IR-transmitted metadata. Last week, Apple filed for a patent on an iOS camera that can detect infrared in addition to visible light. If a user aims the camera at an object that is sending out additional information about that object in the IR band, the camera transmits that information to the device, and potentially also […]
Smartphone tracking data. Two researchers reported last month that Apple has been storing time-stamped location information on users’ iOS devices since June. An unencrypted file with these data is saved onto a user’s computer each time she syncs her device with it, as well. Apple appears to have good reasons for collecting the location information, […]
Last month the OpenNet Initiative published a report that shines light on one of the more sensitive business practices of Western Internet security and filtering companies. These companies – including McAfee (an Intel subsidiary), Websense, and Netsweeper – promote their filtering technologies in the West as tools for parents and schools trying to shield children […]
Amazon strong-arms a third-party Kindle service. Amazon shut down Lendle, a popular Kindle service that allows users to lend their books to strangers, last week because it didn’t “serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.” Two days later, after customers tweeted their displeasure, Amazon informed Lendle of […]
Retailer’s Terms and Conditions attempt to restrict negative online reviews. After a consumer posted a negative review of an Internet retailer online, the retailer reached out, not to apologize, but rather to threaten a libel suit. It turns out that the retailer’s Terms and Conditions aim to limit the circumstances under which an unhappy customer […]
On December 20, Apple removed an unofficial Wikileaks app from the App Store. Apple had approved the app, which simply showed the Wikileaks twitter feed and website, three days earlier. Considering Apple’s uptight attitude toward iPhone and iPad apps, it is perhaps more surprising that an app providing access to the controversial site’s content was […]
Several weeks ago, Canon announced that the latest version of its document management system, Uniflow 5, features a new security tool that allows a company to prevent its employees from printing, scanning, copying or faxing documents that contain keywords such as client or project names. The Uniflow server identifies prohibited keywords, which are designated by […]
Google calls out Facebook. Last month, Facebook added an information download feature that made users’ data portable. But there was one big exception. A user could download any content that he had uploaded or created — photos, wall posts, messages, etc.; however, he could only get a list of his friends, no contact information that […]
T-Mobile gives its G2 Droid amnesia. The G2s appearing on T-Mobile shelves this week come with an extra piece of hardware, and it’s not a free car charger. If G2 owners teach their Droids (either by coding or downloading software) to do something that interferes with T-Mobile’s business model, the company-installed rootkit will induce short-term […]
Earlier this month, Apple announced changes to its iOS Program License for app developers. This move happened “suddenly” and was “surprising” to the tech community. Some e-news sites speculated that Apple was bowing to FTC pressure; this spring, the agency launched a probe into whether Apple’s ban on third-party app development tools constituted an impermissible […]
