JeremyMorel.com
It’s chic to be geek.
Jailbreaking = Terrorism?
Aug 2nd
Apple has claimed that jailbreaking iPhones – that is, altering their software to allow the user to run applications without restrictions – could turn them into tools for deliberately bringing down cellphone networks.
The claims come in a response to a government review which takes place every three years to decide which situations should be exempted from copyright laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a request asking that the act of modifying the iPhone’s software should be deemed legal for people who own a handset.
Because the software is licensed (whereas the handset is sold), Apple maintains that modifying the software is a breach of copyright. It rejects the argument that such behavior is covered by section 117 of the US Copyright Act which allows for situations such as installing software on a computer or making a back-up copy to protect against losing it if the computer is damaged.
The most striking note of its response, however, is the claim that jailbreaking makes it easier to access the baseband processor, the component which connects the handset to the network – in this situation, Apple warns that jailbreaking could modify the software controlling this processor and lead to GPS functions failing.
More seriously, it says jailbreaking could make phones more vulnerable to hackers. As they would be able to access the baseband processor, this could let them change the Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID), the number which identifies the handset to the nearest cellphone tower. Apple claims that this creates a risk of two phones with the same ECID connecting to a tower simultaneously, which could potentially see one user unable to make or receive calls. (PC World questions this claim, noting that iPhones have a secondary identification number built into the SIM.)
According to the filing, the consequences could be more serious than inconvenience, Apple says somebody hacking into a jailbroken phone and controlling the baseband processor software might also be able to get around limits on the amount of data the handset can send at once. At best this might allow them to evade data call charges. At worst they could deliberately overload the cellphone tower and crash its operating software
Apple disconnects Google Voice apps
Jul 28th
Google Voice, which recently launched in the United States, pulls together multiple phone numbers – such as work and personal mobile, and desk and home phones – in to a single, universal number that can be managed through the web. The service provides transcripts of voicemails, and an archive of all text messages sent and received, and users also benefit from low-cost international phone calls.
Google has launched Google Voice applications for BlackBerry and Android-based mobile phones, but it has run in to difficulty with its software for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple has rejected Google’s official Google Voice app, as well as several applications, developed by third parties, that replicate the functionality of Google Voice on Apple’s devices.
Technology commentators have accused Apple of “stifling innovation”, while developers have expressed dismay at the ban imposed on their apps.
“Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple iTunes Application Store,” confirmed a Google spokesman in a statement. “We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users – for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.”
Two other applications based on the Google Voice platform have also been removed by Apple from its iTunes store. VoiceCentral has disappeared from the store, while GV Mobile has also vanished.
Sean Kovacs, the developer behind GV Mobile, said Apple told him they had removed the application because it “duplicates features that come with the iPhone”.
“Richard Chipman from Apple just called – he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to it duplicating features that the iPhone comes with,” wrote Kovacs on his blog. “He didn’t actually specify which features, I assume it’s the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it [online].”
The reasons for the removal of the Google Voice applications from the iTunes store remain unclear, but some industry commentators have speculated that AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive carrier partner in the United States, may have played some part in events.
Google Voice could be viewed as a threat to the key revenue streams of network operators because it allows users to make cheap calls, save money on their text messages, and circumvent the products and services offered by the carriers themselves.
It is likely that Google will now release Google Voice as a web application, run through the iPhone’s Safari browser, rather than as a “native app” downloaded from iTunes.
The search giant has already been forced to rework its friend-tracking software, Google Latitude, in this manner after Apple rejected the original Google Latitude app, claiming its similarities to Google Maps could confuse users.
The Google Voice controversy is the latest episode in a string of dubious application approvals and rejections by Apple. In May, Apple relented after initially banning an ebook reader application, Eucalyptus, because people could use it to read the Karma Sutra. It was also forced to withdraw Baby Shaker, a game in which iPhone owners had to shake their device to silence a crying child, following complaints from consumers and child safety campaigners.
Jason Kincaid, a technology commentator with the TechCrunch website, speculated that the ongoing confusion surrounding Apple’s app approval process could lead to developers abandoning the iPhone platform, and instead focus on producing games and software for rival devices, such as Google Android-based handsets and the Palm Pre. “Apple is now actively stifling innovation,” he said.
Article Courtesy: Telegraph Media Group Limited (2009-07). “Apple Disconnects Google Voice Apps”. Technology, Apple. Retrieved on 2009-07-28.
Social [networking] butterflies in your stomach?
Jul 27th
I don’t know about you, but as technology becomes more and more integrated into the everyday, I find that more and more people expect me to be online. If that wasn’t such a fluid term, things would be a lot easier. These days, online communication branches all over a social networking plane. Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, Twitter… and that’s only the ones I checked in the last 10 minutes. I always snicker at the recent commercial for Hulu that had Denis Leary mocking social networking sites by referring to them as Facespaces and Tweetypages, but that’s the reality… it all collides into one big social networking smorgasbord.
Well if you’re like me, and trying to keep up, there’s hope. There are services out there like NutShellMail and Fuser.
Both are equally as cool, and have pros and cons to them.
First I’ll cover NutShellMail. It might seem counter-intuitive to sign up for yet another web service to try and cut back on another, but you have no idea what kind of power NutshellMail can give you. It solves what I’ll call the Email Alert Circle, which goes something like this:
- You have a few free minutes, so you quickly login to all your social networking sites, and try to speed-read all the updates. It’s just too much, and you inevitably miss something. (I always get called out on this! Ugh!) You stop visiting so often, knowing that you’re soon to become the butt of neophyte jokes everywhere. You switch to e-mail alerts.
- Now you get direct messages, replies and relevant friend posts… but you find it easy to duck your e-mail and you wind up catching up on these two weeks later. Now your avoiding your e-mail!
The proposed solution: get a free account at NutshellMail. Authorize it to parse your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and/or LinkedIn accounts, and it takes all those “John Doe commented on your status” and “Jane Doe sent you a direct message” emails you really don’t need to see right this minute and delivers them in a digest format whenever and however you want them.
I can already hear some of you arguing, “But Twitter is an of-the-moment service!” Fine—go ahead and schedule your NutshellMail updates to arrive every so many hours, depending on your addiction. You’ll still get all the updates for everyone you’re following, and you won’t even have to hop into Twitter.com/TweetDeck/Tweetie/whatnot to reply, because NutshellMail lets you @ reply via email links.
For those who can be realistic about how connected they need to be, NutshellMail takes the constant back-to-work hurdles of email updates, known as bacn in some circles, and pounds them into one flat page.
Next up, Fuser. Think of Fuser as “one inbox to rule them all.” Fuser fetches your email and social networking messages and displays them in a single place to simplify their management. Register at Fuser and
then add your Facebook and/or MySpace login details, as well as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AIM or any POP3/IMAP email accounts and see all your messages in Fuser. Fuser isn’t an email client or backup service, mind you—if you delete a message from your Gmail account it will not appear on Fuser. It’s just a single place to see all your stuff. What’s cool is that you can create folders inside fuser, move messages into them, and should you need to sign into your Yahoo or Gmail account directly some day down the road — Tada! The folder is there, with all the shared content in tact! Neat! In addition to message management, Fuser is a pretty cool content manager. When you add your accounts, Fuser automatically sucks in all your address book and contacts. (Even makes contacts from your Twitter followers!) Of course, this may mean you have duplicate contacts now. Don’t sweat it! Just drag and drop to combine contacts.
As an aside, I think it’s fair to remind you that each of these services require you to share your login details with a 3rd party. I encourage you to do your own homework to determine whether or not you feel good about sharing your information with a private company. I think these two services are relatively safe, but their privacy practices are always subject to change — so keep it in the back of your mind!
The two services talked about here are known as Social Networking ‘aggregators’. They aren’t the only ones out there to be had, just two of the neatest ones I’ve yet to encounter. If you’ve discovered one that you can’t live without, sound off about it in the comments section. I’m always up for trying something new!
