Keep in mind latest tech problems that may affect you

No doubt that as a consumer it is hard to stay aware of bugs and problems of technology you use and understand whether or not it is a problem to manage.

Wired's Epicenter blog used reporting from IDG News Service, PC World, Infoworld and Computerworld to piece together this interesting summary of 2010's tech problems that may affect or have affected you. It is titled "Biggest Tech Industry Apologies of 2010(So Far)".

For example read the following excerpts:

McAfee in April apologized for its anti-virus update that took down Windows XP computers around the world, although the company said the problem affected a small percentage of its customers.

The carrier in June apologized for a hack that exposed thousands of iPad customers’ e-mail addresses and vowed to work with law enforcement to prosecute those responsible.

Adobe in February issued a mea culpa for allowing a 16-month-old bug in its Flash Player to fester without a patch despite the fact that the plug-in itself was updated four times since the flaw was revealed.

Visit Wired for the full story and links to more information.

Expanding ways to reach audiences with ads

Ready, set, go for a new kind of advertising option - on license plates while a car is standing still more than 4 seconds!

The San Jose Mercury News reports, "The California Legislature is considering a bill that would allow the state to begin researching the use of electronic license plates for vehicles. The move is intended as a moneymaker for a state facing a $19 billion deficit. The device would mimic a standard license plate when the vehicle is in motion but would switch to digital ads or other messages when it is stopped for more than four seconds, whether in traffic or at a red light. The license plate number would remain visible at all times in some section of the screen. In emergencies, the plates could be used to broadcast Amber Alerts or traffic information."

Read more.

A new car to love: Saab Aero X

I am attracted to stories about auto styling - good design always pulls you in.

Check out Wired magazine's story on the new Saab styling.

Jason Castriota, the designer, says the new Saab 9-3 will emphasize aerodynamic efficiency.

Spyker Cars NV [owner of Saab] CEO Victor Muller says, “It is truly aircraft-inspired and Swedish-clean." Read about his plans for the company.

Evidently Saab pulled in a 36-year-old American to accomplish this. Read more.

While I scouted for a photo, I found the Saab Areo X, and I have already changed my affection to this auto! Images.

Getting to the bottom of AT&T/iPad email exposure

The best way to look for answers on the AT&T/Apple iPad snafu this week is to look for analyses from the experts who cover this technology. Here are some excerpts and links to help figure out what went wrong.

Gregg Keizer at Computer World says: "The hackers who harvested an estimated 114,000 Apple iPad 3G owner e-mail addresses defended their actions Friday as "ethical" and said they did nothing illegal. The hacking group Goatse Security obtained the e-mail addresses using an automated PHP script that collected iPad 3G owners' ICC-ID numbers and associated addresses from AT&T's servers using a publicly-available feature of the carrier's Web site. AT&T disabled the feature last Tuesday, a day before the Valleywag Web site [that was given the info from the hackers] first reported the story.

Gawker Media LLC is the focus of a Wall Street Journal article that is tied into the controversy this week of iPad owners' email addresses. Even thought the FBI, say the WSJ, is looking into Gawker records, it not a focus of the investigation. "Gawker's Valleywag section wrote Wednesday about a glitch in AT&T Inc.'s website that exposed the email addresses of iPad owners, including politicians, military officials and media executives," notes the article.

Information Week's blogger George Hulme through in cut to the chase message on Friday: "Essentially, all that happened is that a security firm managed to brute force a process that returned the correct unique identifier for the iPad and associated e-mail address. Based upon published lists, there were plenty of .gov, .mil, as well as high-level politicians, journalists, and CEOs affected. Our Paul McDougall has an in-depth write-up here. Jim Rapoza blogged earlier today that Cloud Is Real Culprit in iPad/AT&T Security Hole... The "cloud" isn't the culprit at all: AT&T's security and development processes are.

No doubt we will hear more about this in coming days, as well as other security issues for mobile technology.