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Saturday, June 10, 2023
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LG Introduced G Pad Tablets

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LG Electronics entered the Android race:

LG, the leading Electronic Company has announced G Pad tablets. Currently three new models has announced by LG.

The G Pad 7.0
G Pad 8.0
G Pad 10.1
To beat the Acer that comes up with its latest 8 inches windows tablet LG entered the Android race by introducing its latest tablets. It is an enhancement in LG’s “G” line mobile product.

Specs of the G tab have not yet announced by the LG but the main difference between the tabs is screen size. All the tablets are featured by LG’s property and content embedded in it. Built-in features include:

Knock Code – Allows you to unlock a device with a combination of taps.
QPair- Connects you to an Android phone so you can view your calls and message notifications on the LG’s G tab.
lg2

Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics stated that: “Unlike smartphones, tablets are not one size fits all. So we designed the G Pad Series for a diverse target audience, some who prioritize portability while others want the best multimedia experience possible.”

His statement clearly justifies the attempt of LG to introduce three variants of G-tab at the same time. The main purpose is to target the audience having difference in taste and preferences.

“From its light weight to its sleek design, LG G Pad 8.3 is the ultimate complement to the Android smartphone experience,” said James Fishler, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics.

The new product line will be available in the market from starting of this November; however LG lovers could still purchase it through online merchants.

Apple iPhone 6 Release Date could be in August, Features Bigger Screen

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Apple is expected to reveal its new iPhone 6 series in the month of August. It is one month earlier than expected. This news was reported by a Taiwanese media on Friday.

iphone 6 release date

New iPhone 6 will come in two variants. The first variant will have a screen size of 4.7, like the previous iPhone series. The report also claimed that Apple had acquired parts from various Taiwanese suppliers such as wafer maker Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co and Largan Precision, a leading maker of lenses used in mobile phones, for the handset expected to be called iPhone 6.

Apple’s new iPhone is expected to hit the markets during mid-August according to the reports but there is no details about which markets would receive the phone first.

According to the mass-circulation national newspaper, Foxconn and Pegatron, the two Taiwanese electronic contract makers have been notified by Apple to start their assembly lines for the new handsets which are likely to come around late June. The source also claims that Eighty million units of the new iPhone 6 will be designed prior to the launch event.

The second variant of iPhone 6 will be a phablet device as it will have screen size of 5.5-inch. Apple is trying to battle against rivals like Samsung by introducing this phablet into the market. Also it is believed that screen size is now the primary competition stream for Apple and that’s the reason they are launching a phablet version with a bigger screen size of 5.5-inch. The phablet version of iPhone 6 will come in markets immediately after the 4.7-inch version. It is expected to be available around September or later.

It is expected that the Samsung’s Note series is going to receive tough competition.

Morover, iPhone 6 will also have slimmer and lighter design. It will also have faster A8 Processor which will boost the phone’s performance. The A7 processor was already acclaimed by many top reviewers and there won’t be any surprises if the A8 processor will boost it’s speed by huge extent.

It will also have a better camera for more crisp images. Rumors say that the phablet version will take more time to enter the markets as they have issues with battery life.

iPhone 6 is likely to launch with iOS 8 pre-installed. Its design is expected to be adapted from its successor iPhone 5c and it will also be available in various colors. iPhone 6 might be as slim as 7mm. But to achieve that they would have to redesign other modules as well.Apple’s new smartwatch named iWatch is also expected to work along their new iPhone 6.

Qualcomm Set to Buy Israeli Chipmaker Wilocity for $300 Million

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Qualcomm is reportedly set to buy Israeli chipmaker Wilocity for a deal of $300 million according to Wilocity sources quoted in the media. Qualcomm worked with Wilocity for many years to develop WiGig chipsets for devices. WiloCity’s WiGig (Wireless Gigabit), the brand name given to the more advanced 802.11ad standard by the WiFi Alliance, offers data transfer speeds of up to 7 GBs per second. Most devices use the 802.11n standard, which transfers data at a speed of between 1 and 1.3 Gbps. WiGig runs on the less crowded 5 GHz band, instead of the 2.4 GHz band that 802.11n devices use.

qualcomm

The Marker, a financial news website said that Wilocity will be bought by Qualcomm very soon this year for a price of $300 million. But the two companies are yet to agree to terms of all the provisions of the sale. There are still no comments about this news by any Wilocity officials.

Qualcomm has previously invested in Wilocity’s project for developing 60 GHz, 7 gigabit wireless chipsets that give faster Internet speeds. This technology will allow users to download high definition videos and large data at faster speeds.

The Israeli chipmaker, Wilocity was founded in 2007 by Tal Tamir, its CEO, as well as Dany Rettig, Gal Basson and Jorge Myszne. Who all worked for Intel before. Since Wilocity’s employees were told of the company’s acquisition by Qualcomm, representatives of Qualcomm have conducted rounds of interviews and it’s likely that if this news becomes true, Wilocity’s staff could be transferred to Qualcomm’s development center in Haifa.

Apart from Qualcomm, Wilocity was also attracted by semiconductor giant Marvell Technology, totaling $105 million from investors. More companies like Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Tallwood Venture Capital have invested in Wilocity previously. Leading venture capital firm Cisco, Israel’s Vintage Investment Partners, Jerusalem Global Ventures fund also invested in Wilocity’s various projects.

So, it is likely that Wilocity will soon become part of a strong Qualcomm presence in Israel.

Microsoft Windows 7, Vista Security Malware Infection is More than XP

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Microsoft has revealed that a group of threats affected Windows 7 and Windows Vista users more than Windows XP users. The company’s recent Security Intelligence Report (SIR) says that Malware infections became higher last year mainly due to three threats. The report also indicated that Windows 7 and Vista was more vulnerable than Windows XP.

microsoft windows 7 xp security infection

According to Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report (MSIR): Volume 16, three threats namely Rotbrow, Brantall and Sefnit together caused several malware attacks in third and fourth quarters of 2013. These malwares were initially distributed through peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing networks and were later disguised as a benign application. Sefnit is known to be a bot that allows a hacker to perform his attacks remotely. This malware was integrated to trustable softwares by attackers to perform illegal things like click fraud, Bitcoin mining and redirecting search results.

The infections on Windows computers measured by cleaned per thousand (CCM) increased from 5.6 in Q3 to 17.8 in Q4 of 2013 on the back of the Win32/Senfit click fraud bot. Another malware named Win32/Rotbrow claiming users to prevent them from unwanted browser addons was also reason for these infections. Win32/Brantall also contributed to malware attacks which acts as an installer for legitimate applications but also bundles harmful programs.

The overall damage was done by Rotbrow which targets Internet users. It was responsible for the quick increase in CCM metric on Q4 of last year. Windows 7 and Vista showed higher rates of CCM than Windows XP computers, this was an interesting point noted on MSIR. The report shows an infection rate of 25.9 percent for Windows 7, 32.4 percent for Vista and 24.2 percent for Windows XP. Although it indicates that Windows XP is less vulnerable to these threats, it doesn’t mean that everyone should switch to XP.

Regarding this, Microsoft explained : “The rise in the encounter rate was in line with the trend seen in previous quarters, but the infection rate increased by a threefold increase, and the largest quarter-to-quarter infection rate increase ever measured by [Microsoft’s] Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT).”

For more information about the security risks of Microsoft’s latest operating system when compared to old ones, you can read their official Security Intelligence Report.

Injunction on U.S. Purchase of Russian Rocket Engines Lifted

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On Thursday, a federal Judge lifted his restrictions on the main contractor for US Air Force National security. There was an injunction on this main contractor, United Launch Alliance from buying goodies from Russian rocket engines. After several talks, the US officials made him clear that United Launch Alliance didn’t break their sanctions against Russian suppliers.

SpaceFlight

A week ago, Jude Susan Braden of the US Court of Federal Claims issued the injunction on the main contractor for US Air Force National security. This injunction was made when there were talks of an Air Force deal to buy millions of dollars’ worth of rocket from United Launch Alliance for future launches. This deal was challenged by United Launch Alliance’s main competitor, SpaceX in Braden’s court.

SpaceX claimed that United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket used RD-180 engines which were bought from a Russian rocket engine manufacturer. The Russian rocket engine supplier was know to be a state controlled company named NPO Energomash. As Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin is in charge of the country’s space programs, SpaceX questioned whether the engine purchases made by United Launch Alliance violated U.S. sanctions against Rogozin and some other Russian officials in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

This claim was followed by a ban on further purchases of rocket engines from that Russian manufacturer until Braden was assured that United Launch Alliance didn’t voilate their sanctions against Russian suppliers. Such assurance was made this week by officials from the Treasury, State and Commerce Departments. After this assurance, Braden lifted the injunction and also asked federal officials to inform the court immediately if they received any note that the purchases from Russian rocket engine suppliers would violate the sanctions.

United Launch Alliance made a statement against SpaceX saying: “Sadly, SpaceX’s frivolous lawsuit caused unnecessary distraction of the executive and judicial branch and increased tensions with Russia during a sensitive national security crisis. SpaceX’s actions are self-serving, irresponsible and have threatened the U.S.’s involvement with the International Space Station and other companies and projects working with Russian State entities.”

They also said that they hope SpaceX will revisit its underlying lawsuit and the merits of its case, however, SpaceX is expected to press on with its challenge to the Air Force’s “block-buy” deal with United Launch Alliance.

Bit.ly Hacked, Users Advised to Change Password

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World’s famous URL shortening service, bit.ly gets hacked. In order prevent problems to user accounts, bit.ly has decided to reset all user’s password.

bit.ly

In a blog post, bit.ly said “We have reason to believe that Bitly account credentials have been compromised; specifically, users’ email addresses, encrypted passwords, API keys and OAuth tokens.” They also said that they had no indication at this time that any accounts have been accessed without permission.

To prevent any further issues on user accounts, bit.ly also removed all user’s facebook, twitter account connections. This means that all the users of bit.ly have to reconnect these account once they login with the new password. Users are also requested to reset their API keys and OAuth tokens through the instructions given in their blogpost.

They also said “Although users may see their Facebook and Twitter accounts connected to their Bitly account, it is not possible to publish to these accounts until users reconnect their Facebook and Twitter profiles.”

The company has also provided instructions for users to reset API key and OAuth token:

Log in to your account and click on ‘Your Settings,’ then the ‘Advanced’ tab.
At the bottom of the ‘Advanced’ tab, select ‘Reset’ next to ‘Legacy API key.’
Copy down your new API key and change it in all applications. These can include social publishers, share buttons and mobile apps.
Go to the ‘Profile’ tab and reset your password.
Disconnect and reconnect any applications that use Bitly. You can check which accounts are connected under the ‘Connected Accounts’ tab in ‘Your Settings.’
There are no details about how the security breakthrough has happened but bit.ly’s CEO Mark Josephson said “We have already taken proactive measures to secure all paths that led to the compromise and ensure the security of all account credentials going forward.”

This security compromise doesn’t affect users who just use bit.ly for url shortening, it will affect users who are registered and use features like link stats, traffic etc. The company has said that they have undertaken enough action to prevent any damage to user accounts.

BMW-Toyota Jointly Develops a Sports Car

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BMW’s partnership with Toyota has been reported for around 2 years now. More details on this partnership comes out as they bring up a new sports car with new features from partnership of both the sports car manufacturers. The new sports car developed by the partnership of BMW and Toyota will be two seated sports car that will have a powerful capacitor technology which will boost the performance. This news was confirmed on Friday as BMW and Toyota decided to cooperate in fuel cell technology, powertrain electrification and lightweight technologies.

Toyota-FT-1-concept-Detroit-reveal-interior

The President of Toyota Akio Toyoda and the CEO of BMW, Norbert Reithofer signed an agreement at BMW’s Munich headquarters to expand long-term strategic alliance between the two sports car manufacturers. Both Toyota City and Munich have been working with the potential of powerful supercapacitors for years to improve their sports car’s performance and they will finally be used on their upcoming new sports cars with the partnership of both. Toyota’s super powerful 420-hp Yaris Hybrid R concept utilized the system, pairing a 300-hp gasoline engine with electric motors. Their new sports car will also have such systems implemented and it will also have BMW engines and Toyota designed electric motors.

The CEO of BMW, made this statement regarding the alliance between the two automakers: “Toyota and the BMW Group share the same strategic vision of sustainable individual future mobility. Together we have a great opportunity to continue leading our industry through this transformation.” This was followed by statement of Toyota’s President, Akio Toyodo: “Toyota is strong in environment-friendly hybrids and fuel cells. On the other hand, I believe BMW’s strength is in developing sports cars. I am excited to think of the cars that will result from this relationship.”

The partnership between the two automakers started in March when Toyota agreed to cooperate with BMW’s lithium-ion battery research in exchange for a supply of BMW-made diesel engines starting in 2014. This partnership is now confirmed as they have signed an agreement on Friday to collaborate in development of fuel supply system, supercapicitors for their upcoming sports cars.

$20 Android Smartphone Possible from ARM

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With new high end Android smartphones being released everyday, the competition for the best flagship phone with huge specs has reached its height. On the other hand there are very less number of Android smartphones which are low in specs and affordable for everyone. ARM has finally noticed this point and they decided to launch a new Smartphone just for $20 !

ARM $20 SMARTPHONE

The new $20 smartphone is expected to run on Android which will provide a easier usability and high customization. This low-end smarthphone will include single core ARM Cortex A5 processor which is fast enough for normal usage of a smartphone. It supports 2.5G internet data, which is acceptable for a smartphone of such low price.

For countries where smartphones are the main source of traffic for Internet, this invention would prove to be a big boost. The new cheap smartphone will help millions to access Internet who normally were happy with SMS. Some recent reports also says that most users are not interested in buying high end smartphones from Apple, Samsung, HTC etc, This report quickly entered minds of Motorola and they came with a cheap Smartphone running latest version of Android, the Moto G. It was a great success as it was sold in many countries in huge numbers immediately after its launch.

This smartphone running on Android can be predicted to have a few hundred megabytes of RAM. With a single core ARM Cortex A5 processor, we can expect only around 4GB of storage which is quite enough for normal usage of a phone. Moreover, this device is first of its kind, targeting totally different group of people than what most of smartphone brands do. Although there are few low budget Android devices like the Moto G, Android was running only on mid to high range phones. According to the reports, this phone should be a success in implementing Android on every price range of Smartphones.

Reports say that this smartphone will be available in market within few months. This phone will be a success in parts of the world where the smartphone markets aren’t that developed. Anyway, a $20 smartphone with Android can catch anyone’s attention.

Vitamins C Tied to Reduced Risk of Stroke

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A recently completed study suggests that consuming enough vitamin C could help to protect an individual for a stroke.

New research was presented this week that showed the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke – more deadly yet rarer that the ischemic stroke – is less amongst people who consume normal levels of vitamin C, compared to those who have a depleted level of the vitamin.

One of the researchers in the study said the results showed that vitamin C deficiency needed to be considered a risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke, as was high blood pressure, being overweight and drinking alcohol.

The researchers said additional research was needed to determine specifically how the vitamin helps to reduce the risk of stroke.

For this study, the researchers tested the vitamin C levels in blood from 65 people who had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and the vitamin C levels in the blood of healthy individuals who had not had a stroke.

Amongst all participants, 45% had vitamin C levels that were normal and 45% were suffering from depleted levels of vitamin C. In 14% of the people tested, the level of vitamin C was so low it was considered deficient.

However, the researchers found that those people who had normal levels of vitamin C were the individuals that did not suffer a stroke, while those with depleted vitamin C had suffered a stroke.

Since the findings have not yet been published in a journal that is peer reviewed, they should only be considered as being preliminary. In 2008, a study showed that people that had the highest levels of vitamin C in their blood had a lower risk factor for stroke of 42%, than those people with the lowest levels of vitamin C in their blood.

A study done in 1995 resulted in similar findings. In that study, elderly people that had the lowest levels of vitamin C had the highest risk of dying due to a stroke.

Deficiency of vitamin C can also cause anemia, which is a lowered ability for the body to fight against infections, gingivitis, heal wounds, joint pain, and gingivitis.

Survivor of Ordeal at Sea Reunited in El Salvador

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Jose Salvador Alvarenga said he lived on raw birds and fish while drifting across the Pacific in a broken down boat.

The man from El Salvador who told officials he had spent 13 months in the Pacific adrift before his boat washed ashore in the Marshall Islands, returned to his homeland of El Salvador, but was too overwhelmed to speak about his experience.

Alvarenga arrived in El Salvador on Tuesday night on an aircraft that flew across the vast ocean he claims he traversed in his 24-foot fishing boat.

The boats engine failed on December 24, 2012 in a storm while he and his companion fished for sharks off the Mexico coast, where he had been living for nearly 15 years.

Without a radio or navigation equipment, the boat was pushed along the currents of the Pacific more than 6,500 miles before reaching the Marshall Islands.

Alvarenga said to survive he caught seabirds, fish and turtle to eat and he drank their blood.

He said his companion a Mexican national named Ezequiel Cordoba was unable to eat the raw animals and fish and subsequently died only a month after the two started drifting.

Authorities have met the story by Alvarenga with awe and some skepticism, but have not been able to find another explanation for how he just turned up on their island.

Journalists mobbed the man at the airport in El Salvador, which is located about 20 miles from the capital of San Salvador. Alvarenga was expected to give a comment to reporters but he was overcome with emotion. Reporters also were at the home of this family in Garita Palmera, which is on the Pacific coast of El Salvador about 60 miles from San Salvador.

Alvarenga originally flew to Hawaii then Los Angeles prior to landing in El Salvador. He appeared exhausted or overcome and was not able to make a comment, while he sat in a wheelchair that was surrounded with officials from Salvador.

Jaime Miranda, the Foreign Minister for El Salvador told the reporters than Alvarenga had been through a great deal in his journey in his drifting boat, but he had finally returned home.

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