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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 13 Issue 32
Volume 13, Issue 32 Atari Online News, Etc. August 12, 2011
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2011
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1332 08/12/11
~ Operation Shady RAT! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Will Mario Jump Ship?
~ HP Cuts Tablet Prices! ~ How America Uses Web! ~ Red 3DS Is Coming!
~ More Fake Apple Stores ~ Chinese Smuggle iPads! ~ DefCon Adds Kids!
~ Mac OS X Passes Linux! ~ Web Rally for UK Barber ~ The iPad Trumps Oil!
-* China Hit by 500,000 Attacks *-
-* Hackers' Mission: Operation Facebook? *-
-* Is ChronoPay Tied to MacDefender Scareware? *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
There's so much to talk about this week, that I have no idea where to
begin - or even to discuss! The world's economy woes (how's that for an
understatement??) are frightening. The riots in the streets of the UK
are deplorable, regardless of the protesters' original reasoning. Kids
attending this year's DefCon and learning how to become hackers - now
that's a terrific idea?! The hacktivist group Anonymous dreams of "killing"
FaceBook! More fake Apple stores found in China; now there's a real
surprise (not!)! How about a Twitter campaign to get Muppets Ernie and
Bert to marry because there's a "claim" that they're gay?
Where is this world going? You know what, I could go on and on about any
of these topics - just because they are so irritating! The U.S. politicians
have a fierce partisan struggle over our debt, and now the world's economy
is in turmoil (or more of one!). Do what we elected you to do - to work
for the country and its citizens rather than your own agenda(s)! In the
UK (and elsewhere in the world) - there are legitimate reasons to protest,
and legitimate ways to do so. Violent mob mentality has no place in this.
Using a reasonable protest as an excuse to riot in the streets and destroy
property and injure/kill innocent people is unacceptable behavior and should
be dealt with accordingly.
Teaching kids to be hackers? Terrific vocation or hobby - this one needs
no explanation, it's stupid. Hackers planning to wipe out Facebook, even
if a rumor that is false, is more malicious behavior by misguided
individuals who are hackers. Fake Apple stores found in China? Does this
even need discussion? And finally, some misguided individuals with ideals
of "political correctness" want a couple of puppets to get married because
if they're "best friends", they must be gay and set some form of example.
Puppets??!!
But, I'm not going to go any further because my blood pressure is high
enough without putting it through the rafters! You all have your own
opinions about some or all of these, so I don't plan to sway you either
way. I'll just end here, and relax with this week's issue! Enjoy!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Nintendo Announces Red 3DS!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Mario To Jump to iPhone?
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Nintendo Announces Red 3DS, More Upcoming Games
The price cut for the Nintendo 3DS officially goes into effect this
weekend - though some retailers are already offering reduced-price models
- but if youre willing to wait a few more weeks, youll be able to pick
up more than just a cheaper 3DS. Starting September 9, youll also be
able to pick up a "flame red" version of the handheld 3-D gaming system.
Nintendo announced the upcoming arrival of the red 3DS in U.S. and
European markets early this morning, and also offered up some details
about the new 3DS titles that will go on sale between now and the
holidays. Among the planned 2011 releases are 3DS games based on popular
franchises like Star Fox, Super Mario, and Pokemon.
Heres a quick breakdown of what will be available, and when its expected
to hit shelves in the U.S., according to Nintendo:
* The new Star Fox game, Star Fox 64 3D, will be released September 9.
* Pokemon fans will be happy to hear that Nintendo is targeting an October
24 release for Pokemon Rumble Blast, the first fully 3-D title in the
franchise.
* And dont worry, folks - Mario is in the mix, too. Offering a double
dose of the popular plumber-verse, Super Mario 3D Land will be released
in November and Mario Kart 7 will be released in December.
* Finally, a new Sonic the Hedgehog game for the 3DS, Sonic Generations,
will also hit shelves before the holidays.
With all of these announcements, its difficult not to think of this
weekends price cut as a full-scale relaunch for the struggling system,
but it remains to be seen whether the new titles and the "flame red" paint
job will help bring the company, well out of the red.
Mario Pressured to Jump to IPhone as Nintendo Wii, 3DS Slump
In "Super Mario 3DLand," Nintendo Co. will make its iconic Italian
plumber battle turtle-like Koopa Troopas on its 3-D player. The company
instead should develop titles for Apple Inc. (AAPL)s iPhone, investors
say.
The rift highlights the dilemma President Satoru Iwata faces as consumers
shun Nintendo devices to play games on iPhones, iPads and Facebook Inc.s
website. The flop of the 3DS debut prompted the company to cut prices 40
percent in Japan and 32 percent in the U.S., the first time the games
developer has resorted to such a move within six months of a products
debut.
Iwata, whos said Nintendo will only make titles for its own products as
long as hes in charge, should scrap that strategy to avoid further
alienating investors whove driven the stock to six-year lows, fund
manager Masamitsu Ohki said. One option may be acquisitions as the past
successes of the Wii and DS helped Nintendo, the worlds largest
video-game maker, build a 1.05 trillion yen ($13.7 billion) war chest in
cash, equivalents and short-term investments.
"Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry," said Ohki,
a fund manager at Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co. "Nintendo
should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something
totally new."
He declined to identify his holdings or to name any companies that Kyoto,
Japan-based Nintendo should consider as acquisition targets. Yasuhiro
Minagawa, a spokesman at Nintendo, declined to comment beyond statements
made previously by Iwata.
Ohki isnt alone in saying Iwata should reconsider his strategy. On
July 6, Nintendo shares jumped the most in almost four months after
Pokemon Co., a former unit, said its developing a game for the iPhone
and handsets running on Mountain View, California-based Google Inc.s
Android software. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) sent a note to clients saying
the move indicated Nintendo may begin making titles for products outside
its proprietary hardware.
Hours later, Nintendo denied any change in strategy, and the shares
surrendered gains.
"They just dont get it," MF Global FXA Securities Ltd. said in a sales
note that day, referring to Nintendo. "Sell the stock, because a
management once feted for creative out-of-box thinking have just shown
how behind the times they are."
Lower-than-expected demand for the 3DS, which Iwata blamed on the lack of
hit titles, prompted Nintendo on July 28 to slash its profit forecast 82
percent, driving down the shares by as much as 21 percent the following
day. They fell 0.2 percent to 11,430 yen, at the 3:10 p.m. close in Osaka
trading, the lowest level since August 2005.
By comparison, profits at Cupertino, California-based Apple are climbing
to records, helped by downloads of games such as Rovio Mobile Oys Angry
Birds on the more than 200 million iPhones, iPads and iPods sold to date.
Research firm Gartner Inc. said in January it expects global sales of
mobile applications to almost triple to $15.1 billion this year.
Revenue at San Francisco-based Zynga Inc., the biggest developer of
Facebook games including 'FarmVille' and 'CityVille,' surged fivefold to
$597.5 million last year.
Some traditional games companies have taken notice. Sony Corp. (6758),
maker of the PlayStation video-game console, began offering the PoxNora
strategy game on Facebook last year, while Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) makes
its Windows Phone software compatible with the companys Xbox Live gaming
service.
Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS), the second-largest U.S. video-game publisher,
agreed last month to buy 'Plants vs. Zombies' developer PopCap Games for
as much as $1.3 billion to extend a drive into titles played on sites
including Facebook. Thats more than triple the $400 million Japans DeNA
Co. agreed to pay last year to buy iPhone-games developer Ngmoco Inc.
Nintendos last acquisition was in 2007, when it bought developer Monolith
Software Inc., which supplies titles including the 'Xenoblade' role
playing game, for an undisclosed sum, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. The companies share a similar direction when developing
software, Iwata said at that time.
For now, Nintendo is betting on price cuts - the 3DS sells for 15,000 yen
from 25,000 yen starting today -- and new games to revive earnings. The
company plans to introduce flagship titles such as 'Super Mario 3DLand'
in November and 'Mario Kart' in December for the 3DS. In the U.S., the
player will cost $169.99, down from $249.99 from tomorrow.
Little Expensive
"I decided to buy because of the markdown," said Mitsuhiro Taguchi, a
48-year-old office worker who was among the score of people lined up at
Yodobashi Camera Co.s outlet, the biggest electronics retailer in Tokyos
Akihabara district, before the doors opened at 9:25 a.m. "I wanted it for
a while, but it was a little expensive."
Yusuke Tsunoda, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co., said Nintendo
needs to develop software that better utilizes the 3-D capability of the
3DS. For investors, the focus will center on the efficacy of the price
cuts, he said.
Cheaper prices may not be enough to lure some consumers.
"There are no games I want to play on the 3DS," said Chihaya Kaizaki, a
19-year-old college student who says he prefers to play dating games on
Sonys PlayStation Portable. "The selection of 3-D titles available is
pretty poor."
Sales of the portable 3DS machine lagged behind company expectations
because of the lack of "hit software titles," Iwata told analysts and
investors July 29.
More worrying to some investors are concerns that Nintendos
next-generation video-game console, the Wii U, will fail to replicate the
original Wiis success, which helped drive the stock to an all-time high
in 2007.
$10 Billion in Cash
The new Wii, which goes on sale next fiscal year, will feature a
front-facing camera, a 6.2-inch touch screen, shoulder firing pads, an
expansion slot and game controls on a flat pad.
Following the Wii Us unveiling, analysts at UBS AG and Bank of America
Corp.s Merrill Lynch wrote in notes to clients that they werent
impressed by the next-generation console.
Iwata said last month the 3DS price cut is driving down price expectations
for the Wii U, which may affect Nintendos plan to release the console
during the fiscal year that begins in April. The company plans to announce
the specific release date and price of the product next year, he said.
Given the concerns over the outlook of Nintendos handheld and
home-console business, which account for most of the companys profit and
sales, Nintendo should make better use of its more than $10 billion cash
pile, investor Tetsuro Ii said.
"Nintendo should aggressively make acquisitions or increase returns to its
shareholders," said Ii, president of Tokyo-based Commons Asset Management
Inc., which held 2,200 Nintendo shares as of February, according to the
companys website. "Its managements task to consider how to make use of
the cash."
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Congresswoman Eyes McAfee Briefing on Cyber Attacks
A congresswoman on Wednesday requested more information on security
company McAfee's report detailing a five-year hacking campaign that
breached 72 organizations globally.
Representative Mary Bono Mack, chairman of the House Commerce subcommittee
with jurisdiction over cybersecurity, said she was alarmed by the report
on a slew of cyber attacks that McAfee has dubbed "Operation Shady RAT."
In a letter to Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research for
McAfee and author of the report, Bono Mack requested a briefing with his
research team and asked how the government and private sector could more
effectively mitigate data breaches.
McAfee uncovered the biggest hacking campaign discovered to date, a
multiyear campaign targeting governments, corporations, the United Nations,
defense contractors and others. Its report, released last week, said a
single "state actor" - which the company did not identify - seeking
military, diplomatic and economic advantage was behind the attacks.
Intel Corp acquired McAfee, the world's No. 2 maker of security software
after Symantec Corp, in a $7.68 billion deal earlier this year to help it
offer customers using its chips more safety from hackers.
Bono Mack, in the letter, asked McAfee if it believed greater public
disclosure of significant, potentially damaging breaches would help or
harm efforts to curb cyber crime.
The congresswoman introduced legislation in July that would require
companies that collect consumers' personal information to implement data
security measures and notify consumers of data breaches.
Bono Mack also asked about the five-year hacking campaign's financial impact
on the United States, and whether the company found evidence that consumers'
sensitive or personal information was compromised.
The high-profile cyber attacks of recent months, including breaches of Sony
Corp and the websites of the U.S. Senate and Central Intelligence Agency,
are classified in McAfee's report as unsophisticated and opportunistic
compared with the insidious intrusions of Operation Shady RAT.
Bono Mack's subcommittee on commerce, manufacturing and trade has held
several hearings on data security breaches, and is probing into cyber
attacks' effects on consumers, international competitiveness and the U.S.
economy.
In her letter to McAfee, she also sought a better understanding of what
hackers consider to be a greater target: intellectual property and national
security information or consumer information linked to identity theft.
Raid Reveals Evidence of ChronoPay Ties to MacDefender Scareware
A recent raid by Russian police has revealed evidence that a company
called ChronoPay is indeed behind the Mac OS X scareware program
MacDefender, despite the company's earlier denials. But while the raid and
the arrest of ChronoPay's CEO may put a dent in the company's profits,
it's unlikely that MacDefender or its variants will disappear just yet.
When MacDefender first hit the scene, it was called MAC Defender, and it
seemed to show up on Mac users' machines after those users followed
poisoned Google Image search results. Unlike many scareware apps for
Windows, however, this one was actually designed to look like it was made
for a Mac, and it claimed to be able to rid the user of viruses - if only
he or she would hand over a credit card number. The viruses were, of
course, fake; instead, the app was merely collecting payment information
so that scammers could abuse the credit cards at a later date.
When we conducted our own investigation into MacDefender, we discovered
that it wasn't taking over the Mac world like some had predicted, but the
scareware app had made its way into the general population to some degree.
Apple soon began combating MacDefender on the OS level, and there hasn't
been much news about the malware/scareware since.
But as it turns out, whoever was behind MacDefender continued chugging
along, raking in money from unsuspecting Mac users until Russian law
enforcement descended on the ChronoPay office in late July, as noted by
Forbes Russia. And when police searched ChronoPay's office, they found
"mountains of evidence" that ChronoPay employees were doing tech and
customer support for MacDefender and a plethora of other fake antivirus
programs, according to former Washington Post reporter and current
security expert Brian Krebs.
One such piece of evidence was a support document that shows the website
credentials and call records for various fake antivirus programs - MS
Removal Tool, Clean This, MacDefender, and Marketplace Billing. This is
despite ChronoPay's statement issued in May claiming that the company was
"not involved with MacDefender in anyway, not [sic] are we involved with
any virus production as has been alleged."
Krebs notes that while the raid may slow down ChronoPay and its ilk from
seeding fake antivirus software onto the Internet, the industry is far too
profitable for scammers to stay away for long. "Given fake AVs status as
a reliable cash cow, the industry is likely to bounce back rapidly,"
Krebs wrote.
Operation Facebook Video Is Likely Fake, But Anonymous' Mission To 'Kill' Is Not
The Internet buzzed with malicious glee Tuesday after a video surfaced
claiming that hacktivist group Anonymous plans to "kill" Facebook on
November 5, Guy Fawkes Day.
"Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed,"
said the videos computer-generated voice. "If you are a willing activist
or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join
the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy."
According to the video, Anonymous primary complaint about Facebook is
that the ubiquitous social network invades users privacy, uses their
personal information for financial gain, and acts as an appalling spying
machine that helps governments from around the world keep tabs on their
citizens. Another complaint is that Facebook has been deleting accounts
related to Anonymous.
The video, which was originally uploaded in the middle of July, seemed
authentic enough, and the sentiments expressed by the digital voiceover
stood in line with Anonymous widely publicized support for freedom of
information, personal privacy and anti-government views. Problem is, the
video is a hoax.
Skepticism about the video was first expressed by cyber security expert
Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, who tweeted early
today that the Operation Facebook attack "most probably is fake."
(Interestingly, Kasperskys tweets about FacebookOp have since been
deleted. Kaspersky has not yet responded to our request for comment on his
reasons for removing the tweets.)
Kasperskys speculation about the authenticity of the video is supported
by Anonymous-linked Twitter user @anonops, who tweeted that "#OpFacebook
is just ANOTHER FAKE! WE DONT KILL THE MESSENGER THATS NOT OUR STYLE."
After this post by @anonops, an number of Anonymous members contradicted
the "fake" claim, saying that there is in fact a plan to attack Facebook,
though it may not be related to the video.
"[T]here are in fact a Op to disrupt facebook," tweeted high-profile
Anonymous member @YourAnonNews. "[I]t may have nothing to do with the
video, but I have been in chats."
Soon after that tweet, @anonops responded, saying, "#OpFacebook is being
organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of
#Anonymous agrees with it."
In other words, the video about Operation Facebook doesnt appear to have
been created by high-level members of Anonymous. But the idea to attack
Facebook, on November 5 or otherwise, has been floating around amongst
some members of the group. And at least a few Anons plan to wage some
type of attack on the social network. What exactly that will entail
remains to be seen.
China Hit by 500,000 Cyberattacks in 2010
China said Tuesday it was hit by nearly 500,000 cyberattacks last year,
about half of which originated from foreign countries including the United
States and India.
The news comes just days after US firm McAfee said it had uncovered a
massive global cyber spying campaign it described as a "five-year targeted
operation" by one unnamed actor - which many analysts said was China.
According to a government report, most of the attacks on China came in the
form of Trojan software - a malicious programme that masquerades as an
application - the official Xinhua news agency said.
Nearly 15 percent of the destructive programmes came from IP addresses in
the United States, while another eight percent originated in India, said
the report by the National Computer Network Emergency Response
Coordination Centre.
China, which has the world's largest online population with 485 million
users, has itself been accused of spearheading online attacks on government
agencies and companies, although Beijing has always denied this.
Chinese state media lambasted claims that China was behind the
sophisticated hacking effort uncovered by McAfee, calling them
"irresponsible".
According to the US computer security firm, victims of the attack included
the governments of Canada, India, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States
and Vietnam.
In June, Internet giant Google said a cyber-spying campaign originating in
China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military
personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.
The computers of Australia's prime minister, foreign and defence ministers
were also suspected of being hacked in March, with China under suspicion.
Chinese Authorities Find 22 More Fake Apple Stores
Authorities in China's southwestern city of Kunming have identified another
22 unauthorised Apple retailers weeks after a fake of the company's store
in the city sparked an international storm.
China's Administration for Industry and Commerce in the Yunnan provincial
capital said the stores have been ordered to stop using Apple's logo after
Apple China accused them of unfair competition and violating its
registered trademark, state media said on Thursday.
The market watchdog agency said it would set up a complaint hotline and
boost monitoring, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
It did not say if the shops were selling knock-off Apple products or
genuine but smuggled models.
Countless unauthorised resellers of Apple and other brands' electronic
products throughout China sell the real thing but buy their goods overseas
and smuggle them into the country to escape taxes.
In July, inspections of around 300 shops in Kunming were carried out after
a blog post by an American living in the city exposed a near-flawless fake
Apple Store where even the staff were convinced they were working for the
California-based iPhone and iPad maker.
Chinese law protects trademarks and prohibits companies from copying the
"look and feel" of other companies' stores.
But enforcement is spotty, and the United States and other Western
countries have often complained China is woefully behind in its effort to
stamp out intellectual property (IP) theft.
In May, China was listed for the seventh year by the U.S. Trade
Representative's office as a country with one of the worst records for
preventing copyright theft.
Kids and Hackers, Oh My! DefCon Adds Kids Track
Fewer things seem out of place at the rough-hewn DefCon hacker convention
than a swarm of kids.
For 18 years, hackers - and the computer security experts who track them
- have gathered at DefCon, one of the largest and longest-running
conferences of its kind, to share information about breaching and
securing computers and other devices.
This year's DefCon featured what some hardcore attendees might consider to
be a startling sight: children. For the first time, DefCon included
discussions and tutorials for budding hackers, ages 8 to 16. Some 60 kids
showed up.
Over two days, they met prominent hackers, Homeland Security officials and
NSA security experts. They also listened to talks on the history of hacking
and lectures on cryptography. Some of the convention's hotly contested
competitions were geared toward children, as well. One contest covered
lock-picking techniques to be used in the event they forget their locker
combination. The kids were encouraged to find security vulnerabilities in
popular technologies, from video games to computer hardware.
Children were required to have a parent with them. Many parents who brought
their kids are longtime DefCon attendees who said they were excited about
the bonding opportunity.
Rey Ayers, 42, an information security specialist for a utility company in
the San Francisco Bay area, has attended DefCon for the past four years.
He brought his son, Xavier, 14, who has been tinkering with computers for
years and already has two information technology certifications.
Ayers said it was important to introduce his son to the hacker community,
adding that they've talked extensively about the difference between
ethical and unethical hacking.
"I see it in him - he feels like he belongs to a clan, to a group. I'm
really proud," Rey Ayers said in an interview. "I can see he has the
excitement in his eyes."
Xavier, his backpack decked out in new pins with hacker logos, said he's
trying to follow in his dad's footsteps. The conference has given them
new ideas to explore. The two look forward to finding vulnerabilities in
wireless networks together when they get home to Vallejo, California.
Xavier, who hacks mostly with his dad, said he hoped to meet some kids his
age at the conference who might become his hacking pen pals.
"I feel like a community here - it's like I'm not the only kid," Xavier
said.
The emergence of the DefCon kids' conference comes as hackers are making
headlines around the world. Though the general public often associates
hacking with criminality, the engineering culture of the technology
mainstream has always embraced people who explore the boundaries of what
can be done with computers and other gadgets. Steve Jobs and Stephen
Wozniak, the co-founders of Apple Inc., have said they considered
themselves "hackers" when they created the first Apple computers in the
mid-1970s.
Recent hacker attacks, however, play into stereotypical definitions of
hackers. On Saturday, for instance, the hacker group Anonymous broke into
70 U.S. law enforcement websites, illustrating the growing threat from
criminal hackers.
DefCon and its more-polished relative, the Black Hat technical security
convention, drew thousands of people here in Las Vegas. They came for the
revelry and intense discussion of new vulnerabilities in devices ranging
from mobile phones to insulin pumps and critical infrastructure.
Black Hat, which is an industry sponsored event and costs up to $2,500 to
enter, had more than 6,000 attendees. Vendors and executives in suits
were there to schmooze and strike deals until Black Hat ended on
Thursday.
DefCon, which ended Sunday, costs $150 to enter. Organizers stopped
counting the number of attendees after they sold 10,000 badges on the first
day. Most attendees wore t-shirts and shorts. One popular annual pastime at
DefCon involves trying to identify undercover federal agents. DefCon ended
Sunday.
This year many attendees rallied around a hacker named "Barkode" who has
a blood disease and needs an urgent bone marrow transplant. Volunteers
running a blood drive on site offered free mohawks to all donors.
Conference organizers said the drive was so successful that extra
supplies were needed to handle the donations.
Wolfe and Behr Crouse of Conroe, Texas proudly sported mohawks. Wolfe,
11 and Behr, 8 outlined the family hacking hierarchy.
"He's the hacker, I'm the lockpicker. I get him in the building," Behr
said.
So how long has he been a lockpicker? Less than a day, his mother laughed.
He got the bug after picking locks with some success at DefCon.
The boys' parents, Rick and Kirsten, are both techies. They came to DefCon
to introduce their boys to the culture. Rick has attended for the past
three years. He said he wanted Wolfe and Behr to see the constructive
applications of hacking.
"The technology itself isn't good or evil - it's what you do with it,"
Rick Crouse said.
Kirsten Crouse added that they wanted to show examples of math and science
in action to convey the importance of doing well in school.
"It's an amazing opportunity for the kids to see what the options are out
there," she said.
Ten-Year-Old Hacker Presents iOS Game Exploit at DefCon
A 10-year-old hacker who goes by the name CyFi uncovered a new exploit in
iOS and Android games. The time-based exploit lets you advance in a game
by adjusting the clock on your phone or tablet. The California girl
discovered the flaw while playing an unnamed farming game.
Tired of waiting ten hours for some corn to grow, she advanced the device
clock ahead and discovered an exploit that forced the game to advance
prematurely. Several games are vulnerable, but their names are being
withheld so the developers can apply a patch. Though they may be patched,
she has reportedly looked into a few tweaks that may get around this fix.
CyFi presented this information to DefCon Kids, a part of the popular
DefCon hacking conference dedicated to the budding, young hacker.
Chinese Smugglers Shoot A Zip Line Across A River To Illegally Ship iPads
Like Kramer and Newman driving the mail truck into Michigan to make a
profit on bottle can returns, Chinese smugglers shot an arrow over the
border between the mainland and Hong Kong connected to a rope. They then
zipped down a collection of iPads and iPhones, hoping to make a profit on
the tax differences between the two areas.
Gizchina is reporting that the smugglers shot the arrow from a high-rise
using a crossbow in Shenzhen and hit a small house in Hong Kong, across
the Sha Tau Kok river. They then sent boxes and boxes of gear over the
border in the dead of night until authorities spotted boxes of electronics
flying through the air into Hong Kong on a 300 meter line (my emphasis).
They nabbed $46,000 worth of gear although there is no telling how much
had already gone unnoticed.
HP Cuts Tablet Price in Bid To Challenge iPad
US technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Thursday cut the price of its
freshly-launched TouchPad tablet computers in a bid to gain traction in a
market dominated by Apple's iPad.
TouchPads with 16 gigabytes of memory were offered on the HP website for
$400 and models with 32 gigabytes were available for $500 in what amounted
to lopping $100 off the original prices.
"HP continually evaluates pricing for its products and is pleased to
permanently extend its back-to-school promotion on the HP TouchPad," a
company spokesman said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.
TouchPads made their US debut in early July as HP took on iPad and Android
devices in the fast-growing tablet market, and are sold by major US
retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart as well as on Amazon.com.
Unlike the iPad, the TouchPad supports Adobe's Flash video format. It runs
the webOS operating system, developed by Palm, the mobile-device pioneer
that HP acquired last year for $1.2 billion.
The TouchPad debuted to mixed reviews, suggesting it will face an uphill
climb against the iPad and other devices.
Apple touts having sold 25 million iPads since releasing the first version
of the device in April 2010. It released its next-generation iPad 2 in
March.
Besides the iPad, the market for tablet computers now includes the Samsung
Galaxy Tab, the BlackBerry PlayBook, the Motorola Xoom and dozens of
devices running Google's Android operating system.
HP's stock has slumped since the beginning of the year amid investor
concerns that the Palo Alto, California-based company is being overtaken
by younger, nimbler rivals such as Apple and Dell.
Apple's Mac OS X Helps BSD Overtake Linux for Development
*The Lure* of shiny toys has helped Apple's BSD-based Mac OS X
operating system overtake Linux to become the operating system that is
the second most used by developers, according to Evans Data.
Analyst outfit Evans Data reports that in North America over 80 per cent
of developers still run their integrated development environments <#>
(IDEs) in Microsoft's Windows operating system. As surprising and
concerning as that might be, the biggest surprise is the growing
popularity of Apple's Mac OS X, with Evans Data claiming that 7.9 per
cent of developers are using it as a host operating system, pushing it
past Linux, which is used by 5.6 per cent of developers surveyed.
Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data said, "Apple has made tremendous strides
in the last few years with innovative products and technologies, so it's
quite reasonable to see developers adopting the Mac and its OS as a
development environment."
Apple's Mac OS X is based on the Mach BSD 4.4 kernel and arguably
represents the easiest, albeit most costly, non-Windows alternative. It
offers stability, a highly polished user interface and perhaps most
importantly the choice of Vim, Emacs or Eclipse. The fact that Apple's
shiny toys are selling well definitely helps its popularity among
developers of IOS applications, but it could well be developers just
wanting a quick and relatively painless way out of using Microsoft's
Windows operating system that drives its success.
Some developers are forced to use Microsoft Windows because they work
with the .Net framework. However doing development on systems running
Linux was always seen to be a safe bet, simply because Linux has in the
past been far more stable than Windows. To Microsoft's credit, the
stability of Windows has improved a great deal in the past decade and
Windows 7 is on the whole also a stable desktop operating system.
The irony in all this is that Evans Data's data shows that while Linux
fans have been talking about the death of BSD for well over a decade, it
seems that thanks to Apple, BSD in the form of Mac OS X appears to have
overtaken Linux in one usage metric.
The iPad Trumps Oil: Apple Is Most Valuable US Company
Investors seem to think you want an iPad more than oil, as Apple Inc.
became the most valuable company in the United States, surpassing Exxon
Mobil Corp. on Wednesday.
Apple briefly flirted with the top spot on Tuesday afternoon before
settling back slightly below the oil giant.
Wednesday was the first time that Apple managed to stay No. 1 after the
stock market closed.
Apple's stock fell 2.8 percent to close at $363.69, which brings the iPhone
and iPad maker's market capitalization to $337 billion. Exxon's stock fell
4.4 percent to close at $68.03. That gives the oil company a market cap of
$331 billion.
The change of the guard took place two days after global markets saw its
worst fall since 2008 as investors worried about the U.S. credit downgrade
and the possibility of another recession. Exxon had been the most valuable
company since 2005, and Apple only took No. 2 in May 2010 when it
surpassed Microsoft Corp.
The power shift, while largely symbolic, is a substantial milestone for
Apple, which has enjoyed a triumphant comeback since the 1990s, when it
struggled to stay afloat before Steve Jobs returned to take the helm.
But it's not just the comeback. Gleacher & Co. analyst Brian Marshall says
Apple is giving investors something that has never been seen before.
Apple's numbers are huge, with nearly $30 billion in revenue in the latest
quarter, for example. Yet Marshall said the 35-year-old company is
"growing like a startup."
"Even in 2008 and 2009 Apple grew like a weed and the world was coming to
an end," Marshall said.
Apple grew its net income 70 percent to $14 billion and its revenue 52
percent to $65 billion in the fiscal year that ended last September. A
year earlier, even as other companies - though not Exxon - were reeling
from the economic meltdown, Apple's earnings grew 35 percent and its
revenue 14 percent.
Apple wasn't always a tech darling. The company once known as Apple
Computer Inc. was on a steep decline before Jobs returned in 1997.
With Jobs as CEO, Apple dreamed up gadgets that people didn't even think
they needed until they got their hands on them - or saw friends and
relatives with them. There were music players, smartphones and tablet
computers before Apple introduced the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. But
the Apple gadgets' sleek, minimalist design and intuitive software gave
them a loyal following not just by tech geeks but the everyday consumers.
"Never underestimate the power of Joe Sixpack relative to expenditures on
consumer electronics," Marshall said.
People want their gadgets, especially those made by Apple, even in a
recession and even as they watch their stock portfolios and retirement
funds shrink.
Even so, Apple commands just a sliver of the overall smartphone and
computer market. For that reason, Apple can grow at such a fast pace.
"They have just a tremendous runway in front of them," Marshall said.
Exxon, which set a record in 2008 for the highest quarterly earnings by
any company, has limited prospects because its growth is tethered to oil
prices and new oil discovery.
Apple's growth is limited only by innovation. Investors expect it to grow
as long as it keeps making products that people want. So investors are
betting on Apple's stock even though it currently makes less money than
Exxon.
In its latest quarterly report, Apple said stronger iPhone and iPad sales
helped more than double its net income to $7.3 billion and grow revenue
by 82 percent to $29 billion.
Exxon, meanwhile, posted a 41 percent increase in its second-quarter
earnings to nearly $11 billion, the largest since it set a record of
nearly $15 billion in the third quarter of 2008. Its revenue grew 36
percent to $125 billion.
International companies that vie for the most valuable spot include
PetroChina Co., the publicly traded unit of China's biggest oil and gas
company, and Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled energy company.
In the U.S., Exxon and General Electric had been trading off the No. 1 and
No. 2 spots until Microsoft surpassed them both in early 1999, at the
height of the dot-com boom. By 2000, though, GE was No. 1 once again.
According to data from FactSet, the three were close over the next five
years, though Apple was ascending quickly. Exxon, which is based in Irving,
Texas, took the top spot in 2005 and remained there until Wednesday.
Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, generally introduces a new
product every three years, which means something new in 2013. Marshall
does not expect the company to slow down any time soon.
In fact, he expects Apple to pass yet another milestone next year, when
it's likely to surpass Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest
technology company by revenue. In the most recent quarter, HP reported
$32 billion in revenue, compared with Apple's $29 billion in its latest
quarter.
Web Campaign Raises $50,000 for 89-Year-Old Barber Hit by London Looters
While British Prime Minister David Cameron threatens to shut down social
networks to help stop future citizen uprisings, an online word-of-mouth
campaign has helped an elderly barber, whos business was destroyed by
rioters, get back on his feet.
Started by a trio of creative interns at the renowned London advertising
agency BBH, the Keep Aaron Cutting campaign aims to help 89-year-old
hair-cutter Aaron Biber rebuild his barbershop after looters ransacked
his establishment, which he has owned and operated in Londons Tottenham
neighborhood for 41 years.
The theft and destruction has left Biber with next to nothing. "I will
probably have to close because I havent got insurance and I cant afford
the repairs," Biber said in a statement.
So far, compassionate Internet users have donated more than £31,000, or
about $50,000, at the time of this writing. This has been accomplished
primarily through social networking, along with a video about Mr. Bibers
plight, and a website where concerned citizens of the world can chip in
'a couple of quid,' as the site suggests.
Approximately 11,000 people have shared the website on Facebook, and about
8,500 have posted the page to Twitter. Your reporter discovered the
campaign for Mr. Biber on Reddit (a community widely known for its
generosity towards those less fortunate), where the link was posted six
different times.
The BBH interns did not immediately return our request for comment on how
much the campaign hopes to raise for Mr. Bibers shop.
Keep Aaron Cutting is not the only online campaign hoping to get some help
from the Internet at large.
A similar effort, Save Sivas Shop, has helped raise more than $21,600
dollars for a convenience store owner (named Siva), who cannot afford to
replace the merchandise that was stolen or destroyed during the riots.
In another example of Internet-spread kindness, a viral video of rioters
mercilessly stealing a Sony PSP from an injured 20-year-old man prompted
the company to publicly vow to replace his stolen gaming device. This came
after Sony itself suffered massive damage to one of its distribution
centers, which was set ablaze during Londons chaos.
Before their charitable campaigns were created, both Mr. Biber and Siva
benefited from having pictures of their destroyed businesses published
across the Internet. Mr. Biber appeared in a photo by Getty photographer
Dan Kitwood (above), which was published in the Boston Globes popular
photo-journalism blog The Big Picture. Siva appeared in a photo by Reuters
photographer Olivia Harris, which appeared on The Atlantics In Focus
photo blog, which also shows the photo of Mr. Biber.
How America Uses the Internet
With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+, one might expect
social media to be at or near the top most popular online activities. But
according to a new Pew study, it still has a long way to go. The No. 1
online activities among U.S. adults are still email and search, as they
have been since Pew started collecting data in 2002. 92 percent of American
adults who use the Internet report using email; the same percentage they
use search. They are followed getting the news (76 percent), shopping
(71 percent), and finally social networking (65 percent).
An important caveat is that only adults were surveyed. We would expect
those under 18 to be more likely to be on Facebook. Still, social media
has made tremendous inroads into the U.S. adult population as the first
users of sites like Facebook grow up and even older Americans start
connecting online. Only 11 percent of U.S. adults used social media in
2005, which means we've seen a six-fold increase in six years. But whether
or not Pew wants to study it, we all know what adults really use the
Internet for.
=~=~=~=
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