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BetaNews.Com (4 non lus)

AMD to launch 'Carrizo' mobile APUs in 2015 -- improved performance and efficiency

Publié: novembre 23, 2014, 11:01pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Intel is the current king of processors -- let's just get that out of the way. From a performance standpoint, you can't go wrong with the company's chips. Not to mention, Intel is a huge Linux supporter, so its hardware (chipset, Wi-Fi, etc.) works well "out of the box" with many distros. So why would someone go with AMD? A very good question -- Intel's competitor also makes great chips, often with a focus on value. This year, AMD launched the brilliant AM1 platform, featuring the FS1b socket. Sure, it won't win in performance, but it excels in low-cost ownership. You see, not only is the upfront cost low, but it will save you much on your electricity bills, as it is very low-wattage.

Now, AMD is looking to the future, as it announces a new mobile APU family called "Carrizo". Starting next year, Intel may have some serious competition on its hands, as Carrizo APUs begin showing up in consumer devices.

Advanced Micro Devices announces, "its first high performance system-on-a-chip (SoC), codenamed 'Carrizo', and a mainstream SoC codenamed 'Carrizo-L' as part of the company’s 2015 AMD Mobile APU family roadmap. In collaboration with hardware and software partners, these new 2015 AMD Mobile APUs are designed as complete solutions for gaming, productivity applications, and ultra high-definition 4K experiences. With support for Microsoft DirectX 12, OpenCL 2.0, AMD's Mantle API, AMD FreeSync and support for Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 operating system, the 2015 AMD Mobile APU family enables the experiences consumers expect".

"The flagship 'Carrizo' processor will integrate the new x86 CPU core codenamed 'Excavator' with next generation AMD Radeon graphics in the world's first Heterogeneous Systems Architecture (HSA) 1.0 compliant SoC. The 'Carrizo-L' SoC integrates the CPU codenamed 'Puma+' with AMD Radeon R-Series GCN GPUs and is intended for mainstream configurations. In addition, an AMD Secure Processor will be integrated into the 'Carrizo' and 'Carrizo-L' APUs, enabling ARM TrustZone across the entire family for the security commercial customers and consumers expect. Utilizing a single package infrastructure for 'Carrizo' and 'Carrizo-L', the 2015 AMD Mobile APU family simplifies partner designs across a broad range of commercial and consumer mobile systems", says AMD.

If you aren't familiar with the concept of an APU, it is essentially a CPU and GPU integrated into a single chip. In other words, a separate graphics chipset is not needed. What makes this particularly great, is that a CPU upgrade will typically bring improved graphics too.

Consumers should really appreciate the improved performance and energy-efficiency that AMD is touting in this APU family. If the company prices the hardware right, it may prove very popular. I will be monitoring this new AMD tech very closely, and look forward trying a laptop that is powered by it when it launches in the first half of next year. Hell, I would love to see it in some tiny Mini-ITX desktop systems too.

Are you excited for Carrizo? Tell me in the comments.
Symantec uncovers Regin, a highly advanced stealth spying tool developed by a nation state

Publié: novembre 23, 2014, 7:53pm CET par Mark Wilson

Security firm Symantec has released details of an advanced cyberespionage it has discovered. Called Regin, the backdoor Trojan is described as having a structure that "displays a degree of technical competence rarely seen". Symantec goes as far as saying that the levels of resources required to create such a highly advanced tool indicate that it was created by a nation state -- although there is no suggestion about who it might be.

The report says that Regin has already been used in mass surveillance programs not by but against government organizations. Symantec estimates that the tool may have been years in development, as it delivers multi-stage attacks, and great lengths are taken to hide each stage. The framework was designed to facilitate long-term surveillance, and the concealment techniques used make Regin difficult to fully understand.

Symantec has published a full white paper about Regin, but gives an overview of the capabilities and threats posed by the malware in a blog post. It seems that the malware has been active since 2008, and a new version was developed in 2013 and a modular approach -- similar to that used by the Flamer and Weevil malware -- makes it easy to tailor attacks to individual targets. Roughly half of infections have been private individuals, but a large proportion are more worrying targets such as telecoms and government agencies.

Strong language is used in Symantec's white paper to refer to Regin:

In the world of malware threats, only a few rare examples can truly be considered groundbreaking and almost peerless. What we have seen in Regin is just such a class of malware. Regin is an extremely complex piece of software that can be customized with a wide range of different capabilities which can be deployed depending on the target. It is built on a framework that is designed to sustain long-term intelligence-gathering operations by remaining under the radar. It goes to extraordinary lengths to conceal itself and its activities on compromised computers. Its stealth combines many of the most advanced techniques that we have ever seen in use.

The capabilities of Regin are concerning to say the least. Password monitoring, remote access, recording of calls (more than a quarter of infections affected telecom backbones), and intercepting email are enough to break any sys admin out in a sweat, but it is the difficulty in detecting the malware that is perhaps the greatest cause for alarm. Once a system is infected with Regin, there is a six stage process that takes place. Every stage is carefully encrypted to hide traces of activity:

The initial Stage 1 driver is the only plainly visible code on the computer. All other stages are stored as encrypted data blobs, as a file or within a non-traditional file storage area such as the registry, extended attributes, or raw sectors at the end of disk.

Full details of each of the stages is provided in the white paper in which Symantec draws comparison with the Stuxnet/Duqu family of malware. The impact that Regin has had, and will continue to have, is difficult to determine but the report points out that the discovery serves as an important reminder that investments are still being made in global surveillance software:

The discovery of Regin serves to highlight how significant investments continue to be made into the development of tools for use in intelligence gathering. Many components of Regin have still gone undiscovered and additional functionality and versions may exist.

You can read the full report on the Symantec blog.

Photo credit: Andrea Danti / Shutterstock
Apple and Microsoft both appear in TIME's best inventions of 2014

Publié: novembre 23, 2014, 6:07pm CET par Mark Wilson

It's the time of year -- no pun intended -- when websites and magazines start to reflect over the year that has passed. As we reach the closing stages of 2014, TIME has taken a look back at the preceding months and picked out its highlights from the world of innovation in its annual collection of "the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun".

There may not be quite the same importance placed on TIME's favorite inventions as its annual person of the year award, but it makes for interesting reading nonetheless. With a print circulation running into millions, it's a publication that holds some influence across swathes of America. Apple and Microsoft make appearances in the list, but there are a few surprise inclusions from the world of tech as well.

Let's get the more obvious inclusions out of the way straight away: Apple and Microsoft. TIME and Apple already have something of a relationship, as the iPad and iPhone versions of the magazine are available free of charge. That in mind the inclusion of the yet-to-be-released Apple Watch is perhaps not entirely surprising. Apple's entry into the smartwatch market is singled out as it "wholly reimagines the computer for the wrist, using a novel interface that combines a touchscreen and physical buttons".

While the Apple Watch neatly falls into the category of invention by virtue of being brand new, the same can’t necessarily be said for the Surface Pro 3. The third generation laptop/tablet hybrid from Microsoft is described by TIME as "more suitable than other tablets for professionals like doctors and businesspeople". While the Surface Pro 3 itself may not be a completely new invention, the redesigned kickstand that overcame many of the problems from the previous two versions could easily be described thus.

One thing stands out about the tech inclusions in TIME's list -- there is a string focus on mobile tech and portability. When it comes to wearables, the Apple Watch is not the only entry; there's also Ringly. This NFC wearable links to a phone to provide notifications about emails, text messages and the like. The mobile theme continues with the Blackphone. Privacy and security concerns are felt around the world of tech as well as in the world at large, and TIME believes that the privacy-focused cell phone -- with security features that would make even Snowdenophiles drool -- is one of the best things to come out of the last 12 months.

An odd inclusion in the list is 3D printing. 2014 could be considered the year that 3D printing exploded in popularity as printers fell into a more affordable price bracket, but it's hard to consider it as an invention of 2014. No "best of" list would be complete without at least one comedy entry, and in this list this accolade goes to the selfie stick. An essential piece of kit for anyone looking to take a selfie from the most flattering angle, the selfie stick is likely to feature highly on the list of popular stocking stuffers this year.

Moving, somewhat, away from mobile devices -- although there are certainly applications here -- TIME gives props to wireless electricity. We've already seen this in its early stages in the form of wireless charge pads for phones and tablets, but if WiTricity gets its way, there's a great deal more to come. We're already getting to the stage where contact with a charging plate is no longer needed, so wireless charging could become as untethered as Wi-Fi. Well ... with a range of a few feet anyway.

The list is something of a mixbag of old and new, product evolution and the genuinely innovative. This could be a reflection of the fragmented tech market that exists more than being a reflection of TIME's peculiarly eclectic taste.

Are your tech favorites on the list, or do you think there have been a few oversights?

Photo credit: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock
Frank Lantz -- Director of Logitech's 'Together We Game' project [Q&A]

Publié: novembre 23, 2014, 2:40pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Video games are currently a wildly popular entertainment medium for all ages, but earlier perceptions were that they are only for children. You see, in the early days of video games, they were viewed as somewhat of a toy; appropriate for young people. Guess what happened? Those children and teens grew up, but they did not grow out of playing the games. More importantly, some of them grew up to become game developers.

Sadly, not all of us could become developers -- the world needed boring and mindless jobs to be filled too. With that said, earlier this year, Logitech launched 'Together We Game' -- a crowdsourced video game project, where anyone on the internet can contribute and vote on ideas for the development of a tower defense video game. In other words, for those of us that never got to make our own game, Logitech is empowering us to get involved with one. BetaNews recently had the opportunity to ask Frank Lantz, director of the project, some questions.

BN: Tell me about your background in computers and programming.

FL: I’ve been a game designer for almost 20 years, and have been teaching game design for most of that time. Most of my work has been around experimental games, coming up with new kinds of gameplay, new types of experiences. I did a lot of work in real-world gaming, in games that took place in public space, games that blended the real and the virtual, games that involved large-scale social interaction. I started a studio; we ended up working on Facebook games and eventually got acquired by a big social game company. One of our best-known games is an iPhone game called Drop7, that’s probably my biggest claim to fame.

BN: How did you become involved with Logitech and Together We Game?

FL: Logitech had the idea to do a big crowd-sourced game project, and they reached out to me to help guide the project, and to Nik Mikros and Tiny Mantis to lead the actual development.

BN: What will determine if the project is a success?

FL: For me, the most important thing is that the process is genuinely open and inclusive, that it’s fun and interesting for everyone involved. Secondly, we’re hoping the final game turns out good. We want it to be accessible, easy to play, but also deep, something worth spending some time with. And we want it to have some interesting and original ideas that reflect the experimental design process and the creativity of the individual people involved.

BN: How has the response been from the gaming community?

FL: Great, they've been very enthusiastic.

BN: Did you get a lot of feedback during voting?

FL: Since launch, we’ve had more than 11,000 votes and 220 contributors to our subreddit, thus far. Voting opens up each time we begin a new phase of design, which happens weekly. We’ve also hosted Google Hangouts and reddit AMAs to open up conversation at key phases along the way. Some people regularly contribute and others chime in here and there, so I would say that we have a central, hardcore group of about 200 people and then a few thousand others who are more casually involved.

BN: Are you happy that it ended up being tower defense?

FL: Tower defense is a great genre because it can be very simple and accessible, and at the same time it can have some genuinely deep, challenging gameplay. That’s important for us because we want the final game to be easy to play and broadly accessible, but also interesting and compelling.

BN: What was the biggest hurdle that you encountered?

FL: One of the problems is fitting the open-ended, chaotic, organic process of game design into a more regular structure to allow for ongoing community input.

BN: In what ways did Logitech support the project?

FL: Logitech has provided the platform and resources to create the game, helped set up and organize the overall structure, run the voting, that sort of thing.

BN: When should the game be complete? Will it continue to get updates after release?

FL: The current plan is to release the game in January 2015, and keep voting and feedback lines open on reddit after the game goes live. We want to continue to engage the gaming community, get reactions and feedback.

BN: On which platforms will the game be made available?

FL: The game will be available for iOS, and potentially for Android at a later date.

BN: Will the project be released as open source?

FL: We haven’t decided yet.

BN: Will beginners be able to enjoy the game?

FL: Yes, absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, we want it to be both accessible and deep.

BN: What is your favorite video game of all time?

FL: Rhythm Tengoku.

BN: Would you ever do a crowdsourced video game again?

FL: I don’t know, let’s put it to a vote!

BN: Do you hope to work with Logitech again?

FL: Sure. I love that a large global brand like Logitech is willing to try something kind of weird and risky. They’ve been a great collaborator. They let me and the team at Tiny Mantis engage directly with the community and trusted our direction. I’d definitely work with Logitech again in the future.

Photo Credit: Kevin Cancienne