Social: Twitter Was Hacked - So Were Others LIke the NYT. Expect More Of This

All Things D.

More than 250,000 Twitter accounts were hacked. Luckily, mine wasn't among those but I'm sure that day will come. And this happened via Twitter, not individuals who were phished or something.

With today's short term media attention, I want to remind ourselves that earlier in the week, the New York Times claimed to have been targeted by Chinese government backed hackers. I know there is no evidence that Beijing had a direct hand in it but, come on, it's China we're talking about.

Later, the Wall Street Journal as well as the Washington Post revealed that they too had the honor of the Chinese probing them from the back.

Needless to say, it's only February and we've for 11 more months to go in 2013. We're looking at a lot more of this for the rest of the year and beyond.

It won't be just social media sites or media giants. I think government sites are next as are public facilities like water, gas, and power facilities.

So ATD is right. It isn't who will be the next to be hacked but who will admit to being hacked.

And what's also right is that there are companies out there that are not aware of security breaches into their networks.

So it kinda makes you wonder about any PC, phones, or tablets you own.

For mobile users, our fear isn't necessarily about our smartphones or tablets. However, it's the data that apps you download and install that we have to worry about. We simply don't know what kinda of data these apps are pulling from our devices. On top of that, we have to trust Apple, Google, Blackberry, and Microsoft to police their app stores on our behalf. The trust we put in Google is doubly more important because it make money off user data.

Just this week, up and coming social network Path was fined $800,000 by the FTC for violations. The fine was for allowing children onto their network and collecting their information. And this is a very good iPhone app that we thought Apple would have done its vetting before allowing the app into the store.

So whether it is companies or individuals, hacking is going to be the norm and the only one thing to know about this and one defense we users have.

We have to know that companies we give our information to will most definitely get hacked. And the only defense we have is common sense.

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Mobile: Thin Should Be Out, Battery Life In

Google's mobile division, AKA Motorola, is working on a new device. An Android device, obviously. No one really knows what specs the device will have but I do have one request to make.

Google, think Droid Razr Maxx HD. Think iPhone 5. By this, I mean consider the long battery life the Maxx has and what the battery life on the iPhone 5 would be if Apple doesn't go for thin.

The Maxx HD has a 3,300 mAh battery coming in at 9.3 mm thick while the iPhone 5 is 2mm thinner at 7.3 mm with only 1,440 mAh of battery.

The weight difference is more apparent with the RAZR coming in at 156 grams versus the iPhone 5 at 112 grams. However, the RAZR is a bigger phone after all.

Having said all that, I gladly take battery life over thinness any day. In the last few days, battery life issues has been a recurring theme for many bloggers and people I know as CES just ended, Blackberry just introduced the new Z10, and a wave of new Android devices are waiting in the wing.

Everyone wants longer battery life for their mobile devices. Almost everyone thinks their current device is thin enough. Instead of going even thinner, users want any space saved with each new chip or hardware change to be used for bigger batteries.

iPhones and Android devices have brought huge changes to our lives in the last five years. But mobile computing has not come close to its potential because of limits in battery life.

Not processing power, screen sizes, or other newer features like BT 4.0 or NFC.

Mobile warriors have been living on their devices and we are ready move away from laptops and cut that cord to the older PC era. We want to cut the cord to the outlet as well.

The RAZR Maxx HD is probably the closest thing to a mobile device that frees the user to do whatever he or she wants without worry about the life line of the phone dying on them before the day is up.

So hopefully, we will see tech companies put more into longer battery life than continuing the arms race of having more cores and/or going even thinner.


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Apple TV: Pending HBO Deal Shows Tech Pundits/Bloggers Are Getting Ahead Of Themselves

Earlier, I wrote about how Apple's attempt to bring HBO to the Apple TV is a good move but doesn't make sense for those who want to cut the cord or have already done so.  Here, a post from The Atlantic that agrees with that assertion.

On top of that, HBO on TV for the consoles have been around for about a year if not longer.  There are a couple of points that I like to further make on this issue.

One, Apple's history of changing lives, how do we do things, and whole industries has spoiled us badly.  Apple TV started off as a hobby for Apple and continues to be so.  A lot of deal was made about television when Steve Jobs' authorized biography claimed that he has cracked television.

What he means only he and Apple knows and Apple remains just as secretive as ever.  But this notion only serves to generate the craziness and irrational exuberance that we have come to expect from every bone-headed rumor or news about Apple.

Tim Cook only indicated Apple has plans for the living room and they continue to work towards that.  The small incremental change to the Apple TV may just be that plan.

Second, Apple's TV plans may not be revolutionary at all.  Tim Cook and his team may come to terms that content providers and the power structure in place in Hollywood will not change for years if not decades and any revolution for television may not happen as quickly as we like.  So, what does Apple do?  It'll have to take what it can and move the goal line by inches rather than leaps.

When you take both points together, you come to one conclusion about Apple's plan for the television.  It's a ground game like in football where you fight for every single yard.  It's not going to be a Joe Montana like bomb and throws everyone into a frenzy.

We may get HBO in 2013.  Maybe more video services or app store in a year or two.  And 4K a few years after that.  It'g going to take a whole to get to media nirvana in the living room.

Oh, and if you think that someone else is going to come along and do what Apple can't, think again.  It will not matter if it's Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or Samsung.  They have their own battle plans for the living room and they looking exactly like Apple's.

The gatekeepers of media content has learned from the music industry. Giving Apple the key to the kingdom in their minds was a mistake and they won't let what happen to the music industry happen to them.

Apple: Any Deals For Media Has To Revolutionize TV, Otherwise, No Point

Apple is always negotiating for content with rights owners so I don’t think I’m breaking my “no rumors” pledge when I point out Bloomberg’s post about Apple negotiating with HBO to bring content over to the Apple TV.  The reason I’m bringing this up now is because from what’s being talked about, it makes zero sense from Apple’s perspective unless it’s about making a few pennies here and here.

See, Apple is a company that prides itself on big changes.  The kind of changes that wows the world.  Apple is the type of company that wants to bring a product to you and me and say, “thanks, Apple.  I didn’t even know I needed this until you brought it up”.

So, what we know about the HBO talk is that Apple is looking to bring HBO Go to the Apple TV so that users can watch HBO shows on it.  Great.  With me so far?  The only thing is that the deal being worked on doesn’t cut the cord.  Users still have to have cable or satellite TV services in order to access HBO’s contents.

How does that help those of us who don’t want to beholden to Time Warner, Charter, Dish, or anyone else who forces us to buy bundles of channels we don’t want or care for?

I will see the HBO app icon on Apple TV taking up valuable screen real estate, get annoyed by it, and skip right over it because I don’t want to sign up with Charter.  I have enough to watch on Netflix, Hulu, and even Redbox Instant.

So, why is Apple even negotiating with anyone about putting HBO Go on Apple TV?  A lot of people feel the same way about cord-cutting like myself.  It is possible that Apple is trying to get a small piece of the pie from HBO and providers for making it accessible on Apple TV.

And should this become a success, I see other channels and providers following HBO’s move in this respect if a deal is struck.  Apple is brilliant for working with HBO on this.

Again, why?  Well, Apple wants to sell hardware.  Apple TV, iOS devices, and maybe the unicorned Appled HDTV.  Unfortunately, I don’t see this helping Apple selling TV at all.  Millions of us are not going to pick up an Apple product to access HBO or other contents if we also have to have cable/SAT TV services.

Siri Can Help You Buy Movie Tickets - Think About It, This Is Huge

After getting the last iOS update, which brings it up to 6.1, I was kinda "meh" except for the security plugs that were long, long overdue.  I was "whatever".  But having a couple of days to digest this now, I'm very excepted about one update:  Siri can now buy movies tickets for you.

First, you have go to download Fandango but that's a small issue. As with any Siri services, you have to download the associated apps as well.  No big thing.

What's big is mobile commerce for Siri just started.  Siri is moving beyond provide some searchable answers to user questions to starting to make money for Apple.  You can bet that any deal with Fandango in the case of buying movie tickets or other deals that Apple is likely to agree to will include Apple getting a piece of the action.  Whether it's a simple transaction fee or Apple getting a percentage of the transaction.

I would love to be able to order pizza through Siri.  Had Apple sealed a deal with Pizza Hut or Dominos, Siri's ability to order pizzas for users would be a huge deal for Superbowl Sunday.

Other services I can think of right off the top are other venues where tickets are are required - amusement parks, sporting events, or museums.  Certainly, any restaurants that provide takeouts.  In fact, Apple should integrate iTunes into Siri.

Suppose I want a movie with some Chinese food because I'm going to have friends over.  It would be awesome to ask Siri to set the whole night up.  "Siri, I want to rent Bourne Legacy and Ted and download them to the Apple TV.  Also, order some Mongolian beef, sauteed spinach, vegetable chow mein from the closest Chinese restaurant to home."

I mean, how awesome would that be?  What's more, Apple is going to make a boat load of money through these kinds of mobile transactions.  A fleet load.  If you're an Apple investor, this is the future you have to look forward to financially.

As a mobile user, you can't help but be excited about what Apple has planned for Siri.  It's not going to happen overnight.  It could take a couple of iOS upgrade cycles.  Even more.  But it's already happening and it'll only get much better.

Blackberry 10 And Z10 Reviews Are In: Good OS, So-So Hardware

Blackberry is no longer just a phone.  It’s not the new name of the former company called RIM.  And today, Blackberry unveiled to the world it’s latest and, hopefully, greatest mobile OS and flagship device.  Blackberry 10 and Z10 respectively.  I said hopefully because as I’ve mentioned before, we need more competition in the mobile market, not less.

Having said that, there is a decent summary of review from WSJ on Blackberry’s new OS and device.  A couple of things.  Yesterday, I wrote about Palm and the Pre.  In the WSJ summary, they brought up Palm as well.  And there is no doubt that the feeling about Blackberry’s latest and quite possibly last effort to get back into the mobile game.

From the reviews, it looks like Blackberry managed to hold serve and the new OS, services, and hardware is just enough to stem Blackberry fans from defecting to iOS or Android.  At this stage, however, anyone remaining with RIM, sorry, I mean Blackberry, are rabid fans so it probably would not take much effort from Blackberry to get them to stay.

The question is if this is enough not only stem losses but actually grow the Blackberry base.  Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.  Like Palm, the new Blackberry OS has a few neat touch tricks.  It even has a few native apps that do things better than the iPhone and matches what Android offers.  On the hardware front, it has a handsome looking device in the Z10 but the iPhone 5 still looks like a better build.  Upcoming devices from Nokia and Sony’s Xperia Z are very nice hardware too.  There just isn’t anything in the hardware that is innovative or even remotely different.

And one of the main themes in my Palm post yesterday was timing.  It appears Blackberry will be able to ship out the Z10 faster than Palm managed to do with the Pre and it has a global reach Palm did not.  Having said that, the Z10 is still going against a strong iPhone 5 and there’s nothing you can do about that.  It’s the new Android devices like Google’s X Phone and Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 on the wings that has me concerned about Z10’s chances.

The Z10 will retail for $200 after subsidies but I think Blackberry would be wise to lower that to free or $99 because that’s where Microsoft’s Windows Phones sit and they’ve done decent enough this past Christmas.

So, only time will tell.  Personally, if I can get a Z10 for $300, I would not think twice.

Mobile: Remembering the Palm Pre and Timing

First, let me say that I’m not sure anyone is all that concerned about what RIM is going to do with Blackberry 10.  As a mobile fan, I like to see it take a few shots at Apple and Google from a competitive perspective.  I want Blackberry to thrive again.  I mention all this because, well, remember when the Pre was released and how excited everyone was?

Yeah, not many remember Palm, the Pilot, or, especially, the Pre now but it was huge news at the time when the newly energized Palm packed with former Apple executives and engineers were ready to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone.  At the time, Apple had the iPhone 3G on the market for about six months and Palm’s Pre was fresh.

And WebOS made Apple’s iPhone OS (wasn’t called iOS yet I think) looked antiquated. In some respects, WebOS is even more innovative than iOS 6 is now.  And let's not forget, the Pre had a physical keyboard.

Great timing.  Sure, it’s great timing as far as setting up a media event for the unveiling of the Pre and WebOS.  Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only thing Palm did right.  See, the Pre would not go on sale until June.  To be exactly, June 9th.  Going up against the iPhone 3G, right?

Well, just a day before the Pre went on sale, Apple announced the iPhone 3GS and the new iPhone stormed onto the market with 1 million sold in its first weekend.

Ah, timing.

Well, I think Apple’s competitors since have learned about timing.  Samsung has never released a device around the time Apple does.  I think Samsung is the smartest of the bunch.  Ask Microsoft about Zune release timing - all releases save one went up against the iPod.  Ask Google and Motorola about Xoom going up against the iPad 2.  No one walks about the Xoom no more.

Imagine what it would have been like had Palm released the Pre for sale months before the 3GS when its competitors was the 7-, 8-, or even 9-month old iPhone 3G.

The reason I’ve decided to touch on this now is because Pre could have been a contender the way Galaxy is now.  And for 2013, new hardware and mobile features aside, timing is going to be critical for those looking to solidify their positions in the mobile market and those looking for a second act.  Or a third act.