This sounds like total BS...the next Ford Echo is going to be a hover car too
No it's just bad reporting. They are making it sound like this is happening in the next iPhone when in fact the original rumour clearly says that it may not happen at all and implies that it's part of a research project only. One that we know has been underway at Apple for years already.
The next iPhone will probably have the near field chip in it, but only for making your phone act as a wallet.
All this other stuff is just gossamer fantasy that's been inexpertly tacked onto the end of a real story, and now (three steps removed from the source), seems like it might actually happen tomorrow, when in fact it's a long ways from being implemented, if it's even implemented at all.
More and more it looks like the future is upon us. It seems that the most we expect of things possible at the moment has presented itself.
Once the cloud, (or the expectation of it is demonstrated). What else literally can be expected.
Sure many of us perhaps expected Flying Cars to be around the corner in 2010-2015. But we can barely see Electric Cars still having a hard time in becoming reality.
Even in the Smartphone arena. What more is to be expected literally? Sure it would be great to perhaps have a Pico Projector included. But would that in itself be must have accessory? This NFC
chip shows a little promise. But what else do we actually need? What else do we actually cannot do without?
Apple's Data Farm has not yet opened up. But everybody seems to know pretty much what Apple has in store for us. Music, Movies,Pictures, some of our files over the air. Perhaps more secure than what is now available thru the existing cloud. Perhaps Mobile Me will be needed.
Once Apple does this. And the Macs and Phones start to move all of our stuff around, where we have everything we need with us at all times. Where do we go from here?
I think, the Future is upon Us. At least for a few years.
Hmm... not sure I like the idea my computer could be unlocked if someone got ahold of my iPhone. That is, if I had a new computer and an iPhone.
I'm sure you will have the option to require password to connect or something like that. This combined with the power of the cloud could bring some amazing things in the future. Having your data wherever you go is increasingly becoming the priority, this is just one more step in that direction. Next they'll embed the chips in your body & you will basically walk up to any computer & use it like it was your own. Then someone will write a virus that causes the chips to fry inside your body & it will be a huge debacle. The program will get shut down & we'll all go back to using Windows 3.1.
The next iPhone will probably have the near field chip in it, but only for making your phone act as a wallet.
All this other stuff is just gossamer fantasy that's been inexpertly tacked onto the end of a real story, and now (three steps removed from the source), seems like it might actually happen tomorrow, when in fact it's a long ways from being implemented, if it's even implemented at all.
Well, it's really 2 independent stories. The first - Apple is looking at NFC on the iPhone. This they seem to not consider particularly interesting.
The second - Apple has a new technology allowing you to use any Mac as your own - and they say it is accessed via NFC on the iPhone. But I'm sure Apple could offer an app on the iPhone that advertises itself via Bluetooth - just click it and any nearby Mac on the log-in screen will show the iPhone user (requiring passwords etc). Or why not just log into any Mac via your AppleID and get the same setup via MobileMe. There are a few options.
This has seemed an obvious thing for a while... but difficult to get right. Particularly with partially synced file systems on the phone integrated with cloud backups/syncs and Back-to-my-Mac.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
"The Mac authenticates with the iPhone, which contains a lot of the information the computer needs, such as bookmarks, passwords and other data," the source reportedly said. "The system would essentially turn any Apple computer into your own -- like you're actually working on your own computer. Same settings, look, bookmarks, preferences. It would all be invisible. Your iPhone would be all you needed to unlock your Mac."
I still firmly believe (though nobody seemed to agree with me before so I acknowledge I may be dreaming!) that it won't just be settings, look, preferences etc - but also access any self contained app. In essence, any app purchased from the Mac App Store (they're licensed to any login that uses your AppleID, of course)
100% agree. The more tracking technology we have built into ANYTHING, the more we give up our privacy and freedom.
Besides, there is ALWAYS a hacker out there who can figure out how to get any info he/she wants. Period. I can already feel their brain working to figure out how to get your private info while connected to one of these public Macs. I've already heard horror stories of people with portable RFID scanners (you can buy them online) in places like grocery stores, who scan your RFID-embedded credit/debt card from a close proximity and get your info.
I understand using RFID and NFC for things like digital wallets and credit cards, but why would Apple not also enable this over Bluetoth or WiFi?
At least on my iPhone 3G, both BT and WiFi suck the battery dry in no time. I tried for a while a little app called Airlock, it really cut my battery time in half if not worse (well and it was sometimes a tad slow to activate). So, I disabled it again, just from the energy consumption point of view, doubling the energy consumption of my iPhone just for this feature seemed wrong.
You won't need to download your data to that public Mac in a coffee shop. That would be an unbelievably stupid thing to do. It would be Microsoft-stupid.
Oh pah-lease, all the revolutionary ideas in your post are using technology that Microsoft have already been selling for 10 years.
Everyone else seems to want to do this over the cloud, but I don't think the network is there yet. It's probably not a bad idea to have an interim where phones are used instead.
I'm struggling to work out why they would want to use RFID though. You're going to need Bluetooth or Wifi to transfer the data anyway.
I'm wondering why more work hasn't been done in the area of iris scan technology. You always hear about retinal scanners, but they're cumbersome, as you have to put your eye right up to the camera/scanner thingy. I read a few years back about some researchers working on iris scan technology, which would allow you to be as far as an arm's length away from the camera. This is what I would like to see?no more passwords: you turn on (or wake up) your Mac, and it IDs you with its iSight (now FaceTime) camera automatically. Using it as your keychain, and you could access all your various web accounts and whatnot without using any passwords. You never have to worry about forgetting your password, or worse, having your password/ID stolen.
In terms of the rumored NFC/RFID feature on the next gen iPhone, your iris ID could be used to verify that you are logging onto a Mac with your iPhone, and that someone hasn't stolen it.
But, lowering the fantasy bar a bit, someone here expressed a concern about someone with a stolen iPhone getting access to a Mac. I assume that you wouldn't have root/admin access to the Mac from your iPhone, so you wouldn't have access to any files that aren't available to "everyone". OS X would have to be updated to even recognize the iPhone and give it access. I would assume the designers would have these security concerns in mind when developing the update.
All in all, I think this would be a pretty cool feature, to be able to "carry" your ID with you, wherever you go. Yes, yes, the Big Brother issue is a valid concern, but there was a discussion here the other week about how kids these days are growing up with geotags and location info on their phones. It's becoming part of the culture. If you're really concerned about 100%, or even 90 or 80% privacy, then you'll basically have to keep it old school, because tomorrow, we'll be living in the future!
Imagine going up to any Internet-connected Mac anywhere, logging in with your name & password, and bam! Your desktop and everything are right there.
Just don't forget to log out. Unless the RFID thing could be used for THAT, i.e. automatically closing the connection when you walk away.
I assume that would be the primary function of the RFID—for proximity detection, rather than data transfer, as I believe RFID is pretty low bandwidth.
You place your iPhone near a Mac at the local internet café, and the RFID tells the Mac that you're there. The Mac, in turn, opens up Bluetooth and/or Airport, IDs your iPhone, and immediately downloads your info into a temporary account, in the background, while you're logging on. I say immediately in the background because it would be a nuisance to have to wait until after you logged in to download all your stuff. Besides, you may just be hanging out, and have inadvertently placed your iPhone on the desk next to the Mac without actually intending to log on.
When you leave—when the Mac no longer detects your iPhone's RFID, then it automatically logs out and deletes the temporary account, restoring the Mac to the state it was in before you came by.
The real use of NFC is wallet technology. is that a risk if the iPhone is stolen, yes it is. However people have that problem with credit cards - basically the NFC will work but will also require ide from the shop keeeper ( except for small purposes like the Oyster card in London's tube which is tellerless, of course).
With stolen iPhones Apple needs to open up the Mobile ME disable at a distance to everyone with a mac.com or me. com id.
Could be brilliant, certainly the killer app.
People here already use their mobile phone for ewallet transactions. Some brands are Eddy, ID and others. People lose their phones here to obviously so I guess it's not a problem.
This sounds incredibly useful, the number of times I have needed to use another mac....oh wait, I haven't, that's why I bought a Powerbook that's portable....forget it - stupid idea.
Comments
Just because you can do it, doesn't mean that it should be done.
Read:
http://spychips.com
Watch the free movie:
http://americafreedomtofascism.com
Wake up everyone.
This sounds like total BS...the next Ford Echo is going to be a hover car too
No it's just bad reporting. They are making it sound like this is happening in the next iPhone when in fact the original rumour clearly says that it may not happen at all and implies that it's part of a research project only. One that we know has been underway at Apple for years already.
The next iPhone will probably have the near field chip in it, but only for making your phone act as a wallet.
All this other stuff is just gossamer fantasy that's been inexpertly tacked onto the end of a real story, and now (three steps removed from the source), seems like it might actually happen tomorrow, when in fact it's a long ways from being implemented, if it's even implemented at all.
Once the cloud, (or the expectation of it is demonstrated). What else literally can be expected.
Sure many of us perhaps expected Flying Cars to be around the corner in 2010-2015. But we can barely see Electric Cars still having a hard time in becoming reality.
Even in the Smartphone arena. What more is to be expected literally? Sure it would be great to perhaps have a Pico Projector included. But would that in itself be must have accessory? This NFC
chip shows a little promise. But what else do we actually need? What else do we actually cannot do without?
Apple's Data Farm has not yet opened up. But everybody seems to know pretty much what Apple has in store for us. Music, Movies,Pictures, some of our files over the air. Perhaps more secure than what is now available thru the existing cloud. Perhaps Mobile Me will be needed.
Once Apple does this. And the Macs and Phones start to move all of our stuff around, where we have everything we need with us at all times. Where do we go from here?
I think, the Future is upon Us. At least for a few years.
Hmm... not sure I like the idea my computer could be unlocked if someone got ahold of my iPhone. That is, if I had a new computer and an iPhone.
I'm sure you will have the option to require password to connect or something like that. This combined with the power of the cloud could bring some amazing things in the future. Having your data wherever you go is increasingly becoming the priority, this is just one more step in that direction. Next they'll embed the chips in your body & you will basically walk up to any computer & use it like it was your own. Then someone will write a virus that causes the chips to fry inside your body & it will be a huge debacle. The program will get shut down & we'll all go back to using Windows 3.1.
The next iPhone will probably have the near field chip in it, but only for making your phone act as a wallet.
All this other stuff is just gossamer fantasy that's been inexpertly tacked onto the end of a real story, and now (three steps removed from the source), seems like it might actually happen tomorrow, when in fact it's a long ways from being implemented, if it's even implemented at all.
Well, it's really 2 independent stories. The first - Apple is looking at NFC on the iPhone. This they seem to not consider particularly interesting.
The second - Apple has a new technology allowing you to use any Mac as your own - and they say it is accessed via NFC on the iPhone. But I'm sure Apple could offer an app on the iPhone that advertises itself via Bluetooth - just click it and any nearby Mac on the log-in screen will show the iPhone user (requiring passwords etc). Or why not just log into any Mac via your AppleID and get the same setup via MobileMe. There are a few options.
This has seemed an obvious thing for a while... but difficult to get right. Particularly with partially synced file systems on the phone integrated with cloud backups/syncs and Back-to-my-Mac.
"The Mac authenticates with the iPhone, which contains a lot of the information the computer needs, such as bookmarks, passwords and other data," the source reportedly said. "The system would essentially turn any Apple computer into your own -- like you're actually working on your own computer. Same settings, look, bookmarks, preferences. It would all be invisible. Your iPhone would be all you needed to unlock your Mac."
I still firmly believe (though nobody seemed to agree with me before so I acknowledge I may be dreaming!) that it won't just be settings, look, preferences etc - but also access any self contained app. In essence, any app purchased from the Mac App Store (they're licensed to any login that uses your AppleID, of course)
Why does this keep coming back up? You do NOT want RFID NFC SPYCHIPS!
Read:
http://spychips.com
Watch the free movie:
http://americafreedomtofascism.com
Wake up everyone.
100% agree. The more tracking technology we have built into ANYTHING, the more we give up our privacy and freedom.
Besides, there is ALWAYS a hacker out there who can figure out how to get any info he/she wants. Period. I can already feel their brain working to figure out how to get your private info while connected to one of these public Macs. I've already heard horror stories of people with portable RFID scanners (you can buy them online) in places like grocery stores, who scan your RFID-embedded credit/debt card from a close proximity and get your info.
Sorry, but I'll pass on this one.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/r...with-8-reader/
I understand using RFID and NFC for things like digital wallets and credit cards, but why would Apple not also enable this over Bluetoth or WiFi?
At least on my iPhone 3G, both BT and WiFi suck the battery dry in no time. I tried for a while a little app called Airlock, it really cut my battery time in half if not worse (well and it was sometimes a tad slow to activate). So, I disabled it again, just from the energy consumption point of view, doubling the energy consumption of my iPhone just for this feature seemed wrong.
YA better concept would be to transparently initiate an Apple Remote Desktop session with Apple's servers.
Correct!
Imagine going up to any Internet-connected Mac anywhere, logging in with your name & password, and bam! Your desktop and everything are right there.
Just don't forget to log out.
You won't need to download your data to that public Mac in a coffee shop. That would be an unbelievably stupid thing to do. It would be Microsoft-stupid.
Oh pah-lease, all the revolutionary ideas in your post are using technology that Microsoft have already been selling for 10 years.
Everyone else seems to want to do this over the cloud, but I don't think the network is there yet. It's probably not a bad idea to have an interim where phones are used instead.
I'm struggling to work out why they would want to use RFID though. You're going to need Bluetooth or Wifi to transfer the data anyway.
In terms of the rumored NFC/RFID feature on the next gen iPhone, your iris ID could be used to verify that you are logging onto a Mac with your iPhone, and that someone hasn't stolen it.
But, lowering the fantasy bar a bit, someone here expressed a concern about someone with a stolen iPhone getting access to a Mac. I assume that you wouldn't have root/admin access to the Mac from your iPhone, so you wouldn't have access to any files that aren't available to "everyone". OS X would have to be updated to even recognize the iPhone and give it access. I would assume the designers would have these security concerns in mind when developing the update.
All in all, I think this would be a pretty cool feature, to be able to "carry" your ID with you, wherever you go. Yes, yes, the Big Brother issue is a valid concern, but there was a discussion here the other week about how kids these days are growing up with geotags and location info on their phones. It's becoming part of the culture. If you're really concerned about 100%, or even 90 or 80% privacy, then you'll basically have to keep it old school, because tomorrow, we'll be living in the future!
Correct!
Imagine going up to any Internet-connected Mac anywhere, logging in with your name & password, and bam! Your desktop and everything are right there.
Just don't forget to log out.
I assume that would be the primary function of the RFID—for proximity detection, rather than data transfer, as I believe RFID is pretty low bandwidth.
You place your iPhone near a Mac at the local internet café, and the RFID tells the Mac that you're there. The Mac, in turn, opens up Bluetooth and/or Airport, IDs your iPhone, and immediately downloads your info into a temporary account, in the background, while you're logging on. I say immediately in the background because it would be a nuisance to have to wait until after you logged in to download all your stuff. Besides, you may just be hanging out, and have inadvertently placed your iPhone on the desk next to the Mac without actually intending to log on.
When you leave—when the Mac no longer detects your iPhone's RFID, then it automatically logs out and deletes the temporary account, restoring the Mac to the state it was in before you came by.
The real use of NFC is wallet technology. is that a risk if the iPhone is stolen, yes it is. However people have that problem with credit cards - basically the NFC will work but will also require ide from the shop keeeper ( except for small purposes like the Oyster card in London's tube which is tellerless, of course).
With stolen iPhones Apple needs to open up the Mobile ME disable at a distance to everyone with a mac.com or me. com id.
Could be brilliant, certainly the killer app.
People here already use their mobile phone for ewallet transactions. Some brands are Eddy, ID and others. People lose their phones here to obviously so I guess it's not a problem.
Old news. Nokia had this a few phones ago.
Nokia had a phone that would transfer all your desktop OS settings and files?