Samsung Galaxy S4 corning GG3 vs. iPhone 5

There seems to be a huge amount of evidence that points to the fact the Samsung Galaxy S4 is going to be a superb handset. It might not have a new form-factor, but the hardware more than makes up for this oversight. From the limited number of Galaxy S4 reviews, this is a more than capable phone, and even though I’m an iPhone 5 owner, I know when Apple’s latest handset has been beat.

One subject that always comes up with a handset made from polycarbonate is its strength, but more so how will its screen hold up in everyday life, and if it was accidentally dropped. Above you will see a Samsung Galaxy S4 corning GG3 test, which is a drop test compared to the S4, S3 and the iPhone 5.

We’ve seen so many of these tests over the years, but it’s great to see a Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone 5 toughness test to see which of the two comes out on top.

There are several tests before we get to see how the Gorilla Glass 3 screen of the S4 compared against the iPhone 5. The overall result is that the GG3 did not help protect the S4 as we would have hoped, but it did do better than the S3, which is an improvement. What is remarkable is how the iPhone 5 managed to tie with Samsung’s latest flagship handset. If you are displeased with the result, then maybe you should hold off and go for the rugged Galaxy S4 instead?

If you do have a broken screen and you are unable to get your handset replaced, then you’ll be glad of the fact that the Galaxy S4 is very easy to fix. You have to wonder what would have happened in this text if the S4 was bigger, maybe the size of the Note 2? Speaking of size, we recently discussed what you believe would have been the perfect screen size for the S4?

Source: product-reviews.net

Continue Reading >>

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 announced

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the introduction of the GALAXY Tab 3 – 7-inch tablet featuring sleek design and enhanced capabilities that bring capabilities that bring better performance and multimedia experiences to your fingertips.

With the new GALAXY Tab 3, Samsung has evolved its range of innovative tablets, making them smaller and easier to carry, while increasing the user experience overall

• Easy Handgrip and Portability: Its compact, one-hand grip form factor ensures users can hold comfortably for hours as well as store in a pocket or small bag for reading and entertainment on the go. The sleek and stylish design encompasses thinner bezel than the previous GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0).

• Better Multimedia Performance: Powered by a 1.2GHz Dual Core processor, the device allows for faster downloads and sharing, while providing easy access to videos, apps, games, and the web. Offered with either 8/16 of internal storage plus up to 64GB of expandable memory, the device has plenty of space to hold your favorite photos, music, apps, videos and more.

• Enhanced User Experience: The GALAXY Tab 3 7-inch is equipped to better capture life’s moments in stunning clarity and resolution with its 3-megapixel camera rear camera and 1.3 -megapixel front camera. Combined with the latest Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), it allows users to share photos, videos, and life’s special moments through a few quick taps and swipes.

The GALAXY Tab 3 7-inch WiFi version will be available globally beginning May and 3G version will follow in June. The product availability varies by market and will be rolled out gradually.

Source: sammobile.com

Continue Reading >>

What the Heck Is P-Commerce?

First there was ecommerce, a term developed in the early '80s to abbreviate "electronic commerce," or sales made possible through electronic funds transfer (and later, the Internet). Since then, marketers have gleefully affixed various letters to the word "commerce" to describe sales (or the potential for sales) made through different platforms: m-commerce for mobile, f-commerce for Facebook and p-commerce, which I've discovered recently, is an abbreviation for both "participatory commerce" or "Pinterest commerce."

What Is Participatory Commerce?

A few quick Google searches reveal that the phrase participatory commerce was first coined in 2005 by Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of gaming juggernaut Zynga. It was popularized (to a degree) five years later, when entrepreneurs Daniel Gulati and Vivian Weng used it to describe the model for their new online retailing startup, FashionStake (acquired by Fab.com in January 2012).

Participatory commerce, according to Gulati, is a sales model that allows shoppers to participate in the design, selection or funding of the products they purchase. NIKEiD, for example, lets customers customize the colors and materials of Nike shoes. Online womenswear retailer ModCloth has a "Be the Buyer" program that invites shoppers to vote to determine what designs are sent into full-scale production, similar to a program FashionStake once offered. Users of Kickstarter are able to determine whether a product gets made by contributing to a funding goal. These types of features are frequently grouped under the definition of "social commerce," or s-commerce, as well.

A Second Meaning: Pinterest Commerce

When Pinterest's popularity began to skyrocket in mid-2011, retailers were quick to recognize its potential as a sales driver, giving rise to the phrase "Pinterest commerce," which, like participatory commerce, has sometimes been abbreviated to "p-commerce."

Pinterest itself has not yet enabled selling on its site, but retailers continue to run tests to see if they can convert the network's more than 48 million users to customers. Some retailers, including Wayfair, have found that visitors from Pinterest are more likely to make a purchase and to spend more than those referred by other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.

Should You Use "P-Commerce"?

No. Not only will you sound like a tool, there's a good chance no one will know what you're talking about.

Related Terms

Social commerce: E-commerce that involves social media, either in driving a customer towards purchase, or involving a customer socially during a transaction (the latter of which is also referred to as participatory commerce).

Pinfluencer: A Pinterest user with a large following, or reach, on the network.

Pinnable: An object, such as a photo or article, that can be pinned to (i.e. bookmarked on) Pinterest.

Source : mashable

Continue Reading >>

LG Launches the World's First 55-Inch Curved OLED TV

Well, that came sooner than expected. Two weeks after LG's announcements it will launch a curved OLED TV "later this year," the first such 55-inch device here, available for pre-order in South Korea.

The 55EA9800, as it's called, brings what LG calls an "IMAX-like" experience of the home, with the entire screen surface being equidistant from the viewer's eyes. We haven't thoroughly tested a curved OLED screen yet, so we can't vouch that this entire curved screen business makes the viewing experience better, but it sure looks good, as you can see in the picture above.

The TV is 4.3 millimeters (0.17 inches) thin, weighs 17 kilograms (37.48 pounds), and features LG's WRGB and Color Refiner technologies, which should result in great color and vibrant, natural images.

The LG 55EA9800 is available in South Korea for pre-order in more than 1,400 LG retail stores, for the price of 15 million KRW ($13,500).

The device's availability and pricing in other markets will be announced "in the months ahead."

Source : mashable

Continue Reading >>

iPhone 6 release date uncertainty damages

Time for Apple to innovative further – We’ve owned every iPhone generation since the first, but it has become apparent that the market has changed and Apple has not. Users want diversity in screen size and a growing number of people want the smartphone to become their tablet and phone, aka phablet.

Apple needs to launch an iPhone 6 with a bigger screen size and even better if they had a couple of display options. This is needed to compete with the new smartphone market that Apple has failed to adapt to so far.

Tim Cook confirmed no new products until the end of 2013 – over the past couple of weeks it became clear that the iPhone 6 would not see a release date until the end of the year, which would most likely be in the same release window as last year. Tim Cook confirmed this with a comment that explained fans have some big “surprises” to expect from Apple starting at the end of 2013.

In a nutshell Tim Cook confirmed the release of the next iPhone would not come sooner than fall 2013, or even in 2014 although we think this would be too damaging for Apple as some people might jump ship by then.

Apple iPhone 6 release date uncertainty damages – it is true that some users will wait for the upgrade to the iPhone 6, and our readers have confirmed this to us and also explained this would be unfortunate as they wanted to have the new iPhone in 2013. These same users still hang on to the idea that current rumors are a myth and Apple will launch a big screen iPhone 6 sooner rather than later.

You don’t need to look far to see thousands of people moving away from Apple thanks to the lack of “a larger screen”, one of our readers explained “I’ve made the jump and have ordered HTC One to upgrade from my iPhone 4. So yes, Apple’s too late with a bigger display”.

Do you want to see Apple launch a bigger screen iPhone 6 this year, and how long will you wait for a release date to arrive? You might want to also read about the iPhone 6 release date oddities we’ve seen so far, although it is worth noting a recent survey did show that loyalty to Apple has been driving iPhone marketshare gains vs. Android.
  
Source: product-reviews.net

Continue Reading >>

Rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 to dominate market in July?

Not content with dominating all smartphone interest in May, Samsung is rumored to be plotting an ambitious effort to come up with a rugged version of their popular Galaxy S4 superphone, for consumers that like that extra layer of protection when out and about on adventurous activities.

We first informed you about such rumors in a previous report here, but now the Wall Street Journal has taken it upon themselves to confirm it as a fact – so it must be true right? Samsung may be taking a leaf out of the Sony Xperia Z book, to combine the existing Galaxy S4 features with exterior layers that provide consumers with waterproof and dust proof protection.

A potential name has also been given to the upcoming mark II, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. This isn’t confirmed yet though however, and we’d definitely like to see a much more exciting name upon release. There’s no word on when this rugged version will be announced, but the WSJ has already pinpointed a likely market release of July.

Talk about putting all of your eggs into one basket, but you can’t blame Samsung for maximizing sales on this instance. We have a feeling that a rugged Galaxy S4 is going to be very appealing indeed to a lot of consumers. We’ve also seen first hand just how prone that lovely display screen is to smashing, so anything extra that provides another display layer coating is a good move in our book.

It will be interesting to see just how many consumers are willing to hold off from their frantic fight to snap up a Galaxy S4 during launch week, to opt for one of these instead.

If this rugged Galaxy S4 appeals to you, let us know if you are really thinking of canceling a pre-order for one.

Source: product-reviews.net

Continue Reading >>

A Decade of iTunes: an Interactive Timeline by Apple

iTunes about to turn 10. Birthday wishes include downloading more songs and buying an iPhone or iPad.

Ten years ago, Apple was gearing up to release its iconic music player and database, iTunes. Now, with April 28 only days away, the company is getting ready to celebrate its second lustrum with a timeline that looks back on all the triumphs of the past years.

Apple has made it impossible to link directly to the timeline, so if you have iTunes currently installed, you can access it by clicking on this link. (It will redirect to your application.) The timeline shows the Top Ten best-selling albums as well as singles for each year. We can also see the launch dates of iTunes in various locations and languages, as well as the releases of both the iPod and the first iPhone. Despite what anyone may feel about Apple, there's no denying that it changed the music industry.

Source: tomshardware.com

Continue Reading >>

This new Web mod shows you Bitcoin prices for eBay auctions

We know PayPal is thinking about adding Bitcoin support to its payment service, but if you can’t wait to check the Bitcoin prices on those eBay auctions you’re sniping, website modding service BetterInternet has got you covered.

BetterInternet, which debuted at Techono.me last October, acts as a real-time filter for any website, allowing interested parties to develop modifications for their favorite sites. Co-founder Oded Golan said the team built the eBay/Bitcoin mod to get a sense of how volatile the crypto-currency is.

Sadly, the mod doesn’t make it possible to bid with Bitcoins, so I won’t be able to buy these hot pants anonymously just yet.



If you’re looking for a something a little more useful, check out this Flipboard layout version of TIME Magazine and this Rotten Tomato/IMDB mashup.

➤ Bitcoin eBay
Image via Flickr / zcopley
Source: thenextweb.com

Continue Reading >>

Sports News App Aggregates Tweets Related to Your Favorite Teams

Sports fans that use a tablet or smartphone — the "second screen" — during live game broadcasts are becoming more and more common these days. For this year's Super Bowl, a Century 21 Real Estate survey found that 36% of polled viewers said they would use a second screen to supplement the game-viewing experience.

A Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup is catering to that trend with a new tablet app that aggregates real-time tweets from 1,000 media sources and 2,000 players. So if the game is on or you just want to see the chatter surrounding your favorite teams, the free "Beyond the Box" app by Murphy Ave. Inc. does the legwork for you with refined Twitter updates from interesting people, players and sources.

The app includes content covering NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams. You can pick your favorite teams to get timelines of updates, analysis and links from the app's various aggregated sources. For example, for my hometown football team — the Denver Broncos — I can instantly read tweets by everyone from linebacker Von Miller to SB Nation's Mile High Report to the team's official Twitter feed.

App co-founder Shailo Rao told Mashable that it brings everything together into one timeline, because he says it's hard to navigate to twenty different sports sites or apps that someone might frequently visit.

"[Beyond the Box] aggregates all the great content about your favorite teams or about other teams in the league that you just want to track," Rao said. "You'll get a different take that goes beyond what the TV commentators are telling you."

The app [iTunes link] launched Thursday and is currently only available for iPad and iPad Mini.

Rao, a self-professed sports junkie himself, said Beyond the Box reduces the need for sports fans to manually curate feeds: "Twitter is the new RSS."

He also said the app can allow fans to discover new sources, including the ability to engage directly with players and their thoughts through tweets.

"It's not just about what the local beat writer or what the team itself wants to pump out," Rao said.

Rao also pointed out that unlike competitors (think Turner Sports' Bleacher Report Team Stream and ESPN's SportsCenter Feed), Beyond the Box is not restricted by content restrictions or exclusive partnerships, which could eliminate bias that may come along with those things.

In the future, Rao said they might expand to college and international sports (e.g., world soccer and cricket).

Though you could likely just spend the time to curate your own Twitter lists of sources to follow instead, this app not only does that work for you, but it has a clean user interface. Even when a league is off-season, an app like this can be an interesting way to more easily follow the social conversation (like the ongoing NFL Draft 2013).

Rao, along with co-founder Vam Makam, are developing Beyond the Box in Stanford's accelerator, StartX.

Do you use sports news aggregator websites or apps? Let us know in the comments.

Source :

 

Continue Reading >>

Microsoft expands Surface RT availability to 29 markets and Surface Pro to 27, promises more stock for 128GB

Microsoft on Tuesday announced it is expanding the availability of its Surface RT device to 29 markets and the Surface Pro to 27 markets. All the launches will be taking place over the next two months, meaning by summer a significantly larger number of consumers will be able to buy the company’s computers.

Currently, the Surface RT is available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the US.

Microsoft plans to bring the Surface RT to Malaysia on April 25, to Mexico by the end of May, as well as to Korea and Thailand in June. The company wouldn’t reveal specific dates for the last three markets.

The Surface Pro meanwhile is currently available in just three countries: the US, Canada, and China. Microsoft thus hopes to increase that number nine-fold for its higher-end device.

Microsoft plans to bring the Surface Pro to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK “before the end of May.” It will launch in Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand “before the end of June.”

Last but not least, Microsoft admitted that one of its “biggest challenges” has been keeping the 128GB Surface Pro in stock. The company has been working hard to increase availability, and is now confidently saying that “most retail partners” in the US and Canada as well as the Microsoft Store now have the 128GB flavor “consistently in stock.”

Whether Microsoft will be able to keep this promise in other markets remains to be seen. The 128GB flavor is sought after so much because the device is being advertised as more than just a tablet: if it can be used for work and play, consumers want as much space as possible to store all their productivity programs as well as their personal files.

Source: thenextweb.com

Continue Reading >>

Facebook is testing a new prompt asking users to complete their profile, just like on LinkedIn

Facebook has started prompting some of its 1 billion users on the desktop version of the website to complete their profile. A source close to the company confirmed with TNW that this feature is currently being tested with a small set of users.

I was quite surprised this morning to see this message at the top of my Facebook News Feed:

Apparently my profile was 90 percent complete, meaning it only need one more piece of additional information (hitting the “Next” link seen above did nothing). Once I agreed to say that I grew up in Toronto, I was informed my profile was 100 percent complete:

The notification is very similar to what LinkedIn users have been experiencing on their profile for years. Since I already have my work information filled out, Facebook didn’t ask me for it, but it presumably would do so otherwise.

Facebook needs this information to serve its users more and more relevant ads. The company already has the most data on its members than any other service on the planet, but it can always do with more.

As for the LinkedIn similarity, we’re not at all surprised: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn regularly rip features off each other, or at least test them out to see how they perform on their respective social networks. Facebook is already used by many to find jobs, and it is constantly looking at new ways to ease the experience, even though it’s not a “network for professionals” like LinkedIn.

Let us know if you’ve seen this prompt on Facebook recently and what you were asked to add. Furthermore, did you add it?

See also – Facebook Home passes 500,000 installations on Google Play one week after launch and Facebook rolls out new action-oriented mobile Pages, making it easier for users and brands to interact

Top Image Credit: Andronicus Riyono

Source: thenextweb.com

Continue Reading >>

Huawei: US market no longer focus for its carrier business

After facing a congressional battering over security concerns, Huawei’s carrier networking group is no longer focused on the U.S. market, and instead expects to find ample business in other parts of the world.

“Apparently, due to whatever the geopolitical reasons, we are not focusing on the U.S. market,” said Li Sanqi, Huawei’s chief technology officer for the group, on Tuesday.

Last October, a U.S. congressional panel advised the nation’s telecom operators to steer clear of buying Huawei’s networking equipment for fears over the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government. The U.S. lawmakers’ claims against Huawei dealt a major blow to the company’s carrier networking group, which had spent years trying to cultivate business in the country’s telecom industry. U.S. officials worry that Huawei technology could be used by China to secretly conduct cyberespionage or hacking attacks.

Huawei has rejected the allegations and insists that its telecommunication equipment is safe to use. But for now, the company’s carrier networking group is dropping the U.S. from its priorities, despite the market’s size, Li said in a meeting with reporters. He estimated that the U.S. accounts for about 30 percent of the world’s carrier business.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to get into the U.S. market. Thirty percent, it’s a high-value market,” he said. But the carrier business in other parts of the world continues to grow, which he said was an encouraging sign for the company.

“We today face reality. We will focus on the rest of the world, which is reasonably big enough and is growing significantly,” he added.

One major market expected to help Huawei’s carrier networking group is China, which is preparing to launch new 4G networks. The country has over a billion mobile phone accounts, and the nation’s tech regulators are expected to issue commercial 4G licenses later this year.

Source : pcworld

Continue Reading >>

Google Glass privacy concerns come to the head

When details about Google Glass began to emerge, I warned that the technology was going to make some folks uneasy. I predicted widespread bans by businesses and government agencies (think Homeland Security) over privacy concerns that are bound to come up when Google Glass is widely available. This future-looking article by colleague Jason Perlow is eye-opening but I think we may see problems far sooner than Perlow.

The problem is that anyone wearing Google Glass can take snapshots, video, and audio of whatever the wearer looks at. This means that images can be grabbed virtually anywhere, and that's the problem. In my earlier article I mentioned the likelihood that people were going to be concerned of folks snapping images of other people's kids as an example. I still believe that's going to be a big cause of concern for many.

CNET reported that tech pundit Robert Scoble recently kicked up the privacy conversations again with a simple comment he made on Twitter. Scoble has been using Google Glass for a little while and he's been sharing his thoughts about the fantastic technology. That sharing led to his admission that he wears the Google Glass in public restrooms and no one has objected.

As a parent, the thought of Google Glasses being anywhere near a place where my small children expose themselves in the open like a restroom scares the heck out of me.

Seeing this gave me pause, I must admit. I've known Scoble for years and seeing him with the goofy looking eyewear at the next urinal in a restroom wouldn't worry me as I trust he wouldn't be snapping images of my junk. No, what worries me are all the other Google Glass wearers, both present and future. I don't know many of those folks and frankly I don't want to expose myself to potential clandestine snappage.

Some have suggested that Google Glass wearers should just take them off their eyes when in places like public restrooms. That may be an adequate solution but I'll bet it won't be enough to appease many. Having no Google Glasses in view may be the only way to make everyone happy.

It's not having myself compromised that really concerns me. As a parent, the thought of Google Glasses being anywhere near a place where my small children (when they were young) expose themselves in the open like a restroom scares the heck out of me. I have a feeling most parents would feel the same way once Google Glasses are widely available and people understand what they can do. They are going to want to see Google Glasses nowhere near places such as public restrooms.

This is just scratching the surface as far as privacy concerns, as it is early in the life of Google Glass. As awareness increases more and more, people are going to get concerned about potential Google Glass usage in a lot of familiar places. I think parents will cringe, get downright defensive, when they start seeing Google Glasses in schools and public swimming pools, to name a couple of common venues. Parents love to take photos of Junior splashing in the pool but they are going to scream bloody murder when someone else "looks" toward their kids if wearing the glasses from Google.

Parents are already on the lookout of strangers apparently taking photos of children in parks and similar places. There are plenty of incidents reported of parents getting police officers involved because they think someone they don't know is taking photos of kids. Imagine how much worse that will get with several Google Glass wearers in the park. Just seeing someone looking at kids will set off the parent alarm.

While I believe that lots of adult venues are going to ban the glasses outright, the issue of kids being captured with them is going to be a driver of the public reaction to this technology. It's probably going to cause ordinances passed in many places prohibiting having Google Glasses anywhere in sight. Businesses will start bans first, and I expect amusement parks and Chuck E. Cheese will be some of the first as well.

It won't matter if Google makes it obvious when images are being captured as that can likely be bypassed by savvy owners. That will only let concerned subjects know after the fact of usage. No, an outright ban of having them anywhere in the open at certain places is going to happen, in this writer's opinion.

Source : zdnet

Continue Reading >>

ThingLink brings its interactive images for brands to Facebook Timelines

ThingLink, the company that brought interactive images to Twitter last year, has turned its attention to Facebook after adding support for the world’s largest social network to its service.

Using ThingLink, Facebook users — and particularly brands — can now add images to Facebook Timelines that include embedded links, annotations, videos and, perhaps most interestingly, the option to share and purchase content. All of these additions are designed to make images — and ultimately brand messages — more shareable.

The company says that its support for Facebook will let users discover new content, and enjoy richer media and new brand experiences on the social network. For brands and advertisers, ThingLink is a chance to experiment with new, eye-catching and attention-grabbing materials.

ThingLink has more than 130,000 publisher partners, which include Armani, Nike and Adidas, and charges customers based on CPM, which is in the range of $5. The company was the first to introduce interactive images to Twitter, but rival Stipple beat it to the punch on Facebook.

(See A chat with image-tagging startup Thinglink: “2012 was about social, 2013 will be about mobile” for more details about ThingLink.)

Here is an example of how it could work using a interactive image from Microsoft. The image contains a linked video, outbound links — although none are active below since this is just a screenshot.

A more feature-rich demonstration comes via this image from Armani, which is also on Facebook:

Headline image via spencereholtaway / Flickr

Source: thenextweb.com

Continue Reading >>

Firefox OS Smartphones Available From 23 April

The phones will be available for shipping to numerous countries.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013:  Mozilla's revolution of Firefox operating system for smartphone is ready to rumble. Starting from 23 April, the company has announced that the two Firefox OS powered phones, Keon and Peak will be available at Geeksphone and both the handsets are unlocked and run development version of Firefox OS, which enables developers to test out the device easily.

The phone were first revealed in February this year without divulging on the price or available time-frame. 

The phones have been built by Spain-based Geeksphone and come with Firefox OS pre-installed. Talking specs, the Keon sports an 8.8-cm (3.5-inch) HVGA screen and is packed with a 1 GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, coupled with 512 MB RAM. This entry-level phone has 4 GB internal storage capacity and comes fitted with a 3 MP rear camera and offers 2G and 3G connectivity with 1,580 mAh battery. The Keon has been priced at It will cost $119 (excluding VAT or shipping).

Peak is the other phone that comes alongside Keon. This phone sports a 10.9-cm (4.3-inch) display and comes powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor, coupled with 512 MB RAM. This one has an 8 MP rear camera and 2 MP front-facing snapper for video calling test. Packed with 4 GB worth on-board storage and a 1,800 mAh battery, the Peak has been priced at $194 (excluding VAT or shipping).

Via a Q&A report, Geeksphone has re-iterated that the phones will be available for shipping to numerous countries. These phones will be powered by Firefox OS version 1.0.1

Source: efytimes.com

Continue Reading >>

Tim Cook admits that iMac launch should have been postponed to avoid delays for customers

When asked about staggered product launches during the Q&A of Apple’s Q2 2013 earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that he wished Apple would have postponed the launch of the new iMac until after the holiday season in order to avoid the significant delays that customers experienced in the initial months of launch:

I don’t spend a lot of time looking back… If we could run it over, i would have announced the iMac after the turn of the year… we felt our customers had to wait too long for that specific product… Where the iPad mini was in shortage in the December quarter, I would not have done that differently because we were able to get the product out to many customers that wanted it. In retrospect, I wish it [iMac] was after the turn of the year so customers would not have had to wait as long as they did.

When Apple first launched the all new, slimmed down iMac lineup leading up to the holidays in October of last year, Tim Cook quickly confirmed that Apple would run into some significant component constraints and delays for the product. The months following launch saw major delays with customers ordering the product having to wait weeks to receive their shipments and some models pushed back as far as December.

Source : 9to5mac

Continue Reading >>

Twitter Two-Factor Authentication is Obvious — And Necessary

Alongside the buzz about Twitter becoming our primary source of news is the realization that not everything you read on the microblogging network can be trusted. Usually, this is because people are too quick to tweet without verifying facts, but sometimes it's because the person behind the tweets isn't who you think they are.

This is exactly what happened to the Associated Press on Tuesday, when the wire service's Twitter account @AP was hacked, and sent out a false tweet about the White House and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Recently, a number of prominent Twitter accounts, including those of 60 minutes and CBS News were reportedly hacked by Syria. While I don't know how the AP's account was hacked, or who did it, I do know that it should not be happening.

How to Prevent Hacks

There are several relatively simple ways to prevent Twitter hacking. The first, which may be obvious, is for people and brands to do a better job of managing their Twitter security by using more complex passwords, and incorporating password-management tools (e.g. LastPass, Norton Internet Security).

The other option is for Twitter to introduce two-factor authentication. For the uninitiated, "two factor" means two barriers to entry. For example, when signing in, users must enter their password, as well as a security code that they can only access from a personal device, such as a smartphone.

For Google, which has the option of two-factor authentication on its apps (Microsoft recently introduced it, as well), it works like this: When you sign into a new device for the first time, Google’s security system sends you a code via text, voice call or mobile app. Enter the code from your phone during sign-in, and you’re good to go. What's more, you don’t have to go through this process every time: Google can remember your device for 30 days.

Simply put, it enables two levels of protection, and makes it much harder for someone who stole your password to simply sign in as you from another computer: The second-factor authentication would show up on your phone — not theirs.

Indeed, two-factor authentication adds extra work for users, and could pose a problem if you don't have access to your phone. But while it's not necessary for everyone to use it, others most certainly should.

The Chosen Ones

What do most of the hacked Twitter accounts have in common? They were all "verified."

What is “verified,” you ask? According to Twitter, it means you are who you say you are. Once you have a verified account, you're not supposed to change your Twitter handle willy-nilly. You also get occasional reports on account activity — nothing major, just updates on your most successful Tweet and how to extend your reach. But there's little mention about security. In light of recent events, however, that most certainly should change.

Here’s my suggestion, Twitter: Require anyone with a verified account to use two-factor authentication.

I consider it a privilege to be verified, and was honestly quite excited when it happened. It was, for a while, a pretty rarefied blue check mark. These days, Twitter is verifying a lot more users, but all of them are still, more or less, in the realm of trusted brands (i.e. people, products, companies, governments, politicians and celebrities).

When you see the check mark, you assume it’s a more trustworthy account, and possibly one worth following. With the size and kinds of audiences these accounts often have, they’re also natural hack targets. A hacked verified account is an especially damning loss of trust. When the AP reports explosions at the White House, users take notice — even if, as it was in this case, not true.

If Twitter had already been requiring two-factor authentication for these trusted accounts, I can’t imagine that we’d be seeing as many hackings.

In a nutshell, when Twitter sends that “Congratulations, You’re Verified” email, it should append a “Rules of the Road” note that includes this one critical question: “With your new power comes responsibility. Welcome to two-factor authentication, which will help us and you protect your account and tweets.”

I know others agree with me. Now it’s time for Twitter — and at least its verified members — to get on board.

Source : mashable

Continue Reading >>

CISPA Amendment Banning Employers From Asking For Facebook Passwords Blocked

Bad news, Facebook users. U.S. employers may soon be able to require employees to fork over their social media passwords.

A last-minute amendment to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act -- known as CISPA -- banning such a practice was blocked by members of the U.S. House of Representatives, despite the passage of the broad cybersecurity bill overall.

The provision, proposed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Co.), was voted down 224-189, with Republicans constituting the majority.

"This is a very simple amendment that really does two things," Perlmutter told the House Thursday, before the vote. "It helps the individual protect his right to privacy and it doesn't allow the employer to impersonate that particular employee when other people are interacting with that person across social media platforms."

While Perlmutter warned of breached privacy and the potential to impersonate employees, as U.S. News & World Report notes, CISPA sponsor Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) called the Democratic congressman's proposal an attempt to kill the bill.

Perlmutter denied the claim, but Rogers still suggested that he instead address the employee privacy issue with separate legislation.

This is not the first time Perlmutter has introduced the pro-privacy measure. The Democratic congressman also attempted to tack on such a provision to the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2012 and the earlier version of CISPA, both of which were never passed by the U.S. Senate.

After initially introducing the password privacy measure in 2011, Perlmutter explained in a statement:

People have an expectation of privacy when using social media like Facebook and Twitter. They have an expectation that their right to free speech and religion will be respected when they use social media outlets. No American should have to provide their confidential personal passwords as a condition of employment. Both users of social media and those who correspond share the expectation of privacy in their personal communications. Employers essentially can act as imposters and assume the identity of an employee and continually access, monitor and even manipulate an employee's personal social activities and opinions. That's simply a step too far.

Though CISPA passed the House, 288 to 127, it could very likely be killed in the Senate -- as the first version of the cybersecurity legislation was -- or face a veto from the White House, which has already threatened the controversial legislation.

In the meantime, Anonymous has called for an Internet blackout on April 22 to protest CISPA.

 Source: huffingtonpost.com

Continue Reading >>

It’s Time to Kill the ‘Apple Doesn’t Innovate’ Argument

There’s an argument in the platform wars, and also on Wall Street, that goes something like this: “Apple doesn’t innovate anymore. It moves too slowly, and is being taken over by more nimble, more innovative rivals.”

Any success Apple has is the result of slick marketing, rather than the newest technology. But now, Apple is a laggard and is being overtaken by more nimble companies.

Apple has an “innovation problem,” according to Forbes.

“Samsung is innovating faster than Apple,” according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster.

“Why Doesn’t Apple Innovate?” asks CEO.com.

For Apple haters, this argument feels good to make. Unfortunately, it fails the test of fact and reason. Here’s why.

Vision means you don’t try whatever to find out what works

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is a good example of a product considered more innovative than Apple’s competing iPhone 5.

The S4 has “Smart Pause,” “Air Gesture,” dual-camera mode, a photo “eraser” feature, a health and fitness tracker, “smart scroll,” and something called Sound and Shot for adding sound to pictures.

Plus, the S4 has a much bigger screen, NFC support, a higher pixel-density camera and a more advanced chipset than the iPhone 5.

Does all this — does any of this — mean Samsung is more innovative?

“Smart Pause” and “Air Gesture” don’t strike me as bold new directions in user interface design, but mere gimmicks that most people will either ignore or turn off. They separate the user from direct control, and are likely to be frustrating to use for most people. Is anybody loving these? I haven’t heard anyone gushing about them on social media. It seems to me that Samsung threw these ideas in there just so they’d have something to demo and convince the gullible that they’re more advanced than the competition.

The dual-camera mode, where an image from the front camera is placed in a box on the picture from the back camera, the photo eraser, the health-and-fitness tracker and “smart scroll” are just more feature gimmicks that should be or in some cases already have been added by many apps available in the App Store. I personally use the eraser feature and “smart scroll” in long-existing apps. They’re really no big deal.

“Sound and shot” is yet another thing you’d expect to find in some free app nobody uses. Is this taking the world by storm as is, say, Vine? The answer is no.

I don’t think anyone believes Apple doesn’t have the technological capability to make a bigger-screen iPhone or add NFC chips. Obviously they can do it. They’ve chosen not to yet. They’ve made a judgement call. Does deciding that the ability for people with smaller hands to hold a phone and deciding the market or the services aren’t ready yet for NFC mean Apple isn’t innovative? Or does it just mean they’ve made a decision some people (but not the market) disagree with?

And finally, you would expect a newer chipset to come out on a newer phone. The Galaxy S4 is six months newer than the iPhone 5.

When iPhones first ship, they tend to have much higher benchmark performance than all or nearly all the competition. Does shipping 6 months after the iPhone make Samsung more innovative?

I think any honest observer would have to admit that Apple is certainly capable of slapping on feature gimmicks and somewhat arbitrary new interface alternatives, but that they chose not to. Their strategy is to ship one best phone, and it has to serve everybody out of the box, enabling users to add gimmicky features with downloadable apps.

You can disagree with that strategy, and believe that Apple would be better off using the Samsung model of selling dozens of phones to target every narrow niche. But that disagreement doesn’t mean Apple isn’t innovative.

The so-called “innovative companies” are the biggest Apple fans. 

The Apple-doesn’t-innovate crowd often holds up companies like Google or Samsung as companies with superior innovation.

Yes, Google and Samsung are both very good companies with wonderful cultures and histories of innovation.

But innovation is not an end in itself. It’s a means to an end. The goal of innovation should be to create better products, superior designs and superior usability.

It’s worth noting that both Google and Samsung engineers and designers are huge fans of Apple’s designs and usability.

Any conference or meeting where Google engineers, designers and executives congregate reveals a very strong preference for Apple laptops, for example.

That’s not because Apple products are more innovative or less innovative. It’s because Apple products are very good products.

An internal Samsung memo that surfaced in a mutual patent lawsuit between Samsung and Apple revealed that Samsung was in awe of Apple’s interface design — similar to the “difference between heaven and earth.” The memo then slogged screen-by-screen through the iPhone UI and Samsung’s at the time, pointing out the superiority of Apple’s approach to user interface.

Some observers called this evidence that Samsung copied Apple. But that’s not true. It is, however, evidence that Samsung was internally very impressed by Apple’s design decisions.

Is that innovation? Or is Apple really good at interface design?

Apple executes on vision, then try to perfect it. 

What passes for innovation by many companies is just throwing every new technology they can into their products. Is that “better”? Is that “innovation”?

Apple’s approach has for years been very easy to understand. Here’s how they go about product development:

1. Find content consumption experiences that are seriously lacking and which Apple is interested in fixing.

2. Wait until the market is ripe for the new approach, then unveil a bold new product that offers simplicity, extremely high usability and aesthetic beauty.

3. Design and spec that product for maximum broad consumer appeal, then very clearly convey the benefits with emotional advertising.

4. This approach doesn’t ever invent the product — Apple’s patents tend to involve unique methods of doing things and unique designs — but it does create the market by getting a critical mass of consumers to embrace the new thing, a feat that’s very hard to do and which major companies routinely fail at doing. (Once the market is created, then other companies flood in to take advantage.)

5. Continue through multiple product generations to not take the product into random or technology-driven directions, but to refine and perfect the original vision.

This is the basic process Apple used for iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air, iMac, and other Apple products, and which they’ll probably use for the rumored iWatch and iTV and other future products.

In the two year period after the iPod, iPhone, iPad or whatever ships, everyone says Apple is innovative. In the years of iteratively perfecting the vision, everybody says Apple is not innovative. Then Apple comes out with the next market-creating product, and then they’re innovative again.

The degree to which Apple is or is not considered innovative has nothing to do with innovation, but with what point in the product lifecycle Apple happens to be in.

One Last Commentary On Apple and Innovation

It’s fun to be a technology fan and argue about who’s got the better stuff — and why. I certainly enjoy it.

And it’s perfectly legitimate to prefer, say, Google’s approach to platform ecosystem cultivation or Samsung’s approach to serving the market with smartphones and other products.

But it’s time to retire the tired, irrational “Apple doesn’t innovate” line.

Apple clearly innovates, and they do so very selectively and with enormous purpose and vision. They have a create-new-market-then-perfect-on-the-vision approach that, while it leaves them open to being called less than innovative, it also works better — far better — than any other model out there from a business perspective.

Apple could easily throw arbitrary new ideas into its products, and develop complex product lines to narrowly target every niche. But why? So haters would call them innovative?

Companies don’t exist to cultivate a reputation for innovation. They exist to make money.

That Apple alone makes more than 70% of the industry profits is undeniable proof that Apple is doing innovation right.

 Source: cultofmac.com

Continue Reading >>

Anonymous calls for blackout against CISPA; a pity it won't work

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) has passed the U.S. House and is winging its way to the Senate, but not without a fight.

It was the dream of many that the controversial CISPA bill, having fallen before, would lie undisturbed in its grave after being uncerimoniously booted into the box by the enraged online community. However, now having passed the U.S. House with 288-127 in favor, the legislation has numerous privacy advocates and rights groups in uproar.

CISPA allows firms and agencies from the private sector to acquire and search sensitive data relating to U.S. citizens. Blanketed under the guise of using such sharing — without court-ordered warrants — in order to combat cybercrime, data including heath records, banking and online activity could be shared without anonymization.

Other factors to consider are that tech giants including Twitter, Facebook and Google would not be able to protect your privacy, as no legal reprisal could be mounted against such data sharing, and U.S. intelligence agencies would be able to hand over classified information to groups without security clearance.

A number of groups and firms have publicly criticized the bill, including digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Mozilla. Over 800,000 people have signed a petition in an attempt to stop CISPA getting as far as it already has in the U.S. government's law process. 

Today, a number of websites have agreed to block themselves voluntarily. A list of websites joining the protest include hacker and Anonymous-based sites, as well as a bunch of Tumblr accounts. Hundreds are joining, but the list is still woefully short of prestigous names and services that would secure at least a passing glance by those with the power to stop the bill going through.

A Stop CISPA group on Facebook has been formed, and hashtags #CISPABlackout and #StopCISPA have trended at various times this morning. It'll be interesting to see if the trends continue to gain traction as the day progresses, but the difference between this and the last 'blackout' is profound.

While a number of well-known websites chose to block themselves in protest to SOPA, 28 large tech companies backed the CISPA bill from the start — IBM and Intel among the bill's fans. When the threat of the Stop Online Piracy Act surfaced, Wikipedia and Reddit blacked out for a day on February 18. Google chose not to completely censor its search results, but did publicly acknowledge its support of the cause, and highlighted the issue on its home page, something that would have brought the bill to light for hundreds of thousands of online users in a single day.

Especially important was when those hunting on Wikipedia for a quick answer to a question found that they could not use the resource. 

As ZDNet's Violet Blue writes, when the CISPA bill first came to light, it was spun to keep it as far away as possible from the blackouts, outrage and public protests that the SOPA legislation fueled. The media was misinformed, legislation wording was vague, tech companies supported it — perhaps wondering how they could capitalize on all that data, just seeing dollar signs — and those paying lip-service attempted to sway attention not to the particulars of the bill itself, but on how cybercrime stemming from other countries had to be stopped.

President Obama talked about how cybercrime was more of a threat than terrorism, and a back-and-forth between the U.S. and China resulted in pointed fingers about which nation was more of a cybercrime menace. If we consider the right to privacy and data protection more important than government whims, perhaps the question is answered in the former.

Bill advocates didn't want another SOPA outrage on their hands, and they may have succeeded. A "Stop CISPA" blackout may gain traction across social media today, but reaction to the bill simply hasn't resulted in the same levels of fury that SOPA did — although in its own way, it is just as much of a threat to citizen rights as the Stop Online Piracy Act. In addition, without public backing by the few large tech names that provide everyday services we rely upon, such as Wikipedia and Google, the bill simply does not gain the exposure that it needs. 

Google is "watching the process closely," but has taken no official stance on the bill. Sadly, industry group Technet — with members including Google and Facebook — supports CISPA. As much as we may rally together and scream about the bill, without these kinds of names to bring it all together and wield power that goes beyond our Twitter rants and rages to inform others, we're fighting a lost battle.

As the bill moves into Congress, perhaps it's already out of our hands, and nothing can be done except hope that President Obama makes good on his threat to refuse to sign the bill if it passes his desk.

Source : zdnet

Continue Reading >>

Android malware scores nine million downloads with fake ad network SDK

Makers of Android malware have developed an ad network SDK that pushes malicious software through seemingly innocuous apps.

Google has suspended several accounts associated with 32 apps on Google Play containing the malicious SDK which have been downloaded up to nine million times, according to mobile security firm Lookout.

Legitimate ad network SDKs, such as Google's own AdMob SDK, offer app developers the libraries to distribute in-app ads and monetise free apps. The malicious ad network masquerades as a genuine one, largely but not exclusively targeting Russian-speaking users. The SDK has been installed on a range of apps including games, recipe, sex and dictionary apps, some of which are also aimed at English-speaking users.

"Because it's challenging to get malicious bad code into Google Play, the authors of Badnews created a malicious advertising network, as a front, that would push malware out to infected devices at a later date in order to pass the app scrutiny," Lookout's principal security researcher Marc Rogers noted in an alert on Friday.

In violation of Google's developer terms, the malicious ad network causes the app to impersonates news messages, including fake alerts encouraging the user to install a "critical update" to Russian social network Vkontake, Skype, and other apps. The fake update attempts to lead the user to a website to install a premium rate SMS app and also sends the user's phone number and device ID to a command server.

The attackers took their cue from shady affiliate-based marketing websites, according to Rogers. Using an ad network to distribute malware is a "significant development" in mobile malware since it overcomes the hurdles placed at the gateway to app marketplaces, Lookout said.

Sidestepping Google protection

Google launched its server-side scanner Bouncer to fend off malicious submissions in early 2012, and late last year added a client-side malware scanner to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean that could be used to vet apps installed outside the official store.

The discovery of the malicious SDK follows reports last week from Russian security firm Dr Web that malware distributors were using Android in-app advertising to spread fake antivirus, bringing an old pest from the desktop to mobile. 

The threat, which Dr Web has called Android.Fakealert, prompts users via in-app advertising users to install fake antivirus.

The fake antivirus or scareware scam was growing pest for desktop users until a major crackdown by the FBI and Russian authorities took out lead players in the industry back in 2011. 

Dr Web says the fake alert scam for Android has been around since October 2012. However, the company's CEO Boris Sharov told ZDNet that this threat was not being distributed via Google Play.

Source : zdnet

Continue Reading >>

Quickly test iOS icon designs on your home screen with Icon Strike

There are a number of ways to test designs on your iOS device — services like Scala View and Adobe Edge Inspect are likely at the top of your list. But as we’ve seen lately, sometimes a lightweight solution is the best way to stay efficient and inspired.

Icon Strike, a simple app which lets you test icon designs on your home screen with little effort, fits this description perfectly.

Created ahead of the launch of iOS app prototyping tool Flinto, Icon Strike asks that you upload your icon, open that link on your iOS device and then add the site to your home screen. From there, you can repeat the process, adjusting the design based on how it looks on your device.

To speed things up, Icon Strike gives you the option to email yourself a link, text it via SMS or copy the resulting URL. You can also choose if you want to show Apple’s default gloss onto your icon, or go without it.

Try this Web app out for yourself, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

Source: thenextweb.com

Continue Reading >>