Aviation : Delta’s New iPad App Shows Off The World Below Your Plane

Delta Air Lines has released Fly Delta for iPad, an iPad-specific app that, in addition to normal stuff like booking trips and checking flight status, includes a nifty feature they call “Glass Bottom Jet.”

Glass Bottom Jet allows users aboard Delta’s wifi equipped planes to watch the ground pass below as they speed through the sky. It’s not a live view, mind you, but rather a combination of maps and satellite imagery combined with your plane’s current position.

Making use of the iPad’s added display real estate, the iPad-specific app also features new destination guides and trip map features not previously found on the original iOS app. The original, which worked on all iOS devices, has been downloaded 5.5 million times, Delta says.

Delta simultaneously released an update to its iPhone app that integrates with Passbook, the iOS app that will store your boarding passes, movie tickets and store coupons.
“Our goal is to simplify the digital experience across the touch points where our customers already spend their time by making their interactions with Delta easy and intuitive,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s executive vice president – Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing, in a statement. “The incredible functionality and innovation found in the new iPad app embodies all that we’re doing to further improve the digital experience customers have with Delta. All of this represents the largest investment to delta.com and digital technology in more than a decade.”

 

Credit : NY Aviation

Security Loophole In Facebook’s Camera App Allowed Hackers To Hijack Accounts Over WiFi

PSA to all Facebook Camera users on iOS: If you haven’t update you app in the past few days, update it now. The older version of the app, pre-1.1.2 and released before December 21, has a security loophole. When used over WiFi networks, malicious hackers can tap the network and hijack Camera users’ accounts, picking up information like email addresses and passwords in the process.
The white-hat hacker who ID’d the problem is Mohamed Ramadan, an Egypt-based security researcher and trainer with Attack-Secure who has also found and reported vulnerabilities for Apple, Google, and Etsy — which apparently also had the same loophole in its iOS app. Ramadan tells us that the issue lied in the Camera app’s Secure Sockets Layer certification, which was too open.
As he puts it, “The problem is the app accepts any SSL certification from any source, even evil SSL certifications and this enables any attacker to perform Man in The Middle Attack against anyone uses Facebook Camera App for IPhone. This means that the application doesn’t warn the user if someone in the same [WiFi network] trying to hijack his Facebook account.”
Testing his theory by using a proxy to listen in on a WiFi network, he was able to type in his username and password into the Camera app, and then see that information appear via the proxy.
Ramadan notes that he’s tested all Facebook apps and the rest appear to protect from this similar vulnerability. 

 

Credit : Tech Crunch

AT&T brings free WiFi to eleven NYC parks

There was once a time, believe it or not, when New Yorkers would go to public parks to engage in long strolls, unfettered cigarette smoking, and neurotic conversations with Diane Keaton. Recent years, however, have seen a sudden change in this behavior due to a variety of factors -- including AT&T. Yesterday, the provider announced an expansion of its ongoing New York City WiFi initiative, bringing free connectivity to eleven new sites across the five boroughs, including Prospect Park, Tompkins Square Park and Marcus Garvey Park, among others. With these new additions, AT&T inches closer to its stated goal of bathing 26 park locations in WiFi, though the Grand Poobah, Central Park, remains in the dark. As with its earlier rollout, visitors won't need an AT&T account to get online. In fact, they won't need any contract at all -- just a WiFi-enabled device, a cozy bench and bountiful downtime.

Transportation : Amtrak to finally launch free WiFi for regional trains on October 1st?

Rumor 'round the Twitterverse has it that Amtrak may finally be implementing free WiFi on October 1st -- finally seeing the bet laid down by various plane and bus companies over the past couple years. The casual conversation between conductor and passenger yielded the information that the system is finally ready to extend beyond Acela, apparently "ready to roll and it's just a matter of 'flipping the on switch.'" This comes as great news for commuters who spend their mornings and evenings stuck on slow, old, often curious smelling Regional trains. Unfortunately, other than the tweet, there's no word (official or otherwise) whether net surfage will be possible beginning next month. Regardless, looks like the "I didn't have internet access" excuse is still valid for a little while longer for all you nine to fivers.

Tech : Clearwire boosts NYC WiMAX coverage by 21 percent

Consider yourself a New Yorker? If so, you could find yourself underneath Sprint / TWC / Clearwire's 4G umbrella, as the trio has announced a 21 percent coverage expansion in the greater New York City area. Folks in Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus, Union, NJ; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre, Yonkers, NY will now be covered in the regional Clear network, and as of last count, that amounts to an extra 91,363 people. 'Course, a few newcomers will be born every minute, so maybe we've breached 91,369 by now. Or maybe more. Talk about confusing.

 

 

Clearwire, Time Warner Cable and Sprint Expand New York City Metro 4G Mobile Broadband Network By 21 Percent

Regional New York City 4G Network Covers 11,927,000 People

KIRKLAND, Wash., NEW YORK CITY, and OVERLAND PARK, Kan., July 12, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced a significant expansion of the Clearwire 4G network footprint and key capacity upgrades for mobile broadband customers in the greater New York City metro area. The regional CLEAR®, Time Warner Cable Mobile Internet and Sprint 4G service area have added coverage for an additional 91,363 people. Now, more than 11,927,000 people in the New York City area have access to Clearwire's 4G mobile broadband network. This expansion represents new coverage since Clearwire's initial launch on November 1, 2010.

Enhanced capacity and expanded coverage can be experienced in the following communities: Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus, Union, NJ; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre, Yonkers, NY.

"Across New York and New Jersey, Clearwire's 4G speed continues to set the standard in delivering a high-speed network that businesses and consumers demand," said Sean Reid, regional general manager for Clearwire. "Unlimited mobile broadband usage is a product that Clearwire pioneered across the country over the last several years and is currently now in seventy-one markets across the United States."

"Sprint 4G customers in the Greater New York area will benefit from these enhancements," said Karen Paletta, Sprint vice president-East Region. "Our customers enjoy a wide selection of cutting-edge 4G devices - smartphones, tablets and mobile connectivity devices. Sprint 4G allows for sophisticated services such as video chat and a wide variety of applications that keep expanding every day with great new mobile devices from Sprint."

"Time Warner Cable continues to take steps as a leader in the industry by offering our customers multiple ways to access the information and content they want at home, at work and on the go," said Lou Lazzaro, vice president of wireless, Time Warner Cable New York City. "Mobile Internet keeps Time Warner Cable business and residential customers connected in multiple ways from multiple places so they're never out of touch."

4G customers in these cities will be able to increase their mobility and productivity in many ways: from instantly downloading large files to get work done on the run, browsing the Web just like at home from across the city, or watching online videos and movies while travelling in the family car around town. A variety of 4G devices are available from both service providers.

A detailed coverage map of CLEAR 4G service is available at www.clear.com/coverage.

Additional information about Sprint 4G is available at www.sprint.com/4G.

Additional information about Time Warner Cable Mobile Internet is available at http://mobileservices.timewarnercable.com