12 posts tagged “appleinsider”
Apple Considers Streaming Media from iTunes to iPhone
Mark Hendrickson
12 comments »
AppleInsider has posted
details about a patent recently filed by Apple that describes
technology for playing iTunes content from a desktop computer remotely
on an iPhone or iPod touch.
The new software would load only meta data about songs, videos, and other media onto a handheld device. It would then allow users to stream this media from their desktop computers on demand and even let them organize their iTunes libraries remotely (by adding, deleting, and moving files around). The main benefits come from saving space on your handheld device, where disk storage is scarce, as well as saving the time it takes to synchronize.
There’s been no official word from Apple on when or whether it plans
to release this technology (it files patents all the time that go
nowhere). But such a development could be seen as one step towards a
streaming music service like Rhapsody or Napster,
which have operated in stark contrast to Apple’s download model.
However, the patent does not suggest that Apple plans to stream data
from its own servers - just consumers’ own desktop computers, where
they keep the music they have downloaded.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/08/apple-considers-streaming-media-from-itunes-to-iphone/
Apple could also be understood to be taking on at least one facet of Microsoft Mesh, which promises to make consumers’ personal files available to them on whichever device they use. Of course, MobileMe already goes to show that Apple has data synchronization on its mind - but perhaps there’s a broader trend here as well.
Published: 05:05 PM EST
A Chinese-language blog responsible for leaking photographs of
a genuine next-generation Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro casing has posted a
similar set of photos purported to be that of the company's upcoming
aluminum 13-inch MacBooks.
The four photos (below) published by Apple.pro show a hollow 13-inch aluminum notebook display casing with the word "MacBook" imprinted on the bezel.
Last month, the same blog published a single photo showing the empty shell of what was said to be Apple's next-gen MacBook Pro enclosure. People familiar with the upcoming notebooks later confirmed to AppleInsider that the enclosure in the photo was indeed authentic.
Both sets of photos show notebook casings that closely conform to AppleInsider's descriptions of Apple's upcoming MacBook and MacBook Pro refreshes that were first published back in April.
In that report, it was noted that the MacBooks would undergo the most significant metamorphosis, shedding their plastic enclosures for ones constructed from more eco-friendly materials such as aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel.
Meanwhile, the new MacBook Pro was later revealed to include a long and narrow battery cover spanning the entire length of the notebook and comprising approximately 25 percent of the bottom casing, bleeding out and over one edge.
A small, rectangular latch positioned just below the battery area on the bottom of the new notebook will release the battery cover, providing access not only to the MacBook Pro's lithium-ion battery but also its hard disk drive, those familiar with the upcoming design have said.
The verdict is still out on whether the latest round of photos are indeed that of Apple's upcoming 13-inch MacBook. It should be noted that Apple.pro appears to have obtained the photos from this reseller website, which lists the mysterious new casing in its parts database.
Unlike the earlier MacBook Pro photo, the new photos also appear soft or a digitally altered. The "MacBook" type on the bezel appears as if it may be off-center. In general, the casing itself bears many similarities to that of the MacBook Air. Therefore, readers should take the blog's latest claims with some caution.
Photos of a disassembled MacBook Air display casing taken from iFixIt's disassembly guide have been posted below for comparison.
Apple late on Thursday offered up its fifth security update of 2008 to cover an industry-wide and potentially dangerous exploit of Domain Name System servers for spoofing attacks.
Security Update 2008-005 is available for client versions of Mac OS X Leopard (65MB) and Tiger (Intel, PowerPC) as well as Tiger Server (Intel, PowerPC).
Among the multiple fixes, the most essential is one for the Berkeley Internet Name Domain server feature in the operating system, or BIND. While not enabled by default, the service when switched on is potentially vulnerable to exploits of a fundamental flaw in the DNS system that helps govern the Internet protocol and translates website names (such as appleinsider.com) to IP addresses.
Any computer left exposed and unpatched against the attack, regardless of operating system, can have its DNS cache "poisoned," tricking the computer into visiting a malicious website even when the user chooses to visit what would normally be a legitimate address. The Apple fix randomizes the source port for DNS information and so prevents an easy attack when BIND is active.
Other security updates are also rolled into the update and include guards against arbitrary code execution in CarbonCore, CoreGraphics, Data Detectors, Disk Utility, OpenLDAP, Open Scripting Architecture, OpenSSL, PHP, and rsync.
Mac OS X Leopard users are specifically affected by a potential exploit in the software's QuickLook feature and its handling of Microsoft Office files that could allow malicious code.
iPhone 3G shortages causing major delays for AT&T, businesses
By Aidan Malley
Jul-17-2008
07:45 PM
Apple promised that iPhone 3G and
its iPhone 2.0 software would be more suited to business, but a severe
shortage of the device could force companies to wait as long as two
weeks before they see their orders, and is forcing many home customers
to go without at the same time.
The telecoms company isn't asking orders to be halted but says new orders will immediately appear as backordered.
And while both AT&T and its corporate clients are aware that sheer demand is the cause, the delay is severe enough to frustrate corporate buyers, few of whom are used to seeing unexpected shipping delays.
"I have an enterprise account and could not get an iPhone for any price," one such buyer tells AppleInsider. "I thought Apple had finally figured out the whole business thing but alas it seems not."
The situation is little better for AT&T's bread-and-butter personal customers. An informal poll of 50 AT&T stores nationwide by CNET reveals that not one of the locations has any iPhone models to sell, and none of these stores can promise new shipments within the week.
These stores are receiving short term shipments but can't guarantee a minimum amount. As little as 10 may ship one day, while 100 ship the next.
For its part, AT&T spokesperson Jenny Parker says the carrier is delivering "tens of thousands" of the new iPhone per day but will only add that it hopes to restock stores as quickly as possible.
Apple, by contrast, still has at least some of its own stores that claim to have iPhones, though these are also running low with multi-hour lineups a frequent sight.
credit - appleinsider.com/
Edward Kirk / iPhone Alley - RSS:
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News.com:10 minutes ago
Apple Admits MobileMe Snags, Gives Free 30-Day Extension
Apple's MobileMe service hit so many snags
during its launch period that Apple have just issued an email apology
to members. Saying "The transition from .Mac to MobileMe was a lot
rockier than we had hoped," Apple's apologizing with a 30-day
membership extension for free to anyone who was a .Mac member with an
active account as of July 9, 2008 and new MobileMe members who created
accounts on or before July 15, 7:00 PM PDT. Details can be found on the
Apple support page here.
The email also apologizes for the controversy over the speediness of
"push" services, and says that Apple's not using the term until it
really is "near-instant on PCs and Macs, too."
We have recently completed the transition from .Mac to MobileMe. Unfortunately, it was a lot rockier than we had hoped.
Although core services such as Mail, iDisk, Sync, Back to My Mac, and Gallery went relatively smoothly, the new MobileMe web applications had lots of problems initially. Fortunately we have worked through those problems and the web apps are now up and running.
Another snag we have run into is our use of the word "push" in describing everything under the MobileMe umbrella. While all email, contact or calendar changes on the iPhone and the web apps are immediately synced to and from the MobileMe "cloud," changes made on a PC or Mac take up to 15 minutes to sync with the cloud and your other devices. So even though things are indeed instantly pushed to and from your iPhone and the web apps today, we are going to stop using the word "push" until it is near-instant on PCs and Macs, too.
We want to apologize to our loyal customers and express our appreciation for their patience by giving all current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension to their MobileMe subscription free of charge. Your extension will be reflected in your account settings within the next few weeks.
We hope you enjoy your new suite of web applications at me.com, in addition to keeping your iPhone and iPod touch wirelessly in sync with these new web applications and your Mac or PC.Thank you,
The MobileMe Teamcredit - gizmondo.com & engadget.com
more links from techmeme.com
MobileMe: 30-day Extension Eligibility and Details — Note: This FAQ will be updated when your 30-day extension has been made available. Please bookmark this page and check again in a few weeks. Please note that Apple's MobileMe Support team will be unable to provide any additional information regarding …RELATED:Apple apologizes for MobileMe launch, extends subscriptions — Apple's launch of MobileMe last Friday was bumpy with many users not being to login at all, while others had difficulty getting anything to sync properly. Apple on Wednesday recognized those problems and is offering an olive branch to all MobileMe subscribers.
Apple Admits MobileMe Snags, Gives Free 30 Days Membership Extension — Apple Admits MobileMe Snags, Gives Free 30-Day Extension — Apple's MobileMe service hit so many snags during its launch period that Apple have just issued an email apology to members.
Vodaphone Germany Halts T-Mobile iPhone Sales
[AppleInsider]European wireless provider Vodafone on Monday obtained a Court order that requires rival T-Mobile Germany to sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset to Germans without a service plan.
1:40 AM ON TUE NOV 20 2007
BY BRIAN LAM
4,132 views
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iPhone Is A Bigger Security Risk Than You Think
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Just when it looked like the iPhone might make headway with the business market, a security expert shows just how vulnerable the iPhone really is to hackers.
Here is a video with security expert Rik Farrow showing how one might hack an iPhone:
The full article from Fast Company is pretty scary. Here is a look at the findings:
As a result, there are a number of ways to exploit the iPhone's defenses. If you know your target's phone number, you could text message a link to a malicious Website, which would covertly install a third-party application executing malicious code. The corollary would be to send your target an e-mail with a nefarious attachment; he clicks on it and the attacker "owns" the phone. Or there's always the "man-in-the-middle" (MITM) attack, which is perhaps the most James Bondian: You sit in, say, Starbucks with a laptop set up, as part of the ruse, to operate as a Wi-Fi access point, so a target's Web browsing and e-mail pass through your computer first. (How can you tell who has an iPhone as opposed to someone with a standard laptop, rival smartphone, or PDA? Simple -- the exploit only works on iPhones.) "This method would allow exploitation of any application that downloads images from the Internet," Moore says. "This covers standard Web-browsing using Safari, but also includes the iTunes Music Store, the YouTube video browser, and theGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps application."
Now, before you go and lock your iPhone in a vault lined with tin foil let me point this out:
"Taking over a PC allows you to install spam distribution servers that shoot out ads," says Daniel Eran Dilger, a San Francisco-based technical consultant and contributing editor to AppleInsider. "There's no real business model behind the kind of spy surveillance imagined by many writers." And Apple (which declined to comment), in its latest patch, inoculated the iPhone against the Metasploit that Farrow used. But in the cat-and-mouse game that hackers and companies like Apple play, you can be sure someone somewhere is hatching up new schemes to hack the iPhone. Perhaps they already have.
What do you think? Are iPhones vulnerable to Metasploit and other
hacks? Will we see lots of iPhone users hacked in the next few weeks
and months? Or is this just more gloom and doom from security experts?
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