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FYI: Apple and IBM Forge Global Partnership
by Wayne Billing 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

[cid:DB386B97-933D-4328-ACC2-13FF7E647899] ...from: http://www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/?lnk=ushpls1 http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/07/15Apple-and-IBM-Forge-Global-Partne… Apple and IBM Forge Global Partnership to Transform Enterprise Mobility CUPERTINO, California and ARMONK, New York—July 15, 2014—Apple® and IBM (NYSE: IBM<http://www.ibm.com/investor/>) today announced an exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps—bringing IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone® and iPad®. The landmark partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change—grounded in four core capabilities: * a new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including native apps, developed exclusively from the ground up, for iPhone and iPad; * unique IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration; * new AppleCare® service and support offering tailored to the needs of the enterprise; and * new packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management. The new IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions will be built in an exclusive collaboration that draws on the distinct strengths of each company: IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities, with the power of more than 100,000 IBM industry and domain consultants and software developers behind it, fused with Apple’s legendary consumer experience, hardware and software integration and developer platform. The combination will create apps that can transform specific aspects of how businesses and employees work using iPhone and iPad, allowing companies to achieve new levels of efficiency, effectiveness and customer satisfaction—faster and easier than ever before. As part of the exclusive IBM MobileFirst for iOS agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads with the industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide. “iPhone and iPad are the best mobile devices in the world and have transformed the way people work with over 98 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 92 percent of the Global 500 using iOS devices in their business today,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.” “Mobility—combined with the phenomena of data and cloud—is transforming business and our industry in historic ways, allowing people to re-imagine work, industries and professions,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, President and CEO. “This alliance with Apple will build on our momentum in bringing these innovations to our clients globally, and leverages IBM’s leadership in analytics, cloud, software and services. We are delighted to be teaming with Apple, whose innovations have transformed our lives in ways we take for granted, but can’t imagine living without. Our alliance will bring the same kind of transformation to the way people work, industries operate and companies perform.” Apple and IBM’s shared vision for this partnership is to put in the hands of business professionals everywhere the unique capabilities of iPads and iPhones with a company’s knowledge, data, analytics and workflows. Specifically, the two companies are working together to deliver the essential elements of enterprise mobile solutions: - Mobile solutions that transform business: The companies will collaborate to build IBM MobileFirst for iOS Solutions—a new class of “made-for-business apps” targeting specific industry issues or opportunities in retail, healthcare, banking, travel and transportation, telecommunications and insurance, among others, that will become available starting this fall and into 2015. - Mobile platform: The IBM MobileFirst Platform for iOS will deliver the services required for an end-to-end enterprise capability, from analytics, workflow and cloud storage, to fleet-scale device management, security and integration. Enhanced mobile management includes a private app catalog, data and transaction security services, and productivity suite for all IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions. In addition to on-premise software solutions, all these services will be available on Bluemix—IBM’s development platform on the IBM Cloud Marketplace. - Mobile service and support: AppleCare for Enterprise will provide IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance from Apple’s award-winning customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM. - Packaged service offerings: IBM is introducing IBM MobileFirst Supply and Management for device supply, activation and management services for iPhone and iPad, with leasing options. Announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June and available later this year, Apple’s iOS 8 is the biggest release since the launch of the App Store℠, giving users incredible new features and developers the tools to create amazing new apps. For enterprise, iOS 8 builds on the new IT model for a mobilized workforce by improving the way users are informed of how their devices are configured, managed or restricted, with expanded security, management and productivity features. Apple designs Macs, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. IBM’s 5,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, that have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. IBM has made a dozen acquisitions in security in the past decade, has more than 6,000 security researchers and developers in its 25 security labs worldwide that work on developing enterprise-class solutions. IBM has also established the world’s deepest portfolio in Big Data and Analytics consulting and technology expertise based on experiences drawn from more than 40,000 data and analytics client engagements. This analytics portfolio spans research and development, solutions, software and hardware, and includes more than 15,000 analytics consultants, 4,000 analytics patents, 6,000 industry solution business partners, and 400 IBM mathematicians who are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations. For more information regarding the new Apple and IBM solutions, please visit www.ibm.com/MobileFirstForiOS<http://www.ibm.com/MobileFirstForiOS> or www.apple.com/ipad/business<http://www.apple.com/ipad/business>. Press Contacts: Edward Barbini IBM barbini(a)us.ibm.com<mailto:barbini@us.ibm.com> (914) 499-6565 Natalie Kerris Apple nat(a)apple.com<mailto:nat@apple.com> (408) 974-6877

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INTEREST: Goole search now flagging FLASH page results
by Wayne Billing 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

...from: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca/2014/07/promoting-modern-websites… Promoting modern websites for modern devices in Google search results<http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.ca/2014/07/promoting-modern-websites…> Posted: Monday, July 14, 2014 Tweet<https://twitter.com/share> Webmaster level: all A common annoyance for web users is when websites require browser technologies that are not supported by their device. When users access such pages, they may see nothing but a blank space or miss out a large portion of the page's contents. Starting today, we will indicate to searchers when our algorithms detect pages that may not work on their devices. For example, Adobe Flash is not supported on iOS devices or on Android versions 4.1 and higher, and a page whose contents are mostly Flash may be noted like this: [cid:1611829B-5A94-4760-9F2B-F4F98E240FE7] Developing modern multi-device websites Fortunately, making websites that work on all modern devices is not that hard: websites can use HTML5 since it is universally supported, sometimes exclusively, by all devices. To help webmasters build websites that work on all types of devices regardless of the type of content they wish to serve, we recently announced<http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/2014/06/web-fundamentals-and-web-start…> two resources: * Web Fundamentals<https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/?utm_source=wmc&utm_medium=b…>: a curated source for modern best practices. * Web Starter Kit<https://developers.google.com/web/starter-kit/?utm_source=wmc&utm_medium=bl…>: a starter framework supporting the Web Fundamentals best practices out of the box. By following the best practices described in Web Fundamentals you can build a responsive web design<https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/layouts/?utm_source=wta&utm_…>, which has long been Google's recommendation<https://developers.google.com/webmasters/smartphone-sites/> for search-friendly sites. Be sure not to block crawling of any Googlebot of the page assets (CSS, JavaScript, and images) using robots.txt or otherwise. Being able to access these external files fully helps our algorithms detect your site's responsive web design configuration and treat it appropriately. You can use the Fetch and render as Google<https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/158587?hl=en> feature in Webmaster Tools to test how our indexing algorithms see your site. As always, if you need more help you can ask a question in our webmaster forum<https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!categories/webmasters/mobile>. Posted by Keita Oda, Software Engineer, and Pierre Far<https://plus.google.com/+PierreFar/posts>, Webmaster Trends Analyst

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FYI: iCloud, Google I/O, & GoogleDrive storage: 1 TB: was $120/year; new pricing: now $120/year
by Wayne Billing 25 Jun '14

25 Jun '14

Apple just had their yearly get together for developers called the "World Wide Developers Conference" (WWDC) which saw a raft of announcements including "iCloud Drive" and a change in their "cloud storage" pricing: for example, 20 GB for $12 per year and $50 per year will get you 200 GB in iCloud. (1 TB pricing has not yet been announced.) "iCloud Drive" will, of course, work with the new CONTINUITY features of 10.10 and iOS 8: https://www.apple.com/ca/ios/ios8/continuity/ Google's annual developer get together (called "I/O") is on this week and they, too, have announced new pricing for their cloud storage called Google Drive. 1 TeraByte of Google Drive storage used to cost $120 per year. Under the new pricing 1 TeraByte is priced at $120 per year............ oh. Well, while that is the truth that isn't the whole truth ..... if you are a company getting Google Drive for your employees (more than 5 employees, actually) http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/pricing.html) your annual fee of $120 per employee gets you "Unlimited" Google Drive storage...... Oh.......... oh, ya, and it seems you need to enrol your company and employees in the "Google Apps for Business plan". The "Google Apps for Business plan" gets you all the online "Google Apps for Business": [cid:3465D8D4-F732-4131-BB4D-1A6BF5ABB8A0] [cid:C8069529-0C3A-4E1D-B3DB-737C108DF828] http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/products.html Wayne

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INTEREST: iOS 7's Activation Lock Feature Helping Reduce iPhone Theft in Three Major Cities
by Wayne Billing 19 Jun '14

19 Jun '14

...from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/antitheft-technology-led-to-a-dip-… Antitheft Technology Led to a Dip in iPhone Thefts in Some Cities, Police Say By BRIAN X. CHEN<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/author/brian-x-chen/> JUNE 19, 2014 12:01 AM 4 Comments [Police officers in San Francisco and London say that after Apple last fall introduced a safety measure, called Activation Lock, iPhone theft fell significantly.]Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto AgencyPolice officers in San Francisco and London say that after Apple last fall introduced a safety measure, called Activation Lock, iPhone theft fell significantly. Updated with additional reporting on kill switch plans for Google and Microsoft. For several years, cellphone theft has been a growing epidemic worldwide. But the police in New York, San Francisco and London say they are finally starting to see a dip in thefts of one of the most popular smartphones. The reason? The attorney general of New York, Eric T. Schneiderman, and the district attorney of San Francisco, George Gascón, share the theory that phone thefts are dropping because of Apple’s addition of a so-called kill switch, a type of antitheft technology, in its iPhone in September. Police officers in San Francisco and London say that after Apple introduced its measure, called Activation Lock, last fall, iPhone theft fell significantly. Comparing data in the six months before and after Apple released the feature, the police said iPhone robberies in San Francisco dropped 38 percent, and those in London fell 24 percent. The police in New York said that robberies involving Apple products dropped 19 percent and those involving grand larcenies dropped 29 percent in the first five months of 2014, compared with the same time period from 2013. A kill switch is software that lets consumers lock down a phone after the device has been reported stolen; users can reactivate the phone only with the correct password or personal identification number. Police have said that this type of antitheft technology could discourage criminals from stealing smartphones. Microsoft on Thursday said<http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2014/06/19/micro…> that it, too, will introduce a kill switch in a future software update for its Windows Phone operating system. Google will also be introducing one in the next version of Android, said Matt Kallman, a Google spokesman. “The introduction of kill switches has clearly had an effect on the conduct of smartphone thieves,” Mr. Schneiderman said in an interview. “If these can be canceled like the equivalent of canceling a credit card, these are going to be the equivalent of stealing a paperweight.” Other factors could have contributed to the decrease in iPhone thefts. For one, the police and tech companies have tried harder over the last year to educate consumers on additional security measures to protect phones, like setting up passcodes, which can make it harder to gain access to devices so that they can be erased and resold. Over the last year, several lawmakers across the country have pushed for stronger antitheft features on smartphones. In May, Minnesota became the first state to require a kill switch on all smartphones. In California last month, senators passed a bill<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/with-a-change-of-heart-california-…>requiring phones sold in the state to include the antitheft technology. That bill still requires approval from the governor of California, Jerry Brown. San Francisco’s district attorney, Mr. Gascón, has been one of the most vocal supporters of a kill switch. He and Mr. Schneiderman collaborated to form the Secure Our Smartphones initiative to press businesses to create a technical way to dissuade thieves from stealing phones. Mr. Gascón said plenty of work remained. He said he hoped all manufacturers would include a kill switch turned on by default on all smartphones so consumers did not have to figure out how to use it. In the iPhone, for example, it is not turned on by default. “Many consumers might not be tech-savvy enough to do this,” Mr. Gascón said. He added that he still thought it was necessary for there to be laws requiring kill switches in phones, similar to how seat belts eventually became legally required inside cars.

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FYI: arrest made in "Locking and Ransoming Apple Devices"
by Wayne Billing 19 Jun '14

19 Jun '14

...from: http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/09/australia-device-hackers-arrested/ Hackers Involved in Locking and Ransoming Apple Devices in Australia Arrested Monday June 9, 2014 10:37 am PDT by Juli Clover Two weeks ago, hackers hijacked several iOS and Mac devices in Australia, remotely locking them via iCloud and demanding a ransom from the owner to get the device unlocked. "Device locked by Oleg Pliss," read the hijacker's message, along with a demand for $50 to $100. Quite a few users were affected and while early speculation suggested iCloud may have been hacked, Apple confirmed<http://www.macrumors.com/2014/05/28/apple-denies-icloud-hack/> that iCloud was not compromised, and that hackers had instead gained access to Apple IDs and passwords, likely through other site breaches where they used similar credentials. [australian_ios_device_hacked] The two hackers behind the attacks have now been detained by Russian authorities, reportsThe Sydney Morning Herald<http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/consumer-security/hackers-who-held-apple…>. The hackers - aged 17 and 23 - were detained in the course of "operational activities" by the Russian Interior Ministry, Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said. They are both residents of the Southern Administrative District of Moscow and one has already been tried before, it said. According to Russian site MKRU<http://www.mk.ru/incident/2014/06/09/kibermoshenniki-shantazhirovali-rossiy…> [Google Translate<http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mk…>), the two hackers were caught after appearing on camera withdrawing a victim's ransom money from an ATM. The site also confirms the hackers gained access to Apple IDs and passwords via phishing pages and social engineering techniques, then used that information to lock devices. Russian users were also affected, which led to the investigation. One method of obtaining login information involved a pre-owned account filled with movies and music that was sold to an unsuspecting victim. Once the person linked their own details with the account, it was vulnerable to being hijacked. During the attacks, users who had passcodes enabled on their devices were able to bypass the hack, but those who had not previously set a passcode were out of luck, requiring a full reinstall of iOS. Apple recommends using a passcode with iOS devices, as well as two-step authentication, which can help thwart attacks like this one.

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FYI: Android changes updates; might more easily expose private data
by Wayne Billing 11 Jun '14

11 Jun '14

...from: Android no longer reveals app permission changes in automatic updates Change could heighten security risks for users. by Dan Goodin<http://arstechnica.com/author/dan-goodin/> - June 11 2014, 10:11am CDT * ANDROID<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/android> * HARDENING<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/hardening> 61<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/06/android-no-longer-reveals-app-permi…> [cid:B3933F94-CCCA-46F6-B996-4B40A40F7C32] Yoav F<https://secure.flickr.com/photos/yoav85/6231910409/> [New automatic Android app updates means users could miss a change in the permissions - such as permission to text message or permission to track - that app has on your device.] Previously, automatically updated apps displayed explicit details when a new version gained additional privileges. For example, an app that previously tracked only coarse GPS coordinates would warn users if an update would begin receiving fine coordinates. Similarly, a newly assigned ability to send SMS messages would also be disclosed. Under changes implemented through the latest Play store app, neither new privilege is displayed if a user has previously accepted any other permission in the same category as the new permission. In other words, by accepting one permission from a category, users agree that every other permission in that category can be added without notification in future updates. The change is an attempt by Google to streamline and simplify the process of installing updates. Rather than providing lengthy details many users likely don't understand, the new permission disclosure is much less verbose. Permissions are indicated only by a very general category such as Location, SMS, or Contacts/Calendar. Users who want to track precisely how a permission may have changed must click the category to see if specific new capabilities have been added. As a result, an app update that replaces coarse location with fine location simply shows the location category. End users must manually drill down to learn of the change. "I'd call it a step sideways," Marc Rogers, principal security researcher at Android antimalware provider Lookout, said of the change. "It definitely doesn't improve anything and it introduces some new risks, but I do think it addresses a couple of other issues." As an example, he said, suppose an updated app acquires the right to view photos. "I'm not sure users are well equipped to understand the full risk that each category could represent. I doubt as a user I would understand that the implication of that is I'm also giving someone permission to format my SD card. So there is a risk that users who have auto update on will not see this new permission of 'format the SD card' come in and somebody could do something malicious." The changes have been the topic of sometimes vigorous debate on reddit threads here<http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/27n7yr/what_latest_changes_to_play…>, here<http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/27gsqn/how_to_find_the_hidden_new_…>, andhere<http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/27g33v/security_warning_android_pl…>. Users who object to the changes should consider disabling automatic updates<https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/6014972#update>. That can be done by opening the Google Play app and switching to the settings view. Auto updating can be set for all apps or just some of them. Google has more details about the permission changes here<https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/6014972?hl=en>.

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INTEREST: iOS8: feature: randomizes MAC address while scanning
by Wayne Billing 09 Jun '14

09 Jun '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-w… iOS 8 randomizes MAC address while scanning WiFi, blocks marketers tracking you<http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-w…> [WiFi-Mac-Address-iOS-8] One iOS 8 feature Apple hasn’t talked about much is its ability to randomize the device’s MAC address<http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/27n6cy/ios_8_randomises_the_mac_addr…> while scanning for WiFi networks. In iOS 8, Wi-Fi scanning behavior has changed to use random,locally administered MAC addresses… The MAC address used for Wi-Fi scans may not always be the devices real (universal) address… Once the iOS device is done scanning it will give the real MAC ID. This appears to be a security and privacy precaution as marketing and analytics companies routinely use this unique identifier to collect data about nearby devices scanning for WiFi networks. The New York Times published<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper-stores-are-tra…> a story last year about a similar experiment at Nordstrom and several marketing companies selling data to retailers and more use the same method of picking up the MAC address from devices scanning for WiFi networks. One of those companies, Euclid Analytics<http://euclidanalytics.com/privacy/statement/?_ga=1.96730975.1797034683.139…>, explains how it currently uses the MAC address of iPhones to help clients. While it notes “the MAC address does not disclose the device owner’s real-world identity nor any other personal data,” it also uses the data it collects to help clients “improve store layouts, determine timing for promotions and sales, measure the effects of advertising, and set staffing levels and store hours.” These marketing companies do the same for Samsung and Android devices, which also do not currently automatically randomize the MAC address, but it looks like Apple might put an end to that with iOS 8.

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FYI: WWDC Keynote and iOS HEALTH app
by Wayne Billing 08 Jun '14

08 Jun '14

Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) was held this week and, while the KEYNOTE address and sessions have been available only to developers in the past, this year the Keynote was webcast for anyone to watch: http://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2014/ It's quite long (about 2 hours) so here's a quick synopsis of what will be introduced for OS X and iOS this fall: http://www.wired.com/2014/06/tldr-all-the-news-you-need-from-wwdc/ http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/02/apple-wwdc-2014-liveblog/ One of the announcements that might have a big impact on how people monitor their health was Apple's HealthKit (for developers) and the HEALTH app for users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_SYnw3-vA http://www.cnet.com/products/apple-health/

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FYI Important: Set Passcodes on your devices
by Wayne Billing 29 May '14

29 May '14

Safer passwords, unique passwords across services, set passcodes for devices that support them...... ...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/26/australian-mac-and-ios-users-find-devices-rem… Australian Mac and iOS users find devices remotely locked, held for ransom (and how to keep yours safe)<http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/26/australian-mac-and-ios-users-find-devices-rem…> [1401164873077.jpg] The Sydney Morning Herald reports that several Australian Mac, iPhone, and iPad users are finding that their devices have been locked remotely through Apple’s Find My iPhone service by someone using the name “Oleg Pliss.” The hacker (or hackers) then demand payments of around $50 to $100 to an anonymous PayPal account in order to restore the devices to their owners. An active thread on Apple’s support forum was started yesterday as users started to discover that they had been targeted by the attack. According to that discussion, users are finding all of their devices locked at once rather than a single device per user. Based on that report and the fact that Find My iPhone is being used to hold the devices hostage, it seems likely that the perpetrator has gained access to these users’ iCloud accounts—possibly through password reuse by those users—rather than some device-specific malware or hack. Because the hackers used Find My iPhone to lock out the victims, users who had set a passcode on their devices were able to regain access. This is because Find My iPhone can only be used to add a passcode to devices that don’t already have one set. If you’ve created a passcode on your device, you (or malicous users with access to your account) cannot change it from Find My iPhone. It can only be changed or removed directly from the device. Unfortunately, users affected by this attack will need to get in touch with Apple to work around the issue. It’s also highly advisable to reset your Apple ID password and security questions once you’ve regained access to the affected iCloud account. For those who haven’t been affected, here are a few steps you can take to ensure you aren’t hit by a similar attack: Use unique passwords. Using the same password on multiple services (iCloud, Gmail, Facebook, etc) put all of your accounts at risk. An attacker who gains your password for one service can then try it on the others. If you use the same password on some of them, they’ll have access to everything. One great way to ensure you’re using a unique password on each website is to use an app like iCloud Keychain (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5813) or 1Password to manage them. Use two-factor authentication (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5570?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US). Two-factor authentication boosts your online security by requiring you to enter a time-sensitive code after logging in and before accessing your account. Not all web services offer this extra layer of security, but many do, including Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and yes, even your Apple ID (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5570?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US). You can use an app like iCloud Keychain (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5813), Google Authenticator or Authy to manage these codes, or get them via SMS. Use a passcode or Touch ID on your iOS devices. If you’re not already using Touch ID or a passcode to secure your iOS devices, it’s a good idea to add one. That will prevent malicious users from remotely adding one to lock you out. As noted above, unprotected devices can be remotely locked, while devices secured with a passcode or Touch ID cannot. <http://9to5mac.com/2014/05/26/australian-mac-and-ios-users-find-devices-rem…>

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INTEREST: Using Microsoft’s New Surface Pro 3 as a laptop—on my lap
by Wayne Billing 20 May '14

20 May '14

Microsoft presented the Surface Pro 3 today to the press. ...from: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/05/hands-on-using-microsofts-surface-pr… Hands-on: Using Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 as a laptop—on my lap We give the device the couch treatment to see if it's up to the task. by Andrew Cunningham<http://arstechnica.com/author/andrew_cunningham/> - May 20 2014, 12:53pm CDT [cid:97A74A17-F83A-493F-BE9A-5FA9B663FCEB]<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-4.jpg> Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-4.jpg> / Microsoft thinks this tablet can replace a laptop. We'll take that bet! Casey Johnston I've never actually considered buying one of Microsoft's Surface tablets. It's not because they're bad machines or because of some specific distaste for Windows or something—it's just that I spend most of my time on my computers writing, and when I'm writing on a laptop, I'm almost always using the device on my lap. The Surface Touch and Type covers have their virtues, but they absolutely need a stable desk or table to be used. When combined with the Surface tablet, the system is shaky on your lap at best. Microsoft made light of this foible at the Surface Pro 3 announcement today<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/05/surface-pro-3-sports-12-inch-screen-…>, taking care to highlight how many of the assembled press and analysts were using MacBook Airs to do their liveblogs and take their notes. I was one of those people, so a substantial portion of the announcement was aimed specifically at me (and my kind). Here's a Surface tablet you can use on your lap, as you would a laptop. Challenge accepted, Microsoft! When Panos Panay and the other Microsoft execs left the stage, I stowed my MacBook Air in my bag, grabbed my Surface review unit from the cart, and found a couch. This entire hands-on post was written with the Surface Pro 3 in my lap, and I kind of liked it. Going lap-on [cid:A594B609-3489-4A1F-B8A7-A9A9391EFFCB] Hands-on with the Surface Pro 3, by Casey Johnston. The Type Cover now has a magnetic strip running across the top that you fold flat to the front of the tablet. Before you fold it, the Type Cover is usable but uncomfortable and wobbly. After folding it, it's still not as rock-solid as a non-removable aluminum base, but it's a much more laptop-like typing experience. The keyboard is more stable, but the new kickstand comes into play here, too. The original Surface Pro supported one kickstand angle (22 degrees) while the Surface Pro 2 supported two (24 and 40 degrees). The Surface Pro 3 is more like a laptop in that its kickstand is pretty stable at any angle, so when you have the thing on your lap, you can point the screen at your face basically however you want. Looking at it from the front, it's easy to forget that you're not using a laptop. [cid:7EDEBFF2-A998-49A7-9A20-068B78DD2C03]<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-3.jpg> Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-3.jpg> / The tablet's new kickstand. It's not quite the same as using a laptop, though. For one thing, the unfolded kickstand and the keyboard cover combined expand to take up a wide swath of one's lap—the whole apparatus extends nearly to my knees, and I'm not a short person. Those with less expansive laps may need to do a little maneuvering to fit the whole thing. You're also going to have to keep your lap mostly level. If one of your legs is raised higher than the other, the kickstand and keyboard become more wobbly again. The worst part, at least relative to the MacBook Air and the best Ultrabooks, is the Type Cover itself. It's a relatively shallow chiclet keyboard with mostly full-size keys, though the up and down arrow keys and some on the left and right of the keyboard are a little squeezed to conserve space. The backlight is nice, and I was quickly typing at my usual speeds, but the key travel is too shallow to be as satisfying or responsive as a normal keyboard. It's merely good, not great. For what it's worth, the trackpad in the Type Cover actually seems reasonably good. Usually when I review a Windows laptop, the first thing I do is update the trackpad driver and tweak the sensitivity settings until they feel reasonable, but I didn't have any problems with palm rejection or accuracy while I was typing this article. My only complaint is that it's a little small—on older laptops with smaller trackpads, I've seen some users have trouble because it's too easy to accidentally invoke the Windows 8 trackpad gestures, but that's not an issue I ran into. If one of your key complaints about previous Surfaces was that they were insufficient laptop replacements, the Surface Pro 3 hits much nearer the mark. The rest of the system [cid:B30DE39A-6BAD-422F-9544-82D49B72647E]<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3.jpg> Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3.jpg> / The Surface Pro 3 and its Type Cover. Casey Johnston We'll be able to go a little more in-depth with the system (including the pen input) when we publish our full review, but for now we'll run through some of the important specs so you know more about what you're getting if you preorder one of these today. Let's start with the specs. Though we speculated that Microsoft would have to use one of the ultra-low-voltage Y-series Haswell CPUs to make the system thin and light enough, our review loaner has the same Core i5-4300U used in the revised last-generation Surface Pro<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/01/microsoft-quietly-bumps-surface-pro-…> (Core i3 and Core i7 options will also be available). Performance isn't going to go up much, and the Intel HD 4400 integrated GPU means this thing won't be much of a gamer, but we're impressed that Microsoft was able to make the tablet thinner and lighter without sacrificing speed, The tablet also has an 802.11ac adapter from Marvell, an upgrade from the 802.11n adapter in the Surface Pro 2. Our review loaner includes 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive from Samsung on a SATA III interface. With its i5 processor, this configuration<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/05/surface-pro-3-sports-12-inch-screen-…> costs $1,299. The body of the tablet is lighter than the Surface Pro 2 (800g versus 903g), though it remains considerably heavier than something like Apple's iPad Air<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/11/review-apples-ipad-air-is-a-big-tablet…> (469g) or even the older fourth-generation Retina iPads (652g). It's not going to break your arms, but it's definitely more similar to a laptop in its weight than most other tablets. [cid:9AAA1186-B854-4026-9D7B-1B07E905683C]<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-gallery…> Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-gallery…> / Typing on the Surface Pro 3. Casey Johnston The 12-inch, 2160×1440 display compensates for the added weight. It's a reasonably bright, sharp 216 PPI display, which puts it within striking distance of the 15- and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/retina-round-two-apples-15-inch-2013-r…>(220 and 227 PPI, respectively). Its 3:2 aspect ratio will please those who prefer taller monitors to wider ones, though using the tablet in portrait mode isn't really any more comfortable than with any other large widescreen tablet—it's just a little too large to be as comfortable as the paper notepad that Panay compared it to. We've seen in other high-PPI Windows laptop reviews<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/lenovo-yoga-2-pro-review-you-say-you…> that this relatively high pixel density can cause problems with applications on the Windows desktop, though the Surface 3 Pro seems to strike a decent balance. By default, it's set to display onscreen elements at 150 percent their normal size, which shouldn't cause quite as many obvious UI problems as higher scaling settings. While using Chrome, an app that doesn't support Windows' high-PPI scaling modes properly, text and images was noticeably blurrier compared to Internet Explorer, but not so blurry that it was unusable or even immediately noticeable if you didn't know what you were looking for. [cid:3416217E-70D2-457E-8C26-FEC7735F183E]<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-2.jpg> Enlarge<http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/surface-pro-3-2.jpg> / We'll test more about the system (including the pen input) in our full review. Casey Johnston Finally, the build quality is as good as we've come to expect from the Surface lineup. The magnesium chassis is nice-looking and solid-feeling, and the hinge was perfectly stable as long as I kept my lap level. The system gets a little warm to the touch, and Microsoft's demo booth was too loud for me to put Microsoft's ultra-quiet fan assembly to the test, but the fan vent along the edges of the tablet is unobtrusive, and you can't feel any hot air coming out of it. We'll be giving the pen, the battery life, and the performance a more thorough look in our full review. Based on our hour of usage, though, we're comfortable saying that the Surface Pro 3 is at least a little bit closer to being a suitable laptop replacement than the older versions. It might not be exactly what you're looking for in a tablet, but if you were on the fence about the Surface Pro 2, this is probably the device you needed to knock you over.

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FYI: iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program
by Wayne Billing 25 Apr '14

25 Apr '14

...from: https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/ iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Replacement Program [cid:37743076-1E1C-4A47-AB95-1BE932D24092] Please select a Country Asia Australia België Belgique Brasil България Canada (English) Canada (Français) Česká republika 中国 Danmark Deutschland Eesti EMEA España Ελλάδα France Hong Kong (English) 香港 Hrvatska India Ireland Italia 日本 대한민국 Κύπρος Latin America América Latina Latvija Lietuva Luxembourg (English) Luxembourg (Français) Luxemburg (Deutsch) Macau (English) 澳門 Magyarország Malaysia Malta México Nederland New Zealand Norge Österreich Polska Portugal România Россия Singapore Slovensko Slovenija Schweiz Suisse Suomi Sverige 台灣 ไทย Türkiye UK United States Other countries Apple has determined that the sleep/wake button mechanism on a small percentage of iPhone 5 models may stop working or work intermittently. iPhone 5 models manufactured through March 2013 may be affected by this issue. Apple will replace the sleep/wake button mechanism, free of charge, on iPhone 5 models that exhibit this issue and have a qualifying serial number. The sleep/wake button is located on the top of your iPhone 5: [iPhone 5 sleep/wake button detail] Eligibility If your sleep/wake button isn’t working properly, please enter your iPhone 5 serial number below to see if it qualifies for this program. Please see the Replacement Process section for next steps. Finding your iPhone serial number is easy. See how.<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4061> Note: If your iPhone 5 sleep/wake button does not show any signs of this issue and/or does not have a qualifying serial number, no action is required on your part at this time. Replacement Process As of April 25, 2014, the replacement process will be available in the U.S. and Canada. In other countries, it will be available as of May 2, 2014. Replacement of the sleep/wake button mechanism is done at an Apple Repair Center. There are two ways to send your iPhone to the repair center—carry-in or mail-in. See below for details. The replacement process takes approximately 4-6 days from the time your iPhone is received at the repair center until it is returned to you. Your iPhone will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program and is otherwise in working order. Before sending your iPhone to Apple for service, you will need to back up all your data and erase all your content and settings. Note: If your iPhone 5 has any damage such as a cracked screen which impairs the replacement of the sleep/wake button, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the sleep/wake button replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair. How to send your iPhone 5 to an Apple Repair Center * Carry-in * Bring your iPhone 5 to a participating provider<https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/locate/> - Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. * Your iPhone will be examined to verify eligibility, and then sent to the local Apple Repair Center. * You will be notified when your iPhone is ready for pickup. If you require a loaner during the time that your iPhone is being serviced, participating Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers will have iPhone 5 models (16GB only) available. Note: To use the carry-in option, you must visit an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider and not a wireless carrier partner. * Mail-in * Call Apple<https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/> and request a postage paid box to send your iPhone in to the local Apple Repair Center. * Your iPhone will be examined by the Repair Center to verify eligibility. * After it has been serviced, your iPhone will be returned to you by mail. Preparing your iPhone 5 for service Make sure your iPhone is ready for service by completing the following steps: * Back up your data<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5262> to iTunes or iCloud * Turn off Find my iPhone<http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2702> * Erase data and settings in Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings * Remove any case or cover Note: If you are running iOS 6, your iPhone will need to be upgraded to iOS 7 after the sleep/wake button mechanism is replaced. Additional Information Apple may restrict or limit repair to the original country of purchase. Your iPhone 5 must be in working order to qualify for this program. If you believe you have paid for a replacement due to this issue, contact Apple<https://ssl.apple.com/support/iphone5-sleepwakebutton/> regarding a refund. This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the iPhone. The program covers iPhone 5 models for 2 years after the first retail sale of the unit.

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FYI: iPhones and Macs get fix for extremely critical bug
by Wayne Billing 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

...from: http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/04/iphones-and-macs-get-fix-for-extrem… <http://arstechnica.com/security/> iPhones and Macs get fix for extremely critical “triple handshake” crypto bug Flaw makes it possible for attackers to bypass some HTTPS protections. by Dan Goodin<http://arstechnica.com/author/dan-goodin/> - Apr 22 2014, 4:46pm CDT Apple has patched versions of its iOS and OS X operating systems to fix yet another extremely critical cryptography vulnerability that leaves some users open to surreptitious eavesdropping. Readers are urged to install the updates immediately. The flaw resides in the secure transport mechanism of iOS version 7.1 and earlier for iPhones and iPads and the Mountain Lion 10.8.5 and Mavericks 10.9.2 versions of Mac OS X, according to advisories here<http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2014/Apr/135> and here<http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2014/Apr/133>. The bug makes it possible to bypass HTTPS encryption protections that are designed to prevent eavesdropping and data tampering by attackers with the capability to monitor traffic sent by and received from vulnerable devices. Such "man-in-the-middle" attackers could exploit the bug by abusing the "triple handshake" carried out when secure connections are established by applications that use client certificates to authenticate end users. "In a 'triple handshake' attack, it was possible for an attacker to establish two connections which had the same encryption keys and handshake, insert the attacker's data in one connection, and renegotiate so that the connections may be forwarded to each other," Apple's warning explained. "To prevent attacks based on this scenario, Secure Transport was changed so that, by default, a renegotiation must present the same server certificate as was presented in the original connection." The patch comes three months after the disclosure of a separate serious HTTPS vulnerability dubbed "goto fail"<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/extremely-critical-crypto-flaw-in-i…> that similarly threatened iOS and OS X Mavericks users. It wasn't fixed in OS X<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/02/apple-releases-os-x-10-9-2-patches-ssl…> until four days after the bug became widely known, a delay that prompted criticism from security professionals<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/02/four-days-in-and-still-no-patch-for…> because it potentially gave attackers a window to exploit Mavericks machines. By contrast, the triple handshake bug may be considered less severe because it affects a smaller class of applications. Still, it's a serious bug because those apps are typically used by businesses and government agencies, where security is especially sensitive. More information about triple-handshake weaknesses is available here<https://secure-resumption.com/>. More recently, the Internet was severely threatened by another extremely critical vulnerability in HTTPS software—the so-called Heartbleed bug in the widely used OpenSSL cryptographic library<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/04/critical-crypto-bug-in-openssl-open…>. Apple has reportedly updated its Airport Base Stations<http://www.macworld.com/article/2146391/apple-releases-heartbleed-fix-for-a…> to fix that critical flaw as well, according to Macworld. The iOS and OS X updates Apple issued Tuesday, which Ars wrote about earlier here<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/04/apple-releases-ios-7-1-1-with-further-…>, fix a variety of other serious security vulnerabilities, some of which also affect Mac OS X Lion. Users should install them as soon as possible.

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SECURITY: Apple Says iOS, OSX and “Key Web Services” Not Affected by "Heartbleed"
by Doug Hamilton 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

Apple Says iOS, OSX and “Key Web Services” Not Affected by "Heartbleed" Security Flaw http://recode.net/2014/04/10/apple-says-ios-osx-and-key-web-services-not-af…

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INTEREST: Apple’s updated environmental report card by the numbers
by Wayne Billing 21 Apr '14

21 Apr '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/21/apples-updated-environmental-report-card-by-t… Apple’s updated environmental report card by the numbers<http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/21/apples-updated-environmental-report-card-by-t…> Ahead of Earth Day celebrations planned for tomorrow, Apple today has completely revamped its environmental site<http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/21/tim-cook-discusses-apples-environmental-effor…> with new stats alongside announcements for initiatives planned for the year to come. It also gave an interview with its new head of environmental issues Lisa Jackson<http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/21/apples-lisa-jackson-talks-environmental-initi…>. If you don’t want to dig through and read the multiple pages in Apple’s updated report, below we’ve put together a roundup of all the numbers and initiatives Apple announced today: -2013 Carbon Footprint: 33,800,000 metric tons of green house gas emissions. -9 percent increase in carbon footprint for 2013 (after improving data accuracy from years prior). -169 percent increase in the use of renewable energy at Apple corporate facilities worldwide (35% in 2010). -In 2013, converted 73 percent energy for all facilities — 86 percent for corporate campuses, and 100 percent for data centers. -Already 120 U.S. retail stores powered with renewable energy in 2014. -Two 20-megawatt solar arrays, nation’s largest privately owned onsite solar installation. -Maiden data center generates 167 million kilowatt‑hours of renewable energy onsite per year — enough to power the equivalent of 13,837 homes. [cid:32477DB7-F547-488C-9CBB-90716BCD3B79] -18‑ to 20‑megawatt solar array with new photovoltaic panel planned for 2015. Will generate over 43 million kilowatt‑hours of clean, renewable energy per year. -Apple Campus 2 will use 30 percent less energy than a typical R&D office building. - The cost to charge the battery of an iPhone 5s once a day in the U.S. is 51¢ per year. -Power consumption in idle with the display on is 33 percent less than the previous‑generation 11‑inch MacBook Air. -The 11‑inch MacBook Air consumes the least total energy in its class — 0.25W when off, 0.75W in sleep, and 6.0W with the display at full brightness. -Timer Coalescing lets a Mac use less energy by grouping operations together, reducing CPU activity up to 72 percent. -iPhone packaging mass reduced by 26 percent from 2007 to 2013. -Mac Pro uses 74 percent less aluminum and steel than last gen. -30% recycled material in aluminum iMac stand. -30% post-consumer recycled plastic in Mac Pro speakers. -Over 90 percent of recycled material from non-Apple products. -421 million pounds of equipment diverted from landfills since 1994. -Reduced the average total power consumed by Apple products by 57 percent since 2008. -New Clean Water Program pilot to increase water reuse and recycling at 13 water‑intensive supplier sites. -Rollout of PVC‑free cables in China across all products complete. -Cupertino HQ energy initiates saved enough energy to power 1200 homes per year.

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INTEREST/FUN: Pathé News Archives now free and online
by Wayne Billing 19 Apr '14

19 Apr '14

From: [cid:7954AF20-81A7-46B8-8BA3-F1F2DF8C6725] ...to: [cid:0EF79680-3C01-44E7-B44A-374057BB0EB5] ....to: [cid:385363F8-6314-4D90-81C0-5DCAA55A5F46] .....to: [cid:356A045B-AA9E-477B-8A4A-31EC17A3718A] ....and more. It's all there now to be watched: [cid:B7906E6A-248F-4589-A23E-F4720CA094AE] ...from: http://britishpathe.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/british-pathe-releases-85000-f… British Pathé releases 85,000 films on YouTube [cid:D20FA27E-7DE2-4A75-B9F3-BAC89C06163E] Newsreel archive British Pathé has uploaded its entire collection of 85,000 historic films, in high resolution, to its YouTube channel. This unprecedented release of vintage news reports and cinemagazines is part of a drive to make the archive more accessible to viewers all over the world. “Our hope is that everyone, everywhere who has a computer will see these films and enjoy them,” says Alastair White, General Manager of British Pathé. “This archive is a treasure trove unrivalled in historical and cultural significance that should never be forgotten. Uploading the films to YouTube seemed like the best way to make sure of that.” British Pathé was once a dominant feature of the British cinema experience, renowned for first-class reporting and an informative yet uniquely entertaining style. It is now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in existence. Spanning the years from 1896 to 1976, the collection includes footage – not only from Britain, but from around the globe – ofmajor events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, sport and culture. The archive is particularly strong in its coverage of the First and Second World Wars. Alastair White continues: “Whether you’re looking for coverage of the Royal Family, the Titanic, the destruction of the Hindenburg, or quirky stories about British pastimes, it’ll be there on our channel. You can lose yourself for hours.” This project is being managed by German company Mediakraft, which has been responsible for numerous past YouTube successes. The company will be creating new content using British Pathé material, in English and in foreign languages. You can view and share films from this invaluable resource here<http://www.youtube.com/britishpathe>.

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FUN: In the Battle for Best Smartphone, Apple Still Beats Samsung
by Wayne Billing 19 Apr '14

19 Apr '14

...from: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/in-the-battle-for-best-smartphone-… In the Battle for Best Smartphone, Apple Still Beats Samsung By FARHAD MANJOO<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/author/farhad-manjoo/> April 18, 2014, 4:03 pm Over the last couple weeks, many of my colleagues in the tech press have published reviews of the Galaxy S5, Samsung’s newest top-of-the-line smartphone. They all arrived at more or less the same conclusion: The S5 is a very nice device. Although it offers no spectacular advances over the previous version, Samsung seems to have done just enough with the S5 to stay ahead of every other Android phone maker. The only plausible competition comes in the form of the HTC One, which, as my colleague Molly Wood wrote<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/technology/personaltech/samsung-edges-htc…>, is prettier than the S5 but not as functional. The upshot of all these reviews is that if you’re looking for the best Android phone, Samsung’s is the one to buy. But that’s not the whole story. While there are probably some people who go out to shop for the best Android phone, I suspect that most people want to know which phone is best of all, whatever operating system it runs. In other words, how does the Galaxy S5 compare to the iPhone 5S, Apple’s six-month-old flagship device and the champion to beat? The answer: Not very well. I’ve been using the new Samsung for about three weeks, and while I do think it is the best Android phone you can buy, it sure isn’t the best phone on the market. By just about every major measure you’ll care about, from speed to design to ease of use to the quality of its apps, Samsung’s phone ranks behind the iPhone, sometimes far behind. If you’re looking for the best phone on the market right now, I’d recommend going with the iPhone 5S. This is not to say you’ll hate the Galaxy; as everyone says, it’s a great phone, and if you buy it you’ll be fine. The Galaxy does have slightly longer battery life than the iPhone, and it is waterproof, an unusual feature among top-end phones. To me, though, these two advantages are slight. Indeed, for many people, there will only be a single obvious reason to buy the Galaxy S5 over the iPhone 5S: The Samsung phone has a much bigger screen. Size isn’t an objective advantage but rather a matter of preference — some people like big phones and some people like small ones. For the next few months, for big-phone lovers, Samsung’s massive size will make it the clear winner. Yet that points to a looming problem for Samsung. News reports<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230485650457933861162092…> and common sense suggest that Apple will almost certainly unveil a bigger iPhone later this year. If you assume that everything else about the iPhone-versus-Galaxy matchup will remain the same after the size increase, it means that Samsung will lose its single greatest advantage over Apple. And what will Samsung do then? When you compare the Galaxy to the iPhone, it’s not obvious that Samsung will have any real way to fight back once Apple makes a bigger phone. I don’t mean to sound glib. But in many ways, the battle for smartphone supremacy is a pretty simple fight. Apple makes at least two thirds of the profit in the smartphone business, and Samsung makes about the other third. No one else makes any money selling smartphones<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/apple-and-samsung-took-all-handset…>, so any gain for Apple is a loss for Samsung, and vice versa. In recent years, the growth rate for iPhone sales has slowed down. This is partly because, when it comes to expensive phones, consumer preferences appear to have shifted in favor of big phones — and Samsung has been more nimble than Apple at responding to the demand. Apple highlighted<http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/4/5571926/apple-document-shows-concern-for-i…> this fact in a sales presentation recently disclosed as part of its patent-infringement fight against Samsung. “Consumers want what we don’t have,” the document stated, noting that most of the growth in the profitable segment of the smartphone business had been in phones with screens larger than the iPhone’s 4-inch display. But as my management-consultant friends say, the flip side of a problem is an opportunity. If Apple’s major shortcoming is a too-small phone, all it has to do is make its phone larger. Making a larger phone isn’t trivial, but it is a relatively easy fix. Apple has done it well before — two years ago, it put out the iPhone 5, which had a screen just a bit taller than its predecessor — and I suspect it can easily manage the transition once more. Samsung’s problems, meanwhile, will be more difficult to address, as you can tell by spending some time with the S5. One of its major new features is a fingerprint-sensor meant to let you unlock your phone without typing a passcode, a feature Apple introduced on the iPhone 5S last year. I don’t fault Samsung for copying Apple’s fingerprint idea, just as I won’t fault Apple for copying Samsung when it makes a bigger phone. Fingerprint unlocking is a good idea, and more phones should have it. But I do fault Samsung for the slipshod manner in which it introduced fingerprint scanning. I’ve been using the iPhone’s fingerprint sensor for the last six months, and it has worked about nine times out of 10 for me. The Galaxy S5’s finger sensor is unusable. It has failed to recognize my finger just about every time I have tried it. It has been so terrible that the sensor feels more like a marketing gimmick than a legitimate feature. And it makes me wonder about Samsung’s capacity to keep up with Apple’s innovations. So, too, does the Galaxy’s speed. The S5 is really fast, but the iPhone 5S is faster. While the speed won’t be a big deal to most users (you’ll mainly notice it in games and web browsing), it does point to a problem for Samsung. The rapid increase in year-by-year mobile chip performance has been a hallmark of the phone business for years. It’s unusual in this industry for a new phone to be slower than a phone released six months ago. When Samsung’s Galaxy S4 came out last year, it was much faster than the iPhone 5 that preceded it<http://www.anandtech.com/show/6914/samsung-galaxy-s-4-review/4>. But this year, Samsung couldn’t keep up; as the speed-testing gurus at AnandTech showed<http://www.anandtech.com/show/7903/samsung-galaxy-s-5-review/7>, by just about every speed metric, the aging iPhone 5S beat the brand-new Galaxy S5. Then there are the perennial problems for Samsung’s devices. Like the S4, the S5 has a cheap-feeling plastic body, and it’s hobbled by a proprietary software interface filled with byzantine menus and settings screens. You feel this complexity throughout the phone. Even in places where Samsung has introduced novel features that are better than Apple’s — like some of its advanced camera features — they’re buried in a user interface that makes them difficult to discover. None of these problems are crippling for Samsung just yet. With its 5.1-inch screen, the Galaxy S5 is the best big phone you can buy, and it will be so for months. After that, though, Samsung’s smartphone ascendance may look a bit uncertain.

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INTEREST: Heartbleed bug may bite millions of Android phones, other devices
by Wayne Billing 14 Apr '14

14 Apr '14

...from: http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/04/vicious-heartbleed-bug-bites-millio… Vicious Heartbleed bug bites millions of Android phones, other devices Not the exclusive province of servers, Heartbleed can hack end users too. by Dan Goodin<http://arstechnica.com/author/dan-goodin/> - Apr 14 2014, 5:30pm CDT The catastrophic Heartbleed security bug that has already bitten Yahoo Mail<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/04/critical-crypto-bug-exposes-yahoo-m…>, the Canada Revenue Agency<http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/04/heartbleed-bug-exploited-to-steal-t…>, and other public websites also poses a formidable threat to end-user applications and devices, including millions of Android handsets, security researchers warned. Handsets running version 4.1.1 of Google's mobile operating system are vulnerable to attacks that might pluck passwords, the contents of personal messages, and other private information out of device memory, a company official warned on Friday<http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2014/04/google-services-updated-to…>. Marc Rogers, principal security researcher at Lookout Mobile, a provider of antimalware software for Android phones, said some versions of Android 4.2.2 that have been customized by the carriers or hardware manufacturers have also been found to be susceptible. Rogers said other releases may contain the critical Heartbleed flaw as well. Officials with BlackBerry have warned the company's messenger app for iOS, Mac OS X, Android, and Windows contains the critical defect<http://btsc.webapps.blackberry.com/btsc/viewdocument.do?externalId=KB35882&…> and have released an update to correct it. The good news, according to researchers at security firm Symantec<http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/heartbleed-reports-field>, is that major browsers don't rely on the OpenSSL cryptographic library to implement HTTPS cryptographic protections. That means people using a PC to browse websites should be immune to attacks that allow malicious servers to extract data from an end user's computer memory. Users of smartphones, and possibly those using routers and "Internet of things" appliances, aren't necessarily as safe. Chief among vulnerable devices are those running Android. While exploiting vulnerable handsets often isn't as simple as attacking vulnerable servers, the risk is high enough that users should tightly curtail use of their Android devices until users are sure their handsets aren't susceptible, Lookout's Rogers advised. "If you have a vulnerable device and there's no fix available for you, I would be very cautious about using that device for sensitive data," he told Ars. "So I would be cautious about using it for banking or sending personal messages." How Android phones are vulnerable Rogers said the most likely scenario for an attacker exploiting a vulnerable Android device is to lure the user to a booby-trapped website that contains a cross-site request forgery<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_request_forgery> or similar exploit that loads banking sites or other sensitive online services in a separate tab. By injecting malicious traffic into one tab, the attacker could possibly extract sensitive memory contents corresponding to the sites loaded in other tabs, he said. A less sophisticated version of the attack—but also one that's easier to execute—might simply inject the malicious commands into a vulnerable Android browser and opportunistically fish for any sensitive memory contents that may be returned. "Defective" phones from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile pose risks, ACLU says. Luckily, Android's security sandbox design prevents a malicious app from being able to access memory contents used by separate apps. Also fortunate is the fact that the majority of Android phones aren't susceptible. Still, the risk shouldn't be dismissed. About 34 percent of Android devices run on version 4.1.x of the mobile OS, according to figures supplied by Google<https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html>. Google has said it's working with partners to roll out a patch, but as Ars has chronicled before<http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/04/wireless-carriers-deceptive-and-unf…>, millions of Android smartphones never, or only rarely, receive available updates<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/the-checkered-slow-history-of-androi…> that patch dangerous security defects. What's more, the threat of a vulnerable Android device being exploited by someone on the same Wi-Fi network as the targeted user, or by someone combining a Heartbleed attack with a separate exploit, should be enough to give people pause, even if they don't intend to visit banking sites or connect to Web-based e-mail or other sensitive services, Rogers counseled. "The risk is that someone could either man-in-the-middle your Internet connection or use a cross-site request forgery-type attack or could use some kind of malicious thing to trick you into doing something secure and then fish out your secure credentials while you do that," he said. "That risk is sufficiently high as to say that you should be careful if your device is vulnerable." Because Android is frequently customized for specific devices or manufacturers, it's possible some versions besides 4.1.1 and 4.2.2 are vulnerable. For that reason, Android users should download Heartbleed Detector<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout.heartbleeddetector>, a free app developed by Lookout. In the vast majority of the tests Ars carried out, it found various Android versions contained a vulnerable version of OpenSSL, but that the Heartbeat extension that hosts the coding bug wasn't enabled, making the devices immune to attack. The sole exception was when Ars executed the app on a handset running version 4.1.1, which returned the screenshot below. Security researchers have only begun to analyze the risks Heartbleed poses to people using home and small-office Internet routers, modems, and all kinds of other devices that rely on OpenSSL. It's too early to say which, or how many, of the appliances are susceptible to exploits that extract passwords or other data. But until more thorough audits are performed, users shouldn't rule out the possibility.

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FYI: "Heartbleed" bug: Apple services and products not vulnerable
by Wayne Billing 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/10/apple-says-heartbleed-security-flaw-did-not-a… Apple says Heartbleed security flaw did not affect its software or services<http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/10/apple-says-heartbleed-security-flaw-did-not-a…> With an estimated half a million sites vulnerable to the “Heartbleed” vulnerability<http://heartbleed.com> revealed earlier this week, which allows an attacker to access user details of websites previously believed to be secured by industry-standard SSL/TLS, your favorite social networks, stores, and other services around the web could potentially be handing out your password or other personal information to anyone who exploits the issue. The bug exists in a library called OpenSSL, which is an open-source SSL implementation that many—but not all—web services use to secure sensitive traffic. If a website you use is affected by the bug, your personal data could be given to just about anyone. Unfortunately, changing your password on an unsecure site won’t even help unless the site’s owners have installed a fix (because the attackers can simply exploit the bug again to get your new password). This serious issue affects a number of high-profile sites, but it seems your Apple ID is safe. Today, Apple gave the following statement to Re/code<http://recode.net/2014/04/10/apple-says-ios-osx-and-key-web-services-not-af…>: “Apple takes security very seriously. iOS and OS X never incorporated the vulnerable software and key web-based services were not affected.” We used a tool for testing a site for the vulnerability<http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/#www.apple.com> that was released earlier this week, and can confirm that both apple.com<http://apple.com>, the various iTunes servers used for hosting Apple’s stores, and WordPress.com<http://WordPress.com> (the hosting system used for 9to5Mac and 9to5Google) are secure. Users running a web service powered by OS X 10.8 or 10.9 were also unaffected by this bug, as the server builds of those operating systems use the same (safe) encryption libraries as the consumer versions.

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INTEREST: mesh networking: How an Under-Appreciated iOS 7 Feature Will Change the World
by Wayne Billing 11 Apr '14

11 Apr '14

...from: http://www.cultofmac.com/271225/appreciated-ios-7-feature-will-change-world… How an Under-Appreciated iOS 7 Feature Will Change the World 1.8K Mike Elgan (3:07 pm PDT, Mar 22nd) A curious download hit Apple’s app store this week: a messaging app called FireChat. It’s a new kind of app because it uses an iOS feature unavailable until version 7: the Multipeer Connectivity Framework. The app was developed by the crowdsourced connectivity provider Open Garden and this is their first iOS app. The Multipeer Connectivity Framework enables users to flexibly use WiFi and Bluetooth peer-to-peer connections to chat and share photos even without an Internet connection. Big deal, right? But here’s the really big deal — it can enable two users to chat not only without an Internet connection, but also when they are far beyond WiFi and Bluetooth range from each other — connected with a chain of peer-to-peer users between one user and a far-away Internet connection. It’s called wireless mesh networking. And Apple has mainstreamed it in iOS 7. It’s going to change everything. Here’s why. It can also extend an Internet connect to a place where none exists — for example, to a hotel basement, cave or to rural areas where cell tower connections are non-existent. It does that through the mesh networking capability inherent in the Multipeer Connectivity Framework. With multiple users in the area, FireChat can relay messages just like the internet does, from node to node (phone to phone). (Apple’s AirDrop works in the same way, by the way.) Here’s an example. There’s an ultramarathon that takes place in California each year on a trail called Skyline-to-the-Sea. It’s a roughly 30 mile trail through giant redwood forests where there is no cell connectivity. Using FireChat or some other app that uses iOS 7’s Multipeer Connectivity Framework, race volunteers, staff and participants could extend Internet connectivity and communication in an ad hoc mesh network that extends the length of the course. The benefit of such an ad-hoc network is how trivially easy it is to set up. Everybody just use FireChat or AirDrop or any other similar app. Boom! Connectivity for everyone. You can imagine the uses in a disaster area where cell towers have been knocked out, or other situations where people need to communicate but where no WiFi or mobile broadband is available. In many poor countries and areas, people might be able to afford cheap or used phones, but not wireless service fees. Wireless mesh networks can provide free Internet connectivity to entire villages, slums or towns. And, of course, Multipeer Connectivity Framework-based mesh-networking apps like FireChat can become a factor for young people. For example, parents who have given their kids iPod Touch devices can chat with the family using FireChat without connecting to the Internet. And teens who get in trouble with their parents and have their phone contracts cancelled or suspended can still chat with friends with their iPhones using FireChat (with the neighbor kid’s help). Because FireChat can be used anonymously, it could be very secure. Not only is it hard or impossible to determine who the anonymous users are, it can’t even be hacked remotely over the Internet if no Internet connectivity is being used. This application and the services in iOS 7 that make it possible seem ideal for communication in repressive, Internet censoring countries. The big picture here, though, which the public hasn’t understood at all (because apps like FireChat are so new) is that mesh networking is about to go mainstream for consumer use. Note that Open Garden, the creator of FireChat, already offers wireless mesh networking on Android, but not in the form of a chat app — it’s just the networking. Apple is a leader here with its Multipeer Connectivity Framework. But it appears that Google is also going big with consumer-level mesh networking also. Google’s senior VP Sundar Pichai was interviewed at SXSW recently, and mentioned mesh networking twice in the context of wearable devices (such as those that support Google’s more recently announced Android Wear initiative, and also in the context of home automation. With Apple and Google building in the foundations for app developers to easily create ad-hoc wireless mesh networks wherever they go, it’s only a matter of time before the wonders and power of mesh networking hits the public in a big way. Think of wireless mesh networking as giving app developers the ability to create tiny, private or public Internets that are limited in time and place. It will have a somewhat similar impact as the Internet itself in how it undermines authority control over communication. Ubiquitous wireless mesh networking could erase many of the places and situations where connectivity isn’t possible, or connectivity over the Internet isn’t desirable. Kudos to Apple for building this into iOS 7. It’s the first major mainstream implementation of wireless mesh networking that I’m aware of. Thanks Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity Framework, wireless mesh networking is here. It’s peer-to-peer. Get excited about it. Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/271225/appreciated-ios-7-feature-will-change-world…

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FYI: Amazon FLUNKS New Energy Report — Facebook and Apple Get 'A's
by Wayne Billing 02 Apr '14

02 Apr '14

...from: http://www.businessinsider.com/greenpeace-cloud-computing-report-2014-4 BUSINESS INSIDER<http://www.businessinsider.com/> Amazon FLUNKS New Energy Report — Facebook and Apple Get 'A's [cid:64B47D61-5262-492A-A46F-E3039E1D0353]<http://www.businessinsider.com/author/aaron-gell> AARON GELL<http://www.businessinsider.com/author/aaron-gell> <mailto:agell@businessinsider.com> <http://twitter.com/aarongell> APR. 2, 2014, 10:30 AM [Google server farm] Google<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avP5d16wEp0&feature=player_embedded> A Google server farm According to "Clicking Clean<http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/A-Gree…>: How Companies are Creating the Green Internet," a new Greenpeace report on energy usage by the cloud-computing industry, IT behemoths like Apple, Facebook and Google are leading the charge for renewable energy, while several others — notably Amazon Web Services and Twitter — receive failing grades due to their reliance on “dirty” power from coal and other greenhouse-gas emitting sources. At a February shareholders meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook even suggested<http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-versus-a-conservative-think-tank-20…> that climate skeptics "get out of the stock," if they didn't approve of the company's green initiatives. “Apple’s rapid shift to renewable energy over the past 24 months has made it clear why it’s one of the world’s most innovative and popular companies,” said Gary Cook, the report's lead author and a senior IT analyst for the environmental group. “By continuing to buy dirty energy, Amazon Web Services not only can’t seem to keep up with Apple, but is dragging much of the internet down with it.” The cloud industry is growing rapidly, and those endless server farms burn a lot of power — more each year than all but five of the world's most energy-hogging countries, the report states. Fortunately, it’s also among the environmentally responsible sectors of the global economy. The report is generally upbeat, noting that six of the top cloud-computing companies — Google, Apple, Facebook, Box, Rackspace and Salesforce — have made strong commitments to the goal of powering their data centers with 100% renewable energy. As such companies make decisions about where to situate their operations, these clean-energy policies are causing a scramble among states and energy utilities to adopt green policies to woo their business. [screen shot 2014-04-01 at 5.44.55 pm.png] Greenpeace A chart showing the relative environmental impact of various web companies Apple, for instance, has increased its use of green energy at its iCloud data centers from 35% to 75% in three years, rolling out massive solar arrays near its server farms in North Carolina and Nevada, and relying on wind energy for its sites in Oregon and California. Google powers its server farms in Iowa, Oklahoma and Finland with renewable energy, and has made major investments in solar power. The report heaps praise on Facebook for pulling back the curtain on its energy footprint, going so far as to provide “facility-specific performance dashboards,” so anyone can see exactly where the company’s power is coming from. (It has also made the software open-source, inviting other companies to follow its lead.) One new Facebook data center, based in Sweden, uses 100% hydropower, and the company announced plans to build a new server farm in Iowa that will run entirely on wind-power. [screen shot 2014-04-01 at 5.43.45 pm.png] Greenpeace How various web companies fare regarding clean energy, according to Greenpeace. eBay, which has had a more mixed record on green energy, recently installed natural gas fuel cells around its Utah data center rather than continue to purchase energy from local coal-powered plants. And Apple, Google and Facebook — all of which operate data centers in North Carolina — successfully pressured Duke Energy, the largest utility in the country and, according to Greenpeace “one of its biggest emitters of global warming pollution,” to launch a program in the state to offer renewable energy to major customers. But other big tech companies, notably Amazon and Twitter, get slammed in the report for making use of “dirty” energy from coal and other fossil feuls and for failing to be transparent about energy usage. Twitter, which rents its server space from “colocation” companies, the report says, “[discoloses] no information about its energy footprint,” earning an "F" for transparency on Greenpeace’s report card. The company has made, “no public effort to procure renewable energy for its data centers,” the report adds. "Twitter believes strongly in energy efficiency and optimization of resources for minimal environmental impact," a spokesperson for the service emailed Business Insider. "As we build out our infrastructure, we continue to strive for even greater efficiency of operations." Amazon, which provides cloud services for Netflix, Pinterest, Spotify, and Vine, among many other companies, was named the least transparent company in the report, “[failing] to make public even the most basic details on its energy footprint.” The company also gets dinged for operating “without any apparent regard to environmental impact or access to renewable energy.” Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. UPDATE - Shortly after this post was published, Amazon emailed the following statement: “We agree with Greenpeace that technology leaders should help safeguard the environment by implementing both efficient use and clean sources of energy. However Greenpeace’s report, “Clicking Green,” misses the mark by using false assumptions on AWS operations and inaccurate data on AWS energy consumption. We provided this feedback to Greenpeace prior to publishing their report. We work hard on our own, and together with our power providers all over the world, to offer AWS Cloud services in an environmentally friendly way in all of our Regions. AWS operates efficient and highly utilized datacenters across 10 different Regions globally, two of which (Oregon and GovCloud Regions) use 100% carbon-free power. We like offering customers the choice of being able to run carbon-free, and we love doing it without charging a premium over other North American regions. Running IT infrastructure on the AWS Cloud is inherently more energy efficient than traditional computing that depends on small, inefficient, and over-provisioned datacenters. With AWS, customers can reduce their overall consumption of IT resources while also improving utilization. Collectively, AWS customers are the driving force in this effort by eliminating hundreds of thousands of individual datacenters worldwide, along with the associated wasted capacity and overprovisioned energy.”

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New version of Kaspersky anti-virus for OS X Mavericks 10.9.2
by Tony Wong 21 Mar '14

21 Mar '14

A new version of Kaspersky AV that is compatible with OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 is now available in the "Software Distribution/Kaspersky Anti-Virus/KAV - Mac Workstation" folder on the CorpApps volume smb://corpapps-nw.cc.umanitoba.ca/corpapps Double-click the KAV_Installer.command file to start the installation process. For those who want an install of the standard suite of U of M apps, the ADT (Apple Deployment Tool) in "Software Distribution/Mac Commissioning/1.2" also includes the new version of Kaspersky. Just double-click "Install 18f9b.command" and wait about 17 mins for the software to install. Note that if you want to do your own testing of the installers in a VM, VMWare Fusion 6.x is required to run 10.9.2 as a Guest VM. Tony Wong Integration Support - Computer & Network Services (204) 474-6425

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FYI: Kaspersky anti-virus and OS X Mavericks
by Wayne Billing 19 Mar '14

19 Mar '14

On 2014-03-19, at 21:29 , Tony Wong <atwong(a)umanitoba.ca<mailto:atwong@umanitoba.ca>> wrote: For Mac 10.9.2 users installing Kaspersky Endpoint Security 8. There may be some problems with some models of Macs installing Kaspersky under 10.9.2. This is a known problem and a new version of Kaspersky should be available later this week. For those of you that already have Kaspersky installed, the "Patch H" update will automatically download and install so existing installations of KAV should not experience problems. If you try to install Kaspersky under 10.9.2, you may receive one of the following warnings: 1) If you are using the Apple Deployment Tool from the CorpApps volume, you may get a message about a software installation problem. 2) If you are doing a manual install you may get a warning kilf.kext being incompatible. In either of these cases, just quit the installer as the pending update from Kaspersky may fix these problems as well. Tony Wong Integration Support, IST Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support Computer & Network Services 130 Machray Hall Building 204-474-6649 204-807-3153 (cell) 204-474-7625 (fax) Wayne.Billing(a)umanitoba.ca<mailto:Wayne.Billing@umanitoba.ca>

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INTEREST: Stanford University develops $90 iPhone accessory to replace ophthalmology kit costing tens of thousands
by Wayne Billing 17 Mar '14

17 Mar '14

...from: http://9to5mac.com/2014/03/17/stanford-university-develops-90-iphone-access… Stanford University develops $90 iPhone accessory to replace ophthalmology kit costing tens of thousands<http://9to5mac.com/2014/03/17/stanford-university-develops-90-iphone-access…> [stanford] Researchers at Stanford University’s School of Medicine<http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2014/march/eyego.html> have developed two low-cost iPhone adapters that provide images of the eye that usually require specialist ophthalmology equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars. The university hopes that it will be useful both for primary care physicians in the U.S. as well as rural medical centres in developing countries. The adapters make it easy for anyone with minimal training to take a picture of the eye and share it securely with other health practitioners or store it in the patient’s electronic record. “Think Instagram for the eye,” said one of the developers, assistant professor of ophthalmology Robert Chang, MD … The device shines a light through the lens of the eyeball which is reflected back, where a magnifying lens focuses an image on the camera, allowing it to capture detailed photos of both the front and back of the eye. Images can be almost instantly added to medical records for later review by a specialist, or can be transmitted from a primary care worker in a remote area to a specialist who can provide advice on the medical attention required for an eye injury. “Adapting smartphones for the eye has the potential to enhance the delivery of eye care — in particular, to provide it in places where it’s less accessible,” said ophthalmology resident David Myung, MD, PhD. “Whether it’s in the emergency department, where patients often have to wait a long time for a specialist, or during a primary-care physician visit, we hope that we can improve the quality of care for our patients, especially in the developing world where ophthalmologists are few and far between.” The prototypes were made from components commonly available online, and it’s hoped that 3D printing will reduce the cost even further.

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INTEREST: Microsoft finalizes Windows 8.1 Update 1
by Wayne Billing 15 Mar '14

15 Mar '14

...from: http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/4/5468968/windows-8-1-update-1-rtm-release-d… Microsoft finalizes Windows 8.1 Update 1, improved desktop features available next month By Tom Warren<http://www.theverge.com/users/tomwarren> on March 4, 2014 02:56 am @tomwarren<https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=tomwarren> Microsoft has completed the development process of Windows 8.1 Update 1. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the software maker recently signed off on a final version of the update, a process known internally as Release to Manufacturing (RTM). Microsoft has started sharing Windows 8.1 Update 1 with partners and PC makers ahead of its release next month. Russian leaker WZor claims<http://wzor.net/21306.html> the final update was originally compiled on February 21st. While the update is ready, it’s not clear exactly how Microsoft intends to brand the final version. The company announced Update 1 as a ‘spring’ update for Windows 8.1<http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/23/5438734/microsoft-announces-spring-update…> during a press event at Mobile World Congress last week. Most of the changes in the update are designed to appease keyboard and mouse users, with options to show Windows 8 apps on the desktop taskbar, the ability to see show the desktop taskbar above Windows 8-style apps, and a new title bar at the top of Windows 8 apps with options to minimize, close, or snap apps. Microsoft is also adding a shutdown button to the Start Screen<http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/25/5344066/windows-8-1-update-1-shutdown-sta…> for non-touch machines, with a new search button present across all machines. Alongside some context menu changes, where right-clicking on Live Tiles now produces a menu with options to resize, unpin, and more, Microsoft is also tweaking how its boot-to-desktop option works in Windows 8.1 Update 1<http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/7/5390024/windows-8-1-update-1-boot-to-deskt…>. Microsoft is planning to automatically boot Windows 8.1 non-touch PC users to the desktop interface by default, as long as they haven’t already changed the existing setting that allows you to bypass the tiled Start Screen. Early test builds also altered the default apps associated with audio files and photos, allowing desktop apps to open the files if boot-to-desktop is automatically enabled. It’s not yet clear if that change has made its way into the final version of Windows 8.1 Update 1. Microsoft is also tweaking the amount of disk space that Windows 8.1 utilizes. Alongside new license cost changes<http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/21/5435152/windows-8-1-license-fees-cut-by-7…> (as low as $15 in some cases), Windows 8.1 Update 1 will allow PC makers to produce machines with just 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, a change that will help bring lower price points. Combining all these changes together, it’s clear that Microsoft is adjusting to feedback and willing to invest in the Windows 8.1 desktop. Microsoft will now release Windows 8.1 Update 1 to existing machines on April 8th, following the company’s Build developer conference in early April.

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INTEREST: Mozilla pulls the plug on 'Metro' mode Firefox browser for Windows 8
by Wayne Billing 15 Mar '14

15 Mar '14

...from: http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/15/5512324/mozilla-cancels-metro-mode-firefo… Mozilla pulls the plug on 'Metro' mode Firefox browser for Windows 8 By Dante D'Orazio<http://www.theverge.com/users/dantedorazio> on March 15, 2014 04:12 pm Email<mailto:dante@theverge.com> @dantedorazio<https://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=dantedorazio> 63<http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/15/5512324/mozilla-cancels-metro-mode-firefo…>Comments <https://plus.google.com/+TheVerge/posts> [cid:520E62DF-15B6-4E61-87A3-184929F7C922] Mozilla is abandoning its plans to release a touch-friendly version of its Firefox web browser<http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/14/3988116/mozilla-firefox-windows-8-browser…> for Windows 8 users. The company first revealed experimental support for Firefox in "Metro" mode back in October of 2012<http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/4/3456412/mozilla-firefox-metro-windows-8-e…>, and development has continued since then — though a stable version has never shipped. Firefox Vice President Johnathan Nightingale says in a blog post<https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2014/03/14/metro/> that "we have to pick our battles," and a lack of demand for "Metro" mode support led to the decision. "On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we’ve never seen more than 1,000 active daily users in the Metro environment," Nightingale reveals. With so few users testing the app, any release would be riddled with bugs and require lots of follow-up work to keep the product up to standards. "When I talk about the need to pick our battles, this feels like a bad one to pick: significant investment and low impact." "We have to pick our battles." The decision speaks to Microsoft's difficulties in turning its so-called Windows 8 Modern UI experience into a vibrant ecosystem. Developer support has been fairly disappointing, and users aren't moving to the touch-friendly interface in droves. User interface changes since the launch of Windows 8 have also downplayed the significance of "Metro" mode — the latest version will automatically boot many users directly to the desktop<http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/4/5468968/windows-8-1-update-1-rtm-release-d…>, bypassing the modern interface completely. With Mozilla's move to leave "Metro" behind, it seems that Windows 8 tablet users and others who take advantage of the touch-friendly interface will have few options other than Internet Explorer, though Google recently began to offer an intriguing option with its latest "Metro" mode for Chrome<http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5309326/google-chrome-windows-update-chro…>.

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