Goodbye iPod: Breaking down Apple’s media player over 15 years

Image credit: AFP

By Sheldon Pinto /  24 Oct 2016 , 13:49

With Apple struggling with declining smartphone (iPhone) and tablet sales (iPad) sales, it is easy to point out, that Apple wants to make a come back with its refreshed MacBook line up after ignoring it for a really long time. With Apple’s current hero product, the iPhone soonrunning out of steam, today also marks a day that should get a bit nostalgic for some, as it has been 15 years since Apple’s first hero product, the iPod was announced.

2001

Steve Jobs unveiled its Apple iPod, in 2001, not knowing that it would be the company’s next hero product. What he could have known was that iTunes would change the way we buy and listen to music. The first iPod featured 5GB of storage, a Firewire port for data and a rotating wheel which over the next seven years became the identity of the iPod.

2003

Despite its problems, Apple had a good first run with its music player. Two whole years later, Steve Jobs showed up with an improved version of the iPod (third generation). It looked a lot different (more modern similar to the MacBooks, and less rudimentary) and this where Apple separated the click wheel from the media control keys and introduced a touch interface. While the move made it easier to navigate music collections, it added more keys and ‘more keys’ (in Apple’s philosophy) means more spends and more parts that can get damaged. Apple would soon move back to the older set up a few generations later. What happened this year was that iTunes was now available on Windows, which would make the iPod appealing to larger Windows-happy audience as well.

2004

Apple announced 2 models of the iPod with the introduction of the iPod mini. The mini was a less serious, more fun take on the iPod offering a variety of colours and was able to compete with players from Sony, Creative and others. A major leap with this generation of the standard iPod, was colour displays and the ability to store, browse and view photos.

2005

Apple introduces three models of the iPod. We had an affordable iPod Shuffle, a slimmed down iPod Nano and a fifth generation iPod that could now display, photos, videos and play music. Apple improved on the 2004 model’s click wheel and new design was now the standard for iPods going forward.

2007

The beginning of change. This was when Apple introduced an iPhone slapped onto the back of an iPod minus it radios. It was a time when Apple began to understand that the iPod was losing out had to introduce something new. With that in mind we had the first generation of the iPod Touch and many who could not afford the iPhone, could use a Touch to run iOS apps. What was memorable about the iPod Touch was how it gave iPod users a taste of Cover flow which until now was already present on iTunes, and iPhones. Sadly, it was not meant for power users because of its low storage capacity. What it did give iPod users was a way to consume media, apps and games from the iTunes Store. In the same year, Apple introduced the iPod Classic (160GB), the name itself gave it away, that this was going to be a downward trend going forward.

2009

With iPhone on the rise and with flash memory becoming more reliable and popular, it was clear that Apple had to ignore the iPod, and focus on its iPhone, its next hero product. Apple started scavenging what was left of the iPod and came up with the colourful fifth generation Nano which had a different form factor. It was slim light, but offered little storage and felt more like an after thought to keep the iPod alive.

This is more so, because users would be buying, apps, games and music on the iPhone 3GS, which also connected those apps to a fast 3G connection. Times were changing.

2010

The year 2010 saw the launch of Apple’s tinniest iPod, the Shuffle, it lost its stick-like form factor introduced with the first Shuffle. It was tiny and it could easily have been mistaken for a headset remote.

2015

In its current form, the iPod Touch in its sixth generation does not even need to exist. It is easy to point out how the iPhone cannibalised the sales of the iPod. While things did not change immediately after the launch of the first iPhone, this could be blamed on the storage problem.

Back in 2007, Apple offered its first iPhone with 4GB, 8GB and 16GB storage capacities. Compare this to the iPod Classic which offered 160GB of storage (HDD) meaning that it was easy to pick one if you loved to carry around your music. In fact, even back then, I knew of folks who would carry around their life’s worth of music in two iPod Classics. After the launch of the iPhone 4 that capacity went up to 32GB (maximum) and saw a big jump with the iPhone 5 with 64GB option available. Today’s iPhone 7 takes it to another level by offering storage capacities of up to 256GB on both standard and Plus models. So why did Apple introduce the iPod Touch last year, when it also announced that it no longer disclose iPod sales going forward? Well, as Fortune points out, it is aimed at kids, who will not usually get a cellphone this early, giving them an idea about what the Apple Ecosystem has on offer.

It has been a long 15 years and it’s time to finally say goodbye!

Apple iPhone 7 32GB with slow storage speeds: Should you get one?

By Sheldon Pinto /  24 Oct 2016 , 11:33

Times are changing and we are now in a time, where performance is beginning to matter to Apple iPhone users. Not too long ago, this did not. Apple used to push out it slower chipsets and they ran apps and games flawlessly. .

Today, the A10 Fusion chipset from Apple, can easily run circles around its Android counterparts. We have an iPhone 7 Plus in our office right now, and it’s easy to say that it has the Pixel for breakfast when it comes to benchmarks. But I strongly feel that such a powerful processor on iOS is overkill.

The iPhone 7 to an iPhone 6s user does feel swift, but it is not much of difference. In short, the new chipset could possibly render a video faster on iMovie, but in day to day use, like photography, opening apps, playing games, there is little that the new chipset does differently. So does a slower 32GB storage really matter? And should you skip over the 32GB one, sell another kidney and buy a 128GB version instead? No and No!

As CNET’s Dong Ngo points out, there’s no need to fret over the slower 32GB version as its just the write speeds that are slower (for a number of reasons including its capacity). The read speeds still remain intact. What this means is that playing videos and gaming will not see a difference. The author points out that the slower right speeds don’t really matter, and this boils down to the same “overkill” theory.

This is because most writing tasks do not need so much bandwidth. Ngo pens down the example of 4K video recording (the most demanding one) that barely takes up 30MBps (there’s plenty to spare). What all of this means, is that it won’t make a difference.

In short, if 32GB storage is sufficient for your needs, then go for it! If you are going to be dumping massive video files on your iPhone, you will be need to opt for the 128GB which will give you a faster write speeds anyways.

India enterprises have the highest adoption rate for cloud services: Microsoft Survey

Image Credit: REUTERS

  24 Oct 2016 , 18:13

Technology decision makers in Indian enterprises are the highest adopters of public Cloud solutions in the world, a survey by Microsoft revealed on Monday.

“Fifty seven per cent respondents from India have adopted public Cloud solutions and 33 per cent respondents stated that their companies use hybrid Cloud — a combination of public and private Cloud solutions,” the findings showed.

These are among the highest rate of adoptions and are better than markets such as the US, the UK and Japan, said the Microsoft survey conducted with market research firm Wakefield Research.

IT decision makers (ITDMs) refer to sales functions — CRM and ERP, data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) — as the top three services or applications that their organisation would like to host on the public Cloud.

Microsoft has expanded its Cloud access for local customers by enabling Web Direct and Cloud solution provider channels that makes it easy for developers and startups to use the local Cloud.

“Sixty four per cent Indian respondents were comfortable in hosting their company’s most essential applications or services on the public Cloud,” the survey revealed.

Sixty four per cent Indian respondents believe that public Cloud solutions are very important to connect seamlessly to the organisation’s existing data centres five years from now.

Five major sectors — healthcare, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), e-commerce, startups and government — are leading Cloud adopters in the country, the survey noted.

IANS

Facebook unveils revamped Safety Center and Bullying Preventing Hub for all its users

  24 Oct 2016 , 17:49

To make the connecting and sharing experience safe for its 1.7 billion users, including 155 million in India, Facebook on Monday launched a revamped Safety Center and Bullying Prevention Hub.

Now available in over 50 languages, including Hindi, and accessible on phone, desktop or tablet, the Facebook Safety Centre includes easy to follow videos to help people understand the tools it offers to control their experience on Facebook.

“The update also makes available Facebook’s Bullying Prevention Hub to everyone across the world,” said Antigone Davis, Head of Global Safety at Facebook, in a post.

Developed with the Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, Facebook is already working with nearly 60 partners around the world to make the Bullying Prevention Hub more widely available.

Facebook also shared five safety tips and new videos to help people keep their Facebook profile secure.

These are: “Lock down your login, let us know when you see something that shouldn’t be on Facebook, understand who you’re sharing with, check who can tag you in posts and go for a checkup.

“If you think someone other than you has logged into your Facebook account, Facebook has tools to help secure your account,” Davis said.

“First we’ll confirm it is really you and we may ask you questions about yourself, ask you to identify photos of your friends, or check your phone for a code. Finally, we’ll help you update your password,” he added.

IANS

Diwali 2016: How would you like a 30 percent cashback on all your Steam purchases?

By Anirudh Regidi /  24 Oct 2016 , 17:26

How would you like to celebrate this Diwali with a 30 percent discount on all your Steam purchases? And what if that discount was independent of Steam’s own discounts?

If that’s the kind of deal you’re looking for, you’re in luck! Novaplay.in, a gaming platform in India is offering a 30 percent cashback on all Steam game purchases and Steam Wallet refills on their site.

The offer is only available from 21 October to 24 October and the cashback will be credited to you as NovaCoins by 31 October.

The sale is the second edition of the company’s Lock-n-load sale and it claims to have special offers on Steam Wallet codes and CS: GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive, duh) purchases.

Speaking of CS: GO, if you’re one of those unlucky few without a copy of that game in their Steam library, Novaplay is offering the game at the rock-bottom price of Rs 199. With the cashback offer, the game can be yours for just Rs 139.

Amitesh Rao, CEO NovaPlay said, “The first edition of the NovaPlay Lock n Load Sale was an unprecedented success and buoyed by the response from the fast growing gaming community in India, we are happy to announce the second edition for the upcoming festive season. Through this sale we want to give one more reason to gamers to rejoice in the festive period.”

NovaPlay is managed by Nova Gaming Ventures and aims to be a platform for all things gaming. The company has also partnered with Valve, ESL, OML and others to help further the cause of gaming in India.

Samsung engineers still working to find Note 7 fault; to delay Galaxy S8 by two weeks: Report

Image: Hui Renjie

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Oct 2016 , 17:10

The Note 7, once destined to be the top selling high-end device from Samsung, will definitely go down go into the company’s history as the most talked about device, but for all the wrong reasons . The company probably rushed into decisions without concrete evidence about what had gone wrong with the device. A WSJ report points out how the Galaxy S8 could be delayed by two weeks, citing a person from the S8 development team, as its engineers still scramble to get to the bottom of the whole Note 7 fiasco.

According to the report, the newly appointed mobile chief DJ Koh thought the company knew enough to recall and replace 2.5 million units, and was backed by Lee Jae-yong. Probably, it’s this decision, without getting into the depth of the matter that is causing the company all this grief. It was only weeks after the recall and the replaced batch bursting into flames that Samsung realised it hadn’t reached the root cause of the problem.

A Samsung spokesperson told the news site, “The company worked quickly with regulators and took immediate action when problems arose with the phone. We recognised that we did not correctly identify the issue the first time and remain committed to finding the root cause. Our top priority remains the safety of our customers and retrieving 100 percent of the Galaxy Note 7 devices in the market.”

The flammable Note 7, the big recall and then the decision to kill the device, has put the other high-end devices from the company to the forefront. For instance, Samsung is wooing audiences with alternatives like the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, while trying to combat competitor such as Pixel and iPhone 7, among others. This may not go on for long as the  company will have to dish out something new and is said to be working on the flagship that is most likely to be launched in February dubbed Galaxy S8, which is also delayed due to the Note 7 issues. Now, all we can say is a slight delay is better than shipping devices with safety issues.

Meanwhile, the recall is believed to cost Samsung $5 billion or even more, which including the lost sales.

An 11-year old bug is threatening the whole Linux ecosystem. Update now!

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Oct 2016 , 16:39

An ancient Linux vulnerability has suddenly reared its head again. First spotted around 11 years ago, the vulnerability can be used to escalate a user’s privileges.

If you’re familiar with Android, this vulnerability can give any user ‘root’ access to a Linux-based system, including web servers. Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, tried to patch the bug out many years ago, but his fixes were apparently patched out in subsequent updates.

Dubbed Dirty COW (Copy On Write), the bug is classified as a “race condition” vulnerability. Since the bug is present in the Linux kernel, it’s present in almost every version of Linux that’s out there, meaning that your current Linux installation is very likely to be vulnerable.

Phil Oester is a Linux security researcher who stumbled onto the attack when analysing a server that was hacked. The Dirtycow.ninja advisory explains that antivirus programs using certain techniques can detect the attack, but given the attack’s complexity, this isn’t easy.

In an email to ArsTechnica, Oester wrote, “Any user can become root in < 5 seconds in my testing, very reliably. Scary stuff.”

As Torvalds explains, the bug was “purely theoretical” and could not be easily triggered. However, recent advancements in VM (Virtual Machine) technologies have apparently gone a long way in enabling this attack today.

It’s clear now that the vulnerability poses a serious threat to a Linux environment and everything that’s based on the Linux is vulnerable (that’s most of the internet today).

The guys who officially maintain the Linux code have issued patches that address the issue, so please update your systems soon.

Banks in United States working on integrating Zeller instant payment network

Image Credits: REUTERS/Matt Siegel

  24 Oct 2016 , 16:13

By the end of December some U.S. bank customers may begin to notice features of the new Zelle instant payments network appearing on their mobile phone and online banking apps as the financial industry tries to catch up to technology company rivals, such as Venmo. Paul Finch, chief executive of the bank network operator, Early Warning Services, said during the weekend that buttons on user screens for digital payments at some banks will gradually start to use a uniform procedure for individuals to send and receive money.

Then early next year about 20 banks will put the Zelle name on their mobile apps and web pages. A Zelle app also will be offered to the public for connections through other institutions. The consortium is taking a series of steps in its attempt to bring more than 100 million customers of banks and credit unions into Zelle without disrupting people who already use other ways to send money with phones and computers.

“This is about creating a wide, and inclusive, alternative to cash and checks for everyone,” said Finch, who was at the Money 20/20 payments industry conference in Las Vegas to promote Zelle for its bank owners. The moves come five years after three of the biggest banks -JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co – formed a joint-venture, initially called clearXchange, to make it easier to send money to accounts at different banks.

But the banks were slow to bring other financial institutions into the fold and market the network and so lost momentum to technology company upstarts. Citigroup Inc did not agree to join until September. The banks only recently decided to use the name Zelle. In the meantime, Venmo appeared. In the three months through September, Venmo processed $4.9 billion of person-to-person payments, up 131 percent from a year earlier.

Venmo, now part of PayPal Holdings Inc, built its following by social networking young adults ready to share dinner tabs and apartment rents with their phones. But the banks have larger bases of customers to connect as they try to make Zelle ubiquitous. JPMorgan’s Chase “Quick Pay,” for example, processed $7.4 billion in the three months ended September, up 36 percent from a year earlier, according to bank spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo.

The initial set of 19 banks to offer Zelle early next year has about 76 million customers using mobile banking apps and about 65 percent of U.S. checking and savings accounts, Finch said. Agreements in place with additional financial institutions, debit card networks and other payment companies, such as Fiserv Inc, will bring the portion of accounts to 90 percent to 95 percent, Finch said.

The bank consortium owners decided that for Zelle to succeed it needs to look and work the same for everyone. But some banks already have made digital payment brand names, such as JPMorgan’s Quick Pay, familiar to many of their customers. Those banks will use the Zelle name prominently alongside their established names as Zelle catches on, Finch said.

Reuters

Samsung offers upgrades to future Galaxy S8 and Note 8 for South Korea Note 7 customers

An employee checks an exchanged Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 at company's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. REUTERS

  24 Oct 2016 , 15:47

Samsung Electronics is offering an upgrade program option to Galaxy Note 7 customers in South Korea who trade in their recalled device for a Galaxy S7 phone, marking its latest attempt to retain customers.

In a statement on Monday, Samsung said customers who trade in their Note 7 phone for either a flat-screen or curved-screen version of the Galaxy S7 can trade up for a Galaxy S8 or Note 8 smartphone launching next year through an upgrade program.

The world’s top smartphone maker permanently ended Note 7 sales due to continued reports of fire from the flagship device. In addition to offering refunds or exchanges for a Galaxy S7 smartphone, Samsung has already offered financial incentives amounting to 100,000 won ($88.39) to affected customers in South Korea.

Users in the upgrade program will need to pay only half the price of a Galaxy S7 device, rather than the full amount, before exchanging to the S8 or the Note 8, Samsung said.

In offering the Note 8 upgrade option, Samsung indirectly reinforced previous statements that the Note series will not be discontinued. The company said the availability of such a program in other markets will be dependent on the situation in each country. It did not elaborate.

Samsung has stepped up marketing and promotion for its Galaxy S smartphones to try to make up for some of the lost sales. The Note 7’s collapse is already costing Samsung $5.4 billion won in operating profit between the third quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2017.

Some analysts say Samsung will need to offer incentives to affected customers as part of their efforts to limit long-term damage to its brand and reputation from the Note 7’s failure.

The South Korean firm is facing legal challenges from customers, as well. Harvest Law, a domestic law firm, said on Monday one of its lawyers, Peter Young-yeel Ko, and 526 others have filed a lawsuit in a South Korean court against Samsung seeking compensation of 500,000 won ($442.61) per person. Samsung did not immediately comment on the suit.

The firm is also facing a proposed class action lawsuit from three Galaxy Note 7 customers in the United States.

Reuters

Banks uses blockchain to the make first cross-border international trade transaction

Image Credit: Commonwealth Bank of Australia

  24 Oct 2016 , 15:48

The first cross-border transaction between banks using multiple blockchain applications has taken place, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Wells Fargo & Co said on Monday, resulting in a shipment of cotton to China from the United States. Australian cotton trader Brighann Cotton Marketing bought the shipment bound for the port city Qingdao from U.S. division Brighann Cotton in Texas, the companies and their banks said in a joint statement. The blockchain trade, for 88 bales, totalled $35,000, Commonwealth Bank told Reuters.

Blockchain is a web-based transaction processing and settlement system whose efficiency banks say could slash costs. It creates a “golden record” of any given set of data that is automatically replicated for all parties in a secure network, eliminating any need for third-party verification. “Existing trade finance processes are ripe for disruption, and this proof of concept demonstrates how companies around the world could benefit from these emerging technologies,” Michael Eidel, Commonwealth Bank’s executive general manager for cash flow and transaction services, said in the statement.

The transaction is not the first involving the decentralised database, used since 2009 for the digital currency bitcoin. But it is a milestone for the traditional banking industry which at first shied away from the technology, partly because it makes money flows harder for law enforcement agencies to track.

Led by a consortium of over 70 of the world’s biggest financial institutions – called R3 – the banking industry has been researching ways to harness the speed, accuracy and efficiency afforded by blockchain. One of its benefits is removing people from transaction processing. That has been seen as especially appealing for cross-border trades, which are typically held up by duplication of payment processing and time zone differences.

R3 has been researching ways to expand the use of blockchain to include “smart contracts”, or payments triggered when certain conditions are met. The cotton transaction, for instance, involved automatically making payments when the shipment reached certain geographic locations, the statement showed. The shipment is currently between Singapore and Hong Kong, and is due to arrive in early November, Commonwealth Bank said. The bank also said that R3 – of which it and Wells Fargo are members – did not play a part in the trade.

Brighann Cotton was not available for comment when contacted by Reuters. Wells Fargo’s head of international trade services, Chris Lewis, said in the statement that his bank was committed to new technology. He also said, “significant regulatory, legal and other concerns remain to  be addressed.”

Reuters

Comedian Leslie Jones lashes back at hackers in “Saturday Night Live” over recent celeb hacks

  24 Oct 2016 , 15:02

A day after hackers unleashed an attack on some of the world’s best-known websites, comedian Leslie Jones weighed in on cyber-security in a commentary on “Saturday Night Live,” saying cyber criminals could put their talents to far better use than hacking celebrities. Jones, whose own website was hacked in August resulting in nude photos and personal information including her passport and driver’s license being posted, offered her perspective during her recurring gig as an impassioned contributor to the weekly comedy show’s “Weekend Update” news segment.

“I am very comfortable with who I am. I am an open book,” Jones declared, noting “I keep my porn in a folder labeled porn.” “If you wanna see Leslie Jones naked, just ask,” the comedian added, in what one Twitter user, an entertainment website editor, said may have been Jones’ “finest SNL moment.” After starring in the “Ghostbusters” film this summer, Jones briefly quit Twitter because she was bombarded by racist and abusive comments.

“If I was good at computers, I wouldn’t waste it trolling on people,” Jones said. Instead, “I would do something useful, like renew my driver’s license from home. I would hack into Tinder and delete all those other girls’ profiles, so no matter where you swipe, you get me.”

Adopting a seemingly more serious tenor, Jones scolded hackers by saying “If you want to hurt anybody these days, you’re going to have to do way more than leak their news or call them names. You can’t embarrass me more than I have embarrassed myself.”

“At a certain point you got to stop being embarrassed and just start being you, and I have been me for 49 years. Because the only person who can hack me is me,” she vowed, adding: “My firewall is a crazy-ass bitch with a shovel.”

Reuters