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The Practical-Effects Edition Friday, March 23, 2018

This Look Inside Spike Jonze's Apple Ad Is As Fascinating As The Film Itself, by Tim Nudd, AdWeek

The almost seven-minute mini-documentary, directed by Danilo Parra, explores all the creative disciplines in wonderful detail, shedding light on the challenges that the intricate piece presented every step of the way.

Apple To Prevent Siri From Reading Hidden Notifications On Lock Screen In Future Software Update, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

In a statement provided to MacRumors, Apple said "we are aware of the issue and it will be addressed in an upcoming software update."

Apple’s Getting Back Into The E-Books Fight Against Amazon, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The new app, due to be released in coming months, will include a simpler interface that better highlights books currently being read and a redesigned digital book store that looks more like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said.

Stuff

Apple Store App For iOS Adds ‘Sessions’ Feature, Improved In-store Experience, More, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

The Apple Store app now offers product and session recommendations, while it also clearly shows customers which of their “Favorite” products are in stock.

Apple Publishes Video Promoting The Use Of Face ID With Apple Pay, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Following on the heels of last week’s video highlighting the power of Face ID as a way to unlock the iPhone X, today Apple released an ad promoting the technology’s use with its Apple Pay service. The new video follows in last week’s tongue-in-cheek footsteps.

Notes

Yes, Cops Are Now Opening iPhones With Dead People's Fingerprints, by Thomas Fox-Brewster, Forbes

Separate sources close to local and federal police investigations in New York and Ohio, who asked to remain anonymous as they weren’t authorized to speak on record, said it was now relatively common for fingerprints of the deceased to be depressed on the scanner of Apple iPhones, devices which have been wrapped up in increasingly powerful encryption over recent years. For instance, the technique has been used in overdose cases, said one source. In such instances, the victim’s phone could contain information leading directly to the dealer.

[...]

Marc Rogers, researcher and head of information security at Cloudflare, told Forbes he’d been poking at Face ID in recent months and had discovered it didn’t appear to require the visage of a living person to work. Whilst Face ID is supposed to use your attention in combination with natural eye movement, so fake or non-moving eyes can’t unlock devices, Rogers found that the tech can be fooled simply using photos of open eyes.

Beg, Borrow Or Steal: How Trump Says China Takes Technology, by Carlos Tejeda, New York Times

Companies like Apple and Amazon have set up ventures with local partners to handle data in China — a requirement that Chinese officials say is driven by security and privacy concerns. Chinese officials have also pressured foreign companies to give them access to sensitive technology as part of a review process to make sure those products are safe for Chinese consumers.

The foreign companies involved, like Apple, argue that the sensitive data remains safeguarded. Technology companies say the reviews they submit to are not thorough enough to expose their deepest secrets. Chinese officials say many foreign companies voluntarily hand over technology.

Bottom of the Page

When I am old and alone, maybe Siri will then be good enough for a conversation or two in the middle of the night.

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Thanks for reading.