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President Obama not allowed to use an iPhone for security reasons
US President Barack Obama has revealed that he is not allowed to use an iPhone due to security fears. Speaking to a group of young people at an event promoting the new healthcare law, Obama said, "I'm not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone," reports SecurityWeek. The president then added that his daughters Sasha and Malia love their iPhones, however. It is, of course, ironic that the president is not allowed to use the iPhone, as the device and iOS are generally considered one of the most secure smartphones and mobile operating systems. However, one can reasonably see why the president of United States might require more security than normal on his mobile device. For that security, the president uses a modified BlackBerry that the Secret Service approved around the time of his inauguration.
President Obama's Twitter and Facebook accounts targeted in Syrian Electronic Army hack
After tackling The New York Times, Twitter images and several other high-profile social media accounts, the Syrian Electronic Army has now struck the online presence of President Obama. A string of tweets were sent from the @BarrackObama account and messages posted to the President's Facebook fan page earlier today with links to SEA YouTube content. The source of the breach has been traced to a third-party URL shortener and not a takeover of the accounts themselves, letting the hackers redirect any links sent out by members of Organizing for Action to SEA links. It also appears that the organization was able to gain access to a campaign-related Gmail account as it posted a screenshot of the inbox. Control of the URL tool looks to be back in the hands of Obama's team as Facebook links are no longer redirecting, but Obama's official Twitter handle has been suspended for the time being.
Weekly Roundup: Moto X review, LG G2 hands-on, Apple's next iPhone event, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Obama's response to NSA scandal, Distro Issue 102, NVIDIA's second generation Surface, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
President Obama meets with Tim Cook, other tech execs to discuss surveillance
On Thursday, President Barack Obama met with Tim Cook and other tech executives from companies like Google and AT&T to discuss government surveillance, reports Politico. Civil liberties leaders were also at the closed-door meeting. The White House declined to comment about the details of the meeting, and all the attendees also declined to comment to Politico about any specifics. However, a White House aide did tell Politico: "This is one of a number of discussions the administration is having with experts and stakeholders in response to the president's directive to have a national dialogue about how to best protect privacy in a digital era, including how to respect privacy while defending our national security." These meetings are no doubt in response to the PRISM document leaks that occurred in June. These documents revealed that major tech companies may be cooperating with the US government to gather surveillance data about users.
How one ITC commissioner's dissent opinion cleared the way for veto of Apple product ban
For those of you that have an interest in patent law or an interest in the ITC's ruling in the Apple-Samsung case, which President Barack Obama just vetoed, then you should check out this piece from Philip Elmer-DeWitt. In the piece, Elmer-Dewitt explains how the ITC's original ruling forced the first presidential veto in a quarter century thanks to the dissent of Dean Pinkert, one of the six ITC commissioners. Most notably, Pinkert said that Samsung had failed to make a reasonable FRAND patent offer to Apple because the offer it did make came with strings attached... strings it knew Apple could not agree with. Specifically, Samsung wanted Apple to license non-essential iPhone patents to the company in return for its FRAND patents. This made it appear Apple was being unreasonable, thus incurring the ITC's original ban on some of its products. This led Pinkert to write in his dissent that "it is neither fair nor non-discriminatory for the holder of the FRAND-encumbered patent to require licenses to non-FRAND-encumbered patents as a condition for licensing its patent." Elmer-Dewitt theorizes that this set the stage for something the Obama administration, and the ITC itself, wanted: a strong sign via a presidential veto that signaled the United States was serious about putting an end to unreasonable patent lawsuits. Whether or not the presidential veto will have a lasting effect on patent lawsuits in the United States remains to be seen, however many in the industry believe it will jump-start much-needed patent reform in the country.
Weekly Roundup: Moto X preview, Nexus 7 review, Chromecast review, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Obama vetoes ITC ban on older AT&T-compatible iPhones and iPads (update: Samsung responds)
Remember that ITC ban on the import, sale and distribution of some AT&T-compatible iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G models Samsung won in June? The Obama administration has officially vetoed the ruling. A letter issued to Irving A. Williamson, Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission ITC, explains that the decision considers the ban's "effect on competitive conditions in the U.S. economy and the effect on U.S. consumers." If you'll recall, the case focused on patent 7,706,348 for encoding mobile communications, which Samsung claimed the aforementioned devices infringed upon. The administration notes that despite his decision on the ruling, Samsung will still be able to "pursue its rights through the courts" (i.e. monetary compensation, etc.). In a statement to All Things Digital, an Apple representative notes: We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case. Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way. You can peruse the full four-page memo for yourself at the source link. Update: Courtesy of 9to5Mac, here's Samsung's response: We are disappointed that the U.S. Trade Representative has decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC's decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license.
Verizon asks President Obama to veto iPhone ban
Last June, ITC handed down an order banning Apple from importing older AT&T-based models of the iPhone and iPad after finding that they infringed upon a Samsung patent. The specific models encompassed by the ban include the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and the first two generations of the iPad. The ITC ruling is final, and the only way for Apple to get around it is to secure a presidential veto. The ban is scheduled to go into effect on August 5th, and while the iPhone 3G and 3GS aren't active devices in Apple's product line, the iPhone 4 still continues to sell impressively well. Consequently, Apple isn't the only entity worried about the impending product ban. To that end, Verizon lawyer Randal Milch penned an article in today's Wall Street Journal imploring President Obama to step in and veto the ITC ban. Remember that the ban only affects AT&T-based models of the iPhone, but Verizon sees a larger public policy issue here that needs addressing. Unless the administration intervenes, the ban could be in effect by August 5. High-tech products can implicate thousands of patents. If the ITC finds that a product infringes even a single one, it can stop the product at the border. But that's basically it. The commission can't levy much in the way of a lesser penalty. In the end the consumer suffers when the use of such an enforcement tool is unwarranted. ... What we have warned is that patent litigation at the ITC-where the only remedy is to keep products from the American public-is too high-stakes a game for patent disputes. The fact that the ITC's intellectual-property-dispute docket has nearly quadrupled over 15 years only raises the stakes further. It remains to be seen if Obama ultimately decides to intervene, but history certainly isn't on Apple's side. The last U.S. President to veto an ITC import ban was Ronald Reagan who did so in 1987. Indeed, Milch articulates that the dearth of Presidential vetos over the last few decades underscores the notion that the import-ban power wielded by the ITC is unchecked. Apple, meanwhile, filed a motion a few weeks ago arguing that if the ITC ban is upheld, it will make the ITC an "outlier internationally and domestically" to the extent that the ruling renders "meaningless a FRAND commitment made to a standard-setting organization." Recall that the Samsung patent at issue here is subject to a technological standard, meaning that Samsung is obligated to license it to Apple on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. Apple also pointed out that the ruling runs counter to the very mission of the ITC itself, which is to protect American-based companies from unfair competition.
Data.gov redesign preview modernizes public data delivery
While we know the government's spying on our personal data, what's it doing with all of the public info it gathers? President Obama's answer to that question was creating Data.gov, a portal that publishes, among other things, public school funding amounts. Four years on, though, and the site looks and navigates like a product of its time. The modern redesign that launched today as a preview is part of this May's Open Data Executive Order that hopes to graft non-proprietary and machine-readable data formats "into the Federal Government's DNA." The homepage combines published research from a range of headings -- education, energy, finance, global development, health, research and safety -- and the tweets of public servants about said data, into one river of news. It's cool to see the government taking charge and making all this easier to access, but we're wondering how much it'll cost us next April.
President Obama responds to PRISM concerns, clarifies scope of snooping
If you've missed the news on PRISM and the hugely disconcerting allegations that the NSA is basically tracking everything you do on the internet and every call you make on your cellphone, we're guessing that's because you're stuck in a cave that has access to neither technology. The allegations are incredibly troubling to say the least, and President Obama this afternoon took the time to address them -- albeit briefly. For one thing, he clarified that "nobody is listening to your phone calls," indicating that people are looking at metadata about those calls (destinations, length, etc.) rather than the calls themselves. Additionally, he clarified the internet side of the program thusly: "Internet monitoring is only for those outside United States; we have to balance keeping America safe with privacy concerns." That's great for Americans, but perhaps a bit troubling for everyone else. This more or less echoes the statements made yesterday by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence. President Obama also reminded that this program predates his taking office, and that he himself was skeptical but has come around to the program, stating that this is something "Americans should feel comfortable about." Well, then, how comfortable do you feel? Let us know in comments. Update: The Wall Street Journal has a full transcript of President Obama's comments.
Obama administration announces initiative to target patent trolls, protect consumers
The White House announced an initiative today to curb the use of patents by patent holders as a tool for "frivolous litigation," and to protect "Main Street retailers, consumers and other end-users of productions containing patented technology." The initiative's inception is composed of legislative recommendations to Congress and a handful of executive actions being carried out directly by the White House -- it's essentially an initiative targeting patent trolls. Administration officials wouldn't say which congressional representatives might propose bills carrying the White House's recommendations; they characterized today's announcement as part of the administration's ongoing effort to reform patent law. Though the terms are broad, a senior Obama administration official told Engadget that today's announcement is "specifically designed to deal with abusive patent legislation" rather than sweeping patent reform, and is, "not designed in any way to pursue legit patent rights holders." The executive actions (five in total) range from making sure that patent holders are clearly identified -- meant to target patent trolls that intentionally confuse litigation with myriad "shell" companies -- to providing more clear information on patent use to consumers who may be targeted by patent trolls. The legislative recommendations list includes many of the same provisions as the executive actions, and adds even more protections for individual consumers (a stay in suits that target consumers when "an infringement suit has also been brought against a vendor, retailer, or manufacturer," for instance).
Obama to propose plan targeting Patent Trolls
With well over $100 billion in the bank, it's no great surprise that Apple, more than any other company on the planet, finds itself on the receiving end of lawsuits initiated by patent trolls. In 2012 alone, Apple was hit with 44 lawsuits from patent trolls, otherwise known as non-practicing entities (NPE). Seemingly, barely a week goes by without news of an obscure and often shady company taking Apple to court for allegedly infringing upon some questionable patent that was acquired second or third hand. While many topics in the tech world are often the cause of intense and passionate debate, the one issue that seemingly everyone can agree upon is that patent trolls are nothing more than poisonous entities looking to make a quick buck by piggybacking off of the success of others. Lodsys, for example, comes to mind. All that said, there may be good news on the horizon. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce a new plan intent on minimizing the prevalence and impact of lawsuits brought forth by patent trolls. All told, Obama's plan includes five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations. Mr. Obama's actions, which include measures he wants Congress to consider, are intended to target firms that have forced technology companies, financial institutions and others into costly litigation to protect their products. These patent-holding firms amass portfolios of patents more to pursue licensing fees than to build new products. ... To help deter questionable lawsuits, the Obama administration plans to, among other things, direct the Patent and Trademark Office to start a rule-making process aimed at requiring patent holders to disclose the owner of a patent, according to senior Obama administration officials. Businesses sometimes are sued by shell companies and don't always know who actually owns the patent they are being accused of infringing, and whether the firm holds other relevant patents. Obama's plan will also seek to pass legislation which would slap patent trolls with sanctions when they initiate lawsuits which are found to be abusive. To his credit, Obama appears to appreciate the threat patent trolls can have on the innovative process and, by extension, the American economy. Back in February, for instance, he remarked that patent trolls exist solely to "leverage and hijack somebody else's idea and see if they can extort some money out of them." Political leanings aside, I imagine that that's a sentiment most people can get behind. What's more, Obama will reportedly recommend that the USPTO to take a more discerning look at overly broad technology patents insofar as they are typically the type of patents wielded by patent trolls. After all, if conveniently vague and seemingly useless patent applications aren't granted in the first place, patent trolls won't have any patents to pester other companies with to begin with. Lastly, the Journal notes that Obama's plan will also seek to limit the extent to which companies can utilize the International Trade Commission (ITC) to seek import bans against competing products. As it stands now, Apple has a few cases of its own pending at the ITC.
The Daily Roundup for 05.10.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
President Obama issues executive order to make government data open and machine readable
Remember Data.gov? The President does, and he has issued an executive order that should give the information portal a shot in the arm. Starting this week, new and modernized Government information systems should use open and machine readable formats by default, adhering to the guidelines of a new Open Data Policy. The policy requires agencies to use open, machine readable formats that are non-proprietary, publicly available and unrestricted, and aims to put useful data in the hands of US companies while increasing privacy and security. According to the White House blog, this means new data will be served in CSV, XML, JSON and other machine readable formats, and will even be accessible via API in some situations. The White House hopes the new policy will help foster innovation. "There are private companies using open data to fight credit card fraud; consumers using open data to save on their energy bills; families leveraging open data to compare health care options; and a host of new apps and tools in areas ranging from public safety, to financial planning, to education, and more," the blog explains. "We are very excited about the path ahead and can't wait to see what new ideas and yet to be imagined innovations can be unlocked by increased access to open data." Head past the break to read the executive order for yourself, and check out the source PDF for a peek at the new Open Data Policy.
President Obama nominates Tom Wheeler as next FCC Chairman
Not that there was much doubt after yesterday, but President Obama has just officially nominated Tom Wheeler to be the next Chairman of the FCC. In a statement, outgoing Chairman Julius Genachowski says that he has known Wheeler personally and professionally for almost 20 years, and says that with his "deep policy expertise and his first-hand experience as a technology investor, he is a superb choice to advance the FCC's mission of promoting innovation, investment, competition, and consumer protection." Much of that experience comes from Wheeler's role as a venture capitalist and lobbyist, which has up until now included spots on the boards of companies like Roundbox, UpdateLogic, Twisted Pair Solutions, EarthLink and TNS -- plus previous tenures at both the NCTA and CTIA. He's also been publicly commenting on a range of issues on his Mobile Musings blog, which saw its last entry in December of last year. As expected, current FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will serve as interim Chair pending Wheeler's confirmation.
US Federal judge finds National Security Letters' gag provision unconstitutional
Woo, boy. You know those National Security Letters that the FBI has been issuing at its own discretion -- the ones Google has been doing its best to track? Judge Susan Illston of Federal District Court in San Francisco just found 'em unconstitutional. As the story goes, NSLs arrive from the factory with a gag order on the recipient, and as Illston sees it, forbidding the recipient from "disclosing that they had received such an order." So, she's suggesting that the whole thing should be banned under the First Amendment. Moreover, she's ordering the US government to stop enforcing the gag provision in any lingering cases, though she reportedly "stayed her order for 90 days to give the government a chance to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." Needless to say, the move comes as a blow to the existing administration's surveillance practices, but something tells us this isn't the last word we'll be hearing on the matter. Hit up the links below for a look at the decision.
Google to host second Presidential Google+ Hangout on February 14th (video)
It's not quite as traditional as baseball and apple pie, but you've got to start somewhere. Following last year's success, Google is once again hosting a Presidential Google+ chat days after the State of the Union address, on February 14th at 4:50PM Eastern. The Fireside Hangout will see President Obama answer the most voted-for questions from Americans live, with a seasoned panel joining him for the discussion. It's arguably one of our better chances at getting answers about policies that we wouldn't get from a formal speech -- as such, those who can put aside nostalgia for old-fashioned Fireside Chats will likely get their fill at the source link.
Follow the Presidential inauguration with the official Inaugural 2013 app
Earlier today, Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as the 44th president of the United States. Although the public inaugural is Monday, legally the President is installed by 12 noon on January 20; when that date lands on a Sunday, the swearing-in is done twice, with the second public event as a ceremonial repeat of the private but legal oath. If you want to follow along with all the inauguration news, check out the official Inaugural 2013 iPhone app. The app, produced by AT&T, will offer a live stream of all the ceremony's events. The app also gives you up to the minute news, interactive maps, and a breakdown of the various venues that are hosting inauguration celebrations and ceremonies. One bit of POTUS trivia: this inauguration will be the fourth time President Obama has been sworn in as President of the United States, matching Franklin D. Roosevelt's record. Though Roosevelt was elected four times and Obama only twice, President Obama had to be sworn in twice at the beginning of his first term of office in 2009; Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed a line in the oath. In that year, one day after the official inauguration, President Obama was sworn in again with the properly-worded oath. Inaugural 2013 is a free download from the App Store.
Obama orders CDC to study violence in video games
While violence in video games and the effect upon its participants wasn't at the crux of today's gun control press conference, President Obama did mention that he is sending the Center for Disease Control after the industry to root out a possible cause of gun violence. One of Obama's 23 executive orders was to "Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence." Among these potential causes are movies, television, and video games. The President defended the order by saying, "We don't benefit from ignorance. We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence. Congress should fund research into the effects violent video games have on young minds." Vice President Joe Biden previously met with several video game industry leaders as part of the task force to make recommendations on the issue.
