Can naming, shaming curb cyber attacks from China?

 

WASHINGTON  - Targets of pervasive Chinese cyber attacks hope the latest breach of Google email will spark a robust U.S. response but Washington may find it hard to pin precise blame on China and cannot go too far against a key economic and diplomatic partner.
An aggressive stance is the only thing that forced China to budge on problems like counterfeiting or trade barriers, proponents say. Skeptics worry about adding another contentious issue to fraught ties with a major U.S. creditor and say a smoking gun is hard to put in Beijing's hand.

Sony Pictures confirms hacking of its websites

 

Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed late Friday evening that some of its websites were breached and it was working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify the attackers.
Sony Pictures, a unit of Sony, said it had begun an internal investigation into the breach.
On Thursday, a hacker group calling itself LulzSec said it broke into servers that run Sony Pictures Entertainment websites.
The breach is the latest of several security breaches undermining confidence in the company.

Shobhna Gulati quits Twitter following racial slurs

London, June 4 : A bombardment of racial abuses has compelled 'Coronation Street' actress Shobna Gulati to quit Twitter.

The star announced her departure from the social networking site a week after she expressed her shock at receiving the racial abuse.

"Errrrr twitter abuse? Not bothered really just surprised at the racial abuse and desire to try and hurt people for no reason. Thanks for the support tweet ta di do das. I think I'm giving twitter a wee rest... gob smacked," the Daily Mail quoted her as tweeting.

Shobna is a vocal anti-racism campaigner who has recently started working with groups of young people in Oldham, Manchester. However, the racial slurs that have befallen her have left her aghast.

"Set up to promote really imp writing comp with @sophie-charity, but now am one of those people who tweet when they have a poo! I don't like what it's doing to me!" she said.

"But have made some nice friendships and catch up with old friends so I won't be leaving. Just scaling back. But those who just use this to bandy their own hatred and desperation really need to look at themselves too," she added.

Soon, a smartphone app to track concussion symptoms

London, June 4 : A new smartphone application is being developed that will spot if anyone has suffered head-trauma, and if confirmed, it will automatically send an e-mail to the patient's doctor.

The application, which currently has no name as it is still being tested, could have life-saving implications, particularly for young children and sportsmen.

Like a cardio-monitor, it works by asking a series of questions and then determines the likelihood of a concussion based on the user's answers, reports the Daily Mail.

The innovation is the brain child of Dr Jason Mihalik, of University of North Carolina's brain injury research centre, and Dr Justin Smith, of the U.S. Children's National Medical Center.

The core aim behind the project has been to most effectively bridge the communication gap between team doctors and the team athletic trainers, who often are the first ones to act when players suffer concussion-like symptoms.

Tips On How To Get The Best Internet Access In Your Locality

There cannot be anything as good as using the best of what you have. The internet is a field whereby if you are not into it in a solid and sturdy way you cannot benefit anything from it. In order for you to be successful in your internet lifestyle, you need to be connected through a really good internet access.

BlackBerry Torch 2 gets generous bump up in specs, runs BlackBerry 7 OS

The original BlackBerry Torch was produced as an attempt by RIM to bring a device to market that it thought could compete with the Apple iPhone and Android models. And while the form factor was something different for RIM, it combined an area that the Canadian based company does well (physical QWERTY keyboards) with another area where the company has fallen way behind other manufacturers (touchscreen phones). While the original Torch might have worked, the specs were just not up to snuff.

Looking at the BlackBerry Torch 2, it would seem that RIM listened to the complaints from owners of the original model. Mainly, the specs have been bumped up rather sharply in many cases. The 1.2GHz processor is a big jump from the 624MHz aboard the original unit. One area where critics had a field day was with the original Torch's 360 x 480 resolution on its display. That has been raised to 480 x 640, not qHD or Retina Display material, but enough to produce a sharp, vivid image for users. RAM is increased to 768MB while internal storage is doubled to 8GB with up to 32GB more available via a microSD card. While the camera is the same 5MP as seen on the first-gen model, video can now be captured at HD 720p. The browser still defaults to WAP sites, but will now play HTML5 formatted videos. The BlackBerry Torch 2 has the new 7 OS under the hood.

RIM has yet to introduce the BlackBerry Torch 2 which means right now, it is a figment of our imagination. Speculation centers around a September release for AT&T, and this appears to be a case where the sequel is a major improvement over the original.

source: Engadget

Latest software update brings forth improved performance to the HTC Flyer

Sure there are still some people out there who decided to take the plunge by picking up the HTC Flyer despite its lack of Honeycomb, we’re sure that HTC dolled up the experience enough to make it more than usable in the meantime.

Fortunately, the Gingerbread flavored tablet with HTC’s Sense UI layered on top of it is already seeing its first software update. The new over-the-air update is being pushed out provides “improved system performance,“ which should speed certain aspects just a little but to exude an even better responsive experience. Besides the bump in performance, everything else visually remains unchanged, but nonetheless, it should keep early adopters content in the meantime.

If you haven’t received the notification just yet, you can always initiate the process manually by getting in the Android settings menu and going in the section for updates.

source: HTC Support via Android Central

T-Mobile G2x overclocked to 1.5GHz, scores high on benchmark tests

Overclocking the T-Mobile G2x to 1.5GHz produced a very high Quadrant Benchmark score

The T-Mobile G2x is one of the most highly demanded handsets launched this year. As we reported, demand has overwhelmed supply to the point that the carrier had to raise the price of the unit by $50 to prevent inventories from running bone dry. As if the dual-core Tegra 2 processor that the phone was shipped with isn't fast enough, the handset has recently been overclocked to 1.5GHz using a custom kernel that works on Android 2.2 only.

The overclocked G2x was able to score a Samsung Galaxy S II-like quadrant benchmark score of 3264. The Linpack score was about 55MFLOPS. But before you start overclocking your T-Mobile G2x, there are some negative things that could happen to your handset from speeding it up. One is that battery life, not great to begin with on most Android phones, will get even worse. And who wants to put all that stress on your brand new phone? In addition, the kernel used is in its beta stage so it is not 100% stable.

If after some careful thought you decide that you still want to go ahead and overclock your T-Mobile G2x, go akead and click on the sourcelink.

source: XDA-Developers via IntoMobile

Sprint is planning to have the BlackBerry Bold 9930 & Torch 9850 availabe in August

Although the BlackBerry Bold 9900 might not see light until September, Sprint customers on the other hand are gearing up for something truly spectacular come August when the BlackBerry Bold 9930 is positioned to arrive.

Looking at a recently leaked listing, this CDMA version is planning to become available starting on August 21, but more importantly, it shows that the Blackberry Torch 9850 (Monaco) will also be coming to the carrier as well on the same date! Rather than sticking with the Monaco moniker, it’s evident that it’ll be flaunting the already distinguishable Torch branding. Although it’s a tentative date, we’re sure that Sprint customers are hoping for the very best with no delays.

Nevertheless, Sprint’s shaping up to be the carrier of choice this summer if you want to scope out a couple of the latest smartphones coming out of RIM’s camp.

source: CrackBerry

Global launch for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is being pushed later to September?

Officially unveiled to the world early last month, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is surely expected to make some waves for RIM since it combines a tried and true form factor with touchscreen functionality, but now it appears that we’ll all need to wait even further to purchase one.

Initially, it was revealed that the smartphone would be available through a variety of carriers around the world sometime this “summer,” however, the case may no longer be that particular way. Instead, reports are seeping in hinting that the handset is going to be missing that target date and will launch in September. Come to think of it, that’s approximately a window of 4 months separating an official announcement and the actual release.

Taking into account that we haven’t seen any relatively new RIM smartphones of late, this latest unraveling places more strain on RIM’s competitiveness in the market. Summer is indeed going to be scorching, as the competition from all sides are sure to present us some worthy alternatives, that may lessen RIM’s prestige.

source: BGR

Minor 8MB maintenance update rolls out to the Samsung Infuse 4G

Still fresh on the minds of AT&T customers, especially when it was launched not too long ago last month, the larger than life Samsung Infuse 4G is seeing a minor maintenance update.

Sizing up at a paltry 8MB, which is a clear indication that it’s not going to be Android 2.3 Gingerbread from the onset, the maintenance update actually resolves one problem that targets mostly business users. In fact, it simply resolves an issue that relates to email syncing with Microsoft Exchange 2003 servers – and that’s all! Needless to say that it seemingly was a prevalent issue with those customers, but it’s still nice nonetheless to see an update roll out specifically for it.

Regardless of that, we’re still certain that handset owners are still drooling for the day when Gingerbread is finally made available, but until then, they'll have to live with Froyo in the meantime.

via Android Central

Analyst says that Apple's iCloud could seriously damage RIM

If the name Shaw Wu sounds familiar, that is because he is the analyst who continually wrote clients to tell them that a Verizon branded Apple iPhone was coming. Wu, who now toils for Sterne Agee, told clients on Friday that Apple's soon to be introduced iCloud is a game changer that will make it tough for other manufacturers to compete with the Cupertino based firm.

Android 2.3.3 update for Vodafone's Xperia PLAY & Arc packs new Facebook UI

Good news for any Vodafone customers sporting either the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY or Arc smartphones because you’re getting a wonderful surprise in the form of a new software update – Android 2.3.3 in fact!

Not only are the handsets being bumped up to the latest version of Gingerbread, but the software update packs along some additional perks that should appease owners. Specifically, it brings forth a few different bug fixes that iron out some kinks, improved voice quality, stability improvements, email/exchange setup improvements, and Sony Ericsson’s new Facebook integrated UI.

Simply going by the name of Facebook Inside Xperia, it actually places the social networking service into a variety of core apps – such as the music player, media library, camera, and address book. Basically, you can execute various things like seeing social networking statues within the address book, suggesting songs to walls, and use the “like” function on just about anything. Naturally, the timing of this update is perfect seeing that we first reported about it late last month.

However, it’s worth noting that this is a manual update – meaning, you’ll need to do it the old school way of connecting it to Sony Ericsson’s Update Service app via your PC. Indeed nice for Vodafone owners, it’s hard to say if Verizon’s Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY will be getting treated to it as well down the road.

via MobileCrunch

European launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 & 8.9 are pushed to August?

US consumers eager to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 are surely going to be treated to one svelte looking Honeycomb flavored tablet when it launches in the very near future, but our European counterparts just might have to wait much longer to check it out in the flesh. Although Samsung has not come out verify the allegations, mobile guru Eldar Murtazin has tweeted some rather surprising news about the European launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 models.

Specifically, he mentions that the two sleek tablets won’t be released until sometime in August due to some apparent Android 3.1 “issues” – albeit, he doesn’t expand on what exactly these issues are. At that point, our European friends will have to endure the long hot summer before getting a chance to pick up the new tablets. Considering that we’re only a few days away from seeing it land stateside, it makes you wonder why the tablet is still going forward with a launch if Samsung is allegedly aware about some potential kinks with it still.

Even though some might believe it to be a delay, we actually still haven’t heard anything remotely concrete regarding launch dates for the European market. Until then, European consumers will have to sit tight and watch with a gleaming gaze at those new and lucky owners over the big pond.

source: Eldar Murtazin via SlashGear

Samsung GT-S9500 codename leaks out, could be the Samsung Wave 3

The Samsung GT-S9500 could be just another phone by Samsung, but taking a closer look at the previous model names hints at one thing – it could well turn out to be the Wave 3. The codename follows in line with the naming logic used by the Korean company as its first Wave, the flagship for Samsung’s bada platform, came out under the GT-S8500 model name. The Wave II followed suit later on with a bigger screen, but feature-wise it remained with no major changes and got the S8530 codename.

The Samsung Wave III on its part is expected to launch with the latest version of bada OS which is to bring a major overhaul to the platform and changing the first digit in the codename seems like thte natural thing to do. Unfortunately, SamFirmware who found the model number, didn’t have any additional data about a release date or price. However if we combine this with version 2.0 expected to arrive this July and a couple of handsets running it to follow suit later with the first one in September and the second one in November.

source: @SamFirmware

VideoSurf can recognize videos the Shazam way

Shazam may be the app to have when you want to identify a song that you don't know, but did you hear that now you can do the same thing with videos as well? Apparently, some folks have come up with an application that lets you get detailed information about a TV show, movie, music video, or pretty much whatever happens to be rolling on a screen nearby. The app is called VideoSurf and you use it by simply pointing your smartphone's camera at the media. After capturing a short stream of video information, VideoSurf uploads the data to its mothership (read its home company's servers) where the whole magic happens.

That is the way VideoSurf should work in theory. However, the program has been getting mixed feedback so far, but a little more polishing and bug fixing might help it go viral. Right now, the app seems to be available for Verizon' Android smartphones only, but we have the feeling that the guys at XDA-Developers might be able to do something about it pretty soon. Besides that, judging by the screenshots over at VideoSurf's official web page, the app may be coming to the iPhone as well. Feel free to check out VideoSurf in action in the video below.

To download VideoSurf for Android, click here.

source: VideoSurf via MobileBurn

AT&T's LTE network to catch up with Verizon's within the next 3 years

It is no secret that AT&T is only steps away from deploying its own LTE network, but haven't you wondered if it will ever be any better than Verizon's? Well, despite the impressive speed test results that AT&T is teasing us with, it is too early to know for sure. However, Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's president and CEO, is estimating that the LTE pipelines of both carriers may be practically “indistinguishable” by 2014.

Only 5 cities will have LTE coverage from AT&T at first with ten more being added to the list by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Verizon's 4G network is growing steadily and will likely be available in over 140 markets nationwide by the end of this year. Will AT&T manage to catch up within the given time frame and will it be able to match Verizon's speeds and coverage is anybody's guess, but at this moment chances are not in AT&T's favor.

AT&T's LTE network is to debut at some time within the second half of this year with subscribers in Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Antonio to be the first ones to give it a try.

source: CNN via PCMag

Preview : Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 Preview

Introduction and Design:

We are holding a prototype version of one of the most-anticipated tablets this year, the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1, which has a lot going for it, not least because of the fact that Samsung went back to the drawing board when it saw how thin the Apple iPad 2 turned out.

Samsung's design concept in its Android devices is to keep things as thin and light as possible, for the sake of all-plastic design – just look at the Galaxy S II. Whether you like that approach or not is a totally subjective matter, some might prefer more noble materials like metal and glass for the chassis, but you can't argue that thin and light is of utmost importance in mobile gizmos.

Preview : Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9

Introduction:

“We will not be outdone!” - the bold statement made by Samsung execs after announcing the ultra-thin GALAXY Tab 8.9 and 10.1 models, barely a month after unveiling their initial variant for the next GALAXY Tab, which was supposed to come with a thickness of 10.9 mm. At just 8.6 mm though, Samsung's new tablet designs could not only come out on the same stage with the iPad 2, without having embarrassment written on their faces, but as well edge it. But as much as we are impressed by the new GALAXY Tabs' slimness, we're still far from declaring them the next big thing on the tablet market. Samsung will have to do much, much better than what it achieved last time with the first Galaxy Tab, in order to cope with the obviously daunting task of winning over some market share from Apple's pride and joy. We are convinced, however, that if it pulls it right, Samsung does stand a chance, considering that it offers one of the very few things Apple doesn't – choice.

With a duo of two more or less identical tablets, but offering different screen sizes, Samsung hopes to effectively cover both those users who would appreciate a bigger, iPad-like 10” screen, and those who would gladly stick with a more compact and lightweight gadget. Sounds good so far, but whether the company will succeed depends on how these two freshmen will actually perform. This time however, thanks to Google's Android 3 Honeycomb on board, Samsung does seem to be much better positioned from the get go. With that said, let's have a preliminary look at what the more compact Samsung GALAXY Tab 8.9 has in store!