Is your webcam spying on you?

There have been reports recently that it is possible for a web page to activate the webcam in a Mac computer in order to spy on you. Websites can certainly activate a webcam if you have one, such as the iSight camera that is built into iMacs and MacBooks and you may have used these facilities to take a photo or a video clip and post it on the web. You can do it at Facebook for example. However, they should not be able to do it without your knowledge or permission.

Do websites secretly activate the webcam and spy on you though? Is it possible to activate it without your knowledge?

Here is a link to the blog that highlighted the problem and another blog, and here are two demos of the security flaw: demo 1 and  demo 2. I have to say that I can't get either of the demos to work, so maybe this security flaw has been fixed.

However, when one security hole is plugged, often another one opens up. We will just have to wait and see. It's not the first time I've heard of webcams being activated and it has been going on for years.

My advice: Never sit naked at your computer! You never know who might be watching!

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What is the point of transparency?

I wish programmers would stop using transparency. It is commonly used these days and Windows default desktop theme has transparent window borders, Lion on the Apple Mac has user interface elements that are semi transparent, and even Facebook uses transparency effects when you view a photo.

Semi transparent objects do not improve a user interface or make things easier to use. They make it harder. To see the effect of transparency, get a marker pen and write something on the window, then write something on a white piece of paper and compare the two. Which is easier to read? It's really hard to read what's on the window because you see right through it to the background. We don't use complete transparency in programs and user interfaces on computers and devices, and usually semi-transparent items are used. This isn't quite as bad, but it still makes things awkward to see.

It's a no-brainer, but programmers don't seem to understand this. It is a clever graphical effect that looks impressive when you first see it, but it just makes things harder to use. Graphical effects should only be used where they make things simpler and easier, and they are not to simply show off a programmer's skills.

Whenever possible I turn off transparency effects, but there often isn't the option to do this and we have to suffer the problem of trying to read text or view something when the background is showing through and confusing us.

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Speed up Safari by 13% on the Mac

Operating system updates tend to add more code and bloat to the system and they don't often result in increased speed. There are frequently bug fixes, security patches and the occasional new feature, but speed isn't usually a benefit. However, if you download and install the latest update to OS X Lion on the Mac you'll find that 10.7.2 includes an update to Safari that makes it 13% faster. Now that is a useful speed boost to the web browser.

Speed has become the focal point for all web browsers and all like to claim that theirs is faster than everyone else's. It often depends on which speed tests you run though. Safari's speed boost comes from an improved JavaScript engine that is 13% faster in Safari 5.1.1 than the previous 5.1. JavaScript is used a lot in web pages, especially for the more complex types of pages that include online applications, so it's a useful update.

In addition to the increased performance there have been many bug fixes and some improvements, such as better handling of video sharing websites like Vimeo. A much needed security update is the removal of .dmg and .pkg from the safe file types list. Safari used to download and automatically open these types of files and virus writers have taken advantage of this to install malware on the Mac. However, it is still better to disable auto-opening of all file types, not just these. Go to Safari, Preferences, General and clear the tick against Open safe files after downloading.

OS X 10.7.2 includes better support for iCloud, which is the replacement for MobileMe and you really need it to complete the transition from the old service. After updating the system you will be prompted to log in to iCloud by the new iCloud pane in System Preferences.

To get OS X 10.7.2 click Software Update on the Apple menu. Warning: It's huge, so you need a fast internet connection.

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iTunes sync is too dumb

I've just spent a frustrating hour or so with an iPhone, Mac and iTunes, although it could just as easily been an iPod Touch or iPad, Windows PC and iTunes. The common factor being iTunes. It lacks an intelligent sync facility and it's just too dumb.

Here is what often happens with my computer and iOS devices - an iPhone and iPad. I delete an app I no longer need on the iPhone, such as a game I either don't like or that I'm bored with after playing it to death. Some time later I plug it into my computer and sync. Some people never sync, but it's useful because it backs up the device among other things. However, iTunes keeps a copy of all the apps on the device on the computer and when you sync it sees a missing app on the device, the one that was deleted, and copies it across. So apps you have deleted reappear on the device and you have to delete them all over again!

That's irritating and especially so when they are big apps that use up a lot of space. The reverse can happen too and if you delete an app off the computer in the Apps section of iTunes, it is copied back from the device. To guarantee that an app really is deleted you need to delete it both on the device and in iTunes and then sync them.

It seems that the way iTunes sync works is to simply make both the computer and the device the same. If a file is missing on one, it is copied from the other, ignoring the fact that you deliberately deleted it. Sync could be more intelligent and file and folder sync utilities like Dropbox handle it properly. Delete a file on one computer and when you next use another computer with Dropbox it is deleted on there too, it doesn't get synced back to the original computer. That would be just dumb. iTunes does it though.

Another irritation is that some apps work on both the iPad and the iPhone. If I download an iPad app from the iTunes store, then sync the iPad it is copied across to the computer so both locations are the same. Now when I plug in my iPhone and sync it it sees an iPhone app that's on the computer, but not on the device, so it copies it across. I now have an iPad app on my iPhone.

Both devices are different and they are used in different ways. I have different apps on each device and I don't want iPad apps on my iPhone and vice versa. For example, I have a sat-nav app on my iPhone, but because it also runs on the iPad it was copied to it when I synced. I don't use sat-nav on my iPad though and so I had to delete the app.

It would be useful if each iOS device could be treated separately so that each has its own apps. They shouldn't be copied from one to another unless specifically requested. iTunes isn't completely dumb though and after copying an app from one device to the other, if it is then deleted it stays deleted. It's just that initial sync and iTunes syncs it because it is a new purchase. There are settings to turn off automatic syncing of new apps, but that's not what is needed, it's auto syncing of apps purchased on one device with another device. Is there a setting for that? I've not seen it.

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What's the big deal with iMessage on the iPhone?

I've just been reading an article on Apple Insider about iMessage, a new messaging service that is built into iOS 5. It's called "Apple's free iMessage expected to undermine carriers' high-profit SMS business." It's like Apple just invented instant messaging. Can this really be true? Are there no instant messaging apps for the iPhone?

A quick search at Google turned up plenty of references to instant messaging apps and How to instant message on an iPhone was written in 2007. That's how long instant messaging has been around! A more recent article is Top 5 instant messenger apps for iPhone which was written earlier this year. So what's the big deal with iMessage?

Well, iMessage should be superior to other instant messenger apps because Apple makes the OS and iMessage is integrated more closely with it. It will have access to features and functions that are off limits to other third party apps. So expect a really cool app with some great features when iOS 5 finally becomes available for download.

No matter how good it is though, it is limited to iOS devices and when you have lots of friends with other types of phones you still need a mobile phone contract with a good text message allowance. Perhaps mobile phone contracts are different here in the UK than the US, but for most people here texting isn't really an issue. Contracts typically bundle hundreds or even thousands of texts a month, so it costs nothing extra to send or receive them. It's quick, easy, cheap, and every phone has it. (Even if you're on a pre-pay pay-as-you-go tariff, it's free to receive texts, which I think is different in some other parts of the world.)

iMessage will be useful only if all or most of your friends, relatives and business contacts have iPhones, but this is rarely the case. It's about as much use as FaceTime, which is another Apple app that's limited to iOS devices (and the Mac in this case though). I use Skype because it runs on anything. It does instant messaging too, so I can call iPhones, Android phones, desktop computers, tablets - anyone, anywhere, on any device.

I'll be upgrading to iOS 5 when it becomes available (not long to wait now), but iMessage won't get a lot of use on my iPhone and I don't think my mobile phone service provider will be worried. If I do use it, it just means less bandwidth used on their system and this will benefit them if anything.

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Should you upgrade to the iPhone 4S?

After an extraordinarily long wait, much longer than the usual 12 month-ish refresh cycles we have been used to previously, the next generation of Apple's iPhone is at last here with us. It has been launched and in a few days it will be on sale. The big question is whether you should upgrade your current iPhone to the latest model.

Some people have already made that decision and they pre-ordered the new model as soon as  it became possible. They now sit eagerly waiting for the delivery service to knock at their door and hand over the new device.

Whether to upgrade or not is always a tricky decision to make and it is doubly so when there is a large cost involved. The iPhone 4S is one of the most expensive mobile phones available and so you must think twice before committing yourself and your credit card to such a large purchase. Here in the UK it costs a pound under £500 ($780 including tax) just for the cheapest, most basic model and nearly £800 ($1,093) for the 64Gb model. That's a lot of money in any currency and you've got your contract on top of that.

However, you have to factor in the trade-in or sale of your existing phone and at Mazuma Mobile, a UK phone recycling website they will give me £245 ($383) for my current 16Gb iPhone 4. That means that the cost to upgrade to a 4S is a more reasonable £256 ($400). That's a more tempting proposition.

So what is the difference between the iPhone 4 and the 4S, and is it worth it?

The iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the next generation of Apple's mobile phone and tablet operating system and it includes the new iCloud service that stores files and music online. However, iOS 5 will work on all mobile phones as far back as the iPhone 3GS, so I can upgrade my iPhone 4 for free and get all the iOS functions and features of the 4S. Clearly iOS 5 is not a reason to buy an iPhone 4S.

It does lack Siri though and this is a voice-controlled personal assistant. You can speak into your iPhone and tell it to make appointments and perform other tasks. I'm not too fussed about this and I've never got on with voice recognition software on my desktop computer. I had voice dialling on my mobile five years ago and could say "phone home" to call home or "John" to call John, but never used it. I don't know why. I'm not convinced Siri is a killer feature that makes it worth the cost of upgrading.

I ditched my digital camera ages ago and now take most of my photos on a mobile phone. The cameras in phones aren't quite as good as proper digital cameras, but they are good enough and they are getting better. The main reason is convenience and you are more likely to have a phone in your pocket when a photo opportunity arises than a digital camera.

The new iPhone 4S has an upgraded camera built in and it is now 8 megapixels. Many people equate megapixels to image quality, but it just isn't a reliable indicator of image quality. Lens quality, sensitivity to low light, colour saturation and other factors are all important factors that affect the image quality. Imagine taking a photo when the light is poor, indoors, possibly in the evening. Is an 8mp image any better than a 5mp image if it is dark and fuzzy?

The good news is that the camera in the 4S should have better image quality and not just more pixels. It has a better lens and a better sensor and this should produce better photos. This is a plus point for the iPhone 4S, but is it enough to tempt you to upgrade?

Another advantage of the 4S is the more powerful dual-core processor. However, have you ever been using your iPhone 4 and cursed it for being too slow? I can't say that I have. For what I use it for, which is mostly non-gaming apps, it is adequate and I've not experienced any speed problems. However, I have yet to upgrade to iOS 5 and perhaps that demands more processing power. Operating systems always make increasing demands of the hardware, but since iOS 5 works on the 3GS, which is even less powerful than the 4, it can't be that processor-intensive.

Whether you decide to upgrade or not is a personal decision. I'm not convinced that there is enough in the 4S to tempt me to upgrade from a 4. I think I'll wait for the iPhone 5. If you are still using a 3GS though, then it is well worth the upgrade cost.

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