MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Ireland, the latest destination on his European tour, which has included stops in Italy and the Netherlands.

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, tweeted that he had a "good meeting" with Cook in the capital of Dublin on Monday. It's unclear what was discussed, but it appears to have been a routine meeting.

Cook has since headed to Cork, where Apple's European headquarters are located. There, he will formally announce an expansion of its Hollyhill campus. Apple says a new building will provide space for an additional 1,400 employees. Since 2012, Apple says it has invested nearly €220 million to develop the facility.

Apple, on its recently updated Job Creation page in Europe, says it is Cork's "largest private employer" and "proud" that many of its employees in the area have worked at the company for decades.

Apple's website notes that it "has been based in Cork for over 35 years and now directly employs 6,000 people throughout Ireland supporting all aspects of the business." The company also says its Irish team has "doubled in size over the last five years and includes over 80 different nationalities."

Apple says Cork is home to its "only wholly owned manufacturing facility in the world. It provides configure-to-order iMacs which are for customers across Europe, Middle East, and Africa." AppleCare support for those regions is also based in Cork.

While in Cork, Cook also visited The English Market, according to photos shared on Twitter. Earlier, in Dublin, he met with developers from Hostelworld. The app, featured on Apple's website, allows travelers to search for and book thousands of hostels in more than 170 countries around the world.

All of this amounts to good PR for Apple in Ireland, just over a month after it abandoned its plans to build a $1 billion data center in the country due to "delays in the approval process," primarily due to concerns from some local residents. Apple and Ireland are also in a major tax dispute with the European Commission.

Apple's updated Job Creation page also reveals that it now supports 1.7 million jobs across Europe, including around 1.5 million jobs attributable to the App Store ecosystem, some 170,000 jobs supported by Apple's supply chain in Europe, and some 22,000 direct Apple employees in 19 countries across the continent.

Since the App Store was created, Apple says it has now paid €20 billion to European app developers. The company says the United Kingdom leads Europe in terms of jobs linked to App Store development, at 291,000.

A long-standing bug in macOS's Quick Look feature has the potential to expose sensitive user files like photo thumbnails and the text of documents, even on encrypted drives, according to security researchers.

Details on the Quick Look flaw were shared earlier this month by security researcher Wojciech Regula and over the weekend on security researcher Patrick Wardle's blog (via The Hacker News).

Quick Look in macOS is a convenient Finder feature that's designed to present a zoomed-in view when you press the space bar on a photo or document that's selected.

To provide this preview functionality, Quick Look creates an unencrypted thumbnail database where thumbnails of files are kept, with the database storing file previews from a Mac's storage and any attached USB drives whenever a folder is opened. These thumbnails, which provide previews of content on an encrypted drive, can be accessed by someone with the technical know how and there's no automatic cache clearing that deletes them. As Regula explains:

It means that all photos that you have previewed using space (or Quicklook cached them independently) are stored in that directory as a miniature and its path. They stay there even if you delete these files or if you have previewed them in encrypted HDD or TrueCrypt/VeraCrypt container.

This is an issue that's existed for at least eight years and concerns have been raised about it in the past, but Apple has made no changes in macOS to address it. "The fact that behavior is still present in the latest version of macOS, and (though potentially having serious privacy implications), is not widely known by Mac users, warrants additional discussion," writes Wardle.

As Wardle points out, this information is valuable in law enforcement investigations, but most users are not going to be happy to learn that their Mac records file paths and thumbnails of documents from every storage device that's been attached to it.

For a forensics investigation or surveillance implant, this information could prove invaluable. Imagine having a historic record of the USB devices, files on the devices, and even thumbnails of the files...all stored persistently in an unencrypted database, long after the USB devices have been removed (and perhaps destroyed). For users, the question is: "Do you really want your Mac recording the file paths and 'previews' thumbnails of the files on any/all USB sticks that you've ever inserted into your Mac?" Me thinks not...

It's worth noting that if the main drive on the Mac is encrypted, the Quick Look cache that's created is too. Wardle says that data "may be safe" on a machine that's powered off, but on a Mac that's running, even if encrypted containers are unmounted, the caching feature can reveal their contents.

"In other words, the increased security encrypted containers were thought to provide, may be completely undermined by QuickLook," writes Wardle.

Wardle recommends that users concerned about unencrypted data storage clear the Quick Look cache manually whenever a container is unmounted, with instructions for this available on Wardle's website. It's also worth checking out Wardle's site for full details on the Quick Look bug.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming iOS 11.4.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the second beta and three weeks after releasing iOS 11.4, an update that introduced AirPlay 2 and Messages in iCloud.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 11.4.1 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

No new features were discovered in the first two iOS 11.4.1 betas, suggesting it focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues discovered since the release of iOS 11.4.

We'll update this post should we discover any new features in the third iOS 11.4.1 beta, but we're not expecting major changes now that Apple has shifted its focus to iOS 12, which is also available to developers for beta testing purposes.

Update: The third beta of iOS 11.4.1 is also available for public beta testers.

As it does every year, Apple today opened registration for its annual three-day "Apple Camp" event. At Apple Camp, kids between the ages of 8 and 12 can partake in hands-on projects at Apple retail locations by choosing one of three tracks and spending 90 minutes per day for three days "immersed in their chosen subject."

The three programs include "Coding with Sphero Robots", "Beat Making and Songwriting with GarageBand", and "Telling Stories with Clips." Apple broke down what each program is about on the registration page for Apple Camp:

Coding with Sphero Robots - In this three-day session for kids ages 8-12, we’ll introduce the fundamentals of coding using Sphero robots. Each day Campers will learn a new coding concept and practice problem-solving skills. They’ll partner up for fun activities to program their Sphero to change colors, create sounds, complete challenges, and more. Then they’ll apply their coding skills to design their own games.

Beat Making and Songwriting with GarageBand - In this three-day session, kids ages 8-12 will discover the magic of beat making and songwriting. They’ll start by exploring basic elements of song structure and how beats create the foundation of a song. Campers will get hands-on as they create music using Touch Instruments, add vocals, and fine-tune their creations with GarageBand on iPad. On day 3, they’ll share their songs with the group.

Telling Stories with Clips - Future filmmakers ages 8-12 will explore the creative process of telling stories using video, photos, and music. Campers will brainstorm and storyboard their ideas. They’ll get hands-on in groups to capture short videos, edit and enhance their shots with fun graphics and filters, and add opening and closing titles in the Clips app on iPad. On the final day, they’ll present their video stories.

The days of the week and time for each program varies by region, with some classes taking place on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule and others organized on a Tuesday-Thursday-Friday schedule. Classes typically begin at around 9:30 a.m. ET and stop around 5:30 p.m. ET.

The free Apple Camp sessions will kick off on July 9 and run through July 27, and parents interested can register their kids now on Apple.com in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, and more. In the United Kingdom and Germany, registration will open next Monday, June 25. Like previous years, parents or a legal guardian must accompany any child participating in the 90-minute sessions every day, and those kids who do participate will get a free Apple Camp t-shirt.

In 2011, a class action lawsuit filed against Apple accused the company of operating an illegal monopoly by not allowing iPhone users to download mobile apps outside of its own App Store, reducing consumer choice.

The antitrust case was eventually dismissed in 2013 by a U.S. district court in Northern California, due to errors in the complaint, leading to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowing it to proceed in 2017.

That decision led to Apple's petition for a writ of certiorari, which was granted today, meaning that the U.S. Supreme Court will now review the appeals court's decision to reinstate the case last year, according to Reuters.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in support of Apple, urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit's decision, arguing that it misapplied precedent from Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois.

From the start, Apple has argued that it doesn't set prices for paid apps, and that charging a 30 percent commission on the distribution of paid apps and in-app purchases does not violate antitrust laws in the United States.

Apple will now hope the Supreme Court agrees that the case should be dismissed again. No date has been disclosed for the hearing.

Apple today announced that, starting later this year with iOS 12, iPhones will automatically share precise location data with first responders during 911 calls in the United States, helping to reduce emergency response times.

The new functionality will be powered by RapidSOS's IP-based data pipeline, which will quickly and securely provide 911 call centers with Hybridized Emergency Location data, which is determined based on proximity to cell towers and Wi-Fi access points, and on-device data sources like assisted GPS.

Apple said the location data will only be used for emergency purposes, and only accessible to responding dispatch centers during 911 calls.

"Communities rely on 911 centers in an emergency, and we believe they should have the best available technology at their disposal," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a prepared statement. "When every moment counts, these tools will help first responders reach our customers when they most need assistance."

The current 911 system, developed by AT&T in the 1960s, was intended for landline phones, which have fixed addresses. Apple notes that approximately 80 percent of 911 calls today come from mobile devices, however, and most dispatching systems can only obtain their estimated location based on cell towers.

RapidSOS's system, which will be integrated with existing software at 911 centers, should help solve this problem. The modern technology is part of a broader initiative known as Next Generation 911.

"911 telecommunicators do extraordinary work managing millions of emergencies with little more than a voice connection," said RapidSOS CEO Michael Martin. "We are excited to work with Apple to provide first responders a new path for accurate, device-based caller location using transformative Next Generation 911 technology."

As many as 10,000 lives could be saved each year if 911 emergency dispatchers were able to get to callers just one minute faster, according to the FCC. Whether someone is experiencing cardiac arrest, or a house is on a fire, it is obviously critical for first responders to arrive as quickly as possible.

"This new functionality is an example of how companies and first responders can use technology to dramatically improve public safety," said former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "Lives will be saved thanks to this effort by Apple and RapidSOS."

The feature is somewhat similar to Advanced Mobile Location, implemented in iOS 11.3 in a handful of European countries.

Advanced Mobile Location recognizes when an emergency call is made and, if not already activated, activates an iPhone's GPS or Wi-Fi to collect the caller's precise location information. The device then sends an automatic SMS to the emergency services with the caller's location, before turning the GPS off again.

Advanced Mobile Location must be supported by carriers. As of earlier this year, the service was fully operational in many European countries, including the United Kingdom, Estonia, Lithuania, Austria, and Iceland, as well as New Zealand.

Apple says the RapidSOS functionality will be limited to the iPhone for now, ruling out the Apple Watch and other devices at launch.

Apple's announcement coincides with the annual NENA Conference & Expo in Nashville this week, focused on the future of the 911 system.

"It can be hard in an emergency to know exactly where you are, and if you’re not on a landline, our first responders can't always help. This upgrade will save lives by giving our 911 dispatchers, police, firefighters and paramedics the thing they need the most: time," said Nashville Mayor David Briley.