Monday, February 25, 2013

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Chinese hackers strike EADS and ThyssenKrupp

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 03:10 AM PST

Aerospace EADS and German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp recorded major attacks by Chinese hackers in 2012, it has emerged. According to Der Spiegel, the efforts were part of a wider trend of increasingly significant cyber attacks targeting German companies.

EADS confirmed the attacks, telling Reuters that they were "standard attacks" and that the company is working closely with authorities to address the problem.

EADS is the parent company of Airbus and it is also one of the biggest defence contractors in Europe, responsible for projects such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurocopter Tiger and with strong ties to Dassault Aviation, makers of the Rafale fighter jet.

ThyssenKrupp also confirmed the attack, saying it took place in the US and originated from a Chinese internet address. The company did not say whether the hackers obtained any sensitive information.

ThyssenKrupp is one of Europe's biggest conglomerates, with operations spread out along 670 companies worldwide.

The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution recorded 1,100 cyber attacks from foreign secret services in 2012. Most attacks targeted politicians involved with energy and finance. 

Intel introduces dual-core Clover Trail+

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:41 AM PST

Intel has officially launched its next generation Clover Trail+ Atoms just in time for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Clover Trail+ comes as no surprise, as Intel already talked about it back at CES 2013. The platform is based on the same 32nm architecture as Medfield, but the new dual-cores come with new PowerVR SGX 544 graphics. The Z2580 is the fastest of the lot, clocked at 2GHz, while the Z2560 and Z2520 run at 1.6GHz and 1.2GHz respectively.

Intel still doesn't have an integrated LTE solution, but it has introduced a radio chip, capable of supporting 15 LTE bands along with HSPA+. Sadly though, the chip will ship with next generation 22nm SoCs, not Clover Trail+.

In fact, the Clover Trail+ rollout feels somewhat dull as it is practically a stopgap measure. Intel plans to transition to 22nm SoCs by the end of the year. Still, it clearly demonstrates Intel's commitment to mobile. The Clover Trail+ reference design features a Z2580 chip, 2GB of RAM, 1920x1200 screen and a 16-megapixel rear camera.

Intel is not saying much about design wins at this point. Asus is expected to introduce a tablet based on the old Z2420, and the same chip will end up in a new smartphone built for Etisalat in Egypt. 

Huawei builds world's fastest smartphone

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:30 AM PST

Huawei has just built what it thinks is the world's fastest phone, which, while cutting edge, will probably not be seen in the US because of that nation's paranoia about all things Chinese.

Huawei has dubbed its new flagship product "the fastest smartphone in the world" and wants to use it to expand global awareness of its brand.

Showing off the phone at a press conference at Mobile World Congress, Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer business group, said the new phone can be programmed to display more than 100 different "themes" or looks.

According to AP, in a face palm moment, Yu said that this was important because "ladies like flowers, colourful things".

The new phone, the Ascend P2, will have a 4.7 inch screen. Yu said it will be available in the April to June time frame for about $525 without a contract. It's the "fastest" because it supports faster download speeds than other phones.

It might be a while before today's mobile networks are ready to supply the promised speeds.

Huawei is doing rather well in Europe, where mobile phone companies have embraced its network equipment, and France's Orange is committed to selling the phone.

The US is another matter. A congressional panel recommended that phone carriers should not do business with Huawei for fear that its network equipment could contain back doors that enable access to communications from China.

The Chinese government rejected the report as false and an effort to block Chinese companies from the US market.

Huawei's global brand director, Amy Lou, said that the success of Huawei had not been easy, but claimed that in the civilised world, it has become a great name consumer brand in the making. 

Intel has another look at Android

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:26 AM PST

Intel appears to be making an underlying strategy shift involving the operating systems of tablets.

For a while now Intel's cunning plan looked like it was based entirely on propping up its old chum Microsoft's Windows 8, with only a token interest in Android for tablets. Meanwhile it had been looking at Android for mobile devices.

At Mobile World Congress, observers noticed a new device from Asustek which seems to suggest a move away from Microsoft.

It seems that Chipzilla's message to the assorted throngs at MWC is that Intel is gearing up efforts to supply companies that want to use its Atom chips in tablets running Android as well as Windows powered devices.

The Wall Street Journal was told by an Intel spokesperson that it was accelerating its focus on Android.

The reason for this appears to be that hardware makers are waking up to the fact that Windows 8 does not seem to be driving any tablet demand at all.

Asustek has supported Windows 8 with products that include the VivoTab Smart, powered by an Intel Atom chip. But it has also developed Android-powered devices, including the Nexus 7, which runs on an Nvidia chip that uses ARM technology.

The company is now widely expected to introduce the Fonepad, a seven-inch combination tablet and phone that uses Android running on a new Intel Atom chip.

What observers are thinking is that if a Windows 8 champion, like Asustek, shifts to Android using an Intel chip, there must be a cunning plan from Chipzilla to shift to Android for tablets rather than Windows 8.

If this is true, then the move has probably been sparked by manufactures becoming cross with Microsoft for releasing its Surface tablet. While this tablet used Intel chips, it has not done very well and is not sustainable enough to interest Chipzilla. However, if it can convince the huge number of Android tablet makers that they would be better off with Intel inside they will be targeting a much larger market.

It is a bit of a stretch of the imagination. If that were to happen it would amount to Intel writing off Microsoft in the one market that its Windows 8 software was designed for, and in tablets it is fairly likely that Vole will eventually get some acceptance. 

Google plans enormous real estate expansion

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:19 AM PST

Google is spending a fortune to expand its already huge Googleplex site.

According to the LA Times, Google is preparing to break ground on a 42-acre campus called Bayview which will be based around nine structures, most of which will be four stories tall.

Each building will be shaped like bent rectangles to make room for courtyards and will be connected by bridges, one of which will lead to a green roof with an outdoor cafe.

The office space is a whopping 1.1-million-square-feet campus and has been designed to win lots of awards. They are based on the way Google employees are supposed to work. Google thinks most staffers will be able to work by natural light and without any glare from the sun on their laptops. It will also be the largest office complex in the United States, with all radiant heating, which is designed to save electricity.

No one is saying how much it will cost Google to buy all of this, but our guess is that it will be "shedloads".

According to Google, the company's real estate team relied on reams of data, observing everything from where the sun rises and sets to wind patterns as well as the daily habits of thousands of Google employees.

Before cracking on with its own campus buildings, Google hollowed out the shells of buildings once occupied by Silicon Graphics – a bit like a parasite. But this new campus is on the grounds of NASA's Ames Research Centre, which is next to the current Googleplex.

It will be completed in 2015 and Google claims that it is central to keeping top engineers. It is not the only tech company that thinks having a nice office is important. Facebook is building a Main Street to keep its employees happy. And Apple is building a "spaceship" campus. It is worthwhile pointing out that both Google and Yahoo have decided that it is better to keep employees locked in at work, rather than telecommuting, which they think is unproductive. 

Apple pushes into India

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:11 AM PST

Apple has realised that China is not going to buy its over-priced toys and has decided to see if India will accept yet another religion in its extensive melting pot of Gods.

It all makes sense, after all if people are prepared to queue to bathe in the great god of the Ganga then surely they will line up to worship a sacred Apple in one of its expensive cathedrals designed by a dead American.

It is not the only fruit-themed outfit trying to make an impression on India. BlackBerry is also launching the first smartphone from its make-or-break BB10 line in India. The smartphone maker recently re-incarnated from the dead body of a phone company which was overseen by a two headed monster of management, which fell to bits when the two heads could not get on.

According to Reuters, Apple has been trying to peddle its trinkets without much success in India. But more than four years after it started selling iPhones in India, Apple is now aggressively pushing the overpriced gizmo through payment plans that enable you to pay the phone off over several lifetimes.

The adverts claim that you can have your dream phone for only $93.  For the record, the full price of an iPhone 5 is almost two months wages for an entry-level software engineer so you would have to buy one on the drip.

Apple has not had any success in emerging markets and has seen the ground stomped all over by rivals such as Samsung and Blackberry which have dominated using a killer system called affordability over Apple's traditional marketing reality distortion field.

Apple expanded its India sales effort in the latter half of 2012 by adding two distributors. Previously it sold iPhones only through a few carriers and stores it calls premium resellers.

Within the smartphone segment, Apple's Indian market share last quarter was just five percent.

Samsung dominates Indian smartphone sales with a 40 percent lead and the market has also been flooded by cheaper Android phones from local brands such as Micromax and Lava.

The drive is being seen by some in Silicon Valley and Wall Street as laying the groundwork for a cheaper iPhone in developing markets. The risk is that a cheap iPhone would cannibalise demand for the premium version and eat into Apple's obscene margins.

Its current campaign, say observers, should help sell the phone better, but it is not meant for the regular top-end customer, it is meant to upgrade those who might just be able to afford one at a push. 

HP takes another stab at the tablet market

Posted: 25 Feb 2013 01:46 AM PST

The maker of expensive printer ink, HP, has announced it is getting back into the tablet market with a $169 tablet powered by Android.

HP has been desperate to expand in mobile devices and reduce its dependence on the recession hit PC market.

The Slate 7 follows the 2011 failure of its WebOS-based TouchPad, which the company stopped selling after just seven weeks, citing poor demand.

Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Slate 7 offers Google services including search functions, YouTube and Gmail, as well as Beats Audio for improved sound, HP said.

It weighs 13-ounces and includes access to apps and digital content through Google Play, and cameras on both sides of the 7-inch screen.

US sales of the Slate 7 to begin in April, and HP said the product offers a "compelling entry point" for people looking to buy tablets.

It has some tough competition in that bracket. There is Google's Nexus 7 tablet which costs $199 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD. HP also makes the ElitePad tablet for businesses, which is powered by Windows 8.

The Slate 7 is part of a multi-year plan by HP chief executive Meg Whitman to turn around the company, which has struggled thanks in part to moves to turn it into a business software company. The company's market value has dropped by nearly two thirds since April 2010.

HP announced the Slate 7 on the eve of Mobile World Congress, the wireless industry trade show taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain. 
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