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FTC: Apple and Google need to improve privacy protection in kids' apps
Having investigated 400 randomly chosen apps for kids, the FTC has noted that almost 60 percent of them were transmitting sensitive device information to developers, advertisers or analytics firms. The report points the finger at the app makers and the lack of information given on privacy and interactive features of their wares, with the majority not disclosing the information shared in the app description. Focusing on Apple and Google apps, only 20 percent of those surveyed disclosed any data collection that might occur -- data that often included the location, phone numbers and device IDs of whatever the little tykes were playing on. It's the second such survey from the FTC, which deems the results "disappointing" since hardly any progress has been made since the commission first noted this stealth sharing issue. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, "All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job." In short, the FTC wants Apple and Google to get more involved in policing these apps, and it's been pressing that point for quite some time already.
Audiobus claims to mix audio sources on your iOS device
We've seen before that iOS can be very powerful in terms of producing audio, but there's one big drawback, and it's that iPhones and iPads are still only designed to be used for one task at a time. If you want to do more than one task at a time (like combining beats with a synth, or processing and recording vocals), you're either out of luck, or you have to find an app that does both. Until now, apparently. Audiobus is a brand new app for iOS that purports to have solved this problem, and will combine audio sources and actions across multiple apps somehow. That means that with Audiobus, you can play synths in one app, play drums in another, and record them all together in a third. There are a few catches, not surprisingly. The first is that each app you use must be Audiobus compatible -- you can't just combine any app's output with any other, sadly. But there's a solid list of Audiobus apps available already, and presumably adding the compatibility in isn't too hard. Second, of course, using multiple apps at the same time can push the processor a little bit, so Audiobus recommends you use newer devices, in order to get as much power as possible. But otherwise, this sounds like a nifty suggestion for the apps listed as compatible. Audiobus is available now for $9.99. I think this is probably the next area where Apple can grow with an official solution. Obviously, Apple has wanted to keep iOS devices targeted towards one task at a time, but if third parties start creating other ways for apps to connect, Apple may get pressured to release more and more options for sharing information across multiple apps.
New product information now available on Apple.com
Apple has posted new information and new specs about all of the products announced today over on its website. The new iPad mini is probably the biggest news of the day; Apple has squeezed down the iPad into a smaller package, while still holding up the same resolution as the iPad 2 and the same great experience. The price seems a little high to us, but we'll have to see how the new device does when it ships in November. The brand new iMac is gorgeous, probably the most surprising release today. Apple's brought all of its mobile engineering knowledge to bear on a new desktop computer that seems like a bargain starting at $1299. The 13-inch MacBook Pro got a revamp, as well as a Retina display to match its 15-inch brother. The new laptop looks great, and be sure to check out Apple's material on the Fusion Drive option in these new computers. It's a wild combination of hard drive and flash memory that should make loading apps and data faster than ever. The Mac mini also got a very nice update, and don't forget to check out the new server version preloaded with Apple's server apps. And, finally, the iPad got revamped for a fourth generation, less than six months after the third generation was announced. This update was a little surprising (especially for third-generation iPad users), but it makes sense that Apple would want to make sure the full-sized iPad was updated to match its new little sibling. If you already have a third-generation iPad, this probably won't do much for you. But for anyone looking for a new iPad, the latest version looks to be more powerful than ever. All great stuff from Apple today, and be sure to check out the product pages for some neat Easter eggs with the images. These products will ship very soon, so in the meantime, the best we can do is pore over all of Apple's materials on the website, and poke around the couch to find enough money to afford them all.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Galactic Encyclopedia due out October 12th
Those of you who want a more detailed look at the story behind Star Wars: The Old Republic are going to get your wish on October 15th with the Star Wars: The Old Republic Galactic Encyclopedia. The book contains a full rundown of the game's historical events, classes, persons of interests, ships, hardware, races, and so on. And it has a new trailer as of today because apparently books now get video trailers. Clocking in at 352 pages, the hardcover volume is penned by several members of the SWTOR writing team and explores the nuances behind the universe as presented in the game. The book is set to feature a full timeline and a number of pages on important events, useful for piecing together the full story from somewhat fragmented in-game lore. It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon and should be more than worth the value for roleplayers or dedicated lore hounds. Take a look at the trailer just past the cut.
Comixology sends out call for comic creator info
As we've said before, Comixology has essentially conquered the App Store for comics on the iPad. There are a few companies and options out there for buying digital comic books, but Comixology (with its Comics app) has secured a huge collection for sale, and offers up great prices in conjunction with huge comics publishers almost every week. Now it sounds like the company is trying something completely new. It's sent out "a call for creator info," which is a 26 week initiative (starting at the Baltimore Comic-Con) to put together photos and information about 6,000 different comic book creators, from artists and writers to inkers, letterers and editors. They're hoping to collect all of this information via the company's Twitter account, and then presumably it'll all be included in the app eventually, creating a huge database of comic book creators to browse through. Comixology is hoping to do one letter a week, so by midway through next year, they should have a pretty substantial amount of information. They've already put together a great resource for us comic book readers on the iPad and a database like this would also be much appreciated.
PlayStation All-Stars public beta now accepting applications
The PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale public beta starts on September 11, lasting one week to September 18. Anyone interested in being a part of the frantic action can sign up on the PSN beta site right now.Players chosen will be notified via email, get a voucher code for the download on either PS3 or the PS Vita, and receive "test night information." Presumably, developer SuperBot will aim to test specific heroes, modes, or stages, so it'll direct players that way.If you don't make this early cut, you'll have to wait until the full game arrives on November 20.
Smartphones find a growing role in the kitchen
This is a trend that has been going on for a while now, but this is the first time I've seen some real, solid numbers on it. Smartphones are playing a bigger and bigger role in kitchens, of all places. Back in the day, I remember most phones being too fragile and too problematic in the UI department to really be useful in the kitchen, but with big, sturdy tablets and phones these days, and apps that let you do anything with voice commands or just a swipe on the screen, smartphones while cooking or baking are more popular than ever. Allrecipes.com says that a full 15% of all cooks have viewed a cooking video on their smartphones, while even higher percentages have used iOS and other tablet devices to snap photos of food while cooking or out and about, or looked up a recipe online. Most recipes are still found through search engines, but cooking sites make up a big percentage of recipe lookups and information finding about food. And Allrecipes says the future is even brighter: 44% of people polled say online cooking sites are their best source of food information right now (as opposed to cookbooks or other cooks), and that figure will likely grow as these websites become more useful. Cooks also expect the role of the smartphone itself to grow, as they use their smartphone for coupons, or to even order or pay for food in the future. There are a number of factors going into this transformation, but if smartphones continue on in the direction they're going, we could use them not just to call up and order a meal, but to pay for that meal, and then also see how to serve and cook it as well. [via Gigaom]
Waze adds gas prices to its consumer-powered traffic app
Waze is a socially-driven traffic app that we've posted about before. Today, the company has released a big update: Gas prices. Now, in addition to browsing socially-driven information about traffic, accidents, and speed traps, you can search your area for the cheapest prices and get directions to the leading gas station. Unfortunately, information is provided by other users, so it can be inaccurate or even absent. If you're living in a city with lots of Waze users (like my own city of Los Angeles), the app can be really helpful in getting you around town. But if you're living in the middle of nowhere, there likely won't be nearly as much helpful or up-to-date information. Still, finding a good deal on gas could save you a lot of money, and Waze is also teaming up with certain gas stations to offer in-app deals occasionally. Traffic apps like Waze are definitely going to need some innovation to stay ahead of Apple's shiny new Maps app due out later this year, and this is a nice start. Waze is a free download on the App Store now.
First signs of Google's new 'semantic search' spotted, put to good use
So, Google wasn't merry-dancing when it promised to update its search engine with new "semantic" algorithms. One of our readers sent in the screen grab above, which shows what happens when they search for "Howard Carter." In addition to all the regular links, there's a box on the right that seems to be distinctly aware of who that poor fellow was (er, happy birthday old bean). We haven't been able to replicate these results, which probably means it's a limited roll-out at this time. Nevertheless, if we're right, then this archaeologist's name will have wormed its way through Mountain View's constantly updated knowledge database, which we're told can link facts together rather than just match keywords. Carter's cause of death? Hmm, clearly the system still as a few things to learn about mummies and curses. [Thanks, Joseph]
Mists of Pandaria news coming in March with press sneak peek
Blizzard has announced that some information is coming about the highly anticipated Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's fourth expansion -- well, information with regards to when there will be information about Mists of Pandaria. In the middle of March, Blizzard will hold a special press event for members of the media to see what kind of progress has been made, in showable form, since BlizzCon 2011's impressively far-along demo. As Nethaera posted, information is coming, and we now have a date. This feels like Blizzard's taking a page from the Apple book. Pressers and hype events like these work incredibly well for a company like Blizzard that is very much an Apple of its industry. By calling its own press conferences, conventions, and press trips rather than announcing information amongst the rest of the gaming industry at conventions like PAX, the message is much more focused and clear -- the cacophony is removed. I'm excited to know when new information will be available. Of course, I'd rather have the information, but a day to hope for is better than nothing. It's gonna get busy in March.
ESRB warning might reveal new characters for Street Fighter X Tekken
Street Fighter X Tekken has been officially listed by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (T for Teen, if you're wondering), and some details in the listing may have revealed a few more characters for the game. The description of possibly objectionable content in the game mentions both a character that uses "chainsaws," as well as the fact that "one wobbly character uses 'drunken' fighting moves."Neither of those descriptions matches any of the announced characters thus far, and fans have jumped to the conclusion that Tekken's Alisa Bosconovitch (who wields chainsaw arms) and drunken fighter Lei Wulong may be making an appearance in the crossover. It certainly seems possible, and this wouldn't be the first time ESRB has mentioned information in its warnings that was supposed to be secret. With the game due out next month, we'll know the truth before long.
Chinese hackers target U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sensitive data stolen
According to sources close to The Wall Street Journal, Chinese hackers are at it again, this time hitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and capturing information from three million members. Those familiar with the matter told the WSJ that hackers stole around six weeks worth of emails regarding Asian policy, but may have had access to sensitive correspondences for as long as a year. The Chamber only learned it was under attack when the FBI sent an alert that servers in China were stealing information, although the exact amount of data stolen is unknown. After confirming the breach, the Chamber shut down and destroyed parts of its computer network, proceeding to revamp its security system over a 36-hour period. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time the U.S. of A has fallen victim to Chinese hackers, as both Google and NASA have experienced breaches over the past few years. The Chamber is currently investigating the attack, hoping to find some digital clues that might reveal the details of who done it and why.
Daily iPhone App: Wolfram Alpha
Games are popular on the App Store right now (check out the lists of top paid and free aps), but several readers have asked us to extend beyond games with the Daily iPhone App series. So, here you go. Wolfram Alpha for iPhone is a mobile version of the very useful "computational knowledge engine" service. Just like the online version, Wolfram Alpha for iPhone provides answers to your questions about math, almanac-style timetables, or just about anything else you need to know. Answers are provided in the form of text, images, tables, charts, graphs, grids, and so on. The app does require an Internet connection, unfortunately, but it's recently been tuned up and streamlined, so it should be faster than ever. The app has also gotten support of Facebook sharing, so if you find something interesting, you can make sure your friends see it as well. WolframAlpha can be super helpful whenever you're out and about. The universal app is available on the App Store for US$1.99.
The costly gamble of designing iOS cases based on rumors
Bloomberg's Businessweek has a nice writeup on one of the shadier practices around a new Apple launch like the iPhone 4S this week: case manufacturers building their entire product lines off of leaked or sometimes illicitly obtained information. Businessweek profiles Tim Hickman of Hard Candy Cases (who's been forthcoming with us here at TUAW in the past about how he manufactures cases to be ready for new Apple products as soon as possible), and talks about how he and other manufacturers often build cases on leaked or incomplete information, always hoping to be the first to market to go around the latest and greatest iPhone. Hickman is probably the most open about this practice (for better or worse -- someone in the article suggests his investors should be "nervous") but I've seen lots of other companies do this, even if specifics about it are off the record. As Hickman says in the article, Apple frowns on the practice, and Apple's blessing is what lands case products on Apple Store shelves, so it's obvious why most companies wouldn't be all that forthcoming about it. Still, in the competitive world of iPhone and iPad cases, every advantage counts, so these companies will build cases based on whatever information they can get. Gambling even as much as $50,000, which Hickman says he spent on cases for what he hoped would be a thinner iPhone 4S (all wasted when the exterior design turned out to be the same as the iPhone 4), can be worth it, whether in terms of future research or early profit when the guesses are right.
Ask Massively: Elephant facts are astonishing edition
Elephants, according to Wikipedia, are large land mammals that broadcast Christian contemporary music in the Colorado region. They were first sighted at the 1997 X-Games, at which point they served as architects for Philadelphia's school buildings from 1920 to 1937 with liberal use of a time machine. After winning the 2009 Romanian Figure Skating Championships, these gentle insectoid robots used a collection of treasury notes to finance the filming of several short crime dramas. All of these facts are well-known about elephants, or possibly about several unrelated topics that were viewed via Wikipedia's random article button. Now that I've answered all of the questions you didn't have about elephants, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, in which I address an entirely different sort of elephant. If you have a question for a future installment of the column, you can leave it in the comments or mail it along to ask@massively.com.
Pew: Half of US customers use phones to get info in realtime
Have you ever been out and about with your cell phone, needed some information, and looked it up right there on the spot? You're not alone: The Pew Internet Research Project has released a report that says more than half of US cell phone owners have used their devices to get information they needed in real-time, right where they happen to be. That's a huge change in the way we used to deal with information -- remember when you had to print out maps or call ahead before you went somewhere, or just forget what the name of that '80s movie actually was? Nowadays, connected phones are so ubiquitous that all of that information is literally and conveniently a touch away. In fact, I'm surprised that number isn't higher. And looking up information isn't the only thing smartphone owners do with their phones: 92 percent text and take pictures, 80 percent send photos to others, and 76 percent send emails. Social networking in general is popular as well, with 59 percent of owners using those sites, and 15 percent going to Twitter specifically. We've heard before that people are actively doing these kinds of things with their smartphones, but the trend is definitely continuing.
Half of iPad subscribers willing to share information
At first, publishers were wary of the terms of publishing for Apple's iPad that would require them to ask consumers whether or not they could use their information. In traditional magazine publishing, magazines would get access to their subscribers' information, and publishers worried that they wouldn't under this new deal. But it turns out those worries were unfounded. According to Forbes, Apple has confirmed that 50 percent of subscribers are providing their information anyway. Mark Edmiston of Nomad Editions says, "what was an insurmountable obstacle no longer is." Go figure. 50 percent is still less than 100 percent, which is what publishers had with their original paper subscription plans. But it's also better than nothing, which is what publishers were worried they would end up with. With a little tweaking, offering things like free content or other incentives to share that information, publishers could get a great rate of return. Just goes to show that while there are certainly obstacles for publishers to overcome in this new age of digital publishing to tablets, not all of them are "insurmountable."
Apple officially answers questions on location tracking, says it doesn't do it
1. Why is Apple tracking the location of my iPhone? Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so. The big hubbub that arose last week around location tracking within the iPhone has now received its due response from Apple itself. Firstly, the Cupertino company claims it does not, and has no plans to, track users' iPhones. What it's actually doing is "maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location," which are then used to provide speedier calculation of your position when you want to use the device's maps or other location-based services. The data collection that was recently brought to the public attention represents, according to Apple, the location of WiFi hotspots and cell towers around you, not your actual iPhone. Still, the fact iPhones have been shown to store as much as a year's worth of data is considered a bug by Apple, who plans to limit that period to a week in a future software update. The additional issue of data being collected after users turned off Location Services is also a bug, also to be fixed by Apple in that upcoming update. Left unanswered, however, are the questions of when Apple "uncovered" these bugs, as it claims, and why the fix for them is only coming now. Specialists have known about this behavior since at least September of last year. Either way, the software remedy is promised over the next few weeks, while the next major iteration of iOS should encrypt the cache file that's been the subject of all the scrutiny. You'll find the full Q&A after the break. P.S. -- One of Apple's answers seems to disclose an extra bit of new information: "Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years."
'3D Towers' double disk storage capacity, don't require glasses
Here's some exciting news for all you data storage enthusiasts and academics out there: researchers in France have found a way to double the storage capacity of magnetic disk drives by constructing "3D towers" of information. The team from SPINTEC created these pillars out of bit-patterned media -- separated magnetic nanodots, each of which carries one bit of data. By layering the dots in specific formations, the team created a "multilevel magnetic recording device" with an areal density of two bits per dot -- twice what it started with. According to researcher Jerome Moritz, these findings could provide IT companies with a new way to circumvent physical limitations to their data storage capacities, allowing them to build up and over the vaunted one Tbit per square inch barrier. The team's full findings were recently published in the American Institute of Physics' Journal of Applied Physics. You can read the full article at the source link or, if you're afraid of paywalls, just check out the PR below.
Our annual data consumption estimated at 9.57 zettabytes or 9,570,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes
The internet is a mighty big place that's only growing larger each day. That makes it a perfectly unwieldy thing to measure, but the traffic it generates has nonetheless been subjected to a rigorous estimation project by a group of UC San Diego academics. Their findings, published online this month, reveal that in 2008 some 9.57 zettabytes made their way in and out of servers across the globe. Some data bits, such as an email passing through multiple servers, might be counted more than once in their accounting, but the overall result is still considered an under-estimation because it doesn't address privately built servers, such as those Google, Microsoft and others run in their backyards. On a per-worker basis (using a 3.18 billion human workforce number), all this data consumption amounts to 12GB daily or around 3TB per year. So it seems that while we might not have yet reached the bliss of the paperless office, we're guzzling down data as if we were. Check out the report below for fuller details on the study and its methodology.
