Microsoft blurs the line on "ending support" for Windows XP

In a slightly surprise (albeit not unprecedented) move, Microsoft have announced that a patch for its high-profile Internet Explorer vulnerability will be rolled out to versions of Windows including the officially obsolete Windows XP. In a blog post yesterday, General Manager for Trustworthy Computing, Adrienne Hall, rationalises this move as follows:

"One of the things that drove much of this coverage was that it coincided with the end of support for Windows XP. [...] We made this exception based on the proximity to the end of support for Windows XP.  The reality is there have been a very small number of attacks based on this particular vulnerability and concerns were, frankly, overblown."

Or, reading between the PR-speak: "We're sick of journalists banging on about this bug so we're going to go back on our support policy to shut you up just this once".

The interesting dilemma now is: what happens next time? If a remote execution vulnerability is an "overblown" one, then what happens when the next vulnerability arises that is serious enough not to be deemed "overblown"? Where will this leave Microsoft's policy on XP security patches? Presumably their official line isn't "we refuse to patch security vulnerabilities, except the overblown ones"...?

Steve Wozniak on data security and privacy

Speaking at the Apps World conference this February, these were Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's comments on the current state of affairs regarding the security and privacy of our data, in particular given our increasing reliance on the "Cloud" for mundane tasks such as listening to music while walking the dog...

Internet Explorer vulnerability given a high profile

A vulnerability in Internet Explorer announced by Microsoft last week appears to have received a much higher profile reaction compared to other vulnerabilities, with even the UK and US governments getting in on the act to advise people to switch browsers. (Some might say that advice about data privacy is a bit rich coming from them...)

The specific vulnerability is reported to be the exploitability of Adobe Flash Player using a technique baptised "Heap Feng Shui". Reported, that is, apparently not by Microsoft, who have so far disclosed little information other than that they are still investigating the matter.

And this may be one of the reasons for the higher-profile reaction. Since the recent retirement of Windows XP, the world is now coming to terms with the reality of a vulnerability report effectively saying: "There's a serious security risk whose details we are not fully disclosing, which we do not promise to fix on 29% of computers in the wild".

And it's a reality they may need to get used to.

Historic source code: Apple II DOS

Those programmers into a bit of nostalgia may be interested in various early Apple documents made available on line by the Computer History Museum. Notably, these include the Apple II DOS source code, in M6502 assembler. The code is a reminder of just how hideous and painstaking it must have been to have to code something such as a disk operating system in what is reckoned to be a relatively short space of time.

Other hand-scribbled planning/specification documents released in the bundle will make programmers feel more relieved about the contents of their own notebooks.

For those wishing to pore even further over historic assembly language with that feeling of "How on Earth did that ever work?", you may also wish to take a look at the Spectrum ROM Disassembly (I have fond memories of having had this in book form at one stage: with the same feeling of disbelief!).

Was Flappy Bird inspired by Android game "Piou Piou vs Cactus" and where do developers go now?

There is a claim circulating that recent quirky App Store hit Flappy Bird was inspired by a previous game Piou Piou vs Cactus. Flappy Bird's creator Dong Nguyen has reportedly denied this. It's clear that there are some similarities (the big-lipped bird graphic and general game mechanics). On the other hand, there are some distinguishing elements (in Flappy Bird, the player flies between two pipes and must therefore exercise more control, compared to Piou Piou where the player apparently flies under or over a cactus and where they are only killed if they are pushed off the screen by the cacti ).

Give that his game predates Flappy Bird, the author of Piou Piou is understandably frustrated that Apple have refused to admit the game to the App Store on the grounds that it "leverages the top game 'Flappy Bird'". However, I think it can't be denied that releasing it to the App Store precisely now is an attempt to capitalise on Flappy Bird. My advice would probably be for him to take a practical stance, to go along with Apple and try submitting a further modified version (after all, we're not talking about a terribly complicated code base!).

This situation does highlight a point of frustration for developers generally, though. It's difficult to know specifically which elements of gameplay are what Apple see as being too similar. Is it the tap-to-jump dynamics? Is it the fact of having a sideways scroller with only static obstacles? Are bird characters with fat lips outlawed now? What independent game developers are surely taking away from this-- and the general element that many will want to build on-- is that there is a market for mobile games with extremely simple dynamics requiring a short attention span. And like it or not, Flappy Bird is a canonical example of that type of game.

Update: more reports of Apple refusing Flabby bird clones.

iPad version of Microsoft Office "on the way"... allegedly...

We've been seeing reports about Microsoft allegedly on the cusp of releasing an iPad version of Office for so long that I'd almost forgotten that they haven't actually done so yet. Another report this week suggests that it is still on the cards, but not quite about to be released. Watch this space... but don't hold your breath and stay sitting down.

Preserving iPhone battery life: the practical and the ridiculous

An issue that seems to be here to stay for the foreseeable future is the atrociously poor battery life of modern smartphones and hence, the plethora of solutions that we come up with to mitigate the situation. This ZDNet article has various suggestions, from the sensible to the sublimely ridiculous.

It is definitely worth taming connectivity features such as bluetooth (you may not have thought of AirDrop) and reducing unnecessary background services (you may not have explored the screen allowing you to tune which apps are allowed to perform background downloads).

On the other hand, blocking your telephone's ability to receive phone calls in order to preserve battery life reminds me of the Fawlty Towers sketch in which the deaf Mrs Richards keeps her hearing aid turned off for the same reason...

If you find yourself tinkering too much with settings in an effort to scrape a few extra per cent out of your battery life, it's probably time to treat your iPhone to a secondary portable battery, and if you're on the road all day, making sure you plan your coffee breaks around cafés that have charging stations :)