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Let's have an argument about encryption
Government officials have been vexed for quite some time now that they can't surveil communications that use end-to-end encryption. Never mind that to crack encrypted platforms open for one spy would mean to open them up for all spies. Just being able to roll WhatsApp, Telegram and iMessage into the Pentagon's bulk surveillance programs is good enough for them, thanks. Worrying about what that might mean to the intelligence gathering capabilities of their adversaries is apparently "not in their department."After the devastating attacks in Paris last Friday, U.S. officials wasted no time in using fear to insist that messaging apps using end-to-end encryption be "backdoored" for surveillance access, and rolled into the Pentagon's bulk surveillance programs.The internet, rather than treating the officials like children who want to smash the family piggy bank to collect copper pennies, has decided to argue with them.
Anonymous goes to war with ISIS over Paris attacks
In the wake of ISIS' coordinated attacks on Paris Friday night that left 129 civilians dead and scores more injured, the loosely-affiliated hacker collective known as Anonymous announced Sunday the launch of a massive cyber-campaign, dubbed #OPParis, designed to scrub the terrorist organization's influence from the internet while French airstrikes wipe ISIS strongholds off the map. "We can not fight them with guns and rifles," an Anonymous spokesperson told the BBC, "stopping their propaganda is an effective way to weaken their manpower and their presence in the Internet."
Airbnb helps Paris attack victims' families find free places to stay
Facebook isn't the only internet giant offering a helping hand in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. Airbnb has launched a portal that helps anyone affected by the attacks find (or offer) a free place to stay. If you're determined to meet with a family member or got stuck in the city during border closures, you won't have to pay a thing -- Airbnb is waiving its service fees at the same time. You have to check in no later than November 17th, but that's about the only condition involved.
Facebook expands scope of Safety Checks following Paris attacks
Facebook originally built its Safety Check feature to help you reassure friends and family in the wake of natural disasters. However, the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and beyond have prompted a change of heart. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook will invoke Safety Check for "human disasters" from Paris onward. Simply put, the social network wants to make the tool available "whenever and wherever" it can help -- the company is aware that its policies have been inconsistent (responding to some tragedies but not others, for example) and need improvement. There's no certainty that Facebook has completely addressed the complaints with Safety Check, but here's hoping that we don't have to find out for a long, long time to come. [Image credit: AP Photo/Peter Dejong]
Arrested Uber France executives will stand trial on September 30th
The two Uber executives who were arrested yesterday will stand trial on September 30th, according to Reuters. Uber France CEO Thibaud Simphal and European GM Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty stand accused of running an illegal ride-sharing service, as well as "concealing digital documents" from the authorities. The service in question is UberPOP, which connects passengers to amateur drivers, something that's angered the nation's professional taxi drivers.
France's anti-drone drone can spot malicious pilots in under a minute
Paris has been hit with a spate of anonymously-piloted drones flying over key landmarks, government buildings and even a nuclear power station. It's not been clear if it's a group of amateurs with bad timing or something more coordinated, which has spooked the locals and law enforcement alike. Thankfully, French firm ECA has been quick to respond to the potential threat, building an anti-drone drone that can hunt down drones and identify their pilots.
Court rules that UberPOP cars can still pick you up in Paris
Uber's Paris headquarters were recently raided by 25 policemen, but a court has now ruled that its disputed UberPOP service is actually honky-dory -- for now. The company's low-cost ridesharing option uses non-professional drivers, a practice that French authorities have called unlawful (its other services use professional drivers and are legal). However, the decision is more of a reprieve than a victory for Uber. Paris's Cour d'Appel merely passed the buck to a higher appeals court on whether or not to ban UberPOP. Still, it means Uber can continue to operate the service in Paris until at least June, when a new constitutional court ruling is due.
Uber suspends French driver accused of sexual assault
French news daily Le Parisien reports that Uber has suspended one of its French drivers after his arrest on sexual assault charges. This follows Its UberPop service being banned (again) in Germany, the company's offices in both France and South Korea being raided by the police and the UN flat out refusing to work with them. In India, Uber has had to begin collecting safety information throughout New Delhi after one of the company's driver was charged with rape.
Paris spooked by mystery drone flights
Paris has an unusual (and rather nerve-wracking) flying robot problem on its hands. Residents have spotted drones illegally flying over city landmarks over the past two evenings, including hotspots like the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides military museum and the US embassy. Some of the machines have been caught on camera, but there aren't really any clues as to who's responsible. The pilots could be innocuous enthusiasts trying to get some sweet overhead video footage... or they could be organizations (whether activists or terrorists) scouting locations ahead of an operation. And as much as security forces might like to shoot the drones down or jam their signals, there's a concern that they'll crash into highly populated areas. As such, it might be a good while before you find out who's freaking out Parisians with unmanned flights. [Image credit: AG Photographe/Getty]
Exploring modern Paris to find the roots of Assassin's Creed Unity
The French Revolution! The only part of history class you didn't sleep through, thanks to the drama, intrigue and of course, Reign of Terror. Paris circa 1790 is undoubtedly the star of Unity, Ubisoft's next Assassin's Creed chapter. Sure, the game looks damn nice and brings new gameplay elements like four-player "Brotherhood" co-op missions, murder mysteries, heists and so on. But Ubisoft did extensive research on the period to bring historically accurate details of iconic spots like the catacombs, Notre Dame Cathedral and even the Bastille, which was destroyed over 300 years ago. To show how far it went, the French game company gave us an inside look on the art direction, level design and more, topping it off with a tour of the centerpiece -- Paris. To see if it succeeded, read on.
Fashion boutique Colette shows off Apple Watch
The world of fashion and the world of Apple collide today in Paris at the famed Colette fashion boutique. Rather than a runway walk of skinny models wearing the latest couturier styles, Apple and Colette are showing off next year's fashion -- the Apple Watch. The event started at 11 AM local time, with a long line snaking outside the retailer's shop on Rue Saint-Honoré. TUAW sister site Engadget says that Colette is displaying both versions -- 38mm and 42mm -- of the Apple Watch, with most of the watches being from the Apple Watch Sport Collection. Being that the display was at Collette, it wasn't surprising that several watches from the Apple Watch Edition Collection were also on view. Those watches feature 18-karat gold casings, sapphire displays, and an expected price tag of up to US$1,200. Apple senior vice president of design Jony Ive was on hand with his buddy and new Apple designer Marc Newson. Both had their pictures snapped with fashion notables such as Karl Lagerfeld and Vogue magazine's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Apple invited fashion industry bloggers and editors to the September 9 launch event as well, as the company is planning on positioning Apple Watch as not only a consumer product, but as a fashion accessory as well. [Image credit: Papasoey/Instagram]
Apple Watch makes first public appearance at Paris Fashion Week
Colette is one of those ultra-hip Paris shops that may tempt you with its eclectic toys, clothing, tech and art -- until you see the prices. For Fashion Week in Paris, it's about to have a shiny new bauble: the Apple Watch. The store has announced a one-day only preview of the 1.53- or 1.33-inch wearable so that le public can see it for the first time. So far, only the press have glimpsed it, though we couldn't try any functions since it was just running a demo program. Apple told us that it'll be a strictly look-but-don't-touch event, with no new details -- and there's no word if Colette will actually sell it yet. If you happen to be in Paris though, you can see it now in it the fancy window display (which resembles the Watch interface) or brave the crowds in the store starting at 11:00 AM. [Image credit: Papasoey/Instagram]
Stroll through modern Paris as the voice of Gollum narrates its bloody past
Should you want to take a virtual stroll through Paris before neck-stabbing your way around the City of Love in Assassin's Creed: Unity, the game's publisher Ubisoft has you covered. With the Project Widow web app, you can explore La Ville-Lumière in a Google Street-View-esque fashion, picking up tidbits of trivia and watching game-themed rap videos (seriously) along the way. The disembodied voice of mo-cap master Andy Serkis cropping up, however, is the real treat. As noted by Joystiq, his in-character accounts of the Bastille and Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom from the view of a French Revolutionary are pretty great stuff. Maybe, just maybe, if the voice of Gollum had taught my world history class I wouldn't need a video game to help me catch up on Louis the XVI's excesses.
TravelbyArt lets you discover the Paris of famous artists
TravelbyArt (free with one in-app purchase) is a unique iPhone app designed for seeing Paris through the eyes of some of the artists who worked there. The app contains detailed looks at the lives of Ernest Hemingway, Edith Piaf and Pablo Picasso during their years in Paris. You'll be led to places like Hemingway's favorite eateries (many are still open) and where he lived. There are also photos and built-in maps, with a button to transfer to Apple Maps for directions. All in all, the app contains 20 tours you can follow to absorb the life of these artists -- that's more than most other guides provide. Phone numbers are even provided so you can make reservations at restaurants and other tourist stops. I have an interesting history with this app. The developers let me look at it in August of 2014, but I rejected the review because a purchase was required to see anything in depth. There wasn't enough content in the free version for anyone to make an informed purchase decision. That issue is fixed now, and the Hemingway section is complete and available in the free app. If you want the other tours, it's a US$6.99 in-app purchase, which I think is reasonable given the uniqueness of the content. It's nice to see app developers be responsive and make the app better for customers. If you're interested in art, literature and music, and planning a trip to Paris, I recommend TravelbyArt. I found it easy to use, loaded with information you will want to discover, and it's a fresh approach to travel. The in-app purchase also includes a restaurant guide linking to the lives of the artists. I think the app should be universal to help in planning a trip to Paris, but you can run it on an iPad in 2x mode. TravelbyArt requires iOS 7 or later, and it worked smoothly on the latest iOS 8 beta.
'Watch Dogs' web app turns real data into a virtual surveillance state
It seems like there's even more truth to developer Ubisoft's ode-to-hackers, Watch Dogs, than we first thought. Like we've previously reported, the game's depiction of a smart city that connects drawbridges, traffic lights and its population's smartphones (among other things) all to a single operating system is closer to fact than science-fiction, but the game studio has taken the notion one step further. With the We Are Data web app, you can wade through maps of publicly available geo-location information like tweets, Foursquare check-ins and even traffic light and CCTV camera placement -- all stuff you can find in the game's Chicago. As of now, you can only live out your Aiden Pearce fantasies with info from neighborhoods in London, Berlin and Paris, but there's quite a bit to click on should you be so inclined. The available datasets aren't nearly as extensive as, say, something like Urban Observatory's, but it's pretty neat nonetheless. If searching for public restroom-locations from your desk isn't quite your cup of tea, you could always leave the browser tab open in the background -- its ambient city sounds are oddly calming.
Uber's offering private jets for the rich kids of Cannes
It's already the hate-figure for taxi drivers, but now Uber wants to alienate the rest of the 99 percent. The smartphone-based cab service is launching UberJET, a private airline service that'll operate during the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival. Between May 12th and May 18th, users can book an Uber Black car to take them to Paris' Bourget airport, where a jet, operated by Goodwill Airlines, will fly you to Nice, and then a second car will drive you down the road to Cannes. The price for the service is €6,490 ($8,930), and you're able to split that between three other passengers during the journey. Assuming, that is, that you haven't just decided to get the train -- it may be five hours long, but it'll only set you back $200.
Access Twitch servers from Paris, with love
Gameplay broadcasting platform Twitch announced the addition of servers in Paris, France, bolstering the service's stability in Europe. The Paris addition is just the latest in a string of Twitch overhauls; Twitch also upgraded its infrastructure this month in Dallas and London while Los Angeles got a facelift back in January. December saw an upgrade for Amsterdam, as well as a new a "point-of-presence" in Prague. Of course, this good news will particularly surface when Joystiq Streams eventually tours the globe, streaming games like Dark Souls 2 and Infamous: Second Son from exotic locales (hey, one can hope). Twitch's improvements in the past few months go beyond its infrastructure, as the company launched support for iOS and Android game streaming, as well as its app for Xbox One. Twitch also inked a deal to become E3's official streaming partner for three years following its corporate umbrella name change in February. [Image: Twitch]
Upstagram flies an adorable little house over Paris, streams the view to Instagram
Replete with an appropriately Up-inspired house made of paper and foam, the Hackerloop tinkerers tethered it (and its Raspberry Pi contents) to roughly 90 balloons and sent it into the Paris skies. After reverse-engineering the Instagram posting process to work sans smartphone, the team managed to capture 400 stills and have reposted the highlights to their own, separate Instagram account. (Judging from our own experiences with life-logging photography, they've done us a huge favor.) Naturally, such reverse-engineering isn't looked upon fondly by the image-sharing social network, and the team reckons that the other account could get shut down soon, so you'd best visit the highlights at the source link -- and there's also a making of video after the break.
Apple seeks a way to make the iPhone a success in Russia
Russian Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev takes a picture of the Eiffel Tower with his smartphone during a meeting, on November 27, 2012, at French employers association MEDEF's headquarters in Paris. (Photo credi:ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images) As Apple enthusiasts worldwide gear up for an imminent release of the new iPhone, Apple wants to make sure that Russian citizens don't miss out. Apple has sent some of its top executives "to meet with key distributors to revisit how it sells devices" in Russia. TechCrunch reports that Russia has experienced a short supply of iPhones, challenges working with carriers and had a grey market in the past. Hopefully these talks will result in better availability and easier access to iPhones for Russian consumers. TechCrunch reports that Svyaznoy, a key distributor in Russia, sells half the iPhones sold in Russia in its 3,300 stores. Other distributors of mobile phones may never get iPhones to sell or face high subsidy costs. A July article on AppleInsider reported that three Russian carriers dropped the iPhone due to marketing costs and subsidies. As Ingrid Lunden of TechCrunch notes, if Apple launches a lower-cost iPhone, it "has a shot of killing two birds with one stone in emerging markets ... Apple can use it as an opportunity to finally give consumers there the supply that it has been demanding ... finally bring more users into the fold."
We're live from the 2013 Paris Air Show!
While you were sleeping earlier today, we were getting trampled by crazed commuters at a train station, overheated in a steamy bus that inched through traffic at one mile per hour, and soaked by heavy rains and an overflowing airport sewage system. But all in all, it was a pretty fantastic day. That's due in no small part to the dozens of incredible aircraft we had a chance to get up close and personal with, the fighter jets demonstrating slow flight and vertical climbs a few hundred feet above the ground, and the A350 cockpit we stumbled upon in the Airbus booth. Yes, we're here at the 2013 Paris Air Show -- France's gigantic biennial aviation fest. It's more or less like any other trade show we've visited in the past few weeks, just instead of tablet accessories, we're digging through aircraft components, and the Airbus A350 is this expo's Zenbook Infinity. There's been no shortage of press on TV and all over the web today, so you're probably familiar with the show's theme: Airbus versus Boeing. Sure, that's more or less been the case every time Le Bourget Airport has opened its doors to the aviation community, but with the Dreamliner's recent dilemma and the A350's budding ascendance, the competition this year is furious. But we'll leave the industry analysis to aviation publications -- we're here for the gear. And some pretty ambitious flight demos. You can catch more of today's action in our video after the break.%Gallery-191618%
