Infinite Diaries - Part 37Infinite Diaries | Technology, Photography and Travel

One Professional’s Look at the New MacBook Pro →

November 11, 2016 · 20:12

Thomas Grove Carter:

I’ve been using the new 15” MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar) for the last week or so for actual work, so here’s my “Professional” opinion.

I’m an editor at Trim Editing in London, where we cut high end commercials, music videos and films. We’re a small company and choose individually what we want to edit with. I happen to use Final Cut Pro X (If you’d like to debate with me endlessly about the Pro’ness of FCP X, you can do that here) So I’m in a good position to try out the new devices and see what they are/aren’t capable of.

First off, It’s really fast. I’ve been using the MacBook Pro with the new version of FCP X and cutting 5k ProRes material all week, it’s buttery smooth. No matter what you think the specs say, the fact is the software and hardware are so well integrated it tears strips off “superior spec’d” Windows counterparts in the real world. This has always been true of Macs. If you’re running software with old code which doesn’t utilise the hardware well, you’re not going to get great performance (as pointed out here). I understand people need to use programs from other developers, but at some point they need to play catch up. Otherwise it’s akin to asking for a more powerful engine because you like to buy tire-less wheels for your car. For all the kinds of work I do it’s been excellent.

It actually surprised me that editing 5K footage is “buttery smooth”. Now I’m curious as to how the 13″ model will do…

I just wish it had quad-core CPUs too.

To clarify: Thomas is using the 15″ model with a 2.7 GHz i7, 16 GB RAM, and AMD Radeon Pro 455.

Dreaming of the New Base Model MacBook Pro 13″

November 11, 2016 · 11:59

I had a strange dream last night, and the new 13″ MacBook Pro was the main actor…

Continue reading →

I Expected More From the Surface Book’s Battery Life →

November 11, 2016 · 09:54

Dan Seifert:

Also missed on me is the increased battery life. In our rundown test, the Surface Book lasted 10 hours and 21 minutes, which is quite good. But in my real-world usage, browsing the web, jumping between a half-dozen apps, writing email, monitoring social feeds, etc., it struggled to last a full work day before calling it quits. Most days, the Surface Book would last between six and eight hours, which is about average for a laptop of this size. (Using the Book as a tablet worked for about two hours before it died, which is unchanged from last year.) That’s a far cry from Microsoft’s claimed 16 hours and less than my colleague Vlad Savov could get with the new 13-inch MacBook Pro. Fortunately, this Surface Book has no issues going to sleep when it’s closed and in my bag, which is a problem I’ve encountered with numerous Windows 10 laptops over the past year.

When Apple showed the new MacBook Pros, I actually looked around at the competition, and the Surface Book was one of two laptops that piqued my interest, mainly due to 16 hours of battery life. I had foolishly assumed that I could indeed use it for that long without a charge.

One other thing that completely put me off is its weight.

Tim Cook’s Email to Apple Employees After Donald Trump’s Election →

November 10, 2016 · 11:01

John Paczkowski, quoting Tim Cook’s email:

Team,
I’ve heard from many of you today about the presidential election. In a political contest where the candidates were so different and each received a similar number of popular votes, it’s inevitable that the aftermath leaves many of you with strong feelings.

We have a very diverse team of employees, including supporters of each of the candidates. Regardless of which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way to move forward is to move forward together. I recall something Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said 50 years ago: “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” This advice is timeless, and a reminder that we only do great work and improve the world by moving forward.

While there is discussion today about uncertainties ahead, you can be confident that Apple’s North Star hasn’t changed. Our products connect people everywhere, and they provide the tools for our customers to do great things to improve their lives and the world at large. Our company is open to all, and we celebrate the diversity of our team here in the United States and around the world — regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how they worship or who they love.

I’ve always looked at Apple as one big family and I encourage you to reach out to your co-workers if they are feeling anxious.

Let’s move forward — together!

Best,

Tim

MacBook Pro Models With Touch Bar Look Set for November 17 Availability From Third-Party Stores →

November 9, 2016 · 21:19

Ben Lovejoy:

If you’re one of the many people waiting impatiently to get your hands on one of the new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar, it looks like they will start shipping from third-party stores on November 17 …

A check on stock and availability at a range of third-party stores shows that most stores are expecting to have a handful of units ready for shipping on this date. Note that most custom configurations are limited to Apple’s direct channels however.

I ordered the base Touch Bar model with a US keyboard layout (instead of the typical English International that we normally get by default) from Apple and it should arrive between December 9-14. That’s another month. They say patience is a virtue.

Jeff Carlson: ‘Why I Ordered a 2016 MacBook Pro’ →

November 6, 2016 · 15:27

Jeff Carlson:

And I still bought one. As I was deliberating, I wrote up the following list of reasons this MacBook Pro, at this time, is the new computer for me. Let me reinforce that this is my situation; I’m not trying to be universal or tell you what to buy. But I thought that posting my thought process might help other people who are also weighing many of the same questions.

If I’d gone through these mental exercises in the hours after the machines were announced, I’d be getting one two weeks earlier. Ah well. Now I’m looking at the first week of December.

Having your own reasons is cardinal. We all use our computers in different ways, and while choosing the right tool for the job is important, knowing why you’re choosing them is paramount.

Craig Federighi on Why There’s No Touchscreen Mac

November 6, 2016 · 15:21

Apple Cuts Prices on USB-C Adapters and Accessories →

November 5, 2016 · 08:31

Jim Dalrymple:

Apple on Friday cut the price on its USB-C adapters in the online store. The company also said that third-party USB-C peripherals in the store would be reduced in price.

“We are extremely excited about the new MacBook Pro, which is the best pro notebook we’ve ever made,” Apple said in a statement provided to The Loop. “It has the fastest CPU, graphics, memory, storage and I/O, best display, the innovative Touch Bar and more. MacBook Pro uses the most advanced industry-standard connector, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, to provide maximum performance, expandability and compatibility.

“We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple’s USB-C adapters and cables.” (…)

Adapters included in the price reduction include:
• USB-C to USB Adapter (from $19 to $9);
• Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter (from $49 to $29);
• USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m) (from $25 to $19);
• USB-C to Lightning Cable (2m) (from $35 to $29);
• USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (from $69 to $49);
• USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter (from $69 to $49).

The cost of the SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Card USB-C Reader will be reduced from $49 to $29, and all other third party USB-C peripherals will also be discounted.

Good call, Apple.

App Store Deals — 4/11/2016

November 4, 2016 · 14:50

The Steve Jobs Email That Outlined Apple’s Strategy a Year Before His Death →

November 4, 2016 · 14:47

Zachary M. Seward:

In 2010, a year before his death, Steve Jobs outlined Apple’s strategy in an email to the company’s 100 most senior employees. He heralded the “Post PC era,” vowed “Holy War with Google,” promised to “further lock customers into our ecosystem,” and warned that Apple was “in danger of hanging on to old paradigm too long.”

The email was an agenda for Apple’s annual “top 100” meeting later that year. It was released this week as part of Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung over smartphone patents. Here is the entire email…

Apple’s Philip Schiller Talks Computers, Touchscreens and Voice on the New MacBook Pro →

November 2, 2016 · 22:21

David Phelan:

We first talked in an Apple-white private room at Infinite Loop, the company’s Californian headquarters, minutes after the new laptops had been unveiled and followed up a few days later…

This rarely happens. I assume it’s because the internet almost burned down from the heat of the discussions after the new MacBook Pro event.

Phil Schiller answers David’s questions:

The new MacBook Pro is a product that celebrates that it is a notebook, this shape that has been with us for the last 25 years is probably going to be with us for another 25 years because there’s something eternal about the basic notebook form factor.

Now this will be an interesting quote to return to in 25 years. I will actually put this down in my calendar.

If you made the Mac a touchscreen you’d have to figure out how to make it a good experience with your finger on a touchscreen. Trust me, we’ve looked at that — it’s a bad experience. It’s not as good or as intuitive as with a mouse and trackpad.

People assume Apple has never tried to make a touchscreen device. I was more than certain that they entertained the thought more than once, without Phil’s confirmation.

Then there are very fine and fast USB card readers, and then you can use CompactFlash as well as SD (…) So, that was a bit of a trade-off. And then more and more cameras are starting to build wireless transfer into the camera. That’s proving very useful.

Quite frankly, the camera companies, such as Nikon and Canon, are terrible at implementing features, which should have been standard years ago, wireless transfers being right there at the top.

And we are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before. So there certainly are a lot of people as excited as we are about it.

This is a tough one to judge — people have waited for so long for a new MacBook Pro, that it could just be then finally putting their orders down.

To be fair it has been a bit of a surprise to me. But then, it shouldn’t be. I have never seen a great new Apple product that didn’t have its share of early criticism and debate — and that’s cool. We took a bold risk, and of course with every step forward there is also some change to deal with. Our customers are so passionate, which is amazing.

We care about what they love and what they are worried about. And it’s our job to help people through these changes.

That’s the thing. I curse, swear, and shout, because I love, not because I hate. I want and expect the new MacBook Pros to be the best — my iPhone too, for that matter — but apart from the usual suspects, I do have two complaints:

there is no screen cloth included in the box; I still use the one from my 17″ MacBook Pro and have two more stashed away, for when this one finally gives out; I use it every single day to wipe down my screen and I expect a new one for every Mac; perhaps this is strange of me, but this is an expensive machine — I want to feel that Apple sweated the details;
the charger extender is missing and now a $19 optional accessory, which I consider bad taste; I’m sure most people never used it, but that’s besides the point.

Anyway, I have one on order too… with the Touch Bar.

My Photography (8) — Autumn Colours, Poland

November 1, 2016 · 17:39

This was taken over the weekend, in the southwest of Poland, not far from Jelenia Góra — I just had to stop the car to take in that sight.

Shot with Sony A7R II + FE 85 mm f/1.4 GM: f/8, 1/100, ISO 400.

iPhone 7 Plus and iOS 10 Battery Life Is Terrible; Apple Support Giving Me the Runaround

November 1, 2016 · 14:39

I’m finally fed up. My iPhone 7 Plus, because of it’s abysmal battery life, is now officially the worst phone I have ever owned. I’m an iPhone-user since 2008. Since then I’ve had the 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 6, 6 Plus, 6S Plus, and now 7 Plus. I recall that I once had issues with battery life on one of the older models, but it wasn’t anything dramatic and a subsequent iOS update fixed the problem. This cannot be said about the 7 Plus. In addition, Apple Support is basically telling me that I’m on my own.

Continue reading →

Apple Just Handed Microsoft the Keys to the Kingdom →

November 1, 2016 · 10:36

Sean Hollister:

Last year, I told myself I’d buy a MacBook Pro with Retina Display — the first Mac I would have ever owned. I just wasn’t ready to buy into a then two-year-old processor with four-year-old performance. I figured I’d wait a few months for Apple to refresh the laptop.

It took quite a bit longer, but I waited anyhow instead of upgrading to a new Windows machine.

I can’t afford to wait another year. Guess I’m not buying a Mac.

Apple Financial Results — FY Q4 2016 →

October 26, 2016 · 08:53

Apple PR:

Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2016. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $46.9 billion and quarterly net income of $9 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $51.5 billion and net income of $11.1 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38 percent compared to 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold:

45.5 million iPhones (48.05 million in FY Q4 2015)
9.2 million iPads (9.88 million in FY Q4 2015)
4.8 million Macs (5.71 million in FY Q4 2015)

The New York Times Is Buying the Wirecutter for More Than $30 Million →

October 25, 2016 · 08:32

Peter Kafka:

The New York Times is buying The Wirecutter, a five-year-old online consumer guide.

The Times will pay more than $30 million, including retention bonuses and other payouts, for the startup, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Brian Lam, a former editor at Gawker Media’s Gizmodo, founded The Wirecutter in 2011, and has self-funded the company’s growth.

Congratulations Brian. Well deserved.

Here’s What You Can Buy at Apple’s Special Campus Store in Cupertino →

October 25, 2016 · 08:31

Zac Hall:

And even though it may be about to be replaced with something bigger and better, 1 Infinite Loop does have something fairly new of its own: a dedicated Apple Store that reopened last fall. Apple’s campus store has always sold exclusive collectables like T-shirts and pens, and the Jony Ive-designed retail store adds Apple products just like traditional Apple Stores.

The shirt styles and souvenirs offered change regularly, but head below to see what you can expect to find at the 1 Infinite Loop Apple Store that’s not sold anywhere else if you visit.

I know I’d buy way too much stuff there.

Sweden Bans Flying Camera Drones in Public Places →

October 25, 2016 · 08:29

Michael Zhang:

The Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden ruled yesterday that cameras mounted on drones require a permit under camera surveillance laws. At the same time, the justices decided that dash cams or cameras mounted on bicycle handlebars are not surveillance cameras (because they’re operated in the owner’s immediate vicinity) so they won’t require a permit.

If you wish to use a camera drone in a public place now, you’ll need to pay a hefty fee to apply for a permit. County administrators will then decide whether your use of the “surveillance camera” provides a legitimate benefit that outweighs public privacy. If not, your request to fly will be shot down.

Basically, aerial photographers will now need to go through the same process as someone wishing to set up a surveillance camera in a public location.

This sucks.

‘I Just Moved From iPhone to Samsung and It Has Been a Horrible Experience’ →

October 18, 2016 · 13:16

Rhett Jones quoting James’ email about his Note 7 experiences:

I have been in Asia for a few weeks and head back to the US early tomorrow. I called AT&T and Samsung (on several occasions) inquiring about what to do with my phone now that there is a ban.

Yesterday [10/16/16] when I called, AT&T sent me over to Samsung (and after a long hold time) I was told by a rep that I could smuggle the phone back in a sock!

When I suggested that wasn’t a good idea and that I wouldn’t do that, he said someone from management would contact me. It’s been more than 24 hours and I haven’t heard from them.

I just spent another exasperating hour on the phone with Samsung and was told someone would get in touch—but he didn’t even get my phone number correct.

I would be more than happy to have Samsung dispatch a courier to pick up my phone from my hotel in Bangkok—but that idea has fallen on deaf ears.

I am at my wit’s end. I have considered asking if the hotel would keep it, but I am not sure if they would be willing to suggest a request. It’s extremely frustrating. I just moved from iPhone to Samsung and this has been a horrible experience.

You can find more stories on Gizmodo.

Why Your Next iPhone Won’t Be Ceramic →

October 14, 2016 · 07:34

Greg Koenig:

All of this circles us back to that little booklet that shipped with the ceramic Watch Edition. I think it is a safe bet to say that if Apple was about to leverage a whole new process for the efficient manufacturing of precision ceramics for next year’s iPhone, this new Watch model would be a test balloon for at least some of those techniques. Now, it is important to note that Apple has always skillfully knife edged their marketing discussion about manufacturing by being both hyper honest in their descriptions, while being quite vague about the nitty gritty details. So if we can all agree their materials are honest, let me be very plain – there is nothing revolutionary or new about how Apple is making the ceramic Edition watch.

The process they describe is meticulously executed, and because of the nature of the design – wherein ceramics are mimicking the engineering layout of far more easily produced materials – probably the most laboriously produced ceramic watch on the market. In fact, if we scale the numbers used in the booklet up to iPhone size devices and cycle times, Apple would need 2 football field’s worth of kiln space for each ceramic iPhone to sinter for the requisite 36 hours. For the 2 hours of hard ceramic machining to finish the case details, Apple would need to go from 20,000 CNC machines, to 250,000. They would need another 200,000 employees to perform the 2 hours of hand polishing to “bring out the strength and luster.”

I personally want a highly polished, ‘Stormtrooper’ white iPhone. Greg basically says that’s not possible at the moment or for the foreseeable future, unless Apple built a huge factory nobody knows about. There is still hope though, using an alternate solution.

The Tesla Model S Is Not Comparable to an Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, or Mercedes S-Class →

October 14, 2016 · 07:30

Fred Lambert:

Tesla shocked the industry earlier this year when it confirmed having delivered 25,202 Model S sedans in the U.S. in 2015, which gave the company a 25% market share in the premium sedan market. For the first time, Tesla had surpassed market leaders like BMW and Mercedes. Furthermore, every single other large luxury sedan has seen its sales decrease during the same period.

Now the electric automaker is increasing its lead on the US luxury sedan market to such a point that the Model S is now twice as popular as the Mercedes S-Class or the BMW 7-Series. Tesla is literally selling more all-electric sedans in the US than Mercedes and BMW are selling S-Class and 7-Series combined.

The Model S Tesla is not an Audi A8, BMW 7-series, nor Mercedes S-class competitor. It’s on par with the A6, 5-series, and E-class. I still don’t understand why it’s being compared to the luxury segment, especially since it’s nowhere near any of the cars listed above in terms of build quality.

A Transcript of Bogdan Popescu’s Phone Call With Apple

October 12, 2016 · 08:42

I’ve followed the Dash vs. Apple kerfuffle for the past few days and have a slightly different take on the subject than anyone else I’ve seen — think ‘lost in translation’ with a dash of pride¹, and a pinch of exasperation. Anyway, while writing about the whole thing I made a transcript of the phone call published by Bogdan, which you can listen to on his blog.

Continue reading →

Pun not intended. ↩

App Store Deals — 12/10/2016

October 12, 2016 · 08:33

There are a few apps you might want to take a look at today. Forklift is currently free — it’s one of the better FTP clients out there, although I personally use Transmit from Panic [App Store] — and so are a few great games. Machinarium is definitely worth taking a look at, and so is the fantastic Monument Valley. I also have a thing for Lara Croft GO…

Update — Added Alto’s Adventure, another great game which I love playing.

Scotland Yard Accuses Man of Terrorism; One Count for Using HTTPS on His Blog →

October 10, 2016 · 18:25

Metropolitan Police:

Count 3: Preparation for terrorism. Between 31 December 2015 and 22 September 2016 Samata Ullah, with the intention of assisting another or others to commit acts of terrorism, engaged in conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention namely, by researching an encryption programme, developing an encrypted version of his blog site and publishing the instructions around the use of programme on his blog site. Contrary to section 5 Terrorism Act 2006.

I can understand the other charges, but how is using HTTPS a criminal offence?

Rick Falkvinge has a few interesting comments on the subject:

(…) four years ago, I predicted that the UK won’t just jail you for encryption, but for carrying astronomical noise, too. It’s already a crime to not give up keys to an encrypted document in the UK (effectively making encryption illegal), but it’s worse than that – it’s a five-years-in-prison offense to not give up the keys to something that appears encrypted to law enforcement, but may not actually be. In other words, carrying astronomical noise is a jailable offense, because it is indistinguishable from something encrypted, unless you can pull the documents the police claim are hidden in the radio noise from a magic hat. This case takes the UK significantly closer to such a reality, with charging a person for terrorism (!) merely for following privacy best practices.

Don’t Buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 →

October 9, 2016 · 22:13

Andrew Martonik:

Now, multiple reports of fires involving replacement Note 7s from the U.S., Taiwan and Korea suggest the high probability of a continuing battery safety issue with the phone. We’re no longer looking at a single incident on an airplane. The volume and similarity of these reports means Samsung has likely failed to address an underlying cause of the fires.

That’s why today we’re withdrawing our recommendation to buy the Galaxy Note 7, adding a disclaimer to our review to reflect this. We’re also retracting our Choice Award, and will be removing it from our Smartphone Buyer’s Guide over the coming days. As it stands, you should not buy this phone.

Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Phone Catches Fire on Southwest Plane →

October 7, 2016 · 09:08

Jordan Golson:

Samsung is likely in full-fledged crisis mode at this point, as a replacement phone catching fire would be truly disastrous for the company’s image and finances. The Verge has been in contact with Samsung, which issued a statement that is questionable at best given our findings:

Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note7. We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share.

Green’s Note 7 is in the hands of the Louisville Fire Department’s arson unit for investigation. He has already replaced it with an iPhone 7.

Samsung should have recall all Note 7s and removed them from the market as soon as possible. It’s a miracle no one has died yet. Now imagine if that aeroplane was in the air and the fire it started spread. What if it brought down a whole plane full of people?

If you own a Note 7 then get rid of it. Replace it with something else — Green went for an iPhone, which in this case is a much safer choice. If you don’t care for your own safety, then don’t put others in danger unnecessarily.

Yahoo Said to Have Aided U.S. Email Surveillance by Adapting Spam Filter →

October 7, 2016 · 09:00

Charlie Savage and Nicole Perlroth:

A system intended to scan emails for child pornography and spam helped Yahoo satisfy a secret court order requiring it to search for messages containing a computer “signature” tied to the communications of a state-sponsored terrorist organization, several people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Two government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Justice Department obtained an individualized order from a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court last year. Yahoo was barred from disclosing the matter.

To comply, Yahoo customized an existing scanning system for all incoming email traffic, which also looks for malware, according to one of the officials and to a third person familiar with Yahoo’s response, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.

With some modifications, the system stored and made available to the Federal Bureau of Investigation a copy of any messages it found that contained the digital signature. The collection is no longer taking place, those two people said.

So Yahoo seems to be the first to willingly give in to the government. I’d delete my email account there immediately, if I had one.

Samsung Acquires Viv, a Next-Gen AI Assistant Built by Creators of Apple’s Siri →

October 7, 2016 · 08:57

Matthew Panzarino:

Samsung has agreed to acquire Viv, an AI and assistant system co-founded by Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham — who created Siri, which was acquired by Apple in 2010. The three left Apple in the years after the acquisition and founded Viv in 2012. Pricing information was not available, but we’ll check around.

Viv has been billed as a more extensible, powerful version of Siri.

Viv will continue to operate as an independent company that will provide services to Samsung and its platforms.

I don’t think Apple should have let them go, but then again, acquiring the same team for the second time seems ethically wrong.

NSA Contractor Arrested in Possible New Theft of Secrets →

October 6, 2016 · 10:49

Jo Becker, Adam Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt and Matt Apuzzo:

The F.B.I. secretly arrested a National Security Agency contractor in recent weeks and is investigating whether he stole and disclosed highly classified computer code developed to hack into the networks of foreign governments, according to several senior law enforcement and intelligence officials.

The theft raises the embarrassing prospect that for the second time in three years, an insider has managed to steal highly damaging secret information from the N.S.A. In 2013, Edward J. Snowden, who was also a contractor for the agency, took a vast trove of documents that were later passed to journalists, exposing N.S.A. surveillance programs in the United States and abroad.

What if Harold T. Martin III had also stolen the ‘golden keys’ to backdoors of various tech companies infrastructures? How long would it take for anyone and everyone in the world to get a peek into the lives of people using those services?

‘I Think We Can Work Our Way Through This’ →

October 6, 2016 · 10:46

Andrea Peterson for The Washington Post reporting on Stamos’ (Yahoo’s Chief Information Security Officer) and Rogers’ (director of the National Security Agency) debate:

“If we’re going to build defects/backdoors or golden master keys for the U.S. government, do you believe we should do so — we have about 1.3 billion users around the world — should we do for the Chinese government, the Russian government, the Saudi Arabian government, the Israeli government, the French government?” Stamos asked.

“So, I’m not gonna… I mean, the way you framed the question isn’t designed to elicit a response,” Rogers replied.

“Well, do you believe we should build backdoors for other countries?” Stamos asked again.

“My position is — hey look, I think that we’re lying that this isn’t technically feasible. Now, it needs to be done within a framework. I’m the first to acknowledge that. You don’t want the FBI and you don’t want the NSA unilaterally deciding, so, what are we going to access and what are we not going to access? That shouldn’t be for us. I just believe that this is achievable. We’ll have to work our way through it. And I’m the first to acknowledge there are international implications. I think we can work our way through this,” Rogers answered.

“So you do believe then, that we should build those for other countries if they pass laws?” Stamos asked a third time.

“I think we can work our way through this,” Rogers replied.

“I’m sure the Chinese and Russians are going to have the same opinion,” Stamos said.

I truly wonder what Rogers would think if he wasn’t the director of the NSA. Would he agree to all the snooping, reduced security, and compromised privacy, if he were just a civilian?