Apple responds to iOS SMS flaw, suggests using iMessage instead
Apple continues to show that it's not the most security-focused company with its response to a security vulnerability found in all iOS versions, including iOS6 beta 4. The vulnerability is that a text can be sent with a "Reply-to" number which is different from the actual sender number. This results in messages in which the sender can be spoofed.
As you can see, there is no mention or commitment to fix the vulnerability. Instead, they take the chance to promote their iMessage service. Unfortunately, everyone in the world would need to be using iMessage (a dream for Apple) for this to effectively take care of the vulnerability present.
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Judge says Google did not comply with Court's disclosure order in Oracle case
Judge Alsup, the judge presiding over the Oracle v Google lawsuit has decided that Google's disclosure, in response to his August 7 mandate, did not comply. As such, he has reissued the mandate with a few clarifications and has given Google until noon on August 24 to comply. He has also instructed Oracle to update its disclosure if the clarified mandate brings to light any new people that should be disclosed.
It will be interesting to see how Google responds to this request. Their previous disclosure made some good points, but at the same time did seem to lack any decisive names. We will be sure to keep you up to date on this legal battle as it continues.
3D-printed shoes are the latest fashion, only cost $900 a pair
Always chasing the latest fashion trends? A fan of 3D printing? Why not combine the two? Well, now you can. A company is offering 3D-printed shoes and they will only set you back $900. The collection is named "strvct" and "uses innovative materials to create fantasy-inspired designs." Take a look:
The shoes aren't just for decoration; they can actually be worn thanks to the durable nylon they are printed from. They also feature a synthetic rubber sole for traction and a "patent leather inner sole." They say that the "triangulated spin on the classic wedge pump...brings to mind Cinderella's glass slipper in its transparency" but I'm not convinced.
Theoretically, these shoes could be made at home on a 3D printer, all you need are the designs. But, more importantly, it puts existing technology to cool new uses. The shoes are made to order so they could take a bit of time to be delivered, not to mention $900 seems a bit high to pay for a pair of shoes. Nevertheless, they are cool.
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AMD drops prices on high-end cards again
If you're looking to buy a new AMD graphics card, the time could not be better. AMD has again dropped prices on its high-end cards so that they are more competitive with NVIDIA's latest offering. With the NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti finally outed by the company, AMD wants to position its cards in places where they can compete.
The street prices have dropped accordingly:
The 7970 does not see a price drop in this latest round, the both the 78XX and 7950 have had their prices lowered. The 3GB 7950 price drop brings its price down to a level similar to the GTX 660. In tests, a 2GB 7950 and 660 Ti were about 50/50. The 3GB version will likely pull out a couple of extra wins, and with the new pricing, should win business.
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ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard - Full Video Introduction by Nick Shih
Earlier on today we visited the ASRock headquarters here in Taipei where we caught up with Chris Lee and Nick Shih who introduced to their latest motherboard, the ASRock Z77 OC Formula.
Nick Shih joined ASRock some seven months ago and joined the Taiwanese motherboard maker team with his past professional overclocking experience to help the company create a new motherboard that is designed purely for overclocking and enthusiasts and it has performance written all over it. He worked closely with ASRock engineers to create what they vision to be the best OC motherboard in the world.
In the above video Chris and Nick do a good job of telling us about the motherboard and why it's good for overclocking. Features such as premium chokes and caps that can handle various impedance frequencies are used along with a new digital PWM and more. Heck, ASRock even throw in a tube of GEIL thermal paste which is a first as far as I know and another feature I personally liked was the see-through PCB that shows each layer of the eight layer copper PCB.
Preview of Firefox for Windows 8 to launch next month, sports 'Modern UI', asks Metro to take a seat elsewhere
It looks as though a preview of Mozilla's Firefox for Windows 8 is coming next month, which should show off the company's Modern UI styling and windowless Flash. We've known about the UI for a while, but this was before the whole Metro issue, as it was named Metro UI and has now had a makeover and unveiled as Modern UI.
New details are leaking out about the web browser for the upcoming OS, with a few screenshots to tease us with. A developer on the project, Brian R. Bondy, has posted an update on his blog that talks of Mozilla's progress with the app and their goals for its release:
Motorola wants fisticuffs with Apple, files patent lawsuit to see the block of Apple-made products sold in the US
Just as Samsung and Apple's lawsuit comes to a close, Google's recently-acquired Motorola is now taking a swing at the Cupertino-based company. Motorola have claimed that Apple are infringing on seven of its patents, and are seeking to block the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers from being imported into the United States.
Google acquired the device maker back in February, and until now, Motorola have been tightly lipped on its previous problems with Apple. But, according to a piece from Bloomberg, Google's Motorola division have just filed a new patent lawsuit against the company, opening up some of those old, sore wounds that were leftover from Motorola and Apple's long history of legal disputes. Motorola's complaint over at the US International Trade Commission (ITC) named features such as location reminders, e-mail notifications, along with phone and video players as possible infringements.
These complaints are some of Apple's biggest features in their iOS-based devices, and with Google's lust of blocking US imports of Apple products, it would be a huge win for Google and an even bigger loss for Apple. Motorola Mobility have said in a statement:
Facebook's backup named 'Sub-Zero', and would include low-power deep-storage hardware
Facebook are looking to go a bit exotic with their new backup plans, with their upcoming backup looking to tap some low-power deep-storage hardware that'll be housed in a 62,000 square-foot building in Prineville, Oregon.
This is situated near their Beaver State data center, with the new back up referred to "Sub-Zero". Sub-Zero will store a copy of Facebook's data in case the social network's primary servers need to be restored in the case of an emergency. Instead of continuously powering HDDs that are only occasionally used, Sub-Zero can conserve energy by lighting-up drives only when they're actually needed.
Just a single of Facebook's existing server racks chews up around 4.5 kilowatts, whilst the ones that will be found at Sub-Zero will only consume approximately 1.5 kilowatts when they're running, which is quite the power conservation. Facebook's vice president of site operations, Tom Furlong, talked to Wired that there are talks of a similar structure to be built next to the social network's North Carolina-based data center.
LeakedTT: New iPhone front panel pictures
Apple's sixth-generation 'new iPhone' will be announced next month, hopefully, and until then I think we're going to see, and hear, more and more rumors of the smartphone. The latest thing to hit the Internet are some leaked shots of the front panel of the new iPhone.
I've taken a stance of calling it the 'new iPhone', because I just can't see Apple naming it with a number, I really think we're going to see the same naming scheme as the third-generation iPad. The 'new iPad' was known as just that. Apple's new iPhone is looking to be a 4-inch device, up from the 3.5-inch screen on every single iPhone to date.
It should also sport 4G LTE connectivity, NFC, and a 7.6mm-thin case. All of this should be unveiled, and confirmed, at Apple's press conference which is being held on September 12th. Until then, most of these posts will be designated as "LeakedTT" or "RumorTT".
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Google runs Pwnium 2, if you can hack Chrome, there are $2 million in rewards up for grabs
Google have announced the second Pwnium hacking competition after widthdrawning from this TippingPoint's annual Pwn2Own which was previously held back in February. Google have thrown $2 million in rewards for anyone who can find bugs in their popular Chrome browser, exploit them and detail how they achieved the hack.
The first Pwnium that was held in March, in Vancouver, only had $1 million up for grabs, and only a slice of that was handed out. This was because there were only two submissions, requiring Google to sign over just $120,000 of the $1 million they had up for grabs. So, what are Google offering? $60,000 for a full Chrome exploit using only bugs found in the web browser itself. $50,000 for a partial Chrome exploit using Chrome itself, or other browser, or Windows flaws such as Webkit or kernel-level flaws.
Finally, $40,000 for a non-Chrome exploit for a bug found in Flash, Windows or a driver. In addition incomplete or unreliable exploits may be eligible for a prize, where Google have said "our rewards panel will judge any such works as generously as we can". Sounds like Google just want to give money away! Rules have changed from the annual Pwn2Own hacking competition, with TippingPoint no longer requiring entrants to reveal all the details about exploits used to compromise security. Google has said that this change is "worrisome" and decided to leave the competition, promoting their own Pwnium challenge instead.