Flaw in Facebook and Dropbox Mobile Apps Allows Data Theft

Security expert Gareth Wright identified a security hole in the iOS version of the Facebook app that could allow someone with ill intent to steal user credentials. After further analysis, the folks over at The Next Web determined that Dropbox also presents the vulnerability. Furthermore, it has been found that not only the iOS applications are vulnerable, but also the ones developed for Android devices. While navigating through application directories with a free tool called iExplorer, Wright discovered that the Facebook app for iOS devices stored some highly sensitive data in clear text. “Popping into the Facebook application directory I quickly discovered a whole bunch of cached images and the com.Facebook.plist. What was...

Read more »

Biostar's 7-Series Ivy Bridge-Ready Motherboards

Biostar has done what its various rivals did, or will do soon enough, namely launch a whole bunch of new motherboards in preparation for the event that will supposedly take place on April 23.  Biostar made a point of saying that this is the “for the first time” product lineup and, sure enough, used those words no less than twelve times in its press release.  Mildly irritating repetitions aside, the new motherboard line doesn't leave much to be desired, if anything.  That means that the prices will determine how well they sell compared to the platforms released by Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock and everyone else.  We aren't going to talk about all of the motherboards here, since people can just drop by their product...

Read more »

Nokia Kicks Off the “Smartphone Beta Test” Campaign for Lumia 900

Tomorrow, the first LTE-capable Windows Phone from Nokia becomes available for purchase on the market in the United States.  The handset will be released on the airwaves of the wireless carrier AT&T, with a price tag of $99 (75 Euros) attached to it on a monthly contract.  This is the most advanced Windows Phone device from Nokia, packing a 4.3-inch touchscreen display and a 1.4GHz application processor.  It also arrives on shelves with 16GB of internal memory, as well as with an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, and with a front camera for making video calls.  With a solid unibody design, Nokia Lumia 900 is meant to impress through both appearance and feel, as well as through the level of performance...

Read more »

HTC One X and One V with Android 4.0 ICS Arrive in India

Unveiled back in February at the Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, HTC One series of smartphones has just made its debut in India. In fact, only two handsets in the series are now available for purchase, but it's likely that HTC will also introduced the HTC One S in the country, depending on the success of the other two. Starting this weekend Indian customers who are into Android devices can purchase the new smartphones announced by HTC two months ago, the One X and One V. Both are now available from leading retailers across the country for prices that are a bit higher than we anticipated.  The folks at AndroidOS have learned that Saholic offers the lowest prices on HTC One X and One V, as both are now available...

Read more »

ELSA Unveils Gladiac GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card

ELSA has finally made the official introduction of its NVIDIA Kepler-based video board, which is called Gladiac GeForce GTX 680 graphics card.  For those who are wondering why they haven't heard of ELSA before, it is because the company is based in Japan and usually focuses on professional boards. That is to say, its product collection features the Quadro brand more than it does the GeForce one. Nevertheless, the company isn't a complete stranger to consumer-oriented graphics adapters. As proof of this, the Gladiac GeForce GTX 680 has finally made its official appearance. Given how much time the company allowed to pass before bringing this product to the table, one would expect some modifications to the design or...

Read more »

Intel Agrees to Make Netronome's Next Flow Processors

As Intel prepares to formally launch its Ivy Bridge CPUs (on April 23), the company is also offering the services of its manufacturing plants to other companies, like Netronome. According to the latter's latest press release, Intel has agreed to produce its next-generation flow processors, the first ones to use the 3D Tri-Gate transistor technology. To paraphrase Netronome's statements, network and security applications will be able to work much better, enough to “shatter system benchmarks.” “Intel’s 3-D Tri-Gate transistor technology and 22nm manufacturing process provides significant benefits over legacy planar designs,” said Jim Finnegan, senior vice president of engineering at Netronome.  “As a result, our next...

Read more »

Samsung to Launch Three Windows Phones in 2012

South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung is reportedly gearing up for the launch of new handsets running under Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system before the end of this year.  At least three new phones based on this platform should land on shelves in 2012, and the Samsung Mandel SGH-i667 might be one of them, a recent article on WPDang reads.  This device was previously rumored to be en-route to shelves with a WVGA touchscreen display on the front, and with LTE connectivity packed inside, while running under Windows Phone 7.5 Tango. As for the other two new smartphones from Samsung, details on them are still scarce, but rumor has it that they might launch with Windows Phone 8 on board.  Samsung has...

Read more »

Google Debuts App for Crowdsourcing Indoor Maps

Google has introduced an interesting solution to the problem of creating interior maps for malls, stores and so on, to use in Google Maps. The company debuted interior maps a few months ago, but it required it to work directly with the places being featured. Later, it started allowing business owners to upload floor plans for their places and have them converted to an interior map that works with the Google Maps Android app. But even this required quite a bit of work, from the business owners and from Google. Now it's introducing an even easier way of creating an accurate interior map, but more importantly, of providing accurate directions inside buildings, the Google Maps Floor Plans Maker app. "If you’ve uploaded a floor...

Read more »

G.Skill Releases 32GB Memory Kit for Apple iMac

G.Skill thought it had released enough memory kits for PCs or just figured Apple iMacs could do with some special attention. Either way, it supplied a new memory product for the latter. The product in question is really a large-capacity kit, where “large capacity” means no less than 32 GB. That's more than the majority of PCs and, indeed, Apple systems. We should probably explain why the memory looks the way it does, though. Some people might not know this, but Apple uses SO-DIMM modules in its iMac 2011 instead of DIMM (the normal format for desktop memory). This is why the modules in the photo are smaller than some may have expected: they are SO-DIMM, the type normally employed in laptops. The 32 GB mark is achieved...

Read more »

More Windows 8 Post-Beta Details Emerge

Microsoft is well underway with the development of the next flavor of its Windows 8 platform, expected to land in the next few months as a Release Candidate.  Currently in post-Beta stage, Windows 8 is undergoing various changes that should become available with the RC bits.  Microsoft keeps mum on the changes it is currently applying to the platform, but leaked info on the matter did make it online.  Courtesy of WinUnleaked.tk, we now learn that, among the various Windows 8 SKUs that Microsoft is getting ready for launch, there will also be one called “Core.” Apparently, this version of the operating system is branded simply Windows 8, and might be launched simply as a classic flavor of the platform (it...

Read more »

Google Chromebooks Get Ivy Bridge CPU Support

Nothing ever really became of Chromebooks, but they are still around, drifting along the edges of the IT market and trying to get people interested in them, even if it means lunging at the new CPUs from Intel.  That's right, according to a Google submission to Coreboot (a Linux layer in Chrome that handles the hardware), spotted by Phoronix, the almost storage-free laptops are implementing support for Intel's Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs.  Obviously, the portable computers will still run the Chrome OS browser-based operating system that uses only web applications (and stores everything in the cloud).  By our reckoning, Chromebooks failed to make a name for themselves (so far) due to a combination of weak...

Read more »

And, of Course, MSI Has 7-Series Motherboards Too

Like ASRock and Gigabyte, Micro-Star International has a bunch of Ivy Bridge-compatible motherboards ready to welcome the third-generation chips.  According to this page, there are, in total, six platforms based on the Z77 chipset, two on the H77 and one on the B75.  That makes a total of nine, which is three less than the lineups of the aforementioned two rival companies.  Don't be confused by that web page, by the way. The first five platforms are X79 models.  That said, we'll leave it up to you to go over there and look at all the specs of each board.  Here, we'll draw attention to the most relevant features that Micro-Star International will be counting on as its competitive edge.  For...

Read more »

Viacom vs. YouTube Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Back from the Dead

The "billion dollar" lawsuit that Viacom filed against YouTube five years ago is back from the dead. It was completely struck down by a district court in 2010 which, in a summary judgment, declared YouTube protected by the DMCA safe-harbor provisions. Viacom couldn't let it go, obviously, and appealed the decision. Now the appeal court mostly upheld the original decision, despite wishful thinking on the part of the old media, saying that there is nothing to show that YouTube violated the law. However, it did overturn parts of the lower court decision and send the case back to a district court to settle some of the matters.  Essentially, the appeal court argued that YouTube could still be found liable, but that Viacom would...

Read more »

ASRock Shows Off Its 7-Series Motherboards Too

As we mentioned when we wrote about Gigabyte's 7-Series collection of motherboards, other manufacturers have products of this type out as well.  Whether by coincidence or not, ASRock has just as many Ivy Bridge-compatible motherboards as Gigabyte: twelve.  One of them, the ASRock Z77E-ITX, is supposed to be “the most compact mini mobo to date”, but still packs mSATA (for SSD caching).  For small businesses, ASRock made the Q77M vPro and B75 Pro3, powered by the Q77 and B75 chipsets, respectively.  It is the X79 Extreme11 and X79 Champion that target gamers, and they are even called “top gaming machine(s)” in the press release.  The former is “a premium motherboard using luxury material” and, thanks...

Read more »

Gigabyte Releases 7-Series Motherboards

Since Intel will be formally unveiling its Ivy Bridge central processing units on April 23 this year (2012), Gigabyte has decided to stop putting off the launch of its 7-series motherboard line.  If anyone is wondering how we know when the chips will show, we don't (nothing is certain after all), but we did find reports saying as much. Go here to read all about the matter.  Gigabyte's line of motherboards is fairly extensive, composed of 12 different models, to be exact.  Most of them utilize the Z77 chipset, but there are a couple who rely on the H77 chipset too.  "The new GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards are designed to offer a seamless upgrade for enthusiast PC DIYers by providing specifications and...

Read more »

Google Tablet Launch Postponed for July – Report

Rumors on Google’s own tablet still continue to pour in, but nothing is certain for the moment. Lots of reports are citing “sources close to the matter” when revealing info regarding the price, availability and specs of the slate. Yesterday, we have a new set of details that are coming from another “source close to the project.” The Verge claims that Google decided to push the launch of the tablet to July “due to effort to cut price.” Keep in mind that the Google tablet was initially rumored to be released in May, but the search giant took into consideration the fact that the slate is not yet competitive enough when it comes to price. It appears that the tablet is currently priced at $249 (190 EUR), which is way higher than prices...

Read more »

28nm Shortages Quite Severe at TSMC

It looks like finances are doing bad things to the IT industry again, according to a new rumor that finally sets the record more or less straight in regard to whether or not TSMC is having trouble with its 28nm manufacturing process. One would think that there would be more truth to all the statements from NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices and Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturing Company regarding the 28nm manufacturing process. Alas, this does not seem to be the case, or at least not anymore. According to the most recent rumor published by Digitimes, TSMC is actually incapable of meeting demand for chips. Again. The 40nm node was troublesome enough but, even with all the extra research and assurances, history is repeating...

Read more »

ASUS G75VW Is Already Available in the US

Taiwanese computer manufacturer ASUS has already started shipping its new ASUS G75VW notebook to several online shops in the United States. This new giant replaces the famous and well-cooled G74, and even comes with an Ivy Bridge processor. In the AS71 variant, the buyer receives an Intel Core i7-3610QM processor working at 2.3 GHz with 6 MB of Level 3 cache and a Turbo frequency of 3.3 GHz. The CPU sits in a G2 socket and is packaged in a 988-pin micro-PGA module. The Core i7-3610QM processor has four cores with HyperThreading enabled, so there will be eight threads at work at any given time, if needed. It is packed with a Dual Channel DDR3 memory controller and HD 4000 graphics. The maximum thermal design power is 45 watt,...

Read more »

Alleged Photos of BlackBerry PlayBook 4G Emerge

Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion has been long working on the release of a 4G flavor of their BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PC, and it appears that they are finally nearing the official launch of this device.  No formal announcement on the matter was made for the time being, but what appear to be the first photos with the device have just emerged online.  In the first image embedded below, you will be able to see the SIM card slot, located next to the charging port, HDMI out slot and other ports.  The second photo shows the tablet PC’s settings screen, where you can see the ‘mobile network’ icon.  These photos appeared over at the CrackBerry forums and might not be the real thing, so we’ll...

Read more »

Nokia Lumia PureView with Windows Phone 8 Packs 41MP Camera and Dual-Core CPU

Nokia 808 PureView is not even available on the market, yet rumors on allegedly new Windows Phone devices integrating the PureView camera technology have already started to emerge. The guys over at IT168 claim they got new information and even some specs details on an unannounced Nokia Lumia PureView smartphone. According to them, the shots were taken during a Nokia presentation, but they might be as well fakes. However, IT168 confirms that the phone that appears in these pictures is just a concept design, which means the final product may look entirely different. This seems valid enough as the phone looks to be too curvy and less attractive than the original Nokia 808 PureView Symbian smartphone. Due to the fact that Windows...

Read more »