iPhone 4S Pre-Order

One week after stores in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK started selling the iPhone 4S, online Apple stores in 22 additional countries have begun taking pre-orders.

iPhone 4S pre-order pages have been posted for Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Read More: http://mashable.com/2011/10/21/iphone-4s-now-available-for-pre-order-in-22-more-countries/

Apple Introduced the First iPod 10 Years Ago Today

Steve Jobs introduced the world to the very first iPod 10 years ago today, effectively changing the way we listen to music as well as vastly altering the music industry.

While the iPod was not the first MP3 player, it was the first to catch on among the masses, the first version of the device offering space for 1,000 songs and 10 hours of battery life in a gadget that could fit in your pocket. And a decade later, the term "MP3 player" has nearly been replaced with the word "iPod."

"If ever there was a product that catalyzed Apple's reason for being, it's this," Apple's late co-founder said shortly after the iPod was released.

To date, Apple has sold more than 300 million iPods, the Telegraph noted. But the gadget had a slower start when it was first released. At $399, it was expensive. The Business Insider dug up a New York Times article from the day the iPod launched that said "it's a nice feature for Macintosh users, but to the rest of the Windows world, it doesn't make any difference."

Read More at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395153,00.asp#fbid=ZmTj8HydIIQ

Apple and Oracle his top of the list for most vulnerabilities

Danish security firm Secunia recently reported that Apple surpassed Oracle this year as the software developer with the most vulnerabilities.

Apple and Oracle were followed by Microsoft, who has held the number 3 spot in Secunia's list since 2006. Others in the top ten list of software vendors with most vulnerabilities were HP, Adobe Systems, IBM, VMware, Cisco, Google and the Mozilla foundation.

Renowned Apple hacker Charlie Miller said Apple's security problems have grown along with the brand's popularity, but the company has done fairly okay in patching the holes in its products.

"Ironically, even though Apple has many more vulnerabilities than other vendors, you still don't see many actual attacks in the wild," Miller said. "This is a function of their relatively low market share compared to, say, computers running Microsoft Windows. At this point, it makes more economic sense for attackers to focus on the 90% of computers their encounter, namely, those running Windows."

Secunia, which has looked at 29,000 software products from 4,000 software vendors since 2005, also found that despite software developers' hefty investments to improve the security of their products, vulnerabilities are still as abundant as they were five years ago.

You can read the report at http://secunia.com/gfx/pdf/Secunia_Half_Year_Report_2010.pdf

Verizon signs up more new subscribers than AT&T. Did the Droid X have anything to do with it?

Verizon signed up 665,000 new wireless customers during the last three months, while AT&T signed up 496,000. That was actually a 40 percent dip from a year ago for Verizon, but it shows that AT&T's having the exclusive right to offer Apple's smartphone hasn't given it that much of a leg up, at least during the last quarter.

The new Droid X is all the buzz for Verizon. A new promotion allowed current customers a penalty free upgrade to the Droid X. This is a smart move for Verizon since you typically have to wait till renewal time to get a new phone. the move will likely improve revenue from subscriptions since the Droid X requires a $29.99 a month data plan.

Verizon indicated that it had plenty Droid X phone's to go around, but the same day of the release they ran out of product. Users were directed to the Verizon website where they could order the Droid X for for $199 with a two year agreement.

I waited in line the night of the release for forty five minutes to no avail and ended up ordering online. Initial reports from Verizon said the phones would ship July 27, 2010. Later we received an email from customer service indicating the shipment would go out on August 3rd. The new Google Android Phone offers a ton of features, larger screen and 3G mobile hotspot for up to five devices.

No matter if you are a fan of the IPhone or the Droid X it is a good time to be in the market for a smart phone.

Revealing the Hidden Value of Your Web sites

I was doing some surfing this weekend and visiting a web site I use daily, Google.com. After doing some searching I accidentally clicked on show options link. I know that I have seen the options tab around for a while, but never felt the need to see what was buried there. It was no surprise that Google has some great features available.
Many of us go our entire lives using technology products and services with all of the default settings in place, never really knowing what we are missing. Below are just some samples of the things we miss on just one web site. I encourage you to take a minute and look in the options, account settings, and personalize tabs on your favorite web sites to see what additional value you can get.

Google Timeline
Did you ever wonder how popular a word is? I know I have thought about it. Google offers a neat feature called Timeline. Just visit Google and search for a word. After getting your results click Show Options and you will notice a left navigation bar appear out of nowhere. Click Timeline. Below is an example of a timeline search from Google. As you can see the timeline shows you the popularity over time and offers a streamlined way to navigate through years of content. You can also click on a year to focus on the year and drill down to the specific quarters and months within the year.



Examples of Google Timeline:
http://www.google.com/search?q=healthcare+legislation&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=tl:1&ei=KC2JS9nGDIOWtgfAwZ3qBA&sa=X&oi=tool&resnum=3&ct=tlink&ved=0CDAQpwU

http://www.google.com/search?q=healthcare+legislation&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=1&tbs=tl:1,tll:2008,tlh:2009&ei=Qi2JS62WJpGVtgfl64WaDw&oi=timeline_histogram_main&ct=timeline-histogram&cd=10&ved=0CIABEMkBKAo

http://www.google.com/search?q=healthcare+legislation&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=1&tbs=tl:1,tll:2009/07,tlh:2009/09&ei=7TCJS6rXC5CYtgfl__CwDw&oi=timeline_histogram_main&ct=timeline-histogram&cd=7&ved=0CI0BEMkBKAc

Google Wonder Wheel
There is also a very interesting feature that finds all of the search terms that relate to the one you are searching for. The Wonder Wheel shows your specific search term in the center of the wheel and all of the related terms around the wheel. You can click on one of the related terms to drill down. As you click a related term a new wheel appears allowing you to drill down even further.




Examples of Google Wonder Wheel:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=ww%3A1&q=healthcare+reform

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=ww%3A1&q=healthcare+reform#q=healthcare+problems&hl=en&tbs=ww:1&tbo=1&fp=1

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=ww%3A1&q=healthcare+reform#q=universal+healthcare+problems&hl=en&tbs=ww:1&tbo=1&fp=58940be18eaf5c6b

Many of you may be thinking, "These features have been around for a while." I would argue that while you could have encountered these two features already, you could be hiding the value under an options tab on your web site. Designing web sites takes a lot of planning, wire framing and usability testing, remember every user population is different. Web Design is a balancing act: on one side you want to give the user maximum value and control on the other side you want the site to be easy to use. Carefully consider how you plan, design and test your web sites, because some users may not dig deeper to find its hidden value.

Tweeting where you are today? Better think again...

Social networks are growing every day and more people are adopting Facebook and Twitter as a common platform for communication. Most people think only their friends or followers get to see their messages, but that is not always true. Both Facebook and Twitter have capabilities to restrict access to posts, but users do not always know what the options do and how best to secure their information.

The information age has changed the game for the common day thief. Twenty years ago a robber would stake out your home and wait for you to leave, similar to the approach that the "Wet Bandits" took in the movie Home Alone. Today, crooks can just use social networks to harvest data and with some basic data analysis, know who and when to rob your home. If the crooks are very tech savvy they can do some programming and trend your behaviors and travel patterns that are revealed through your location information to improve the odds of their mission. Google Buzz, and Twitter offer a feature called GeoTagging which uses a GPS like technology to tell people where you are when you send a tweet. Crooks can also use websites like Please Rob Me to help sort through social media sites like Twitter to know when someone left home. The site owners of Please Rob Me have said the site's purpose is to raise awareness. Some are skeptical of their approach and think sites like Please Rob Me are dangerous and irresponsible.

You can protect yourself by doing a couple things:

- Think before you Tweet - A lot of times we just share what is on our minds. Think about what you would want your enemies to know. This doesn't mean stop sharing, but be cognizant that you are sharing information on a global scale and not just at a dinner party.

- Turn off GeoTagging - While the technology is interesting you need to think if it is THAT important that people know where you are when you are tweeting or buzzing from. Think about it this way, if a crook knows you are out at the water park which is one hour from your home they and has this information on several people in your area, they can plan their attack using a mapping tool like Google Maps to plan their attack.

- Limit the amount of sensitive data you share - This recommendation is the most common sense, but typically the hardest to follow. People get comfortable with communicating with their network and have shifted their culture from being less likely to share something sensitive to being more likely to share something sensitive online with friends.

Look at your own tweets and you will find information regarding location, best friends, rants about companies they deal with or accounts they have, emotional disposition and details about their family. All of this information can be used for good by friends, but also be used by crooks for social engineering.

Social engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information, rather than by breaking in or using technical hacking techniques (essentially a fancier, more technical way of lying). While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim.

When it comes down to it sites like Facebook, Google and Twitter are not trying to do harm and while the new technologies are great if used for good, can be easily exploited. It is our job as consumers of the technology to be aware of the risks and be guardian angels to our friends who are less tech savvy. If you want to protect yourself you must Think Before You Tweet, seriously consider the use of GeoTagging and the type of sensitive data you share on social networking websites.

This is what I think, what do you think? Sound off and post a comment or share this blog with a friend.

Twitter - Tweets Fly High Around 50 Million / Day

Do not count Twitter out of the Social Media inner circle. even though micro-blogging website Twitter does not have all of the capabilities of a Facebook or MySpace its simplicity attracts people to its service in droves. Recent reports from Twitter's Blog show Twitter users are tweeting more than ever these days to the tune of approximately 50 million messages every day. Kevin Weil of Twitter said, " Folks were tweeting 5,000 times a day in 2007. By 2008, that number was 300,000, and by 2009 it had grown to 2.5 million per day. Tweets grew 1,400% last year to 35 million per day. "

Hot topics on Twitter can change in an instant. Over the past couple days topics range from the 2010 Olympics to IHOP Free Pancakes to pop sensation Justin Bieber. Do you Tweet? Do you think Twitter has longevity as a social media platform? What Social Media sites do you use most frequently?

That is what I think, what do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.