White House

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Apple joins White House effort to help workers find the jobs of the future

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Find Something New
If you thought switching from PC to Mac was strange, try jumping to an entirely new career.
Photo: Find Something New

With nearly 18 million Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple, IBM and other companies teamed up with the White House to help workers find new jobs.

The result is the Find Something New campaign. The program encourages to people explore a wide range of education and training options beyond the traditional four-year degree.

Apple promotes White House’s coronavirus PSA across multiple platforms

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Apple Music White House
Apple is doing its part to promote proper behavior during pandemic.
Photo: Apple Music/iTunes

Apple is doing its part to help positive messaging regarding the coronavirus pandemic by sharing a White House video emphasizing the importance of social distancing.

The public service announcement features three core members of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force. It’s visible in the video carousel on Apple Music and iTunes. You do not need an active Apple Music subscription to view it.

Apple and other big tech companies head to White House for COVID-19 consult

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Should Apple take over the White House?
A White House meeting will try to coordinate big tech companies, including Apple, with efforts by the Trump administration to fight COVID-19.
Photo: MattCC716/Flickr CC

Apple, Facebook, Google and other tech heavyweights are reportedly heading for the White House on Wednesday. There they’ll meet with officials from various government agencies to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak.

Foxconn CEO may be headed to White House to discuss Wisconsin factory

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iPhone sales drive Apple’s biggest supplier to big profits
Plan for Foxconn's Wisconsin factory seem to have changed along the way.
Photo: CBS

Departing Foxconn chairman Terry Gou is reportedly heading to the U.S. where he will have a meeting at the White House. The subject of the meeting will be Foxconn’s plans to open a factory in Wisconsin.

Foxconn maintains that it’s working hard to deliver the factory it received $4 billion in tax breaks for. However, behind-the-scenes dealings suggest that the company may be trying to renegotiate terms.

FCC wants to ban China Mobile from US

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FCC chairman Ajit Pai isn’t down with China Mobile coming to the United States.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai isn’t down with China Mobile coming to the United States.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

The largest mobile phone network operator in the world will likely be banned from doing business in the USA.

China Mobile, which has over 900 million subscribers in mainland China, has been blocked from offering services in the United States, according to the latest proposal by the Federal Communications Commission.

Trump carries an iPhone just for Twitter

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This is the Trump iPhone, but not Trump's iPhone.
The President doesn't actually use Caviar's commemorative Donald Trump iPhone 7.
Photo: Caviar

Possibly everyone on Earth knows that President Donald Trump uses Twitter, but you might not know that his many tweets are coming from an iPhone. The commander in chief actually has at least two: one that’s just for Twitter, and one or more others only for voice calls.

While Apple makes devices that are unusually hard to hack, there are questions about whether the president is hampering White House efforts to keep the Trump iPhone secure.

Tim Cook attends Trump’s first state dinner

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tariffs
Tim Cook sat down to dinner with Donald Trump, along with dozens of other politicians and CEOs.
Photos: White House/Apple

President Donald Trump held his first White House state dinner tonight since moving into the Oval Office, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was on the guest list.

The left-leaning Cook might have felt very much in the minority. Trump didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to the dinner, but arch-conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch was in attendance.

Tim Cook will meet Trump to discuss government inefficiency

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Tim Cook has a big meeting today.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook and the heads of other companies at the White House today to discuss ways the government can cut waste and improve its services.

During a conference call Friday, the Trump administration described an “economic opportunity” to save up to $1 trillion over the course of a decade by reducing government IT costs, better using government spending power, cutting fraud and more.

Tim Cook to attend technology council meeting at White House this month

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Tim Cook
Tim's not a fan of special councils.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The first meeting of President Donald Trump’s American Technology Council is set to convene at the White House later this month with Apple CEO Tim Cook expected to be among the attendees.

With an aim of modernizing government services, the group is being led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Some of the biggest names in tech are among the roster of advisers, many of whom publicly denounced Trump’s recent decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, which could make the meeting pretty interesting.

iPhone-toting woman assails Sean Spicer in Apple store

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Sean Spicer at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.
Sean Spicer at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

White House press secretary and part-time Melissa McCarthy impersonator Sean Spicer’s trip to the Apple store this weekend was a complete disaster. And it had nothing to do with iPhones.

While purchasing what appears to be an Apple Watch Sport, Spicer got confronted by an Indian-American woman who asked him, “You know you work for a fascist, right?”

The entire confrontation got caught on video as Spicer tried to smile his way through the questions before telling the woman the United States is “such a great country that allows you to be here.”

Foxconn chairman says Trump should pay to get iPhone made in USA

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn doesn't want to be forced to choose between China and the US.
Photo: Foxconn

If President Donald Trump wants Apple to bring iPhone manufacturing to the United States, America needs to open up its wallet first, according to the company that actually assembles the devices.

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said that if Trump truly wants iPhones to be made in America, he’ll need to push new laws through Congress that offer incentives and tax breaks to foreign companies.

Donald Trump forced to give up his beloved Android

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Donald Trump Liberty University
Trump won't be tweeting from a Samsung for a while.
Photo: Washington Post (via YouTube)

Donald Trump has been forced to give up his beloved Android smartphone as he steps into the White House.

He has now been issued a “secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service,” alongside a new phone number that only a few people will posses.

White House uses Steve Jobs video to recruit techies

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Steve Jobs is the star of the government's new ad campaign.
Steve Jobs is the star of the government's new ad campaign.
Photo: U.S. Digital Service

The U.S. government has always had a hard time getting techies to work for it, but with a little help from Steve Jobs, the White House’s Digital Service team is hoping that will change.

President Barack Obama created the U.S. Digital Service as a “startup” within the White House in 2014 to help improve and expand the government’s online services. The service just launched a new marketing campaign this week that features Jobs giving inspirational advice to people who want to change the world.

See Uncle Steve posthumously recruit government tech workers in the ad below.

Apple and Google take aim at controversial anti-encryption bill

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Proposed bill could hold tech giants more accountable for child exploitation
Tech companies want to protect encryption.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Tech companies want to protect encryption. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Tech companies want to protect encryption. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple and Google have leant their names to an open letter taking aim at a controversial new anti-encryption bill, which demands that tech companies make their devices breakable at will.

“We write to express our deep concerns about well-intentioned but ultimately unworkable policies around encryption that would weaken the very defenses we need to protect us from people who want to cause economic and physical harm,” the letter opens.

In addition to Apple and Google, other tech giants which signed the missive include Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, and more.

White House won’t back bill forcing tech companies to break encryption

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Having not one but two U.S. presidents in your fan base is pretty good going. Sadly, President Barack Obama is not allowed an iPhone as part of his official wardrobe and is stuck on BlackBerry. That hasn’t stopped him from openly lusting after the iPhone 6 in recent pics, though. He’s also admitted to spending hours each day on his iPad.Photo:
President Barack Obama is playing it cool when it comes to encryption.
Photo: Pete Souza/Wikipedia CC

The White House is refusing to publicly support new draft legislation that would give judges the right to force tech companies like Apple to help law enforcement break encrypted data.

The measure was put forward by Sens. Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, respectively the Republican chair and top Democrat of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Both Burr and Feinstein have been contacted by the FBI regarding a briefing on how the bureau was able to circumvent iPhone encryption on an older Apple device.

Siri slaps down reporter at White House press briefing

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Siri will answer your trivia.
Hey, Siri, give us a hint about the Iran nuclear agreement.
Photo: Apple

Siri has been involved with some pretty memorable moments as of late, whether it’s saving the life of a teenager stuck under a truck, or asserting itself as the new voice interface for Apple TV.

Now you can add shutting down questions about Barack Obama’s Iran policy to the list!

Check out the hilarious video below.

Apple urges Obama to block government snooping

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for story on iPhone security
Apple has taken steps to avoid snooping.
File photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has put its name to a letter which will be sent today, appealing to the White House to protect individual privacy rights in the face of suggestions that law enforcement should be able to access encrypted smartphone data via a backdoor.

“Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” argues the letter, which is signed by more than 140 tech companies, technologists, and civil society groups.

Obama tweeting from an iPhone isn’t all that it seems

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Barry sending his first tweet from an iPhone.
Barry sending his first tweet from an iPhone.
Photo: White House

The Apple-watching world lost its shiz yesterday when Obama made his first tweet from his brand-new presidential Twitter account using an iPhone. But don’t get too excited, because the White House has revealed that the phone in question isn’t Obama’s regular handset after all.

Which prompts the question, “Who did it belong to?” Maybe Apple should commission JFK director Oliver Stone to shoot an advert/paranoid conspiracy thriller on the subject of the Obama iPhone.

Tim Cook warns of dire consequences if we sacrifice privacy for security

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Tim Cook addresses the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. Photo: White House
Apple CEO Tim Cook addresses the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. Photo: White House

Silicon Valley’s top CEOs snubbed President Barack Obama’s appearance at Stanford University today for the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection, but Apple CEO Tim Cook used his invite to make the case for improving security.

Cook addressed attendees before Obama took the stage and reaffirmed Apple’s belief that everyone has a right to privacy and security. In part of his speech, the Apple CEO warned of “dire consequences” if the proper balance between security and privacy isn’t maintained.

“We must get this right!” Cook told the audience.  “History has shown us that sacrificing our right to privacy can have dire consequences.”

Feds give Apple Pay stamp of approval

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Apple Pay is going everywhere in 2015. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay is going everywhere in 2015. Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has already become the top mobile wallet at a number of stores, but now Apple’s about to take on the great outdoors.

During his address at today’s White House cybersecurity summit, Tim Cook said that starting in September you’ll be able to use Apple Pay for transactions with the federal government, including paying fees to get into Yosemite and the other national parks.

Cook’s visit to the summit was a big win for Apple Pay, which Cook says is now supported by more than 2,000 banks, putting us one step closer to the age when your wallet will be a thing of the past. The White House has given Apple Pay its stamp of approval, too, and announced plans to enable it on all federal-payment cards.

White House photographer used an iPhone to snap Presidential Christmas decorations

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Christmas decorations at the White House, as captured using an iPhone 6 Plus. Photo: Brooks
Christmas decorations at the White House, as captured using an iPhone 6 Plus. Photo: Brooks Kraft/TIME

President Obama might not be allowed an iPhone for security reasons, but an iPhone 6 Plus did make into the White House recently — to photograph the Presidential Christmas decorations.

“If you are looking to capture something candid, people are so used to seeing mobile devices that their reaction time is slower,” said photographer Brooks Kraft in an interview with TIME magazine. “You have a better chance of getting the shot, and that was the case at the White House.”

Because the pre-Christmas event is less formal than many occasions at the White House (the President isn’t there for one thing), Kraft said he seized the opportunity to “try out new gear that I might use later in more news-oriented environments.”

And what better gear to try out than an iPhone 6 Plus?

Apple signs White House pledge to speed up payment to small businesses

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pile-of-money-5

While Apple is making money hand over fist today, it’s not that long ago (OK, 37 years) that it was a new business with the same cash-flow problems faced by all small companies.

To help speed up its business transactions, Apple today will officially sign up to a new White House initiative called SupplierPay, a voluntary program in which companies commit to pay small suppliers faster, or else aid them in getting access to lower-cost capital.

The Obama Administration Has Been Secretly Moving To Make iPhone Unlocking Illegal

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The leaky apps debacle raises more questions about smartphone security.
The leaky apps debacle raises more questions about smartphone security.

It was only six months ago that the White House officially went on record saying that they thought cell phone unlocking should be legalized. The statement was issued in response to a 114,000+ signature petition, which rightfully argued that if you have paid off a device on-contract, it should belong to you, full-stop.

The Obama Administration said flat-out they agreed… which is why it’s distressing to find out that they may have been misleading us. In fact, while telling the American public that it supported laws to make cell phone unlocking legal, it appears that the Obama Administration has secretly been working against it.