Show Notes: linuxactionnews.com/245

The post Linux Action News 245 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

We recap Uber’s really bad week & their recent changes in response. Thanks to the Apple Watch SDK we now have an idea of what using one will be like & it’s limitations become more clear.

Plus Viber takes chats public & we ponder why, the Stingray mystery & more!

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“God View”: Uber Investigates Its Top New York Executive For Privacy Violations

Uber said Tuesday that it is investigating its top New York executive for tracking a BuzzFeed News reporter without her permission in violation of what the transit giant says has long been its privacy policy. The company also published its privacy policy for the first time on Tuesday, though it said the policy had always been in effect.

Uber took both actions in the wake of a BuzzFeed News story that revealed that the reporter’s ride had been tracked without her permission and that another Uber executive had suggested the company might smear journalists who wrote critically of Uber. The executive who suggested digging into the private lives of journalists, Emil Michael, said his comments were “wrong” and that he regrets them.

Tracking customers is easy using an internal company tool called “God View,” two former Uber employees told BuzzFeed News. They said God View, which shows the location of Uber vehicles and customers who have requested a car, was widely available to corporate employees. Drivers, who operate as contractors, do not have access to God View.

Early this November, one of the reporters of this story, Johana Bhuiyan, arrived to Uber’s New York headquarters in Long Island City for an interview with Josh Mohrer, the general manager of Uber New York. Stepping out of her vehicle — an Uber car — she found Mohrer waiting for her. “There you are,” he said, holding his iPhone and gesturing at it. “I was tracking you.”

Mohrer never asked for permission to track her.

11 things we just learned about how the Apple Watch works | The Verge

An iPhone is required — at (almost) all times. In Apple’s own words, Watch apps extend iOS apps. “You begin your Watch app development with your existing iOS app, which must support iPhone.”

Native apps are coming next year. Important footnote from the press release: “Starting later next year, developers will be able to create fully native apps for Apple Watch.”

There could be more Watch sizes later. “Unlike iOS, where you place views at a coordinate on the screen,” Apple says, “with WatchKit, objects automatically flow downward from the top left corner of the screen, filling the available space.”

There are two types of Apple Watch notifications. The “Short Look” is only seen briefly when you raise your wrist — it’s an app icon, an app name, and some brief information. If the wearer keeps their wrist raised long enough — “after a moment,” according to Apple — the screen changes to a “Long Look” notification, which provides more information and is more customizable. For Long Looks, the app icon and name move to the top of the screen, and wearers can scroll down through the interface to use custom actions (such as “comment” or “favorite”) or dismiss the notification.

Glances. We already knew some of this, but now it’s well documented. In addition to the app itself and the notification, developers can make “Glances” for quick view of information (e.g. time, weather, tasks left). All the information must fit on a single screen and is read-only, but you’ll be able to tap it to enter the corresponding app.

No custom gestures. The interface is more or less locked to what Apple wants: vertical swipes scrolls through the screen, horizontal swipes go between pages, taps indicate selection, “force touch” opens up a context menu, and that digital crown scrolls through pages way faster. Additionally an edge swipe left goes back or up a page (“back to the parent interface controller,” if we’re being technical), and an edge swipe up opens the “Glance” view.

Messaging App Viber Takes A Step Into Social Networking With New Public Chats Feature | TechCrunch

Today Viber, the messaging app with 209 million users, is taking a different approach: it is launching Public Chats, giving users a way of using its direct messaging and voice services app to broadcast to the world at large.

Public Chats will see the introduction of live conversation streams — from celebrities, or as CEO Talmon Marco told me, other interesting people “like taxi drivers!” — that will be open for any follower to see, but not necessarily participate in. Users will only be able to jump in and talk in Public Chats if the account in question is in their contacts.

Baltimore Police balk when pressed by judge on phone tracking capabilities – Baltimore Sun

Baltimore prosecutors withdrew key evidence in a robbery case Monday rather than reveal details of the cellphone tracking technology police used to gather it.

The surprise turn in Baltimore Circuit Court came after a defense attorney pressed a city police detective to reveal how officers had tracked his client.

City police Det. John L. Haley, a member of a specialized phone tracking unit, said officers did not use the controversial device known as a stingray. But when pressed on how phones are tracked, he cited what he called a “nondisclosure agreement” with the FBI.

Defense attorney Joshua Insley still believes that police used a stingray to find Taylor. He cited a letter in which prosecutors said they were prohibited by the Department of Justice from disclosing information about methods used in their investigation.

The portable device was developed for the military to help zero in on cellphones. It mimics a cellphone tower to force nearby phones to connect to it.

Records shows that the Baltimore Police Department purchased a stingray for $133,000 in 2009.

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