NEWS Apple Previews iPhone OS 4 Saturday, April 10, 2010
•••On April 8, in Cupertino, Calif., Apple has introduced a new version of the mobile platform iPhone OS 4.0, the beta version of which opened for testing members of the community ‘iPhone Developer Program‘. In the beta-release SDK available more than 1500 API (programming interfaces applications) that will allow developers to create applications for “iPhone” with access to the SMS, Photo Library, camera etc. The presentation was begun by head and co-founder Steve Jobs. “IPhone OS 4 – is the fourth major release of one of the most advanced mobile operating systems. There are more than 100 new features, including multitasking, unified inbox, a version of Reader” iBooks “to” iPhone “with access to iBookstore, – told Head of “Apple”. Multitasking – one of the most anticipated features for the new “iPhone”: now all running applications (or rather, their icons) are visible at the bottom of the screen (both on 4 icons, but when you scroll through the entire list is given). To avoid “overheating” processor, services programs in this version will work in the background, for example, against the background of any other application will be transmitted audio stream, VoIP, Geolocation. In addition, in order not to drain the battery, inactive applications will go into sleep mode. Icons on the screen smartphone in the new iPhone OS 4.0 can organize into folders, unified mailbox denotes the ability to store incoming messages from all mail accounts in one inbox. IBooks, which works on the tablet of the company, will now also implemented for the smartphone. Separately, the head of the company told about a new advertising platform, “iAd”, which will allow third-party application developers to earn money on advertising. But the full use of all the new features of the platform, users can only iPhone 3GS and iPod touch the third generation. All previous models will be stripped-down version. Recall, on Saturday, April 4, began selling tablet iPad in the U.S.. During the first day, according to the company, has sold nearly 300 thousand devices. That’s all! Pretty crazy update, actually. We’ll be filling out coverage throughout the day with more careful examinations of the new features. You can also check out Apple’s official 4.0 page if you like, or watch the keynote. (Apple Previews iPhone OS 4) • Source(s): Apple Inc.
NEWS iPad has Wi-Fi problems, some users say Wednesday, April 7, 2010
•••While the Apple Inc. enjoyed the successful launch of iPad, its users complained about the iPad’s inability to maintain a full, steady Wi-Fi connection, according to U.S. media reports Wednesday.
On Apple’s technical support Web site, some users say they are unable to join their networks at all after their iPads come out of standby; others cannot seem to get a signal unless they stand very close to their wireless routers; some users say laying the iPad on a flat surface exacerbates the problem.
One of users complained: “I have also noticed very weak wifi signal in my 16GB iPad. Even when standing in front of the wlan router the signal fluctuates from strong to very weak. The router has very strong signals as every other computer here has full signal strength, even 20-30 meters from the router.” On Monday, Apple announced that it sold over 700,000 iPads on Saturday, meanwhile the company pointed out the “occasional problems” that included weak Wi-Fi connections or not being able to find a signal.
Apple said that dual-band Wi-Fi routers that support both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz protocols were a particular problem. Apple recommends splitting dual-band routers in to two separate networks with different names but the same security settings.
“Under certain conditions, iPad may not automatically rejoin a known Wi-Fi network after restart or waking from sleep. This can occur with some third-party Wi-Fi routers that are dual-band capable when: Using the same network name for each network, [or] Using different security settings for each network,” Apple wrote.
Featuring a small glass multi-touch screen, iPad is a lightweight, portable computer that wirelessly surfs the Web. It can display photos and videos, run apps and play games and movies.
NEWS Federal court curbs FCC authority on Web traffic Wednesday, April 7, 2010
•••A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to force Internet service providers to keep their networks open to all forms of content, throwing into doubt the agency’s status as the government guardian of the Web. The FCC has long sought to impose rules requiring Internet providers to offer equal access to all Web sites, a concept known as network neutrality. But in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found that the agency lacked the power to stop cable giant Comcast from limiting traffic to a popular file-sharing site called BitTorrent.
While the Comcast case centered on the issue of network neutrality, the court’s ruling could hamper other agency initiatives, including an ambitious plan to expand high-speed Internet service nationwide and enforce new rules that hold carriers to promises of certain speeds for consumers.
The decision could spur the FCC or Congress to rewrite rules or laws to more concretely make the agency a regulator of Internet services.
The agency had intentionally kept its authority over broadband services vague, in hopes of spurring growth by keeping the market for Internet services largely deregulated. A reversal of that framework — which consumer groups have urged — would be strongly opposed by companies that operate Internet networks.
“Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the BitTorrent order and they sliced right through the FCC’s arm and plunged the ax into their own back,” said Ben Scott, police director for public interest group Free Press. The FCC’s predicament stems from Comcast’s challenge of sanctions the FCC issued against it in 2008.
In a 3-2 vote, the agency found that Comcast had violated open-Internet guidelines by slowing traffic to the BitTorrent file-sharing site. Those guidelines were meant to force broadband providers to treat all traffic equally on their networks, so as not to put any application at a disadvantage.
Comcast appealed the FCC sanction, saying the agency’s order was outside its scope. The court on Tuesday agreed.
Sena Fitzmaurice, a Comcast spokeswoman, said the company was “gratified” by the decision.
“Our primary goal was always to clear our name and reputation,” she said.
As a practical matter, the court ruling will not have any immediate impact on Internet users because Comcast and other large Internet providers are not currently restricting specific types of Web content and have no plans to do so.
The decision came as Comcast is pursuing agency approval of its proposed $30 billion merger with NBC Universal.
The cable giant has opposed FCC efforts to impose rules requiring that Internet providers offer equal access to all Web sites. The company argues, as it did in the BitTorrent case, that it needs to be able to limit some users from activities that could slow network operation for many customers, such as downloading massive movie files.
But in hearings on the merger, some lawmakers have said net neutrality rules would ensure that the combined company would not unfairly use its weight against competing Web sites.
Other companies such as Google and Facebook have supported government efforts to push net neutrality. Tuesday’s ruling may encourage the FCC to respond with what Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett calls the “nuclear option” — moving broadband providers into the same category as phone providers, which would subject them to many more rules.
That “would have sweeping implications far, far beyond net neutrality … and would bring back a raft of regulatory obligations from the days of monopoly telecommunications regulation,” Moffett said.
The decision puts in doubt dozens of policies the FCC hopes to roll out as part of the national broadband plan it released last month. It may complicate some reallocation of $8 billion in phone subsidies to build new broadband networks and hinder creation of a wireless public safety network for first responders, public advocacy groups say.
The FCC did not say specifically how it plans to respond to the court’s decision. Agency spokeswoman Jen Howard said it was important that the FCC’s broadband agenda rest on a “solid legal foundation.”
Michael Copps, a Democratic FCC commissioner, said in a statement: “It is time we stop doing the ‘ancillary authority’ dance and instead rely on the statute Congress gave us to stand on solid legal ground in safeguarding the benefits of the Internet for American consumers.” • Source(s):Federal Communications Commission andCisco Systems, Inc.
NEWS Brand new iPad getting smashed by a baseball bat Monday, April 5, 2010
•••A video of a group of teenagers destroying a brand new iPad computer with a baseball bat has gone viral on YouTube.
The video of the smashing of the $499 device outside a Best Buy store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday has attracted more than 280,000 views on the video-sharing site.
The Los Angeles Times caught up with Justin Kockott, the 19-year-old high school student who made the video titled Brand new iPad getting smashed by a baseball bat.
“I wanted to be the first one to do it before other people did it,” Kockott told the newspaper.
“It was just something to do.
“I knew some people would hate it, but I didn’t think that many people would hate it,” he said.
“A lot of people are leaving really bad comments (in the YouTube comments section).”
Kockott told the Times he did not have anything against Apple and had actually bought two other iPads.
“I do not at all hate Apple. I love Apple, actually,” he said. Apple announced Monday morning that it had sold more than 300,000 iPads on Saturday, the first day they were commercially available. Users also downloaded more than 1 million apps for the device and a quarter of a million e-books.
“It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world – it’s going to be a game-changer,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, in a statement. “IPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.”
The sales figure was in line with some estimates over the weekend, including one from Piper Jaffrey’s Gene Munster, who guessed the company had sold between 600,000 and 700,000 units over the weekend (that is, including Sunday). The number Apple gave included pre-orders made online.
The second series of 3G-ready iPads debuts later this month.
In 2008, Apple sold one million iPhone 3G’s in the device’s first weekend. And in 2007, it took the company 74 days to sell one million of the original iPhones.
NEWS Apple devotees countdown to iPad launch Friday, April 2, 2010
•••In 10 years of reviewing tech products for The New York Times, I’ve never seen a product as polarising as Apple’s iPad, which arrives in stores in the U.S. on Saturday.
“This device is laughably absurd,” goes a typical remark on a tech blog’s comments board. “How can they expect anyone to get serious computer work done without a mouse?”
“This truly is a magical revolution,” goes another. “I can’t imagine why anyone will want to go back to using a mouse and keyboard once they’ve experienced Apple’s visionary user interface!”
Those are some pretty confident critiques of the iPad – considering that their authors have never even tried it.
In any case, there’s a pattern to these assessments.
The haters tend to be techies; the fans tend to be regular people.
Therefore, no single write-up can serve both readerships adequately. There’s but one solution: Write separate reviews for these two audiences.
Read the first one if you’re a techie. (How do you know? Take this simple test. Do you use BitTorrent? Do you run Linux? Do you have more e-mail addresses than pants? You’re a techie.)
Read the second review if you’re anyone else.
Review for Techies
The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.
It’s a half-inch-thick slab, all glass on top, aluminum on the back. Hardly any buttons at all — just a big Home button below the screen. It takes you to the Home screen full of apps, just as on an iPhone.
One model gets online only in Wi-Fi hot spots ($500 to $700, for storage capacities from 16 to 64 gigabytes). The other model can get online either using Wi-Fi or, when you’re out and about, using AT&T’s cellular network; that feature adds $130 to each price.
You operate the iPad by tapping and dragging on the glass with your fingers, just as on the iPhone. When the very glossy 9.7-inch screen is off, every fingerprint is grossly apparent.
There’s an e-book reader app, but it’s not going to rescue the newspaper and book industries (sorry, media pundits). The selection is puny (60,000 titles for now). You can’t read well in direct sunlight. At 1.5 pounds, the iPad gets heavy in your hand after awhile (the Kindle is 10 ounces). And you can’t read books from the Apple bookstore on any other machine — not even a Mac or iPhone.
When the iPad is upright, typing on the on-screen keyboard is a horrible experience; when the iPad is turned 90 degrees, the keyboard is just barely usable (because it’s bigger). A $70 keyboard dock will be available in April, but then you’re carting around two pieces.
At least Apple had the decency to give the iPad a really fast processor. Things open fast, scroll fast, load fast. Surfing the web is a heck of a lot better than on the tiny iPhone screen – first, because it’s so fast, and second, because you don’t have to do nearly as much zooming and panning.
But as any Slashdot.com reader can tell you, the iPad can’t play Flash video. Apple has this thing against Flash, the web’s most popular video format; says it’s buggy, it’s not secure and depletes the battery. Well, fine, but meanwhile, thousands of websites show up with empty white squares on the iPad – places where videos or animations are supposed to play.
YouTube, Vimeo, TED.com, CBS.com and some other sites are converting their videos to iPad/iPhone/Touch-compatible formats. But all the news sites and game sites still use Flash. It will probably be years before the rest of the web’s videos become iPad-viewable.
There’s no multitasking, either. It’s one app at a time, just like on the iPhone. Plus no U.S.B. jacks and no camera. Bye-bye, Skype video chats. You know Apple is just leaving stuff out for next year’s model.
The bottom line is that you can get a laptop for much less money – with a full keyboard, DVD drive, U.S.B. jacks, camera-card slot, camera, the works. Besides: If you’ve already got a laptop and a smartphone, who’s going to carry around a third machine?
Review for Everyone Else
The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod Touch.
The simple act of making the multitouch screen bigger changes the whole experience. Maps become real maps, like the paper ones. Scrabble shows the whole board, without your having to zoom in and out. You see your email inbox and the open message simultaneously. Driving simulators fill more of your field of view, closer to a windshield than a keyhole.
The new iBooks e-reader app is filled with endearing grace notes. For example, when you turn a page, the animated page edge actually follows your finger’s position and speed as it curls, just like a paper page. Font, size and brightness controls appear when you tap. Tap a word to get a dictionary definition, bookmark your spot or look it up on Google or Wikipedia. There’s even a rotation-lock switch on the edge of the iPad so you can read in bed on your side without fear that the image will rotate.
If you have the cellular model, you can buy AT&T service so you can get online anywhere. (Cellular iPads aren’t available until next month.)
But how’s this for a rare deal from a cell company: there’s no contract. By tapping a button in Settings, you can order up a month of unlimited cellular internet service for $30. Or pay $15 for 250 megabytes of internet data; when it runs out, you can either buy another 250 megs, or just upgrade to the unlimited plan for the month. Either way, you can cancel and rejoin as often as you want – just March, July and November, for example – without penalty. The other carriers are probably cursing AT&T’s name for setting this precedent.
The iPad’s killer app, though, is killer apps. Apple says that 150,000 existing iPhone apps run on the iPad. They either appear actual size – small and dead center on the screen – or, with a tap, doubled to fill the screen, a little blurry. Still, all the greats work this way: Dragon Dictation, Skype (even voice calls, through its speaker and microphone) and those gazillion games.
But the real fun begins when you try the apps that were specially designed for the iPad’s bigger screen. (When the iPad section of the App Store opens Saturday, it will start with 1,000 of them.)
That Scrabble app shows the whole board without your zooming or panning: a free companion app for your iPhone or Touch is called Tile Rack; it lets you fiddle with your letters in private, then flick them wirelessly onto the iPad’s screen. Newspaper apps will reproduce the layout, photos and colors of a real newspaper. The Marvel comic-book app is brilliant in its vividness and panel-by-panel navigation. (Oops, maybe that app belongs in the review for techies.)
Hulu.com, the web’s headquarters for free hit TV shows, won’t confirm the rumors that it’s working on an iPad app, but wow – can you imagine? A thin, flat, cordless, bottomless source of free, great TV shows, in your bag or on the bedside table?
Speaking of video: Apple asserts that the iPad runs 10 hours on a charge of its nonremovable battery – but we all know you can’t trust the manufacturer. And sure enough, in my own test, the iPad played movies continuously from 7:30 a.m. to 7:53 p.m. – more than 12 hours. That’s four times as long as a typical laptop or portable DVD player.
The iPad is so fast and light, the multitouch screen so bright and responsive, the software so easy to navigate, that it really does qualify as a new category of gadget. Some have suggested that it might make a good goof-proof computer for technophobes, the aged and the young; they’re absolutely right.
And the techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it – books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience – and a deeply satisfying one.
The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you’ll love the machine.
NEWS Topeka: A different kind of company name Thursday, April 1, 2010
•••Early last month the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We’ve been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture. Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1AM (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka. We didn’t reach this decision lightly; after all, we had a fair amount of brand equity tied up in our old name. But the more we surfed around (the former) Topeka’s municipal website, the more kinship we felt with this fine city at the edge of the Great Plains.
In fact, Topeka Google Mayor Bill Bunten expressed it best: “Don’t be fooled. Even Google recognizes that all roads lead to Kansas, not just yellow brick ones.”
For 150 years, its fortuitous location at the confluence of the Kansas River and the Oregon Trail has made the city formerly known as Topeka a key jumping-off point to the new world of the West, just as for 150 months the company formerly known as Google has been a key jumping-off point to the new world of the web. When in 1858 a crucial bridge built across the Kansas River was destroyed by flooding mere months later, it was promptly rebuilt — and we too are accustomed to releasing 2.0 versions of software after stormy feedback on our ‘beta’ releases. And just as the town’s nickname is “Top City,” and the word “topeka” itself derives from a term used by the Kansa and Ioway tribes to refer to “a good place to dig for potatoes,” we’d like to think that our website is one of the web’s top places to dig for information.
In the early 20th century, the former Topeka enjoyed a remarkable run of political prominence, gracing the nation with Margaret Hill McCarter, the first woman to address a national political convention (1920, Republican); Charles Curtis, the only Native American ever to serve as vice president (’29 to ‘33, under Herbert Hoover); Carrie Nation, leader of the old temperance movement (and wielder of American history’s most famous hatchet); and, most important, Alfred E. Neuman, arguably the most influential figure to an entire generation of Americans. We couldn’t be happier to add our own chapter to this storied history.
A change this dramatic won’t happen without consequences, perhaps even some disruptions. Here are a few of the thorny issues that we hope everyone in the broader Topeka community will bear in mind as we begin one of the most important transitions in our company’s history:
• Correspondence to both our corporate headquarters and offices around the world should now be addressed to Topeka Inc., but otherwise can be addressed normally. • Google employees once known as “Googlers” should now be referred to as either “Topekers” or “Topekans,” depending on the result of a board meeting that’s ongoing at this hour. Whatever the outcome, the conclusion is clear: we aren’t in Google anymore. • Our new product names will take some getting used to. For instance, we’ll have to assure users of Topeka News and Topeka Maps that these services will continue to offer news and local information from across the globe. Topeka Talk, similarly, is an instant messaging product, not, say, a folksy midwestern morning show. And Project Virgle, our co-venture with Richard Branson and Virgin to launch the first permanent human colony on Mars, will henceforth be known as Project Vireka. • We don’t really know what to tell Oliver Google Kai’s parents, except that, if you ask us, Oliver Topeka Kai would be a charming name for their little boy. • As our lawyers remind us, branded product names can achieve such popularity as to risk losing their trademark status (see cellophane, zippers, trampolines, et al). So we hope all of you will do your best to remember our new name’s proper usage:
Finally, we want to be clear that this initiative is a one-shot deal that will have no bearing on which municipalities are chosen to participate in our experimental ultra-high-speed broadband project, to which Google, Kansas has been just one of many communities to apply. • Source(s): Eric Schmidt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Topeka Inc. • (April Fools!!!)
NEWS Microsoft extends free Windows 7 Enterprise trial Thursday, April 1, 2010
•••On the eve of the Windows 7 launch last year, Microsoft offered IT pros a chance to evaluate Windows 7 Enterprise for a limited time. But this week, the software giant announced that the evaluation version would now be offered through the end of 2010.
The free 90-day trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise–your choice of 32-bit or 64-bit version–was originally offered “while supplies last,” which is an odd limitation for a software download.
Functionally, Windows 7 Enterprise is identical to the high-end Windows 7 Ultimate version, but is sold for use in volume-licensing business environments only. One of the benefits of Enterprise, then, is that it includes access to the valuable BitLocker-To-Go portable drive encryption technologies, leading to one of my most popular tips from the Windows Weekly podcast: Users with the more mainstream Windows 7 Home Premium can install the Enterprise edition in a Windows Virtual PC virtual machine (VM), encrypt their USB memory keys with BitLocker-To-Go, then safely access them using their host OS going forward. If the keys get lost, the data is safe.
Now, that ability–along with general access to the Windows 7 Enterprise trial–is being extended through the end of 2010. “Due to popular demand, the Windows Enterprise Trial program has been extended,” Microsoft’s Stephen Rose wrote in a blog posting this week. “This means you now have till December 31, 2010 to download and evaluate the trial version.”
Readers interested in the 90-day trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise should visit the Microsoft Springboard web site. • Source(s): Microsoft Corporation
NEWS Google searches turn up empty Wednesday, March 31, 2010
•••Internet users on the Chinese mainland who tried to conduct a Google search Tuesday most likely failed to obtain results while mobile services users reported partial blocking during the last two days.
Last week, users who attempted to use Google.cn were redirected to the Hong Kong website.
Users found out Tuesday that both the English site, Google.com, and the Chinese version of the search engine failed to return search results, although the homepages popped up.
AFP reported that its Shanghai reporter experienced no problems with the Google search engine.
But an Internet user in Shanghai said no search results came up.
The advanced search icon on both the English and Chinese sites were accessible.
A Google spokeswoman in Beijing told that they were aware of the problem but she was not able to say what caused it.
In the wake of Google’s decision to redirect Google.cn traffic to its Hong Kong website last week, Google also set up a website www.google.com/prc/report.html that was still accessible on the mainland Tuesday.
It provided daily status reports on the availability of its other popular services in China, including Doc, News, Mobile, Gmail, Blogger and Picasa service.
According to that website, Google’s search engine service on the Chinese mainland experienced “no issues” Tuesday but the mobile service was partially blocked on the mainland since Sunday.
The Google search engine on a reporter’s mobile phone, which uses Google’s Android mobile phone system, was working normally after it rerouted to Google’s Hong Kong sites in Wi-fi connections.
But Google search, maps and news service could not be accessed with the same mobile phone when it uses China Mobile GPRS data connection. • Source(s): Xinhua News Agency & Global Times (China)
NEWS Google blames China’s ‘great firewall’ for blocking searches Wednesday, March 31, 2010
•••Google’s search sites in China abruptly stopped working yesterday, but the explanation for the outage changed as the day wore on.
The Internet giant first blamed its own engineers, citing a technical glitch, but later reversed course and pointed to the heavy hand of China’s “Great Firewall” – even as service appeared to be back to normal.
The evolving explanation caught Google watchers by surprise and showed how fraught with confusion the relationship between China and Google remains.
The episode risks escalating their battle a week after Google stopped censoring its search engine in China.
Google struggled to discern the cause of the massive disruption, in which users received error messages for Google searches from China on the company’s Hong Kong-based search site, Google.com.hk.
Google began routing Chinese Internet users to its Hong Kong site last week as it said it would no longer comply with China’s censoring policies and wouldn’t run a censored Chinese search engine.
Later in the day, Google reversed itself, saying it had made those changes a week earlier.
“So whatever happened to block Google.com.hk must have been as a result of a change in the Great Firewall,” the company said.
Wang Lijian, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, one of China’s main Internet regulators, said he was unaware of any Google disruption.
Any permanent blockage of Google’s searches by China would deal a sharp blow to the company’s hopes of continuing to operate part of its business in the country after dismantling its censored Chinese site.
Google said last week that it hoped to maintain its music search and maps services in China, along with sales and research-and-development operations.
Beijing has expressed anger at Google for publicly flouting its censorship regime, and a decision to block access to Google entirely has always been considered possible.
Many analysts have believed Beijing would stop short of that for fear of infuriating Google’s tens of millions of regular Chinese users, not to mention foreign businesses that require access to information.
Because Google censored its old Chinese site, Google.cn, in accordance with government rules, that site wasn’t filtered by the government’s firewall.
Its international sites, such as the Hong Kong one, have always been subjected to filtering, meaning that Chinese users’ searches of some sensitive terms – like those related to the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests, the initials RFA, for Radio Free Asia, or even the names of top leaders – might trigger an error message from the browser instead of a results page.
NEWS Windows Security Vulnerabilities Mitigated by Limiting Privileges Tuesday, March 30, 2010
•••Most vulnerabilities of Microsoft Windows 7 can be mitigated by configuring the operating system for standard user rather than administrator, according to Beyondtrust, a leading Privileged Access Lifecycle Management solution provider.
Removing administration rights can mitigate 90% of the critical Windows 7 vulnerabilities. 100% of Internet Explorer 8 vulnerabilities reported in 2009 and 94% of all IE vulnerabilities last year were mitigated by running as standard user. All together, 64% of Microsoft vulnerabilities reported in 2009 could be mitigated by least privileges.
The users are not granted the privileges to install software and use applications, some may be malicious, into operating system.
Microsoft added User Account Control (UAC) technologies in Windows 7 to limit applications to standard user privileges unless an administrator opts to elevate the privileges.
Beyondtrust also gives a solution to problems encountered by most Microsoft Windows users. It offers a product called Privilege Manager that allows a user to run processes that normally require elevated privileges without needing admin rights.
Asked to comment on the conclusions of the report, Paul Cooke, director of Windows Client Product Management at Microsoft, said the company had enabled additional Windows operations that users perform often to work without administrative rights.
“We believe that running users as standard users is good for Windows, the ecosystem, and all of our users,” he said. “It is our hope that with the help of UAC that ISVs (independent software vendors) will continue to adapt their software to work well with standard user rights.”
For the report, BeyondTrust analyzed the nearly 75 security bulletins Microsoft published last year that provided patches for nearly 200 vulnerabilities. • Source(s): Microsoft Corporation
NEWS Verizon iPhone in the works? Tuesday, March 30, 2010
•••The iPhone could finally be coming to Verizon, if a new report in the Wall Street Journal proves true.
On Monday, the paper cited unnamed sources who said that a Taiwanese manufacturer will start mass producing iPhones to run on Verizon’s network in September. The report did not uncover when the phones might go on sale.
Apple also expects to begin offering a new model of the iPhone in a few months, the Journal reported. That would be in line with Apple’s past schedule of delivering a new model in the middle of each year.
In the U.S., the iPhone has been exclusive to AT&T since its launch in 2007. Neither company has said how long that exclusive deal will last, but rumors surface periodically that the deal is close to an end or that AT&T is negotiating to extend it.
Other rumors, about negotiations between Verizon and Apple for an iPhone to work on that network, also pop up from time to time. Some existing iPhone users have complained about poor network performance from AT&T and say they would welcome the opportunity to buy an iPhone for Verizon’s network. Some analysts say AT&T has become too reliant on the iPhone and worry that AT&T might lose customers and see slower growth once the iPhone becomes available elsewhere.
In many other countries, the iPhone is available on multiple networks.
Apple said it had no comment on the story. Verizon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NEWS Microsoft rushes to patch zero-day IE hole Monday, March 29, 2010 Last modification: Tuesday, March 30, 2010: 1:05 p.m. PDT
•••Microsoft is releasing an out-of-band patch to address a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 on Tuesday, which if exploited would allow an attacker to compromise the targeted system. In addition to the patch addressing the widely known flaw, MS10-018 will also correct nine other vulnerabilities.
“We have been monitoring this issue and have determined an out-of-band release is needed to protect customers,” Microsoft said in a statement.
Discovered earlier this month, the flaw in Internet Explorer is caused due to a use-after-free error in iepeers.dll when handling invalid values passed to the “setAttribute” function. If exploited, the attacker would have control over the system at the permissions level of the current user. Considering most users are logged in as an administrator on their systems, the issue quickly gained notoriety.
While Microsoft said that users of Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7 are not vulnerable, the fact that the majority of their users are open to attack caused them to push the timeline up some for the patch.
“The last time Microsoft issued an out of band patch for IE was in January, and it was for the ‘Aurora’ bug that was used to exploit Google, Adobe and other large enterprises. Given that Microsoft’s regular patch is only 15 days away, an out-of-band patch definitely means there is a serious uptick in attacks against this bug in the wild,” said Andrew Storms, Director of Security Operations for nCircle.
“Microsoft’s turnaround time on this bug was very impressive. Generally, it takes at least 30 days from advisory to bug fix release. Microsoft released the advisory on March 9th, just three weeks ago.”
Each of the ten updates in MS10-018 will be listed as Critical by Redmond, and they expect them to hit systems by 1:00 p.m. PDT on March 30.
NEWS New iPad orders won’t ship until April 3 Sunday, March 28, 2010
•••Pre-orders of Apple’s iPad seem to be going very well. The company updated its Web site on Saturday indicating that any new iPad orders will ship by April 3rd, as pointed out by AppleInsider and other blogs.
Those pre-ordering today & going forward should not expect the pre-orders to arrive before April 3rd. The change in the pre-order shipping status suggests that Apple has completely sold out of the original online allotment of WiFi iPads. 3G iPad models still list a shipping date of “late April.”
The iPad Wi-Fi + 3G is still scheduled to ship in late April, according to Apple’s Web site.
The iPad – which resembles a large iPhone with a 9.7-inch screen designed for Web surfing, games and media consumption – is Apple’s biggest product launch since the iPhone in 2007.
It goes on sale next Saturday in the United States, starting at $499 for the basic Wi-Fi model. The high-end model tops out at more than $800.
Although analysts’ estimates vary widely, some expect Apple to sell around 1 million iPads in the June quarter. Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple closed up 1.88 % at $230.90 on the Nasdaq, after hitting a record high of $231.95.
By pushing the delivery date of new orders, it would appear that pre-orders have already accounted for all of Apple’s available stock. Though there has been a lot of speculation on how many iPads the company has ordered, nobody really knows for sure.
Some sources say Apple sold hundreds of thousands iPads since it began taking pre-orders on March 12. The source also speculates that the iPad’s first three months of sales could top those of the original iPhone’s first three months.
Apple also added a new iPad accessory, which is available for pre-order. The iPad Camera Connection Kit gives you a way to connect your camera directly to the iPad. Delivery for the $29 accessory is listed as “late April” on the Apple Store.
NEWS Shaoxing City is world’s hacker hub Sunday, March 28, 2010
•••An American Internet security company has named the Chinese city of Shaoxing as the world’s cyber-espionage capital.
According to a research by Symantec, almost 30 % of “targeted attacks” were sent from China and 21.3 % originated from Shaoxing in eastern China alone.
The key targets of Chinese hackers were mainly experts in Asian defence policy and human rights activists, researchers, who traced 12 billion emails for the study, said – suggesting state involvement.
Symantec is assisting the investigation into suspected hacking attacks on Google, which closed its website in China last week after refusing to censor itself on the government’s orders. Cyber-espionage uses emails sent in small volumes with legitimate-looking attachments or documents to fool the user into letting a malicious code infect their computer.
“The ultimate aim is to gain access to sensitive data or internal systems by targeting specific individuals or companies,” the report said.
Previously, hackers in China had been able to camouflage themselves behind servers in Taiwan.
The findings show China was the source of 28.2 % of global targeted attacks.
It was followed by Romania, with 21.1 %, presumed to be mostly attempts at commercial fraud.
The United States came third, followed by Taiwan and then Britain, with 12 % of attacks.
Symantec: Internet Security Treat Report Volume XV
NEWS Google says 1,100 communities are vying for its broadband network Friday, March 26, 2010
•••More than 1,100 communities across (and more than 194,000 responses from individuals) the United States have expressed their interests to be the test sites of Google Inc.’s ultra high-speed broadband networks, the U.S. Internet company said on Friday.
Google announced in February that it plans to test broadband networks in one or more trial locations in the United States, claiming that the networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans are using today.
The company has set March 26 as the deadline for local governments in the country to submit information on their interests to join the Google network trials and about existing facilities and resources in their communities.
Over 1,100 communities have responded by Friday morning, hours before the submission deadline, according to Google.
The enthusiasm by local governments to bring ultra high-speed broadband networks to their communities clearly showed that ” people across the country are hungry for better and faster Internet access,” Google noted in a blog posting.
“We’ve seen cities rename themselves, great YouTube videos, public rallies and hundreds of grassroots Facebook groups come to life, all with the goal of bringing ultra high-speed broadband to their communities,” Google said.
And that proved Google’s point: That Americans are clamoring for faster Internet access.
Antics to draw Google’s attention included the mayor of Duluth, Minn., who jumped into the icy waters of Lake Superior, and the mayor of Topeka, Kan., who renamed the city Google for the month of March. Rancho Cucamonga even got a Web makeover as Rancho Googlemonga. Closer to Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, folks in Palo Alto boogied to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” in front of City Hall.
“We’re not going to be able to build in every interested community,” said Google, which plans to reach up to 500,000 people with the experiment. “Wherever we decide to build, we hope to learn lessons that will help improve Internet access everywhere. After all, you shouldn’t have to jump into frozen lakes and shark tanks to get ultra high-speed broadband.”
The company said it will announce target community or communities of the network trials by the end of the year.
NEWS Victorinox launches secure data storage devices Friday, March 26, 2010
•••Available next month, Victorinox is releasing their new USB Drive Swiss Army Knives. Appropriately called the Victorinox Secure Pro, they will be available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models. Using Victorianox’s proprietary Schnuffi Platform Single Chip Technology, the drives are virtually un-hackable. As an extra security precaution, there’s also a fingerprint scanner. To make things difficult, there are actually 3 versions of this product. The one I mentioned above is the Secure Pro which has the USB drive, blade, scissors, nail file, and ballpoint pen. Where’d the toothpick go? The more exclusive one is called the Presentation Master Edition which adds remote Bluetooth access and a laser pointer. The final version is called the Flight-Safe Edition (either the Master or Secure Pro) and it comes without the blade, so you can get it through airport security and such. I would think you’d need to ditch the scissors and nail file too, effectively making it an entirely different product.
Founded in 1884, Victorinox Swiss Army is Your Companion for Life on the Road. Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc., awholly owned subsidiary of Victorinox, A.G., is the exclusive United States, Canadian and Caribbean marketer of Victorinox Swiss Army knives, forged and stamped cutlery, fragrances and LED lighting products; and Victorinox Swiss Army timepieces. It sells apparel throughout the world under the Victorinox trademark and has flagship retail stores in New York, London, Tokyo and Geneva. Under license from Victorinox A.G., the Company sublicenses the Victorinox trademark and the famous Victorinox Cross and Shield to selected manufacturers and distributors of fine products including Victorinox Travel Gear. The company Web site is located at http://www.swissarmy.com. Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc. is based in Monroe, CT. “Victorinox”, the famous Victorinox Cross and Shield, and “Swiss Army” are trademarks owned by Victorinox AG and its affiliates and are registered in many countries.
NEWS Google adds new security features to GMail Thursday, March 25, 2010
•••Yesterday Google has introduced a new Gmail alerts system to further protect users from hackers and scammers.
Should Google detect any suspicious activity happening with your Gmail account, you’ll now see a bright red warning below the search bar alerting you to the issue. You can then click the “Show details and preferences” link to view logs around your Gmail account’s most recent access points, and determine whether or not there’s a cause for alarm. You can also change your password from that window if need be.
The new security mechanism works at the IP level to automatically match IP addresses with broad geographic locations, with irregularities triggering the system to respond. So, “a login appearing to come from one country and occurring a few hours after a login from another country may trigger an alert.”
Right now the protective mechanism is available to individual Gmail users, but it should be rolled out to Google Apps customers in the future. It’s a smart idea and a necessary feature addition that we hope works to protect Gmail users from malicious individuals. • Source(s): Google – Pavni Diwanji, Engineering Director
NEWS Sprint launches first WiMax Android smartphone HTC EVO™ 4G Wednesday, March 24, 2010
•••Sprint and HTC Corporation today announced summer availability of the world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, HTC EVO™ 4G exclusively from Sprint. HTC EVO™ 4G delivers a multimedia experience at 4G speeds that is second to none, making it possible to download music, pictures, files, or videos in seconds – not minutes – and watch streaming video on the go with one of the largest pinch-to-zoom displays, at 4.3 inches, in the wireless industry. Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 27 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G1, giving HTC EVO™ 4G the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today.
“Sprint continues to lead the 4G revolution as we introduce HTC EVO™ 4G to give our customers an experience that is unlike anything available in wireless to date,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “Not only is this feature-rich device incredible on our Sprint 3G network, but Sprint 4G speeds will take mobile multimedia, including live video streaming, gaming and picture downloads, to a whole new level.”
Customers will be able to purchase HTC EVO™ 4G through all Sprint channels and through national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, this summer. Pricing will be announced at a later date. Pre-registration begins today at http://www.sprint.com/evo. A device beyond compare HTC EVO™ 4G delivers a robust list of features, including a 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor ensuring a smooth and quick user experience. With dual cameras – an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera – HTC EVO™ 4G unleashes the ability to create, stream and watch video that far surpasses expectations of what is possible on a phone today.
With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, HTC EVO™ 4G allows up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 4G experience. Users can easily share an Internet connection on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.
With integrated HD video capture and 4G speeds, HTC EVO™ 4G makes slow uploads and grainy video a thing of the past. Now, it is possible to post high-quality video to YouTube™ or Facebook, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik. After these videos have been captured, it is easy to share them on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (sold separately).
The custom Web browser is optimized for HTC EVO™ 4G’s large display and Sprint 4G speeds to deliver a full, no-compromise Internet experience. Adobe Flash technology ensures that rich Internet content, such as embedded video and animation, are displayed the way they are meant to be seen. Pinch-to-zoom and automatic text reflowing provide easy Web page views.
HTC EVO 4G features the newest version of the highly acclaimed HTC Sense user experience. Along with all of the HTC Sense features first introduced on HTC Hero™, HTC EVO™ 4G adds a number of new features, including Friend Stream, which aggregates multiple social communication channels including Facebook™ and Twitter™ into one organized flow of updates; a “Leap” thumbnail view to easily switch between home screen “panels;” the ability to download new, interactive widgets; and a “polite” ringer, which quiets the ringing phone once lifted up.
“HTC and Sprint have a strong history of working together to bring consumers technologies and advancements that make their lives easier,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. “We believe that the HTC EVO™ 4G represents the best of Sprint and the best of HTC working together to bring an unmatched device to the U.S. This combination of HTC and Sprint innovation will allow people to do even more while on the go, faster than ever on the Sprint 4G network.”
Experience Android at 4G HTC EVO™ 4G, the world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, features the latest iteration of the increasingly popular Android platform. Leveraging the Android 2.1 platform, HTC EVO™ 4G can deliver a wide array of useful new features:
Android 2.1 enables a new way to search with pictures instead of words. Google Goggles™ works with everything from books, DVDs and barcodes to landmarks, logos, artwork and even wine labels. A picture taken of the Golden Gate Bridge returns all of the information anyone would need to know about the structure. By just taking a picture of several restaurant options, HTC EVO™ 4G will provide restaurant reviews to ensure the best choice.
Text messaging and email composition feature built-in voice-to-text technology. By simply pressing a microphone button on the screen, messages can be composed by just speaking, making keeping in touch faster and easier than ever.
Through Android Market™, HTC EVO™ 4G users have access to thousands of useful applications, widgets and games to download and install on their phone, with many more to come.
In addition to today’s Android apps, the performance of which will be enhanced by 4G speed, application developers will be introducing new apps that take advantage of 4G power in new ways – games and communications tools and other apps that bring together video, presence and location simultaneously, and capabilities that haven’t yet been imagined. For example, an application developer might create an app that allows a customer to simultaneously watch a streaming sporting event while pulling down stats and conducting a video chat with a friend.
A Sprint 4G developer guide is available today from the Sprint ADP Web site http://developer.sprint.com. The Sprint 4G developer guide explains how to develop on an Android 2.1 handset and how to take advantage of 4G and unique hardware/software capabilities, including how to use a forward-facing camera in an app; how to use HDMI output; and how to build in network detection (3G, 4G or Wi-Fi) to optimize quality of data in an app. The Sprint 4G developer also will include sample apps and source code that highlight these features. It will supplement the Android 2.1 SDK. As a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance™, Sprint is actively engaged with the Android community. Sprint has employed an open Internet approach, and the Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.
“Sprint and HTC have come together to propel the Android platform into the 4G world with the introduction of HTC EVO™ 4G,” said Andy Rubin, vice president, mobile platforms at Google. “The Android platform was developed to give people unmatched mobile connectivity to the Internet. By combining this vision with the promise of Sprint’s first-to-market 4G technology, HTC EVO™ 4G makes accessing thousands of applications from Android Market, using Google™ services like Google Goggles, Google Earth™ and the all-new Gesture Search, or simply browsing the Web faster, easier and more enjoyable than ever before.”
Blazing trails with Sprint 4G
As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Today, Sprint 4G covers more than 30 million people and expects to have up to 120 million people covered by the end of 2010.
Sprint currently offers 4G service in 27 markets, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Antonio and Seattle. Following is a comprehensive list of markets by state where Sprint 4G is currently offered: Georgia – Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii – Honolulu, Maui; Idaho – Boise; Illinois – Chicago; Maryland – Baltimore; Nevada – Las Vegas; North Carolina – Charlotte, Greensboro, (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon – Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania – Philadelphia; Texas – Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Washington – Bellingham, Seattle. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
In 2010, Sprint expects to launch service in multiple markets, including but not limited to, Boston, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Sprint is harnessing the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. Sprint is the only national wireless carrier to offer 4G services on the Clearwire WiMAX network.
About Sprint Nextel Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
About HTC HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
NEWS Google’s withdrawal from China pushing itself into corner Wednesday, March 24, 2010
•••Google’s decision to stop censoring its Chinese search engine and redirect mainland users to its servers in Hong Kong was tantamount to pushing itself into a corner and ruining its image and interests, world media and experts say.
“If Google had hoped to rally rivals to its cause, it failed. If Google was planning to embarrass China by whipping up a global debate on Internet freedom, it failed,” the Financial Times wrote in an article published Monday.
China trade economist Derek Scissors of the U.S. Heritage Foundation called Google’s move to Hong Kong “pretty close to a complete exit” that will provoke Beijing and puts Google outside the firewall with regard to advertisers and other partners.
Russian newspaper Vedomosti said Google has completely burned all of its bridges in China behind it and is unlikely to ever return to the Chinese market.
Google, the world’s top search engine, held only an estimated 30 percent share of China’s search market in 2009, compared with home-grown rival Baidu Inc’s 60 percent. Official statistics put the number of netizens in China at 384 million by the end of 2009.
Michel Riguidel, head of the Department of Computer Science and Networks at Telecom Paris Tech, said all companies pay great attention to building their own images.
Google claimed that its image is based on freedom, information exchange and respecting human rights, but the fact is that it absorbs large amounts of personal information and does research on the information without getting agreements from web users, Riguidel said.
Izumi Harada, chief fellow of the Crisis and Risk Management Society of Japan, told Xinhua that there is no question that multinational companies should follow local laws while running their businesses in other countries.
Google has breached the commitment to observe Chinese laws and regulations that it made when entering China (four years ago), he said.
Jesse Wright, a leading expert of Institute Internet, told a Russian radio station that Google has been working in China since 2005 and knows the requirements of Chinese law.
“Compliance with the requirements of the Chinese was a condition of work in this market,” Wright said. “So, trying to force China to reconsider its own censorship requirements – be it Google or others – it seems to me untenable.”
Alexey Basov, CEO and co-founder of Begun, Russia’s largest contextual ad service, said if Google quits the Chinese market, it will be a major strategic loss for the company.
At about 3 a.m. Tuesday Beijing time, Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond made the “stop censoring” announcement in a blog post, saying “users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored searches in simplified Chinese.”
In reaction, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a routine media briefing that: “The Google case is just a business case and will not undermine China-U.S. relations unless someone politicizes the issue.” • Source(s): Xinhua News Agency (China)
NEWS Arguments over Google’s withdraw Wednesday, March 24, 2010
•••Google is also citing censorship in its withdrawal from the Chinese mainland market. Some netizens and experts say foreign companies should abide by the laws of the country.
Chinese Internet users and experts say abiding by the laws of the country is an established convention. They say all this applies to all companies, including Google.
A Chinese internet user said, “China has its own system and you have to abide by the laws in China if you want to do business in China. “
Shi Xiangsheng, Deputy Sec’y Gen., Internet Society of China, said, “The foreign Internet companies must promise to respect the local customs and laws when they start business in China. And it’s also the international convention.”
Google says another factor in the pull-out was attacks by hackers.
Shi said, “We are not quite clear about the hacker attack Google mentioned. But it did not appeal to the relevant regulator or ask the Chinese government to carry out investigations on the case. “
Some say it’s debatable that Google has completely withdrawn from China, as it transferred its search business to Hong Kong. • Source(s): CCTV (China)
The presentation was begun by head and co-founder Steve Jobs. “IPhone OS 4 – is the fourth major release of one of the most advanced mobile operating systems. There are more than 100 new features, including multitasking, unified inbox, a version of Reader” iBooks “to” iPhone “with access to iBookstore, – told Head of “Apple”.
Multitasking – one of the most anticipated features for the new “iPhone”: now all running applications (or rather, their icons) are visible at the bottom of the screen (both on 4 icons, but when you scroll through the entire list is given). To avoid “overheating” processor, services programs in this version will work in the background, for example, against the background of any other application will be transmitted audio stream, VoIP, Geolocation. In addition, in order not to drain the battery, inactive applications will go into sleep mode.
Icons on the screen smartphone in the new iPhone OS 4.0 can organize into folders, unified mailbox denotes the ability to store incoming messages from all mail accounts in one inbox. IBooks, which works on the tablet of the company, will now also implemented for the smartphone.
Separately, the head of the company told about a new advertising platform, “iAd”, which will allow third-party application developers to earn money on advertising.
But the full use of all the new features of the platform, users can only iPhone 3GS and iPod touch the third generation. All previous models will be stripped-down version.
Recall, on Saturday, April 4, began selling tablet iPad in the U.S.. During the first day, according to the company, has sold nearly 300 thousand devices.
That’s all! Pretty crazy update, actually. We’ll be filling out coverage throughout the day with more careful examinations of the new features. You can also check out Apple’s official 4.0 page if you like, or watch the keynote. (Apple Previews iPhone OS 4)
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