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> I'll just wait for your phone to download an update for one of the 100 apps that are set to autoupdate whenever it's within range of a wifi, do an injection attack

If only software engineer had devised some sort of method to ensure that code ran on the OS had not been tampered with. And if only Apple engineers had heard of it.

If somebody ever comes up with such a clever method to foil J. Random Criminal's cunning ploy, I suggest we call it something that brings to mind the analogy with real-world transaction authentication adapted to computer systems... "Digital signing", maybe?

My favorite part about Apple's virus/malware policy is how, when someone would publicly point out a security flaw, Apple would proceed to demonize and harangue them in an attempt to ruin that person's reputation... then quietly include a fix for the aforementioned flaw in their next OS update, never once admitting that there was a legitimate issue.

In reality, Apple credits everybody (first) reporting an issue to them in the documentation of the security updates. Well, maybe not if they acted like complete asshats - is that what happened to you?

Apples' own "Export Compliance" page.

Source:
http://www.apple.com/legal/export.html ..about 7/8 down the page.

PROHIBITED DESTINATIONS
The U.S. holds complete embargoes against Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria

The exportation, reexportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a U.S. person wherever located, of any Apple goods, software, technology (including technical data), or services to any of these countries is strictly prohibited without prior authorization by the U.S. Government. This prohibition also applies to any Apple owned subsidiary or any subsidiary employee worldwide.

I'm not an Apple fanboy by any stretch of the imagination, but Apple HAS been suggesting that Mac owners get some sort of AV solution since the days of OS 9.x.x.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50569

Any citation for the claim that access to the Terminal will be restricted in the future? Or that the putative restrictions will only apply to expensive "workstations"? Or is it just something you've been saying?

Just something I have been saying, based on where the general market for personal computers is moving and based on the enormous success Apple has had with its "App Store." There is a trend towards locked-down computing, and Apple is a leader in that category. So far, they have been nice enough to limit the lock-down to their iPad/iPhone/iPod line, but there is no real reason why their "consumer" MacBooks and Mac Mini systems could not be locked down. There would be plenty of money in it for them if they did that sort of thing.

Anyone can write software for the Mac

For now.

If it's for your own use, that's the end of the story

Yet that is not what we see with the iPad. You cannot plug in a keyboard and start hacking; you need another computer for that, for no reason other than the restrictions that were designed into iOS.

In the future, anyone can request a certificate that will permit distribution of their software

For a fee; again, look at what happens with iOS.

XCode runs on all Macs from Mini to MacPro

There is no reason for Apple not to demand that people pay for a "professional" system before they are allowed to write their own programs. Most consumers do not write software, and most of the money Apple is seeing from the App Store and from the general software ecosystem of their iPad/etc. line comes from programs written by people who use expensive workstations. There are a few big stories about some kid using his low-end Mac to write an app with lots of downloads, but look at who wrote the most popular apps in the store (scroll down):

https://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/

Written by and copyrighted by corporations, including such big corporations as Disney and Sony. Do you think those places are buying their programmers Mac Minis, or the highest end workstations?

It is not as though Mac OS X has a strong developer community or open source ecosystem surrounding it. Yes, those things exist for Mac OS X, but the overwhelming majority of OS X users do not care -- they use proprietary software written by big companies like Apple, Adobe, and Microsoft. The hacker culture surrounding Apple is dead; Woz is gone, the perception that users should be able to replace batteries or disks is fading, and the new approach is based on users having their computation managed by Apple.

I run Windows - & haven't had ANYTHING happen to my system since, oh, early 1996 (that's when I learned how to REALLY "security-harden" my computers' Operating Systems + wares used):

You can security-harden modern Operating Systems QUITE WELL, & it's even EASY TO DO, if you use a tool like the multi-platform + highly esteemed ( http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9018362/CIS_tool_aims_to_help_federal_agencies_check_Windows_security_settings ) based on "industry best practices" recommendations of CIS Tool -> http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=%22HOW+TO+SECURE+Windows+2000/XP%22&btnG=Search&gbv=1&sei=W53oT_jaLKbp6gGXoe3gDg

That, along with a little end-user education (which it goes into a LOT on that note) on where threats come from, how to stop them, & to use common-sense (along with conscientious patching of OS &/or wares a user uses) goes a LONG ways...

* CIS Tool's also ready for Windows 7 + Server 2008!

However/Catch-22 (not really, & how/why) - it's not FREE like the ones for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 were, but, it has a 30 day demo (and you can make the alterations it suggests, & then, use regedit.exe to export those changes OR .inf files to merge too, & that way? You have the settings for "security-hardening" your rig that way, forever!)

---

"Apple is insanely more secure then Windows and only slightly less secure then Linux, I think they should use what they have and just call it like it is." - by Murdoch5 (1563847) on Monday June 25, @01:51PM (#40441235)

LOL, Apple didn't have EACH OF THE FOLLOWING before Windows did:

---

1.) PatchGuard
2.) ASRL
3.) DEP

---

So, what was THAT you were saying? By the by, outta the box/oem-stock??

NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS AS SECURED AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN BE:

Proof? Well, there's what CIS Tool shows you on both Linux &/or Windows, AND?? Apple puts out this security guide for MacOS X too:

http://www.apple.com/support/security/guides/

SO, IF MacOS X is "so secure" AS YOU STATED, & RIGHT OUTTA THE BOX/OEM-STOCK? Why the security guide above & beyond the stock settings then??

(NO - not even SeLinux bearing Linux distros, which copied the idea of ACL's from Windows NT-based OS, in their MAC (mandatory access control) analog of it... Since Linux didn't even have anything REMOTELY close to being like it & yes, it helps, a lot...)...

APK

P.S.=> It's gotten results like the following quoted testimonials from a fellow that does PC Repair & more, from his family, himself, friends, & clients he's applied that guide's recommendations TO THE LETTER to:

QUOTED TESTIMONIALS TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SAID LAYERED SECURITY GUIDE I AUTHORED:

http://www.xtremepccentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=672ebdf47af75a0c5b0d9e7278be305f&t=28430&page=2

"I recently, months ago when you finally got this guide done, had authorization to try this on simple work station for kids. My client, who paid me an ungodly amount of money to do this, has been PROBLEM FREE FOR MONTHS! I haven't even had a follow up call which is unusual." - THRONKA, user of my guide @ XTremePcCentral

AND

"APK, thanks for such a great guide. This would, and should, be an inspiration to such security measures. Also, the pc that has "tweaks": IS STILL

Yeah, now you've got... this thing: http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/. No humor to be found there. That said, get your timeline straight: the one button mouse was discontinued as Apple's official mouse in 2007. Not 20 years ago.

I think you'll find most people who do not think highly of Apple here think just as little of Microsoft. I know it can be hard to get out of the mentality that it is Apple vs. Microsoft and you have to pick one, but there are, in fact, people who have legitimate reasons to dislike both the company you love and the company you hate.

I've yet to see anyone with a clue as to the law, comment. You're obviously not an expert. Neither is the drone.

I never claimed I had a clue regarding the law. I also never claimed the employee had a clue. I was about to accuse you of not reading what I wrote, but then I realized that all the stuff I would have been referring to was in response to other people, and not in this thread. >_

It's not clear what Apple's policy is or isn't

Sure it is. Here's a link to it: http://www.apple.com/legal/export.html

Here's the relevant portion for your convenience (emphasis theirs):

PROHIBITED DESTINATIONS
The U.S. holds complete embargoes against Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria

The exportation, reexportation, sale or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a U.S. person wherever located, of any Apple goods, software, technology (including technical data), or services to any of these countries is strictly prohibited without prior authorization by the U.S. Government. This prohibition also applies to any Apple owned subsidiary or any subsidiary employee worldwide.

I was suggesting he, as an Iranian, was likely aware of Apple's policy that seems to ban indirect sales to Iran. Because of that, it's quite understandable that he would take the safer route and refuse service to a customer (isn't that still a right that a store can exercise?). I'll certainly grant that doing so may not have been the best approach, but I still think it was perfectly reasonable for him to have done so.

it's clear what a low-level corporate representative said ("you can buy it," and not under any PR pressure).

I'd call this entire story PR pressure. They only approved the purchase after these articles were posted.

What you're all doing is blowing smoke to justify a policy that violates equal protection under the law. That's racism, pure and simple.

That sort of comment is exactly what I was arguing against in the first place. You're inserting claims of racism where race is not a factor at all. This is about a country. What race that country is made up of does not matter in the least for the purposes of anything I've argued, but hey, thanks for accusing me of racism.

My entire point is that, given the information we have available, I don't see how anyone can consider what he did to be unreasonable. He seems to have had reason to believe the iPad would be going to Iran, doesn't have the education of a lawyer such as yourself, was doubtless aware of Apple's policy regarding sales to Iran, and probably didn't want to get in trouble with the law or Apple. Race has nothing to do with it, and neither he nor the customer seem to have indicated that he cited it as the reason for refusing the sale.

Were there better alternatives he could've engaged in? Almost certainly. Is what he did illegal? I'll leave that to you lawyers to decide. Is what he did reasonable? I certainly believe so, and don't see how any typical person could think otherwise.

• In Millions:
• Mac Desktops (1)(9): 1,936
• Mac Portables (2)(9): 4,662
• iPod (3)(9): 2,528
• Other Music Related Products and Services (4): 2,027
• iPhone and Related Products and Services (5)(9): 24,417
• iPad and Related Products and Services (6)(9): 9,153
• Peripherals and Other Hardware (7): 766
• Software, Service and Other Sales (8): 844

(1) Includes revenue from iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro sales.
(2) Includes revenue from MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro sales.
(3) Includes revenue from iPod sales.
(4) Includes revenue from sales from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore in addition to sales of iPod services and Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories.
(5) Includes revenue from sales of iPhone, iPhone services, and Apple-branded and third-party iPhone accessories.
(6) Includes revenue from sales of iPad, iPad services, and Apple-branded and third-party iPad accessories.
(7) Includes revenue from sales of displays, networking product, and other hardware.
(8) Includes revenue from sales of Apple-branded and third-party Mac software, and services.
(9) Includes amortization of related revenue deferred for non-software services and embedded software upgrade rights.

Apple makes almost as much money in iPod (2.5) hardware than they make in Apps, Media, and software sales (2.0+ 0.8) combined. The iTunes revenue also includes iPod accessories as well. And any revenue from the App or Media or Mac App store to Apple is only 30% of reported revenue as they have to give the original content owner their 70% cut first. Bottom line: Apple makes most of their money from hardware. This isn't hard to look up.

Software took another turn recently... The new Mac OS Mountain Lion costs $20 for instance.

And for a more appropriate comparison than an upgrade of a 12 month old version of an OS, iWork costs $79.

In fact, there's already a bloody iPhone app!

For the love of Pete!! Pulse oximetry is not the same thing! Will ignorance ever tire of dismissively posting wildly inaccurate information to slashdot summaries??!!

Yeah, I was thinking that something like this could be applied rather easily to monitor breathing and heart rates ...

There are iPhone apps that relatively accurately detect heart rate... Cardiograph is one that seems to work well as an pulse oximeter, ... and I was about to try to explain what that was... those things that check heart rate with a sensor on your finger ... I read the wiki article... don't ask me how it works... something about arterial globins.

Not all native applications. The company I work for still has a few. The organisation I worked for before had a few ActiveX only solutions.

Fair enough.

Everywhere I've worked has used Outlook.

Outlook Web App

World of Warcraft doesn't run in a browser

I'm afraid it does

and only has official clients for Windows or a much more expensive alternative.

If you are referring to OS X, you are gravely mistaken:

Windows 7 for $72 - $239

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for $29,
OS X 10.7 Lion usb drive installer for $69,
OS X 10.7 Lion App Store download for $29.99, and
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for $19.99

Photoshop doesn't run in a browser.

Photoshop in a browser. and here's 9 more alternatives of varying complexity and ability.

AutoDesk doesn't run in a browser and: "Note: The Autodesk Design Review Browser Add-in does not support scripting or automation in the browser because Firefox and Chrome do not support COM controls." - Windows only restrictions on their browser plugin.

Autodesk in a browser. Of the particular plugin of which you speak, that is true. But since you last looked, they have made a new, different, web based CAD application that indeed allows you to create, edit and use the familiar tools of the native application.

Hardware drivers don't run in a browser and again the alternatives don't always support hardware as well as Windows does - look at the criticism of both NVidia and AMD this week for worse support for Linux than Windows.

I don't see how this matters, but you got me! I can't find any browser based hardware drivers.

Face it. You and your hysterical friend below are wrong. Windows is entrenched. It's the 21st century mainframe. It might go away eventually but we're stuck with it for now and for a long time to come. There is no realistic alternative to it. That's realistic, not just another OS with a GUI and an slightly worse office suite, but an OS that can run whatever people want and need it to. That is Windows largely.

I think you might be a little out of touch... stuck in 2002 perhaps.

These days, that Windows is still most popular among commercial installations is, again, incidental. All it takes is a progressive CIO or CTO to unseat Windows from any particular installation. It is a desktop... it is not essential. Any desktop will do.

Mac OS X is great but the devices it runs on are far more expensive than Windows machines. No corporation will be spending twice as much on computers that won't run all their software and Mac home users tend to have a Windows machine/partition as well.

I don't know why this myth keeps getting perpetuated. Feature for feature, Apple's hardware is always proven to cost within 10% of the competition or less. This is

Not all native applications. The company I work for still has a few. The organisation I worked for before had a few ActiveX only solutions.

Fair enough.

Everywhere I've worked has used Outlook.

Outlook Web App

World of Warcraft doesn't run in a browser

I'm afraid it does

and only has official clients for Windows or a much more expensive alternative.

If you are referring to OS X, you are gravely mistaken:

Windows 7 for $72 - $239

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for $29,
OS X 10.7 Lion usb drive installer for $69,
OS X 10.7 Lion App Store download for $29.99, and
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for $19.99

Photoshop doesn't run in a browser.

Photoshop in a browser. and here's 9 more alternatives of varying complexity and ability.

AutoDesk doesn't run in a browser and: "Note: The Autodesk Design Review Browser Add-in does not support scripting or automation in the browser because Firefox and Chrome do not support COM controls." - Windows only restrictions on their browser plugin.

Autodesk in a browser. Of the particular plugin of which you speak, that is true. But since you last looked, they have made a new, different, web based CAD application that indeed allows you to create, edit and use the familiar tools of the native application.

Hardware drivers don't run in a browser and again the alternatives don't always support hardware as well as Windows does - look at the criticism of both NVidia and AMD this week for worse support for Linux than Windows.

I don't see how this matters, but you got me! I can't find any browser based hardware drivers.

Face it. You and your hysterical friend below are wrong. Windows is entrenched. It's the 21st century mainframe. It might go away eventually but we're stuck with it for now and for a long time to come. There is no realistic alternative to it. That's realistic, not just another OS with a GUI and an slightly worse office suite, but an OS that can run whatever people want and need it to. That is Windows largely.

I think you might be a little out of touch... stuck in 2002 perhaps.

These days, that Windows is still most popular among commercial installations is, again, incidental. All it takes is a progressive CIO or CTO to unseat Windows from any particular installation. It is a desktop... it is not essential. Any desktop will do.

Mac OS X is great but the devices it runs on are far more expensive than Windows machines. No corporation will be spending twice as much on computers that won't run all their software and Mac home users tend to have a Windows machine/partition as well.

I don't know why this myth keeps getting perpetuated. Feature for feature, Apple's hardware is always proven to cost within 10% of the competition or less. This is

Not all native applications. The company I work for still has a few. The organisation I worked for before had a few ActiveX only solutions.

Fair enough.

Everywhere I've worked has used Outlook.

Outlook Web App

World of Warcraft doesn't run in a browser

I'm afraid it does

and only has official clients for Windows or a much more expensive alternative.

If you are referring to OS X, you are gravely mistaken:

Windows 7 for $72 - $239

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for $29,
OS X 10.7 Lion usb drive installer for $69,
OS X 10.7 Lion App Store download for $29.99, and
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for $19.99

Photoshop doesn't run in a browser.

Photoshop in a browser. and here's 9 more alternatives of varying complexity and ability.

AutoDesk doesn't run in a browser and: "Note: The Autodesk Design Review Browser Add-in does not support scripting or automation in the browser because Firefox and Chrome do not support COM controls." - Windows only restrictions on their browser plugin.

Autodesk in a browser. Of the particular plugin of which you speak, that is true. But since you last looked, they have made a new, different, web based CAD application that indeed allows you to create, edit and use the familiar tools of the native application.

Hardware drivers don't run in a browser and again the alternatives don't always support hardware as well as Windows does - look at the criticism of both NVidia and AMD this week for worse support for Linux than Windows.

I don't see how this matters, but you got me! I can't find any browser based hardware drivers.

Face it. You and your hysterical friend below are wrong. Windows is entrenched. It's the 21st century mainframe. It might go away eventually but we're stuck with it for now and for a long time to come. There is no realistic alternative to it. That's realistic, not just another OS with a GUI and an slightly worse office suite, but an OS that can run whatever people want and need it to. That is Windows largely.

I think you might be a little out of touch... stuck in 2002 perhaps.

These days, that Windows is still most popular among commercial installations is, again, incidental. All it takes is a progressive CIO or CTO to unseat Windows from any particular installation. It is a desktop... it is not essential. Any desktop will do.

Mac OS X is great but the devices it runs on are far more expensive than Windows machines. No corporation will be spending twice as much on computers that won't run all their software and Mac home users tend to have a Windows machine/partition as well.

I don't know why this myth keeps getting perpetuated. Feature for feature, Apple's hardware is always proven to cost within 10% of the competition or less. This is

Not all native applications. The company I work for still has a few. The organisation I worked for before had a few ActiveX only solutions.

Fair enough.

Everywhere I've worked has used Outlook.

Outlook Web App

World of Warcraft doesn't run in a browser

I'm afraid it does

and only has official clients for Windows or a much more expensive alternative.

If you are referring to OS X, you are gravely mistaken:

Windows 7 for $72 - $239

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for $29,
OS X 10.7 Lion usb drive installer for $69,
OS X 10.7 Lion App Store download for $29.99, and
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion for $19.99

Photoshop doesn't run in a browser.

Photoshop in a browser. and here's 9 more alternatives of varying complexity and ability.

AutoDesk doesn't run in a browser and: "Note: The Autodesk Design Review Browser Add-in does not support scripting or automation in the browser because Firefox and Chrome do not support COM controls." - Windows only restrictions on their browser plugin.

Autodesk in a browser. Of the particular plugin of which you speak, that is true. But since you last looked, they have made a new, different, web based CAD application that indeed allows you to create, edit and use the familiar tools of the native application.

Hardware drivers don't run in a browser and again the alternatives don't always support hardware as well as Windows does - look at the criticism of both NVidia and AMD this week for worse support for Linux than Windows.

I don't see how this matters, but you got me! I can't find any browser based hardware drivers.

Face it. You and your hysterical friend below are wrong. Windows is entrenched. It's the 21st century mainframe. It might go away eventually but we're stuck with it for now and for a long time to come. There is no realistic alternative to it. That's realistic, not just another OS with a GUI and an slightly worse office suite, but an OS that can run whatever people want and need it to. That is Windows largely.

I think you might be a little out of touch... stuck in 2002 perhaps.

These days, that Windows is still most popular among commercial installations is, again, incidental. All it takes is a progressive CIO or CTO to unseat Windows from any particular installation. It is a desktop... it is not essential. Any desktop will do.

Mac OS X is great but the devices it runs on are far more expensive than Windows machines. No corporation will be spending twice as much on computers that won't run all their software and Mac home users tend to have a Windows machine/partition as well.

I don't know why this myth keeps getting perpetuated. Feature for feature, Apple's hardware is always proven to cost within 10% of the competition or less. This is

I hate to break it to you but many apps in the AppStore, including award-winning ones are built in Flash and packaged as apps.

And the ones that don't suck aren't.

We have a Flex AIR app that compiles to iOS and Android (plus all the other usual suspects). It runs better than _any_ of our competitor's, especially the ones based on HTML5. Oh, and the HTML5 based apps look like crap, in addition to running like it.

Now I realize that coding in pure native has the potential to be faster, but in practice, your developer is the limiting reagent. We greatly benefit from the cross platform capabilities and rapid development (scale-9 slicing + solid vector graphic framework+ countless other things I have been spoiled with over the years), and all without any noticeable degradation in performance.

I hope more people are as closed minded as you, because that means more money for me.

That's nothing, I know of guys who listen to their iTunes libraries while designing stuff related to nuclear weapons and missiles, in complete violation of the iTunes EULA! (See section g).

Good lord, hack-a-day featured this over 2 1/2 weeks ago. In fact, there's already a bloody iPhone app!

I hate to break it to you but many apps in the AppStore, including award-winning ones are built in Flash and packaged as apps.

And the ones that don't suck aren't.

I hate to break it to you but many apps in the AppStore, including award-winning ones are built in Flash and packaged as apps.

The whole crusade against flash is just the new generation rebelling the old one, not completely unlike the nosql movement.

And Apple will make your screen like those 80s mirror glasses and call it a feature.

ORLY?

Then explain THIS Press Release, which says, in part "The Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, and has 75 percent less reflection and 29 percent higher contrast than the previous generation." (which verbage was pretty much duplicated in Phil Schiller's demo of the MBPwRD at WWDC last week.

But you just go on spewin' that Apple Hate. Afterall, you came to the right place (Slashdot).

Also, Moth-Eye AG coatings existed before Sony's Patent. Here's one that has been a PRODUCT since at least 2008. And that took exactly 5 seconds of Google search. There may be even earlier examples. So, what's all this about a PATENT again?

True... and Apple is becoming famous for making us pay for what we already have, and as a consequence, stifling any growth that would come from existing technology. They are an embarrasment to tech, even if they do put out a shiny well crafted piece.

WTF are you talking about? Are you really serious?

Let's break your unsubstantiated remarks one phrase at a time:

Apple is becoming famous for making us pay for what we already have

What are you talking about? iTunes? Seriously? And how is Apple different in that regard from, say Amazon? You don't have to repurchase your 30 year old copy of Sgt. Peppers, you could have sucked it right up into iTunes (or whatever player you wanted) from your barely-playable vinyl copy (if your turntable still worked...).

Rip. Mix. Burn. Remember who's ad campaign that was?

stifling any growth that would come from existing technology.

You're serious, right? You do realize, of course, that you're talking about the same company who won a Grammy Award in 2002 for "outstanding technical contributions to the music industry and recording field. This is the first Technical GRAMMY ever awarded to a PC company."

How is that stifling growth that would come from existing technology? The technology existed; Apple just made it accessible to many, many more people. How is that "stifling" anything?

They are an embarrasment to tech

Again; you simply cannot be serious!

Not only is this yet another wholly unsubstantiated statement; but, it is belied by even your own very next statement, and I quote: "even if they do put out a shiny well crafted piece." (emphasis mine).

Do I really have to say anything more? The first and second clauses of your sentence cannot both be true. And considering the several tech industry awards they have received, I would venture that your statement about them being an "embarrassment" to anything is quite laughable, and in fact is an embarrassment... To you!

iTunes Genius is exactly that service. It suggests music you may like based on profiling your listening habits.

So? That's from you, to you. No privacy violation.

It gathers data about what you listen to, and uses your habits to suggest songs to other service users.

Anonymized habits. Again, So?

Ever hear of the "Hot 100" or "Top 40" on popular Radio Stations like, since forever? How do you think they figure out what songs to put on that list? Have you never been influenced in the slightest by movie, music or game reviews? Have you never bought anything because you liked the "customer feedback" comments?

And it's built in to every iPhone, iPod, and iPad they ship.

Um, Genius has a SWITCH on it, ya know, and in fact, it comes set to OFF by default, as denoted by this line from page 40 of the iOS 5.1 manual for iPod Touch: "To use Genius on iPod touch, first turn on Genius in iTunes"... I personally keep mine set to OFF; but you may be too stupid for that, and instead prefer to whine NEEDLESSLY...

Now fuck off, you waste of bandwidth!

1) No *built-in* data ports. Options available:
http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/5-in-1-connection-kit-gives-the-ipad-the-ports-you-wish-it-had-20110324/
Also, bluetooth for keyboards. Wifi for printing. Works great.

2) Spreadsheets are representative of content? Ok.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/numbers.html
You might want to look at more content creation:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/imovie.html

3) Enterprise support:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/enterprise/

Perhaps you should do a little bit of research before spouting off.

1) No *built-in* data ports. Options available:
http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/5-in-1-connection-kit-gives-the-ipad-the-ports-you-wish-it-had-20110324/
Also, bluetooth for keyboards. Wifi for printing. Works great.

2) Spreadsheets are representative of content? Ok.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/numbers.html
You might want to look at more content creation:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/imovie.html

3) Enterprise support:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/enterprise/

Perhaps you should do a little bit of research before spouting off.

1) No *built-in* data ports. Options available:
http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/5-in-1-connection-kit-gives-the-ipad-the-ports-you-wish-it-had-20110324/
Also, bluetooth for keyboards. Wifi for printing. Works great.

2) Spreadsheets are representative of content? Ok.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/numbers.html
You might want to look at more content creation:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/imovie.html

3) Enterprise support:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/enterprise/

Perhaps you should do a little bit of research before spouting off.

1) No data ports - Want to plug in a keyboard? Want to plug in a thumb drive? Want to plug in a printer or peripheral of any sort? Fugetaboutit.

Millions of unit sales suggest that this isn't as big a problem as you suggest. Want a keyboard? Use bluetooth. Want to use a external storage? Use dropbox or any of the dozens of other online storage sites that allow you to access the same thing over wifi or 3g/4g data. Want to print? Print over the network using AirPrint. I do this occasionally, works great. Want to connect other peripherals? I connect my camera, headphones, and an external battery pack to my iPad all the time. What peripherals specifically do you imagine you need? Or are you just sharing FUD?

2) Content creation is horrible - Typing a document or entering formulas into a spreadsheet requires a keyboard. That'll cost you an extra $60. And it takes about twice as long to navigate the word processor or spreadsheet software to do what needs to be done. Even after you've created the files, you then need to email them to your computer or use a 3rd party data service if you don't have a Mac.

If you think that "allowing up to 2x the typing speed of an on-screen keyboard" means these new gimmicky covers are going to be usable and fast as keyboards, you're in for a surprise. Typing lots of data will still require a *good* real keyboard. Yes, it'll cost you $50 bucks or so to buy a bluetooth keyboard. No, it will not take you twice as long to navigate the word processor or spreadsheet software to do what needs to be done. I write documents using an external keyboard and my iPad frequently. It took me less time to get used to working in Pages on the iPad than it did for me to learn how to use the goddamned ribbon interface in Office 2010. And once I've created the files? I save them in Dropbox. Which means they're "just there," waiting for me when I sit down at my computer, ready to edit.

3) Terrible to administer in the enterprise - iPads sync to only one computer.

Then it's not an "enterprise" deployment, if your users are syncing and adding all kinds of data themselves on their own laptops.

iPad storage cannot be backed up & mirrored

Except that's completely false, too. iPads back themselves up (either to iCloud, or local PC) as a routine part of their sync, and those backups can be both encrypted and copied elsewhere, since they're basically disk images.

Apps and iOS updates must be done one-at-a-time.

Uh... what? Are you complaining that Dropbox isn't included in the iOS baseline? I update multiple apps frequently, since I don't check for updates more than once ever two weeks or so. I've never had a problem clicking the "Update All" button, and allowing it to download updates - even *over the air!*

Apps / software must be Apple-approved and Apple-distributed

No, they don't. Again, if you don't know that enterprises can roll out the Apple Configurator which will allow you to manage many iOS devices, settings, applications, and even distribute your own iOS apps, built and signed by your company, to your iOS devices, without Apple having a single thing to do with any of it.

iPads were not built for the enterprise, and the enterprise has had to bend over backwards for Apple just to make the iPad work for their business.

Since you are completely incompetent and ignorant of the support for enterprise usage that Apple has for the iPad, I suggest you go start reading. Your job may depend on it, friend - it's clear that you have a lot of frustration, but the fact of the matter is, your frustration is born of your own ignorance, and that's easily remedied. Start reading here, and be amazed!

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/windows/videogallery2b.aspx

I plan to get one of these to use all day with OneNote.

Microsoft is blending the device for viewing and for creating.

Yeah, if only you could get OneNote on the iPad, huh?

"Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be rejected."

That's not a non-compete rule. That's a "don't copy our app designs" rule. I mean you'd have to be pretty brazen to copy an Apple app, then expect Apple to sell it for you on their store. And yet people are that brazen... read on...

Now lets get down to business. Will Apple pull a competing app?/quote>

Evi is still there, despite obviously being named and designed to be a Siri clone. So the answer to your question appears to be "no".

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/evi/id463296609?mt=8

And there are plenty more, such as this one who's icon is very obviously meant to suggest Siri.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/voice-assistant+/id517603342?mt=8

The anti-Apple crowd makes much of Apple App Store rules. But the rules are not unreasonable nor their implementation usually capricious, they're pretty reasonable. With about 600,000 apps approved so far there have been remarkably few instances where poor judgement has been made by a reviewer, but they are endlessly recycled as links. Even ones where there wasn't really a problem, but the story has been misrepresented. Like the two links you gave.

"Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be rejected."

That's not a non-compete rule. That's a "don't copy our app designs" rule. I mean you'd have to be pretty brazen to copy an Apple app, then expect Apple to sell it for you on their store. And yet people are that brazen... read on...

Now lets get down to business. Will Apple pull a competing app?/quote>

Evi is still there, despite obviously being named and designed to be a Siri clone. So the answer to your question appears to be "no".

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/evi/id463296609?mt=8

And there are plenty more, such as this one who's icon is very obviously meant to suggest Siri.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/voice-assistant+/id517603342?mt=8

The anti-Apple crowd makes much of Apple App Store rules. But the rules are not unreasonable nor their implementation usually capricious, they're pretty reasonable. With about 600,000 apps approved so far there have been remarkably few instances where poor judgement has been made by a reviewer, but they are endlessly recycled as links. Even ones where there wasn't really a problem, but the story has been misrepresented. Like the two links you gave.

I agree with you that a touch screen won't work. Though Apple is switching people from mice to laptop style trackpads ( http://www.apple.com/magictrackpad/ ) more like a laptop configuration even for desktop users. And as a laptop & tablet & iPhone user I agree I use keyboard / mouse for my desktop I don't want to touch the screen. Heck I use ( http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/natural-ergonomic-keyboard-4000 ) when I use windows so I can touch the mouse less, much less wanting to touch the screen. The only place I've seen touch screen work well is where people are always choosing from a list of items, like a restaurant order / register and even there they would probably be faster typing.

On the other hand, exclude all that. The rest of the list above (i.e. vector graphics...) make sense.

As for Office on Arm you are basically talking about totally forking their product lines with an Arm: OS, office suite... The problem with that from Microsoft's perspective is keeping things in sync. Your point about different upgrade cycles for phones and computers being a great example of the problem.

Well, in Apple's case they just gave all the people with 32-bit chips the finger, and therefore they don't have to keep building two versions of their OS to support both the 32-bit and 64-bit chips.

If you're talking about Mountain Lion, well then, yeah; but how long has it been since Apple shipped a CoreDuo system? 2007, I think. That's five years. Meh. And that was only for those who bought the lowest-end MacBook and 'mini, and only for 1 iteration. That's a pretty small percentage of machines that were just barely Lion-compatible. Everything else has been 64-bit capable. It's time for Apple to make OS X 64-bit "clean".

But even up through Lion (can't say for sure about Mountain Lion), I'm fairly sure Apple DOES support both 32 and 64 bit EVERYTHING, Let me check. BRB...

Yes, it does, and interestingly enough, you can even select which kernel you start with. But Lion MAY be the end of the line for 32-bit, period. Doesn't mean your existing Mac running even Lion won't work for 32 bit; but the solution gets a little more kludgy if you want to run Mountain Lion...

The rules appear to be that the 64-bit OS X kernel WILL run 32-bit apps; but NOT 32-bit kexts; so, if an app relies upon a 32-bit kext; it's SOL. But most applications don't muck about in the kernel (any app you can Drag-Install, f'rinstance) SHOULD be ok to go...

This is the same man who came up with "MobileMe" and Ping. Remember those massive failures? No? That's because the media ignores them in portraying Apple as a company that never makes a mistake.

This is the same man who came up with "MobileMe" and Ping. Remember those massive failures? No? That's because the media ignores them in portraying Apple as a company that never makes a mistake.

I welcome them getting rid of the optical drive. They consume about 1/4 the space in the 15 inch and 1/3 in the 13 inch. I haven't used my optical drive for OS X in a couple of years. Installing Snow Leopard and burning CDs for my old car I think was the last time I used it.

If you really need an optical drive. Apple do one for £65 http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC684ZM/A or you can get a different branded one at half the price from elsewhere.

I do burn CD/DVDs, we have a duplicator that burns 16 disks at a time and a DLT drive for sending masters for pressing. It used to churn out many hundreds of disks a week, now lucky to get an order each month for a handful, it is all Internet distributed.

It looks Apple has been working on administrative tools for enterprise IT
http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/

I assume that Google does the same for Android.

when Apple stop being Mormons and you can buy Playboy!

Drrriiiiiing - well, at least you get the stories, that's more than you can get on Android.

That's what time capsule is for.

[older ipod].... (One caveat; it is Firewire, so won't work with any of Apple's newer laptops, but that's ok because putting Firewire on a Windows box is trivial.)

Interesting, last I checked, laptops still came with firewire check the connections - Firewire 800, which will connect to a FW400 with the proper inexpensive and commonly available cable. For your scenario, battery replacement seem unnecessary.

Sorry...1920 x 1200
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

I'm more amazed by the fact that I had to buy a 27" desktop screen just to get a tiny resolution of 1920x1200, even though technology is capable of making higher pixel density. And I didn't WANT a 27" monitor, I wanted a smaller one with higher resolution, but it just doesn't exist (except these super expensive medical or industrial ones).

At least there seems to be ONE thing on which Apple and me agree.

You need to look around a little more. For several years now I've been using a 23" monitor with 1920x2100 resolution from Apple http://support.apple.com/kb/sp77 and in the 27" size *you* bought Apple would be happy to sell you one with a resolution of 2560x1440 http://support.apple.com/kb/SP597.

Neither of those are "super expensive medical or industrial" displays (like the old IBM T220 and T221 that folks will reference) so it's quite clear that you did not "have" to buy a 27" monitor for real HD resolution. Heck, people are now selling the 23", DVI-using Apple HD-res monitor that I use in good-but-used condition for under $300.

I'm more amazed by the fact that I had to buy a 27" desktop screen just to get a tiny resolution of 1920x1200, even though technology is capable of making higher pixel density. And I didn't WANT a 27" monitor, I wanted a smaller one with higher resolution, but it just doesn't exist (except these super expensive medical or industrial ones).

At least there seems to be ONE thing on which Apple and me agree.

You need to look around a little more. For several years now I've been using a 23" monitor with 1920x2100 resolution from Apple http://support.apple.com/kb/sp77 and in the 27" size *you* bought Apple would be happy to sell you one with a resolution of 2560x1440 http://support.apple.com/kb/SP597.

Neither of those are "super expensive medical or industrial" displays (like the old IBM T220 and T221 that folks will reference) so it's quite clear that you did not "have" to buy a 27" monitor for real HD resolution. Heck, people are now selling the 23", DVI-using Apple HD-res monitor that I use in good-but-used condition for under $300.

For the Retina MacBook Pro, it's actually $199; $129 is for the MacBook, or the normal 13/15-inch MacBook Pro. (The 17" MacBook Pro battery replacement is $179.)

That said, the price isn't far off other manufacturers' discrete battery prices; Dell's prices for similarly-sized batteries range from $146 for their cheapest 90 Wh 9-cell battery (for certain Inspiron models), to $300 for a 97 Wh 9-cell extended battery that covers the whole bottom of a Latitude, with most 90 Wh batteries at about the $170 price point. Compared to that Latitude one, $199 isn't such a bad deal for a 95 Wh battery...

but instead they decided that selling $150 replacement batteries wasn't enough, now they need to sell $150 replacement batteries AND $150 replacement battery services. That's a marvel.

That's totally made up. Apple charges $199.00 for the retina macbook and $129 for other macbooks to replace your battery, including parts and labor.
A new Dell 9-cell battery costs $145.99.
Lenovo and HP charge $160 or so.

The best in-ear headphone I've had are Apple's. Not the crap stock ones that come with their devices though. Those leave bruises in my hear-holes (that's the technical term). I get the feeling from reading the rest of this thread that most probably won't agree with me.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA850G/B

I bought some Beats Tour in-ear headphones (the ridiculously overpriced things you see at Best Buy) thinking something that pricey and with the specs that good on the box, it has to be amazing. The quality of them turned out to be crap though. Nice cable (Monster), but the ear-pieces were strangely shaped. The worse part was the ear-tips were a smooth rubber that didn't breathe, so when you put them in your ear, it sealed it and caused suction in your ear-hole (still technical term). Maybe my anatomy is different from people who like these headphones, but this causes the same affect as when I change elevations quickly (I jump really high) and you have to yawn to fix it. I was "yawning" a lot. These things cost (at the time) $200 after taxes and I couldn't stand them. Don't get me wrong, the sound was decent, with a full frequency response range.

For my next pair I picked up Apple's nice in-ear set for $80. I was a bit skeptical because it was Apple, which wasn't exactly known for making headphones. The range was fantastic ( 5 Hz to 21 KHz ) and the rubber tips are great. They are a soft rubber material that doesn't cause the suction problem I experienced with the beats headphones.

On top of solving the suction problem had having amazing range for in-ear, it was also less than half the price of the Beats. It also has a microphone, volume control, and a play/pause button (works with Siri too if you're one of THOSE people (I am)). I use it for both my music and my phone calls. They don't fatigue my ear-holes (technical term) when I'm on a 2-hour conference call, and they are great for air travel too.

The next best ones I would suggest (if you want in-ear) are the $20 JVC Marshmallow headphones at Walmart. Those are a close second (no mic/volume control).

Again, this is for in-ear. I know you specifically mentioned they hurt your ears, which is why I generally avoided them. But these were an exception and are now my favorite. :)

Not sure why you think this, other than ignorance or severe hatred. iOS can do these today. Any Windows tablet OS can't, today.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/from-the-app-store/apps-by-apple/iphoto.html
http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2012/01/creating-ipad-apps-using-rapid-elearning-authoring-tools.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5060934.htm

But iPads just consume media!

Wrong. SOOOOO wrong.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/story/2012-05-28/art-painting-apps/55205572/1
http://www.designer-daily.com/10-great-ipad-applications-for-creative-people-6234

...they decided that selling $150 replacement batteries wasn't enough, now they need to sell $150 replacement batteries AND $150 replacement battery services...

Hmm ... seems to me that it costs $129 for a new battery and that includes installation. Apple MacBook Battery Replacement

These shady ifixit characters are peddling pure propaganda. You can repair a damaged or non-functional macbook pro with just a few clicks!

Or get a developer account.

https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/test.html