Top 10 Tech Stories from March 2013

Issue 1: March 2013

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Contents Issue 1: March 2013

Slides

1. Introduction 3

2. Top 10 Tech Stories

3. First Apple. Then Samsung. Now Google? Are Smartwatches the next big thing?

4. Arabic-only web domain set to launch 5. Google Keep is a note-taking app with great potential 6. Sony announces PS4 during NYC event, launching holiday 2013 7. Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV 8. The New RetroN 5 Plays Cartridges from Five Classic Gaming

Consoles 9. 3G and 4G USB modems are a security threat 10. ‘Veronica Mars’ Kickstarter campaign rattles movie industry 11. Google Reader shutting down on July 1 12. Apple buys WiFiSlam, maker of tech for locating phones indoors

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Introduction

We read the technology and Internet related news so that you don’t have to. This is the first in a monthly round up of the top ten stories which caught our eye. This covers everything from wearable technology to security issues with 4G dongles.

Happy reading!

Image :://http . /101bit ly Uspy

1. First Apple. Then Samsung. Now Google? Are Smartwatches the next big

thing?

• The anticipated demand for “Smartwatches” and wearable tech has grown in recent months, especially after a number of small players that also build smartwatches, have received a warm welcome from consumers.

• Read more: http://lat.ms/11px04g

• Now, it seems the larger tech players may also join the party.

• Apple is rumored to have a team of 100 people working on a Smartwatch while recently both Samsung and Google executives admitted that both companies are working on a watch device with capabilities similar to a Smartphone.

2. Arabic-only web domain set to launch

• An Arabic-only web domain is due to launch in the middle on 2013, offering users a purely Arabic channel through which to operate.

• The Top-Level Doman, .shabaka, translates to .web in English and will only be available in Arabic script.

• Read more: http://bit.ly/11ByM60

Images: http://bit.ly/1arEU2B , http://bit.ly/10wkzYn

• Moving away from non-Arabic domains such as .com, .net and .org, .shabaka has been approved and will be rolled out by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global regulator of web addresses.

3. Google Keep is a note-taking app with great potential

• Before the arrival of Keep, which Google launched this month, there was no default note-taking app for Android. (Although downloadable tools like Evernote are very popular.)

• It was a glaring hole, considering that Apple’s has built-in Notes and Reminders apps that can be powered by Siri.

• Read more: http://cnnmon.ie/ZZDm7T

Images: http://bit.ly/11KKo0G , http://bit.ly/16fIb1M

• Google Keep isn’t simply just a place to bank whatever random half-thoughts come to mind: Users can construct to-do lists, stash photos, and color code your notes — all in one well-designed and easy-to-use interface.

4. Sony announces PS4 during NYC event, launching holiday 2013

• Sony has officially lifted the lid off the PS4 during its New York City event this month.

• The console, which Sony didn’t show once during the 2-hour gathering, should arrive by holiday time 2013.

• Read more: http://bit.ly/WXRhy1

Images: http://bit.ly/Zh94fW , http://bit.ly/YHMluO

• Sony and an ample helping of game developers walked the audience through a host of launch titles.

5. Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV

• This month Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S IV.

• Samsung said the phone would be available at the end of April.

• Read more: http://cnnmon.ie/XMtMIM

Images: http://bit.ly/11cKqzF , http://bit.ly/TIjI2k

• With a 1920×1080 pixel display and features that far exceed its predecessor.

• How it will compare with Apple’s next iPhone or Google’s future Nexus flagship phone, however, remains to be seen.

6. The New RetroN 5 Plays Cartridges from Five Classic Gaming Consoles

• Hyperkin is releasing a new console that will allow gamers to play games from five classic consoles.

• Read more: http://bit.ly/YwJ2sV

Images: http://bit.ly/109vb94 , http://bit.ly/WW1yuc

• In addition to NES, SNES, and Genesis, the RetroN 5 will play cartridges from Famicom (the Japanese version of NES) and Game Boy Advance.

7. 3G and 4G USB modems are a security threat

• The vast majority of 3G and 4G USB modems handed out by mobile operators to their customers are manufactured by a handful of companies and run insecure software.

• Researchers Nikita Tarakanov and Oleg Kupreev analyzed the security of 3G/4G USB modems obtained from Russian operators for the past several months.

• Read more: http://bit.ly/10XJQKk

Images: http://bit.ly/16fKh1G , http://bit.ly/11KW6bC

• The researchers tested the software preloaded on the modems and found multiple ways to attack it or to use it in attacks.

8. ‘Veronica Mars’ Kickstarter campaign rattles movie industry

• After years of hope, stalled efforts and studio frustration, “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas watched a long-held dream come to fruition in a sudden digital rush.

• Thomas last week launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a movie of his cult TV show, which was canceled after three seasons in 2007.

• Read more: http://nbcnews.to/YwGesy

Images: http://bit.ly/11YID45 , http://bit.ly/ISFwCm

• The “Veronica Mars” film is far and away its most lucrative movie project.

• This project has shown that instead of going through industries entrepreneurs could go directly to the fans or consumers, to get the funding they require.

• It met its stated goal of raising $2 million in less than 11 hours. Since being founded in 2009, Kickstarter has raised more than $500 million for some 35,000 creative projects.

9. Google Reader shutting down on July 1

• Google Reader, one of the best-known RSS readers through which users can pull together their favorite Web content in one place, will be shutting down, the company announced.

• In an age of Facebook posts and retweets, Google Senior Vice President Urs Holzle said in a post on the official Google blog that Reader was losing popularity.

• Read more: http://bit.ly/YcezjP

Images: http://bit.ly/11vjdKp , http://bit.ly/19hWwg0

10. Apple buys WiFiSlam, maker of tech for locating phones indoors

• Apple has acquired WiFiSlam, a company that makes an app that lets smartphones locate themselves indoors using ambient Wi-Fi signals that already exist in buildings.

• Read more: http://cnet.co/108V6Pv

Images: http://bit.ly/13mJPRQ , http://bit.ly/16a5cTW

• The WiFiSlam page describes the company’s product as one that would: “Allow your smartphone to pinpoint its location (and the location of your friends) in real-time to 2.5m accuracy using only ambient Wi-Fi signals that are already present in buildings.”

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Disclaimer: all content in these slides is in the public domain and referenced so that you can read the original sources. Any omissions, errors or mistakes are mine, and mine alone.

Contact us: socialimpact@ict.gov.qaTwitter: @ictqatar