Erictric

Samsung Obtains ‘Android’ Trademark For Hardware Sales in Korea

Electronics giant Samsung has obtained the ‘Android’ trademark in Korea from local supplier Triplex, which will prevent handset manufacturers from using the word ‘Android’ anywhere on the device — or even portions of the word, as LG does with its Andro-1 handset.

Because of the fact that the Koreans operates trademark registries for both hardware and software, Samsung is permitted to obtain ‘Android’ strictly for use on hardware, whereas Google maintains the privilege to continue using ‘Android’ for software — as they do.

Where this goes from here we cannot be sure. Quite obviously, the lot of us are unaware as to Samsung’s intentions, but surely, they’re beginning to create headaches for manufacturers.

[ via Engadget ]

Energizer Duo Charger Software Packs a Trojan

It would appear as if Energizer has found themselves in between a rock and a hard place. The famous battery maker’s Duo charger software infects an end user’s computer with a Trojan Horse malware infection, granting hackers full access to your computer, according to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

When the software is installed on a user’s computer, it creates a malevolent file called “arucer.dll,” which will actually listen for remote commands on TCP port 7777. The file is capable of downloading executable files, transmit pilfered information, or even modify your computer’s registry files. More »

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express [BESX] Finally Available for Download

Back on February 16 at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, Research In motion announced its newest software for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server: BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, also known as BESX [you can check out a previous post of ours to learn more about it].

Those of you looking forward to getting your hands all over the product are in luck today, as RIM made BESX available for download over the weekend. The software is available for free, and can be downloaded directly from the official BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express page. All you have to do is provide your contact information at checkout, and an email will be sent to you with a download link and instructions.

Let us know what you think of it once you download and install this software.

Microsoft Announces Office 2010 UK Pricing

Microsoft revealed today the official UK prices of its Office 2010 software due to be released in June 15 this year. It appears that our friends across the pond are going to be paying up to 35% more than us here in the U.S. for certain versions of the software. As we have reported before, Office 2010 licenses will be distributed in two ways: boxed copies with two or three [depending on the version] licenses, or a single Product Key Card.

When asked about the price by IT Pro, Office Product Manager Chris Adams responded:

“There are different market dynamics – channel margins, for example, local market conditions, foreign exchange – that we need to take on board.” More »

Aperture 3 Triggers Considerable Memory Leaks

It has been exactly one week since Apple launched a new version of its photo editing and management software, Aperture 3, and already there is an increasing number of users complaining about frozen computers and “out of disk space” warnings in the Apple Support Forums. Apparently, when users let the program import their photo libraries, the page file rapidly increases in size until all the disk space is utilized, leaving users frustrated with frozen computers. Some users report the problem even happens the moment they launch the software. More »

Nexus One 3G Issues Continue Despite Update

Last week, Google finally released an over the air [OTA] update for the Nexus One that aimed to fix the phone’s 3G connectivity issues. It appears that the problem is worse than we all thought, as there is an increasing number of people reporting they still have problems switching to 3G coverage. It’s important to bear in mind that Google did warn that the update would fix 3G connectivity on some phones only. The problem was also found to be caused by T-Mobile’s poor 3G coverage.

Even stranger is the fact that some people are reporting that the 3G signal on the Nexus One gets weaker when the phone is held by its bottom part, as the video after the break demonstrates. This could suggest that the problem is actually hardware-related, which is going to take a lot more than a software update to fix. Let’s hope it’s software-related though.

Check out the video after the break. More »

OpenOffice 3.2 Suite Goes Live

Open-source alternative to Microsoft Office Open Office today has launched the newest version of the software, 3.2, earlier today. New features within the suite include faster load times and general speed improvements, bug fixes, security patches, and better compatibility with other office software on the market. Additionally, there will be improved compatibility with open standard (ODF) and other file formats.

While on the topic of Open Office, a statement also released today noted that the software has been downloaded a whopping 300 million times since becoming publicly available back in April of 2002.

Download Open Office 3.2 here. Full press release after the break. More »

You Can Now Use Facebook Chat on Any Instant Messaging Desktop Client

Last night, we reported that Facebook Chat was being integrated into Aol Instant Messenger. We also said that announcement by either Facebook or Aol was to be expected today. Turns out that Facebook indeed announced today that their chat can now be integrated not only with Aol Instant Messenger, but with most instant messaging desktop clients like iChat, Pidgin, Adium, Miranda, and more.

This is possible thanks to Jabber (XMPP), which is an open protocol that allows many instant messaging clients to easily integrate Facebook chat. Jabber (XMPP) is also the same protocol used by Google Talk. More »

Chinese Hacker Training Website Shut Down

Chinese website Black Hawk specializing in training hackers and providing hacker software has finally been shut down, reports The Telegraph today.

According to police, over 1.7 yuan in assets ($250,000 USD) had been seized, including five computers, nine web servers, and even a car. Chinese law enforcement initially learned about the group after a cyber-attack was traced back to Black Hawk-trained users not too long ago.

The site, which was established in 2005, had accrued over 12,000 members who paid between $15 USD to $150 USD for hacking instructions and hacking software, along with 170,000 freely registered users, according to China Daily.

[ via Telegraph > China Daily ]