US power grid the target of 'numerous and daily' cyber-attacks
Report finds utilities vulnerable, threatened
The US electricity grid is under near constant attack from malware and cyber-criminals, yet most utility companies implement only the barest minimum of security standards, according to a new report released by Congressmen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Henry Waxman (D-CA).
"National security experts say that cyber attacks on America's …
Microsoft tweaks WinPhone YouTube app to fix Google gripes
Vid downloads blocked, but ads still not possible
Microsoft has issued an update to its YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 that addresses some of Google's concerns over the earlier version, but not all of them.
Google's streaming-video division sent Microsoft a takedown request for the earlier version of the app last week, claiming that it violated YouTube's terms of use by …
More than half of Windows 8 users just treat it like Windows 7
Almost nobody using Windows Store apps, survey finds
For all Microsoft's hype about The Interface Formerly Known As Metro (TIFKAM), more than half of all Windows 8 users ignore the new Start Screen and treat the OS as if it were Windows 7, according to a study by PC management firm Soluto.
Soluto chart tracking Windows Store app use How many Windows 8 users launch a Windows Store …
Startup hires 'cyborg' Mann for Google Glass–killer project
3D augmented reality specs coming your way this year
Watch out, Sergey! A new startup is hard at work on a device that's far more ambitious than Google Glass, and it has just signed on wearable-computing maven Steve Mann as its chief scientist.
Meta, founded by Columbia University computer and neurological science student Meron Gribetz, has developed a prototype of a wearable …
New Intel CEO Krzanich takes reins of core product groups
Management shakeup, new devices division launched
Newly minted Intel CEO Brian Krzanich has hit the ground running, having already begun a sweeping reorganization that reshuffles Chipzilla's leadership and sees the launch of a new mobile devices division.
Reuters was first to report the shakeup on Tuesday, based on details of a leaked companywide email that an Intel spokesman …
Cook: Apple has 'no current plan' to pull profits out of Ireland
Tells Senate he'd need a single-digit tax rate for that
Apple CEO Tim Cook has doubled down on his earlier defense of Cupertino's accounting practices in testimony before a US Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, describing the company as "America's largest corporate income taxpayer."
"Apple complies fully with both the laws and spirit of the laws," Cook said in his prepared remarks, …
AT&T to relax restrictions on FaceTime, video chat
New contractual shenanigans to arrive in June?
AT&T Wireless plans to lift some of its restrictions on the use of mobile video chat apps by the end of this year, according to a statement the carrier released on Monday.
AT&T started limiting its customers' access to bandwidth-heavy chat apps in 2012, when Apple first enabled the use of its FaceTime video chat over mobile …
Supreme Court sides with FCC in NIMBY wireless tower spat
Local governments must follow agency's rules
The US Supreme Court has sided with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that local governments must act within a "reasonable period" – as defined by the FCC – to approve or deny requests by telcos to build new wireless towers.
The ruling upholds an earlier decision by the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which …
Don't Panic! Google FCC filing reveals mystery media device
Nexus Q replacement, or something more Guide-y?
Google has filed paperwork with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a mysterious new media player device, leading to widespread speculation that a successor to the ill-fated Nexus Q may be forthcoming. But if that's true, what's with the Douglas Adams references?
The paperwork, published on the FCC's site on …
Google's Native Code browser tech goes cross-platform
Google I/O Write web modules in C/C++ that run on both Intel and ARM
At its annual I/O conference in San Francisco this week, Google unveiled a new version of its Native Client technology that allows developers to deploy binary code for web applications in an architecture-independent way.
With the original version of Native Client (NaCl), developers could write modules in C or C++ and compile …
Jailed Romanian hacker repents, invents ATM security scheme
Add-on device blocks card skimmers
A Romanian man serving a five-year jail sentence for bank-machine fraud says he's come up with a device that can be attached to any ATM to make the machine invulnerable to card skimmers.
Valentin Boanta was arrested in 2009 and charged with supplying ATM skimmers – devices that can be attached to ATMs to surreptitiously copy the …
Congress asks Google to explain Glass privacy policies
Pesky laws and governments interfering yet again
The pilot phase of Google Glass is barely off the ground, but the Chocolate Factory's high-tech specs have already drawn the scrutiny of the US Congress over concerns that they could infringe individual privacy.
In a letter addressed to Google CEO Larry Page, eight members of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus called …
Pirate Bay cofounder to run for European Parliament
Seeks freetard vote for 'solutions we're in dire need of'
Peter Sunde, one of four cofounders of notorious BitTorrent search site The Pirate Bay, says he plans to run in next year's European Parliament elections, despite his impending incarceration for copyright violation.
Sunde, along with partners Carl Lundström, Frederik Neij, and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, were convicted of " …
Google tells Microsoft to yank its new WinPhone YouTube app
Says it's deliberately ripping off content creators
No sooner has Microsoft managed to get a full-featured YouTube app running on Windows Phone 8 – something it long maintained was impossible – than an irate Google has asked it to immediately remove the app from the Windows Phone Store.
The Verge, which editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky has described as "a news site which covers …
Oracle updates Java versioning to allow more security fixes
New scheme skips numbers to leave room for emergencies
Seemingly borrowing a page from the old, line-numbered BASIC programs of the 1980s, Oracle has adopted a new version numbering strategy for the Java Development Kit (JDK) – one that skips numbers, in case Oracle has to go back and plunk in new code later.
Traditionally, Oracle has issued new patches for the JDK on a predictable …
Android device? Ooohhhh, you mean a Samsung phone
Koreans nabbed nearly all the Q1 profits – more even than Google
Android may now be the bestselling smartphone OS in the world, as Google pointed out in its Wednesday morning I/O conference keynote, but a new report says most handset vendors aren't actually making much money off Android – with one notable exception.
According to a study by market research firm Strategy Analytics, the global …
Firefox 21 ships with performance-profiling Health Report
Phones home with stats on startup, crashes, and more
The Mozilla Foundation has shipped the latest version of its Firefox web browser with a new Health Report feature that monitors browser behavior and optionally submits usage statistics back to Mozilla to help reduce crashes and other problems.
According to a blog post by VP of Firefox engineering Johnathan Nightingale, the …
Watch out, Nokia: Global mobile phone sales slowing
Only the Asian market showing growth
It seems as though hardly a month goes by without the launch of some flashy new mobile phone. Yet according to new figures from Gartner, overall mobile sales are slowing throughout most of the world, which could mean trouble ahead for some vendors – particularly Nokia.
Total sales of all types of handsets were essentially flat …
Microsoft: Next WinPhone 8 update to arrive this summer
Won't be 'Blue,' but will include important features
We still don't know for sure what changes will arrive in Windows 8.1, the big OS update that's expected to ship as a preview in late June, but Microsoft has begun teasing a few details of the next update to Windows Phone 8.
Windows group chief marketing and finance officer Tami Reller confirmed that the major desktop update …
Google abruptly shuts down search-by-SMS portal
Users cut off without notice, apparently for good
Without warning, Google has shut down the gateway that allowed mobile users to access its search engine via SMS text, effectively cutting off from the service customers who lack data plans.
The Chocolate Factory launched its SMS search feature in 2004 and has maintained it ever since, providing abridged query results such as …
France weighing 'culture tax' on phones, slabs, PCs, TVs
'It's necessary to close loopholes to restore fairness'
The Socialist government of France is mulling a new "culture tax" to be levied on smartphones and other consumer electronics as one possible measure to help fund music, film, and the arts in a rapidly changing media landscape.
Last fall, French president Francois Hollande created a special panel, chaired by former Canal+ CEO …
NYC attorney seeks mobe-makers' help to curb muggings
'Why no remote killswitch?'
In a series of letters, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has called upon smartphone makers to explain what they are doing to combat the growing problem of handset theft.
"Cracking down on violent and dangerous cell phone thefts is important for New Yorkers," Schneiderman said in a canned statement. "The …
Microsoft honcho pleads with media: 'Stop picking on us!'
Updated 'Windows 8 is a good product ... really!'
Microsoft has taken quite a pounding in the press over Windows 8, and it has only intensified the rumors that the planned update to the OS might roll back some of its more controversial features. But Redmond has had quite enough now, and it wants it all to stop.
On Friday, Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft's corporate vice president of …
New Ubuntu for phones due 'by end of May' – usable this time
Team vows to 'dogfood' its own OS
When Canonical released the Developer Preview of the smartphone version of its Ubuntu Linux OS, it warned users that it was only an experimental snapshot and that it couldn't replace their current handsets. That could change soon, however, as one Canonical exec has vowed to make an Ubuntu device his day-to-day phone by the end …
Rules, shmules: Fliers leaving devices switched on in droves
Nearly a third of passengers 'forget' to power down
While the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) debates whether airline passengers should be allowed to keep their portable electronic devices switched on during flights, the truth is that many of them already do, according to a new survey.
The study, released jointly on Thursday by the Airline Passenger Experience …
YouTube launches subscriptions with 53 paid channels
Themed content starting at 99¢ per month
As expected, streaming-media giant YouTube has announced the launch of a new paid service that allows users to subscribe to content channels for a monthly fee.
"Today, there are more than 1 million channels generating revenue on YouTube," the company explained in a blog post on Thursday, "and one of the most frequent requests we …
'Raining Blooderator' pays tribute to late Slayer guitarist
Hanneman honored with site-splattering bloody web app
In a tribute to recently deceased guitarist Jeff Hanneman of the heavy metal band Slayer, a Minneapolis, Minnesota–based ad agency has released a web app that can rain simulated blood onto any webpage.
Enter any URL into the Raining Blooderator and your browser will be redirected to the requested page, with the addition of a …
Amazon readying smartphone with 3D DISPLAY – report
Futuristic mobe part of broader push into consumer tech
If Amazon does release its own smartphone, it won't be just another me-too number, according to a new report that says the online retailer is working on a handset with a 3D holographic display.
Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon's device will use "retina-tracking technology" to make images …
Ban Samsung sales in the US? Sorry, Apple: Tech titans say 'No'
All except Nokia, that is
A group of technology companies led by Google has asked permission to let their collective opinion be known in the long-running patent dispute between Apple and its South Korean rival, Samsung.
The group, consisting of Google, HTC, Rackspace, Red Hat, and SAP, filed a motion with the US District Court of Northern California on …
Ubuntu dev proposes new package format for mobile apps
Faster, less clunky than old-school Linux installers
In a move that could see Ubuntu veer even further away from the Linux mainstream, Canonical has proposed a new software packaging format designed to make it easier for developers to publish apps for Ubuntu's tablet and phone–friendly future incarnations.
"This is not aimed at changing packages that are already part of the Ubuntu …
Stealthy, malware-spewing server attack not limited to Apache
Lighttpd, Nginx variants also discovered
A mysterious backdoor that has been used to drive traffic to malicious websites may be more widespread than previously thought, security researchers say, and it affects more web servers than just Apache.
The malware – which has been dubbed "Linux/Cdorked.A" or "Darkleech," depending whom you ask – was first spotted in the wild …
Microsoft: Subscription-only apps? Not for us, yet
Give it a decade or so, then we'll talk
Even though Microsoft Office won't be following Adobe Creative Suite down the subscription-only path anytime soon, you'll be renting your software before you know it, say Redmond bods.
Adobe announced that Photoshop and the rest of its industry-leading graphics software would no longer be available via the retail, perpetual- …
Google not sabotaging YouTube on Windows Phone after all
New app delivers features once said to be impossible
Microsoft has debuted a new, native YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 with a completely redesigned interface, despite its earlier claims that Google was deliberately preventing it from delivering a first-class YouTube experience on the platform.
There has always been a YouTube app available for WP8, but it didn't take long for …
Ray Harryhausen, king of stop motion, takes final voyage
Obituary Innovator who paved the way for modern special effects
Ray Harryhausen, the pioneering visual effects wizard whose name was synonymous with stop-motion animation, has died in London at the age of 92.
Ray Harryhausen's skeleton army from
Pirates of the Caribbean's CG skeletons aren't a patch on these guys
Throughout his 33-year Hollywood career, Harryhausen was known for …
US Department of Defense fingers China as top cyber threat
Chinese gov't, military to blame for past attacks
A new report to Congress by the US Department of Defense (DoD) includes some of the strongest language yet implicating the People's Republic of China in recent global cyber-attacks.
"In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, continued to be targeted for intrusions," the …
EC: Motorola abused its patents in Apple iPhone spat
Injunctions violated EU antitrust rules
Google's Motorola Mobility division was dealt another blow in Europe on Monday, when the European Commission (EC) informed the company that its use of standard-essential patents (SEPs) likely constitutes a violation of EU antitrust rules.
The preliminary decision comes following two yearlong investigations launched in April 2012 …
YouTube channels at $1.99 per month could launch this week
50 channels tapped for content-for-pay trial
Video streaming giant YouTube is nearly ready to begin offering some of its customers a subscription pricing model for their content channels, according to reports.
Citing inside sources, the Financial Times claims the Google-owned service has been working on getting its subscription paywall up and running for months, and that …
Next Xbox won't need always-on internet after all
Leaked memo suggests Microsoft feels gamers' pain
Widespread fears that Microsoft's next Xbox gaming console will require an always-on network connection may be unfounded, if a memo purportedly leaked from Redmond proves authentic.
Ars Technica claims to have had a peek at an all-hands memo sent to every current staffer working on "Durango," the codename for the next Xbox, …
Look ma, no plugins! Streaming web video with just JavaScript
Mozilla, Otoy debut high-speed codec for any browser
Mozilla and Los Angeles, California–based graphics software company Otoy have jointly announced ORBX.js, a new JavaScript library which the companies say can deliver full 1080p, 60fps digital video in a browser window using only web standards–based technologies.
"It is a remarkable achievement to see a high performance video …
Smaller, second-gen Surface slabs to arrive in June?
Microsoft said to be readying 7 to 9 inchers for Build
Microsoft has struggled to make headway in the tablet market so far, but sources say it may be ready to take another crack at it by releasing a new Surface model with a smaller screen as soon as next month.
Inconsistently accurate Taiwanese IT industry newspaper DigiTimes reports that a variety of Asian component suppliers are …
So long, Hotmail: Remaining users migrated to Outlook.com
End of an era for one of the first free webmail services
Hotmail addresses may live on, but the service we once knew as Hotmail is no more, now that Microsoft has transferred all 300 million active Hotmail accounts to its new, modernized Outlook.com webmail offering.
"We want to give a huge 'Thank you' to all of you who have supported Hotmail over the years, for some of you, that's …
SAP loses appeal in long-running $345m patent case
Time to pay the piper
A US federal court has rejected German software maker SAP's bid to overturn a $345m judgment against it, in a move that could finally end a patent-infringement lawsuit that has already dragged on for nearly six years.
Versata, a maker of business rules engine software, first brought suit against SAP in 2007 over allegations that …
Facebook fails to wow Wall Street with slow profit growth
Mobile users keep coming, but will they pay off?
Facebook posted strong revenue for its first quarter of fiscal 2013, beating analyst estimates, but profits only inched ahead slightly as the social network continued to struggle with its transition to a mobile-first company.
Total revenue for the quarter was $1.46bn, up 38 per cent from the previous year's Q1 but down 8 per …
Ultra-hackable Google Glass could be a security nightmare
Easy root access opens spyware floodgates
Google's high-tech Glass headsets might be a gadget enthusiast's dream, but in their current form they're far too vulnerable to malicious hacking, according to one developer who has had access to the devices.
In a lengthy blog post on Tuesday, technology consultant Jay Freeman – who goes by the hacker handle "Saurik" – gave a …
Budweiser's bonkable Buddy Cup brings Facebook to the pub
Toast now, stalk later – no convo required
Are you spending so much time on Facebook that the prospect of actually going out and socializing has become a little unnerving? Don't worry; mega-brewer Budweiser has got you covered, with a new beverage cup that helps merge the physical and online worlds.
"The Buddy Cup brings together the in-bar experience with Facebook, the …
The Chromebooks are coming! New models due late 2013
Will battle head to head with Android notebooks
While sales of Windows PCs and notebooks continue to disappoint, Acer, Asus, and other hardware makers are readying a new volley of Chromebooks to launch in the second half of 2013, sources close to the companies' Asia-based supply chains claim.
According to a report in Taiwanese tech pub DigiTimes, the new push will be …
Google to Glass devs: 'Duh! Go ahead, hack your headset'
'We intentionally left the device unlocked'
Google might not want people selling its Google Glass Explorer Edition high-tech specs, but it has no problem with developers hacking on the hardware and software, if recent developments are any indication.
The Chocolate Factory released the GPL-licensed portions of the source code to the software that powers Glass over the …
Opera sues designer for leaking trade secrets to Mozilla
Simplified browser UIs in the dock
Norwegian browser maker Opera Software has filed suit against Trond Werner Hansen, one of its former developers, alleging that Hansen took trade secrets with him when he went to work with Opera rival Mozilla.
As first reported by The Next Web, Hansen worked at Opera from 1999 through 2006. There he led design and UI development …
New Google Play terms ban non-store app updates
Rug pulled from under Facebook's auto-updates
Google has amended the policies of its Play app store for Android to prohibit third-party app update mechanisms, in a move seemingly designed to put the kibosh on a contentious feature being tested by Facebook.
As of Friday, the "Dangerous Products" section of the Chocolate Factory's Google Play Developer Program Policies - …
What work? Tablet owners prefer to slack off with their slabs
Their kids like to play with them, too
Tablet owners love their fondleslabs, but hardly anybody thinks of them as tools for business, according to a new report from JD Power and Associates.
The study, based on a survey of 1,857 tablet owners that was conducted in February 2013, found that just 20 per cent of them admitted to using their devices for "business …
