You’ve most probably read loads about the iPod/iPhone/iPad so I won’t waste your time. My main problem with the iPhone/iPad is the price. At the current price, I wouldn’t buy one. I also wouldn’t buy a new Apple MacBook when I can get a Dell laptop for half the price. But saying that I have a Macbook provided by where I work and I own a secondhand G4 PowerBook.

As many people can testify, the price is irrelevant, it about what you get and how it works. It about the usability experience, the apps, music, eBooks, games, etc… Yes, there are new smart phone and tablet devices that are cheaper. Some have more features but they haven’t got the infrastructure and they lack the usability factor. The Apple devices are about being trendy and simplicity. They are so easy to use. I’ve seen people who struggled with a basic Nokia at ease on iPhone.

Lets face it Apple entered the mobile in 2007 and they now have 28 percent of the smart phone market share. Many commentators rubbished Apple aims but look at them now. I guess that this market share will peak at about 30ish%. The Android OS will also grow to a similar level taking market share from Symbian OS and Windows Mobile OS.

Many commentators have also rubbished the iPad for it lack of features. This hasn’t stopped it selling. My other gripe with the iPad is the lack of Flash. Apple need to resolve their problems with Adobe fast because it will effect sales. I would definitely buy one if Flash was sorted and I could justify the cost. I would have many uses for it. For example, general Internet browsing at home, remote control my main PC or Mac for more serious tacks, reading eBooks, music, games, remote controlling digital mixing consoles (Sound Engineering – my other job), etc…

My Nokia smart phone is up for renewal new month and I’ll most probably get an Android OS phone. I just can’t justify £40+ a month for a iPhone 4. But it doesn’t matter because I’ve got access to one.

The report focuses on various Trojan horse attacks, malware found in Torrent application downloads, attacks on jailbroken iPhones, Mac OS X vulnerabilities and third party vulnerabilities.

The following excerpt is taken from the report: -

Many of these operating system vulnerabilities pave the way for unseen malware attacks. Some of them are such that merely visiting a booby-trapped web page can compromise a Mac. This underscores the importance of security software that protects not only from malware but also from web threats and the many other kinds of menaces that target Macs. It also highlights the need to keep software up-to-date. Both for Mac OS X and for third-party software, users should make sure that they have the latest versions of their software, since some programs—such as Adobe Reader, commonly used to view PDF files—are easy to attack with known exploits circulating in the wild.

The report is available from http://blog.intego.com/2010/01/25/the-year-in-mac-security-2009/