Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » janvier 23, 2012

BetaNews.Com (12 non lus)

Don't believe me about the iTunes hack? Just check Twitter

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 10:56pm CET par Ed Oswald

In my most recent story about Apple's hacking problems within iTunes, I was not surprised to see the same criticisms as eight months ago: there's no evidence of it, it's all the users' fault for their crappy passwords, it's a small problem.

Okay, I'll give you the possibility that this could be partially the user's fault in some way. Like saying the guy run down by a speeding vehicle shouldn't have been driving during rush hour. That does not answer how these hackers are getting in -- which from BetaNews' research on this, is mainly an in-app purchase mechanism issue -- nor the true scope of this problem.

So, I turned to Twitter to answer that question. Frankly, I am shocked with what I found. A simple search just for "iTunes hacked" through Twitter provides hundreds of results just in the past few weeks alone.

If you don't believe me that this hack is a major problem for Apple, you really need to start searching around the social networking services because they reveal a substantial amount of affected users: enough that Apple owes us some type of public acknowledgement of the issue.

Frankly, I find Apple's silence insulting: not only to myself in an attempt to fairly cover this issue and present both sides of the story, but also as a victim of the hack itself. Me, like many others across the Web are only asking for some kind of assurance from Apple that its working on the problem.

I don't think that's asking too much.

One of my followers over on Google+, Jake Weisz, says it best on Apple's maddening strategy when it comes to negative publicity: "It's probably pretty similar to Apple's behavior with regard to the Mac Defender virus they got last year. Rather than admit they had a problem, they told their employees to deny it's existence until they had a fix".

My iTunes acct got hacked Sun. They say they will refund the $60+ of in-app purchases but haven't yet. Now my acct is suspended. #stabmyself

— kristen m stewart (@kristenmstewart) January 19, 2012

Could it be Apple doesn't know how to fix this problem, and that's why the company pretends it doesn't exist? If so, that's pretty worrisome and anyone using iTunes should be concerned about their account security, poor passwords or not.

Crap, someone hacked into my iTunes and bought $42 of stuff using my store credit. Come on Apple, I thought you were better than that!

— Patrick (@Traincrossin) January 20, 2012

Add what we're seeing on the social media sites with the dozens of reports that I've received personally in writing the story and I think the argument that this isn't widespread is completely blown up.

#iTunes account hacked overnite and credits drained with fraudulent charges.First #Zappos account, now this. Makes ya want to go off grid

— Robert Neill (@rdntx) January 21, 2012

Are you a victim. Has someone made unauthorized purchases to your iTunes account?
Sony unveils next-generation mobile camera sensors

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 9:35pm CET par Tim Conneally

Sony Corporation on Monday announced that it is working on a new design for CMOS image sensors that will be used in camera modules for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile applications. This model of sensor includes built-in signal processing functionality, a task which used to be handled by external elements, and that it can handle advanced imaging tasks in an even smaller profile.

The design is what is known as a stacked CMOS sensor, and Sony has turned two major elements of the sensor into independent components. The stack puts the "pixel section" and "circuit section" fully on top of one another rather than fitting them on the same board side-by-side.

Sony says it has devised models of this sensor that utilize "RGBW Coding" for lower noise images in low light conditions, and "HDR (High Dynamic Range) Movie" functionality for improving color in flooded light situations.

With cutting-edge smartphones and tablets donning multiple cameras, and advancements taking place in camera-based, Kinect-style interfaces, the image sensor business is booming. In late 2010, Sony committed to taking charge of the market, and purchased a Nagasaki semiconductor facility from Toshiba to effectively double its capacity for CMOS sensor production to around 40,000 units per month.

However, the natural disasters that hit Japan in 2011 had a serious impact on all Japanese imaging companies, and they are believed to have caused a delay in Sony's development of these very sensors.

These sensors won't sample to manufacturers until March 2012, putting Sony a few months behind Samsung, which unveiled its new smartphone camera modules last September.

Samsung's units are capable of 16 megapixel stills and native 16:9 video at up to 8.3 megapixel resolution at 60 frames per second. Samsung also debuted its forward-facing camera unit at the same time: a 1.2-Megapixel (Mp), 1/8.2-inch CMOS image sensor system-on-chip that can fit into a 5.5 x 5.5mm camera module with profile of only 2.8mm.
One in four Americans own an e-book reader or tablet

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 8:44pm CET par Joe Wilcox

That's a dramatic change from just a few months ago and, perhaps not coincidentally, before new Nooks and Kindles lowered price of entry for both categories. Between December and January, the number of Americans owning one of the devices rose to 29 percent from 18 percent. During the same time period, the number owning a tablet rose to 19 percent from 10 percent, which is the same rise for e-book readers.

Pew Internet released the data earlier today, based on surveys conducted in mid December and early January. "These findings are striking because they come after a period from mid-2011 into the autumn in which there was not much change in the ownership of tablets and e-book readers", according to the report. "However, as the holiday gift-giving season approached, the marketplace for both devices dramatically shifted". As recently as August 9 percent of Americans owned e-book readers and 10 percent tablets.

Pew noted the holiday impact of Amazon and Barnes & Noble e-reader price cuts to below $100. During the same time period, Amazon released Kindle Fire, a $199 7-inch tablet. However, tablets typically cost considerably more, such as the popular iPad 2 -- between $499 and $829. As such, households with greater incomes were most likely to buy the devices. According to Pew:

The surge in ownership of tablet computers was especially notable among those with higher levels of education and those living in households earning more than $75,000. More than a third of those living in households earning more than $75,000 (36 percent) now own a tablet computer. And almost a third of those with college educations or higher (31 percent) own the devices. Additionally, those under age 50 saw a particularly significant leap in tablet ownership.

By comparison, e-readers skewed lower, Pew says:

The story with the growth in e-book readers was somewhat different from the story with tablet computers. Ownership of e-readers among women grew more than among men. Those with more education and higher incomes also lead the pack when it comes to e-book ownership, but the gap between them and others isn’t as dramatic. For instance, 19 percent of those in households earning $30,000-$50,000 have e-book readers. They are 12 percentage points behind those in households earning $75,000 or more in e-book reader ownership. The gap between those income levels on tablet ownership is 20 percentage points.

Did you buy or receive an e-book reader or tablet during the holidays?
Compact software development is IN, bloat is OUT!

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 7:19pm CET par Chris Boss
For years I have discussed with others about how software development should get back to basics, using native code (rather than scripting languages) by using compilers optimized for creating fast and compact applications.

A recent TIOBE index reemphasizes this point.

The most telling part of the index is the graph of long term trends. What I thought was interesting with the TIOBE index long term graph is this:
- Java is strong, but its long-term trend appears to be an overall decline
- C# is growing, but is far behind Java and C (C is still twice as popular as C#)
- C++ appears to be on an overall decline amazingly
- C appears to be relatively consistent and strong and could soon pass Java
Native Coding is making a Comeback!

C is the cornerstone of native coding, particularly when it comes to Windows. It is interesting that it continues to show such a strong standing among languages. Even Microsoft, I have read, has shown an interest in getting back to native coding (albiet using C++ most likely). Why the interest in native coding after years of pushing .NET and other frameworks? It can be summed up in two words:

Speed and Size!

Yes, speed and size of applications. Maybe because of all the interest in tablet PC's and smartphones, whch really need smaller and faster applications because of their form factors (limited hardware). Maybe many are just getting tired of bloated software (takes too much space and memory and runs too slow). Whatever the reasons, it can be summed up with "compact and fast are IN" and "bloat and slow are OUT".

C is not the Only Game in Town!

So should we all start programming in C? Not necessarily. While C may be the current leader in native coding, this does not mean it is the only game in town that has a monopoly on creating fast and compact applications for Windows. Recently, I had the chance to interview Bob Zale, president and founder of Powerbasic about his BASIC language compilers. In a story for another tech site, I described Powerbasics compiler as the "software industries best kept secret". Why? Because Powerbasic is the great, great, grandchild of TurboBasic. Yes, TurboBasic still lives, but it is now a Windows compiler.

What most people don't know: Powerbasic is often used behind the scenes by many major companies and would you like to know why? Because is it the epitome of native coding for Windows. One gets the benefits of one of the best known languages, BASIC, while also being able to produce extremely compact and fast applications which rival those created with, guess what, yes C!

How do I know this? Because I have been using PowerBasic for nearly a decade now, and I can tell you that it can produce amazingly fast and compact applications.

The TIOBE index shows that maybe we should reconsider the software development tools that we use. If compact and fast is now IN, then shouldn't we use programming languages that produce this kind of software? So if you are familiar with C of any sort, then maybe C (or C++) are worth reexamining. If you like BASIC, then maybe PowerBasic is worth a look.

Likely there are some other programming languages that have the power of C, which can produce compact and fast applications. Are you using one of them? If so, why not post a comment and tell us what your favorite native coding language (capable of producing compact and fast) is.

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.
Android, not iOS, will win over developers

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 7:01pm CET par Ed Oswald

Android will replace iOS as the most important platform to developers within the next 12 months, British analyst firm Ovum says. It also notes an increased interest in Windows Phone and BlackBerry OS, and sees a move towards web standards in development over proprietary technologies.

Timing is surprising. Tomorrow, Apple will announce fourth calendar quarter earnings, where analysts expect record iOS device sales. Despite these platform gains, developer attention shifts to Android.

"A smartphone platform's success is dictated not only by the pull of consumers and the push of handset vendors and mobile operators but also by a healthy economy of applications delivered by third-party developers", devices and platforms practice leader Adam Leach says of his findings. Leach's research should come as no surprise given Android's strength in the marketplace.

Save for the holidays, Android smartphones have been outselling the iPhone by as much as a two-to-one margin for much of the past year. It was only a matter of time before developers took notice of this fast growing market and develop for it.

"It is important for all players in the smartphone ecosystem to understand the choices developers are making today and the downstream impact of those choices," Leach says.

Indeed, the survey shows a marked move away from once important platforms such as Symbian and WebOS. Developers' confidence in BlackBerry OS is surprising, however, given the platform's struggle in the market, and the internal turmoil plaguing the company. Windows Phone is not as surprising, given Nokia's big gamble on the platform and the building interest in its partner's devices.

"The growing momentum behind Windows Phone indicates that Microsoft has managed to convince developers that its platform is worthy of investment, its challenge now is to persuade consumers", Leach argues.

Developers also are showing a desire to develop their applications using web-based standards. This allows for an even cross-platform experience without the need for recoding. HTML5 is favored, while older more platform-specific technologies like Java, Flash, and WAP fall by the wayside.

Even with this move towards standards in development, the developer still leans on vendor-specific distribution -- Google's Android Market or Apple's App Store -- in order to distribute their work. This is likely a function of the developer's desire to reach the largest possible audience, Ovum says.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
RIM's strategy of marketing, Android apps, and low-end devices fails to excite

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 6:29pm CET par Tim Conneally

Canadian smartphone pioneer Research in Motion announced on Sunday that its co-chairmen Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie would be stepping down, and former Siemens CTO Thorsten Heins would be rising from his position of Chief Operating Officer at RIM to the role of Chief Executive.

Heins' formal introduction to the public seems to have done little to change the public's mind about Research in Motion and its prospects as a competitor against Android and Apple smartphones.

"My focus going forward is for RIM to continue to develop and market customer-focused products and services that will carry the company well into the next decade," Heins said in RIM's call with analysts on Monday morning. "We will accomplish this by drawing upon our talented hardware and software development teams, implementing processes and controls to ensure effective execution of our strategies, and building on our unique competitive advantages. We will also bring in new talent as required. We are in the process of recruiting a new chief marketing officer to work closely with our product and sales team to deliver the most compelling products and services. My approach is to empower employees to take appropriate risks, make decisions and to be accountable for their actions. I will make sure they have the tools and resources they need to be successful. When they succeed as individuals, we succeed as a company."

Heins went on to highlight his plans for the company, which include ramping up Marketing efforts in the United States:

"We need to be more marketing driven, we need to be more consumer-oriented, because this is where a lot of our growth is coming from. It is essential in the U.S."

Adapting the BlackBerry development lifecycle:

"You've got to understand, RIM has gone through a tremendous growth phase and has scaled really fast...and successfully, I would say. We innovated while we were developing the product, and that needs to stop. We need to innovate, don't get me wrong. But we will do this now with much more emphasis on prototyping and core testing. We have great teams that can try stuff out, but when we say a product is defined, and a product is a product, execution has to be really precise."

Pushing "a whole new" BlackBerry 10 that includes Android support:

"BlackBerry 10 is not just a new OS...it's a whole new architecture, starts from hardware, OS, drivers, runtimes, applications...Also a totally new development environment, so HTML5-native, AIR, Flash, Cascade...we got fantastic feedback from our developer conference in the US, and we will do Asia-Pac and Europe in the next two weeks. So that work is under way, and we are preparing for an upgrade for our ecosystem to BlackBerry 10...on PlayBook 2.0 and BlackBerry 10, we will also have an Android player on it, so we're covering the long tail of applications...I think that is a very very strong element of our strategy."

Keeping a single RIM:

"Frankly, if your value proposition is the device alone, it is a cutthroat price and cost business. So my view on RIM is very clear. We are strong because we have an integrated solution, we are vertical, we have our network, we have our services, we have our enterprise servers out there with more than 250,000 enterprises connected to it, and we have fantastic devices and a fantastic ecosystem that we're building. I want to build on that. I will not in any way split this up or separate into different businesses.

Licensing BlackBerry OS:

"I'm absolutely confident that BlackBerry 10 will prove itself as a platform. If there are requests coming to RIM to talk about licensing that platform to other companies, I will entertain those discussions. I will listen, I will assess the business opportunity for RIM, and if it makes sense strategically and tactically to go down that path, then I will make that decision together with the board. But it's not my [primary] focus."

Even with these strategies in line, RIM's stock took a sudden drop after the investor call on Monday. NYSE-listed shares in the company are currently trading at $15.84 on Monday, down 6.8 percent from Friday's close of $17.

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After MegaUpload raid, FileSonic cuts off file sharing

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 6:19pm CET par Ed Oswald

In a move that seems in response to the shuttering of MegaUpload last week, UK and Hong Kong-based file storage site FileSonic removed all file sharing capabilities over the weekend.

"All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally", a message reads on the front page of its website.

No reason for the change was given, but its likely the MegaUpload situation spooked FileSonic's owners, which then took action to prevent a similar fate.

Like MegaUpload, FileSonic has no physical presence here in the United States. However if the arrests in New Zealand are any indication, international authorities are set to cooperate with US law enforcement in apprehending those profiting off of illicit file sharing.

FileSonic appears to be making some effort in cleaning pirated material off its servers. In December, it announced that it was using a product called vCloud9 which scans files to see if they contain copyrighted content.

The company does say in its terms of service and takedown policies that it has a "zero tolerance policy" towards copyright infringement, and will ban users who are "repeat offenders". That said, it still appears much of the policing is the responsibility of the copyright holder and not FileSonic.

Photo Credit: mojito.mak[dog]gmail[dot]com/Shutterstock
Big Data approach pinpoints malware that other solutions miss

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 5:17pm CET par Zulfikar Ramzan

Last month, in preparation for a panel, I was asked to put together a list of pros and cons with respect to using Big Data techniques in the context of information security technologies. While Big Data has benefits that span many security disciplines, it’s important to look at this from the perspective of what we call Advanced Malware Protection, which is the ability to discover, analyze and block advanced malware.

With that context in mind, let’s look at the "pros" of Big Data.

Pro #1: Security is often about detecting anomalies, and to do so, you need to have a full spectrum view that you typically can only get if you have enough data to know what constitutes "normal" versus "abnormal".

Nowadays, you infrequently see the same piece of malware on a large number of machines. Furthermore, malware is highly ephemeral. In fact, about three quarters of the malware we see has a lifetime of zero -- the first time we see it in the wild is the same as the last time we see it. From the perspective of these metrics, malware behaves aberrantly. A Big Data approach helps to better pinpoint malware that other solutions miss.

Pro #2: The goal with many information security solutions is to translate "back-office intelligence" into "customer-facing protection". In recent years, the amount of back-office intelligence security firms are dealing with has grown tremendously (e.g., growth of malware samples, large volumes of sensor data, etc.). Big Data techniques lend themselves nicely to this domain.

When people talk about using big data in the context of information security, the emphasis is typically on correlating a plethora of information sources to provide more intelligent decision-making capabilities. However, being able to speed up existing operations is especially critical and is a place where big data techniques can also help. Given the highly ephemeral nature of modern malware, eliminating data flow bottlenecks is a necessity rather than a nicety.

Pro #3: To make the most accurate (security) decisions, we need to take advantage of all the intelligence available to us -- from sensors, logs, user activity, etc. Big Data techniques can be used to extract the most value from this wealth of information.

The right kind of solution doesn’t just concern itself with processing samples like a typical security vendor tries to do. Rather, it looks at numerous data sources and provides useful intelligence back to our customers. It should look at which systems a given file has touched, what we know about those systems, when those systems encountered the file, how the file got on that system and so on.

Pro #4: Big Data techniques are also useful in doing more broad visualization of security-related metrics. Having a big picture understanding can help identify root causes to problems. In contrast, many "traditional" approaches only address symptoms.

Data visualization is an important part of data analytics. With visuals, it’s easy to spot larger trends. For example, in the case of an enterprise, just knowing that 1,000 systems have been infected is nice. But, this type of knowledge alone may not be sufficient for identifying what actions you need to take. With a visual, you may be able to spot underlying patterns. For example, suppose the majority of these infections come from a single remote office. Or perhaps a handful of users are responsible for the lion’s share. These patterns can indicate root causes that, if remedied, can mitigate the risks of future outbreaks.

Pro #5: Big Data techniques can lead to entirely new sets of security capabilities.

Ultimately, Big Data techniques are all about trying to extract the most useful knowledge from a large data set. The premise is that correlating data coming from different sources yields a more accurate view of the underlying threat landscape. With such a view in place, we may now be able to act on these new insights automatically. The result is a novel set of security capabilities that can significantly reduce risks enterprises face to their security assets.

With this marriage of Big Data and security, I believe we are only scratching the surface in terms of the benefits.

Photo Credit: almagami/Shutterstock

Zulfikar Ramzan is a chief scientist for Sourcefire, a world leader in intelligent cybersecurity solutions, focused on transforming the way global mid- to large-size organizations and government agencies manage and minimize network security risks.
SaveGameBackup 2.0 beta supports 1,377 titles

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 4:29pm CET par Mike Williams

When you’re thinking of files that you really should include in a backup, then saved games probably don’t rank highly on the list. But maybe they should. After all, in some cases your current game state will represent hours, days, maybe weeks of effort, and if for some reason this gets lost, will you really want to start again from the very beginning? (No. Didn’t think so.)

It can make sense to back up at least some of your saves, then. And there are few easier ways to do this than with a copy of SaveGameBackup. The program is portable, for instance, so there’s no need for installation: just unzip it and go.

SaveGameBackup supports 1,377 games, as we write, including all the big names and even the contents of your Steam database (double-click entries.htm in the program’s folder for the latest list). Although if somehow your favorite game isn’t on the list, then you can point the program at the necessary folder, files and Registry settings, and in future it’ll include those saves along with everything else.

When you launch the program, SaveGameBackup will display any supported games it detects, and you can back up or restore your chosen items in a couple of clicks.

And, conveniently, the program even zips up your saves to reduce the disk space requirements. Which could also be handy if you want to share your saves with friends, for instance.

One small complication is that SaveGameBackup 2.0 is a beta, so in theory may contain bugs. It worked well for us, though, and is still worth a try: the program is compact, easy to use, and a great way to protect your saved games from harm.

Photo Credit: Norman B/Shutterstock
Mac users, want to download YouTube videos for free? Try MacTubes 3.1

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 4:01pm CET par Nick Peers

Want to download YouTube videos to your PC? The choices are endless, with Freemake Video Downloader, aTube Catcher and VDownloader -- just three of the many freebies out there for Windows users.

If you’re a Mac user, however, you’ll find the choices much narrower, with most video downloading tools coming with a price tag attached. Thank goodness then, for MacTubes 3.1, which brings YouTube downloading capabilities at no cost to OS X users.

MacTubes is incredibly simple to use -- the first thing you should do, however, is enable HD support if you want access to high definition video: select MacTubes > Preferences > HD tab and tick both boxes. Now, not only will HD videos show up in the search results, they’ll be highlighted too.

MacTubes gives you two methods of selecting the video you wish to download. If you’ve already tracked it down in your web browser, simply copy the URL to your clipboard, fire up MacTubes and paste it into the New > Open Video box.

Alternatively, simply enter your search terms into the app’s conveniently situated Search box and a string of results will soon appear, complete with thumbnail and description to help you locate the video you need. Too many irrelevant results? Use the Filter box to help weed out unwanted videos.

Double-click a video to preview it (and check its quality) and once you’re happy with your selection, it’s time to download the video to your Mac. To do this, right-click the video in question and open the Download sub-menu. You’ll see FLV, MP4 and HD options here, but for full control over what you actually download, select Show Files.

This displays all available files. You’ll get a format, plus description of the format, revealing container (FLV, MP4 or WebM), size and codecs. Make your choice from the list and click Download, at which point it’ll start to download in its own download window. You can now locate more videos to download, queuing them up as required.

In an ideal world, all your downloads will be in MP4 format, but the truth is that usually the best quality downloads are on WebM or FLV (Flash video) format. We’d recommend using FLV format where possible, which can be viewed in VLC Media Player or converted to MP4/M4V or MKV formats using Handbrake. Both tools are, of course, completely free.

MacTubes 3.1 is a free, open-source download for both PowerPC and Intel Macs running OS X 10.4.2 or later (we’re currently using it in Lion with no problems for those worried about compatibility).
eToolz: Traceroute, Ping, WHOIS, Google PageRank and more

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 3:20pm CET par Mike Williams

If you’re not comfortable with the command line versions of Ping, Traceroute and other essential network tools, then there’s no shortage of GUI versions which offer a little extra convenience.

EToolz, though, extends this idea a little further. Not only do you get the usual Ping, Trace and DNS options, but it also includes some handy web-related tools, and presents them all in a simple, portable package.

Would you like to check a site’s Google PageRank score, for instance? Choose the relevant tab, enter the domain name you need and you’ll get the results in a click.

The program’s WhoIs tool makes it just as easy to discover who owns a particular site. The Mail-Check option tries to verify an email address, and the HTTP-Header tool displays the http header for your chosen URL. (Which, if you’ve not tried it before, can reveal a great deal of useful information about the site and its server.)

EToolz also provides all the usual local network options, of course, so you can run DNS checks, ping or traceroute commands in a click. The Time tab is able to query an internet time server, then update your local clock. And the Own Computer tool provides useful information about your local network setup, including your IP address, host name, local DNS server, and names and MAC addresses of your various network adapters.

While there’s nothing here that you couldn’t find out in some other way, eToolz does make your networking life a little easier by combining all this functionality into a single interface. Especially as it’s also portable.

Just be aware, though, that there is one small problem here, in that eToolz doesn’t automatically detect your current language. And so on its first launch the program will open in the author’s native German. If that’s inconvenient, though, it’s easily fixed: just choose your preferred language from the Extras > Sprache/ Language menu, and that will be saved and reused in future.
RIM's co-CEOs are out, Thorsten Heins is new chief executive

Publié: janvier 23, 2012, 5:00am CET par Joe Wilcox

The phrase two heads are better than one didn't prove true for Research in Motion, which late today pushed aside its co-CEOs and replaced them with a single chief executive. It's a major shakeup that analysts called for more than a year ago. Out: Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. In: Thorsten Heins, who assumes his new responsibilities starting tomorrow. RIM has scheduled an 8 am ET conference call.

The question: Will the new leadership be a head-and-a-half? Lazaridis will serve as Vice Chair and lead RIM board's new Innovation Committee, working closely with Heins. Innovation was something surely missing from the BlackBerry maker under Lazaridis' co-leadership. Balsillie isn't completely out, as he will serve on RIM's board.

"With BlackBerry 7 now out, PlayBook 2.0 shipping in February and BlackBerry 10 expected to ship later this year, the company is entering a new phase, and we felt it was time for a new leader to take it through that phase and beyond", Lazaridis says. "Jim, the Board and I all agreed that leader should be Thorsten Heins".

"Mike created a whole new way of communicating and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration", says Heins, who joined RIM four years ago last month and has served as COO of Product and Sales since August.

Heins expresses resound confidence in RIM's future, an opinion many outsiders don't share. "Mike and Jim took a bold step 18 months ago when RIM purchased QNX to shepherd the transformation of the BlackBerry platform for the next decade. We are more confident than ever that was the right path. It is Mike and Jim’s continued unwillingness to sacrifice long-term value for short-term gain which has made RIM the great company that it is today. I share that philosophy and am very excited about the company’s future".

These so-called bold steps have led BlackBerry from market leadership to plummeting smartphone sales share and eroding brand equity. For example, BlackBerry share, as measured by smartphone OS among recent US handset purchasers, fell from 7.7 percent to 4.5 percent between October and December 2011, according to Nielsen. How the mighty has fallen. In June 2010, BlackBerry led Android and iOS, with 35 percent share among recent purchasers.

In June 2011, RIM said it was evaluating the role of its co-CEOs. Meanwhile, investors have punished RIM, with September's sell-off being particularly nasty. Last month, RIM took another investor beating after taking a $485 million write-down for unsold PlayBooks. Earlier this month, in a seemingly bizarre pricing strategy, RIM reduced all PlayBooks to $299, regardless of capacity. So the 16GB and 64GB models sell for the same price.

From that perspective, Heins' "I share that philosophy" may not generate investor confidence. We'll know more after tomorrow's conference call.

The new CEO contends that RIM's fundamentals are sound: "We have a strong balance sheet with approximately $1.5 billion in cash at the end of the last quarter and negligible debt. We reported revenue of $5.2 billion in our last quarter, up 24 percent from the prior quarter, and a 35 percent year-to-year increase in the BlackBerry subscriber base, which is now over 75 million".