BITTERNESS OF IGNORANCE

THE BITTERNESS OF IGNORANCE Melvin D.Banggollay Many genius knew they know everything Like the beginning of almost anything The eyes can behold even those unseen But for an ignorant one who knew nothing Even the origin of just the simple things Never can understand even something. It’s better to suffer the pain of education Specially now that we are in a new revolution Of technological advancement and passion Of almost everything in our time and dominion Than to suffer ignorance’s bitter confusion Of being unaware against modernization. But better for a man who was uneducated But acting like a learned man as if educated Than a man who was highly appreciated For having knowledge of things unabated But acting as if never have learned to love Respect others with wisdom from above.

Apple iPhone: monitoring your personal data secretly

After all the restrictions that Steve Jobs has imposed on the owners of Apple iPhone, now it turns out that Apple is probably secretly collecting personal data from any iPhone.

A power user has found bits of code in the iPhone, that may collect and send personal data, such as IMEI, IP address, and companies you are interested in, to an Apple server via the Weather and Stocks applications. The sent information however is encrypted, so it is not that sure whether it holds the IMEI code of your iPhone. Some experienced users have already reverted the code so that it sends zeroes only. Data monitoring could provide valuable information of how many iPhones have been unlocked, how they are distributed around the world and also for studying user preferences and habits, for example.

Just before you put your tin foil hat on, remember that Apple have stated that "… when you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue." Regardless the legitimate issue of the case, it is definitely immoral for any company to collect personal information in such a secretive manner. Lately, Steve Jobs has been accumulating lots of negativism concerning the iPhone. The latest hot topic was the prosecution of all owners of sites with a domain name including iPhone in it, which led to a spirit of high discontent among the internet society.

The other hot news on behalf of the iPhone, announced by some major news sources, concerns the German unit of Vodafone Group, which has obtained a court order against Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile mobile carrier stating that the German telecommunications giant should start selling unlocked versions of the iPhone in Germany. Deutsche Telekom is selling the iPhone exclusively in Germany along with a mandatory 2-year contract and as such is accused of misuse sales practices. Specifically, Vodafone is questioning the iPhone's exclusive use in T-Mobile's network and the use of the device being limited to certain fees within T- Mobile's subscription offerings. A T-Mobile spokesman has confirmed that the restraining order will be disputed by the respondent.

Apple loosens grip on iPhone software

In an apparent about-face, Apple Inc. will allow third-party applications to work directly on the iPhone, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a posting on the company's Web site Wednesday.

A software development kit will let coders create applications to work directly on the iPhone.

Apple infuriated developers and some iPhone users when it issued a software update September 27 that disabled unofficial programs installed on the handsets.

Until Wednesday, Apple had tried to control which applications consumers had on their iPhones.

Now, Jobs said the company intends to release a software development kit in February that will let coders create applications to work directly on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The Touch is the new iPod portable player that resembles the iPhone but lacks the function of a cell phone.

"We are excited about creating a vibrant third-party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users," Jobs said in the posting.

It is easy to find many unofficial programs for the iPhone on the Internet; users just had to take the risk of installing them, knowing that any damage to the iPhone stemming from unofficial programs was not covered by Apple's warranty.

"I'm thrilled," said Erica Sadun, a Denver computer programmer. "I hope it is exactly as they say, full third-party development."

A Mac enthusiast and blogger -- and a critic of Apple's decision to restrict the iPhone to carrier AT&T Inc. in the United States -- Sadun predicted Apple's change of heart will ultimately help the company sell more iPods and iPhones.

An unknown number of users have "unlocked" their handsets to work on other carrier networks. The September 27 software update reportedly disabled those phones.

It was not clear from Jobs' statement whether the move was a response to the growing discontent around Apple's iron grip over its portable gadgets.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to say why Apple made the change, noting instead that Jobs said the process of opening the iPhone to third-party programs will take time.

Apple's change does not affect the Cupertino-based company's position on keeping the iPhone compatible only with AT&T's network in the United States, Kerris said.

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Two lawsuits were filed against Apple on October 5, accusing the company of engaging in monopolistic behavior and unlawfully restricting consumer choice by preventing users from "unlocking" their iPhones.

The iPhone, which combines a cell phone with a multimedia and wireless Internet device, was released in late June amid a flurry of anticipation. More than 1 million iPhones have been sold.

Apple had allowed developers to build applications that run on the iPhone's Safari Web browser but didn't let programs work directly on the iPhone software platform, which could make them easier to create and make them work more smoothly.

Palm Inc. has always welcomed third-party developers to create applications for its handheld computers, or personal digital assistants. They have created hundreds of programs ranging from medical dictionaries to astrology predictions.

Even without Apple's blessing, developers created workarounds to install applications onto the iPhone this summer. Some did it for sport, others in order to add capabilities to the device, such as to-do-lists or games.

Jobs said it will take until February to release the software kit because the company wants to give developers an open platform and also protect iPhone users from viruses, malware and privacy attacks.

"There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network," he wrote.

Jobs noted that rival Nokia Corp. also does not allow third-party applications to be loaded onto some of its new phones unless the applications have a digital signature that can be traced to a known developer.

"While this makes such a phone less than 'totally open,' we believe it is a step in the right direction," Jobs wrote of Nokia's stance.

New NEC Technology Isolates Viruses At the Core

NEC Multi-Core CPU

NEC has developed a new technology for spotting, isolating and stopping viruses at the core level of its multi-core CPU. Thus, the system keeps running, while the infected core is disabled while a fix is developed and then downloaded from the Internet.

NEC has developed a new technique for running software in separate processes on each core of a multi-core CPU whereby it stops viruses before they spread throughout the Internet-connected device, according to Digital World Tokyo.

NEC has not named the new technology that is designed to spot the virus in any of the software processes and immediately isolate and shut down that core. The technology allows the device to continue operating while the infected core is shut down, thus preventing the infection from spreading into the system.

Utilizing this method of isolation and disabling the mal-functioning core then allows anti-virus software to tackle the problem. In addition, the technique allows the user to hold the virus in place while anti-virus updates are created and then downloaded from the Internet. The technology can be applied to cell phones, cars, and potentially computers.

NEC may be encouraging manufacturers to buy their multi-core chip due to its design with the capability to segregate, isolate and treat sophisticated viruses. As noted by most security companies and software engineers the current and future range of potential harm created by rampant and uncontrollable viruses is a world wide concern.

A technology that allows commercial, governmental and private users to stop the virus dead in its tracks without creating a pandemic spread of sophisticated viruses throughout systems is a innovation worth noting.

3.6 Gbps transmission system NoLA, world's first 4G wireless transmission

Samsung has already passed the criteria set by International Telecommunication Union that describes 4G mobile technology as the technology that can deliver data transfer at a rate of 100Mbps in mobile state and 1Gbps in still conditions. They have demoed their 4G mobile technology. The data transfer at a rate of 100Mbps or 1Gbps looks exhilarating but, just imagine if we could be able to download data at 3.6 gigabits per second.

The mere thought of such a swift data transfer rate makes me mum. Now, South Korea has developed and successfully demonstrated a mobile communications technology dubbed “New Nomadic Local Area Wireless Access (NoLA)” that will allows user to download data at 3.6Gbps, which is higher than 1 Gbps, an international benchmark for 4G mobile communications.