Microsoft: We're going to broaden Surface lineup

Microsoft Surface RT. The Surface Pro version goes on sale February 9. The CFO today reiterated that the lineup will grow.

(Credit: Brooke Crothers)

During Microsoft's second-quarter earnings conference call today, the company's chief financial officer reiterated that the lineup of Surface devices will expand.

After Microsoft reported reported earning today, Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein spoke about future Surface products -- though he was mum about specifics.

"We had limited distribution this quarter in our stores and we're excited about expanding that [distribution]," he said, responding to an analyst's question.

"We're going to expand geographically, we're going to expand the product lineup, we're going to expand retail distribution and capacity," he said, in comments about Surface. Microsoft has made similar comments in the past.

Klein repeated a number of times that Surface contributed to revenue. "Certainly this quarter it was a contributing factor to revenue growth in the Windows business," Klein said.

And he inserted some serious commentary inside an innocuous-sounding statement. "It highlights some interesting innovation that can happen...demonstrates the power of Windows 8 when tightly integrated with hardware and software."

In short, in order for a product to be done right, one company must make both the hardware and software -- as Apple has done successfully.

Klein did not mention -- and wasn't asked about -- shipment numbers for Surface RT. Speculation has been all over the map, though most analysts believe the number is somewhere in the neighborhood of a million.

The CFO also repeated previous comments by other Microsoft executives regarding the demand for Windows 8 touch devices. "There's great demand for touch devices," he said, adding that supply cannot keep up with demand.

(courtesy:cnet,com)

Nokia to launch first 'true' PureView Windows Phone 8 device later this year

Nokia is expected to launch a handset later this year that runs on Windows Phone 8 and incorporate the true PureView technology - something along the lines of the full 41MP sensor of the Nokia 808 PureView.

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According to reports, Nokia is planning to launch a smartphone later this year that will incorporate the 41MP camera from the Nokia 808 PureView and run on Windows Phone 8. There is no actual launch date for the device but it is expected to launch later this year.

As of now, the device is codenamed EOS. It is expected to have the same 41-megapixel PureView camera, the same one found on the Nokia 808. No other specifications of the device are known, but the smartphone may be built out of aluminum making it a sturdy device.

The device is also expected to be the next flagship smartphone in Nokia’s Lumia lineup. The Nokia 808 PureView wasn’t the best smartphone when it launched but it sure as hell had the best camera to be housed in a smartphone till date. This made the phone a little bulkier than we’d like but it is an acceptable tradeoff when you take a look at the quality of the images you get from the camera. 

Nokia recently launched the Lumia 920 in India. The device runs on Windows Phone 8 and incorporates a part of the PureView technology. Despite the controversies surrounding the camera of the Lumia 920, it is safe to say that not only is it a fantastic smartphone, but it also houses one of the best cameras available giving the likes of the iPhone 5 a run for their money. 

The device is expected to go on sale later this year in the US with AT&T as the carrier tie-up.

(courtesy:thinkdigit.com)

Facebook Graph searches: Hooker hunger and other delish data

(Credit: Tom Scott/Tumblr)

Facebook Graph Search enables a type of discovery never before possible -- you know, like learning which of your married friends like prostitutes. True story.

Tom Scott, a self-described Web comedian, has created a brilliant but disconcerting Tumblr blog called "Actual Facebook Graph Searches" to showcase some of the problematic side effects of a search engine that surfaces tidbits the masses never intended to see the light of the day.

Graph Search, launched in limited beta last week, is Facebook's version of the search engine. It's a structured entity that directs members down a rabbit hole of revelations around people, places, interests, and photos. It's fun, fascinating, and quite freaky, as Scott's Tumblr shows us, particularly if you're interested in "Married people who like Prostitutes" or "Single women who live nearby and who are interested in men and like Getting Drunk!"

Scott's blog, not even 24 hours old, is quickly getting elevated to meme status with the help of Hacker News. The blog, he said, doesn't intend to make a point about privacy, except the obvious: "Facebook does have good privacy settings: but there are many, many people who don't know how to use them!"

Really, the real search images speak for themselves in a Lamebook sort of way: People have a tendency to overshare on Facebook, especially those gals who openly like to get drunk. With that in mind, Actual Facebook Graph Searches seems more akin to commentary on society than any sort of political jab at Facebook.

But then again, moms with kids who identify themselves as Catholics on Facebook probably never expected a search query to expose their preferences for Durex condoms. Please excuse me while I go on an unlike rampage. It might take a while.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

3 charged in malware scheme targeting bank accounts

U.S. authorities have charged three foreign nationals with creating and distributing a virus that allowed thieves to steal tens of millions of dollars from victims' bank accounts.

The three are accused of creating the Trojan virus Gozi, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide and 40,000 in the United States, including computers belonging to NASA, according to court documents unsealed today by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan. Nikita Kuzmin, 25, Deniss Calovskis, 27, and Mihai Ionut Paunescu, 28, are accused of creating "one of the most financially destructive computer viruses in history."

The malware installed itself on computers after users clicked on an apparently benign PDF file embedded in an e-mail, allowing the cybercriminals to siphon user names, passwords, and other security information used to hijack online bank accounts, prosecutors alleged.

"Banking Trojans are to cybercriminals what safe-cracking or acetylene torches are to traditional bank burglars -- but far more effective and less detectable," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said in a statement. "The investigation put an end to the Gozi virus."

Kuzmin, a Russian national who was arrested in 2010, pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in 2011 and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Kuzmin began conceiving Gozi in 2005 to steal bank account information and hired co-conspirators to write the virus' source code, prosecutors said today.

Kuzmin then rented out the malware to cybercriminals for a weekly fee through a business he called "76 Service," before eventually selling the virus to his co-conspirators in 2009, according to court documents. Calovskis, of Latvia, is accused of writing the virus' code, while Paunescu, of Romania, allegedly provided "bullet-proof hosting" to distribute Gozi.

The U.S. is seeking extradition of Kuzmin's alleged co-conspirators, who were arrested late last year in their home countries. It was not immediately clear who, if anyone, had been hired to represent the defendants in court. The trio faces up to 60 to 95 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

(courtesy:cnet.com)