Apple’s iBooks, iTunes Movies mysteriously suspended in China; customers want refunds

Apple has not issued any statement to customers in China about the status of the services, but many users report that they have been unable to connect to the movie service and iBooks since April 15.

A Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman said: “We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” but she would not elaborate on why the services were unavailable.

The Chinese government has not issued any statement on the matter. However, the New York Times, citing two anonymous sources, said the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television had ordered the services offline, though it was unclear why.

Apple’s App Store revenue has surged in China in the last year, overtaking Japan as the world’s No. 2 market for the service, according to App Annie.

Apple technical assistance and account service representatives, reached by phone in China, said they had received no official notice from the company that the services had been blocked or shut down. They offered to arrange refunds on purchased content.

http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-apple-ibook-itunes-movies-20160422-story.html

APPLE’S IBOOKS, ITUNES MOVIES MYSTERIOUSLY SUSPENDED IN CHINA; CUSTOMERS WANT REFUNDS

Apple has not issued any statement to customers in China about the status of the services, but many users report that they have been unable to connect to the movie service and iBooks since April 15.

A Beijing-based Apple spokeswoman said: “We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” but she would not elaborate on why the services were unavailable.

The Chinese government has not issued any statement on the matter. However, the New York Times, citing two anonymous sources, said the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television had ordered the services offline, though it was unclear why.

http://www.infowars.com/apples-ibooks-itunes-movies-mysteriously-suspended-in-china-customers-want-refunds/

 

FBI facing demands to share its claimed technique to unlock iPhones

Any day now, Hillar Moore is expecting a call from the FBI.

Moore, a district attorney in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has publicly lamented that Apple’s iPhone encryption is keeping local police out of a victim’s phone in  a recent murder. On Monday, Moore’s ears perked up when the FBI announced it would drop its court battle with Apple after it figured out a way to pull data from the iPhone of Syed Farook, the San Bernardino gunman.

Moore, like many others, wants in.

“Waiting on them to call me,” he wrote in an email exchange with the Guardian, “to see if they can assist in getting into my phone.”

The FBI now faces a series of tough questions after it announced to the world that it has a technique for hacking into Farook’s iPhone – something Apple says shouldn’t be possible on current models without a user’s passcode. Naturally, a lot of other people – from local police to parents – say they could benefit from the technology.

The technique is a closely guarded secret at FBI headquarters. It probably relies on a security flaw in Apple’s mobile operating system. Because of that, the bureau realizes that the more widely it’s shared, the more likely Apple could learn about the technique and patch it.

Such a calculus can be hard to fathom for people who just want access to a locked iPhone. A father in Italy is asking Apple to unlock his dead son’s phone – so he can reminisce through his son’s stored pictures – or he will try to find whatever tool the FBI used. On Wednesday, a local prosecutor in Arkansas told the Associated Press that the bureau had agreed to share its technique with him in a murder case involving an iPhone and an iPod.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/01/fbi-apple-iphone-unlock-encryption-san-bernardino

LAW ENFORCEMENT DEMANDS FBI SHARE IPHONE HACK TECHNIQUE

Moore, a district attorney in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has publicly lamented that Apple’s iPhone encryption is keeping local police out of a victim’s phone in a recent murder. On Monday, Moore’s ears perked up when the FBI announced it would drop its court battle with Apple after it figured out a way to pull data from the iPhone of Syed Farook, the San Bernardino gunman.

http://www.infowars.com/law-enforcement-demands-fbi-share-iphone-hack-technique/

 

 

FBI: ATTACKER’S PHONE POSSIBLY ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT APPLE HELP

In a stunning reversal on Monday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to halt a much-anticipated hearing on their efforts to force Apple to unlock the phone. The FBI may have found another way, and Apple’s cooperation may no longer be needed, according to court papers filed late Monday, less than 24 hours before Tuesday’s hearing.

“An outside party” came forward over the weekend and showed the FBI a possible method to access the data on Syed Rizwan Farook’s encrypted phone, according to the filing.

http://www.infowars.com/fbi-attackers-phone-possibly-accessible-without-apple-help/

Apple unveils smaller iPhone SE; Cook defends privacy stance

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Monday unveiled a smaller, cheaper iPhone aimed at emerging markets and possibly China, the world’s biggest buyer of smartphones, as the technology company looks to reverse a decline in worldwide sales of its most important product.

The new device, called the iPhone SE, has a 4-inch (10-cm) screen and represents Apple’s second bid for the crowded mid-tier market after an unsuccessful foray three years ago.

The more compact phone design comes after its expanded the size of the screens in its high-end iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in 2014 to as large as 5.5 inches. That was broadly seen as an attempt to match rival Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) with its large-screen Galaxy phones.

Before the launch at Apple’s leafy Cupertino, California headquarters, Chief Executive Tim Cook defended the company’s refusal to comply with a U.S. court order to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in a December attack in San Bernardino, California.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-products-idUSKCN0WN0HA

Apple ‘privacy czars’ grapple with internal conflicts over user data

As Apple Inc(AAPL.O) feuds with the U.S. government over iPhone privacy protections, the tech giant is also grappling with internal conflicts over privacy that could pose challenges to its long-term product strategy.

Unlike Google(GOOGL.O), Amazon(AMZN.O) and Facebook(FB.O), Apple is loathe to use customer data to deliver targeted advertising or personalized recommendations. Indeed, any collection of Apple customer data requires sign-off from a committee of three “privacy czars” and a top executive, according to four former employees who worked on a variety of products that went through privacy vetting.

Approval is anything but automatic: products including the Siri voice-command feature and the recently scaled-back iAd advertising network were restricted over privacy concerns, these people said.

Many employees take pride in Apple’s stance, and CEO Tim Cook has called it a matter of principle.

“Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information,” Cook wrote in a letter explaining the company’s opposition to a government demand that it help unlock the iPhone of one of the shooters in the December attacks in San Bernardino, California.

Such policies also have a business rationale: Apple’s apparent willingness to sacrifice some profit for the sake of privacy bolsters its image as a company that protects customers.

It’s an easier stand for Apple to take than, say, Facebook or Amazon – Apple’s chief business to date has been selling devices rather than advertising or e-commerce.

But now, amid stagnant iPhone sales, Apple executives have flagged services such as iCloud and Apple Music as prime sources for growth – which could test the company’s commitment to limiting the use of personal data.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-encryption-privacy-insight-idUSKCN0WN0BO

Smaller iPhone expected Monday as Apple counters drop in phone sales

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is expected to launch a smaller, cheaper iPhone on Monday aimed at emerging markets and possibly China, the world’s biggest buyer of smartphones, as it looks to reverse a decline in worldwide sales of its most important product.

The launch of such a phone – expected to be called the iPhone SE – would represent Apple’s second bid for the crowded mid-tier market after an unsuccessful foray three years ago.

It might give the world’s best-known technology company a boost in the fast-growing Indian, Middle East and African markets, but also risks cutting its average phone prices and profit margins.

“The iPhone SE provides a new incentive to upgrade for iPhone holdouts who don’t want a large-screen phone,” said analyst Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research.

A less expensive iPhone could appeal to emerging markets customers, said O’Donnell, but is not a sure-fire hit, as it may still be pricier than competitors running Google’s Android system, and many in emerging markets have already developed a taste for larger screens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-products-idUSKCN0WN0HA

Apple engineers may walk if they’re forced to decrypt iOS

APPLE ENGINEERS might end up deciding the fate of the battle between the company and the FBI over decrypting iOS.

According to the New York Times, some engineers who worked on the encryption software introduced in iOS 9 have said that they would rather quit high paying jobs that compromise the encryption they created.

The FBI is pressing Apple to unlock the phone of one of the terrorists who committed a mass shooting in San Bernadino, CA last December. The argument against says that to do so would create not just an unlock for that phone, but a master key for all iOS devices, this setting a precedent.

On this week’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, one single police force was shown to have over 170 phones that needed decrypting and so repeating that county by county, state by state would open a massive floodgate.

In addition to the objection to the precedent, Apple has already argued that the free speech of its engineers, a fundament of the US constitution would be broken by making them create a decryption routine against their will and principles.

The briefing to the courts said, “Such conscription is fundamentally offensive to Apple’s core principles and would pose a severe threat to the autonomy of Apple and its engineers,”

 

Apple Schedules March 21 Event; 4-Inch iPhone, New iPad Launch Expected

Apple, attempting to get back to the business of introducing new products as it fights with the Justice Department in court, announced a March 21 event where the company is expected to unveil a smaller-screen iPhone and an updated iPad.

The long-expected unveiling will be held at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, the company said in the emailed invitation, without providing any other details.

Apple will introduce an updated iPhone with a 4-inch screen, a person familiar with the details has said. The smaller handset will look similar to the iPhone 5s introduced in 2013 and come with updated components, including the company’s speedier A9 processor that’s currently in the iPhone 6s. An update to the iPad lineup also is anticipated.

For Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, the event provides a respite from the battle with the Justice Department over privacy and encryption. Apple is contesting a request from government investigators seeking the company’s help unlocking an iPhone used by one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December.

Apple is arguing that the order oversteps government authority because it would weaken its customer’s security protections and set a precedent that would force companies to create new tools to aid law enforcement. A similar standoff is taking place in a New York case.

In addition to its court fight, Cook is grappling with Apple’s slowing business. iPhone sales are no longer a dependable growth driver after unprecedented success and iPad sales also are in decline. Financial analysts predict sales will fall this year for the first time in more than a decade. The stock has fallen more than 18 percent in the past 12 months.

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/apple-schedules-march-21-event-4-inch-iphone-new-ipad-launch-expected-812338