This is a stone.
This is a stone. When choosing MINDFIELD DIGITAL™ and our DBMD™ Program for your development services, you can be sure you will receive an app that will save you money and resources using the most advanced design and interface concepts. We follow an Application Development Cycle where every step is carried out to maximum perfection. Our application developers are experienced and knowledgeable, and are skilled at delivering top high tech Apps. Our team is constantly looking for promising partners in order to improve our quality, broaden our experience and create a global range of Apps with the most impressive conceptual designs, 3D Graphics and Sound FX.
MindfieldDigital
APPLE PAY CASH: REVOLUTIONIZING MONEY
56
CLINICAL TRIAL PUTS APPLE WATCH’S HEART MONITORING PROWESS TO THE TEST
HAVE YOU BEEN ‘PWNED’ IN A DATA BREACH? TROY HUNT CAN TELL
44 NASA NAILS TEST ON VOYAGER SPACECRAFT, 13 BILLION MILES AWAY
14
142
DELIVERY ROBOTS WILL NEED PERMITS TO ROAM SAN FRANCISCO 08 CHOOSING A STREAMING DEVICE WITHOUT OVERPAYING 24 GOOGLE BLOCKS YOUTUBE ON AMAZON DEVICES IN ESCALATING FEUD 36 CALIFORNIA REGULATORS NIX RULES LIMITING CARMAKER LIABILITY 54 FEDERAL REGULATOR GIVES OK FOR BITCOIN FUTURES TO TRADE 70 FACEBOOK LAUNCHES PARENT-CONTROLLED MESSENGER APP FOR KIDS 74 JAMES PATTERSON AND EINSTEIN ARCHIVISTS CREATING NEW SERIES 82 BOX OFFICE TOP 20: ‘COCO,’ ‘JUSTICE LEAGUE’ STAY ON TOP 106 COMIC-BOOK HEROES FLOCK TO TV, BUT WHY ARE THEY SO POPULAR? 116 ‘THE LAST JEDI’ AIMS TO CAPTURE THAT OLD STAR WARS FEELING 126 MICHIGAN STUDENTS DEVELOP MULTIPLE SKILLS FROM ROBOTICS 134 TESLA BUILDS WORLD’ BIGGEST BATTERY IN AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK 146 APPLE, GOOGLE AT CHINESE INTERNET FEST SHOWS LURE OF MARKET 162 IRELAND TO START COLLECTING $15 BILLION IN TAX FROM APPLE 170 RUSSIAN BITCOIN SUSPECT FIGHTS US EXTRADITION IN GREECE 174 DOCUMENTS: UK LAWMAKERS FLOUT EXPLICIT PASSWORD-SHARING BAN 178
TOP 10 APPS 86 iTUNES REVIEW 90 TOP 10 SONGS 152 TOP 10 ALBUMS 154 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 156 TOP 10 TV SHOWS 158 TOP 10 BOOKS 160
8
DELIVERY ROBOTS WILL NEED PERMITS TO ROAM SAN FRANCISCO
Delivery robots in San Francisco will need permits before they can roam city sidewalks under legislation approved by city supervisors. San Francisco has struggled to regulate hometown startups that grew too popular, including short-term vacation rental platform Airbnb and ride-hailing service Uber. Supervisor Norman Yee proposed an outright ban on delivery robots but settled on a permitting system. The supervisors approved it this week. 9
10
A maximum of nine “autonomous delivery devices” may be allowed at any time in the city. The robots can’t go more than 3 miles per hour (4.8 kilometers per hour) and human operators must be nearby. The robots must yield to pedestrians. Chief executives for autonomous delivery companies Starship Technologies, Marble and Postmates submitted a letter saying they welcomed government regulations. Other cities have taken similar steps.
11
CLINICAL TRIAL PUTS APPLE WATCH’S HEART MONITORING PROWESS TO THE TEST
ALONG WITH TRACKING A WEARER’S WORKOUT, COMPANY HOPES TO SHOW ITS WATCH CAN EFFECTIVELY DETECT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION Apple Inc. has a long reputation for disrupting the markets with new innovations, and the Silicon Valley tech giant is now skirting the edges of one very traditional field: cardiology. Heart doctors and traditional medical technology companies appear to be keeping an open mind so far as Apple launches a massive 500,000-person research study to see whether the Apple Watch can detect signs of the potentially serious medical condition called atrial fibrillation. 14
15
“AFib” is a chaotic, out-of-sync heartbeat that can damage the heart and allow blood clots to form that travel to the brain, where they can lead to strokes. Although many people do not know they are affected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the condition contributes to more than 130,000 deaths per year and costs about $6 billion annually in the U.S. Apple said last week that it’s launching the Apple Heart Study in collaboration with the Bay Area’s Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers will examine how well the four green LED heart-rate sensors embedded in the Apple Watch can screen wearers for signs of AFib, compared to a traditional electrocardiogram (ECG). A person at Apple who is familiar with the project said Monday that if the study goes as planned, Apple plans to submit the study data to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get marketing clearance for the software portion of the system. There are also plans to publish the final study data, but the company declined to provide details about its early work to validate the system. The system gathers real-time optical observations of blood flow through the skin, and runs the data through an algorithm designed to isolate a fibrillating heartbeat from other signals and “noise” that the sensor picks up. If the user has downloaded the Apple Heart Study app and joined the study, they will get an alert if their heart rhythm appears abnormal. Alerted users can receive a free telemedicine screening with a study doctor, plus a device that will take an ECG reading of the heart’s electrical activity. 16
17
Unlike a traditional clinical trial, which requires meeting with a doctor, participants in the Apple Heart Study can enroll just by downloading an app in the U.S. and having internet access on their phone. The study is approved by an institutional review board. The study listing in clinicaltrials.gov, which was added over the weekend, said the effort aims to enroll as many as 500,000 users over the age of 22 to collect data through January 2019. Participants must have access to an iPhone 5s or later with at least iOS 11.0 and an Apple Watch Series 1 or later. Participants will be excluded if they have a self-reported diagnosis of AFib or heart palpitations known as “atrial flutter” or are currently taking anti-coagulation drugs. Although the Apple Watch is advertised as being able to measure a user’s heart rate, it is not a medical device — a point emphasized by companies that make certified medical devices, such as longtime Minnesota cardiology device maker Medtronic. “While the eventual impact of new atrial fibrillation detection screening technologies is yet to be determined, Medtronic supports proactive screening for AFib that allows people to seek medical care and early diagnosis,” Medtronic said in a statement. “Notably, consumer wearable technologies provide a generalized screening approach, but ultimately require additional monitoring to obtain actionable diagnoses to guide clinical care.”
18
19
Medtronic sells an implantable heart monitor called the Reveal Linq that is cleared by the FDA to monitor for irregular heart beats such as atrial fibrillation with a high degree of accuracy. If the company was concerned about losing any Linq sales to Apple Watches, it didn’t say so when asked. Last week the FDA also cleared its first medical device accessory for the Apple Watch — a device called the Kardia Band, made by California’s AliveCor. The device uses what AliveCor calls artificial intelligence and cloud computing to detect when a person’s heartbeat is out of sync with their current physical activity, and then notifies the user to take an ECG reading on the single-electrode ECG reader mounted in the $199 Kardia Band.
20
The ECG data are then displayed on the Apple Watch and captured for later analysis by a physician. AliveCor also makes a $99 FDAcleared portable ECG reader called the Kardia Mobile, which is compatible with Android and iOS systems and can be attached to the back of a smartphone. Stanford also runs its own app-based cardiac study called MyHeart Counts, which is among many different medical and fitness-related applications listed in Apple’s App Store. Apple has encouraged the development of medical-research apps by releasing an opensource software framework called ResearchKit, which has been used to design apps related to everything from autism to melanoma to postpartum depression. 21
Regulators have urged consumers to approach medical apps with some skepticism. The Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit last December with California-based Aura Labs, which has claimed that its $4.99 Instant Blood Pressure app could give blood pressure readings as accurate as an armband cuff, even though clinical testing later found the app was much less accurate. Still, doctors said that legitimate health-related smartphone apps can have value, by flagging potential cases that need professional care.
22
Dr. JoEllyn Moore, an electrophysiologist with the Minneapolis Heart Institute, said that in general, patients who go to the doctor when their Apple Watches send alerts about possible atrial fibrillation would most likely be given a routine heart screening with an onsite ECG machine. They may also get a small device to take ECG readings at home when they are having an AFib episode.
The risk in technologies such as the Apple Watch’s heart-rate sensor test is that they may create false positives, inducing unnecessary anxiety in users and driving up overall health care costs without improving anyone’s health. Physicians and the tech industry will be watching closely to see whether the Apple Watch can keep false positives down while flagging previously unknown cases of AFib.
“It would be a similar screen for anyone who comes in complaining of an irregular heart rhythm,” Moore said.
“It has the potential to be very exciting. I think time will tell how accurate this tool is going to be,” she said.
23
24
CHOOSING A STREAMING DEVICE WITHOUT OVERPAYING
Why watch video on a phone or a tablet when you can get a device for as little as $30 to stream shows on a big-screen TV? Apple, Google, Amazon and Roku are all competing to be your gateway to online video. Which device you need will largely depend on what services you watch and what kind of TV you have. Of course, the device alone won’t be enough. You’ll probably want at least one subscription to a video service such as Netflix or Hulu, which charge monthly fees. Others, such as WatchESPN, require a cable TV subscription. Plenty of others — YouTube, for instance — offer video for free with ads, although their selections can be limited. 25
Here’s a holiday buying guide for the TV-streamers in your life.
STREAMING BUILT-IN Smart TVs, game consoles and the TiVo digital video recorder all have streaming capabilities built in. If all you watch is Netflix and Hulu, you’ll be fine with those. But apps for individual channels such as The CW and FX won’t work with every device. The exceptions are TVs that run Roku or Amazon software or that have Google’s Chromecast technology built in. They tend to have wider app selections, so you might not need a streaming device at all.
26
27
AMAZON FIRE TV Although Amazon has gotten better about promoting rival services, its Fire TV device is best seen as a companion to the company’s $99-a-year Prime loyalty program. Video available through Prime is prominent. The device has Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant builtin, giving you weather, sports scores, stock quotes and playback controls with selected apps — ask Alexa to forward 30 seconds, for instance. Amazon’s $40 Fire TV Stick is good for regular, high-definition TV sets. If you have a higher-resolution 4K TV, you’ll want the regular Fire TV for $70. There isn’t a lot of 4K video yet, but the price difference is small compared with what 4K TVs cost. The regular Fire TV also offers high-dynamic range, which has better contrast and produces brighter whites and darker blacks. Again, HDR video is slowly coming. Fire TV doesn’t offer apps for iTunes or Google Play video. Fire TV’s remote also lacks volume controls, something that’s becoming standard on streaming devices.
28
29
30
ROKU Roku has one of the most complete channel libraries — more than 5,000, many you’ve never heard of. But there’s no iTunes. Roku’s Express sells for just $30. The $50 Streaming Stick gets you a remote with volume buttons and voice search — though we’re talking basic queries related to shows and apps, not playback controls or information such as weather. The $70 Streaming Stick Plus adds 4K and HDR. Bells and whistles in the $100 Ultra include a remote that will emit a sound to help you find it in your couch cushion. The Ultra’s remote has a headphone jack, so you can watch TV without waking up roommates. For cheaper models, you can get that through Roku’s smartphone app. (With Fire TV and Apple TV, you can pair wireless headphones.) 31
GOOGLE Google’s Chromecast is cheap but trickier to use, as you have to start video on your phone and then switch the stream to the TV. An entry-level streaming device from Amazon or Roku might be a better choice now that those prices have come down. Separately, Google offers its Android TV software for other makers of streaming devices. Google’s YouTube and Play services often get prominent billing in search results. Again, no iTunes. Nvidia’s Shield device is one notable example of an Android TV device, though it’s pricey, starting at $179. It comes with 4K and HDR. You get voice searches through Google Assistant — playback controls with some apps, weather and data you might never think to ask a TV, such as flight status. Shield is powerful and designed with gamers in mind; one feature allows screen sharing of game play. A package that includes a game controller costs $20 more. The controller gives you a headphone jack for private listening and hands-free queries with Google Assistant. Even if you’re not a gamer, it’s nice not to have to press a microphone button on a remote to ask Google to pause or start video from the beginning.
32
image: Mark Madeo
33
APPLE TV Though an iPhone isn’t required, Apple TV will be most useful with one. The basic device is $149; a version with 4K and HDR costs $30 more. You’re paying for the experience — in particular, integration and syncing with other Apple gadgets. For instance, you can type passwords on an iPhone instead of navigating a keyboard on the TV character by character. Siri offers similar playback controls and information queries as Alexa and Google Assistant. The touchpad on the remote offers faster forwarding and rewinding than rivals. And while all streaming devices offer more than just video, Apple TV goes much further in offering an iPhone-like experience on a big screen. You can browse Ikea’s catalog or order food from Grubhub, for instance. Apple TV is the only device to support iTunes, but there’s no Google Play. Amazon is expected by the end of the year.
34
35
GOOGLE BLOCKS YOUTUBE ON AMAZON DEVICES IN ESCALATING FEUD
Google is pulling its popular YouTube video service from Amazon’s Fire TV and Echo Show devices in an escalating feud that has caught consumers in the crossfire. The decision to block YouTube is retaliation for Amazon’s refusal to sell some Google products that compete with Amazon gadgets. That includes Google’s Chromecast streaming device, an alternative to Fire TV, and an internetconnected speaker called Home, which is trying to catch up to Amazon’s market-leading Echo. Amazon’s high-end Echo Show has a screen that can display video. “Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV,” Google said in a Tuesday statement. Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 36
37
The battle highlights the power that the world’s major technology companies are gaining as they dominate important corners of commerce and communications. As the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon has tremendous sway over what people buy, while the results delivered by Google’s ubiquitous search engine often help determine what people do on and off the web. Google is hoping to pressure Amazon into selling Google’s products by taking away access to the world’s most widely watched video service. Unless a truce is reached, YouTube will stop working on Fire TV on Jan. 1. YouTube was supposed to disappear from the Echo Show Tuesday, although Amazon has previously found ways to make unauthorized versions of YouTube available on that device. The dispute between Amazon and Google mirrors the face-offs that occasionally crop up between pay-TV providers and TV networks when it comes time to re-negotiate their deals. But in this instance, the two tech heavyweights aren’t fighting over licensing fees. Instead, they are jockeying to position their gadgets and, by extension, their digital services into homes as internet-connected appliances and devices become more deeply ingrained in people’s lives. The bickering between Google and Amazon has been going on several years as they have ratcheted up the competition with each other. One of the first signs that the companies were at odds came when Amazon redesigned Google’s Android mobile software for its Kindle tablets. Two years ago, Amazon ousted Chromecast from its store, even though that device had previously been its top-selling electronics gadget. 38
39
The latest standoff between Google and Amazon was ridiculed by a trade association of high-speed internet providers. The group, USTelecom, has been trying to persuade skeptics that internet providers will preserve equal access to all digital services, even if the Federal Communications Commission adopts a proposal to rescind current “net neutrality” regulations . Internet providers are committed to “protections like no content blocking or throttling,” said USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter. “Seems like some of the biggest internet companies can’t say the same. Ironic, isn’t it?” 40
41
Besides withholding Chromecast and the Home speaker from its store, Amazon has also rankled Google by declining to sell an internetconnected thermostat made by Nest, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc. Amazon also doesn’t allow its Prime video streaming service on Chromecast, an omission that Google wants to change. Amazon also doesn’t sell Apple’s video streaming player. But that could change if Amazon’s video streaming service starts working on Apple TV, something Apple has said would happen by the end of this year. But that announcement was made in June and Prime video still isn’t available on Apple TV. Roku’s market-leading streaming players are sold through Amazon. Roku’s players feature channels for watching both Prime video and YouTube.
42
43
44
HAVE YOU BEEN ‘PWNED’ IN A DATA BREACH? TROY HUNT CAN TELL
Troy Hunt has collected a trove of 4.8 billion stolen identity records pulled from the darkest corners of the internet — but he isn’t a hacker. Instead, he uses that repository to help ordinary people navigate the growing scourge of the corporate data breach. All that personal information was originally taken from brandname services such as LinkedIn, Kickstarter, Dropbox, MySpace and the cheating website Ashley Madison, and later assembled by Hunt. Image: Carolyn Kaster
45
46
Working barefoot and in beachwear from his home office on Australia’s Gold Coast, the amiable security researcher set up his irreverent website, “Have I Been Pwned?” (POHND), in 2013. Millions of people have since used the free service to see if hackers have liberated their personal details from unwary companies and posted them online. Along the way, Hunt has become a close student of data breaches and the slipshod security that makes many companies easy prey for attackers. He’s exposed several such thefts himself, in some cases identifying them before the companies themselves did.
AN EPIDEMIC OF PWNAGE “Pwned” — a deliberate misspelling of “owned” — is slang used by gamers to mean “utterly defeated.” It’s an apt description of what it’s like to have criminals use your Social Security number, birthdate and other personal details to commit fraud in your name. Hunt was invited to appear before Congress in late November to help lawmakers wrestle with this growing crisis of consumer data theft. In just the past two years, attackers have stolen sensitive information about hundreds of millions of people from the credit bureau Equifax, popular online services such as Uber and too many other companies to count. Much of that stolen data flows directly into the black market. “Data breaches are another commodity, like heroin,” Hunt testified Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
47
UNLIKELY MESSENGER Hunt’s unlikely path from Queensland’s Surfers Paradise Beach to what he describes as “fancy government things” on Capitol Hill has been a running joke since his invitation to testify was announced. Virginia Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith, introducing Hunt to lawmakers, noted that he “put on a suit and tie for us when he normally wears jeans and a black T-shirt.” Hunt said he splurged on the brand-new Hugo Boss suit and Australian outback-style boots because he didn’t have anything else to wear. He also downloaded an app that instructed him on how to tie his necktie. “Doing my best ‘no really, I’m a professional’ impersonation,” he tweeted from the U.S. Capitol steps shortly before the hearing. “Did it work?”
48
49
50
ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH Of course, this “new normal” of massive data breaches is no joke. So much personal data has been publicly exposed through both theft and voluntary sharing on social media that it’s eroded traditional methods for verifying identity, such as usernames, passwords or knowledge-based questions about birthdays or family history. In late November, Hunt helped discover a 2014 breach of the photo-sharing website Imgur after analyzing data from the hack passed along by one of his sources. Unlike Uber, which hid a recently-disclosed breach of more than 57 million stolen passenger and driver records for a year, Imgur took just 25 hours to go public after Hunt emailed the San Francisco company on Thanksgiving Day. “Troy Hunt was extremely helpful in bringing the data breach to our attention and ensuring the sensitive data was passed to us in a secure manner,” Roy Sehgal, Imgur’s chief operating officer, said in an email.
PWN ALL THE THINGS Hunt originally launched his site “as a bit of a curiosity,” he said. At the time, he was a software architect at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer; a few years later, he quit to work as an independent information security consultant and instructor. The researcher was analyzing data breaches floating around the web and noticed that many people were turning up in multiple data breaches. “It struck me that this was something they probably didn’t know,” Hunt said in a phone interview. 51
52
People using his site can search on their email address to see whether and where their records have been exposed. Roughly 1.7 million people also subscribe to alerts that sound when their details pop up in newly discovered breaches. The website’s user base has grown rapidly as bigger data breaches — some many years old — get attention.
WEARING THE WHITE HAT Hunt “has credibility and integrity,” said U.K.based security researcher Ian Thornton-Trump, who has used Hunt’s site to build a system that keeps customer credentials safe from attacks that re-use previously disclosed passwords. “He’s resisted urges, and probably significant financial value, to sell out.” Thornton-Trump and other supporters say Hunt’s usefulness has grown as more people confidentially share publicly exposed data with him, drawn by his reputation as an ethical gatekeeper of sensitive information. “I hope they get a bit of a sense of doing the right thing,” Hunt said. “I hope there’s a sense of social good. They certainly don’t get any money out of it.” Hunt warned Congress on Thursday that there’s now a “perfect storm of data exposure” thanks to the growth in online services that are collecting more information than they really need. He also slipped in a suggestion that that the U.S. government, like some of its counterparts elsewhere, should do more to penalize companies that don’t disclose their breaches properly.
53
CALIFORNIA REGULATORS NIX RULES LIMITING CARMAKER LIABILITY
California regulators have nixed a plan to let self-driving car manufacturers evade liability for crashes if the vehicle hasn’t been maintained according to manufacturer specifications. The new rules released this week delete a provision suggested by General Motors. California Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said the change came after a review of comments on the plan. John Simpson of the nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog called the change a “major victory for consumers.” The rules could have absolved car makers of accident responsibility if a car owner hadn’t cleaned his sensors appropriately, said Simpson, the group’s privacy and technology director. GM spokeswoman Laura Toole said the automaker appreciated the department’s transparency and added that the company is “pleased be part of the process.” The department is taking comments on the latest changes until Dec. 15. The final regulations are expected to be enacted early next year. 54
55
56
57
Image: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
A BRIEF HISTORY OF APPLE PAY iPhone and Apple Watch users have had access to Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payments service, since October 2014. The feature allows users to buy lunch in a café or buy Christmas presents in a retail store and you can even make one-tap purchases within apps. The Cupertino firm’s latest venture, however, is Apple Pay Cash, which allows users to send and receive money from peers through the Messages app, making the process of transferring money even easier. “Send money for books to your son in college. Split a bill. Pay a babysitter. Send and receive from across the table — or across the country. Instantly.” No longer are iPhone users just able to pay businesses; with Apple Pay Cash, you can now send and receive money from friends. You can do so using the Messages app, or simply by asking Siri; it really is that simple. The best part is, you are not required to download an app, and instead can use the cards you already have set up in your Wallet. With this new technology, it’s never been easier to send money, so your most unreliable friend no longer has the excuse of leaving their wallet at home!
iOS 11.2 BRINGS APPLE PAY CASH To access Apple Pay Cash, you’ll need to be over the age of 18, live in the United States and update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS, 11.2. Two-factor authentication will need to be set up for your Apple ID, and you’ll need to be signed in to iCloud. Once you’ve completed these steps, you just need to ensure you have a card added to your Apple Wallet and you’re ready to go. 58
Inside iOS 11: Messages app gains Person-to-Person Payments
59
When using Apple Pay Cash on an iPhone, the process is simple. First, open the Messages app and start a conversation with the person you’d like to send money to. Then, simply tap the small Apple Store icon, followed by the Apple Pay icon. You will be prompted to enter the account you want to send, and once you have verified the transfer with Touch ID or Face ID, the money will be on its way to your friend. It really is as simple as that. You can also request a payment from a friend or family member using the same process, however, instead of tapping ‘pay’ after you have entered the amount, you instead click the ‘request’ button. It is important to remember that you can only send to another Apple device user and you can only cancel a payment if the recipient hasn’t yet accepted it.
INSTANT MONEY WITH A VIRTUAL BANK CARD When you receive payment from a friend or family member, the money will not go into your bank account, but instead will be transferred to your Apple Pay Cash Card. This card can be found in your Apple Wallet app and is created automatically. Think of it as a virtual bank account, where you’ll be able to access your new money instantly. No longer do you have to wait for the transfer to go through before you can buy an outfit for tonight’s party; as soon as the payment has been sent, you have access to the money straight away. You’ll be able to make payments via Apple Pay, or through the App Store. You can also transfer the funds to your bank account, should you wish to do so.
60
61
62
You can add money to your Apple Pay Cash Card using the cards you already have set up in the Apple Pay wallet. Apple has a very useful guide on how to add money when using both an iPhone and an Apple Watch.
A SECURE PAYMENT TRANSFER SERVICE Apple Pay Cash has led to some security concerns, however, rest assured that before sending the first payments you have to agree to the terms and conditions and confirm your identity, and you can only send payments using Touch ID or Face ID. There are also no fees when you use a debit card through the service, but you will have to pay the standard 3% fee when using a credit card. The service does not affect your credit, but there are limits in place on the amount you can transfer. Per message, you can receive a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $3,000, and you the maximum you can receive over a 7-day period is $10,000. You also don’t have to worry about your account if your phone is stolen or lost as the payments for the Apple Pay Cash Card are saved-off device and not stored solely in the Apple Wallet.
THE FUTURE FOR APPLE PAY CASH ABROAD The question on everyone’s lips is when Apple Pay Cash will be available outside the United States. At present, Apple is giving no clues, although Apple Pay’s original rollout suggests that the UK will be next to receive the new Cash feature, especially when you take into account Facebook Messenger’s rival, which launched in the United Kingdom. Image: Jason Cipriani/CNET
63
64
Apple Pay Cash
Image: Justin Sullivan
65
66
THE END OF PAYPAL COULD BE CLOSE Although Apple Pay Cash may seem a revolutionary feature for your smartphone, it is not the first service of its kind. Venmo first introduced peer-to-peer payments, bringing them to PayPal in 2013 during its acquisition. Square also added the feature to its Square Cash application, while Google Wallet also allows users to send cash to one another. However, Apple Pay Cash now poses a real threat to these services that are also available in the United States, as it is a baked-in feature. The real main competition Apple Pay Cash faces is with PayPal. PayPal not only offers P2P payments through Venmo but ahead of the launch of Apple Pay Cash, PayPal teamed up with Facebook to offer a similar peer-to-peer payment service. This allows users to send or request money using their PayPal account.
ANDROID AND APPLE PAY CASH Perhaps one of biggest drawbacks of Apple Pay Cash is that it can only be accessed from iOS devices – if one user has an iPhone and the other an Android, it won’t work. For the immediate future, Android users won’t have access to Apple Pay Cash, however, just like it did with its Apple Music service in 2015, Apple could introduce a standalone Apple Pay Cash application to the Google Play Store in due course.
APPLE REVOLUTIONIZES OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY The way money changes hands has been evolving for hundreds of years. In recent years, new payment currencies such as Bitcoin have 67
revolutionized our relationship with money; and the introduction of Apple Pay Cash is another step up the ladder. According to Virgin, Sweden could be the first completely cashless society, as it continued to crack down on organized crime. In Sweden, digital payments are accepted almost everywhere, including on buses and to buy magazines on the streets. This is a result of collaboration between major Swedish and Danish banks to create a direct payment app. Cashless societies could entirely change the way our children learn about money, with Forbes suggesting that e-currency, such as the potential e-Korona in Sweden, could be sensitive to shocks and could make society vulnerable. At the moment, we can only speculate about the future of Apple Pay Cash. However, there is a potential that the US will follow in Sweden’s footsteps, as users begin to see the benefits of becoming a cashless society.
by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan
68
69
70
Image: Bloomberg
FEDERAL REGULATOR GIVES OK FOR BITCOIN FUTURES TO TRADE
A federal regulator gave the go ahead on Friday to the CME Group to start trading bitcoin futures later this month, the first time the digital currency will be traded on a Wall Street exchange and subject to federal oversight. The CME Group, which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will start trading bitcoin futures Dec. 18, the company said. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the primary regulator for exchanges like the CME, gave approval for the exchange to create bitcoin futures after six weeks of discussions. 71
Image: Thomas Trutschel
72
The CME Group is using a process known as “self-certification,” which is when an exchange pledges that the new instruments will not break any federal securities laws. The price of bitcoin futures will be based on the price the digital currency is going for on four major bitcoin exchanges — Bitstamp, GDAX, itBit and Kraken. Due to its volatility, bitcoin futures will be subject higher margin levels and intraday price limits, the CME said. The move will subject some of the bitcoin market to federal regulation for the first time. It will also open up bitcoin trading to a larger group of investors and traders, who have been reluctant to purchase the virtual currency on the private exchanges. Bitcoin has gained more mainstream attention lately as its price has soared on the private exchanges. It was trading Friday at around $10,500, after being worth roughly $1,000 at the beginning of the year.
73
74
FACEBOOK LAUNCHES PARENT-CONTROLLED MESSENGER APP FOR KIDS
Facebook is coming for your kids. The social media giant is launching a messaging app for children to chat with their parents and with friends approved by their parents. The free app is aimed at kids under 13, who can’t yet have their own accounts under Facebook’s rules, though they often do. Messenger Kids comes with a sle w of controls for parents. The service won’t let children add their own friends or delete messages — only parents can do that. Kids don’t get a separate Facebook or Messenger account; rather, it’s an extension of a parent’s account. Messenger Kids came out this week in the U.S. as an app for Apple devices — the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Versions for Android and Amazon’s tablets are coming later. 75
A KIDS-FOCUSED EXPERIENCE While children do use messaging and social media apps designed for teenagers and adults, those services aren’t built for them, said Kristelle Lavallee, a children’s psychology expert who advised Facebook on designing the service. “The risk of exposure to things they were not developmentally prepared for is huge,” she said. Messenger Kids, meanwhile, “is a result of seeing what kids like,” which is images, emoji and the like. Face filters and playful masks can be distracting for adults, Lavallee said, but for kids who are just learning how to form relationships and stay in touch with parents digitally, they are ways to express themselves. Lavallee, who is content strategist at the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard University, called Messenger Kids a “useful tool” that “makes parents the gatekeepers.” But she said that while Facebook made the app “with the best of intentions,” it’s not yet known how people will actually use it. As with other tools Facebook has released in the past, intentions and real-world use do not always match up. Facebook’s live video streaming feature, for example, has been used for plenty of innocuous and useful things, but also to stream crimes and suicides.
76
77
78
HOOKED ON FACEBOOK Is Messenger Kids simply a way for Facebook to rope in the young ones? Stephen Balkam, CEO of the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute, said “that train has left the station.” Federal law prohibits internet companies from collecting personal information on kids under 13 without their parents’ permission and imposes restrictions on advertising to them. This is why Facebook and many other social media companies prohibit younger kids from joining. Even so, Balkam said millions of kids under 13 are already on Facebook, with or without their parents’ approval. He said Facebook is trying to deal with the situation pragmatically by steering young Facebook users to a service designed for them.
79
MARKETING MATTERS Facebook said Messenger Kids won’t show ads or collect data for marketing, though it will collect some data it says are necessary to run the service. Facebook also said it won’t automatically move users to the regular Messenger or Facebook when they get old enough, though the company might give them the option to move contacts to Messenger down the line. James Steyer, CEO of the kids-focused nonprofit group Common Sense, said that while he liked the idea of a messaging app that requires parental sign-ups, many questions remain. Among them: Will it always remain ad-free, and will parents get ads based on the service? “Why should parents simply trust that Facebook is acting in the best interest of kids?” Steyer said in a statement. “We encourage Facebook to clarify their policies from the start so that it is perfectly clear what parents are signing up for.”
80
81
82
JAMES PATTERSON AND EINSTEIN ARCHIVISTS CREATING NEW SERIES
Already co-writing a political thriller with former President Bill Clinton, James Patterson is now set for a collaboration with the managers of Albert Einstein’s archives. The best-selling and prolific novelist is developing a series for middle schoolers inspired by Einstein’s scientific discoveries. In a licensing deal with the Einstein archive, Little Brown will publish the first of three planned books, currently untitled, next fall. The release will come through the author’s own JIMMY Patterson children’s imprint. “I love the idea of introducing Einstein and the ideas of science to millions of kids around the world,” says Patterson, sounding childlike himself as he speaks of “taking this so freaking seriously.” Patterson, admittedly still learning when it comes to science, has worked in an innovation of his own. The series’ young protagonist, Max Einstein, is a girl. 83
“Women are definitely underrated in science and I wanted to address that,” he told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview. Little, Brown describes Max as “inventive, irreverent, highly imaginative,” one who “loves to solve problems in fun, unconventional ways, much like Einstein himself.” “The high-stakes adventure series follows Max and the world’s brightest kids as they travel the globe to solve humanity’s biggest problems with the power of science,” the publisher announced. Financial terms for the books were not disclosed. According to Little Brown, Einstein archivists will assist Patterson with research and also have input in the manuscripts and artwork. Proceeds will be divided among the archive, the publisher and Patterson. Einstein has inspired fiction before, such as Alan Lightman’s critically praised “Einstein’s Dreams.” He also was the subject of a best-selling biography by Walter Isaacson and of numerous biographies for children. Officials for the Einstein archives, which are based at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, cite Patterson’s enormous popularity and see the new series as an ideal way to expand Einstein’s appeal among young people. Dr. Roni Grosz, curator of the archives, praised Patterson’s ability to keep readers interested. “You don’t want readers just putting the books down because they’re not interesting enough,” he told the AP. “There’s tremendous interest in Einstein, but it’s not easy to convey his lessons and his knowledge. These books are one way to package this rather complex information and present it to young readers.” 84
Image: Taylor Jewell
85
#01 – Rules of Survival By NetEase Games Category: Games / Free Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#02 – YouTube By Google, Inc. Category: Photo & Video / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#03 – Snapchat By Snap, Inc. Category: Photo & Video / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#04 – Messenger By Facebook, Inc. Category: Social Networking / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#05 – Dune! By Voodoo Category: Games / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#06 – Instagram By Instagram, Inc. Category: Photo & Video / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#07 – Facebook By Facebook, Inc. Category: Social Networking / Free Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#08 – Words With Friends 2-Word Game By Zynga Inc. Category: Games / Free Requires iOS 10.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#09 – Bitmoji - Your Personal Emoji By Bitstrips Category: Utilities / Free Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#10 – Netflix By Netflix, Inc. Category: Entertainment / Free Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
86
#01 – GarageBand By Apple Category: Music / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later
#02 – WhatsApp Desktop By WhatsApp Inc. Category: Social Networking / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.9.0 or later, 64-bit processor
#03 – Open Any File By Rocky Sand Studio Ltd. Category: Utilities / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
#04 – 1Doc: Word Processor for Writer ByChengyu Huang Category: Business / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.10.0 or later, 64-bit processor
#05 – PDF Reader Pro Free By PDF Technologies, Inc. Category: Business / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.8 or later, 64-bit processor
#06– OneDrive By Microsoft Corporation Category: Productivity / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.9.0 or later, 64-bit processor
#07– Microsoft OneNote By Microsoft Corporation Category: Productivity / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
#08 – Kindle By AMZN Mobile LLC Category: Reference / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.9 or later
#09 – The Unarchiver By Dag Agren Category: Utilities / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.6.0 or later, 64-bit processor
#10 – Xcode By Apple Category: Developer Tools / Free Compatibility: OS X 10.11.5 or later
87
#01 – Heads Up! By Warner Bros. Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#02 – Minecraft By Mojang Category: Games / Price: $6.99 Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#03 – kirakira+ By Kentaro Yama Category: Photo & Video / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#04 – Plague Inc By Ndemic Creations Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#05 – Bloons TD 5 By Ninja Kiwi Category: Games / Price: $2.99 Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#06 – NBA 2K18 By 2K Category: Games / Price: $7.99 Requires iOS 9.0 or later.
#07 – The Game of Life By Marmalade Game Studio Category: Games / Price: $2.99 Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#08 – Facetune By Lightricks Ltd. Category: Photo & Video / Price: $3.99 Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#09 – MONOPOLY Game By Electronic Arts Category: Games / Price: $0.99 Requires iOS 8.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
#10 – Geometry Dash By RobTop Games AB Category: Games / Price: $1.99 Requires iOS 5.1.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
88
#01 – The Sims™ 2: Super Collection By Aspyr Media, Inc. Category: Games / Price: $39.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.9.2 or later
#02 – Magnet By CrowdCafé Category: Productivity / Price: $1.39 Compatibility: OS X 10.9 or later, 64-bit processor
#03 – Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro By Systweak Software Category: Photography / Price: $1.39 Compatibility: OS X 10.7 or later
#04 – Dr. Cleaner Pro By Trend Micro, Incorporated Category: Utilities / Price: $20.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
#05 – Logic Pro X By Apple Category: Music / Price: $279.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
#06 – RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum By Aspyr Media, Inc. Category: Games / Price: $20.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.8.5 or later
#07 – Mirror for Samsung TV By AirBeamTV BV Category: Video / Price: $13.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
#08 – Home Design 3D By Anuman Category: Graphics & Design / Price: $8.49 Compatibility: OS X 10.8 or later, 64-bit processor
#09 – PomTimer By Bech LLC Category: Productivity / Price: $1.39 Compatibility: OS X 10.9 or later, 64-bit processor
#10 – Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 By Adobe Category: Photography / Price: $84.99 Compatibility: OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor
89
Trailer
Movies &
TV Shows
90
Almost Friends Once a promising young chef, Charlie (Freddie Highmore) is a twenty-something who now lives at home with his mom and stepfather while working at a movie theatre and living vicariously through his friend Ben(Haley Joe Osment). His life takes a turn when he falls for local barista Amber (Odeya Rush) who unfortunately has her own plans that involve her boyfriend and a move to New York.
FIVE FACTS: 1. This is the second time Freddie Highmore plays a character named Charlie. The first was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). by Jake Goldberger Genre: Comedy Released: 2017 Price: $12.99
2. Odeya Rush appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2010 where Christopher Meloni was the lead actor.
16 Ratings
3. The tagline for this movie is ‘Timing is everything’. 4. Freddie Highmore’s performance in Finding Neverland (2004) was what brought him worldwide attention. 5. Haley Joe Osment is best known for his role starring alongside Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense (1999).
Rotten Tomatoes
29
% 91
92
DinoTrailers
93
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives that must maintain order throughout human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two must embark on a mission to the city of Alpha where a dark force threatens the peaceful existence of not only the City of a Thousand Planets but the entire future of the universe.
FIVE FACTS: 1. There are 200 different alien species in the movie, and director Luc Besson created a 600-page book that described all the details of the species that the actors had to read before they began filming. 2. The film is based on a French science fiction comic series Valérian and Laureline by Pierre Christin and was released on the year of the comic’s 50th anniversary.
by Luc Besson Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Released: 2017 Price: $19.99
363 Ratings
3. Before the Big Market mission, Laureline tells the commanding operative “nice hat” which is a nod to The Fifth Element (1997). 4. Luc Besson chose not to shoot the film in 3D because 3D cameras are too heavy for his usual style of filming. 5. The first two trailers use the song “Because” by The Beatles. This is the first time a director could obtain the rights for using a Beatles song in a movie advertisement. Permission was granted by Paul McCartney.
Rotten Tomatoes
49
%
94
Trailer
95
Teaser
96
97
“Highway Tune”
98
Music
From the Fires Greta Van Fleet At last, this four-piece from Michigan have released the type of rock music that makes you want to rev your engine. Their breakout hit “Highway Tune” features high-pitched howls over ripping electronic guitars and hammering drums that would make Led Zeppelin proud. This is a must-listen for fans of classic 70’s rock.
FIVE FACTS: Genre: Rock Released: Nov 10, 2017 8 Songs Price: $6.99
331 Ratings
1. The band was formed in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2012 by brothers Joshua “Josh” Kiszka, Samuel “Sam” Kiszka, Jacob “Jake” Kiszka and Kyle Hauck. 2. In October 2017, the band won Best New Artist at the Loudwire Music Awards. 3. The band name was created when one of its members heard a relative mention Gretna Van Fleet, a resident of Frankenmuth. 4. In 2014, their song “Standing On” was featured in 2014 Chevy Equinox advertisements. 5. Their debut single, “Highway Tune”, topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock and Active Rock Rock stations in September 2017.
99
100
Highway Tune (Audio)
101
Lambs & Lions Chase Rice Chase Rice’s fourth album delves deeper into personal topics like broken hearts and the power of God. Tracks like “Three Chords & The Truth” expose him more than ever and his cover of Chris LeDoux’s “This Cowboy’s Hat” recorded with LeDoux’s son Ned is one not to miss.
FIVE FACTS: 1. Chase cites his father as the inspiration for his career, recalling his father saying “boy anyone can play guitar, but no one is gonna really listen to you until you start singing.”
Genre: Country Released: Nov 17, 2017 10 Songs Price: $9.99
2. He was a contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua, where he was the runner-up to Jud “Fabio” Birza.
163 Ratings
3. He was a co-writer of Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise”, which topped Billboard Hot Country Songs. 4. After graduating from UNC, Rice joined the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew and also worked on Jimmie Johnson’s Spring Cup Series car and won two championships with the Lowe’s team. 5. One of his hobbies is woodworking, something he picked up while recovering from vocal surgery.
102
“Three Chords & The Truth”
103
104
“Everybody We Know Does”
105
106
BOX OFFICE TOP 20: ‘COCO,’ ‘JUSTICE LEAGUE’ STAY ON TOP
With no major new releases hitting theaters, Pixar’s acclaimed “Coco” again topped the North American box office with $27.5 million in its second week of release, according to final figures Monday. Strong family films such as “Coco” and Lionsgate’s “Wonder,” along with an expanding list of Oscar contenders like “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Lady Bird,” helped drive the box office to its best postThanksgiving weekend in five years. 107
108
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
1.
“Coco,” Disney, $27,533,304, 3,987 locations, $6,906 average, $110,108,708, 2 Weeks.
2.
“Justice League,” Warner Bros., $16,651,104, 3,820 locations, $4,359 average, $197,407,025, 3 Weeks.
3.
“Wonder,” Lionsgate, $12,147,182, 3,449 locations, $3,522 average, $87,679,805, 3 Weeks.
4.
“Thor: Ragnarok,” Disney, $9,885,936, 3,148 locations, $3,140 average, $291,633,535, 5 Weeks.
5.
“Daddy’s Home 2,” Paramount, $7,572,390, 3,403 locations, $2,225 average, $82,886,836, 4 Weeks.
109
6.
“Murder on the Orient Express,” 20th Century Fox, $6,767,002, 3,201 locations, $2,114 average, $84,839,515, 4 Weeks.
7.
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri,” Fox Searchlight, $4,396,537, 1,430 locations, $3,075 average, $13,537,057, 4 Weeks.
8.
“Lady Bird,” A24, $4,291,590, 1,194 locations, $3,594 average, $16,837,041, 5 Weeks.
9.
“The Star,” Sony, $4,078,423, 2,822 locations, $1,445 average, $27,358,076, 3 Weeks.
10.
“A Bad Moms Christmas,” STX Entertainment, $3,385,484, 2,251 locations, $1,504 average, $64,737,307, 5 Weeks.
110
111
112
11.
“Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” Sony, $1,958,702, 1,669 locations, $1,174 average, $9,526,792, 3 Weeks.
12.
“The Disaster Artist,” A24, $1,211,345, 19 locations, $63,755 average, $1,211,345, 1 Week.
13.
“The Man Who Invented Christmas,” Bleecker Street, $882,836, 673 locations, $1,312 average, $3,170,258, 2 Weeks.
14.
“Titanic 20th Anniversary,” Paramount, $438,602, 87 locations, $5,041 average, $438,602, 1 Week.
15.
“Blade Runner 2049,” Warner Bros., $401,403, 515 locations, $779 average, $90,785,165, 9 Weeks.
113
114
16.
“Junior Majeur,” Entertainment One Films, $345,710, 87 locations, $3,974 average, $1,198,440, 2 Weeks.
17.
“Call Me By Your Name,” Sony Pictures Classics, $295,561, 4 locations, $73,890 average, $922,456, 2 Weeks.
18.
“Marshall,” Open Road, $247,772, 651 locations, $381 average, $9,150,000, 8 Weeks.
19.
“Jigsaw,” Lionsgate, $222,803, 301 locations, $740 average, $37,603,791, 6 Weeks.
20.
“Loving Vincent,” Good Deed Entertainment, $213,066, 162 locations, $1,315 average, $5,503,561, 11 Weeks.
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
115
116
COMIC-BOOK HEROES FLOCK TO TV, BUT WHY ARE THEY SO POPULAR?
When “Marvel’s The Punisher” debuted on Netflix last month, it was greeted with great interest and high anticipation. But it arrived as just one of many comic-book adaptations. “The Punisher” is only the latest in a flood now comprising some 28 shows across nine broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, with no end in sight. Granted, all comic-book shows aren’t created equal. AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” beset by zombies, differs markedly from the teen adventures of Archie Andrews on the CW’s “Riverdale” and from Amazon’s superhero spoof “The Tick.” 117
But the majority exists within either of two expansive brands, not dissimilar to Pepsi and Coke. One is DC, which (with the midseason arrival of “Black Lightning” on the CW) will be represented by nine shows on three networks. The other is Marvel with 13 shows arrayed on six outlets, chiefly Netflix, which currently hosts a halfdozen of its own. That all adds up to more spandex get-ups than you’d find in an aerobics class. But before concluding that superheroes have taken over the small screen, it’s worth noting a few things. First, TV has always chased trends. Think: cop shows, doctor shows, lawyer shows. Way back in Fall 1959, more than two dozen Westerns were airing on just three broadcast networks. That would dwarf the current slate of comic book shows as a percentage of the 500-odd scripted original prime-time series airing in 2017. “Comics-related television series have always been a mainstay of television,” says Paul Levinson, professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University. “Now it may seem like they’re all over the place. But that’s because there’s television all over the place.” Even so, an upsurge of comic-based shows the past few years is unmistakable. Consider the CW, where, without “Smallville” after a decade’s run, no such shows were in its lineup in Fall 2011. But after a subsequent year-by-year buildup, it will boast seven this season. Along the way, comics-related movies proliferated, while in October 2010, “The Walking Dead” made clear from its explosive arrival that a comic-book property could be a TV smash. 118
119
By then, the CGI (computer graphics imagery) that any superhero show requires had become more sophisticated yet sufficiently affordable for weekly TV productions. Conversely, superhero series were a perfect TV showcase for those ever-more-eye-popping special effects in a way that more realistic cop dramas or sitcoms could never be. Meanwhile, the launch of more and more channels, especially streaming platforms with their limitless capacity, signaled an everescalating need to create content. “With this extraordinary appetite for source material, decades of comic books offered material just waiting to be plucked,” says Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture. Even better, they’re perfectly formatted for turning into TV. “A comic book is like a TV storyboard: visual dialogue in frames,” Thompson says. “It’s so perfectly transferable! Comic books make the life of a network development executive really, really easy.” But none of this accounts for the apparently insatiable hunger for these shows with which the audience receives them. “All of it, one some level, is escapism,” explains Brett Rogers, classics professor at the University of Puget Sound. “If I’m watching ‘Jessica Jones’ for an hour, I’m not dealing with some real thing in my life. But the flip side is that comicbook-inspired shows can be spaces for thinking through some serious questions: ‘Jessica Jones’ is an opportunity to explore sexual violence and post-traumatic stress disorder. 120
Image: Myles Aronowitz
121
122
“The comic book industry famously has had to fight the stigma of being for just for children and idiots,” he says. But as gifted “kids and idiots” like Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith came of age and made waves by nurturing a comics ethos across multiple media including TV, comics gained new gravitas, respect and urgency. “It’s now being normalized as shared myth of mainstream culture,” Rogers said. “It’s a common myth shared between readers and viewers, adolescents and adults, comics and film buffs alike — NOT just kids’ culture.” Such shows, like the comics that spawned them, can offer welcome moral clarity in an ever-moreconfounding world. “It’s much easier to identify the heroes and villains, the good guys vs. the bad guys, than it is 123
124
Image: Jessica Miglio
on other television shows,” says Levinson. “And, by and large, the good characters and heroes endure and triumph over adversity.” “These characters were created as morality tales. They have a primal appeal, a simple appeal,” says Glen Weldon, a panelist on NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast and author of “Superman: The Unauthorized Biography.” “They represent our best selves. We are meant to look at them and strive to be more like them.” And thanks to the internet, the appreciation of these comic-book heroes, whether they exist on the page or the screen, can now be enjoyed as a communal experience. “In the past, if you grew up a nerd, you thought you were alone,” says Weldon. “Now you can go online and find people just like you who share your passion.” How long will this craze last? For more than a half-century, TV’s trends have burst on the scene, then flared out and been given up for dead. (How many current TV Westerns can you count?) But comics-inspired TV may not follow that cycle. “It may ebb as well as flow,” says Thompson, “but I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that this genre will exhaust itself as others have done, or that viewers will get tired of it. It’s such a versatile genre.” Versatile, and with room to grow, he adds, unlike other genres that may have reached their peak. While the police procedural may well have plateaued creatively, “the comic-book genre is still maturing,” he says. “We’re still seeing it evolve.”
125
126
‘THE LAST JEDI’ AIMS TO CAPTURE THAT OLD STAR WARS FEELING
Han Solo is dead. Luke Skywalker is back, but changed. And Leia Organa’s story will soon be coming to an end. The Star Wars that inspired four decades of passionate fandom appears to be slowly but surely fading as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” prepares to descend on Dec. 15, giving way to a newer generation of intergalactic rebels and their foes, like Rey and Kylo Ren, and a fresh voice behind the endeavor in writer-director Rian Johnson (“Looper”). J.J. Abrams’“The Force Awakens” set the stage for this new era of the franchise, but “The Last Jedi” has to move it forward and keep audiences interested for the next one too. After all these years and billions of dollars, Star Wars isn’t exactly a scrappy underdog anymore, but the franchise is in somewhat uncharted 127
128
territory. The prequels did their own damage, but at least no one had to say goodbye to their original heroes. And then there’s the seemingly impossible standard set by that other Star Wars sequel, “The Empire Strikes Back.” Besides the main cast, filmmakers and some Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Co. brass, no one will see “The Last Jedi” until the Los Angeles premiere on Dec. 9. And determining what exactly audiences should expect is a bit like trying to assemble a puzzle with no picture and most of the pieces missing. The cast has left some adjective breadcrumbs (“intense,”“emotional,”“intimate,” “cinematic”) but for the most part, it’s a mystery. “For me, ‘The Last Jedi’ is not a particularly happy story to tell, but it’s just my part,” Mark Hamill says cryptically. Hamill, 66, returns to play Luke Skywalker after being seen in only a few frames of “The Force Awakens,” which ends on a windswept cliff as the young protege Rey (Daisy Ridley) approaches him looking for training from the missing Jedi. Luke and Rey are just one of the new pairings promised for the film, which finds every character out of their comfort zone and facing new challenges as the Resistance organizes to go up against the First Order. “It’s got so much going on,” Hamill adds. “You can cut from the more somber scenes I have to the action/adventure, the suspense, the humor ... I’ve only seen it once but I thought, ‘This is too much information to process.’” The marketing campaign, no doubt playing into the tone set by “Empire,” has focused on the darkness and intensity of “The Last Jedi,” but Johnson says that’s only one element. 129
He stresses that it is, first and foremost, a Star Wars movie. To him, that means capturing that thing that makes you want to “run out of the theater and into your backyard” to play with your spaceship toys — even without the curmudgeonly wit of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo. “That’s what everyone was concerned about going in: How do you do it without him?” Johnson, 43, says. “I saw so much potential for humor in it. I was looking at every single character and trying to find opportunities to break the tension. I think people are going to be surprised by how fun and light on its feet it is.” In addition to Luke and Rey, the film brings back Carrie Fisher as Leia in her last film role (Fisher died after filming had wrapped), Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, fresh off murdering his father Han Solo, the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Domnhall Gleeson’s General Hux, the ace pilot Poe (Oscar Isaac), the ex-Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) and his old boss Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Chewbacca, the droids and a host of newcomers, like Laura Dern’s purple-haired Vice Admiral Holdo, a maintenance tech, Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), a hacker (Benicio Del Toro) and some cute little creatures called Porgs. His script, which he was able to write while “The Force Awakens” was being made, took some of the cast aback at first. “I was going, ‘Uh, I’m not sure about this,’” Ridley says. “It just took us all a second to be like, ‘Ok this is where the story is heading.’” Johnson jokes that he’s like the new boyfriend at Thanksgiving dinner who everyone has to get used to. 130
Image: Jonathan Olley
131
“(Rian) had a different challenge which was to expand the Star Wars universe further with more inventive ideas, taking more risks,” Boyega says. “He was a real fan. I feel like he ticked off his Star Wars fanboy theories just one by one with this film.” That fandom has also helped Johnson, who Hamill refers to as his Obi-Wan, reach a sort of zen-like state with the film. It also doesn’t hurt that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who has not been afraid to make tough decisions and fire or bench directors if something isn’t working, was so pleased with their collaboration and the resulting film that she has already enlisted Johnson to develop a new Star Wars trilogy separate from the Skywalker saga (he’ll write and direct the first). Now it’s just a matter of putting “The Last Jedi” out in the world. Financially, there’s not much to worry about — it’s tracking to open somewhere in the $200 million range (far below “The Force Awakens’” $248 million debut, but stunning nonetheless). Also box office and the expectations and hopes of a loyal fanbase, who have been burned before, are two very different things. “Having been a Star Wars fan myself for the past 40 years, I know intimately how passionate they are about it and how everyone has stuff they love and hate in every single movie. That takes the pressure off a little bit just thinking, ‘Ok, there’s going to be stuff that everyone likes, there’s going to be stuff that people don’t like and it’s going to be a mixture,’” Johnson says. And with a smile and a shrug, he adds: “That’s what being a Star Wars fan is.” 132
133
134
MICHIGAN STUDENTS DEVELOP MULTIPLE SKILLS FROM ROBOTICS
Local schools are becoming more involved with robotics programs. Being in robotics helps students in their classes, helps them create leadership roles and helps build a student’s work ethic. STEM education — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — is a new movement in A merican education that helps prepare students for the workforce. Being involved in STEM education classes helps a student prepare for the job openings that will be available. 135
“There are so many job openings right now, especially in Michigan,” teacher Melissa Doubek said. “There are job openings in stem-related careers and there are possibilities for jobs here in Alpena.” One benefit of STEM education is that what students learn in their classes helps them in robotics and they can apply what they learn in class to the robots they are working on. “We have our math and science classes and together with our work ethic, we can put those together to build the robots,” AHS sophomore Aaron West said. Along with applying their school work to robotics, students learn about time management because they learn how to balance their time outside of the classroom. West said being in robotics helps students focus in their classes. “We make sure that our classes are in top order because if our grades drop, we are not allowed on the team,” he said. When Alpena goes to tournaments, West said students make sure that their homework is done before the tournament by using their time efficiently so they are able to compete. “Robotics makes you realize how important hard work is and also realizing the value of cooperating with other people,” sophomore Emeline Hanna said. “Even if something goes wrong, you should still be determined to keep going because there are things that will go wrong in robotics.” Robotics gives students experience in the science field and also gets the students 136
137
138
interested and excited about learning new things. Doubek said some students never know that they are interested in engineering before joining robotics, but once they join, they get excited. “They realize that what they are learning in math, physics, business and advertising, and public relations during the school day is important in robotics,” she said. Students realize they like certain fields of science and there are different fields that students can pursue careers in. Doubek said there are some students who aren’t interested in engineering, but are instead interested in medicine. She said some students realize they want to learn leadership skills when in robotics. “That is just as important as the students realizing that they want to go into engineering,” Doubek said. “We put a lot of students in leadership roles because we are trying to grow the leaders of tomorrow.” When students are a part of a robotics program, they learn more than just building the robots with their teammates. Mentor Gary Stevens said robotics teaches students how to work in a group and as a team. “You’re going to watch certain kids elevate as leaders and you’re going to watch other kids find things that they like to do,” he said. Every student contributes in some way when they are a member of robotics. Stevens said there is a role for every student and if a student is concerned they’re not actively involved, there’s a way to help them and get them to contribute. 139
Mentor Kevin West said that outside of robotics, students learn how to develop and how to further themselves. He said that at the competitions, the students interact with the other teams and make friends with those on other teams. “The teams learn from one another,” he said. “In an alliance, they have to align with two other teams during every qualifying match so they have to interact with people they don’t know. They have to work together to decide how each team functions and decide what their strongest points are.” Alpena’s robotics program has multiple teams, which gives students the opportunity to share their knowledge in a smaller group. “Robotics is a hands-on team experience. It’s like a varsity sport for the mind,” Stevens said. Alpena High School hosted an offseason tournament the first weekend of November where the teams played last year’s game, the Alpena News reported . West said the offseason tournament is a good eye-opener for what the competitions are going to be like in the winter. The tournament also gave teams more practice working with robots and exposed the new kids to what FIRST Robotics is all about. Most of the teams that participated had inexperienced drivers driving the robots to prepare themselves for the season. “They got to see what a tournament looks like and got their interest sparked,” Doubek said. “When build season begins in January, they will already know what the end goal is.”
140
141
142
NASA NAILS TEST ON VOYAGER SPACECRAFT, 13 BILLION MILES AWAY
NASA has nailed an engine test on a spacecraft 13 billion miles away. Last week, ground controllers sent commands to fire backup thrusters on Voyager 1, our most distant spacecraft. The thrusters had been idle for 37 years, since Voyager 1 flew past Saturn. To NASA’s delight, the four dormant thrusters came alive. It took more than 19 hours — the one-way travel time for signals — for controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to get the good news. Engineers wanted to see if these alternate thrusters could point Voyager 1’s antenna toward Earth, a job normally handled by a different set that’s now degrading. The thrusters will take over pointing operations next month. The switch could extend Voyager 1’s life by two to three years. 143
144
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft traveling through interstellar space, the region beyond our solar system. Voyager 2 is close on its heels — nearly 11 billion miles from Earth. The thruster test worked so well that NASA expects to try it on Voyager 2. That won’t happen anytime soon, though, because Voyager 2’s original thrusters are still working fine. The Voyager flight team dug up old records and studied the original software before tackling the test. As each milestone in the test was achieved, the excitement level grew, said propulsion engineer Todd Barber. “The mood was one of relief, joy and incredulity after witnessing these well-rested thrusters pick up the baton as if no time had passed at all,” he said in a statement. The twin Voyagers provided stunning closeup views of Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also offered shots of Uranus and Neptune.
145
TESLA BUILDS WORLD’ BIGGEST BATTERY IN AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery has plugged into an Australian state grid, an official said last week, easily delivering on Tesla Inc. chief executive Elon Musk’s 100-day guarantee. Musk promised to build the 100-megawatt battery within 100 days of the contracts being signed at the end of September or hand it over to the South Australia state government for free. South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill announced the battery began dispatching power into the state grid, providing 70 megawatts as temperatures rose above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). 146
147
“South Australia is now leading the world in dispatchable renewable energy, delivered to homes and businesses 24/7,” Weatherill said. The official launch came a little over 60 days after the deal was signed. But crucially, it came on the first day of the Australian summer — the season when power usage soars due to air conditioning use. Tesla says the battery has the capacity to power 30,000 homes for up to an hour in the event of a severe blackout, but is more likely to be called into action to boost supply during peak demand periods. The battery power packs are installed near the Outback town of Jamestown, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of the state capital Adelaide. They store energy generated by the neighboring Hornsdale Wind Farm, owned by French renewable energy company Neoen, to bring added reliability and stability to the state grid.
148
149
150
Tesla partnered with Neoen to build the battery, which is more than three times larger than the previous record-holder at Mira Loma, California. South Australia, which relies heavily on solar and wind-generated energy, has been scrambling to find a way to bolster its fragile power grid since the entire state suffered a blackout during a storm last year. Further blackouts plagued the state over the next few months. The battery farm is part of a 550 million Australian dollar ($420 million) plan announced in March by Weatherill to make the state independent of the nation’s power grid. The cost of the battery has not been made public. The Australian grid operator has warned of potential shortages of gas-fired electricity across southeast Australia by late next year. The shortage is looming as Australia is expected to soon overtake Qatar as the world’s biggest exporter of liquid natural gas. Australia is also a major exporter of coal, which fires much of its electricity generation and makes the country one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas polluters on a per capita basis.
151
152
PERFECT DUET (WITH BEYONCÉ)
Ed ShEEran
AMAZING GRACE (THE VOICE PERFORMANCE)
BrookE SimpSon
PERFECT
Ed ShEEran
CALL ME (THE VOICE PERFORMANCE)
ChloE kohanSki
LUCKY (THE VOICE PERFORMANCE)
addiSon agEn
HIM & I
g-Eazy
HAVANA (FEAT. YOUNG THUG)
Camila CaBEllo
ROCKSTAR (FEAT. 21 SAVAGE)
poSt malonE
THUNDER
imaginE dragonS
ALL BY MYSELF (THE VOICE PERFORMANCE)
kEiSha rEnEE
153
154
FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2
ChriS StaplEton
SONGS OF EXPERIENCE (DELUXE EDITION)
U2
REPUTATION
taylor Swift
A PENTATONIX CHRISTMAS DELUXE
pEntatonix
WARMER IN THE WINTER
lindSEy Stirling
YOU MAKE IT FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS
gwEn StEfani
THE THRILL OF IT ALL (SPECIAL EDITION)
Sam Smith
WAR & LEISURE
migUEl
÷ (DELUXE)
Ed ShEEran
THE ESSENTIAL NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS
VarioUS artiStS
155
156
MIC DROP (STEVE AOKI REMIX)
BtS
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME
dEmi loVato
PERFECT
Ed ShEEran
LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
for king & CoUntry
BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
p!nk
HIM & I (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
g-Eazy
HAVANA (FEAT. YOUNG THUG)
Camila CaBEllo
...READY FOR IT?
taylor Swift
LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO
taylor Swift
DESPACITO (FEAT. DADDY YANKEE)
lUiS fonSi
157
158
TIME FOR AFTER
thE walking dEad, SEaSon 8
MASQUERADE
VandErpUmp rUlES, SEaSon 6
DOG TIRED
kEEping Up with thE kardaShianS, SEaSon 14
SACRIFICE
thE good doCtor, SEaSon 1
PETTY PARTY
thE rEal hoUSEwiVES of atlanta, SEaSon 10
REIGN
SUpErgirl, SEaSon 3
THE SINNERMAN
lUCifEr, SEaSon 3
THE KING, THE WIDOW, AND RICK
thE walking dEad, SEaSon 8
THE FISHER KING
VikingS, SEaSon 5
TOO SHADY
tEEn mom, Vol. 19
159
160
YEAR ONE
nora roBErtS
DARKER
E l JamES
THE DEMON CROWN
JamES rollinS
END GAME
daVid BaldaCCi
PERSEPOLIS RISING
JamES S. a. CorEy
ROOMIES
ChriStina laUrEn
ORIGIN
dan Brown
THE PEOPLE VS. ALEX CROSS
JamES pattErSon
THE MIDNIGHT LINE
lEE Child
THE 12 SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS
aBBy VandiVEr and othErS
161
APPLE, GOOGLE AT CHINESE INTERNET FEST SHOWS LURE OF MARKET
The high-profile attendance of the leaders of Apple and Google at a Chinese conference promoting Beijing’s vision of a censored internet highlights the dilemma for Western tech companies trying to expand in an increasingly lucrative but restricted market. The event in Wuzhen, a historic canal town outside Shanghai, marked the first time chiefs of two of the world’s biggest tech companies have attended the annual state-run World Internet Conference. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the gathering as the conference opened Sunday that his company was proud to work with Chinese partners to build a “common future in cyberspace.” His and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s presence along with other business leaders, diplomats and other experts, some analysts say, helped bestow credibility on Beijing’s preferred version of an internet sharply at odds with Silicon Valley’s dedication to unfettered access. 162
163
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed, in remarks to the conference conveyed by an official, that “China’s door to the world will never close, but will only open wider.” As in previous years, organizers allowed attendees unrestricted access to the internet, contrary to official policy under which internet users face extensive monitoring and censorship and are blocked from accessing many overseas sites by the so-called Great Firewall of China. Since Xi came to power in late 2012, he has tightened controls and further stifled free expression, activists say. Beijing’s restraints also extend to Western companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook, which have largely been shut out from the market, leaving it to homegrown internet giants like Tencent.
164
165
166
Apple has a large production base in China, which is one of its biggest markets, though domestic smartphone makers are catching up. It has been criticized by some app developers for complying with Chinese censorship demands. In July, companies that let people get around the government’s internet filters — known as virtual private network providers — said their programs had been removed from Apple’s app store in China. One such company, ExpressVPN, said Apple was “aiding China’s censorship effort.” Apple said that China began requiring this year that developers of virtual private networks have a government license. The California-based tech giant said it had removed apps “in China that do not meet the new regulations.” Two Apple spokeswomen couldn’t be reached by phone for comment. “The problem is that these companies are between a rock and a hard place,” said Rogier Creemers, a China researcher at Leiden University who attended the conference. They covet China’s huge market but if they do make it in, as in Apple’s case, local law “requires things that Western observers generally are uncomfortable with,” he said. Cook’s speech drew a big crowd. He said the company supports more than 5 million jobs in China, including 1.8 million software developers who have earned more than 112 billion yuan ($17 billion) building apps available through Apple’s App Store. It’s Apple’s responsibility to ensure that “technology is infused with humanity,” he said. He avoided direct mention of any sensitive topics, though he hinted at them by stressing 167
the need for “safeguards to keep everyone protected: Privacy. Security. Decency,” according to a transcript. Google shut the Chinese version of its search engine in 2010 over censorship concerns. Pichai has talked about wanting to re-enter China, and he told a panel discussion in Wuzhen that small and mid-sized Chinese businesses use Google services to get their products to other countries, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. Spokespeople for Apple and Google declined to comment. The tech giants may have chosen to appear at the conference because the current political climate in the United States encourages a pragmatic approach in pursuing business regardless of other concerns, said Jonathan Sullivan, director of the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute. “There has never been a time when an American company is less likely to be called out by the White House for pursuing a business-first approach,” said Sullivan.
168
169
170
IRELAND TO START COLLECTING $15 BILLION IN TAX FROM APPLE
Ireland has struck a deal with Apple to collect up to 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes and hold it in an escrow account pending an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The government said in a statement this week that an agreement had been reached “in relation to the framework of the principles that will govern the escrow arrangements.” The European Commission had ordered Ireland to collect the money after concluding that two Irish tax rulings allowed Apple to pay less tax than other businesses — thus giving them an 171
unfair advantage. The Commission ordered Ireland to collect back taxes for the years 20032014, which it estimated to be as much 13 billion euros plus interest. Ireland disagreed with the Commission’s analysis and appealed the decision. Apple said in a statement that it remains confident the court will overturn the commission’s decision once it has reviewed the evidence. “The Commission’s case against Ireland has never been about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government gets the money,” Apple said in a statement. “The United States government and the Irish government both agree we’ve paid our taxes according to the law.”
172
Image: Bloomberg
173
174
Image: Alexandros Avramidis
RUSSIAN BITCOIN SUSPECT FIGHTS US EXTRADITION IN GREECE
Russian cybercrime suspect Alexander Vinnik, who is wanted in the United States on charges of laundering billions of dollars’ worth of the virtual currency bitcoin, appeared Wednesday before Greece’s Supreme Court for a hearing into his extradition to the U.S. Vinnik is the subject of a judicial tug-of-war between the U.S. and Russia, which is also seeking his extradition on lesser charges. The U.S. is accusing Vinnik of laundering $4 billion worth of bitcoins through BTC-e, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges, which he allegedly operated. Russia, meanwhile, wants him back to face charges related to a 667,000-ruble ($11,500) fraud. 175
Lower courts in Greece have approved both extradition requests. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in coming days. If it decides in favor of extradition to the U.S., Greece’s justice minister will have the final word on where the suspect will be sent. Vinnik, who denies any involvement in bitcoin fraud, is fighting his extradition to the United States, but not to Russia. The 37-year-old was arrested on a U.S. request in July while on holiday with his family in the Halkidiki area of northern Greece, which is popular with Russian tourists. The U.S. Justice Department says Vinnik has been indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of California on charges including money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. The charges carry maximum sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
176
177
178
DOCUMENTS: UK LAWMAKERS FLOUT EXPLICIT PASSWORDSHARING BAN
British lawmakers are flouting explicit instructions to lock their computers and not to share their passwords, documents obtained by The Associated Press show, a revelation that raises questions about the security of Britain’s parliamentary network only months after a well-publicized email break-in. Conservative Member of Parliament Nadine Dorries first drew attention to the practice on Saturday when she said in a message posted to Twitter that her staff and even interns had access to her log-in details. Dorries defended herself by suggesting that the practice was widespread and that colleagues had no choice but to outsource email management to employees. Image: Antonio Gaudencio
179
“All staff send emails in our name,” she said , a statement echoed by fellow Tory lawmakers Will Quince, who said he left his office computer unlocked, and Nick Boles, who revealed that he often forgot his own password “and have to ask my staff what it is.” Documents recently obtained through a British public records request show that lawmakers are explicitly warned by parliament’s information technology division to keep their computers locked and not to tell anyone their passwords. “Make sure that you never share them,” reads a slideshow shown to incoming lawmakers, with the words “never share” in bold. Another document — a digital services guide addressed to members of the House of Commons — warns that lawmakers have been targeted by hackers. “Never share your password or write it down where others could find it” is among the “minimum” practices the guide advises them to follow. It goes on to suggest that there is no need for lawmakers to share their passwords with employees. “We can arrange for your staff to access your mailbox, calendar and documents through their own accounts,” the guide states. It also reminds lawmakers to keep their computers locked and that: “Cyber security is everyone’s responsibility.” The House of Commons press office, which handles inquiries for the lower house of Parliament, confirmed that the ban on password-sharing applied to lawmakers. “We will generally aim to engage constructively with people found to have been breaching policy inadvertently,” the press office said in a statement. 180
Image: Chris McAndrew
181
An email sent to Dorries’ office wasn’t immediately answered. In a Twitter message posted Sunday, Dorries seemed to shrug off the concern over digital safety, suggesting there weren’t any government documents on her machine. “On my computer, there is a shared email account,” she said . “That’s it. Nothing else. Sorry to disappoint!” British security researcher Kevin Beaumont said lawmakers routinely handled sensitive messages from their constituents and that by flouting IT staff’s instructions “they are failing to provide any protection to those people, their voters.” “Members also sit on the internal Parliamentary network,” Beaumont said in an email. “They might not think their PCs can access sensitive information, but rogue actors would absolutely test this theory.” The digital security of Britain’s Parliament was thrust into the spotlight in June following an aggressive attempt to break into lawmakers’ emails. The hack, which was closely covered in the United Kingdom, came about a year after the dramatic leak of Democratic Party operatives’ emails in the heat of the U.S. presidential contest. Those leaks were blamed by some for derailing the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their fallout has overshadowed the presidency of Donald Trump.
Online: Documents relating to Parliament’s cybersecurity 182
Image: Chris McAndrew
183
[email protected]
MindfieldDigital
MASTHEAD
APPLEMAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL applemagazine.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
WRITERS
AppleMagazine Official Website
Precise English Inc. Benjamin Kerry (UK) Gavin Lenaghan (UK) Craig Lenaghan (UK) Elena Lusk (US)
applemagazine.com
Zinio LLC.
zino.com
Readr Newsstand
readrapp.com
COLUMNS
Magzter Newsstand
iTUNES REVIEW Gavin Lenaghan
magzter.com
Amazon Newsstand
amazon.com
FINANCE NEWS Associated Press / Bloomberg
Ebsco/Flipster
ebsco.com
REVISION
Scoop Newsstand (Singapore)
getscoop.com
Gavin Lenaghan Jack Crute
CONTACTS
PRODUCTION SUPPORT / COLLABORATORS
Suport & CRM -
[email protected] Magazine and Website Editor -
[email protected] Executive Director -
[email protected] Advertise -
[email protected]
Rui da Costa Segolene Vincent Fabian Groenhof Lise Berda James Jarvis Richard Sawyer Lauren Brown Matthew Coburn Jeffrey Milks Susan Kiesling Raquel Serrano Robert Fluellen Lisa Swiniarski Roger Gayalkar
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ivan Castilho
Chief Executive Officer / Design Conception
MINDFIELD DIGITAL ART & GRAPHIC DESIGN Glauco Ribeiro
Chief Design Officer / Art & Graphic Design Director
Michael Danglen
Icy Ventura Pilar Bescos Candice Liu
PRIVACY POLICY
Art & Graphic Design Producer
applemagazine.com/privacy-policy/
Anderson Oliveira
Art & Graphic Design Producer
TERMS OF USE
applemagazine.com/terms-of-use/
MAGAZINE EDITORIAL CONTENT Benjamin Kerry
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Chief Editor
Twitter
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
@apple_magazine twitter.com/#!/Apple_Magazine
Benjamin Kerry
Facebook
Production Director
facebook.com/applemagazineinternational
Jack Crute
WordPress Production & Website Support
Authorized Publisher
AppleMagazine © Copyright 2017-2011. All Rights Reserved. No part of the document may be circulated, quoted, or reproduced for distribution without prior written approval. Proper Trademark Notice and Attribution iPhone™, iPad™, HomePod™, Apple Watch™, iPod™, Mac™, iMac™, Macbook™, AppleTV™, Siri™, iOS™, OS X™, watchOS™, and others are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries. Please contact support for additional trademark ownership rights information. The following is a list of Apple’s trademarks and service marks http://www.apple.com/legal/ trademark/appletmlist.html. All other trademarks are the properties of their owners.
AppleMagazine is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc.
