Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Bug reveals 'erased' Snapchat videos

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 02 Januari 2013 | 23.58

28 December 2012 Last updated at 06:00 ET

Videos sent via smartphone app Snapchat - which should disappear after a few seconds - can be preserved with easy to find tools.

Snapchat has proved popular as it deletes sensitive or risque photos and videos after a short delay.

But tech news site Buzzfeed has found that videos sent to iPhones can be stored using a workaround.

Snapchat said such "reverse engineering" was always going to be possible.

Media browser

Using a widely available file-browsing computer program Katie Notopoulos, a staff reporter at Buzzfeed, found that Snapchat and its Facebook equivalent Poke could be used to copy videos temporarily stored on handsets before the apps have been used to view them.

The ability to send video via Snapchat was introduced on 14 December.

When videos were loaded but not opened Ms Notopoulos discovered it was possible to get at and view these copies when users connected their iPhone to a computer and used a file browser to look through its internal memory.

If videos were not viewed, she found, they were stored in a folder called "tmp" by Snapchat or "mediacard" on Facebook's Poke. Copying the files in these folders to a hard drive stopped them being automatically deleted.

Snapchat is also available on Google Android phones. Ms Notopoulos did not try to find out if videos were preserved in the same way on such smartphones. However, earlier in December Snapchat did issue a patch for a bug that put permanent versions of unwatched videos into the media gallery on Android phones.

Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel told Ms Notopoulos that those who enjoyed the service the most would not go to such lengths to view videos.

"There will always be ways to reverse engineer technology products - but that spoils the fun!" he wrote.

Facebook later added that: "While Pokes disappear after they are read, there are still ways that people can potentially save them... because of this, people should think about what they are sending, and share responsibly."


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Microsoft research boss steps down

28 December 2012 Last updated at 07:08 ET

Microsoft's research boss Craig Mundie is stepping down ahead of his retirement in 2014.

A 20-year veteran of the company Mr Mundie has overseen the work of Microsoft's security programme and R&D.

He was picked for the role by Bill Gates in 2008 when the Microsoft co-founder ended his day-to-day involvement with the firm.

Prior to retirement Mr Mundie will act as a senior adviser to Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

Team talk

Since 2008 Mr Mundie ran Microsoft Research, its Trustworthy Computing programme and its technology policy group. These roles let him decide where Microsoft spent its sizeable research budget and how it improved software security.

Responsibility for these roles has now passed to Eric Rudder, formerly Microsoft's chief technical strategy officer.

As an advisor to Mr Ballmer, Mr Mundie will work on "key strategic projects" within Microsoft and liaise with government and businesses "on technology policy, regulation and standards" according to his updated biography on the Microsoft website.

The Seattle Times reported that the move was part of efforts by Mr Ballmer to install a team that could help Microsoft cope with an increasingly mobile and web-centred industry.

Mr Mundie is the second senior executive to step down at the firm in less than a month.

In November Steven Sinofsky, then head of Microsoft's Windows division, left unexpectedly. His departure came only weeks after he choreographed the launch of Windows 8, the most recent version of its flagship operating system.

As the public face of Windows 8, Mr Sinofsky was expected to stay and oversee the continued development of the software and future versions of Windows.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wikipedia's most searched revealed

28 December 2012 Last updated at 08:50 ET

A study of 2012's most read Wikipedia articles reveals striking differences in what proved popular across the different language versions of the online encyclopaedia.

Facebook topped the English edition while an entry for adult video actresses did best in Japan.

Hua Shan - a Chinese mountain featuring "the world's deadliest hiking trail" - topped the Dutch list.

By contrast, cul-de-sacs were the German site's most clicked entry.

The data was published by a Swedish software engineer Johan Gunnarsson as part of the Wikitrends project. His home land's most viewed article was a page dedicated to Sweden itself.

Sex and vampires

Lower entries on the lists also proved revealing.

While articles about Iran, its capital city Tehran and the country's New Year celebrations topped the Persian list, entries about sex, female circumcision and homosexuality also made its top 10.

An overview of Egypt topped the Arabic language version and was followed by a history of Muhammad Ali Pasha - the Ottoman army commander who became the country's ruler in 1805. He is viewed by many as the founder of the "modern" nation.

Continue reading the main story

1. Facebook

2. Wiki

3. Deaths in 2012

4. One Direction

5. The Avengers

6. Fifty Shades of Grey

7. 2012 phenomenon

8. The Dark Knight Rises

9. Google

10. The Hunger Games

Sport featured prominently in the Indonesian edition with football, volleyball and basketball all coming within the top seven articles.

Italy appeared more obsessed with US television. Grey's Anatomy came out on top, and Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries followed shortly after.

The Russian version was led by an article about the country followed by one about YouTube. But entries for "porn site" and "unemployment" may provide greater insight into local users' lives.

Unusual results included the @ symbol making it into second place in the Spanish language edition, a type of Japanese holly topping the French list, and The European Regional Development Fund coming in third in Poland.

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber managed to make both the Danish and Norwegian top 10s, but was trumped by British boy band One Direction who appeared in the English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Danish lists.

Thailand snaps

Elsewhere, Facebook's photo sharing service Instagram - which did not make any of Wikipedia's top 10s - has published its own round-up of 2012.

The firm has focused on locations rather than themes.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport came out on top with more than 100,000 photos taken there, followed by the city's Siam Paragon shopping mall.

Thailand only recently held an auction to award 3G mobile network licences, and has instead focused on providing free wi-fi connectivity. It already has more than 200,000 hotspots and the government has announced a target of covering 80% of the country by May.

The Next Web tech blog suggests local habits had also aided Instagram's local popularity.

"Many mobile internet users in the region didn't spend much-time (or any time at all) using PCs, so their mobile or tablet is their single portal to the web and always-on web access is something new to them," wrote Jon Russell.

The US took the next seven of the top 10 spots thanks to snaps taken at California's Disneyland, New York's Times Square; San Francisco's AT&T Park; and Los Angeles' International Airport, Dodger stadium, Staples Center and Santa Monica Pier.

Paris's Eiffel Tower was the only European location to make the list.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tech visionaries make honours list

28 December 2012 Last updated at 19:00 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Video games legend Ian Livingstone, Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox and Imagination Technologies' boss Hossein Yassaie all feature in the New Year Honours List.

Mr Livingstone, life president of Eidos and co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy books, is being made a CBE.

Ms Lane Fox - who now acts as the prime minister's digital champion - receives the same recognition.

Sir Hossein is being knighted "for services to technology and innovation".

Over the past two decades he has helped build up his computer chip-designing company from about 40 employees to 1,300 and a market valuation of over £1bn.

Video game campaigner

News of Ian Livingstone's honour coincides with his 63rd birthday.

It also comes just over 30 years on from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain's release - the first in a series of role-playing game (RPG) books which he helped write. Readers were asked to make choices or roll dice to determine which page they would turn to next, creating the storyline.

The format influenced many video game makers, and Mr Livingstone himself went on to found Eidos Interactive - publisher of the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex games.

"I'm genuinely humbled to get something," he told the BBC.

"My life has been all about games, and I think we learn an awful lot through play.

"Writing Fighting Fantasy books with Steve Jackson in the 1980s seemed to have got a whole generation of children reading again. And I'm delighted that what we created not just manifested itself in interactive books but it's actually inspired people to join the computer games industry."

Mr Livingstone takes a back seat at Eidos these days - it is now controlled by Japanese gaming giant Square Enix - but he continues to wield influence.

Earlier this year he co-authored "Next Gen" - a report highlighting the "poor quality of computer teaching" in the UK's schools.

It helped convince UK Education Secretary Michael Gove to order an overhaul of information and communications technology (ICT) classes in England to give a key role to programming.

"It's so much better to teach children to create technology rather than just being passive users of it," said Mr Livingstone.

"At the moment ICT does nothing more than simply teach children what are effectively office skills. We teach them effectively how to read but not how to write.

"If we get them to code that's brilliant - it's not just about writing games. It's fighting cybercrime, and about creating the next jet propulsion engine."

Digital crusader

Martha Lane Fox launched Lastminute.com in 1998 with her business partner Brent Hoberman.

Running the holiday, entertainment and gift site proved a bumpy ride.

Its stock market listing was quickly followed by the dot com crash. But Ms Lane Fox remained managing director until 2003, only resigning after her firm had reported its first year's full profit.

She said she wanted a new challenge.

This involved becoming patron of several charities, and in 2009 her appointment as the Labour government's "digital inclusion champion". The brief was to make the public more "tech savvy" and help people get online.

The following year the new coalition government expanded and rebranded the role, making her the UK digital champion.

Ms Lane Fox went onto to spearhead October's introduction of gov.uk - a single domain collecting together various government websites. Its aim is to make it easier for the public to access services while saving the country millions of pounds in running costs.

The honours list says she is recognised for voluntary services to the UK Digital Economy and to charity.

"I am so lucky to have been working as digital champion for the last three years," she told the BBC.

Continue reading the main story

Sir David Payne (Knighthood) - helped develop an optical amplifier which lets the internet transmit data at high speeds.

Sir Kenneth Grange (Knighthood) - industrial designer responsible for the Kodak Instamatic camera, the Kenwood mini mixer and the Intercity 125 train.

David Cleevely (CBE) - telecoms expert who advised regulator Ofcom about how to mange the radio spectrum.

Barry Cox (CBE) - chairman of Digital UK, which led the UK's digital TV switchover that will allow the launch of new 4G mobile data services.

Prof Peter Fraenkel (MBE) - co-founded Marine Current Turbines, a Bristol-based firm working to use the sea's tides as a renewable energy source.

Michael Terrett (CBE) - chief operating office at Rolls Royce who played a key role in developing its Trent aircraft engines.

"Spreading digital skills is vital for the UK and I am delighted that our work has led to the creation of both the government digital service within the Cabinet Office and the charity Go On UK."

Graphics powerhouse

Sir Hossein moved from Iran to the UK in 1976.

Wanting to go to university he was frustrated to discover he needed A-Levels first - a problem he overcame by completing his courses and exams in just six months.

After studying at Birmingham University he worked on chip architectures in Bristol before joining Hertfordshire-based Imagination Technologies in 1992.

Six years later he became the firm's chief executive and has helped it grow into a FTSE 250 company.

The firm licenses, rather than manufactures, most of its inventions.

It may not be a household name but some of the products that use its PowerVR GPU (graphics processing unit) designs are Apple's iPhones and iPads; various Samsung Galaxy handsets and tablets; and a range of devices from Sony and LG.

Sir Hossein says that over one billion products have shipped with his firm's technologies inside, 300 million of those in the last year alone.

"Clearly the UK is not a strong place for 'brand' companies," he told the BBC.

"A lot of top brands out there are either American, or Japanese or Korean. But what the UK is very good at is creating technologies and know-how that is needed for these products.

"I certainly hope that going forward the country can do better in other parts of the food chain. But certainly in underlying technologies I think the UK is the leading country in terms of providing intellectual property and technology for a lot of the new things that are happening around us."


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan briefly lifts YouTube block

31 December 2012 Last updated at 05:59 ET

Pakistan lifted its block on YouTube - but only for a few hours.

The ban was imposed in September 2012 following violent protests in the country and around the world over an anti-Islam video on the website.

YouTube was unblocked on 29 December following government work on a filtering system designed to stop people seeing blasphemous material.

However, when the filter proved ineffective the Pakistan government re-imposed its blanket ban on the site.

Deadly protest

The lifting of the ban was widely expected after Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik sent a tweet saying the country's ISPs were about to be told to lift the ban.

The September block followed the publicity around a translated version of a video called Innocence of Muslims that sparked protests over its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed. The original version of the amateur film was put on YouTube in July.

In Pakistan protests over the film led to 20 deaths and caused significant damage in many cities.

In a separate tweet, Mr Malik said the ban could be lifted because the government had signed a deal to buy "powerful firewall software" that would "totally block pornographic and blasphemous material".

Many Pakistanis had lodged complaints about the ban on YouTube because it also affected use of Google's Android mobile phone services.

Minutes after YouTube was lifted influential media commentators found that it was still possible to watch Innocence of Muslims and other blasphemous material on the site, reported the New York Times. In response, the prime minister ordered ISPs to reinstate the block.

The swift reaction drew more criticism from politicians, media and bloggers with some calling the whole episode "idiotic".


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sony stops making PlayStation 2

31 December 2012 Last updated at 07:11 ET

Sony has ended Japanese production of its best-selling PlayStation 2 (PS2).

The hardware first went on sale in March 2000 in Japan and since then more than 150 million PS2 consoles have been sold.

The PS2 was so popular that it outsold its replacement for the first three years that the PlayStation 3 was available.

By ending production, Sony has fuelled rumours it is putting manufacturing resources towards the PlayStation 4.

Empty shelves

Although Sony is ending production in Japan this does not mean no more games will be produced for the PS2.

For instance, another instalment of the Final Fantasy series, called Seekers of Adoulin, is due to be released in March 2013. In total, about 11,000 games are believed to have been made for the gadget over its 12-year lifespan.

Japanese gaming and entertainment site Famitsu reported that Sony has told the nation's retailers that it will not provide any more PS2s for sales in shops. Once existing stock is sold no more will be forthcoming.

Sony has yet to say whether it will stop production for other territories as well.

The PS2 is credited with being the best-selling game console of all time and its wide use is also thought to have aided the popularity of DVDs as a drive for the disks was built in to the machine.

Despite rumours that Sony will make announcements about the PS4 in mid-2013, the firm has not given any official details of the specifications of the hardware nor when it might be released.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Digital sales break £1bn barrier

2 January 2013 Last updated at 06:20 ET
Adele singing at the 2012 Brit Awards

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

There has been a sharp growth in film and music downloads

More than £1bn was spent on downloaded films, music and games in 2012, the highest annual total.

Sales increased 11.4% from 2011, meaning that a quarter of the entertainment market is now digital.

But figures released later by entertainment retailers will also show a big drop in physical sales - more bad news for high street shops.

Sales of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and video games fell by 17.6% in 2011 although they still make up most of the market.

Kim Bayley, director general of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), which will release the figures, said that breaking the £1bn barrier was an "incredible achievement" for retailers.

"This reflects their huge investment in new and innovative services - which means you can buy music, video and games literally at any time of the day and wherever you are.

"At the same time I suspect that many people will be surprised to learn just how resilient the physical business still is - with three-quarters of entertainment sales still on disc.

"Downloads offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality and tangibility of a physical product."

Geoff Taylor from UK music industry body the British Phonographic Industry credited the Jubilee and London 2012 Olympic Games for showcasing British music around the world and driving up sales.

"But market conditions at home remained difficult and pressure on the 'leisure wallet' impacted music sales on the high street," he added.

Continue reading the main story

Dave Lee Technology reporter


On the surface, it's been another buoyant year for the entertainment industry.

Such healthy figures could lead some to wonder if the threat of piracy - which saw the industry locked in legal to-ing and fro-ing with internet providers throughout 2012 - is perhaps overstated.

But in truth, the entertainment industry still has a huge battle on its hands. By far the biggest slice of its income is via physical sales - and these continue to decline.

In its quest for new revenue models, the music industry's move to offering its artists' material on streaming services - such as Spotify - has been a popular one, with 3.7 billion streams by British fans in 2012.

But revenue from these services is miniscule when compared to actual sales, leaving the entertainment industry looking over its shoulder - more so in 2013 than ever before.

"The quality of our music and digital innovation by UK labels means we have excellent potential for domestic growth and to increase our share of the global music market.

"We hope government will recognise the potential of digital music to contribute to economic recovery and provide more active support in 2013."

More than half of the digital sales went on video games, which grew 8% to £552m.

Films and music had a smaller share of the digital market but sharper growth - downloaded films up by 20% and music by 15%.

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said: "The entertainment industry has been struggling to adapt to the digital age.

"And while consumers are now paying for downloads, that's not making up for the rapid fall in high street sales."

Sales of video games in shops were particularly badly hit, with retailers blaming a lack of compelling new titles, he added.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Paris Apple store hit by heist

2 January 2013 Last updated at 06:32 ET

Armed robbers broke into a central Paris Apple store on New Year's Eve, stealing goods with an estimated value of one million euros (£813,000).

The police said that four masked men forced their way into the shop.

It comes as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg claims that the theft of Apple goods has contributed to rising street crime figures in the city.

The Metropolitan Police told the BBC the trend towards stealing gadgets was "significant".

Thieves broke into the Apple store behind the Paris Opera at around 21:00 (19:00 GMT) on Monday, three hours after the shop closed.

The police did not confirm the value of the goods stolen by the robbers, who escaped afterwards in a van.

A spokesman for the police union Unsa told reporters: "As the majority of police were busy watching the Champs Elysees [for New Year's Eve celebrations], the robbers took advantage of this opportunity."

Street crime

The theft comes as the desirability of Apple goods among street criminals is being blamed for a rise in crime figures in New York.

According to the New York Police Department, some 3,890 Apple products were stolen in 2012, pushing crime figures up and prompting Mayor Bloomberg to say that thieves in the city were showing a preference for Apple goods.

His press secretary later said that if the jump in stolen Apple products was removed, crime figures would have been down for the year.

According to London's Metropolitan Police, street criminals in London are increasingly targeting easy-to-steal gadgets, although they do not provide a breakdown of the brands most favoured by thieves.

"In general the more you paid for a gadget the more interest it will be to street robbers," said a spokesman.

"We are constantly reminding people to register their goods," he added.

What police have seen, he said, is a change in the profile of victims as thieves become less likely to steal cash and more likely to steal phones which are "highly sellable on the second-hand market".

"Victims now are far less likely to be a bashed-up pensioner and more likely to be a young professional who has had a phone grabbed out of their hand or pocket," he said.

One of the most high-profile Apple store break-ins in the capital was a smash and grab at Apple's flagship Covent Garden store in October 2011. A gang of motorbike thieves broke into the shop, stealing up to £75,000 worth of goods.

Two men were later convicted of robbery.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chinese 'pirate search engine' shuts

2 January 2013 Last updated at 08:43 ET

Gougou.com, one of China's most notorious pirate content search engines, has been shut down.

It follows the site being added to a US blacklist.

The site was run by Chinese web firm Xunlei, which had previously planned to float on one of the US stock exchanges.

The share sale was abandoned last year due to piracy concerns. Some experts think the closure could be part of fresh flotation attempt.

A few weeks ago the search engine was added to the US Trade Representative's report on major copyright offenders.

In its report the USTR commented: "This Chinese-based site facilitates the downloading and distribution of pirated music and movies, not only through deep-linking services, but also by offering cyberlocker facilities and through its own innovative high-speed P2P [peer-to-peer] file-sharing system".

Visitors to the site are now greeted with a bilingual note which reads in English: "Gougou.com has been closed down. Thank you all for your support, and we are sorry for any inconvenience.

The Tech in Asia blog had described the service as "China's most notorious search engine".

It noted that sites using similar names were still in operation.

It marks the latest Chinese business to address intellectual property concerns after appearing on the US blacklist.

E-commerce marketplace Taobao has worked with rights holders to ban some counterfeit goods from sale and has promised to further simplify its complaint procedures.

The US said the Sogou search engine had also been dropped from this year's list after making "notable efforts to work with rights holders" to tackle the appearance of pirated files in its results.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ground-breaking OLED TV on sale

2 January 2013 Last updated at 09:25 ET

LG has launched a 55in (140cm) OLED TV - kickstarting a battle over the next-generation of high-quality screens.

OLED - which means organic light-emitting diode - is more energy efficient than LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma-based alternatives.

LG's model will be sold in South Korea first with other markets, including Europe, to follow thereafter.

Both LG and Samsung announced 55in OLEDs last year, but LG is the first to make its available.

The firms showcased their televisions at last January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, but until now neither company had managed to get a product to market.

LG's headstart on its rival helped give it a 5.4% share price boost on Wednesday.

The 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) OLED television will sell for 11 million won ($10,300; £6,300). Analysts said the technology was unlikely to become more affordable until at least 2015 - but that this latest release was more about cementing LG's position as a market leader.

That said, global sales of OLED televisions are expected to grow to 1.7 million by 2014, according to research firm DisplaySearch.

Bendy

OLED screens have been touted as the successor to the popular liquid crystal displays (LCD).

The technology allows for the display of darker and deeper blacks, and can be made thinner than competing display methods.

Smaller OLED screens are already in mass distribution. Samsung uses the technology in its smartphones, and Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld console also utilises the thin, light technology.

Many predict that OLED screens will allow for the development of a new generation of "bendy" gadgets, some of which are expected to be unveiled over the course of the year.

But larger OLED screens have proven difficult to manufacture due mainly to cost and reliability constraints.

Another technology, known as 4K, has also been given a lot of attention from manufacturers.

Dubbed "Ultra HD", 4K offers 8 million pixels per frame - four times the resolution of 1080p high-definition displays - making it particularly well suited for extra large screens. 110in (279cm) models are expected to be put on show at CES next week.

Existing 4K TV sets are LCD-based. But according to some purists, OLED offers a richer quality display so might be better the better option for 55in screens.


23.58 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger