Computer Xpress Ltd

Hackers hit U.S. Department of Energy

2013-02-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

During a cyberattack on the agency's computers and servers, the personal data of employees and contractors is stolen, but, reportedly, no classified data is leaked.

The U.S. Department of Energy has confirmed that its computer systems were hacked into last month. According to The New York Times, the federal agency sent around an internal e-mail on Friday telling its employees about the cyberattack.

"The Department of Energy has just confirmed a recent cyber incident that occurred in mid-January which targeted the Headquarters' network and resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information," the e-mail said.

The agency said that it is working to figure out the "nature and scope of the incident" but that so far it believes "no classified data was compromised." It's unclear which divisions within the Department of Energy were attacked or who was behind the hack.

The Department of Energy is in charge of much of the country's vital infrastructure, such as energy production, nuclear reactor production, and radioactive waste disposal. It has troves of classified and sensitive data that if leaked could be detrimental to the country's security. According to Reuters, the most highly classified information is stored on networks that aren't connected to the Internet.

The head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently announced that she believes a wave of cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure is a serious possibility. Dubbing such an event a "cyber 9/11," Napolitano warned that cyberterrorists could take down the nation's power grid, water infrastructure, transportation networks, and financial networks.

While it doesn't seem like the January cyberattack on the Department of Energy compromised any data or infrastructure, it does show that hackers were able to breach the government's computer systems. In the e-mail, the agency said it is working to fortify itself against future attacks.

"Once the full nature and extent of this incident is known, the Department will implement a full remediation plan," the e-mail said. "The Department is also leading an aggressive effort to reduce the likelihood of these events occurring again. These efforts include leveraging the combined expertise and capabilities of the Department's Joint Cybersecurity Coordination Center to address this incident, increasing monitoring across all of the Department's networks and deploying specialized defense tools to protect sensitive assets."

Adobe mends security holes in Flash, Reader, Acrobat

2013-01-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

The software company releases an update designed to patch critical security holes in three of its products.

Security flaws in Adobe Flash, Reader, and Acrobat could have been the cause of computer crashes recently. The software company announced today that it sent out updates for these three programs, which are meant to patch security vulnerabilities that cause such system crashes.

"These updates address a vulnerability that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," the company wrote in a security bulletin today. "Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions."

Adobe does not give any further detail on the security vulnerabilities but does strongly recommend that users running all versions of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android update their programs. Similarly, the company warns that people using Adobe Acrobat and Reader 11.0.0 and earlier versions on Windows and Mac OS X, and Adobe Reader 9.x versions for Linux are at risk.

Adobe launched new versions of Reader and Acrobat in October. The new XI version of Reader beefed up the Protected Mode features of the program, while the latest Acrobat updated text and image editing.

Adobe Reader has been dinged in the past for security holes, requiring the company to push outone patch after another. It seems that despite the new version of the program, Adobe security patches are here to stay.

Touch will be 'mandatory' for next-gen Intel ultrabooks

2013-01-07T20:00:00.003-08:00

Get ready for the touch-based ultrabook. If Intel has its way, it will be standard on all future ultrabooks.

Acer touch convertible ultrabook shown today Intel's CES keynote: all future ultrabook designs
must be touch, Intel said today.

LAS VEGAS--Your next laptop may be touch whether you like it or not.

"To be an ultrabook with 4th generation core [processors], it will be required to have touch," said Kirk Skaugen, vice president of Intel's PC client group at the keynote today, referring to laptops based on Intel's upcoming "Haswell" chip.

That means all ultrabooks coming later this year -- likely in the summer timeframe -- will have touch, not as a feature, but as standard.

This will be a way for suppliers of Windows 8 ultrabooks to demonstrate that they have something that Apple doesn't. Though Apple has a commanding presence with touch phones and tablets, its MacBooks do not offer that capability.

And by mandating this on all future ultrabooks, the Intel camp of PC vendors have a better chance at countering the rise of the iPad, Google's Nexus tablets, and Amazon's Kindle Fire.

Many future ultrabook designs will undoubtedly be able to convert to standalone tablets or mechanically switch to a tablet mode.

And because Haswell will allow thinner designs, their physical dimensions will be less like a traditional laptop and more like a tablet.

Intel also wants to match the battery life of tablets with Haswell. "With the fourth-generation core we'll be able to delver the largest battery life increase, generation on generation, in the history of Intel corporation," Skaugen said.

Intel's next-gen processor will mean more Windows 8 touch laptops like HP's TouchSmart
Spectre XT.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Toshiba Qosmio X875 adds a new 1TB hybrid hard drive

2013-01-06T20:01:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS--One of the only 17-inch gaming laptops spotted at CES 2013, the Toshiba Qosmio X875 already stands out from the slim ultrabooks and convertibles we've seen. It goes another step by jumping onto the suddenly hot hybrid hard drive bandwagon, with a new 1TB drive.

Toshiba says the X875 features the "the industry’s first 1 terabyte 2.5-inch high-capacity hybrid hard drive," with "8GB of NAND flash memory as a cache in addition to a 1TB hard drive to support high-speed data throughput." Toshiba says the new drive, which was developed in-house, will reduce read/write times and application start-up times.

Besides the to-be-expected Intel Core i-series processors, the X875 will also feature Nvidia's high-end GeForce GTC 670M graphics card, with 3GB of discrete memory.

Qosmio laptops have always been a little on the extravagant-looking side, and this new model continues that tradition. Toshiba calls the design of the chassis its "sophisticated Black Widow styling," and it features a diamond-textured aluminum shell with a light-up Qosmio logo on the lid.

The 17.3-inch display runs at 1,920x1,080, and a Nividia-powered stereoscopic 3D version will be offered as an option. Harmon Kardon quad speakers are included.

The new Qosmio X875 will be available starting February 3, from $1,479.

Definitive rolls out slick Sound Cylinder Bluetooth speaker

2013-01-06T19:53:00.002-08:00

The $199 Sound Cylinder Bluetooth speaker is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled tablet or smartphone.

LAS VEGAS--Definitive Technology is known for its audiophile-grade loudspeakers. But now it's dipping into the mainstream market with its first Bluetooth speaker, the $199 Sound Cylinder, which is due to ship in the next few weeks.

The speaker has a built-in rechargeable battery that delivers 10 hours of battery life. I got an early look at the speaker, and what makes it unique is its ability to convert from a standalone speaker to a stand for just about any tablet.

The speaker's 'clip' system allows you to 'dock' a tablet (no, it doesn't charge tablets).

While the speaker is somewhat pricey at $199, it has some heft to it and seems well built-in, with a nice finish.

Definitive says, "The grilles are custom perforated aluminum while the 'kickstand' and clamp mechanism parts are injection-molded magnesium alloy, a costly high-tech material that is incredibly strong yet lightweight."

In the demo I got, the Sound Cylinder sounded good for its size and had minimal distortion at higher volumes. While Definitive touts stereo speakers to go along with a side-firing subwoofer, these little speakers just don't offer much in the way of stereo separation.

The back of the speaker has a flip-out stand.

Since this is a Bluetooth speaker you can stream audio to it wirelessly from any Bluetooth-enabled device. It also has an auxiliary input for connecting non-Bluetooth devices with an optional cable.

I look forward to comparing the Sound Cylinder with the other new compact Bluetooth speakers in this price class. There are plenty of them here at CES this year.

The speaker can stand alone by flipping it upside down.

How to customize modifier keys in OS X

2013-01-03T20:33:00.003-08:00

With OS X you can use a PC keyboard and still use the same familiar layout of modifier keys that is the default for Apple's systems.

Modifier keys for Mac systems are the Shift, Control, Option (Alt), Command, and Caps Lock keys. The commands triggered by combinations of these keys can greatly speed up how you use your computer, but it can slow you down again if you switch to a keyboard with an unfamiliar layout.

While most Mac keyboards have these keys in the same relative locations, so you don't have to change your typing habits, there are situations in which you may end up using something different, such as if you take a laptop to the office and plug in whatever keyboard you happen to find. For example, on PC keyboards the equivalents of the Option and Command keys (the Alt and Windows keys, respectively) are often swapped in location.

Granted, you can adapt to the changes, or make sure you use the same keyboard type everywhere you go, but an easy alternative in OS X is to customize the system's modifier keys.

Select a keyboard device and then make your adjustments to which modifier keys serve what modifier function. The Windows key will usually map to the OS X Command key by default.

To do this, open the Keyboard system preferences and click the button called "Modifier Keys..." at the lower right. A small window will pop up in which you can select the keyboard attached to your system and assign OS X modifier functions to keys the keyboard's layout. You may only need to swap the mapped Option and Command keys, but you can set others or disable a modifier key if desired.

Keep in mind that these settings are device-specific, so you'll need to set them again for each new keyboard.

Celebrity hacker gets 10 years prison for e-mail hack

2012-12-17T22:49:00.001-08:00

After stealing and posting private information from more than 50 celebrities -- including Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson, and Christina Aguilera -- Christopher Chaney is sentenced to prison.

The man targeted in "Operation Hackerazzi" is now behind bars.

Hacker Christopher Chaney was sentenced to 10 years in prison today by U.S. District Judge James Otero, according to the Associated Press. Chaney pled guilty to hacking into dozens of celebrities' e-mail accounts and posting their private information on the Internet. Among his victims were Mila Kunis, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera, Simone Harouche, and Renee Olstead.

"It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this," Otero said, according to the Associated Press. "These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."

Chaney, 35 of Jacksonville, Fla., was nabbed last year following an 11-month investigation that federal officials named "Operation Hackerazzi." After the bust, Chaney initially pled not guilty, but he later struck a plea deal and ended up agreeing to nine counts, including identity theft, wiretapping, and unauthorized access of protected computers. He also agreed to surrender his computers, external drives, and cell phone.

More than 50 victims from the entertainment industry were connected with the case, but only a handful agreed to be identified by name with the hope of garnering awareness about online information theft. Chaney admitted to hacking into their accounts, obtaining private e-mails and confidential documents, publicizing their personal information, and sending photos to two celebrity Web sites. Some of the photos of Johansson were nude photos she took privately to send to her then-husband Ryan Reynolds.

Chaney gained access to the accounts by using the "Forgot your password?" feature in their e-mail accounts. He then would reset the passwords by answering security questions from public information he found by searching the Web. According to his plea agreement, Chaney received thousands of e-mails from the victims' accounts.

According to the Associated Press, Otero heard a videotaped statement from Johansson, in which she said, "I have been truly humiliated and embarrassed. I find Christopher Chaney's actions to be perverted and reprehensible."

Chaney faced up to 60 years in prison and prosecutors fought to get him at least six. Otero ruled to give him ten years because he believed Chaney would not control his behavior and showed a "callous disregard" for his actions, according to the Associated Press. The judge also ruled that Chaney will get three years of supervised probation after he serves his time.

Dropbox for iOS updated with focus on photos

2012-12-17T01:23:00.002-08:00

Dropbox refreshes its iPhone app with an improved experience for uploading, storing, and sharing digital photos.

Forget spring cleaning. The winter holidays seem to be inspiring the impulse to tidy, with everyone sprucing up their mobile apps. Dropbox is the latest to release an update.

The cloud storage provider announced that it has revamped its iOS app, and the big focus here is on the photos experience.

Based on the new design and features, it looks like Dropbox is diving deeper into the photo-sharing side of its storage service.

The main addition is a new timeline of photos automatically uploaded from the user's mobile devices. The new viewing abilities look more glamorous on the iPad version of the app as it takes advantage of the larger display real estate for full-screen shots.

It's definitely not quite the same as sharing photos on Instagram, Facebook, or Flickr yet, but it will be interesting to watch where Dropbox is going with all of this. Maybe Dropbox's product designers summed up the evolving strategy best in a blog post on Friday by advertising Dropbox as "a one-stop shop for all your memories."

Other features included in this update are the ability to upload files directly to specific folders as well as a cleaner design with "barely there gradients" and "delicate lines."

The updated version of Dropbox for iOS is available to download for free now

iPad 4 impresses in speed tests

2012-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

The iPad is a speed demon. And that can grow on you.

iPad 4 (foreground) and iPad Mini.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

What the iPad 4 loses in style, it gains in performance versus the Mini.

As I wrote last week, the Mini's style, size, and weight make it hard to put down. But after upgrading from the third-generation iPad 4G/LTE model to the fourth-generation iPad with 4G/LTE and after a week of pretty constant use, I found the 4's performance compelling.

It feels fast and benchmarks fast. In most -- but not all -- cases, Web pages pop, apps load, and graphics render faster than the Mini.

And the 4's performance is supported by my own Geekbench 2 tests where the iPad 4 scored 1,791 and the Mini 764.

Geekbench's benchmark page also shows the iPad 4 beating the iPad 3 by a pretty wide margin.

A good chunk of the performance gain is coming from Apple's new A6X chip in the gen 4 iPad. An A6X-class chip should have been inside the Retina iPad from day one. The A5X in the iPad 3 was a place holder. That's how I see it at least.

For the iPad 4, 4G LTE speeds were solid too. In downtown Los Angeles over a period of two days, I tested speeds on the Verizon LTE network of both the iPad 4 and Mini.

On Friday, in areas between, and including, Beverly Hills area and Sherman Oaks, the results were unusual. Based onSpeedtest.net, the download speeds on the iPad 4 usually fell between 34 and 40Mbps, while the Mini registered downloads of between 14 and 18Mbps -- less than half the speed of the iPad 4. That was surprising.

Upload speed differences were not as great. They were usually in the range of 11 to 14Mbps for the iPad 4 and between 8 and 11Mbps for the Mini.

But on Saturday, the results in the same areas showed much more even -- and down-to-earth -- numbers: both devices registered download speeds of around 10Mbps and uploads of about 3Mbps.

I would like to know if any readers who have access to both devices are seeing iPad 4 and Mini LTE speeds that are similar -- or not, as in the first case.

And, by the way, the iPad 2 I tested in the same areas registered a paltry 1Mbps download. Though that's not as surprising, as the iPad 2 is 3G and uses older silicon.

Overall, I'm still on the fence. Though I was glued to the iPad Mini in the few days after I got it, the gen 4 iPad with the fast A6X chip and Retina display is also a keeper.

Some iMacs labeled 'Assembled in USA,' teardown shows

2012-12-03T03:56:00.002-08:00

Is Apple assembling some iMacs in the U.S.? That would be a departure from its custom of assembling virtually all products in Asia.

Some new iMacs, including the 21.5-inch iMac, are labeled as 'assembled in USA.'

(Credit: Apple)

Could Apple be assembling some new iMacs in the U.S.? A teardown of a new model introduced on Thursday shows an iMac with this marking.

A teardown by iFixit revealed markings on the back of an iMac that say, "Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in USA."

What isn't clear at this point is whether this is a new Apple policy to assemble new products in the U.S. or imprecise Apple labeling.

Refurbished products and some custom-ordered Apple products are modified in the U.S. -- but that's different than assembling a standard product at a factory.

9to5Mac believes that etching "assembled in USA" into the product's aluminum (see image below) indicates that this may be more than refurbished or custom-ordered units.

Indeed, it would be a departure from Apple's policy of making virtually all of its marquee products in Asia.

Apple has a long history of assembling products in the U.S. -- including assembly operations in California -- but that strategy ended many years ago when it off-shored assembly and manufacture of virtually all of its computer products to Asia.

The 'assembled in USA' marking on the back of an iMac that iFixit got.

(Credit: iFixit)

And this raises the question of, what does "assembled in USA" mean exactly? In an interview with CNET in October, Lenovo described its new assembly operations in North Carolina as follows:

Long conveyor belts, if you will, and kits moving from worker to worker with specific assembly tasks, starting with a basic chassis of the computer and plugging in the various components to the end of the line. Then there will be a testing station and then a boxing station. It's not unlike the assembly work that's done in China, though some of the facilities in China may do a little bit more work on subsystem assembly. It's the same model we use at our facility in Monterrey, Mexico, which supports North America, and the same model we use in Europe.

The "correct designation" under U.S law is "assembled in the U.S. with some foreign content," according to Lenovo.

Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Chrome gains a mobile foothold -- on Android only

2012-12-03T03:47:00.003-08:00

Google's browser surpassed 1 percent of Web usage in November for smartphones and tablets, Net Applications' data shows, but it's almost a no-show on iOS so far.

The mobile browser market is more volatile than the PC browser market, but Apple
consistently keeps the top spot. Chrome now accounts for more than 1 percent
of mobile browser usage, Net Applications has found.

Chrome has made a dent in the mobile browser market -- but only on Android so far.

Although Google released Chrome for iOS in June, the browser accounted for only 0.01 percent of browser usage on iOS in November, Net Applications' latest statistics show. On Android, it was 4.03 percent for the month, and in the mobile market overall, it reached 1.14 percent of usage.

In that mobile market, Apple's Safari continues to dominate with 61.5 percent of usage among people who visited the Web site that use Net Applications' analytics software. Android's unbranded browser has been rising through the second-place ranks, up to 26.1 percent of usage in November from 16.4 percent a year earlier.

Chrome is available only for Android devices running version 4.0 or later of the mobile operating system, which means most people can't use it even if they want to. On iOS, Chrome uses Apple's version of the WebKit rendering engine, as required by Apple rules, but wraps it with Google's user interface and other extras. Chrome is "exceptionally profitable" for Google because it drives search traffic and because Google doesn't have to share resulting ad revenue with other browser makers.

Google's mobile-browser growth has come at the expense of the former No. 2, Opera Mini, which has plunged from 20.1 percent in November 2011 ago to 7.0 percent in November 2012. Opera Mini is popular on older-generation phones, but the Norwegian company is struggling to transfer that usage to modern smartphones. It's still ahead of Firefox, which doesn't even show in Net Applications' statistics, though Mozilla has begun pushing hard for influence in the mobile market.

Microsoft's IE leads the desktop browser market, with Chrome and Firefox jockeying for
second place.

Mobile browsing -- that done with smartphones and tablets -- now accounts for 10.4 percent of all browser usage. On personal computers, which was responsible for 89.3 percent of browser usage in November, the market is much more stable.

Here, Internet Explorer maintained its lead with 54.8 percent of usage. Second-place Firefox reclaimed a bit of lost ground lost in October to reach 20.4 percent in November. Chrome dropped to 17.2 percent; Safari and Opera were mostly level at 5.3 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Mobile browser usage has surpassed a tenth of all browsing, according to Net Applications

How to take a remote screenshot in OS X

2012-11-21T21:11:00.002-08:00

There are several options for taking remote screenshots and specifying what to take a remote screenshot of in OS X.

Taking a screenshot in OS X is a popular option for capturing activity on your computer, whether for communicating instructions to people or documenting events that are happening on your system. Usually screenshots are taken when sitting at the local system, but if needed you can also do so remotely by several different means.

The easiest way to take a remote screenshot is by using the Screen Sharing service in OS X. By enabling this in the Sharing system preferences and then connecting to the remote system to view its screen, you are provided a couple of ways to take a screenshot.

Since through Screen Sharing you are virtually placed in front of the remote machine, the first option is to use the standard screenshot hotkeys such as Shift-Command-3 to invoke the screenshot function on the remote system. By doing this, you can take a screenshot as if you were sitting in front of it, and then be able to upload the captured image to the location of your choice or otherwise manage it.

The second approach is to use the Screen Sharing application's ability to capture a screenshot. To do this, when you have the remote desktop session established, go to the Connection menu on your current computer and choose "Save Screen Capture As" to save the image in the location of your choice. You can also switch to the Finder or another application, then invoke screenshot hotkeys locally to take a picture of the Screen Sharing application window; however, this will also capture window elements such as the toolbar.

Unfortunately, when connected to the Screen Sharing service, your system will interact somewhat with the remote one, which may be detected by anyone using the remote system. By invoking screenshot commands on the system, you will create visible files on the current user's desktop, or if you move your mouse cursor or type a key, the remote system will pick up these inputs.

This second approach has the benefit of being less intrusive, so if someone else is in front of the remote computer, you can quickly display the screen and snap a shot of its display without disrupting their workflow.

Another less-intrusive approach to taking screenshots on a remote system is to use the "screencapture" command in an established SSH connection. To do so, simply type "screencapture FILE" where FILE is the full path to the image file to be saved. The image will be of the current user's window server session, so whatever is being displayed for the account you're logged into will be captured in the screenshot.

Unfortunately, the use of "screencapture" through an SSH session will work only if the current user has an active window session running. Therefore, you will not be able to take a screenshot with this command unless the account is logged in locally on the system.

Additionally, if your account is active on the second system but another account is also being used, then while you can take a screenshot, it will be of the window server session for your user account only. This means that even though another user may be logged on and using the system, you will only take a screenshot of the windows and desktop of your account.

These restrictions result in some limitations from the default use of the screencapture command, such as the inability to take screenshots of another account's activity when they are using the system, and the inability to take screenshots of the log-in window. However, despite this default behavior you can take a screenshot of any output the system is currently displaying by running the screencapture command under the root account. To do so, in your SSH connection run "sudo screencapture FILE" and you will save the captured image of the current display output, be it another account or the log-in window.

Apple turns iTunes up to 11: Software at a crossroads

2012-11-21T20:58:00.003-08:00

Apple's next major version of iTunes is due out soon, but not with the feature that can help fend off competitors.

Twelve years ago Apple was lagging.

Consumers with PCs were ripping music to their hard drives and creating mixes. They were even taking those mixes and burning them onto CDs for listening to in the car, or on the go. The same experience could not be had easily on a Mac.

Apple's solution was iTunes. A piece of software that promised to do all those things, but with more simplicity than rivals, and only on a Mac.

iTunes quickly became a case study in the benefits of tightly integrated hardware and software. You had to own a Mac to use it, a tie that became even stronger with the addition of the iPod. The slick MP3 player, which would rocket Apple into incredible growth and popularity as a consumer brand, relied on iTunes to bring it to life out of the box, and keep it alive with content.

Today things could not be more different. The CD is nearly dead. Instead people get their music whenever they want, and wherever they are. This happens on paid streaming services from rivals, as well as through Apple's own paid Match service, which stores copies in the cloud, and lets users re-download them any time.

What's more, Apple's portable devices, which have since stretched from the iPod to the iPhone and iPad, can all be set up and used without even touching iTunes the desktop software. As a result, iTunes is no longer the hub, something that's given the software a bit of an identity crisis.

The next version of iTunes, which Apple says will be out by the end of the month for both Mac and Windows, represents the latest step to address some of these changes in the way people store and use their content on computers. It's more deeply tied into Apple's media store, as well as a user's music collection that can now be backed up and stored indefinitely in Apple's cloud as part of a paid subscription service. Apple's even redesigned its player to put many of the commonly used features in a widget that can be used even when you're doing something outside of iTunes.

iTunes 11's new mini player lets you access numerous iTunes features without keeping the full app open.

(Credit: Apple)

All these things are likely to be welcome additions for longtime users, but the fact remains that the software now plays a less important role in the way people are finding, purchasing, and ingesting content.

Consumers have bought more than 20 billion songs from Apple during the past nine years, but where that's happening has changed dramatically. According to Apple, two-thirds of iTunes downloads now come from iOS devices, as opposed to desktops. That statistic, mentioned by the company at the unveiling of iTunes 11 in September, is more impressive when you consider that iOS devices have only been in existence since the iPhone in mid-2007, a little more than four years after Apple added its store to the desktop software in early 2003.

For its part, the experience of iTunes on the desktop versus mobile devices is a tale of two ideologies. On the desktop everything goes through iTunes. If you want to find and download an app, audiobook, podcast, music album, TV show, movie, or even to rearrange your app icons on an attached iOS device -- you can do it through the software. On the iOS device itself, many of those same things are siloed into their own apps. iTunes there is just a store, which puts the content you buy into different app buckets.

Apple has shown little interest in attempting to consolidate all this, and has instead proceeded to break out things like finding, downloading, and listening to podcasts into its own app -- something that used to work from right within iTunes on iOS. But that's not the real issue.

Even with a redesign there looms a threat at the business behind the software. iTunes faces fiercer competition from upstarts that have focused squarely on music on demand. Services like Spotify and RDIO aim to tempt users away from maintaining and storing a library of their own music, instead offering a way to stream anything and everything both on the computer and through apps for portable devices. There's also Google's YouTube, which might sound a bit funny in the same breath as music streaming services, but it's filled to the brim with music tracks that many in the record industry say are cannibalizing demand for Apple's downloads.

While the jury remains out on whether such businesses cannot just exist but also thrive in the long term, they're proof that the way people find and discover music continues to change. Apple has fought back by pursuing exclusivity. You can now buy specially mastered music collections and extra content that comes bundled into music albums. Apple has even dabbled in offering previews of entire albums that can be streamed through the software.

Adding to that are streaming radio services like Pandora, which recently pulled in a reported 27 percent year-over-year increase in audience, according to a study by the NPD Group. That same report suggested that listeners were tuning into products like Pandora and other streamers, leading to a 21-point year-over-year drop in playing music files off portable devices.

The next step is a much-rumored streaming radio product that will rival Pandora and other such services, however it's not a part of iTunes 11 just yet. What's clear is that even when it arrives, you have to believe that there will be few advantages to using it on a computer versus mobile, once again leaving Apple's desktop music product in a lurch.

Analysts turn negative on Windows 8 prospects

2012-11-19T22:37:00.001-08:00

Windows 8 gets little love from analysts. They cite a mix of factors including a confusing interface and confused positioning of Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Is Windows 8 off to an unusually rough start?

Windows 8 got pummeled today by analysts, who cited it as a major factor in tepid PC growth.

The launch of a new Microsoft operating system rarely, if ever, goes smoothly. But Windows 8is having an especially bumpy takeoff.

The first reason Deutsche Bank listed today for cutting its PC estimates this quarter was a "lackluster initial uptake of Windows 8," in a research note from analyst Chris Whitmore.

After citing the impact of amorphous factors like "macro weakness" and the "fiscal cliff," Whitmore continues.

As in past cycles we expect the introduction of a new Microsoft OS to spur an increase in PC demand. However...we believe Win8 will have a more muted impact than prior cycles for a several reasons: 1) Win8 reviews are mixed due to a confusing UI; 2) there is a lack of Enterprise interest in Window 8; 3) tablet form factor complicates positioning (Win8 vs. Windows RT), 4) continued substitution of PCs by iPads/tablets 4).

Windows 8's "confusing UI", aka user interface, is becoming a theme for analysts. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen said essentially the same thing today in a report.

And Topeka Capital Markets chimed in, sayingWindows 8 orders have been weak.

"Much lower than...PC makers originally expected a few months ago," according to Topeka analyst Brian White.

Computerworld, which has tracked usage patterns of Windows 8 in the months leading up to, and including, the launch, found that the new operating system "is being run by less than a fifth as many people as ran Windows 7 in the same months before its debut."

YouTube makes it easier to link to Google+

2012-11-19T22:33:00.002-08:00

The video service now lets users keep their anonymous names while still connecting to a Google+ account. In fact, users can even change their Google+ name to match their YouTube channel.

YouTube users no longer have to change their anonymous name to link to a Google+ account.

(Credit: YouTube)

YouTube began gently prodding all users operating under nicknames like cutepuppies99 and origamiboys1981 to start using their real names last July. It did this by urging them to hook their Google Plus profiles up with their YouTube channel and therefore, by default, they'd have to use their real names.

Now, the video service is letting users keep their anonymous name but is still giving them the option of linking to their Google+ page. It's even giving people the option of changing their Google+ name to match their YouTube channel identity.

"While using a full name from a Google+ profile might work well for a creator who wants to build their brand as an individual, this simply doesn't work if you don't want a full name on your channel," YouTube's David Boyle wrote in a blog post today. "If you run a channel with a name like BlueXephos or VlogBrothers, you should create a Google+ page (as opposed to a profile) with that name."

It's unclear why YouTube had a change of heart. It could be because people weren't linking their Google+ accounts to YouTube or maybe the tech giant received user requests for this option.

The integration of Google+ and YouTube has been taking place over the last year, and while some users must appreciate it, others have gotten annoyed. In May, actor Wil Wheatonranted about Google "forcing" its social network on everyone when he tried to like a video on YouTube and instead got a prompt to join Google+.

According to Boyle, linking the two accounts helps users build their audience and brand. "If you unify your YouTube identity with Google+, it will be easier for your audience to find and connect with you on YouTube, Google, and across the web, and it will help you build your brand across all of Google's products," he wrote.

The new YouTube and Google+ identity options will roll out within the next few weeks.

Facebook gives automatic Photo Syncing on iOS a trial run

2012-11-19T22:29:00.002-08:00

The social network begins quietly testing a feature on a small group of users that automatically uploads snapped images from an iOS device to a private folder on the users' profile.

Facebook may bring Photo Syncing to iOS.

(Credit: Facebook)

Some iOS Facebook mobile users may have noticed something different today -- the ability to automatically sync their photos from their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to the social network. According to TechCrunch, Facebook's Photo Syncing is currently being tested on iOS.

The feature, which automatically uploads images that users snap with their devices, is being given a trial run for a small number of users. These users should be able to take a photo and Facebook's Photo Syncing feature will automatically send the image to a private folder in the user's account. Those photos can then be removed, kept private, or shared publicly.

Photo Syncing isn't quite a secret. Facebook currently has a page on its Web site that describes the feature in detail and how it works. To get it up and running, according to Facebook, users must have the latest version of the social network's app and click the "Sync" option at the bottom of the Photos menu. A total of 2GB worth of photos can be stored from mobile devices.

Facebook also began quietly testing the feature for Android devices in September.

It's not clear how many iOS users have been able to use Facebook's Photo Syncing, but according to TechCrunch it's most likely a small group.

Four YouTube players square off for a spot on your iPad

2012-11-19T01:53:00.001-08:00

Find out which app is the best for watching YouTube on your iPad and which app lets you download videos.

When iOS 6 was released two months ago, the native YouTube app went away. Google has since released a YouTube app for the iPhone, but it has yet to release a YouTube player optimized for the iPad.

I have taken a look at a number of third-party YouTube apps -- Jasmine, Video Tube, YouPlayer, and vTube -- for the iPad so you don't have to. Let's do a quick Reviews breakdown for each to determine our winner.

Jasmine
The good: Jasmine lets you sign into your account and comment on videos, create playlists, and play audio in the background. And its most recent update greatly reduces the incidence of restricted videos not playing. Lastly, it's free and ad-free, the only app of the bunch here that can make that claim.

The bad: It's less efficient to browse one column of thumbnails instead of a grid of thumbnails, if that's how you like to peruse YouTube's offerings.

The bottom line: Jasmine boasts a slick interface and is packed with features, making it my pick for the best YouTube player for the iPad.

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Video Tube
The good: Video Tube is the only YouTube app I've encountered that lets you download videos to your iPad to view offline.

The bad: Other than the ability to download videos, Video Tube does not offer any compelling features; it doesn't even let you sign in to your YouTube account. It also costs a relatively steep $2.99 to get rid of the ads.

The bottom line: If you have the need to download YouTube videos to your iPad, Video Tube is the only game in town (that I've found, anyway). If you are interested in only playing videos, Jasmine is the better option.

YouPlayer
The good: YouPlayer lets you sign in to your account so you can access your subscriptions. You can also see a history of the videos you watched, mark videos as favorites, and subscribe to channels.

The bad: Although you can sign in to your account, you can't comment on videos (you can, however, read comments). You can't create playlists or listen to audio in the background. It costs 99 cents to remove the ads.

The bottom line: It's lacking in the features department, but if you are looking for a simple yet effective YouTube player for the iPad, YouPlayer might hold some appeal.

vTube
The good: [Crickets]

The bad: You can neither make a comment nor read other comments. You can't subscribe, add to favorites, or create playlists. It also costs 99 cents to get rid of the ads.

The bottom line: There are better YouTube players for the iPad than vTube.

Apple ending Messages Beta on December 14

2012-11-18T20:04:00.001-08:00

Apple's end of its beta program means Lion users will have to upgrade to continue using the service.

Apple will be ending its beta program on December 14 for testing its new Messages service that is part of OS X Mountain Lion and iOS.

In releases of OS X prior to Mountain Lion, Apple included its iChat instant messaging program that consolidated numerous messaging services such as Jabber, AIM, and Yahoo chat into one interface; however, this did not integrate with Apple's own iMessage and FaceTime services that it included in the iPhone as alternatives to SMS messaging.

To tackle this gap, Apple released Messages Beta for OS X in February as part of the Mountain Lion developer preview to help test the service. While the service was included with the developer preview, Apple also made a beta program available for Lion, which a number of users adopted and have been using since; however, Apple has announced in recent emails to users that support for this program will end on Friday, December 14.

Dear User,

The Messages Beta program for Lion will end on Friday, December 14, 2012. We hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to preview Messages.

If you'd like to continue using Messages, upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion from the MacApp Store. Messages is one of many great new apps and features built right into OS X Mountain Lion. Learn More.

Thank you for your participation in the Messages Beta program.

This announcement is not the first indication of Apple's impending end of the beta program for Lion. At the annual Developer Conference in June, Apple withdrew the download of Messages for Lion from its Web site, a month before the release of OS X Mountain Lion.

With this latest development, Apple will only be supporting Messages in OS X Mountain Lion or later, and those that are still running Lion will see a halt in the service. This does not mean that the program will not continue to run and support alternative services like AIM and Yahoo chat, but will not work to contact iPhone and OS X users using the iMessage protocol.

If you are a Lion user and would like to continue using Messages, then you will need to upgrade to Mountain Lion. Luckily this is only a $20 purchase through the Mac App Store; however, it does put a few users in a bit of a tight area since not all systems that run Lion and the Messages Beta program can be upgraded to Mountain Lion. Unfortunately in these situations, while the Messages program may continue to open, users will have to resort to other messaging protocols to send messages.

Acer C7 Chromebook: The $199 special

2012-11-15T02:57:00.001-08:00

(Credit: Acer)

In order for Chromebooks to become the new Netbooks, they need to be priced as such. It looks like things are headed that way, as the new Acer C7 Chromebook suggests: at $199, it’s the cheapest Chromebook ever made, and matches the Nexus 7 tablet for affordability.

Samsung’s recent $249 Chromebook was a lot more affordable than the more expensiveSamsung Chromebook 550 released earlier this year, and Acer’s newly announced $199 C7 takes the price down another $50. Like Samsung’s Chromebook, the Acer C7 has an 11.6-inch 1,366x768 display. At 3.05 pounds, this inch-thin mini-laptop won’t feel as light or as thin as tablet, or Samsung's Chromebooks: it seems to match the size of many of Acer’s previous Netbooks.

(Credit: Acer)

Chromebooks, in case you haven’t been briefed, are laptop-like devices running the browser-based Chrome OS operating system, running apps from the Chrome Web Store. They’re capable of working offline, but aren’t really that versatile at it: really, the biggest benefit of a Chromebook is its strength in Web browsing, and its instant-on quick-access design. The Acer C7 looks like a little laptop from the outside, but its bootup time is more like a speedy ultrabook: according to Acer, 18 seconds, plus a very fast wake-from-sleep.

(Credit: Acer)

Under the hood of the Acer C7 is a 1.10GHz Intel Celeron 847 processor and 2GB of RAM, but storage nuts will appreciate a roomy 320GB standard hard drive, replacing the 16GB SSD storage on Samsung’s Chromebooks. Jury’s still out on whether that means some data access will end up feeling slower, but it boils down to a lot more onboard space for offline music, documents, or imported photos and movies -- and there’s still an SD card slot.

Three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, an Ethernet port and even a VGA port, plus that SD card slot, offer a good set of basic connectivity, although there doesn't seem to be Bluetooth, and there's no 3G wireless -- just 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. There's also a 1.3 megapixel Webcam.

The biggest downside of the C7 seems to be its battery life: according to Acer, only 3.5 hours. That's significantly less than Samsung's Chromebooks, and feels like a deal breaker for anyone going on long trips. Tablets and many laptops easily top that number in their sleep.

The question is, is the trade-off of using a nontraditional operating system worth the price? In this case, it’s less expensive than most laptops and even tablets, Netbooks included. As added incentive, just like the Samsung Chromebook, 100GB of Google Drive cloud storage is included for two years, along with 12 free passes for GoGo in-flight Wi-Fi service. Those two perks alone nearly subsidize the Acer C7. That could make this an extremely attractive proposition for light computing and Web use, provided you can live with foreshortened battery life. Stay tuned for a future review.

Stats don't lie? Surface single most popular Windows 8 device

2012-11-15T02:51:00.001-08:00

Microsoft's tablet is the most popular Windows 8 device -- at least according to numbers cited by a Windows ad-serving business.

Microsoft Surface RT tablet (L) and coming Surface Windows 8 Pro.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft's Surface RT tablet is the most popular single Windows 8/RT device, according to ad-based statistics.

"Surface is already the most popular single device running Windows 8/RT with 11 percent of the overall 'market,'" according to AdDuplex, a Windows ad-serving business.

While hard numbers for Microsoft's tablet are still a mystery, analysts have indicated that sales at Microsoft stores were relatively strong, at least initially.

And online, the $499 model was sold out for about a week.

Earlier this week, however, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seemed to temper sales expectationswhen he said that Microsoft's strategy for sales has been "modest," which referred to the limited sales channel for the device. Surface is only sold at a few dozen Microsoft stores and on Microsoft's online store.

Looking at other devices, the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion g6 laptop was a distant second with 2 percent, though other HP laptop models showed up in the data, giving it a total of about five percent of the models that registered on the chart, according to the AdDuplex's numbers.

And Windows Phone devices? Nokia's Lumia 710 was No. 1 with 22 percent. Other Lumia phones, like the Lumia 800, took the largest chunk of the remaining share.

And HP was the largest brand among Windows 8/RT devices, with 17 percent. Microsoft was second with 11 percent (cited above), Dell was third with 10 percent, and Acer fourth with 9 percent.

The Windows Phone 7.10 operating system dominated with 96 percent, while the just-announced Windows Phone 8 had four percent.

How to share reminders in OS X

2012-11-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

Sharing deadlines with people is easy using Apple's Reminders app.

In OS X Mountain Lion, Apple included a few of its iOS applications, one of which is the Reminders app for setting up and organizing to-do lists. Reminders used to be part of Apple's iCal feature, but has migrated to a separate app that interfaces with the Calendar for all your Apple devices and with Apple's iCloud service. This unified setup not only makes sharing reminders between devices easy, but also offers a platform for sharing reminders between different iCloud users.

While a little redundant with standard calendar events, reminders are convenient alternatives since they are maintained in relevant lists and do not allocate a section of time for the event to take place. In addition, unlike events, reminders offer a notice in which the reminder will turn red when its due date has expired.

Hover your mouse to the left of the list name and click the share button that appears, followed by adding various contacts to share the list with.

Not only are reminders convenient for an individual, but they can also be shared among different people, which can be beneficial for organizing collaborative projects. Unfortunately you cannot share individual reminders with people, but you can set up a shared list that will automatically sync between people's iCloud accounts.

Sharing a reminder list
The process for sharing a reminder list is relatively simple.

Open Reminders and create or select your list to be shared.
Hover your mouse to the right of the list's name and a small Sharing icon will appear.
Click the icon and add a contact's name or e-mail.
Click Done and wait for the reminders to sync.

Recipients will get an invitation similar to this in their e-mail.

On the other end, the person receiving the invitation will get an e-mail with a link to iCloud (they will be required to create an Apple ID and an iCloud account to do this). If they have multiple devices linked to their iCloud account, then the reminders will be automatically synchronized with all of them.

While the Reminders application in Mountain Lion makes this relatively easy to set up from within OS X, if you have a prior version of OS X, then you will need to use the iCloud Web interface or an iOS device to set up the shared list.

Protect yourself from social-network malware (video)

2012-11-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Forget e-mail spam. Online miscreants are now all over popular social-media sites, and they're out to steal your identity.

First there was e-mail spam clogging up your in-box. Now there's social malware making its way into your Facebook newsfeed.

If you've ever seen a spammy message from a friend promising a "Free iPad" or "Free" airline tickets, chances are it's socware (pronounced "sock ware") -- a phrase coined by engineering professors and graduate students at the University of California, Riverside, in a new study.

Their study analyzed 12,000 users of MyPageKeeper, a free app they developed to identify suspicious posts and help protect Facebook users from them. Of that sample (and those users' 2.4 million collective friends), just about half were exposed to socware.

Clicking on a link in a post like this could lead you to an external Web site or perhaps another Facebook page. You may be asked to fill out forms where you include your birthday and your address and even your credit card information.

"Some hackers may ask you to fill out a survey. And it's the con artists who make money from this," says Harsha Madhyastha, a professor of computer science and engineering and one of the authors of the study.

It's a classic case of identity theft. And there are other types of scams out there as well -- relatively easy to set up, one imagines, because spammers simply create fake Facebook pages. Then all they need to do is compromise a few users, and the viral nature of social networks just takes over as users spread spam to each other.

Facebook has estimated there are about 83 million fake pages on the site; a mixture of innocent and malicious accounts.

The best way to protect yourself? Use common sense, and be judicious about what links you click. Stay away from the ones in posts that contain red-flag words and phrases like "free," "wow," and "OMG." And, of course, be superparanoid about offering up your credit card number. (You can also read more about the MyPageKeeper app here, and see if you think it's for you.)

Also: don't drop your guard.

"At the end of the day, you're seeing a post shared by one of your 'friends' on Facebook or Twitter," Madhyastha says. "How does a normal user distinguish between good and bad posts? It's going to be hard for users to make this distinction."

E-mailed malware disguised as group coupon offers on the rise

2012-11-13T19:03:00.000-08:00

Spammers take advantage of the rising popularity of e-mailed advertisements by mimicking them and attaching viruses.

Be sure to double check that Groupon you received in your e-mail -- spammers are using the popularity of e-mailed advertisements for group discount deals to send more malware.

The rise of malware through fake e-mail advertisements and notifications are on the rise, according to a study released today by security firm Kaspersky Lab.

"They are primarily doing so by sending out malicious e-mails designed to look like official notifications. Kaspersky Lab is seeing more and more malicious spam designed to look like coupon service notifications," the report said.

The firm said it also noted these coupon spam mail in its spring report but has found that the trend is increasing. Instead of attaching viruses as files to these types of e-mails, spammers are now adding malicious links. Ads mimicking Groupon seem to be most prevalent, the firm said.

"Kaspersky Lab experts expected to see the appearance of this type of spam since coupons are very popular among Internet users and they trust coupon services," the study said. "An e-mail from a coupon service is an ideal disguise for malicious users."

In July, the firm found an e-mail that looked like a notification for a new promotion for Groupon, complete with links to the Groupon Web site. It included an attached ZIP file named Gift coupon.exe. This executable file, a file that can run an application on your computer, contained a Trojan malware program.

Kaspersky Lab is now starting to see that many of these fake advertisements no longer have attachments -- they have malicious links instead.

Here's an image of spam that lured users in by using the Amazon name and adding giveaways:

Spam posing as an Amazon Local deals giveaway.

(Credit: Kaspersky Lab)

To avoid being duped, users should remember that coupon services never include attachments in their e-mails, and users should double check if a seemingly legitimate e-mail is actually from the service it is claiming to be. You can check this by looking at the sender name, or hovering your mouse over the links to get a preview of what URLs they're linking to.

Other types of popular spammy e-mail disguised as notifications included fake letters from hosting services, banking systems, social networks, online stores, and hotel confirmations. General spam currently makes up 71.5 percent of e-mails, with e-mails containing malicious attachments like the fake Groupon ones accounting for 3.9 percent of e-mails, according to Kaspersky Lab.

Thanks to the election, spammers also favored using President Barack Obama's name in e-mails, along with the name of his wife, Michelle Obama. The First Lady's name was actually used to add a presidential twist to the Nigerian scammers scheme. The e-mailer claimed to be Michele Obama sitting on a pile of cash at the White House and promised the recipient millions of dollars if they would just reply with their addresses, telephone numbers, and $240.

To see more examples of scams, click here. It's a real link to the report, but you might want to hover your mouse over it just in case.

Tackle a Mac's name changing with sequential numbers

2012-11-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

If a conflict occurs in sharing services, your Mac may start changing its name and append sequential numbers to the end of it.

When you share files and other services from your Mac on the local network, the systems on the network will use your computer's name to distinguish it from others that are available. In general, computers usually have unique names, but if the system detects the name is already in use then it will dynamically assign a sequential number to itself so network services may still be used. For example, if you purchase a new computer and call it "My Mac" similar to your old one, then it will rename itself "My Mac (2)" and appear as such on the local network.

This renaming allows the system's shared services to be used in the event of a naming conflict, but sometimes it may occur without any apparent reason, and at times even continue changing the number appended to the computer name. When this happens, you can edit you computer name in the sharing system preferences, but you may see an alert stating the name is already in use with the system reverting back to numbering the name.

If this happens to your system, then you can try tackling it in a few ways:

Use only one network port
Often this problem happens when you have sharing services enabled and are using two active ports such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet that are linked to the same network. When this happens the system may detect the two connections as individual machines that have the same name, and then try renaming the machine accordingly. By only using one active network port at a time for any given network, you can avoid this problem.

If you regularly use multiple network ports, then try setting up a new location configuration for each in your Network system preferences, and then switch between them using the Location submenu in the Apple menu when you are at different networks.

Turn off Back to My Mac and Find My Mac services
Apple's iCloud services for accessing your Mac from remote locations may present it as being available to your computer with the same name, which may happen if you have two network ports (ie, Wi-Fi and Ethernet) with active Internet connections on two different networks. By turning off these services, the system will not try to contact itself and present a naming conflict.

Turn off other sharing services
Since the naming conflicts happen when sharing services broadcast their availability on the network, you can try troubleshooting computer renaming by turning off all of your shared services for the computer. Go to the sharing system preferences and uncheck all of the services listed, and then try reverting any automatic changes to your computer name. In addition to disabling these services, be sure to include Back to My Mac in the iCloud system preferences.

Reset your router
Part of the problem for some users may be the home router's configuration. Information about your computer, including your network adapter's MAC address and computer name, may be stored in your router to make IP address assignment and other network services easier. Try not only unplugging and plugging the router back in, but also try fully resetting it to factory defaults to be sure all routing tables and other settings are cleared.

Reset local port configurations
In addition to router settings that store information about your computer, your computer itself may have some rogue setting files that might be causing the naming conflicts. These files are located in the /Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ folder. First try removing the file called "preferences.plist," which is used to store the computer's name and changes you make to it, but also try removing the following other plist files to have the system recreate them from default settings:
NetworkInterfaces.plist
com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
com.apple.network.identification.plist

While you can remove the other preferences in this folder to have them be recreated from default settings, they are likely not associated with system renaming conflicts. Do keep in mind that by removing these files you will need to set up your network configurations again, including re-establishing favorite Wi-Fi networks.

Run a general maintenance routine
Some of the system's network settings use caches to manage their settings and connections, which similar to the temporary settings in a router if corrupted may result in odd behavior that can impact network performance and function. To clear these caches and other temporary files, you can run a general maintenance routine on your system.

Intel's tiny desktop PC for DIYers coming this month

2012-11-09T20:22:00.001-08:00

Later this month, online retailers will begin selling a pint-size Ivy Bridge tech-based Intel desktop PC.

Intel's diminutive desktop is strictly for Do-it-Yourselfers. It should be priced at around $300 at retailers later this month.

Online retailers will begin selling a 4.5-inch-wide Intel-branded desktop PC for do-it-yourselfers later this month.

The product name is a mouthful -- the "Next Unit of Computing," or NUC for short.

"It's geared more to home theater/home media center," said Intel spokesperson Dan Snyder. One usage scenario he suggested: slap it on the back of a wide-screen display (see photo below).

But note: as Anandtech points out, it is truly a bare-bones system aimed at DIYers.

So, don't expect to get built-in memory, storage, or even a power cord. "It is not sold as a full system, but just the board and chassis," Snyder said.

That said, let's look at what you do get:

Processor: 1.8GHz Intel Core i3 3217U power-efficient Ivy Bridge processor
Chipset: Intel QS77 Express Chipset
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Ports: Dual HDMI Ports, USB 2.0
Network: Integrated Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Slots: 1 full (supporting mSATA) and 1 half-length mini-PCIe slots
Memory: support for Dual-channel DDR3; 1600/1333/1066 MHz.

A couple of models will be available -- both offering Windows 8 compatibility -- in a few weeks on Amazon, Newegg, and other online retailers.

The DC3217BY is one model (spec'd above) that Intel will offer to online retailers this month.

Pricing is expected to be around $300.

An Intel demonstration shows it being mounted on the back of a wide-screen display.

(Credit: Intel)