iOS 7 beta 3 brings bug fixes, other improvements

As expected, Apple releases the third beta of its software for developers right on schedule.

 

As expected, Apple on Monday released its third beta of iOS 7, exactly two weeks after it came out with the second iteration of the software for developers.
The release is in line with earlier speculation that the company planned to dole out betas in two-week cycles.
The new version includes some general performance improvements and fixes a number of issues that had cropped up in the second beta, including problems with iCloud, AirPlay, and the Messages application.
The user interface received a few tweaks as well, including more transparent folders, redesigned music controls, and the calendar now shows which days you have events on. The update also brought with it enhancements to FaceTime and a better Siri voice.
It's standard practice for Apple to release several beta versions of the software before it debuts it to the public. Apple has said iOS 7 will come to the public in the fall. iOS 6 had four different beta versions between its June debut and late September release last year, so we can expect at least one more beta to arrive for iOS 7.

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Facebook begins rolling out Graph Search to U.S. users

The search engine will allow people using Facebook to more quickly find answers to questions about friends in their Social Graph.

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Brace yourself for another Facebook search bar change.
The social-networking giant will begin rolling out an advanced search feature on Monday designed to tap its massive base of 1 billion users to answers users' questions about people, photos, places, and interests. Graph Search, which was announced earlier this year, will be available to users in the United States and others who use the American English version of the site, with access to other languages coming soon, a Facebook representative told CNET.

Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the new feature in January, billing it as a new way find people, photos, places and interests that are most relevant to Facebook users. By incorporating various filters such as "place type," "liked by," and "visited by friends," users can use the structured search tool to find people in their network and uncover potential connections.
The new tool, which was rolled out to a limited number of users earlier this year, will appear as a bigger search bar at the top of each page, replacing the usual white search bar. Not to be confused with Web searches, which use a set of keywords to come up with results that best match the search words, Graph Search combines phrases to return content from its own audience.
Recognizing that the new tool exposes a copious amount of personal data that members may not realize is available for public scrutiny, Facebook has been working to quell users' privacy fears, including implementing specific search rules that dictate what results regarding teenagers that adults can see.
The search feature could prove key to keeping users members engaged on the site. My CNET colleague Jennifer Van Grove called the powerful discovery tool "smart, original, and a foundational piece of Facebook's future as a relevant social network.

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RIP, WebTV: Microsoft to shut down MSN TV on Sept. 30

The interactive TV service began life in the mid-'90s as WebTV, one of the first set-top box services to offer Internet access via television sets.

 

 

Microsoft is pulling the plug on MSN TV, a service formerly known as WebTV, as Apple ramps up its set-top box efforts.
The pioneering service, one of the first to offer Internet access via television sets, will shut down September 30, Microsoft revealed in an e-mail to subscribers and an FAQ posted to its Web site. WebTV, which was founded by Web entrepreneur Steve Perlman in 1996, was acquired by Microsoft for $425 million in 1997.
WebTV offered television-based e-mail and Web browsing via wireless keyboards but struggled to gain traction with consumers. Microsoft rebranded the service as MSN TV in 2001 to accelerate integration with products such as MSN Messenger and MSN Hotmail.
The software giant even offered the interactive service for free to new MSN online service, but it has largely taken a backseat to the company's focus on the Xbox game console, which also offers Internet access.
Microsoft cited the myriad ways people can now access the Internet as a contributing factor to the service's demise:

WebTV (later called MSN TV) started in 1996 with the goal to bring new people 'online' and to give those already online an easy, hassle-free means of accessing the internet from the comfort of their homes. Later, MSN TV 2 was released with vastly greater power and features. Since then, the web has continued to evolve at a breathtaking pace, and there are many new ways to access the internet. Accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to end the MSN TV service on September 30th, 2013. We are working with our customers to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible.

Microsoft's exit comes as Apple puts more emphasis on the set-top box sector. Apple is reportedly near a deal with Time Warner Cable that would bring new a significant influx of new channels to the computer maker's set-top box, Apple TV, for subscribers of the cable television service. Last month, Apple TV lassoed Time Warner Inc.'s HBO GO and Disney's WatchESPN apps.

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Facebook's Sandberg says she had planned to be aboard reportedly fatal flight

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg posts to the social network, saying she was originally planning on taking an Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, that wound up crashing at San Francisco's main airport. Two people have reportedly died as a result of the crash.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said she had planned to be on a flight that crashed on landing at San Francisco's main airport Saturday in an accident that reportedly killed two people. Meanwhile, a Samsung executive who was on board very quickly posted an eyewitness shot to the Web.
Sandberg posted to her page on the social network that she had originally intended to be on board the Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea. "Thank you to everyone who is reaching out -- and sorry if we worried anyone," she wrote, explaining that she had switched to a different airline to take advantage of frequent flyer miles.
The shot by Samsung executive David Eun shows the smoking, tailless plane at the side of the runway with its emergency slides deployed and other passengers making their way toward where he is standing.

(Credit: Screenshot by CNET)

"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal..." reads a tweet Eun sent with a link to the photo.
It's not clear at the time of this writing exactly what happened or precisely what the injury or fatality count might be. A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman confirmed the crash, of Asiana Flight 214, and local television station KPIX reported that the San Francisco Fire Department had confirmed that two people had been killed and 61 injured.
The airport -- San Francisco's SFO -- has been closed to in-coming and out-bound traffic.
A Facebook representative told CNET that the social network had no official comment to make. "Her post says it all," the rep wrote in an e-mail. "Sheryl and her family are shocked and saddened but thankfully safe."
CBS News has ongoing coverage of the crash here. And here's a video posted by CBS:

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Animated WebP graphics support no shoo-in for Chrome

Google WebP engineers are encountering resistance from Google Chrome engineers about whether it's worth supporting the animated version of the image format.

 

Google introduced WebP in an attempt to speed up the Web, but now the company's engineers are raising concerns that one of the graphics format's features will actually slow it down.
WebP is designed to compress graphics more efficiently than JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Shrinking file sizes more means data arrives faster, though there can be a penalty of longer times to encode and decode image files. One of WebP's newer features is support for animation -- a package of multiple images shown in sequence to display a short movie.
Animated GIFs have risen from obscurity to become an unlikely art form, but now there's the possibility that WebP could take their place. That's just what some WebP fans would like, and they've begun building animated WebP support for Chrome, as detailed in an announcement by Google's Urvang Joshi of a plan to ship the feature in Chrome.
But the announcement triggered a discussion this week about whether animated WebP support is worth messing with, in particular given that in the years since animated GIFs arrived on the scene, Web-based video has arrived, built into the HTML standard used to describe Web pages.
"Animated GIFs are power hogs and really contribute much to slowing down the Web," said Chrome team member Darin Fisher in a response. "I'd imagine that animated WebP is superior, but by how much? How does it compare to the equivalent content packaged up in a video format?"

One response from Alpha (Hin-Chung) Lam, analyzing 63 cat videos from Tumblr, found animated WebP file sizes to be 38 percent of the animated GIF format originals. Videos encoded with Google's VP8 video codec were 53 percent of the animated GIF originals, a notch larger than the animated WebP version but still smaller than the animated GIFs.
Another Google engineer, Peter Kasting, expressed worries that animated WebP would merely continue with problems on the Web that come with animated GIFs.
"If you're not trying to fix GIF, I am opposed to shipping animated WebP at all," Kasting said. "Since you're going to be trying to convince the entire world to change direction anyway [from animated GIF to animated WebP], you should convince them all to switch to <video> and be done with it."
Nonanimated WebP images -- the primary use case for the graphics format -- are a less contentious issue. Google itself has found the format to save dramatically on network bandwidth, and Facebook is a notable WebP ally.

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Western Powers Call for Democracy in Egypt as Muslim Brotherhood Threatens Action

Morsi's ouster could result in increased violence in Cairo

 

 he violence does not appear to be de-escalating as the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's conservative Islamist Party that spread throughout his government, called on supporters to begin a "Friday of Rage."

The instability is beginning to spill over into parts of the already tense region of the Middle East. Militant political party Hamas, which rules the neighboring Gaza Strip, is reportedly jolted by the ouster of Morsi, a known ally. Morsi's alignment with the conservative Muslim Brotherhood was among the sources of discontent in the Egyptian protesters.
"We are not afraid of losing our cause, no fear that our cause will be absent from the Islamic nation's agenda, despite the difficulties and hard circumstances that sometimes the Islamic nation faces," said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. declined to comment Friday on the situation in Egypt.
The question remains whether the events that have occurred this week amount to a military coup. If overtly so the party, has called on supporters to protest. It has said it will not work with subsequent leadership appointed under military rule and says hardliner supporters should engage in a "Friday of Rage" if the military does not back down.
"We declare our complete rejection of the military coup staged against the elected president and the will of the nation," a spokesman said in a statement. "We refuse to participate in any activities with the usurping authorities."

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01 THE qutes

"WHAT EACH KISS MEANS"
- Kiss on the Forehead: We're cute together .
- Kiss on the Cheek: We're friends.
- Kiss on the Hand: I adore you.
- Kiss on the Neck: I want you, now.
- Kiss on the Shoulder: Your perfect.
- Kiss on the Lips: I LOVE YOU...
____________________________________________________
WHAT EACH GESTURE MEANS:
- Holding Hands: We definitely like each other.
- Holding you tight pressed against each other: I want you.
- Looking into each other's Eyes: I like you, for who you are.
- Playing with Hair: Let's fool around.
- Arms around the Waist: I like you too much to let go.
- Laughing while Kissing: I am completely comfortable with you.
____________________________________________________
ADVICE:
- If you were thinking about someone while reading this, you're definitely
in Love.
____________________________________________________
REQUIREMENTS:
- Add this to ur favorites after reading!!
Or you will have a bad year of Relationships.
____________________________________________________
IF YOU (LIKE), (LOVE), OR (MISS) SOMEONE RIGHT NOW:
- and can't get them out of your head.
- then add this to ur favorites within One Minute and Whoever you are missing
will surprise you.

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Jay-Z Android app cloned by hackers

 

Hackers have cloned the Android app of rapper Jay-Z and inserted messages criticising the US government.

The official app is being used by the rapper as a way to promote his latest album - Magna Carta Holy Grail.
Cloned versions of the app available via unofficial sites contain code that unlocked anti-Obama messages on 4 July.
The attack is believed to be part of protests against US government surveillance programs revealed this month.
Security firm McAfee discovered the app on third-party Android app sites. In a blogpost, McAfee researcher Irfan Asrar said the program initially appeared to do everything that the official app did.
However, he wrote, code added to the cloned version copied and sent information to a command-and-control server every time the phone was re-started. Once it made contact, the app tried to download extra code that included the anti-government images and messages.
A timer in this extra code waited for 4 July and then changed the app's wallpaper from pictures of album artwork and Jay-Z to that of President Obama wearing headphones. Above his image were the words "Yes we scan"- believed to be a reference to the NSA's extensive Prism scanning system. It is also plays on the slogan that President Obama campaigned under "Yes, we can."
"The image and the service name NSAListener suggest a hacktivist agenda," wrote Mr Asrar, "but we haven't ruled out the possibility that additional malware may target financial transactions or other data."
To avoid falling victim to this and other mobile threats, users should avoid downloading apps from unofficial sources and ensure security software is kept up to date, he added.

 

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Samsung issues weaker than expected profit forecast

 

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest mobile phone and TV maker, has forecast weaker-than-expected profits for the April to June quarter.

It has estimated an operating profit of 9.5 trillion won ($8.3bn; £5.5bn) for the quarter. Most analysts had expected a figure closer to 10.1tn won.
The success of its smartphones has been key to Samsung's recent growth.
However there have been concerns that its growth rate may be slowing despite the launch of new models.
Samsung shares fell 3.8% after the profit guidance. Its shares have dropped more than 15% since early June, after a various brokerages downgraded their outlook for the firm.
"The slowdown in its handset business appears to be worse than expected and the disappointing result simply reinforces the market view that Samsung's smartphone growth momentum is slowing," said Lee Sei-chul, an analyst at Seoul-based Meritz Securities.
'Diversification key'

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

One of the biggest risks for Samsung Electronics going forward is that 70% of total operating profit comes from mobile business”

Jeff Kim Hyundai Securities

Samsung has enjoyed tremendous success in the smartphone market in recent years. The popularity of its Galaxy range of smartphone saw it replace Nokia as the world's biggest mobile phone maker last year.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung accounts for almost 95% of the Android smartphone sector's profits.
But despite all that success, there have been concerns in recent weeks that the rate of growth that Samsung's smartphones have enjoyed in recent years may be slowing, a trend that may eventually hurt profits.
Earlier this month, South Korea's Woori Investment & Securities cut its earnings forecast for the technology giant. That was followed by similar moves from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and others.
The concerns have been triggered in part by the launch of new products from rival manufacturers as well as relatively low-cost smartphones by Chinese firms.
Analysts said that for Samsung to be able to maintain its high growth rate the firm needed to come up with new and innovative products and also reduce its reliance on the mobile phone business to drive growth.
"One of the biggest risks for Samsung Electronics going forward is that 70% of total operating profit comes from mobile business," said Jeff Kim of Hyundai Securities.
"Diversification is key. Wearable devices are the next stage in a saturated industry that needs constant innovation to survive.
"We'll see flexible smartphones in the fourth quarter from Samsung and LG Electronics, and iWatch and Galaxy Watch are expected to be one of the first waves."
However, some analysts were sceptical about whether wearable devices would bolster earnings.
"It's more likely to complement its earnings at best," said Byun Han-joon, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.
Jung Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management, added: "The problem is no one is sure whether these products can really wow investors and consumers."

 

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Human gestures perplex Asimo, Honda museum robot guide

 

Honda's popular robot Asimo faced problems with gesture recognition on its first day as a museum guide at the Miraikan science museum in Tokyo.

The machine struggled to differentiate between museum-goers raising their hands to ask a question and raising their hands to take photos, Associated Press reported.
It is "working" as a tour guide at the museum for the next four weeks as a trial.
Asimo cannot respond to voice commands.
The robot is instead designed to answer 100 questions selected via touchscreen from a written panel.
But during a demonstration it froze and asked: "Who wants to ask Asimo a question?" repeatedly when people pointed their cameras at it.
"Right now, it can recognize a child waving to it, but it's not able to comprehend the meaning of the waving," said Honda robotics technology specialist Satoshi Shigemi.
'Not able to comprehend' Asimo has been in development since 1996.
Speaking to the BBC last year, Prof Chris Melhuish, director of the British Robotics Laboratory at Bristol University, said that interaction with humans was the next big step for robotics.
"The key thing, and it's what we're working on at the moment, is safe human-robot interaction," he said.
"That's not just making the robot compliant, it's making it have advanced social intelligence. If a robot is handing you something hot or sharp, for example, it needs to know whether it has your attention."
Honda's head of robotics, Satoshi Shigemi, told the AP news agency: "Right now, it can recognise a child waving to it, but it's not able to comprehend the meaning of the waving."

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