Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Palm.com quietly replaced by HPwebOS.com, no wake to follow
It goes without saying that funerals are a downer, but we all deserve a proper sendoff, -- unfortunately for Palm.com, there will be no tearful goodbyes. You can still find the Palm logo at a number of related URLs scattered about the internets -- the brand's support page, twitter account, and official blog are still up and running -- but try typing Palm.com in your address bar, and you'll be swiftly redirected to HPwebOS.com. And here we thought our aunt Pearl moved on quickly.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Google: Hundreds of Gmail accounts in U.S., Asia hacked
Now, Google affirms that the problem doesn’t rest with Gmail security but rather this scheme was a result of phishing and malware.
Google spilled the details on Wednesday via its official blog:
Through the strength of our cloud-based security and abuse detection systems*, we recently uncovered a campaign to collect user passwords, likely through phishing. This campaign, which appears to originate from Jinan, China, affected what seem to be the personal Gmail accounts of hundreds of users including, among others, senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists.The goal of this effort seems to have been to monitor the contents of these users’ emails, with the perpetrators apparently using stolen passwords to change peoples’ forwarding and delegation settings.
Gmail users affected by this security mishap should have already been notified. Google’s security team outlined a number of steps that Gmail users can take to protect themselves, which should only take about “ten minutes.”
Google recommended the following:
- Use two-factor authentication;
- Choose a strong password;
- Watch for suspicious activity warnings in your Gmail account;
- Check your settings for odd forwarding.
Google gave a hat tip to the blog Contagio, which highlighted the risks in February.
WHO report: Cell phone radiation can cause cancer
It’s official: cell phone radiation can actually lead to cancer, according to an extensive study by the World Health Organization.
WHO’s International Agency for Research of Cancer team that worked on the study included 31 scientists from 14 countries. The results, which found that exposure to cell phones are “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” aren’t entirely shocking but rather sobering more than anything else.
The type of radiation coming out of a cell phone is called non-ionizing. It is not like an X-ray, but more like a very low-powered microwave oven.“What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain. So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
ASUS' Padfone
While ASUS' Padfone was being launched with much sticker-clad-model fanfare at Computex today, CMIT's TransPhone was apparently enjoying its third day of life, having first appeared on the web as early as Saturday. Both tablets include built-in docks with smartphones to match, but are otherwise unique in appearance and features. The TransPhone includes a bluetooth headset and a slide-in smartphone dock, while the Padfone's handset is completely hidden by a flip-up rear door. The CMIT device reportedly packs a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and SVGA display, along with USB and HDMI ports, though we're still unclear on which OS will be running on the tablet. There's also no word on pricing or availability, but the TransPhone is in good company there, so don't get ready to ditch those standalone gadgets just yet.
Friday, May 27, 2011
HTC CEO Officially Confirms The Unlocking Of Their Bootloaders
“There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we’ve listened. Today, I’m confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience”
So there you have it. Expect a lot more news stemming from this shortly. Congratulations everyone who wanted this so badly.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Google Wallet Is here - Actual credit cards stored in the phone
Using both Near Field Communications and geo-targeting technologies, Google already has several partners lined up, including Sprint (as rumored), First Data, MasterCard and Citi.
In an effort to combine mobile and local commerce, Google’s VP of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius said at the media event:
Google Wallet combines offers and payments at the point of sale, makes it easy for partners and third-parties to create better consumer experiences, and drives brand new shopping experiences for everyone…Your phone will be your wallet. Just tap, pay and save.
Tilenius acknowledged that “this vision will take awhile to come to fruition.” A field test starts today, and Google Wallet will officially launch this summer in San Francisco and New York City first, followed by a roll-out nationwide.
Google execs asserted that 300,000 merchants are ready for the Google Wallet program, including Macy’s, Walgreens, Noah’s Bagels and Toys ‘r’ Us, among others.
As far as the actual credit cards stored in the phone, Google Wallet will support “multiple cards,” including Citi’s MasterCard and a Google pre-paid card that can be reloaded by any existing credit cards. Wallet will also be supported at MasterCard’s PayPass terminals.
NFC is starting to become an integral feature on smartphones. At least Google and Samsung’s Nexus S is ready to go. Android phones without NFC chips will be able to take advantage of at least Google Offers. Tilenius added:
By 2014, 50% of smartphones will be NFC-enabled. That’s 150 million devices. For business, Google Wallet is an opportunity to offer faster and easier shopping with rewards points.
Naturally, security is going to be a huge question on the minds of consumers when it comes to paying with a mobile device - especially one that could easily be lost. Google reps cited several security features, starting with the most obvious function: the phone itself can already be locked. Additionally, to use Google Wallet, the user has to enter a four-number pin number, the credit card information is encrypted and the card itself is never fully displayed.
Despite the reassurances, It’s almost certain that this discussion on mobile payment security will continue as the technology evolves.
The second big announcement of the day was Google Offers, which is essentially Google’s entry into the daily deal craze. Google Offers will be delivered to inboxes daily, much like consumers already subscribe to email lists from retailers. A few of the big retail partners cited at the event included American Eagle Outfitters and Jamba Juice.
To redeem offers, buyers have two options: either tap the phone at the point of sale or show the display to a cashier on the way out. Again, this is going to take awhile to get used to as it almost seems that the door for theft could have opened a bit wider.
As far as the types of offers go, promos include check-in offers (like FourSquare, Loopt, etc.), Google Places pages offers and other advertisements. From there, users could pay, use offers and earn loyalty/rewards points with one tap. Eventually, Google promises that consumers will be able to put everything in the Google Wallet.
Google Offers will be available first in Portland, San Francisco and New York City this summer.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
EVO 2 console promises to bring Android gaming to your TV this fall
As for the console itself, it will apparently pack an unspecified 1.2GHz Samsung processor, a "modified" Android 2.2 OS, and both a TV remote and game controller. Leaving no stone unturned, Envisions says it's also planning to add a motion sensor by the end of the year, and it even has its own points system in mind that will let you buy Android games with "EVO tokens."
Mac malware authors release a new, more dangerous version
Yesterday, 25 days after the Mac Defender malware began to appear in the wild, Apple finally responded. In a technical support note, “How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware,” the company posted instructions for users to follow if they’ve encountered this malware specimen in the wild. It also promised a security update to remove infections automatically.
File that memo under, “Too little, too late.”
Within 12 hours of Apple’s announcement, the author of the original Mac Defender program had a new variant available that renders key portions of the current Mac Defender prevention plan obsolete.
A security researcher for Intego, the Mac-centric security company that identified the original Mac Defender, found the first example of this new code via a poisoned Google search very early this morning.
Several factors make this specimen different. For starters, it has a new name: MacGuard. That’s not surprising, given that the original program already had at least three names. But this one is divided into two separate parts.
The first part, a downloader program, installs in the user’s Applications folder. If you’re an administrator on your Mac (and most people are, given that the overwhelming majority of Macs have only one user and the default account in that scenario is an administrator), the installer will open automatically. All you have to do is click Continue to begin the installation.
Unlike the previous variants of this fake antivirus, no administrator’s password is required to install this program. Since any user with an administrator’s account – the default if there is just one user on a Mac – can install software in the Applications folder, a password is not needed. This package installs an application – the downloader – named avRunner, which then launches automatically. At the same time, the installation package deletes itself from the user’s Mac, so no traces of the original installer are left behind.
The downloader portion then installs the second part, which is similar to the original Mac Defender.
The new architecture seems to be a specific response to Apple’s instructions in the Mac Defender security note: “In some cases, your browser may automatically download and launch the installer for this malicious software. If this happens, cancel the installation process; do not enter your administrator password.”
In this new variation, no password is required as long as you’re logged in using an administrator account. That might lull a potential victim into thinking they’re safe.
I know a lot of Apple users who breathed a sigh of relief yesterday, thinking that Apple’s belated response finally means that the problem is over. As any computer security researcher will tell you, this arms war is just getting started.
Apple appears to be treating this outbreak as if it were a single incident that won’t be repeated. They seriously underestimate the bad guys, who are not idiots. Peter James, an Intego spokeperson, told me his company’s analysts were “impressed by the quality of the original version.” The quick response to Apple’s move suggests they are capable of churning out new releases at Internet speeds, adapting their software and their tactics as their target—Apple—tries to put up new roadblocks.
If Apple plans to play Whack-a-Mole with these guys, they’re in for months of misery. Just ask any Windows security expert who was around in 2003 and 2004 when Microsoft was learning a similar painful lesson. If each reaction from Apple takes two or three weeks, the bad guys will make a small fortune and Mac users can count on significant pain and anguish.
Nokia Oro is covered with 18ct gold on the outside, tinged with Symbian regret inside
We have to agree, owning a phone like this will certainly have an effect on your social life, we're just not so sure it'll be a positive one."We have a large number of users who are looking for products with a build quality and superior materials that attest to their success and social standing. In some areas, possession of such premium products is the passport to being taken seriously."
Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road
Chevy had the whole "Heartbeat of America" thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford's turn to get in on the action. The car maker's European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver's heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin. The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle's safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Microsoft's Ballmer says next-gen Windows systems due in 2012
During remarks at a developers conference in Japan on May 23, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer referred to the next version of Windows as “Windows 8.” He also said the next generation of Windows systems will be out next year.
To those not following Microsoft’s Windows saga closely, this may seem like a “so what” moment. But Microsoft execs have been studiously avoiding any references to the timing or naming of the next version of Windows to try to keep the specifics of the product as quiet as possible. Microsoft’s top brass has been avoiding calling the next version of Windows “Windows 8″ publicly, preferring instead to call it “Windows Next.” (Internally, a number of Microsoft job postings and leaked slides have referenced “Windows 8,” however.”
Here’s what Ballmer said today in Tokyo about Windows 8, according to Microsoft’s own transcript:
“We’re obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows. Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We’ve done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We’ve added touch, and ink, and speech. And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”
Parsing Ballmer’s words further, it’s interesting he called out Windows 8 slates and tablets as two separate form factors. Last year, Microsoft was pushing Windows Embedded Compact as its slate operating system, designed for devices that were more about consumption than creation….
It’s also interesting that Ballmer did not say specifically that “the next generation of Windows systems” due out next year were Windows 8 systems. (There’s been some speculation that Microsoft might deliver ARM-based tablets separately from Windows 8 laptops, PCs and notebooks — with some company watchers predicting that Win8 tablets would ship before the other SKUs, and others predicting they’d ship afterwards. I’ve heard from my contacts that Microsoft is planning to deliver all Windows 8 SKUs simultaneously, however.)
The head of Windows, President Steven Sinofsky, is slated to speak next week at the AllThingsD conference, where many are expecting him to show off an internal build of Windows 8 (whether or not he actually refers to it using the Windows 8 codename).
Microsoft is expected to provide testers with a first tech preview or beta of Windows 8 in mid-September during the company’s developer conference in Anaheim, Calif. The rumored release-to-manufacturing date of Windows 8 is mid-2012, with holiday 2012 retail availability targeted.
Update: OK, believe it or not, the “official” response is Ballmer’s statement isn’t what it seems to be… Sent from a Microsoft spokesman earlier tonight:
““It appears there was a misstatement. We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”
And, as usual, there are many ways to interpret these remarks. Is the next-generation Windows release nothing but Windows 7 with new paint? Windows 8 not the final name for the next version of Windows? (The final name possibly being something other than Windows 8 is something that I’ve heard from my tipsters…) You be the judge….
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