Download Developers Preview For Windows 8

The Developers Preview Version of Windows 8 has been released and you can easily Download it from the following link:

Techie Buzz

Software Facebook to launch in-browser video chat powered by Skype?

Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype hasn't closed yet, but it looks like Redmond is already working behind the scenes to make the service even more ubiquitous. According to an anonymous source interviewed by TechCrunch, Facebook is going to introduce video chat next week, and that service will be powered by none other than Skype. And while the service will be browser-based, it's also said to include a desktop component. We'd say none of that sounds too fantastical -- video calls would be a logical extension of Facebook chat, and let's not forget about the $240 million Microsoft invested in the site back in 2007. What's more, Facebook sent out invites for an event next week, where Mark Zuckerberg was clear the outfit would unveil a new product from its Seattle team. That's in Microsoft's backyard, of course, the invites themselves have chat icons on 'em, and, most tellingly, that Seattle office has been snapping up engineers specializing in desktop software. All told, that adds up to a likely true story to us, but we won't know for sure until the long, beachy weekend is through.

99% Android smartphones 'leak' personal data

Almost 99.7% Android-based smartphones potentially leak user data which, if stolen, could be used to get information they store online.

According to University of Ulm researchers Bastian Konings, Jens Nickels, and Florian Schaub, Android smartphones leak login data for Google services, and could allow other access to information stored in the cloud. The researchers reportedly made the discovery while watching how Android phones handle login credentials for Web-based services.

Researchers say that the problem is in the way applications which deal with Google services request authentication tokens (several applications installed on Android phones interact with Google services through an authentication token). This token is essentially a digital ID card for that app, which once issued removes the need to keep logging in to a service for a given length of time.

Researchers discovered that many a times these tokens are sent in plain text over wireless network. This makes the tokens vulnerable to eavesdropping by criminals on Wi-fi networks.

And once stolen, criminals can pose as the particular user with the token and extract his/her personal information. As says the researchers in their blog, "The implications of this vulnerability reach from disclosure to loss of personal information for the (Google) Calendar data. For Contact information, private information of others is also affected, potentially including phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. Beyond the mere stealing of such information, an adversary could perform subtle changes without the user noticing. For example, an adversary could change the stored email address of the victim's boss or business partners hoping to receive sensitive or confidential material pertaining to their business."

Here's what Android users can do to prevent this data leak:
• Update to Android 2.3.4. Update your phone to the current Android version as soon as possible. However, depending on your phone vendor you may have to wait weeks/months before an update is available for your phone. Hopefully this will change in the future.
• Switch off automatic synchronization in the settings menu when connecting with open Wifi networks.
• The best protection at the moment is to avoid open Wifi networks at all when using affected apps.

Source: The Times of India

Latest Kinect Hack brings Angry Birds to a Kinect PC

Kinect Hackers have shown off the latest way to use Kinect on a PC with Angry Birds.

The highly popular game Angry Birds has been adapted to run on a Windows PC using Microsoft’s Kinect sensor. Utilizing the Kinemote software, Joel Griffin Dodd has created a Kinect variant of Angry Birds.

Microsoft has shipped over 8 million Kinect sensors in just 60 days on the market. Microsoft’s Kinect sensor has been a phenomenal success story for the company. The console accessory sold out across a number of retailers during the recent festive season and Microsoft smashed its own estimates of 5 million units in 2010 by shipping 8 million devices. Kinect hackers have shown off Minority Report style multitouch control and the Kinect running on Mac OS X. Microsoft said in November that it left the USB connection on the Kinect open, “by design.” Kinect hackers have recently taken the device to new heights. Videos emerged of device owners fully controlling Windows 7 and interactive prototype puppets. Kinect hacking is only at the very early stages but what’s clear is hackers are demonstrating the potential of the technology for use on PCs.

Microsoft blogger Steve Clayton revealed recently that the company is excited by the hundreds of ways people are using Kinect. “The enthusiasm we are seeing in the scientific community – specifically the research and academic communities – around potential applications of Kinect, is exciting to see” wrote Clayton. Microsoft is set to unveil driver support and an SDK in the coming months and will allow third-party developers to create titles that utilize the Kinect sensor when plugged into a PC. According to sources familiar with the plans, Microsoft will distribute the drivers under the “beta” tag. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer,promised Kinect for PC during an interview at CES and confirmed the company would announce official support “in the right time.”

iPhone 5 & iPad 2 to be used as a Payment Device

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is planning to introduce NFC (or Near-Field Communication to you and I) in the iPhone 5 and iPad 2. NFC is a short-range wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices.

An example of a device that NFC is capable of communicating with is cash registers.

If Apple were to introduce NFC in their mobile devices it would bring them into competition with the likes of VISA & Mastercard as a credit payment provider. According to the report, Americans spend $6.2 trillion, yes trillion, each year on goods and services.

Because of the iPhone’s popularity, it could become the perfect credit card killer.

Richard Doherty, directory of consultancy firm Envisioneering stated in the Bloomberg post that "Apple is considering starting a mobile payment service as early as mid-2011. It would revamp iTunes, a service that lets consumers buy digital movies and music, so it would hold not only users’ credit-card account information but also loyalty credits and points. Using the service, customers could walk into a store or restaurant and make payments straight from an iPad or iPhone. They could also receive loyalty rewards and credits for purchases, such as when referring a friend."

Microsoft Money: Perfume Edition

A Microsoft exec wants the world to smell of dollars and has created his own fragrance to achieve his dream.

Patrick McCarthy, a vice president of sales at Microsoft, has produced a new fragrance aptly named “Money”. The Microsoft exec took a break from the company to create His Money Cologne and Her Money Eau de Parfum. The fragrance makes the wearer smell of dollars.

“I really feel that people who wear this will feel more confident,” McCarthy told AOL News. “I got the idea after reading a story about a Japanese study that showed a significant increase in worker productivity when the smell of money was pumped through vents into factories.”

This perfume comes packed in real shredded US dollar bills. The bottles of His Money or Her Money both retail for $35 each and are available immediately. “We have had quite a bit of positive customer feedback. I’d like to think that people will use it as part of our economic recovery,” said McCarthy.

European Union names Windows Vista as one of the best net filtering tools

Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system has been named as one of the best internet filtering tools for the online protection of children.

The European Union named Vista as the third best filtering tool for over 10 year olds in a recent study commissioned through the “Safer Internet Programme” in Europe. The study benchmarked the main functionalities, effectiveness and usability of most currently used filtering software from a technical and ‘fit -for-purpose’ point of view, without any commercial or profit related concern. The study noted that 84% of the software programs tested enable parents to block access to certain websites. However, they were less effective against social networking sites such as Facebook and online blogs. The EU also criticized the lack of software to filter content on mobile devices. ”Only a few products on the market are able to filter web content accessed via mobile phones or game consoles, at a time when one child out of four in Europe goes online in this way.”

The EU tested blocking scenarios of streaming, P2P, FTP, IRC, Skype, MSN and email. 26 different parental control tools for PCs, 3 for games consoles and 2 for mobile phones were tested against various scenarios. The study found that the existing software is good at filtering adult online content, but there is still at least a 20% chance that sites with unsuitable material for children and especially those encouraging youngsters to self harm (sites promoting anorexia, suicide or self-mutilation) could pass through their filters.

Microsoft has experienced a turbulent time with the European Union over the years. The European Commission ordered Microsoft to pay $794 million in fines and product a version of Windows without Windows Media Player in March 2004 following years of complaints from competitors. Microsoft fought the judgement and eventually bowed to pressure from the EU by announcing Windows XP Home Edition N in March, 2005. The new rules also impacted Windows Vista and Microsoft was forced to create separate versions of Windows Vista in accordance with EU sanctions brought against the company for violating anti-trust laws.