Author Archive | David Worthington

Find My iPhone Busts Burglars

Posted by David Worthington on August 31, 2009 at 2:25 pm

A man in Shadyside, PA corralled some crooks using the Find My iPhone feature of his iPhone’s MobileMe account after he was robbed on Sunday. Local police worked with the man to make the arrests and recover his property.

Of course, the thieves simply could have turned off location tracking, or just shut the phone off. John Dillinger they were not.

I don’t pay for MobileMe, because I get most of its features for free through other services. Apple’s addition of Find My iPhone to the iPhone 3.0 software almost enticed me to pay for it, but MobileMe still wasn’t a good fit for me.

My main concern is losing my phone–whether it’s damaged, lost or stolen. It would be great if Apple could provide a product to fit that requirement. I’d be willing to pay for insurance, and for the Find My iPhone feature of MobileMe. I’m sure that I’m not the only one. How about it Apple?

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Mac Security Improves with Snow Leopard

Posted by David Worthington on August 28, 2009 at 5:54 pm

While Apple still has significant security work ahead of it, its Snow Leopard operating system makes prudent progress toward securing Mac OS X. But a security expert says that Apple is still playing catch up to Windows.

That is the opinion of Charlie Miller, a leading Mac security researcher. Miller is co-author of The Mac Hacker’s Handbook, and is also known for discovering critical vulnerabilities in the OS. He told CNET today that Snow Leopard “made some improvements,” but has not implemented some of the security features that Microsoft built into Windows Vista in 2007.

After being slammed with a series of major security incidents at the start of the decade, Microsoft made security a part of its development lifecycle. Products cannot ship from Microsoft unless they have gone through a review process, and consequently, the number of security vulnerabilities in its products has dropped markedly. It was tough, expensive work, and required a strong commitment from management.

Microsoft is now making its Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), as well as some of its internal security tools, available to developers in an effort to secure Windows applications as well as the OS itself. Apple has not taken similar steps.

To the best of my knowledge, Apple is still lacking an SDL-like approach to software development. That might be why I’ve had to download several massive security roll ups to patch my Mac over the past two months. As much as I love my iMac, the experience reminds me of Microsoft just a few years back.

However, Snow Leopard demonstrates that Apple, like Microsoft, has made security a higher priority. To thwart attacks, Snow Leopard introduces limited malware protection, and other protections including improved Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), and Data Execution Prevention (DEP). It also sandboxes applications, which is made possible through mandatory access control that was introduced in Leopard.

I have made no bones about my opinion that Apple has done a lackluster job at security, but it deserves credit for moving in the right direction.

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iPhone App Store Approval Process: Apple’s Whitewater?

Posted by David Worthington on August 28, 2009 at 3:55 pm

The appearance of wrong doing can create a perception that trumps reality. Apple has needlessly tarnished its reputation in the industry by shrouding its iPhone App Store approval process in secrecy, fomenting speculation that it is deeply flawed and unfair. Only transparency will rebuild trust.

It took Apple eleven days to certify Facebook 3.0, which debuted on App Store yesterday. That’s less time than the two-week period that Apple says 95 percent of apps are approved within. But Facebook is one of the App Store’s most popular programs, and lots of iPhone owners were waiting for the new version.

Apple’s prolonged approval process drew the ire of lead developer Joe Hewitt, who blogged publicly about his frustrations and said even two weeks are two weeks too many. Facebook is a high profile App Store developer, and Hewitt’s criticism cast a negative light on Apple that was intensified by press reports.

It might seem like an odd comparison, but I’m reminded of the Whitewater investigation that plagued much of the Clinton presidency. A friend who used to work in the White House told me that one senior adviser told the President that the scandal would be defused if he made documents available for review. Secrecy is what gave Whitewater a life of its own, and the President’s opponents exploited the ensuing distrust.

Apple has had numerous Whitewater moments. There are numerous rejected apps, and there isn’t always a clear reason behind Apple’s refusal to publish them. Now the FCC is investigating Apple, and Microsoft is appealing to forsaken Apple developers to develop for Windows Mobile.

Like the Clinton administration before it, nothing is stopping Apple from clearing the air– except for its deeply rooted penchant for secrecy. If Apple can embrace transparency, it might even come off looking good. The perception couldn’t get much worse.

The company has said that every app undergo a security review. That’s great–I’d like to hear more about it and other steps that Apple takes to deliver quality applications for the iPhone. Until it does, the controversy will continue.

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Mininova’s Death of a Thousand Cuts

Posted by David Worthington on August 26, 2009 at 4:03 pm

A Dutch court has ordered Mininova, a popular torrent search Web site, to remove all torrents linking to copyrighted content from its Web site within three months, or it will face hefty fines.

Dutch anti-piracy organization Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland (BREIN) filed a lawsuit against Mininova that resulted in the judge’s ruling.

Torrents are a terrific way to distribute large files, but the technology has been abused by copyright violators. While sites such as Mininova do not host pirated content, they do host torrent files that link to tracker servers that facilitate piracy. Tracker servers coordinate communication between peers that are distributing files.

Mininova took measures to remove torrents that link to copyrighted content from its site by deploying a content recognition system in May. That was not enough to appease the judge, who ruled that Mininova had to do more to prevent piracy – even though it was not directly responsible.

That may just be a sisyphean task. Mininova is a community Web site where its users upload torrents, and there are many thousands of torrents. I do not see how it will be able to keep every “bad” torrent off of its site without reviewing each submission manually.

With BREIN examining Mininova under a microscope, and a court imposed penalty of 100 Euro per infringing torrent, it is probably just a matter of time until the site dies a death of a thousand cuts. The fines are capped at 5 million euros, but that might be too much for Mininova to swallow.

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Can We Cut Out the iPhone Bashing Already?

Posted by David Worthington on August 25, 2009 at 7:23 pm

iPhone SteamrolleriPhone bashing is the trend du jour among tech pundits. The phone’s flaws are being singled out as if they’re unique to Apple, and the condemnation arrives without one shred of quantitative evidence to support hyperbolic editorials that say it’s somehow ruining customers’ lives.

Initial delight over the iPhone has faded to complaints about Apple’s micromanaging behavior and propensity to create closed systems. Nothing’s changed–Apple’s been that way since day one, and no one has to buy anything from it.

In June, I wrote about an extremely hyped survey which suggested that the iPhone is more accident-prone than other smart phones–without including the damage rates for other phone models for comparison.

In a new story in Salon, author Amanda Fortini is guilty of a similar sin. She complains about how her iPhones have repeatedly failed–including the one she dropped in a parking lot–and cherry-picks comments from forums to support her feelings about its durability. Of course, the iPhone is not singularly vulnerable to someone’s carelessness. If you drive a Volvo straight into a brick wall, you will be injured, even though it’s a safe car.

My iPhones have been very resistant to damage: the screens have never scratched, and they survived being accidentally dropped onto my hardwood floors on a few occasions. I also protect my investment, and buy cases to guard the phone. When something did go wrong (my headphone jack contacts were touching, causing weird behavior), Apple replaced my phone free of charge.

An informal survey conducted by Technologizer last year found that a majority of people were happy with their iPhone purchases, and other surveys have similar findings.

The iPhone isn’t perfect, and neither is the AT&T network. But let’s be realistic–Apple is selling a great product that has forced the rest of the industry to innovate. There would be no Palm Pre without the iPhone. Can we please move on from the sensationalistic bashing?

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Health Care Reform becomes Comedic Gold on Twitter

Posted by David Worthington on August 19, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Twitter logoThe U.S. debate over President Obama’s health care reform proposals has taken a humorous turn on Twitter today.

Tweets making light of some of the more outlandish claims that are being made by the President’s political opponents have become trending topics: Under Obamacare and #Obamacarefacts. Here’s a sampling of some of the wittier remarks.

@WinstonUK

Under Obamacare two grandmas enter… one grandma leaves. http://tinyurl.com/m67qt9

@anish7

Under ObamaCare, Soylent Green will be people. #obamacarefacts (via @Southworth)

@mootinator

#obamacarefacts Under Obamacare only Chuck Norris will be allowed to practice medicine. Administered via roundhouse kick

@RadHamster

Under ObamaCare, keyboard cat will play YOU out. #obamacarefacts

@emilaragundi

#obamacarefacts Under ObamaCare, organ donates you!

@aspleenic

Under ObamaCare, ADHD drugs for children will be replaced with swift punches to the offending child’s arms http://tinyurl.com/ngsqgm

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Report: BlackBerries to Bundle Flash and Silverlight

Posted by David Worthington on August 19, 2009 at 3:29 pm

The Boy Genius Report says that it is “pretty much confirmed” that Research In Motion will integrate full Flash and Silverlight run time support into its BlackBerry Web browser. If true, that would be a significant step in the transformation of smart phones into functional mini computers.

Flash and Silverlight are not just about games and streaming videos; the run times power Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). Adobe is promoting Flash to be used as a front end for business applications, and Microsoft is positioning Silverlight for business apps.

At SD Times, I have covered component makers that are releasing Silverlight controls (data grids, charts, UI controls) for line of business applications. After all, Silverlight is a subset of the .NET Framework, which is used for business applications.

With HTML 5, Web applications will become even more common, because it will have a built-in application container. Other techniques such as AJAX will also enable Web applications to run within a phone’s browser. (Nokia is betting that standard AJAX Web applications will become popular across its entire portfolio of S60 devices.)

Supporting Flash and Silverlight, assuming it happens, will bring a greater variety of applications to BlackBerry devices. Developers will be able to run their applications on Blackberries using the skills that they have today –without having to learn any specialized RIM technologies. That’s the way it should be; skills should be portable.

By embracing Flash and Silverlight, RIM would break out of the walled garden that smartphones have existed in, making itself more attractive and accessible to application makers. Consumers will win by being able to do more with their devices.

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CDC Survey: Many Gamers are Depressed and Obese

Posted by David Worthington on August 17, 2009 at 6:59 pm

Pizza BoxesA survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that gamers were more prone to depression and obesity than non-gamers. Gamers were also older than they are customarily assumed to be.

The survey was taken in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and the sample was 500 adults between the ages of 10 and 90. Forty-five percent of respondents identified themselves as gamers. It found that female gamers were more likely to be depressed than non-gamers, and male gamers had higher incidents of obesity.

That may not defy stereotype, but surprisingly, the survey also found that the average gamer was 35 years old. The BBC cited a 2002 study in its coverage that mirrored that finding.

The CDC chose the Seattle-Tacoma area, because it has the highest Internet usage in the United States. Interestingly, Seattle was ranked as the seventh most physically fit city in 2008 by Men’s Fitness magazine.

“Health risk factors, specifically a higher BMI and a larger number of poor mental-health days, differentiated adult video-game players from non-gamers,” CDC’s Dr. James B Weaver said in a prepared statement. “Video game players also reported lower extraversion, consistent with research on adolescents that linked video-game playing to a sedentary lifestyle and overweight status.”

I would like to see more studies taken as a follow up to this research to determine whether there is an actual correlation between gaming and negative health consequences. That said, more games that require physical involvement couldn’t come soon enough.

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HP Technology Repairs Damaged Photos

Posted by David Worthington on August 13, 2009 at 5:21 pm

Old crumpled, folded, and otherwise damaged photographs may have gotten a new lease on life. HP’s research wing has devised a technique to remove creases from photographs using standard scanners, according to reports published Aug. 12.

Once flaws are detected, an automated process takes over to repair photographs using techniques including infilling and texture synthesis. A more detailed description of how the technology works is available at the HP Labs Web site.

This is a neat development, and HP is once again being an innovator in consumer technology. It is a leader in software development and testing, but its commercial products do not always stand out from the crowd.

I did a quick Web search and found another HP research project that it says will lead to better color accuracy in scanning.

When I was younger, only the biggest techies owned scanners, and it was a pretty big deal to own one. Scanners have since become a commodity technology, and it has been a long time since I have taken notice of them. It might be time to begin paying attention again.

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The iPhone’s in Court Over MMS Delay

Posted by David Worthington on August 13, 2009 at 5:02 pm

iPhone in CourtA class action filed in a Louisiana district court is alleging that Apple and AT&T are improperly advertising MMS (multimedia messaging service) for the iPhone without having provided it, according to reports published today. Ultimately, a judge will decide whether the case is credible enough to move forward.

When Apple released iPhone OS 3.0 in mid June, it said that its MMS capability would be enabled on AT&T’s network this summer. I was as disappointed as the next person to hear it wouldn’t happen immediately, but am even more disappointed by how quickly frivolous lawsuits are filed.

It is beginning to get dark a little earlier now, but it is still summer. The class is seeking 10,000 participants. If 10,000 people are so distraught over their inability to send multimedia messages that they sign onto this nonsensical lawsuit, those people need to go outside and enjoy their lives a bit more .

The basis of the class is that Apple and AT&T “advertised heavily that the new version of iPhone, the 3G, as well as the even newer version the 3G-S would allow MMS. Apple’s print and video advertisements in and on television, the internet, the radio, newspapers and direct mailers all touted the availability of MMS,” court filings allege.

The filings claim that AT&T’s towers do not support MMS, yet the iPhone is only available on that carrier. If that was indeed the case, why was I able to send and receive MMS messages on other AT&T devices that I have owned in years past?

The action was filed under the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act in addition to other State civil codes. It has been filed, and so going forward, a hearing will be scheduled, and then a judge will decide whether the case has enough merit to move on.

Apple is already plugging away at the iPhone 3.1 update. Would it kill people to wait for it? What harm is being done by this delay that should be remedied by a court? If the commercials jumped the gun, Apple and AT&T should pull them, and maybe pay a fine, and that’s it.

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