Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on May 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

Microsoft/Mac Monday

As we mentioned last week, our featured CyberNotes articles on Mondays will now focus on both Microsoft and Mac instead of just Microsoft. You could say we’re broadening our horizons a little… Today’s article will be the first in a series of several, focusing on comparing a feature in Vista with one in Mac OS X 10.5. It’s actually amazing how similar yet very different the two operating systems are. We’ll start by comparing the search in the Vista Start Menu with Spotlight, and then we’ll take a look at how searching in Windows Explorer compares to searching in the Finder (Mac).

Vista Start Menu Search vs. Spotlight

Vista’s built-in search feature is most easily accessible right from the Start Menu. One of the first things I noticed once I switched to a Mac is how often I actually used the shortcut to open the Start Menu and then performed a search. Leopard has a similar feature called Spotlight which is used when you want to find something fast and easy without opening the Finder to search. It’s Apple’s search technology which comes built-in to Leopard.

The searching feature in Vista is nice because all you have to do is press the Windows key and then start typing for whatever it is that you’re searching for and the results will start to appear. It seems as though accessing Spotlight is just a bit more difficult because you have to press two keys, the command key and the spacebar, and then you can start typing.

So how do the results of the two searches compare?
As you’ll see from the screenshot below, performing a search in the Vista Start Menu shows programs, favorites and history, and files pertaining to your search. Performing a search using Spotlight will yield results from more groups than you could ever imagine from music and PDF Documents to movies and contacts. All together I’d say Vista’s searching feature isn’t quite as extensive as Spotlight but both provide users with a quick way to find what they’re looking for which is important.

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There are a few other features that Spotlight offers which Vista’s searching capabilities don’t offer right out of the box like performing calculations or defining words.

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While searching in Vista and Leopard is great, I do have to say that the customization options for Spotlight are much better than the customization options available in Vista. Part of this is because there’s more to it. So First, how do you access the configuration options for each?
In Windows: right click on the Start Menu > click Properties > click “Customize” on the Start Menu tab. Then scroll to the bottom and look for the search options.

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In Leopard: Click on System Preferences>Spotlight. The customization options for Spotlight include a list of categories that you can either check or leave unchecked. Only the categories that you select will appear in Spotlight search results. You can also re-order the results which is super nice so that the categories you want to appear first, will.

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The only downside with the customization options in Spotlight is that you can’t pick which locations to index, but you can pick which locations you don’t want indexed. Make sense? This is done under the “Privacy” tab in the Spotlight Preferences. In Vista, you can pick which locations you want indexed and you can choose to ignore certain file types (for example, PDF documents) from being indexed.

Windows Explorer Searching vs. Finder Searching

Now we’re going to look at the searching feature built-in to Windows Explorer as well as the one you’ll find built-in to the Finder on a Mac. Because Windows Explorer and the Finder serve nearly the same purpose, we thought this would be a good comparison to make.

Overall, the searching feature in Windows Explorer is more simple (and a little easier to use) than the one you’d find in the Finder. The layout is more intuitive in Windows Explorer and it looks like what you’d expect from an advanced search (like what you’d see with a search engine). This makes it easy to use. There’s also an “Advanced Search” feature which you can access by pressing the Windows Key + 5. As shown below, the Advanced Searching feature allows you to modify your search which will hopefully more accurately yield the results you’re looking for.

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The search feature in the Finder isn’t quite as intuitive but it does provide one heck of a filter system where you can set-up multiple filters when you’re performing a search. All you have to do is click the “plus” sign and you’ll continue to get more options for filtering. Both Leopard and Vista offer the option to save searches so that they can be easily used again in the future.

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Here’s a quick example of how you can use the “plus sign” to add rules to your advantage: you could specify that you’re looking for an application, that it was last opened or modified on Thursday, and the name matches “Fire” and then your results would be filtered to meet those rules.

If you’re a power user, you’d probably enjoy the search in the Finder on a Mac and if you’re just an every-day user, you’d probably enjoy the Windows Explorer Search best.

Wrapping it up

At the end of the day, both Leopard and Vista users are lucky to be able toe use the searching capabilities that are available. It wasn’t that long ago when searching like this wasn’t an option in an operating system. If you’ve used both Vista or Leopard, let us know what you think of the search features that are offered…

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:

Your Week in Review with Sunday’s SummaryHow Does Windows Vista Compare To Mac OS X Leopard?CyberNotes: Windows Contacts vs. Address BookCyberNotes: iCal vs. Windows CalendarThis Just In: Vista & Leopard Both Suck!

Continue reading Husqvarna lawnmower remote for iOS: a lot less fun than we’d hoped

Husqvarna lawnmower remote for iOS: a lot less fun than we’d hoped originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones’ resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy’s load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we’ve yet to hear more details about these claims. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show — popcorn, anyone?

[Thanks, Jake L.]

Update: Reuters has shed some light on the actual patents Samsung is alleging are being infringed. The news organization reports they relate to “power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology.”

Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple claims turning Location Services to "Off" will cease all transmission of geodata from a device to Apple. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

iPhone and iPad customers were spooked Wednesday to find out that their devices have recorded a detailed history of their geographical locations for the past year in an unprotected file. But it turns out that Apple already explained its location-collection practices in a detailed letter — almost a year ago.

And even though Apple has provided an explanation, there’s still a problem — the fact that this file containing the data is so easily accessible to anyone, and the fact that this data is stored in such an intricate manner that doesn’t seem to benefit the customer.

“I’m guessing someone screwed up,” said David Navalho, a pHD student specializing in location services on mobile devices with advanced sensors. “It’s basically bad for users. If someone steals the phone they have access to a lot of data.”

The privacy scare stems from a discovery by two data scientists, who revealed Wednesday that iPhones and iPads contain an unencrypted file called “consolidated.db,” which has been tracking and recording your location data in a log accompanied with time stamps for the past 10 months.

Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell in July 2010 sent a 13-page letter (.pdf) explaining its location-data-collection techniques in response to a request from Congressmen Joe Barton and Edward Markey asking for Apple to disclose such practices (.pdf). (Incidentally, Markey authored the “Do Not Track” bill to stop online companies from tracking children.)

Apple doesn’t specifically note the “consolidated.db” file in the letter, but the letter explains how and why Apple keeps such a detailed log of location data from mobile devices.

How is Apple collecting geodata?

According to Apple’s letter, geodata is being tracked and transmitted to Apple only if a customer toggles the Location Services option in the settings menu to “On.” If it’s off, no location-based information will be collected.

If the Location Services setting is flipped on, the iPhone, 3G iPad and, to a more limited extent, the iPod Touch and the Wi-Fi iPad, are transmitting geodata to Apple under different circumstances.

Apple is collecting information about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi access points whenever you request current location information. Sometimes it will also do this automatically when you’re using a location-based service, such as a GPS app.

As for GPS information, Apple is collecting GPS location data only when a customer uses an application requiring GPS capabilities.

Apple claims the collected geodata is stored on the iOS device, then anonymized with a random identification number generated every 24 hours by the iOS device, and finally transmitted over an encrypted Wi-Fi network every 12 hours (or later if there’s no Wi-Fi available) to Apple. That means Apple and its partners can’t use this collected geodata to personally identify a user.

At Apple, the data gets stored in a database “accessible only by Apple,” the letter says.

“When a customer requests current location information, the device encrypts and transmits Cell Tower and Wi-Fi Access Point Information and the device’s GPS coordinates (if available) over a secure Wi-Fi Internet connection to Apple,” Apple wrote in the letter.

Why is Apple collecting geodata?

The purpose of all this, according to Apple, is to maintain a comprehensive location database, which in turn provides quicker and more precise location services.

“Apple must be able to determine quickly and precisely where a device is located,” Apple said in its letter. “To do this, Apple maintains a secure database containing information regarding known locations of cell towers and Wi-Fi access points.”

In older versions of Apple’s mobile OS (1.1.3 to 3.1), Apple relied on Google and Skyhook Wireless to provide location-based services — so Apple left data collection to them. But ever since April 2010, starting with iPhone OS 3.2 and continuing into the current iOS 4 software, Apple has started using its own databases to provide location-based services to iOS devices.

“These databases must be updated continuously to account for, among other things, the ever-changing physical landscape, more innovative uses of mobile technology, and the increasing number of Apple’s users,” Apple said in its letter.

Navalho explained that mobile location services work like this: To get your location, first the iPhone or iPad pulls from Apple’s database containing previously stored information about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi spots to quickly triangulate your location, and then finally the GPS chip analyzes how long it takes satellite signals to reach the device in order to pinpoint location.

In short, Apple’s stored location database is intended to assist and quicken location processes on iOS mobile devices.

The problems

However, one problem here is that after this information is sent to Apple, there’s no customer benefit for that geodata to be stored on your iPhone or iPad for any longer, Navalho said.

In other words, after that data is transmitted to Apple “every 12 hours,” Apple’s database should already have the data needed to improve your location services, and there’s no reason for it to stick around on your device — especially after 10 months.

Plus, Apple explicitly said this database is “accessible only to Apple” — but in actuality the database of your approximate locations is accessible to anyone with physical or remote access to your iPhone or iPad. Again, that’s a security issue.

“There’s really no reason for the information to be there,” Navalho said. “I’ll just assume they didn’t erase it and that it’s a security issue, and hopefully they’ll fix it.”

Therefore, the core issue reported Wednesday remains the same: A hacker or thief gaining access to your iPhone or iPad can easily dig into the consolidated.db file and figure out where you live, or other places you’ve frequented. Apple uses rich geodata to assist your location services, but it doesn’t need to be stored on your device permanently.

“What Apple is doing actually puts users very much at risk,” said Sharon Nissim, consumer privacy counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “If one of these devices is stolen, [the thief] could easily discover details about the owner’s movements.”

Apple has not responded to Wired.com’s request for comment on this story.

Reuters: Apple set to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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