Entries from March 2008 ↓

Earlier versions of the WiFi specification all used the 2.4GHz radio spectrum. The new 802.11n standard, supported in Time Capsule, the square AirPort Extreme, and recently shipping AirPort Express units, allows users to alternatively select the use of 5GHz channels. This segment, the third of six, compares the pros and cons of using this new section of frequencies, which can be both problematic and provide a major boost in speed.

Continues: Exploring Time Capsule: WiFi 802.11n and the 5GHz band

Previous articles related to Time Capsule and its AirPort Extreme cousin:

Exploring Time Capsule: theoretical speed vs practical throughput
Exploring Time Capsule: how it fits into Apple’s AirPort family
An in-depth review of Apple’s 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station
Apple Time Capsule unboxing and preview
A Look Inside Apple’s New Time Capsule
Answers to Time Capsule reader questions

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, Mac, Review, Software

Daniel Eran Dilger
Engadget profiled RIM’s new iPhone styled BlackBerry 9000 (above on the right, aping the iPhone’s chrome and black style but lacking its touchscreen), calling it sexy and praising its “beautiful user interface, which has been totally revamped from the ground up; gone is the cartoonish look and feel of the current lineup, replaced with a modern, warm theme with wireframe icons and slick animations.”

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Responding to the article “Mac Shot First: 10 Reasons Why CanSecWest Targets Apple,” Thom Holwerda of OSNews wrote a point by point essay titled “Countering Misinformation” that described my article as “an unrivaled wealth of misinformation, [with] some things even bordering on slander.” Of course, one can’t write slander (it’s called libel), but his serious accusations failed to refute any of the points I raised, and really betray his effort to smear me rather than correct any facts I presented. He’s wrong, here’s why.

Countering misinformation, OSNews
Mac Shot First: 10 Reasons Why CanSecWest Targets Apple

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Daniel Eran Dilger
The details emerging from the CanSecWest security contest fill out a story that is bigger than the simple “Mac Shot First” headlines convey. This was not a contest where three systems were placed in an equal foot race and the Mac simply lost due to being a slower runner. Here’s why.

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Time Capsule, announced earlier this year, is a base station with an integrated hard drive and power supply. The previous segment of this series exploring Time Capsule in depth looked at the differences in members of the AirPort family. This segment, the second of six, compares the differences between the hypothetical maximum data transmission speed and typical real world performance of Time Capsule’s SATA, USB 2.0, Ethernet networking, and WiFi Wireless networking interfaces.
Continues: Exploring Time Capsule: theoretical speed vs practical throughput

Daniel Eran Dilger
In back to back press releases with payloads of sensationalized misinformation, two apparently unrelated groups launched attacks on Mac OS X’s reputation for delivering better real world security for its users compared to Microsoft’s Windows. In the first, a contest held at the CanSecWest Applied Security Conference, sponsored in part by Microsoft, suggested that hacking a MacBook Air was faster than hacking a Sony or Fujitsu Windows PC laptop. Thousands of miles away, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology engaged in Vulnerability Numerology to declare that Apple’s operating system had fewer promptly patched software vulnerabilities compared to Windows. The premise behind both widely publicized stories are wrong, here’s why.

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Time Capsule, announced at this years’ Macworld Expo, serves as a simple rebranding of the AirPort Extreme with an integrated hard drive and power supply. Apple sells the new Time Capsule next to last years AirPort Express and the compact AirPort Express. This segment, the first of six exploring Time Capsule in depth, highlights the differences between the members of Apple’s AirPort family.

Continues: Exploring Time Capsule: how it fits into Apple’s AirPort family

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac

Daniel Eran Dilger
Jefferson Graham of USA Today reports that Amazon’s MP3 store “has quietly become No. 2 in digital sales since opening nearly six months ago,” behind Apple’s iTunes. That idea is being widely publicized by the big music labels, who hope to gain some leverage against Apple in order to push their own plans for the future of music sales. But is it accurate, is Amazon any threat to Apple’s iTunes, and what effect will the rumored plans for iPod-bundled music have on the online music industry? Here’s a look.

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Daniel Eran Dilger
Blogs have been buzzing about an article in Mechanix Illustrated from 1969 that made a series of predictions for life in 2008: flying cars that whisked commuters to work on autopilot at the speed of bullet trains, supersonic rocket planes, homes automated by a central computer, a society fed seaweed that tastes like steak, intelligence pills, and other science fiction ideas. Nobody has pointed out that the main prediction that has become a reality is represented by the iPhone.

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Gene Steinberg of the Tech Night Owl podcast invited me to join Bob LeVitus, Denis Motova, and Tim Goggin on his weekly show this week. I went off about Flash and Java on the iPhone and other iPhone SDK subjects, from the App Store and Apple’s mobile competitors to the mobile software market. You can hear for yourself and subscribe to the Tech Night Owl RSS feed at:

The Tech Night Owl LIVE with Gene Steinberg

March 20, 2008 episode:

http://www.techbroadcasting.com/podcasts/nightowl_080320.mp3

Earlier episodes I’ve participated on:

Jan 31 08
Jan 3 08
Nov 8 07
Sep 20 07
Aug 9 07
Jun 14 07
Apr 26 07
Mar 1 07
Jan 11 07

More on the iPhone 2.0 SDK

iPhone 2.0 SDK: The No Multitasking Myth
iPhone 2.0 SDK: Java on the iPhone?
iPhone 2.0 SDK: How Signed Certificates Work
iPhone 2.0 SDK: Video Games to Rival Nintendo DS, Sony PSP

Technorati Tags: Apple, Bloggers, iPhone, Mac