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China's Government Denies All Hacking Allegations |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:28 |
Peng Bo of China's Internet bureau of the State Council's Information Office is vehemently denying allegations by U.S. security experts, who insist Chinese officials are behind cyberattacks aimed at illicitly acquiring data on technology or trade secrets for the benefit of Chinese state companies. Peng calls the allegations "groundless."
A high-ranking Chinese official on Tuesday again rejected all accusations of involvement of his government in any hacking attacks against Western companies.
"The government has never supported or been involved in cyber attacks, and it will never do so. Those remarks are sheer nonsense," said Peng Bo, of the Internet bureau of the State Council's Information Office.
He rejected accusations by U.S. experts that China's military or government offices were behind cyber attacks aimed at illicitly acquiring information Relevant Products/Services on technology or trade secrets for the benefit of Chinese state companies.
China itself was the biggest victim of hacking attacks, Peng was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. "The remarks are groundless," he said.
Even if an attack was traced to China, it was very likely that people in other countries were controlling the attacks he said.
"There are tens of thousands of computers in China hijacked by people outside the country," he said.
Peng's remarks are the latest in a series of Chinese denials of involvement in hacking attacks, following accusations by U.S. Internet giant Google Inc. Google said it had fallen victim of sophisticated cyber attacks originating from China in December.
The company then said it was to reassess its engagement in China and announced it would stop to censor search results of its Chinese search engine.
A recent report to the U.S. Congress said it found evidence hinting at Chinese state involvement in hacking activities.
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Windows Phone 7 Series Focuses on Live Information |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:27 |
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer demonstrated a new approach to mobile operating systems with the Windows Phone 7 Series at the Mobile World Congress. The new Windows mobile OS is expected to be in phones in time for the holiday season. Ballmer said the Windows Phone 7 Series takes a live approach to information with dynamically updated content.
At the Mobile World Congress 2010 on Monday, Microsoft Relevant Products/Services CEO Steve Ballmer offered a sneak peak of the Windows Relevant Products/Services Phone 7 Series. The new platform signals the software giant's intent to compete head-on with Apple and Google for mobile market share.
Microsoft is pushing an integrated-experiences message with its latest mobile platform. Phones featuring the new operating system Relevant Products/Services will be in stories in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season.
"In a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience," Ballmer said. "Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people's lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences."
No iPhone Clone
How can Ballmer speak so boldly in a mobile era where Apple's iPhone is setting the pace and Google's Android is rapidly emerging (not to mention RIM's latest innovations and Palm's webOS)? Ballmer contends that Windows Phone 7 Series takes a fundamentally different approach to mobile-phone software.
The Start screen is a prime example. Microsoft has developed what it calls dynamically updated "live tiles" that show real-time content. This flies in the face of traditional static icons that offer stepping-stones to an application. With social networking Relevant Products/Services in mind, the Start screen lets users create a tile of a friend and get a readable, up-to-date view of the friend's latest picture and posts.
Of course, Microsoft is making a full court press with Bing on Windows Phone 7 Series. Every phone that uses the operating system will offer a dedicated hardware Relevant Products/Services button for Bing to give users one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone. What's more, Microsoft said, a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results, delivering the most relevant web or local results, depending on the type of query.
"No one's mobile platform that was good enough last year is going to be good enough this year or next year. Microsoft needed to evolve and they showed something that was very bold and very differentiated," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "Microsoft didn't bring an iPhone clone to market. The challenge now is to explain how this differentiation is better than what currently exists and, of course, to execute on this vision and make sure they deliver those devices this year."
Windows Phone Hubs
Another Windows Phone 7 Series differentiator is something called hubs. Hubs aim to bring together applications, services and related content from the web into a single view to streamline user tasks. Microsoft has developed six theme-based hubs: People, Pictures, Games, Music and Video, Marketplace and Office.
As its name suggests, the People hub drives social engagement through live friend feeds and a central location to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live, while the Pictures hub offers one-step photo posting to social networks. The Pictures hub also integrates the web and PC so users can show their entire picture and video collection on the mobile phone.
The Games hub delivers an Xbox Live experience on a phone, including the ability to see a gamer's avatar, achievements and gamer profile. The Music and Video hub offers content from a user's Zune, PC, online music services, and FM radio. Finally, the Marketplace hub offers Microsoft-certified Relevant Products/Services applications and games, while the Office hub delivers productivity software.
"There are a lot of questions that remain in terms of what the development environment is like, how applications are going to look in this new model that Microsoft demonstrated," Gartenberg said. "Microsoft promised those answers next month at (Microsoft MIX 10). The key is going to be to finish the story they started telling yesterday and ultimately deliver on that vision."
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Despite Suggestions, Microsoft Will Charge for Mobile OS |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:26 |
Despite some observers' suggestions, Microsoft will continue charging for Windows Phone 7 Series, just as it did for Windows Mobile. CEO Steve Ballmer called the mobile pricing model "simple." Windows Mobile has lost market share to Apple, Inc. and Research In Motion, and Android is free. Time will tell if Microsoft has the right idea.
When Microsoft Relevant Products/Services showcased its latest smartphone operating system Relevant Products/Services in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday with innovative features and a new name, CEO Steve Ballmer noted that one thing that won't be updated is its business model. That means original equipment manufacturers who want to feature Windows Relevant Products/Services Phone 7 Series will still pay a fee for each device, estimated in the past by Strategic Analytics at between $8 and $15 per phone.
"I think there's something clean and simple and easy to understand about our model," Ballmer was quoted as saying. "We build something, we sell that thing ... I think it's not only in our best interests, but it's a simple model that's easy for developers Relevant Products/Services, handset manufacturers, and our operator partners to deal with, to understand, and to build from."
One published estimate put Microsoft's potential income from the smartphone licensing at $300 million.
The Value of Free
Ballmer's comments spawned a debate among tech writers about whether the software giant, which is already losing market share to Research In Motion and Apple, should change its practices. Google's growing Android mobile platform is available free to OEMs, while Apple and RIM make their own operating systems for their fast-selling smartphones.
If it gave away Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft could still profit by selling applications, mobile subscriptions to Xbox Live and Zune, and advertising, or following Google's example and selling its own hardware Relevant Products/Services, critics have suggested.
"I think it comes down to creating value," said Kirk Parsons, senior telecommunications analyst at J.D. Power and Associates. "The fact that Microsoft's OS system offers built-in applications like Office -- featuring Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- increases the value proposition to OEMs and carriers. Whether that model will be sustainable in the long term remains to be seen."
Parsons said the model of free software platforms such as Android is bound to be enticing for manufacturers who want to gain market share. "But Google has other more lucrative revenue sources on which to build their mobile business, so it makes sense for them to use the free business model," he said. "Microsoft's mobile future is building its own devices -- that's where it can control the user experience, collect more revenue through phone sales, and build a stronger software development community like Apple and RIM."
No Reason for a Giveaway
Interpret Vice President Michael Gartenberg said it shouldn't be surprising that Microsoft is looking at the smartphone industry the same way it looks at the computer market and made it one of the world's most profitable corporations.
"Microsoft charges PC vendors for desktop Relevant Products/Services Windows," Gartenberg said. "As most OEMs are discovering, free mobile platforms are in many cases unfinished and require a lot of effort to make them useful for just table-stakes features. In the long run, Microsoft's mobile platform will help drive other Microsoft services and programs, but there's no need for them to give it away."
Windows Phone 7 Series will ship in HTC-manufactured handsets at the end of the year in time for holiday shopping.
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24KT Gold Playstation 3 Starts at $4,999 |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:18 |
Computer Choppers is selling exclusive golden gadgets including a $5K PS3 Slim, golden iPhones, and more.
Chip Chick links to a limited edition iPhone 3GS listed over on Computer Choppers. While the pricing wasn't offered, the device is constructed of 24kt gold and features an Apple logo studded with flawless diamonds.
We've seen similar iPhone designs like this over on Stuart Hughes --including the «world's most expensive iPhone»--as well as its $309K gold-plated PlayStation 3 Slim and its $464,000 gold-plated Wii console.
Computer Choppers also serves up a golden PlayStation 3 Slim, costing a starting price of $5K USD. Outside the normal PS3 stuff, the shell is made of 24kt gold, a custom logo, and two controllers covered in 24kt gold as well.
Want a 24kt gold Blackberry Storm 2? Computer Choppers has your number too. Crazy.
More like chopping up your wallet. |
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