Month: September 2018

New story in Technology from Time: Why Should Users Trust Facebook? It’s a Hard Question for Mark Zuckerberg to Answer

On Friday morning, Facebook executives faced yet another painful news cycle. Three days earlier, the engineering team discovered a security issue affecting roughly 50 million user accounts. Out of an abundance of caution, the company said on Friday as it revealed the hack, Facebook took action to shore up security not only for those accounts but 40 million others as well.

The issue at hand: attackers exploited a feature known as “View As,” which lets Facebook users see what their profiles look like to others, in a way that allowed them to take over people’s accounts. “People’s privacy and security is incredibly important,” Guy Rosen, an executive who oversees security and safety, said in a post revealing the breach, “and we’re sorry this happened.”

On a call with reporters Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Rosen said the company had fixed the vulnerability and temporarily disabled the “View As” feature amid an investigation into exactly what happened. While their review had not yet shown that the attackers leveraged the access for nefarious purposes — such as posting to people’s accounts or accessing their private messages — the company couldn’t say who the attackers were, what motivated them or what might be uncovered down the line. Facebook, they said, had alerted and was working with the FBI.

As he fielded questions, Zuckerberg went into detail about the steps the company is taking in the wake of this particular snafu, but he struggled to provide fresh perspective on the big picture. Why, he was asked multiple times, should users should continue to trust Facebook, in the wake of another breach of trust?

“Security, it’s an arms race,” the CEO said, as he has many times before. “We’re continuing to improve our defenses, and I think this also underscores that there are just constant attacks from people who are trying to take over accounts or steal information from people in our community.”

The news comes as Facebook struggles with a growing list of problems. In recent months, as the company has worked to overcome the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica debacle, Facebook has multiple times revealed evidence of ongoing foreign influence campaigns on the platform, connected to actors in both Iran and Russia. On Monday, news broke that the founders of Instagram, a bright spot in the parent company’s empire, are leaving. They follow leaders from WhatsApp, who quit earlier this year, adding to an image of instability.

Even the solutions Facebook is working to put in place are generating new headaches. Zuckerberg has repeatedly touted the promise that the company will increase the number of employees working on security and safety from 10,000 to 20,000 by the end of the year. Thousands of those people are content reviewers, crucial employees who help keep everything from hate speech to terrorist propaganda off the platform. Yet one recently filed a lawsuit, seeking class-action status and saying that the “disturbing” images she had to look at as part of the job had given her post-traumatic stress disorder.

The fact that Facebook quickly revealed the breach is evidence of its ongoing commitment to be more transparent with users and the press. And the fact that the company included an apology in that news release shows humility in the face of the gigantic task the company confronts in attempting to protect — and still delight — the community of more than 2 billion users Zuckerberg has put under one roof. On the call, the executives explained that the attackers leveraged a complex series of bugs in order to compromise the accounts, one of which stemmed from Facebook encouraging users to wish one another a happy birthday.

Zuckerberg and Rosen sounded a determined tone on Friday, even as they prepared users for the fact that more bad news may be coming, should the investigation reveal a “broader mission.” Though it is unclear how or if private data was used, the attackers apparently had access to users’ personal information, including fields like their name, gender and hometown.

Regulators and lawmakers, from the Federal Trade Commission to Congress, have already been warning the company that stricter oversight will be coming if Facebook does not prove more capable of protecting consumers on its own. “I want answers,” FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra tweeted on Friday after news of the breach broke.

For now, roughly 90 million users will at least face the small inconvenience of being logged out of Facebook and other apps that depend on the site for sign-ins. An alert will appear at the top of their News Feed explaining what occurred, the executives said. “We need to do more,” Zuckerberg said on the call, “to prevent this from happening in the first place.”

New story in Technology from Time: Facebook Says a Security Breach Affected Nearly 50 Million Accounts

(NEW YORK) — Facebook says it recently discovered a security breach affecting nearly 50 million user accounts.

The company says hackers exploited the “View As” feature on the service. Facebook says it has taken steps to fix the security problem and alerted law enforcement.

New story in Technology from Time: Elon Musk Is Having a Very Bad Week. So Are Tesla Investors

(Bloomberg) — The prospect that Elon Musk could lose his job as Tesla Inc. CEO over tweets may cost the carkmaker’s shareholders close to $20 billion.

Tesla plunged as much as 14 percent in early trading Friday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Musk committed fraud by tweeting last month that he’d secured funding to take the company private. The regulator is seeking to bar Musk from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

At $268.10 — the stock’s lowest price in the first few minutes of regular trading Friday — Tesla had a market capitalization of about $45.7 billion, down from $64.8 billion at the close of trading on Aug. 7, the day Musk sent his take-private tweets.

Read More on Musk Musk’s SEC Woes May Erase Half of Tesla’s Value, Barclays Says Suit Could Rob Tesla of Most-Valuable U.S. Carmaker Crown Tesla Board Backs Musk as SEC Sues, Seeks Ouster Over Tweets SEC Case Is ‘Early Christmas’ for Investor Suits Over Musk Tweet

New story in Technology from Time: Elon Musk Is Getting Sued by the SEC Over His ‘Funding Secured’ Tweet

(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of misleading investors when he tweeted that he was “virtually certain” he could take the company private if he wanted to.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, the agency accused Musk of making a series of false and misleading statements in August.

The SEC has scheduled a press conference for 5 p.m. Tesla fell on the news, dropping more than 6 percent in extended trading.

Even before the tweets, the SEC was investigating issues at Tesla including its car sales projections. The Justice Department is also looking into whether Musk mislead investors, Bloomberg News has reported.

New story in Technology from Time: Review: The Apple Watch Series 4 Is a Welcome But Expensive Upgrade

The Apple Watch Series 4, like Beyoncé, did not come to play with you. It came to slay, or in this case, make sure you aren’t slain by your own cardiovascular deficiencies. A slew of both external and internal improvements make Apple’s wearable hard to beat. From a larger display to new heart monitoring features, it’s packed to the gills with things that’ll make you say, “cool!” Those additions are welcome improvements that make the Apple Watch an enticing smartwatch, but nonetheless leave me feeling slightly disappointed it’s not a more capable wearable. It’s a great watch — at least until you want to sleep.

On the outside, the $399-and-up Apple Watch looks more refined than its predecessor. It’s still square, but it’s softer and more rounded. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Apple took a queue or two from competitor Fitbit and its Versa smartwatch. It’s a subtle design change, noticeable only when comparing the Series 4 to previous versions. Subtle is good, especially when it comes to accessories like watches. Let’s hope it leads to a completely round version — “squircles” are cute, but they don’t hold a candle to a truly circular watch face.

The Apple Watch display has been substantially upgraded, giving you ample room to see what’s on your watch face. More space for complications (the tiny bits of data on the face) means more relevant information and less time spent pulling out your phone to get at what you’re looking for. The smaller watch has gone from a screen size of 563 square millimeters to 759 square millimeters, all while retaining the same width and shaving just under a millimeter of thickness off; the larger model has made a similarly substantial leap in screen size. Apple says it’s volumetrically smaller than the previous Apple Watch, but that doesn’t mean everything is shrunken. The watch is about two millimeters “taller,” hence the new 40mm and 44mm designations. Don’t worry about your bands, though — older straps are compatible with the new watch sizes.

The changes on the inside are just as impressive. Replacing the S3 processor — the brains of the Apple Watch — is a new S4 chip that makes the watch feel more responsive to finger swipes and wrist-twisting time checks. There’s also Apple’s proprietary W3 chip, which adds the more efficient Bluetooth 5.0 to the watch. This thing is quick, and feels light-years ahead of the first Apple Watch from three years ago.

Health is the name of the game with the new Apple Watch. In addition to an improved optical heart sensor, Apple included an electrical heart sensor capable of performing ECG scans, powered by the (harmless) electrodes on the underside of the watch as well as on the digital crown. The Apple Watch Series 4 has also been cleared by the FDA as an over-the-counter ECG scanner. It won’t replace a visit to the doctor, but it will give you some information that could spur you to make an appointment. By putting one finger on the crown during your scan, it will monitor your heart’s electrical signals and create an ECG report indicating either an irregular heart rhythm (a potential sign of atrial fibrillation) or a normal one, known as sinus rhythm. The watch will also be able to detect suspiciously high (or low) heart rates and alert you to what could be a sign of a more serious condition. Both features will be available, according to Apple, later in 2018. (Some critics worry that making such scans available to the masses could contribute to hypochondria.)

A feature that detects when a user takes a hard fall is available now, but disabled by default if you’re under 65 years old. You can configure fall detection to make an emergency call to your preselected contact if you fall and are then immobile for over a minute. Don’t try to activate it, please.

If you’re waiting for an Apple Watch that’ll last you a whole 24 hours, you’re not the only one. A huge display is nice, and the addition of heart-friendly functions is great for people concerned about their wellbeing, but to forgo sleep tracking for something like a slightly bigger screen and an ECG feature makes me wonder which aspects of my health Apple is trying to help me improve, and why. The lack of built-in sleep tracking functionality is a real downer, and one of the primary reasons I’ve never truly committed to wearing the Apple Watch on a daily basis. Also, charging it on a daily basis is still an unwelcome fact of life.

Sleep is one metric more and more people want to track, and one that Apple is very aware of. Just last year Apple acquired sleep-tracking startup Beddit, and now sells its under-the-mattress sleep-tracking pad. That means you still have an Apple-approved method to log those Zzzs, but sleep on the wrong side of the bed and you’re out of luck. Watch apps that track your sleep certainly do exist, though you’ll need to make sure your Apple Watch is charged enough to last the eight or so hours you intend to spend in dreamland.

Whereas Apple’s latest iOS update gives a much-needed boost to iPhones new and old alike, the Apple Watch Series 4 is all about the hardware improvements. The recently released WatchOS 5 benefits from the new Apple Watch’s faster processor and larger screen, making reading and responding to messages and notifications a lot easier, since you’re no longer attempting to make laser-guided touches with your finger. Of course, WatchOS 5 still brings some welcome new features, like a walkie-talkie mode, improved recognition of more exercises (like yoga and hiking), better notification management, and an Apple Podcasts app you can use to stop listening to U2.

Of course, $399 is a high price to pay for a wearable, especially considering the previous Apple Watch Series 3 started at $349 and is now available for $279 and up. But the upgrade is significant enough that many Apple Watch fans may find the leap worthwhile. If you’re torn between the GPS or more expensive cellular version, consider this: To take advantage of the cellular functionality, you’ll need a separate data plan for your wearable, usually costing around $10 per month. It’s not a lot, but it is another thing for which you’ll have to pay. For athletes or outdoorsy types, it makes sense: Who wants to bring their giant iPhone when they decide to travel light during a jog?

With a larger screen, updated internals, more in-depth health functionality, and a library of apps, the Apple Watch Series 4 is the best wearable device you can get, no question. Does that mean you’ll like it? Probably. Does it mean it’ll change your life, get you off the couch, and have you running full steam ahead toward your new, healthier, mindfulness-filled future? No, but it might get you started.

New story in Technology from Time: Google’s 20th Birthday Doodle Brings the Most Popular Searches Ever to Life

Google celebrated its 20th birthday on Sept. 27 with a Doodle covering the most popular searches of the last two decades.

Questions like “What will happen on Y2K?”, “How do you tie a tie?” and “What’s the most popular sport in the world?” made up some of Google’s most common queries in its early years. People also asked how to dance, whether Pluto is still a planet and how autotune works, among several questions. In more recent years, people have wondered how to pronounce “GIF” and asked “What’s a selfie?” according to the Doodle.

Google has also included a feature under its main bar with a link to what people have searched for over the last 20 years. According to its insights, Ed Sheeran was the third most searched musical artist of 2017 and 2018, and Lindsay Lohan was the third most searched actor of 2004 and 2007.

“Twenty(ish) years ago, two Stanford Ph.D. students launched a new search engine with a bold mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Google said in its description of the Doodle. “Though much has changed in the intervening years — including now offering Search in more than 150 languages and over 190 countries — Google is still dedicated to building products for everyone.”

New story in Technology from Time: Oculus’ New Virtual Reality Headset May Finally Make You Want a Virtual Reality Headset

Facebook unveiled a wireless virtual-reality headset called Oculus Quest, an attempt to help popularize the developing technology with a more mainstream audience.

The headset will go sale in spring 2019 for $399, complete with hand controllers to give people a sense of presence in virtual reality, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday at the Oculus Connect conference in San Jose, California. People are more likely to use a technology that they can wear while moving around freely, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook sees VR, a technology that immerses users in a virtual environment, as the next great advance in human communication, after mobile phones. The social-media company acquired Oculus VR, a headset company, in 2014. Facebook wants people to use VR to do more than play games — it has created virtual spaces for users to hang out and watch movies together, for example, or experience events.

That vision may take a while to materialize. Last year, Zuckerberg explained that Facebook’s goal is to eventually get 1 billion people into virtual reality. On Wednesday, he kicked off his presentation by giving an update on the slow progress.

“We have this saying at Facebook that the journey is only 1 percent finished, and in this case, not even quite,” Zuckerberg said, drawing laughs from the audience.

The Quest is the latest in a line of VR products that meet different needs. The Oculus Go, a $199 headset that works without being tethered to a computer, went on sale in early 2018. The Oculus Rift is a $399 headset that requires a connection to a personal computer, and the $130 Gear VR goggles work by attaching them to a Samsung Electronics Co. phone. In the future, any game made for Oculus will work on any of the devices, Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg’s speech promoting the future of Oculus came as two of Facebook’s other acquired properties are facing turmoil. The founders of photo-sharing application Instagram said on Monday that they were leaving Facebook, six years after their company was bought. Their departures came after months of tension with Zuckerberg over the direction of the product. On Wednesday, Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, spoke for the first time about why he left, telling Forbes that Zuckerberg didn’t keep the promises he made during the $22 billion acquisition of the messaging app.

Facebook let the properties operate mostly independently for years, though recently the company has become more reliant on the divisions to contribute to the overall business. Stronger growth at WhatsApp and Instagram would give Zuckerberg more resources to invest in his vision for virtual reality, and eventually augmented reality — the technology that overlays virtual objects on the real world.

New story in Technology from Time: Apple iPhone XS Review: Excess at its Best

Last year’s iPhone X was a groundbreaking device, in part due to the removal of what made the iPhone so iconic. Gone was the fingerprint-scanning home button, and in its place was an aesthetically controversial “notch” to make room for the Face ID security (and Animoji) functionality. It was also groundbreaking in terms of price. It may have debuted alongside the $699-and-up iPhone 8, but it was the first thousand-dollar smartphone from Apple, a price a surprisingly high number of people were able to stomach for the sake of having the coolest phone on the block.

With the new iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple is trying to tell us something: like it or not, this is the future of the iPhone. All screen, no buttons, and a single port that grows increasingly frustrating to deal with. Also, you’ll probably need two hands to hit the corners. Fortunately, there’s also a lot to like about the iPhone XS, at least on the inside. Apple’s “S” line of devices, typically revisions of the design from the year prior, are usually about internal updates and improvements rather than radical design changes. The iPhone XS maintains that same pace, bringing some much-needed software revisions along with it, though without anything truly novel.

At first glance, the XS is almost comically identical to the iPhone X before it. Side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out which is which. It has the same rounded stainless steel frame and glass back, the same 5.8-inch OLED display, and the same Super Retina HD screen as the previous iPhone X. The rear cameras still jut out. The iPhone XS Max bumps that display up to 6.5 inches, adding a few more pixels to maintain the 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

Read more: iPhone Xs vs. iPhone Xs Max vs. iPhone Xr: Which New Apple Smartphone Is Right for You?

Videos look fantastic on the iPhone XS, and if you watch them cropped, you won’t notice the notch at all. The audio output has been greatly improved thanks to the now-identical speakers at each end of the iPhone. You’ll get true stereo sound, a welcome improvement over the X. Still, if you want to take advantage of every inch of that display, those videos will be forever marred by the garish Face ID notch that removes a sliver of screen space. Why make the display so gorgeous if you’re just going to mess it up?

The battery life on the iPhone XS is similar to its predecessor. Apple made some impressive strides with its new A12 Bionic processor, making it more efficient than the A11 Bionic that came before it, as well as more powerful. You’ll enjoy more impressive gaming graphics, as well, but don’t expect a miracle. Apple claims the XS will last “up to 30 minutes longer than iPhone X,” which seems reasonable enough. I never found myself scrambling for an outlet during normal use, and enabling low-power mode when I was unable to recharge helped ease my anxiety of partying in the city without a working phone. Battery management is more sophisticated, and won’t leave users wondering whether or not they’re dealing with a faulty power supply when their iPhone starts bugging out.

Identity problem aside, the iPhone XS is still a beautiful device. It’s sleeker and more aesthetically pleasing than the competition thanks to how simple it looks. Compared to rival devices like the Note 9 or Pixel 2, the iPhone XS radiates elegance, while the rest are simply smartphones with rounded corners or curvier screens. Available in black, white, and now gold (gotta stay fresh), it looks and feels more like a luxury product than a device many of use will use mostly for sending emojis and memes has any right to be. The dedication to form is admirable, but it also makes the XS look a bit staid, and makes me wish there were at least a few more colors to make it pop when not hidden in a case. (The upcoming mid-tier iPhone XR will be offered in a wider array of colors.)

Given the lack of radical design changes, Apple wants you to focus on the camera, and just how good it is. And, well, it is pretty good. All the improvements made to the iPhone’s new processor let you snap HDR — high dynamic range — photos without worrying about shutter lag. It also means your photos will look a lot better in environments adverse to photography. Bright blue skies won’t look washed out, and low-light images will feel more alive and saturated thanks to the camera combining multiple exposures into a single photograph. Each lens has optical image stabilization along with a 12-megapixel sensor; one uses a wide-angle f/1.8 lens, the other a telephoto f/2.4 lens for 2x optical zoom.

Portrait mode photographs use both of the 12-megapixel cameras to simulate the narrow depth of field effect you’d get with a high-quality DSLR camera and lens. The camera will automatically focus on a subject’s face and let you use live lighting effects to add some style to your photograph. After you shoot your subject, you can change the depth of field effect after the fact, blurring or focusing the background as you see fit. Though not the first device to enable depth adjustment, it’s a useful and incredibly fun feature to have at your disposal, even though it does get a bit heavy-handed as you approach the f/1.4 aperture setting.

Patrick Lucas Austin

Apple’s iOS 12 software might be the most interesting part of the iPhone XS, considering how it’s now designed to help you use the expensive new gadget you just bought less often. Additions like Siri Shortcuts and Screen Time help users manage their time spent on the device, and shows them what they’re doing and for how long they’re doing it. Improved security features means password managers like 1Password can automatically fill in your login information, eliminating the need to copy and paste your credentials when you need to access your account from some site or app. It’s one of the most useful additions to iOS 12, and one of many improvements found throughout the operating system that makes it feel more considerate of my time and attention. Even if you’re not interested in switching iPhones, upgrading your current model to iOS 12 will get you a host of benefits and features, enough to probably keep you from switching phones just yet.

Animoji are still here, and feature a few new characters to boot. You can also make one modeled after yourself (or whoever you’d like to look like) using Memoji, Apple’s Animoji creation tool that uses the Face ID camera. It’s clearly a work in progress, and can’t register facial expressions like winks or raised eyebrows without looking far too strange for comfort. Still, it’s a ton of fun to use, and now that it’s here I can’t imagine it going anywhere anytime soon.

There’s one problem with the iPhone XS, a problem that affects every high-end smartphone, a problem people seemingly overlook. To watch content as intended, at 1080p or 4K resolution along with HDR support, you might need to cough up even more cash.

Want to stream video on that huge display? Well, I hope you’re ready to pay your wireless carrier for some extra data after your Netflix movie devours a few gigabytes. In addition, you won’t be able to take advantage of that high-resolution display when streaming over mobile broadband thanks to the limitations placed on streaming content. Carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile will only let you stream videos at the pitiful resolution of 480p unless you fork over a few extra bucks per month to bump it up to the still-terrible 720p resolution. To companies like T-Mobile, “high definition” is the equivalent of a movie from 2002. No thanks. On top of that, watching videos when my iPhone XS is connected to Wi-Fi probably means I’m somewhere either where watching videos would be ill-advised or where I have access to a larger screen, like a laptop or TV. If that’s the case, why bother with this pocket display that has a chunk taken out of it?

The same problems exist with Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector, the primary one being that it isn’t the more widely adopted USB-C, used by every other smartphone manufacturer, and the only port on Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops. If you’re not an early adopter to tech, your laptop or computer probably still has regular old USB — if so, don’t worry about it. But otherwise, you’ll need an adapter.

Should you get the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max? If you skipped the iPhone X, and think you’re about due for a new phone, then sure, consider the iPhone XS. But if pricing is a concern, then the upcoming $749 iPhone XR might be more your speed. If you’re not excited about either, I don’t blame you. Especially with iOS 12 available as a free update, lots of people will get more milage out of their existing iPhone before feeling the need to upgrade.

New story in Technology from Time: Instagram’s Founders Are Unexpectedly Leaving ‘To Explore Our Curiosity’

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are leaving the company, they said in a surprise announcement late Monday.

“We’re planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again,” Systrom, Instagram’s CEO, said in a statement. “We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion.”

Systrom, 34, and Krieger, 32, have not given a reason for the timing of their departures. But Bloomberg reported that they were leaving after “growing tensions” over Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s increasing involvement in the day-to-day running of Instagram.

Instagram had previously been seen as largely autonomous from Facebook’s influence. The app recently introduced features aimed to compete with rival Snapchat, a rising threat to both Instagram and Facebook that has since been quieted.

Facebook bought the photo-sharing app for $1 billion in 2012. Back then, it was used by around 30 million people. Under Facebook’s umbrella, it has grown to reach over a billion people, making it one of the social media giant’s most successful acquisitions. Analysts say Instagram is one of Facebook’s most important businesses, and one which generates the least controversy.

Instagram is the third Facebook-owned business whose founders have left recently. Jan Koum, who helped start WhatsApp in 2009, resigned in April over disagreements about privacy and encryption. Virtual reality firm Oculus VR lost its co-founder Palmer Luckey in March 2017 amid a series of scandals and lawsuits.

Facebook has faced numerous stumbling blocks in the last two years, including scandals over its privacy practices and failure to prevent the spread of false information during the 2016 election, as well as slowing growth.

Facebook shares were down 2% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

New story in Technology from Time: Today’s Google Doodle Encourages Americans to Register to Vote Before the Midterms

Google is using National Voter Registration Day to encourage Americans to register to vote in time for the 2018 midterm elections.

On Tuesday, Google’s homepage featured a Google Doodle with a number of patriotic buttons and a message that prompted viewers to get registered before the Nov. 6 elections. The link leads to a tool on Google that gives basic information for how individuals in each state can register to vote — and the deadlines for them to do so. Users can also simply search “how to register to vote #RegisterToVote” to reach the information.

The 2018 midterms is a critical one as Democrats attempt to take back control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans work to maintain their position there and in the Senate.

Google also used its Google Doodle to prompt voter registration back in September 2016 — again on National Voter Registration Day — ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

National Voter Registration Day is an awareness campaign held on the second Tuesday of September each year to encourage Americans to register to vote. The organization behind it says volunteers will appear around the country to help people register. Local businesses and other organizations will also participate.

Politicians and activists have come out in droves on social media, in speeches and through PSAs to urge Americans to register before the 2018 midterm elections. Over the summer, the young activists behind March For Our Lives hit the road on a bus tour across the country, registering young people to vote in each city.