher Blanca Rivera has overcome her skepticism to the value of using hardware in the classroom, saying that it has enhanced and motivated her students. She also said that the sessions with Apple’s guide have definitely been helpful.
Naturally, there are downsides as well. The students can’t currently take their iPads home, meaning they aren’t useful for homework. Even if the students were allowed to bring the tablets out of the classroom, many of them don’t have internet connections at home. And the teachers have concerns about what’ll happen when the three-year program ends and the district can’t afford to buy hardware itself. Apple’s Eddie Cue believes that if the program proves to be valuable, finding continued funding won’t be difficult. “You have to solve the problem you have today and not worry about the problem you’re going to have tomorrow,” he said to the WSJ.
Of course, Apple has non-philanthropic motivations for making these donations. Recent estimates shows that more than half of the hardware being purchased for schools at this point are relatively inexpensive Google Chromebooks rather than Apple devices. The company has never been about pure marketshare, but there’s undoubtably a benefit to getting its hardware in the hands of as many students as possible to help convert them to future Apple products down the line.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Apple Unable to Restore Data From iPhone of Florida Teen Lost at Sea
Apple has been unsuccessful in its attempts to retrieve data from a waterlogged iPhone that belonged to one of two Florida teens who were lost at sea last summer, reports ABC News affiliate WPBF 25.
14-year-old Austin Stephanos’ iPhone 6 was found in an abandoned boat off the Bermuda coast in March, eight months after he and friend Perry Cohen, also 14, went missing during a fishing expedition that began at Palm Beach County, Florida, in June 2015.
The two boys’ parents, who had been locked in a court battle over the iPhone’s fate, recently agreed to hand it over to Apple after the company said it would do everything it could to recover information from it in the hope that it would shed light on the circumstances of the teens’ disappearance.
With the iPhone in Apple’s possession, a dedicated forensics team disassembled the damaged device, cleaned its components and performed a chemical report as part of an exhaustive diagnostics and repair process. But despite the team of engineers working “around the clock”, Apple has been unable to glean any data from it.
The news was released by Austin’s father, Blu Stephanos, via a statement read by the family’s attorney, Michael Pike. “Although they were unable to restore the phone to a functional state, I want to thank Apple, Inc. for their hard work and generous assistance,” Stephanos said.
“If the FBI turned to Apple when they needed help, I see no reason to doubt that every possible means was employed to get Austin’s phone working again. It’s our understanding that Apple had a team assigned to the iPhone around the clock, and for that we are truly grateful.”
Stephanos’ statement went on to suggest he would keep the iPhone as a memento of his son, but the parents of Perry Cohen seem intent on exploring other options.
Pam Cohen, Perry’s mother, issued a subsequent statement which likewise thanked Apple for its efforts, but she also claimed that Apple had offered to hand the phone to other experts in the field who may be able to pick up where Apple left off and continue the work.
“We look forward to working cooperatively with Austin’s family toward this transition,” said Cohen. “We are not giving up on the iPhone’s potential for evidence until all viable efforts have been exhausted.”
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.
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New Apple Site Lets Users Create Custom ‘Shot on iPhone’ Mother’s Day Video
Following the launch of its “Shot on iPhone” Mother’s Day ad, Apple has created a dedicated website that allows customers to create their own Mother’s Day video by uploading images of their mom.
The simple site, first shared by iPhone in Canada, opens with an upload image link, which allows users to upload a photo. The photo is then inserted into a customized version of Apple’s Mother’s Day video and can be uploaded directly to Facebook.
Content wise, the video is identical to Apple’s Mother’s Day Shot on iPhone ad, featuring photos of mothers from iPhone users around the world, with the addition of the user-uploaded photo.
The site, which is a new marketing tactic for Apple, may have been created by Apple advertising partner Media Arts Lab, as an employee was the first person to tweet out a link to the new site. Apple’s video creation tool comes just ahead of Mother’s Day, which occurs on Sunday, May 8.
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Hardened Security Features of iPhone 5s Successfully Hacked in LAPD Murder Investigation
Los Angeles police investigators have discovered a workable method to bypass the hardened security features of a locked iPhone 5s, according to The Los Angeles Times.
In court documents seen by the newspaper yesterday, LAPD detectives found a “forensic cellphone expert” who could unlock the iPhone 5s belonging to April Jace, the slain wife of “The Shield” actor Michael Jace, who is accused of killing her at their L.A. home in 2014.
The claim appeared in a search warrant filed during the same period that the FBI was demanding Apple unlock the earlier model iPhone 5c of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. In that high-profile case, the FBI eventually unlocked the phone with the help of professional hackers, paying them up to $1 million for a tool exploiting a security vulnerability.
According to FBI director James Comey, the method obtained by the bureau only worked on a “narrow slice of phones”, which did not include models of the iPhone 5s and after, presumably because the latter devices are equipped with Apple’s proprietary Secure Enclave, a separate security-hardened portion of the core processing chip with its own secure boot and personalized software where private encryption keys are stored and used to secure data.
Prior to the the FBI’s acquisition of its hacking method, several security experts warned that the ability the bureau sought from Apple would in fact work on later devices, while Apple claimed back in February that the method the FBI asked it for to unlock an iPhone 5c was also possible on newer devices with the Secure Enclave. According to TechCrunch, Apple said at the time that the technical solutions would be different than they are on the iPhone 5c, but not impossible.
According to The Times, the search warrant filed in the April Jace killing did not detail the method used by the LAPD to open the later-model iPhone 5s, nor did police reveal the identity of the cellphone expert. It’s also unclear what operating system April Jace’s phone had.
The iPhone 5s has been at the center of the investigation after it was claimed that the actor and his wife argued “about their relationship” via text message shortly before he is alleged to have shot her. Michael Jace’s attorneys successfully persuaded a judge to delay his murder trial, arguing that the dead woman’s phone should undergo a more exhaustive search than one initially conducted by police.
Shortly after her killing, April Jace’s cellphone was locked by a passcode, which “hindered” the investigation. But in January 2015, an Apple technician was ordered by an L.A. judge to help police extract data from the phone, according to the search warrant.
That attempt apparently failed to obtain any information and a second attempt by the L.A. County district attorney’s office the same month left the phone “disabled”. The following month, authorities tried to inspect the iPhone but it didn’t even turn on, the warrant stated.
But in March, investigators learned that a forensic cellphone expert could “override” the security features and let authorities view the phone’s contents. A senior investigator with the district attorney’s office was apparently then able to examine the phone in April. Jace, 53, is currently awaiting trial in the case.
Last week it was reported that the FBI will not reveal to Apple the method it used to hack into the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, because it does not have the rights to the technical data about how the method functions. Apple wants details on the flaw so a fix can be implemented. Until it does, the FBI can keep using the vulnerability so long as it remains unpatched.
Amid its dispute with the FBI, reports suggest Apple has already begun work on implementing stronger security measures to protect iOS devices in order to counter the threat of hackers rather than the government. Apple has also said it has revamped its internal security teams.
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.
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