Google and Samsung confirm Galaxy Nexus volume bugs

Google and Samsung confirmed that there are volume issues with their flagship mobile phone the Galaxy Nexus.

It follows complaints on net forums about alteration in volume.

The handset, the first to feature Google's operating system Android Ice Cream Sandwich, is recently available in the UK and sale will start in USA in coming month.

Samsung said that they know about the problem and this problem will be repair.

"Regarding the Galaxy Nexus, we know about the volume issue and have developed a fix," Samsung said in a statement. "We will repair devices as soon as possible."

Google issued an almost identical statement.

The best tablet alternatives to the iPad 2

Model iPad 2 remains the most famous tablet computer available, people with features interests who can not spend $500 or more to purchase new device, now competitors have compelling alternatives to consider.
Whether you are an avid book reader looking for more interactivity, features and particular on your e-reader, a businessman who desires to securely access a corporate IT system, or an iconoclast who doesn’t like the iPad’s one-size-fits all hardware and operating system, there is no greater time than now to explore tablet alternatives.
Any of these options deserve a place on your holiday shopping list.

Amazon Kindle Fire and B&N NOOK (Price conscious/avid readers)

Samsung Galaxy Tabs (Variety seekers/Android smartphone owners)

 HP Slate (Business users)

Asus EE Pad Transformer Prime (Alternative gamers/multimedia power-users)

Users Should Get More Control Over Facebook Tracking

Now that news of Facebook tracking is officially penetrating just about all area of the media, the "do not track" debate is front and center. Facebook is a company that tracks where users visit after they have left the company's webpage. Some of the main reasons companies want to know where visitors surf is present them more relevant ads and to keep those "like" buttons on all those pages.

Anyone with a basic knowledge of the Internet knows that companies like Facebook, Google, and Yahoo earning lot of money from advertising. Showing more effective ads raise the chance that users will make the all-important "click" to take more information about the product. While it sounds like an easy way to maximize making money, the invasion of privacy does not sit well with many.

Several users want their Internet searches and history confidential, but shouldn't that information be personal business in the first place. If Facebook, and other Internet big companies, are tracking users without consent, that is something of a problem. Sure, inviting them to do so is one thing, but performing the equivalent of Internet stalking just to show good ads seems a little over-the-top. Users required to be given some control over the tracking ability of those companies, which is what "Do Not Track" is all about.

Even burying the tracking information in the "terms of service" would be unsettling; because I'm sure everybody gives the TOS a good read before clicking "I Agree." The bottom line is tracking Internet users off of a particular site is information that could be sold to other parties. Granted, with 800 million members Facebook has a bit more user information that could be marketed than most social networks. There is many information floating around cyberspace, and someone needs to protect the interests of users.

This is a common sense issue that needs to be taken seriously. Imagine if a television station assigned every viewer a monitor to find out where they did most of their shopping. Sure the information will be effective in marketing, but it really is nobody's business who shops at Wal-Mart and who shops at Target.

Australian court to hear Samsung Apple dispute in March

An Australian court has given March date to consider Samsung's claim that Apple infringed its 3G patents.

Samsung is want to ban sales of the iPhone 4S in the country although the court has make decision that the Apple handset can be sold until that time.

Apple's lawyers wanted to hearing this case to be held in August but the judge was agree.

The news comes as Apple agree that there are still flaws in iOS 5, which powers the new iPhone.

Facebook 'virus' shows hardcore porn and violent images

 

Facebook says it is looking into reports that pornographic and violent images have been pasted to its website.

The pictures are  shown up in users' newsfeeds.

According to the technology site, ZDnet, the material is being posted via a "linkspam virus" which tempts members to click on a seemingly innocuous story link.

Officials of Facebook said: "we know of these reports and investigation is in process about this issue".

Lot of site members have passed comments about the breach on Twitter.

One user wrote that "Discovered a new porn site, it's called Facebook,".

Another user wrote "Facebook will protect about the photoshopped porn images, it's offensive,".

Other users complained they had seen pictures of mutilated animals and people, in some cases adding that they had deactivated their accounts as a consequence.

Many people are linking the attack to the Anonymous hacktivist group after a video displayed on YouTube threatening to "kill" the social network.

However, experts have questioned whether the video was authentic.

Can Google+ beat Facebook? That's the wrong question

Currently launch of Google+Pages for brands. Perhaps it's because Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg called Google+ "little version of Facebook" Or perhaps people just enjoy war between tech titans. Whatever the reason, I've been asked at least three times in the past week about whether Google+, Google's social networking service, will compete Facebook.
Wrong question.
Facebook champion of social networking is not disputed, with more than 800 million active users. It's deeply interwoven with the Web -- its social plug-ins are now part of millions of websites, and an entire ecosystem of applications relies on Facebook for social functions. If Google's aim with Google+ was to topple Facebook, that's an audacious goal. Based on the recent growth rates of both companies, it wouldn't look to be a bet you could win.
Toppling Facebook becomes more challenging as that site continues to keep pace -- adding  more features along with users. Friend circles, a distinctive feature of Google+ at launch, were added to Facebook in the following months, removing a major incentive to switch. What's more, Facebook's launch of the "Subscribe" feature -- which lets you follow public updates from a user -- further erodes the benefits of using a service like Google+ or Twitter.
Google was not wanted to promote Google+ as a "Facebook killer," however. Far from it. The search giant instead explained that it was building a "social layer" to bind its services together. That promise is now being delivered upon: A Google+ activity bar now active across the top of Google Docs, Google Search, Gmail and virtually every other Google service.
The real value of Google+ is a very small feature indeed: The +1 button. This little widget -- Google's answer to the Facebook Like button -- is an acknowledgment that links are no longer the only way to rank websites. Instead, people are increasingly discovering content through their friends on social networks. For Google, a company that ranks Web content based on the links between pages, that's a very scary change that undermines the organization's core search-engine service.
So what did Google do? Google started a social service and put these buttons on almost all of its pages to start collecting some of those social signals. Now those little +1 votes being cast around the Web are ready to change the order of Google's search results, helping to keep Google in line with the social trend. If Google's aim was to create its own source of social voting data and avoid a nightmarish outcome -- being forced to rank your search results based solely on your Facebook connections -- then, by its own standards, Google+ is not a failure.
Can Google beat the social war outright? My guess is no. Nonetheless, Google could still make a big move to increase the odds: It could acquire Twitter, gaining ownership of one of the largest databases of social signals on the Internet.
Meanwhile, "social" is not the only battle raging in technology circles. There's also the fight for the mobile Web: Mobile operating systems and app stores are perhaps a great opportunity than the social trend. And while Google is the market king in mobile operating systems, Facebook merely has a some apps (albeit the most popular ones). So Facebook, the big blue social network, may be winning a battle with Google+ but is losing the mobile war with Google at large.
Can Google+ beat Facebook? I think the better question might be "Is Google better off with Google+?"

Warren Buffett buys IBM stake with $10.7bn investment

Warren Buffett - one of the world's wanted investors - has declared building a 5.4% stake in IBM.

Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway fund began buying shares in the firm in March, he invest his funds spending around $10.7bn (£6.7bn).

The billionaire had steered away from technology firms in the past.

He said that he was interested and impressed by IBM's road map for how it planned to attract IT firms outside the US to sign up to its services.

"If you're in some country around the world and you're creating  your IT department you're probably going to feel more easy with IBM than with many companies,".

He said he began buying the stock after he read IBM's 2010 annual report and spoke to technology professionals in the businesses his fund had already invested in.

He said he realised there was a lot of "continuity" in the US-headquartered business.

"It is a great deal for a big company to alter auditors, change law firms, or change IT support," he said.

"There's a fair amount of presumption in many places that if you're with IBM, you stay with them."

Facebook rape joke pages taken down from social network

Facebook has taken back many rape joke pages from its social network.

The group pages, which included "You know she's playing hard to get when you're chasing her down an alleyway" had been criticised by victim support groups.

The network said: "There is no room on Facebook for content that is hateful, threatening, or incites violence."

However, controversial postings may remain if administrators add a tag stating they are humorous or satire.

Facebook has been taken action against rape joke pages from its social network, because the pages broke its terms conditions.

"We take reports of questionable and offensive content very seriously,".

"However, we also want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feelings of others.

"Groups or pages that express an opinion on a state, institution, or set of beliefs - even if that opinion is outrageous or offensive to some - do not by themselves violate our policies.

"These online debates are a reflection of those happening offline, where conversations happen freely."

Apple store hit by malicious app

A malicious piece of software designed for iPhones and iPads has been innovated to presents that Apple's app store is not immune to malware.

The code was designed to look like a stock price tracker, but was also able to steal data.

Experts said that the proof-of-concept program was a "significant threat" to the app store.

Apple refused to comment. It also removed the app and barred the developer from its store.

The software was designed by security expert and hacker Charlie Miller to demonstrate Apple's vulnerabilities.

The firm accepted the program to its iTunes app store in September. Two months later Mr Miller revealed that it contained malware that could remotely download pictures and contacts.

"Until now you could be able to download everything from the app store and do not worry about it being malicious. Now you have no idea what an app might do," he said.

The InstaStock app took advantage of a recent update to Apple's mobile operating system which allowed non-approved code to be added to installed apps for the first time.

After some hour Mr Miller disclosed the flaw, he received an email from Apple which said he was barred from the iOS developer program for violating its terms and conditions.

He wrote on Twitter: "First they give researchers access to developer programs, (although I paid for mine) then they kick them out.. for doing research. Me angry."

Mr Miller has made something of a habit of exposing Apple's security flaws.

In 2009 he identified a bug in the iPhone's text-messaging system that allowed attackers to gain remote control over the devices.

He has since exposed other vulnerabilities in Apple's Mac and mobile platforms.

Mr Miller agrees to present his research at a security conference in Taiwan on 17 November 2011.