Cult of Mac

Businesses and individuals thinking that they have mobile security covered, may need to think again. That’s the message from a new report on mobile security shows that nearly half of people using a personal device like an iPhone, iPad, or Android device are doing so without their company’s knowledge or permission. The same report showed that users frequently access sensitive or confidential data from mobile devices but would stop after a security breach.

Adding to concerns around personal mobile devices and BYOD programs, one third of IT professionals in the survey said that their company has already experienced a mobile-related security incident.

Back in 1985, Big Blue (IBM) was the big bad competition for Apple. So, of course the sales team at Apple, including Steve Jobs, decided to make a video. It being the mid-eighties, the theme obviously had to be the hit of the season, Ghostbusters.

As my esteemed colleague Charlie pointed out yesterday, Polaroid releasing an “official” app that takes Polaroid-style pictures now is a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Then returned, bolted again, walked at a leisurely pace to an airport 2000 miles away, paused for a week, gone trekking in Bhutan, spent some time finding itself in Goa, and finally bolted some more for good measure.

So let’s all just agree that this app is woefully late, because there are already twelve dozen Polaroidish apps on the App Store, many of them very good at their job. So is Polamatic actually any good? The answer’s yes. Yes it is.

SynchroCam is an app that uses the cameras of two iDevices to snap a stereo photo. It then combines the two images into one animated GIF, the kind that flick back and forth and give a trippy 3-D effect.

SoundJaw was a small plastic widget that clipped onto the iPad 2 and reflected the sound from its rear-firing speaker right back in your face. I have one, and it is great — low profile, unobtrusive and very effective. I used it on a trip away last weekend so that we could sip tea and watch The Mentalist in a seaside hotel room (the SoundJaw fits the iPad 3 just fine).

Now, Denver-based designer Matthew McLachlan has come up with the SoundJaw Unlimited. It does the exact same thing as the original, only it will fit onto just about anything — the iPad and iPhone, and also the Kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook and even the giant Samsung Galaxy Note.

One recurring theme from many large companies is that Apple doesn’t act like other enterprise technology companies. It’s a common complaint that CIOs and IT leaders have been making for years. As Apple products have entered more and more businesses, the refrain has gotten louder.

According to Politico, Apple treats lawmakers in Washington in much the same way, which is causing similar reactions in the halls of Congress. While Apple may be able to shrug off concerns about its approach to businesses, it may not be so lucky when it comes Washington insiders.

I have mixed thoughts on home-monitoring systems. On the one hand, you get some peace of mind knowing when the house is empty. But on the other, if the worst does happen, you get to watch the burglar burglarize your home, live, as it happens. I guess at the very least, you do have a warning not to use that toothbrush ever again. Not after the burglar stuck it in his [That’s enough! -Ed].

Still, if you’re going to add cameras to the house, then Logitech’s new “Alert 750n Indoor Master System – with Night Vision” looks pretty good. It uses your home’s powerlines to both power the camera and connect it to the network, and you can monitor it from an iOS app.

Ongoing concerns over the practice of employers requiring prospective and current employees to hand over their social media passwords has led to the introduction of new legislation prohibiting the practice. According to Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) government page, the Password Protection Act of 2012 will enhance current law to prohibit employers from compelling or coercing employees into providing access to their private accounts:

How important are iPads and other tablets to mobile carriers worldwide compared to mobile broadband devices? According to a new study, they’re becoming a critical part of the mobile business. That’s pretty impressive when you consider that before the iPad’s launch two years ago, tablets were a rarity in mobile carrier stores. Today, thanks largely to the iPad, tablets make up 40% of mobile broadband offerings.

Proview has long been battling with Apple over its use of the “iPad” trademark in China, but the Cupertino company has moved to put an end to the dispute by offering a settlement figure of ¥100 million (around $16 million). The problem is, that sum covers very little of Proview’s massive debt, and the company is demanding a $400 million payout instead.

If your new Apple gadget picks up a fault before its warranty expires, Apple will repair or replace your device for free. No matter how long you’ve had it — whether it’s six months old or just one week — you’ll almost always receive a refurbished model as a replacement.

Unless you live in Korea, where Apple has just introduced the “world’s best” after-sales policy, which will provide customers with brand new devices if theirs become defective within one month.

AT&T is looking forward to a future when all devices, including iPads are sold with 3G or LTE built-in. That was the message that the carrier’s Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices, told reporters at this week’s CTIA conference in New Orleans. That approach would be somewhat similar to many smart TV devices that include support for a range of features that users may or may not use – Netflix or Flickr on the Apple TV, for example.

Lurie described the current range of tablet options where devices, including the iPad, come in separate Wi-Fi and 3G/4G models as being “a little out of balance” – a situation he ascribed to the cost difference that 3G and LTE versions of a device compared to its Wi-Fi-only counterparts.

Maybe you’re a world traveler, looking to keep track of the time in the many places you visit around the globe. Or, you might be an office manager, only your offices are spread acloss several different timezones in as many countries. Heck, maybe you just write for a bunch of different websites and your editors need you to keep track of what time it is in their hometown before you call them about a hot story lead. Whatever the reason, today’s tip is an app that will help you with the need for many clocks.

Foxconn chief executive Terry Gou has confirmed that Apple will use some of its cash to help improve the labor conditions for more than 1 million workers in Foxconn’s Chinese factories, where devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod are assembled.

Gameloft has blown us away with its N.O.V.A. 3 teaser trailers over the past few weeks, and today one of the most anticipated iOS games so far this year makes its App Store debut. The series has always been up there with the best first-person shooters for iPhone and iPad, but this release promises to deliver a new benchmark for graphics and gameplay on iOS.

N.O.V.A. 3 could be the best $7 you’ve spent on mobile gaming to date.

Apple could be preparing to kill off OS X Lion early in favor of its predecessor, Mountain Lion, according to the company’s AppleCare training schedule. One source claims that the Cupertino company is already recruiting and training staff for the new release, which could get its debut in June, weeks earlier than expected.

Instapaper 4.2 has just hit the App Store, and it’s a pretty big update. The headline feature is a new iBooks-style page-turn animation, but there is a lot more in there besides.

Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom 4 can now be bought from the Mac App Store. The RAW photo editing app joins Adobe’s own Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, and is Adobe’s first full-featured flagship application to make it into the store.

We absolutely adore a good wallpaper here at Cult of Mac, so we’re thrilled to share 2048px.com with you, the first website solely dedicated to offering beautiful wallpapers for the new iPad’s gorgeous Retina display.

Many people I’ve talked to are anxious to try out the new features Apple has brought to OS X Mountain Lion. Unfortunately, Apple has only made the beta of Mountain Lion available to registered developers. In this video, I’ll show you how you can get the biggest features of Mountain Lion today, using only existing apps.

When Apple introduced Notification Center in iOS 5 last summer, jailbreak developers immediately started creating third-party widgets to enhance certain functionalities and create shortcuts for iOS. Widgets for toggling system preferences, for instance, are now available in Cydia for Notification Center. What would happen if the idea of widgets left Notification Center and made its way to the iOS Home screen?

Prolific Cydia developer Ori Kadosh has released Dashboard X, an ambitious extension for adding floating widgets to your jailbroken iPhone and iPad’s springboard.

Facebook just announced the App Center, a place for discovering and installing social apps/games that tie into Facebook’s developer platform. Apps offered in the App Center will be available on the web and mobile, including Android and iOS devices.

If you think Facebook is trying to take on Apple and Google’s storefronts directly, fret not. The App Center will be part of the official Facebook application and send mobile users to their respective storefronts, whether it be Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

Apple’s online store delivers one of the most satisfying online retail experiences out there. According to customer experience researchers at ForeSee, only one company delivered a better experience than Apple – Amazon. ForeSee also said that Apple (and Amazon) had achieved what it refers to as “the threshold of excellence.” 

Yes, it’s true — well, at least the part about iOS getting a beautiful Google+ app update before Android. The only logical explanation I could come up with for this travesty is that Vic lost a bet during a friendly game of golf with Tim. At least that’s the story I’m telling myself as I weep in a dark corner.

Kidding aside, the new Google+ app looks beautiful, and although iOS users get to use it now, it will be coming to Android soon enough — and is supposed to include a few extra surprises for us Android folks (that won’t win me back Vic! — Okay, maybe it will).

Today Apple released Safari 5.1.7 alongside OS X 10.7.4. The latest Safari update includes several general improvements and bug fixes, including a new way of handling Adobe Flash on the web. If an older version of Flash attempts to run in Safari 5.1.7, Apple’s browser will automatically disable it and give you the option to install the newest version of Flash from Adobe’s website.