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Apple asks Kaspersky to help improve OS X Security

In the same fashion that many Linux distributions aren’t targeted by viruses and malware, Apple’s proprietary  Mac OS X platform was never much of a good target for hackers to begin with. The platform has only gained a lot of traction in the past four years and is a more recognised name globally, synonymous for some with extreme quality and ease of use. But for others, OS X has become a viable target for malware and information or identity theft.

Just last year, in August, Apple was alerted to a botnet building up among their customer’s computers, at its height claiming over five hundred thousand desktops under its control in under two months. By the third, another hundred thousand desktops and laptops were under hacker’s control and there wasn’t any word immediately from the Cupertino company about how they were going to fix it. Oracle’s Java was the source of the vulnerability and it was patched by the company four months later in February – but Apple never pushed out the update immediately, choosing o rather wait and teat it out before pushing to their servers last week. 

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Posted by Wesley May 15, 2012
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Laptop Buyer’s Guide: May R9000 to R15000

Now for those of you who need something a little beefier than what I showed you in my previous Laptop Buyer’s Guide, here’s where you need to be sitting with your morning cup of coffee and reading up on.  You’re looking for a laptop that perhaps needs to be a road-warrior workhorse, able to keep you going out of the office when you’re working from home or on a luxury yacht somewhere. Perhaps you’d just like a system that isn’t as anemic when it comes to graphics performance as what I showed you last week and that’s certainly the case if you’re a gamer.

Some of you may also need something that falls between the two for photographers and professionals who need some monstrous computing power to enable to you do your work while you’re moving, because you’re always moving. Today I’ll be looking at Ultrabooks, Ultrabook alternatives and laptops up to R15,000 and I’ll try to cover all the bases as to what you, dear reader, have been looking for.

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Posted by Wesley May 15, 2012
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Press Wednesday

Its Press Wednesday, and today we’re looking at some more announcements from companies all over the world regarding new stuff that you can buy from them later this year, starting off with…

Ezio’s Digital Cinema-4k (4096 x 2160) 36″ monitor

With a screen size of 36.4 inches, LED backlighting and a massive, massive resolution, Ezio looks set to be the first of the many companies that will support the new H.265 standard set to be ratified next year.

The screen supports up to 278 trillion colour combinations, an excellent brightness ratio of 700cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1000:1. The response time of 8ms is less than enviable for gaming, but I expect this to feature an IPS panel for better colour quality and accuracy. Ezio’s monster went on sale in Japan earlier last year with a retail price of R257,397, so those of you with deep pockets may be able to afford one.

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Posted by Wesley Apr 11, 2012
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News: Sony is in Trouble – Updated!

The internet has been buzzing here and there about rumours that Sony might be in a position that’s going to affect a lot of people very shortly. Ahead of the release of their annual examination of the past business year, Sony warns that it might post a possible $6.4 billion in losses and much more woes for their employees.

 

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Posted by Wesley Apr 11, 2012
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News: Bought Apple’s iPad 3? You might be in for a refund

Over this weekend there’s a lot of hullabaloo in Australia over Apple’s advertising scheme for their new iPad 3. See, Australia is one of the few countries where the LTE standard is being widely deployed, and commonlg LTE is referred to as 4G. While that’s not technically correct, it is what the local networks there are billing as 4G.

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Posted by Wesley Apr 02, 2012
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Tech: Windows 8 to support “Retina” displays

So people have been playing around with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview for a month now. And while I’m still going to delve into it in detail and bring info back to you, dear reader, there’s some rumours concerning the development of Windows 8 tablets that’s left me wondering. Right now, a handful of companies make screens that are used in Apple’s iPad. The iPad 1, 2 and iPhone 4 featured Apple’s “Retina” display technology, and brought joy to millions of people who bought them and simultaneously acquired bragging rights.

Go on, count 'em pixels, biatch!

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Posted by Wesley Mar 26, 2012
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Welcome to the new world of touch

As geeks, (well, true geeks) all technology fascinates us. We’re brand-loyal to an extent, but just about anything piques our interest no matter who makes it. A robot spider? Way cool. Nanomachines? Hideo explains the concept very well in MGS4, and makes us aware of the amazing things technology can do for us. Toilets that report to our doctors concerning our health? Super, now he knows whenever we’re having a dump and suffering from indigestion at the same time.

But the tech that’s most interesting for geeks like myself these days is the gap between netbooks and cellphones that has created this amazing market for touch tablets and smartphones that cost more than a (cheap) second-hand car. In this market, Apple shines as the superior choice when it comes to an interface and OS that works very well for touch screens. Windows Mobile isn’t suited for this environment despite all the recent updates to it (Mobile 7 may be Microsoft’s savior). Its not as aged as Symbian S60 was (still is), but improvements are still necessary for it to work properly. In spite of this some companies are releasing it on smartphones, and its going up against the giants of the industry: Apple, Symbian and the heavy-hitting newcomer, Google’s Android.

Apple iPhone 4

Is it a tablet? No, its the latest iteration of Apple’s iPhone range. The iPhone 4 packs so much functionality that you might never need a tablet. A snappy 1Ghz CPU, what looks to be 512MB RAM, the best touch-designed OS in the industry, and access to the most profitable online app and music store in computing history make this a very tempting option. Yes, you can edit documents and type out a book, if you’re patient. Yes, it does fit into your pocket without looking like you’ve got a gun in it. Its manly, its got a aluminum bevel, and costs more money than sense. Some might say that not one other phone has bridged the netbook and cellphone market so effectively.

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Dell Streak

Until the Streak came along, that is. This might be the real deal, a phone that doubles, quite comfortably, as a proper mobile internet tablet. Nokia’s N900 might be the only thing currently able to lay claim to that title, but it has design flaws that make the device useless to anyone with larger than average hands. The keyboard is so small that you have to have two nibbly thumbs like Megan Fox’s one to type fast without making mistakes and I don’t know about you readers, but I think its just pointless. The Streak, with its 5″ LCD, Android 2.1 OS, and LED backlighting might make you want to part with your money (or testes, whichever you prefer) to own one.

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A sizeable shoe, the Streak, Blackberry's 9650, Sony Ericsson Xperia, and a Nokia N-series. Big mother, innnit?

Please beware, though, of how fast your dork rating will shoot up the minute you take out a small ringing book with moving pictures and start talking to it.

Nokia N9

nokia-n9Its still a concept, but that’s why I’m excited for this average-looking slider that almost immediately turns into a mini laptop. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the pictures. Now, go on, draw a 113.5 x 59.1mm rectangle. If you’ve actually done it, well done, because now you have an idea of how big and possibly comfortable this thing is, bearing in mind it still extends to reveal a almost full keyboard. It won’t sport the 680Mhz CPU of the Nokia N8, or the brand spanking new Symbian ^3 OS, but quite possibly could share the camera and build quality of the N8. The MeeGo OS, being Linux-based, has the strength to take on Apple’s OS 4, and might even shoehorn Maemo out of the smartphone segment.

Any of these three phones stands the chance of being king of the hill, which currently is Nokia. Symbian is still a tough nut to crack, and many have failed trying to rival the legendary devices. These three phones, backed by giants in the industry, may have a fighting chance, but they’ve got their work cut out for them

Posted by Wesley Jun 30, 2010
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Is it silly?

With both NVIDIA’s Fermi and Apple’s iPad released recently, people are asking what techies think of these gizmos. I’ve read reviews, I’ve seen videos, and I’ve tried to formulate a sufficiently cynical reason as to why both these products are inferior/silly/completely out of place in today’s market. I can’t come up with one.

NVIDIA’S FERMI

geforce-gtx-480,1-B-242399-13geforce-gtx-470,1-D-242401-3NVIDIA has released its GTX470/480 cards to partners, and has lifted all NDAs on reviews. So far, there are mixed reactions. People are not happy with the temperatures, power draw, or the returns that normally come with buying such a high-priced product.

The GTX470 costs $350, which will likely work out to R4000+ for us poor saps.

Nvidia boasts a substantial amount of CUDA-compatible applications. And the list keeps growing.

Nvidia boasts a substantial amount of CUDA-compatible applications. And the list keeps growing.

For all the cons that reviewers have come up with, the new series still has that familiar vibe – that it might usher in a new way of thinking – and Fermi does exactly that. The ability to run C++ code, among other things, natively on the GPU suddenly turns an SLI rig into a power house of note. Compiling and executing debug code for C++ now takes literally seconds to complete using the GPGPU feature inherent in all Fermi-based GPUs. And yes, all new cards based on GF100/104 will have this feature.

While everyone mentions GPGPU, it’s getting boring for some people. What else can save the series? Well, it’s a given that the cards will beat ATI’s offerings, but the best thing is support. Zero-day support for games and programs is not always something ATI can boast, and NVIDIA’s TWIMTBP campaign certainly makes its lineup more appealing for gamers. Also, with 3D slowly taking off it will be a wiser choice to go with Fermi, as older generations suffer quite a bit with this feature turned on.

The bottom line? ATI is all about great speed, ATI Stream, Eyefinity, good driver support and price. Nvidia is all about great speed, Physx, CUDA, excellent driver support, future-proofing, and now 3D Vision and GPGPU, among others. Even coming from an ATI fan, an NVIDIA graphics card is remarkably tempting.

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They simply have much more to offer.

APPLE’S iPAD

I played around with an HP TC1100 recently. I have a PC at work that does everything I need, but the sheer portability of a tablet is amazing. I can walk around the shop, collating data and prices for quotes and insurance replacements, and write it all down on the tablet using the stylus. I send my report via e-mail to my boss using the wireless network, and then carry on reading posts on the NAG forums. Life could not be simpler.

OB-HP187_ipad02_G_20100217200930If a customer came in, I’d ask them to give us their details on the tablet. Initially there was some shock, but I began to see regulars taking to it quite quickly. After a week with it and using it for real work, I can see why Apple’s iPad will be another success, at least in its second generation.

Even though you’re tied to the Apple platform and all it brings with it, it’s a remarkably good idea. Its not for heavy work, but a lot of other things that people will discover as they carry on playing with it. Apple’s e-book app will start flying, and eventually everyone will want one! Well, at least those not attached to Windows and Linux.

Hell, even a Linux tablet would be a killer, and apparently Google also thinks so. Are either of these products silly? They’re only silly to those outside the target market.

The iPad remains a good investment for the rich, light user, at least until HP’s Slate surfaces. Until then, it will rule.

Posted by Wesley Apr 21, 2010
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Gimmick or no gimmick?

Guess what? I'm still yawning. *yawns*

Guess what? I'm still yawning. *yawns*

I have to admit, a lot of new tech that I read or hear about, or see, is enough to get me pretty excited. My internal hype engine is tuned only to technology and games these days — the newest Lamborghini only gets a yawn from me; it’s far too much like the Batmobile. But there are a few new toys on the block that pique my interest — while these look kind of gimmicky, I thought I’d share these with you anyway.

THE APPLE iPAD

Seriously, who thinks up these silly names in the Apple labs? Not only is it in direct violation of Fujitsu’s own marketed iPad brand, but it just sounds really silly in this, the 21st century.  We’re in an age where computing is more a part of your life than a necessary evil. It is my opinion that the sandbox environment for iPad users will be more  frustrating than previously thought possible, and here I believe Google’s Chrome tablet will impress to no end.

Fail in most areas, but the iPad may be another feather in Apple's ridiculously priced cap.

Fail in most areas, but the iPad may be another feather in Apple's ridiculously priced cap.

Additionally, the iPad is already in trouble from both the HP and Notion Ink Adam tablets, both of which are far more capable devices than the iPad. Apple also makes a killing off various models, and starts off with $208 profit from the low-range model. This is clearly a ripoff for most. Gimmick spotted!

EYEFINITY

I’m unsure about this one. With this, ATI has single-handedly changed the way game developers are looking at gaming on multiple screens. In the past, you could only play on the one monitor while the other sat idle [Assuming that SupCom never did this, of course. -Ed]. Well, its no longer the case, and there are games out there right now that can easily take advantage of this sweet feature. But is it a gimmick?

I recently saw this in action in a couple of cellphone-shot videos (because I’m obviously not rich enough for something like this) and can really see the benefits of having three screens. On the one hand, I’ll never have to dig around for that app I left open buried underneath all the others – I can leave it on the one screen and monitor what it’s doing. On the other hand, this picture below:

eyefinity

NVIDIA, eat my left nipple. THIS is the way that games are meant to be played. Just look at that – the view, the wrap-around feeling is completely amazing, and I already know a few people who have similar setups. Eyefinity on six or more monitors is a gimmick, but on 3, it’s perfect. I’m getting a setup like this in the near future.

DRM

Yes, I know, DRM has never been something people can actually use to their benefit, and to this day neither has any company strived to do that. There are many other gimmicks out there, but this one always deserves mention — because no stupid gimmick leaves us sitting with a dead game that requires the Internet for LANs. Please, developers, release your games with Steam integration in the future — Valve knows a hell of a lot more than anyone else about how to satisfy their customers offline.

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Posted by Wesley Feb 22, 2010
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