Technology at Electronics Reviewer

There’s still no content available, but manufacturers have started a 3DTV launch blitz that will make your head spin. They are counting on the popularity of 3D movies like “Avatar” to make a 3DTV the next must-have hardware for the home. Samsung, LG, Sony, and Panasonic are the top four TV manufacturers.

Samsung on Tuesday introduced its line of 3DTVs at an event in New York. Samsung will offer 3D in LED, conventional fluorescent-backlit LCD, and plasma TV sets. The least expensive Samsung 3D TV is a 46-inch LCD, due out in May for about $1,700.

Samsung’s plasma line includes six 3D sets starting with a 50-inch set at about $1,800, up to a 63-inch set at $3,800, all available in May. Meanwhile, Samsung’s LED line includes 46-inch and 55-inch 3D versions due this month at $2,600 and $3,200, respectively. There is also a 40-inch priced at about $2,000 due out in May. At the top is a new higher-end line with a 55-inch model for nearly $7,000.

Sony, on the other hand, expects to sell 2.5 million 3DTVs this fiscal year (ending March 2011). Sony anticipates selling 25 million TV sets, with 10 percent of them 3D. That is pretty optimistic when there is still a dearth of 3D content.

Panasonic said it’s planning to introduce 3D TVs at Best Buy, starting Wednesday of this week for only $2,500, about half the price they’re available for in Japan. Why the favoritism? It’s part of a strategy so that Panasonic can hit its target of 1 million 3DTVs (worldwide) sold in 2010.

Manufacturers have better hope the recession is truly over. There are many obstacles to adoption, including the glasses that must be worn to view 3D content. Many simply feel the glasses are too much of a pain.

There’s also the fact that this is the first “round” of 3DTVs. There is an old adage that you should never buy the first revision of any product.

Additionally, quite a few consumers just moved up to HDTVs, and would be hard-pressed to justify another purchase for a brand-new technology.

Finally, there is the lack of content. Until June, when ESPN launches ESPN 3-D, there won’t be much on TV. That network will showcase at least 85 live sporting events during its first year. That still seems a rather sparse mix, content-wise, if one doesn’t need to upgrade their set. ESPN 3-D’s first broadcast scheduled to be the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match on June 11th, between South Africa and Mexico.

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A user of Panda Cloud Antivirus has detected malware being shipped on an HTC Magic Android phone. Clearly, if malware can be distributed by a battery charger or digital picture frame, it can be distributed via a smartphone, which can show up as a disk drive when plugged into a PC.

After plugging the device into a PC with a USB cable, the users’s Panda Cloud Antivirus detected both an autorun.inf and autorun.exe as malicious. The phone was infected with a Mariposa bot which would spread to any PC the Magic was plugged into.

Once infected the malware “phones home” for more instructions. Typically these sorts of bots attempt to the user’s credentials and send them to the malware writer. The obvious root cause is that PC(s) at the manufacturing plant are infected, as with the older issues about digital picture frames.

Interestingly, Panda found two other types of malware on the device. The Vodafone HTC Magic also held Confiker and Lineage, as well. You may recall that Conficker was thought to be the “end of the Internet” by some, but with security firms, Microsoft, and others such as US CERT working together, it wasn’t as bad as expected.

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It’s well known that digital photo frames can carry malware that can infect a PC, or at least, it should be. How about a battery charger?

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT) cautioned on Friday over a trojan in optional software that can be used with the Energizer DUO USB battery charger. The Windows application, which allows users to view battery charging status, actually contains a Trojan that can allow an attacker to remotely control a Windows PC.

US CERT says:

The installer for the Energizer DUO software places the file UsbCharger.dll in the application’s directory and Arucer.dll in the Windows system32 directory. When the Energizer UsbCharger software executes, it utilizes the UsbCharger.dll component for providing USB communication capabilities. UsbCharger.dll executes Arucer.dll via the Windows rundll32.exe mechanism, and it also configures Arucer.dll to execute automatically when Windows starts by creating an entry in the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run registry key.

Arucer.dll is a backdoor that allows unauthorized remote system access via accepting connections on 7777/tcp. [...] An attacker is able to remotely control a system, including the ability to list directories, send and receive files, and execute programs. The backdoor operates with the privileges of the logged-on user.

The software has been offered for three years. It is unclear how long the malware was in the program’s download. If it was in the code in 2007, that was when a number of infected consumer products, including the aforementioned digital photo frames, were coming out of China.

Marcus Sachs, director of the SANS Internet Storm Center said:

“This may simply be from that time frame when all the factories in China were not clean and many were putting malware onto stuff, not intentionally but because the hygiene wasn’t good. Who knows where the server (hosting the software) is located. It could have been exposed to the unclean conditions that were rampant there.”

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More information continues to flow in about a Pennsylvania school district’s alleged practice of “webcam spying” on students. The practice of the district remotely activating (school-provided) laptop webcams first emerged when the parents of Harriton High School tenth-grader Blake Robbins discovered that an assistant principal told their son that she had a picture that proved he “was engaged in improper behavior in his home.”

Since then, the practice has been terminated, although the FBI has begun investigations into the matter. The family has also filed a lawsuit against the school district. At the same time, school officials have confirmed that two Lower Merion School District employees have been put on administrative leave, and pictures taken from Webcams on school-issued computers have been turned over to the local police department.

The district contends that it only activated the webcams remotely when a laptop had been reported lost or stolen, and that the function had been used only 42 times. That, of course, doesn’t explain why Robbins’ webcam had been activated.

Attorney Charles Mandracchia, represents one of the two district personnel, school district information coordinator Carol Cafiero. Speaking about his client and Michael Perbix, the other suspended IT staff member, to Philadelphia TV station Fox 29, Mandracchia said,

“It was their duty to turn on the camera. But they would only do that if they received a request from the two high schools, the two buildings, because they had no direct contact with the students, they didn’t know the students. But it was only done – it was only supposed to be done if the computer was lost or stolen.”

Mandracchia added that once the feature was activated and the computer was opened, the webcam would snap a photo every 15 minutes. Perbix’ attorney, Marc Neff, emphasized that the IT employees didn’t know the identities of any students they saw, adding:

“Did he ever see a high school student? There were images of people that he saw he doesn’t know who they are he doesn’t recognize them.”

With regard to the lawsuit, which the Robbins family are trying to turn into a class action, there are plenty of parents who simply want to move on, and not be part of the lawsuit. In fact, more than 100 parents met last week to discuss ways to prevent the suit from reaching class action status. Such a suit could end up costing the district millions of dollars in legal fees and court costs. In the end, that would also mean it would end up costing parents of students, as well.

Michael Boni, a parent who helped organize last night’s meeting through the Web site lmsdparents.org, said:

“We’re the ones that are going to have to pay the freight at the end of the day. We are also unhappy that this is a distraction for the students. The fact that it’s garnered as much local, regional and national press as it has is nothing that the parents want.”

Let’s not forget international press, as well. Of course, the problem with such a lawsuit is there is only one set of winners: the lawyers.

Authorities are not the only ones who can use webcams remotely. Victims have even turned their own webcams on using software such as Back to My Mac to catch thieves.

Watch some Fox 29 reports on the matter:

admin Future Technology

To answer the question, if you go by Facebook’s terms of service, you’d think your Facebook data is safe. If you base your opinion on a Business Insider investigation that was released yesterday, you’d say, not very, as long as Mark Zuckerberg is CEO, at least.

The investigation casts a (further) pall on the founding of Facebook, which has also had its going over by BI, as well. If true, the fact of the matter is that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used login data from his site (then TheFacebook.com) to access the email accounts of some members. He also later hacked into a rival’s site, as well (ConnectU).

Additionally, BI found that Zuckerberg also was at the very least, duplicitous and backstabbing in his dealing with three of Zuckerberg’s his Harvard classmates. As most know, the classmates claim he stole their idea for HarvardConnections.com for his own site, thefacebook.com. They eventually settled out of court.

BI conducted its investigation by speaking to people familiar with those involved, and reviewing e-mails and instant messaging chat logs. Some of the rather damaging IMs, for example, with Zuckerberg speaking of Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra re: HarvardConnection:

• But they made a mistake haha. They asked me to make it for them. So I’m like delaying it so it won’t be ready until after the facebook thing comes out.

• I feel like the right thing to do is finish the facebook and wait until the last day before I’m supposed to have their thing ready and then be like “look yours isn’t as good as this so if you want to join mine you can…otherwise I can help you with yours later.”

In the past, Facebook has been very clear to BI: “Facebook respects user privacy and access to site usage and profile information is restricted at the company. Any Facebook employees found to be engaged in improper access to user data will be disciplined or terminated.”

Somehow, it seems unlikely that Zuckerberg is going to be disciplined or terminated over this.  Naturally, the above policy wasn’t in place when Facebook was first launched.  However, if Zuckerberg was willing to break into user accounts casually earlier, what is to prevent him from doing it later?  Has he had some sort of moral revelation?

Here’s one comment to a Gawker version of this story.  There is, of course, no way to check the truthfulness of the commenter:

Interestingly, Mark Zuckerberg hacked my personal Facebook account for a friend of his that I was dating. I had lied to this person about de-friending him, and he called Mark to have him hack my account. Apparently Mark Zuckerberg has no respect for Facebook’s privacy terms and was happy to help his buddy harass me because the guy called me with time stamped information for everything I had done in Facebook over the past day.

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One doesn’t necessarily need to be told this, as simply by watching movies and TV it’s pretty obvious, but Apple tends to dominate among product placement in media.  Some of it is definitely the recognizability of the products, as that logo stands out.  Did you realize, however, that Apple managed to get itself placed into 41% of the 44 movies that were tops in box office for at least one week in 2009?

That’s what Abe Sauer at The Awl reports in an excellent, and lengthy piece on Apple and product placement. That percentage doesn’t include Apple product placement in non-box office winners, or in TV.

Of course, as Sauer points out, there’s a discrepancy between Apple’s market share and its percentage in placements. Apple currently owns, for example, in the low double-digits of computer market share.

Additionally, Apple products show up in places where, in reality, they would never be. Windows PCs are dominant in corporations, with most companies using PCs for everything, except perhaps for developers who are programming for say, the iPhone. Yet, watch a movie or TV show, and you might think precisely the opposite.

For those more techie, it’s often obvious that those using iPhones can’t possibly be doing some of the things they do, without jailbreaking the device. A definite no, no in Apple’s eyes, and often not generally allowed in corporations, as it opens a few (easily closed) security holes.

Of course, this is all just an extension of the old adage that you must “suspend disbelief” when you watch a movie. After all, does anything really think that discount store clerks look like Jennifer Aniston (The Good Girl), or that Brad Pitt would dump her for Angelina Jolie? Oh wait, the latter actually happened.

Seriously, though, one important point made by The Awl: Apple doesn’t pay for this placement, despite what you may think. Abe also adds there’s no definitive link between product placement and sales.

Interestingly, Abe goes on to indicate that Apple’s product placement is being “covered up” somewhat of late. He cites examples of producers camouflaging the logo with a number of strategically placed cover-ups.

Meanwhile, however, watch Apple’s greatest moments in cinema:

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AT&T has been promising iPhone tethering since iPhone OS 3.0 came out last summer, yet nothing has happened (unless, of course, you jailbreak your iPhone). One might wonder if the wi-fi only version of Apple’s upcoming tablet PC, the iPad could be tethered to the iPhone. Nope.

Tethering, for those who don’t know, allows you to use your smartphone (not just an iPhone), as a modem. You can then access the Internet from your, say, laptop, even without a wi-fi hotspot.

The (negative) word comes from none other than Steve Jobs, who sometimes does take the time to answer questions directly. This question came all the way from Sweden:

I’ll keep it short.

I’m Jezper from Sweden, a long time Apple fan, currently about to replace the very last computer at home with a brand spanking new iMac i7. I’m also awaiting the release of the iPad. However, I have one question:

Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?

Two devices, based on the same OS, with already built-in technology to share one data plan suggests a secondary contract could possibly be redundant.

From the look of your keynote, where the iPad sits well between my MacBook Pro and my iPhone, I was hoping the three of them could interact as seamless as possible.

All the best,
Jezper Söderlund

The reply, from Cupertino and Steve Jobs, was short and (bitter)sweet:

No.

Sent from my iPhone

Once again, the email headers indicate that Jobs is the sender, but also that he still hasn’t upgraded his iPhone to iPhone OS 3.1.2.

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Since last September, we’ve wondered when and if Microsoft would reveal more information about their Courier booklet PC, which was first outed in September of 2009. The concept then seemed cool. And then came iPad.

To be honest, the concept of the Courier as described last year seemed like an electronic journal. That’s what it seems to be heading toward, too, as sources tell enGadget. Unlike original reports, however, it now seems that the Courier, assuming it sees the light of day, will run a version of Windows CE and use an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor.

It wouldn’t be the only booklet / tablet PC running a smartphone OS out there in the market, either. Apple’s iPad will run a version of iPhone OS.

As previously theorized, the UI will be pen-based. It will center around drawing, writing, and journaling. Think of it as a really cool electronic day planner, which could make it a hit in certain market segments.

enGadget’s sources say the Courier will debut in Q3 or Q4 2010. That would seem to point to an extremely busy 2010 for Microsoft in mobile. After all, not only do they have Windows Phone 7 Series coming out, they have Project Pink (which are reportedly just updated Sidekicks) as well.

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Those who want to pre-order Apple’s upcoming tablet PC need to get a few things ready in the next week: credit card, mouse clicking finger, keyboard, and a fast Internet connection. Apple on Friday announced the iPad pre-ordering process will open on March 12, with first deliveries on April 3.

Interestingly, April 3 is a Saturday. This probably means those who pre-order for delivery won’t get them on that day, but the following Monday, unless Apple pays for Saturday delivery, which is, in general, a lot more expensive.

On the other hand, those who pre-order can also opt to pick up an iPad in an Apple store on April 3. That, of course, raises the specter of long lines (like the iPhone line in NYC above).

It looks like fears over a long delay in the iPad introduction were incorrect. Apple had been saying “late March” and a few days isn’t really a “delay” per se. Of course, there is still the possibility that the iPad, already expected, like the iPhone, to be in limited quantities in first release, will be even more limited.

That leads, of course, to the following question: will the pre-order site be able to handle the load of the surge of people trying to pre-order before they sell out?

The full Apple press release follows:

iPad Available in US on April 3

Pre-Order on March 12

CUPERTINO, California—March 5, 2010—Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.*

iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ interface makes surfing the web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send email on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers are already creating exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.

The new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBookstore will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.

The iTunes® Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

Pricing & Availability
iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year.

The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US on April 3, with additional countries added later this year.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

admin Future Technology

Google believes the more ways you have to search, the better. Thus, they’ve created a Google Labs app called “Gesture Search.” It allows your to search your phone drawing alphabet gestures on the touch screen.

Shades of Palm’s old Graffiti.

You can search contacts, bookmarks, applications and music. To add a second letter to the seach (as shown above), use a gesture on the search results. Example above: search for A, then add the gesture for N to get the above results.

You can write a letter in more than one stroke. Gesture Search uses a timeout to determine whether a stroke is part of the current letter or the next one. If Gesture Search can’t figure out the gesture, it will return multiple results for multiple possible letters.

To erase a query, cross it horizontally in the bottom “query display.” Left to right erases the entire query, and right to left removes the last letter or space in the query. If you make that horizontal gesture in the gesture area, by the way, it enters a space.

It’s interesting, but this will be a better function when (if?) it’s integrated in the OS. Right now, starting another app is just annoying.

You can find more information at Google Labs, and the app can be downloaded at the Android Market. Unfortunately, it only supports Android 2.0 or higher, and no, there is no iPhone version.

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