Though employees can still bring their iPhone smartphones to work, IBM’s recently issue policy bars employees from using Apple’s Siri voice assistant feature at work. According to IBM, the reasoning for the ban is due to Siri sending user’s spoken queries to Siri to a remote data server to process speech to text and then [...]
It was as predictable as a Swiss watch. Yesterday Google formally announced its Google Drive product, that allows users to store files, documents, etc… on Google’s servers and access those files as if they were stored on a local hard drive. As we’ve seen time and time again these kind of services raise privacy issues. [...]
I have a game I play with an old friend. It’s called “there are two kinds of people in the world.” When we discuss current events and other things, one of us will come up with some way of classifying reactions to the topic at hand by saying “there are two kinds of people in [...]
After Path was caught uploading users’ contacts to its servers, Apple was quiet. Later we found out that other apps like Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram were doing the same thing. Apple still said nothing. It wasn’t until today, just a few minutes after Congress sent an inquiry to Apple CEO Tim Cook that the company [...]
In just five years, remembering complex alpha-numeric passwords will be a thing of the past as IBM is predicting that passwords will go the way of the dinosaur by 2017. This may be good news for many people, who have to remember a slew of passwords and passcodes for all their digital accounts, banking and [...]
An early leaked ROM for Sprint’s Samsung Epic 4G Touch Galaxy S II (review) smartphone indicates that the carrier may be dropping the Carrier IQ software that was preloaded on the device. It’s unclear when the new ROM will be updated for existing users, but the absence of Carrier IQ software suggests that Sprint may [...]
You knew it was going to happen. And you knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later. There was going to be some sort of privacy, snooping issue with Apple’s Find My Friends App. Well, a guy bought his wife an iPhone 4S, loaded up Find my Friends and caught her on the [...]
Look out Verizon customers, it looks like the carrier has begun sending out emails to customers over the last couple of days informing them that privacy policy changes are on the way. At the heart of this change is Big Red’s plan to start tracking mobile information from those who are using device’s on its [...]
Hold on Facebook Friends. There is a rumor going around that claims Facebook is sharing your contact list with the world, but it isn’t true. Facebook isn’t known for having the best privacy and security practices in the business, which is why many users believed that Facebook had shared their contacts with anyone on Facebook. [...]
These days we keep all types of stuff on our phones, which has raised concerns about the government or hackers snooping on our calls, emails and travel history; but according to a new survey you should be looking at someone much, much closer. Retrevo found that your significant other is quite possibly checking your call history and [...]
It looks like Google is attempting to make users honest on the Internet, or at least with its emerging Google+ social networking service. The company says that users are obliged to use their real names when signing up for the service, and pseudonyms, avatars, and aliases can only be used in the secondary position when [...]
With the newspaper industry struggling in the face of digital content, two Philadelphia dailies are taking on the motto “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” According to AdWeek, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly’s Daily News are planning to offer discounted Android tablets that are bundled with newspaper content. Under the deal, customers would buy an Android [...]
Google finally announced Google Wallet, a new service that combines hardware and software to turn your phone into a digital wallet capable of linking to your credit cards, gift cards and a Google Prepaid credit card. Google Wallet has a large collection of partners and in typical Android fashion is, “Coming Soon.” We’ve seen plenty [...]
Privacy issues relating to your data stored in the cloud are going to always be with us as long as we have data stored in the cloud. But then again, privacy issues when everyone had their data stored on local hard drives and networks were and are still an issue. There are many ways to [...]
The recent Senate hearing related to user privacy and tracking information related to smartphones yielded more questions and shows a more confused American government where technology and civil rights are concerned than gave answers. The hearing, called by U.S. Senator Al Franken, was to discuss what cell phone users’ rights are and how that relates [...]
By design, the UDID mechanism scheme that Apple employs for iOS hardware is a unique string of letters and numbers, much like a device’s unique serial number, that is used to anonymously identify iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. However, security researcher Aldo Cortesi discovered a flaw that can link an iOS device’s unique UDID back [...]
This week we saw a Verizon 4G LTE outage push back the Samsung Droid Charge, the release of new Dell Precision mobile workstations, release of the Droid Incredible 2 and much more. We also have a great roundup of Mother’s Day Tech Gifts that includes eReaders, smartphones and notebooks. This list includes Mother approved gifts [...]
Ever since the discovery of the hidden file on iPhones and iPhone backups prompted an uproar from those concerned about privacy issues, the story seems to keep building. Google and Apple have both been summoned to give answers to Congress, and if you’ve been following the news, you also know that Google and Apple aren’t [...]
Yesterday we posted about the fact that the Apple iPhone tracks data and keeps it in a hidden file on the phone itself as well as in the backup files that are created when you sync your phone to whatever device you sync it with. As I said then some were pretty upset about this [...]
The leaked 4G-enabled Skype app for the HTC Thunderbolt that brought video calling contains some serious vulnerabilities that exposes the user’s personal information to other apps that take advantage of this vulnerability. The exploit was first discovered and unveiled on Android Police where the site had created an app to demonstrate how this vulnerability could [...]
Chris Davies of Slashgear does some very good reporting of a story that has been brewing for a day or two. The story is about a simmering battle between Google and CNN. CNN interviewed Google engineer Hartmut Neven about technology that would allow facial recognition via Android phones using Google Goggles. The piece ran in [...]
Google is now releasing an extension for users of its Chrome browser that will help with privacy concerns. The extension, which can be downloaded here, will allow users to opt out of ad tracking. The company has noted some of the features and downsides of using the news privacy extension on its blog: However, the [...]
Here we go again. The Wall St. Journal published an article that warned us all that (GASP!) Apps are collecting and sending our data to other sources to increase targeted advertising opportunities. Give me a break. Yes, Apps are doing this. Yes, websites do this. Yes, newspapers, banks, supermarkets, retailers of all stripes, and anyone [...]
While we had reported that the FTC had proposed a Do Not Track policy for Internet privacy, Demcratic representative Edward Markey from Massachusetts will be taking online privacy a step further with a proposal that’s targeted at minors. Markey, who used the analogy that “the Internet is like online oxygen” for many kids today, expresses [...]
Along with its Facebook Messages announcement today, it looks like Facebook has gone on to update its Facebook for iPhone app to include privacy controls. The app, now at version 3.3.2, does not bring any of the new Facebook Messages enhancements yet to mobile–that will come via a future update–but will help users manage their [...]
I walked by our local computer repair shop on the way to lunch yesterday and ran across a couple of kids taking customer privacy seriously. Instead of perusing personal data, like some repair shop employees do, these guys shatter hard drives that are left behind when customers upgrade their hard drives. I told these guys [...]
Google’s honcho, Eric Schmidt, says that in the future young people should be entitled to change their name to avoid having to deal with mistakes or foolishness they may have made in their “cyber past.” He says “I don’t believe society understands what happens when everything is available, knowable and recorded by everyone all the [...]
The privacy debate comes up about as often as, well, about as often as Facebook changes its methods of sharing your data. This time around though Facebook’s changes have provoked questions in the mass media and of course when that happens, firestorms usually ensue. Google is taking some knocks for admitting that its Street View [...]
As friends and colleagues look at getting new notebooks and netbooks and replacing older systems, the inevitable question comes up: what do I do with my old hard drive and ensure people don’t see my personal data. Doing a simple format just doesn’t cut it. Personally, I always take a hammer to the old hard [...]
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Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video)
When Sprint had debuted the original WiMax-capable HTC EVO 4G nearly two years ago, it was an instant hit on the Now network. Not only was the HTC EVO 4G the first 4G smartphone in the world taking advantage of Sprint’s then speedy WiMax network, but it brought some new features and pizzazz to the [...]
Last year Toshiba waded into the Android tablet market with the Thrive, a 10.1-inch slate that served as the company’s response to what they deemed missing in the then current crop. Thus, it had several full-size ports, a rugged-ish exterior, and a thick chassis to accommodate both. Though a decent tablet, the Thrive didn’t generate [...]
Samsung Shows That It Is a Software Company
As exciting as it has been to talk, postulate, and speculate about the Galaxy S III’s hardware and specs before the third-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone was announced on May 3rd in London, once the device was announced one thing became apparent: Samsung is now a software company. That doesn’t mean that Samsung is shying away [...]
Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
With its large touchscreen, the iPad seems like the perfect platform for Real Time Strategy games, and Autumn Dynasty proves it, mostly. Autumn Dynasty is an RTS iPad game with art that looks like tradition Chinese painting. The story involves quelling a rebellion while solving a mystery of shady noblemen. The story though, just serves [...]
Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
The Griffin GuitarConnect Pro interfaces with your Guitar and your iPad or iPhone so you can record your music easily using apps like Apple’s GarageBand. My son Daniel, who’s learning to play guitar, helped me test it out and he loved it. When he gets as good as Jimi Hendrix, I’m sure he’ll steal my [...]
Google Search App iPhone and iPad Update Looks Beautiful (Video)
Google just delivered a beautiful update to the company’s Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad The Google Search app for iPhone and iPad replaced Safari as my browser of choice, earning a spot in the iPhone and iPad dock. It’s faster and offers a beautiful new full screen image search which looks awesome on the [...]
