Linked List: September 10, 2013

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Dyson Accuses Samsung of Vacuum Cleaner Design Rip-Off ★

Jennifer Rankin, reporting for The Guardian:

“This looks like a cynical rip-off by the giant Korean company Samsung,” said company founder, Sir James Dyson. “Although they are copying Dyson’s patented technology, their machine is not the same. Samsung has many patent lawyers so I find it hard not to believe that this is a deliberate or utterly reckless infringement of our patent.” Samsung dismissed the claims as “groundless”.

Shocker.

The ‘S’ in iPhone 5S Stands for ‘Sensors’ ★

Ian Betteridge:

But the really interesting – and in the long-term important – sensor in the iPhone 5S is the M7, a “motion co-processor” which allows it to measure data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass without draining the battery as heavily as would be required if the A7 processor were used. Effectively, using the CoreMotion API, apps can access data about movement all day, without destroying the battery life.

Think about that for a second. Your phone can now measure everything that the likes of a Jawbone Up or Nike Fuelband can. Plus, it can do it all day, with the processing power of a 64bit computer to crunch that data when it needs it. And that power is available to developers, to create applications which single-purpose devices like the Fuelband will never be able to match.

Seems like the sort of chip that could fit into a lot of other products, too.

‘With iBeacon, Apple Is Going to Dump on NFC and Embrace the Internet of Things’ ★

Hari Gottipati, writing at GigaOM:

Apple has avoided NFC, and all the rumors about NFC getting added to iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 are turned out to be false. Instead of NFC, Apple worked on alternatives using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. During the introduction of iOS 7′s AirDrop at WWDC in June, Apple’s mobile development chief Craig Federighi said, “There’s no need to wander around the room, bumping your phone,” referring how NFC phones need to be very close to transfer the data.

iBeacon has flown a bit under the radar thus far. Could be huge combined with Touch ID.

Apple Rivals Bought Twitter Ads Against the iPhone Event Today ★

Sapna Maheshwari, writing for Buzzfeed:

Nokia UK , Samsung, LG, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone all bought Twitter ads to show up at the top of users’ timelines on searches for “Apple” or “iPhones,” today, taking advantage of an event that generated more than 25,000 related tweets per minute. According to Twitter, that’s on par with the volume of tweets sent about Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps’s race at the 2012 Olympics — in other words, huge.

But where was Jack Dorsey? At the Apple event.

Rich Mogull on the Security Implications of Fingerprint Scanning ★

Rich Mogull, writing for TidBITS:

Practically speaking, for most consumers, a fingerprint is more secure than a passcode on your iPhone. It’s definitely more secure than a four-digit passcode.

But the real reason is that using fingerprints creates better security through improved usability. Most people, if they use a passcode at all, stick with a simple four-digit passcode, which is easy for an attacker to circumvent with physical possession of your iPhone. Longer passphrases, like the obscure 16-character one I use, are far more secure, but a real pain to enter repeatedly. A fingerprint reader, if properly implemented, provides the security of a long passphrase, with more convenience than even a short passcode.

Actually, according to Apple’s information today, most people don’t use any passcode at all to lock their phones. So if Touch ID gets widespread adoption it could be a huge win for security across the whole iPhone user base.

The Odd Placement of the Circles Cut Into the iPhone 5C Case ★

Matthew Panzarino:

I mean, Apple had the iPhone in hand when it was designing these cases to go along with it. It could have easily made sure that the name was either exposed or covered. Or that the ugly regulatory text was obscured.

Does seem a little weird. Feels like a nice case, though, if you like a rubbery texture.

Video of Today’s Apple Event ★

Do yourself a favor and watch for yourself. The event was brief and to the point.