Win 7, A Bestseller or what?

This is a conference cut out guys,

Windows 7 isn't just getting good reviews, it's also selling well, CEO Steve Ballmer told shareholders Thursday.

Delivering opening remarks at Microsoft's shareholder meeting, Ballmer said that Windows 7 was off to a "fantastic start."

"We've already sold twice as many units as any OS in a comparable time frame," Ballmer said. "Windows 7 is simply the best PC operating system that we or anyone else has ever built."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivers a point at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference in July.

By last week, Windows 7 accounted for 4 percent of Web-accessing devices, according to Net Applications; it took Vista more than seven months to reach that level.

Addressing the overall economy, Ballmer reiterated that things seem to have stabilized. "The economy has, at least for now, leveled off," he said.

The meeting is still going on and has just entered the question-and-answer session and I'll update this post if anything interesting comes up. So far, though, it's been mostly about local and legislative matters, rather than technological issues.

Microsoft vs. Apple

There was one fun one from a shareholder who noted that young people tend to gravitate toward Macs and that Apple seems to be outmarketing Microsoft.

"You've got a real bad image out there," the shareholder said. "You sure don't have that younger generation." Ballmer acknowledged that there are "certainly always opportunities for improvement."

"We all watch television," he said. That said, Ballmer noted that "96 times out of 100, worldwide, people choose a PC with Windows."

He added that even in the toughest market--the high end of the U.S. consumer market--Windows is chosen 83 times out of 100.

"That doesn't let us rest on our laurels," Ballmer said. "Apple has picked up a couple tenths of a percent of market share."

But those couple tenths matter, he agreed. He said the downturn in the economy has actually bolstered Windows' competitive position. "People understand that Macintoshes are quite a bit more expensive."

Another questioner asked why Microsoft can't better compete against Apple's iPhone and other smartphones.

"Certainly our objective is to have the leading position," Ballmer said. "I think we have a lot of opportunity to improve...Undoubtedly we've got our work cut out for us."

He did say that Microsoft has put a lot of smart people on the task. "We've got our heads down to do our best," Ballmer said.

Windows 8 by 2012 ?

Steven Sinofsky may not be talking about Microsoft's future Windows plans, but the Windows Server team appears to see more value in letting customers know its road map.


In at least two slides apparently shown at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles this week, Microsoft suggests that a major release update to Windows Server is due around 2012, with one of the slides confirming the Windows 8 code name.

I've asked both the desktop and server teams for more context on the slides, which were noted this week by blogger Stephen Chapman. A similar slide cropped up--that time in Italian-- in August.

For his part, Sinofsky sat completely stone-faced when I asked him in our interview Wednesday where Microsoft was at relative to Windows 8--later noting that he hadn't even used the word Windows next to the numeral 8.

The 2012 time frame would roughly coincide with Windows Server's plans of having a minor release every two years or so and a major release every four years. It released Windows Server 2008 R2, a minor update, earlier this year as the desktop team released Windows 7.

In recent years, Microsoft has tended to line up its desktop and server releases fairly closely, although in this case the desktop OS was probably a more significant release than its server counterpart.

I think it'l surely come like a relief from the bugs and full potential that windows 7 cudnt deliver. Lets just hope to find a better point from all of it.

Dells 1st in China... amusing strategy

Dell and China Mobile on Monday offered up more details about the Dell Mini 3i smartphone, which will be going on sale in China later this month.


The Android-based device, Dell's first smartphone, will support e-mail, instant messaging, and both MMS and SMS messaging. It will include Bluetooth and GPS capabilities and a Mini USB connector, and will accommodate Micro SD cards up to 32GB.


The quadband GSM/EDGE phone weighs 105 grams and includes a 3-megapixel camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture, and photo-editing capabilities. The touchscreen has a 640x360 resolution. Dell had already confirmed earlier this month that the Mini 3i would have a 3.5-inch high-definition screen.

Under the hood, the device is running China Mobile's OPhone software, a customized version of Google's Android operating system.

Like other Android phones, the Mini 3i will provide access to an online store, in this case, China Mobile's Mobile Market, where people can download apps, games, wallpaper, and ringtones. Users will be able to run different widgets on the home screen to keep on top of the news, weather, stock prices, and sports scores.

Dell said it has been collaborating with China Mobile for about a year on the development of the phone. The two companies teamed up earlier in the year to integrate a 3G data card for Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 netbook for the Chinese market. With more than 500 million customers, China Mobile is the world's largest mobile service provider, according to Dell.

Dell was initially mum on details when it first mentioned the Mini 3i about 10 days ago. But the company did reveal that China Mobile and Brazil's Claro would be the first global providers to carry its new smartphone.

Like China Mobile, Brazil's Claro boasts a huge subscriber base, with 42 million customers in Brazil alone. By selling the Mini 3i through both providers, Dell can potentially capture a much larger mobile audience than it could through any U.S. carriers.

Arriving in China Mobile stores by the end of November, the Mini 3i will shortly thereafter be sold directly from Dell. For those interested in color schemes, the Mini 3i will be available in Red Passion and Oiled Bronze.

- Vaibhav K.

Another iPhone worm has been spotted in the wild.

Unlike the previous exploitation, which merely changed a jailbroken iPhone's wallpaper to a picture of Rick Astley of "Rickrolling" fame, this new threat allows hackers to steal sensitive information.

According to security firm Sophos, which wrote about the exploitation after a Dutch ISP spotted it late last week, the worm attacks jailbroken iPhone and iPod Touch devices only.

The worm "uses command-and-control, like a traditional PC botnet," I, Vaibhav, would like to warn users about the exploit. "It configures two startup scripts, one to execute the worm on boot-up, and the other to create a connection to a Lithuanian server to upload stolen data and cede control to the bot master."

Jailbreaking, which has been around for about two years, is a hack that enables iPhone and iPod Touch users to download applications unavailable through Apple's App Store.

Sophos wrote that the worm attacks users on several ISPs, including UPC in the Netherlands, Optus in Australia, and T-Mobile in several countries worldwide. Worse, the worm spreads faster on a Wi-Fi connection than a 3G connection. Users with affected devices might notice extremely short battery life while on Wi-Fi. According to Sophos, that's mainly due to the worm engaging in "so much network activity."

When a device is infected, it's assigned a unique number so that the attackers can easily pinpoint a single device. It also looks for authentication systems that use SMS, better known as mTANs. mTANs are frequently used by banks that send an SMS message with a password to mobile phones, allowing people to log in to their online accounts, Sophos wrote.

In essence, this threat is serious.

Sophos recommends that people with infected iPhones and iPod Touch devices restore them back to Apple's most recent firmware update. For now, there is no other way to fix the problem.

Smartfones with Smart Markets...

Smart Phones are on their way...

Palm’s Pre is on the runway. HTC is launching new Google Android phones (and ads to go with them). Nokia is paying attention to the U.S. again with a thin smartphone. And even Motorola has a phone that looks pretty good.


Simply put, there is no better time to be a wireless subscriber off a contract. In fact, the barrage of phones may make consumers pine for hassle free wireless contracts. If I didn’t have a two-year contract I’d be a smartphone two-timer hopping from phone to phone every few months.

These smartphones battles are often portrayed as phone vs. phone wars. Apple’s iPhone vs. Pre. Apple 3.0 vs. HTC Android. IPhone vs. the BlackBerry Storm. The larger question we all should be asking is, "Just how vulnerable are Apple and Research in Motion? There will be plenty of color on the latter as RIM reports earnings Thursday and worries about profit margin pressure abound. Meanwhile, there’s a reason that iPhone 3.0 is so important—beyond the long-awaited cut and paste capability—Apple is vulnerable too.


RIM and Apple had a collective 70 percent of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter and the two companies are running out of headroom in the U.S.

Android is on the move. Notice T-Mobile’s share and how it surged in the fourth quarter. That was mostly due to the G1 phone. Android is just as hip as the iPhone in geek circles and more phones are on the way.

Nokia may be getting serious about the U.S. again. Nokia this week rolled out the world’s thinnest smartphone with AT&T. Overseas, Nokia is extremely popular but for some idiotic reason it punted on the U.S. If Nokia is serious about the U.S. again it will surely poach some share.

The Pre is coming. Palm is getting iPhone-ish type buzz. And while it may not take a huge chunk of Apple’s share it can surely take some. Ditto for RIM.
And lesser vendors can poach share too. Even Motorola is dressing up its phones.
Bottom line: Everything is an iPhone. Apple invented a category and now every carrier will have a copycat. These copycats only have to take a smidge of share from both Apple and RIM to raise a ruckus.

Ultimately, this scrum can be defined with two words: Commodity market. And commodity markets are won and lost based on distribution and pricing. This smartphone game will be decided on pricing—so long profit margins—and distribution. The vendor that gets the most shelf space wins. Fortunately for Apple it has its own stores to sell the iPhone because the shelf space will get crowded at carriers.

Will price win the day when every phone has a touch screen, a good browser and decent apps? Probably. Look for the two top smartphone dogs to lose at least a little share as an army of competitors surround the gates. Apple and RIM would never admit to being vulnerable, but it’s clear these two are going to have to play a little defense.

Intel cuts processor prices by 48%

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, has cut the price of some processors by as much as 48 per cent as it confronts slumping demand and new lower-cost chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Bloomberg reported.

The price of Celeron 570 processors, designed for laptops, dropped 48 per cent to $70 whereas one of the company's quad-core desktop-computer models, which have four processors on one piece of silicon, dropped 40 per cent to $316, the news agency said.

For more Information please visit :- Tech News

Intel to shut plants, cuts 6,000 jobs

Intel Corp said that it would close manufacturing plants in Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as its only remaining factory in Silic
on Valley, cutting as many as 6,000 jobs.

The announcement comes a day after the world's largest maker of microprocessors used in personal computers slashed prices on a number of its chips and a week after it reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue.

Intel said it would close two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and one in Cavite, Philippines. It will also halt production at a wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, as well as its Santa Clara, California plant -- a factory connected to its headquarters and the only one left in Silicon Valley.

The actions will result in a reduction of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, Intel said. It ended 2008 with around 84,000 employees.

Not all cuts at the affected plants will lead to job losses and some workers will be offered positions at other facilities, it said, adding that the restructuring will take place between now and the end of 2009.

Bootable Solid State Drive - SSD

Check out this high-end solid state drive (SSD) named the Fusion ioDrive which is now bootable. Previous models of this drive were not bootable due to the lack of a driver.


This problem has now been addressed and some firmware allows your computer to think that the SSD is an actual hard drive. The SSD based drive uses a PCI-e slot which sits on your motherboard.


The Fusion ioDrive isn’t cheap though as we expected. It costs $2400 for an 80GB model. The upside is that there are no moving parts which helps makes things more reliable.

Expect to see this arrive Q4 this year.

But...

Hard drives will always be cheaper than SSDs, it is just very cheap to produce a large storage capability magnetic platter, but SSDs cost just scales up the bigger you go, extra storage chips, extra power and heat to deal with and lack of space to fit it all in, of course the technology is always improving and as manufacturing steps up the price will drop, but this will mostly occur at the bottom end of the market (sub 200GB), it will be a long, long time before a 1TB SSD is cheaper than a 1TB hard-disk.

Google has a remote kill switch in Android

It seems that Apple is not the only one with a remote kill switch, with the ability to remove applications from your device, Google has one in Android as well.

If Google discovers a product that violates the developer distribution agreement, in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.

Unlike Apple, who didn’t reveal the kill switch until a developer found it, Google has been up front about it and included it in the Android Market terms of service.

Reliance BIG TV Software Update 1.7.2 to 1.8.13

After launching their Direct To Home Service, Reliance BIG TV now looks to make some changes as they have not updated their software and also not adding a single channel since launch, few weeks ago Reliance BIG TV have updated their firmware version from 1.7.2 to 1.8.13. This new version is much improved then previous version and better then it but need to correct few bugs which already have in BIG TV Set Top Box.

One of the biggest changes in this version is BIG TV logo. BIG TV logo changes in each channel according to the Channel logo, so it does not cover the logo, for sports channels it’s on lower right corner. But it’s not transparent so still need to improvements.


After making such a changes BIG TV is now ready to come with better firmware version and also better interactive service. It’s just because of competition from other Direct To Home Operators. Once all of above features working perfectly you will have better TV viewing experience and you will world on press of button. Our source suggests that new features and channels will be activated on BIG TV from end of the month.

Also they are coming with unique features My Top Ten which will carry 10 channels you watched most and it all depends on TV viewing so that means now your TV viewing is also observed by them. Its great feature for us and you can have list of most viewing channels by you.

Windows 7 Beta

If you are looking to download Windows 7 Beta right now its possible directly from the official Microsoft website because its available to the first 2.5 million users who want to download it.

Here are the 2 websites from which you can download the ISO Images which you can later burn and then install after getting them activated using the product keys.

The normal installation would work out for 90 days and to extend this time frame you need to activate, after which the windows 7 licence would work out till August 2009, pretty good to get your hands on the OS. Even if the download links dont work out in the initial keep refreshing the website and finally you can get it working, because the downloads are currently done heavily.

Download Links :
Windows 7 Beta (32-bit)
Windows 7 Beta (64-bit)

-----> Enjoy <-----

Satyam Scam

Satyam Computer Services Ltd is in a total mess with the Former Satyam Chairman B Ramalinga Raju surrendering before the andhra pradesh police under sections 120B, 409, 420, 468, 471. Along with him his brother and the companies CFO was also arrested on friday evening. The Securities and Exchange Board of India [SEBI] has ordered for an enquiry to look into this matter in detail.

Along with this news the most important point would be the stock prices dipping more and reached 6Rs/share which is seriously very low considering it was trading it 400-500Rs levels a year back. The stock prices clearly shows that the company has lost its value among the investors and everyone is looking to sell out.

I would recommend all the investors to still hold the stock because when they have already lost 90% of the value why not atleast risk with the 10%? If this 10% again grows back to atleast 30-40% after some days by chance in case of the take over/ acquitision then you have a better option rather than regretting in the future.

The stocks closed at 23.75Rs which is again 41% down from the last trading day and it was originally moving up from the 6Rs figure which means that there are still many people who believe in the company. The owners would be scammers but not the 53000 employees who worked hard in the company to fulfil their targets and there are numerious Saytam clients who are still willing to continue with the company and are ready to give contracts/orders.

The only problem would be that since the company is in a problem now, all their accounts would be siezed and even if the business operations are operated the payments would be struck. This is the reason the employees are in panic stage and have already started looking out for new job options in case the company is closed for a while.

One of the biggest Chartered Accountancy - PricewaterhouseCoopers which is highly reputed in India because there are thousands of students trying to get into PWC for completing their CA Course, is also in question because this firm was handling all the Satyam’s operations and if such a big scam was running around how did PWC not find out? Or were these guys also bribed by Mr Raju in tunes of crores of rupees and will this networked chain keep continuing?

Intel to bring Flash in its CE3100 media processor

Intel and Adobe have joint forces to bring Flash into Intel’s media processor named CE 3100. This teamwork seems to promise a rich and seamless web-based video viewing experience through Intel’s cable set-top boxes, digital TVs, Blu-ray Disc players and AV devices.

The last couple of years were of mixed sort for Adobe’s flash software, as Apple refused to bring Flash to the iPhone, while Microsoft came up with its Silverlight. Well, it was a double blow for it.

However, Intel has decided to back that format in its coming Media Processor and you would see it with Adobe first Flash Lite version that is expected by the end of 2nd quarter.

Dell Blasts Apple’s Green Claims, but Does Dell have a Leg to Stand On?

Apple’s television advertisement claims its family of notebooks are the world’s greenest.

Some people at Dell, the self-proclaimed greenest technology company, take exception to this. Bob Pearson, Dell VP of Communities and Conversations, took Apple to task in a blog post. Pearson says Apple is not being open and transparent on environmental issues and putting out advertisements that may not be truthful.

Dell may be casting stones from within a glass house, according to this article from The Wall Street Journal. Despite improving its energy efficiency, skeptics say its claims of carbon neutrality are premature since there is no set standard for carbon neutrality.

A major factor in Dell’s carbon neutrality claims is its purchase of carbon credits, which offset a portion of its carbon footprint by bankrolling the environmental improvements of others. However, there is reason to believe such improvements would have been made regardless of whether carbon credits were purchased. While some projects, such as a threatened forest in Madagascar, were dependent on Dell investment, others, such as a wind turbine at the University of Minnesota, were not.

Microsoft Employees to see the PINK slip soon..

The new year is starting off with a whopper of a rumor. Reports state that Microsoft is planning to cut 15,000 jobs, i.e around 17 percent of its workforce, on January 15. Previous rumors stated Microsoft would look to cut 10 percent of its global workforce.

While economic conditions make it likely that Microsoft would restructure, some observers, like Henry Blodget, believe the rumored number to be very high and unlikely. Should the company make cuts, the unit most likely to get hit the hardest is MSN search. Profitable units within the company are not likely to see any job cuts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I believe most of the people that will be affected are those in their international/ regional branches especially in their marketing outlets. Come to think of it, those people earn pretty high salaries and allowances not commensorate to their inputs and i also think that won’t really affect Microsoft’s overall turnover.

Will Obama pursue space-based solar power?

Could power beamed to Earth from space solve our energy problems? Advocates of space-based solar power may find a receptive ear in the Obama administration.

The space-based solar power (SBSP) concept involves using geosynchronous satellites to collect solar energy and beam it down to Earth, most likely in the form of microwaves (this graphic shows how the idea might work).
The key advantage over Earth-based solar power is that such satellites would enjoy nearly continuous sunshine. A major challenge for Earth-based solar power is that it is so inconstant - it isn't available at night or when skies are cloudy. You could solve this problem by storing energy for later use, but it's difficult to do this in a cost-effective way, and something people are still researching.

The major disadvantage for SBSP is that it's so costly to launch stuff into space. But advocates of the idea point to new launch vehicles being developed, like SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which could bring down the cost of access to space, and make SBSP more attractive.

Advocates for SBSP are hoping to secure some support for developing the technology from the Obama administration, given the incoming president's pledge to make developing alternative energy sources a top priority. They have posted a white paper on the topic on the transition website, change.gov.

One thing that surely helps their cause is that one of Obama's transition team members for NASA is George Whitesides, who has been a vocal advocate for SBSP. Whitesides is currently on leave from his post as executive director of the National Space Society, where he helped push for SBSP research.

On the downside, earlier this month NASA cancelled early work on a proposed SBSP demonstration project, which apparently could have involved putting a demonstration device on the International Space Station.

But it sounds like the decision owes more to a tight budget at NASA than anything else, and I see no reason why the project couldn't be revived if the next administration takes an interest in SBSP. So I wouldn't count out SBSP just yet.

On the other hand, I'm sure SBSP will be competing with lots of other alternative-energy ideas seeking research dollars. And even though Whitesides has a record of strong advocacy for SBSP, this doesn't guarantee that the Obama administration will go for it. There are more highly placed people who will undoubtedly get a bigger say in this, like energy secretary nominee Steven Chu, who hasn't said much publicly about SBSP.

I think it's fair to say that this could be a crucial moment for SBSP, however, so it's definitely something to watch over the next few months.

take care

-> Vaimasters

'Pre-crime' detector on a Roll

Some scientists revealed that they are developing a system designed to detect "hostile thoughts" in people walking through border posts, airports and public places. The DHS says recent tests prove it works.

Project Hostile Intent as it was called aimed to help security staff choose who to pull over for a gently probing interview - or more. Commentators stated the idea that sensors could spot people up to no good from their pulse rate, breathing, skin temperature, or fleeting facial expressions.

However, last week, the DHS science unit gave an update on the project, now dubbed the less-hostile-sounding Future Attribute Screening Technologies (FAST) programme. And, if DHS claims are to be believed, the research appears to be getting somewhere. At an equestrian centre in Maryland, 140 paid volunteers walked through a pair of trailers kitted out with a battery of FAST sensors, including cameras, infrared heat sensors and an eyesafe laser radar, called a Bio-Lidar, that measures pulse and breathing rate from a distance.

Some subjects were told to act shifty, be evasive, deceptive and hostile. And many were detected. "We're still very early on in this research, but it is looking very promising," says DHS science spokesman John Verrico. "We are running at about 78% accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80% on deception."

That sounds incredibly high at such an early stage in the research - but only tests on vast quantities of real people, rather than eager volunteers, will present any real test.

Questions remain, however, as to how secure the system is. The machines could reveal health conditions like heart murmurs and breathing problems as well as stress levels - which would be an invasion of privacy.

But Verrico says FAST has been through stringent privacy controls (pdf) and that the data is never matched to a name. It is only used to make decisions about whether to question someone, and then discarded.

The trial technology was installed in a trailer because it is planned to be easily transportable, so that FAST trucks can appear at any sports or music event as required. They look set to become as regular a sight at such events as mobile toilets and catering trucks.

But is going to make a real difference? Or will bad guys learn to play the system and render it another piece of what expert Bruce Schneier dubs "security theatre".

Given that the FAST approach is not much different to the long established - and long established as unreliable - polygraph, that certainly seems plausible.

Springy robot has a gentle touch

Industrial robots are mostly power-hungry workhorses, but this new mechanical arm and hand uses no more energy than a couple of electric toothbrushes.

The arm is supported by adjustable springs that counteract both its own weight and that of the object it is holding, so its motors need less power to hold and move objects. The smaller motors also make the arm lighter, and so less dangerous if it hits a worker.

The hand has three fingers, each with two segments, and is controlled by cables attached to a motor in the wrist. The motor is delicate enough that it can even handle objects as fragile as eggs and tomatoes.

The team at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands that developed the device are now adapting their prototype for use in factories, and hope it could also improve artificial limbs.

Whats critical in weaponry

It's the stuff of science fiction: robots that can hunt down and kill humans, powerful lasers that can destroy targets without leaving a trace, and a weapon that can supposedly knock you down without even touching you - all of these, and more, came one step closer to reality in 2008.

The developers of these technologies say that they will help to ensure that modern warfare is as efficient and humane as possible. Their critics say the weapons are just the latest in a long line of lethal inventions that have increased man's brutality to man - successors to the Maxim automatic machine gun, the flame thrower, and mustard gas. Whichever view you take, they introduce new ethical and practical questions.

What should YOU have to become a good computer programmer?

Vaimasters top 10 for what it takes to be a good software developer.

1. Patience... you have to sit for hours and think and type and think and type and test and think and type and think and test and...

2. Self Learner... computer technology changes so fast, you have to read, and research, and try things out on your own to keep up. By the time there are classes and text books for a topic its probably old and out of date already.

3. Creativity... writing software is a creative process, you are making something out of nothing.

4. Ability to deal with anoying people... customers, bosses, ex-wives (well maybe not you) you have to be able to listen to what they want and go back and forth clarifying what they really need and delivering something that works for them.

5. You gota be able to see BOTH the trees and the forest... when you are detailing some parts, make it a point that it dooesnt affect the entire software, on a whole in any manner. So pay attention to the logic but at the same time dont pamper the design made.

6. Take pride in a job well done... a good developer will go the extra mile to make things work smoothly, ensure reuse, build a helpful feature that wasnt required, use a new technology, or by adding that extra bit of coolness to a user interface.

7. It helps to be able to type without looking at the keys

8. Loose the comfort zone : a good developer is not afraid to try new things... new technologies, new paradigns, new styles, new management techniques. Just because you got it done the old way before doesnt mean there aint a better way out there now.

9. Respect people : especially elders, acknowledge that others see the world different than you and have different life experience and can contribute in their own way. Older programmers have porbably forgotten more syntax and languages than youve even heared of.

10. Perseverance : this stuff can be very frustrating, compilers that take FOREVER, intermittent run time errors, sometimes you bang against the same problem for hours, all night long, only to get to the point where you understand that you were looking at the wrong problem all along. You gota be able to keep your cool and KEEP GOING.

Greeting Hackers

Cyber crooks are once again blasting out fake holiday e-greeting cards in a bid their special kind of cheer. Also, there are signs that computer viruses may again be piggybacking on digital photo frames and other data storage devices that make popular holiday gifts.

E-greeting scams are hardly new, but they tend to increase around major holidays, probably because consumers are more receptive to opening them at these times and because more people are home in front of their computers.

Most of these e-greeting scams try to foist malicious software by claiming the recipient needs to install some application in order to view the card, such as Adobe's Flash Player. Almost invariably, the downloaded program isn't a legitimate add-on, but malware.

According to Symantec, some of the fake e-card domains being used in this scam include (please don't visit any of these sites):

* [http://]itsfatherchristmas.com
* [http://]bestchristmascard.com
* [http://]whitewhitechristmas.com
* [http://]christmaslightsnow.com
* [http://]freechristmasworld.com

Most legitimate e-greeting card vendors will include a code in the message that you can enter at their Web site to claim your card. If you believe an e-greeting message is legitimate, avoid clicking on links in the message, and instead, type the name of the greeting card provider into the address field of your Web browser, and then enter the claim code the vendor provided in the e-mail. Under *no* circumstances should you install any software in order to view a card.

In other news, PC World reports that Samsung recently shipped a bunch of digital photo frames with a CD that contained malicious software. If experience over the past few years is any indicator, this won't be the last such incident with factory-shipped malware.

Digital storage devices are built into a wide range of products that consumers will give and receive this holiday season, from photo frames to MP3 players to digital cameras. Trouble is, it is not uncommon for these types of devices to become infected with malicious software even before they leave the factory floor.

In some cases, as the SANS Internet Storm Center notes, the devices pick up digital hitchhikers from customers who return the items after plugging them into their infected PCs. If those items are repackaged and resold without proper testing by the manufacturer or seller, the next customer who buys that item could end up with an unwelcome bonus.

These digital hitchhikers generally rely on Windows users that have the "AutoPlay" feature, which as its name suggests is a setting that automatically runs or loads file directories when the user pops in a CD or device with embedded digital storage. Many legitimate program installation CDs count on users having AutoPlay turned on, so that the mere act of inserting a CD begins the program installation. Unfortunately, malware also can take advantage of this feature to automatically install itself should a user pop in a CD or digital device with one of these hitchhikers tagging along.

By turning off AutoPlay, Windows users can run an anti-virus scan against external media before running or opening any of the included programs or files.

To turn off Autorun in Windows XP, open My Computer, then right click on the icon for your CD/DVD player, and select properties. Click the "AutoPlay" tab. Then, for each file type, select "take no action" and hit "apply." In Windows Vista, turning off AutoPlay is easier: Go to "Control Panel," then "Hardware and Sound," then "AutoPlay," and then just remove the check mark in the box next to "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices."

Be Secure

It is said that any security system is only as strong as its weakest link. A team of researchers today proved that point yet again, showing the world how they could use known weaknesses in the encryption technology that protects online transactions to undermine the security around e-commerce.

washingtonpost.com ran an in-depth story I wrote about their findings, along with a sidebar explaining the weakness in a bit more detail. Long story short:


An international team of security experts (pictured at right, thanks to Alexander Klink) showed that they could undermine the system most of us rely on to secure our online transactions, so that even though the browser indicates your connection is encrypted (Web browser address starts with "https://") and vetted by a third party to be secure and authentic, it may in fact be controlled by an attacker offering up a counterfeit Web site designed to steal your information.

Web users are taught early on to look for that padlock and https:// connection when shopping or banking online. Those are features denoting that a Web site has been vetted by a certificate authority (CA), a company that issues digital certificates that are supposed to show that the Web site has been vetted and is protecting all transactions from any would-be eavesdroppers.

There are dozens of CAs in business today. Trouble is, a handful of them still rely on an outdated and insecure encryption method (called MD5) to sign their certificates. What the researchers showed was that they could use those weaknesses to effectively duplicate the signing authority for several CAs, allowing them to forge a certificate corresponding to any address on the Web.

Hummer in India

General motors has made it public that they are looking at negotiations seriously with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. regarding launching the Hummer in India with full fledged availability.

GM had admitted to this in Thailand at the plant opening for production of new cars. There have also been talks of GM selling their Hummer division to the Indian company but that idea seems to be far fetched for the moment. Although there are several automakers in Russia and also China who could be interested in such a deal.

The company has been reporting its worse numbers in their corporate history and is looking to raise capital with the sale of its assets.

Casio announces EX-Z300 - EXZ250 and EZ-Z85 cameras

The Casio Exilim range of cameras has been expanded by the company in order to obtain a larger market share in the digital camera market. The Casio EX-Z300 is our favorite one amongst the three cameras.

The Casio Exilim EZ-Z300 is a 10.1 megapixel camera with 4x Zoom and about 40MB of internal memory. The camera comes with a neat 3inch LCD display which guides you in taking good photos with high quality.

The Casio Exilim EZ-Z250 has a 9.1 megapixel camera with almost the same features mentioned above in the Z300.

Both these cameras run on the Exilim Engine 3.0 which offers high noise reduction, good quality images. Face detection to an extent and shake reduction as well. The Z300 and the Z250 both have movie modes which can record video with H.264 codec which is same as MP4 and can be played on your iPods or Zunes.

The Casio EZ-Z85 is also a 9.1 megapixel camera with similar features except the 2.6 LCD screen instead of the 3inch screen.

The EZ-Z300 will cost you around $300, EZ-Z250 around $250 and the best bet for value money buy is the EZ-Z85 for less than $180.

Maruti A-Star

The Maruti Suzuki India group has launched the A-Star in India which is produced in Haryana at teh Manesar factory. The car has been desgined by Rajesh Kumar and Saurabh Singh.

The car is a Euro 5-compliant model with lower Co2 emissions. The car is going to be the replacement for the Alto in export markets. In India the car will be a direct competition to the Hyundai i10.

The price of the Maruti A-Star is a good 10% higher than the i10. The base version of the A-star will be about 3.6lacs.

Tata Vista to come soon

The TATA Indica Vista is all set to be rolled out soon. This is the word the dealers have received but there is nothing official on this piece of news.

The new Indica Vista will be available with a 1.2litre petrol engine which is called - Safire. The CRDi version will be called the Quadrajet and is a 1.3 litre engine. There is another variant to this car which is TATA’s own 1.4 litre turbo diesel engine.

The Quadrajet engine is the one manufactured by Maruti Suzuki and is currently used in the Swift and DZire models.

The word we hear from the TATA camp is that no old models will be discontinued for this, and all of them will co-exist with the new Indica Vista.

WORLD’S SMALLEST FULL HD CAMCORDER FROM SONY

Nowadays, HD camcorder is a buzz word. And if the handycam is from Sony it appeals more to us. Yes, I am talking about diminutive and compact Sony HDR-TG1 camcorder, which records video in full HD resolution (in 1080i video mode). This high-definition capability influences the choice of vacationers, who don’t want to “travel heavy.” Another advantage for any traveler is the hanycam’s durable titanium body, which makes it highly resistant to scratches.

The hanycam is embedded with advanced video and audio technologies with simple and intuitive operations. Sony HDR-TG1 is equipped with a high-quality Carl Zeiss10x optical zoom lens and 2-megapixel CMOS sensor, engineered to minimize picture noise. Audio signals are captured in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. And the in-built zoom microphone feature senses signal for clear recordings along with the video.

War - Nokia N96 vs Apple iPhone

We realise that we have been going on and on about the iPhone and the Nokia N96, but thats all what we can do since this is our job and specially when the two iconic phones launched together in the same week in India.

Price Comparision:
The Nokia N96 will cost you around Rs. 36,000 while the Apple iPhone 3G with 8GB memory will cost Rs. 31000 and 16GB about Rs. 36,100. On price points even though they are hugely expensive we give them equal rank.

SMS Forwarding, FM Radio:
These two features are the darling of any mobile phone user in India. Since Texting messaging is really cheap in this part of the world forwarding SMSes is a very normal thing for all users. FM Radio is the life of people whilst traveling this is your one source of entertainment on the roads of the Indian metro cities. The lack of both these features on the iPhone is a big minus as far as its Indian market is concerned.

Battery Life:
Nokia N96 wins on this hands down. There have been lots of problems with the battery drainage of the Apple iPhone and these don't seem to stop. You will have to charge your phone everyday or twice a day for that matter if you are a heavy user.

GPS:
This is not a huge factor for the Indian market, but still a talking point. On the GPS front Nokia again wins this pretty easily.

Video Calling:
Video calling is not possible on the iPhone and the Nokia N96 is pretty good at it.

Data Transfer and Bluetooth usage:
A major , major talking point regarding the iPhone. The bluetooth on the iPhone can only be used for hands-free calling. No data transfer allowed between handsets or even with a computer with bluetooth enabled.

Storage:
You thought the storage factor will play in for the iPhone ? That isn't true. The Nokia N96 comes with 16GB of internal storage plus you have the luxury of adding a 8GB memory card giving you a whopping storage of 24GB. The iPhone again loses here.

Design:
There is no beating the iPhone, as simple as that!

All in all, if you are looking for more bang for the buck, go for the Nokia N96. Lookwise and as a fashion symbol, we still say there is no beating the iPhone!

Curse of Silence SMS exploit could temporarily disable S60 3rd Edition smartphones

An SMS exploit in Nokia's S60 user interface was uncovered earlier this week. It allows an attacker to disable the phone's ability to receive messages. The exploit is found in Nokia's S60 3rd Edition platform, though phones with Feature Pack 2, such as the new Nokia N96 or Nokia N85, are immune to the attack.

The so-called Curse of Silence exploit requires the attacker to send a specially formatted message repeatedly to the victim's phone. The message quietly disables the recipient's ability to receive messages, though the other features of the phone continue to function normally.

Affected cell phones, though, can easily be fixed by simply performing a hard reset, which erases the phone's memory and restores it to its factory state. Due to the measures required to perform the attack, the vast majority of users are highly unlikely to experience a Curse of Silence attack.

Samsung loses $7.3 million patent suit in China

China-based Holley Communication has won a suit against Samsung over dual-mode cell phone patents, resulting in a payout of US$7.3 million. Holley Communications claims that Samsung is infringing on its patents, which cover dual-mode cell phone technology that allows a single phone to work on both CDMA and GSM networks. The suit was filed in China in The Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang. The $7.3 million is a record for pay-out in the Chinese cellphone industry.

More than 700k cellphones have been sold by Samsung that contain the infringing technology, and the product is still on sale in most markets. Holley officials stated that this pay-out is only the first piece of compensation they would be seeking.

Apple's iPhone 3G available contract-free in France

Earlier this month, a French court ruled that the exclusive deal for the iPhone 3G between Apple and French carrier Orange was illegal. The ruling is being appealed, but in the meantime, French retailer FNAC has begun selling the Apple iPhone 3G unlocked and contract free.

FNAC is offering both the 8GB and 16GB versions of the iPhone 3G, priced at EUR799 and EUR899 (US$1123 and $1263), respectively

LG's GD910 touchscreen 3G wrist watch phone

LG is showing off its latest touchscreen cell phone, the GD910. Stuffed inside a wristwatch form factor, the GD910 features 3G support with HSDPA for high-speed data transfers, as well as Bluetooth and video conferencing.

The LG GD910 also features text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology, allowing you to speak to the phone, and the GD910 to read messages and other information back to you. Details on pricing and availability have not yet been released, though we can say that we do not expect this device to make it North American shores.

Google to pay Android Apps in Q1 2009

Google's Eric Chu informed members of Android Market that significant updates are imminent for Android's third-party development application service. Starting in "early" Q1 2009, Android Market will support paid applications. Similar to Apple's popular App Store, users of Android Market will be able to purchase applications for their Android-enabled mobile phone. The service will be deployed in the US and UK before expanding to major countries in Europe later in the year.

Chu also promised international developers that Android Market will be deployed throughout Europe and Asia in stages throughout 2009. Although paid applications won't initially be available to countries outside the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, the announcement gives third-parties the chance to begin developing applications that can be released outside these targeted areas.

Chu recommends that developers begin finalizing their priced applications and begin preparing products for their target countries

Predictions of 2009

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2009 will be a tough year for mobile phone manufacturers. We can expect sales to drop and customers to look for more value rather than better gadgets, reversing the trend of recent years where sales have been on an ever-upward path.

Expect manufacturers to slim down their product ranges and perhaps abandon market segments where they cannot make a profit. Handsets are likely to compete on value-for-money rather than technical wizardry, although manufacturers will continue to show off new flagship phones during the year.

Apart from a proliferation of "value" phones, we also expect to see manufacturers taking less risks with products - they will want every launch to be a success, so hopefully we will see rather more care taken with the design and testing of new handsets next year.

The introduction of 8 megapixel camera phones in the second half of 2008 sparked off another round of megapixel wars. By the end of the year we can expect to see some 10 megapixel devices with announcements perhaps coming in February. We're still waiting for video capture rates to catch up with our expectations - in our view all decent camera phones should be able to capture 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second, perhaps this actually will be normal during 2009.

Although QVGA displays have been the norm during 2008, higher resolution screens are starting to appear on high-end phones. We expect to see VGA resolution screens appearing on a few midrange phones by the end of the year.

More and more handsets will feature GPS as costs come down, and geotagging photographs will be a standard feature. Phones will not kill off dedicated SatNav units for in-car navigation, but expect manufacturers to come up with some clever location-based services to open up new markets.

Most midrange phones now have HSDPA 3.5G support, by the end of 2009 we should see HSUPA as a standard feature on all 3G class devices. WiFi will also be much more common, by the end of 2009 we would expect most 3G phones to support WLAN connectivity.

Mobile TV has been something of a flop. Expect the roll-out of DVB-H to stall as advertiser revenues dry up, a few handsets will feature DVB-T for standard terrestrial TV signals.. but this is never going to be a mainstream feature.


Social networking sites and web browsing are increasingly important, so the overall quality of software will improve. We think that software features will start to become more important than hardware features during 2009, and the rate of hardware development will begin to slow.

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