Over 270 government websites hacked till July

Over 270 government websites were hacked till July this year, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot informed parliament.

"A total number of 201, 303, 308 and 273 government websites were hacked during the year 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (till July) respectively," Pilot said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha this week.

Asked if computer security analysts have issued alerts for internet users, the minister said the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) regularly issued alerts for users and operators on vulnerabilities.

It also published advisory providing countermeasures to safeguard the websites and network infrastructure against such attacks.

Sources: gadgets.ndtv

Samsung says Apple trying to limit choice

Samsung on Saturday accused Apple of resorting to litigation in an effort to limit consumer choice after the iPhone maker said it was seeking to stop the sale of Galaxy S III smartphones in the United States.

Fresh from its $1 billion court victory over Samsung Electronics Co, Apple Inc., in a separate case, asked a federal district court in San Jose, California, on Friday to add four more products to a list of Samsung goods that Apple says infringe its patents.

The new list of 21 products includes Samsung's flagship smartphone Galaxy S III as well as the Galaxy Note, another popular Android phone. If the court finds those devices are infringing Apple's patents and irreparably harming the U.S. company, it could temporarily halt sales in the U.S. market even before the trial begins.

The latest accusation is part of a larger, epic struggle over patents and innovation in one of the most lucrative consumer electronics sectors that is unfolding in 10 countries.

The biggest stakes are in the U.S., the world's largest smartphone market in 2011. Last month, a jury in the San Jose court found that Samsung had copied Apple's design innovations and Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion. Samsung has vowed to appeal the verdict, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

On Saturday, Samsung denounced Apple's attempt to halt sales of the S III, which hit the 10 million global sales mark in July, less than three months after its release.

"Apple continues to resort to litigation over market competition in an effort to limit consumer choice," Samsung said in a statement. "We will continue to take the necessary legal measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products in the United States."

The strong sales of the S III were crucial in driving Samsung's quarterly profit to a record high in the last quarter and helped it stay ahead in the worldwide smartphone market.

In documents filed with San Jose federal district court on Friday, Apple said 21 Samsung smartphones, media players and tablets released after August 2011 were "copycat products."

"Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone and tablet computer products, Samsung has chosen to copy Apple's technology, user interface, and innovative style," Apple said in one document.

The Cupertino, California-based company claimed that Samsung is illegally using its eight patents. One patent is related to the way the device retrieves information in a computer system and another is about gestures on a touchscreen display to unlock a device.

Apple and Samsung are the world's two largest smartphone makers and together they control over half of the global market. They are embroiled in similar legal tussles in Asia, Europe and the United States.

In April 2011, Apple first accused Samsung of illegally copying Apple's design and technology in the smartphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android technology. Samsung countersued, arguing Apple's iPhone and iPad used its wireless technology without permission.

Sources:gadgets.ndtv

Cambodia arrests Pirate Bay co-founder

Cambodian police have arrested a co-founder of file-sharing website The Pirate Bay and are preparing his extradition to Sweden, where he was convicted of violating copyright laws.

Police said Monday that Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was arrested at a home he was renting in Phnom Penh.

National police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said the arrest was made last Thursday at Stockholm's request.

Cambodia has no extradition treaty with Sweden but has requested details of Svartholm Warg's crime and is "waiting to expel" him, the spokesman said.

Svartholm Warg and the site's three other founders were convicted in 2009 by a Swedish court of assisting copyright infringement by helping millions of the site's users illegally download music, movies and computer games.

He faces one year in prison.

Sources:gadgets.ndtv

Apple seeks ban on Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III

Fresh off its court victory over Samsung Electronics Co., iPhone maker Apple Inc. is asking a federal court to add four more of its rival's products to the list of patent-infringing products.

Apple filed documents in San Jose federal district court on Friday asking a judge to end Samsung's release of "copycat products," and urged the court to pull Samsung products released after its lawsuit was filed in April.

The new products include Samsung's new Galaxy S III smartphone.

Previously Apple had listed 17 Samsung products as patent violators, but the new filing lists 21.

Apple was awarded $1.05 billion by a jury on Aug. 24, finding Samsung had copied Apple's design innovations.

A Samsung representative did not immediately return a request for comment Friday
Sources gadgets.ndtv

'Nanoresonators' to boost cell phone connectivity

Tiny mechanical devices called 'nanoresonators' could help cell phone users avoid slower downloads and dropped calls, besides easing congestion over the airwaves to improve their performance.

"There is not enough radio spectrum to account for everybody's hand held portable device," said Jeffrey Rhoads, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, who led the study.

The overcrowding results in dropped calls, busy signals, degraded call quality and slower downloads. To counter the problem, industry is trying to build systems that operate with more sharply defined channels so that more of them can fit within the available bandwidth, the journal IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology reported.

"To do that you need more precise filters for cell phones and other radio devices, systems that reject noise and allow signals only near a given frequency to pass," said Saeed Mohammadi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering from Purdue, who is working with Rhoads, doctoral student Hossein Pajouhi and other researchers, according to a Purdue statement.

Nanoelectromechanical resonators, created by the Purdue team, contain a tiny beam of silicon that vibrates when voltage is applied. Researchers have shown that the new devices are produced with a nearly 100 percent yield, meaning nearly all of the devices created on silicon wafers were found to function properly.

"We are not inventing a new technology, we are making them using a process that's amenable to large-scale fabrication, which overcomes one of the biggest obstacles to the widespread commercial use of these devices," Rhoads said.

In addition to their use as future cell phone filters, such nanoresonators also could be used for advanced chemical and biological sensors in medical and homeland-defence applications and possibly as components in computers and electronics.

Sources gadgets.ndtv