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The Telecom Digest for June 30, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 176 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
The Mystery of the iPhone Death Grip (Monty Solomon)
Google: Exercising Our Remote Application Removal Feature (Monty Solomon)
Android App Aims to Allow Wiretap-Proof Cell Phone Calls (danny burstein)
iPhone 4 Review: 2 - the Phone & FaceTime (Monty Solomon)
Ars reviews iOS 4: what's new, notable, and what needs work (Monty Solomon)
iPhone 4: the Ars Technica review (Monty Solomon)
MGH launches ER finder for iPhone (Monty Solomon)
Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray (Monty Solomon)
How to opt out of interest-based ads from the iAd network (Monty Solomon)
Mobile (Steven)
====== 28 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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against crime. Geoffrey Welsh
===========================
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:13:49 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Mystery of the iPhone Death Grip
Message-ID: <p0624081cc84f15005bed@[10.0.1.3]>
The Mystery of the iPhone Death Grip
David Pogue
June 25, 2010
The hot tech news on Friday is the exploding scandal that has been
dubbed the "iPhone Death Grip." Like everything else related to the
iPhone, it has turned into an overhyped emotional stew.
Some people are reporting, and even posting videos showing, that when
you wrap your hand around the iPhone 4, the cellular Internet
strength visibly drops. You can actually see the bars disappearing.
A cellphone that loses its signal when you pick it up? Well, that
could be considered a drawback.
I must say, I was mystified at first. I have never seen it on the
iPhone unit I have been reviewing. I cannot even reproduce it, no
matter how hard I try. I'm sitting here right now. I'm wrapping my
hand every which way - I'm even holding it with two fists, completely
concealing the silver band around the edges - and my four-bar signal
strength doesn't waver.
...
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/the-mystery-of-the-iphone-death-grip/
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:54:48 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Google: Exercising Our Remote Application Removal Feature
Message-ID: <p06240818c84f10bb5beb@[10.0.1.3]>
Exercising Our Remote Application Removal Feature
Posted by Tim Bray on 23 June 2010 at 10:35 PM
[This post is by Rich Cannings, Android Security Lead. - Tim Bray]
Every now and then, we remove applications from Android Market due to
violations of our Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or
Content Policy. In cases where users may have installed a malicious
application that poses a threat, we've also developed technologies
and processes to remotely remove an installed application from
devices. If an application is removed in this way, users will receive
a notification on their phone.
Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a
security researcher for research purposes. These applications
intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user
downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did
not have permission to access private data - or system resources
beyond permission.INTERNET. As the applications were practically
useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after
downloading them.
After the researcher voluntarily removed these applications from
Android Market, we decided, per the Android Market Terms of Service,
to exercise our remote application removal feature on the remaining
installed copies to complete the cleanup.
...
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/06/exercising-our-remote-application.html
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:58:20 -0400
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Android App Aims to Allow Wiretap-Proof Cell Phone Calls
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1006282245520.12716@panix5.panix.com>
[Forbes]
Android App Aims to Allow Wiretap-Proof Cell Phone Calls
May 25, 2010 - 5:15 pm
Andy Greenberg is a technology writer for Forbes.
Worried about the NSA, the FBI, criminals or cyberspies
electronically eavedropping on your private phone calls?
There may be an untappable app for that.
On Tuesday, an independent hacker and security researcher
who goes by thehandle Moxie Marlinspike and his Pittsburgh-based
startup Whisper Systems launched free public betas for two new
privacy-focused programs on Google's Android mobile platform:
RedPhone, a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) program that
encrypts phone calls, and TextSecure, an app for sending and
receiving encrypted text messages and scrambling the messages
stored in their inbox.
.....
RedPhone uses ZRTP, an open source Internet voice cryptography
scheme created by Phil Zimmermann, inventor of the widely-used
Pretty Good Privacy or PGP encryption.
---------
rest:
http://blogs.forbes.com/firewall/2010/05/25/android-app-aims-to-allow-wiretap-proof-cell-phone-calls/
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:16:01 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: iPhone 4 Review: 2 - the Phone & FaceTime
Message-ID: <p0624081dc84f1579785c@[10.0.1.3]>
Monday, June 28, 2010
iPhone 4 Review: 2 - the Phone & FaceTime
By Daniel Eran Dilger
Published: 02:40 PM EST
Apple's fourth generation iPhone is still exclusively tied to AT&T in
the US, but now packs new 3.5G network support, enabling dramatically
faster uploads, and FaceTime, a new video calling feature that isn't
dependent upon the carrier's network quality or seamless coverage to
work.
The phone in iPhone 4
Standing in line for hours (five and a half to be exact; I did not
expect to wait more than a half hour when I arrived), I was struck by
how many people were willing to spend so much of their day waiting
for the new iPhone.
No other class of product commands such attention, and it hit me why
in line: there is nothing else we interact with on such a personal
and continuous basis all day long as our smartphones. Apple very
clearly encourages launch day lines for marketing purposes, but it
couldn't maintain such theatrics year after year if its iPhones
weren't living up to the hype. Interviews suggest more than 70% of
those waiting in launch day lines were existing iPhone users.
Of course, the primary reason we started carrying mobile phones was
to be able to make calls and be contacted. Ironically, the most
famous smartphone is also one of the worst performing phones, at
least in the US. AT&T's network, which greeted the original iPhone as
a brand new amalgamation of GSM providers in the US, started out well
behind Verizon's CDMA network in terms of 3G buildout. It is now
struggling to keep up with the massive demand of what is collectively
the world's most mobile-greedy device. That adds up to a perfect
storm of terrible waiting to greet Apple's latest and greatest phone.
Steve Jobs said on stage at WWDC that AT&T is handling more mobile
data than all the other US carriers put together. At the same time,
AT&T is also delivering the fastest national network, and the only
one compatible with the GSM/UMTS mobile technology used by most
foreign networks internationally (making roaming possible, albeit
expensive, for users, while also facilitating the manufacture of one
iPhone model for Apple). There's still major problems in some service
areas though, and AT&T's efforts to upgrade its network can't seem to
come fast enough.
...
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/28/iphone_4_review_2_the_phonefacetime.html
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:16:01 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Ars reviews iOS 4: what's new, notable, and what needs work
Message-ID: <p0624081fc84f1579786c@[10.0.1.3]>
Ars reviews iOS 4: what's new, notable, and what needs work
By Jacqui Cheng
iOS 4, previously known as iPhone OS 4, is a major update to Apple's
mobile OS which brings a handful of significant changes-namely
Apple's implementation of "multitasking" plus the opening up of
thousands of APIs to third-party developers-while the rest of the
improvements are basically tweaks to existing functionality.
We'll say up front that we like the update. For iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS,
and iPhone 3G users (as well as second- and third-generation iPod
touch users), iOS 4 will add useful functionality that will make your
device more useable than ever. There are, however, some obvious
downsides, and we'll address those in this review.
Because iOS 4 is launching ahead of the new iPhone 4 (and it runs on
more devices than just the new iPhone), we're reviewing it separately
from the phone itself. There is some functionality that is specific
to the iPhone 4, which we'll address in that review when it comes
out. For the purposes of this review, though, we used iOS 4 on an
iPhone 3GS-the most current iPhone available ahead of the iPhone 4
launch.
...
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/06/ars-reviews-ios-4-whats-new-and-notable.ars
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:16:01 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: iPhone 4: the Ars Technica review
Message-ID: <p06240820c84f15797875@[10.0.1.3]>
iPhone 4: the Ars Technica review
By Jacqui Cheng
The iPhone 4 is Apple's "biggest leap since the original iPhone," at
least according to Steven P. Jobs speaking at the WWDC 2010 keynote.
Indeed, in the three years since Apple first introduced the iPhone,
the device has come quite far. At the same time, the basic concepts
behind the iPhone have remained very consistent over the years.
Despite regular modifications to the OS and yearly hardware upgrades,
the iPhone 4 is very much a more modern, more capable version of that
original device that made such a splash in the industry back in 2007.
We're not living with our heads in the sand: if you have come to hate
the iPhone, walled gardens for developers, and everything Apple
stands for, you will likely hate the iPhone 4, and there's nothing
anyone can say to change your mind. Luckily for you, Apple is no
longer competing against the saddest of the sad: there are now plenty
of solid phones from other manufacturers that have multitouch
screens, app stores of their own, great cameras, and much more
extensible OSs. If you are curious about Apple's latest offering,
however, read on. The iPhone 4 is not without its flaws-some of them
more serious than others-but the device remains a really cool
evolution in Apple's lineup.
...
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/06/iphone-4.ars
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:28:12 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: MGH launches ER finder for iPhone
Message-ID: <p06240824c84f185b2551@[10.0.1.3]>
MGH launches ER finder for iPhone
Posted by Elizabeth Cooney
June 28, 2010 04:43 PM
Here's an iPhone app you hope you never need.
Researchers from the Emergency Medicine Network at Massachusetts
General Hospital today launched a free application for the iPhone
that will tell you where the nearest hospital emergency rooms are in
the United States, along with directions and other information
designed to help people away from home.
...
http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2010/06/mgh_launches_er.html
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:41:36 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray
Message-ID: <p0624082bc84f1b14c8e1@[10.0.1.3]>
Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray
By JAN HOFFMAN
June 27, 2010
The girl's parents, wild with outrage and fear, showed the principal
the text messages: a dozen shocking, sexually explicit threats, sent
to their daughter the previous Saturday night from the cellphone of a
12-year-old boy. Both children were sixth graders at Benjamin
Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, N.J.
Punish him, insisted the parents.
"I said, 'This occurred out of school, on a weekend,' " recalled the
principal, Tony Orsini. "We can't discipline him."
Had they contacted the boy's family, he asked.
Too awkward, they replied. The fathers coach sports together.
What about the police, Mr. Orsini asked.
A criminal investigation would be protracted, the parents had
decided, its outcome uncertain. They wanted immediate action.
They pleaded: "Help us."
Schools these days are confronted with complex questions on whether
and how to deal with cyberbullying, an imprecise label for online
activities ranging from barrages of teasing texts to sexually
harassing group sites. The extent of the phenomenon is hard to
quantify. But one 2010 study by the Cyberbullying Research Center, an
organization founded by two criminologists who defined bullying as
"willful and repeated harm" inflicted through phones and computers,
said one in five middle-school students had been affected.
Affronted by cyberspace's escalation of adolescent viciousness, many
parents are looking to schools for justice, protection, even revenge.
But many educators feel unprepared or unwilling to be prosecutors and
judges.
Often, school district discipline codes say little about educators'
authority over student cellphones, home computers and off-campus
speech. Reluctant to assert an authority they are not sure they have,
educators can appear indifferent to parents frantic with worry,
alarmed by recent adolescent suicides linked to bullying.
Whether resolving such conflicts should be the responsibility of the
family, the police or the schools remains an open question, evolving
along with definitions of cyberbullying itself.
Nonetheless, administrators who decide they should help their
cornered students often face daunting pragmatic and legal constraints.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/style/28bully.html
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:01:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: How to opt out of interest-based ads from the iAd network
Message-ID: <p06240836c84f2031fba2@[10.0.1.3]>
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4228
How to opt out of interest-based ads from the iAd network
Last Modified: June 21, 2010
Article: HT4228
Summary
This article provides instructions on how to opt out of receiving
interest-based ads from the iAd mobile advertising network.
Products Affected
iTunes Store, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS,
iPod touch (2nd generation)
Apple and its partners use cookies and other technologies in mobile
advertising services to control the number of times you see a given
ad, deliver ads that relate to your interests, and measure the
effectiveness of ad campaigns. If you do not want to receive ads with
this level of relevance on your mobile device, you can opt out by
accessing the following link on your iOS 4 mobile device:
http://oo.apple.com. The message "You have successfully opted out"
will appear and you will be automatically opted out of interest-based
ads.
Make sure you are using a mobile device running iOS 4 or later. If
you receive an "Opt out not successful" message, please wait a few
hours and try again.
A few things you should know:
* You may still see the same number of ads as before, but they may be
less relevant because they will not be based on your interests.
* You may still see ads related to the content in an application or
based on other non-personal information.
* If you use more than one Apple mobile device running iOS 4, you
will have to opt out from each device individually.
* Opting out applies only to Apple advertising services and does not
affect interest-based advertising from other advertising networks.
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:20:41 -0700
From: Steven <diespammers@killspammers.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Mobile
Message-ID: <i0e65c$ot5$1@news.eternal-september.org>
A friend of mine bought a couple of DVDs, of a limited BBC series
about the corrupt world of the mobile phone industry. A bit off
subject, but it is a very interesting conspiracy movie. It is called
"Mobile".
Four episodes of this British conspiracy thriller -- based in the
corrupt world of the mobile phone industry and in which each
installment tells an interconnecting story from three different points
of view -- are included in this program. The characters include a
phone engineer with brain cancer, a former soldier who loses his
family in a car accident involving a mobile phone and a telecom tycoon
who mourns his daughter's suicide.
You can get the movie from Shop BBC America or Acorn Media: the one I
saw came from Netflix. I'm really into British mystery, and one of
the main characters was played by Michael Kitchen, from "Foyle's War".
***** Moderator's Note *****
Steven is recommending a work of fiction.
Bill Horne
Moderator
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End of The Telecom Digest (10 messages)
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