APPLE HACKED

The consumer electronics and technology behemoth that is Apple, has confirmed that it’s the latest victim of a malicious hack attack.

However, the tech-giant says the invaders malware was repelled before any data was able to be plundered. Apple says a “small number” of its computer systems were infected, but they were isolated from it’s main network.

Apple is working with law enforcement to hunt down the hackers, who appear to be tied to a series of recent cyber attacks on US companies.

The malicious software, or malware, took advantage of a vulnerability in a Java program used as a “plug-in” for web-browsing programs :: Read the full article »»»»

Prototype iPhone 4 Cardboard Keyboard

As the song says – well kind of – Some guys have all the fun! Ben Grubb is such a man, the Digital Life wunderkind gets bundles of superneat new gadgets thrown at him, from the big guys and the not-so-big guys.

This week he’s been tossed a neat little gadget for that device we refuse to cover – the iPhone – from one of the littler guys. A prototype app made for the iPhone 4 allows users to type on a keyboard made of paper using vibrations.

Created by Florian Kräutli, a university student in London, the “Vibrative” app makes use of the iPhone’s inbuilt accelerometer, reading vibrations as a finger taps a surface to work out which key is being pressed.

According to the Daily Mail, the software works out the approximate location of a strike on a paper keyboard by analysing the strength and frequency of tremors through the surface the iPhone is resting on :: Read Ben Grubb’s full article at Digital Life »»»»

Samsung Slips Passed Apple on 4G

The war between Apple and Samsung over design and technology patents has cast Samsung as the underling, while Apple is painted as pushing at the edges of innovation. Ahh what a short sighted world we live in, I’d argue with such commentary, going so far as to say that most commentators have things wrong, very wrong.

While Samsung may have a little eggroll on it’s face over claims of plagiarism, the Korean consumer electronics behemoth is definitely no slouch on the technology front, winning the much more important war on patent innovations, particularly when it comes to 4G and it’s application in the mobile device wars.

4G isn’t so much a new technology but  a better use of existing technologies, Samsung has been working on 4G since 2005 and has pretty much perfected it’s use in mobile devices. The higher and more responsive – up to 10 x 3G – bandwidth of 4G is well suited to tablets and smartphones.

In Australia, Telstra has the largest geographic coverage in 4G and has been upgrading mobile cell towers to 4G since 2010, with a consumer roll-out from late in 2011. The benefits of running mobile devices on 4G are real, the simultaneous speed is pretty outstanding :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED! Apple vs Samsung vs Apple vs Samsung

UPDATED! August 28, 2012: Apple is seeking speedy bans on the sale of eight Samsung phones, moving swiftly to capitalise on its resounding court victory over its arch-foe. The world’s most valuable company wasted no time in identifying its targets: eight older-model smartphones, including the Galaxy S II and Droid Charge.

Original Post! Just hours apart, in two separate courts – one in the USA and another in South Korea – two absolutely opposing views on the war that is Apple vs Samsung, – or should that be Samsung vs Apple? – have been handed down.

A South Korean court has handed down a split ruling over Samsungs claim that Apple infringed it’s intellectual property, ruling that some element of the iPhone do indeed use patented Samsung telecommunication technology. The court also ruled however that Samsung had – as Apple has been ranting – copy Apples interface for it’s early Galaxy phones and tabs.

The South Korean court found that both companies shared blame, ordering Samsung to stop selling 10 products including its Galaxy S II phone and banning Apple from selling four different products, including its iPhone 4.

Meanwhile across the pacific in San Jose, California, a US jury has found in favour of Apple in a case that was expected to take years to settle, Apples copycat rant has just landed it a $US1 billion dollar win! However, the US ruling runs much deeper than just a huge compensation payout, BILLIONS of dollars in future sales hang in the balance for both tech-behemoths :: Read the full article »»»»

China Sues Apple Over Siri Patent Infringements

Just when you though Apple and China might be heading down the buddy path – Apple Settles iPad Trademark Dispute For $US60 Million – and just moments after the pair reached settlement over iPad’s trademark dispute, another Chinese tech developer has lodged suite against Apple.

Shanghai based Shanghai Zhizhen Network Science & Technology Co Ltd, developed personal assistant, voice communication/recognition software called Xiao i Robot in 2004, it applied for and recieved a patent for the software in 2006.

The software is similar to Apples Siri, it holds basic conversation and answers questions. Zhi Zhen says it has in excess of 100 million users in China – how did we miss that one – The software is available for Googles Android OS, and …. iOS!

In May this year, Zhi Zhen apparently contacted Apple informing them of the alleged patent breach. In June the company filed suit against Apple. According to the company the only demand is that “Apple stop infringing it’s patent”.

Watch this space…