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Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

techcrunch.com

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Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#351

Post by mrb »

drinchev wrote: post #107
pilif wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. And how exactly do we check this? Why is it that we can still trust Apple? For all we know, the data gets sent directly to the NSA or, if it doesn't, there might be some secret backdoor that will make the device send the data at a later point. The last round of leaks was specifically talking about backdoors with all bigger US companies in order to circumvent encryption. That's what I means by "we have to conside…

I'm pretty sure, when they jailbreak it the truth will come out. And I doubt Apple would take the risk for lying about that.

Well, as a computer/network security professional, historically there are plenty examples of companies who have lied about the security of their systems (eg. "without your password, our flash drives cannot be decrypted" when in fact the key is not related to the password and stored in plaintext in a sector on the drive).

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#352

Post by cheald »

melling wrote: post #327
cheald wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the exact sort of attitude that has permitted us to get to the point where we even have to have a conversation about the government being engaged in massively intrusive spying programs. "I don't want to hear your whining about it" is a means of condoning these actions through silence. You are a part of the problem. If you can comprehend what is going on here, you should be loud and obnoxious about it. Get peo…

Essentially, you are asking me to discuss my politics here, where I draw the line, etc in a thread about the iPhone 5s. I know where you stand. I heard you the first ten times. I'm not trying to stop you from having the discussion. Can you just label the thread "NSA can get your fingerprints off that iPhone 5S" and have at it. There is a time and a place for everything. Everyone here has heard about the NSA situation…

> Essentially, you are asking me to discuss my politics here, where I draw the line, etc in a thread about the iPhone 5s.

Nope. I'm just asking you to not ask others to not discuss their politics. You're more than welcome to not participate in the conversation if it's not useful to you.

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#354

Post by nsxwolf »

ihuman wrote: post #14
Heliosmaster wrote: post #9

About the ID fingerprints? Am I the only one so in constant fear and doubt that thinks this would be a great way of bulk collecting the fingerprints of ANYONE?

They say that applications don't have access to it and it is never uploaded online, but until the device is out there is no way to verify it.

If the data is sequestered on the A7, I suspect not even iOS has access to it. It may just be able to request authentication, and receive a true or false.

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#355

Post by therandomguy »

alxbrun wrote: post #15
davidcollantes wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The leaks contribute to take away some of the awe. Yet, A7, M7, iOS 7, new camera, new flash, Touch ID. It looks new to me.

My "is it new?" test works this way: how would I explain what's new to my father (who is 74 years old and knows not much about tech). A7, M7, iOS 7, better camera and flash: not much to say. Touch ID OK that's new, but that's not much.

"Dad, it looks better, is way faster, makes you healthier, take much better pictures and you don't have to type your pass code 200 times a day"

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#356

Post by stanleydrew »

cheald wrote: post #340
stanleydrew wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well now you are backtracking into a semi-legitimate interpretation of your comment as not snarky. If you didn't mean to snark you could have just originally said "We should expect comments about the NSA and spying to become a part of the common dialog regarding technology and personal information. Asking them to go away is just asking people to stick their head in the sand and ignore it." That is a useful comment th…

I chose brevity, and can see how it would be interpreted as snark. I wasn't aiming for that, but it was a simple question that deserved a simple answer, IMO. > I don't mind useful or constructive comments about technology and the NSA, but most of the comments I see are very reactionary and misinformed and painfully naiive. Perhaps our energy would be better spent pointing out why these comments are naiive and misinfo…

Totally agree that we should discuss why these comments are naiive rather than further engage in the meta-discussion. Perhaps we can start over?

(Meta-meta-point: I wish I could collapse comment threads on HN.)

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#357

Post by diminoten »

downandout wrote: post #330

I don't have a problem with the fingerprint scanner, since people can choose to use it or not. The larger problem I see for the 5S is a marketing one: while the A7 processor and internal redesign are significant technical achievements, consumers won't understand that or care. They know that their existing iPhone 5's are relatively fast, and that will be enough for most people. They needed to add features - not necess…

This phone takes way better pictures and has a longer battery life.

There, features people care about.

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#358

Post by jlgreco »

res0nat0r wrote: post #336
jlgreco wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are still going with that "it's just a powerpoint, it means nothing" line? I thought we dispensed with that notion months ago.

Yes. There is zero evidence of any type of NSA backdooring your iPhone nonsense. It would be great to read HN (where I thought we were more technically inclined than the rest of the net) for a day without unfounded nonsensical claims.

Yes, it is simply inconceivable that hard evidence of the activities of a spy agency might not be forthcoming...

We are dealing with the realm of speculation, but it is not speculation fueled by some sort of tinfoil hatted lunacy. With the role that smartphones fill in peoples' lives today, you are just going to have to come to grips with the fact that, going forward, some people are going to consider the privacy of new devices to be very relevant, and well worth discussing. Don't be surprised when people error on the side of caution.

You want to talk about battery life and color? Well I want to talk about display DPI and privacy. Learn to cope.

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#359

Post by melling »

cheald wrote: post #288
melling wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess if you want to constantly complain about the NSA spying on you, you are entitled. However, some of us have had enough of the complaining. After all, you're probably going to be doing it for the rest of your life. I'd rather not spend mine listening to it. So, can we clearly tag a thread as NSA rant, so those of us who don't want to hear it ad nauseam, we can skip the rehash.

This is the exact sort of attitude that has permitted us to get to the point where we even have to have a conversation about the government being engaged in massively intrusive spying programs. "I don't want to hear your whining about it" is a means of condoning these actions through silence. You are a part of the problem. If you can comprehend what is going on here, you should be loud and obnoxious about it. Get peo…

Sorry, you aren't going to change anyone's political opinions by yelling louder. There are plenty of people who are comfortable with the NSA, as well as plenty of people are not.

We really can't discuss the finer points here because no matter how polite I am, I will simply get voted down for not agreeing with the HN politics. By the way, recently I heard a few tech heavy-weights come out in favor of the NSA (e.g. Larry Ellison, Max Levchin).

Re: Apple Unveils The iPhone 5S

#360

Post by downandout »

pilif wrote: post #73

Now that we have to consider the iPhones to be backdoored by the NSA, I wonder whether I really want to give them my fingerprint together with the rest of my data. I'm also not so sure whether a fingerprint can't still be easily faked (like it was possible on that Mythbusters episode for example). Personally, I think I'd rather stay with my passcode. Did you btw know that you can turn off "simple passcode" and then u…

So use a passcode - the fingerprint feature is optional. That said, I doubt they are doing anything nefarious with it - if it eventually leaked that fingerprints were being sent to the NSA, the cost to Apple would be incalculable. I would bet, or at least hope, that Apple has designed the hardware involved to be subpoena proof - meaning that the design would make it impossible to remotely collect fingerprints even if a court ordered them to initiate efforts to do so.
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