Reader in Safari is quite cool
I noticed the RSS Reader feature on my iPad after I upgraded to iOS 5. When Im reading a web page, the word Reader shows up in the URL bar. When I tap it, the iPad looks a lot more like a kindle. The coloured backgrounds drop off, fonts are ignored, ads go away, and I get a basic black text on white background. Much more readable.
Obviously the RSS feed doesnt include YouTube videos, and a bunch of other parts of the page. But it also doesn't include the ads! Some sites don't have an RSS version, so you don't get it. But where they do have it, it's so much nicer.
Location Security in iOS 5
Like many people, I upgraded to iOS 5 on my iDevices very soon after it came out. I noticed that Location Services has a lot more options than previously. What is interesting is that they have made the icon for Location Services in the status bar off by default, and they buried the option to enable it. Once you enable it, you'll discover lots and lots of services looking at your current location. I find this a bit too much of an invasion of privacy. Here's how to tone it down some.
Yummy Coffee from my Aeropress
Thanks to Dave Coppit showing it to me, I am now the proud owner of an AeroPress coffee maker
What my iDevices need
I've got a few iDevices (iPad
I need a "guest mode" on my device. If I want to hand it to a friend to browse the web, or give it to my kids to play games, I don't want it running in the same mode as when I use it. That is, I don't want my kids to be able to to make phone calls, read my emails, send text messages or any of that. They can play Angry Birds
There are some firms where the executives have iPads and they're able to read their very confidential emails from that device. Maybe it's through Outlook Web Access and the device's web browser, maybe it's the actual mail application. We in the security industry worry about the device getting stolen and we're slowly seeing the necessary features being introduced to handle that situation. There's a long way to go, though.
What we're not covering is what happens when the owner intentionally hands it over to someone who shouldn't have access to some of the stuff on it. Like her kids, his wife, or a friend at a bar who wants to see that funny youtube video. They're only a few (innocent or not innocent) taps away from seeing confidential information.
Now, I don't have all that much proprietary information, but I have lots of different circles of colleagues, friends, and family. Some of them should not see certain things on my iDevices, but it's a risk I take every time I hand it over.
Are London rioters an economic force?
This may sound horrible, but the riots will have an affect on the economy. Possibly even a strangely beneficial one for some people.