Facebook suspends photo tag tool in Europe

Facebook has suspended the facial-recognition tool that suggests when registered users could be tagged in photographs uploaded to its website.

The move follows a review of Facebook's efforts to implement changes recommended by the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland last year.

Billy Hawkes, who did not request the tool's total removal, said he was encouraged by the decision to switch it off for users in Europe by 15 October.

It is already unavailable to new users.

Mr Hawkes said Facebook "is sending a clear signal of its wish to demonstrate its commitment to best practice in data protection compliance".

Richard Allan, Facebook director of policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "The EU has looked at the issue of securing consent for this kind of technology and issued new guidance.

"Our intention is to reinstate the tag-suggest feature, but consistent with new guidelines. The service will need a different form of notice and consent."

The facial-recognition tool was not part of the company's commercial activities and did not generate many user complaints, he added.

In December 2011 the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) gave Facebook six months to comply with its recommendations.

They included more transparency about how data is used and individuals are targeted by advertisers and more user control over privacy settings.

On Friday, Mr Allan said: "When you think of the very wide ranging investigation the DPC carried out into Facebook, they looked at every aspect of our service, and our overall scorecard is very good.

"In the vast majority of areas the DPC looked into, they found we are behaving in a way that's not just compliant but a reasonable model for good practice."

Also on Friday, the DPC said there were still some areas where more work was required, and it has asked for another update from Facebook in these areas in four weeks' time.

Deputy Commissioner Gary Davis told the BBC the DPC remained concerned about whether photos marked for deletion were actually being deleted within 40 days as required under Irish Data Protection law.

"We also want some clarity about inactive and deactivated accounts - we think Facebook should contact those users after a period of time and see whether they want to come back," he said.

Many people did return to the website after long periods away, Mr David said, but users with inactive accounts should be contacted within two years of their last log-in.

Mr Davis also said he would like Facebook to do more to educate existing users about its privacy policies.

"We would also like more information in relation to advertising - there is the potential for the use of terms that could be sensitive - such as ethnicity, trade union membership, political affiliation - to be used by advertisers to target others based on those words," he said.

But Mr Davis added: "The discussions and negotiations that have taken place, while often robust on both sides, were at all times constructive with a collective goal of compliance with data protection requirements."

'Meteors' sighted in skies across UK

People from across the UK have reported seeing bright objects in the night sky, thought to be meteors or "space junk"

Coastguards in Northern Ireland took calls from people who saw the objects from Coleraine on the north coast, to Strangford Lough in the south east.

The lights were seen as far north as Caithness in Scotland as well as in Wales and Norfolk in East Anglia.

Experts said the meteors could be satellite debris, burning up on entry to the atmosphere.

The lights have also been reported in the Midlands, parts of north-east England and in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Brian Guthrie in Grangemouth near Edinburgh, who watched the objects pass through the sky, said it appeared to be something "pretty large breaking up in the atmosphere".

"I've seen shooting stars and meteor showers before, but this was much larger and much more colourful."

Apple’s Brilliant Marketing Is Back

For over a year, Apple’s ability to churn up really clever ads seemed to have diminished − a change some believe is linked to the passing of its iconic co-founder, the visionary genius, Steve Jobs. With the latest iPhone ads, however, Apple seems to be back on track.

Featuring actor musician and playwright Jeff Daniels as the voiceover, the new iPhone 5 TV spots are remarkably well done.
Daniels, pictured above, is best known for his appearances in films like Dumb and Dumber (1994), and God of Carnage (2009).

Apple seems to be going back to its roots with four concise TV spots that bring out the best in the latest iPhone, as well as the EarPods that ship with it.

Daniels’ humorous tone and the new emphasis on simplicity puts Apple back in the advertising spotlight.

Even though the company’s iPhone ads haven’t changed much over the years, Apple seemed to be lacking inspiration recently. Not anymore, though.

Why flash dozens of images in half a minute, dazzling the viewer, when you can just describe one key feature in a relaxed and concise manner, sending a clear message that’s sure to be remembered?

The ad titled “Thumb” is a perfect example of that. It explains why the iPhone is longer, but not wider. Period.

Afghanistan bans Pakistan newspapers over Taliban support

Afghanistan has moved to block the entry of all newspapers from Pakistan, saying they serve Taliban militants.

In its order, the interior ministry said the newspapers "are a propaganda resource of the Taliban spokesmen" and has ordered police forces in east Afghanistan to confiscate all copies.

The latest move comes amid increasing tension between the two countries.

Afghanistan has urged Pakistan to immediately stop shelling in the border province of Kunar.

The Afghan interior ministry order focuses specifically on blocking entry of the papers at Torkham, a busy border crossing.

It authorises police to impound Pakistani newspapers in the three eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.

Referring to the reasons for the move, the ministry said news in the Pakistani newspapers "is not based in reality and it is creating concerns for our countrymen in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan".

'Sensitive issue'

Correspondents say that cross-border violence has become a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan, where many are wary of Pakistan's historic ties to the Taliban.

At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul said the attacks had killed dozens of civilians.

The UN says around 4,000 people have been displaced due to cross-border shelling.

Last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, agreed to send a joint military delegation to examine the shelling across their border.

Islamabad says that the violence is being carried out by Pakistani Taliban fighters sheltering in Afghanistan, who have infiltrated the border to resume attacks on its security forces.

Pakistan says it is only targeting militants who flee from their territory and try to seek a safe haven in Afghanistan.

Not long ago, we reported on how one church in the US was to begin organizing regular meetings whose goal was to emphasize the fact that sustainable development and faith are two issues that need to go hand in hand. 

Recent news informs us that several religious leaders in Africa agreed to take part in a rather similar project, meaning that they are to use their influence over local communities in order to promote conservation and help put an end to illegal activities such as poaching.


 More precisely, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), together with the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), has entered a partnership with 50 African faith representatives, who are to speak in favor of conservation from a religious standpoint.

The two endangered species first and foremost targeted by this new environmental campaign are the elephants and the rhinos presently residing in Africa.

As we already explained, these two animal species are the ones most often targeted by poachers, primarily because ivory and rhino horns are extremely valuable on the black market.

The official website for the WWF informs us that the religious leaders who are now going to stand up for them are either of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist or other traditional faiths, which means that the message regarding their needing immediate protection is to reach a rather large audience.

As the director for the WWF explains, “Faith leaders are the backbone of local communities, providing lessons and guidance that shape how people live their lives.”

Therefore, “Having religious leaders from all major faiths come together to call for the protection of wildlife on religious grounds and urge their congregations to view the slaughter of elephants and rhinos in Africa as a serious crime may turn the tide of the disaster we face today.”

The same source informs us that, during their speeches, these religious leaders are to also emphasize the fact that Africa’s social stability and peace are also threatened by poachers and their illegal hunting activities.

Tapes of Nazi Soldiers Revealed They Enjoyed Killing Women and Children

Transcripts from microphones planted by British and American intelligence during the Second World War dismiss Nazi soldiers’ claims of performing atrocious acts only because they were ordered to. 

The book Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing and Dying: The Secret Second World War Tapes of German POWs reveals that the “clean” Wehrmacht, regular SS man, enjoyed mass murder just as much as higher up officers. The book was written by German historians Soenke Neitzel and Harald Welzer, and the English edition has just come out.


 The disturbing tales of violence speak of acts committed between 1940 and 1945 by German soldiers. Microphones planted on American and British prisoners of war, as well as German and Italian soldiers, conveyed not only military secrets, but also regular conversations between enforcers of the Nazi regime. 

On one account, Daily Mail reports, soldiers describe genocide as fun. 

“There was an event in the market square, crowds of people, speeches given. We really sprayed them! That was fun!”

Others took pleasure in planting bombs and shooting not only soldiers, but defenseless women and children, in a quest for an adrenaline rush.

“I loved dropping bombs. It makes you feel all tingly, a great feeling. It’s as good as shooting someone down.”

“There seemed to be a ball or something – anyhow a lot of ladies in evening dress and a band. The first time we flew past; then we attacked and kept at it. Boy oh boy, was that fun,” the soldiers said.

Shocking accounts of rape and physical and mental torture were caught on tape, as is the one attributed to a young soldier from a Nazi base in Frankfurt. He spoke of how female spies were being treated, if captured:

“First we hit her in the [expletive] with a stick and then we beat her rear end with a bare bayonet. 

Then we [expletive] her, and then we threw her outside and shot at her. When she was lying there on her back, we threw grenades at her.”

“Every time one of them landed near her body, she screamed,” the German soldier said, as eight other SS officers sat next to him, laughing.

U.S. fines Pakistani airline for stranding passengers

The $150,000 fine for Pakistan International Airlines is the first such action by the U.S. against a foreign carrier.

In the first such fine of an international carrier, the U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a $150,000 fine against Pakistan International Airlines for stranding passengers at an airport near Washington for more than four hours.

Under federal rules, domestic airlines are prohibited from keeping passengers stranded on a grounded flight for more than three hours without allowing them to return to the terminal. On international flights, the limit is four hours. Airlines that violate the rules can be fined up to $27,500 per passenger.

The Transportation Department said Wednesday that an Oct. 29, 2011, flight by the state-owned airline of Pakistan was diverted to Dulles International Airport in Virginia because of equipment problems at its final destination in New York.

But the flight remained on the tarmac at Dulles for four hours and 47 minutes because the crew didn't want to unload passengers through outdoor staircases in stormy weather, the agency said.

Although the federal agency has issued a few fines against domestic carriers for violating the rule, this is the first such fine issued against an international carrier. 

(courtesy Los Angeles Times)

Silicon Power Reveals Share Wi-Fi Drive, a Wireless HDD

Consumer electronics are gaining the ability to sustain communication with several other devices at once, but this isn't a common trait yet, even among smartphones and tablets.

That doesn't mean other items can't provide that sort of functionality though. In fact, Silicon Power has just introduced a storage unit that can behave as a sharing hub for any Wi-Fi-connected device.

The company chose to name it Sky Share H10, thanks to its capability to handle up to 8 different devices at once, through the built-in 2T2R antenna.

Performing such communications and accessing the internet at the same time is perfectly within specifications as well.

Furthermore, the 2600mA/h Lithium battery can last for up to five hours of multimedia streaming (to a single device).

As for the design, the Sky Share H10 has the regular rectangle shape, but also a ripple pattern around the power switch. It was apparently enough to earn it the Golden Pin Design Mark 2012 and Tom's HardwareBest of Computex 2012.

Silicon Power didn't give a price, unfortunately.

Australian Attorney General Sites Attacked by Anonymous Hacker

Hackers haven’t given up on the protests they started in support of Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblower site WikiLeaks.
The latest targets of Operation Free Assange (OpFreeAssange) are the site of the Attorney General for Australia (attorneygeneral.gov.au) and the one of the Attorney General’s Department (ag.gov.au).

Some ten hours ago, both sites appeared to be experiencing performance issues, at times being completely unavailable to users. A hacker called Anonymous Sky took credit for the downtime, claiming to have attacked the domains in support of the Free Assange campaign.

The same hacktivist also took credit for defacing over a dozen websites, mainly from Italy.

At time of writing, most of the Italian sites are still defaced, but the ones of Australia’s Attorney General appear to be functioning properly.

Facebook tweaks privacy controls to keep regulators happy

Facebook Inc has tightened up its privacy controls sufficiently to satisfy a review by the body that regulates the social networking company outside North America, removing the immediate threat of legal challenges.

The world's biggest social network makes most of its money from advertising, but has to walk a fine line to avoid giving its over 950 million users the impression it is invading their privacy to boost revenue.

It was told by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner last December to overhaul privacy protection for its users outside the United States and Canada after a probe found its privacy policies were too complex and lacked transparency.

The regulator said it was particularly encouraged by the decision to turn off a piece of facial recognition technology, the so-called "tag suggest" feature, for new users in the European Union and by next month, existing users as well.

The Irish watchdog, which oversees Facebook's activities because the group's non-U.S. business is headquartered in Dublin, said on Friday most of its instructions had been adopted, with progress still to be made on others over the next four weeks.

"We would hope that the progress reported in the review will have dealt with the various complaints we have received in relation to Facebook Ireland," Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes told a conference call.

Privacy cases can prove costly for social networking sites like Facebook, which was the first American company to debut with a value of more than $100 billion in its initial public offering in May, before its share price slumped on an uncertain outlook.

Privacy rights
It had to settle a case for $9.5 million after its now defunct "Beacon" service violated its members' privacy rights by not requiring their consent to allow the company to broadcast their internet activity.

Ireland's watchdog had said the company risked facing legal action under European privacy laws if it failed to comply and said on Friday the social network would have to continue to engage with it as new features are introduced.

In its report, the regulator said Facebook had made particular progress in providing better transparency for its users, handing them more control over settings and the ability to more readily access their personal data.

Facebook's director of policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Richard Allan told Reuters the company was committed to bringing the tag suggest feature back once it had taken steps to put it in line with EU guidance.

Allan said the move should also remove the threat of legal action from Germany's Hamburg Data Commissioner over the facial-recognition feature.

"Clearly the announcement today means we think there are no grounds for them to proceed with that," Allan said, adding that Facebook's privacy changes would have no impact at all on its advertising strategy.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser agreed that Facebook's advertising business and its ability to let marketers aim pitches at different groups of users would not be affected.

"They could probably have a lot less data and it would still dwarf other comparable alternatives," he said. "They'll still be able to target better than others."

The regulator said the outstanding areas of concern included minimising the potential for advertising to target users based on words that could be considered as sensitive personal data, but both it and Facebook said they were confident that these issues would be dealt with speedily.

An Austrian-based group of student activists, europe-v-facebook, which has succeeded in extracting some concessions on privacy from Facebook, said the law had been waived for the tech group.

"The Irish ODPC says that Facebook has not fully implemented the suggestions and that further work has to be done, but there seem to be no consequences or fines for not complying with these suggestions," said the group in a statement.

Buyers camp out for latest iPhone

 

New owners wait for hours to activate their smartphones at Apple stores

After spending all night on the sidewalk outside Vancouver's downtown Apple store, Peter Levey was first in line for a new iPhone 5 when the doors opened at 8 a.m. Friday.

For Levey and iPhone buyers around the globe, the excitement of the iPhone 5 was little marred by the much-publicized problems over the new Maps app on Apple's new mobile operating system. But as activation systems buckled under the surge of demand, many new iPhone 5 owners waited hours Friday morning to get their phones activated on their wireless networks.

"I think the sudden spike in activations has caused the systems to crash or freeze," said Gary Ng, whose website iPho-neinCanada.ca monitored the iPhone 5 launch across Canada. "People have been telling me they are waiting two hours on hold to activate their phones. I think this is an annual thing, it happens every year, but this year I think it is worse."

In some cases, lineups slowed or stopped as store staff struggle to get through on activation lines.

"People are still in line because the phones can't be activated," Ng said in an inter-view as lines stalled Friday morning. "People are telling me at the Apple stores staff are using pens and paper to jot down names."

Ng said activations are apparently smoother for buyers who pre-ordered their phones through Future Shop and Best Buy.

Levey, who had to get back to the digital photography school he owns on the North Shore to teach a 10 a.m. class, said for previous iPhone releases he had arrived at the store about 4: 30 a.m. to find a long line of people already ahead of him.

He took no chances this year, taking the SeaBus from his North Vancouver home to arrive outside Apple's down-town Vancouver store at 1 a.m. on Friday.

"I've always been 30th or 40th or 50th and you end up waiting until lunchtime so I decided that it's better to get there early," he said. "I know the Apple store here gets a lot so if you're here first you'll get one for sure.

"And who cares about sleep; it's highly overrated."

Levey's experience with Apple is a clear demonstration of how that company's iconic smartphone boosted its consumer appeal and its fortunes. The iPhone 5 will be Levey's fourth iPhone. He started with the iPhone 3, moved up to the iPhone 3G and then the iPhone 4.

"I've always been a PC person but Apple got me on the phone and slowly all the rest happened," he said.

The new iPhone 5 - billed as the thinnest, lightest cellphone ever and with a larger screen than the iPhone 4S - launched initial sales in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia on Friday, with more countries slated for October.

Despite a record two million pre-orders in the first 24 hours when Apple opened its online ordering Sept. 14, lineups were massive in many countries and the demand led the Deutsche Bank to hike its target price on Apple stock to $850 from $775, saying "demand indicators are tracking very strongly."

Ng said Friday's launch, in which no unlocked phones were available for sale at Apple stores, came as a surprise to many buyers.

In previous iPhone releases, buyers had a choice of paying top price for a phone that wasn't locked to a carrier or getting a subsidized price for a phone locked to a wireless carrier.

"I think the issue this time around is that Apple didn't notify anyone they wouldn't be selling unlocked phones in their stores," said Ng.

"That is the issue with most people - they wanted to just pop into a store on launch day and buy the phone right away.

"They didn't know about the new policy and by the time they found out about it, pre-orders had been pushed back to three to four weeks."

'Tumour' of Israel will soon be destroyed: Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN: Israel is a "cancerous tumour" that will soon be finished off, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday told demonstrators holding an annual protest against the existence of the Jewish state.

"The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel's existence) will repeat," he said in a speech in Tehran marking Iran's Quds Day that was broadcast on state television.

"The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land.... A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionists," he said.

The diatribe took place amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. The Jewish state has in recent weeks intensified its threats to possibly bomb Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent it having the capability to produce atomic weapons.

Iran, which is suffering under severe Western sanctions, denies its nuclear programme is anything but peaceful. Its military has warned it will destroy Israel if it attacks.

State television showed crowds marching under blazing sunshine in Tehran and other Iranian cities to mark Quds Days, whose name, derived from Arabic, designates the city of Jerusalem, the disputed future capital of both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Demonstrators held up Palestinian flags and pictures of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and banners reading "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." A group in Tehran was filmed burning an Israeli flag.

GM recalls 474,000 sedans for transmission problem

General Motors is recalling nearly 474,000 Saturn, Chevrolet and Pontiac sedans in the United States, Canada and elsewhere to fix a transmission problem that could allow the cars to move when in "park," the company said Friday.

GM told the National Highway Safety Transportation Division that tabs on the transmission cable in the cars can fracture and separate.

If that happens, "the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. The driver would be able to move the shifter to 'park' and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in 'park'," GM said.

That could lead to the vehicle rolling away and crashing after the driver has exited the car, the automaker said.

The recall affects 2007-2010 Saturn Auras and 2008-2010 Chevrolet Malibus and Pontiac G6s that come with 4-speed automatic transmission.

More than 426,000 of the cars were sold in the United States. Another 40,000 are in Canada, and more than 7,000 were sold in Mexico and other countries.

GM said it will repair or replace the shift cables for free.

Google to block Jordan links to anti-Islam film

Google has agreed to block all links connecting Internet users in Jordan to an anti-Islam film made in the United States that has stirred outrage across the Muslim world, a Jordanian minister said on Saturday.

"We asked Google to block all links to this film in the kingdom and we have had a favourable response," said Communications and Information Technology Minister Atef Tel, quoted in Al-Dustur newspaper.

The low-budget film "Innocence of Muslims," incited a wave of bloody anti-American violence in cities across the Muslim world which targeted symbols of US influence ranging from embassies and schools to fast food chains.

At least 30 people have died so far in unrest connected to the film in over 20 countries.

Google, the parent company of YouTube, said on Wednesday that the film would be restricted "in countries where it is considered illegal by local authorities" such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

YouTube last week restricted access to the film in Egypt and Libya after unrest in those countries, and has been adding countries to the list. Some others, including Pakistan and Sudan, have blocked access themselves.

6 Percent of Users Affected by EMEA Outage, RIM Says

Yesterday, Research In Motion's BlackBerry Service suffered a major outage in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and the Canadian company has offered an official statement on the matter.

The issues affected some of the company's users for several hours, yet it seems that the problem was not widespread.

In fact, RIM says that only around 6 percent of the company's customers were impacted, and that no data loss was observed.

 “I want to apologize to those BlackBerry customers in Europe and Africa who experienced an impact in their quality of service earlier this morning,” RIM CEO Thorsten Heins stated in an open letter to users.

“The BlackBerry service is now fully restored and I can report that no data or messages were lost,” he continued.

“Up to 6 percent of our user base may have been impacted. Preliminary analysis suggests that those customers may have experienced a maximum delay of 3 hours in the delivery and reception of their messages.”

No specific info on the cause of the outage has been provided as of yet, but the company's CEO notes that it is currently investigating the problem to determine what caused it.

As soon as details on the matter are available, RIM will make them public, Heins said.

“We are conducting a full technical analysis of this quality of service issue and will report as soon as it concludes. I again want to apologize to those customers who were impacted today,” he concluded.

For those out of the loop, we should note that yesterday morning BlackBerry users in some parts of Europe (mainly those on Vodafone's network) reported issues with the delivery of BBM messages.

RIM confirmed soon after that the issue affected customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa, but was able to fully restore the service in the afternoon.

Singapore asks Google to block anti-Islam film

The Ministry of Home Affairs cited "security concerns" as the reason behind the request.

Google on Thursday blocked YouTube users in Singapore from viewing clips of an anti-Islamic film that has incited violent protests across the Muslim world, acting on a request by city authorities.

Attempts to access the low-budget "Innocence of Muslims" film on the Google-owned video-sharing website resulted in a message reading: "This content is not available in your country due to a government removal request."

Google could not be reached to comment, but it has also blocked access to clips of the film in Muslim-majority neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Ministry of Home Affairs cited "security concerns" as the reason behind the request to Google in a press statement released Wednesday.

"The film  Innocence of Muslims  has sparked off violent protests and riots that resulted in deaths and injuries in many parts of the world, including several countries in our region," the ministry said in the statement.

"The continued circulation of this film is likely to cause disharmony or feelings of ill-will between different groups in Singapore," it added.

Singapore has a predominantly Chinese population with minority races including Malays, who are mostly Muslim, making up 13.4 percent of its population of over five million, according to government data.

The city-state experienced racial riots in the 1960s and clamps down hard on anyone seen to be inciting communal tensions.

The US-produced film has angered Muslims worldwide for mocking the Prophet Mohammed and portraying Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.

In cities across the Islamic world, protesters have vented their fury at the amateur film by targeting symbols of US influence ranging from embassies and schools to fast food chains, leaving several dead.

US lifts ban on N Zealand naval ships

AUCKLAND: The United States has lifted a ban that prevented New Zealand naval ships visiting US ports or bases since the 1980s, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday, hailing a "new era" in relations.

The policy change, part of efforts to bolster security ties, will "allow the US Secretary of Defense to authorise individual visits to Department of Defense or Coast Guard facilities in the United States and around the world," he said.

"I suspect that soon we'll be able to see one of those ships in our ports," he added, when asked when New Zealand vessels would stop in the US.

In a joint news conference with his New Zealand counterpart Jonathan Coleman, the Pentagon chief also announced that restrictions on meetings between defence officials and military exercises had also been rescinded.

"These changes I think are important and are in the interests of both our nations," he said.

The announcement underscored improving security ties between the two countries since a chill during the Cold War, when New Zealand imposed a ban on any visits by US nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships to its ports.

"While we acknowledge that our countries continue to have differences of opinion in some limited areas, today we have affirmed that we are embarking on a new course that will not let these differences stand in the way of greater engagement on security issues," Panetta added.

Coleman ruled out any change to New Zealand's policy on barring nuclear armed ships but said the two nations had "moved past" that issue.

The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security (ANZUS) treaty was suspended between Wellington and Washington in 1986, but in recent years both sides worked to enable closer military cooperation without restoring the provisions of the treaty.

President Barack Obama's administration has pushed to bolster military ties across the region as part of a strategic shift towards the Asia-Pacific, driven mainly by concerns over China's growing power.

Panetta's trip to New Zealand was the first by a Pentagon chief in 30 years and the first since the ANZUS treaty terms were suspended between the two countries.

It follows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signing an agreement in 2010 formalising a thaw in relations with Wellington, which called for deeper cooperation in combating climate change, the spread of nuclear weapons and extremism.

It also committed the two sides to promoting renewable energy and boosting capacities to fight natural disasters.

Microsoft Is Now an Official Guinness World Record Holder

Microsoft’s Windows 8 App Festival in India helped the Redmond-based software giant make its way into the Guinness Book of World Records, as no less than 2,567 developers from all over the world worked at the same time on Windows 8 apps.

The event took place in Bangalore, India and was specifically organized by Microsoft to show everybody that creating apps for the newly-designed Windows 8 is fairly easy.

Of course, this also helps Microsoft promote the upcoming Windows 8 operating system that will go on sale worldwide in late October. The public unveiling of the software will take place on October 25.

Developers were requested to create applications for the Windows 8 platform from any of the available categories in Windows Store, as part of an 18-hour coding marathon that ended a few hours ago.

French 'Spiderman' climbs building in China

SHANGHAI: French "Spiderman" Alain Robert added another structure to his record 

of climbing achievements on Saturday, scaling most of a 388-metre (1,280-foot) tower in central China.

The climber ascended to an observation platform 268 metres up the Central Plains Fortaleza tower in Henan province's Zhengzhou city in about two hours, Chinese state media said.

Robert has climbed more than 100 structures without ropes or other safety equipment, setting a record for "most buildings climbed unassisted" according to Guinness World Records.

In March last year he braved a strong desert wind to climb the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 828 metres.

This time, however, Robert used suction devices and mechanical ascenders as well as a safety rope to make his way up the steel and glass Fortaleza tower, which has no hand or footholds, state television said.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed Robert, 50, in a red T-shirt and black tights finishing the climb to the applause of a welcoming committee waiting on the platform.

It is not the first time Robert has climbed in China. In 2007, he successfully scaled the 420-metre Jin Mao Tower in China's commercial hub of Shanghai, according to his website.

HP Launches Impressive 24” MVA Monitor with Just 11mm Thickness

HP has just launched a whole lot of new products today and we already reported about the Compaq Pro 6305 desktop system here. If you’re searching for an impressively good looking monitor to go with that, HP now has the slim L2401x for you.

 The HP L2401x is a very slim monitor that is only 11 millimeters thick and has a very nice metallic looking casing on the back.

HP decided not to use an IPS panel on the L2401x, but went for MVA technology instead.

MVA is short for multi-domain vertical alignment and this was the first technology that was able to offer fast response time and very good contrast rates for the time it was introduced.

MVA is the VA technology evolved, while VA is short for vertical alignment and Wikipedia describes it as:


“Vertical alignment displays are a form of LCDs in which the liquid crystals naturally align vertically to the glass substrates.

When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystals remain perpendicular to the substrate creating a black display between crossed polarizers.

When voltage is applied, the liquid crystals shift to a tilted position allowing light to pass through and create a gray-scale display depending on the amount of tilt generated by the electric field.”

The VA panel technology also brings large viewing angles, higher contrast ratios and it is generally cheaper to make when compared with IPS displays.

In fact, MVA offers very high-quality black and good color reproduction along with very good contrast rates and wide viewing angles that can only be surpassed by S-IPS panels.


One important note that we must emphasize is the fact that the VA technology offers the highest contrast ratios compared to all other popular panel types, which leads to much better black levels.

There is also a disadvantage as the VA technology usually suffers from higher response times when compared with both TN and IPS panels.

MVA is supposed to fix most of the issues of the VA technology and HP’s L2401x certainly has an impressive contrast of 5000 to 1, but can also boast a 10 million to 1 dynamic ratio.

HP will offer two versions of this monitor. The basic one will have a 1-year warranty while the business one will be just $10 more expensive, but it will also benefit from a 3-year warranty period.

Pricing is set at $250 (192 EUR).

Galaxy Note II to Arrive in Europe Next Week

Samsung’s largest Android smartphone to date, the recently unveiled Galaxy Note II, is now rumored to be en-route to the market in Europe as soon as next week. 

The 5.5-inch phone is expected to arrive on shelves in Germany on September 27, while being set to hit the market in Italy starting with September 28. 

Moreover, the guys over at SamMobile suggest that Samsung is set to launch Galaxy Note II in France and the UK on October 1st or 2nd, and that it will bring it to the Netherlands around the same time. 

The Android-based behemoth is expected to become available for purchase in the United States only towards the end of October, when at least five wireless carriers in the country will make it available on their networks.