Posts by dssf

Apple hands iPad screen contract to rival Samsung

What was that TV commercial/advert slogan of Sharp, years ago?

"From SHARP minds come SHARP products..."

I thought that that was pretty kewl play on words. It still makes me feel giddy and laugh for/with Sharp. But, it has to be humbling for Sharp to see Samsung obtain a lot of the continued screen-make work.

It probably is humbling for those in both Apple and Samsung who just want to SELL shit and see the mutual neutralization of the court battle. Rationally, it is obvious that LCD, data port, touch screen, near and distant communications, and productivity MUST evolve and WILL evolve and WILL extend well to portable devices, and that was clear since the first PDAs of the 90s became very useful in business and personal life. I remember when Palm Pilots were all the rage. Multiple devices came and went, then finally Palm Pilot took a dive.

Apple's popularization of tablets is not in and of itself a RIGHT to dominate the market. Merits -- price, functionality, fit-for-purpose, utility, and sensibility are just a mere handful of merits -- should determine how a product fares in its life, and no one, solitary, megalomaniacal or even a humble company should dare/deign to be such an A$$HOLE as to try to claim it all. It is the height of perfidy and odiousness. Fortunately, as this contracting of Samsung to continue making critical Apple parts shows, business will continue -- and it will do so because there are divisions and teams who can see past the smokescreen/red herring BS of patents. After all, tablets are just comminglings of ever-improving bits of tech. The software on them should be driven by a fundamental need to fit usefulness by humans. That drive alone means ultimately any determined company will arrive at similar destinies in design.

Combs, tires, shoes, tooth brushes, staplers, pencils, pens, desk organizers, paper clips, power strips, surge protectors, folders, filing cabinets, hammers, desk lights.. you name it, almost anything that has more than one manufacturer trying to serve tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of people will eventually converge on what the consumer expects. No one company can provide it all, nor should one sole company be allowed to do so nor allowed to TRY to do so when such a scale is considered. Any one company that plays dirty in trying to do so simply needs to have a few pounds of flesh stripped off its A$$ to make it limp and be unable to sit for a while. Wound-healing and reflectance can do wonders for people AND companies when hubris and greed are allowed to eclipse humility and decency.

NASA orders study for all astronauts over vision concerns

o.... o.... o...

Oblate spheroid...

Apple, Motorola Mobility held patent war peace summit

Not so fast...

Check this out:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/03/12/2012031201110.html

"Apple Hires Korean-Speaking Lawyers for Samsung Suit"

Apple thinks there is more to be found -- or asserted.

Mozilla to drop Windows 8 Firefox bomb on IE 10

So, will it make developers of time-keeping systems

Play nice with firefox?

Why MUST, for example, users of [an ms-beholden time-keeping software company ] be required to log in via msie? Hopefully, if developers would NOT compel clients to use msie, nor fixate on activex, then clients using Linux or Apple systems could truly do remote-time-keeping from an Android phone, from a Linux-based laptop, or even from any OS using Opera or Chrome or Safari...

Besides, a time-keeping system is not a high-end game. Why must it be unnecessarily excessively hooked into ONE browser and ONE spreadsheet? Why cannot the data first go through a layer ANY standards-compliant browser and ANY capable spreadsheet or backend database?

Oh, wait.. marketing dollars?

If more vendors stopped doing things that made it a PITA to use non-ms browsers and behaved OS agnostic.... well, you know or can figure out the rest...

Tim Cook's post-PC iPad domination dream crushed by reality

Re: Not in this lifetime

If that's true, then there may yet be a Post-Apocalyptic Appleplectic convention someday...

MYSTERY programming language found in Duqu

Re: Why would whomever knows something of it fess up?

Request: can someone help me understand why my comment was down-thumbed? I'm not sure if it was a random bot, or if I used some unmentionable key/flagged word, of what. Thx...

Why would whomever knows something of it fess up?

It seems to me that this is some pretty obscure stuff, and whether it's DOD, GRU/Spetsznas, China, North Korea, South Korea, the UK, whomever, it is probably so compartmentalized that the very one who speaks of it gets killed along with the handful or more of people on the team and peripheral to it (a few friends, a few relatives, a line supervisor from a previous division/department...)... So, unless it is some group with a sense of humor, there probably are some deadly serious people behind it.

That said, it is possible, I imagine, that it is an exercise at seeing how trustworthy a given agency feels its workers are. The longer this work goes uncracked, the likelier the team gets elevated to the real, much more difficult project ahead.

Amid iPad frenzy, Apple staff say 'Remember the workers'

No need for a union if peole recognize a few facts:

-- If it is not an employee-owned company and an at-risk employee doesn't own significant shares of the company, a company can can that person

-- if an employees is highly competent and the company, punctual, professional, and well-liked, and the company is not in dire straits, the employee's departure will likely be by choice, not duress

-- if a company pays well, trains well, takes remedial action to keep distractable employees on track, then it is less likely to face creation of subversive or overt unions

-- if employees take honest intellectual stock of themselves and avoid slipping into tardiness, rustiness, or incompetence, and finds that those negatives are self-made, then one has little basis for blaming the company if it terminates that or other employees who are inefficient, untrainable, disproportionately expensive, etc.

-- businesses are NOT charities unless the owners/managers CHOOSE to keep on a dreg or limited individual, maybe in a support role that can do little damage, similar to Japan's "window seat" sidelining of once-key employees who were hired before the 90s, usually meaning "hired for life"

-- "hired-for-life" is dead. The more companies that work off of GAAP and other business mantras will no longer keep people on and pay for expensive benefits, perks, pensions, and the like. Only governments can get away with that, and even then not forever, as local governments file for bankruptcy

Apple is too chic and hip and swift-moving to tolerate a union. Dell workers, maybe. HP workers, maybe. But, Apple tolerating a union.. maybe for temporary humor, then it will "promote" the worker to a dead-end or grueling position away from susceptible union-sympathizers. As long as apple pays its own employees better than prevailing wages, offers superior benefits, grants flex time and allows employees a degree of autonomy so long as they are hitting or exceeding targets, and as long as Apple's HR ruthlessly screens for tighter fits, then unions will likely NEVER gain traction in companies like Apple, revered or reviled.

If i create a company, I will take great pains to make sure that the employees are compensated above prevailing wages, challenged commensurately to the skills, recognized, motivated, and rewarded, and kept interactive, and mediated for if there are issues somehow escaping resolution. Unions don't need to exist. They do because inept organizations are coercive, power-hungry, or insensitive. Unions exist because many workers cannot own up to the fact that if they are incompetent and deserve firing, it WILL catch up with them, one day, and they'd serve their best interests by always having a backup plan or being nimble enough to recover without a real backup plan. Weak-spined governments also help foster or perpetuate the existence of unions, mainly by taking their money during elections cycles.

Now, if one or more co-workers are filled with bile and malice and out to sabotage co-workers, then that is when law enforcement or arbitrators come in. Unions might only ameliorate to an extent, maybe by shuffling people around, in the name of not undermining loyalty of paying members.

Re: Why?

Why, because they are temporarily self-embarrassed millionaires?

'The new iPad' revealed: Full specs, rumor scorecard

Button... and 7 Inches

Considering that Apple assailed Samsung and others on look and feel of the bezel, there is no way Apple now would remove the home button. It would make Apple look as if it were either copying them, or conceding to them, and would severely garrotte or eviscerate much of that piece of their "claim".

No surprises that the button stayed.

No surprise, either, if Apple intros a 7.x inch model. It has to, only because others are. And, if consumers by even 400,000 of them from non-Apple sources, that's 400,000 Apple will groan is THEIR market.

Just my 2.33 cents...

2 in 3 Android anti-malware scanners not up to the job

Re: why not 100%

What about behavior heuristics? Devise rules, let the user tick mark them, and when an app attempts to violate it, collect forensics, send to fair trade bureaus, cops, and legislators, and have them hunt down the violators and VIOLATE their asses. Sometimes, it seems a good time to use state-sanctioned murder to rectify some of these problems. Problem is, law sometimes is toothless and cowardly when the real repercussion is that the violators go after legislators with a vengeance, leaving the sheep ever savaged/fleeced.

What I want to know is why the f*cking "DRM Protected Content Storage" has a PID and is using 22M-28M on my EVO.I don't cARE that it is sleeping or has a load of 0%.

I want removed from my phone:

nascar -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

amazon -- not interested; if I want to purchase, it will be rare...

nfl -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

blockbuster -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

nova -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

sprint football live -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

stocks -- not interested, don't want to SEE the damned icon nor PID thread

Re: You don't need a malware scanner

Huh? Well, what about overlays and underlays? You click on "NO"/"GET ME OUTTA HERE", and you still click on yes, because the cursor was shifted, or shits so fast your eyes cannot detect the click-jacking or other subterfuge...

Time for Google to become draconian like Apple... not to eradicate but to COMPLICATE the lives or livelihood of crackers, thieves, or ANYone (spouses, cops, agents, too), etc.

Apple blocks booze, cigs sales with parental control patent

Re: Bull$hit Patent...

If in doubt, there's commentary of prior art:

http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/03/07/apple_patents/#c_1338670

Bull$hit Patent...

This patent should have been regarded as nothing more than selective enforcement or application of field constraints on data in tables. HR databases, on-line purchasing, cable company program guides/lists, academic records, medical records, and other databases restrict who can access what, based in IP, platform, region, organization, login ID, and more, plus tokens/dongles, etc.

The patent should apply ONLY to very specific things in Apple's domain, and it should not empower Apple to drag competitors to a negotiation table.

If Google tried it, I'd say the same. This is about users facing restrictions to access or purchase, based on rules set.

Social networks breeding spatial junk

Crowd Churching?

"Events present another challenge. Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade traverses around 500 metres of one street, but Barouch says many social media users checked in at a location they simply called “Mardi Gras.” Interpreting that location and the many different coordinates all associated with the same name is a tricky task for any provider of location-based services."

Imagine if those people stood in front of churches.... There might be "hell to pay"... Hell hath no fury like a church so adorned... or a-porned...

Facebook IPO to stuff $2.5bn in California tax coffers

Re: What if an employee moves out of Kali... umm, California and then quits?

But, what if any of the employees live outside of the state and occasionally fly in? I imagine those who telecommute from outside the state may be exempt, but if they work in the SF office remotely, maybe they are on the hook.

SF (from what I heard in 2007) has firefighters who work 3 or 4 days a cycle and then fly back out of SF to their ranches in Colorado, Arizona, or where ever. Some make $90,000 to $200,000 a year, and don't RESIDE in CA, except in the fire house when on duty, or in a hotel if here for work but not on fire-call.

But, imagine having options, getting a $500,000 tax bill, then watching the options go to zero value, and still having the IRS expecting to be paid.... No wonder investing can make people jump from skyscrapers...

What if an employee moves out of Kali... umm, California and then quits?

If the employee moves from California, and actually becomes a resident in, and takes a job or creates a company in a state with a lower tax, is California still "entitled" to its anticipated cut?

It could cause several states to go to tax battle...

Toshiba outs monster tablet 'concept'

Could be a feint, a move to frustrate competitors,

To make competitors waste time and resources, to buy Toshiba some valuable market data?

iPhone con man knifed to death in knock-off mobile brawl

Re: should be more of this sort of thing

He probably did. We just didn't see those episodes, hehehe.... It wouldn't have been PC in the 60s, hence BLAM, BOOF, BLOWEEE, UMMPFH...

Workers can't escape Windows 8 Metro - Microsoft COO

Re: If ...

Don't call it Slabs or Bricks...

Call it "Pains" and not "Panes", for what it will entail...

As for "because the "immersive" Metro user interface removes all their distractions.

Highlighting business-centric features in the new OS, Turner insists Windows 8's fondness for fondleslabs will boost office productivity. The controversial handheld gadget-friendly Metro UI (described by our Andrew Orlowski as "a huge negative") will be an asset for businesses, Turner reckons, because full-screen apps will immerse workers in their spreadsheets, pushing distractions out of sight and ramping up output."

Hell, I call it OBFUSCATORY... How about calling it "Microsoft Obfuscations"?

Two Brits in court over Michael Jackson back catalogue hack

"Marks and McCormick"

"Marks and McCormick" sounds like the beginnings of a security/forensics firm...

I wonder if those 50,000 include stuff from ~ 1999, which had Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper (or similar), with Aniken, Samuel L. Jackson (images from Pulp Fiction, explaining the Nabu Royale Big Mack fro Tatooine or somesuch) and about MJ adopting (buying) Aniken from his mom, who puportedly sold her body to males...

It was a crazy-assed posting, (maybe around 40 or so slides) and was so raunchy (you can guess) that it eventually was completely removed from the Internets. I only saw it a few days, and only stumbled upon it when trying to find URLs to First Class Postal System (by SoftArc). Strangely, the FCP string brought back that site. Every couple of years I search on the off chance that someone resurfaced the repo. But, I fail to find it, and each time I fail, I figure somebody got their ass sued so badly they invented a time machine to delete every bit and byted and flipped all the 1s and 0s to erase the caches.

It was quite funny or interesting for some, but I imagine M Jackson's lawyers summoned time slayers, hence the "unfindability". So, if Sony somehow was given those files in the event of chain of custody and lineage reasons to take ownership of a potential future lawsuit, then I can imagine Sony being upset from a *legal* perspective. But, if two Brits could hack Sony's systems, surely domestic Japanese and numerous Chinese and North Korean operatives with a lot more to gain also made penetrations all over Japan, and Sony.

Factual Disclaimer: I did not retain nor make any copies... And, the computer that it was downloaded to was probably wiped in year 2000, when I changed departments.

Android a photo-slurper too: report

Vaults...

http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/02/29/iphone_photo_slurping_privacy_risk/

I still prefer the idea of at least having the OPTION to use a vault.

As for "apps breaking", the phone being queried, when seeing a URL probing for an image, would just serve up a red circle "X". A challenge-reply would enable the user to decide whether and to whom the photo or file will be "released".

It isn't hard, and yes, there will be users who'll screw up the concept and create a lot of tech support headache. But, that is not a valid excuse for not providing a facility for the demanding savvy to use/exploit to the hilt.

Imagine if military officials felt that way about secrets, "oh, it's cumbersome, so just let EVERYone access whatever files we have, shared or not...".

Warp drives are PLANET KILLERS, Sydney Uni students find

Nobody's ever plotted a jump this far...

DO IT, without Baltar's help...

"You CAN'T PLOT a jump this close -- you could end up inside a mountain or a star..."

(BTW, why was I thinking of Kookaburra?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra_%28song%29

I didn't know/remember that it is of Australian origin, hehehehe....)

This should be interesting to some:

http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/spacewardetect.php

This, too:

http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/qanda.html

Enjoy!

Facebook looks for more credit with the banks

Is this an example of when the State (Federal AND Calif) governments reap...

LOL "The title is too long." So THAT's where some of the recovered chars came from....

Original title

"Is this an example of when the State (Federal AND Calif) governments reap a windfal for little input?"

Don't misunderstand, but I feel that paying "reasonable" taxes is a fair demand than paying into something that extracts far more than the work it puts in.

For example, if a company generates a product or service, it might already know it is to pay an effective 45% tax on profits. But, it is most likely limited on how much it can write down, deduct, and so on. So, in the case of a fb, having earned or raised tons of money suddenly becomes a taxable event 'just because' a transaction took place.

But, for fb to help its "staff" (all employees?) who have those RSUs cover their taxes means (I suppose) fb is using the staff's taxes as another way to increase its upfront cash outlays or write-down costs. Maybe, though, the IRS could get painful and just go after the employees anyway, claiming they received a taxable benefit by virtue of fb relieving them of paying a tax that is over $400 or $600 (or whatever the current amount is).

As for the banks, unless they have hands reaching deep into prospective fortunes of fb, other than having good face time and future relations with fb, why would they want to lend fb hundreds of millions to cover taxes which will be in the billions? Of course, they surely don't expect fb to implode or become the next GoDaddy or Yahoo! or friendster in the next 2 years, so some banking official at each bank will stand to reap a huge bonus if fb's loan generates a huge quarterly and annual interest rate income stream... Hmm, maybe I answered my own question....

UK will share passenger data with US in Euro deal

Re: Not getting it

Passengers flying to South Korea also will will be fingerprinted and photographed, etc. SK is not the only (nor the last) country, and, as time passes, others most undoubtedly will join in.

http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/17765/korean-immigration-enhance-security-and-efficiency

Kinda neat-looking/futuristic-looking tech...

Other URLs about it:

http://www.12fly.com.my/2012/01/korea-implements-biometric-identification-entry-process-on-all-foreign-passengers/

http://www.appletravel.cn/news-10362.html

Asteroid could SMASH INTO EARTH in 2040

Re: A group in need of a theme song

They can try:

http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-can-do-magic-lyrics-america.html

If an asteroid hits, they can put out the fire with magic, hehhehe

Feds unlock suspect's encrypted drive, avoid Constitution meltdown

His or hers?

His providing the password to her doesn't prove his ownership. She could have bought it and asked him to set it up, if he is the IT person in their marriage/franchise.

Even if he bought it as a gift/efficiency tool outside of their franchise (bed or business), a preponderance of her own files, with dense, chronological timestamps of creations and edits, on it makes her the regular user -- especially if the machine is devoid of apparent activity by him.

But, since it appears they both are being charged with RE fraud, it is possible or plausible that they both had access to the machine -- unless they intentionally mentally firewalled themselves in the event of investigation or arrest. (WOW! Only 1 part this post....)

But, as for the password... I bet those who willingly, consciously, deliberately purchase laptops with the intent to willfully commit crime will avoid buying those having fingerprint/biometrics access. The cops could just restrain the suspected or known owner to a chair, numb their arm (but not blood flow) to minimize resistance, then press the thumb.

Now, for those with finger/thumb readers AND cameras that look for facial recognition, they better hope that it is possible to enter the password by eyelid flapping/blinking, or by eyelid reversal, display of a specific tooth, pressing the thumb, pursing the lips, two forced farts (of a certain duration, pitch, and quality/ripeness), a belch, and a specific exhalation or grunt/groan. Under duress, or even normal circumstances, syncopating that to gain access would be pretty tough to perform.

(Yeh, i know, don't give ideas... well, I'm being an "equal opportunity idea giver" both have something to gain and lose, hehehehe) (WoW, only 1 part this post...)

'Kill yourself now' - Torvalds throws openSUSE security tantrum

That's what I worry about, too... As for Wi-Fi, check this out

http://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/category/hotel/tip/travelers-should-be-aware-of-rouge-wi-fi-networks-while-on-the-road

"If you use so-called ‘free’ Wi-Fi networks while at your favorite cafe or while traveling, you might get more than you bargained for. Protect yourself – and your identity – with these simple tips. You're sitting in an airport lounge and seize the chance to check your e-mails before your flight departs. You log on and are tempted by a wireless Internet provider offering free Internet access. So, do you take it?

Security experts warn that hackers may be masquerading as free public Wi-Fi providers to gain access to the laptops of unsuspecting travelers. All it takes, they say, is a computer program downloaded from the Internet, an open access point and a user who has ignored basic security advice. The difficulty for travelers is differentiating between a good Internet access hotspot and a rogue, or somebody trying to actually glean credentials from you. The issue is that you don't necessarily know the difference between a good and a bad one.

This could happen in a number of ways, but one of the sneakiest is a “rogue” Wi-Fi network that look like a free alternative to your hotel’s $10 to $15/day rate. In other words, tech-savvy thieves are taking advantage of your thirst for constant connectivity – and desire to save a few bucks.

The basic idea is someone in vicinity has created a ‘free Wi-Fi network’ that you connect to, but in doing so, you’re allowing them to tap into your info, access your files and possibly steal your personal identity too. These rogue networks are really individuals who have software to hack into your systems — and because the majority of people’s laptops are not protected, they’re a lot more susceptible than they think."

See the link for more of the article.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Yeah, Mr Torvalds Should Not Be Called A Moron

Part 2 of 2:

As for connecting to WiFi and other nets, just being "visible" to one of those means some loss of privacy and some possible vector of tracking by outside parties. If one can seamlessly move from place to place and just ad hoc join a wireless net, and the machine's ID and other sublayers are not randomly changed with user security/privacy in mind, then Google and others will continue to offer products or make their own tools to hunt/suss/monitor users' movements.

For my laptop hardware, I tend to rip out the antennae and use an external one I can physically disconnect, in a hope to deny undetected ACTIVE intrusion attempts. I cannot easily stop passive sniffing, but I feel I have the moral and personal right to kneecap ANYone who tries to access my personal property after seeing a "Do not enter" sign. With laptops, phones, and other computers, it should be universally accepted that "YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT ENTRY". If you do, you BETTER have an iron-clad, judge-approved-case-by-case warrant. Otherwise you deserve to be kneecapped or finger chopped. I also feel I have the right -- if i choose to exercise it -- to honeypot and contaminate my machine such that any probing by outside parties will infect them. It would be like a woman (or male) inserting a hidden needle or razor to punish a rapist who manages to make forced insertion. Yes, there may be blood from and in both parties, but the assailant is ultimately the one deserving to be swiftly punished or neutered. PERIOD.

Re: Re: Re: Yeah, Mr Torvalds Should Not Be Called A Moron

(Part 1 of 2 due to 2,000 char limit)

As for wireless or any network default settings of a Linux distro, the basic firewall settings should work something like speech software training: user randomly goes to a handful of personal favorite sites. The firewall would do reputation checks. The user would either accept the firewall suggestions or manually override one by one, not blanket.

Then, as inbound connections happen, the user would selectively allow or selectively deny page connections, cookies, clear gifs, 1-pixels/crawlers/other crap, and then build an interactive firewall tool far easier than anything to date seen in a Linux distro.

The firewall tool suite would include multiple tool choices and include Intrusion Detection Systems, and some pattern-matching tools so that users can apply system-wide or guest-user restrictions.

As to printers being not too dangerous, what about those with USB and other media ports? IF system security is by default too low, then simply plugging in a media card/stick/device might cause limited or pervasive damage, possibly not detected until one or more things go wonky/bonkers.

As for passwords to change the time, remember the days when right-clicking on an admin-controlled windows XP or W2K machine meant one could not even access the Calendar simply because the tiime-setting features and other Control Panel items were blocked? That alone was justification for drawing and quartering one or more ms project managers/programmers and made me blow gaskets multiple times over the years. Seems ms learned or had a change of heart, since then, or I've been using machines that have not been subject to so draconian a set of admin constraints.

iPhone photo-slurping loophole sparks app privacy fears

Re: Blank Image Tracker...

To whomever or whatever downthumbed me... go read this:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/29/moores_law_gsm_hacking/

and:

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/187169/Creating-an-APRS-Tracker-Automated-Camera-with-an

and:

http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/catch-a-cheater.html

Blank Image Tracker...

Suppose this: a nefarious cracker manages to get dodgy code onto a user's phone. The code snaps photos when the phone is in "suspend" mode but first turns off or maybe suspends any flash settings and shutter sounds info, and keeps the activity/transceiving LED and the display state unaltered. The phone then periodically snaps photos and then quickly bursts the meta information but not the black photo. Then, the code deletes the black photo and resets the photo sequence numbers.

Now, that may not be necessary, all that trouble. But, it could serve as a backup way to build a picture of someone's REAL location as opposed to tower-fed info.

Scary? Yes/no?

VAULT 2 of 2

Phone devs and app devs who know better might actually WANT these lax protocols in place just to make their programming and troubleshooting lives easier.

Still, none of this is any excuse to mislead the user. It's probably time to clean the 7GB of photos off my phone and stick that card into my Lumix. Problem is, half of the photos are downloads. Since phone devs sometimes are A$$HOLE$ scraping to save every last penny, or claim to give us a way to know if our phones are physically compromised, they stick the F8king card under the battery. Imagine how convenient it could be for personal security of the user if we could -- via our phones -- fire off or slurp a round of photos and then swap the card among 3 or 4 while we randomly offload the photos, apps, texts, docs, etc to a non-contactable device. No, that would F8ck with snoops and others who think it's their goddamned business to be in OUR devices.

VAULT 1 of 2

This is why app developers and Apple and Google et all need to provide VAULTS. The user should be able to invoke vault and non-vault actions so that by default any vaulted photos, contacts, voice recordings, notepad snippets, etc are cordoned off. When the user fires up a photo app, it should display a locked lock and an unlocked lock. The user taps one and from that point the user chooses it to be in effect for the session or the hour or the day or whatever, to guard against ignoring what mode one is in.

When the user is ready to upload, the unlocked items can display on a palette, and the user can swype or stroke or tap or whatever to open the vault and see an encrypted stream between the glass and the local repo. The encryption should change with each item's presentation.

Apple, google, and ms are NOT stupid. That this issue is even being discussed means they did NOT seriously nor adequately have the user's best interest at heart. It's either laziness, or they got standing national security letters to ALWAYS make it possible for SOME weird, obscure way to exist to snag things to make it easier to bypass security of a user who might become a special interest target. Granted, this loophole wouldn't be used as a global scoop of ALL mobile users, but if a bona fide terrorist or assistant to one were found to be using a mobile, there might not be time to secure a new, valid, effective warrant. For certain high-value targets, normal procedures might HAVE to be bypassed.

New tool turns any marketing wonk into a mobile app whiz

Re: If it works as well as FrontPage

In that case, call it what I did way back in 1999: "Front PHAGE"....

I even gave HotMetal Pro a try, but eventually, the department head and the company went with FP...Front Phage..., then something else came along, the name of which I forgot, but it was gaining traction around 1999/2000 and it made seamless or consistent formats across department...

Mozilla's app Marketplace tempts HTML5 worshippers

This might interest some...

"Mozilla Putting all the Pieces Together to be a Smartphone Contender"

http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2012/02/mozilla-putting-all-the-pieces.php

Microsoft tripped up by Blighty's techie skills gap

NetBeans, Eclipse, KDevelop...

Komodo

http://www.activestate.com/komodo-ide?gclid=CJmG09jkw64CFcwBRQodkXMYVA

Gambas,

Cloud9:

http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/cloud9-ide-open-source-web-based-ide-for-javascript-developers/

QT/Trolltech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_Development_Frameworks

Although I'm wondering that ms/nokia means for QT...

Re: When I was at Cambridge...

Probably exactly what I was wondering when I saw the word "coded", in his message to Unis. I figured he was telling the Unis to stop teaching Unix/Linux/etc and convince inbound students and majors transfers that ONLY ms is relevant. If that is what he was doing, he is beyond daft.

Samsung admits Android tablet cash haul is disappointing

I think Samsung are missing the boat! (Part 3 of 3)

But, getting back to Samsung, Samsung needs to start reaching deeply inward and tapping marketing appeal. STOP shipping Tabs in locale-language only!!!! I like buying Korean devices, but I WANT TO SEE KOREAN BIOS, UI, and language features. It would make me feel like I "own" a little bit more of Korea. People bought Honda in the 80s because of perceived and later warranted concerns about their mileage and comfort and style. It dealt a severe blow to USA-domestic/non-Foreign auto makers. It took a while to claw back into top spots. But, given the lopsided quantity of theft of Toyotas and Hondas, for parts, it is quite clear what is hot. Samsung needs to find that energy and tap the synergies...

I think Samsung are missing the boat! (Part 2 of 2)

But, they have a bigger problem from within. Significantly large enough numbers of warm-blooded Koreans flock to the iPads. This must be distressing for Korean industry. But, it probably is due to an obsession with many things external. Or, maybe it is that some Koreans simply want to "be different", and bazzillions of them all flock to Apple, with few using Samsung phones and tables. (Seems most of the Koreans I know or observe aren't using Korean devices, and either it is they are rebelling against home for various strictures and stresses, or they want to use English-centric devices to reinforce their use and understanding of English with little or no in-built way to fall back on to Hangul. I don't know... i'm just guess here...)

I can only imagine how distressful this is to Chaebol leaders who day after day see painful numbers of Koreans using iThis and iThat when Samsung and LG and others feel their devices should win out.

But, every time I sit my ass on a bus or train, I increasingly see more than 4 people with arms reach using an iPhone, usually the current model. While I do see lots of Samsung and LG devices, they are all a hodge-podge of various form factors, models, styles, and eras. Apple has either magnetic or herd mentality in addition to style and functionality. I recognize that the iPhone has a LOT of appeal. I LIKE the style of it. But, I adamantly, virulently refuse to hop onto a wagon that is saturated with umpteen numbers of people all using the same something. I don't care HOW good an item is. If I observe it in a dizzying quantity and count of appearances, I go the other way. If my EVO 4 G did that, i'd get another model at upgrade time. One thing I like about the Android phones is that so many models exist I will pretty much NEVER feel nauseated looking at HTC or other's phones simply because the market is huge enough that saturation won't occur since new models keep pouring out with regularity.

I think Samsung are missing the boat!

They are (so far as I can see, and based on the lack of comment on the suspicion I have) not exploiting Hallyu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_wave

http://www.economist.com/node/15385735

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_8_1.jsp

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_9_9_1_1.jsp

They have a vast, wide level of external interest of things Korean coming from around the world. If the Tabs had links to Korean movies, Naver, Soompy, K-pop, Asian cinema sites, and Learn Korean (various publishers as well as the Korean Ministry of Culture), and drop the price of the Tablet, and take up profits sharing from (hopefully) an uptick in travelers to Korea, identified by their tied use of Galaxy Tabs and such through travel agencies, they could consistently build loyalty.

Helping users get perks and privs by unique codes from specific Galaxy Tabs could justify building a Samsung version of the Apple ITunes environment. Heck, plug-in power ports could offer better in-flight movie screens power via Tabs than the back of the head rest would. Travelers toting Tabs could visit and check in at cultural sites, movies, concerts, and more.

Samsung is not exploiting the Chaebol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol

sufficiently enough to crack the market. I personally would use it to study Korean on instead of my mobile and my paper flash cards.

(Part I due to 2000 chars limit....)

EC: 'Friends-only' natter not subject to 'right to be forgotten'

What about "ad sponsors" who get access to privvy info...?

What duty will they have when a user says, "Don't share me. I'm leaving. Stop sharing me! I left! Tell them to stop contacting me!"?

I am of the suspicion that adsense-like programs must afford some amount of information to ad targeting firms. They can't just take google's or facebook's word for it, right?

Apple issues invitations to March 7 iPad roll-out

In case anyone's interested, even in the macrumors forum there is (or was) a lot of questioning...

Granted, it was in January...

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1310941&page=2

Re: Re: Re: Part 2 of 2

Here:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/08/apple_ibooks_could_run_on_kindle/

(That one was closed for comments, so I happened to find this current one and consign my post to it. Obviously, it's taking a rash of scratchy thumbs now.... must've pissed off the marketing bots or others who find it an inconvenient post, although it seems I'm pissing of not only apple fans, but paper publishers, too. Maybe they'll suffer 9 hour flights next to someone who flatulates, has halitosis, eczema, dandruff, and a popping/jutting jaw problem. They need to get a life...)

"The Apple spokesperson pointed out that while free iBooks could "theoretically, yes" be read on other devices, that wasn't a current option: "iBooks app is exclusive to iOS. The point is that if you use iBooks to create your content then that file should only be sold on the iBookstore." ®"

By El Reg's Anna Leach...

My mistake on using the word "technical"; the story used "theoretically"...

Re: Part 2 of 2

WOW!!!! The hate-bots are in full force today!

All I did was quote an investment site, and I get slammed. Doesn't even mean my posting is MY position. Frackin bots will shoot a messenger carrying a white flag, too, I suppose.

But, such is life. Some of these bots will assail just on the title or quoted content alone...

The good thing about Apple's support/move is in this case, it I hope will put in a severe crimp in the asses of the schools/universities purchase of paper books costing students $80 to $250 when the material is deliberately aged or set to go obsolete each semester or quarter, forcing students to sustain a given teacher's/professor's/school's relationship with a publisher.

Those books cost too damned much, and it is infuriating to have to pay for content that after courses are complete is only good for bragging rights or chasing down highlighted material. At least with digital content, it can be refreshed, although if compelled to "change or die", some publishers will try to "expire" the content to prevent students from appending and refreshing their own local data bank.

Imagine, though, if sensible publishers, reasonable teachers, and Apple or MS or Dell or HP/et al got together and streamlined the data repos and relevant government authorities said "THIS is the basic, minimum amount, and anything new or current and vetted can be added or tailored per schooling system, region of country, or ambition of the student, and this content must be linkable to vetted industry and research sources if a student chooses to engage in a "remote internship" arrangement.

But, that would eliminate much of the differentiation some publishers use to distinguish themselves and alienate/isolate/constrain certain districts.

Well, we'll see. If the content is tablet-agnostic (and, it SHOULD be... this can make or break a country's ability to produce educated and sensible not just "passed/graduated" students.

Part 2 of 2

And---------

"“Teachers in private schools can select their own textbooks. Public schools can’t. That’s a distinction that’s larger than having iPads or if they can afford the technology,” said Menlo School’s Spross. He pointed out that it’s not all bleak for public schools: “Some of the most compelling and innovative work has been in public schools, in very scientific, state-sponsored programs.”

The iPad restriction is odd for another reason: Tying a file to one piece of hardware (in this case, a textbook to an iPad) is a step backward for a company that knows the future lies with accessing your data from multiple devices. Toward that end, Apple was an early adopter of cloud storage for consumers. Steve Jobs unveiled the company’s iCloud service in June 2011, which enables you to store music, books, photos, contacts, calendars, and more in the cloud.

Cloud storage might make the difference for e-textbooks, too. Only when public schools can put $15 e-textbooks on donated laptops, inexpensive e-ink readers, smartphones, and whatever devices students may already own, can Apple’s textbook “reinvention” be taken seriously by public schools."

====

The article says exporting to non-Apple formats was not permitted. Elsewhere, i read that Apple back-stepped, but there still is the *technical* inability to do so -- for the moment.

Another reason to get new iPads out?

"How schools are reacting to Apple’s entry into education"

http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/21/apple-textbook-public-private-schools/

"When Apple announced its textbook initiative on Thursday, there was a rush of excitement among educators. Textbooks from major publishers, which can cost $40 to $75 dollars in print, would be available as interactive e-books for $15 or less. The new iBooks Author application could turn anyone into a publisher, with its simple interactive e-book creation tools.

But then there was the small print: In order to buy and read these textbooks, each student will have to own an Apple iPad. No computer, off-brand tablet, or even iPhone or iPod touch will work. Books made with the new iBooks Author application are only viewable on iPads in the iBooks 2 app, can only be sold through Apple’s iBookstore (where the company takes its customary 30 percent of the sales cost), and cannot be exported as ePubs, the standard open format for all e-book files.

For the schools that can afford iPads, Apple’s new apps and partnerships are brimming with potential.

“We looked at each other after the announcement, and said ‘Apple must have been reading our minds. This is exactly what we’ve been talking about,’” said Eric Spross, director of technology at the private Menlo School in Atherton, Calif."

(((((((((( Part 1 of 2, due to 2000 char limitation... )))))))))))

Wii workouts unlikely to improve fitness

SOLUTION!

Make the damned Wii controller wireless.

Attach rubber cords/bungee cords to the feet or foot plates and the controllers or harnesses or wrist attachments. Maybe kinect and Wii, making WE CONNECT happen will increase calorie burn and improve muscle tone, making it easier to later on do PE at school or sports elsewhere.

Somebody flag this as a prior art statement into various IP and patent databases, please! I don't expect royalties, but I also do not expect the idea to be hijacked for the gatekeeping control of a single company.

AT&T plan: Let content providers pay your bandwidth bill

If content providers are made to pay for an 800-number-like scheme,

Then what of moms and pops who have Flickr or similar accounts chock-full of videos and photos? If such a site is popular, and the commercial or professional end of the transport pipe is charged, those access providers will just up their service/storage fees, won't they?

Carrier greed can end up have a cascading, destructive, reeling effect on the entire communications stream.

Avoid flying next to blubberbeasts with seatmate-finding site

Or, make yourself disagreeable by...

Scratching away at the scalp, causing fake dandruff to fall all over you shoulders and onto the person next to you. Scrape away at your neck, and have fake eczema scales crumble off. Don't floss for a week before the flight, and drink durian/pineapple-collada shakes two hours in advance. Rub ointment/cream on your neck and scalp as if it is a medicine, knowing it really is just the fake scales maker. This way, you have plenty of scaling up increase the scale of misery.

Take off your shoes and begin clipping your clawish toenails in flight, but slowly, so there are 3 or 5 clips per nail, to make observers wonder how many toes you have. Wipe your fingers on the seat when the adjacent flier goes to the lav.

Begin flossing with the string, not the picks, and keep re-wrapping the used area of string onto fingers, and start pressing the Attendant Call button and readjust the air nozzles, making sure the air blows "flossum" down onto the person next to you.

Keep blowing your nose, to make the person nearby become VERY uncomfortable.

Just hope s/he didn't sneak a Bowie knive or a K-bar past security, hehehehe. If lucky, all other passengers would later find such a person to be blacklisted and on all no-fly lists due to wanton display of disagreeableness.