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Lenovo, by injecting Superfish adware into its Windows laptop PCs and leaving them open to man-in-the-middle attacks, has so fundamentally betrayed its customers that every one of them should immediately consider switching to the Mac. Earlier this week it was discovered that Lenovo, a prominent manufacturer of Windows PCs, had loaded Superfish adware into some of its laptops. In order to insert advertising on websites, the adware broke HTTPS certificate authority — and that leaves these machines open to untold traffic monitoring and manipulation. The public discovery of this adware made for a very bad day at Lenovo headquarters. But it made for a very bad, no good, …

Sprint is launching yet another price promotion, this time for its Family Share Plan. The limited time offer will give customers up to 10 lines of shared unlimited talk and text, along with 12GB of data, for $90 a month. The carrier says that the offer will end on March 12. From Sprint: Sprint is reducing the data access charge on the $90 Family Share Pack plan from $25 to $15 for handsets. For customers switching their number to Sprint from another carrier, Sprint is waiving the access charge for handsets, tablets and mobile broadband devices on 12GB or higher data allowances for up to 10 lines for one year. All devices must be purchased through Sprint Easy Pa…

Crüsta sounds like something you'd find in Ikea, but it's actually the name of a case line from smartphone and tablet accessory maker Amzer. If you're looking to armor up your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus with comprehensive front and back protection, you might want to take a look. Crüsta combines a hard shell case with a tempered glass screen protector along with a belt clip that rotates 360 degrees. I'm rocking two cases in these photos; a space grey iPhone 6 in one, clad in patriotic red and blue, looking decidedly superhero on the hip using the optional clip. Supervillains wear purple, so the exuberant iPhone 6 Plus dazzles in this very magenta-y purple and white. There are 4…

These thin, lightweight lightning cables reach 3.3ft in length and are great for using with USB wall chargers, car chargers or just to hook up to your PC or laptop. They even feature a soft-touch coating around the entire cable that makes it easy to keep them tangle free. Available today in 8 colors for only $13.95 each! Continue reading...

It's being rumored today that Apple will be duplicating their OS X public beta program with iOS 8.3 this spring and iOS 9 this summer. The hope, reportedly, is that a wider beta, beyond just the traditional developer program, will help improve software stability. From 9to5Mac: Apple intends to release the upcoming iOS 8.3 as a public beta via the company's existing AppleSeed program in mid-March, according to the sources. This release will match the third iOS 8.3 beta for developers, which is planned for release the same week. Apple then expects to debut iOS 9 at its June Worldwide Developer Conference, with a public beta release during the summer, and final release…

Ever wonder what your iPhone thinks about you when you're not around? This week, on The Network: Confessions of an iPhone 6. "Loving it is easy. That's why so many people do." — SEPTEMBER [Welcome. Bienvenido. Welkom. Witamy. Bem-] Oh, hey! You must be my new owner! COOL! [select Your Country or Region] United States? Awesome! I was designed in California. I'm actually from China, but— [Choose a Wi-Fi Network] Apple Store, huh? Couldn't wait to set me up, could you? I couldn't wait either! [Location Services] You won't regret this! [Apple ID] Your name is Kyle? What a coincidence! My name is Kyle's iPhone! [iCloud Drive] Great choice, iClou…

Boost Mobile today announced unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada, which can be added to existing plans for $5 a month. Consumers wanting to take advantage of a vast amount texts, calls and data to the regions will have to fork out for bundled Data Boost plans starting from $50. The $5 Todo Mexico Plus includes unlimited calls to Mexico (both landlines and mobile devices), as well as Canada, and as an added bonus you unlock unlimited worldwide text messaging. It's an ideal addon for those who require that little bit extra to keep in touch with friends and family outside of the US. You'll just need to add the $5 addon to your $45 or $55 Data Boost plan and you're…

Photo extensions mean you no longer have to jump from image editing app to image editing apps, opening and saving as you go, hoping you never make a mistake because there's just no going back. Instead, you simply open Apple's built in Photos app, tap the photo extensions button, and all the filters and effects you've installed from the App Store instantly become available to you right where you are. All you have to do is enabled them first. Oh, and find them. That's where this list comes in. If you're looking for the best iPhone apps for photo editing, here they are! 1. Afterlight For easy edits Afterlight is simple to use and contains all the filters an…

Adobe is celebrating a big milestone for its landmark image editing software Photoshop. The venerable software package's 25th anniversary this week. Few apps have had Photoshop's industry-changing impact and popularity, and fewer still are as directly linked to the Macintosh's enduring success as a tool for creative professionals. Humble beginnings While Adobe celebrates Photoshop's 25th anniversary today, Photoshop can trace its lineage back to 1987, when Photoshop's creator, Thomas Knoll, first wrote code to display grayscale images on his black and white Macintosh Plus. Knoll, a PhD student at the University of Michigan, showed the app to his brother John, w…

Apple is reportedly considering a partnership with Japan Display that will see the Cupertino giant contributing a significant portion of money to build a new LCD display factory. Apple's investment in the venture is said to be 200 billion yen ($1.68 billion), and in return for the capital, priority will be given to the manufacture of iPhone displays. The factory, which is slated to be constructed in Ishikawa next year, will manufacture LTPS (low temperature polysilicon) displays, which is the same display technology that is currently used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. According to news sources, the factory could also transition into making OLED panels, similar t…

If you follow anything having to do with tech on the Internet, you have undoubtedly read something about Superfish in the past 24 hours. In a nutshell, Lenovo sold tons of computers with software called Superfish Visual Discovery pre-installed. Lenovo has been selling computers preloaded with Superfish for the past two years, and the software is supposed to help serve alternative, image-heavy ads in Google search results. As it turns out, however, Superfish is a pretty frightening piece of adware. Password management software maker LastPass explained Superfish quite well in a recent blog post: It was discovered that the Superfish software was installing its own…

When a group of men forced their way into a Tampa home Tuesday night, Legend the dog wasted no time trying to protect his people. The gentle giant sprang into action, biting one of the men, as the home’s occupants struggled with their attackers. Legend, described as a bullmastiff mix, took two bullets in the attack – one in the side of the head. Even so, he was able to help scare the men off. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Legend was taken by the county’s animal control department for treatment at a local veterinary hospital. Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Melissa Kincheloe was able to visit with Legend Wednesday and reports he’s expected…

Mainstream reporting on Apple is often sensational and superficial. Once and a while it's also stupefying. That's the case with this story about the Apple Watch, where it seems details of Apple testing various different health sensors during the normal course of their product development cycle somehow got warped and twisted into something profoundly stupid. CBS News Apple is ditching the health tracking functions of the Apple Watch, which is going to start shipping in April. Why? "They sorta had to," said CNET senior editor Jeff Bakalar. "Because it's not working." Apple touted a new health and fitness app when they first announced the Apple Watch back in Sept…

Year past I would've been on a stage in China Town this week with Georgia Dow and Anthony Casella demonstrating Foshan boxing to the beat of lion drums, and then meeting up with friends for "ice cream" that consisted of red bean, ice, and tofu. That's how we spent most of Chinese New Year when we were in college, and it forever bound us to the people and the culture. These days we take to the microphone to talk about Apple, a company that's finding Greater China and Japan increasingly important parts of their business, and cities like Shenzhen integral to their manufacturing efforts. New Apple Stores are soaring to the heavens almost monthly, it feels like, as are the …

Apple may soon expand Maps Connect, a tool which allows small business owners to create listings on Apple Maps, to a couple of more countries. After the service experienced some downtime earlier today, users were presented with new language options for French and German when it came back up, which could signal an expansion to countries that speak the two languages. The change was noticed by Apple Maps Marketing earlier today: Apple Maps Connect was down about an hour ago. I just tried it again and got the following screen which presents options to pick English, French or German as your language and to subscribe to "News and Notifications". This may mean that Ma…

Apple is rumored to be targeting 2020 to start production of the rumored Apple Car. That timeline, if at all accurate, could place the company in direct competition with aggressive electric car offerings from industry leaders GM and Tesla. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources: The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project's aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $40,000. Recent reports indicate th…

Apple has just announced a repair extension program for MacBook Pro computers with video issues. Through the program, Apple will repair affected MacBook Pros or reimburse people who have already paid for a repair. "We've found that a small percentage of MacBook Pro models sold between February 2011 and December 2013 may exhibit video issues and we will repair those systems free of charge," an Apple spokesperson told iMore. "We are contacting customers who paid for a repair through Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to arrange a reimbursement. Customers can learn more about the repair program, including affected models, service options and repair reimburse…

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but there’s still love in the air: Love for technology that empowers. From the cloud to the classroom, to the streets of Uganda, this news is worthy of heart-shaped love letters. Read on! Sometimes the best ideas are serendipitous. After getting a lift with app-sourced, ride-sharing service Uber while attending We Day California last spring, Joshua Okello and Aaron Tushabe had an idea: Design an Uber-like service for Uganda’s motorcycle taxis, or “boda bodas.” They envision the service as a way to improve the safety of hitching a ride for passengers, while raising the standard of living for boda boda drivers. Microsoft YouthSpark…

Two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull from the stockyard in a far town so that they can breed their own stock. They only have $600 left. Upon leaving, the brunette tells her sister, "When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I'll contact you to drive out after me and haul it home." The brunette arrives at the stockyard, inspects the bull, and decides she wants to buy it. The man tells her that he will sell it for $599, no less. After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to s…

Apple is reportedly setting up a small display for its upcoming Apple Watch at Galeries Lafayette, a high-end Paris shopping center. This is according to a couple of different reports from French outlets that also say Apple's retail VP, Angela Ahrendts, is heading up the project. The reports, which come from French publications FashionMag and Mac4Ever, claim that a series of tarps in the Galeries Lafayette, pictured below, are currently covering up the construction of the display. The reports are very much unconfirmed, but given the fact that the Apple Watch launch is fast approaching, and Apple has made a concerted effort to market the wearable's fashion prow…

Ellen DeGeneres recently featured Simon Pierro, a German magician, on her talk show performing some amazing magic tricks using just an iPad, some pictures, and a glass of coconut milk. In the video above, you can watch Pierro seemingly "pull" objects straight out of the iPad's screen, and even use FaceTime to drench a friend with a glass of coconut milk from thousands of miles away. For his final trick, Pierro takes a selfie with some audience members, then immediately makes it appear as a real picture inside of a frame on the table next to him. The video clip is definitely worth checking out if you have a spare few minutes, as Pierro's tricks are just plain fun t…

A Masque Attack — the abuse of Apple's iOS developer certificates to try and trick people into installing malware apps on their iPhones or iPads — has reportedly entered a second phase which, turns out, is much like it's first phase. According to FireEye: Masque Attack II includes bypassing iOS prompt for trust and iOS URL scheme hijacking. iOS 8.1.3 fixed the first part whereas the iOS URL scheme hijacking is still present. My understanding is that iOS 8.1.3 prevents URL schemes from being used to bypass trust status. From Apple: An issue existed in determining when to prompt for trust when first opening an enterprise-signed application. This issue wa…

Yahoo has announced new tools for mobile app developers at their first mobile developer conference. The Yahoo Mobile Developer Suite includes tools built using technology from Flurry, which Yahoo acquired in July 2014, including an updated version of Flurry Analytics Explorer. The suite also has tools to help monetize their apps, as well as an easy way to integrate Yahoo search directly into apps. From Yahoo: Yahoo Search in Apps - This offering makes it easy for developers to integrate Yahoo Search directly into their apps. This enhances the user experience by allowing users to search the web from within the app, and can create an additional monetization chann…

According to new documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the NSA and its UK counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), hacked into the computers of Gemalto, a company that manufactures SIM cards for a large number of carriers around the world. In doing so, the intelligence agencies acquired encryption keys that would allow them to intercept communications from customers of all four major U.S. carriers, along with 450 others around the world. Snowden, who has been a blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programs since 2013, leaked the documents to The Intercept, which broke the news earlier today: With these stolen encryption keys, intellig…

Has your phone been spied on? A new report claims that British and US spies used the world's largest SIM manufacturer to potentially monitor a huge number of people through their phones. With some 450 networks using the SIM cards made by Gemalto, the NSA and GCHQ may have gained access to a phenomenal number of people's communications data, both voice and data. Gemalto has now come out and said that it is investigating The Intercept's report, which claimed that US and UK agencies used the technology to survey a large number of mobile phone communications without permission. Panic stations Gemalto said it had no idea that such activity was taking place. "We canno…