Technology
The Justice Department calls Apple’s privacy justifications a “flexible shield” for financial gain
The US Department of Justice sued Apple on Thursday over monopolistic practices. The grievance accuses Apple of shaping its privacy and security practices in a way that advantages the corporate financially.
One quote specifically stands out, through which the Department of Justice calls Apple’s privacy and security justification a “flexible shield”:
“Apple uses privacy and security justifications as a flexible shield that can expand or contract to serve Apple’s financial and business interests,” it says.
“Apple cloaks itself in a cloak of privacy, security and consumer preference to justify its anticompetitive behavior. Indeed, it spends billions on marketing and branding to promote the self-serving assumption that only Apple can protect consumers’ privacy and security interests.”
That’s not all – there are several other cases where the Department of Justice believes Apple is flexing privacy to degrade customer satisfaction:
App Store and application distribution
It was also identified that Apple doesn’t allow the creation and use of different app stores. However, the grievance notes that it allows governments and enterprise customers to put in secure app stores. It also stated that developers are unable to supply a separate app store for children presently. It is value noting that a few of these have partially modified with the EU’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). (Some changes only apply to the EU region.)
The Department of Justice identified that Apple allows users to simply load applications on a Mac. The Department of Justice says developers can moreover distribute apps on the platform with fewer restrictions. The Justice Department also argued that Apple was restricting “super apps” that would provide a higher alternative to accessing services within the App Store.
The news
The Department of Justice also accused Apple of restricting third-party apps from receiving SMS messages from carriers. Apple is claimed to mark SMS as “private” in its API documentation so other developers cannot access them. Apple allows users to text anyone by entering their number within the “to:” field within the Messages app, but this is not possible with other messaging apps, the grievance says.
The plaintiff also argued that Apple reduces the safety of iPhones by failing to implement encryption protection when iPhone users send messages to Android users.
Data Sharing Practices
The grievance also accuses Apple of using “vast amounts of personal and sensitive data” to distribute apps by itself App Store. He also criticized the Cupertino company for using user data for promoting purposes.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that Apple entered into agreements with Google to make the service the default search engine for Safari, regardless that Apple knew there have been higher privacy-focused alternatives.
The Justice Department also argued that users must share information with Apple to make use of the digital wallet, not only share it with a bank or medical facility.
Essentially, the Justice Department argues that Apple’s privacy and security practices are pretextual and that the corporate is taking “alternative courses” to guard its monopoly.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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