What's Up???!!!

NBC.com hacked to serve up banking malware

2013-02-23T19:33:00.005-08:00

Websites affiliated with U.S. broadcaster NBC were hacked for several hours on Thursday, serving up malicious software intended to steal bank account details.

On its own technology blog, NBC released a statement saying, “We’ve identified the problem and are working to resolve it. No user information has been compromised.”

Sites such as NBC.com are a frequent target for hackers since the high volume of visitors offers a chance to infect many people in a short period of time.

Facebook and Google blocked access to NBC.com after it was found on Thursday serving up malicious software intended to steal bank account details.

Several computer security companies said the main NBC.com website had been modified to serve up an iframe, which is a way to load content into a website from another domain.

The iframe loaded an exploit kit called Redkit, which tries to see if a visitor is running unpatched software, according to a blog post from Securi, a computer security company based in Menifee, California. The style of attack is known as a drive-by download and can infect a computer when a user merely views a website.

NBC.com was temporarily blacklisted by Google after the attack. Facebook also stopped directing users to NBC.com. Securi wrote that other NBC sites, including ones for TV talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno, were also affected.

The hack follows the release of a report this week from security vendor Mandiant about a long-running hacking campaign allegedly based in Shanghai that targeted U.S. corporations, although it did not immediately appear connected with the problems at NBC.com.

Another computer security firm, SurfRight, wrote on its HitmanPro blog that the NBC attack loaded exploits that look for vulnerabilities in Oracle’s Java programming framework and Adobe’s PDF products. Oracle and Adobe have both released critical updates for their products this month, but hackers hope to hit users who have not updated their computers.

If the attack is successful, one of two malicious software programs is delivered, called Citadel or ZeroAccess. Citadel is a trojan designed to collect account credentials for banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase and others, according to Fox-IT, a Dutch computer forensics company.

The version of Citadel analyzed by Fox-IT showed it was being detected by only three of 46 products on VirusTotal, a website where malicious software can be tested for detection against many of the popular security suites.

According to Symantec, ZeroAccess is an advanced rootkit, or a piece of malicious software that hides at a low level in a computer’s operating system. ZeroAccess, detected by Symantec in July 2011, can create its own hidden file system and download other malware to a computer.

Google Pixel Chromebook: Will it push the search giant into the retail business?

2013-02-23T05:49:00.003-08:00

The future of shopping was going to be easy and convenient, the experts said. Instead of braving the crowds at the local mall or big box store complex, we’d all stay at home in our PJs, sipping a cup of Joe, sitting behind a keyboard to shop for clothes, food, and other necessities online.

But that future, predicted during the 1990s, has yet to arrive. Here in the 21st century, we still head to the mall and our local shops to buy most of the things we need and, instead of getting out of the retail game, new companies are jumping in, especially technology companies.

The latest tech giant expected to open its own stores is Google. The idea of a Google retail chain, first reported by 9-to-5 Google, isn’t so far-fetched even though Google has so far focused on direct sales to consumers through its online Google Play store.

The company already has Chromebook kiosks inside Best Buy locations across the United States. These stores don’t handle sales directly; they are merely a way for people to try out Chrome OS products.

Kiosks are nice, but Google needs a stronger, independent retail presence as it moves beyond a company best known for offering intangible Web services. Every year, Google packages more of its online services into flashy Google-branded hardware devices such as Nexus tablets and smartphones as and the forthcomingGoogle Glass.

Google's latest hardware: The Pixel

The latest flashy gadget that could impress shoppers on a Google retail show floor is the Pixel, a touchscreen Chromebook with an impressive display resolution and an even more impressive price tag.

Google Pixel Chromebook

The $1,300 Pixel Chromebook features a 12.85-inch display with a resolution of 2560 pixels by 1700 pixels, with 239 pixels per inch, which is the highest pixel density of any laptop on the market, Google says. Under the hood, you get a 1.8GHz Intel “Ivy Bridge” Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 32GB solid state drive, and 1TB of free cloud storage for three years with Google Drive.

But all you get for software with your beautiful new machine is a glorified Web browser, called Chrome OS. That’s going to be a hard sell considering for one hundred dollars less than the Pixel you could pick up a 13-inch MacBook Air with the same processor and RAM, four times the physical storage, and it runs all kinds of desktop apps, including the Chrome Web browser.

I may be underestimating Google’s ability to convey its message of a Chromeified future through marketing and retail outreach. There’s no doubt the Pixel is a beautiful-looking product and sounds enticing, but I just can’t get past the idea that all you get with the Pixel is a browser in a box, albeit a beautiful one.

That’s exactly why reports of Google retail stores make a lot of sense. Who wouldn’t want to put their hands on a Pixel Chromebook and try it out before plunking down more than a grand? And who better than a Google-trained employee to show you how wonderful life with a Pixel Chromebook could be?

When Google finally releases Google Glass to the public, retail stores will also attract a lot of attention for the new non-prescription eyeglasses that merge smartphone functionality into a heads-up display.

Google Glass

Retail pricing estimates for Glass hover around $1,000—limited edition developer units are priced at $1,500. So, when Glass is added in with the Pixel, Google would have another pricey product requiring serious hands-on time before anyone would make a purchase.

That’s the real promise of a Google retail store. It’s not about pushing products out the door, but about offering a showroom for Google’s Android/Chrome/Web ecosystem, right?

Well, not quite, says Stephen Baker vice president of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research firm NPD Group. “The idea that you should open a showroom has been proven to be something close to a disaster and a waste of money,” Baker says. “A retail store works best when it is a combination of a showroom and a place to buy stuff. You lose the vibe, the excitement in the store if it turns into a museum. It’s a lot less interesting to the customer.”

Other tech retailers

Apple retail stores set the trend for technology retail by combining consumer outreach, education, and support, with a clean, simple, and beautiful sales floor. Company CEO Tim Cook recently said Apple plans in 2013 to expand the physical space of 20 of its store locations and open another 30 worldwide.

Not to be left behind by its longtime rival, Microsoft has followed Apple’s retail lead with a similar look and feel in its U.S.-only retail stores. Samsung recently opened aretail store in Canada, its first in North America, and rumblings of Amazon’s retail ambitions resurface every few months.

It’s not yet clear if Google’s reported retail plans would include selling third-party products or focus exclusively on Google-branded Nexus tablets and smartphones, and Chromebooks. Baker says Google would probably do something similar to Microsoft and use its stores to show off Google-related products and services, regardless of who makes them.

“They don’t really have enough hardware products to show people and fill up a store,” Baker says. So it’s a good bet you’ll see popular Android, Chrome, and possibly even Google TV products in a Google retail location.

Hopefully—at least from the company’s perspective—Google would be able to turn people on to the Google way and make a tidy profit from its stores as well. But it doesn’t necessarily have to, says Baker. “Just because they’re selling stuff doesn’t mean the store has to be profitable,” he says Baker.

Google certainly doesn’t want to lose money, Baker notes. But convincing people to purchase Google-focused hardware isn’t the only reason to go into retail, especially when you can use your stores to market a Googleified lifestyle directly to consumers.

And who knows? If Google’s retail assistants offer a compelling pitch, they might even convince a few people to plunk down $1,300 for a stunningly-packaged Web browser.

Ubuntu Touch OS released to Nexus phone, tablet developers

2013-02-23T00:21:00.001-08:00

A touch-enabled version of Linux Ubuntu for developers was released for downloadFriday by Canonical.

Daring users are being warned by the authors of Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview that it's an experimental development snapshot that can potentially "brick" their devices.

They aren't kidding, as InfoWorld writer Galen Gruman discovered. At one point during his experimentation with the mobile OS, he turned his Nexus 4 phone with Ubuntu Touch on it off. It wouldn't come back on.

"Ubuntu Touch killed my Nexus 4," he lamented. "Oh well, the Nexus 4 isn't a great smartphone anyhow."

However, the OS apparently has a Lazarus feature. "[A] few hours later, my dead Nexus 4 came back to life—I have no idea why—with Ubuntu Touch running as if nothing had happened," Gruman wrote.

Ubuntu Touch wipes Android from your phone

When you install the software, it will wipe Android from your device—another reason for caution. However, Google has posted firmware images online that can be used to restore a Nexus device to its factory condition. It's a good idea, though, to make sure the factory image for your device is available from Google before nuking Android from your Nexus device with Ubuntu Touch.

Downloads of the mobile OS are available for the Galaxy Nexus (GSM "maguro" variants only), Nexus 4 ("mako"), Nexus 7 ("grouper"), and Nexus 10 ("manta").

UBUNTU

This example from the Ubuntu wiki shows how the Ubuntu Touch OS looks on phones or tablets.

You can also run the softwareon Sprint and Verizon Galaxy Nexus devices, as well as the 3G Nexus 7. Since the mobile OS doesn't support CDMA or 3G data transfer, its operations are somewhat limited on those devices.

Applications for the preview OS are, as might be expected, scant. There's a browser, a video player, a music player, a Twitter client, a photo-taking app, a Facebook client, a basic note-taker, a basic weather app, and a phone client. Also supported are Ubuntu's built-in speech and voice-searching tool.

Features in the tablet version of the software

The availability of the preview download of Ubuntu Touch comes on the heels of Canonical's announcement of a tablet version of the mobile OS.

Features in the tablet OS, which supports screen sizes from 6 inches to 20 inches, include:

Real multitasking: A phone app on the screen can run at the same time as a tablet app.
Secure multi-user: Multiple accounts on one tablet with full encryption for personal data, combined with the trusted Ubuntu security model that is widely used in banks, governments, and sensitive environments.
Voice controlled Heads-Up-Display design to increase productivity.
Use of screen edges for navigation between apps, settings, and controls, which reduces clutter and displays more content.
Full convergence: Tablet interface is exactly the same as the one used by the OS on phones, PCs, and TVs.

The first Ubuntu phones were originally reported to start arriving on retail shelves in October, but that timetable has been revised by Canonical. It now says its mobile OS will be ready for prime time in October, with Ubuntu phones expected to arrive in thefirst quarter of 2014.

Facebook plugs hole that allowed account hijacking

2013-02-22T19:06:00.004-08:00

Facebook has patched a serious vulnerability that could have allowed attackers to easily gain access to private user account data and control accounts by tricking users into opening specifically crafted links, a Web application security researcher said late Thursday.

Nir Goldshlager, the researcher who claims to have found the flaw and reported it to Facebook, posted a detailed description and video demonstration of how the attack worked on his blog.

The vulnerability would have allowed a potential attacker to steal sensitive pieces of information known as OAuth access tokens. Facebook uses the OAuth protocol to give third-party applications access to user accounts after users approve them. Each application is assigned a unique access token for every user account.

Goldshlager found a vulnerability on Facebook's websites for mobile and touch-enabled devices that stemmed from improper sanitization of URL paths. This allowed him to craft URLs that could have been used to steal the access token for any application a user had installed on their profile.

While most applications on Facebook are third-party apps that users need to manually approve, there are a few built-in applications that are pre-approved. One such application is Facebook Messenger; its access token doesn't expire unless the user changes his password and it has extensive permissions to access account data.

Facebook Messenger can read, send, upload, and manage messages, notifications, photos, emails, videos, and more. The URL manipulation vulnerability found on m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com, could have been exploited to steal a user's access token for Facebook Messenger, which would have given the attacker full access the account, Goldshlager said.

Fingered by bug-hunter

The attack URL could have been shortened with one of the many URL shortener services and sent to users masquerading as a link to something else. The attack would also have worked on accounts that had Facebook's two-factor authentication enabled, Goldshlager said.

With the access token and the Facebook user ID, an attacker can extract information from the user account by using the Graph API Explorer, a tool for developers available on Facebook's site, Goldshlager said Friday via email.

According to Goldshlager, the Facebook Security Team fixed the vulnerability. "Facebook has a professional security team and they fix issues very fast," he said.

“We applaud the security researcher who brought this issue to our attention and for responsibly reporting the bug to our White Hat Program,” a Facebook representative said Friday via email. “We worked with the team to make sure we understood the full scope of the vulnerability, which allowed us to fix it without any evidence that this bug was exploited in the wild. Due to the responsible reporting of this issue to Facebook, we have no evidence that users were impacted by this bug. We have provided a bounty to the researcher to thank them for their contribution to Facebook Security.”

The researcher claims that he also found other OAuth-related vulnerabilities that affect Facebook, but declined to reveal any information about them because they haven't been fixed yet.

Facebook runs a bug bounty program through which it pays monetary rewards to security researchers who find and responsibly report vulnerabilities affecting the site.

Goldshlager said on Twitter that he has not yet been paid by Facebook for reporting this vulnerability, but noted that his report included multiple vulnerabilities and that he will probably receive the reward after all of them get fixed.

Facebook pays security researchers very well for finding and reporting bugs, Goldshlager said via email. "I can't say how much, but they pay more then any other bug bounty program that I know."

How to choose a server for your small business

2013-02-22T04:29:00.001-08:00

So, your business has grown large enough that you need your first server. Congratulations! Acquiring a server is a big decision, so some trepidation is understandable. This guide will explain the basic principles of the technology, help you decide which class of server will best fit your needs, and give you some ballpark pricing, so you don’t overspend or acquire a product that’s insufficient for your needs.

I’ll also explore the chief alternative to running your own server--relying on the cloud--and provide a primer on one of today’s hottest server trends: virtualization. You’ll find this guide useful even if you ultimately decide to hire an IT consultant to analyze your requirements and make a purchase recommendation.

Server Basics

Although a small server might look no different from a high-end desktop PC, the machines are designed for very different tasks. A desktop computer is designed for one person who needs a user-friendly operating system to run desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, an email client, and a Web browser. A server runs a specialized operating system designed to support many users. It’s engineered to run multiuser applications such as email, messaging, and print servers; shared calendar programs; databases; and enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software.

A server also makes it easy for your employees to share data and collaborate, since it operates as a central repository for all of your documents, images, contacts, and other important files. It can host a company intranet, for sharing information with your employees quickly and economically. Set up a virtual private network, and you and your employees can access the data on the server remotely from anywhere you have Internet access. On top of that, a server can automatically back up your desktop and laptop systems, so you’ll never lose critical data if one machine fails or is lost or stolen. Servers are designed to be reliable, secure, and fault-tolerant, with redundant storage options. If you expect your business to expand, choose a server that’s scalable and can grow with you.

If you operate a small to medium-size business, the question isn’t "Do I need a server?" but "Which type of server do I need?" Before we get into that, however, let's address the number-one alternative to operating and maintaining an on-site server: relying on the cloud.

The Cloud Alternative

Why not put everything in the cloud? Services such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft’s Windows Azure, and Rackspace Cloud Hosting offer a number of benefits. For starters, they don't involve a significant capital outlay, and you won’t need an IT staff to manage the server. You won’t need to worry about the equipment or software becoming outdated or obsolete, either. In the days when businesses relied on big-iron mainframes, this strategy was called "time sharing." And the cloud is burdened with many of the same limitations as that model was.

The stability and reliability of whichever service provider you choose is your first and most important concern. If that firm goes belly-up orexperiences a disaster, your business could quickly grind to a halt. What’s worse is that you could temporarily or permanently lose access to all your data. If you lose your connection to the Internet, you’ll be cut off from your applications and data, and your employees won’t be able to share files. You could lose the ability to manage your business until your Internet connection is restored. And if your business uses large files, and your broadband connection is too slow, your operation’s productivity will suffer.

Storing your data on equipment outside your immediate control also brings up privacy and security concerns. And although you’re not paying for an IT staff, ongoing maintenance, and investments in new capital equipment directly, you’re still incurring a share of those costs indirectly--they’re reflected in the fees you’re paying the service provider. The cloud is no cure-all.

Choose the Right Server for Your Needs

The big names in the server market are Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, and Oracle. Choosing the right server depends in large measure on the applications you intend to run on it. If all you need is file sharing, automated client backup, and light-duty remote access for PCs (typically ten or fewer), consider a NAS or even a Windows Home Server machine; HP, Netgear, QNAP, Seagate, and Synology are the major players in this arena. If your business has more than ten employees using computers, if you need to operate an email or print server, manage a complex database, or run sophisticated server-based applications (such as ERP or CRM), if you have very large storage requirements, or if you require large-scale virtualization capabilities, you’ll want a more robust option such as a tower, rack, or blade server.

A Virtual-Machine Primer

Before I go into a detailed explanation of each of those server types, here’s a quick primer on virtualization for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the concept. Small to medium-size businesses have been behind the curve when it comes to adopting virtualization to date, but the technology can deliver significant benefits to companies of nearly any size because it allows the enterprise to make more efficient use of IT resources.

Virtualization enables one server to behave as several servers, each with its own operating system and unique set of applications. A virtual machine consists solely of software, yet it has all the components of a physical machine: It has a motherboard, a CPU, a hard disk, a network controller, and so on. The operating system and other applications run on a virtual machine just as they would on a physical machine--they see no difference between the two environments.

In virtualization, a program known as a hypervisor places an abstraction layer between the operating systems and the hardware. The hypervisor can operate multiple virtual machines with the same operating system or different OSs on the same physical server. Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware are among the top virtual-machine developers.

How does virtualization make more efficient use of your IT resources? Servers are designed to accommodate peak--versus average--loads, so they’re underutilized most of the time. In fact, the typical server utilizes only between 5 and 15 percent of its overall resources. Running several virtual machines on one physical server uses those resources more efficiently, boosting utilization to between 60 and 80 percent. Instead of operating one physical server for email, one for database management, one for your intranet, and yet another for CRM, you can run all of those applications on several virtual machines running on the same physical hardware.

Virtualization eliminates the need for additional physical servers, and the tech-support overhead, power, cooling, backup, physical space, and other requirements that go along with them. What’s more, you can deploy a new virtual server in a few minutes.

Now let's examine the various server options on today’s market, starting with the most basic.

Review: Refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul

2013-02-21T22:50:00.001-08:00

Following on the heels of the massive update that was iOS 5, iOS 6 might seem like merely a modest update. But that doesn’t make it insignificant by any means: A key app has received a substantial overhaul in this latest update, Apple has added an intriguing new—if yet unproven—built-in app, and the company has even, for the first time, removed a piece of software present since the iPhone’s launch.

In addition, plenty of iOS’s features have been updated and refined, and user interface conventions have been tweaked across the entire OS. Apple has also put an emphasis on rolling out certain features to both its mobile and desktop operating systems—Facebook integration, Mail VIPs, and so on—ushering in a new strategy of giving the two platforms parity when it makes sense to do so.

Five years after its debut, iOS was already a mature operating system, a stable foundation upon which to build. With all that Apple had already added to it, you might have wondered what was next for the mobile operating system. As it turns out, there's plenty.

Off the map

Every iOS release has its marquee feature, and with iOS 6 it’s unquestionably Maps. The app has gotten a in-depth makeover, perhaps the most thorough ever to be applied to one of iOS’s built-in applications.

What’s new The bow-to-stern overhaul starts deep under the hood, where Apple has replaced the mapping engine that in every previous version of iOS was provided by Google. In its place, Apple has rolled its own solution, supported by mapping data from GPS maker Tom Tom, OpenStreetMap, and a cast of thousands.

As you might expect, such an all-encompassing update means new features, the disappearance of old ones, and plenty of changes in the way things have been done to date.

The first thing that catches the eye when you launch the new and revamped app is that the map itself is front-and-center: On the iPhone, Apple has reduced the amount of chrome around the edges of the interface. The result is a minimalist interface that leaves much more room for the map itself. You’ll find only a search box at the top, flanked by a pair of buttons; another pair of floating buttons in the bottom left corner for locating yourself and activating 3D mode; and the familiar page-curl at the bottom right. There’s also, for the first time on the iPhone, a welcome landscape orientation option.

On the iPad, the app more closely resembles its predecessor, with a couple of shifts in the interface.

Places of interest: The new Maps includes a top-to-bottom overhaul of the mapping engine and the art on the maps.

Due to those changes, using the new Maps may take some getting used to. For example, you no longer have to choose between Search and Direction modes. In either case, you just enter the location or destination in the search box; once you’ve located it, you can get a route by tapping the Directions button.

Speaking of search, Maps now offers suggestions for your search terms. I found this to be hit-or-miss; sometimes the location I was looking for was right at the top, but other times Maps didn’t seem to understand what I was looking for at all. A search for the Eiffel Tower correctly located it in France, but searching for Notre Dame while looking at a Paris map tried to send me to South Bend, Indiana. Much of this can likely be attributed to the Apple’s points of interest database, which doesn’t yet seem to have as much depth as Google’s did.

Apple has at least provided a way to indicate when something is incorrect: Swipe the page curl and then tap the small Report A Problem link above the Print button; the subsequent form provides a variety of different ways to correct the listed information.

Many of Maps’s features remain the same as ever. Bookmarks still give you access to recent searches, contacts, and places you’ve specifically marked. Settings are still hidden behind the page curl, which you can tap or swipe to open; there you’ll find the option to switch between standard, satellite, and hybrid maps—the option for Terrain maps on the iPad has faded into the sunset—as well as a button to drop a pin (which you can also do by tapping and holding on the map) and another to show traffic, which Maps still displays by overlaying red, yellow, and green lines over routes.

On the road: Construction, accidents, and other roadwork incidents now show up on Maps, complete with details.

That traffic information does have some improvements, though: Maps can now display road work alerts, as well as accidents, pulled from local transportation departments. Those details will generally let you know what exactly is happening—road work, a closed ramp, an accident—along with when the alert began, and when it was last updated.

Apple claims the information is real-time, and according to a statement from the company in 2011, it’s been collecting anonymized traffic data in order to build a crowd-sourced traffic database. In addition, directions are supposed to include traffic conditions when providing you with an ETA, and Apple said that directions can be optionally rerouted around traffic, but that was one feature I haven’t yet seen in action in my tests.

Flyovers Another feature that falls by the wayside in iOS 6 is Street View. Google spent a lot of energy collecting street-level imagery of the United States, with a fleet of camera-bearing cars. Apple, on the other hand, has played its one-up card by enlisting an armada of small planes and helicopters to capture aerial imagery for a feature it calls Flyovers.

On the fly: The new Flyovers feature is impressive, and demos to great effect, but there's an open question about just how useful it is.

Flyovers is definitely Maps’ most eye-catching new feature. And what it lacks in practicality, it makes up for in gee-whiz. When you’re viewing satellite maps, tap the 3D button at the bottom left (sometimes indicated with a picture of buildings) or swipe up with two fingers, and you’ll get a whole new dimension of maps. You can pan around with one finger, change perspective with two, and even rotate the map around a central axis by using a two-finger rotate gesture (like turning a dial). If you need to jump back to the standard “north is up” paradigm, you can always tap the compass that appears in the top right corner when you rotate.

The 3D pictures are impressive, though they are so far available almost exclusively in larger cities; even there, get out into the burbs and you start to see only flat, squashed buildings. The images also render fairly slowly, at least in my experience on the latest-generation iPad or iPhone 4S. One of my favorite hidden little features: Zoom out far enough in the satellite view, and you’ll eventually end up with a globe that you can spin around.

The 3D imagery also shows up in the traditional maps, too, with sketched wireframes of the buildings, which is also pretty cool—especially when you watch them rise out of the ground like stepping stones. (In some places, though, I found the wireframe buildings occasionally to be less than accurate in shape.) In 2D mode, you’ll actually see the outlines of buildings shaded on the maps. They’re surprisingly good—I could identify my house just by the outline.

All three Ds: The standard map view also has a 3D view, and there are plenty of points of interest listed on the map as well.

Dinner bell, dinner bell, ding ding ding: The new interface for local businesses is both attractive and useful, thanks to integration with Yelp.

Even better, you’ll get little icons that identify businesses, eating establishments, schools, and other points of interest. Tapping on these brings up an address, contact information, and even Yelp reviews and photos where available; for more info, you can jump out to the Yelp app, if you’ve got it installed. Google Maps on the Web has offered features like this for some time, but they never made their way to the iOS app. While such features might be old hat to those who already use the Yelp app, there are likely plenty of converts still to be made by virtue of the integration with Maps.

When it comes to the maps themselves, it’s hard to overstate just how beautiful and responsive they are. Apple uses a vector-based system for drawing the images rather than Google’s bitmaps and, on the latest hardware at least, they practically fly. Zooming, panning, and rotating are all virtually instantaneous. Street names appear and disappear at appropriate levels of zoom, so you’re not bludgeoned by scads of unnecessary information, and they rotate along with the map. Neighborhoods and regions are well marked, and even parks and bodies of water take on a more attractive look. You can also adjust the size of the labels to be smaller or larger, and dictate whether they’re always shown in English or in the native language of the location you’re viewing.

That said, maps in some locales do not always perfectly reflect the environment. On a trip to some of the further reaches of Canada, for example, I noticed disparities between the geographies of the old and new Maps in terms of the shapes of certain landmasses. But in my experience, it was more of an aesthetic difference than anything else.

Turn, turn, turn: Turn-by-turn directions, with Siri's soothing voice, is one of the best features of iOS 6, even if it's occasionally a little rough.

Turn-by-turn directions Browsing maps is fine, but iOS 6’s biggest new feature inside its biggest new feature is the long-awaited addition of turn-by-turn directions. It’s a feature that Google has been providing to Android phones for a while, and its inclusion in iOS 6 marks an attempt to obviate yet another stand-alone electronics device—in this case, the GPS unit. But does it succeed?

Using the turn-by-turn directions feature is easy at least, and you have a couple of different options. In the Maps app, you can search for a destination and then press the Directions button (a right-angle arrow); you’ll be prompted to choose your starting point—by default your current location—and a type of directions: car, walking, or public transportation (more on the last in a moment). Tap Route and you’ll get an overview of the directions.

You can also, as with previous versions of Maps, tap the Directions To Here or Directions From Here button when viewing information about a location. Even quicker than that is to tap the green Quick Route button that shows up next to the location’s name on the map. And, of course, you can also ask Siri (iOS's virtual assistant) to give you directions to a location.

In any of these scenarios, you’ll be given an overview of your route, in some cases including options for multiple routes, as introduced in iOS 5. Maps will give you distances and travel times for each route.

Once you’ve started the directions, you’ll zoom in on your current location, represented with a blue circle and an arrow in it. The current direction will be given with a large road-sign-style dialog box at the top, along with an icon indicating what action you need to take, if any. Siri will speak any directions aloud; if you’re playing music or other audio, it will fade out slightly while Siri tells you what to do, and then fade back in.

As you continue, your location will update and you’ll be prompted with subsequent directions; just like in earlier versions of Maps, a blue line will show you the route you’re taking.

In my estimation: iOS 6 will provide you with an estimated time of arrival for your destination, along with time and distance information.

At any time, you can tap the screen to get an ETA, along with the distance and time. Two buttons let you either end the directions or return to the overview mode, and you can pinch the map to zoom out and back in a small increments. Other than that, you can’t do anything else in the Maps app while directions are being given. However, you can use other apps at the same time: In that case, you’ll see a blue-green bar at the top that says “Tap to return to Navigation”; whenever a turn is imminent, a banner alert will appear with the information about the upcoming direction and Siri will speak the instruction aloud.

If you lock your phone while in navigation mode, Siri will continue to give directions and you’ll be able to see your current location and any other upcoming direction information on the lock screen.

There are a lot of nice touches to navigation mode. For example, I like the floating signs that identify nearby streets, and the fact that the streets you’re going to actually turn onto are marked in blue rather than in green. The instructions to make turns and such are generally large and easy to read, which is good, since you don’t want to spend time squinting at tiny text while you’re driving.

The directions themselves are a mixed bag. I live outside of Boston, which is a notoriously hard city to map; it’s the rare intersection that has more than one 90-degree angle in it. It’s also a city with a lot of odd and perplexing streets, plenty of one-ways, and crazy intersections. If London cabbies are required to prove that they have “the knowledge” before becoming officially licensed, let’s just say that many Boston residents have something we could dub “the know-how.” Maps does reasonably well in my city, with logically straightforward routes—but many of them are ones I wouldn’t take.

That said, the primary purpose of a navigation device—for me and, I’m sure, many of you—is to direct you when you don’t know which way you should go. In that sense, iOS 6’s turn-by-turn directions are generally sufficient—but it probably wouldn’t hurt to have some other maps on hand, just in case.

Step by step, day by day: You can still get the old style step-by-step directions for walking or by specifying a starting point that's not your current location.

For what it’s worth, you can still get the old-fashioned step-by-step style of directions, with this handy little trick: When you ask for directions, enter something other than your current location in the starting location field. (It can even be your current address—just don’t use the current location.) You’ll get the same street-sign-style directions, but you can swipe through them, and Maps will show you were your turns are.

Walking directions use that same step-by-step style rather than turn-by-turn; other than the styling, you won’t find much difference from iOS 5's version of Maps.

Transit directions, however, are a whole new ballgame, as Google apparently got the public transportation database in the divorce. Instead of including built-in transit directions, Apple has added an API to let third-party developers accept transit-direction start and end points.

Routes and ladders: The Maps app no longer offers transit directions, but it can hand them off to supporting third-party apps.

So, while there’s still a toggle button for transit directions while you’re on the Directions screen, selecting it and tapping Route will produce a new screen labeled Routing Apps. There are two separate listings on that screen: the first shows you any apps currently installed on your device that can handle the specified directions along with a Route button; the second shows you apps available on the App Store that can do so.

While routing worked fine in the only app I had available to test, Embark iBART, it won’t give you the exact same experience as you had under iOS 5. For example, Embark iBART provided me with a timetable of which trains I could catch, but it wouldn’t tell me how far I would have to walk from my current destination to make it to the train station, nor would it tell me how far I’d have to walk from the destination stop to my final goal.

This is an odd solution for Apple, which usually prides itself on providing a consistent experience. But I suspect that handling public transit directions simply wasn’t an option for Apple at this point, and if it came down to offering a third-party experience versus no feature at all, Apple opted to not leave its users completely high-and-dry. Speaking from my own experience, I’d long switched over to a third-party app specifically for public transit in my local city, so I’m not sure how much Maps’s change will affect me.

I’m certain that Apple’s mapping will only improve from here; for a company’s first foray into a hotly contested and complicated field, iOS 6’s maps and turn-by-turn directions are remarkably good.

That sounds like a lot of qualification, so let’s revisit our earlier question: Does iOS succeed in replacing your stand-alone GPS device?

In a word: Maybe. In two words: Sort of. If you already have a stand-alone GPS unit or an iOS GPS app that you really like, I’m not going to tell you to throw it out or banish it from your device. But neither am I going to tell you to go out and buy a GPS device because iOS 6 just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Talk to me

Siri was the marquee feature of the iPhone 4S, and while the voice-activated virtual assistant technically remains in beta, in iOS 6 it debuts on the latest-generation iPad; later this fall, it'll come to the fifth-generation iPod touch. In addition to all its old tricks, Siri picks up a few new capabilities in iOS 6. Apple, in particular, has been focusing attention on three areas: sports, movies, and restaurants.

The sporting life: Siri can tell you all about sports in iOS 6, perhaps even more than you want to know.

Sports If you’re the kind of person who always needs to be plugged into the latest sports scores, you probably have plenty of apps on your iOS device already. But now those answers are just a question away: You can ask Siri who won last night’s game, what the score is for tonight’s matchup, when the next game is coming up, or the current standings.

Siri knows about players, too. So if you’re wondering whether Derek Jeter or David Ortiz has more home runs this season, Siri can tell you. It can also tell you who has the highest batting average in the league, as well as a variety of other stats, including height and age. These stats are for just the current season; if you’re looking for all-time leaders, you’re better off consulting Wolfram Alpha.

You can also ask Siri about football, basketball, hockey, and a variety of soccer leagues, including the MLS and the English Premier League. While Siri doesn’t know anything about other sports, it was in my experience at least able to identify golf, tennis, and rugby as sports and apologize for not having more information.

Showtime! Movie showtimes and theaters are available via Siri, as of iOS 6.

Movies If movies are more your cup of tea, Siri can handle that as well. Ask for movies playing near you, and you’ll get a list including ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. (You can also ask for movie theaters nearby; tap any one of those, and you’ll get a list of what’s showing. In my testing, showtimes for several of the theaters seemed to be incomplete.)

Tapping on any movie will give you the Rotten Tomatoes and MPAA ratings and the option to view the trailer by tapping on the movie poster. Showtimes are listed at the bottom; tapping on them shows you which theaters are playing the film. You can’t purchase tickets via Siri’s interface, though; for that you’ll still need to jump out to an app or website.

Siri’s more knowledgable about movie history than about sports. Ask it who won best actor in 1963, and back comes “Gregory Peck” and information about To Kill a Mockingbird. Want to figure out which movie starred actors who had elsewhere portrayed Ghandi and Bob Woodward, and you’ll get the 1992 masterpieceSneakers. Sadly, though, Siri can’t tell you Mark Hamill’s Bacon number.

Reservations, please: The fact that Siri can now make dinner reservations is one of its most impressive capabilities.

Restaurants Restaurant information is probably Siri’s best new feature. iOS 6 has improved the local search options that debuted in iOS 5, thanks to tighter integration with Yelp. Ask “What’s the best place for dinner around here?” and Siri will provide you with a list restaurants near your location, sorted by rating. Each listing also includes the type of cuisine, the address, the distance, and how expensive it is.

Tap on a restaurant and you’ll get hours, phone number, website (if available), address (with a map), and star rating. Tap on the rating to read a few selected comments, to check in at the location, or to write your own tip. (The latter two launch the Yelp app if it’s installed on your system.) You can also tap on the picture in the top left corner to view photos, which also gives you an option to add your own (again, via the Yelp app).

Best of all, if the restaurant uses the OpenTable reservation service, you can tap a button to make reservations or even have Siri do it. “Make me a reservation for two at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Ruth’s Chris” pops up a panel telling you whether or not tables are available at your chosen time. It even offers you the option to shift that time in one direction or the other. Tap Make Reservation, and the OpenTable app launches (if it’s installed on your phone); if not, you’ll be prompted to download it. Of all Siri’s features, this is the one that strikes me as the most futuristic: I just told my robot assistant to make me dinner reservations—and it did.

Other improvements Beyond those new features, there are a good number of other tasks that Siri can accomplish in iOS 6. For example, you can now launch an app simply by asking Siri to do so. Want to post a tweet or update your status on Facebook? Siri can handle that as well, if you’ve set up your social networking accounts in Settings.

In general, Siri handles certain things a little better now than it did previously. For example, it’s now possible to change the text for a reminder while you’re creating it, and sending someone a message via Siri is a little more streamlined.

Siri still has plenty of shortcomings, however. The virtual assistant still can’t read your email to you, or change your settings (though it will recognize commands to turn on Airplane Mode or Bluetooth), and trying to edit an email message or iMessage you’ve composed via Siri is liable to induce hair-tearing for anything but the shortest messages. And much as I would like to be able to offer an opinion on Siri’s Eyes Free mode, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a BMW test unit.

Why so blue? Siri now has an option that lets you control where its audio output will go when there are multiple options.

Perhaps my favorite new feature in Siri is one of the simplest: You can control where the audio output of iOS’s virtual assistant goes. When there's more than one option—say, for example, that you’re in your car, with its fancy Bluetooth stereo—a button appears that allows you to route Siri’s voice to either the iPhone’s speakers or your car’s, thereby solving a problem that has likely had plenty of us swearing at our phones.

Still, I’m heartened by the fact that Apple hasn't ditched Siri by the roadside, despite the grief the feature has taken in some places. This is one of those technologies that has the potential to redefine how we interact with our electronic devices, but it’s not going to spring forth fully formed; it’s a slow, gradual process that won’t seem revolutionary until we look back at how far we’ve come.

Even if iOS 6 doesn’t perfect the virtual assistant, I look forward to seeing what Siri masters next.

Passing on Passbook

Pass the book: Passbook may be a nifty idea, but it's too early to tell how much impact it will have.

I’d love to tell you that Passbook is another one of those revolutionary technologies I just mentioned—heck, I’d love to tell you anything about Passbook. But unfortunately, as I write this the app remains an enigma. I’ve been unable to locate an app or business that is actively taking advantage of the app, so all I know is what Apple has told us: The goal of Passbook is to collect all those disparate cards and tickets you carry around into a single, central location.

So your movie tickets, concert tickets, sporting event tickets, boarding passes, coupons, stored value cards, and so on, will all live in Passbook. When you head into the relevant establishment or location, you can pull out Passbook and display the correct card, complete with a scannable barcode. Passes can even be time or location based, popping up a notification on your lock screen at the appropriate moment.

It’s a great idea, and I have visions of how it could evolve: Imagine buying movie tickets via Siri and having them automatically show up in Passbook. But while itsounds nifty, we’re going to have to see how this feature fares in the real world and, most importantly, how many other companies decide to support it.

Review: Surface RT, Microsoft's bid for a 'thing' of its own

2013-02-21T15:14:00.006-08:00

Microsoft desperately needs a "thing"—a big thing that transcends the nerdy world of consumer electronics and achieves hero status among mobile-hardware wonks and civilians alike. The iPad is a thing. The Kindle Fire is a thing. Each tablet is a shared cultural experience that's practically effervescent in mainstream consumer appeal.

And now, with its Surface RT tablet, Microsoft is trying to create a thing of its own.

Surface RT must fulfill Microsoft's bid for relevance in a world gone hopelessly mobile. Surface RT must demonstrate that Microsoft can compete with Apple, Amazon, and Google in marrying hardware to software to credit card numbers in perfectly stacked ecosystems. And Surface RT must validate a splendiferous marketing spend,estimated by Forbes in excess of $1.5 billion, every dollar dedicated to making people really, really excited about, oh my God, have you seen this, it's Surface RT!

When Surface RT was unveiled in June, hands-on reports were unanimous in their praise of the tablet's hardware innovations. With a magnesium chassis, an integrated kickstand, and clever keyboard accessories, Surface RT flouts the standard rules of tablet design and defiantly declares, "There's a better way to build these things. The other guys have it all wrong. We have made things right."

The unveiling was four months ago. Today, Surface RT must prove itself against a barrage of new questions: Just how difficult are the Windows touch gestures? Just how competent is Windows RT, the feature-limited version of Windows 8 that gives Surface its name? And what about the $499 price tag of the entry-level Surface RT offering? Is it low enough to compete with the iPad, let alone other Windows tablets?

I've been using Surface RT every day for the past week, and I can testify that it's a fresh, fun reinterpretation of the basic tablet experience. But does Surface RT have enough, and do enough, to reach "thing" transcendence? Let's dig in deep to find out.

Industrial design

Most tablets are simple slabs of glass and aluminum devoid of moving parts. But not Surface RT, which dares to explore its own physicality in a very showy, public way.

IMAGE: ROBERT CARDIN

Surface RT's integrated kickstand looks great. It even sounds great. But it's not adjustable. And notice how the Touch Cover lacks actual keys.

The integrated rear kickstand props up the tablet at 22 degrees. That's just the right angle for some viewing positions, but the kickstand is not adjustable, and I often found myself drifting out of the angle’s sweet spot depending on my table height. Made of the same injection-molded magnesium that's employed throughout the Surface chassis (Microsoft calls the material "VaporMg"), the kickstand opens with a faint metallic ting and closes with a confident click. Both audio cues are satisfying—and they better be, considering that Microsoft specifically engineered the kickstand to not just work but also sound good.

The point of the kickstand, of course, is to turn Surface RT into an effective productivity machine, and to varying degrees that promise is fulfilled via the system's Touch Cover and Type Cover keyboard accessories. Regrettably, neither cover is included in the tablet's entry-level package, but all Surface RT versions are preloaded with a soph-frosh version of Microsoft Office that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, helping users realize the tablet's productivity promise.

At 3mm thick, the Touch Cover lacks physical keys, and instead uses pressure-sensitive touch pads to record keystrokes. The Type Cover features real keys with actual key travel, but extends the thickness to 5.5mm. Can the Touch Cover possibly offer rewarding typing? I answer that question in the section titled "Surface RT as a workstation" below. For now, I can share that the tablet's keyboard docking system is as sweet as Microsoft wants everyone to believe.

You never need to worry about aligning finicky connection points. In fact, you don't even need to look at the tablet and keyboard when snapping them together. Just move them toward each other, and magnetic attraction will attach the two sides—perfectly, every time. The connection interface also provides the data link between tablet and keyboard, and just like the kickstand, it comes with its own mechanical soundtrackthat Microsoft expressly designed to push emotional buttons.

IMAGE: ROBERT CARDIN

You must carefully finagle the proprietary power connector into the side of the beveled chassis.

The build quality throughout Surface RT is sturdy and confident, and exudes the same kind of austere precision we find in German performance cars. VaporMg is silky to the touch, yet inflexible when torqued. And at 0.37 inch thick and 1.5 pounds, Surface RT is essentially identical to the iPad in thickness and weight—this despite the fact that it supports a slightly larger, 10.6-inch, widescreen display.

Quibbles? I frequently worried that the kickstand would scratch wooden tables, and I found the proprietary power connector difficult to insert. But overall I became a quick fan of Microsoft's take on industrial design. The magnesium chassis really does feel like something special, and it's a welcome change from the standard combinations of aluminum and plastic we see throughout the tablet competition. Surface RT is a manifestly tactile device, from its generous (if initially confusing) catalog of touch gestures to its actual moving parts.

Display

I won't mince words: Surface RT's 10.6-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display doesn't match the clarity and beauty of the iPad's so-called Retina display. Microsoft has provided excruciatingly detailed data that explains why a great tablet display doesn't need a resolution of 2048 by 1536, but my eyes don't lie.

IMAGE: ROBERT CARDIN

Surface RT's image clarity can't match that of the iPad, but you'll appreciate its widescreen aspect ratio when you're running two apps side by side.

In side-by-side comparisons, the Surface RT suffers from a tangible degree of pixel blur, whereas the iPad makes all content look like a continuous-tone photographic print. The difference in resolution is particularly noticeable in text rendering, despite Microsoft's use of ClearType (a technology that enlists a display's subpixels to smooth out character edges) and optical bonding (a manufacturing process that provides for greater visual clarity and reduces screen reflection).

That said, within the context of the greater tablet market, the Surface RT's display is actually quite nice. With a 16:9 aspect ratio, the 10.6-inch screen provides an HD video window that's 42 percent larger than what you'll see on the iPad's 4:3, 9.7-inch display. The Surface's widescreen proportions also accommodate Windows' new "snap screen" multitasking feature, which lets you run two apps side by side.

As for color reproduction, the Surface RT screen doesn't quite have the richness and accuracy of the iPad, but this drawback is noticeable only during A/B comparisons, and I don't think it's a big problem for Microsoft. The company is positioning Surface RT as a consumer-grade tablet that's great for the more pedestrian aspects of productivity: writing long email messages, setting up monthly calendars, creating documents in Word and Excel, that sort of thing. I would never use Surface RT for serious image editing, and that's just fine since the tablet currently doesn't support any apps for serious image editing (though that's a problem in and of itself).

Smart TV hack highlights risk of 'The Internet of Everything'

2013-02-19T03:48:00.007-08:00

A smart TV is only as smart as the person controlling it. So if the person in control is a hacker, the owner could have a problem. Researchers at security consultancy ReVuln say some smart TVs are vulnerable to hacking.

It is another example of what experts say is the ever-expanding attack surface of devices that traditionally never faced the Internet, but are now "smart."

The researchers at the Malta-based company said they found a vulnerability in a number of smart TVs made by Samsung Electronics that gave them root access to the TV and any attached USB drives.

They posted a video titled "The TV is Watching You," which appears on a number of security vendor websites, including Kasperky Lab's Threatpost. While there is no voiceover, the video shows the researchers accessing the TV settings and channel lists, SecureStorage accounts, widgets and their configurations, the history of USB movies, the ID, firmware, whole partitions and any attached USB drives.

They were also able to retrieve the drive image, mount it locally and check for information like usernames, passwords, financial documents, or any other type of material on USB drives.

Luigi Auriemma of ReVuln told the IDG News Service that hackers could even use the integrated webcam and microphone to watch the victim. And he said the vulnerability is not confined to the single model that ReVuln tested.

What is affected

"The vulnerability affects multiple models and generations of the devices produced by this vendor, so not just a specific model as tested in our lab at ReVuln," the report said.

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment, but ReVuln emailed a statement saying there is no firmware update yet, "as the details regarding this vulnerability have not been shared with the vendor."

The statement added that ReVuln has only tested Samsung, but said: "We think that other brands of TV may be affected by similar issues."

James Arlen, senior security consultant with Leviathan Security Group and a hacking expert, said the TV is just one example of the "Internet of Things" and other non-computer resources in homes that amount to "a huge new attack surface."

"I recently counted the number of IP addresses in my house and came up with all kinds of new things that require Internet access - not just the computers, game systems, tablets and music players, but also the bathroom scale, the thermostat and more," he said. "Televisions are one of many, but also the most likely to have lots of interconnection possibilities."

He said the problem is not new, noting that, "printers got smarter and became a threat," and that the number of smart devices continues to expand.

Dan Frye, general manager of services at MAD Security, agrees. "A common way to get into enterprise networks is through printers attached to the corporate network. A TV on the corporate net is really the same thing," he said. "In essence, you've got a computer inside some device, whether it be a printer, a TV, a toaster, the Coke machine, etc., and that computer is just as vulnerable to attacks as a normal computer would be."

"Any new piece of technology that connects to the Internet is a probable attack surface," said Matt Johansen, WhiteHat Security threat research manager. "Look at the recent research by Barnaby Jack about insulin pumps and pacemakers."

"Who would have thought these devices would ever be susceptible to hackers?" Johansen said. "But if a hacker gets their hands on any device long enough, they'll figure out a way to break it. It was hotel door locks, slot machines in the past and it will be the smart toasters and refrigerators in the future."

Gary McGraw, CTO of Cigital, said most people don't think of their TV or other household devices as computers, but they are. "Your TV is just a computer with a monitor," he said. "And it knows a lot about you—what you've watched, whether you were home at the time."

There is some disagreement over how much of a priority security is for devices that have only recently begun to face the Internet. "Focus on delivering the product to market means that the 'Ship It' award is more important than 'Is it Hackable?'" Arlen said.

Frye agrees that security standards for such devices are "immature." But he said vulnerabilities are found "everywhere, all the time, in products that certainly take security into account. Microsoft, Google, and Apple are all great examples."

McGraw said while the vulnerability discovered by ReVuln is real, he doesn't think Samsung is necessarily lax on security. "They make the most popular Android phone out there," he said. "So they are in the [security] wars."

To deal with the ongoing threats, both consumers and enterprises need to "control your exit path," Arlen said. "Most consumers are unaware of what traffic passes in or out of their primary systems, so they're going to be even more unaware of the traffic to and from devices that are 'furniture' rather than computers."

"More manufacturers across lots of industries need to employ or engage with the "hacker-ish" community to solve the problems prior to the shipping of the product," he added.

Frye said that once products are released, manufacturers need to treat them like computers, and "have a way for people to report vulnerabilities and a way for patches to be deployed out to their consumers."

Samsung's bug bounty

Samsung has begun treating smart devices like computers. "Samsung has actually taken a step in a great direction with a TV bug bounty program for researchers to submit bugs to receive a reward ($1,000), which has been useful for the likes of Google, Facebook, Mozilla, and even PayPal," Johansen said.

However, every computing device is potentially vulnerable, and with "The Internet of Everything" there will be more of them all the time. "This problem will only get worse as we integrate more things into our home networks," Frye said. "It's the TV now, but smart devices, smart meters for our power, the toaster, thermostat—they're all at risk in the same way."

Review: Mailbox for iPhone belongs in your dock

2013-02-18T21:42:00.003-08:00

Mailbox, the free iPhone app that makes managing your email a delight, is now available in the App Store. With any luck, you already made a reservation to gain access to the app, which the developers are rolling out slowly to avoid overloading their servers.

If you didn’t already reserve a spot in line for access, go download Mailbox now; you can get on the list from right within the app.

Right now, Mailbox works exclusively with Gmail accounts, though the developers say support for other IMAP accounts will come. Once you’ve connected one or more Gmail accounts to the app, you can start managing your email in a new and enjoyable way.

A better inbox

Swipe a message to the right to archive it. Pull a little further and it turns red to show you're going to delete the message instead.

Like Mail, Mailbox offers an optional unified view of your inboxes, though you can choose to dive into individual accounts instead, if that’s your preference. What sets Mailbox apart is its approach to managing the contents of your inbox.

As you navigate your inbox, you can unsurprisingly tap on a message to view it. But if, even before you open a message, you can see that it’s one you no longer need, you can file it away without ever leaving your list of messages. Swipe right on a message and it will turn green to show you’re archiving it. Pull a little further, and it turns red, to show you’re deleting the message instead.

You can, of course, perform those same actions from the message screen as well: Tap the checkmark to archive a message, or the X to delete it. It’s all intuitive, easy to master, and honestly kind of fun.

You snooze, you win

Snooze messages to bring them back to your inbox—and your attention—later.

But the easy archiving and deleting just scratch the surface of what Mailbox offers. Swipe left on a message—or tap the clock icon in message view—and you can essentially press the snooze button on it. You get a grid of options for choosing when you’d like that message to reappear atop your inbox: later today, this evening, tomorrow, this weekend, next week, in a month, or “someday.” You define that last one in the app’s settings in terms of months, with the default option being to remind you in one month. There’s also a date selector, where you can choose the exact date and time the message should pop back up.

Because of the app’s collection of settings, you actually get pretty fine-grained control over all the preset snooze durations, too: You specify what qualifies as mornings on weekdays and weekends, and you define the “later today” interval, too.

In practice, snoozing works beautifully. I used to rely on leaving messages unread in my inbox, so that I’d know that I still needed to act on them—anathema to folks who think about the best ways to manage your email. As you probably know, what happens next is those “marked unread” messages stack up, and you ignore them for an increasingly long time. Mailbox fixes that. Messages pop back up—with notifications on your iPhone, but also by moving up in your other email clients, too. It’s remarkable.

You can also tap and hold on messages in your list to reorder them by dragging. I’m trying to keep my inboxes as empty as possible with Mailbox’s help, but reordering the handful of messages I have in there feels magical.

Mailbox includes push notifications, too. In practice, I got new email alerts from Mailbox before the built-in Mail app on iOS noted the arrival of those messages.

Lots of polish

Mailbox makes navigating your inboxes and folders a breeze.

The whole app feels beautifully polished, with impressive, discoverable depth: You can mark a message as unread again by tapping on its timestamp. Conversations thread with earlier messages collapsed, but quickly expandable if you tap on them. You can choose whether you receive push notifications for new messages, snoozed messages, or both. You can choose whether the app gets a numeric badge icon, and what the icon represents—the existence of new messages indicated by a 1, or the actual number of conversations in your inbox.

Composing messages is simple, and bests Apple’s Mail app again. You tap the camera icon as you write your email to choose an existing photo—or snap a new one. Apple’s app requires that you first tap an empty spot in your message, then tap the Insert button, and then select an existing photo. Mailbox offers more, and the feature is accessible more efficiently.

So what’s missing? Not much. I’d like per-account signatures, instead of the current one-signature-fits-all approach. I reported a bug relating to Mailbox’s failure to show the email attachments my VoIP provider sends with voicemails in .wav format; the developers are investigating that one. And I can’t come up with a way to get Gmail’s "Send As" feature to work with the app—I’d prefer my "From" addresses to be aliases of the addresses I use to log into my accounts, so that I send email from, say, “macworld.com” even though I log in using “pcworld.com.”

Mostly, though, my primary complaint about Mailbox is that I want to use it on all my devices, including my Mac and my iPad.

Bottom line

Mailbox is excellent. It replaced Mail in my iPhone’s dock, and it’s my favorite way to plow through my inbox. The app is simply a joy to use, and makes managing email as painless as possible.

Vizio CT15-A4 Review: Performance and elegance in one slick package

2013-02-18T19:59:00.003-08:00

It's not often that I'm taken with a laptop before even touching it, but I was with the $899 Vizio CT15-A4. Then again, I'm a sucker for minimalist design and that's the CT15-A4 in a nutshell: streamlined and elegant. It's also one of the thinner 15.6-inch laptops you'll run across. There are some imperfections, but when all is said and done, I wish I could keep it.

Appearance and Ergonomics

I've already tipped my hand about my appreciation for the CT15-A4's streamlined appearance, but let's get specific: the logo is cool, the beveled edges on both the bottom and top halves of the unit look nifty, and the pewter color makes the laptop look classy. I even like the fact that the bezel surrounding the 15.6-inch, 1920 by 1080 display is matte black rather than shiny. Nothing about this laptop shouts at you or demands your attention; it's very cool. I do have a minor nit to pick with the slim design: if you have short fingernails it is a bit difficult to open the unit. The indent on the lower half could be a bit deeper to ameliorate that condition.

It took me a while to get used to the placement of the CT15-A4's keyboard. There's a rather broad expanse of deck between the front lip and the keyboard, but it was easy enough to adjust once I realized I needed to cozy up a bit closer to the laptop than normal. The keyboard itself has short throw with a rather light feel. You will never mistake it for a Lenovo, but it's funcrional. The rocking touchpad has a better feel, with a nice median sensitivity to tapping.

The CT15-A4's display delivers crisp, sharp text, and 1080p movies look magnificent on it. Sound is about average for today's laptops: great through headphones, loud but not so great through the speakers at the top of the keyboard deck. The 1.3MP Webcam is top-notch and color fidelity is better than with most I've used.

The 14.9-inch wide, 9.9-inch deep, 0.7-inch thick CT15-A4 is a bit heavy for something billed as thin and light. The laptop itself weighs 3.9 pounds and the power adapter brings that up to 4.8 pounds. That may seem light, but in practice the laptop feels heavy during travel. On the other hand, the heft reassures you that the aluminum body won't flex too much and allow damage to the components.

Specs and Performance

The CT15-A4 we reviewed inludes an Intel Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, and a Toshiba 128GB SSD for storage. Good basic specs, and there's also an $1199, CT15-A5 model available with a faster Intel Core i7-3517U CPU and a larger 256GB SSD. Ports on both models consist of one USB 3.0 port on each side of the unit, accompanied by a headset jack on the left and an HDMI port on the right. Vizio doesn't offer an Ethernet jack or card reader on either model, so you'll need to rely on the USB equivalents.

Performance-wise, the CT15-A4 is no slouch. Its 76 on WorldBench 8 is the highest we've seen so far (in what is, to be fair, a relatively limited group of notebooks), and startup time is a mere 8.6 seconds. Gaming framerates are exactly what you'd expect from an integrated Intel HD 4000 GPU: playable at lower resolutions (1366 by 768 is as high as you'll want to go with low detail), but not workable at higher resolutions, including the 1920 by 1080 that's native for the CT15-A4. The battery life in our rundown tests was about 4 hours, 30 minutes. Not the best we've seen, but not bad for a thin and light laptop with a high resolution display and a Core i5.

Software

Aside from the Windows 8 operating system, Vizio doesn't throw in a lot of software. This laptop comes with Skype and...well, that's about it. In my book that is a very good thing; the CT15-A4 is truly one of the most junk-free computers I've ever tested.

Bottom Line

For a relative newcomer, Vizio has done an outstanding job with the CT15-A4. It's an extremely nice thin and light laptop with great style and performance. Sure, at almost five pounds I could find fault with the "light" part, but I don't want to. I want to keep it.

Review: Android Injector makes APK as easy as ABC

2013-02-18T03:36:00.005-08:00

It's easy to get intimidated by Android, as a lot of its apps and services are designed more for hard-core geeks than the everyday user. And, initially, I was intimidated by Android Injector, a desktop application that allows you to install APK files (Android apps) on your Android device— until I used it, and realized just how easy it really is.

To use Android Injector, you need an Android device connected to your PC via USB. You must have USB Debugging mode enabled, and the proper drivers installed. If all of this sounds like Greek to you, don't worry: it's actually quite simple. You can enable USB Debugging in the settings menu of your Android phone, and your phone likely will install the necessary drivers when you connect it to your PC. If you're using an older Android device, you may need to search for the drivers online; the Android developer site is a good resource.

If you'd like a little more hand-holding, help is available for you, too. The developer of Android Injector pointed me to a desktop application called PDANet, which walks you through the process of enabling the right settings and downloading the drivers, painlessly.

Android Injector's interface is surprisingly sleek, resembling that of a real Android phone.

With this type of setup required, I expected Android Injector to have an interface that only geeks could love. But I was wrong: the application surprised me with its sleek design. It appears on your desktop in the shape of— and about the same size as—an Android handset. It even has four buttons underneath its virtual screen, just like a real Android phone. These buttons allow you to locate APK files on your PC and transfer them to you phone, as well as offer access to the app's settings menu and give you more information about it.

To use Android Injector, you'll need to download those APK files on your own, from whatever source. APK files are Android applications; you'd use Android Injector to install them if you can't access them via Google Play. This might be because the developer doesn't have them in the store, or because your device is older and the store thinks it's not compatible with the apps available there.

Android Injector lets you browse to APK files on your PC from within the app; alternatively, you can locate them yourself in Windows Explorer and right click to add them to Android Injector. Once you've located them, the name of the file will appear on Android Injector's virtual screen. You then click the green arrow icon and the file is automatically transferred to your connected Android phone. It's that easy.

Despite its geeky undertones, Android Injector is actually very user friendly. If you're looking for an easy way to get APK files on your phone, it's worth a look.

How to get best game experience in Android

2013-02-18T03:36:00.003-08:00

Android gaming is starting to make gamers look like overly amorous honeybees in a halvah factory: The prospects are so sweet that they might put your teeth at risk. With the advent of dedicated Android gaming devices such as the Ouya and Project Shield, Android is quickly gaining respect as a serious gaming platform alongside consoles and PCs. And with powerful phones rapidly becoming ubiquitous, Android is beating the pants off of iOS as a gaming platform for enthusiasts and nongamers alike. In this article, we’ll help you stay on top of evolving Android hardware, and use it to its maximum high-scoring, social-browbeating, multicore-rendering potential.

All shapes and sizes

Ouya

First of all, let’s review those dedicated gaming devices. Last summer’s Kickstarter darling, Ouya, starts shipping this spring, with Nvidia’s Project Shield and others expected to reach market soon afterward. These stand-alone game consoles are likely to set the tone for the next generation of gaming on Android phones. I say “next generation” because, for all the fancy new tech that rolls out every month, the first truly mature group of Android devices (from 2010 or so onward) can still run almost any game on Google Play.

Of course, a device's ability to run a game at all doesn't mean much to a gamer who wants to play at full speed and top quality; and owners of two-year-old phones may find themselves resorting to games’ low-spec options more often, resulting in games that may look as though they came straight out of the early 1990s. Still, aside from graphics-intensive titles like Horn and Dead Trigger, you won’t have much trouble with the current crop of games on a single-core, first-generation Snapdragon processor (just ask my old HTC G2). Accessibility is a good thing; PC-quality visuals are even better. So how do you keep up, in a market that encourages people to throw something new in their pocket every two years and hope for the best?

A safe bet would be to skew as close to dedicated gaming devices as possible, knowing that the high-end games of 2013 and 2014 will look and perform as well on your phone or tablet as they would on your HDTV. That means insisting on Qualcomm’s quad-core S4 Pro hardware—which in turn means springing for one of the current top-of-the-top smartphone models: the LG Optimus G, the HTC Droid DNA (which also has Beats audio), or the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 4 processor ships on Project Shield and will be included in select 2013 smartphones and tablets.

Having said that, however, I advise you not to get stressed about the CPU. As long as your phone is less than two years old, you should be fine. The three phones I just mentioned represent each major manufacturer’s current flagship device—so your phone won't feel outdated 12 seconds after you buy it—and there’s no reason to expect that all Android developers will start making games that require a four-core beast. Scooch down to the HTC One S (also with Beats audio) or the Samsung Galaxy S3, both of which run on a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and you can still play most games that are available in the Play Store without much trouble. Cheapening my own advice? Maybe—but now you know!

Among the other hardware features to consider, a high-resolution display is especially important. HTC's Super LCD 2 technology is responsible for some of the nicest screens around, followed closely by LG (with IPS) and Samsung (with Super AMOLED). Audio quality follows a similar path, with HTC's phones equipped with Beats Audio providing a much better overall listening experience when compared to the competition.

Other Peripherals

Who needs an Ouya when your phone can output 1080p video to your TV? The only extra you’ll have to supply is an MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) adapter dongle. As usual, there are OEM versions and super-cheap no-name brands that may or may not work; always search with the name of your device in mind, and keep in mind that theGalaxy S3 MHL adapter is strictly proprietary (you’ll need to buy their official product). Wikipedia has posted a short list of phones that support MHL; you’ll generally have good luck with high-end phones from late 2011 onward.

With an MHL adapter, you can play your games and other media on a bigger screen.

If your HDMI display doesn’t already have audio onboard (because, for example, it’s a monitor rather than an HDTV), rather than adding additional cabling, try attaching a pair of wireless speakers. I can vouch for the quality of Logitech’s Z515 Bluetooth speakers, which come with a USB dongle for connecting to a PC. If you’d rather work with a wireless headset, make sure that you get something that was made in the last four years or that supports the A2DP Bluetooth protocol, which guarantees that you’ll have full stereo sound.

MHL adapters let you use your phone as a controller and focus your eyes on an external display; you can also get something like MOGA to use as an external controller, so that your phone becomes a dedicated screen. As you might expect, not all touchscreen games are configured to work with a traditional game controller, but MOGA is stands out among competing mobile gamepads because it allows you to play any game by using the analog sticks in lieu of touch input (with imperfect yet interesting results). If you happen to have a PlayStation 3 controller lying around, you can go a little cheaper and invest in a GameKlip (which lets you mount your phone to the controller), instead.

The GameKlip can connect a controller to (in this case) a Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone.

The Games

As for games, we recently ran an article highlighting some of the most polished and accessible titles on Android. If you’re looking for more-involving, higher-end games, and you have one of the phones mentioned in this article, try searching on Google Play for “THD” or “Tegra HD” to find candidates such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Galaxy on Fire 2 that are designed to work only with high-end graphics hardware. Good luck, and happy gaming!

Computer History Museum shares original Photoshop code

2013-02-17T17:35:00.004-08:00

To millions of people around the world, the name Photoshop inspires images of sharks leaping out at helicopters, phony disaster photos, and retouched celebrity shots. Now, the original computer code that started it all is available for inspection.

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California recently made the source code of Adobe Photoshop 1.0.1 available as a download for noncommercial use. Originally released for the Macintosh in 1990, Photoshop has become synonymous with sophisticated photo editing (including some creative photo hoaxes).

The original program that would become Photoshop was written in the late 1980s by Thomas Knoll, a PhD student at the University of Michigan. He and his brother John, who worked at Industrial Light and Magic, developed Photoshop into a full-fledged consumer-ready application. The first commercial release from slide scanner maker Barneyscan only sold about 200 copies under the name Barneyscan XP, and came bundled with the company’s hardware. Soon after that initial commercial foray, Adobe licensed the rights from the Knolls and released an improved version of the program, Photoshop 1.0.

CREATIVEBITS.ORG

The original Photoshop (click to enlarge).

At its original release, Macworld called Photoshop 1.0 easy to use. “Considering the vast number of features and tools involved,” Macworld said. “Adobe has done a good job of keeping things organized and simple.”

Almost the entire original program is available in the Computer History Museum’s download. The only exception is the MacApp framework, which was licensed from Apple. The Photoshop 1.0.1 download comprises 179 files with about 128,000 lines of code. By comparison, the current version of Photoshop has about 10 million lines, according to Grady Booch, Chief Scientist for Software Engineering at IBM Research Almaden and a trustee of the Computer History Museum.

The Museum says about 75 percent of the original program was written in Pascal and another 15 percent is in machine language for the Motorola 68000 processor, the original chip for the Macintosh line. The rest of the source code is made up of various bits of data.

Photoshop’s original code has almost no comments, the notes written in the source code files to explain what certain chunks of code are designed to do. “This code is so literate, so easy to read, that comments might even have gotten in the way,” Booch said in the CHM’s blog post announcing the source code release.

You can download the Photoshop 1.0.1 source files from the Computer History Museum. Photoshop joins the museum’s online source code collection that also includes MacPaint, QuickDraw, and the APL\360 programming language.

The best adventure games on Android

2013-02-17T07:27:00.001-08:00

Did you own or have access to a computer in the '90s? If so, you've probably flirted with a point-and-click adventure game at least once. Though hardly a ubiquitous delight, titles like Monkey Island, Loom, and Grim Fandango are fixtures in the annals of video gaming history. Even if you didn't enjoy their company terribly much, you knew who they were—kind of like Gangnam Style (except less annoying).

Sadly, fame is fleeting. As the years passed, interest in the genre dwindled and, for a while, people worried over its possible extinction. Thanks to the ingenuity and continued efforts of developers such as TellTale Games and Wadjet Eye Games, however, that fear is slowly starting to ebb. As shown in this recent piece on PCWorld, adventure games are making a comeback.

And while the best ones are still reserved for platforms other than Android (oh, Walking Dead, how could you deny us of your putrid pulchritude?), we've got a list of great adventure games to help you jump-start that trip down Memory Lane.

Machinarium

There's reason why Machinarium collects accolades the way Ash collects Pokemon: It's just plain beautiful. It's Wall-E without the special effects, the cutesy obese humans, and the dialogue; a robotic love story told with hand-painted, steampunk sensibilities. As the protagonist, you're responsible for penetrating a city's labyrinthine depths, finding your missing girlfriend, dealing with the intrigues of the Black Cap Brotherhood, and testing your mental acuity in the process.

Though devious, the puzzles you encounter in Machinarium are definitely rooted in common sense and logic. If you missed the bandwagon in 2009, when the original iteration of Machinarium was released, now's your chance to make up for lost time.

Price: $5

Download

Waking Mars

Nominated for Best Mobile game in the 2010 International Games Festival, Waking Mars is a sumptuous-looking foray into the depths of the Red Planet. The game puts you in the role of an astrobiologist—a glorified space gardener who must carefully tend to the foreign ecosystem in order to navigate the catacombs of Mars. The game focuses more on exploration than it does on character development, and finding your way around Mars's subterranean depths is an absolute treat.

Price: $5

Download

Choice of Kung Fu

As someone born and raised in a Chinese household, I'm partial to anything related to Eastern martial arts. Choice Of Games' latest offering, Choice of Kung Fu, is best described as a "choose your own adventure game" for the 21st century. Choice of Kung Fu is a tightly written experience that starts you off as a neonate of the Order of the Peach Tree. You decide what your future will hold—Fame? Love? Notoriety as an enemy of the Emperor, or respect as a patriotic soul? While Choice of Kung Fu isn't one for fancy graphics or visuals (the game is text-based), its engaging story and open-ended plot are well worth the price of admission.

Price: $3

Download

Lume

Here's another highly acclaimed PC game that's been ported to Android. The stunning Lume is a puzzle adventure with a simple concept: Figure out a way to get into your absentee grandfather's house. Why? Because the old man failed to ever make you a spare key, that's why. Though the plot itself is a little sparse and the game a little short, Lume is worth those few hours you spend with it and its occasionally mind-bending puzzles.

While lacking in photo-realism and particle effects, Lume is filled with a far different sort of beauty. Built out of cardboard and paper, the game features a wide panoply of lovable papercraft characters and set pieces. The game's well-thought-out puzzles and family-friendly vibe make it an ideal game for players new to the adventure genre.

Price: $1.25

Download

McPixel

Frantic, furious, and enjoyably insane, McPixel has you taking command of the red-shirted hero as he attempts to stop things from blowing up. Like any other good adventure game, McPixel has you poking around the screen to accomplish this noble goal. The only caveat here? You only have 20 seconds to solve your puzzle before everything goes kablooey. As you progress through the game's multitude of levels, you'll find yourself kicking signboards, haranguing soldiers, beating up clowns, navigating the affections of cavemen, and more. It may not make much sense, but it's a fitting tribute to classic point-and-click adventure games of old.

Price: $3

Download

Broken Sword: Director's Cut

This one is old. Really old. The first Broken Sword came out in 1996, back when modems still hissed and trilled like tormented robots. After amassing enough awards and acclaim to color its competitors green with envy, the franchise eventually produced Broken Sword: Director's Cut. As you might have guessed, it's a dolled-up version of the original, with a few extras that make it worth replaying.

In Broken Sword: Director's Cut, you traverse Paris alongside the main protagonists—a feisty journalist named Nico Collard and the fashion-challenged George Stobbart—after a terrorist attack on an innocuous cafe. Low-key beginnings? It gets better, of course. Eventually, you find yourself entangled with the Knights Templar and excavating ancient tomes. The writing is spectacular and the audiovisuals look good—even in this day and age. Best of all, the game has a capital female lead.

Price: $4

Download

Another World

If you scoff at how gentle modern-day titles seem compared to the point-and-click adventure games of yore (I'm looking at you, King's Quest), here's something straight from that more primal past. First unleashed into the world in 1991, Another World for Android is the story of a physics researcher named Lester Knight Chaykin. After being struck by lightning, he finds himself in an alien world filled with hostile creatures and other earthly perils. A cult classic, this 20th Anniversary Edition comes with a slew of extra features including the ability to switch between the original visuals and HD graphics, three difficulty settings, multiple languages, remastered sounds, and two control schemes.

Price: $2.50

Download

Hamlet

Sick of inventory-based escapades? Try Hamlet. A cartoony, pastel-colored delight that's based loosely on the Bard's great classic, Hamlet places you in the role of an unfortunate time traveler who, thanks to a freak accident, has replaced the eponymous hero and been tasked with rescuing the princess Ophelia from the clutches of the evil king Claudius. The game's puzzles and environments are wacky and have you doing everything from confronting aliens to navigating the bowels of a very large fish. Despite the game's childish facade, Hamlet's 25 levels will challenge even the most hardened adventure game fan.

Price: Free

Download

Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery

Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery is a game that doesn't need an introduction: Described by its creators as a "crude haiku about love, life, and death," Sword & Sworcery lets you explore a beautiful pixelated world filled with memorable melodies. In your travels, you'll meet unusual characters and engage in battles that require you to have some rhythm in order to succeed. The game is best experienced on a large screen, but Sword & Sworcey is a delight no matter what device you play it on. If you're a fan of adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Price: $5

Download

Ubur-ubur Mengancam Kehidupan Laut

2013-02-17T07:21:00.003-08:00

Ubur-ubur merupakan makhluk laut yang jelek, cukup berbahaya, dan tidak seperti pembunuh lainnya di samudera yakni hiu. Ubur-ubur tidak terlalu enak untuk disantap. Sayangnya, hewan itu kini siap menguasai dua pertiga bagian planet Bumi.

Pada tahun 2006 sampai 2010, sekelompok kawanan besar ubur-ubur menginvasi pantai-pantai di Spanyol. Menyengat puluhan ribu perenang. Di sejumlah tempat, ubur-ubur ini hadir dengan konsentrasi hingga 10 ekor per meter persegi.

Kelompok ubur-ubur ini juga muncul di kawasan lain di seluruh dunia. Tahun 2007, Hawaii dan Irlandia mengalami hama ubur-ubur. Perairan Israel dan Prancis di tahun 2008. Tunisia dan Italia diserbu pada 2009. Di Jepang, ubur-ubur berukuran hingga 1,8 meter makin banyak bermunculan.

Di perairan kawasan utara Australia, populasi ubur-ubur dengan tentakel hingga 2,5 meter juga meledak. Padahal, ubur-ubur ini punya racun yang bisa membunuh manusia dalam tiga menit.

Menurut María Luz Fernández de Puelles, peneliti asal Spanish Institute of Oceanography's Balearic Oceanography Center, ada tiga penyebabnya. Seperti dikutip dari Mother Nature Network, 28 Desember 2010, ubur-ubur hidup subur sebagai efek samping dari polusi, kenaikan temperatur air dan penangkapan ikan yang berlebih.

Manusia terlalu banyak membuang limbah, termasuk limbah pertanian ke sungai yang akhirnya mengalir ke laut. Seperti diketahui, pupuk didesain untuk meningkatkan pertumbuhan tanaman. Ternyata, pupuk juga berfungsi sama di laut dengan meningkatkan pertumbuhan ganggang.

Yang jadi masalah, ganggang merupakan makanan bagi mikro organisme di laut, yang merupakan makanan utama para ubur-ubur. Semakin melimpahnya ganggang dan mikro organisme, semakin terjamin pula hidup ubur-ubur.

Kedua, pemanasan global membuat suhu air laut makin hangat. Dari penelitian, ini memicu ubur-ubur makin subur dalam bereproduksi dan membuat mereka berenang semakin mendekati pantai. Demikian pula dengan ubur-ubur tropis yang memiliki tentakel beracun.

Ketiga, penangkapan ikan yang berlebihan, khususnya tuna, hiu, dan juga penyu laut membuat ubur-ubur semakin bebas berkeliaran. Padahal, hewan-hewan pemangsa itu biasanya memakan ubur-ubur dan telur-telurnya.

“Ubur-ubur adalah pemangsa yang sangat rakus dan bersaing dengan organisme dan plankton lain untuk berebut makanan,” kata de Puelles. “Dengan melejitnya pertumbuhan ubur-ubur, maka mereka akan mengubah struktur ekosistem di laut secara drastis.”

How to encrypt (almost) anything

2013-02-16T19:32:00.001-08:00

It's all too easy to neglect data security, especially for a small business. While bigger organizations have IT departments, service contracts, and enterprise hardware, smaller companies frequently rely on consumer software, which lacks the same sort of always-on security functionality.

But that doesn’t mean that your data is unimportant, or that it has to be at risk.

Encryption is a great way to keep valuable data safe—whether you’re transmitting it over the Internet, backing it up on a server, or just carrying it through airport security on your laptop. Encrypting your data makes it completely unreadable to anyone but you or its intended recipient. Best of all, much of the software used in offices and on personal computers already has encryption functionality built in. You just need to know where to find it. In this article, I’ll show you where and how.

But first, a word about passwords

Any discussion about encryption needs to start with a different topic: password strength. Most forms of encryption require you to set a password, which allows you to encrypt the file and to decrypt it later on when you want to view it again. If you use a weak password, a hacker can break the encryption and access the file—defeating the purpose of encryption.

A strong password should be at least 10 characters, though 12 is better. It should include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols. If you find letters-only easier to remember, such a password can still be secure if it’s significantly longer; think 20 characters or more.

If you’re unsure about whether your password is good enough, run it through Microsoft’s free password checker. Never use a password rated less than “Strong.”

Use Microsoft's BitLocker for full-disk encryption.

Encrypt your entire hard drive

You probably already have a login password for Windows on your PC, but that won’t actually protect your data if somebody steals your computer or hard drive—the thief can simply plug your drive into another PC and access the data directly. If you have lots of sensitive information on your computer, you want to employ full-disk encryption, which protects all your data even if your hardware falls into the wrong hands.

Microsoft’s BitLocker software makes setting up full-disk encryption in Windows incredibly easy—as long as your computer meets the following two criteria:

1. You have the Ultimate or Enterprise version of Windows 7 or Vista, or the Pro or Enterprise version of Windows 8.

2. Your computer has a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip.

The easiest way to see if your computer has a TPM chip is simply to attempt to enable BitLocker. Windows will let you know if you don’t have one.

To enable BitLocker, go to Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption, or do a search for “BitLocker” in Windows 8. In the BitLocker menu, click Turn on BitLocker next to the drive(s) you wish to encrypt. It’s as easy as that.

If your PC doesn’t meet the requirements for BitLocker, you can still use TrueCrypt or DiskCryptor for free full-disk encryption.

BitLocker protects pocket drives as well.

Encrypt your external and USB thumb drives

For full-disk encryption of thumb drives and USB hard drives, you can use BitLocker To Go, which is designed for removable media. You still need a professional or enterprise version of Windows, but you don’t need a TPM to use BitLocker To Go.

All you have to do is plug in the device you want to encrypt, and then once again go to the BitLocker menu. At the bottom of the menu, you’ll see the BitLocker To Go section, where you can click Turn on BitLocker next to the device.

Encrypt your Internet traffic

Sometimes you want to encrypt your outgoing and incoming Internet traffic. If you’re on an unsecured Wi-Fi network (at an airport, for instance), a hacker can intercept the data traveling to and from your laptop, which might contain sensitive information. To make that data useless to eavesdroppers, you can encrypt it, using a VPN.

A virtual private network creates a secure “tunnel” to a trusted third-party server. Data sent through this tunnel (either to or from your computer) is encrypted, so it’s safe even if intercepted. You can find Web-based VPNs that charge a small monthly fee but provide very easy access, or you can set up your own personal or business VPN.

The process of selecting or setting up a VPN is a little too long to describe here, so see our article on VPN for beginners and experts alike.

TrueCrypt helps to add another level of protection to Dropbox data.

Encrypt your Dropbox (or other cloud storage)

If you or other people in your organization use Dropbox or SugarSync, you’ll be glad to know that those popular cloud storage services already encrypt your data, protecting it in transit and while it sits on their servers. Unfortunately, those same services also hold the decryption keys, which means that they can decrypt your files if, for instance, law enforcement directs them to do so.

If you have any really sensitive files in your cloud storage, use a second layer of encryption to keep them safe from prying eyes. The most straightforward way to do this is to use TrueCrypt to create an encrypted volume inside of your Dropbox. (For a complete guide to encrypting anything with TrueCrypt, see the end of this article.)

If you want to be able to access the data from other computers, consider putting a portable version of TrueCrypt in your Dropbox, as well. To do so, run the TrueCrypt installer; during the installation, choose the Extract option, and choose to put the extracted files in your Dropbox or other cloud storage.

Google's Android app scanner falls short in security test

2013-02-16T06:45:00.002-08:00

The Google scanner that checks apps for malware before they are installed on an Android smartphone or tablet has a detection rate that falls far behind that of third-party antivirus products, a new study shows.

Researchers at North Carolina State University wanted to know whether additional antivirus software was necessary, in light of the Google service that is included in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the latest version of the operating system. What they found was a service in need of improvement.

Out of more than 1,200 malware samples, the Google scanner detected 193 for a "low detection rate of 15.32 percent," according to the study.

Antivirus software needs to have a rate of more than 80 percent to be considered at least good, said Xuxian Jiang, an associate computer science professor at NCSU who led the research.

The next step was to test Google VirusTotal, a free online service that can check individual files and URLs for malware. The service uses limited versions of the antivirus engines of multiple vendors.

The results were only slightly better with a detection rate of 20.41 percent. In both tests, the research team used malware samples from the Android Malware Genome Project, an NCSU-led initiative to categorize the malware. The devices used were Nexus 10 tablets running Android 4.2.

The Google scanner is designed to check apps downloaded from marketplaces other than Google Play. A weakness is in the limited amount of identifying data the service collects on an app in order to see if it matches malware traits in a Google database.

The information collected includes the app name, size and version; the URL associated with the app and the SHA1 value. SHA1 is a cryptographic hash function designed by the National Security Agency.

Cybercriminals can easily bypass this mechanism by repackaging malware or mutating it. To make the service more effective, Google would need to gather more information, such as uploading the whole app to its server for analysis, Jiang said.

However, this would cause unacceptable delays for many Android users. In addition, gathering more information inevitably raises privacy concerns.

"It really requires a very delicate tradeoff," Jiang said Tuesday. Google seems to be erring on the side of caution in data gathering.

"So far, too little information has been used," Jiang said. "Google has been very cautious in trying to avoid triggering user concerns on privacy."

Rather than do all analysis on a remote server, Google could add some detection capabilities on the Android device to improve the service, Jiang said. In addition, VirusTotal would be integrated into the server-side analysis to improve detection rates.

Not everyone believes antivirus apps are needed on Android devices, if users are careful to download apps only from trusted marketplaces, such as Google Play, and avoid clicking on unknown links in email and text messages.

Gartner has a long-standing position that antivirus software is not very effective and can degrade device performance. The analysis firm believes Google should vet apps before they are made available.

Jiang said he believes antivirus technology is needed because a large number of people outside of the U.S. download apps from marketplaces other than Google Play, increasing the risk of installing malware.

In addition, if security requires people to limit the number of apps they use, the value of the smartphone or tablet is diminished, because users cannot fully extend its features, Jiang said.

"If the user just buys the phone and never uses any additional apps and never clicks any untrusted links, then likely he will not need any [antivirus] solutions," Jiang said.

Most experts believe mobile malware is still at the beginning stages. However, the technology is maturing and the number of malicious apps continues to grow. In a 2013 trend report released Tuesday, security vendor ESET found that the number of unique malware soared 17 times globally this year, when compared to 2011.

The number is expected to rise "much more rapidly in 2013," the report said.

Mobile malware: It's bad now, but will be worse in 2013

2013-02-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

If you're a user of Google's mobile operating system Android and concerned about your smartphone's security, expect to worry more in the coming months.

"[W]e see as the main trend for 2013 an exponential growth of mobile malware," cyber security software maker Eset predicts this week in its 2013 trends report [PDF].

Driving the interest of cybercriminals in the mobile market, Eset says, is the rapid adoption of smartphones, particularly those running Android, and the increased use of the devices for monetary transactions.

The volume of malware designed for mobile devices is a direct response to the speed at which the technology is being adopted, according to Eset's report. "If the market grows and technology is enhanced, then as long as users who use these devices to store an increasing amount of sensitive information do not adopt the necessary measures, it is logical to expect cybercriminals to create computer threats to profit from this situation."

Eset researchers also observe, "There is a direct parallel here to what has happened with personal computers, but at a much slower pace over a much longer period."

The report notes that Android now has more than 64 percent of the smartphone market, compared to 43 percent in 2011. "As Android's market share rises and people use it more and more to store personal and corporate information, or for online banking or related services, cyber criminals will develop more malware to steal information, thus gaining illicit revenue."

The researchers predict that next year, 530 million people will access banking services from their smartphones; it's a 76 percent jump from 2011, when only 300 million people banked on their mobile phones.

Favorite malware methods

Eset notes that Android malware typically contains one of three malicious payloads. A large number of malware programs (40 percent) clandestinely subscribed their victims to premium SMS services. About a third (32 percent) of bad apps turned the devices they infect into zombies, which can be controlled by an ether thief. More than a quarter (28 percent) of malicious apps steal information from a phone.

Spreading pernicious payloads through infected websites will also continue to grow in 2013, Eset forecasts.

A factor contributing to increased interest in poisoned websites to spread malware has been the decline of "thumb" flash drives as popular infection vehicles for cybercriminals.

The introduction of the first commercial version of Windows XP in 2001 and the massive uptake of removable storage devices marked the beginning of the era of worms that spread through those media by exploiting a Windows XP design vulnerability called Autorun, the report explained.

"Given that this problem was solved in 2009 and that users have migrated towards new versions of Microsoft Windows, the number of malicious programs still using this technique has diminished in the past few years," Eset notes.

"Though there is no shortage of malware that includes it on the off chance of finding an unpatched system," it adds.

Eset outlined in its report how Web miscreants proliferate their malicious wares through infected websites:

First, an existing vulnerability is exploited in a web server and malicious code is injected into the site.
Then, targets are steered to the infected site through hyperlinks sent to a list of users through email, social networks, or any other means.
When the target visits the site, the malware is downloaded to their computer or smartphone, where it performs its pernicious actions.

According to Eset's report, "Malware targeting Android will not only keep on rising at a considerable rate, but also will continue to evolve until they are very similar in capability to their peers in the world of more traditional computers."

Planet Pink Hias Langit Pada Februari

2013-02-15T19:06:00.002-08:00

Ada penampilan baru di angkasa sepanjang malam pada pertengahan hingga akhir bulan Februari ini. Jika diamati, Anda akan menemukan sebuah planet dengan warna yang khas, pink alias merah muda.

Karena mengikuti tema Hari Valentine? Mungkin saja.

Ilmuwan dari Badan Antariksa Amerika Serikat (NASA) mengkonfirmasi, akan tampak sebuah planet merah muda berada pada posisi yang lebih rendah di kaki langit sekitar petang hari atau setelah matahari terbenam.

Planet pink itu pertama kali dilihat pada 8 Februari, dan dapat dilihat jelas hingga 21 Februari nanti.

Jika penasaran, para ilmuwan NASA merekomendasikan untuk melihat langit sekitar 30 menit setelah matahari terbenam. Jika kondisi langit cerah, titik merah muda kecil seharusnya terlihat lebih dekat cakrawala matahari.

Dilansir Softpedia, 15 Februari 2013, planet berwarna merah muda itu adalah Merkurius. Memang, warna Merkurius bukan pink. Penampilan spesial ini disebabkan efek pukulan sinar matahari yang memberikan ilusi warna merah muda selama periode tersebut.

Pada 11 Febuari lalu, NASA mengatakan, penampakan planet ini terlihat lebih lama, yaitu satu jam setelah terbenamnya matahari.

Dan, penampakan planet merah muda ini tidak memberikan dampak bencana atau bahaya bagi orang yang melihatnya.

Merkurius merupakan planet terdalam dan terkecil pada Tata Surya. Planet yang diperkirakan bersuhu 3.000 derajat Celsius itu memiliki orbit yang paling sempurna dari delapan planet lainnya, yakni mengorbit sekali setiap 88 hari Bumi, melakukan tiga rotasi pada porosnya setiap dua orbit.

Permukaan planet ini yang banyak kawah, mirip dengan Bulan. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa geologi di Mekurius telah aktif selama miliaran tahun.

Perbedaan temperatur di Merkurius sangat ekstrim, sangat dingin di malam hari, dan sangat panas di malam hari. (ren)

Which cloud storage service is best: Google Drive, Dropbox, or SkyDrive?

2013-02-15T05:42:00.003-08:00

It's raining cloud services.

The problem: You have lots of files that you need to access from multiple places, and you don't want to rely on a USB stick or emailing yourself. The preferred solution, for years, has been Dropbox, the free cloud-storage service for seamless file syncing. But now, Dropbox has competition from a couple young upstarts named Google and Microsoft. Let's see how Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft's SkyDrive stack up against each other.

Each of the three services puts a folder on your computer that you can drop files into, which in turn automatically syncs with the appropriate service's cloud-based online storage. Each service offers a variety of mobile apps for accessing your files on the go, and the ability to access and share files from the web. From that point of view, they would seem to be the same, but the differences in implementation are significant.

Dropbox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive compared

Dropbox

Dropbox is the service with which you may be most familiar. It's not the oldest (SkyDrive is), but it was the first to popularize this particular method of syncing files. When you install Dropbox on your computer, it creates a Dropbox folder with two gigabytes of free cloud storage. Files and folders you drag into the Dropbox folder are automatically uploaded to the Dropbox servers, but remain present on your computer, too. If you connect other computers to your Dropbox account, your files automatically sync with them as well.

If two gigabytes won't cut it, Dropbox offers paid options: You can spend $10 per month (or $99 per year) for 50GB, or $20 per month ($199 per year) for 100GB. If you get someone else to sign up for Dropbox with your referral link, you will both get an extra 500MB of free space.

Dropbox on the web

Recent updates to Dropbox made uploading and sharing files even simpler. You can drag files directly onto the Dropbox website in your browser of choice to upload them to the service, and new sharing options make it delightfully simple to right-click (on a Mac, Control-click) on a Dropbox-stored file on your computer to expose instant and immediate public sharing options.

On your Mac or PC, Dropbox will superimpose tiny symbols atop your file icons indicating their sync status. That lets you know whether files are fully backed up to Dropbox, or still in the process of syncing.

Dropbox on iOS

Like its competitors, Dropbox also offers free mobile apps so that you can access your files on the go—from an iPhone, iPad, Android device, or Blackberry. The mobile apps, in addition to offering access to all your Dropbox-hosted files, also offer the option to cache certain files locally on your device; that way, if you're going to be stuck on a Wi-Fi-less flight, you can still gain access to your big presentation. While Dropbox's mobile apps aren't beautiful, they work well.

Oodles of third-party apps offer built-in Dropbox integration, too—you'd be hard-pressed to find a text editor for iPad that doesn't, for example. That's a distinct leg up over the other two services; Google Drive and SkyDrive don't have anywhere near that level of integration.

Check out our hands-on with the new Dropbox sharing features.

SkyDrive

To use Microsoft's SkyDrive, you'll need a Windows Live or Hotmail account. If you use any of Microsoft's online services, including Xbox Live, you probably already have one. The SkyDrive app behaves an awful lot like Dropbox: It creates a custom folder on your Mac or PC that behaves just like a regular folder; drag other files into that folder, and they'll start syncing to SkyDrive automatically.

Microsoft offers seven gigabytes of storage with SkyDrive. For more space, you can spend $10 per year for 27GB, $25 per year for 57GB, or $50 per year for 107GB. Those prices are considerably more affordable than Dropbox's rates. For a limited time, old SkyDrive users can get a free upgrade to 25GB.

While it offers more (and more affordable) storage, SkyDrive can't quite compete with Dropbox's feature set. There's no option, for example, to right- or Control-click on SkyDrive-stored files on your desktop to generate quick sharing links. On the Web, however, SkyDrive's sharing options are excellent: You can quickly get a link to share your file; share it with the ability for the other user(s) to edit; post a link directly to Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter; and more.

Skydrive's Mac options are a joke.

Other limitations with SkyDrive right now include its very limited preferences: Where Dropbox lets you enable options like Selective Sync (where certain files and directories only sync to certain computers), on-screen notifications (about which files get updated when), and bandwidth usage settings, SkyDrive's preferences are almost comically limited. On the Mac, you get an option to automate the sending of usage data to Microsoft (off by default) along with an Open at login option; on Windows, you get the latter option, plus a second setting to "Make Files on This PC Available On My Other Devices."

Skydrive on iOS

On Windows, SkyDrive offers Dropbox-style icon overlays to show you whether your files are fully backed up or not. That doesn't happen on the Mac. Another Mac limitation: The SkyDrive app must sit in your Dock at all times; quit it, and your files silently stop syncing.

The SkyDrive mobile apps are very good, and available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7. They look good and work well, offering quick access to recently updated files, documents shared with you, and everything you've synced to the drive. Again, as referenced earlier, few third-party apps integrate with SkyDrive; that may well change as SkyDrive's popularity increases.

Google Drive

Google Drive requires, unsurprisingly enough, a Google account. In typical Google fashion, access to the service is getting rolled out slowly: You'll see a note about whether Google Drive is enabled for your account or not on the Google Drive webpage, and you can't download or install the software until your account becomes eligible.

Like Dropbox and SkyDrive, installing Google Drive on your computer creates a special Google Drive folder; files you drop in there sync automatically to the cloud. Google Drive also uses tiny indicators atop your icons to indicate whether files are still syncing or fully backed up onto Google's servers—and those indicators appear on both Windows and the Mac, unlike SkyDrive's.

You get five gigabytes of storage with Google Drive. That's more than Dropbox, less than SkyDrive. You can upgrade to 25GB of storage for $2.49 per month, 100GB for $4.99 per month, with tiered pricing up through 16TB—that's 16,384 gigabytes—for $800 per month. SkyDrive's pricing is slightly better for the normal-sized options; Google Drive is the only option for folks needing 16TB of cloud storage.

The Google Drive web interface is almost exactly like Google Docs.

Like SkyDrive, Google Drive lacks Dropbox's contextual menu options on your desktop for getting quick links to share your files. Google Drive's Web interface—which bears a significant resemblance to Google Docs—does offer various sharing options, including the ability to make a file public, share it with specific people, or share it with specific people along with giving them the ability to edit your files. As with both SkyDrive and Dropbox, you can drag files directly onto Google Drive within your browser of choice to upload them that way.

Google Drive on Android

There's a Google Drive Android app, but an iOS app is listed only as "coming soon", and there's no word on Windows Phone 7. Google told All Things D that the iOS app "is 98 percent done, and it will be here soon."

Like Dropbox, Google Drive allows you to choose files and folders to sync selectively. If one of your computers needs access to Presentations, but another doesn't, you can deselect that folder on the second computer, without removing Presentations from your Google Drive completely.

Google Drive also syncs hard copies of your Google Docs documents to your desktop—sort of. You'll see files, which you can in turn double-click, but doing so simply launches your default Web browser pointed to the proper URLs.

The Android app is straightforward to use, offering options similar to the comparable apps from its competitors. One clever option unique to the Google Drive app is the ability to create a new word processing document or spreadsheet within the app.

Privacy

There's been some talk on the Web about the services and their different terms of service and privacy policies.

Microsoft, for example, says it will remove you from the SkyDrive service if you use it to "share content ... in a way that infringes others' copyrights." Google says that in can, in theory, use your Google Drive data in various ways, including the options to "reproduce, modify, create derivative works ... publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content ... for the limited purposes of operating, promoting, and improving our Services." But, as the aforelinked Verge story points out, that's not meant to give Google permission to look through your private files and share them with the world; that's explicitly disallowed by the company's privacy policy.

All three services make it clear that you maintain ownership of your data that you store with them. You'll need to decide for yourself whether you trust Microsoft, Google, or Dropbox with your data.

Which to choose

If you're wondering which cloud-storage service is right for you, consider that you may in fact be asking the wrong question: These services are all free, with charges only for extra storage space. You needn't choose just one; you can install all three services on your computer, download the apps, and use them for different purposes.

Files you expect to need to share frequently may be best suited to Dropbox for the time being, since it allows you to easily share documents from your desktop. It may also be the best choice if you want to access the data from within mobile apps, since more apps support Dropbox integration. If you want to access your files on an iOS device, don't store them on your Google Drive until an iOS client is released. SkyDrive seems to be better-integrated with Windows than with the Mac, for now.

Each service is easy to set up and configure, each has some advantages, and they work fine in tandem. Try them all, and let us know which one you prefer in the comments.

Twitter hacked; 250,000 users must reset their passwords

2013-02-14T23:54:00.002-08:00

Twitter’s servers have been breached by “extremely sophisticated” hackers who may have made off with user names and passwords for about 250,000 users, the company said Friday.

Twitter said unusual access patterns led it to identify the attacks, which took place during the past week.

“We discovered one live attack and were able to shut it down in process moments later. However, our investigation has thus far indicated that the attackers may have had access to limited user information—usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords—for approximately 250,000 users,” Twitter Director of Information Security Bob Lord said in a blog post.

Twitter reset the passwords and revoked session tokens for the accounts, and said it was emailing the affected users Friday and telling them to reset their passwords.

“This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident,” the company said in its post.

It noted that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal also said they’d beentargeted by hackers this week. Those companies said the attacks originated in China, but Twitter did not point to a country of origin.

Twitter said it thinks other companies and organizations have recently been similarly attacked.

It urged all its users to ensure they are using strong passwords on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet. Passwords should be at least 10 characters and use a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols, the site said.

“Using the same password for multiple online accounts significantly increases your odds of being compromised,” Twitter said. “If you are not using good password hygiene, take a moment now to change your Twitter passwords.”

The company said it was still gathering information about the attacks and is working with federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute the attackers.

How to set up iCloud

2013-02-14T19:03:00.001-08:00

If you recently picked up a new Mac, iPhone, iPod, or iPad, you may have seen mention of something called iCloud when setting up your device. If you don't already know, iCloud is a free syncing and backup service from Apple that aims to keep all of your devices—mobile devices running iOS 5 or later and desktop computers running OS X Lion or later, or Windows Vista or later—on the same page, with the same data, no matter which one you’re using at any given moment.

We’ve written before about what you get with your iCloud account. But what if you’re unsure about how to set up iCloud in the first place and how to get it to work on your Mac, PC, iOS device, and Apple TV? We'll show you.

Sign up for an iCloud account

A few notes before we begin: Although signing up for iCloud is free, you can’t do so just anywhere. You must create an account on either a mobile device running iOS 5 or later or a Mac running OS X 10.7.5 or later. Unfortunately, Windows users have to create an account on one of these platforms before they can log in from a PC.

Apple also limits you to creating ten iCloud accounts per device. You should ever need only one or two, so you’ll probably never run up against the limit; because the limit persists after full device wipes, however, you may see a warning about it if you’ve received an older iOS device or Mac. If you do get an alert preventing you from making a new iCloud account, I suggest going to your nearest Apple Store, where they should be able to help you sort it out.

Do you have an Apple ID?

If you’ve ever purchased anything from the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBookstore, you have an Apple ID. (It's probably the email address you used to sign up for iTunes.) If you’ve logged in to the iTunes or App Store apps with this Apple ID, you should see the email address already filled out in the Apple ID section of the iCloud screen.

All iCloud accounts stem from Apple IDs, so it’s easy to convert your current Apple ID into an iCloud account. You’ll still be able to use your Apple ID for everything you currently use it for, but you’ll also get all of iCloud’s features. And if you have family members who use this Apple ID, they’ll still be able to use it for purchases without getting all of your iCloud information. (For more on managing multiple Apple IDs and iCloud, see our explanation about common signup scenarios.)

NEW MAIL If you want to add an iCloud email address to your old Apple ID, just turn on the Mail switch (or check the checkbox on your Mac) in your iCloud preference pane.

To convert your Apple ID into an iCloud account, open the iCloud preference screen on your iOS device or Mac, and then sign in to iCloud with your current Apple ID and password. The screen will prompt you to agree to the iCloud terms and conditions; once you do, you’re ready to begin using the service.

Note: If you do convert an Apple ID into an iCloud account, you won’t get an iCloud email address (@icloud.com) by default. If you want one, simply go to Settings > iCloud on an iOS device and toggle the Mail switch on (or, on a Mac, click the checkbox). You’ll then see a prompt to create an iCloud email address to go along with your account.

Starting from scratch

Never used iTunes before? On an iOS device, go ahead and tap the Get a Free Apple ID button at the bottom of the iCloud settings screen. (On a Mac, click Create an Apple ID.) The screens will request your birthdate and name, and ask whether you’d like to use a current email address or create an iCloud.com email address for your Apple ID. Even if you elect to use your old email address, you can create a new iCloud.com address after making your account by going to Settings > iCloud and turning on the Mail switch.

STARTER KIT You can use a current email address or create a new one for your Apple ID.

From there, you’ll either have to enter your current email address or type what you want your new iCloud email address to be. The service also prompts you for a password for your account and a security question.

After that, to finish up, simply indicate whether you want to get email updates from Apple, and then agree to the terms and conditions. You’re ready to start using iCloud.

Set up an iOS device

Originally iCloud was introduced as a sync mechanism for iOS devices, and consequently the iCloud signup process is most straightforward on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod. You need a device running iOS 5 or later; if your iPhone or iPod is still running iOS 4, you can't get in on the iCloud action until you upgrade.

When you first set up your device, you should have seen a screen asking you to sign in or sign up for an Apple ID and iCloud; even if you chose not to set that up when you first unboxed the gadget, getting an account is simple.

On your device, open the Settings app and tap the iCloud entry. You’ll see a space for logging in with an Apple ID and password, and a Get a Free Apple ID button at the bottom.

Once you’ve set up iCloud on your iOS device, most of it starts working automatically: It syncs your email (if you've set that up), along with any previously created contacts, calendars, reminders, notes, Passbook passes (iPhone-only), and Safari bookmarks, to its central online server. Photo Stream, too, starts automatically uploading the last 1000 photos you’ve taken. All iCloud options are on by default; if you want iCloud not to sync a specific item type, just tap the appropriate toggle to turn it off.

FULL BOAT On iOS, you have access to almost all iCloud features.

You can also start creating backups of your iOS devices by going to Settings > iCloud > Storage and Backup > Back Up Now.

Set up a Mac

The Mac setup process is very similar to that of an iPad, iPhone, or iPod: You use the iCloud settings pane in System Preferences. To add or create an iCloud account, your computer needs to be running OS X 10.7.5; any earlier, and you won’t have that pane. (Thomas Brand’s Egg Freckles blog has a few suggestions for using parts of iCloud on older systems.)

iCLOUDY GATES The iCloud preference pane on a Mac lets you sign in with your Apple ID or create one on the spot.

As on an iOS device, once you’ve set up iCloud on your Mac, it syncs your email (if you have set that up), contacts, calendars, and so on. All options are on by default except for 'Back to My Mac', which you must turn on manually; again, if you want iCloud not to sync specific data, just click the respective toggle to turn it off.

CHECKBOXES, CHECKBOXES Don’t want to enable certain iCloud features? Just uncheck those checkboxes.

Unlike with iOS devices, you can’t create iCloud backups of your Mac—in part because said backups would likely eat up all your iCloud storage space, given the size of most Mac hard drives. But your Mac does offer support for iCloud’s data sync, allowing iCloud-compatible programs to store their documents and data there.

Set up a PC

In contrast to iOS devices and Macs, a Windows PC doesn’t come with any kind of iCloud control panel preinstalled; you first have to download it from Apple’s website. And, as noted above, your PC is also the only device you can’t use to create an iCloud account, so you’ll need to have first made one on your Mac or iOS device.

When you sign in to the control panel for the first time, it asks whether you want to send diagnostic and usage information to Apple; accepting this arrangement allows the company to automatically (and anonymously) collect data on any crashes you might have related to iCloud, and to send that data back to its central servers to prevent similar crashes from happening in the future.

SIMPLE SYNC You don’t get as many options for syncing iCloud information on Windows as you do on the Mac or on iOS.

Your sync options for iCloud on the PC are limited in comparison to those on iOS devices and the Mac: You can sync email (if you’ve created an iCloud.com account); contacts, calendars, and tasks in Outlook; Web browser bookmarks; and your Photo Stream. Unfortunately, the Windows operating system doesn’t support syncing reminders, notes, iCloud data, or PC versions of Back to My Mac or Find My Mac.

If you need to make a change to your reminders and notes (or if you just want to see them), you can still access them online via iCloud.com.

Set up an Apple TV

Although your Apple TV doesn’t have access to iCloud’s calendars, reminders, notes, or mail, you can still access iCloud features such as Photo Stream and iTunes Match when you log in with the Apple ID tied to your iCloud account. To do so, go to theSettings screen of your Apple TV, click iTunes Store, and enter your account information.

Windows 8 and Xbox: How to realize their hidden synergy

2013-02-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

The gaming PC and the living room game console have never been close friends. So PC gamers play their PC games, console gamers play their console games, and never the twain shall meet.

Or is everything changing?

Windows 8 helps tear down the wall that’s been built between these two different environments. Nestled within the new OS are a number of different ways by which desk jockeys can interact with their Xbox Live accounts and Xbox 360 consoles without ever having to abandon their office chairs. Follow along, and I'll show you all the new synergies you can explore.

The Games app

The main screen of the Games app shows your recent console activity.

Windows 8's default Games app already provides a basic connection between your PC and your Xbox Live account. Within its walled garden, you can track your Xbox gaming history, buy new games that download directly to your console, view your achievements and Friends List, or customize your avatar and Xbox Live profile. The ability to futz with your avatar is a particular attraction, as it's a lot easier and faster to manipulate your virtual clothing on a PC or tablet than on the Xbox 360 console itself.

Oops! Looks like I'm headed to the Windows Store.

Don't feel like fiddling around on your TV? The Games app also offers a small handful of Xbox Live-enabled Windows 8 games you can buy, download, and play directly on your PC or tablet—a move that takes you right to Windows 8’s official Windows Store app, we should note. (If the link works, that is. See the image to the right.)

All of those features are handy for console buffs, but if you want to squeeze the most out of the Xbox 360 hooks that Microsoft baked into Windows 8, you'll want to download the official Xbox SmartGlass app from the Windows Store, as well.

Xbox SmartGlass

The Xbox SmartGlass app lets you launch console apps from your PC or tablet.

The SmartGlass app lets you to directly control your console via Windows 8 itself. For example, you’ll be able to launch apps and games on your Xbox 360 directly from your Windows desktop or laptop—a perfect party trick and a great way to convince your roommates that your Xbox 360 has been possessed.

SmartGlass's remote-control UI.

A small number of Xbox 360 games and apps integrate more deeply with Xbox SmartGlass, offering robust "second-screen" capabilities that display dynamic maps, stats, song queues, and more. In effect, you use the small screen of your Windows 8 device to affect something on the big screen of your Xbox-connected TV. Lackluster title support hurts right now, with SmartGlass interaction largely limited to Microsoft Studios titles such as Halo 4 and Forza Horizon. But we're hoping other developers start to back this awesome feature as time goes on.

Play to Xbox

If you can stream media to your console, you'll see the "Play to" option in playback controls.

Windows 8's console capabilities aren't just limited to Xbox Live tweaks and virtual game controls. One of the more eye-catching benefits of the new friendship between Windows 8 and Xbox 360 is the ability to push content from your PC to your console in two different ways with very similar naming schemes. The first and most universal is the "Play to Xbox" option.

Assuming that you correctly set up your Xbox 360 and that it is seen as a functional, online device within Windows 8, you’ll be granted the option to stream media from your PC directly to your console. One way to do this is by opening up your Windows 8 Music or Video app, right-clicking the file you want to stream, and then selecting "Play to" in the options bar at the bottom of the screen. Doing so will open the Charms bar, where you can select your Xbox 360 console (or any other certified "Play to" DLNA receiver, for that matter).

Using the "Play to" command in Windows 8's File Explorer.

However, I've encountered the occasional finicky issue when trying to get Music or Video to recognize that my Xbox 360 exists. Even worse—if you’ll allow this humble writer to get personal for a moment—Music and Video are horrible apps for multimedia unless you're on a touchscreen device.Horrible. Instead, I find it easier simply to click on a movie or a song within Windows 8’s File Explorer, open up the new “Play” context menu in the Ribbon-style file menu, and select the “Play To” option to stream media directly over to the Xbox 360.

The media file should start on your console right away, and Play to Xbox functions as any other streaming media solution does—both the console and your Windows 8 device have to be up, running, and connected to your network to successfully stream music or movies. The second streaming solution baked into Windows 8, Play on Xbox, is much more interesting.

Play on Xbox

A "Play on Xbox 360" choice appears in the options of compatible media.

Rather than streaming media directly from your Windows 8 device to your console, the Play on Xbox function takes advantage of the cloud backbone powering Microsoft's media offerings to stream music, movies, and TV shows directly from the Net to your console.

Meanwhile, as your chosen file is playing on the boob tube, Xbox SmartGlass automatically pops up on your Windows PC or tablet and offers the app's virtual controls and—if available—"second screen" information and options for the title. It's all pretty seamless and handy-dandy. Even better, you can use SmartGlass to swap the stream between your console and your Windows 8 PC or tablet at the push of a button, and when you change devices, videos pick up right where you left off on the other device.

The SmartGlass "Play on Xbox" control options include a "Play here" button that shifts the stream to your Windows 8 device.

Unfortunately, Play on Xbox needs a lot of extra software to work properly, and some of those extras are expensive. Most crucially, only content that you've purchased through Microsoft's Music and Video apps can take advantage of the Play on Xbox feature. Any locally stored files that you've acquired via, say, iTunes or ripping physical media has to use the more limited Play to Xbox, instead. As if that wasn't enough of a barrier, you'll also need an Xbox Live Gold subscription and an Xbox Music Pass subscription if you're hoping to use Play on Xbox to jam tunes on your console.

The abundance of costly roadblocks is a real shame, as Play on Xbox is one of the standout features highlighting Windows 8's console integration. Alas.

Game over, man, game over

Even setting aside Play on Xbox's disappointing limitations, not all is perfect in Windows 8 and Xbox 360 land. Notably missing from these two platforms’ growing integration is any way for gamers on Windows 8 to message their friends on Xbox Live directly through the operating system. (Games for Windows Live doesn’t count.) Additionally, those looking to stream content from their systems to their gaming consoles will still have to put up with the Xbox 360’s restrictions on supported video codecs and encoding types.

In other words, you might not be able to stream all of your videos even using Microsoft’s techniques. And, of course, there’s currently no way flip the streaming equation in the one way gamers might want to try: Streaming games from their consoles to their computers or tablet for some keyboard-mouse (or finger-tapping) play.

The Windows 8/Xbox pairing doesn’t work flawlessly across the board, either. As mentioned, I've been having a heck of a time trying to get my operating system to recognize that my turned-on Xbox 360 exists. I suspect this might be the result of my desktop computer being connected to my router via ethernet cable, whereas my Xbox 360 is connected up wirelessly—somewhere, somehow, the wireless connection might be a bit of a deal-breaker when it comes to our desktop PC being able to correctly identify the device one hundred percent of the time. My editor rocks a similar setup that works just fine, however, so your mileage may vary.

Microsoft’s marriage of Windows 8 and the Xbox 360 isn’t quite perfect, but it’s highly promising—and when it works, it's a blast.

Review: Android 4.2 is a better flavor of Jelly Bean

2013-02-13T23:35:00.002-08:00

Google's Android 4.2 update may not be the rumored full-blown Key Lime Pie update we've been expecting, but it does add some much needed features and improvements to the Android operating system. This new version of Android keeps the Jelly Bean moniker, and doesn't look all that different from the first version of Jelly Bean launched over the summer. Android 4.2 officially lands on November 13, along with the Nexus 4 phone, Nexus 10 tablet, and revamped Nexus 7 tablets. Other devices—especially Nexus models—may get the upgrade, but neither Google nor hardware makers have said anything about their rollout plans.

On both phone and tablet, Android 4.2 looks and feels more polished than the previous version, and it cleans up some niggling issues we've seen. It also provides an all-new interface for the camera, introduces an additional way to type using the native keyboard, and helps to better unify the Android experience across phones and tablets. Here are just a few of its new features.

An improved camera

The new radial menu in the camera app.

The native Android camera app receives a complete interface overhaul in version 4.2. The clean interface is heavily streamlined; it hides most of the camera's options and menus from the main screen. This approach makes it easier to focus on capturing photos or videos, but adds a little complexity for some important features you might need to access on the fly. For example, I wasn't a fan of having to perform extra taps in order to toggle on/off basic settings like the camera flash.

A sample photo sphere photo.

Aside from the new look, the biggest addition to the camera app is the Photo Sphere shooting mode. Photo Sphere lets you take photos of your surroundings, much like Microsoft's Photosynth; the app will then stitch together the images into a 360 degree panoramic photo. In her Nexus 10 review, Senior Editor Melissa J. Perenson mentions that she had some trouble getting the app to accurately stitch her photos together. When I tried out Photo Sphere on the Nexus 4 I didn't encounter any problems, though I did notice errors in my panoramas whenever I moved the phone around too quickly. It's a neat feature, but your results will vary.

A new way to type

Google has added gesture typing to the stock keyboard in Android 4.2. Gesture typing is not new; this is the core of Swype's app. Now, instead of poking at the screen in order to eke out words, you can simply glide your finger over letters and the keyboard will offer predictions of what it thinks you're trying to write. As someone who isn't a huge fan of gesture-based keyboards (Swype's in particular seems to hate me), I was pleased with Google's implementation. The keyboard accurately predicted 90 percent of the words I was trying to spell, but it did have some problems recognizing when I wanted to spell words such as "success" or "buttress."

Gesture typing on the Nexus 10.

The gesture typing also works on tablet versions of Android 4.2, and I took special joy in sliding my fingers all over the Nexus 10's 10.1-inch screen. The extra real estate made it easier to accurately slide from letter to letter, resulting in fewer misspelled words. I'm still not entirely sold on gesture keyboards, but Google's offering goes a long way in convincing me that they can be useful.

Google Now learns even more tricks

Google Now may not be exclusive to Android 4.2, but the service's new functions are enough to make iOS and Windows Phone 8 users green with envy. Google Now presents you with "cards"—pieces of information it thinks are relevant to you based on the time of day, your location, and your search history. The service now lets you track things like packages, flights, hotel and restaurant reservations, as well as events in your general area. Google Now has also added alerts for breaking news events, letting you know if a news story has been written about a particular topic you care about.

The service has matured considerably since its initial introduction, but I still feel like there's more Google could be doing with the service. Most of the Google Now cards have only one or two basic options, and Google would benefit from integration with third-party apps. Google Now is still extremely useful—on phones more so than on tablets, perhaps—but the service still has a way to go before it stops feeling like it's in beta.

Consistent user experience

Android 4.2 on the Nexus 10.

One of iOS's biggest strengths is its consistent user experience: What you get on an iPhone or iPod touch is, for the most part, what you'd get on an iPad or iPad mini. On Android, this was never the case. Putting aside the countless modifications made by carriers and manufacturers, Android on phones is a different world compared to Android on tablets.

Android 4.2 changes all of that. Android phones and tablets now share a similar user interface that—in many ways—looks like the phone version of Android blown up to fit a larger screen. The virtual navigation buttons on tablets have been moved to the bottom center of the display, making them more difficult to reach on larger tablets, especially if you are holding the device with two hands. And a dock now runs near the bottom of the screen where you can pin apps that you frequently use.

The new settings panel.

On large tablets like the Nexus 10, notifications and the settings panel are split up and placed in drop-down shaders on the top left and right corners of the screen, respectively. The notification bar on phones and smaller tablets (like the Nexus 7) is largely the same as it was before, though now you can use a two- finger gesture to gain quick access to toggles for the device's data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and brightness, among other settings. This gesture shortcut is perhaps the most welcome interface tweak brought by Android 4.2, since it saves you from having to dig through multiple menus in order to do simple tasks like adjust screen brightness.

Still in development

Unfortunately the version of Android 4.2 on our Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 review units is not the final build. Other features will be added in an update still to come November 13, which is when Google's latest devices go on sale. That's when 4.2 will get already announced features such as the ability to pin apps to the lock screen and to add multiple user accounts on tablets. We'll update this review at that time and make note of any additional improvements we discover once the update goes live.

Bottom line

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean brings with it some interesting features, but ultimately doesn't feel all that different from Android 4.1 on phones. The improvements to the camera interface, keyboard, and Google Now are certainly welcome, but Google seems to have overlooked several aspects of the operating system that are in dire need of an upgrade. Navigation through the OS is still inconsistent from one menu to another, some system apps (like the News and Weather app) haven't been updated since Android 2.2, and many of Android's settings are overly cryptic or redundant.

In many ways, this update is more important for Android tablets than it is for Android phones. By tweaking the Android interface so that it looks similar across both tablets and phones, Google takes much-needed steps toward unifying the Android experience across devices. Whether that translates to developers making more tablet-optimized apps remains to be seen, but in the end this approach can only be better for users going from one device to the other. Android still needs more polish, but with this update, Android 4.2 clearly has what it takes to compete head on with the likes of iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8.

Sony Xperia 10.1-inch tablet Z is thinner than iPad Mini

2013-02-13T19:35:00.001-08:00

Sony has expanded its portfolio of Android-based products with the Tablet Z, which is thinner and lighter than competing products from Apple and Google.

This year tablet shipments are expected to total more than 240 million units worldwide in 2013, exceeding the 207 million laptops that are projected to ship, according to NPD DisplaySearch, and Sony wants a piece of that market as it looks to integrate smartphones, tablets and TVs.

Tablet Z is announced just two weeks after Sony presented the Xperia Z smartphone at International CES, and just like that product the new tablet has a competitive specification.

It is powered by a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, has a 10.1-inch screen with a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution and an 8-megapixel camera.

But what will help the product stand out is its thickness and weight. It is 6.9 millimeters thick, which compares to Apple's latest iPad at 9.4 millimeters and Google's and Samsung Electronics' Nexus 10, which is 8.9 millimeters thick. At 495 grams, the Tablet Z is also lighter than the other two tablets, which weigh from 652 grams and 603 grams, respectively.

Networking options will include LTE, but Sony doesn't detail what frequency bands it will work in. Just like many of Sony's recent mobile devices there is support for NFC, as well.

The launch of the Xperia Z and Tablet Z marks the proper beginning of a new Sony, where both smartphones and tablets have been developed in-house, following the acquisition of Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson, according to Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight.

"This product is interesting to me because its an essential component of Sony's multiscreen strategy, and as a consumer electronics vendor Sony needs to have a coherent story across all screen sizes, phones, tablets and TVs," Wood said.

Beyond availability in Japan, Sony isn't revealing any other parts in the world where the product will go on sale, at least for now. The company is also mum on what the Tablet Z will cost.