Category: reader

Windows Blue: Microsoft’s Plan To Release a New Version of Windows Every Year

MrSeb writes “Way back in August, three months before the release of Windows 8, we learned about the existence of a project at Microsoft codenamed Blue. At the time it wasn’t clear whether this was Windows 9, or some kind of interim update/service pack for Windows 8. Now, if unnamed sources are to be believed, Windows Blue is both of those things: a major update to Windows 8, and also the beginning of a major shift that will result in a major release of Windows every 12 months — just like Apple’s OS X. According to these insiders, Blue will roll out mid-2013, and will be very cheap — or possibly even free, to ensure that ‘Windows Blue the next OS that everyone installs.’ Exact details are still rather vague, but at the very least Blue will make ‘UI changes’ to Windows 8. The sources also indicate that the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 SDKs will be merged or standardized, to further simplify the development of cross-platform apps. Perhaps more important, though, is the shift to a 12-month release cadence. Historically, Microsoft has released a major version of Windows every few years, with the intervening periods populated with stability- and security-oriented service packs. Now it seems that Microsoft wants to move to an OS X-like system, where new and exciting features will be added on an annual basis. In turn, Microsoft will drop the price of these releases — probably to around $25, just like OS X.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

See more here:
Windows Blue: Microsoft’s Plan To Release a New Version of Windows Every Year

Google, Microsoft, PayPal, other Romanian sites hijacked by DNS hackers

For a brief time, people trying to visit google.ro on Wednesday were connected to this page instead. Kaspersky Labs Romanian websites for Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, PayPal, and other operators were briefly redirected to a rogue server on Wednesday. The redirect is most likely a result of a decade-old hacking technique that underscores the fragility of the Internet’s routing system. For a span of one to several hours on Wednesday morning, people typing Google.ro , Yahoo.ro , and Romanian-specific addresses for other sites connected to a website that was purportedly run by an Algerian hacker, according to numerous security blog posts, including this one from Kaspersky Lab. Researchers said the most likely explanation for the redirection is a technique known as DNS poisoning, in which domain name system routing tables are tampered with, causing domain names to resolve to incorrect IP addresses. DNS poisoning first came to light in the mid-1990s when researchers discovered that attackers could inject spoofed IP addresses into the DNS resolvers belonging to Internet service providers and large organizations. The servers would store the incorrect information for hours or days at a time, allowing the attack to send large numbers of end users to websites that install malware or masquerade as banks or other trusted destinations. Over the years, DNS server software has been updated to make it more resistant to the hack, most recently in 2008, when numerous providers introduced fixes to patch a DNS cache poisoning vulnerability discovered by researcher Dan Kaminsky. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Continue reading here:
Google, Microsoft, PayPal, other Romanian sites hijacked by DNS hackers

Court Demands Samsung Pay Apple $120,000 per Day

Must be an uncomfortable moment over at Samsung headquarters right now. Just weeks after mobile division head J.K. Shin talked some seriously big game , a court in the Netherlands granted one more point to Apple in the companies’ ongoing patent lawsuits. More »

Read the original post:
Court Demands Samsung Pay Apple $120,000 per Day

Pro-Iranian hackers stole data from UN atomic agency’s server

The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency has admitted that data from a retired server at its Vienna headquarters was stolen and posted to a hacker website. A group calling itself Parastoo allegedly stole the data in an effort to draw attention to Israel’s nuclear weapons program and as a protest against attacks on Iran’s nuclear efforts—including the use of the Stuxnet worm and assassinations of Iranian nuclear researchers. A Pastebin posting on November 25 by someone purporting to represent the group (which takes its name from the Farsi name for the swallow) listed the e-mail addresses of physicists and other experts that had consulted with the IAEA. The message urged the people whose addresses were listed to petition the IAEA to investigate “activities at Dimona”—the site of Israel’s Negev Nuclear Research Center, which is widely believed to be the center of Israel’s nuclear weapons production efforts. “We would like to assert that we have evidences [sic] showing there are beyond-harmful operations taking place at this site and the above list who technically help IAEA could be considered a partner in crime should an accident happen there,” the statement read. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

More:
Pro-Iranian hackers stole data from UN atomic agency’s server

A Sneak Peek At the Mind-Boggling Future of Computer Graphics

Computer graphics have come a long way since a T-Rex ate that lawyer in Jurassic Park . But if these glimpses of what the next generation of CG has in store, we ain’t seen nothing yet. Cloth simulations with hyper-realistic wrinkling, modelling complex human hair using thermal imaging, and new approaches to smoke rendering will make our future blockbusters even more blockbustery. More »

More:
A Sneak Peek At the Mind-Boggling Future of Computer Graphics

MediaPortal posts 2.0 alpha media hub and new remote apps, teases 1.3 beta with Titan

Home theater PC owners only just recovering from their turkey or tofu comas will have some updating to do — MediaPortal has been busy. The experimenters among us will most likely want to jump straight into the promised MediaPortal 2.0 Alpha Autumn , which carries new visual layouts and video backgrounds, a news plug-in and a party-friendly music player. New versions of remote tools like aMPdroid, MPExtended, WebMediaPortal and WifiRemote bring their own slew of upgrades, such as HTTP Live Streaming in MPExtended or a “what’s new” interface in aMPdroid. We’ll readily admit that our eye is most drawn to the yet-to-be-launched MediaPortal 1.3 beta’s addition of the Titan skin you see up above: going beyond what we saw in October, the extra-polished look goes a long way towards accommodating newcomers and the style-conscious. We’re still waiting on publicly accessible 1.3 beta code, but everything else is waiting for open-source media hubs at the included links. Filed under: Cellphones , Home Entertainment , Software , HD Comments Via: Missing Remote Source: MediaPortal (1) , (2) , (3)

Follow this link:
MediaPortal posts 2.0 alpha media hub and new remote apps, teases 1.3 beta with Titan

Red Light Cameras Raise Crash Risk, Cost

concealment writes with news of dissatisfaction with a pilot program for stoplight-monitoring cameras. The program ran for several years in New Jersey, and according to a new report, the number of car crashes actually increased while the cameras were present. “[The program] appears to be changing drivers’ behavior, state officials said Monday, noting an overall decline in traffic citations and right-angle crashes. The Department of Transportation also said, however, that rear-end crashes have risen by 20 percent and total crashes are up by 0.9 percent at intersections where cameras have operated for at least a year. The agency recommended the program stay in place, calling for ‘continued data collection and monitoring’ of camera-monitored intersections. The department’s report drew immediate criticism from Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, who wants the cameras removed. He called the program ‘a dismal failure,’ saying DOT statistics show the net costs of accidents had climbed by more than $1 million at intersections with cameras.” Other cities are considering dumping the monitoring tech as well, citing similar cost and efficacy issues. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More:
Red Light Cameras Raise Crash Risk, Cost

Windows 8 sales are good, if not great, at 40 million copies in the first month

Tami Reller, corporate vice president (and chief financial officer and chief marketing officer) for Windows and Windows Live, announced today that Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses after its first month of retail availability. Is that number good, bad, or merely mediocre? Probably good, but perhaps not great. Microsoft sold 60 million copies of Windows 7 in the first ten weeks of that operating system’s availability, with the Wall Street Journal estimating that 40 million copies were sold in the first month. With Windows 8 selling 40 million copies in five weeks, it seems to be selling at about the same pace as Windows 7. Considering the different market dynamics—Windows 7 was an iterative release that fulfilled substantial pent-up demand as businesses chose to ignore Windows Vista whereas Windows 8 is a more controversial update being brought to a market that is generally happy with Windows 7 anyway—this is a healthy performance. Windows 7 sold very well and matching it is no mean feat. The apparent failure to surpass Windows 7’s launch could explain the mixed reports on early sales. Strong sales can still be disappointing if they were expected to be stronger still. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Read More:
Windows 8 sales are good, if not great, at 40 million copies in the first month