Besides new interface, Nokia might grace Symbian with new font, called Pure

Let's face it, a lot of users, including us, thought the default Symbian Nokia sans font looked tired and archaic, and contributed a large deal to the general dislike of the platform. After announcing they will do a complete revamp of the interface by the fall, the Finns are obviously focused on uprooting the font nuisance as well.

Nokia Pure is being developed by a London typography and design house to be the new corporate font of the company. We will see it in marketing materials, as well as on manufacturer's phones, but it is unclear and probably unlikely this will include Nokia Windows Phone, as this one already has its own minimalistic font to marvel at.

Rather this has to be viewed as a sign of a larger effort to change the image and vision of Nokia on its way to regain what it lost after Apple disrupted the smartphone biz in 2007 with the introduction of the iPhone, and then Google followed suit with Android.

And it's very often the little details that make a big difference in perception. The director of brand and marketing for Studio Nokia says about the font:

"Nokia Pure is a celebration of our Finnish design heritage. We wanted to give it a natural, flowing form, while creating something that is highly functional and neutral. Nokia Pure has a clarity of purpose and as little design as possible. It’s made to celebrate human creativity."

Sounds great, now it's time to apply this creativity to Nokia's upcoming phones, and we are sold. Do you like what you are seeing in Nokia Pure?

source: Designweek via Symbian-Freak

Apple iPad 2 reaches the rest of the world, lines start forming now

Apple's iPad 2 made its offficial debut in the States, but as stores stateside suffer from shortages and delivery times have grown to the discouraging over 4 weeks, the rest of the world is getting the iPad today. Launch time is 5pm in most countries, but waiting lines have already started forming. Unlike the huge queues in the US, we're looking at smaller yet nevertheless ludicrous lines of people waiting for a gadget. The second-gen tablet will be made available in 25 additional countries today including Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany.

When it comes to pricing, there could be some differences as prices in Canada for example, start from $519 for the 16 gig Wi-Fi only model and ranging to $849 for the 64GB version with 3G radio. But this won't stop people from getting the "third post-PC blockbuster" product, will it? Especially given that no other similar product currently on the market matches that price point. But if you want a more substantial evidence than just our word for it, check out the footage and images below.

source: TwitPic and MobileSyrup

ST-Ericsson innovations cut the time needed to charge your device by half, and use various energy sources

ST-Ericsson (not Sony Ericsson, different company) said it's created the PM2300 charging solution, which will allow devices using it to top up 50% faster than the time it takes now to charge our smartphones or tablets from a wall socket. Tablets with the new technology will begin shipping in the second half of this year. The PM2300 charger achieves it by doubling the amperage to 3A, and using two smaller coils, instead of one large, allowing for up to 92% efficiency.

What was more interesting to us, though, is that this charger is part of a broader charging research effort for smartphones and other mobile devices, called Power Hub. It aims for charging from various sources, including solar, fuel cells and even kinetic or heat, as well as wireless charging.

"Using leading-edge micro and nanotechnologies, ST-Ericsson is developing  new PowerHUB solutions that will be able to draw energy from solar cells, wireless chargers and physical movement, automatically using the optimum power source or best combination of sources available at any time for maximum efficiency."  Here is the company's list of the current and future technologies that are destined for our smartphones and tablets:

We wrote yesterday about another company, which is using transparent flexible solar cells in your phone's display for charging it, so we are happy to see the all-important issue of topping up our devices is receiving enough scientific attention. More about the various wireless charging solutions you can read in our article here.

source: ST-Ericsson via Engadget

Windows Phone to outgrow iOS by 2016?

You didn't see that coming, did you? Ovum's principal analyst Adam Leach came out with a bold forecast about the future of mobile platforms saying that Windows Phone will outgrow Apple's iOS in terms of market share by the year 2016. Microsoft's platform is to have a 22.6% share, higher than the 19% projected for iOS. Android is to be the leader in that yet uncertaing postapocalyptic future with a market share of 38.7%.

"We will see dramatic shifts in dominance for smartphone software platforms, with Android storming into the lead with 38.7% market share, compared to Apple iOS’ 19%, by 2016 in AP alone," Leach noted. As uncertain as it all sounds now, the forecast takes into account Nokia's adoption of Windows Phone and all of its reverberations:

"For Microsoft the deal provides a committed handset partner that has the potential to make Windows Phone a mainstream smartphone platform. The risk to Microsoft is that other handset makers may choose not to compete with Nokia and may turn their backs on Windows Phone," Leach suggested. In any case, long-term predictions in the rapidly growing industry are risky business as RIM and HP have yet to strike back with new devices and updated versions of their operating systems, but what do you think, do you see a “three-horse race” in the future?

source: Ovum via WMPowerUser

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 to get an Android Gingerbread update, after all, but not for all carrier versions

Sony Ericsson announced that it changed its mind, and is working on bringing Gingerbread to the Xperia X10 in June or July. The update will be available through the PC sync software, not OTA, for the unlocked version.

The carrier-specific versions of the Xperia X10 might be considered on a case-by-case basis. Sony Ericsson confirmed that the sudden change of heart was due to the overwhelming demand for this update, and the work the company already did to install Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread on its upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia arc, Xperia Play and Xperia neo phones.

Good news for the Sony Ericsson Xperia 10 owners, but some functionality, like face recognition for the camera, might be lost in the process. Mediscape will also be replaced by the new media and music player widgets (check them in our preview here). The Xperia X10 will be the only one receiving the Gingerbread update from SE's 2010 crop of Android handsets, and this will be the last update for it, whereas this year's phones will continue getting whatever Google has in store for the next Android versions.

source: SonyEricsson

A multi-touch mouse for Android? PadKite does

Watching the promo video for PadKite, the first multi-touch mouse for Android, instantly reminded us of a certain “Tiny hands” commercial for a popular burger franchise, but instead of tiny, we felt like we have giant hands. The feeling should be familiar to everyone who has ever tried to click on a tiny piece of text in a mobile web browser – going back and forth and zooming in and out to finally be able to tap on the exact link. That's where PadKite comes with its mouse-like functions to solve your problems. It runs on top of the web browser of Android-running devices, and tablet support is being tested as well.

The app also allows instant searches on YouTube, as well as emailing and sharing content to your favorite social hub in a matter of seconds. Currently, PadKite is available in a beta form on the website below with support for Android Eclair, Froyo and Gingerbread, but it'll soon debut on the Android Market. Won't hurt to check it out – it's free.

source: PadKite

Samsung invests in MasterImage 3D, cell-matrix smartphones might soon follow

Samsung Ventures has invested $15 million into MasterImage 3D, the Burbank, California-based company that makes three dimensional screen overlays for TVs, phones and tablets. We wrote about them July last year when the CEO said most major manufacturers are expressing interest, and in 2011 we will see 3D-enabled smartphones in America, which has already turned true.

The technology they use is similar to the parallax barrier screens on the Nintendo 3DS, which is made by Sharp, and the one LG developed for its LG Optimus 3D and T-Mobile G-Slate devices with 3D capabilities.

MasterImage 3D, however, claims that its cell-matrix parallax barrier is superior to the striped solutions above, and provides brighter image with higher resolution and no ghosting. It already has it in a 3D-enabled cell phone in Japan - the Hitachi Wooo (yes, that's the phone's name) - and has also demonstrated it on a 7" display destined to go into tablets one day. It also has produced more than 3000 3D cinema installations.

The MasterImage 3D overlay is supposedly adding only $10-$15 to the manufacturing costs of an LCD or OLED screen for the 3D capability, that is why we are seeing prices on these handsets in line with all other high-end smartphones. It can also be turned on and off at will.

It certainly seems that Samsung is changing its mind over 3D, compared to a few weeks ago when it dismissed it as making phones bulky, but said it will be ready to produce 3D-enabled handsets, if people like them enough. Investing in MasterImage 3D seems to be the first step in that direction, considering the LG Optimus 3D, and now the HTC EVO 3D and LG Thrill 4G, have been stealing the spotlight at the MWC and CTIA wireless expos this year.

source: MasterImage & DigitalNinja

Smartphone viruses - threats, malwares and cures

Brave new world - the smartphones are taking over

Smartphones are a craze that's sweeping the world, and we are yet to see any indication this is going to change in the foreseeable future. This can only be a good thing - it gives you the chance to have the computer you dreamt of a few years ago in your pocket and do all the fancy stuff you want to do while on the go. Mind, this is only the beginning and these smart devices are getting better all the time, so more features are on the way - and more features translate into more opportunities, while more opportunities ensure that we are going to store additional and potentially sensitive information on our smartphones. And here comes the issue with smartphone security - a problem that is grossly underestimated by most users, which is really surprising given the fact that a few viruses have already managed to breach the security of various mobile OSs.

Overview of two major smartphone security problems

Our guess is that we all remember the great computer virus scare - it was the topic of an era, and all new PC users were afraid that "they would do something wrong" - so it's a bit unexplainable why the same doesn't apply to smartphones. After all, they are a mass-market product now and are devices that are inherently more insecure than our computers, at least for two reasons - first of all, they are linked to a payment plan, and almost everything we do on our smartphones - sending messages, making phone calls, browsing the net, etc - involves a transfer of money. The second reason is that we keep our handsets near us at all time, so they are more personal devices than the PC, hence we trust them more.

Payment plans as a threat

These two reasons alone should be enough for us to take smartphone viruses seriously, and yet, we don't. The first reason - the fact smartphones are designed to work with a payment plan - makes sure it's far easier to steal some money from a smartphone owner than from a PC owner. That's easy to explain - PCs are generally better protected and there are not many ways hackers can directly profit if they infect a computer. With smartphones it's different - a malware can take control of your handset and send premium rate text messages or dial premium rate numbers. The bottom end for us as end consumers is that we have to pay a $500 bill rather than a $50 one, and most people prefer to avoid such shocking surprises.

Smartphones as personal devices - yet bigger threat

The second reason - that smartphones are personal devices that we love to trust - is not to be underestimated either. After all, most people tend to store their bank login IDs or some pictures from a really good party where "some of these things happened" - things, which not many people are keen to share with the community (that's, if you are not Paris Hilton. Sorry, Paris) - on devices which are personal. And what's more personal than our dear smartphone(s)? Sure, we all have laptops and netbooks, but we don't carry them with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, right?  Not to mention that more and more people start to treat smartphones as work gadgets, and our bet is that this tendency is going to grow in the future, as these devices are bound to get more powerful. All of this spells one thing - we store a lot of sensitive information on our smart handsets, information which can be easily stolen by malware developers.

Good apps, bad apps

One more problem with smartphone security is that (at least on the surface) there is no difference between "a good app" and "a bad app" (i.e. infected one). Truth is, both "good" and "bad" apps use the same functions (like GPS, contact data, etc.) and it's generally impossible to figure out whether a certain application is infected or not simply by looking at the functions it uses. Moreover, it's reported that the vast majority of malware creators don't bother to write their own apps. This one is easy to explain - first of all, developing a program takes a lot of time and a lot of work. As hackers want to push out as many viruses as possible (because more viruses mean more money), it's not in their best interest to write their own apps. Another reason is that most of their applications are downloaded, say, 200 times, which is nowhere near enough for their needs. It's far better for them - both money- and time-wise - to tweak the code of a popular app. And that's quite easy, as all malware developers have to do is to add some "infected" code lines to an existing application. Then they republish the app in an application store - usually as a free version of an otherwise paid app - and manage to get access to your device if you download the app in question. You can read about one such instance (which was only a demonstration anyway) here.

Smartphone defenders - built-in security systems, antivirus programs and common sense

There is the simple truth that the more popular a mobile OS becomes, the more hackers start to target it. We have seen that with Windows Mobile and Symbian in the past, but the phone business is an ever-changing one, and the new generation of leaders is already here - the likes of Google's Android, Apple's iOS and RIM's BlackBerry OS are the new targets for malware developers.

Built-in security systems

However, the challenges that hackers present to those platforms are very different. iOS is a closed ecosystem and Apple limits the ways you can interact with non-native apps. Although there have been instances when its security has been breached, it's generally robust and most of the security problems on iOS gadgets are reported on jailbroken devices.

RIM, which is the creator of BlackBerry OS, claims it provides all the security its devices need and says there is no point to purchase any additional antivirus program. And the facts speak in the Canadian company's favour - BlackBerry OS is generally considered to be very secure and is the business user's mobile OS of choice. BB OS also supports full device encryption, which is definitely a plus.

Finally, we have Android. The green robot is making waves in the smartphone world, but there is an increasing number of reports (some examples you can find here, here and here) that security problems are plaguing this much loved open-source platform. This is not a massive surprise - Android is growing in popularity, so it's understandable that hackers target it more often. However, the Force is strong with this OS, and Google increases Android's security with every update, so some of these problems may be sorted out in the near future.

Antivirus programs

Now, let's take a quick look at some smartphone antivirus programs. A few of the most popular antivirus programs for PCs are also available on various mobile platforms. Among them are Symantec's Norton Smartphone Security, Kaspersky Mobile Security, McAfee Mobile Security for Enterprise and ESET Mobile Antivirus. Also, Lookout Mobile Security and Antivirus Free - AVG are frequently cited as good antivirus apps. These apps provide anti-malware protection - against Trojan horses and worms among other types of threats - as well as anti-spam and anti-spyware options.

At the end of the day it's up to you to decide whether you need a mobile antivirus program or not - some people say these mobile security apps are hard to remove and slow down the whole phone, while others claim it's of utmost importance to have an antivirus program on your smart handset. Either way, it wouldn't harm you to try out a free mobile antivirus program and see how it works.

Common sense

It's important to note, though, that as with computers, the best way to stay free from malware is to be vigilant all the time. It's in your best interest to download apps you are sure about and not to get apps like "Sex! Sex! Sex!" or "Paris Hilton Sex Tape" (sorry, Paris), because it's almost certain that these apps are infected with viruses. Common sense is man's best friend and it's of paramount importance to use it when it comes to your smartphone security - otherwise, no built-in OS security or mobile antivirus program can save your smartphone.

Nokia Astound for T-Mobile has NFC chip inside, but you'll have to turn it on

The Nokia C7, on which the Astound for T-Mobile is based, has NFC capabilities for mobile payment, remote access and info gathering, and was even used for this at the CTIA 2011 show. 500 Nokia C7s were available for attendees to use with the bCard Reader technology, which allows for scanning their ID tags when networking. You can read more about NFC in our article here.

The Nokia Astound (our hands-on here), will have the NFC chip also, but you will have to manually turn it on in the interface, for some reason:

"The Nokia Astound includes an NFC chip and the device software supports its functionality. The Astound will ship with NFC turned off, but a user can enable it by entering the device settings and turning it on."

We guess that's to prevent unnecessary battery drain if the chip was on by default, since there is not a whole lot you can do right now with NFC. Apple, Google, PayPal, and the carriers with the ISIS project, are all doing trial runs for their NFC payment systems, but the CEO of VeriFone says most of these won't enter our everyday lives before 2012, although this year will be pivotal for the NFC-related ventures in the US.

Still, with the NFC capabilities, and the recently announced live traffic updates for the free offline navigation on the slim Nokia Astound, $79.99 is becoming a very decent price for this handset, if you can stomach Symbian, although the Astound comes with the newest version that features updated browser and portrait QWERTY. It will probably receive the new interface when it is unveiled in the end of the summer, too.

source: NFCWorld & Symbian-Freak

Samsung Wave booted into Android

The Samsung Wave introduced the bada operating system by Sammy, but could it be that now, nearly a year after its launch, the handset might turn out to be capable of running Android? If you ask Polish/Russian/Belarusian developers from the Androbada project the answer would certainly be yes.

The quest to make the smartphone experience on the Wave even richer with the huge choice of apps that Android offers has not yet come to an end though. The hack uses security holes, which allow porting the operating system without affecting the security of the platform. But Android on Wave is still in its alpha form, which is plagued by performance issues including improper management of the Wave's 512MB of memory and 1GHz CPU.

We're thrilled with the opportunity, though, especially given the Wave's excellent camera and premium build materials, so we'll follow this closely, but in the meantime you're welcome to check out Android running on the Wave yourself in the video below.

source: Androbada via XDA Developers

Google tries to prevent hacking of Honeycomb to phones, won't release the source code soon

Google said in a presentation that it will delay the release of Android 3.0 Honeycomb's source code, mostly to combat efforts to port it over to phones "and creating a really bad user experience. We have no idea if it will even work on phones.", as per Andy Rubin.

Closing access to the Honeycomb source code as a step to avoid further fragmentation of the phone versions, and prevent unauthorized hacking and development, it's probably not a great idea. It's the open platform that attracts developers and ROM modders, and sometimes they come with solutions that will take Google the next version to roll out, or fix annoying little bugs.

Still, Google knows what will happen when it releases the source code, there will be a rush to port Honeycomb over to phones. and the whole interface and menus are made with tablet screens in mind. But so what? If you don't like it, you can always try it out just out of curiosity, and then revert back. Moreover, Android 2.4 will have some of the Honeycomb features, just with more phone-specific interface anyway, so that's what people will want in the end, and manufacturers give to them.

If this is actually the first step in a trial to avoid the fragmentation of Android for tablets, we are all for that, but that means the slate software development will come mostly from Mountain View, and some nice modding potential out there will be left untapped. We'll see where the future takes us. Andy Rubin was quoted to say "Android is an open-source project. We have not changed our strategy.", but it might turn out that in order to create quality experience you have to be at least somewhat closed, and that's what Google might be doing here.

source: Bloomberg via AppleInsider

Aircell announces the first in-flight smartphone, powered by Android

The open model of Google's Android is seemingly making waves in every possible sector. One such sector is in-flight communication, where Aircell has announced the first in-flight smartphone.

Their new in-cabin device, called the Aircell Smartphone, operates on the 800MHz spectrum, which is reserved for Aircell's wireless communication. Aircell reports that the device will enable passengers to "place and receive voice calls aboard business aircraft as easily and conveniently as they do with mobile phones on the ground." And that desire for familiarity is probably what led them to choose Android.

The Aircell Smartphone uses the Android OS, but Aircell doesn't specify which version it is. And that shouldn't really matter, considering that this is a shared device, and won't likely be getting heavy use beyond voice calls. Aircell's device also features a 3.8-inch touchscreen of unspecified resolution, a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth, and a physical alphanumeric keypad.

Aircell's new device will be available later this year, and will reportedly gain "rich-media features and functions in the future". As the device is a drop-in replacement for the Axxess systems currently on many business flights, we expect the Aircell Smartphone to be implemented fairly quickly.

source: Aircell via Unwired View

Zero G on Ford's factory floor

Equipois' zeroG arm helps workers manipulate heavy tools as if they were weightless.

 -- Building things like airplanes and cars takes heavy lifting for both workers and their employers: Injuries from overexertion cost U.S. companies more than $13 billion each year. Enter a Garrett Brown, an inventor who wants to revolutionize factory work the same way he revolutionized Hollywood back in 1976.
That's when he unveiled the Steadicam, a stabilization arm that eliminates jolts and shocks from camera movement. Using the same fundamentals that drive Steadicam technology, Brown invented a "zero gravity" industrial arm that attaches to heavy tools like riveters and grinders, making them effectively weightless for their human operators.

Brown teamed up with former Panavision executive Eric Golden, who recently brought the technology to market through Equipois, a Los Angeles startup.
"You can have something that weighs 25 pounds and move it with your fingertips, as if you're in space," Golden, 42, says enthusiastically.
Equipois' "zeroG" devices -- roughly the size of human arms -- are made of aerospace-grade aluminum and steel, come in two sizes, and require no outside power to operate. Instead, they simulate weightlessness by creating a counterbalance: each arm uses a large spring that pulls upward with constant force on a tool.
"The actions cancel each other out," Golden explains. "When the arm holding the tool moves, the position of the end of the spring changes to compensate for the movement. That's 20 pounds of lift on a 20-pound tool, no matter where it's positioned."
The zeroG arm uses a gimbal -- a structure to hold the tool in place while allowing it to rotate freely -- so factory workers can manipulate familiar tools the way they always have. And the arms can be mounted almost anywhere: on walls, tables, floors or mobile carts.
Although Brown developed the actual device, the idea originally came from an industrial engineer at Honda, who approached him in 2006 to ask whether Steadicam arms could be used to hold tools. Not long after, Brown and Golden met at an entertainment industry trade show. Golden wanted to find new uses for Hollywood technology -- bringing techniques from "The Industry" to heavy industry -- and believed that a Steadicam-style arm could meet a critical need on factory floors.
In early 2007, with $2 million from friends and family, Golden launched Equipois, with Brown as his top inventor and consultant. After three rounds of venture funding, Golden has raised an additional $10 million.

0:00 /5:12Making heavy equipment weightless

Equipois began selling zeroG arms three years ago to major manufacturers that now include Ford, Boeing, John Deere and the U.S. Navy. The company has 22 employees and at the end of 2010, annual sales hit $1 million. The larger arm costs about $10,000, and the smaller one goes for $5,000. The devices aren't cheap, but Golden says his customers report productivity increases of 30% to 50% percent.
"Because it uses no electricity -- just springs -- it's actually much cheaper than our current method of tool support," says Allison Stephens, a technical specialist at Ford Motor Company (F, Fortune 500) who manages the manufacturer's assembly ergonomics worldwide. Ford uses 10 zeroG arms to assist the human operators running high-torque tools to secure car parts.
"We selected jobs that had difficulties because of heavy tools, and operators who had medical visits because of that," Stephens says. "We've seen some great results -- no injuries when the arms are used. We are going to incorporate it into our engineering strategy."
James Mallon, a vice president at Humantech -- an Ann Arbor, Mich., management consulting firm focused on ergonomic engineering -- calls the zeroG arm "revolutionary."
In ergonomics, the concerns are high force and repetition. "Equipois' arm completely removes the force, but doesn't inhibit a tool's use," Mallon says. "That's hugely innovative."
Golden says his biggest challenge so far has been the global recession. "We started out slower than we could have, and there was a period a year ago when big manufacturers just weren't spending money, no matter what the investment," he says.
"We tried to get companies to try one arm, even if they really needed 20, because in 2009 it was difficult to get the money to buy any. We wanted each customer to have at least one success story from using it," he recalls. "When they started coming out of the recession, they'd know where to put their money."
Now the money is finally starting to loosen up. Golden can't wait for his customers to ramp up their capital spending: "I really feel like we're going down the right path," he says. "I would grow faster if I could."

Twitter plays musical chairs as founders' roles shift

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams (left) is reducing his involvement with the company, while Jack Dorsey steps his up.

NEW YORK  -- Twitter's transition from "cultural force" to "actual moneymaking business" isn't going smoothly. A management shift is in the works, with one of the site's creators ramping up his involvement and another quietly stepping away.
Co-founder Evan Williams, who handed the CEO title over five months ago to then-COO Dick Costolo, is rarely in the office these days. He spent most of February away from San Francisco at a ski resort, a vacation he extensively documented with photo-sharing app Instagram.

When Williams stepped down in October, the announced plan was for him to focus on product strategy. "I am most satisfied while pushing product direction," Williams wrote in a blog post at the time. "Building things is my passion, and I've never been more excited or optimistic about what we have to build."
But sources close to the company say Williams has had little day-to-day involvement with Twitter since December. (Williams did not respond to a request for comment.) On Thursday, Twitter announced a major product team hire, appointing former Google executive Satya Patel to be its director of product management.
Meanwhile, co-founder Jack Dorsey -- who served as Twitter's first CEO before being forced out in 2008, and remains a board member -- has increased the time he spends working on the venture that once spurned him. Business Insider reported this week he is considering returning the company to work on product development.
Dorsey is currently CEO of his own venture, Square, a mobile payments platform. But as Twitter celebrated its fifth anniversary this month, he fired off a nostalgic series of tweets about the company's early days -- a subject he generally stays away from.
"Jack is back and involved in a very powerful way," one source close to the company told CNNMoney. Dorsey referred a request for comment to Twitter's PR team.
Twitter is staying mum on details.
"Twitter is lucky to have the involvement of its founders," a company spokesman said. "As we said last fall, we're fortunate that our chairman, Jack Dorsey, has been able to get even more engaged in the company. His assistance has and will continue to be invaluable."
The push for Act 2: Twitter has collected more than $360 million from investors over the past four years, with its latest fundraising round valuing the company at a staggering $3.7 billion. But those with an eye on the company say the venture capitalists backing it are ramping up the pressure for Twitter to flesh out its business model.

0:00 /2:47Twitter turns 5!

Dick Costolo, who took over five months ago, has close ties to Union Square Ventures, the lead investor in Twitter's earliest funding rounds. USV backed Costolo's last company, Feedburner (bought by Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) in 2007), and Costolo was himself an early angel investor in Twitter.
Bringing in someone from the outside wasn't unexpected.
"Sometimes it's just part of the normal evolution. The founder who creates a great product has pretty much done their job," said Gil Silberman, a San Francisco attorney who has experience representing both startup founders and companies during management shakeups.
Successful founders are "brilliant mavericks and iconoclasts who don't go by the rules," he said. Running a business requires different skills: "Good company managers set company budgets, time frames, expectations and goals and meet them."
But the divorce can hurt.
Union Square Ventures principal Fred Wilson -- a key player on Twitter's board -- made a revealing comment in Jeffrey Bussgang's book Mastering The VC Game, published last year.
"I think of venture capital as a service business. The entrepreneur is your client. It's a very weird relationship, because the entrepreneur is not exactly paying you," Wilson said. "They absolutely can't fire you. In fact, you can fire them. So it's among the weirdest kinds of service relationships that one could come up with."

On tablets like the iPad, the most frequently downloaded apps are in the games, entertainment and utilities categories.

 -- Apple's iPad is just one year old, and more than 15 million customers have voted with their wallets. The tablet is officially mainstream.
But just what is a tablet good for? It's not a complete replacement of a PC and it's not a necessity for anyone who carries around a notebook or a smartphone. At best, it's a "tweener" device.
For a product category that didn't exist (except in niche form) a year ago, it's surprising how well the tablet is doing. It's as if a mainstream product appeared out of nowhere. Indeed, most tech experts underestimated how many iPads would sell in year one.
If it's not a necessity, doesn't do many things as well as a notebook and lacks the portability of a smartphone, what's the key to its success?
Perhaps the best gadget to compare with the iPad is the microwave oven, says tech writer Matthew Guay. Succeeding the conventional oven, the microwave oven could heat food faster and use less energy. Even though it wasn't as good at cooking as an oven, and it wasn't obvious why anyone would want a microwave, the microwave became a staple in practically every home, because people kept finding new ways to use this technological wonder.
It seems like the same thing is happening with tablets.
"Everyone thought the iPad needed traditional computer programs to be successful. After all, if you can't use Office, what's it good for?" Guay wrote.
And then customers bought them, took them home, and something special happened. They realized that reading eBooks or browsing the internet from their couch was nice on a tablet. They found things they would have never thought to do on a computer were fun and simple. Apps that never made sense on computers with keyboards and mice, like GarageBand and finger paint apps and eReaders, suddenly found life on a 9.7-inch slate of glass and metal.
Indeed, it turns out that a tablet needn't do everything that a more powerful PC can, according to multiple research studies on iPad usage. Rather, the tablet's main appeal lies in the approachable touchscreen interface that just about anybody at any age can pick up and figure out.
As you might expect, the top three things consumers have been doing with iPads are surfing the web, writing and checking e-mail and playing games, according to a study published last year by NPD Group. iPad owners are also watching video and reading e-books, and the device's light weight and portability make it a real crowd-pleaser, NPD found.
"While lots of choices and compromises go into the development of any product, especially something as different as the iPad, these results indicate that most consumers are satisfied with their purchase and are increasingly finding ways to interact with their iPad," NPD wrote.
Additionally, a casual poll conducted by Gadget Lab on Twitter asked the question "What do you do with your iPad?" and the majority of respondents said they used the tablet for browsing the web, reading (books and/or news articles) and social networking.
The minority of respondents to Gadget Lab's poll said they used the iPad for special purposes such as recording music, writing poetry and teaching in class from book notes.
"Read, use it to teach from (presentation notes in iBooks) and email," said iPad owner Josh Smith, in a Twitter reply to Gadget Lab. "Occasionally write up posts in bed w/ silent keyboard."
As for apps, the most frequently downloaded apps are in the Games, Entertainment and Utilities categories. However, TruVoipBuzz looked closely at the numbers and found that those top three categories only account for 46% of apps that attracted the most downloads.
The rest of the pie is divided into smaller slices: People are downloading apps from a wide variety of categories, including photography (4%), books (4%), social networking (7%), business (3%) and others.
That's the genius of the blank slate -- with nearly 400,000 apps that allow the iPad to become a toy, a TV, a medical tool for doctors, a notetaker for students and more, it caters to an extremely broad audience.

The truth about the iPad is that there is no dominant group of "joe schmos," creative customers or professional customers buying it. And if you look at it that way, the fact that 15 million iPads sold in one year isn't completely surprising, after all.

Japan reactor core may be leaking radioactive material, official says

Tokyo  -- Authorities in Japan raised the prospect Friday of a likely breach in the all-important containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a potentially ominous development in the race to prevent a large-scale release of radiation.
Contaminated water likely seeped through the containment vessel protecting from the reactor's core, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Japan nuclear and industrial safety agency.
Three men working inside the No. 3 reactor stepped into water this week that had 10,000 times the amount of radiation typical for that locale, Nishiyama said. That water likely indicates "some sort of leakage" from the reactor core, signaling a possible break of the containment vessel that houses the core.
The containment vessel is designed to prevent radioactive material from escaping into the atmosphere, even if other parts of the reactor are damaged. A rupture in the containment vessel could pose problems for workers who are trying to prevent that, depending on its severity.
The three workers who were exposed to radiation by stepping in the contaminated water had the highest levels of radiation recorded so far, said Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the plant.
The incident raised questions about radiation control measures at the plant as 536 people -- including government authorities and firefighters -- continued working there Friday, according to an official with Tokyo Electric.
Workers are undertaking various measures to prevent the further release of radioactive substances into the air and beyond.

Some 17 people have been exposed to 100 or more millisieverts of radiation since the plant's crisis began two weeks ago following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck.
A person in an industrialized country is naturally exposed to 3 millisieverts of radiation a year.
But Japan's Health Ministry recently raised the maximum level of exposure for a person working to address the crisis at the nuclear plant from 100 millisieverts to 250 millisieverts per year.
The workers had been laying cables in the No. 3 reactor turbine building's basement when they stepped in the water. It seeped into the ankle-height boots of two, according to the power company.
The workers remained in the 15-centimeter (5-inch) deep water for about 40 to 50 minutes.
Two of them were admitted to Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences: one in his 30s who was exposed to 180.7 millisieverts and the other in his 20s who tested at 179.37 millisieverts.
Nishiyama said the third man -- who was exposed to 173 millisieverts but at first did not go to the hospital because his boots were high enough to prevent water from touching his skin -- has also gone to the same research hospital out of "an abundance of caution."
The water in this location is typically boiled and has low levels of radiation, Nishiyama said.
The high measure prompted a top official with Nishiyama's agency to urge Tokyo Electric to "improve its radiation management measures."
The No. 1 reactor remains a chief concern, with the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum noting Friday that its containment vessel was experiencing "increased" pressure.
Earlier, buildups of hydrogen gas had driven up pressure that led to explosions at three of the nuclear plant's reactors, including the No. 1 unit.
Nishiyama conceded that "controlling the temperature and pressure has been difficult" for that reactor. Still, he told reporters Friday that the situation then was "rather stable," given indications the pressure was decreasing.
As to that unit's spent nuclear fuel pool, Nishiyama said the hope is to start pumping in fresh water -- rather than seawater, as has been done.
Such pools, which are distinct but tied to a given reactor, have nuclear fuel rods that can emit radiation especially if they heat, which is more likely to happen without any functional cooling system in place and when the rods are not fully covered in water.
Switching to fresh water, instead of seawater, is also a priority for the No. 2 reactor's core (as well as for its spent fuel pool), said Nishiyama. The aim is to prevent further corrosion and damage inside, which may be worsened by the buildup of salt.
Beyond the seawater/saltwater issue, water in and around the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors had "high radiation levels,"Nishiyama said Friday -- though not as high as that of the No. 3 unit.
Thursday's incident has further made the latter reactor a prime focus, and Nishiyama said Friday that "radiation levels are high" in some locales near that unit.
He said that authorities were considering "other routes" to accomplish their goals of restarting its cooling systems around No. 3, keeping its spent nuclear fuel pool in check and other aims. Later in the day, Nishiyama said authorities hadn't yet determined how to get around the obstacle.
To this end, firefighters from Tokyo and Kawasaki were expected to resume spraying toward the No. 3 reactor and its fuel pool on Friday afternoon, according to Nishiyama.
Efforts are ongoing, too, on the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 reactors -- each of which have their own concerns, though less pronounced because the units were on scheduled outages when the quake struck. None of these three units had nuclear fuel inside their reactors, though efforts are ongoing to control temperatures inside the spent fuel pools.

On Friday morning, a concrete pump truck was used once again to inject seawater into the No. 4 unit's fuel pool.

Google: Android 3.0 Needs More Work to Be Smartphone Ready

Google will not release the source code for Honeycomb, the version of its Android mobile OS optimized for tablets, until it completes work to make the software better for smartphones and other devices, the company said Thursday.
"Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites... While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones," Google said in a statement.
The company said it will publish the Honeycomb source code "as soon as it's ready" but did not say when that will be.
The comments reflect the fact that Google designed Honeycomb for tablets, devices with screens larger than the smartphones earlier versions of Android were designed for, and needs more time to tweak it for other devices, such as smartphones and TVs. Companies in the red-hot tablet sector had demanded a tablet version of Android, but now that it's arrived, open source advocates and smartphone lovers want Honeycomb, too. News stories and blog postings in the wake of the decision have pilloried Google for the delay.
"While large manufacturers already have the access to Honeycomb, small companies and developers will have to wait for some months before getting their hands on the code. It will surely [anger the] majority of open source enthusiasts," wrote Gaurav Shukla on his AndroidOS.in blog, which is not affiliated with Google.
The success of Apple's iPad last year in grabbing global attention and becoming an instant best-seller sent companies scrambling to compete with rival offerings. Device makers around the world needed an OS for the job, and many talked to Google about designing a version of Android specifically for tablets, including Samsung Electronics, which put an earlier version of Android in its first Galaxy Tab it launched last year.
Google responded to the requests by designing Android 3.0 "from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets," according to the official Google Mobile Blog.
Google's success with Android has made it a big player in mobile OSes, and its work with hardware makers around the world means it has to respond to their requests, not just move in its own direction.
Indeed, market researcher Ovum predicts Android will emerge as the dominant smartphone platform in coming years, "dramatically outperforming Apple."
"The success of the Android platform is being driven by the sheer number of hardware vendors supporting it at both the high and low ends of the market," said Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum, in a statement.

Fresh iPhone Apps for Mar. 25: MeMap, Chaikin Power Tools, VocaLive

It can be tough to keep all those location-based apps straight in the App Store – between all the check-ins, GPS monitoring and friends lists on each one, it can be easy to get lost in the chaos. That's why MeMap leads our Fresh Apps today. It integrates your social networks through Facebook and dumps all the Places, check-ins and friends into Google Maps for you. Get the rest of the details below, along with a couple of other interesting apps to take you into the weekend.

MeMap (iPhone, iPad) Free

It can be a bit of a struggle to keep track of all the location-based social networking services out there. So MeMap links up with your Facebook account instead, populating a Google map with all kinds of handy locations -- like the whereabouts of your friends and points of interest in your area. Because lots of other services connect with Facebook’s Places service, like Gowalla and Foursquare, you get the benefit of those services on your MeMap as well.
MeMap lets you check in to various places using Facebook, either publicly or privately. You can also use the app to read up on friends’ Facebook statuses and see where they’re checking-in so you can meet up with them, or find events that are happening in your area. There are a lot of features funneled into MeMap, and being free, it’s worth trying.

Chaikin Power Tools (iPhone, iPad) Free

Stock market savvy app owners will have a good time with Chaikin Power Tools, an app filled with analytical tools to monitor the market and making smart moves. The app was designed by market expert Marc Chaikin and it works through more than 20 different factors of information to help make buying and selling decisions.
The app also keeps track of outside information that can help you make decisions about stocks. You can monitor breaking news that might affect the market, and even keep up on high activity on Twitter regarding a certain stock. And, you can make your trades right from the app using optionsXpress.

VocaLive (iPhone, iPad) $19.99

Turn your iPhone into a vocal studio with a microphone and a VocaLive, a recording studio in an app. The app packs 12 different effects -- seven studio effects and five vocal effects -- and allows you to record your singing into the app. You can also use music from your device’s library as a backtrack with which to sing along.
VocaLive packs lots of additional handy features for singers, like a metronome, and you can even remove the vocal tracks from songs in your library and record your own. The app also includes 50 presets for vocal effects and allows you to set up to three of your own and sports a free version that you can sample before you buy.

Download the free Appolicious iPhone app

How One Music Startup Is Defying the Odds By Breaking the Rules

This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Every Thursday, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they're doing to grow.
Working against the notion that most online music startups are dead on arrival is newcomer Soundtrckr.
The young startup breaks all the rules; it offers listeners unlimited streaming access to 10 million songs on the web, across a smattering of mobile platforms and soon the television. Plus, Soundtrckr has social and local components on lockdown -- you can listen to the "stations" of friends or people nearby. And it costs nothing. No subscription fees, no mobile surcharge, no ads, nada. So, where's the catch?
Soundtrckr takes the similar artist, algorithmic playlist selection model that Pandora uses and has song skip limitations, so it's not of Spotify's or Rdio's on-demand ilk.
But rarely do the adjectives free and good go together to describe a single music service. Soundtrackr is an exception. It's already growing fast in the U.S. and overseas -- 35% of users are spread across the U.K., India, Brazil, Germany, France and Mexico. It's also nearing 500,000 users just three months post launch.
Soundtrckr hits at the cross section between mobile, social and local in a fresh way, creating new conditions for success, founder and CEO Daniele Calabrese tells me.
"You can tune into your friends, tune into what's nearby, and tune into discover music. That's what it's really about," he says.

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Outsourcing the Music, Holding the Ads

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"We had two choices," says Calabrese of the startup's debate between the only two legal options available for a music startup: to forge streaming deals with music labels or work with a third-party music provider. "We went with the option that brings the largest and richest experience to our users."
Soundtrckr uses MediaNet, the same company that powers MOG's music offering, as its music database. MediaNet delivers ten million tracks, with 20,000 new ones added each week, and Soundtrckr delivers the user interface and performs the algorithmic magic on-the-fly to create playlists based on artist selections.
MediaNet's services are far from free. "The arrangement is sustainable for a startup," Calabrese assures me.
Soundtrckr has raised $800,000 from private angel investors. That's not a lot of dough, but it's enough, according to Calabrese. Soundtrckr is looking at raising more funding in the next quarter to help finance growth, and to likely offset music streaming costs. No word yet on how much and from whom.
The startup plans to skip ads and subscription fees for the time being. Revenue, instead, will (hopefully) come from a recently cemented partnership with Songkick that will add concert ticket sales integration to Soundtrckr's mobile applications in May.
"There are ways to bring in revenue and still bring value to users," says Calabrese. "We want to create the best conditions, so [bringing in revenue] doesn't hurt the experience."
This means that the experience will remain entirely ad free, for now. Calabrese is against the idea of forcing users to pay to remove annoying features (like ads), but does indicate that he's keeping a close watch on mobile advertising opportunities.

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Music, Everywhere

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Already on the web, iPhone, iPod Touch, Windows Phone 7, Nokia, and in the Chrome Store, Soundtrckr is readying the release of several more applications and new features in the weeks ahead.
First up is the obligatory integrations with Twitter. Soundtrckr is not the social music experience it seeks to be without these integrations. Calabrese promises that users can expect the social add-ons to come to the iPhone application and the website next week.
A Google TV Soundtrckr application could be released as early as next week as well, and iPad and Android versions are also in the works.
The applications will be soon be everywhere, but they'll also be ubiquitous in language as well. Soundtrckr is currently available in six different languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and German. Russian and Japanese versions are scheduled for release in three weeks time.
The startup is aggressively targeting multiple distribution channels and international audiences because it believes those two factors will combine to create a cataclysmic effect that propels it to immediate popularity.
"We're going to grow fast," says Calabrese confidently. "You will hear more about us."
Images courtesy of Flickr, (e)Spry, chiarashine, lism

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Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

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The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Review: Solid Nintendo 3DS could use fresher games

Whether you're watching a Hollywood action movie in an IMAX theater or college hoops on a 3-D TV, there's no denying the wow factor of current 3-D technology. And the trend isn't lost on video-game companies — particularly Sony, which has been trumpeting the 3-D environments of recent PlayStation 3 games like "Killzone 3."
Still, big-screen 3-D isn't for everybody: Those of us with poor vision will probably never adjust to wearing 3-D glasses on top of our prescription specs.
That's why Nintendo's announcement last year that it had created eyeglasses-free 3-D was greeted with such enthusiasm. And its 3DS portable game machine ($250) lives up to the hype, creating a convincing illusion of a third dimension beyond its 3.5-inch screen.
The most dazzling demonstration, which comes installed on the device, is "AR Games." ("AR" stands for "augmented reality.") Place a card on a table, point the 3DS cameras at it — and a dragon bursts out of the flat surface. To shoot targets on the dragon, you have to move yourself around the card to find different angles.
You can also take 3-D photos and add a variety of effects. Or you can incorporate your friends' images into "Face Raiders," which morphs them onto a fleet of floating, whirling attack helicopters. Like "AR Games," it's simple, but offers a promising glimpse of what we might expect from future 3DS software.
Nintendo has assembled a solid but derivative lineup of 18 games ($40 each) to accompany the launch of the hardware. Almost all of them are based on familiar franchises, including Nintendo's own "Pilotwings Resort," a lighthearted flying game, and "Nintendogs + Cats," a lovable pet simulator.
The 3-D effect does enhance sports games like EA Sports' "Madden NFL Football" and Namco Bandai's "Ridge Racer 3D." But it feels superfluous in Capcom's "Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition" because its 3-D angles tend to block your view; it's a good game, but "SF" fans will probably stick to the 2-D perspective.
LucasArts' "Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars" delivers flashier 3-D effects: In combat, enemies burst into Lego bricks that look like they're going to burst through the screen. For the most part, though, the game plays just as well in two dimensions.
It's easy enough to switch that extra dimension on and off, and I suspect many players will make frequent use of the device's 2-D/3-D slider. If you look away from the 3-D screen, it takes a few seconds to readjust your eyes back to it. More significantly, my eyes got tired after about 10 minutes of 3-D action, so I spent more time with it turned off.
So, if the games are just as playable in two dimensions, what's the point? The 3DS launch lineup doesn't answer that question, but surely some developers are plotting software that makes 3-D more integral to gameplay.
Beyond 3-D, the 3DS does sport several new features that will delight longtime players of Nintendo handhelds. The most welcome change is a circular thumb pad — at last! — that complements the traditional plus-sign-shaped directional pad. The 3DS adds a motion sensor so you can tilt the device to control the action in games like "Super Monkey Ball 3D." And a retractable stylus can be adjusted to your comfort level.
The whole package is only slightly thicker and heavier than 2008's DSi. The biggest drawback is battery life: If you have the screen set at maximum brightness, a charge lasts just three hours.
Before release, I was unable to try out the 3DS' wireless features, which encourage you to leave the device turned on — in sleep mode — while you carry it around. SpotPass will detect wireless hotspots and automatically download information and free software, Nintendo says. StreetPass will detect other 3DS players and automatically transfer data such as Mii avatars between devices. And the Nintendo eShop, like the earlier model's DSi Shop, will let you buy and download new games, starting in May.
Nintendo's longtime dominance of handheld gaming has been threatened by the expanding presence of smartphones, especially Apple's iPhone. It will probably take more than 3-D technology to slow down the competition, so the eShop and the 3DS' other wireless goodies will be key. What the 3DS demonstrates is that Nintendo isn't going to give up the portable market without a fight.

Top 5 Online 2011 Tax Scams

You may not want to think about your taxes until Tax Day on April 15, but online scammers are already plotting to separate you from your tax refund and your identity. Scams for the 2011 tax season include promises of tax credits for charitable donations to disaster relief in Japan, malware-laden Websites optimized for search engines, dangerous e-mail, and so-called 'likejacking' techniques found on the social network Facebook.
About 19 million people have already filed their taxes at home in 2011, an increase of almost 6 percent from the year previous, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Consequently, this time of year is ripe for tax-related online scams. Crooks know that taxpayers are looking for information on deductions and tax laws. They know that this is the time of year when taxpayers submit personal information online and store sensitive financial documents on their hard drives.
Jennifer Torode, a spokesperson for the security firm Sophos, says that most of us wait until the last minute to file our tax forms. Scammers know this and "take advantage over the next few weeks to find ways to lure frantic filers into their webs," she says.
Here are five tips to help you avoid getting ensnared by tax scammers this tax season.
1. Japan Quake Scam
Among the newest scams for 2011 are bogus e-mail messages promising a tax credit applicable to your 2010 tax return if you make a charitable donation to Japan earthquake relief, according to McAfee consultant and identity theft expert Robert Siciliano. "The scam is based on the ruse being similar to a real law passed last year regarding Haiti," Siciliano said. In January 2010, Congress passed the Haiti Assistance Income Tax Incentive Act that allowed taxpayers to contribute to Haiti relief from January 11 to March 1, 2010 and claim it on their 2009 tax return. So far, the government has not established any retroactive tax rules involving this year's relief effort for Japan.
Tip: You can find many earthquake relief scams online; however, it's not clear how prevalent this particular scam is. For more information on how to make tax-deductible donations safely and effectively, consult this notice on IRS.gov.
2. Gone Phishing
One of the most popular ways to scam people during tax season is to set up Websites that look as if they are an official IRS site or a legitimate tax preparation service. "We have seen some scammers pretending to be tax preparation services, abusing brand names such as TurboTax, to obtain people's personal details," said Richard Wang, manager for Sophos Labs.
Other sites are designed to trick you into downloading a PDF file laden with malware, according to Jeff Horne, director of threat research for the security company Webroot. Horne also warns that sites may try to sneak malware onto your machine using a technique called a "drive-by download." Such sites contain code looking for exploits in your browser that will enable them to download malware onto your system without your knowledge. Merely by using a vulnerable browser to visit a site, you can be victimized with bad guys wielding this technique.
Once tax-related malware is loaded on your machine, it can set up a keylogger to track everything you type into your computer, or it can search your saved documents for keywords related to tax season such as "social security" or "1040."
Tip: The best defense against drive-by downloads is to make sure that you always use the latest version of a modern Web browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
3. Black Hat SEO
One of the tricks that crooks use to lure victims into a scam is to optimize their sites for Google searches, a technique known as "black hat SEO" (the acronym stands for "search engine optimization"). Horne suspects that these sites use resources such as Google Trends and Google Insights to discover the types of tax-related searches people are requesting. Once criminals have figured out some of the more popular keywords for this year's tax searches it's not difficult for them to optimize their bogus sites for search engines.
Tip: "Never use search engines to search for tax documents," Horne said. Instead, go directly to the government site (such as IRS.gov, USA.gov, or an individual state government site ending in '.gov') to look for tax forms and other tax information.
4. Likejacking
Facebook and other social networking sites are major targets for online scammers looking to make a quick buck off tax season. Horne says that Webroot has seen some examples of 'likejacking' in which scammers try to trick you into 'liking' their scam site on Facebook. Achieving this objective may involve hiding a Facebook "Like" button under another button on a third-party Website or exploiting a weakness in your browser by using a few snippets of JavaScript to press the Like button for you.
Once you "like" the site, an external link will show up in your Facebook news feed with a scam message such as, "I just got $500 by using this free tax preparation service." Friends who see that message may be tempted to click the link leading them to a phishing site or a spam site looking to increase its ad revenue by generating Web traffic.Note, however, that some legitimate tax preparation services are promoted on Facebook by institutions such as universities as well by individual friends.
Tip: Don't choose a tax preparation service on the basis of Facebook message attributed to a friend. At the very least, talk to the friend directly to confirm that he or she endorses the service.
3 percent of online Americans still using Internet Explorer 6, dump it for the latest version of IE available for your operating system--or use a different popular browser such as Chrome or Firefox.
3. Never use a search engine to look for government documents. Instead, go directly to sites such as IRS.gov, USA.gov, or individual state government sites ending in .gov, and search for forms there.
4. Never open or download attachments included with messages claiming to be from the IRS. The wisest course may be to refrain from opening any unsolicited tax-related e-mail message, as some poisoned messages use HTML to exploit weaknesses in your browser and initiate a drive-by download.
5. Never do your taxes over an unencrypted wireless connection such as free Wi-Fi at Starbucks. At home, even if you use the latest wireless security encryption standards such as WPA2 there, you are better off breaking out the LAN cable and using a wired connection when dealing with sensitive financial information.
6. Once you're finished filing your taxes for this year, make sure that you move all of your tax-related files for safe keeping to a USB key, an external hard drive, or some other form of removable storage. Then wipe all tax files off your computer's hard drive. Tax-related malware may lurk online long after tax season is over, according to Horne. If you happen to get infected, and you've stored your tax forms in a special folder on your PC, it won't take much for a scammer to steal your identity.
IRS Advice
The IRS also has a lot of helpful information to help keep you safe from phishing and other e-mail scams. The IRS emphasizes that it never asks taxpayers for their passwords, PINs, or other secret data relating to bank accounts and credit cards. Furthermore, never initiates taxpayer communication through e-mail. If you receive a dubious e-mail message claiming to be from the IRS, you can report it by forwarding the message without altering it to phishing@irs.gov. For more online tax security tips, check out the IRS's page on how to protect your personal information.

Fresh Android Apps for Mar. 25: Aix Weather Widget, CSPI Chemical Cuisine

Get a new perspective on the weather (Aix Weather Widget) and find out what you’re really having for dinner (Chemical Cuisine).

Aix Weather Widget (Free)

I’m hoping this weather widget shows something other than snow. I’ve had enough of that this winter.
Aix displays weather in a unique way – an XY graph. Each cell on the Y-axis is a millimeter of rain. The X-axis shows the hours in the day. Icons above show you the predicted cloud cover at that time. You end up with a line graph that gives you a gut feeling.
Remember – when you download Aix Weather Widget it won’t appear as an app on your app screen. It’s a widget that you add to your home screen directly.

CSPI Chemical Cuisine ($0.99)

Food labels are great for giving us a sense of what’s really inside the can or box, but they can be scary too.
Use Chemical Cuisine to look up the ingredients that sound like part of a laboratory experiment. You get an explainer article that describes what the chemical is, where it comes from, what it is used for, and any known issues regarding its use in food.
I dare you to use the app for a day without heading to the organic grocery store or deciding to plant your own garden.


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