Nerd Alert

Hackers use Crown Casino’s own security cameras to beat the house

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:40:00 +0000

An Australian casino called Crown Casino was hit by a group of high-tech hackers. The hackers co-opted the casinos own security cameras for the heist that saw them to make off with about $33 million. The hackers broke into the casino’s surveillance camera network and used the cameras to gain an advantage during some high-stakes card games.

According to reports, the heist took place over only eight different hands of cards before the gambler in the casino was captured. Apparently, the person in the casino was a high roller described only as a foreigner that regularly bet and lost lots of money. The security cameras that were used by the hackers during the highest were in the VIP high-roller room of the casino.

The hackers operating the cameras passed the gambler signals to tip them off about the cards that his opponents held. Apparently, the gambler was staying with his family in the Crown Towers in Melbourne Australia when the casino discovered the fraud. The man was kicked out of the casino and is banned from returning.

Reports indicate that it’s surprisingly easy to intercept signals from many casino cameras if the casino isn’t taking precautions. The casino hopes to recover some of the money that was taken during heist. At this point, there’s no indication of whether or not criminal charges will be filed or if any of the hackers who gained access to the casino’s camera system were caught.

[via Wired]

(info provided by Shane McGlaun at Slashgear.com)

Judge: FBI surveillance method violates First Amendment

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:38:00 +0000

A judge in California has ruled that National Security Letters, more commonly called NSLs, are in violation of the First Amendment. This is a significant ruling, and comes at a time when the FBI has come under fire for using them with false claims and other such issues. NSLs are said to be a vital part of combating terrorism.

National Security Letters allow the FBI to pull records on individuals without having to go through the courts, a surveillance method that involves a gag order on the fact that it even existed. Those who are the subjects of the NSLs (meaning individuals whose information has been obtained with them) are not notified that the NSL was ever used.

According to Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston, that aspect of the NSLs is in violation of the First Amendment. Her ruling earlier today has been stayed because the US government could appeal, but if it the ruling holds, NSLs will not be permitted because they are unconstitutional.

The way NSLs work is fairly straight forward. An official’s supervisor must state that the records to be pulled are related to or somehow relevant in an investigation in a national security issue. This allows the FBI to avoid the hassle of a warrant, something the agency claims is necessary in our post-911 world. Likewise, the agency has stated that problems cited with NSLs – abuse, namely – have been corrected.

[via Washington Post]

(info provided by Brittany Hillen at Slashgear.com)

EA lied about SimCity not being offline-capable

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

It seems like SimCity is just full of bad news. SimCity has received a lot of negative feedback for its ridiculous Always-On DRM feature. At first, EA stated that the Always-On DRM was added mainly because of security issues, but now its saying that it was added because the developers envisioned SimCity as “always-connected”. Lucy Bradshaw, the General Manager of EA’s Maxis label, stated that they had designed SimCity “with multiplayer in mind”. By having the always-connected feature, they were able to create essentially an MMO.

Bradshaw explained that they envisioned a game where cities would constantly be up to date. Players would be able to help each other out with supplies and services, send gifts to each other, promote trading in the Global Marketplace, and more. Simply, they wanted players to always be connected to each other. Even if players wanted to play alone, Bradshaw stated that they’d eventually want to play with other players.

Now here’s the part where everyone gets pissed off. Bradshaw says, “So, could we have built a subset offline mode? Yes. But we rejected that idea because it didn’t fit with our vision.” Essentially, SimCity could have operated with both an online multiplayer mode, as well as a single-player mode that many of the series’s fans asked for. Bradshaw justifies her case by saying that there are “thousands” of people who love SimCity’s always-connected feature, a statement that has been debunked by thousands and thousands of other fans.

Obviously Bradshaw’s statement drew in a huge list of angry SimCity gamers. Many came out to call Bradshaw and the SimCity developers liars. They commented on how the “always up-to-date” trading services sometimes take up to an hour to update, and how even online saving is unreliable, with many players losing multiple cities due to an error in the cloud-based servers. The SimCity launch was a massive failure due to the Always-On DRM, and EA has experienced continuous PR damage since then. This may be the last nail in the coffin for the SimCity series.

[via EA]

(info provided by Brian Sin at Slashgear.com)

Ancient Copy of 10 Commandments Goes Digital

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:18:00 +0000

The Cambridge Digital Library has just made available thousands of pages from fragile religious manuscripts for Internet users' perusal, including a 2,000-year-old copy of the 10 Commandments, known as the "Nash Papyrus."

Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947, the "Nash Papyrus," also called "The Ten Commandments," was the oldest known manuscript containing a text from the Hebrew Bible. It gets its name from the Egyptologist Walter Llewellyn Nash who purchased the manuscript from an antiquities dealer in 1902.

The text is among several important religious documents that were made public in a series of high-quality zoom-friendly images by the Cambridge Digital Library, which draws on the British university's vast collection of manuscripts. [See Images of the Religious Texts]

"Because of their age and delicacy these manuscripts are seldom able to be viewed — and when they are displayed, we can only show one or two pages," university librarian Anne Jarvis said in a statement. "Now, through the generosity of the Polonsky Foundation, anyone with a connection to the Internet can select a work of interest, turn to any page of the manuscript, and explore it in extraordinary detail."

Leonard Polonsky, whose foundation has funded the project, added that he was "delighted to see such important materials being made freely available to the world."

Other texts posted include an ancient copy of the New Testament, called the "Codex Bezae," which contains all four Gospels (though the only complete one is the Gospel of Luke) and the Acts of the Apostles in both Greek and Latin. The Codex Bezae, thought to date from the late fourth or early fifth century, includes the oldest copy of the story of the adulterous woman (John 7.53-8.11). The phrase "let him who is without sin, cast the first stone" comes from that story.

The "Book of Deer" was also made available online. This pocket gospel book is about 6.2 inches (16 centimeters) tall and 4.3 inches (11 cm) wide and is generally dated to the first half of the 10th century. Its name comes from additions that were made to the text in Gaelic or Middle Irish, likely by someone in Deer in Aberdeenshire.

The digital collection also contains several thousand items from the world's largest set of medieval Jewish manuscripts. Called the Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection, the manuscript fragments were found in a storeroom in Egypt in the late 1890s and detail life in the Jewish community at Fustat, near Cairo.

Beyond texts with Jewish or Judeo-Christian significance, the online collection includes several very early fragments of the Quran, from the eigth or ninth centuries, and Sanskrit manuscripts covering all the major religious traditions of South Asia.

You can explore some of the library's ancient texts here: http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/.

(info provided By Megan Gannon, News Editor | LiveScience.com )

T-Mobile to end subsidies, offer only full-priced phones and value plans in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:44:00 +0000

Earlier today, T-Mobile announced that it will be offering Apple products starting in 2013, but another thing that the carrier is introducing in 2013 is the death of subsidized devices, and the introduction of only cheap value plans. This means you’ll have to pay full price for a handset, but the plans themselves will be cheaper than before.

The company plans to move entirely to its Value Plans in 2013, and they say that the new strategy will make the company’s voice and data lineup more competitive, especially for subscribers who don’t mind paying full price for their handsets or bringing over an unlocked device from another carrier.

However, if you don’t want to pay the full price for a new phone up front, T-Mobile is planning to offer devices at subsidized prices, and will let you finance the rest over a 20 month or so. Plus, T-Mobile said that 80% of its activations last quarter were for Value Plans, which suggests people are actually into those plans the most.

Full details haven’t been released, such as if the financing part of buying a full-priced phone will require at least some sort of contract, but we’re guessing that the carrier will have a decent system in place to take care of someone who backs out of a plan early while still owing money on a phone.

(info provided Craig Lloyd, at Slashgear.com)

Four big carriers plan to roll out text-to-911 by 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:39:00 +0000

The big four wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, have reached an agreement to enable text-to-911 service in 2014. The agreement has been shipped off to the FCC, which will discuss the matter on December 12. While the agreement won’t bring the ability to text emergency services to all wireless users by 2014, it will give the service a large boost in that direction.

The big four wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, have reached an agreement to enable text-to-911 service in 2014. The agreement has been shipped off to the FCC, which will discuss the matter on December 12. While the agreement won’t bring the ability to text emergency services to all wireless users by 2014, it will give the service a large boost in that direction.
(info provided Brittany Hillen at Slashgear.com)

Delta sued by California over privacy law violations

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Delta Airlines has been sued by the state of California due to Internet privacy law violations. Specifically, the airline has failed to detail what personal data its mobile app collects from users and how it proceeds in using that information. As a result, Delta could be hit with fines as high as $2,500 per violation, plus its app could be blocked.

On October 30, we reported that Delta, along with OpenTable and United Continental, were notified via letter from California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris that the company’s mobile app had an inaccessible privacy policy, something that violated state law. Delta was given 30 days to make the privacy policy accessible, or it would face fines. Delta responded to the issue, saying that it would comply.

Now 30 days have come and gone, and it seems that if Delta did tweak its mobile privacy policy in response, it did not do so according to state law. Attorney General Harris’s office has issued an email statement detailing the information collected by Delta’s app, which includes email addresses, names, phone numbers, and more. If Delta is found to be in violation of the law, it could end up having to shell out $2,500 per app download.

The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco, and is in reference to California’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Under the law, Internet-based services that collect user data, such as names and addresses, are required to have an easily accessible privacy policy that details what information is gathered and how that information is used. Thus far, Delta’s mobile privacy policy has not met these requirements. The airline hasn’t responded to the issue yet.

[via Bloomberg]
(info provided Brittany Hillen at Slashgear.com)

Foxconn to expand to the US for clients seeking made in USA designation

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:35:00 +0000

About a month ago, rumors started circulating that Foxconn was looking for the opportunity to expandinto the United States. Foxconn is one of the main manufacturers of a number of products that Apple designs. Interestingly, some of Apple’s iMac all-in-one computers are now pegged as assembled in the United States.

Products with the made in the USA designation are a very big deal to some consumers in the US. Typically, manufacturing operations for companies such as Foxconn are conducted in China where labor is significantly cheaper than in the US. However, Bloomberg is now reporting that Foxconn is in fact planning an American expansion to be able to offer its clients products that are Made in USA.

Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou has stated that he wants to bring US engineers to Asia where they can be trained in manufacturing before putting them to work in the US. Some of the components that Foxconn uses in construction today are manufactured in the US reports Bloomberg including processors for phones and the glass that is used in displays.

At this point, it remains unclear which Foxconn partners (other than Apple) are pushing for made in USA, and when Foxconn might launch operations within the US. Apple CEO Tim Cook hasn’t offered any details on where the manufacturer in the US would take place or how many Apple products would be produced in the US. However, Cook has said that US operations would include more than final assembly. FTC rules specifically note that a product can’t simply be screwed together in the US and be called Made in the USA.

[via Bloomberg]

(info provided Shane McGlaun at Slashgear.com)

Apple, T-Mobile agree to bring products out in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:11:00 +0000

T-Mobile USA and Apple have agreed to sell products together next year.

That's according to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, which disclosed the agreement in aninvestor update sent via press release.

"In addition, T-Mobile USA has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together in 2013," the statement said.

It remains unclear whether the agreement actually means the iPhone -- which isn't mentioned in the release. The deal could be limited to selling the iPad or iPad Mini.

But a deal for Apple to sell the iPhone through T-Mobile would make sense as Apple looks to expand its base of potential customers as widely as possible. The company already sells the iPhone at the other three national carriers, as well as several regional and prepaid carriers, so it makes sense to tap into T-Mobile's customer base as well.

T-Mobile has long been the odd-man out among the major carriers, all of which sell the iPhone. A deal had previously been complicated by incompatible spectrum that would have forced Apple to build a specific version of the smartphone for the carrier, but that has changed with T-Mobile moving its higher-speed network onto compatible spectrum.

T-Mobile clearly wants to sell the iPhone, even if it doesn't want the costs associated with it. The carrier has enticed consumers to bring their own unlocked iPhones and offers plans with nano-SIMs to enable an easy switch. Only AT&T iPhones can work on T-Mobile's network, and for many markets, customers only have access to the slower network. That is expected to change as T-Mobile continues to upgrade its network around the country.

(info provided by Roger Cheng at Cnet.com)

Zeus botnet steals $47M from European bank customers

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:06:00 +0000

A new version of the Zeus botnet was used to steal about $47 million from European banking customers in the past year, security researchers report.

Dubbed "Eurograbber" by security vendors Versafe and Check Point Software Technologies in a report (PDF) released today, the malware is designed to defeat the two-factor authentication process banks use for transactions by intercepting bank messages sent to victims' phones.

A variant of the Zeus malware used to steal more than $100 million, Eurograbber typically launched its attack when a victim clicked on a malicious link most likely included in a phishing attempt. After installing customized variants of the Zeus, SpyEye, and CarBerp Trojans Trojans to the victim's computer, victims would be prompted by the malware during their first visit to the bank site after infection to enter their mobile phone number.

During that first visit, Eurograbber would offer a "banking software security upgrade" that would infect victims' phones with a variant of the "Zeus in the mobile" (ZITMO) Trojan, which was specifically designed to intercept the bank's text message containing the bank's transaction authorization number (TAN), the key element of the bank's two-factor authorization. Eurograbber would then quietly use the TAN to quietly transfer funds out of the victim's account.

"To date, this exploit has only been detected in euro zone countries, but a variation of this attack could potentially affect banks in countries outside of the European Union as well," said in the report, which said it has notified affected banks of the malware.

First detected in Italy earlier this year, Eurograbber is responsible for the theft of 36 million euros from about 30,000 commercial and personal bank accounts by initiating transfers ranging from 500 euros ($656) to 250,000 euros ($328,000), according to the report.

(info provided by Steven Musil at Cnet.com)

AT&T says true 4G is coming in 2013, but will it beat Verizon?

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:03:00 +0000

If the rumors are true, real, honest-to-god 4G in the United States could be on the way sometime in the next 7 to 12 months. FierceWireless reports on word from AT&T's annual meeting with analysts that it will be "firing up" new "LTE Advanced" service across its network in the second half of 2013.

What is LTE Advanced? Well, it's a lot like 4G LTE, only more, um, advanced.

See, in the old days of mobile broadband -- like, all the way back in 2011 -- carriers started marketing services they called 4G, but in the real world, they really only offered speeds one-tenth or one-twentieth those of the actual 4G standard, which is meant to deliver download speeds in the range of 100Mbps. That means we were suddenly able to download full songs out of the air in mere seconds on these new 4G services.

That's right, I said seconds instead of the single second it should be taking us over true 4G. And thus we were robbed in the name of marketing. After all, who wants to wait five full seconds to download "Party Rock Anthem?"

But now it looks like next year will produce a savior in the form of a carrier to deliver us to a land of true 4G LTE Advanced with extra cheese... or whatever.

Sprint has LTE Advanced on their roadmaps as well, but was only talking speeds of 15Mbps at last check.

So if AT&T winds up as the first company that can actually deliver triple-digit Mbps speeds, we may finally stop poking fun at the company's one-time inability to deliver consistent service without dropped calls and dead zones in the biggest of American cities.

That's right my fellow soldiers of snark, it may finally be time to make nice with the big blue deathstar, for this may be the year we all fall to our knees and beg AT&T to bring its new network to our towns.

Then again, by that time it could all be a moot point, as Verizon's CEO claimed this week that by the time the other guys are making their next big 4G moves, Big Red will already be looking at 5G and 6G networks.

(info provided by Eric Mack at Cnet.com)

Hackers steal customer info from insurance provider Nationwide

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:58:00 +0000

Hackers broke into insurance company Nationwide's network in October, stealing the personal information of more than a million customers across the country, the insurance company recently revealed.

The company said the compromised information included people's names and a combination of Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, their date of birth, and possibly marital status, gender, and occupation, as well as the names and addresses of employers. Nationwide said it had no evidence that any medical information or credit card account data was stolen.

"We discovered the attack that day, and took immediate steps to contain the intrusion. We believe that we successfully contained the attack through our responsive actions," reads Nationwide's note. The company explained in an accompanying FAQ that it thinks the attack is linked to hackers from outside the U.S.

Although the hack occurred on October 3, the company didn't launch an investigation until October 16. The company learned from the investigation that information had indeed been compromised and confirmed the identities of affected customers on November 2. The case has now been handed over to law enforcement.

A company spokesperson said 1.1 million people were affected by this hack and Nationwide began sending letters to these customers on November 16. Although the company posted its online notice on the same day, news of the hack has only been recently circulated bynews outlets.

Although the information hasn't been used for evil -- yet -- Nationwide is offering free credit-monitoring and identity-theft protection for one year as a precaution for those customers.

(info provided by Donna Tam at Cnet.com)

Google Now updates with new travel features, expanded voice search

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:47:00 +0000

Google Now, Google‘s own predictive search assistant, is already pretty great, but the company justmade it even better, especially for frequent travelers. Google has added a feature that automatically tells you what the weather will be like at your destination, so you’ll know what type of clothes to pack before leaving for the airport or pulling out of the driveway for a road trip.

That’s not all, though. When you get near your airport, Google Now will automatically bring up your boarding pass on your phone. This feature isn’t functional yet, but when it does go live, it will only be launching with support for United Airlines, while support for other major airlines will be coming soon.

The update will also let you know where to go for sight-seeing and other fun stuff once you’ve arrived at your destination. It can tell you about events going on at that moment or direct you to websites where you can find out where all the touristy things are. If you make your way into a museum, Google Now can bring up various pieces of information on certain exhibits using Google Goggles.

On the voice search and activation side of the app, Google Now can identify what song is playing using the new “What’s this song” feature, similar to Shazam or SoundHound. You can also scan a barcode by saying “scan this barcode,” as well as update your Google+ status by saying “post to Google+” followed by whatever you want your status to say. The update is available now on devices running Jelly Bean.

(info provided by Craig Lloyd at Slashgear.com)

House unanimously passes ban on UN Internet regulation

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:45:00 +0000

The House of Representatives, just as the Senate did, has unanimously passed a resolution to ban UN regulation of the Internet. In doing so, it has demonstrated the resolve of the United States in its stance on promoting a “global Internet free from government control.” The bill that was passed opposes changes to the telecommunications treaty that would alter how the Internet is run.

Oregon Senator Greg Walden stated: “The 193 member countries of the United Nations are gathered to consider whether to apply to the Internet a regulatory regime that the International Telecommunications Union created in the 1980s for old-fashioned telephone service … [It] must be strongly opposed by our delegation.”

The bill was put forth by Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Senator Marco Rubio (R). The United States isn’t the only nation that opposes the UN regulation, however, with all 27 European Union states taking the same stance on the matter as the US. Some other countries, including locations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, as well as Russia, are in favor of some changes, however.

The matter will be voted on by the nations shortly in Dubai. Some are hopeful that such a united stand by the US government will help sway votes against the measure. Regardless, if it does pass, its effect on the US will likely be non-existent. It could, however, be used adversely against those in countries that take an active stand in tyranny and repression, making free speech even harder for its citizens.

[via TNW]

(info provided Brittany Hillen, at Slashgear.com)

NASA shows off stunning images of the earth at night

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:42:00 +0000

Thanks to the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, NASA and the NOAA have released a series of high-quality composite images of the Earth at night time. These images are very high-quality, capturing all sorts of lights, including wildfires and even lights on boats. They’ve been compiled into a video as well, allowing you to view a 360-spinning model of the Earth at night, which you can view on the NASA website.

These images were gleaned over the course of 312 orbits, and required 2.5TB to store. They represent every surface on Earth; nothing was skimped over or missed. The lights captured represent a whole spectrum of visible lights: reflections from the moon, electric lights in cities, wildfires in the Australian outback, gas lights on boats, and more.

How did they capture such high-quality nighttime images? Via VIIRS, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. This sensor detects various wavelengths, including almost-infrared to green and back again. Filters are used to draw out the dimmer lights that otherwise wouldn’t be noticed, such as collections of boats out to sea.

Said NOAA researcher Steve Miller: “For all the reasons that we need to see Earth during the day, we also need to see Earth at night. Unlike humans, the Earth never sleeps.” Some images captured include the power outages that resulted from Hurricane Sandy. Says one NOAA program scientist, the capabilities of VIIRS to gather data will “take forecasting weather events at night into a much higher level.”

[via NASA]

(info provided by Brittany Hillen at Slashgear.com)

Google sees 'alarming' level of government censorship

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:09:00 +0000

Web giant says that in the past six months it received more than 1,000 requests from government officials for the removal of content. It complied with more than half of them.

Google reports it has seen an "alarming" incidence in government requests to censor Internet content in the past six months.

The Web giant said it received more than 1,000 requests from governments around the world to remove items such as YouTube videos and search listings. The company, which said it complied with more than half the requests, released a catalog of those requests as part of its biannual Global Transparency Report.

"Unfortunately, what we've seen over the past couple years has been troubling, and today is no different," Dorothy Chou, Google's senior policy analyst, said in a blog post. "When we started releasing this data, in 2010, we noticed that government agencies from different countries would sometimes ask us to remove political content that our users had posted on our services. We hoped this was an aberration. But now we know it's not."

Google said it had received 461 court orders for the removal of 6,989 items, consenting to 68 percent of those orders. It also received 546 informal requests, complying with 46 percent of those requests. The study doesn't reflect censorship activity from countries such as China and Iran, which block content without notifying Google.

"Just like every other time, we've been asked to take down political speech," Chou wrote. "It's alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect -- western democracies not typically associated with censorship."

Among the take-down requests was a Polish demand for removal of an article critical of a development agency, a Spanish request for removal of 270 blogs and links to articles critical of the public figures, and a Canadian official's request for removal of a YouTube video of a man urinating on his passport and flushing it down a toilet. All were denied.

However, the company said it complied with the majority of requests from Thai authorities for the removal of 149 YouTube videos that allegedly insulted the monarchy, a violation of Thailand law. The Web giant said it also granted U.K. police requests for removal of five YouTube accounts that allegedly promoted terrorism. Google also said it complied with 42 percent of U.S. requests for the removal of 187 pieces of content, most of which were related to harassment.

(info provided by Steven Musil at Cnet.com)

First Privacy Bill of Rights meeting: Mobile apps targeted

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:06:00 +0000

A meeting on mobile applications and data privacy will be held July 12 to start enforcement of President Obama's digital Privacy Bill of Rights.

President Barack Obama walking in front of the White House.

(Credit: White House)

The first in a series of meetings to decide concrete enforcement terms for President Obama's digital "Privacy Bill of Rights" has just been announced for July 12, 2012, and its focus is on mobile apps.

The National Communications and Telecommunication Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce) has decided that it's time to put President Obama's Privacy Bill of Rights into practice.

To begin, they've just invited all "privacy stakeholders" to "generate robust input" for the first consumer data transparency code of conduct.

NTIA has selected mobile app transparency as the focus of the first privacy multi-stakeholder process.

Multi-stakeholders are defined as consumer groups, advertisers, and Internet companies.

"Although other possible topics were suggested and may be pursued in future multi-stakeholder convenings, the mobile app transparency topic presents a strong opportunity for stakeholders to reach consensus on a code of conduct in a reasonable time frame," the NTIA said in itsannouncement.

The NTIA's first invitation to comment, in March, saw an overwhelming amount of concern about mobile applications because

(...) practices surrounding the disclosure of consumer data privacy practices do not appear to have kept pace with rapid developments in technology and business models.

Perhaps that's in part owing to widespread awareness about Apple's mobile tracking lawsuit, which it has failed to fend off.

The now-famous lawsuit, still in progress, was filed in April, and 18 companies were sued over app privacy including Apple, Facebook, Google, Path, Beluga, Yelp, Burbn, Instagram, Foursquare Labs, (the now-defunct) Gowalla, Foodspotting, Hipster, LinkedIn, Rovio Mobile, ZeptoLab, Chillingo, Electronics Arts, and Kik Interactive.

The lawsuit raised awareness that innocuous seeming apps like Instagram, Foursquare, Foodspotting, and Yelp scrape phones to send names, e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers from users' address books to their servers.

Instagram and Foursquare began to notify users with a permission prompt only after the Path debacle, according to VentureBeat.

A second, similar privacy lawsuit has recently been filed against Apple, Pandora, and The Weather Channel over user location data.

The NTIA multi-stakeholder privacy meeting will decide a code of conduct for app makers and much more: its intent is to create a blueprint for data transparency and also make a clear set of rules for app makers to stay within to remain out of trouble a la privacy lawsuits.

When the Obama administration released its comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers' data privacy protections in February, The White House requested that NTIA ask stakeholders -- companies, privacy advocates, consumer groups, and technology experts -- to develop enforceable codes of conduct to specify how the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights will be applied in specific contexts.

A wide range of multi-stakeholders are invited to contribute. About who this affects, NTIA writes:

The issue of mobile app transparency potentially impacts a range of industry participants, including: developers of mobile apps; providers of sophisticated interactive services for mobile devices (such as those utilizing HTML5 to access mobile APIs); and mobile app platforms, among others.

This is only the first in a series of meetings that will address other areas of consumer data privacy.

The meeting is in Washington, D.C., and NTIA has detailed:

The July 12, 2012, multi-stakeholder meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m and is expected to end no later than 4:30 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Washington, D.C., metro area; NTIA will announce the venue no later than fifteen (15) days before the meeting, and sooner if possible.

The meeting is open to all interested stakeholders, will be Web cast, and is open to the press.

According to The Hill, The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) applauds the move and says that growth of the app marketplace will depend on consumers trusting apps with their privacy.

NationalJournal warns

(...) Berin Szoka, president of the think tank TechFreedom, said if the process fails, it could provide an opening for officials seeking more authority to regulate Internet privacy.

This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Pulp Tech.

(info provided by Violet Blue at Cnet.com)

Xbox 720 document leaks, promises 6x performance of Xbox 360

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Microsoft has somehow let slip a document detailing its plans for a next generation console referred to as the Xbox 720.

The document was posted on Scribd, but it didn’t take long for the law firm Convington & Burling LLP, which represents Microsoft, to have the 56-page promotional material removed. However, as this is the always-awake Internet, the contents of the document has been dissected and the details shared across several websites.

The document is actually from a presentation given in 2010, so it shows Microsoft has been planning the new hardware for quite a while. Its expected release date at the time was set as 2013, which is still thought to be the release window for an Xbox refresh.

What’s most interesting about the document is what Microsoft has planned for the new machine. Most notably, they are promising a performance increase of 6x that offered by the Xbox 360. With the hardware in that console being 7 years old, that’s not hard to believe considering how quickly we have transitioned to using processors with multiple cores.

The Xbox 360 notably stuck with a DVD drive due to the high costs of Blu-ray and the fact Sony created the new disc format. But with no other cheap, high-capacity storage solutions appearing in the interim, Microsoft has accepted that the Xbox 720 will include a Blu-ray drive, thus ensuring movie playback alongside physical game distribution.

At the heart of the machine will be an 8-core processor running at 2GHz backed up by 4GB of DDR4 RAM. That should offer up the promised 6x performance alongside 1080p output and native 3D output, which is also mentioned. For backwards compatibility a PowerPC 3-core 3.2GHz processor, quite possibly the same Tri-Core Xenon chip used in the Xbox 360, will be present.

Two other inclusions of note are Kinect v2 and Kinect Glasses. Kinect v2 should come as no surprise to anyone and will be an incremental update to the Kinect technology. That likely means higher resolution tracking alongside improved voice recognition and new dedicated hardware. Kinect Glasses on the other hand is an augmented reality experience that sounds a lot like Project Glass, but focused on gaming and entertainment while sat in front of your TV.

The expected price point for this new hardware is a reasonably low $299. How much the hardware, features, and price have changed in the two years since this document got created is unknown, but if a 2013 release is planned it shouldn’t be too long before Microsoft decides to start sharing details.

More at The Verge

(info provided By: Matthew Humphries at Geek.com)

7 minutes of heaven for Star Wars fans: new behind the scenes footage from RotJ

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:58:00 +0000

If you’re any kind of Star Wars geek, you’re going to enjoy a video tidbit that’s resurfaced showing seven minutes of footage from 1982. Your dreams have come true: it’s behind the scenes footage from the production of Return of the Jedi.

Shot without sound and some pretty retro Amiga titles, the footage is still sure to give you a geek-gasm as it shows some shots of the famous battle that took place above the Sarlacc pit… as well as Carrie Fisher in her slave girl outfit.

Take a look a the video above then continue reading to get more information.

Shot on a Super 8 camera without sound, this “documentary” shot Jeff Broz captures a time when film making was a more magical experience than today’s CGI-riddled films. The crew of Return of the Jedi can be seen moving the physical sets that they had built, including the mini-skiffs and Jabba’s Sail Barge. Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill can be seen shooting the battle scene as well as Harrison Ford hitting Boba Fett with a spear, causing his jetpack to malfunction. It’s truly a treasure for any Star Wars geek to witness.

As far as the actual shooting of the footage, there are several rumors swirling around exactly who Jeff Broz is. Some state that he was a rabid fan who sneaked his way onto the set and began filming, others say that he was a minor part of the crew which gave him unprecedented access to the production location.

Considering the amount of secrecy that Lucas was known for during this period, and the fact that there was an active propaganda campaign that was telling resident’s of the Buttercup Valley area that a horror film called Blue Harvest was being produced, it’s hard to believe that Broz was able to waltz onto the set and start shooting film. Either way, this is indeed seven-minutes of heaven for any Star Wars fan.

via Live Leak

(info provided By: Matthew Humphries at Geek.com)

Xbox launching interactive ads with Toyota, Unilever, Samsung

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:55:00 +0000

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video game console will launch interactive ads on TV this fall in a bid to steal more business away from television networks.

The tech giant has signed Toyota, Unilever and Samsung Mobile to its offering, called NUads, which will debut this fall. People who use the Xbox to watch video via apps from Microsoft partners -- including ESPN,TMZ, NBC News and the UFC -- will see the new ad formats.

In their first iteration, the NUads will let users vote in response to questions asked in the ads. Toyota's spots, for instance, will ask users what other devices they would like to see "reinvented" the way the company has "reinvented" some of its auto models.

Users can vote by clicking a button on a controller or speaking or gesturing with their hands when using the Xbox 360 add-on called Kinect that includes a camera and microphone.

Toyota will then have access to the data on how people voted and demographic information on the voting blocs.

Microsoft is aiming to charge what Ross Honey, general manager of entertainment and advertising for the Xbox Live online service, called a "premium" compared with typical commercial rates.

"There have been interactive ads on the Web before, but the beauty of it is that we're bringing that to the TV," he said. "It's a substantially more valuable ad product."

Unilever plans to use NUads to promote its Axe body spray line.

Stealing a significant chunk of the $68 billion U.S. TV advertising business will be a huge challenge, given the sizable audiences that can be aggregated at a single time on traditional TV, not to mention major advertisers' conservative tendencies.

But as more marketing executives become comfortable spending big money online, Microsoft hopes it offers an attractive middle ground by putting the benefits of the Web on a TV screen.

It's part of a larger move by Microsoft to take viewing time away from cable and satellite services by making the Xbox 360 the most popular device for getting video into the living room from the Internet. The strategy was a primary focus of the company's news conference at the E3 industry event last week, at which it premiered new partnerships with Univision and the NBA, among others.

Microsoft's ad revenue on the Xbox 360 has grown 140% from the same period in 2010, Honey said, though he declined to specify the total amount. "It's small for us but in the context of most companies it's substantial," he stated. "We're well ahead of just a few million dollars a year."

Xbox Live has more than 40 million subscribers. Microsoft has not specified how many use the video services that are part of NUads, but has disclosed that its online users spend more than half their time streaming video and music rather than playing games.

(info provided By Ben Fritz at latimes.com)

Verizon unveils 'Share Everything' family plans for data

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:15:00 +0000

Verizon Wireless finally unveiled its "Share Everything" family plan for data, phone calls, and text messages, potentially shaking up how consumers pay for wireless services.

The plans allow for unlimited phone calls and text messages, and a bucket of data that can be shared by as many as 10 Verizon Wireless devices. The plans, which launch June 28, range between $50 and $100, in addition to separate monthly access charges for each device.

Separately, June 28 also marks the end of unlimited data for many Verizon customers looking for a new phone.

The concept of the family data plan, in which multiple users or devices draw from a common pool of data, has long been bandied about as the potential catalyst for selling more connected devices. Verizon expects that down the line, consumers will want to connect other products, from cameras to refrigerators, to the cellular network.

The industry is hoping that the notion of a shared data plan will specifically spark sales of tablets, which haven't fared well outside ofApple's iPad. Verizon hopes customers will be more willing to use a cellular-connected tablet if they can draw from a common pool of data, rather than a separate plan and bill.

"These plans offer the simplicity and value that customers feel are important," Tami Erwin, chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless, told CNET.

The plans aren't cheap, but offer better value if shared between multiple people. All of the plans come with unlimited calling and text messages. A $50 monthly plan comes with 1 gigabyte of data to be shared between devices. For $60 a month, you get 2GB, while $70 gets 4GB, $80 gets 6GB, $90 gets 8GB, and $100 gets 10GB.

Customers who approach their limit get an alert and have the option of paying $10 for 2GB of additional data. Those who ignore the alert and go over the limit are charged $15 for 1GB of extra data.

In addition to the plan, there are fees related to each device. There's a monthly charge of $40 for each smartphone; $30 for each phone; $20 for a hot spot, USB modem, notebook, or netbook; and $10 for a tablet.

While Erwin conceded that some individuals would end up paying more under these new plans, there isn't a requirement to switch. She added that families where some members use fewer data than others could benefit from this plan.

Family members can calculate their data consumption with tools such as the data calculator found on Verizon's Web site, or through the My Verizon app found on smartphones and tablets.

The June 28 launch date marks the potential end of the unlimited data plan for many customers. While Verizon no longer offers unlimited data as an option, millions still have no cap owing to a grandfathered plan. But after June 28, customers who take a subsidy when upgrading to a new phone must forfeit their unlimited plan and switch to a new capped one.

Like AT&T, the company has been eager to move people away from unlimited plans in an effort to rein in heavy data usage.

The shared data plan is a natural evolution of the industry's move away from unlimited data plans. Verizon has been working on the shared data plan concept for the past 18 to 24 months, Erwin said.

"Unlimited data is not something that we think is sustainable in the long run," she said.

Verizon is working with the manufacturers of different electronic and appliance companies to figure out new pricing plans for emerging connected devices. Erwin said the pricing would likely be less than a smartphone or tablet, and may follow a different model such as subscription.

"We believe that the announcement of this pricing will fuel an ecosystem of devices," she said.

Verizon is the first to introduce such a plan. AT&T is similarly working on a family plan for shared data, and AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega told CNET that one was close to coming to fruition.

Sprint Nextel, on the other hand, continues to offer fully unlimited data access on its smartphones, while T-Mobile USA has come out against such family plans.

(info provided by Roger Cheng at Cnet.com)

Samsung Galaxy S III invades the U.S. beginning this month

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:09:00 +0000

Samsung on Sunday evening announced that its new Galaxy S III Android smartphone will launch on five major wireless carriers in the United States beginning in June. For the first time, Samsung’s flagship smartphone will launch on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile using the same “Galaxy S III” moniker, rather than launching with a unique name at each carrier. The move by Samsung to force its branding on carriers is a big one as the company tries to use its success in the crowded smartphone market to generate the same type of buzz surrounding its products as Apple generates for the iPhone and iPad. “The U.S. launch of the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated launch of the year. As promised, we are delivering the ‘next big thing’ for U.S. customers and across all major carriers,” president of Samsung America Dale Sohn said in a statement. “Galaxy S III introduces new technological innovation and takes sharing to the next level.” U.S. Cellular will also launch Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone, and announcements from all five carriers are expected in the coming weeks. Samsung’s full press release follows below.

Samsung Galaxy S III Coming To Five Major Carriers Beginning in June

In an industry first, Samsung delivers the same iconic smartphone design and premium content sharing experience with customized AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular services starting from $199

DALLAS — June 4, 2012 — U.S. consumers on five major service providers will now be able to own the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S® III. Galaxy S III, optimized for peak performance on the nation’s fastest 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42 networks, will be launching with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular starting in June. Exact pricing and retail availability will be announced by each of the five carriers in the coming weeks.

“The U.S. launch of the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated launch of the year. As promised, we are delivering the ‘next big thing’ for U.S. customers and across all major carriers,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. “Galaxy S III introduces new technological innovation and takes sharing to the next level.”

With the Galaxy S III, Samsung is setting a new standard for smartphones. This device was designed to be lightweight, durable and powerful. The Galaxy S III weighs 4.7 ounces and is 8.6 millimeters thin, making it lighter and sleeker than other leading smartphones, including several competitor models with smaller displays. The brilliant 4.8 inch display extends to an ultra-thin bezel to maximize the viewing area. The Galaxy S III delivers impressive processing power to allow more applications to be accessible simultaneously.

The Galaxy S III goes far beyond content consumption to content sharing. Continuing its history of innovation, Samsung has simplified how consumers share content and control the device with a single touch, through enhanced gesture technology or the simple movement of the eyes.

Sharing Made Simple

The content sharing experience on the Galaxy S III addresses the sharing needs of consumers, whether it’s sharing and editing a presentation with a large group in real-time, sending digital images to several other smartphones at the same time or transferring large files within seconds from one phone to another. Further, these sharing experiences are simple and require little, if any, set-up.

Sharing With Multiple Devices

- The Galaxy S III introduces the next evolution of Samsung’s content sharing service with AllShare® Play. This service automatically notifies the Galaxy S III to Samsung HDTVs, mobile tablets, laptops and other consumer electronic devices on the same network that are ready to receive video files. Users can also remotely access files from devices on other networks.

Sharing with Groups

- With AllShare Group Cast on the Galaxy S III and a Wi-Fi network, users can share and collaborate on documents, presentations or images in real-time with multiple friends or co-workers’ without loading the file separately.

- With Share Shot, become the official photographer for a group of friends. There’s no need to send photos and video via email, MMS or a USB drive. Users can quickly and seamlessly share pictures taken with the Galaxy S III’s 8 megapixel camera to other phones from up to 200 feet away. Once the Galaxy S III is synched with chosen devices, the pictures are automatically shared.

Sharing Smartphone to Smartphone

- S-Beam is an industry first, providing fast, easy transfer of large files, such as videos and documents, with a single touch of the Galaxy S III without needing a Wi-Fi connection or cell signal. A 1GB movie file can be shared as quickly as three minutes and a 10MB music file can be transferred in seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone.

Smartphone Simplicity

- The S-Voice™ feature on the Galaxy S III offers much more than just asking and answering questions. S-Voice allows users to control the applications and services used most with words instead of touch. Use S-Voice to turn the volume up or down on the music player, answer or reject incoming calls, shut off or choose to snooze the alarm clock, or take a picture by saying “smile” or “cheese.”

- Smart Stay puts the “smart” in smartphones. With Smart Stay, the Galaxy S III tracks the user’s eye to ensure the device screen is always on while you’re looking at it. By knowing when you are looking at the screen, it doesn’t dim the backlight or timeout to an idle screen.

- Motion simplifies and short cuts many common functions including converting a text message to a call by simply raising the phone to the ear, tapping the top of the phone to go to the top of an email and list of emails or contacts, and alerting to missed call or text message.

- The capabilities of the Galaxy S III’s 8 megapixel camera are far beyond point and shoot. Burst Shot captures still pictures at a rapid-fire pace at three images per second with zero shutter lag; and Best Shot recommends the best picture to keep based on colors, lighting and clarity. The Galaxy S III shoots and plays back 1080p HD quality video with a backside illuminated sensor that improves performance in low light environments, and provides the ability to capture a photo during videoing

- Watching video while downloading a large file or service is seamless with Pop Up Play. Pop Up Play allows you to watch any side-loaded video content while operating any application in full-screen, background view at the same time. Video running on Pop Up Play can be moved anywhere on top of the full screen, much like picture-in-picture capabilities on large screen TVs.

Powerful Performance

The Galaxy S III includes Android^™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with TouchWiz enhancements, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz dual core CPU and 2GB of internal RAM to provide high-speed performance enabling efficient and seamless multi-tasking. The dual-core processor offers competitive speeds and performance as leading quad-core processors without sacrificing valuable battery life. The brilliant 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED™ touchscreen display brings content to life, without compromising the device’s true pocketability. The expansive display is protected by Gorilla Glass 2.0 to guard against cracks and scratches and provide enhanced touchscreen responsiveness.

The Galaxy S III, which comes in Marble White and Pebble Blue, is powered by a removable 2100 mAh battery for extended use on a single charge. Users can store large libraries of photos, videos and music onboard the Galaxy S III with expandable memory to compliment the standard 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage.

“The Galaxy S III is the most innovative smartphone on the market today. It is an industry first to see five major carriers align behind the launch of a single device virtually simultaneously,” said Todd Pendleton, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Telecommunications America. “To support the immense excitement for the Galaxy S III we will execute our biggest marketing campaign ever. Consumers won’t be able to miss why this device is the must-have smartphone.”

For more information:

Visit us at www.facebook.com/samsungmobileusa

(info provided By: Zach Epstein at BGR.com)

Google scores victory: judge rules APIs not copyrightable

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Last week the jury in the Google vs Oracle trial ruled that Google did not infringe any of Oracle’s patents, and more news has now come out of the case. The judge has ruled that APIs are not copyrightable, marking the first time a court has addressed this specific issue. The judge decided that as long as the underlying code that is written is different, “anyone is free under the Copyright Act to write his or her own code to carry out exactly the same function or specification of any methods used in the Java API.”

The judge went on to say that when there is “only one way to express an idea or function, then everyone is free to do so and no one can monopolize that expression.” Copyright protection doesn’t extend to the names and short phrases used that Oracle claimed were infringed. As for the nine lines of code that were duplicated, it’s said that Joshua Bloch planned to submit the code to an open Java implementation for the community’s benefit.

Judge William Alsup also seems to be trying to restrict the broad patent litigation that’s so prevalent in technology nowadays. In the 41-page summary of the verdict, Alsup notes that “we should not yield to the temptation to find copyrightability merely to reward an investment made in a body of intellectual property.” The judge goes on to say that Oracle has overblown the whole case, which casts doubts on Oracle’s ability to appeal the verdict. While it’s a big win for Google, it’s surely a case that will be cited down the road in future lawsuits regarding copyright infringement.

[via Electronista]

(Info provided by Ben Kersey, at Slashgear.com)

Next-generation iPhone hardware details revealed in iOS 6 beta

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:41:00 +0000

Details surrounding Apple’s next-generation iPhone, which is rumored to feature a 640 x 1,136-pixel Retina display that measures 3.95 inches diagonally and a smaller dock connector, have seemingly been revealed by a beta version of iOS 6. According to 9To5Mac, Apple’s next iPhone will be equipped with a Samsung-built 5L8950X ARM processor, offering a slight performance increase over the S5L8940X found in the iPhone 4S and the S5L8945X in the new iPad. It isn’t clear, however, if the chip will be dual- or quad-core, or what the processor’s clock speed might be. The processor is known internally at Apple as the “A5-***,” making it more likely that the chip will be similar to the A5X. The next iPhone will also reportedly feature 1GB of RAM, an increase from 512MB found in the current iPhone model. BGR exclusively reported this past December that a completely redesigned iPhone will launch in the fall.

Read

(info provided By: Dan Graziano at BGR.com)

Google wins YouTube copyright battle in French court

noreply@blogger.com (Cyril Philemon) — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:26:00 +0000

Reversing the trend of recent court upsets for the Web giant, Google had a notable success in French Court today. Siding with Google in its battle against French broadcaster TF1, the court ruled that the Internet company is not liable for filtering out pirated content on YouTube, according to Reuters.

The French media company brought the case against Google alleging that copyrighted sports and movies were easily accessible on YouTube, according to Reuters.

In this case, TF1 sought more than $176 million (141 million euros) in damages, but the French court ended up ordering the broadcaster to instead pay Google's legal fees to the tune of more than $100,000 (80,000 euros).

"The defendant is not responsible in principle for the video content on its site; only the users of the site are," the decision reads, according to Reuters. "It has no obligation to police the content before it is put online as long as it informs users that posting television shows, music videos, concerts or advertisements without prior consent of the owner is not allowed."

This is a vastly different experience than Google has been having in other courts regarding the same matter. Since 2007 Google's YouTube has been battling Viacom in the U.S. in a copyright lawsuit. Just last month, the media company won an appeal against the video-sharing site and the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether YouTube purposely ignored infringing material posted to the site.

Then, just a couple weeks later, a German court ruled that YouTube is solely responsiblefor the content that users upload and post on the video-sharing site, a decision that could cost the Internet company a huge royalty bill.

The French decision, on the other hand, says that YouTube is not legally accountable if pirated material appears on the site as long as it's taken down when the rightful owner alerts Google it's there, according to Reuters.

"We continue to oppose any demands to systematically filter or pre-screen YouTube content and are confident that future court rulings will uphold the need to allow innovative Web services to flourish," Christophe Mueller, head of partnerships for YouTube in Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The case is still open for appeal. CNET contacted Google for comment and we'll update the story when we get more information.

(info provided by Dara Kerr at Cnet.com)