Leander Kahney - page 68

In more good news, the first review of Inside Steve’s Brain — my new book about Steve Jobs — has been published by Macworld.com. Even better, reviewer Dan Pourhadi likes it.

In his new book, Inside Steve’s Brain (Portfolio, 2008), however, Leander Kahney attempts to go beyond the obvious by offering a detailed, concept-oriented, blow-by-blow look at Apple CEO and what makes him tick–his history, his ideas, his ideals, his reasoning, his behavior, his relationships, even his footwear choices.

Kahney’s the right person for the job, too: He has an extensive history covering Apple and Steve Jobs since the early 1990’s, has written two previous books on the company, and has been running Wired’s Cult of Mac blog for ages.

Macworld is a tough audience, so I’m especially glad they liked it. The book is out next week.

From the department of “I’m-going-to-crow-about-it-because-no-one-else-will,” Wired.com has been nominated for a 2008 Webby award in the prestigious News category.

We’re up against BBC News, NYTimes.com, CNN.com and Discovery News.

As the day-to-day editor of the site, it makes me enormously proud to be rated against such formidable competition. The Webbys are known as the “Oscars of the Internet.”

All told, Wired.com has been nominated for six Webbys this year: Wired.com for best news site, best copywriting and best home page, Danger Room for political blog, Game|Life for games-related website and Compiler for software website. Epicenter and Gadget Lab were also designated “Honorees” in the business and culture categories, respectively.

By comparison, the BBC is up for four Webbys. The nominations come on the heels of Wired.com winning Best Classic Website at South By Southwest a few weeks ago. We’re on a roll.

(Full disclosure: Wired magazine — our sister print publication — is a media sponsor of the awards.)

Apple has released new firmware updates for several machines, but offered no meaningful explanation of what the update does. Apple’s note is maddeningly cryptic:

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of [MacBook Air. Macbook, MacBook Pro, iMac] computers

The updates have sparked consternation in the Mac web world. At sites like the MacRumors forums, more than 200 commentators are asking, “What does it do?”

The updates are for:

MacBook

MacBook Pro

MacBook Air

iMac

Apple also released an update for the Aluminum Keyboard, but this one at least includes a meaningful description of the changes:

This firmware update addresses an issue with the aluminum Apple Keyboard and the aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard where a key may repeat unexpectedly while typing.

Watch this dog scroll through the iPhone picture library as though it’s been using an iPhone all it’s life!

Via WSJ.

Even in the day and age of the iPhone, the Newton community is still updating software for the old brick.

Programmer Simon Bell has released version 2.1 of Newton Connection, which allows a Newton to be backed up to a Mac running OS X.

The new version adds a small feature — a screenshot function — but I’m just delighted that the Newton community is still active.

Wired’s Editor in Chief Chris Anderson says the future of business is free, and so my publisher and I are giving away free copies of my books.

Bill Pollock of No Starch Press has seeded full electronic versions of my coffeetable books — Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod — to Bittorrent via Pirate Bay.

We want to see if giving away copies of the books will have any effect on sales.

“I’ve been in publishing for just over 20 years and my training has not been to give books away,” writes Pollock on the No Starch blog. “But I think there’s something to this and logic tells me that if we increase the visibility of our titles, we’ll sell more books.”

We came up with the idea after reading about the amazing success to bestselling author Paulo Coelho, who seeds his own books to file-sharing networks and then promotes them on his blog. Coelho claims great success with “pirating” his own books, saying it has had a slow but dramatic effect on sales.

Of course, Coelho is an internationally acclaimed author with a high profile, which may account for his success more than giving away free books. But still, it’s an experiment worth trying.

As Pollock says on his blog: “I think that publishers (music and book) are spending too much time circling the wagons and not enough time thinking of ways that they can use technology to advantage. Certainly, our move here is a bit unusual, but someone has to take the plunge. May as well be us.”

Here’s the torrent for Cult of Mac.

And the torrent for Cult of iPod.

If you download the books, remember to keep your torrent client open so that others can also download the files.

Please let me know what you think of the experiment and the books. Send mail to: [email protected]

Look closely at the driver’s side window on Space Shuttle Endeavour. What’s that white thing floating around the cabin in zero G?

Look closer…

It looks like an iPod Classic!

It was spotted in this high-res photo of the Endeavour, by eagle-eyed TUAW reader Walker. The Space Shuttle is presently docked with the International Space Station.

According to TUAW, space-bound iPods have to have their lithium batteries replaced with specially certified alkaline ones. And iPods aren;t allowed inside the ISS, since they aren’t certified as safe on the space station.

UPDATE: The survey has concluded. Thanks to everyone who took part.We’d like to ask you — the readers — for a favor.We’re trying to get a better idea of who you are and what you like to do — more than your thoughtfully-written comments can tell us.So, we’ve crafted a little questionnaire. Click here to take our Cult of Mac reader survey. We’ve kept it as painless as possible. It’s just two pages and it takes about a minute or so to complete. Everything is totally anonymous.Most of it is the standard reader survey stuff (did we mention it’s fast and anonymous?), but when you’re done, we’ll have a better understanding of each other. And really, isn’t that reason enough?

Auto sales are collapsing in Japan, especially among young people who view the car as a climate-destroying anachronism, according to a fascinating report in the Wall Street Journal.

“Young people can borrow their parents’ car, and I think they’d rather spend money on PCs or iPods than cars,” says the student with shaggy hair who is in no rush to get a driver’s license.

Sales of cars in Japan have dropped to the lowest level in a decade. Only 25 percent of Japanese in their 20s want a car, down from about 50 percent in 2000, according to a recent survey cited by the Journal.

Disdain for the car is a growing phenomenon worldwide, the Journal notes.

Apple has sent invites to the press for an “iPhone Software roadmap” event on March 6 at Apple’s Cupertino Campus, according to Engadget.

“Please join us to learn about the iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features,” the invite says.

Let’s hope one of those “exciting new enterprise features” is corporate email. For me, that’s the biggest hole.

Conspicuous by its absence is any mention of the SDK’s introduction date.

Picture: Kitra Cahana/The New York Times

I’ve confirmed that the iPhone no longer runs software applications as “root” — but the iPhone is still insecure, a security expert says.

As reported on Wired.com, the iPhone used to run all software applications as “root” until recently, a flawed architecture that could give hackers complete control of the device. If hackers found a hole in any application, they could take over other functions, using the iPhone to make calls, take pictures or read and send email.

But last month Apple released a firmware update, version 1.1.3, that put most of the major applications in a new account called “mobile.”

While this is better than running all applications in root, it still lumps the applications together, which doesn’t much improve things: The same vulnerability still exits. If any one application is compromised, they are all vulnerable — and the iPhone can still be taken over, says Charlie Miller, principal analyst of software security at Independent Security Evaluators.

Dr. Miller was one of the first security experts to document the iPhone’s flawed architecture.

In a response to an email query sent yesterday, Dr. Miller writes:

Actually, the important apps have not been running as root at least since 1.1.3. See below. This is obviously better than running everything as root.

However, now they seem to run everything unimportant as the user “mobile”.

This doesn’t really solve their security problems because, for example, someone gaining access through a web server attack will still be able to access emails, dial the phone, etc. (At least it appears this way, I haven’t verified this).

A better approach would have been one like the folks at Google took with their Android SDK.

There, every application runs as a separate user in their own directory.

Therefore, each application cannot access the data of another application without the system having explicitly been told to allow it.

In the above example, an attacker who gains access to an Android phone through the web browser could only access things the web browser deals with, such as bookmarks.

They would not have access to mail contacts, saved messages, SMS messages, etc. (at least without doing a second type of attack).

Hope that helps.

Charlie

# uname -a
Darwin Charlie Miller’s iPhone 9.0.0d1 Darwin Kernel Version 9.0.0d1: Wed Dec 12 00:16:00 PST 2007; root:xnu-933.0.0.211.obj~2/RELEASE_ARM_S5L8900XRB iPhone1,1 unknown # ps aux
USER PID %CPU %MEM VSZ RSS TT STAT STARTED TIME COMMAND
mobile 62 2.8 20.3 325440 24080 ?? Ss 9:36AM 1:15.31 /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/SpringBoard
root 1 0.0 0.4 272956 444 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:01.06 /sbin/launchd
mobile 12 0.0 1.4 286128 1604 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:00.37 /usr/sbin/BTServer
root 13 0.0 1.3 282168 1556 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:03.43 /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreTelephony.framework/Support/CommCenter
root 16 0.0 1.3 275864 1516 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:15.53 /usr/sbin/configd
root 17 0.0 0.5 273404 592 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:00.09 /usr/libexec/crashreporterd
mobile 18 0.0 1.4 284764 1632 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:00.86 /System/Library/Frameworks/IAP.framework/Support/iapd
root 19 0.0 0.7 273732 880 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:01.69 /usr/sbin/mDNSResponder -launchd
root 20 0.0 1.1 284208 1296 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:01.25 /usr/libexec/lockdownd
root 21 0.0 0.4 274000 432 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:07.57 /usr/sbin/syslogd
root 22 0.0 0.2 264644 276 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:00.66 /usr/sbin/update
mobile 23 0.0 0.7 273576 792 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:00.12 /usr/libexec/ptpd -t usb
mobile 24 0.0 1.7 290148 2072 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:03.31 /usr/sbin/mediaserverd
root 26 0.0 0.4 273456 428 ?? Ss 8:56AM 0:01.14 /usr/sbin/notifyd
mobile 64 0.0 2.0 309600 2340 ?? S 9:36AM 0:00.93 /Applications/MobilePhone.app/MobilePhone –launchedFromSB –firstLaunch —
mobile 65 0.0 2.5 309112 2940 ?? S 9:36AM 0:02.78 /Applications/MobileMail.app/MobileMail –launchedFromSB –firstLaunch –su
root 81 0.0 7.8 315532 9324 ?? S 9:43AM 0:37.71 /Applications/Installer.app/Installer –launchedFromSB
mobile 82 0.0 12.7 321948 15036 ?? S 9:45AM 0:21.86 /Applications/MobileSafari.app/MobileSafari –launchedFromSB
root 97 0.0 0.6 273276 764 ?? S 9:54AM 0:00.81 /usr/sbin/sshd -i
root 98 0.0 1.0 274168 1164 p0 Ss 9:54AM 0:00.14 -sh
root 100 0.0 0.3 272876 332 p0 R+ 9:54AM 0:00.01 ps aux

Why was the iPhone architected like this, I asked Dr. Miller? His reply: “I think they did it that way because it was the easiest and quickest way to do it. They had a deadline, they had a great product and they wanted to get it out the door and start making money. Clearly, by not running things as root, they are going back and trying to make the things more secure now that the phones are out and in use. However, adding security after the fact if much more difficult (and expensive) then designing it in from the start.”

Picture by axb500

Update: As reader Mike kindly points out in the comments, apps running in root was fixed in the 1.1.3 update. According to Cre.ations.net:
– All applications now run as the user ‘mobile’ instead of as root.
– Preferences are now stored in /var/mobile rather than in /var/root.
Update 2: As Wired.com reporter Kim Zetter points out, this hasn’t been confirmed by anyone except the Cre.ations.net blogger. All other mentions cite Cre.ations.net as the source.
If today’s iPhone’s firmware update is in preparation for an iPhone SDK, the big question is whether Apple fixed the iPhone’s flawed security model.
Do apps still run in root?

Apple on Tuesday released a 1.1.4 firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Available through iTunes, the update is a beefy 165-MByte download, but incredibly, adds no significant new features.

According to iLounge, which examined the update closely and quizzed Apple about it, it’s nothing but bug fixes.

The update is probably laying the groundwork for the iPhone SDK, which Apple promised to release this month.

The 1.1.4 update presents no problem to jailbroken iPhones, TUAW reports — which will be a moot point if sanctioned applications will be released shortly. Who wants to hack their iPhone to load applications if there’s a nice SDK a way to load them through iTunes?

Apple’s iTunes music store has overtaken Best Buy to become the number-two music retailer in the U.S. behind Wal-Mart, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Apple’s growth is likely to continue. Sales of CDs are plummeting while digital downloads grew about 50 percent last year, NPD said.

Most tellingly, nearly 50 percent of U.S. teens didn’t buy any CDs during the year, NPD says.

“Teens are continuing to check out on the CD,” NPD analyst Russ Crupnick told the Associated Press .

Hipster thieves in Williamsburg are interested mostly in Macs, according to a couple of reports in Gawker. Burglars are lifting Macs, but leaving roommates’ Dells and other PCs behind (mostly). One commenter notes: “I’m hoping the roomate with the Dell arranged for the stealing of his asshole roomates Apple equipment.”Hipster Thief Of Williamsburg Wants Only Apple Products
Williamsburg Residents Getting Their iMacs Stolen Left and Right

The tinkerers at iFixit have taken apart the MacBook Air to discover:

• The battery isn’t hard to remove, but it isn’t something you’d do mid-flight when the battery dies.
• Most of the internal volume is taken up by the battery.
• The logicboard is surprisingly small: it looks like something out of an alarm clock, not a reasonably-powered laptop.
• The touchpad uses the same hardware as the iPhone and iPod Touch, which may allow Apple to add new multi-touch gestures via software.
• The hard drive is the slim 80-Gbyte model, not the chubby 160-Gbyte drive found in the iPod Classic. Unfortunately, 80-Gbyte is the maximum capacity of drives this size (5mm deep).
• It’s held together by 88 tiny screws.

During Macworld, Steve Jobs told the New York Times that Apple will not make an e-book reader like Amazon’s Kindle because Americans don’t read any longer.He cited a specific number: 40 percent of Americans read a book or less a year, he said.Jobs may have been referring to a November report from the National Endowment of the Arts, To Read or Not To Read, which found that nearly 50 percent of 18-24 year-olds do not read at all for pleasure. Described as the most complete survey of reading trends, the report says Americans aged 15-24 spend two hours a day watching TV, but only 7-10 minutes reading. This includes reading for school or college.”The story the data tell is simple, consistent, and alarming,” wrote Dana Gioia, Chairman of the NEA.The decline of reading has considerable social, economic and civil consequences, says the NEA, and coincides with the rise of TV and the internet.

Picture: Malabooboo

The tech press is missing the boat with the MacBook Air.

All the grumbling about the price, the absence of an optical drive, the irreplaceable battery, shows that the technical minded misunderstand the machine.

Of course it’s not practical, it’s a fashion computer.

But it seems the target audience — fashionistas — are taking note. A quick Google shows that fashion blogs are raving about the Air.

Coquette, a blog about ‘digital fashion and style by natalie zee drieu, raves about the Air’s potential as an accessory: “This little thing is ready to tote around in your Balenciaga or Gucci bag,” it says. “I’m so getting one!!!!!”

Judging from the comments on those blogs, lots of their readers are bonkers for it too.

Compared to a $1,800 Prada handbag, the MacBook Air is a steal.

Expect long lines at the NYC Soho and Meatpacking stores.

Via Carl Howe at Blackfriars: The MacBook Air is an ideal product — in the right market

This afternoon’s stock sell off after Apple reported some amazing Christmas numbers was initially puzzling. Apple had its best quarter ever — selling a record 2.3 million Macs — yet Wall Street dumped the stock in after hours trading.

Initial reports blamed the sell off on Apple’s cautious guidance for the current quarter. Plus there’s the receding economy, which will put a pinch on Americans’ gadget buying habits.

But here’s the reason: the iPod’s amazing growth has finally slowed to zero.

For the first time in six years, Apple’s key product saw no growth year-to-year in the crucial Christmas period. And there’s only one way to go form here: down.

Looks like the iPod gravy train is finally slowing, and from here on in, we’ll see declining year-on-year sales of Apple’s key gadget.

Chart: Silicon Alley Insider

Via: Infectious Greed

Steve Jobs’ much-ballyhooed movie rental service looks all fine and dandy, but the question in my mind is: “How long will it be before the service offers a single decent movie to rent?”

At present, the movies on offer are even shittier than the local video store, or those available on-demand from my cable providor, Comcast, which utterly stinks.

It’d be depressing if all Apple offered was popcorn garbage. Surely the service is serving the wrong demographic. Early adopters, the kind that run out to buy an AppleTV box, are surely more interested in less mainstream fare. How long will it be before there’s some independent movies, classics, artsy fartsy foreign stuff, and genre titles?

Eagle-eyed readers of Think Secret may have noticed that the site is still publishing.

Many assumed that Think Secret would cease publishing after the site’s owner, Harvard undergrad Nick Ciarelli, reached a settlement with Apple in December concerning Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit, and Ciarelli’s first amendment countersuit. (For which Ciarelli was rumored to have received a low six-figure sum from Apple).

But on Tuesday, Think Secret published a story and two galleries of photos from Macworld. On Monday, the site briefly published a pre-Macworld rumor, but quickly withdrew said item without explanantion. (There’s a screengrab here).

The site’s last day of publishing will be February 14, 2008, according to Dave Hamilton of BackBeat Media, Think Secret’s advertising partner.

“The last day that BackBeat Media-brokered ads will appear on Think Secret is February 14th, 2008, and content will be posted on the site regularly at least until then,” writes Hamilton.

When asked about the situation, Ciarelli sent a note pointing to Hamilton’s blog post, but declined to elaborate further.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

The Steve Jobs/Bill Gates lovefest that first became apparent at the WSJ’s D conference in the summer continues in the Times today. At the end of an post-keynote interview, Jobs said Gates should get a medal for his work at Microsoft! The Times’ Bits Blog reports:

Jobs saved his greatest compliment today for his former archrival Bill Gates, who has now largely retired will retire from Microsoft this summer.”Bill’s retiring from Microsoft is a big deal,” he said. “It’s a significant event, and I think he should be honored for the contributions he’s made.”

Jobs never praises Microsoft or Gates in public. There must be something afoot: A business deal, perhaps? Or maybe Jobs wants to give the Gates Foundation a few billion, but he feels they should first be billionaire buddies, like Warren Buffet?

It looks like there’s a mini backlash brewing against the beautiful but pricey MacBook Air — online at least.

Over at MacRumors, a “first impressions” gallery of the new sub-notebook is drawing far more negative reader comments than positive ones.

Yes, Mac fans like the Air’s thin profile, but there’s a lot of bitching about its limitations — the price, soldered ram, non-replaceable battery, and paying extra for an ethernet port or DVD drive.

“It’s an expensive, disposable toy,” says one MacRumors reader.

If anyone is planning to get married at Macworld this year (like Shawn and Lesa King last year), we’d like to hear your story for Wired.com.

Ditto if you are flying in from New Zealand to attend — or any other far-flung place.

We’d also like to hear from anyone who’s taking their work vacation to attend Macworld.

Please contact Wired.com reporter Jenna Wortham or send an email to me — [email protected].

My two favorite tech news sites — Gizmodo and Ars Technica — are hosting a pre-keynote party in San Francisco on Monday night (the 14th) at Harlot, 46 Minna Street. 8-11.30pm.

Giz editor Brian Lam is promising to buy everyone a beer, and there’s schwag (likely shite) for early birds. I’ll be there, and so apparently will Dan Lyons, aka Fake Steve.

Here’s a handy map to the bar.

UPDATE: I just discovered that the free schwag are copies of my books. Ooops.