Kindle: more than an e-book reader, it's a development platform

Last month we announced the forthcoming release of the Kindle Development Kit, a suite of programming interfaces, tools, and documentation that allows you to build active content that you can promote in the Kindle Store. I travel a lot, and I'm seeing more and more Kindles every time I fly. Kindle owners never hesitate to tell me how much they love their devices and its capabilities -- the long battery life, an easy-on-the-eyes display, an incredibly convenient form factor, the instant gratification of accessing and downloading new content on-the-go whenever something strikes their fancy. Now you, as a developer, can tap into this enthusiasm and create compelling active content.

Today we're pleased to announce open enrollment into the Kindle developer beta program. Read more about the program here and sign up here. We'll ask you to briefly describe your idea during the enrollment process. Enrollees receive information on how to download the development kit, how to receive support from us while you develop your project, and how to submit your finished project to the Kindle Store. The development kit includes a Kindle simulator (both 6" and 9.7") that works on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. You can also register up to three Kindle devices through the developer portal; the owners of those devices will receive invitations to download and test your active content.

The Kindle as a platform offers your customers a great user experience, including its large e-ink display and access to its always-connected wireless Whispernet with no monthly connectivity fees or contracts. The Kindle Store provides you wide exposure to make your active content discoverable and accessible to a very large community of enthusiasts. We're looking forward to seeing some great innovation!
: amazon.com

Twitter ‘LOL’ Phishing Attack Turns Into Spam Wave

Yesterday we wrote about a new phishing attack on Twitter, which lured unsuspecting users into giving away their Twitter credentials. The compromised accounts were then used to spread the attack further via direct messages containing text such as "lol, is this you", "Lol. this is me?", "lol , this is funny" etc.

IT security firm Sophos now has detailed info on the attacks and a video describing them, which we’ve embedded below.

After the first attack wave, however, the phishers are now using the compromised accounts to send out spam, which resulted in a huge amount of Viagra-related messages on Twitter (Twitter), which read something similar to this: "Get bigger and have sex longer. go here", followed by an address that leads to a sexual enhancement site.

Once again, if you see unusual messages (similar to the examples above) sent from your Twitter account, it may mean it has been compromised, and you should change your Twitter password immediately.



:mashable.com

Puma Phone pounces into action

BARCELONA, Spain--I think I just found my favorite phone (though the HTC Legend comes in a close second) of Mobile World Congress 2010 and it's from someone completely unexpected: Puma. Yes, the same Puma who makes the shoes, sportswear, and accessories.
OK, maybe I'm just a sucker for a cool gimmick but it's always nice to see something completely different like the Puma Phone. Plus, it looks to be quite a competent phone and it's apparent that the company put a lot of thought into the integrated features.
The handset itself is manufactured by Sagem and has a 2.8-inch, 240x320 capacitive touch screen and built-in solar charger on the back. The quad-band GSM device also includes Bluetooth, 3G, aGPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. All pretty standard for a full-feature phone, but it's the user experience that makes the Puma Phone different.
From the bright red background to the bold icons to the preloaded sports functions, the Puma Phone is designed to complement your lifestyle just as much as it is meant to be a communication device. There's a host of sports features, such as a run and bike tracker that takes advantage of the GPS capabilities. There's a built-in radio, a scratching turntable, social networking integration, and video calling. And it's all done with a cheeky and fun attitude. I mean, the phone has an on-demand digital puma named Dylan. Enough said.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Puma Phone will only be heading to Europe with an expected April ship date. If you like what you see, there's always a chance you buy the phone unlocked, but pricing information was not released at this time. For more about this cool cat, check out our hands-on photo gallery below.

: cnet.com

What Google needs to learn from Buzz backlash

Google's decision to use mostly internal testing before launching Google Buzz backfired: sure, the product didn't leak, but objections to its privacy policies were muted until it launched.

Credit: news.cnet.com

Disappointed with iPad, go for Adam

Disappointed with iPad, go for Adam: Are you one of those who got disappointed by Apple iPad? Then you can try your hand at Notion Ink’s ‘Adam’.

Indian company Notion Ink’s Adam runs on NVIDIA’s Tegra T20 chipset and Android. Has WiFi, Bluetooth and UMTS/HSDPA, A-GPS, a digital compass, accelerometer and proximity, ambient light and water sensors.

Supports 1080p Full HD video playback and is equipped with a 3-megapixel autofocus camera.

It measures 6.3 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches and weighs around 770 gms. It has 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage.

Pricing is under wraps as of now.

Google Broadband Move is Latest Case of Google Creep

Google Feb. 11 said it will build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in some locations across the U.S., hurtling Internet data at speeds of 1 gigabit per second, or more than 100 times faster than most residential broadband connections.
Google will offer this service to anywhere from 50,000 people to 500,000 people. Why would a search engine do this?
Because Google is not just a search engine anymore. It the premier proprietor of Web services and the sooner everyone acknowledges this, the easier it will be to grok Google.
Google says it does everything it does for the sake of organizing the world's information on the Web.
The company offers search to organize the Web's information. It leverages communications tools such as Gmail to let people e-mail each other and share other content via the Web through Google Buzz.
Google Voice lets users funnel calls to several phones via the Web.
Google tethers advertising to most of these services and Google's Nexus One and other Android devices are aimed at extending this empire to the mobile Web.
With $25 billion in the bank, the search engine also has the cash to branch out to the infrastructure parts of the Web, such as offering a Google Domain Name System.
Now Google wants to own some of the pipes that shuttle the massive chunks of data generated in these Web services to and from the computers and mobile devices we use.
Hence the broadband play, which has been in the works for years. Google's goals for this endeavor include:

• We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it's creating new bandwidth-intensive "killer apps" and services, or other uses we can't yet imagine.
• We'll test new ways to build fiber networks, and to help inform and support deployments elsewhere, we'll share key lessons learned with the world.
• We'll operate an "open access" network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we'll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way.

In a complementary post, Google's D.C. Telecom Guru Richard Whitt cited streaming high-definition video content, remote data storage, distance learning and real-time multimedia collaboration as some of the tasks 1 Gbps broadband will enable.
We should not be surprised. Anything that makes the Web work faster enables Google to consummate more search and Web services transactions. In this digital economy, more Web transactions translates to more advertising spend and more reward for the primary vector of that operation: Google.
While the FCC has come out in support of Google's endeavor, the nation's broadband providers aren't likely to be so kind of this latest case of Google Creep.
Google Creep is my term for the way Google is entering new markets, often with the stated goals to improve the way the Web works for users. Behind these statements of philanthropy lie the cool, precise model for making money from the Web.
Is Google taking over the world, and is that a leading question, as lawyers like to ask?
If you believe the world is run by information in this Information Age, and you accept that the Web is now the ultimate medium for delivering information in the Information Age then the answer is yes.
The Web by its nature wants to make information available to users rapidly and now Google is facilitating this effort from the starting point of broadband access to the search engine gateway, or the "middleman" to the extending Web service tendrils, such as Gmail, Google Voice, and in mobile.
Google is taking over the Web, in so far as the Web, which is open, can be taken over. Net-net, Google is gunning to control some of the pipes to protect its interests in making sure Internet service is better than anything average Joe Web user has at home.
If Google pulls this off, one could envision in five years Google serving consumers from soup to nuts, or its search and other Web services and mobile apps, from its own pipes.
This is fantastic and frightening at the same time. Some people will love the emergent Google World Order. Others loathe it, fearing a slow slide toward a Microsoft-like grip on the Web. Fear in Loathing in Mountain View, Calif.

Apple iPad: Is it for you?

Apple iPad

Police survey provides glimpse of Net-surveillance figures | Politics and Law - CNET News

A forthcoming survey of computer crime investigators suggests that electronic surveillance is a bit more commonplace than most people might expect.Even a relatively small group of 100 police working on online investigations reports submitting as many as 22,800 legal requests for information a year to Internet and e-mail providers, a category that includes both subpoenas and search warrants.CNET has reviewed a presentation scheduled to be given at a federal task force meeting on Thursday, which says that the survey respondents said they submitted a total of anywhere from 2,868 to 22,800 requests for information a year. (See one excerpt and another.)"Most Internet users do not realize how often the government is demanding personal information from companies, often without judicial oversight, and how often companies turn it over," says Nicole Ozer, technology director for the ACLU of Northern California. "Companies are refusing to disclose to the public how many demands they get. It appears that the government is demanding that Internet companies turn over so much personal information about users, so often, that companies can't keep up."No law requires that the number of subpoenas and search warrants sent to Internet and e-mail providers be made public. Federal law does require the disclosure of certain types of wiretaps--in 2004, for instance, there were 1,442 nonterrorism-related wiretaps, and only 4 percent targeted computers and electronic devices.Sixty-one of survey respondents reported that their investigations were "detrimentally" affected because data were not retained long enough, and 47 percent said they had to end an investigation because data were not retained. The survey was conducted in late October 2009. (In general, subscriber information such as billing addresses can be obtained with a subpoena, and content information such as the contents of an e-mail message can be obtained with a search warrant.)The survey, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, is part of a broader push from law enforcement agencies to alter the ground rules of online investigations. Other components include renewed calls for laws requiring Internet companies to store data about their users for up to five years, and a push for a national Web interface linking police computers with those of Internet and e-mail providers so requests can be sent and received electronically instead of via fax.The survey's author is Frank Kardasz, who is scheduled to present it at a meeting of the Online Safety and Technology Working Group, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Kardasz, a sergeant in the Phoenix police department and a project director of Arizona's Internet Crimes Against Children task force, said in an e-mail exchange on Tuesday that he is still revising the document and was unable to discuss it.

Police survey provides glimpse of Net-surveillance figures | Politics and Law - CNET News