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Andrew Orr

Since 2015 Andrew has been writing about Apple, privacy, security, and at one point even Android. You can find him most places online under the username @andrewornot.

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Articles by Andrew Orr

Samsung T7 SSD Drive Out Today Starting at $109
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Samsung T7 SSD Drive Out Today Starting at $109

Andrew Orr ·

Samsung announced the release of its T7 SSD drive. It gives you read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s. This is almost twice as fast as the older T5 model. It comes in 500 GB, 1TB, and 2TB sizes in red, blue, and gray. “Roughly the size of a few stacked credit cards, the T7 is equipped with 256-bit AES encryption and password protection, so users can rest assured knowing their data is safe. Moreover, with PCIe NVMe technology, the T7 offers users quick performance and little downtime with read and write speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and 1000 MB/s respectively. With a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, it’s also backward compatible with USB 3.0 and Type-A devices with an appropriate cable.”

One retailer offering it for preorder is B&H Photo Video.

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Ubisoft Sues Apple Over ‘Rainbow Six: Siege’ Copyright

Andrew Orr ·

Ubisoft is suing Apple and Google over a Chinese game it calls “a near carbon copy” of its game Rainbow Six: Siege.’

It says it has raised the issue with both Apple and Google, which both take a cut of sales on their respective app stores.

“But rather than take any measures to stop or curtail the infringement… Google and Apple instead decided that it would be more profitable to collect their revenue share from AF2 and continue their unlawful distribution,” Ubisoft says in its court filing.

Do they expect the App Store review team to be able to spot copyright  infringement related to a company that is definitely not their own company, Apple?

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iPhone Hacking Company GrayKey Reinvents the Keylogger

Andrew Orr ·

A report from NBCNews mentions a tool from GrayKey called Hide UI, and until now has been kept secret from the public.

But another tool, previously unknown to the public, doesn’t have to crack the code that people use to unlock their phones. It just has to log the code as the user types it in.

Software called Hide UI, created by Grayshift, a company that makes iPhone-cracking devices for law enforcement, can track a suspect’s passcode when it’s entered into a phone, according to two people in law enforcement, who asked not to be named out of fear of violating non-disclosure agreements.

This is called a keylogger, and it is neither new nor revolutionary. It would be cheaper for police to use pen and paper to write down a suspect’s passcode, although there is that pesky fifth amendment.

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What Will The Next Ten Years of Apple Design Look Like?

Andrew Orr ·

“The next decade of Apple design has nothing to do with its most popular product of all time (so far)” is a weird stance to take. Author Sophie Charara seems to only make two points in favor of her argument.

Lisa Jackson […] has said that Hankey and her colleagues “ask tough questions” on sustainability; critics are looking for substantive progress that will require Apple’s new design chiefs to adapt some core principles while maintaining their aesthetic standards.

One possible cultural challenger to the new Apple duo is Ivy Ross […] Ross is a proponent of softer colour palettes and warmer materials, as seen in Google’s Pixel and Home product lines, and believes that aesthetics are less about making devices look pretty than “enlivening your senses”.

Apple critics always looking for the next big thing are not and have never been a source of design inspiration. I wouldn’t look to Google for that either. The final sentence: “And we haven’t seen the end of Jony Ive’s contributions just yet: Tim Cook says that Apple will be one of LoveFrom’s primary clients.”

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Facebook Bought Giphy. What Does That Mean for Privacy?

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook announced today that it’s acquiring Giphy for an alleged sum of US$400 million.

Facebook characterized the acquisition—reportedly worth $400 million—as a way to help its millions of users “better express themselves.” […] Facebook says it will not collect information specific to individual people using Giphy’s API, but it will get valuable data about usage patterns across the web.

I definitely don’t believe them when they say that won’t collect individual data. That is Facebook’s raison d’être. This is exactly like its usage of the Onavo VPN spyware: Collect data on how people use GIFs everywhere, especially on competitor’s platforms. Mark Zuckerberg is furiously trying to beat Snapchat into submission. They rejected him once and he’s been out for blood ever since. GIFs may sound like a stretch when it comes to data collection, but keep in mind that web beacons exist.

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Meditation App ‘Headspace’ Offers Free Year of Premium Content

Andrew Orr ·

Headspace is offering Americans a free year of premium access of the full library of guided meditations and courses.

“The current state of unemployment in the US has become an alarming crisis,” the company website said. “To help those affected, we’re offering a full year of Headspace Plus for free. Discover meditation and mindfulness tools to help you feel less stressed, more resilient, and kinder to yourself.”

Nice move. Self-care is important.

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Crusader Kings III Release Date on Macs Set for September 1

Andrew Orr ·

Paradox Development Studio announced the Crusader Kings III release date today. It comes to Mac, Linux, and Windows on September 1.

The new title focuses more on your ruling family’s personality, complete with character lifestyles and traits (acting against them can lead to stress or even breakdowns), earning Renown to boost your reputation and inducing Dread to keep people in line. Dynasties can split into individual houses, blackmail is an option, skilled fighters can become knights, and you can set Tenets and Doctrines for religions that deviate from the original.

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Zerodium Pauses Purchases of iOS Exploits

Andrew Orr ·

Zerodium is temporarily suspending its purchasing of iOS exploits due to a high number of submissions, with the CEO saying ”iOS security is f**ked.”

Zerodium is an exploit acquisition platform that pays researchers for zero-day security vulnerabilities and then sells them to institutional customers like government organizations and law enforcement agencies. The company focuses on high-risk vulnerabilities, normally offering between $100,000 and $2 million per fully functional iOS exploit.

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Senate Vote Lets FBI View Your Browsing History Without Warrant

Andrew Orr ·

As part of a reauthorization of the Patriot Act, the Senate voted to let the FBI access Americans’ web browsing history without a warrant. I could say a lot of bad things about this, but this is the part that disappoints me the most:

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) attempted to remove the expanded powers from the bill with a bipartisan amendment.

But in a shock upset, the privacy-preserving amendment fell short by a single vote after several senators who would have voted “Yes” failed to show up to the session, including Bernie Sanders. 9 Democratic senators also voted “No,” causing the amendment to fall short of the 60-vote threshold it needed to pass.

Just one vote.