10 Tablets That Can Challenge iPad2

Apple iPad 2 Rivals: 10 Tablets That Can Challenge the Market Leader

Apple's iPad 2 has become an unbridled success in the tablet market. No other mobile device in the space, including the Motorola Xoom, has been able to appeal to consumers and enterprise customers in the same way the iPad 2 has. Looking ahead, most analysts agree that Apple's tablet will dominate that market and fend off Android's growth. But that doesn't mean there aren't compelling alternatives currently available or launching soon for consumers and enterprise users who don't necessarily want to get their hands on an iPad 2. Those alternatives, which range from other tablets to lightweight notebooks, offer something unique that might catch a customer's eye. Flip through the following slides to find out which devices, both available now and launching soon, might just suit the fancy of those customers who have balked at the idea of buying an iPad 2 and want to use another mobile device while they're on the road, at home or traveling on a plane.

HP TouchPad

The HP TouchPad is scheduled to hit store shelves on July 1. And when it does, it just might end up being a fine alternative to Apple's iPad 2. The reason for that is its unique feature set, including the ability to tap an HP smartphone against it to transfer content. Combine that with a vastly improved webOS along with the promise of full multitasking, and the TouchPad might catch the eye of those who don't want an iPad 2.

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook performed relatively well in the last quarter, with 500,000 units shipped. Although it might not hold up well against the iPad 2 for consumers, it has found a welcoming market in the enterprise. The BlackBerry PlayBook works well when it's integrated with a BlackBerry smartphone, and with a 7-inch display it's designed to be mobile. For enterprise users, it's a fine alternative to the iPad 2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is already being called the best Android tablet on the market. Because of that, it becomes an obvious alternative to Apple's iPad 2 for those who don't necessarily want to get caught up with an iOS-based device and would rather opt for an Android tablet. The Galaxy Tab's 10.1-inch display is slightly larger than the 9.7-inch option on the iPad 2, which might appeal to those who want a large display to enjoy entertainment content.

Apple MacBook Air

Although Apple won't say so, the iPad 2 and MacBook Air compete against each other. Apple's MacBook Air comes with a lightweight and thin footprint that will appeal to those who want to be mobile. Thanks to its Mac OS X installation, users will be able to have access to apps in the Mac App Store, as well as more-capable programs not found on iOS. Mac OS X "Lion," which is scheduled to launch next month, will bring multitouch gestures to the platform, helping the MacBook Air appeal to those seeking hands-on functionality.

Sony S1

Sony is expected to launch the S1 tablet this fall. The device will come with a 9.4-inch screen and run Android. But what makes it compelling is Sony's decision to include its Qriocity music and movie service with the device, as well as access to PlayStation Suite, a platform that will allow users to play old PlayStation games on the tablet. Will the S1 take out the iPad 2? Probably not. But it might catch on with some consumers.

Sony S2

In addition to the S1, Sony is planning to launch its S2 tablet later this year as well. That device will come with two 5.5-inch displays that can be used in conjunction or separately, bringing a unique experience to the tablet market. Moreover, the device will feature a clamshell design, allowing users to fold one display over the other for simple mobility. On paper, the S2 sounds like a compelling alternative to the iPad 2.

Apple iPhone 4

Although there are undoubtedly many folks who have both a smartphone and a tablet, there are others who have instead decided to get one or the other. For those people, choosing an iPhone 4 rather than an iPad 2 might not be such a bad idea. After all, Apple's smartphone boasts the same operating system as the iPad and features the same touch-screen functionality. Even better, it combines that with the ability to place calls. If a consumer wants a single mobile device, choosing the iPhone 4 is a fine idea.

HP Pavilion dm3t Laptop

If users want to be more productive while on the go, HP's Pavilion dm3t notebook could help them achieve that goal. The device comes with a 13.3-inch display and runs Windows 7. It has a 1.2GHz Intel processor and 320GB of storage. The best part is the device, which will offer far more functionality than the iPad 2, has a starting price of $499.99, the same price as the entry-level iPad 2 with only 16GB of storage.

Toshiba Thrive

The Toshiba Thrive could be one of the more compelling of the upcoming alternatives to the iPad 2. The device, which is scheduled to launch in July, comes with a 10.1-inch display and will run Android 3.1. It has both a front- and rear-facing camera and offers the ability to connect USB devices to it that can be managed with a built-in file manager. Although it's WiFi-only at launch, its starting price of $429.99 for 8GB and $479.99 for 16GB of storage makes it a cheaper option than Apple's iPad 2.

                     

Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

Samsung's Series 5 Chromebook won't necessarily appeal to every customer out there. A solid argument can be made that the iPad 2 is a better device. But if certain folks don't want to join the iOS craze and would prefer to try something new, going with the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is just fine. The device is small, easily mobile and, as long as a Web connection is always available, some buyers could find it the best way yet to capitalize on the cloud.

                       

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Google Launching New Google+

Google Enters the Ring for Social Smackdown, Round 2

Last year, Google took a swipe at the social networking scene by launching Buzz, which was quickly burned to a crisp by critics who blasted its apparently lax privacy protections. Now the search engine leader has returned with Google+, its latest attempt to break into the social scene. Challenging a rival the size of Facebook will be difficult, but Google's size and existing infrastructure may prove useful.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) took a second stab at social networking Tuesday with the launch of Google+, a program designed to interactively connect users and challenge worldwide social networking king Facebook.

The search engine giant failed with its first attempt at an online social network, last year's Google Buzz, which encountered difficulties in cracking the crowded social scene and was sharply criticized for what some users saw as a lack of privacy safeguards.
Google is hopeful that this time around it'll be able to take a bigger step into the social networking marketplace.
"We learned a lot from Buzz, and we decided to take a step back and start from scratch. The Google+ project is just the beginning - we want to bring real-life sharing to the web in a radically different way," said a Google spokesperson in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by Katie Watson, senior manager of global communication and public affairs at Google.

New Features

 

Google+ is rolling out with an interface similar to that of Facebook, offering users the opportunity to upload pictures and video and making sure every feature offered during the launch is easily accessible with a mobile platform.
Perhaps one of its more interesting feature is +Hangouts, an interactive video feature that would let users chat with multiple people at the same time, coming and going as users please. The feature, however, has raised some concern -- there are worries it's a concept that hasn't quite caught on and never will, though others call it a hot innovation for a younger, tech-savvy generation.

Can It Work?

One way Google+ could separate itself from competition is its emphasis on separating groups. A common quibble users have with Facebook is its re-definition of the word "friend" -- the site is set up so that true friends, co-workers, family members and mere acquaintances are lumped under the same, simple "friend" label.
With Google+, however, users can divvy up different groups of friends using the +Circles feature. For instance, in one Circle, a user could post a video of a new baby to a group of family members, then send an intriguing work-related article to a Circle of colleagues without having to muddle personal and professional lives.
Many other online social networks categorize all a user's contacts as "friends," which tends to make it more difficult to share information, according to Google.
The amount of control users have over the information they send out is priceless for users, Google says, especially in a tech scene where the consequences of oversharing have begun to set in and privacy is a growing concern.
"Because Google+ is centered around you, we've tried to give users more ways to stay private or go public and offer more meaningful choices around their friends and their data," said the Google spokesperson.
Another way Google could gain a loyal following is with a commitment to hyper-localizing the social scene. Applications from Google such as Google Maps and restaurant finders help tune in Google to every corner of the globe, a direction in which the social networking trend is moving.
"Social is starting to move more local and mobile, and that can be a competitive advantage for [Google] over Facebook," Rory Maher, an analyst at Hudson Square, told TechNewsWorld.
Unlike Facebook or other networks, Google already has an entire mobile infrastructure built with its Android network, where it has a majority share in mobile platforms.
Still, it will likely be difficult for everyone, Google included, to compete with Facebook or even a niche competitor like LinkedIn. Hurdles such as convincing users to add another network to their routine could be tough to overcome.
"It's going to be challenging, but if anyone can do it, Google is probably the best in terms of their brand and their reach," Maher said.

iOS of Apple is Secure then Android of Google

Apple iOS beats Google Android on security, says research

Apple’s iOS mobile operating system is overall more secure against hackers and other online threats than its main rival, Google’s Android, according to research.

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Android Marketplace is more open than the iOS App Store

It is more resistant to three out of five types of threats including malware and data loss, the security firm Symantec said. On the other two categories, web-based attacks and social engineering attacks, the two operating systems came out even.

The security features of Apple’s software, which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, are also better implemented than those of Android, Symantec said.

Measures including access control, encryption and the provenance of applications are all stronger in iOS, the research found. It said Android is better at isolating security problems when they do emerge, however.

Many of Android’s security problems stem from Google’s open approach to apps. While iOS developers pay to register with Apple, which checks and approves their work before it goes on sale in the App Store, Android developers do not face the same barriers.

“Google does not appear to perform a rigorous security analysis of applications posted to its Android Marketplace,” Symantec said.

“This means that malware authors can distribute their apps through this distribution channel with less likelihood of being discovered.”

The result has been that hackers have sought to take control of Android devices with rogue apps. In February criminals released apps that stole personal details from hundreds of thousands of users by impersonating 58 legitimate apps on Marketplace. Google has since patched the vulnerability they exploited in Android 2.3.
Meanwhile, the research said that while many more vulnerabilities have been discovered in iOS than in Android - more than 200 versus 18 - no malware that exploits them has ever been detected.
“While [Apple’s] vetting approach is not foolproof, and almost certainly can be circumvented by a determined attacker, it has thus far proved a deterrent against malware attacks data loss attacks, data integrity attacks and denial of service attacks,” Symantec said.
The finding does not apply to devices that have been jailbroken to allow them to run unauthorised apps. In November 2009 an Australian hacker released a self-replicating iOS virus that replaced the home screen with a picture of Rick Astley, the 1980s pop star.
While Apple's approach came out as more secure than Google's, Symantec said that using a smartphone or tablet running either operating system was less risky than using a PC.
"These platforms have been designed from the ground up to be more secure - they raise the bar," it said.
RIM's BlackBerry is widely considered the most secure smartphone platform because it can be tightly controlled by corporate IT departments and has received government accreditation.
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The Iceman Otzi facts Fourm

Scientists finally determine iceman Otzi's last meal

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Otzi the Iceman, a well-preserved natural mummy of a Chalcolithic (Copper Age) man from about 3300 BC, who was found in 1991 in the Schnalstal glacier in the Ötztal Alps, near Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy. © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

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 In a presentation at the Seventh World Congress on Mummy Studies, researchers from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman revealed that they had finally located the iceman known as Otzi’s stomach and determined his last meal.
They were also able to Researchers from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman in Italy divided the presentation into three different topics. The first part of the presentation was given by microbiologist Frank Maixner. He had recently examined old tomography scans taken of Otzi back in 2005 and was able to finally locate the stomach which was farther up in the torso and in an unusual position. They found the stomach to be full and, upon examination and sequencing of the DNA, they determined that Otzi had eaten Alpine ibex just 30 to 120 minutes before his death.
The next presentation was led by anatomist Frank Ruhli and dentist Roger Seiler from the Centre for Evolutionary Medicine through the University of Zurich. They presented the dental health of Otzi who was presumed to have dies between the age of 35 and 40. Using three-dimensional images of his teeth, they showed how Otzi had suffered some form of blunt force trauma to two teeth only a few days before his death. They also showed how he suffered from periodontal disease and many cavities. These signs of cavities confirm the fact that the Iceman had consumed a diet full of carbohydrates.
The final part of the presentation was led by geneticist Angela Graefen from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman. She reported that her team had finally succeeded in sequencing Otzi’s full genome. This genome has already shed some light on some previous beliefs. While most artists performing facial reconstructions of Otzi facts for kids have shown him with blue eyes, the new sequenced genome show that he probably had brown eyes.
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What is a Penguin Emperor, The fects

Emperor penguin makes rare appearance in NZealand

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The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing anywhere from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb).
Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid.

An Emperor penguin in New Zealand, some 3,000 kilometres (1,900) from his Antarctic home. The penguin, a juvenile male, arrived at a beach on the Kapiti Coast, 40 kilometres north of the capital Wellington on June 20, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said. It was only the second sighting of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand.

Wildlife experts said they were astonished Wednesday at the appearance of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand, some 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) from his The penguin, a juvenile male, arrived at a beach on the Kapiti Coast, 40 kilometres north of the capital Wellington on Monday afternoon, the Department of Conservation (DOC) said.
It was only the second recorded sighting of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand, DOC spokesman Peter Simpson said, with the species' only previous registered appearance in the country on the South Island in 1967.
Simpson said he did not initially believe reports that the wayward bird was an Emperor penguin, the largest species of the distinctive waddling creatures, which can grow up to 1.15 metres (45 inches) tall.
"At first I though it must have been some sort of seal but we went and checked it out and to our immense surprise it did indeed turn out to be an Emperor penguin," he told AFP.
Simpson said the bird appeared to be in good health and was taking regular swims to cool down in the relative warmth of the New Zealand climate.
"At this time of year he should be sitting on the sea ice in Antarctica in 24-hour darkness," he said.

An Emperor penguin stands on a beach in New Zealand. It was only the second recorded sighting of an Emperor penguin in New Zealand, DOC spokesman Peter Simpson said, with the species' only previous registered appearance in the country on the South Island in 1967.

"They go out to to sea to feed in the Antarctic summer and this one, he's a juvenile and it's his first time out, so it looks like he's gone a long way out and got lost."
Simpson said wildlife officers were monitoring the penguin and expected it would eventually depart for the long swim home.
"I expect it has some sort of homing instinct," he said.
"This is a species that spends its whole life at sea, either in the water or on the sea ice."
He said the penguin had proved an attraction for curious locals, who had been warned to give the giant bird a wide berth and keep dogs leashed around it.
Emperor penguins live in colonies ranging in size from a few hundred to more than 20,000 pairs, according to the Australian Antarctic Division.
With no nesting material available on the frozen tundra, they huddle together for warmth during the long Antarctic winter, as depicted in the Oscar-winning 2005 documentary "March of the Penguins".
                                                                                    
The Emperor Penguin is a social animal in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; birds hunting together may coordinate their diving and surfacing. Individuals may be active day or night. A mature adult travels throughout most of the year between the nesting area and ocean foraging areas; the species disperses into the oceans from January to March.
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(c) 2011 AFP

Best Cell Phone from Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson eyes Android market with new phones

A staff member of Sony Ericsson submerges the newly-launched Xperia Active phone into a bowl of water as it receives an incoming call to show off its underwater capability on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in Singapore. Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has unveiled two new Android models in a bid to grab more of the burgeoning smartphone market. Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Lang announced Wednesday in Singapore that the company plans to launch the Xperia ray and Xperia active models during the third quarter.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

(AP) -- Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson unveiled two new Android models Wednesday in a bid to grab more of the burgeoning smartphone market.The company, a joint venture between L.M. Ericsson and Sony Corp., plans to launch the Xperia ray and Xperia active models during the third quarter, Chief Marketing Officer Steve Walker announced in Singapore.
The new models should help the company expand its 11 percent market share of the Android segment, Walker said.
"Android smartphones is a rapidly growing part of the market, and we see our share within that market growing," Walker told The Associated Press.
London-based Sony Ericsson, which saw its phone unit sales drop 23 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, is moving away from cheaper phone models and seeking to take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, Research in Motion's Blackberry and Nokia Corp.'s N9 in the higher-priced smartphone market.
By 2015, about 60 percent of mobile phones sold in the Asia-Pacific region will likely be smartphones, up from 20 percent in 2010, Walker said.
"We made quite a fundamental shift in strategy and decided to focus a large part of our efforts into smartphones, to focus on the mid- and high-end part of the business," Walker said. "In many markets, we see a dramatic shift from feature phones to smartphones."
The company said in April that smartphones accounted for more than 60 percent of its sales during the first quarter.
Sony Ericsson's latest models that run on Goggle Inc.'s Android platform, the Xperia ray and active, will likely be priced below the high-end Xperia arc, Walker said.
Xperia active is water resistant and works if fingers are wet or sweaty, while the Xperia ray seeks to combine a sleek design with a device that is 9.4 millimeters thick (about 1/3 inch-thick).
Sony Ericsson also plans to introduce a less expensive model that highlights texting service and is aimed at teenagers, Walker said.

Helene IC of Saturn 's Moon Founded

Cassini captures ice queen Helene

NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Helene on June 18, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed its second-closest encounter with Saturn's icy moon Helene, beaming down raw images of the small moon. At closest approach, on June 18, Cassini flew within 4,330 miles (6,968 kilometers) of Helene's surface. It was the second closest approach to Helene of the entire mission. Cassini passed from Helene's night side to the moon's sunlit side. It also captured images of the Saturn-facing side of the moon in sunlight, a region that was only illuminated by sunlight reflected off Saturn the last time Cassini was close, in March 2010. This flyby will enable scientists to finish creating a global map of Helene, so they can better understand the history of impacts to the moon and gully-like features seen on previous flybys.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Helene on June 18, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The closest Helene encounter of the mission took place on March 10, 2010, when Cassini flew within 1,131 miles (1,820 kilometers) of the moon.

New Nokia Phone N9 with Microsoft OS Launch

Nokia to launch Microsoft platform phones in 2011
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Nokia's Chief Executive Stephen Elop speaks with a projected image of the new Nokia N9 phone in the background during a press briefing on the sidelines of CommunicAsia 2011, an international communications and information technology exhibition and conference held on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 in Singapore. Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp. plans to introduce this year its first mobile phone using the Microsoft Windows platform and Elop said in the speech that Nokia will start to deliver the models in bulk during 2012. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp. plans to introduce its first mobile phones using the Microsoft Windows operating system this year, the company's chief executive said Tuesday.

Nokia is facing steep competition from competitors in several products. At the top end of the market it is struggling against smartphones such as Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's Blackberry as well as Android, and on the lower end against emerging market phone makers who are dropping their prices.
Nokia will start to deliver the Windows-based mobile phones in bulk next year, CEO Stephen Elop said in a speech at a technology trade show in Singapore.
"Our primary smartphone strategy is to focus on the Windows phone," Elop said. "I have increased confidence that we will launch our first device based on the Windows platform later this year and we will ship our product in volume in 2012."
Elop has acknowledged Nokia has been too slow to meet the challenge from competitors and has hinted that the company would drop its cellphone prices. Last month, the company warned both sales and profit margins in the second quarter would be substantially below previous forecasts.
Nokia also unveiled Tuesday its N9 smartphone, which is based on the MeeGo platform. The company said it plans to launch up to 10 new Symbian-based smartphones over the next 12 months.
Elop said the N9 would go on sale later this year, but declined to specify the date or price.
Nokia developed MeeGo last year in a partnership with U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. In February, Nokia turned to Microsoft's Windows Phone software as its main smartphone operating system.

Anti-HIV Cell Invitation To Test AIDS

New study finds HIV Achilles Heel

Diagram of the HIV virus. Image: US National Institute of Health/Wikipedia.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows how scientists have used a mathematical tool to possibly identify an Achilles heel in HIV which may lead to new One of the main things that make HIV so difficult to combat is its extreme ability to mutate. However, this research has identified what are being called HIV sectors and are groups of amino acids that are rarely seen making mutations. The researchers believe that the virus needs to maintain these sectors in order to survive and it is these sectors that should be the main target of treatments.
Through a joint enterprise combining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, University and Massachusetts General Hospital, the group called the Ragon Institute is behind the study. The Ragon Institute was established in 2009 to bring scientists together for the study in HIV/AIDS and other similar diseases.
The lead researchers were not biologists but rather specialized in chemistry. Professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at MIT Arup Chakraborty partnered with assistant professor of chemistry from the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie Vincent Dahirel. The two chemists joined forces with a long-time HIV researcher and director of the Ragon Institute Bruce Walker.
Using a 1950s statistical method known as random matrix theory, Chakraborty and Dahirel looked at the HIV proteins and sequences taken from a huge database of HIV patients trying to determine which segment was least able to tolerate mutations. What they found was sector three on the HIV protein known as Gag.
It was determined that part of this sector was responsible for the outer edges of the honeycomb structure that makes up the internal shell of the virus. If this structure suffered too many mutations, it would collapse.

Ragon Institute researchers identified potential HIV vaccine targets in a subunit of the Gag protein. Six of those subunits come together to form the hexagonal proteins that make up the viral capsid. Image: Vincent Dahirel

Dr. Walker has spent years studying the rare HIV patients known as “elite controllers.” These patients are able to control their HIV virus with their own immune system and no medication. What they found was the main target of these patient’s immune system was this same sector three.
The main hypothesis determined from this study was that new vaccines and treatments should not focus on a random attack but a focused attack on sector three. Professor of Medicine at Harvard and fellow Ragon colleague Dan Barouch plans to test this hypothesis in monkeys.
More information: Coordinate linkage of HIV evolution reveals regions of immunological vulnerability, PNAS, Published online before print June 20, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1105315108
Abstract
Cellular immune control of HIV is mediated, in part, by induction of single amino acid mutations that reduce viral fitness, but compensatory mutations limit this effect. Here, we sought to determine if higher order constraints on viral evolution exist, because some coordinately linked combinations of mutations may hurt viability. Immune targeting of multiple sites in such a multidimensionally conserved region might render the virus particularly vulnerable, because viable escape pathways would be greatly restricted. We analyzed available HIV sequences using a method from physics to reveal distinct groups of amino acids whose mutations are collectively coordinated (“HIV sectors”). From the standpoint of mutations at individual sites, one such group in Gag is as conserved as other collectively coevolving groups of sites in Gag. However, it exhibits higher order conservation indicating constraints on the viability of viral strains with multiple mutations. Mapping amino acids from this group onto protein structures shows that combined mutations likely destabilize multiprotein structural interactions critical for viral function. Persons who durably control HIV without medications preferentially target the sector in Gag predicted to be most vulnerable. By sequencing circulating viruses from these individuals, we find that individual mutations occur with similar frequency in this sector as in other targeted Gag sectors. However, multiple mutations within this sector are very rare, indicating previously unrecognized multidimensional constraints on HIV evolution. Targeting such regions with higher order evolutionary constraints provides a novel approach to immunogen design for a vaccine against HIV and other rapidly mutating viruses.
Invitation to test for HIV ups test rate among male partners of pregnant women in South Africa
Providing pregnant women with a written invitation to test for HIV for their male sexual partners significantly increased the numbers of males attending HIV voluntary counselling and testing at antenatal clinics (ANC) compared to those invited for pregnancy information sessions (PIS) in Khayelitsha, a township with a high HIV prevalence, in Cape Town, South Africa according to Boshishi K. F. Mohlala and colleagues in a randomised controlled trial published in the advance online edition of AIDS.
Community sensitisation activities encouraging male participation were conducted and antiretroviral therapy was available.

As in a Kenyan study the proportion of self-reported intimate partner violence was small and did not differ between the two groups; for women: 4% (7) in the male sexual partner voluntary counselling and testing arm (MSP VCT) compared to 7% (10) in the male sexual partner pregnancy information session (MSP PIS), p=0.207; for men: 0.5% (1) and 3% (4) for the MSP VCT and MSP PIS, respectively, p=0.167.
The authors suggest these numbers may be due to under-reporting.
An estimated 2.1 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV; the majority of whom were infected perinatally.
Preventing the sexual and perinatal transmission of HIV during pregnancy needs communication and cooperation between partners, note the authors.

New Chip for to Determine the Cell MASS and Density

How dense is a cell? Researchers have devised a way to answer that question

MIT researchers designed this tiny microfluidic chip that can measure the mass and density of single cells. Photo courtesy of the Manalis Lab

More than 2,000 years after Archimedes found a way to determine the density of a king’s crown by measuring its mass in two different fluids, MIT scientists have used the same principle to solve an equally vexing puzzle -- how to measure the density of a single cell.

“Density is such a fundamental, basic property of everything,” says William Grover, a research associate in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering. “Every cell in your body has a density, and if you can measure it accurately enough, it opens a whole new window on the biology of that cell.”
The new method, described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of June 20, involves measuring the buoyant mass of each cell in two fluids of different densities. Just as measuring the crown’s density helped Archimedes determine whether it was made of pure gold, measuring cell density could allow researchers to gain biophysical insight into fundamental cellular processes such as adaptations for survival, and might also be useful for identifying diseased cells, according to the authors.
Grover and recent MIT PhD recipient Andrea Bryan are lead authors of the paper. Both work in the lab of Scott Manalis, a professor of biological engineering, member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and senior author of the paper.
Going with the flow
Measuring the density of living cells is tricky because it requires a tool that can weigh cells in their native fluid environment, to keep them alive, and a method to measure each cell in two different fluids.
In 2007, Manalis and his students developed the first technique to measure the buoyant mass of single living cells. Their device, known as a suspended microchannel resonator, pumps cells, in fluid, through a microchannel that runs across a tiny silicon cantilever, or diving-board structure. That cantilever vibrates within a vacuum; when a cell flows through the channel, the frequency of the cantilever’s vibration changes. The cell’s buoyant mass can be calculated from the change in frequency.
To adapt the system to measure density, the researchers needed to flow each cell through the channel twice, each time in a different fluid. A cell’s buoyant mass (its mass as it floats in fluid) depends on its absolute mass and volume, so by measuring two different buoyant masses for a cell, its mass, volume and density can be calculated.

The new device rapidly exchanges the fluids in the channel without harming the cell, and the entire measurement process for one cell takes as little as five seconds. David Weitz, professor of physics at Harvard University, says the new technique is a clever way of measuring cell density, and opens up many new avenues of research. “The very interesting thing they show is that density seems to have a more sensitive change than some of the more standard measurements. Why is that? I don’t know. But the fact that I don’t know means it’s interesting,” he says.
Changes in density
The researchers tested their system with several types of cells, including red blood cells and leukemia cells. In the leukemia study, the researchers treated the cells with an antibiotic called staurosporine, then measured their density less than an hour later. Even in that short time, a change in density was already apparent. (The cells grew denser as they started to die.) The treated leukemia cells increased their density by only about 1 percent, a change that would be difficult to detect without a highly sensitive device such as this one. Because of that rapid response and sensitivity, this method could become a good way to screen potential cancer drugs.
“It was really easy, by the density measurement, to identify cells that had responded to the drug. If we had looked at mass alone, or volume alone, we never would have seen that effect,” Bryan says.
The researchers also demonstrated that malaria-infected red blood cells lose density as their infection progresses. This density loss was already known, but this is the first time it has been observed in single cells.
Being able to detect changes in red-blood-cell density could also offer a new way to test athletes who try to cheat by “doping” their blood — that is, by removing their own blood and storing it until just before their competition, when it is transfused back into the bloodstream. This boosts the number of red blood cells, potentially enhancing athletic performance.
Storing blood can alter the blood’s physical characteristics, and if those include changes in density, this technique may be able to detect blood doping, Grover says.
Researchers in Manalis’ lab are now investigating the densities of other types of cells, and are starting to work on measuring single cells as they grow over time — specifically cancer cells, which are characterized by uncontrolled growth.
“Understanding how density of individual cancer cells relates to malignant progression could provide fundamental insights into the underlying cellular processes, as well as lead to clinical strategies for treating patients in situations where molecular markers don’t yet exist or are difficult to measure due to limited sample volumes,” Manalis says.
Other authors on the paper are MIT research scientist Monica Diez-Silva; Subra Suresh, former dean of the MIT School of Engineering; and John Higgins of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

---

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.

Provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (news : web).

Goggle tablets PC Android 3.2''

Smaller Google tablets coming soon

Google Android 3.2 has been revealed as the new version of Android Honeycomb that will run a range of new tablet sizes to rival the iPad

Huawei's new MediaPad is set to be the first to run Google Android 3.2

A new version of Google’s Android operating system, Honeycomb, will run on a range of new tablet sizes, it has been revealed.

Version 3.1 has been used on 10” tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1”, but now Honeycomb 3.2 will run smaller devices such as the newly announced Huawei MediaPad. The Chinese company claims that this will be the first Android 3.2 machine, and that it will launch by September. Honeycomb 3.2 will also allow existing devices such as HTC’s Flyer to be upgraded, if manufacturers are willing to invest in updating their software.

The Huawei MediaPad features a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, and two cameras, at 1.3mp and 5mp respectively.

At last month’s Google I/O conference, the company announced that it would release Honeycomb 3.1, with a range of minor updates including resizeable widgets, but that a totally new release, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, will follow in the last quarter of 2011. This will include new features such as face recognition for video-conferencing, and will be the first version of Android that will run on a range of tablet sizes.

Meanwhile, version 3.2 of Honeycomb is set to offer improved hardware acceleration and updates to Google’s music and movies applications, as well as improvements to widgets and Movie Studio. Details have not yet been announced, however.

The new form factors may not produce the Android tablet boost that some analysts expect, however. A new Bernstein Research survey claims, “we find that consumers are not interested in form factors that deviate from the benchmark set by Apple. Few consumers, less than 15 percent prefer the 7″ screen size versus the 10″ screen of the iPad. Over 50 percent of respondents are firmly in favor of the 10″ screen, which leads us to conclude that the 7″ tablet models recently launched, like the BlackBerry PlayBook, are destined for failure. Consumer’s preference for the 10″ form factor explains the lukewarm response to Samsung’s 7″ Galaxy tablet and the rapid introduction of larger screen models in that series.” The survey also found that over 50 per cent of respondents explicitly wanted an Apple device.

New Laptop without Powers ( Solar Laptop )

Solar-powered laptop launched by Samsung

A new laptop from Samsung incorporates a solar panel into the lid and could offer battery life of up to 14.5 hours – but it’s initially only available in Russia

Samsung's new solar-powered laptop

A new laptop to be launched in Russia by Samsung will use solar panels that are directly integrated into the unit’s lid. The NC215S will be available in August and run Windows 7 and Samsung claims that it will be able to offer a battery life of up to 14.5 hours.

Initially unveiled at the Africa Regional Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, the new device has now been confirmed for the Russian market. It is also likely to be popular in African markets, where permanent sources of power are often not available. Samsung Electronics Africa hopes to reach $10 billion in sales by 2015.

Samsung has an established interest in solar power, launching a mobile phone using the technology in 2009 at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. Although the ‘Blue Earth’ device did not mark a breakthrough for the technology, it has increasingly also been used by other manufacturers - Fujitsu has also been examining the technology as part of a recent computing design competition.

The new netbook offers a conventional netbook configuration with a 10.1in, 1024 x 600-pixel display and a weight of 1.3kg. An Intel Atom N570 (1.66 GHz) dual-core processor, 1GB of Ram and a 250GB or 320GB drive are the device’s main features. Prices have not yet been announced and there are currently no UK release plans.

Belore you can used this Bag for Power

New Nokia Phone N9 with 8MP Camrea and Full Screen

Nokia unveils N9 ‘all-screen’ phone

New N9 phone, the long-awaited successor to Nokia’s N8, is finally unveiled in Singapore – but no sign of new Windows Phone handsets yet .

Troubled smartphone giant Nokia has unveiled a range of new handsets including the company’s new flagship device, the N9. Featuring an ‘all-screen’ design, the phone replaces a home button with a universal ‘swipe’ gesture that takes users back to the devices main screen from wherever they are in its operating system.

Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's head of Design, said, “The details that make the Nokia N9 unique - the industrial design, the all-screen user experience, and the expressive Qt framework for developers - will evolve in future Nokia products."

The company, has not yet, however, demonstrated any of the long-awaited Windows Phone handsets that it says it will release by the end of the year. Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop said “Earlier this year, we outlined a comprehensive strategy to change our course. Innovation is at the heart of our strategy, and today we took important steps to demonstrate a new pace of innovation at Nokia. It's the beginning of a new era for Nokia."

Earlier this month Nokia announced significantly reduced profits and operating margins, which sent its share prices further down.

The company also released affordable models called the C2-02, C2-03 and C2-06 using Symbian Series 40. They included dual and single-sim options, which are popular in emerging markets where Nokia is still hugely popular, and both touch screen and keypad options. They are also the first Nokia handset to feature mapping with Symbian Series 40, which the company hopes will also appeal to customers in the developing world.
The N9 also features an 8mp camera, near-field communication technology and up to 64gb of storage as well as Nokia’s standard turn-by-turn navigation software. It said the recently announced ‘Anna’ - Nokia launches new Symbian Anna OS and X7 and E6 smartphones - update will be available next month. No prices for the N9 have yet been announced.

Scotland Yard Arrested Group of Hackers

Hackers 'steal entire 2011 census'

The entire 2011 UK census database has been stolen by hackers and will be published online, it has been claimed.

The ONS is investigating the claims Photo: CLARE KENDALL

Ryan Cleary, an alleged member of the hacking group behind the claim, LulzSec, was arrested in Essex this morning by specialist cyber crime officers from Scotland Yard.

The 19-year-old was taken to a central London police station and remains in custody on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences.

A “significant amount of material” was also seized from an address in Wickford, Essex.

The “pre-planned intelligence-led operation” in collaboration with the FBI followed claims online that the 2011 census database had been stolen and would be published in full.

“We have blissfully obtained records of every single citizen who gave their records to the security-illiterate UK government for the 2011 census,” a posting purportedly by LulzSec said.

“We're keeping them under lock and key though... so don't worry about your privacy (...until we finish re-formatting them for release),” it added.
The posting said the database will be published via The Pirate Bay, a file sharing website.
LulzSec first emerged in May and mounted a series of Distributed Denial of Service and hacking attacks on high profile organisations. Sony, the CIA, the US Senate, the NHS, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and security companies linked to the FBI have all been targeted.
The Office of National Statistics said it was investigating LulzSec's latest claims.
“We are aware of the suggestion that census data has been accessed. We are working with our security advisers and contractors to establish whether there is any substance to this,” it said.
“The 2011 Census places the highest priority on maintaining the security of personal data. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest that any such compromise has occurred.”
The US defence contractor Lockheed Martin, which collected the 2011 census data, was also preparing a statement. The compulsory national survey was carried out in march and gathered data including full names, dates of birth and addresses for everyone in the UK.
Graham Cluley, of the British computer security firm Sophos, said more evidence of a breach was required.
"I don't think we should believe someone has hacked UK census purely on basis of a post to PasteBin [the website used by LulzSec for its announcements]," he said.
The group claims to be acting purely for amusement."Lulz" is a derivative of LOL, the abbreviation for "laugh out loud" commonly used online.

T-Shirt for Mobile Charging ( Festival-goers)

Charge your phone at Glastonbury using a T-shirt

Glastonbury Festival-goers should be able to charge their mobile phones using nothing more than a T-shirt, although may have to risk permanent hearing damage to do so.

Orange, the mobile phone company, have produced a T-shirt which can use the noise of the festival music to charge their phones. The charging system is based on "piezoelectric film", a technology commonly used in hi-fi speakers, which turns vibrations - like sound waves - into electrical voltage, and is thin enough to be woven into a cotton shirt.

The energy gathered from sound waves is stored in a reservoir battery, which can then be plugged into a mobile phone to charge it. The Orange engineers said they chose a T-shirt because it is an everyday item that people will have on them, and because it has a large surface area which can receive a lot of sound waves.

Unfortunately, despite this, the amount of energy gained is not huge. According to Orange, "over the course of the weekend" the shirt could store as much as six watt hours - which, as the technology website The Register points out, "should be enough to recharge a smartphone, once, if you're lucky". And standing next to a speaker for hours at a time to charge your phone is unlikely to be good for your aural health. But it may allow for a few extra hours' battery life if used wisely.

For last year's festival, Orange produced wellington boots with chargers in the heel, which gained energy from walking movement; the year before they made small, portable windmills for generating electrical power. They have hinted that all three items may become saleable products.

New Water Treasures in Glaciers of Chile's

Discovering Chile’s hidden water treasures -- rock glaciers

A joint research project of the University of Waterloo in Canada and the Universidad Mayor in Chile has been The world’s fresh water is stored and transported by a range of natural reservoirs and formations – streams, rivers, lakes, bogs, aquifers, glaciers, icebergs, clouds and highland mists, and of course, plants and animals. Another important yet poorly understood source of fresh water is rock glaciers. Geographers and hydrologists distinguish these frozen, debris-covered formations from ice-only glaciers.
A joint research project of the University of Waterloo in Canada and the Universidad Mayor in Chile has been investigating ways to accurately identify rock glaciers. The research collaboration, feeding into a broader effort in Chile and elsewhere, draws on Canadian expertise in physical geography and computer modelling and Chilean expertise in remote sensing.
Accurate identification of rock glaciers will provide better technical information to Chilean government scientists responsible for natural resource management and environmental assessments in the dry Andes, as well as to environmental NGOs. This step is particularly important in view of a 2008 Chilean law that requires environmental assessments of development projects in mountain areas – projects such as mining, disposal of mining tailings and road construction. Some such activities have caused friction in the past between mining firms and environmentalists.
But the potential long-term spillover benefits to other countries with rock glaciers, such as Argentina, and other regions, such as Central Asia, are significant too, says University of Waterloo geographer Alex Brenning. Argentina has a larger total area of rock glaciers, and it too has new glacier-related legislation; enforcing the new law will require accurate data on the extent of rock glaciers and their ice content.
Dr. Brenning describes the elusive aspect of rock glaciers: “You see absolutely nothing of all the ice that is on the ground. This means the research methods for investigating rock glaciers are very different from what’s used in glaciological research... so rock glaciers are not usually included in glacier inventories. Even now there’s very little knowledge about their distribution in many mountain areas of the world, except maybe the Alps and the Rocky Mountains."

What masks the ice of a rock glacier is the so-called “active layer” of rock, usually three- to-five metres thick. Visually, the formation resembles regular non-glacial terrain or permafrost. Since rock glaciers are a major source of water in the dry Andes, especially through seasonal melting, they need to be protected like other water resources. But to do so, their number, sizes and locations need to be spelled out.
This is where the work of Marco Peña comes in. Mr. Peña is a specialist in applied remote sensing with the Centre for Studies in Natural Resources (OTERRA) at the Universidad Mayor in Santiago. He’s investigating techniques that can distinguish between rock glaciers and other land formations. Two promising approaches, he notes, are thermal inertia analysis and hyperspectral analysis, drawing on certain kinds of satellite images.
The thermal inertia method uses images of a mountain area taken at those times of the day when maximum and minimum temperatures are reached. “Thermal inertia depicts the response of a material to temperature changes,” explains Mr. Peña. “By calculating thermal inertia we are able to find differences between rock glaciers and their surrounding areas.”
Even though rock glacier materials may look like the surrounding material, the temperature of both landforms may be different because the rock glacier contains ice as well as rock, he says. Thus they have distinctive thermal and radiative properties that can be used to identify them.
Hyperspectral analysis relies on images taken by Hyperion, an instrument aboard NASA’s EO-1satellite that has been collecting data about the earth since 1999. Mr. Peña hypothesizes that rock glaciers are spectrally different from surrounding materials. Again, the key is to find tell-tale signs of rock glaciers, in this case various combinations of elements in the surface of the target area that has been imaged. Hyperspectral analysis reveals more about a surface than other remote sensing techniques, due to the detailed spectral information available in each pixel of an image.
“We want to demonstrate to the remote sensing community that there is a close relationship between remote sensing and rock glaciers if proper, remotely sensed products are combined with field data,” says Mr. Peña. To this end, researchers staged a one-day seminar on the topic at Universidad Mayor a year ago, bringing together 27 students, university researchers, mining industry representatives, consultants, and staff from Chile’s national water authority.
Dr. Brenning stresses that global warming could have a significant impact on rock glaciers in many regions and thus on the world supply of fresh water in the form of ice. Hence, the importance of building rock glacier inventories now – not only to support environmental impact assessment for specific projects, but also for the long-term knowledge base needed to help protect vital water resources.
Glacier science was in the news recently, as Dr. Brenning was interviewed by Chilean and international media on the importance of rock glaciers. Because of his expertise, he was also asked to join a scientific group advising Chile’s national environmental protection agency on implementing its National Glacier Policy. He plans to spend part of 2011 working in Chile.
Provided by International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

New Base station of Samsung is Japan

Samsung to build mobile base stations for Japan

South Korean men walk past a Samsung logo in Seoul in 2010. South Korea's Samsung Electronics said it has been chosen to provide next-generation communications equipment to KDDI, Japan's number two mobile phone operator.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Monday it has been chosen to provide next-generation communications equipment to KDDI, Japan's number two mobile phone KDDI is scheduled to start a commercial service using long-term evolution (LTE) technology next year, Samsung said in a statement without disclosing the value of the deal.
Global mobile operators are preparing to launch new technologies allowing faster wireless data transmission to cater to increasingly popular smartphones and tablets.
Samsung, the world's second largest mobile phone maker, already provides LTE equipment to wireless carriers in the US and the Middle East.
It said it is working to offer commercial LTE services to eight mobile operators around the world.
In Tokyo, KDDI said the Korean firm would provide small base stations, especially in cities. It earlier selected NEC Corp and Motorola Mobility Holdings to build the large stations for its LTE network.
Samsung said it aims to introduce the best technology "for hotspots in extremely dense user areas that require higher capacity mobile broadband, whilst simultaneously improving service quality in weak-signal areas".
(c) 2011 AFP

New Cellphone Charger work without Electric

Japan gadget charges cellphone over campfire

A member of Japanese electronics venture TES NewEnergy unveils a pot that can charge mobile phones while boiling water for use in earthquake and other emergency situations, at a demonstration in Tsukuba City in Ibaraki prefecture on June 9. The Hatsuden-Nabe thermo-electric cookpot turns heat from boiling water into electricity that feeds via a USB port into digital devices such as smartphones.

A Japanese company has come up with a new way to charge your mobile phone after a natural disaster or in the great outdoors -- by heating a pot of water over a The Hatsuden-Nabe thermo-electric cookpot turns heat from boiling water into electricity that feeds via a USB port into digital devices such as smartphones, music players and global positioning systems.
TES NewEnergy, based in the western city of Osaka, started selling the gadget in Japan this month for 24,150 yen ($299), and plans to market it later in developing countries with patchy power grids.
Chief executive Kazuhiro Fujita said the invention was inspired by Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left 23,000 people dead or missing, devastated the northeast region and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
"When I saw the TV footage of the quake victims making a fire to keep themselves warm, I came up with the idea of helping them to charge their mobile phones at the same time," Fujita said.
The pot features strips of ceramic thermoelectric material that generate electricity through temperature differentials between the 550 degrees Celsius at the bottom of the pot and the water boiling inside at 100 degrees.
The company says the device takes three to five hours to charge an iPhone and can heat up your lunch at the same time.
"Unlike a solar power generator, our pot can be used regardless of time of day and weather while its small size allows people to easily carry it in a bag in case of evacuation," said director and co-developer Ryoji Funahashi.
TES NewEnergy was set up in 2010 to promote products based on technology developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan's largest public research organisation.
It also makes and markets equipment to transform residual heat from industrial waste furnaces into electricity.
The company says the pot will be used mainly in emergency situations and for outdoor activities, but also has uses in developing countries.
"There are many places around the world that lack the electric power supply for charging mobile phones," Fujita said.
"In some African countries, for example, it's a bother for people to walk to places where they can charge mobile phones. We would like to offer our invention to those people."
(c) 2011 AFP

New Flexible LED ( Latest Small LED )

Researchers create a smaller, flexible LED

                                                                                   

University of Miami professor at the College of Engineering, Jizhou Song, has helped design an light-emitting diode (LED) light that uses an array of LEDs 100 times smaller than conventional LEDs. The new device has flexibility, maintains lower temperature and has an increased life-span over existing LEDs. The findings are published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy Incandescent bulbs are not very efficient, most of the power they use is converted into heat and only a small fraction of the power gets converted to light. Since LEDs reduce energy waste and present an alternative to conventional bulbs.
In this study, the scientists focused on improving certain features of LED lights, like size, flexibility and temperature. Song's role in the project was to analyze the thermal management and establish an analytical model that reduces the temperature of the device.
"The new model uses a silicon substrate, novel etching strategies, a unique layout and innovative thermal management method," says Song, co-author of the study. "The combination of these manufacturing techniques allows the new design to be much smaller and keep lower temperatures than current LEDs using the same electrical power."
In the future, the researchers would also like to make the device stretchable, so that it can be used on any surface, such as deformable display monitors and biomedical devices that adapt to the curvilinear surfaces of the human body.

More information: The PNAS paper is titled 'Unusual Strategies for Using InGaN Grown on Silicon (111) for Solid State Lighting.' Published online before print June 10, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1102650108
Abstract

Properties that can now be achieved with advanced, blue indium gallium nitride light emitting diodes (LEDs) lead to their potential as replacements for existing infrastructure in general illumination, with important implications for efficient use of energy. Further advances in this technology will benefit from reexamination of the modes for incorporating this materials technology into lighting modules that manage light conversion, extraction, and distribution, in ways that minimize adverse thermal effects associated with operation, with packages that exploit the unique aspects of these light sources. We present here ideas in anisotropic etching, microscale device assembly/integration, and module configuration that address these challenges in unconventional ways. Various device demonstrations provide examples of the capabilities, including thin, flexible lighting “tapes” based on patterned phosphors and large collections of small light emitters on plastic substrates. Quantitative modeling and experimental evaluation of heat flow in such structures illustrates one particular, important aspect of their operation: small, distributed LEDs can be passively cooled simply by direct thermal transport through thin-film metallization used for electrical interconnect, providing an enhanced and scalable means to integrate these devices in modules for white light generation.
Provided by University of Miami (news : web)

Virgin alerts infected customers (The spread of the SpyEye virus )

Virgin alerts customers that are infected with Spyeye Trojan

ISP gets tip-off from Soca that malicious computer software has been unwittingly downloaded by Virgin Media customers and perhaps many more

The spread of the SpyEye virus has been monitored by law enforcement agencies

Continue reading the main story

About 1,500 customers of internet service provider Virgin Media have been warned that their PCs are infected with a malicious virus.

The targeted computers had fallen victim to the SpyEye trojan that steals log-ins for online bank accounts.
Virgin was alerted to the infections by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
Letters were sent to those affected, giving them advice on how to clean up their machines.
Virgin is understood to be the first UK ISP to give specific warnings about viruses based on SOCA's advice.
However, the UK Internet Service Providers Association said that it was not unusual for companies to contact customers as a result of information from other law enforcement bodies.
It is impossible, at this stage, to know how many other ISPs' customers are affected by SpyEye.
Early warning
Virgin company stressed that it had not been monitoring user activity, rather some of their customers' IP addresses were found by law enforcement while investigating criminal botnets.
"It's a small number compared to the four million customers we have," said a spokesman, "but regardless of that, because of the seriousness it's still important to communicate with our customers."
The letters stress the seriousness of the situation and urge customers to update their security software and scan their machine to find and remove the malicious program. Alternatively, customers can sign up for a help service that allows Virgin to remotely find and fix problems.
The spokesman added that the Virgin campaign started in August 2010 and since then it had sent letters to "several thousand" customers about a serious infection on their home computer.
"The category we are looking at are the ones that put our customers at most risk or the ones that will steal from them," he said.
SpyEye first appeared in early 2010 and has steadily gathered victims ever since. Some machines are infected via booby-trapped webpages or by tricking people into clicking on links that lead to the trojan being installed.
The SpyEye trojan and its many variants are being produced with a software kit that allows novices to put together their own versions of the malware. The kit, which costs $500 (£310), also comes with a tool to help control all the PCs that are infected.

Virgin Mobile Help

Virgin Mobile Help: If you've just got a new cellular phone account with Virgin Mobile, or if you've got a new phone and you want to learn about features, downloading, text messaging, or how to set up your voice mail, we've got the information you need right here. Learn technical information, like how to browse the Web, how to top up your account, set up alerts, or learn about the newest ringtones, graphics, and exclusive content available from Virgin Mobile.

Social Network for Sale at $100m ( MySpace)

MySpace 'will sell for at least $100m'

News Corporation is turning the MySpace sale process into a drawn out “dog race”, in an attempt to get as much money as possible for the ailing social network, according to sources close to the deal.

MySpace has not managed to compete with Facebook. Photo: AFP

Contrary to earlier reports that the media giant was unable to achieve its asking price of $100m, a source close to the acquisition process told The Telegraph, that News Corporation would definitely get $100m for MySpace, if not more and has deliberately dragged its feet and revealed very few company financials in order to achieve the highest figure.

“News Corporation has been biding its time in order to get as much money as possible for the asset. It will easily achieve the $100m price tag if not more.

“The interested parties, of which there are more than have been reported, are at the due diligence stage and have only in the last week been allowed to see under the hood of MySpace’s figures and business activities. Until now, News Corporation has deliberately restricted information in order to get the price and interest up as high as possible. It’s turned into a dog race between the front runners,” the source said.

News Corporation is expected to sell the asset by or on June 30, 2011, in time for the end of its financial year. However, sources familiar with the deal process expect the procedure to run until “the very last minute”.

Front runners are believed to include: an investor group led by Bobby Kotick, the chief executive of games company Activision Blizzard, Criterion Capital Partners – the private equity company which bought Bebo from AOL last year and social networking site myYearbook.

News Corporation is understood to want to retain a small percentage of the company, while handing over operational control and majority ownership to the successful buyer.
A second source, also close to the purchase process, told The Telegraph, that there was still money to be made from advertising via the struggling social network.
“The site still has 40 million active users worldwide. There is definitely still money to be made from better advertising around an improved product. News Corporation just stopped investing in MySpace at a crucial time,” they said.
“Lots of companies spend millions trying to attract one million users which they can monetise through adverts. MySpace still has a good audience compared to other sites online – just not compared to Facebook.”
MySpace declined to comment.
News Corporation bought MySpace for $580m (£373m) in 2008. The asset was briefly valued at $12bn when News Corp attempted to merge it with Yahoo in 2007.
However, it users and value have dropped significantly in the last three years, having failed to compete successfully with Facebook.
MySpace now attracts fewer than three million monthly users in the UK, while 30 million UK web users have a Facebook profile which they regularly check.
Earlier this year, MySpace shut down the majority of its international operation, sacking 500 people.
At the end of last year, Chase Carey’s, News Corporation’s chief operating officer, made disparaging comments about the former darling of the social networking space.
He described the site as a “problem” and said that a sale or partnership with internet giants such as Yahoo or AOL were two or a number of options under consideration.
Mr Carey, who has previously described MySpace’s losses as “neither acceptable or sustainable”, refused to set a deadline for the social networking site to return to profitability before it push ahead with a sale. “I’m not going to break down [the number of] quarters,” he said. “It’s not years ... we need to deal with this with urgency.”
According to a digital executive close to the company: “MySpace lost $100 million in the first quarter last year. To get it back on track is going to require a massive investment – one which News Corporation it not prepared to make. It has many other priorities to put its money into. So instead, it has been taking costs out of the business while it's still in its hands.”

Sega Company Japan was Hacked (Credir Cards)

1.29 million customers' data stolen from Sega

Hackers have stolen the personal data of some 1.29 million customers of the Japanese game maker Sega, the company said Sunday, in a theft via a website of its European unit

Hackers have stolen the personal data of some 1.29 million customers of the Japanese game maker Sega, the company said Sunday, in a theft via a website of its

European unit.

The Sega Pass website, operated by London-based Sega Europe, did not contain credit card information, the Japanese firm said.

But names, dates of birth, email addresses and encrypted passwords were stolen by intruders to the site, Sega said in a Japanese-language statement, adding the theft had been confirmed on Friday.

"We sincerely apologise for troubles this incident has caused to our customers," it said.
The service, which has been suspended, was mainly to announce new product information to registered customers, Sega said.
"An investigation has been launched to find the cause and channels used for the leakage," it said.
No other websites managed by Sega have come under attack, it said.
Sega pledged to strengthen its network security and to release information about the case as it becomes available.
The incident follows a series of hacker attacks on Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony in April which forced it suspend online services for weeks.
Sony suffered one of the biggest data breaches since the advent of the Internet, with personal data from 100 million accounts compromised.
The attacks forced the company to halt its Qriocity online music and video distribution services and PlayStation Network online gaming for more than a month.
Sony also suffered attacks on websites including in Greece, Thailand and Indonesia, and on the Canadian site of mobile phone company Sony Ericsson.
This month, a group of hackers known as Lulz Security claimed to have attacked the Sony Computer Entertainment Developer Network and stolen technical information, after stealing customer data from SonyPictures.com.
Websites of major media, game makers, banks and the US government have been constant targets of international hackers.
Nintendo, Citigroup, the CIA and the Malaysian government have recently come under hacker attacks.
Sega, known for "Sonic the Hedgehog", produces games for a range of consoles, including the PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's motion-control Wii.
It became a household name with popular arcade games such as "UFO Catchers" and in 1998 won a fan base with its Dreamcast machine. But it stopped producing the Dreamcast in 2001 under fierce competition from Sony and Nintendo.
The company has since focused on arcade machines and software. It saw a new lease on life after merging in 2004 with Sammy Corp., Japan's top maker of pinball slot machines.
(c) 2011 AFP