Emoticons are everywhere, but what if we could create emoticons with ourselves – our own smiles, shrugs, sighs, rages and laughs?

Get this handy, .gif creating app, which will turn your three photos into a moving image. You’ll be surprised how much you can say and how creative you can get with Moodroll. Oh yes, you can share your rolls via messages or email, on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter or anywhere else you wish.

This is a cool free app.

Thanks to Pixelmator for sponsoring The Loop this week. I’ve used this app since the first version and still use it everyday.

Pixelmator is a powerful and easy-to-use image editor for Mac. It lets you enhance your photos, create advanced image compositions with layers, shapes and text, or even draw vector grapchics, and a lot more. Pixelmator is built from the ground up for Mac, taking full advantage of the latest OS X features and technologies.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt compiled a list, with links to the supporting documents, of those in favor of Apple or the FBI in the iPhone encryption case. It’s pretty one-sided.

Have a Nintendo 3DS? Love classic games with Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Pokemon? Well, stop what you are doing and go to this page, then click the “Filter Games” button towards the top of the page.

My three immediate favorites are Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. $4.99 each. All running on the 3DS using Virtual Console. Very cool.

Quartz, writing about a black box you connect to a cracked open iPhone:

The hacking equipment is called IP Box, and can be found on eBay for about $200. It’s a black box that connects to an iPhone and systematically runs through every possible PIN combination to unlock it.

And:

Cleverly, IP Box gets around Apple’s auto-erase feature by cutting power to the device after each failed attempt. This means the wrong guesses don’t accumulate, opening the door for brute-force hacks, according to an analysis by British security consultancy MDSec. The firm used IP Box to successfully unlock an iPhone 5s running iOS 8.1 protected by a four-digit PIN in March 2015.

The San Bernardino iPhone 5c was running iOS 8.1.2. Can this technique be used to break into 8.1.2?

There is confusion over which versions of iOS IP Box is able to unlock in this way. Dominic Chell, who runs MDSec, says Apple plugged the security hole after iOS 8.1. But a US government agent has testified that the hack works on later versions of iOS, too.

The testimony surfaced in a New York court case in December 2015, when a ruling referred to a Department of Homeland Security special agent named David Bauer who told a court that he had unlocked three phones with IP Box. The target phone in the case in question, though, was an iPhone 5 running iOS 8.1.2, which Bauer had not personally unlocked before. He said, however, that law enforcement agents in Bergen County, New Jersey, had successfully unlocked iPhones running later versions of iOS.

It’d be pretty easy to tell if the FBI had tried this technique, since it requires you to crack open the phone to access the leads from the battery.

As of last week (Feb 22), Apple reports that 23% of active iPhones are running iOS 8 or earlier.

Here’s a link to the MDSec blog, where you can see these hacking tools in action. Fascinating stuff.

Shacknews:

We spoke to Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey recently during an Xbox press event where we took the opportunity to ask him some questions regarding the future of his company, and his product, the Oculus Rift.

One question we were dying to ask is he sees a future for the Oculus Rift with Apple computers. When asked if there would ever be Mac support for the Rift, Palmer responds by saying “That is up to Apple. If they ever release a good computer, we will do it.”

And, to clarify:

Palmer continues to clarify what he meant by that blunt statement by saying “It just boils down to the fact that Apple doesn’t prioritize high-end GPUs. You can buy a $6,000 Mac Pro with the top of the line AMD FirePro D700, and it still doesn’t match our recommended specs. So if they prioritize higher-end GPUs like they used to for a while back in the day, we’d love to support Mac. But right now, there’s just not a single machine out there that supports it.”

Snarky as all this sounds, I watched the entire interview and I get the sense Palmer truly wants a Mac with a more powerful GPU. But a poor choice of words, especially from a company founder.

That said, it’ll be interesting to see if the coming emergence of VR drives Apple to significantly upgrade Mac GPU options, or perhaps opens the door to a replaceable GPU. VR is a huge wave coming.

From the statement released this morning by the United Nations Human Rights Commission:

“A successful case against Apple in the US will set a precedent that may make it impossible for Apple or any other major international IT company to safeguard their clients’ privacy anywhere in the world,” the UN Human Rights Chief said. “It is potentially a gift to authoritarian regimes, as well as to criminal hackers. There have already been a number of concerted efforts by authorities in other States to force IT and communications companies such as Google and Blackberry to expose their customers to mass surveillance.”

Graham Spencer, writing for MacStories:

Since the App Store launched in 2008, every app and every app update has gone through a process of App Review. Run by a team within Apple, their objective is to keep the App Store free from apps that are malicious, broken, dangerous, offensive or infringe upon any of Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines. For developers who want to have their app on the iOS, Mac, or tvOS App Store, App Review is an unavoidable necessity that they deal with regularly. But in the public, little is heard about App Review, except for a few occasions in which App Review has made a high-profile or controversial app rejection.

And:

Earlier this year we set out to get a better understanding of what developers think about App Review. We wanted to hear about their positive and negative experiences with App Review, and find out how App Review could be improved. It is hard to ignore from the results we got, from a survey of 172 developers, that beneath the surface there is a simmering frustration relating to numerous aspects of App Review.

This is worth reading, for developers and non-devs alike. The App Store is a core pillar of the iPhone and iOS itself, and the health of the app review process is a key signature of the health of the iOS marketplace. A stuttering app review process means down time for developers, loss of revenue, which can be devastating for indie developers, who already face an increasingly difficult time making ends meet.

There is a mechanism for developers to send messages to the App Review team, but a common sentiment amongst those who commented on it was that it can often be (or at least appear to be) futile. One developer said App Review simply sends them “canned responses” and another developer even described the feeling of communicating with App Review as “like sending a message in a bottle”.

A great read. Clearly, Graham put a lot of work into pulling this together.

IEEE Spectrum:

Last week, IBM reported to investors that its workforce at the end of 2015 was almost as big as its workforce at the end of 2014 (within less than 1 percent), in spite of a year in which 70,000 employees left the company, to be replaced with new hires and acquisitions.

By the end of this week, the picture may look quite different. Today reports are coming in that big layoffs across the United States are underway, likely one-third of the U.S. workforce, according to one soon-to-be-laid-off IBMer.

One third of the US workforce. If true, that is perhaps 100,000 people. When I first read this, I was skeptical, but there is a lot of supporting detail, not just a single report from a disgruntled employee.

Likely adding to the pain of many of these workers is a recent change in IBM’s severance policy, reducing a potential maximum of six months of benefits to one month’s worth.

Ouch.

Apple:

When I first learned Apple was opposing the order I was frustrated that it would be yet another roadblock. But as I read more about their case, I have come to understand their fight is for something much bigger than one phone. They are worried that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear.

I support Apple and the decision they have made.

Apple isn’t leaving this in the hands of the courts or Congress. They are also fighting in the court of public opinion. They are serious about winning this fight.

I’m kind of ambivalent about this, to be honest. I’d rather see Apple do something else for Apple TV than to stream NFL games that are already available to watch elsewhere.

Carruthers isn’t messing around when he says he’s done a lot of concert movies—the director, who spoke with us from his home in the United Kingdom, has more than 60 credits to his name and has worked with acts as varied as Led Zeppelin and Usher. It’s fair to assume he knows a well-done live performance when he sees one.

The folks at Dolby interviewed Carruthers about the new film and posted it, and a 30 second trailer, to their site.

I find these things fascinating and a bit scary.

These are cool, although I’m not sure if I would use them or not. Merlin Mann and I have talked about these products quite a bit on The Dalrymple Report Podcast, and he loves them.

Apple posted these to its Web site.

Kaye — who is responsible for monitoring free speech issues around the world, including the speech rights of individuals, vulnerable communities, journalists, and political dissidents — highlighted the benefits of encryption from a human rights perspective.

The support for Apple keeps coming.

Follow Apple’s @AppleSupport account on Twitter. It’s full of tips!

A solid list from the Hollywood Reporter. Don’t miss the video at the very bottom featuring a variety of stars delivering their favorite lines. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston does a surprisingly excellent Brando.

The Verge:

Since Kaneko founded the company with Scott Sykora in 2009, Pixite has released eight applications dedicated to photo editing and design. Each has been featured by Apple as a Best New App; photo editor Tangent and design tool Assembly won year-end awards from Apple. Between 2013 and 2014, downloads of Pixite apps jumped from 395,472 to 3.1 million, and annual revenue doubled to $943,000. Pixite grew along with its cash flow, expanding from two to six employees as it explored ways to link its apps together and grow a loyal base of customers.

Then the bottom fell out. Last year downloads flattened, and Pixite’s revenues plunged by a third, to $629,000. Suddenly, a company that needed to bring in $2,000 a day to break even found itself making $1,000 or less. Pixite has no reserves of venture capital to fall back on; aside from a $50,000 seed investment from a Carnegie Mellon fund for alumni entrepreneurs, Pixite has funded itself.

And:

The App Store’s middle class is small and shrinking. And the easy money is gone.

And:

For a large swath of these app developers — particularly those without venture capital and sophisticated marketing tactics — the original App Store model of selling apps for a buck or two looks antiquated. In 2011, 63 percent of apps were paid downloads, selling for an average of $3.64 apiece. By last year, a mere 27 percent of downloads were paid, and the average price had fallen to $1.27. Today, profiting from the App Store most often requires a mix of in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising.

And:

Meanwhile, a fatigue is setting in among customers. There are now more than 1.5 million apps in the App Store (Android users have 1.6 million to choose from), but by 2014, the majority of Americans were downloading zero apps per month. And it turns out people simply don’t use most of the apps they do download. According to ComScore, the average person spends 80 percent of their time on mobile devices using only three apps.

This rings true. Not sure there will ever be a solution to the user fatigue problem. The number of apps will never go down. But it’d be nice if there was a program to support the indie developer. Even an improved search mechanism would be helpful. It’s harder than ever to make a living building apps.

From The Verge’s coverage of the Geneva Auto Show:

> This week I’ve been kicking the tires of the finest, most exclusive, and most exotic cars at the Geneva Motor Show, and I’ve spotted two emerging trends: cheap oil is bringing huge gas guzzlers back into fashion, and Google’s Android Auto is falling behind Apple’s CarPlay. Android Auto isn’t a complete absentee from the show, of course, but the headline-grabbing cars, the cream of Geneva’s crop, have all gravitated toward Apple’s solution and ignored Google’s alternative.

And:

> Android Auto is typically a second option quietly thrown in after CarPlay. Google’s software is an afterthought. Apple’s software is a major highlight on the car about to grace the cover of the next Forza racing game.

If you are a car afficienado, jump to this article and scroll down to enjoy some incredible pictures of Lamborghini’s brand new Centenario. Visit novawarranty.com to see an extended warranty for Lamborghini. Only 40 of these will be made and they are €1.75 million each. Hopefully, Jim got his order in early.

The linked article will both show you how to reset your Mac’s password if you’ve forgotten it and, at the same time, demonstrate how easy it is for someone else to do this to your Mac if they get their hands on it.

As pointed out by reader Marek Bell, this technique will not work if you have File Vault enabled, which you should.

Better reading is Apple’s official support page that walks you through more traditional approaches to solving this problem.

Reuters:

U.S. technology giant Apple should collaborate with carmakers to make a vehicle and use the expertise already available rather than attempt to do it on its own, Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said.

And:

“If they have any urges to make a car, I’d advise them to lie down and wait until the feeling passes,” Marchionne told journalists. “Illnesses like this come and go, you will recover from them, they’re not lethal.”

My favorite comment on this came from John Gruber:

I can see it now: the Fiat Rokr.

For those who don’t remember, the Motorola Rokr was Apple’s first try at the cell phone game. Below is the video of Steve Jobs introducing the ROKR back in 2005. Classically, he starts off with his trademarked “There’s one more thing”. The intro starts at about 17:24 into the video.

The ROKR never quite took off and we all know what came next.

New York Times:

About 40 companies and organizations are expected to file court briefs on Thursday backing Apple as it fights a judge’s order to help law enforcement break into an iPhone used by a gunman in the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack last year.

Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Snapchat and Yahoo are among the tech companies expected to sign on to briefs in the case, according to people with knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity. More than 40 individuals, including prominent security experts and academics, are also planning to sign briefs, which will focus on themes like free speech, the importance of encryption and concerns about government overreach.

Remarkable. Took a while, but sides have been chosen.

Tedd Olson, a partner at Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher, a primary outside counsel in Apple’s battle with the FBI, spoke with Bloomberg Business about the hearings and comments made by the ex-head of the NSA. A fascinating take. Click the link, watch the video. As you’d expect, Olson is very well spoken, but he cuts to the center of these issues. Worth watching.

From the article accompanying the video:

“There isn’t a middle ground that I know of” to force Apple to “redesign its iPhone,” Olson, a lawyer for the company, told Bloomberg Television’s Emily Chang in an interview Wednesday morning. “The Constitution does not allow the government to conscript private companies to invent products or to change the products that they have invented.”

And:

Olson said that Congress should act to clarify a technology company’s responsibilities to law enforcement in such circumstances, and that piecemeal decisions by the courts will only lead to a muddle. He challenged a proposal by U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch that the judiciary weigh each case one at a time, warning that “you might have one court going one way and another court going another way,” but didn’t specify what legislation he had in mind for a broader resolution of the matter.

My 2 cents: This issue should be resolved by clarifying legislation from Congress, a law that makes it clear that Apple can not be conscripted to build a back door or passcode bypass mechanism for the government or anyone else.

I have this camera and love it. Click on the “What’s New” link on the page to see the newest features.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Access Now and the Wickr Foundation laid out arguments in amicus briefs released on Wednesday ahead of a March 22 hearing in which Judge Sheri Pym will review Apple’s appeal of a court order demanding it help unlock a phone used by Rizwan Farook.

Certainly not a surprise considering what’s at stake, but it’s important that these groups stand up and be heard.

The Pentagon is turning to Silicon Valley. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced plans to create a new “innovation advisory board” for the bellicose department and appointed Alphabet chairman and Google CEO emeritus Eric Schmidt to lead it.

So now the screens on the M1 Abrams tank will have ads on them?

Wired:

The internet is no stranger to ridiculously complex attempts to make music with technology. But this might be one of the most purely spectacular attempts yet to take something which is now incredibly easy, and make it virtually impossible to comprehend.

The Wintergartan Marble Machine, built by Swedish musician Martin Molin and filmed by Hannes Knutsson, is a hand-made music box that powers a kick drum, bass, vibraphone and other instruments using a hand crank and 2,000 marbles.

This is utterly insane. I love the unpolished nature of this thing. Almost as if you could make it yourself using scrap would and nuts and bolts from your garage. But trust me, there’s no way you could. Just watch and appreciate not only the music being made but the wonderful Rube Goldbergness of the machine itself.

Thoughtful piece from ThoughtWorks Chairman Roy Singham:

Creating backdoors, even if one agrees in one case with one government, is a Faustian pact for tech firms. Any backdoor creates a vulnerability that would ultimately hand access to users’ security not just to U.S. law enforcement, but to criminals, and to others who would take advantage of reduced user privacy. Therefore, acceding to the pressures of the FBI and NSA undermines not only the rights of all people around the world, but it actually poses grave dangers for dissidents and it creates structural flaws in all of modern commerce. The time has come to call for a global right of all citizens to privacy and security in the new digital age.

And:

Apple’s actions in this case are courageous and principled, and we believe Apple to be on the right side of history.

Nicely put.