To start the week of Apple’s WWDC 2011, we thought we would kick it off with some humor. The video above is of Bertrand Serlet showing ‘similarities’ between Mac OS X and Windows Vista.
Categories
Tag: Apple
Categories
Watch out for Mac Defender
Part of the reason why Macs don’t get viruses is because OS X is a solid operating system. In order to install software that affects the core system, the user has to authenticate with their username and password. However, the main reason why Macs don’t get viruses is because the programmers are targeting the biggest beast out there, namely PCs.
So it would stand to reason that once more buyers start gravitating toward Macs, that the programmers would as well. And with Mac Defender, that’s just what they’ve done.
Call it the “shot heard around the world” for Macs.
Mac Defender is essentially “scareware.” Once on a Mac, it displays annoying pop ups that announce your system is infected. Conveniently enough, it prompts you to enter your credit card information to buy it and you’ll get full protection. This part is actually worse than the infection, because who knows what they’ll do with your credit card information.
What makes Mac Defender even more nasty is that it’s been modified so that it doesn’t need any authentication to install. Apple released a security update for it, but the programmers just worked around it.
All this begs the question, “Should Macs have anti-virus installed?” While having anti-virus is always a good idea, I’m not ready to shell out money for a yearly subscription to Norton just yet. I think it’s still early enough that there’s not many threats out there. Right now a Mac user’s main defense is common sense. Don’t open stuff from people you don’t know. Don’t authenticate the installation of an app you’re not sure about. And keep a weather eye open on Mac sites and forums any reports of viruses.
If you do feel like you’ve like that added sense of security, ClamXav is anti-virus freeware.
![[Image Source]](http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Mac-OS-X-10-7-Lion-Features-the-All-New-FileVault-2.png/){kind=link}
Categories
New Notifications for iOS 5
At the Worldwide Developers Conference, which takes place in San Francisco on June 6-10, Apple is expected to show off a new version of iOS and Mac OS X.
As written on TechCrunch:
“The other big news for iOS5 – and yes, I’ve completely buried the lede here, thanks for reading! – two things: completely revamped notifications and widgets.”
It appears that the new version of iOS will have new notifications and widgets. There are many times when you’re using your iOS device and you get a notification, but if you get a more recent one, it will replace it. There is no way to keep track of all the notifications that popped up. There is no storage of past notifications. If Apple can fix this problem, it will mean a great deal to those that receive dozens of notifications a day. Widgets are also important because with widgets, you can put them on your iOS device’s home and unlock screens. You can use the widgets to take advantage of certain things without even having to launch apps. The downside to widgets is that they may clutter the interface.
Feel free to leave comments and suggestions.
![[Image Source]](https://devimages.apple.com.edgekey.net/wwdc/images/wwdc11_nav_title.png){kind=link}
Categories
iPhone is better than Android for Business
Based on Intermedia, a Microsoft Exchange hosting provider, iPhone is better than Android for Business. Intermedia manages about 320,000 premium hosted Exchange email accounts. According to the number of ActiveSync-based smartphones its customers activated, 61% choose the iPhone, 17% choose Android, and 22% choose other. Even though Android market share and popularity is climbing and beating iPhone, business professionals still prefer iPhone. When it comes to tablet customers, 99.8% pick Apple over Samsung and Motorola.
When it comes to comparing the number of ActiveSync devices activated in April, the Apple iPhone is still in the lead with a whopping 64% share. Android’s share is increasing to 33%.
Out of the tablets activated in April, about 100% were iPads. A small fraction of the tablets activated in April were Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Zoom. It appears that the iPad is the leading tablet and it seems that the number of iPads being activated per month has increased.
![[Image Source]](http://www.intermedia2.net/images/logo.gif){kind=link}
Okay, this whole “gate” thing is getting out of control.
Seems like any time there’s a “scandal” with Apple, the journalists and pundits want to give it a title with some edge to it. So they harken back to the 1970’s political scandal of Watergate. The antenna doesn’t work quite right on the iPhone 4 when it first comes out, so what does everyone call it? Antennagate. Glass screens breaking or cracking? Glassgate. Apple allegedly tracking your whereabouts? Locationgate.
I’m not against people criticizing Apple. Far from it. I mean, who could possibly side with the “hockey puck” mouse design for the early iMacs? But if people are going to try coining terms, then they should at least be a little more creative.
They could try using 1940’s film noir titles for inspiration. “The Big Grip” sounds much edgier than antennagate. Heck, I’d even settle for riffs of 1950’s b-movie sci-fi titles, such as “They Watch Where You Go” instead of locationgate. But you get the idea.
So let’s stop using “gate” as a suffix. It’s not hip. It’s just annoying.