The iPhone Fever

Apple using patents to delay adoption of WWW open standards again

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:18:00 +0000

An initiative to standardize the way touch enabled devices interact with web content has had a wrench thrown into the works, at least temporarily, by Apple.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Events Working Group was created last year and tasked with standardizing the way touch devices, from smartphones and tablets to drawing pads and spatial sensors, interact with web applications. One of the specifications they have been working on is called 'Touch Events.'

As part of the standard development process, the working group sent out multiple requests for patent exclusions. In layman's terms, these are requests for disclosure of any existing or pending patents which might be required to implement a standard.

Responding to the third of three calls for exclusions this year, Apple provided the group with a list of four patents, one of which has already been approved, two which are pending approval, and a fourth which is in the early stage of application, which they say are related to the Touch Events specification.

A developer for the Opera browser who blogs under the name Haavard is crying foul on Apple's move, and says they are simply trying to impede the creation of the Touch Events spec. He points to similar occurences in 2009 and 2010, when Apple made exclusion claims with respect to the W3C Widgets specification.

Of the three patents listed in those claims, two were found to be nonessential, while the third was deemed both nonessential and invalid due to prior art.

When a patent exclusion claim is made to a W3C working group, the organization must appoint a team to examine the patents in question to determine whether they are, in fact, necessary to the spec in its current state. This means delaying finalization until the determination is reached.

Perhaps the key technology which Apple has used as a cornerstone for their multitude of patent lawsuits against handset and tablet makers around the world are is the touch screen. Simply put, Apple wants to use patents to restrict other companies' touch implementations.

Of course that's despite the fact their touch screen technology isn't necessarily as revolutionary or original as their patents suggest. In some cases they cover technology which was in production by other companies before the Apple patent application was even filed.

It's also notable that Apple decided not to participate in the Touch Events working group. One possible reason was that they don't really want standardization in that area. But according to Haavard, the additional benefit was it allowed them to wait until the last minute to disclose the patents they say are required for the specification.

The advantage in this would be delaying the adoption of any kind of standard by at least a few months. Work on the standard will essentially grind to a halt while Apple's claims are examined. Given the ever increasing number of devices on the market with touch screen interfaces, that's not really good for anyone - not even Apple.

VIA: Techdrift.com, Opera.com

Apple tries to reboot it's lost lawsuits

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:55:00 +0000

In keeping with its strategy for world domination in consumer electronics, Apple has inconspicuously transferred a dozen patents that it previously "owned" to a non-existent corporate entity called Cliff Island LLC.

Tech crunch have done a little digging and it appears that Cliff Island is a shell company, sharing a physical address with Altitude Capital, the main investor behind patent trolling company Digitude Innovations (ironic name, n'est pas?).

Cliff Island then "transferred" those same patents to Digitude who have now filed a suit with the ITC (International Trade Commission) in the US against basically all the smartphone and tablet makers selling in America (RIM, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, Amazon, and Nokia (note that Apple is not on this list). How mysterious.

Digitude was founded in 2010 and raised $50 million from Altitude Capital Partners, with aims to “acquire, aggregate, and license key technology areas within the consumer electronics and related technology fields in a patent consortium” — in other words, it buys up patents and then sues other companies until they settle and agree to pay licensing fees, because it’s generally less expensive than actually going to court.

So what we're seeing here is Apple suing its competitors out of the market, yet again, for patent law suites it already lost, but this time by proxy. And it's interesting that the patent transfers have taken place under some sneaky back-room sleight of hand. For new readers this might seem unethical even for Apple - what we know, is only the tip of the ice berg, unfortunately.

The USPTO Apple exhibit - shows just how biased an
Unided States institution can be

Meanwhile, let me remind you this is all made possible thanks to a jerk with a very high function in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You have probably heard of the web site PatentlyApple.com which publishes all Apple patents as soon as they are submitted to the USPTO.It is no wonder that Apple can get approved patents for products like the SmartCover which in fact steal InCase's design. It doesn't matter if somebody else made it first or if the patent already exists, Apple will get their's approved without a sweat.

The whole article and its links to a Forbes piece on Digitude can be read at the Tech Crunch site. It's worth a look at just how out of control Apple has become, and the folks at TC deserve the clicks for their excellent effort in bringing this to light.

This seems to be a case where the US DOJ may yet be involved. Interesting times.

VIA: AndroidNZ, Tech Crunch

Burning iPhone endangers Australian flight, hundreds of passengers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:43:00 +0000

Australian airline reports case of burning iPhone on flight. Regional Express, Australia's largest independent regional airline, issued a press release on an incident shortly after a flight landed late last week. Flight ZL319 had just landed when a passenger's mobile phone started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, and started glowing red.

A flight attendant extinguished the burning phone immediately and no passengers or crew were harmed. Regional Express reported the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

The mobile phone in question is identified as an Apple iPhone, which shows a significant amount of damage to the rear of the phone. Reports online indicate that the iPhone shows evidence that the burning came from the battery, which would explain the red glow and the release of smoke.

Below are some of the few samples that made the news of incinerated cars, burnt people, molten connectors or even exploding devices. This is not an isolated incident among iPhones or iPhone 4 devices!

Perhaps issues like these wouldn't happen so often if Apple wouldn't pay people to "shut it" or sites like Gizmodo to turn a serious threat into a joke. It's all fun and games and we all enjoy Apple's hefty profits, made by exploiting the user and picking the cheapest possible components. I suggest you see what an exploding Li-Po can do before taking an apologetic attitude and preferably before somebody gets seriously injured.

[UPDATE]
Not 24 hours have passed and due to an amazing coinci a shorted Galaxy device has appeared on XDA. A user with almost no activity on XDA suddenly droped such a post out of the blue. The amazing thing is that there's no damage to the battery body, only to the contacts. Would you as a fanboy be desperate enough to damage a new device or is it an Apple rep? Check the pics yourself to see the difference between foul play and the above (or how actual li-po damage looks like).

VIA: Afterdawn.com

iOS fragmentation - Is it worse than Android's?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:19:00 +0000

How do we define fragmentation?

This is what fragmentation (frgmn-tshn) actually means:
The scattering of parts of a computer file across different regions of a disk. Fragmentation occurs when the operating system breaks up the file and stores it in locations left vacant by previously deleted files. The more fragmented the file, the slower it is to retrieve, since each piece of the file must be identified and located on the disk.

Below we will try to explain the FUD term propagated by Steve Jobs and spread by Apple fans that also have a very vague idea of it's meaning.

the inability to update the OS because of the manufacturer?
the user's choice not to update?
the coexistence of multiple app stores?
exclusive apps?
different hardware configurations?

So let's start with updates

If we are to consider updates as the sole factor in fragmentation, we would certainly be wrong. Both Android and iOS can run the same Apps. Forcing partial updates like iOS 4 on iPhone 3G and 3GS has lowered the device performance considerably while still not bringing the same features iPhone 4 had. Apple might have reduced fragmentation in statistics, but it has decreased user experience by making 3G and 3GS laggy devices.

So how are iPhone updates doing in 2011?
According to statistics, not too well. So far iOS 5 is only on 38% of all iPhones:

"According to Chitika Insights, one month after release, the new OS is on 38 percent of iPhones, 30 percent of iPads and 12 percent of iPod Touch.

iOS5 distribution in 2011

The firm uses mobile ad network impressions to analyze traffic."

In comparison, Android's latest major distribution for Phones 2.x.x is spread across 95% of the devices, and the latest subversion, Gingerbread or 2.3.x is spread across 38.2% of the devices.

We should also mention that Android has a market share or 52.5% while Apple has a market of ~15%. Given the fact that there are 443 unique Android devices released and only 7 iPhones, I'd say Apple's closed eco-system idea is doing a lot worse in the real world than it did on paper.

Apps and AppStores

In a recent discussion, with a fellow blogger, Prasad, on GSMArena, we tackled the fragmentation issue by app availability and app stores. He wasn't pleased about the existence of multiple stores for Android and the fact that, specifically Amazon, is holding up exclusive offers on a lot of countries where it isn't yet available.

Well how is the Apple Appstore doing, in this type of "fragmentation" compared to android?

Apple's AppStore was only accessible to US and a few European countries at launch
Apple's AppStore just got accessible to 33 new countries this year.
Cydia - a user made AppStore with no guaranteed security, made for apps rejected by Apple - only available for those who jailbreak
Carriers. Vodafone has their own 360 People Sync and navigation app - only available to Vodafone users

So is there such a big difference in App availability on iOS and Android? Should we even note the fact that Cydia will never make it's way onto iPhones that aren't jail broken? Let's give Amazon a chance, I'm sure it will make it's way in all countries as did Apple's App store and the Google Market.

For me, on iOS, it's certainly a big deal if jailbreaks are late. I have to chose between updating and losing access to Cydia and possibly some of my favorite apps. Apple's own strict policy seems to be one of the very reasons for fragmentation.

How about exclusive updates? iPhone 3G will never get multi-tasking, GameCenter, iPhone 3GS and 4 will never get SIRI. Besides questioning the status of the update (how can you call it iOS4 or 5 when it doesn't have the same features?), what happens to apps that depend on GameCenter or multi-tasking? What happens to Apps that depend on SIRI?

Devices and configurations

Some users think fragmentation means different hardware. I think different hardware means variety, and variety is a good thing.

Windows 7 PC runs right now on few billion different configurations. Variety doesn't mean fragmentation.
Out of 400 Android configurations at least a few dozen are identical.
Out of 7 iPhone models I can't find 2 devices with the same hardware.

And then there’s the display. Making a universal binary of a game that we want to work on the iPad, the iPhone 3GS, and of course the iPhone 4. All three devices have different resolutions. The same thing happens on Android with the mini devices (240 x 320), the regular smartphones (800x480) and tablets. There's very little code necessary to make apps compatible on both platforms, but as there's a lower number for iPad apps than iPhone, that code is still necessary.

Apps should be the same on both device types. Having two app types means fragmentation to start with. Android has actually taken a step forward in this regard, as since 3.2 it's possibly to dynamically scale an app, particularly useful for tablets 7"-10".
Then there's users that complain that their Android device is slow and laggy. Can you expect the same user-experience for a $100 device as you can from a $700 one? If you believe that, please try an iPhone 2G, 3G or 3GS.

As a conclusion I'd like to reinforce my first statement. Fragmentation is indeed a FUD term spread by Apple that had no idea it would backfire on them even in the tightly controlled "OS developer/manufacturer -> user" ecosystem. The truth is, that as bad as it sounds, even with iOS's partial updates and different markets it's still not a thing to worry about. Even so the device experience is mainly the same on all devices.

Who is least affected by fragmentation? Android or iOS? I'll let you be the judge of that. In my opinion, Windows Phone 7 is the least affected, but with more devices and OS versions their turn will come ;)

Sources: MattMaroon.com, Business Insider, Afterdawn.com, Phonedog.com

iPhone 4S packs Bluetooth 4.0 - no, you still can't beam anything over

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:19:00 +0000

After a selective benchmark that only displayed the results where iPhone 4S excelled, Apple now tries to claim the title for "the first Bluetooth 4.0" phone. The FUD spread by Apple pretty much consists of obscure features such as collecting data from various sensors or connecting headsets, features that are available for everybody since bluetooth 1.0. Of course as with any bluetooth iteration there's lower power consumption and higher transfer rates - of course useful for phones that can actually beam data; so far the best bet is a jailbroken phone. It's unknown if Apple may allow sending files via iMessages to iOS only devices so Bluetooth is actually in the same status quo it's always been in on iOS.

Unfortunately for Apple, the file transfer and the remote SIM access protocols are parts of the Bluetooth standard and with those missing it simply "ain't got no standard", just the same way iPhone doesn't really have USB but that is another story.

Kudos Apple for making the news and deceiving your fans all over again!

Apple Siri-ous about copying Android, innovation nowhere to be found

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:38:00 +0000

Samsung HTC iOS5

After succesfully replicating the Android notification system, Apple has made the next step to the voice control feature.

The next "real hip" thing on every mobile gadgetry website you'll find will be Apple's "Siri", a voice recognition app that can make calls, record messages, play music, launch another application or google something up for you, nothing more than Vilingo could do since 2010 when it was released. I say nothing more because nothing less certainly doesn't apply. But as the process of copying the iPhone 2G from Samsung didn't really go too well, Siri too has a few shortcomings:

The voice quality on Siri is not quite there yet
It's harder to activate than the the double tap on Galaxy S2
It still seems to lack voice activation compared to Samsung's Galaxy series
It's only available in English and it can't recognize accents

You can check the ripoff after the break:

"Looks like Apple is about to get SIRI-ous with voice recognition."

[iPhone jokes] Apple innovates again, are you SIRI-ous?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:01:00 +0000

iPhone 4S benchmarks out: mixed results for the A5 CPU

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:34:00 +0000

So the iPhone 4S benchmarks are out and it would seem they are nothing less than amazing. Unfortunately the graphics benchmark that was released by Anandtech earlier today is as synthetic as it gets; the tests used were "offscreen", in other words no image was rendered during the test. Offscreen means that the would-be-rendered image is HD but unfortunately none of the tests used an actual 720p output and monitor to verify the results.

Should you want to play games on an external monitor iPhone 4S is expected to perform better thanks to the fact that the image is mirrored as the iPhone real HDMI output does not consist of a real HD 720p image as Apple kindly informs us:

Apple Digital AV Adapter mirrors exactly what you see on iPad 2 or iPhone 4S so that everyone in the room can enjoy it on your widescreen TV[...]

Mirrored means that the screen image is actually cloned and scaled to 720p instead of having to be rendered as a second HD output. In this case most android devices suffer a larger performance drop while displaying a better quality output.

If you check GLBenchmark's site you can see how the two devices have a matched performance, despite the iPhone 4S being somewhat newer than the SGS2. We can say with approximation that out of 40 tests iPhone 4S bests Samsung's flagship in only ~5 while other ~5 haven't been performed yet.

The fact that the new iPhone doesn't manage to rise above an older model in real world performance - check the real rendering tests Egypt and Pro yourself - is somewhat disappointing, as is the lack of RAM, still only 512 MB.

    On the browser/CPU side of the benchmark Apple did much better, managing to finally catch up with the Honeycomb platform.
    This must really be a cornerstone for Apple after being known for having "the slowest browser on the market with the least features". With flash still unavailable, the bump in processing power really shows.
   Maybe Anandtech "didn't know" about mirroring or maybe Apple made them forget about it, but in the end, the browser, java script and even the synthetic video benchmarks can confirm that for the first time iPhone and iOS are at least par, with their Android counterparts. Make no mistake, the A5 is strong, but not as strong as Apple would like you to believe. Unfortunately on the software side widgets are still unavailable and the notification system is a little less than original while multitasking and closing apps still takes a lot more steps than it should. With the new nexus around the corner, these will prove to be exciting times indeed ;)

VIA: Anandtech

Sprint confirms our woes, won't take chances for iPhone 4S cheap plastic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:03:00 +0000

Not even a bumper makes it 100% safe

Sprint is voting thumbs-down on having its Total Equipment Protection plans available to the iPhone 4S, probably following the bad experience with iPhone 4. According to SprintFeed, the only choice is to purchase the AppleCare+ Protection Plan or go through a third party to have any protection from accidental damage. Hopefully this setup isn’t permanent, but we’re not going to hold our breath. Just as a reminder, that $99 AppleCare+ can only be added at the time of purchase. But ask yourself, what’s worse? Paying $99 (the price of an iPhone 4) upfront, or paying an extra $649.99 for a new 16GB iPhone 4S after dropping your phone?
Meanwhile you could go for a device with gorilla glass, it's incredibly hard to scratch, almost impossible to break, it doesn't shatter like cheap plastic, it doesn't bend like aluminum. Wouldn't it be awesome if the most beautiful and important part on your phone would also be the most resistant one?

Via: Sprintfeed

iPhone 4S: Antennagate, check! Brain damage, check!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:23:00 +0000

iFixed nothing

Apple claims that the iPhone 4S features a new antenna design, intended to prevent any risk of 'Antennagate' reoccurring. But did they really fix or innovate anything? Let's start with fixing things. In the mockup on the right you can see that by "not holding it right" you are shorting 3 of iPhone 4S's antennas and you will be jamming the forth one once the phone touches your ear.

The 4S's new dual antennas can automatically switch when sending and receiving information, a trick Apple claims is "a first" for a mobile phone.

We won't go into explaining the dangers of SAR and why most manufacturers place the antenna on the bottom of the phone, away from your brain. You should know though that at any given time the best working antenna on iPhone 4S will be the one on top since it's the only one not shorted, it's the one the device will choose for best signal. It's right there next to your gray matter where most of the SAR radiation will dissipate.

Frølund Pedersen, professor at Aalborg University's Institute for Electronic Systems in Denmark and one of the big names involved in the events of Antennagate last time around, feels that Apple's latest iPhone might be treading on toes stems from patents he and his associates apparently sold to Samsung some years earlier.

At the iPhone 4S launch, CEO Tim C(r)ook and co were quoted as saying,

“Improving on the innovative stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive.”

Pedersen disagrees, primarily with the fact that Apple dubbed this an 'innovation',

"When Apple says that it is new, it’s not true. It has been in use for very long. For example in the DECT cordless phones. Both in these and in some other phones“

The patents Pedersen has in mind were sold to Samsung back in 2007 and address both power and communication methods. The possible infringments are with respect to the Apparatus and method for stabilizing terminal power in a communication system and Apparatus and method for selecting an antenna in a communication system patents.
Samsung haven't yet acted on the new ammunition in their ongoing patent war with the Cupertino based company, but they have already tried to have the iPhone 4S witheld from sale in both France and Italy with regard to a different set of patents that Samsung apparently own.

Congratulations Tim, for kicking off your new career with a big fat lie and several patents stolen from Samsung.

Via: Comon.dk

Two iOS security breaches and how the hackers got those pictures of you

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:08:00 +0000

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security discovered a serious security vulnerability in Apple's iOS platform. The security hole allows a malicious user access to the root files of the phone, where they could see personal user information like passwords, call logs, messages, and and your location date if he hasn't done so already. Apple has acknowledged the problem and promises to issue a fix.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Apple spokesperson Bethan Lloyd said Apple is "aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update." She did not provide a date as to when the fix would be available.

In other news, multiple frustrated iPhone 4 owners have complained this week that their device's front-side camera is taking pictures of them when it is supposed to be inactive.

Those photos then show up on the iPhone screen when the user tries to start a FaceTime video call. One angry owner said her FaceTime picture showed her in her office, despite never using the app while at work.

The glitch also freezes FaceTime, forcing owners to keep trying until it loads correctly. Both vulnerabilities were present in all devices that are running iOS 4.3.3 and earlier.

Quickly doing the math, it's doubtful that there ever was a greater security risk for your both private life and safety than iPhone: Your location + your pictures + your data available to anybody who targets you.

What tha? Are you in a dressing room?
No, I'm at home why?
"It's kind of creepy," says one user who claims that when she
FaceTime chats her boyfriend, weird photos she's never taken
of herself sitting in the office suddenly pop up on her
boyfriend's screen.

How was the Pap?
It was fine... wait, how did you know??????????????

So if you have an iPhone 4 and you happen to use FaceTime... BEWARE! Your phone could randomly snap photos of you... in the bathroom, at the doctors office... in your most private of moments... and then send them to your friends!

I guess the good news is that she has a job and isn't leading some kind of secret double life.

Via: Afterdawn, funny pics - courtesy of Smoosh

[iPhone jokes] Exclusive Steve Ballmer iPad Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:26:00 +0000

iPhone 5 and 4S spot defective displays, Apple regrets giving up on Samsung

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:28:00 +0000

The iPhone 4 launch fiasco is about to repeat itself. A defect has presented in some iPhone 5 touch panels produced by Wintek which may affect the ability to meet initial shipment targets for the launch which is expected in October, according to iPhone supply chain makers.

In response, Wintek simply indicated that all of its products are being delivered on schedule.

Wintek, is the company where n-hexane poisoning took place this time last year. N-hexane, a poisonous chemical was used to quicker manufacture iPhone4 screens. Wintek still accounts for 20-25% (while Taiwan TPK Holding accounts for the rest) as Apple has no problem in putting their worker's health behind profits.

"The defect, "delayed bubble", is difficult to avoid during panel production, particularly when the defect is not detected during the process of laminating touch panels, and only later found during assembly, the sources said."

More advanced smartphones use AMOLED or SuperAMOLED screens that are thinner, use less power and to not require the old "lamination" procedure as the display and the touch screen are one and the same panel.

If you thought it's a good idea to preorder iPhone 5, think again, the "delayed bubble" defect was present in Apple's 2008 iPhones and as with the iPhone 4 the defective units, there was no issue in selling and marketing the product. Among cheap hair dryers and iPhones Foxconn is also known for really bad quality check, as the workers have to live in detention camp-like conditions for below minimum wage.

Samsung's SAMOLED screens could have been a "life saver" for Apple but unfortunately iPhone 5 is likely to also come with cheap TFT screens dubbed as "Retina", thanks to the increased resolution.

Meanwhile Apple has forfeited the privilege of having Samsung built memory chips and CPUs, so the only area that was never an issue on iPhones and iPads might have a rough start.

It is very likely that Apple's products will not see neither SAMOLED nor top-of-the-line 20nm chipsets from Samsung's new largest and most advanced memory fabrication facility for at least the next 5 years as Samsung continues to dominate the flash memory and display market.

New link for iPhone Fever feeds!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Hello and welcome! You might have noticed the recent changes around TheiPhoneFever. We have tried to make the blog a lot lighter and more user friendly, be that user an Android, Symbian, Windows or even an iPhone user. And with all the new stuff around, the Feeds link is also changing:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/TheiPhoneFever

Make sure to visit it soon for the latest news Apple doesn't want you to hear!

iOS vulnerability leaves Skype users open to address book theft

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:54:00 +0000

    If you are using Skype for iPhone or iPod Touch, the Address Book on your device can easily be stolen via a simple chat message.

    How does it work?: Javascript commands are entered into the user names Skype account, a chat message is sent to the user who is using the newest version of Skype for iPhone, and a program is loaded onto a web server to receive the Address Book content.

    The report claims there is two oversights that are allowing this to happen so easily:

iOS allows address book contents accessible to every app installed
Failure by Skype to sanitize potentially dangerous JavaScript commands from the text that gets sent in chat messages

Of course it will be Skype's responsibility to patch the hole as iOS security is currently a complete mess as apple still tries to figure out the hole that made them lose the US Army defense contract.
Meanwhile any skilled hacker/developer can collect your and your friend's addresses with the simplest app or game imaginable.
Detailed instructions of the hack after the break.

Via: superevr.com

Apple's iPad, iPhone design, "borrowed" from Samsung, LG

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:51:00 +0000

Today we're starting a new trend, the one of pamphlets. It's unjust that Apple steals the credit of so many brilliant people - because it's people, not companies who made them - and claims it "invented" the modern smarphone or the tablet, be it Newton or iPad.

There's solid proof for those willing to hear it on how Apple infringed other's designs; others like Samsung and LG that didn't think for a second that a touch screen phone with one button, a thin white bezel or simply put, the wheel, are things that someone would actually patent.

So head over to the new design section of our blog, "Other designs", and check it out for yourself!

Don't forget to Share 'em and spread 'em!

OS X Lion disappoints again - it's just like having no password at all

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:57:00 +0000

OS X from apple has not seen a great deal of interest during development (if any) and one million downloads on launch day, reported by Apple, so you can expect that number was rounded. For an $30 OS this is certainly a disappointment.

Not only has one of the sites endorsed by Apple, Gizmodo, called it a failure but the cuts in manufacturing quality at Foxconn and security holes haven't certainly brought more popularity:

Security blog Defense in Depth has found a glaring security flaw in OS X Lion that enables hackers to change the password of any user on a machine running Lion. “[While] non-root users are unable to access the shadow files directly, Lion actually provides non-root users the ability to still view password hash data,” Patrick Dunstan from Defense in Depth explained in a recent blog post. The result is that anyone could use a simple Python script, created by Dunstan himself, to discover a user’s password. It gets worse. Reportedly, OS X Lion does not require its users to enter a password to change the login credentials of the current user. That means typing the command: “dscl localhost -passwd /Search/Users/Roger” will actually prompt you to set a new password for Roger. Hackers could easily take advantage of the known bug if they have local access to the computer and Directory Service access. Disabling automatic log-in, enabling sleep and screensaver passwords and disabling guest accounts are as efficient to keeping your Mac secure as duck-taping the lid. We recommend upgrading to a Linux based OS or Windows.

Via: Deference in Depth

Apple's iPhone before the leaked Samsung F700

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:49:00 +0000

Many smartphone blogs and websites have taken the Apple version of the F700, that one that the F700 was showcased one month after the first iPhone. Even if that was true, Samsung engineers must have been freaking geniuses or robots (androids if you will) to build a working phone within less than 30 days.

The actual, real and only truth is that the F700 leaked at least four months ahead of iPhone. You might not know him (and if iPhone was your firs't "smart"phone, don't even bother), but at that time Eldar Murtazin was famous for his inside info on Nokia and Samsung. His blog contained info and pictures of devices even 12 months before the devices were released and he knew every single move the companies made (such as Nokia being "bought" by Microsoft), month before the news hit the papers.

I can't 100% claim that the pictures below are his leak, but they are 100% proof of F700 being out there months before the iPhone 2G. If you know Russian and are "that desperate" (faking evidence, pictures, device performance, or release dates is nothing new for Apple employees/lawyers/fanboys, than you are my guest to look up Russian sites and blogs until iPhone 6 is released ;)

[edit] And for those of you doubt the time interval I have this to say: Apple will soon have released in 2011 3 new iPhones spring to autumn and 3 new Macs (one pro, two Airs). Both Samsung and Sony released around twice as many devices, so give Foxconn some credit. "iOS" was as barren as a feature phone firmware, it wasn't even called an OS; so put your mind at ease knowing that developers usually use various boards for development and matching the right hardware before they decide on the much more expensive combination that will go into a compact shape. Was the firmware for iPhone 2G developed in more than 6 months? Sure, nobody commissions a device for manufacture before experimenting with hundreds of CPU/RAM/Screen/Battery/OS configurations.

Original date of the unedited picture samples of F700 along with the CGI edit date(above)

[iPhone jokes] Think outside the bumper

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 21:16:00 +0000

‘Other designs are possible’

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 07:32:00 +0000

Apple and Samsung are at odds over patents. In numerous courts, in numerous states, in numerous countries on numerous continents, the pair continue to file complaint after complaint. Apple says Samsung builds copycat devices that steal design elements from its iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone. Samsung says Apple’s mobile devices violate multiple Samsung patents covering communications standards. And round and round we go.

In the most recent development of note, a German judge on Friday upheld a ruling that will block Samsung’s local unit from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany. In her decision, Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman stated, “The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible.” Other designs are possible. The judge continued, “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks [like the iPad].”

Well that’s just a tough break for Samsung.

There is little question that the physical design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 closely resembles that of Apple’s iPad. Much like the physical design of any given flat panel television resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given laptop computer resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given Blu-ray player resembles that of any other model. Much like the physical design of any given ballpoint pen resembles that of any other model.

Designs should be protected, though. Pilot and Bic should clearly be at war over the design of the modern toss-away pen. Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic and every other consumer electronics company that builds televisions should be suing the pants off each other, and of course Apple should get in on the action if it enters the space next year with an “iTV” of its own. In fact, Charmin should be paying the descendants of a sixth-century Chinese man for every roll of toilet paper it sells. And, of course, Apple should pay IBM each time it sells a Mac Pro in a sleek tower.

Speaking of Apple’s decision to forgo the investigation of other possible designs, I wonder how LG feels about the court’s ruling.

Fake evidence provided by Apple

I’m no German judge, but the iPhone 4 certainly seems to borrow from the “smooth, simple areas” and “minimal design” seen on the Prada smartphone LG unveiled in 2006. Come to think of it, the current iPod touch is a Prada clone too, and the iPad looks just like an oversized version of LG’s design. And I would wager that the forthcoming iPhone 5 will copy the Prada, too.

Of course physical design is just one aspect of Apple’s numerous complaints against Samsung and other competitors. Apple’s copycat claims extend past physical design to technical patents, and even to overall user experience. But this particular complaint focused on a protected Community design — or, “a design-related intellectual property right registered with an EU agency” according to patent expert Florian Mueller — and Judge Brueckner-Hoffman clearly believed that the physical similarity between these devices was grounds on which to ban the sale of Samsung’s tablet.

Again, designs and innovations need to be protected, but to what extent and at what cost? The current system is not sustainable. As end user pricing is forced downward and margins get tighter, companies like HTC, ViewSonic and Acer will not be able to turn a profit when they have to pay companies like Microsoft every time they sell a phone. Apple and Microsoft might see this as a good thing since less competition means sales of their products will balloon. But Apple’s products copy designs and infringe on patents too, as do Microsoft’s, and every victory these two patent bullies enjoy will open new doors for complaints their competitors will file.

Fake evidence provided by Apple

The simple truth is that a system shaped by lawyers may not be the best system for corporations. And it is certainly not the best system for consumers. Things need to change.

In the meantime, sales of the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod touch should be banned immediately the world over. Apple obviously puts a tremendous amount of weight on physical design. So much so that it allegedly tampered with evidence by manipulating photos of Samsung products to make them look more like Apple products. Twice.

The LG Prada set a precedent, and it is quite clear that “other designs are possible.”
Fortunately not even patents last forever and if the patents we pay for are already 5-6 or even 10 years old (depending on the patent), open source might be soon open again, for everybody.

Via: BGR

Apple continues to contribute to world wide pollution, causes discord within Greenpeace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:35:00 +0000

In a report released on Wednesday, five Chinese non-governmental organisations said the US technology company was using suppliers with public records of environmental violations and taking “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems”.

The accusations escalate a standoff between Apple and Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a co-author of the report, which is threatening to damage Apple’s image. The groups have sought to persuade 29 big electronics brands over the past year to work with them on containing pollution in their supply chain, but singled out Apple as unresponsive.

Hours before the report was even published, Mr Ma was invited to start a dialogue on his allegations. Mr Ma said Apple told him some of the factories on his list were not the US company’s suppliers but gave him no details.

Although Apple does not directly manufacture anything itself it does not disclose, the names of its suppliers either. The Chinese environmental groups say they used public information and court documents to form a list of more than 20 Apple suppliers with environmental violations to their name.

Global electronics brands outsource all or part of their manufacturing and components, and activists say that, because of the intense competition between suppliers and lax government regulation, global brands are the most able to influence the behaviour of their suppliers.

China’s breakneck economic growth has been accompanied by widespread environmental degradation, and historically lax pollution rules have given Chinese manufacturers a cost advantage. However, tightening regulation by Beijing and growing environmental awareness – most recently on display in a 12,000-strong protest in Dalian earlier this month – are slowly changing the trend.

Apple, whose chief executive Steve Jobs resigned last week due to alleged ill health, has faced controversy over its suppliers in China before. In May, an explosion at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu producing the iPad 2 and all other Apple products killed three workers and injured more than a dozen more. In February, Apple said that 137 workers had been poisoned in 2009 by a chemical used to clean iPhone screens in a Wintek factory in Suzhou.

A number of other technology companies, including LG, SingTel, and Ericsson are also cited for being unresponsive and not taking action to correct the problems, but none fares as badly as Apple, which is criticised for being evasive and not responding to the NGOs’ concerns.

One of the health hazard cases the groups say Apple did not respond to was the poisoning of workers at Lianjian Technology, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Wintek, which produces touchscreen modules for Apple mobile devices.

According to the report, in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan, air pollution from two electronics factories prompted villagers to send their children to faraway schools. Villagers also say they have noticed increased cancer rates since the two factories, Kaedar Electronics (Kunshan) and Unimicron Electronics, were established, according to the report. Analysts said that Unimicron and Pegatron, the parent company of Kaedar, were suppliers to Apple, but could not confirm whether Kaedar was.

Apple did not respond to questions seeking to confirm whether individual companies mentioned in the report were its suppliers or not.

Carolyn Wu, an Apple spokeswoman, replied with the classical Apple phrase whenever the environment is brought into question:

“Apple is committed to driving the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base, we require that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made.”

In its latest supplier responsibility report, the company said 2010 audits had found that 80 facilities were not storing or handling hazardous chemicals properly. Apple’s report said the company required the non-compliant facilities to correct their hazardous waste handling, storage and disposal practices and to maintain documentation of these operations.

Kaedar declined to comment and Unimicron could not be reached.

Meanwhile, an undisclosed source has told us that Apple "invests" heavily behind closed doors in people with deep pockets working at Greenpeace, to gain favorable attention from the public and positive advertising. This news, dating back to 2007 still randomly appears among Greenpeace's top news although another branch of Greenpeace seems to be aware of Apples ecological irresponsibility, the article is buried down deep at the organization's servers and is not among the things you'd come across unless you knew exactly what to look for. Unfortunately it would appear the only "green" Apple was interested to in the past decade was the US dollar and how it could be moved to silence the right people or make them advertise the brand.

Via: BGR, Greenpeace

What was first, the tree or the apples? -LG

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:16:00 +0000

MAC: Security so bad, even your battery can get hacked

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 06:02:00 +0000

There's your problem, it's a virus!

Charlie Miller's managed yet again to render several Macbooks, Macbook Pros and Airs useless after gaining total access to their battery's micro-controllers' firmware via a security hole. Evidently, the Li-ion packs for the line of laptops are accessible with passwords he dug up from an 2009 software update. He mentions that someone could "use them to do something really bad," including faulting charge-levels and thermal read-outs to possibly even making them explode. He also thinks hard-to-spot malware could be installed directly within the battery, repeatedly infecting a computer unless removed.

“You could put a whole hard drive in, reinstall the software, flash the BIOS, and every time it would reattack and screw you over. There would be no way to eradicate or detect it other than removing the battery.”

Have there been two years already?

Miller has worked to fix the problems he’s exposing since Apple is likely to do nothing. At Black Hat he plans to release a tool for Apple users called “Caulkgun” that changes their battery firmware’s passwords to a random string, preventing the default password attack he used. Miller also sent Apple and Texas Instruments his research to make them aware of the vulnerability. I contacted Apple for comment but haven’t yet heard back from the company.

Implementing Miller’s “Caulkgun” prevents any other hacker from using the vulnerabilities he’s found. But it would also prevent Apple from using the battery’s default passwords to implement their own upgrades and fixes. Those who fear the possibilities of a hijacked chunk of charged chemicals in their laps might want to consider the alternative, especially since Apple's products are engineered not to last more than 2 years, the updates you might get "might" not be the best ones.

Via: Forbes

[iPhone jokes] Oldies but goodies: Make calls, just hold it right

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:07:00 +0000

Tutorials for Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:37:00 +0000

If you visited The iPhone Fever, you might have noticed a bunch of somewhat unique customizations such as the changing subtitles. the scrolling adsense ad that is following you down the page, the modified tabs that display tags, making them look like secondary blogs or the newly installed search in tabs. As a fellow blogger you might want to add these yourself.

So brace yourselves for the Blogger tutorial shorts, coming soon in a tab near you*!

*Actually near the Jokes tab