Sorry about the lack of a post two weeks ago, multiple exams and papers kept my nose to the grind that whole time.
But no worries! I’m back for two more weeks of tech news.
Let’s get caught up.
1. Heartbleed could be bad
So a few weeks ago, the Internet found out about Heartbleed, a major security bug that effects the vast majority of servers in the world.
Basically, with proper exploitation, hackers could steal virtual treasure troves of personal information. Passwords, credit card info, Social Security numbers — anything. Some hackers in Canada did exactly that with tax information, though the Canada Revenue Agency chose to withhold that information for a few days.
Unfortunately, that’s not even the worst misuse of power regarding this bug. According to Bloomberg, everyone’s favorite privacy invader — the NSA — not only knew about the bug in 2012, but intentionally kept it secret to exploit it for its own data-stealing motives.
The NSA denied this claim, naturally.
So should you be worried about Hearbleed? Yes and no. It’s always a good idea to periodically update your passwords, especially for big sites like Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. This bug gives you even more reason to update.
On the other hand, most sites that used Open SSL servers have since patched or updated said servers to erase the bug.
2. Apple continued to make money
The money-making machine in Cupertino kept rolling last quarter, as Apple posted $10.2 billion in profit on $45.6 billion in revenue.
Chump change.
Apple sold a whopping 43.7 million iPhones (a 14 percent increase from last year), 16.3 million iPads (a 16 percent decrease), 4.1 million Macs and 2.76 million iPods (who is still buying iPods?).
It also announced it’s buying back $90 million in stock.
The quarterly results came after Apple showed off two new ads — one for the iPhone 5S and one promoting the company’s environmental initiatives.
3. The Nexus Killer might have arrived
In the Android world, there are heavily-modified, third-party vendor phones like Samsung and HTC, and then there are pure Google Nexus phones. There aren’t any skins or bloatware — it’s the Android exactly as the Google devs made it.
Well, China might have just undercutted those phones. Announced Wednesday, the OnePLus One is $299 off-contract, and is legitimately mind-blowing.
The 5.5-inch, Full HD 1920 x 1980 display covering the front looks breathtaking. There’s a huge 3,100mAh battery, a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 3GB of RAM on the inside. A 13-megapixel camera runsIt runs CyanogenMod, the most popular Android mod available.
And again — it’s $299 off-contract. For comparison, those stats match or beat those of the Samsung Galaxy S5, which is $650 off-contract.
That’s absurd. It’ll be interesting to see if a Chinese phone will catch on in the United States, but it’s a good Android phone regardless.
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That’s it for this week! Make sure to check back next week for the (unfortunately) last Tech with Taylor … ever. Next week is the last week of Reveille printing, and I’m graduating in May. It’ll be a good post! So make sure to come back for the latest and greatest in tech.
