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Crime

iPad Account Hacker Pleads Guilty 86

Posted by timothy from the bad-hacker-not-good-hacker dept.
WrongSizeGlass writes "Daniel Spitler, a member of Goatse Security, pleaded guilty today to writing the code used to steal email addresses and personal information belonging to 120,000 Apple iPad subscribers from AT&T computer servers. Spitler, who surrendered to the authorities in January, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers connected to the Internet and one count of identity theft. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison."
Television

Apple To Start Making TVs? 313

Posted by samzenpus from the I-want-my-iTV dept.
timothy writes "Apple might want to sell you your next TV,' says this CNN report. Which makes a lot of sense, considering that Apple's razors-and-blades, vertical-marketplace model for iTunes (and the various iDevices) doesn't make as much sense with the world of TV, where your Sony, Samsung, or (egads!) Westinghouse set is just as happy with a Google TV box, or a Roku, or one of many other media devices, as it is with an Apple TV attached."
Displays

New Apple Multi-Touch Patent Is Too Broad 310

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-usually-are dept.
adeelarshad82 writes "Nearly three and a half years later, Apple has finally been awarded the U.S. patent number 7,966,578, which according to the patent experts should worry rivals. According to exclusive interviews with patent experts, the incredibly broad patent puts Apple in a strong position when it comes to displaying content and using certain finger gestures on smart phones. The patent is so broad that not only will Apple's legal team target iPhone competitors but will also look to go after iPad and iPod rivals. Experts also discussed the scenario of Apple licensing its patented technology or for that matter, the courts completely scrapping the patent in public's interest."
China

18 Months In Prison For Making iPad 2 Cases 285

Posted by timothy from the force-multiplier dept.
decora writes "Loretta Chao of the The Wall Street Journal reports on three people in China who were sentenced to between 12 and 18 months in prison for a plot to make iPad 2 protective cases before the tablet's official release. The plan allegedly involved R&D man Lin Kecheng of Hon Hai Precision Industry Company (FoxConn) selling image data to Hou Pengna, who then passed it to Xiao Chengsong, a manager at MacTop. The charges? One 'violated the privacy policy of the company,' two got information through 'illegal means' causing 'huge losses,' and they all 'infringed trade secrets.' The decision was handed down by the Shenzen Baoan People's Court on June 16."
Communications

Skype Forcing Mac Users To Upgrade Client 250

Posted by timothy from the we-control-the-horizontal dept.
mijkal writes "Nevermind a huge outcry over the iTunes-like behemoth of Skype v5 for Mac. Users with v2.8 are being pushed an update to v5 regardless of update preferences. I even restored v2.8 from TimeMachine only to have it update itself again within minutes, offering only an option to relaunch the app."
Apple

NY Post Goes App-Only For iPad Users 218

Posted by samzenpus from the jumping-through-hoops dept.
bfwebster writes "Browsing the web this morning, I discovered that the New York Post is blocking iPad users from reading its website via Safari. Instead, iPad users must download and use the NY Post App instead. That app previously required a paid subscription (which is one reason I didn't use it); however, the version I downloaded this morning isn't making any demands for payment. Yet."
Cloud

Will Capped Data Plans Kill the Cloud? 530

Posted by samzenpus from the that's-enough-for-you dept.
theodp writes "With the introduction of its Chromebook, Google is betting big on the Cloud. As is Apple, with its iCloud initiative. So too are Netflix and Skype. Unfortunately, their very existence is threatened by data-capping carriers, who have set a course to make sure that the network is NOT the computer. 'I don't know what the solution is,' writes David Pogue. 'I don't know if anyone's thinking about this. But there are big changes coming. There are big forces about to shape our lives online. And at the moment, they're on a direct collision course.'"
Facebook

Facebook Taking On Apple? 127

Posted by CmdrTaco from the there-can-be-only-five-or-six dept.
oDDmON oUT writes "Techcrunch has a piece about Facebook's Project Spartan, which aims to deliver app store functionality through the use of HTML5 in the iOS Safari browser. Given Facebook's shifting sands privacy stances, as well as their track record with their "trusted partners", I don't think I'd be alone in wondering if this wouldn't put a great big stake in the heart of the assertion that iOS is the most secure operating system in existence today."
Android

Franken Bill Would Protect Consumers Location Data 90

Posted by samzenpus from the covering-your-tracks dept.
GovTechGuy writes "Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) unveiled a new bill on Wednesday that would require firms like Apple and Google to obtain consent from consumers before collecting or sharing their smartphone location data with third parties. The bill would cover all mobile devices including tablets and require firms to inform consumers when they collect their data and allow them to delete it when requested."
Iphone

Senator Releases First Senate Mobile App 107

Posted by samzenpus from the i-the-people dept.
GovTechGuy writes "Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) released an official application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, making him the first Senator to offer an official mobile application. The Chambliss app allows the public to call Chambliss' offices directly from the app and find in real-time information on the Senator's positions on current political topics."
Iphone

The Most Common iPhone Passcodes 192

Posted by Soulskill from the one-two-three-four dept.
Orome1 writes "The problem of poor passwords is not confined to computer use, and that fact was illustrated by an app developer who has added code to capture user passcodes to one of its applications. 'Because Big Brother's [the app in question] passcode setup screen and lock screen are nearly identical to those of the actual iPhone passcode lock, I figured that the collected information would closely correlate with actual iPhone passcodes,' says Daniel Amitay. It turns out that of the 204,508 recorded passcodes, 15% were one of the most common ten."
Iphone

Unlocked iPhones in US For $649 334

Posted by CmdrTaco from the it's-about-time dept.
Endoflow2010 writes "Apple on Tuesday started selling an unlocked version of its iPhone 4, starting at $649. A 16GB unlocked iPhone 4 will set you back $649, while a 32GB version is selling for $749. Both are available in black or white; the black will ship within one to three business days, while the white is available in three to five days, according to the Apple Web site. The benefit of an unlocked phone is that you are not locked into a two-year contract with a particular provider. But it also means that you don't get the subsidized pricing provided by someone like AT&T or Verizon. The same phones with a contract cost $199 and $299."
Books

Steve Jobs: the Comic Book 119

Posted by CmdrTaco from the alternate-covers-please dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Steve Jobs' life and career is to be imortalised in a comic book biography. "Steve Jobs: Co-Founder of Apple" appears to describe his life from birth to the current day. Jobs notoriously hates biographies, so it'll be interesting to see how he responds to this one."
Google

Google Should Be Logging In To Facebook 95

Posted by Soulskill from the playing-nice-with-the-other-loudmouth dept.
Frequent Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton writes "Facebook indirectly accused Google of creating dummy accounts to log in and spider information from their site, and Google denied the charge. But if Google wants to help users discover what strangers can find out about them, then spidering Facebook with dummy accounts is exactly what they should be doing." Read on for the rest of his thoughts.
Patents

Apple Agrees To Pay Licensing Fees To Nokia 205

Posted by CmdrTaco from the money-makes-it-better dept.
dkd903 writes "After almost two years of litigation of Nokia and Apple suing and counter-suing each other, the patent war between the two companies has come to an end. The winner of this settlement is, however, Nokia. As a part of the settlement, Apple has agreed to become a licensee of Nokia's patents. As a part of the licensing agreement, Apple has agreed to give Nokia a one-time payment and ongoing royalties. The exact terms of the agreement have not been disclosed."
OS X

Mac OS X Lion Has a Browser-Only Mode 231

Posted by timothy from the meme-gets-around-quick dept.
dkd903 writes "It turns out that there is a feature in OS X Lion which no one expected and was never announced at WWDC. The feature we are talking about is 'Restart to Safari.' As you might have guessed from the name, this feature makes it possible to restart the Mac into just the Safari browser and nothing else."
Music

John Linnell of They Might Be Giants Talks Tech 111

Posted by CmdrTaco from the birdhouse-in-my-trs80 dept.
harrymcc writes "We've published Benj Edwards' wide-ranging interview with John Linnell, one half of the 30-year musical partnership known as They Might Be Giants. He talks about his life as a technology user--from his first encounter with the Radio Shack TRS-80 to his mastery of Asteroids to the band's long-time use of Macs to its pioneering experiments on online music."
Businesses

Apple Store Employee Attempts To Form Union 1008

Posted by samzenpus from the jobs-needs-better-jobs dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Cory Moll, a part-time employee at an Apple store in San Francisco, is attempting unionize Apple store employees. The Apple Retail Workers Union is an attempt to fight for better wages and benefits and to address what he says are unfair practices in the company's glass-and-steel retail showrooms. 'The core issues are definitely involve compensation, pay, benefits,' said Mr. Moll, who has received little public support from employees so far, though he said he has emails expressing support. An Apple representative confirmed Mr. Moll is an employee, but declined to comment on the union effort."

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