Researchers demonstrat how a flaw they found in a wireless driver could allow a hacker to gain control of a notebook, such as the MacBook they used
SecureWorks has put up a notice on its site explaining that the demonstration of the exploit used a third-party add-in wireless card, not Apple's internal wireless chips. NewsForge - Fremont,CA,USA
It all began with a sensationalist headline in the Washington Post, "Hijacking a Macbook in 60 Seconds or Less,"
John Gruber has written an extensive analysis of the issue, including the many referenced quotations. daringfireball.net
Apple public relations director Lynn Fox says that the Wi-Fi exploit demonstrated by David Maynor and Jon Ellch two weeks ago in a video shown at the Black Hat 2006 conference does not represent a flaw in Apple's software or device firmware. Apple told Macworld and many other media outlets that the demonstrated exploit uses a third-party wireless driver for a Wi-Fi USB adapter. Neither the driver nor the chips are the same as those used by Apple in Mac OS X on a MacBook. TidBITS - USA
Apple issued a statement strongly refuting claims put forth by researchers at SecureWorks that Apple's Macbook computer contains a wireless-security flaw that could let attackers hijack the machines remotely.
Lynn Fox said:
"Despite SecureWorks being quoted saying the Mac is threatened by the exploit demonstrated at Black Hat, they have provided no evidence that in fact it is." Washington Post - United States
David Maynor tells how he was very disturbed by the whole incident. He had already been receiving hate mail and even death threats at the Black Hat convention but the threats had escalated with this latest fabricated story about him falsifying his research. ZDNet - Bayern,Germany
Laptops can get pretty damn hot. Brian Krische wanted to know just how hot, so he decided to run a little test. He pitted a 1.83GHz Core Duo MacBook (left) against a 1.83GHz Core Duo Dell Latitude D620
krischeonline.com
Apple is struggling to fulfill orders for its 13-inch widescreen MacBook laptop systems in the heat of the back-to-school shopping rush. MacNN - Santa Clara,CA,USA
All it takes is for one person to get fed up and the next thing you know they're ripping the display off their PowerBook. One user over at the MacRumors forums did just that. They removed the display from their 15.2" PowerBook and attached a display housing from a MacBook Pro. However, they replaced the stock Apple LCD with a high-definition Sharp LCD, giving him a resolution of 1920x1200 on his 1GHz Powerbook! macrumors.com
But given how favorable my review of Apple's Macbook was, I kind of feel obligated to report back on the ongoing woes I've been having with the one I bought . . .
The Genius who helped me identified the bootup problem as stemming from a security update gone awry, and reinstalled Tiger, which fixed it. PC World - USA
MacBook Random Shutdown Syndrome seems to becoming more common with MacBook owners. Luckily there's a simple test to diagnose if your MacBook is afflicted.
(See: discussions.apple.com) techpaedia.com
Today. I got an unexpected call from someone at the store, telling me that because my system had already received a new motherboard, and that surgery had taken 18 days (and had failed to stop the shutdowns) I was entitled to simply get a new MacBook.
BUT WAIT, there's more:
PC World - USA
I got a replacement black MacBook last week. I ran all the udpates and the firmware fix for the fan on Monday then last nite it committed seppuku. I believe the death poem was something like "screw you Dave." I have always been a Mac supporter but this is ridiculous.
(Seppuku is a ritual, at the end of which, one is dead.) InfoWorld - San Francisco,CA,USA
We've seen MacBook sensor hacks before, but this is debatably the more practical motion senor mods out there. WATCH THIS VIDEO Gizmodo.com - Budapest,Hungary
File this under R for "Rumor", but another Mac site is speculating that Apple will release updates to their laptop line come Sept. 16. The annual Paris Expo could be just the time for Apple to stick the recently released Core 2 Duo processors in their MacBooks and MacBook Pros, joining Toshiba, Dell, and Samsung in the upgraded notebook party. Gizmodo.com - Budapest,Hungary
In particular, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company this month is reportedly struggling to fill orders for its consumer-oriented MacBook notebooks, which are arguably its most popular new product of the year. appleinsider.com
Apple Computer Corp. of the U.S. plans to seek an additional contract supplier of its hot-selling MacBook notebook PCs, and Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd. has a big chance to join Apple's supply chain, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN), according to industry sources. The Taiwan Economic News - Taiwan
"The only choice you might have to make is whether to buy a MacBook or the better-performing MacBook Pro. MacDailyNews - USA
In August, when Apple announced a new patch for its operating system that fixes 26 security flaws, Mac users got a taste of what the overwhelming majority of computer users go through on a regular basis. Everybody knows--even artsy, hip Mac-types (I'm writing this column on a new MacBook laptop)--that the Windows experience is heavy on fighting viruses, spyware and malicious code programmed by malicious people. Chicago Tribune - United States
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