Which new smartphone will be summer's first big hit?

Which new smartphone will be summer's first big hit? Samsung's Galaxy S III, the HTC One X, a new iPhone, or perhaps a sleeper smartphone could wind up being the gadgets we talk about in the months to come. by Eric Mack May 8, 2012 9:00 AM PDT

(Credit: CNET) Summer smartphone season kicks off this month with CTIA in New Orleans, but the big phone makers have already started revealing the touch-screen goodies they hope will become your latest addiction. I sifted through the recently announced devices and a few that we're still expecting to try and picked the ones most likely to be remembered four months from now -- either as a mega-success, or the tech punch line of summer 2012. We already know of three blockbuster phones that will be available before most schools are out this month -- Verizon's Droid Incredible 4G LTE from HTC is official; a quad-core Samsung Galaxy S III has been unveiled in Europe and already booked its summer trip to the States we hear, and HTC's flagship Android phone is also here in the form of the HTC One X. Those are the three leading contenders for sweet summer phone of the year, but there's always room for surprises and surprising sleepers. As always, summer here in North America will get started with Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, leaving room for an early iPhone 5 debut. There could also be some sort of Nexus bonus at Google I/O later in June. Finally, there's the possibility that some of the more quirky concept phones out there might break on through to the mainstream. While the Nokia 808 PureView with its 41-megapixel camera isn't slated to be released in North America, perhaps there's an until-now silent majority of cameraphone fanatics craving hard core specs that will clamor for it. And what about that Asus Padfone we've been hearing about for months that converts into a tablet and then into a laptop with the right docking equipment? Summer's a great time to take a convertible for a spin, after all. Flip through the slideshow below for my quick takes on the early contenders for top phone of the season.

Nokia to offer more mobile apps for Lumia phones

Nokia to offer more mobile apps for Lumia phones PayPal, Angry Birds Space, Box, and Time magazine are behind just some of the apps Nokia has in store for its Lumia Windows Phone users. by Lance Whitney May 8, 2012 9:37 AM PDT

The Windows Phone Marketplace will soon be home to more apps for Lumia phone users. (Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Nokia has cooked up deals with a host of developers to lure more apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace for Lumia smartphone owners. Announced at CTIA Wireless 2012 today, the new partnerships with several leading app developers are aimed at offering more relevant apps for Lumia users. Games are hot on the list, with Angry Birds Space soaring onto Lumia phones. Though no launch date was revealed, Nokia said it's working with Angry Birds creator Rovio to design games specifically for Lumia devices. Electronic Arts is also joining the Windows Phone party, slated to offer such games as FIFA, Madden NFL, NBA Jam, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Mirror's Edge, and Yahtzee. Among entertainment apps, an AOL Entertainment Hub will offer exclusive access to 55,000 radio stations, streaming music, and movie trailers, among other content. Sports fans will soon be able to tap into an ESPN Hub with Live Tile updates of the latest scores and coverage of tennis games, NASCAR racing, and the 2012 Olympics. A Windows Phone version of ESPN Fantasy Football will reach Lumia owners this fall. Late next month, live coverage of the PGA Tour will also find its way onto Lumia phones, providing scores, highlights, and player information. Related stories Hands-on with the HTC Evo V 4G FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on Boost Mobile's first 4G phone: The HTC Evo Design 4G HTC Evo Design 4G now available on Boost (photos) A dedicated PayPal app will launch for Windows Phone, letting Lumia owners pay for items on the go. An app from cloud storage site Box will debut this summer, giving Lumia customers mobile access to their online files. And deal site Groupon is upgrading its Windows Phone app to offer users personalized, location-based deals. In the news department, Time and Newsweek's Daily Beast will join the Windows Phone Marketplace with dedicated apps, both taking advantage of the Live Tiles feature to deliver the latest news. With interest and sales hot among Apple and Android devices, Nokia and Microsoft have been working hard to woo more developers to the Windows Phone platform. That investment seems to be paying off. The Windows Phone Marketplace has been growing at a healthy pace. It is currently home to about 80,000 apps, up from just 50,000 at the end of last year. "We are focused on delivering great, locally relevant apps, and importantly, those which offer unique, exclusive and original experiences," Marco Argenti, senior vice president for Nokia Developer Experience, said in a statement. "With Nokia Lumia smartphones now available in 48 markets, developers are rapidly recognizing the business opportunities and creating their best work for our consumers."

Apple wins patent for 4G MacBook connectivity

Apple wins patent for 4G MacBook connectivity The company's patent relates to the way the antenna is housed in the computer, which in this case, is in a cavity behind the bezel. by Don Reisinger May 8, 2012 9:44 AM PDT (Credit: Apple)

A new patent Apple has been awarded seems to hint that the company is considering bringing 4G connectivity to its MacBook line. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published a patent Apple won related to the way in which a 4G antenna is housed in a laptop. The invention describes how a 4G antenna can be hidden in a "conductive cavity" located behind the upper bezel around the computer's screen. Apple argues that the placement of the antenna at the top of the computer can enhance the likelihood of securing a strong signal, though the company did leave it open to placing the antenna in other cavities around the device. Patently Apple was first to report on the patent. Related stories The wait for a Mac with 3G/4G continues Apple wants its 3G MacBook prototype back Apple secures 25 patents, including iMac, iPad Smart Cover Apple wins patent for iTunes Store user interface For years now, rumors have suggested that Apple is at least considering bundling mobile connectivity with its notebook line. Last year, a North Carolina man came across an Apple prototype notebook featuring an antenna that allowed users to connect to 3G networks. Soon after trying to sell it on eBay, Apple demanded its prototype back, prompting some to wonder if mobile connectivity would indeed make its way to its MacBook line. Although the patent might lend some hope to those who believe Apple will launch 4G connectivity in the MacBook, patents are by no means a smoking gun. Major companies like Apple file for a host of patents every year, and in many cases, never end up using the technology they develop. This could very well end up in that bin. Beyond that, Patently Apple found that the iPhone maker secured a host of other patents today, including one related to event processing of Web pages in iOS. Apple also was awarded six design patents related to an iPad keyboard dock, the iPad Nano's display module, and others. Apple declined CNET's request for comment on the patent.

iPhone 4S reaching out to three more regional carriers

iPhone 4S reaching out to three more regional carriers Bluegrass Cellular in Kentucky, Golden State Cellular in California, and Nex-Tech Wireless in Kansas will be getting custody of Apple's flagship phone come May 18. by Lance Whitney May 8, 2012 10:27 AM PDT

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Mobile subscribers at three more regional carriers will soon be able to pick up the latest iPhones. Kentucky's Bluegrass Cellular, California's Golden State Cellular, and Kansas' Nex-Tech Wireless are next on the regional list to carry Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. Among the three carriers, Bluegrass Cellular and Nex-Tech Wireless spilled the most beans. Both confirmed on their Web sites that on May 18 each would start offering its customers all three models of the iPhone 4S, and at prices $50 less than those charged by the three nationwide carriers. The 16GB version will sell for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99, all with the usual two-year contract. Both carriers will also offer the iPhone 4 for $49.99. As futher incentive, Nex-Tech Wireless subscribers will get unlimited data and messaging as part of the package. Bluegrass Cellular users will also receive unlimited messaging but will be restricted to 3GB of data each month. "Bluegrass Cellular is pleased to offer iPhone 4S to our customers throughout the Bluegrass service area nationwide," Bluegrass Cellular president and CEO Ron Smith said in a statement. "We will give iPhone customers unparalleled service as they experience this amazing device and its unique features and applications on our network, wherever they go. Golden State Cellular was mum about the iPhone on its Web site, but the carrier is offering the same models and prices and targeting the same launch date as the other two, according to AppleInsider. All three join five other regional carriers who launched the new iPhone last month. Such carriers typically provide better prices and plans to their local subscribers than what Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint offer their customers.

Limit your participation in Facebook social ads The new generation of Facebook ads allows marketers to tailor their pitches based on your Facebook profile, interests, location, friends, and Web activities. by Dennis O'Reilly May 8, 2012 10:28 AM PDT What makes Facebook worth $100 billion? (Likely somewhat less, as Suzanne Vranica and Shayndi Raice explain in the Wall Street Journal.) Topping the list is the revenue-generating potential of the company's upcoming Premium ads and other new advertising programs. Facebook, Google, and just about every other big-name Web service make their money by selling what they know about you to advertisers and other third parties. The companies claim they don't sell personally identifiable information to third parties, but one way or another, information about their users is the services' bread and butter. The more the companies know about you, the more the advertisers know about you, and the easier it is for the advertisers to get you to do what they want you to do. The Facebook Data Use Policy explains all the company's sources of information about its users. Of course Facebook records what you do on the site, but it also gleans information from the device you use to sign in: We receive data from the computer, mobile phone or other device you use to access Facebook. This may include your IP address, location, the type of browser you use, or the pages you visit. For example, we may get your GPS location so we can tell you if any of your friends are nearby. In some way, shape, or form, what Facebook knows about you is converted into a commodity of value to advertisers. The resulting ads persuade you to take some action, most likely to buy something. A Facebook advertiser is also hoping you'll click the Like button, post a comment, or even better, share the ad with your Facebook friends. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This is capitalism, after all. The only thing missing is awareness among Facebook users of how their personal information -- identifiable or not -- is being used by Facebook's advertisers. People may not know that when they click a Like button, post a comment, or share a link on a company's Facebook page, they may become part of an online ad network. The Facebook Ads settings let you limit your participation in social ads, but it may simply be too soon to opt out entirely. How much do you really need to share about yourself? The Facebook for Business site describes the user information the company shares with advertisers: Think about the profiles (timelines) of the people you want to reach with your ads, and select criteria based on what your audience is interested in, instead of what they might be looking to buy. You can target by: Location, Language, Education, and Work Age, Gender, Birthday, and Relationship Status Likes & Interests: Select Likes & Interests such as "camping," "hiking," or "backpacking" instead of "tents" or "campers" Friends of Connections Connections No Facebook user could be faulted for wanting to restrict how much Facebook and the company's advertisers know about them. The easiest way is to limit the personal information in your profile. Consider that your friends and family already know you pretty well. If you use your Facebook account for work, don't include anything in your profile, timeline, and elsewhere that you wouldn't gladly share with your boss, your boss' boss, your boss' boss' boss, etc. While you can create subgroups within a profile and restrict access to profile data, it's safer to have two separate profiles for work and nonwork. Use the drop-down to choose who can view your Facebook profile data.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) To edit your Facebook profile, click your name to open your profile and click the Edit Profile button in the top right. (Note that your name, profile pictures, networks, user name, and user ID are always public.) Use the drop-down menu to the right of an entry to change who can view the information (public, friends, list, only you), or click Custom for more options (friends of friends, specific people or lists). Run through the profile categories in the left pane and remove or limit access to your personal info. When you're satisfied with what your sharing and with whom, click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the window.

The custom view options for Facebook profile data include friends of friends and specific people.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) Keep in mind that "Only me" actually means "only me and Facebook and anyone Facebook decides to share it with -- in the aggregate, of course (cough, cough)." This may cause you to think twice about including in your profile more personal information than is absolutely necessary. Many, many Facebook users want to share their profile information with the public. They may also want to attract as many Facebook "friends" as they can. Even the most public of Facebook profiles can be kept private to an extent. The simplest way to limit the audience of a status update is by clicking the Friends button on the bottom right of the text box and choosing one of your lists of friends (the menu's options are the same as those shown above for editing profile entries). Facebook's privacy options include a social-ad opt-out Facebook regularly tweaks its privacy settings. At present, the three options shown when you click Home > Privacy Settings are Public, Friends, and Custom. Click Custom to change the default privacy setting for your posts to friends of friends, specific people or lists, or only you. Enter the people you don't want to see your posts by default in the "Hide this from" text box. Finally, click the Save Changes button. Change who sees your Facebook status updates by default via the Custom Privacy Settings dialog. (Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) The "How you connect" settings below the default options let you customize who can look you up by name, e-mail address, or phone number, and who can send you messages and friend requests. The options under Profile and Tagging restrict who can post on your wall, who can view the posts, whether you want to review posts and tags before they appear, and whether you want to activate Facebook's auto-recognition feature for images other people post. Related stories Facebook readying new premium ads? Facebook IPO: the growth wild card Facebook: ads help keep us free Click Edit Settings next to Ads, Apps and Websites. The simplest solution is to choose "Turn off all apps" under "Apps you use." You can also change the information individual apps can access or delete apps one at a time. To prevent your friends from dragging information about you along with them when they use apps, click Edit Settings next to "How people bring your info into apps they use." Uncheck everything and click Save Changes. Make sure instant personalization is disabled unless you want to participate in Facebook's partnership with such sites as Bing, Yelp, Pandora, and Rotten Tomatoes. You can also enable or disable public search. The first of the two options under Ads lets you opt out of a feature that the company hasn't yet enabled: giving third-party applications and ad networks permission to use your image and name in ads. To limit your participation in Facebook's social ads, click "Edit social ads settings" at the bottom of the window. Choose "No one" next to "Pair my social actions with ads for" and click Save Changes.

Opt out of Facebook's social ads by choosing "No one" on the Facebook Ads page. (Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) If only it were that simple. The era of social ads is just beginning. We don't know what we're opting into or out of. One of Facebook's new ad initiatives is Facebook Offers, which targets local deals, as CNET's Charles Cooper described in a post from last month. Also in the offing are Logged Out ads that play a video ad when you sign out, and Reach Generator, which promises to ensure the advertiser's posts are received by nearly all of the company's Facebook fans. What Facebook will look like this time next year is anybody's guess. Something tells me the ads will be more prominent, one way or another. The logical next step: a paid version with no ads, a music and video service, etc. Either that or people get sick of the ads and choose to socialize elsewhere. Maybe 900 million monthly users isn't the insurmountable lead it appears to be. Then again, any company that has caught the attention of one-eighth of the planet should not be underestimated.

The future of clean tech? Try hacking code

The future of clean tech? Try hacking code The idea of the "cleanweb," or using IT to deal with energy and resource problems, gains ground among entrepreneurs and VCs at weekend hackathon. by Martin LaMonica May 8, 2012 4:00 AM PDT

Hacking to save the planet. The team from Divya Energy does last-minute touches before demoing its app for calculating savings from solar panels. (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) BOSTON--Internet, meet clean tech. A weekend hackathon here showcased the promise -- and limits -- of applying mobile and Internet software development toward efficiency. To advocates, the "cleanweb" will succeed where clean tech fell short. The Cleanweb hackathon, held in a warehouse-turned tech incubator in South Boston, on Sunday afternoon finished up a day and a half of furious coding by about 80 programmers, with some spending the night to finish their demos. The 16 teams presented a very varied set of applications but they have one thing in common: they all seek ways to use natural resources more efficiently and improve consumer convenience. The top prize was $11,000. The winning entry and crowd favorite was a funny video game called Michael Tyson's Punch House, which creates an animated arcade game out of electricity data. A person submits his or her household against a randomly selected home of the same size to compete in real time over which uses less electricity. Rematches are available or the matches can last for longer periods, its creators said. The source of the data was Green Button, a simple voluntary standard created by the Department of Energy and now used by a growing number of utilities for formatting electricity usage history. Second place went to Ride With Me, an app that lets people arrange car-sharing using a Facebook log-in and friend networks. Third place went to Divia Energy, which developed a solar panel energy-savings calculator for its online marketplace to get bids on solar installations. See the full list of "hacks" hosted on Hacker League. Given that ad hoc groups of people created these apps over a weekend, you wouldn't expect venture capitalists to hand over big checks to any of the teams on the spot. But some of the ideas had potential to be more fully developed, particularly those that used Green Button or other public sources of energy data. Utility data has remained largely untouched for decades beyond simply billing customers and cleanweb apps often try to use that data and other sources in new ways. For example, one hack at the Boston hackathon allowed people to quickly compare utilities in markets with competition. Another project called ActiveGreenScore is a social app to track how much users walk and bike versus driving. Making good on clean tech Many of the sponsors for the event were venture capital companies, a reflection of how clean-tech investing has dramatically shifted in the past few years away from expensive, hardware-centric companies. In the wave of green-tech investing that began last decade, many VCs backed solar, biofuel, or electric vehicle startups without always having a clear plan for commercializing their inventions. One of the main challenges with investing in these manufacturing-oriented businesses is the cost to scale up the company after the product has been designed.

The Ride With Me app lets people arrange car-sharing using a Facebook log-in and friend networks. (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) High capital requirements has forced some generalist venture capital firms, which dabbled in green tech, into retreat. Then the failure of solar company Solyndra and the partisan attacks on national, clean-energy policies spooked large institutional investors as well, venture capitalists say. Cleanweb companies are created with the same idea of making energy cleaner and improving the environment as previous clean-tech companies. But instead of taking on difficult materials science or manufacturing challenges, they are focused on specific niches, whether it be renting out an apartment, helping consumers find energy-efficient appliances, or bartering locally grown food. Related stories How to save green tech from crashing VC attention shifts from green tech to Internet Cleanweb hackers get busy with energy data The cleanweb "makes good on clean tech," said Blake Burris, the chief coordinator of Cleanweb Hackathon, which is organizing hackathons in Houston, Paris, Boulder, Colo., and Santa Clara, Calif., in the coming months. Instead of developing yet-another photo-sharing or Foursquare app, people can tackle big societal challenges, such as transportation, using technology from mobile, gaming, and social media, he said. There have been two other cleanweb hackathons in San Francisco and New York. This weekend's hackathon showed a high level of energy and enthusiasm from participants and organizers. With enough clever and creative apps, bridging Internet technologies with clean tech could have a big impact.

Andreessen Horowitz bets $10M on customer loyalty startup Belly

Andreessen Horowitz bets $10M on customer loyalty startup Belly The Chicago startup is going for Groupon-like scale, launching today in New York and Boston. by Paul Sloan May 8, 2012 4:30 AM PDT

The rush to replace paper loyalty cards with app equivalents is on, and one of the hottest in the race -- Chicago-based Belly -- has just won a big nod of support. Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is investing $10 million in Belly, which the company will use to conquer new markets and keep up its pace of signing on more than 100 local merchants per week. Belly, which is currently available in six cities, today is launching in New York and Boston. The $10 million investment, a series B round, comes with some star power. Andreessen Horowitz partner Jeff Jordan, the former CEO of OpenTable, is joining Belly's board. Jordan knows a thing or two about building a business that requires people on the ground in each market, signing up local businesses one by one. "The Net has unleashed unprecedented price transparency across both online and offline worlds," Jordan writes in a blog post about his firm's investment in Belly. "...Merchants are desperate to find ways to compete outside of direct price competition." In his post, Jordan talks about the "Seinfeld" episode in which Gorge's wallet is exploding with loyalty cards from businesses throughout Manhattan -- an image that should soon seem outdated. George's fat wallet is the problem that Belly -- and rivals like Stampt and Offermatic, among others -- are trying to solve. Part of Belly's earlier $2.87 million in funding came from the guys at Lightbank who backed Groupon, a company that also knows how to create super-charged growth. Belly founder and CEO Logan LaHive takes issue with any comparison to Groupon, which, incidentally, also won funding from Andreessen Horowitz. He says his team is not about creating a "one-time blitz" deal for a merchant, but instead works with each business to design a loyalty program that matches its culture. The aim is to create a stronger relationship between the a small- or medium-sized business and its customers. "Our core focus is driving customers back to the store," said LaHive. As a result, these are not your standard "Buy 10, get 1 free" offers. LaHive likes to point to the offer at AlleyCat Comics in Chicago, where, after 50 purchases, you can punch the proprietor in the gut. There's a Ben & Jerry's shop in Washington, D.C., at which 200 visits earns you an ice cream date with Jerry himself. And after logging 75,000 points (or 15,000 visits) at Bagelsmith in New York, you get to arm wrestle the owner for a percentage of the business. Jordan highlighted some of the reasons Andreessen Horowitz is betting on Belly: The team has signed up more than 1,4000 merchants and 200,000 consumers since launching in last August. The product is elegant and uses emerging trends; every merchant gets an iPad that customers see at the register and can check-in on. Andreessen Horowitz believes a large, connected network of merchants and consumers will lead to opportunities beyond loyalty programs. Other markets Belly is already available in include: Chicago, Austin, Milwaukee, Madison, Wis., and Phoenix, Ariz.

Legal experts decipher Oracle-Google verdict

Legal experts decipher Oracle-Google verdict A jury's inability to agree on a question about fair use and Java APIs likely signals good news for Google and Android developers. by Charles Cooper , Elinor Mills and Daniel Terdiman May 7, 2012 4:28 PM PDT The fact that a jury couldn't make up its mind about a key question in Oracle's copyright-infringement case against Google could turn out to be good news for Google and the Android development community, according to legal experts. A unanimous jury found that Google infringed on Oracle's 37 Java APIs, but they could not decide whether Google had made "fair use" of the infringing material in its Android mobile platform. As a result, the odds of a billion-dollar payday in Oracle's future -- at least in the near term -- are relatively low and the odds of a mistrial, requested by Google's lawyers today, being granted by the judge are relatively high. We asked some legal experts to weigh in on the partial verdict and how the trial might play out. "There is a dangerous potential outcome if we can start copyrighting APIs because copyright does not contemplate the protection of functional computer programming. It does contemplate protection of what you can create with the programming languages or programs like APIs," said Julie Samuels, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which opposed Oracle's lawsuit from the get-go. Oracle's lawsuit against Google focused on the question of whether application programming interfaces can be copyrighted. Google's position is that there can't be an ultimate determination on infringement until the fair use question is answered. "If Google is found to have made fair use of the APIs then we'll never get to the question of whether they were copyrightable," Samuels said. "The judge needs decide whether copyright even applies to APIs...All these have to happen before Google is on the hook for copyright infringement. Once that happens we'll get an appeal and this could go on for years. This is really the heart of this case. It has far-reaching and dangerous consequences for all kinds of developers who use APIs everyday in their work and for those of us who rely on them in our computers and how we use the entire Internet." Related stories Oracle v. Google jury returns partial verdict, favoring Oracle Android, Java, and the tech behind Oracle v. Google (FAQ) Oracle tries to rewrite history for Sun and alter Java's future Oracle, Google battle over Android, Java But if Judge Alsup rules that the APIs cannot be copyrighted, as the European Union Court of Justice ruled last week, then fair use has no teeth. Tyler Ochoa, a professor at Santa Clara Law School, called the decision "a bit of a mixed bag." "It's not a clear victory for either side," he said, offering several scenarios for what might happen next: "There are two possibilities, one favorable to Google -- that they believe it was fair use...they were relying on copyright law. The other possibility (favorable to Oracle), is that they were determined to go ahead and do this anyway, regardless of whether it was copyrightable or not. That may explain why jury couldn't reach a verdict (on fair use). A third possibility -- and another way Google could still win -- [that the court finds that] the structure sequence and organization of an API isn't copyrightable at all." That's the question the judge will have to decide, according to Ochoa. "He may have been hoping not to have to decide that," Ochoa said. "He could have avoided it depending on what the jury did, but the jury didn't give him an out. If jury had found fair use -- or that Google relied on Sun's conduct, the judge could say it's okay. But the jury didn't give him that, so the judge is going to have to decide." "Alternatively," he added, "the judge could grant a new trial on the issue of fair use -- or he could decide himself." At this point in the case, Brian Love, a lecturer and fellow at Stanford Law School, gave the nod to Google: "I would tend to agree with Google's position that there can't be an ultimate determination on infringement until the fair use question is answered, and if jury can't decide if what Google did was fair use then it can't say that what Google did was copyright infringement. Because if something is fair use, then by definition it can't be copyright infringement." "Typically, you'd think a jury would say we're at impasse and the judge would say 'deliberate more, deliberate more.' I'm a little surprised that the judge let the verdict come down as it did. Think about all the cost and expense to put this trial on, and when a jury comes back and says 'we can't answer a question that's crucial to the case,' I think what's going to have to end up happening is what Google wants, which is that there would have to be a mistrial." Echoing a comment offered by other legal experts, Love said he was unsure whether a final judgment could be rendered case without an answer on the fair use question, leading him to expect the judge to grant the mistrial motion. As for the immediate future, Love said there could be additional proceedings on the copyright issue. "I'm guessing that what will happen is that the case will continue on the patent issues and then we'll find out pretty soon on the copyright, and whether the last couple of weeks on the copyright proceedings has been all for naught...The more immediate question before Judge Alsup is whether copyright even applies to this dispute. If the judge decides no, then none of this really matters and Google can't infringe as matter of law." But if Google convinces the judge to order a mistrial, Oracle is not left with an empty arsenal of arguments. In fact, says Miles Feldman, an intellectual property litigator at the firm of Raines Feldman, the jury decision gives Oracle a strong argument should there be a new trial. "It's a very significant jury verdict in that the jury found infringement. They answered questions in a way that would indicate that they were not too impressed by the fair use defense. Google now has the opportunity to say that the verdict should be thrown out and a new trial granted. I think Oracle has very strong arguments that at least the questions answered by the jury should be kept and any retrial or additional issues, if they're necessary, would be the only issues tried. So the issue of infringement wouldn't be retried again. Fair use can be partial or complete defense to infringement." "Oracle can hope that the infringement aspect stands and the issue of fair use can be the subject of a new trial. They will also argue that the issue of fair use can be decided as a matter of law, but that will be hotly contested. It's typically a mixed question of what we call 'law' and 'fact.' The judge decides law and juries typically decide questions of fact. The big takeaway is that the jury, after hearing everything, found infringement. That's huge. And that finding was unanimous."

Microsoft eases back on Azure cloud branding Redmond is cutting the name "Azure" out of the branding for its cloud services on its billing portal.

by Mary Jo Foley May 8, 2012 9:09 AM PDT (Credit: Microsoft) Microsoft is informing customers of its Windows Azure cloud that it is rebranding many, if not all, of the component services in a way that eliminates the "Azure" name on its billing portal. "Windows Azure Compute" will now be known simply as "Cloud Services," according to the Microsoft officials. SQL Azure is now known as "SQL Database." Here's the full list of what's being rechristened:

(click on the table above to enlarge) A Microsoft spokesperson responded with this statement: "Microsoft continues to invest in the Windows Azure brand and we are committed to delivering an open and flexible cloud platform that enables customers to take advantage of the cloud. We have no additional information to share at this time." (A couple of my contacts are saying the real reason Microsoft made these changes was actually to emphasize the Azure uber-brand. Not that you can tell that from the customer mail that went out or from the official statement, but that's supposedly the grand plan, for what it's worth.) "In the coming weeks, we will update the Windows Azure Service names that appear in the usage records you download. These are only name changes - your prices for Windows Azure are not impacted," according to the note accompanying the table above. One Azure user said he believed Microsoft's goal with the change was to align its on-premises and cloud services better. Microsoft's stance -- almost since 2008, when Windows Azure was still known by its codename "Red Dog" -- is that its on-premises Windows products all have cloud complements. This mirroring has been at the crux of Microsoft's private/public/hybrid cloud positioning, meaning its customers are free to mix and match its on-premises and cloud wares in ways that best suit their businesses. Microsoft combined its Server and Cloud teams into a single unit in late 2009. It's been a busy couple of weeks for the naming police at Microsoft. Last week, Microsoft announced it would be doing away with its Windows Live branding. The company also is renaming some of its components of its Microsoft Advertising platform as "Bing." As part of its Azure portal rebranding move, the Azure team also updated its privacy policy, according to the note sent to customers this week. "The new version includes the same commitments we previously made to maintain the privacy of your personal information, while adding more detailed information," the note said. This story originally appeared at ZDNet under the headline "Microsoft to eliminate its Azure branding in billing portal." This version has been modified slightly to reflect updates to the original.

FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal

FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal Chairman Julius Genachowski touts spectrum sharing and small cells as ways to get around the looming constraints in the industry. by Roger Cheng May 8, 2012 8:40 AM PDT

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski addresses the CTIA 2012 audience here in New Orleans. (Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET) Last updated: 10:47 a.m. PT NEW ORLEANS--The Federal Communications Commission's decision to block the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile isn't going to hurt the industry's spectrum position and is in line with the free-market principles promoting competition, Chairman Julius Genachowski said today in a defense of his agency's actions. Genachowski delivered a keynote speech at the CTIA Wireless conference here, which unofficially kicked off yesterday. The FCC chairman led with platitudes to the CTIA and the wireless industry on issues such as the environment and the prevention of mobile-device theft before moving into the meat of his speech: addressing the core issue of spectrum needs. Mobile services are on pace to exceed the carriers' capacity, Genachowski said, and the FCC is working hard to address the issue. Related stories Hands-on with the HTC Evo V 4G Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on Boost Mobile's first 4G phone: The HTC Evo Design 4G HTC Evo Design 4G now available on Boost (photos) Meet Virgin's first 4G phone, HTC Evo V 4G (photos) The government and the FCC have been under pressure by the wireless industry to free up more spectrum, which would add capacity and allow the carriers to offer improved service to their customers. But the FCC's recent actions have drawn criticism that they have actually undermined its own goals. The agency squashed the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile USA, which would have given AT&T more resources to deploy its next-generation wireless service. The chairman, however, said the deal represented a line that the FCC wouldn't cross. The agency believes the deal would have hurt competition and consumers. AT&T has said the lack of a merger has resulted in higher prices for consumers and job losses, as well as a spectrum crunch for the carrier. "Some have argued that 'specific transaction' is somehow causing a shortage and causing a price change," Genachowski said. "But the overall amount of spectrum hasn't changed, except for the amount we've added to it." AT&T took issue with Genachowski's assessment. The need for more spectrum is an industry-wide issue and problem....The FCC was within its rights to withhold its approval [of the T-Mobile acquisition]. But it is incorrect when it denies the impact such decisions have on the price of wireless services. Basic economics, and the law of supply and demand, apply to the wireless industry as to all others. In the case of wireless, without additional capacity, which would have been created by our transaction, prices rise. The FCC is pushing forward with an auction, and plans to sell off additional spectrum within the next three years, he said. In addition, Genachowski touted the opportunity of sharing spectrum between government agencies and commercial carriers, which could help free up spectrum that would otherwise be locked up by the government. He noted that the FCC is working with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to test spectrum sharing, and noted that T-Mobile has filed an application to participate in the testing process. Likewise, he said small cells, or small sites that boost local signals, could also alleviate spectrum issues by bringing consumers closer to the physical cell sites. The FCC, however, has also take other steps that some in the industry have deemed counter to its goals. It revoked LightSquared's waiver to operate a terrestrial 4G LTE network, which would have injected a startup wireless player into the industry and shaken things up. Most recently, the FCC has put Verizon Wireless' deal to acquire spectrum that has been unused by the cable industry under scrutiny. The FCC said it asked for an extension to the 180-day review window because it needed more time to look at documents that were filed late. Genochowski will hopefully be able to move faster with the FCC back at full strength.The Senate yesterday confirmed Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, and Ajit Pai, a Republican, to fill the two vacant seats on the five-member board. "We can't seize the opportunity before us if we don't tackle the issue before us," he said.

T-Mobile: iPhone network compatibility coming this year

T-Mobile: iPhone network compatibility coming this year The carrier says it tapped Ericsson and Nokia Siemens to build out its 4G LTE network. by Roger Cheng May 7, 2012 7:00 PM PDT

Could the iPhone finally show up at T-Mobile? (Credit: Apple) NEW ORLEANS--T-Mobile's network will be compatible with the iPhone later this year -- even if it isn't selling it, the company said today. The wireless carrier added that it had tapped Ericsson and Nokia-Siemens for its $4 billion 4G LTE deployment. The moves will address the two biggest gaps at T-Mobile: the lack of the iPhone and a more advanced 4G LTE network. Bogged down by its failed merger attempt with AT&T last year, the company has more recently shifted gears in hopes of mounting a comeback in the wireless market. Related stories Hands-on with the HTC Evo V 4G FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on Boost Mobile's first 4G phone: The HTC Evo Design 4G HTC Evo Design 4G now available on Boost (photos) A key development is the hiring of Ericsson and Nokia Siemens to handle the 4G LTE build-out. The companies have experience with the technology, working with Verizon Wireless, among others. T-Mobile said today that it secured its spectrum from AT&T last week as part of the merger breakup fee. Between the AT&T spectrum and the use of its own spectrum, T-Mobile hopes to cover 75 percent of its top 25 markets with LTE. The company, however, lacks sufficient spectrum for a broader deployment of LTE. To fill the gap, the carrier has focused on its HSPA+ technology, which it argues is fast enough to be called 4G. The company plans to use 1900-megahertz spectrum for its upgraded HSPA+ network, and plans to have several of its markets covered by the end of the year. The 1900MHz spectrum is important because it lets the carrier support an unlocked iPhone on its 4G network. While T-Mobile doesn't sell the iPhone, many customers already take their iPhones to the carrier, although those phones can't tap into its fastest network because of spectrum conflicts. While not exactly carrying the iPhone, T-Mobile believes that capability will help it partially fill the gap. The carrier could also strike a deal with Apple, although neither company has given any recent updates. The HSPA+ network covers more than 220 million people in 229 markets, allowing T-Mobile to boast of the largest 4G network in the country. The company is attempting to prove it can turn itself around and show growth beyond the prepaid realm, despite the mounting competition. It plans to release its first-quarter results on Thursday.

AT&T Mobility CEO: Family data plan coming soon (scoop)

AT&T Mobility CEO: Family data plan coming soon (scoop) AT&T's Ralph de la Vega says he feels good about the plan, a reversal of the uncertainty he expressed just a few months ago. by Roger Cheng May 8, 2012 4:00 AM PDT

The head of AT&T's mobility, Ralph de la Vega, at the CTIA conference two years ago. (Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET) NEW ORLEANS--AT&T's version of the family data plan may be coming sooner than you think. The company has a firm hold on what type of plan it will offer and intends to offer one soon, said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's mobile business, in an interview with CNET here yesterday. A family data plan would allow consumers to buy one bucket of data, which can be used by multiple devices, a move industry observers believe could spur the sale of non-traditional cellular devices like connected tablets. "I'm very comfortable with the plan that will be offered to our customers," de la Vega said on the sidelines of his company's home security and automation event at the CTIA Wireless trade show. Related stories Hands-on with the HTC Evo V 4G FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on Boost Mobile's first 4G phone: The HTC Evo Design 4G HTC Evo Design 4G now available on Boost (photos) The comments mark a reversal of de la Vega's uncertainty over the implementation of family data plans just a few months ago. At the time, he told CNET that the company had run into complications over IT and billing issues. Other complications include how the carrier would subsidize devices and get a decent return despite the shared data bucket. "We want to make sure we get it right," he said in January. But de la Vega was far more confident yesterday. He said the company knows how the plan would be structured. He, however, declined to provide any specific details on timing, and wouldn't comment on whether it would be out in the next few months or if AT&T would beat Verizon Wireless to the punch.

Scott Thompson's resume ends one job at Yahoo -- just not his

Scott Thompson's resume ends one job at Yahoo -- just not his The Yahoo CEO's inflated resume has apparently cost its first job. Patti Hart, who led the search that named Thompson CEO, will not seek re-election to the Yahoo board, All Things D reports.

by David Hamilton May 8, 2012 9:31 AM PDT Scott Thompson's inflated resume helped win him his current job as Yahoo CEO. And now it's reportedly led to the end of a job as well -- just not his own. The Yahoo director who led the search that ended in Thompson's appointment, Patti Hart, will not stand for re-election to the board at its next annual meeting, All Things D reports. Hart, the CEO of slot-machine maker International Gaming Technology, will apparently take the fall for what ATD's Kara Swisher termed "a clearly botched vetting of [Thompson's] academic record. In case you've been living under a rock, the Yahoo CEO has been taking heavy fire ever since activist investor Daniel Loeb pointed out last week that Thompson's resume listed an undergraduate computer-science degree he had never received. Loeb, who is prepping a proxy fight aimed at placing a slate of new directors (himself included) on Yahoo's board, demands that Yahoo turn over all records related to Thompson and the search process. Related stories CEO pens another missive as Yahoos ponder 'Resumegate' Hangout live with the world on G+ Warren Buffett not buying Yahoo's word on CEO resume error Third Point demands Yahoo's books, records Yahoo CEO's resume controversy killing employee morale? The resulting firestorm -- in which already anxious Yahoo employees have vented their ire freely, if anonymously -- is just the latest conflagration for Yahoo. The onetime Internet pioneer was already reeling from a steady decline in the relevance of its site, the looming proxy battle, and an ill-advised patent offensive against Facebook launched in March. Thompson, named CEO just four months ago, was supposed to lead the turnaround -- though even before the resume controversy erupted, his progress had been slow. So far, in fact, his main moves have been to lay off 2,000 employees and to reorganize the company into three amorphous groups. Oh, and to sue Facebook for patent infringement, a move that pretty much wiped out whatever goodwill toward Yahoo still remained in Silicon Valley. Which helps explain why Thompson is in such hot water over one line on his resume. So far, however, Thompson has shown no sign of doing much beyond issuing pro forma statements of "regret" over how the issue has affected the company and employees. So it's intriguing that Hart, who heads up the Yahoo board's nominating and corporate governance committee, appears to be the first casualty of this affair. Loeb, if you'll recall, also targeted Hart for misrepresenting her academic credentials -- specifically, a claim that she had a "bachelors in marketing and economics" instead of the business-administration degree she actually possessed. (Yahoo later confirmed Loeb's allegations.) I've pinged Yahoo for comment, and will update if and when I hear back. Announcement of Hart's decision to leave the board will come later today, Swisher wrote. So will official notice of a board investigation into Thompson's hiring and his misleading resume, to be headed by independent director Fred Amoroso (known to CNET readers as one of the likely inspirations for Yahoo's turn toward patent-trolldom).

Liquid-cooled LED bulbs ready for summer

Liquid-cooled LED bulbs ready for summer Switch Lighting lines up distributors for LED bulbs that use a novel design to create even light and an attractive stand in for incandescent bulbs. by Martin LaMonica May 7, 2012 9:00 PM PDT

Switch Lighting's design puts the LED light sources in the upper part of the lamp and allows for the same even light distribution and similar look as incandescent bulbs. (Credit: Switch Lighting) Switch Lighting's LED bulbs have similar technical specs to its competitors, but the startup is counting on clever design and good looks to stand out in a crowded field. The company plans to make its first three general-purpose light bulbs available this summer to lighting distributors and today is expected to introduce a three-way bulb and a 240-volt bulb for markets outside the U.S. Its first bulbs are replacements for 40-watt, 60-watt, and 75-watt incandescent lamps. Costing between $40 and $50, they are primarily aimed at commercial customers. Switch Lighting is also working on a less expensive consumer-oriented line due next year, according to a company executive. This summer's product distribution, a bit later than originally planned, will mark the first release of the startup's novel LED bulb design. Related stories LED lights seek to uncrown 100-watt bulb Philips LED replaces 100-watt incandescent Cree: LEDs aren't just more efficient, they're better Home lighting diversifies, led by LEDs (photos) Philips pricey LPrize LED has impresssive specs Most LED bulbs place their LED chips -- the light source in this type of bulb -- at the base near the heat sink and socket. By contrast, the LED light sources in Switch Lighting's lamp are placed in the globe at the top half of the lamp. The globe is filled with liquid that circulates past the LED chips to the surface for cooling. The design yielded a bulb that gives light off evenly and that better resembles traditional incandescent lamps, said Gary Rosenfeld, the executive vice president of marketing at Switch Lighting. It's been an advantage in hotels and other businesses that have exposed lamps: "People don't like anything that's too unusual," he said. The company's 40-watt equivalent will consume eight watts and 75-watt equivalents will consume 17 watts. Later in the summer, it will have the three-way bulb and a 100-watt equivalent, Rosenfeld said. The company is also developing a lower-cost line of bulbs with more of a consumer focus, he said.

Two weeks of smartphone charging in your pocket

Two weeks of smartphone charging in your pocket Brookstone will carry a portable fuel cell USB charger from Lilliputian Systems able to deliver extended hours of charge time for smartphones and other electronics. by Martin LaMonica May 8, 2012 7:01 AM PDT Juice in a box. Lilliputian's portable fuel cell can deliver between 10 to 14 full charges for an iPhone with one replaceable cartridge.

(Credit: Lilliputian Systems) Retailer Brookstone this year will start selling a portable fuel cell able to charge smartphones a dozen times before running out. Fuel cell maker Lilliputian Systems today announced that Brookstone will be the first retailer to carry its portable USB power source, which will be sold under Brookstone's brand. The fuel cell device is about the size of a thick smartphone, and the lighter fluid-filled cartridges are about the same size as a cigarette lighter. It's a big step forward both for Lilliputian Systems, a 10-year-old spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for portable fuel cell technology in general. Several fuel cell companies have developed portable power systems, but a number have failed. The new fuel cell will charge any device that has a USB cable. Pricing for the Brookstone fuel cell itself was not disclosed but the cartridges themselves, which are made of plastic and hold butane, will cost a few dollars, or "about the same as coffee from Starbucks," said Mouli Ramani, vice president of business development at Lilliputian Systems. People will be able to buy refills and fuel cells online, through Brookstone catalogs, or at stores. When the fuel cartridges are empty, they can be recycled through municipal recycling programs, Ramani said. Lilliputian expects the first customers will be early technology adopters but then the appeal of portable power will attract more people, such as travelers, college students, and even teenagers who spend a lot of time with portable gaming machines. "Anyone who wants to be liberated from sticking a phone into a wall outlet," he said. Related stories Intel plugs into portable fuel cell maker Lilliputian CES: Fuel cell portable charger works, still needs some more work Apple fuel cell patent application envisions 'weeks without refueling' Unique technology inside the fuel cell allows for longer charge time than previous portable fuel cells gives, Ramani said. The company is the first to deposit a solid oxide fuel cell membrane onto a silicon wafer, he explained. Investor Intel has retrofitted a fab in Hudson, Mass., to make specially structured silicon chips with Lilliputian's membrane imprinted on them. "The problem of all the other (previous) devices, which usually used methanol or sodium borohydride, is that when they actually built the product, it was not any better than carrying a lithium ion battery around," he said. Lilliputian's fuel cell will be able to fully charge, for example, an iPhone 4 between 10 and 14 times with one cartridge, Ramani said. That can mean a couple weeks of use for many people, he noted. The cartridges, which will be made by cigarette lighter makers, can be carried on airplanes. The company is seeking distribution with other retailers.

The HDMI cable ripoff and why retail is really dying

The HDMI cable ripoff and why retail is really dying By David Gewirtz | April 29, 2012, 7:21pm PDT Summary: Would you spend $100 for something when you can get it for $10? Of course not. What about $500, when you can get it for $2.50? No way. But chain retailers think you will. Gather ’round, boys and girls, for I have a ghost story to tell. Once upon a time, in days of yore, chain stores dotted the land. There were Best Buys and Targets and Walmarts. Even Circuit City stores had yet to find their way to the Great Mall in the Sky. These were the days before the Internet, before the people had choices, when all the commoners in the land relied on, nay, even trusted, their local retail establishments. But then came the Internet and online commerce, and the peasants now had choice. They weren’t limited to buying just what was available within driving distance. They could, you know, surf, and they could learn. And learn they did. The little people, peasants, commoners alike, learned that they could go online to order stuff. And they learned that the stuff was often more plentiful and often less expensive than in the chain stores. And the peasants ordered from The Online and it was good. Except, perhaps, it wasn’t so good for the chain stores, which have yet to learn their lesson. Many chain stores are destined for death. Behold, whilst I mix a metaphor and submit to the court Exhibit A: HDMI cables. Those shmucks in retail So, this weekend, I had a cable failure. I have a TV that’s about 20 feet or so from my HDMI switcher. As it turns out, this cable often gets moved, so it eventually failed. My wife decided to take a quick run to the Walmart (at 2am, of course) to pick up a replacement cable. She didn’t find a 25-footer, but she did find two 12-foot cables that could be connected together. Total price, not counting the connector: $112 (that’s $56 per 12-foot cable). In other words, holy s@#t! Fortunately, Walmart has an exceptional return policy, which is why Walmart is not likely to go the way of Circuit City and, almost undoubtedly, Best Buy. Now, I’ve been buying HDMI cables for years, but I buy online and they’re relatively cheap. On the other hand, family and friends often complain about how insanely expensive HDMI cables are, because they’ve bought cables in local chain stores. They’ve told me they feel they have to pay the price because they want to play their PS3s, their new HDTVs, and so forth. This got me to thinking. What’s the difference in price between retail and online for HDMI cables? In other words, just how much is retail ripping off the local buyer? The answer is mind-blowing. I looked at Target, Walmart, GameStop, and Best Buy. Best Buy’s prices belied the name, in that they were fully insane. But let’s start with merely overpriced. Target charges $27 for a single, 6-foot cable. Walmart charges $27, and GameStop charges $29.99 for a PS3-branded 6-foot cable. By contrast, you can get a 6-foot HDMI cable online for $3.50 from Monoprice. In other words, the retailers charge seven times more. I already told you about the $112 it cost to cobble together a 24-foot cable run with cables from Walmart. A 25-foot cable from Monoprice was $16.83. I actually ordered a $25-foot cable from Amazon for under $10. Again, we’re looking at about seven times more expensive from the retailers. And then we get to Best Buy. You’re going to need to sit down for this. Best Buy does offer 6-foot cables for as low as $24 (when they’re in stock), but check these prices out. Best Buy sells a house-brand 3.3-foot cable for $495.99! You can get a 3-foot cable from Monoprice for $2.50. That’s not a typo. Best Buy lists a cable that’s almost two hundred times more expensive. Seriously.

Yes, that’s nearly $500 for a three-foot cable. Yowzah! If you want a 65-foot cable, Best Buy wants to charge you $1,089.99. For the record, you can get a 75-foot cable from Monoprice for $53.77. Not $1,089. Nope. $53. Do you seriously believe there are 5-star reviews for this overprice cable? Yeah, me neither. Either that, or there really is a sucker born every minute. The sad thing is retailers are duping some good-doobie customers into these prices by claiming that these insanely overpriced cables provide higher quality signals. Many customers don’t know any better and just want to get the best they can. Retailers know this, prey on customers’ good intentions, and — to be blunt — are ripping off their customers. HDMI retail pricing is particularly egregious in this regard. Faced with drooping margins in home electronics, many retailers are trying to make up that profit drop through accessories. After all, why sell something for $2.50 if you can talk someone into paying almost $500 for it, right? Most consumers don’t know about Monoprice (or many of the other excellent online suppliers of electronics gear). But while most people don’t know about Monoprice, almost everyone knows about Amazon. You know what most consumers also understand really well? Getting ripped off. Sure, Best Buy is welcome to charge whatever they want for their products, but by now, many consumers have figured out what’s going on. When the local retailer sells a cable for more than a thousand bucks that you can get online for fifty, it becomes an obvious choice where to buy. Most of us will accept a small price jump for the convenience of buying locally. We’ll even accept a small price jump for the convenience of buying from Walmart at 2am. But a small premium might be 10%. Once you start charging seven to twenty times more, 700% to 2,000% more, all bets are off. We’re not going to buy retail. We’ll buy online. And, next time, before we bother to get in the car, use gas, and drive 20-minutes each way, we’re going to go online first. Retailers, you’re not losing the fight with online because online is better. You’re ultimately losing the fight with online because you’re losing our trust. See also: In the battle of clicks-versus-bricks, retail must transform or die P.S. Don’t believe all the hype from some of the in-store salespeople. Most HDMI cables will work just fine. You don’t need to buy HDMI cables strung from the gold in Rapunzel’s hair.

Oxford University IT staff 'somewhat overwhelmed by Mac malware'

Oxford University IT staff 'somewhat overwhelmed by Mac malware' By Ed Bott | May 2, 2012, 7:11am PDT Summary: In a pair of candid blog posts, a member of Oxford’s network security staff says the Flashback malware episode is the worst they’ve seen since the Blaster worm of 2003. And Apple is “making minimal effort” and “putting customers at risk.” So just how bad is the recent Flashback outbreak of malware for Macs? Getting hard data about any kind of malware outbreak is always tricky. Security companies have to make estimates, which might be influenced by their desire to whip up enough fear to sell their software. And corporations rarely publicize details about their internal workings. That’s why it was refreshing to see a recent blog post from the network security team (OxCERT) at the University of Oxford, which offered some insights into its experience with a large population of Macs. “Over the past couple of weeks, OxCERT have been somewhat overwhelmed by Mac malware,” the post begins. The group has dealt with scattered problems on Macs before, says author Robin Stevens. “But with Flashback,” Stevens says, “the game has changed forever.” We are seeing huge numbers of attacks of the sort that Windows users have had to contend with for years. Apple users, and indeed Apple themselves, just have not been ready. We are dealing with what is probably the biggest outbreak since Blaster struck the Windows world all the way back in the summer of 2003. That time OxCERT dealt with around 1000 incidents; we have seen several hundred Flashback incidents and they keep on coming. Oxford’s critique of Apple mirrors what I’ve been saying for a long time: Apple’s contention that “Macs don’t get PC viruses” is “technically true, perhaps, but very misleading: PCs get PC viruses, Macs get Mac viruses which may be extremely similar to that common on PCs.” OS X antimalware capabilities are “extremely limited and no substitute for a proper third-party antivirus system.” (Oxford supports Sophos for its users.) Apple’s claim that it “responds quickly by providing software updates and security enhancements” is met with this dry retort: “As we’ve seen, this depends very much on your definition of ‘quickly’.” And I was gratified to see independent support for an argument I made a few days ago. Apple’s support lifecycle is too short: “There is however a nasty catch with operating system updates, of which many users will be unaware: Apple security support lifetimes are much shorter than in the Windows world.” That issue gets a full discussion in a second post: To the best of our knowledge, Apple do not officially state their software support policy anywhere, but from what we can gather, only support the two most recent versions of OS X. Currently that is 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and 10.7 (Lion). 10.6 released in August 2009, which means that any Mac purchased prior to that date and not subsequently upgraded will be running a version which receives no security support. That’s for a system purchased under three years ago. Granted, users can upgrade – but at a cost. Users don’t like being told that they have to spend money. […] Now, granted, users can upgrade to a newer OS X release than their system came with. Plenty of users are unlikely to bother unless forced – their system seems perfectly adequate, why spend money and risk breaking it? One college has reported almost 50 systems known to their student registration system running OS X 10.5 or earlier. The conclusion neatly mirrors my post the other day about the big gaps in Apple’s security response: Apple … have been complacent in terms of their attitude to security and support, especially when compared to their chief competitor. Microsoft have learned a huge amount from past mistakes, support their products for many years, and these days I feel do an excellent job. By comparison, Apple appear to be making minimal effort, and are putting their customers at risk as a result. … I’d like to see from Apple the following: Timely security updates Greater openness regarding security issues Minimum hardware and software support lifetimes stated clearly up-front Longer operating system security support lifetimes: at least five years Hardware that runs a supported operating system version for longer: minimum of seven years perhaps? In a separate report on Forbes, Andy Greenberg reports new data from the Russian security firm tracking the number of Flashback installations. The current number of infections is around 460,000, down from a peak of 700,000, with the botnet shrinking at a rate of about 100,000 a week. Apple has still not issued any public statement on Flashback except for a small number of security bulletins.

New version of Mac OS X Trojan exploits Word, not Java

New version of Mac OS X Trojan exploits Word, not Java By Emil Protalinski Summary: A second variant of the Mac OS X Trojan referred to as Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a or SX/Sabpab-A is exploiting a Microsoft Word security hole, not the usual Java vulnerabilities used before. Just a few days ago, a new Mac OS X Trojan was spotted in the wild that exploited Java vulnerabilities and required no user interaction to infect your Apple Mac, just like the Flashback Trojan. Kaspersky referred to it as “Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a” while Sophos called it at “SX/Sabpab-A.” Now, both security firms have confirmed a different variant of this new Trojan that infects Macs by exploiting Microsoft Word, not Java.

Sophos detects the malicious Word documents as Troj/DocOSXDr-A and points to the following Microsoft Security Bulletin: MS09-027. Kaspersky meanwhile points to this security bulletin for the same Microsoft Word security hole: CVE-2009-0563. The new version of the Trojan uses malformed Word documents to open a backdoor for remote hackers to steal information or install further code. Just like many recent variants of Mac-specific Trojans, OS X users may be caught off guard as there is no prompt to enter your username or password when the malicious software installs itself onto your Mac. On the other hand, while the first discovered version of this Trojan requires no user interaction, this second one does. Instead of just browsing the Web and getting infected, Mac users have to actually download and open the Word document for this second version to work. Here’s what I wrote in my last article: The good news is this means that this Trojan is not believed to be anything as widespread as Flashback, and if you’ve downloaded and installed the latest software updates from Apple that patch the Java vulnerabilities (or disabled Java), you’re safe. The bad news is these Trojans will just keep coming, likely at an increasing rate. This Trojan further underlines the importance of protecting Macs against malware with an updated anti-virus program as well as the latest security updates. The first part no longer applies. Updating or uninstalling Java will not do you any good. Instead, you’ll need to update Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. Thankfully, this security vulnerability is from June 2009, so if you keep your Microsoft software patched, you should be good to go. The last parts still apply.

Kaspersky: Apple '10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security'

Kaspersky: Apple '10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security' By Emil Protalinski | April 25, 2012, 10:42pm PDT Summary: Eugene Kaspersky believes Apple Mac OS X is 10 years behind Microsoft Windows in terms of security. He arguesCupertino will have to go through the security overhaul that Redmond once did. Kaspersky Lab last week detailed why the increasing market share of the Apple Mac means more malware on the platform. Eugene (Yevgeny) Kaspersky, co-founder and CEO of the security firm, has now gone further in statement made at the Infosecurity Europe 2012 conference.

“I think [Apple] are ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security,” Kaspersky told CBR. “For many years I’ve been saying that from a security point of view there is no big difference between Mac and Windows. It’s always been possible to develop Mac malware, but this one was a bit different. For example it was asking questions about being installed on the system and, using vulnerabilities, it was able to get to the user mode without any alarms.” Kaspersky is of course referring to the Flashback malware that has infected hundreds of thousands of Macs (see links below). He then reiterated what his employees and many security researchers have been saying for years: Apple needs to step up its game. “Apple is now entering the same world as Microsoft has been in for more than 10 years: updates, security patches and so on,” Kaspersky said. “We now expect to see more and more because cyber criminals learn from success and this was the first successful one. They will understand very soon that they have the same problems Microsoft had ten or 12 years ago. They will have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software. That’s what Microsoft did in the past after so many incidents like Blaster and the more complicated worms that infected millions of computers in a short time. They had to do a lot of work to check the code to find mistakes and vulnerabilities. Now it’s time for Apple [to do that].” Kaspersky, the privately-held company, produces antivirus and other computer security products. Excluding the energy sector, Kaspersky Lab is considered one of Russia’s few international business success stories. The company makes excellent security software and I have personally recommended some of its products a few times. That being said, Kaspersky, both the man and his company, of course would benefit from a malware epidemic on the Mac. That’s important to keep in mind, while acknowledging that the numbers are indeed growing and the Mac security situation is getting worse. Just how bad it’s getting, and will get, is a matter of perspective.

Ultrabooks: The price is right, finally

Ultrabooks: The price is right, finally By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | April 11, 2012, 7:00pm PDT Summary: $699 is the Goldilocks starting price point for ultrabooks.

One of the key factors that determines the success or failure of a product is price. Price the product too high and buyers will shun it. Price it too low and the profit margins become razor thin and it hardly becomes worthwhile the OEM selling it. Ultrabooks are set for a price shuffle that will see them enter that price sweet spot. According to Intel there are 75 new ultrabook models in development to tempt buyers. Not only that, but by the key back-to-school period this year Intel predicts that these ultralight, ultrathin devices will have dropped in price from the $800+ mark to the Goldilocks starting price point of $699. It’s only a $100 difference, but it’s key. Initially there was concern among some analysts — a concern that I shared — that Apple’s MacBook Air would overshadow competing ultrabooks because the average price was too high at around the $999+ mark. Pulling the starting price down by $100 will have the effect of pulling all the prices down by a similar amount, making ultrabooks more attractive all round. That $999 price point is key, because that’s the starting price for MacBook Air. Products priced above this barrier are at risk of cannibalization from Apple’s own ultralight, ultrathin laptop. Even those who want Windows can be lured to the MacBook Air because it’s easy to load Windows onto a Mac using Boot Camp multi-boot tool. This anticipated price drop should make ultrabooks more attractive than the MacBook Air to those who might have thought about making a switch to Mac. Do I recommend that you buy an ultrabook now? No, I don’t. My recommendation is that you wait for Windows 8-powered ultrabooks to make an appearance. This new operating system is better suited to these types of devices than Windows 7 is, and by then we should be seeing better hardware, better battery life and lower prices. Unless you have money burning in your pocket, or need an ultrabook now, I’d hold on to your cash for the time being.

Windows XP just won't die: Remains most used OS in April

Windows XP just won't die: Remains most used OS in April By Zack Whittaker | May 1, 2012, 6:24am PDT Summary: Windows XP’s market share is falling, while Windows 7 is slowly rising. But it may not be until 2013 where the latest operating system overtakes the decade-old software. Windows 7 is catching up, and Windows Vista is almost dead in the water, but Windows XP just seems to linger on. Despite Microsoft setting a firm deadline for when it ceases to support for the aging operating system — April 8, 2014 — the majority of users refuse to upgrade the decade-old software, according to Net Applications. The number of those using Windows XP is falling albeit slowly, while figures show an increasing number of Windows 7 users. But it may not be until late 2012 — or more likely early 2013 — until there is a crossover of the operating systems.

Analytics company StatCounter currently pegs Windows XP at 31.8 percent, and Windows 7 at 47.5 percent, but the two firms rely on different methods of totalling up their figures. With Windows 8 set to divide the enterprise, and with patches, fixes, and updates for Windows XP set to expire in April 2014, it appears likely that businesses will eventually upgrade to Windows 7 rather than jumping straight in to Microsoft’s upcoming release. The latest Windows version is seen as the safe middle-ground between Windows Vista, which was heavily criticised for its poor performance and compatibility issues, and Windows 8, which its vast user interface differences may require extensive user retraining. But for the developing regions, Microsoft could keep Windows XP in play for those running old PC technology. It remains a great operating system, and though the company moves to set it aside in favour of new revenue streams in future Windows upgrades, it could still offer a lease of life to those in the emerging markets. Image, data credit: Net Applications.

Will Windows 8 PCs cost too much at launch?

Will Windows 8 PCs cost too much at launch? By Sean Portnoy | Summary: Laptop makers are reportedly concerned about the higher costs of supporting Windows 8’s touch-screen capabilities. The result could be that demand for Windows 8 PCs may not pick up steam until 2013.

Microsoft has a lot riding on its slick new Windows 8 OS, as does the entire PC industry. But according to a DigiTimes report, we shouldn’t necessarily expect a wave of new low-priced computers running the operating system at launch. The article cites the usual unnamed “supply chain” sources saying that laptop makers are concerned about the higher costs of supporting Windows 8’s touch-screen capabilities, as well as tacking on the cost on the new OS itself. The result could be prices for snazzy new laptop/tablet hybrids that are higher than the mainstream will tolerate, at least when Windows 8 initially ships. (As one commenter has already noted below, there will of course be many Windows 8 PCs that aren’t touch enabled, but Microsoft has made the touch capabilities a major selling point for the new OS.) Those concerns add to an already tough position notebook manufacturers find themselves in with Intel-based Ultrabooks, which have been slow to fall in price for many models. Margins are already razor-thin, as Intel reportedly keeps processor prices high, and may only shrink as the cost of Windows 8 is factored in. The result, according to DigiTimes, could be that demand for Windows 8 PCs may not pick up steam until 2013, which wouldn’t bode well for Microsoft or computer manufacturers. Would Microsoft take a page out of Intel’s playbook, and help manufacturers out with large marketing subsidies to keep costs as low as possible for Windows 8 systems? These pricing issues may not matter much to users, since nearly half of them still use Windows XP. How much are you willing to spend on a new Windows 8 PC?

Apple security blunder exposes Lion login passwords in clear text

Apple security blunder exposes Lion login passwords in clear text By Emil Protalinski | May 6, 2012, 8:52am PDT Summary: With the latest Lion security update, Mac OS X 10.7.3, Apple has accidentally turned on a debug log file outside of the encrypted area that stores the user’s password in clear text.

An Apple programmer, apparently by accident, left a debug flag in the most recent version of the Mac OS X operating system. In specific configurations, applying OS X Lion update 10.7.3 turns on a system-wide debug log file that contains the login passwords of every user who has logged in since the update was applied. The passwords are stored in clear text. Anyone who used FileVault encryption on their Mac prior to Lion, upgraded to Lion, but kept the folders encrypted using the legacy version of FileVault is vulnerable. FileVault 2 (whole disk encryption) is unaffected. The flaw was first reported by a security researcher David Emery, who posted his findings to the Cryptome mailing list. The bug has not been corrected by any subsequent updates. Emery explains the severity of the issue: This is worse than it seems, since the log in question can also be read by booting the machine into firewire disk mode and reading it by opening the drive as a disk or by booting the new-with-LION recovery partition and using the available superuser shell to mount the main file system partition and read the file. This would allow someone to break into encrypted partitions on machines they did not have any idea of any login passwords for. Since the log file is accessible outside of the encrypted area, anyone with administrator or root access can grab the user credentials for an encrypted home directory tree. They can also access the files by connecting the drive via FireWire. Having done that, they can then not only read the encrypted files that are meant to be hidden from prying eyes, but they can also access anything else meant to be protected by that user name and password. This leak of credentials could be catastrophic for businesses that have relied on the FileVault feature in Macs for years. FileVault is intended to protect sensitive information stored by providing an encrypted user home directory contained in an encrypted file system mounted on top of the user’s home directory. If an employee has their Mac stolen, however, anything they encrypted, as well as anything that requires those credentials, can be accessed without hindrance if the vulnerable configuration is in place. This also affects Time Machine backups to external drives. If your hard drive is stolen, it doesn’t matter that the backups require a key to read. The backed-up log file contains the required password stored in clear text. This means your compromised password has been backed up for the long term. In addition to theft or just plain physical access, it would be possible for cyber criminals to write very specific malware that knows where to look on a targeted system. While this would be difficult to implement, the lure for cyber criminals is obvious; anything encrypted, especially by an enterprise employee, has the potential to be very valuable. Mac OS X version 10.7.3 was released on February 1, 2012. This means for users who updated immediately, weeks of accessing encrypted folders is now available for anyone to see. The good news is that it isn’t the full three months since the log file is only kept by default for several weeks. If you updated last week, then it’s only one week of password accesses that has been stored. Of course, sometimes that’s all it takes. Some users have already noticed this feature in the wild but hadn’t yet stumbled across the reason. Users on the Novell Forums noticed and have been discussing the issue since last week. On the Apple Support Communities, at least one user noticed the flaw exactly three months ago, and asked for an explanation. Here’s what he wrote: I’ve tried it on another Mac as well, same result: The login of a normal network user writes this log line as his homedir gets mounted. This poses a security risk. We have some users who are local admins, they could ask another user to login on their Mac and look for the password afterwards. Extration in single user mode would be possible as well. Is this a “speciality” of our environment or is this a known bug? Can I turn this behavior off? We are running Lion clients with a SL Server and using OpenDirectory. Nobody got back to him. This flaw further shows Apple has a quality assurance problem. When it comes to encryption, it’s important to choose a secure algorithm, but implementation is even more important. A simple bug in how the keys are secured, managed, or accessed can lead to a massive unraveling, as we’ve seen here. Apple needs to fix this issue as soon as possible. Even when a patch is made available, it will be impossible for the company to ensure the log file has been deleted, especially given all the places it may have been backed up. This means your password could still be out there even after you update, so after you do, make sure to change it. I’d like to thank my colleague Ed Bott for editing and contributing to this report. I have contacted Apple and Emery, and will update you if I hear back. Update on May 7: Emery got back to me with a lengthy e-mail. Here is an excerpt of his thoughts: In my opinion, it should be impossible to turn such a feature on without patching code, and ideally shipped binaries should not contain even a disabled code path to log passwords in plain text. And considering the consequences for security, there certainly are legitimate questions about whether this was a pure accident by some low level developer that failed to get caught by QA, or a deliberate act by a malefactor (”mole”) somewhere within Apple - or by far the least likely but also most sinister - a deliberate act a by someone in authority at Apple - perhaps to meet pressure from some government for access to encrypted partitions (at national borders ?). Certainly there is a well known strategy for finding this sort of stuff - namely to choose a rather unique password string and search for it across the entire raw disk device (and if you find it or perhaps certain predictable permutations and encodings of it as well, determine what file it is in using the obvious filesystem maintenance commands that track a disk block back to the file it is part of). This is weak in that it doesn’t catch all cases of leaks reliably but at least might catch a glaring one like this… I’d frankly expect it would be automatic to run such tests as part of a regression suite on a major product trusted by millions to be somewhat secure.

How I learned to say, 'Hi, Google Docs; bye, MS Word'

How I learned to say, 'Hi, Google Docs; bye, MS Word' Do I really need all those features? No. And so I've created my last document in Microsoft Word, a product I first began using 27 years ago. Charles Cooper by Charles Cooper April 28, 2012 3:58 AM PDT It's not often you'll hear this refrain, but this is one user who sleeps quite soundly about deciding to hitch his wagon to a decidedly inferior technology product.

With nary any regret, I've created my last document in Microsoft Word, a product I first began using 27 years ago. Now it's all Google Docs, all the time. And the thing is that I'm making the switch fully aware that Google remains leagues behind Microsoft when it comes to turning out "full-featured" word processors. But it makes not a bit of difference. In a moment, I'll get into why. First, let's give credit where it's due. MS Word is one of the best word processors I've ever used. Its designers have never failed to impress with the amount of new features they've stuffed into each new iteration of the software. And for that rarefied group of power users -- or people with too much time on their hands -- the upgrade cycle surely was welcomed. What about the rest of us? Well, we took what Microsoft gave us, though honestly, it was more than enough. Way more than enough, to be frank. It's impossible to know how many people used all -- or most -- of the features in Word. I'm sure such people existed somewhere on the planet, though I rarely bumped into one. In the pre-Internet era, when Microsoft competed against the likes of Lotus and WordPerfect, that was one way to generate buzz. The "everything but the kitchen sink" approach didn't always pay off, but it was one way to impress computer magazine reviewers picking out the "best" word processor (or the "best" spreadsheet or the "best" database). So when Google Docs became available in 2007, the folks working on Microsoft's Office apps must have laughed themselves silly. Especially the word processor, a bare-bones outgrowth of Google's earlier acquisition of Writely and starkly underfeatured compared with MS Word. In fact, Google wasn't even close to being the trailblazer in hosted office productivity apps. It was just following in the footsteps of AdventNet's Zoho, Silveroffice's Goffice, ThinkFree, Sun's OpenOffice, and Natium's Flysuite. But as Apple proved when it entered the smartphone and tablet-computer markets, a company doesn't need to be early to make its mark. It needs to satisfy the customer. I tried the early version of Google's word processor and didn't like it. But Google improved on the product -- last year the company issued more than 200 updates to the core apps suite. Google designed the product with collaboration in mind, so that users can share and edit the same document in real time (extending, if need be, to mobile devices). It's now at the point where the app is entirely usable and reliable. The word processor may not dazzle the power users, but it surely does not confuse. And it lets users write and edit quickly. Do you need more? Oh, and did I mention it's also free? Another added bonus: It works seamlessly with the e-mail system we use at work, which happens to be Gmail. "The beauty of the cloud is that there's no need to install updated software, just refresh your browser for the latest innovation," a Google representative told me in an e-mail. Corny but true. Equally significant: Google Docs obviously doesn't depend on a particular underlying operating system. But if any of this worries the people at Microsoft, they're not letting it show, dismissing Google's apps as half-baked. Here's what Microsoft told me when I asked for their assessment: "There are two myths about Google Apps. The first is that Google cares about this business, when it is clear they're an advertising company and that's where their focus is. More than 96 percent of Google's revenue is generated by advertising. The second myth is that they have paying customers. In fact, analysts estimate that Google makes only $100 million to $200 million per year after almost five years in this market. We've found that 9 in 10 Google Apps customers continue to use Office. Our business has never been stronger. Also, Microsoft trots out the following stats: Nearly 200 million copies of Office 2010 have been sold worldwide, SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync all grew double digits last year, Office 365 is on track to be the fastest-growing business product in Microsoft history. A few months ago, Microsoft created this video poking fun at Google Docs for daring to pass as a serious contender in business use (ironically posting the video to YouTube). Maybe for now. In 2010, Forrester described the Docs initiative as a "failure." But technology doesn't remain static, and Microsoft knows Google is getting better at this, even though it doesn't get a lot of respect. And after the debut this week of Google Drive drive-in-the-sky there's reason to wonder how long Microsoft apps can retain their current dominance. My colleague Rafe Needleman carefully explains a not improbable scenario where, once users enter their data in Google Drive, they're going to discover how easy it is to open those files in non-Microsoft apps. Those free non-Microsoft apps. What happens then? My hunch is that I won't be the only person who decides it's time to move on.

Get a 42-inch plasma TV for $299.99

Get a 42-inch plasma TV for $299.99 It's new, not refurbished, and not some no-brand, either: it's an RCA. If you like your colors blazing and your viewing angle wide, you'll like plasma. Rick Broida by Rick Broida April 30, 2012 7:46 AM PDT A 42-inch plasma HDTV for $299.99? That's what I call a killer deal.

A 42-inch plasma HDTV for $299.99? That's what I call a killer deal. (Credit: Best Buy) Recently, while shopping for a new TV, I found myself waffling between LCD and plasma. I've always chosen the former because they tend to pair better with PCs (and I'm a media-center guy), but because the TV in question was going to marry a TiVo, that wasn't a concern. I'd also steered clear of plasmas because of longstanding issues with burn-in, but a little research revealed that thanks to improvements in plasma technology, it's not really a problem anymore. Most of all, plasmas used to fetch a premium price -- but these days they're actually cheaper than many comparably sized LCD or LED TVs. Case in point: while supplies last, Best Buy has the RCA 42PA30RQ 42-inch plasma HDTV for $299.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). That's one of the lowest prices I've seen on any 42-inch TV ever. The 42PA30RQ is a pretty no-frills TV, not that there's anything wrong with that. (Plug in a $50 Roku box and you've got frills aplenty.) Its highlight specs include 720p resolution (which most viewers agree is sufficient at this size), three HDMI inputs, a digital audio output (which is key if you're pairing it with, say, a sound bar), and durable outer casing to prevent fallapart. (Okay, I borrowed that last spec from "The Simpsons.") A 42-inch TV is ideal for a den, bedroom, playroom, or the like -- anyplace where you can sit roughly 8 feet away from the screen. CNET hasn't reviewed this particular model, but 46 Best Buy shoppers rated it 4.5 stars on average. And over at Wal-Mart, where the RCA is out of stock but showing a price tag of $399.98, a whopping 858 customers rated it 4 stars on average. Shop around a bit and you'll see any number of 42-inch plasma HDTVs selling for $500, $550, and even $600. Needless to say, a $300 model is hard to pass up. This will probably sell out fast! Bonus deal: If you're planning a trip to an actual Wal-Mart store, you can get the Kindle with Special Offers for $79 -- and a $30 Wal-Mart gift card. Definitely a tempting option for Mother's Day or a similar gift-giving occasion. Thanks to reader Mike for sharing this deal. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.