Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack

Computerworld - Apple on Friday restored key sections of its developer website, including the download center, more than a week after it took the portal offline.

By late Friday, the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers were again operational, as were areas dedicated to software downloads, digital certificates and Apple's bug-reporting system.

About half the site remained offline, however, including the developer-to-developer discussion forums.

The restoration of the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers, along with Software Downloads, gave developers access to programming tools and the pre-release builds of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, the mobile and desktop operating systems Apple will upgrade this fall.

Apple took the developer website down on July 18, but did not reveal the cause until Sunday, July 22, when it confirmed "an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website."

The company said that "sensitive personal information" had been encrypted, and was not at risk, but it would not rule out that some developers' names, email addresses and mailing addresses had been stolen. Apple has not identified the attacker or attackers, or how they gained access to the site.

A self-described consultant named Ibrahim Balic claimed responsibility, but asserted he had been researching vulnerabilities in Apple's online services when he uncovered a bug and reported it to the company. According to Balic's timeline, Apple shuttered the site shortly after he reported the vulnerability. By his own admission, Balic had continued to collect developers' personal information even after he flagged the flaw.

Some have questioned Balic's confession, pointing out that none of the email addresses he supposedly swept from Apple's site can be linked to actual accounts, implying that Balic mis-represented his exploit.

On Wednesday, Apple emailed all its developers, telling them that it planned to restore the website in stages, and that it had created a new status page showing the operational standing of the domain's services.

At the time, Apple also pledged to overhaul the developer portal to harden the website against future attacks.

This article, Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.

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Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack

Computerworld - Apple on Friday restored key sections of its developer website, including the download center, more than a week after it took the portal offline.

By late Friday, the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers were again operational, as were areas dedicated to software downloads, digital certificates and Apple's bug-reporting system.

About half the site remained offline, however, including the developer-to-developer discussion forums.

The restoration of the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers, along with Software Downloads, gave developers access to programming tools and the pre-release builds of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, the mobile and desktop operating systems Apple will upgrade this fall.

Apple took the developer website down on July 18, but did not reveal the cause until Sunday, July 22, when it confirmed "an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website."

The company said that "sensitive personal information" had been encrypted, and was not at risk, but it would not rule out that some developers' names, email addresses and mailing addresses had been stolen. Apple has not identified the attacker or attackers, or how they gained access to the site.

A self-described consultant named Ibrahim Balic claimed responsibility, but asserted he had been researching vulnerabilities in Apple's online services when he uncovered a bug and reported it to the company. According to Balic's timeline, Apple shuttered the site shortly after he reported the vulnerability. By his own admission, Balic had continued to collect developers' personal information even after he flagged the flaw.

Some have questioned Balic's confession, pointing out that none of the email addresses he supposedly swept from Apple's site can be linked to actual accounts, implying that Balic mis-represented his exploit.

On Wednesday, Apple emailed all its developers, telling them that it planned to restore the website in stages, and that it had created a new status page showing the operational standing of the domain's services.

At the time, Apple also pledged to overhaul the developer portal to harden the website against future attacks.

This article, Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Cybercrime and Hacking in Computerworld's Cybercrime and Hacking Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here

Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack

Computerworld - Apple on Friday restored key sections of its developer website, including the download center, more than a week after it took the portal offline.

By late Friday, the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers were again operational, as were areas dedicated to software downloads, digital certificates and Apple's bug-reporting system.

About half the site remained offline, however, including the developer-to-developer discussion forums.

The restoration of the iOS, Mac and Safari Dev Centers, along with Software Downloads, gave developers access to programming tools and the pre-release builds of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, the mobile and desktop operating systems Apple will upgrade this fall.

Apple took the developer website down on July 18, but did not reveal the cause until Sunday, July 22, when it confirmed "an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website."

The company said that "sensitive personal information" had been encrypted, and was not at risk, but it would not rule out that some developers' names, email addresses and mailing addresses had been stolen. Apple has not identified the attacker or attackers, or how they gained access to the site.

A self-described consultant named Ibrahim Balic claimed responsibility, but asserted he had been researching vulnerabilities in Apple's online services when he uncovered a bug and reported it to the company. According to Balic's timeline, Apple shuttered the site shortly after he reported the vulnerability. By his own admission, Balic had continued to collect developers' personal information even after he flagged the flaw.

Some have questioned Balic's confession, pointing out that none of the email addresses he supposedly swept from Apple's site can be linked to actual accounts, implying that Balic mis-represented his exploit.

On Wednesday, Apple emailed all its developers, telling them that it planned to restore the website in stages, and that it had created a new status page showing the operational standing of the domain's services.

At the time, Apple also pledged to overhaul the developer portal to harden the website against future attacks.

This article, Apple restores key parts of dev site after attack, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

See more by Gregg Keizer on Computerworld.com.

Read more about Cybercrime and Hacking in Computerworld's Cybercrime and Hacking Topic Center.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

Read now.

View the original article here

Apple in China recommends use of official power adapters for iPhone

IDG News Service - Apple is advising its customers in China to use the company's official USB power adapters when recharging their devices, as police continued on Friday to investigate the death by electrocution of a local woman that may be linked to an iPhone.

The company has updated its China-based website to include a new page detailing the company's different USB power adapters.

"Apple has always put user's security first, and as result all our products have gone through rigorous security and reliability testing," the page said. "They are also designed in compliance with government safety standards around the world."

The company posted the page about two weeks after a 23-year-old woman named Ma Ailun had been found dead by electrocution. Family members suspect Ma's recharging of her iPhone may have caused her death, according to local Chinese reports.

Apple has said it is investigating the matter and is cooperating with authorities. The company did not immediately comment on Friday.

Internet users in China have expressed their suspicions that Ma may have been using a third-party power adapter with her iPhone. News video footage of the evidence in the case showed an iPhone 4 with visible burn marks on the side, along with what appears to be a USB power adapter not built from Apple.

Local police on Friday said they are still working on the case, without providing further details.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

Apple in China recommends use of official power adapters for iPhone

IDG News Service - Apple is advising its customers in China to use the company's official USB power adapters when recharging their devices, as police continued on Friday to investigate the death by electrocution of a local woman that may be linked to an iPhone.

The company has updated its China-based website to include a new page detailing the company's different USB power adapters.

"Apple has always put user's security first, and as result all our products have gone through rigorous security and reliability testing," the page said. "They are also designed in compliance with government safety standards around the world."

The company posted the page about two weeks after a 23-year-old woman named Ma Ailun had been found dead by electrocution. Family members suspect Ma's recharging of her iPhone may have caused her death, according to local Chinese reports.

Apple has said it is investigating the matter and is cooperating with authorities. The company did not immediately comment on Friday.

Internet users in China have expressed their suspicions that Ma may have been using a third-party power adapter with her iPhone. News video footage of the evidence in the case showed an iPhone 4 with visible burn marks on the side, along with what appears to be a USB power adapter not built from Apple.

Local police on Friday said they are still working on the case, without providing further details.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

Apple CEO wonders what those other guys' tablets are used for

Computerworld - Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday let loose another salvo at rival tablets, audaciously dismissing them as devices that no one uses.

"In terms of how other people are doing, I don't know," said Cook when asked whether the iPad's 14% sales plunge stemmed from an industry-wide trend. "What I can tell you is the most recent data I have gotten, which actually just came out, I believe, this morning, is that the iPad Web share data shows that through the quarter we accelerated further and ... now iPad accounts for 84% of the Web traffic from tablets.

"[That's] absolutely incredible, and so if there are lots of other tablets selling, I don't know what they're being used for because that's a pretty basic function, web browsing," Cook added.

Cook was alluding to numbers published earlier Tuesday by Chitika, an online advertising network that mines ad impression data for trends in operating system and browser usage.

According to Chitika, iPads accounted for 84.3% of all tablet-based traffic to its ads in the U.S. and Canada between June 15 and June 21. The nearest competitors, Amazon's Kindle Fire and Samsung's Galaxy line, were credited with shares of just 5.7% and 4.2%, respectively.

"That was a pretty harsh assessment of tablet competition, but there again, considering how far ahead iOS is with dedicated apps, maybe not," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi in a tweet, referring to Cook's knock against rival tablets.

Cook, imitating his predecessor, co-founder Steve Jobs, has become known for taking potshots at the competition.

In early 2012, after Amazon's then-new Kindle Fire had grabbed a considerable chunk of the tablet market in the last months of 2011, Cook dismissed what he called "single-feature" devices, a clear reference to the Fire, which at the time was foremost a souped-up e-reader.

"People want to do multiple things with their tablets," Cook said then. "We can continue to compete with anyone currently shipping tablets or who might in the future."

A few months later, Cook roasted the concept of tablets with keyboards, a reference to rumors that Microsoft's hardware partners would design hybrids for the upcoming Windows 8. Mid-year, Microsoft itself entered the category with its Surface tablets, which have been promoted as both tablet, and -- when equipped with an optional keyboard cover -- a credible notebook.

"Anything can be forced to converge," Cook said in April 2012. "But the problem is that products are about trade-offs, and you begin to make trade-offs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn't please anyone. You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user."

But Cook may be on shaky ground relying on Chitika for data.

Small and midsize businesses are moving to the cloud to host their communications capabilities. Learn how enterprise-quality phone benefits, online management, conferencing, auto attendant, and ease of use are built into a system that is half the cost of a PBX.

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Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013)

Pros Great battery life. Thin. Light. Fourth Generation Intel Core processor. Bright screen. Nice multi-touch trackpad. Backlit keyboard. Thunderbolt port. Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Cons 1,366 by 768 resolution. No SD slot. No Ethernet nor HDMI. Bottom Line The Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) is the Haswell updated version of the iconic ultraportable laptop. It lasts over 10 hours running on battery power, so it's a highly recommended choice if you must have the thinnest possible laptop with the most battery life.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) ($999 list) is the latest iteration of Apple's ultraportable laptop. It retains all of the features that MacBook Air fans have grown to expect, though there are a few facets that are starting to seem dull and could bear a little improvement. The system's main improvements have to do with the new fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor and their effect on battery life and 3D performance. Overall, the 11-incher is improved over last year's model, but concurrent improvements to the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) ($1,099) make that model more attractive for the majority of users.

Design and Features
The MacBook Air 11-inch looks and feels exactly like the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2012) ($999) from last year. It's got the same compact exterior dimensions and is within a couple hundredths of a pound in weight. The system weighs in at 2.34 pounds, which is imperceptibly heavier than the two-pound rivals out there like the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro ($999) and Sony VAIO Pro 11 (SVP11215PXB) ($1,550). All the systems above and the Acer Aspire S7-191-6640 (1,299) are among the lightest and smallest systems we recommend for road warrior travellers.

The new MacBook Air 11-inch carries over the same exterior features: comfortable backlit keyboard with a shallow key travel, responsive multi-touch trackpad, webcam above the screen, and an all aluminum construction. The system continues to use the MagSafe 2 connector introduced last year. The system is only 0.68 inches at its thickest point, so it will even fit in a satchel made for full-sized tablets. On the sides you'll find the same two USB 3.0 ports and single Thunderbolt port as before, though now there are two holes for the dual microphones. These are ostensibly for improved voice performance with FaceTime video chats and dictation in the current OS X Mountain Lion, but they're also primed if Apple decides to add Siri to OS X Mavericks in the future. A touch screen isn't available, but unlike on their Windows 8 competitors, touch screens on Macs are superfluous so far, since OS X doesn't utilize many touch friendly elements yet.

Aside from the pair of pinholes for the dual mic setup, the upgrades are all interior. The base MacBook Air now comes with 128GB of Flash storage space, up from last year's 64GB. Apple upgraded WiFi to the new 802.11ac dual band standard, so it will work fine with any new 802.11ac router like Apple's Airport Extreme (A1521). Like previous models, the 11-inch MacBook Air lacks a SD card reader. Since we're bringing out the system's few flaws, we should mention that there isn't room for full-size HDMI and Ethernet, both require adapters that you must purchase separately. Likewise, we're a bit bummed that Apple hasn't upgraded the screen from the standard 1,366 by 768 resolution. At least the MacBook Air 13-inch has a higher 1,440 by 900 resolution screen, but systems like the VAIO Pro 11 and Surface Pro have 1,920 by 1,080 full HD 1080p screens. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display) shows that Apple has the technology to do this, though it most certainly would boost the system's price. Apple includes a standard one-year warranty on all its MacBook laptops.

Performance
The MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) comes with a fourth-generation Intel Core i5-4250U processor, 4GB of system memory, and a 128GB of Flash Storage, just like its 13-inch brother. The 4th gen Core i5 processor is built on Intel's new Haswell microarchitecture, which is designed for better 3D performance as well as more battery life. This is borne out by the system's benchmark test scores. The MacBook Air 11-inch is good to very good on the multimedia benchmarks (1:38 Handbrake, 6:12 Photoshop CS6), if a smidge slower than its 2012 counterpart on the Handbrake (1:25) and Photoshop CS6 (6:05) tests. The Sony VAIO Pro 11 is faster than both at the CS6 test, but Handbrake and CineBench, it's a wash. On the 3D tests, the MacBook Air and its Intel HD Graphics 5000 are significantly faster than older laptops with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Heaven is almost but not quite smoothly animated: 22 FPS at medium quality is a lot better than the 11-15 FPS seen on older laptops, but it's still nowhere near 30-60 FPS, which is where things become more interesting on the game grid. Intel HD Graphics 5000 is still pretty basic, but it should be enough for low quality settings on browser-based 3D games.

Like the MacBook Air 13-inch, the new MacBook Air 11-inch has phenomenal battery life. Last year's MacBook Air 11-inch stopped playing our test movie at 4 hours 14 minutes. The new system more than doubles that to 10:42. This bests the thin Windows 8 laptops and tablets by a huge margin (The Sony VAIO Pro 11 lasted 4:21, the Surface Pro 4:58, And the Aspire S7-191-6640 6:58 with external battery pack). The new MacBook Air 13-inch trumps the 11-inch with an additional five hours more (15:33) on the same test, so it more than makes up for the added space and weight. Basically, if you are always using the system on airline tray tables, the 11-inch makes more sense. But if you're willing to carry a bit more in return for a larger more usable screen with five more hours of battery life, consider the Haswell-powered 13-inch MacBook Air.

At $999, the Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid 2013) is an attractive ultraportable. Still, for only $100 more, you can get the 13-inch MacBook Air with almost the same components, but with a larger screen and almost five more hours of battery life. We still recommend the 11-inch model for those who need portability more than any other factor, but the fact of the matter is that the 13-inch model is ultimately a better buy and continues as our Editors' Choice for mainstream ultraportable laptops.

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