Pokki grabs half a million downloads

Pokki's 500,000 downloads show that many Windows 8 users still want the good old-fashioned Start menu.

 

 

Pokki's Start menu for Windows 8.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Microsoft kicked out the Start menu for Windows 8, but at least one app is proving that a lot of users still crave it.
   One of many Start menu replacements on the market, Pokki for Windows 8 registered 500,000 downloads in the six weeks since Windows 8 officially debuted, according to a company blog.
Further, Stardock's Start8 program has sold thousands of copies, say the folks at Pokki. And in about 30 days, 30 different Start menu replacements have popped up.
"All of which is early proof of our original hypothesis that people need, want, and use the Start menu more than ever," Pokki said in its blog.
   Julie Larson-Green, the new head of Windows product development, recently said that it can take about six weeks for Windows 8 users to start using "the new things more than the things you're familiar with."
But in the two months since Windows 8 debuted, Start menu replacements have risen in number.
In June, a Microsoft program manager said that the company removed the Start menu based on "telemetry" obtained by its Customer Experience Improvement Program. This data reportedly indicated that users were relying more on the Windows taskbar to launch their favorite programs and less on the Start menu.
So Microsoft felt it was time to give the heave-ho to the old-fashioned menu and replace it with something more powerful.
   And yes, the Windows 8 Start screen is more powerful in many ways. It can display Live Tiles with the latest information. It lets you search for and launch applications and settings just by typing their names.

But like much of Windows 8, the Start screen feels more at home on a touch-screen tablet than on a PC.
And I still feel that when you're already in the Windows desktop, using a traditional Start menu to access desktop applications is the most efficient way to work -- at least it is for me.
Given the popularity of Start menu replacements, it seems many other Windows 8 users feel the same way.

Microsoft: Five events that shaped 2012

The software giant rolled out Windows 8, made a tablet computer that competes directly with longtime partners, and saw one of its top executives exit just weeks after shipping Windows.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Windows 8 launch in New York in October.

(Credit: Microsoft)

In hindsight, 2012 may well be the year that marks the biggest transition in Microsoft's storied corporate history.
    That statement might get some argument from Microsoft watchers, who would put the debut of Windows 95 and the retiring of co-founder Bill Gates ahead of 2012 for sea change at the company. But 2012 marked the year that Microsoft decided that basing its business on software alone isn't enough to survive in the evolving world of technology.
Now, as Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer says at every opportunity, Microsoft is about devices and services. The company is building devices, such as the new Microsoft Surface tablet computer, that best take advantage of the bevy of new services, such as its SkyDrive Web storage offering, it's creating.
Here's a look back at five key events that helped shape 2012 for Microsoft:

1. Windows 8 bows
 The Windows 8 operating system that Microsoft debuted in October will sell extraordinarily well almost regardless of how well it's made. Within a month of its launch, Microsoft noted that 40 million copies of the operating system had sold. In many ways, Windows is merely about turning on the spigot and letting the revenue flow into Microsoft's coffers.
But Microsoft made a huge bet with this version of its flagship product. The central new feature in Windows 8 is that users can navigate by touching the screens on devices running the operating system. It's an attempt to leverage Microsoft's operating system hegemony into the emerging world of tablet computing, where Microsoft and Windows have lagged.
The gamble is that this operating system looks wildly different from past versions of Windows that computer users know well. They can still flip to the familiar desktop look to which they are accustomed. But Microsoft is pushing users to embrace the tile-based interface it's rolling out across its entire product line.
Windows 8 success won't be judged alone on how many copies Microsoft sells. The true measure of its success will be how well Microsoft is able to carve out a piece of the tablet market and slow the march of Apple and Google in that world. Early indications are that sales got off to a slow start, though that's likely related to sluggish PC sales broadly. Within the next few months, it should become clear how well Microsoft's Windows 8 bet plays out.

2. Microsoft Surface debuts
The big hedge against the Windows 8 tablet bet is Microsoft's new Surface tablet computer. Ever since Microsoft rolled out MS-DOS in 1981, the company has relied on hardware makers to bring its PC operating system to life. In recent years, though, those computer makers have lost mindshare, and market share, to Apple and its innovative industrial design.
So for the first time ever, Microsoft jumped into the PC-making business. The Surface, which debuted at the same time as Windows 8, is a touch-screen tablet with sleek industrial-design looks, and the spare new Windows interface. What's more, unlike iPads, it comes with a keyboard that lets users create content on the device easily.
Of course, Microsoft has made hardware before. The Xbox game console has been on the market more than a decade. It's been selling mice and keyboards for even longer. And it even tried its hand at making mobile phones with the short-lived Kin ONE and Kin TWO.
But the Surface reflects a dramatic change in thinking in Redmond. Microsoft's brass has decided to compete directly with its hardware-making partners because it recognized that they were falling behind Apple, leaving Microsoft to lose ground in a key emerging market.

3. Steven Sinofsky leaves
Within three weeks of the Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface launches, the executive behind them left Microsoft. Steven Sinofsky, who spent his entire career at Microsoft, serving as Bill Gates' technical assistant and the head of the Office business and then the Windows division, exited as concerns about his management style came to a head.
Inside Microsoft, Sinofsky has long been known as a polarizing figure. He has plenty of fans, particularly many of those who work in his groups, for setting a clear agenda, sticking with it, and shipping quality products on time. His downfall, though, were his battles outside the Windows division. He developed a reputation for marginalizing internal rivals, undermining their efforts to make certain his products weren't burdened by dependencies from other divisions outside his control.
For Ballmer, that became a deal-breaker. Increasingly, Microsoft is counting on cross-division collaboration as it weaves threads to bring its various software, services, and devices together. To compete in the consumer marketplace against Apple and Google, the company needs all of its division leaders working together smoothly. So when Windows 8 hit store shelves, Sinofsky left the building.

4. Windows Phone 8
Rarely has so much noise been made about a product that's been on the market for so long and had so little share. Even while Windows Phone sputters in the marketplace, Microsoft is able to generate buzz for its Windows Phone 8 operating system. And Microsoft needs Windows Phone 8 to breakout if the company is going to achieve the goal of creating an ecosystem of devices and services to counter rivals.
Just days after Microsoft debuted Windows 8, it rolled out Windows Phone 8 in a splashy San Francisco show that featured Jessica Alba sharing the stage with Ballmer. Microsoft is counting on devices from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, and others to help it elbow its way into a market that's dominated now by Apple and phones using Google's Android mobile operating system. And it needs developers, who have created must-have apps for rival platforms, to build them for Windows Phone now as well.
It's a tough slog. Windows Phone currently runs less than 3 percent of all smartphones worldwide, according to IDC. And while IDC is bullish on Windows Phone, it doesn't expect the operating system to become much of a threat to either Apple or Google anytime soon.

5. Office, embracing online
Microsoft was a laggard when it came to composing documents and creating spreadsheets on the Web. And for good reason: Its Office franchise was humming along with massive profits. For years, there was little reason to offer low-cost Web apps that would compete with the packaged software that kept filling Microsoft coffers.
That changed this year. Microsoft debuted Office 365 in June. It's a service that lets customers pay a monthly fee to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as server software such as its Exchange e-mail program, its SharePoint collaboration software, and its Lync communications technology. The new services compete with rival offerings, most notably from Google, whose Google Apps for Business has been making inroads with corporate customers interested in online productivity programs.
Microsoft is targeting small businesses with Office 365, tailoring the product and the pricing in a way so as not to cannibalize corporate Office sales. So far, it seems to be working. At Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer noted that Office 365 was on track to be one of Microsoft's fastest growing businesses ever.

Social media: The biggest stories of 2012

Here are the top five ways we embraced social media this year.

 

 

(Credit: CNET)

Social media hit new heights this year; Facebook reached 1 billion users, many people in developing nations are logging in to social networks as soon as they get Internet access, and the companies behind these digital communities are starting to make money off the sites.
The big players of social, namely Facebook and Twitter, are ubiquitous in everyday life. Mainstream news outlets cite the social networks as sources of information and commentary on live events. The Olympics, the presidential election, disasters such as Hurricane Sandy -- social media has become an integral part of how such events are recorded and how communities respond. Along with those big events, social networks continued to shape how people work and play, with this year's biggest news showing the latest ways social media has entwined itself in our lives.

1. Social shopping comes of age

    In 2012, shopping sites relied heavily on social media to build communities around retail, while social-media sites started making money off users shopping. Though sites like fashion-centric Polyvore -- which hit a new financial milestone this year -- have long understood that user-generated content is the best type of advertising when selling products, companies like Fab and Fancy took social retail to another level this year.
Fab, a flash-sales site, closely wove social media into its shopping experience -- the company said it was gaining 1 million users a month, with 50 percent of its member sign-ups coming from Facebook referrals. The Fancy, a Pinterest-like site that lets users bookmark things they like and then links those items to online stores for purchase, built its commerce services on top of a social experience. Then there's the big daddy of social media, Facebook. The company launched its Facebook Gifts gifting service this year, letting users send real-life gifts to their Facebook friends without needing their addresses, and opening up a new way to make money.

2. Waking up to mobile

    Every year, those in Silicon Valley declare that it is finally the year of mobile. This year, mobile usage reaching its tipping point, the lure of mobile dollars had social-media companies taking action. The veterans of social -- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Zynga, made major acquisitions and overhauled their mobile apps to up their mobile game.
Facebook retrained all its engineers in mobile, completely revamped its slow, unpopular apps, and purchased Instagram, the photo-sharing network that started as a mobile-only app. Twitter made a huge push on its mobile presence as well, redesigning its apps to promote a better mobile experience and, in turn, bring in more money. LinkedIn also redid its mobile app, touting a 13 percent increase in user activity from the previous year. Zynga continued to acquire mobile companies, like OMGPOP, the creators of the wildly popular Draw Something game, and launched a mobile-only game initiative by partnering with third-party developers.

 3. Pinterest seeks world domination

     Pinterest saw explosive growth in the beginning of 2012, jumping from 11.7 million site visits in January to 17.8 million in March. Though the rate of growth has slowed a bit since -- the number jumped 42 percent, to 25.3 million, from March to September -- Pinterest's adoption by mainstream society increased tremendously overall. The visual-bookmarking site created social-media stars -- pinners who collected millions of followers based on the content they curated. In addition to gaining a reputation for attracting a large number of women to its site with popular pinning in categories like recipes, arts and crafts, and beauty, Pinterest also became a law enforcement tool. Police departments used the site to display their most wanted lists, offer safety tips, and show off their successes.
Although there was some speculation over whether Pinterest actually had a plan for how to make money, the company took advantage of its growth by opening up its ranks to get more users, introducing a "Pin It" button to sit alongside Facebook's and Twitter's icons on Web sites, and finally giving brands businesses tools.

4. It's all about the visuals

    Facebook has always known that its users love sharing photos (photo-tagging was what set the social network apart in its early years), but social-media companies paid special attention to visuals this year. The social-video space got crowded, and social-media users flocked to networks like Pinterest and Tumblr in order to create visual collections of the things they like. And then there was Instagram. Instagram became the most popular photo-sharing network, amassing 100 million users and finding prominence during events like Hurricane Sandy and the presidential election.
Instagram's popularity spurred other social media to follow suit. Twitter tweaked its app to add the ability to take photos and add filters, fueling a filtered-photo war. Facebook decided to just buy Instagram, but also added filters to its camera function and introduced a new feature that automatically uploads photos from your iPhone to a private album on your Facebook profile.

5. Google+ screaming its way into the conversation

    Oh, and then there was Google. The tech giant made sure to put its social network front and center this year by linking Google+ to its search results. But despite those efforts, Google+ didn't cause many waves for most of this year -- having people call you a ghost town will do that -- until recent weeks, when it clawed its way into headlines.
Google+ chief Bradley Horowitz publicly took aim at Facebook -- a social network that has about 10 times more users than Google+ -- and described it as the social network of the past. Google then made a point to release that Google+ now has 135 million active users, and it added group functions to encourage more activity.

Facebook tries new Timeline design

The company's new design brings back a tabbed design and streamlined display of Timeline updates.

 

 

Facebook has been quietly testing a new Timeline design, the company has confirmed.
The world's largest social network yesterday confirmed to ABC News that it's testing a new Timeline design "with a small percentage of people." The move, the spokesperson told ABC News, is to "make navigating Timeline even easier."
According to ABC News, which tested out the new Timeline, the design includes a tabbed look, allowing users to switch between friends, photos, and a person's About page. In addition, Facebook's current method of displaying Timeline updates by placing them in two columns has been modified to show updates on the left and friend and photo information on the right side.

In addition, when scrolling through a profile page, it automatically scrolls through a person's "about" information and then goes to friends, followed by photos, all within the same pane.
That's not all Facebook is doing. According to Facebook blog InsideFacebook, the social network lets users drag and drop photos into their publisher box -- the space in which users post photos and updates. In addition, users can drag and drop multiple photos into the box at once.
According to InsideFacebook, the drag-and-drop feature is being rolled out and will eventually come to all users. Whether the Timeline update will make its way across the social network is unknown at this point.

Poke for mobile: Facebook's new app

The new mobile Poke app.

(Credit: Facebook)

The app sends messages, photos, and videos that expire seconds after they're sent. Perfect for the type of communication you don't want falling into the wrong hands.

Cue the inappropriate poke jokes. Facebook just released a Poke for mobile app that lets people send messages, photos, and videos that expire seconds after they're sent.
The news confirms a report by AllThingsD earlier this month.
This standalone app, similar to the app Snapchat, is perfect for sending messages and images you don't want unintended recipients to stumble across. Facebook calls this sending things in a "lightweight way." The rest of the world calls it sexting.
"With the Poke app, you can poke or send a message, photo, or video to Facebook friends to share what you're up to in a lightweight way. You can poke an individual friend or several at once," reads a Facebook blog post.
Facebook isn't that naive. It's built in reporting tools to make sure things don't get too out of control for recipients. After all, sharing photos "of a sexual nature," is a violation of Facebook's policies.
"If you ever see something you're uncomfortable with, you can click the gear menu and report it," the post reads.
You set each message to expire at either 1, 3, 5, or 10 seconds. When time runs out, the message disappears from the app. But remember, that's not going to stop a friend from taking a screenshot of a message, as CNET's Casey Newton pointed out.

Facebook introduced the poke feature in 2004, but the desktop version does only one thing: instantly notifies friends that they've been "poked."
The poke is a leftover from Facebook's dorm room days. The new mobile Poke takes the sexual innuendo to another level and may get Facebook more mobile traffic, if sexting app Snapchat's performance is any indication. Snapchat said its users send 20 million "Snaps" per day.

Browsers: Top 5 events from 2012

Web developers and browser makers were on course toward building the universal software platform -- until smartphones got in the way.

For a while there, the browser was winning the war.
New startups launched online services rather than packaged software. Browser makers raced to transform the Web from a place to publish documents into a general-purpose programming platform. People spent more and more time using the Web instead of software that ran natively on devices.

Then the era of modern smartphones and tablets began. And in 2012, it became clear that Web app advocates will have to work a lot harder to build a universal software foundation. Here's a look at what happened this year in the world of the Web, starting with an an extremely public vote of no confidence.

The W3C's new HTML5 logo stands for more than just the HTML5 standard.

(Credit: W3C)

Facebook slaps down HTML5
The basic technology for describing Web pages is Hypertext Markup Language, and the new HTML5 version now symbolizes modern Web development, even though it also relies on other standards such as JavaScript for running actual programs and CSS for formatting and effects.
The HTML5 idea is that Web apps can span many devices -- Windows machines, Macs, smartphones, tablets, and more -- because everything has a browser these days. One of the biggest advocates of the approach was Facebook, which used Web coding to reach a tremendous range of devices.
But Facebook this year abruptly changed course, choosing instead to release native iOS and Android apps. The company had loved the Web approach, which let its programmers constantly release new versions that would load the same way a browser loads a fresh version of a Web site. But the performance wasn't acceptable.
"I think the biggest mistake that we made as a company is betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said. "Probably we will look back saying that is one of the biggest mistakes if not the biggest strategic mistake that we made."
Zuckerberg's long-term enthusiasm for Web apps was a pretty unappealing consolation prize.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg called his company's reliance on Web apps for mobile access to the site a major strategic error.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Microsoft stiffs browser rivals
With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to make a fresh start with the operating system interfaces that software can use. Windows 8 marries the older Win32 interfaces with the new WinRT. But Windows RT, the cousin that runs on mobile devices such as Microsoft's Surface that use ARM processors, lets third-party software use only the WinRT interfaces.

That happens to hobble browsers -- well, third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox. Microsoft's own IE10 gets access to the low-level Win32 interfaces, letting it run JavaScript faster. Mozilla objected strenuously, and Google piled on, too. Microsoft carved an exception for browsers running on Windows 8, no doubt encouraged by its earlier antitrust woes involving Internet Explorer, but the company doesn't look likely to budge on Windows RT.
Even though European officials are checking into the situation, legal experts think any opponents would have a hard antitrust case.
The result, though could be that browser choice becomes a thing of the past. Safari dominates on iOS, Android's browser on Android, and IE on Windows Phone. Even if people might want a choice, company limits often preclude it.
Do Not Track derailed
Microsoft also threw a wrench in the works of a proposed new standard called Do Not Track (DNT) that's designed to let people tell Web sites not to keep tabs on their online behavior. The effort grew out of a Federal Trade Commission request for the industry to come up with a voluntary solution to the issue, since privacy advocates are not happy with the idea of behavioral targeting of advertisements.

Mozilla proposed a solution that got traction in Chrome, Opera, and Safari, in which browsers would tell Web sites not to track if people had expressly set the browser to send the message. But Microsoft, saying it wanted more privacy, turns DNT on if people accept the Windows 8 default installation settings. That might sound great for privacy, but online advertisers say they'll ignore the setting if it hasn't been expressly set by users.
DNT author Roy Fielding, an Adobe scientist and programmer in the Apache Web server software project, one-upped Microsoft by patching Apache so it overrides IE's DNT setting. But Microsoft isn't budging.
What could break the DNT gridlock? Perhaps the appointment of Peter Swire as co-chair of the group trying to standardize it.

Microsoft's IE has stopped its market-share losses, with Chrome and Firefox jockeying for second place.

(Credit: Data from Net Applications; chart by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

IE gets real
There's a big community of people who don't like Microsoft's browser actions -- squashing Netscape in the 1990s then letting IE6 lie fallow for years.
But that's old thinking. Microsoft dragged itself back aboard the Web standards bandwagon with IE9. But this year's release of IE10 -- packaged with Windows 8 and set to arrive in finished form later for Windows 7 -- that's the stronger statement.
IE10 supports a long list of new Web standards: IndexedDB and AppCache for writing Web apps that work even when a computer doesn't have a Net connection; support for a range of pointers including multitouch interfaces; asychronous script execution for getting Web pages to load faster and run more smoothly; the file interface for better uploads and ways for apps to access data; sandbox security restrictions; and a lot of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) effects.
And it's pretty fast to load Web pages. All this means IE10 can compete -- and not just because it's built into Windows. There are still some missing features -- the WebGL interface for 3D graphics, for instance, which Microsoft thinks is a security risk -- but even without it and some other omissions, Web programmers still can look forward to IE's transition to a modern browser.
Naturally, Microsoft is tooting its IE horn as a result. And it has a strong incentive to keep pushing ahead: Windows 8 apps can be written using the JavaScript, CSS, and HTML Web technologies. Microsoft might have a vanishingly small share of Web usage in the mobile market, but it has mostly stopped IE's share losses in PC browser usage.

The $249 Samsung Chromebook

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Price cut makes Chromebooks worthwhile
Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system, was a wacky idea when it debuted in 2009 and still not very compelling when it arrived in products called Chromebooks in 2011. But in 2012, Google and its Chrome OS allies came up with a much more compelling recipe by lowering the price.
First came the $249 Samsung Chromebook, which uses an ARM processor rather than a more conventional Intel chip. Next was the even cheaper Acer C7 Chromebook, which uses an Intel chip but drops the SSD in favor of a conventional hard drive.
Neither can come anywhere close to replacing a video-game rig or Photoshop workstation. But for the price, they can be a capable second or third machine to have around the house for e-mail, surfing, Facebook, and homework assignments. They may not have the entertainment appeal of a tablet packed with games, but they're cheaper than a new iPad, and a lot of people prefer a keyboard when it's time to type.
Samsung also released some higher-end Chromebooks and the first Chromebox, a small machine that requires an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. They're more expensive, but in combination with the significantly revamped Chrome OS and integrated with Google Drive, they're useful for a certain population.
Web apps may be struggling on smartphones and tablets, but for a laptop, they're a more realistic option. Browser makers and Web developers have work to do on mobile, but they're hardly an endangered species.

Facebook - best place to work

(Credit: Glassdoor)

Maybe it's the ability to influence a billion people or maybe it's the deluxe campus and free food, but Facebook employees have come out in full force and voted their company the best place to work this year.

Company review site Glassdoor annually compiles the 50 best places to work based on comments from employees in dozens of companies. This year, nearly half a million reviews were submitted that rated employers on career opportunities, salary and benefits, work and life balance, senior management, and culture and values. And, Facebook won out.

"The company's leadership truly believes in Facebook's mission to make the world more open and connected," a Facebook product manager told Glassdoor. "Teams are small and have a lot of autonomy, and it's amazing to see how much of a difference a single person can make at this place."

Besides Facebook, 19 other tech companies made the top 50 list. For the top 10, Riverbed Technology came in at No. 3, Google got No. 6, and National Instruments was No. 8. For the most well-known tech companies, LinkedIn came in at 14, Intel was No. 31, and Apple got No. 34.

While Google and Apple aren't in the top five, they've both made the list for the last five consecutive years -- although both have dropped places from last year, from 5 to 6 and from 10 to 34, respectively. Facebook has only made the list the last three years, but the year it debuted on the list, in 2010, it ranked No. 1. Last year, the social network fell to the third spot but has notably rebounded this year.

"The Employees' Choice Awards are one of the highest honors a company can receive, as it is an authentic and tangible reflection of employee satisfaction," Glassdoor's CEO and co-founder Robert Hohman said in a statement. "Due to greater workplace transparency, information about what it's like to work at particular companies is becoming increasingly influential as job seekers and employees consider their next career move."

Below is a video produced by Glassdoor and Facebook about what it is like to work at the world's largest social network.

Security Essentials fails AV-Test

    Microsoft's free antivirus suite did not pass the most recent efficacy test by AV-Test.org -- the only one out of 24 suites tested to not earn certification.

    In a month of uneven Windows 8 news and reviews, Microsoft is taking another hit. This time, its freeware Security Essentials finds itself in the crosshairs.
Independent German security suite evaluators AV-Test.org publish bimonthly tests that rate the effectiveness of the biggest Windows security suites out there, and the recently published results showed that MSE failed to earn certification on the most recent test. MSE was the only suite to fail out of the 24 suites tested on Windows 7 during September and October.
    "Microsoft is offering a baseline protection with MSE. However, the majority of free and paid security offerings from 3rd parties includes a better protection against current threats," wrote Andreas Marx, CEO of Av-Test.org, in an e-mail to CNET. The low scores in the "Protection" category, he wrote, are "especially related" to the low blocking rates against zero-day malware. MSE stopped only two-thirds of them, whereas many competitors did significantly better. Marx explained that blocking zero-days is "the most important feature in today's protection mechanisms," since more than 90 percent of malware comes from Web sites distributed by downloads or e-mail attachments.
Marx did write that Microsoft was 90 percent effective at blocking malware from sources like USB keys.
Requests for comment sent to Microsoft were not immediately returned. CNET will update the story when we hear back from them.
    The news is potentially more damaging for consumers because Microsoft Security Essentials is, according to Opswat's September 2012 market share report, used by almost 14 percent of the security market worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it commanded nearly 27 percent of the market as of September. As PC Magazine noted, 16 out of the 23 vendors scored worse this time than during the previous Windows 7-based test in May and June. AVG has AV-Test benchmark its free and paid suites, which accounts for one more suite tested than there are vendors.
    Following CNET's report in September on security suite vendors' struggles in AV-Test's Windows XP-based test, there's a clear downward trend in AV-Test's results during 2012.

Microsoft Security Essentials has never been a particularly strong antivirus suite when it came to effectiveness, but it wasn't terrible. Its marks on the previous Windows 7 tests this year in April and May and May and June were good enough to pass the 80 percent prevention mark of zero-day samples on three out of four tests, and reached 76 percent on the fourth test.
    However, on the most recent test it couldn't even crack the 70 percent barrier on zero-day prevention. That, plus a remarkably weak ability to remove infection components, kept MSE from being certified.
It's rarely a good idea to trust one test's results on which to base an entire judgment, but there's no doubt that these scores are a major cause for concern, not only for people who use Microsoft Security Essentials, but also because a lot of MSE has gone into Windows 8 security. However, AV-Test's Marx said that Windows 8 security is probably safer than Windows 7 with MSE. "The situation on Windows 8 (with Windows Defender) is most likely better than on Windows 7, thanks to further and additional protection mechanisms which are in place on this platform," he said.
    Nobody wants to deal with a computer virus or malware infection, though, so I'd recommend that people running MSE change to another, better regarded free security suite as soon as possible. Avast or AVG have solid security reputations. The current AV-Test top-rated suite for security efficacy is Bitdefender, but the cheapest version starts at $39.95.

iPhone 5 top Yahoo's list of 2012's popular searches

 As for top-searched gadgets, three of the top five on the list are made by Apple -- iPhone 5, iPad 3, and iPad Mini.

   The iPhone 5 was one of the most searched terms this year.

(Credit: CNET)

    The iPhone 5 couldn't quite edge out the election to be No. 1 on Yahoo's list of most-searched terms for 2012. But it came pretty close.    Yahoo today released its data for the most-searched terms in 2012. The lists include information on "obsessions" (viral sensations), memes, gadgets, Olympians, sports teams, songs/music lyrics, TV comedies, "what is" searches, how-to searches, recipes, and several others.
At the top of the list of terms most searched overall, unsurprisingly, was "election," followed by iPhone 5. Rounding out the top five were Kim Kardashian, Kate Upton, and Kate Middleton.

   As Yahoo noted, politics saturated news headlines and ads, but people still searched online to see what was happening in the presidential election, as well as their own state and local races. As for the iPhone, anticipation for the device kept it toward the top of the list.

"iPhone was No. 1 last year, and the fact the iPhone made it back on the list is incredible," Vera Chan, a Yahoo Web trend analyst
    It did end up the top-searched gadget of the year, followed by iPad 3, iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy S3, and Kindle Fire. Interestingly, iPhone 4 nabbed the No. 6 spot.
Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, reached the height of her popularity as the most searched person on Yahoo. She has been a staple in the Top 10 since 2009, the site noted.
Some of the top obsessions, or searches that became viral, in order, are iPhone 5, political polls, Mega Millions, The Hunger Games, and Honey Boo Boo. And the top-searched memes were Kony 2012, binders full of women, Hurricane Sandy fake storm photos, ridiculously photogenic guy, and Big Bird.
Search rankings from other sites have also been released in the past couple weeks. Microsoft's Bing search engine deemed the iPhone 5 to be the most searched for news story of the year. The debut of the device beat out the 2012 presidential election, the Olympics, and Superstorm Sandy, which followed respectively for the next top searches. The Honey Boo Boo reality TV show came in at No. 5 on Bing.
Over at Ask.com, most people wanted to know if Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were getting back together.
     The site also noted that the iPhone 5 may "have made big waves in the press, but it barely registered a ripple among U.S. adults." It said 49 percent of people surveyed said they don't see a big difference between the iPhone 5 and the previous version of the smartphone.
Here's the top 10 searches overall from Yahoo:

1. Election
2. iPhone 5
3. Kim Kardashian
4. Kate Upton
5. Kate Middleton
6. Whitney Houston
7. Olympics
8. Political polls
9. Lindsay Lohan
10. Jennifer Lopez

And here are the top-searched gadgets:

1. iPhone 5
2. iPad 3
3. iPad Mini
4. Samsung Galaxy S3
5. Kindle Fire
6. iPhone 4
7. Nook
8. iPod Touch
9. Samsung Galaxy Tab
10. Samsung Galaxy Note

Accenture : Foundation Platform for Oracle (AFPO) Version Five Launched

     Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today unveiled a new version of its Accenture Foundation Platform for Oracle (AFPO). Accessing enterprise applications from mobile devices has presented new challenges to clients, such as device management and security. AFPO now helps clients address this challenge by integrating with Oracle ADF Mobile.     The mobile capabilities of AFPO enable organizations to deliver critical business applications, such as ERP systems, on mobile devices, helping employees become more productive and competitive.  AFPO helps clients take advantage of Oracle’s strategy for enterprise mobility across the company’s wide product portfolio using a common development framework for multi-channel, multi-platform mobile application development.

   Derek Steelberg, global managing director of Oracle business for Accenture comments:
“AFPO has been proven to simplify and speed the installation of Oracle Fusion Middleware at more than 50 clients around the world. By plugging into Accenture’s experience and advanced toolsets, clients are able to shift their focus from getting the implementation right to getting the right business outcomes,” he said. “Now with Oracle ADF Mobile, Accenture is uniquely able to help clients make Oracle ERP applications available via mobile devices with AFPO.”
   The new features in AFPO version five are pre-integrated to work with more than 30 Oracle Fusion Middlewareproducts that are key to delivering business benefits and functionality. Since version one of AFPO was released in January 2011, Accenture has worked with more than 50 clients from a variety of industries.

Mozilla quietly ceases Firefox 64-bit development

Mozilla's engineering manager has requested that developers stop work on Windows 64-bit builds of Firefox.

    Mozilla engineering manager Benjamin Smedberg has asked developers to stop nightly builds for Firefox versions optimized to run on 64-bit versions of Windows.
    A developer thread posted on the Google Groups mozilla.dev.planning discussion board, titled "Turning off win64 builds" by Smedberg proposed the move.
   Claiming that 64-bit Firefox is a "constant source of misunderstanding and frustration," the engineer wrote that the builds often crash, many plugins are not available in 64-bit versions, and hangs are more common due to a lack of coding which causes plugins to function incorrectly. In addition, Smedberg argues that this causes users to feel "second class," and crash reports between 32-bit and 64-bit versions are difficult to distinguish between for the stability team.
   Users can still run 32-bit Firefox on 64-bit Windows.
Although originally willing to shelve the idea for a time if it proved controversial, Smedberg later, well, shelved that idea:

Thank you to everyone who participated in this thread. Given the existing information, I have decided to proceed with disabling windows 64-bit nightly and hourly builds. Please let us consider this discussion closed unless there is critical new information which needs to be presented.

    The engineer then posted a thread titled "Disable windows 64 builds" on Bugzilla, asking developers to "stop building windows [sic] 64 builds and tests." These include the order to stop building Windows 64-bit nightly builds and repatriate existing Windows 64-bit nightly users onto Windows 32-bit builds using a custom update.
    In order to stave off argument, even though one participant suggested that 50 percent of nightly testers were using the system, perhaps as an official 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows has never been released, Smedberg said it was "not the place to argue about this decision, which has already been made."

Firefox and Facebook Messenger can now be BFFs

    If you're a Facebook addict with a Firefox craving, or the other way around, a new feature in Firefox will have you salivating. We show you how to use the new Facebook Messenger integration in Firefox.

    Firefox and Facebook Messenger now can be besties, if you want them to.
Firefox 17 debuted yesterday (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) with a new social API that lets social-networking services hook deeply into the browser.

   

   With Facebook, that means that your Messenger sidebar -- the status updates and friends online -- will be persistent across any site you visit. It's easy to set up and if you know how to use Facebook, you practically know how to use the sidebar, too. First, make sure you're running at least Firefox 17, log in to Facebook, then go to Facebook's Messenger for Firefox site. Click the green "turn on" button in the middle of the page, and you'll instantly see the Facebook Messenger sidebar appear. It looks like you're in Facebook, with friends' status updates at the top and friends online below it, but the feature also introduces four buttons to the right of your navigation bar. These let you control the Facebook Messenger integration, including removing it.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

(Credit: CNET)

   The first button links to your profile, as well as letting you hide the sidebar and desktop notifications. This lets you hide either one, or both, to keep distractions to a minimum. You can also disconnect the integration entirely by clicking Remove from Firefox. The next three buttons will be familiar to Facebook users, and perform the same functions as they do there. The silhouette button lets you accept Friend requests without having to go to your Facebook page, while the dialogue box icon pulls up a list of your recent messages and the globe shows recent notifications. If you're thinking that this looks a lot like socially-focused alternative browsers like Rockmelt, you'd be right. But that doesn't make it a bad feature for browsers to include by default, especially since so much of what we do in the browser is tied to social networking.

Microsoft hands Windows 8 Pro to pirates by mistake

      For what is presumably a limited period, it's possible to just download Windows 8 keys directly from Microsoft -- keys that activate the Pro version of Microsoft's brand new OS.

    You want a copy of Windows 8 Pro? Go ahead and download it -- Microsoft is giving the keys away for free.
    According to VentureBeat, an interesting exploit on Microsoft's download page allows users to pick up a free copy of Windows 8 Pro -- directly from the website, and at no cost.
If you attempt to download the free Microsoft Windows Media Center upgrade, which is being offered until January 31, a strange side effect takes hold. Windows 8 Pro will be permanently activated.

    The Windows 8 Media Center upgrade apparently offers a handy workaround for pirates seeking Windows 9 Pro.

(Credit:  CNET)

    For the pirates among us, this would provide a handy workaround for the tech giant's Key Management Service (KMS). Built for enterprise users, the KMS is intended to make deployment of Windows 8 through a KMS host and KMS client, making Windows 8 fully usable for 180 days before activation. In other words, instead of being required to input an activation key or reach Microsoft authentication channels on each individual computer, businesses can activate Windows copies on a local network and make the transition step-by-step.
   Within the enterprise, making Windows deployment processes easier can only be a good thing. However, this does mean that by setting up pirate KMS servers, keys can be traded across the Internet for free.
One feather in Microsoft's cap, however, is that Windows has to be reactivated every 180 days using this method. Volume keys are no longer in use, and so each individual PC needs a unique key. Thus, "legitimate" activation cannot be achieved through multiple users activating through the same key.

    As a result, pirates have had to come up with more complex methods, possible through the KMS system, but more time-consuming than simply downloading a Windows Media Center upgrade.

Once you've reached the desktop within the Windows 8 Pro installation and after applying a KMS key, using the new Windows Media Center upgrade key -- obtained for free by Microsoft's Web site -- does not result in a validity check. Therefore, any version of Windows 8 Pro, whether obtained through a pirate KMS network or not, will become fully active and "legitimate."
Stephen Hall at Windows Wave originally reported the exploit and was able to confirm that it works, at least for now.
Reddit user noveleven explained on a discussion thread why the method, in theory, works:

When you activate Windows via KMS, in the activation window it says "Windows is activated until..." and a date (so if you were to install it today, it would say it's activated until May). After installing the upgrade, the window just says "Windows was activated on..." and the date of activation. That means the activation is permanent. When you install the upgrade key, that replaces the existing product key; only the new upgrade key is used for future checks. Windows won't check the key you used to install because it no longer has it.

Six new Android apps...!!!

   Planning to pick up a new Android device over the holiday break? If so, you'll probably want to break it in with a few killer apps. Here are six of the hottest available from Google Play today.

     With the holiday season fully under way, there's a good chance many of you are planning to pick up a new Android phone or tablet. Heck, you might even be looking into one of these new "phablet" thingies that people are talking about. Whatever the case may be, if you're rocking a new Android device, there's no question you're going to want to some killer apps to test its limits. Lucky for you, we've put together a list of some of the hottest ones.

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Amazon Cloud Drive Photos (free)

    Relatively new to the Android platform is the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app, which links to your Amazon account and lets you store photos directly from your mobile device to the cloud. For existing users of Amazon Cloud Drive, it provides a more streamlined way of getting your photos from your mobile device to your cloud account. For new users, it provides a nice, simple way to free some storage space on your phone or tablet. While the relatively young app is far from perfect (it doesn't let you rename files or move items between folders), it is easy to use, and it syncs to the cloud reliably. Plus, Amazon offers new users 5GB of free storage space, which is reason enough to give it a try.

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(Credit: CNET)

Crackle (free)

Crackle is one of the few legit apps on the market that provides completely free streaming of television shows, movies, and other video content. Similar to Netflix or HBO Go on Android, the app offers featured content up front and some simple navigation buttons leading to pages with Movies, Shows, and a personal Watchlist to which you can save your favorite programs. While you probably won't find all of your favorite shows and movies on Crackle, the app does offer some classic shows like "Seinfeld," and "The Three Stooges," plus a few newer hits like "Homeland," "Dexter," and "The Walking Dead." Content is not available in HD, but video and audio quality are still high.

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(Credit: CNET)

Air Patriots (free)
If you just got yourself a new Android device, then I'm sure you'd love to test drive it with a game or two. If that's the case, I suggest starting with Air Patriots, the very first mobile game developed and released by retail giant Amazon. Available for free download, Air Patriots puts a new twist on the popular tower defense game genre, by incorporating only mobile units instead of the stationary towers and turrets that you might be used to. Rather than simply buying a unit and plopping it down next to an enemy's route of travel, you have to tap and swipe patrol routes for your units, which might be a little jarring at first. The difficult part, of course, is creating an efficient network of patrolling aircraft that keep raining down the pain at every point along your enemies' path. That's also the fun part.

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(Credit: CNET)

Fotodanz (free)
A cinemagraphs is a mostly static image with one or more isolated areas looping in animation. Essentially it's the artsy cousin of the animated GIF. Manually, a cinemagraph is difficult to create, but with the Fotodanz app for Android, you can actually create one in seconds, using only your mobile device's camera. While Fotodanz is not quite as popular (or as powerful) as the iOS hit Cinemagram, it certainly serves as an adequate alternative. It lets you isolate up to six different areas to animate and can capture up to 5 seconds of video to loop.

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(Credit: CNET)

TuneIn Radio Pro (99 cents)
If you're looking to use your new device as a music source, then I suggest checking out TuneIn Radio. Different from an algorithm-driven "radio" app like Pandora or Slacker, TuneIn Radio actually taps into more than 70,000 AM/FM and Internet radio stations from around the world. This means you can use it to listen to your favorite local stations, talk radio, foreign language offerings, sports stations like ESPN, and even podcasts. What's more, with the paid Pro version of the app (99 cents), you get DVR-like functionality that lets you pause, rewind, and record radio for later playback.

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(Credit: CNET)

Google+ (free)
OK, this one is pretty well known, and it's not exactly new, but there are still a lot of Android users out there who are ignoring it. Yes, we all know that right now all of the action is on Twitter and Facebook, but the fact is that the Google+ mobile app still has a lot to offer. For instance, you can fire up a group video chat via Google+ Hangout (perfect for sending holiday greetings to faraway family members). You can create a circle of family members with whom you can share holiday photos privately. And you can even use Google+ to automatically back up your photos to the cloud, as soon as you take them. So, even if you're not interested in sharing your daily musings with yet another social network, there's still a lot to like about the Google+ app.

Indian student arrested for a political Facebook post

   After a medical student writes a mild message of protest on the social network, she is arrested for hate speech. She has now become the symbol of the country's intolerance of free speech.

   Facebook page dedicated to Shaheen Dhada for being arrested by Indian police for making a political statement.

   Shaheen Dhada wasn't sure what to expect when police called her house Sunday night. The 21-year-old medical student who lives in Mumbai, India, had just posted a political statement on Facebook and her friend Renu Srinivasan "liked" the post.
Within hours, the two young women were arrested and charged with using speech that was offensive and hateful, according to the New York Times.
    Now, just days later, Dhada and Srinivasan have come to symbolize India's intolerance of free speech. Tens of thousands of people have taken to social networks criticizing the government's arrests of the two women saying that they did not participate in hateful speech. A dedicated Facebook page has even been created to publicize their plight; at the time of this writing, it has nearly 2,000 likes.
    Dhada's incriminating Facebook post was about right-wing Hindu political leader Bal K. Thackeray, who died over the weekend. According to the New York Times, when news of his death spread throughout Mumbai, the city shut down in reverence of the politician.
Annoyed, Dhada wrote, "With all respect, every day, thousands of people die, but still the world moves on. Just due to one politician died a natural death, everyone just goes bonkers. They should know, we are resilient by force, not by choice."
    "Respect is earned, given, and definitely not forced," she ended her Facebook post. "Today, Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not due to respect."

   When the police first called Dhada, she wrote an apology on Facebook and then closed her account, according to the New York Times. But to no avail, she was still arrested.

   Government officials and police around the world use social networks to nab people for unlawful behavior. And many times, what users post can get them into trouble. There are cases when people simply exercise free speech, such as a Saudi blogger who tweeted of an imaginary conversation with the Prophet Mohammad, which was viewed as blasphemous and illegal by his government. And there are cases when real criminals get taken down, such as when the New York City police were able to arrest 50 gang members on charges of murder because of their bragging on Facebook.
    Dhada and Srinivasan were ultimately released on bail on Monday and are now waiting for their first court hearing. However, according to the New York Times, since their cases have gained such national and international attention, the head of police in Mumbai has ordered an investigation into the legality of their arrests.

Microsoft serves up 60-day trial version of Office 2013

A free, two-month evaluation version of Office Professional Plus 2013 is now available for those who'd like to try before they buy.

 

 

Microsoft Word 2013.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

   People who want to take Office 2013 for a spin can download a 60-day evaluation edition.
The version available is the full Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 suite, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, and Lync. The software contains all the features in the paid edition, so you won't miss out on anything.
   You will need a Microsoft account in order to access the download page, but otherwise there are no strings attached.
Here's how you can grab the free trial version:
   Head over to the Office Professional Plus 2013 download page on TechNet. Click on the Get Started Now button. Log in with your Microsoft account. Fill in the online form with your name, e-mail address, and other details, if it's not already filled in. Make sure to choose either the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office. Click Continue.
    Another online form pops up asking for more information. Again, click Continue. The next page displays the product key, which you'll want to write down or save. Choose your language and click the Download button. Office is downloaded as a 785MB file.

    The software comes in the form of an IMG file, which means you can burn it onto a disc to install it.
Alternatively, Windows 8 users can set up the file as a virtual drive by right-clicking on it and selecting the Mount command. Windows 7 users would need to use a product such as Virtual CloneDrive to do the same thing.
   Once the file is mounted, you can simply double-click on the virtual drive or run the Office setup file to install the program.
    Office 2013's hardware and software requirements aren't especially taxing. But those of you still stuck on Windows XP or Vista are out of luck. The new suite runs only under Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012.
     General availability of the suite is expected in early 2013. Microsoft has not yet released official prices, but     ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley recently reported on a leaked document showing a $499 price tag for Office Professional Plus 2013.

Google's Maps app for iOS in near final testing

A new report says Google is putting the finishing touches on its Maps application for Apple's iOS platform.

Google Maps

(Credit: Google)

   Google is testing a pre-release version of its mapping service for Apple's iOS devices, according to a new report.
   The Wall Street Journal says Google is "putting the finishing touches" on the software ahead of submitting it to Apple.
    The software, which the Journal says is already undergoing testing beyond Google employees, is "expected to contain" turn-by-turn navigation, just like its Android counterpart. That very same feature was said to be one of the main sticking points in negotiations between the two companies that led to Apple creating its own mapping software.
     The report comes two days after Nokia's announcement that it has developed its own maps offering for iOS called Here Maps. That software, which will also compete with Apple's homegrown mapping app, will be released in the next few weeks.
    "We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world," a Google spokesperson told CNET in response to the report. "Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system."
Apple's Maps app was first publicly detailed at the company's annual developers conference in June. Besides a new look and feel, the main feature is spoken turn-by-turn directions, something the software lacked before. Apple's own software also adds a snazzy 3-D view of select cities using imagery captured from flyovers, something only users on Apple's newer devices can take advantage of.

     Despite the niceties, the software came under fire for the accuracy of some of its data and other shortcomings compared to the Google-powered app it replaced. Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized for the software and promised improvements, but so far the company's kept mum on any progress.
It's no surprise that Google is developing a replacement application given the company's footprint on Apple's platform. Google currently has 24 applications on iOS, from its Web browser Chrome, to Gmail, a search app, and Google Earth. Nonetheless, the company has played coy with any pledges to bring Maps to iOS, saying simply that it wants to get its services on every OS and device possible.
The Journal's report follows one from The Guardian last week that suggested Google could find difficulty getting its Maps app approved by Apple given its feature similarity to Apple's own offering.

Google launches search app for Windows RT

 

 

 

   Windows RT users now have a Google search app to call their own.
    Yesterday the search giant unveiled a Google Search app optimized for Windows RT tablets. The company had already launched a search app for Windows on October 23, but that version lacked support for Windows RT devices.
     Available in the Windows Store, the RT edition of Google Search mimics its Windows 8 counterpart. And since it's exclusive to RT tablets, the emphasis is on touch-screen gestures.
     You can search by tapping and typing in the search field or by using your voice. You can run an image search and then swipe through each image until you find the one you want. Swiping from the left displays a list of recent searches and a link to your full search history.

      An Instant Previews mode displays a preview of each Web page in your search results, so you don't have to visit each page.

    You can also run a Google search by using the Search charm from the Charms bar. And all of your Google Apps, such as Gmail and Calendar, are accessible from the search app.
    With this latest launch, both Windows 8 and RT users now have a choice of using the search apps for either Google or Bing.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 review

The good: 

             Oodles of screen real estate make the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 terrific for videos, games, and reading; and its improved stylus aids productivity. A blazing quad-core processor, a great camera, and strong battery life round out the advantages of this Android 4.1 phone.

The bad: 

             The huge display makes the Galaxy Note 2 unwieldy to carry, and hiccups in the S Pen stylus and apps can slow you down. The pricey Note 2 isn't a suitable tablet replacement across all categories.

The bottom line:

              Samsung delivers a powerful, boundary-pushing device that gets a lot right. Yet its complicated features and high price raise questions about its purpose.

Titan steals No. 1 spot on Top500 supercomputer list

The machine, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, bumps the IBM-based Sequoia system down a notch with its performance of 17.59 petaflops per second.

 

 

The Titan supercomputer uses GPUs from Nvidia to speed up the machine and improve energy consumption.

(Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

     Predictions that Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Titan supercomputer had become the most powerful machine in the world have turned out to be right. The machine, powered by Nvidia graphics processors and Advanced Micro Devices computer chips, stole the No. 1 spot on the Top500's list from another U.S. machine, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Sequoia.

    Sequoia, which uses processors from IBM, became the top computer in June with a performance of 16.32 petaflops a second. Titan beat that showing, sending Sequoia to second place on the list, with a result of 17.59 petaflops per second.

    The computer, built by Cray, is operated in Tennessee as part of the Department of Energy's network of research labs. Researchers from academia, government labs, and various industries will be able to use Titan to research things such as climate change and alternative fuels.
The machine is one of the new types of systems that combine discrete graphics chips, or GPUs, commonly used for video games, along with standard microprocessors. In this case, Nvidia is providing the GPUs while the CPUs come from AMD. Graphics chips are used to accelerate the number-crunching functions of supercomputers by allowing many tasks to be completed at once, and they require less power than CPUs alone.
      Many other machines on the Top500's list, published twice a year, also use GPUs. As the group noted, 62 systems on the list are using accelerator/co-processor technology. Six months ago, 58 systems used such technology.
     While the top machine on the list uses AMD processors, Intel continues to provide the chips for most Top500 systems, a whopping 76 percent of them, to be precise. Its new many integrated core, or MIC, architecture, is used in several machines, including Stampede, a Dell system installed at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas in Austin. That supercomputer made the top 10.
Rounding out the top five systems are Fujitsu's K computer installed at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science in Kobe, Japan; an IBM Blue Gene/Q system named Mira at Argonne National Laboratory; and an IBM BlueGene/Q system named Juqueen at the Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany.

Skype preview for Windows Phone 8

If you've recently upgraded to Microsoft's new Windows 8 mobile operating system, you can now take Skype for a spin.

Microsoft's Skype for Windows Phone 8, an app tweaked for use with the new operating system, is now available to download as a preview.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The popular VoIP program, which facilitates video and messaging across the Internet for free, has now been spotted in the Windows Phone store. You cannot search for it in the usual method, but as reported by WP Central, the link is now available for those considering a shift to a Windows 8 mobile device.
The free 8MB download is a preview release, and as Microsoft says, "experiences are not final." Some popular features, including a user being able to receive call and message notifications even when the app is closed, are still under development.
Until the app release becomes official, you may also experience issues with call reliability and potentially buggy features.

 

The Skype for Windows 8 app requires the aforementioned operating system and a minimum of 512MB memory on the Windows Phone device.
Recently, Microsoft said it would retire Windows Live in order to push more consumers to use Skype's messaging service. However, it may be sooner than you think; the Skype team noted in a blog post that the proposed date will be as soon as next year:

Apple pays $21M for clock design

Apple shells out many millions of dollars to license the iconic Swiss clock-face design it apparently adapted for use in iOS 6, says a news agency report.

Apple's iOS 6 clock and an official SBB watch from Mondaine.

Quality Swiss-made timepieces don't come cheap. Just ask Apple.
The company shelled out a $21 million "lump sum" to license a clock-face design from the Swiss Federal Railway service, French news agency AFP reported, citing a Swiss paper.
In September, the railway service, also known as SBB, objected to the clock-face design in iOS 6, saying it too closely resembled a trademarked design created in 1944 by SBB employee Hans Hilfiker and used in train stations throughout Switzerland.
Hilfiker's design has been honored by both the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the London Design Museum and has become a symbol of Swiss punctuality, according to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs' swissworld site. It's also licensed to Mondaine, a Swiss watch manufacturer.
SBB reached a licensing agreement with Apple last month, but at the time, an SBB representative said the amount of the licensing fee and other details of the deal would remain confidential.
source:CNET

Yahoo’s Latest Interactive Tile Look

•   Yahoo may be drawing some inspiration from Microsoft in its latest home page redesign.The Internet search and media company is testing out a new version of its home page that uses larger tiles similar to Microsoft's Windows 8.

 Screen Shots:

• 
  
• The redesign seems better suited for touch-screen devices, a smart move with the increasing proliferation of tablets and other touch-friendly "hybrid" devices coming from the launch of Windows 8, alongside iPads and smartphones with increasingly larger displays.
•    The approach uses large photos stacked at the top of the page, similar to both Windows 8's live tiles, but also the feel of apps such as Flipboard. The redesign is an initiative codenamed "Project Homerun,"
•    Because of the huge traffic Yahoo's home page generates, any change could have a significant impact on the company and its financial state.

 

Oracle databases easy to hack..!!!

•     A security researcher claims the company's databases are vulnerable to brute-force attacks because of an authentication flaw.

  

•     A researcher showed today that Oracle's databases could be hacked with brute-force attacks using only the database's name and a username, according to Kaspersky Lab Security News.

•     Esteban Martinez Fayo, who works for AppSec Inc., was demonstrating his discovery at a security conference in Argentina and said that within just five hours on a regular PC using a special tool he could hack through easy passwords and access users' data.

•      "It's pretty simple," Martinez Fayo told the security blog Dark Reading. "The attacker just needs to know a valid username in the database, and the database name. That's it."

•      Martinez Fayo says he discovered cryptographic flaws in Oracle's password authentication that allows for an easy brute-force hack. According to Martinez Fayo, the crack doesn't require a "man-in-the-middle" to spoof multiple users -- the server leaks vital information directly to the attacker.

•       Martinez Fayo said that his team first told Oracle about the bugs in May 2010 and the company fixed them in 2011. However, he said, they didn't fix the current version, which leaves 11.1 and 11.2 still susceptible to attacks. The company's newly released version 12 does fix the problem.

• This isn't the first time that security flaws have been found on Oracle databases. In January, the company squashed 78 software bugs in a major patch that stemmed from a flaw that allowed hackers into its databases remotely. And, just last month, new vulnerabilities that can be exploited to run arbitrary code were discovered in Oracle's latest Java 7 update.

•        Martinez Fayo said there are workarounds for the flaw. "Disable the protocol in Version 11.1 and start using older versions like Version 10g," which is not vulnerable, he said. "It is vital for organizations that deploy Oracle databases affected by these vulnerabilities to administer strong workarounds to prevent an attack."

1 Million Dollar Hacked In 60 Seconds From Citibank

FBI have arrested 14 people over the theft of $1 million from Citibank using cash advance kiosks at casinos located in Southern California and Nevada.

Authorities say the suspects would open accounts at Citibank, then go to casinos in California and Nevada and withdraw the money from cash-advance kiosks as many times as they could in a 60-second span. Someone had figured

FBI Special Agent in Charge Daphne Hearn commented, “While advancements in technology have created a world of accessibility to users and a convenience for consumers, they have also left room for criminals to exploit even the smallest of loopholes. For over 100 years the FBI has kept pace with technological and communication changes in the business world where these types of electronic transactions are the standard and we will continue to do so in order to help protect commercial enterprise and our nation’s economy.”

SkyDrive App for Windows Phone 8 devices

The app lets people store files in the cloud; manage and edit them; and share them with others.

 

Microsoft has released a SkyDrive app for Windows Phone 8 devices.

SkyDrive lets you store files in the cloud, so you can access them from anywhere, virtually on any device regardless of platform. The free app also lets you share your files with other users and manage and edit files. It can automatically upload pictures that you take to SkyDrive.

The new version released by Microsoft works for Windows Phone 7.5 or higher and includes a new search function for files and folders; new settings for photo upload and download size; and a new look for icons and visuals, according to the app's notes.

Apple could transform headphones into loudspeakers

In a new patent filing, the company sketches out headphones that can double as external speakers.

Apple has cooked up a design for headphones that can also serve as external loudspeakers.
A patent filed today with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a "dual-mode headphone" that could deliver sound whether you wear them around your ears or place them on a surface, according to Patently Apple.
The headphones would include circuitry to detect their position. They'd sense when they're around or near your ears so that you're not blown away by the sound.
A built-in amplifier would pipe up the audio to deliver higher output when the headphones are acting as external speakers. In that mode, audio ports could also transmit the sound away from the surface so that it better fills up a room.
The user would also be able to manually change the headphones between the two modes.

The patent was originally filed last year by its sole inventor Edward Hyatt, Patently Apple added.

The invention sounds like a neat idea, sparing people from having to carry around both headsets and external speakers. But since it's just in the patent stage, there's no way of knowing when or if it may come to fruition.