Hacker Discovers More Uses Of Siri (VIDEO) - by aby benedict

Many of you would be familiar with SiriProxy by now. The server hack allows technical and knowledgeable users to make the digital assistant do things which it wasn’t programmed to do originally by creating custom Siri commands.

We have already seen many hackers engaging the Proxy to several uses. One of them is Mark Hodder who is a freelance webmaster; he used Siri to run household appliances like Fireplace, Christmas Lights etc.

To convert these appliances into web-enabled clients, he made use of an ioBridge and several X10 modules which he controlled though SiriProxy installed on his MacBook. He recently posted about his home automation project on his blog which really looks impressive and useful.

Though this SiriProxy is limited to some users who are familiar with Ruby and other programming languages, it is still impressive how developers are coming up with so many of its uses and it is expected that soon it will be available for public use through these developers or Apple itself.

Apple Licensed iOS Scrolling To Nokia & IBM, Offered It To Samsung - by aby benedict

With Apple currently locked in a vicious legal battle with Samsung over various patents it is clear that the people behind the iPhone are serious about keeping their edge over the competition.
One area that Apple is apparently happy to let some of its competition in on the secret sauce that makes its iOS user interface so polished is the ‘rubber band scrolling.’  If you’ve got an iOS device in front of you, open a web page or document and then scroll off the top or bottom. You’ll see a briefbackground image and then the screen will ‘bounce’ back. There’s a patent for that animation, and Apple owns it.

Now new redacted versions of statements shown to technology site The Verge show that Apple did actually license its patent number #7,469,381, or the ‘scrollback’ patent to both Nokia and IBM.
Just as interestingly, Apple apparently even offered to license that same patent to Samsung back in 2010 as part of a potential settlement, the same company they are currently fighting in court on various fronts.
The ’381 patent is one which has been the subject of legal proceedings before, with Apple going after Nokia, HTC and Samsung. The move from Apple’s perceived stance that they do not want to share its software tricks with the competition to a situation where the competition is offered to license the brown jewels is an interesting one. What happened to Steve Jobs wanting to put Android out of business?

What we’d really like to know is why Samsung decided against licensing Apple’s ‘scroll back’ patents when offered the option during previous legal proceedings. The theories put forward are that Apple either wanted an unrealistic amount of money in return, or Samsung simply decided that the patents were invalid. Either way, it appears there was a chance to shake hands and move on with at least one scrap between the two giants, but someone decided against it.
Whether that will end up being a good decision going forward may take some time to become apparent.
As we say with all these Samsung Vs Apple legal battles, we’ll see where the whole things goes in the coming weeks, months and probably, years.

Carrier IQ Detector Now Available In Android Market, Does What It Says - by aby benedict

If you’ve been following the recent Carrier IQ controversy, you’ll know that there is this one rootkit that comes pre-installed on most Android smartphones in the US that not only logs how many calls were dropped and your location, but also sent and received texts, emails, entire calls, keyboard taps and more without ever asking the user for permission. There are various somewhat complicated ways to detect it, but a rather simple method has cropped today that just involves installing an app from Android Market and launching it. Details of the app-in-question can be checked out after the break.

The news comes straight from the official Lookout Blog.

We covered an app called Logging Checker by an XDA-Developer. Although the app worked completely fine, it was released in the form of an APK and, well, wasn’t all that easy to use. The app we’re covering in this post, called Carrier IQ Detector, has been developed by renowned security company Lookout and has been released on the Android Market.

Carrier IQ Detector, as the name suggests, is a very simple app whose sole objective is to detect whether the controversial, privacy-invading Carrier IQ rootkit exists on your Android device or not so you can then take steps to remove it.
From Market:

Determine whether or not your phone contains Carrier IQ mobile diagnostic software.
It can be difficult for non-technical users to determine whether or not their handset is affected [by it]. We’ve developed the Carrier IQ Detector to aid in this process in an effort to keep mobile users fully informed about what their phone is doing.

To check if Carrier IQ is installed on your device, you simply launch Carrier IQ Detector and it will let you know if the rootkit in question was detected or not. I’ve tested the app on my Samsung GalaxyS II, rooted on Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread and the test was a negative i.e. my device does not have Carrier IQ.

If you’re interested, the app can be downloaded for free from the link embedded below. Be sure to let us know of your device name, carrier and test results in the comments section over on our Facebook page.
Download Carrier IQ Detector [Android Market Link]

iPhone Siri vs. Windows Phone TellMe in fair comparison video - by aby benedict

Apple’s Siri voice-driven intelligent assistant app called Siri faces off with Microsoft’s similarly capable Windows Phone TellMe app in a new YouTube video that claims to be a more fair comparison of the two. A video had previously compared Siri and TellMe but had mainly featured commands that TellMe does not yet understand.

The first video surfaced as a response to Microsoft’s claims that most of the functionality found in the recently launched Siri feature has been available on the Windows Phone since a year ago. However, TellMe in its current iteration is very much command-driven and not as advanced at recognizing natural speech. Hence, the first video made TellMe look rather inept.

This latest video of a “fair” comparison, shows TellMe performing well at speech recognition, searching for weather, searching for photos, sending text messages, finding a restaurant, and playing music. The user doing the comparison had a heavy Hungarian accent and it appears TellMe was better at understanding it. Siri is seen several times fibbing at getting speech recognition right due to the accent, but still has a smoother faster response to commands.

Siri was introduced with the launch of iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S back in October. The feature, however, is still in beta and is restricted to the iPhone 4S for now. Microsoft’s TellMe feature has been part of its Windows Phone platform for some time now and the company recently demoed new speech recognition improvements that should make it a better rival to Siri.

Listen To This Song Made Completely With iPad Instruments [Video] - by aby benedict

When Apple first released iPad, people began using it in their work or in playing sport games and many other things, but what you don't know that these team which called The EastMidWest a music group made their own song by using iPad instruments, yeah and really the song is incredible, let's watch it after the jump:

The song is called Jason Derulo’s “It Girl” (iPad Remix)…

Awesome right ?! As you can see there is no guitar or a piano used in the song, but the team used some Apple apps for the iPad which are Apple’s GarageBand, Alchemy, MadPad, and Magic Fiddle. The total cost of the software? Less than it costs to purchase one of the real-life instruments. Enjoy all and I hope you liked the video....

Apple explains Siri abortion ignorance - by aby benedict

Apple has denied intentionally omitting women’s health services and abortion clinics from its iPhone 4SSiri virtual assistant, highlighting instead the system’s beta status. Controversy around the voice-controlled system – one of the key selling points of the latest iPhone – had flared when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) pointed out reports that it would not locate abortion clinics even when such facilities were nearby. Meanwhile, so-called “pregnancy crisis centers” – which do not provide abortions but, the ACLU claims, are intended to force a “pro-life” message – were identified.

“These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone” Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris told theNYTimes. ”It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks.”

It’s unclear whether that means Apple intends to add women’s health services to the catalog of services the iPhone 4S can locate using Siri, something which seems equally likely to enrage the vocal players in the ongoing abortion debate. The company may have hoped it could bypass the issue, but activists could end up arguing that there is a difference between finding results flagged on a Google Maps search and being instructed where they are via Siri and then offered directions there.

“Our customers want to use Siri to find out all types of information, and while it can find a lot, it doesn’t always find what you want” Kerris said of the system, though didn’t make any comment on when – or if – it might be expanded. Since the brains behind the service live on Apple’s own servers, the Siri app on the iPhone 4S being merely a front-end, the company can update its databases without users necessarily realizing changes have been made.

iPhone 4S satisfies 96 percent of owners, ChangeWave says - by aby benedict

At daybreak on October 14, shoppers gather at the Apple Store in Emeryville, Calif., to be among the first to buy the iPhone 4S. Statistically speaking, they've been might pleased with what they got

Apple's iPhone 4S has earned high marks from owners, a new study from ChangeWave Research has found.

According to the research firm, which conducted a survey of 215 iPhone 4S owners last month, 77 percent of them are "very satisfied" with Apple's handset. Another 19 percent of owners say that they are "somewhat satisfied" with the device. Just 2 percent of respondents told ChangeWave that they are "unsatisfied" with the iPhone 4S.

The 96 percent satisfaction for the iPhone 4S trumps the level for the iPhone 4, which earned accolades from 93 percent of respondents last year. In that study, 72 percent of iPhone 4 owners said that they were "very satisfied," while 21 percent claimed they were "somewhat satisfied."

The iPhone 4S is also a favorite of smartphone reviewers. When it launched in October, CNET's Kent German gave the iPhone 4S four stars out of a possible five, saying that the device is a fine option for any consumer looking for a smartphone.

iPhone 4S owners are quite satisfied, new research shows. 


The iPhone 4S isn't the king of cell phones, but it's part of the royal family nonetheless," German wrote. "Even without 4G and a giant screen, this phone's smart(ass) voice assistant, Siri, the benefits of iOS 5, and its spectacular camera make it a top choice for anyone ready to upgrade."

Speaking of Siri, ChangeWave found that the voice assistant is the feature nearly half of iPhone 4S owners like most about the handset. The device's ease of use, 8-megapixel camera, and faster Web browsing also earned high marks.

But it wasn't all good news for Apple. The iPhone 4S' persistent battery life issue was cited by 38 percent of respondents as the feature they "dislike most" about the smartphone. Apple's resistance to 4G connectivity was an issue for 30 percent of owners, while 11 percent of respondents said that they wish the iPhone 4S screen was bigger.

Although owners also complained of excessive dropped calls, it appears the iPhone 4S is doing a much better job than its predecessor. ChangeWave found that 2.5 percent of iPhone 4S owners have been frequently dropping calls, compared to 5.2 percent of iPhone 4 owners.

Further digging into iPhone 4S drop rates reveals that it's largely an AT&T issue. In fact, ChangeWave said that just 1.3 percent of Verizon iPhone 4S customers experience frequent drops, while 4.1 percent of AT&T customers see high dropped-call rates.