TechCrunch
Microsoft Received 37,196 Gov Requests For Data Impacting 66,539 Accounts In First Half Of 2013
Today Microsoft reported the number of data requests it received from various law enforcement agencies around the world in the first half of (calendar) 2013: 37,196. Those requests dealt with, at most, 66,539 accounts.
Microsoft reported that in full-year 2012 (calendar) it received 75,378 requests that impacted no more than 137,424 accounts. So, requests this year are roughly on par with the year prior. Unless something dramatic changes, the full-year 2013 (calendar) tally should end as roughly commensurate with 2012.
According to Microsoft, only 2.19% of requests “result[ed] in the disclosure of customer content data.” However, of those requests in which content data was released, 92% of those requests were from the United States government. So, if you have data on Microsoft services, likely the only government that can force access to that content is the United States. Take that as you will.
Total impacted accounts? Around 0.01%.
Microsoft remains under strict government order to not list certain information regarding data requests. The company included a slightly bewildering paragraph in its report, in which it states that national security orders are not included, though National Security Letters are listed as part of the aggregate information:
Unfortunately, we are not currently permitted to report detailed information about the type and volume of any national security orders (e.g. FISA Orders and FISA Directives) that we may receive so any national security orders we may receive are not included in this report. We have summarized, per government direction, the aggregate volume of National Security Letters we have received.
Microsoft and Google are currently suing the government to allow them greater rights to be transparent regarding legal requests of their data and customer content. Microsoft’s motive was articulated well:
The United States has long been admired around the world for its leadership in promoting free speech and open discussion. We benefit from living in a country with a Constitution that guarantees the fundamental freedom to engage in free expression unless silence is required by a narrowly tailored, compelling Government interest.
When the government forces companies such as Microsoft to hand over user data it directly harms their relationship with their customers. Naturally, the more they can disclose the better, as it clears the air in a way, and cuts away at their own culpability.
Finally, here’s Microsoft’s generated charting of United States government requests for its users’ data:
Top Image Credit: Amit Chattopadhyay
Valve's Second Hardware Announcement Is The Futuristic Tactile Steam Controller
Nobody expected that, but Valve’s most exciting announcement of the week might be a game controller. The Steam controller is a futuristic touch-enabled gamepad with a small screen sitting right between your two thumbs. The company promises that the controller will work with any game as it is a very malleable device.
Valve has taken a hint or two from the smartphone world and ported it to the gaming world. As smartphone interfaces allow developers to make all sorts of buttons, the company took the same approach. Thanks to a tiny high-resolution screen, players will be able to trigger a lot of different actions. It doesn’t seem to be a regular touch screen — Valve has chosen to build a clickable screen to prevent unwanted taps. But there are some familiar touch controls as well.
For example, you can swipe through pages of actions to find the right one. The same screen will be reproduced on your bigger display so that you can keep an eye on the action while selecting an item. Even mouse-and-keyboard games, such as 4X and RTS games, should be playable with the Steam controller. The company illustrates the press release with a screenshot of Civilization V to prove its point.
Below each thumb, users will find two rounded trackpads. They replace the traditional sticks that you can find on your Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Once again, those trackpads are clickable. This is crucial for the right thumb as many games use traditional buttons for the right side of the controller.
The entire Steam catalog should be compatible with the Steam controller, but some games will run in ‘legacy mode’. You don’t need a Steam machine to use it, just a computer that runs Steam. But other computer games that you didn’t buy through Steam may not be compatible.
Finally, the Steam controller can vibrate. Once again, Valve didn’t share any release date or price. But you can probably expect to see a Steam controller bundled with the Steam Box.
Canary Wants To Bring The Power Of The Desktop Calendar To Mobile
Building a better calendar for mobile is a challenge a number of startups have taken on lately, some with the goal of helping you fill a calendar with events, others with simpler interfaces or behind-the-scenes intelligence to make the calendar “smarter.” The latest to join the race is Canary, a newly launched calendar app for iPhone, which primarily aims to bring simplicity to scheduling and calendar management, while also providing hundreds of features to cater to the needs of power users without bogging down the user interface.
The app is beautifully designed, but co-founder and CEO Varun Chirravuri tells us that design was not Canary’s main goal. Instead, the team started with a blank slate, then built the app based on the feature set they wanted to provide.
This feature set, actually, is fairly extensive. Not only is the app smart in the sense that it understands natural language input, it also includes a heads-up view (dubbed “Nest”) which shows you details about upcoming events, a calendar view, a scheduler where you can propose times, a way to view your blocks of free time, an invitations view, and much more. And tucked away among the various calendaring views and settings are “hundreds” of other features, says Chirravuri, some of which are hidden, waiting to be exposed by power users.
For example, when you’re responding to an event, you can shake the phone for a number of jokey excuses as to why you can’t make it; if you long press on an event, it filters by the particular calendar; plus, the app accepts a much wider variety of complex phrasing than its tutorial indicates.
It’s a lot to take in, which may be Canary’s challenge in reaching a mainstream user base. Today, the app will make sense for busy professionals who regularly juggle a large number of appointments at once, and are always trying to squeeze things in. The app itself has one of the longest “walkthroughs” I’ve ever encountered in a mobile application (outside of games) – something which also speaks to the potential learning curve involved.
But Chirravuri is convinced that if you give Canary a shot, it will become a must-have tool. “If you can take a week to really learn the ins and outs of how this works, with the control you’ll get, you’ll never want to go back,” he promises. And that’s the real goal with Canary. It’s not so much about being the next greatest “smart” calendaring app, it’s about finding a way to bring the power of a desktop calendar to mobile.
The team behind Canary potentially has the chops to make this happen. CEO Chirravuri, a former Google Product Manager, is joined by Shaun Seo (also an ex-Googler), Ralph Bouquet, and Matthew Ng. Between the four, there are two former Google PMs, two with B.S. and Masters of Engineering degrees from M.I.T, and one former TFA teacher and Harvard grad.
Before Canary, the group had been building something entirely different – a nutritional parser called Laveem, which itself was a pivot from the company they were building upon entry to TechStars Boston in 2012, called Lessonsmith. Explains Chirravuri, when they couldn’t get Laveem to gain traction, they turned to something that had a more personal calling.
“As an entrepreneur, I’m running around trying to schedule meetings and run my life through my phone, and I absolutely cannot do it through existing solutions. But in no way does the mobile [calendaring] experience trump the desktop experience,” he says. So he wanted to change that.
While the team itself has been together for a year and a half, work on Canary started only in May with a private beta launch in July. Now live in the iTunes App Store for a few days, the company reports having 5,000 users, and a spot as the #3 result when you type in “calendars” in Apple’s search. (It’s #4 at time of writing, however, and results for “calendar” – singular – are entirely different.) The app is also #86 in the Productivity category. But Canary is very new, and word is growing as early adopters talk to friends, or even better – use the app to send out scheduling invites via email, allowing attendees pick time slots with a click.
Still, mobile calendaring is a busy space, where a number of competitors including Any.DO, Tempo, Fantastical, Atlas, UpTo, Sunrise, Calendo, and more are fighting for users’ attention, while others still are quietly shutting down or looking for an exit. And, as noted above, Canary’s powerful feature set means it can take some time to really learn. But, as Chirravuri says, there’s a Google mantra they want to emulate with Canary – that you should design for the power user, then make every user the power user.
Those interested in becoming calendaring power users themselves, can try Canary by downloading it here on iTunes.
The NSA Refuses To Deny That It Collected The Location Data Of US Phone Calls
During a Senate Intelligence Committee briefing, Gen. Alexander refused to state that the National Security Agency (NSA) had never in the past collected the location information of American phone calls.
Following pointed questioning by Sen. Wyden, he claimed that “Under Section 215, NSA is not receiving cell site location data and has no current plans to do so.” Sen. Wyden responded, as reported by The Hill, asking if the NSA had ever done so. Gen. Alexander would not answer the question directly.
Following a very public flap in which the U.S. intelligence apparatus was publicly excoriated and mocked for directly lying to its Congressional oversight, it would appear that it doesn’t want to make that mistake again, at least in the context of a scrutinized, televised hearing.
The implication here is obvious: The NSA claims that it is not currently tracking the location of cell phone calls placed in the United States, but refuses to state that it never has. So it did.
This is a bit worse than you think. The NSA already tracks the time and human participation of U.S. phone calls, so why is location an issue? Because if the NSA tracks the location of U.S. cell phone calls, it has roving GPS units strapped to every citizen that could be used to map where each of us is at any given moment.
I, for one, think it a breach of privacy for the NSA to know precisely where I am at all times. I think it also exceptionally problematic that they track whom I speak with and for how long, but that isn’t half as bad as keeping tabs on where I’m walking, and if I have crossed state lines. I’ll keep after myself, thanks.
Given its history of lying, that the NSA claims that it isn’t currently recording our location isn’t too satiating, but perhaps it’s something. The Snowden effect rolls along.
Top Image Credit: isafmedia
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