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- Schmidt hits the fan over NSA googling Google
- iPads too insecure for British cabinet
- Intel’s open source computer hits the shops
- Windows 8.1 ate my mouse
- Gates says the internet will not save the world
- India demands IBM pays $866.20 million
| Schmidt hits the fan over NSA googling Google Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:55 AM PST The chairman of Google (tick: Ogle) has hit out at the National Security Agency (NSA) for allegedly going through its datacentres with a fine tooth comb looking for nits. |
| iPads too insecure for British cabinet Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:52 AM PST Apple's legendary security standards have resulted in its fruity tablets being banned from British cabinet meetings. According to British intelligence, Ipads are two easy for foreign spooks to hack and it does not think that it is a good idea to UK cabinet minsters to bring them to meetings. According to the Daily Telegraph, GCHQ know that foreign intelligence agencies have developed the ability to turn mobile devices such as phones and tablets into bugs without the owners' knowledge, allowing them to listen in on confidential meetings. They know this because that is exactly what they have been doing, them and their American chums, so the warning is pretty much a case of the "they don't like it up em". Number 10's security staff have been ordering ministers to delete files on their iPads to prevent Cabinet discussions being picked up and have forbidden ministers to take their iPads to meetings. Apparently the Chinese, Russians, Iranians and Pakistan spooks have developed the ability to turn mobiles into microphones and turn them into transmitters even when they are turned off, using a Trojan computer virus. Ministers in sensitive government departments have been issued with soundproof lead-lined boxes, which they must place their mobiles in when having sensitive conversations. William Hague boasted that his phone has been modified by GCHQ for security reasons. He seems to think the Chinese would have had a good go at hacking it, although quite why he thinks they would want to hear him agreeing with whatever the Americans have to tell him. |
| Intel’s open source computer hits the shops Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:13 AM PST Intel has released its Galileo open-source computer for the hacker and do-it-yourself crowd. According to PC World, the computer can be ordered for $69.90 and ships at the end of November. Galileo is an unenclosed circuit board which is a little larger than a credit card. Intel’s low-power Quark processor is plugged in. Quark chips draw less power than Chipzilla’s Atom chips and are targeted at those who want to build wearable devices and microelectronics. The 32-bit chip runs at a clock speed of 400MHz and has 512KB of RAM. Features on the Galileo board include 8MB flash, 256MB DRAM, 100Mbps ethernet port, a micro-SD connector slot, a mini PCI-Express slot, RS-232 serial port and a USB 2.0 port with support for up to 128 host devices. It is being seen as a competitor to the $25 Raspberry Pi open-source PC, and is targeted at the community of makers and enthusiasts who make computing devices ranging from robots and health monitors to home media centres and PCs. Intel hoped to get the board out for under $60 by the end of November now it seems that it will only get that cheap if you bulk buy 100 boards. Chipzilla has already released Galileo to some projects to test it out. There is a YesYesBot foam-filled robot and a project called Lyt employs the board in a lighted panel that can be controlled from smartphones or tablets. The board is open source, meaning that Intel will release its schematics and design for others to replicate and manufacture. Intel reached out to the enthusiast community for the first time in July when it started selling its first open-source PC called MinnowBoard, which is priced at $199. However, Intel has an uphill battle trying to take on the rivals out there. Galileo is more expensive than the Arm based Raspberry Pi, which has better graphics capabilities. It is also pricier than the $45 BeagleBoard. |
| Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:12 AM PST Software king of the world Microsoft has warned that the new version of Windows has three problems which could spoil a gamer's afternoon. There have been complaints of mouse problems after applying the Windows 8.1 update, including that cardinal sin of video games, a lag in picture speed. Vole says that it is actively investigating the problems and working on a patch, although there is no idea how long it will take for the problem to be fixed. On a Volish community forum, a Microsoft forum moderator posted that the problem was a little more complex than it first appeared. The 'mouse lag' problem is actually several different things that could vary based on the game, and input methods used. He listed a few workarounds that have been found to help some of these problems. The first is a bad case of jittering mouse –the mouse jitters as you move it through a game. Microsoft thinks that this because Windows 8.1 handles the games' checks "for the mouse status differently." Then there is the small matter of mouse movement not being to scale even after acceleration is turned off, Lastly the measured mouse polling rate has a lower reporting frequency than expected. This is probably because of dissatisfaction with both the main parties and a lack of a viable alternative. Microsoft suggests disabling DPI scaling at least until it can come up with a fix. |
| Gates says the internet will not save the world Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:10 AM PST Software King of the World Sir William Gates III has rubbished claims by Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley's tech billionaires that the internet will save the world. While Gates describes himself as a technocrat he does not believe that technology will fix the world's problems. According to CNBC, the world is a mess of entrenched and interrelated problems that afflict humanity's most vulnerable. "I certainly love the IT thing," Gates said. "But when we want to improve lives, you've got to deal with more basic things like child survival, child nutrition." Gates is flying in the face of those who think that the cure for all humanity's ills is to get them online. Mark Zuckerberg outlined a plan for getting the world's unconnected five billion people online, an effort the Facebook boss called "one of the greatest challenges of our generation". However, Gates thinks it is a joke. He said it was more important to find a vaccine for malaria. "Innovation is a good thing. The human condition – put aside bioterrorism and a few footnotes – is improving because of innovation," he says. But while "technology's amazing, it doesn't get down to the people most in need in anything near the timeframe we should want it to". Gates also thinks that the idea of wealthy people saving the world by investing in new manufacturing also does not work. He said that industries are only valuable to the degree they meet human needs. "We need children not to die, we need people to have an opportunity to get a good education," he said. |
| India demands IBM pays $866.20 million Posted: 04 Nov 2013 01:08 AM PST The Indian taxman has sent Biggish Blue a stiff demand to pay $866.20 million in outstanding income tax on fiscal 2009 revenue. An IBM India spokeswoman confirmed the company had received a tax notice, but does not think the bill is accurate. According to the Business Standard, India's Income Tax office issued the company a notice for under-reporting revenue for fiscal 2009 by the Indian unit. Big Blue said that IBM does not agree with the tax department's claims and will aggressively defend itself through the appropriate judicial process. IBM has been arguing with the taxman over its 2009 tax return for ages. It told the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that it had allocated $394 million in prepaid income tax in India "at" September 30, 2013. IBM said a "significant portion" of that amount was paid in order to reserve its right to appeal previous tax assessments in India, which it said it expects to win. India appears to have lost patience with multinationals skimping on their tax bills. It is chasing tax claims against several multinationals, including Royal Dutch Shell, and Vodafone. |
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