Archive for December, 2010
Tablet Review: BlackBerry Playbook vs. Apple iPad vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab
Dec 24th
With BlackBerry set to launch its first tablet computer in early 2011, they are a number of positives for RIM with this device, so what are they.
1. Dimensions – The device is slightly bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Tab and about 33 per cent lighter than Apple’s iPad. Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft to roll out ARM-based iPad rival in 2011?
Dec 22nd
Microsoft is reportedly set to release a new version of its Windows operating system specifically designed for tablet devices. The new OS, which will run on chips from ARM Holdings, will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show on January, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Nestor Arellano
It might be easy to dismiss that Microsoft has already missed the boat on tablet devices as reports circulate that rival Apple is already preparing an iPad2 . To date, more than 3 million iPads have been sold worldwide while the market is simultaneously being flooded by Android-based iPad alternatives.
However, window of opportunity hasn’t closed for a Microsoft tablet device to compete with Apple’s iPad. Read the rest of this entry »
Reimagined keyboard for Android misses the mark
Dec 22nd
By Brent Rose
There are apps that I don’t want to like, but do. Then there are apps I do want to like, but don’t. The 8pen keyboard, unfortunately, belongs in this latter category. I’m a big fan of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, but the developer needs to go back to the drawing board with this one.
8pen is a replacement keyboard unlike any other. It completely does away with the standard QWERTY keyboard and replaces it with a circle surrounded by four quadrants. Each quadrant has eight letters or symbols, each one selected by starting in the center circle, going in a certain direction, looping your finger either clockwise or counterclockwise for a certain number of degrees, and then returning to the center circle. Sound complicated? It is. In fact, trying to explain how it works exactly would take up the entirety of this review, so I’ll just say watch 8pen’s promo video, if you’re really interested.
Canadians choose WikiLeaks as tech news story of the year
Dec 21st
Julian Assange might be runner-up to Mark Zuckerberg for Time’s venerable Person of the Year, but he is top choice by Canadians as the tech story of the year, according to a new poll.
ITBusiness.ca asked members of Delvinia’s AskingCanadians panel what they thought the top tech story of the year was. We narrowed it down for them to five different choices; WikiLeaks triggers a “cyber war”, Apple releases, Governments threaten BlackBerry ban, Google’s Street View cars steal Wi-Fi data, or Dalai Lama’s computer compromised by Chinese hackers. WikiLeaks was the overwhelming top choice with 52.8 per cent selecting it as story of the year, and Apple’s iPad was the runner-up with 25.6 per cent.
WikiLeaks and you: attacks a warning for the rest of us
Dec 20th
I can understand why anyone watching the WikiLeaks train wreck would dismiss it as the work of a disgruntled, attention-seeking, self-proclaimed journalist with a somewhat disconnected view of how statecraft is supposed to work. As much as we think this is all about Julian Assange and his beef with opaque governments everywhere, we’d be mistaken if we stopped there.
The Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks launched by a shadowy group known as Anonymous against the MasterCard and Visa Web sites illustrate the ease with which any Internet entity – your company’s Web site, your corporate Facebook presence, your e-mail in the cloud – can be taken down by complete strangers with a grudge. You think none of this applies to you; you think wrong. Because if someone, somewhere, wakes up tomorrow and decides you’ve committed some kind of mortal online sin, you’re cooked.
Security Predictions for 2011
Dec 17th
On December 7, we released our MessageLabs Intelligence 2010 Annual Security Report which highlighted the changes in the threat landscape during 2010 and looked ahead to potential trends for 2011. This blog is a snap shot of some of the trends and predictions noted in the report.
Global Spam Trends
In 2011, spam will become more culturally and linguistically diverse. The use of English in spam will fall from approximately 95 per cent of all spam to below 90 per cent driven by economic growth and broadband adoption in emerging economies. For instance, spammers will target Brazil with more than 40 percent of spam in Portuguese. Portuguese and Spanish will become some of the most popular languages used in spam other than English.
Web firms cry foul over Google results
Dec 15th
By Katherine Noyes (PC World)
A number of Web sites including TripAdvisor, WebMD, Yelp, and Citysearch have charged that Google gives preferential treatment to its own content when providing results for users’ online searches, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
“Google does seem to be chasing us and I don’t like it one bit,” TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer told the Journal.
Rumour round-up for Apple’s iPad 2
Dec 14th
The iPad made its debut almost one year ago, and as its anniversary nears, more rumors are popping up, claiming a new Apple tablet is in the works sporting front- and rear-facing cameras. Unnamed sources within Apple’s supply chain recently said a new iPad would be coming in early 2011 that, in addition to having two cameras, will be slimmer, lighter, and have a higher resolution screen, according to Reuters.
The Reuters report echoes previous speculation and rumor about the iPad 2. In November, Taiwan-based DigiTimes reported that production for iPad 2 will begin ramping up in February, presumably for an early spring launch after all, Apple likes anniversaries and the original iPad launched on April 3.
What the world Googled in 2010
Dec 13th
By Ian Paul
Another year is coming to a close and with it the endless parade of year-in-review articles rehashing the triumphs and tragedies of 2010. We’ve already seen Yahoo’s top searches of 2010 showing that Yahoos this year were most concerned with the BP Oil Spill, World Cup in South Africa, Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga.
Now it’s Google’s turn with a look at what its millions of users have been interested in this past year.
Lessons learned from Gawker’s password breach
Dec 16th
Posted by idgns in Privacy and Security
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By Tony Bradley
Unless you’ve been leading a Luddite existence–off camping in the Rockies or something–you are probably aware that Gawker was the victim of an attack which exposed passwords and led to a deluge of Twitter spam. The silver lining of this incident is that it gives us yet another opportunity to examine real-world passwords and hopefully learn a lesson or two…but don’t hold your breath.
Thanks to some analysis from the Wall Street Journal, we now know that the most popular password among the exposed Gawker passwords is the perpetually popular “123456″. Yes, seriously. Other popular choices include “password”, “passw0rd”, and “qwerty”. Nobody would ever guess or crack those enigmatic secrets.
Read the rest of this entry »