China :: Technology

Thousands of people oppose the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), including the Obama Administration and Anonymous . The bill, which was recently passed by the United States House of Representatives, looks to give businesses and the federal government legal protection to share cyber threats with one another in an effort to prevent online attacks . Internet privacy and neutrality advocates feel as if the bill does not contain enough limits on how and when private information can be monitored. Numerous technology companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Intel and Oracle have voiced their support for the bill. Mozilla on Tuesday, however, took a stand and announced its opposition against CISPA. While we wholeheartedly support a more secure Internet, CISPA has a broad and alarming reach that goes far beyond Internet security, the companys privacy and public policy lead said to Forbes . The bill infringes on our privacy, includes vague definit...

As Microsoft brings its Metro style from the mobile world back to the desktop in Windows 8 , it's also focusing on keeping the smooth animated transitions users have gotten used to on certain mobile platforms intact. A new post on the Windows 8 app developer blog breaks down exactly what devs can do to achieve a consistent and fluid style in their apps even when they're using the new look. Unless you're planning on getting your hands dirty with code there's not much to see other than the (incredibly brief) animation sample embedded after the break. Still, Microsoft says following its animation guidelines should be enough to keep GPU-powered animations flowing smoothly whether they're custom built or based on its own presets. Reactions to the new face of Windows have been decidedly mixed since the Consumer Preview launched , we'll see if this work pays off in third party apps that make the transition worthwhile. Continue reading Microsoft shows devs the secret...

Do you love Instagram and love to travel? Win a Social Media Week contest and youll go on a trip across the world if you can capture the best shot of your city. Social Media Week is looking for the 14 best shots of this years 14 host cities Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Chicago, Doha, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Jeddah, London, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Torino and Vancouver taken with smartphones. ! All y ou need to do is tag your contest-worthy photo with #InstagramYourCity and the name of the city youve captured by June 29. You can submit photos filtered by other photo apps, such as Hipstamatic, Camera+ and Lightbox. Theres also no limit to the number of photos you can enter, so feel free to go wild. One photo will be chosen from all applicants from the 14 cities. The winning photographer can chose to spend Social Media Week, which will take place Sept. 24 through 28, in any of the hosting cities. Social Media Week has been hosted by 26 different cities over the last four years. BON...

Fitting a truly quick solid-state drive into a small space isn't easy, and for that reason RunCore 's new Mini DOM (Disk On Module) stands out from the crowd. It's billed as the first single-chip SSD to use a SATA interface (SATA II, to be exact), giving it that much more bandwidth than the pokey IDE and PATA DOMs of old while remaining under half the size of a regular mSATA drive . RunCore's own tests show it hitting about 113MB/s sequential reads and 47MB/s writes. Neither figure will knock the socks off even a mainstream budget SSD like Intel's SSD 330 , but they're more than brisk enough for embedded gear. The drives can survive brutal conditions, too: an Industrial Grade trim level can survive temperatures as chilly as -40F and as scorching as 185F. So, the next time you pry open some military equipment and see one of these sitting inside, in three different formats and capacities from 8GB to 64GB, you'll know exactly what you're looking at. Conti...

Don't feel like having media purchased through Google Play billed directly to your credit card? Well, now you can have those charges simply added to your monthly phone bill, provided you're on T-Mobile here in the US, or NTT Docomo, KDDI, or Softbank in Japan. According to Google's posting about the move, Sprint will soon be offering the option to pay for movies, books and movies purchased through Big G's market along side your voice and data plan. For T-Mobile subscribers that means both apps and content can simply be added to your tab, while AT&T is sticking with carrier billing for apps only at the moment. Conspicuously absent from the whole shebang, however, is Verizon, which has been one of the more prominent Android pushers here in the US. For a complete list of carriers with at least some direct billing features check out the more coverage link. Google Play adds carrier billing for music, movies and books originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May...

No surprise here, but T-Mobile has been prepping a low-end Android phone called the Prism for quite some time now, and it's finally time for the little guy to make its official debut. With a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3.2MP fixed-focus camera and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), it won't be the stuff dreams are made of. The CPU is also unspecified, which leads us to believe that T-Mo is leaving it out of the talking points for a reason -- yesterday's leak indicated that we can expect it to be 600MHz. That said, plenty of potential buyers wanting an inexpensive smartphone may be easily persuaded by its $20 price on contract (with a $50 mail-in rebate) or $150 without any sort of commitment. The Huawei-made Prism will make its first appearance at Best Buy on May 6th, followed by Walmart on the 9th and official retail channels on the 23rd. We have a press release awaiting you after the break, so take a peek if it interests you. Continue reading T-Mobile officially adds Prism to its ...

Since 2010, Target has happily hawked Amazon's e-reading wares. The retailer even carved out a branded corner of its online shop just for the Kindle. Now though, that store within a store is empty and conspicuously missing from Target's virtual shelves is Amazon's entire Kindle line. Sure, a few accessories remain, but the readers themselves are gone. What's more, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge , the products will be cease to be restocked at the company's brick and mortar locations starting May 13th. The communique states that, after evaluation, Target "has made the decision to no longer carry Amazon hardware." The reasoning behind the banishment isn't clear, but the potential causes are practically endless. Amazon's vast online repository of goods, including some grocery items, makes it a direct competitor of the big box outlet. Target continues to carry the Nook and Kobo e-readers, but those company's don't cha...

So, you're tapping your manifesto into a Macbook, but twitter, RSS and email alerts keep clamoring in your face. How to finish that latest screed with such distractions? In the "where has this been all my life?" category, a new update to OS X Mountain Lion Preview 3 has a Do Not Disturb option, which stonewalls all notifications and banners. The feature, which could be useful on plenty of other devices too, can be armed with a mouse click on the menu bar or a left swipe on a trackpad . Some other iOS-style tweaks debuted in Preview 3 include the Game Center, Notes, Airplay Mirroring and Reminders. Now, back to fomenting that revolution. OS X Mountain Lion Preview updated with Do Not Disturb feature originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | 9TO5Mac | Email this | Comments

Nokia has just announced that it is commencing patent litigation against HTC , Research in Motion and ViewSonic in the US and Germany. It's claiming that 45 of its standard-essential patents are being infringed and has registered complaints with the ITC and courts in Delaware, Dusseldorf, Munich and Mannheim . Espoo's legal chief Louise Pentland has said that the company currently licenses its FRAND patents to "more than 40 companies," it had no choice but to lay some courtroom smack-down on the named offenders. It appears that after losing its global market share crown and billion-dollar losses , the company is finally going on the offensive with its deep patent portfolio . You can judge that for yourself when you read the official line after the break. Continue reading Nokia's cottoned on: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and ViewSonic Nokia's cottoned on: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and ViewSonic originally appeared on E...

Most Engadget readers will have grown up with GPS , but the UK's Newcastle University has realized that many in the older generation might be first-timers and unfamiliar with all those keep-lefts and turn-rights. Development is underway at the school for a new satellite navigation system that would be easier and more intuitive for your grandfolks, with features that include calling out direction changes by landmark names, limiting turns to the safer variety and keeping the route off of high-speed motorways. When this might come to your local high street shop isn't known, but the university has a 12 million ($19.5 million) research grant to help sort that out. Newcastle University preps in-car GPS for the elderly, helps grandmum get home safely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink Autoblog | The Sun | Email this | Comments

The Peel Sessions -- those are three blissful words to any music enthusiast. John Peel's BBC radio show was the stuff of legends. It launched entire careers and created a legacy of eclectic and intimate musical snapshots by our favorite artists. Can you imagine exploring his record collection? Well, now you can . The Space has created a wonderful site that lets you browse the late DJ's record archive one virtual shelf and album cover at a time -- complete with links to iTunes and Spotify . It looks and feels like the real thing, and provides a fantastic journey back in time. Only the letter A's been cataloged so far -- additional letters will be added (one each week) over the coming months. This is your chance to discover music curated by a man with impeccable musical taste over a period of four decades. Just follow the source links below. Browse John Peel's legendary record collection, travel back in time originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 07:42...

Not willing to let the new Alienware lineup have all the fun with Intel's Ivy Bridge rollout, Dell has seen fit to trot out a pair of new desktop systems using the new 22-nanometer chips. The XPS 8500 is arguably the center of attention here and comes with your pick of the third-generation, quad-core i5 or i7 processors, along with a new choice for a 32GB or 256GB solid-state drive to cut down on those pesky loading times. The more sober-minded among us can opt for the Vostro 470 business desktop, which skips over the raw video prowess of its rebellious XPS cousin in favor of supporting up to 32GB of RAM, not to mention stacking up the extra security and support that makes IT administrators happy. Should you want to take the plunge, $750 will get you into the XPS 8500 fold, while $550 is all it takes for the Vostro 470 line. Head in past the break for a video peep at both PCs. Continue reading Dell spreads the Ivy Bridge love to new XPS 8500, Vostro 470 PCs (video) Dell spreads...