DigitalOutbox Episode 300

Chris and Ian discuss Uber, Pirates, Nintendo Switch and CES

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DigitalOutbox Episode 207

DigitalOutbox Episode 207
DigitalOutbox Episode 207 – Samsung fined, Google kills URL, Nintendo losses

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1:17 – Jury finds that Samsung infringed 2 of Apple’s patents, awards $119.6M in damages
5:36 – Google moves to kill off the URL entirely in new version of Chrome
11:01 – Google Maps turbo-charges turn-by-turn directions on iOS and Android and gets Uber transit option
16:39 – All the wrong Moves: Facebook dances around a privacy issue as it counts every step you take
18:25 – App.net is profitable and self-sustaining, but will no longer have any full-time employees
23:52 – Amazon Extends Its Shopping Basket To Twitter
25:12 – Nintendo Misses Its Own Lowered Hardware Expectations

DigitalOutbox Episode 153

DigitalOutbox Episode 152
DigitalOutbox Episode 153 – Gullible Brits, UK Courts and Mobile World Congress

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0:55 – Microsoft Hacked Too
2:35 – UK was world’s most phished country in 2012
8:05 – Attorney general takes legal action over online pictures of Jamie Bulger killers
10:03 – Court orders UK ISPs to block more piracy sites
11:52 – Another Twitter client bites the dust
14:57 – App.net Introducing a freemium tier
20:01 – Google Launches Google+ Sign-In For Mobile And Web
23:30 – Microsoft Launches IE10 For Windows 7
25:14 – Firefox OS Hits The Ground Running With Phones From Telefonica, T-Mobile, Firefox Marketplace For Apps
28:11 – HP Slate 7 hands-on: a standard Android tablet with standard HP style
29:34 – HP emerges as big winner in webOS sale, and LG doesn’t rule out a phone
32:13 – Asus launch the Fonepad and the Padfone
34:49 – Samsung unveils Wallet an Android alternative to Apples Passbook
37:21 – Nintendo to bring Wii Mini to UK
39:03 – Real Racing 3 launches

Picks
Ian
BT London 2012
– Panoramic image from the BT Tower in London
– You can keep zooming and zooming and zooming

Bombermine
– 1000 player Bomberman
– Tweaked rules
– Free to play
– 20 min games all in the browser

DigitalOutbox Episode 137

DigitalOutbox Episode 137
DigitalOutbox Episode 137 – 4G, App.net and Maps. Again.

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1:58 – Apple release a letter
– To our customers,
– At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.
– We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.
– There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.
– While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.
– Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.
– Tim Cook
– Apple’s CEO
4:09 – While Samsung sue Apple for the iPhone 5
– Yesterday Samsung added the iPhone 5 to its patent lawsuit against Apple and other manufacturers. This comes after Apple was awarded $1 billion for Samsung’s infringements. But sales of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III haven’t been hurt and appear to have been helped by the news.
– The powerhouse Android device saw average growth of 9% in new devices each week since August 1st, with huge spikes in Galaxy S III adoption occurring after the Apple lawsuit verdict and after the iPhone 5 announcement.
– The first spike in weekly growth coincides with the same week that a jury awarded Apple $1 billion for Samsung infringing on Apple’s patents. The deluge of post-litigation press coverage both drove general attention to Samsung and suggested that Samsung devices were similar enough to iPhones to be an option for many consumers.
– The second spike started the week of September 12, when Apple announced the new iPhone 5. Apple’s announcement was quickly followed by hundreds of stories comparing the two phones, most of which again suggested they were similarly capable. That combined with the slowdown in new Galaxy S3 growth seen leading up to Apple’s announcement (week-over-week new devices were the same as the previous week, resulting in 0% growth) suggest that many consumers were waiting to hear about the new iPhone before making a decision.
– As expected Samsung also challenge their recent $1bn court loss – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19816642
– Samsung said foreman Velvin Hogan had provided an incomplete answer during jury selection.
– It said he had revealed he had been involved in a single previous lawsuit, but had failed to disclose two others.
– It noted that Mr Hogan had been sued by his former employer – hard disk maker Seagate – for breach of contract, and had subsequently filed for personal bankruptcy.
– Samsung’s filing highlights that it is the biggest direct shareholder in Seagate, following a $1.4bn deal in 2011.
– “Mr Hogan’s failure to disclose the Seagate suit raises issues of bias that Samsung should have been allowed to explore in questioning,” its lawyers wrote.
7:35 – O2 and Vodafone agree network sharing deal
– Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK today announce their intention to strengthen their existing network partnership, by pooling the basic parts of their network infrastructure to create one national grid running each operator’s independent spectrum.
– The plan will deliver real benefits for today’s mobile phone users by creating two competing networks that will be able to offer indoor 2G and 3G coverage targeting 98% of the UK population by 2015, delivering mobile coverage and mobile internet services to the vast majority of UK households.
– It will also ensure that the capability for the next generation of 4G mobile services is rolled out as widely and rapidly as possible*, helping to close the digital divide between rural and urban areas. The partnership will lay the foundations for two competing 4G networks to deliver a nationwide 4G service faster than could be achieved independently and up to two years before the anticipated regulatory requirement of 98% population coverage by 2017**.
– Just as under Cornerstone, the two companies’ existing network partnership, all shared sites will continue to carry Telefónica UK’s traffic on Telefónica’s spectrum and Vodafone UK’s traffic on Vodafone’s spectrum.
– Both operators will continue to remain responsible for their own existing spectrum holdings and for fulfilling their own spectrum needs in the future. The launch of 4G services is subject to the outcome of the forthcoming Ofcom auction of new spectrum and both companies will act wholly independently in that auction.
12:22 – 4G timetable agreed
– At a meeting with communications regulator Ofcom and the government, rival operators agreed to settle their differences and get services up and running quickly.
– The government said high-speed data services should launch by spring 2013, six months earlier than planned.
– O2 and Vodafone have agreed not to pursue legal action against EE.
– EE is likely to announce when its services will go live imminently.
– A combination of factors, from a change of government to threats of legal action from operators, had slowed down the process to free up spectrum used by analogue television broadcasts.While the auction of the airwaves made available by the digital switchover is still scheduled for January next year, clearing them for 4G use will happen far more quickly than originally envisaged.
– Ofcom said that it had secured the earlier release of frequencies that were previously used for digital-terrestrial broadcasting. Thanks to Freeview – switch to digital went better than expected.
– Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, said: “The actions we have taken with industry and government avoid the risk of significant delay and are tremendous news for consumers who might otherwise have waited a considerable period for the next generation of mobile broadband services.”
– Three was the first operator to comment, following the meeting.A spokesman said: “We see this as positive step for UK consumers by removing the monopoly on LTE that would have benefitted just one operator.” LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is the flavour of 4G that UK operators will be deploying.
15:25 – EE Announce 4G launch
– 4G will launch on October 30th
– Launched in 10 cities – BIRMINGHAM, LEEDS, BRISTOL, LIVERPOOL, CARDIFF, LONDON, EDINBURGH, MANCHESTER, GLASGOW, SHEFFIELD – 16 by Christmas – Belfast, Derby, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham and Southampton
– No prices or plans yet
– 5 phones now available
– Apple iPhone 5
– Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (but not any SGS3 handsets sold in the UK up to this point)
– HTC’s One XL
– Huawei Ascend P1 LTE
– Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE (from 15 October)
– Huawei mobile dongle
– Progress!!
19:46 – App.net reveal price drop
– Now have 20,000 users
– Drops from $50 to $36 a year (or $5 a month)
– Developers still have to spend $100 per year to use the API. But App.net recently announced an incentive for developers. Beginning October 1, App.net will give $20,000 per month to developers for the most successful third-party apps or services. The incentive program is reminiscent of RIM’s investment to foster app development.
– Ummmm…underwhelming?
22:26 – Tabots release Netbot
– Netbot is a full-featured iPhone App.net client with a lot of personality. Whether it’s the meticulously-crafted interface, sounds & animation, or features like smart gestures, there’s a lot to love about Netbot.
– Has a version for iPhone and iPad – £2.99 each
– All the great features from Tweetbot
– Conversations exploded on App.net this evening with this new client
– Crossposting will be….interesting
– Shot in the arm
26:11 – XFactor for Tech community
– An X Factor style TV show aimed at discovering aspiring young technology entrepreneurs is reportedly being considered by music mogul Simon Cowell and rapper Will.i.am.
– Will.i.am told the Sun newspaper they had met to discuss the details of the project, X Factor for Tech, last month.
– The Black Eyed Peas frontman, who was last year appointed as Intel’s director of creative innovation, said the show would create “lots” of jobs.
– UK innovators have welcomed the idea.

Picks

DigitalOutbox Episode 130

DigitalOutbox Episode 130
DigitalOutbox Episode 130 – Metro dropped, App.net and Mat Honan gets hacked hard.

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2:38 – T-mobile – tethering no longer available to new full monthly customers
– UK network T-Mobile has confirmed that new customers signing up to its Full Monty tariff will not be eligible for unlimited tethering on their device.
– Launched back in February, the Full Monty plan offered T-Mobile customers unlimited calls, texts and data – including tethering – for £36 per month.
– However anyone looking to take advantage of this offer now will notice the Full Monty tariff clearly states “excludes tethering” next to its “unlimited internet” claim.
– Unfortunately the spokesperson was unable to reveal why the network had decided to stop offering tethering as part of the terms of the Fully Monty contract, stating: “We don’t have anything more to share.”
– We can only assume T-Mobile has witnessed a dramatic drain on its bandwidth since launching the Full Monty plan, so has had to quickly back-track on its offer of truly unlimited internet to stop the network falling over.
5:14 – Microsoft drop the Metro brand
– Microsoft is killing off the use of its Metro design name to describe a tiled interface in Windows Phone and Windows 8. We brought you news of the change earlier today, but a tipster has provided an internal memo sent to Microsoft employees confirming the move. In it, Microsoft reveals that “discussions with an important European partner” led to the decision to “discontinue the use” of the Metro branding for Windows 8 and other Microsoft products — one that employees must adhere to immediately.
– The Windows team is “working on a replacement term” according to the memo, “and plans to land on that by the end of this week.” Until then, employees have been advised to refer to the Metro style user interface as the “Windows 8 style UI.” The memo was distributed to employees earlier this week, so we expect to hear official news about the Metro replacement by the weekend.
– Microsoft has used the Metro branding as a codename for its typography-based design language. The company has used a number of elements from the design language across its Windows 8 and Windows Phone products, as well as the recently released Office 2013 preview.
– 7 days later and it’s no longer Windows 8 style UI – it’s “Modern UI Style” to describe Windows 8 applications – it may even just be called….Windows 8
7:07 – Valve to sell non-gaming software on Steam starting September 5th
– Valve is opening up Steam to non-gaming software, the company announced today, bringing applications ranging from “creativity to productivity” to the digital distribution platform. The first software titles will be released on September 5th.
– Non-gaming software sold via Steam will take advantage of the platform’s Steamworks features, which include simplified installation, auto-updating, and the ability to save work to the Steam Cloud for cross-platform access from multiple computers.
– “The 40 million gamers frequenting Steam are interested in more than playing games,” said Valve’s Mark Richardson in a press release. “They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests.”
8:51 – Would you pay for a social network – App.net hopes so
– Dalton Caldwell wrote a blog post over a month ago lamenting Twitter and the route it was taking
– A few days later, launched his own Kickstarter like appeal for App.net – a paid for twitter clone
– No ad’s, focused on users and developers
– Open API
– Paid for – $50 a year min pricing, $100 for access to API for developers
– 3 days to go for fundraising – $150,000 short
– Will it work? Nope. Ouch.
15:51 – Google Free iPhone
– Latest iOS 6 beta drops the YouTube app
– Apple confirmed – Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.
– Google response – We are working with Apple to make sure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users.
– Could be good and bad for iOS users – Youtube app for me is best way of viewing youtube content but it hasn’t changed in years. Google could develop a very slick app for iOS. Who killed the app – Apple or Google? No ad’s in the iOS app at the moment.
– Good opportunity for third party dev’s
– Will google be dropped in search and siri? Surely not?
19:02 – Google brings knowledge graph to rest of the world (if you speak english)
– Now live in the UK
– Still feels like wikipedia on the RHS of your search results
– Also announced the start of a trial which will allow people to search their Gmail messages from the Google.com search box.
– Move was a “baby step towards pre-emptive search” and an example of search engines “getting to know people better”.
– “So if you’re planning a biking trip to Tahoe, you might see relevant emails from friends about the best bike trails, or great places to eat on the right hand side of the results page. If it looks relevant you can then expand the box to read the emails.”
Gmail results will appear on the right hand side of the search results page and will only be available to the single user whose email account is being included in the results.
23:03 – Mat Honan Hacked Hard
– In the space of one hour, my entire digital life was destroyed. First my Google account was taken over, then deleted. Next my Twitter account was compromised, and used as a platform to broadcast racist and homophobic messages. And worst of all, my AppleID account was broken into, and my hackers used it to remotely erase all of the data on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.
– In many ways, this was all my fault. My accounts were daisy-chained together. Getting into Amazon let my hackers get into my Apple ID account, which helped them get into Gmail, which gave them access to Twitter. Had I used two-factor authentication for my Google account, it’s possible that none of this would have happened, because their ultimate goal was always to take over my Twitter account and wreak havoc. Lulz.
– Had I been regularly backing up the data on my MacBook, I wouldn’t have had to worry about losing more than a year’s worth of photos, covering the entire lifespan of my daughter, or documents and e-mails that I had stored in no other location.
– Those security lapses are my fault, and I deeply, deeply regret them.
– How was he hacked – In short, the very four digits that Amazon considers unimportant enough to display in the clear on the web are precisely the same ones that Apple considers secure enough to perform identity verification. The disconnect exposes flaws in data management policies endemic to the entire technology industry, and points to a looming nightmare as we enter the era of cloud computing and connected devices.
– Timeline
– At 4:33 p.m., according to Apple’s tech support records, someone called AppleCare claiming to be me. Apple says the caller reported that he couldn’t get into his .Me e-mail — which, of course was my .Me e-mail.
– In response, Apple issued a temporary password. It did this despite the caller’s inability to answer security questions I had set up. And it did this after the hacker supplied only two pieces of information that anyone with an internet connection and a phone can discover.
– At 4:50 p.m., a password reset confirmation arrived in my inbox. I don’t really use my .Me e-mail, and rarely check it. But even if I did, I might not have noticed the message because the hackers immediately sent it to the trash. They then were able to follow the link in that e-mail to permanently reset my AppleID password.
– At 4:52 p.m., a Gmail password recovery e-mail arrived in my .Me mailbox. Two minutes later, another e-mail arrived notifying me that my Google account password had changed.
– At 5:02 p.m., they reset my Twitter password. At 5:00 they used iCloud’s “Find My” tool to remotely wipe my iPhone. At 5:01 they remotely wiped my iPad. At 5:05 they remotely wiped my MacBook. Around this same time, they deleted my Google account. At 5:10, I placed the call to AppleCare. At 5:12 the attackers posted a message to my account on Twitter taking credit for the hack.
– All the hackers wanted was access to mat’s twitter account – nothing else
– Apple tech support confirmed to me twice over the weekend that all you need to access someone’s AppleID is the associated e-mail address, a credit card number, the billing address, and the last four digits of a credit card on file. I was very clear about this. During my second tech support call to AppleCare, the representative confirmed this to me. “That’s really all you have to have to verify something with us,” he said.
– Getting a credit card number is tricker, but it also relies on taking advantage of a company’s back-end systems. Phobia says that a partner performed this part of the hack, but described the technique to us, which we were able to verify via our own tech support phone calls. It’s remarkably easy — so easy that Wired was able to duplicate the exploit twice in minutes.
– First you call Amazon and tell them you are the account holder, and want to add a credit card number to the account. All you need is the name on the account, an associated e-mail address, and the billing address. Amazon then allows you to input a new credit card. (Wired used a bogus credit card number from a website that generates fake card numbers that conform with the industry’s published self-check algorithm.) Then you hang up.
– Next you call back, and tell Amazon that you’ve lost access to your account. Upon providing a name, billing address, and the new credit card number you gave the company on the prior call, Amazon will allow you to add a new e-mail address to the account. From here, you go to the Amazon website, and send a password reset to the new e-mail account. This allows you to see all the credit cards on file for the account — not the complete numbers, just the last four digits. But, as we know, Apple only needs those last four digits. We asked Amazon to comment on its security policy, but didn’t have anything to share by press time.
– And it’s also worth noting that one wouldn’t have to call Amazon to pull this off. Your pizza guy could do the same thing, for example. If you have an AppleID, every time you call Pizza Hut, you’ve giving the 16-year-old on the other end of the line all he needs to take over your entire digital life.
– Lessons
– Backup!
– I shouldn’t have daisy-chained two such vital accounts — my Google and my iCloud account — together. I shouldn’t have used the same e-mail prefix across multiple accounts — mhonan@gmail.com, mhonan@me.com, and mhonan@wired.com. And I should have had a recovery address that’s only used for recovery without being tied to core services.
– But, mostly, I shouldn’t have used Find My Mac. Find My iPhone has been a brilliant Apple service. If you lose your iPhone, or have it stolen, the service lets you see where it is on a map. When you perform a remote hard drive wipe on Find my Mac, the system asks you to create a four-digit PIN so that the process can be reversed. But here’s the thing: If someone else performs that wipe — someone who gained access to your iCloud account through malicious means — there’s no way for you to enter that PIN. A better way to have this set up would be to require a second method of authentication when Find My Mac is initially set up. If this were the case, someone who was able to get into an iCloud account wouldn’t be able to remotely wipe devices with malicious intent. It would also mean that you could potentially have a way to stop a remote wipe in progress.
– 2 factor security on google accounts would have helped too – http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-two-step-authentication/
– Prey a more secure option than Find my Mac – http://preyproject.com/
– Don’t make your address public
– Use strong single use passwords – Lastpass or 1password will help
– Change passwords regularly
– Updates
– Amazon have changed their policies quietly – On Tuesday, Amazon handed down to its customer service department a policy change that no longer allows people to call in and change account settings, such as credit cards or email addresses associated with its user accounts.
– Apple on Tuesday ordered its support staff to immediately stop processing AppleID password changes requested over the phone, following the identity hacking of Wired reporter Mat Honan over the weekend, according to Apple employees.
– An Apple worker with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Wired that the over-the-phone password freeze would last at least 24 hours. The employee speculated that the freeze was put in place to give Apple more time to determine what security policies needed to be changed, if any.

Picks
Ian
Pixelmator
– £10.49
– Great image editor for the Mac
– Now at version 2.1 and on sale, hence the recomendation
– Everything you probably need in an image editor and now comes with iCloud, retina and Mountain Lion support