Showing posts with label Snippets. Show all posts
WINDOWS 8.1
Leaked internal builds of the next Windows release, so far known by its codename "Blue", include code that restore the Start button (to trigger the Modern UI Start screen) but also allow users to boot directly into the Desktop environment. This would eliminate some of the criticism of Windows 8 and help encourage Windows XP and 7 users to upgrade. However, the move could sideline the Windows 8 Modern UI. Allowing users to completely ignore Modern UI would make the new Windows platform much less attractive to developers, resulting in a weaker selection of apps in the Windows Store. It isn't clear how exactly these features might be implemented. A public preview of the update, likely to be named Windows 8.1, is expected in late June.
Sales of Windows 8, both as a standalone product and preinstalled on new computers, have been weak since its launch in October 2012, thanks in part to slowing global demand for PCs and laptops.
ALSO SEE: GOOGLE HELPS YOU PLAN DEATH
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PIRATE BAY ALL LINKS ARCHIVE
The pirate Bay has published a 75 MB archive containing a copy of every single magnetic link indexed by it. The self-described "galaxy's most resilient bittorrent site" switched from hosting actual Torrents to text-based magnet links a year ago, allowing users to scrape all the essential information from the site's 2-million-plus entries into such a small file. While 75 MB gets you only file titles and Magnet links, an expanded 631 MB version of the archive includes comments and descriptions. The archive has been published to help users continue sharing files even if the site is disrupted or forced offline in the course of its various legal battles.
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GOOGLE PLAY STORE ALLOWS APPS THAT STEAL PERSONAL DATA
Malicious apps masquerading as system optimisers are getting through Google's security protocols. Two samples detected by McAfee called DroidCleaner and SuperClean claim to make your device faster by optimising settings and clearing caches. Both apps display fake progress bars while they steal SMSes, photos, contacts, files, GPS coordinates and your IMEI and phone number. They can also be used to allow attackers to execute commands remotely. More importantly, the malware can later be used to attempt to steal passwords by throwing up fake login pages on infected devices. The malware has been seen attempting to steal Dropbox and Google credentials, though other services could be targeted just as easily. Any user name and password typed into this page will be sent to the remote attacker while the user sees only an error message.
ALSO SEE: BOOST YOUR GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE
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HP TO TRY ANDROID
HP, which hasn't had a smartphone or tablet in its lineup since cancelling the entire WebOS family, has reportedly decided to re-enter the market with a line of Android devices. The company's first attempt will be a premium tablet powered by Nvidia's recently announced Tegra 4 CPU, with smartphones following next year. If the project does go ahead, HP will have to compete with a number of rivals, including Apple and Samsung, who have been selling tablets for years. No launch date or other specifications are known yet.
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ATTACKERS COULD TURN YOUR HOME AUTOMATION GADGETS INTO WEAPONS
A hacker who goes by the name Daniel B has demonstrated how a seemingly innocuous home automation product can be turned into potentially lethal weapon. The Belkin WeMo, an Internet-connected electric outlet was designed to allow users to turn devices on and off via their smartphones, and also to check whether dangerous appliances have been left on by accident. Daniel B has posted a video to YouTube detailing how he managed to gain root access to WeMo device and switch it on and off enough to cause appliances such as coffee makers to become dangerous. He postulate that malware could soon start scanning home networks for such devices and infect them, granting remote access to any attacker. Someone with malicious intent could then use the capability to start fires, or at least destroy electric appliances.
ALSO SEE: NOKIA PROMISES NOT TO SPY
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SAMSUNG TO SELL TIZEN PHONES
Samsung has confirmed that it will bring a phone running the Linux-based Tizen OS to market as early as the first quarter of 2013. Tizen is supported by Samsung and Intel, and could give the Korean giant a bargaining chip against Google in the future. Samsung is now the biggest smartphone maker in the world, thanks to its line of devices powered by Google's Android OS. The device's name, specifications as well as Tizen's exact features and capabilities are still unknown. Samsung has previously experimented with Bada and Windows Phone.
ALSO SEE: MEGAUPLOAD RETURNS WITH A BANG
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MEGAUPLOAD RETURNS WITH A BANG
Exactly a year after Megaupload was taken offline and its charismatic founder Kim Doctom arrested in a dramatic raid on his New Zealand mansion, a successor has launched. The new Mega.co.nz promises to frustrate authorities and potentially be impervious to snooping thanks to the use of end-to-end encryption designed to shield Mega itself from knowing what users have uploaded and thus being accused of facilitating piracy. Without being able to identify the content of files, Mega cannot be made to delete them or hand over user identities. Users receive an encryption key at the time of registration. If they wish to share uploaded files, the key must also be passed on. Any agency that wants to prove a file infringes copyright must therefore also have that key, after which Mega will comply with removals. Free members get 50 GB of storage, while paid plans go up to 30 Euros per month for 4TB.
ALSO SEE: VALVE UNVEILS STEAM BOX PROTOTYPES
ALSO SEE: VALVE UNVEILS STEAM BOX PROTOTYPES
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WINDOWS RT
The line between ARM-friendly Windows RT and X86-based Windows 8 just got a lot more blurry. One of RT's biggest limitations is its inability to run any desktop software coded for mainstream versions of Windows, and Microsoft's decision to restrict users to apps downloaded from the Windows Store which run only in the Modern UI. Apart from built-in tools such as Paint and Notepad, only a special version of MS Office can run on the desktop. Now, simple hack can allow anyone to run their own programs, although they still have to be ones that are specially compiled for Windows RT devices. Only a handful of open-source programs are available, and commercial vendors are unlikely to port their software without official sanction from Microsoft. Future updates will very likely prevent the hack from working in the future.
ALSO SEE STEAM BOX FOR LIVING ROOMS
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STEAM BOX FOR LIVING ROOMS
Game developer Valve has been incredibly successful with its Steam platform for game sales and distribution. The company is now planning to diversify into hardware, with a console device based on Linux and designed to be connected directly to a TV. Details are scarce, but the company has said that the hardware and software will come together in a tightly controlled environment, and innovative interfaces and controllers are in the works. Valve has recently hired staff specifically for its console project and has launched Big Picture, a mode designed to be used on large screens at a distance. The device will inevitably compete with Sony and Microsoft's next-gen fame consoles, both rumoured to launch in late 2013. Value has recently expresses doubts about the future of PC gaming thanks to Windows 8.
ALSO SEE ANDROID 5.0
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FASTER HDDs USING HELIUM GAS
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THIEF BREAKS INTO JOBS HOME
A witless thief broke into the home of Steve jobs family, making off with nearly $60,000 worth of gadgets, jewelry and personal items, but was nabbed a few days later. The house was unoccupied at the time, and the thief was seemingly unaware of whose house it was. He was caught after trying to use the stolen devices with his own iTunes account, and nearly everything has been recovered.
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INDIANS CLOUD AWARENESS
A survey sponsored by market intelligence firm Blueocean shows that Indians are largely unaware of the concept of cloud computing, although they do use several services without necessarily knowing their significance. Fewer than 10 percent of Indians surveyed were able to articulate what cloud computing is, compared to around 20 percent in the US and Germany, the other countries in which the survey was held. Awareness of the term "cloud computing" was around 40 percent, although adoption of services was as high as 80 percent. Security, privacy and ease of use were major concerns regarding the use of cloud services.
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UTORRENT USERS PROTEST ADS
uTorrent, the world's most popular Torrent client, came under intense criticism after announcing that it would introduce "sponsored" automatic downloads in future releases. The ads will now be opt-out, but uTorrent will continue to experiment with new revenue models to earn money from its 125 million active users, accordingly to a company statement. uTorrent is estimated to have a 75 percent market share across platforms. Furious users have threatened to abandon it for revert to much older versions.
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END FOR MSN MESSENGER
Microsoft has announced that Windows Live Messenger, which started life as MSN Messenger, will be folded into Skype. The company acquired Skype in 2011 but is only now starting to integrate it into Windows, Windows Phone, Office and its online services. The move consolidates two overlapping products, which should ultimately benefit users. Users can already merge their Skype contact lists with their Microsoft accounts and message contacts across the two clients.
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APPLE VS SAMSUNG
Samsung has refuted reports that it will increase the price of manufacturing Apple's custom-designed CPUs by as much as 20 percent. Samsung is the sole manufacturer of the ARM-based System-on-Chip processors that power its iPhones, iPads and iPods, putting it in a position of power against Apple, which is currently pursuing aggressive legal action in courts around the world for alleged copyright violations. Samsung has also historically been a major source of flash memory and LCD screens for Apple, which is a significant revenue source. Apple is reported to be exploring options such as TSMC for chip fabrication which might happen by 2014.
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RAZER MOUSE ONLINE ACTIVATION
Gamers have reacted strongly to news that Razer's most recent mice require buyers to be online at all the times and allow the driver software to collect personally identifiable information about them, or face being locked out of advanced features. Synapse 2.0, the current version of Razor's driver suite, require users to create an account in order to store their button profiles and custom configurations online. Refusal to do so will result in the functionality reducing to the level of any ordinary USB mouse.
Furthermore, the software requires constant internet connectivity, or functionality is reduced again. The issue came to light during Hurricane Sandy, which caused an outage of Razer's North American activation servers. The terms of service include statements such as "the Subscriber agrees that Razer may collect aggregate information, individual information, and personally identifiable information. Razer may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties," prompting comparisons to invasive spyware and DRM protection methods.
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OFFICE FOR IOS AND ANDROID
Multiple news sources report that Microsoft is in the final stages of developing a version of Office for ios devices which will be released in early 2013. It is unclear whether this would be a full-featured app or not. Pricing is also not known, but it is likely that at least basic document viewing functions will be allowed for free, while a subscription will be required to edit or use more advanced functions. Free Office 2013 web apps are already available to SkyDrive users and Microsoft is experimenting with ways to turn Office into a subscription based service. Further platform support, including apps for Android, would strengthen this position.
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CHRISTMAS MISSING :P OMG DECEMBER MISSING
Android 4.2 includes a baffling new bug: the interface for creating remainders and adding birthdays or other important dates to a contact is missing the entire month of December. Users can still manually type in the dates they need, but the simpler selection wheel, which is much more commonly used just skips the month. The bug is unlikely to affect the delivery of reminders or alerts for calender events in December, but is an unfortunate and confusing oversight nonetheless.
Google was quick to admit the flaw, and has addressed the issue with an update that brings devices to Android 4.2.1. After installing the update, which is provided free of charge to all Android 4,2 users, the People app will once again be able to access the twelfth month of the year.
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NO STEAM BOX ON THE HORIZON
Contrary to popular rumors, Valve has clarified that it has no plans to release hardware of its own, ie the so-called "Steam Box". Elaborate reports of the hardware design and even a certification program caused a flutter on the internet in early March. Given the wide reach of the Steam distribution platform, the device would have had the potential to become a common PC hardware platform for game developers to optimize titles for. Valve, however, has quashed all speculation, saying its sole focus was a new UI for people gaming on their TVs.
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BIT TORRENT GIVES NEW HEADACHE
BitTorrent, the distributed data transmission protocol that is nearly synonymous with piracy, has unveiled a new suite of services that might give copyright enforcers a whole new set of headaches. BitTorrent Torque is essentially the open up APIs for custom extensions such as video streaming and transcoding. The first Torque apps will let users turn Torrents into regular Web downloads, and control file transfers by simple dragging and dropping.
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