Wired
Latest
uChek raises the stakes in smartphone health care with camera-based urine analysis
The iPhone. Is there anything it can't do? The trend towards self-monitoring and informal health tracking continues with uChek. Featured today over at Wired, this app enables you to automatically read, chart and track a variety of urinalysis tests on your iPhone. The product works by leveraging the iPhone's highly sensitive camera to read tints from inexpensive urine dip stick tests. Developed by Mumbai-based Myshkin Ingawale, an MIT grad, the app shifts monitoring away from expensive clinics and into the home. I do worry about lighting variation but I assume there will be calibration of some sort built into the test strips. It's still early days. The website is still creaky. I was unable to sign up for the email list and the shop, which will eventually sell the test strips for US$20 a package, hasn't gone live yet. Here's a TED talk from last year, where Ingawale talks about an earlier invention called ToucHb. It introduced blood tests without needles.
The future of Apple UI
Now that Scott Forstall is no longer in charge of iOS and Jony Ive is overseeing both product design and user experience, signs are pointing to a major overhaul of the user interfaces for iOS, OS X and the Apple-created apps that are part of the operating systems. Wired's Christina Bonnington thinks a significant redesign is on the way, although it might not happen in the near future. Bonnington points to several recent events that point the way to revamped Apple user interfaces. First, there's a job listing for senior software engineers for Apple's iLife suite that lists "help us re-imagine how user interfaces should be built and work" as a requirement. That's a big task, considering that iLife is a core application included with every Mac. Next, the company is looking for someone to give Siri a more distinct personality. There's a third job listing for a person who can create a new set of APIs and frameworks for iOS. In addition to those job listings, there's Ive in his new position and Craig Federighi's new oversight of both iOS and OS X development teams. All of this appears to point in the direction of a major overhaul that will eschew skeuomorphic UI elements, which Wired's Clive Thompson referred to as "metaphors of the past." This year's WWDC is probably too soon to expect a dramatic change in Apple's approach to user interfaces. Change is not only inevitable for the company, but a necessity.
Apple's Passbook a boon for developers
Apple's Passbook has a surprising set of fans; app developers. A Wired post this morning describes how a variety of companies have seen uptake of their apps skyrocket once Passbook compatibility was added. As an example, beauty retailer Sephora saw 38,000 more downloads of its app than usual on the day Passbook launched, and on that day 10,000 of its "Beauty Insider" loyalty cards were added to Passbook. That number is now at 375,000, and Sephora is also using Passbook for gift cards. American Airlines also saw a huge bump in downloads of its app, with an additional 1 million downloads. At this time, close to 20,000 boarding passes are generated for Passbook every day, and the airline counts about 1.5 million active users of its app. Passbook is apparently working better for many companies than Android's wallet technology, which utilizes Near Field Communication (NFC). More retailers have bar code readers available than RF reader systems, although Passbook doesn't offer the payment options that NFC has. Life with Passbook isn't all rosy, however. Some users have complained about the need to have an interim app to create a pass. For example, United Airlines boarding passes and Fandango movie tickets both require that the user have the particular company's app installed to create a pass. Phil Easter, American Airlines' director of mobile apps, notes that "Apple did a really good job of defining the spec and putting out all the required technical documents. It was one of the more straightforward implementations for our tech team."
NC State builds stretchable wires from liquid metal, keeps headphones humming (video)
More than a few of us have had that moment of panic when our headphone cords catch on an object and cut the listening short -- sometimes permanently. Researchers at North Carolina State University could help mitigate those minor musical catastrophes with wiring that stretches up to eight times its normal length. The method fills an elastic polymer tube with a liquid gallium and indium alloy that delivers the electricity. By keeping the materials separate, unlike many past attempts, the solution promises the best of both worlds: the conduction we need, and the tolerance for tugs that we want. NC State already has an eye on stretchable headphone cords, as you'll see in the video after the break, but it also sees advantages for electronic textiles that could endure further abuse. As long as the team can eventually solve a problem with leakage when there's a complete break, we'll be glad enough to leave one of our common audio mishaps in the past.
Why original iPads still sell well
Back when it first shipped in 2010, the original iPad was considered a miracle of modern technology. As with most consumer electronic devices, though, the minute its successor -- the iPad 2 -- was out the door, the original iPad was shunned for the shinier, faster models. But as Wired Enterprise blogger Robert McMillan reports today, original iPads are not only keeping their value, but they're really quite the bargain for a big screen tablet. Wired performed a study and found that used first-generation iPads are selling well, often at a price tag about US$100 less than a comparable iPad mini. The study quoted Nicholas Fiorentino of Totem, a used equipment reseller in San Diego, as saying "We are shocked at how well the iPad has held its value thus far. There are a lot of people who don't need all the bells and whistles that the iPad 2 and iPad 3 have." At this point, a first-generation Wi-Fi iPad with 16 GB of storage sells for an average price of $236. That same device sold for $499 in April of 2010, meaning that it's retained almost half of its value. Wired compares that to a Lenovo T410 ThinkPad, which came out at about the same time at $1,270 -- used ThinkPads are now available on eBay for about $300, having lost about three-quarters of their value. It's expected that the price of an original iPad will drop to about $50 within four years, making the device an irresistible buy for tech-savvy bargain hunters.
Amazon responds to iCloud account hacking
Amazon is taking action after learning of the inadvertent role it played in Wired writer Mat Honan's digital nightmare last week, when his iCloud account password was compromised and his Mac was wiped. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told Wired on Monday that processes were being reviewed, but Amazon has actually enacted a new security policy in light of what happened to Honan. As of today, Amazon will no longer allow users to change account settings, including credit card information and email addresses associated with the account, via phone. Wired confirmed this change while trying unsuccessfully to replicate the social engineering steps used to get into Honan's accounts. We've yet to see exactly what steps Apple is taking to rectify the security issues, but Wired's Robert McMillan has written a good piece on why Apple's secure password advice is no help against the sort of information phishing that caused the loss of Honan's data.
Mat Honan details the Amazon and Apple security flaws that let hackers wipe his MacBook
Late Friday, Wired writer Mat Honan ran into a digital buzzsaw as his iCloud, Gmail and Twitter accounts were compromised in rapid succession. The hackers did a tremendous amount of collateral damage along the way, spewing racist and homophobic tweets on Honan's account plus the Gizmodo Twitter account (linked to his). Worse, they proceeded to wipe all the data from his iPhone, iPad and his Mac laptop via Find My iPhone and Find My Mac. Honan has now posted the first in a series of articles on Wired detailing what happened, and how the hackers were able to take advantage of critical bits of exposed information on different services to get into his accounts. The target, apparently, was always his Twitter account -- the three-letter @mat handle was irresistible to the hackers, and they wanted to use it to wreak mayhem. The chain of calamity began with the hackers finding Honan's Gmail address via his linked personal webpage off the @mat Twitter account and assuming correctly that it was the email address for his Twitter account. With that detail, they could go to the account recovery page for Gmail and -- without actually attempting to break into his account -- see a partial email address "m....n@me.com" already configured for account recovery. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess what the missing letters are there, and once they knew Honan's Gmail password reset would be heading for iCloud, they knew they had an easy path ahead. Honan pinpoints this bit of personal info as the key to the entire attack. "If I had some other account aside from an Apple email address, or had used two factor authentication for Gmail, everything would have stopped here. But using the .Me email account as a backup told the hacker I had an AppleID account, which meant I was vulnerable to being hacked." In fact, the hackers needed only to collect a few readily (or nearly so) accessible bits of information in order to get Honan's iCloud password: Honan's home address (scraped from domain registration records; note that many registrars will now obscure your address for this reason) The .me email address (gleaned from Google account recovery page) The last four digits of the credit card on file for the iCloud account That last one is the killer. Through a series of simple social hacks of Amazon's account maintenance -- no more complex than a few phone calls and a fake but properly formatted credit card number -- it's possible to expose the last four digits of all the credit card numbers on an Amazon user account. Given that detail, AppleCare will apparently issue a temporary iCloud password for you, even if you cannot accurately answer the security questions on file. Temp password leads to password reset; password reset leads to owner getting locked out of the account; all leads to suffering. Needless to say, this is what some would call a balagan. If it's that simple, in theory, to get an iCloud password reset on the fly, then iTunes accounts and Find My Mac wipes are both in serious jeopardy -- to say nothing of email or location privacy. Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris told Honan that some internal policies were not followed in his case, but Wired staffers were able to replicate the account access exploit twice over the weekend ... seems like a fairly common policy violation, no? I would think we'll hear more from Apple on how it plans to address this functional vulnerability in the next few days. Meanwhile, there are a few sensible steps you can take to help secure your account: Don't use your iCloud email account as a password recovery account for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, etc. You can and probably should set up a "blind" account for password recovery on a service you don't use for any other purpose, with an address that is never publicized or used to sign into social media sites. Use different payment methods for iTunes/iCloud and for Amazon. Don't save credit cards on your Amazon account. Keeping your last four digits off of Amazon's servers means they can't be shared with bad guys. Turn ON two-factor authentication where possible. Google allows you to set your account to require a separate check via cellphone or the Google Authenticator app when you log in from a new machine or when you try to change security settings. (Counterpoint: Security expert Bruce Schneier did not think much of two-factor auth back in 2005.) Turn off Find My Mac. Until Apple closes this hole, the risk of someone hacking your iCloud account for kicks and wiping your hard drive in the process is unknowable -- but probably too high. Back up, back up, back up. Honan's regrets are many: that he did not have current backups of his laptop, and as a result might have lost irreplaceable photos of his family; that his Google and iCloud accounts were cross-linked for recovery; that he did not set up a separate recovery account. But he's mostly upset that he turned on Find My Mac. We invite your feedback and questions in the comments, but please keep it civil and constructive. Thanks.
Why entrepreneurs look to Steve Jobs for guidance (and why they shouldn't)
There's something about the juxtaposition of Apple stories and religious imagery that hits Wired magazine's design team right where they live. In 1997, the magazine's notorious 101 Ways to Save Apple story was represented on the cover by an Apple logo circled in a martyr's crown of thorns; this month, cover subject Steve Jobs is graced with both an angel's halo and a pair of devil's horns. (If we get to a cover of Tim Cook, Jony Ive and Scott Forstall dressed as a minister, a rabbi and an imam, I'm canceling my subscription.) Ben Austen's story, about the impact Steve's legacy has on today's entrepreneurs, is worth a read. Whether they take the Jobs story as a model for business behavior -- don't accept anything but the best, push people as hard as you have to, rules are for the other guy -- or as a cautionary tale, there's no figure in business as compelling or polarizing as Apple's co-founder. Austen got takes on Jobs from Square engineer Tristan O'Tierney, Box founder Aaron Levie, StackExchange's Jeff Atwood and Metafilter's Matt Haughey, among others. Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson told Austen he thinks many of his readers are drawing the wrong lessons by focusing on the abrasive nature of Steve's personality, rather than the true keys to his success. Isaacson published a corrective essay in the Harvard Business Review (paywall) covering 14 core characteristics that helped make Steve (and Apple, and Pixar) successful. For company founders, managers and leaders who take Steve Jobs as their model, my observation is this: Yes, Steve Jobs maintained the loyalty of his closest colleagues and got incredible work out of a vast enterprise while, it is generally believed, treating people like shit. You may think that this is an approach worth emulating, but you should also remember that you're not Steve Jobs, and you may not get away with it the way he did.
Clever iPhone, iPad DIY projects
Wired has a great little roundup of eight do-it-yourself projects for iPhone and iPad owners today, so if you need some inspiration for your next project, be sure to give it a look. The first idea on Wired's list isn't anything new -- in fact, our own intrepid blogger and developer Erica Sadun showed us her similar use of an inexpensive wire "study stand" to hold an iPad (see photo above) way back in April 2010. Erica's might be a bit more pricey at US$6.99 than the metal bookend and rubber foot mashup from Instructables, but it also looks better. Next, there's an iPhone amp made out of a bike horn that's pretty cool, and someone demonstrates how to make paper pockets that can be stuck onto the back of an iMac to keep a USB cable under control. My personal favorite from the Wired post has to be the use of a wide rubber band as a cheap and replaceable iPhone bumper. It actually looks pretty good, too! Once you're done looking at the Wired post, I highly recommend taking a look at Erica's posts over the past few years that point out some cheap alternatives to expensive accessories. Here are two more for your reading enjoyment: Accessorizing your iPad ... for cheap! My ridiculously convenient iPad set-up
Apple Store artist's first-person story of his visit from the Secret Service
Kyle McDonald is the artist behind the controversial "People Staring at Computers" project that captured images of people staring at Mac computers in Apple's New York City stores. After his project went viral, the artist was paid a not-so-friendly visit by the Secret Service. His adventure is detailed in a first-person account published recently on Wired's Threat Level column. It's a lengthy look at the artist and his dealings with Apple, the EFF and the Secret Service. [Via Slashdot]
Android Army: US soldiers to leverage portable battlefield network and smartphones
Smartphones: the future of wartime communication? That is the goal of the US Army through the development of its portable wireless network, dubbed Warfighter Information Network-Tactical or WIN-T. The Army hopes to leverage WIN-T to bring near-instant digital communication to the battlefield by outfitting soldiers with Motorola Atrix handsets running a heavily modified version of Android. An exposé by Wired explains that the system's main goal is information and intelligence sharing; between both soldiers and central command. Friendly troop positions, suspicious vehicles or persons and surveillance video from unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) can all be mapped and shared with servicemen and women in the field. It's been a dream of the Pentagon since the mid-nineties, but has only recently become monetarily and technologically feasible due to advances in smartphone processing power. It's nerdy, it's fascinating... and this is the stuff the Army is willing to talk about. Hit the source link for the full write-up.
First issue of WIRED re-released as an iPad app
Are you a fan of WIRED Magazine? The first issue of the Condé Nast tech magazine appeared back in January of 1993 with futurist Bruce Sterling talking about war and MIT Media Lab's Nicholas Negroponte pontificating about "What's wrong with HDTV." WIRED fans who want to relive the past of the future (think about it...) can now get a free iPad version of that first issue. To read WIRED 1.1.1, you're going to need to have the existing WIRED Magazine app (free), which is loaded into the iOS Newsstand. Look for an icon for "The Premiere Issue Revisited" to download the material, but make sure that you have a lot of free space on your iPad to hold the 1.3GB file. You'll also need a lot of time to download that issue. The first issue has been replicated, annotated, and includes a full photo archive and a 12,000 word oral history. For WIRED readers or those curious about a tech magazine that has survived almost 20 years when others have gone by the wayside, it's an awesome read. The two-page Apple PowerBook advertisement is worth the download time alone! [via The Verge]
On buying iPads for your kids
When it comes to talking about buying iPads for kids, I'm probably the last person to ask since I have no children. That's why it's a good thing that Wired's Brad Moon wrote a lovely post in which he explains his reasons for purchasing an iPad for each of his three children. For Moon, the decision wasn't made just because the family had moved wholeheartedly into a digital lifestyle -- replacing books with ebooks, cable with Apple TVs and streaming video, traditional photography with digital, and more. His kids are gamers and Moon saw an upgrade to a Nintendo 3DS handheld coming up. As Moon put it, "If three kids were to eventually upgrade, that's $150 each for the 3DS hardware. Cartridges run $20 to $40 apiece and I don't know about your household, but in mine there will be skirmishes over popular titles." OK, so we're now talking about a total close to the cost of a single 16 GB iPad. But Moon and his wife started thinking about the bigger picture. Their family does a lot of driving trips, and the iPad -- with its 10 hour battery life -- is perfect for keeping kids engaged and entertained. Moon notes that every time a new game came out for Nintendo, he needed to spend an average of $30 for a cartridge ... per kid. iPad games are more reasonably priced at $1 to $5, and everyone gets the game with one purchase. The iPads aren't there just for fun. Moon says that he finds many apps that are available for helping his kids learn, including math and French quiz apps. And since there's only one computer available for the Moon kids to use for homework, the individual iPads offer a great way for them to do research and take notes -- anywhere. Lest you think that all writers are loaded with cash, Moon notes that Apple's refurb store is the perfect place to find decent hardware at reasonable prices. As he mentions, a first-generation refurb was available (with a one-year warranty) for $299, and now iPad 2s are available for $399 every day. He also recommends buying the iPad(s) in lieu of other Christmas presents as a way to ease the monetary pain a bit. Have you bought iPads for the kids, or handed down a first or second-generation iPad to the young ones? Do you find that the iPad is a great investment in the future of your children? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below.
Pain Gun vs. Reporter round two, reporter left feelin' hot, hot, hot (video)
You may not recall when 60 Minutes' David Martin took a shot at the Pain Gun, but it didn't end well for the fleshy anchorman. Now Wired's Spencer Ackerman's having a go, with similarly one-sided results. The Pentagon's sanguinely-named Active Denial System turns electricity into millimeter-wave radio frequency, silently pumping out 95GHz of searing hot agony from distances of 2,500 feet. The project's still got a few issues, namely that it takes 16 hours to boot up, uses a heck of a lot of energy and stops working if it's raining, snowing or dusty. But, you know, it'll be back when the air clears up, and you probably don't want to be around when it arrives. If you'd like to see the score go 2-0 to the weaponized microwave, head on past the break.
Huawei hurls Gigabit broadband across 100 meters of old copper
There's little point in having a super-speedy optic backbone if broadband gets yellow-flagged on the final straight between junction box and home. But Huawei claims it's developed prototype DSL technology that can deliver 1Gb/s downstream and upstream over common twisted pair copper telephone cable for distances of up to 100 meters. This could provide a "cost effective option for telecom operators building ultra-broadband access networks," but will it be enough to overcome America's anxiety towards Chinese-made telecoms infrastructure? In any case, some lucky people have had fiber-to-the-home Gigabit broadband for months already.
Nook Newsstand getting Condé Nast publications (except Vogue)
After all of our tablet stories, the first question people ask is "But will it run Vogue?" Fortunately for all of you who are desperate to strike a pose and let your bodies move to the music, it won't be long now. Condé Nast is bringing 17 of 18 titles to Nook Tablet, the only omission being Vogue; which is coming in early 2012. Until then, you'll be able to enjoy the rest of the publisher's stable including Glamour, GQ, Teen Vogue and The New Yorker from the end of November. You can purchase individual issues or an annual subscription, print subscribers will get the digital edition free of charge and anyone who does pay will get a fortnight's trial. The only downside to the trial is that it's significantly shorter than the three months offered by the same publisher on the Kindle Fire. There's plenty more details after the break, where we've got a press release all waiting for a closeup.
Estonian Hackers target iTunes users in 'Clickjacking' ring
Wired has an interesting report on a clickjacking scheme that hijacked prominent websites including iTunes and the IRS. The scheme was run by six Estonians and one Russian operating out of Eastern Europe. The team created several fake companies, including a bogus advertising agency, which were paid for each click on an advertisement or a visit to a website. The criminals then setup a network of malware infected computers that hijacked internet links. The malware, called DNSChanger, would modify the DNS settings of infected computers and redirect them to a DNS server controlled by the criminals. This DNS server would then bring infected users to websites that would pay the suspects for each visit. Infected users visiting iTunes, for example, would be directed to www.idownload-store-music.com and the suspects would be paid for each visit. The malware infected 4 million computers worldwide and a half million in the US. The scheme was in operation for almost four years and netted the criminals over US$14 million before they were caught.
Conde Nast Britain gives subscribers free iPad access
Condé Nast Britain has begun to provide existing print subscribers with access to equivalent digital editions on the iPad at no cost. According to an article published on the UK Association of Online Publishers website, Apple's Newsstand app has increased the issue sales of British GQ by 94%, Wired UK by 169%, and Vanity Fair by a whopping 245% over the average sales per day in September. Digital Director of Condé Nast Britain Jamie Jouning said that "Our existing readers will benefit from the ease of access to subscribe, while the prominent inclusion of our brands in Newsstand will allow an even higher level of 'discoverability'. Ultimately this should lead to greater subscription growth." The magazines take advantage of the feature of Newsstand that automatically updates digital editions in the background as new issues are published. Vogue will be adding a digital edition at the beginning of December, after having two very successful iPad editions in the past.
J. Allen Brack talks to Wired about Pandaren and Pet Battles
J. Allen Brack, the production director for World of Warcraft, was interviewed by Wired.com about the upcoming expansion Mists of Pandaria, why Blizzard's introducing the Pandaren now, and what the future holds for the increasing number of expansions needed to be purchased in order to play an up-to-date version of the game. Brack says that the idea for the first neutral race actually was rooted in the Goblins for Cataclysm, since the Goblins would have made an excellent neutral race, but the team was adamant about giving the Alliance a more sinister race to play. The Goblins for the Horde filled the whimsical role nicely. The Pet Battle system coming with Mists of Pandaria is going to require a lot of tuning, according to Brack. The feel of the system is going to be much more "rock, papers, scissors" than "all-powerful rare pet wins the fight," giving a lot of hope to collectors out there who want to use some of the more esoteric companions in battle without having to always pull out the best pet. Finally, Brack made an important point about the "expansions every year" comment and goal of the development team. Brack explains that the concept is nice but not something feasible in the present time and that Blizzard has not been successful with rapidly turning out content. Cataclysm, it turns out, took longer to develop than any other expansion. You can read the full interview on Wired.com. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is the next expansion, raising the level cap to 90, introducing a brand new talent system, and bringing forth the long-lost Pandaren race to both Horde and Alliance. Check out the trailer and follow us for all the latest MoP news!
$99 iPad app dinged by Wired, drops price 90% for the day
We love a good App Store pricing story, and this one has a happy ending (mostly). Yesterday Wired picked up the scent of Autriv's SignMyPad Pro, which has a rather breathtaking price tag of $99. Since the non-pro version of the PDF-signing app -- which shares almost all its features -- is only $4, why should the Pro version cost more than 20x as much? Not to mention that the PDF signing genre on the iPad, while not as crowded as some other sectors, still has a healthy suite of available apps ranging in price from $10 down to free. Autriv's jefe, Justin Esgar, may be familiar to TUAW readers as the former face/voice of our Ask TUAW videos, so we checked in with him to get the developer's side of the story. It turns out that the key improvement between the $4 standard and $99 pro versions of SignMyPad is the ability to embed the iPad's GPS location and timestamp into the PDF metadata along with the signature; Autriv developed this feature specifically to support a request from a major financial industry client. While in theory the custom version could have been delivered through enterprise distribution instead of the App Store, apparently it was easier and quicker simply to mark up the price of the GPS-aware version and let the corporate client buy the copies it needed. The app remained in the store at the $99 price point from then on. Obviously, not everyone wants to geo-tag signed PDFs, but for those professionals that do need the capability (real estate brokers, lawyers, architects, etc.) it could be worth the investment. As far as we can tell, there isn't another tool, iPad or desktop, that includes this feature, so SignMyPad Pro has a case to make for its value in the market. Value propositions aside, however, Autriv isn't taking the Wired story lying down. Justin has posted a rabble-rousing video on the company's site, and at the same time lowered the price of both SignMyPad versions for today. The standard version has dropped down to 99 cents, and the Pro C-note version will cost you just $9.99. If you're eager to sign your PDFs with the added power of geotagging, today would be the day to pick it up.
