Google has today revealed that in mid-December, they, along with a number of other large companies in the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors, were targeted in a sophisticated cyber-attack. This attack on their infrastructure originated in China, and resulted in the theft of intellectual property.
Google's analysis of this attack suggests that the aim was to access Gmail accounts of a number of Chinese human rights activists, but they believe the attempt failed. Only two accounts were successfully accessed, and the only information viewed included the creation date of the accounts, and subject lines, not the contents, of messages.
As part of the investigation, Google has uncovered that dozens of US, European and Chinese human rights advocates have also had their accounts accessed routinely by third parties. These accounts appear to have been accessed through phishing scams, rather than a security breach at Google themselves. As always, up to date anti-virus and anti-malware software is the best solution to protect against this.
Google has already used information from this attack to make security enhancements to their infrastructure to better protect users in the future, and have taken the unusual step of sharing this information both due to the security and human rights aspects, but also as part of a wider debate on China and free speech.
Due to this attack, and the background behind it, Google is now taking a second look at their operations in China, particularly Google.cn, where they currently offer censored search results as part of an agreement with China's government. Google is now taking a big step by informing the government of China that it is no longer willing to provide censored results, and will be entering into discussions regarding how it can do this without breaking Chinese law. Should Google find themselves unable to reach an agreement, they may shut down Google.cn, and close their offices in China.
This move has been driven by key executives at Google in the United States, who have been monitoring the human rights and freedom of speech situation in China carefully since they launched Google.cn in 2006.
At the time of writing Google shares are down 1.9 percent at $579 while Chinese rival Baidu rose 6.8 percent to $413 on the news.
Research firm iSuppli reports Google's Nexus One smartphone is built with hardware totaling approximately $174. Manufactured by HTC but sold under the Google brand name, the Nexus One is priced at $529 without a service contract or $179 with a two-year agreement from T-Mobile. The iSuppli teardown did not factor in manufacturing or licensing costs, therefore decreasing the profit margin.
The Bill-of-Materials breaks down as follows:
$30.50 for the Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon Processor
$20.40 for the Samsung DDR Multichip Package
$8.20 for the Broadcom Bluetooth Transmitter/Receiver
$2.50 for the Qualcomm Power Management IC
$2.50 for the Qualcomm RF Transceiver
$2.20 for the 4 Power Amplifier Modules
$1.20 for the Texas Instruments Power Management & Li-ion Charger
$23.50 for the Samsung Display
$17.50 for the Synaptics Touchscreen
$16.30 for Miscellaneous Electronic Components
$12.50 for the 5MP Camera
$8.50 for the 4GB MicroSD card
$7.50 for Miscellaneous Electromechanical Components (Connectors, Acoustics, etc.)
Qualcomm leads all other suppliers with 20.4% of the Nexus One's BOM. The Snapdragon processor is the most expensive single component with the 3.7-inch OLED display coming in second. iSuppli found the Nexus One to be the most "Apple-like" product to date, with a unibody design similar to that of the iPhone.
Kevin Keller, Senior Analyst at iSuppli, states, "With the Nexus One, Google has taken the most advanced features seen in recent smart phone designs and wrapped them up into a single sleek design. Items like the durable unibody construction, the blazingly fast Snapdragon baseband processor and the bright and sharp Active-Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AM-OLED) display all have been seen in previous phones, but never before combined into a single design. This gives the Nexus One the most advanced features of any smart phone ever dissected by iSuppli's Teardown Analysis Service - a remarkable feat given the product's BOM is similar to comparable products introduced during the past year."
Young people will soon be able to get a taste of what it is like to be a "MP for a Week", as the Parliament Education Service releases their own computer game. Commons speaker, John Bercow, is targeting the game at 11 to 14-year-olds, reports the BBC.
Using footage from the Commons chamber, as well as interviews with politicians, "MP for a Week" will allow players to experience the daily life of a backbench MP and be scored according on the effect their decisions have.
Players will be able to choose their speeches, use their mouse to get the Speaker's attention and even "face a baying pack of journalists". The game also includes footage of MPs giving advice to players, including Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik, Labour's Natascha Engel and Conservative Adam Afriyie.
"It's vital that young people understand the role of Parliament and the work of MPs," said Bercow. "Parliament has a duty, which should also be a pleasure, to connect with the public and MP for a week is an innovative way for students to explore our democracy."
Tom O'Leary, head of the Parliament's Education Service, believes the game will give students a better understanding of how Parliament works. "MP for a Week gives students an understanding of how Parliament works in a way that hasn't been attempted before - by letting players experience life on the back benches.
"By learning through play, we hope students will find the political process interesting and more meaningful to them."
A study released by Motorola Inc. indicates over half of consumers utilized mobile phones during the holiday shopping season. Fifty-one percent of shoppers across 11 countries scouted for coupons, did comparison shopping, and looked for reviews using phones, making the use of mobile technology a high priority for retailers.
Frank Riso, Senior Director of Retail Solutions at Motorola, states, "With nearly seven in 10 surveyed holiday shoppers either reporting flat or declining budgets, retailers vying for finite shopper dollars need to provide a seamless customer experience. By utilizing mobile technologies, consumers have become empowered, better informed and more critical shoppers. Retailers need to establish near-term strategies to provide product information, stock availability, discounts and coupons directly to shoppers to help them to remain competitive."
The study also found that when in-store workers were equipped with mobile devices, such as two-way radios and handheld computers, shoppers enjoyed a better experience overall. The availability of coupons had a large impact on purchases, as well. According to the study, 39 percent of shoppers were willing to abandon intended purchases if coupons and discounts were not available. Limited stock, lack of competitive discounts, and poor customer service caused the percentage of abandoned purchases to double from 2008.
In what was feared to be a downturn in consumer spending, retailers are on the lookout for trends in customer habits. With the use of mobile phones playing a large role in consumer spending, retailers need to deploy mobile technology to keep up with the needs of shoppers.
In the past, when an organization would rent out computers to an institution, business, or whomever, the company would purchase the computers with standard Windows and Office licenses, and then ship those computers to their renters. According to Microsoft, these companies are in violation of their software license agreements.
To alter the license agreement and add support for organizations that lease out computers to third-parties, Microsoft has instituted Rental Rights Licensing. According to Microsoft, "Rental Rights are a simple way for organizations to get a waiver of these licensing restrictions through a one-time license transaction valid for the term of the underlying software license or life of the PC." In other words, Rental Rights are a way for Microsoft to charge an additional free, on top of the already paid Windows or Office license, which is already installed on a computer.
Rental Rights are not a form of additional software, nor are they actual software licenses. When you purchase these rights, in essence, all you are getting is a "pass," which will appease Microsoft and have them look the other way when you lease out a Windows based computer (or copy of Office). Up until now, companies have been doing this without any sort of prior arrangement, free of charge. Instead of prosecuting these people, Microsoft is giving them a way to legalize what they're doing. The rental fees will probably end up hurting the end-user, as companies will begin charging more for the computers that they lease out, in order to cover this extra cost. Many colleges lease computers from other organizations in order to keep their schools up to date with the latest systems on the market. This new rental fee is sure to come at an extra cost to them, as well as other renters.
This Rental Rights License was put into effect on January 1st, 2010. CNet notes that in order for Microsoft to get companies to participate, and to ease the burden of paying for something that was once free, they are offering 30% off the license fees to those who sign up by June 30th. Keep in mind, the rental fee is on top of the cost of the software itself. The discounted prices are:
Research firm 
Young people will soon be able to get a taste of what it is like to be a "MP for a Week", as the Parliament Education Service releases their own computer game. Commons speaker, John Bercow, is targeting the game at 11 to 14-year-olds, 
A study released by 
In the past, when an organization would rent out computers to an institution, business, or whomever, the company would purchase the computers with standard Windows and Office licenses, and then ship those computers to their renters. According to Microsoft, these companies are in violation of their software license agreements.