Thursday, 6 October 2011

Steve Jobs. 1955-2011


Apple genius loses cancer battle ...


Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56.
The visionary genius who masterminded Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes passed away yesterday surrounded by family members.
A statement by Apple's board of directors read;
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today, Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."
Apple's homepage has a full page image and the text Steve Jobs, 1955-2011.
A link leads to additional text by Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, in a memo written to Apple staff. The text reads;
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being."
"Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."


Story Source: http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/

Sunday, 2 October 2011

Amazon unveil first tablet


Kindle Fire will sell for £130



Amazon has launched it's first multimedia tablet, which it hopes will rival Apple's iPad.
Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos announced the Kindle Fire's arrival in New York yesterday.
The tablet will run a modified version of Google's Android operating system and will be capable of multitasking, allowing the user to read and listen to music at the same time for example.
The Fire features a 7 inch IPS, (in-plane switching) screen, a dual core processor, 1024 x 600 resolution and 8GB internal storage.
The biggest selling point of the Fire, which weighs 413 grammes, must be the price, $199, (£130 app), although UK pricing is yet to be confirmed.
Shipping will begin on November 15th in the US.
Story Source: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2112874/amazon-tablet-undercuts-apple-ipad-usd199-retail-price

Latest Google Chrome update


15.0.865.0 Beta released



Google Chrome released their latest update yesterday, (August 30th, 2011).
15.0.865.0 Beta offers one box searching, thumbnails of your top sites, incognito mode and safer browsing.
Google Chrome is available for Windows XP / 2003 / Vista / Windows7 / XP64 / Vista64 / Windows7 64 and offers multiple languages.
Check it out at http://www.google.com/chrome, or for details of all the latest updates check out FileHippo.com.


Story Source: http://www.filehippo.com/download_google_chrome/

Built-in video editor added to YouTube ...


Touch up without reloading ..



YouTube have added a built-in video to their service.
Now instead of having to reload videos when changes have been made, the new editor allows users to retouch their creations without doing so.
The idea for including an editor came out of eyeballing videos that had been uploaded to the service, YouTube product manager Jason Toff told CNET.
"We noticed a lot of the videos that were uploaded to YouTube could use some polish, some basic video editing," Toff said. "We noticed a lot of videos that had extra footage at the beginning that could have been trimmed off, or some footage at the end that could be trimmed off, a lot of videos that were really shaky and could use stabilization, and dark videos, etc."

iPhone 5 October 21st release date?


More and more rumours are appearing on the net that Apple's iPhone 5 is due for release on Friday, October 21st.
Retail giants Best Buy and a leak on This is My Next both quote the October date although Apple has yet to issue an announcement.
Rumours concerning the spec of the new iPhone are also rife, with a smaller screen, 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution), a thinner, lighter case and a built in antennae being just some of the latest hearsay.
Hopefully we wont have too much longer to wait!

Story Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8744344/iPhone-5-to-be-released-on-October-21.html

Suspected UK hackers arrested


UK police have arrested 4 men in connection with e-Crime's investigation into hacker groups Anonymous and LulsZec.

20 year old Christopher Weatherhead from Northampton, 26 year old Ashley Rhodes from Kennington, North London were detained and are due to appear in court on September 7th.
Detectives also arrested a 24 yr old man from Doncaster and a 20yr old from Wiltshire for conspiring to commit offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
The arrests came as 14 suspected Anonymous members appeared in a US court. The 14 appeared before a judge in San Jose accused of being involved in a denial of service attack on Paypal in December 2010.

Story Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14760650

1 million downloads for Sky Go


Sky Go has announced that it has been downloaded over 1 million times since it's launch in July this year.

The live streaming service accounts for 85% of all traffic using the service, while catch-up programming the remaining 15%.
Sky Sports is the most watched TV channel by users of the app, followed by Sky News and Sky Sports 2.
The Sky Go app can be downloaded on a range of devices including the  iPad and  iPhone and the service is free for Sky subscribers. Non subscribers can also use the service for a fee, with prices startingat £15 per month.
Sky has recently announced its acquisition of The Cloud which will mean easier access for customers.
Holly Knill, head of Sky Player and Mobile TV said;
"As consumers increasingly get more and more familiar with viewing TV on the go, we understand that they’ll want the very best viewing experience possible.....
In the future, it will become even easier for Sky customers to enjoy Sky Go on the move, thanks to our recent acquisition of The Cloud."
She went on to say;
"Sky Go’s integration with The Cloud will allow customers to enjoy free access via thousands of wireless hotspots throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland, so they can enjoy the highest-quality streaming of the content they love while out and about."
Check Sky Go out at; http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/sky-go/?DCMP=KNC-

Story Source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/42110/sky-go-one-million-downloads

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Google Wallet launches


US ahead in the NFC tech launch



Google has officially launched 'Wallet', the first pay by phone service.
Ahead of other companies, Google Wallet launched first on the Samsung Nexus S on the Sprint Nextel network. Also partnered in the initial scheme are Citibank and Mastercard.
As other Android phones are fitted with the NFC (near field communication) technology, more like services will appear on the market.
Google also said today that it has licensed NFC technology from other major credit card companies: American Express, Visa, and Discover. This means that upcoming versions of Google Wallet will support those credit cards as well.
"In the future, our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets," said Osama Bedier, vice president of payments at Google.

Thursday, 29 September 2011

Microsoft signs Android licensing deal with Samsung


Microsoft has signed a cross-license patent agreement with Samsung Electronics that grants Microsoft royalties from Samsung's Android-based smartphones and tablets, Microsoft said in a statement on Wednesday.
Microsoft didn't disclose details on how much money Samsung will have to pay Microsoft for every Android-based device it sells. Last year, HTC, which together with Samsung dominate the market for Android-based smartphones, also signed a licensing deal with Microsoft.

The Amazon store is the real iPad killer

Amazon undercuts the iPad by charging $200 for its Kindle Fire tablet and reveals its strategy: Lose money on hardware, make it up at the store



HP Expands Enterprise Security Solutions


HP has expanded its enterprise security solutions portfolio by introducing HP ArcSight Express 3.0, HP Reputation Security Monitor, HP Fortify Software Security Center suite, and HP TippingPoint Web Application Digital Vaccine 2.0 service.


HP ArcSight Express 3.0 delivers correlation, log management, and user-activity monitoring. HP Reputation Security Monitor provides HP ArcSight clients with a real-time list of known bad IP and DNS addresses to combat attacks that exploit web application vulnerabilities. HP Fortify Software Security Center suite is an application security testing solution available on-premises or on-demand. HP TippingPoint Web Application Digital Vaccine (WebAppDV) 2.0 service offers real-time identification of vulnerabilities in Web applications, and delivery of virtual patches.
“Organizations are realizing the importance of a comprehensive risk management strategy to securing assets across their corporate infrastructures and protecting corporate reputation,” said Colin Png, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, HP Asia Pacific and Japan. “HP’s extended security portfolio provides the protection that enterprises require, while providing customers, employees, partners, and consumers with access to the right enterprise assets.”

HP released the HP Digital Vaccine Labs’ Cyber Security Risks Report, which offers clients a detailed look at vulnerability, threat and attack data for the first half of 2011. This semi-annual report helps enterprises to understand the threat landscape.

HP also introduced new enterprise services: HP Information Security Management (ISM) services that comprehensively manage security policies and processes. HP Enterprise Cloud Service (ECS) - end point threat management protects desktop and notebook PCs and servers against viruses, malware, spyware and intrusions by blocking unauthorized communication and preventing installation of unwanted programs. HP Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) services collect and log security-relevant events to provide a unified view of the security activity across an enterprise as well as generating predefined reports to demonstrate compliance with policies and regulations. HP Application Security testing-as-a-service identifies and closes security vulnerabilities in the application layer with code scanning and Web penetration services.

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Business Intelligence heads to the iPad




September appears to be the month for mobile business intelligence (BI). Just last week, IBM, SAP, RoamBI, and Pivot announced updates or new products around mobile BI capabilities. RoamBI released its version of BI for the iPad, focusing on creating an editorial environment to present data. SAP released version 4.0 of its Business Objects Edge BI software, which boasts mobile updates and geolocation enhancements.
Although there was diversity in these releases, there still seems to be one common denominator: iPad support. And today, open-source BI software provider Jaspersoft is jumping into the fray with a new SDK to bring more BI options to the mobile landscape.
Apple comprises 69 percent of the tablet market, as reported by Fortune, so iPad business users stand to benefit from the growing competition among BI vendors as well as other technical areas that are heading toward a consumerization of IT.
Combine this high market share with Deloitte's predictions that estimate more mobile devices will be purchased than PCs in 2012 and that the iOS market becomes a key strategic play for any BI company.
I discussed this trend with Jaspersoft CMO Jim Bell with regards to the mobile BI market and how Jaspersoft planned to throw its hat in ring with today's release of Jaspersoft 4.2 Business Intelligence Suite.
According to Bell, Jaspersoft is the first BI company to offer "any way you want it mobile BI for Apple" with a plan to deliver separate solutions for developers and executives.
Jaspersoft 4.2 introduces the BI industry's first open-source mobile iOS SDK for developers and comes with a "sample app"--which should be available on the Apple App Store this week--to help jumpstart new custom applications for developers that want to embed BI into iPhone and iPad applications.
The new SDK was sparked not only by the activeness of Apple's app developers but also by demand from Jaspersoft's open-source community who wanted to take their web applications mobile.
For executives who need to take advantage of BI such as business analysts or marketing professionals, Jaspersoft 4.2 includes a full-featured HTML5, touch-screen BI environment that needs no customization, can readily be taken on-the-go, and can actually make new reports directly from the device. This feature pushes the mobile BI market to a new level of information creation and not just information consumption.
Time will tell if there is going to be one single leader in this space, but there is no question that the iPad BI market is sure to see more competition and a race to find which feature set and integration strategy will hold.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20111970-62/business-intelligence-heads-to-the-ipad/#ixzz1Z9tPXtJA