Apple hires Tesla exec for classified project

Apple is either well on its way to developing some sort of automobile or else is simply hiring top car talent for no apparent reason.
That's the conclusion increasingly being draw by the talent war being waged between Apple and Tesla in particular, two Silicon Valley neighbors and potentially product rivals.
The latest salvo is the news that a former Tesla vice president of vehicle engineering Chris Porritt, who made his name guiding some of Aston Martin's most elegant roadsters, has joined Apple in a senior position, according to a report Tuesday in sister publications 9to5Mac and Electrek.
Apple declined comment on the report.
Although a number of Tesla employees have defected to Apple over the past year - Tesla CEO Elon Musk has derisively called Apple the "Tesla graveyard," carping that Cupertino is where failed Tesla employees go to die - Porritt is the most senior exec to make the move, although according to the publications Porritt left Tesla some months ago.
Unnamed sources told the twin outlets that Porritt's title at Apple is Special Projects Group PD Administrator. While at Tesla, Porritt had a hand in designing all three models: S, X and the forthcoming entry level 3. At Aston Martin, Porritt worked on the iconic DB9 as well as the One-77 supercar.
Meanwhile, the quest to spot something resembling an Apple car during testing has become akin to seeking out Bigfoot.
TechRadar posted an item last week with a blurry photo of a Ford Transit van with a roof full of tech gear. The site speculated that the gear looked that Lidar - laser radar used in autonomous car tech - but added that the driver appeared to have his hands on the wheel.

How Google abused mobile app market with Android

The European Union said Wednesday that Google breached the bloc's competition laws by giving preferential treatment to its Android operating system on mobile applications.
EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager published a so-called Statement of Objections laying out the case. The tech giant has 12 weeks to issue a formal reply.

"A competitive mobile internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe. Based on our investigation thus far, we believe that Google's behavior denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players,” Vestager said.
“Dominant companies have a responsibility not to abuse their position,” said Vestager. “Google has abused its dominant position.”
In a blog post on Google's website, Kent Walker, a senior vice president for the firm, responded by saying that "Android has emerged as an engine for mobile software and hardware innovation. It has empowered hundreds of manufacturers to build great phones, tablets and other devices. And it has let developers of all sizes easily reach huge audiences."
Walker added: "We take (the EU's) concerns seriously, but we also believe that our business model keeps manufacturers’ costs low and their flexibility high, while giving consumers unprecedented control of their mobile devices."
Google's Android operating system is free and comes bundled with other Google products such as Google search, Gmail and YouTube. In Android's five largest markets in Europe — Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain — it holds more than 70% market share, according to Kantar, a research firm.
The 28-nation EU has other investigations against Google, notably on its search services. It has also brought antitrust cases against Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.

Apple Leak: new iphone to come out with all glass new design!!

He’s at it again. KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo (dubbed “the best Apple analyst on the planet”) has dug up new information on Apple’s increasingly controversial iPhone plans and this is perhaps the most radical of the lot…

Picked up by the ever reliable 9to5Mac, Kuo’s new report says Apple will completely redesign the iPhone. Out will go the ranges’ famed aluminium chassis and in its place will be the return of an all-glass enclosure. This will also be complemented by new cutting edge curved OLED display.

The only problem? These changes will come in 2017, not 2016.

Glass iPhone concept by Martin Hajek, courtesy of nowhereelse.fr

Yes, according to Kuo, Apple will finally abandon its ‘tick/tock’ external redesign / internal upgrade pattern for iPhone launches. Consequently the iPhone 7 will look largely like the iPhone 6 / iPhone 6S and it will be an ‘iPhone 8’ in 2017 where Apple will pull out all the stops.

Why? Kuo doesn’t speculate, but an obvious point that springs to my mind is that 2017 is the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.

Of course this wouldn’t be the first time Apple has used glass. The company enjoyed mixed success with the material in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Cracked backs plagued these stylish phones, but Kuo argues that advances in toughening glass since then should address this. Glass would also be ideal for wireless charging and boosting antenna reception.

How much faith should we place in Kuo’s report? As its reputation suggests, a lot. In recent times the analyst has a near perfect track record. He broke news of the radical 12-inch MacBook, iPad Pro, the shift to 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, nailed every major feature of the iPhone 6S four months ahead of launch and revealed the iPhone SE, including its lower pricing.

iOS 10 concept imagines new exciting features we’ve been dying for

Apple has made significant strides over the years when it comes to the usability and sleekness of its mobile operating system, but sometimes even the most successful designers would be wise to listen to criticism from fans.

In a new video, YouTube user Ralph Theodory has taken a stab at his own conceptual design for iOS 10, and it's quite the improvement over iOS 9.

There's no point in detailing every change that Theodory implemented into his concept, but a few are definitely worth discussing. For example, why isn't the Smart Info Cam he shows off at the beginning of the video already a thing? The fact that you need to download separate apps to do something the camera should be able to do on its own is patently silly.

The best parts of these concept videos are when the artists make something look just as simple to implement as the average user would expect it to be. For example: why isn't there an option to remove the system apps that we never use? Add a separate screen in the Settings menu and we'd always be able to restore them if we decided we needed them back somewhere down the line.

You don't have to look very hard to find iPhone and iPad users unsatisfied with the user interface of Apple Music. It's one of the least pleasant first-party experiences on iOS, but the proposed quick reach menu could work wonders.

And those are just (some of) the iPhone alternations. The entire second half of the video is focused on the iPad, with suggestions to improve multitasking, create new virtual buttons in Control Center and more.

Watch the full video of the iOS 10 concept below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQx-qDFaq2w

Microsoft sues U.S. government over demands for customer data

In the latest clash over privacy rights in the digital age, Microsoft is suing the U.S. government over a federal law that allows authorities to examine customer emails or online files without the individual's knowledge.

The lawsuit comes as the tech industry is increasingly butting heads with U.S. officials over the right to view a wide range of information — including emails, photos and financial records — that customers are storing on smartphones and in so-called "cloud" computing centres.

Microsoft ays the U.S. Justice Department is abusing a decades-old law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, to obtain court orders requiring it to turn over customer files stored on its servers, while prohibiting it from notifying the customer. The company says that violates its constitutional rights of free speech and customers' protection against unreasonable searches.

A Justice Department spokesman said the government had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Seattle federal court.

Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, says authorities used the law to demand customer information more than 5,600 times in the last 18 months. In nearly half those cases, a court ordered the company to keep the demand secret.

"We appreciate that there are times when secrecy around a government warrant is needed," Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said in prepared statement. "But based on the many secrecy orders we have received, we question whether these orders are grounded in specific facts that truly demand secrecy. To the contrary, it appears that the issuance of secrecy orders has become too routine."

Threatened with contempt

In an interview, Smith said the company decided to file its challenge to the law after a case where authorities threatened to hold Microsoft in contempt when it sought to contest a particular secrecy order.

"That caused us to step back and take a look at what was going on more broadly," he said. "We were very disconcerted when we added up the large number of secrecy orders we've been receiving."

The lawsuit comes as Apple has been waging a high-profile legal battle over the FBI's attempt to compel that company's help in obtaining data stored on iPhones.

"It's part of the same trend," said Alex Abdo, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. He said tech companies "have gotten the message loud and clear from the American public, that privacy matters."

HTC 10: new images and specs leak just before April 12 unveiling

HTC is expected to unveil its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday, but a new leak is giving us our best look yet at the device. It's rumored to be called the HTC 10 (it's replacing last year's HTC M9, but the "M" is gone), and Dutch site GSM Helpdesk claims to have accurate information and photos of the new handset. According to the site, the phone will be available "worldwide" in mid-May.

As we've seen before in leaked renders and previous photos of the device itself, HTC is sticking with its tried-and-true design language, but with oversized beveled edges on the rear this time around. This generation does appear to be borrowing more from last year's One A9, however, with a simplified layout that lacks the bold HTC logo and the distinctive dual speakers found on the front of HTC's past flagships. That said, GSM Helpdesk claims that stereo Boomsound speakers are still present, even if they aren't plainly visible here. There's also a traditional physical home button, which is said to be equipped with a fingerprint sensor — a must for any flagship in 2016.

The rumored specifications line up with previous leaks: we're looking at a 5.2-inch, QHD (1440 x 2560) display powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset and 4GB of RAM. There's also said to be a 12-megapixel "Ultra Pixel" camera with optical image stabilization and laser autofocus. The front camera will reportedly come in at 5 megapixels, with OIS as well, which is a rare feat. The bottom edge is said to carry a USB-C port, and the device is reportedly powered by a hefty 3,000mAh battery.

We expect to hear much more about the HTC 10 — if that's what it's called — on Tuesday morning. Tune in then.

IPHONE 's copycats are turning into true iPhone competitors

From the very beginning of Android, Apple has been complaining that its Android competitors are ripping off its iPhone designs. Whether the culprit is the Samsung Galaxy S, the HTC One A9, or the ZTE Whatever, Apple is all too happy to remind the world that it's the leader and Android device makers are its followers. Well, things have been changing lately, and today's debut of the Huawei P9 adds momentum to a growing tide of distinctive new phones coming out of China — ones that aren't defined by a religious adherence to photocopying the iPhone. The Huawei P9 and the Xiaomi Mi 5 before it are the harbingers of a much more dangerous rival to Apple, a set of Chinese manufacturers capable of crafting their own, attractive, even premium designs.

                           

Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to argue that the entire mobile industry has suddenly developed scruples about ripping off Apple's design work. Just a glance or two at Oppo's F1 Plus or Meizu's Pro 5 will tell you that iPhone imitations are still very much alive and thriving. But the substantive change that's taken place in the mobile industry recently is the recognition of the paramount importance of high-quality industrial design. Xiaomi poured two years of development work into the Mi 5, while Huawei  outspent Apple on research and development last year by more than a billion dollars. Those investments are aimed at long-term technical innovations, an important subset of which is the development and refinement of standout designs. The P9 has a similar metal construction to the iPhone, but it feels different and, thanks to its idiosyncratic pair of camera eyes, looks different too.

The copying of Apple has evolved. It's less literal now, as companies strive to recreate the essence of Apple's success, whether it be through vertical integration (as with Huawei and its in-house processor design), positive brand associations, or simple aesthetic and tactile appeal. Apple is still the Michael Jordan that every Chinese smartphone manufacturer looks up to, but instead of trying to dunk with their tongues sticking out or shoot fadeaway jumpers, these rising stars are developing their own ways of scoring points with consumers. Instead of imitating, they are emulating.

There's no other way to interpret this development than as decidedly good news. Huawei has gone from routinely copying Sony's Xperia Z designs — culminating in the utterly anonymous Huawei P8 last year — to defining its own look and feel, as well as staking a claim for technological leadership with its unique camera setup. The dual-camera system on the Huawei P9 is not attempting to serve up fresh gimmicks, and is instead targeted at improving contrast, gathering more light, and generally making every photo look as good as it can possibly be. I'm not yet sure how well Huawei has executed this plan, but I can already say that the concept makes sense from a photographer's perspective and shows the right ambition to get ahead rather than chase from behind. Plus, Huawei is doing the whole two-camera trick without resorting to an unattractive camera wart. There's no Apple blueprint for making that happen, so what we're witnessing now is Huawei flexing its own engineering muscle.

Top things you didn't know Google knows about you

In 2016 we think it is safe to say that most people are now dimly aware that Google and other Internet giants such as Facebook like to vacuum up your personal data like an anteater sucking up ants. However, what you may not know is the level of detail and broad range of data that they scoop up off you every single hour of every single day. Here we list but 10 of the ways that Google knows more about you than even your closest friend.

2016: the best new smartphones due this year from tech giants

2015 was a bonanza year for smartphones, but there's plenty more to come over the next 12 months: handsets are getting more powerful, designs are getting more innovative, and if you're in the market for a new mobile next year you're going to be spoilt for choice.

To give you an idea of what's coming over the hill in smartphone terms, we've rounded up everything we know and everything we think we know about the greatest handsets of 2016: a lot of manufacturers like to play their cards close to their chests, however, so not all of this information is set in stone just yet.

iPhone 7

The world's most recognisable and well-known smartphone is a good a place to start as any, and Apple is almost definitely going to release another iPhone in September, as it does every year. After the 'S' updates of 2015 we should see the number tick up to 7, and it's likely that the company will stick with the pattern of releasing a smaller (4.7-inch) and larger (5.5-inch) model for consumers to choose from.

Apple isn't leaking much about the upcoming handsets but the rumours are the new phones could be more rugged and waterproof than the existing ones. The screen resolution is due for an upgrade this year, while insider sources suggest Apple wants to ditch the headphone socket in favour of the Lightning port. We should get some more hints when iOS 10 is announced at WWDC in the summer.

HTC 10

The HTC 10, One 10, or M10, whatever it'll be called, will be announced on April 12, that's not long - stay tuned to T3.com for the latest!

HTC has made its future intentions pretty clear with the One A9 handset it recently launched: the company is prepared to ape the design and approach of other handset makers if it means getting a foot back in the door of the market. The HTC One M9 had a lot to commend it, but it failed to capture the imagination of the public, and the manufacturer is going to want to make sure that its 2016 flagship ticks all the right boxes.

Details of what we can expect to see from the HTC One M10 are pretty thin on the ground - unless you count the aforementioned One A9 as being a significant signpost - but as with the forthcoming handsets from Samsung and LG we think it's going to appear in the first third of the year.

Wireless charging could be in the mix, and it's a safe bet that the phone will feature significantly improved internal specifications - we should also see a bump for the 1080 x 1920 screen resolution HTC has stuck with in recent years.

Sony Xperia... Z6?

Sony had a patchy 2015 as far as smartphone launches go, but the Xperia Z6 might well be enough to help the company's smartphone division get back on track.... possibly. While it might not set the world on fire in terms of sales numbers, Sony's Xperia range represents some of the best-looking and most powerful handsets on the market. But MWC threw the possibility of seeing a Z6 into doubt, with company officials saying the new X range would replace the Z models (then others saying the Z range wasn't going anywhere). Who knows what's happening... clearly not Sony.

So what can we expect in 2016? The early hints are that there are going to be no fewer than five different variations of the Xperia Z6, and the handsets are set to offer Sony's version of the 3D Touch technology currently available in the newest iPhones. The traditional Xperia look should be in evidence again, while the usual dust and waterproofing are likely to be in place too. The indications are that Sony's taking its time with its next flagship, so expect something significant in the next year.

Of course, the X range MAY appeal to potential Z buyers. They're well specced with a 23MP rear camera and HD screen, but they're clearly not flagships though.

Firm Wins Patent for Major Way to Detect Spearphishing

Hackers in recent weeks have stepped up their efforts to steal employee tax information from companies in all kinds of industries.

Typically, the information contained on IRS form W-2 is used to file false tax returns or steal someone's identity.

The situation has become so bad that the IRS earlier this month issued an alert to human resources and payroll professionals about the subject: Beware of an emerging phishing email scheme that purports to be from company executives and requests personal information on employees.

"This is a new twist on an old scheme using the cover of the tax season and W-2 filings to try tricking people into sharing personal data," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said.

"Now the criminals are focusing their schemes on company payroll departments," he continued.

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"If your CEO appears to be emailing you for a list of company employees, check it out before you respond. Everyone has a responsibility to remain diligent about confirming the identity of people requesting personal information about employees," Koskinen warned.

Hard to Spot Crooks

What makes spearphishing attacks so effective is that they're hard to identify -- both by automated defenses and human beings.

"These scams do not generally have any active payload. They don't have an attachment. They don't have a URL of any sort that a traditional email security solution can associate with malicious behavior," noted Vidur Apparao, CTO of Agari.

"Most of these attacks are pure social engineering attacks," he told TechNewsWorld.

In addition, the attacks originate from legitimate Net infrastructure, not, as was seen in the past, from malicious infrastructure like botnets.

"Eighty-five percent of these attacks [are] coming from public cloud infrastructure," Apparao said. "The fact that they're coming from legitimate infrastructure makes them almost invisible to existing security solutions.

No Confidence in Execs

Once a spearphisher evades an organization's automated defenses, the next layer of defense is people.

However, more than one in two (52 percent) infosec pros didn't believe execs in their organizations could spot a phishing scam, according to a survey released last week by Tripwire of 200 attendees at the RSA conference in San Francisco in February.

That figure is likely to be higher as you move down the corporate food chain, suggested Travis Smith, a security researcher with Tripwire.

"An entry-level HR person with access to personnel information may not have the same level of training for spotting social engineering and phishing that a high-level executive has," he told TechNewsWorld.

Even with training, though, the attacks are getting harder to spot by their targets.

"The criminals that are sending these phishing emails are getting increasing efficient in how they're attacking their victims," Smith said.

"They're doing a lot of profiling before they send these emails," he noted. "They're doing background research. They're investigating a company's business activities."

Fighting Phishing With Stories

If an automated solution is to counter clever spearphishers, it's going to need some smarts of its own, which is what ZapFraud seeks to do in a patent it was awarded earlier this month.

The patent is for detecting email scams by what it calls their "storylines."

While scammers constantly change their formulations, they very rarely depart from one of a relatively small number of storylines, ZapFraud said.

Consider an email that has a greeting from an apparent stranger, an expression of surprise, mention of large sums of money, an expression of urgency, and a request for a response.

"While you can't enumerate all the ways a scam email can be produced, you can enumerate the building blocks," said Markus Jakobsson, CTO of ZapFraud.

"By identifying the building blocks in a message, you can determine when something matches a story associated with risk," he told TechNewsWorld.

When fighting phishing with storylines, you have to b

Facebook To Add Secrete Chat To Messenger

cebook apparently has been working on mobile pay and secret chat features for its Messenger app, according to a report published this week by The Information, based on clues found in extracted software code on Messenger for iPhone.

Commands embedded in the software hint at secret conversations, similar to what's found in WhatsApp, the voice and messaging service owned by Facebook, according to the report.

Other references reportedly found in the code include commands to pay in person and pay in Messenger when picking up an item.

"Since Facebook has long said it would continue to develop and support its own message app, it makes sense that it would adopt specific WhatsApp features into its own solutions," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Mobile Piggyback

The mobile pay feature is credible as well, King told TechNewsWorld. However, it remains unclear whether Facebook would compete with Android Pay and Apple Pay directly, or if it would piggyback on one of those services.

"That would require a far lower initial investment and less risk than starting its own service, and eliminate the complexities of negotiating partnerships with banks and financial services," King said.

Facebook does not intend to get into the payments business directly, but would consider partnering with other companies, CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated during a conference call with analysts earlier this year.

"On payments, the basic strategy that we have is to make it -- especially in a product like Messenger -- that, where the business interaction may be a bit more transactional, to take all the friction out of making the transactions that you need," he said.

"So we don't view ourselves as a payments business. That's not the type of company that we are. We'll partner with everyone who does payments," Zuckerberg added.

Other possible additions to Messenger include shopping and delivery features, and the ability to synchronize calendars so users can update to-do lists, share articles and update their status.

Digital Assist?

The rumored features have the potential to turn Messenger into a virtual digital assistant, according to Susan Schreiner, an analyst at C4 Trends.

"Potentially, it could learn our likes and dislikes, make suggestions about articles to read or e-books to purchase," she told TechNewsWorld. "The Messenger app already enables you to send money to friends, so the next logical step would be using the app for in-store purchases."

Facebook would have to overcome a couple of hurdles, said Paul Teich, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

"Facebook is an advertising distribution channel," he told TechNewsWorld. "Mobile pay will give them more insight into personal transactions. It will be a crowded market, but they have mindshare and are on a huge number of smartphones in good buying demographics."

If the company really wants to turn the secret chat feature into a confidential experience like WhatApp's, it will have to be willing to give up certain information, Teich said.

"Secret chat would presumably keep no record at all of messages sent," he said. "That means metadata too -- otherwise throwing away the message payload, but keeping data such as time and length of messages, sender and receiver."

Why You Should Upgrade From Windows 7 to 10

You haven’t answered the most obvious question of all: why should I upgrade from Windows 7 to 10? What are the benefits? Please give a straight answer, which can include technical stuff. Tom

In the long term, I don’t think the question is “Why?”, it’s “When?” Eight months after launch, Windows 10 is running on 270m devices and it’s not going away. Some large organisations have already started to move, one of the most notable being the US Defense Department, which has started installing Windows 10 on 4m PCs. By contrast, we know that Windows 7 is going away: Microsoft will stop supporting it in 2020. Of course, Microsoft – like Apple and Google – would like everyone to use the latest version of its operating system. It has therefore encouraged early adoption by offering a free upgrade to Windows 10 – again, like Apple and Google, except that Microsoft’s upgrade offer is only available for a year. Either way, once you have installed Windows 10, it will be updated free for the life of your device. There will (probably) never be a Windows 11, because Microsoft is now producing two small updates each year instead of one big update every three years. Whether it’s worth upgrading now depends on what sort of PC you have, but the more mobile, the better. If you have an old desktop PC with no touchscreen, no camera and no microphone, there are fewer benefits. (The touchscreen isn’t essential, it’s just nice to have.) If you have a modern Windows laptop or 2-in-1 with UEFI firmware, the upgrade is more attractive. I say “the more mobile, the better” because Windows 10 is a mobile operating system. I know this upsets people who think their PCs should work just like they did in a previous century, but the whole technology world is changing and Windows is changing along with it. Microsoft’s boss Satya Nadella keeps repeating his “cloud first, mobile first” mantra, and Windows will continue to become increasingly mobile and cloud-aware. Ecosystem wars The other thing to bear in mind is that we are in an ecosystem war that Microsoft wants to win. The main alternative ecosystems are run by Apple and Google. However, Apple’s approach is mostly “Apple only” (apart from iTunes), while Google’s is mostly “cloud only” (apart from Chrome). Both support only a very limited range of devices. By contrast, Microsoft is building an ecosystem that supports both on-premise and cloud operation, and that runs across all three ecosystems: it has dozens of apps for Android and Apple’s iOS, and is increasing its support for Linux in Windows 10 and Azure. Windows runs on everything from USB sticks, games consoles and smartphones to giant server farms, and there’s an internet of things version for the Raspberry Pi and other devices. If you only use one old desktop PC, you will get limited benefits from the Windows ecosystem. If you have a lot of different types of device, you will get more benefits from Windows 10 and all the related apps and cloud-based services such as Outlook.com and Office 365. From 7 to 10 Depending on your hardware, a straight upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 may offer some benefits. These start with smoother and sometimes faster operations, more economical use of memory and disk space, increased security (SmartScreen, Windows Defender, encryption), and the integration of OneDrive cloud storage.

Check out made in Nigeria hover board that is made out of wood

This is creativity at its peak, what do you think?

Nigeria loses N10bn annually, hosting domain names outside

Nigeria is losing not less than N10 billion yearly through hosting its country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), dotng (.ng) domain names outside the country, the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) said on Monday.

Mr Sunday Folayan, President of NIRA disclosed this in an interview in Lagos.

Simply put, domain hosting is ‘renting a space’ on the internet to hold a website, so that anyone can find your website, by typing in your domain name.

He said that hosting of domain name was a pure business decision, which had both security and economic implications.

According to him, just one per cent of the .ng domains registered by NIRA’s registrars, is what is hosted in the country.

“And if we estimate, hosting has the income of about five times to 10 times the cost of domain name registration. You will see that it is a lot of money we are talking about.

“So 99 per cent of what NIRA has registered is hosted outside and NIRA has conservatively put what Nigeria is losing by today’s value of not less than N10 billion, in terms of hosting from the .ng domain.

“There are other .com domains that are also registered by NIRA, which could be more than five times the .ng registered.

“So we are talking of not less than N50 billion, plus the N10 billion from the .ng, making a total of not less than N60 billion,’’ he said.

The president added that information put on the internet were not safe, as people from anywhere in the world could hack into it.

He said that such data would be better secured, if hosted within the country, than outside.

Folayan decried the hosting of .ng domain names outside Nigeria, as it amounted to capital flight, and was not good for Nigeria’s economy.

The president said that NIRA had a total of 56 accredited registrars, who handled the actual registration of the domain names.

He said that of the 56 registrars, 79 per cent were Nigerians, while the remaining were from the UK, Germany and other countries.

According to him, of the 19,649 domain names registered and hosted by NIRA’s registrars, only 1.33 per cent is hosted in Nigeria.

“All the rest are hosted outside Nigeria. This is capital flight, it is something that bothers NIRA and we are looking at ways to mitigate that and help reserve foreign exchange, particularly at this very tight time for the country,’’ he said.

Folayan said that .ng (like our currency, the Naira and the +234 for country code) was the official Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)-approved ccTLD for Nigeria.

According to him, the availability of names is better on the .ng ccTLD than on the generic top-level domain (gTLD) like .com, .org.

“With the .ng, our primary Domain Name System (DNS) servers are secured and locally managed with multiple cast servers located around the world,’’ he said.

Folayan added that hosting businesses on the .ng would help to support the Nigerian economy and provide jobs for local Information Technology (IT) professionals.

Microsoft's Racist AI Briefly Comes Back To Life

Microsoft chatbot Tay made a bizarre, short-lived return to the Internet on Wednesday, tweeting a stream of mostly incoherent messages at machine gun pace before disappearing.

"You are too fast, please take a rest," the teen chat bot repeated again and again on Twitter.

Last week, Microsoft was forced to take the AI bot offline after if tweeted things like "Hitler was right I hate the jews." The company apologized and said Tay would remain offline until it could "better anticipate malicious intent."

It's a problem that doesn't appear to have been fixed. Interspersed in the stream of "rest" messages on Wednesday was a tweet from the bot that read: "kush! [ i'm smoking kush infront the police ]," a reference to drug use.

Less than an hour after Tay resumed tweeting, the account was changed to "protected" and the tweets were deleted.

Microsoft did not specifically respond to a question about the kush tweet, but did acknowledge Tay's brief period of activity.

"Tay remains offline while we make adjustments," a spokesperson said. "As part of testing, she was inadvertently activated on Twitter for a brief period of time."

Tay is one central program that anyone can chat with using Twitter, Kik or Groupme. As people talk to it, the bot picks up new language and learns to respond in new ways.

But Microsoft said Tay also had a "vulnerability" that online trolls picked up on pretty quickly.

By telling the bot to "repeat after me," Tay would retweet anything that someone said. Others also found a way to trick the bot into agreeing with them on hateful speech. Microsoft called this a "coordinated attack."

In addition to its pro-Nazi messages, the bot also delivered a range of racist and misogynistic tweets.

"We are deeply sorry for the unintended offensive and hurtful tweets from Tay, which do not represent who we are or what we stand for, nor how we designed Tay," Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) said last week.

Revolutionary new tech could lead to clothes that clean themselves

there’s a fascinating new development that might let you clean your clothing using tech that's straight out of a science fiction movie. The new technique involves wearing the dirty clothes out in the sun so that solar energy can catalyze a chemical reaction that would obliterate stains.

In other words, the next time you drop ketchup on your shirt at the game, it might clean itself off by the time you're ready to leave the stadium.

Published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, the study involves a new kind of fabric that’s made of copper and silver nanostructure woven inside cotton textiles and kept in place by a fixative solution. Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology at the University of Melbourne can clean stains within six minutes using the technology, although heavy stains might not be wiped out immediately. Tomato sauce and red wine are still be tricky to remove.

When sunlight hits the metallic nanostructure, it releases high-energy electrons that can break down the organic molecules of dirt. The image above shows a closeup of the fabric. The nanoparticles are invisible to the naked eye, and the photo above has been magnified 200 times.

"The advantage of textiles is they already have a 3D structure, so they are great at absorbing light, which in turn speeds up the process of degrading organic matter," Dr. Rajesh Ramanathan said, according to PhysOrg.

He continued, "There's more work to do to before we can start throwing out our washing machines, but this advance lays a strong foundation for the future development of fully self-cleaning textiles."

NASA has developed a less toxic rocket fuel

Since 2012, the folks over at NASA have been working on developing a high performance “green” rocket propellant it hoped to one day use as an alternative to the incredibly toxic hydrazine fuel currently in use. According to a press release published in August of 2012, the Washington D.C.-based space agency selected Boulder, Colorado’s Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation to research the fuel alternative and as of this month, it appears it’s ready to show off its work. In an invite sent to media outlets late last week, Ball Aerospace will officially open its doors on March 31 to unveil NASA’s Green Propulsion Infusion Mission (GPIM).

Essentially a new spacecraft which is reportedly “safer on the ground and more efficient in space,” the GPIM is ready for public viewing after passing a series of functional and environmental tests of both its system and software. Currently, the craft is set for launch in early 2017 where it will have the ability to display its hydroxyl ammonium nitrate-based fuel and oxidizer propellant blend — known as AF-M315E. Developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab at Edwards Air Force Base, the hope is that the fuel will prove to boast a higher performance and will be kinder on the environment than traditional hydrazine fuel.

A Ball Aerospace engineer adjusting the thermal insulation on a GPIM spacecraft bus

Ball Aerospace

“High performance green propellant has the potential to revolutionize how we travel to, from, and in space,” said the director of NASA’s Space Technology Program, Michael Gazarik in 2012. “An effective green rocket fuel would dramatically reduce the cost and time for preparing and launching space missions while decreasing pollution and harm to our environment.”

In addition to its cleaner profile, the innovative green propellant features a higher density than hydrazine, meaning it has the ability to be stored much more efficiently. More of it can be stored in propellant tanks of the same volume which results in a 50-percent uptick in spacecraft maneuvering capability. Furthermore, the propellant’s freezing point is much lower than hydrazine, and thus requires less power from the spacecraft itself to maintain a suitable temperature.

Apple’s Response to the FBI Hacking Into That iPhone

On Monday, the FBI essentially told Apple “oh never mind, we figured out a way into that iPhone ourselves.”

So the government is dropping its federal court case against the tech giant.

With the help of a third party, the federal agency said it was able to successfully crack into encrypted information stored on the smartphone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., attack last December. For weeks, the government pressed for Apple’s help, arguing that the only way into the phone was for Apple to build a special kind of software for the feds, what Apple started calling a “GovtOS.” Apple decried the request, arguing it would hurt the security of all its phones.

While it’s not immediately clear whether or not the technique FBI used on Farook’s iPhone 5c could be used to sneak into other models, the FBI’s successful hack raises new questions about the effectiveness of Apple’s device encryption.

Here’s what Apple said Monday after the FBI dropped its case:

From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated. Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk. This case raised issues, which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion.

Windows 10 Update: How to Upgrade Your Windows Phone

Microsoft is finally getting around to rolling out Windows 10 Mobile to existing Windows 8.1 devices. There are two ways to get a Windows 10 phone: either buy a new phone that ships with Windows 10 Mobile out of the box — like the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 650, Lumia 550, Xiaomi Mi4, or Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL — or upgrade your existing Windows phone to the latest version of the operating system.

If you’ve been waiting to update your Windows smartphone to Windows 10, you probably know that Microsoft has delayed the update multiple times. Originally, the idea was to begin updating Windows devices in December 2015. But as Emil Protalinski reports for VentureBeat, the company ended up delaying the process until the first quarter of 2016, shifting the timeline first to February and then to March. Finally, the updates are here.

As Microsoft explains on its website, the update will first be made available to the following 18 phones: the Lumia 1520, 930, 640, 640XL, 730, 735, 830, 532, 535, 540, 635 1GB, 636 1GB, 638 1GB, 430, 435, BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q, and MCJ Madosma Q501. Microsoft isn’t rolling out Windows 10 Mobile to all exiting Windows Phone devices, since it doesn’t want older devices to run Windows 10 if the resulting experience would be worse than what’s offered by the existing operating system version.

To upgrade, you’ll need to download the Windows 10 Upgrade Advisor app, which is free in the Windows Store, to check for upgrade availability and to prepare your phone to install the update. If the upgrade is available for your device, you can select “Enable Windows 10 upgrade” and follow the instructions to update your phone.

On its website, Microsoft also recommends taking a few steps to prepare your phone for the update. You should plug your phone into a power source to make sure that it doesn’t run out of battery while installing the upgrade. A Wi-Fi connection is required to download and install the update, so you’ll need to connect to one in order to upgrade your phone. Additionally, it’s a good idea to back up your settings, apps, photos, and text messages before installing the update. If you haven’t done so already, go to the Start icon, swipe to the All Apps list, select Settings, and then Backup in order to set up backups.

It’s also important to free up enough storage space to download and install the update. The Upgrade Advisor app can recommend files that you can move to OneDrive or to an SD card if you have one installed. Alternatively, you can connect your phone to a PC and move your files there. After the upgrade, you can move files back to your phone if there’s enough space. If you remove apps from your phone to make room for the update, you can reinstall them from the Store if there’s enough space. However, you should keep in mind that deleting an app will erase any app data, like the saved progress you’ve made in a game.

When the Windows 10 update is available, swipe to the All Apps list from the Start icon, then select Settings, then Phone update, and install the update. You can choose to install it immediately or to postpone the update for a more convenient time. On Windows Phone 8.1 devices that are running version 8.10.14219.341 or higher, you can schedule to install downloaded software updates later. The upgrade can take an hour or more to complete; you won’t be able to use your phone during the installation, and your device will restart a few times.

After the upgrade is completed, your phone might take some extra time to migrate data and apps. If some app tiles don’t appear to be active or if you can’t open them, keep your phone plugged in to a power source and connected to Wi-Fi to wait for those apps to finish updating. If an app tile is missing from Start, you can check the App list for it and pin it to Start, or go to the Store to see if a new version of the app is available. Additional app updates may need to be installed from the Store in order for some features to work. To check for app updates, swipe to the All Apps list, select Store, tap Menu, choose Downloads and updates, and then select Check for updates. You should also download and install any updates that are available by navigating to the All Apps list, selecting Settings, choosing Update & security, tapping Phone update, and selecting Check for updates.

When you upgrade to Windows 10, you’ll gain access to features like a new Start screen, an improved Cortana personal assistant, better Live tiles, wider app support, Windows Hello, and Continuum. (Though some, like Windows Hello and Continuum, do require certain hardware, and therefore won’t necessarily be available on every phone that gets upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile.) Most of the biggest changes are related to Windows 1o’s universal apps, and Microsoft software like Outlook and Office have been significantly improved over the versions you’re used to with Windows Phone 8.1.

Protalinski notes that because this is Windows 10, upgrading should also mean that you’ll get more frequent updates — though based on how long it took Microsoft to get Windows 10 Mobile out to these phones, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath for them.

Leak Huawei P9 range rumors and news

The Huawei P8 is a beautiful phone, one of the most attractive of 2015, and a sequel is almost inevitable. Rumors have been gathering about a phone called the Huawei P9 for a while, along with a mystery enhanced edition, as well as its larger spin-off sister device the P9 Max, and a P9 Lite. Nothing is official yet, but here’s what we think we know about the new P9 range so far.

Huawei P9 design
In keeping with tradition, we expect the Huawei P9 to look fantastic. Huawei’s pushing the design and creative drive behind the P9 with its official teaser website, which in addition to various arty pictures, has three images showing three key design aspects of the device itself. We see, in close up, a fingerprint sensor, the surround to the expected dual-camera lenses, and a chamfered edge with a cool textured front or rear panel.

A video is also posted on the site, along with various local Huawei 

YouTube accounts, promoting the #OO hashtag. We’d previously seen it on the April 6 event invitation, and it’s presumably a reference to the camera lens setup that is likely to be the P9’s standout feature.

Less official pictures have been circulating too. The most recent from MyDrivers.com show what could be the phone in much more detail than before, and it bares considerable resemblance to the live spy shots published in early March.

The all-metal body houses a fingerprint sensor on the rear, dual-camera lenses, a dual-LED flash and what may be a laser-autofocus unit. Around the front, the selfie cam and the ambient light sensor are placed to the left side of the speaker. The location of these has changed in many leaked images. A USB Type-C charging port is seen, along with a headphone socket and a speaker grill.
A few days before the launch of Huawei’s teaser site, a Huawei official — said to be the president of the company, Zhiqiang Xu — was pictured using what could be the P9 in public. The following cheeky spy shots were published by Chinese site MyDrivers, and show a device with dual camera lenses, a fingerprint sensor, and a stacked dual-LED flash and autofocus unit on the rear of a sleek phone.

Previously, and looking very similar to the photos seen above, a set of images leaked by Mobile-Dad.com may also show the P9, accentuating the phone’s metal chassis, neatly chamfered edges, and that unusual dual camera setup on the rear. There are a few differences to other leaked pictures, which could indicate this is one of the spin-off phones — the P9 Max perhaps — or that we’ve been seeing a variety of test devices, with the final design yet to be agreed.

For example, the pictured phone has a circular rear fingerprint sensor, rather than a square one, and the flash next to the camera lenses is vertical not horizontal, and doesn’t come with what we presume to be a laser-autofocus unit. A USB Type-C charging connected can be spied at the bottom of the phone, while around the front, the camera lens and ambient light sensor flank the speaker.

These differences are compared to the last ‘live’ leak, published by VentureBeat. The pictured phone’s shape is very similar to the P8, with hints of the Nexus 6P, but the rear is now host to a fingerprint sensor and a dual-camera lens. The front shows a large touchscreen with thin bezels. Both pictures show a phone that’s almost identical to previous leaks, but this was the first time we saw a ‘real’ phone, rather than rendered images. The main difference is the front camera and ambient light sensor are to the side of the speaker, rather than flanking it.