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Spanair Malware
Pilot error, acts of terrorism and shoddy maintenance are no longer the only things we have to fear when flying. It seems that authorities are now blaming malware as the main cause of the 2008 crash of Spanair flight 5022. For those of you who don’t know, malware is term used to refer to malicious software designed to infiltrate a computer without the users consent. But what’s worrying is the fact that this was able to infect the primary functions of an aircraft.
When Boeing first started discussing plans for wifi on its 787 aircraft one of the first concerns was “Can it be hacked?” The FAA went as far as to ground the plane so that the system, which made wifi, in flight entertainment, flight controls, navigation and other important systems all interconnected could be modified, in spite of Boeings cost cutting methods to combine them.
However, the NTSB is now saying that a Trojan horse (type of malware) was used to prevent automated warning systems alerting the pilots of the fact that the flaps were still retracted during takeoff. Yet, no one is saying how the Trojan was placed onto the planes computer system in the first place. I’m guessing the only other logical step would be to place Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware on each system and run a scan, which I’m not seeing as a logical part of the pre-flight checklist.
None-the-less I’m betting we’ll see a major rework in how computer systems interconnect with one another and the onboard system available to customers.
And with this, I’d like to introduce my new blog Moo Travel. It’s dedicated information about aviation, hotels and general travel.
Another Class Action Against Apple
So Apple is getting hit by yet another class action lawsuit, this time it’s for the iPad not living up to par with other e-book readers. Seems that a group of people are suing over the fact that Apple does not disclose that e-books can not be read in direct sunlight compared to other readers like Kindle (which is a pretty cool product) and that failure to express this information constitutes ‘fraud, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive advertising practices, and unjust enrichment’.
In all honesty, I hope Apple has to pay big for this, but I do think that people should have known better. I was a bit annoyed the other day when my Nexus One’s screen was unreadable in direct sunlight; however I assumed that this would be a factor when I bought it since this is a common issue with any phone. I’m wondering if this is actually a real lawsuit from someone who thought the iPad would work in sunlight, or just someone who wants to make a quick buck and get some of their iPad money back.
On top of that, they’re also saying that heat causes the iPad to become unusable, so outdoor summer reading is impossible. Pretty much, if you want to read an e-book… Get a Kindle.
Posted in Tablet PC
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Android 2.2 Froyo OTA
After waiting days I finally got my OTA update of Android 2.2 Froyo on my Nexus One and I have to say I really like it! I’ve not really played a lot with the features so far, but I have noticed a large speed increase as well as less application crashes. Though the wait annoyed the hell out of me, I’m damn happy I finally have it.
Tethering: At the moment I’m getting three out of four bars worth of signal (I normally only get one) and tethering works amazing. I’m getting over 1.6 mbps for download on a laptop running Ubuntu 10.04 and had no issues getting connected. However, I’ve yet to try the wired tethering. Do make sure to change your network SSID and security settings if you don’t want someone draining your bandwidth while you and your friends wirelessly connect.
Home Screen: I’m not really sure if I like the new bottom bar added for Phone-Menu-Web. And while I get their usefulness in freeing up extra spaces, I really don’t much care for them. However the fact that the search bar can not be switched between Phone Search (Google Logo), Web, Apps and Contacts you can refine what you’re looking for and not be piled up with everything.
Applications: The auto update feature sounds pretty awesome. I’ve yet to try it since nothing needs updating, but in theory I’m already liking it! I have not tried the bulk update yet, but that one sounds pretty exciting as well.
Tethering and speed really seem to be the major points to this update. They claim up to a 20x boost in Kernel Memory Management, so switching between apps is much less painful. Even though you took your sweet time… I still love you Google!
Build: FRF91 (ATT)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZYSVr2Bhc
Hydrogen USB Charger
I was surfing some tech news sites and found this awesome little device called MiniPAK by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The MiniPAK is a neat, portable USB device made for charging Cell Phones, mp3 players and other low electricity devices. The device gives out 2.5W through a Micro-USB port built in. Not really sure why the use micro, but I’m assuming there is some great reason.
Inside the MiniPak are HydroSTIK’s which, look pretty much the same as batteries. Toss one of those inside and you get roughly 3 charges to your smart phone. The HydroSTIK can be charged using the HydroFILL which by the looks of it is a device full of water, powered by solar panels. I don’t really know how efficient this device is… But it’s pretty damn cool. I do wonder what the TSA will say; the product does mention it can be carried on a plane. I’m sure it would be covenant to charge a phone or other small gaming device for a long plane ride.
The MiniPAK can be bought for about 100 bucks but the HydroFILL is not available yet so I’m assuming you have to keep buying your HydroSTIKs from the company.
iPhone 4 Multitasking Won’t Be Up To Par With Android
One of Androids biggest features over iPhone is multitasking. Now with the Fourth Generation coming out and a new OS, iPhone is promising it’s users that multitasking is coming; but will it be up to the same level as Android?
It would seem that not apps will support (or even be allowed) to use Multitasking features. My understanding of this is that applications will have to be recoded to be able to multitask and this could mean users will be waiting a long time till their favorite application supports it. This all seems slightly ridiculous when Android applications can all be run in the background. It’s said that the reason behind multitasking being limited is to conserve battery power; however I do this easily in Android with task mangers so it sounds like a bit of a copout on Apples part.
Furthermore, existing iPhone 3 (non-GS) users who upgrade to iOS 4 will not receive multitasking capabilities at all. Apple definitely seems to be misleading its users and will most certainly loose respect when a lot of the users learn that multitasking may not be available right off the bat. Multitasking seems to be more of a marketing ploy in an attempt to bring back hope to its OS since it’s quickly loosing market.
All-in-all… If you want a REAL multitasking experience… use Android.
Google Search Background
I remember when I first started making websites and learning basic html. Crappy web pages flooded the internet with huge full image backgrounds that not only made the site load freaking slow but also made everything hard to read and just looked plain awful. But now a-days with high resolution images, companies like Bing and Ask are decorating their relatively dull search engine pages with backgrounds.
Google has always maintained the idea of keeping their search page clean and with minimal links so I was a bit surprised to wake up and find a background image on their site. Good surprised! But I guess I’m one of the few. Google
forums are full of people complaining about how they hate the backgrounds. Good god folks, wait at least twenty four hours before you whine! I’m not really sure what the problem is, but it seems like every time Google does something neat people begin to bitch non-stop. There was an endless amount of complaints during the Pacman event. It would seem that the amount of people who understand Google thinking is very slim.
Now I’ll admit… Bing has done a very nice job in how they’ve placed their images (doing something right is a rarity for Microsoft). The images are small, centered and blend well with the overlay; but we tend to forget that Google is not one for tons of extras overlapping on their main page. To me an image is no different than a white background. Google was keeping things clean while making it better looking. However, I guess too many people have gotten use to Google’s over bleached look. Pitty how the so-called experts are crying about it as well, think Microsoft is paying them off?