Practical Technology

for practical people.

March 18, 2013
by sjvn01
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Google’s Chrome OS partially hacked

As computer security guru Bruce Schneier likes to say, “Security is a process, not a product.” He was proven right again when Google announced that, while its Linux-based Chrome OS hadn’t been cracked in its Pwnium Chrome OS contest, one hacker was successful in creating an unreliable exploit.

Specifically, the hacker known as Pinkie Pie, who cracked the Chrome Web browser on Windows last year in Google’s security contest, “submitted a plausible bug chain involving video parsing, a Linux kernel bug and a config file error. The submission included an unreliable exploit demonstrating one of the bugs.”

Google’s Chrome OS partially hacked. More >

March 18, 2013
by sjvn01
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The 5 things you need for the perfect smartphone

What makes a “perfect” smartphone? Some of my fellow journalist buddies and I wrestled with the question, and here’s what we came up with:

First, some part of “perfection” depends on the person. For example, I love QWERTY keyboards, so my personal favorite phone is a Motorola Droid 4. Most people could care less about QWERTY keyboards.

You can also spend a lot of time arguing over which is the best smartphone operating system — Android, as far as I’m concerned — but as Adrian Kingsley-Hughes recently pointed out in his piece on Android vs. Apple’s iOS, for most people, most of the time, there’s no significant usability difference between the two major mobile operating systems. I know, I know; we can argue about the virtues of one OS over another until the sun goes out and the oxygen freezes out of the air, but practically speaking, most users can’t tell the difference.

The real key operating system-related question is: “Are the applications you need available on your platform?” If they are, you’re good. If they’re not, who cares how great the underlying operating system is?

The 5 things you need for the perfect smartphone. More >

March 15, 2013
by sjvn01
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RSS inventor doesn’t see what all the fuss is about closing Google Reader

Google’s decision to shut down its popular RSS client service, Google Reader, has some people in an uproar. Dave Winer, one of RSS’s creators, has a different reaction: “I won’t miss it.”

Winer, who created the first version of RSS in 1997, continued, “Never used the damn thing. Didn’t trust the idea of a big company like Google’s interests being so aligned with mine that I could trust them to get all my news.”

While Winer may not miss it, at least one petition asking Google to keep Google Reader alive has now topped 100,000 subscribers. Winer’s heard from some people who don’t want Google Reader to go. His reaction generated “a lot of traffic and a fair amount of hate from people who love Google Reader and probably don’t like to hear from someone who uses RSS who won’t miss it (i.e. me).”

RSS inventor doesn’t see what all the fuss is about closing Google Reader. More >

March 14, 2013
by sjvn01
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Android plus Chrome OS equals Google’s future operating system

So, will Google call it hybrid Android/Chrome operating system? Will it be Chromezoid? Android OS? ChromeDroid OS? ChromeAndrogeny!?

We still don’t know that Google will be marrying Chrome OS and Android into one operating system. But Sundar Pichai, the head of all things Chrome at Google is replacing Andy Rubin, Android’s founder, as Android’s top dog. I think that says a lot.

Android plus Chrome OS equals Google’s future operating system. More >

March 14, 2013
by sjvn01
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Google: Do what you want with Reader, but don’t kill CalDAV

I get why so many people are upset that Google is closing down its RSS Web service, Google Reader. There’s even a “keep Google Reader alive” petition that’s already crossed the 50,000 signers mark. But, you could argue that the decade-plus old RSS technology has already seen its best days. And, besides, there are lots of other RSS readers. Google killing off CalDAV, though, now that’s a real problem.

CalDAV, for those who don’t know it, is an open standard for Web-based calendar services. It’s used in Apple’s iCal, Mozilla’s Calendar Project-based programs, and a host of other calendaring, e-mail, and groupware programs. It’s as close to a lingua franca for calendaring applications as we have, and now Google will only be supporting it for “whitelisted developers, and will be shut down for other developers on September 16, 2013.”

Google: Do what you want with Reader, but don’t kill CalDAV. More >

March 13, 2013
by sjvn01
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Andy Rubin, Android’s founder, leaves project

In a surprising move, Google CEO Larry Page said that Andy Rubin, founder of Android and Google’s Android chief, has decided it was “time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Sundar Pichai will lead Android as well as Chrome.

Google, which acquired Android in 2005, made it the heart of its mobile operating system movement. By May 2010, under Rubin’s direction, Android phones had become the best selling phone operating system in the U.S. Today, according to Gartner, Android dominates the mobile market with almost 70% of global devices.

Andy Rubin, Android’s founder, leaves project. More >