OK…this is incredibly amusing. It also speaks volumes about the relative accuracy of biometric analysis technologies that are incorporated into contemporary consumer electronics.
Category: Aside
A dated, but poignant, bit of information from Bell Canada concerning Internet-based computer security threats in Canada
Categories
NYT and TLS/SSL
Those moments when big sites seem to seriously screw up their SSL certs
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BBC News Permissions
You’d think that in the post UK phone scandals, newspapers wouldn’t want access to your phone calls with their apps
In his most recent op-ed, Morozov offers a good, if common, argument. Specifically, he argues that:
Quaint prudishness, excessive enforcement of copyright, unneeded damage to our reputations: algorithmic gatekeeping is exacting a high toll on our public life. Instead of treating algorithms as a natural, objective reflection of reality, we must take them apart and closely examine each line of code.
While I tend to agree with him, it’s important to recognize the actual value of what he’s written: he’s made rapidly accessible (though, with less subtly) what ethicists and scholars of contemporary digital technology have been writing about for over a decade. Read what he’s written – it’s good – but rather than stopping there go on to read Winner’s The Whale and the Reactor, sections from DeNardis’ excellent Opening Standards, and Lessig’s Code. In essence, it’s not that Morozov’s written anything badly, but what he’s written just touches the tip of the iceberg.
Tumblr user nugnug provides an excellent list of the core “what’s missing” in Windows Phone right now and that will continue being absent after the 7.8 update:
- rotation lock – I surf the net when I’m lying down. Everyone does. This is such an important feature and yet, where the hell is it?
- screen capture – I can’t take screenshots on my phone! What is this!? How can I blackmail people and post the stupid things they say on Facebook?
- customized sounds for messaging, etc. – We can customize our ringtones, so why not the rest?
- notification center – This ain’t happening. I already know this cause they didn’t have time to make it. Lame.
- separate volume controls for phone sounds and media – I want to listen to music at a really low volume but that means I won’t be able to hear my phone ring. A dilemma that can be easily rectified.
- the forward button and “find on page” function in IE – there’s a java fix someone else kindly made, but there shouldn’t be a need. It’s a basic function that should be included in all internet browsers.
- Wifi turns off when in sleep mode – the biggest reason why my whatsapp messages arrive hours later is because my phone, which relies on only Wifi when I’m at home, turns off Wifi when it goes to sleep. Ugh.
- Blutooth file transfers – I WANNA GIVE MY FRIENDS STUFF WITHOUT USING MY NET DATA BUT I CAN’T.
- multi selection – let me delete multiple photos on my phone at a time. PLZZ.
- editing the dictionary – there are some words I made up, I would like to delete please.
- improvements in the calendar – by far the most used section of my phone, it holds all my schedules and Facebook events and works seamlessly. So why not build on it? Include a weekly view, allow me to change colours on some of my personal entries.
- automatic sleep mode – not too fussy, but this would be really cool. If I set a time e.g. from 11pm to 8am, my phone will sleep between those hours and I won’t get any notifications between those times.
- closing apps from the multitasking view – not too important
I have to admit that some of the items aren’t top of mind for me: I don’t really care about the sleep mode, don’t see the point of closing apps from the multitasking view, and am not interested in bluetooth sharing. That said, every other suggestion is much, much needed.
I would also add to the list that scrolling in the 7.8 update needs to change; in the older version 1 Windows Phones scrolling would accelerate the more your scrolled up or down, whereas the current generation of 7.5 phones feature a static scrolling rate. This speed simply feels slower than earlier – and less capable – hardware and software iterations of Windows Phone.
The EFF has a particularly good accounting of how the most recent changes to Ubuntu are intensely problematic from a privacy perspective. Specifically, performing local searches will (and does) leak information to third-parties such as Facebook and Amazon. Though not explicitly mentioned, remember that in many jurisdictions if you ‘give up’ or ‘abandon’ information to third-parties then you often lose considerable (legal) privacy protections. As such, Ubuntu’s decision to leak data to third-parties whenever users perform local searches on their computer could have significant implications for Ubuntu users’ legal protections concerning personal search information. If Microsoft or Apple did something similar then there would almost certainly be complaints filed to federal bodies: will similar reactions emerge from the Linux and Ubuntu communities?
Bit9 has released a report that outlines a host of fairly serious concerns around Android devices and app permissions. To be upfront: Android isn’t special in this regard, as if you have a Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows Phone Device you’ll also find a pile of apps that have very, very strange permission requests (e.g. can a wallpaper application access your GPS and contact book?). The video (above) is a quick overview of some findings; the executive summary can be found here and the full report here (.pdf).
Excited Pixels 