- apple-list - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

FYI: some versions of Flash Player plug-in blocked
by Wayne Billing 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

[NOTE: you can check which version of FLASH (if any) is running on your OS X machine at: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/find-version-flash-player.html ] ….from: http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2013/Sep/msg00001.html * Subject: APPLE-SA-2013-09-10-1 OS X: Flash Player plug-in blocked * From: Apple Product Security <email@hidden<mailto:email@hidden>> * Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:22:10 -0700 APPLE-SA-2013-09-10-1 OS X: Flash Player plug-in blocked Due to security issues in older versions, Apple has updated the web plug-in blocking mechanism to disable all versions prior to Flash Player 11.8.800.94. Information on blocked web plug-ins will be posted to: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5655 This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key, and details are available at: https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/ Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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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FYI: AppleTV software upgrade
by Wayne Billing 11 Sep '13

11 Sep '13

…from: http://allthingsd.com/20130911/that-apple-tv-refresh-is-coming-next-week/ That Apple TV Refresh Is Coming Next Week Peter Kafka SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 AT 3:00 AM PT [apple_tv_cook]<http://i1.wp.com/allthingsd.com/files/2013/09/apple_tv_cook.png>Nope, Apple didn’t show off new Apple TV hardware yesterday. And Apple didn’t talk about new software for its Web video box, either. But it’s still coming. People familiar with the company’s plans said that Apple TV is scheduled for an internal overhaul on Sept. 18, the same day Apple releases its iOS 7 mobile operating software<http://allthingsd.com/20130910/ios-7-ships-september-18/>. The one new feature I’m aware of is a tweak to Apple’s AirPlay system. I didn’t do a great job of explaining this before, so here’s another stab: The new software will allow people who have purchased content from Apple’s iTunes store to play that stuff on other people’s TVs, via its AirPlay system. The key part is that they will be able to tell an Apple TV box they don’t own to stream the media they do own, directly from the cloud. That’s a change from the current system, which requires users to download stuff to their iPhones and iPads and fling it to the TV from there. It also echoes the way Google’s new Chromecast device works. Hope that makes more sense. I had thought Apple might have talked about this yesterday<http://allthingsd.com/20130906/apple-wont-introduce-new-apple-tv-box-next-w…>, but Tim Cook and company didn’t mention Apple TV in any way<http://allthingsd.com/20130910/coming-up-apple-expands-the-iphone-family-at…>. You might assume that this means they don’t think the software overhaul is significant. Or you might argue that they didn’t want to spend much time discussing anything besides their new phones. Note, for instance, that iTunes Radio, which is also in the works, didn’t get any stage time. (Correction: Thanks to several of you who pointed that iTunes Radio did in fact get a brief mention yesterday.) Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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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FYI: Blackberry: BlackBerry Messenger is coming to Android and iPhone
by Wayne Billing 31 Aug '13

31 Aug '13

…from: http://ca.blackberry.com/bbm.html [cid:059BEA9E-E40E-4578-81F7-FAB7BDC88071@cc.umanitoba.ca] BBMISCOMINGTOANDROIDANDiPHONE Be the first to find out when BBM™ is available on Android™ and iPhone® Email Address * I would like to receive information about your products and services. Privacy Policy<http://www.blackberry.com/privacypolicy> Sign up<http://ca.blackberry.com/bbm.html#>

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FYI: more old JAVA versions blocked
by Wayne Billing 30 Aug '13

30 Aug '13

….from: security-announce-request(a)lists.apple.com<mailto:security-announce-request@lists.apple.com> Today's Topics: 1. APPLE-SA-2013-08-29-1 OS X: Java Web plug-in blocked (Apple Product Security) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:12:42 -0700 From: Apple Product Security <product-security-noreply(a)lists.apple.com<mailto:product-security-noreply@lists.apple.com>> To: "security-announce(a)lists.apple.com<mailto:security-announce@lists.apple.com>" <security-announce(a)lists.apple.com<mailto:security-announce@lists.apple.com>> Subject: APPLE-SA-2013-08-29-1 OS X: Java Web plug-in blocked Message-ID: <89052771-2BB5-4DB4-A95B-C78C95D4B917(a)lists.apple.com<mailto:A95B-C78C95D4B917@lists.apple.com>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 APPLE-SA-2013-08-29-1 OS X: Java Web plug-in blocked Due to multiple security issues in older versions, Apple has updated the web plug-in blocking mechanism to disable all versions prior to: Java 6 update 51 Java 7 update 25 More information on Apple-provided updates is available at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5797 Information on blocked web plug-ins will be posted to: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5660 Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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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FYI: One more place to avoid fake Apple-branded products...
by Wayne Billing 30 Aug '13

30 Aug '13

Hint: There are black iPhones and there are white iPhones. There are no blue or purple or yellow or orange or red iPhones….. at least not yet…. (see http://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/29/new-videos-depict-champagne-and-graphit… and http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/28/technology/mobile/iphone-5c/) ….from: http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/29/your-local-mall-kiosk-might-be-carrying-fake-… Your local mall kiosk might be carrying fake Apple products<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/29/your-local-mall-kiosk-might-be-carrying-fake-…> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8s8CmmCzb4 [cid:730DFE82-A3EA-4C50-8574-CED66479A758@cc.umanitoba.ca] A news report <http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel-county/police-seize-hundre…> out of Baltimore demonstrates the level of counterfeit Apple products that are being sold right under our noses in malls, some of which undoubtedly share space with an Apple Store. Officers said they raided the Cyberion store and the ST Tech Pros kiosk last Friday and recovered hundreds of fake Apple products that were being sold as authentic factory replacements.”These organizations that make these products are using substandard materials. They are doing everything they can to make them look like the real thing,” said Greg Shipley with the Maryland State Police. While this particular bust may have been an isolated incident, if you’ve been to a US mall in the past few years, you’ve likely seen kiosks with fake Apple products. They are everywhere. The items recovered from the Baltimore Mall included: * 24 iPhones and the colored fronts and backings that go with them * Cellphone conversion kits * iPhone and iPad covers * Apple product ID stickers * iPad replacement screens * Various internal iPhone parts. * Packaging materials, equipment used to design and print those materials * Computer equipment believed to be used to clone phones. “Our investigators believe that they were acting as some type of authorized Apple repair shop and they were taking Apple phones and replacing them with interior parts that were inferior, that were fake, that were not Apple products,” Shipley said. According to the report, an Apple representative helped with the investigation by confirming that the products were indeed counterfeit. The estimated value of all the items was more than $89,000. A counterfeit Apple AC adapter is believed to be responsible for the electrocution death of a Chinese woman<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFj…>. Apple responded to the situation by offering USB power replacements for people who unknowingly bought counterfeits<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/05/apple-launching-third-party-iphone-usb-charge…>.

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INTEREST: BlackBerry considers spinning off Messenger
by Wayne Billing 27 Aug '13

27 Aug '13

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/blackberry-considers-… BlackBerry considers spinning off Messenger as separate business With BBM due to appear on iOS and Android, service may fare better on its own. by Sean Gallagher<http://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/> - Aug 27 2013, 3:33pm CDT [cid:4BEF973E-4B7F-44E6-BDA5-2C30FC563132@cc.umanitoba.ca] Coming to Android and iOS soon, and possibly even more—BlackBerry is considering setting BBM free as a subsidiary. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), the messaging service that has existed exclusively on BlackBerry phones for years, may soon be set (partially) free. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, BlackBerry is considering spinning off the Messenger service as a subsidiary company that would operate more independently from the Waterloo, Ontario, mothership. BlackBerry is already preparing to release BBM for iPhone and Android<http://us.blackberry.com/bbm.html> and is moving to position the service as a broader social media and communication platform. The Journal reports that the subsidiary, which would be named BBM Inc., would move to offer additional services atop the messaging platform, potentially including a Twitter-like service called BBM Channels and a desktop client. BBM already offers voice chat, and the service would be expanded to offer a video chat feature similar to Google Hangouts and Apple's FaceTime. A BlackBerry spokeswoman would not comment on the report. On August 12, BlackBerry executives announced that the company was undertaking a "strategic review" and that they were considering selling the company<http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/08/blackberry-announces-that-it-may-se…> as one of the outcomes of that review. Operating BBM as a subsidiary would allow BBM to expand development efforts beyond the BlackBerry platform itself, but it would also make the service easier to sell off, fully spin-off as a new company, or potentially raise the value of the whole company in the event of a sale. The timing may be a little off for BBM, however. The number of users of the service has dropped precipitously as the BlackBerry platform has lost market share in North America. BBM currently has about 60 million active users. By comparison, Kik—formed in Waterloo by former BlackBerry Messenger developers—now has over 80 million users<http://business.financialpost.com/2013/08/20/kik-surpasses-blackberry-messe…>.

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FYI: Apple improves AppleCare/Online support
by Wayne Billing 27 Aug '13

27 Aug '13

The new "Contact Apple Support" look by selecting GET STARTED in the "Contact Apple Support" area on the Apple Canada - Support page (http://www.apple.com/ca/support/): [cid:3CECB28F-86D9-4932-9DF0-9649B5D5F73E@cc.umanitoba.ca] …from: http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/26/apple-launches-more-intuitive-applecare-suppo… Apple launches more intuitive AppleCare support website, 24/7 chat<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/26/apple-launches-more-intuitive-applecare-suppo…> Subscription: 9to5Mac » Feed<http://9to5mac.com/> Published: Yesterday 6:47 PM Author: Mark Gurman ________________________________ Earlier this month, we reported that Apple would soon introduce significant changes<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/07/applecare-chat-support-to-soon-go-247-new-ios…> to its online AppleCare support portals. In line with our report, Apple has begun rolling out a redesigned Applecare website to provide support and has also begun rolling out 24/7 live chat support. The new AppleCare website is easier for users to follow and it groups product categories in more understandable fashion. The new support site also makes it simpler for customers to identify the exact issues with their device. The updated site also is designed with a focus on connecting customers directly to an AppleCare support employee. Customers can easily schedule a call, in-store Genius Bar appointment, and access live chat support. On the topic of live chat support, we’re told that 24/7 chat support<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/07/applecare-chat-support-to-soon-go-247-new-ios…> has begun rolling out. Initially, the support was limited to certain hardware and software, but now Apple is supporting both Mac and iOS Device support at every hour of the day and night. While the new AppleCare site has begun going live for some readers, other users are reporting that they are still seeing the old website. It is likely that Apple will complete the release of the redesign in the coming days.

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FYI: Ever wanted iWork for iCloud(beta)?
by Wayne Billing 24 Aug '13

24 Aug '13

At the last World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) Apple announced that the iWork products - Pages, Numbers, and Keynote - were now available (in beta form) for iCloud; in your web browser…. for OS X and Windows. Initially access was restricted to developers or by invitation but Apple seems to have extended access to anyone with an Apple ID. Keep in mind it's still beta so some things may not be as you've experienced in the previous products but the expectation is that the full functionality will eventually be available on all platforms supported by Apple and Microsoft using Safari, Internet Explorer, or Chrome. Here's the WWDC introduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4AXS015O5E If you don't yet have an Apple ID or want more information about Apple ID's: http://www.apple.com/support/appleid/ …..from: http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/23/iwork-for-icloud-beta-open-to-all/?utm_m… iWork for iCloud beta now open to anyone with an Apple ID By Jamie Rigg<http://www.engadget.com/about/editors/jamie-rigg/> posted Aug 23rd, 2013 at 7:21 AM78 <http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/23/iwork-for-icloud-beta-open-to-all/?utm_m…> ________________________________ [iWork for iCloud beta now open to anyone with an Apple ID]<http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/23/iwork-for-icloud-beta-open-to-all/> First it was available to developers<http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/10/apple-unveils-iwork-for-icloud/>, then a select few who received invitations<http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/19/apple-sends-iwork-for-icloud-beta-invita…>, and now the beta of iWork for iCloud is available for all. Apple's made no official announcement, but point your browser to icloud.com<https://www.icloud.com/>, punch in your Apple ID details, and there you have it: Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Seeming as you normally have to pay for the iWork software suite, this could be a time-sensitive public beta that'll be pulled once you've found all the bugs (this editor has full access without owning any of the iWork programs). So, you might as well have a go at being productive in the cloud before it's too late.

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FYI: iMac (27-inch): AMD Radeon 6970M Video Card Replacement Program
by Wayne Billing 19 Aug '13

19 Aug '13

While Apple has an "Exchange and Repair" web page (http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/) where they list current repair and exchange programs, the following "video card" item hasn't made it to that page yet: ….from: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167 iMac (27-inch): AMD Radeon 6970M Video Card Replacement Program Symptoms Apple has determined that some AMD Radeon HD 6970M video cards used in 27-inch iMac computers with 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processors may fail, causing the computer’s display to appear distorted, white or blue with vertical lines, or to turn black. iMac computers with affected video cards were sold between May 2011 and October 2012. Resolution If your iMac has an AMD Radeon HD 6970M video card and is exhibiting any of the issues described above, choose one of the following options to arrange to have your iMac evaluated: * Apple Retail Store: Set up a Genius Bar<http://concierge.apple.com/reservation/us/en/techsupport/> appointment. * Apple Authorized Service Provider: Find one here<https://locate.apple.com/>. * Apple Technical Support: Contact us<http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57> for local service options. Before you go in for service, please back up your data. Learn more about backup options<http://www.apple.com/support/backup/>. If the iMac (27-inch) meets these requirements, Apple will replace the video card free of charge for three years after the first retail sale of the computer. Additional Information If you believe you have paid for a repair or replacement due to this issue, contact Apple<http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57> regarding a refund. This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the iMac. Apple will continue to evaluate service data and will provide further updates to this program as needed. Last Modified: Aug 17, 2013

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FYI: Trusting iPhones plugged into bogus chargers get a dose of malware
by Wayne Billing 08 Aug '13

08 Aug '13

….from: http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/07/trusting-iphones-plugged-into-bogus… Trusting iPhones plugged into bogus chargers get a dose of malware iPhones will pretty much trust any computer they're plugged into. by Peter Bright<http://arstechnica.com/author/peter-bright/> - July 31 2013, 7:16pm CDT * BLACK HAT<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/black-hat-2> * HACKING<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/hacking-2> * IOS & IDEVICES<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/ios-idevices> 91<http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/07/trusting-iphones-plugged-into-bogus…> [cid:A3714C94-2BD8-4BA7-8413-BFE89E5E008A@cc.umanitoba.ca] The Mactans charger uses a BeagleBoard for its computational power. Billy Lau, Yeongjin Jang, and Chengyu Song Plugging your phone into a charger should be pretty safe to do. It should fill your phone with electricity, not malware. But researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have produced fake chargers they've named Mactans that do more than just charge your phone: they install custom, malicious applications onto iPhones. Their bogus chargers—which do, incidentally, charge the phone—contain small computers instead of mere transformers. The iPhone treats these computers just as it does any other computer, but instead of just charging, it responds to USB commands. It turns out that the iPhone is very trusting of USB-attached computers; as long as the iPhone is unlocked (if only for a split second) while attached to a USB host, then the host has considerable control over the iPhone. The researchers used their USB host to install an app package onto any iPhone that gets plugged in. iOS guards against installation of arbitrary applications with a strict sandboxing system, a feature that has led to the widespread practice of jailbreaking. This attack doesn't need to jailbreak, however. Instead, it takes advantage of the system that Apple devised to permit developers to deploy applications to their own devices for testing purposes. Deploying such applications requires the creation of a provisioning profile. A provisioning profile identifies a specific phone and a specific application, allowing the named application to run on the named device. These provisioning profiles are generated by Apple and installed over USB. The malicious charger interrogates the attached iPhone to read its UDID<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09/ask-ars-whats-the-big-deal-with-iphone…>, the unique ID number that identifies a particular iPhone. It then sends the UDID to Apple's Web page that generates provisioning profiles. With the provisioning profile in hand, it can deploy the provisioning profile to the phone, and then deploy the malicious app identified by the provisioning profile. Though the malicious app is still sandboxed, it doesn't have to pass through Apple's normal application vetting process, and so it can still do plenty of useful malicious things. The demonstration showed a malicious Facebook app that replaced the real Facebook app with a trojaned version. The trojaned version could then do things like take screenshots of the iPhone whenever passwords are being entered, and simulate key presses to, for example, dial numbers without user intervention. There are limits to this kind of attack. As well as requiring the phone's screen to be unlocked, the generation of the provisioning profile requires the attacker to have a valid developer account. Each developer account can only generate provisioning profiles for 100 different phones, and there's no facility to remove a UDID that's associated with a developer's account. This will tend to limit the attacks to specific ones against individual users, rather than widespread, indiscriminate attacking. In principle, a Mactans charger could be made to look identical to an official Apple charger; a suitably motivated attacker could replace proper chargers with the malicious chargers to attack targets' phones. Apple has responded to this research by making the iPhone a little less trusting. Instead of trusting any USB host that it's connected to, iOS 7 will prompt users the first time, asking if they want to trust the currently connected computer. This notification will immediately disclose that a charger isn't a charger at all, but in fact a Mactans-like device. [cid:17BBC417-8A01-4401-9376-018837994D2B@cc.umanitoba.ca] iOS 7 devices are a little bit more suspicious than their iOS 6 brethren.

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INTEREST: Ed Snowden’s e-mail service shuts down, leaving cryptic message
by Wayne Billing 08 Aug '13

08 Aug '13

…from: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/ed-snowdens-encrypted-e-mail-ser… Ed Snowden’s e-mail service shuts down, leaving cryptic message Lavabit offered Snowden—and other customers—512-bit security on stored e-mails. by Joe Mullin<http://arstechnica.com/author/joe-mullin-2/> - Aug 8 2013, 4:00pm CDT * GOVERNMENT<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/government-2> * PRIVACY<http://arstechnica.com/discipline/privacy-2> NSA LEAKS * NSA captures Americans’ Internet content if it mentions overseas suspects<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/nsa-captures-americans-internet-…> * If Bruce Schneier ran the NSA, he’d ask a basic question: “Does it do any good?”<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/if-bruce-schneier-ran-the-nsa-he…> * German justice minister proposes ban for US firms that don’t abide privacy laws<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/german-justice-minister-proposes…> * Update: Researchers say Tor-targeted malware phoned home to NSA<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/researchers-say-tor-targeted-mal…> * Other agencies gripe that NSA, FBI shut them out of data sharing<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/other-agencies-gripe-that-nsa-fb…> Once it became clear that he was going to be trapped in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for a while, National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden chose to end his isolation by inviting several human rights activists to meet<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/07/snowden-holds-court-in-moscow-ai…> with him in July. The e-mails Snowden sent out to organize that meeting reportedly came from the e-mail address "edsnowden(a)lavabit.com<mailto:edsnowden@lavabit.com>." That got Lavabit quite a bit of positive attention from techies concerned about privacy. "Pretty cool features list," observed<http://boingboing.net/2013/07/12/so-apparently-edward-snowden.html> BoingBoing's Xeni Jardin. "I am sold!"gushed<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/13/1223284/-INTERNET-PRIVACY-Why-not-…> a writer at DailyKos. Not all the attention may have been positive. Less than a month after Snowden was revealed to have used the service, it has been shut down<http://boingboing.net/2013/08/08/lavabit-email-service-snowden.html>. The owner of Lavabit,Ladar Levison<https://www.facebook.com/KingLadar>, has left a cryptic and chillingmessage<http://lavabit.com/> stating that he had to walk away from the ten years of work he put into Lavabit, lest he "become complicit in crimes against the American public." Until real reform happens, Levison says he "would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States." The full message reads: I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on—the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests. What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me to resurrect Lavabit as an American company. This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States. Sincerely, Ladar Levison Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC Defending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7BCR4A…>. Lavabit's deleted website is still available, for now, through Google Cache. The pages show a long list of privacy and anti-spam features. Lavabit emphasized that stored mail was encrypted with public and private keys. The security section read in part: The secure mail storage process uses asymmetric encryption to ensure the privacy of messages while being stored on the Lavabit servers. Asymmetric encryption is a process that uses public key and private key encryption to make messages unreadable without knowing a user's plaintext password. Presently we use Elliptical Curve Cryptography (ECC) with 512 bits of security to encrypt messages. The private, or decryption, key is then encrypted with a user’s password using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and 256 bits of security. The result is that once a message is stored on our servers in this fashion, it can’t be recovered without knowing a user's password. This provides a priceless level of security, particularly for customers that use e-mail to exchange sensitive information. It should be noted that ECC has been approved by the NSA for Suite B<http://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/suiteb_cryptography/>, meaning the agency thinks it's strong enough<http://www.nsa.gov/business/programs/elliptic_curve.shtml> for government use.

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INTEREST: Apple to offer takeback program for questionable USB power adapters
by Wayne Billing 05 Aug '13

05 Aug '13

…from: http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/05/apple-launching-third-party-iphone-usb-charge… http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter-takeback/ Following electrocution controversy, Apple to offer USB power adapter [<http://9to5mac.com/2013/08/05/apple-launching-third-party-iphone-usb-charge…>takeback program] [Image via Flickr]<http://9to5mac.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/4444779602_2cb3916fee_o.jpg> Image via Flickr<http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanghaidaddy/4444779602/in/photolist-7LLE85-b…> Following controversy in recent weeks<http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/15/apple-investigating-electrocution-death-of-ch…> regarding the safety of counterfeit and third-party USB charging adapters for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, Apple has announced<http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter-takeback/> a new [takeback] program for these adapters. The program will be held at both official Apple Retail Stores and Authorized Apple Resellers. The program will officially kickoff on August 16th. Apple also shares that customer safety is its top priority: Customer safety is a top priority at Apple. That’s why all of our products — including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod — undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world. The [takeback] program will allow anyone who feels uncomfortable with their adapter to replace it with an official unit for a discounted price of $10. The option will be available until October 18th of this year. Customers must bring in their corresponding device in order to be applicable. If you need a replacement adapter to charge your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, we recommend getting an Apple USB power adapter. For a limited time, you can purchase one Apple USB power adapter at a special price — $10 USD or approximate equivalent in local currency. To qualify, you must turn in at least one USB power adapter and bring your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider for serial number validation. The special pricing on Apple USB power adapters is limited to one adapter for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod you own and is valid until October 18, 2013. Apple will properly recycle the [tackback] adapters. Last month, an Apple customer reportedly passed away from electrocution due to a counterfeit charger<http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/15/apple-investigating-electrocution-death-of-ch…> used with an iOS Device. Immediately following this incident, Apple opened up a webpage<http://www.apple.com.cn/power-adapters/> to properly identify Apple-built adapters. Apple has begun notifying its stores and reseller partners of the upcoming program. Recent reports have suggested that some counterfeit and third party adapters may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues. While not all third party adapters have an issue, we are announcing a USB Power Adapter Takeback Program to enable customers to acquire properly designed adapters. Customer safety is a top priority at Apple. That’s why all of our products — including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod — undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world. Starting August 16, 2013, if you have concerns about any of your USB power adapters, you can drop them off at an Apple Retail Store<http://www.apple.com/retail/> or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider<https://locate.apple.com/>. We will ensure that these adapters are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. If you need a replacement adapter to charge your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, we recommend getting an Apple USB power adapter. For a limited time, you can purchase one Apple USB power adapter at a special price — $10 USD or approximate equivalent in local currency. To qualify, you must turn in at least one USB power adapter and bring your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider for serial number validation. The special pricing on Apple USB power adapters is limited to one adapter for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod you own and is valid until October 18, 2013. Note: Due to the complexity of testing required to detect an unsafe or counterfeit adapter, Apple Retail and Apple Authorized Service Providers cannot advise you on the authenticity or safety of your adapter. We are offering this special takeback program for any USB power adapter made for use with iPhone, iPad, and iPod for which you have concerns.

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FYI: taking iPod Shuffle for a swim.
by Wayne Billing 31 Jul '13

31 Jul '13

There's still a few days left for the beach…. or maybe next year's Triathlon in Morden (http://mordentriathlon.com)? …from: http://www.underwateraudio.com/?gclid=CJfuotDh1bgCFS_ZQgodAWsANQ [Underwater Audio]<http://www.underwateraudio.com/> * Depth tested to 200 feet underwater * 1-year Underwater Audio warranty * Free shipping on every US order * My Account<https://www.underwateraudio.com/customer/account/> * My Cart<http://www.underwateraudio.com/checkout/cart/> * Checkout<https://www.underwateraudio.com/checkout/> * Underwater Audio Blog<http://www.underwateraudio.com/blog/> [We Accept: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and Paypal] Mon-Fri 8am-6pm PST Customer Service 877-849-0750 [We are a PayPal Verified Merchant] [cid:65774146-1826-4717-87FD-8D40A51CADBD@cc.umanitoba.ca] * PRODUCTS<http://www.underwateraudio.com/?gclid=CJfuotDh1bgCFS_ZQgodAWsANQ> * Home<http://www.underwateraudio.com/> * FAQ<http://www.underwateraudio.com/faq/> * Waterproof iPod<http://www.underwateraudio.com/waterproof-ipod.html> * Waterproof Headphones<http://www.underwateraudio.com/waterproof-headphones-short-cord-swimbuds.ht…> * Accessories<http://www.underwateraudio.com/aquasphere-kayenne-goggles.html> * Blog<http://www.underwateraudio.com/blog/> * Press<http://www.underwateraudio.com/press-releases/> * Our Advantage<http://www.underwateraudio.com/our-advantage/> * [Genuine Waterproof iPod and Swimbuds Headphones] * Waterproof iPod + Swimbuds * Waterproof iPod Shuffle * Waterproof iPod Mega Bundle <http://www.underwateraudio.com/waterproof-headphones-short-cord-swimbuds.ht…> Swimbuds Waterproof Headphones - $30 [Swimbuds Waterproof Headphones - $30] Swimbuds Waterproof headphones offer a slim design to reduce drag with an extra-short cord designed for flip turns. Swimbuds include three interchangeable tips – choose the one that fits your ear best! <http://www.underwateraudio.com/aquasonic-waterproof-headphones.html> AQS-02 Waterproof Headphones - $30 [AQS-02 Waterproof Headphones - $30] AQS-02's patented waterproof headphone technology ensures these headphones are built to withstand heavy perspiration and full submersion. These headphones are made for sports in—and out—of the pool! <http://www.underwateraudio.com/aquasphere-kayenne-goggles.html> Aqua Sphere Kayenne Goggles - $35 [Aqua Sphere Kayenne Goggles - $35] Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles provide a great value. Ever get tired of getting rid of the water in your goggles? Not with Kayenne. We highly recommend these no-leak, no-fog, no-scratch goggles! [cid:1FB8BAE5-C778-4CD5-BE0B-65390BCC7514@cc.umanitoba.ca] Waterproof iPod Shuffle for Athletes We design our waterproof iPod<http://www.underwateraudio.com/waterproof-ipod-shuffle.html> especially for athletes. Unlike other devices, Underwater Audio’s process enables the user to skip songs and adjust volume mid stroke. “I transitioned from swimming to Pentathlon and I believe Underwater Audio allowed me to break the American record in the swimming portion,” said professional athlete Logan Storie<http://www.underwateraudio.com/blog/logan-storie-proof-it-works/>. “Nothing has the sound quality or longevity of the Underwater Audio iPod.” Logan and other athletes have used the waterproof iPod and Swimbuds headphones to take their performance to the next level.

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INTEREST: Google's Chromecast dongle vs AppleTV
by Wayne Billing 28 Jul '13

28 Jul '13

Google has just announced the Chromecast dongle which allows video streaming to your HDMI television or monitor….. …from: http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/26/graphic-the-35-chromecast-dongle-is-no-replac… http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/ Graphic: The $35 Chromecast dongle is no replacement for the $99 Apple TV (not yet, anyway)<http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/26/graphic-the-35-chromecast-dongle-is-no-replac…> The Verge snapped together <http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/24/4554130/google-chromecast-vs-apple-airpla…> the chart below illustrating the feature set of the Chromecast dongle<http://9to5google.com/2013/07/24/google-announces-chromecast-a-small-hdmi-s…>as compared to the Apple TV’s<http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-key…> Airplay functionality. In reality, we are looking at two different ways of looking at place-shifting content. Apple’s is directly from an iOS device or a recent Mac’s display. The Chromecast is sending instructions to the dongle to start playing content from the cloud (meaning you need a pretty healthy Internet connection). In its present state, the $35 Amazon<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DR0PDNE/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=thepartim-20&camp…>/Best Buy (in stock)<http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-5527868-10597222?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.…> Chromecast is a convenient way to show Netflix, YouTube and Google Play content on a TV. But a lot of the good programming lies outside of this sphere. Sure you can ‘Chromecast’ videos from your Chrome browser as you watch Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, or just about anything else that works in a browser including .MKV, MP4, AVI files, etc, but that’s not elegant (and Chrome/Android chief Pachai says websites, like Hulu, could turn off the functionality at any time)! Also, you get no dedicated remote with the Chromecast (though Android devices can be found pretty absurdly cheap) like with the AppleTV. You can’t help but wonder if the Apple TV could be put in the Dongle format and perhaps given some more content sharing options. Google reached across the aisle and built Chromecast to provide Apple Mac and iOS users the same compatibility as Chrome and Android users. Sure Chromecast needs external power such as that provided by a USB port, but the form factor and, more importantly, the price, seem very compelling. If Apple could squeeze its current format Apple TV into a dongle and cut the price in half, why shouldn’t it? [cid:39F4C7F7-5812-4C28-A115-F224E4F0C4BE@cc.umanitoba.ca] Update: Search Engine Land simplifies<http://marketingland.com/compared-google-chromecast-apple-tv-roku-53291> and throws in Roku for good measure [appletv-vs-roku-vs-chromecast]

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INTEREST: Apple scores 3 "Brand of the Year" in Harris consumer poll
by Wayne Billing 28 Jul '13

28 Jul '13

Harris Interactive published in June its findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend which measures the perceptions of 38,500+ American consumers on more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands across over 155 categories. Harris Interactive has over 500 employees and it does its work by "Utilizing the most appropriate mix of media, tools, and methodologies [to] turn relevant insight into actionable foresight." Well……. then……. they must know what they're talking about……. I guess. ….from: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/AboutUs.aspx http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/PressReleases/tabid/446/mid/1506/… Apple Pulls a Hat Trick with Brand of the Year Status Across Three Harris Poll EquiTrend® Categories Tech Categories are Full of Multi-Year Award Companies - Apple, Hewlett Packard and Verizon Wireless; NewEgg.com<http://NewEgg.com> Makes Debut Appearance NEW YORK, N.Y. - June 25, 2013 - While many have questioned the post-Steve Jobs fate of Apple, the company continues to hold its spot as a top technology brand across three mainstream categories, according to findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend® (EQ) study. In its first full year under Tim Cook's stewardship, Apple took home repeat Brand of the Year distinctions in three categories - Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone - in the annual study, which measures the perceptions of 38,500+ American consumers on more than 1,500 lifestyle, product and service brands across over 155 categories. "Americans continue to give Apple brands strong ratings," says Manny Flores, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive. "And while their Consumer Connection scores are strong within their respective categories, what really stands out is that in all three of the categories Apple brands are measured - Computer, Tablet and Mobile Phone - its Brand Momentum scores are in the top 30 of all 1,500 brands evaluated in the study, showing that consumers see this as a brand of the future." Consumer Connection measures a brand's Emotion, Fit, Trust and Performance; Brand Momentum is comprised of Energy, Ubiquity, Future Outlook, Leadership and Popularity. […] Computer brands ranked above category average: 1 Apple Computers - 2013 Computer Brand of the Year 2 Hewlett-Packard (HP) Computers 3 Dell Computers 4 Sony Computers Other Computer brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): Acer Computers, Asus Computers, Compaq Computers, Fujitsu Computers, Gateway Computers, Lenovo Computers, Panasonic Computers, Samsung Computers, Toshiba Computers In the world of tablets, Apple's iPad series, which expanded its offerings in 2012 with the iPad mini, receives the Tablet Brand of the Year distinction for the second consecutive year. Amazon's Kindle Fire series, which also expanded in 2012 with the addition of HD and larger offerings, follows. "While both the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle Fire series of tablets show small gains in Brand Equity for 2013, they both receive strong increases for Purchase Consideration," says Flores. "These increases show how the relatively new Tablet technology has grown to meet the needs of both the sophisticated and first time tablet buyer." Google's Nexus series, Samsung's Galaxy series and HP's Slate series tablets also out-perform the category average. Tablet brands ranked above category average: 1 Apple iPad Series - 2013 Tablet Brand of the Year 2 Kindle Fire Series 3 Google Nexus Series 4 Samsung Galaxy Series 5 HP Slate Series Other Tablet Computer brands in study ranked below category average (alphabetically): BlackBerry PlayBook (Tablet), Microsoft Surface (Tablet), Motorola XOOM (Tablet), Nook HD Series Another product category, another repeat Brand of the Year Brand of the Year title for Apple. For the second consecutive year, the iPhone earns the 2013 Mobile Phone Brand of the Year title. HTC, Samsung and LG, each with Android phones in their lineups, also outperform the category average. Mobile Phone brands ranked above category average: 1 Apple iPhone - 2013 Mobile Phone Brand of the Year 2 HTC Phone 3 Samsung Phone 4 LG Phone

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INTEREST: Textbooks-R-Us
by Wayne Billing 24 Jul '13

24 Jul '13

Some time ago, Apple introduced the ability to purchase textbooks through the iTunes store as well as a tool that allows pretty much anyone to publish interactive books: http://www.apple.com/ca/education/ibooks-textbooks/ http://www.apple.com/ca/ibooks-author/ [cid:A07CB99A-CC47-49F3-9A50-95D1F3F4B222@cc.umanitoba.ca] [cid:8D6323F1-16FF-484A-9429-E465939F513E@cc.umanitoba.ca] Today, Google is announcing: (http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/google-play-textbooks) Google intros Play Textbooks for purchase and rent By Jon Fingas<http://www.engadget.com/about/editors/jon-fingas/> posted Jul 24th, 2013 at 12:46 PM36 <http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/google-play-textbooks/#comments> ________________________________ [Google Play Textbooks]<http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/google-play-textbooks/> Google is clearly committed to education on mobile devices beyond Play for Education<http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/15/google-intros-play-for-education-a-curat…> -- it just unveiled<http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/24/google-breakfast-liveblog/> Google Play Textbooks, a dedicated category on the Play Store for learning material. The section will offer titles from the top five publishers, and students will have the choice of renting books for six months in addition to buying them outright. Textbooks should be available this August, and they'll sync across Android, iOS and the web.

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INTEREST: Android default: plain text password with backups
by Wayne Billing 20 Jul '13

20 Jul '13

....from: http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/07/does-nsa-know-your-wifi-password-an… Does NSA know your Wi-Fi password? Android backups may give it to them EFF technologist says "back up my data" exposes users' data to government spies. by Sean Gallagher<http://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/> - July 17 2013, 11:55am CDT [cid:7EADC2E1-0230-4F2B-AFFF-1E4A986C5838] On by default on most newer Android devices, Google's Android backup stores your personal details in plaintext. If you’re using Google’s “back up my data” feature for Android, the passwords to the Wi-Fi networks you access from your smartphone or tablet are available in plaintext<https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=57560> to anyone with access to the data. And as a bug report submitted by an employee of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on July 12 suggests, that leaves them wide open to harvesting by agencies like the NSA or the FBI. “The ‘Back up my data’ option in Android is very convenient,” wrote Micah Lee, staff technologist at the EFF. “However, it means sending a lot of private information, including passwords, in plaintext to Google. This information is vulnerable to government requests for data.” The Backup Manager<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.backup.manager&hl=en> app stores Android device settings in Google’s cloud, associated with the user account paired with the device; the Backup Manager interface is part of the core Android application API<http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/backup/BackupManager.html> as well, so it can be used by other Android apps. Backup is turned on by default for Nexus devices and can push data such as MMS and SMS messages, browser bookmarks, call logs, and system settings—including Wi-Fi passwords—to Google’s cloud for retrieval in the event that a device is broken, lost, or stolen. “Since backup and restore is such a useful feature, and since it's turned on by default,” wrote Lee, “it's likely that the vast majority of Android users are syncing this data with their Google accounts. Because Android is so popular, it's likely that Google has plaintext Wi-Fi passwords for the majority of password-protected Wi-Fi networks in the world.” Most of those Wi-Fi networks have been mapped by Google as well<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2010/04/google-talks-street-view-wifi-co…>. So it would be relatively trivial for an organization with access to backup data to match Wi-Fi network names and passwords with geolocation data. The result would be a partial map of where the targeted user has been as well as access to the networks his or her device has connected to in its travels. Lee suggested that an easy fix to this privacy hole would be to encrypt the content of backups with a user’s Google credentials or a separate sync password. “I don't think it's rational to expect users to trust Google with their plaintext passwords when Google can be compelled to give this data to the US government when they request it,” he added Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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: (long) reflections on iPad: "I could live without it, but I'd rather not."
by billing 09 Apr '13

09 Apr '13

....from http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/i-was-an-ipad-skeptic/ “I was an iPad skeptic” Ars staff reflects on three years of tablets post-iPad. "I could live without it, but I'd rather not." by Jacqui Cheng - Apr 3 2013, 7:15am CDT Aurich Lawson It's hard to believe that the iPad and the hundreds of tablets that arrived in its wake have been around for only three years. On April 3, 2010, Apple released the original iPad to the public, kicking off a whirlwind of innovation in a space that was previously known only for niche, experimental, and downright odd products. One could still argue that the iPad—and other tablets like it—are meant for a niche audience, but it's clear that tablets as we know them today have struck a chord with the masses. Apple alone has sold 100 million iPads as of October 2012. It feels like modern tablets have been around a lot longer, but three years is still nothing to sneeze at. Reflecting upon the last three years of tablet mania, the Ars staff and contributors began to share stories about how our iPads or other tablets have changed how we interact with our devices and the Internet. Most of us were heavy tablet skeptics when the iPad was first announced, and some of us still are. So in honor of the three-year anniversary of the iPad, we decided to share some of our experiences with you on how our lives have changed—or how they haven't, depending the case. Tablets have earned a place in our lives Nate Anderson, Deputy Editor: I was definitely a tablet skeptic—I can use my laptop to do anything a tablet can do! What a waste to get an extra device! But I eventually picked up an iPad anyway and learned four lessons. First, the utility of technology isn't simply about end results but about the process of obtaining them. My three-year-old can barely use a mouse, much less open a laptop and launch programs—but she has no problem swiping her way through the unlock screen, flipping through screens of apps, launching her educational games, playing them, quitting them, launching other games, and shutting off the device when finished. Sure, many of the same programs could run on the laptop as well, but even so, they would remain inaccessible to her for a few a more years. My kids are tablet power users who already understand concepts like code updates ("Dad, see if there are any new levels out for Cut the Rope!") and crashes ("This program is broken. I'm going to try another one"). Second, the power of tablets exceeded my expectations. Tablets looked at first like decent consumption devices for books, music, and video—and indeed they were often described in those terms. But even the imprecision of a touch interface was soon put to use for more creative ends. While few creation apps on tablets can match pro tools on computers, they can at least throw open creative possibilities to millions of amateurs—and for just a few bucks an app. When I watch a five-year-old and her friend create their own princess cartoon, complete with hand-drawn backgrounds, animation, music, and narrative voiceover—all without any help—I think back to all the things I wanted to try when I was kid (claymation stop-motion animation of giant monsters!) and marvel at just how powerful creative tools now are. Third, many people actually prefer locked-down computing environments. My parents have both picked up iPads in their retirement and use them constantly, even shooting video and sending it to relatives. This never once happened when doing so required using a camera, hooking that camera up to the computer, uploading footage, compressing it, and e-mailing it out. And they are largely free of worries about malware or the complications of the Windows desktop. For people who largely need consumption apps and a Web browser, the security advantages and simplicity of tablets are features, not bugs. THE ORIGINAL IPAD REVIEW When Ars Technica got our hands on our first iPad, we wrote 18 pages of review on a product that was quite unique in the market at the time. "The iPad is likely to just be a starting point for Apple and for multitouch computing in general," we wrote. Ultimately, the conclusion we came to in the review is the same you'll find in the experiences that many Ars staffers have shared in this retrospective. As we wrote in 2010: "Can the iPad replace a netbook or a laptop? For some of you hardcore users, probably not. For those who use netbooks as a lightweight way to browse the Web, chat a bit, and do some light work: yes, it can." Finally, I find using the tablet a more soothing experience. This is unlikely to be a universal feeling, but as someone who spends my entire day at a computer using a mouse-and-keyboard, my hands welcome a chance to do something different and my back welcomes a chance to recline on the couch. But there's a mental component, too. Cracking open my laptop in the evening presents me with windows holding to-do lists, open browser tabs for in-progress stories, instant messages, e-mail, and book projects. In short, I feel like I've just returned to the office. Using a tablet feels, however illogically, like being at home. Eric Bangeman, Managing Editor: Laptop neglect. That's the best way to describe how the iPad has changed my computing habits since its introduction three years ago. Before the iPad, my MacBook was an all-purpose device, used all over the house for all sorts of tasks. Since I purchased my first iPad, my MacBook is now a single-purpose machine, used only for work. If I was sitting on the couch, I'd have my laptop with me maybe a quarter of the time. Now, I've got my iPad 100 percent of the time. In addition to displacing my laptop, the iPad has also been chasing paper out of my house. I buy and read books on the iPad. I'm an avid magazine reader, and as Sports Illustrated, The Economist, Rugby World, and The Atlantic have come out with full-featured digital editions, I've let my print subscriptions lapse. I'm also much happier reading The New York Times via its iOS app than manipulating large pieces of paper. And the apps leave more room in the recycling bin for things like empty beer cans and wine bottles. Has it revolutionized my life? No, it's just a tablet. But it has made content consumption a lot more convenient for me. Watching TV with my iPad, I can answer nagging questions like which season of30 Rock David Schwimmer appeared in, and then browse Facebook during a commercial break. It's also a way to take little mental vacations: I can zone out for a few minutes and play a mindless iOS game or browse the 730-page funny pictures thread in the Lounge. I could live without it, but I would rather not. Sean Gallagher, IT Editor: My home is now a three iPad household: Me, the technologist/early adopter/occasional hacker; my wife, the librarian and mediavore; and my 18-year-old son, the musician and recording engineer. My daughter, the 12-year old, uses a second-hand Samsung Galaxy Tab for texting and games. The Galaxy Tab gets used more than all the iPads combined. That may say more about the user than the devices, but it also has to do with form factor. As an early adopter (well, not too early—I waited for the iPad 2), I tried to push the boundaries of what the iPad could do. I often used it instead of a notebook for distinctly notebook-like things, courtesy of a Bluetooth keyboard. Using Mail, the iWork apps, Skype, and a couple of other apps, it was my mobile office. Its size was more amenable to use on an airplane with the Belkin keyboard and folio than my aging Toshiba Satellite. But since I've gotten the MacBook Air, I use it a lot less for those things, and I use my iPhone more because of its size. Now my iPad is more of an e-reader and a Netflix platform than work station. I've considered handing it down to my daughter because it spends more time in a drawer than anywhere else. My wife uses her iPad to read e-galleys—early reader e-editions of upcoming books. It has reduced the clutter of books around the house. Her library system has started to try to get librarians to use the iPad as a reference tool, allowing them to wander the floor and help patrons find the books they want. That effort still has some kinks in it, since the iPads only have access to the public Wi-Fi and thus the same catalog system as patrons use. (Sadly, it's one that can't tell them the circulation status of a book as well as the computers on their desks.) My 18-year old uses the iPad and GarageBand to do rough compositions of songs, to play with ideas, and as a personal practice amp for electric guitar. The iPad has become a staple of live sound, with apps that allow an engineer to adjust board levels wirelessly from anywhere within a venue. He also uses it for social media and to check his e-mail. But his needs exceed the iPad's grasp; he would rather lug the iMac I handed down to him around because it runs ProTools. My daughter is the most tablet-focused of all of us. She takes her Galaxy Tab to school, collects video for reports, plays games, watches videos, and uses a program called Text + to send friends SMS messages. Her school uses Google Apps, so she collaborates on Google Drive docs for her projects. The Galaxy Tab is her constant companion, largely because she doesn't have a smartphone or a dedicated personal computer like the rest of us—and because the Galaxy Tab is more portable than the iPad. Florence Ion, Reviews Editor: The iPad first debuted when I was working at an Apple-centric publication, but back then I was incredibly skeptical. I had just invested in a MacBook Pro and was kind of irked at the idea that I had to switch up my lifestyle to accommodate this new… thing. Now tablets are as ubiquitous as smartphones, and although it’s not necessary to have one, it’s certainly feels essential. I now have three in my household: a third-generation iPad, a 32GB Nexus 7, and a Microsoft Surface with Windows RT. One is always within arm’s reach, but it’s usually the iPad that I pick up when I’m in the mood to consume content. I started my career in the world of print and continue to be a huge evangelist of the medium. But as technology progresses, I’ve realized that I have to change the way I consume it, too. So far, only the iPad has been able to deliver the kind of magazine experience I’d expect in this new “digital age.” New issues are delivered to me via Newsstand, and I can easily flip through pages, click on interactive content, and navigate to the websites offering the products I’m interested in. I also appreciate that some publishers offer both print and digital subscriptions so that I can access those issues but still have the actual magazine at home to collage and snip from. Adobe has even made it easier for publishers to push their issues through to the iPad. For the most part, I no longer have to store any physical magazines. I have access to every issue I’ve ever paid for, as it’s all linked to my iTunes account. It’s also my primping and cooking companion: I’ll use it to stream Spotify while I’m getting ready for a night out, and refer to Evernote while I’m trying out a new recipe in the kitchen. While it hasn’t replaced my Kindle for reading e-books (the E Ink is easier on my eyes), I’m not sure I ever want to live without it again, even if I only mostly use it to read magazines. Jon Brodkin, Senior IT Reporter: I've been using tablets regularly since the iPad 2 came out, and it has completely changed my "leisure-time" computing—and it has even had some small influence on my work computing. While I'm still attached to a traditional computer during regular business hours, I now use a tablet for the majority of my time spent browsing the Web or writing short e-mails at night and on the weekends. This holds true for both personal and work things, which can often feel like one and the same. Being tech-obsessed, I'm constantly reading news or Twitter on a tablet. (I do the same on my phone, but only if I am out of the house and thus not near my tablet.) If I find something newsworthy, I'll make a note to myself or e-mail colleagues who might be interested. Still, I have no desire to make the leap to writing articles on a tablet. If I hit the point where I'm writing an e-mail longer than a couple of sentences or am writing something for publication, I shift to a laptop or desktop. Physical keyboards are awesome! I still see tablet holdouts argue that they don't need tablets, and that's absolutely true. Almost no one "needs" a tablet. But lots of us want them, and that's a perfectly good reason to buy one. Tablets can both replace some of the time otherwise spent on "real" computers and increase the amount of time spent computing in general. For example, I am now more likely to read long form articles, because if I see something during the day that I don't have time to read, I save it to read on my tablet at night. There are more pros than cons, but the expansion of time spent computing can be both good and bad. Even when I'm trying to read a book (on my e-reader) that tablet is right there, beckoning me, and that's not always a good thing. Andrew Cunningham, Associate Writer: I didn't initially see the appeal of the original iPad, which my then-employer bought for me in the pre-multitasking, pre-Notification Center, pre-multiple-Exchange-accounts dark days of iOS 3.2. When it finally arrived, iOS 4.2 helped bring the tablet into its own, and subsequent hardware and software updates (as well as a steady stream of tablet-ready apps) further convinced me that tablets could fill a niche that smartphones couldn't. However, the advent of lightweight and powerful Ultrabooks and MacBooks Air that didn't weigh much more than the iPad happened at about the same time, so if I'm traveling I typically choose the computer over the tablet. Smaller tablets like the Nexus 7 and iPad mini change this equation. They're large enough to be good at tablet-y things, but small enough to ride shotgun in your laptop bag when you're on long trips. The Nexus 7 in particular has been a constant companion on the road in the last six months, primarily because it's a near-perfect e-reader while also being a pretty good device for checking e-mail, managing calendars, and doing general Web browsing. It would probably be hyperbole to say that tablets have changed my life, but the smaller ones at least have found a very comfortable niche in between my laptop and my smartphone that I'd hate to see unfilled. Jonathan Gitlin, Contributing Writer: I won't deny it—when Apple announced the iPod, and later the iPhone, I was a skeptic. I didn't see the point, and I didn't want to be the first on the block to own either of the shiny new gadgets. The iPad, though, was different. PDFs no longer needed printing out. It had the perfect form factor for reading comics. Ten-hour battery life meant that needing a laptop on a plane for entertainment was a thing of the past. Those first few months saw me use it for note-taking in meetings, a task made slightly harder due to the constant stream of questions from colleagues about the new device: "Is that an iPad?" "Can you really type on it?" "Are you from the future?" A work-issued MacBook Air means I don't use it for meetings as much anymore, although with double the battery life and built-in connectivity thanks to LTE, I still break out the iPad from time to time. Primarily though, it's a content consumption device for me. It keeps me occupied on my daily WMATA commute, and it streams familiar NPR stations in unfamiliar hotels. A transition to digital magazines means I no longer need to wait five or six weeks to get the most recent issue from the UK, and the only physical books I buy any more are coffee table sized. An upgrade to an iPad 3, with its retina display, has made reading comics or scientific papers a joy, and streaming Netflix or DirecTV in bed is a breeze. Yes, the keyboard is a pain to type with. Yes, it can be a little bit heavy when reading one-handed, but no more so than a hardback. Trying to read outside in the sun doesn't always work well, but when it's 2am and the lights are off it's a different story. Happy Birthday, iPad. I can't wait to see what the next three years will bring. Chris Lee, Associate Writer: I confess to having always wanted something tablet-like, so I purchased an iPad pretty early on. My use has varied with time, because it depends on what I am doing. To put it in context, almost every article I wrote for Ars between mid 2011 to mid 2012 was produced on an iPad. Even now, I do almost all my drafting on the iPad, simply because of where and when I do my writing. Without the iPad, my output for Ars Technica would be about a 10th of what I manage now. I took notes on the iPad when I worked in the lab, which was much easier than using a laptop: it was quick to draw diagrams, take data, and graph data. Basically, everything that would normally go into a paper lab book could be done on the iPad, with the added benefit of having searchable text. On the train, I can edit papers (independent of whether I get a seat or not), read papers, and do basic analysis. For instance, I recently derived all the equations required for some new research on my iPad on the train, something that simply cannot be easily done on a laptop, because you need to be able to write and draw freehand (or at least I do if I am going to derive stuff). For pleasure, I do a lot of reading on the iPad, but I am not dedicated to it. My son has a Kindle that I use, and I also use my phone for reading as well as paper books. On that note, my son's high school has suggested that he be given either a laptop or a tablet for school work. It's not required, but there are special circumstances that led to his school recommending this. It's likely that we'll get a tablet for him, since that will offer more flexibility in his use case than would a cheap laptop. In addition to completing school assignments, he can rent e-books from the local library and read the content on his Kindle. He can also use it for Web browsing and e-mail. As with all things, my iPad use fluctuates. And because the one I own is an iPad 1, I've been experiencing crashes (I don't remember crashes at all in the first year) and slow application start-up times. There are now some things I avoid doing on the iPad (general Web browsing, for instance). Sadly, I will have to upgrade soon. Jacqui Cheng, Senior Apple Editor Despite being the Apple editor here at Ars, I almost never want to buy things right away when they're introduced. This attitude toward spending doesn't line up well with my job as someone who also reviews new products, so when the first iPad came out I picked one up on launch day in order to get the Ars review started. Back then, I didn't expect it to make much of a dent in the way I normally did things; I would typically work all day in my office but use my laptop a lot at nights, on the weekends, or while traveling. My laptop was the machine to use when I wanted to relax and surf the Internet or complete personal projects, but once the iPad made its way into my life, things changed. Nowadays, I almost never open up my laptop on the weekends, and I never bring it with me on vacation. This is in stark contrast to just a few years ago when I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without it, but I don't need it for most trips anymore thanks to the iPad. I also do all my casual Internet surfing on it as well. I find that reading feels much more natural on the iPad compared to a computer, meaning it's a good device for me to use when I'm catching up on all the long form online content I neglected during the day. I also read e-books on my iPad (despite preferring the Kindle) simply because my iPad is more accessible to me more often. The iPad has essentially made it possible for me to find more balance in my life while also making it more enjoyable to consume different kinds of content. If my iPad were stolen or lost today, I would replace it without question. Still a skeptic Not everyone on staff feels like the iPad—or one of its competing Android or Windows equivalents—has made a dent in their lives. Here are the stories from those staffers who think the modern tablet has a way to go before it earns a permanent spot in their bags. Lee Hutchinson, Reviews Editor: My life has no room for anything like a tablet. When I'm out of the house, I have a smartphone for my pocket and an Ultrabook for when I'm carrying a backpack. When I'm in the house, I have more computers all around me than I have any idea what the hell to do with (including one that provides content to my TV). I realize I'm firmly in the "angry nerd" demographic and that others have different lives and opinions—my wife loves her iPad and uses it constantly, even when she's sitting at her main computer doing other things—but I just don't use them. I've got quick and easy reviews editor-style access to tablet devices from just about anyone that makes them, and of course I have spent plenty of time on Android and iOS tablet devices, but never for more than the length of a review. If I won an iPad or a Nexus 7 in a contest, I'd give it away. Jason Marlin, Technology Director: Despite dying to be "paradigm-shifted" by the reality distortion field when the first iPad came out, I still don't enjoy using tablets. I have given significant time to 3 tablets now (2 iPads and a Samsung Galaxy Tab). Sadly, the main things I use these devices for are to: a) ensure that arstechnica.comworks on them, and b) play Pandora for vast stretches of time for my toddler daughter at bedtime. Indeed, the battery life for multimedia purposes is the main thing I find useful. Video for long flights comes to mind. For the most part, the OSes go un-updated and the devices go unloved. I'm not sure why I haven't been able to make tablets work–maybe it's my 1974 birth vintage. Maybe it's the size and weight of them, or maybe it's that I'm a power user at heart. I think there's a productivity gap that many of us have yet to cross with tablets. I hold out hope for innovations like projected keyboards and flexible displays! Lee Aylward, Lead Developer: I was excited for the iPad to come out and even waited in line on launch day for one. I used it regularly on the couch or in bed, mostly for movies or Web browsing. After about a month I got tired of dealing with its limitations. Specifically, it's picky about video formats, certain sites run poorly on it, I can't program on it, and it's not very comfortable for me to hold while laying down. I ended up having to keep my MacBook Air around while using my iPad, which made me realize I really didn't need the iPad. I think many of these problems have been addressed in later models, but the whole experience turned me off from tablets in general. Obviously my needs aren't typical! In contrast, my parents getting an iPad was one of our best tech buys to date. They use it much more than their laptops since it functions perfectly fine for e-mail and the light Web browsing they do. It has cut down on tech support requests from them a ton. Cyrus Farivar, Senior Business Editor: About a year ago, I got an iPad as a gift from my father. He’s no luddite, but he’s not the type of person who regularly spends his free time in front of his computer, reading news and books, watching movies, or whatever else. In the months leading up to his buying me one, we’d have conversations like this. “I love my new iPad. It’s great! I can watch BBC News and read the New York Times while relaxing in bed.” “But Dad, you can already do that on your laptop.” “I know, but this is so much easier!” Later I realized that for him, the more intuitive interface made the iPad the preferred device for consuming media. He’s not someone who does much creative work on his laptop (besides work e-mails and editing legal contracts), so when he’s relaxing, he prefers to read or watch stuff. So that’s how I came to be the proud owner of an iPad 3 in March 2012. I got a slick, wooden cover for it and a cloth sleeve. Heck, I picked up a cheap bluetooth keyboard for it, too. Sure, the iPad is portable, but it’s not that much more portable compared to my MacBook Air—certainly not if I’m bringing the keyboard along with it. But the more I used it, the more frustrated I became with having to access content through apps and with not having Flash. I found, for example, that some apps didn’t have iPad-friendly versions, and those that did often didn’t have the same feature set as a Web-based interface did. (And with the lack of Flash support, that means that many websites were off-limits.) A classic example of this is Hipmunk, a great travel planning site with its simplified, easy-to-understand iPad version. But frustratingly, the app version doesn’t have an option for “multiple city” travel, which I often take advantage of in the Web version. That means I have to go back to my laptop and use the website (in all of its Flash-based glory) as it was intended. While the iPad is great for watching movies or videos that I’ve already downloaded, the lack of Flash means that Hulu, StarTrek.com, and DailyShow.com are off-limits. So what do I use it for? The answer is "not much." Sure, I read magazines and books on it (it’s great to load up The New Yorker and The Economist for a long, offline weekend), and have been known to tear through half a dozen Star Trek episodes on a trans-Atlantic flight. The battery life on the iPad (particularly when in Airplane Mode) easily beats the pants off my MacBook Air. But the reality is that for day-to-day work, I stick to the laptop because I know it will work as I expect. So the sad reality is that after a year of ownership, my iPad doesn’t get used that much. I take it on trips, mainly to take advantage of the long battery life. If it’s on the coffee table or on my bedside table, I’ll grab it, but there’s rarely an instance where I actively would prefer using the iPad over my iPhone or laptop.

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FYI: 2-step verification: coming soon to iCloud/AppleID
by billing 23 Mar '13

23 Mar '13

While this is not yet offered in Canada, this facility to enhance security for your iCloud/AppleID account and information will be coming. Apple will send an email to inform you when it is available..... for those users of Google facilities, 2-step verification is already available on those services at: http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=180744 http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1085463&topic… http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=185839&topic=… http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=185834&topic=… ....from: http://9to5mac.com/2013/03/21/apple-beefs-up-icloud-apple-id-security-with-… Apple beefs up iCloud, Apple ID security with two-step verification Today, Apple has rolled out a new two-step verification service for iCloud and Apple ID users. This functionality greatly enhances the security of Apple accounts because it requires users to use a trusted device and an extra security code. This security code can be sent via SMS or via the Find my iPhone iOS app (if it is installed). Users can now setup two-step authentication on their devices via the Apple ID website. Users need to access the security tab on this website to conduct the setup process. During the setup process for two-step verification, users can choose which of their iOS devices they want to be “trusted.” This new service will allow only you to be able to reset your password. All of the details below: Apple’s two-step verification is available in the U.S., U.K, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. Last year, the security of Apple’s online services came into question when technology writer Mat Honan’s digital life was hacked via social engineering. His iCloud account was hacked and accessed. His computer ended up being completely erased via Apple’s Find my Mac restore feature. Apple requires users to print out a recovery key. This key is the only way to access your iCloud or Apple ID account if you cannot access your iOS device. Apple’s phone support will no longer be able to reset your Apple account password. Notably, Google’s online services have offered two-step verification for years. Earlier today, Apple began training its AppleCare phone support employees on the new system. Details of Apple’s training materials are directly below. Additionally, several more details are below. Below are all of the details about two-step verification: What is two-step verification for Apple ID? Two-step verification is an optional security feature for your Apple ID. It requires you to verify your identity using one of your devices before you can: Sign in to My Apple ID to manage your account. Make an iTunes, App Store, or iBookstore purchase from a new device. Get Apple ID-related support from Apple. Turning on two-step verification reduces the possibility of someone accessing or making unauthorized changes to your account information at My Apple ID or making purchases using your account. Why should I use two-step verification with my Apple ID? Your Apple ID is the key to many important things you do with Apple, such as purchasing from the iTunes and App Stores, keeping personal information up-to-date across your devices with iCloud, and locating, locking, or wiping your devices. Two-step verification is a feature you can use to keep your Apple ID as secure as possible. How do I set up two-step verification? Set up two-step verification at My Apple ID (appleid.apple.com): Select “Manage your Apple ID” and sign in. Select “Password and Security.” Under Two-Step Verification, select Get Started and follow the on-screen instructions. How does it work? When you set up two-step verification, you register one or more trusted devices. A trusted device is a device you control that can receive 4-digit verification codes using either Find My iPhone notifications or SMS to verify your identity. Then, any time you sign in to manage your Apple ID at My Apple ID or make an iTunes, App Store, or iBookstore purchase from a new device, you will need to enter both your password and a 4-digit verification code as shown below. After you sign in, you can manage your account or make purchases as usual. Without both your password and the verification code, access to your account will be denied. You will also get a 14-digit Recovery Key for you to print and keep in a safe place. You will use your Recovery Key to regain access to your account if you ever lose access to your devices or forget your password. Do I still need to remember any security questions? With two-step verification, you do not need to create or remember any security questions. Your identity is verified exclusively via your password, verification codes sent to your trusted devices, and your Recovery Key. How do I use Find My iPhone notifications to receive verification codes? Find My iPhone notifications can be used to receive verification codes on any iOS device with Find My iPhone turned on. Learn how to set up Find My iPhone. Which SMS numbers should I verify for my account? You should verify all SMS-enabled phone numbers that you normally use with your iPhone or other mobile phone. You should also consider verifying an SMS-enabled phone number used by someone close to you, such as a spouse or other family member. You can use this number if you are temporarily without access to your own devices. Note: You cannot use landline or web-based (VOIP) phone services for two-step verification. Where should I keep my Recovery Key? Keep your Recovery Key in a secure place in your home, office, or other location. You should consider printing more than one copy so that you can keep your key in more than one place. This will make it easier to find if you ever need it and ensure that you have a spare copy if one is ever lost or destroyed. You should not store your Recovery Key on your device or computer since that could give an unauthorized user instant access to it. Can I turn off two-step verification after I turn it on? Yes. Learn how to turn off two-step verification in this article. What do I need to remember when I use two-step verification? Two-step verification simplifies and strengthens the security of your account. After you turn it on, there will be no way for anyone to access and manage your account at My Apple ID other than by using your password, verification codes sent your trusted devices, or your Recovery Key. You must be responsible for: Remembering your password. Keeping your trusted devices physically secure. Keeping your Recovery Key in a safe place. If you lose access to two of these three items at the same time, you could be locked out of your Apple ID account permanently. In addition, with two-step verification turned on, only you can reset your password, manage your trusted devices, or create a new recovery key. Apple Support can help you with other aspects of your service, but they will not be able to update or recover these three things on your behalf. What if I lose my Recovery Key? You can replace your Recovery Key any time by visiting My Apple ID: Select “Manage your Apple ID” and sign in with your password and trusted device. Select “Password and Security.” Under Recovery Key, select Replace Lost Key. Note: When you create a new key, your old Recovery Key is no longer usable. See this article for more information. What if I forget my Apple ID password? You can reset your password at My Apple ID by using your Recovery Key and one of your trusted devices. Note: Apple Support can not reset your password on your behalf. To reset your password, you must have your Recovery Key and access to at least one of your trusted devices. See this article for more information. What if I lose or give away one of my trusted devices? If you no longer have access to one of your devices, go to My Apple ID to remove that device from your list of trusted devices as soon as possible so that it can no longer be used to help verify your identity. What if I no longer have access to any of my trusted devices? If you cannot access any of your trusted devices, you can still access your account at My Apple ID using your password and Recovery Key. You should verify a new trusted device as soon as possible. See this article for more information. Why was I asked to wait before setting up two-step verification? As a basic security measure, Apple does not allow two-step verification setup to proceed if any significant changes have recently been made to your account information. Significant changes can include a password reset or new security questions. This waiting period helps Apple ensure that you are the only person accessing or modifying your account. While you are in this waiting period, you can continue using your account as usual with all Apple services and stores. Apple will send an email to all the addresses you have on file notifying you of the waiting period and encouraging you to contact Apple Support if you think that someone else has unauthorized access to your account. You will be able to return to set up two-step verification after the date listed on your Apple ID account page and in the email that you receive. In which countries is two-step verification available? Initially, two-step verification is being offered in the U.S., UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. Additional countries will be added over time. When your country is added, two-step verification will automatically appear in the Password and Security section of Manage My Apple ID when you sign in to My Apple ID.

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INTEREST: Apple Data Centres Now Use 100% Renewable Energy
by billing 23 Mar '13

23 Mar '13

...from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-21/apple-says-data-centers-now-use-10… Apple Says Data Centers Now Use 100% Renewable Energy By Peter Burrows - Mar 21, 2013 3:41 PM CT Print Apple Inc. via Bloomberg In its environmental update, Apple said a 100-acre solar farm next to its largest data center, in Maiden, North Carolina, became fully operational in December. Apple Inc. (AAPL) now uses only renewable energy sources to power its data centers, the iPhone maker said in an updated report on its environmental policies. 5:16 March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Kirk Yang, head of Asia ex-Japan technology research at Barclays Plc, talks about the outlook for the region's mobile-technology industry. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat in Hong Kong on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move." (Source: Bloomberg) The company’s data centers now run on energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal, instead of coal or other fossil fuels, Apple said on its website. The centers house server computers that store and distribute songs, applications and other content from services such as iTunes, iMessage and iCloud. A year ago, Apple was targeted by Greenpeace International, which ranked Apple 12th out of 14 large technology companies in a report called “How Clean Is Your Cloud?” The environmental group, which held protests at Apple’s offices in Cupertino, California, charged Apple with relying on electricity from coal plants and gave Apple a grade of no better than D in the four categories it tracked. “Increasing our use of renewable energy is our primary objective,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. “We think these efforts will result in learnings that other companies and communities can benefit from as well.” Apple’s announcement shows “real progress,” Greenpeace said, urging the company disclose more detail on how it’s working with utilities and state governments to achieve its energy goals. “Apple’s increased level of disclosure about its energy sources helps customers know that their iCloud will be powered by clean energy sources, not coal,” Gary Cook, an analyst at Greenpeace, wrote in an e-mailed statement. Solar Farm Oppenheimer said a 100-acre (40-hectare) solar farm next to its largest data center, in Maiden, North Carolina, became fully operational in December. With the solar array and a large installation of fuel cells made by Bloom Energy Corp, which convert biogases into energy, Apple said it met a goal of generating 60 percent of the energy for the data center on-site. “The power we are using in North Carolina is 100 percent renewable and zero percent coal,” Oppenheimer said. Oppenheimer said Apple would double its solar capacity in Maiden after the construction of another nearby 100-acre solar farm by the of this year. Apple also said a data center that is under construction in Prineville, Oregon, will also run on local renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar and geothermal power. Apple now gets 75 percent of its total power from renewable sources, up from 35 percent a year ago. The company’s four largest office campuses, in Ireland, Germany and two in California, now use 100 percent renewable energy sources, according to Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer declined to disclose how much Apple spent on the equipment to generate its own power. He said Apple will keep investing in green technologies and isn’t focused on earning a financial return on the investments. To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco atpburrows(a)bloomberg.net

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INTEREST: Who's Abebe Bikila? Text Wikipedia……
by Wayne Billing 23 Feb '13

23 Feb '13

...from: http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/2/22/getting-wikipedi… Getting Wikipedia to the people who need it most<http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/2/22/getting-wikipedi…> Feb. 22, 2013, 8:11 a.m., Posted by Kul Takanao Wadhwa – 1 Comment<http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/2/22/getting-wikipedi…> [cid:48E33BCB-6FFA-4B0B-A134-99A76E67C7E5] The Wikimedia Foundation recently received Knight News Challenge funding to create ways to deliver Wikipedia for free<http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/20123673/> to users in the developing world. Below, its head of mobile, Kul Takanao Wadhwa<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:Kwadhwa>, writes about the project. We’re in the middle of an information revolution that’s changing the way billions of people in developing countries obtain news and knowledge. With a $10 cell phone, a high school student in New Delhi or a cab driver in Dakar can access the Internet and -- through Wikipedia and other websites - learn volumes about virtually any subject. If knowledge is power, then the developing world, with almost five billion cell-phone subscriptions<http://blogs.worldbank.org/growth/mobilizing-development-mobile-phones>, is poised to make amazing changes. There’s just one catch: An overwhelming percentage of new mobile users in India, Senegal and other developing countries can’t afford data charges, so they’re effectively excluded from sites like Wikipedia. It’s a de facto blackout, a kind of information segregation that shunts potential Internet users to the side of a very important road. That’s why the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, hasestablished Wikipedia Zero<http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero>, a program where we partner with mobile operators to give their mobile users free-of-charge access to Wikipedia and its growing trove of 24 million articles. In 2012, the Wikimedia Foundation signed Wikipedia Zero partnerships with three mobile operators, which is bringing free Wikipedia access to 230 million mobile users in 31 countries<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mobile_partnerships>. In January of 2013, we signed a fourth partnership that extends Wikipedia Zero to at least 100 million more mobile users in five more countries<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/VimpelCom_partners_with…>. And with the recent support of the Knight News Challenge grant, designed to accelerate media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information, a series of exciting new developments is on the horizon. We are: speeding up the development of Wikipedia Zero; hastening the development of the software that lets a simple feature phone (the dominant phone in developing countries) connect easily to Wikipedia’s mobile site; augmenting the development of the engineering that, on Wikipedia, makes hundreds of native languages readable from mobile devices; and pioneering a program to give mobile users USSD<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstructured_Supplementary_Service_Data> & SMS access to Wikipedia. We’re very excited about delivering Wikipedia via text, which we expect to roll out within the next few months. With the program, users will send a text request to Wikipedia and, within seconds, they will get the article to their phone. To deliver this innovative technology, we’re partnering with the Praekelt Foundation<http://www.praekeltfoundation.org/>, a nonprofit based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s another example of the tremendous collaborative spirit that has always driven Wikipedia and always will. The number of mobile users who can get free access to Wikipedia is increasing rapidly, and so is its usage. In the countries where Wikipedia Zero has already been deployed, Wikipedia readership of local, non-English languages grew upwards of 400 percent in six months#. On our partner’s network in Niger, Wikipedia’s mobile traffic increased by 77 percent in the first four months of Wikipedia Zero, compared to 7 percent growth onNiger’s mobile networks that don’t have Wikipedia Zero<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/10/29/wikipedia-zero-grows-readership-in-afr…>. In Kenya, the growth fromWikipedia Zero was even higher - 88 percent<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/10/29/wikipedia-zero-grows-readership-in-afr…>. The demand is there for much more growth, and word-of-mouth is spreading. And the movement for access to knowledge is coming from all sides. Last December, a group of 11th-graders at Sinenjongo High School in Cape Town, South Africa, wrote a heartfelt letter to four mobile operators, imploring them to give their South African customers free-of-charge mobile access to Wikipedia<http://www.gadget.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=5613>. They had learned about Wikipedia Zero, even though the service is not yet available in South Africa. The Cape Town students have the technology in their hands, but they lack the money to pay for data charges. In their letter, which was published in Gadget, an online South Africa magazine that covers consumer technology, the 24 students wrote: “We recently heard that in some other African countries like Kenya and Uganda certain cell phone providers are offering their customers free access to Wikipedia. We think this is a wonderful idea and would really like to encourage you also to make the same offer here in South Africa. It would be totally amazing to be able to access information on our cell phones which would be affordable to us. Our school does not have a library at all so when we need to do research we have to walk a long way to the local library. When we get there we have to wait in a queue to use the one or two computers which have the internet. At school we do have 25 computers but we struggle to get to use them because they are mainly for the learners who do CAT (Computer Application Technology) as a subject. Going to an internet cafe is also not an easy option because you have to pay per half hour. 90% of us have cellphones but it is expensive for us to buy airtime so if we could get free access to Wikipedia it would make a huge difference to us...Our education system needs help and having access to Wikipedia would make a very positive difference. Just think of the boost that it will give us as students and to the whole education system of South Africa.” Their letter is a reminder that the human spirit craves access to free information. Indeed, I firmly believe that access to free knowledge should be a universal human right. News and knowledge change lives for the better. They always have. >From the beginning of the Wikimedia movement, and more broadly across the free knowledge movement, the goal has been to break down the digital divide, and render barriers to knowledge obsolete. There’s no better time than now to make gigantic inroads in that quest. Eighty percent of all new mobile phone subscribers are in developing countries, according to the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/material/pdf/2011%20Statistical%20h…>. For now, of the 25 countries that have the highest rate of mobile traffic onWikipedia, 22 are developing countries<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/12/20/the-countries-in-which-mobile-matters…>. The top eight countries are all in Africa<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/12/20/the-countries-in-which-mobile-matters…>. We will do what it takes to get free knowledge into the hands of students like those in South Africa who are clamoring for it. We will continue partnering with mobile operators who donate their resources to the service of Wikipedia Zero. In the next two years, we will write more blog posts that detail the progress we make in the developing world. The Knight News Challenge mobile grant<http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/20123673/> is an important milestone in our movement to make free knowledge available to everyone, including every person in the developing world. We see 2013 as a year of significant transition as we make our vision a long-term reality. As I said, access to knowledge should be a human right. And the Wikimedia Foundation is thrilled to be part of the Information Revolution that is bringing free knowledge around the world. We want others to join us, and as the 11th-graders in South Africa have shown us, to also be leaders in this movement. With hard work and true partnership, this dream will become a reality for the students in South Africa, and indeed, everyone, everywhere. By Kul Takanao Wadhwa<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/User:Kwadhwa>, head of mobile for Wikimedia Foundation Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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: Reuters: Apple employee computers hacked, no evidence of stolen data
by Wayne Billing 19 Feb '13

19 Feb '13

[BTW: if you use Java, you should go to www.java.com<http://www.java.com> and update your current installation. A new version was released again today.] ...from: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/19/apple-cyber-security-breach/ Reuters: Apple employee computers hacked, no evidence of stolen data By Michael Gorman<http://www.engadget.com/about/editors/michael-gorman/> posted Feb 19th, 2013 at 1:33 PM341 <http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/19/apple-cyber-security-breach/#comments> ________________________________ [cid:A0520655-0709-451C-AA57-92A2E1077743]<http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/19/apple-cyber-security-breach/> Last week, Facebook was the target of of a sophisticated hacking attack and now reports have surfaced that Apple's been victimized by a similar scheme. Reuters is reporting that a number of Apple's employees' Macs were infiltrated by a hacking scheme, but "there was no evidence that any data left Apple." To address the cyber security flaw found by the digital ne're-do-wells, Apple has promised a software patch will be released later today [Psst... it's available<http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/02/19/apple-pushes-out-java-update-to-p…> now.]. So, it appears the folks in Cupertino have things under control, and we've reached out to the company to confirm that's the case. We'll update things here when we hear back. Update: Apple has provided us with the following statement regarding the matter. "Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers. We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple. We are working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware. Since OS X Lion, Macs have shipped without Java installed and as a added security measure OS X automatically disables Java if it has been unused for 35 days. To protect Mac users that have installed Java, today we are releasing an updated Java malware removal tool that will check Mac systems and remove this malware if found." Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 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: Google asks reporter to amend story of Google Play flaw
by Wayne Billing 17 Feb '13

17 Feb '13

[Google Play - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=googleplay&source=web&cd=13&ved=0CH0Q…> - Google Play, formerly known as the Android Market, is a digital application distribution platform for Android developed and maintained by Google] ...from: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/02/16/google-asks-journalists-to-tone-d… Saturday, February 16, 2013, 09:37 pm Google asks journalists to tone down story of "massive" Google Play security flaw By Daniel Eran Dilger<mailto:prince@appleinsider.com> After reporting that Google Play now distributes Android app buyers' location and contact information to developers, a journalist was contacted by the search giant with a request to tone down the story, its headline and its SEO information. [News toned down by Google] Google Play's "massive oversight" in undisclosed sharing of customer data The original story<http://www.news.com.au/technology/massive-google-security-flaw-puts-users-d…>, run by Australia's News.com.au<http://News.com.au>, was headlined "Massive Google security flaw puts users' details on display for all to find." It outlined a recent policy shift at the Google Play online software and media store run for Android users, which now forwards developers the personal information of buyers, including their neighborhood and email address. The sharing of customers' data is not outlined in either Google Play's Terms of Service or in the company's privacy statement. The undisclosed sharing was discovered by Australian developer Dan Nolan, who noted in a blog entry<http://phetdreams.tumblr.com/post/42959902001/massive-google-play-privacy-i…>, "every App purchase you make on Google Play gives the developer your name, suburb and email address with no indication that this information is actually being transferred." One risk to the undisclosed sharing noted by Nolan was that, "with the information I have available to me through the checkout portal I could track down and harass users who left negative reviews or refunded the app purchase." A greater risk its that, with millions of names being distributed to every vendor of paid apps on Google Play, the likelihood of a security breach through malware becomes very high. Customers who entrusted their details to Google are now having their information spread across a variety of developers who may not even have a security policy. Nolan told the site that nobody has been talking about Google Play's undisclosed sharing because "the people who would have paid attention to it were likely exploiting it and selling users' personal information, using it as an extra source of revenue on top of what they were making off their Google Play / Android app." He added, "This is a massive oversight by Google." Google seeks to bury story, tone down articles and SEO on the subject After publishing the story, News.com.au<http://News.com.au> reported that "this story was amended at the request of Google. News.com.au<http://News.com.au> took out the words 'massive' and 'huge' - referencing the size of the security 'flaw'. The word 'flaw' was also put into inverted commas." Google wouldn't comment on the record, but apparently views the issue of sharing customers' data as non-newsworthy policy that shouldn't be reported as a security flaw, especially not as a serious one that users should take notice of. The author, Claire Porter, added a comment on the story after its headline had been neutered to the nicer "Google 'flaw' puts users' details on display" that stated, "For the people asking how the story was amended: Despite the fact that Google refused to comment on the record, I was asked to change the headline (both the homepage headline and SEO headline inside the story), as well as the standfirst and lead (first paragraph). Google's issue was with the use of the word 'flaw.' "Apparently a system that is designed to share users information with developers without their knowledge or permission and without explicitly saying so in any terms of service is not considered to be a flaw," Porter wrote. "I have no problem amending stories if they are factually incorrect but the fact is neither developers nor customers were aware of this information sharing and Mr Nolan is not the only developer to express concern over having this information at his disposal. There's little reason app developers should have this information. If Google was going to share this information they should have been clear about this from the start. Hope this clears things up." Developer bonus or customer privacy flaw? Many of the user comments on the issue were found no problem with Google sending users' personal data to developers, with one complaining that the issue was just a matter of unfairly comparing Google with Apple's higher standard for security in the App Store. Developer David Brown wrote, "Apple hide[s] all of these details because they're control freaks! I have details of every customers I have, whether they paid through PayPal or credit card...does that mean I'll go and harrass [sic] them if they dislike my service?" Customers have overwhelmingly chosen to buy more apps from Apple's iOS App Store than from Google Play, but this may have more to do with the selection and quality of apps available for iOS rather than an informed customer base that's done the research to know whether an online vendor is likely to share their personal data without notice or permission. By leaning on reporters to remove unflattering portrayals of its security policy from their headlines and SEO (used to enable the discovery of articles via search engines), Google can help ensure that the issue isn't a factor in reducing sales in Google Play without needing to tighten up its security policy or enforce any constraints on its developers to product Android users' privacy rights.

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INTEREST: former Blackberry/RIM CEO divests himself
by Wayne Billing 15 Feb '13

15 Feb '13

...from: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/jim-balsillie/ Jim Balsillie sells his 5.1 percent stake in BlackBerry<http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/jim-balsillie/> Mobile<http://www.engadget.com/topics/mobile> By Brad Molen<http://www.engadget.com/about/editors/brad-molen> posted Feb 14th 2013 10:22AM [BlackBerry's Jim Balsillie]<http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/jim-balsillie/> Jim Balsillie<http://www.engadget.com/tag/Jim+Balsillie/>, the former co-CEO of Research in Motion (now known as BlackBerry), has been until recently the third-largest shareholder in the company with 5.1 percent ownership. According to Financial Post, however, he's cut his stake in BlackBerry altogether, now reporting a grand total of zero shares. Balsillie stepped down<http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/rim-ceo-quits/> as co-CEO in January andresigned<http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/29/rim-announces-q4-2012-earnings-jim-balsi…> from the board in March; this next big move away from the company will likely lead to speculation that his interest<http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/jim-balsillie-rim-plans/> or faith in BlackBerry's future is waning, though his successor<http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/19/RIM-CEO-thorsten-heins-interview/> certainly would beg to differ.

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FYI: iOS 6.1: EXCHANGE calendar events
by billing 13 Feb '13

13 Feb '13

...from: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4532 iOS 6.1: Excess Exchange activity after accepting an exception to recurring calendar event Products Affected iPad, iPhone Symptoms When you respond to an exception* to a recurring calendar event with a Microsoft Exchange account on a device running iOS 6.1, the device may begin to generate excessive communication with Microsoft Exchange Server. You may notice increased network activity or reduced battery life on the iOS device. This extra network activity will be shown in the logs on Exchange Server and it may lead to the server blocking the iOS device. This can occur with iOS 6.1 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 SP1 or later, or Microsoft Exchange Online (Office365). * An exception is a change to a single instance of a repeating calendar event. Resolution Apple has identified a fix and will make it available in an upcoming software update. In the meantime, you can avoid this bug by not responding to an exception to a recurring event on your iOS device. If you do experience the symptoms described above, disable then reenable the Exchange calendar on your iOS device using the steps below. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars Select the Exchange account from your Accounts list. Turn the switch for Calendars to OFF. Wait ten seconds. Turn the switch for Calendars back to ON. This document will be updated as more information becomes available. Wayne Billing Classroom Technology Support Audio Visual and Classroom Technology Support 130 Machray Hall Building 204-474-6649 204-807-3153 (cell) 204-474-7625 (fax) Wayne_Billing(a)umanitoba.ca

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