Apple working on Desktop NFC Sync For iPhone 5

3 November 2010 5:32 PM

Near field Communication (NFC) may well be a powerful selling point for the forthcoming iPhone 5 as it has emerged that Apple may use the technology for some pretty unique purposes.

A source told Apple blog Cult of Mac that Apple is working on ways to use the iPhone 5 to take over any Apple Mac (and potentially any computers).

NFC has been limited for now to contactless mobile payments and identity management. Cult Of Mac says the plan is to use the iPhone 5 as an identity token with which a user can take over a machine (useful when doing hot desking).

The computer will load the users’s applications, settings and data, customising it to their own personal use. When the user leaves or if the iPhone 5 is moved out of range, the computer reverts back to its original state.

Whether NFC will actually be used here remains to be seen as it will very much depend on data transfer rates as well (you don’t want the sync to take minutes, but rather microseconds) and the phone needs to be within 10cm rather than say, a more convenient 50cm.

One has to wonder whether Bluetooth (which already equips most recent Apple laptops) or some sort of low power, short distance wireless technology like Zigbee, might not be more appropriate.

Droid vs iPhone: The Comparison Chart [+PHOTO]

2 November 2010 5:03 PM

Our friends at BillShrink, who developed an interactive tool that lets you compare handsets and pick the best phone-plan combination, crunched the data on some of the newer smartphones and compared them with the current champion, the iPhone 3Gs. “While sticker prices are roughly comparable between smartphones, each offers its own particularly generous features,” the company says. But in the end, customers should base their decision on the total cost of ownership of the device over the entire length of their contract with the phone company. So how does iPhone 3GS stack up against the Droid, MyTouch 3G and the Palm Pre? Results are below the fold.

Is it worth switching to if you already carry an iPhone or another device? To provide some guidance, BillShrink has produced a detailed chart looking at Droid, iPhone, Palm Pre, and MyTouch 3G.

Going by the chart, there doesn’t appear to be much Droid is lacking – other than the 93,200 apps (100,000+ by recent estimates) that the iPhone’s app store offers. You also get Verizon’s network as opposed to AT&T (a fact you’ll no doubt be reminded of in advertising).

So…how do you think Droid stacks up?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Tom Cruise – 2,717 Feet Tall

1 November 2010 10:29 PM

Tom Cruise performed yet another one of his own death-defying stunts for his latest “Mission Impossible” film and dangled off a skyscraper 124 floors above the ground in Dubai this weekend.

The 48-year-old scaled the Burj Khalifa which is currently the tallest building in the world at 2,717 feet.

Tom really is crazy.

Source: TMZ News

Nigel Havers to appear on I’m A Celebrity?

1 November 2010 1:05 PM


“Name in the frame: Nigel Havers in Coronation Street”

The rumours are starting to fly about who’s going to appear on this year’s I’m A Celebrity, including Nigel Havers. Find out other names here.

The rumours are starting to fly about who’s going to appear on this year’s I’m A Celebrity, including Nigel Havers.

Veteran actor and perennial smoothie Havers has been linked to this year’s series of the show, which returns to STV screens on Sunday, November 14.

The 59-year-old, who recently appeared in Coronation Street, has reportedly signed up for the STV reality show, which is presented by Ant and Dec.

So who else is being rumoured to appear? Others apparently in the frame include ex-X Factor singer Stacey Solomon and Olympic champion Linford Christie

Also among the names mentioned are former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik and Swedish acting legend Britt Ekland.

A source told The Sun: “Nigel will be perfect for the show. He is a very popular actor who has never done anything like this before.

“He is really up for the challenge. He is known as being very smooth, but it will be interesting to see if he is able to keep that up in the pressure of the jungle environment.”

Facebook uncovers user data sales

1 November 2010 12:44 PM


Facebook has taken action against developers it caught selling user names and contact lists.

The sales were uncovered as Facebook investigated a web browser bug that let user IDs be shared inadvertently. The user details were sold to data brokers who used the information to target adverts more precisely. The developers have been banned for six months from connecting to Facebook and must be audited to check they comply with the social network’s policies.

Facebook started investigating what was happening with user identifiers (UIDs) following media reports that the information and lists of contacts were being sold on to advertising firms.

In a blog post, Facebook said its investigation showed that the technical demands of some browsers meant that some user IDs were being leaked.

It also discovered that some developers that create applications for the social network were taking the user IDs of those who used their creations and selling them on.

Despite this, it said, it took the breach “seriously” and had imposed a six-month ban on the developers it caught out.
Facebook said the investigation “determined that no private user data was sold and confirmed that transfer of these UIDs did not give access to any private data”.

Facebook did not identify which developers were being punished and only said there were fewer than a dozen of them and none had any applications in the top 10 most popular used on the social network.

It named ad-targeting firm Rapleaf as one of the data brokers which had been buying UIDs. It said it had reached an agreement with the firm which would end Rapleaf’s involvement with any application on Facebook now and in the future.

Source BBC News & the Facebook Blog.