HP Looks to Limit Student Labor in China

HP, one of the top three PC manufacturers, announced Friday that it had directed suppliers in China to limit their use of student labor. The move comes amid growing concerns in the tech community about working conditions in overseas factories. The announcement also follows recent efforts by Apple to address problematic labor practices in China. As with other high-tech companies, HP sources many of its products from China, and this week it is taking a proactive stand on the increase of student and temporary workers.





by Peter Suciu via TechNewsWorld

Language Barriers Block BlackBerry From Japan Launch

Unable to justify the operating costs, BlackBerry will not launch its newest handsets, the Z10 and Q10, in Japan -- at least not anytime soon. The requirement to modify its operating system to accommodate the language reportedly influenced BlackBerry's plan to bow out of Japan. Another possible factor is that BlackBerry's market share in Japan has dropped from 5 percent to 0.3 percent. Launching the phones would have been a challenge regardless of operating system modifications.





by David Vranicar via TechNewsWorld

Wikipad Tablet Gets Back in the Game

It could have been game over for Wikipad after a flaw in the initial production run of its gaming tablet forced a launch delay late last year. The Los Angeles-based company used the extra time, however, to rethink the Wikipad, and this week the company said the revised version will debut this spring. The new version will be smaller; instead of the previously shown 10-inch model, the company now plans to bring out a 7-inch version that promises to be more portable. It will also feature a friendlier $249 price tag.

by Peter Suciu via TechNewsWorld

Google Victorious in 6-Year Aussie Legal Battle

A court in Australia has ruled in favor of Google in its lengthy legal fight with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The case, which lasted six years, concerned search results from 2006-07. The Commission claimed that sponsored links published by Google diverted users to rival companies. For instance, a search for "Honda Australia" would prompt a paid ad for CarSales, which was a competitor.





by David Vranicar via TechNewsWorld

Microsoft, Huawei Mount African Smartphone Expedition

Microsoft announced Monday that it is teaming up with Chinese telecom Huawei to sell a low-cost, Windows-powered smartphone in Africa, which according to The New York Times is the world's fastest-growing smartphone market. The phone, which will initially cost around $150, is called the "Huawei 4Afrika" and will be sold in seven countries, including South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. Windows currently ranks fourth among smartphone operating systems; it had just 2 percent international market share last fall.





by David Vranicar via TechNewsWorld

Secret Review Gives Obama License to Cyberkill

President Obama can order a preemptive strike if there's credible evidence of a pending major cyberattack from abroad, a secret legal review reportedly has found. New policies will dictate how intelligence agencies can monitor remote computer networks elsewhere for signs of potential attacks on the U.S. The policies will also apparently allow intelligence agencies to attack adversaries by injecting them with destructive malware, even if war has not officially been declared. Counterattacks must be approved by the president first.





by Richard Adhikari via TechNewsWorld

Apple Going After Alleged iOS Abuser

Apple reportedly has launched an investigation into Qihoo, a giant Chinese software company and search engine, based on concerns the app maker is violating terms of service. Apple is also concerned that Qihoo is encouraging jailbreaking iPhones by delivering apps as single file downloads compatible with unlocked Apple products. It appears that Qihoo apps have been removed from Apple's App Store. Qihoo also makes China's top Web browser.





by David Vranicar via TechNewsWorld

NYT Hack Shows Gaping Holes in Traditional Security Systems

After The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal revealed last week that their systems had been compromised by Chinese hackers, the Journal reported that the FBI has been probing attacks on U.S. media -- part of a long-running pattern by a "foreign entity" to compromise security at major U.S. companies -- for more than a year. The Times attack, particularly, set the security community buzzing as its Symantec antivirus software failed to identify 45 of the 46 strains of malware planted on its computers.





by John P. Mello Jr. via TechNewsWorld

Microsoft Office and the Big Subscription Bet

Well it's been another wild week here in the Linux blogosphere, what with all the ruckus emanating out of the bordering Redmond territories. Much like what happened last fall when Windows 8 made its fanfare-filled debut, the launch of Office 2013 and 365 last Tuesday left more than a few Linux bloggers with a ringing in the ears that didn't abate for days. "Microsoft Cuts Ribbon on Low-Rent Office" was one of the more straightforward headlines to appear. It wasn't long, however, before the complexity of Microsoft's new productivity scheme became plainly clear.





by Katherine Noyes via TechNewsWorld

Alicia Keys: The Next Steve Jobs?

What folks who haven't read any of the early Steve Jobs biographies don't know is that Steve Jobs -- at least, the way he was seen in public -- wasn't any more real than Ronald McDonald. He was a creation of Apple's advertising agency that successfully reformed Steve -- a slovenly guy who didn't like to shower, flush the toilet, or wear shoes, and had a tendency to cry if he didn't get his way -- into the near-superhuman person we saw on stage. This is not a trivial effort, and it really means being on stage for much of your life and rarely letting your hair down.





by Rob Enderle via TechNewsWorld

Google Adds Cross-Platform Notifications Brick to Chromium Build

Google appears to have taken a step toward integrating Android's Google Now notification feature into Chrome. French programmer Francis Beaufort revealed Thursday that he spotted a new notification center in the latest Windows Chromium build that includes rich templated notifications. This addition to the open source project for Chrome could become a hub for customizable Google Now cards that include information about user preferences and upcoming events.





by Richard Adhikari via TechNewsWorld

Volunteer Pirate Crew Gives Mega Its Own Search Engine

A user-created search engine reportedly makes it easy to scour the new, controversial file-sharing site Mega. Unveiled two weeks ago by Kim Dotcom, a German national living in New Zealand and wanted on a slew of charges in the U.S., Mega initially did not have a search function to scour its own content. The new search engine was built by users voluntarily providing links to files. Hosted by an anonymous domain, it apparently lets Mega function in much the same way that Megaupload did.





by David Vranicar via TechNewsWorld

Facebook's Relationship With Developers: It's Even More Complicated

Facebook dropped a bombshell on its developer community last week with the rollout of a clarified platform policy -- one that de-friends certain apps. The new policy spells out which types of apps can use its data. Namely, developers must show "reciprocity"; their apps must let users post content to Facebook if they want to use the vast social network's friend-finding features. "If you use any Facebook APIs to build personalized or social experiences, you must also enable people to easily share their experiences back with people on Facebook," Facebook said.





by Erika Morphy via TechNewsWorld