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kman42 · Jul 4, 2006, 11:32 AM

It appears that 10.4.7 has implemented a feature so that Dashboard can determine if your widgets are up to date. Some see this as a privacy issue:
http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/153/...hones-home-too

I'm not overly concerned about Apple stealing my information, but it may represent a disturbing trend. I'm more interested in how Dashboard is using this feature. It hasn't told me yet that any of my widgets are out of date, and I have some old widgets installed. Perhaps it is only for Apple's widgets, which are probably up to date. If this is the case it seems rather useless since Apple could just update the widgets with normal OSX updates and people would always have the most current widgets. Has anyone seen this feature in action? Can someone elaborate on it?

kman

Horsepoo!!! · Jul 4, 2006, 11:41 AM

Solution for people worried about apps phoning home...remove the ****ing phone. That's right...disconnect your computer. Problem solved.

I feel sorry for the paranoid people out there...

...but not really. If people can't handle the internet, they shouldn't be using it.

kcmac · Jul 4, 2006, 11:52 AM

How is this different than Software Update?

This isn't anything like the recent MS phone home thing to check to see if you are a pirate. It is an update check for your widgets.

Horsepoo!!! · Jul 4, 2006, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by kcmac

How is this different than Software Update?

This isn't anything like the recent MS phone home thing to check to see if you are a pirate. It is an update check for your widgets.

You're right, this is no different that Software Update...if people are afraid of this feature, they might as well cancel their ISP account right now. They've probably submitted MUCH more sensitive information via the internet than whatever Software Update has ever transfered between their machine and Apple.

TETENAL · Jul 4, 2006, 12:22 PM

http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/macosx104.pdf

4. Consent to Use of Data. You agree that Apple and its subsidiaries may collect and use technical and related information, including but not limited to technical information about your computer, system and application software, and peripherals, that is gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, product support and other services to you (if any) related to the Apple Software. Apple may use this information, as long as it is in a form that does not personally identify you, to improve our products or to provide services or technologies to you.

CharlesS · Jul 4, 2006, 12:59 PM

Well, last Saturday I was getting NaN for all temperatures in the Weather widget. If the automatic update was what caused it to fix itself the next day, then hooray for the automatic update.

Considering that many widgets get their information from the Internet, an automatic update feature seems quite obvious - the web sites that these widgets pull info from can of course change formats at any time, so you need to be able to update yourself to adapt to such changes.

Chuckit · Jul 4, 2006, 01:27 PM

What a bizarre concern. "o noes my intarnet app is calling teh intarnet!!!"

jmiddel · Jul 4, 2006, 07:13 PM

Software Update asks me wether I want to install the updates. Does Dashboard Update do the same? If so, no difference, a number of apps do this. If it is done automatically without my knowledge or consent, then that would be tad creepy.

Landos Mustache · Jul 4, 2006, 07:28 PM

Threads like this make me throw up a little in my mouth.

Thinine · Jul 4, 2006, 07:44 PM

Yeah, the weather widget with all NaNs was pretty fun.

Chuckit · Jul 4, 2006, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by jmiddel

If it is done automatically without my knowledge or consent, then that would be tad creepy.

Worse than that, I heard Safari sends people your IP address without even asking!

CharlesS · Jul 5, 2006, 12:34 AM

Originally Posted by jmiddel

Software Update asks me wether I want to install the updates. Does Dashboard Update do the same? If so, no difference, a number of apps do this. If it is done automatically without my knowledge or consent, then that would be tad creepy.

Yeah, but with Software Update, the existing software is usually still useful to some extent without the update. If a widget like the Weather widget suddenly can't display any of its information correctly because the web site it uses changed formats, then its usefulness is, on a scale of 1 to 10, NaN.

Tominator · Jul 5, 2006, 01:05 AM

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

Threads like this make me throw up a little in my mouth.

rickey939 · Jul 5, 2006, 08:28 AM

Awesomenesses.�

TETENAL · Jul 5, 2006, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

If a widget like the Weather widget suddenly can't display any of its information correctly because the web site it uses changed formats, then its usefulness is, on a scale of 1 to 10, NaN.

If you look at the parser.js in the Weather widget you can see that it fetches the weather data indirectly via a sever at apple.com. So if accuweather changes the format Apple can adjust to that on their server. There's no need to update the widgets on the clients' computers.

Dog Like Nature · Jul 5, 2006, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by jmiddel

Software Update asks me wether I want to install the updates. Does Dashboard Update do the same? If so, no difference, a number of apps do this. If it is done automatically without my knowledge or consent, then that would be tad creepy.

Well Software Update still contacts Apple in the first place to determine if any updates are available (if this option is selected of course). I couldn't find any way to turn off the Widget Software Update, nor is there any confirmation as far as I could tell.

Horsepoo!!! · Jul 5, 2006, 10:52 AM

TETENAL brings undeniable proof that nobody reads the EULA. If people disagree with apps phoning home to provide better security or inform users about updates...these people should uninstall OS X right now and use Windows or Linux.

Spook E · Jul 5, 2006, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by kcmac

How is this different than Software Update?

This isn't anything like the recent MS phone home thing to check to see if you are a pirate. It is an update check for your widgets.

So what info does software update send back to apple? Is apple collecting all my serial numbers, user names etc for the software i've purchased?

I never thought about it before, but if they can see that i am user X with iLife 05 and iWork, surely thats a good marketing tool to target me with the newest version of apps?

CharlesS · Jul 7, 2006, 01:01 AM

Apparently, it's a security feature, to make sure that a "widget virus" doesn't masquerade as a legitimate widget.

http://news.com.com/2100-1045_3-6090...0966&subj=news