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Google has been working to harden Google Apps for its arrival into the enterprise. The tools bring browser based productivity into another dimension. And, where people are productive, security is to be questioned. In this short review, we look at the new feature Google offers admins and look a bit closer at security in a browser-based world. Sponsor To further enable Google Apps administrators, the company has released a new cookie based reset tool for managing security between the client and the enterprise cloud. This functionality of Google Apps allows an administrator to flag a user for re-authentication on their next HTTP request to Google’s cloud apps. This new feature is targeted at environments where a user of the the Google Apps cloud loses an IT asset and the company wants to remove access to any current for future page requests. This feature shows how mobile and personal computer are again creeping together in security needs for cloud data service use. This feature reminds us of the “remote wipe” in MobileMe that is offered for the iPhone. The iPhone versiion targets removing data from the physical device but for practical purposes is nearly akin to “cookie invalidated” by Google Apps, which forces log-out any active sessions of a cloud based application. Both features target keeping sensitive information safe and can be activated at any time, killing an active user of the device. Google shares the goal of the tool here: “Combined with the existing ability for administrators to reset user passwords, this new feature to reset users’ sign-in cookies improves security in the cloud in case of device theft or loss.” Google goes into a bit more detail in the help file for the cookie reset feature , which describes how to find the feature to reset the cookie (in Users and groups: Passwords) and as an admin remove authorization from any current or future authenticated user or browser client: “To prevent unauthorized access to an account, you can reset the sign-in cookies for that user, which has the effect of logging out that user from all current HTTP sessions, and requiring new authentication the next time that user tries to initiate an HTTP session to log in to Google Apps.” The help file also describes how to find the feature, which shows up in the Users and but in our version of Google Apps (non premium) it didn’t show up in the password section as described. So far, it looks like this security feature is getting a good response from the administrators that have responded to Google’s blog. We see it as a welcome effort on Google’s part towards preparing their cloud for the enterprise, but also it raises questions of the use of cookies and tying down access to machines (IP) vs. browser cookie. Securing the browser for the cloud causes us to think of this question: Are mobile phones (iPhone for example) inherently more secure than computer based browsers? Discuss

When we talk about mobile apps today, chances are that we are mostly talking about apps for cell phones and – maybe – tablets. The latest trend in mobile apps, however, is apps for cars. One of the companies leading this trend in the U.S. is Ford, which just unveiled a number of apps that students at the University of Michigan created on top of Ford’s platform. Sponsor Making Mobile Apps Work at 70 mpg Earlier today, we got a chance to talk to K. Venkatesh Prasad, the group and technical leader of Ford’s Infotronics Research and Advanced Engineering team. Ford unveiled its SYNC AppLink technology for controlling Android and Blackberry mobile apps through Ford’s voice-driven SYNC interface last month, but as Prasad told us, the company is obviously also looking at mobile apps that are developed specifically for the car. Cloud Computing in the Commute As Prasad stressed when we talked to him, developers have gotten very good at developing apps that work well at 0 mph, but interfaces that also work well at 70 mph are still in their infancy. Apps that run in cars obviously have to overcome a number of issues – especially with regards to safety – that aren’t normally an issue for developers of mobile apps. In order to tap into the creativity of students who grew up with mobile apps and social networks, Ford, together with Microsoft and Intel, teamed up with the University of Michigan and the university’s professors and Ford’s engineers taught a 12-week course entitled “Cloud Computing in the Commute.” The students developed their apps using a Ford Fiesta with a built-in touch screen running. The software platform for these projects was Windows 7 and Microsoft’s Robotics Developer Studio. On the cloud side, the students used Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform. Over the course of the semester, these students created six different projects, ranging from a gesture-driven Waze -like app that allows drivers to alert others of traffic jams , accidents and police cars along the road, to a ride-sharing app that taps into Facebook and an app that automatically uploads your fuel economy data to a cloud server. Some of these apps use Ford’s SYNC for voice recognition, while others use gestures that drivers can draw on the car’s built-in screen. Caravan Track From these six app, Ford, Microsoft and Intel chose Caravan Track as the best app. Caravan Track allows clusters of vehicles traveling together to track each other during the drive – which sounds like a great application for anybody who has ever been on a road trip with more than one car. The app uses vehicle telemetry to track each vehicle, maps routes and sends alerts about stops and road conditions. The winning students will take a car that runs Caravan Track on a two-week road trip from Michigan to the Maker Fair in San Mateo on May 22. Cars: The Next Big Market for Mobile Apps? Even more so than just these apps, it’s exciting to see how cars are finally becoming a part of the mobile app ecosystem. While there are still many user interface issues to deal with, systems like Ford’s SYNC could potentially give developers the same kind of resources and computing power as a modern desktop machine. Today, most car buyers assume that their experience with the car won’t change much over the next few years of ownership. Once we get to the point where a lot of cars can run mobile apps however, we might see regular software updates that could greatly change the user experience at intervals that are currently unheard of in the automobile industry where upgrade cycles are usually measured in years. Discuss

Those who want to put their smartphones to the service of their health are well-advised to check out this website. In principle, here they will find a set of health apps that will let them have a smoother experience when it comes to activities such as buying over the counter medicines and the management of weight loss. These two concerns are tackled by an app named “PICKKA MED” and another entitled “PICKKA Shop To Lose” respectively. Read more Learn more about Pickka.com in Dataopedia.com Find out how much Pickka.com is worth with Stimator.com

The new version of Tweetie, the iPhone Twitter application acquired this month by Twitter Inc. , says it contains a surprise. What’s the surprise? When you pull down the stream of Tweets to refresh, a slot machine appears. The slot machine’s wheels spin, then stop. Some percentage of the time you’re rewarded with a little graphic telling you that Tweetie will soon be known as Twitter for iPhone (congrats to you!). This sure looks like the future home of advertising on Twitter for iPhone, doesn’t it? Twitter’s Sean Garrett says that’s not the case, “The slot machine thing is just a fun way to get the word out about the upcoming change from Tweetie to Twitter.” It sure looks like prime real estate, though. Sponsor Now, there may not be ads up there in the future, but offers, promotions, paid inspirational haiku – something? That placement just seems too valuable for the company to let it sit there empty. Just as ads are coming to Twitter (relatively unobtrusive sponsored Tweets at the top of search results) so too can we imagine the free iPhone app will have ads. This seems like as good a place as any to put them. It’s an easy assumption to make: tech investor Dave McClure freaked out on Twitter today calling them ad units, and the thought certainly crossed our minds when we saw them yesterday. Time will tell… Storm trooper image from MotivatedPhotos.com . Discuss

There’s only one week left until the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit 2010 , so we invite you to register now . Be a part of high-value, intimate conversations with people working throughout the world of mobile, from garage developers to industry luminaries. The summit will take place May 7, 2010 , in Mountain View, California and will be an exploration of the latest mobile development trends, both the technology and the emerging business applications. We are looking forward to some amazing discussion and debate about mobile with participants like : Sponsor Deb Schultz of Altimeter group Patrick Chanezon, Don Dodge & Bob Meese of Google Ted Morgan of Skyhook Wireless Scott Raney and Tom Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures Adam Blum of Rhomobile Brady Forrest of O’Reilly Brent Simmons of Newsgator Technologies Patrick Burns of DASH7 Alliance As with our first event, the Real-Time Web Summit last October, the Mobile Summit will be in the “unconference” format. Laura Fittion, founder of oneforty.com , had these thoughts about ReadWriteWeb’s last summit: “There were a lot of investors there and it was a great dialogue between startups and investors. The unconference format was great because it got away from the bogus who-is in the real-time Web, and made it who-wants-to-be. You didn’t have to be big and influential to get your ideas across – if it was a good idea then it got heard. It wasn’t just Twitter, it was many things real time, defined pretty expansively.” How Unconferences Work What’s an unconference all about? Here’s the idea: Convene an incredible group of people, frame the discussion, ask important questions, then guide participants in building an agenda for the day to maximize the value of the event and minimize hot air. Martin Källström, CEO of the real-time blog and feed tracking service Twingly brought his team over from Sweden for our last event. ” Last year we happened across one of Kaliya Hamlin’s unconference events,” he told us. “We spent a couple of hours there and it was an amazing experience. The unconference format is an amazing way for things to happen; it gets everyone to lower their defenses. By opening peoples’ minds to ‘this is about whatever we want it to be about”, they look at how they can create value. ” Or, as Google’s Brett Slatkin said when using the elite FooCamp events as a way to explain the unconference format: “Foo-style [unconferencing is] always way better than talks.” As with our previous event, the Mobile Summit will be facilitated by Kaliya Hamlin , who in our opinion is the best in the business at this style of event. We’re using the same venue too, the beautiful Computer History Museum. Mobile was one of our top five trends last year and continues to undergo explosive growth , so our aim with this event is to help you navigate the opportunities. Get ready to explore, think and create the future of mobile! Because it will be you – the attendees – who ultimately set the agenda. You can begin adding your suggestions now. We will have two main tracks at this Summit, Development and Business . Here’s a sample of some of the topics we’ll explore in both of these tracks: Geo-location services – what can you do using location as a platform ? Commerce & Marketing – as more and more consumers use smartphones, how can businesses utilize this channel? Content, Publishing & Recommendations – the technologies and best practices. Mobile Social Networking – how to tap into communities on mobile devices. Internet of Things – the emerging opportunities from sensor and RFID data. Augmented Reality – the technology and business applications of AR. Native App vs. Browser Based – Including iPhone, Android, RIM, Palm, Windows Mobile and Symbian. If you’re a company in the mobile Internet market, you may be interested in becoming a sponsor for this event. Please contact our COO Sean Ammirati for more information about sponsor packages. And a big thank-you to our current event sponsors: CallFire , WorldMate , Alcatel-Lucent and Ipevo . The ReadWriteWeb team is excited about our second event and we can’t wait to discuss the opportunities in Mobile with you on May 7. You can find banners and logos to link to our event here , if you’re so inclined. We hope to see you on May 7! Discuss