AT&T to Offer Leading Portfolio of Windows Phones

DALLAS and REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* and Microsoft Corp. today introduced a leading portfolio of new phones based on Windows Phone 7 , Microsoft's new mobile operating system that that has been the focus of worldwide buzz and bandwidth for months. The new smartphones from HTC, LG and Samsung will be available exclusively for AT&T customers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

"These devices - quite literally - are game changers, and we are delighted to bring them to our customers," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "It's a perfect match - phones that re-define gaming and entertainment, riding a network that assures customers a high-speed experience."

"AT&T has long been a leader in the smartphone market, and we're pleased that the powerful, new experiences in Windows Phone 7 will debut on a very fast and reliable mobile broadband network," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. "With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has taken the most engaging and useful experiences across the company and delivered them in a single point of focus and value for customers nationwide."

Each of the three smartphones sports a capacitive glass touch screen, 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, but is designed to appeal to different types of customers. The new Windows Phones for AT&T customers are:

• HTC Surround - premiers as the first smartphone to include integrated Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound speakers. The HTC Surround speakers slide-out and reveal a kickstand for watching video beneath its 3.8-inch touch screen. HTC Surround blurs the line between home and mobile entertainment, making games, music and video on the go more enjoyable than ever.
• LG Quantum(TM) - designed for work, play and everything in between. With a slide-out keyboard for quick use of Office Mobile®, users can stay active and up to date with work. The LG Quantum also features DLNA technology through a preloaded application called Play To, which allows users to wirelessly stream videos, music, and pictures from the phone to a DLNA-enabled TV, stereo, Windows 7 PC and other consumer electronics devices
• Samsung Focus(TM) - debuts as AT&T's thinnest Windows Phone and offers a visually stunning experience with a Super AMOLED(TM) screen on a sleek 9.9 mm-thin touch screen phone. With the Focus'(TM) amazingly crisp, brilliant screen, photos, games and videos come alive.

Windows Phone 7 has been carefully crafted to help people get more done in fewer steps by bringing important information to the surface with a unique Hub and Tile interface. The Hubs offer quick and easy access to a person's latest and most valuable information and includes People, Pictures, Games, Music & Video, Office and Marketplace content. Windows Phone 7 also integrates with many popular and powerful Microsoft consumer services such as Xbox LIVE®, Windows Live®, Bing® and Zune®.

Apps and Entertainment

Each new Windows Phone from AT&T will include AT&T U-verse Mobile, an app that allows users to download and watch hit shows on their smartphone. U-verse TV subscribers with certain packages will be able to download and watch hit TV shows for no extra charge, and all U-verse TV customers can also schedule and manage their DVR recordings from the app. For the first time, U-verse Mobile will be available nationwide -- even to those who are not U-verse TV customers -- for just $9.99 per month. Subscribers can access the full content library, select which series or specific episode to download over Wi-Fi, and view on the go wherever they have their Windows Phone.

Expert Says: Apple Needs Big iPhone 4G Announcement at WWDC

While rumors concerning announcements at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference continue to build, an Apple expert says the company needs to use Steve Jobs' keynote, all but certain to showcase the fourth generation of the iPhone, to prove its innovative superiority over Google and the open Android operating system.

Now that prototypes of the fourth-generation iPhone have been leaked—twice—what surprises await the Apple faithful at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference? Apple CEO Steve Jobs is scheduled to give the keynote address at the conference, which kicks off June 7 in San Francisco's Moscone Center, and many are wondering if he'll use the occasion to announce a version of the iPhone for the Verizon Wireless network. However, Apple has an agreement with Verizon rival AT&T to allow AT&T to distribute the wildly successful smartphone exclusively through 2012.

There was speculation earlier the week of May 24 that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would speak at the conference, but that rumor was debunked via a tweet from Microsoft's official Twitter account confirming Ballmer would not be appearing at WWDC (or on "Dancing with the Stars," in a typical stab at humor from Microsoft's PR department).

While Jobs personally introduced the next-generation iPhone operating system, iPhone OS 4, there are questions remaining as to what features the new version of the operating system will offer, such as file sharing with a PC.

Despite the now-infamous acquisition of a so-called iPhone 4G by technology blog Gizmodo (and later a similar finding posted on Vietnamese forum Taoviet), WWDC will be the public's first chance to hear Apple's official breakdown of features, build materials and functionality. Michael Oh, president of Apple specialist Tech Superpowers, said it will be tough to guess what specifically Apple has upgraded on the iPhone 4G, but that information would certainly be the most prominent aspect of Jobs' keynote address.

"In terms of features on the, your guess is as good as mine. If Apple comes out with a phone that is just as little bit better than the 3GS, people are going to feel Google is innovating quicker than Apple, which is what the analysts are batting about right now," Oh said. "If they come out with something revolutionary, something like what [Google's mobile OS] Android is bringing to the table, wireless syncing—that would be huge."

Oh said while Apple has been rumored to be working on wireless syncing, it appears to him to be taking a long time in a market where competition from Android is heating up. "If with the 4G iPhone they talk about services like streaming, then they're starting to do some exciting things," he said. "That's the real key to WWDC—how is Apple going to come out of this Apple versus Google battle?"

According to Wikipedia, WWDC "is primarily used by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for developers, as well as offering hands-on labs and feedback sessions. The number of attendees usually varies between 2,000 [and] 4,200 developers. ... All attendees have to sign a non-disclosure agreement covering the sessions and other material handed out at WWDC." This year's event sold out in just eight days.

iPad users targeted by hackers

Users tricked in to downloading fake iTunes update that contains malicious code

Security experts have warned that Apple iPad users are being targeted by cyber criminals. Hackers are trying to dupe iPad owners in to downloading a fake iTunes update on their Windows computer, which, when installed, creates a backdoor for cyber criminals, allowing them to remotely access the machine or even use the computer to send spam messages.

A dialog box pops up telling the user that a recent iTunes update has been released for the iPad. Users who click on a link are taken to a site that looks exactly like the iTunes download web page, but the file the user downloads is actually a Trojan that installs malicious code on the machine. The Backdoor. Bifrose. AADY virus tries to steal passwords and login details for email accounts and instant-messaging services.

"The trick is pretty simple," said Catalin Cosoi, a senior researcher for BitDefender, which uncovered the scam. "They're clever to do it this way. If they were able to target Mac customers, it would have spread like wildfire, but because most antivirus companies detect this Trojan, it's aimed at Windows users who have bought an iPad and who also don't run a security product."

BitDefender has advised iPad owners not to click on any links that appear in dialog boxes or alerts, and to download iTunes directly from the Apple website. The company also emphasised that the iPad itself remained unaffected by the Trojan.

Could Gizmodo face iPhone leak charges?

Police in California are investigating Gizmodo’s purchase of an apparent iPhone prototype, according to reports. CNET.com said it has spoken to “a law enforcement official” who said that an investigation was being carried out to see whether there is enough evidence to press criminal charges.

Gizmodo, a gadget blog owned by Gawker Media, says it paid $5,000 for the device, which was left in a bar by an Apple engineer and appears to be a prototype for the next generation iPhone. Gizmodo has been posting articles and videos about the phone since Monday but has now returned the phone to Apple.

As I wrote earlier this week, many technology experts suggested that Apple could sue over the missing device. I thought that was unlikely, since Apple would have nothing to gain from prolonging the attention on the device. However, it is not up to Apple to press criminal charges.

Gawker has not spoken to the police, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Bloomberg quotes Peter Henning, a law professor at a Detroit law school, who says: “The finder may have broken the law. The law of theft isn’t ‘finders, keepers.’ If you know that something has just been mislaid, you can take it and return it, but you can’t take it and keep it, or sell it.”

China Puts Three More Online Activists in Prison

A Chinese court in the city of Fuzhou has sentenced three Chinese Internet activists to prison terms for posting material to the Internet in hopes of pressuring authorities to re-examine a case involving the death of a young woman. The court found the activists guilty of slander, saying that that their actions went against the interests of the Chinese state.

According to the Associated Press, one of the activists—Fan Yanqiong—was sentenced to two years in prison, while two others—Wu Huaying and You Jingyou—were sentenced to one year prison terms.

The three activists had posted online videos and information in an effort to help an illiterate mother, Lin Xiuying, get Chinese authorities to reopen an investigation into the death of her daughter. Police had ruled her death the result of an abnormal pregnancy, but Lin contended her daughter died from injuries resulting from a gang-rape by criminals with ties to local police.

According to multiple reports, Fan met Lin as she was sobbing outside a government office in summer of 2009; he took down details of her story and posted them online You and Wu later conducted a video interview with Lin and posted it online.

The trial became something of a spectacle, with several hundred people turning up at the Mawei District People’s Court in a show of support—police cordoned off the area. Some online reports put as many as 2,000 people at the scene, many of whom where shooting cell phone video of events and posting updates to Twitter.

The case is another example of Chinese authorities targeting online speech and growing street-level, grass-roots activism enabled by new Internet technologies. The Chinese government frequently blocks and bans information it believes to be against the interest of the Chinese state.

Motorola, Android Bing Deal Reached

A deal that has been done for phones that Motorola, Google's Android use, Microsoft corp that will put Bing search and mapping services on its phone.

Motorola said the partnership with Microsoft means that a Bing bookmark and search widget will be loaded on cell phones, starting in the coming weeks with phones in China. The move follows shortly after Motorola struck a similar deal to let consumers in China use Baidu Inc, among others, as the default Web search instead of Google on Android based phones.

The partnerships come against a backdrop of Google's dispute with China over censorship, which, if it leads to Google withdrawing from the country, could cause big headaches for Motorola. Motorola is banking on its ties to Google's Android and its sales in China to help in a big turnaround effort. Having search alternatives on the Android phones should lessen Motorola's dependence on Google, in China or elsewhere, analysts have said.

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Interview with CEO McAfee, Santa Clara: Security tactics for technology's new threats

Interview with CEO McAfee, Santa Clara: Security tactics for technology's new threats
The President and Cheif Executive of McAfee and santa clara. He gave the answers of the three question that are asked by him.

Q: Last week during the security industry's annual RSA Conference in San Francisco, many researchers presented their research and speculated about the next challenges in the security field. What are your top concerns?

A: Whether it's mobile computing, social networking, analog-to-digital conversion projects to digitize our infrastructure, or new types of operating environments like virtual environments, we've seen all kinds of new technologies that have created new threats as well.

In some cases it's an increase in cybercrime; in others it's now moving to political and religious-type terroristic threats to espionage and a kind of nation-state cold war cyberwar.

Most people believe that the next plane flying into a building won't come in that form like it was in 9/11, but potentially a much more disastrous cyberattack that could critically affect our infrastructure and our relations with nations around the world.

Q: What are the areas of growth and the business opportunities you detect from them? In what are you investing and wanting to expand?

A: I think of them in two vectors. No. 1 is the cloud and what it can do for us in terms of our intelligence.

Our goal was to create the most intelligent database in the world for solving security threats that first came in the form of knowledge about content and malware. We call it Artemis.

We then added things like Web reputation in the cloud so that anytime users could access the Web site, we could instantaneously give it a reputation and say how good or bad that site could be.

The second major strategy is what we call "silicon to satellite." We have created partnerships to put security on a chip, a silicon wafer, things like removable storage, USB sticks, operating systems and printers, to potentially automobiles and aircrafts, and all the way up to satellites.

With some of the Global Positioning Systems in the sky, they need security. So our goal there is to create a model that allows for elasticity of our sensors from the largest of IT infrastructure to the smallest.

Q: Every day we hear about the increased volume and sophistication of cyberattacks and the growing threats they present to national security. Are we losing the battle?

A: I'm very optimistic that we are making a lot of strides in solving the world's problems related to cyber. Despite all the obstacles - the lack of a governing architecture for the Internet, the lack of cross-border law enforcement that can govern the Internet - we have made tremendous strides in stopping major attacks.

The biggest obstacle is education in some cases. But we feel optimistic that there are remedies for these things.