A recent survey of Ontarians has revealed that a wooping 90% are in favour of upcoming legislation that will ban texting while driving across the province. Over 20% already have necessary hands-free hardware, but that leaves a significant opportunity for accessories (be they Bluetooth or wired headsets and speakerphones) to fill a mandated demand. Sadly, 8% admitted they will be ignoring the ban, but hopefully legal and social pressures will squeeze that minority even lower. Here are a few other interesting stats on people’s attitudes regarding texting while driving:
62 per cent of men strongly agree with the legislation and 25 per cent moderately agree compared to 76 and 16 per cent of women respectively.
Compliance is lowest amongst those aged 18 to 34 with 14 per cent saying they will likely continue to use their hand-held communication device regardless of the law.
The highest level of support was among respondents aged 55 plus with 94 per cent indicating that they will comply and only three per cent planning to ignore the ban.
Regionally, Northern Ontario has the highest level of compliance with 98 per cent planning on complying with the law and no longer using their hand-held device while driving compared to 82 per cent in Eastern Ontario.
85 per cent of men are aware of the ban compared to 79 per cent of women.
For awhile after the 8800, it was starting to look like every BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) was going to have a camera included, but the Bold, 8350i Curve and now the Tour have shown that there’s still a market for high-security corporate customers who would rather not worry about sneaky pictures of sensitive information being taken. This always seemed a bit redundant to me since enterprise IT policies can disable BlackBerry camera use, but cutting the hardware from the device itself likely saves on some manufacturing costs, while also completely putting security concerns at ease. Nab your camera-less BlackBerry 9630 from Sprint (NYSE: S) here for $199.99 on contract, but if you’re hesitant, check out our review for a closer look.
If you’re in one of the few companies that allow iPhones for enterprise use and haven’t got around to updating to version 3.1 of the iPhone released earlier this week, you might want to double-check with your IT guy before taking the plunge. Apparently, Exchange policies properly recognize the new OS and enforces e-mail encryption that older devices might not be able to support. The iPhone 3GS handles the new security measures fine, but anyone packing the original iPhone or the 3G may be without work e-mail as a result of updating to 3.1. Sure, it sounds like a bug to be squashed, but this is good news for enterprises who had been previously unimpressed with the iPhone’s security standards. Has anyone experienced a screen like the one above?
First, it’s important to know that this really only applies to WinMo fans with Windows Mobile Standard smartphones. What is Application Lock? The WM Standard operating system uses Application Lock to keep unqualified Windows Mobile applications from accessing core parts of the Windows Mobile platform. This essentially cripples apps without privileged signatures from running on your Standard smartphone. Windows Mobile Professional simply asks you if you trust a certain app, and gives it full access to the OS with your approval – so WM Professional doesn’t suffer from Application Lock.
Disabling Application Lock on your smartphone can be a lengthy and involved process. But, thanks to MobileJaw’s Mike Temporale, disabling Windows Mobile Standard’s Application Lock is as simple as downloading an app and clicking a button. Here’s what you do:
US Senator Ted Kennedy lost his fight against brain cancer on Tuesday night, giving pause to Democrats and Republicans who have rallied to remember the Senator’s career. And, with his passing, the Net Neutrality movement loses one of its biggest supporters.
The illustrious Senator Kennedy accomplished much in his political career. His politics reach far beyond just Net Neutrality. But, as far as the fight to protect equal and uncensored access to the Internet is concerned, Sen. Ted Kennedy was a beacon. Early in the Net Neutrality debate, Sen. Kennedy took to YouTube to make the case for “neutrality.”
“It is our duty” to protect “the innovative, democratic spirit that has always characterized the internet,” said Kennedy. He pledged to try to ensure that every American has “unfettered access” to the Internet and access to highspeed connections. That same argument applies to the mobile phone, which is fast blurring the lines between the mobile web and the “real” web.
With Congress still working to hash out US healthcare reform, Net Neutrality has taken a bit of a political backseat. But, that doesn’t make it any less important than it was when the Senator came to support Net Neutrality in 2006. Free access to the web is becoming an increasing concern, and we should all keep Kennedy’s words in mind:
There are some out there that might disagree with London’s push to clean up the seedier side of metropolitan life, but wireless carriers in the UK are apparently on board with new program to block phone numbers known to be tied to prostitution rings. The Times Online is reporting that the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, British Telecom will meet with the CEOs of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), Orange, O2 (NYSE: TEF), 3, Virgin and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) this coming October. The topic of discussion: How to block prostitutes’ phone numbers before the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
At stake here is the welfare of women brought into the UK to work as prostitutes. With the 2012 Olympic Games coming to London, tourists will be flocking to the foggy city. Research from the 2004 Olympic Games showed that the number of women trafficked into Athens doubled prior to the 2004 Games. And, London wants to prevent a similar surge in sex trafficking.
London’s underbelly is home to criminal gangs (prostitution rings, really) that trick women into coming to the UK to work high-paying jobs, only to find that they’re now indebted to pay back travel and immigration costs by working as sex workers. The gangs set up phone numbers and distribute flyers to market their “business.” By blocking access to these prostitution rings, London hopes to fight the abuse of women by taking away a key part of pimps’ business model.
A noble effort indeed. The rest of the world would do well to follow London’s example.
RIM is obviously best known for making BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM), but they’ve actually had a Smart Card reader available for government and high-security enterprise customers since 2005. The latest model, announced today, hosts a slimmer profile and a few new features. What does it do, exactly? Well, it plays nice with BlackBerry, for one (go figure). By pairing up via Bluetooth, the smartphone and an enabled PC can be locked when the Smart Card reader is out of range, ensuring that only the designated user has access. The reader can also provide security keys through a small LED screen on the back for encrypting e-mails sent via BlackBerry. Proximity detection combined with usual password precautions creates a two-factor authentication process that high-security companies, namely in the public sector, demand. BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrators, as usual, will have full control over Smart Card functions and security access.
The new model supports PIV , CAC, Safenet 330, and ISO 7816-compliant smart cards, although the reader alone can also be deployed without needing cards. This is all good stuff for tight-lipped enterprise, so for those interested, the new readers should be available in September. It’s interesting to note that the cardless feature will only be available for BlackBerrys with operating system 5.0, which is a device we have yet to see (officially) on the market. Maybe we’ll be seeing a new BlackBerry with a fresh OS next month…? 5.0 is a big one, so I find it hard to believe that they would release the software on its own – especially with the likes of the Onyx and Storm 2 looming. For more info on the new BlackBerry Smart Card Reader, check out RIM’s site.
China might soon overtake the US as the world’s leading superpower, but that doesn’t necessarily mean China’s Communist ways are going to evolve. In fact, China’s backwards policies are being enforced more vigorously than ever. Forget internet censorship. Forget about all those journalists jailed for speaking on China’s human rights issues. Chinese authorities are now monitoring SMS text messages for any erotic or sexually explicit content. Anyone caught having “textual relations” will find themselves spending some time in a Chinese jail.
In China’s Henan province, one offending text message is grounds for spending five days in jail. Chinese citizens who send three or more sexy text messages will be detained for a maximum of 10 days in jail and pay a fine of 500 yuan ($73). According to The Straits Times, the Chinese Communist Party’s Henan branch actually held 480 meetings in the past month in order to deal with the erotic SMS “problem.”
As far as we know, this isn’t a joke. It should be, but it’s not. China monitors all communications within its borders, so it’s no surprise that the Chinese government can track your SMS text messages. After all, the Chinese iPhone had to be custom-made without WiFi to fall within Chinese communications regulations.
If you’re in China, you probably aren’t even allowed to read this, but if you are, you’d be smart to refrain from “textual relations.”
Palm Pre users, take note, your shiny new smartphone is spying on you… kinda. Palm (NSDQ: PALM) is collecting all kinds of user behavior data from their US fleet of Palm Pre smartphones. How’s that, you ask? Well, there’s apparently a bit of code hidden within the Pre’s WebOS that instructs the handset to send Palm information on the smartphone’s location, app usage, app crashes and a list of apps installed. And, it happens on the daily! Your Palm Pre might not be spying on you outright, but sending location data back to the mothership is grounds for alarm.
While we’re not all that upset at Palm for keeping track of which WebOS apps we have installed, which apps we actually like to use or app crash-reports, having our location data tracked by Palm is a bit unnerving. Using location data for LBS (location based services) apps like Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps is one thing, but it seems that Palm is going one step further by keeping tabs on Palm Pre users’ location-data.
In fact, Palm’s Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions allow them to gather such data for various uses. The information is used to help the customer service process, to provide services to the user and for other purposes that the user has previously consented to. If you’re using the Palm Pre right now, you’ve already agreed to these policies.
If you’re not comfortable with Palm’s tracking practices, you might want to consider disabling any and all location services on your Palm Pre. At the very least disabling GPS on your Palm Pre might be a good idea. But, that means you’ll be sacrificing location services like Google Maps.
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has fired another salvo against the iPhone jailbreaking scene with their claim that jailbroken iPhones could be used to attack and disable cell-towers, as well as helping drug dealers avoid getting pinched by the “fuzz.” In the ongoing battle between Apple and iPhone hackers, Apple would have us believe that iPhone hackers could levy “potentially catastrophic” cyber-attacks against wireless networks.
At issue is whether or not consumers have the right to jailbreak their iPhones, or any other mobile phone for that matter. The “jailbreak” refers to a process that frees a cellphone’s file-system, allowing the user to install third-party software that would otherwise be impossible. In the case of the iPhone, the jailbreak essentially hacks the security measures Apple has put in place to protect the iPhone’s operating system. Under the current version of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, “no person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.” As it stands, the iPhone jailbreak violates the law of the land.
But, there’s hope yet for consumers. The Copyright Office takes requests every three years for exceptions to the DMCA, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation has put in a petition to allow consumers to jailbreak their handsets as they see fit. After all, once the consumer buys the device, it should be theirs to do with as they please.
Apple’s latest filing claims that the jailbreak gives hackers access to the iPhone’s baseband processor (BBP) code, which controls how the iPhone connects to cellular networks. With a little clever hacking, cyber-terrorists could send commands to a cell-tower that could leave it completely useless. Apple claims that allowing the jailbreak exemption to be approved is tantamount to giving hackers the keys that open the doors to cell-tower controls.
And, as if to hammer home the idea that jailbreaking is no good, Apple mentions that the jailbreak also allows an iPhone hacker to alter the handset’s identification number. That would allow the iPhone to make calls anonymously – which “would be desirable to drug dealers.”
Feel like sticking it to the “man” and jailbreaking your iPhone? Check out our iPhone 3GS jailbreak and unlock guide! (works with iPhone and iPhone 3G as well)
If you’re in one of the few companies that allow iPhones for enterprise use and haven’t got around to updating to version 3.1 of the iPhone released earlier this week, you might want to double-check with your IT guy before taking the plunge. Apparently, Exchange policies properly recognize the new OS and enforces e-mail encryption that older devices might not be able to support. The iPhone 3GS handles the new security measures fine, but anyone packing the original iPhone or the 3G may be without work e-mail as a result of updating to 3.1. Sure, it sounds like a bug to be squashed, but this is good news for enterprises who had been previously unimpressed with the iPhone’s security standards. Has anyone experienced a screen like the one above?
US Senator Ted Kennedy lost his fight against brain cancer on Tuesday night, giving pause to Democrats and Republicans who have rallied to remember the Senator’s career. And, with his passing, the Net Neutrality movement loses one of its biggest supporters.
China might soon overtake the US as the world’s leading superpower, but that doesn’t necessarily mean China’s Communist ways are going to evolve. In fact, China’s backwards policies are being enforced more vigorously than ever. Forget 
Palm Pre users, take note, your shiny new smartphone is spying on you… kinda. Palm (
Apple (
