Computer Industry: Apple has set up a secret office in Berlin to 'cherrypick' mapping engineers from HERE

Apple has hired at least half a dozen employees from Here for a Berlin-based Apple Maps team, according to LinkedIn, but the true figure is likely to be somewhat higher.

A source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Apple strategically moved in on Here's talent as the mapping company was passed from Nokia to Microsoft to the German automotive group.

"It's a simple story: Here was in disarray after Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia," said the source, who works in the Berlin tech scene. "Apple saw the opportunity and opened an office in Berlin, specifically to siphon Geo Information Systems (GIS) talent."

The person added: "Three people independently complained to me that Apple opened an office in Berlin specifically to cherrypick at Here." This claim was backed up by another source on the ground in Berlin.

Here, which provides mapping data, software and services to the automotive, consumer and enterprise sectors, was "bleeding talent" as Microsoft's deal with the German car consortium went through, the source said. "Things are getting a bit better now, but GIS talent is rare."

Read more: Apple has set up a secret office in Berlin to 'cherrypick' mapping engineers from Here

Microsoft: Windows 10 Downloads = Microsoft Update Silently Steals Gigabytes Of Storage Space - by Mke Brown

Microsoft has confirmed that it downloads Windows 10 files to computers just in case users decide to upgrade. The company wants to make the migration to Win10 as efficient as possible, but the files take up somewhere between 3.5 to 6GB of disk space.

The situation was first reported by an anonymous reader at The Inquirer, who found the "~BT" folder used for storing copies of Windows 10 had appeared on his system, despite the user not expressing any interest in upgrading.

"I know of two instances where people on metered connections went over their data cap for August because of this unwanted download," he said. "My own Internet (slow DSL) was crawling for a week or so until I discovered this problem."

Microsoft confirmed the problem in a statement to the publication. "For individuals who have chosen to receive automatic updates through Windows Update, we help upgradable devices get ready for Windows 10 by downloading the files they’ll need if they decide to upgrade," the statement read.

Read more: Windows 10 Downloads Secretly Onto PCs: Microsoft Update Silently Steals Gigabytes Of Storage Space

Spying is bad for business: NSA spying caused 9 percent of foreign firms to dump U.S. clouds - by Mike Wheatley

In the weeks following Edward Snowden’s revelations of the NSA’s massive web surveillance program PRISM, speculation was raised about the negative implications it could have on U.S. cloud companies.

Now, Forrester Research has taken the time to see just what kind of impact it has had, asking a host of foreign firms whether or not PRISM has caused them to scale back their spending on U.S. cloud services, and the answer makes for some uneasy reading.

A total of 1,668 non-U.S. business technology decision makers were quizzed in Forrester’s survey. The exact question asked was “In the past year, has your company explicitly halted or reduced your spending with US-based companies for Internet-based services (e.g., cloud, online service/outsourcing) due to these security concerns?”, with 26 percent of respondents answering in the affirmative.

Forrester followed up by asking the 427 who said yes what their reasons for doing so were, and found that 34 percent cited “fear of the intelligence community spying”. A quick sum of the math shows that 9 percent of foreign firms have therefore ditched U.S. cloud companies due to the NSA, not an insignificant number by any means, despite The Register’s insistence that “Snowden didn’t scare off many”.

It’s worth nothing that the respondents held, on average, only about a third of their company data in U.S. clouds anyway, so their decision to pull out may not be as significant as it first seems. But even so, U.S. cloud firms will still want to take notice of the survey, which indicates that most foreign companies simply don’t trust them all that much anyway, irrespective of the NSA. In total, 53 percent of respondents said they would not trust any of their critical data with a U.S. cloud company, end of story.

Read more: NSA spying caused 9 percent of foreign firms to dump U.S. clouds | SiliconANGLE

Personal Privacy: Google Glass targeted as symbol by anti-tech crowd - Doug Gross

Glass, Google's high-profile entry into the world of wearable tech, may help launch a revolution if it's released later this year as expected. But test models already on the street have begun playing a more unlikely role -- as symbols in a simmering fight over Silicon Valley's impact on the city of San Francisco.

It's a local story, but one with ramifications everywhere as Google on Tuesday made the connected headsets available to the public for the first time in a one-day sale.

While our smartphones drop easily into pockets and tablets get zipped up in cases or backpacks, wearables such as Glass are, quite literally, in your face all the time.

The $1,500 device, which displays Web content on a tiny screen, signals its wearer as a likely member of an affluent tech elite. And Glass also can discreetly shoot photos or video, which some people view as invasive.

Recently, protesters picketed in front of the private home of Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg and now a partner with Google Ventures. The protesters, who posted signs calling Rose a "parasite," claimed his group, which helps Google decide which startups to invest money in, has helped to inflate prices in the city.

Read more: Google Glass targeted as symbol by anti-tech crowd - CNN.com

Big Brother? - Google's East Coast Barge Program has Been Sunk - by Shaun Fitzgerald

When Google anchored the two mysterious barges full of shipping containers in San Francisco California and Portland Maine the conspiracy theorist had a field day!  Everyone wanted to know what Google could be up to with their newest additions to the family.  Speculations ranged from a floating data center to a testing facility that is building robots to take over the west coast.

The speculation and theorizing about what the four storied floating structures consisting of 63 shipping containers can probably come to an end.  It is being reported that the east coast barge in Portland has been sold for an undisclosed amount to an unnamed shipping company.  Once the sale is complete the Barge is scheduled to be disassembled, sold for scrap, and then sailed over seas.

The Portland Barge was originally constructed in Connecticut and was moved to Maine where the interior was scheduled to be created.  The eventual plan was to have the east coast barge moved to the New York City harbor where it would be used in tandem with it’s San Francisco counterpart to teach people about Google’s newest technologies like Google Glass.

Why the Barge Project has been abandoned in Portland is unclear but it looks like there has been issues on both coasts.  In March 2014 the San Francisco Barge had to be towed from the Bay due to permitting issues.  Currently the west coast floating showroom is docked in Stockton California where it has sat untouched since it’s arrival.

Whatever the original intention for the Barge program was it looks as if Google has decided to go in a different direction.  Whether this change is a result of the Google Glass backlash or just another scrapped Google project is not clear.

One thing for sure is that there will continue to be a Google owned barge floating just outside of San Francisco so if you are a conspiracy theorist you might want to stay prepared for that Google lead “I-robot” style invasion!

Read more: Google's East Coast Barge Program has Been Sunk | Androidheadlines.com

Computer Industry: Slumping Intel to cut over 5,000 jobs

San Francisco US chip giant Intel said Friday it will trim its workforce by five percent this year as it shifts from personal computers to powering mobile gadgets. Word of the job cuts came a day after Intel reported that its net profit last year sank 13 percent but that the troubled personal computer market appeared to be stabilizing. Intel shares remained around the closing price of $25.85 in after-market trades.

"We do expect employment to come down by about five percent by the end of the year", Intel spokesman Chris Kraeuter told AFP. It is something we regularly do to make sure that the people we have match up with our priorities. Kraeuter said California-based Intel ended last year with 107,600 workers. He declined to disclose which positions or locations would be targeted for cuts. 

Read more: Slumping Intel to cut over 5,000 jobs; Business News

The Netherlands:Apple plans data centre in north Netherlands

Apple plans to build a data centre in the Dutch town of Eemshaven, reports Dagblad van het Noorden. Google already operates a data centre in the northern town since 2008. The site offers access to a trans-Atlantic cable and a local energy supply, while also being above sea level, protecting it from eventual flooding in the country.

Read more: Apple plans data centre in north Netherlands - Telecompaper

Computer Industry Tablet: Ematic Unveils bargain priced 7” Tablet with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean system

Ematic launches the Genesis Prime, its first-ever Google-certified tablet which is designed for users on-the-go. It weighs only 268 grams (0.59lbs) and is not a burden on your pockets.

The features of the device are quite good for an $80 budget. This device is also ideal to use while travelling as it won’t burn a hole in your pocket if lost or damaged. This device also can be gifted to children as their purpose of playing games and reading books is solved by the Genesis Prime.

Read more about the specs: Ematic Unveils 7” Tablet with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for $79.99 | Gigjets

Computer Industry: Hungary govt, Microsoft enter strategic cooperation deal

Hungary’s government and the local unit of Microsoft entered into a strategic cooperation agreement on 12 December, writes local online publication Portfolio.hu citing Peter Szijjarto, state secretary for foreign policy and economy at the Prime Minister's Office. The deal was signed by Peter Szijjarto and CEO of Microsoft Hungary Istvan Papp at the headquarters of Microsoft Hungary in Budapest.

The move is part of the Government's plan to sign some 40 strategic cooperation agreements in the near future in order to make mostly foreign-owned and export-focused companies feel more at home and in a predictable environment.

At the signing ceremony, Szijjarto said that having a strong info-communication and technological sector is of utmost importance for Hungary's competitiveness. The government is paying extra attention to supporting R&D and co-operating with large enterprises, Szijjarto added.

By teaming up with Microsoft, the government will bring to life a national digital public education portal and the digital home programme. The negotiations between the two parties concerning this digital home programme are in an advanced stage.

 Read more: Hungary govt, Microsoft enter strategic cooperation deal - Telecompaper

EU antitrust regulators investigate Microsoft - by Don Melvin

The European Union's executive body, the European Commission, announced Tuesday that it was opening an investigation into whether Microsoft has kept the antitrust commitments it made in 2009, and warned that penalties for non-compliance would be “severe.”

Microsoft conceded it had “fallen short” of its obligation to provide the “browser choice screen,” or BCS. The screen would allow users of Microsoft's Windows operating systems to select a browser other than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters it appeared that the choice screen, promised by Microsoft in 2009 following an antitrust case, has not been provided since February, 2011, meaning 28 million customers who should have seen it may have not.

Microsoft submitted a report to the Commission in December asserting that the browser choice screen was being provided as required. In its statement Tuesday, the company said it believed at the time that was the case.

Read more: EU antitrust regulators investigate Microsoft - The Globe and Mail

Tablet technology: Next tablet class will push the edge of science fiction by making them foldable

The next generation of tablet technology could feature paper-thin screens that can be folded and tucked into your back pocket, artificial intelligence and augmented reality – the stuff of science fiction may be coming to a store near you.

“We should think beyond just the touch-screen device,” said Lin Zhong, a professor at Rice University who does research on mobile systems. “Why do we have to hold tablets, carry many displays? We should think about wearable computers.”

Some researchers are experimenting with wearable devices, such as Google Glass, a stamp-sized electronic screen mounted on eyeglass frames to record video, access email and surf the Web. Others, like Microsoft, are investigating the use of 3D cameras to create images that pop up when a person calls. Samsung has a concept video that shows a bendable, transparent 3D smartphone-hybrid tablet that can also be used as a real-time interpreter.

Read more: Next tablet class will push the edge of science fiction - The Globe and Mail

Computer programs: Windows 8: what's the difference between Windows 8 & Windows 7?

We now know that Windows 8 will launch in October, in both its X86 and ARM Windows RT flavours. And we expect Windows Phone 8 and the Microsoft Surface tablet to launch at around the same time.

If you are looking to upgrade your smartphone or tablet, then, Windows 8 will offer a very different alternative to Android, iOS and the rest. But what about the majority of the world's one billion Windows users, who are running X86 Windows PCs and laptops?

The most immediate and fundamental difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8 is the main interface. Although the Desktop view is similar to traditional Windows, most of the time you'll be interacting with Windows 8's Metro interface - and boy will you notice the difference. The Metro interface is the default home screen for Windows 8, and features a series of colourful tiles, each offering access to a discrete application. Each offers live information, so you can see how many emails are in your inbox, for example, without having to open an application. You can customize your device's Metro interface, adding for instance access apps, web pages, images and even people - or at least their picture, contact details and your combined communication.

The Metro interface looks and feels like a smartphone or tablet OS, and following that theme is the inclusion of the Windows Store in Windows 8. This online shopfront is stuffed full of Windows apps - each designed to run on x86 Windows PCs, laptops and tablets, as well as ARM tablets and smartphones. Windows 8 apps follow the same design principle as Metro - being constructed of cascading live tiles of information, in primary colours. They all have social networking capabilities baked in as standard, and follow the same principles of interface, so that there is no real learning curve when starting to use a new app.

Read more: Windows 7 vs Windows 8: what's the difference between Windows 8 & Windows 7? - PC Advisor

Computer Industry: Tiny British inexpensive euro 27 Raspberry Pi computer becomes instant hit

A tiny British euro 27 (US $35) Raspberry Pi computer went on sale yesterday and just about immediately crashed its distributors' websites selling out the device within hours of its launch.

It's British-based designers at the Raspberry Pi Foundation hope the computer, which has been in the works for six years, will spark new interest in programming among children. "The primary goal was to build a low cost computer that every child could own, and one where programming was the natural thing to do with it," said co-founder Robert Mullins.

The computer's miniature uncased circuit board is crowded with an Ethernet connection for the internet, two USB ports and an SD card port for memory. The Raspberry Pi is powered by a standard USB mobile charger. Looking a little more than a credit card-sized chip of circuit board, the powerful, fully-programmable PC can plug into any TV and can power 3D graphics and Blu-ray video playback. The low-cost computer runs a free, open-source Linux operating system and does not include a monitor or keyboard.

The company gets its first batch of devices from China next week and the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity, limited sales to one per customer to avoid scalpers and to “get to as many people as possible,”  it said on Twitter. The British creators, made up of academics and industry experts , would like to see one of these in the hands of every kid, and there’s strong potential for that to happen. Thanks the price tag: euro 27 (US35) for the current version, and later this year an even cheaper model, for just euro 19  (about $25).

EU-Digest

Computer Industry: Steve Jobs Dead: 5 Ways His Legacy Changed the World - by Maggie Astor

Today, the term "PC" refers to computers that run on Intel processors and use Windows software -- in other words, pretty much every computer that isn't a Mac. But when the term was first coined, it simply stood for "personal computer." The first Mac computers were known as PCs, because they were computers designed to be used by individuals -- and the Apple II series, designed by Steve Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was in fact the first widely successful PC. Today's computers may be classified as "PC" or "Mac," but they all evolved from the original PC prototype -- and we have Steve Jobs to thank for that.

He made PCs before they were PCs.
He made computers simple.
He made advertising innovative.
He turned technology into art.
He connected every aspect of our lives.

For more: Steve Jobs Dead: 5 Ways His Legacy Changed the World - International Business Times

Which is Greener: Paper or Digital? The Answer May Surprise You

Even though my brain is infused with a little too many toner particles, the Doc assumes that anything we can do to reduce paper consumption is good for the planet. But what about the significant impact of digital waste?

For a fascinating read, take a look at this interview with Don Carli, the Doc’s good friend and Executive Vice President of SustainCommWorld LLC and Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Sustainable Communication.

Here’s one highlights from Don's report: “Making a computer typically requires the mining and refining of dozens of minerals and metals including gold, silver, and palladium as well as extensive use of plastics and hydrocarbon solvents. To function, digital devices require a constant flow of electrons that predominately come from the combustion of coal, and at the end of their all-too-short useful lives electronics have become the single largest stream of toxic waste created by man. Until recently, there was little, if any, voluntary disclosure of the lifecycle ‘backstory’ of digital media.”

For more: Which is Greener: Paper or Digital? The Answer May Surprise You | The DocuMentor | ZDNet.com

Chicago Tribune: Open Source Software: Free software can pay off in savings and performance - by Gregory Karp

For the complete report from the chicagotribune.com click on this link

Open Source Software: Free software can pay off in savings and performance - by Gregory Karp

If there's one price everyone can get behind, it's free. While you sometimes get what you pay for, that's not always true with computer software. Some free programs are very high quality and even superior to paid software. Consumer Reports found free programs that "were on par with the best pay suites they tested." Review site Cnet.com calls the free suite Open Office "a credible rival to MS Office." You can save and read files in the common Microsoft formats, such as .doc. The interface is similar to older versions of MS Office. Besides writing and spreadsheet programs, it offers counterparts to Microsoft PowerPoint and the Access database program. Download it at openoffice.org. Savings: euro 75 to euro 300, depending on MS Office version.

PC Plus: Computer technology - Dissecting The Virus

For the complete report from PC Plus click on this link

Computer technology - Dissecting The Virus

All of us know the importance of having adequate antivirus protection before venturing online. But how exactly does a virus work? What makes viruses differ from worms, and how has the sophistication of both increased over the years? Ever since it started to develop alongside the first home computers, malware has become an increasingly virulent and ingenious threat. But that threat is evolving fast. Nowadays, it’s not only internet users who are at risk, but also website owners, whose poorly written web applications are being exploited and used to plant malicious code that infects others through the browser.

An emerging infection vector is the ‘SQL injection’, which can turn the tables by compromising websites to serve up malware to web browsers. It works because a fault on the website makes it possible to pass SQL statements directly to the back-end database. Last year’s Winzipices.cn worm used this form of attack. Using a bug in the MySQL database engine, it stored malicious JavaScript in over 500,000 websites. When read out again by a web browser, the code was executed. This redirected browsers through a sequence of sites to the Chinese phishing site www.winzipices.cn.

Information Week: Linux Wins The Security Showdown! Now What? - by Serdar Yegulalp

For the complete report from InformationWeek click on this link

Linux Wins The Security Showdown! Now What? - by Serdar Yegulalp

As Linux and open source in general become incrementally more popular with the broad mass of users weaned on closed source applications (whether they were designed with security-through-obscurity or actual code review or what have you), this is going to become critically important. If you have a package that was used by ten thousand people which suddenly gets used by seven hundred thousand, it becomes that much more of a target -- both for malice and incompetence.

EU-Digest: How can we get our children to "kick the habit" of electronic addiction and to being normal children again?

A special report on the excessive use of technological gadgets by teenagers

How can we get our children to "kick the habit" of electronic addiction and to being normal children again?

Alarmed by a study that said teens spend less time with books, which is helping to create a nation of poor readers, English teacher Brenda Durkacs at the Coral Springs High school in Florida challenged her students to step away from the computer keys for a full week as part of a project she began in November to get students to read, react and question.

During this project, she helped her class develop an awareness of technology's sometimes intrusive nature, pointing not just to the number of hours video games, text messaging or television can drain out of a day, but also to serious concerns about how technology can invade privacy.

Many students found it very hard to "kick the habit" because as one of them said "It just feels so natural to use technology for everything".

Brenda Durkacs got the idea last year when a friend e-mailed her an analysis from the National Endowment for the Arts. The study showed that as young people read less, their comprehension skills deteriorate. Part of the problem is that there are so many things vying for students' leisure time. Instead of picking up a book, students now turn on the computer, DVD player or iPod — maybe all three simultaneously, the study said.

As part of her program Brenda Durkacs had her students document every text-message, phone call and download they used for one week in November. During this exercise some students even found out they played Xbox, used the computer and watched the TV at least 10 hours if not more a day.

Soon Brenda Durkas got the class even more interested to abstain from using the electronic equipment after she made them read Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's science fiction novel, where books are burned, critical thought suppressed and television reigns supreme.

It was extremely difficult to for us to "kick-off" some of the students said, but despite their urges to check e-mail, they realized the benefits of occasionally disconnecting. Some students voluntarily deleted their MySpace accounts, put down their video games and turned off the television. Instead, they started playing football, soccer and other sports, but best of all many picked up reading again.

One student commented "If you can't read, then you can't write. And if you can't write, then you can't express yourself", as she looked up from a copy of 1984, the class' current assignment about the technological balance between personal privacy and state security.

In another assignment the students had to read George Orwell's novel about the peeping eye of "Big Brother". Following that assignment the students were told to chart the technology they could identify in their own local area, which was used to watch, spy and track them. Their lists quickly filled with items such as security cameras at the gym, toll-road transponders, ATM camera's, and personalized spam e-mails. As the program progressed the students also realized that they had been ignorant to the fact that all privacy is relative. Computer systems can match images caught by security cameras against digital mug shots of criminals. The ink from some color printers acts as a digital license plate, helping identify the machine. Some of them also heard for the first time that the US federal government and other countries in the world have secret wiretap programs.

For a generation of students who have been growing up on-line, logging off for a week seems almost impossible. Our hat goes off to salute Brenda Durkacs and her class of freshmen at Coral Springs High School in Florida. They managed to survive seven days of writing with ballpoint, pencils and paper, reading books, chatting face-to face and actually going outside to play. It is an example we should also follow in Europe, where the addiction of kids to electronic games and a host of other electronic gadgets has also gone totally out of control.

TMCnet: The Netherlands Adopts Open-Source Software - by Raju Shanbhag

For the complete report from TMCNet click on this link

The Netherlands Adopts Open-Source Software - by Raju Shanbhag

The Netherlands Economic Affairs Ministry has set a deadline of April 2008 for its agencies to start using open source software — a move signifying the nation’s push to embrace open software. The plan was approved unanimously at a meeting of two parliamentary commissions. The Netherlands government expects to save at least euro 6.09 million (US $ 8.8 million a year )on city housing registers alone after switching to open source. Microsoft has said it is worried about and opposed to the Netherlands government’s policy that its agencies should prefer only open source. Said Bos of Microsoft Netherlands: “We think it’s not in the best interest of the wider software market to single out one model for endorsement like this.”