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Earthquakes aside, Californians will have one less thing to worry about next year now that a new smartphone anti-theft bill has been signed into law. We’ve got all the details on that as well as an update to the iTunes Festival London lineup in today’s Morning Report.
iTunes Festival Lineup Expands with Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett
With the month of September now less than a week away, Apple continues to fill in the remaining holes in the iTunes Festival London lineup, which kicks off September 1 and continues for 30 nights. According to The Loop, the free music event will now get underway with a performance by deadmau5, who will be followed by returning legend Tony Bennet on September 6 and Mary J. Blige on September 25.
Although the lineup has been mostly filled out with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Placebo, Ben Howard, Nicola Benedetti, Nick Gardner, Nick Mulvey, Rae Morris, Lisa Hannigan, Little Dragon, James Bay, Hozier, Wolf Alice, Miloš, Alison Balsom, and Foy Vance, Apple is leaving us in the dark as to who will wrap up the festival on September 30… so there should be “one more thing” yet to come soon.
In the meantime, the iTunes Festival Apple TV channel has started popping up on the radar as we all wait for the month of August to wind to a close.
All Smartphones Sold in California Will Require Kill Switch Next Year
MacRumors reported Monday that California governor Jerry Brown has taken a big step forward to stomp out smartphone theft, by signing into law a bill requiring all devices sold in the state after July 2015 to include built-in “kill switches,” such as Apple’s Activation Lock already included in recent iPhone models.
“This epidemic has impacted millions across the nation and millions more around the globe, but today we turn the page,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “Seldom can a public safety crisis be addressed by a technological solution, but today wireless consumers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief. Soon, stealing a smartphone won’t be worth the trouble, and these violent street crimes will be a thing of the past. The devices we use every day will no longer make us targets for violent criminals.”
First launched in February, the SB-962 Smartphones bill requires that manufacturers include a method to make a device inoperable should it fall into the wrong hands, with the additional caveat that such technology must extend to a complete wipe or reset, as well as any attempts to downgrade to an older operating system. The whole process must also be reversible, should the handset wind up being returned to its rightful owner.
Introduced with iOS 7, Apple’s Activation Lock likely already satisfies the fine print of California’s new law, which will likely put pressure on rivals including Samsung and Microsoft to follow suit with their own solutions. Although a similar law is already on the books in Minnesota, a federal mandate known as The Smartphone Theft Prevention Act could take the initiative nationwide in the near future.
Microsoft Launches Fire Sale on Last Year’s Surface 2 Tablet
PCWorld reported Monday that retail and online Microsoft Stores have launched a new promotion that slashes a cool hundred bucks off the price of a Surface 2, Redmond’s Windows RT 8.1-powered rival for the iPad. (You know, the one that won’t run full Windows apps.)
Between now and September 27, frugal shoppers can pick up a 32GB model for a mere $349, with 64GB offered for $449, or a 64GB model with AT&T 4G LTE for only $579. Probably not a good enough deal to sway potential iPad buyers, but it might just be cheap enough for those wanting to see what life is like on the other side of the fence.
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