As of September 2010 this is no longer the place to go for the UTAS Liaison Librarians Blog. Go here instead:
http://blogs.utas.edu.au/liaison-librarians/
Thursday 16 September 2010
Sunday 5 September 2010
Apple patent: helpful or restrictive of rights and privacy?
Apple has applied for a patent named:
"SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING UNAUTHORIZED USERS OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE". The full application can be read on the web page below:
http://www.patentvest.com/console/reports/docs/app/20100207721.html
Apple's justification for this patent is that installation of this proposed technology onto their devices will enable identification of unauthorised users, with, the idea that this will help the authorized user should the device fall into the wrong hands, as there is a lot of personal information stored on one of these things, of course.
However, the patent goes way beyond what is necessary to do this and in fact the technology would act as sophisticated spyware if installed on a device. You will see this if you read the application above and the commentary of the ETF:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/steve-jobs-watching-you-apple-seeking-patent-0
IT geeks and hackers are justifiably concerned about this clause in the application:
"4 . The method of claim 3, wherein the particular activity comprises one or more of hacking the electronic device, jailbreaking the electronic device, unlocking the electronic device, removing a SIM card from the electronic device, and moving at least a predetermined distance away from a synced device"
I agree with the ETF that the application discusses technology that goes way beyond what is necessary for users to recover a lost iphone or ipad. I also think that attempts to prevent IT enthusiasts from breaking into Apple devices so they can potentially modify and experiment with Apple programs etc is a backward step.
"SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING UNAUTHORIZED USERS OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE". The full application can be read on the web page below:
http://www.patentvest.com/console/reports/docs/app/20100207721.html
Apple's justification for this patent is that installation of this proposed technology onto their devices will enable identification of unauthorised users, with, the idea that this will help the authorized user should the device fall into the wrong hands, as there is a lot of personal information stored on one of these things, of course.
However, the patent goes way beyond what is necessary to do this and in fact the technology would act as sophisticated spyware if installed on a device. You will see this if you read the application above and the commentary of the ETF:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/steve-jobs-watching-you-apple-seeking-patent-0
IT geeks and hackers are justifiably concerned about this clause in the application:
"4 . The method of claim 3, wherein the particular activity comprises one or more of hacking the electronic device, jailbreaking the electronic device, unlocking the electronic device, removing a SIM card from the electronic device, and moving at least a predetermined distance away from a synced device"
I agree with the ETF that the application discusses technology that goes way beyond what is necessary for users to recover a lost iphone or ipad. I also think that attempts to prevent IT enthusiasts from breaking into Apple devices so they can potentially modify and experiment with Apple programs etc is a backward step.
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