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Android

Submission + - Microsoft wants you to diss Android for a free WP7 (cnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
phonewebcam
phonewebcam writes: "As the WP7 market share hovers around what Android would consider a rounding error, Microsoft sinks to a new level of desperation:

"This could be a little controversial. Microsoft is offering the chance of winning a free Windows Phone, in exchange for Android owners sharing tales of woe on Twitter concerning Google's operating system, Electric Pig reports.

People are encouraged to use the hashtag #droidrage to vent their dissatisfaction.

Windows Phone 'evangelist' Ben Rudolph tweeted: "Share your android malware story... and you could win a #windowsphone upgrade."""
Android

Submission + - Android ranked most 'closed' open source OS (bgr.com)

Submitted by zacharye
zacharye writes: A new report has ranked Google’s Android operating system the most “closed” open source platform among eight major open source projects. VisionMobile on Monday published The Open Governance Index, a deep look at the relative openness of Android, Qt, Symbian, MeeGo, Mozilla, WebKit, Linux and Eclipse. Going beyond licensing models and using governance as a core metric, the firm determined that Qt is the most open open source platform with an Open Governance Index of 58% while Google’s Android was the most closed open source platform analyzed in its report...

Submission + - LHC Homes In On Possible Higgs Boson Around 126GeV (web.cern.ch)

Submitted by Ginger Unicorn
Ginger Unicorn writes: In a seminar held at CERN today, the ATLAS and CMS experiments presented the status of their searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson. Their results are based on the analysis of considerably more data than those presented at the summer conferences, sufficient to make significant progress in the search for the Higgs boson, but not enough to make any conclusive statement on the existence or non-existence of the elusive Higgs. The main conclusion is that the Standard Model Higgs boson, if it exists, is most likely to have a mass constrained to the range 116-130 GeV by the ATLAS experiment, and 115-127 GeV by CMS. Tantalising hints have been seen by both experiments in this mass region, but these are not yet strong enough to claim a discovery.
Android

Submission + - Rigged Apps Pulled From Android Market (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: There has been another round of malicious apps discovered in the official Android Market, with this wave containing hidden functionality to send SMS messages to premium-rate numbers. The apps, which Google has pulled from the Market already, are counterfeit versions of popular games, including Angry Birds.

The payload in this case is some functionality hidden deep within the rigged apps that, when activated by users in a long list of European countries, will send messages to a premium rate SMS number, potentially costing the victim quite a bit of money, researchers said.
Privacy

Submission + - Corporations Sign Up to Track Location of Customer (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by
holy_calamity
holy_calamity writes: "Technology Review reports on Loc-Aid, a startup that enables companies such as banks to get a location fix on the device associated with a customer's cell phone number. The company has built a system that integrates the phone-tracking capabilities of all the major North American wireless networks. Banks are using the service to check a person's location when their credit card triggers fraud alarms. Retailers are expected to use the service to offer location-specific deals and to analyse patterns in customer movements. A person must opt in before a company can use Loc-Aid's service to track their phone. Challenge Loc-Aid to locate your device using their online demo."
Star Wars Prequels

Submission + - Old Republic unplayable on launch date, greed or i (swtor.com)

Submitted by Umuri
Umuri writes: Bioware's long awaited MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic(release date 12-20-2011), has hit a rather rough snag, as most online retailers have announced box delivery dates anywhere from the 22nd to the 29th or even some in next year. Yet EA has gone back on it's word to allow a grace period and is saying even preorders will be shutoff on launch day. Is this a plot for them to sell more digital copies(which they proudly advertise as code delivery on the 16th)? Or is it a supply screwball where they lack enough physical copies. Either way, it's bad PR.
Data Storage

Submission + - PC Makers Run Out Of Popular Drives (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: The impact from the monsoonal flooding in Thailand over the past three months is now being felt by users as computer system manufacturer's are unable to meet supply needs. Lenovo told its corporate customers this week that is has run out of a number of drives including several types of 7200rpm and 5400rpm HDDs. 'Akin to the hysteria when banks defaulted in the 1930[s], PC orders across the industry are being placed for which HD supply does not exist,' a Lenovo rep wrote to his clients. IDC this week said the HDD shortages that have resulted from the flooding of four major Thailand industrial parks will likely be felt into 2013. Western Digital and Toshiba have been hit the hardest. PC shipments are also expected to fall short by 3.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012 due to component supply shortages. Meanwhile, there has been some indication of retail HDD price stabilization, but for some of the most popular hard drives prices continue to soar.

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