Google has just revealed that it has detected a phishing attack originating from Jinan, China that targeted hundreds of people, including “senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists”.
The attack itself — which relied on phishing passwords — doesn’t appear to be overly sophisticated, according to a report that identified it back in February. But it was very targeted, which is unusual for phishing schemes. Google says that the perpetrators were stealing user passwords, then setting Gmail accounts to automatically forward messages to other inboxes (delegation settings, which can grant other people access to accounts, were also changed).
Google says that it ”detected and disrupted this campaign” and that it has already notified affected victims, as well as government authorities. It then goes on to detail some of the things you can use to secure your account, including 2-step verification , strong passwords, and by checking to make sure you aren’t forwarding your email to any inboxes you don’t know. Google’s post emphasizes that this was not an issue with Gmail itself and that its internal systems weren’t attacked.
This isn’t the first time Google has had issues with cyberattacks originating in China. Early last year, Google revealed that it had been the target of a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack” that originated there, prompting the company to radically revise its operations in China. Google doesn’t mention anything in today’s blog post about the attacks being related, but the previous attack also targeted the accounts of Chinese activists.
sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
2011年6月1日星期三
Apple tries to put the kibosh on iPad and iPhone giveaways
Earlier this spring, the folks at WTVD-TV, the local ABC affiliate in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., had a bright idea. To drum up interest in the station -- and raise its profile on Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz -- it organized a sweepstakes contest and gave 11 lucky winners the hottest prize in consumer electronics: an Apple (AAPL) iPad.
What the contest organizers didn't realize -- but would have quickly learned if they'd done their due diligence -- was that they'd just run afoul of Apple's Guidelines for Third Party Promotions. Operating on the theory that its brand is one of its most valuable properties, Apple has laid out some pretty strict rules about what it thinks you can and can't do with its products. Among them: (I quote)
iPad, iPhone and the iPhone Gift Card may not be used in third-party promotions.
iPod touch is only allowed to be used in special circumstances and requires a minimum purchase of 250 units.
You may NOT use the Myriad Set font on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, or promotional/advertising materials.
The use of "free" as a modifier in any Apple product reference in a prominent manner (headlines, call- outs, etc.) is prohibited.
You must submit all marketing materials related to the promotion of Apple products to Apple for review.
The two-page document that lists these guidelines -- and many more -- has been around at least since January, but it seems that Apple has begun reaching out to companies to enforce them only recently. Earlier this year, Cult of Mac's Nicole Martinelli counted more than three dozen active iPad sweepstakes and giveaways, including contests run by Mashable, MacMall and Mahalo. None of them, as far as she knows, was ever told not to do it.
iPod touch is only allowed to be used in special circumstances and requires a minimum purchase of 250 units.
You may NOT use the Myriad Set font on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, or promotional/advertising materials.
The use of "free" as a modifier in any Apple product reference in a prominent manner (headlines, call- outs, etc.) is prohibited.
You must submit all marketing materials related to the promotion of Apple products to Apple for review.
The two-page document that lists these guidelines -- and many more -- has been around at least since January, but it seems that Apple has begun reaching out to companies to enforce them only recently. Earlier this year, Cult of Mac's Nicole Martinelli counted more than three dozen active iPad sweepstakes and giveaways, including contests run by Mashable, MacMall and Mahalo. None of them, as far as she knows, was ever told not to do it.
sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Apple's new data center is visible (at last!) from space
One of the mysteries surrounding the 500,000-square foot server farm Apple (AAPL) has famously constructed in a small North Carolina town called Maiden -- besides its ultimate purpose -- is why it didn't show up on Google Earth.
We knew what it looked like, thanks to the local Fox TV affiliate, a trespassing photographer and a local real estate agent who conducted a couple of video flybys that ended up on YouTube (see here).
But if you asked Google Earth or Google Maps to show you the intersection of U.S. Route 321 and Startown Road -- where the data center is located -- the current satellite imagery stopped a few yards short of the construction site. West of Startown Road, there was, as recently as two weeks ago, nothing but woods and farmland and a bit of driveway that ended abruptly in the middle of a field.
After Apple's announcement Tuesday that Steve Jobs was ready to reveal iCloud -- the "upcoming cloud services offering" presumably based in Maiden, N.C. -- we thought we'd give Google Maps another try.
Lo and behold, there it was: A huge, white, nondescript building with a road leading in, a road leading out, and almost no employee parking.
How was Apple able to keep Google (GOOG) from displaying this particular swath of satellite imagery -- imagery provided by the USDA Farm Services Agency? That's still a mystery.
Below: The image of the site Google Maps was delivering before the iCloud announcement.
sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Microsoft Said to Limit Chipmakers Using Windows to Only One Tablet Maker
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has asked chipmakers that want to use the next version of Windows for tablets to work with no more than one computer manufacturer, three people with knowledge of the plan said.
Chipmakers and computer makers that agree to the terms will get incentives from Microsoft in exchange for accepting the restrictions, which tie a single chipmaker to one tablet design, said the people, who declined to be identified because the new program hasn’t been made public.
Seeking to limit variations may help Microsoft speed the delivery of new Windows tablets by keeping tighter control over partners and accelerating development and testing. Though the program isn’t mandatory, the restrictions may impede chip- and computer makers from building a variety of Windows-based models to vie with Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad, the people said. In past versions of Windows software, chipmakers could work with multiple computer manufacturers.
“Microsoft is still in the development process on the next version of Windows, continuing the engineering work with our silicon partners as part of the technology preview we talked about in January,” Microsoft said in an e-mailed statement. “We continue to talk regularly with hardware partners around the world as part of our development process.”
Sole Alliances
Under the plan being proposed by Microsoft, a given chipmaker would have to ally itself with a single PC manufacturer in order to qualify for certain incentives. Those may include features that ensure the device runs better or lower prices for the software, one of the people said.
Acer Inc. (2353) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman J.T. Wang, in an interview yesterday at the Computex trade show in Taipei, said Microsoft was trying to set limits on other companies. He didn’t specify the restrictions.
“They’re really controlling the whole thing, the whole process,” Wang said of Microsoft. “They try to set the game rules,” he said, and chip suppliers and PC makers “all feel it’s very troublesome,” he said.
This is the first time Microsoft has produced a Windows operating system that works with ARM Holdings Plc (ARM)’s technology, increasing the number of potential chip suppliers. The program seeking to pair one chipmaker with one computer maker might increase the chances of initial success by enabling the company to focus efforts on a smaller number of designs.
Design Limits
Still, the rules may constrain chipmakers’ ability to have their products featured in a range of devices. Computer makers whose designs aren’t chosen may be left out, one of the people said.
Under Microsoft’s program, chip suppliers will also be able to select a second computer maker for clamshell-style notebook computers that use the new operating system, one of the people said. Chipmakers for the new version of Windows, including Intel Corp. (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), can also decline to be part of the program and work with whichever computer makers they want.
The program only applies to the version of Windows that’s being tailored for mobile computers, the person said. The regular version of Windows for desktop PCs will have no such limits, as with past versions of Windows.
Preview Tomorrow
Microsoft Corp. will preview the next generation of the company’s Windows operating system to clients and media tomorrow in Taipei, Steven Guggenheimer, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, said at the Computex trade show today.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, has failed to gain traction in the market for tablets dominated by Apple, which develops the hardware and software that runs the iPad, introduced in 2010.
Acer was the No. 3 maker of PCs in 2010, according to researcher IDC. The company is among those hoping to boost sales by selling tablet devices, a faster-growing slice of the computer market.
The global tablet market will almost quadruple this year to 70 million units from 18 million in 2010, according to estimates in a May 17 report by Jefferies Group Inc. Apple will control about 64 percent of the 2011 tablet market, dropping to 41 percent in 2012, when 158 million units will probably be sold, according to the report.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said last week that machines with the new operating system, which he referred to as Windows 8, would be released in 2012.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft later retracted the comments, claiming they were a misstatement. The company is eager to expand Windows to computing devices such as phones and tablets, Ballmer said in a speech in New Delhi last week.
“We are in a race,” he said. “We are not doing that badly, frankly. We are doing pretty well in that race. But the race is on to continue to push Windows to a variety of new form factors.”
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Chipmakers and computer makers that agree to the terms will get incentives from Microsoft in exchange for accepting the restrictions, which tie a single chipmaker to one tablet design, said the people, who declined to be identified because the new program hasn’t been made public.
Seeking to limit variations may help Microsoft speed the delivery of new Windows tablets by keeping tighter control over partners and accelerating development and testing. Though the program isn’t mandatory, the restrictions may impede chip- and computer makers from building a variety of Windows-based models to vie with Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad, the people said. In past versions of Windows software, chipmakers could work with multiple computer manufacturers.
“Microsoft is still in the development process on the next version of Windows, continuing the engineering work with our silicon partners as part of the technology preview we talked about in January,” Microsoft said in an e-mailed statement. “We continue to talk regularly with hardware partners around the world as part of our development process.”
Sole Alliances
Under the plan being proposed by Microsoft, a given chipmaker would have to ally itself with a single PC manufacturer in order to qualify for certain incentives. Those may include features that ensure the device runs better or lower prices for the software, one of the people said.
Acer Inc. (2353) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman J.T. Wang, in an interview yesterday at the Computex trade show in Taipei, said Microsoft was trying to set limits on other companies. He didn’t specify the restrictions.
“They’re really controlling the whole thing, the whole process,” Wang said of Microsoft. “They try to set the game rules,” he said, and chip suppliers and PC makers “all feel it’s very troublesome,” he said.
This is the first time Microsoft has produced a Windows operating system that works with ARM Holdings Plc (ARM)’s technology, increasing the number of potential chip suppliers. The program seeking to pair one chipmaker with one computer maker might increase the chances of initial success by enabling the company to focus efforts on a smaller number of designs.
Design Limits
Still, the rules may constrain chipmakers’ ability to have their products featured in a range of devices. Computer makers whose designs aren’t chosen may be left out, one of the people said.
Under Microsoft’s program, chip suppliers will also be able to select a second computer maker for clamshell-style notebook computers that use the new operating system, one of the people said. Chipmakers for the new version of Windows, including Intel Corp. (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), can also decline to be part of the program and work with whichever computer makers they want.
The program only applies to the version of Windows that’s being tailored for mobile computers, the person said. The regular version of Windows for desktop PCs will have no such limits, as with past versions of Windows.
Preview Tomorrow
Microsoft Corp. will preview the next generation of the company’s Windows operating system to clients and media tomorrow in Taipei, Steven Guggenheimer, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, said at the Computex trade show today.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, has failed to gain traction in the market for tablets dominated by Apple, which develops the hardware and software that runs the iPad, introduced in 2010.
Acer was the No. 3 maker of PCs in 2010, according to researcher IDC. The company is among those hoping to boost sales by selling tablet devices, a faster-growing slice of the computer market.
The global tablet market will almost quadruple this year to 70 million units from 18 million in 2010, according to estimates in a May 17 report by Jefferies Group Inc. Apple will control about 64 percent of the 2011 tablet market, dropping to 41 percent in 2012, when 158 million units will probably be sold, according to the report.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said last week that machines with the new operating system, which he referred to as Windows 8, would be released in 2012.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft later retracted the comments, claiming they were a misstatement. The company is eager to expand Windows to computing devices such as phones and tablets, Ballmer said in a speech in New Delhi last week.
“We are in a race,” he said. “We are not doing that badly, frankly. We are doing pretty well in that race. But the race is on to continue to push Windows to a variety of new form factors.”
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
For a Song, Online Giants Offer Music in a Cloud
Once again, the way to buy music is changing.
For years, the legal digital music world has seemed relatively simple to grasp. There were two basic models: the online stores, where you buy singles or albums and store them on individual computers or devices; and the subscription services, where you pay a monthly fee or listen to ads for access to an online trove of songs.
Of the two approaches, the download-and-own model has been the clear victor so far, and its prime exemplar, Apple’s iTunes, has risen to become the biggest merchant of music. Now, a new hybrid approach is emerging, one where you own your music, but also can access it all from the cloud and stream it to many different devices via a Web browser or mobile app. This approach is typically called the “music locker.” It is being developed because each of the two existing models has drawbacks.
The iTunes buy-to-own method, which is also offered by Amazon and others, makes sharing or accessing your whole music collection among multiple devices difficult, because songs are stored on each individual device, rather than in the cloud.
Meanwhile, the access-oriented services, like Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker and many others, have been held back by a confusing array of pricing schemes and rules, often imposed by the record labels. They can cost $10 or $15 a month, and require Internet access for use of all their capabilities. In some cases, they let you store songs locally for offline use, but the songs become unplayable if you stop paying the monthly fees. Some place limits on things like how many hours of music you can hear a month, how many songs by a given artist can be played in a given time period, or how often a user can skip songs in a playlist or an online radio “station.”
Recently, two online giants, Amazon and Google, have launched rudimentary music lockers, which allow you to store songs you own online and listen to them on a variety of devices, at no cost or for relatively low fees, and with few if any limits. Apple, meanwhile, is reported to be working on an even more sophisticated version.
Amazon’s music locker is called the Cloud Player, and Google’s is called the Music Beta, both of which I’ve been testing. Amazon’s is available now, but Google is currently only allowing users to sign up for invitations, which it then will parcel out.
I call these two new services rudimentary because they have a major pain point: Before you can use them, you must upload all your songs to the cloud service. Depending on your Internet connection (which is often much slower for uploading than downloading) and the size of your collection, this can take days.
By contrast, the Holy Grail of music lockers is one where no uploading is required. It’s sometimes called “scan and match.” Under this approach, the music service would first buy from the labels the rights to stream a huge catalog of music, and, with your permission, scan your computer to see which of those songs are present. Then, it would simply assign you the rights to stream those songs you already have via multiple devices of your choice, and even preserve your playlists of those songs.
This is believed to be the system Google was trying to launch until it couldn’t negotiate the rights with the labels on terms the parties would accept. Apple is thought to be trying to launch just such a scan-and-match system, though the company hasn’t said so. Such an approach offers benefits beyond just the avoidance of painful uploading. With the proper rights, users could share music with others, or sample new music. There could be a variety of pricing and advertising models. But the music labels have been unwilling to allow this system in the past, partly because they know that much of the music people possess might have been stolen, or at the very least copied from legally purchased CDs, and thus hard to verify as having been bought.
I’ve been testing the Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music Beta, and found that both work as advertised. While the two services do have some differences, they are basically similar. Each works either through a Web browser or an app for Android devices. Amazon says it is working on compatibility with Apple’s mobile devices, but Google says it has nothing to announce on that front. (You can use both through the Web browser on an iPad or iPhone, but they worked poorly on those devices in my tests.)
Amazon’s service is priced by the amount of storage you use. You get 5 gigabytes free, enough for over 1,000 songs, depending on the quality, length, and thus the size of your song files. If you buy an album from Amazon’s digital music store, you get bumped up to 20 GB free of charge for a year. Other plans are available, ranging from $20 a year for 20 GB to $100 a year for 100 GB. Google lets you store up to 20,000 songs for the beta version, and says it will be free for “a limited time.”
I uploaded the same 1,400 or so songs to each service, and was able to play them back just fine on the major Web browsers on multiple Windows and Mac computers, and on an Android phone and tablet. Each imports music using a small computer program you download. In my case, with a limited test collection and an unusually fast Internet connection, the upload process took several hours.
Google has a few nice features—it has a clever instant playlist creator, and, when uploading, it tries to prioritize your most played songs. But, overall, I preferred the Amazon player, mainly because it gives you much more control over exactly what you want to upload or download, down to the individual song. Google will upload only large collections, such as your iTunes library or main music folder. If you want to upload only certain songs, you have to create a folder containing only those songs. If you want to download only certain songs on your Android device, you must first make a playlist of those songs.
Also, the Amazon service found all my iTunes playlists, but the Google service omitted some. In addition, Amazon sells digital music and can deliver it right to your Cloud Player. Google doesn’t sell music. Neither service will upload or play back copy-protected music.
These new music lockers provide a new option for digital music lovers, and if the tech and music industries can ever agree, even better options could be ahead.
For years, the legal digital music world has seemed relatively simple to grasp. There were two basic models: the online stores, where you buy singles or albums and store them on individual computers or devices; and the subscription services, where you pay a monthly fee or listen to ads for access to an online trove of songs.
Of the two approaches, the download-and-own model has been the clear victor so far, and its prime exemplar, Apple’s iTunes, has risen to become the biggest merchant of music. Now, a new hybrid approach is emerging, one where you own your music, but also can access it all from the cloud and stream it to many different devices via a Web browser or mobile app. This approach is typically called the “music locker.” It is being developed because each of the two existing models has drawbacks.
The iTunes buy-to-own method, which is also offered by Amazon and others, makes sharing or accessing your whole music collection among multiple devices difficult, because songs are stored on each individual device, rather than in the cloud.
Meanwhile, the access-oriented services, like Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker and many others, have been held back by a confusing array of pricing schemes and rules, often imposed by the record labels. They can cost $10 or $15 a month, and require Internet access for use of all their capabilities. In some cases, they let you store songs locally for offline use, but the songs become unplayable if you stop paying the monthly fees. Some place limits on things like how many hours of music you can hear a month, how many songs by a given artist can be played in a given time period, or how often a user can skip songs in a playlist or an online radio “station.”
Recently, two online giants, Amazon and Google, have launched rudimentary music lockers, which allow you to store songs you own online and listen to them on a variety of devices, at no cost or for relatively low fees, and with few if any limits. Apple, meanwhile, is reported to be working on an even more sophisticated version.
Amazon’s music locker is called the Cloud Player, and Google’s is called the Music Beta, both of which I’ve been testing. Amazon’s is available now, but Google is currently only allowing users to sign up for invitations, which it then will parcel out.
I call these two new services rudimentary because they have a major pain point: Before you can use them, you must upload all your songs to the cloud service. Depending on your Internet connection (which is often much slower for uploading than downloading) and the size of your collection, this can take days.
By contrast, the Holy Grail of music lockers is one where no uploading is required. It’s sometimes called “scan and match.” Under this approach, the music service would first buy from the labels the rights to stream a huge catalog of music, and, with your permission, scan your computer to see which of those songs are present. Then, it would simply assign you the rights to stream those songs you already have via multiple devices of your choice, and even preserve your playlists of those songs.
This is believed to be the system Google was trying to launch until it couldn’t negotiate the rights with the labels on terms the parties would accept. Apple is thought to be trying to launch just such a scan-and-match system, though the company hasn’t said so. Such an approach offers benefits beyond just the avoidance of painful uploading. With the proper rights, users could share music with others, or sample new music. There could be a variety of pricing and advertising models. But the music labels have been unwilling to allow this system in the past, partly because they know that much of the music people possess might have been stolen, or at the very least copied from legally purchased CDs, and thus hard to verify as having been bought.
I’ve been testing the Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music Beta, and found that both work as advertised. While the two services do have some differences, they are basically similar. Each works either through a Web browser or an app for Android devices. Amazon says it is working on compatibility with Apple’s mobile devices, but Google says it has nothing to announce on that front. (You can use both through the Web browser on an iPad or iPhone, but they worked poorly on those devices in my tests.)
Amazon’s service is priced by the amount of storage you use. You get 5 gigabytes free, enough for over 1,000 songs, depending on the quality, length, and thus the size of your song files. If you buy an album from Amazon’s digital music store, you get bumped up to 20 GB free of charge for a year. Other plans are available, ranging from $20 a year for 20 GB to $100 a year for 100 GB. Google lets you store up to 20,000 songs for the beta version, and says it will be free for “a limited time.”
I uploaded the same 1,400 or so songs to each service, and was able to play them back just fine on the major Web browsers on multiple Windows and Mac computers, and on an Android phone and tablet. Each imports music using a small computer program you download. In my case, with a limited test collection and an unusually fast Internet connection, the upload process took several hours.
Google has a few nice features—it has a clever instant playlist creator, and, when uploading, it tries to prioritize your most played songs. But, overall, I preferred the Amazon player, mainly because it gives you much more control over exactly what you want to upload or download, down to the individual song. Google will upload only large collections, such as your iTunes library or main music folder. If you want to upload only certain songs, you have to create a folder containing only those songs. If you want to download only certain songs on your Android device, you must first make a playlist of those songs.
Also, the Amazon service found all my iTunes playlists, but the Google service omitted some. In addition, Amazon sells digital music and can deliver it right to your Cloud Player. Google doesn’t sell music. Neither service will upload or play back copy-protected music.
These new music lockers provide a new option for digital music lovers, and if the tech and music industries can ever agree, even better options could be ahead.
Find Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website,
sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Exclusive: Making Sense of Our First Look at Windows 8
On Wednesday, Microsoft offered the first glimpse of Windows 8, a sneak peek reveals much about both the influences and strategic goals of the major overhaul of Microsoft’s 25-year-old operating system.
The fundamental goal with the new operating system, which is being shown for the first time at D9, is to create something that is equally well at home on an 8-inch tablet as it is on a powerful desktop attached to a huge monitor.
“It’s ‘no compromise’ and that’s really important to us,” Windows President Steven Sinofsky said in an interview with AllThingsD.
At the heart of the new interface is a new start screen that draws heavily on the tile-based interface that Microsoft has used with Windows Phone 7. All of a user’s programs can be viewed as tiles and clicked on with a touch of a finger.
Windows 8 essentially supports two kinds of applications. One is the classic Windows application, which runs in a desktop very similar to the Windows 7 desktop.
The other type of application, which has to be written in HTML5 and Javascript, looks more like a mobile application, filling the full screen. Internet Explorer 10, which is part of Windows 8, has already been configured to run in this mode, as have several widget-like apps for checking stock prices and weather.
Although Microsoft didn’t offer any details, the start screen that it is showing on Wednesday includes a prominent link to a store, ostensibly confirming that Microsoft plans to get in the business of directly distributing Windows programs, much as Apple has on both the iPhone and Mac.
Sinofsky noted that there were a few things that the iPad showed were missing from Windows–most notably a touch-first interface and an app distribution mechanism and new business model for developers. Windows 8, as the product is currently code-named, is designed to address all three of those issues, while preserving compatibility with decades of existing Windows programs.
Although Windows 8 is clearly influenced by the iPad and other mobile devices, the plan for the new operating system has been in the works since Windows 7 shipped in July 2009–several months before the iPad was first shown.
“We really did take a step back after Windows 7,” Sinofsky said. “We were clearly influenced ourselves by phones.”
Microsoft has also done work with the classic Windows desktop to make it more touch friendly, including using a new kind of “fuzzy hit targeting” to adjust for the fact that fingers are far less precise than a mouse. The goal, says chief designer Julie Larson-Green, is that classic apps, though designed for a keyboard and mouse, work well with touch. Apps taking advantage of the new programming layer, she said, are designed for touch first, but also work well with a keyboard and mouse.
A key question is how well this new Windows will stack up against a new generation of “post-PC” devices running Android, Apple’s iOS and other operating systems.
There are other unanswered questions as well, including just when Windows 8 will be ready. Sinofsky declined to say, but said Microsoft will have a lot more to say about Windows 8 at a developer conference in mid-September in Anaheim, Calif.
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
“It’s ‘no compromise’ and that’s really important to us,” Windows President Steven Sinofsky said in an interview with AllThingsD.
At the heart of the new interface is a new start screen that draws heavily on the tile-based interface that Microsoft has used with Windows Phone 7. All of a user’s programs can be viewed as tiles and clicked on with a touch of a finger.
Windows 8 essentially supports two kinds of applications. One is the classic Windows application, which runs in a desktop very similar to the Windows 7 desktop.
The other type of application, which has to be written in HTML5 and Javascript, looks more like a mobile application, filling the full screen. Internet Explorer 10, which is part of Windows 8, has already been configured to run in this mode, as have several widget-like apps for checking stock prices and weather.
Although Microsoft didn’t offer any details, the start screen that it is showing on Wednesday includes a prominent link to a store, ostensibly confirming that Microsoft plans to get in the business of directly distributing Windows programs, much as Apple has on both the iPhone and Mac.
Sinofsky noted that there were a few things that the iPad showed were missing from Windows–most notably a touch-first interface and an app distribution mechanism and new business model for developers. Windows 8, as the product is currently code-named, is designed to address all three of those issues, while preserving compatibility with decades of existing Windows programs.
Although Windows 8 is clearly influenced by the iPad and other mobile devices, the plan for the new operating system has been in the works since Windows 7 shipped in July 2009–several months before the iPad was first shown.
“We really did take a step back after Windows 7,” Sinofsky said. “We were clearly influenced ourselves by phones.”
Microsoft has also done work with the classic Windows desktop to make it more touch friendly, including using a new kind of “fuzzy hit targeting” to adjust for the fact that fingers are far less precise than a mouse. The goal, says chief designer Julie Larson-Green, is that classic apps, though designed for a keyboard and mouse, work well with touch. Apps taking advantage of the new programming layer, she said, are designed for touch first, but also work well with a keyboard and mouse.
Windows is growing more flexible in other ways. Microsoft said back in January that the next version of Windows would support ARM-based chips from Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, in addition to the traditional Windows processors from Intel and AMD. Though Sinofsky and Green used Intel-based machines for Wednesday’s demo at D, Microsoft plans to demonstrate some of the ARM-based designs later today at the Computex trade show in Taiwan.
On a technical note, Sinofsky stressed that after decades of ever-increasing system requirements that characterized Windows releases through Vista, Microsoft is once again building an operating system that demands fewer resources than its predecessor–a trend started with Windows 7, which worked on all Vista-compatible systems.A key question is how well this new Windows will stack up against a new generation of “post-PC” devices running Android, Apple’s iOS and other operating systems.
There are other unanswered questions as well, including just when Windows 8 will be ready. Sinofsky declined to say, but said Microsoft will have a lot more to say about Windows 8 at a developer conference in mid-September in Anaheim, Calif.
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Laptop Battery Tests
Laptop battery have a relatively short service life and are really expensive to replace. There is almost no remedy to restore the capacity of the battery one it is worn out.
Though the actual life of a laptop battery depends on the usage habit of the laptop computer, most of the laptop users often complain that their laptop batteries no longer hold the charge and that they wanted a new one. Testing laptop battery life will help you in determining the expected life of the battery, so that you can avoid unexpected battery problem while using your laptop. You can also estimate the date for ordering a new battery.
Some of the factors such as CPU utilization and screen brightness affect a laptop battery life. The criteria that affect the battery life can be used to measure battery life of all laptops. There are many free services available on Internet and from software developers that aid in testing the status of laptop battery. Some software is available to test the laptop batteries.
Some software can also estimate remaining life of the laptop battery. Laptop battery performance tests are designed to measure the expected battery life of a laptop. A battery analyzer is recommended if you need a full battery service. Gnome Power Manager is a power management tool which can display detailed battery information of your laptop.
The tool even detects and explains the problems which are responsible for causing poor performance of the battery. It also gives the details of the quantity of battery’s capacity degraded. It gives information about the original capacity of the battery in your laptop. An interesting feature of this tool is that it can give you information on the amount of power consumed by your computer at the moment.
The Cadex C7400 is a programmable battery analyzer that is capable of quick testing, charging, priming and reconditioning of the different types of laptop batteries. Lithium, nickel and lead-based Laptop battery can be quickly and easily tested using the programmable Cadex 7400 services. The Cadex C7400 analyzer uses a quick test program to measure the laptop battery health in about 3 minutes, independent of charge. The Cadex C7400 analyzer uses OhmTest program to measure the internal battery resistance.
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
Though the actual life of a laptop battery depends on the usage habit of the laptop computer, most of the laptop users often complain that their laptop batteries no longer hold the charge and that they wanted a new one. Testing laptop battery life will help you in determining the expected life of the battery, so that you can avoid unexpected battery problem while using your laptop. You can also estimate the date for ordering a new battery.
Some of the factors such as CPU utilization and screen brightness affect a laptop battery life. The criteria that affect the battery life can be used to measure battery life of all laptops. There are many free services available on Internet and from software developers that aid in testing the status of laptop battery. Some software is available to test the laptop batteries.
Some software can also estimate remaining life of the laptop battery. Laptop battery performance tests are designed to measure the expected battery life of a laptop. A battery analyzer is recommended if you need a full battery service. Gnome Power Manager is a power management tool which can display detailed battery information of your laptop.
The tool even detects and explains the problems which are responsible for causing poor performance of the battery. It also gives the details of the quantity of battery’s capacity degraded. It gives information about the original capacity of the battery in your laptop. An interesting feature of this tool is that it can give you information on the amount of power consumed by your computer at the moment.
The Cadex C7400 is a programmable battery analyzer that is capable of quick testing, charging, priming and reconditioning of the different types of laptop batteries. Lithium, nickel and lead-based Laptop battery can be quickly and easily tested using the programmable Cadex 7400 services. The Cadex C7400 analyzer uses a quick test program to measure the laptop battery health in about 3 minutes, independent of charge. The Cadex C7400 analyzer uses OhmTest program to measure the internal battery resistance.
article sources from: http://www.adapterlist.com/
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