Dell upgrades Latitude laptops with Ivy Bridge

Along with Lenovo's ThinkPad, the Dell Latitude is the laptop brand we see most often issued by corporate IT departments. While more and more office workers are using consumer-level systems (including MacBooks), there's still a need for laptops and desktops designed around the security and corporate infrastructure concerns of big IT departments.

The Latitude line has just been updated by Dell, most importantly to include the option of the latest third-generation Intel Core i-series CPUs. The new models include:

The new Latitude E6430s

(Credit: Dell)

Latitude E6430s: A 14-inch screen in a body closer to that of a 13-inch laptop, this is an entirely new design for the very competitive ultraportable space. Not billed as an ultrabook, it still has Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect, two ultrabook features. The E6430s is 1.06 inches thick and weighs 3.75 pounds, if outfitted with a solid-state drive (SSD) and a three-cell battery.

Latitude E6230, E6330, E6430, E6530: Dell's standard business laptops, with 12.5-inch, 13.3-inch, 14-inch, and 15.6-inch displays. The main updates here are the new CPU options. There's also a Latitude E6430 ATG version, which has a rugged body for extreme temperatures, vibration, and dust.

Latitude E5430 and E5530: Budget-minded 14-inch and 15.6-inch systems. These have been upgraded to support Intel's vPro systems management.

While these systems are being announced today, Dell says pricing and release date information will be given in the coming weeks.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

Israel: Don't blame the Flame cyberattack on us

The Flame worm has put the Middle East and neighboring regions on high alert and caused several security experts to look for the source. And although some media reports have linked Israel to the attack, the country has denied all involvement.

The trouble for Israel started recently when the country's vice prime minister, Moshe Ya'alon, said on Israel's military radio station, Army Radio, that "there are quite a few governments in the West that have rich high-tech [capabilities] that view Iran, and particularly the Iranian nuclear threat, as a meaningful threat -- and can possibly be involved with this field."

Ya'alon went on to say that every country that "sees the Iranian nuclear threat as a significant one" might "take every single measure available, including these, to harm the Iranian nuclear project."

Those comments sparked suggestions among some that Israel might have been behind the malware, which Kaspersky Lab researchers are calling "the most sophisticated cyberweapon yet unleashed." However, in a statement to the BBC today, a spokesman for Ya'alon said that "there was no part of the interview where the minister has said anything to imply that Israel was responsible for the virus."

Flame was discovered earlier this week. The malware has been in operation since 2010, and according to Kaspersky, is "state-sponsored." The virus is specifically designed to steal information about targeted systems and stored files, as well as information on the computer display and audio conversations. Iran was the central target for the virus, but it also impacted machines in the West Bank, Syria, and other Middle East countries, as well as Sudan.

"One of the most alarming facts is that the Flame cyber-attack campaign is currently in its active phase, and its operator is consistently surveilling infected systems, collecting information and targeting new systems to accomplish its unknown goals," Kaspersky said this week.

Although no countries have come forward to stake a claim to the virus, the U.S. and Israel have been cited most often. Earlier this week, MSNBC reported that it had spoken with a U.S. official who claimed "it was U.S." behind the attack. However, the U.S. has so far not commented on the virus and the official speaking to MSNBC acknowledged that he or she had no "first-hand knowledge" of the virus.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

Steve Jobs AllThingsD interviews now available on iTunes

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

A treasure trove of Steve Jobs interviews can now be found for free via iTunes.

The late Apple co-founder was a frequent guest at the yearly All Things Digital conference where he wasn't shy about answering questions or offering his opinions on Apple products and the tech industry. Six different videos are now available of those famous appearances, courtesy of iTunes.

At the first AllThingsD conference in 2003, Jobs reflected on his return to Apple after having launched Next. The 2004 appearance shed some light on the success of iTunes and the new iPod. In 2005, Jobs talked about the future of mobile devices.

The iPhone was the topic of conversation in 2007. But Jobs also shared the stage with Bill Gates where the two engaged in an open and frank conversation with each other. And Jobs' final AllThingsD interview in 2010 centered on the iPad, among other topics.

The videos range from 45 minutes to 90 minutes, so there's plenty of Steve Jobs to go around.

Collectively, they provide an insightful and unscripted portrait of the man, and are worth viewing by anyone intrigued by Jobs, Apple, or the tech industry in general.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

Google Voice now lets you screen specific types of calls

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Google Voice users can now tweak their settings to screen unwanted callers in favor of family and friends.

Users of the call-forwarding service have apparently been asking for a way to handle callers not in their address book. And Google has answered that request, as detailed in a new blog.

Two new groups of callers are now available in the Google Voice settings menu -- people in your address book and anonymous callers.

You can customize the response received by people in your address book by setting a special voice mail greeting. You can also set a different greeting for or simply screen anyone who is not listed as a contact or does not have a caller ID.

To set up the new options, log into your Google Voice account. Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner and select Settings from the popup menu. In the Settings window, click on the link for Groups & Circles. You'll see see the range of caller types that can be customized, from all callers to anonymous callers to friends and family.

Google Voice also provides spam filtering so that calls, texts, or voice mails identified as such in the company's database can automatically be dumped into a spam folder.

How to screen a Google Voice call:

(courtesy:cnet.com)

Google up against hotshot lawyer in FTC antitrust case

Google could face a rough time in the courtroom if the FTC's antitrust case against it goes to trial.

To determine whether Google violated antitrust laws, the Federal Trade Commission is using the big guns with attorney Beth Wilkinson, an ex-prosecutor for the Department of Justice.

Wilkinson has developed a reputation as a powerful and determined litigator, successfully handling several cases that have put her into the limelight, says Reuters. She was the prosecutor in the trial of Timothy McVeigh, arguing in favor of the death penalty for the Oklahoma City bomber. In private practice, she defended tobacco companies against consumer lawsuits.

Though her antitrust experience is limited, the FTC could be using her experience and reputation as a way to force Google to settle, according to antitrust experts cited by Reuters. In other words, settle the case now or deal with Wilkinson in the courtroom.

The attorney denied such a tactic, telling Reuters by e-mail that "there is no connection between my trials and the likelihood of the Google matter going to trial."

For now, Wilkinson's role for the FTC has simply been to probe Google's behavior.

The question she must address is whether the search giant has used its No. 1 position to promote its own travel sites and other businesses over third-party Web sites. Several companies that provide such services have alleged that Google tweaks its search results so that its own sites appear before those of any potential rivals.

Wilkinson was hired in April and will work on the Google case a total 130 days this year, Reuters added.

At the same time, the European Union is also looking into antitrust complaints against the company. EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia recently said that he would be open to settling the investigation with the search giant if it's open to addressing certain concerns.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

Facebook's collateral damage: Kayak's IPO

Although Facebook's initial public offering hurt investors and the social network's share price, there appears to be another victim of its troubles.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today, citing sources, that online travel site Kayak decided against holding its "roadshow" with would-be investors around Memorial Day as planned, due to issues with Facebook's IPO. The Journal's sources say that Kayak is trying to determine the willingness in the investment world to drop cash into another Internet IPO.

If investors are concerned, it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Over the last year, five major online companies have gone public -- Facebook, Zynga, Groupon, Pandora, and LinkedIn. Over that period, just one of them -- LinkedIn -- has watched its shares rise over its IPO price. The others have watched their shares fall as much as 40 percent in some cases, according to data from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Facebook, of course, has been the most concerning for investors. The company went off at $38 a share earlier this month, only to watch its stock plummet to a close yesterday of $28.19. Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the Facebook deal, also happens to be the lead underwriter on Kayak's expected IPO.

For its IPO, according to the Journal's sources, Kayak doesn't want to create another Facebook scenario, so it will price its IPO "conservatively." The company has not yet announced a price.

If Kayak ends up going public in the near future, the company will be listed on the Nasdaq. Last year, Kayak generated $224.5 million in revenue, up from the $170.7 million in 2010. The company was able to muster a profit of $9.7 million in 2011.

(courtesy:cnet.com)

New Angry Birds Space episode leads to Utopia

Angry Birds Space blasts off to Utopia.

(Credit: Rovio)

Those Angry Birds in space are still making me angry, only now they've added a new episode to thwart me even further.

The latest update to Angry Birds Space for iOS launches a new episode into orbit, this one dubbed Utopia. Unfortunately, I haven't progressed past the initial Pig Pang, so Utopia and all the episodes leading up to it remain locked to me. (Anyone know a good unlock code?)

Rovio describes Utopia as a delicious food planet with 10 new levels complete with popcorn, cookies, and candy apples to tempt the hungry pigs. Players can "bounce birds off jelly trampolines" and "pop corn to create delicious mayhem."

The latest update is free to Angry Birds Space users. It's also available only for iOS devices -- the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. But Rovio promises that Utopia will lift off soon for Androidand other platforms.

A look at Angry Birds Space: Utopia

(courtesy:cnet.com)