Linked List: January 14, 2020

Tuesday, 14 January 2020

‘We Reject the Characterization That Apple Has Not Provided Substantive Assistance in the Pensacola Investigation’ ★

Scott Lucas, reporting for BuzzFeed News:

“We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation. Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing,” the company said in a statement. “We responded to each request promptly, often within hours, sharing information with FBI offices in Jacksonville, Pensacola and New York. The queries resulted in many gigabytes of information that we turned over to investigators. In every instance, we responded with all of the information that we had.”

But Apple said nothing about actually unlocking the gunman’s two iPhones. Instead, it reiterated its stance on privacy.

“We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys,” the company explained. “Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers. … We feel strongly encryption is vital to protecting our country and our users’ data.”

The big question remains unclear in all this coverage: did Apple refuse the DOJ’s request, or are they unable — technically — to fulfill the request? The DOJ continues to talk as though this is something Apple could do but refuses to. I believe it’s something Apple is mathematically unable to do. News coverage should make this clear.

Barr Asks Apple to Unlock Pensacola Killer’s Phones, Setting Up Clash ★

Katie Benner, reporting for The New York Times:

“We’re not trying to weaken encryption, to be clear,” Mr. Bowdich said at a news conference, noting that the issue has come up with thousands of devices that investigators want to see in other cases.

That’s exactly what they are trying to do. There is no magic way to allow law enforcement to access encrypted contents without allowing everyone else the same path. Mathematics doesn’t discern between “good guys” and “bad guys”.

Disney+ Was the Most Downloaded App in the US in Q4 2019 ★

Sarah Perez, reporting for TechCrunch:

U.S. consumers have shown strong interest in Disney’s new family-friendly streaming service, Disney+, according to new data from Sensor Tower, which focused on app trends in the final quarter of 2019. Following the app’s mid-November launch in the U.S., Disney+ was downloaded more than 30 million times in Q4 2019 — that’s more than double its next nearest competitor, TikTok, the firm said.

These total downloads were counted across both the Apple App Store and Google Play, with the App Store accounting for over 18 million of the Disney+ downloads and Google Play accounting for more than 12 million. This allowed the new streaming app to become the most downloaded app in the App Store and Google Play, individually, in addition to being the most downloaded app overall in the quarter.

Very impressive launch, both technically and marketing-wise.

Astros Manager and G.M. Fired Over Cheating Scandal ★

James Wagner, reporting for The New York Times:

It is an enduring part of baseball strategy: As a batter is at the plate, his teammates carefully watch a catcher’s fingers to figure out what pitch is about to be thrown.

And it’s all fair play as long as teams do not enhance the abilities of the naked eye and clever minds with either cameras or electronic devices that allow teammates to signal the batter whether a fastball or a breaking ball is on the way.

But that is exactly what the Houston Astros did during their 2017 championship-winning season, clouding that World Series title and causing one of baseball’s biggest cheating scandals in years, Major League Baseball officials said on Monday in a scathing report detailing the team’s scheme.

By the end of the day, Houston General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch — the two men who helped propel the Astros to the top of the sport — had been suspended and then fired, while their club was left with severe penalties for deploying a scheme involving cameras and monitors to decode the hand signals of catchers and tip off Houston batters. One of their favorite communication methods was banging on a trash can just outside the dugout.

Commissioner Manfred’s report (PDF) is a scathing read (with a crazy file name). My favorite part of this whole sad saga is the indignant way A.J. Hinch responded to allegations that the Astros were illegally signaling signs against the Yankees this postseason. My guess is it’s not “making him laugh” any more.

Put a big asterisk next to that 2017 World Series. What an embarrassing stain on the sport.