Tech Roundup: Jul 14, 2012

This week can be rightly called a hackathon following three separate incidents that exposed thousands of user accounts online. First, Yahoo Voice server was breached and nearly 453000 user details were posted online by a D33D group, with the credentials in plaintext. Yahoo has confirmed the hack stating less than 5% of the account passwords were still valid and that the vulnerability is being fixed. Next, it was the turn of Phandroid's Android Forums which announced that a hacker had recently accessed their user database containing information such as usernames, email addresses and passwords. It has warned its 1 million users to immediately change their passwords and be on a lookout for spam mails to their inbox. Lastly, Nvidia forums was shut down after a large-scale hack attack by an unknown hacker. Nvidia too recommends changing the passwords after it was found that the hacker had gained access to user information including usernames, email addresses, passwords and 'public' profiles.

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Previously, Flash was touted as a key feature that differentiated Android from iOS. But now, the lines seem to be blurring. Adobe, in a recent blog post, has announced that new installations of Flash Player on Android devices will be stopped from August 15, and only those which already run a mobile version of Flash will be henceforth updated. It has also stated that Flash won’t be supported for Android 4.1; and that while it can work it might exhibit unpredictable behavior. Late Steve Jobs had been forthcoming about his Thoughts on Flash and had questioned Adobe over the effects of Flash on performance, stability and battery life. Apple’s iPhones, first launched five years back, never had Flash and despite users’ grumblings over this aspect in the start, gradually evolving web and video standards have also played a key-role in sidelining Flash for mobile devices.

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Facebook has announced security checkpoints as a means to crackdown on malware in its site. In this process, Windows users will be directed to download links for Microsoft Security Essentials and McAfee Scan and Repair while Mac users are taken to Apple support page for security updates.

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The Russian government has passed a controversial legislation that would empower them to ban any website that deemed illegal. Though it says the law is aimed at cracking down on child pornography, drugs and extremism, human rights activists and ISP’s think otherwise and have seen it as an attempt to censor the Web. In protest, the Russian version of Wikipedia (ru.wikipedia.org) was shut down, a move similar to its rally against SOPA-PIPA law coming to effect in the US.

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Ever since the ban on Galaxy Nexus was temporarily lifted, it was pretty much expected to be rolling out Jelly Bean to the pure Android phone. And that day has come for the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus owners. The update is over-the-air (OTA) and as per the latest info, Google has not made any changes to the disputatious Universal Search feature that Apple and Samsung have been fighting about of late. But the latter seems to be on the alert; a new update for Galaxy S III on Sprint, and later on AT&T, has removed the search feature from the phone altogether, and now returns only web results. Meanwhile, Google’s first tablet Nexus 7 is not out yet but it’s already receiving a Jelly Bean 4.1.1 update (the original version being 4.1) that adds a pre-loaded Google Wallet amongst other performance tweaks.

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Earlier this year, Google and other companies were caught sidestepping Apple’s Safari and Mobile Safari web browsers by allowing them to deposit cookies in a user’s computer (or phone) even if the device is set to prevent such behaviour. This alleged privacy breach, reported by the Wall Street Journal, has drawn its first blood with Google agreeing to pay a record $22.5 million USD to settle the matter with Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Journal also reports that the search behemoth made that much amount in revenue every five hours last year (in short, the sum is no big deal!). Google might heave a sigh of relief in this matter, but it’s still in hot-water in the UK over its data collection practices centering around Street View. It’s notable that the company was fined $25,000 by FTC back in April for collecting wireless network data for this project without permission and having chosen not to cooperate with the investigation.

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Last week, Bloomberg reported that Amazon is preparing a smartphone rivaling its competitors iPhone and Android. Now Wall Street Journal has corroborated the same and has gone to the extent of saying that the device is currently under testing and may go into production later this year or early next year. The device’s size is rumored to be between 4 and 5 inches, which isn’t surprising given the fact that the device will be a conduit for Amazon offerings that primarily include e-books and multimedia content.

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Apple, last week, decided to drop out of a green certification scheme, Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) – one that rates products based on several criteria including energy efficiency and recycle capability. Predictably, the response wasn't encouraging. San Francisco announced that it's planning to ban its city officials from buying Apple computers. Melanie Nutter, director of San Francisco's Department of Environment, said: "We are disappointed that Apple chose to withdraw from EPEAT, and we hope that the city saying it will not buy Apple products will make Apple reconsider its participation. " Surprisingly, Apple caved in and has agreed to stay on. Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering Bob Mansfield agreed that the decision to remove the certification from its 39 products was a mistake. The firm has also come under attack from Greenpeace activists following release of carbon footprint details associated with its US-based data center that runs the iCloud service.

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Millions of years from now, when time has eroded current language and culture, how will we warn humans (or non-humans) of the dangers of nuclear waste? ANDRA, a French nuclear waste management agency, has decided to engineer data discs that will last nearly 10 million years using sapphire and platinum. Each disc costs over $30,000 to create, and will be made using an eight-inch round of industrial sapphire etched with platinum on one side. One disc can be inscribed with 40,000 pages of pictures and text and, once encoded, two discs are molecularity fused together to create a high-density data solution that can be viewed with a common microscope.

In other news:

• Kindle Fire successor rumored to have 1280 x 800 display, set for Q3 launch.
• UK Judge rules that Galaxy tab doesn’t infringe the iPad design; is not as cool as its Apple counterpart.
• Android 4.1 source code released for all to download.
• Microsoft Windows 8 on track for release in October.
• Mozilla kills Thunderbird support.
• Google Chrome 21 Beta refreshed with built-in webcam and mic support.
• Facebook App Center now available in India, and 6 other countries.
• BlackBerry’s app store, App World, notches 3 billion download mark.
• Predicted Internet blackout due to DNSChanger Trojan fizzles out.
• Rovio, the makers of the popular game Angry birds, launch Amazing Alex on iTunes App Store.
• Microsoft Windows 8 to have automated backup facility.
• Facebook revamps Events page with month views and daily events.
• Google+ for iPad out for download at the iTunes App Store.
• Twitter for iOS and Android updated with push notifications, search autocomplete, expanded tweets and other tweaks.
• Windows Phone 8 rumored to have lock screen notification improvements.
• Microsoft to unveil Office 15 on Monday, publishes Office Next blog.
• Twitter app for Nokia S40 phones out now.
• Google Nexus 7 tablets pre-ordered via Play store now shipping.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.