Archive for September 10, 2011

Chatr Wireless Gets Sony Ericsson txt pro

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 10, 2011 by itnerd

I got a press release in my in boxy from Sony Ericsson announcing that Rogers Chatr Wireless is going to exclusively get the txt pro handset (Classified as the Speedster by chatr wireless) which is aimed at those who do a large amount of messaging and social networking. Besides having a slide out QWERTY keyboard, here are the key features:

  • Sony Ericsson txt pro Friends App brings Facebook and Twitter updates directly to your home screen
  • Wi-Fi support which connects to any wireless LAN network and hotspot
  • 3.2 mega pixel camera with video
  • Multiple IM app for easy access to messaging and network services.

Expect to pay $125 (no term) for this phone which is available today.

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Adobe Brings Flash Media To iDevices Without Flash…. Seriously

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on September 10, 2011 by itnerd

Adobe has finally figured out a way to get Flash onto Apple’s iDevices… Sort of. Adobe has announced something called Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 and Adobe Flash Access 3.0. Now you can read the media stuff here, but I’ll give you the key point here:

“With Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5, media publishers now have a single, simple workflow for delivering content using the same stream to Flash-enabled devices or to the Apple iPhone and iPad.”

In a nutshell, what Adobe is doing is repackaging the Flash content in real-time to suit the target device. For iDevices, you get Flash (though it’s only Flash video at this point) without Flash needing to be installed. As a bonus, iDevice users don’t get the battery life and CPU usage issues that Flash usually brings. Brilliant!

You have to wonder how Apple feels about this.

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Hey IT Nerd! What’s This About DigiNotar Being Hacked And Why Should I Care?

Posted in Tips with tags , on September 10, 2011 by itnerd

DigiNotar is a Dutch certificate authority that issues digital certificates that were considered to be trustworthy. That was until they were hacked and the certificates compromised. This was a major problem because everybody from Microsoft, Apple, Google, Mozilla, the Dutch Government among others used their certificates. What made the problem worse is that the hack might have taken place in mid July which meant millions might have been exposed to certificates that could have made everything from VPN sessions to online banking insecure.

Now it is imperative that you make sure that you run your software updater on your computer to make sure your OS is safe. Microsoft and Apple have released updates that kills DigiNotar certificates dead. You should also make sure your browser is up to date. For example Firefox has come out with two updates to make sure that their browser isn’t affected by these certificates. If you use certificates for any other reason, say SSL VPN connections for example, you should make sure that any DigiNotar certificates are removed. That way you aren’t open to attack by whomever did this.

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German Court Bans Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1…. Then Apple Gets Sued By HTC Again

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on September 10, 2011 by itnerd

Mark this up as a win for Apple. A German court has decided to ban the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country because it is too similar to the iPad. Samsung is expected to appeal this though, so it’s not over yet. But if you’re Samsung, that’s got to hurt.

But it hasn’t been all good news for Apple, they got sued by HTC… Again…. For patent infringement. But this time there’s a twist. It’s using 9 patents that the phone company bought from Google to launch this lawsuit:

Google had taken ownership of the patents less than a year ago, with four of the patents originating from Motorola Inc., three from Openwave Systems Inc. and two from Palm Inc., according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Jim Prosser, a spokesman for Mountain View, California-based Google, wouldn’t discuss reasons for the nine transfers to HTC.

This I think will make the iLawyers sweat a bit and perhaps launch an attack of their own. Expect this to heat up and quickly.

 

 

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Carol Bartz Fired By Yahoo…. And She’s Pissed!!

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 10, 2011 by itnerd

Yahoo decided to fire it’s CEO Carol Bartz a few days ago. Here’s a bunch of reasons why this has got my attention:

  • First, according to this story, she was fired over the phone. I have to admit that firing someone by telephone is classless. I don’t care what sort of issues exist. If you’re going to fire someone, do it face to face.
  • Second, she then went on a bit of a rant about her firing telling Fortune “These people fucked me over.” Ouch. But there’s more. She also said “The board was so spooked by being cast as the worst board in the country. Now they’re trying to show that they’re not the doofuses that they are.” She’s not bitter at all is she? If you want to read the rest, click here.

You can fully expect this story to stay in the news for awhile. I truly hope so. This is one hell of a pissing contest that’s worth watching.

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