Android reigns, Windows gains in smartphones: survey

A person costumed as the Android operating system mascot stands at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Thursday, April 25, 2013. AP photo

Google's Android mobile operating system extended its dominance in smartphones in the US and other major markets in early 2013, according to a survey published on Monday.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said Android was used on 49.3 percent of smartphones sold in the US market in the first quarter, compared to 43.7 percent for Apple's iOS, the operating system for the iPhone.

Android has thus boosted its lead from a year ago, when was ahead of Apple by a margin of 47.9 to 44.6 percent.

In other major markets, Android was even more dominant -- with 93.5 percent of smartphones in Spain, 73.6 percent in Germany, 69.4 percent in China, and 63.3 percent in France.

Japan was the only country in the survey where Apple was in the lead, with a 49.2 percent market share to 45.8 percent for Android.

But the survey also showed gains in several countries for a relative outsider, Microsoft's Windows Phone, following the upgraded platform introduced in late 2012.

In the United States, Windows boosted its share to 5.6 percent from 3.7 percent a year ago, Kantar said. Windows grabbed 10.9 percent of smartphone sales in Italy, 7.2 percent in France and 7.0 percent in Britain.

"As iOS and Android continue to battle it out for top selling smartphone OS, we have seen Windows steadily grow over the past year and is now at its highest sales share figure so far," said Kantar analyst Mary-Ann Parlato.

"Windows' strength appears to be the ability to attract first time smartphone buyers, upgrading from a featurephone," she said, adding that this means prospects are positive for Windows, especially in the United States.

"With over half of the US market still owning a featurephone, it's likely that many will upgrade over the coming year, which will ultimately contribute to more growth for the Windows brand," Parlato said. (WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse)

Facebook vote ends experiment with democracy

Hürriyet photo

Facebook closed the polls Monday on letting democracy rule when it comes to policy changes.

A referendum to strip Facebook users of the power to endorse or reject policy changes through popular vote was opposed by a majority of voters, but not enough people cast ballots to make the results binding.

The referendum was opposed by 87 percent of the 668,125 members who cast ballots, according to a posting on the Facebook governance site.

But Facebook had indicated that if fewer than 30 percent of Facebook's one billion users voted, the California-based firm would be free to go forward with a plan to eliminate the voting structure and integrate Instagram data for ad purposes.

Facebook bought smartphone-picture sharing service Instagram early this year in a cash and stock deal valued at a billion dollars at the time.

A week ago, Facebook asked its members to vote on an overhaul of privacy and other policies in what on Monday became the last binding referendum of its kind at the huge social network.

The social media giant, which has drawn fresh fire from privacy activists for the proposed changes on how it manages users' data, said the poll would be binding only if it gets responses from 30 percent of members -- or 300 million people.

The changes end the voting process, and also would permit sharing of information with its newly acquired photo-sharing service, Instagram.

Additionally, the changes would make it easier for advertisers and others to send messages on Facebook, limiting users' control, according to privacy rights groups.

Activists have raised a ruckus, saying the new policies, if implemented, could violate some laws or Facebook's agreement with US regulators earlier this year after complaints from privacy groups.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center urged Facebook users to vote no, saying the changes "would end user voting, remove spam blocking, and combine personal information from Facebook with data from photo-blogging site Instagram." Facebook said in a message to users last month that the vote system -- implemented in 2009 -- "resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality." Facebook's stock price tumbled after its hotly anticipated market debut in May at $38 a share, in part due to concerns over ad and revenue growth.

However, Facebook shares have rallied in recent weeks and were up slightly to $27.92 on Monday. (Agence France-Presse)

Astronomers spot oldest, furthest galaxy

AFP Photo

Astronomers using a complex system of super telescopes have caught a glimpse of what is likely the most distant, and thus oldest, galaxy ever seen -- some 13.3 billion light years from Earth.

The star cluster was observed in its infancy -- as it looked when the Universe was just three percent of its present age, NASA and the European Space Agency announced.

"We see the newly discovered galaxy, named MACS0647-JD, as it was 420 million years after the Big Bang" that created the Universe 13.7 billion years ago, a statement said.

"Its light has travelled 13.3 billion years to reach Earth." The astronomers, grouped under the joint American-European CLASH project, use the orbiting Hubble and Spitzer telescopes as well as employing massive galaxy clusters as cosmic magnifiers to find distant galaxies.

The process, known as gravitational lensing, allows astronomers to see galaxies that emit light with a brightness weaker than that of a candle on the Moon, thus undetectable directly by telescopes on Earth.

The newly discovered cluster is so small, less than 600 light years across, that scientists believe it may still be in the first stages of galaxy formation.

Our own Milky Way is 150,000 light years across.

"The estimated mass of this baby galaxy is roughly equal to 100 million or a billion suns, or 0.1 to 1.0 percent of our Milky Way's stars," the statement said.

In September, the CLASH scientists said they had spotted the Universe's oldest and furthest galaxy, using the same technique -- the previous record-holding 13.2 billion light years away.

With gravitational lensing, theorised by Albert Einstein himself, astronomers use younger galaxies that lie closer to Earth to magnify older ones lurking in the distance by bending the light they emit.

"This latest discovery has outstripped even my expectations of what would be possible with the CLASH programme," said Rychard Bouwens of the Netherlands' Leiden University, co-author of the study to be published in the Astrophysical Journal in December. (PARIS - Agence France-Presse)

Apple Unveils 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, Still Beats High-Def TV

After clapping itself on the back during a typical firework-sales-figures intro, Apple rolled out an array of new devices at its media event Tuesday afternoon, including the long-fabled MacBook Pro Retina shrink: a svelte, 13-inch, aluminum unibody laptop that brings the revised 15-inch model we saw in June down into MacBook Air country.

“The best [laptop] we have ever created [is] the 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display, and everyone has fallen in love with it,” said Apple senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller.

Then he delivered a one-line tease: “Our number one selling laptop is the 13-inch Macbook Pro.”

And out it came, a veritable carbon copy of the 15-inch Retina Pro, only smaller and lighter. In fact Schiller said the new laptop is just 0.75-inches thin, or 20% thinner — “a full one-fifth thinner” — than the prior 13-inch MacBook Pro.

How much does it weigh? Just over 3.57 pounds, or almost a pound less than both the older 13-inch Pro and current 15-inch Retina Pro. Schiller called it Apple’s “lightest MacBook Pro ever.”

“In typical Apple fashion, we take our best products and introduce something so much better, so much cooler and more capable,” said Schiller.

As expected, the IPS (in-plane switching) Retina display run at native 2560 x 1600 resolution, which Schiller accurately described as “almost double the picture of an HDTV [at 1080p, i.e. 1920 x 1080], almost two million more pixels.” Like the 15-inch Retina Pro before it, that means richer colors, deeper blacks, a 29% higher contrast ratio, a 75% reduction in reflection or glare, a 178-degree viewing angle and 300 nits of brightness.

Schiller then cued a tongue-in-cheek slide that described the new 13-inch Retina Pro as “the world’s second-highest resolution notebook display” — the highest, of course, remains Apple’s 15-inch Retina Pro, at 2880 x 1800.

Everything else about the new 13-inch Pro is as you’d expect, given this is essentially just a display shrink of the 15-inch model. On the left side, there’s a Magsafe 2 power connector, two Thunderbolt ports, a USB 3.0 port and a headphone/microphone jack. On the right side, there’s an SD card reader, HDMI video out and a second USB 3.0 port.

The laptop itself employs the same Facetime HD 720p camera, stereo speakers, a glass multi-touch trackpad and a backlit keyboard.

How much does it cost? Apple says that in its baseline configuration with a 2.5 GHz dual-core i5 processor, 8 GB memory and 128 GB flash storage, you’ll pay $1,699, making it $500 less expensive than the prior 13-inch model. (techland.time.com)

Apple’s iPhone 5: A Thinner, Lighter, Taller 4G Phone

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks on stage during an introduction of the new iPhone 5 in San Francisco, Sept. 12, 2012.

Apple announced the iPhone 5 on Wednesday, with a thinner and lighter design than previous models despite a larger 4-inch display and 4G LTE connectivity.

The iPhone 5′s pixel density hasn’t changed from 326 pixels per inch, so Apple’s still using its “Retina Display” marketing lingo for the new 1136-by-640 resolution display. The width of the display hasn’t changed either, but the taller screen allows for an extra row of icons on the home screen and for apps to show more information on the screen.

Apps will have to be optimized for the new display, and those that don’t will simply show a black border along the top and bottom edges of the screen. Still, Apple has already worked with the makers of a few apps, such as CNN and OpenTable, and if previous iOS products are any indication, developers shouldn’t take too long to adjust to the new display resolution.

Apple has also jumped on the 4G bandwagon with the iPhone 5, adding LTE support for much faster data speeds. In the United States, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless will all be offering 4G LTE iPhones, and AT&T’s version will fall back to faster HSPA+ networks in areas where 4G LTE isn’t available. (For more on wireless network nitty-gritty, and where 4G LTE will actually be available, see my post from last week.)

Although 4G LTE tends to add bulk to smartphones, the iPhone 5 is 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S, and 20 percent lighter, though it is taller to make room for that larger display. It also has a slightly different design that replaces the rear glass panel with aluminum.

For a processor, the iPhone 5 has an A6 chip, which Apple says has twice the computing power and graphics power as the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S. (Apple’s latest iPad has an A5X processor, which doubled the graphics performance, but not the CPU.)

The pixel count on the iPhone 5′s camera is the same as its predecessor, at 8 megapixels. However, Apple says it’s improved the signal processing to reduce noise, speed up capture times and improve low-light performance. The iPhone 5 also has a panorama mode that captures a 28-megapixel widescreen image as the user pans around. The iPhone 5′s front-facing camera did get a bump to 720p.

Battery life looks a bit better than that of the iPhone 4S, with the same 8 hours of 3G talk time but 8 hours of 3G or 4G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing and 225 hours of standby time. Video and music time is the same at 10 hours and 40 hours, respectively.

As expected, Apple also shrunk the dock connector in the iPhone 5. Instead of the old 30-pin connector, there’s a digital “Lightning” dock connector. No, it can’t plug into existing accessories on its own, but Apple says it will offer an adapter. (No word on whether it’ll be included, or how much it’ll cost on its own.)

Of course, hardware isn’t everything, so Apple spent a chunk of its press conference revisiting what’s new in iOS 6, the latest version of Apple’s iPhone software. My colleague Matt Peckham will have more details in a separate post coming shortly. (For older phones, iOS 6 will be available on September 19.)

Pricing and colors haven’t changed from last year. The iPhone 5 will be available in black or white, and in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models, respectively priced at $199, $299 and $399 with two-year contracts. Pre-orders start on September 14, and the iPhone 5 ships on September 21. The iPhone 4S will drop to $99, while the iPhone 4 will be available for free — both with two-year contracts as well.

(Read more: techland.time.com/)

iPhone 5 name 'confirmed' on Apple website

A search for 'iPhone-5' on the Apple site returned several articles

Official Apple site posts articles and press releases hours before launch of iPhone 5

Apple's attempts to keep details of its latest iPhone under wraps were temporarily blighted on Wednesday, after the technology giant published four articles about the "iPhone 5" on its website hours before the official announcement.

The articles – including an official press release, titled "Apple introduces iPhone 5", and an iPhone 5 tips page – appeared on the website at least three hours before Apple's press conferences in San Francisco and London.

Eagle-eyed Apple fans spotted that a search for "iPhone-5" on the company site returned the apparently inadvertent links on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the 6pm (UK time) announcement.

The slip-up is the strongest official confirmation yet that Apple will call its latest handset iPhone 5, as was widely expected.

The Apple rumours site 9 to 5 Mac also reported that a press release headed "Apple introduces new iPod Touch and iPod Nano" was temporarily available on the company's official site, although that could not be found by the Guardian.

All the links returned a dead page, suggesting that they had been launched accidentally.

The internet has predictably been abuzz with rumours about the Apple announcement for several weeks in the run up to the iPhone 5 launch.

Apple's press invitation to the announcement helped fuel the speculation, with a carefully coreographed "5" in shadowed lettering all but confirming that the new iPhone would be given a more memorable title than its predecessor, iPhone 4S.

Separately, the Guardian revealed on Wednesday that the iPhone 5 would run on the high-speed 4G network when it launches in the UK this autumn.

Major telecoms network equipment vendors – which include Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson – have been testing iPhones that work on the 1800 band 4G spectrum to be used in the UK.

Apple has had similar slipups through its website in the past.

Once, ahead of the launch of a new Power Mac desktop, the images of the product appeared on the company website, just days before Steve Jobs was to announce it.

A vacancy followed soon afterwards on Apple's site for a website editor. (guardian)

Samsung eyes record profit on strong smartphone sales

The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at the company's headquarters in Seoul July 6, 2012. REUTERS photo

Samsung Electronics said Friday it expected a record operating profit of 6.7 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in the second quarter, boosted by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphones.

The Korean firm, which is battling with Apple's iPhone and iPad for supremacy in the lucrative smartphone and tablet market, has seen heavy demand for its new Galaxy S III phone, which was introduced in Europe in May.

Samsung, the world's largest electronics company, was giving earnings guidance before official results later this month.

The predicted operating profit for April-June would represent a 79 percent rise from a year earlier. The previous highest operating profit was 5.85 trillion won in the first quarter.

The company estimated a 19 percent rise in sales to 47 trillion won in the second quarter. It did not give a net profit figure or explain its forecasts.

Analysts said the strong result was largely thanks to robust smartphone sales. These account for more than half the operating profit despite the Korean firm's continuing legal tussles with US rival Apple.

They said a strong turnaround at the flat panel operation compared with a year earlier also helped the estimated bottom line.

Gains were likely to continue into the third quarter due to strong demand both for the Galaxy S III and for mobile devices developed by its rivals.

These would boost sales of Samsung's chips and display components that are used in competitors' products.

Samsung introduced its Galaxy S III on May 29 in Europe to try to boost demand before the release of Apple's iPhone 5.

"For the third quarter, we forecast revenue and operating profit will stand at a record high of 54 trillion won and 8.5 trillion, respectively, thanks to the effect of Galaxy S III on the handset and component divisions," said Nomura analyst C.W. Chung.

Choi Do-Yeon, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities, said the company could easily reach the seven trillion won operating profit level.

"Mobile phones, rather than chips, are now Samsung's main growth engine," Choi told Yonhap news agency.

Samsung and Apple have launched dozens of legal actions alleging patent infringements against each other in 10 countries worldwide.

In the latest setback for Samsung, a US judge last week granted Apple's request for an injunction blocking US sales of Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphones.

These are made in collaboration with Google to challenge the iPhone.

Despite the courtroom tussles, analysts remained bullish about the next quarter's results.

"Concerns about the patent lawsuits and the iPhone release have already been factored in. A seven trillion won level operating profit is viable," Lim Do-Ri of Shinyoung Securities told Yonhap.
(SEOUL - Agence France-Presse)

Facebook will change ad service to settle lawsuit

In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo on a computer screen is seen through a magnifying glass held by a woman in Bern May 19, 2012. Picture taken May 19, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Thomas Hodel

Facebook Inc has agreed to allow users more control over how their personal information is used in its "Sponsored Stories" ad feature, part of a deal to resolve litigation against the social networking company.

The potential loss of revenue to Facebook resulting from the changes is the equivalent of about $103 million, in the opinion of one economist hired by the plaintiffs.

A "Sponsored Story" is an advertisement that appears on a member's Facebook page and generally consists of another friend's name, profile picture and an assertion that the person "likes" the advertiser.

Five Facebook members filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the social networking site, saying it violated California law by publicizing users' "likes" of certain advertisers without paying them or giving them a way to opt out.

Under the terms of a settlement agreement filed on Wednesday, Facebook members will be able to control which content can be used for Sponsored Stories. Facebook agreed to maintain these changes and other new disclosures for at least two years, according to court documents.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say the changes to "Sponsored Stories" are worth $103.2 million, based on an economist's analysis of the revenue each ad brings to Facebook. Those revenue figures were redacted in the court documents.

A Facebook representative declined to comment, and an attorney for the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached.

The settlement agreement must be approved by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. She must weigh whether the deal's terms adequately benefit class members.

Previous court filings had revealed that Facebook agreed to pay $10 million to charity as part of the settlement deal. The social networking company will also pay an additional $10 million for plaintiff attorneys' fees, according to the court documents.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Angel Fraley et al., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs. Facebook Inc., 11-cv-1726.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in Oakland, Calif.; editing by Matthew Lewis) (Reuters)

Facebook makes $10m charity payment to settle lawsuit

Five Facebook members filed a lawsuit in December last year

Facebook is to pay $10m (£6m) to charity to settle a lawsuit over the way it used "social" ads.

Known as a "sponsored story", the ads popped up on a user's friends' pages after the user clicked to "like" a firm's advert.

The lawsuit was brought by five members of Facebook who said the ads violated Facebook members' rights to control the use of their activity on the site.

Facebook has declined to comment on the lawsuit and settlement.

The deal with users who sued was reached in May, but court documents were made public this weekend.

The Facebook users filed their lawsuit in December 2011 in a federal court in San Jose, California, claiming that the social network had violated the state law by making their "likes" known to others without allowing them to opt out or paying them.

Multiple lawsuits
According to Reuters news agency, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is quoted in the lawsuit as saying that such friend endorsement is the "Holy Grail" of advertising.

But the judge ruled in favour of the plaintiffs.

"California has long recognised a right to protect one's name and likeness against appropriation by others for their advantage," Judge Lucy Koh wrote, reported Reuters.

The social network said the settlement funds would go to charity.

It is just another court case involving the social networking giant, which listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in May.

One of the most recent cases involves Mr Zuckerberg and the banks leading the firm's flotation being sued by shareholders who allege that the site's revised growth figures were not disclosed to all investors.

In a different case, Yahoo has filed an intellectual property lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social network has infringed 10 of its patents, including systems and methods for advertising on the web.

Facebook denies the allegations. (bbc.co.uk)

NASA to launch X-ray telescope from Pacific

01 This illustration obtained June 13, 2012 courtesy of NASA shows an artist's concept of NuSTAR, a sophisticated orbiting telescope that uses high-energy X-ray vision to hunt for black holes in the universe, poised to launch on June 13, 2012. AFP Photo

NASA is poised to launch its latest X-ray space telescope on a two-year hunt for hard-to-see objects lurking in the heart of the Milky Way and other galaxies.

The telescope was perched atop a rocket at a remote Pacific island launch site. On Wednesday, a carrier aircraft with the Pegasus XL rocket strapped underneath will take off from the Kwajalein Atoll, a horseshoe-shaped island halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

At 40,000 feet, the aircraft will release the rocket, which will free-fall for several seconds before igniting its engines for the climb to space. If all goes as planned, the refrigerator-size telescope will separate from the rocket and unfurl its solar panels once in orbit about 350 miles above Earth.

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuStar for short, focuses high-energy X-rays to peer through gas and dust in search of supermassive black holes in the center of galaxies, remnants of exploded stars and other exotic celestial objects.

While black holes are invisible, the region around them gives off telltale X-rays. NuStar will observe previously known black holes and map hidden ones. By shining a light on never-before-seen parts of the universe, scientists hope to better understand how galaxies form and evolve.

"We can view black holes and galaxies even if they're enshrouded with dust and gas. If you had high-energy X-ray eyes and you stared up out of the galaxy, what you would see is the glow of all the massive black holes sprinkled throughout the cosmos," chief scientist Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology said earlier this week.

NuStar will also hunt for the remains of ancient supernovae, stars that exploded in past centuries. If it's lucky, it'll witness a star's death throes, but such events don't happen often and the telescope will have to be pointed in the right place at the right time.

Scientists expect sharp images from the mission, which is many times more sensitive than previous space telescopes that have looked in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

After a week in orbit, NuStar will extend its 33-foot mast laden with sensors. Observations will begin about a month after launch.

The $170 million mission was supposed to lift off in March, but was delayed by a flight software issue with the rocket. To keep costs down, project managers decided to air-launch the telescope into space instead of blasting off from the launch pad, which would have required a much larger rocket.

The launch comes at a trying time for NASA's astrophysics division. Last week, the space agency killed an X-ray telescope mission because it failed to come in on budget. That mission called GEMS was supposed to launch in 2014 and would have observed many of the same targets as NuStar.

NASA is pressing ahead with its flagship astrophysics mission — the budget-busting James Webb Space Telescope considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope with the capability of peering deeper into the universe and back in time than ever. It's now expected to launch in 2018 at an $8 billion price tag. (LOS ANGELES - The Associated Press)

Apple unveils more powerful MacBooks

The new high-performance MacBook Pro boosts in speed and memory, and cost $100 less than previous versions.AFP photo

Apple on June 11 unveiled a new lineup of Macintosh laptops, including a revamped MacBook Air, the lightest of the computers, and a thinner, more powerful MacBook Pro.

The move keeps Apple, which has been dominating the market for tablet computers like the iPad, in the game against a new line of slimmer laptops using Microsoft Windows or the Google Chrome operating system.

“Today we’ve updated the entire MacBook line with faster processors, graphics, memory, flash storage and USB 3 connectivity,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
“We’ve made the world’s best portable family even better and we think users are going to love the performance advances in both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.”

Superiority of MacBook

The MacBook Air is facing new competition from PCs which have slimmed down for extra portability but Apple boasted about the superiority of the MacBook.

“Everyone is trying to copy it, they find it’s not so easy,” Schiller said, adding that the new models will see a boost in speed and memory and cost $100 less than previous versions.

The high-performance MacBook Pro will include the so-called retina display used on the new iPads, giving an extra high resolution screen.

“It is simply the best computer Apple has ever made,” Schiller said.

The 15-inch MacBook Pro will be 1.8 centimeters thick and weigh 2.02 kilos and include the retina display, described as “the world’s highest resolution notebook display with over 5 million pixels, 3 million more than an HD television. (SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse)

Flame spy virus gets order to vanish: experts

US computer security researchers said Sunday that the Flame computer virus that smoldered undetected for years in Middle Eastern energy facilities has gotten orders to vanish, leaving no trace.

Anti-virus company Symantec said in a blog post that late last week, some Flame "command-and-control servers sent an updated command to several compromised computers." "This command was designed to completely remove (Flame) from the compromised computers." Flame malicious software (malware) appears to have been "in the wild" for two years or longer and prime targets so far have been energy facilities in the Middle East, especially in Iran.

The discovery of Flame immediately sparked speculation that it had been created by US and Israeli security services to steal information about Iran's controversial nuclear drive.

Kaspersky Lab, one of the world's biggest producers of anti-virus software, said the Flame virus was "about 20 times larger than Stuxnet," the worm which was discovered in June 2010 and used against the Iranian nuclear program.

High concentrations of computers compromised by Flame were also found in Lebanon, the West Bank and Hungary. Additional infections have been reported in Austria, Russia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.

Compromised computers included many being used from home connections, according to security researchers who were looking into whether reports of infections in some places resulted from workers using laptops while traveling.

While the components and tactics of Flame were considered old-school, the gigantic virus's interchangeable software modules and targeted nature were evidence that malware is a potent weapon in the Internet era.

Computers infected with malware are typically programmed to reach out on the Internet to get updated orders from command servers controlled by hackers.

In this case, it appeared that Flame masters gave an order for the malware to vanish, leaving behind no trail that investigators might be able to follow or clues to its origin.

The self-destruct command was evidently sent after Flame was exposed and investigations commenced.

Infected computers that got the command went on to delete an array of files and then cram disks with random characters to thwart recovery of original code, according to security researchers.

It was unknown how many infected computers received the self-destruct command.

Flame was designed to suck information from computer networks and relay what it learned back to those controlling the virus. It can record keystrokes, capture screen images, and eavesdrop using microphones built into computers.

In an intriguing twist, the malware can also use Bluetooth capabilities in machines to connect with smartphones or tablets, mining contact lists or other information, according to security researchers. (SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse)

Twitter unveils new bird trademark

A man looks at a computer monitor showing the and old (L) and new (R) Twitter logos, June 6, 2012 in Washington DC. AFP Photo

Twitter unveiled a new "Twitterbird" yesterday which will be the new trademark symbol for the fast-growing company.

"Over the past six years, the world has become familiar with a little blue bird. The bird is everywhere, constantly associated with Twitter the service, and Twitter the company," said creative director Doug Bowman.

"Starting today you'll begin to notice a simplified Twitter bird. From now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter... There's no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase 't' to represent Twitter." The new bird "grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry," Bowman said.

"This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles -- similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends. Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility." Twitter, which allows its members to post brief comments, links or pictures, claims to have more than 140 million active users, with the largest number being in the United States.

A recent survey found one out of seven Americans who go online use Twitter and eight percent do it every day. (SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse)

Internet switches to IPv6, for breathing room

AFP Photo

A new Internet standard giving the global network more room to grow came into effect today, a move that users probably won't notice.

The switch occurred at 0001 GMT today, when Internet operators switched to a new standard called IPv6 that allows for trillions of "IP" numbers or addresses, up from the current 4.3 billion.

"To ensure the Internet can continue to grow and connect billions more people and devices around the world, thousands of companies and millions of websites have now permanently enabled the next generation of Internet Protocol (IPv6) for their products and services," the Internet Society, an advisory panel, said.

"Participants in World IPv6 Launch include the four most visited websites in the world -- Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Yahoo! -- as well as home router manufacturers and Internet Service Providers in more than 100 countries. By making IPv6 the 'new normal,' these companies are enabling millions of end users to enjoy its benefits without having to do anything themselves." Vint Cerf, one of the inventors of the Internet standard, who is now the "chief Internet evangelist" at Google, said the change gives the Internet room to grow.

"When the Internet launched operationally in 1983, its creators never dreamed that there might be billions of devices and users trying to get online," he said.

"Yet now, almost three decades later, that same Internet serves nearly 2.5 billion people and 11 billion devices across the globe. And we're running out of space." The full transition will take several years, and old IPv4 devices and networks should continue to function as before.

"We're proud to be one of the founding participants; virtually all Google's services have been available over IPv6 for a while, but IPv6 access was only available to networks participating in the 'Google over IPv6' program," Cerf said.

"From now on, they will be made available to any IPv6 network on the Internet (well, almost any)." Some analysts say there may some annoyances for people using older equipment, because the "path" to websites using compatible equipment may be different.

Each piece of hardware -- including home computers, tablets and mobile devices -- has a unique IP address to connect to the Web.

With about seven billion people on the planet, the IPv4 protocol doesn't allow for everyone to have a gadget with its own online address.

The situation has been equated to not having enough telephone numbers for every user.

Cisco is projecting that by 2016, there will be nearly 18.9 billion network connections, or nearly 2.5 connections for each person on earth, compared with 10.3 billion in 2011.

If there are not enough addresses, neighbors will have to start sharing IP addresses, which can slow things down. (WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse)

Eyes turn skyward for transiting of Venus

Many people in various Turkish provinces witnessed the rare Venus transit. REUTERS photo

The planet Venus made a slow transit across the face of the sun on Tuesday, the last such passing that will be visible from Earth for 105 years, Reuters reported.

Transits of Venus happen in pairs, eight years apart, with more than a century between cycles. During Tuesday’s pass, Venus took the form of a small black dot slowly shifting across the northern hemisphere of the sun.

Armchair astronomers watched the six-hour and 40-minute transit on the Internet, with dozens of websites offering live video from around the world. During the transit of Venus, astronomers planned to measure the planet’s thick atmosphere in the hope of developing techniques to measure atmospheres around other planets. Studies of the atmosphere of Venus could also shed light on why Earth and Venus, which are almost exactly the same size and orbit approximately the same distance from the sun, are so different.

Turkey witnessed it, too

In Turkey, locals and tourists in the southern province of Antalya began gathering on the Konyaaltı Beach from the early hours of the night, but did not have a chance to see the sun until 6:20 a.m. because of clouds, Anatolia news agency reported. When the sun appeared, they were able to witness this rare event by wearing special glasses.

The Scientific and Research Councicl of Turkey (TÜBITAK) held a Sky Observation Festivity in the southern province of Burdur’s Gölhisar district to view the transit of Venus. Locals and TÜBITAK National Observatory officials viewed the event through telescopes and special eyeglasses in Kibyra Ancient City between 4:30 and 7:50 a.m.

Another event for the transit of Venus was organized by the Ankara University Observatory in the capital Ankara. The observatory’s website also broadcasted the transit live.

The transit is only the eighth since the invention of the telescope, and the last until Dec. 10-11, 2117. (ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News)

Yandex giving Istanbul traffic info on LED boards

Yandex also features a detailed traffic map of Istanbul on its website.

Russian Internet search engine Yandex has begun posting real-time traffic information on 12 LED boards it has placed around Istanbul, daily Hürriyet reported today.

Yandex has collaborated with Outdoor TV to erect LED boards on Kadıköy Rıhtım Avenue and at Taksim Square, Beşiktaş Square, Mecidiyeköy Square, Bakırköy Freedom Square, as well as other key locations.

The boards display the real-time speed of traffic on main roads that connect to the junction at which the board is located. The information, which reaches a total audience of 2 million every day, is displayed every two minutes for 15 seconds. (Hurriyet.com.tr)

Microsoft releases final test version of Windows 8

AFP photo

Microsoft is nearly done with a much-anticipated overhaul of its Windows operating system.

The software maker signaled the makeover is nearly complete with Thursday's release of the final test version of Windows 8.

Windows 8 is considered to be the biggest change in decades to Microsoft's widely used operating system. The software displays applications in a mosaic of tiles and has been designed so it can run desktop, laptop and tablet computers.

PC sales have slowed in the U.S. as consumers delay replacements and instead buy mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. The versatility of Windows 8 is expected to spawn a new generation of computers that are part laptop, part tablet.

The latest test version of Windows 8 is available in 14 languages and includes several improvements from a less-refined version released three months ago. The upgrades include more ways to connect to other Microsoft services, more security controls and more touch-screen features.

Microsoft Corp. hasn't announced when Windows 8 will go on sale yet. Most industry analysts expect the software will be available in September or October.

With Windows 8 looming, more prospective computer buyers may delay their purchases until the new operating system is available.

Microsoft is trying to discourage procrastination with a special promotion that begins Saturday in the U.S., Canada and more than 120 other markets. The program allows buyers of computer running on Windows 7 to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, when it's available, for $14.99. Microsoft hasn't announced other prices.

Online: Windows 8 download: http://preview.windows.com
(REDMONG, Washington - The Associated Press)

At seventh birthday, YouTube marks new milestones

REUTERS Photo

YouTube celebrated its seventh birthday by saying it has hit fresh milestones in terms of its offerings and the amount of time spent on the video-sharing website.

"Today 72 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute," the Google-owned website said in a blog post Sunday.

"Like many 7-year olds around the world, we're growing up so fast! In other words, every single minute you now upload three whole days worth of video instead of two. That's 61 Royal Wedding Ceremonies, 841 Bad Romances, and 1,194 Nyan Cats." The blog added, "all 800 million of you all over the world have shown us we're on the right track by increasing subscriptions 50 percent and watching over three billion hours a month." Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion.

The Mountain View, California-based Internet search and advertising giant has not yet announced a profit for the video-sharing site despite its massive global popularity.

YouTube has been gradually adding professional content such as full-length television shows and movies to its vast trove of amateur video offerings in a bid to attract advertisers.
(SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse)

Ubisoft making "Avengers" videogame

The Avengers. AP Photo

Fresh from smashing weekend movie box office records in North America, "The Avengers" are taking their moves to the world of videogames.

French videogame titan Ubisoft on Thursday announced a deal with Marvel Entertainment to create a title based on the fictional heroes as well as villains from their comic book realm.

"We are excited to team up with Marvel Entertainment to bring some of the most iconic comic book characters from the Marvel line-up to life in motion-gaming," said Ubisoft US senior vice president of marketing Tony Key.

"Fans of the Marvel universe and superhero games are going to love the extensive combinations of characters, motion-controlled moves and competitive gameplay." Ubisoft's studio in Quebec is designing the "Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth" game for play using motion-sensing control features of Xbox 360 consoles with Kinect and Nintendo's coming Wii U systems.

The videogame is slated for release later this year.

"We are confident that Ubisoft's talent matches Marvel's own commitment to making the 'Avengers: Battle for Earth' the best in the motion-controlled gaming category," said Marvel senior vice president of games Andreea Enache-Thune.

The game will feature 20 different characters including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America, according to Ubisoft.
More information about the title was available online at AvengersBattleForEarth.com.

"The Avengers" film pummeled the competition to haul in $207.4 million on its opening weekend, box office figures showed Monday.

Directed by cult favorite Joss Whedon, the Walt Disney high-thrills action adventure made in collaboration with Marvel Comics scored the highest grossing US debut of all time.

Walt Disney said the film, which was released first abroad before hitting US shores, had already raked in some $641.8 million and reports said it was on target to join the elite club of the world's few billion-dollar movies. (SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse)

Star Wars lightsaber now a reality

Wicked Lasers has just unveiled the LaserSaber, a real-life lightsaber inspired by the iconic weaponry of the Star Wars movies, the Huffington Post reported.

The LaserSaber, made from polycarbonate, will sell for a price of $100 as a follow up to a previous production series entitled Spyder.

Previous atempts to produce lightsabers provoked a reaction from Lucasfilm which almost resulted in a legal clash, but Lucasfilm eventually decided against pursuing legal action.

However, the dream weapon does not come without a cost. Recent debates focused on the dangers that come with the LaserSaber, which may result in blindness and skin burns. It may also reportedly incite fires. Protective glasses come with the LaserSaber to prevent physical harm on the user. (hurriyetdailynews)