iPhone 5 frenzy builds ahead of Friday launch

Gadget lovers have flooded
Apple with pre-orders and
set up camp outside the
company's real-world
stores to get their hands
on the new generation
iPhone 5 set for release
Friday.
SAN FRANCISCO: Gadget
lovers have flooded Apple
with pre-orders and set up
camp outside the
company's real-world
stores to get their hands
on the new generation
iPhone 5 set for release on
Friday.
"The fact that the iPhone 5
is doing as well as it is
opposed to other phones is
a tribute to Apple
marketing," Gartner
analyst Van Baker told
AFP. "They are really good
at this."
The analyst dismissed
efforts by Apple adversary
Samsung to poke fun at
iPhone fanatics and the
lack of innovative handset
features in print and video
ads.
"I had to laugh at the
Samsung ads," Baker said.
"It's hardware geeks
throwing rocks at Apple;
but Apple has a good
sense of what is important
to include and when."
Aspiring iPhone 5 owners
started a queue outside
the Apple store in
Manhattan last week and
similar vigils have begun
outside the California
company's shops at other
spots around the world.
Apple said that it received
more than two million
orders for its new iPhone 5
in the 24 hours after it
began pre-sales online on
September 14.
"iPhone 5 pre-orders have
shattered the previous
record held by iPhone 4S
and the customer response
to iPhone 5 has been
phenomenal," said Philip
Schiller, Apple's senior vice
president of worldwide
marketing.
Apple unveiled the new
version of its iconic
smartphone at a San
Francisco media event on
September 12 and
promised that it would be
available in 100 countries
by year's end.
The first customers are
expected to get the device
on Friday, but Apple has
pushed the delivery date
for new orders out several
weeks due to fierce
demand.
The notion iPhone 5 being
tough to get was expected
to spur more people to lay
siege to stores for the
hotly anticipated release.
The iPhone 5 will be
available at Apple retail
outlets, and for US
customers through AT&T,
Sprint, Verizon Wireless,
Best Buy, RadioShack,
Target, Walmart stores and
other resellers.
Some analysts say Apple
could sell 10 million units
in the opening days and
50 million before the end
of 2012.
Apple shares broke the $
700 mark this week and
stood at $701.60 in after-
market trade on
Wednesday.
The iPhone 5, with a
bigger screen and slimmer
body, was quickly branded
by analysts as a sure hit.
Apple chief executive Tim
Cook called the launch
"the biggest thing to
happen to iPhone since
the iPhone."
The California company
called the iPhone 5 "the
thinnest smartphone in
the world," with a glass
and aluminum body that is
18 percent thinner and 20
percent lighter than
iPhone 4S.
The new iPhone has a rich
four-inch (10-centimeter)
display prime for the red-
hot smartphone market, in
which screen size is a key
factor for buyers.
The iPhone 5 will debut
Friday in the United States,
Canada, Britain, France,
Germany, Australia, Hong
Kong, Japan and Singapore.
Pricing for US customers
will start at $199 with a
two-year telecom service
contract.
Apple earlier rolled out its
new iOS 6 mobile gadget
operating system with new
features, including a
custom mapping service
branded a disappointment
by some reviewers.
"Seems pretty clear the
new Maps is going to be
the biggest problem with
iOS 6," Apple fan John
Gruber wrote on his Daring
Fireball blog.
"It'll be interesting to see
how long it takes for
Google to release a
standalone Google Maps
apps in the iOS App Store."
Apple's custom mapping
programme replaced
Google Maps in the
operating system.
An iPhone change with the
potential to irk fans is a
new "Lightning" connector
to replace 30-pin
connections, the piece that
connects devices to
computers, power outlets
or docking stations.
Apple will sell adaptors for
plugging new generation
iPhone and iPod touch
devices into accessories
already owned, such as
stereo speakers or car
sound systems.
The big-screen iPhone 5
compatible with high-
speed "LTE" telecom
networks has been among
the most keenly
anticipated products in the
tech world.
"Apple is meeting all
expectations," analyst
Baker said. "Everything
was getting great reviews
until they started rolling
out iOS 6 today."
The US Federal Trade
Commission warned that
scammers were already
seeking to cash in on
iPhone mania, with emails
offering a chance to get
one.
"Don't reply, and don't
click on links provided in
the message," the FTC
said. "Links can install
malware on your computer
and take you to spoof sites
that look real but whose
purpose is to steal your
information."

Read more »

Know why Samsung is waiting for iPhone 5 launch

Samsung is waiting to see
how many of its patents
does the iPhone 5 violate,
as it readies itself for
another legal battle with
Apple over patent
infringement.

NEW DELHI: It is not just
the Apple fanboys who are
eagerly awaiting the
iPhone 5 to launch. Apple's
arch rival Samsung too is
waiting to get its hands on
the iPhone 5. However,
rather than comparing its
capabilities with its flagship
Galaxy S III, the South
Korean manufacturer is
waiting to see how many
of its patents does the new
iPhone violate.
According to Foss Patents,
a blog that covers news
about wireless patents and
mobile devices, Samsung
has filed a case
management statement
with the United States
District Court for the
Northern District of
California against Apple. In
the filing, the company
said that it is certain Apple
iPhone 5 will infringe upon
eight of its patents, just
like the previous iPhones.
The filing, as per Foss
Patents, says, "Samsung
anticipates that it will file,
in the near future, a
motion to amend its
infringement contentions
to add the iPhone 5 as an
accused product. Based on
information currently
available, Samsung expects
that the iPhone 5 will
infringe the asserted
Samsung patents-in-suit in
the same way as the other
accused iPhone models.
Samsung plans to file a
motion to amend its
infringement contentions
to address the iPhone 5 as
soon as it has had a
reasonable opportunity to
analyze the device.
Because Samsung believes
the accused functionality
of the iPhone 5 will be
similar to the accused
functionality of other
accused Apple products,
Samsung does not believe
that amendment of its
infringement contentions
should affect the case
schedule."

On Thursday, Samsung
said in a separate
statement: "Apple
continues to take
aggressive legal measures
that will limit market
competition. Under these
circumstances, we have
little choice but to take the
steps necessary to protect
our innovations and
intellectual property
rights."

Apple Korea reiterated its
position that it was the
victim of copying, not vice
versa. "At Apple, we value
originality and
innovation... We make
these products to delight
our customers, not for our
competitors to flagrantly
copy."

This move is part of a
larger patent war between
Apple and Samsung, where
both litigants stress that
the other violates its
patents. The biggest
development in the battle
was last month, when
Apple won a lawsuit in the
US, its home ground, and
Samsung was ordered to
pay it over $1 billion in
damages. The jury also
found that Apple did not
infringe any of Samsung's
asserted patents.

The iPhone maker then
gave a list of 21 Samsung
smartphones that it wants
banned in the US,
including the current
flagship Galaxy S III, as
well as Galaxy S II, Galaxy
Note and Galaxy Ace.
Samsung has appealed
against the verdict to the
court.

Samsung, the biggest
Android phone maker,
received a second US legal
setback last week when a
judge at the International
Trade Commission said in
a preliminary ruling that
Apple did not violate
patents owned by
Samsung.

Apple's victory was also a
blow to Google, whose
Android software powers
the Samsung products that
were found to infringe
Apple patents.

Read more »

Tech Mahindra buys 51% stake in Comviva for Rs 260 cr

Tech Mahindra said it has acquired 51% stake in Gurgaon-based mobile application firm Comviva from Bharti Group and other shareholders for Rs 260 crore.
NEW DELHI: Tech Mahindra today said it has acquired 51 per cent stake in Gurgaon-based mobile application firm Comviva from Bharti Group and other shareholders for Rs 260 crore.

Tech Mahindra, which offers software and billing systems to telecom players, acquired 31 per cent interest from Bharti which would still be left with 20 per cent post completion of the deal.

It will make an upfront payment of Rs 125 crore to buy the 51 per cent stake from Bharti Group, private-equity firm Sequoia Capital and networking equipment maker Cisco Systems.

The balance Rs 135 crore will be paid out over a period of five years based on Gurgaon-based Comviva achieving mutually agreed performance target.

Sequoia held 9 per cent stake in Comviva and Cisco held 6 per cent, both of whom have exited the firm after deal with Tech Mahindra.

Tech Mahindra will buy 13 out of 22 per cent stake of private equity firm WestBridge Capital.

"This acquisition is a significant step forward, in our vision of being a complete and comprehensive partner to our clients and like always, we are confident of making this a successful venture for our stakeholders," Tech Mahindra Executive Vice Chairman Vineet Nayyar told reporters here.

In addition to adding market leading capabilities, the acquisition will also strengthen Tech Mahindra's relationship with large telecom players globally, he added.

"The acquisition will significantly enhance our capabilities in the mobile VAS domain and provide access to a marquee client base, enabling significant cross-selling opportunities," Nayyar said.

It aligns well with the stated strategy of investing in emerging areas like network, mobility, analytics, cloud and security and further focus on non-linear growth, he added.

Post the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, the new entity will be called Mahindra Comviva.

Formerly known as Bharti Telesoft, Comviva has revenues of about Rs 400 crore and about 1,400 employees.

"The existing mobility practice in Mahindra, which focusses on mobile devices, enterprise mobility and some products which are on managed services and looking at Comviva's strength, as a combined company we would be touching Rs 1,000 crore by March 2013... The three focus areas for Mahindra Comviva going ahead is mobile payments, mobile data and location-based services," Tech Mahindra managing director CP Gurnani said.

Tech Mahindra operates another wholly-owned specialised VAS arm Canvas M, which was formed in 2006.

Read more »

How BYOD is changing work culture across companies

There are now a number of apps which enable accessing office work flow on employees’ personal mobile devices.
The new Samsung Note tablet ad shows a young executive who takes his work along with him on his mobile device and then finishing a presentation on the way and by the time he reaches office he has the presentation ready for his rather grim-looking boss. For once, the advertising isn't too far away from reality.

A survey report by IT virtualization company Citrix showed that about 28% of the work force was using non-company-issued devices to perform their activities. Forrester Research reported that nearly 53% of the workforce use their mobile devices for work. Doubtless, the figures have increased.

"It is now a basic expectation from the corporates as well as the end users that smartphones naturally extend and allow them to stay connected to meet their business requirements," says Rajasekar Shanmugam, CTO at AppPoint Software Solutions, which enable productivity on mobile devices. In fact, the concept of mobile productivity has caught on so much that companies are actively setting up policies for 'Bring your own device (BYOD)' culture.

Emails, which are an integral part of the workflow, were there since the glory days of BlackBerrys. But now every default smartphone and mobile device has an office application capable of handling Word documents, spreadsheets, creating and displaying presentations. While these may represent the most basic units if a workflow productivity, there are a number of apps which can help a company take sensitive data from their systems onto a mobile device.

App developers are now building an entire platform and ecosystem to enable mobility on all devices, including PCs, smartphones and tablets which can take care of a huge part an enterprises' workflow.

Each company have their own requirements for taking the workflow on the mobile device and often developers have to customize the solutions to cater to the requirements of privacy, security and flexibility. "BYOD is not for every company, or every employee. There will be wide variances in BYOD adoption across the world — by geography, industry and corporate culture," said David Willis, analyst at Gartner research in a release.

Developers are now trying to move vital parts of a company's ERP onto mobile devices at different levels. AppPoint Software Solutions, for example, has developed BizAPP Studio which allows users of the company for functions as simple as leave management or to settle financial claims or company inspections based on regulatory requirements. Their customers include the National Stock Exchange, Australian Stock Exchange, Biocon and Texas Instruments.

The challenges
It goes without doubt that taking such sensitive information on a mobile device has its own challenges. "Getting data out of the enterprise to be available to a mobile platform is traditionally difficult. Legacy software including customer resource management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) and line of business apps are not amenable to such information dissemination, and it is a challenging process to get it right," says Monish Darda, co-founder and CTO at ICERTIS, which provide comprehensive ERP-surround solutions for contract lifecycle management, transportation management.

"Security of mission critical data, actions are very key to any business and any data that is shared to a floating device like mobile/tablet increases the risk of it being shared or lost or fall in wrong hands. Addressing the requirement of who can see what and when, when business expose data to employees, customers, vendors, partners, will be a key challenge," says Rajasekar.

In addition, ensuring that the application works on different mobile ecosystems represents a huge challenge.

Read more »

Infosys to increase salaries in October?

Software major Infosys is evaluating a salary hike and this could come into effect from the third quarter, according to people familiar with the development.
In a move that will bring cheer to over one lakh employees, software major Infosys is evaluating a salary hike and this could come into effect from the third quarter, according to people familiar with the development.

The people ET NOW spoke to said that the top management is "seriously evaluating" salary hikes for employees and that imminent salary hikes has been communicated informally by senior managers to employees. Also, that expectation is running very high internally on these possible hikes.

In an e-mail response to ET NOW, an Infosys spokesperson said, "We do not comment on rumors and speculation. Our decision on salary hikes remains deferred. As we have communicated earlier we will continue to review this on a quarterly basis."

Infosys is the only company among large cap and mid cap software firms which hasn't hiked salaries so far, because of the uncertain business environment. It, however gave out promotions-linked hikes to about 16,000 employees earlier this year.

Analysts ET NOW spoke to said that if Infosys decides to give out hikes, it would have a 220-250 basis points impact on margins, something that most analysts are already factoring in.

One analyst tracking Infosys, who did not wish to be named said, "More than attrition, the company will be worried about losing employees in the CRR 1 and CRR 2 bands, which basically has the top performers. So, an expectation of a hike is running very high."

This is however, not the first time in recent years that Infosys has deferred a salary hike. During 2009, the company deferred hikes and later gave it out in the middle of the year when the business sentiment improved.

Read more »

Motorola launches Intel-powered Razr i

The Razr i is very similar to the Razr M unveiled earlier in September for US consumers.
LONDON: Google's Motorola Mobility revealed a new smartphone for Europe and Latin America, rolling out the first handset of a multi-device agreement with top chipmaker Intel.

With a 4.3 inch display and Google's Android platform, the Razr i is very similar to the Razr M unveiled earlier in September for US consumers but its brain is an Intel processor instead of a chip made by Qualcomm.

Choosing Intel's chips is unusual in the smartphone and tablet industry, where energy-efficient processors made by Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics using technology licensed by Britain's ARM Holdings are widely favored.

Intel dominates the PC industry but has been slow to adapt its powerful processors to work well in battery-sensitive mobile gadgets. But the Santa Clara, California company is rushing to catch up.

The Razr M includes Qualcomm technology compatible with high-speed Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks in the United States, while the Razr i is limited to slower 3G phone networks relied on more in Europe, Latin America and other parts of the world.

The new phone which will launch in October uses a new version of Intel's Medfield smartphone processor running at 2 Gigahertz, faster than the 1.6 GHz versions used in phones launched earlier this year by Orange in Britain, MegaFon in Russia and Lava International in India.

Those phone launches were Intel's first significant foray into the mobile market, and the Medfield chips used in them have performed better than many sceptics expected.

Offering the similar Razr i and Razr M phones, powered by Intel and Qualcomm chips respectively, will create a new opportunity for investors to compare the performance of the two companies' best chips.

The combined market for PCs, smartphones and tablets is expected to almost double over the next four years, but Intel's share of the processors used in them will dip from 35 percent to 29 percent, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.

Read more »

Microsoft CEO 'reveals' Surface pricing

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has given a price range for the upcoming Surface tablets, though an official announcement is still pending.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has given a price range for the upcoming Surface tablets, though an official announcement is still pending. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Ballmer said that the Microsoft Surface RT and Surface Pro would cost between $300 and $800 at the time of launch.

This price range, though normal for tablets, has killed the hopes of those who expected Microsoft to roll out the tablets at the price points of Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire.

Ballmer told The Seattle Times, "If you look at the bulk of the PC market, it would run between, say, probably $300 to about $700 or $800," he told the newspaper. "That's the sweet spot."

With this pricing strategy, Microsoft is clear pitting the Surface RT against the Apple iPad at approximately $450-500, while the higher priced Surface Pro will take on ultrabooks.

If Microsoft takes on ultrabooks with its Surface tablet, it will further thin the line between laptops and tablets. The emergence of tablets as personal computing devices has ushered in the fall of personal computers and laptops. This has affected the fortunes of hardware manufacturers, some of which are Microsoft's partners.

Nevertheless, Microsoft remains undeterred as the CEO said that in the future it will become more of a device-and-services company, though its key area will still be software.

Read more »

Apple shares touch $700 mark over iPhone 5 pre-orders

Apple shares have gained nearly 22 per cent in the past 3-1/2 months in the build-up to the launch of the iPhone 5.
LONDON: Apple's shares have risen to a record high as the tech giant's new iPhone 5 has smashed pre-delivery sales records.

Apple announced that online orders for the phone exceeded two million on Friday, the first day consumers could makes purchases over the web.

The performance more than doubled the one million mark for first-day online sales set by the iPhone 4S last year.

According to the Telegraph, shares in Apple touched a fresh high of 700 dollars, closing up 1.2 percent at 699.78 dollars.

They have soared 70pc this year, punishing those who believed that a company that was close to bankruptcy in the late 1990s could not sustain its growth, the paper said.

According to the report, with a value of 650 billion dollars Apple is now comfortably the world's biggest company.

The iPhone 5 will be available in shops in the UK, the US and seven other countries from Friday, with a further 22 countries getting the device a week later.

Apple has warned that the strength of demand meant that not everyone who made an online order would get their phone delivered this month as promised, the report said.

Read more »

AMD loses 'well-liked' CFO, shares dip 12%

AMD said chief financial officer Thomas Seifert was leaving the struggling personal computer chipmaker to pursue other opportunities, sending its shares down almost 12 percent.
SAN FRANCISCO: Advanced Micro Devices said chief financial officer Thomas Seifert was leaving the struggling personal computer chipmaker to pursue other opportunities, sending its shares down almost 12 percent.

After filling in as AMD's temporary CEO through August last year, Seifert now wants to find a permanent CEO position, a source close to the company said.

Seifert's departure is concerning because - even though he had only been CFO for three years - he had more experience at AMD than other top executives, said Evercore Partners analyst Patrick Wang.

"Thomas leaving is a big deal. He was pretty well-liked by investors. He was viewed as he rock throughout all the changes," Wang said.

Devinder Kumar, senior vice president and corporate controller, will serve as AMD's temporary CFO until a replacement is found.

"Seifert's departure is not based on any disagreement over the company's accounting principles or practices, or financial statement disclosures," AMD said in a statement.

PC-related companies have been hit by a slump in demand as smartphones and tablets grow in popularity, but AMD's woes are also seen as at least partly company-specific, with executives and analysts pointing to problems with execution.

In July, AMD slashed its outlook for second-quarter revenue after disappointing sales in China and Europe, becoming one of the biggest tech names to date to warn that a global economic slowdown is taking a harsher-than-expected toll.

Downgraded

Before the announcement on Monday, Longbow Research analyst Joanne Feeney downgraded her ratings on AMD and larger rival Intel to "neutral" from "buy" due to concerns about slow PC sales.

"Thomas has been the one that many have trusted to keep operating expenses under control during a difficult time in the economy," she said later. "I suspect some of the concerns you're seeing in after-market trading reflect concerns about whether that kind of spending discipline will be maintained without his leadership."

After the board ousted previous CEO Dirk Meyer, over disappointment with AMD's limited success in developing products for the smartphone and mobile markets, Seifert stood in for several months until Read was hired.

Read's start at AMD was followed by the departure of senior executives, as well as some respected engineers.

To rebuild its talent pool, AMD hired former Apple executive Mark Papermaster last year to be chief technology officer and Freescale Semiconductor executive Lisa Su as senior vice president and general manager, global business units.

In August, the company hired Jim Keller, formerly of Apple, as chief architect of its microprocessor cores.

Forty-eight year-old Seifert will stay on through September 28, AMD said.

AMD shares fell 11.72 percent in extended trading after closing up 2.82 percent at $4.01

Read more »

LG sticks to Android, no plans to use Windows Phone 8

President of LG's mobile division told reporters that LG was not considering using different operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows for its phones. President of LG's mobile division told reporters that LG was not considering using different operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows for its phones.
SEOUL: LG Electronics will stick to its previous sales target for 2012 smartphones and handsets, in the hope new product launches revive sales momentum later this year after weak sales in the first half, its head of mobile business said on Tuesday.

Park Jong-seok, president of the South Korean firm's mobile business, also told reporters that LG was not considering using different operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows for its phones. LG on Tuesday introduced a new smartphone running on the Android platform.

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LG unveils Optimus G with voice-activated camera

LG's Optimus G with voice-activated camera
SEOUL: LG Electronics unveiled its latest high-end smartphone packed with powerful hardware upgrades on Tuesday, as the struggling South Korean firm tries to win market share from Apple and Samsung Electronics in the crucial holiday quarter.

LG's handset business, which was slow to move into smartphones and has largely failed to win consumers from sector leaders Apple and Samsung, hopes the new Optimus G will also help it compete against Google's Motorola, Taiwan's HTC and China's ZTE and Huawei.

LG's Optimus G, which uses Google's Android platform, will go on sale next week in South Korea for 1 million won ($900), and later in Japan and the United States.

The Optimus G boasts a 13 megapixel camera which a user can instruct to take snaps by talking to it, plus a 4.7-inch screen with a sharper picture quality than both the iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S III.

Powered by Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon processor, the Optimus G will work on superfast mobile networks and be able to carry out several functions at once, such as showing a television broadcast and simultaneously sending text messages or searching the web.

Among its rivals are the Droid Razr models unveiled by Google's Motorola earlier this month, and Lumia 920, a flagship handset made by Nokia and Microsoft which uses the latest Windows Phone operating software.

Apple unveiled its iPhone 5 last week, and said on Monday it had booked orders for over two million iPhone 5 models in the first 24 hours it was on sale, evidence of stronger than expected demand for the new model ahead of the October-December holiday quarter.

Reflecting expectations that the new model will help LG turn around its money-losing smartphone business, LG Electronics stock has risen 20 per cent in the past three months, beating a 7.8 per cent rise in the wider market and Samsung's 8 per cent rise.

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Google snaps up Instagram's rival Snapseed

Following social networking site Facebook's purchase of photo-sharing app Instagram, Google has announced the acquisition of Nik Software, maker of the popular Snapseed photo editing and sharing app.
WASHINGTON: Following social networking site Facebook's purchase of photo-sharing app Instagram, Google has announced the acquisition of Nik Software, maker of the popular Snapseed photo editing and sharing app.

"Today I'm excited to welcome Nik Software to the Google family! We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love, and in our experience Nik does this better than anyone," Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of engineering, wrote in a Google+ post announcing the acquisition.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. San Diego, California-based Nik Software, established in 1995, makes digital imaging software for desktop and mobile devices.

The company's Snapseed app lets users edit photos, add filters, and share them on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or via email, according to PC Magazine.

"We've always aspired to share our passion for photography with everyone, and with Google's support we hope to be able to help many millions more people create awesome pictures," the Nik Software team wrote in a blog post Monday.

Snapseed is available for iOS devices as well as Mac and Windows computers, and Nik Software is currently working on an Android version.

At $4.99, Snapseed is more expensive than most iPhone apps. Apple in 2011 named Snapseed the top iPad app of the year. The same year, Instagram was declared iPhone app of the year.

Meanwhile, Gundotra also said that more than 400 million people have signed up for Google+ since it launched a year ago, and the social network just crossed 100 million monthly active users.

Read more »

Microsoft warns of security bug in Internet Explorer

Microsoft warned a newly discovered bug in its Internet Explorer web browser makes PCs vulnerable to attack by hackers.
BOSTON: Microsoft warned a newly discovered bug in its Internet Explorer web browser makes PCs vulnerable to attack by hackers and urged customers to download a piece of security software to mitigate the risk of infection.

The security flaw affects hundreds of millions of Internet Explorer browser users. Microsoft said attackers can exploit the bug to infect the PC of somebody who visits a malicious website and then take control of the victim's computer.

The software maker advised customers on its website late on Monday to install the security software as an interim measure, buying it time to fix the bug and release a new, more secure version of Internet Explorer. The company did not say how long that will take, but several security researchers said they expect the update within a week.

The free security tool, which is known as the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit, or EMET, is available through an advisory on Microsoft's website: blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/

The EMET software must be downloaded, installed and then manually configured to protect computers from the newly discovered threat, according to the posting from Microsoft. The company also advised customers to adjust several Windows security settings to thwart potential attackers, but cautioned that doing so might impact the PC's usability.

Some security experts said it would be too cumbersome for many PC users to implement the measures suggested by Microsoft. Instead they advised Windows users to temporarily switch from Internet Explorer to rival browsers such as Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox or Opera Software ASA's Opera.

"For consumers it might be easier to simply click on Chrome," said Dave Marcus, director of advanced research and threat intelligence with Intel Corp's McAfee security division.

Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer of the security firm BeyondTrust, said it may not be feasible for some businesses to install Microsoft's EMET tool on their PCs.

He said the security software has in some cases proven to be incompatible with existing programs already running on networks.

Tod Beardsley, an engineering manager with the security firm Rapid7, said that at first blush it appeared that the EMET may not be particularly effective in thwarting potential attacks.

Microsoft officials declined to comment on the skepticism that those security experts expressed about the effectiveness of the EMET software.

Poison Ivy
Eric Romang, a researcher in Luxembourg, discovered the flaw in Internet Explorer on Friday, when his PC was infected by a piece of malicious software known as Poison Ivy that hackers use to steal data or take remote control of PCs.

When he analyzed the infection, he learned that Poison Ivy had gotten on to his system by exploiting a previously unknown bug, or "zero-day" vulnerability, in Internet Explorer.

"Any time you see a zero-day like this, it is concerning," said Liam O Murchu, a research manager with anti-virus software maker Symantec. "There are no patches available. It is very difficult for people to protect themselves."

Zero-day vulnerabilities are rare, mostly because they are hard to identify - requiring highly skilled software engineers or hackers with lots of time to scrutinize code for holes that can be exploited to launch attacks. Security experts only disclosed discovery of eight major zero-day vulnerabilities in all of 2011, according to Symantec.

Symantec and other major anti-virus software makers have already updated their products to protect customers against the newly discovered bug in Internet Explorer. Yet, O Murchu said that may not be sufficient to ward off adversaries.

"The danger with these types of attacks is that they will mutate and the attackers will find a way to evade the defenses we have in place," he said.

Internet Explorer was the world's second-most widely used browser last month, with about 33 percent market share, according to StatCounter. It was close behind Chrome, which had 34 percent of the market.

Read more »

Nokia Lumia 900 available at Rs 32,999

Nokia Lumia 900, the erstwhile flagship phone of the Finnish company, has been launched in India without any fanfare. The device is already available at e-commerce sites at a price of Rs 32,999.
Nokia Lumia 900, the erstwhile flagship phone of the Finnish company, has been launched in India without any fanfare. The device is already available at e-commerce sites like Indiatimes Shopping and others at a price of Rs 32,999 in cyan white and black colours.

Lumia 900 features a 4.3-inch Amoled touchscreen with ClearBlack Display and runs on Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) operating system. This phone is available with internal memory of 16GB coupled with 512MB RAM and is powered by a 1.4GHz Scorpion processor. It sports an 8MP snapper with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash on the back and a 1MP camera in the front.

In terms of connectivity options, Nokia Lumia 900 boasts of 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and EDR (Enhanced Data Rate). It runs on an 1,830mAh battery and comes pre-installed with Nokia Maps and A-GPS with Glonass for location tracking and directions.

The biggest drawback for Lumia 900 buyers will be that it will not be upgraded to Windows Phone 8 operating system, but they can port their device to Windows Phone 7.8. Nevertheless, it will receive new features like CityLens which were showcased with Lumia 920, the latest flagship phone of the company.

Key specs of Nokia Lumia 900 are as below:

Display: 4.3-inch Amoled touchscreen;
Operating system: Windows phone 7.5 (Mango);
Processor: 1.4GHz Scorpion processor;
RAM: 512MB;
Camera: 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash; 1MP front camera;
Connectivity: 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and EDR;
Battery: 1,830mAh

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Google, Facebook, Twitter have more power over free speech: Experts

The internet has been a boon to free speech, bringing access to information that governments have long tried to suppress.
SYDNEY: The controversy regarding a crude anti-Muslim movie, which sparked off lethal violence in the Middle East, has highlighted how internet companies, most of whom are based in the United States, have become global arbiters of free speech, weighing up on complex issues that are traditionally performed by courts, judges and, occasionally through international treaties, experts have said.

"Notice that Google has more power over this than either the Egyptian or the US government," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor, as saying.

"Most free speech today has nothing to do with governments and everything to do with companies," he added.

After the anti-Muslim movie trailer spread like fire on the web and YouTube, breaking out protests in Egypt and Libya, Google was forced by White House officials to block access to the video in some of the Middle East countries.

However, days later, controversy over the 14-minute clip from The Innocence of Muslims was still roiling the Islamic world, with access blocked in Egypt, Libya, India, Indonesia and Afghanistan, the paper said.

In temporarily blocking the video in some countries, legal experts say, Google implicitly invoked the concept of ''clear and present danger'', which is a key exception to the broad first amendment protections in the US, where free speech is more jealously guarded than almost anywhere in the world.

The internet has been a boon to free speech, bringing access to information that governments have long tried to suppress. Google has positioned itself as an ally of such freedoms, as newspapers, book publishers and television stations long have, the paper said.

But because of the immediacy and global reach of internet companies, they face particular challenges in addressing a variety of legal restrictions, cultural sensitivities and, occasionally, national security concerns, it added.

''Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter now play this adjudicatory role on free speech,'' said Andrew McLaughlin, a former top policy official at Google who later worked for the Obama White House as deputy chief technology officer.

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Facebook, Google, Twitter yet to cooperate over hate messages

Parents say at least two popular schools in Chennai have taken recourse to spying on children on networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging site Twitter to prevent the institutions from being maligned.
NEW DELHI: As the government initiates legal proceedings against social media users who had posted inflammatory content on the web in the wake of communal strife in Assam, platforms like Twitter, Google and Facebook are yet to cooperate with the law enforcers in identifying those behind the blocked posts.

The department of information technology (DIT) had written to Twitter, Google and Facebook around 10-12 days back, seeking details of accounts that had uploaded inflammatory messages, images and videos last month. The information was sought in keeping with the law that requires DIT to grant a hearing to net users whose posts are blocked as an emergency measure.

A DIT official claimed Google said it had pulled down objectionable posts from their sites in accordance with their policies and not under Indian law. The authorities are interpreting this as reluctance on part of foreign ISPs to help law enforcement in India, an outlook rejected by both Google and Facebook.

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Schools creating fake Facebook IDs to spy on kids

Parents say at least two popular schools in Chennai have taken recourse to spying on children on networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging site Twitter to prevent the institutions from being maligned.
CHENNAI: Alarmed at the audacious behaviour of students on the internet and by comments they make to ridicule teachers and school authorities, some institutions in the city have started snooping on children's activities on social networking sites.

School officials are assuming fake identities to befriend students and check if they are making uncharitable comments against their teachers, schools or even each other, in an ethically questionable and possibly illegal expedient to curb what they see as unacceptable behaviour.

Parents say at least two popular schools in Chennai have taken recourse to spying on children on networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging site Twitter to prevent the institutions from being maligned. They say some schools have even taken disciplinary action against students for calling teachers names on social networking sites.

Schools cite instances such as cyber bullying to justify "keeping tabs" on children online. "A remark by a first-year degree student against a junior in Class 11 in the same institution recently sparked off an instance of cyber bullying, with students ganging up against each other and trading abuse online," a teacher said.

Yet many schools consider spying on a student an unfair intrusion into the child's privacy.

Sarah Alexander, principal of Spartan CBSE School, said teachers at the Mogappair institution caution students on uploading pictures on the web and teach them appropriate online behaviour. "We inform parents of the students' online activities," she said. "But we do not probe each account. I don't think it is the right way to curtail improper behaviour on the net."

Online activists are also critical of schools spying on students. "If schools are worried about cyber bullying and students maligning teachers, they should teach students how to use the internet responsibly," said internet expert Anivar Aravind.

"Any individual who is 14 years old can create a profile on a social networking site. People are free to use the internet to express their opinions and emotions," he added.

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Technology companies' logos: 10 interesting stories

Logos of top tech companies are among the most easily recognisable in the world.
NEW DELHI: Logos of top tech companies are among the most easily recognisable in the world. But, ever wondered how did they evolve to be in such exalted status? Be it the Apple's Newton's apple logo or IBM's globe, most of them have had really interesting etymology associated with them. Read on to know the tales behind the origin of logos of some of the biggest tech companies.

Read: Technology logos: 10 interesting stories

Microsoft
Microsoft, after 25 years, revamped its corporate logo in August 2012. But this is not the first time Microsoft went for a change. In fact, this is the fifth logo in 37 years of company's history. Microsoft now spells its name in bold instead of italics, thus symbolizing "simplicity, commitment and loyalty". It is also for the first time that Microsoft's logo is accompanied by a design. The iconic four brightly coloured boxes (orange, green, yellow, blue) which earlier were in a wave form, now appear as simple square boxes. The history of other four logos is more interesting.

The 70s and 80s were famously known as the Disco era and its impression could be seen on Microsoft's first logo which spelled Microsoft in two lines with "Micro" in the upper line and "Soft" below it. All the characters had a "groovy" texture.

The second logo that came was green in colour and spelled the word Microsoft in one line with all characters in upper case. The "O" of the Micro had lines on it and employees nicknamed the logo as Bibbet. In fact, after 12 years when Microsoft wanted to change the logo, employees protested and even ran campaigns to save it, but it was destined to go and made space for a new logo.

The new logo which came in 1987 was called the Pacman logo and was designed by Scott Baker. This logo gets its name from the wedge-shaped cut made on the "O" of the Microsoft. Except the letter "M", all other letters were in lowercase and italicized. In 1994, a tagline was added to the logo which was later changed in 2006.

Apple
One of the most easily identifiable logo is that of Apple, a company that in past one decade has changed the very definition of personal computing as we know it today. Just like the company, including its late co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple's logos too have an unusual history. Here's the history behind the famous 'bite': The first Apple logo might seem like a sticker on a wine bottle, but it is not. During 1970s, the first logo was nowhere close to an Apple.

However, it still had something to do with apple. The logo was Issac Newton. The image appears to be on a papyrus showing the popular anecdote from Newton's life when an Apple fell on his head. Of course, the associated message was a quote from Wordsworth, "Newton... a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought."

This Newton logo didn't last for long and was replaced by a multi-coloured Apple logo bitten on the right side. This logo was designed by Rob Janoff and there are several stories that try to explain the idea behind this Apple logo. But the most popular is the one which says that it is a tribute to Alan Turning, the father of modern computing who committed suicide by taking a bite from a cyanide- laced Apple.

Then, in 1998, Apple introduced its monochrome logo. Though in the current design, the outline remains the same, but it now features only two colours: white and aluminium.

Google
Another most easily recognisable logo is that of the internet giant Google. The company has changed its logo a number of times ever since BackRub, a search engine designed by Sergy Brin and Larry Page, was renamed as Google.

Sometimes, to celebrate special events like birthdays of famous people, International Days etc., Google temporarily makes exciting changes to its logo which is commonly known as the doodle.

Google's first logo was somewhat like Yahoo's logo with an exclamation mark. It was designed in 1998 by Sergey Brin himself using the free programme GIMP. But, unlike Yahoo's logo, which was all red, Google's logo had primary colour.

After a year, on May 31 1999, Google introduced its new logo that spelled Google in three primary colours and one secondary colour. The font or the typeface was changed, exclamation mark was dropped, the logo now had a shadow, and the letter "o" got dark yellow colour. This was used until May 2010.

The current logo was designed by Ruth Kedar. In the new logo again, the font was changed, the shadow was dropped, colours were enhanced and appear brighter and "O" is now in Chrome yellow. According to the designer Ruth Kedar, the "L" of the Google was given a secondary colour to upfront the idea that Google doesn't follow the rules.

Yahoo
Yahoo was founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in January 1994 and was incorporated on March 1, 1995. This internet mammoth of the yesteryears has a very interesting fact associated with its name. It began functioning under the name "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web". Later on, it was renamed as Yahoo which is an acronym that stands for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle".

The word "Hierarchical" indicated the arrangement of data, "Officious" meant for people who would be using the Yahoo data from offices via internet and "Oracle" meant truth.
In simple words, it was a service that aimed to provide correct and true information to people who accessed internet from their offices from its database. However, the founders of the company say that they chose Yahoo because of its slang definition: rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.

Yahoo's first logo that came in the year 1995 was in red with three icons on each side. The logo on the homepage used to have a black outline shadow which went well with the uncouth definition. Yahoo's philosophy at that time was to offer information as quickly as possible. Hence, the logo went well with the idea.

After a decade, Yahoo's logo was changed to purple with no outline or shadow, and it is simply identical to the original logo. This consistency in Yahoo's logo is indicative of the fact that the company is determined, stable and promises to deliver the "best" to its users. The other variant of Yahoo's logo are "Y!" and the Yahoo messenger logo.

Samsung
Unlike Apple and Microsoft, Samsung was not a technology giant when it was founded in 1938. It came up as a small trading company in Seoul, South Korea.

The current Samsung logo is the fifth design since 1938 and it signifies simplicity and flexibility. The ellipse is symbolic of dynamism. Within the ellipse is spelt Samsung in bold, block letters that convey the message of commitment, leadership and innovation. The "S" and "G" are located at both the ends of ellipse which convey that Samsung is a company that is always eager to serve its customers globally and interact with them. The "A" in the current logo looks like inverted "V".

The blue colour of the ellipse is symbolic to stability and reliability.

The very first logo also known as the Samsung Byeolpyo noodles logo had a circle in centre with three stars and the name of the company was spelled out within the circle in Korean. The logo which replaced the first one had three stars placed in a white circular area enclosed in a square. The name of the company was spelled in the same line. This logo was used until 1979.

In 1980, Samsung logo got colour and it was red. The three stars were placed in a triangular form and the name of the company was suffixed.

Nokia
Nokia, the Finnish handset maker which ruled the smartphone market for long, has a very interesting history. Nokia's current head office is in Keilaniemi, Espoo. Nokia was first established in 1865 by Fredrik Idestam in the town of Tampere on the banks of the river Tammerkoski and it was incorporated in town of Nokia. This small municipal district gets its name from the river Nokianvirta that flows through this town.

In 1966, Nokia designed its first logo which was a fish. The famous belief is that the logo was inspired by the salmon fish of Nokianvirta river upon the banks of which Nokia is situated.

Prior to 1966, Nokia was primarily a Finnish rubber company with two other businesses focusing on electrical and paper. During that time, Nokia's logo was an inverted diamond outline in which the name of the company was spelled in red colour with the date of its foundation.

In 1967, the three businesses were merged to form Nokia Corporation and the new logo was a simple black circle with a bent line in between on which Nokia was spelled in white. The circle was actually symbolic of the globe and the word Nokia which was spelt on the central band was indicating that the company intends to expand its reach beyond Finland and Europe.

Nokia's telecom business evolved with the 1967 merger itself. During 1970s and 80s, when Nokia was progressing in the phone business, it adapted a new logo which was quite similar to the current one. Nokia was spelled in aqua (light blue) colour and on top of "A" were three arrows that symbolized Nokia's progress in the telecom sector.

In 1993, Nokia adapted the current logo which spelled Nokia in bold blue characters and had a tagline "Connecting people" which was given by Ove Strandberg. The arrows were dropped. Later in 1997, the iconic image of two hands holding each other was introduced.
The tagline "Connecting people" underlines Nokia's mission of "building customer relationship upon trust and offering best services which is above all barriers and distances". In fact, Nokia went on to become the top phone company and stayed so until 2009. The first dent in its fortunes came in form of the first smartphone launched by Apple in 2007.

Motorola
Founded on September 25, 1928, Motorola began its operations as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation and later in 1947, it changed the name to Motorola. It was split into two companies Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions in 2008. Motorola Mobility was later acquired by Google in 2011 for $12.5 billion.

Motorola's first logo was simply its name spelled in black colour in a cursive running font. In June 1955, Motorola got its current logo that features a modified "M" in white colour on a round black background. The triangular peaks that form the "M" in the logo are symbolic of "leadership, progression and intentions to stay at the top of the domain". Under the logo, Motorola is spelt in black bold letters.

IBM
IBM was founded in 1911 through the merger of three companies and was named as Computing Tabulating Recording Company (CTR). IBM is sometimes also referred to as the Big Blue. In 1914, Thomas J Watson Sr, was appointed to lead CTR and that was the time when he introduced the famous motto "THINK." The CTR logo at that time was a simple circle in which the abbreviation CTRCo was spelled in black colour and somewhat similar to Gothic font.

On the Valentines Day of 1924, CTR was renamed to International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM Corp. And with it was unveiled a new logo. The new IBM logo took the shape of the globe, girdled by the word "International" in white on a black band. The logo indicated IBM's intention to expand globally. However, it failed to show "friendly and caring" side of IBM which forced the company to adapt a new logo on January 1, 1947. The 'globe' was replaced by simple letters which indicated that the company believes in "simplicity and building friendly relationship with customers based on trust". The typeface of the font is Beton Bold.

In May 1956, IBM made subtle changes to its existing logo. The new logo was created by the famous graphic designer, Paul Rand. That new logo used the typeface known as City Medium that provided the logo and the company a bolder and balanced look.

Finally, in 1972, Paul Rand designed a completely new logo for IBM. The bold letters in black were replaced by white horizontal stripes on black background, indicating "speed, dynamism and progress". The bold block letters were used to indicate "authority" and the stripes are symbolic of "equality".

Adobe
In 1982 Adobe was a two-man army and its soldiers were John Warnock and Chuck Geschke. The designer of Adobe's first logo was none other than John Warnock's wife Marva Warnock, who was a graphic designer herself.

Company's first logo had its full name, Adobe Systems Incorporated, printed on bluish-grey background in a running font. Letter "A" was modified in form of a triangle. The old logo conveyed "professionalism" of the company.

The current Adobe logo has letter "A", slightly modified from the original, on a red background. In the new logo, only Adobe is spelled with "A" in upper case. The current logo is a symbol of success, efficiency and innovation and harmony.

Canon
Canon is a Japanese company that specializes in manufacture of imaging and optical products. Canon began in 1934 under the name Kwanon with the production a prototype for Japan's first-ever 35 mm camera with a focal plane shutter. In 1947, the company's name was changed to Canon.

In Buddhism, Kwanon is the name of the goddess of mercy and its first logo showed the goddess with thousand hands sitting on a lotus with a ring of fire around it. The name Kwanon was spelled under the image in a very unique typeface which appeared more like flames. On the top of the image, the word "camera" was spelled.

However, this logo failed badly in the international market since Buddhism wasn't widely spread in the West at that time. People in Europe and the US did not understand the meaning of Kwanon and hence in 1935, the image was dropped and the word Canon was used.

Canon was initially spelt using thin black lines which was modified over the years, and a unified version released in 1956 in dark, bold letters. The logo since then has remained unchanged for over half a century. Currently, Canon is spelled in bold red colour, which represents "dynamism, innovation, determination and business responsibility".

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Yahoo employees get iPhone 5, S III, Lumia 920 for free

All Yahoo employees will soon be getting free smartphones. Seemingly an employee morale booster from CEO Marissa Mayer, the programme is called 'Yahoo! Smart phones, Smart Fun'.
All Yahoo employees will soon be getting free smartphones. Seemingly an employee morale booster from CEO Marissa Mayer, the programme is called 'Yahoo! Smart phones, Smart Fun'.

The programme offering free smartphones to all Yahoo employees globally comes with just one condition, that their smartphone choice can't be Research In Motion's BlackBerry. Seems with RIM's plunging fortunes, Yahoo management thinks it's prudent to shift its corporate phones to other brands.

Here's the memo recieved by Yahoo employees, as published by Business Insider.

We have a very exciting update to share with you today - we are announcing Yahoo! Smart Phones, Smart Fun! As of today, Yahoo is moving off of blackberries as our corporate phones and on to smartphones in 22 countries. A few weeks ago, we said that we would look into smartphone penetration rates globally and take those rates into account when deciding on corporate phones. Ideally, we'd like our employees to have devices similar to our users, so we can think and work as the majority of our users do.

Moving forward, we'll offer you a choice of devices as well as provide monthly plans for the data and phone.

The smartphone choices that we are including in the program are:

* Apple iPhone 5;
* Android: - Samsung Galaxy S3; - HTC One X; - HTC EVO 4G LTE;
* Windows Phone 8: - Nokia Lumia 920

We're getting started right away and taking orders starting now.

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India plans 61 times faster supercomputer by 2017

The government has drawn a blueprint for developing the next generation of supercomputers that could be 61 times faster than existing machines.
NEW DELHI: The government has drawn a blueprint for developing the next generation of supercomputers that could be 61 times faster than existing machines.

Telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal is understood to have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sharing the roadmap to develop "petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers" at an estimated cost of Rs 4,700 crore over 5 years.

"In his (Sibal) letter, he has said that C-DAC has developed a proposal with a roadmap to develop a petaflop and exaflop range of supercomputers in the country with an outlay of Rs 4,700 crore," a government official said.

A petaflop is a measure of a computer s processing speed and can be expressed as a thousand trillion floating point operations per second. Exaflop is one quintillion computer operations per second. Simply put, one exaflop is thousand times faster than one petaflop.

The fastest supercomputer in the world, Sequoia, has registered a top computing speed of 16.32 petaflops, which is equivalent of computing of power from over 7.8 lakhs high-end laptops put together.

If the Indian government approves building exaflop supercomputers, these will be at least 61 times faster than Sequoia, officials said.

India's top supercomputer at present ranks 58th globally in terms of computing speed.

Sibal has cited the past record of Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) which was set up in 1987 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi after technologically advanced nations denied supply of supercomputer to India in mid-1980s.

"The Minister has written that C-DAC developed first supercomputers in the country, the Param series. Presently Param Yuva with 54 teraflop computing power is serving many researchers through Garuda Computing Grid," the official said.

Sibal has proposed that Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) should be given tasks to coordinate overall supercomputing activities in the country as it has been done in the past.

The proposal made in the letter says that DEITY should be given tasks to set up a National Apex Committee to oversee the implementation of the proposed Supercomputing Mission and C- DAC should establish peta and exascale supercomputing facilities and development activities.

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