Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 20th Jul 2012 12:23 UTC
"Back in May of this year, Internet security firm Bitdefender launched an app and service designed to help iOS users get a grip on what the apps installed on their mobile devices may be up to. [...] The app tells owners of iOS devices which applications may be accessing more information than they need, and identifies potentially 'misbehaving' apps, giving users an inside look at all the information app developers can gather about a user. [...] Seems legit, right? Apple doesn't think so. Or at least they have an issue with something behind the app that sparked them to pull it from the App Store this week." That seems odd. Why would they do such a thing? "Interestingly, Bitdefender did share some data that they gathered based on Clueful's analysis of more than 65,000 popular iOS apps so far: 42.5 percent of apps do not encrypt users' personal data, even when accessed via public Wi-Fi; 41.4 percent of apps were shown to track a user's location unbeknownst to them; almost one in five of the apps analyzed can access a user's entire Address Book, with some even sending user information to the cloud without notification." Oh, right. Informing users their data is wholly unsafe? Not on Apple's watch!
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Member since:2009-02-02
Fact Apple runs an ad system called iAD
Fact Apple collects user data for iAD
Apple does not let you know any of the data that is collected. At least Google lets you know some of it. The point is no one has any idea what data Apple collects and at least with Google you have some idea.
RE[7]: simple solution
by Tony Swash on Sat 21st Jul 2012 18:54
in reply to "RE[6]: simple solution"
Member since:2009-08-22
At least Google lets you know some of it. The point is no one has any idea what data Apple collects and at least with Google you have some idea.
What proportion of information collected by Google is known?
Does the fact that Google collects far more data on users than Apple, because it's business is collecting such data, mean that the data that Google collects that you don't know about is more than the data that Apple collects that you don't don't know about. Do you see how silly this can get very quickly.
Personally I think Google gets way more data from me than Apple and I am a heavy user of iOS and Apple products. Apple knows something about my musical tastes and what apps I have bought. I am not sure it knows a whole lot more. Google knows a lot about my search and browsing history, it scans the content of my emails and if I used Google + (which it has automatically signed me up to by the way) it would know about my social network, it knows what videos I watch on Youtube, etc etc. Google is the mother of all user data collectors. If anyone collects more data on me than Google I would be deeply shocked.
I am not very worried, yet, by Google's data collection although I find the way it personalises search results a bit spooky. But when I see people frothing up about something Apple has or has not done in relation to privacy I sense a profound case of double standards. If you want to bash Apple feel free to use privacy, if you really care about privacy watch what Google does very carefully.
RE[6]: simple solution
by No it isnt on Sun 22nd Jul 2012 11:04
in reply to "RE[5]: simple solution"
Member since:2005-11-14
On the one hand, Google actually lets you see what data they have collected on you, on the other hand, what you call "thinking structurally", you've got a bunch of insinuations based on your speculations as to how Google's ad service makes them money. That's what I mean when I say you've got facts against you. You prefer insinuations and dystopian fiction to facts, as they better suit your fanboi needs.
Member since:2011-08-08
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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Member since:
2009-08-22
What facts are against me? I literally don't understand what you are arguing. I would have thought my point was clear: in general one should be more concerned about privacy issues with companies whose core business model depends on collecting data about users behaviour than those whose core business does not. Seems pretty straightforward and clear to me. Just common sense.