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.

---

 

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.

---

(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.

---

(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.

---

(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.

---

(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.

---

(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.

Yahoo's new Windows 8-like home page

The new page utilizes larger tiles and appears geared toward touch-screen devices.

Yahoo's home page could be in for another change.

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.

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," according to AllThingsD.
Because of the huge traffic Yahoo's home page generates, any change could have a significant impact on the company and its financial state.

Five years of Android by the numbers

The Android operating system celebrates its fifth birthday with half a billion activations and counting on a "Galaxy" of different devices.

 

 

Google's mobile OS is five years young today -- Androids don't age, they just get updated and replaced -- and my colleagues at Crave UK have the full story of how Android began. I, however, wanted to look at the numbers that tell us how far it's come.
First let's take a look at the favorite metric of Andy Rubin and other Googlers -- the total-Android-activations number. The Googleplex tells us the total number hit a half billion back in mid-September, around the same time Google Chairman Eric Schmidt was quoted as saying there were 1.3 million new activations each day. Doing some quick math on the Android calculator app, I get just over 570 million total activations up to the current day. That's almost two Android devices per U.S. citizen, and quickly approaching one for every 10 people on Earth.
At the current rate of growth (taking Schmidt's word for it, of course), Android will reach a billion activations before its sixth birthday next year. That's a few years less than it took Facebook to reach a billion active users, which is pretty impressive considering that all Facebook accounts are free to set up, but few Android devices come without a price or carrier contract.

Speaking of Android devices, the most recent data I've seen puts the total number of unique Android interfaces in the wild at around 4,000, and that was in May. That figure counts custom ROMs, however, so surely there aren't that many pieces of different hardware out there. Our U.K. boys again reported on data earlier this year that put the number of unique Android devices at at least 600.
Then, of course, there are the different flavors of Android. The first two versions, 1.0 and 1.1, didn't get the cute dessert names. That started with 1.5, better known as Cupcake. Most people wouldn't get familiar with the OS until version 2.1 Eclair, however, which is still on 3.1 percent of devices today. That was followed by Froyo, which can still be found on 12 percent of Android systems, according to Google.
But chances are that if you've got an Android phone or tablet today, it's running version 2.3 Gingerbread like almost 54 percent of Android devices. That's followed by the 25.8 percent running Ice Cream Sandwich, which was slow to roll out to many devices, and has now lost its luster due to the unveiling of Jelly Bean this summer -- it's on 2.7 percent of devices.

 

 

But what to do on all those devices? Well, Android App Market AppBrain reports that there are 556,802 Android apps available right now (potential malware notwithstanding). And as for the top Android phones? Well, it's a galaxy of Samsung Galaxy devices, led by the S2, S3 and S, in that order. In fact, 8 of the 10 top Android phones are Galaxy phones, according again to AppBrain.
If the trends hold, by the time Android turns 10, there could be an activated Android device for nearly every person on the planet, but most of them will still be living in one of Samsung's Galaxies. Happy birthday, Android!

Microsoft: Skype and Messenger coming together

The Skype team is planning to replace the Messenger instant-messaging client with Skype messaging a lot sooner than many expected.

After months of leaked bits, Microsoft's Skype division is finally opening the informational tap.

We've already seen and now used the new Windows 8 Skype client. We've heard there's a Windows Phone 8 Skype client coming -- though it's still not in the Windows Phone Store and Skype reps are not sharing more on when it will be.

On November 6, the Skype team provided more information about its recently stated plans to ultimately replace Windows Live Messenger with Skype. The planned cutover date is quite aggressive: It's Q1 2013, according to a new Skype blog post.
"We will retire Messenger in all countries worldwide in the first quarter of 2013 (with the exception of mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available)," according to the post. By that time, consumers who want to use instant messaging will have no choice but to use Skype for that. (Business instant messaging will still be largely the province of Microsoft's Lync, though Lync-Skype federation is coming at some point.)
In late October, Skype officials said that Skype would most likely will replace Messenger some day, but declined to provide a public timetable. However, in October, Skype began testing new Windows and Mac beta releases that allowed users to sign in using their Windows Live ID (Microsoft Account) so they could send and receive instant messages and see presence information from those using Messenger.
On the back-end, in the months after Microsoft's acquisition of Skype was finalized, the pair have been moving Skype to use the Windows Messenger infrastructure. Storage of pictures, video and other Skype content is now happening on Windows Azure.
Once users migrate from Messenger to Skype, they will be able to use not just Skype's instant messaging, but also its video calling, Skype's landline calling capability, screen sharing, video calling on mobile phones and with Facebook friends and Group Calling, according to today's post.
The Skype team's ultimate goal is to convince consumers to leave Skype running on their machines all day and use chat as the first place they go when they sign in.

Facebook launches real-time visualization of voters

Using a feature that promotes peer updates, the social network reminds Americans to get out the vote.

Facebook's real-time visualization of people sharing that they've voted.

You may see a button on your Facebook news feed today that says "I'm a voter." The social network is sending a not-so-subtle message to its users to get to the polls on Election Day 2012.
Facebook launched the feature to remind Americans to get out and vote by sharing the update in users' news feeds. Once a you click on the button, Facebook redirects to a map of the United States that shows people across the country clicking on the button in real time.
Clicking a button on Facebook doesn't necessarily mean a person has voted, of course. But studies have suggested that activity on the social network has boosted voter turnout.

A study by the University of California at San Diego, cited by Facebook, suggests that updates reminding people it's Election Day or a visual of the clickable "I Voted" button, when associated to users' friends, turned out more votes. The researchers studied more than 60 million people on Facebook during the 2010 elections. Full details of the study can be found on U.C. San Diego's Web site.
"Our study suggests that social influence may be the best way to increase voter turnout," James Fowler, U.C. San Diego professor of political science said in a press release. "Just as importantly, we show that what happens online matters a lot for the 'real world.'"
Facebook's real-time voter map may not be an exact science, but it sure is fun. Now, don't forget to vote.

Facebook password-bypass flaw fixed

The social network corrects a flaw over the weekend that could potentially have put over a million accounts at risk of being accessed by unauthorized users.

Facebook was vulnerable to a flaw that might have allowed some users to log in without a password.

Facebook this weekend disabled a loophole that might have allowed some accounts to be accessed without a password.
The vulnerability, which was posted to Hacker News on Friday, could potentially have allowed an unauthorized user to access another person's Facebook account.
The flaw centered on e-mails sent out by the social network which contained links that, once clicked, would log a user straight into a Facebook account without the need for any secondary authentication, such as entering a password. The e-mails could be discovered through a simple Google search query, with 1.3 million accounts potentially open to the flaw, according to Hacker News.

As well as bringing up the links that could expose Facebook accounts to unauthorized logins, the search query also showed the e-mail addresses associated with accounts.
The search query that found the links -- which were only temporary and set to expire once the intended user clicked on them -- has since been disabled by Google and no longer displays any results.
Facebook engineer Matt Jones said on Hacker News that Facebook does not share the links. "We only send these URLs to the e-mail address of the account owner for their ease of use and never make them publicly available. Even then we put protection in place to reduce the likelihood that anyone else could click through to the account."
"For a search engine to come across these links, the content of the e-mails would need to have been posted online (e.g. via throwaway email sites, as someone pointed out -- or people whose e-mail addresses go to email lists with online archives)," he added.
Facebook's security system also runs "additional checks to make sure it looks like the account owner who's logging in," according to Jones.
Most of the links in the search results would already have expired, and Facebook has since disabled the feature for the time being, the engineer said.
"Regardless, due to some of these links being disclosed, we've turned the feature off until we can better ensure its security for users whose e-mail contents are publicly visible. We are also securing the accounts of anyone who recently logged in through this flow."

Windows 7 keeps growing in popularity over XP

More people continue to adopt Windows 7 as its market share rises over that of XP, according to data from Net Applications. Still, a new rival looms in the form of Windows 8.

 

 

 

Windows 7 increased its lead over XP in October.
As recorded by Web tracker Net Applications, Windows 7 scored a market share of 44.7 percent last month, a slight gain from September's 44 percent. Over the same time, XP's share fell from 41.2 percent to 40.7 percent.
Though the gap between September and October is hardly earth-shaking, the numbers show that Windows 7 is slowly grabbing more users from the now 11-year-old XP. After years of XP holding the dominant position, Windows 7 finally won the top OS spot in August, according to Net Applications.
Just a year ago, XP's share was 48 percent, while Windows 7 was resting below 35 percent.

Microsoft had been on a kick to convince consumers and businesses alike to upgrade from XP to Windows 7.
The company has often reminded users that extended support for XP will expire in April 2014. After that point, security patches and other updates will no longer be available, meaning people will be running XP at their own risk.
Microsoft has also been phasing out application support for XP. Internet Explorer 9 and 10 will not run under XP. Office 2013 will work only under Windows 7 or Windows 8.
The just-launched Windows 8 itself is still a blip on the radar as seen by Net Applications, with its pre-launch versions grabbing a share of 0.41 percent last month, compared with 0.3 percent in September. Because the new OS officially debuted just last week, it will be interesting to see the share it captures over the next several months.
Overall, Windows was king of the OS market last month with a share of more than 91 percent, leaving the Mac OS with 7.1 percent and Linux with a little more than 1 percen