Secret agents raid Apple store webcam 'artist' - BBC News

8 July 2011 Last updated at 10:54 ET The US Secret Service has raided the home of an artist who collected images from webcams in a New York Apple store.

Kyle McDonald is said to have installed software that photographed people looking at laptops then uploaded the pictures to a website.

Mr McDonald said he had obtained permission from a security guard to take photos inside the store.

Apple declined to comment. However, the Secret Service confirmed that its electronic crime division was involved.

A spokesperson told the BBC that the investigation was taking place under US Code Title 18 /1030 which relates to "Fraud and related activity in connection with computers."

Offences covered by the legislation carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Writing on Twitter, Mr McDonald said: "@secretservice just stopped by to investigate [web address removed] and took my laptop. Please assume they're reading any e-mails you send me."

No arrests had been made in the case as of 8 July.

Staring

Kyle McDonald's images were uploaded to a page on the blogging site Tumblr.

In the description of People Staring at Computers, the project is described as: "A photographic intervention. Custom app installed around NYC, taking a picture every minute and uploading it if a face is found in the image.

"Exhibited on site with a remotely triggered app that displayed the photos full screen on every available computer."

The site features a video and series of photographs, apparently showing shoppers trying-out computers.

Comments on the individuals by visitors to the site are also attached to the images.

Mr McDonald, writing on Twitter, said that he had been advised not to comment on the case by the online freedom group the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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News: Japanese Publishers Cry Foul on Pirated App Store Books - The Mac Observer

Four publishers in Japan have accused Apple of selling pirated books in the company’s App Store for iOS apps. The Financial Times reported that the publishers have found instances of works covered by Japanese copyright for sell in pirated versions, usually in Chinese-language apps from developers based out of China.

For instance, when FT published its story, the complete works of Haruki Murakami (which includes works such as Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and other books) in Chinese for US$1.99. That app is no longer available.

The publishers said that Apple has pulled some instances of pirated works out of the App Store, but the group is complaining that Apple doesn’t have a formal mechanism to handle such issues so that pirated works can be dealt with more swiftly.

“Apple is yet to clearly specify a contact point for removal requests or the procedures for removal, and even for the content that has been removed, it is unclear who removed the content and how the determination for removal was made,” the group said in a formal letter of complaint. “In addition, despite directly profiting from this illegal distribution, Apple has also failed to disclose sales data for these digital bootlegs.”

The letter added, “Apple’s distribution of content that clearly infringes copyright constitutes the aiding and abetting of illegal acts, and this in itself must be deemed illegal.”

Apple offered FT a brief comment on the issue, saying in a statement, “As an IP holder ourselves, we understand the importance of protecting intellectual property and when we receive complaints we respond promptly and appropriately.”

The four publishers involved in the complaint are the JBPA, the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, the Electronic Book Publishers Association of Japan and the Digital Comic Association.

There are thousands of Chinese language apps available in the U.S. App Store, and many more in other App Stores throughout the world. Many of those are books in the form of an app, and Apple clearly hasn’t yet found a way to check IP rights on all the non-English apps that are submitted to the service,

The Japanese publishers have every right to be tense about their works being offered for sale illegally on the App Store, but it remains to be seen if Apple reverses years of secrecy and closed-door management of services and products such as the App Store by moving to more transparent business processes and policies like those in their letter.

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Cydia App Store to Rival Apple's Mac App Store "Within Weeks" - PC Magazine

Time to start jailbreaking your Mac? We kid, but that's only because Jay "saurik" Freeman—author of the popular Cydia repository that allows jailbroken iPhones to download apps they otherwise wouldn't be able to find on Apple's App Store—has decided to bring his mobile talents to the desktop world.

A Mac-based version of Cydia should be available within a few weeks, announced Freeman at the 360|MacDev conference Friday morning. And with more than 30,000 different packages currently on the mobile version of Cydia, it stands to reason that a desktop-based version of the repository could find popularity amongst those looking for third-party or open-source apps. According to Freeman, approximately 10 percent of all iPhone users—or around 10 million devices—already connect up to Cydia.

And it's not as if Apple hasn't given Freeman a bit of an edge to carve out his own space in the package management market. According to the company, app developers will be forbidden from offering in-app purchases during the initial incarnation of the company's Mac App Store. That essentially rules out demos-to-paid-versions of apps—though demos, beta versions, and promotional code are also banned from the store at first—which is a fairly common way to go about application sales with Apple's mobile App Store.

The Mac App Store itself is expected to open in late January 2011. If Freeman gets his timing right, he might very well be able to beat Apple at its own App Store game—and, better yet, you won't even have to hack your system just to get Cydia to work this time around.

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Report: Apple Mac App Store Launching Dec. 13 - PC Magazine

Apple is planning to launch its Mac App Store on December 13, an "inside source" told the blog Appletell.

Apple has reportedly told developers to have their software ready as early as today, but Appletell's source did not think it would happen that early. Delays are possible, the blog said, but there is an internal push to have the app store launched before Christmas.

Last week, Apple released some additional guidelines for the Mac App Store, including a ban on the submission of beta or trial apps, updated rules about file system usage, and suggestions for custom apps.

Apple first announced plans for the app store at the October 20 "Back to the Mac" press event. It will be included in the upcoming Lion OS (slideshow below), set to be released next year, but Apple also wanted to release a version for Snow Leopard this year. Apple started accepted submissions for the Mac App Store on November 3.

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Apple removes anti-gay app from App Store - CNET

(Credit: Manhattan Declaration)

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice campaigns, the Manhattan Declaration app had offered a "survey" with four questions, including "Do you believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman?" and "Do you support the right of choice regarding abortion?" Users who responded contrary to the beliefs of the group received a message at the end informing them that they answered 0 out of 4 questions correct. The app also invited people to sign up to support and donate to the group's cause.

In reaction to the app, Change.org created an online petition directed toward Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking that the app be removed for its "hateful and divisive language." Following e-mails from more than 7,700 people sent through Change.org, Apple removed the app Thanksgiving weekend.

In response to the app's removal, an Apple spokeswoman e-mailed CNET the following statement:

"We removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."

In its own response yesterday, the Manhattan Declaration said that it's perplexed over Apple's decision to remove the app, saying that "Apple pulled the app shortly after a small but very vocal protest by those who favor gay marriage and abortion."

Responding to charges that the Manhattan Declaration is homophobic and anti-gay, the group said it doesn't believe that "disagreement" is "gay-bashing" and insists that the language it uses "to defend traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life...is civil, non-inflammatory, and respectful." The group also said it has written to Steve Jobs urging him to restore the app.

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Carmack: App Store is 'the model of the future' - Computerandvideogames.com

id big shot John Carmack says packaged goods are on their way out and that Apple's digital distribution App Store is "the model of the future".

"You know, I really, really like the app store platform as far as being able to remove obstacles to getting your product out," he told The Telegraph.

He likes it so much, he says admits to putting Apple's devices ahead of the PSP or DS as the platforms on which future id software will arrive.

"You don't have to cut deals with publishers. It's almost completely egalitarian on there. It's great to see all the small teams that wind up making these breakout hit games for the Apple devices," he said.

There are post-release benefits too, he explains. "The fact is; on this platform, we can go ahead deal with fifteen-a-day feedback on there and directly interact with the consumers, make changes and get things out.

"It is the wave of the future for everything. Everybody knows that eventually will be digital distribution like this - it's only a question of time. Clearly, packaged goods sales are still critical on the big platforms at this stage, but that's all going to go away sooner or later. This is the model of the future."

Carmack's confidence in the platform is definitive - the recent release of Rage: Mutant Bash TV on iPhone and iPad marks gamers' first contact with the new Rage IP, which is attached to a multi-million dollar console game arriving next year.

"There have been many tens of millions of dollars that have gone into the development and have been planned for the promotion and so on. It would be a real shame to screw that up in any way with a poorly executed mobile product," he said, which is why he "worked exclusively full time on the mobile project for about two months".

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Google Voice finally debuts in the App Store - Digitaltrends.com

Apple has approved the Google Voice app for its App Store, and the free VoIP is better than ever for its official release.

Sure, iTunes now has the Beatles Anthology available for download, but Apple‘s got bigger news: the Google Voice app is here. It may not have warranted a full-page notice, but there are plenty of iPhone users out there celebrating Google Voice‘s long-coming availability in the App Store.

Prior to today, users were limited to using Google Voice on the Web only, but to fantastic results. It’s been wildly popular, allowing users to make international calls for pennies and send free unlimited texts – and all with Apple’s stiff disapproval. Apple claimed concerns over the app duplicating its own primary function and has allegedly been reviewing it since. This invited some attention from the FCC and FTC, and a year and half of subversive use later, here we are.

The app allows users to bundle multiple phone lines under one number, as well as transcribe voice mails. The dirt cheap international calling and free SMS service remains, and Google is even going to bolster the app with optional push notifications and quicker call connection.

And it is definitely more powerful than its Web-based counterpart, for anyone out there wondering if the app is worth installing (for free, mind you). While we can’t imagine anyone is really wondering that (again, emphasis on free app), the so-far glowing reviews (including this one from SlashGear) say it definitely is.

What’s also encouraging about the addition of the Google Voice app is what it means for the App Store. Apple’s approval process has had its fair share of critics, and it recently implemented some policy changes as a response to user and developer frustrations. Apple claimed it would be relaxing its restrictions for app guidelines, and adding Google Voice is a significant step in that direction.

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