e-Volo's Volocopter, a flying car

Suppose an aircraft with two seats, 18 rotors, and a joystick, ready to carry you and a friend anywhere you want to go. That’s the Volocopter, now in development in Germany by e-Volo.

The prototype flew for the first time, remotely piloted, in 2013, and now the team is working toward the first manned flight, sometime in the next few months.

The Volocopter has the potential to bring together many features we expect in a true flying car of the future: It’s simple to fly. It’s stable.It has the ability to take off and land vertically, hover, and fly autonomously in any direction.Its 18 rotors provide a lot of redundancy against system failures. It doesn’t require a runway and it’s powered by batteries, making it emissions-free.

reference
http://www.wired.com/2015/06/18-rotor-volocopter-like-flying-car-better/

Launch of late night tube transport service in London

Our blog is not only limit to technology stuff related with big software industry's tech buzz.Sometimes you may think we bound to those stuff as we post most of the things related to that.here we come up with a news about the launch of late night tube transport service in London.

Transport for London has said it's introducing night tubes because passenger numbers on Friday and Saturday nights have increased by 70% in the past 15 years.September's launch coincides with the start of the Rugby World Cup, which is being hosted in 13 venues around England and Wales from September 18, including fixtures in London's Twickenham Stadium, Olympic Stadium and Wembley Stadium. 

reference:

http://mashable.com/2015/06/22/london-night-tube-map/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

HP seems to be first switching Windows 10 on PCs, tablets

Hewlett-Packard will start pre-installing Windows 10 across its old and new PCs and tablets within days of the release of the new OS on July 29.

One of HP's first products with Windows 10 will be the 8-inch Pro Tablet 608 G1, which will ship in July with Windows 8.1 and then come with Windows 10 pre-installed starting in August. Customers buying the tablet in July will be able to upgrade free to Windows 10 for one year in line with Microsoft policy.

PC makers have said the new OS could bring relevance back to Windows, which lost some goodwill following Windows 8. Windows 10 marks the return of the Start menu and boasts new features like biometric authentication, the Edge browser and the Cortana personal assistant.
Microsoft is providing free upgrades to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for one year. HP wasn't sure when Windows 10 would be released, so it made sense to keep PCs ready for the new OS, vice president at HP said. 

reference:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2937779/tablets/hp-aims-for-quick-switch-to-windows-10-on-pcs-tablets.html

Google Gives Apple, Microsoft 90 Days To Fix Security Flaws

Aside from being the master of diversification, Google apparently either cares a lot about global security across the board, or is merely looking for ways to get back at its competitors.
Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation , the consortium had been a pain in Google’s neck for a while, blocking key smartphone patents for the company. While those issues have quieted down, Google found another avenue to go by. Having formed the Project Zero in July, the newly formed team seems to target “zero day” security flaws in software that hackers can take advantage of before developers learn of them.

A Bloomberg report now reveals that Google Inc. has given Apple and Microsoft 90 days to fix the latest flaws that Google has discovered in their code. While some may argue that it is a scare tactic, it has to be noted that Google’s Project Zero has so far singled out 39 loopholes in Apple products, 37 in Adobe Systems Incorporated software, and 20 issues in Microsoft products. Similarly, it released the information to the public at large about the flaws before the companies could find a fix in time. Apple is a 16-time victim, Microsoft suffered on three occasions, and Adobe was subjected to this issue once.

Jake Kouns, chief information officer at Risk Based Security Systems Inc., revealed the above information to Bloomberg(report containing this stuff) in an interview. Mr. Kouns believes that if the companies cannot work together, it will have a negative impact on the industry as a whole. Tom Gorup, manager at Rock Securities Inc., told Bloomberg that he believes otherwise, voicing his view that the strict policy is good for the industry. Because these companies have considerably greater resources than your average computer hacker, better results can be achieved when these companies take a pot shot at rivals’ security measures.

John Dickson of Denim Group Ltd., a software security company, summed it up best when he stated: “I’m not sure who made Google the official referee of the marketplace for vulnerability notification.” He assumes that the “nobility” of this cause is compromised when the company testing for vulnerabilities actually reveals their findings to the public at large instead of to the companies that harbor such security loopholes.

references:

http://www.bidnessetc.com/34697-google-inc-gives-apple-microsoft-90-days-to-fix-security-flaws-bloomberg/

Jolla’s iPad Alternative Returns To Indiegogo With 64GB Version

The iPad alternative, which runs Jolla’s open source Sailfish OS, is now being offered in a 64GB version, along with a few other updated specs. These include a bigger battery (4450mAh, up from 4300mAh) and limited support for microSD cards up to 128GB.

The latter means that you’ll be able to use microSD cards for back-ups and extra storage, but, due to Microsoft’s licensing limitations and to keep with Jolla’s ‘open’ ethos, cards that are over 32GB and formatted for use in the Jolla Tablet will not be readable by Windows computers or other devices, such as cameras, phones or tablets, that sport microSDXC support.

“We feel that this suits best with our community’s wishes and Jolla’s values,” says the company.

A couple of other changes see the tablet’s display now being fully laminated, and the addition of gyroscope and compass sensors. However, the proximity sensor that was previously touted will not be included.

Otherwise, on the hardware front, the Jolla Tablet is aiming to square up to the iPad Mini 2, with a 7.9-inch screen, sporting a resolution of 2048 x 1563. Inside, it’s powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, has 2GB of RAM and includes a 5MP rear camera.

Meanwhile, this time around, you have until the end of February to back the iPad alternative built by the same team of (largely) ex-Nokians who are also behind the Jolla phone.

Talking of which, the company is offering a special phone+tablet bundle(combo) as one of the available perks on its Indiegogo campaign, should you want to go all in on Sailfish OS. That’s the operating system that rose from the ashes of Nokia’s Meego OS, the company’s intended successor to Symbian before it jumped off a burning platform and into Microsoft’s arms.

Of note to previous backers of the Jolla Tablet, for a new perk of $25 you can upgrade to the new 64GB version.

Here is a full list of Jolla Tablet ‘perks’ on Indiegogo:

    Jolla Tablet 32GB: $219
    Jolla Tablet 64GB: $249
    64GB upgrade for early birds: $25
    Shipping: $20
    The Combo: Tablet 32GB & Phone: $419
    The Combo: Tablet 64GB & Phone: $449
references:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/29/jolla-tablet-64gb/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity_1730_-913292007294782856

Win 10 latest buzz-A Quick Peep

Microsoft unveils lots more about Windows 10, the next generation of its operating system, including how it will work across mobile, tablet, desktop and other platforms at a special windows 10 event.lets make a peek emerging things in point form.

• Windows 10 Has 1.7 Million Beta Testers

Windows 10 has been available as a technical preview since September 2014 and already Microsoft has signed up a sizeable testing contingent from the general public. The company revealed that over 1.7 million users are participating in the Insider program that provides access to early builds of Windows 10 ahead of its general release from over 1 billion Windows users worldwide.

• Windows 10 Is A Free Update for the first Year

Windows 10 will be a free update, for users running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 on PCs or notebooks, and for Windows Phone 8.1 users on mobile.

• Windows 10 Mobile Integrates Skype For Calls And Messages

The best thing about Windows 10 on mobile might be that it integrates Skype right into both the phone app and messages

• Windows 10 Mobile Gets Free Office Suite Apps

MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint are all going to arrive on Windows Phone for smartphones and small tablets, which are optimized for touch.

• Xbox App For Windows 10 causes Gamers More Social

Microsoft is trying to build a true, cross-service social network from Xbox on Windows 10 that spans services including Steam.

• Spartan Is A Brand New Browser For Windows 10

Spartan, a new browser built from the ground up for speed, collaboration and simplicity with Reading And PDF Markup Modes

• Microsoft Made Windows Holographic, An Augmented Reality Extension Of Windows 10

it lets you see the real world with virtual objects laid overtop. Just work on a virtual engine in your actual garage with your mechanic friend across the country.

• Microsoft HoloLens

MS is taking matters into its own hands with a headset to support Windows Holographic.It has transparent lenses so you can see the world around you, but overlays a digital image that places virtual objects in your surroundings.

references:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/windows-10-event-summary/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity_1730_-9061766176415544194

Facebook Acquires QuickFire Networks

Facebook has a acquired QuickFire Networks who built a custom hardware and software platform for reducing video file sizes and upload times. The Wall Street Journal got the news earlier today, with confirmation later arriving on QuickFire’s site.

QuickFire’s tech speeds up encoding videos with different profiles for frame rate, resolution, color and audio settings for different platforms. QuickFire’s solution relied on custom motherboards built to accommodate 11 high-end Intel Core i7 processors. Custom software let these processors work in unison, and a layer on top of that let the startup massively scale up by distributing work among multiple motherboards.

For users, the end result of Facebook integrating QuickFire’s tech would be reduced buffering of videos without degradation in quality.

According to a letter announcing the acquisition on QuickFire’s site from CEO Craig Lee, the company will wind down its prior business operations as the team transitions over to Facebook.

sources:
http://www.techcrunch.com

Malwares my computer affected with!

Recently my computer became slower considerably.I supposed that It was because of some malwares and I checked my running processes immediately.Then I saw some unknown processes running.This story is about malwares I faced with.







HpUI.exe
HpUI.exe is a potentially unwanted application that may hijack your web browser and display ads on your computer. It's belongs SupTab and Search Protect programs (probably some other adware programs too) that are classified as adware PUP. Search Protect redirects users to search.conduit.com. Multiple anti-virus engines have detected this file as malicious: Zhangling.BCD 20140807, Adware.Win32.SupTab.8120140807,HEUR/Malware.QVM06.Gen 20140807, SearchProtect 20140807. The first detection name is quite interesting because AVG anti-virus uses Zhangling as an identifier. But indeed, HpUI.exe has a valid certificated and its signer name is Zhang Ling. Other anti-virus programs use more obvious names such as adware SupTab and SearchProtect. Just like most adware and PUPs, it's distributed via pay per install networks and fake Flash or Java update web pages. It also comes bundled with freeware, toolbars and other applications like screensavers or even driver downloads. HpUI.exe is usually located in the 'C:\Program Files\SupTab\' folder and in Windows %Temp% folder. It remains unclear what's the main purpose if this file but it runs in the background all the time and uses system resource. I also noticed network activities related to this program. Needles to say, it's not essential for Windows and may cause lots of problems including annoying ads and system crashes

YoutubeAdBlocker

YoutubeAdBlocker is an adware program that displays pop-up ads, advertisement banners and sponsored links within Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome. Unfortunately, some free downloads do not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed and you may find that you have installed YoutubeAdBlocker without your knowledge.
YoutubeAdBlocker is advertised as a program that blocks ads while watching a video on Youtube. Though this may sound like a useful service, the YoutubeAdBlocker program can be intrusive and will display ads whether you want them to or not.The YoutubeAdBlocker adware infection is designed specifically to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.
YoutubeAdBlocker it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.
YoutubeAdBlocker is an ad-supported (users may see additional banner, search, pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and in-text link advertisements) cross web browser plugin for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, and distributed through various monetization platforms during installation. YoutubeAdBlocker is typically added when you install another free software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this adware program. When you install these free programs, they will also install YoutubeAdBlocker as well. Some of the programs that are known to bundle YoutubeAdBlocker include “Youtube Downloader HD”, “Fast Free Converter”, “Video Media Player 1.1″ and “DVDX Player 3.2″.
When installed, YoutubeAdBlocker will display advertising banners on the webpages that you are visiting, stating that they are brought to you by “Ads by YoutubeAdBlocker“.YoutubeAdBlocker may also display pop-up advertisements, in-text ads and and as you browse Internet, it will show coupons and other deals available on different websites.
The justification for YoutubeAdBlocker Ads according to its author, is that it helps recover programming development cost and helps to hold down the cost for the user.


IePluginService.exe

IePluginService.exe is a potentially unwanted program that is designed to protect its bundled programs and make sure they remain installed or unchanged by other third party programs.
The IePluginService.exe program is a part of the “IePlugin control” program, and is developed by Cherished Technology Limited, a company known for their malicious programs.
There are 6 versions of IePluginService.exe in the wild, the latest version being 3.26.5.0. It is started as a Windows Service with the name ‘WPM Service’. During the process’s lifecycle, the typical CPU resource utilization is about 0.0001% including both foreground and background operations, the average private memory consumption is about 3.55 MB with the maximum memory reaching around 6.96 MB. Additionally, typically read and write I/O disk operations is about 0 Bytes per minute for reads and 0 Bytes per minute for writes.
If you have IePluginService.exe program on your system, you will typically see a “IePluginService.exe” processes running in the Windows Task Manager.
IePluginService.exe is typically added when you install another free software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this program. Very often users have no idea where did it come from, so it’s not surprising at all that most of them assume that IePluginService.exe is a virus.
This program is also bundled within the custom installer on many reputable download sites, so if you have downloaded a software from these websites, chances are that IePluginService.exe was installed during the software setup process.
IePluginService.exe it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.
Once installed, IePluginService.exe will change the default search engine and home page in all major web browsers, and if you try to revert to their default settings, this program will not allow you to perform these changes.
IePluginService.exe is bundled within the installer of many toolbars, adware and other potentially unwanted programs, with the sole purpose of making the removal process of this programs more difficult.
Some examples of infections that will install the IePluginService.exe program are: AwesomeHP Toolbar, Sweet-Page Toolbar Platform, Sweet-Page Toolbar, Do-Searches Toolbar and many more programs


CONCLUSION
You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this these malwares. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.


references:
http://deletemalware.blogspot.com/

Virtual Reality(VR) approaches to the Web

An immersive three-dimensional virtual world has always required expensive stereoscopic head-mounted displays and other specialized equipment to step into the 3D-world.

A new, more accessible form of virtual reality delivered via the Web promises to let people experience digital worlds in 3-D using head-mounted displays connected to a variety of browser-enabled devices. Web VR is expected to offer the ability to move you from one immersive experience to another with a click of the mouse, touch of the screen or nod of the head. Web VR will let software developers port their virtual worlds to the Web, making them available for most VR hardware.

 

Google and Mozilla are setting these wheels in motion within the next month or so when they deliver updated Chrome and Firefox browsers that support Web VR. Facebook’s $2-billion acquisition of VR headset maker Oculus VR earlier this year and the release of relatively inexpensive headsets from Samsung and Google provide further evidence that Web VR could be ready for wider use.

 

VR for the masses

Web VR has been around since the early 1990s, when virtual reality modeling language, or VRML, aimed to allow the creation of virtual worlds—such as Second Life—linked together via the Web. But VRML could only be rendered using heavy-duty graphics workstations more likely found in a computer science lab or a data center than in one’s home. Although work on VRML continues, this first attempt was way ahead of the hardware.

 

The availability of content will largely define Web VR’s success. Businesses have already begun buying into the concept of immersive advertising, thanks in large part to Facebook’s investment in Oculus. Beer brewery Dos Equis created a promo that places you at a fancy party with “The most interesting man in the world.” To promote its new XC90 SUV Volvo created Volvo Reality, a virtual test drive and look at the car. Meanwhile the Sundance Film Festival's 2015 New Frontiers program, which showcases nontraditional and multimedia storytelling, will offer nine virtual reality works employing a variety of technologies. And Jaunt's virtual Paul McCartney app lets you walk around McCartney's piano, peering over his shoulder or looking into his eyes as he sings "Live and Let Die."

 

All of these projects are app-based: Just like a smartphone app, you have to find them and download them individually to your computer or phone—and most of them will run on only one kind of headset. Available gadgets include the still-in-beta Oculus Rift (targeted more at programmers than the average user) and Samsung Gear VR. Google's DIY Cardboard is an odd entry; the company offers directions to help you make a cardboard headset with lenses that you put over a smartphone to see VR content.

 

Look for headsets to become more common as prices fall. "As we continue to see economies of scale, virtual reality gets smaller, faster and cheaper," says Josh Carpenter, lead experience designer on the Mozilla project.

 

Immersive education and research

Educators see value in Web VR. Josh Maldonado, a student at Toronto’s Ryerson University, is developing Vessels, a digital tour of the human circulatory system using the Oculus Rift platform. Maldonado, the project’s leader, says he sees huge potential for Web distribution of this and other VR experiences.

 

Online accessibility could also make Web VR appealing to psychology researchers, according to Jim Blascovich, director of the Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He regularly uses virtual environments to perform experiments because they eliminate the inescapable variations of interpersonal interactions. "With virtual reality you can create an experiment that runs the same for every subject," he says. But there's still the problem of recruiting a wide sample of subjects. "We don't often use representative samples—we know a lot about sophomores in college." If VR gear becomes cheap and widely accessible, experimenters could recruit more diverse sample groups using IP addresses, he adds.

 

Virtual reality, actual software

In addition to interesting content Web VR’s success depends on widespread browser support and the ability to find this content. Mozilla is taking on the latter with its recently launched MozVR.com, a simple directory of virtual reality Web sites.

 

Browser support is a work in progress. Brandon Jones, an engineer on Google's Chrome browser team, is working to add Web VR interfaces to Chrome, coordinating with Mozilla to make sure that VR content will run consistently in both browsers. "If only one browser supports this or different browsers support it in divergent ways, it won't be as compelling," he says. When contacted, Microsoft would not say whether it plans to enable Web VR in its Internet Explorer browser.

 

New authoring tools in Chrome and Firefox should make it easier for Web developers to enable Web VR on their sites for those browsers. Glam, an open-source project led by VRML pioneer Tony Parisi, will let you use HTML-like tags and cascading style sheets, the basic tools of Web design, to create virtual worlds. And Unity, a popular 2-D and 3-D game-authoring tool, will support Web VR in an upcoming release. "We really believe that the Web could be the killer platform for virtual reality," Mozilla’s Carpenter says. "It is open, wild and creative."

references

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/virtual-reality-comes-to-the-web-maybe-for-real-this-time/?WT.mc_id=SA_TECH_20150106

Bill Gates believes in good past 2014

Ebola, Ukraine, Gaza, Malaysian Airlines MH370 & MH17, Terrorism, Mass Protests, Robin Williams' suicide and plenty other things were beamed into our skulls in 2014, but Bill Gates is ever the optimist.
Being exposed to the media, you can be forgiven for thinking that things are constantly getting worse and worse. Simply put, fear sells. If it bleeds, it leads. It is very easy to be cynical and have a negative outlook on the future, but Bill Gates is far more optimistic as he looks back on 2014 and toward the future... and not just because he's insanely rich.

No, instead Gates has reminded us that a lot of good things happened in 2014 too, even if it doesn't make the headlines. Just as he did at the end of 2013, Gates is drawing attention to some of the highlights from 2014, and some of it is pretty great.

In 2014, for the 42nd year in a row (at least), the child mortality rate has fallen. "More kids are living to see their fifth birthday than ever before," Gates asserts, as he highlights the drop in the number of children dying globally from preventable causes. In fact, the child mortality rate is falling faster than ever anticipated, and Gates highlights an article in The Economist showing that over 13.6 million children's lives have been saved since 2001.

HIV is another area where the news is getting better. In 2013, the number of people receiving treatment for HIV infection was greater than the number of people becoming infected and 2014 appears to have continued the trend. Those receiving treatment for the retrovirus are far less likely to ever pass it on, so just catching up and surpassing the number of newly infected persons, with the numbers receiving treatment, is a major milestone in the battle to eventually relegate HIV/AIDS to history.

Gates also notes how Nigeria was equipped to fight and contain Ebola due to its ongoing efforts to fight Polio. In fact, Nigeria quickly got Ebola under control while many of its neighbors struggled with it, and in the case of Polio, a total of only six cases were reported in Nigeria in 2014 so far, down from 53 in 2013, which brings Polio ever-closer to complete eradication.

Gates also highlights a breakthrough in the treatment of the deadly drug-resistant Tuberculosis disease that is costing poor countries billions of dollars to contain, and how the response to rotavirus - which kills hundreds of thousands of children per year - is growing in countries like India
sources:
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2014/12/17/bill-gates-good-news-2014

Facebook New Changes

If you are one of the many people confused by Facebook and its ever-changing algorithms, you’ll be pleased to know they've recently made some favorable changes to their operating system.

Bloggers desperately trying to reach their Facebook audience, and being blocked at every turn. Facebook has been experimenting a lot this year with delivering the best, most tailored news feed to its users, but at the cost of the readers seeing posts.

With the recent changes to targeting and tools, it is easier than ever to only show your posts to those who are interested, and to save different types of posts for different kinds of audiences.

New Facebook Tools Changes

Facebook has introduced very selective targeting options for you to really drill down and capture the right readership for your blog (or even specific posts or pages on your blog) every time you post.

Available to those who have enabled the Targeting and Privacy setting, you can now use it to provide posts to a subset of your audience.

Have a recipe post? You can now choose to show it to the part of your readership who have indicated to Facebook they like food or cooking. People who aren't interested in that won’t see the post. But they will see a post they are interested in, based on their likes and dislikes.

Post End Date

Have a time-sensitive post? You can choose a particular date it will stop showing up in news feeds… but it will still be visible on your page. Again, only available to those who have enabled Targeting and Privacy, and it’s only available on desktop at the moment.

Smart Publishing

Take the guesswork out of what your audience will resonate with. Can be hard to predict, so Facebook have rolled out to a select few media organizations (for now) the ability to identify and publish stories that are already popular with the folk on Facebook.

Frequently-shared links to your website will appear in the news feed of people who like your page. They won’t appear on your page, but you’ll get a whole new dashboard of insights and ability to moderate comments.

Page admins can opt in from the Publisher Tools section within Page Settings.

Insights

While reasonably in-depth, your current insights will now be even more descriptive. With a better overview, you can even more effectively understand and optimize your content for success.

It’s even easier now to see where your content is going with the addition of information about people and pages that share your links.

There are also changes made to the type of insights you have access to, and how your page and plugins drive traffic to sites.

You can find out more information, and keep up with further Facebook announcements here.

sources:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2014/12/13/new-facebook-changes-target-your-audience-effectively/

Finally,Sony cancels release of 'The Interview'

Major U.S. theater chains said they would not screen the film following terrorists threats, Sony has canceled the release of 'The Interview,' a comedy in which Seth Rogen and James Franco are sent to North Korea to assassinate Kim Jong Un.
The movie had been scheduled for release on December 25th.

Famous movie theaters including Regal Entertainment, AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, Carmike Cinemas, and Cineplex Entertainment all blocked showings of the new film, which would have accounted for 23,000 screens in North America.

Reads Sony's statement: "In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners' decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.

Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

The hackers behind the cyberattack that has paralyzed Sony Pictures posted a threat telling any viewer of the film to "remember the 11th of September 2001" and that movie theaters would be the targets.

'The Interview' is not the first victim of the North Korean-led attack on Sony Pictures. Over 100 terabytes of data was stolen including social security numbers, contracts, pre-release films, and hundreds of thousands of emails.

sources-http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2014/12/18/the-hackers-win-sony-cancels-release-of-the-interview-as-movie-theaters-bail

Huddle extendes Cloud-based Enterprise Startups

The clouds appear to be clearing for cloud-based enterprise startups. Huddle, the enterprise cloud collaboration company co-headquartered in London and San Francisco, is today announcing that it has raised another $51 million in funding.It decides to double down on growing its business in the U.S. and Europe. Specifically, co-founder Andy McLoughlin tells me that Huddle plans to hone in on sectors like government that have been some of the most successful for the company, building more features that cater to them.

This latest round which brings the total raised by Huddle to date to just over $83 million was made at a valuation of between $250 million and $300 million,this is what techcrunch reports.

That valuation and the funding event both speak to the how the clouds appear to be clearing for cloud-based enterprise startups. Earlier this year, Box  a competitor to Huddle filed for and then stalled on an IPO; but just yesterday it updated its S-1 with improving revenue figures. Another cloud company, New Relic, is expected to go public soon, too.

This latest round was led by Zouk Capital, with participation from the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund; and it also included Huddle’s previous: Matrix Partners, Jafco Ventures, DAG Ventures, and Eden Ventures. As part of this round, Nathan Medlock, Partner at Zouk Capital, led the deal and will join the Huddle board.
sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/11/enterprise-cloud-collaboration-service-huddle-raises-a-51m-growth-round-at-250m-300m-valuation/?ncid=rss

UK Intelligence blamed over US Tech Firms.

Social media which controlled by large tech firms in US are blamed for supporting terrorist activities by the UK Intelligence.detailed news is follows.

Citing a number of popular social media sites, Robert Hannigan( the director of UK intelligence and security organisation GCHQ) says that ISIS is the first terrorist group to grow up on the Internet, and they're "exploiting the power of the web".

"The extremists of ISIS use messaging and social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, and a language their peers understand," "The extremists of ISIS use messaging and social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, and a language their peers understand," he says. "The videos they post of themselves attacking towns, firing weapons or detonating explosives have a self-conscious online gaming quality."

"Their use of the World Cup and Ebola hashtags to insert the ISIS message into a wider news feed, and their ability to send 40,000 tweets a day during the advance on Mosul without triggering spam controls, illustrates their ease with new media."

Hannigan insists that GCHQ, along with MI5 and the Secret Intelligence Service, can't tackle terror without support from the dominant US technology companies.

"They aspire to be neutral conduits of data and to sit outside or above politics," he said. "But increasingly their services not only host the material of violent extremism or child exploitation, but are the routes for the facilitation of crime and terrorism."

"However much they may dislike it, they have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, who find their services as transformational as the rest of us."

Hannigan also noted a shift in attitudes to online media from terrorist organisations.

"Where al-Qaeda and its affiliates saw the Internet as a place to disseminate material anonymously or meet in “dark spaces”, ISIS has embraced the web as a noisy channel in which to promote itself, intimidate people, and radicalise new recruits," he wrote.

His comments were met with dismay in some quarters. Eric King, deputy director of Privacy International, said: “It’s disappointing to see GCHQ’s new director refer to the Internet – the greatest tool for innovation, access to education and communication humankind has ever known – as a command-and-control network for terrorists.”

Labour Party MP Tom Watson was cautiously optimistic, saying that Hannigan's comments could help draw a line on privacy. However he insisted: “I hope they do not confuse the use of public propaganda through social media by extremists with the use of the covert communications. It is illogical to say that because ISIS use Twitter, all our metadata should be collected without warrant It is illogical to say that because ISIS use Twitter, all our metadata should be collected without warrant.”

Efforts are already underway in the UK to tackle online extremism.

Security minister James Brokenshire met recently with representatives from technology companies - including Google, Microsoft and Facebook - in Luxembourg, the BBC reports.

The government's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), meanwhile, has removed more than 49,000 pieces of content that "encourages or glorifies acts of terrorism".

Hannigan formally took over the role of director of GCHQ at the end of October.

references:

http://mashable.com/2014/11/04/gchq-head-terrorist-warning/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

Facebook is working on an independent mobile application that will allow their users to communicate with each other without real names. The publication of this app is provided within the next few weeks, as the NewYork Times reports. The newspaper refers to people who are informed about Facebook's plans.

Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

While Facebook itself upholds the principle of true identity and only in exceptional cases softens the real name of duty, the planned app users of social networks will also allow the use of pseudonyms. Even with several pseudonyms they should be able to discuss openly online about issues that they do not want to be particularly associated.

The development team for a year preparing the application before this. The project is managed by Product Manager Josh Miller, who came to Facebook through the acquisition of specialized discussion forums startups Branch. Miller was CEO of Branch, the product of which represented a modern, user-friendly version of a classic online forum. Branching could invest in it to further discuss topics that belong to the original question a discussion only marginally or not at all. The Branch team had also developed an iOS app called Potluck, users of social networks should bring outside their circles in contact with people. She presented to news bites, could then be discussed together on.

The Social Network declined to comment to the Times report. A direct request to Josh Miller remained unanswered. According to the newspaper is still unclear how the proposed app with Facebook cooperates as social issues network - or whether it is at all connected to it. Furthermore, is not certain whether the application will also allow the anonymous sharing of photos, and could as a communication with existing friendships look.

Facebook reacts with this app apparently to the increasing success of sites that do not force them to surrender one's own identity. These include the social news site Reddit and the Secret and Whisper Apps. Apparently the development of the new application follows the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in April app strategy. It provides an app-hierarchy; the profitable mobile app of Facebook is at its highest point. The apps in the lower levels, however, according to Zuckerberg first attract people and then only seriously contribute to the revenue.

references:

http://referhowto.blogspot.com/2014/10/facebook-is-planning-app-for-anonymous.html

AAA named Siri as a Dangerous Driving Distraction

Siri may not be the hands-free savior Apple intended her to be. A new study by the AAA(American Automobile Association) Foundation for Traffic Safety ranks iOS 7 Siri as one of drivers’ worst distractions!

AAA noted that even though three out of four drivers think hands-free technology is safe to use on the road, it can be deceptively distracting, with potentially dangerous results

"Technologies used in the car that rely on voice communications may have unintended consequences that adversely affect road safety," AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's president and CEO Peter Kissinger said in a statement. "The level of distraction and the impact on safety can vary tremendously based on the task or the system the driver is using."

The study measured drivers’ reaction time with equipment such as instrumented test vehicles and heart-rate monitors. Although Siri is hands-free and eyes-free, drivers using the Apple function to perform a number of tasks experienced some of the most elevated levels of distraction.

"It is clear that not all voice systems are created equal, and today's imperfect systems can lead to driver distraction," said AAA CEO Bob Darbelnet. "AAA is confident that it will be possible to make safer systems in the future."

references:

http://readwrite.com/2014/10/08/siri-dangerous-driving-distraction

Micro-Investment Platform Acorns launches their Android App

Acorns, the micro-investment platform that lets users save for their future, has today launched on Android.

Acorns simply connects to your credit and debit cards and invests the change from each purchase (rounding up to the next dollar) into an investment portfolio. You can choose between five different risk options, from aggressive to conservative, and watch how your investments are performing over time.

Users can make special deposits or withdrawals (beyond the automatic ones) at any time, or change their risk profile.

In this way, Acorns promises to help you save and make money without leaving you without access to your cash.

Since launching on iOS in August, the app has grown to 60k active users and has thusly decided to capture the Android market on the heels of that momentum. According to the release, a third of all new users are under 23 and a quarter of them make less than $25,000 annually.

Acorns makes money by charging a monthly $1 fee for every active investment month, as well as a management fee that ranges from .5 percent to .25 percent, depending on how much you’re investing.

references:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/08/micro-investment-platform-acorns-lands-on-android/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

Few Thoughts of Windows 10

The first Windows 10 preview is, as the company has stressed repeatedly, is a small, and tailored set of new code. There is more coming. What we have in this release are desktop-focused features for business customers. A consumer preview will launch in January.

The preview isn't final code, so let’s not be unkind, but it does currently have a mixed set of user interface elements.There is plenty that works, like metro apps and desktop apps sharing space in the zoomed out modes There are two: Traditional Alt Tabbing, and Task view.

If you click on the Task view button, you see icons for open apps, similar to Alt Tab, and, below, your multiple desktops. And if you hit Windows Tab, you get the same thing. But if you hit Alt Tab, you get just the icons, and no virtual desktops.Here it is somewhat confusing ,isn't it?

It’s going to be a very busy 250 to 300 days in the Windows world.Lets wait and see how Microsoft will going to plan!

references:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/04/a-few-thoughts-on-windows-10/?ncid=rss

Apple To Announce New iPad October 16

According to the very recent reliable  reports, Apple's newest ipad  will launch in on October 16, putting its debut slightly ahead of the roll out for the mobile software. It also fits with Apple's pattern of October iPad announcements. 

Anticipation is high for a next-generation iPad Air, as well as a new version of the iPad mini. Rumors suggest there will be a new 12-inch version joining the 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch models, as well as the same Touch ID fingerprint scanner—the latter of which fuels speculation that the tablet will be capable of Apple Pay, the company's new mobile payments system. 
It's a strange thought—who would carry around a big tablet to pay for things in stores?and it would require a Near Field Communication chip, like the iPhones 6 have. Given that, there's a chance that the tablets could merely hook into Apple Pay to pay for online shopping. 
references:
http://readwrite.com/2014/10/03/apple-ipad-event-mac-os-x-ios81

Windows 10 preview build released!

At the beginning of yesterday’s Microsoft event Joe Belfiore, Vice President of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft made certain the audience understood that we were seeing an early build of its next operating system. Early build or not, for power users that demand multi-tasking, the oddly named Windows 10 looks ready to help you get everything done.

Some awesome features:

Nearly everyone was happy about the return of the Start Menu to Windows 8.1 and it’s still there in Windows 10 with Live Tiles integration brought over from Windows Phone. Even though the additional items on your Start Menu contextual menu could eventually take over your desktop, the size and orientation of the layout is up to you. The Live Tiles area can include any apps you have on your computer and can be displayed horizontally or vertically.

Just grab the contextual menu edges and resize as you see fit. Of course you can just remove all the Live Tiles and return to your old school Start Menu ways. It’s the option of and ability to customize that makes it spectacular. Instead of ham fisting you into the Live Tiles screen of Windows 8 where it takes over your entire screen, this is a good middle ground.

We also got a chance to play with Task View button that resides just to the right of the search button on the task bar. With it you can quickly see all the open apps in a particular Windows environment. If you have more than one desktop available, the virtual machines appear along the bottom of the display. I was able to quickly jump from environment to environment and in between apps. There were a few stutters, but this is early preview stuff and can’t be held against the product for now.

Task View is similar to OS X’s Mission Control, but it aligns the individual apps along the middle of screen in one or more lines, depending on how many apps you have open.

Microsoft also super charged the alt-tab key command with access to all apps in all desktop instances. If you have three apps open on the current desktop and four in a virtual machine you, can toggle between all of them with alt-tab. It’s another way in which Microsoft wants new and old users to be able to multi-task better in their upcoming OS.

Snapping four apps into a single window is cool if you have the display real estate. It’s a helpful feature for someone that needs access to four apps at once, but we’re going to have to wait for Microsoft to release meatier features in the future. Today was just a tiny little taste of what Windows 10 might have in store. A fancy bit of cheese before a meal. It’ll be interesting to see what the waiter brings out later.

If you’re interested in trying out Windows 10 before everyone else, Microsoft announced the Windows Insider Program. Brave souls can sign up to try the operating system while Microsoft is still working on it. The company is still prepping the release of the program so you can’t sign up just yet. But, if you have an extra computer lying around, it’s a fun way to see what the future holds for the software company.

references:

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/09/30/hands-windows-10-preview-build/