Apple... is it going rotten..?

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Firstly the "Apple death grip" incident with the new iP4, and now seemingly iTunes has been hacked and people have lost money. The bit that amused me was this...

article said:

Apple, which told users to ask their banks for refunds. ‘You should also change your iTunes password,’ said a spokesman.

[url]Source|http://www.metro.co.uk/news/834270-computer-hacker-bites-apple-with-another-attack-on-itunes[url]

Is the Apple going rotten..?

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rsv gone! said:

And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?

I don't know. General anti-MS banter?

Given Apple nearly went under, it's a little strange.

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Original Poster said:

And why is that necessarily a bad thing?

Jailbreaking has shown that the devices are clearly capable of more than Apple will allow you to do... and given the cost of them, that seems a bit... crap.

It does however help to keep out the sheer levels of absolute dross that you find on Android market...

Apple also protect certain features... e.g. Bluetooth, Location settings etc... it'd be really handy to launch an app and it automatically turn it on/off, rather than having to go through settings. Android had a great app called "useful switchers" where you could turn items like these (and 3G) on or off very quickly... with the iPhone, you have to go through the Settings menu...

Edited by Podie on Wednesday 7th July 09:54

[Podie]

qube_TA said:

Podie said:

Firstly the "Apple death grip" incident with the new iP4, and now seemingly iTunes has been hacked and people have lost money. The bit that amused me was this...

article said:

Apple, which told users to ask their banks for refunds. ‘You should also change your iTunes password,’ said a spokesman.

[url]Source|http://www.metro.co.uk/news/834270-computer-hacker-bites-apple-with-another-attack-on-itunes[url]

Is the Apple going rotten..?

There are about a dozen iP4's here at work, if you properly smother the unit with your hands the signal drops, not been able to get one to drop a call.

As for the iTunes hacking, was this a result of bad software or down to users with crap passwords? The general public need to be much more aware about using english words as passwords just isn't secure.

Quite a few iP4s here too. One was DOA, and two others genuinely do suffer from the Apple death grip. Another two, do not.

As for the passwords thing... when was the last time you knew of a user that had a strong password? Jeez, I’ve audited places where people have Post-Its with “password1” written on them stuck to their monitors...

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tinman0 said:

off_again said:

Users need to know that a good strong password is essential.

I find the sanctimony about passwords to be nauseating at best.

Depends if you practice what you preach though, doesn't it?

If you deal with IT security, the last thing you want is someone getting in to your stuff. Doesn't help your kudos really...

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TuxRacer said:

Cheese Mechanic said:

Plus of course writing them down is the biggest risk of all.

I disagree. Even if you don't leave the paper somewhere 'secure' but just a post-it note on your desk, well, if someone can get to the post-it they can probably get hold of your password anyway. Whereas for security across the wires it's more important that you have a 'strong' password.

As I've said, I'm actually encouraged to write down my passwords at work (which isn't in a travel agency). Although admittedly not to leave them on the desk.

Completely disagree. Both are important.

As for writing down passwords, that's just asking for trouble. You can have all the security you want, but if people have your password, you're still going to let them in.

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Tallbut Buxomly said:

Oakey said:

My biggest issue with Apple is their pricing, I just can't see the justification in price differences between 16, 32 and 64Gb models. nearly £200 more for a 64Gb iPad over 16Gb iPad? Really?

I think it stems from the fact that a lot of their stuff is in house built and designed unlike most other mainstream companies so costs more to develope. they recoup that cost by charging more by memory.

Shame they refuse to use MicroSD cards or similar.

People with brains could buy a Sandisk one, the sheep could buy an Apple branded one...

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off_again said:

Podie said:

Tallbut Buxomly said:

Oakey said:

My biggest issue with Apple is their pricing, I just can't see the justification in price differences between 16, 32 and 64Gb models. nearly £200 more for a 64Gb iPad over 16Gb iPad? Really?

I think it stems from the fact that a lot of their stuff is in house built and designed unlike most other mainstream companies so costs more to develope. they recoup that cost by charging more by memory.

Shame they refuse to use MicroSD cards or similar.

People with brains could buy a Sandisk one, the sheep could buy an Apple branded one...

Part of the reasoning is to keep control of the memory in the first place. Removing the ability to directly insert applications / media / tools via a memory card further enforces the use of iTunes and the sync process. I have a number of Apple products, but it does get to be a bit of a joke with all of this sync, backup and iTunes malarky. Sniffs of unnecessary control.

But, take a look at what is possible with Symbian and Windows Mobile for a start - both platforms can be uniformly hacked, abused and totalled using memory cards and Apple wouldnt want to risk that. Its not a security thing, its a usability and consistency thing. This way Apple can ensure that the same model for management, media, files and applications is maintained and that everything operates consistently.

Oh, and they don't like holes in the case!

Understood, which is why I said it's a shame they refuse...

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Apple less secure than Microsoft... http://www.techeye.net/security/apple-has-the-most...

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Trommel said:

Seems like a fair and balanced article.