2012
IOS piracy site Installous down and out
Many IOS jailbreak evangelists complain that piracy is actually hurting their mission but statistics show that most IOS jailbreakers do it to access pirated content. Cydia itself doesn’t distribute pirated content but allows you to access other application repositories that make it possible to install pirated content. The king of IOS piracy, the Installous repository run by Hackulous, seems to be down. The official message on chat boards is that the site has been shut down because it is a “ghost town”.
Android's Adult only app store has legs
It’s a well known fact that Google is much more permissive with apps it admits to its app store, compared to Apple. But some content is too hot even for the open minded folks at Google, enter MiKandi. As an Android user, you can use any app store you want (the most well known are Google’s Play app store and the Amazon App store) and now can choose the MiKandi app store for all your adult needs. They want to become a broker connecting adult content developers with likeminded customers.
Time to switch from IOS to Android?
I am not an Apple “fanboy” but have been buying their mobile products since the release of the original iPhone. Every one of their products has excellent design wrapped in art. Their devices are as beautiful to look at as they are to use. But over the last year, there have been little irritants that motivated me to explore other options (Apple’s demand for absolute control, lack of innovation with the iPhone 5, Apple rejecting interesting hardware for vague reasons, etc).
Apple losing its customer support edge
ForeSee, a business analytics agency, is reporting that Apple lost 3% during a holiday period customer survey. Even with the slide, Apple still ranks as one of the best when it comes to customer satisfaction. How was it calculated FireSee surveyed 24000 customers from US thanksgiving to Christmas. Interestingly this is one of the biggest drops ForeSee has seen in years and it is Apple's lowest score in 4 years. Why ForeSee CEO told AllThingsD that "The luster of Apple is fading a bit, and keeping up with consumer's rising expectations is no easy task.
Happy holidays
I wanted to take a minute and wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year. More posts coming soon. Ed
Motorola + Google may be working on a special Android phone
The Wall Street Journal is reporting [based on unnamed sources] that Motorola engineers are working on a super secret special project called the "X Phone". The industry rumor says that this special device is being built in collaboration with their masters (Google). The goal is to build a super phone that would rival the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy devices. Many have said this could be the device that raises Motorola back to mobile phone greatness. With the limited info, we really don't know what to expect so we'll just have to wait and see.
Google terminating Activesync support for general public in January
Google is a giant lab and every once in a while we see a list of projects that the sultan of search (aka Google) has decided to kill off. As part of its winter cleaning program, we learned that it will terminate public support for ActiveSync (for all but paying customer using Google Apps business, Government and education). Google will grandfather existing accounts with ActiveSync but will not allow new accounts to use it (past January 31 2013). As a workaround, Google recommends users leverage IMAP (mail), CalDAV (Calendar) and CardDAV (Contacts).
Use your dSLR as a (cheaper than) Lytro alternative
I remember first reading about the (at that time) Lytro camera and was excited about being able to change a picture's Depth of Field after the picture was taken. It meant less shots would get wasted and you could snap a picture almost instantly (since there is no focusing). The $400 photography revolution that isn't I am convinced Light Field Technology will revolutionize the consumer photography market in a couple of years. What we have now is first generation and therefore there is plenty of room for improvement.
D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit (DHP-309AV) Review
WIFI Convenient but slow WIFI is a wonderful thing and makes our lives that much easier. Even with the latest and greatest technologies, WIFI is often slow and unreliable compared to a wired network. Interesting real world tests conducted by Epitiro show that a WIFI connection is on average 30 percent slower than a wired one. You're not going to wire your iphone, Android or ipad and browsing the web on WIFI works well enough but the minute you start playing games, streaming video, using HD video chatting or other service that requires low latency high bandwidth connectivity, you'll feel the pain of WIFI.
Korea is targeting Russia via espionage campaign called Sanny
Anytime I talk about cyber-espionage, the first reaction most people have is that China must be behind the effort. The reality is that most countries have cyber-espionage capabilities and they use it to further their own interests. My eyes widened and my ear perked up when I read a research paper by FireEye about a possible cyber-espionage campaign against Russian industry by Korea. I say Korea because FireEye hasn’t clarified whether the source is North or South Korea. It seems most companies being targeted as in space research, IT, education and telecommunication.
RIM kicked out of the NASDAQ-100
The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of the world's largest non financial companies. NASDAQ recently announced that Facebook will be listed while Netflix and RIM will be shown the door (in 2013). Although this is another strike against RIM, it isn't unexpected. With RIM's stock being so low and projections so bad, no one should really be surprised that they will be removed from the NASDAQ-100. If you don't trust my information, head on over and check the official NASDAQ release [here](http://www.
How to detect counterfeit headphones
There are thousands of counterfeit products being sold on Craigslist, Kijiji, eBay and other consumer to consumer online sites. During a trip to New York last year, I even found counterfeit Apple products and headphones being sold in a brick and mortar store. As a consumer, you want to make sure you are buying the real thing. First rule of thumb Counterfeit products never perform like the real authentic product. Don't listen to what anybody says, they just don't. Best case, the counterfeit product just per form’s bad.
Scammer want your password. Here's how to protect it
As a business leader working in the information security field, I usually add extra doses of "question everything", "trust no one" and "double check everything" into my life. As the holiday season approaches, everyone seem happier, more cheerful and sometimes more trusting. Scammers are out in force trying to steal your information and identity so this post is a little reminder to be extra vigilant this holiday season. One tip is to never ever ever ever ever share your password with anyone.
You make bad decisions when too much info is available
We live in the information age where almost anything can be researched and learned from the massive information superhighway. But is too much information a bad thing? Psychology today has an interesting article that claims the more we learn, the harder it becomes to make a decision. Pushing the point just a little more: more information may encourage us to make a worse decision. The article is worth reading and one paragraph that stood out at me was this: "
It may be time to check out Outlook.com if you use gmail
Full Disclosure I have been using Google Apps for some time now and it has proven to be reliable, fast and easy to use. December 7 2012, we learned that Google was killing off its free Google Apps offering and forcing new customers to its $50 a year Google Apps for small business offering. They said existing [free] customers will be grandfathered but who knows what the future holds. Truth be told, the one service I really use is GMAIL and Drive.
Gangdam Style + MC Hammer = good entertainment
I saw this and wanted to share a new spin on Gangdam style
An easy way to encrypt your emails and keep its contents safe
I had written an article a while back entitled "Is Microsoft Going Through Your Cloud Stored Files?". Whether the analysis of your content is done by a human, a robot or disgruntled employee, it feels wrong and there are times when you absolutely need to make sure the info in a particular email is secure & protected. You can always install one of the open source PGP alternatives but require complicated setup and key exchange (which makes these non usable by the average Joe).
Facebook helps FBI shutdown the butterfly botnet (mariposa)
The US Department of justice said it has arrested 10 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, Peru, the United Kingdom, and the United States related to the operation of the butterfly (mariposa) botnet. The exact infection rate can't be ascertained with certainty however it is believed over 11 millions systems are infected worldwide. As one of the biggest and most widely known botnets, experts estimate that it stole close to $850M by harvesting financial information from 800,000 people.
Could Google maps for IOS be released tonight?
AllThingsD is reporting that Google Maps for IOS may launch as soon as tonight on the Apple AppStore. Their information is provided by a "trusted inside source" so take this with a grain of salt. I'll believe it when I see it but I hope the rumor it correct. Update on 2012-12-13 13:34 by Edward N Kiledjian Google Maps for IOS was released just before midnight yesterday and I have been playing with it a little.
2012 Interesting Twitter Statistics
Every year, the analysts and engineers at tweeter crunch all the tweet data for that year and present interesting trends. They then compile this wonderfully interesting twitterified data into a special site where anyone can go and explore. Click on the below image to see the full size version They have broken down their findings into these categories (with the twitter description for each) Golden Tweets: The top two Tweets that generated the most Retweets for the year, plus honorable mentions for a few others that caught attention around the world.