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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Nokia tech chief to go 'on leave'

9 June 2011 Last updated at 08:06 ET

Nokia's chief technology officer Rich Green has taken a leave of absence from the mobile phone giant.

An official Nokia statement said he had left to resolve a "personal matter" and gave no date for his return.

However, a Finnish newspaper quoted sources inside Nokia saying he had left because of differences over strategy and would not return.

Mr Green was known to champion the MeeGo mobile operating system which Nokia recently sidelined.

That decision was brought about by Nokia boss Stephen Elop's decision to adopt Microsoft's Windows Phone software for its smartphones.

Tech change

Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat cited unnamed Nokia sources who claimed that Mr Green's departure was linked to the MeeGo decision. In particular, it said, Mr Green was unhappy with Nokia's decision to abandon plans to produce phones built around the system.

In its statement, Nokia said Mr Green's absence would have "no impact on our product strategy or our expected product launch timelines".

Rich Green joined Nokia in early 2010 following a 19 year stint at Sun Microsystems where he latterly oversaw the move of Java code onto mobile phones.

When he was appointed, he was Nokia's fourth chief technology officer in five years. The company said that Henry Tirri, currently head of Nokia's research labs, will take over the post of technology boss.

The news of Mr Green's departure caps a rough month for Nokia in which it announced that sales of its phones during the second quarter of the year would be substantially below previous forecasts.

Ian Fogg, an independent industry analyst, declined to comment specifically on Rich Green's departure but said the transformation Nokia was currently going through was fast and far reaching.

Senior management at Nokia have had to make some very hard decisions about its older projects and products, he said, adding that the strategy switch to Windows had to take the entire company along with it.

This was essential to ensure Nokia could get on with the job of producing Windows Phone handsets, explained Mr Fogg. However, he expressed concern that the company was moving fast enough.

"Nokia has to bring Windows Phone devices to market quickly," said Mr Fogg. "It has to execute faster. They need those devices to be shipping."

Citibank confirms hacking attack

9 June 2011 Last updated at 05:33 ET

Hackers have stolen data from thousands of Citibank customers in the US, the bank has confirmed.

The breach exposed the names of customers, account numbers and contact information.

But other key data, such as date of birth and card security codes were not compromised, the bank said in a statement.

Citigroup is the latest in a string of high profile companies to be targeted by cyber criminals.

It has been criticised for not telling customers about the breach when it happened in May.

"We are contacting customers whose information was impacted. Citi has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event," a Citi spokesman said in a statement to the Reuters news agency.

High alert

Around 200,000 customers were affected the statement said although earlier the bank had said it could affect up to 1% of its 21 million users.

It did not detail how the breach had occurred.

Security experts said the thieves may try to get hold of more information from those targeted.

"While Citi customers aren't likely to have fraudulent charges against their accounts as a result of this breach, they are likely to encounter social engineering attempts to enable further crime," blogged Chester Wisniewski, a consultant for security firm Sophos.

"Customers affected by this incident should be on high alert for scams, phishing and phone calls purporting to be from Citibank and their subsidiaries," ge added.

Citigroup in the latest firm to be hacked in recent weeks. Japanese electronics group Sony is still recovering from the theft of millions of pieces of data from its network.

While security firm RSA has offered to replace the 40 million secure tokens used by people to log into banks after it emerged that key data that operates them had been stolen in March.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Facebook sorry over tags launch

8 June 2011 Last updated at 07:58 ET

Facebook has apologised for the way it rolled-out a new system that recognises users' faces.

The social network said that it should have done more to notify members about the global launch.

Its Tag Suggestions feature scans photos and automatically picks out existing friends.

Although users have the option to switch it off, some complained that they were not explicitly asked if they wanted it activated.

Facebook said that the system was intended to speed up the process of assigning a name to a picture, known as tagging.

It was introduced in the US in December 2010 but has only now been launched globally.

Graham Cluley, senior consultant with security firm Sophos, said that users' annoyance was less about the product's purpose than the manner in which it was made live.

"Once again Facebook seems to be sharing personal information by default," said Mr Cluley.

"Many people feel distinctly uncomfortable about a site like Facebook learning what they look like and using that information without their permission."

Essential tools

Mr Cluley explained that Tag Suggestions did not mean, as some have suggested, that users would be able to identify strangers from their photographs.

"As your Facebook friends upload their albums, Facebook will try to determine if any of the pictures look like you. And if they find what they believe to be a match, they may well urge one of your Facebook friends to tag it with your name," he explained in his blog.

"The tagging is still done by your friends, not by Facebook. But rather creepily Facebook is now pushing your friends to go ahead and tag you."

Defending the technology, a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC that there had been "misconceptions" about what it does but apologised for not properly informing users.

"Tag Suggestions are only made to people when they add new photos to the site, and only friends are suggested.

"If for any reason someone doesn't want their name to be suggested, they can disable the feature in their privacy settings.

"We should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them," said the spokesperson.

Social everything

Privacy experts have long argued that users should have more control over who is tagging them and have called for 'privacy by default' to be rolled out in all of Facebook's settings.

The company has a chequered history when it comes to such matters. In 2009, there was an outcry about the complexity of its privacy policy - which at that point was longer than the US Constitution.

Subsequent simplifications went some way towards placating campaigners.

An investigation by the Canadian privacy commissioner Jenny Stoddard concluded that Facebook had made vast improvements but warned the company that it would be monitoring future changes.

Ms Stoddard said that there was room for improvement and recommended making default settings for photo albums more restrictive.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has made no secret of the fact that he believes life on the web should be social "by default".

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Web giants promote new IP system

7 June 2011 Last updated at 19:03 ET

The biggest ever test of the internet's new address system is taking place.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Bing and Facebook are among the companies switching-on IPv6 versions of their websites for the one day trial.

The technology is gradually being introduced because the world is running out of older IPv4 addresses as more devices come online.

Companies and home users may need new networking equipment, however the transition is likely to take years.

World IPv6 day is partly a technical exercise by internet companies to see how the technology works, and partly an awareness-raising initiative.

For the small percentage of users already set up to access IPv6, they will be able to connect through the usual URLs - such as Google.com or Yahoo.com.

Behind the scenes, their browsers will be pointed to the new, much longer IP address.

New equipment

Groups involved in IPv6 day say that everyone will have to make the change eventually, but users should not worry at this stage if they are not switched over.

Really big numbers

IPv4 was conceived in the early 1980s as a way of identifying individual connections to a computer network.

Its is typically made up of 32 bits, written as twelve digits, e.g. 123.456.789.123.

That gives a maximum of around 4.3bn addresses.

However, the rapid growth in PCs, smartphones and other internet connected devices means those addresses are close to being used up, with an estimated 80 million still to be allocated.

IPv6 is a 128bit system, written in hexadecimal (base 16 counting using numbers and letters), e.g. 21DA:00D3:0000:2F3B:02AA:00FF:FE28:9C5A.

The system gives a maximum of 340 undecillion possible addresses (1 undecillion = 10 followed by 35 zeros in the British numbering system).

The additional capacity, argue proponents of IPv6, will be needed to cater to the so-called "internet of things" where devices such as TVs, fridges and home heating systems are connected to the net.

"This is not a year 2000 thing. Planes are not going to start falling out of the sky," said Philip Sheldrake, a board member at non-profit group 6UK, which is helping to promote the system.

"The web will continue to work, but future growth would be stymied. It is just like when we used up the phone numbers in London."

For users with an ordinary domestic internet connection, the changeover may involve upgrading their hardware.

"A lot of routers at the moment are already capable of supporting IPv6. What they need is a firmware update," explained Richard Fletcher, chief operating officer at Plusnet, a UK internet service provider (ISP)

"ISPs should ship new routers or offer those updates. We are making sure all our fibre routers are ready for IPv6."

Mr Fletcher said that the long term nature of the changeover meant that customers of most ISPs would receive compatible equipment through the natural cycle of upgrades.

The business end

Becoming IPv6 compatible is a slightly more complicated task for corporate internet users.

Bringing their systems up to standard will typically involve investing in and installing new networking systems.

As with home users, for many this will form part of the normal cycle of upgrading and replacing.

However, the lack of any firm deadline, combined with the hefty price tag, means that some are dragging their heels.

"Corporates are probably quite far behind," said Sebastien Lahtinen from Thinkbroadband.com.

"They are trying to put off the expense and there are a lot of technologies that they can use to do that."

However, Mr Lahtinen said that the leaders of those businesses should realise that this change was going to happen and that they needed to make the investment.

Even though IPv4 will continue working for at least the next decade, there is value in changing early according to Philip Sheldrake.

"You have to make the transition. It is better to do that sooner than later because it demonstrates that you are a modern, well organised company that is visible on the modern infrastructure of the internet."

Nintendo unveils new Wii console

7 June 2011 Last updated at 14:24 ET

Gaming giant Nintendo has been showing off its next-generation Wii game console, at the E3 games show in Los Angeles.

The much-anticipated console, dubbed Wii U, comes with a controller that features a touchscreen and camera.

The original Wii console was hugely popular but Nintendo has faced pressure from rivals with similar devices.

Nintendo hopes the new console will create a new genre of gaming.

Wii U will feature a set-top box similar to the first generation console.

But the 6.2-inch touchscreen controller comes with a front-facing camera as well as the more traditional buttons of a Wii remote and a motion detector.

It will broadcast high-definition video and can be used to make video calls and browse the web.

Privacy

In demos, the Japanese gaming giant showed off some of the things the controller will allow - including offering users a private screen to view gameplay information that is not shared on the big screen.

It will also allow users of games such as Wii Fit to weigh themselves and get a read-out via the controller rather than the TV.

Users can also swap game play between the big screen and the controller, for instance if someone else wants to watch TV.

Wii U is "an interesting new concept" thinks Dan Pearson, a staff writer at Gamesindustry.biz.

"It is a hybrid between a handheld with elements of tablet design but also has all the traditional controller elements," he said.

"Initially people may be confused by the controller but so were they when the first Wii was unveiled," he said.

Nintendo was also keen to show off the processing power of the new console.

"Nintendo has been under fire for chasing casual gamers and it is good to see them trying to win back core gamers," said Mr Pearson.

Wii U will work with older games and controllers and will be available from spring 2012.

There was no indication of the price of the new console.

Kinect aiming to woo core gamers

7 June 2011 Last updated at 07:01 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Don Mattrick: "We've posted growth each of the past six years and are looking for our biggest growth this year"

Microsoft announced a raft of new features for its Xbox Kinect system as it looks to tempt hardcore gamers to the hardware.

Titles like Mass Effect and Ghost Recon will utilise the motion-detection system in their next installments.

Voice capabilities have also been ramped up, allowing users to access content by speaking commands like "Xbox Bing Johnny Depp".

The company says it will "transform how people enjoy entertainment".

The announcement came at the biggest gaming event of the year, the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

It is the latest move in Microsoft's war against the controller as the company intends the new voice search to negate the need for the traditional television remote control.

"Start Quote

What we have done with 'Ghost Recon' and Kinect is something a gamer cannot do with a traditional controller."

End Quote Yves Guillemot Ubisoft

"This year by bringing together the power of Kinect for Xbox 360 and the intelligence of Bing, we are transforming how people enjoy entertainment," said Don Mattrick, Microsoft's president of interactive entertainment business.

For the first time, YouTube will be added to the range of video services offered through Xbox Live, along with Netflix and Hulu Plus.

Microsoft has already worked with television companies in the UK, France and Australia to bring live television shows to local audiences, and it plans to do the same in the United States and other countries.

Big believers

While 10 million Kinect systems have been sold since November last year, over 40 million Xbox gamers are still yet to get on board.

Microsoft, along with games developers, will hope the new titles will attract serious gamers who have not yet been tempted by the Kinect's mostly family-friendly array of games.

Among the titles planned for release is the latest in the long-running Tom Clancy series. Ghost Recon will let people use gestures to virtually dismantle and customise weapons.

Ubisoft chief executive Yves Guillemot said all future Tom Clancy games would use Kinect.

"We have been big believers in Kinect since day one," he said.

"What we have done with Ghost Recon and Kinect is something a gamer cannot do with a traditional controller," he said.

Trying to appeal to serious gamers is a flawed tactic, argued Ben Biggs, games editor for 360 Magazine.

"While I appreciate Kinect as a piece of technology, the Microsoft press conference has just highlighted how redundant it is to a hardcore gamer," he told the BBC.

"There's nothing that Kinect currently does that is either of any gameplay value to me or that cannot be replicated just as effectively by a controller or headset."

Deputy editor of the magazine, Dan Howdle, was equally unimpressed - suggesting yesterday's event was the "worst Microsoft press conference yet".

"Microsoft needs to take a serious look at its core audience and get things back on track with providing for their needs," he wrote.

"It promised to deliver to its core gamers, but instead it's filled their core titles with a bunch of Kinect irrelevances, and made 2011-2012 the best 12 months on Xbox 360 for eight year-old girls."

Sony offers new handheld and apology

7 June 2011 Last updated at 02:49 ET By Matt Danzico BBC News, E3, Los Angeles

Sony has taken the wraps off its long awaited update to the PlayStation Portable.

The company launched its next generation handheld, PlayStation Vita at the E3 video games show in LA.

Jack Tretton, the boss of Sony's US gaming division used the opportunity to apologise to for the recent attack on the PlayStation Network.

Around 77 million user accounts were compromised when hackers gained access to the service earlier this year.

Speaking at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, Mr Tretton said he recognised the need to address the issue.

"This is not the first time I've come to the stage at E3 with an elephant in the room," he told the audience.

He apologised to software publishers, retailers and gamers whose data may have been stolen.

"Start Quote

Once you make sure you have a secure network, then the people who are out to get the information will try to outdo the security mechanisms we've put in place"

End Quote Kazuo Hirai Executive deputy president, Sony

"I want to apologise personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety that we have caused.

"It is you that causes us to be both humble and amazed at the amount of dedication and support you continue to give to the PlayStation brand."

Mr Tretton said that PlayStation network activity had been restored to 90% of pre-outage levels.

His apology was echoed by Sony Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai who told BBC News that he expected the company to bounce back quickly because of gamers' loyalty.

However, he warned that the threat from determined hackers was not going to go away.

"It is certainly incumbent upon the companies that acquire that information to use it and secure it, and store it in a very secure environment," Mr Hirai told the BBC.

"But I think it's also a situation where once you make sure you have a secure network, then the people who are out to get the information will try to outdo the security mechanisms we've put in place."

Back to gaming

Sony dedicated the remainder of its E3 show to launching the new Vita handheld.

The device features a touch screen, front and rear touch controls and WiFi and 3G data connections.

It will launch in the US, Europe and Japan by the end of the year, the company said.

Initial pricing was only available for the United States, where the Vita will cost $249 (�150) for the WiFi only and $299 (�183) for the 3G model.

Moans were heard in the audience when Mr Hirai announced that Sony would partner exclusively with telecoms giant AT&T as the exclusive carrier in the US.

AT&T was initially the sole network for the iPhone when it launched in the United States and was much derided for its data coverage.

As well as aiming to move on from the bad publicity surrounding the PSN hack, Sony will be hoping that PlayStation Vita helps it to reclaim some of the portable gaming market that has been lost to mobile phones.

Earlier in the day, at its WWDC developer conference, Apple claimed that its iOS system, which runs on iPhones, iPad and iPods was the most popular gaming platform on the planet.

Sony also announced a further push into the 3D gaming market, with the release of a 3D display, which will come packaged with an HDMI cable and a copy of the upcoming Resistance 3 game.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Apple boss unveils iCloud service

6 June 2011 Last updated at 14:46 ET

Apple has unveiled its much-anticipated iCloud service at its annual developers' conference.

Apple boss Steve Jobs returned from medical leave to show off the features of the web-based service.

He said iCloud was necessary because the PC was no longer the digital hub of users' digital lives.

The web-based service aims to synchronise and co-ordinate the key content people store and share across their devices.

Music match

Contacts, calendar and mail applications have been re-written so a change to one propagates across the other versions on separate devices. This re-writing means Apple's MobileMe service will soon cease to exist.

Anyone buying an app, book or music track for one device will see it replicated on the other Apple devices they own. Similarly, bookmarks for interesting web pages will be shared across all gadgets.

Mr Jobs stressed that iCloud was "not just a hard disk in the sky".

"We are demoting the PC and Mac to just be a device," he said. "And moving the digital hub centre of your digital life to the cloud."

This would end the current frustration of keeping content such as photos and songs synchronised.

One key element of iCloud was Apple's music store iTunes, he said. This now has a iCloud element so music bought on one device can be propagated across all the Apple gadgets that person owns.

One part of the cloud-version of iTunes, called iTunes Match, will also scan the songs that people have ripped from their own CDs. This will recreate the library in the cloud without the need for the music to be uploaded. The service will cost $24.99 a year in the US. UK prices have yet to be given.

The release of iTunes Cloud pits Apple against Google and Amazon which have both unveiled their own web-based music storage services. However, both those lack the involvement of record labels and the ability to replicate an existing library.

"This is the first set of cards on the table for the long game which is increasingly moving access to all your media up into the cloud, " said Mike McGuire, senior analyst with research firm Gartner.

"We are seeing people putting pieces in place for the time when more and more consumers have those assets, not just in their immediate vicinity, but up in the cloud," he said. "Those kinds of transitions for consumers take a long time. They don't happen overnight."

Cheaper code

Apple also talked about updates for the iOS operating system that runs on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches. It said it had sold more than 200 million iOS devices.

One novel feature integrates micro-blogging service Twitter into camera and photo apps to make it easier for people to share snaps with followers. iOS5 also introduces a auto-focus feature that lets a user zoom in on a particular.

Apple said it also planned to introduce a system that will update iOS devices without the need to plug them in to a PC or Mac. The new version of iOS will be available in the Autumn.

Lion, the forthcoming update for the Apple Mac operating system was also demonstrated at the WWDC. Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller said the software had more than 250 new features.

One key update, he said, was the inclusion of multi-touch keypads so Apple's notebooks can handle gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and momentum based scrolling seen before now on the iPhone.

Another gesture will take users to Ground Control, a global overview of everything happening on a notebook. Lion also has an autosave feature that automatically keeps copies of documents and other files.

Also introduced was a peer-to-peer wi-fi feature called Air Drop that lets Mac owners share files with friends and colleagues by dragging and dropping an icon onto a picture.

Apple said Lion will no longer be available on a physical CD, instead the software will have to be downloaded. Apple also cut the price of the update from more than $100 to $29 (�20.99 in the UK) when it goes on sale in July.

French media tweet and poke ban

6 June 2011 Last updated at 13:36 ET

French TV and radio presenters have been banned from mentioning social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter on air.

The country's broadcasting watchdog has ruled that doing so would break guidelines on advertising.

Stations can still talk about services without naming them, it said.

The French government is seen by many internet watchers as overly keen to regulate in relation to new media and the web.

In a ruling, published online, the Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), said: "Referring viewers or listeners to the page of the social network without mentioning it has the character of information.

"Whereas the referral by naming the social network in question has the character of advertising, contrary to the provisions of Article 9 of the decree of 27 March 1992 forbidding covert advertising."

Many French broadcasters - as in other countries - make extensive use of social networking sites, particularly Facebook and Twitter to interact with their viewers.

"Start Quote

Each company should have the right to say which communication channel they want to use."

End Quote Emmanuel Cassimatis Founder, Goodwizz.com

It is unclear how they would be able to direct people to such sites without identifying them.

Freedom of choice

The regulation effectively prevents market leading sites from gaining additional promotion by virtue of their size.

However, smaller, local competitors have mixed feelings about the clampdown.

"It is about finding a balance between freedom and fairness," said Emmanuel Cassimatis, founder of French site Goodwizz.com.

"Each company should have the right to say which communication channel they want to use.

"But 10 or 20 years down the line, we may have a string of lobbies created through those three or four channels that prevent small companies like ours from emerging. This move prevents that."

The French government has been criticised in the past, with claims that its apparent reliance on regulation is stifling innovation.

President Nicolas Sarkozy passed a three-strikes-and-out rule for online copyright infringers, in apparent defiance of EU guidelines on free access to the internet.

However, speaking at last month's E-G8 summit, the President defended his position.

He said there was a need to safeguard the rights of traditional creative industries in the rush promote online innovation.

Nintendo server hit by hackers

6 June 2011 Last updated at 00:48 ET

Nintendo has become the latest company to suffer an online security breach due to an attack by hackers, Lulz Security.

The Japanese game company said that a server of one of its affiliates in the US was attacked by the group some weeks ago.

Lulz Security is the same group that attacked the websites of Sony over the past few weeks.

However, the maker of the Wii said that no consumer data or company information was lost.

"There were no third-party victims," company spokesman Ken Toyoda said.

"But it is a fact, there was some kind of possible hacking attack," he added.

'Utmost priority'

Over the past few months, there has been a spate of attacks by hackers on the websites of leading companies resulting in the loss of valuable consumer data.

Japanese electronics maker Sony suffered a massive security breach earlier this year when hackers targeted the PlayStation Network and the details of 77 million users were compromised.

However in this case, Nintendo says there was no consumer data stored on the server accessed by the hackers and the company insists it is constantly working to ensure consumer safety.

"The protection of our customer information is our utmost priority," said Tomokazu Nakaura of Nintendo Japan.

"Therefore, we constantly monitor our security," he added.

World News | Latest News

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Nokia tech chief to go 'on leave'

Citibank confirms hacking attack

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Facebook sorry over tags launch

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Web giants promote new IP system

Really big numbers

Nintendo unveils new Wii console

Kinect aiming to woo core gamers

"Start Quote

Sony offers new handheld and apology

"Start Quote

Monday, June 6, 2011

Apple boss unveils iCloud service

French media tweet and poke ban

"Start Quote

Nintendo server hit by hackers

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