iPhone passcode cracking is easier than you think

Taken from:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57405580-93/iphone-passcode-cracking-is-easier-than-you-think/?tag=cnetRiver

The article suggests that in under two minutes an expert (with the right software package) can break the four digit code on your iPhone.

While I'm not necessarily in favor of a longer passcode (like 10 characters and must have special characters, and upper and lower case letters, and must be changed frequently), a passcode does keep casual intruders off (like when you put your phone down on a table at lunch - your 'friends' can't get in too easily).

The best method would be not to lose your phone - keep it with you!!!

It can happen to anybody (even Paul Allen of Microsoft)

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225605/Microsoft_co_founder_Paul_Allen_victim_of_ID_theft?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-28

The article describes how an AWOL did an identity theft of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, even convincing Citibank employees that he was legitimate and using a debit card to pay for debts.

It can happen to anybody - watch out!!!

H1 Visas and American Workers

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225603/India_s_IT_firms_hire_U.S._workers_as_they_fight_for_visas?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-28

The political economy is talking about 'creating more American jobs'.  Outsourcing in some respects does take American jobs and sends them overseas.

The article notes: "Computerworld - India's IT services providers have been lobbying for better access to U.S. work visas by telling U.S. officials, in part, that they are hiring more American workers.

India's effort to gain unfettered access to work visas faces increasing obstacles. Congress recently raised the H-1B filing fees by $2,000. Moreover, U.S. immigration authorities routinely delay visas with paperwork requests, and they're denying more L-1 and H-1B visa applications than they have in the past.

Part of the effort to turn around U.S. perspectives on this issue involves promoting India as an American job creator. "

While it can be important to a company to find good talented help as a cheaper rate, but ... it can also be a problem politically for a company to say to local politicians - we cut our employment by hiring internationally. 

The article indicates that India is trying to work within the system to have Indian firms that specialize in outsourcing to have offices in the US and to hire US citizens (or H1B holders) to work in the US.

LTE option can run up data costs on iPad

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225448/LTE_option_poses_data_dilemma_for_iPad_smartphone_users?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-23

The article started with this:
"Computerworld - The new iPad's LTE option, which allows access to fast 4G networks, has also shocked some customers who found they can eat up an entire month's worth of data watching just a couple hours of streaming video."

With LTE (see previous blog post on LTE), the download speed is so good, and with the iPad's improved screen quality, people will want to watch movies, sports, etc. - and they are going through their data plans quickly.  

So, what is this LTE on the iPad?

Taken from: http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/110711-what-is-lte

So, like many of us, I've been seeing "LTE" on the iPad and Smartphones - what is it?

Borrowing directly from the article, we get:

"LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. Its full name is 3GPP Long Term Evolution for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, or 3GPP UMTS LTE for short. Most refer to the standard as UMTS LTE or just plain LTE. While UMTS LTE is the more correct name, it will be called LTE for the remainder of this article for brevity.

But that doesn't tell us what LTE actually is. LTE is what the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (the group responsible for standardizing and improving the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, or UMTS) designates as their next step. UMTS is the group of standards that define 3G for GSM networks across the world, including AT&T and T-Mobile’s 3G networks. For those who use CDMA2000 (subscribers of Verizon, Sprint, etc.), then LTE is pretty much the replacement for your mediocre 3G network."

So, we are talking about standardizing the mobile telecommunication system - and looking at its evolution and improvement.  

As technology occurs, there are generally new generations of products - software, hardware, telecommunications, and then tweaking occurs to make the new generation better / faster / more efficient.  As an analogy, television first came only in Black and White, but eventually color came along, and eventually hi definition color and more pixels, better images, etc.  Likewise with the telecommunications standard - improves are to be expected.  Rarely is a product the 'ultimate' - 'be-all and end-all'  (and ... at some point in time in the future, LTE will be replaced by another acronym basically meaning 'even better than LTE'!!!

Seven problems with smartphones;

Taken from:
http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/7-worst-smartphone-injustices-how-fight-them-523772

With the growth in smartphones, this article points out some of the problems:

1. Sealed batteries - weak battery life - what an insult - you can't put standard batteries in your phone - so you are stuck with the manufacturer's batteries - with weak battery life
2. Long contracts / updates - some expect two year contracts - and guess what - your phone is out-of-date in a few months, and you still have several months before you can move up (or ... a hefty charge)
3. Extra charge for 'tethering' - if you want to share your data with your laptop or tablet - you get charged extra 
4. Lose your phone - big OUCH!!!  If you misplaced your phone (left in the taxi, left on the seat next to you at the airport) - the replacement cost is significant - and with the contract problem, you are pretty much stuck
5. Operating systems updates?  Don't count on it!!  Your software needs updating - and there is a new OS out there - but ... you might not be eligible to get it!!
6. Texting rates over the limit - you can get a 20 cent cost for messages over a low 3M limit - and this can be a significant cost (especially if you are a big texting person!!)
7. Don't travel!!!  If you want to use your phone internationally, the costs can be more than the flight!!!  

So ... it can be a financial problem to have a smartphone with standard fees, but with the hidden problems from this article!!!

Apps are taking over!!!

Taken from
http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/apps-could-be-overtaking-web-says-report-528483

The article was an eye-opener - but after reflecting, not all that radical to me.  (See the illustration)

Americans are spending more time on apps than they are in web browsing!!!  Whether that is more time on the Facebook app or the Wall Street Journal app - or any other app - than just browsing.  Probably everyday, I spend my time on about six places:  Facebook, New York Times, USA Today, Blackboard and Gmail (or ... campus Microsoft Outlook).

Cell-to-Wi-Fi roaming is on the way, but may come with a price

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225329/Cell_to_Wi_Fi_roaming_is_on_the_way_but_may_come_with_a_price?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-20

Imagine using your phone on a free WiFi network when you are in range - and then on your regular cell towers when you are not in range. The concepts are there and being worked on - but the details are not perfect yet.

And ... as the title suggests, it comes with a price - and frequently with some red tape - if the WiFi network is not the same as your carrier.

BUT ... it is coming - and is promising!!!

Apple's iPad - the "epitome" of what a tablet should be

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225294/New_iPad_is_the_epitome_of_what_a_tablet_should_be?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-19

The author talks of how the new iPad (no name / designation - so not quite the iPad3 - and no the iPad2 - and definitely not the original iPad) is just what he expected.  He got the full version, with more RAM, and WiFi and 4G - which really should make it a powerful computer in its own right!!

In this blog for the past two years, I have talked of tablets (a lot?) and miss a real keyboard, but ... as time goes by, I guess I get used to the iPad's virtual keyboard; it is lighter and smaller than my PC, fast (generally), bigger than my iPhone (okay, my eyes aren't what they used to be - and a pretty interesting device!!!

LightSquared and LTE networks - in a legal battle

Taken from:
http://www.cio.com/article/702358/Defiant_LightSquared_Says_FCC_Action_Would_Violate_Its_Rights

This blog has talked about the technical aspects of limited 'bandwidth' in the past.  There is a certain spectrum that can carry the LTE (Long term evolution) or 4G wireless.  The amount of spectrum available has been limited - and last fall LightSquared and others made a deal to purchase some spectrum from cable operators.  Now it seems that the FCCis trying to stop the use of that spectrum.

The article notes: "IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) — The FCC's proposal to kill LightSquared's planned LTE network would violate the fledgling carrier's property rights by taking away its spectrum and destroying its multibillion-dollar investment in mobile broadband, LightSquared will argue on Friday in a formal comment to the agency."


Recently it was noted that AT&T were charging more and limited data transmissions because of the increased usage of the spectrum (largely due to iPhones and other smartphone usage).  Users with unlimited data plans are facing limits as the resource is being squeezed.


It will be interesting to see what LightSquared and the FCC do - the pressure to increase access to the spectrum is continuing to grow!!

iPad 3 - "The Devils in the Details"

Taken from:
http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/ipad-review-its-renovation-not-revolution-463973

Screen: Over 3 million pixels which are crammed into the 9.7-inch device and the iPad 2 only just over 700,000.

Speed:  15 to 20% faster (depending on application)

Wireless:  Some reviewers have up to 14.5 Mbps upload and 22 Mbps download

Battery life:  "Maybe" slightly less ... (new battery, but more drain with the screen and speed)

So, not a 'revolution' - maybe some nice 'innovations' - users will have to determine their needs

Social Networks take time and thought for corporations

Taken from:http://blogs.cio.com/collaboration/16901/enterprise-social-networks-deserve-time-careful-consideration

The article suggests that large businesses don't really know what to do with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others on a corporate basis.  It also notes that two years ago, most businesses blocked social networks in their company - and now are (generically) not quite knowing what to do with corporate policies, etc.

The article noted:
"Often, it's because businesses don't do their homework—or don't know what homework they need to do—before a rollout. They don't assess the social readiness of their business and they don't test it first with small groups of users. They don't know what, exactly, they're hoping to improve when they deploy an enterprise social network, and the tool's interface usually isn't as intuitive as it should be to promote adoption.
Those reasons, and a handful of others, are why 70 percent of internal social initiatives eventually fail, according to Gartner. That's a hard number to ignore when you're trying to gain buy-in.
But businesses that do invest time in researching workflows and take other measured steps are seeing success."

Intel to take on tablet chips

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225282/Intel_ready_to_take_on_tablet_chips

While Intel has a 'lock' on regular computer chips, it does significantly lag behind other makers when it comes to smartphone and tablet chips.

The article suggests that Intel is behind the times and while it is working towards fabrication of the smartphone chips, it comes quite late to that market.  Apple's iPad is the hot tablet, but Intel is hoping to have appropriate chips for a Microsoft Windows 8 tablet coming in the fall.

Five things to take away from SXSW

Taken from BusinessWeek at:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-13/five-things-to-take-away-from-this-year-s-sxsw

On the social media side, I'm reading posts from daughter and son-in-law on Facebook and Twitter.  (They may also have other accounts such as Foursquare and others).

The Business Week article is talking more about the computing nature of SXSW than the music scene.
These are their five things from SXSW:

1. There’s always something newer than the last new thing.  (the article mentioned Highlight and Glancee stepping in over Foursquare and Gowalla - and Twitter)
2. Popularity at SXSW doesn't necessarily mean success (the article mentioned two apps from last year that have pretty much died over the last year)
3. Big brands are desperate for social media glory - (American Express is sponsoring Jay-Z - and other big companies are doing similar events
4. Some tech gimmicks can seem heartless (a company took homeless people and made them into 4G hotspots - a little tasteless!!)
5. Old media wants to play, too (the article mentions the New York Times and CNN wanting to remain relevant in today's society)

So, in a tech rich environment, you can still learn something !!!  

Move over Foursquare

More social networking tools:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225171/SXSW_Location_location_location_fuels_mobile_apps?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-14

The SXSW music fest (South by Southwest) in Austin Texas is a hotbed for technology. Everybody carried a smartphone (or at least our daughter and son-in-law do).

The article noted: "Soon FourSquare won't be the only cool kid on the location-based apps block: A new wave of startups, including Highlight, Zaarly, TaskRabbit and Localmind, are generating buzz at South by Southwest by drawing on smartphone location data to deliver a range of social, commercial and informational experiences.
Highlight is a "social discovery" app that notifies users when they are near someone they don't know with whom they might share interests. It runs in the background, only requiring the user's attention when it has found a potential social contact."

So, if you are in the crowd, have an appropriate Highlight account, and get a chirp indicated that somebody with similar interests is in the crowd, you might want to go meet him or her!!!  (Of course, if you are single and looking for the "right person", it might not be good if he or she is there with a date!!!)

COBOL Brain Drain???

Taken from: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225079/Brain_drain_Where_Cobol_systems_go_from_here_?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-14

The article noted: "David Brown is worried. As managing director of the IT transformation group at Bank of New York Mellon, he is responsible for the health and welfare of 112,500 Cobol programs -- 343 million lines of code -- that run core banking and other operations. But many of the people who built that code base, some of which goes back to the early days of Cobol in the 1960s, will be retiring over the next several years.

"We have people we will be losing who have a lot of business knowledge. That scares me," Brown says. He's concerned about finding new Cobol programmers, who are expected to be in short supply in the next five to ten years. But what really keeps him up at night is the thought that he may not be able to transfer the deep understanding of the business logic embedded within the bank's programs before it walks out the door with the employees who are retiring."

Cobol might not be 'sexy' - but it does exist - and this article suggests for one company 343 MILLION lines of code!!!  That is a lot of brain power that went into creating that code for business processing.  And ... now more and more of those experts are retiring.

There is obviously a question for academics - teach Cobol - forget Cobol; and for companies - start having Cobol classes?

Grass Root support for Apple in the Enterprise

Taken from: http://www.information-management.com/blogs/Apple_mobile_infrastructure_BI_iPad_enterprise-10022129-1.html?ET=informationmgmt:e3041:2262124a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IM_Daily_030912


Apple has tried to NOT be the enterprise computing company.  In fact (from the article), Steve Jobs stated: " Steve Jobs himself regularly stated that he did not want Apple to be, or become, an enterprise IT provider, preferring to focus on more creative and new types of devices, content, and services that enabled consumer/end users."


BUT ... Apple is creeping into the business world.  With the BYOD (bring your own device) philosophy, the iPad is showing up in salesmen's hands - with iCloud (or DropBox) cloud storage, CRM (with links to Salesforce or Soho) and other tools.  


The demand comes from the bottom up - from users who want the flexibility of tablet devices - not from the top down of CEO to CIO to users.  That brings standardization, bottom up generally brings innovation

How IBM has wooed Wall Street (as a solid investment)

Taken from:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-06/how-ibm-wooed-wall-street

IBM, known at one point for the IBM PC (which it sold off some time back); and big hardware (mainframe computing); has really reinvented itself as a technology services company.  

The article notes: "The answer to that is less sexy than IBM might have you believe. The company, with annual revenue of $107 billion, still makes tens of billions of dollars per year selling traditional data-center hardware and software. In fact, Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., estimates that about 20 percent of IBM’s revenue and 40 percent of its profits can be traced to hardware, software, services, and financing on mainframes, the grizzled veterans of corporate computing. Such machines are not analytics dynamos but rather workhorses crunching away at the most mundane tasks. The bulk of the rest of IBM’s business revolves around high-profit software and services, in which the company deploys tens of thousands of people to customers’ sites for what can be very lengthy technology installation and consulting engagements."

Services - especially long term contractual services at client sites is lucrative - and IBM has done well with that - and has a period of steady revenue growth (that keeps investors / Wall Street happy).

Plus IBM has remade its image - to a 'smarter / greener' company - truly 'good guys' - and it didn't hurt to have a winner with Watson on Jeopardy!!!

And ... the announcement (iPad 3)

The long awaited announcement for the iPad 3 is out.

The quick highlights:  (all quotes from a press release):

"Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage in San Francisco Wednesday to announce a new iPad. In fact, he just called it simply "the new iPad." It will have a quad-core chip, "retina" high-resolution display, a 5-megapixel camera and 4G LTE networking for fast connection on Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

The display has 2048 x 1536 pixels. That's over 3.1 million pixels, "the most ever on a mobile devices," says Phil Schiller, worldwide marketing boss.

The new iPad will have an A5X chip, which is a quad-core processor. It delivers four times the performance of the iPad 2.

The camera on the new iPad has a 5-megapixel center, optics with an IR filter, and some nice controls to maximize picture taking. As you may expect from the camera and the screen, you can shoot 1080p video with this baby.

There's voice-to-text for emails and other text-input windows, but it doesn't look like there's full-blown Siri here, which seems odd. The voice is some guy's voice, not the sultry Siri we've come to know (in the U.S.)."

Of course, this begs the question - "When do I move up to the new technology?"  A quad-core processor - that's good (and fast); a better camera (nice - (okay, the old camera on the iPad2 is lacking, but okay - my stand-alone camera is good - but that means I have to carry both a tablet and a camera); high resolution display (nice - but ... actually I have no problems with the display on my iPad2 (after all, if it is too small, I can enlarge it ...); LTE / 4G connections - that's good (but ... I'm not on a data plan currently - but looking at one);  voice to text?  (dragon speech is already available); no Siri (doesn't sound right).

So ... will I upgrade?  Not yet!!!

New iPad's might be slow to market

Taken from: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224931/Expect_shortages_of_new_iPad_say_analysts?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-03-06

The new iPad is to be unveiled today (March 7th) in San Francisco!!! 

This article suggests that "But as with the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S last year, experts expect that supply will be out of sync with demand for at least several months after the tablet hits stores.

"They'll face a shortage for a while," said Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research today."

This is not an unusual situation.  With a new product, companies can guess at how strong the demand might be - but accurate predictions might be hard to come by.  

Top 25 iPhone / iPad apps for business

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/slideshow/detail/33317/Top-25-iPhone---iPad-Apps-for-Business?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-03-01

Some of the hot applications include:

• BatteryBoost Magic App - keeps track of your battery and when you will need to charge it
• CardMunch - keeps business cards for you
• CloudOn - a free version of Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. (and with Dropbox, a place to put those documents!!)
• Dragon Dictation - translates spoken word to text 
• HootSuite  - post to Twitter, Facebook, Linked in at the same time

I'll be trying some of these soon!!!

Why you should not buy your child an iPad

Taken from:
http://www.cio.com/article/701182/Why_You_Should_Not_Buy_Your_Child_an_iPad?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-03-01

The author makes a point that children should be spending time outdoors, playing basketball or soccer (etc.) and socializing rather than indoors playing on an iPad.  He relates an experience from his youth of wasting a summer playing a computer game with friends - he writes: "During that summer, three of us kids spent entire days playing a game on the computer instead of shooting hoops with friends. (I can't even remember the name of the game.)"

Another point: "Let's face it, iPad isolation can lead to poor social skills at a time when kids are just learning how to interact with each other. The iPad is supposed to be a creative device but instead blunts the imagination with rigid apps that define reality and choices, as opposed to a child's boundless thinking."

I think the author is right.  There needs to a good mix of activities.  On rainy / snowy days, maybe some time with an iPad (or computer) might be okay for kids.  The author notes that there are some great ebooks available for children (but ... the children he observed were not reading, but playing games).

Google to dig deeper into our lives!!

Taken from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46580123/ns/technology_and_science-security/ 

As we well know, Google has a great search engine - and many other products - and all (I think) are free.

So ... how do they make money and how do they pay their employees?  By knowing a lot about people (like me) and selling that information (or selling specific ad areas).  This article indicates that they are 'simplifying' their privacy notes - which means that they really will have more information about me.  When I search (with Google) they know about all my old searches; they know that I have a blog (this one); they know my age, address and more; they can select ads based on my age, income, family status and more to show on the search results page.

I do not get ads for dog food (or cat food - or for pets) - and I have never done a search for such information.  I wonder if for two day, I search for the best dog and cat food, how to train and teach dogs to do tricks and how to groom cats might cause Google to start putting related ads on my searches.

It is not quite a two-way street though.  I have added Ad Sense to this blog - and when I checked last, I had made 25 cents!!!  (Now ... how do I require all my students to click on the ads for me? )