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Why you don’t want to surf for porn even on your mac

At a recent hacker conference, they were able to break into a MacBook Air when it went to a particular website (using Safari) that the hackers had prepped for mischeif.
The lesson: sketchy websites could mean sketchy results, even on a Mac. Sure, there will be a software update by Apple to fix this particular problem (and hopefully soon) but if you’re searching the web on a public wi-fi… don’t go to sketchy websites because they could do damage to you and/or your data.
MacBook Air first to fall in hacking competition | The Apple Core | ZDNet.com

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1479


If you have questions about this or other Mac security issues, call us at 818-230-0030 or email us at [email protected]
thanks,
justin

Great Social networks to check out

Well guess what? Facebook is what it is and probably will stay what they are for more and more people: a place for friends to cast their net a little wider with each other and stay in looser contact with more people. Myspace was just a free-for-all that got too big too fast (plus it’s slow and annoying).

but now… you’ve got social networks that are getting super-specific and/or super-simple…

yelp.com seems like a review site but really it’s a social network for foodies!

tribe.net needs less ads everywhere but it caters to free thinkers and group based interaction.

last.fm would be too much like pandora.com (both awesome music listening sites) but it’s actually a social network (not to mention an amazing marketing tool for the record industry)

And in the super-simple category:
twitter.com
unfortunately, only the cognoscenti seem to know about twitter and I’m not friends with many of them so my feed is pretty sparse and nobody reads my tweets… but I see the potential and wish I had more use for it. So if you read this and you use twitter, sign up to follow me, “justinsail”

The point being that we’re still quickly finding new ways to cast our net wider and it is utterly fascinating if you ask me!

justin

by the way, there is a business use for twitter too.

iPhone feature wish list

Here is a great list of features we’d like to have on the iPhone:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1032

My favorites from this list:
• Wireless sync: C’mon Apple, the phone has three radios! Cables are soooo 2003.
• A File System: for storing attachments and files
• Mobile Safari: Keychain support or some way to store passwords
• Mail: Send email to a group by addressing it to its group name
• Mail: One tap to the inbox
• Mail: One screen for all new mail, regardless of account
• Phone: Display the name and the phone number of the caller
• Phone: “Reply with text message” option when a call comes in (like the Treo)
I’d like to add a few of my own…
• Bluetooth communication with Address Book like we used to have!
• Multi-media messaging that most other phones have!
• t-mobile-like VOIP/cell combo HOTSPOT at HOME
• Grand Central widget or at least flash in safari
• iChat (duh)… or even better, Adium
• To-Do/Wish list app
• notes syncing
• EDGE and 3G sharing with laptops
• voice activated dialing
justin

the iPhone is about to change the world…

Well, Apple has finally released their Software Development Kit and It’s gotten over 100,000 downloads in the first week. That represents what is turning out to be pretty darn good access to the device’s functions… which means we’ll get more cool programs.

I’d like to put out my own 2 cents on what would be nice to see… and some ideas as to which developrer should do it…

1) Notes syncing. Hey Bare Bones! Make Yojimbo work on the iPhone please?

2) To-Do lists. Hey Omni! (I know you’re working on it so I won’t push you)

3) Voice-Over IP. AKA Skype…

4) Grand Central visual access. Hey Google! I’m sure you’ve got other plans, but this is a big one for me!

5) FileMaker Pro Mobile. FileMaker is niche but absolutely essential for my workflow.

6) AIM, Gtalk, Yahoo Instant Messaging client. This would be best done by the Adium project but will surely be undertaken by bunches of people, and will be problematic because of a limitation in iPhone programs that doesn’t allow them to run in the background and thus leave a chat program open while you do other things… bummer!

…more on this as I get more ideas!

justin

UPDATE 3/13/08: After writing this column, I just found David Pogue’s similar column of his own where he waxes poetic about the same thing I am. It’s definitely worth a read because he’s a better, more highly paid tech writer than me 🙂

UPDATE: 3/18/08: Get this: 84% of iPhone users use their phone for news and internet… 59% use google on it and 75% of us listen to music with it. Even 31% of us have used it as a mobile TV of sorts. These numbers, especially when compared to other smartphones and run-of-the-mill mobile phones is astounding. Check out the rest of the stats…

Printing to PDF

dof.jpgOne of my favorite tips to impart on my clients is how to print to PDF and save things like web receipts to their hard drive for later (if ever) printing. It’s an easy and quick way to make your life easier and save paper… you just click File > Print > PDF > Save as PDF.

And for a more in depth look at why you’d want to use this feature, check out this article about Getting Things Done.

children on the internet! OMG! beware?

For those of you who are parents of young children or highly interested in their well being because you watch too much Nightline…. you should read this article. 

This is my favorite tech columnist’s take of safety concerns for children online… which is not as scary as you might think.

How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children? – New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/technology/personaltech/28pogue-email.html?8cir&emc=cir


Here is the link to the PBS documentary about Teens online that he referred to:

justin