skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I really hope they actually physically can't access the data on this phone. It's entirely possible this could be the case -- I've been trying to consider the vectors they could use:

- lightning cable delivered iOS patch (probably won't work because iOS won't negotiate over USB until you tap a dialog box)

- OTA update (not connected to internet)

- Cracking open the device and accessing the storage directly (encrypted until boot time)

The most likely vector I can think of:

- - Lightning cable delivered iOS patch from a trusted computer (i.e one that the terrorists actually owned)

It's quite impressive that Apple is taking a stand like this, though perhaps unfortunate timing WRT the larger encryption debate.
>evidence

14 dead people and a stack of unused guns and bombs.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
If the battery life is the only thing that matters then a USB-C charged laptop (Macbook one, pixel, some new stuff) + some heavy duty battery pack is probably a good option as well.
Yeah, and not only. Urubu is the brazilian name for the black vulture [1], a scavenger bird commonly seen when there are dead animals.

Urubu as an insult can also mean two things: first, as they eat corpses people presume they are smelly themselves hence people can be called one as an insult for smelly; then, as they are black, it can also be used as a racially charged insult.

But they are also a synonymous for doing something without effort as they fly for hours using as little energy as they can, gliding in circles in the hot air drifts.

They are also portrayed in fiction as a street smart hustler, preying on the innocent protagonists, like Buzz Buzzard [2], named in Brazil "Zeca Urubu".

A majestic bird, if you ask me, and I doubt naming the CMS after it would carry any negative connotation.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_vulture

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Buzzard
Even though the matters are slightly different, I couldn't help but think that Cook is giving off a Boards of Canada vibe in this post (in a good way).

"Now that the show is over, and we have jointly exercised our constitutional rights, we would like to leave you with one very important thought: Some time in the future, you may have the opportunity to serve as a juror in a censorship case or a so-called obscenity case. It would be wise to remember that the same people who would stop you from listening to Boards of Canada may be back next year to complain about a book, or even a TV program. If you can be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think. Defend your constitutionally protected rights - no one else will do it for you. Thank you."

https://youtu.be/1-FI6D8ZXpc
This is quite unlike Apple. Is this the same company that insists on keeping its source proprietary and is always against FOSS? The idea that you care for your users' privacy and still like to keep control on them by not giving them the freedom to modify source-code is not what I buy.
I'm guessing this would need to involve stealing Apple's private code signing key.
"We have no sympathy for terrorists."

They felt the need to state that, huh?
Or you know... sitting outside in 30C summer in shorts. That 80C chasis temperature then somehow isn't as fun anymore. Current rMBP is unusable outside in summer due to hot chasis... my previous Dell XPS didn't have this issue.
> Or buy Intel mini PC (Intel NUC). Both options are quite expensive, at least in India.

You can always get some China-made Intel Mini-PCs like these: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fanless-i5-Mini-PC-Windows-Ba...

Jeff Atwood seems to like them (as routers): http://blog.codinghorror.com/the-scooter-computer/
Plus a culture of risk-avoidance, blame-shifting and bureaucracy-over-innovation.

I even feel the breath of having Ada (the language) enforced over all of us again, and similar ideas...

(Not that Ada is so bad as a language, it's more about the ideas of enforcement and top-down control...)
Publicizing the case themselves in a very good move.

However, the iPhone of the attacker is an iPhone 5C, which does not have Touch ID or a Secure Enclave. This means that the time between passcode unlock attempts is not enforced by the cryptographic coprocessor. More generally, there's no software integrity protection, and the encryption key is relatively weak (since it is only based on the user's passcode).

The amount of work needed to turn security into good user experience is phenomenal: https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf
A good anecdote but I disagree with the notion that Surface is not a laptop but a tablet. I use my Surface Pro 4 i5 as a laptop and it's a pretty good one at that.
Are they? We have no way to know as no modern language has the reach and widespread usage of something like C.

As much as I'd like to think Rust is a nice option for the future, everything leads me to believe that if it ever gets as widespread as C you will have the same caveats, because the main issue is not the language but the programmers using it.

No amount of hand holding and safety will prevent bad practices from being used when they prove efficient in one way or another (laziness is a real killer).
The issue they're talking about is that by creating a back door it's not limited to a single iPhone. Once there's a way in then anyone with that knowledge can use it on any iPhone to access encrypted data.

That seems a lot different from getting a search warrant and having the right to go through your belongings.
> I need to support content like ... feature requests

How do you accept feature requests with only a static backend?
I've discovered something for the company I worked for, wrote the patent draft and spent weeks trying to explain to the patent lawyers,who wrote the final version, how it worked. So I should have a good understanding of the topic, but yet, I honestly don't understand the granted version of the patent. It's total gibberish.
The security here is Apple's signing key that is used to sign updates. If you believe RSA is safe (which I assume is being used) and the key has a reasonable length, throwing a couple of millions at it won't bring you much.

I guess what the FBI wants is a backdoored iOS version and to have Apple sign it with their signing key (which means that the FBI can use it over and over again).
You're talking nonsense. Protecting users' privacy and keeping source code closed aren't mutually exclusive.
Following in Mozilla's footsteps? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9061592
C# Sadness
Those of us who grew up in the '90s naturally compare to that. No Cold War, "the end of history", little in the way of foreign wars (and a remarkably successful one in Serbia where it felt like we were the good guys and were successful with it), an economy so successful that the Clinton administration was having to make plans for what would happen if the Treasury stopped issuing bonds, what felt like a hopeful technological future...
> I don't think the USA has become a place where property can just be confiscated without reason

Civil Forefeiture has been a problem for a long time.
What im reading is that apple can remote install an update that disable encryption. They dont want to do it.

But that they have the capability is a bit scary.
I read a (software) patent for a job I was working a few weeks ago. I stumbled on the patent when doing a broad google search on the topic. I had to read it carefully because of the way it was worded, but I will admit that I came away from reading the patent understanding a novel way to solve a problem that I hadn't considered before. It was the first patent I read all the way through, on a topic I didn't have much experience in. Granted, a single paragraph on a forum or blog could have communicated the idea just as well.

In no way am I defending the current state of IP or patent law in the US (on the contrary, I would prefer abolishing all patent law over the current system). However, it's definitely not impossible to learn things from patents.
The default name mangling of Rust library symbols is already kinda versioned because it includes a hash of the library, so two different versions of a library can coexist at the same time.

As far explicitly using the symbol versioning scheme you mentioned, you can do it with an attribute today:

https://play.rust-lang.org/?gist=92be155702d53c6411b2&versio...

(Disclaimer: I haven't actually compiled this as a dynamic library and checked, but its what that attribute is for, and the names seem to be used verbatim in the ASM output)
I was surprised that they felt it necessary but its pre-emptive counter to a pretty common argument - that smartphone makers are aiding and abetting terrorists by providing them encryption tools.
Am I wrong to think that this brute forcing can still be applied when the raw memory chip is taken of the iPhone? The wipe-all-data-feature requires write access to the chip + some intelligence and monitoring. These capabilities should be physically removable from the actual memory chip, right?
Australian study finds higher lead levels are linked to violent crime
Well yes; look how this could play out on Main Street: "Apple supports terrorists by opposing Obama Admin's FBI investigation."
It's nice, but I have a pretty long list of gripes that pretty much prevent me from buying one.

Mushy keyboard. Average speakers. Lacklustre I/O port selection. Kinda average camera, despite its resolution. Headphone jack in a stupid place for laptop mode. No brightness controls on keyboard. Trackpad might look and feel nice, but it just isn't as good as the Mac's for palm rejection, and scrolling is still stuttery vs butter smooth on a Mac. Power connector has nothing on MagSafe.

Then there's the price. Woooah.

It's also an Ultrabook-esque machine. I'm not really wanting one of those. I'd be happy to take the thin tablet part, but mate it to a thicker base that gave me things like... RAM slots, a gruntier CPU, user serviceable storage, triple external display support.
That doesn't necessarily mean better! It about the hole package. See http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/The_Homer
Very impressive letter. They've expressed their position in language that a layman can understand, there's abundant evidence that they respect the intent of the law authorities, and even clearer evidence that they are drawing a line in the sand based on their principles. They will protect their customers.

I wish more companies could speak so clearly and courageously.
This looks really good. As a LastPass user, how does 1Password compare?
That is hard, we know. But it is not impossible for those with time, resources and willingness to think outside the box.

For instance, signing keys can and have been stolen, on the principle of "if you can't brute-force it, hack in and take it".

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/02/cooks-steal-security...

http://blogs.adobe.com/security/2012/09/inappropriate-use-of...

http://www.androidauthority.com/ssl-added-removed-google-moc...

http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/02/its-legal-for-g...
I second this. I've been a long-time fan of Lenovo (the X1 carbons are particularly good), but recently got a Dell XPS 13. Aside from the camera (which looks up your nose), they are really great machines.
It all depends on how you sell it!

If you advertise a salary 50% over market I'll do it.
Please read carefully. They don't have that capability. The FBI wants them to create it.
He's paying 2-3x market (although 2Gbps isn't huge). Cogent is pretty much bargain-basement, too.

I wish the industry would stop quoting prices they way we do (USD/Mbps, so e.g. $1.20/Mbps); Gbps is probably the right unit now, and it may make more sense to invert.

But there are lots of terms involved in a transit contract; unless you're buying tens of gigs, crossconnect, port cost, commit, etc. may be more meaningful than per-Mbps cost. And pricing often depends greatly on exactly where in a city you're buying (at IX, carrier neutral facility, etc. will be cheapest; off net building or monopoly building will be most expensive) -- and of course Cogent transit vs., say, Level(3) transit are only superficially the same.
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The letter describes it:

"The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer."
So what would you call it, a back gate? It still loosens the extant security measures, facilitating compromise. That's pretty backdoor-y in my book.
It's reducing the complexity of decryption (from O(∞) to O(2^n)), so it's clearly a backdoor.
Plot twist.

This is actually the result of a barter. The Gov gets to have some low level TOP-SECRET access in trade for this easy access code and that Apple gets to go public to keep the populace calm and pretend they are fighting this thing.
Treatment saved ~90% of terminal cancer patients, but it has scary side effects
It makes sense for them.

If they put a backdoor in iPhone for US government, they are effectively thrown out of Chinese market.

Interesting enough, what will Apple do if Chinese government demand they to decrypt/put backdoor in exchange of staying in the market?
You're not reading that, you're implying it. It doesn't say anything at all about remote installs, and it's not even suggested.
I don't have an iPhone so correct me if I'm remembering correctly but aren't they by default protected by a 4 digit numeric pin? A 4 digit numeric pin that a brute force attack can be used on is effectively no security/a backdoor imo.
Ask HN: What is something you wish you'd known before becoming a web developer?
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I'm really impressed that Apple is standing up to the government and protecting its users' rights. I've never really considered the iPhone worth the premium price tag, but policies like this have changed my mind.

Could someone answer a question I have though? The government wants Apple to create this backdoor and tailor it to the specific device, so presumably it will have a line that goes

if (!deviceID.equals("san_b_device_id"))
return;

To make the backdoor general purpose, this line would need to be removed. But doing so would invalidate the signature and it can't be resigned afterwards because the attacker won't have Apple's signing key. So is the open letter a matter of principle that they won't build any backdoor, now or in the future, rather than a specific concern about this backdoor?
Or if you're are resting your palm. Cold on winter, hot on summer, not really great UX.
> With the due legal process the police can search property, safety deposit boxes, bank accounts, vehicles, etc. etc. Why should a smartphone be any different just because Apple says it is ?

Because the "master key" alluded to in the letter is ethereal and can be duplicated (as opposed to handed over). This means:

- Since the key can be duplicated, there is no serious way to ensure that only the police (or any other legally entitled organ) can do the search. Anyone who can get it will have police-level access to anything and will be able to offer police-level access to anyone. The "anyone" in question can be a former policeman who hates life, some script kiddie, the Chinese and so on -- and neither of these people are likely to care much about the "due legal process".

- The police can trivially search it without the owner's knowledge and without leaving evidence. The high costs in time and money are a reasonable deterrent for searching property, vehicles etc. without the due legal process. For an electronic device, that cost is practically zero.

Regarding the first point -- for what it's worth, a while ago, army regulations here required that all doors have a physical lock and key, even if they also had an access code, for precisely this reason. The access code or the card swiping were used to log access (i.e. everyone had their own card, access codes could be logged so that you at least knew when someone was entering etc.) but when a door was supposed to be locked for good (e.g. labs not in use during the night), they were locked with real keys and sealed with old-fashioned wax seals. The rationale was that breaking the lock required quite a little time (and maybe even some door banging), increasing the chances that someone who tried to break in would be discovered, and physical evidence of a break-in was fairly hard to erase, as opposed to a purely electronic break-in which was quick to do (just enter the code). I don't know if this is true anymore, nor how common it was outside this part of the world, but it makes some sense.
Yeah. Loving your spouse and hiding things from them are also not mutually exclusive. Yet, you hardly find people that do both. Not to mention, this situation would never have arisen if iphone were open-sourced, since all activity would have been monitored by the community.
Is that evaluation somehow public, or could you share some details?
>They will protect their customers

Where is this stated so that I can claim damages if they break said promise.

I'm sorry, but how can it not be seen that it a really is bad sign that Apple has made this public. They may already have built the backdoor and this is a public stunt or no matter what you do, owning a smart is not that smart.
A year or so ago I was having the same dilemma, but then stumbled across Samsung Chronos. Previously I'd only seen the lower end of Samsung laptops and they were predictably crap. But the higher end Chronos' are something special, sleek design, solid build quality and decent specifications. My only quibble is that Samsung lean a little more towards Apple's design than HPs, so accessing components is a little harder work than I'd have liked. But the upside is my Chronos has excellent compatibility with Linux.

I'm very pleased with my laptop and would recommend the Chronos range to others.
> Huge props to Apple - here's hoping against hope that Google, Facebook, and Amazon get behind this.

Why against hope?
I was pleasantly surprised when I needed my Asus repaired under warranty here in Spain. Came and collected at my work, and returned it within 3 days.
So many little things that Apple just do better. I'd add some things to your list as well - the keyboards are nice and snappy, the machines are silent for general tasks, and the fans are generally quiet unless you're going crazy, with no stupid things like electrical noise / coil whine.

Even under heavy load you can sit the thing on your legs and it won't burn you. The machines are very sturdy and don't bend, so they remain level (unlike even the 'sturdy' Thinkpads). The rubber feet are svelte and not blocky and intrusive. There are no stupid panels to catch on clothing, or vents on the underside of the machine to get blocked.

Then there's stuff like MagSafe. And Thunderbolt (sure, USB 3.1 with Type C will do this stuff soon, but TBolt has done it for years already).
Trainspotting fan? https://noputhyfooting.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/choose-li...
It doesn't say anything about remote install - in fact it says "physical possession" several times.
read section 'Hardware Security Features' here: https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf
Well they seem to be saying that the approach they describe, to make a modified OS, would actually work to circumvent encryption on a preexisting device. That means that they already know the device is not really actually secure.

They aren't talking about putting a back door into systems to be used in the future, they are saying it's indeed feasible to place a backdoor on a device already out there and then use the backdoor to access the device. That means the device is not actually secure.
Mods: can you please update title to add some context?
>> (No current or former member of the bank’s management board was implicated.)

> It's very hard for me to feel bad for these people.

Why would anyone feel bad for them? They got what they wanted (bonuses), and didn't face any negative consequences (jail).
Link to the FBI order:
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2714001/SB-Shoote...

(Edit: deleted part where I was wrong. Thanks robbiet480 for correcting me. It's 2am here and I was tired.)

Also, prediction: if Apple refuses to build a brute forcer, someone else will do it and sell it to the FBI. Just wait and watch.
>> Nepal had passed its new constitution, which favored closer ties with China over India

Nepal passed the constitution barring a large section of its own population (Madehsis et al) from participation in the government function.

This has been the bone of contention. The barred ones are culturally tied to Indian state of Bihar, almost to the extent of having common identities.

There were violent protests in southern Nepal, and slowly the situation got out of control for Nepal government to handle. The same protesters were blocking the major connecting roads from the Nepalese side of border.
While on the Indian side there were long queues of trucks lined up.

It is rumored that Indian government helped orchestrating these protests, just as much as it is rumored that Chinese government influenced to keep the Madhesis out.

But at the end of day a that constitution is certainly failing in many aspects.
Li-Fi: From Illumination to Communication and Beyond
It's real. Sure, OS X was terrible in the early days. But then we got stuff like Tiger and Snow Leopard. It was clear progress. And now it isn't.
India's 4$ smartphone with quad core processor and 1 GB RAM
It's an idiom [1].

[1] - http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hope+against+hope
Apple must help Feds unlock San Bernardino killer's iPhone – judge
How is this like Stripe?
The sites are typically in a git repo, so content updates are through commits or pull requests.

For an example of feature requests that are ordered by status and number, see http://dev.myhdl.org/meps/
As an Italian living in France, I've noticed a pattern: several times, a circumflex in French corresponds to an "S" lost from its Latin origin.

Examples:

FR "coût" - EN "cost" - IT "costo" - LAT "constare"

FR "crêpe" - EN "crêpe" - IT "crespella" - LAT "crispus"

FR "tôt" - EN "soon" - IT "tosto" - LAT "tostus"

FR "château" - EN "castle" - IT "castello" - LAT "castellum"
Massive props to Apple, again I am impressed by their commitment to customer privacy.
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How is the touchpad? Is it comparable to Mac?

How is the highdpi screen on Linux?