Boot up: Google Android phishing scare, Anonymous retaliates for arrests, and more

Android badges at WMC 2011 ... gotta get'em all!

A quick burst of 6 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

Families also get a voucher entitling them to a new computer for $149.99.

"Every technology company I have is getting hit by patent lawsuits that are the biggest bunch of bullshit ever. Every week it seems like a new one comes up. Between having to pay our lawyers a lot of money to review each, to increasing insurance rates and settlement costs because we can't afford to pay to fight the nonsense, it's an enormous expense. So much so that money that would have gone to new hires to improve and sell the product has to be saved to pay to deal with this bullshit."

"The group of hackers known as Anonymous says it has hacked into about 70 mostly rural law enforcement websites in the US, a data breach that at least one local police chief said leaked sensitive information about an ongoing investigation."

"Researchers have discovered what they say is a design flaw in Android that could be used by criminals to steal data via phishing or by advertisers to bring annoying pop-up ads to phones."

"...we've been surprised by the optimism among companies we're talking to, and they're not just having wishful thoughts. The specific reasons: Google+ is a respectable product, it's grown quickly, there are clear social communication channels like Streams where developers could promote discovery and engagement, and the transaction fee is likely to be quite low."

"Twice this year, Google's been fairly frank and vocal about something competitors have done that it feels is unfair. Twice, I've watched the technosphere largely react by beating the company over the head with a "You do whatever you want and copy everyone else" stick. Does that measure up, and more so than for Google than other companies?"

You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious

View the original article here

Tech Weekly podcast: what's next for BlackBerry?

On this week's podcast, Charles Arthur finds out what's in the pipeline for BlackBerry-maker RIM after the company's smartphone was caught up in the London riots. He discovers the future of a company that recently announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs, and a huge loss in market share in one of its key territories – the US – but how its new operating systems and its handheld Playbook should change its fortunes.

We also demystify the process of getting funding for your great digital idea. DFJ Espirit's Nic Brisbourne, the funder behind travel social network WAYN and social media consultancy service Conversocial, and author of Equity Kicker, is in the studio to talk us through Series A, Angels and VC funding. He also drops a few hints about the next big thing: where and what is going to make money over the next five years.

Don't forget to...

• Comment below
• Mail the producer tech@guardian.co.uk
• Get our Twitter feed for programme updates or follow our Twitter list
• Like our Facebook page
• See our pics on Flickr/Post your tech pics

View the original article here

Wanted: a PC to browse the web on a TV

Acer's Revo includes a RevoPad multi-touch pad that recognises gestures or can be switched to work as a keyboard. You can slip it back into the Revo's case when it's not in use.

I have a three-year-old Panasonic plasma TV – great picture, great sound, no need to upgrade it yet. However, I would like to use it to watch movies and catchup TV available on the net, and maybe do some web surfing. How do I best achieve this without having to go down the Apple TV route? I already have an LG PVR attached, but that limits me to YouTube and Picasa, and has a horrible alphanumeric entry system. I understand there are PCs that I can attach to the back of the TV and connect with HDMI, and that use wireless keyboards or new-generation mice like the Loop.
Matt Coomber

If you want to connect a PC to a flatscreen TV, then almost any current machine with an HDMI port and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium will do the job. HDMI carries both video and audio signals, so it avoids having to use separate audio cables, as you do with DVI. Windows 7 includes the Media Center software that was originally designed for use in home entertainment PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition, and it works well with a remote control. Windows Media Center has PVR (personal video recorder) features and now "Internet TV" (ie you can get movies from Zune, Netflix etc, if they are available in your country), so it might possibly replace your standalone PVR. You can certainly use it with a Loop and the Kylo made-for-TV web browser.

Windows XP Media Center PCs died in the marketplace because they were much too expensive for the home TV market, and there were alternatives such as streaming audio and video to the TV set from an existing PC. That's still a cheaper option, using devices such as the Boxee Box. One day, Google TV products such as the Logitech Revue might also be a more attractive option.

However, the PC-centric approach returned with the arrival of "net-tops" such as the Asus EEE PC Box, MSI Wind Box and Acer Revo. These were, roughly, netbooks without screens, so they were very small, relatively cheap, and reasonably quiet. You may be thinking of the EEE PC Box because this can be clipped to the back of a flatscreen TV set. The new more-stylish version of the Acer Revo, the RL100, can be stacked flat or used as a very skinny tower: it's just 300mm high and 25mm thick, and that includes a DVD or Blu-ray drive. Its main rival is probably the Zotac Zbox.

Specification issues are much the same as with netbooks, as discussed last week (Wanted: a netbook for business trips). In general, I'd go for a dual core CPU, and if you plan to play movies, some sort of graphics processor. The standard over the past couple of years has been the Nvidia ION, which is capable of playing full HD (1080p) video. The drawback is that a (literally) hot graphics chip can rev up the cooling fan, increasing the noise level.

The latest version of the Acer Revo 100 has a 1.3GHz dual-core AMD Athlon II Neo K325 processor, ION graphics chip, up to 4GB of memory, a large hard drive (500GB, 640GB or 750GB), a DVD or Blu-ray drive, multi-format memory card slot, USB, Ethernet, S/PDIF and HDMI ports, Wi-Fi, and 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. It often includes a built-in digital TV tuner. A slot in the tower case holds a somewhat odd remote wireless gesture-capable touchpad that doubles as a keyboard. However, the RL100 will also work with a vast array of Windows mice and keyboards, and with XP/Vista/Windows 7/Media Center MCE remote controls.

Acer also provides Clear.fi software that, according to its blurb: "automatically connects all of your household digital devices, including your smartphone, mobile internet device, notebook, all-in-one PC, HD media player, etc" – it should detect any DLNA-certified device. Clear.fi lets you share media content, play it to other devices, and upload it to popular social networks, though you can use your preferred Windows programs instead.

Since it is, obviously, a PC, you can run standard Windows software, browse the web, play videos in Flash and other formats, and all the usual stuff. You could also use it to run the free, open source XBMC networked media-player/home theatre software. (XBMC has no connection with Microsoft, it just happened to start life on the original Intel-powered Xbox games console.)

While the AMD K325 seems to be (according to the benchmarks) a bit quicker than a comparable Intel Atom, it's not a speed demon, and it isn't going to compete with a Core i3/i5/i7 – as fitted to the ASRock Core 100HT-BD home theatre PC – for general purpose computing or gaming. Depending on local prices, you might be able to build a better Shuttle or "barebones" media computer for a similar price. You could also use a Windows laptop, and most of these now have HDMI as standard plus either DVD or Blu-ray drives. However, the Revo RL100 does the job in a plug-in-and-go format that's quite close to the size of a slimline DVD or Blu-ray player, and will sit happily under your flatscreen TV set without looking like a computer.

View the original article here

Boot up: 200,000 BitTorrent users sued, Spotify reaches 1.2m US users, and more

Tuning in to America ... Spotify convinces 12.5% of new US users to pay Photograph: Andrew Testa/Rex Features

A quick burst of 6 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

"If you're not familiar with Bagcheck, it's a fun way to create and share lists of the things you are passionate about using on your computer, in your kitchen, for photography, when parenting, and everything in between."

This seems a scaled up version of the speculative invoicing scheme mastered by ACS:Law - although these alleged filesharers apparently settle for $2,500 each on average.

"LinkedIn (Debut: May 19) -- $75.16, down 18 percent

Zipcar (Debut: April 14) -- $21.59, down 10 percent

Renren (Debut: May 4) -- $6.75, down 11 percent

Pandora (Debut: June 15) -- $12.55, down 7 percent

Zillow (Debut: July 20) -- $26.17, down 7 percent

Fusion-io (Debut: June 9) -- $24.78, down 5 percent"

A 12.5% conversion rate already. Remember how long it took to reach that in Europe?

Charlie Kindel explains more about his decision to leave Microsoft.

Microsoft veteran Charlie Kindel walks away.

You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious

View the original article here

Boot up: Apple's projector plans, Angry Birds maker 'seeks $1.2bn valuation', and more

A quick burst of 6 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

Nilay Patel: "There is a fundamental problem with patents in the United States.

"It is us.

"By that I mean all of us: the companies and people who directly interact with the patent system, the media that reports on those interactions, the analysts and experts who inform the media, and finally the large, active, and vocal readership that we try and service with our reporting. As a group, we have accepted and let lie the lazy conventional wisdom that the patent system is broken beyond repair, a relic of a previous time that has been obsoleted by the rapid pace of technical innovation, particularly in software, and that it should perhaps be scrapped altogether."

Apple has "plans of integrating mini or pico-like projectors into future iOS devices while introducing a likely projector accessory for MacBooks"

"Rovio Entertainment Oy, the Finnish creator of the "Angry Birds" mobile-phone game, is in talks to receive funding that would value the company at about $1.2 billion, two people with knowledge of the discussions said."

Zuckerberg calls a Chill feature "lame". Here's Chill's response: "So what are we going to do? We've already removed this feature." Lame.

How Google+ hopes to beat Facebook: undercutting it. "For the launch of its Google+ social games platform, Google has found one way to differentiate itself from Facebook. For in-game transactions, Google is only going to be charging a 5 percent commission to game developers instead of the 30 percent that Facebook charges."

"Today we're adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life."

You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious

View the original article here

Boot up: Google buys Motorola – all the links you need, and more

Motorola has tried to build quality managemtn ever earlier into its manufacturing processes. Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

A quick burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

"As opposed to being protected, for which MMI's patents appear to be too weak, those other Android device makers are going to become second-class citizens. Google has set its priority. I said before: don't overestimate the patent part of the deal. This is about Google maximizing its control over Android for the reasons and with the effects I roughly described herein, and on which I'll comment in greater detail going forward."

"That's not to say it wasn't a bold, brash move, or even to say it wasn't the right move for Google and for Android as a platform. But that's all relative to the position Google was in -- and that position was a weak one, and to pretend otherwise is to deny the obvious. And don't forget that it leaves Google in a tenuous situation with the two leading Android handset makers, Samsung and HTC. I think Apple and Microsoft probably feel pretty good, competitively, about having forced Google into spending $12.5 billion for Motorola -- a handset maker with rapidly declining sales, no recent profits, and misguided management."

"According to Infonetics, Motorola Mobility was the leader in set-top box revenues last year, and was also tops in hybrid IP/QAM set-top boxes -- that is, the boxes used by operators like Verizon that combine broadcast TV and over-the-top applications. By leveraging Motorola's position with carriers, Google can better solidify its bid to expand Google TV and Android into the living room."

"Google Inc. agreed to pay Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. $2.5 billion if it fails to close the purchase of the mobile-phone maker, said a person with knowledge of the situation, a fee more than six times the typical amount."

"Our sources say that Motorola was in acquisition talks with several parties, including Microsoft for quite some time. Microsoft was interested in acquiring Motorola's patent portfolio that would have allowed it to torpedo Android even further. The possibility of that deal brought Google to the negotiation table, resulting in the blockbuster sale."

Reading between the lines of Microsoft's redactions: Linux is no longer a desktop threat; Apple and Google are "mainly" its desktop rivals; mobile matters; online battle is now inside the browser; and security is in, innovation is out. Worth reading in full.

Microsoft is finally ready to talk about Windows 8. Here's the new official blog.

You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious

View the original article here

Google's $12.5bn Motorola deal is good maths

Google co-founder Larry Page is good with figures. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Google's Larry Page will no doubt wish the mood music for his first major announcement as chief executive was more uplifting.

Instead, the conference call following Google's blockbuster acquisition of Motorola Mobility saw analysts line up to ask whether its largest takeover was also its most defensive.

But Page is a genius mathematician, and spending $12.5bn (£7.6bn) – in cash, no less – on more than 17,000 mobile patents (7,000 more than Nokia) must have been an appealing transaction.

The deal comes just 11 days after David Drummond, Google's legal supremo, complained publicly about Apple, Microsoft and other rivals waging a "hostile, organised campaign" against its Android software.

On Monday's conference call, Drummond was tentatively upbeat. "This is a transaction that will require regulatory approval, certainly in the US and in Europe and other countries, and we're quite confident that it will be approved," he said. "We believe it is a pro-competitive transaction. Android has clearly added competition, innovation and user choice, and we think protecting that ecosystem is pro-competitive, almost by definition."

As a future investment, Motorola Mobility's treasure chest of intellectual property make for better bargaining chips. But, as resident patents expert Florian Müller points out, they failed to deter the ongoing legal actions brought by Apple and Microsoft.

More cynical still is the suggestion Google will simply keep the patents and sell off its newly acquired smartphone manufacturing business. For all its talk of mobile being the future, Google (like Facebook) has shown little interest in making smartphones.

Horace Dediu, the former Nokia manager, notes that if Google really did want in on the hardware world then it would have bought Taiwanese giant HTC, a firm favourite of the Android brand.

And what of rival manufacturers? According to the press material, they welcome the move. According to Andy Rubin, Google's "Mr Android", execs at the big five phone makers showed "enthusiastic support" for the takeover when telephoned with the news on Sunday. But then again, all of them would be hard pushed to say any different.

Nokia shares were up 12% on early trading in New York; BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion jumped 4%; Microsoft rose 1.3% and Apple was up 1.8%. Google was down about 1%.

View the original article here