4G iPhone finder's roommate tipped-off Apple
The guy who found the 4G iPhone prototype in a Silicon Valley bar was tracked down after his roommate tipped-off Apple.
21-year-old Brian Hogan's roommate Katherine Martinson called an Apple security official to report the whereabouts of the lost 4G iPhone prototype, according to new documents made public in the case.
In what sounds like the plot for a bad made-for-TV cop show, following Martinson's call to Rick Orloff, Apple's Director of Information Security, the police were then apparently sent on a bizarre search for information about the missing iPhone, which involved recovering a desktop computer hidden in a church and a USB thumb drive concealed in a bush!
If that didn't sound strange enough already, the lost iPhone's serial-number stickers were recovered from the parking lot of a gas station.
Wired has published the entire 10-page search-warrant affidavit which outlines the strange saga which ended up with Hogan selling the prototype to Gizmodo for $5,000. Cash.
Hogan had told his roommate that he had received a total of $8,500 for the phone, though it is still unclear where that extra $3,500 came from.
Gizmodo had also promised Hogan a bonus when Apple officially announce the new iPhone, according to the roommate.
According to the affidavit Gizmodo editor Jason Chen is currently being charged with possible receipt of stolen property, copying of a trade secret, and destruction of property worth more than $400.
The case continues.
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Opinion: Feuds and rivalries are damaging open source
For a community that's supposed to rally under the noble banners of freedom, fairness and fraternity, the world of free software is chockfull of disagreement, feuds and simmering rivalries.
Rather than promoting the use of open source, this division does more harm than good. The Gnome desktop is pitted against KDE, while Xfce dislikes them both. Google sells 60,000 locked-down Android phones a day while Intel and Moblin are forced to merge their open source strengths into MeeGo in order to compete.
Command-line junkies argue that menus and mice are unnecessary, while Linux distributions bicker over the freedoms they offer and the deals they've made.
Just look at the last decade of development: Fedora held on to the moral high ground while OpenSUSE forged an alliance with Microsoft and Ubuntu, sacrificing freedom for usability and jumping straight to the top of the popularity list.
Squabbles
Behind the scenes, developers squabble over the virtues of GTK+ against Qt, Python versus Perl and everything against Mono.
Then there's a raging storm of debate that follows any discussion over which free software licence to use, or the true definition of 'free' software, or who should use it, or whether it should always cost nothing.
This division starts at the core of the Linux operating system and works its way outwards. Everything else hangs off the kernel, and Linus Torvalds, its progenitor and chief maintainer, plays the pragmatist. He wants people to actually use his work and he's not overly concerned how they do it.
This eclectic position slowed progress toward version 3 of the GPL licence – used by most open-source projects – and Torvalds stubbornly clings to version 2 for the Linux kernel and his Git version control system. This matters – it's difficult for other people to have confidence in the new version when the world's largest free software project can't make the jump.
More importantly, Torvalds has openly criticised the Free Software Foundation, the non-profit corporation whose job it is to protect the rights of people writing GPL-licensed open-source software.
The FSF has to take a harder line than Torvalds. It ensures loopholes are closed by stopping companies like Tivo locking down its Linux-based hardware. FSF does this by following the letter of the licence, though its zeal can also take it too far.
Recent campaigns have lambasted Apple with 'Five reasons to avoid the iPhone 3G', attacked Microsoft and Windows 7 for 'threat[s] to the user's freedom' and seen an assault against the iPad. All a bit embarrassing.
If you follow the second link on the FSF's website, you'll be taken to the Free Software Definition. Here you'll be educated on why free software is a matter of liberty, not price. After that, there's a list of four essential freedoms, geekily numbered 0 to 3.
If that doesn't scare you off, take a look at some of the articles by the FSF's President, Richard Stallman. Even worse, try looking for his rendition of the Free Software Song. We've got a lot to thank Stallman for, but helping to erase the anti-social geek stereotype really isn't one of them.
Freedom to choose
It is important that people understand the advantages and some of the ramifications of using open-source software, but it's more important that these issues don't put people off trying to use it in the first place. Nothing is perfect, and the FSF seems to forget that we all need the freedom to choose for ourselves, whether we end up going for Mac OS X, Windows 7 or Ubuntu 9.10.
In a video created to mark the FSF's 25th anniversary, you'll find our very own Stephen Fry sitting in a comfy chair while waxing lyrical about the joys of free software. He explains why sharing code is good and why closed systems are the software equivalent of bad science. On a small desk to his right, sitting conspicuously open, is his MacBook Air, presumably running the evil, locked-down and proprietary OS X. And that's just fine.
What the open-source community needs is a little less division, a little less evangelism and a little more compromise and understanding. It's a movement built on high ideals, but most people use the software because it works and they like the way it feels.
In the end, those are the only things that are important, because without users there would be no work for the Foundation to do at all. It's high time everybody lightened up.
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Review: Wacom Intuos4 Wireless
Can you remember the review of the Wacom Intuos4 we wrote a year ago? If so, all you need to know about the Intuos4 Wireless is that it's everything the Intuos4 is, plus Bluetooth. (Or 'minus a cable' if you like.)
That's not to dismiss it. The Intuos4 range from Wacom is genuinely brilliant. Never mind the sensitivity of the tablet, Wacom has done a sterling job in making the device very usable.
It's partly the hardware: as well as the Touch Ring that you can configure, say, to scroll through a document or change brush size, the Intuos4 Wireless has eight hardware buttons that can be set up as anything from modifier keys to triggers for cascades of actions.
The best bit, though, is the embedded displays next to these buttons that show their current function. (It's almost impossible to see the display hardware, and it looks like white glowing characters are embedded directly into the black glossy plastic, which is neat.) These soft keys come into their own, though, when you start tinkering.
Despite them being useful as soon as you take it out of the box, you can configure how the ExpressKeys and Touch Strip behave. The latter itself has four different states, even switching their behaviour automatically depending on what app you're using. Seeing their function on the embedded displays – or by triggering the on-screen cheat sheet – is invaluable.
All graphics tablets have a learning curve, and the sheer richness of this range's configurability means it can take especially long to start getting the very best out of it, but it's an investment of time worth making.
Only you can decide whether you're happy to pay the extra (around £55 online) for the convenience of a wireless Bluetooth connection, compared to the essentially identical wired Intuos4 M.
The Li-ion battery easily lasts for a day of very active use – and thanks to its power-saving features, much longer if you use it only infrequently. And while we occasionally saw some glitchy lags, it generally performed well.
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Review: Griffin PowerBlock Reserve
Here's a smart idea. The Griffin PowerBlock Reserve – something around the size of a thick bar of soap – comes with US and UK socket adapters, and outputs 5V/1000mA, so it'll charge pretty much any USB device you plug into it.
(Exception: while it will charge the iPad, it does so very slowly. It would take three days to charge it fully. Rest assured, Griffin's on the case.)
The clever bit is that part of the PowerBlock Reserve pulls away; it's a little battery with a standard 30-pin dock connector that you can use to give your iPod or iPhone a jolt of power when away from the mains.
The battery is held in place with a couple of magnets, though when used with the UK plug, it sits on top rather than hanging underneath so the magnets aren't so important – and as it's charging, a row of five green LEDs show its level of charge.
But while you can press the battery icon to see the charge level when it's connected to the mains or a device, it doesn't show it when it's not.
Of course, the PowerBrick Reserve charges a connected device and its own removable battery at the same time.
This battery is a bit weedy, though. With only 500mAh capacity, it won't fully charge an iPhone battery, though it was sufficient, in our tests, to make an iPhone properly last an entire day away from the mains, even when being used heavily.
The Griffin's only a fiver more than Apple's own USB charger, too, with the bonus of the battery and US/UK compatibility.
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In Depth: 6 of the best Mac personal finance apps
Staying out of the red isn't just about spending less than you earn, though that's a good principle to start from.
To keep on the right side of an overdraft you need a grasp of what you've spent recently, a plan for what you intend to spend in the near future and a watchful eye to make sure that errors and fraud aren't siphoning off cash.
That's exactly the sort of job that your Mac can help with and there's a wide range of software available to do this. We've chosen a selection of six, each of which brings a slightly different emphasis to the financial task.
Our prime focus is on personal finances – managing your own or your family's income and outgoings. Proper business accounts require an entirely different approach that's outside the remit here. However, there is one exception.
These days, more people than ever are working on a freelance basis or run small sole-trader businesses. If the operation is small enough, then personal finance software may be sufficient to help with this, and we'll point out any appropriate applications.
Since we're dealing with money, or perhaps a lack of it, good value software is important. The apps on test here include two that are free, while even the most expensive is a reasonable $50 (about £33 at the time of going to press).
Managing finances on a Mac requires some discipline, but it definitely beats doing sums on the back of an envelope.
The apps
FinanceToGo $50 (£33)
LyricApps iCompta £Free
Modeless Software Liquid Ledger $49.99 (£33)
Jumsoft Money $39 (£26)
NoThirst Software MoneyWell £34.14
Stash £Free
Test one: ease of use
For a no-frills solution with a clean interface, Stash is perfect – although its lack of some fundamental abilities, such as sorting, means it's not quite as easy as it ought to be.
At the other extreme, FinanceToGo and Liquid Ledger are the most demanding, as they're based on professional double-entry accounting. This has its advantages, but can be baffling at first sight. If you want to follow this route, we found Liquid Ledger more novice-friendly and better designed.
Also, FinanceToGo is let down by a few minor interface problems such as unresponsive drop-down menus. For the best balance of power and simplicity look to Money, iCompta or MoneyWell.
Money is well thought-out, stylish and simple to use. iCompta requires more effort to get to grips with, but it's simple once you get used to it. MoneyWell majors on budgeting, giving it a different emphasis, without sacrificing core abilities or ease of use.
Results
Test Two: UK friendly?
Using American English tends to be the norm when it comes to software. You'll see 'check' instead of 'cheque' and 'checking account' and not 'current account'. Other than that, there are no issues here.
Three of the apps come from the Continent – FinanceToGo is Belgian, while Money hails from Lithuania, and iCompta from France. Thankfully, you won't have to convert your accounts into Lithuanian Litas nor decipher menus written in French.
All use good English, with some American bias, and they're at home in the UK as they don't get involved in country-specific aspects such as personal taxation. All you need to do is specify your currency.
Liquid Ledger and MoneyWell are American, and it shows in their default categories. Luckily, you can create and name your own. Liquid Ledger can't decide whether to use 'cheque' or 'check', while Stash, the only British program here, sticks to the American terms 'check' and 'checking account'.
Results
Test Three: Reports and charts
Most financial apps offer very little style and scope for modification when it comes to reports and charts. This is certainly the case with FinanceToGo and Liquid Ledger. It's also true of MoneyWell, though its charts are chosen to help you visualise how well you're keeping within budget.
Reports in iCompta are not the usual tabular summaries, but semi-graphical views of how a budget compares to actual income and expenditure. There are also charts to analyse your transactions and to predict future balance based on past history and regular transactions.
Stash can't create summary reports, but has a few chart types and a control for automatically combining small categories as 'Other'.
Money offers the most flexible options. It has 11 basic report types that you can modify and display or print as tables, charts or both. The look is basic, but if reports matter to you, this is the best and most adaptable app.
Results
Test Four: Budgeting
Any finance software can keep track of what you've already spent, but staying out of the red demands planning for what you intend to spend.
MoneyWell is a good choice because budgeting is what it's mainly designed for. Allocate cash to different categories and use the program to track how well you're sticking to those limits. Money also makes budgeting easy and provides a bar graph to show actual versus budgeted amounts.
iCompta is another good choice, with flexible budgeting tools and charts that predict future trends. The double-entry approach of Liquid Ledger and FinanceToGo makes budgeting too complex for home use. It's fine for planning business expenditure, but if balancing the books isn't your strong point then these programs aren't ideal.
Stash is the only app here that doesn't provide explicit budgeting tools. They're planned for an upcoming release. In the meantime you could approximate this in a Stash account.
Results
Test Five: Regular payments
Regular transactions aren't always exactly regular. For example, when a monthly payment falls on a Sunday, it may move to the previous or next working day. And some bills are always payable on the last day of each month.
Most of these apps can't cope with that variability. Money, MoneyWell, iCompta and Liquid Ledger offer a selection of regular intervals that can repeat indefinitely or end after a fixed number of occurrences. That's useful for things like loan repayments that are fully repaid after a set number of instalments.
However, none of those programs can constrain payments to working days or compensate for different lengths of month. FinanceToGo can't do it either, but it lets you define intervals, such as every third Tuesday.
Only Stash tries to break out of the strait-jacket. As well as the usual intervals, it adds Last Working Day of the Month and Exact or Next Working Day; still not flexible enough, but it's by far the best.
Results
Test Six: Security
You won't need to enter account numbers or passwords into these programs, though some of them encourage you to do so. Avoiding this cuts down the risk of identity theft. Even so, do you really want all your financial transactions to be seen by anyone else?
A robust user login password for your Mac is the first step, but additional defences in the software would be welcome.
Stash has no built-in security at all, so it's up to you to encrypt the file if you want it secret.
Doing somewhat better are FinanceToGo, Money, Liquid Ledger and MoneyWell, which all provide simple password protection for your files. Ideally we'd liked something stronger.
Only iCompta takes this seriously by offering password based encryption. Give it a unique robust password, and your financial data should be impregnable.
Remember, though, that no amount of security can protect your Mac from being stolen or destroyed, so back up.
Results
Some of these apps are more capable than others, but even the simplest one will do the job and that might be all you need.
MoneyWell's focus on budgeting rather than just tracking gives it the edge in this area. Other apps can handle budgeting, but none does it as thoroughly as MoneyWell.
Anyone tackling small-business finance could consider double-entry accounts, but the technique isn't easy to get into and is more than most people need. If you do need it, we recommend Liquid Ledger, as FinanceToGo has poorer documentation.
Stash is new and still has a way to go. What we liked was its ease of use and attention to detail in areas like recurring transactions and charts. If your needs are basic, it could be a good choice.
That leaves iCompta and Money. iCompta gains points for security. It's versatile, it's free and it's almost a winner.
Ultimately, though, it doesn't pull it all together as neatly as Money. With its clear interface and range of features, including above-average reports, Money delivers a solution that should appeal to many users.
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Review: Marmitek GigaView 745
Marmitek's Gigaview 745 video tranmission system uses a secure digital transmission method (dubbed WiVi) to beam video around your home.
This has an effective range of up 100 metres (or 30 metres if there are walls or ceilings in the way). It also means there's no need to fiddle with antennae.
The Gigaview 745 also uses a transmitter and receiver setup with each unit powered by 5V adapters. Resembling stylish modems, these units can be vertically mounted if required using the supplied stands. Front mounted LED indicators show when they're powered and whether they're transmitting or receiving.
An IR extender cable is included which connects the transmitter to a window on the front of the receiver to relay remote commands back to the source.
Home on the range
Disappointingly, there's no Scart connection option and therefore no RGB support. You've a choice of either S-video or composite video. Each unit also sports a 'Paring' button on the rear for securing the wireless connection.
To minimise interference from other devices (such as a Wi-Fi network) automatic 'Dynamic Frequency Selection' is used to switch between 23 different channels. We tested the units in a medium sized house using a Sky+ HD receiver and a PlayStation 3 console located in a downstairs room and a TV located upstairs.
Video, audio and were faithfully relayed with little fuss or interference and the remote relay allowed us to browse the Sky EPG at acceptable speed. S-video pictures are acceptable, but the limitations of composite mean that a faithful picture is still an inferior soft-looking one.
The Gigaview 745 seems rather backward looking in this increasingly hi-def age. The admission fee of £270 is also hefty for what is admittedly a reliable audio and video slinger.
If HD isn't of primary concern at the moment, you might be better off setting for a more conventional and cheaper SD video sender instead.
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Review: Bush DVB680
Selling for a penny short of £100 in Argos, the Bush DVB680 represents the most affordable way to get HD without a subscription.
Unsurprisingly for a budget brand, the build quality and design are nothing to get overexcited about. The power supply is an external one, which at least means the internal electronics don't require a cooling fan.
The fascia bears just three control buttons: on/off and channel up/down, so don't let the remote go AWOL. There's no doubting which channel is tuned in with a four-digit red LED display of laser-like intensity. Sadly, there's no CI slot front or back, but the rear connections tick the boxes for hooking up to an HD Ready TV and a 5.1 Dolby Digital sound system.
One Scart provides for standard-definition viewing or recording standard-definition channels on a DVD or hard disc recorder. An Ethernet port is provided but it's not the gateway to a world of internet TV you might expect, though it could find a use once Project Canvas gets off the ground.
Scan it and see
Installation is as easy as it gets. You select your screen shape and choose the HDMI output resolution (576p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p), then initiate the auto scan. Two minutes later and you're watching HD on BBC, ITV or Channel 4 (assuming you live in an HD area with decent signal strength, that is).
The menu system, whilst nicely laid out, has an uninspiring interface and suffers from slow reactions, lacking the slickness and clarity of Humax's HD-Fox T2.
The remote control is, at 91g, worryingly light and whilst generally laid out OK it crams some functions onto ugly rubber pads.
All the information you need is available in the seven-day EPG except some channel names are truncated. Also, there's no PIP or overlaying so you have to exit the current broadcast.
There are plenty of options for filtering channels, repositioning and renaming them, and creating a list of favourites. Pressing the info button during a broadcast gives you rudimentary details about the current and next programme, but there's no programme description and no scrolling through the seven-day data.
For power saving there are numerous auto-off settings between ten minutes and three hours, as well as an off setting. Note that the box powers itself up every day at 3am to check for software updates.
The most annoying trait of our test sample was its tardiness in switching on – a 30-second process that saw the letters 'init' displayed.
The gulf between standard-definition pictures and HD ones is breathtaking at times, and we don't mean the majority of ITV and Channel 4 material, which is simply upscaled SD.
Switching from ITV to ITV1 HD with live football is like seeing the road again after being in a carwash. The BBC's HD channel is consistently high quality too, and is unarguably superior even on a 32in screen.
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Deals: Discount code roundup: save money on tech gear
We've scoured the internet for some of the best discount-codes available, offering you savings on everything from laptops to MP3 players.
Make sure you take advantage of these deals before they expire though, and make sure you also check out our weekly Bargain Hunt for more hot deals.
Here are the best new tech voucher-codes:
General:
Get 5 percent of orders over £199 from Comet - offer expires 20/05/10
3 percent off all orders of £249 or more from PC World - offer expires 20/05/10
6 percent off all orders over £399 from Currys - offer expires 20/05/10
Digital Cameras:
Get 20 percent off the Exilim EX-G1 from Casio Online - offer expires 31/05/10
10 percent discount on the Panasonic SD60 from Comet - offer expires 18/05/10
Mobiles:
Free Samsung 32 HD TV with the Nokia X3 on Orange Dolphin £30 (24mths) from e2save - offer expires 31/0510
Get a free Vodafone 340 handset on 12 month SIM Only deals (excluding £10 tariffs) from Vodafone - offer expires 31/05/10
Laptops:
£10 off HP DV7 (VJ221EA) from Laptops Direct - offer expires 31/05/10
Get 5 percent off netbooks over £250 from Comet - offer expires 27/05/10
Software, peripherals and components:
Get 10 off all printers from PC World - offer expires 20/05/10
10 percent off all computer speakers from Comet - offer expires 30/05/10
Offers still valid:
Get £10 off a £300 spend on laptops, sat-navs or MP3 players from Bennetts Electrical - offer expires 31/05/2010
Save 5 percent on the price of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 from Comet - offer expires 18/05/2010 (Read Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 review)
Get £10 off a £300 spend on laptops, sat-navs or MP3 players from Bennetts Electrical - offer expires 31/05/2010
5 percent of all printers from Laskys - offer expires 19/05/2010
Get 15 percent off the price of all mice and keyboards from Comet - offer expires 30/05/2010
Save £4 on orders of £45 or more on ink, toner or paper from Cartridge Monkey - offer expires 11/06/2010
Get £20 off the Asus G70S from Laptops Direct - offer expires 31/05/2010
Save £10 on the Acer Aspire 7736 from Laptops Direct - offer expries 31/05/2010
Save 5 percent on all Netbooks costing more than £250 from Comet - offer expires 16/05/2010
Free Sony Playstation 3 Slim with the Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite on Orange Dolphin from e2save - offer expires 31/07/2010 (Read Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite review)
Free Vodafone 533 Ice handset on 12 month SIM Only deals (excluding £10 tariffs) from Vodafone - offer expires 31/05/2010
Free XBox 360 Elite bundle with Halo 3 and £20 cash back with the Blackberry 8250 on Orange Canary from e2save - offer expires 31/07/2010
Note: offers correct at time of posting.
Found a great online discount? Please share it in the comments section below.
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Sony Vaio tablet rumours resurface
Sony is rumoured to be working on a tablet PC to compete with the Apple iPad.
The idea of a Vaio-branded tablet PC will no doubt excite fans of Sony's high-end mobile computing brand, although there has been no 'official' word from Sony to confirm such plans.
Bloomberg spoke with Sony's SVP of IT Products Mike Abary. He informed the financial newsgatherer that Sony has been exploring the tablet PC market "for a number of years," adding that the marketplace currently has some "interesting opportunities."
Funny that! And of course it is purely coincidental that Apple is about to launch its iPad in the UK later this very month…
Sony has a habit of playing a watching brief when it comes to new and emerging markets, having taken some time to enter the netbook market with the Vaio P and Vaio X ultraportable ranges.
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Sony Vaio tablet rumours resurface
Sony is rumoured to be working on a tablet PC to compete with the Apple iPad.
The idea of a Vaio-branded tablet PC will no doubt excite fans of Sony's high-end mobile computing brand, although there has been no 'official' word from Sony to confirm such plans.
Bloomberg spoke with Sony's SVP of IT Products Mike Abary. He informed the financial newsgatherer that Sony has been exploring the tablet PC market "for a number of years," adding that the marketplace currently has some "interesting opportunities."
Funny that! And of course it is purely coincidental that Apple is about to launch its iPad in the UK later this very month…
Sony has a habit of playing a watching brief when it comes to new and emerging markets, having taken some time to enter the netbook market with the Vaio P and Vaio X ultraportable ranges.
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