Apple supplier Foxconn's website hacked

 

Apple's controversial Chinese supplier Foxconn was battling on Thursday to contain a security breach after hackers joined the mounting protest.

WASHINGTON: Apple's controversial Chinese supplier Foxconn was battling on Thursday to contain a security breach after hackers joined the mounting protest over iPhone factory conditions by leaking the login details of its entire staff.
A group calling itself Swagg Security taunted Terry Gou, the chief executive of Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai Industries, by posting his username and password along with a mass of other sensitive information on the PirateBay and Pastebin websites.
According to The Guardian, the hack, publicized in a series of Twitter alerts, came as campaigners delivered petitions demanding an ethically made iPhone 5 - the new model is expected later this year - at Apple stores in London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Bangalore.
The controversy could also marr the release of Apple's iPad 3, now expected in March.
More than 250,000 people have signed two petitions, organised by campaign platforms SumOfUs and Change.org.

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Apple now worth more than Google, Microsoft combined

LONDON: Tech giant Apple's market capitalization is now bigger than the values of Google and Microsoft combined.
The iPhone maker's market cap is around 462 billion dollars as of mid-Friday.

Tech giant Apple's market capitalization is now bigger than the values of Google and Microsoft combined.

Microsoft's is about 257 billion dollars and Google's weighs in at about 197 billion dollars, The Washington Post reports.
According to the paper, tech bloggers have been coming up with all kinds of statistics to put Apple's market cap in context.
Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt pointed out that Apple's now worth more than the gross domestic product of Sweden, which is 458 billion dollars.
According to earlier reports, Apple's revenue figures revealed that its iPhone business alone has become bigger than the whole of Microsoft.
The tech giant's popular smartphone division generated 24.4 billion dollars of revenue in the quarter up until December, whereas the whole of Microsoft generated 20.9 billion dollars in the same quarter.

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iPad 3 debut in March plus “strange” February event tip sources

Reports of an iPad 3 reveal this month may have been premature, sources now claim, with Apple tipped to unveil its third-gen tablet in March but squeeze in a “strange” event before then. Although a February press event is still apparently on the calendar, Macotakara now says, it won’t see the debut of the new iPad: instead, that will take place the following month, reducing the expected time between the big reveal and sales starting. The rumors leave the purpose of the February event unclear.

Details on the February press gathering are unknown, and only described as “strange”; however, it’s said to be a non-product related event. That could mean services, similar to the iBooks event earlier this month.

The new iPad, meanwhile, will be shown off in early March, supposedly, then released later in the month. It’s unclear whether the refreshed model will be the iPad 3, as suspected until now, or the iPad 2S, a bridging model that will introduce a faster, Apple A6 processor and “Retina Display” screen, but leave more fundamental changes until later in 2012 or even beyond.

Leaks earlier this week, reportedly from a user with early access to the iPad 3, suggest the tablet will come with a global 3G/4G option. Apple is apparently using a combination GSM/CDMA/LTE modem, that will allow the slate to run on HSPA+ networks as well as LTE ones, though specific carrier support is unknown at this stage.

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Online petition asks Apple for 'ethical' iPhone

An online petition asking Apple to "address dangerous conditions in factories" making the next iPhone has gotten 35,000 signatures in the first 24 hours of the effort.

“I use an iPhone myself. I love it, but I don’t love having to support sweatshops, and neither do millions of other Apple consumers,” said Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director of the group behind the petition, SumOfUs.

The working conditions at Apple factories in China were detailed in a recent New York Times article. In the article, a former Apple executive is quoted as saying, “We've known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they're still going on…Why? Because the system works for us.”

 

SumOfUs, which describes itself as a "movement of consumers, workers and shareholders speaking with one voice to counterbalance the growing power of large corporations," said it started the petition because the timing is right, with a new iPhone, called the iPhone 5 for now by many, in the works.

"Right now we have a huge opportunity as ethical consumers: The launch of the iPhone 5 later this year will be new Apple CEO Tim Cook’s first big product rollout, and he can’t afford for anything to go wrong — including negative publicity around how Apple’s suppliers treat their workers," the group says on its site.

"That’s why we’re launching a campaign this week to get Apple to overhaul the way its suppliers treat their workers in time for the launch of the iPhone 5."

Apple, contacted for comment by msnbc.com about the online campaign, has not yet responded; if the company does, the post will be updated.

Apple CEO Tim Cook did send an email to employees after the New York Times story was published, saying in part, "We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain ... Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It’s not who we are."

Said Stinebrickner-Kauffman: "Apple’s enforcement of razor-thin profit margins at suppliers invites — and may even force — them to slash workers’ rights. But Apple is going to have much bigger longer-term problems than paying a few extra dollars for its products if it loses its luster with ethical consumers.”

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Apple became world's No. 1 smartphone vendor at end of 2011: report

Riding on the popularity of the iPhone 4S released in October, Apple became the world's No. 1 seller/maker of smartphones in 2011's final quarter, shipping 37 million iPhones and overtaking Samsung for the top spot, according to a recent report.

According to Strategy Analytics, smartphone shipments all over the world "grew 54 percent annually to reach a record 155 million units" in that fourth quarter, led by Apple, which saw a 128 percent increase.

With 24 percent of the global market share, Apple wrested the smartphone crown back from Samsung, which had taken it in the third quarter of 2011. While Apple is now ahead on a quarterly basis, Samsung is winning the war. The report says that in a first, Samsung is the "market leader in annual terms" with 20 percent of the global share in 2011.

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With these end-of-year figures, it's clear Samsung and Apple will continue to duke it out for supreme world reign over smartphones, especially with the incoming anticipation of a new iPhone this year and on the strength of the Samsung's Galaxy line, which includes the well-reviewed Nexus and the S II. We've even seen Samsung set up the rivalry with its commercials mocking the Apple fanboy culture.

Strategy Analytics' executive director of global wireless practice, Neil Mawston, told msnbc.com that "the iPhone 4S model drove Apple volumes in developed regions like the U.S., while the iPhone 4 drove sales in emerging markets such as China," (which overtook the U.S. in the fall as the world's largest smartphone market). He also informed us that, "For Samsung, the Galaxy family is by far its most popular range worldwide, especially the S II superphone."

The Boston-based research and consulting firm is also keeping an eye on Nokia for a possible comeback as its partnership with Microsoft blooms in 2012 with the big 4G LTE Windows Phone push in the U.S. and Canada. Some market researchers are so keen on the Lumia line, especially the 900, that they think Windows Phone may be able to overtake Apple for the No. 2 spot in mobile operating systems by 2015. But for now, Nokia has to dig out of hole in which its market share dropped to 16 percent in 2011, about half of what it was in 2010 (33 percent).

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Apple to launch iPhone 5 soon: Reports

World's largest handset maker, Apple may come out with the fifth generation iPhone 5 this summer (April), according to a report published on a website.
Quoting sources at Foxconn, which manufacturers iPhone for Apple, the website (9to5mac.com) said, “We received word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is now gearing for production. The source said various sample devices are also floating around (they vary slightly from one another), so it is impossible to tell which one will be the final.”
As per the report, the Apple iPhone 5 may have a 4 inch display and would have a different form factor (design) than its older cousins (iPhone 4S and 3GS etc). The upcoming device would be longer and wider, the report added.
Despite the rise of Android, Apple has managed to keep growing. Infact, according to a research, Apple has managed to grow its market share last year significantly to become the world’s largest handset maker. The release of iPhone 5 is expected to give its sales a further boost.
Apple’s iPhone 4S was launched in India in November 2011, a month after it was released in the USA. So, if the company releases iPhone 5 in April, we can expect it to come to India probably by June.

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How to Give Windows the Mac OS X Lion Look With Lion Skin Pack Theme

Apple really knows how to make its products beautiful. I’m not an Apple fanboy and do not carry an iPad wherever I go but I have tried them and I do like a lot of things about them (yes, I ain’t a Windows fanbiy either). Hence time and again I play with my existing devices and tweak them toshow the OS X or iOS interface (yeah yeah, why not buy a Mac instead and all.. I can hear Mac owners shouting.. well, lets keep that debate for some other day).

Few weeks ago, I installed a MIUI ROM on my Android device to give it the look and feel of aniPhone. Now this week I wanted to get the Mac OS look on my Windows, and that’s exactly what we will talk about in this article.

After hunting for sometime, I found a promising transformation pack designed by hameddanger, named The Lion Skin Pack 11. It was impressive and I decided to give it a shot.

Before installing I insist you make a system restore point manually. It’s the easiest way to revert back  if you don’t like the transformation. Also, close any running programs.

While the system creates your restore point, download the transformation pack. There are two types of installers, the first one being the online installer which comes with auto bugs fixes and is the recommended option. If you can’t connect to internet on the computer you want to install the pack on, then, you may opt for offline installer.

Download Online Installer: Win 7 x86| Win 7 x64 | Win XP

Download Offline Installer: Win 7 x86| Win 7 x64 | Win XP

The installation is very simple; just stick to the default settings at the time of installation. Once the installation is complete you will be prompted to restart your PC.

On your next boot your Windows will not look like Windows any more, everything will have a new look, right from the Logon page to sound theme. Everything will resemble the Apple Lion OS.

Here are some of the screenshots of the transformation pack.

My Verdict

I must say, the skin pack is pretty amazing piece of work. The pack lives up to the expectations. The only problem I encountered was when I restored the system back to the previous state. Every settings reverted to its original state except the icon pack. Other than that, it was all good.

So, are you thinking of a makeover for your Windows?

Tagged as: OS X, theme, Windows

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mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone 4

Das Juice Pack Air bietet dir den Komfort einer schützenden, genau angepassten Hülle mit einem integrierten Erweiterungsakku für dein iPhone 4 – und das alles in einem ultraschlanken, leichten und dezenten Design.

• Doppelt so lange telefonieren und Musik hören
• Extrem flaches, leichtes, schlichtes Design
• 1500 mAh Lithium-Ionen-Polymer-Akku
• Zweifarbige Metallic-Soft-Touch-Oberfläche.

Features

Apple Recommends For

Virtually double the time you can talk or listen to music on your iPhone 4.

Damit kannst du quasi doppelt so lange Musik hören, telefonieren, surfen und Nachrichten senden und musst dazu den Schalter des Juice Pack Air umlegen, um zwischen dem Lade- und dem Standby-Modus hin- und herzuschalten. Das Juice Pack Air bietet auch umfassenden Schutz. Du musst dich nicht mehr zwischen Schutz und Leistung entscheiden. Und dank des nach oben offenen Designs kannst du jeden Kopfhörerstecker benutzen.

Highlights

• Kompletter Schutz für dein iPhone 4
• Nach oben offenes Design ermöglicht die Verwendung jedes Kopfhörersteckers
• Wiederaufladbare Smart Battery in einer schlanken, leichten Soft-Touch-Hülle
• Umschalten zwischen Laden und Standby durch einfaches Umschalten
• Zertifiziertes „Made for iPhone“-Produkt
• Integrierte LED-Statusanzeige mit vier Leuchten zeigt den Akkustand an
• Design mit Durchführungen und USB-Kabel zum Laden und Synchronisieren mit iTunes ohne Herausnehmen des iPhone aus dem Juice Pack Air
• Smart Battery Technologie weist das iPhone an, immer zunächst den Akku des Juice Pack zu nutzen.

       Manufacturer Information

Warranty

• Warranty: One year (For details, please visit www.mophie.com/Warranty)
• Note: Products sold through this website that do not bear the Apple Brand name are serviced and supported exclusively by their manufacturers in accordance with terms and conditions packaged with the products. Apple's Limited Warranty does not apply to products that are not Apple-branded, even if packaged or sold with Apple products. Please contact the manufacturer directly for technical support and customer service.

Part Number

• UPC or EAN No.: 810472020006
• Mfr. Part Number: 2000_JPSNP4_BLK

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