By Gregg Keizer November 9, 2009
Firefox accounted for almost half of all browser vulnerabilities in the first six months of 2009, a Web security company claimed today. According to California-based Cenzic, Mozilla's browser had the largest percentage of Web vulnerabilities over the six-month span, while Apple's Safari had the dubious distinction of coming in second. Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) was third, while Opera Software's flagship browser took fourth place. The Cenzic report can be downloaded from the company's site ( download PDF). "It's not rocket science," said Lars Ewe, Cenzic's chief technology officer, referring to the browser bug counting. "We used several databases, including the CVE (common vulnerabilities and exposures) database to count the number of known vulnerabilities." Firefox accounted for 44% of all browser bugs reported in the first half of the year, said Ewe, while Safari vulnerabilities came to 35% of the total. IE, meanwhile, accounted for 15%, while 6% of all the flaws were in Opera.
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Monday, November 9, 2009
Nokia Recalls 14 Million Mobile Phone Chargers
Some customers could face a nasty shock
By Jansen Ng November 9, 2009
Mobile communications giant Nokia is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with approximately 304.9 million sold in the first three quarters of this year alone. With such high volumes, problems will inevitably develop. Nokia partners with many component manufacturers in order to speed time to market and lower costs. One of these partners is BYD, a Chinese company that produces cars, rechargeable batteries, and mobile phone components. One of these key components is the power charger, which due to economies of scale BYD is able to sell for around $1 per unit. A safety issue has now arisen that has prompted a recall for up to 14 million of these chargers. "We have determined that the plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger’s internal components and potentially posing an electric shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket," stated Nokia. Chargers with the model AC-3U or AC-3E manufactured by BYD between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009 are affected, as well as AC-4U chargers made between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009.
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By Jansen Ng November 9, 2009
Mobile communications giant Nokia is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, with approximately 304.9 million sold in the first three quarters of this year alone. With such high volumes, problems will inevitably develop. Nokia partners with many component manufacturers in order to speed time to market and lower costs. One of these partners is BYD, a Chinese company that produces cars, rechargeable batteries, and mobile phone components. One of these key components is the power charger, which due to economies of scale BYD is able to sell for around $1 per unit. A safety issue has now arisen that has prompted a recall for up to 14 million of these chargers. "We have determined that the plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger’s internal components and potentially posing an electric shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket," stated Nokia. Chargers with the model AC-3U or AC-3E manufactured by BYD between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009 are affected, as well as AC-4U chargers made between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009.
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Nvidia CEO says 'no' to Intel-compatible chip
by Brooke Crothers November 8, 2009
Despite persistent rumors, Nvidia's chief executive says the graphics chip supplier is not working on an Intel-compatible chip. In an exclusive interview with CNET Thursday, I asked CEO Jen-Hsun Huang about the possibility of Nvidia coming up with its own x86 (Intel-compatible) chip technology, after the company reported strong third-quarter earnings. A recurring rumor has it that Nvidia is developing a chip that would be able to run the same software that runs on all Intel- and AMD-based PCs worldwide. "No," he said when asked if there was any truth to the rumor. "Nvidia's strategy is very, very clear. I'm very straightforward about it. Right now, more than ever, we have to focus on visual and parallel computing." Huang went on to describe where the chip supplier sees its best opportunities for growth. "Our strategy is to proliferate the GPU (graphics processing unit) into all kinds of platforms for growth," he said. "GPUs in servers for parallel computing, for supercomputing--and cloud computing with our GPU is a fabulous growth opportunity--and streaming video." "And also getting our GPUs into the lowest power platforms we can imagine and driving mobile computing with it," Huang added, referring to its Tegra chip, which, for example, powers Microsoft's Zune HD media player.
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Despite persistent rumors, Nvidia's chief executive says the graphics chip supplier is not working on an Intel-compatible chip. In an exclusive interview with CNET Thursday, I asked CEO Jen-Hsun Huang about the possibility of Nvidia coming up with its own x86 (Intel-compatible) chip technology, after the company reported strong third-quarter earnings. A recurring rumor has it that Nvidia is developing a chip that would be able to run the same software that runs on all Intel- and AMD-based PCs worldwide. "No," he said when asked if there was any truth to the rumor. "Nvidia's strategy is very, very clear. I'm very straightforward about it. Right now, more than ever, we have to focus on visual and parallel computing." Huang went on to describe where the chip supplier sees its best opportunities for growth. "Our strategy is to proliferate the GPU (graphics processing unit) into all kinds of platforms for growth," he said. "GPUs in servers for parallel computing, for supercomputing--and cloud computing with our GPU is a fabulous growth opportunity--and streaming video." "And also getting our GPUs into the lowest power platforms we can imagine and driving mobile computing with it," Huang added, referring to its Tegra chip, which, for example, powers Microsoft's Zune HD media player.
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Apple likely to launch Verizon iPhone in 2010
Corp. prepares to do something about poor 3G coverage
By Dylan Horner, November 8th, 2009
It's no secret, bad networks ruin even a great phone. It seems as though Apple is finally realizing this, and is preparing to do something about it. Based on a report from research firm OTR Global "citing sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain," Apple plans to unveil a new iPhone, a hybrid of sorts, that utilizes a new chip from Qualcomm allowing it to function on both GSM and CDMA networks. The hybrid iPhone will be made available sometime during the third quarter of 2010, which makes sense, seeing as how AT&T’s exclusivity agreement terminates in 2010. Furthermore, research notes indicate the new iPhone design will only feature a 2.8" screen. When compared to the current 3.5" screens of the current iPhone models, it seems like Apple is downsizing. Last year's rumor of a smaller iPhone turned out to be false, though the idea could very well have just been ahead of its time. However, there is another possiblity besides a smaller iPhone, that being a "smaller" iPhone. At this point in time, what seems more likely is the development of an iPhone nano. Looking back at the iPod's history, one can only assume it's the latter.
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By Dylan Horner, November 8th, 2009
It's no secret, bad networks ruin even a great phone. It seems as though Apple is finally realizing this, and is preparing to do something about it. Based on a report from research firm OTR Global "citing sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain," Apple plans to unveil a new iPhone, a hybrid of sorts, that utilizes a new chip from Qualcomm allowing it to function on both GSM and CDMA networks. The hybrid iPhone will be made available sometime during the third quarter of 2010, which makes sense, seeing as how AT&T’s exclusivity agreement terminates in 2010. Furthermore, research notes indicate the new iPhone design will only feature a 2.8" screen. When compared to the current 3.5" screens of the current iPhone models, it seems like Apple is downsizing. Last year's rumor of a smaller iPhone turned out to be false, though the idea could very well have just been ahead of its time. However, there is another possiblity besides a smaller iPhone, that being a "smaller" iPhone. At this point in time, what seems more likely is the development of an iPhone nano. Looking back at the iPod's history, one can only assume it's the latter.
Read more here -->Link
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