IT News HeadLines (HardOCP) 26/09/2010

Can Apple Crack China with the iPhone 4?
Sometimes being fashionably late to the ball is socially acceptable. It would seem so for Apple with its iPhone 4 release in China today. Crowds were present, creating long waiting lines for the coveted iPhone 4 sales. Yet some say the quick releases of the iPad and iPhone 4 along with the new store openings is a sign that Apple is not only taking China more seriously but also gaining a greater understanding of its massive mobile market. Comments
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Dalek Mysteriously Appears in England
If you have misplaced your pet Dalek, it was located in England, planet Earth. If you are not familiar with the territory, please contact Dr.Who for directions. Local authorities fear invasion is imminent Comments
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Top 12 PC Games of All Time
With a click of the mouse, gamers can transport themselves into futuristic worlds, realistic battle scenes and a virtual life of organized crime. Although there they face extensive competition from console-makers such as Nintendo and Sony, PC software games continue to flourish, as each year hundreds of titles vie for consumers' attention, loyalty and dollars. Here's a dozen of the all time best. Comments
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Volvo Working on Battery Car
No, it doesn't mean electric car, Volvo is working on making parts of the car you drive into storage batteries. The question will be is the battery driving you or you driving the battery? The team will initially focus just on developing the material, composed of carbon fibers and polymer resin. It is said to be both strong and pliant, meaning it can be shaped as necessary--which could allow it to replace steel panels on future cars, lightening the body structure to improve overall efficiency. Comments
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Stuxnet Computer Worm Still a Mystery to Officials
After months of being discovered, cybersecurity experts still have very little information on the purpose or the creator of the Stuxnet malware, according to Homeland Security "It's very difficult to say 'This is what it was targeted to do,'" he said of Stuxnet, which some computer security experts have said may be intended to sabotage a nuclear facility in Iran. The worm has been found lurking on Siemens systems in India, Indonesia, Pakistan and elsewhere, but the heaviest infiltration appears to be in Iran, according to software security researchers. Comments
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Mozilla Provides Glimpse at Futuristic 'Seabird' Concept Phone
Mozilla Labs unveiled a concept phone this week that piques the interest of many, but will probable never see production. Incorporating popular feedback from the Mozilla community, the phone has the aura of the future in phone applications and style. Comments
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Free Microsoft Security Essentials for Small Business
Well, maybe for really small businesses, but it's a move in the right direction. Microsoft will begin offering free MSE for business use next month. While it's interesting to see yet another definition of "small business" from Redmond (Small Business Server is good for up to 75 desktops, and the forthcoming cloud-based Small Business Server "Aurora" is for companies with up to 25 users), this is certainly a good move. Comments
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Twitter Already On The Hunt For Larger Office Space
Less than a year ago, Twitter moved into its present office space, acquiring an additional floor in the process to house its growing employee ranks of 250. Twitter is reportedly shopping around for a little more space, somewhere in the 200k square foot range. Thinking of expanding a bit, are we? But if Twitter is looking for another 200,000 square feet of space, they must be planning to expand rapidly very soon. Zynga's huge space is 270,000 square feet, and that's supposed to house up to 2,000 employees. So if Twitter finds this space they're apparently looking for, it should house well over 1,000 employees. Comments
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Air Force Rebuts GAO's GPS Concerns
The Government Accountability Office, in a recently released report, expressed concerned over the state of the present GPS system and the future health of the network. A follow-up report released Sept. 15 credited the Air Force with making improvements but warned that a delay in launching one of the next-generation satellites could still drop the number of operational orbiting satellites to less than 24. Comments
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Spammers Transferring Operations to Russia
Internet spammers are moving their domain registrations to Russia since China began a crackdown of its registration rules. Russia has long been a haven for spam domains due to their lax registration regulations and rules enforcement. Unfortunately, even when security researchers trace back these botnets to specific spam domains in Russia, it can be difficult to push them offline, unless through coordinated takedowns by security researchers. "These registrars are notorious for ignoring abuse notification requests to suspend these illegal domains," said M86 Security. Comments
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Is That Bill Gates Staring Back at You from Outlook 2010?
Do you ever have that feeling that someone is watching you while you are using the computer? If you are feeling a wee bit paranoid, better stay out of Outlook 2010 then, you might just see Bill Gates' ghostly silhouette looking back at you. Comments
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Amazon Introduces First Paid Kindle App
Kindle has introduced its first app for purchase. EA's Scrabble will join two free word games in the Kindle app store. Not exactly the most exciting game in the world, but after all, it's a reader. Given the current design limitations of the Kindle; its lack of color, touch screen or animation, Kindle apps will presumably be of the fairly basic, black-and-white variety, at least for now. Scrabble fits that mold. Comments
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Internet Explorer 9 Doesn't Require Windows 7 SP1
TechNet reversed itself on its reporting on the newly released Beta for Internet Explorer. TechNet had reported earlier that you would need Windows 7 SP 1 to operate correctly, say ain't so Microsoft. "I want follow up to let you know that the TechNet FAQ has been updated to provide further clarification about requirements for Internet Explorer 9. Internet Explorer 9 will work on Windows 7 RTW and Windows 7 SP1. When you install Internet Explorer 9 on a system that has Windows 7 RTM installed, additional operating system components are included as part of the installation of Internet Explorer 9." Comments
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