Hackers target Xbox Live players

Halo 3 players are a popular target for the Xbox attacks Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network. The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game. The attackers are employing data flooding tools that have been used against websites for many years. Microsoft is "investigating" the use of the tools and said those caught using them would be banned from Xbox Live. "There's been a definite increase in the amount of people talking about and distributing these things over the last three to four weeks," said Chris Boyd, director of malware research at Facetime Communications. Read Full Story.

Facebook for galleries?

Museum visitors will be able to share their cultural passions in a social networking website.

Museum visitors will also be able to meet online

A group of the UK's most famous museums, including the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, is creating a collective website.

As well as finding information about exhibits, museum lovers can use the website to create communities based on their historic and creative interests.

The National Museums Online Learning project is to be launched this week.

Click here to read more.

Facebook Withdraws Changes in Data Use

Facebook, the popular social networking site where people share photos and personal updates with friends and acquaintances, lost some face on Wednesday. After three days of pressure from angry users and the threat of a formal legal complaint by a coalition of consumer advocacy groups, the company reversed changes to its contract with users that had appeared to give it perpetual ownership of their contributions to the service.

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Bluetooth over Wi-Fi Coming in April

The really good news is that your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices may already support the specification

Two ubiquitous technologies that have made our mobile lives easier, wireless, and faster are Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Without these two specifications, we would be stuck with wires for connecting to mobile devices and networks in our homes and offices.

The two specifications are found in many smartphones and laptops today and usually operate independently of each other. A new specification called alternate MAC/PHY for Bluetooth will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth working together.

The technical name for the new specification is a mouthful but at its core the specifications is Bluetooth over Wi-Fi. What happens is that two devices like your laptop and smartphone, for example, will find each other via Bluetooth. Once the devices find each other and are paired, you can start to send data like images over the Bluetooth connection. At the point of transmission, the data would be diverted from Bluetooth to the integrated Wi-Fi connection and sent at Wi-Fi speeds up to 54Mbps, much higher speed than Bluetooth is capable of. After the data is sent Bluetooth would be the controlling connection again.

Gizmodo reports that the specification for Bluetooth over Wi-Fi will be official in April. If you already own a stable of newer smartphones and laptops the good news is that many devices currently on the market already support the feature.

Broadcom's Mukul Suth told Gizmodo that some of the chipsets already on the market support the standard and will only need software update to activate it. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group says that the specification will allow you to wirelessly bulk synchronize music libraries between a PC and MP3 player, bulk download photos to a printer or PC and send video files form a camera or phone to your computer or TV all without wires.

Vodafone and HTC Team Up on New Google Phone

Five months after T-Mobile introduced the first phone powered by Google’s Android operating system, the cellphone giant Vodafone is unveiling the second. Like its predecessor, the new device is made by a Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC. It is called the HTC Magic and has a touch screen, but not the slide-out keyboard that the T-Mobile G1 has.

Starting this spring, the HTC Magic will be available exclusively to Vodafone customers in Britain, Germany, Spain and France and nonexclusively in Italy. Pricing was not disclosed. HTC executives, speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, said they were working on making the device available in the United States.

The T-Mobile G1 received generally good reviews, but its appeal was limited by its exclusive availability on T-Mobile, the fourth-largest carrier in the United States. The size of Vodafone, the largest mobile carrier in the world by revenue, should help Android gain broad distribution in Europe.

Google, however, is not pinning hopes for Android’s success on any one phone, but rather on a multitude of phones from different manufacturers. Several others are expected to unveil Android-based phones in 2009.

Microsoft to launch its own retail stores

The software giant, taking a page from Apple's playbook, wants to make it easier for customers to check out products such as the XBox game console. Details about Microsoft's plans for the stores were still scarce Friday. But the idea is to make it easier for customers to buy and check out Microsoft products, such as the XBox game console, Zune digital media player and Surface tabletop computer - as well as computer gear made by partners that run its software.

Read full story.

Robot Riding Bicycle

“Murata Boy” is a robot that can ride a bicycle all by himself – capable of keeping balance, pedaling, and directing the bicycle while avoiding obstacles on the way. The robot, which was invented by the Japanese firm Murata Manufacturing, operates using gyro sensors that detect minute changes in orientation, allowing it to respond accordingly. Murata Boy detects obstacles using an ultrasonic sensor and can not only back up in reverse to avoid collision, but is also able to halt, standing stationary in a riding position. Furthermore, the robot is equipped with a navigation system, which allows users to pre-define its path while retaining control of the system via a remote PC.

Vista to Windows 7

As was what Microsoft offered prior to the release of Windows Vista, the software giant is plotting upgrade options for those who want to purchase a new PC soon, but without being left in the dust once Windows 7 ships.

From reports of the beta experience, Windows 7 is the new Microsoft OS that everyone’s been waiting for -- for both XP and Vista users. Some consumers can’t afford to wait, however, need to purchase new hardware soon. For those such consumer, and those on the fence, Microsoft will offer a program where those who purchase a new PC with Vista within a certain date range will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Tech ARP now claims to to have obtained documents Microsoft sent to OEMs detailing its Windows 7 Upgrade Program. The information is supposedly from December 10, making it entirely possible for conditions to change, though what we’ve read seems believable.

All PCs bought with a Windows Vista license on or after July 1, 2009 to January 1, 2010 qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7. OEMs may choose to shorten the period within those dates. All upgrade media must be shipped to end users by April 30, 2010.

Only three versions of Windows Vista are eligible, being Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. The upgrades to Windows 7 will correspond to the lateral version; so Home Premium will move to the new equivalent, Business will go to Professional, and Ultimate will be Ultimate.

Upgrades from Windows Vista Home Basic are not part of the program, and there will be no option for users to upgrade to a higher-end version of Windows 7 through the free upgrade program. New computers sold with Windows XP also will not be supported.

While upgrades from a 64-bit version of Vista will get you a 64-bit version of Windows 7, it’s unclear whether or not users can opt to go from 32-bit to 64-bit. It’s certain, however, the the software upgrade process will not allow an in-place upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit.

Those who do receive the free upgrade to Windows 7 will have both options of performing an in-place upgrade as well as doing a clean install.

Although the information does seem to make sense, Microsoft isn’t confirming nor denying any of it. "Microsoft often explores options with our partners to determine product offerings," the Microsoft spokesperson told Betanews. "We are not announcing anything new at this time."

Download Windows 7 (Bit Torrent) here.

Microsoft Announces Windows Mobile 6.5

CEO Steve Ballmer along with key mobile partners, HTC, LG and Orange, unveiled new Windows® phones featuring new user-friendly software and services. The next generation of Windows® phones will be based on Windows Mobile 6.5 and feature a new user interface and a richer browsing experience. In addition, Windows® phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the Web; and Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a new marketplace that will provide direct-to-phone mobile applications and can be accessed from both the phone and the Web.

“Windows® phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are,” Ballmer said. “We’re working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows® phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home.”

Windows Mobile 6.5 Delivers New User Experience

The new Windows Mobile 6.5 home screen keeps people up-to-date on important information by providing a dashboard-like experience to items such as new e-mails, texts, missed calls and calendar appointments. It also includes an improved touch-screen interface, making it easy to take action with a finger, and an updated version of the latest Internet Explorer Mobile browser, which in a third-party research study sponsored by Microsoft supported execution of up to 48 percent more assigned tasks than the other browsers and phones studied.

My Phone Service Connects the Phone to the Web

The free My Phone service will enable people to access, manage and back up their personal information on their device to a password-protected Web-based service, making it easier to upgrade phones without the worry of losing important information. With automatic syncing and backup, users can count on their contacts, appointments, text messages and other information being kept up to date and easily restored should they lose or upgrade their phone. Consumers also will be able to automatically upload photos and video from their Windows® phone directly to the My Phone service, making it simple to preserve content that, in the past, would have lived and died on the phone. The My Phone service is currently available in a limited invitation-only beta.

Rich and Integrated Marketplace Service Will Offer Easy Access to Mobile Applications

The new operating system features Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, a rich and integrated marketplace for searching, browsing and purchasing mobile applications from Windows® phones or from a PC by simply using a Windows Live ID. The new marketplace will be included with all Windows phones based on Windows Mobile 6.5, which will help consumers to easily find, install and experience those applications that fit their needs and make the phone truly personal. Developers, who have already built over 20,000 applications for Windows® phones, will be able to offer applications to customers through the marketplace via a simple security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

Samsung's Wireless USB Coming to Phones

Samsung has created a new wireless universal serial bus (W-USB) System-On-Chip (SoC) which promises to allow mobile devices such as phones camera and laptops to connect to each other or other devices through an interface that is virtually identical to a cabled USB connection, only without the wires.

The perks of keeping the USB technology in the W-USB SoC are numerous. One important factor is security; with the proper encryption, USB can be a relatively secure technology. Furthermore, USB is fast, as is W-USB. With Samsung's system, a 700 MB file takes approximately a minute to copy.

Dr. Yiwan Wong, vice president, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics states, "Connected consumer electronic products are the next step in enabling anytime, anywhere access to information and services. One of the keys to wireless connectivity is W-USB technology. While W-USB technology is just beginning to ramp up, its application will soon increase with the consumer electronic and mobile phone markets’ demand for wireless connectivity technology and UWB’s (ultra wide band) fast download speeds."

Aside from camera, laptops, and cell phones, Samsung is also targeting wireless printers, beam projectors, wireless hard disks, wireless displays, and wireless speakers as possible applications of the technology. Examples of the technology in action would be a camera which automatically dumped its pictures whenever near its home computer or an MP3 player that could connect to surround sound speakers without cords to pump out (relatively) high quality audio. And watch out RIAA -- the tech even opens the door to peer-to-peer cell phone file sharing, says Samsung.

The tech could even end up in appliances and give a boost to metering effort such as Google's new PowerMeter program, by giving appliance makers an easy way to transmit usage data at a low power cost.

The new tech works in the 3.1~10.6 GHz-band and uses CMOS technology. Samsung's single chip solution consists of an ARM core, a UWB physical layer, and a memory controller with SD card, MMC, NAND flash memory, and a high-speed USB 2.0 OTG (On-The-Go) interface also built in. The UWB transmitter offers a throughput of 480Mbps, with a speed under average payloads of around 120 Mbps, compared to 50 Mbps using the most advanced Bluetooth technology (currently not yet standard).

The signal is also hard to hack as it employs a 128 bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption algorithm. It also uses a static signal to further prevent signal monitoring.

All of these features are packed into a small power envelope of 300mW. Samsung will begin shipping the chips in Q2 2009 and expects them to be invading electronic devices of all types by holiday season of this year.