I suggest you read up on the technology. You could take a look at Swipe as I think it's probably the closest pre-Apple Pay implementation to what Apple Pay is (Swipe, IS an Apple Pay provider, however). Banks are jumping onboard now that the technology appears secure. Apple claims another 500 banks have joined since last month.

Your card details are stored within a secure chip on the iPad. When you make a purchase, the card info hits the CC provider and a token is returned for THAT transaction. That is passed to the vendor who completes the charge and sends it to the CC processor. The CC Processor sends back a response to the vendor that transaction is completed and then a response is sent to the customer.

You can manually enter your CC info or take a picture of it using the iOS device. That image, is verified by the bank/CC company and then the information is loaded into the secure chip.

The beauty is that your CC info is only exchanged with the bank.

If your device is stolen, you can immediately render the CC info stored in it useless by logging into your iCloud account (I would assume, you have 2 factor authentication turned on - which I think Apple is now requiring).

I don't know how this compares to PayPal or Google Wallet as I don't use them. I do know that Apple has made it easy to add Apple Pay to apps and websites, and the user experience counts provided the security holds up. PayPal still looked a complex mess when I viewed the API last month.

I have to assume you and the original poster didn't watch the keynote.

The main processor is 12x faster than the original iPad (which, I still own and use). Graphics are 140x faster with the new graphics processor.

However, what the original poster DIDN'T say is gain in 2x+ performance over last year's iPad Air and the drop in pricing for comparable versions. The demonstrated photo processing apps were seemless. They also didn't indicate whether the new devices have more RAM or not. 1 GB has worked well. But, there were rumors of 2 GB.

No NFC either. Apple Pay is for "internet" purchases and not POS.

Nothing stood out to me as a "gotta have" this time around. While the iMac Retina has been improved and the screen is amazing, my 2009 iMac still works great (thought, I might replace the HD with an SSD). My iPad still works but pisses me from time to time when trying to load a web page that requires too much memory. My next "upgrade", when and *if* I can afford it, will be for the new iPad Air 2 as the original is something I still use every day.

I agree. I had an offer in hand when I got THEIR IP policy. They wanted the ability to claim anything I thought of while in their employ and for two years after as THEIR IP. I listed the projects I was already working on. The offer died in legal after two weeks.

One idea I had been working on showed up in the App Store one month after I discussed it with them. The developer was a former employee of the company.
My idea was unique. It had value. And, someone with more resources was able to capitalize on my idea before I could.

I had no recourse as the system wasn't yet patent pending and the developee no longer worked for the company. I found out via his profile on LinkedIn and he was offshore.

My advise, if you have IP, protect it. If they want you and your patented ideas, make the licensing part of the agreement. You decide what is fair market value

While I don't partucilarly like sw parents, you are entitled to protect what you invent. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

You still need to shell out $100 month for either an iOS or OSX developer's membership if you actually plan to deploy your developed software in either the App Store or the Mac App Store.. Still, that's a pretty small price to pay to have your app certified and made readily available to potential consumers of your app.

Where the difficulty comes from and costs go up is in figuring out how to differentiate your app from all the others (or, just to get noticed). And, you have to worry about knock-offs deciding to charge $0.99 against your $4.99 or even $49.99 product.

You actually have to have real business, marketing and sales plans - which implies knowing to run a small business - to survive after the initial app store "gold rushes". This demands a level of commitment above and beyond what most "coders" have in order to actually eek out a living or more - it's why they are called entrepreneurs or business owners.

The hack you posted is not an exploit of the phone - it was a hack against one of the services provided by iCloud. The phone, itself, was not compromised.

There was a report of spyware that could be installed on an iPhone - it required a jailbreak to install. It could not be done OTA and without physical access to the device.

Replacing a ROM chip is both a software and hardware modification. It is not stock, is it? So, out of the box, which platform is more secure at this time?

Now, once you modify the device as you have indicated, it's possible to make the Android more secure. But, as a stock device, it still lags, doesn't it?

And, you are right...you can't insert a custom ROM in an iOS device - best you can do is jailbreak - something I would never do because of the inherent risks.

Why do I refer to you as a "Fandroid"? You attacked the original poster's arguments where they stated that all but one of the items they listed were iPhone only. You said the features were available on Android as well. They aren't without custom, hardware and software modifications as you noted. You ignored their original point and called them a "fanbois". I called you on it.

Exactly how does that custom ROM get installed??? Does it require modification of a device? Hardware modifications are not stock, are they? Are these devices readily available from a major supplier or must they be custom ordered?

There has been no reported successful hack of iOS devices to install malware where the device wasn't jailbroken. If you know otherwise, please provide relevant links? This can not be said of Android.

Now, what happens on the backend is open to interpretation and subject to debate.

You called the other poster a fanboi. He might be, but you are clearly a FAndroid with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.

for the offshore workers who displaced American workers to know that their value is now being measured by whether it can now be done by a TI-84 calculator or a resurrected TRS-80 if a human is still required in some capacity. They will now know how it feels to have to compete for jobs managing their automated overlords for even less meager earnings than before.

And, one has to wonder how far the shockwave will go. Will engineering and middle-management type jobs now be offshored (something that, historically, has not worked well) further compounding the problem in the company's home country or will a job "firewall" protect those jobs while driving the economies of the offshore workforce into the dumper? Or, will it encourage the need for the countries with the offshore workforce to adjust and create strong, viable companies that directly complete with their former overseas employers?

I foresee that we will see companies opening new offices overseas to directly compete with local companies as a result of the new global economy that this level of automation will usher in.

It's going to be interesting.

Can we just grow and insert more humans into the power grid?

I would mod you up. Unfortunately, the directproject.org site and wiki aren't exactly well organized. I may take another stab at trying to read it later today.

No, doctors don't care what a SOAP note looks like. Nor should they care - that's the EHR/EMR provider's responsibility. But, the LE / Public Safety sector was able to figure it out how to represent all the various entities (and, trust me, there are LOTS). It really should be all that hard to figure out how to represent patients, addresses, phone number, vitals, progress notes, medications, procedures, insurance providers, etc. Then, those entities are combined in manners that make sense to accomplish specific goals.

In the NIEM world, not every provider gave the same information when they exchanged with others and not every system could handle all the various NIEM object. However, the data they did exchange( incidents, persons, subject, ,charge, arrests, vehicle info, etc) were in a common format that could be interpreted by NIEM compliant systems.

A bigger issue, since Congress won't allow for a national medical ID, is how to ensure that the correct information is exchanged, how to safely store it and how to protect it against unauthorized access and fraudulent usage.

There is a common believe that Macs don't get viruses or could, possible, be susceptible to malware. This week, we have seen several issues that first threaten the *nix community (which, OSX is built upon). The first was the bash bug. The second is a worm that is capable of infecting a Mac system. A few months ago, we had Heartbleed that again, was cross platform.

Yes...the Bash Bug - affects *nix machines including Macs. That means the Linux user is just as exposed. It does mean, in this particular instance, that Windows users get a break.

The Mac, link linux, has proven relatively immune to computer viruses. How many people do you know run anti-virus and/or anti-malware software on the linux desktops or servers? Exactly. The Mac is built on top of an *nix core, but is far more usable by the average user. However, when the built in safeguards are disabled, it's possible to install malware. And, it's very possible that the attack vector is an exploit of the bash bug. We don't know the method or attack vector used to infect those machines (in either of the two articles on Dr. Web). Likely, users downloaded and installed an unsigned OSX application which, unlike having to jailbreak your phone, is easy to do. That unsigned app carried and installed the worm. I say" likely", because we just don't know enough yet.

For those who aren't aware, Apple has a app store for OSX apps in addition to the iOS app store. Like it's counterpart, apps are checked by Apple and are digitally signed. A developer must belong to the Macintosh Developer network to sign their apps and have them sold through the app store. You always have the option to install apps from other sources, but they are unchecked and unsigned. And, you take your chances, just as on other platforms, if you download and install unknown code.

Apple has taken a beating these past couple of weeks on multiple fronts. The Apple haters are in full force. But, in this case, we don't know how the malware/worm was installed. So, is it fair to bust Apple's chops over it without knowing the root cause?

Who remembers the failed Clipper chip pushed during the Clinton administration and advocated by VP Gore?

Who remembers why it failed?

Those who fail to understand history are doomed to repeat it....even if they have to force it down our throats.

I have read a fair number of the comments posted here. And, the prevailing consensus is that there really isn't a standard when it comes to sharing health data and medical records between EMR systems.

Somebody mentioned HIPAA EDI in a previous post - those standards, however, are for passing information between entities for claims and not medical records. Why are the records themselves not specified in a publicly published format?

When I worked in the public safety software business, we were involved in many data sharing initiatives across the country. Many states had established their own platforms (Ohio and Wisconsin were pretty far along). But, on the federal level, they introduced GJXDM followed by the more comprehensive NIEM (National Information Exchange Model). The states moved towards this standard. While fairly big and deep, it make it fairly easy for NIEM compliant system to share data with one another. And, while the states built their own "free" records management systems, LE wanted their preferred vendors and the platforms with all the bells and whistles to support NIEM. So, we did.

Outside of this arena, we have HR-XML (for use by Human resources and NOT free). But, if you want to play in that game, you join the group and write systems compliant with it. At least there IS a standard.

What is criminal, in my mind, is that health care systems do not have a standard for describing this information. Nor, do they have a secure infrastructure for passing EMR data even if they did. It should have explicitly detailed as a provision in the ACA (aka Obamacare) so that healthcare providers and insurance carriers to interoperate. EMR vendors and insurance carriers should be REQUIRED and their software certified to comply with data interchange standards (which, may need to be formulated).

EPIC is in a position to set the standard. But, they won't because it means other vendors can get in the pool. So, somebody with really deep pockets and altruistic mindset needs to fund the development of a public standard, set the certification standards, and make it happen.

Yes, read the analysis offered in another poster's comments.

So, the question begging to be asked is whether jailbreaking phones in China by the owner is a common occurrence or if the phones are sold "pre-jailbroken" by a larger agency and able to download and install these hacks at will?

The Android attack vector is pretty clear. Oddly, they don't know how it spreads to iOS devices. If it's not spread as an malicious, sandboxed app, then how does it get on an iPhone?

How about:
a) Phone was jailbroken.
b) Phone had a modified iOS installed.
c) Some vulnerability exists in one of the built in apps that allows malicious software to be installed outside of the confines of the sandbox.

Given it's happening in China during the protests and with a large iOS device blackmarket, I'm betting on (b) followed by (a) with a very slight chance of (c) and that this malware won't be seen in the rest of world anytime soon.

The number of trips to populate is likely to be somewhat smaller if you send men and women who can reproduce. Those offspring can reproduce (assuming there are both m/f offspring) after 18-20 years. And, of course, people will die of natural and unnatural causes. What will the average lifespan be? Average breeding span?

It would be an interesting equation to figure out as to how many trips it would actually take to make a genetically diverse community that also has other society needs met in order to function.

Still, it will be a massive undertaking to build a colony of that size without significant advances in propulsion technology paring the flight times from months to days or hours.