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You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Medianews digest..." Today's Topics: 1. It's official, AT&T to offer Code Factory products. (Ray T. Mahorney) 2. Mac, meet Israel (Monty Solomon) 3. Israelis work to crack the iPhone (Monty Solomon) 4. iPhone has a built-in spyware module? (Rob) 5. Big Brother cameras to track millions of innocent drivers (Rob) 6. Police 'to access road cameras' (Rob) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:20:42 -0000 From: "Ray T. Mahorney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] It's official, AT&T to offer Code Factory products. To: <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" (from the blind phones reflector) Hi, all. In confirmation of what Rick heard a few days ago, AT&T has just posted the press release below stating that they will be offering Code Factory products for several platforms and for both speech and magnification. I'm very pleased to see that they're offering two platforms of phone rather than one. They're the only company I know of to do it, and it's a great step forward that people will no longer be locked in to one phone on one platform if they want to buy at subsidized pricing and if they don't want the headache of installing the screen reader. This is a great move by both AT&T and CF. Aman Taken from http://tinyurl.com/yu3o9n ATT Expands Wireless Offerings for Customers With Disabilities ATT Launching New Services to Support Customers With Special Needs SAN ANTONIO, July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATT Inc. (NYSE: T ) has announced plans to launch new wireless software products this year to increase usability for customers who are blind or visually impaired. ATT will partner with Code Factory to offer two new products: Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier, both for Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 operating system devices. ATT consults with leaders from the disability community to develop product and service offerings designed to meet the needs of customers with vision loss. "By working closely with organizations that are committed to serving seniors or people with disabilities, ATT is able to better understand the unique needs of its customers," said Carlton Hill, vice president of Product Management for ATT's wireless unit. "These new software options will help make it easier for all individuals to enjoy a digital lifestyle wherever they go." "Code Factory's mission is to make it possible for visually impaired consumers to use the most advanced mobile technology," said Eduard Sanches, CEO of Code Factory. "ATT has a long track record of enabling communications for all of its customers, and we are very pleased to partner with them to make even more mobile devices accessible to the visually impaired." Mobile Speak is a powerful, full-fledged screen reader with an easy-to-learn command structure, intuitive speech feedback in several languages and Braille support that can be used with or without speech. Unlike other screen readers for mobile phones, Mobile Speak automatically detects information that the blind user should know, just as a sighted user would easily find highlighted items or key areas of the screen at a glance. Supported applications and functions include: -- Speed dial, call lists and contacts -- Text messaging -- Calendar, tasks, notes and calculator -- Internet browser -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- Voice Recorder, Media Player, voice speed dial and voice command -- Phone/device settings, profiles, alarms and ringtones Mobile Magnifier is a flexible, full-screen magnification application that supports low- and high-resolution screens and can be used with or without speech feedback. Magnification software is compatible with a wide range of mobile devices. Unique features include: -- Magnification levels from 1.25x to 16x -- Font-smoothing for easier readability -- Three different layouts: a full-screen, split and distributed view -- Different color schemes, including inverted color -- Automatic panning and cursor-tracking -- Automatic zoom function that detects areas of interest on the screen "We have found that individuals who have vision loss want to be able to choose from a range of wireless handsets," said Paul Schroeder, vice president of Programs and Policy, American Foundation for the Blind. "Just like people who can see, customers with disabilities want options. We applaud ATT for its leadership in investing the effort to understand and address the needs of individuals with vision loss." Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier for Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 operating system devices will be available from ATT in the fall of 2007. For more information about wireless product or service offerings for those with disabilities, visit http://www.wireless.att.com/about/disability-resources.jsp . Note: This ATT release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss . About Code Factory, S.L. Code Factory is a software company committed to the development of products designed to remove barriers to the accessibility of mobile technology for the blind and visually impaired. Noted for innovation and responsiveness, Code Factory is the leading provider of screen readers, screen magnifiers, and Braille interfaces for the widest range of mainstream mobile devices including Symbian-based and Windows Mobile-powered Smartphones as well as phones and PDAs running the Windows Mobile Pocket PC operating system. Further, Code Factory is the only accessible software provider to support more than a hundred phones working on the GSM, CDMA and WCDMA networks. To learn more about Code Factory and its mission of bringing complete accessibility to mobile devices, visit http://www.codefactory.es . About ATT ATT Inc. (NYSE: T ) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, ATT operating companies, are the providers of ATT services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, ATT is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the ATT brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, ATT is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about ATT Inc. and the products and services provided by ATT subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com . (C) 2007 ATT Knowledge Ventures. All rights reserved. ATT and the ATT logo are trademarks of ATT Knowledge Ventures. For more information, please review this announcement in the ATT newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom. To be removed from this list, please send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Blindphones mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mosenexplosion.com/mailman/listinfo/blindphones_mosenexplosion.com ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:18:28 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Mac, meet Israel To: undisclosed-recipient:; Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Mac, meet Israel ILANA DIAMOND, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 18, 2007 In Israel, when inquiring about Macintosh computers, no one seems to have any answers - or at least they pretend not to. Good luck, also, trying to get quality technical support for Mac products here. There also is no Microsoft Office software for Macs in Hebrew as there is for PCs. ... http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184672476953&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:50:06 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Israelis work to crack the iPhone To: undisclosed-recipient:; Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Israelis work to crack the iPhone SHELLY PAZ, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 18, 2007 Two weeks after Apple released its revolutionary iPhone, it appears that Israelis won't even get a taste of the personal computer maker's first mobile phone even when the second version is launched. So leave it to local hackers to try to move up the timetable. Disappointed over the anticipated delay and aware of the complicated deal attached to purchasing the iPhone in which Apple gave American service provider AT&T Wireless exclusive rights to distribution and operation, Israeli hackers, competitor companies and local Mac fans are working overtime to come up with iPhone alternatives and imitations. It's no secret that Apple's products are late to enter the Israeli tech-oriented market even if it's not clear what came first: low interest from Israeli customers or a non-friendly operating system for Hebrew speakers. But the latest slight has left local tech-lovers especially disappointed. Nonetheless, Israeli hackers and Mac fans do not give up so easily; if the iPhone does not come to us in this advanced technology age, they say, we will find our own solutions. And they have. ... http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184672476893&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:06:57 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] iPhone has a built-in spyware module? To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed iPhone has a built-in spyware module? VS iPhone http://vsiphone.blogspot.com/2007/07/iphone-has-built-in-spyware-module.html Today an underground hacker team "web-Hack" from Russia released a whitepaper with results of iPhone firmware research. They reverse- engineered some functions and published this information. Results of a research shocked community. Russian hackers found a built-in function which sends all data from an iPhone to a specified web-server. Contacts from a phonebook, SMS, recent calls, history of Safari browser - all your personal information can be stolen. At present there is no additional information about this issue. Researches assume that this function either a debug feature or a built-in backdoor module for some governmental structures. Anyways this function can be used by a trojan-developers or activated by the AT&T. We will monitor all information about this accident and will publish it immediately. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:07:59 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Big Brother cameras to track millions of innocent drivers To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Big Brother cameras to track millions of innocent drivers JAMES SLACK UK Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=469139&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 Labour has drawn up secret 'Big Brother' plans to hand the details of routine journeys taken by millions of innocent motorists to the police, it has emerged. Officers will be able to trawl private information recorded by traffic cameras when investigating even the most minor crimes, according to papers made public by an astonishing Government blunder. Once the controversial national road-pricing scheme is under way, short journeys to the shops, work or to visit friends will all be logged. Anybody whose vehicle was merely following a car linked to a crime could come under suspicion and be asked to account for their movements. The internal documents, released in error, reveal the planned laws have already caused a deep Cabinet rift and critics said they were further evidence of a 'creeping surveillance state'. Under the road-pricing plans, motorists will have their journeys tracked by the automatic number plate recognition cameras, which read and record vehicle movements, and be charged based on how far they travel. By giving police 'bulk access' to this data, forces will be able to effectively track the movements of all motorists who pass the cameras, of which 1,500 already exist in the capital. A further 50 are operated by the DVLA at sites across the country. The Government papers reveal the tactics which could be used to solve crimes, using the number-plate information. They include 'convoy analysis', where drivers spotted following a known criminal come under police suspicion. Ministers are already braced for a huge revolt by motorists already opposed to the road-charging plan, which attracted more than 1.8million protest signatures on a Downing Street petition. Now officials have warned the police data policy - due to be included in the next Queen's Speech - will be 'condemned as further evidence of an encroaching Big Brother approach to policing and security'. The movement of pedestrians is already tracked by 4.2million CCTV cameras - the largest number in the world. Now car journeys will be similarly monitored. Details emerged amid the announcement of a deal to allow police to be given live access to London's congestion charge cameras - allowing them to track all vehicles entering and leaving the zone. Security Minister Tony McNulty said it would be limited to anti-terror officers only, who will be exempted from the parts of the Data Protection Act which protect the privacy of motorists. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blamed the 'enduring vehicle-borne terrorist threat to London' for the change, in the wake of last month's failed bomb attacks. But, in a remarkable error, internal Home Office papers laid bare future plans to dramatically widen the powers beyond anti-terror operations - and nationwide. They were released alongside a statement placed in the House of Commons library. These revealed the London agreement was merely 'an immediate solution pending the introduction of planned Government agreement on proposed legislation which would allow the bulk transfer of automatic number plate recognition data from third parties to the police for all crime-fighting purposes.' The move is being contested by Douglas Alexander, the former Transport Secretary who is now International Development Secretary. He argues it will intensify road charging anger, once drivers realise they will be placed under surveillance as well as being hit in the pocket. But the Home Office is determined to press ahead, the papers reveal. They read: 'The Home Office had proposed to legislate for the transfer of bulk ANPR data in the Criminal Justice Bill. 'However, Tony McNulty has now agreed to delay these measures until the third parliamentary session as collective policy agreement has not been secured in time for publication of the Bill. 'The Department for Transport has expressed concern about the potential for adverse publicity relating to publication of the draft Local Transport Bill, and plans for local roads pricing. We will continue to work closely with the Department for Transport to minimise the impact on their policies. ' The Government is expected to announce pilots for the road-pricing plan shortly. LibDem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: 'With this unintended act of open government, the disingenuous attitude of ministers towards public fears about a creeping surveillance state is revealed for all to see. 'No wonder Douglas Alexander was keen to tone down these proposals since he must know that public resistance to a road-charging scheme will go through the roof if it is based on technology which poses a threat to personal privacy. 'The Government appears to be using the London cameras as a Trojan Horse to secure unprecedented access to information on car drivers' movements without full public scrutiny or debate.' Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties group Liberty, said: 'It is one thing to ask the public for special measures to fight the grave threat of terrorism, but when that becomes a Trojan horse for mass snooping for more petty matters it only leads to a loss of trust in government.' ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:09:34 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Police 'to access road cameras' To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Police 'to access road cameras' BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6903902.stm Road pricing cameras could be used by police to track drivers' movements in England and Wales under new proposals. A Home Office document accidentally released suggests police should be given instant access to cameras which monitor congestion and road charging. It comes after anti-terror officers were given real time access to congestion charge cameras in London. The Lib Dems accused the government of using that announcement as a "Trojan Horse" for more wide-ranging proposals. The party's home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "With this unintended act of open government the disingenuous attitude of ministers towards public fears about a creeping surveillance state is revealed for all to see. "Bit by bit vast computer databases are being made inter-operable and yet the government seems to be running scared of a full and public debate on the safeguards needed to make such information sharing acceptable." He added: "The government appears to be using the London cameras as a Trojan Horse to secure unprecedented access to information on car drivers' movements without full public scrutiny or debate." On Tuesday, the Home Office announced that anti-terror officers in London would be exempted from parts of the Data Protection Act. The Metropolitan Police previously had to apply for access to congestion charge data on a case-by-case basis. Opposition Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the change was needed to deal with the "enduring vehicle-borne terrorist threat to London". In a written ministerial statement, anti terror minister Tony McNulty said the scheme would be reviewed after three months to ensure personal privacy was being protected. And he said the Metropolitan Police will have to produce an annual report for the government's data protection watchdog, The Information Commissioner. ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list Medianews@twiar.org http://twiar.org/mailman/listinfo/medianews_twiar.org End of Medianews Digest, Vol 328, Issue 1 *****************************************