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BMW Motorrad partners with Netbiscuits to overhaul its mobile strategy

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 8:05pm CEST par Alysia Judge

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BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of the famous German company, is partnering with Netbiscuits to elevate its customers' web experience to the next level.

Netbiscuits is a cloud platform that allows companies greater insight into which of their customers are interacting with their site using mobile devices, thus driving increased performance conversion and customer engagement across the board. BMW Motorrad's decision to partner with Netbiscuits is emblematic of a growing preoccupation with mobile markets and high-quality targeted content.

The Netbiscuits software will provide BMW Motorrad customers with an optimized mobile web experience regardless of the device they are using, something that has become increasingly hard to do with the continued fragmentation of devices and software over recent years.

BMW Motorrad made the decision to partner with Netbiscuits after discovering that in some regions customers do not even use the classic desktop web, instead they connect straight from mobile. In this instance, it decided to not just engineer its website for mobile devices, but to take a mobile-first approach to web development.

The joint venture will continue throughout 2014 with rollouts into nine markets and the introduction of new features. These will include the Netbiscuits Device Detection tool, which will provide BMW Motorrad with a set of server-side components that enable the adaptation of web content and design to deliver engaging user experiences.

CCleaner tweaks browser cleaning, promises better OS detection

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 7:59pm CEST par Nick Peers

CCleaner

It’s that time of the month when Piriform issues another update to its popular Windows cleaning utility. This time, CCleaner 4.14 focuses on browsers -- and Mozilla browsers in particular -- with its latest release.

Version 4.14, also available in portable form, also improves Unicode support for its Startup tool amid a rash of other improvements.

The latest release headlines with improved cookie cleaning for Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers. Its focus on Mozilla also sees it add support for cleaning up behind the Cyberfox browser, a 64-bit variant for Windows 8 machines.

CCleaner 4.14’s improved Unicode support for start-up items is accompanied by the prospect of more reliable detection of the Windows version currently running.

Other improvements have been implemented to CCleaner’s 64-bit Registry detection and cleaning architecture, while CCleaner Professional users gain a more reliable skip UAC warning for monitoring.

New third-party utility support comes in the form of cleaning options for PowerArchiver 2013, Nitro Pro 9 and Stardock WindowBlinds, while existing cleaning tools for Office 2010, Foxit Reader 6 and AVG Antivirus (versions 8 through 2013) have also been enhanced.

The update is completed by the usual unspecified round of bug fixes and minor GUI tweaks.

CCleaner 4.14 and CCleaner Portable 4.14 are available now as freeware downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later. A Professional version offering additional features including real-time monitoring and complete system cleaning is available for $24.95.

Baba Booey! Howard Stern comes to your living room with SiriusXM for Roku

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 7:51pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

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As a Long Islander, there are things that I'm almost required to like, such as eating bagels and going to the beach. However, there is something else many of us are expected to enjoy -- Howard Stern. While not everyone likes his humor or radio show, I have been a fan for as long as I can remember. I even bought a Sirius radio when he made the switch from FM to satellite.

Sadly, while I listen religiously in the car every day, I don't listen in my home. It is not convenient to tie up my phone or computer -- it can be a battery drainer. Luckily, that is changing. Today, Roku announces that Howard Stern and the rest of the SiriusXM lineup is coming to the streaming box.

"It's time for a music marathon, streamers! We're happy to welcome SiriusXM on Roku. The commercial-free music, plus sports, talk, news, comedy and entertainment you've come to love from SiriusXM in your car or on your computer, smartphone or tablet, can now be streamed in the comfort of your home through your Roku player. Music lovers can find commercial-free music from virtually every genre, artist-dedicated channels, and exclusive performances you can’t find anywhere else", says Roku.

While I am excited about the Howard Stern channels, I am looking forward to others too. As a Hip-Hop fan, having Eminem's Shade 45 and Backspin available in my home is heaven. Plus, having dedicated music channels from the 1950's, through the 2000's, means that regardless of the age of people visiting my home, I can find something they will like. Best of all, there is a no-credit-card-needed 30 day free trial. I'm saying this with peace and love -- the value of Roku keeps getting better every day.

Are you excited to have SiriusXM on Roku? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock

Israeli firefighters use Google Maps to help save homes and lives

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 7:21pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

Fire

There are many important jobs in the world, such as nurses, police officers and doctors to name a few. However, firefighters are near and dear to me, as I endured losing my home to a fire. The flames and smoke are very scary, ruining everything in their path. Anything left was destroyed by the water from the hoses, but, I survived. The brave firefighters worked hard to save me and my home and are true heroes.

All firefighters are heroes, regardless of what part of the world they protect. Israel’s Fire and Rescue Commission saves many lives and homes every year, and they have a tool in their arsenal that is helping them to fight fires. No, it is not a new hose or truck, it is Google Maps.

"After the devastating Mt. Carmel fire in December 2010, which killed 44 people, injured dozens, and wiped out nearly 40,000 acres of forest, senior officers at the Fire and Rescue Commission realized we needed a more advanced fire alert system. This prompted our decision to deploy mapping technology from Google", says Uzi Bashan, Fire Officer with Israel's Fire and Rescue Commission.

Bashan further says, "using Google Earth Enterprise as our main GIS mapping platform, each call center operator has two screens -- one displaying information from the national system, and the other displaying maps with Google Earth. Google Earth maps, with customized data layers, are automatically updated in real-time to show exactly where fires are and which firefighters are the closest to them. What used to take minutes now takes seconds".

This is a great example of how technology is used to save lives and improve the world. For many, Google's Maps and Earth services are things to play with or a way to get directions to a rock concert. As you can see though, the technologies that we take for granted are much larger than that. Thanks to Google's technologies, people's lives are actually being saved and that should be applauded.

BBC Sport comes to UK Roku customers

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 5:32pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

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The tiny Roku box has become a staple in many living rooms, bringing all sorts of entertainment goodness with it. The company continues to add new content, or channels as Roku refers to them. The latest is geared towards UK customers.

Roku is announcing that BBC Sport is landing on the set-top box, adding a load of new content, including Formula 1 racing, cycling, cricket, tennis, golf and others. Customers can also zone in on region specific content for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

"BBC Sport brings the latest sporting news, live action and highlights to all Roku streaming players including the newly launched Roku Streaming Stick (HDMI version). Hundreds of videos are available and users can filter by sport to find the content they want to watch, including a dedicated filter option for the upcoming World Cup", says Roku's Ed Lee.

In addition, there will also be live coverage of many events, including the upcoming World Cup, which kicks off next month in Brazil.

You can head into the Channel Store to find the new addition, but if you reside outside of the UK then you will be out luck, as this is region-specific.

How APIs are changing the face of enterprise computing

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 5:00pm CEST par Ian Barker

API robot

The humble API has been around for a long time, enabling applications to exchange data. But in the world of mobile computing and BYOD the role of the API is under greater scrutiny.

This is one of the things that's been under discussion at the recent Gartner Application Architecture, Development and Integration Summit. At the end of last year there were some 10,000 publicly listed APIs, and now it's reckoned that around 24 percent of web applications and 15 percent of mobile applications use them. But what benefits are they bringing to the enterprise?

According to Mark O'Neill, VP of innovation at integration and web services specialist Axway, "The most positive angle is that they enable access. The API is decoupled from the client so different operating systems can connect to corporate data through the same API".

This means that tasks like checking stock and tracking orders can be carried out via a mobile device as an alternative to using heavyweight corporate portals.

The use of APIs enables innovation too, by putting out an API a company ensures that other people can build apps around its data. The uses aren't just about mobile either, entertainment systems, the internet of things and technology like smart meters all benefit.

There are security pluses too as the data remains on the corporate servers and isn't copied to the device itself. O’Neill explains, "Hackers are after data whether it's healthcare, government or finance. The important thing about using APIs is that the data isn't stored on the mobile device, it’s provided to the app as needed".

The downside of this is that the device needs to be online but in an increasingly connected world that's becoming less of a problem. An added advantage is greater visibility of how data is being accessed and from where. This gives admins a kill switch at the API level so there's no need for the complexity of partitioning or encryption on the device itself.

Ultimately APIs can offer significant benefits for enterprise users. Businesses can launch in new markets and reach more customers simply by sharing their API. This can lead to better provision of services to customers, but also opening the API within the company can encourage internal innovation, or opening the API to the broader developer community can spur the development of new apps.

You can find more about Axway's approach to API management on the company's website.

Image Credit: Kirill_M / Shutterstock

Warning to Android users -- Outlook.com app stores emails unencrypted

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 4:54pm CEST par Mark Wilson

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Reverse engineering apps is an interesting field of work. On one hand, it can be used by software engineers to determine how an app works so they can copy it. On the other, the method can be used by those with malicious intent to track down weaknesses that can then be exploited. But there's also a third hand. Reverse engineering can also be used to highlight security problems with a view to not only alerting those affected, but also addressing the problem.

Researchers at Include Security, whilst practicing their reverse engineering skills, turned their attention to the Outlook.com app for Android and discovered a potentially worrisome security issue.

The team found that the app -- which was produced by Seven Networks rather than Microsoft itself -- stores emails and attachments in the Android file system without encryption or security. This fact could be exploited by maliciously coded third party apps which would be able to read the unencrypted subject lines and body text of email, as well as accessing attached files. Email attachments being saved automatically to the /sdcard/attachments folder by default means that they can be accessed by anyone with physical access to the Android device, as well as any specially coded app.

Even if PIN protection is in place, a backup email database is stored in an easily accessible location in the file system, completely unencrypted. The researchers found that the PIN feature merely blocks access to the app's GUI, leaving emails and attachments just as vulnerable as ever to any slightly determined malicious user or app. It is possible for Android Debug Bridge to read the data on all devices, but the processes is even easier on those that have been rooted. Once the database file has been accessed, its contents can be very easily extracted and read.

Include Security says "We feel a key security and privacy attribute of any mobile messaging application is the ability to maintain the confidentiality of data stored on the device the app runs on". The security team recommends that Android users ensure that USB debugging feature of their device is disabled (Settings > Developer Options > USB debugging) as well as considering implementing full disk encryption. It is also recommended that user change the folder that is used to store email attachments.

It is worth noting that Include Security alerted Microsoft to the security issues back at the beginning of December. The response was that "users should not assume data is encrypted by default in any application or operating system unless an explicit promise to that effect has been made". The same statement was issued last week when the researchers contacted the company again.

How do you feel about this? Is it reasonable for a user to expect that their private data would be kept secure by default?

We have reached out to Microsoft for the company's reaction to the findings, and we'll update the post when we receive a response.

Update: Microsoft has responded, and a spokesperson had this to say:

"Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For people using the Outlook.com app for Android, applications run in sandboxes where the operating system protects customers’ data. Additionally, customers who wish to encrypt their email can go through their phone settings and encrypt the SD card data. Please see Microsoft’s online privacy policy for more information".

Image Credit: weerapat kiatdumrong/Shutterstock

Clipboard History is a versatile text-only clipboard manager

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 4:53pm CEST par Mike Williams

clipboard history

Clipboard History is a simple clipboard manager which remembers up to the last 20 text items copied to the clipboard, and makes them available for reuse later.

The program only supports text -- not images, files or anything else -- and so can seem a little basic. But don’t be fooled. There’s much more to Clipboard History than you might think.

The core of the program works like any other clipboard manager. It’s all very simple, there’s nothing to do: just use your PC as normal, and anything you copy to the clipboard is automatically saved.

Life gets more interesting when you want to view those items. By default, Clipboard History is called up by pressing the Caps Lock (you can reconfigure this as required), and a regular right-click style context menu then appears with the last 10 texts (it can handle up to 20). Just choose what you need and it’s pasted into the current application.

Clipboard History offers various ways to filter the text it saves. You can tell the program to ignore text that is smaller or larger than a defined size (3 and 4096 characters by default), for instance, or if it contains particular text strings. This works well, and helps ensure your clipboard menu contains genuinely useful items.

Basic text processing options allow Clipboard History to remove trailing spaces from clipboard text, or repair broken links (URLs which have been wrapped across several lines or include trailing control characters) so they’re ready to paste and use immediately.

The Clipboard History menu can also hold "stickies", permanent text items that you’re always typing (names, phone numbers, email addresses, whatever you like). They’re treated like clipboard text and can also be quickly pasted into your current document.

The program offers even more functionality via its configuration dialog. You’re able to edit or delete your current clipboard history to make it more useful. And there are interesting settings, like the ability to disable Clipboard History in full-screen applications (a simple way to stop the program conflicting with games).

Clipboard History could be improved still further. In particular, we’d like more flexible filtering. Add an "include" filter, perhaps, and you could collect URLs by only saving texts containing "http://" or "www".

Clipboard History’s core features already perform very well, though, and if you need a smarter text-based clipboard manager then we’d give it a try.

Surface Pro 3: niche product, not a savior

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 4:11pm CEST par Sameer Singh

Surface Pro 3

This week, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 3 with a larger, 12 inch display and surprised some by holding off on a "Surface Mini". While Microsoft continued to harp on their "best of both worlds" mantra, it was very clear that this device was focused on productivity use cases and enterprise users. Does this signal a new era in tablet computing or is this simply a niche product?

I recently downgraded my tablet sales estimate because tablets haven't encroached upon productivity use cases as quickly as "phablets" have encroached on consumption use cases. So wouldn't the Surface Pro 3 fit with my definition of upmarket movement? Not quite. The challenge for tablets is to move upmarket into productivity use cases without compromising on their advantages over PCs -- 1) ease of use, and 2) lower price points. With the Windows 8 operating system and a price tag starting at $930 (incl. the keyboard cover), the Surface Pro 3 misses on both points.

The primary selling point of the Surface is access to legacy applications which are practically unusable without the keyboard cover (the fact that this is still sold as an optional accessory is puzzling). In other words, the Surface is not a tablet, but an ultraportable PC or "ultrabook" which happens to have a touchscreen. The product has been designed to cater to a very niche segment of enterprise users, i.e. users who have already decided to purchase a portable PC over a tablet. This leaves no room to move upmarket and no flexibility to move downmarket. The sub-par mobile app ecosystem for Windows Phone/RT limits downmarket movement as well.

That said, focusing on enterprise PC users may be a conscious decision by Microsoft. The lack of a "Surface Mini" announcement tells me that Microsoft is beginning to understand their position in the mobile industry. This strategy is unlikely to be a major success, but could drive just enough sales to keep the product line alive.

This story was reposted with permission from tech-thoughts.

Sameer Singh is an M&A professional and business strategy consultant focusing on the mobile technology sector. He is founder and editor of tech-thoughts.net.

Forget about fast lanes, who is worrying about secure lanes?

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 3:10pm CEST par Dave Larson

End of the road

The FCC voted recently to approve a proposal allowing select companies the ability to pay a premium price to their ISPs in order to deliver their content with a faster service, or 'fast lane' when transiting their networks. There has been considerable discussion both for and against the proposal with respect to how it adheres to the philosophy of net neutrality and how it might impact competition among businesses, particularly small entrepreneurial ventures without the resources to afford premium delivery service.

Unfortunately, the debate’s focus on faster delivery has failed to contemplate the growing need for other types of premium offerings such as 'secure services' and some vitally important questions have been overlooked in the discussion: How will this proposal alter the security threat landscape? Has the security impact of faster delivery services been fully considered and are mitigation technologies prepared to deal with potential threats introduced by this new asymmetry? Why are customers content to pay for the delivery of DDoS attacks and cyber threats under the current unsecure delivery model, and why would they pay for them to be delivered even faster than ever before? It seems counterintuitive.

For example, if a service provider content delivery customer opts to pay more for faster service; will this make that customer a higher profile target in the eyes of attackers? If such a customer’s online infrastructure can be compromised and transformed into a propagator of DDoS attacks, or cyber threats, these attacks will be given heightened priority or additional bandwidth resources by the service provider, enhancing their efficacy. Providing increased bandwidth services without simultaneously addressing the security issues they create, seems irresponsible. Providing a premium differentiated service without addressing existing security concerns will only make defending against attacks in the future more difficult.

While 'fast lane' services do present a significant additional revenue opportunity for ISPs, many companies are also seeking 'secure lanes'. Security related services also present a significant opportunity for ISPs to further differentiate their services offerings while increasing revenue. One of the greatest security risks companies face is connecting their essential business infrastructures and applications to raw, unsecured Internet feeds. Customers are constantly bombarded with bad traffic along with the good, and are beginning to question why they are paying for the very same bandwidth that is being used to deliver attacks against them.

In order to implement 'secure lane' services with the performance and scale required by carrier networks, a new architectural approach to DDoS and volumetric attack mitigation will be required. It is no longer sufficient to think in terms of attack mitigation performance in the 1-2 Gbps range. Service providers will need to provide this capability across multiple 40G and 100G links. Fortunately, there have been a number of recent technological improvements utilizing both purpose-built, high-performance security appliances and virtual machine technology. That means they can be utilized to instantiate arrays of DDoS mitigation engines that can scale into the Terabit range -- designed to offer protected Internet services to premium subscribers.

Image Credit: Elenarts/Shutterstock

Dave Larson, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Product is responsible for directing the Corero technology strategy as the company continues to invest in its next phase of growth; providing next generation DDoS attack and cyber threat defense solutions for the Service Provider and Hosting Provider segments. Larson has more than 20 years of experience in the network security, data communication, and data center infrastructure industries. Previously, Larson served as Chief Technology Officer for HP Networking and Vice President of the HP Networking Advanced Technology Group.

Microsoft opens up music service 22tracks across browsers, platforms

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 2:33pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

girl laptop headphones notebook music video

Back in April, at the Microsoft Build conference, the company unveiled a music site called 22tracks. It was not designed to compete with its own Xbox Music or other rival services, but more as a concept to display the power of Internet Explorer.

Now Microsoft is announcing that 22tracks will be expanding to work across all browser platforms. The service was already designed to run on Windows from IE, Windows Phone and tablets like the Surface. However, this update is also expanding what the service can do.

"The new 22tracks.com is just another step to help Rethink what the web can be -- helping create amazing experiences that are fast, beautiful, and perfect for touch", says Microsoft Justin Garrett.

Included in this update is support for Microsoft's Xbox Music service, and it claims improved curation of the tracks. "The concept behind 22tracks is simple: 22 top DJs from Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris share their genre’s 22 hottest tracks of the moment. Each city boasts its own team of specialized DJs bringing you the newest tracks in their genre", Garrett explains.

The new site is designed to adapt to whatever platform the user visits from and is touch-friendly, thanks to its HTML5-based interface. In addition, Windows 8 users can share tracks by using the Charms menu that is built into the operating system.

The new features, including Xbox Music integration, make the service much more user-friendly. You can check it out by visiting 22tracks.

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

Could Google Glass be bad for your eyes?

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 2:20pm CEST par Darren Allan

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The latest controversy surrounding Google Glass is the fact that the device is reportedly causing eye strain and headaches.

There have been a number of reports of problems on Twitter, and BetaBeat detailed their own experiences of two writers who had sharp pains after ten minutes of Glass usage -- pains that disappeared after taking the device off.

BetaBeat actually got to speak with Dr Eli Peli, the Harvard optometrist Google brought on board to consult on eye health with Glass, who admitted that there were issues with the fact that people aren't used to looking up, as it were. Most of us look straight ahead or downwards, and rarely upwards -- but of course, the position of the Glass screen in the upper-right of the eye-line makes you do just that.

The problem is that Glass is designed for very quick usage -- short glances at pieces of info; bursts of activity. It's not designed to be gawked at continuously. However, when you first get Glass, you're obviously using it a lot -- it's your new toy -- and staring at it for lengthy periods, which could cause discomfort in the eye.

Peli told BetaBeat: "It's not a headache, it's sort of a discomfort in the eye muscles. To describe it as a headache is inconsistent with how people experience headaches".

It would seem, though, that the discomfort and/or pains only affect certain people, which makes sense. Some folks are fine watching 3D movies, others find the glasses make them feel horribly ill; it varies according to the individual.

If you do use Glass, however, the message is clear: It's meant for glancing, not gawking, so make sure you're sensible with the length of time you're staring at that display. Of course, that's good advice in general, in terms of the world not turning into a place populated with Glass-y eyed zombies staring off (and slightly upwards) into space.

Glass is expected to launch officially before the end of the year (in the US, anyway), although there's a danger Samsung might beat Google to the eyewear punch with Gear Glass.

Finally! Task and todo list manager Any.Do gains a web app

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 2:09pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Today is a day of celebration for fans of Any.Do -- the todo list and task manager for iOS, Android and Chrome. Some four years after its inception -- and after many, many demands from the service's user base -- Any.Do has, at long, long last, gained a web app. Founders Omer Perchik, Yoni Lindenfeld, and Itay Kahana have successfully avoided a brouhaha from users by finally delivering what they describe as "the number one most requested feature by our users".

Any.Do has proved incredibly successful on mobile platforms -- as well as in Google's web browser -- amassing more than 10 million users. Perchik says: "Web is a huge market we haven't even touched yet. There's a world of people who haven't considered us because they need a full web experience, right on their computer screens" of the launch. "We're conquering mobile, now it's time to break out in a broader market".

The move to the web from mobile device is the reverse of the route taken by many services, but it means that people using Any.Do to keep their lives in order can now do so from their web browser as well as through the app. The online interface is sparse yet effective, much like the mobile apps, and offers a selection of views that allows for tasks to be grouped by project or due date. There's Planning Mode for getting tasks organized across folders, and Focus Mode for homing in on what's coming up in your schedule.

Nitro Pro adds barcode creation, restores 64-bit build

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 1:00pm CEST par Nick Peers

Nitropro

Nitro has released a major new update to its award-winning PDF creation and editing tool with the release of Nitro Pro 9.5. The new build is accompanied by a resurrected native 64-bit build.

Version 9.5 introduces a new silent update mechanism to ensure users are always running the latest version, and adds support for creating and editing barcodes within Forms.

The new barcodes feature is accessible from the Forms tab, and gives users the choice of three barcode types: QRcodes, PDF417 and Data Matrix. Once created users can edit the barcode via its own dedicated Properties tab under Form Tools.

The return of a native 64-bit build delivers improved overall performance on compatible systems, particularly those with more than 4GB RAM installed. Existing Nitro 9 users wishing to move to 64-bit will need to uninstall their existing build then download, install and activate the 64-bit build separately.

Version 9.5 also delivers a number of improvements -- the Bookmark Pane gains a number of unspecified "updates" while continuous use of the annotation tools is now supported.

The Find function has been tweaked to search from the current page, while a HFW (Headers, Footers and Watermarks) Preview has been implemented for adding and editing HFWs.

The XFDF format can now be exported and imported in various different ways, while a HTML Response can now be displayed after submitting a form. Finally XFA support has been improved along with the usual unspecified bug fixes and updates.

Nitro Pro 9.5 (32-bit) and Nitro Pro 9.5 (64-bit) are both available now as free, fully functional 14-day trial downloads for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later. A single-user license can be purchased through the Downloadcrew Software Store for just $111.99, a saving of 20 per cent on the MSRP. 20 percent discounts are also available for 5-PC and 10-PC licenses.

How not to handle a security breach, the eBay way

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 12:38pm CEST par Ian Barker

old man

You can’t have failed to notice by now that eBay has had a bit of a problem relating to leaked user data. The mainstream media was all over the story yesterday -- you know things are bad when the TV news takes notice of IT matters.

To reprise the facts it seems that attackers gained access to a number of eBay employee login credentials which allowed them to access the auction site’s systems. This may have happened as long as three months back but the company only became aware of it around two weeks ago.

According to a post on eBay's corporate pages, "The database, which was compromised between late February and early March, included eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth. However, the database did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information".

This in itself is bad enough as it means hackers could have been busy on decrypting passwords for weeks. What makes it worse though is the way eBay has handled the problem.

Hints that something was wrong started to appear yesterday morning -- early afternoon here in the UK -- when a post appeared on the PayPal Forward blog. This disappeared again fairly quickly, leading industry watchers to believe it may have been posted in error as part of test of security procedures.

A couple of hours later though it was back for good, along with the eBay corporate post. That sparked the interest of the media but at this point the company wasn't doing anything to alert its 128 million users.

As of 4pm EDT yesterday there was no warning on the eBay homepage, there were no emails to customers, there was no forced password reset when you logged in. There was information on the site but you had to click through several links in order to find it.

Today it seems eBay is finally starting to get its act together. There's now a prominent banner on the site, click it and you're taken to a message from Devin Wenig, President, eBay Marketplaces. This advises that next time you visit the site you should, "Take a moment to change your password. You can do this in the 'My eBay' section under account settings. This will help further protect you; it’s always a good practice to periodically update your password. Millions of eBay users already have updated their passwords".

That's a start, but it really should be enforcing a password change not just asking nicely. And it should be informing users by email rather than waiting for them to login. It sends out marketing emails regularly so we know it has the mechanism in place.

Finally it's about time eBay offered two-factor authentication via a mobile phone. Currently the only way you can get 2FA on eBay is if you’ve signed up -- and paid -- for a PayPal security key gadget. Odd that because the PayPal site itself allows you to use your mobile as an alternative.

The message here for all companies is that when a major security problem occurs you need to take a proactive approach to alerting customers. Letting the story slip out via stealth and triggering a media storm before you inform your customers really isn't good enough.

eBay security

Image Credit: PathDoc/Shutterstock

Fitbit ships the most wearable 'bands', tops Pebble and Samsung

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 12:15pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Wrist band Wearable Man Hand

While wearables have yet to reach the popularity of smartphones or even tablets, shipments of bands reached an encouraging 2.7 million units in the first quarter of the year, according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys. The leader of the pack is Fitbit, with a dominating share of "nearly" 50 percent.

"Fitbit continued to ship most of the units in the basic band segment, despite the allergy-related recall of the Fitbit Force", says Canalys. The recall affected roughly one million units. "The issue was handled well and did not dramatically slow the company’s sales momentum", adds the firm. Fitbit outdid rivals like Pebble and Samsung, the last of which dominates the growing smartwatch landscape with the popular Galaxy Gear.

Canalys' results are based on shipments of both "basic and smart bands", the former of which Fitbit dominates. In the latter it is Pebble which ranks first, with 34.6 percent of band shipments in Q1 2014, followed by Sony with 28.8 percent and Samsung, in third place, with 23.3 percent.

"Pebble Technology launched the Pebble Steel and the Pebble appstore and grew at a healthy rate during Q1, managing to achieve smart band market leadership for the quarter with a 35 percent share of worldwide shipments, ahead of both Sony and Samsung", says Canalys VP and principal analyst Chris Jones. "Canalys’ quarterly estimates showed that total smart band shipments fell short of half a million units. This is largely because Samsung’s shipments were down dramatically quarter on quarter as it had strong sell-in for Q4 and then cleared inventory in preparation for its Gear product refresh in early Q2. The company must make some big steps to improve sell-through and customer satisfaction with its new products".

Fitbit faces competition from Jawbone, whose shipments rose due to an expansion of its international distribution. Nike, another known wearables vendor, looks to be lagging behind its competitors. "The FuelBand has frankly been outmatched on sales", says Canalys analyst Daniel Matte. "Its competitors’ speed, international reach, broader channel distribution, integration with other fitness communities, superior web sites and multi-platform support have proven to be major advantages".

Most wearable bands -- 51 percent -- were shipped in North America. EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) follows in second place with 30 percent and APAC (Asia-Pacific) comes in third place with 17 percent.

Photo Credit: Gianluca Rasile/Shutterstock

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Google leapfrogs Apple to become world’s most valuable brand, Microsoft does well

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 10:44am CEST par Jamie Hinks

Google

Google has passed Apple in the brand stakes for the first time with technology dominating the world’s top ten most valuable brands including a strong 12 months for Microsoft.

Research from Millward Brown shows that Google’s brand value grew by 40 percent from 2013 to 2014 as it moved from second to first place with a valuation of $159 billion ahead of its competitor Apple, which saw its value drop 20 percent to $148 billion.

IBM remained in third place on the list but dropped back four percent to $107 billion, whereas Microsoft rose three places after seeing its value rocket 29 percent and finish up on $90 billion.

The results are part of Millward Brown’s Brandz index that ranks the world’s most valuable brands based on brand value and the next technology company to enter the index was Amazon.com in 10th with an uplift of four places thanks to a brand value increase of 41 percent.

Chinese firms have a strong influence in the index and this none more evident than in the case of web firm Tencent, which saw its rank change by seven places and a brand value increase of 97 percent to $53 billion as the Far East continues to flex its muscles.

Facebook, meanwhile, is the highest social media firm on the list in 21st place as it made up 10 places on last year’s position and it was closely followed by Baidu back in 25th place as it increased its brand value by 46 percent.

One of Apple’s other major competitors, Samsung, had to console itself with 29th place as it went up one place even though its brand value increased by 21 percent year-on-year.

Further down the list eBay is down 14 places to 61st, Yahoo is up 23 places to 69th, Twitter is a new entry in 71st place, Cisco is up five places to 72nd, LinkedIn is another new entry in 78th place, Intel is a big loser with a 25-place drop to 86th, and PayPal is another new entry in 97th place.

The Marvell 88SS1083 is world's first fully compliant SATA Express controller

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 2:07am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Performance

The trouble with computers is that it is almost impossible to stay on the bleeding edge. The moment you buy the latest and greatest, something new comes along to replace it. I still remember fighting the battle of buying the fastest CD and DVD burners, years ago. It seemed like every other week, speeds would get boosted and I just had to have the fastest!

If you just bought a brand new SATA III SSD, congratulations, it is really fast and I'm sure you love it. But did you know that SATA III is on its way out? Yup, sorry to break the news to you, but SATA Express is one of the new standards, set to replace it. Today, Marvell announces that it has created the industry's first fully compliant SATA Express controller. Things just got real.

"Marvell today announced the launch of its new 88SS1083 PCI Express (PCIe) solid state drive (SSD) controller -- a two-lane PCIe Gen2 SSD controller. With performance transfer rates up to 1GB/s, Marvell's 88SS1083 controller allows SSD manufacturers to offer PCIe SSD at price parity to SATA SSD. The Marvell 88SS1083 is the industry's first controller to be fully compliant with the SATA Express standard, which leverages the most popular PCIe interface and brings in low latency, dual-lane support and 1GB/s data transfer rate", says the company.

Rajan Pai, Vice President, Sales and Field Applications Engineering at Marvell says, "improving performance while maintaining low power becomes more important than ever, especially for today's ultrathin notebooks and tablets. The new 88SS1083 allows SSD OEMs to offer higher performance, PCIe-based SSD solutions at similar prices to SATA and is quickly becoming the controller of choice for global OEMs. Marvell is proudly pioneering a new generation of high-performance and low-power silicon solutions that is driving our industry forward".

Marvell touts the following benefits of the controller:

New GB/s SATA Express that replaces 6Gb/s SATA storage

SRIS for SATA Express connectivity and L1.2 support for ultralow storage power management

New IO design for cost-effective cabling and compliance with 2014 PC chipsets

Gen 2x2, 28nm Advanced NAND flash controller for new 1znm NAND flash and Toggle 2/ONFI 3 at 400MT/s NAND IO support

Pay attention folks, SATA Express is something you will be hearing a lot more about. It is much faster -- please note the big B vs. the little b above, 1GB/s (Gigabyte) is faster than 6Gb/s (Gigabit). Whenever you see Gigabit being used, divide the number by 8 to see how many Gigabytes. SATA III can only reach a theoretical 0.75GB/s.

Are you excited by the SATA Express standard? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: Sam72 / Shutterstock

Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 PC looks a lot like the Nexus Q (and that's a good thing)

Publié: mai 22, 2014, 1:28am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Despite what some people think, the PC is not dead. However, for many, the concept of buying a desktop PC with a monstrous tower is. After all, thanks to companies like Apple, electronics have become art. And so, if someone does need a PC, they may opt for a laptop or all-in-one instead.

Truth be told, I have never been a huge fan of all-in-ones. If the display breaks, you could end up with a giant paperweight. I still remember when people bought TV/VCR combos. Almost always, the VCR failed and you would see a second VCR connected -- insanity. I have been of the opinion that it is best to keep your monitor and computer separate. With that said, I do like having a small footprint on a desk. Today, Zotac announces a spherical PC that is not only small, but beautiful too.

"Inside the ZOTAC ZBOX Sphere OI520 series is a high-performance 4th Generation Intel Core i5 4200U processor with Intel HD Graphics 4400 for an excellent computing experience rich in high-definition content and snappy multi-tasking responsiveness. Plenty of internal expansion enables the ZOTAC ZBOX Sphere OI520 series to accommodate a 2.5-inch SATA 6.0 Gb/s hard drive or SSD, an mSATA SSD and two DDR3L SO-DIMM slots to easily create a powerful stylish mini-PC", says the company.

Carsten Berger, senior director, explains, "ZOTAC is expanding the ZBOX lineup to go beyond the traditional square form factor and the ZBOX Sphere is our first design concept that we're putting into production. The new ZBOX Sphere form factor is also one of our easiest to customize too, the top twists off for tool-less upgrades".

The company lists the following specs:

Memory	2 x 204-pin DDR3L SO-DIMM slots (Up to 16GB) DDR3-1600
Hard Disk	Support 1 2.5-inch HDD / SSD
PLUS Configuration	4GB DDR3 / 500GB 5400RPM HDD
CPU	Intel Core i5 4200U (dual-core, 1.6 GHz, 3MB L2) (Turbo up to 2.6 GHz)
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4400
Video Memory	Shared Memory
Display Options	HDMI & DisplayPort
Memory Card Reader	4-in-1 (SD/SDHC/MMC/SDXC)
SATA	1 SATA 6.0 Gb/s 1 mSATA 6.0 Gb/s
Ethernet	10/100/1000Mbps
WiFi	Onboard 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 4.0
USB Ports	3 USB 2.0 (2 on back panel, 1 on side) 4 USB 3.0 ports (back panel)
Audio	HDMI audio (bitstream) Analog output

As you can see, this is a very capable PC. Zotac will let you choose between a bare-bones unit or the "Plus" model that comes with 4GB of RAM and a 5400 RPM HDD. While I can understand forgoing an SSD to lower costs, a 7200RPM drive should at least be included in a model labeled "Plus". Although, I think the target audience for this machine will probably want to add the SSD and RAM of their choosing, so in that case, it makes sense.

Sadly, pricing and availability are still not known. But one thing is for sure, it looks eerily similar to Google's now deceased Nexus Q, and that's a good thing -- this thing is sexy!

Nexus Q

Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.

Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » mai 22, 2014

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