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Release Date: August 05, 2009
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Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
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Genre: Rock
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  • The Dresden Dolls

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Dresden Dolls
    • The energetic duet of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione that make up the Dresden Dolls have created a wonderfully haunting sound in their self-titled album. They have been able to construct an imme

  • Stadium Arcadium

    • 8 out of 10
    • Red Hot Chili Peppers
    • What? Only four stars, you stingy bastard? I'm asking myself the same question, so let me explain myself to myself... If I compare the new

  • So Jealous

    • 8 out of 10
    • Tegan and Sara
    • So Jealous is the third album from these sisters, and easily the one to single out for an introduction to their music. Some people may not get on board with their vocal styles, which are slightly

  • Physical Graffiti

    • 10 out of 10
    • Led Zeppelin
    • This album bears every flavor of genius from the five records that came before. It is, I believe, the band's finest. With Physical Graffiti, Zep came raging back to their musical home territory -- har
  • Chicago Transit Authority

    • 10 out of 10
    • Chicago
    • For those of you who don't know, Chicago didn't always suck, and everyone in the band didn't always play a keyboard. When the band started off they were pioneers of rock and jazz fusion, and guita

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News

Security Analysts Concerned Over iPhone Patching Mix of Features & Security

Some security analysts are concerned about the bundling of ten security patches for the iPhone and firmware upgrades that provided new functionality in the iPhone September Update. The worry is that stories of bricked phones will cause customers to defer needed security updates, according to PC World on Monday.

"With the iPhone update, Apple is now producing a fear of taking their patches," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security Inc. "If they release a functionality update and security fixes at the same time in the future, some users will think twice about applying it. They’ll ask themselves ’What will it break this time?’ and ’Will it backfire on me?’"

Mr. Storms felt that the publicity around disabled phones may have been more important, and maybe more confusing, than the security updates themselves.

Garter, Inc.’s John Pescatore agreed. "There should definitely be a separation between security and functionality," he said. "Users shouldn’t be forced to accept new functionality to get security fixes." He pointed out that, at least in the PC World, the bundling of security and features, which is good for the vendor, forces the users to choose between testing all the new features or passing on the security fixes.

iPO notes, however, that the situation is different with a consumer product. The iPhone is not an enterprise product, and there are no massive IT teams required to test the new features for enterprise integration. The user just buys new music with new features. Second, the vast majority of iPhone customers aren’t inclined to spend a lot of time reading the opinions of PC security analysts. They just want to update their phone, get new features, get better security and get on with life. Finally, if they do hear about bricked phones, they know that a tiny fraction of customers have hacked their phones and are paying the price.

As a result, it’s not likely that typical iPhone users worry about this kind of bundling, one that’s a concern in the PC and Windows community. Apple is, in fact, doing what it believes to be in the best interests of their customers and their own corporate obligation to AT&T.

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