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Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Chinese state accused of attacking Apple's iCloud
Title: Chinese state accused of attacking Apple's iCloud
This article is about iCloud users
being the victims of a middle man that is suspected to be run by the Chinese
state, especially in cases where there are connections passing in and out the
country. The attacks on the users began on the same day of release as the
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6plus in China. The
suspected attacker intercepts data that is passed between the user and
iCloud.com, Apple’s cloud computing service, by routing all communication
between the two through a malicious third party. ICloud.com is known to use the
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) internet security protocol so that it can establish
a secure connection. In order to get around the SSL, the suspected attacker has
used a self-signed certificate, which is enough to trick users of insecure
browsers into thinking they’ve accessed the iCloud website through a secure
connection. The protocol that
is used to secure iCloud is reliant on certificates that are signed by one of a
number of trusted authorities to verify that the site being connected to isn’t
intercepted by a third party. The attack made use of a self-signed certificate,
which claims to be iCloud.com but isn’t supported by a trusted third party.
Facts/Phrases:
Ø “This
is clearly a malicious attack on Apple in an effort to gain access to usernames
and passwords and consequently all data stored on iCloud, such as iMessages,
photos, and contacts”, wrote the Chinese internet freedom organisation Great
Fire."
Ø If
users ignored the security warning and clicked through to the Apple site and
entered their username and password, this information has now been compromised
by the Chinese authorities.
Ø The
“great firewall” is a notoriously imprecise censorship tool, frequently
blocking sites on a piecemeal basis or allowing access for seemingly random
periods of time.
Opinion:
In my opinion, there are two
issues that have been highlighted in this article the first being privacy with
Apple’s iCloud being in the spotlight yet again as it has been the victim of
the attacker (Chinese state), as well as the fact that the iPhone users in China
have no privacy whilst using their phones as they are being monitored. The second
issue is the Great Firewall of China and how it is used for censorship and consistently
blocking site randomly.
Nike and Apple working on ‘stylish’ new wearable technology
Title: Nike and Apple working on ‘stylish’ new wearable
technology
Summary:
This article is about Nike and
Apple teaming up again in a coalition in order to create and launch wearable
technology. Nike and Apple previously worked together in 2006 for the Nike+
running sensor range, which was connected to the iPod wirelessly. The aim of
the new wearable technology is to be more integrated so that it is camouflaged,
so that it is less likely to be stolen. The chief executive, Mark Parker, of Nike
has worked with the founder of Apple Steve Jobs. . Nike is likely to have a
Nike+ app for the Apple Watch and one that integrates with Apple’s new Health
application.
Phrases/Facts:
Ø “I
think the form it takes is critical. You can go from the very geeky kind of
wearables today – we’ve all seen some of those – to what I think you’ll see in
the future, things that are more stealth, more integrated, more stylish and
more functional, yes.” – Mark Parker
Ø Parker
said. “So yeah, that’s part of our plan, to expand the whole digital frontier
in terms of wearables, and go from what we say is tens of millions of users –
right now there’s 25 million Nike+ users – to hundreds of millions.”
Opinion:
In my opinion this article has
two main stand point the first being the partnership between the Nike and Apple
brand to create a newer form of technology in order to monetise this via advertising
and profit. Also, the fact that there is a newer form of technology soon
becoming available for the audiences of Nike and Apple it could be extending
the gap in the digital divide, as this more pointless development in wearable
technology is more of a luxury.
Monday, 27 October 2014
The battle between old and new media
Title: The battle
between old and new media
This article is about the Jeff
Bezos, who is one of the richest men in the world, acquiring the Washington
Post for $250m (£164m), and it becoming controversial in terms of paying this
vast amount is not enough in the world of internet and New Media. The article
states that Bezos is worth $25bn according to Forbes. Bezos has invested a large
amount of money in to New Media. The article then goes to talk about journalism
and how the costs of the majority of big newspapers are much higher than new
media. Bezos outlines the changes of the industry that the internet has
transformed the news industry shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable
revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear
little or no newsgathering costs.
Phrases/Facts:
Ø Facebook
itself invested $1bn in the photo sharing website Instagram back in April 2012.
Ø "For
the best part of 100 years, newspapers were a licence to print money, you could
sell the same words to readers and advertisers," says Tim Luckhurst,
professor of journalism at the University of Kent.
Ø For
the Washington Post, average weekday circulation is currently about 475,000, as
against almost 770,000 in 2002.
Ø "Good
journalism costs money. Newspapers need to take reporters off the diary to
chase stories. That can take months and might not even result in
anything," says Mr Greenslade.
Opinion:
In my opinion this article is
crucial in terms of how professionally trained journalists are able to procure
great news stories that cannot be lived up by citizen journalists as they are
not qualified, also it shows how even with the changing landscape there are
certain figures that want to stick with traditional forms of media, in this
case the Washington post. The fact that the article consistently plays up the
agenda that good and quality journalism costs more, presents the hinting to the
dumbing down of audiences with New and Digital media.
Traditional Journalism: Is it Old News?
Title: Traditional Journalism: Is it Old News?
Summary:
This article is about traditional journalisms decline in the
current era as information sharing will never be the same due the drastic
change in the last 30 or so years of the media landscape with the introduction
of the internet and its benefits compared to traditional information. The internet
enables interactive news and use generated content. There is a warning that losing
local reporting may shift the power away from the audience and towards the
government and major media institutions, giving them more control and influence
over them.
Phrases/Facts:
Ø
The drop in subscribers means lost revenue, which
causes layoffs and reductions in the quality and quantity of news reporting,
according to a 2013 Pew Research Centre report.
Ø
Traditional outlets (radio, TV, papers) vie with
the new media (blogs, websites, and social networks). Nearly three-quarters of
Americans now get breaking news from friends and family, including social media
connections.
Ø
Bureau of Labour Statistics forecasts a decline
for some news jobs like reporters and correspondents; it projects growth in
areas such as broadcast news analysis and web-based publishing.
Opinion:
This article in my opinion is prime evidence in the
declining industry of newspaper journalists and reporters. This emphasises how
the internet is one of the biggest turning points in history in terms of the dispositions
of people and how they have made life easier and the access to internet had
made news more convenient.
Sunday, 19 October 2014
After Snapchat and Dropbox, it's time to realise that the modern web is hostile
Title: After Snapchat and Dropbox, it's time to realise that
the modern web is hostile
Summary:
This article is about the
recurring issues with security being controversial in recent months. The denial
by Snapchat and Dropbox being hacked has bought the question of security back
in to the spotlight. Both the cases of leaked pictures and videos, in terms of Snapchat,
and millions of logins available, in the case of Dropbox, have been caused by
third-party websites. In terms of Snapchat, the website snapsave.com has
revealed thousands of explicit and inappropriate photos and videos. The article
then gives the reason of security to why security is important and it is safe
to use different passwords for different sites. The article then goes to state
that hacking is recurring in all newer forms of media and technology, linking
it to the rapid growth stage of Twitter and Facebook where they had theft
logins. After Snapchat’s problems, there may be a wider cleansing of the very
insecure practice of letting third-party sites have logins.
Opinion
In my opinion the current era of technology, security has
been endangered, as Andrew keen had stated “the internet is killing our culture”
it has been quite evident in regards to security and how safety has no longer become
priority compare to the latest apps and trends.
Apple unveils iPad Air and iPad mini with Touch ID fingerprint scanner
Title: Apple unveils iPad Air and iPad mini with Touch ID
fingerprint scanner
Summary:
This article is about the
unveiling of the iPad Air and iPad mini, this is an attempt to rejuvenate the
declining tablet sales and try and integrate Apple’s fingerprint-based mobile
payments on goods and services online. The new iPad has a better performance
compared to last year’s model, as according to the company’s hardware lead the
processor is 40% faster and the graphics are 2.5x faster. The thickness of the
Air 2 is just 6.1mm. The mini has got its own fingerprint sensor. The finger
print sensor used to unlock the device and as a password replacement for
purchases through the App Store and iTunes. The article also goes on to
talk about how the sales of iPads have slowed dramatically in the first half of
2014, and they have fallen year-on-year for 2 quarters in succession. The article
ends with Apple’s iPads are currently being used by the NHS, publishers and
other office-based industries, where it is often used instead of a laptop –
with increased security, battery life and portability for a lesser cost than
laptop alternatives.
Facts/Phrases:
Ø The
new iPad Air 2 is just 6.1mm, an 18% reduction on the iPad Air. The device also
has a new screen with 58% less reflectivity, and an improved 8 megapixel
camera.
Ø Both
new iPads now come with more storage for apps, games, movies, photos and music
with 16, 64 and 128GB options available, for $499, $599 and $699 respectively
for the Air and $399, $499 and $599 for the mini, as well as versions with
cellular connectivity for $130 more.
Ø The
company was still happily promoting its total sales of 225m iPads since the
product line began in 2010, and Cook boasted of iPads outselling every PC sold
by typical manufacturers such as Dell and Lenovo in the last 12 months.
Ø Data
from research firm Gartner indicates tablets will represent less than 10% of
all computers, tablets and smartphones in 2014, and will continue to decrease
through 2018 as consumers cool on buying new tablets, replacing them far more
slowly than they do their smartphones.
Opinion:
In my opinion, this is a very
intriguing article in regards to apple and security. They are releasing their
latest iPad with finger print sensors, as this comes under the controversy of security,
specifically the recent icloud leaks, perhaps apple shouldn’t have bought out
the iPad it may actually cause the audience/consumer to rethink safety and buy
android tablets, furthermore iPads are decreasing in sales already, maybe this
attempt could re-generate buzz for apple or maybe they will fall flat on their
faces.
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