Apple's Cash @ $246, 009, 000, 000

Apple's cash hoard swells to record $246.09 billion

Christine Wang | @christiiineeee

4 Mins AgoCNBC.com

Apple shares pop after big earnings beat  30 Mins Ago | 05:20

Apple's enormous cash hoard grew to $246.09 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, up $8.49 billion from the previous quarter.

That figure is larger than Sri Lanka's estimated 2016 gross domestic product, but smaller than Denmark's, according to the CIA World Factbook. If Apple's cash pile was its own public company, it would be the 13th largest in the world.

The tech giant also reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday and said it sold more iPhones than expected. The stock jumped more than 2 percent in after-hours trading as more than 4.9 million shares changed hands.

The company's cash reserves have long fueled speculation of acquisitions that Apple might make. Apple keeps most of its cash outside the U.S. for tax reasons, but President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are expected to change rules on repatriation of cash stored overseas, which could make it easier for Apple to spend some of the money on acquisitions without taking a major tax hit.

Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC, "Repatriation is front and center. That is good for the country and Apple."

Novel French Disconnect Law Has Little Practical Effect

But FEW DARE! FOR FEAR OF MISSING OUT! ahhhh... the french and their work priviledges.

The new law was prompted by concerns over the intrusion of work into private lives.

Carlina Teteris/Getty Images

Ah, to work in France: plenty of vacation and a 35-hour workweek. And, as of Jan. 1, a new law that gives French employees the right to disconnect. Companies in France are now required to stop encroaching on workers' personal and family time with emails and calls.

THE TWO-WAY

French Law Giving Workers 'The Right To Disconnect' Goes Into Effect

The law was part of an overall labor bill that provoked months of street demonstrations and divided the country. The controversy was mostly over a single provision that made it easier for French companies to fire people. But nearly everyone supports the provision allowing workers to walk away from emails and ignore their smartphones when they're out of the office.

French Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri commissioned a 2015 study that warned of the health impact of what she called "info-obesity." It showed that more and more French people could not get away from work — even when they weren't there.

Labor lawyer Patrick Thiebart argues that burnout and other health-related issues are on the rise because of an overload of digital demands on employees.

"If an employee receives emails during all their weekends and at night until 11 p.m., then I can assure you that at a certain point in time, it can negatively impact his health," he says.

French Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri commissioned a 2015 study that warned of the health impact of what she called "info-obesity." It showed that more and more French people could not get away from the office, even when they weren't there.

Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

The new law stipulates that companies with more than 50 workers must negotiate with employees and unions and agree on a policy to reduce the intrusion of work into private lives.

"Of course your boss shouldn't send you emails on a Sunday when you're at lunch, enjoying a leg of lamb and a good Bordeaux," says Bernard Vivier, who runs the Higher Institute of Work, a think tank that focuses on the French workplace.

"It's so French to throw a law at every kind of problem," he says. But he doesn't think a law can fix this one. Such ills must be changed by management and through new practices, he says.

It's a complicated issue, notes Thiebart, the lawyer, because digital culture also offers employees freedom and flexibility.

"Everybody is happy with the smartphones and the new technology," Thiebart says, "because employees can work at home and don't have to spend time and money in commuting. And for companies, they can save money because they don't need all the staff on the premises."

Many large European companies and government departments already recognize the right of their employees to disconnect from work. Companies such as Volkswagen and Daimler, and French insurer Axa, have taken steps to restrict out-of-hours messaging — including Volkswagen's limited email server connections on evenings and weekends.

Thiebart says that isn't such a good idea, since many businesses operate across several time zones. But he says his clients, many of them large corporations, are not hostile to the new French law. They believe a lack of downtime decreases the productivity of their workforce.

At a Paris gym where people are working up a sweat after a day at the office, many are still attached to their devices. Jean Luc Bauché is lifting weights, wearing white earbuds connected to a smartphone in his pocket.

He says it's a great idea to be able to disconnect. But he doesn't think it's possible.

"You can pass laws to protect people from dangers like speeding," he says, "but this law won't work because it's counter to the way society is evolving."

Bauché says he's the only person he knows who turns his phone off at night when he sleeps.

"Most people don't dare," he says. "They're afraid they'll miss something."

California Bans SMartphone Useage in Vehicles

ARare on Facebook 

Get out that phone mount or face a fine under a new California law.

IMAGE: ANDREAS GEBERT/PICTURE-ALLIANCE/DPA/AP IMAGES

BY SASHA LEKACHDEC 30, 2016

It's time to use that Amazon gift card for a phone mount for your car — California is cracking down. 

Starting Sunday a new law is making it even harder to use your phone in the car. Throughout the state you already can't text, scroll around, click or look at messages on your phone while driving, and we've been long trained to never bring our phones to our ears while talking.

But starting Jan. 1 2017, you can't even have your phone in your hand or out to click or swipe something. It will have to be mounted to your windshield or dashboard — only then can you tap your screen to make sure that that new Google Maps route delivers you out of traffic hell.

SEE ALSO: It's not just you: Siri is getting smarter

The bill, AB 1785, is one step closer to making motorists comply with completely hands-free cellphone laws which first went into effect in 2008. California Highway Patrol public information officer Mike Martis told Mashable that the new mounted rule "clears it up for a lot of drivers" who were unsure about what they could or couldn't do in the car. 

With this new law, drivers will likely use way more Siri and voice-operated services. So let's hope that technology can keep up with our demands and increased usage. 

California is one of many states with pretty strict cellphone laws for texting, talking and other uses while driving. Martis said he's already pulled over many drivers from out of state who claim to have no idea about California's cellphone laws. But now the state is taking hands-free driving to the next level. "California is pretty aggressive" when it comes to distracted driving, Martis said. "We’re hoping to reduce the number of distracted driver collisions."

"We’re hoping to reduce the number of distracted driver collisions."

The bill's author, state assemblyman Bill Quirk told the Sacramento Bee this week that this finally closes a loophole in rules meant to slow down distracted driving. "The whole idea is you don’t have the phone in your hand, period,” he told the paper. 

When the bill was signed back in September, Quirk said in a press release, “Smartphones have an abundance of available features that demand a driver’s attention, leading to very dangerous driving behavior."

So from Sunday, California drivers won't be able to hold a phone in their hands at all. Any violation (swiping, tapping, clicking your phone while it's off a phone mount) starts with a $20 fine and a $50 fine for subsequent violations.

The most limiting and likely most difficult part of the law to enforce is only allowing "a single swipe or tap of the driver's finger" even if the phone is mounted. No excessive swiping!

Most smartphones are mounted on the windshield or dashboard in Uber vehicles, but many other drivers hold them in their hands.

IMAGE: AP PHOTO/RAFIQ MAQBOOL

Kamala Harris, the state's newly elected senator, wrote in a Facebook post Thursday that "California road safety officials estimate that distracted driving is a factor in 80% of crashes." She sees the law as a way to make roads safer.

For ride-hailing app users and drivers this shouldn't have much of an impact since most seasoned Uber and Lyft drivers already have a mounted phone rig. But for non-professional drivers this means it's time to buy some equipment if you want to continue swiping onto the next song or to see an alternate route on a maps app. 

For others visiting the state without a phone mount, better put the phone away entirely to avoid any temptation to touch your phone. Or put all your trust in Siri — no one has time for fines. 

Trump Using His “old, unsecured Android phone”

Same old unsecured hairstyle too...

Enlarge / The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Samsung's most recent (non-exploding) flagship smartphones.

Ron Amadeo

345

Donald Trump continues to use his "old, unsecured Android phone" since taking office despite "the protests of some of his aides," according to a report from The New York Times about how the new president is settling in to his routine. This contradicts another report from late last week that indicated Trump had given up the phone in exchange for a "secure, encrypted device approved by the Secret Service."

It's not clear exactly what kind of Android phone Trump uses—he has previously indicated that it's a Samsung Galaxy device—or whether it has also been encrypted or otherwise hardened or what kinds of things he uses it for. Samsung's Knox software is approved for "sensitive but unclassified use" by the US Department of Defense, so these phones are cleared for at least some kinds of government work when configured correctly.

How big of a deal is this? We don't know anything about the phone's configuration, but the state of Android security is notoriously poor compared to other operating systems like iOS or Windows, both of which are patched regularly by Apple and Microsoft with no interference from hardware manufacturers or wireless carriers. Google releases monthly security updates for Android, and Samsung is better than most about actually releasing those updates to its most recent devices (flagship phones tend to get monthly updates, midrange phones and most tablets get quarterly patches), but there is still often a gap of several days or weeks between when those security bulletins are published and when the patches are available.

In any case, it's surprising that Trump has kept his old phone—the Trump campaign spent months criticizing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for her alleged mishandling of sensitive e-mails, and her campaign has claimed that the FBI's statements on the case may have cost her the election. President Obama was only given a smartphone last year, and in interviews he claimed that it had been so locked down that it couldn't even be used to take pictures or send text messages.

"A lot of the newfangled stuff for security reasons, I don't get," Obama said in 2015.

Pak SmartPhone Counterfeit Raid

Law Enforcement Agency Conducted Raid Against Counterfeit Smartphones in Karachi. Law Enforcement agency with Checkers raiding team conducted a very successful and intensive raid on “Al-Najeebi Mobile Market” at Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar-Karachi, against counterfeit smartphones of prestigious brands. The accused Mohammad Yousuf along with three (03) other accused involved, was arrested on the spot. Counterfeit smartphone confiscated brought to the center for further  interrogation. FIR # 03/2017 is registered against the accused(s).

Can you use a cell phone while driving?

Is it illegal to drive while talking on a mobile phone without a headset in your state? Driving laws related to smartphone and cell phone use – or mobile phone use, if that’s what you want to call it – vary greatly. Individual states change regulations on cell phone use while driving every once in a while – it’s a state’s issue, not federal, after all. What we’re looking at is the laws that apply to each of our 50 United States as of the month of publication of this article – and updates may be applied, but will be noted.

States With The Least Regulation

Let it be known that Montana is the least regulated state when it comes to driving whilst using a phone. While they DO keep crash data on file for this sort of thing, they do not have a hand-held ban, any ban on cell phones for school bus drivers or novice drivers, nor any text messaging ban of any sort. It’s entirely legal to use a phone in your car under any circumstance – or at least that’s how it is on the books.

Don’t expect much mercy in the way of fault when it comes to a crash that’s caused by a driver clearly distracted by their phone. It’s not as if using a phone will ever excuse a driver from being aware of what’s on the road in front of, behind, or anywhere around them. That’s always they’re responsibility.

Arizona is in a similar boat with a lack of regulation on cell use while driving. School Bus Drivers are not allowed to use cell phones while driving – but everyone else is fine. Missouri is similar, though the one restriction is on text messaging by a driver under the age of 21.

Text Messaging Bans

A number of states restrict the use of phones to text message while driving, but do not restrict the use of phones in all cases. Wyoming, the Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Florida, and Alaska have full Text Messaging bans, but no other restrictions on mobile phone use while driving.

Alabama has a ban on cell phones for 16 and 17yr-old drivers holding Intermediate Licenses for less than 6 months. Alabama also has a total ban of text messaging by all drivers. Colorado’s laws are the same as Alabama in these cases, but the all-ban is for all drivers under the age of 18. North Dakota and Ohio also have this all-ban for drivers under the age of 18 and all-texting bans in place.

The only states that do not have a texting ban on all drivers in place are Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Texas. Texas is a special case, however, as they ban texting by drivers under the age of 18 and for all ages if there’s a passenger in the vehicle under the age of 17. Texas also has an all-ban in place for School Bus Drivers with passengers under the age of 17 – and by all drivers in school zones. Texas also has an all-ban on all drivers under the age of 18.

Bus Driver Phone Use Bans

Not all states ban the use of a mobile phone while driving a school bus, regardless of the bus size or the age of its riders. Those that do have this ban in place almost always have a total ban on bus drivers, save Texas, which only bans phone use from bus drivers if they have a passenger under the age of 17.

States that ban phone use by school bus drivers include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. Also on this list for total bans on school bus drivers using cell phones is Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode Island. Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia also each have this ban in place.

Total Ban on Novice Drivers

Quite a few states ban Novice Drivers from using phones of any sort while driving, hand-held or not. Those that ban phone use of drivers under the age of 18, only, include: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.

Those states with a ban on all phone use by drivers under 18 with a Learner or Intermediate License include West Virginia, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Those with this same ban but without the age restriction (Learner or Intermediate License,) include Washington, Wisconsin, Tennessee, South Dakota, Maine, Kansas, and Delaware. Iowa is the same as the last list but replaces Restricted with Learner License.

States with an all-ban on Novice Drivers with Permit or Provisional License include New Mexico and New Jersey. Michigan restricts Novice Drivers with a Level 1 or 2 license. Indiana just restricts Novice drivers under the age of 21, while Illinois restricts those under 19. Washington DC restricts all those using a Learners Permit.

Alabama’s text messaging all-ban is joined by an all-ban of cell phone use for Novice drivers of the age of 16. They also ban all users that are the age of 17 with an Intermediate License less than 6 months old.

Most Restricted States

Several states have a full ban on hand-held phone use while driving. That’s a ban on phones if held in the user’s hand – while driving. The states with this hand-held ban are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland. This hand-held phone use ban while driving also covers Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Washington, and West Virginia.

Arkansas has a special hand-held ban which covers only 18-20 year olds. Louisiana and Oklahoma ban hand-held phone use from drivers with Lerner or Intermediate Licenses – regardless of their age. New Mexico bans hand-held phone use from drivers driving official state vehicles.

What about headset use?

If a police officer sees you cause a car crash and they find out you were talking on the phone with a friend, regardless of the location of the phone, there’s a chance it’ll be considered out and actively in play. If that happens, the law will enforce whatever regulations are in place for cell phone use. A headset does not excuse a driver from the laws of cell phone use.

Wrap-up

All of the information in this guide was sourced from the GHSA, AKA the Governor’s Highway Safety Association or official state highway department sources where necessary. This collection of laws could very well change at a moment’s notice – so keep that in mind. SlashGear is not responsible for any reckless driving, accidents, or law-related incidents of any kind, and none of the above should take the place of seeking legal advice.

Whatever the state rules or the situation, the best advice is to hold off making a call or texting until you’re safely pulled over at the side of the road. That way, you don’t have to concentrate on driving. Just because something is legal on paper, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily well-advised, after all.