Google unveils Chrome OS laptop

11 May 2011 Last updated at 17:51 ET By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has hailed Google's new laptops as a "new model of computing".

They will be driven via Google's Chrome browser and optimised for the web.

His comments came on the second day of the company's developer conference, where Google announced that so-called Chromebooks will go on sale in June.

Samsung and Acer will be the first manufacturers to offer the devices, for between $349 and $499, in the US and six European countries initially.

Google's aim is to encourage people to use web-based applications, claiming that that is where most people spend their time and that most tasks can be accomplished online.

The internet giant said because Chromebooks are not weighed down by software and applications common to most laptops, they boot up in eight seconds instead of minutes.

The company said battery life on the device will last a day, security updates will be done automatically and they will be faster than traditional laptops.

"It's a much easier way to compute... and Chromebook is venturing into a new model of computing that I don't think was possible even a few years ago," said Mr Brin.

"Ultimately the most precious resource is the user's time. I think the complexity of managing your computer is really torturing users out there. It is a flawed model and I think Chromebooks are a new model and this is the way things are going to be," added Mr Brin.

'Nothing but the web'

Six months ago a prototype of the Chromebook was introduced.

The CR-48 was given to developers, businesses, schools, journalists and reviewers to play around with and test.

During the Google IO conference, Sundar Pichai, senior vice president for Chrome, said that the pilot had over one million participants.

He told BBC News that the feedback from that programme helped underscore his belief that users are more than ready for this new shift in computing.

"Most people spend all their time on the web, and for the first time we have distilled the entire computing experience to be about nothing but the web," he told BBC News.

"End-to-end, I think your computing experience will be far simpler, safer and faster," added Mr Pichai.

"Today, most computers work where you have to interact with them and manage them. We have switched that around and I am genuinely convinced almost everyone is ready for it today."

There is some scepticism among those who follow the industry that ordinary consumers will embrace the move away from the norm.

"I think it is the future of computing, but I am not quite convinced it is the present of computing," said Steven Levy, senior writer at Wired Magazine and the author of a newly-released book on Google called In The Plex.

"Having used one of these CR-48's, I found some problems like in a number of cases not being able to get connectivity or get on fast enough. It wasn't as good an experience as my regular environment.

"That said I do think it is a great nudge to push us into what is the logical future of computing, but Google has to go out and sell this to convince everybody of that view," added Mr Levy.

The first Chromebooks will be available for order in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands from June 15.

The price for the Samsung version will start at $430 for a Wi-Fi powered device and $499 for a 3G model. An Acer machine will start at $350.

Price, said Michael Gartenberg, a senior analyst with research firm Gartner, could be a stumbling block.

"The hardware looks interesting, but the problem Google and its partners are going to have is convincing someone to spend $499 on a device that looks like a laptop but does so many fewer things.

"A $499 laptop can also run Chrome and get most of the Chrome apps. I think people were looking for Google to not only come up with some sort of computing innovation, but to come up with some pricing innovation as well. And at $349-$499, it is going to be a hard sell for consumers," Mr Gartenberg told the BBC.

Microsoft challenge

One area commentators think Google and its manufacturing partners might have some success is with the business world and also in education.

In a challenge to Microsoft, which rules the enterprise world with its Windows and Office software, Google is offering its cloud-ready Chromebook to businesses for $28 a person.

That will cover things like the cost of the device, necessary support, as well as machine upgrades and replacements.

Mr Pichai told a roomful of around 5,000 developers that the Google initiative would be one-third of what he estimated was the average $1,000 IT cost per employee.

Google is also offering a similar package to schools for $20 per user.

"If they can make Chromebooks work for business and schools, it has the potential to be a lot cheaper for them, because they don't have to manage them and buy software, and they get replaced when they break," said Ina Fried, senior editor with technology sites AllThingsDigital.

"It is a really appealing vision for these sectors, but I also think that businesses and even students will find it hard to break away from the PC entirely, a way of working that many people have gotten used to over the years."

Google said that later in the year it expects a number of other manufacturers to offer Chromebooks at a number of different price points.

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Facebook profile access 'leaked'

11 May 2011 Last updated at 07:33 ET

Access to hundreds of thousands of Facebook accounts may have accidentally been leaked because of a flaw in some applications.

Security firm Symantec discovered that programs were inadvertently sharing access tokens which could be used by advertisers.

It estimates that, as of last month, 100,000 applications were still enabling leaks.

Facebook said that it was improving authentication methods.

"We have been working with Symantec to identity issues in our authentication flow to ensure that they are more secure," Facebook's Naitik Shah wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Spare keys

In his report, Symantec's Nishant Doshi explained how access tokens act "like spare keys" to a Facebook user's account.

These keys were typically given out, with the user's permission, to help applications on the Facebook platform function.

With the keys, applications could access a user's profile and photographs, as well as posting messages on their wall.

However, the newly-discovered weakness in the old authentication method would allow spare keys to be passed to further third-parties - likely to include advertisers - through referral data.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We estimate that over the years, hundreds of thousands of applications may have inadvertently leaked millions of access tokens to third parties"

End Quote Nishant Doshi Symantec

"The Facebook application is now in a position to inadvertently leak the access tokens to third parties potentially on purpose and unfortunately very commonly by accident," explained Mr Doshi.

"We estimate that over the years, hundreds of thousands of applications may have inadvertently leaked millions of access tokens to third parties."

But he downplayed the risk, adding: "Fortunately, these third-parties may not have realised their ability to access this information."

Facebook's director of developer relations Kevin Purdy disputed the findings.

In a statement, he said: "We've conducted a thorough investigation which revealed no evidence of this issue resulting in a user's private information being shared with unauthorised third parties."

"In addition, this report ignores the contractual obligations of advertisers and developers which prohibit them from obtaining or sharing user information in a way that violates our policies."

Less secure

By default, new applications on Facebook are required to authenticate using OAuth 2.0, a shared open standard co-authored by several sites including Google and Twitter.

While older applications are encouraged to change to the new system, it is not yet compulsory.

Facebook is now working with third-party developers help migrate them to the OAuth 2.0 system.

"Because of the number of apps using our legacy auth system, we need to be thoughtful about this transition," wrote Facebook's Naitik Shah wrote.

Paul Mutton, a security analyst at Netcraft, said that while the vulnerability could potentially be used for malicious purposes, no secure data such as passwords has been taken.

"Potentially someone else could post stuff to your stream or to your friends' streams - making you like things that you perhaps wouldn't have liked," he said.

Makers of Facebook applications have been given until 1 September by Facebook to make sure their application uses the OAuth 2.0 system.

"For some applications to continue working, the makers will have to make changes. It's about giving the developers time," added Mr Mutton.

"It shouldn't take too long to make the change. But in the cases of more commercial apps, it's going to be more convoluted."

Symantec has advised users to change their passwords if they are concerned about unauthorised third-party access to their profile.

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ACS:Law fined over data breach

11 May 2011 Last updated at 06:26 ET

Andrew Crossley, the controversial solicitor who made money by accusing computer users of illegal file sharing, has been fined �1,000.

The penalty has been imposed for a data breach which saw the personal details of 6,000 computer users, targeted by his firm, exposed online.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said that the severity of the breach warranted a heavier fine.

But he added that Mr Crossley was not in a position to pay.

"Were it not for the fact that ACS:Law has ceased trading so that Mr Crossley now has limited means, a monetary penalty of �200,000 would have been imposed, given the severity of the breach."

A spokeswoman for the ICO told the BBC that it did not have the power to audit people's accounts but said that Andrew Crossley had provided a sworn statement on the state of his finances.

The security breach occurred following a denial-of-service attack by members of the hacktivist group Anonymous, who were unhappy at the tactics being used by Mr Crossley and his law firm.

"Sensitive personal details relating to thousands of people were made available for download to a worldwide audience and will have caused them embarrassment and considerable distress," said Mr Graham.

As well as exposed peoples' names and addresses, a list of pornographic films they were accused of illegally downloading was also made available.

"The security measures ACS:Law had in place were barely fit for purpose in a person's home environment, let alone a business handling such sensitive details," Mr Graham said.

Lacking teeth

ACS:Law was conducting a widespread speculative invoicing campaign, which saw Mr Crossley send letters to thousands of people accusing them of downloading content without paying for it and asking them to pay a fine of around �500 per infringement.

The scheme came unstuck when a handful of the cases went to court and the judge ruled that the Mr Crossley had mishandled them and abused the court system.

He faces a disciplinary hearing at the Solicitors Regulation Authority next month.

The data breach was one of the most high profile and worst seen in the UK to date.

The relatively small fine imposed on Mr Crossley will anger opponents who argue that the ICO lacks any real teeth when it comes to data breaches.

It was recently criticised for not being tougher on Google after the firm accidentally collected personal information from millions of unsecured wi-fi connections when it collected pictures for its StreetView service.

The ICO has called for greater powers to investigate data breaches and to probe deeper into peoples' finances.

"We would welcome the power to refer cases like this to the court who can order people to be questioned about their financial affairs with appropriate sanctions if they do not cooperate," an ICO spokeswoman told the BBC.

But critics think more is needed.

"There should be a complete review of privacy policy in the UK. The ICO has been given half-baked powers that haven't been thought through and that they aren't able to exercise fully," said Jim Killock, director of the Open Rights Group.

"This fine is shockingly low. Many people have been aggrieved and wrongly accused. They are entitled to some form of compensation," he added.

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Google launches music storage

10 May 2011 Last updated at 16:49 ET By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Google has been forced to scale back its plans for a cloud-based music service.

The company blamed lack of co-operation from the major record labels.

Its product, currently named Music Beta, will now launch in a scaled-down form.

Users in the US will be able to upload tracks from their personal collection to Google's servers and play them on Android smartphones and tablet devices.

The free service will feature enough space to store 20,000 songs.

Google announced its failure to strike the necessary deals at the company's annual developer conference in San Francisco.

The web firm said that business and product demands from some labels were too onerous

But it stressed that Music Beta was a totally legal service, and that the door had not been closed to future deals.

"We are open to discussion, as long as those discussions are aimed at creating a product and service for end-users that is on a sustainable set of business terms which represents a good value for users," Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Android, told BBC News.

"It is in our interest and in our plans to work with the music industry and sell their artists.

"What we are focused on now is that users have existing music collections they have spent time and money acquiring, and giving them access to that music wherever they want it."

Analysts have said there is little doubt that Google has been forced to scale back its ambitions.

"This is not the service they wanted to do, but it is the service they could do without running into all sorts of interference from the record labels," said Michael Gartenberg, senior analyst with research firm Gartner.

"It is a step forward, and at least consumers can get used to the idea of storing and accessing music via the cloud."

Half way house

Billboard magazine had reported that Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group proved to be the stumbling blocks in Google's hopes to offer a more fully-fledged service.

A number of industry watchers said the labels are ignoring the march of progress by being unable to broker deals with services such as those offered by Google, and also by Amazon through its Cloud Player product.

"This whole move to the cloud for music is inevitable, and there is this disconnect between what is possible on the internet and the old business models," said Tom Krazit of technology site PaidContent.com.

"At some point, someone will figure out how to make it work, but certainly no-one did today.

"I just think it underlines that the music labels don't really know what they are doing when it comes to the internet, the cloud and distribution. Certainly there is an opportunity there and they are not going after it."

That is also the view of Matt Rosoff, west coast editor for Business Insider, who said Music Beta will be a poorer service as a result.

"It is a half-way house, but I think it is a decent start and underlines that music is moving to the cloud," he said.

"The fact that Google wasn't able to sign up the labels means there are going to be some pain points.

"Uploading songs manually takes a long time - I have been told it takes as much as a day to upload 1,000 songs. The label deals would have make this much better."

Google has said there are a number of labels that are keen to be involved in Music Beta, and that they are working together to bring other features to the service.

Amazon's Cloud Player also lets users store and manage music collections online. It charges a fee for large amounts of storage.

Apple is also expected to enter the fray by announcing an internet-hosted music service at its developer conference next month.

Everybody wins

At the Google IO conference, the company also announced some impressive figures regarding sales of Android-powered devices.

It revealed to a 5,000-strong developer audience that more than 100 million devices have been activated worldwide, and that 400,000-plus devices are being activated daily.

In addition, the company said that over 200,000 apps are available via the Android market.

In a sideswipe at Apple, Google displayed a visual of the Android logo eating a shiny red apple, indicating that the iPhone is losing out to Android.

"It's hard to believe a little more than two-and-a-half years ago we were just one device, launching in one country on one carrier," said Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering.

Last month, research firm IDC projected that Android will capture nearly 40% of the global smartphone market by the end of the year.

Apple's iOS software is expected to come in at 16%, while BlackBerry will command a 15% market share.

In a session with reporters after the keynote speech, Mr Gundotra said the visual was a little bit of fun: "We try not to take ourselves too seriously. Its great to be in a battle for the hearts and minds of developers, and I think everybody wins."

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100,000 net champions recruited

11 May 2011 Last updated at 00:20 ET

More than 100,000 volunteers have promised to help a campaign to get more people on the internet.

Government digital champion Martha Lane Fox hopes they will "engage people with the joys of being on the internet".

It is part of the Race Online 2012 campaign which is trying to get millions more people using computers by the end of next year - 9m people in the UK have never used the internet.

A range of cheap computers is being made available to further entice them.

The low price recycled PCs will be available from Microsoft, among others, for about �95.

Ms Lane Fox was appointed as the UK's digital champion in 2009, at which time she was tasked with getting the poorest four million Britons online by the time of the London Olympics in 2012.

Race Online 2012, as the campaign is known, has changed its focus and now aims is to make the UK "the world's first networked nation".

Ms Lane Fox explained what she wanted the volunteer army to do.

"I'm not asking people to sit down and go through the complications of a presentation or train somebody in complex coding - I just want to enthuse people and inspire them and I think the rest will take care of itself," she told the BBC.

"For those people, it's a very simple task - they need to engage people with the joys of being on the internet," she said.

"It might be a parent on the school gates, it might be somebody in your GP surgery, it might be someone in your local pub or another network that you're in," she said.

The 100,000 formal volunteers are just the start.

"It will lead a ripple effect of informally people thinking 'oh yes, I know somebody I work with who can't use the internet,' so hopefully the 100,000 will become many, many more than that," she said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has backed the campaign.

"Today there are nine million adults in the UK who have never used the internet - and nearly half of them are among our most disadvantaged people. That's why the work Martha Lane Fox is doing as the UK's digital champion is so important," he said.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the majority - 7.3 million - of those are aged over 55.

Part of Ms Lane Fox's remit is to look at ways of making savings by putting more government services online.

Last year she conducted a review of current government online services and concluded that they needed to be revolutionised.

A new site has now gone live and will be tested for a couple of months to gauge public reaction.

"It is off the back of the report done by Martha Lane Fox. We accept that we need to make massive improvements and this is the result of three months work with a small team," said project director Tom Loosemore.

The site will be much simpler, more searchable and be based on the user's location within the UK.

Dozens of government services are now available online. Some 70% of tax returns are now done via the web and other services, such as renewing car tax, have proved popular.

The BBC is launching its own media literacy campaign, which like Race Online, aims to mobilise people to help a relative, friend or neighbour take the first steps online.

At the heart of the campaign is its First Click website which offers advice and tips on how best to support others.

The BBC's director general Mark Thompson is among a host of people lined up to speak at a conference in London tomorrow aimed at discussing the best way to get more people online.

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