Apple

Why is it that Apple’s otherwise excellent Safari browser seems to be more prone to vulnerabilities than rival offerings from Microsoft, Google and Mozilla? Ever since security whiz Charlie Miller in 2008 broke into the MacBook Air in two minutes through Safari, the browser has been the subject of intense criticism for its various security weaknesses. Well, Safari just got pwned again at yesterday’s HP TippingPoint-sponsored hacking challenge at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This time, the bragging rights belong to the French security firm Vupen which won a cool $15,000 and a MacBook Air for beating its perks in pwning Apple’s browser. It took the team just a few seconds to exploit an unpatched Safari vulnerability. “We pwned Apple Safari on Mac OS X (x64) at pwn2own in 5 seconds,” they tweeted.

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iPad 2 comes out in 2 days (March 11th) and you know what that means… reviews! Here’s a roundup and some notes of interest.

Joshua Topolsky for Engadget:

-Unbelievably thin

Pictures don’t quite do the iPad 2 justice — it feels really, really great in your hands. Not only does the construction give it a feeling of heft and permanence, but the thin profile combined with the new, tapered edges make holding the device a real joy

-Bezel is slightly thinner

-Has 512 MB of RAM, 1 GHz A5 clocked at 800 MHz

-Clearer speaker

The sound seems clearer if somewhat quieter than the old version, and we can’t say that there’s a major improvement as far as the placement goes.

-Battery life is slightly better than original iPad’s.

-iPad 2 cameras “are really pretty bad”

More after the break…

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same numbers!

We’re not sure if this has already happened, but EETimes reports on the rumors that Apple has shifted its A5 production from Samsung to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).  Since no one has seen a real A5 processor yet, we don’t know if Apple has already switched.

Perhaps most damning, the art that Apple has put out on its A5 Chips is actually just an A4 Chip with ‘A5’ superimposed over top(!) See same part numbers around the edges above.  Does this mean that Apple has something to hide? (They always do)

The move would make logistical sense as Apple’s current (former?) partner in processor manufacturing, Samsung, is increasingly becoming a competitor in both iOS devices and in PCs.  Apple was supposed to take $7.8Billion in parts from Samsung this year.  Might be time to adjust that estimate.

With little or no fanfare, Apple and TSMC have recently entered into a foundry relationship, sources said. As reported, TSMC will make the A5 dual-core processor on a foundry basis for Apple’s iPad 2. That can be read here and here.

We reported on Apple’s move to Qualcomm (from Infineon) who use TSMC’s process for GOBI chips in October.
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Apple has mailers going out today telling us to get ready to interrupt our Friday in order to line up like little actors all over the place in their iPad 2 Friday marketing campaign blitz. Ugh. I’m kinda down on the whole “spend Friday in line without a reservation” thing if you hadn’t noticed.

It is also interesting that Apple seems to default to the White iPad more often than not in its marketing – which was only a rumor a week ago.

Sorry Apple, I’m not spending my Friday in line.  Instead, I’m going to do the more convenient thing: Have my alarm wake me up at 2:55 am on Friday morning before work, order it online then, then try to go back to sleep.  (we love you Apple) I won’t have a 2 to play with over the weekend but at least I’ll have my Friday.

I think @MarkGurman will be queueing up at the Grove in LA if anyone wants to go bother him there (or hold his place in line).

Also, Me: White 16GB Wifi, Tan Leather iCover. You?
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MIC Gadget got some hands-on time with that 64GB iPhone we told you about earlier. You’ll notice the camera doesn’t have a silver ring around the edge like the infamous “lost in a bar” phone.

Perhaps most interesting is that we’ve been hearing that Apple does limited runs of these things (and had done them in the past as well) but the guy who got them from Foxconn said:

According to the owner, he believes that the next iPhone will bring 64GB storage capacity to users.

Bring it Apple!
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The iFixit MacBook Pro Quad-Core Intel i7-2630QM Mobile Processor (labeled as 2V041112A0127) isn’t chock full of surprises but here’s what they found:

• Wireless is Broadcom BCM4331
• Intel BD82HM65 Platform Controller Hub

• AMD Radeon HD 6490M GPU (labeled as AMD 216-00809000)
• Quad-Core Intel i7-2629M Mobile Processor (labeled as 2V041112A0127)
• Broadcom BCM57765B0KMLG Integrated Gigabit Ethernet and Memory Card Reader Controller
• Intel L051NB32 EFL (we assume this is the Thunderbolt port controller) – pictured below
• Parade PS8301 U08FUC
• TDK 6T213HF 1045 H

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LaCie is one of the first Light Peak partners to announce a Thunderbolt Drive with their Little Big Disk SSDs which promise to deliver absurd data speeds.   Speaking of Promise, they also have a Thunderbolt RAID device in the works, the very same one that Apple posted on their Thunderbolt page (below) which appears to be on the beefier side.

Neither have prices or shipping dates but if you have to ask how much these cost…

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Apple today updated its line of MacBook Pros. We’ll not tell you more than visiting the site.  Press release follows.

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What I don’t immediately understand is how this is going to work with my current MacBook Pro/monitor setup. It would seem that if I got a new MBP and a Thunderbolt external hard drive that the hard drive would have two Thunderbolt ports and I could daisy chain them, still using my current monitor? Or do I have to buy a new monitor that understands Thunderbolt? Anyone?

Also, while we are on the subject, this new cable would allow you to put your noisy Mac Pro in a basement/closet somewhere and just run a cable up through the floor to your monitor/keyboard/trackpad/peripherals.

Now that that is in your head, imagine what a company of 5,000 could do with this tech (after some serious rewiring).

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In the New MacBook Pro leaked box picture it said that the Thunderbolt port was also the Mini DisplayPort.  So that makes the below picture a bit more manageable on the brain.  Notice the Thunderbolt is where the Display port is/used to be:

(click twice for full sized image)

We’re still trying to wrap our heads around this.  Will there be a new MiniDisplayPort switch/cable that connects to your monitor and then connects to other devices?    Discuss below…

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A company called Vaveliero has developed an iPhone 4 case that gives you easy access to two different mobile accounts.

The kit replaces the iPhone 4’s microSIM tray with an external dual SIM adapter to give the iPhone 4 the capabilities of using two phone accounts from two different carriers. The external SIM is attached inside of the case, making the extra SIM appear like it isn’t even there. The two numbers can be switched in the settings or set on a timer to change as you wish.

Unfortunately, both can’t be used at the same time.  We’re also uncertain from the literature if you need to be unlocked to use this with non-supported networks.  Vaveliero operates in Europe where locking phones and other douchebaggery is frowned upon.  Perhaps in the US, this could be used for a separate AT&T Work and personal account.

There had been some sketchy rumors that the iPhone 5 would do this natively but we’re doubtful Apple has anything like this cooked up.

This case works with UMTS, HSDPA, WCDMA, GSM, GPRS, and EDGE. Head on past the break for more images.
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COMPUTERWORLD: After a CES no-show, Verizon is teasing us with an iPhone-generated Tweet today on the eve of its press event where it is expected Verizon will at last introduce the iPhone, meaning US customers will now enjoy some choice of which network carries their iPhone. The move should also boost Apple in its battle with Android. So, what do we know?

Read more

Park Chan-wook is one of South Korea’s best directors, and he’s generated a huge story with the revalation that his latest short film was shot entirely on an iPhone 4.
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More news from Apple’s AirPlay partner, BridgeCo, the company which manufactures the silicon used in AirPlay devices.

AirPlay devices weren’t so apparent at CES this year, though iHome, B&W and Klipsch all showed solutions implementing the standard, which enables users to stream audio from an iOS 4 device to an enabled speaker system.
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Wow.  New York.  And I am in SF.  We had a hunch.

Also the unverified source that gave us that earlier info also told us:

VZiPhone: Release window: Feb 9-16.  The vacation blackout :Feb 1-16 give or take.

iPad2 will be announced on the 1st week of March, released within 30 days.

Update: The Wall Street Journal says it’s the Verizon iPhone.

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Hackers have finally managed to get Android 2.3 Gingerbread working on a jailbroken iPhone 3G — based on the iDroid project, you should be able to keep both iOS and Android in dual-boot configuration on your iPhone. more on this and a video (Flash, so we didn’t embed it here) over at Redmond Pie.

(Sony and Dell’s Android phones are still running Android 1.6!)
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CUPERTINO, California—January 7, 2011—Apple today announced that over one million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store in the first day. With more than 1,000 free and paid apps, the Mac App Store brings the revolutionary App Store experience to the Mac, so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes account, download and install them in just one step.

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Apple opened its Mac App Store yesterday, offering Mac users an easy way to pick up and install new software on up to five machines — but within hours hackers began claiming to have hacked store security.

The crack will not be available until February 2011, according to Hackulous member, Dissident:
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There’s been an unconscionable gap in time since the last time anyone mentioned the Mac App Store might build the market for Mac software, so here’s an early sighting — this Tweet from Evernote (fab app) which tells us, well, it suggests some (ahem) strong early interest in buying from the store.

On price, then ponder the words of respected Mac developer, Rich Siegel, founder and CEO of Bare Bones Software, Inc, (they make BBEdit, TextWrangler, and my essential friend, Yojimbo) who told me today:
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Twitter for Mac has arrived, as have 999 other Apps at the all-new Mac App Store — so why are we mentioning Twitter? Because it keeps a promise made by MacHeist, offering exclusive access to secret Twitter features.

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We’re watching a dizzying array of App announcements as new software hits the all-new Mac App Store, but here’s a special something from the team at Boxee, who are showing off their new Boxee iPad App at CES.

Here’s what Boxee (who today announced a new deal to offer video from CBS via their devices) had to say on the new app:
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