From TheAge
Asher Moses
September 7, 2007 - 2:00PM
Thousands of Facebook members are on the warpath after the social networking site removed images of breastfeeding mums and banned others for posting "obscene content".
They call themselves "lactivists" and say Facebook's practices are discriminatory.
Facebook's hardline stance on what its members can publish on their profiles is somewhat hypocritical given that it was caught running an image of a topless model in a banner ad for a dating service.
The mothers, many from Australia, started a petition in the form of a Facebook group called "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!". The group now has almost 7000 members.
"Absolutely it is discriminatory and it makes me angry," said group member Pru Wirth, a mother of two from the central coast in NSW.
"If actual venues can be fined up to $40,000 for asking breastfeeding mums to cover up or move on, then why not a virtual public place?"
Another group member, Sally Millwood, from Petrie in Queensland, said: "I know from first hand experience breastfeeding can be a tough road to go down and, if you have success at the end of it, it's an amazingly proud and important achievement to be shared."
Facebook spokeswoman Meredith Chin said Facebook - which has more than 200,000 Australian members and 31 million users worldwide - did not prevent mothers from uploading photos of themselves breastfeeding their babies, but it did remove content that was reported as violating Facebook's terms of use.
"Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our Terms and are removed," she said.
It's not clear what constitutes an "exposed breast", which has the lactivists baffled.
Facebook did not respond to emails requesting further clarification but several group members have reported that their images were removed despite the fact they contained no nipple.
"Where does the feeding stop and the boob begin?? A peek of nipple?," one lactivist wrote.
Wirth, who is yet to have one of her own images removed, rejected Facebook's justification, saying there was a "real difference" between a user uploading their own images of their own body and Facebook themselves violating their own terms of use for profit.
"Regarding the case of the inappropriate banner ad that was posted, we have since removed the ad as it was a violation of our Terms of Use," said Chin.
In addition to removing particular photos from the site, Facebook has permanently revoked the membership of some of the mothers.
When one, Karen Speed, appealed and asked to have her account reinstated, Facebook said its decision was "final".
"We will not be able to reactivate your account for any reason," read Facebook's reply, published by Speed on her blog.
Wirth said it was important Facebook reconsidered its policy because it was restricting users from "sharing a normal part of our lives and our babies' lives".
She said Facebook had adequate privacy settings that allowed users to restrict access to their images.
"I can't see how sharing photos of your baby feeding with friends and family, or anyone really, could be deemed obscene," she said.
"If breastfeeding was done publicly more often it would just be the normal done thing, not something women should feel ashamed about, and it certainly wouldn't receive this kind of offensive reaction."
Schoolboy to sell $59 iPhone hack
From TheAge
Asher Moses
September 5, 2007 - 2:11PM
A teenager from Victoria says that within days he will start delivering a hack that unlocks the iPhone for Australian mobile networks, using only a software application.
The 17-year-old high school student from Mildura, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had signed up to be an Australian reseller of the iPhoneSimFree hack, developed by hackers in the US.
Instead of selling the software directly to individuals, the iPhoneSimFree developers have opted to sell wholesale licences to resellers around the world.
The hack has not yet been made available to individuals but was proven legitimate via a live demonstration on CNN and a video published on the Engadget blog.
The boy, who has already begun accepting pre-orders through his website, aussieiphoneunlock.com, said he was selling the hack for $59 per iPhone.
It is considered superior to other iPhone unlocking methods because it involves no hardware tampering and does not require the purchase of special gadgets such as TurboSIM or Super SIM.
Numerous Australians have already imported and unlocked iPhones using the TurboSIM and Super SIM tools - the exclusive distributor of TurboSIM in Australia shut down its online store after being inundated with orders - but the new software hack's simplicity is expected to appeal to those who are not tech savvy.
"Basically what you do is upload an app to your iPhone and then when you run that app it contacts a server, and if your phone is verified with the server through a serial number on your phone, it will unlock the phone," the boy said in an interview.
"What we have to do is we have to collect the information that's specific to each customer's iPhone and then we have to input that into the iPhoneSimFree database to create a licence."
In the CNN demonstration it took about two minutes to hack the iPhone so it could run on the US T-Mobile network, as opposed to AT&T, the US mobile carrier with which Apple has signed a multi-year exclusive rights deal.
The boy said the US developers were finalising the system they would use to accept orders and he expected to receive an invoice for the bulk licences he purchased within the next few days.
He said his site had already received 1000 unique visitors in less than 24 hours, and the 50 preorder items he put on eBay last night had been snapped up as of this morning.
"The reason I started it mainly is to get the unlocks out to people - I didn't really start it to make money ... I just wanted to offer a service to people who, just like me, want an iPhone and want to get it unlocked easily," he said.
Resellers pay $US25 per unlock for licences bought in lots of 5000 or $US36 per unlock for lots of 50.
"It's a lot easier for them [the iPhoneSimFree developers] to sell bulk lots rather than having to deal with thousands of emails from people ... they probably don't have the capacity," the Australian reseller said.
But he acknowledged the possibility that Apple might release an iPhone software patch that could reverse the hack.
"There is a chance of that but iPhoneSimFree have said if the unlock is undone by any software updates then they will try and update their software through their wholesalers so we can distribute it again to all our customers," he said.
UniquePhones, a British firm that has also said it would sell an iPhone software hack, stalled its plans after reportedly receiving legal threats from AT&T.
But the boy said he was not concerned about potential legal threats arising from his new business venture. He said he did not believe Apple was worried about the hacks because "in the end for Apple it's going to increase their sales".
An Apple Australia spokesman declined to comment on the legality or otherwise of selling iPhone software hacks online.
Links:
http://www.iphonesimfree.com/
http://aussieiphoneunlock.com/
Asher Moses
September 5, 2007 - 2:11PM
A teenager from Victoria says that within days he will start delivering a hack that unlocks the iPhone for Australian mobile networks, using only a software application.
The 17-year-old high school student from Mildura, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had signed up to be an Australian reseller of the iPhoneSimFree hack, developed by hackers in the US.
Instead of selling the software directly to individuals, the iPhoneSimFree developers have opted to sell wholesale licences to resellers around the world.
The hack has not yet been made available to individuals but was proven legitimate via a live demonstration on CNN and a video published on the Engadget blog.
The boy, who has already begun accepting pre-orders through his website, aussieiphoneunlock.com, said he was selling the hack for $59 per iPhone.
It is considered superior to other iPhone unlocking methods because it involves no hardware tampering and does not require the purchase of special gadgets such as TurboSIM or Super SIM.
Numerous Australians have already imported and unlocked iPhones using the TurboSIM and Super SIM tools - the exclusive distributor of TurboSIM in Australia shut down its online store after being inundated with orders - but the new software hack's simplicity is expected to appeal to those who are not tech savvy.
"Basically what you do is upload an app to your iPhone and then when you run that app it contacts a server, and if your phone is verified with the server through a serial number on your phone, it will unlock the phone," the boy said in an interview.
"What we have to do is we have to collect the information that's specific to each customer's iPhone and then we have to input that into the iPhoneSimFree database to create a licence."
In the CNN demonstration it took about two minutes to hack the iPhone so it could run on the US T-Mobile network, as opposed to AT&T, the US mobile carrier with which Apple has signed a multi-year exclusive rights deal.
The boy said the US developers were finalising the system they would use to accept orders and he expected to receive an invoice for the bulk licences he purchased within the next few days.
He said his site had already received 1000 unique visitors in less than 24 hours, and the 50 preorder items he put on eBay last night had been snapped up as of this morning.
"The reason I started it mainly is to get the unlocks out to people - I didn't really start it to make money ... I just wanted to offer a service to people who, just like me, want an iPhone and want to get it unlocked easily," he said.
Resellers pay $US25 per unlock for licences bought in lots of 5000 or $US36 per unlock for lots of 50.
"It's a lot easier for them [the iPhoneSimFree developers] to sell bulk lots rather than having to deal with thousands of emails from people ... they probably don't have the capacity," the Australian reseller said.
But he acknowledged the possibility that Apple might release an iPhone software patch that could reverse the hack.
"There is a chance of that but iPhoneSimFree have said if the unlock is undone by any software updates then they will try and update their software through their wholesalers so we can distribute it again to all our customers," he said.
UniquePhones, a British firm that has also said it would sell an iPhone software hack, stalled its plans after reportedly receiving legal threats from AT&T.
But the boy said he was not concerned about potential legal threats arising from his new business venture. He said he did not believe Apple was worried about the hacks because "in the end for Apple it's going to increase their sales".
An Apple Australia spokesman declined to comment on the legality or otherwise of selling iPhone software hacks online.
Links:
http://www.iphonesimfree.com/
http://aussieiphoneunlock.com/
iPhone craze hits China
From AP
September 5, 2007 - 11:36AM
The new Apple iPhone can be bought in China, even though it has only been released in the United States.
And the phones, which have been unlocked by hackers, don't function properly in China despite costing almost twice the list price.
Enthusiasts willing to pay 8800 yuan ($A1425) can buy the iPhone at electronics markets in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, computer and electronics newspaper Dian Nao Bao reported yesterday.
The cost was nearly double the price of the iPhone in the United States, where the gadget can be bought for $US499 ($A608), and the phone does not work correctly, the weekly paper said.
Users can make calls and text message but can't receive calls. The voicemail function also does not work.
The iPhone is arguably the gadget of the year, combining an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod.
It is currently only sold in the US, where it is restricted to a single carrier, AT&T.
China already has the world's largest number of mobile phone users and the market is expected to grow rapidly in coming years as incomes rise.
The government says the number of Chinese mobile phone subscribers should reach 520 million this year, up from 460 million in 2006.
The iPhone comes amid Apple's surging popularity among young Chinese urbanites.
Many groove to tunes on iPods as they walk around town, while others hang out in coffee shops and surf the internet on Mac laptops.
One Beijing shop owner told Dian Nao Bao he gets about 30 buyers and potential buyers in one day, and that the customers don't care about the price or that the phone isn't fully functional.
The phones come from the southern industrial boomtown of Shenzhen, another vendor told the paper.
However, the report did not say how the phones got to China in the first place.
Dian Nao Bao said agents with the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce recently seized several iPhones from the Zhongguancun electronics market.
AP
September 5, 2007 - 11:36AM
The new Apple iPhone can be bought in China, even though it has only been released in the United States.
And the phones, which have been unlocked by hackers, don't function properly in China despite costing almost twice the list price.
Enthusiasts willing to pay 8800 yuan ($A1425) can buy the iPhone at electronics markets in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, computer and electronics newspaper Dian Nao Bao reported yesterday.
The cost was nearly double the price of the iPhone in the United States, where the gadget can be bought for $US499 ($A608), and the phone does not work correctly, the weekly paper said.
Users can make calls and text message but can't receive calls. The voicemail function also does not work.
The iPhone is arguably the gadget of the year, combining an innovative touch-screen interface with the media-playing abilities of the iPod.
It is currently only sold in the US, where it is restricted to a single carrier, AT&T.
China already has the world's largest number of mobile phone users and the market is expected to grow rapidly in coming years as incomes rise.
The government says the number of Chinese mobile phone subscribers should reach 520 million this year, up from 460 million in 2006.
The iPhone comes amid Apple's surging popularity among young Chinese urbanites.
Many groove to tunes on iPods as they walk around town, while others hang out in coffee shops and surf the internet on Mac laptops.
One Beijing shop owner told Dian Nao Bao he gets about 30 buyers and potential buyers in one day, and that the customers don't care about the price or that the phone isn't fully functional.
The phones come from the southern industrial boomtown of Shenzhen, another vendor told the paper.
However, the report did not say how the phones got to China in the first place.
Dian Nao Bao said agents with the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce recently seized several iPhones from the Zhongguancun electronics market.
AP
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