Its not like these are things you need to have a major in AI to know; and the fact, I did a spot check of all the outlets that announced this ‘great event’, and with each one the commentators seemed to know more about the Turing test, and other problems with this story, then the writers.

Come on guys, I know you have to rush a story out to beat everyone, but at LEAST go back later and check your facts, or read the comments and update your story.

Its also safe to say many iOS users are not happy about this.  Many people by iPhone’s because its suppose to be more secure. However, its seems this is a case of users falling for a phishing scam so its not a ‘hack’ into Apple or your phone.  Yet one more reminder to NEVER give your password over email…. EVER!

As of this writing, still no answer from Apple on how to deal with this short of taking your phone to the Apple store.

Source: Apple Inc.

This has been a rough few days for Apple.  A ‘goto fail’ hole appeared in the OS that lets people defect a security server key which lets them do .. well not sure.  From a quick read of the code, seems like if you can get a false handshake to work then depending on the package you could redirect emails, sms messages, perhaps redirect the auth process and make the user buy something from the store?  Not sure, but here is the code.

static OSStatus SSLVerifySignedServerKeyExchange(SSLContext *ctx, bool isRsa, SSLBuffer signedParams, uint8_t *signature, UInt16 signatureLen) { OSStatus err; … if ((err = SSLHashSHA1.update(&hashCtx, &serverRandom)) != 0) goto fail; if ((err = SSLHashSHA1.update(&hashCtx, &signedParams)) != 0) goto fail; goto fail; if ((err = SSLHashSHA1.final(&hashCtx, &hashOut)) != 0) goto fail; … fail: SSLFreeBuffer(&signedHashes); SSLFreeBuffer(&hashCtx); return err; }

However, Apple has said they released a fix, so if you are swinging an Apple device, you may want to path up quickly.

However, every now and again, I would forget to fill her food bowl.  She would let me know this…. at 6:00am.  She was pretty insistent that she got her food.  If not, I would sometimes find gifts around the house that used to be food.  I fixed this quick enough by getting an auto feeder.  Life was good again.

Then one day I was talking to a Vet and she told me that I was basically giving her McDonald’s every day, thus her weight problem.  I needed to move her to better quality food targeted to overweight cats.  When I first bought it, she did not like it AT ALL.   So I bought what seemed like still healthy but not weight-loss food.  She likes that, so when I put the weight-loss food in, its her ‘disappointment’ food; called that because of her reaction when she sniffs it.  Then I put a little ‘favorite’ dry in and she is happy.  So as long as she gets some of the favorite food, then she can eat the disappointment food when she is really hungry.  Life was good again.

Then one day, I was talking to another Vet, and doing some research online and found out that older cats need wet food, and a dry food only diet was not great for cats of any age.  So as a single guy I bought wet food that was on sale as a compliment to the dry diet.

And then things went bad.

Seems that some brand of wet food is just as bad or worse then McDonalds because its FAR more addicting!  Yes my cat LOVES wet food.  So much so that she is no longer thrilled to get the favorite food, no, that was just a gateway drug to the Crack wet food.  And she has to have it.  The big mistake was we started feeding her wet food in the morning.  Then for a few weeks I had to get up really early in the morning, so I feed her then.  Now, as soon as the sun starts to rise, the demon cravings kicks in.  She HAS to have her wet good fix!  And after lots of meowing, if I do not get up, she needs to make a point.  Peeing on the shower mat is her first go to.  Then perhaps dropping little post food gifts on the floor.  One time peeing in my girlfriends slipper. And JUST INSIDE the slipper.  Pretty skilled if you ask me. For whatever reason, she blames my girlfriend for holding out on her.  Could still be jealous of the ‘new woman’ in my life.

So now I’m a slave to my Crack based wet food addicted cat.  I have to get up early in the morning, even on the weekends to give her her fix or else she will make me pay.

The next step is to buy healthy wet food and introduce that in the morning and give her a little bit of crack at night.  Hopefully, she will start to focus on wanting her fix at night, which is much easier to deal with, then at 6:00am.  Well see.

So a word of warning.. Be careful, DO NOT let your cat become a wet food crack head. Pay the extra money, get your cat the right food and for love’s sake, do NOT feed it first thing in the morning!

So out comes this article  month back on how EA is thinking of putting out an offline mode.  I read the post and though, ok, lets see when they do it.  Later on I returned back to this post and read what I though was a really wonderful comment from Casey Reece on Penny Arcade.  This comment sums up my feelings on SC and why I just cannot bring myself to give EA a penny for this game.

Why this entire episode has been so vile is that EA essentially took a series that had never before had a bad entry in it; and then used it to redefine the very concept of a “bad entry.”

This would be the same if Nintendo released a 2-D side-scrolling Mario game in 1999 that controlled horribly. When it decided to actually be recognized by the console.

Every Sim City game from the first onwards showed such ambition and such love, that those who loved it (rightly) in return were always rewarded. This is a series that has built up nearly a quarter century of good associations, good press, and good feelings. It was a staple in gaming that stood above the concerns of most games (do they work, does it control well, and will you still enjoy it in a year), and delivered on our expectations time and time again. The jump in conceptualization between the first and second Sim Cities was in essence a complete rebirth. The third Sim City then took everything the second did (and much, much more) and polished it even further.

The fourth in the series was an amalgamation of everything that everybody ever wanted in a Sim City game, period. It just nailed it. And nailed it so hard, that they didn’t even consider creating a new one for over a decade.

Until they did. And the concepts for the new Sim City were absolutely worthy of the title. Even so far as to actually justify just naming it “Sim City” and not having to do the “5” afterwards – because that is how large the ambition was with this title.

The idea that every Sim was individually counted – that your factories produced actual goods you could track and watch move throughout your city – that the graphical interface and the statistics (graphs) interface had melded together into a more organic, living, and real entity. This, alongside your map and commerce being directly relate-able to other online Sim City players gave the promise and potential of this Sim City title an absolutely star-bound voyage. And Sim City games were always great – they always came through – and they always rocked the house with whatever it is they tried to accomplish.

Except for this one.

But not only that – this one got things wrong that even the first Sim City got right. Actual balance between commerce, industry, and residential. That the third Sim City nailed; how to get the proper Sims to the proper situations (fire department, police, etc. – they didn’t have robbers doing stick ups right next to the police station – not even in the first).

Then, it turns out, the entire “advanced” engine which is having so many difficulties with acting legit is because the actual “advanced” engine was a lie. It could track a few thousand of your Sims, and after that, everything was made up. The very anti-thesis to what makes a Sim City game.

Even if you got some of the world’s most creative minds in the same room, they couldn’t have possibly planned a better screw-up of one of video-gaming’s most classic franchises. What had always stood as the absolute proof of all good that could be accomplished with and through games was essentially shot dead in a debacle of being unable to connect – and then unable to get a refund. The good will of a quarter century took EA essentially one month to devastate, blow-up, and then salt into the earth forever more.

And now they’re coming out with a game that supposedly is the actual game they promised in the first place? How is that even possible? The entire game was a lie to begin with – did they now manage to actually build the engine they promised and failed to deliver after how many years in production – now just after a few months? Promising to bring in features that should have never been removed – and then having the absolute gull to ask money for it?

That upgrade should be absolutely free. To have the nerve to release an absolutely ruined product, and then when you’re on the verge of (supposedly) correcting your mistake, they ask everyone to pay for it again?

Are they serious? Have they no idea how much bad-will they’ve brought upon themselves with this train-wreck from the start? Are they really that callous? That stupid?

Of course. It’s EA. America’s worst voted company two years running, and, from what they’re showing, at least a few years more.

Then I got one.

First off, as cool as it is to refocus a picture, it does not matter if the picture is not very good. I thought perhaps I was doing something wrong with the setting, but it did not matter, the camera simply does not take good pictures.  Second, I found the refocusing to be of almost no use.  Its very rare that I take a picture and think, oh damn, I really wanted to focus on THAT flower.   In fact, I would say 90% of the pictures I take, the subject is more then 6 feet away, this negating most of the depth of field benefit that you get from this technology.

Well its now on sale in the UK for £399.  I have a hard time imagining anyone is going to buy this.  However, it was pointed out to me that all three retailers in UK are known for middle – upper class department store buying.  This means they are most likely looking for the ‘someone-who-has-everything-and-most-likely-will-only-be-interested-for-a-day-but-were-rich-so-what-the-hell’ customer group.  The only interesting thing is there is a wifi chip built into the Lytro.  Did not know that.  Well with the more recent update, its turned on and you can now see your picture with the iphone companion app.  That’s nice.  Would have been better if they released that function out the box.

I do not expect this will get too many sales, it did not really fly in the US, so I have a hard time thinking its going to in the UK.

The big changes are as follows:

• Microsoft’s new stance will drop the always-online requirement for the console.
• Xbox One will no longer have to check in at least once every 24 hours for games to work.
• Game discs will work just as they do on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles — meaning no restrictions, new or used.
• An Internet connection is now only necessary for the initial console setup.
• Microsoft is even drop region-locking — you can play a game from Japan on an Xbox One from America, for example.
• Rental games are allowed.

Except from the press release

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.

Everything in this game costs you. To unlock a level is $99.99!   At one point in the review, they got 4 pops ups asking for money to restart a level.  Gezz..  And finally, when you finish a level, it tried to take you to some gambling site or something I do not even know.

I agree with these guys at the end of the review.  Where are the Apple police?  How did this even get past review?  Not only is this app scam, its also blatant copyright infringement.

And here is the Video.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtHgTOjSyWE

The new lock screen bug was first documented by YouTube user videosdebarraquito, who posted a video demoing the procedure. The basic gist, seen in the video below, is to eject the iPhone’s SIM card while using the built-in voice controls to make a phone call.

Right now, the video is not showing up because I have to guess too many people are loading it, but it should show up in a bit.  But as I always advise, if you do not REALLY need this update, do not bother with it.  There is a video posted on thenextweb, so I grabbed that.

Update; the iOS 6.1.3  security flaw can be avoided easily. You should disable the “Voice Dial” option if you want to be safe.   This is not confirmed.