Big brother posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Bad Apple, iPhone

Saurik live chat: Learn about Apple's new signature server

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Sep 24th, 2009

Something new, unexpected, and possibly worrying has popped up in iTunes. iTunes now "calls home" to the Apple mothership whenever you restore an iPhone or iPod touch. It tells you that it's "Verifying restore with Apple...", checking your device identifier and the firmware with Apple's new signature server.

Today, TUAW has the pleasure of talking with Jay Freeman, otherwise known as "Saurik", the developer of Cydia. Saurik has constructed a server that duplicates Apple's functionality, ensuring that you'll be able to downgrade your iPhone or iPod in the future, even if you have not jailbroken your device. This topic is for all iPhone users, regardless of whether they use jailbreaking. Please join us with your questions and comments as we hear from Freeman about why this move matters to you. Read on to see the full live chat transcript.

Continue reading “Saurik live chat: Learn about Apple's new signature server”

Tags: Big brother, BigBrother, Cydia, Jay Freeman, JayFreeman, Live chat, LiveChat, Saurik, Signature Server, SignatureServer

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Enterprise, Software, Odds and ends

Big Brother! ActyMac DutyWatch spies on your employees

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Apr 9th, 2009

Employers: do you want to know exactly what your employees are doing every second of the day on their Macs? Would you like to be able to log every keystroke they make, take screenshots of their Macs every once in a while, or even take pictures of them with the iSight that's built into their Mac to make sure that they're working? If so, ActyMac DutyWatch is just your cup of tea.

Without your employees knowing, you can monitor everything they post, open, and use. DutyWatch captures all keystrokes and logs every program that is launched or quit. If an employee uses certain keywords, DutyWatch sends you an email so you can scrutinize that person even more closely. DutyWatch also records every email, chat, website visit, or web search. Make sure that your employees aren't reading TUAW on your dime!

In the example above, your employee Michael has been spending a lot of time watching QuickTime movies and IM'ing in Adium. Of course, he'll lie to you and tell you that he's been watching training movies and texting the Miami office, but you've got just the proof you need to fire him. That'll get those other slackers in line!

You can purchase ActyMac DutyWatch for US$99.95 direct from the website, and quantity discounts are available.

Tags: big brother, BigBrother, creepy, keystroke logger, KeystrokeLogger, security, software

Filed under: iTS, Video, iTunes

Big Brother Season 7 available in iTunes

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Jul 20th, 2006

CBS and Apple have just made added Big Brother All-Stars, the seventh season of the reality show, available in the iTunes Music Store. I must admit that I am a faithful Big Brother watcher, I even watched the first season when the contestants got along and there were no challenges for them to do, they just sat around the house all day.

The per episode price is the standard $1.99 but the season pass price of $29.99 is where things get interesting. CBS airs Big Brother three times a week over the summer which means that if you spring for the season pass you'll get 50 episodes (or so) for 30 bucks. Not too shabby.

I should also point out that CBS is offering these episodes for free on Innertube, their online video service.

[via Variety.com]

Tags: all stars, AllStars, bb, big brother, BigBrother, CBS, innertube, season pass, SeasonPass

Filed under: Humor, Multimedia, Video

Get that authentic "cinema experience" on your Mac

by Conrad Quilty-Harper (RSS feed) on Jun 14th, 2006

You know the "cinema experience" that movie executives keep harping on about? Y'know, the "experience" that cinemas use to justify stupidly high snack and ticket prices? Well, a company has created a program that lets you relive this authentic experience from the comfort of your Mac.

Peanut Gallery, billed as a "shared media experience" by its creators, allows you to recreate this experience from within a virtual 70's style movie theater. You can even chat over the movie along with seven other viewers via the web or Bonjour and animate little silhouette avatars that sit in rows of seats. Getting up and leaving after you realize you've spent your hard earned money on another piece of Hollywood crap has never been so easy; you don't even have to leave your chair to leave your chair! Don't worry if you're a little late for the showing, because there's also an option for a pre-show reel which, for extra realism, you'll be able to fill with annoying commercials and trailers for films you're completely uninterested in.

Still, I'm a little angry that there's no implementation of a few other cinema features we all know and love including "mobile phone goes off at the tense bit" or the "crying baby". They didn't even place an obligatory anti-piracy PSA at the beginning! The pre-screening frisk down by a burly police officer is also missing. Another thing: Peanut Gallery doesn't disable my iSight or jam my cellphone for the duration of the film. Talk about unrealistic. How am I supposed to feel like I'm actually at the movies with essential parts of the cinema experience missing?!

I give the program a B+ for effort, but I think a little more of a police state/Big Brother-style attitude is needed.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Tags: Big Brother, BigBrother, Boing Boing, BoingBoing, Cinema, Experience, Peanut Gallery, PeanutGallery, Police State, PoliceState

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