Julie Bart
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Security researchers at Symantec have uncovered details about the Stuxnet worm that indicate it was aimed at nuclear facilities in Iran. As the analysis of Stuxnet continues, the world's first worm for industrial systems clearly emerges one of the most complex malware programs ever devised. To that end, Symantec's rival, Trend Micro, has released...
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If you plan to do some skiing in Powder Mecca this year, otherwise known as Colorado, check out Vail Resorts clever new use of on-mountain RF tracking technology dubbed "EpicMix." It turns an RF-enabled lift ticket into a combination of ski-run tracker and a homegrown version of Foursquare. It will also be available...
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When it comes to technology, “smart” is the new black: there are smart phones, smart cars, smart billboards, smart meters, smart grids, smart traffic lights. Everywhere you look, previously limited objects are getting hooked up with a microchip and some custom coding and becoming more interactive, more...
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If you're using applications on your Android phone to store or transmit sensitive data (like your bank account), you might want to rethink that. A recent analysis of Android as implemented in HTC's Droid Incredible discovered 359 bugs of which 88 are considered critical. These include memory corruption, resource and memory leaks, and uninitialized...
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Sophos on Tuesday released free anti-virus software for Macs. While it's not hard to find free antivirus software for Macs (ClamXAV has been at it for years) by all accounts this is the first commercial grade tool available for nada. That means no strings attached, no trial period that descends into perpetual requests to upgrade and no major...
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MeeGo 1.1 was released on Monday. This is the official call to device makers and developers to build us a new class of Linux-based Intel Atom and ARMv7 devices. Version 1.1 includes a user interface for smartphones and for netbooks but not for tablets. This didn't stop yet another round of rumors over a Nokia MeeGo tablet. The release of MeeGo...
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Viewsonic has gone supersonic when it comes to offering new 3D gizmos. On Thursday the company announced a budget-priced 720p camcorder that let's consumers film their own 3D movies. The ViewSonic 3DV5 lists for about $240. The company's 3D camera had been a rumor right before the massive IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin in September....
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Did pigs fly? Because Russia has filed criminal charges against a spammer, something unprecedented in that country, the origination point of so many unwanted e-mails. Moscow police on Tuesday raided the home of Igor Gusev who is alleged to own a botnet with a partner that brought the pair $120 million in revenue over...
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Start-up Fluid Computer Systems sure has chutzpah. On Tuesday it declared that it would not only have 1,000 Windows 7, 10.1-inch multi-touch tablets ready for Christmas, but that it would take out the iPad in the process. The first statement seems true enough, the second, highly unlikely. The Fluid Stream, a...
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With smartphones and iPods, game consoles and PCs, e-readers and tablets, Americans now spend a truly mind-boggling number of hours each week watching TV, even more than the mega-hours they spent as couch potatoes last year. Online viewing means far fewer commercials and broadcasters have begun to fight back and eliminate free TV shows on...
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While there's still no official word on which PC manufacturers will produce a Ubuntu touch netbook, the company released a sneak-peak video that shows it's new Netbook Edition Unity interface and gesture library in action. Ubuntu has so far certified a list of 27 laptops and 7 netbooks that work with its full-fledged recent 10.10 release,...
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eBay has launched a new program that lets people trade in their old cell phones and other electronics for instant cash. If the devices aren't worth a dime, it will send you pre-paid postage to responsibly recycle the device. With the company's new InstantSale website, you'll be offering up your old device to various companies in the business...
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Things are going from bad to worse in Nokia's Grand Scheme for World Dominence (ehem) Return to Relevance. This week, the head of the Symbian Foundation threw in the towel, leaving the non-profit organization responsible for the operating system's development. This follows news that Sony Ericsson has bailed on Symbian, leaving Nokia to go...
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CamBall has introduced what it claims is the world's smallest personal video recorder. It is the size, and shape, of a golf ball. That means it can be hidden under the palm of a typical adult. The device records in 320 x 240 resolution at 25 fps and the company offers three add-on packs to outfit it for specific uses: spying, sports and --...
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Apple for the first time crested over $20 billion in quarterly revenue, thanks in large part to insatiable demand for the iPhone. Indeed the iPhone-ization of consumers worldwide caused researchers to study the phenom. They determined that a particular kind of envy causes people to buy them and a less nice form of envy drives people to the...
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The House Oversight Committee wants to put the kabosh on abusive debt collection practices by wireless service providers. It is launching a probe, lead by committee chairman Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), into a contract clause that forces customers to waive their rights to sue and instead agree to forced arbitration...
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Viewsonic continues on its multidimensional mission by introducing yet another 3D product, its second 3D monitor. This one is a 24-inch 3D-LED dubbed the V3D241wm-LED. (Viewsonic always uses those nifty roll-off-the-tongue product names). It can display 3D content in full 1080p HD. With a default resolution of...
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Chinese device manufacturer TechFaith is creating a mobile phone that will also function as a motion gaming platform. The bad news is that the device will initially be available only in China. The situation reminds me of a line from Back to the Future, which I'll paraphrase as: "All the good stuff comes from China." For many reasons, all of...
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It's like skiing on the mountain and playing a video game at the same time. Zeal Optics, maker of sports lenswear has partnered with display maker Recon Instruments to come up with the Transcend GPS ski goggles and the units became available for sale this week. Zeal goes so far as to call them the world's first GPS-equipped goggles. The goggles...
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The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $750,000 contract to Wombat Security Technologies for the creation of a "micro-game platform" that trains people not to fall for phishing schemes. Wombat is best known for anti-phishing training games with cartoon-like graphics and names like Anti-Phishing Phyllis, Anti-Phishing Phil, and PhishGuru. This is...
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It was just a couple of days ago that Skype introduced its Skype for Android app, and there was much rejoicing. But U.S. users were singularly blocked from using Skype over 3G networks, except Verizon users. American Android users could only use it via Wi-Fi even though folks in other nations had no such restrictions (although the app isn't...
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On Sunday, Canonical will release Ubuntu 10.10 in netbook, desktop and server editions. The netbook version will include support for touch through a new user interface, Unity. The Unity interface was designed from scratch for netbooks and has been available to developers and netbook OEMs since May. It eliminates lessor-used icons, rearranges...
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