RandomTechNews

Bad Week for Botnets

2012-04-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

"The movement toward making organizations more transparent in disclosing security breaches, challenges and weaknesses will make organizations more vulnerable to attack because stating them makes them more obvious," said Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum. "The movement toward making organizations more transparent in disclosing security breaches, challenges and weaknesses will make organizations more vulnerable to attack."

Two zombie networks infamous for stealing banking information and spewing spam were hit with a right-left combination last week by botnet fighters.

Using the power of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), along with organizations representing the financial services industry, took down two command-and-control servers running botnets based on Zeus, a malware family known for stealing the logins to banking accounts.

Meanwhile, Kaspersky Lab, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) SecureWorks and other organizations squelched an attempt to revive the Kelihos botnet, which was one of the largest spam- spewing networks in the world before it was taken down last year.

Whac-a-Mole Game

Microsoft's efforts are garnering praise, but the significance of the offensive is still questionable. That's because -- unlike some botnets with centralized command-and-control servers -- Zeus botnets are decentralized. Anyone who has the money to buy the software can set one up.

It's like a whac-a-mole game right now, in which Microsoft can keep getting court orders and seizing servers, and taking control over domain names used for these botnets, but these guys can register new domains and buy new servers very easily," observed Brett Stone-Gross, a senior security researcher at Dell SecureWorks.

"It's like trying to take down an army of cockroaches," said Avivah Litan, a security analyst with Gartner (NYSE: IT). "You can't really get them all."

The Kelihos network is also decentralized, but it uses peer-to-peer communication to operate, which bot battlers could exploit to take over the Net.

"We injected a fake peer entry list with an IP address under our control, so all bots connected to us and turned it into a centralized botnet connected to us," Stone-Gross explained.

Once in the bot fighters control, the net was neutralized.
Massive Card Breach

MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V) have been alerting their members for more than a week about "a potential account data compromise event" at a U.S.-based entity.

Both companies revealed last Friday that they were investigating the breach after it was reported by security ace Brian Krebs, who estimated that the breach could affect as many as 10 million credit card numbers.

MasterCard and Visa stated that the breach did not affect their systems.

Meanwhile, some 50,000 cardholders were at risk due to a breach affecting Global Payments, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A New York City taxi and parking garage company appears to be connected to the breach, according to Gartner Security Analyst Avivah Litan.

A Central American gang may be behind the breach, and they may have compromised an administrative account to do it, she added.

The credit card companies said they've turned the case over to federal law enforcement authorities for investigation.
Regulators Can Undermine Security

Government regulators are typically considered White Hats in the battle with cyber low-lifes, but a report released last week on information security threats fingered them as a source of data insecurity.

The culprit is government-ordained transparency, according to Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum, which produced the report, "Threat Horizon 2014: Managing Risks When Threats Collide."

"The movement toward making organizations more transparent in disclosing security breaches, challenges and weaknesses will make organizations more vulnerable to attack because stating them makes them more obvious," Durbin told TechNewsworld.

Privacy demands, while not weakening security directly, will force many businesses to reassess their markets rather than comply with regulatory demands, he added.

"Privacy will be distracting to other security efforts that are going on," said Durbin. "Privacy requirements are going to be imposing a heavy compliance burden, forcing organizations to decide whether or not they're going to invest in the necessary security to comply, or whether they're going to exit certain markets because they're not prepared to comply with some of these regulations."
Breach Diary

March 25. LulzSec posted to the Internet information from 171,000 accounts of MilitarySingles.com. On March 29, the site claimed it found no evidence it was hacked. However, comparisons of the data posted to the Internet and information at the site shows consistencies between the two.

March 25. Anonymous posts to Internet more than 1,400 email addresses, many from Newfoundland and Labrador.

March 25. More than 2,000 names, email and postal addresses, and phone numbers of UK wholesaler Waveney Wholesale posted to Internet by hacker called "SONLCS."

March 27. U.S. Federal Trade Commission announces settlement with RockYou for data breach in 2009 that exposed information on 32 million users to hackers. RockYou agreed to pay a US$250,000 civil fine as part of the terms of the settlement.

March 30. California Child Support Agency reports that backup cartridges containing records for 800,000 individuals were lost March 12 in transit from a facility in Colorado to California.
Calendar of Events

April 28-29. Drone Summit: Killing and Spying by Remote Control. Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. Sponsored by Reprieve and the Center for Constitutional Rights. $20-$100.

May 14-16. FS-ISAC & BITS Annual Summit. Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, 19999 West Country Club Drive, Miami. Sponsored by Financial Services-Information and Analysis Center. $1,250-$1,750. Registration deadline April 20.

Linux on the Desktop - Dead Again?

2012-04-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

"Desktop Linux thrives in spite of its disadvantaged position," said Slashdot blogger yagu. "It's good enough to maintain and grow a loyal base." That's not likely to change, "but until Microsoft is rendered completely irrelevant (think browser-based computing), Desktop Linux will stay a minor player," he predicted. In the meantime, "the naysayers have been claiming the death of Desktop Linux every year, and every year they've been wrong."

Well it's been a tempestuous week here in the Linux blogosphere, thanks largely to a violent brawl that broke out unexpectedly down at the Broken Windows Lounge.

It all started with a blog post over at PCWorld last weekend on a topic that might sound familiar.

Any guesses? Yes, that's right: "Why Linux Is Dead on the Desktop" was its name, and a collective groan could be heard in blogobars across the land as soon as it appeared on the horizon.

It's baaa-aack! Linux fans everywhere were forced to put down their beers and take up arms once again.

Shots Were Exchanged

Indeed, a return salvo was fired on Monday morning, followed by yet another shot back soon afterward.

The Slashdot crowds, meanwhile, were embroiled in a related skirmish of their own.

Bottom line? Dark and stormy days in Linux land. Linux Girl hunkered down on her favorite barstool and tried to record some of what was being said.
'It's Like Grandma's Cookies'

"Of course Linux in the COMMERCIAL DESKTOP is a failure, because Linux is not commercial," opined Google+ blogger Alessandro Ebersol, for example. "It's like grandma's cookies -- they can't compete with, say, Nabisco. It's a totally wrong assumption, and he could not be wronger."

Ebersol was also intrigued by the timing of the attacks.

"Those articles proclaiming Linux dead always surface near to a winblow$ launch," he pointed out. "Funny, eh?"
'Enough With the Nonsense!'

Indeed, "enough with the '1 percent' nonsense!" exclaimed blogger Robert Pogson, pointing to Net Applications' statistics for California, for San Francisco "Designated Market Area," and for Sunnyvale, California.

"They show huge percentages in a region of 37 million people, and it's a lie because the source of that 'share' is Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), using GNU/Linux desktops as a business," he explained. "That's right, those high share numbers for that other OS result from business usage of that other OS.

"Net Applications must be sampling during office hours or from company domains," he added. "Business is locked in by M$'s office suite, and other business-centric software made only for that other OS."

In actual usage, "you will find lots of users in government, education and in the home in Brazil, Russia, India and China, where governments actually use GNU/Linux, promote usage, and are not 'partners' of Net Applications," Pogson pointed out. "You can find GNU/Linux is popular in Malaysia and Europe as well."

Linux shouldn't be pronounced dead "until the final battle for retail space is lost," Pogson concluded. "Only a few years ago it was rare to find an OEM selling GNU/Linux and even more rare to find a retailer selling GNU/Linux. That has changed. GNU/Linux is alive and well on the desktop."
'A Worldwide Phenomenon'

Google+ blogger Kevin O'Brien took a similar view.

"I think I have personally resigned from the club of people whose self-worth depends on their OS being dominant," O'Brien told Linux Girl. "Linux will be there for everyone who wants it, and that is fine for me, since I want it."

As for the market share statistics, "my impression is that they solely measure OS market share in the U.S., where no one ever got fired for buying Microsoft," he added. "Linux is a worldwide phenomenon, and I think usage is much higher outside the U.S. than it is here."
'Still Growing'

Consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack suggested some alternate wording.

"I wouldn't say 'dead' so much as 'a growing niche,'" Mack told Linux Girl.

"Right now the apps are just not there yet for some tasks, so for many (most?) people, there are no good reasons to switch," Mack mused. "On the other hand, when all of the tools are there, Linux is a good option -- it is easy to set up, secure by design and very flexible."

In fact, "some governments have just implemented plans to switch their desktops over, such as Iceland and the Spanish state of Extremadora, so not only is it still growing, it will grow in the future as well," he added.
'Not Dead'

"Given the recent rash of stories about corporate desktop Linux, I just don't see it myself," Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza opined.

"I just installed Android (-x86 4.0rc1) on my laptop," he noted. "I hope that one day enough of its kernel gets merged with the mainline that I can reasonably run it on my desktop. So far it seems fairly usable with mouse and keyboard."

As long as Windows "effectively comes with your PC for free, there's no particular reason why Linux should ever conquer Windows on the desktop at this rate, which is presumably why OEM copies of Windows are still extremely inexpensive," Espinoza added. "Clearly, Linux on the desktop is not dead, but it is primarily in business."
'Two Huge Issues'

Slashdot blogger yagu had some thoughts about that.

"There are two huge issues holding Desktop Linux back: corporate profitability and killer apps," yagu asserted.

"Companies make a fortune off of Linux in the back rooms, where servers are doing all the heavy lifting and the user demographic is highly technical," yagu explained. "Companies rely on Linux for heavy processing because, in the vernacular of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), 'it just works!' There are no prohibitive learning curves for this user base -- there's a line of geeks just waiting to get their hands on Linux servers."

Desktop Linux, however, "offers no such benefit," he opined. "Yes, it's free, but companies face the re-training costs and rollout issues and see no return on investment. And there's always at least one killer app that absolutely must be available but is not available for Linux.

"I can make a case that the return on investment is worthwhile, but nudging an entire company off Windows is daunting at best," he added. "Logic doesn't apply."
'Every Year They've Been Wrong'

Nevertheless, "Desktop Linux thrives in spite of its disadvantaged position," yagu pointed out. "It's good enough to maintain and grow a loyal base."

That's not likely to change, "but until Microsoft is rendered completely irrelevant (think browser-based computing), Desktop Linux will stay a minor player," he predicted.

In the meantime, "the naysayers have been claiming the death of Desktop Linux every year, and every year they've been wrong," he concluded.
'Things Don't Get Any Better'

Slashdot blogger hairyfeet wasn't so sure.

"Is Linux dead? Well, it'd have to have been alive at one point to be dead, and I'd argue that frankly it has never gotten above a niche hobbyist OS on the desktop, no different than BSD or Haiku," hairyfeet asserted.

"I'd say the bigger question, the one nobody seems to be willing to really ask, is 'Why? Why would they rather steal the competitor's product than take Linux for free?'" he suggested. "I believe I can answer that: It's because nobody listens to the users."

After all, "if Apple or Microsoft don't listen to users, their sales go down, they lose share and money, so they have an incentive to listen," hairyfeet said. "The devs in Linux answer to NOBODY but their own itch-scratching, so things simply don't get any better."
'There Is No Single Desktop Market'

That view was far from unanimous, however.

"Desktop Linux is not dead," Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project, told Linux Girl. "I have argued repeatedly that it is wrong to talk about desktop Linux because there is no single desktop market -- instead, there is a series of desktop markets."

As Linux "becomes more capable in those markets where it is currently entrenched, it will branch out into other markets," he explained. "This process is likely to be slow, but it is happening now.

"I think the big concern right now is that the Linux desktop experience has gone from fractured to quickly changing," Travers concluded. "I think this lack of stability is a problem for users, and so this is something that distro maintainers need to be especially sensitive about."
'Just Random Noise'

Last but not least, Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by "Tom" on the site, pointed to statistics on Wikipedia.

According to those, "in July of 2011, 1.51 percent of non-mobile users were using linux," she noted. "That dropped to a low of 1.27 percent in September before climbing back to 1.52 percent in February."

So, "an increase of 0.01 percent (one part in 10,000) over 7 months, given the wide swings month-to-month, is just random noise," she asserted.
'None Too Shabby'

It also "tends to over-estimate the percentage of linux desktop users, since the tens of millions of Windows gaming rigs outnumber linux desktops, and most of those gamers are not going to spend much time on Wikipedia," she suggested. "The same is true for the hundreds of millions of Windows machines in offices around the world. Also not represented in the logs were computers in China."

Looking at the big picture, "maybe it's not time to put desktop Linux in a red shirt and have Dr. McCoy pronounce, 'He's dead, Jim,' but he's not going anywhere, either," Hudson mused.

"Tux will have to be content with being No. 1 in supercomputers, being strong in servers and embedded systems, and being the underpinnings of the No. 2 phone OS," she concluded. "Looked at that way, it's none too shabby, and anything else is just gravy."

Google's hilarious April Fools' Maps launch

2012-04-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

So here is an April Fools' work of art from the company that, to many minds, just might deserve righteous laughter. For here, purportedly, is the launch of Google Maps 8-bit for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

According to Google's Lat Long blog, this is something that the world desperately needs.

"Our engineering team in Japan understood the importance of maps on retro game systems. With the power of Google's immense data centers, and support from Nintendo and Square Enix, we were able to overcome the technical and design hurdles of developing 8-bit maps," wrote Google Maps software engineer, Tatsuo Nomura.

He goes on to wax with some lyricism about "beautiful low-res graphics; simple and intuitive controls; and a timeless soundtrack." He also promises a mobile version for Game Boy.

Yet even more enchanting is the deadpan performance of the actors in the promotional video. Their faces straighter than a Google engineer's on a Monday morning, the Japanese family waits for this technical revolution to reveal itself.

The father even blows on the cartridge to "fix bugs."

And then we see the beautiful low resolution of the maps, as the family searches for the Pyramids or tries to plot its route from Los Angeles to New York. The sheer joy when the family tries the voice search feature and discovers Peru Nazca will fill your heart with gladness.

I am grateful to The Next Web for revealing this April Fools' amusement. Unless, of course, this is just another attempt by Google to control absolutely every possible technological scenario in the world. No, no. It couldn't be.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rznYifPHxDg

Top 10 best free Windows 7 themes

2010-01-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

While you’ve been able to change the background desktop image in Windows for ages, changing the entire theme wasn’t quite as an easy task. It could be done, it just wasn’t that enticing to do.

Luckily Windows 7 changed all of that.

With the latest iteration of the operating system it is extremely easy to change the entire look and feel of your Windows, and luckily for you there are some great looking free choices out there. Here are ten of the ones we most enjoyed.

What are you waiting for? Get to downloading!

Alternative for Windows 7

AVATAR Windows 7 Special Theme

Blaque for Windows 7

COD:MW2 windows 7 theme

Halloween windows 7 theme

Mac Theme for Windows 7

Soft7.15 theme For windows 7

Windows 7 glass red theme

Windows 7 Skull Visual Style

WoodStock Windows 7 Theme

PC gamers love Windows 7

2010-01-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

It seems that PC gamers, specifically those who use Steam, love Windows 7.

In a recent survey carried out by Steam, Windows 7 showed itself to be very popular amongst gamers, installed on a whopping 23% of the Steam gamer’s PCs. Interestingly, 64-bit Windows 7 holds a commanding lead over it’s 32-bit brother, with 15.61% and 7.45% shares respectively.

Here’s the OS breakdown:

* Windows XP 32 bit - 44.77%
* Windows Vista 32 bit - 20.71%
* Windows 7 64 bit - 15.61%
* Windows Vista 64 bit - 10.00%
* Windows 7 - 7.45%
* Windows XP 64 bit - 0.64%
* Windows 2003 64 bit - 0.64%
* Windows 2000 - 0.10%
* Other - 0.08%

Windows XP and Vista still have a lead over Windows 7, but I think that Vista will be surpassed by 7 pretty soon.

Let’s take a look at a few other interesting statistics on offer:

CPU:

* GenuineIntel - 69.06%
* AuthenticAMD - 30.94%

System RAM:

* Less than 512 MB - 0.65%
* 512 MB to 999 MB - 4.07%
* 1 GB - 11.72%
* 2 GB - 30.94%
* 3 GB - 29.99%
* 4 GB - 15.04%
* 5 GB and higher - 7.59%

CPUs/Cores:

* 1 cpu - 18.08%
* 2 cpus - 56.93%
* 3 cpus - 0.95%
* 4 cpus - 23.99%
* 6 cpus - 0.00%
* 8 cpus - 0.05%

GPU manufacturer:

* ATI - 29.82%
* Intel - 3.61%
* NVIDIA - 65.01%
* Other - 1.58%

Apple Tablet an Ideal Business Tool

2010-01-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

The clock is winding down to the big reveal on Wednesday at Apple's major press event. It could be an iSlate, or an iSlab, or an iTablet, or perhaps even an iPod Tablet Edition. There are almost as many potential names for the mythic device that may not exist as there are pundits speculating about what the device will or won't do--myself included...if it exists

If Apple does not announce a touchscreen tablet device of some kind it may be the single biggest failing in the history of the rumor mill. There are some rumors that seem wilder than others--like the Apple tablet will have 3D graphics, but there is also a diverse selection of very plausible speculation.

Based on the prevailing rumors, my PC World peer Bill Snyder predicts that the Apple tablet will be all flash with no substance and will not have any place in a business environment. I disagree. While I agree with some of the potential pitfalls Snyder lays out, I believe the Apple tablet PC could be uniquely suited for small business environments.

A platform like the Apple tablet--if it is based on the iPhone mobile operating system and is equipped to run the extensive library of iPhone apps--could be perfect for small business. Smartphones in general have evolved to the point that they are just very small computers, and for just about any function a business user could want to perform "there is an app for that".

There have been times, both as an iPhone owner and as a Windows Mobile smartphone owner, that I have chosen to leave behind my notebook when traveling. The smartphone can get my email, surf the Web, conduct instant messaging chats with colleagues, and view and edit documents (with the right tools depending on the platform).

The legions of iPhone users already try to use the device for everything, and there is a growing segment of apps aimed at endowing the iPhone with more enterprise-friendly capabilities, and enabling the secure integration of the iPhone with the business world.

While newer devices like the Droid and Nexus One have leapfrogged the iPhone in terms of hardware specifications, the iPhone is still relatively fast, has an intuitive interface, is equipped with a clear and bright display, and has apps available for virtually any purpose. The biggest obstacle to simply using the iPhone as a primary mobile computing device is size.

An Apple tablet that provides the brilliant display, extensive battery life, intuitive interface, and endless catalog of apps of the iPhone in a larger form factor you can actually read and interact with could be a device perfectly suited for small business users. Not only is there "an app for that", but most apps are free or very cheap--especially when compared with the investment required for full-blown computer software.

I certainly don't expect large enterprises to abandon traditional desktop and notebook computers and deploy tens of thousands of Apple tablets--especially if the tablet is running on the iPhone mobile operating system as opposed to Mac OS X. A Windows-based tablet has an automatic advantage in the enterprise, although the HP device demonstrated by Steve Ballmer at CES this year was less than compelling.

Let's face it. Until Wednesday rolls around and Apple unveils the epic new tablet PC...or it doesn't, Snyder's speculation is just as possible as mine. Assuming that Apple launches a tablet PC of some kind or another at this event, the success of that device will be determined by its overall functionality and utility balanced against its price...mixed with a healthy dose of Apple's Teflon reputation and devoted fan base.

Google's Nexus One Doesn't Like Your Potty Mouth

2010-01-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

One of the most innovative features of Google's new Nexus One is the built-in voice recognition. But there's one major limitation that Reuters discovered while putting the smartphone through its paces: the phone is a bit of a prig.

N1Screen1Try uttering a curse word into the Nexus One, and the well-mannered device will automatically replace the offensive expression with a string of # symbols.

Thus, a jocular text message inquiring about a buddy's whereabouts is transcribed as "Hey #### where are you?" on the Nexus One; A spirited rejoinder to a dubious assertion becomes "that's bull #### and you know it."

While perhaps not as politically charged as Google's censorship of Internet search results in China (a practice Google recently said it will no longer engage in), this restriction of free speech for the foul-mouthed is puzzling, and somewhat inconvenient.

So why the no-curse policy? After all, what business is it of Google's if a person chooses to be profane in their private communications?

A Google spokeswoman provided a statement suggesting that replacing curses with # symbols aimed less at enforcing etiquette than to ensure that offensive words don't accidentally appear in transcriptions – a potential concern given the fact that voice recognition technology is still not perfect.

"We filter potentially offensive or inappropriate results because we want to avoid situations whereby we might misrecognize a spoken query and return profanity when, in fact, the user said something completely innocent," said Google.

"Ultimately our goal is to return results that show exactly what you said, and we're constantly working to improve the technology to better fit our users' needs," the statement continued.

In other words, until the technology improves, you'll have to be civil, whether you like it or not.

AMD Releases Five New Processor Models

2010-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

Minor speed bumps for the budget-minded

Having lost the CPU performance race, AMD has been focusing on the low and mid-range PC market instead. Today the thorn in Intel's side is expanding its Phenom II and Athlon II lineup with some minor speed increases.

The new Athlon II X2, X3, X4 and Phenom II X2/X4 (energy efficient) families have new siblings that are rated 100MHz higher. AMD says that continual process and engineering improvements on GlobalFoundries' 45nm process have allowed it to release the new models.

The new models use the AM3 socket and are compatible with AM2+ motherboards that have the proper BIOS support enabled. AMD sees them as a good upgrade for budget-weary consumers.

AMD is currently working on several new 800-series AM3 chipsets that are expected to be released in several months. Some will feature integrated DirectX 10.1 graphics, but ATI has recently released several new discrete DirectX 11 GPUs aimed at the value-market that should tempt even the most frugal of gamers.

Several six-core CPUs in the Thuban family should also be released in the second quarter.

Processor Model TDP Frequency Price
AMD Athlon™ II X2 255 65 W 3.1 GHz $74

AMD Athlon™ II X3 440 95 W 3.0 GHz $84

AMD Athlon™ II X4 635 95 W 2.9 GHz $119

AMD Phenom™ II X2 555 80 W 3.2 GHz $99

AMD Phenom™ II X4 910e 65 W 2.6 GHz $169

Welcome To Tablet Week

2010-01-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

With the launch of what Apple is calling its "latest creation" just days away, it's officially Tablet Week for the entire industry.

Publishers recently contacted by Apple about the launch tell 9to5Mac blog to expect a major partnership announcement, likely with "all of the major publishers."

They also say Apple has been pitching itself against Amazon's model, arguing that its own "Agency model" gives publishers more control and freedom over pricing.

Corroborating multiple accounts, the publishers describe the tablet as "a very-readable 10-inch glass screen smaller in size than the Kindle DX with a similar weight," but insist that it won't cost anywhere near the $1,000 price-point being reported elsewhere.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that Steve Jobs is telling friends and colleagues, "This will be the most important thing I've ever done" -- referring to the soon-to-be-launched Apple Tablet.

Claiming to have "detected" Tablet testing on Apple's Cupertino campus, mobile app analytics startup Flurry observed roughly 200 different applications in use. Because the vast majority of detected app are related to gaming and entertainment, Flurry is calling the tablet a "media machine."

"Historically, tablet devices have been considered substitutes for anything where workers use clipboards, note pads or day runners," Flurry adds. "However, there was a surprising dearth of applications that support these use cases ... Instead, the largest category was games ... With a larger screen, more memory, multi-touch and multi-tasking expected, games will play better than ever on Apple handheld devices."

Similarly, The New York Times sees the apps market -- already booming thanks to the iPhone and Android-supported mobile devices -- flourishing under the reign of the tablet.

Citing Flurry, The Times writes: "The tablet ... will run applications designed for the iPhone, judging from data that an app-tracking company is picking up from devices in use around Apple's headquarters."

Adds The Times: "But the larger screen -- most likely 10 inches diagonally -- and other features of the tablet could inspire developers to create new twists on apps, like games that two or more people can easily play at once on the same device."

Wii Classic Controller Pro launching with Monster Hunter Tri

2010-01-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

Capcom's online action game given April launch window, $60 bundle with North American debut of Nintendo's updated pad.

Two hit Japanese Wii products will be making their long-awaited North American debuts in tandem. Capcom today announced that when Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii arrives in April, it will be accompanied by Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller Pro.

The black Classic Controller Pro will be bundled with Monster Hunter Tri.

The game will be available on its own for $50, or in a bundle with a black Classic Controller Pro for $60. Those wanting the controller but not the game will be able to buy it a la carte in white and black versions for $20.

A redux of the more-traditional gamepad primarily used for Virtual Console games, the Classic Controller Pro features a number of aesthetic and ergonomic tweaks over its original iteration. Namely, the ZL and ZR shoulder buttons have been moved behind the existing L and R top buttons in a manner similar to Sony's DualShock line of controllers. Also calling up images of the PlayStation gamepad, the Pro features protruding hand grips. Lastly, the Wii Remote connection cord now extends from the top of the controller instead of from the bottom.

The controller's similarity to Sony's efforts is one reason to pair its launch with that of Monster Hunter Tri. The Monster Hunter series debuted on the PlayStation 2 and was console-exclusive to Sony's systems prior to Tri's release. Even that game was initially announced as a PlayStation 3-exclusive. However, citing the "high development cost of titles for PS3," Capcom said in October 2007 that it would be releasing the title for Nintendo's console instead.

Monster Hunter is already a best-seller in Japan, where it went on sale last summer. Multiplayer is a central part of the action game, which will sport four-player online co-op as well as two-player split-screen action. Lone gamers can also compete in a single-player mode, questing through the game's remote wilderness with a survival expert companion. GameSpot's preview has more details on the game.

Nexus One Proves Google's No Revolutionary

2010-01-12T11:13:00.001-08:00

From complaints over the Nexus One's slow and confusing customer service to eye-popping early termination fees, Google's proving to be just another phone maker, not the revolutionary we once hoped for.

Two years ago, Google painted itself as a knight in shining armor, rescuing consumers from the tight grip of wireless carriers and phone makers. When the Federal Communications Commission auctioned off wireless spectrum-- essentially, more wireless bandwidth -- to companies such as Verizon Wireless, Google threw its hat in the ring, and in doing so asked that the FCC impose conditions on whoever won the auction.

Among those conditions were the ability to use a phone with any carrier, and to download and use any app you like on that phone. Even though Google lost the auction, it patted itself on the back for pushing those two conditions through.

Now, Google's selling phones directly, and when it comes to walking the walk, Google's only halfway there with the Nexus One. Yes, you can buy an unlocked version of the Nexus One for $529. You can also buy the phone for $179 with a two-year T-Mobile contract. But if, within the first four months of the latter option, you decide T-Mobile's not for you after two weeks of ownership, Google sticks you with a $350 early termination fee in addition to the $200 fee from T-Mobile, plus the original $179 price tag.

What do you get for that $729 phone? One that only fully works with T-Mobile, anyway. The Nexus One isn't equipped to run on AT&T's 3G network, only the slower EDGE network, and it can't run at all on Verizon Wireless or Sprint. Google says it's working on a phone optimized for Verizon Wireless, but it's certainly possible that you'd end up with the opposite situation -- a phone that partly works with Sprint, doesn't work with T-Mobile or AT&T, and carries the same early termination fees.

And good luck complaining to Google about this. The company's only handling customer support by e-mail, and you'll have to wait a day or two for a response.

The big picture is that the Nexus One is a great phone that carries the same old burdens customers have dealt with for years. I'm still waiting for the Google-branded phone that really shakes things up.

Nexus One development commences with Android 2.1 SDK update

2010-01-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

In addition to launching the latest skirmish in the mobile platform/mobile carrier wars, Google and HTC's Nexus One smartphone also introduced the world to Android 2.1.

Before the Nexus One came out, the Motorola Droid launched in a similar fashion, where the device ran Android 2.0 exclusively before the SDK component was released to the public and other devices were upgraded.

Last night, the Android 2.1 SDK component was released, turning over the full 2.1 platform and new APIs to developers.

Unlike Android 2.0 (Eclair), version 2.1 is only a minor platform update which didn't get its own sweet confectionary name. It doesn't add any significant user features, but does add the much-discussed "live wallpaper" framework API, which will let developers take advantage of animated background screens. The Android Market, no doubt, will soon be flooded with animated clock wallpapers.

Nothing else has been added with the 2.1 SDK, but a number of crucial framework APIs have been changed, including SignalStrength, which lets network conditions affect the behavior of an application, and WebChromeClient which includes new methods for handling Web video, browser history, custom views, app cache limits, and so forth.

In addition to the new SDK component, Google's Android developers have also released a new USB driver so the Nexus One can be used to test applications when connected to a Windows computer.

The new components are available now at developer.android.com

Google Docs to Allow Storage of Any Type of File

2010-01-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

Google is opening up its Docs hosted office productivity suite so that users can store any type of file in it, giving the popular software-as-a-service product an important online storage component.
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The functionality will be rolled out over the coming weeks to all Docs users, both the ones who use the stand-alone suite as well as those who use it as part of the broader communication and collaboration Apps suite for organizations.

Now, Docs users will be able to store all their important files in a single place online, where they can access them from anywhere and share them with other people, according to Google.

"This is a natural extension and progression of what we've been doing with Google Docs," said Vijay Bangaru, Google Docs product manager.

One thing it's not, according to Bangaru, is the G-drive, the often-rumored cloud storage service from Google that has yet to see the light of day. "On the consumer side, this isn't a virtual drive. There isn't a client that's going to help you sync terabytes to the cloud," he said.

Google did work with some partners that built applications that take advantage of this new functionality via a Docs API (application programming interface). Those external applications were built specifically for users of the Premier version of Apps, which is the most sophisticated and the only one that is fee-based, priced at US$50 per user, per year. Companies that use Apps Premier will also be able to build their own applications in-house using the API.

Just because users will be able to store any type of file on Google Docs doesn't mean, however, that they will necessarily be able to work on those files on the Docs cloud, as is possible in the suite today with Adobe PDF files, Microsoft Office files and, of course, the native Docs file formats.

"Unfortunately, it's not possible to write Web editors for every file content out there," he said. In those cases, users will be able to access the files online and share them with others, but in order to work on them, they'll have to download them to their PCs and fire up the necessary application.

Along with the new capabilities, Google is lifting the ceiling on file sizes to 250MB. Users of the stand-alone Docs suite will have 1GB of free storage for files stored in their native formats, as opposed to converted to a native Docs format. They'll be able to buy additional storage for $0.25 per gigabyte per year. Google Apps users will also get 1GB of storage, and will have the ability to buy additional storage for $3.50 per gigabyte per year.

While Docs currently doesn't have one-click buttons to post or publish files to third-party sites and services like Facebook, Google isn't closing the door on adding that functionality and more.

"The idea behind this feature is that it's really an opportunity for Google to invest in cloud storage and provide value added services to its users around sharing files, uploading files and being able to collaborate and search on all of that content," said Anil Sabharwal, Google Docs product manager. "There's a great opportunity for us to provide value-added services on top of any of those file types."

New gadgets showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show

2010-01-12T11:04:00.001-08:00

With the new year comes new gadgets.

But with the economy still shaky, tech companies are pushing things that are a little less pricey.

We've certainly seen some companies withholding innovation after realizing last year that people are not in the mood to spend big. And that's still the case this year, but maybe a little less so.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the major trends include items that have already been successful.

Expect to see more e-book readers like Amazon's popular Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. These days, 3-D is a hit at movie theaters, and now it's coming to your TV!

But the reviews of these first models are mixed.

"I'm kind of an I-don't-get-it guy on 3-D TV, said Paul Reynolds, senior editor of Consumer Reports. "I think it's for a narrow audience with a certain kind of content - gamers, but I don't think we're going to put on goggles to watch a weekly scripted drama on television."

One of this year's most eye-catching gadgets is the AR Drone. The flying gaming device syncs with an iPhone or iPod Touch, which becomes the remote control. You can mount a camera on the toy, and video is sent back to your phone.

Microsoft's big announcement at the show was its own version of a tablet computer. It's being touted as portable and powerful with the full capabilities of Windows 7.

Some other gadgets that were showcased include convertible laptops - the screen comes off or flips around to become a tablet PC, a see-through laptop, and a next-generation robotic vacuum cleaner! More than 100,000 tech types are expected to take part in the annual event.

Baidu.com probably attacked from U.S. domain registrar, says researcher

2010-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

Most likely reason for Chinese search giant's outage: Username/password for Register.com pillaged

The attack that took China's biggest search site offline yesterday was most likely carried out by modifying Baidu's records at Register.com, the search engine's official domain registrar, a security researcher said today.

Baidu.com was unavailable part of Monday, but early in the outage the site displayed a message that read: "This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army," according to a report on the People's Daily, the Web site of the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper.

The group was the same that had taken responsibility for an attack against Twitter.com last month that redirected the micro-blogging service's traffic to a domain that hosted the same message.

"It looks like Baidu.com's DNS was changed at the registrar level," said Jeremy Rossi, a partner in Praetorian Security Group, a New York City-based security consultancy. Praetorian's partners, including Rossi and Daniel Kennedy, published an analysis yesterday of the Baidu.com attack on their company blog.

Rossi said that it was impossible to know for certain whether the Chinese search site's DNS information had actually been changed at Register.com -- the registrar of record -- but that that was the most likely explanation.

Register.com did not respond to a request for comment.

"The interesting thing is that although Register.com doesn't control the .com servers, they do control the technical log-in to Baidu's [DNS] servers," said Rossi.

His bet is that the hackers who use the "Iranian Cyber Army" moniker managed to obtain a username and password that allowed them to access Register.com's records for Baidu, perhaps by successfully phishing an employee of the U.S. domain registrar, or one of Baidu's workers. "That's the most common vector for something like this," said Rossi. "It's easier to pull off [than directly hacking DNS]."

The same method was behind the December 2009 Twitter attack, according to the company that manages Twitter's DNS (Domain Name System) servers. The company claimed that an authorized Twitter account was used to switch the service's DNS records.

Rossi's assumption was that once armed with a username and password to Baidu.com's account at Register.com, the hackers modified the DNS records to point to their own, which in turn directed users of the search engine to various systems that hosted the Iranian Cyber Army message.

DNS records act like a telephone directory for the Internet, matching domain names, such as baidu.com, with the IP addresses used by that domain's servers.

Attacks based on modifying DNS records may seem to be on the uptick, but they're not, said Rossi. "This has been going on as long as we've had DNS, but now they're moving up the chain to larger companies, and so they're more prominent," he said.

But Web-based firms should take a lesson from the likes of Twitter and Baidu, Rossi said. He urged companies to demand access control that relied on more than just a username and password. "Baidu's entire business is based on their DNS being always right," he said. "Two-factor authentication isn't perfect, but it sets the bar [for attackers] that much higher," he said.

Google removes banking apps from Android Marketplace

2010-01-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

A programmer who goes by the nickname "09Droid" has just illuminated security concerns sure to come into sharper focus as tech and financial services corporations move to popularize mobile device banking.

Antivirus supplier F-Secure says 09Droid offered more than 50 mobile banking applications for sale through Google's Android Marketplace, the app store for smartphones based on the Android operating system. Google pulled the apps on Monday. Several banking firms included in 09Droid's apps issued warnings for their patrons not to use them.

F-Secure Chief Research Officer Mikko Hyppönen says no one in the security community had a chance to reverse engineer 09Droid's first-of-its-kind banking app, so it could simply be a program that redirected users to the bank's online website.

On the other hand, 09Droid could have rather easily programmed in stealthy code to silently steal account log-ins. The programmer did sell some number of apps prior to Google yanking them. Hyppönen notes that Android apps do not go through an approval process, akin to the certification process required of apps made available through the iPhone App Store or through Signed by Symbian programs.

As a rule of thumb, he recommends avoiding any third-party banking apps on any platform unless you know for certain it is expressly approved by your bank. To date, F-Secure has not seen any malicious apps sold through iPhone App Store, Palm App Catalog, BlackBerry App World or Windows Mobile Marketplace. However, the security company has seen the "Signed by Symbian" certification process subverted a couple of times.

How many years does the Xbox 360 have left?

2010-01-12T10:51:00.001-08:00

Although the Xbox 360 came out in 2005--just four years after the release of the Xbox--it seems that Microsoft isn't too eager to jump to the Xbox 720 (or whatever it will eventually be called).

Speaking at a briefing at CES over the weekend and originally reported by the Guardian, Microsoft senior director of Xbox product management David Hufford said that not only is Microsoft not rushing to get to the next generation of consoles, but that the Xbox 360 has a lot more time left.

"I think it's important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us," Hufford told those in attendance. "There is no need to launch a new console because we're able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades like Project Natal. The Xbox 360 was designed for a long life, and I don't even know if we're at the midpoint yet."

It's an interesting take. Prior to Hufford's comments, it was Sony that dominated the talk over a console's lifecycle. Sony's team has said on numerous occasions that the PlayStation 3 is the only console that will stay relevant for 10 years. And although the PS3 is currently trailing the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, Sony contends that when it's all said and done, the PlayStation 3, thanks to its longevity, will win out during this generation.

But Microsoft has finally made it clear that it, too, believes that its console has the ability to stick it out. Project Natal should help Microsoft increase the lifespan of the Xbox 360. But after almost five years of availability, has the Xbox 360 really not reached its midpoint yet?

Sex robot Roxxxy looking for action

2010-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

She may have all the charm of flesh-colored silicone, but a negligee-clad rubber doll named Roxxxy is being billed as the first of a legion of sex robots poised to become man's new best friend.

Unveiled at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas over the weekend, Roxxxy was developed by New Jersey-based True Companion and engineer Douglas Hines, and she's way more than a blow-up doll. She's basically an anatomically correct bot engineered to interact with users by responding to simple conversation through an internal speaker. All responses, though, are prerecorded.

Depending on the personality you choose--"Wild Wendy" or "Frigid Farrah" for instance--Roxxxy may purr a metallic, "That gets me hot!" after you introduce a topic like soccer.

Getting excited yet? Well, get this. Roxxxy is so soccer-savvy she can even discuss Manchester United. Apparently, she also snores.

Another possible detraction--some of her voices sound more like Stephen Hawking's vocal synthesizer than that of a hot human female. Roxxxy also has sensors on various parts of her 5-foot, 7-inch, 120-pound body and can tell when she's being touched. No word yet on whether nibbling her ear drives the machine wild.

Hines apparently wants to charge $7,000 to $9,000 for Roxxxy and an attached laptop running its software.

He believes, like David Levy, author of "Love and Sex With Robots," that robots can become genuine companions for people by providing intimacy and pleasure.

Roxxxy may be just a stiff chatterbox for now. But who knows what a few actuators and makeup would do?

Microsoft Pushes Tablet PCs, Windows 7 at CES, But Not Mobile

2010-01-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer displayed an upcoming tablet PC manufactured by HP, and pumped the prospects of Bing and Windows 7, at his Jan. 6 keynote address at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Tablet PCs and e-readers were the hot items at CES for many manufacturers, with many of the devices running Windows 7; however, Microsoft's fortunes in 2010 will be determined by how well it executes its core business, as well as initiatives the company isn’t mentioning here, like the much-rumored Windows Mobile 7 operating system.

LAS VEGAS—If there’s one thing that the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will be remembered for, it’s as the show where tablet PCs of all stripes made their appearance in the mainstream. Whether as ultra-portable multi-touch devices, or else e-readers that perform more traditional computing functions such as Web surfing, tablets proved to be one of the show’s more buzzed-about aspects.

The question is, will consumers gravitate towards them?

The answer to that question may not make or break tech companies in 2010, particularly larger ones such as Apple or Microsoft, but it may help determine how PCs evolve in months and years to come. If tablets prove a hit, then they’ll likely become ubiquitous in the hardware space; if they fail, then this year’s CES will be remembered for, among other things, being the flashpoint of a temporary fad.

Tablet PCs earned some buzz for Microsoft at the show. In the hours leading up to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s Jan. 6 keynote address, rumors circulated around the blogosphere that he would use his speech to unveil a tablet PC built by Hewlett-Packard. “Mr. Ballmer will show the as-yet-unnamed H.P. device, which will be touted as a multimedia whiz with e-reader and multi-touch functions,” read the New York Times blog posting that started the scuttlebutt; the blooger, Ashlee Vance, cited unnamed sources for his information.

Perhaps taking a page from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is famous for waiting until the end of his presentations to announce new products, Ballmer waited until the end of his speech to show off the Hewlett-Packard device.

Click here for more netbooks and tablets being shown at CES.

“Almost as portable as a phone, but powerful as a PC running Windows 7,” Ballmer said as he held the flatscreen toward the audience. “The emerging category of PCs should take advantage of the touch and portability capabilities.” The tablet PC, which will be available at an unnamed point in 2010, will be able to surf the Web, and display e-books and multi-media content.

Device For Mobile Phone VoIP To Hit Stores

2010-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Windsor Genova - AHN News Writer

Las Vegas, NV, United States (AHN) - The company that introduced cheaper Internet calls on wired phones will launch in the second quarter a new device to make such communication in the U.S. possible through mobile phones.

MagicJack said it will demo the matchbox-size device of the same name in the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday.

The new MagicJack will replace the current device for desk phones to allow VoIP on GSM phones, according to company founder and inventor Dan Borislow.

Because phone calls coursed through IP networks are cheaper than those passing the standard telephone network, MagicJack will offer users one year of free service.

Buyers of the $40 device will pay $20 per year starting in the second year.

The MagicJack for landline has a USB connection and a phone jack so it can be connected to a computer with Internet connection and desk phone for calling.

The upcoming device for cellular phones will also use the broadband connection of a PC to make calls.

Intel's Otellini Talks Up 'Westmere' Chips, WiDi

2010-01-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS – Intel on Thursday officially unveiled its new, 32-nanometer family of processors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here, including the Core i7, i5, and i3 processors, the Intel 5 Series chipsets, and Intel Centrino Wi-Fi and Wimax adapters.

Intel chief executive Paul Otellini took the stage at a CES keynote to discuss how computing is no longer confined to the PC and is becoming increasingly mobile – an advance made possible via Intel processors, of course.

"These advances are bringing us into a new era of computing where we have many devices per person and computing is increasingly [integrated]," Otellini said during a keynote address. "We're focused on making all computing personal."

Overall, Intel introduced 25 new products. The new processors will be manufactured in 2010 using the 32-nanometer process, which is intended to improve computer speed and decrease energy consumption. Intel first announced plans for these microprocessors, known as "Westmere," in February 2009. Dell, among others, has already announced its first products based on the technology.

The company released 11 mobile processors, six desktop processors, and four wireless adapters.

On the mobile front, prices range from $225 for a 2.4-GHz Core i5 520M to $332 for a 2.66-GHz Core i7 620M or a 2.13-GHz Core i7 640LM. Desktop versions range from $113 for a 2.9 GHz Core i5 530 to $284 for a 3.46 GHz Core i5 670. Pricing was not provided for the wireless adapters.

The Core i7 and i5 processors will include Intel's Turbo Boost technology, which promises to accelerate performance and adjust to a user's workload as needed. It "gives you better performance when you need it and lower power when you don't," Otellini said.

Meanwhile, a technology known as "Hyper Threading" – which allows each processing core to run multiple threads, will be available on the Core i7, i5, and i3.

Technology that was available three years ago only to major Hollywood studios is now "in the hands over everyday consumers," Otellini said.

The Intel 5 Series chipset, meanwhile, is Intel's first single-chip chipset. It includes power-saving techniques, all based on a principle Intel calls "HUGI," or "Hurry Up and Get Idle".

The 2010 Core family is the first to include graphics within the processor. The Intel HD Graphics support will let computer users access mainstream and casual 3D gaming without an additional video card.

For those gamers with very graphics-intense games, the Intel Switchable Graphics will let users automatically switch between Intel's integrated graphics to a discrete version that promises optimal battery life and performance – without having to reboot.

On the wireless front, Intel's new wireless adapters include 802.11n multi-streaming capabilities and dual-band support for Wi-Fi, which Intel says will offer up to eight times greater speed. The integrated WiMAX/Wi-Fi adapter supports the 2.3-, 2.5-, and 3.5-GHz WiMAX bands, which can produce up to 20 Mbit/s.

During his keynote, Otellini demonstrated Intel Wireless Display, or WiDi, which will stream high-definition video from your PC to the TV. The technology works on computers with Core i7, i5, and i3 processors and a separate adapter box, priced around $100. Intel used a box from Netgear and streamed an episode of "Lost" via Netflix from a PC to an HDTV using WiDi.

Laptops from Dell, Sony, and Toshiba, as well as the Netgear adapter, with Intel WiDi will be available at Best Buy starting Jan. 17.

Intel will also take advantage of the apps craze with an apps store for netbooks called the Intel AppUp Center, available on Windows- and Linux-based devices.

"Netbooks have clearly created a new usage model in computing and that creates an opportunity for a new wave of software apps," Otellini said.

A beta version of the store is live now at IntelAppUp.com. Acer, Asus, Dell, and Samsung have "committed to build AppUp Center storefronts" in their devices in the coming months, Otellini said. While the initial focus will be netbooks, Otellini expected the store to eventually also appear on PCs, handheld devices, smartphones, TVs, and other devices.

Intel also unveiled a lineup of embedded devices intended to improve performance for enterprise devices like ticket kiosks, ATM machines, self-checkout systems, and medical equipment.

Otellini also demoed a device that works as a virtual storefront. Walk up to it and it will automatically detect your height for easy touch access, as well as your gender. The screen will show you items that are available in the store beyond the glass. If you see something you like have it sent to your phone.

Other demos included the upcoming LG GW990 smartphone as well as a combination phone-tablet from OpenPeak, both of which will include the "Moorestown" smartphone platform. Moorestown is scheduled to launch in the first half of the year, with products coming to market in the second half.

And then there's 3D. "I think 3D … is the next thing that's poised to explode in the home," Otellini said. "In 2010, there will be 50 3D movies released, versus 20 in 2009. Sports and video games and concerts are all being filmed and generated in 3D. The 2010 world cup will be recorded and broadcast in 3D."

That's good news for Intel, Otellini said, because "creating and managing 3D content requires a ton of computing" and "increasing quality requires more and more compute cycles."

Nvidia pushes Tegra tablets and 3D technology at CES

2010-01-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

Intel is ramping up efforts to push low-power Atom chips in the burgeoning category of tablet devices, a market where the chip giant, which dominates netbooks, faces tough competition from competitors like Nvidia.

Many tablets were announced or shown at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, most of which were based on Arm designs. However, a few tablets based on Intel chips also made an appearance.

Tablets, which are also called slates by PC makers, are handheld devices with touch screens slightly larger than those of smartphones. The devices allow users to surf the Internet, play games, view movies or read e-books. Dell showed a tablet during a press event, but declined to talk about the hardware inside the device.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off a tablet made by Hewlett-Packard that runs Windows 7. HP declined to comment on the hardware inside the tablet, though the company's chief technology officer, Phil McKinney, in an interview said the chip was based on the x86 architecture. PC maker Viliv also showed a tablet running on Intel's Atom Z-series processor.

Intel faces an especially big challenge from Nvidia, which at CES launched the low-power Tegra 2 processor based on an Arm design.

Nvidia also showed off many tablets based on its latest Tegra 2 processor at its booth: Innovative Converged Devices and T-Mobile exhibited Vega tablets with multiple screen sizes, and a concept Asus tablet was also on display. Nvidia said Tegra 2 is targeted at devices with 5-inch to 15-inch screens, and the dual-core processor can play back 1080p high-definition video while conserving battery life.

While Nvidia exuded confidence about its prospects in the tablet category, Intel executives took a pragmatic approach.

"We're certainly pursuing some designs and have won some designs with Atom," said Tom Kilroy, vice president of the sales and marketing group at Intel, in an interview.

The approach to the tablet market is no different than Intel has taken in entering other new categories, Kilroy said. Intel launched the Atom chips for the category of netbooks -- low-cost laptops with small screens and keyboards. Millions of netbooks with Atom chips have been sold, and the category is continuing to grow at a fast pace, Kilroy said.

Arm has, however, earned the name as an incumbent in the mobile chip space, Kilroy said.

"[Arm has] earned the position they have got. We're new entering that category and we're realistic about that," he said. Intel has a benefit of a strong software ecosystem, but unseating a competitor like Arm is no easy task, Kilroy said.

Nvidia has stressed that tablets need mobile chips that can provide long battery life, an area where Arm designs hold an advantage over Intel designs. Arm processors are used in most smartphones, and are starting to appear in more computing devices like low-cost laptops and tablets.

While Intel holds the upper position in the netbook space, Arm-based chips are making their presence felt in low-cost devices like smartbooks. Lenovo launched the Arm-based Skylight smartbook at CES, while HP said it was developing such a device.

Intel didn't comment on the specific Atom chips that would be targeted at tablets. The company offers multiple Atom chips for netbooks and embedded devices, and recently announced the new Pine-Trail platform for netbooks, which achieves higher levels of integration to fit into smaller devices.

Kilroy also said that the company is pushing further into mobile Internet devices and smartphones. Devices based on its upcoming Moorestown platform would come towards the end of the year, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a keynote speech on Thursday. Otellini showed the LG Electronics GW990, its first smartphone based on Moorestown,

AMD to Offer Triple-core Laptop Processors

2010-01-10T08:22:00.001-08:00

Agam Shah, IDG News Service

Advanced Micro Devices will put triple-core processors into laptops to fill a power and performance gap, the company said.

Laptops today contain either dual-core or quad-core processors, and offering a triple-core CPU could bring laptops that are faster than the dual-core chips but more power-efficient than quad-core processors, said Bob Grim, director of client product marketing, at an AMD event during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The chips will ship by the end of the first half.

AMD's offering would be the first triple-core processors available for laptops. AMD has been offering triple-core processors for desktops and offers only dual-core chips for laptops. Intel offers dual-core and quad-core chips for its laptops and desktops.

Laptops with dual-core processors offer good performance, but adding an extra core helps boost application performance, Grim said. For example, the third core can take on resource-heavy tasks like antivirus scanning while freeing up the other two cores. The chip could also be a power-efficient option to Intel's quad-core chips, which usually go into power-hungry enthusiast systems.

AMD is also offering triple-core processors to PC makers as a way to differentiate from the usual dual-and quad-core offerings, Grim said.

The chips will be offered as part of the next-generation laptop platform code-named Danube and manufactured using the 45-nanometer process, which helps the company achieve higher levels of integration. The platform will also include dual-core and quad-core chips.

Danube processors are designed to boost laptop battery life by more than an hour, Grim said. The company is also launching a new platform for ultrathin laptops called Nile. Danube chips will support the faster DDR3 form of memory.

The company displayed the first laptop with a Danube chip at the event. The chip offers an improvement in speed and graphics compared to the current Dragon platform, Grim said. AMD is upgrading the integrated graphics capabilities in the platform.

AMD also displayed a desktop running on the next-generation Leo platform. The platform, which is based on processors with up to six cores, will include new integrated graphics and a chipset.

Top 25 Pop Songs of 2009 Mashup

2010-01-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

Top 25 Pop Songs of 2009 Mashup

Saw this on youtube and found it fantastic

Microsoft's Game Room: The Arcade, Reborn?

2010-01-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Microsoft's new service will offer classic video games via Windows or Xbox Live.

Jared Newman, Technologizer:

With the Game Room, Microsoft's hoping to capture the old magic of video game arcades, minus the stale air, sugar highs, and wasted quarters.

I got some questions answered on service, which will be available on Windows and Xbox Live this spring. Here are the important details (if you're a retro game nerd):

-30 games will be available at launch, including Centipede, Lunar Lander, and Night Driver (full list here), from arcade systems as well as the Atari 2600 and Intellivision. Microsoft says it'll release 7 new games per week after launch.

-Games cost $3 each for either Xbox Live or Windows, and $5 if you want the luxury of playing on both. The arcade itself is open to any level of Xbox Live (no Gold subscription necessary).

-Unlike some of the classic games Microsoft released earlier this year, these are straight emulators with no boosts in resolution or graphics. Unfortunately, that means if there's any overlap, you'll have to pay for the Game Room titles again.

-Players build their own virtual arcades, with cabinets that mimic the hulking monstrosities of yesteryear. As your arcade grows, you get new rooms or entire new floors that can be decorated differently. But you don't navigate these with an avatar - the camera simply slides between each room and cabinet.

-Other players can visit your arcade, and they'll earn free play tokens based on how many games you have. They can also demo any game once, or can pay 40 Xbox Live points (50 cents) for extra plays.

-Downer: You can't directly play against another player online (so no head-to-head in Combat). Instead, online multiplayer consists of high score or other challenges you send to your friends. Two-player games will work locally.

The service seems promising, and I particularly like all the ways Microsoft will give players to try games. It's like we're getting allowance all over again.

For more up-to-the-minute blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, check out PC World's complete coverage of CES 2010.

Trailer Of the GameRoom: