Microsoft Windows vulnerable to new type of attack

Some versions of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system are vulnerable to attack from hackers exploiting a flaw in the software that could allow them to remotely take control of a personal computer.

The software giant warned of the problem on Tuesday in a special alert. It said it has yet to develop software to plug the hole in Windows or to figure out a workaround to the problem.

Microsoft said it is not aware of any attacks that tried to use the vulnerability, which involves the way Windows renders graphics on versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

The problem does not affect Microsoft's most-recent PC operating system, Windows 7, and its newest operating system for servers, Windows Server 2008 R2.

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Microsoft Alliance With Intel Shows Age

The technology industry's most lucrative partnership—the long-running alliance between Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp.—is coming to a day of reckoning.
Sales of tablets, smartphones and televisions using rival technologies are taking off, pushing the two technology giants to go their separate ways.

The clearest sign that their interests are diverging: Microsoft on Wednesday is expected to unveil a future version of the company's flagship Windows operating system that runs on microprocessors designed by Intel rival ARM Holdings PLC, according to people familiar with its plans.

Microsoft still plans to make versions of Windows that also run on Intel chips, but the company's ARM plans amount to a huge bet on a chip technology that has become the de facto standard for smartphones, tablets and other mobile products.

The marriage of Intel chip designs and Windows—what became known as the "Wintel" alliance—has shaped the PC business since the early 1980s, defining the standard for which software developers created applications. But both companies have struggled to capitalize on newer growth markets.

While Windows still powers more than 90% of global personal computers, research firm Gartner says Microsoft software ran less than 3% of smartphones in the third quarter. Despite pushing tablets for the past decade, no Wintel tablet has caught on with consumers.

The success of Apple Inc.'s iPad has driven a deeper wedge between Microsoft and Intel. The two companies, in collaboration with hardware makers, haven't been able to come up with any tablet products that match the performance, power efficiency and ease-of-use of the iPad, a worrying trend as the Apple device has come to nibble into mobile PC sales.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer will kick off the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wednesday. The new version of Windows Microsoft is expected to show off there will be better suited to touch-screen interfaces and the power limitations of tablets, people familiar with the matter said.

Technology industry veterans say the move by Microsoft is a milestone in the slow decay of the Wintel alliance. "I think it's a deep fracture," says Jean-Louis Gassee, a venture capitalist and Silicon Valley executive.

A Microsoft spokeswoman declined to comment. Bill Kircos, an Intel spokesman, said the relationship between the two companies is "deep and strong."

"While we can't comment specifically on any future Windows plans, there is a tremendous business opportunity for both of us in the projected billions of devices, gadgets and machines going online in the next five years, above and beyond the more near-term tablet area," Mr. Kircos said.

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CES - Toshiba plans big push on glasses-free 3D TV

Toshiba Corp will begin selling large-screen glasses-free 3D television sets in fiscal 2011 and plans to start marketing the groundbreaking devices beyond its home turf of Japan, executives said on Tuesday.

The Japanese conglomerate also announced an ambitious target for a one-third increase in its TV unit sales for the financial year starting in April, to 20 million.

Toshiba, whose products range from household appliances to nuclear power stations, has already launched 12-inch and 20-inch versions of its glasses-free 3D TV in Japan.

The need for special glasses is considered a major factor hindering sales of 3D TVs, but rival companies have said the viewing angle for glasses-free technology is too restrictive.

Atsushi Murasawa, Toshiba's head of visual products, told reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday that the reaction to the sets had been favourable.

The company will be showing off prototypes of 56-inch and 65-inch glasses-free 3D TVs at CES and will probably launch two models, one over 40 inches and another over 50 inches, a Toshiba spokesman said.

"These will not only be for the Japanese market, but also America, Europe and China," Murasawa said. He gave no details on launch dates or prices for the new products.

Toshiba makes liquid-crystal display screens in-house for its small glasses-free 3D TV models, but the company said it would need to work with an external supplier for the larger screens.

The company also sells 3D-capable televisions for use with customary glasses, along the lines of those offered by rivals such as Sony Corp.

Toshiba is seeking to boost television sales in developing countries and to grab a 10 percent share of the U.S. TV market, compared with about 7 or 8 percent at present, Murasawa said.

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Facebook fund tests SEC resolve: Analysis

The efforts by Facebook to raise as much as $1.5 billion outside of regulated markets is the latest test of the walls between private and public markets.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N) this week approached its best private wealth clients with a tantalizing offer: a special fund that will own shares in the fast-growing social networking giant. Goldman gets to offer clients a hot investment opportunity, while Facebook gets to remain a private company.

It is the latest in a growing trend: the blurring of public regulated markets and hands-off private markets.

That trend had drawn the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which now must determine if it can build an enforcement case cracking down on investors and companies potentially skirting the rules on the books, or if it needs to clarify those rules itself.

"You have a lot of people who could probably create private markets that rival the public ones to deliver large amounts of capital to big companies without triggering all the burdens of being a public company," said Donald Langevoort, a professor of securities regulation at Georgetown University.

Small companies traditionally launch with the ultimate goal of completing an initial public offering and obtaining a listing on a national exchange. Yet reporting requirements and other regulatory hurdles have made that path less attractive, while new technology and alternative sources of capital make going public less critical.

That has contributed to a rise in online trading platforms that match buyers and sellers of privately held companies.

SecondMarket Inc, an online platform that hosts the trading of shares in Facebook and other private companies, on Monday told Reuters it received a request for information from the SEC on Friday. The SEC declined to comment on a potential probe into private market trading.

Under U.S. securities law, if a company's private shares are held by more than 500 holders of record, the company is required to register with the SEC and file public disclosure statements. But the rules generally define the term "record holder" as the name displayed on the company's stock record, and not the beneficial owner of the stock.

That means firms like Goldman Sachs can potentially skirt public disclosure rules through the use of a special investment vehicle. These funds can offer numerous investors the opportunity to buy stock, but the shares are all listed in the name of Goldman Sachs and only count as one shareholder of record.

Some securities lawyers say the SEC could choose to intervene if it concludes Facebook intends to skirt disclosure rules.

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Lenovo 'LePad' combines tablet, laptop in one

Chinese computer colossus Lenovo on Tuesday unveiled an IdeaPad computer that serves as a laptop for work tasks then converts to a touch-screen tablet for play time.

The IdeaPad U1 hybrid, with a "LePad" slate that serves as a laptop screen but unplugs to become a tablet computer, made its debut on the cusp of the Thursday opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"It is one device to balance life and work," Lenovo product manager Leo Li told AFP.

"A keyboard is more important and Windows software more powerful for a lot of things you need to work, especially productivity and creating content," he continued. "At the same time, people want to enjoy music, see videos, go to websites, read e-books, and play games in their personal lives."

The LePad tablet is powered by Android software backed by California Internet giant Google and a Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm .

Once plugged into the keyboard base, the computer switches to Windows 7 operating software by Microsoft and a beefier Intel processor.

Lenovo is targeting consumers who embrace today's mobile lifestyle.

"Use the light-weight slate when you're mobile, and then simply slide it into the U1 base when you need to create and edit content," Lenovo Idea Product Group vice president Liu Jun said.

LePad has a 10.1-inch (26 centimeter) color screen, weighs less than two pounds (one kilogram) and connects to the Internet using 3G telecom service.

It has a front-facing camera for video chat and promises as many as eight hours of battery life.

IdeaPad U1 with LePad will be available in China by the end of March but won't be available in the United States until next-generation Android mobile software is available for use in the tablets.

IdeaPad U1 with LePad will be priced at 8,888 Chinese yuan (1,340 dollars) and the tablet will be sold separately for 3,499 Chinese yuan (528 dollars).

Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us