Apple computers targeted by Facebook ‘hackers’

Tech giant Apple has said its computers were attacked by the same hackers that targeted Facebook last week.

The US-based firm said a small number of its machines were affected, but added there was ‘no evidence’ of data theft.

Last week Facebook said it had traced a cyber attack back to China, which had infiltrated employees” laptops, the BBC reports.

In a statement, the iPhone maker said that it has ‘identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers.’

It added that the firm is working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/apple-computers-targeted-by-facebook-hackers/1076926/

Is China’s Incoming Prez Relying On Microblogging Over State Media ?

Beijing: News coverage of China’s leaders has long been the exclusive domain of official media but the country’s incoming president Xi Jinping is changing all that relying more on the popular microblog to strike rapport with people leaving state media flustered.

The state media, which enjoyed absolute monopoly since Communist Party came to power in 1949 appeared peeved as a new account called ” Xuexifensituan” (Learning From Xi Fan Club) in Sina Weibo, akin to Chinese Twitter, is getting all firsthand information and pictures of Xi’s tours in the country.

Though the anonymous female blogger claimed she was only an admirer of Xi, the candid coverage raised eyebrows with people wondering whether Xi himself made a proxy debut to take advantage of the new microblog media whose numbers have crossed 300 million, overtaking official media in substance and content and in credibility.

The blog post has “raised eyebrows with its candid coverage”, state-run Xinhua news agency said in a report today.

“What’s going on? Why is it quicker and closer than we are?” read a post written by national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) on Sina Weibo.

The posts are exclusive and always come ahead of reports from official media, the report said, an apparent attempt to popularize the blog.

The microblogger refers to Xi as ‘Xi Dada’, a term that translates as ‘Uncle Xi’ in some parts of China. ‘Pingping’, a dual-syllable nickname often used by intimate friends or relatives, is also used to describe China’s top leader.

The blog has attracted nearly five lakh followers since going online in November 2012. Although the information contained in the blog has interested the public, netizens are also curious about the real identity of the blog’s owner.

“The blog does not feature a ‘V’ emblem, a mark which indicates that the blog owner’s identity has been verified by Sina Weibo. The only clues are profile details stating that the blog’s owner is a female from northwest China’s Shaanxi province,” the report said.

Source: http://www.siliconindia.com/news/technology/Is-Chinas-Incoming-Prez-Relying-On-Microblogging-Over-State-Media–nid-140587-cid-2.html

Aircel To Offer Mobile Banking Services On Partnering With ICICI And VISA

Chennai: Mobile services provider Aircel has inked a partnership with ICICI Bank and money transfer solutions provider Visa to offer its latest mobile banking service for its customers across the country.
Initially, the service would be available in the Chennai-Tirunelveli corridor in Tamil Nadu. It would aim at providing services like cash deposits, cash withdrawals, money transfer among others, said Aircel Head-Mobile Banking Geoff King after launching the service
The service would later cover Tamil Nadu and country wide, Aircel Regional Business Head, Sankara Narayanan K told reporters.
Elaborating, he said after signing up for the service, customers would be able to transfer cash instantly on any mobile phone without even a data connection.
He said a separate account would be created in the name of the customer in ICICI Bank and even if the customer loses his mobile phone, the cash would be safe and can be accessed later after obtaining a new sim card on his name.
According to him, Aircel has about 2.4 million subscribers in Chennai and 69 million across the country.

Source: http://www.siliconindia.com/news/technology/Aircel-To-Offer-Mobile-Banking-Services-On-Partnering-With-ICICI-And-VISA–nid-140589-cid-2.html

Facebook Connect glitch sidelines host of websites, including NBC News, CNN and The Washington Post

A Facebook software glitch temporarily sidelined websites synced to a feature that lets people’s identities at the leading social network follow them around the Internet.

A Facebook Connect software glitch caused social network members trying to visit any of a wide array of websites including NBC News, CNN and The Washington Post to be routed to an error page.

Connect lets outside websites sync with the social network so people can do things such as post “Likes” or comments back to friends, or log in using their Facebook identities.

The problem reportedly affected people logged in at Facebook who tried to visit websites synced to the Connect feature.

“For a short period of time, there was a bug that redirected people logging in with Facebook from third-party sites to Facebook.com,” the California-based social network said in an email statement.

“The issue was quickly resolved, and Login with Facebook is now working as usual.”

Facebook did not indicate how long the glitch lasted, but websites claiming to have been vexed by the problem reported that it lasted from less than 15 minutes to nearly an hour.

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/facebook-connect-glitch-sidelines-host-of-websites-including-nbc-news…/1071419/

World’s largest prime number discovered with 17 million digits, prime search continues

Researchers have identified the world’s largest prime number yet, beating the previous record by over four million digits.

The number has now shot up to 2 multiplied by itself 57,885,161 times minus 1, breaking a four-year dry spell in the search for new, ever-larger primes.

Curtis Cooper from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg made the finding as part of the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), a distributed computing project designed to hunt for a particular kind of prime number first identified in the 17th century, the ‘New Scientist’ reported.

“It’s sort of like finding a diamond,” says Chris Caldwell at the University of Tennessee, Martin, who keeps a record of the largest known primes.

“For some reason people decide they like diamonds and so they have a value. People like these large primes and so they also have a value,” said Caldwell.

All prime numbers can only be divided by themselves and 1.

The rare Mersenne primes all have the form 2 multiplied by itself p times minus 1, where p is itself a prime number.

The new prime, which has over 17 million digits, is only the 48th Mersenne prime ever found and the 14th discovered by GIMPS. The previous record holder, 2 multiplied by itself 43,112,609 times minus 1, which was also found by GIMPS in 2008, has just under 13 million digits.

All the top 10 largest known primes are Mersenne primes discovered by GIMPS. Until today, the most recent addition to the list was found in 2009, but it was smaller than the 2008 discovery.

Though there are an infinite number of primes, there is no formula for generating these numbers, so discovering them requires intensive computation.

GIMPS uses volunteers’ computers to shift through each prime-number candidate in turn, until eventually one lucky user discovers a new prime.

GIMPS software runs on around a thousand university computers, one of which spent 39 days straight proving that the number was prime, which was then independently verified by other researchers.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/worlds-largest-prime-number-discovered-with-17-million-digits-prime-search-continues/1070830/0

Facebook’s Biggest By-Product – Envy

Bangalore: With the abundance of information on the social media, we can find out where the hottest girl in the college spends her weekends and who the coolest hunk in the campus is dating. But a recent study conducted in Germany shows that such information comes at a price. When we see pictures of people who are beyond our friend circle, partying in a beach or dancing at a happening club in the city we often feel that their lives are much more entertaining or better than ours.

The study “Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users’ Life Satisfaction?” by Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany, shows that such an open forum with access to a whole plethora of information leads to “social comparison and envy on an unprecedented scale.” Most of us would notice our friends who are very active on the social media forum saying, ‘I got 100 likes on my status today and people posted such nice comments.’ While you smile and say to yourself, ‘I’ve got a big hammer at home I’d like to smash your head with, I got only two likes and my sister is the only one who commented on my profile picture!’

We are getting lost in this field filled with likes, shares, and comments. The most popular guy in college is no longer in the college basketball team, he is the one with the best pictures on Facebook, no matter how bad he is in sports or academics. Most of us put so much of our time in updating and maintaining our social profile for a handful of people that we neglect the other portion of our life – reality. Ever heard your friend saying, ‘I’m feeling damn good today, the cute girl from my class liked my picture,’ or ‘such a horrible day man, got only five comments today and that ugly ramu got 50 likes!’ our lives are governed by the satisfaction we receive from the positive reaction of our peers on social media platform and the comparisons we make in order to feel worthy.

Filipino cities gain in outsourcing ranking

BANGALORE: The Philippines, led by its capital Manila and followed by secondary cities such as Cebu, Mandaluyong and Taguig, has emerged as a key IT/ITeS destination, posing a challenge to India’s outsourcing story.

The latest annual ranking of the top 100 global outsourcing destinations by Tholons, an advisory firm for global outsourcing and research, places Manila at No. 3, up from No. 4 in last year’s survey. It has pushed Delhi down to No. 4. Cebu City too went up one rank in the top 10, pushing Dublin (Ireland) down. Indian dominance continues though, with six Indian cities in the top 10 and Bangalore still the No. 1.

The critical factors that are adding momentum to Philippines are its cultural and accent similarities with the US, cost competitiveness, and a strong positive perception of BPO careers (they are not stop-gap careers like in India). The Philippines government is also keeping its focus firm on the development of the industry through grants and infrastructure developments.

Salil Dani, practice director at outsourcing advisory and research firm Everest Group, said the Philippines is cheaper by up to 70% for US companies. “The country is the leader in voice (call centres). But its non-voice story is still untold. A lot of Indian and global BPOs in the financial, analytical, HR and people-based services are expanding in the country. The Philippines’ current IT/ITeS market is $14 billion, of which IT is only $2 billion. But remember, a few years ago the total market was barely $7 billion. Look at the way it’s catching up,” said Dani. Ankita Vashistha, managing director, Tholons, said costs are rising in India. “Infrastructure and quality of life are also under pressure in Indian cities and these could impact growth in the future,” she said.

Convergys, a US-based customer management solutions company, has 18 call centres in the Philippines. UnitedHealth, a US-based healthcare provider, has back-office operations in Taguig City. EXL is opening its third centre in Cebu City. IBM is planning to grow its BPO services in the country, focusing on higher value analytics and high-value customer support services. Wells Fargo & Co is setting up a business support centre in Taguig City to provide customer service and back office services. JP Morgan Chase has recently expanded in Manila by establishing a 1,000-employee facility.

Sanjay Dhawan, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said local government had created a lot of momentum. “More and more corporations are keen to expand to the country as no one wants to put all their eggs in the same (India) basket.”

Pradeep Udhas, executive director at KPMG, said the Philippines had learned lessons from India in terms of best practices, talent management and handling taxation challenges. Som Mittal, president of Indian IT/ITeS industry body Nasscom, dismissed concerns that India had reasons to worry: “Our own companies are expanding to the region. Outsourcing is a global play. So it’s less about competition and more about partnership.”

Malaysian cities have also moved up in Tholons listing, as have Latin American cities. Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, has moved up six places to No. 37, Bogota, capital of Colombia, has moved up six places to No. 49, and Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city, has moved up seven places to No. 53. This indicates a sense of urgency in Latin American countries to explore new industries like outsourcing, said the Tholons report.

Indian IT Companies Sharpen Claws For Deals Worth 2.7 Lakh Crore

Bangalore: 2013 is going to witness almost 2.7 lakh crores worth software outsourcing deals coming up for renewal, which constitutes almost half the size of the Indian information technology industry. The Indian service providers are eagerly approaching this prospect in what is expected to be, a fierce fight for contracts, reports TOI.

Price discounting is nothing new, but the coming battle seems be to a serious one as some of the restraints that kept rivals under control seems to have scrapped away.

Besides all underlying factors, it is the shape in which the software service is in entering 2013 after leaving behind one of the most forgetful years in its history.

According to N Chandrasekaran, CEO of India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, “being irrational depends upon the situation one is in. TCS which is steady towards industry growth looks forward to be optimistic about the sector’s prospect and is in good shape among other Indian information technology companies.”

The top four IT services companies – TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL technologies have their results announced for the October – December quarter.

Corporations Demanding Outcomes

TO I reports that the top four IT service companies are being seen as indicators that the phase of slow growth may come to an end. However, India’s software exports may barely grow by double digits, while the company copes with fundamental, technological and business model transformation. The certainties of linear growth where revenue is directly proportional to the number of employees is fading away and corporations are demanding outcomes rather than showing efforts.

As an example of aggressive discounting, analysts cite HCL Technologies recently winning a contract worth several million dollars from Deutsche Bank. Although not clear of the discounting happened, executives aware of the deal negotiations, described the pricing offered as ‘significantly lower’. Once a major client of Infosys, Deutsche Bank now brings in excess of $50 million in business to HCL Technologies.

Competition seems to be heated further as large outsourcing contracts from Procter and Gamble, American Express, Bank of America and Unilever which were first signed during 2002-03, come up for renewal this year. Deep pricing discounts and even paying money upfront are becoming commonplace with associated negative implications for margins, say senior executives.

According to Wipro’s CEO, TK Kurien, fierce fights exist between the rational and irrational players. In a recent interview, as per his observation, he feels that some which were categorized as rational have moved on to the other side.

Analysts believe that Infosys which has been extremely profit-margin conscious is now beginning to show increased flexibility on pricing and a greater willingness to take on deals which it had earlier shunned. Infosys seems to be under pressure to grow faster as compared to how it was being outpaced by partners previously.

However, analysts on seeing the company’s strong performance in the December quarter say that Infosys is being led by a desire to protect turf in a slowing market with enhanced competition. A deal wins for Infosys means a deal loss for another vendor, who may necessarily get their share of business and can drive a competitive response.

10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India

Bangalore: Recently, India is witnessing protests across the states against brutal rapes, molestation and mistreatment of women. Despite the protests and measures, crimes are on an alarming rise. It’s tough for today’s women to walk alone in the streets. Hence, it’s high time for them to be cautious and ensure precautionary measures for their safety. The IT industry in the country is doing every bit possible for this by coming up with new innovative apps that offer lot more than just security.

Here is a list of mobile apps that will help you ensure your safety in case of emergencies.

# 10 FightBack

FightBack, developed by the Mahindra group firm, is an application that ensures women safety as it works across various range of phones. Earlier, the application was charged as per the usage, but recently after the Delhi gang rape case, the company has started giving free access to the app. It uses GPS, GPRS, SMS, emails and even Facebook to inform friends in need of help. It also shows location on Google Maps and sends SOS emergency text messages to close and dear ones. The app is available for Android and Nokia phones and for phones which support Java apps.