Sunday, 18 August 2013

Samsung to Launch Smartwatch Next Month

  It’s offficial:
  Samsung Electronics Inc. will launch its first wristwatch smartphone early next month, people familiar with the plan say. The move would allow Samsung to potentially beat rival Apple Inc. on what is expected to be the next major battleground for mobile phone makers.
  The world’s largest smartphone maker will unveil its first device worn around the wrist called Galaxy Gear on Sept. 4, ahead of Berlin’s IFA, a consumer electronics show where technology companies showcase their gadgets. It will go on sale this year, the people said.
  But, one person said the device won’t have flexible displays, contrary to the company’s patent filings in the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year that suggested a device with a bendable screen was in the works.
  Analysts had cast doubts about mass producing flexible screens for a couple of years, making the possibility of wristwatch smartphones grim.
  Wearable smart devices have been tipped as the next jackpot niche for leading handset makers such as Samsung and Apple as the lucrative high-end segment of the smartphone market worldwide is saturated. Samsung wrested the world’s largest smartphone maker title away from Apple last year and has pushed to widen the lead with a portfolio covering a wide array of smartphone and tablets.
  Though the concept of a phone wrapped around one’s wrist has been a widely known concept for a decade or more, the hype has been building around “smart watches” recently with both Apple and Samsung prepping devices. Sony in June showed off a wristwatch-like device that connects with most smartphones running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
  It’s still unknown whether Samsung’s new gear will also work via a conventional smartphone or as a standalone product.
  Samsung’s earlier invitations for the same-date product launch was widely expected to be the next iteration of its phablet device Galaxy Note with a larger 5-inch screen.
  The company also plans to showcase the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA.
  Bloomberg reported earlier that Samsung will launch the wristwatch device at its “Unpacked” event on Sept. 4.

Windows XP. Because a safety update will never grow to be out there

  Microsoft has reminded, cajoled, and pleaded with customers to move off of Windows XP prior to assistance for its old OS expires subsequent year. Now Microsoft warns customers that they may be topic to “zero-day” threats for the rest of their lives if they do not migrate.
  “The pretty very first month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, obtain the vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to determine if it shares these vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does windows 7 professional retail version, attackers will try to create exploit code which will take advantage of these vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Because a safety update will never grow to be out there for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will essentially have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
  Zero-day vulnerabilities refer towards the way in which hackers can attack an operating method or other code just before a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Since Microsoft will never patch Windows XP once more right after April 2014, at some point some vulneability that affects XP will be discovered.
  Involving July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an impacted item in 45 Microsoft safety bulletins. Thirty of these also impacted Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
  Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will assist mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware computer software could possibly supply some protection.
  “The challenge here is the fact that you will never know, with any self-confidence, in the event the trusted computing base with the program can actually be trusted for the reason that attackers will likely be armed with public understanding of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could allow them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their decision,” Rains wrote.
  That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago utilized, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till right after subsequent April, then unleash them around the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only enhanced, which means that your XP machine is a lot more vulnerable, not much less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
  The problem that some XP users have is that they’re so in adore with the way that Windows XP does items that they’re reluctant to migrate, specially to Windows 8. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that provide functionality related to XP: here’s ways to uncover them.
  The bottom line is this: whilst Microsoft stands to gain from arguing that customers need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So if you are nevertheless on Windows XP, begin considering a migration technique.
     http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html

Friday, 2 August 2013

Time Warner Cable drops CBS as talks over fees fall short

  Notes that CBS is blocking full-episode streaming on its Web site for some with Time Warner Cable as their broadband provider.
  With changes in technology complicating the balance of power between television creators and distributors, CBS and Time Warner Cable failed to reach an agreement on fees Friday. After weeks of talks and multiple deadline extensions, the broadcaster's flagship network went dark for the cable giant's subscribers in several major U.S. cities.
  CBS being dropped from a cable system for the first time in its history opens the door for companies like Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to deliver those transmissions in real time for Time Warner subscribers in New York. Time Warner subscribers can also turn online to CBS's Web site or Amazon to watch popular shows like "Under the Dome."
  Time Warner Cable, on a screen that pops up where CBS's programming should be, is directing its subscribers to turn to CBS.com to watch, but CBS appears to be eliminating the option to watch full episodes on its Web site for some. In New York, people with Time Warner Cable as their broadband provider couldn't access any CBS full-length videos online, nor could people with TWC as their provider in other parts of the country unaffected by the blackout.
  "If Time Warner Cable is a customer's internet service provider, then their access to CBS full episode content via online and mobile platforms has been suspended as a result of Time Warner Cable's decision to drop CBS and Showtime from their market," CBS spokeswoman Dana McClintock said in an email. "As soon as CBS is restored on Time Warner Cable systems in affected markets, that content will be accessible again."
  Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff said CBS should not be allowed to abuse the privilege of using publicly owned airwaves to deliver its programming. "CBS has shown utter lack of regard for consumers by blocking Time Warner Cable's customers, including our high-speed data only customers, from accessing their shows on their free website," she said.
  CBS, which is the parent company of CNET, said in a statement it "deeply regrets" that Time Warner Cable has dropped its network in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, as well as other smaller markets. It criticized Time Warner for "indulging in pointless brinksmanship" and twisting the facts to the public, and said it is eager to make an agreement with "fair compensation for the most-watched television network with the most popular content in the world."
  "We hope and believe this period of darkness will be short," the broadcaster said.
  Time Warner Cable said that when it agreed to continue talks until Friday, it expected to engage in a meaningful negotiation with CBS. "Since then, CBS has refused to have a productive discussion," it said.
  "It's become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they're not willing to come to reasonable terms," it added in a statement.
  In addition to the blackout of CBS in select markets, CBS properties Showtime, TMC, FLIX, and Smithsonian are also going dark for all subscribers.
  CBS Corp. and Time Warner Cable have been negotiating a new carriage pact with under multiple extensions to their previous agreement that expired June 30.
  Failing to reach an agreement on retransmission fees -- money that CBS requires from TWC to carry the channel for its subscribers -- comes as customers who lose CBS stations face more online alternatives. Time Warner has gone so far as to encourage New York customers to explore Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to pick up the broadcasts that have been dropped from its cable packages. Usually, many CBS shows are available on the network's own Web site, typically for a limited window of time, and Amazon Prime customers can watch "Under the Dome" on its Instant Video service four days after they run.

Microsoft and Computer makers must convince the masses

  Windows 8 keeps clawing its way up the market place share charts, but not in the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
  In line with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it lastly surpassed Windows Vista. Once again, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of four.24 percent.
  Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding robust. In actual fact, Windows 7’s market place share improved last month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 percent bump in marketplace share in spite of the looming finish of XP assistance by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP remain one of the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 percent of your market place, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
  In other words, any market share that Windows eight gained last month appears to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
  When it’s not surprising that customers are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating technique, acquiring people to switch from XP or Windows 7 might be tougher for Microsoft, especially amongst users who desire to stick having a standard desktop interface.
  Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for all those users, with all the return in the Commence button, a boot-to-desktop option, quicker access to sophisticated desktop functions, and also a strategy to prevent modern-style menus from popping up in the course of desktop use.
  But ultimately, Microsoft and Computer makers must convince the masses that they require to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. More affordable touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll most likely be a though just before the market place share needle moves a great deal for Windows XP and Windows 7.