Nokia Siemens Network Kenalkan BTS Daya Tinggi

Jakarta - Nokia Siemens Network mengumumkan modul radio berdaya besar untuk arsitektur Liquid Radio mereka. Dengan peningkatan daya, cakupan pun bisa lebih besar.

Modul radio baru berdaya besar ini adalah bagian dari keluarga Flexi Multiradio Base Station dengan arsitektur Liquid Radio. Seperti dikutip dalam keterangan yang diterima detikINET, Sabtu (25/6/2011), modul bernama Flexi RF Module Triple 90 W ini diperkenalkan dalam CommunicAsia 2011 di Singapura.

Dengan output daya lebih besar, modul ini menawarkan cakupan GSM yang lebih besar dan kapasitas data 3G yang lebih tinggi di tepi cell. Klaimnya, kinerja BTS yang menggunakannya bisa 40% lebih besar.

Modul radio merupakan bagian dari Base Transceiver Station (BTS) yang digunakan untuk memperkuat sinyal radio sebelum dipancarkan oleh antena BTS.

Modul radio ‘all in one’ dari Nokia Siemens Networks ini dapat digunakan untuk semua jenis instalasi, seperti situs dalam ruangan, luar ruangan, terdistribusi, mast pole dan 6-sektor dan dapat memberikan daya hingga 240 watt per sektor atau memberikan output 80 watt kepada masing-masing dari 3 sektor.

Modul radio tersebut juga dapat mengalokasikan carrier dalam rentang 60MHz, misalnya untuk operator yang pita frekuensinya terpisah-pisah. Modul ini mendukung kombinasi teknologi GSM, 3G, LTE atau LTE Advanced dalam satu unit.

"Modul radio baru kami cocok untuk pemakaian ulang frekuensi GSM untuk layanan HSPA+ dan LTE serta penggelaran jaringan bersama," kata Thorsten Robrecht, head of Network Systems product management, Nokia Siemens Networks.

Varian-varian frekuensi pertama dari modul radio ini —-meliputi pita frekuensi 900, 900 J, 1800 dan 2100—- akan tersedia untuk digelar secara komersial pada awal 2012. Varian-varian lain akan diluncurkan pada semestar pertama 2012.


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Karakter Film Hollywood akan Hadir di Game Facebook

Jakarta - Menjual hak cipta mereka untuk DVD, TV show, karakter action figure dan pakaian rupanya belum cukup bagi para produser film Hollywood. Tak mau ketinggalan di era benda virtual, mereka kini menjual hak cipta untuk game sosial.

Ya, game sosial yang dimainkan di Facebook tampaknya menjadi bidikan baru untuk industri film dan televisi. Mulai musim panas ini film produksi Disney berjudul Cars 2, Mr. Popper's Penguins milik Fox dan serial showtime populer di stasiun TV CBS akan menciptakan keuntungan lebih dengan menghadirkan karakter mereka di game Facebook.

Untuk itu, seperti dilansir Bloomberg dan dikutip detikINET, Sabtu (25/6/2011), studio film Hollywood dan stasiun TV tersebut meminta bantuan developer game sosial.

"Kami diminta mereka untuk menciptakan sesuatu dalam 12 bulan," Peter Relan, Executive Chairman CrowdStar, salah satu pembuat game yang diajak bekerjasama.

Contoh game dari kerjasama ini adalah Weeds Social Club. Game ini diluncurkan bulan ini bertepatan dengan dirilisnya film Weeds. Di sini, pemain akan membeli dan menanam berbagai jenis ganja dan memanennya sebelum layu. Game ini sudah disetujui oleh Facebook dan pembuatnya mengatakan game tersebut tidak melanggar hukum.

Ikon urban fashion Marc Ecko menyebutkan, selebriti, nama merek, dan tema dapat memikat penonton yang lebih tua untuk bermain game sosial. Ecko memperkirakan, setidaknya bisa menghasilkan USD 1 juta per bulan dari penjualan benda virtual di dalam setiap aplikasi. Keuntungan ini lantas akan dibagi ke perusahaan media yang memiliki hak cipta atas brand, karakter atau tema yang dipakai di game itu.


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Nevada gives robo-cars a green light

Oct. 11, 2010: NBC's George Lewis reports on Google's effort to develop driverless cars.a

By Nidhi Subbaraman

Nevada is on course to become the first state with robo-cars on the road for real.a

Last week, the state passed a bill that authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to begin drafting rules for "autonomous vehicles" like the ones that Google is building and testing in California.  a

Nevada residents won't have their roads taken over by robotic cars overnight. While last week's legislation is a crucial step towards autonomous cars, it's only a preliminary move.    a

The bill goes into effect on March 1, 2012, and gives officials the go-ahead to work out car certification standards, insurance guidelines and other rules that would apply to robotic cars. The DMV also will mark out areas of the state where the cars can be tested.   a

According to the bill, these rules would apply to cars that use sensors, global positioning systems and artificial intelligence to drive "without the active intervention of a human operator."a

This is cheerful news for Google, which started testing the "automated cars" last year and logged 140,000 test miles in the Bay Area (with engineers in the front seat). Google's cars are designed to navigate traffic, drawing on the processing power of Google's massive data centers. Their hope is that the cars will be safer too.a

[via PCMag.com]a

More about Google on msnbc.com:a

Not just for fun, Google Doodles drive traffic, too Google makes its way into social games Google sets record with 1 billion unique visitors in May

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and science at msnbc.com. Find her on Twitter and join our conversation on Facebook. a

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Dirut Indosat Tantang Operator yang Ingin Beli StarOne

Jakarta - Direktur Utama Indosat Harry Sasongko menantang operator manapun yang ingin membeli unit usaha Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) mereka, StarOne. Meski berniat menjual, Harry sadar bahwa proses peralihan kepemilikan tidaklah mudah. Ini menyangkut izin frekuensi yang menjadi kewenangan negara.

"Asset sale masih on going. Kalau ada yang mau bayar ayo. Sampai saat ini belum ada penawaran," jelas Harry usai RUPS Tahunan di kantornya, Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jumat (24/6/2011). Calon pembeli yang santer disebutkan selama ini -- Telkom -- lanjutnya juga belum melakukan langkah konkrit.

Menurut Harry, penjualan unit usaha StarOne secara bisnis bisa dilakukan. Namun karena melibatkan peralihan frekuensi, maka proses transaksi tidak bisa dilakukan dengan cepat.

"Kan susah, ada frekuensi dan kewajiban. Kita memiliki frekuansi 42,5 MHz. Dan ini terkait lisensi dan punya pemerintah. Jadi pengalihan tidak bisa sembarangan, tidak semudah itu. Teknis regulasi harus dipenuhi. Kita kaji semuanya," ucapnya.

Selain StarOne, manajemen Indosat juga mengkaji penjualan beberapa unit menara telekomunikasi (BTS) serta properti. Untuk BTS, perseroan masih merapihkan dokumentasi, catatan serta file pendukung transaksi. Belum diketahui kapan penjualan tower dilakukan.

"Tower belum ada kesimpulan, karena kompleks dan terlalu luas. Pendapatan co-location tower tahun 2009 Rp 5 miliar, dan tahun lalu sudah meningkat menjadi Rp 270 miliar akibat utilisasi aset hingga ada performa keuangan," tegasnya.

"Properti juga, aset kita sangat banyak, gedung, gudang, semua kita kaji. Kalau tidak terpakai, ya dijual," imbuhnya.

Harry menegaskan, belanja modal Indosat tahun ini mencapai Rp 5,8-6,5 triliun. Capex digunakan untuk pengembangan usaha, khususnya seluler. Dengan gelontoran uang tersebut, perseroan percaya kinerja Indosat akan lebih baik dibanding tahun 2010, yang merosot.

"Triwulan II, kalau dari indikasi triwulan I akan ada peningkatan. Kami tidak pernah melakukan absolut laba, tapi indikasi. Dengan inisiatif-inisiatif baru, maka (kinerja) akan lebih baik," pungkasnya.


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So now there's an escaped monkey on Twitter

EmoryMacaqueEsc/Twittera

By Helen A.S. Popkin

The female Rhesus Macaque monkey who last week turned up missing from Yerkes National Primate Research Center Field Station in Lawrenceville. Ga., has done what any wild animal does upon escaping its captors: opened a social media account.a

Unlike the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay, who's been on the lamb with his own Facebook page for over a year, the Georgia primate avoided the world's largest social network, no doubt because of its reputation for shutting down suspicious profiles or tracking its users every move, the fugitive monkey took a cue from @BronxZooCobra and went with Twitter. Tweeting under the name @EmoryMacaqueEsc, she's been microblogging her adventures since Thursday. The monkey had a humble 186 followers at the time of this post, a number that will no doubt rapidly rise. (Who doesn't love a tweeting monkey?)a

"I do not have herpes and I love getting out and about town," the monkey states in her Twitter bio. "What more do you need to know?"a

The monkey's declaration of health is supported in an official statement from the lab that reads in part, "the female Rhesus Macaque monkey is one of the many bred at Yerkes that does not have the herpes B virus, and was not part of any scientific study in which it would have been infected with a disease. Still, officials warn that the monkey is a wild animal and it should not be approached if it is spotted."a

For all her disease-free claims, the monkey also seems to prefer her followers keep their distance: "I’m allegedly disease free, but don’t approach me if you see me."a

Indeed, on Thursday the monkey put some fright in her followers with this tweeted quip: "Looking for a kid who will come out to the woods behind the backyard with snacks like in Outbreak."a

By Friday afternoon, #zombie because the top tweet topic between the monkey and her followers — some fear her bite would begin the zombie apocalypse, some are all for it. The monkey seems on the fence. "still hearing a lot of #zombie talk today and I can't help but feel it is a little unfair. Even if I do start the apocalypse, I won't mean to," she tweeted.a

Surprisingly few seem concerned over the implications of a tweeting monkey — a skill that requires, at the very least, the ability to operation a cellphone. And now she's loose.a

For all we know, James Franco isn't just playing a scientist who makes smart monkeys in this summer's Sci-Fi blockbuster, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." That dude could've actually made one! He's in college, like, all the time! What's more, we've spent the last couple of years throwing around the term "Twitter Revolution."a

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Oh yeah! Don't think they didn't hear.a

via My Fox Atlantaa

More on the annoying way we live now:a

Justin Bieber's 'attacker' dead ... if tweets could kill Man eats live rat in Facebook video, PETA rolls in Fired IT guy puts porn in ex-boss' PowerPoint  Amish sexter busted for buggy sex invite to girl, 12

Helen A.S. Popkin calls great apes "monkeys" because it makes you angry. Join her on Twitter and/or Facebook, won't you?a

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LulzSec Posts Stolen Data from Arizona Lawman Site

Hackers have released a torrent of confidential data seized during an intrusion at the web site of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, including hundreds of private intelligence bulletins, training manuals, and personal e-mail correspondence of law-enforcement officials. The underground group LulzSec said it selected its latest target because of Arizona's recent passage of an anti-immigration bill as well as the racial attitudes of state police officials.

Among the confidential documents released by LulzSec Thursday was a report concerning an encounter between Arizona police and two private individuals equipped with pistols and an assault rifle and wearing camouflage outfits. Both individuals held valid U.S. Marine Corps identification cards and claimed they were off-duty and working as private contract employees paid to patrol the border.

"Every week we plan on releasing more classified documents and embarrassing personal details of military and law enforcement," the LulzSec hackers wrote. The aim is "not just to reveal their racist and corrupt nature, but to purposefully sabotage their efforts to terrorize communities [by] fighting an unjust 'war on drugs.' See you again real soon!"

Problems Along the Border

One sensitive FBI document released Thursday noted that the Mexican government refused to sign an "Intercept Agreement" promising not to eavesdrop on U.S. government radio communications along the border. The confidential report suggested Mexico's response meant Mexican authorities intended "to do a lot of listening."

Other Arizona law-enforcement documents demonstrate that smugglers are becoming more tech-savvy. For example, drug lords moving product across the border are now using sophisticated GPS gear to track their shipments as well as target rival groups.

Smugglers also have begun hiding their flash storage devices in innocuous objects ranging from cigarette lighters, jewelry and pens to calculators and children's toys. By contrast, some of the computers in the Arizona Department of Public Safety are still using dial-up connections to access the Internet.

One anonymous individual whose e-mail accounts were compromised by LulzSec's latest intrusion called the hackers terrorists. "If we're terrorists, then you're a jackass for reusing your password everywhere for nine years," LulzSec retorted in a Friday tweet.

On a Spree

LulzSec claimed responsibility for hacking the PBS web site late last month as payback after the television network ran a TV program about the WikiLeaks hack of sensitive U.S. State Department documents. The intrusion included the posting of a fake Tupac article on the PBS home page. (continued...)

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Conan cuts up Final Cut Pro X

By Suzanne Choney

Just as wordsmiths get annoyed when Microsoft changes around a seminal program like Word, some video editors aren't too happy with Apple's recently released re-do of Final Cut Pro for video editing.a

Conan O'Brien gave Final Cut Pro X a good whack in this tightly edited take featuring his crew of video guys. (Note the protest at the end of the clip: A list of features "removed" from the software, his staff says, including multi-camera editing, customizable workspaces, more than one timeline per project.)a

Apple has described Final Cut Pro X, which costs $299.99, as a "revolutionary new version" for its new features.a

But not so, says Conan: "It's so different from the last version of Final Cut, video and film editors all over Hollywood are having a very hard time adjusting to it. Well, our editors here at 'Conan' are some of the best in the business; they actually like the new software. In fact, they prepared this video statement voicing their support for the new Final Cut Pro."a

Be sure not to miss the dig at the very end of the clip: "What is this, iMovie Pro?"a

Related stories:a

Overhauled Apple Final Cut Pro X now available for $299 Rumors of Apple-made television resurface Q&A: iCloud, iOS 5 and more Apple chatter

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.a

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Nokia Sea Ray: The N9 that runs Windows Phone 7

aaaaaIn a “super confidential” presentation this morning, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop asked a crowd of attendees to put their cameras away before unveiling a Windows Phone-powered device with overwhelming resemblance to the N9, codenamed ‘Sea Ray’.

aaaaaOther than a slightly different LED placement on the back of ‘Sea Ray’, the device is almost a mirror image of the N9 â€" it even uses the same 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss lens. There is however, a hardware button, presumably for shutter release, along the side.

aaaaa

aaaaaWhile we’re certainly enthusiastic about the possibility a device similar to the N9 running Windows Phone 7, but it may also be that the device is still a prototype. And they may change the look to keep N9 market separate. Else Sea Ray will become a direct competitor of N9 itself killing Meego in its infamy.

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Indosat Tetap Beri Peluang Bagi Anak Bangsa

Jakarta - Presiden Direktur & CEO Indosat Harry Sasongko menegaskan, walaupun dari susunan direksi didominasi oleh eksekutif asing, pemegang saham Indosat tetap memiliki komitmen untuk memberikan ruang bagi anak bangsa baik dari kalangan internal Indosat atau luar untuk berkiprah di operator itu asalkan memenuhi standar yang diinginkan.

"Saat ini Indosat dalam masa transformasi sehingga keahlian dari eksekutif asing masih dibutuhkan. Tetapi pemegang saham tidak melupakan potensi anak bangsa karena dengan menempatkan pada posisi sesuai kompetensinya secara prudent," jelas Harry dalam RUPST Indosat di Kantor Pusat PT Indosat, Jakarta, Jumat (24/6/2011).

Hasil RUPST hari ini menyetujui perubahan pada susunan direksi Indosat per 1 September 2011 nanti adalah direktur utama Harry Sasongko Tirtotjondro, direktur keuangan Curt Stefan Carlsson, Direktur Jaringan Hans Christiaan Moritz, Direktur Wholesale & Enterprise Fadzri Sentosa, dan Direktur pemasaran Laszlo Imre Barta.

"Kami merasa susunan direksi dengan kekuatan lima orang ini sudah cukup sesuai dengan semangat efisiensi yang dicanangkan. Karena itu jabatan COO atau wakil direktur utama yang lowong sejak 2009 tidak akan diisi lagi," tandas Harry.


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Charge your phone by using your touchscreen

aaaaaAustralian scientists have made a breakthrough that could make your phone’s touchscreen produce a small electrical charge every time you touch it â€" effectively charging your phone as you use it.

aaaaaPiezoelectric materials turn movement or pressure into electricity â€" you have probably used one if you have ever flicked an electric cigarette lighter but they have loads of applications. The trouble is, the piezoelectric crystals required to generate a decent amount of juice tend to be quite big.

aaaaaResearchers at the RMIT University in Melbourne have managed to make a nano-film of a piezoelectric material called PSZT which can generate about 0.25w from a gentle touch. This is a tiny amount of power but the Aussies are confident they can improve it. What this means is that it should be practical to coat your phone screen in a film that will generate a small amount of power every time you swipe your finger across it.

aaaaaIt is too early to say if this will produce enough ‘leccy to mean you never have to plug in again but this should at least mean you can keep your phone going for longer while playing Angry Birds.

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Indosat Belum Perlu Tambahan Frekuensi 3G

Jakarta - Operator telekomunikasi Indosat mengaku belum membutuhkan tambahan kanal frekuensi baru untuk memperkuat layanan data 3G miliknya. Anak perusahaan Qatar Telecom ini mengaku cukup puas dengan dua kanal 10 MHz yang tersedia saat ini.

"Frekuensi 3G kami masih cukup untuk mengembangkan layanan data," kata Presiden Direktur & CEO Indosat, Harry Sasongko, dalam RUPST Indosat di Kantor Pusat PT Indosat, Jakarta, Jumat (24/6/2011).

Indosat beserta Telkomsel dan XL Axiata, telah mendapatkan tambahan blok kedua 3G sebesar 5 MHz tahun lalu. Namun karena pertumbuhan layanan data yang mencapai 200%, Telkomsel dan XL tahun ini kembali mengajukan permintaan blok ketiga walau di spektrum 2,1 GHz hanya tersisa satu blok.

Langkah dua kompetitornya itu tak serta merta diikuti Indosat karena sang operator merasa masih bisa memanfaatkan sumber daya frekuensi yang tersedia.

"Belum lagi kami masih bisa manfaatkan frekuensi 2G existing untuk refarming. Jadi kami belum membutuhkan kanal ketiga 3G saat ini," tandas Harry.


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Indosat Ganti Direktur Keuangan

Jakarta - Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham (RUPS) PT Indosat Tbk (ISAT) menyetujui perombakan jajaran direksi. Direktur Utama tetap dipegang Harry Sasongko, sementara Direktur Keuangan Indosat Peter Kuncenwicz diberhentikan.

Posisi kosong Peter Kuncenwicz, akan diisi oleh Curt Stefan Carlsson sebagai Direktur Keuangan yang baru sesuai dengan keputusan RUPS

"Pada kesempatan ini kami mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Peter yang telah bekerja sama selama dua tahun," kata Harry usai RUPS di kantornya, Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jumat (24/6/2011).

Berikut susunan anggota direksi ISAT yang baru dan akan berlaku mulai 1 September 2011:

Direktur Utama : Harry Sasongko
Direktur : Curt Stefan Carlosson
Direktur : Hans Christiaan Moritz
Direktur : Fadzri Sentosa
Direktur : Laszlo Imre Barta


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Harry Potter Masuki Era Digital Lewat eBook

Jakarta - Pecinta tokoh penyihir remaja Harry Potter bakal segera memiliki koleksi baru. Sang penulis -- J.K Rowling -- berencana untuk memasukkan ciptaan terbaiknya itu ke dalam dunia digital melalui eBook.

Buku digital ini diharapkan dapat jadi penerus kesuksesan kisah penyihir dari Hogwarts yang popularitasnya tak terbantahkan lagi di edisi buku cetak.

Rowling mengatakan, jika tak ada aral melintang, Harry Potter versi buku digital bakal muncul pada bulan Oktober 2011. Ia akan didistribusikan melalui sejumlah retailer online seperti Amazon dan Apple.

"Ini merupakan cara yang menarik untuk memperkenalkan buku ini (Harry Potter-red.) kepada generasi digital," ujar Rowling yang kini berusia 45 tahun tersebut, dikutip detikINET dari AFP, Jumat (24/6/2011).

"Sebenarnya saya menyukai buku cetak, namun eBook terbilang menakjubkan. Anda bisa memiliki ratusan koleksi buku dalam satu waktu," lanjutnya.

Rowling sendiri sudah mengakhiri seri Harry Potter dalam buku ke-7 yang dihadirkan pada tahun 2007 lalu. Tak tanggung-tanggung, sekitar 400 juta kopi novel ini terjual di seluruh dunia.

"Ini seperti mantan pacar saya (tak bisa terlupakan). Harry Potter benar-benar telah mengubah hidup saya. Saya sangat mengagumi pembaca saya," pungkasnya.

Di ranah film, bulan depan rencananya akan dirilis edisi pamungkas 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'. Di sinilah petualangan Harry yang diperankan Daniel Radcliffe, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), dan Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) menutup kisahnya.



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Hiii, Pria Makan Tikus di Video Facebook

Utah - Sungguh gila kelakuan lelaki ini. Dia merekam aksinya makan seekor bayi tikus dan mempostingnya di Facebook sehingga banyak orang melihat tingkah anehnya itu.

Tampak dalam video, Andy Ray Harris yang tinggal di Utah, Amerika Serikat, memakan hidup-hidup hewan tersebut. Beberapa orang melaporkannya pada polisi sehingga Harris lalu ditangkap dengan tuduhan kekejaman pada binatang.

Dikutip detikINET dari DailyMail, Jumat (24/6/2011), tingkah Harris dilaporkan pada polisi oleh kelompok pelindung binatang, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Setelah teridentifikasi, pria bertato itu kemudian ditangkap oleh aparat.

Ulah Harris dianggap menjijikkan, apalagi dia menyiarkannya secara online pada orang banyak. Video yang dia posting kini sudah dihapus oleh pihak Facebook.

Harris saat ini sudah menjalani proses pengadilan. Pria ini sebelumnya sudah pernah berurusan dengan polisi terkait kasus lain.



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LulzSec claims hack of Arizona law enforcement info

LulzSec's Twitter icon.a

By Suzanne Choney

Hacking group LulzSec took aim at law enforcement in the state of Arizona on Thursday, saying it was releasing "hundreds of private intelligence bulletins, training manuals, personal email correspondence, names, phone numbers, addresses and passwords" belonging to those in law enforcement.a

The group, which has claimed responsibility for various denial-of-service attacks in recent weeks, ranging from the CIA and U.S. Senate's public websites to those of various video game companies, said it specifically targeted Arizona "because we are against SB 1070 and the racial profiling anti-immigrant police state that is Arizona."a

SB 1070, a tough immigration law, was passed a year ago by state legislators, but immediately challenged. A preliminary injunction by a federal judge has blocked most of the law from going into effect. Arizona is planning to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the injunction.a

The information LulzSec said it obtained — 714 files totaling 446 megabytes — is posted on a file-sharing website. LulzSec has posted various information from other hacked sites on different file-sharing sites, rarely sticking with the same one twice.a

Steve Harrison, a spokesman for Arizona's Department of Public Safety told Reuters: "We are aware of computer issues ... We're looking into it. And of course we're taking additional security safeguards."a

In a press release LulzSec said the documents are classified as "law enforcement sensitive," "not for public distribution" and "for official use only," and are "primarily related to border patrol and counter-terrorism operations." The documents also describe the "use of informants to infiltrate various gangs, cartels, motorcycle clubs, Nazi groups and protest movements."a

Lulz, whose name derives from Internet slang for "laugh out loud," also made its announcement on its Twitter page, using Spanish to insult law enforcement with a slur.a

Earlier this week, LulzSec said it is now working with Anonymous, best-known for its denial-of-service attacks on Visa and MasterCard, which halted online donations during the WikiLeaks controversy. In its statement Monday, LulzSec asked others to join in on its anti-government hacking efforts.a

On Wednesday, British police filed charges against a 19-year-old, Ryan Cleary, suspected of involvement in cyber attacks on the CIA website. Cleary is believed to have ties to LulzSec. One of the charges against him relates to the denial-of-service attack that brought down the website of Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, considered the equivalent of the FBI.a

In denial-of-service attacks, hackers bombard a website with so many messages, it can crash the site, forcing it offline. But hacking, and not denial-of-service attacks, is what LulzSec has indicated it plans to do more of.a

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The group said Thursday that every week from now on, it plans to release "more classified documents and embarrassing personal details of military and law enforcement in an effort not just to reveal their racist and corrupt nature but to purposefully sabotage their efforts to  terrorize communities fighting an unjust 'war on drugs.' "a

The group's Twitter feed also said it will be "releasing more goods on Monday."a

Related stories:a

UK charges teen with cybercrimes LulzSec teams up with Anonymous Hackers bring down British police website Hacking group LulzSec says it takes out CIA website

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Sensation, Ponsel Dual Core Pertama HTC di Indonesia

Jakarta - HTC kian serius menggarap pasar Indonesia. Buktinya, setelah meluncurkan tablet PC beberapa waktu lalu, vendor asal Taiwan ini bergegas merilis smartphone Android dual core.

Ponsel yang dimaksud bernama HTC Sensation. Tidak hanya memiliki spesifikasi kelas wahid, produk ini juga dijanjikan bisa menghantarkan kemudahan mengolah konten digital melalui gadget.

"HTC Sensation tidak hanya memiliki spesifikasi paling canggih. Resolusi layarnya besar, desainnya kelas premium, dan ada fitur khas kami yaitu HTC Sense, yang membawa ponsel pintar multimedia ke tingkat selanjutnya," jelas Agus Sugiharto, HTC Country Manager Indonesia, di Plaza Senayan, Kamis malam (23/6/2011).

Jika dibandingkan dengan ponsel Android dual core lainya di Indonesia, HTC Sensation memang agak berbeda. Clock prosesornya mencapai 1,2 GHz, dengan bentang layar 4,3 inchi yang mampu menampilkan resolusi hingga 540 X 960 pixel.

Ponsel itu juga kian canggih karena sudah menggunakan Android Gingerbread, memory RAM 768MB dan memori internal 1GB. Jadi, ponsel ini tampaknya memang cukup kencang menjalankan aplikasi terberat sekalipun.

HTC Sensation dipasarkan di Indonesia dengan kisaran harga Rp 5,5 juta, itu sudah termasuk paket internet unlimited selama 6 bulan dari Telkomsel. Namun sabar dulu, produk ini baru bisa didapat di akhir Juni 2011.


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Apple Pulls ThirdIntifada App Urging Attacks on Israel

When it comes to attacking the state of Israel, there's no longer an app for that. At least not for Apple's iOS devices.

Under pressure from Jewish organizations and the Israeli government, the computer and mobile -device giant on Wednesday stopped offering ThirdIntifada through its App Store. The free Arabic program offered updates on Palestinian protests against Israel and links to anti-Zionist articles and editorials.

Shaking Off

Intifada, which means "shaking off" in Arabic, refers to the violent resistance against Israel by Palestinians that began in 1987 in the West Bank and Gaza territories, which were then both controlled by Israel. It was largely characterized by images of Arab youths throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, but has also included stabbings, shootings and bombings.

The Oslo peace talks in the early 90s calmed the unrest, but after a lack of progress new violence erupted in 2000, which was quickly termed a second intifada.

The "third intifada" refers to calls for another uprising against Israel to increase pressure on the Jewish state to fully withdraw from the West Bank after leaving Gaza in 2005. Intifada has become a politically loaded term in America; a New York City principal lost her job at an Arab-language charter school after she seemed to minimize its violent implications in a New York Post interview.

Apple didn't immediately respond to our request for comment, but in a widely published statement said, "We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."

The ThirdIntifada app seems to be the work of a group that posted a page by that name on Facebook. The social-media site took down that page, which had 350,000 likes, after protests by Israel and others.

When Apple began offering the app last week, an Israeli official wrote a letter to CEO Steve Jobs (who is on medical leave) requesting it be removed.

Calls for Uprising

"Upon review of the stories, articles and photos published by means of the 
application , one can easily see that this is in fact anti-Israel and 
anti-Zionist. Furthermore, as is implied by its name, the application calls 
for an uprising against the state of Israel," wrote Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Israeli minister of information and the diaspora.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice, also reached out to Apple to decry ThirdIntifada.

"This violates [the App Store's] terms of agreement," Foxman told us. "They acted responsibly by taking it down. We were out there when they did it on Facebook. This is the same thing, just on a different server."

Technology is playing an increasing role in the Palestinian movement against Israel. Last month, in preparation for the anniversary of Israel's founding, which many Arabs call the Nakba, or catastrophe, tens of thousands of text messages were sent to residents of the West Bank and east Jerusalem calling for protests, Israeli media reported.
 

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Klout scores earn freebies for Facebook visitors

By Nidhi Subbaraman

Brands looking to connect on Facebook now have a way to sniff out fans with the biggest social media following.a

Companies can add the new Klout Coupon App on their Facebook page, which asks visitors for their Klout scores. Based on their Klout "value" (which measures one's social media use and following), companies can decide what pages the visitors see, and reward the fans with the highest Klout scores with goodies.a

Audi's Facebook page was the first to roll out the app Wednesday. Visitors to the site are offered a downloadable desktop graphic in exchange for their Klout score.a

"This application allows you to set a threshold of influence and decide just how influential a user has to be in order to receive your most valuable offer," writes marketing website Involver. a

Many brands already interact with their Facebook visitors in ways that reward their social media savvy. For example, some companies keep their content on their Facebook pages hidden until a visitor hits the "Like" button, Mashable observes.a

What's your Klout worth? High enough to win some hot wheels-themed desktop wallpaper? Well, let's hope Audi thinks so.a

[Via Mashable]a

More on social media at msnbc.com: a

Coca-Cola greens up on Facebook places Social media users really are nice people Facebook users are jerks, another study confirms

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and science at msnbc.com. Find her on Twitter, and join our conversation on Facebook. a

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International Team Shuts Down PC Scareware Network

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and law-enforcement partners in Europe have seized the computers and bank accounts of a cybercriminal ring responsible for PC scareware attacks worldwide. Moreover, two alleged members of a second group posing as a legitimate advertising agency were indicted on criminal charges.

The PCs and servers seized were in the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, France, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The FBI estimated that the hardware helped cybercriminals bilk more than $74 million from victims.

"Cyber threats are a global problem, and no single country working alone can be effective against these crimes," said Gordon Snow, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division. "The FBI thanks the participating foreign law-enforcement agencies for their ongoing partnership and commitment in disrupting this threat."

Long Arm of the Law

In a survey last year by Symantec, nearly 80 percent of respondents said it's not possible to bring cybercriminals to justice. "Many criminals reside in a foreign country, so it's no surprise that people regard them as 'faceless' -- they physically are," said Norton Cyber Security Adviser Adam Palmer.

However, the FBI's success this week in shutting down a network responsible for infecting an estimated 960,000 PCs is a warning to criminals who think they can safely wreak havoc without consequences. Though they may reside on the other side of the globe, the proverbial "long arm of the law" continues to have the ability to reach around the planet and tap them on the shoulder.

Under one of the phony schemes shut down, the Minneapolis Star Tribune was contacted by criminals posing as representatives of a hotel chain that wanted to purchase advertising on the newspaper's web site. Though the initial ads functioned in a normal manner, the cybercriminals subsequently switched the ad's codes so that PC users who clicked on the link were infected with malware.

Social Net Scams

According to Symantec's latest security threat report, the rising popularity of social networking is giving cybercriminals the opportunity to reap huge rewards by compromising a user's profile to send messages to the user's friends that appear to be legitimate. Since these bogus messages appear to come from a trusted source, the unsuspecting recipient is directed to a malicious web site hosting what appears to be a legitimate computer security program.

When users download the fake software, the malware pretends to detect a variety of security threats that don't exist. So the user is tricked into supplying credit-card information to pay for the bogus full software version to fix the fake problems.

Cybercriminals are also benefiting from the popularity of shortened web-site URLs, which camouflage bogus links to what appear to be legitimate services. According to Symantec, during a three-month period last year, nearly two-thirds of malicious links in news feeds used shortened URLs.

"Of the shortened URLs leading to malicious web sites that Symantec observed on social-networking sites over the three-month period in 2010, 73 percent were clicked 11 times or more -- with 33 percent receiving between 11 and 50 clicks," the report's authors wrote. "Only 12 percent of the links were never clicked."
 

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Punked on Craigslist, man receives sexy texts and photos

By Athima Chansanchai

If for some reason you ever receive a deluge of sexy texts and photos and you didn't ask for it, you might want to check on Craigslist and see if you've been punked.a

A surburban Chicago man, 20, didn't know what was going on when his phone started blowing up with provocative messages (from men) and images of naked men on Monday morning. Could he have been the victim of an Anthony Weiner-like correspondence? a

Coincidentally, this isn't south suburb Tinley Park's first brush with Craigslist sexy time. Two years ago, Tinley Park police orchestrated an undercover sting that nabbed two women who used the online classifieds as a means of prostitution. a

In this instance, seems like this wasn't a case of having an ongoing liaison made public, but rather a juvenile attempt at retribution by a jealous rival dating an ex-girlfriend of the victim, or so the victim alleged. a

Tinley Park Patch checked out the police report and fed the public these scant details, which had us craving more, but this was the clue that led to the supposed origin of the prank: "One mysterious caller said he was responding to the victim's Craigslist advertisement, but the victim said he didn't post an ad. He received a link to the posting and when he clicked on it, he realized that it included his cell phone number."a

Bam! Time to change your digits, dude.a

More stories:a

Is Ryan Dunn's death the most elaborate Jackass prank ever? Man goes to wrong place seeking Craigslist sex Sheriff scolds Craigslist for its part in man-seeking-animal sex Rival links Craigslist to 12 deaths, 330 crimes in past year Craigslist closes all adult services sections Craigslist woman speaks up about topless ex-Congressman

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai.a

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Google begins work on native voice and video chat software for Chrome

aaaaaGoogle has said that it has begin work on a new open source WebRTC software that allows to developers to quickly create HTML and Javascript APIs to build voice and video chat applications for the web.

aaaaaThe search giant plans to implement the software into its Chrome web browser, which should negate the need to install any plugins to initiate video chats over Google Talk.

aaaaa“Our goal is to enable Chrome with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple Javascript APIs,” Henrik Andreasson, a Google employee on the WebRTC project said. “We are working hard to provide full RTC support in Chrome all the way from WebKit down to the native audio and video parts.”

aaaaaGoogle said that WebRTC will soon be arriving in Chrome, though did not give a specific date.

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DPR Takut Nomor Pejabat Negara Disadap Israel

Jakarta - Komisi I DPR RI memperingatkan Telkomsel agar memenuhi janjinya soal jaminan kerahasiaan data pelanggan yang dioperasikan oleh perangkat milik Amdocs dari Israel.

"Banyak pejabat negara di Indonesia yang menggunakan nomor Telkomsel. Meskipun dijamin tidak akan disadap, tapi jangan sampai nomor itu diketahui oleh Amdocs," kata Fardan Fauzan, anggota Komisi I dari Partai Demokrat.

"Sebab, bisa saja mereka menyadapnya dan membocorkannya dengan perangkat lain. Itu bisa mengganggu stabilitas negara," tegasnya dalam Rapat Dengar Pendapat (RDP) Komisi I DPR, Kamis (23/6/2011).

Telkomsel dalam kesempatan itu menjamin data pelanggannya tidak akan bocor ke pihak asing meski menggunakan perangkat Operating System Software, Billing Software System (OSS/BSS) dan Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dari Amdocs yang kepemilikannya dikuasai oleh Israel.

"Kami menjamin data pelanggan tidak akan bocor atau bisa disadap di luar yang dilakukan oleh pihak berwenang di Indonesia walaupun kami menggunakan perangkat dari Amdocs," tegas Direktur Utama Telkomsel Sarwoto Atmosutarno.

Dalam kesempatan itu juga, Direktur Network Solution Telkom Ermady Dahlan menyarankan, jika berkaitan dengan penyadapan ada baiknya dibuat badan independen sehingga ada standar prosedur dan penghematan biaya perangkat.

"Sekarang ini ada banyak lembaga negara bisa melakukan penyadapan sehingga operator harus mengeluarkan dana untuk membeli perangkat yang bisa hosting dengan masing-masing lembaga," katanya.

"Jika ini tersentralisasi tentu akan lebih baik karena ada standar dan biaya bisa dihemat," pungkas Ermady.



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Rumor: Amazon to launch its tablets in August-September

aaaaaThe oft rumored, and almost mysterious, Amazon tablets are in the news again, and this time with a possible launch window to go along with it.

aaaaaAccording to Digitimes, who have once again pulled strings from its Taiwan-based sources, Amazon are looking to releases its Android based tablets some time in August or September. Amazon expects to ship around 700,000 to 800,000 units per month, and has set an internal sales target of 4 million units by the end of the year.

aaaaaThe sources also adds that the tablet will use processors from Texas Instruments, as opposed to to the ones made by Nvidia as previously rumored. The tablets are said to run on Android and will be sold in two different versions, though there was no word on this front from the sources. Amazon also plans to provide movie streaming services to its tablet users.

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Pakai Amdocs, Telkomsel Jamin Data Pelanggan Tidak Bocor

Jakarta - Telkomsel menegaskan kasus soal penggunaan perangkat dari Amdocs telah selesai. Perusahaan seluler milik Telkom dan SingTel itu juga menjamin data pelanggannya tidak akan bocor ke pihak asing meski Amdocs berasal dari Israel.

"Kami menjamin data pelanggan tidak akan bocor atau bisa disadap di luar yang dilakukan oleh pihak berwenang di Indonesia walaupun kami menggunakan perangkat dari Amdocs," tegas Direktur Utama Telkomsel Sarwoto Atmosutarno, dalam RDP di Komisi I DPR, Jakarta, Kamis (23/6/2011).

Telkomsel telah memilih Amdocs untuk perangkat penagihan dengan sistem Operating System Software, Billing Software System (OSS/BSS) dengan nilai proyek senilai Rp 1,2 triliun pada akhir Februari 2011 dan Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dengan nilai Rp 1,8 triliun, Mei lalu.

Perangkat milik Amdocs digunakan oleh operator global seperti AT&T, British Telecom, dan Sprint. Amdocs sendiri telah beroperasi di 60 negara. Dalam laporan keuangan Amdocs tahun 2009 disebutkan 100% saham Amdocs Inc yang berdomisili di Missouri, AS, dimiliki Amdocs Ltd yang bermarkas di Ra'na, Israel.

Amdocs Inc hanya berperan sebagai principal operating subsidiaries atau anak perusahaan operasional Amdocs Ltd di Israel.

Menurut Sarwoto, masuknya industri telekomunikasi ke era broadband menjadikan masalah kapasitas, cakupan dan sistem pendukung infrastruktur seperti, solusi billing pelanggan, CRM, storage, dan solusi lainnya menjadi faktor penting untuk menang dalam berkompetisi.
 
Sistem itu diyakini mampu menurunkan biaya dan menjaga efisiensi operasional, serta mempertahankan pertumbuhan yang berkelanjutan mengingat permintaan konsumen kian dinamis.
 
"Kami bisa pastikan OSS,BSS dan CRM tidak berkaitan langsung dengan penyadapan atau bocornya data pelanggan karena semuanya dikontrol oleh Telkomsel. Untuk penyadapan itu adanya di signaling dan jaringan," tegasnya.

Sarwoto menambahkan, masalah CRM lebih berkaitan dengan contact center, provisioning, ordering, dan manajemen penomoran.

"Telkomsel memilih Amdocs karena perusahaan ini berkompeten dan proses peningkatan sistem handling pelanggan ini telah dimulai sejak dua tahun lalu. Nah, setelah kami memaparkan teknisnya ke Komisi I DPR, rasanya permasalahan ini sudah clear," tegasnya.


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iPhone Mini Hadang Android Murah?

Jakarta - Makin sering terdengar kabar bahwa iPhone 5 dirilis bulan September atau selambatnya Oktober 2011. Waktu itu tepat menjelang musim belanja akhir tahun sehingga diharapkan membuat penjualan bertambah laris.

"Apple belum mengungkap iPhone baru, namun secara strategis kemungkinan di September atau Oktober untuk memanfaatkan permintaan barang di musim liburan," ucap Ittai Kidron, analis di Oppenheimer.

Kabar soal dihadirkannya iPhone mini dengan harga lebih murah juga makin santer, mungkin bersamaan dengan kedatangan iPhone 5. Ini ditujukan bagi pasar yang belum bisa menjangkau mahalnya iPhone dan untuk menghadang sepak terjang Android.

Ya, di pasar negara berkembang banderol iPhone dirasa mahal. Padahal pesaing seperti Android sudah banyak memiliki handset dengan harga yang relatif murah.

"Ada kebutuhan untuk melepas pilihan iPhone dengan harga menengah. Kesempatan berekspansi akan lebih baik dengan iPhone mini berharga sekitar USD 300," imbuh Kidron, dikutip detikINET dari International Business Times, Kamis (23/6/2011).

"Kami yakin dengan harga ini, Apple dimungkinkan untuk menyerang segmen smartphone kelas menengah dan memperluas pasarnya,"

Beberapa rumor mengenai spesifikasi iPhone 5 sendiri semakin bertambah. Di antaranya iPhone 5 akan memiliki kamera 5 megapixel dengan dual LED flash.



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Internet Bukan Baby Sitter

Jakarta - Dewasa ini, sepertinya cukup banyak orang tua yang merasa tak cukup cakap untuk mengajarkan anak-anaknya berinternet. Akhirnya, sang buah hati yang belum cukup umur itu dibiarkan sendiri masuk ke dunia maya.

Di internet, pastinya banyak hal yang bisa ditemui. Sayangnya, tak semua yang tersaji hal-hal positif. Banyak pula konten negatif dan ancaman yang siap mengintai, seperti konten porno, serbuan program jahat, tindakan pencurian informasi (phishing), dan predator online.

Artinya, internet bukanlah wilayah steril untuk melepas anak-anak begitu saja. Perlu adanya peran aktif orangtua untuk memberi bekal kepada anak-anak dalam berinternet. Termasuk bagi orangtua yang gagap teknologi (gaptek)!

Effendi Ibrahim, Norton Internet Safety Advocate & Consumer Business Lead Asia, Symantec mengakui, banyak anak-anak jaman sekarang yang sudah lebih canggih dalam hal kemampuan mengadopsi teknologi dibandingkan orangtuanya.

Fenomena ini sayangnya kerap membuat para orangtua minder, dan ujung-ujungnya tak mau tahu dengan apa yang dilakukan anak-anaknya kala berinternet. Padahal seharusnya jangan seperti itu, tetap harus ada komunikasi antara orangtua dan anak-anak.

"Seperti ketika mereka mengajari anak-anaknya tentang cara berpakaian yang baik dan benar, apakah para ibu juga mengerti tentang fashion terkini? Begitu juga dengan internet, orangtua tak harus menjadi seorang ahli, namun bisa memberikan etika-etika dasar untuk membekali anak-anaknya tentang mana yang baik dan buruk," jelas Effendi.

Keberadaan teknologi filtering, dalam hal ini software keamanan juga bukan berarti membuat pekerjaan rumah para orangtua selesai untuk mendidik anak-anak tentang cara berinternet sehat.

"Teknologi bisa membantu tapi ada batasannya. Perlu juga diterapkan nilai-nilai moral dan agama bagi anak-anak sejak dini yang dimulai dari lingkungan keluarga. Selain itu, jangan biarkan mereka menjadi ketergantungan, gadget dan internet bukan baby sitter," Effendi menambahkan.

Setali tiga uang dengan Effendi, Wakil Ketua Indonesia Security Incident Response Team On Internet Infrastructure (ID-SIRTII), M. Salahuddien pun menyuarakan pendapat senada.

Menurut pria yang biasa disapa Didin Pataka itu, orangtua harus menciptakan lingkungan yang kondusif ketika anak-anak belajar menggunakan gadget dan internet.

"Berikan apa yang mereka butuhkan (needs), bukan yang diinginkan (wants). Jika mau berinteraksi di media sosial juga ada batasnya. Dari situ diharapkan bisa menimbulkan self control," lanjutnya.

Selain itu yang harus dipegang, jangan sampai kekhawatiran orangtua yang terlalu besar membuat mereka menutup diri akan kemajuan teknologi terhadap sang buah hati.

"Namun cobalah diperkenalkan secara baik-baik dan dimulai dari orangtua. Hal ini lebih baik jika anak-anak lebih dulu mengenal internet ketimbang dari orang luar," Didin menandaskan.



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Google makes its move into social games

By Winda Benedetti

Just when you thought there wasn't a tech frontier left for Google to make its mark on comes news that the search giant is finally ready to wade into gaming.a

At least that's what a job listing posted on — where else? — Google reveals. Engadget was the first to spot the listing looking for a new product manager for something called Games at Google.a

The listing reads in part:a

Rare opportunity to grow a brand-new business — Games at Google! We are looking for a strategic, technical and game-loving Product Manager to drive Google's gaming strategy. You will design strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more. In addition to designing a great user experience and building out key partnerships, you will be significantly influencing Google's social platform as you work directly with a critical set of early adopters, game developers.a

What Games at Google is all about remains to be seen. The company hasn't said anything officially. But as the job listing indicates, it will have something to do with social: "Interesting and impactful decisions involving social gaming, privacy, virality, business, and technical APIs await you and the strong, passionate team of gamers you will work with."a

Might social gaming giant Zynga be involved? After all, the company behind "FarmVille," "FrontierVille" and "CityVille" appeared to have quietly partnered with Google last year for some kind of joint gaming venture.a

Now that we think about it, GoogleVille does have a nice ring to it.a

For more gaming news, check out:a

Will J.K. Rowling reveal an online Harry Potter game? Sir-Mix-A-Lot likes Facebook games and he cannot lie Gamer to travel 7 days cross-country ... in a box These little games are getting big buzz

 Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.a

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Internet Memble, Jangan Mimpi Cicipi Cloud Computing!

Jakarta - Belakangan, sejumlah vendor teknologi sedang giat-giatnya mempromosikan cloud computing agar bisa diadopsi industri. Namun satu hal yang patut dicermati sebelum mencicipi layanan komputasi awan ini, yaitu pastikan akses internet yang digunakan tidak memble.

Menurut Effendi Ibrahim, Norton Internet Safety Advocate & Consumer Business Lead Asia, Symantec, cloud computing memang menawarkan solusi teknologi yang bisa membantu perusahaan dalam menjalankan aktivitas bisnisnya.

Namun sebelum memanfaatkan teknologi tersebut, ada baiknya si perusahaan berkaca, seberapa handal kemampuan internet broadband yang mereka gunakan? Hal ini bukanlah basa-basi, sebab aktivitas cloud computing sangat bergantung dari akses internet.

"Basis cloud adalah internet. Jika cloud (internet-red.) yang digunakan sudah mumpuni, maka keberadaan device di sini tidak terlalu penting. Yang penting adalah akses internet yang memadai dan aplikasi serta platform apa yang ada di sana (cloud-red.)," jelasnya, dalam perbincangan santai dengan detikINET.

Komputasi awan sendiri, menurut Wikipedia, merupakan gabungan pemanfaatan teknologi komputer dan pengembangan berbasis internet (awan). Awan sendiri digunakan sebagai metafora dari internet, sebagaimana awan yang sering digambarkan pada diagram jaringan komputer.

Sementara menurut sebuah makalah yang dipublikasikan IEEE Internet Computing, komputasi awan adalah suatu paradigma di mana informasi secara permanen tersimpan di server di internet dan tersimpan secara sementara di komputer pengguna (client) termasuk di dalamnya adalah desktop, komputer tablet, notebook, komputer tembok, handheld, sensor-sensor, monitor dan lainnya.

Dari pengertian di atas, dapat dilihat betapa pentingnya keberadaan internet di sini untuk mengoperasikan teknologi cloud computing yang ingin diadopsi perusahaan. Sebab yang dimaksud cloud di sini tak lain adalah ranah internet itu sendiri.

Cloud computing sendiri diyakini Effendi tak cuma untuk konsumsi korporat atau perusahaan besar, namun juga bisa dimanfaatkan oleh kalangan consumer. Hanya mungkin skalanya berbeda.

"Seperti misalnya untuk online storage, itu juga bisa dikatakan sudah menggunakan cloud karena berbasis di awan," tukasnya.

Fenomena cloud computing juga diiringi dengan isu keamanan di layanan awan tersebut. "Maksudnya adalah, bagaimana memastikan data-data yang tersimpan di cloud itu aman?" lanjut Effendi.

Symantec yang menaungi produk keamanan Norton, mengaku sudah memiliki solusi untuk persaingan di layanan cloud computing ini, baik dari sisi consumer atau enterprise.

"Bahkan bagi Symantec, cloud ini bukan hal baru," pungkasnya.



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Apple Hadirkan MacBook Air Hitam?

Jakarta - Apple disebut-sebut tengah mempertimbangkan untuk melakukan penyegaran bagi Macbook Air. Laptop super tipis itu dirumorkan bakal hadir dalam versi hitam.

Ya seperti diketahui, untuk perangkat komputer, Apple selama ini lebih identik dengan warna putih. Namun belakangan, suara-suara yang menginginkan perubahan dalam standar baku Apple itu kian menggaung.

Namun sayang ini masih sebatas isu. Apple sendiri belum mengeluarkan pernyataan untuk sekadar memberi pencerahan terhadap rumor tersebut.

Selain itu yang patut dicermati adalah warna hitam terkadang 'tidak akur' dengan material logam, atau bisa bilang menjengkelkan. Sebab, dikutip detikINET dari Cnet, kamis (23/6/2011), warna hitam di atas material logam merupakan magnet bagi sidik jari.

Hal ini juga yang dialami dengan Dell Adamo. Laptop ramping yang juga menjadi pesaing kuat MacBook Air itu disebut-sebut mengalami permasalahan serupa.

"Saya menggunakan Adamo, dan setelah beberapa minggu penggunaan, eksterior yang berwarna hitam itu bak menjadi mozaik sidik jari," tukas salah satu pengguna.

Jadi, apakah Anda masih berharap MacBook Air hitam?



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Lewat Twitter, Fabregas Merasa Dekat dengan Indonesia

Jakarta - Twitter memang terbukti ampuh sebagai jejaring penghubung dunia tanpa batas. Buktinya, seperti diakui bintang Arsenal dan timnas Spanyol, Cesc Fabregas, dirinya akhirnya kenal dan merasa dekat dengan Indonesia berkat twitter.

"Terima kasih kepada twitter, aku akhirnya bisa mengenal Indonesia. Tahu update tentang masyarakat dan sepak bolanya. Dan akhirnya, aku bisa berkunjung ke mari," kata pria asli Catalan ini di Hotel Shangrila, Jakarta, Rabu (22/6/2011).

Lewat situs jejaring sosial itu juga, pria berusia 24 tahun ini bisa mengenal para penggemarnya di Indonesia. "Twitter sangat bagus untuk berkomunikasi. Dari sini, kita berinteraksi soal sepak bola, soal saya, dan soal Arsenal. Sangat menakjubkan punya banyak follower dari Indonesia."

"Terkadang, saya suka membalas pesan-pesan dari fans di Indonesia. Tapi memang tidak semua, karena terlalu banyak. Dan saya kadang kurang mengerti bahasanya. Tapi saya akan mulai belajar menambah kosa kata Bahasa Indonesia saya. Yang saya tahu cuma 'semua bisa jadi macan'," pungkas Cesc yang menjadi duta produk makanan berenergi Biskuat.



( rou / fw )

Belajar bahasa Inggris bareng British Council di handphone yuk, seru loh!! Tekan *321*12*1#


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Lewat Twitter, Fabregas Merasa Dekat dengan Indonesia

Jakarta - Twitter memang terbukti ampuh sebagai jejaring penghubung dunia tanpa batas. Buktinya, seperti diakui bintang Arsenal dan timnas Spanyol, Cesc Fabregas, dirinya akhirnya kenal dan merasa dekat dengan Indonesia berkat twitter.

"Terima kasih kepada twitter, aku akhirnya bisa mengenal Indonesia. Tahu update tentang masyarakat dan sepak bolanya. Dan akhirnya, aku bisa berkunjung ke mari," kata pria asli Catalan ini di Hotel Shangrila, Jakarta, Rabu (22/6/2011).

Lewat situs jejaring sosial itu juga, pria berusia 24 tahun ini bisa mengenal para penggemarnya di Indonesia. "Twitter sangat bagus untuk berkomunikasi. Dari sini, kita berinteraksi soal sepak bola, soal saya, dan soal Arsenal. Sangat menakjubkan punya banyak follower dari Indonesia."

"Terkadang, saya suka membalas pesan-pesan dari fans di Indonesia. Tapi memang tidak semua, karena terlalu banyak. Dan saya kadang kurang mengerti bahasanya. Tapi saya akan mulai belajar menambah kosa kata Bahasa Indonesia saya. Yang saya tahu cuma 'semua bisa jadi macan'," pungkas Cesc yang menjadi duta produk makanan berenergi Biskuat.



( rou / fw )

Belajar bahasa Inggris bareng British Council di handphone yuk, seru loh!! Tekan *321*12*1#


Sumber detik com

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Best Buy Launches Its Own Music Cloud Service

Seems like everyone has their heads in the clouds these days. With a growing emphasis on synchronizing media purchases and applications on multiple mobile devices and computers, retailer Best Buy is launching Music Cloud.

The service is available for devices powered by Apple's iOS, Google 's Android, and Research In Motion's BlackBerry operating systems and requires downloading software that enables music streaming.

The desktop app copies libraries and playlists from iTunes (required) on a home computer and puts them in an account to be accessed on multiple mobile devices. It's powered by Catch Media's Play Anywhere service.

Listen on the Bus

"With Best Buy Music Cloud, your digital music lives in one place but you access it from wherever you are," according to the Best Buy web site. "Enjoy all your music when you're at a friend's house, in the car, on the bus, walking to work ... virtually anywhere."

"You can store your favorite songs and playlists for when you're offline," it adds. "You can select just a single song, a playlist, or even an artist, allowing you to continue listening when you don't have coverage."

The premium version is available for $3.99 and, for now only, a demo version is available with 30-second playbacks of your songs.

Early reviews are mixed. "I quickly became familiar with the controls and was impressed with the customizability of the library," wrote Everything Mobile blogger Brian Joseph.

But PC magazine's Mark Hachman found the software "inflexible, and painful, and with some odd design decisions, to boot."

Best Buy's Music Cloud comes on the heels of Apple rolling out iCloud to synchronize media purchases across computers and its mobile devices. iCloud was the major announcement by CEO Steve Jobs at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this month. Google and Amazon.com have also launched cloud music services.

Why is this Cloud Different?

"This is going to need a differentiation to do well in the market," said analyst Michael Gartenberg of Gartner Research. "A lot of music services have come and gone over the years. Others, like Rhapsody, still struggle to grow their user base. They need to explain the value proposition to consumers on why this model works."

But Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT , said success will depend on how well Best Buy markets the idea. "Apple certainly has the high ground in traditional MP3 music sales, but cloud computing could level the playing field considerably," King said. "I'd say they have a shot."

Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy, which has about 1,150 stores, has managed to weather the recession, unlike competitors like Circuit City, which closed its stores in 2009 but still sells online. It's increasingly looking beyond traditional retail to stay competitive.

Earlier this month, at the E3 conference , Best Buy announced a Reward Zone Gamers Club that offers points toward purchases.
 

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Citizen arrested for videotaping police from front yard

By Mike Brunkermsnbc.com writer and editor

As video cameras grow ever more ubiquitous, confrontations -- both legal and physical -- over their use are becoming more common.a

Case in point: NBC affiliate WHEC-TV in Rochester, N.Y., reported Tuesday on an incident in which police arrested a woman who filmed a traffic stop from her front yard and refused an officer’s order to go into her house.  The woman, 28-year-old Emily Good, was later charged with a misdemeanor: obstructing governmental administration.a

As WHEC reports in this follow-up story, “The fundamental question being debated here is this -- should she have been forced to follow a police officer's order or was she lawfully within her rights to remain on her front lawn?"a

Watch the YouTube video of the incident and see what you think. Does it matter to you that she was known to the police, having been arrested in March with a group of others who tried to block a home from foreclosure?a

In keeping with the Open Channel mission, we also want to hear from you whether your use of a video camera has created any problems? Or, conversely, has someone else’s videotaping intruded on your privacy?a

You can comment below or, if you prefer to keep your story private, you can send an email to investigative reporter Bill Dedman by clicking here.a

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Legislation Would Require Disclosure of 4G Specs

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation that would require the nation's wireless carriers to supply key information about the high-speed wireless offerings they call 4G. The goal is to help consumers intelligently evaluate the real-world performance of high-speed wireless systems.

As Eshoo noted Wednesday, consumers equipped with smartphones, tablets and other wireless devices often experience vastly different 4G speeds depending on the wireless provider and location. And she thinks consumers deserve to know exactly what they're getting when they sign up for a so-called 4G data plan.

"My legislation is simple," Eshoo said. "It will establish guidelines for understanding what 4G speed really is, and ensure that consumers have all the information they need to make an informed decision."

Murky Waters

Unlike most technical specifications, the definition of what constitutes 4G wireless service in the U.S. is not clear. Verizon Wireless and AT&T are building networks founded on an advanced technology called Long Term Evolution, while the networks operated by Clearwire and Sprint Nextel are based on another spec known as WiMAX. And T-Mobile offers yet another set of services based on a technology called high-speed uplink packet access plus (HSUPA+).

All four of these wireless technologies are faster in comparison to 3G, at least in theory. However, none of the 4G claims made by the nation's top five carriers are accurate with respect to the official definition of 4G, noted Gartner Vice President Phillip Redman.

"The ITU is the international governing agency that defines the standard," which is also known as IMT-Advanced, Redman observed. Although this is still a work in progress, "most of the specs were ratified in October," he added.

What's more, none of the top five U.S. service providers actually define what they mean by 4G. Additionally, the real-world network performance of any carrier can vary widely, depending on whether the user is in a rural area or small town or in a congested metropolitan area such as Manhattan in New York City or the business district of San Francisco.

Cutting Through the Clutter

The proposed legislation would function in a manner similar to the government-imposed stickers that automobile manufacturers place on cars to indicate average vehicle fuel consumption under various road conditions. If Congress passes the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act, it would require wireless carriers to issue 4G performance guidelines based on specifications that would make it easier for consumers to understand at a glance.

For example, 4G network operators would be required to prominently display key information such as guaranteed minimum data speed, network reliability, and coverage areas at all points of sale. The legislation also calls for the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate the speeds and pricing offered by the nation's top 10 providers of 4G services.

Consumers would be able to use the FCC data for side-by-side comparisons of the services available in their areas. Consumer advocacy groups hailed the new bill as a revolutionary step toward giving consumers the power to make intelligent decisions before signing a long-term wireless service agreement.

"It will help people cut through the clutter so we can compare prices and options, and we can better understand what really constitutes 4G data service," said Parul Desai, policy counsel for the nonprofit Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.
 

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PlayBook, Belahan Jiwa Ponsel BlackBerry

Jakarta - Hingga saat ini, ranah tablet konsumer masih dikuasai iPad dan Android. iPad --seperti kita tahu-- telah terbukti kehandalannya menjadi tablet terbaik selama ini, dengan penjualan yang stabil. Menanggapi hal itu, Google pun tak mau kalah dengan menghadirkan OS khusus tablet Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

Beberapa bulan ini Honeycomb telah menyambangi pasar dengan pesona Android miliknya, berharap bisa menggerus pasar sang raksasa iPad. Nah, setelah Google kini saatnya Research In Motion (RIM) unjuk gigi. Setelah digembar-gemborkan beberapa saat lalu, akhirnya detikINET berkesempatan juga menguji tablet yang menyasar para pekerja kantoran pengguna BlackBerry (BB) ini. Apakah produk ini bisa memuaskan para pengguna BB tanah air. Kita amati detailnya.


Desain:

RIM cukup rapi dalam mengemas tablet ini ke publik. Dengan kotak yang didesain apik nan eksklusif tablet ini memang cukup menggoda. Ketika dibuka terdapat pula tas kecil pembungkus PlayBook di dalamnya.

Setelah dikeluarkan, tablet ini terasa lebih mungil ketimbang tablet-tablet Android Honeycomb yang belakangan ini mampir di meja redaksi detikINET, ataupun iPad 2. Dengan dimensi 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4 inch, PlayBook terasa mantap untuk digenggam. Terlebih dengan cover belakangnya yang merupakan bahan campuran karet.

Secara umum, PlayBook merupakan kombinasi tablet glossy dengan sentuhan akhir yang cukup rapi seluas 7 inch. Jika diamati sekelilingnya, kita bahkan tak bisa menemukan tombol fisik di permukaan. Benar-benar di desain rapi oleh RIM.

 
Tombol fisik hanya ada empat di bagian atas, power, volume up and down, serta play - stop. Bagi yang belum terbiasa, tombol power tablet ini memang cukup mungil. Alhasil kadang kurang terasa enak penempatannya.

Di bagian bawah, adalah lokasi port milik PlayBook. Sebuah microHDMI, micro USB, dan docking port menghiasi bagian bawah tablet hitam ini. Sementara di bagian ujung lain terdapat port audio 3,5 mm. Sama seperti iPad, PlayBook pun tak dibekali slot microSD.







Jeroan:

Di dalam PlayBook,RIM membenamkan prosesor Texas Instrument 1GHz OMAP4430 serta grafis PowerVR SGX540, yang diharapkan mampu menandingi kedigdayaan tablet-tablet Android dengan Tegra 2 mereka.

Spesifikasi tersebut kemudian dipasangkan dengan memori RAM sebesar 1 GB. Tak heran PlayBook mampu melakukan serangkaian fungsi multitasking dengan sangat mulus. Terdapat varian: 16GB, 32GB atau 64GB pada PlayBook. Konsumen bebas memilih sesuai budget dan kebutuhan mereka.

Dari sisi konektivitas tablet besutan RIM ini dilengkapi: Wifi serta Bluetooth 2.1+EDR yang nantinya digunakan sebagai penghubung PlayBook ke ponsel BB. Fitur ini bernama BlackBerry Bridge. Fitur lainnya adalah: GPS, accelerometer, 6-axis gyroscope serta kompas digital.



Performa:

PlayBook berjalan dengan menggunakan QNX, sebuah OS mirip UNIX yang dikembangkan RIM sekitar satu tahun lalu. Ketika dijajal hasil riset RIM tersebut terbukti baik. Pengguna baru PlayBook langsung akrab dengan tampilan yang disungnya.

Sebenarnya, tampilan PlayBook ini sedikit terksan mirip dengan style webOS yang saat ini tengah dikembangkan Hewlett-Packard (HP) secara lebih lanjut.

Ketika pertama kali merasakan semua fungsi OS ini, pasti beberapa pengguna baru langsung bertanya. 'Di mana tombol keluar dari sebuah aplikasi'. Ya, RIM memang tak membubuhkan tombol fisik di sekitar display utama. Pengguna cukup menggeser layar antara bezel dan layar utama ke atas saat ingin keluar dari aplikasi.

Gestur-gestur sentuhan yang mengasyikan ini tampaknya adalah yang menjadi pertimbangan seorang calon pembeli mantap meminang PlayBook atau tidak.

Mengetik menggunakan PlayBook tak rasanya tak ada bedanya ketika kita mengetik menggunakan tablet Android Samsung Galaxy tab 7 inch. Belum se-responsif iPad, namun sedikit lebih enak ketimbang Galaxy Tab.

Terkahir adalah urusan baterai. RIM telah membekali PlayBook dengan daya 5300 mAh. Saat dijajal detikINET untuk terkoneksi dengan BlackBerry Bridge, tablet ini mampu bertahan seharian penuh. Namun ketika tablet ini hanya digunakan secara pasif (tidak terkoneksi internet) bermain game, atau menonton video, daya tahannya lebih dari tiga hari (dari kondisi penuh baterai 100%).



Tampilan Homescreen dan Pesona Multitasking:

User Interface (UI) tablet 7 inch ini tak terlalu beda jauh dengan BlackBerry OS 6. Ada beberapa pilihan kolom yang jika di klik muncul pop up baru. Secara default terdapat kolom: All, Favorites, Media, Games, serta BlackBerry Bridge. Sementara di sisi kanan atas terdapat indikator baterai, bluetooth, wifi, pengunci rotasi layar, dan setting. Jika ada notifikasi baru, pengguna yang telah menghubungkan PlayBook dengan BlackBerry mereka bisa melihatnya di sisi kiri atas.



Salah satu yang harus diakui pada tablet RIM ini adalah kemampuan multitasking yang diusungnya. Saat dijajal detikINET, PlayBook tetap lancar ketika digunakan untuk menjalankan video, audio, membuka game Need for Speed, membuka halaman browsing, membuka galeri foto, serta membuka dokumen .pdf secara bersamaan. Pasalnya RIM mampu mengalokasikan penggunaan aplikasi dengan baik.



 

Misalnya saat kita membuka aplikasi video dan berpindah ke aplikasi game. Otomatis video yang sedang berjalan akan berhenti sesaat ketika game di jalankan. Begitu pula sebaliknya. Yang membuat ini semua menjadi mudah adalah tampilannya yang langsung bisa digeser-geser antar aplikasi.








Bagaimanapun Juga, Ini Adalah Pasangan Ponsel BB

PlayBook memang diciptakan sebagai pendamping ponsel BB kita. Kita tak bisa membuka BBM, push email, dan serangkaian fungsi kanoran lain, ketika kita tidak menghubungkan dengan ponsel BB itu sendiri. Kendati demikian satu unit PlayBook juga memiliki nomor PIN tersendiri.

Dari sisi fungsionalitas, PlayBook telah dilengkapi aplikasi seperti: Adobe Reader, Documents to Go, atau Kobo Books. Aplikas lain dapat langsung diunduh via App World.

Dari sisi fungsi, PlayBook boleh dibilang memilikidua fungsi. Sebagai tablet wifi yang berdiri sendiri, serta tablet yang bisa meneruskan urusan office dari ponsel Blackberry kita.

Bagaimanapun juga, PlayBook sangat tergantung pada BlackBerry Bridge agar tetap bisa terkneksi dengan ponsel BB. Konektivitas ini menggunakan bluetooth. Jadi wajar saja jika digunakan seharian, ponsel BB kita menjadi panas.

Saat kedua perangkat ini terkoneksi, email-email yang masuk akan ditampilkan di PlayBook melalui notifikasi di kiri atas. Masalahnya adalah, saat koneksi ini terputus, semua fungsi Bridge akan putus saat itu juga, seiring dengan data yang berjalan.

 



 

 
Kesimpulan:

Jika kita bukan pengguna ponsel BB, mungkin PlayBook bukanlah tablet yang tepat untuk dimiliki. Ya, tentu saja karena ini adalah tablet pendamping ponsel BB kita. Namun ketika kita adalah penguna BB yang tengah mencari tablet, produk ini layak untuk dimiliki. Tablet ini sudah mulai hadir di Indonesia dengan harga mulai USD 499 (wifi 16 GB).


Kelebihan:
+ Desain elegan, tanpa tombol fisik di sekitar display
+ Layar sentuhan responsif

Kekurangan:
- Kamera kurang bagus
- Wajib didampingi ponsel BB
 
Spesifikasi:

• Display: 7 inch
• Resolusi: 1024x600
• Memori: 16 GB
• Prosesor: 1 Ghz dual-core
• Kamera: 3 dan 5 megapixel
• Perekaman Video: 1080p
• Baterai: 5300 mAh

 

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New Sony Ericsson Xperias May Be Lost in Android Flood

Sony Ericsson on Wednesday unveiled two new Xperia smartphones, a feature phone, and a new service it hopes will help it stand out from the pack. But analysts said the new phones may not offer enough differentiation to help Sony Ericsson compete in the broader Android market.

Sony Ericsson introduced the Xperia ray and Xperia active. Both run on Gingerbread 2.3, the latest version of the Android platform. The company also announced Smart Extras, a suite of services that aim to provide a unique consumer experience.

"These look like very nice devices with a couple of differentiating features. The question is whether there's much room in the market for nice devices versus great devices -- things that really stand out," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner . "Staying ahead of the curve and standing out from the crowd is going to be the challenge going forward, particularly for phones being built on Android."

A Unique Experience?

The Xperia ray aims at consumers who want a sleek phone. Its aluminum frame is just 9.44mm thin and it offers a 3.3-inch screen. The ray sports a one-gigahertz processor and uses Sony technology such as Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA engine. It has an 8.1-megapixel camera.

Meanwhile, the Xperia active targets consumers with an active lifestyle, as its name suggests. This is a compact phone with a three-inch screen, a one-gigahertz processor and a five-megapixel camera. Sony Ericsson says it's also dust-proof, water resistant, and offers wet finger tracking.

The active offers a corner user interface and comes pre-loaded with sports apps that let users track their fitness levels. By using the built-in GPS, barometer and compass in combination with the on-screen heart rate and pulse monitor, plus the iMapMyFitness app, users can monitor their day-to-day performance.

"The problem with a lot of these devices is that the way that they've been looking to stand out from the crowd are things like feeds and speeds and dual-core processors and features that don't matter that much to consumers," Gartenberg said. "So it's going to be a question of whether Sony Ericsson can come up with some sort of unique experience that these phones will deliver to help them stand out from the competition."

New Feature Phone

Finally, the company announced Sony Ericsson txt, a feature phone with specifications inspired by Xperia at a more affordable price. The txt lets consumers message on the go with a full QWERTY keyboard. The 2.6-inch screen offers an SMS shortcut key. The phone also comes equipped with a "friends" application that lets users see Facebook and Twitter updates from their top five friends.

"HTC has done well using their Sense user interface, which some people love and some people don't. But at least their devices don't look like every other Android device on the market," Gartenberg said. "They are constantly upping the game with that experience and what it delivers, so they are nice phones, but this is a world where nice phones tend to get swept up with all the other devices. (Sony Ericsson is) going to need something more to stand out."
 

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Grandma and grandpa get their Facebook on

By Suzanne Choney

More than 20 percent of grandparents are using a social network, something you may already be aware of if grandma is Facebooking you daily with updates.a

A survey of 1,341 grandparents in the United Kingdom found that 68 percent of them joined a social network in just the last year.a

The survey was done by MyVoucherCodes, an online coupon site which specifically queried grandparents over age 60. The findings are in line with a recent study, "Generations 2010," by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in the U.S.a

As msnbc.com's Athima Chansanchai wrote about that report, "while the youngest generations are still more likely to use social network sites, the biggest burst of use has come from the oldest generation of moms and pops: those 74 and older, whose Farmville playing, Facebook commenting and tweeting has quadrupled since 2008, from 4 percent to 16 percent."a

Of those surveyed in the U.K., 71 percent say they are on Facebook, 34 percent on Twitter and 9 percent on LinkedIn.a

The main reason most joined a social network is because they were "encouraged by younger people in their families," The Telegraph noted. ".A quarter, however, said they wanted to ‘find old friends’ and a fifth said it was to ‘keep in touch with friends and family.’ "a

“I think it’s quite a common misconception nowadays that the over-60s aren’t as savvy as others when it comes to the Internet," MyVoucherCodes chairman Mark Pearson told the newspaper. "Anyone would love to see their grandparents online, although some grandchildren may want to censor what they say on site with this in mind.”a

Related stories:a

Facebook best at privacy, LinkedIn worst: ranking Your mom — and grandma — are probably on Facebook Internet not destroying society, Pew study shows

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.a

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Rumor: new iPhone for September, Apple working on high-res iPad 3

aaaaaThe oft rumored ‘next-iPhone’ or more popularly ’iPhone 5′ is in the news again…and pretty much for the same reason, hey.

aaaaaAccording to Bloomberg sources, who are apparently “familiar with the plans”, the next iPhone is all set to release in September and will feature a faster processor and a bumped up camera.

aaaaa“The device will include the A5 processor, the more powerful chip that Apple added to the iPad 2 earlier this year, along with an 8-megapixel camera, up from the 5-megapixel model in the iPhone 4, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.”

aaaaaAdditionally, the sources also claim that Apple is working on a high-resolution iPad 3 as well. The resolution will be “similar to the one now used in iPhone 4″ and about “one-third higher” than the iPad 2 (which goes against the increments Apple usually implements for easier apps scaling).

aaaaaFurther on, the sources also mentions a cheaper iPhone, rumored a few months back. Although it doesn’t seem like Apple will be announcing anything on that front, the sources say that work on a low-end iPhone is in process.

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Zotac expands multi-view features to GeForce GTX 550Ti

aaaaaPress release: ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world’s largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today expands the GeForce Multiview line-up with the addition of the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview is the latest mainstream graphics card capable of delivering a seamless triple-display computing experience.

aaaaa

aaaaa“ZOTAC believes multi-monitor computing is the future of desktop computing. Triple displays are the sweet spot where productivity and the gaming experience drastically improves without overwhelming users with too many monitors,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. “With our latest ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview, we are able to deliver a quality visual experience that combines Microsoft DirectX 11 compatibility, NVIDIA CUDA technology and triple simultaneous displays at a mainstream price point.”

aaaaaThe ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview is powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics processor with 192 lightning-fast unified shaders paired with 1GB of DDR5 memory. The combination enables users to experience stunning visual quality while maintaining class-leading performance-per-watt with the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview.

aaaaaIt’s time to play with triple displays and the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 550 Ti Multiview.

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ASUS 3D Benchmark Challenge at GamesFest

aaaaaGamesFest is not all about showing off your skills by taking part in tournaments, you can also push your technical knowledge to the limits by trying out ASUS’s 3D Benchmark challenge.

aaaaaASUS will be providing all you hardware tweakers a chance to overclock one of the fastest machines available with the objective of making it go even faster. The system specs you’ll be playing around with are as follows:

aaaaaMotherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe GPU: ASUS ENGTX 580 CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K HDD: Western Digital 300GB OS: Microsoft Windows Home Premium

aaaaaAfter overclocking the system and booting into Windows 7, the objective then is to run 3DMark 11 successfully and get a score. At the end of the day whoever has the highest 3DMark score (through overclocking the CPU/VGA/anything else) will get an ASUS M4A88TD V EVO/USB3 motherboard!

aaaaa

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LulzSec Profiled As U.K. Arrests Suspected Member

Busted? With handles such as Sabu, Tflow and Topiary, the fun-loving hacksters at LulzSec may have met their matches as cybersecurity researchers begin to put together a profile of the group that has launched denial-of-service attacks against the U.S. Senate, the Central Intelligence Agency, Sony, a British law-enforcement unit and a slew of other sites.

Suspect Arrested in England

The profile was made public as Britain's Scotland Yard arrested a 19-year-old from Wickford, Essex, suspected of being connected to the group. The BBC reported that e-crime unit investigators are studying the computer of Ryan Cleary to see if he was involved in the attack on Sony and others. At press time they had yet to bring charges against him.

"Whether he's significant or not is not clear to anyone not involved in the police investigation at the moment," said Graham Cluley of Sophos security in the U.K. "What is clear is that by arresting this guy it's not the end of LulzSec -- they're still tweeting, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they attempted more attacks."

Based on his own research and that of others, security firm Imperva lead researcher Tal Be'ery has deduced that LulzSec is small, with less than 10 members, and appears to be a spin-off of the hacktivist Anonymous organization that may be trying to gain independence after hacking the security company hbGary and the web site Gawker under the umbrella of Anonymous. Be'ery said the same nicknames are used in hacking discussions from early this year until the present. His findings were published on Imperva's data security blog.

Those nicknames include Sabu, the apparent ringleader; Nakomis, a coder; Topiary, who handles donations and payment for services; and hackers Tflow and Kayla. Be'ery identified Joepie91 as the group's web administrator.

Joining Forces

On Monday, LulzSec announced it was joining forces with Anonymous to launch Operation Anti-Security, aimed at governments and corporations, which the hackers claim to be doing to point out security flaws but which appears to be more for their amusement. LulzSec has been relentlessly tweeting about its exploits and targets, and last week posted what it said was stolen log-in information for 62,000 private e-mail and other accounts.

Anonymous supports WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, and its aim is to expose any classified information it can acquire, claiming it is a service to the public, according to Euronews.

Be'ery said the hackers primarily communicate via private IRC channels, publish via Twitter and Pastebin, and use web application vulnerabilities such as SQL injection.

Will the Essex arrest scare anyone off?

"We simply don't know how significant this guy is," said Cluley. "I'm sure the computer-crime authorities will be hoping that the chap they have arrested will help them with their further investigations, though."
 

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Gamer to travel 7 days cross-country ... in a box

Jordan Wayne Longa

Peformance artist and gamer Jordan Wayne Long gets ready to spend seven days in a shipping crate withe "Lord of the Rings Online."a

By Winda Benedetti

I'm having a hard time deciding whether this is performance art ... or just a really elaborate way to get to spend a whole lot of time playing your favorite video game.a

It seems artist Jordan Wayne Long of Arkansas has decided to ship himself across the country in a crate during which time he will have contact with the outside world only through a game. That game: "Lord of the Rings Online."a

Long, who says this experience is all part of a study about how people cope with post traumatic stress disorder, expects the trip — from Bald Knob, Ark., to Portland, Ore. — to take seven days.  His friend Brandi Roberts will be driving his container — which he's been building himself — on the back of a flatbed trailer.a

As Long explained to MMORPG.com:a

In my art I study trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In my research I have found that many people who are confined to their homes due to physical or emotional trauma find online games a place where they feel safe to enter back into the social sphere. Unlike the real world, they can enter and exit whenever they choose, be whoever they want to be and feel like functioning members of society again.a

Being locked in the crate is an opportunity for me to feel the effects of being confined and understand better how these online communities can affect us in a positive way.a

Thought-provoking performance art? The best video game vacation ever? You decide.a

Better yet, you can check out all the details on Long's blog right here or follow him on Twitter here. For her part, once they hit the road Roberts will post details from outside the box while Long posts details from inside the box ... and inside the game.a

Meanwhile, you can check out some of Long's other performance/video pieces here. Note, he's worked with boxes and confined spaces before.a

Meanwhile, if you'd like virtually to join Long while he's on his long journey (which begins July 1), you'll find him on the Meneldor server playing as the character Townsfolk, a level 40 Dwarf. And if you're in Portland, you can catch his arrival performance/unboxing on July 7 at the Fourteen30Contemporary space curated by Rocksbox Fine Art.a

But here's a suggestion: You might want to stand back a bit when they crack open that crate. Seven days locked in a box playing video games? That is gonna stink.a

(Thanks to The Escapist for the heads up.)a

For more games news, check out:a

Putting the fear in 'F.E.A.R. 3' Will 'Grand Theft Auto V' hit the road in 2012? Duke Nukem is down, but not out

Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.a

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Tired Data Plans Will Begin at Verizon Next Month

Verizon Wireless confirmed Tuesday that the carrier will move from unlimited to tiered data plans, beginning next month. The change won't have an immediate impact on subscribers currently under contract, but new customers and renewing subscribers will need to choose from a slate of data-capped options at prices to be announced next month.

Verizon's looming switchover comes as mobile data usage continues to grow at an astounding pace. According to a new survey by Nielsen, smartphone owners -- especially those with iPhones and Android-powered devices -- are consuming more data than ever.

"This has huge implications for carriers, since the proportion of smartphone owners is also increasing dramatically," the firm's researchers wrote in a recent blog. "Currently, 37 percent of all mobile subscribers in the United States have smartphones."

An Opportunity for Sprint

Some industry observers believe Verizon's move will encourage some customers to switch from smartphones to Wi-Fi-only media tablets to reduce monthly costs. However, the full impact of the change isn't likely to register immediately with the majority of Verizon subscribers.

"Given the nature of contacts, this won't impact current individual-liable subscribers in the near term -- until those contracts expire," noted Lisa Pierce, an independent analyst at the Strategic Networks Group. "For the same reason, it won't have any immediate impact on corporate-liable subscribers."

Longer term, Verizon subscribers' use of Wi-Fi will undoubtedly increase, Pierce observed. "I highly doubt that Sprint will move away from offering an 'all you can eat' plan, so that's another alternative," she added.

There is reason to think that Sprint Nextel will benefit from Verizon's switch to tiered data plans. According to the latest American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Sprint tied with Verizon with a 72 score -- the highest reported among the major U.S. wireless carriers.

However, Verizon dipped one percent for the second straight year, while Sprint's score has risen 15 points over the past three years and now claims a share of the industry lead. What's more, in the wake of the proposed merger announcement by AT&T and T-Mobile the ACSI scores of both carriers fell four percent to 66 and 70, respectively.

For AT&T it was the worst score since 2006 -- the year before the carrier's launch of the first iPhone. "Assuming the [merger] deal is approved, it remains to be seen if a much larger AT&T can regain the strength of its customer relationships," said Claes Fornell, who founded the ACSI at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. (continued...)

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