Around the Web – 17 April

 Good morning. In brief, today’s key stories include a Safari update to fix the well-publicised PWN 2 OWN hack; Apple takes 6.6 per cent of the US computer market – even while US consumer spending slows; IBM’s plotting a move to Mac and everybody’s war-chalking nowadays. Read on…

Safari updated

Apple’s Safari 3.1.1 update is available now. It’s a security and stability patch that among other things fixes the vulnerability that was used to hack into a MacBook Pro at the CanSecWest security conference in late February. It’s worth noting it took Apple just three weeks to fix this widely-reported vulnerability (which researchers now admit can be used to undermine most platforms running WebKit).

Apple market grows

Two reports, one from IDC, the other from Gartner, indicate Apple continues to gain marketshare with its rate of growth vastly exceeding the industry average. The computer maker now holds 6.6 per cent of the US market, with shipments up 32.5 per cent (Gartner) or 25.1 per cent (IDC). It shipped 1.01 million Macs in Q1, the analysts explained.

US consumer electronic sales snap

Most US consumers say they’ll spend less on consumer electronics in the next three months as they grapple with fear of recession and debt. As the US economy heads into melt-down, most players seem set to be affected by what the latest ChangeWave Consumer US Spending report claims to be the weakest 90-day spending outlook for the sector since their analysis began.

Apple finally takes it to IBM

Remember the 1984 ad? We do. Know who the big face on the screen was? IBM, some say. Now Apple’s former chip supplier seems set to make the switch, with revelations that an internal survey has found most employees prefer Mac above PC when they’re giving the choice. So now IBM is testing Macs for use within its business with an eventual plan to offer new employees (most of whom already prefer the Mac) the choice of platform.

You’re entering a war-chalk zone

Be ready, people, that slow internet connection on your wireless network may mean someone’s piggy-backing your bandwidth without permission: new research from Accenture shows 12 per cent of surfers in the US and UK have logged onto someone else’s unsecured WiFi connection. 

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