Java for OS X Lion 2012-001 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7

Written by

Apple has released Java for OS X Lion 2012-001 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 7. The updates address the vulnerability in Java exploited by the Flashback.K trojan. The latest variant of Flashback.K could hijack you Mac even if you don’t enter an admin password. Apple says this can occur when visiting a Web page that is running an untrusted Java applet.

The update is available for OS X Lion 10.7.3 and Mac OS X 10.6.8, and you can get it via Software Update.

Apple holds iCloud master decryption key

Written by

Ars Technica:

Ars recently attempted to delve into the inner workings of the security built into Apple’s iCloud service. Though we came away reasonably certain that iCloud uses industry best practices that Apple claims it uses to protect data and privacy, we warned that your information isn’t entirely protected from prying eyes. At the heart of the issue is the fact that Apple can, at any time, review the data synced with iCloud, and under certain circumstances might share that information with legal authorities.

It’s a a good article and should be read by anyone who uses iCloud but the bottom line is, if you didn’t encrypt it yourself, it can be vulnerable to others.

Tim Cook leads top CEOs rating

Written by

Apple’s Tim Cook tops the ranks of CEOs whose employees think they’re doing a good job, according to a new poll at Glassdoor.com.

Put the universe on your iPad

Written by

MSNBC:

None of us living today will ever get beyond our celestial backyard in real life, but there’s a fleet of apps out there that can blast you through hyperspace to explore — and understand — the far frontiers of the cosmos on your tablet computer. The latest app is “The Wonders of the Universe,” a multimedia spin-off of physicist Brian Cox’s coffee-table book and TV documentary series of the same name.The app, sold by Harper Collins for the iPad 2 and the new iPad, organizes more than 200 interactive articles, two and a half hours of video and hundreds of graphics to do a show-and-tell that ranges from subatomic quarks to the largest scales of the cosmic web.

The article also mentions and has video of four other space-themed apps for the iPad: The Night Sky, Solar System for iPad, Solar Walk and my personal favorite, Star Walk.

Gun Runner

Written by

Gun Runner is a new run-and-gun action game for iOS from a new studio formed by a former Freeverse producer.

Hilarious vintage ads from the early days of the PC

Written by

Daily Mail:

Companies such as Apple have made their name by marketing their products not just as technological tools but as glamorous and fun toys.But this marketing technique is nothing new, as these vintage adverts from the early days of PCs show.They portray computers as fun, easy to use – and even sexy, with the help of a few eager-looking models.

Look how sexy that 4800 baud modem is!

iPhone tops sales charts at each of its U.S. carriers

Written by

AllThingsD:

Led by the 4S, Apple’s iPhone line continues to rack up strong sales at AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. So strong that some believe it’s likely the top-selling phone at all three of those carriers.“Our March checks indicated the iPhone continues to extend its market share gains,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley writes in a note to clients today. “In fact, we believe iPhones are outselling all other smartphones combined at Sprint and AT&T and selling at roughly equal volume to all Android smartphones at Verizon.”That’s pretty astonishing, all things considered.

But Android is still “winning”.

So you won the Mega Millions jackpot. What now?

Written by

TIME:

With a half-billion-dollar multistate lottery jackpot up for grabs, plenty of folks are fantasizing about how to spend the money. But doing it the right way — protecting your riches, your identity and your sanity — takes some thought and planning.Making sure you don’t blow the nation’s largest-ever lottery jackpot within a few years means some advice is in order before the Mega Millions drawing Friday, especially if you’re really, really, really lucky.

I got my ticket – how about you?

Apple supplier in China pledges big changes in working conditions

Written by

New York Times:

Foxconn, which manufactures more than 40 percent of the world’s electronics for such companies as Apple, Dell, Amazon and others, has pledged to sharply curtail the number of working hours within its Chinese factories and significantly increase wages, a move that could improve working conditions across China.The shift comes after a far-ranging inspection by the Fair Labor Association, a monitoring group, found widespread problems.Apple, in a statement, said the company fully supports the monitoring group’s recommendations. “We think empowering workers and helping them understand their rights is essential. Our team has been working for years to educate workers, improve conditions and make Apple’s supply chain a model for the industry, which is why we asked the F.L.A. to conduct these audits.”

The 10 best startups from Y Combinator Demo Day

Written by

TechCrunch:

After talking to VCs and tech moguls, the TechCrunch teamed huddled up and picked these 10 companies as the best. They’re disrupting commerce, evolving how we communicate, and making our phones even more powerful.Here’s a cheat sheet to the startups we think are going to remodel big industries, change the world, or at least make a ton of money.

Some of these you’ll have no interest in but some of them might just peak your interest further.

Your own toilet paper with your own tweets on it

Written by

The Next Web:

Most of the tweets you read on Twitter are forgettable, at best. Some of them are pure gold and worth memorializing in some fashion. But how? A favorite? A retweet? Emailing them to a friend?How about printing them out on toilet paper and wiping your butt with them? Amazing idea right?

No…just…no.

The 8 remaining “Worst Company in America” contenders

Written by

WOO HOO! It’s time for March Madness! We’re down to the Elite 8!

Final Four? No – we’re not talking about Ohio State, Louisville, Kentucky or Kansas. We’re talking about The Consumerist’s “Worst Company In America” contest.

Companies like Wells Fargo and Netflix, UPS and Comcast, even Apple have been voted on at The Consumerist web site all month. There are only eight wide ranging companies left vying for the title – Bank of America, AT&T, Ticketmaster, Paypal, Walmart, Facebook, Comcast and Electronic Arts.

This is a contest none of these companies wants to win.

World’s coolest grandpa and his SR-71

Written by

Do you have a cool grandfather? Do you think you are a cool grandfather? Well, you’ll have to go a long way to beat this guy.

He’s built an absolutely amazing remote controlled plane – a scale model of the SR-71 “Blackbird”. Not only did they build its jet engines and include retractable landing gear, the thing sounds amazing.

My grandfather made aquariums. Nice but not nearly as cool as jet planes!

Harry Potter eBooks now available

Written by

While J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore web site is still in beta, the store to sell you stuff is up and running.

If you have an EPUB reader and a Harry Potter fan in your life, the Pottermore Shop is the only place you can buy the Harry Potter series digitally.

The EPUB format is “the world’s most popular and open eBook standard” and the files are compatible with the vast majority of computers and devices. The eBooks are also in Kindle format for use on Amazon devices and on your iOS devices.

The individual eBooks are between $7.99 and $9.99 but you’ll want to buy “The Complete Harry Potter Collection” for $ 57.54.

7 laughable lawsuits against Apple

Written by

The Week:

Apple has no shortage of cash in its vaults, so it’s pretty easy to see why the tech giant is constantly slapped with lawsuits of questionable merit. From disillusioned complaints of Siri’s capabilities to a bizarre sodomy suit filed against late founder Steve Jobs, here, seven of the sillier challenges the Cupertino powerhouse has faced through the years.

Apple gets sued frequently by other entities – Motorola, Samsung, the Australian government, etc – and you’ve all heard about the unfortunate grandmother who broke her nose walking into the glass window of a Long Island Apple Store (she is now suing Apple for $1 million dollars). But that’s not even the oddest lawsuit served against Apple. Did you know that one person sued Apple because he alleged O.J. Simpson had been working as a hit man for Steve Jobs?

Meet the winner of 25 billionth Apple App Store download

Written by

M.I.C Gadget:

Fu Chunli, a citizen of Qingdao, China, downloaded the 25 billionth app from Apple’s App Store early this month, pushing the mobile software store to a new milestone. The young lady downloaded a free version of Disney’s popular mobile game ‘Where’s my water?’As the winner, she received an iTunes gift card worth 10,000 US dollars. Last week, Apple invited her to the Beijing Apple store to collect her prize.

Easter egg hunt canceled due to aggressive parents

Written by

TIME:

An annual Easter egg hunt attended by hundreds of children has been canceled because of misbehavior last year. Not by the kids, but by the grown-ups.Too many parents determined to see their children get an egg jumped a rope marking the boundaries of the children-only hunt at Bancroft Park last year. The hunt was over in seconds, to the consternation of eggless tots and the rules-abiding parents.

One four year old’s dad is quoted as saying, “You have all these eggs just lying around, and parents helping out. You better believe I’m going to help my kid get one of those eggs. I promised my kid an Easter egg hunt, and I’d want to give him an even edge.”

“An edge”? It’s an Easer egg, not a college scholarship.