The Apple iPad

Apple has released their newest creation, the iPad. While opinions vary and many speculate whether or not it will hit or miss in its target market, the proof could be in the apps.

Some reports seem to focus on its limitations, yet with an ever growing trend of building stable, user friendly platforms on which developers can create their own master pieces, the applications yet to come will likely be the proving pieces that make or break new technologies such as the iPad.

If the iPhone is a comparable predecessor then it would seem the iPad would have a promising future in the realm of apps. While it is early in game for iPad, it will be interesting to see how it and it's 140,000+ apps are received by anxious Apple enthusiasts. Apple has already made the call to developers, offering everything necessary to get started creating your own iPad apps.

This tablet is designed to be used in conjunction with the Internet, games, Apple TV, the App Store, iTunes, and iWork '09. Using Wi-Fi and/or 3G Networks, the iPad functions similarly to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPad features a 9.7 inch screen, additional connectivity options and enhanced efficiency and performance to provide for an extreme battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge.

See Steve Jobs' demo yourself on the video below from the ABC Nightline Coverage of the iPad unveiling hosted on Hulu:

For more information and full specs visit apple.com/ipad.

China, Google, Internet Explorer and Cyber Attacks

These are few of the hot topics in the news in the past week. A number of articles have been released alerting users to a vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer that played a role in the recent cyber attack on Google, as well as in attacks on a list of at least 20 other well known organizations.

The attacks originated from China. Understandably Google is now carefully considering how to proceed with regard to continuing to offer service in China. Google is currently investigating a number of cyber attacks which have been dubbed 'Operation Aurora' by experts at McAffee.

According to research summarized by Robert Lemos, a freelance journalist for MIT's MIT’s Technology Review, CIO.com and SecurityFocus, the recent attack on Google seemed to be used for surveillance and originated from 6 IP addresses in Taiwan.

Yet another article released on Info Security's website today discusses the type of code used in the attack on Google, which appeared to be in development as far back as 2006.

To get additional news and updates related to the attacks, you can visit the Technology section of the BBC News, the Unsafe Bits weblog or the Official Google Blog.

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