Apple Jan. 27 launch event... what will it be?

[Jeff Lebowski]

All you need for home automation is a wifi network so you can talk to your devices/appliances/whatever through the internet. I can control my sprinklers from a desktop in Siberia or an iPhone in Australia. They never really connect to my desktop.

Yep.

In fact, it seems that computers in Siberia have been talking to a lot of home automation systems!

http://thehackernews.com/2014/01/100...ther-home.html

[Bo Diddley]

Yep.

In fact, it seems that computers in Siberia have been talking to a lot of home automation systems!

http://thehackernews.com/2014/01/100...ther-home.html

Yes, so then why would you ever want to change the way you do home automation?

[Uncle Ted]

Who connects stuff to their desktop with dongles or wires? My keyboard and touch pad are wireless as are my Garmin watch. My iPhone syncs without wires. I have a 4tb external drive that uses Thunderbolt, so I guess it's connected by a wire but I'd prefer to move it to a different location in the home since it's also my backup disk. I do have a 4 year old Garmin 500 that needs a wire to sync, so I guess I'd still need a dongle there.

I use a FreeNAS box to do TimeMachine backups to. The FreeNAS box uses RAID 5/6 so if I lose a hard drive then I am still good with my backups. Also, the FreeNAS box backs itself up to the "cloud" (rather than sending laptops through the postal mail like our former secretary of state). Everything is encrypted to keep the NSA out of my business. (I believe in backups.)

No wires/dongles for me and my family on our iMac or laptops.

[Moliere]

Yep.

In fact, it seems that computers in Siberia have been talking to a lot of home automation systems!

http://thehackernews.com/2014/01/100...ther-home.html

I really, really, really want a bluetooth enabled front door lock, mostly because when I wake up early and go cycling I don't want to take my keys with me but I do take my phone. I've hesitated on getting one because (1) it seems there's quite a few bugs with them and (2) I do worry about the hackability...although if someone really wanted to get into my house there are much easier ways than hacking the front door lock. As of right now, a hacker can just turn on my sprinklers and make my upstairs really warm.

[Uncle Ted]

I really, really, really want a bluetooth enabled front door lock, mostly because when I wake up early and go cycling I don't want to take my keys with me but I do take my phone. I've hesitated on getting one because (1) it seems there's quite a few bugs with them and (2) I do worry about the hackability...although if someone really wanted to get into my house there are much easier ways than hacking the front door lock. As of right now, a hacker can just turn on my sprinklers and make my upstairs really warm.

Just make sure it is Apple HomeKit certified and you should be OK.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yes, so then why would you ever want to change the way you do home automation?

Good call, BD. Once we connect these devices to a desktop computer, these DDOS attacks will be a thing of the past.

In other news, stay tuned for a triumphant return of slide rule!

[Moliere]

Just make sure it is Apple HomeKit certified and you should be OK.

Why? So you can hack in through your Apple coding magic? No thanks!

[Bo Diddley]

Good call, BD. Once we connect these devices to a desktop computer, these DDOS attacks will be a thing of the past.

In other news, stay tuned for a triumphant return of slide rule!

Apparently I'm the last of the visionaries.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The $3,000 Microsoft Surface Desktop is more about branding than anything. I doubt Dodge ever made a profit from the Viper. MS is trying to gain some prestige for their hardware. All the better for them if they can get some power users to use their gear.

[BigPiney]

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...hiller-2016-11

The Pro's high price and RAM limitations have brought the most complaints, but another source of ire is its lack of an SD card slot. In short, that's the thing that lets you pop a high-end camera's memory card into your notebook and quickly transfer photos. Since a lot of professional photographers use MacBook Pros, any of them looking to upgrade might not be happy needing a dongle to do what was simple before.

The Dongle Strikes Again!!

though Schiller said the SD slot is worth sacrificing for professional photographers, he defended the decision to keep the Pro's 3.5 mm headphone jack by saying it's necessary for professional audiomakers.

lol

[Art Vandelay]

Dongle or no dongle, i don't care. I will take my Cellebrite and see what kind of sick stuff y'all are into.

https://theintercept.com/2016/10/31/fbis-go-hackers/

Cellebrite’s edge lies in its ability to extract data from more mobile operating systems and chips than its competitors, often producing solutions faster than rivals. Each time a new version of a mobile phone or an update to an existing operating system is released, Cellebrite’s team of reverse engineers goes into assault mode to find zero-day vulnerabilities and other hidden pathways that will give the engineers access to data the phone makers have worked hard to block. In some cases, they’re already working on new phones before they’re released. That’s because some vendors — Cellebrite won’t say which ones, but Apple isn’t among them — ship a sample of their new phones to Cellebrite three months before they’re released, giving Cellebrite engineers a head start in cracking the devices. It’s a practice that dates back to the company’s original business, selling gear to cellular carriers that helped their customers migrate contacts from one phone to another.

[CJF]

My luck of never having a screen break ended with the Cubs win. I dropped my Pro on my tile floor. Not good. Luckily I have AppleCare so it shouldn't be bad. I'm not looking forward to 108 year curse on me.

[Uncle Ted]

My luck of never having a screen break ended with the Cubs win. I dropped my Pro on my tile floor. Not good. Luckily I have AppleCare so it shouldn't be bad. I'm not looking forward to 108 year curse on me.

Apple has a flat rate repair of $310 on MBP's that they don't really advertise. For $310 they will repair everything wrong with it. However, with AppleCare it should be less than that.

[CJF]

Apple has a flat rate repair of $310 on MBP's that they don't really advertise. For $310 they will repair everything wrong with it. However, with AppleCare it should be less than that.

I set up the exchange last night. It will be $49 plus tax for a replacement. Not bad. I bought AppleCare+ as an impulse purchase. I had never purchased it before, but with two young kids I thought it was worth the $99. Glad I did it.

[Uncle Ted]

Let's see... expensive Android phones' batteries blow up and have been banned from passenger flights. Cheap Android phones just send all your text messages, contacts, phone logs, etc. to China:

Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

For about $50, you can get a smartphone with a high-definition display, fast data service and, according to security contractors, a secret feature: a backdoor that sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours.


Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. The American authorities say it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising purposes or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.
[...]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us...-security.html

Tell me again what you don't like about iPhones?