Category : Computer
According to new data from consumer electronics company Retrevo, iPads might be putting a significant dent in netbook sales. Tablets in general are newer, sexier and sleeker than netbooks, their hardworking if relatively old-school counterparts. When iPads were announced, many consumers put off their netbook purchase plans in order to try out and consider buying an iPad instead. And for folks currently considering a smaller, portable computer, an overwhelming majority are leaning more toward iPads. That being said, laptops are also holding a steady lead in the portable computer market. In the past year and the current year, 65% of consumers who had to choose between a netbook and a laptop went for the latter in the end. If you had to choose between a laptop, a netbook and an iPad, which way would you lean, and why? Do you think netbook sales will suffer further when non-Apple tablets are released? For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: apple , ipad , netbook , sales
As an avid user and supporter of Boxee for my HTPC needs, the announcement of Google TV left me wondering how I was going to be able to combine both the best interface for an HTPC hands down with my beloved Android platform. The guys over at Boxee are WAY ahead of me it turns out! A blogger over at the Candler Blog had an email conversation with Andrew Kippen of Boxee, asking him what he thought about the announcement of Google TV, and the implications it might have for Boxee. The following is Andrew’s response taken from said article: We obviously followed the [GoogleTV] announcement and the demo. We think that it would be great to see an open OS such as Android gain market share in the living room. It would enable users to download Boxee on their TV (we will be building an Android-based App) and start using it without the hassle of connecting their computer to the TV. We have somewhat of a different view of browsing the web on TV. While it was a big part of the Google Demo we believe browsing the web as-is makes more sense on laptops and mobile devices (due to their personal nature, the screen size and the input device) than it does on TV. We look forward to playing with the TV and working with them to bringing Boxee to Android devices. You read correctly. if there’s a TV platform running on TVs that can deliver a great Boxee experience then we want to be there. That means we’re looking at developing an Android App version of Boxee for the upcoming Google TV . [emphasis added] I wanted to make sure I read that correctly. I’ve heard they are working on an Android remote app similar to the one they have on the iPhone, but this sounds like something different: You read correctly. if there’s a TV platform running on TVs that can deliver a great Boxee experience then we want to be there. That means we’re looking at developing an Android App version of Boxee for the upcoming Google TV . [emphasis added] It will be interesting to see what this Boxee app is going to look like. It sounds like Boxee is going to leverage the Sony TV’s that are going to have Android built into them so people can run thier Boxee app without any computer necessary. This would be a major step forward for Boxee, and sounds like an incredible idea to capitalize on all the risk that Google is taking with Google TV, at no risk to themselves. I am getting more and more excited about Google TV, especially as I see useful, practical applications being thought about. Stay tuned for more details as they come out. Might We Suggest… Google TV Coming to a Set Top Near You! Google is reportedly teaming up with Sony and Intel to create a set top box based on the Android OS to bring home viewers rich web content via Android like apps right on their TV screen….
Computerworld New Zealand McAfee to acquire Trust Digital for smartphone security SearchSecurity.com It supports iPhone OS, Android , Web OS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian operating systems.The software is set up to work with Microsoft Active Directory to … McAfee to buy smartphone management vendor Trust Digital NetworkWorld.com all 131 news articles
As Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign comes to a close , it’s the end of an era for a series that not only became Adweek’s “ Ad Campaign of the Decade ,” but also became part of the public consciousness. Whether you’re a right clicka, or a MacBook flippa, we think you’ll enjoy our humorous collection of the best spoofs spawned from the four-year ad campaign. Let’s just hope Apple’s next Mac-verts are as ripe with humor as this series was. We’ve already rounded up the best of the Apple-produced ads and brought you a tribute . Here’s a look at the best parodies and spoofs. 1. Novell “Get a Mac Spoof” Novell created three spoofs for its BrainShare conference back in 2007 and introduced a third character: The smart, attractive and — gasp! — female Linux, to the mix. 2. “South Park Mac vs PC” Created as the final project for a multimedia production class at California State University Northridge using South Park-ified versions of the ad characters, this amusing spoof has racked up a whopping 15 million YouTube views. Hit play to see why. 3. Mac Spoof: “OS” This video from the TrueNuff comedy group is part of a series of sketches on the “Get a Mac” theme, taking a look at the darker side of computer ownership — in this instance, a Mac’s lack of “upgradability.” 4. “I Hate Mac” Ads Another twist on the original here with some funny animation (Mac: “I’m the cool one, PC’s the dumb one”) in which we learn Macs are better because they’re shinier. Choice quotes include PC’s great line: “Stop looking at me with your stupid face.” 5. “Mac or PC” Rap Music Video The Pantless Knights do here what they do best — comedic songs — with a musical take on Apple’s ad format. Genius lyrics and a catchy tune make this an instant classic in the ages-old Mac versus PC war. “No fight gets bigga,” apparently. 6. “Hi. I’m a Mac.” Greenpeace Apple Parody While some of the claims are almost certainly outdated now, it was a clever move for Greenpeace to use Apple’s own ad format to raise awareness of the nasties that go into computer manufacturing. 7. “Apple Mac vs PC” Spoof Ad NeoFight also created a mini-series of “Get a Mac” parodies with this installment highlighting PC’s stronger productivity skills and gaming abilities. Well, it was made in 2006. 8. PC vs Mac — “Money” PC comes out on top in this spoof which sees Mac as a hip but dumb guy who can be easily fooled by a little bit of spreadsheet manipulation. 9. “Mac Vs PC Overdub” This super-simple clip uses footage from the original ads and delivers the message that “computers suck” regardless of OS. Maybe they’ve got a point… 10. “PC vs Mac Fight” This doesn’t follow the format of the ads, but it uses the characters, and it’s so funny we thought we could get away with including it. Mac and PC battle away, video game style, with some brilliant OS icon weaponry. It’s worth watching if just for the clever character selection at the start. For more web video coverage, follow Mashable Web Video on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook More YouTube resources from Mashable: –
Aza Raskin, the creative lead for Firefox, has just posted about a new type of potential phishing attack , dubbed “tabnabbing.” Raskin has a proof-of-concept and an explanation for how this type of attack could work. Tabnabbing operates in reverse of most phishing attacks in that it doesn’t ask users to click on a obfuscated link but instead loads a fake page in one of the open tabs in your browser. Check out this tabnabbing scenario: You have a bunch of open tabs in your web browser, an e-mail page, Facebook, your bank account and maybe a bunch of news sites. While you’re reading your favorite Mashable.com content, the attack is able to hone in on tabs that haven’t been used or aren’t in focus and replace the favicon (the icon in your tab bar) and the title of the tab. When you click on that tab, a fake page is loaded in its place, maybe it is loaded to look like a standard login page. Because you already had this tab open legitimately before, you don’t bother paying any attention to the URL in the address bar and you enter in your login information. You’ve just sent your info to a nefarious third party. Raskin shows off how this works in this video: Pretty scary, right? Raskin details some methods that could make this sort of attack even more insidious, including checking to see if a user is currently logged in or out of a certain site in order to better offer up a believable fake page. How would this attack get on your system to begin with, you might ask? Plugins and add-ons are the most common way that intruders can gain access to your system. Client-side script injections by way of JavaScript, Flash, ActiveX and so on are responsible for many browser attacks. This is just one more reason to always make sure you’re using an up-to-date web browser. The Fix Raskin’s proof of concept is scary, but it isn’t fool proof. This is what you can do to keep yourself safe from these types of attacks: Keep your web browser up-to-date. Also make sure that plugins and extensions are up-to-date and from trusted sources. If you’re a Windows user, make sure you have anti-virus or anti-malware software on your computer Pay attention to the address in your browser’s toolbar, especially when it comes to login pages. It’s easy to get into muscle-memory mode and just assume that a tab is unchanged, but for important user accounts, keep an eye on that location bar. Consider using some sort of password management tool. Raskin points to the Firefox Account Manager as one method of using the browser for your identity manager, but plugins and tools like 1Password are good choices too. Rather than typing in user names and passwords individually, using an identity manager that compares the site you are on against the stored data in its database (making sure the addresses and DNS addresses matchup) will prevent you from entering in information into a false site. As of right now, this is not an attack that is out in the wild — it’s a proof of concept. However, tabnabbing does illustrate some of the ways that users can have information compromised by way of indirect attacks. For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: Browsers , phishing , security , tabnabbing
Google has just dispatched a new stable release for its Chrome web browser, this time for Mac and Linux as well as Windows. Some of the new features in the newest version of Google Chrome for Mac include the ability to sync bookmarks and browser settings across computers. The latest build also includes the speed improvements demonstrated in a very cool video earlier this month. If you’re already running the beta or stable versions of Chrome for Mac, your browser will automatically upgrade to the latest version of the stable release. If you want to re-join the beta channel (now in version six) to experience new features as they come down the pipe, you can do that by going to the Chrome Beta landing page . A longtime Safari user, I have found myself using Google Chrome more and more since the latest beta release. With the new stable build, my default browser might finally get a replacement. What do you think of Google Chrome for Mac? Let us know! [img src: Christopher Niemann ] For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: google chrome , Linux , mac software , software , web browsers
The Dell Streak , a miniature tablet computer that runs a version of the Google Android smartphone operating system, launches in the UK early next month, followed by releases in the U.S. and the rest of the Europe later in the summer. Apple broke the dam by launching the iPad , so now we’re seeing lots of competing tablets show up. We’ve known that a Dell tablet has been coming for some months now. These devices should be easier to use on the go in your busy lifestyle than laptops with keyboards — in theory, anyway. The Streak will run Android 2.2 later this year, and with that upgrade will come Adobe Flash 10.2 support . Features and Specs The device has a 5-inch screen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, and Dell has modified Android to take advantage of the additional screen space. For example, the notifications tray displays types of notifications that don’t show up on most Android smartphones. The Streak can be used to surf the web, run Android apps, play music and videos and make phone calls, though it’s quite a bit larger than most phones. You don’t have to hold it up to your ear, though; you can use a 3.5mm jack or Bluetooth to connect a headset. Other features include multi-touch (pinch-to-zoom is supported), GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera and a VGA front-facing camera for video chat functionality “down the road.” Up to 32 GB of storage is supported. Demonstration Video Here’s a video demonstration straight from Dell. Unfortunately, it doesn’t radiate either hipness or accessibility. Dell will have to roll out some better marketing in the future if it wants this device to find mainstream success. Images For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: android , dell , dell streak , Tablet
Afgelopen vrijdag lanceerde Google een wel hele leuke primeur om de verjaardag van computergame Pac Man te vieren: een speelbare versie van het spel in het logo. Harstikke leuk natuurlijk, zo’n interactieve doodle op de homepage van ’s-werelds mee……
Australia’s communications minister Stephen Conroy isn’t happy with Google’s latest privacy blunders. He called Google’s privacy policy “a bit creepy;” specifically, he said that the recent incident, where Google was caught collecting private wireless data, was the “single greatest breach in the history of privacy.” Google has apologized for collecting WiFi data from private households, and deleted all the data in its posession. Furthermore, Google claims that the entire incident was a mistake. “In 2006 an engineer working on an experimental WiFi project wrote a piece of code that sampled all categories of publicly broadcast WiFi data. A year later, when our mobile team started a project to collect basic WiFi network data like SSID information and MAC addresses using Google’s Street View cars, they included that code in their software—although the project leaders did not want, and had no intention of using, payload data,” Google wrote in a blog post . Stephen Conroy doesn’t buy that explanation. “It was actually quite deliberate… The computer program that collected it was designed to collect this information,” he said. Conroy’s accusations stem from the fact that Google criticized Australian Government’s plan, spearheaded by Conroy, to apply a nation-wide Internet filter . “They consider that they are the appropriate people to make the decisions about people’s privacy data,” Conroy said, adding a jab or two at everyone’s favorite target when it comes to privacy issues, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook, Conroy said, is “corporate giant who is answerable to no one and motivated solely by profit”. It’s true; handling over our privacy to private corporations, primarily motivated by profit, is dangerous. However, who can say that governments are any better than private corporations? One needn’t look further than China, whose policy of censoring Internet content created a rift between Google and the world’s most populous country. While governments and big corporations fight for the right to “protect” people’s privacy, for the rest of us it feels like being between a rock and a hard place. Images courtesy of iStockphoto , gulfix For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Google , Internet , Twitter , iStockphoto Tags: australia , Google , privacy
BoxTone launches tool for single management view of mobile devices Computerworld It has more than 200 customers, including banks, and its tools are used to mange more than 500000 mobile users, said Brian Reed, chief marketing officer at … and more
