Daily Archives: 14. January 2009

Alans Note:

Obviously this is a parady on real live current news about Apple Computer. But you couldn’t make this sh*t up, really!

So I came up with the title:

Apple doesn’t like Clones, but it looks like they need to clone Steve Jobs.

* You’ve already seen my blog entry on the PC World article regarding the Mac Cloner company court battle. Now you hear that CEO Steve Jobs of Apple Computer may go on extended leave of absence for medical reasons. And… there seems to be concern about a transition of power. But not only executive power, but brain power and other capabilities that only Steve Jobs may have.

So they might need to ummmm, like, download his brain to an iPod or an ummm, like, an iBrain or… something (?) Or they’ll need to clone him, no? But if they do this ummmm his, like, Operating Person or Operating System [or something] (the stuff from his brain is copyrighted right?) would have to be run only on Apple Hardware! So would the clone actually be a clone? or an Apple Original Hardware?

P.S. Hey! The iBrain was my idea. An iPod-like device that can be used to store a backup of human brain intelligence content. Just because I (or anybody?) don’t know how to make one (yet?) – doesn’t mean I can’t cash in on the licensing rights. Right?

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Critics Question Apple Succession Plans

January 14, 2009: 09:20 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200901142120DOWJONESDJONLINE000966_FORTUNE5.htm

SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- Apple Inc. (AAPL) now has the rare chance to conduct a test-run of its succession plans for the day when Chief Executive Steve Jobs no longer can run the company.

But so far, shareholders and corporate succession experts don’t care for what’s happening.

Because of his extraordinary role at the company, Apple already faces big challenges should it have to replace a tech icon like Jobs, who announced Wednesday he’s taking a leave of absence from Apple until the summer to battle a hormone imbalance that’s more complex than believed just a week ago.

Yet Apple’s handling of the situation so far hasn’t won many admirers. Some Apple watchers are already raising questions about what’s really behind the jarring swing in sentiment about the nature of Jobs’ treatment in such a short period of time. Last week, Jobs, who is a pancreatic cancer survivor, told Apple employees he was undergoing simple treatment, and he will stay on the job. A week later, Jobs disclosed that his treatments are now much more complex than expected, and require he take an extended leave of absence.

(more at the link)

—
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Alans Note: In my personal opinion – I think that if Apple doesn’t want it’s Mac OS X to end up on whatever people want to put it on, then they shouldn’t sell it as seperate items from Apple Hardware. I purchased a copy of Mac OS X Tiger … and it’s being used to adorn a shelf here in my office. That’s pretty much what it does these days. Is Apple going to sue me for keeping a copy on a shelf and not using it on Apple Hardware? I originally bought it to learn about Mac OS X – to be able to support a few customers of mine who had Apple Macbooks and Apple Desktops. I ran it, albeit very slow performance, on something called PearPC – an Apple Hardware simulator done in software. Grant it this was before the Apple Intel evolution, but is Apple going to sue me because I don’t have an Apple hardware to go along with my Apple Software that I legitemately purchased? Maybe Apple should give a refund to everyone that has purchased a copy of Apple Mac OS X that doesn’t currently have Apple Hardware. It looks like Apple should have stayed the heck off the Intel PC architecture. If you wanted to be a PC, ok now you’re a PC. Welcome to the club! Hello I’m a Mac … And I’m a PC. Nope! You’re both a PC.

…that’s all… on to the article…
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Mac Cloner Says It Bought OS From Apple
http://www.pcworld.com:80/article/157031/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

The Mac clone maker being sued by Apple Inc. because it installs Mac OS X on generic Intel-based systems said it bought copies of the operating system from Apple itself, court documents show.

In papers filed with a San Francisco federal court last week, Psystar Corp. repeated its argument that Apple has abused copyright laws by tying the Mac operating system to Apple hardware. The filing came in response to an Apple motion asking U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, who tossed out Psystar’s original antitrust allegations against Apple last November, to also throw out the Florida company’s revamped countersuit.

“Apple contends that because Psystar is ‘distributing computers with Apple’s copyrighted software loaded on them’ that ‘Apple is within its rights in asserting copyright infringement’,” said Psystar in the papers filed Jan. 7. “Apple’s assertion that Psystar cannot distribute computers with Apple software (and that a purchaser could not use the same) would run roughshod over 17 U.S.C.,” Psystar added, referring to the section of U.S. law that pertains to copyright.

(more at the link)

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
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communications (at) marinetelecom.net
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United to launch Wi-Fi on some cross-country flights
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011409-united-to-launch-wi-fi-on.html?netht=rn_011409&nladname=011409dailynewspmal

United Airlines Wednesday said it will begin offering in-flight Wi-Fi service to customers on some flights between New York and California in the second half of the year.

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
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communications (at) marinetelecom.net
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Privacy flaw haunts Apple Safari RSS reader
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2377&tag=nl.e550

There’s a major privacy problem with the RSS reader built into Apple’s Safari browser.

According to an alert from Brian Mastenbrook, there is a serious Safari vulnerability that allows a malicious web site to read files on a user’s hard drive without user intervention.

Mastenbrook warns:

This can be used to gain access to sensitive information stored on the user’s computer, such as emails, passwords, or cookies that could be used to gain access to the user’s accounts on some web sites. The vulnerability has been acknowledged by Apple. All users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard who have not changed their feed reader application preference from the system default are affected, regardless of whether they use any RSS feeds or use a different web browser (such as Firefox). Users of previous versions of Mac OS X are not affected.

(more at the link…)

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

Paris Hilton’s official web site serving malware
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2383&tag=nl.e550

The official web site of Paris Hilton (parishilton.com) has been embedded with a malicious iFrame, automatically exposing visitors to client-side vulnerabilities and banker malware, according to researchers from ScanSafe. Upon closer analysis, it appears that the site has been infected on the 8th of January, Thursday, becoming the very latest legitimate site whose use of outdated web application software led to its exploitation.

Moreover, just like we’ve seen in previous related attacks, Hilton’s site compromise is a part of bigger malware campaign affecting several thousand sites, and is not being exclusively targeted.

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

* ASMT Note: I woke up today to my desktop, which runs 24/7, having the screen saver… meaning it had rebooted without my interacting with it. That usually means UPDATES were done AUTOMATICALLY. And although this isn’t Patch Wednesday, yesterday was probably the famous Patch Tuesday.

So everyone that can… ought to connect onto the Internet (if you’re not already on) and see if your computers are taking updates. My customers – let me know if you need help determining if your Windows boxes are getting automatic updates or not.

For those that don’t know, SMB is part of the protocols that provide Windows File and Printer Sharing. Chances are you have this enabled. Chances are you use this to some extent. You may not have it open to the Internet … but that fact may not be enough to protect you. Get Your Updates!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Message_Block

—
Alan Spicer
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Get your updates!
MS Patch Tuesday: 3 critical SMB vulnerabilities
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2372&tag=nl.e550

Microsoft today shipped a solitary bulletin with patches for at least three documented security flaws in the Microsoft Server Message Block ( SMB ) Protocol.

The three vulnerabilities, rated “critical” on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, exposes Windows users to remote code execution attacks, Microsoft said in its MS09-001 bulletin. The company warns:

“An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.”

Only two of the three vulnerabilities affect Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

Alan Spicer Marine Telecom…

Quotes WiFi and Cellular Systems for a yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as well as consults on the possible installation of Inmarsat BGAN Marine / Fleet Broadband on the vessel.

Alan Spicer also renews a few yearly Consulting and Support Agreements and continues to provide excellent consulting, support, and installation services for the sail and motor yacht community.

Thank You again to all of my customers who have used my services and have continued to support my business.

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

USTelecom DailyLead
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/oklognmYyByWAUCibTgnuaCA?format=standard

Blockbuster today is expected to announce that it will serve up its inventory of films and TV shows via a wide array of digital platforms, including the Internet, mobile phones, Web-connected TVs and Blu-ray players. “We want it to be ubiquitous,” said Kevin Lewis, senior vice president of digital entertainment for Blockbuster, which is in a competitive battle with Netflix. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (1/14) , The Hollywood Reporter (1/14)

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

USTelecom DailyLead
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/oklognmYyByWAPCibTgnVGtt?format=standard

TV makers boot up integrated Web applications
The year of the Internet-enabled TV set was ushered in last week, according to this report. Television manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio are touting the latest ways they are integrating Web elements such as Netflix, Yahoo! widgets, MySpace and more. The New York Times/ReadWriteWeb (1/13)

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245

USTelecom DailyLead
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/oklognmYyByWACCibTgnKydb?format=standard

Industry watchers are trying to read the tea leaves on the future direction of the FCC under Julius Genachowski, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to head the commission. Genachowski, who served as counsel for former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, is expected to support Obama’s stated Web traffic management viewpoint. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (1/14) , BusinessWeek (1/13)

—
Alan Spicer Telecom / Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
http://www.marinetelecom.net
http://www.alanspicermarinetelecom.com
communications (at) marinetelecom.net
communications (at) alanspicermarinetelecom.com
a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net
+1 954-683-3426 +1 954-977-5245