Can Facebook group change World Cup game result?

You know this is serious because they've already talked about it on SportsCenter.

Wednesday saw one of the most painful pieces of cheating that soccer has enjoyed since, oh, since pretty much any other World Cup qualifying game.

However, this occurred in the dying minutes, featured one of the most famous players in the world (yes, he's been on the front of an EA FIFA game box), affected the result of the game, and was so crudely obvious that the world has decided to fight back by socially networking.

In case you were only recently released after being abducted by recalcitrant performance artists, France was playing Ireland for the privilege of going to the World Cup finals in South Africa. Ireland was winning.

A ball was hopefully pumped into the Irish penalty area. The French captain, Thierry Henry, reached out his left hand to control the ball, enjoyed the feeling so much he actually handled it twice, then crossed the ball for an embarrassed teammate, Willam Gallas, to score and eliminate the plucky Irish. (It is compulsory to use the term "plucky" when referring to the Irish soccer team.)

Henry, perhaps sensing his precious image evaporating, admitted Friday that the game should be replayed.

Even though the sport's governing body, FIFA, has declared no replay will happen, it now has to deal with perhaps the fastest-growing Facebook group on earth.

Petition to have IRELAND VS FRANCE REPLAYED!!!! already has secured more than 250,000 members since its inception, as well as an increasing amount of media coverage.

What is clear from the group is that people from all over the world are incensed that FIFA has haughtily dismissed the power of the people, the socially networking people. The group has organized a protest in Dublin, 2 p.m. local time Saturday.

If I were one of the fine-dining, bouncy-bellied officials at FIFA, I would pay a little more attention to this Facebook group. The last time someone so blatantly ignored the will of the socially-networking people--who, in the Facebook group's case, include many from France itself--it was a lady who guffawed: "Let them eat cake."

Yes, she was Queen of France and it did not end well for her. I feel sure Marie Antoinette would have wished for a little replay in her own life. And I feel equally sure that, were she alive today, she would be joining the Facebook group "Petition to have IRELAND VS FRANCE REPLAYED!!!!!" in demanding a rerun of this most important game.

McAfee warns about '12 Scams of Christmas'

Retailers aren't the only ones gearing up for the holiday season. Criminals are also out in force.

To highlight the increased crime during the holidays, security company McAfee has come up with the "12 Scams of Christmas" ranging from bogus electronic greeting cards that deliver malware instead of cheer to fake charities that steal your money and your identity.

It's especially important to be extra careful this time of year, says McAfee's David Marcus. "The bad guys know people are spending more time online, they're paying more bills online so [the criminals] stand a chance of being a bit more successful this time of year.

In a podcast interview (scroll down to listen), Marcus counted down the 12 scams of Christmas starting with:

1. Charitable phishing scams: Marcus warns consumers to be wary of e-mails that appear to be from legitimate charities. Not only will they take your money and deprive charities of needed funds, but they will also steal your credit card information and identity.

2. Fake invoices from delivery services: During this period, scammers will send out fake invoices and delivery notifications appearing to come from Federal Express, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service or even the U.S. Customs Service saying that they were unable to deliver a package to your address. They ask you to confirm your address and give them credit card information to pay for delivery.

3. Social networking friend requests: Bad guys take advantage of this social time of year by sending out authentic looking friend requests via e-mail. Marcus recommends that you not click on those links but sign into Facebook and other services and look for friend requests from the site itself. Clicking on a link could install malware on your computer or trick you into revealing your password.

4. Holiday e-cards: Be careful before clicking on a holiday e-card, especially if it's from a site you haven't heard of. This is a way to deliver malware, pop-ups, and other forms of unwanted advertising. Some fake e-cards will look like they come from Hallmark or other legitimate companies, so pay close attention and make sure it's from someone you know. If you're going to send an e-card, be sure you're dealing with a reputable service lest you risk infecting yourself and your friends.

5. Fake "luxury" jewelry: If you see an offer for luxury gifts from companies like Cartier, Gucci, and Tag Heuer at a price that's too good to be true, it probably isn't true. These links could lead you to malware and take your money or merchandise that will probably never arrive (or be fake if it does). Some of these sites, according to McAfee, even display the logos of the Better Business Bureau.

6. Practice safe holiday shopping. Make sure your wireless network is secure and be sure you're shopping on sites that are secure. Though it isn't an iron clad guarantee, you should look for the lock icon in the lower right corner of your browser and make sure the Web page starts with https. The "s" stands for "secure."

7. Christmas carol lyrics can be dangerous: Bad guys know that people are searching for holiday related sites for music, holiday graphics, and other festive media. During this time, they create fraudulent holiday related sites.

8. Job search related scams: With the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, there are plenty of job seekers looking for work. Beware of online offers for high paying jobs or at-home money making schemes. Some of these sites ask for money up front, which is a good way for criminals not only to steal your "set up fee" but misuse your credit card too. Marcus said that some "get rich quick" sites are all about money laundering, asking you to accept an inbound financial transfer and pay them.

9. Auction site fraud: McAfee has observed a rise in fake auction sites during the holidays. Make sure you're actually going to eBay or whatever site you plan to deal with.

10. Password stealing scams: Criminals use low-cost tools to uncover passwords, in some cases planting key logger software to record keystrokes. Once they get your passwords, they gain access to bank accounts and credit card accounts and send spam from your e-mail accounts.

11. E-mail banking scams: A common type of phishing scam is sending out official looking e-mails that appear to come from your bank. Don't click on any links but type in your bank's Web address manually if you need to access your account.

12. Files for ransom: Hackers use malware to gain control of your computer and lock your data files. To access your own data you have to pay them ransom.

Bottom line--Don't let the eggnog and holiday cheer keep you from using your critical thinking skills when you go online during the holiday season. And, of course, make sure your operating system is updated and that you're using up-to-date security software.

EBay completes sale of Skype for $2 billion

EBay has completed its sale of Skype for about $2 billion to an investor group that included the founders of the Internet phone service.

Last week, the online auction site settled a legal skirmish with co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis which allowed the deal to move forward. The settlement gave Skype ownership of critical software that had been licensed from the company they founded, Joltid Ltd.

Ebay said Thursday it sold a 70 percent stake in the company for about $1.9 billion plus $125 million that it will receive at a later date. The company is keeping the remaining 30 percent stake.

The settlement means Zennstrom and Friis get a 14 percent stake in Skype. The investor group, led by Silver Lake, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz, get 56 percent ownership.

San Jose, Calif.-based Ebay Inc. also purchased senior debt securities worth $50 million to help finance the deal.

Google to pop Chrome OS cherry tomorrow

Google plans to steal some attention away from Microsofts annual developer shindig by unveiling more details about its Chrome OS tomorrow.

Mountain View will be revealing how far down the line the companys wonks have got with development of its operating system, which is currently expected to debut at some point in the second half of 2010.

It will also presumably dish out code to some hardware partners who build computers for the netbook market.

An invitation went out to some hacks* yesterday, which reportedly said Google would show a few demos of its forthcoming Chrome OS, which Google first announced in July this year.

There?ll also be a few short presentations from product management veep Sundar Pichai and Chrome OS engineering boss Matthew Papakipos.

Google?s decision to reveal more about the operating system this week comes as little surprise given that Microsoft will wrap up its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Meanwhile, an increasingly Google-apeing Redmond has been bigging up the significance of Azure, its own cloud computing effort.

Download latest version of Chromium for Windows

Chromium in case you don't know is the open source web browser on which Google Chrome is based which means that Chromium is free from all the tracking crap Google implements in Chrome or atleast that's what I believe as Chrome is not there for Linux butChromium is.

Step 1: Follow this URL in your web browser
http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/snapshots/chromium-rel-xp/LATEST

This will return a build#
Step 2: Follow the same URL replacing 'LATEST' with 'Build#' which now becomes

http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/snapshots/chromium-rel-xp/Build#

Step 3: Download the 'mini_installer.exe' and install it

Tested on XP SP3, so you guys can test on other variants like Vista & 7 and let me know how it goes. One downside is that you'll have to manually update it either daily or weekly as I prefer.

Enjoy open source goodness

Google Buys Gizmo5 Internet Calling Service

Google is bulking up its phone offerings with the acquisition of Gizmo5, a company that offers voice-over-IP software for mobile phones and computers.

The companies did not reveal terms of the deal, which was announced Thursday following rumors earlier this week that the acquisition might happen.

In a blog posting about the deal, Google said that while current Gizmo5 users can continue to use the service, no new customers can sign up for now.

Very little information remains on the Gizmo5 Web page. The service is similar to Skype's in that it allows users to make low-cost or free calls using a software client on their computers. Gizmo5 also offers a client for mobile-phone users.

The acquisition follows Google's purchase of Grand Central more than two years ago. Fans of that service began to worry it might die at Google since it took about two years for Google to begin accepting new customers for the service, now called Google Voice.

Google Voice offers users a variety of services including transcribed voicemails and low-cost calling. Users can also get a new phone number and use that same number on multiple phones.

The service has been the subject of some controversy. It is the subject of a U.S. Federal Communications Commission inquiry, launched as a result of complaints thatGoogle blocks some calls.

Gizmo5 and Google Voice are already integrated; Google Voice customers can include a Gizmo5 account as one of their phones.

It is the fourth acquisition Google has announced this year. Earlier this week it said it would buy AdMob for $750 million.

Google releases JavaScript tools as open source

Google has announced the release of some of its core application development tools as open source. The Closure tools, which include the Closure Compiler, Closure Library, Closure Templates, and Closure Inspector, have been used byGoogle to develop its popular Gmail, Google Docs and Google Maps web applications.
The Closure compiler can be used for fine-tuning and optimising JavaScript code to make it run faster and more efficiently even with slow network connections. It removes and overwrites redundant code segments, keeping the remaining code as lean as possible. The compiler can also check the code's syntax, variable references and types. The compiler is available as an open source stand alone Java application, an online web application, or through a RESTful API. The Closure Inspector can be installed, in Firefox, to allow developers to work on Closure compiled code with the Firebug JavaScript debugger.
Google's Closure Library for JavaScript contains standardised application services and components that work with various browsers. The library is described as "server-agnostic" and designed with the Closure Compiler in mind. The Closure Templates automate the dynamic generation of HTML code. They can be used both with JavaScript on the client and with Java on the server.
All the Closure tools are available under the Apache Licence 2.0. Source code is available from the Google Code project pages for the compiler, inspector, library and templates.

Pirated Windows 7 generates $100K in India

Bbout 50,000 pirated DVDs of Microsoft Windows 7 are estimated to have been sold here since the official launch on Oct 22, generating u
naccounted business of around Rs 50 lakh (nearly $100,000).

The reason for the allure of the pirated versions: These cost Rs 40-Rs 250 in Naza Market in Hazratganj here, drawing buyers from not only the rest of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand but also Nepal and Bangladesh.

"This is the biggest market in the region," said a shopkeeper in Hazratganj, claiming at least 50,000 DVDs of the pirated Windows 7 have been sold since hitting the local markets within 24 hours of the official launch, fetching sellers about Rs 50 lakh so far.

The legal version of the new operating system launched by Microsoft Corp costs between $150-$300 (Rs 7,500-Rs15,000) in the international markets. The company, however, tagged its prices 20 percent below international rates in India, where it is available in the Rs 6,000-Rs 11,000 range through official channels.

Despite the discounted company rates, buyers are opting for the pirated version. "Why invest Rs 10,000 when it is available for Rs 250?" asked Pramod Yadav, a student pursuing a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) course.

Added Mohit Singh, who runs a computer hardware and software maintenance company: "We pay for only the DVD as we are regular customers. A DVD hardly costs Rs 20-40."

Most computer service providers or "regular customers" in Lucknow and elsewhere in India use pirated software, contended Nishant Kumar, a software engineer with HCL Technologies in Greater Noida.

According to him, what makes the pirated operating systems more attractive is that cheap pirated anti-virus software is also freely available.

"A lot of anti-virus software, for example Awast, is available on the Internet," Kumar said, adding that it was equally effective and has the same service life.

Those selling pirated Windows 7 deny doing anything illegal.

"There are over 200 shops in Naza Market. All have everything you want. We are not doing anything illegal as everything is available on the Internet," said a shopkeeper not willing to be named.

"We are only transferring and supplying to buyers who include students, professionals and even big business houses." Those selling authentic software are unhappy.

"Be it software or encyclopaedia, everything is available in pirated form within 24 hours. We do not get the expected business," Amit Mishra of Newgen Technologies, the authorised distributor of Compaq, HP, Microsoft and Lenovo in Hazratganj, told IANS.

The police express helplessness in combating piracy. "We know what is going on for the past couple of decades. But we cannot act on our own. We need a formal complaint to act or else you (the media) will come down on us," police spokesperson AK Pathak told IANS.

Besides software, the Naza Market and the Naka Market in the Naka area are also famous for producing CDs and DVDs of newly released Bollywood movies within 24 hours.

"You name the movie and you will have the CD, DVD the next day," boasted Harnam Singh, a Naka shopowner.

Source

Google launches search by voice for Nokia S60 phone users

Have you ever been in a hurry and really needed to find an answer to something, but there was no one to ask? Like what is the latest cricket score update, where is the closest restaurant, pharmacy?
Now you can just speak your query.Google India announces the launch of a downloadable Google Mobile App for Nokia S60 (most N and E series models e.g. N 86, E- 63) users. This will enable easier and faster access to Google Search.
Google Mobile App is equipped with speech recognition technology designed to understand Indian accents. Search by voice on mobile will now trigger a Google Search as soon as you speak your search query and give you the required results with a high accuracy rate.
So the next time you need to order a pizza, enquire about a taxi service, call up a florist or in case you want to access the plethora of information available on the internet while you are on the road just use search byvoice on GMA on your Nokia S 60 phones to initiate a Google Search on your mobile. The free-to-use application helps users to search for updates on cricket and local business listings. The application automatically detects your location. So now as soon as you enter a pizza or pharmacy query and it will return results closest to your current location.
In addition to this, Google Mobile App for Nokia S60 also has a smart suggest feature which suggests search terms query, thus minimizing typing in case you are using the cumbersome mobile key board and this result in faster completion of your query term.
Announcing the launch Vinay Goel, Head of Products, Google India said ?There's no denying the importance of search by voice in India, and the extension of Googles search by voice feature to more mobile handsets is a natural next step for our mobile strategy. Speech is one of our key innovations in the mobile space out of the India engineering center. With millions of new mobile users being added every month Google Mobile Apps will provide them with a quick and easy way to get the required information whenever and wherever they need it. With the launch of this service forNokia S60 handsets we would be catering to a larger segment of mobile users, as a significant number of Nokia phone users are on the S60

Bluetooth remote control

Given the lack of a step by step guide in laymans terms and having tried by trial and error to control my desktop/winamp etc via my phone I am going to attempt a rough guide for those of you who like me were new to the process and frustrated by the info swirling around but not all in one place. I eventually got this working last night after a lot of messing about with various different settings and as such if this guide is out of step or not in order or misses anything by all means tell me and i can re-edit it accordingly.


First of all download and install FMA as this includes many files you will need in order to use remote function.
Make sure your phone and pc are already paired. If you don’t know how to do this give up now and go buy a slave.

On your w800/k750 go to the entertainment menu. Near the bottom is an option called remote control and has a Bluetooth symbol on it. Click into it and you will see
Desktop
Media Player
Presenter

These are called HID files (Human Interface Device). These allow your phone to interact with your pc via Bluetooth and control certain aspects of a specific application such as windows media player or your desktop as you would using a remote control. On this website you will find HID files for other applications such as winamp, winDVD, Internet explorer etc etc.
Download these files to your pc and unzip them. Move the unzipped files to another folder and if you have set up bluetooth correctly (see below) you should be able to then right click on them and have the option of sending them by Bluetooth to your phone. Your phone will recognise them as HID files and will store them accordingly in the correct place.ie remote control.
NB. Its important to move them to another folder on the computer when you unzip them as immediately extracted files don’t have the same right click menu options as normal files. The process of moving them negates this.(or it does on my laptop) This seriously p1ssed me off until I realised this cos it just wouldn’t send to the bloody phone!

Now for winamp, which I finally got to work last night. You have to enable global hotkeys. Do this under the options menu in winamp and you will see that you can map the keys of your phonepad to specific winamp functions. Do this according to the layout of the HID file you are using. Hi-light the text, ie “volume up” may be ctrl + alt+ del for instance highlight CTRL ALT + DEL, press the respective phone button which deals with that function on your HID and it should recognise it and change the setting accordingly. Press set to save this and repeat with the other functions.

By now you should have a smile. Cos its pretty damn cool. If you’ve installed and setup Bluetooth correctly.

For those of you who haven’t, install the software if you need to and you should (or I do) have a system tray icon. Right click it.
Go to Bluetooth Setup Wizard -> Next -> go down and id Human Interface Device - mark it -> Next -> Finish

Feel free to add bits and pieces that I will have inevitably missed.

A way 2 Unlock any Cell Phone

HOW TO UNLOCK A PHONE.
Remove the sim card and switch off the phonethen swtich on the phone and type the follwing code

#pw+019133536753534+7#

you will see a massage "Unlocked"
but if it doesen't work try this code (please make sure that you enter the correct code)

#pw+185414303366316+1#

[Every code unlocks a certain lock. Code number 7 usually unlocks them all but some phones are 'buggy' and will not accept code 7 at first then use code 1.

Usually you only have to use code 1 or code 7.

#pw+xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx+1#

How to type "p" "w" and "+"
[hide="Hit thanks"]1. Press ( # ) on your phone
2. To get ( p ) press ( * ) 3 times within 1sec
3. To get ( w ) press ( * ) 4 times within 1sec
4. To get ( + ) press ( * ) 2 times within1sec
5. Enter the 15 digit code
6. To get ( + ) press ( * ) 2 times within 1sec
7. Enter code number
8. Press ( # ) on your phone

Now your phone is unlocked!

Coming soon: Cheque-reading ATMs

NEW DELHI: Need cash urgently but have already overdrawn from your account? You have a cheque from a client but it is of little use in the dead of night. Lost or misplaced your debit card and need cash to pay the party organiser for your little one's first birthday celebrations? Help is on way, as a couple of banks in India are testing a technology that facilitates instant cheque encashing at ATMs.

Used widely across North America and Europe, cheque truncating machines (CTM)?the contraption that make real-time cheque verification and clearance possible?sit inside special ATMs that the world?s largest makers of these machines, like US-based NCR Corp and Diebold Inc, are now hawking to few banks in India. Governmentowned State Bank of India, the country?s largest lender, IDBI and ING Vysya are a few banks that have evinced interest in such ATMs. Banking regulator RBI too has welcomed the move, saying it will be good for customers.

Pradeep Sen, MD, NCR India says that the company has been showcasing its CTM-ATMs to banks in India since last month. ?We will also be launching new ATM machines, in which you can just insert a bundle of notes of any denomination. The ATMs will read the notes, and credit the amount in your account instantly,? he says. Currently, one has to put cash inside an envelope to deposit inside ATM. It gets credited in about 24 hours. There are over 48,000 ATMs in the country, split between three big makers??NCR , Diebold and Germanybased Wincor Nixdorf.

A CTM-ATM scans the cheque inserted in and produces a digital image of the same. It sends the digital cheque image electronically to the IT network of the issuing bank for clearance. Within seconds, the amount is credited to your account, which one can withdraw immediately via a debit card. Or in case you have lost or misplaced the debit card, issuing a cheque to a friend can solve the cash crunch as she can withdraw the money using her debit card.

Source

Nokia sues Apple for patent infringement

The world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia, today launched a legal attack on Apple alleging the iPhone infringes 10 of its patents. Specifically, the company claims ownership of technology relating to GSM communications, WLAN and UMTS (3G WCDMA) standards that cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

The Finnish firm says it has invested approximately ?40 billion ($60 billion) in research and development, and has successfully entered into license agreements with virtually all the leading mobile device vendors -- except for Apple. Apparently the companies have been locked in negotiations for quite some time, since all iPhone models dating back to the original introduced in 2007 are allegedly infringing.

Nokia still commands a majority share of the worldwide cell phone market, but has seen its dominance slip in recent years as Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry and others eat into their customer base. The company reported a loss of $836 million dollars for their most recent quarter. Apple on the other hand reported its "most profitable quarter ever" this Monday with iPhone sales up 7% from the same period a year ago.

Microsoft, Yahoo delay finalizing search deal

Microsoft and Yahoo have postponed finalizing their search deal, according to an October 28 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The companies intended to complete the deal by October 27, but have apparently run into some issues. "Given the complex nature of the transaction, there remain some details to be finalized," said the filing, adding that both parties are working as quickly as possible to reach agreements, and have made good progress to date.

The pending deal was first announced in July, and will see Microsoft's Bing as the exclusive search provider for Yahoo's sites. While a delay may seem like bad news, Yahoo and Microsoft have plenty of time to sort things out. An initial roll-out isn't slated until next year at some point, and it has been said that full implementation won't occur until at least 24 months after regulatory approval. The companies are now looking to close thedeal by early 2010.