CVE-2013-5065: Windows XP Kernel Privilege escalation vulnerability exploited in the wild

Microsoft has issued a warning about new zero-day vulnerability affecting the Windows XP and 2003 Server operating systems. The bug referred with CVE id "CVE-2013-5065" is a local privilege escalation vulnerability, is reportedly being exploited in the wild. A successful exploitation allows attackers to run the arbitrary code in Kernel mode(User mode --> kernel mode).  It will get access to install software, modify data or creating accounts with admin privilege. However, the vulnerability is not exploitable by a remote attacker. "It does not affect customers who are using operating systems newer than Windows XP and Windows Server 2003." Microsoft security advisory reads. Though the Microsoft is issued a workarounds for this vulnerability, it is better to switch to the latest version of Windows (7 or 8), as we aware that Microsoft is going to stop supporting Windows xp by April 2014.  - See more at: http://www.ehackingnews.com/2013/11/cve-2013-5065-xp-vulnerability.html#sthash.oAjQhOkF.dpuf

Xbox vs. PlayStation: Beginning of the End for Consoles?

This month marks a milestone in the turf war for the space beneath our television sets: it’s the first time that Sony and Microsoft have released new video-game consoles within a week of one another. The PlayStation 4 launched in the U.S. a week ago (and launches in Europe next week), while Microsoft’s Xbox One is available around the world as of today. Both systems are Blu-ray-playing supercomputers squeezed into similar-looking black plastic casing; both are designed to usher in a new era of high-definition, online-enabled video games.

The consoles are a technological leap over their forebears, with broadly similar internal specifications (eight-core CPUs, eight gigabytes of RAM, 500-gigabyte hard drives). Each has a powerful external camera that facilitates facial recognition and allows some games to be played with the human body rather than a controller. Sony’s focus is on the core “gamer”: the PlayStation 4’s multimedia capabilities are still present but are pushed to one side in favor of games (both the hulking Hollywood-style blockbuster games and the smaller independent variety). By comparison, Microsoft’s more expensive Xbox One ($500 compared to $381) has a broader aim, acting as an HDMI-enabled set-top box as well as offering a vast array of non-game apps, from streaming TV and movie services to a camera-enabled fitness program.

Sony and Microsoft must court two separate groups with these machines: the consumers who buy them and the game developers who support them. Some developers believe that the increased power offered by these new consoles will lead to more compelling games. “It was such a pain to get high-detail games onto the last generation of games in practical terms,” explains Steve Gaynor, who worked on Bioshock 2 and the recent award-winning independent title Gone Home. “It meant that teams had to do a lot of hard work to get their games to look as good as they did. Now teams can spend their time just making stuff, rather than figuring out how to make it run on the hardware.”

Despite a recent tweet from Microsoft congratulating Sony on the successful launch of the PlayStation 4, this is a high-stakes battle. Video games have been the most profitable medium in  entertainment for decades now. In the early 1990s, Nintendo generated more annual profits than all of the American film studios combined. In 2012 the traditional video-game market boasted revenues of $58 billion, even excluding smartphone, tablet, and Facebook games. Since the first PlayStation launched in 1994, Sony has sold approximately 350 million video-game consoles, roughly equivalent to the total number of iPods sold by Apple up to and including 2012.

The battle is over the ownership of digital play in the living room—a battle that Bloomberg recently argued could lead to the decline and fall of Hollywood.

The sharp and ongoing rise in smartphone and tablet ownership has also vastly broadened the audience of gamers, as did Nintendo’s accessible Wii console (which lowered the barrier to entry by featuring a controller that would translate a player’s intent through mere swings of an imaginary tennis racket and thrusts of a virtual sword, rather than complicated button combinations). It sold 100 million units around the world.

But this rise in both profits and engagement is not the sole preserve of traditional video-games consoles. Downloadable games such as Angry Birds and Minecraft, which play on mobile phones and basic PCs, now constitute a major part of the industry (in April this year, Angry Birds developer Rovio estimated that its games have been downloaded 1.7 billion times, while in 2012, Minecraft earned its independent creator, Markus Persson, more than $100 million). Consoles now compete not only against one another for the prime real estate beneath the television set, but also against the convenience of phones and other ubiquitous video-game platforms.

Smart TVs—which connect to the Internet and come with their own clutch of accompanying apps and games—present another potential threat. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have responded to this by including various apps that let users access Netflix, Hulu, HBO, ESPN, and more. Many industry watchers predict that Apple will enter the smart TV market soon. And as Internet connection speeds improve, a mainstream Netflix-esque streaming service for games seems increasingly likely.

Indeed, Sony acquired one such service, Gaikai, for $380 million last year. It’s a cloud-based game-streaming service that’s integrated into the PlayStation 4 and could, theoretically, make physical consoles obsolete. The announcement of the Steam Box console from the PC game distributor Steam presents yet another contestant in the ongoing war to own the living room.

Each new iteration of hardware brings a historical downward trend in console sales. Sony’s wildly successful PlayStation 2 sold 150 million consoles. Its successor sold 80 million. It appears that Sony and Microsoft both lose a lot of money on these devices. For these reasons, some people think this new generation of console hardware (including Nintendo’s beleaguered Wii-U, which has failed to capture consumers’ imaginations) may be the last.

For consumers, the decline in consoles is not only a symptom of broader choice (in the 1990s, consoles and PCs were the only way to play complex screen games) but also one of diminishing returns. Martin Hollis, designer of the seminal Nintendo 64 movie tie-in Goldeneye 007, told me: “With each iteration, the multiple of increased power matters less. Looking back, PlayStation 2 was a huge leap from PlayStation. But PlayStation 3 was a much smaller leap. Each time we climb a curve of diminishing returns.” Hollis, like many others, believes that most people who only casually play video games will remain unconvinced by the difference between the new versions of the consoles and the previous ones.

Not everyone is so gloomy about the future. Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton believes the traditional console market will continue, despite the cultural switch to cloud-based streaming services across all entertainment, from books to music to films to television. “I’ve managed to ride the ‘last console’ wave for the last, what is that … 27 years or so?” he says. “There’s a reason the console came about: [People like] sitting in front of a big-screen TV on a couch with [their] friends.”

Tretton’s position is unsurprising considering his vested interest, but the U.S. sales figures from the week after the launch of the PlayStation 4 justify his confidence. Sony announced yesterday that more than one million PlayStation 4 consoles were sold to consumers in the first 24 hours of availability. Nintendo’s hugely popular original Wii, which launched in North America on Black Friday 2006, sold a comparatively measly 600,000 units in its first eight days. Some might argue that the figures bear testament to Sony’s improved logistics around the launch: it shipped more PlayStation 4s to retailers, therefore more were sold. But there’s no dispute that there’s a healthy consumer appetite for the technology. The question now is whether that appetite will grow in the face of a smorgasbord of technological choice.

Article source: MIT technology reveiw

Windows Phone update chases Android and iPhone features covering 'phablets'

Microsoft is updating Windows Phone 8 for the third time, adding in a Driving mode and making provisions for future 'phablet' devices

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer launches Windows Phone 8 in 2012 Photograph: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images

Microsoft is updating its Windows Phone software to accommodate larger devices of up to 6in diagonally - classed as a "phablet" (phone-tablet) - and make it easier for motorists to reduce distractions while driving.

The move is part of an effort to give its range of mobile devices greater feature parity with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, even while it lags in sales behind the two ecosystems.

It's the third update to the Windows Phone 8 software since the system's release a year ago. Devices with this update will start appearing in the coming weeks, and older phones will be eligible for a free upgrade, too. Microsoft couldn't give a precise date when the software will be sent to older handsets, because that will depend on operators' approval.

DRIVE TIME

Something that may appeal to motorists: a new Driving Mode will automatically silence incoming calls and texts so that you can focus on the road. You also can configure the feature to automatically send out a reply to say that you're driving. It can be activated automatically when the phone is linked wirelessly with a Bluetooth device in the car, such as a headset. Apple has a Do Not Disturb feature for iPhones, which can be activated via its Siri voice assistant.

What the Driving Mode won't do, however, is block outgoing calls or texts. And there will be ways to override it. The feature won't stop a teenager from texting while driving, but it will help reduce distractions for those who want that, says Greg Sullivan, director for Microsoft's Windows Phone business.

Windows Phone 8 update 3 has a special Driving mode. Photograph: /PR/Microsoft

In a blog post about the update, Darren Laybourn, the corporate vice-president for Windows phone points to a number of enhancements, including a rotation lock for the screen ("does your screen keep spinning when you're trying to read emails in bed?"), an easy way to close apps from the multitasking interface, Wi-Fi access when configuring a new phone, and improved Bluetooth. All of those bring Windows Phone closer to feature parity with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android - although there is still no solution for Microsoft's longstanding row with Google over a native app to show YouTube videos.

PHABLET TIME

The new update also will allow for better resolution to accommodate larger phones. Currently, the system supports a maximum resolution of 1280 pixels by 768 pixels, which is adequate for phones with screens no larger than 5in on the diagonal. But video and image quality degrades when stretched out on larger phones, such as a 6.3in (16-centimeter) Samsung Galaxy Mega, one of the largest phablets on sale.

Windows Phone 8 update 3 allows for phablets by allowing up to three columns of large tiles - or more of smaller tiles - on the display. Photograph: /PR/Microsoft

The layout for larger phones also will change. Phones may now sport a third column of tiles, for instance; previously they have been restricted to two, although some have allowed small icons to fit more in. Contact lists and other features will be able to fit in more information. That's a contrast to Android, where larger screens means that text and images simply gets bigger, without actually fitting in more content.

Microsoft's Windows Phone software, launched in October 2010, holds a distant third place behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android. It had a worldwide market share of 3.7% in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC. But shipments of Windows Phone devices grew 78% to 8.7m in the April-to-June period, compared with the same time a year ago. In the five largest European countries, its share of sales in the quarter to the end of September approached 10%, hitting 12% in the UK.

Microsoft in September said it is buying the mobile handset division of Nokia, the Finnish company, and will close the deal in the new year. That may mean that it can drive development of the software and hardware together - though it will still be licensing the software to companies including ZTE, Samsung and HTC - the latter having less than 10% of Windows Phone sales, yet still being the biggest provider outside Nokia.

Microsoft is launching a program to give app developers early access to the new software. Apple has had a similar program for the iOS software behind iPhones and iPads, while Google often has worked with selected developers on unreleased features.

source: the guardian.

New GPS Tracker technology promises to make lost luggage a thing of the past

Credit: Bluetrack

The Prime 1300 from GPS experts Bluetrack is designed to be discreetly and easily placed in any size and shape of luggage, to give you peace of mind on the move.

The tracker enables you to see where your luggage is, whether it accompanies you as planned or includes an unexpected detour or delay.

It ensures that luggage laden travellers can be reunited with their belongings as efficiently as possible.

The airline industry claims that it has reduced the number of mislaid bags by almost 45 per cent since 2010, almost three billion people fly each year.

This means that a huge amount of bags, suitcases and belongings invariably go missing every day.

In 2012 alone nearly 23 million pieces of luggage were mishandled, a figure that equates to almost 2,600 lost units per hour, with 4.6 per cent of items never recovered.

Bluetrack’s GPS trackers can track in, almost, real-time almost anywhere in the world and can be operated from a range of devices including smartphones and tablets.

Unlike tracking devices which can be difficult to use and require a lot of technical know-how, the Bluetrack range is supplied ready to go, with no fiddly installation or lengthy set up. 

Once armed, it reports the item’s location at the touch of a button.

Travellers arriving without their checked bags can activate the tracker and see where their suitcases have ended up while still in the terminal building.

This makes it easy for the airline and baggage handlers to recover misplaced items and return them to their rightful owners with the minimum of delays. This track and trace functionality means that no bag should ever be lost.  

Keith Walker, Director of Bluetrack says, “When we fly we expect our luggage to arrive at our destination at the same time as we do, and most of the time it does".

"Losing luggage while travelling can be disastrous as it can ruin a holiday and cause endless problems for business travellers, especially if there are important documents, formal wear or equipment such as cameras or memory chips stored in the bag".

"Those planning a skiing or golfing holiday who arrive to find their skis and clubs missing also suffer, with hours or days lost until suitable replacements can be found".

"Our GPS trackers are designed be placed inside the luggage so that in the event that it does become lost, it can be easily located and therefore recovered, no matter where they end up.”

The Prime 1300 comes with a long lasting 1300mAh battery. Its web format allows users to see the missing bag’s location on screen within seconds.

If a piece of your luggage goes missing during transit, you can inform the airline exactly where it is at that very moment in time.

Whether it is tracking 'errant spouses' or finding your bags, trackers such as the Bond, the Sniper and the Pelican can also help you locate – whatever you need -- whenever you need to .

by: Eileen Brown

Apple sells record 9 million iPhones in opening weekend

That's nearly double the 5 million iphones during the first three days that the iPhone 5 was on sale last year, and sales were well above Wall Street analysts' expectations. Shares of Apple rose 6% Monday morning.
But this year's stellar opening weekend for Apple comes with two sizable caveats: Apple included China in the iPhone 5S and 5C launches. Last year, China didn't get the new iPhone 5 until December. Apple also launched two new iPhones this year, heavily marketing the colorful iPhone 5C. In 2012, Apple only unveiled one new kind of iPhone.

The iPhone 5S, which comes in gold, silver or space gray, is available in the United States for a suggested retail price of between $199 to $399. The iPhone 5C, which comes in blue, green, pink, yellow and white, is available for between $99 to $199.

Still, the news was very good for a company that has been living under a microscope lately, scrutinized for launching new devices with only incremental updates. Apple said this weekend's heavy demand caused it to exhaust its initial supply of the iPhone 5S.

As a result, Apple said it expects its quarterly sales to come in at the high end of its estimated range of $34 billion to $37 billion. The company also said it expects gross profit margins will be on the higher end of its guidance.

Related: New iPhones draw lines around the world

The new flagship iPhone 5S is similar in appearance to last year's iPhone 5, but it's twice as fast thanks to Apple's new A7 chip. It also has a beefed-up camera that includes slow-motion video and a camera "burst mode" that shoots 10 frames per second. The 5C features a polycarbonate shell, instead of the glass-and-aluminum body of the previous iPhone 5S.

The company also said more than 200 million Apple devices are now running the completely redesigned iOS 7 operating system which comes preloaded on the new iPhone, making it the fastest software upgrade in the company's history.

-- CNNMoney's Julianne Pepitone contributed to this report

Lean on me: Australian inventors help map Pisa tower

The technology used to map the Tower of Pisa could help create a virtual archive of iconic strutures. It could be use to give maintenance, spot structural problems or reconstruct buildings.

Image: CSIRO

Scientists have used a hand-held 3D laser scanner to map the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies of Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, documenting vital information needed to repair the iconic building if it is ever damaged by earthquake or fire.

Zebedee, the award-winning mapping device invented by the CSIRO, features a laser scanner that rocks back and forward on a spring as its user walks along, continuously scanning the environment while a computer records the sensor data.

It allows researchers and historians to map cramped terrains like caves, mines and historical sites that have proved too difficult to map using existing technology, typically a bulky scanner mounted on a big tripod.

Researchers have already used it to map Queensland’s historic Fort Lytton, and have now collaborated with Italian researchers to document the previously unmapped interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

“It’s good to have an accurate 3D record of the structure should it suffer damage during a natural disaster, like earthquake or fire, and 3D data can be used to help people understand how a site was built,” said Jonathan Roberts, leader of Autonomous Systems research at CSIRO’s division of Computational Informatics and a member of the team that helped map the historic Italian site.

“The data can be used to help people visualise a site remotely via the Internet and, in future, can be compared with data collected a year ago, or a few years ago. Certain changes might indicate a problem with a structure that, if spotted early, could be fixed before it is too late.”

It took the team 20 minutes to complete an entire scan of the building’s interior and create an accurate 3D map that included detailed dimensions of the tower’s stairs and stonework, said Dr Roberts.

“We are also investigating using Zebedee for mapping some significant cave systems, mines and buildings for emergency services and security purposes,” said Dr Roberts, adding that it may even one day be used to map heritage sites at risk of damage in war zones.

CSIRO researchers explain how Zebedee was used to map Fort Lytton in Queensland

Italian scientists from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (SSSA) who collaborated with CSIRO on the project said having 3D maps would allow people all over the world to better appreciate the architecture and history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

“Our detailed record of the Leaning Tower of Pisa may one day be critical in being able to reconstruct the site if it was to suffer catastrophic damage due to natural disasters such as a fire or an earthquake,” said Franco Tecchia, Assistant Professor at the PERCRO – Perceptual Robotics lab.

CSIRO’s Zebedee research recently won a 2013 Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology



by- The Conversation

Smart watches will work – but not in the way we expect

If you've got the time, we've got the technology: Samsung's Galaxy Gear, which was launched in Berlin. Photograph: Gero Breloer/AP

Do you use your wrists much these days? Not for keeping your hands attached but for technology purposes. Do you still wear a watch? Or one of those exercise tracking wristbands? Or one of those crazy-fake-science-victory-crystal wrist things some sportspeople wear? Well, whatever, you'd better get ready, because your wrist is about to become contested techno-media space, like your living room, your pocket or your bag.

You might have missed Samsung's announcement of its Galaxy Gear "smart watch". You won't be able to miss it when Apple launches its iWatch. Soon smart watches will be a market you'll need to have an opinion on. There will be ads everywhere, people ostentatiously flicking their wrists in pubs and John Humphrys not seeing the point on theToday programme. And he won't be alone.

Pundits will point at the long history of failed and foolish smart watches, they'll bang on about battery power and scoff about prices. Maybe they'll be right, but perhaps watches now are like MP3 players before the iPod or portable stereos before the Walkman. We can all sort of see what they might be like, but until they work really well we won't completely understand their possibilities. Now, for instance, smart watches are imagined as tiny smartphones stuck on our wrists, but the genius of the Walkman wasn't just about miniaturisation: it was also about creating a new behaviour – private listening in a public space.

Indeed there's no particular reason why we'll be working these things via screens; we've already got plenty of those and the gadget companies are working hard to find other ways to communicate. We might end up talking to our watches and they'll probably talk back. Perhaps the concert hall of the future won't be ruined by penetrating ringtones but by a thousand tiny speakers muttering the smart watch equivalent of "this vehicle is turning left" or "unexpected item in the bagging area".

Equally, it's possible we won't be using our watches to make calls or manage our contacts. Just as iPhone games fill those gaps when we're commuting, maybe smartwatch games will fill the even smaller gaps while we're waiting by the photocopier. Or we'll use them as better medical alert bracelets, or as combination passwords and keys, or as pedometers. Or someone will work out how to do really tiny porn.

These new possibilities will then obscure the failings we now imagine will be deal-breakers. Androids and iPhones, for instance, have laughably meagre battery life compared to the slightly less smart phones that preceded them, but we barely notice that any more. We adapt, we adopt new practices because the tradeoffs seem worth it. Maybe smart watches will be good enough that we won't mind having to charge them on our bedside tables every night.

Then new behaviours will pop out everywhere. I've had an early attempt at a smart watch – the Pebble – for a while. If I get a message on my phone it also pops out on my watch. I thought this would be good for meetings: you could discreetly check your message without looking as if you were not paying attention. But then, of course, I realised that glancing at my watch was no better; it just looked as if I was bored.

We'll adapt new etiquette for behaviour like this, just as we'll invent amusing new names for the new accidents we'll have crossing the street glued to our wrists.

Most watches have been pointless for years; arguing about utility is ridiculous. Anyone paying more than £8 for a watch is not buying anything better at telling the time. If you want accuracy you should buy a Mr Jones watch; it sells a handsome model that carries on its hands the simple message: Remember, You Will Die. But if you want a visceral feeling for time passing get a smart watch and see how quickly it becomes obsolete

South Korea Will Soon Be Home To An Invisible Skyscraper

Architectural firm GDS Architects has announced that it has received its permits to build the Tower Infinity near the Incheon Airport just outside of Seoul, South Korea. Although at 450 meters tall, it won’t be the tallest building in the world, it does have one unique feature: it will come equipped with a cloaking device.

Charles Wee of GDS Architects explained in a statement that the company wanted to “provide the World’s first invisible tower, showcasing  innovative Korean technology.”

The tower’s facade will come equipped with LED projectors and cameras. The cameras will capture the area around the building, then stitch them together in a panorama to display through the projectors. The result will make the tower seem transparent from the outside when the projectors are turned on.

On the company’s website, it explains that the tower will establish Korea’s rising position in the world not by building the tallest tower, but “establishing its most powerful presence through diminishing its presence.”

In addition to being able to appear almost invisible, the tower will also have plenty else for tourists to Korea to do. It will have the world’s third highest observation deck, as well as shops, restaurants, movie theaters, and apparently a water park.

“We look forward to providing Korea and the World with a completely new model for what it means to be an observation tower,” said Wee.

Below, you can see a concept image from GDS Architects as to how the LEDs will work to make the tower seem invisible.

Construction on the tower is expected to be completed in 2014.

Zuckerberg: US government 'blew it' on NSA surveillance

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, struck back on Wednesday at critics who have charged tech companies with doing too little to fight off NSA surveillance. Mayer said executives faced jail if they revealed government secrets.

Yahoo and Facebook, along with other tech firms, are pushing for the right to be allowed to publish the number of requests they receive from the spy agency. Companies are forbidden by law to disclose how much data they provide.

During an interview at the Techcrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Mayer was asked why tech companies had not simply decided to tell the public more about what the US surveillance industry was up to. "Releasing classified information is treason and you are incarcerated," she said.

Mayer said she was "proud to be part of an organisation that from the beginning, in 2007, has been sceptical of – and has been scrutinizing – those requests [from the NSA]."

Yahoo has previously unsuccessfully sued the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court, which provides the legal framework for NSA surveillance. In 2007 it asked to be allowed to publish details of requests it receives from the spy agency. "When you lose and you don't comply, it's treason," said Mayer. "We think it make more sense to work within the system," she said.

Zuckerberg said the government had done a "bad job" of balancing people's privacy and its duty to protect. "Frankly I think the government blew it," he said.

He said after the news broke in the Guardian and the Washington Post about Prism, the government surveillance programme that targets major internet companies: "The government response was, 'Oh don't worry, we're not spying on any Americans.' Oh, wonderful: that's really helpful to companies trying to serve people around the world, and that's really going to inspire confidence in American internet companies."

"I thought that was really bad," he said. Zuckerberg said Facebook and others were pushing successfully for more transparency. "We are not at the end of this. I wish that the government would be more proactive about communicating. We are not psyched that we had to sue in order to get this and we take it very seriously," he said.

On Monday, executives from Yahoo, Facebook, Google and other tech leaders met the president's group on intelligence and communications, tasked with reviewing the US's intelligence and communications technologies in the wake of the NSA revelations.

The meeting came as Yahoo and Facebook filed suits once more to force the Fisa court to allow them to disclose more information.

In its motion, Yahoo said: "Yahoo has been unable to engage fully in the debate about whether the government has properly used its powers, because the government has placed a prior restraint on Yahoo's speech."

It went on: "Yahoo's inability to respond to news reports has harmed its reputation and has undermined its business not only in the United States but worldwide. Yahoo cannot respond to such reports with mere generalities," the company said.

Microsoft and Google also filed their latest legal briefs on Monday to force the Fisa court to disclose more information.

In a blogpost, Google said it was asking for permission to publish "detailed statistics about the types (if any) of national security requests" it receives under Fisa.
"Given the important public policy issues at stake, we have also asked the court to hold its hearing in open rather than behind closed doors. It's time for more transparency," said Google.

Apple's iPhone 5S: 64-bit A7 chip, with Touch ID fingerprint sensor

If you were hoping Apple would break from tradition with its latest iPhone, well, today wasn't your lucky day. As expected, the company stuck with its "S-phone every other year" pattern, and pulled back the curtain on the iPhone 5S. Like previous S-series entries, the iPhone 5S looks almost exactly like its predecessor, only with a few upgrades thrown in. Here the big star of the show is the long-anticipated biometric fingerprint sensor, which Apple branded as Touch ID.

Touch ID

Touch ID lets you use your fingerprint to unlock your iPhone 5S. Layered into the home button (which is now covered in sapphire, with a stainless steel ring around it), you just press your thumb there briefly, and your phone will lower its virtual drawbridge and let you in. Anyone without your fingerprint will be out of luck. It's a very nice blend of security and convenience.

You can also use Touch ID to make iTunes purchases (no other payments appear to be supported yet).

Performance, camera, gold

Touch ID may be the iPhone 5S' marquee attraction, but it isn't the only upgrade. The new iPhone also gets a speed boost, courtesy of Apple's new A7 system-on-a-chip. It's still dual core, but is now 64-bit, the first of its kind in a smartphone. iOS 7 has also been updated to run both 32-bit and 64-bit apps. The A7's processor and graphics are both, according to Apple, twice as fast as those on the iPhone 5. Epic Games demoed Infinity Blade 3(apparently the last of the trilogy) to help show off the new chip's graphics.

Apple also added a separate chip dedicated to motion-tracking sensors, called the M7. Apple says the new chip will measure whether you're exercising, walking, or driving. It will supposedly open the doors to a new generation of fitness apps. Third-party apps will be able to access the M7's sensor data.

The iPhone 5S also has a superior camera to last year's model. It's still 8 megapixels, but – like the HTC One – those pixels are now bigger. "Bigger pixels make better pictures," said Apple's Phil Schiller. The camera also adds auto white balance and auto exposure levels, and has a new flash that Apple dubs "True Tone," which aims to balance color tones. The 5S' camera picks up some digital image stabilization too.

The camera also now uses burst mode to take a series of shots, and iOS automatically chooses the sharpest one to use. It also records video in slow-motion, at 120 frames per second.

Apple didn't ignore the cosmetic either. Though the 5S looks mostly like the iPhone 5, it's also available in a couple of new colors. A well-leaked gold iPhone 5S joins the familiar black model. It also looks like "Space gray" is replacing white in the iPhone lineup.

Release date, pricing

Some companies like to unveil new products in dramatic fashion, only to leave pricing and release date hanging in the air, to be determined at a later date. Not Apple. Pre-orders start on Friday, September 13, and the iPhone 5S releases on September 20. It will be priced at US$200 (for the 16 GB model), with a new two-year contract.

by Will Shanklin

Samsung gear Smartwatch vs Sony smartwatch vs Qualcomm TOQ: Which one is best?

Samsung has finally released its Gear smartwatch on the eve of the annual Internationale
 Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) consumer electronics show in Berlin on Wednesday night.
 However, Sony and Qualcomm have also announced their own version of smart watches 
called 'Sony smart watch 2' and'Qualcomm Toq' respectively.

- Getty Images

Let's take a look at the specs of 
the 3 smart watches:

	Sony smartwatch 2	Samsung Gear smartwatch	Qualcomm toq
Display size	1.6-inch	1.63-inch	1.55-inch
Resolution	220x176	320x320	288x192
Pixel Density (PPI)	176.09	277.64	223.31
Display Type	Transreflexive LCD	Super AMOLED	Mirasol display
Scratch Resistant	Yes	No	Yes
Weight	122.5 gm	74 gm	NA
Speaker	No	Yes	No
Camera	No	Yes (1.9 MP)	No
Mic	No	Yes	No
Processor	ARM Cortex M3	Exynos	ARM Cortex M3
Processor speed	200 MHz	800 MHz	200 MHz
Interface	NFC and Bluetooth 3.0	Bluetooth 4.0 LE	Bluetooth
Rated battery life	3 to 4 days	1 day	3 to 5 days
Water resistant	Yes	No	No
Charging	Micro USB charging	Proprietary USB 3.0 charging	Wireless charging
Compatibility	Devices with Android 4.0 and up	Samsung Galaxy devices	Devices with Android 4.0.3 and up
Estimated Pricing (In Rupees)	Rs 18,000	Rs 20,000	Rs 20,000
Release Date	September	September	October

source:dna

Google accelerates encryption project

Google has kicked into high gear a plan to encrypt data sent between its data centers, in the wake of the National Security Agency spying scandal.

The Washington Post reports that Google's plan was devised last year, but was put on the front burner to help safeguard the company's reputation in the wake of the surveillance documents leaked by former NSA tech worker Edward Snowden.

"It's an arms race," Eric Grosse, Google's vice president for security engineering, told the Post. "We see these government agencies as among the most skilled players in this game."

The report follows another Google plan to encrypt data stored on its servers.

The difference between encrypting information on servers and in transit, and unencrypted information, is similar to the difference between locking your front door at night versus leaving it wide open. It won't stop an aggressive thief from breaking in, but it will deter many and make it harder for all but the best thieves.

A report Thursday said that the government is seeking the cryptographic keys necessary to break encryption.

The government has "an incredible lock pick set," privacy and security researcher Ashkan Soltani said in a conversation about government encryption access, but not specifically about Google's initiative.

"But," he cautioned, "the government does not have access to all encryption. It's not a backdoor to all communication."

Google's plan will not change its legal requirements to comply with National Security Letters and other legal mechanisms that require the company to turn over data at the government's request, but it has apparently accelerated its plan so that it will be completed "soon," "months ahead of schedule."

Currently, e-mail sent from one Gmail account to another is encrypted while in transit usingTransport Layer Security (TLS). This Google initiative would also encrypt other forms of data sent between Google data centers such as Google Drive contents.

Google representatives would not provide much information on the details of the encryption efforts, including how much it is costing the company to pursue this level of encryption, how many data centers are involved, or what kind of encryption is being used. The company did tell the Post that it will be using "end to end" encryption for the project, which means that the servers storing the data and the data-in-transit will be protected by "very strong" encryption.

The revelation comes as Google and Microsoft are expected to jointly sue the government on Monday, the latest in a series of moves that indicate some tech companies are not quietly acquiescing to government demands for access to user data.

Also on Friday, Yahoo issued its first transparency report on government requests for access to user data

Google Argues for the Right to Continue Scanning Gmail

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Google’s attorneys say their long-running practice of electronically scanning the contents of people’s Gmail accounts to help sell ads is legal, and are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to stop the practice.

In court records filed in advance of a federal hearing scheduled for Thursday in San Jose, Google argues that “all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing.”

The class action lawsuit, filed in May, says Google “unlawfully opens up, reads, and acquires the content of people’s private email messages” in violation of California’s privacy laws and federal wiretapping statutes. The lawsuit notes that the company even scans messages sent to any of the 425 million active Gmail users from non-Gmail users who never agreed to the company’s terms.

Google has repeatedly described how it targets its advertising based on words that show up in Gmail messages. For example, the company says if someone has received a lot of messages about photography or cameras then it might display an advertisement from a local camera store. Google says the process is fully automated, “and no humans read your email…”

“This case involves Plaintiffs’ effort to criminalize ordinary business practices that have been part of Google’s free Gmail service since it was introduced nearly a decade ago,” argue company attorneys in their motion to dismiss the case.

Privacy advocates have long questioned the practice.

“People believe, for better or worse, that their email is private correspondence, not subject to the eyes of a $180 billion corporation and its whims,” said Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court.

CSR introduces ultra-thin touch interface for smartphones and tablets

Scientists at Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) have developed a flexible computer keyboard that is paper thin and is claimed capable of transforming any area into a touch-sensitive surface. The company describes its creation as the world's thinnest wireless touch surface at 0.5 mm thick, and offers consumers a low-power Bluetooth technology featuring "the latest in printable, flexible electronics and touch screen sensing."

The ultra-thin surface is wirelessly connected to an iOS 7 or Windows 8 device using CSR’s brand new CSR1010 chip, which is optimized solely for Bluetooth Smart, a recent technology that ostensibly extends battery life and has a much smaller form factor than standard Bluetooth. With a touch latency of under 12 ms the user experience is reported to be seamless, providing instant visual feedback.

"The device can do basic text input as well as touch and gesture control, so you can swipe and pinch and zoom, as well as use much more complex gestures," says Paul Williamson, Director of Low Power Wireless at CSR. "Additionally, it can be used with a stylus-like pen for handwriting recognition or for drawing and sketching."

The touch surface is able to register multiple touch points thanks to Atmel's touch silicon technology, with reel-to-reel printing from Conductive Inkjet Technology used to apply the conductors to the flexible membrane. The process allows for the production of a wide range of shapes and sizes, which can bring a full-sized keyboard experience to protective tablet covers, for example, or add touch-sensitive areas to a desktop workspace.

CSR’s ultra-thin touch surface will be unveiled to customers for the first time this week at IFA 2013 in Berlin.

The video below outlines the key selling points of CSR's ultra thin touch surface technology.

source: CSR