Nokia No Longer a Top 5 Smartphone Vendor

    Nokia’s transition away from its Symbian operating system to Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS has cost it dearly in the smartphone market. According to the latest metrics from IDC, the Finnish company is no longer a Top 5 smartphone vendor.
Nokia ranked as the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in IDC’s second-quarter survey. But in the research firm’s third-quarter report, it didn’t even place in the Top 5. And the company’s share losses have bolstered the gains of the smartphone market’s two juggernauts: Samsung and Apple.
During the third quarter, Samsung shipped 56.3 million smartphones globally, for a 31.3 percent share of the market. That’s up from 22.7 percent in the third quarter of last year. Meanwhile, Apple shipped 26.9 million smartphones to claim a 15 percent share, up from 13.8 percent a year ago.
Rounding out IDC’s smartphone Top 5: Research In Motion, ZTE and HTC, all three with relatively piddling market shares. RIM claimed third place, with a 4.3 percent market share, down from 9.6 percent last year. ZTE took fourth, with 4.2 percent. And HTC managed to nab fifth, with 4 percent.

Looking at the broader market, smartphone manufacturers shipped 179.7 million devices in the third quarter, up 45.3 percent from 123.7 million units in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the overall mobile phone market grew 2.4 percent year over year, with shipments of 444.5 million.

Google Matches Apple With 700,000 Mobile Apps

     On Sept. 12, during its iPhone 5 event in San Francisco, Apple announced one of those big, round numbers it’s so fond of trotting out during new product showcases: 700,000 apps available for download on the iTunes App Store.
That’s an impressive number, and one Apple stressed again at its iPad mini event last week, pointing out the strengths of its mobile device ecosystem over others. But that metric is a bit less potent today, now that it’s been matched by Apple’s archrival in the mobile OS space.
There are now 700,000 apps available for download on Google’s Android operating system. That’s 25,000 more than it offered just a month ago, and enough to tie Apple for bragging rights on “world’s biggest app ecosystem.” So, one more point of differentiation gone between the two fiercest competitors in the mobile device space, and an ever-widening crevasse separating them from stragglers like Research In Motion, Microsoft and Nokia.

Top 10 Information Technology (IT) Companies in India 2012

1. Tata Consultancy Services TCS


The largest IT company in India with revenues over USD 10 billion and profits surpassing USD 2.2 billion, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a global IT giant. It has close to 250,000 employees and is one of the top three global IT companies.

2. Cognizant


American multinational IT company has become one of the power houses of the Indian IT industry scene with revenues of USD 6.1 Billion 2011 and 2012 first quarter USD 1.71 Billion.
3. Wipro


With a global presence in over 54 countries and a revenue crossing USD 7.2 billion, Wipro is undoubtedly one of the leading IT services and outsourcing companies. Under the leadership of Azim Premji, the company has galloped to become one of the biggest IT companies.
4. Infosys


A USD 7 billion revenue company, which has offices in over 30 countries, Infosys is easily one of the top IT companies in India. It offers business consulting, IT consulting solutions and has a workforce strength of over 150,000 employees


5. HCL Technologies


With revenues of over USD 3 billion, HCL Technologies is one of the biggest names in the Indian IT sector. It offers engineering, BPO, EAS, IT infrastructure etc services to Indian as well as global clients


6. Tech Mahindra


With a net income of over USD 128 million, Tech Mahindra is a leading networking and BPO solutions provider based in India. The company has a strong workforce comprising of over 42,000 employees


7. Mphasis


A USD 1 billion company, Mphasis is a part of HP. Founded by Jaithirth Rao and Jeroen Tas, Mphasis has its presence in over 14 countries providing IT solutions to businesses.


8. iGate Patni


IGate Patni based in Bangalore, is now a subsidiary of iGate having its international presence in India, Australia, US, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Germany and many more. It boasts of revenues of around USD 430 million
9. L&T infotech


With a strong revenue of around USD 650 million, Mumbai based Larson and Tubro Infotech is one of the leading IT companies and BPO solutions provider. Alliances with Microsoft, SAP, Oracle etc make it a force to reckon with.
10. Oracle Financial Services iFlex


Oracle Financial Services, formerly known as iFlex Solutions, it a major IT player in the Indian market. With a revenue of nearly USD 520 million, and a strong backing of Oracle, it is undoubted one of the strongest companies in the IT solutions for the banking sector

Hacker wins $60,000 prize for breaking into Google Chrome

A hacker known as Pinkie Pie scored another win in a Google-sponsored contest by uncovering a flaw in the Chrome browser.

Hack into Google Chrome, and you could win $60,000, at least if you do it through Google's Pwnium 2 competition.
That's just what happened to a hacker dubbed Pinkie Pie, who won the award on Tuesday by exploiting a security hole in Chrome.
In an effort to shore up its browser's defenses, Google holds the competition to challenge hackers to hack their way through Chrome's security to find previously unknown holes. Tuesday's Pwnium 2 contest was held at the Hack in the Box 2012 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"We're happy to confirm that we received a valid exploit from returning pwner Pinkie Pie," Google announced in a Chromium blog. "This pwn relies on a WebKit Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) compromise to exploit the renderer process and a second bug in the IPC layer to escape the Chrome sandbox. Since this exploit depends entirely on bugs within Chrome to achieve code execution, it qualifies for our highest award level as a 'full Chrome exploit,' a $60,000 prize and free Chromebook."
Google's Chrome team quickly jumped on the exploit as soon as it was discovered, leading to an update to the browser to patch the hole after just 10 hours.
Pinkie Pie also won $60,000 in the first Pwnium competition, held earlier this year.

'Jesus,' 'welcome' join list of worst passwords

Internet users continue to use many of the same weak passwords used a year ago, according to a new list compiled from password files released by hackers.

Despite the vulnerability presented by weak passwords, many Internet users continue to put their security at risk by using common words or number sequences that are easily guessable.
Unchanged from last year, the three most popular passwords for 2012 were "password," "123456," and "12345678," according to SplashData's annual "25 Worst Passwords of the Year" list. The list was compiled from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers.
But that isn't to say that our choices have stagnated; new entries to the list this year include "welcome," "Jesus," "ninja," "mustang," and "password1."
In a year punctuated by high-profile hacks that leaked millions of passwords, SplashData hopes the lists highlights the importance of choosing a robust password.

"We're hoping that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different Web sites," SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said in a statement. "Just a little bit more effort in choosing better passwords will go a long way toward making you safer online."
A security breach revealed in July at Yahoo yielded nearly a half million login credentials stored in plain text. Other password thefts at LinkedIn, eHarmony, and Last.fm contributed to approximately 8 million passwords posted in two separate lists to hacker sites in early June.
SplashData's list, including changes in ranking from last year's list:

1. password (unchanged)
2. 123456 (unchanged)
3. 12345678 (unchanged)
4. abc123 (up 1)
5. qwerty (down 1)
6. monkey (unchanged)
7. letmein (up 1)
8. dragon (up 2)
9. 111111 (up 3)
10. baseball (up 1)
11. iloveyou (up 2)
12. trustno1 (down 3)
13. 1234567 (down 6)
14. sunshine (up 1)
15. master (down 1)
16. 123123 (up 4)
17. welcome (new)
18. shadow (up 1)
19. ashley (down 3)
20. football (up 5)
21. Jesus (new)
22. michael (up 2)
23. ninja (new)
24. mustang (new)
25. password1 (new)

Security experts suggest picking long passwords (the longer, the better) that include as many different characters as possible while excluding anything that can be personally linked, such as birthdates or names of relatives. Choosing passwords that include words found in common dictionaries is also discouraged.

Sony's PlayStation 3 experiences its biggest hack yet

A hacker group finds a secret set of codes that can decrypt the PlayStation 3's Level 0 security layer -- the holy grail of secrecy within Sony's console.

Sony may have trouble defending itself from this hack.

Hackers have found a way to break down one of the toughest defensive walls in Sony's PlayStation 3 software security, ensuring that those who use custom firmware can run homebrew software and pirated games forever.
A group calling itself "The Three Musketeers" on Monday released a secret set of LV0 codes that can decrypt the PlayStation 3's Level 0 (LV0) security layer used by the primary boot loader. This means that hackers should always have the ability to release custom firmware for the device any time Sony updates the console's software. Custom firmware gives PS3 owners the ability to run pirated games, homebrew software (such as retro game emulators), and even Linux.

"This means that all future firmwares and all future games are decryptable, and this time around they [Sony] really can't do anything about it," Marcan, one of the players in the fail0verflow exploit, wrote in a related Slashdot thread. "By extension, this means that given the usual cat-and-mouse game of analyzing and patching firmware, every current user of vulnerable or hacked firmware should be able to maintain that state through all future updates, as all future firmwares can be decrypted and patched and resigned for old PS3s."
Unfortunately, unless your PS3 runs custom firmware, or can downgrade to a custom firmware, the exploit means relatively nothing -- for now. Check out a very informative FAQ -- which derives from Marcan's observations of the breakthrough -- that describes the implications of the PS3 hack in plain english at the Wololo forums.
The group responsible for releasing the PS3 LV0 codes to the public only did so because a rival group had supposedly stolen the information, and planned to sell custom firmware based on it for profit.
"You can be sure that if it wouldn't have been for this leak, this key would never have seen the light of day, only the fear of our work being used by others to make money out of it has forced us to release this now," wrote the Musketeers in a note attached to the LV0 reveal.

Twitter predicts users' gender for targeted advertising

Are women about to get more promoted tweets for cosmetics, while men get power tools?

Twitter is trying to suss out which of its users are male and which are female. And so far, it's gotten its prediction science down to a 90 percent accuracy rate.
But, let me back up. Why in the world would the social network want to figure out the gender of its individual users?
Why for advertising, of course.
According to Twitter, the fairer sex might like to see a promoted tweet featuring cosmetics, while men would most likely ignore such advertising. All of this apparently matters when trying to generate ad revenue and monetize the site.
Unlike some other social networks, Twitter doesn't have a gender checkbox. So, there's no real way to breakdown users by sex. But, lucky enough, there are "contextual signals," Twitter's revenue product manager April Underwood said in a blog post today.

"Similar to our approach to interest targeting, we're able to understand gender by taking public signals users offer on Twitter, such as user profile names or the accounts she or he follows," Underwood wrote. "We have strong confidence in this approach. A panel of human testers has found our predictions are more than 90 percent accurate for our global audience. And where we can't predict gender reliably, we don't -- and those users won't be targetable through this feature." So, now that Twitter can more-or-less ascertain who is female and who is male, it can help advertisers target those audiences.
Besides rolling out gender targeting to all marketers, the social network has also upped its advertising chops with "interest targeting," "location targeting," and a massive expansion to mobile.

Top 10 biggest drawbacks of Windows RT

   Sometimes new isn't always better. CNET takes you through a few things you'll need to keep in mind before buying a Windows RT device.

Microsoft's Surface tablet doesn't run on Windows 8; it runs on Windows RT.

   

    While Microsoft is spending a small fortune promoting its next-generation Windows 8 operating system, it also has another new operating system called Windows RT, which actually powers the company's Surface tablet and a few other devices.
    Superficially, the operating systems look and feel the same. But Windows RT is designed for devices running on ARM chips, which are used to power smartphones and tablets and are considered more power-efficient.
    Windows RT is more like "Windows Lite" than a full-blown update to the operating system. It's Microsoft's attempt to make a controlled environment similar to Apple's iOS, and that means Windows RT has some big limitations compared with Windows 8.
If you're thinking of buying a Windows RT device, there are a few things you should consider. Here's CNET's rundown of Windows RT's top 10 drawbacks:

1. Flash only works on approved sites. 
2. So-called legacy apps -- the traditional programs for older versions of Windows -- won't run on Windows RT.
3. Apps can only be purchased through the Windows Store.

4. The apps that are available are pretty limited 5. Even some traditional Microsoft programs won't work with Windows RT.
6. You can only get Windows RT already bundled on a device.
7. Windows RT will have a desktop mode, but it will be restricted to pre-installed, Microsoft-produced software.
8. For business users, Windows RT is less than ideal.
9. The number of Windows RT devices is pretty limited.
10. Overall, Windows RT vs. Windows 8 is pretty darn confusing.

Hackers steal customer data from Barnes & Noble keypads

   Point-of-sale terminals at 63 bookstores are found to have been modified to hijack customers' credit card and PIN information.

    Hackers broke into keypads at more than 60 Barnes & Noble bookstores and made off with the credit card information for customers who shopped at the stores as recently as last month.
The company discovered the breach on September 14 but kept it quiet while the FBI attempted to track the hackers. Hackers broke into the point-of-sale terminals at 63 stores across the country, including locations in New York City, San Diego, Miami, and Chicago.
    Since discovering the breach, the company has uninstalled all 7,000 point-of-sale terminals from its hundreds of stores for examination. Although only one terminal in each of the 63 targeted stores was found to have been compromised, the company has not reinstalled the keypads.
"Customers can make transactions securely today by asking booksellers to swipe their credit and signature debit cards through the card readers connected to cash registers," the company said in a statement.

    The company said it is advising customers to change their personal identification numbers and monitor their credit card statements. It also said it was "working with banks, payment card brands and issuers to identify accounts that may have been compromised, so banks and issuers can employ enhanced fraud security measures on potentially impacted accounts."
The company said its customer database is secure and that purchases made on BarnesandNoble.com, Nook, and Nook apps were unaffected.
The practice of credit card skimming has become more frequent in recent years. Last month, two Romanian men pled guilty to hacking point-of-sale terminals at hundreds of Subway sandwich stores in the U.S. to steal credit card data from more than 146,000 accounts

India to have 11-digit mobile numbers next year

India will face a 'number crunch' by the middle of next year. With a swelling subscriber base in the country, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) are fast looking at other options, including the use of 11-digit mobile numbers. The Times of India now reports that the number series starting with 98 or 99 is nearing the end of its capacity and hence the need to quickly work out a way is both, crucial and time-bound. Rajan Mathews, director general of the COAI was quoted as saying, "There might be a serious problem if a new series of numbers are not brought in by the middle of next year. We are theoretically reaching the limit of existing number sets with a subscriber base of one billion."

It is sure going to be difficult to remember that
Elaborating further on the process, Mathews shared that the numbers are assigned to operators in batches, depending the size of subscriber base and how well the existing number sets are put to use. He explains that a batch system is the one used, since it helps keep away chaos arising because of the different kinds phone numbers flooding the market.
 It is common knowledge that a specified range of numbers are assigned to one operator and the first two digits of the number like the first two digits are associated with that operator.
 Sandip Biswas, director at consultancy firm Deloitte was quoted as saying, "None of these number ranges can be used to their full extent due to the way in which they are allotted. Only a certain portion of these numbers are used as phone numbers. This is called percentage of numbering system utilization and it hovers around 50 percent, meaning only around half or more of the potential numbers are used as phone numbers”.

Biswas even went on to add that considering the numbers, there may even be 12-digit mobile numbers introduced in the future. "The numbers will have to be increased by at least one digit to accommodate new devices. However, to ensure there's absolutely no scope for any problem, we may even see the introduction of 12 digit numbers," he added.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had reportedly sent a similar proposal to the DoT, which the latter did not act upon. Mathews added, "DoT said that it may need remapping of networks and there might be issues conforming to international numbering standards too. DoT hasn't rejected the idea completely but is looking into alternatives."

Among the immediate measures, the TRAI has reportedly made recommendations to discontinue inactive numbers in a bid to free up some space. It even plans on getting over a million landline numbers to be used in the mobile domain.

Biswas went on to add further, “The numbering system in general is dependent on the number of subscribers. However, it is a different situation after mobility came into picture. Today, devices ranging from cars to tablets to washing machines are connected to networks.”

Google releases search app for Windows 8

As it's done with iOS, Google is trying to carve out a place for search and other services on Microsoft's new operating system.

Google has built a search app for Windows 8

  On Windows today, people reach Google's search service with a browser. But when Windows 8 arrives this week, the company evidently hopes people will use a dedicated search app, too.
Just as it has done with iOS and BlackBerry OS before, Google has released a dedicated search app for Windows 8. It's available in the Windows 8 store now, Microsoft programmer Mohamed Mansour noticed.
The search app is interesting for a few reasons. First, it indicates Google wants people to use its services directly, which is important since in that circumstance it doesn't have to share search-ad revenue with whoever otherwise referred the search queries to Google. Second, it raises the prospects of other Windows apps -- Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Google+ spring to mind as possibilities. Third, it shows that Google wants to provide people with a way to perform lots of actions within an ever-richer Google environment.
The app features not just the regular a search box, but also a mechanism for voice input. Like the Web interface for search, the app also can show instant previews -- small versions of Web pages that show people what they'd see if they clicked on a link. Unlike the Web version of search, though, the app shows the instant previews as an array of mini Web pages side by side on a black background. Image search results are shown in a similar fashion, and the app is touch-enabled for the Windows 8 "touch-first" era.
"So far it looks beautiful," Mansour said. Alas, I couldn't judge for myself since it's evidently not universally available yet.

Google's Windows 8 app offers access to many other Google services besides search.

  Microsoft will launch Windows 8 on Friday, October 26. The new operating system is a bold but potentially confusing rework of Windows. Its single biggest difference is a very different user interface for which programmers must write new versions of their software. Microsoft may not be happy to see people using Google over its own Bing search services, but it is good for the company that Google is helping flesh out what today is a relatively skeletal range of software options for Windows 8.
The search app stands alone but also can be wired into Windows 8's Charms technology for providing systemwide services, according to its description.
And the app serves as a hub to reach other Google services such as Google Docs, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Voice, Google+, Google Drive, and YouTube, the description said.
Although it's a Metro app, Google said it only works on the Windows 8 running on x86 chips, not on Windows RT, which runs on ARM processors. Windows today is found solely on x86 chips from Intel or AMD, but with products like the ARM-based Microsoft Surface tablet with a detachable keyboard, Microsoft hopes to penetrate the more mobile market dominated today by Apple's iPad.
One big difference from Google's perspective about the two Windows versions is that the Windows RT version only can run Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser engine with full privileges other browsers such as Google's Chrome are permitted only in a way that significantly reduces performance and security features such as just-in-time compilation of JavaScript software and compartmentalization of different computing processes, respectively.

The Google app for Windows 8 features instant previews of search results in an array that people can swipe around to browse.

League of Legends the world's 'most played video game'

  Video games come and go, but Riot Games considers League of Legends the current king of them all -- for now.

 

 

  The League of Legends World Championships, with a $5 million dollar prize pool, concludes on October 13. Riot keeps the game buzzing by maintaining competitive events such as this.

(Credit: Riot Games )

   New statistics from the creator of League of Legends (and a variety of industry sources) indicate that the free multiplayer PC real-time strategy game had an average of 3 million concurrent online users in July, besting the entire combined total peak player count for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox 360 (1.4 million) and people playing the top 100 games on Steam (650,000).
Riot Games, developer of League, also noted in an infographic that the game usually sees an average of 12 million players a day, with about 32 million active players logging in every month. Just for reference, when World of Warcraft sat at the top, it had about 12 million subscribers total.

Check out this stunning set of stats about League of Legends.

   League of Legends hit the scene nearly three years ago, and in some ways completely flew under the radar for most casual observers of the gaming industry. However, in that short time frame, League quickly acquired a huge following (70 million registrations) that stays addicted to the evolution of the game, which derives from predecessors Warcraft III and Defense of the Ancients.

   Further drum tapping occurs as Riot points out that League averages at least 1 billion average play hours a month with help from more than 145 countries, a figure held since the third quarter of last year. In comparison, the total cumulative hours pumped into Halo since 2004 sits at a little over 2 billion.
In League, players can choose from more than 100 characters to control and can play alongside other people (or alone with bots) in head-to-head matches against another team.
Each character wields four basic attacks (ranging from physical to magic), and can choose from a variety of items and equipment to enhance the character's abilities. When the battle begins, each team works together to defeat the opposing side's turrets, minions, and players in an attempt to destroy the enemy base (referred to as a nexus).
League fans might enjoy Riot's admission that Teemo dies 6.5 million times a day, which figures out to about 75 deaths for the little guy every second.

India is world leader in spam output

A new report shows that computers based in India now send out more spam than ever before, with some having "been turned into spam-spitting zombies in botnets."

 

India has surpassed the U.S. and taken the lead as the greatest spam-sending country in the world. One out of every six junk messages that litter users' e-mail inboxes are coming from India, according to a new report from SophosLabs.
The security vendor's third-quarter "Dirty Dozen" report of spam-relaying countries found that India upped its percentage of global spam for the third quarter in a row and now accounts for more than 16 percent of all junk e-mails.
What is important to note, however, is that this spam doesn't necessarily come directly from India's computers -- but rather from the country's "ill-protected machines" that "have been turned into spam-spitting zombies in botnets." So those people who are creating the spam could be originating from anywhere.
Here's more from Sophos' Graham Cluley:

The latest Dirty Dozen report suggests that a not insignificant number of PCs in India are harbouring malware infections that turn PCs into spam-spitting zombie slaves, controlled by the cybercriminals who make money by punting junk emails to promote questionable goods, or simply use malicious spam to infect more computers. The authorities in India need to make IT security education a priority. One would be safe to assume that, if computer users in the country are being targeted in order to relay spam, they are likely victims of other online threats such as fraud.

According to Sophos, 5.3 percent of the world's Internet users are from India -- ranking it as the third most connected country after China and the U.S. -- but only 10.2 percent of the population has Internet accessibility. Sophos notes that this may be one of the reasons why there is a lack of security measures for the country's computers. The U.S. had been the number 1 spamming country for years, but was bumped by India in April. However, India has long maintained a top three spot. Other countries known for being top spam-senders are Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil.
Security reports over the last year have shown that malware is on the rise. According to a report by McAfee last month, malware is multiplying at a faster pace now than any other time in the last four years. Worms, viruses, botnets, Trojans, and spam are increasingly attacking computers, laptops, and mobile devices.

Top 10 Websites For Hackers

1. Milw0rm

2. Hack a day

3. Security Focus

4.ASTALAVISTA - secuirt y & hacking community

5.PacketStorm Security

6.Black Hat

7.Metasploit Project

8.Insecure.org: Top 75 Security tools

9.2600 Store

10.Rootkit

Some Android apps could leak personal data, researchers find

German security researchers found that eight percent of the applications they analyzed have code that is vulnerable to attack.

   Android applications are once again in the hotseat over possible security vulnerabilities.
Security researchers at the Leibniz University of Hanover in Germany recently released a study (PDF) examining the way in which legitimate Android applications in the Google Play marketplace respond to attacks on security protocols known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS). In eight percent of those cases, the researchers found that apps used the security protocols improperly, leaving sensitive data open to hackers with some know-how.
The security team, however, didn't suggest that anyone has yet deliberately exploited these vulnerabilities.
SSL and TLS are popular security protocols employed across the Web and in Android apps. The protocols encrypt network connection segments to allow for supposedly safe data transmission of sensitive information. However, the researchers argue that some Android applications that connect to the Web and need to transfer data, such as passwords and account information, aren't using the SSL and TLS protocols properly.
"We introduce MalloDroid, a tool to detect potential vulnerability against Man-In-the-Middle (MITM) attacks," the researchers wrote. "Our analysis revealed that 1,074 (8.0%) of the apps examined contain SSL/TLS code that is potentially vulnerable to MITM attacks. Various forms of SSL/TLS misuse were discovered during a further manual audit of 100 selected apps that allowed us to successfully launch MITM attacks against 41 apps and gather a large variety of sensitive data."

    MITM attacks occur when a third party -- a hacker, thief, spy or what-have-you -- inserts itself into a connection between two devices while maintaining the illusion that they are only communicating with each other. All the while, the hacker is capturing the data.
   The team found that over 1,000 applications are willing to communicate over SSL with anything that sends out a certificate to communicate. That, the researchers say, allows for MITM attacks, since the third-party hacker can quickly connect with an app.
   To further determine the extent to which the vulnerabilities could affect users, the researchers chose 100 apps to analyze. Of those, 41 were confirmed to contain vulnerabilities. When exploiting those vulnerabilities, the researchers found that they were able to access credentials for everything from credit cards to social media accounts.
   Making matters worse, the researchers found that of those 41 apps, the cumulative install base of the apps is somewhere between 39.5 million and 185 million users, as determined by the range of application downloads provided by the Google Play store. Three of the applications had user install bases of 10 to 50 million.
   What can be done to address the problems? Improved permissions and policies built into the operating system might help; so would policies that prevent developers from using their own methods for handling SSL or TLS. The researchers say that Google should also consider checking apps for vulnerable SSL/TLS code before allowing them into its marketplace.
CNET has contacted Google for comment on the findings. We will update this story when we have more information.

Suddenly, Facebook seems all about the money

   Facebook has been cranking up its efforts to generate cash in recent months, although few of those efforts will show up in the company's third-quarter results on Tuesday.

 

 

Zuckerberg and team at Facebook on IPO day

(Credit: Facebook )

   If there's one thing that Mark Zuckerberg has learned in Facebook's short life as a public company, it's that Wall Street is an unforgiving place.
   The Street cares little about wide-eyed talk about making the world a more connected place. Even Facebook's recent announcement that it now has 1 billion users -- roughly a seventh of the world's entire population -- logging onto the social network at least once a month did nothing to help the stock, which now trades at about half its IPO price of $38 a share.
Wall Street, in short, wants to see the money.
It seems that Zuckerberg has gotten the message. In recent months, Facebook has rolled out product after product aimed squarely at boosting Facebook's bottom line -- from letting members send friends physical gifts to giving them the option to pay $7 to promote their posts to their Facebook friends and subscribers. Most of these efforts won't trickle down to Facebook's financial results when the company reports its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Instead, investors will be looking for words of encouragement -- hopefully, with some specifics -- from Zuckerbrerg and his chief lieutenants, COO Sheryl Sandberg and CFO David Ebersman.
   As it stands, Wall Street expects Facebook to post quarterly revenue of $1.23 billion and earn 11 cents a share. While that would be an almost 29 percent revenue jump from the year earlier quarter, Facebook's growth is slowing. And clearly investors are jittery: Google's earnings miss last week emphasized the challenges from the weak economy in Europe (also a potential problem for the ad-driven Facebook) and just how fast the shift to mobile is occurring (ditto on the problem front). Shares of Facebook have fallen more than 13 percent in the last few weeks.
The mobile 'opportunity'
    When Zuckerberg took the stage at a TechCrunch conference in September, he reframed the discussion about Facebook's mobile problem with the skill of a smooth politician. Suddenly, Facebook's biggest challenge became a great way to "make a lot of money." And he has since talked about mobile as Facebook's "massive opportunity." Opportunity or problem, it's certainly a reality, with roughly 600 million of those 1 billion users accessing Facebook via their smart phones.
So what's been going on with mobile and money? The biggie on this front is Sponsored Stories -- Facebook's euphemistic term for the mobile ads that show up in News Feeds of a brand's fans and their friends. This effort should come with a dollar sign attached to it. During the second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said that as of late June Sponsored Stories were generating about $1 million a day, with half of that coming from mobile. That would give Facebook about $182 million in annual mobile revenue, a strong start for sure.

Facebook's ads in mobile News Feeds

    But the company has been pushing hard on this front, and by now that figure should be bigger. In August, for instance, Facebook began a test in which brands can pay to have their sponsored posts show up in Web and mobile News Feeds of Facebook users who have no connection to the brand. That was a surprising move, given Zuckerberg's concern for not cluttering up people's News Feeds. But now that he has investors and employees to please, something's gotta give. Let's hope Zuckerberg sheds some light on the money behind all this -- and, importantly, on whether users are getting irked by all these ads.
Facebook has gone even further with its push for money from mobile. Consider:

• App ads for all. In August, Facebook began letting some developers buy ads in mobile News Feeds as a way to drive more people to their apps. Last week, which was already into the fourth quarter, it opened that up to all developers, so clearly the company sees promise here. "This seems like a killer mobile ad unit," says Brian Pitz, an analyst with Jefferies & Company. "What developer wouldn't want to be able to buy downloads? Many would be willing to pay $2 to $5 per download, maybe much more."
• Mobile ad network. Just before the quarter ended, Facebook began testing a mobile ad network through which it's selling ads that appear on apps or mobile sites you visit outside of Facebook, which is certainly helpful on the not-cluttering-up-your News Feed front. The ads are targeted based on your Facebook data, just as Facebook is doing with Web ads on Zynga.com. Facebook has been mum about this to date, and I wouldn't expect much detail since the effort is nascent. But this a big opportunity. Just look at Google's AdMob, which Pitz expects to generate as much as $2 billion in revenue this year.

     Speaking of big, what about Instagram, the startup Facebook bought in a stock and cash deal that sank in price with Facebook's stock -- from $1 billion to $736 million when it finally closed in September? Instagram, as Zuckerberg said over the weekend at Y Combinator's startup school, is "killing it," with more daily usage than Twitter. Yet we still haven't heard Facebook's money-making plans for Instagram. One word: Plastic
    Facebook has also been hard at work trying to get your credit card on file (beyond those it has from people playing games) with two recent features -- the ability to send gifts to friends, and the ability to pay to have your post featured atop people's News Feeds. The first one has promise, with Facebook watchers pointing to it as evidence of the company's inevitable march into commerce, but thus far -- survey says -- the second one is a dud.
Either way, both are too new to add up to much, although I expect some questions -- and hopefully answers -- about the prospect of Facebook and commerce. Not just with Gifts, which Facebook is now making money from, but the just-launched Facebook Collections, which lets you collect images and buy of products from seven retail partners, although so far Facebook isn't taking a cut. There's also Facebook Offers, a way for merchants to send Groupon-like deals to your News Feed and which Facebook just started charging businesses for in September.
    "One thing that I'm looking for -- and it very likely won't be backed by any metrics on this call -- is any discussion of movement into non-advertising revenue streams," said Jed Williams a senior analyst with BIA Kelsey, a research firm focused on interactive media.
It's easy to see how many of these new products could fit together, especially with Facebook now out to prove itself as a mobile-first company. On mobile, Facebook knows your location and, for example, what restaurants you like, making the Offers potentially powerful. Remember, too, that Facebook in the spring bought the startup TagTile, a mobile-based customer loyalty business that offers local merchants a Square-like device for customers to tap on with their phone when they check out.

Yet even with all these new efforts, this is an incomplete rundown. And at this point, it's hard to accuse Zuckerberg of not paying enough attention to the business side of things. More immediately, Facebook needs to show that it's not getting too hurt from Zynga's problems (Zynga provided more than 15 percent of Facebook's revenue in the second quarter) and, above all, that its ad business is healthy and growing.
June brought the launch of Facebook Exchange, which lets advertisers better target users on Facebook by tracking what else they do across the Web. The system has won praise from ad partners such as Triggit, who say Exchange has made their ads on Facebook far more effective, so expectations are high on this front. And this naturally leads to ongoing speculation that Facebook will create its own third-party ad network that, through Facebook Connect, would tap into your social connections to sell targeted ads across the Web.
The problem, of course, is that many of these opportunities -- like the promise of Facebook getting into search -- take time to build out. And patience isn't something Wall Street has at the moment, especially when it come to Facebook.

Office 2013 now free to new buyers of Office 2010 and 2011

Microsoft is tempting Windows and Mac users to buy the current versions of Office by offering a free copy of Office 2013 when it is released.

 

   Buy Office 2010 or 2011 now, and you'll get a free copy of Office 2013 later.
   Unveiled on Friday, Microsoft's Office Pre-Launch Offer is good for anyone who buys the current version of Office between October 19, 2012, and April 30, 2013. That includes Windows users who purchase Office 2010 and Mac users who pick up Office 2011.
   The steps are relatively simple. After you install and activate Office, just pop an e-mail to Microsoft to receive a reminder. Microsoft will alert you once Office 2013 is available, giving you the ability to download and install it for free.
   A variety of Office suites qualify for the freebie, including Office Home and Student 2010, Office Professional 2010, and Office for Mac Home & Student 2011. Individual 2010 applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, also qualify. Buyers can find the full list of eligible titles under the Qualifying Office Products section on the Microsoft Office Pre-Launch Offer Details and Terms page.
Depending on your current version, you can then grab a free copy of Office 365 Home Premium, Office Home and Student 2013, Office Professional 2013, or another variation.
You have until May 31, 2013, to redeem your offer. Microsoft hasn't spilled an official launch date for Office 2013, but the new version is expected to debut early next year.

   Microsoft has changed its strategy with Office 2013 by offering standard retail prices and subscriptions.
For example, Office Home and Student 2013 (which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) costs $139.99. Office 365 Home Premium (which adds Outlook, Access, and Publisher to the mix) costs $8.33 per month, or $99.99 per year, for a five-user subscription.
Office 2013 also imposes stricter requirements than its predecessors. The software supports only Windows 7 and Windows 8. XP and Vista users will have to stick with their current Office suite or upgrade their operating system to grab the new Office.

Facebook to discontinue Questions feature

 Cnet report confirms that Facebook is slowly pulling its Questions feature out of the picture. A Facebook representative said that the decison has been made so that Facebook could focus on other things. The Questions feature will be unavailable for user access soon, it will still be available on Groups and Pages. Facebook Questions, which was launched in beta in 2010, allowed users to ask their friends and other Facebook contacts mutiple-choice questions, thus enabling users to poll there friends and the Facebook user base at large.

The report added further, “Search, in particular, has been a pretty hot topic for the company in the past few months. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said that Facebook is "pretty uniquely positioned to answer a lot of questions people have." It's sort of "friend mining" -- as CNET pointed out last month -- extracting specific answers to a question by mining the immensely data-rich social graph.”

Discontinuing Questions

In related news, Facebook is offering Rs 50 worth of mobile talk time to its selective users in India joining the social network through referrals. The system is very new, and the program in India is one of the tests being carried out. As confirmed by Kevin D'Souza, Country Growth Manager, Facebook, the amount of recharge will vary from user to user and place to place.

D’Souza went ahead and also confirmed that the offer was for users coming through referrals. He was quoted as saying at a press conference, "We keep on trying new things. Because we do not know what will work. This is one of the tests. Just to get a feel of it, this particular test is being done in India.”

Only this week, Facebook’s "The Anti-Virus Marketplace" or The AV Marketplace got updated to accommodate seven new partners to its existing network of security companies. What this means is that now Facebook users will be able to download software from avast!, AVG, Avira, Kaspersky, Panda, Total Defense, and Webroot. Users will also have access to new anti-virus software for their mobile devices from many of Facebook's existing partners such as Microsoft, McAfee, Norton, TrendMicro, and Sophos. A user can download free anti-virus software for his or her PCs, Macs, and mobiles from the AV Marketplace.

If you have been spotting a slightly different looking top navigation bar in your Facebook account, then you are among the chosen few on whose profiles Facebook is testing it. Inside Facebook now reports that some users have been spotting a rather different-looking top navigation bar, in which the Search bar has been pushed closer to the company logo. The icons to view friend requests, messages, and other activity notifications have been moved further right on the bar. In fact, closer inspection reveals that Facebook has completely done away with the 'Home' button. Users viewing the test design have to click on the Facebook logo to go to their news feed.
Facebook introduced to user profiles in the recent past remains the Timeline.

Most companies won't be early adopters of Windows 8

There was once a time when the launch of a new Windows operating system was a huge deal for the technology departments in many businesses. Not anymore. Microsoft Corp's release of Windows 8 on Friday is likely to be a non-event for most companies -- and some experts say many may never adopt it.

The system may appear to offer something for everyone: touch-screen functionality for tablet enthusiasts, a slick new interface for the younger set, and multiple versions to make it compatible with traditional desktop PC software.

Many businesses, though, say there is no compelling reason to adopt. Indeed, a large number have yet to make the transition to Windows 7 from Windows XP.

Redesigned Windows 8 may not be adopted by companies soon

"Windows 8 is, frankly, more of a consumer platform than it is a business platform, so it's not something that makes any sense from a business perspective at this juncture," said Doug Johnson, head of risk management policy at the American Bankers Association, whose members are among the world's biggest technology buyers. "There is really no additional business functionality that Windows 8 gives you that I see."

For most of the past two decades, that sort of comment about a new version of Windows might have set off panic in Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters. Not now. Windows 8, in a stark reflection of how the technology business is changing, will rise or fall on how it is received in the consumer market.

That doesn't mean Microsoft executives are publicly saying they won't be going after enterprise customers with the radical new version of its flagship product.

"The lines between the consumer and the enterprise are blurring," said Ron Markezich, head of Microsoft's Enterprise & Partner Group. "Business customers are looking forward to Windows 8 because they don't have to compromise between tablet and PC."

But Microsoft's main goal is to show it can master the new touch-optimized, mobile forms of computing pioneered by Apple Inc and Google Inc. Its colorful, action-packed advertising for the system are aimed at a young, free-wheeling audience, and its new Surface tablets are being positioned squarely as consumer devices.

LUKEWARM

Corporate customers have been lukewarm about the product even after test versions have been available for more than a year.

Car maker Volkswagen, which only last year moved 60,000 PCs onto Windows 7, is not planning to make another drastic shift anytime soon.

VW's head of IT, Martin Eickhoff, said his team was "excited to evaluate the new tablet features" but would wait until Windows 8's release to assess its potential benefits.

That's not unusual, as corporations generally test a new system for 12-18 months before planning to adopt it, meaning enterprise take-up of most versions of Windows -- except for the unpopular Vista -- have only usually happened two or three years after launch.

This time even that pattern might not happen.

Michael Silver, an analyst at technology research firm Gartner, expects minimal corporate adoption over the life of the new system: "We believe 90 percent of large organizations will not deploy Windows 8 broadly, and at its peak, we expect about 20 percent of PCs in large organizations will run Windows 8," he said.

WINDOWS RECEDES

This may not be a huge problem for Microsoft.

For one thing, the company gets 40 percent of its overall revenue from multi-year licensing deals with enterprises -- companies, government departments and universities -- which typically give customers rights to the newest version of its software.

Essentially, Microsoft gets paid regardless of what version of Windows many big customers actually use.

And Windows is also declining in financial importance for Microsoft, although the sales of PCs often determine the strength of Microsoft's earnings. Five years ago, it accounted for almost 30 percent of Microsoft's sales. Last year it was 25 percent.

Microsoft's success in selling to businesses, in the short term at least, depends less on Windows than on its Office products and its fast-growing server and tools division.

One institution that has made an early move to Windows 8 is Seton Hall University in New Jersey. The school has already deployed tablets and laptops running pre-release versions of Windows 8 to its freshman and junior classes -- with help from Microsoft, which subsidized the effort with free consulting time.

"The benefit of the upgrade to Windows 8 for me is that it's touch friendly. Lots of the devices that we have in the community could benefit," said Stephen Landry, Seton Hall's chief information officer.

Landry said his students overwhelmingly liked the new system, after a brief training session, but he acknowledged that many of his peers in higher education were not ready to move so fast.

"Talking to a lot of CIOs, they are not ready to jump into Windows 8 with both feet yet. They are taking a wait-and-see attitude. They are thinking 'That's a lot of work, I need to upgrade System Center (Microsoft's IT management platform), I need to have a little different process for managing the back end.' A lot of CIOs I've talked to, they are saying I'm not really seeing a benefit."

Steven Hanna, chief information officer of Kennametal Inc , an industrial parts and tools manufacturer based in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, said his company has only just moved onto Windows 7, and has no plans to introduce Windows 8 broadly in the near future. But he may deploy it selectively for employees who can make use of the touch-screen, such as traveling sales reps.

"The mobility for the sales force, to put all the material and the ability to do basic transactions in their hands, is going to be a phenomenal driver for us," said Hanna. "We're doing some piloting with iPads, but I'm excited to see the Windows stuff come out."

This appears to be the most likely route for Windows 8 into the workplace. But even this will not be simple because Windows 8 is really two operating systems.

The standard Windows 8 for devices with Intel Corp x86 chips will run old Microsoft applications and generally fit seamlessly into companies' networks and security systems, just like any Windows PC. But Windows RT, the version for devices powered by ARM Holdings chips -- such as Microsoft's new Surface tablet -- will not run legacy applications and require more work to integrate.

MOVING FROM XP

Even as it launches Windows 8, a key priority for Microsoft is to get customers off the decade-old Windows XP -- which still runs on 41 percent of the world's 1.5 billion PCs. For the last three years, it has urged enterprise customers to move to Windows 7, and it has said it does not expect organizations to drop those plans because of Windows 8.

That effectively means many companies will downgrade new PCs to run on Windows 7, not 8, over the next few years.

But if people start bringing Microsoft's new Surface tablet to work, or any of the other new Windows 8 devices, Microsoft is hoping corporate IT managers will welcome them with open arms.

"Some organizations, when they look at Windows 8 Intel tablets, they are going to like them because they are manageable," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent consultancy that helps customers understand the company. "When they look at RT they are going to be disappointed, because it's no easier to manage than an iPad."

Borderlands Legends for iOS to be released this month

It has been a month since Gearbox’s role playing shooter – Borderlands 2 – made its way to the shelves, and now the company is setting its eyes on the handheld gaming market. According to Eurogamer, Borderlands Legends will be making its way to iOS devices later this month. The game is set to star the characters from the first game – Lilith, Mordecai, Roland, and Brick. It will also feature thousands of weapons to collect – presumably randomly generated ones.

Information about the iOS version of the game was revealed through an advert in the official strategy guide for Borderlands 2. Gearbox is yet to officially announce Borderlands Legends. The game will have you kill enemies for cash, buy weapons, earn experience, level up and unlock new abilities. It will also feature unique skill trees for all characters. A unique addition to the handheld game will be a “strategic cover system”, along with “randomised” missions.

Borderlands Legends will be seeing a release this month

Recently, information on what could possibly be the second major downloadable content for Borderlands 2 was leaked thanks to the trophies added in to the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The DLC, named Mr Tongue’s Campaign of Carnage, is speculated to be another big campaign mission that will be the second DLC for the game’s Season Pass.

There are three trophies that have been added to the game for Mr. Tongue’s Campaign of Carnage which reveals the objective “Long Way to the Top”, some side missions, and a trophy for collecting hidden pictures of Moxxi – a character who had her own DLC for the first Borderlands. So far, there has been no word from Gearbox about the DLC, so it could be weeks or months before release.

Gearbox had confirmed the Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty DLC earlier this month. "You can sense the pirate theme across the landscape, even though there's no water," said Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford. "It's all dried up. It feels more like Tatooine than an ocean. These bandits have really embraced the pirate lifestyle, and there's the legend of a treasure. That kicks off this whole adventure that the players can go on."

Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty is the first major DLC released for Borderlands 2 and will be included in the Season Pass. The DLC by itself is costs $9.99 (around Rs 524), but players can also buy the Season Pass for the game, which includes all four planned major DLCs and costs $29.99 (Rs 1,574 approx).

The Mechromancer DLC was recently released for those of us who hadn’t pre-ordered the game. The DLC contains a new character called Gaige the Mechromancer. Like every other class in the game, Gaige the Mechromancer also has a special ability called Deathtrap, which is a robot she can summon to presumably go on a murderous rampage against her enemies. Her three skill trees are Best Friends Forever, Little Big Trouble and Ordered Chaos. Gearbox has made her skill tree available on the skill calculator so you can get a closer look at her skills.

Borderlands 2 is available in retail stores for Rs 999 for the PC version, and Rs 2,499 for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 versions. The PC version of the game is also available on Steam for $59.99 (around Rs 3,100).

Apple drops Java after experts warn Mac users

    Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is removing old versions of Oracle Corp's (ORCL.O) Java software from Internet browsers on the computers of its customers when they install the latest update to its Mac operating system.
    Apple, which has previously included Java with installations of Mac OS X, announced the move on its support site. It said that customers need to obtain Java directly from Oracle if they want to access web content written the widely used programming language.
Apple did not provide a reason for the change and both companies declined to comment.
Java is a computer language that enables programmers to write one set of code to run on virtually any type of machine. It is widely used on the Internet so that Web developers can make their sites accessible from multiple browsers running on Macs or Microsoft (MSFT.O) Windows PCs.
Two years ago both companies said they had agreed that Apple would one day stop providing Java software to Mac customers and that would Oracle to take on that responsibility. They did not provide a date for that transition.
   Apple is implementing that change in the wake of a Java security scare that prompted some security experts to caution computer users to only use Java on an as-needed basis.
Security experts in Europe discovered Java bugs in late August that hackers had exploited to launch attacks. It took Oracle several days to release an update to Java to correct those flaws.
Adam Gowdiak, a researcher with Polish security firm Security Explorations, said on Friday that he has since found two new security bugs in Java that continue to make computers vulnerable to attack.
Gowdiak said that removing Java from Mac browsers reduces the risks of an attack.
(Reporting By Jim Finkle; Editing by Richard Chang)

iPhone users driving nearly half of smartphone Web traffic

Apple iPhones generate about 46 percent of mobile traffic, with about 3 percent made by the iPhone 5 alone, according to Chitika

.

iPhone owners really are driving a lot of Web traffic. Online advertising network Chitika determined that nearly half of all Web traffic via smartphones is generated by the various versions of the iPhone. The iPhone 5 alone creates 3 percent of the total smartphone usage, while older versions of the device make about 43 percent.
By comparison, Samsung devices make up 17 percent of traffic, with the Korean handset maker's flagship phone, the Galaxy S3, generating 2 percent of total smartphone Web usage.

earlier this month determined that the iPhone 5 was already generating more Web traffic volume than the Samsung Galaxy S3. The company found that of "millions of mobile ad impressions" it recorded on the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3, more than half -- 56 percent -- originated from Apple's handset. Samsung's smartphone nabbed 44 percent of the total impressions. According to the company's data today, the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 already surpass the Web traffic from all BlackBerry users, which totals 2 percent. Windows Phone users, meanwhile, make up only 1 percent of online usage.
Apple and Samsung largely dominate the smartphone market, and the two have been bitterly fighting to grow their positions. Smaller vendors, meanwhile, are simply vying to become the third-place contender. BlackBerry and Microsoft's Windows Phone devices have largely lagged the bigger two rivals, as have other Android handset makers.
Here's the breakdown:
• iPhone 5: 3 percent
• Other iPhones: 43 percent
• Samsung Galaxy S3: 2 percent
• Other Samsung phones: 15 percent
• Non-Samsung Android: 34 percent
• BlackBerry: 2 percent
• Windows Phone: 1 percent

Microsoft will let you reserve a Surface tablet, says report

Microsoft's retail stores are reportedly doling out reservation passes for the new Surface RT tablets, so buyers can be assured of getting one on the October 26 launch date.

Microsoft is reportedly offering reservations for its Surface tablet.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET )

Looking for the new Surface tablet? You may be able to reserve one at your local Microsoft store.
A forum user of blog site WPCentral reportedly picked up a reservation pass at a Microsoft Store in Oregon. As displayed by WPCentral, the pass indicates that a Surface RT tablet has been reserved for the customer.
The only requirement is that the person must reach the Microsoft Store before 12 p.m. on October 26, the day the tablet goes on sale. At that point, "your Surface will be ready for you to purchase."
The Microsoft store employee had a stack of possibly 150 to 200 passes, according to the forum user, who said that his pass was numbered 002, a possible sign that the reservation program had just kicked off.
CNET contacted Microsoft for confirmation and will update the story when we hear something.

Using such a reservation system, scoring the entry-level Surface RT tablet at your closest store may be a better option than snaring one online.
The $499 32GB version without a Touch Cover shows a ship date of three weeks on Microsoft's order page. But the $599 32GB and $699 64GB models, both with the Touch Cover included, indicate a delivery date by October 26.
Buyers who pick the $499 edition but want a Touch Cover will have to shell out an extra $120 for one. Opting instead for the more tactile-feel Type Cover keyboard would cost you an extra $130.
Of course, Microsoft stores aren't quite storming the country just yet, so your closest one may be a few hundred miles away. The Microsoft Store Web site currently lists 23 stores across 14 states.

New Samsung Chromebook's 3G model costs $330

The device got lost in the announcement of a new Chromebook yesterday, but Samsung's site says it will come with 100MB of free 3G data.

The new Samsung Chromebook.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET )

The latest Samsung Chromebook does, in fact, come with a 3G version. And it's more expensive than the Wi-Fi-only model.
Samsung today posted the Chromebook 3G on its Web site for $329.99. For that price, customers get all of the features available in the Wi-Fi-only model, including an 11.6-inch screen, 2GB of memory, and 16GB of storage, but will have the ability to get on the Interwebs when away from a Wi-Fi signal.
That said, there is a caveat: Samsung is offering only 100MB per month of free 3G data. And that's only for a period of two years.
Google announced the Wi-Fi-only Samsung Chromebook yesterday. That device retails for $249. In order to qualify as a Chromebook, computers must be running Google's Chrome OS, an operating system built on Linux, but runs applications in the Chrome browser.

Developers, Android users get early look at Firefox Marketplace

Mozilla has opened its Firefox Marketplace app store for the first time in its latest test Aurora build of the browser for Android, asking early adopters and developers for their feedback.

Android device owners and developers are the first to get to see Firefox Marketplace.

Mozilla has opened its Firefox Marketplace, with Android device owners and developers getting the first access to the browser's app store. Firefox Marketplace.
The access arrived yesterday in the release of the latest "Aurora" build of Firefox for Android. Aurora is meant for developers and early adopters, as it is the test stream of Mozilla's browser. The storefront lets people find and install Web applications delivered via the browser, and gives developers a place to publicize their apps.
"We're hoping that Aurora users, our awesome early adopters, will go experience the Firefox Marketplace on their Android phones and let us know what they think," Mozilla Labs engineering manager Bill Walker said in a blog post.

• ...

Apple may phase out iPad 2 to make room for iPad Mini

The iPad 2 may be on the chopping block as Apple streamlines its iPad lineup, says an analyst with Evercore Partners.

(Credit: CNET )

Tablet buyers may see the iPad 2 sink away as the iPad Mini prepares to surface, says Evercore Partners analyst Rob Cihra.
Chira said he thinks Apple could phase out the iPad 2 because the company's vision leads toward "clearer product tiers," according to AppleInsider. Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Mini at a launch event on October 23.
Launched in March 2011, the 16GB iPad 2 is currently available through Apple at a price of $399 for the Wi-Fi only version and $529 for the Wi-Fi + 3G edition. In contrast, the new iPad starts at a price of $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version and shoots up to $829 for the 64GB model with Wi-Fi and 4G.
Apple has teased at a smaller iPad, using the term "we've got a little more to show you" on the invites for the October 23 event. But the company hasn't yet officially announced any such device, so there's been only speculation about it. Some reports say the smaller tablet will sport a 7.85-inch screen with the entry-level model offering 8GB of storage and Wi-Fi only access and a price tag of $249.
A few rumors have pinned November 2 as the date the new tablet will go on sale. A "source close to Apple's supply chain" reportedly confirmed that date to TechCrunch as well.

Cihra predicts Apple will sell close to 7 million iPad Mini devices in the current quarter, adding up to total iPad sales of 26 million.
Looking at last quarter, he's estimating iPad sales of 17 million. That's just under a consensus found among 61 analysts polled by Fortune. With a low of 14.8 million and a high 23 million, the average forecast among the analysts was 18.38 million, while the median was 18.13 million.
Apple is set to report its latest quarterly sales and earnings on October 25.

What you need to know about Windows 8

Windows 8 brings new terminology, iPad trade-ins are on the rise, and a gadget adds sound effects to costumes.

Brace yourselves: Windows 8 is coming. Today's tech news roundup goes over the new Windows operating system, available Friday Oct. 26. Be sure to read up on CNET's complete guide to using Windows 8 before upgrading. And if you are in the market for one of the many Windows 8 computers, don't get tripped up by the different versions of Windows 8. Just remember: Anything with "Windows RT" will not run your older Windows software. The Windows RT version of the Surface tablet is already facing shipping delays. However, if you live by one of the 23 Microsoft stores, you can reserve a Surface for pickup on Oct. 26.
Windows 8 isn't the only thing we're bracing for next week. Apple will announce details about the iPad Mini on Tuesday, and as usual, CNET will be covering it live. iPad trade-ins are heating up before the big announcement. You'll find that buy-back sites pay more on Apple gadgets before a new product launch, so get your quote now. And if you choose to sell it to NextWorth, you can get 10 percent more on iPods and iPads with the code "MINI" at checkout.
There are only a few more days left to prepare for Halloween. A new gadget from ThinkGeek can spice up your costume with sound effects. The Mega Stomp Panic comes loaded with sounds for a zombie, gigantic monster, cowboy, knight, pirate, and two types of giant robots.
My favorite sounds were of the city-stomping monster, spurs on the gunslinger, and hydraulics of robot legs (awesome for any Iron Man costume). And, of course, who doesn't love the Mario-like sounds of the video game hero!