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Karnataka minister unhappy with Apple CEO for skipping Bengaluru

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R V Deshpande

Bengaluru: Even though tech giant Apple announced an accelerator facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka’s Industrial Minister R V Deshpande expressed his disappointment over the company’s CEO Tim Cook not visiting the city on his maiden trip to India.

“Thank you very much for visiting India. However, we in Karnataka are disappointed as this time you could not make it to Bengaluru, the Silicon City of India. I am sure in your next visit you will first land in Bengaluru and then go to other parts of our country,” Deshpande said in a letter to Cook.

He, however, welcomed Apple’s initiative for Bengaluru. “Indian IT professionals will get a boost as part of a global programme. I am looking forward to your group to make more and more investments in India, more so in Karnataka,” the minister said.

Bengaluru is increasingly being sidelined by global investors as infrastructure is crumbling. The Congress government is under pressure to improve the infrastructure in the city, which is already witnessing flight of capital.

(Agencies)

Apple’s Cook meets Modi; discusses manufacturing possibilities

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tim cook modi

New Delhi: Showing interest in making Apple products in India, the global technology giant’s chief Tim Cook today discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the “possibilities of manufacturing” and tapping the young talent pool in the country.

On his maiden visit to India, the Apple CEO also discussed with Modi issues regarding cyber-security and data encryption. “Cook shared Apple Inc’s future plans for India. He spoke of the possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in India. He appreciated the breadth of young talent in India and said the youth have significant skills which Apple would like to tap,” an official statement said.

The head of the US-based Apple, which makes iconic iPhones and Mac computers, has already announced during this trip setting of an app development centre in Bengaluru and one for maps in Hyderabad.

During his meeting with Modi, Cook highlighted the immense potential for app development in the country. He also launched an updated version of the PM’s mobile app at the meeting.

He narrated to Prime Minister the experiences including a visit to Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai and watching a cricket match in Kanpur.

Modi, appreciating Cook, said in India “seeing is believing” and added these experiences would definitely steer his business decisions.

After the meeting, Modi tweeted: “Thank you @tim_cook! Friends, welcome & happy volunteering. Your views and efforts are always enriching.” He also shared photos with the Apple CEO on his Twitter handle.

Cook, in a response, tweeted: “Thanks PM @narendramodi for a great meeting. Already looking forward to next visit to India. Best wishes on the app!” He also appreciated Prime Minister’s initiatives on ease of doing business and renewable energy, the statement read. Cupertino-based Apple runs on 93 per cent renewable energy and Cook spoke of plans to move Apple’s entire supply chain to renewable energy.

Meanwhile, delegation members accompanying Apple CEO also spoke of their experiences in rural Rajasthan, where several villages have recently been electrified and women are being skilled to assemble and operate solar energy equipment.

Both Cook and Modi shared stories of entrepreneurship that they had come across in app development and renewable energy, the statement added.

Cook said the company is looking to be in India for a long run and it is “exactly the right time” to be in India as telecom firms roll out 4G high speed internet services.

Apple, which is seeing declining sales elsewhere in the world, is betting big on India for growth as sales here saw an impressive 56 per cent growth during January-March.

The company has been pushing for introducing refurbished phones in the country that may help in making its smartphones more affordable to a larger audience. However, the government is yet to take a call on the matter.

Modi explained ‘Digital India’ initiative and identified three key objectives of as e-education, health and increasing farmers’ incomes.

Prime Minister sought support from Apple in furthering these objectives and also encouraged Cook to help the global community to cope with the challenges of cyber-crime. Cook also congratulated Modi on recent election results and spoke about his visit to India and that he had been received with great warmth.

Cook, who is on a four-day trip to India, has met some of the key leaders of India Inc, including ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar, Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and Tata Consultancy Services CEO N Chandrasekaran.

The updated version of ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App’ contains a new volunteering network on the app. “I urge you to have a look at the new feature ‘My Network’ that empowers you to contribute on lively and enriching forums where you can share your ideas and deliberate with others. You will also enjoy the daily tasks on the App,” Modi tweeted.

(PTI)

FBI breaks into iPhone of dead San Bernadino shooter

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US investigators use technique without Apple’s help to hack into phone of dead gunman behind mass California shooting.

fbi-iphone

by Al Jazeera

The FBI says it has successfully used a technique without Apple’s help to hack into the iPhone used by a gunman in a mass shooting in California.

Monday’s announcement effectively ended a pitched court battle between the Obama administration and one of the world’s leading technology companies.

The government asked a federal judge to vacate a disputed order forcing Apple to help the FBI break into the iPhone, saying it was no longer necessary.

The court filing in US District Court for the Central District of California provided no details about how the FBI did it or who showed it how.

The FBI is reviewing the information on the iPhone, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The case drew international attention and highlighted a growing friction between government authorities and the tech industry.

Apple and other tech companies have said they feel increasing need to protect their customers’ data from hackers and unfriendly intruders. But the police and other government authorities have warned that encryption and other data-protection measures are making it more difficult for investigators to track criminals and dangerous extremists.

“From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a back door into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent,” Apple said in a statement.

“As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.”

The brief court notice left important questions unanswered: Who showed the FBI how to break into iPhones? How did the government bypass the security features that Apple has invested millions of dollars to build into its flagship product? Are newer iPhones vulnerable to the same hacking technique?

“With this vulnerability in existence, people that have a similar version of iPhone are at risk of attacks from malicious people that could use the same vulnerability,” Drew Mitnick, a Policy Counsel at Access Now, told Al Jazeera.

“[Following the hacking], there is at least a moral obligation on behalf of the FBI to close the vulnerability.”

The surprise development also punctured the temporary perception that Apple’s security might have been good enough to keep consumers’ personal information safe even from the US government – with the tremendous resources it can expend when it wants to uncover something.

The FBI used the technique to access data on an iPhone used by gunman Syed Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December.

The iPhone, a work phone issued to Farook by his employer, the county health department, was found in a vehicle the day after the shooting; two personal phones were found destroyed so completely that the FBI couldn’t recover information from them.

US magistrate Sheri Pym of California last month ordered Apple to provide the FBI with software to help it hack into Farook’s work-issued iPhone.

The order touched off a debate pitting digital privacy rights against national security concerns.

“People often have a sense that they are being surveilled by the government and it tends to limit their ability to express themselves,” Mitnick added.

“The mere possibility that the government is surveilling is a limitation on freedom of expression.”

Apple rejects FBI order to crack gunman’s phone

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Tim Cook says order to circumvent encryption on San Bernardino attacker’s phone would set dangerous precedent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the US government's order was setting a dangerous precedent [Reuters/Carlo Allegri]

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the US government’s order was setting a dangerous precedent [Reuters/Carlo Allegri]

by Al Jazeera

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has hit out at a court order that would force the company to write software allowing the FBI to crack encryption on its devices.

In a letter published on the company’s website on Wednesday, Cook said the move would set a dangerous precedent and have implications for the privacy of its customers.

The US government wants to crack encryption software on a phone belonging to one of the San Bernardino attackers, Syed Farook, but Apple says doing so will compromise security on devices belonging to other customers.

“Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us,” Cook said in the letter.

“The FBI asked us for help in the days following the attack, and we have worked hard to support the government’s efforts to solve this horrible crime. We have no sympathy for terrorists,” he added.

Back door

The FBI wants software that bypasses the usual self-destruct mechanism that erases data when someone enters the wrong password too many times. Codebreakers want the ability to use as many combinations as possible at the same time to find one that lets them access the phone.

Cook said that releasing encryption-breaking techniques would create a back door that would roll back decades of security advancements in technology.

“The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.

“The US government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create.”

The order represents a significant victory for the US Justice Department. The Obama administration has embraced stronger encryption as a way to keep consumers safe on the Internet, but struggled to find a compelling example to make its case.

Apple debuts $17,000 watch, some waiting for killer app

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Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch during an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 9, 2015.

Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch during an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 9, 2015.

by Edwin Chan and Alexei Oreskovic, Reuters

San Francisco: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) launched its long-awaited watch on Monday, including yellow or rose gold models with sapphire faces costing up to $17,000, but some investors questioned whether Chief Executive Tim Cook’s first product would be a breakaway hit.

Apple’s first new device since Cook became CEO will be available for order on April 10 and in stores on April 24, including chic boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo.

In a nod to both fashion and technology, Cook shared the stage with model Christy Turlington Burns, who used it to train for a marathon, and Apple engineers who showed how to send drawings, pictures and even heartbeats with the watch.

Apple shares barely budged, however. Investors and analysts agreed that Apple would sell millions to fans but questioned whether it had a “killer app” that would engage a broader audience. Apple in September gave a sneak peek of the watch which included many features shown on Monday.

“I think there’s a niche market for these kind of Apple tech people who love Apple and will buy anything they come out with. But I just don’t know if it’s going to be the power product that everyone’s looking for,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta, Georgia, who described Wall Street as “scratching its head”.

Members of the style establishment, in Paris for shows from the glittering likes of Chanel, Givenchy and Hermes mostly said they saw the watch as a gadget, not this season’s must-have accessory.

The Edition price tag which is inexpensive compared with a Patek Philippe Nautilus at just over $42,000 on 11main.com, inspired plenty of jibes on social media, including many who questioned whether it would become outdated and compared the price to a car’s. “Wonder what kind of gas mileage it gets,” asked Twitter user Christopher Caruso.

Nevertheless many made clear they wanted it. “My birthday is gonna rock this year… 🙂 #applewatch,” wrote Jay Runquist.

The Apple Watch sport will start at $349 for the smaller, 38-mm model. The standard version of the watch will start at $549 and the high-end “Edition” watch will be priced from $10,000, said Cook, who loved the Dick Tracy ability to hold phone calls by watch.

“I have been wanting to do this since I was five years old,” said Cook.

The different models reflect different materials. A $17,000 Edition in the smaller, 38-mm size, has a case made from a customized version of 18-karat rose GOLD, which is especially hard, along with a sapphire display. It comes with a magnetic charging case.

A $349 Sport model the same size has an aluminum case, a ‘sport band’ and a magnetic charging cable, and no case.

All the watches share digital faces that can look like traditional time pieces, show the heart beat of a friend, and display photos and interfaces for apps.

“Apple’s been very good at personalizing its products,” said Angelo Zino, an analyst at S&P Capital IQ, who said the “intimacy” of the watch was appealing. He saw 10 million in sales this year.

In the presentation, Cook described the watch handling many functions currently associated with the iPhone, which tethers wirelessly to the watch and connects it to the Internet.

The watch will track exercise and remind wearers of events with a tap on the wrist.

Cook also laid out other product successes and launched a new MacBook notebook computer that starts at $1,299 and weighs as little as 2 pounds.

Every major car brand had committed to delivering Apple’s CarPlay entertainment system, and the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have 99 percent customer satisfaction rates, he said. The Apple Pay payment system is now accepted at 700,000 locations, and Time Warner Inc’s (TWX.N) HBO in April will debut its streaming HBO NOW service on Apple TV.

Apple also is offering researchers new development tools, called ResearchKit, to help medical researchers design apps for clinical trials, the company said.

(additional reporting by Alexandria Sage, Piya Sinha-Roy, Ellen Wulfhorst; writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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