jmgregory1

If what the FBI is asking is to have Apple hack into this one iPhone, and Apple is saying that's not possible due to their own encryption, then that's the end of the story, no?  I mean, Apple can't change iOS to add in a backdoor, so that they can gain access to a dead person's iPhone running a different version of iOS.  

This whole things smells a bit fishy - as in why is Apple getting crap about this, when what this should be described as is the FBI wanting Apple to hack into this iPhone (by any means possible) to retrieve data.  Either the FBI knows Apple can do it, and they're using this as a wedge to force compliance to something Apple has made it clear they don't support (using the courts and the court of public opinion), or Apple knows they can't hack the phone without creating something that may very well jeopardize the security of all iPhones going forward.

Frankly, I think the time and money being spent on this, is way overblown for the severity of the situation.  Yes, it's terrible that innocent people lost their lives, but hundreds of innocent people lose their lives every day and we're not trying to roast a company who has made it a point to tell us they are protecting our data.  This fear of terrorism takes away valuable time, money and resources that could actually do good, in the hopes of stopping something that may or may not happen.  And given the numbers, terrorism in the US certainly is not even a fraction of what causes most of the senseless deaths each year. 

From another perspective, if the government is making one iPhone out to be the only thing they have to make connections to other criminals / terrorists, then they're doing a pretty crappy job in the first place.  I agree with Tim Cook, that once the government gets a taste of free access to iPhones, they will both use it unfettered (as they've done in data mining and voice recordings for years) AND it will end up in the hands of some Russian or Chinese hackers.

I can just see, a couple of years from now, when hackers gain access to a "back door", the people who supported it will be retired and those that took their place will say it's not their fault.  Typical government reaction, blaming someone from the past and not taking responsibility to fix the problem.

What? You guys are drinking something funny over at AI HQ. First we have yesterday's dire Surface Pro bashing article, and now this?
f.lux. Heard of it?

Well, fwiw, f.lux is for jailbroken devices only (iOS), so first of its kind for iOS approved color temp control.

I laugh each time I see these commercials, given the life of the mag stripe and mag reader terminals is limited here in North America.

mr. h said:

jmgregory1 said:

changing the rules of the game after the fact

No, this is not about "changing the rules”. It is about applying the rules as they always have been. Ireland may have reached a deal with Apple that was in actual fact illegal, i.e. against the rules, as the rules always have been. No rules have changed. The EU is just trying to apply the existing rules.

Now, on a separate note - AI, will you please stop using “revenue” when you mean “profit”. These two things are not the same. Companies pay tax on profits, not revenue.

Ahh, but if Ireland in fact changed the rules to the benefit of Apple, is it Apple who is at fault, or Ireland?  We could hope that Apple would have known that Ireland was doing something they shouldn't be (and planned for contingencies), but Ireland was giving the same breaks to other companies, which helped bring several high profile companies, so it was clearly considered the norm at the time.  If the EU can enforce tax equality across all member states, it will be a miracle, just like things here in the States are not equal, from state to state.