TechNews

Carbon dioxide converted to electricity

2013-07-25T15:58:00.000+05:00

(Credit: Comprehending the Climate Crisis)

As Earth struggles against the adverse effects of greenhouse gases, Bert Hamelers, Ph.D, and a group of researchers in the Netherlands have come up with an innovative idea to use carbon dioxide (CO2) to generate energy. According to the American Chemical Society, the researchers claim that harvesting of CO2 from power plants, industries and residences can produce 400 times the annual electrical output of the Hoover Dam. Hamelers also assured that generating additional electricity this way will be done without adding more CO2 to the atmosphere.
So how can electricity be harvested from CO2? To produce electric current, a combination of CO2 and water (or other liquids) are processed to create a flow of electrons. More information can be found here.

(Credit: Environmental Science & Technology Letters)

While this new concept has yet to be tested, and it remains to be seen how CO2 harvesting can be implemented on a large scale, the idea to convert CO2 to electricity is promising. For all you know, this could very well become the viable alternative energy source that brings an end to our global warming crisis.

Facebook reports $1.81 billion in revenue, 1.15 billion monthly active users

2013-07-25T15:54:00.000+05:00

Facebook saw its revenue grow year-over-year in its Q1 earnings reported in May, and that trend has continued for its second quarter. The company has just announced that it's pulled in $1.81 billion in revenue for Q2, beating analysts' expectations, while net income stood at $333 million. Of course, much of that money comes from ads: Facebook says that revenue from advertising now represents 88 percent of its total revenue, and that mobile advertising accounted for about 41 percent of its total advertising revenue for the quarter. Mark Zuckerberg highlighted that last bit in a statement, saying that "the work we've done to make mobile the best Facebook experience is showing good results and provides us with a solid foundation for the future."
In other numbers, Facebook also reported that it has 1.15 billion monthly active users as of June 30th, while its daily active users stood at 669 million. Mobile users were again its biggest growth area, with 819 million users actively checking in on their mobile devices each month (up 51 percent compared to the same quarter in 2012), and 469 million active on a daily basis. We'll keep you posted on any additional developments that may come out of the company's earnings call in the next hour.
Update: Zuckerberg and co. didn't have much additional news to offer during the earning's call, although he did comment briefly on Facebook Home, which he described as a "seed we're planting," and something to look at over the long term.

Google Translate homepage adds handwriting input, makes sense of your atrocious penmanship

2013-07-25T15:52:00.001+05:00

Mountain View's machine translation service does a pretty good job of sussing out the meaning of copy / pasted text from around the web, but what if you need to translate something you can't put your cursor on? Google's got that covered too: handwriting input. Users of the tool's mobile app have been able to manually write in characters for some time now, but the company has only recently implemented this feature on the Google Translate website -- making it easy to input text that falls outside outside of the standard standard roman character set. After scrawling your best Kanji-replica with a mouse, Google will offer users its best guess at the intended characters, which, when selected, drop into the translate box. Of course, don't blame Google if your writing illegibly sloppy. Check out the company's blog post

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, Drops Another Clue That Apple Wants To Take Over Your Car

2013-07-24T21:19:00.000+05:00

Much of the attention paid to products that Apple may be developing has focused on the so-called iWatch, an Apple-designed television and, of course, the new iPhone.
But in an earnings call on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized just how crucial it is for Apple to build something for the car, offering perhaps a clue to a project the company is working on.
"Having something in the automobile is very, very important," Cook said in response to a question from an analyst. "It's something that people want, and I think that Apple can do this in a unique way and better than anyone else. So it's a key focus for us."
At its annual developer's conference last month, Apple announced iOS in the Car, a feature in its forthcoming mobile operating system that will closely integrate iTunes, iMessage, Maps and Siri in cars from a dozen manufacturers beginning next year.
But a recent patent filing shows that Apple may be focusing on something much bigger than just the marriage of your iPhone and your car: building the car dashboard of the future.
Earlier this month, Apple Insider reported that the company had been granted a patent for "a touchscreen-based telematics system," basically a customizable car dashboard and console. The system features a touch screen that could change in feel, so the driver could make adjustments to it without looking away from the road.
In the design, cameras in the interior of the car pick up the position of the driver's hand and project that image onto the windshield, effectively showing the driver what he or she is doing.
The patent filing also reveals that the in-car system would be equipped with sensors that allow the driver to, for example, increase the temperature using a hand gesture.
The filing, which Apple Insider notes is a continuation of previous patents Apple acquired, includes descriptions of heads-up displays, customizable knobs and switches, and a screen that can be operated by a "laser pointer or like device."
The filing describes the patent as "A revolutionary form of dashboard or instrument panel results which is stylistically attractive, lower in cost, customizable by the user, programmable in both the tactile and visual sense, and with the potential of enhancing interior safety and vehicle operation."
Car manufacturers have responded to the proliferation of smartphones, and the safety risks of distracted driving, by selling cars with systems that try to integrate technology more safely.
But Apple has shown that one of its biggest strengths is designing beautiful, intuitive hardware. Rather than just sending data from an iPhone to a dashboard designed by a car manufacturer, or to a system designed by Blackberry, it would make sense that Apple would build its own from the ground up. After all, Cook did say that when it comes to having something in the car, "Apple can do this in a unique way and better than anyone else."
"I think it's a natural extension from the phone to go into the car, just like it is for the TV and for the watch," said Brian Colello, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar. "Apple's expertise is a simple, sleek user interface. Siri, Maps -- all of that lends itself well for an in-vehicle dashboard."
While Colello emphasized that it's not clear how Apple would make money from such a system, "It could be a nice area of innovation."

Samsung starts making 3GB low-power memory for smartphones

2013-07-24T20:01:00.001+05:00

We hope you weren't just getting used to having 2GB of RAM in a smartphone, because Samsung is already moving on. The company is now mass-producing 3GB LPDDR3 packages whose 0.8mm (0.03in) thickness can accommodate most device sizes. The capacious, 20nm-class memory should also be quick when there's a pair of symmetric channels to keep data flowing. The first smartphones with 3GB of RAM should ship in the second half of the year; Samsung isn't revealing which phones will have the honor, but it's not hard to make some educated guesses.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the industry's first mass production of three gigabyte (GB) low power double data rate 3 (LPDDR3) mobile DRAM, the highest density mobile memory solution for next-generation smartphones, which will bring a generation shift to the market from the 2GB packages that are widely used in current mobile devices.

The Samsung 3GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM uses six of the industry's smallest 20-nanometer (nm) class* four gigabit (Gb) LPDDR3 chips, in a symmetrical structure of two sets of three chips stacked in a single package only 0.8 millimeters high. With a full line-up of package dimensions, Samsung's new ultra-slim memory solutions will enable thinner smartphone designs and allow for additional battery space, while offering a data transfer speed of up to 2,133 megabits per second (Mbps) per pin.

"Three gigabyte mobile DRAM will be adopted in the most up-to-date, high-end smartphones starting in the second half of this year − an initial adoption that will expand to most high-end smartphones worldwide next year," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "We will develop a new 3GB LPDDR3 solution based on four 6Gb LPDDR3 DRAM chips by symmetrically stacking two chips on each side, which will boost smartphone performance to the next level by year-end."
With the increased mobile DRAM capacity, users can enjoy seamless high-quality, Full HD video playback and faster multitasking on their smartphones. Also, the new LPDDR3 speeds up data downloading and is able to offer full support for LTE-A (LTE Advanced) service, a next-generation mobile telecommunication standard.
Samsung's 3GB LPDDR3 DRAM connects with a mobile application processor using two symmetrical data transfer channels, each connected to a 1.5GB storage part. Though asymmetric data flow can cause sharp performance dips at certain settings, the symmetrical structure avoids such issues, while maximizing system level performance.
Considering that the current memory storage capacity for PCs is about 4GB, offering 3GB of DRAM memory on mobile devices should help most users enjoy PC-like performance, in narrowing the performance gap between PC and smartphone computing.
With the new 3GB LPDDR3 DRAM, Samsung is now offering the widest range of mobile DRAM densities (1GB, 2GB and 3GB), while providing the industry's first mobile DRAM based on 20-nm class process node technology. Samsung plans to continue to lead the growth of the mobile memory market, as it seeks to maintain unrivaled competitiveness in the premium memory sector.

Google lists Chromecast as a device in support docs, quickly removes it

2013-07-24T19:58:00.000+05:00

We're on the eve of a Google event with Sundar Pichai, and while we have some idea of what we'll see, the folks in Mountain View might've just shown us some of their other cards. Droid Life spotted "Chromecast" listed as a device on Google Play's support docs, but the entry has since been removed. The outlet speculates -- with the help of an anonymous tipster, of course -- that Chromecast is related to a TV dongle dubbed Chromekey, which streams content from mobile devices to television sets. What's more, a Droid Life reader chatted with a Google Play support representative who mentioned that "Chromecast is a TV service that's provided in some areas." The whole picture is fairly murky at this point, but we're hoping things will become clearer tomorrow.
Update: Version 5.1 of Google Play Music just started to trickle out, and an APK teardown has revealed even more mentions of Chromecast. By the sounds of an error message buried within the app's code, Chromecast devices will stream songs over the internet rather than from local hardware.

Viber support page hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

2013-07-24T18:36:00.000+05:00

The Syrian Electronic Army isn't happy with VoIP app developers as of late -- following an attack against Tango last week, the politically motivated hacking group has compromised Viber's support page. The SEA claims to have downloaded database backups from Viber that include phone numbers, device IDs and push notification tokens. However, the company believes that the attack was largely harmless for regular customers; SEA's team got access to top-level support systems, but not the all-important user databases. They're kept in a system that can't be reached by attacks like these, according to Viber. While that news is reassuring, we'd advise playing it safe by watching for any suspicious account activity.

NVIDIA announces 'fastest GPU ever' for pros, the 12GB Quadro K6000

2013-07-24T17:19:00.000+05:00

NVIDIA's just launched its latest flagship Quadro GPU for well-heeled graphics professionals, the Kepler-based Quadro K6000. The company claims it's "the fastest and most capable GPU ever built" with double the graphics capability of its Quadro 6000 predecessor. It also has 12GB of the "world's largest and fastest" DDR5 graphics memory, enabling companies like Nissan to load nearly complete vehicle models, for instance. Other niceties include 2,880 streaming multiprocessor cores, four simultaneous displays at up to 4K resolution, ultra-low latency video I/O and large scale visualization support. It'll hit the market this fall from workstation vendors like HP, Dell and Lenovo, along with system integrators and distribution partners like PNY. There's no pricing yet, but the current K5000 runs about $2,250 -- so, prime your budget expectations accordingly.

Apple makes £4.5bn profit

2013-07-24T14:56:00.002+05:00

Apple made £4.5bn profit in the last three months despite falling iPad sales, with new devices promised for the future.
"We have more than one tool in the toolbox," said Apple boss Tim Cook while discussing Apple's Q2 financial results. "We're working on some stuff that we're really proud of. We'll announce things when we're ready."
Apple took in a total of £23bn between April and June, slightly down from £28.4bn in the first three months of the year. But Cook probably isn't too upset, as that's still £4.5bn of pure profit.
The iPhone was Apple's most popular device, shifting 31.2m phones. The iPhone sold more than the 26m shifted in the first three months of the year, but less than the 37.4m sold this time last year.
By contrast, iPad sales are dropping: 14.6m iPads sold this quarter, down from 19m earlier this year and 17m last year.
But that's still a lot of tablets, by anybody's standards. "If there are other tablets selling, I don't know what they're being used for," said Cook. Ouch! Take that, Google Nexus 7.
Apple is expected to release not one but two iPhones before the end of the year, with rumours swirling about a regular iPhone 5S and a cheaper plastic model perhaps called the iPhone Light. And new software iOS 7 arrives in the next few months, which could revitalise sales of current phones and tablets.
Cook also hinted that connected cars could be in Apple's future. "Having something in the automobile is very, very important. It is something that people love," he said.

Facebook to ask users why they hide News Feed content

2013-07-24T14:50:00.000+05:00

Hiding posts on Facebook has been a pretty simple affair, but the firm's gearing up to add a little more nuance. Instead of simply dismissing updates or sponsored stories, the social network will soon ask users why they decided to banish them from their News Feed. Details on how the feature will work are still MIA, but it could very well function like the site's advertisement hiding feature, which asks if ads are uninteresting, misleading or otherwise unpleasant. Naturally, giving the outfit the extra intel will allow it to serve up content and ads that better please your palate. Facebook's Product Manager for Ads Fidji Simo told ABC News that it'll start testing the tweaks soon, and users should start seeing them surface within the next three to four months. In the meantime, feel free to hide posts without answering to Zuck.

Donate your Android device's processing power to science with BOINC

2013-07-23T18:00:00.000+05:00

If you've ever wanted to help out with a scientific research project but lack the PhD credentials, there's now a much simpler way: all you need is a decent Android device and a new app called BOINC. Similar to projects such as Folding@Home for laptops and desktops, the app harnesses your mobile device's extra CPU cycles to help crunch data for scientific studies. Don't worry, it'll only work if you're on Wi-Fi, so it won't eat up your data plan. You can choose which research endeavor to support from within BOINC, including Einstein@Home and FightAIDS@Home that seek to discover pulsars (stellar remnants) and AIDS treatment, respectively. The app, which you can install from Google Play, was designed to be as unobtrusive as possible and will work as long as you're running Android 2.3 or higher. Generous (and envious) iOS users, sit tight -- the developer is mulling over the possibility of creating an iOS app next.

Android smartphone users will soon have a chance to participate in important scientific research every time they charge their phones. Using a new app created by researchers at UC Berkeley, users will be able to donate a phone's idle computing power to crunch numbers for projects that could lead to breakthroughs ranging from novel medical therapies to the discovery of new stars.
BOINC logo
A new Android app called BOINC allows smartphone users to contribute their phone's processing power to scientific research.
The app was created by a Berkeley project called BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing), which is known for its computer software that supports more than 50 volunteer computing projects around the world. BOINC software allows projects to tap unused processing power donated by computer owners around the world to analyze data or run simulations that would normally require cost-prohibitive supercomputers.
The new Android app, also called BOINC, will be available Monday, July 22, from the Google Play Store and works on Android versions 2.3 or later. The app currently supports several popular computing projects, including Einstein@Home, which searches radio telescope data for spinning stars called pulsars, and FightAIDS@Home, which searches for more effective AIDS therapies as part of IBM's World Community Grid. Android, owned by Google Inc., is the operating system used by two-thirds of all smartphones today.
"There are about a billion Android devices right now, and their total computing power exceeds that of the largest conventional supercomputers," said BOINC creator David Anderson, a research scientist at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. "Mobile devices are the wave of the future in many ways, including the raw computing power they can provide to solve computationally difficult problems."
Creation of the app was funded by the Max Planck Institute, which runs Einstein@Home; Google Inc.; and the National Science Foundation, which has supported BOINC since 2002. IBM assisted in the design of the user interface and organized beta testing of the app.
Einstein@home
Sign up for Einstein@home and search for spinning stars called pulsars using the new BOINC app.
"Our main goals are to make it easy for scientists to use BOINC to create volunteer computing projects to further their research, and to make it easier for volunteers to participate," Anderson said.
Anderson noted that the app will run only when the phone is plugged in and charging and after the battery is more than 95 percent charged, since computing can slow the recharge rate. It will only communicate with computing projects through the Internet when connected via WiFi, to avoid burning through users' data plans. These default settings can be customized by users, however.
Other projects now available through the BOINC app are Asteroids@home, operated by Charles University in Prague; OProject@Home; and Yoyo@home.
Among the projects slated to be adapted to the Android BOINC app is the first and most successful volunteer computing project, UC Berkeley's SETI@home, which analyzes radio telescope data in search of intelligent signals from space.
Owners of iPhones should stay tuned. A BOINC app for Apple products like iPhone and iPad may be Anderson's next project.

Ubuntu Edge smart phone nabs over £2m funding overnight

2013-07-23T15:10:00.002+05:00

Ubuntu Edge, the conceptual smart phone that's looking for funding, has raised over 2 million quid since its debut yesterday.
Proving that lots of people are keen on the idea of a mobile that runs both Android and the new Ubuntu OS platform, the Indiegogo page where donators can throw money at the hypothetical phone now shows over $3.3m has been collected, and probably more by the time you click that link.
While that's a huge amount of money to raise in a short time, the Edge still has a long way to go, and that's because British firm Canonical is looking for a total of 32 million dollars before it'll start building the phone. Yeesh!
If it gets funded, the Edge will launch in 2014, with 40,000 units being produced at first.
The impressive early boost to the phone's coffers could be down to an introductory deal, that saw those who pledged money on the first day get eventual access to the phone at a cut-down price.
The Edge, which will have at least 4GB of RAM and a 4.5-inch 720p screen, has only a month to raise the cash. If the funds aren't generated by 21 August then the mobile won't be built, and Canonical will likely ponder whether they could have asked for just a little bit less upfront moolah.
Elsewhere the Edge -- should it become real -- will have "the latest, fastest processor" and an impressive 128GB of storage. The phone would be the first purpose-built mobile to run Ubuntu OS, a fledging platform that looks to compete with rival operating systems from Apple and Google, and impressed us when it was revealed earlier this year.

Microsoft share of Web devices falls to 25% from 90% in 2009

2013-07-23T13:59:00.000+05:00

Software made by Microsoft now runs on less than a quarter of devices that can connect to the Internet -- down from over 90 per cent just four years ago.
The explosion in mobile devices running Apple's iOS and Google's Android software has massively diminished the importance of Microsoft in people's daily lives, according to new analysis from mobile industry expert Benedict Evans.
Taking published sales figures and informed industry analyst estimates, Evans calculated total sales of devices over the last four years. Essentially, he turned this graph, which shows flat PC sales and rocketing smart mobile devices:

...on its side, and came up with this one:

It's a solid piece of number crunching, but my caveat would be the frequency with which people buy new phones far outstrips how often they buy PCs. Just because you haven't bought a new laptop in three or four years doesn't mean you aren't using it every day. And just because your phone can connect to the Internet, it doesn't mean you're necessarily using it for anything other than calls and texts.
Nevertheless, it's clear that many people are buying tablets where four years ago they'd have bought a laptop. And we know they're not buying Microsoft tablets, or even PCs running Windows 8.
"PC sales aren't going to zero this year," Evans concedes. "But the replacement cycle, already at 5 years, will lengthen further and further, more and more apps will move to mobile or the cloud, and for many people the PC will end up like the printer or fax -- vestigial reminders of an older way of doing things."
Microsoft still makes a vast amount of money from Office, which it seems to be successfully transitioning to the Internet-based Office 365. It's making more from Windows Phone, but a large part of that is from Android patents it owns -- its market share is minuscule.
As for its efforts to get into the gaming and entertainment business, it was all going swimmingly until the Xbox One launch. Having backtracked on its disastrous online requirement, there's every chance it may sell millions, as long as it has great games. But there's no doubt it took a serious dent there, handing a huge advantage to Sony, whose PlayStation 4 is still much cheaper.

Cyberattacks account for up to $1 trillion in global losses

2013-07-23T09:57:00.000+05:00

A new report by McAfee shows that hacking and cybercrime is costing the global economy billions; however, it's not as bad as was previously reported.

(Credit: McAfee)

While still costly, cyberattacks might not be depleting government cash at the rate previously thought.
A new joint report released Monday by security firm McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies has lowered the estimate from $1 trillion in global annual losses to a range of $300 billion to $1 trillion.
The report's authors say that estimating the annual costs of cyberattacks is extremely difficult because some companies hide their losses, while others don't even know the value of what has been stolen from them.
In the new report, the authors look at losses in six categories: the loss of intellectual property, cybercrime, loss of business information, service disruptions, the cost of securing networks, and reputational damage to a hacked company.
"We use several analogies where costs have already been quantified to provide an idea of the scope of the problem, allowing us to set rough bounds -- a ceiling and a floor -- for the cost of malicious cyber activity, by comparing it to other kinds of crime and loss," the report reads.
For example, in the U.S., car crashes cost the country $99 billion to $168 billion per year, or 0.7 percent to 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product. In comparison, cyberattacks cost the U.S. $24 billion to $120 billion per year, or 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent of the GDP. The report also puts U.S. job losses from cyberattacks at 508,000.
In 2009, McAfee released a report that said data theft and breaches from cybercrime were costing businesses as much as $1 trillion globally in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage. While the global figure from McAfee's new report still states $1 trillion, it is tampered by the $300 billion low-end figure.

Not only are hackers putting a drain on the global economy, they are also getting their hands on tons of data. A study released by Team Cymru in February said that overseas hackers are stealing as much as one terabyte of data per day from governments, businesses, militaries, and academic facilities. According to Team Cymru, the hackers are so sophisticated and are running such massive campaigns that many of them could be state-sponsored.
McAfee's report released today is a preliminary analysis for a larger study that looks even deeper into the costs of hacking and cybercrime.
"Cybercrime and cyber espionage cost the global economy billions of dollars every year. The dollar amount, large as it is likely to be, may not fully reflect the damage to the global economy," the report reads. "Cyber espionage and crime slows the pace of innovation, distorts trade, and brings with it the social costs associated with crime and job loss. This larger effect may be more important than any actual number and it is one we will focus on in our final report."

New Gmail layout spawns targeted ads that look like emails

2013-07-23T08:00:00.001+05:00

Gmail's new layout doesn't just keep your inbox organized, it also gives Google the perfect opportunity to send you unsolicited email ads. These sponsored missives appear as highlighted entries under the Promotions tab, where you can also find deals and updates from online services you subscribe to. To be fair, Gmail has long displayed advertisements at the top of your inbox, so this development isn't totally new. In a statement sent to Venturebeat, the company says it's merely relegating ads "to a more appropriate place" and that they won't show up unless they're relevant to you. No word yet if this is a permanent arrangement, but if it makes you livid, you can always kill your Promotions tab or dismiss the intrusive emails by clicking the "x" button on the right.

Google visits reportedly represent nearly 25 percent of North American web traffic

2013-07-23T03:24:00.002+05:00

Google's pretty popular here in North America, but one analytics firm is reporting some figures that might sound a bit too good to be true. DeepField, a company that focuses on analyzing web performance, is today claiming that Google broke a web record within the last month -- visits to the site now represent 25 percent of all North American web traffic, with 60 percent of all internet-connected devices accessing the service each day. Netflix, for its part, represents the leader in bandwidth (despite YouTube falling under the Google umbrella), but far more users access the search site within a 24-hour period, as you'd probably expect. Without a statement from Mountain View, it's important to note that these figures are unconfirmed. Considering Google's reach, however, the claims might not be far off.

Google buys 6.3 percent stake in Google Glass display manufacturer Himax

2013-07-22T16:04:00.002+05:00

If the name "Himax" prompted you to shrug, then you're not alone, but it's the latest company to receive a cash injection from Eric Schmidt's checking account. The Taiwanese semiconductor firm is selling Google a 6.3 percent stake in Himax Display Technologies, a subsidiary that's most famous for making the liquid-crystal on silicon chips used to drive Google Glass' head-mounted display. The cash will be used to expand capacity at the manufacturer, which already counts Intel as an investor -- and if Google likes what it sees, the search giant has an option to buy a further 8.5 percent worth of stock within the next calendar year. It's probably too early to hope that the project will help bring the price of future Glass headsets down, but we're going to, so there.

Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) ("Himax" or "Company"), a supplier and fabless manufacturer of advanced display drivers and other semiconductor products, today announced that it has entered into an agreement ("the Agreement") with Google Inc. pursuant to which Google has agreed to invest in the Company's subsidiary, Himax Display Inc. ("HDI"). The purpose of the investment is to fund production upgrades, expand capacity and further enhance production capabilities at HDI's facilities that produce liquid crystal on silicon ("LCOS") chips and modules used in applications including head-mounted display (HMD) such as Google Glass, head-up display (HUD) and pico-projector products. Under the Agreement, Himax will also invest additional amount in HDI to fund its ongoing capacity expansion. HDI will also use a portion of the proceeds to substantially reduce its loan from Himax. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013 subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
Under the Agreement, Google will purchase certain amount of preferred shares in HDI. Upon closing, Google will hold a 6.3% interest in HDI. Google also has an option to make additional investment of preferred shares at the same price within one year from closing. If the option is exercised in full, Google will own a total of up to 14.8% in HDI. Himax Technologies, Inc. holds 81.5% of HDI at present and will remain the major shareholder of HDI after the transaction. Google will join the core group of HDI shareholders including KPCB Holdings, Inc., Khosla Ventures I, L.P. and Intel Capital Corporation.
Google's investment in HDI will not have a dilutive effect on Himax's Nasdaq-traded shares, HIMX.
"Google is a preeminent global technology leader. We are delighted to receive this investment and to form a strategic partnership with Google," stated Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Himax. "Beginning the second quarter of this year, we had already begun expanding capacity to meet demand for our LCOS product line. This investment from Google further validates our commitment to developing breakthrough technologies and state-of-the-art production facilities. We look forward to leveraging this investment and our collective expertise with Google to create unique and transformational LCOS technologies for many years ahead."
Founded in 2004, Himax Display, Inc. has focused on developing commercial applications for LCOS technologies, in-house manufacturing expertise and production lines with proven, high-volume shipment track records. Over the last few years, HDI has devoted its research and development of its LCOS technology for new applications of head-mounted display and other wearable computing applications.

Some SIM cards can be hacked 'in about two minutes' with a pair of text messages

2013-07-22T15:02:00.002+05:00

Every phone needs a SIM card, and you'd think such a ubiquitous standard would be immune to any hijack attempts. Evidently not, as Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs -- who found a hole in GSM call encryption several years ago -- has uncovered a flaw that allows some SIM cards to be hacked with only a text message. By cloaking an SMS so it appears to have come from a carrier, Nohl said that in around a quarter of cases, he receives an error message back containing the necessary info to work out the SIM's digital key. With that knowledge, another text can be sent that opens it up so one can listen in on calls, send messages, make mobile purchases and steal all manner of data.
Apparently, this can all be done "in about two minutes, using a simple personal computer," but only affects SIMs running the older data encryption standard (DES). Cards with the newer Triple DES aren't affected; also, the other three quarters of SIMs with DES Nohl probed recognized his initial message as a fraud. There's no firm figure on how many SIMs are at risk, but Nohl estimates the number at up to 750 million. The GSM Association has been given some details of the exploit, which have been forwarded to carriers and SIM manufacturers that use DES. Nohl plans to spill the beans at the upcoming Black Hat meeting. If you're listening, fine folks at the NSA, tickets are still available.

Apple testing larger iPhone, iPad screens with suppliers

2013-07-22T10:55:00.003+05:00

Apple has been testing iPad screens in recent months that measure almost 13 inches diagonally, The Wall Street Journal reports

Apple is testing versions of its iPhone and iPad with larger screens, according to a brief news alert Sunday on The Wall Street Journal.
The gadget maker has been testing iPad screens in recent months that measure almost 13 inches diagonally and iPhone screens larger than their current 4-inch size, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The alert appears to buttress reports last month that Apple was exploring iPhones with screens as large as 5.7 inches. Reuters reported in June that the company was considering the introduction of "at least two bigger iPhones next year," one with a 4.7-inch screen and the other a 5.7-incher.
Observers theorize that Apple has been looking to install a larger screen size for on an iPhone to attract consumers smitten with Samsung's 5-inch Galaxy S4 and 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2.
Some Asia-based reports hold that Apple has decided to delay the iPhone 5S in order to switch to a larger screen size. The 5S was expected to hit the market in September or October but has been pushed back to the end of the year to allow Apple to increase the screen size from 4 inches to 4.3 inches, the Commercial Times reported last week.

Panasonic, LG, Sanyo fined US$57.6m for price fixing

2013-07-22T08:19:00.001+05:00

The US Department of Justice has fined Panasonic, its subsidiary Sanyo and LG Chem for price fixing automotive parts and laptop batteries.

Panasonic, its subsidiary Sanyo and LG Chem have agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines totalling over US$57 million for illegal price fixing, the US Department of Justice announced.
Panasonic, which has been involved in a conspiracy to fix the prices of automotive parts since at least 1998, has agreed to pay US$45.8 million for a three-count felony. These parts included wheel switches, turn switches, wiper switches, combination switches, door courtesy switches and steering angle columns sold to Toyota between 2003 and 2010; and automotive HID ballasts sold to Honda, Mazda and Nissan between 1998 and 2010.
In two separate one-count charges, Sanyo has agreed to pay US$10.731 million and LG Chem US$1.056 million for conspiring to fix the prices of cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells used in laptop battery packs sold worldwide.
An additional 11 companies and 15 executives have also agreed to plead guilty and pay a total of more than US$874 million in fines as part of the automotive parts investigation, with 15 individuals sentenced to serve jail time.
Sanyo and LG Chem are the first companies to be charged in an ongoing investigation into the cylindrical lithium-ion battery market conducted by the US Antitrust Division and the FBI.
"The FBI remains committed to protecting American consumers and businesses from corporate corruption. The conduct of Panasonic, Sanyo and LG Chem resulted in inflated production costs for notebook computers and cars purchased by US consumers," said Joseph S Campbell, FBI Criminal Investigative Division deputy assistant director. "These investigations illustrate our efforts to ensure market fairness for US businesses by bringing corporations to justice when their commercial activity violates antitrust laws."

SIM card flaw said to allow hijacking of millions of phones

2013-07-21T23:20:00.000+05:00

Vulnerability in the security key that protects the card could allow eavesdropping on phone conversations, fraudulent purchases, or impersonation of the handset's owner, a security researcher warns.

A vulnerability on SIM cards used in some mobile phones could allow malware infection and surveillance, a security researcher warns.
Karsten Nohl, founder of Security Research Labs in Berlin, told The New York Times that he has identified a flaw in SIM encryption technology that could allow an attacker to obtain a SIM card's digital key, the 56-digit sequence that allows modification of the card. The flaw, which may affect as many as 750 million mobile phones, could allow eavesdropping on phone conversations, fraudulent purchases, or impersonation of the handset's owner, Nohl warned.
"We can remotely install software on a handset that operates completely independently from your phone," warned Nohl, who said he managed the entire operation in less than two minutes using a standard PC. "We can spy on you. We know your encryption keys for calls. We can read your SMSs. More than just spying, we can steal data from the SIM card, your mobile identity, and charge to your account."
The vulnerability was found in the Digital Encryption Standard, a cryptographic method developed by IBM in the 1970s that is used on about 3 billion cell phones every day. While the encryption method has been beefed up in the past decade, many handsets still use the older standard.

Tests showed that 1,000 cards in Europe and North America exhibited signs of the flaw. Nohl, who plans to detail the flaw at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas next month, said he has already shared the results of his two-year study with GSM Association, a trade group representing the cell phone industry.
GSM Association spokeswoman Claire Cranton told the Times that her organization had already passed the results on members of its group that still rely on the older standard.
"We have been able to consider the implications and provide guidance to those network operators and SIM vendors that may be impacted," Cranton said in a statement.
Nohl, who has a doctorate in computer engineering from the University of Virginia, made headlines in 2008 by publicizing weaknesses in wireless smart card chips used in transit systems around the globe. A year later, he cracked the algorithm used on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cell phones, which is designed to prevent attackers from eavesdropping on calls.

Amid Apple developer site outage, users report unauthorized password resets

2013-07-21T17:00:00.000+05:00

Apple's developer site has been down for two days. Some have received password reset e-mails that appear to be sent by Apple but were not authorized -- suggesting foul play.

Reports on social-networking and microblogging sites may signal security trouble for Apple.
Apple's Dev Center, the member's only area for paid developers, has been down for about two days, for no given reason. Stating, "we'll be back soon," Apple said Thursday that the site was "undergoing maintenance for an extended period."
Apple's developer entrance site, however, remains up and working fine.
Friday rolled on, and the site's outage continued. iOS and OS X developers began to get cranky, particularly during a time in which iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks are in beta and developers remain eager to get their hands on the latest software bits.
Existing application developers are unable to access any part of the developer site -- including downloads, help, guides, support, and crucial developer tools. More worryingly, developers that need peer support are unable to access Apple's developer forums, where paid application writers discuss all things software.

According to posts on various sites, iTunes Connect and app provisioning are working fine, but the developer portal site appears to be taking the brunt of the issue.
The site's message changed late Friday to state the maintenance is "taking longer than expected." It added: "If your program membership was set to expire during this period, it has been extended and your app will remain on the App Store."
Rumblings across social networks and developer forums point to concern that Apple may have suffered a security breach, similar to an attack on Dropbox last year, which led to a spam attack on many of its users. The logic is that any scheduled maintenance would likely not come at a time during beta testing.
Emergency maintenance, such as to patch or fix a security flaw or lapse, could happen at any time and without warning.
Twitter has also been abuzz with reports that users have received password reset e-mails, including some repeated attempts, as reports from Neowin and Hacker News noted.

(Screenshot: ZDNet, via Twitter)

Not every developer has received an Apple password reset request -- whether authorized by Apple, or sent as a result of an attacker or hacker attempting to reset a developer's password without permission.
(We also checked other keywords, such as "google reset" and "microsoft reset," and even "account reset" on social-media sites, and nothing appeared particularly out of order.)
A number of Apple developers on Twitter responded when asked if they had received a password reset e-mail. This seems to point toward a spattering of password reset e-mails rather than Apple forcing its users to change their passwords.
Tumblr co-founder and Instapaper creator Marco Arment said in a tweet Saturday afternoon: "The longer it goes, the more I believe the security-issue theory."

But if it is a security issue, there still remain unanswered questions over what happened.
Apple, a company that is notoriously secretive, will have to not only admit to its users what happened to cause the outage and downtime but also explain in precise detail what happened, when, how, and ultimately why.
The unauthorized password reset e-mails that have been landing in in-boxes over the past 24 hours likely have nothing to do with a flaw the company patched in March. A flaw in the iForgot password reset system could have allowed an attacker to reset an account with just an e-mail address and date of birth.
At this point, in true style for the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant, it's not saying anything to any effect. We've put in questions to Apple, but did not hear back by publication time.
We'll keep this article updated as and when more comes in.

Chrome OS beta update brings 'immersive' mode, smarter app search and UI tweaks

2013-07-21T14:30:00.000+05:00

If you're running Chrome OS betas like it's not even a thing, we're pegging you as a bit of a maverick. The latest update (29.0.1537.32) rewards your non-conformity with a bevy of small, but useful new features. There's Kernel 3.8 for the Pixel and Samsung 550 users, but likely you're more interested in the new "immersive" full screen mode that hides the shelf and tool bar. Or, what about the ability to pin apps to the shells with drag and drop? There's other tricks, too, such as wallpaper sync (across all your machines), UI scaling and a smarter app launcher. For more details, click here

Firefox OS 1.1 now available for Geeksphone devices

2013-07-21T12:33:00.001+05:00

Betting on Mozilla's mobile operating system? There's a good chance, then, that you're kicking around a Geeksphone, one of the few devices known for running Firefox OS. Owners of the company's Keon and Peak handsets can now manually upgrade their devices to Firefox 1.1, which -- according to enthusiasts on the Geeksphone forums and Twitter -- speeds up boot times, patches an assortment of bugs and tacks on minor navigational and display improvements. Naturally, users interested in trying the build will have to download and flash it themselves. Now the million dollar question people are asking, can Firefox OS compete with Android, iOS and Windows Phone and only time can answer this question. For now, lets hope it doesn't die and FF OS succeeds.
Ciao

Apple reportedly signs Samsung for next-gen iPhone chips

2013-07-21T04:49:00.000+05:00

South Korean electronics giant will supply Apple with A9 chips that will be used in a future iPhone, the Korea Economic Daily reports.

Samsung in iPhone 7?

(Credit: CNET)

Apple and Samsung's relationship is apparently not so strained as to prevent the South Korean electronics giant from providing the chips that will power future iPhones, a recent report claimed.
Samsung will supply Apple with A9 chips based on a 14-nanometer process node starting in 2015, the Korea Economic Daily reported Monday. The chip would go into production in 2015 and power an iPhone, theoretically called the iPhone 7, which could be released in the latter half of that year, according to the report.
The report comes a few weeks after another news agency reported that Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company had reached a three-year deal for developing Apple's A series chips, extending all the way to silicon called the A9.

To date, Samsung has been the exclusive manufacturer of Apple's A series processors for its iOS devices -- including the current A6 chip. But Apple reportedly has been reducing its chip orders to the South Korean electronics giant for its next-generation iPhone as it tries to diversify supply lines and reduce its dependence on its legal foe and competitor.
Apple reportedly tried to secure exclusive access to TSMC smartphone chips by making an investment offer to the custom chipmaker in excess of $1 billion. The cash would have assured Apple that production would have been reserved for its products, but TSMC rejected the bid -- along with a similar one from Qualcomm, Bloomberg reported last month.
Apple reportedly is exploring a possible deal with chipmaker Globalfoundries to produce future chips, giving the company the kind of control over both design and chip manufacturing that Intel has. However, a semiconductor industry source told CNET that Apple and Globalfoundries were "kicking the tires," but that "by no means" is any firm deal imminent at this point.