Archive for May 22, 2014

Apple Patches Critical Flaws In Safari For Mac…. But Misses Safari For iOS

Posted in Commentary with tags , on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

Frequent readers of this blog will recall that I’ve written about Apple and their habit of patching one of their operating systems, but not the other until much much later.

Well, they’ve done it again.

This week Apple patched the Safari browser for Mac fixing critical flaws that could allow remote code execution. However, if you’re wondering about Safari on iOS, keep wondering because it hasn’t been patched yet. The danger is that if they don’t fix things on both operating systems at the same time, they have provided a roadmap for hackers to exploit the unlatched operating system. The reason being that both operating systems have similar codebases. That means all a hacker has to do is reverse engineer what was fixed on one operating system to exploit the other. You’d think that Apple would really get better on this front. Clearly they haven’t. Thus iOS users are at risk and they don’t need to be.

So, Apple, when will you get your act together on this front? Do your users not deserve better?

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Digia Updates Qt Enterprise Embedded

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

Digia has released an update to Qt Enterprise Embedded to address the Internet of Things connected device trend. Today’s release includes the latest Qt 5.3 libraries, Qt WebEngine, Qt Quick Compiler, integration to the Qt Cloud and several other improvements. It contains all the tools needed for fast, easy, fully-integrated embedded device application development and deployment which further increasing developer efficiency, application and device performance, and shortening the development time of embedded software. With Qt Enterprise Embedded it is as easy to develop embedded software as it is to build applications for desktop or mobile.

The pre-configured embedded development environment, pre-built Qt optimized software stack enables immediate deployment to verified reference boards allowing users to get up and running and have a working embedded project prototype from day one. This Qt Enterprise Embedded update introduces a first look at Qt WebEngine, a powerful cross-platform web offering that combines Qt Quick for native apps for maximum performance, HTML5 for dynamic web content and reusability across web and native – with WebGL support for whenever extra 3D elegance needs to be added to the UI. Qt WebEngine is particularly important for embedded devices that need to offer on-demand web access and where the ability to develop hybrid UIs and functionality is key to keep up with changing market requirements.

Qt Enterprise Embedded also includes the recently announced Qt Quick Compiler. Qt Quick Compiler is a new professional build tool, which allows for the compilation of QML files into an application. The compiler ensures IP protection of the the QML source and improves load time and performance by pre-parsing the QML files. With compiled Qt Quick, application start up is up to 90% faster than before, a key requirement in various embedded verticals.

Incremental deployment to devices is also being introduced to reduce the time it takes to deploy software to devices. Previous versions of Qt Enterprise Embedded offered USB-connection to the device as the primary way to deploy, run and debug on devices. The latest version adds the possibility of connecting to devices over a local area network using standard IP protocols – simplifying the sharing of devices amongst team members and setting up devices for automated testing.

The update to Qt Enterprise Embedded also provides full integration with Qt Cloud Services and the Enginio Data Storage to enable users to create a whole cloud backend for embedded, mobile and desktop Qt clients through a convenient Qt API. Together with the newly added Bluetooth support (using BlueZ) and the existing Wi-Fi and wired network support, the platform provides everything needed for implementing, monitoring and updating internet-of-things devices from within a single technology.

Qt Enterprise Embedded also provides the full set of Qt Enterprise value-add functionality, including a comprehensive virtual keyboard solution with multi-language and word-prediction possibilities, support for Qt Quick Enterprise Controls for industrial applications and libraries for 2D and 3D charting and data visualization.

The Qt Enterprise Embedded development environment runs on Ubuntu Linux 64-bit 12.04 LTS or later. Target hardware supported as standard at time of launch includes: Google Nexus 7 tablet 2012 & 2013 version; Boundary Devices SabreLite (Freescale i.MX 6); SABRE Board/Platform for smart devices (Freescale i.MX 6Quad); Raspberry Pi Model B (ARM11); and BeagleBone Black (TI AM335x). Digia is also able to port the software stack to custom hardware. The Qt Enterprise Embedded Emulator is included within the development environment. Qt Enterprise Embedded comes with Yocto –based tooling that easily extends the provided configurations to match the final hardware design as well as supports other hardware environments.

Full details on supported hardware, more information about Qt Enterprise Embedded and a 30-day free trial offer can be found at http://qt.digia.com/qtenterpriseembedded

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Infographic: Mobile Phones: Then And Now – Nokia 1110 vs. Samsung Galaxy S5

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

 

Source: MobileFun

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iMessage Bug Causing Grief For Those Who Switch From iPhones

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

Let’s say for a second that you decide to dump your shiny iPhone to an Android phone, but you decide to keep your number. Besides horrifying the hordes of Apple Fanbois who would never approve of such a switch, you may be opening yourself up to a rather nasty iMessage bug that results in lost messages from other iPhone or iDevice users that are incorrectly delivered to their inactive iPhone, instead of their new phone or the message fails to get converted to a standard text message. Either way, the sender will see a “delivery failed” message when this happens and you don’t get your message. Now this is not a new bug and the Internet is filled with frustration regarding this bug.

The current workaround is to turn off iMessage on their phone and uncheck the number in other iMessage-compatible devices attached their iCloud account before switching devices. However this method doesn’t always remove the phone number from Apple’s iMessage server. That forces former iPhone owners to contact Apple to remove them from the iMessage system manually. Another option is to have family members and close friends delete your number from their phones and then add it again once you’ve taken the above steps.

I browsed around the Internet this morning and this story is really starting to get some attention in the broader press. Thus I suspect that Apple will be bringing out a fix for this to take the heat off. Hopefully that fix comes quickly for those who switch from iPhones to something else.

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Review: SONOS PLAY:3

Posted in Products with tags on May 22, 2014 by itnerd

I recently got the chance to try a SONOS PLAY:3 in my condo recently and got more than what I bargained for. In the process of testing the PLAY:3, I got the chance to test the following:

  • The BRIDGE which interfaces SONOS products into your home network so that you can place SONOS speakers anywhere you want and interact with them wirelessly.
  • The new SONOS app which controls your SONOS environment.
  • Google Play Music and its integration with SONOS products.

Now setting up the PLAY:3 was incredibly easy.

  • Plug the BRIDGE into my home network and provide it with AC power.
  • Plug in the AC power of the PLAY:3.
  • Download the SONOS Controller app for iOS onto my iPhone.
  • Follow the directions on the app to set everything up which involved pressing buttons on the BRIDGE and PLAY:3
  • Declare victory and have a beer while enjoying the fruits of my labours.

In under 5 minutes, I had everything setup. The bottom line is that anyone can set this up and do so quickly.

Now, when it comes to the sound quality, it is impressive. It’s not a single speaker. The PLAY:3 has three Class-D digital amplifiers and three drivers–one tweeter and two 3-inch midrange drivers, as well as one passive, rear-firing bass radiator. All of this conspires to give you superior room filling sound. The bass is relatively full and well-defined and the speaker is capable of playing music quite loudly without distortion at high volumes. One nice touch is that the PLAY:3 can be laid down horizontally or positioned vertically. An internal sensor detects which position the speaker is in and will switch from stereo mode (horizontal) to mono (vertical). That’s handy if you want pair two PLAY:3’s to give you true stereo separation.

The PLAY:3 itself has only three buttons: volume up, volume down, and mute. To control the PLAY:3 you need to use the SONOS App which comes in Mac, PC, iOS and Android flavours. The new version has a brand new user interface that makes it much easier to use. One thing that I really like is the fact that you can set an alarm and wake up to your favourite music from either the streaming service of your choice or from your music library. You can also build independent playlists within the app, store favorites and search easily for radio stations all over the world. The most significant new feature is universal search. For example, type in the name of an artist and you’ll find relevant tracks in your music library as well as across any streaming services you subscribe to. You might get pointed to Pandora, Spotify or something else. If you’re used to the layout of the old app, you will find the new layout takes some getting used to. But once you do, it is an easier and prettier app to use.

Now SONOS adds new music services all the time. But one of those additions is huge. Google Play Music is now available to SONOS users….. As long as you have an Android device. iOS users are sort of left out of the cold for the moment. More on that in a second. Now assuming that you do have an Android device, there are two options to stream music from the service:

  • Choose Google Play Music from the services menu on your Sonos app and log in with your Google Account.
  • Play directly to the SONOS system from within the Google Play Music App on your Android device by selecting the cast icon. If you think this sounds like ChromeCasting, you’d be right. When I tried it, it was very easy to do and the Google Play Music App is the first non-SONOS app that I am aware of that directly interacts with SONOS hardware.

Either way, you get access to thousands of tracks in a quick and easy manner. iOS users only get the option of using the SONOS app. Streaming currently doesn’t seem to work from the Google Play Music app. But the good news is that iOS users get the complete Google Play Music experience. So it’s not a total loss.

Negatives? Other than the lack of iOS streaming support for the Google Play Music app, I really don’t have any. The SONOS PLAY:3 goes for $329. You’ll also need the BRIDGE which is $59. My advice would be to try it out at your local store and I suspect you’ll be taking one home.

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