China Cracks Down on Unauthorized Internet Connections
Posted: January 23, 2017 Filed under: Asia, Breaking News, Censorship, China | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, China, Cyberspace Administration of China, Facebook, Government of China, Great Firewall, Internet, The New York Times, Virtual private network Leave a comment
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a notice on its website on Sunday that it is launching a nationwide clean-up campaign aimed at internet service provider (ISP), internet data centrer (IDC), and content delivery network (CDN) companies.
It ordered checks for companies operating without government licenses or beyond the scope of licenses.
The ministry said it was forbidden to create or rent communication channels, including VPNs, without governmental approval, to run cross-border operations.
VPNs can be used to gain access to blocked websites.
China has the world’s largest population of internet users – now at 731 million people – and is home to some of the biggest internet firms such as Tencent Holdings, Baidu Inc and Alibaba Group Holding. Read the rest of this entry »
Back-Alley Upgrades: In China, $100 Can Get You an 128GB iPhone Boost
Posted: November 5, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Mediasphere | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Beijing, China, China Southern Airlines, iPad, iPhone, Palo Alto Networks, WeChat, Xcode Leave a comment
In China’s unbridled marketplace, you can pay $5 for soap made from human breast milk, $800 to take a cosmetics CEO out during Christmas and $430,000 for a purple Bentley convertible once owned by a corrupt official.
If you’re an Apple Inc. device user, you can also now boost your iPhone’s storage from the cramped-feeling 16GB standard to a cavernous 128GB for less than a hundred bucks.
Mobile phone repair shops in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have sparked curiosity on sidewalks and social media by offering the service, which appears aimed at the many aspirational Chinese device users who can’t afford the roughly $200 premium attached to large-capacity iPhones….(read more)
Source: China Real Time Report – WSJ
‘Sorry, My Bad’: Chinese Ad Company Who Snooped Apple User Data Apologizes
Posted: October 20, 2015 Filed under: China, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, China, Chinese language, Entity, Free trade zone, Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China, IOS, Mobile payment, Shanghai Leave a comment
Source: WSJ
Apple Removes Drone Tracking App
Posted: October 1, 2015 Filed under: Mediasphere, Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apps, Avast, iCloud, IOS, iPad, iPhone, Malware, Xcode Leave a comment
WASHINGTON – Apple is known for keeping a pretty tight leash on apps, often blocking or refusing to sell programs it deems too offensive or too sexually suggestive.
The creator of an app that tracks published reports of American drone strikes around the world probably figured his program was in no danger of running afoul of Apple’s strict rules.
But this week, Metadata+ was removed from the App Store for having “excessively rude or objectionable content,” reports CNet.
The app was designed by Josh Begley, one of the editors of The Intercept, to publish data on…(read more)
Source: CBS DC
[VIDEO] Apple’s App Store Hacked in China
Posted: September 22, 2015 Filed under: Asia, China, Science & Technology | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Associated Press, Beijing, China, Chinese language, Malware, Security, software, WeChat Leave a comment
Some of the most popular Chinese apps in Apple’s App Store were found to be infected with malicious software in what is being described as a first-of-its-kind security breach. Here’s how it happened.
Apple TV 4 Hardware Revealed: A8 Chip, Black remote, 8/16GB Storage, Same Ports, no 4K
Posted: September 2, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: 9to5Mac, App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple TV, Buzzfeed, IOS, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, John Paczkowski, Mark Gurman, Siri Leave a comment
Priced at $149, will include universal search for finding content across providers.
Mark Gurman reports: The fourth-generation Apple TV, set to be unveiled at an event on September 9thand released in October, will feature a mix of new and familiar hardware, according to reliable sources. While the new device will sport a much faster processor than the current Apple TV, a color-matched remote control, and a somewhat larger body, it will lack support for 4K video streaming and have the same basic ports as the third-generation model…
[Also see – Apple TV Rumor Roundup: Everything We Think We Know – Gizmodo]
The current Apple TV design, first released in late 2010, has 8GB of internal storage for caching media, and the fourth-generation boxes in testing surprisingly range from 8GB to 16GB of storage. We are told that Apple has considered two pricing strategies: the simultaneous release of a $149 base model with 8GB of storage alongside a $199 16GB model, or the release of the 16GB Apple TV alone at $149. In either case, Apple will offer a $149 Apple TV.
While the new Apple TV will include an App Store for deep support for gaming, sources say that the limited storage offered by 8GB and 16GB flash memory is appropriate for the new model, as all content outside of applications will be streamed directly from the Internet. Additionally, the new Apple TV runs an iOS 9 core, and iOS 9 includes several new features for reducing the file size of App Store apps, including the ability to load games in level-sized chunks and stream rather than store videos within app binaries.
[New Apple TV Will Feature Universal Search, Start At $149 – BuzzFeed]
[Also see – The next-gen Apple TV could be the most exciting product Apple has released in years – BGR.com]
Sources indicate that the new Apple TV will be powered by the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, coming in behind the A9-based iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. In iPhones, the A8 is notably less powerful than the A8X chip found in the iPad Air 2, which includes an additional processing core and improved graphics. Read the rest of this entry »
Report: New Apple TV to be Unveiled in September, but Without Expected TV Subscription Service
Posted: July 30, 2015 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Android (operating system), App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple TV, Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Buzzfeed, El Capitan, Google Play, IOS, iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Siri Leave a comment
The Apple TV is also expected to gain Siri voice search support in its update this fall, as well as more on-board storage.
Chance Miller reports: According to a new report from BuzzFeed News, Apple is currently planning to unveil its refreshed Apple TV in September. The company had originally planned to unveil the device at WWDC this summer, but scrapped it from the event at the last minute. A September unveil has seemingly been expected since the announcement was pulled from WWDC.
“It was reported in the past that the device will not feature support for 4k content, as Apple feels there is not a large enough market for the feature at this time.”
The report goes on to corroborate much of what we reported earlier this year. The refreshed Apple TV is expected to be slimmer than the current-generation device and will feature Apple’s new A8 chip. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Want 8 More Minutes? Watch Apple’s Watch and MacBook Event in 11 Minutes
Posted: March 9, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple TV, HBO, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, San Francisco, Spring Forward, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Leave a comment
Apple’s Spring Forward event was quite eventful (repetition intended). Apple TV got a big price drop and an even bigger exclusive partnership with HBO. The Apple Watch was priced for every single tier. And there’s that ultra-thin, minimal-ported MacBook.
[VIDEO] Apple’s New Oscars iPad Ad
Posted: February 22, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment, Mediasphere | Tags: Academy Award, Alex Gibney, App Store (iOS), Apple Inc, Apple iPad Air, Hollywood, iPad, Martin Scorsese Leave a commentFive years after Apple’s first iPad ad debuted during the Academy Awards in 2010, its new iPad Air promo will again screen during the Oscars on Sunday and tout its filmmaking abilities…100 more words
