Tech Knock

Only a single character can crash your iPhone and block access to the Messaging app in iOS as well as popular apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Outlook for iOS, and Gmail. First  spotted  by Italian Blog Mobile World, a potentially new severe bug affects not only iPhones but also a wide range of Apple devices, including iPads, Macs and even Watch OS devices running the latest versions of their operating software. Like previous 'text bomb' bug, the new flaw can easily be exploited by anyone, requiring users to send only a single character from Telugu—a native Indian language spoken by about 70 million people in the country. Once the recipient receives a simple message containing the symbol or typed that symbol into the text editor, the character immediately instigates crashes on iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches and Apple TVs running Apple's iOS Springboard. Apps that receive the text bomb tries to load the character, but fails and refuses to function pro...

Commentary: Some experts believe iPhone hasn't captured people's imagination. So I went to the Gulf Coast of Florida to find out. What are people supposed to think? On Apple's  recent earnings call , CEO Tim Cook reported slightly reduced iPhone sales numbers, but he insisted the iPhone X was outselling all other iPhones. He omitted, though, to offer any actual number for X sales. Some experts fear the phone  simply doesn't inspire . I thought it wise, then, to go and talk to real people. When the iPhone X was first announced, I  wandered through Northern and Southern California  and pestered restaurant servers, bartenders, store clerks, well, anyone in retail who was prepared to make eye contact. I asked what they thought of the upcoming smartphone of the future.  They seemed a touch underwhelmed at the time. This time, I went to the Gulf Coast of Florida, around Fort Myers, and spent three days performing the very same acts of pestering the v...