- Google’s legal wrangling could legalize packet sniffing open WiFi
David Kravets at Wired advances this interesting theory. It is very early days to say how likely any new case law based on Google’s inadvertent WiFi data capture will play out for other scenarios. It seems wise, though, to bear in mind the broader context and hope for an appropriately narrow ruling or set of rulings that will avoid this sort of worst case scenario. - Canonical becomes OIN’s first associate member
There has been some speculation about what this means in practice with little consensus. I like PJ’s simply remarks at Groklaw–“One thing for sure I know about Mark Shuttleworth. He’s brave. Microsoft doesn’t cause him to cower in fear. And I’ll tell you what I know about OIN. They know how to fight to win.” - One fifth of Android apps access private data
Curt Hopkins at RWW has a short piece explaining this price of an open marketplace that may surprise some and perhaps balance the pans with Apple’s recent privacy grab over location data. Of course, the telling difference is Apple isn’t allowing for any consumer choice at all in the exchange. While Google’s market may present unclear risks, there is some notification around data permissions and no one is forcing you to install and use an app of unknown trustworthiness. - Developers predict iOS and OSX likely to merge over time
This bit of discussion coordinated by Ars Technica with some developers of popular OSX applications is a bit different than the rumors that Jobs would bring the same centralized control seen in the mobile platform to the Mac. The technical arguments are interesting though I don’t buy all of them. I could see combining and streamlining of APIs as an efficiency but the mere age of OSX’s underpinnings shouldn’t be a determinant in replacing bits with the counterparts from the mobile side. This is all mere speculation, though by informed observers, so it remains to be seen what, if anything, Apple does in this direction. - Schools, governments blocking Google because encrypted search prevents monitoring
- New Zealand reverses course on software patents, now looking to allow them
- Who is attending closed door net neutrality discussions
- Act now, tell the White House what you think of ACTA
Via Cory at Boing Boing. - Rumor that iOS will try harder to end jailbreaking
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