Zak Doffman (via Eric deRuiter, Hacker News):
What has just shocked the U.K. is exactly what the FBI told me it also wants in the U.S. “Lawful access” to any encrypted user data. The bureau’s quiet warning was confirmed just a few weeks ago.
The U.K. news cannot be seen in isolation and follows years of battling between big tech and governments over warranted, legal access to encrypted messages and content to fuel investigations into serious crimes such as terrorism and child abuse.
As I reported in 2020, “it is looking ever more likely that proponents of end-to-end security, the likes of Facebook and Apple, will lose their campaign to maintain user security as a priority.” It has taken five years, but here we now are.
[…]
When December’s encryption warnings hit in the wake of Salt Typhoon, the bureau told me while it wants to see encrypted messaging, it wants that encryption to be “responsible.”
Because the backdoor worked so well then?
Previously:
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) iCloud iCloud Advanced Data Protection iOS iOS 18 Mac macOS 15 Sequoia Privacy
Maxim Eremenko:
XcodeBenchmark measures Mac performance in Xcode by compiling a relatively large codebase.
The project has already saved thousands of dollars for developers and companies when they purchase or upgrade their Macs and I believe these results will help you make the right cost/performance choice.
The code is primary C-family languages, but it also includes some Swift.
Of note:
- No one submitted iMac scores. With the 27-inch and Pro models gone, and the MacBook Pro much improved, I don’t hear much about iMacs being used for development anymore.
- The 16-core M4 Max is faster than the 24-core M2 Ultra.
- There’s a much bigger difference between the 10-core M4 and the 12-core M4 Pro than between the 12- and 14-core M4 Pros.
paya_:
When going from M4 to 12-core M4 Pro, we are adding p-cores and removing e-cores and thus the increase to score per core is justified. When going from the 12-core M4 Pro to any higher-tier chip, we are again adding p-cores but the score per core decreases, indicating diminishing returns (you would expect the score per core to increase because the e-core / p-core ratio is changing in favor of p-cores).
Previously:
Apple M2 Ultra Apple M4 Apple M4 Max Apple M4 Pro Mac macOS 15 Sequoia Processors Programming Xcode
Ryan Christoffel:
Tap to open a Wi-Fi network inside the Passwords app, and you’ll see a button that reads, ‘Show Network QR Code.’
This QR code can then be scanned by anyone nearby to instantly connect them to your network.
[…]
Most readers will know that Apple already has a popular solution for sharing your Wi-Fi password with others: its pop-up prompt that sometimes feels like magic.
In practice, the magic solution almost never worked for me, so I’m very happy to see a still-easy solution that should be more reliable.
Apple Password Manager iOS iOS 18 QR Codes Wi-Fi
Juli Clover (Hacker News, William Gallagher):
Humane today informed customers that it is discontinuing its $700 Ai Pin at the end of February, with the device set to be taken offline less than a year after it launched in April 2024.
[…]
Humane recommends that Ai Pin users sync their devices over Wi-Fi to download stored pictures, videos, and notes before February 28 because data will be deleted after that.
The sudden discontinuation of the Ai Pin comes as Humane is being sold to HP for $116 million. HP is purchasing Humane’s CosmOS AI platform and more than 300 patents and patent applications, plus HP will be hiring Humane’s employees.
John Gruber (Mastodon):
This was a $700 purchase (for the matte black base model — polished metal ones were $800) with a mandatory $24/month service charge (which included cellular networking) and extra battery “boosters” were $70. Customers who bought when it launched last April have spent at least $1,000, but probably more, all told. Humane gave them 10 days notice before the thing turns into a brick.
M.G. Siegler:
A regular person might read that headline and think, “wow, a startup sold for nine-figures – impressive.” Of course, it’s not impressive in this case. It’s a fire sale for a company that has been under duress for months after their product, the Ai Pin, failed to catch fire in the market.
Nick Heer:
Only so much of that can be blamed on not having access to certain APIs or it being a first-generation product. It still cost $700 and required a subscription of $24 per month. And, while HP’s deal — for less than half what the company raised — includes the software, patents, and most of the staff, it excludes the A.I. Pin.
Manton Reece:
Eventually I believe there will be a successful product like it. It will need to be simpler, though. No laser. Cheaper. Faster.
I won’t judge the team too harshly for being so ambitious. They probably knew 1.0 had fallen short but were expecting to iterate after shipping it, keep improving it. Instead, they had hyped up expectations so beyond what could be achieved at launch that when the first version flopped, it was crippling.
Louie Mantia (in 2022):
I can’t imagine that product being successful.
Which makes me wonder— is the whole idea for Humane to patent any technologies it develops in the hopes of licensing those technologies to big companies? Maybe the product is effectively a demo to facilitate Humane selling patents.
Vidit Bhargava:
I wore the Ai Pin every day for almost six months, and very early on in those six months, I realized one thing, the Ai Pin wasn’t a complete failure. There were kernels of something truly unique and ambitious there, even if the execution was flawed. What started as an albatross around my neck (or shirt) for spending $700 on a device that barely worked, turned into a tiny research project for my thesis on ambient computing, and where a ubiquitous computer like this one would fit into people’s lives.
Previously:
Acquisition Business HP Humane Patents Sunset
