Saturday, April 21, 2012
'Revenge porn' website IsAnyoneUp.com closed by owner
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Friday, April 20, 2012
Microsoft quarterly profits beat expectations
Microsoft's profits in the three months to the end of March dropped slightly but the results still beat analysts' expectations after a surprise rise in sales of its Windows operating system.
The world's largest software firm made a net profit of $5.11bn (£3.2bn), compared with $5.23bn a year earlier.
Sales rose by 6% to $17.41bn.
Windows sales rose 4% against forecasts of a 4% decline, though sales at its entertainment division, which includes the Xbox console, fell 16%.
Its business division saw revenues increase 9% "reflecting the continued strength of Office 2010", the company said.
Brendan Barnicle, analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said the results looked good.
"Particularly good was the Windows business, which grew about 4%, more than PC industry growth. In the last few quarters, Windows has been growing less than PCs overall," he said.
"It's not clear yet what drove this change, but it could be that the negative impact on PCs from tablets has peaked. The Office business was particularly strong too, which is encouraging."
Microsoft shares rose 3% in after-hours trading in New York.
The company also noted that the results for the same quarter a year ago had been boosted by a $461m tax benefit.
Hitting back
Windows is facing competition from the growth of tablet computers such as Apple's iPad and mobile devices using Google's Android system.
However, Microsoft is hitting back with the release of Windows 8, an operating system for PCs and mobile devices.
Earlier this week Microsoft said this next operating system would come in three different types.
For those with Intel-compatible machines, the OS will be available in two versions - Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.
And for those with devices, largely tablets, powered by ARM-designed chips, there will be a Windows RT version.
"We're driving toward exciting launches across the entire company, while delivering strong financial results," said chief executive Steve Ballmer, announcing the financial results.
"With the upcoming release of new Windows 8 PCs and tablets, the next version of Office, and a wide array of products and services for the enterprise and consumers, we will be delivering exceptional value to all our customers in the year ahead."
Techno Nigeria
Intel has confirmed details of the first smartphone to be powered by one of its processors.
The XOLO X900, made by the Indian manufacturer Lava, will go on sale on 23 April priced at about 22,000 rupees (£265).
Lava has teamed up with Indian retail chain Croma to distribute the device across the country.
The move follows Intel's previous failed attempt to break into the smartphone market.
A tie-up with manufacturer LG in 2010 fell flat, with no models going into production.
Meanwhile, chips designed by British-based ARM and the American firm Qualcomm now dominate the market.
Details of Intel-powered smartphones made by Motorola Mobility and Lenovo are expected soon.
Hyper threading
Intel's tie-up with Motorola Mobility is seen as most significant as the company is in the process of being purchased by Google.
The Atom-based chip promises more efficient battery consumption, as well as Intel's own "hyper threading technology" allowing for enhanced multi-tasking.
The XOLO X900 - which features an 8-megapixel camera - will run initially on Android Gingerbread, Google's smartphone operating system.
This will later be upgraded, Intel said, to the next incarnation of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich.
Lava has emerged as one of India's fastest-growing companies since being founded two-and-a-half years ago.
"After our success in feature phones, with over 10 million happy customers in under three years, XOLO will be a differentiated player in the fast-growing smartphone segment," Lava's co-founder and director Vishal Sehgal said in a statement.
Techno Nigeria
Monday, April 16, 2012
Facebook supports Cispa cyber-security bill
Facebook says it is backing a new cyber-security bill due before US Congress later this month.
The HR 3523 Act would enable the government to access web users' private data on suspicion of a cyber threat.The act, dubbed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (Cispa), would also allow easier information-sharing between security agencies and private web firms.
Advocacy groups claim that it is aimed at file sharers rather than hackers.
First introduced on 30 November last year, the proposed law - which is due before Congress on 23 April - has been criticised by advocates of internet privacy and neutrality.
Facebook, AT&T, Intel, Verizon, and Microsoft are among some 800 firms who have reacted positively to the bill.
In a blog post, Facebook's vice-president of US public policy, Joel Kaplan, said Facebook would continue to safeguard personal information of its 845 million-plus users.
Cispa "would make it easier for Facebook and other companies to receive critical-threat data from the US government", stated Mr Kaplan.
"Importantly, HR 3523 would impose no new obligations on us to share data with anyone - and ensures that if we do share data about specific cyber threats, we are able to continue to safeguard our users' private information, just as we do today."
Privacy concerns
Organisations such as the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Sunlight Foundation
and Avaaz.org have all voiced their concerns about the extent to which
the government would be able to monitor private information.
The Sunlight Foundation's John Wonderlich wrote in a blog post
that Cispa "is terrible on transparency" and that the shared personal
data between firms and the government would be exempt from the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA)."Information that shouldn't be shared is already protected by law, through largely uncontroversial exemptions," wrote Mr Wonderlich.
"The FOIA is, in many ways, the fundamental safeguard for public oversight of government's activities. Cispa dismisses it entirely, for the core activities of the newly proposed powers under the bill."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement on its website that the language used in the act was too vague.
"The broad language around what constitutes a cyber-security threat leaves the door wide open for abuse," stated the organisation.
"For example, the bill defines 'cyber threat intelligence' and 'cyber-security purpose' to include 'theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.'
"It's a little piece of Sopa [the Stop Online Piracy Act] wrapped up in a bill that's supposedly designed to facilitate detection of and defence against cyber-security threats. The language is so vague that an ISP could use it to monitor communications of subscribers for potential infringement of intellectual property."
Sopa, along with the Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa), are two other bills being considered by members of the US Congress.
Techno Nigeria
Parents sue Apple over in-app game charges
Apple is being sued by parents who claim the iPhone-maker is unfairly profiting from in-app payments in games aimed at children.
Many games on the iOS platform are free to download but offer game add-ons, some of which cost nearly £70.The group said it was too easy for children to run up big bills without "authorisation of their parents".
Apple had called for the case to be dismissed, pointing out that in-app purchasing can now be disabled.
However, US District Judge Edward Davila said the hearing could now go ahead.
Apple's purchasing system allows users to enter their credit-card details once and then authorise future payments for apps and other items with just a password.
In a recent update to its iOS software, Apple added extra steps in the in-app purchasing process, including the requirement to enter an additional password to buy items within apps.
It is now also possible to turn the feature off entirely.
However, the group of parents, led by attorney Garen Meguerian, said children were still encouraged to buy items by the games' addictive nature, and parents might not be fully aware of the financial implications.
Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment on the case.
Other mobile platforms, such as Google's Android, also offer in-app purchasing functions.
Smurfberry Shop In a court filing first made in 2011, Mr Meguerian highlighted several titles which he believed were developed "strategically to induce purchases of Game Currency".
Among them was Smurfs' Village, developed by Capcom. While the game itself is free, in-app purchases available in the "Smurfberry Shop" range from £2.99 to £69.99.
A warning message in the game's description states that Smurfs' Village "charges real money for additional in-app content".
It is possible to play the game without spending money. However, progress is typically far slower for the player.
One review of the game states: "You really wont get anywhere with just the free stuff."
In-app payments have been the subject of scrutiny in the US.
Last year, the practice was investigated by the US Federal Trade
Commission which ruled developers must do more to warn parents about the
content of their games.'Difficult steps' In the UK, Niamh Bolton told the BBC she felt "physically sick" after learning her 10-year-old daughter had totted up a bill of more than £1,500 while playing Tap Pet Hotel.
The game, developed by San Francisco-based Pocket Gems, is part of a wider "Tap" series which was also referred to in Mr Meguerian's court filing.
Ms Bolton said the purchases, which were made before Apple added the in-app disabling feature, were made within two hours.
"It was more than our monthly mortgage repayment," she told the BBC.
"We didn't have that sort of spare cash in the bank account."
She was able to get the money refunded after contacting Apple customer services.
"The difficulty we had was contacting iTunes," she said.
"I had to go through a series of very difficult steps to send an email to them."
Techno Nigeria
China warned on web censorship plans
China's efforts to stifle dissent by controlling what people say online are doomed to fail, a renowned Chinese artist has said.
The warning was issued by Ai Weiwei in an article written for the UK's Guardian newspaper. China has recently introduced rules that seek to ensure that when people go online they use their real names.
Mr Ai said although the rules might delay the day government censorship failed, there was no doubt it would.
"In the long run, they (the government) must understand it's not possible for them to control the internet unless they shut it off - and they can't live with the consequences of that," he wrote.
Camera ban The rise of blogs, social media and electronic communication had given rise to new sense of freedom among Chinese people, he said.
The government may still put out news via officially backed channels, said Mr Ai, but the net meant that people did not just have to accept this view of the world.
Instead, even before the official version was printed or broadcast people have discussed it online and, in the process, were learning how to exercise their own judgement and rights.
This relative freedom to talk would give rise to bigger changes that the government would not be able to curb, said Mr Ai.
"The internet is uncontrollable. And if the internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win," he said.
Mr Ai's most recent brush with the Chinese authorities came earlier in April when he was told to turn off webcams he had set up throughout his house.
The cameras were installed, he said, as a way to encourage transparency.
In April 2011, Mr Ai was detained by the police in China for 81 days during a crackdown on political activists. He is now banned from leaving Beijing.
Techno Nigeria
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