IBM has banned employees from using Apple's Siri personal assistant on their corporate networks, fearing that speech-to-text logs from the app might give away corporate secrets.

To be allowed on an IBM network, a device first has to be configured with remote data wipe capabilities and have any file-transfer apps -- like Apple's iCloud -- disabled and replaced with IBM's own MyMobileHub. Because Siri voice queries are sent to Apple's servers to be converted from speech to text, and also analyzed to help improve Siri's accuracy, IBM is worried that employees who use it might be revealing more information than they realize.

Sure, it seems unlikely that some guy at IBM is asking "Siri, can you give me driving directions to the skunkworks lab?" but it's better to be safe than sorry.

[dvice.]

Several news sources (including the Wall Street Journal and Reuters) have reported that the next iPhone will feature a 4-inch display, but what does that mean for the iOS experience?

9to5Mac says the 3.95" display will have a resolution of 1136x640, up from the iPhone 4S's 960x640. Those new pixels will reportedly make room for a fifth row of icons on the home screen, but they could also make trouble for developers who will have optimize their apps for the new phone's aspect ratio.

As far as the device's form factor, it's not expected to change. The dock connector, however, may shrink, making current sync cables obsolete.

The new iPhone is believed to be in testing right now, with Apple employees carrying it in a nondescript shell that hides the new design.

[dvice.]

Remember when Ashton Kutcher was cast to play Steve Jobs in the late Apple co-founder's biopic? Here's the Kutch sporting a black turtleneck and unfortunate facial hair, presumably to channel a much younger Jobs. The biopic remains untitled at the moment, but Dude, Where's My iPod is clearly a strong candidate.

[deathandtaxes]

Rumors are circulating that the next major version of Apple's iOS, iOS 6, will do away with the Google Maps app that has been preloaded on iPhones since 2007.

Over the past year, Apple has acquired companies like 3D mapping specialists C3 and started using Open Street Maps instead of Google Maps in iPhoto, hinting at the eventual launch of a proprietary Google Maps replacement in iOS. Now it appears that app might show up sooner than previously anticipated.

9to5Mac reports:

According to trusted sources, Apple has an incredible headline feature in development for iOS 6: a completely in-house maps application. Apple will drop the Google Maps program running on iOS since 2007 in favor for a new Maps app with an Apple backend. The application design is said to be fairly similar to the current Google Maps program on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but it is described as a much cleaner, faster, and more reliable experience.

Can Apple's new maps app replace a product Google has been evolving for close to a decade?

[dvice.]

YouTubers Sneaky Zebra explore the violent side of Apple's Siri in "Siri: Ultimate Combat Assistant." Who knew a personal assistant could be so helpful in combat situations?

Unfortunately, in real life, you'd just be shot while Siri said, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

[geektyrant.]

Don't have a bottle opener? An iPad charger will do the job just fine, as Eva Giselle and Jesse Lupini discovered.

The More You Know!™

[businessinsider.]

The ongoing conflict between Apple and Amazon over e-book pricing -- which recently spawned a Department of Justice investigation -- has just created an unexpected casualty: big-box retailer Target will no longer sell Amazon's Kindle e-readers.

Target has cited an unspecified "conflict of interest" in its decision to stop carrying Kindles, but it's reportedly related to the Apple "mini-stores" that popped up inside various Target locations earlier this year.

Also possible, but less likely: the move could also be clearing the way for a Target-branded e-reader.

Target has already pulled all Kindle models from its website, and will stop selling them at its brick-and-mortar stores on May 13th.

[theverge.]