Niri | Blog

Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town.

These are the words of security expert Charlie Miller.

If you use a Mac but you don’t know who Charlie Miller is, you will soon. Charlie is about to disclose a whopping 20 security holes in Mac OS X, all at once – a record for sure.

He uses a technique called fuzzing, which essentially involves spamming an application’s input channels with corrupted data until it crashes, revealing the flaw. You can read more about it from clicking the link.

According to Miller, us Mac users have enjoyed a false sense of security from not being attacked as most attacks are focused on the market leader, Windows. Market share has played a big role in this, but with Apple gaining more and more of this coveted market share we can only speculate what will happen.

Apparently in cracking competitions, it’s often Apple systems that get cracked first. We already know Apple is concerned about security with it’s big vulnerability fix back in late 2009, not long after Snow Leopard was released.

There’s nothing wrong about feeling safe using Mac OS X. It’s not a very popular platform to attack, not because it’s super secure but not enough people use it to make it worthwhile. Many “fan boys” in the Apple community have laughed at Windows for being attacked and exposed as a vulnerable operating system but I’m sure they would shut up if the tide suddenly turned.

I still wouldn’t recommend running out and installing crap-ware like Norton Antivirus on your shiny Mac, but it doesn’t hurt to adopt some healthy web surfing habits

The Wall Street Journal has a great article showcasing why AT&T killed Google Voice recently on the iPhone. Andy Kessler writes a really sobering article on our archaic and ludicrous phone companies and their ancient policies.

Don’t miss his 4 step-solution to the problem which is ingenious. [Link]

Rapid Repair, the site known for their detailed guides to taking apart your favorite gadgets with pictures, has released a full exploration into the guts of the iPhone 3G S.

From [Woot!]

1. Multimedia messaging does not support sculpture, macrame, or interpretive dance.
2. Voice memo recordings totally don’t sound like me. I don’t sound like that, do I? Seriously?
3. Turned on adult content filter but everybody in my videos still has their clothes on.
4. Adding a task to calendar did not result in task getting done.
5. Clicked this blue “compass” icon but kept getting some stupid web browser.
6. Still no apps to cure the nagging feeling that I should’ve bought a Palm Pre.
7. The touchscreen is now on the back of the phone instead of the front.
8. Gone to the bathroom four times already today, and Remote Wipe hasn’t worked once.
9. Spotlight search crashed with memory overload error trying to index my Harry Potter cosplay photo collection.
10. Tried out tethering, but I think I broke my finger smacking that phone around the pole.
11. Apple still hasn’t fixed the no-hardware-keyboard bug.
12. “Cut” function does not apply to monthly AT&T bill.

All true…

I was pretty disappointed with Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference ’09. Clarification, I was disappointed with the iPhone section. The rest was pretty nice.

No really, it's a new phone.

I missed the hint before the conference stating it would be software focused, which it ended up being. That’s OK, but Apple did not bring much to the iPhone party and with all the rumors floating around before the conference I think many were expecting great, new hardware.

Instead we got an identical looking phone with the ingenious name of iPhone 3G S. The S stands for Suck Speed. Even the name makes it clear; there’s not a lot of new here.

To add insult to injury AT&T has made sure current 3G owners will not be getting this device cheaply (Read: most won’t bother). If you want the new 16GB S model you’ll have to shell out $599 and if you want the 32GB S model be prepared to fork over a ludicrous $699 PLUS a $18 upgrade fee. WHAT?!

AT&T Reps are even recommending 3G customers cancel their current phone and sign up for a new one. It’s cheaper eating the early termination fee than paying what AT&T is asking. Completely ass backwards.

On top of that AT&T won’t be ready to support MMS when iPhone OS 3.0 comes out June 17th. Not until the end of summer will they have MMS available for their customers? Huh? How long did they know this was coming? They’re the ONLY carrier in the US!

Then there’s tethering. Now supported on the iPhone thanks to the 3.0 OS, AT&T won’t have anything to offer customers there either! It’s coming later and when it does they say it might cost about $70, and that does not include SMS. In your dreams AT&T, I’m not touching it

I’m getting by without a compass and video features for now. Yes the new phone is faster and has more memory (600Mhz, 256mb RAM) but overall it’s just a refresh of the 3G. If AT&T will reconsider subsidizing it at same rates as the 3G last year I’ll reconsider buying the 3G S.

From Gizmodo:

From Apple's Cupertino parking lot.

It’s not been confirmed but a lot of people speculate Apple will be announcing a new iPhone refresh at Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) this summer. If that’s true the phone must already be in production mode since the conference is only a month away at writing.

So it’s interesting that the above screen shot has hit the Interwebs from a Chinese forum called Weiphone. Are we looking at the specs for the new iPhone?

If we believe the leak the specs will be:

• Model number MB717LL
• 600MHz CPU Speed (up from 400MHz)
• 256MB RAM (up from 128MB)
• Digital Compass and FM
• 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus
• 32GB size
• No major changes in battery, screen and external casing.

We do know that the iPhone is being produced in China so it makes sense the leak would come from that part of the world. I’m excited for these changes. It should make for a faster experience and an impressive upgrade with the new 3.0 OS.

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The Fring App

Fring has released the iPhone version of their service today as a free download in the App Store.

Fring allows you to chat and interact with others on a variety of networks including Skype, MSN, GoogleTalk, AIM, Yahoo, Twitter, and ICQ. In addition, Fring offers Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) using the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection. Features listed include:

• VoIP (Voice) Calls over WiFi
• Instant Messaging
• Integrated dynamic contact list ?with real-time contact availability
• SIP integration
• Multiple Connection types

Fring supports SkypeOut and SIP which allows you to make calls to landline and mobile phones. Some charges may apply depending on the type of call and plan. Fring is available as a free download in the App Store. (App Store)

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