Apple Won’t Give In to the FBI and Other News

A lot has been happening in the tech world nowadays, so we can’t just stick to one news item a day. Here’s another mashup.

Apple Won’t Give In to the FBI

Apple has been asked by the FBI to unlock the iPhone 5C used by the San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. An order has been passed by a U.S. Federal Judge that asks Apple to bypass the encryption used on the latest iPhone. The reason that the FBI is not using brute-force techniques to unlock the phone is the fact that iOS might erase all the data after 10 failed attempts at unlocking the phone.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, published an open letter for all Apple Customers explaining that the move is “too dangerous”.

“We have great respect for the professionals at the FBI, and we believe their intentions are good. Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.

Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.”

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, shared Apple’s cause and supported it fully in a series of tweets on the popular microblogging platform. Apple will file an opposition with regard to the court order. "Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users' privacy," Pichai said.

Rs.250 Smartphone Copies Apple Design

A Noida-based company called Ringing Bells has released the world’s cheapest smartphone. The Freedom 251 costs just Rs.251, around $4. However, looking at the user interface, it appears as if the company has copied Apple’s UI design pixel-to-pixel.

When asked about this, Vikas Sharma (Technical Head at Ringing Bells) had this to say: “We used Apple’s icons because Apple hasn’t copyrighted its designs.”

This is not true. Apple’s IP policy clearly states the opposite.

Indonesia Lifts Tumblr Ban

Indonesia had banned Tumblr across the country, stating that the site had pages that hosted pornographic material. However, the ban has been lifted just a day later after a #savetumblr outrage across Twitter. The government has asked Tumblr to regulate the site more effectively.

Google Translate Adds 13 New Languages

Google Translate has added 13 new languages, taking the total to 113. The combined languages now cover over 99% of the internet population.