Kindle Fire loses ground while Apple and Samsung gain, latest report suggests

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Yeah, I use Marvin too. It has its own collections/tags which I like. The color schemes are pretty great too. You can set a preset for day, and another for night. I find it easy to customize the margins and spacing too.

Jessica, all that has been standard with many Android reading apps long before Marvin existed. In terms of library organization, Calibre Companion now has a grid/bookshelf view which is unique to mobile apps in terms of its flexibility and options. You can even choose between different color wood shelves for your virtual library. I don't think anything close to that exists on iOS.

But actually, I am very much looking forward to the new release of Marvin which I heard will finally support the smaller iOS devices. Hopefully it will be compatible with iOS 5, which my iPod Touch is stuck on. It will be nice to finally have something better than iBooks and Stanza to use on my Touch. I also hear there is a brand new plug-in that connects Calibre with Marvin. It’s good to see iOS is finally catching up with Android in terms of integration with Calibre!

--Pat

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by elcreative

... personally I'm only interested in my tablets, smartphones and computers letting me get on with the work and leisure that I require

Is that why half of your posts are "political" and about how Android is insecure, while Apple is so nice and watches out for you? Because it doesn't matter to you?

... it's a shame you feel that way but that's equally your choice...

What I feel is that choice is better than no choice. I don't need a company to decide what software I may or may not use, by arcane standards that are solely set by the company, and not the user.

Apple does protect you from potential risks and you won't have to think for yourself, which you may experience as comfortable (the tablet/computer as a toaster-like device that "just works"), but it also censors the software that you're allowed to use on the hardware that you bought.

For example, there were various very useful apps that were removed from the store because they supported a scripting language. This is like the government removing knives from my kitchen because I might mishandle them and hurt myself.

I don't disagree that Apple's screening process has benefits, especially for people who aren't really interested in learning about computers, but that doesn't make this level of control equally desirable for everyone. Personally, I'm willing to put in extra effort (thinking about what I download and where from, monitoring what stuff on my devices does, etc) as a price for the freedom to put on my device what I want, and not only what Apple believes is safe for me to use.

But it's good that this option exists. Choice is a good thing.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by jswinden

And don't get me started on all the Android apps which do nasty things that eat your battery and compromise your cyber security. This is where Apple's closed system is actually helpful as Apple will reject apps that try to do these nasty things.

Hey folks, if you’re on iOS, don’t rest too easy. Here are examples of real-life, in-the-wild attacks on iOS users, not just proof-of-concept stuff:

Apple has been known in the mobile and PC world for its resistance to viruses. However, the iOS App Store has just been infected with its first case of malware, causing newly updated apps to crash upon opening.

A Russian-language app called Find and Call, which was available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play, has been discovered to be the cause of the bug, Wired reported. Kasperksy antivirus experts were responsible for finding the culprit, which is essentially a Trojan that steals and uploads the user's address book to a remote server.

After the data is uploaded, the server spends spam to the email addresses and phone numbers belonging to the victim's contacts, advertising the Find and Call application. The app also steals the GPS coordinates of the victim's phone and uploads them to the server.

Russian iOS users are the only ones known to have been affected by the malware, but the app was open and available for anyone to download.

Link

Smooth Blog, among many others, is reporting that a virus has been infecting iPhone users around the globe…

The so-called virus effects iOS devices, including iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches. Apparently, users browsing for information on ‘jailbreak‘ and ‘unlocking‘ from their iOS devices are the ones most likely to get infected. The virus itself is nestled behind a false ad that claims to unlock your iDevice for free.

Users are reporting that the advertisement leads to a web page that shows a 10-15 second animation, followed by the text: “DOWNLOAD UNLOCK 2 NOW FREE.” Afterwards, the infected users report that their iDevices were completely wiped of information, even data on their SIM cards.

Link

It's no secret that iOS is a much safer mobile platform than Android or Windows mobile, but in recent months the cracks in Apple's usually tightly run ship have been showing. The most recent issue? A worm embedded in an Instagram add-on app that targets Windows users who manage their iPhone's content through iTunes.

CNet reports that two worms are hiding in the Instaquotes Quotes Cards for Instagram app, and take advantage of Windows-specific infrastructure to distribute malware. One of the probable reasons why this malware wasn't flagged immediately by the Apple security team is that it doesn't actually do any damage to the iOS environment and is virtually undetectable on a non-windows device or computer. However, the fact is that there are plenty of users who use a Windows computer regularly to access their mobile content, and for those users, this new threat could be devastating if not dealt with.

This latest worm is yet another example of how even the most secure platform cannot be considered "invulnerable" to malicious attacks. No matter how many steps an OS might take to strengthen its inherent security, there are always ways for viruses, worms, and trojans to take advantage of even the smallest exploitable code.

Link

The moral of the stories is technology today poses risks to users’ safety and privacy no matter what platform you use. Viruses and trojans are equal opportunity attackers. Act accordingly and take precautions whenever you can.

--Pat

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by PatNY

But the iPad 3 is high-res, right? So you have at least 1/3 of what I think are requisite ingredients for an optimal e-reading experience.

I'm going to disappoint you: the same happens with iPad mini, that I have tested

Originally Posted by PatNY

As for Marvin, I'm not very familiar with it. What can it do that Moon+, FB, Cool Reader, Mantano, Aldiko or Calibre Companion can't do?

--Pat

Library management: the options are bigger (and better for my likings), only one app, and an easy way (for me) to send the books.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by PatNY

While Marvin appears to have filled a hole left by Amazon’s abandonment of Stanza, up to now it’s not been available for the iPhone or iPod Touch. That hole still exists for those users.

--Pat

September, the last news say.

Originally Posted by PatNY

Jessica, all that has been standard with many Android reading apps long before Marvin existed. In terms of library organization, Calibre Companion now has a grid/bookshelf view which is unique to mobile apps in terms of its flexibility and options. You can even choose between different color wood shelves for your virtual library. I don't think anything close to that exists on iOS.

Not exactly => View by series, author, author_sort, metadata modify on the fly, metadata display in an easy way... Unless I'm very wrong, the best app for series is Mantano (and it doesn't look like at all). Does Calibre Companion work well with books in the device, not in a calibre server, that I don't have nor I intend to? I don't really know it.

Originally Posted by PatNY

But actually, I am very much looking forward to the new release of Marvin which I heard will finally support the smaller iOS devices. Hopefully it will be compatible with iOS 5, which my iPod Touch is stuck on. It will be nice to finally have something better than iBooks and Stanza to use on my Touch. I also hear there is a brand new plug-in that connects Calibre with Marvin. It’s good to see iOS is finally catching up with Android in terms of integration with Calibre!
--Pat

It has been said (in the thread) that it will be compatible with iOS 5, yes. And the plugin exists, really, and IMO, it's better integrates with calibre than android. If you tell me how calibre can recognize my device and send the books directly, I'll be very happy (not surfing around wifi, but with an USB wire, that it's with I like).

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Mivo

Is that why half of your posts are "political" and about how Android is insecure, while Apple is so nice and watches out for you? Because it doesn't matter to you?

I actually post some things because I find the anti-Apple brigade to amusing, irritating and biased as h**l, often with an inability to understand facts and incapable of comparing numeriacal information on a like-for-like basis - essentially I dislike fanatical rambling and it is amusing sometimes to wind the Apple-haters up - it's so easy...

If it actually mattered much then I'd have stopped reading MR a long time ago due to the anti-anybody activity - if you think that I'm such an Apple lover then why would I have a Samsung smartphone (it's because I don't like iPhones) and a Nexus 7 as well as and iPad4 and iPad mini - and if Apple is such a walled garden, how come I have no problem moving files between all of them as well as my computers... prejudice is more in the eye of the beholder...

[afv011]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Nothing new in the article and a key point covered was that it was proof of concept and tested on the devisers' own kit... it wasn't in the wild

It was in the wild, it was published on the appstore and removed shortly afterwards before people could start downloading it - it passed all the checks that apple has in place.

Researchers from the School of Computer Science, College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology created a proof-of-concept "Jekyll" app and "successfully published it in the App Store."

Source

Yes, it's a proof of concept, which proves that the walled garden has cracks in it, and just as this app is exploiting them, just as a proof of concept, others could be doing the real deal.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by afv011

It was in the wild, it was published on the appstore and removed shortly afterwards before people could start downloading it - it passed all the checks that apple has in place.



Source

Yes, it's a proof of concept, which proofs that the walled garden has cracks in it, as just as this app is exploiting them, just as a proof of concept, others could be doing the real deal.

It was hardly in the wild, it was put up by the researchers just long enough to see what Apple's checks were then removed (it says that in the article)... hardly the wild - that's when it's available and ready to get anyone who D/Ls it... and proof of concept doen't equal others are be doing it just that a problem was found and, as it's known, will be dealt with - it's NOT the same as loads of apps trying to do nasty things on other OSs actually being in existence and available from third party and OS specific sites...

You're trying to equate Apples (no pun intended) with oranges - proof of concept doesn't equal actual attacks and the fact that each time a problem is found, it makes headline news but other OSs get dumped on so much that reports are treated as a matter of course, tends to support the view that some OSs are safer than others - please note that I said "safer not immune...

[afv011]

Originally Posted by elcreative

It was hardly in the wild, it was put up by the researchers just long enough to see what Apple's checks were then removed (it says that in the article)... hardly the wild - that's when it's available and ready to get anyone who D/Ls it... and proof of concept doen't equal others are be doing it just that a problem was found and, as it's known, will be dealt with - it's NOT the same as loads of apps trying to do nasty things on other OSs actually being in existence and available from third party and OS specific sites...

You're trying to equate Apples (no pun intended) with oranges - proof of concept doesn't equal actual attacks and the fact that each time a problem is found, it makes headline news but other OSs get dumped on so much that reports are treated as a matter of course, tends to support the view that some OSs are safer than others - please note that I said "safer not immune...

I'm just disproving your "it was not in the wild" statement, quite successfully I might add. It was in the wild, and this proves other apps could have been in the wild using the same exploits. You might not want to accept it, but there is no fully secure system, all system have cracks and can be exploited, and apple's is no exception.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by PatNY

But actually, I am very much looking forward to the new release of Marvin which I heard will finally support the smaller iOS devices. Hopefully it will be compatible with iOS 5, which my iPod Touch is stuck on.

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

It has been said (in the thread) that it will be compatible with iOS 5, yes.

According to this post from the developer the iPhone (iPod) version will be iOS 6 and up...

Originally Posted by kguil

@crashnburn: I have no plans to drop iOS5 support for iPad. Marvin for iPhone will be iOS6+

[Terisa de morgan]

Yes, I read it wrong, my bad, sorry. IOs 5 for iPad only.

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by elcreative

It was hardly in the wild, it was put up by the researchers just long enough to see what Apple's checks were then removed (it says that in the article)... hardly the wild - that's when it's available and ready to get anyone who D/Ls it...

It was available for anyone to download. They released it into the wild, but they shot it dead before it became an actual danger to anyone. Calculated, but still a very real risk. Thus in the wild. For a smidgen.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by afv011

I'm just disproving your "it was not in the wild" statement, quite successfully I might add. It was in the wild, and this proves other apps could have been in the wild using the same exploits. You might not want to accept it, but there is no fully secure system, all system have cracks and can be exploited, and apple's is no exception.

Bit desperate - it was up for 5 minutes so it's a desperate threat out in the wild to get everybody - FUD, FUD, FUD.

Try looking at latest reports from US feds where they report 79% of threats are for Android, 19% Symbian and other platforms including iOS, Windows etc all less than 1% eacc... still, it was out for 5mins so represents a deadly threat - my point was the exposure was hardly in the wild as it was so brief but obviously that's really major, never mind reality...

Oh yes, it's also a shame that you can't read a whole comment so ignored my last paragraph, "You're trying to equate Apples (no pun intended) with oranges - proof of concept doesn't equal actual attacks and the fact that each time a problem is found, it makes headline news but other OSs get dumped on so much that reports are treated as a matter of course, tends to support the view that some OSs are safer than others - please note that I said "safer not immune..."

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by elcreative

I actually post some things because I find the anti-Apple brigade to amusing, irritating and biased as h**l, often with an inability to understand facts and incapable of comparing numeriacal information on a like-for-like basis - essentially I dislike fanatical rambling and it is amusing sometimes to wind the Apple-haters up - it's so easy...

Most people who are biased towards Apple are the ones who didn't live through the iPod generation. Most of the people at XDA are 14-18, and most likely never got to use one. I get it. But them turning a blind eye really gets to me, which is why I don't post there much anymore.

[Teknikal]

I actually don't believe apple checks anything with regards to apps the reason being when I used them it was extremely common for apps to update and end up completely broken because of it at least until the app was updated again by the developer.

I know they make a big show about how they screen everything and force developers to wait for days but in my opinion theres no way they are actually checking the things it's all a show and if they are actually checking anything it's more in the lines of censoring than security.