August 2014 - apple-list - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

FYI: "kill switch" on smartphones
by Wayne Billing 26 Aug '14

26 Aug '14

You can check your iPhone settings for this by following these "Find My iPhone" instructions: https://www.apple.com/ca/icloud/find-my-iphone.html You'll want to claim an Apple iCloud ID but they're free. Follow this link and click SETUP INSTRUCTIONS: https://www.icloud.com ...from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/california-governor-signs-law-requ… California Governor Signs Law Requiring a ‘Kill Switch’ on Smartphones By BRIAN X. CHEN<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/author/brian-x-chen/> AUGUST 25, 2014 7:48 PMAugust 25, 2014 7:53 pm Photo [Apple’s iPhone has offered so-called kill switch technology since September, and law enforcement statistics for several major cities saw a significant dip in thefts of devices after the introduction of the antitheft feature.] Apple’s iPhone has offered so-called kill switch technology since September, and law enforcement statistics for several major cities saw a significant dip in thefts of devices after the introduction of the antitheft feature.Credit Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press Governor Jerry Brown of California on Monday signed into law a measure that requires smartphones sold in California to include smarter antitheft technology, a feature that lawmakers hope will help reduce phone theft. The bill, introduced by State Senator Mark Leno and sponsored by George Gascón, San Francisco’s district attorney, requires a so-called “kill switch” — which would render a smartphone useless after it was stolen — to be included on all smartphones sold in California starting in July 2015. A kill switch is software that allows consumers to disable a phone after the device has been reported stolen and reactivate it only with a correct password or personal identification number. Proponents of the bill have argued that wide adoption of this type of antitheft technology would lead to a reduction in phone theft because it would make it more difficult for criminals to resell stolen phones. “Our efforts will effectively wipe out the incentive to steal smartphones and curb this crime of convenience, which is fueling street crime and violence within our communities,” said Senator Leno, in a statement. In May, Minnesota became the first state to require a kill switch on all smartphones sold there. But the California bill is unusual in that it requires manufacturers, like Apple, Samsung and Motorola Mobility, to ship smartphones with the anti-theft technology turned on by default. In San Francisco, 2,400 cellphones were stolen last year, up 23 percent from 2012, according to the San Francisco police. Phone thefts also grew in New York and Washington last year. Overall, about 3.1 million devices were stolen in the United States in 2013, nearly double the 1.6 million that were stolen in 2012, according to Consumer Reports. However, some data suggests that kill-switch technology is already helping deter smartphone theft<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/antitheft-technology-led-to-a-dip-…>. Apple’s iPhone has offered kill switch technology since September. In June, law enforcement statistics for several major cities saw a significant dip in thefts of Apple devices after Apple’s introduction of the antitheft feature. For example, comparing data in the six months before and after Apple released its anti-theft feature, police said iPhone robberies in San Francisco dropped 38 percent. Supporters of a kill-switch law have faced resistance from CTIA, a trade organization for the wireless industry. The group has argued that creating laws specific to certain states would stifle technology innovation. It reiterated this argument again on Monday in reaction to Governor Brown’s decision to sign the bill. “Uniformity in the wireless industry created tremendous benefits for wireless consumers, including lower costs and phenomenal innovation,” said Jamie Hastings, vice president of external and state affairs for CTIA, in a statement. “State by state technology mandates, such as this one, stifle those benefits and are detrimental to wireless consumers.” Mr. Gascón, San Francisco’s district attorney, said in a statement that cellphone owners can “breathe a sigh of relief.” “Soon, stealing a smartphone won’t be worth the trouble, and these violent street crimes will be a thing of the past,” he said in a statement. “The devices we use every day will no longer make us targets for violent criminals.”

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FYI: Skipping thru US Customs? There’s an app for that...
by Wayne Billing 25 Aug '14

25 Aug '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/25/skipping-the-us-customs-and-border-protection… http://www.cbp.gov//travel/us-citizens/mobilepassportcontrol Skipping the US Customs and Border Protection queues? There’s now an app for that …<http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/25/skipping-the-us-customs-and-border-protection…> [mobileapp] U.S. Customs and Border Protection is trialling an iPhone app that allows travellers returning to the United States to bypass the normal immigration queues by entering their details into the app and getting a QR code containing their electronic approval. You still have to show the code to a CBP officer, but you can bypass the normal queues and use a special Mobile Passport Control lane that should be significantly quicker … The app is being tested only at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with at least one more airport due to join before the end of the year, ahead of expected wide-scale rollout in 2015. It is currently limited to U.S. and Canadian citizens, and is likely to be extended to citizens of countries eligible for the visa waiver program at a later date. If you have in-flight WiFi, you can complete the electronic form up to two hours before your flight’s scheduled arrival time, otherwise completing it on arrival in the airport terminal. An Android app will follow, but it made sense to begin with iOS, said CBP spokesperson Jennifer Evanitsky. Airside Mobile felt that there was a sufficient number of travelers with iOS devices to sustain the pilot, especially considering the demographics of international travel and the documented rates of travel-app engagement for iOS You can download the free app<https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobile-passport-officially/id907024887?mt=8…> from the App Store. You can read the full press release below the fold. New Mobile Passport Control App Available WASHINGTON—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced the launch of the first authorized app to expedite a traveler’s entry process into the United States. Mobile Passport Control (MPC) will allow eligible travelers to submit their passport information and customs declaration form via a smartphone or tablet prior to CBP inspection. This first-of-its-kind app was developed by Airside Mobile and Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) in partnership with CBP as part of a pilot program at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. IPhone and iPad users can download the app for free from Apple’s App Store. “We are strongly committed to the facilitation of travel and tourism to the United States, all while maintaining the highest security standards in the world,” said Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Mobile Passport Control is an important step and one that we think the traveling public will embrace.” Eligible travelers arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be able to use the app beginning Aug. 13. MPC is expected to expand to more airports later this year and to Android smartphone users in the future. “CBP continues to transform the international arrivals experience for travelers by offering new and innovative ways to expedite entry into the United States, while maintaining the highest standards of security” said CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “By offering this app to passengers, we hope to build upon the success we have already experienced with Automated Passport Control, which has resulted in decreases in wait times as much as 25-40 percent, even with continued growth in international arrivals.” MPC currently offers U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors a more efficient and secure in-person inspection between the CBP officer and the traveler upon arrival in the United States. Much like Automated Passport Control, the app does not require pre-approval, is free-to-use and does not collect any new information on travelers. As a result, travelers will experience shorter wait times, less congestion and faster processing. “Mobile Passport exemplifies the forward-thinking commitment CBP and airports have to improving the passenger experience when entering the United States,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “This partnership between CBP and ACI-NA also represents an outstanding example of industry and government working together to find smart, cost-effective solutions. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with CBP as Mobile Passport begins its roll-out at U.S. airports later this year.” There are five easy steps to MPC: * Download the Mobile Passport Control App from the Apple App Store prior to arriving * Create a profile with your passport information * Complete the “New Trip” section upon arrival in the United States * Submit your customs declaration form through the app to receive an electronic receipt with an Encrypted Quick Response (QR) code. This receipt will expire four hours after being issued * Bring your passport and smartphone or tablet with your digital bar-coded receipt to a CBP officer ACI-NA contracted with Airside Mobile in MPC’s technical development. Information about Mobile Passport, including how to download, user eligibility and other frequently asked questions, is available on the Travel<http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobilepassportcontrol> section of the CBP.gov<http://CBP.gov> website and theAirside Mobile <http://mobilepassport.us/> website. MPC is just one part of CBP’s resource optimization strategy which is transforming the way CBP does business in land, air and sea environments. As part of its commitment to innovation, CBP last year rolled out Automated Passport Control, which is now available in 22 locations, and automated the I-94 form. CBP has also enrolled more than two million travelers in trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI. These programs allow CBP officers to process travelers safely and efficiently while enhancing security and reducing operational costs.

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INTEREST: Internet outages, slowness spike expected with '512K'
by Wayne Billing 15 Aug '14

15 Aug '14

...from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/internet-outages-slowness-spike-expected-… NEW Internet outages, slowness spike expected with '512K' Temporary glitch a warning of upcoming milestone By Emily Chung, CBC News<http://www.cbc.ca/news/cbc-news-online-news-staff-list-1.1294364> Posted: Aug 15, 2014 3:15 PM ET Last Updated: Aug 15, 2014 3:17 PM ET [internet-computer.jpg] When the number of destinations on the internet surpasses 512,000, users will experience overall internet slowness if they rely on an internet service provider that uses older, affected routers. (Shutterstock) Internet outages and slowdowns spiked earlier this week, and more are likely on the way in coming weeks, as the internet grows too big for some network hardware to handle. According to Vancouver-based internet monitoring firm BGPMon, this past Tuesday, outages were "well above the daily average" and the number of affected systems and addresses was "the highest we've seen in the last 12 months." The issue arose when the number of routes on the internet temporarily jumped beyond 512,000 or 512K – the maximum that some older networking gear can handle by default. The global routing table has passed 512k routes. So what now? #IPv4<https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPv4?src=hash> #IPv6<https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPv6?src=hash> Read: http://t.co/gJOafqLGDk via@CiscoSP360<https://twitter.com/CiscoSP360> — Cisco (@Cisco) August 13, 2014<https://twitter.com/Cisco/statuses/499691886169587712> The cause was a bug at U.S. internet service provider Verizon that dumped 15,000 new internet destinations onto the network for about 10 minutes, said Andree Toonk, founder and lead developer for BGPMon. "We basically got a small taste of what is possibly about to happen," added Toonk, whose company monitors internet routing for outages and security incidents. "Hopefully this is a wakeup call." Network analysts such as Toonk estimate the number of routes in the internet — currently hovering around 500,000 — will permanently surpass 512,000 within a month. "The real test… will start later this week, and will be felt nearly everywhere by the end of next week," estimated Jim Cowie, chief technology officer and co-founder of network performance management firm Renesys, in a blog post Tuesday. The hardware causing the problem is older routers made by San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco and still used by many smaller networks and regional internet providers, Toonk said. Nuisance, not threat According to Cowie, most larger internet service providers "and certainly all of the routers that operate the core infrastructure of the internet" use newer hardware that is unaffected. That means the issue is more of a nuisance than a threat to the internet. The problem arises because routers direct internet traffic to the correct destination, and rely on summaries of the destinations that are kept in tables in their memory. The default maximum size of that memory is 512K for older routers. Once that maximum is reached, three possible things can happen, Toonk said: * The router can switch to a slower mode, resulting in sluggish performance. * Some destinations may not end up in the table at all, making them unreachable. * The network operator may have to reboot the router, resulting in a few minutes of instability. Internet users will experience: * Overall internet slowness if they rely on an internet service provider that's affected. * Slowness for certain websites or services that rely on affected internet service providers, even if their own ISP is not affected. Cisco had warned users of the impending problem back in May. "It's time to start preparing," wrote Omar Santos, senior incident manager of Cisco's Product Security Incident Response Team, in a post on the Cisco Support Community website<https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/12202206/size-internet-global-rout…>. He suggested some fixes, such as changing the default configuration for affected devices, but noted that might require users to reset the device. Toonk said that likely would only take five minutes, but isn't always easy to schedule on networks that serve hundreds or thousands of people. He hopes that after this week's warning, affected internet service providers will make a special effort to proactively rejig their routers. "But it's not unlikely we will see some slowness or instability over the next few weeks," he added. "If people don't fix it, it will happen again, and there will always be people who won't fix it."

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INTEREST: Apple makes Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for 8th consecutive year
by Wayne Billing 14 Aug '14

14 Aug '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/14/apple-makes-fortunes-100-fastest-growing-comp… Apple makes Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for 8th consecutive year<http://9to5mac.com/2014/08/14/apple-makes-fortunes-100-fastest-growing-comp…> [130521141911-tim-cook-hero-tax-code-614xa] Apple might have dropped from #38 to #88 this year on Fortune’s list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies published today<http://fortune.com/100-fastest-growing-companies/apple-88/>, but it’s also making the list for its 8th consecutive year. That means Apple has now been on the list more than any other company and also has the longest streak of consecutive appearances. There aren’t a lot of other high profile tech companies that made the list, but a couple notables include Baidu at #46 and Tivo at #73. Fortune’s list ranks companies (with a market cap of $250 million or more) based on revenue growth rate; EPS growth rate; and three-year annualized total return for the period ended June 30, 2014.[Fortune-Apple-fastest-growing]

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