White iPhone 4 Being Cancelled. Possible release for iPhone 5

Oh, white iPhone 4! How long we have waited for you! From a consumer standpoint, all you needed was white paintjob but after the incessant delay, upon delay upon delay we’ve really just started to lose hope.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs poses with the white iPhone 4 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California June 7, 2010.

It was just yesterday when we reported that Apple is delaying the White iPhone 4 to Spring 2011. This came after the July-delay and serves as yet another blow to our fantasies of owning a white version of the popular iPhone 4.

Real Reason: Light Leaks

Cult of Mac reports that the real, actual 100% fo-sho’ reason behind the delay was not thediscolored buttons but actually because of “light leaks”. Explanation below:

When the white iPhone 4 takes a photograph, the semi-translucent glass cases leaks extra light into the camera which absolutely ruins photographs. Cult of Mac’s source said, “You don’t get accurate pictures on the white iPhone because of the color of the glass back. It washes out the pictures”. The source also said that Apple might have to do a complete redesign of the white iPhone 4 to deal with the light leaks.

The issue was discovered after a “last minute test” at a secret facility when the white iPhone 4 was used with a third-party case. Apple, of course, wouldn’t let an imperfect phone out (Antennagate is a separate topic, though).

White iPhone 4 Cancelled?

Besides this, BGR has received information that Apple is cancelling the release of the white iPhone 4 all-together. BGR’s source says that there will be another delay in March which would cause the release of the illusive white colored iOS device to interfere with the release ofiPhone 5 (or iPhone 4S, whatever). Which would mean that the white iPhone 4 might get replaced with a white iPhone 5.

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Adobe AIR SDK 2.5 Launches for BlackBerry PlayBook, Android and iOS

When RIM announced their first tablet a few weeks ago, the BlackBerry PlayBook, Flash support was one of the big selling points. To that end, today at the Adobe MAX conference Adobe has launched a set of AIR development tools that work with the tablet’s new operating system, Neutrino by QNX. BlackBerry wasn’t the only platform getting some love, though; now that Apple is cool with third-party SDKs, iOS is included in this Adobe AIR update (though Flash is still presumably blocked), along with the usual Android support AIR has been talking about since February.

For those unfamiliar with Adobe AIR, it’s a development environment that encompasses not only Flash, but Adobe’s Flex, HTML and Ajax. AIR basically lets you create standalone applications using web languages without having to use a browser (something BlackBerry WebWorks still does).

It’s worth reminding that eventually the QNX operating system on the PlayBook will eventually find its way to BlackBerry smartphones, so even if Flash doesn’t make it to handsets before then, at least the new OS will be built from the ground-up with Flash in mind. The PlayBook promises to be a multimedia powerhouse, packing a 7″ 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, and run on dual 1 GHz processors and 1 GB of RAM. Adobe’s SDK will support other tablets as well, so it’s really just a matter of manufacturers including the runtime on their tablets at launch in order to keep the playing field even.

Google seems to have a leg-up over RIM when it comes getting friendly with Adobe, having tested the AIR SDK in a private beta with Android developers for some time, but the Apple has definitely made their bed with Flash. That’s too bad for iPhone and iPad users, but many seem to be comfortable sticking with HTML5 for web development.

You can see some of the highlights in Adobe AIR 2.5 over here, or download the SDK here. If you’re particularly interested in developing for the PlayBook, hit up their getting started guide here.

[via Adobe AIR Team Blog]

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Come PlayBook with BlackBerry

BlackBerry PlayBook: Last day, RIM has given demonstration of its latest tablet, BlackBerry PlayBook at Adobe’s Max conference. BlackBerry PlayBook will run on BlackBerry OS6. This BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is having 7-inch LCD display. BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to release in 2011.

RIM has introduced its first tablet to compete with the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab. In the recent days, there is a huge demand for tablets. Apple is the first to introduce tablet as Apple iPad, which is the big success in the market. Now, Samsung has also announced its tablet as Samsung Galaxy Tab, which runs on Google Android operating system.

In order to face the competition in tablet market, RIM introduced its latest tablet as BlackBerry PlayBook. The latest BlackBerry PlayBook is having features such as 1 GB RAM, 1 GHz Dual Core Processor, 7 inch LCD display with 1024 x 600 screen resolution, 400g of weight, micro USB, micro HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, 5 mega pixel camera and 3 mega pixel front facing camera.

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BlackBerry Torch 9800 at ease with Celcom Exec 50

Nuffnangers get to win Blackberry Torch 9800 smartphones from Celcom!

We really are spoilt for choice nowadays when it comes to purchasing smartphones. So many brands, so many models, so many fancy features… but make no mistake, nobody does smartphones like one of the pioneers in the market – Blackberry. And if you were always on the fence about which smartphone ‘camp’ you wanted to join because you were undecided about going with a touch screen or a physical keyboard, your dilemma is now solved with the debut of the new Celcom BlackBerry Torch 9800! 

The Celcom BlackBerry Torch 9800 is the first smartphone with a BlackBerry keyboard and full 3.2 inch touch screen, and also comes with a 5 MP camera, 8 GB memory expandable with a micro SD card, and integrated social feeds, so you never miss out on a single tweet or Facebook update. Don’t forget the push email and instant messaging capabilities BlackBerries have always been known for!

Not all Blackberries are the same though – Celcom Blackberry gives you the best deals in town and the widest coverage wherever you go! With that, allow us to introduce the Celcom Exec 50 plan, where you can get connected with Celcom from as low as only RM50 a month! Check out some of the benefits you’ll get with the plan:
- 15 sen call rate to any number. Nothing complicated; just a simple rate to all numbers
- Automatic discounts every month.
- Talk more, save more. The more you use, the more discounts of up to 30% every month
- Low monthly commitment of only RM50.
- FREE Celcom Broadband Basic Plan for 1 month with speeds of up to 384 Kbps

Celcom will be launching the Blackberry Torch 9800 on 29 October 2010, and there’ll be amazing deals for you when you sign up with Celcom, ONLY available at the event. Remember to keep checking on the Celcom website to find out what the offers are! There’ll also be many other fun activities, prizes and giveaways on the day. There’s more: If you’re one of the 1st 100 customers to pre-register & purchase the new BlackBerry Torch 9800 with the Celcom Exec Postpaid plan, you get to enjoy the early bird promotion where they’ll throw in the following for FREE:
- Jabra Bluetooth Headset worth RM125
- 8GB Micro SD Card worth RM68
- Energizer Portable worth RM58 

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Scam Alert: International Who's Who Historical Society

I was so excited after getting a phone call from the US. It is about an inclusion into a Society called below.  Before this, I never knew the society or what they did?  But after performing an interview than a google search I came across the website with the thesis below. 

I didn't like it when at first they said we do not have to pay anything and after that they insist on us calling our friends with international cards to make payment for our membership fee which is like USD$800 (Regular) and USD$900 (Premium).  Duuh!!!

 

INTERNATIONAL WHO'S WHO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

 

From: Name hidden

Subject: Appointment Reminder

 

This is a reminder of your appointment with the director, Interviewer who will be contacting you (your local time) for your 20 to 25 minute teleconference.

This appointment is the final step in our membership selection process and will determine your eligibility for inclusion into this year's edition of the International Who's Who of Professionals.

If for any reason you will not be available at your scheduled appointment time, please contact me as soon as possible at phone number or via email

For more information regarding the Society, you can visit our website at www.internationalwhoswho.com. We look forward to speaking with you.

Executive Assistant

International Who's Who Headquarters

Phone Number

Friday, 16 May 2008

Scam Warning - Whos Who of Professionals

I've had quite a few responses recently to this post on the WHO'S WHO of Professionals recently, so obviously our friends are at it again...just wanted to to draw your attention to some of the comments I've received - tells it all really:

Comment 1

Good work, Nicole (ok, so they got my name wrong, hey ho). I wish I could say that I hadn't fallen for it in 2004, but I did. At that time they claimed more than fifty thousand members world-wide, but the invitation letter was about the same. I joined and became active. IN FACT I ended up running a club free of charge and of benefit to these people while paying a huge sum of money to them for the honours.Of course, at the time, the supposed book in which entries would appear was constantly "fastly approaching the editorial deadline",... year after year. I never received it and after showing patience began to speak legalese, after which part of my money was promptly refunded. The book still had not come out when I checked in 2006.After visiting the website:http://www.internationalwhoswho.de/and getting a strong "deja vu" feeling, I looked these people up in the Better Business Bureau databases and lo and behold I found a wealth of info on Gibralter Publishing (at the time, the core persona) and the about fifteen other names these people use.Not long after quiting IWWHS, I was approached by a new "networking" society (apparently they had shared my details) and when I asked who their executives in charge were I found several of the same North Carolina-based names from IWWHS!Unfortunately, those vane enough to list this "merit" not only advertise a questionable enterprise, but many times will have their OWN integrity questioned by those in the know! Beware!

Comment 2

Hi all,I (in France) received this e-mail a couple of weeks. And last tuesday, a woman who claimed to be in Washington proposed to me an interview with her "director" for "the final step of selection".The day after, "the director" called me and our "interview" was interesting ... he sounds actualy like a professional interviewer, but he ended the call when I choose a $800 registration option but never give him may credit card details.I hope it's for free!!!Thank you all for your information.

Comment 3



WARNING: “WHO IS WHO”/ internationalwhoswho IS quite probably SCAM !!!I have exactly the same experience: "deadline was "fastly approaching" - this time in March 2008, and one day, when I was busy ,I gave them my information and my credit card number (we ARE busy, and this is what they take advantage of). They immediately withdrew $800 for a book and some pins & stuff I had orally been coaxed into saying "yes" to. I understood the same afternoon that this might be scam and cancelled the 'order'. Got a letter back from them, which said "We will be more than happy to assist you with your membership cancellation as soon as the proper information is pulled. An Account Manager will get back to you as soon as possible and thank you in advance for your patience." Signed Sabrina Fuentes. Many days later the letter from the "account manager", Sandy Garcia, came. According to Sandy Garcia, who would from now on be my contact, the "cancellation policy" of "whoswho" was to retain 358$. I protested immediately in an e-mail to Sandy Garcia, only to receive a bounce-back e-mail that I was "not authorized to contact" Ms (Mr?) Garcia. This is no doubt SCAM, and probably
plain fraud. The method is: 1. Appeal to /boost people's vanity, or other things which may make them feel good (for some time). Promise people something good and cheap (here: for free).2. Give the poor fool an opportunity to buy something expensive, but valuable, in addition to the free stuff.3. Be sure you have a huge "cancellation fee" - more or less hidden underneath the offer.4. Ask for the credit card numberof the stupid fool you are fooling5. Withdraw the money immediately6. When the stupid/ victim realizes that he is about to be fooled, promise your "account manager" will contact you "soon": However, that will take so many days, that the fool/ victim will give up, or the deadline of complaint is running out.

We must warn the world against these crooks ... I was one of the fools. I have learnt, and will do what I can to warn others. I will also try to sue them (very unpleasant, but - if necessary -I will grin and bear it).ViVaComment 4

hello, just had an interesting interview with these people too - you can learn a lot from their interviewing style and the gaps in their so called research - the fact that my business is not yet registered or trading, and that the relevant website is not yet active, did not seem to deter them. They also suggested that I would be able to make use of the informal social networking down the road at a local pub (450 miles away in London) and never once gave any indication of understanding what sector I might actually be in. VERY smooth interview style, very much about stroking the old ego. I swear I heard the file being deleted when I said I'd be in touch as soon as I thought such a membership
would be appropriate (ie, no thanks) - in fact I thought I was very pleasant given that someone had just asked me for $950 for what we all do through Facebook anyway.cheers (see you down the pub!), Sarah, Edinburgh

So, learning from these experience, don't even bother to speak to these people (unless you want your ego massaged for free, then tell them you're not interested :-)

Posted by Helen Nicol at 16:05



4 comments:

Subhankar said...

I too received the same kind of "deadline is quickly approaching" message from the organization. Thanks for posting the above comments because they helped me not to give away my personal details.
Best regards,
Subhankar Tue Aug 11, 11:59:00 AM GMT
Gautam said...

Few months back I got the same posting about membership and deadline closing on.. I somehow posted my credentials.. Few days back I got a call from USA[probably.. since my caller identification can't be detected on my phone due to some reason]. So the lady briefed me about an interview with director which she scheduled for next day.. I was somehow excited thinking the name will be selected for free and than membership if I wish.. I couldn't find any details about the membership from site..

Very next day at exact time I got a call from a guy and he asked me about my profession and company..After which he asked a final question how I think I justify my talent in this industry..

So after this suddenly he started to describe about WHO'S WHO and such a honor being part of such an organization..Than membership fees 600$ and 800$ and there on every year 220$..

I am not sure how I was pretty convinced by his professional approach and he suddenly started asking all my credit card credential along with CVV no. in back side..

To my astonishment I gave all this information with a little hesitation thinking I am going to be part of a really big thing..

Than he transferred the call to quality department where a lady started verifying credit card information ..

Than all of a sudden it seems the transaction didn't occur successfully for some reason and she was asking for other card.. At that time I somehow said I don't have other card and next day I will approach the bank to credit it..

I also asked why there is no online payment from site to which she said this is the only mode of payment..

After this I found this blog and came to know truth.. But they never called me back surprisingly..

Later on I found that due to insufficient fund in my credit card the transaction became unsuccessful.. Also these days there is a master card secure code which needs to be provided before transaction..

There are the two reasons why I turned out to be a lucky guy.. I immediately called my bank and blocked my card...

I am not sure what kind of organization is this and they are running a proper website..

How to take action against this organization.. Mon Oct 12, 08:24:00 AM GMT
Anonymous said...

Wow ! I am really thankful to this Blog..I would have been one of the vicims if i wouldn't have been a recruiter ( Headhunter ) myself..I am thankful to one of my friend who sent me this link. Wed Oct 21, 02:31:00 PM GMT
Anonymous said...

Thanks for the blog. While I trying to fill the registration form for 'International Who's who', I have noticed your blog by browsing. The information in your blog really helped me to open my eyes and not being a victim of this scam. Wed Jul 28, 04:57:00 AM GMT

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Whistleblowing Wikileaks

What is Wikileaks?

In July 2010 Wikileaks released confidential documents that shed light on the war in Afghanistan. Now Wikileaks has posted online almost 400,000 similar documents detailing events in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. How has Wikileaks become one of the most important whistle-blowing sites on the web?

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor
Published: 10:33AM BST 23 Oct 2010

Julian Assange is the founder of Wikileaks, one of the biggest whistle-blowing sites on the web

The news that the largest leak in American military history came via the website Wikileaks will not surprise long-term watchers of the controversial, multi-award-winning site. Despite a recent period of near-bankruptcy, it has consistently released information that major corporations and governments wanted to conceal – the Abu Ghraib “torture manual”, footage from American jets allegedly committing war crimes, the secrets of Scientology and even Sarah Palin’s private emails have all been published by the site.

Founded by secretive Australian Julian Assange, Wikileaks was originally based in Sweden and garnered 1.2 million leaked documents in time for its launch in January 2007. It taps in to the world’s web users’ desire either for justice or revenge on former employers or acquaintances, but its most significant stories have been held up as largely in the public interest. The Abu Ghraib revelations resulted in international condemnation of American methods and arguably contributed to political commitments from Barack Obama to close down the detention centre. Assange claims that by using the global community of internet users, his site is able to promote accuracy, scrutiny and discussion of sensitive information.

Anybody with web access can submit a story to Wikileaks. The site, however, states that its "primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, sub-saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behaviour in their governments and corporations." Wikileaks has now evolved an editorial policy by which only documents "of political, diplomatic, historical or ethical interest" are in fact published, and it has recently ceased to permit users to comment directly on stories. Earlier this year, Assange said that submissions are vetted by five reviewers, and that the background of the “leaker” is also checked.

A number of countries and companies, notably Australia, China and Bank Julius Baer have tried to censor the site or have it taken offline, but its complex method of web-hosting has ensured that it is very difficult for its servers to be identified. Wikileaks has also used a Swedish company called PRQ, which specialises in “bulletproof hosting”, asking no questions and maintaining few records of its clients so that it cannot be accused of promoting material that could be illegal.

The site has been heavily criticised in the past for endangering the lives of individuals, just as American and Pakistani representatives have said this latest leak of American military logs will too. But only last weak Assange told America’s Wired magazine that Wikileaks was "getting an enormous quantity of whistle-blower disclosures of high calibre". The only reason more has not been released was a lack of volunteer journalists to verify the submissions, he said, adding that BP was set to be one of his site’s future subjects.

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Wastewater Treatment Plant for Sarawak River

‘Wastewater management system ready in 2012’

Borneo Post

by Peter Sibon. Posted on October 24, 2010, Sunday


KUCHING: The RM530 million Phase I of the Kuching City Wastewater Management System is expected to be completed by end of 2012, disclosed its project director Tai Lee Yoon.

ARTIST’S IMPRESSION: The proposed wastewater treatment plant located near Zecon Toll Plaza, Kuching.


He said once completed, the wastewater treatment plant near Zecon Toll Plaza would be able to process both the black and grey water from the city’s main centre.


(Black water refers to waste water from septic tanks while grey water refers to water discharge from kitchens, bathrooms and wash areas).


“It is hoped that after the phase I project is completed, many ‘environmentally dead’ rivers like Sg Padungan, Sg Bintangor and Sg Maong would be rehabilitated and would be able to support marine life,” Tai said at a briefing on Kuching Wastewater Management System at the project site near Zeacon Toll Plaza here yesterday. He said currently the project is “half way completed”.


Tai said once completed, the massive underground tunnel would have a total length of 64.4 km with a depth of between 6 and 27 metres (at the intake point where the waste treatment will be treated at the wastewater treatment plant).


“The whole project will be able to cater for 100, 000 population equivalent (PE) and is designed to last until 2030,” he said, adding that the project needs to be expanded once the population increases in future.


Under Phase I, only the densely populated areas of Kuching city are covered, from Satok, Wisma Saberkas right up to Padungan area. It will include housing areas, commercial centres and hotels.


“While our black water is partially treated in our septic tanks, our grey water is discharged directly to our drains without any treatment. In fact our grey water is more harmful to the rivers than the black water,” stressed Tai.


Tai explained that the conventional septic tank only partially treats black water from the toilets as it primarily serves as a sedimentary tank.


The treatment removes only about 40 per cent of the pollutants.


“It does not remove any nutrient or bacteria which are commonly found in black water,” he said.


Tai said if the Kuching city wastewater treatment system is not undertaken now, Sarawak River would be environmentally dead by 2020.


He stressed that once Phase I is completed, the project would be continued to include other parts of the city.


“We must protect our water resources against pollution. Our rivers must not be polluted because they are the precious source of our drinking water. Rivers are also places for recreation,” added Tai.


The Centralised Sewerage System will collect and treat both black and grey water to standard A, which could be treated for drinking water.


However, the solidified wastes would be treated at the Mambong Waste Management Landfill.


The massive project is undertaken by Nishimatsu of Japan and a local diversified group Hock Seng Lee.


Tai disclosed that each Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) cost between RM5 million to RM10 million per unit. Some 100 Swinburne engineering students also attended the briefing.

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Cyber-Tyranny or Cyber Stupidity?

from themalaysianinsider.com

Anti-tower Facebook page block is own fault, not censorship

 
By Zurairi Abd Rahman
October 21, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Facebook has been accused of censorship by the owners of a Facebook page dedicated against the proposed 100-storey skyscraper by Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNB).

“While new media offers room for social movements, the authoritarian governance by the Internet giants like Facebook has sunk to a new form of censorship,” bursts one of the creators in a report earlier by Malaysiakini, setting off incendiary reactions from the Malaysian Twitter community.

Despite allegations of “cyber-tyranny”, the block may have less to do with censorship but more to do with its meteoric rise.

Started the day after the Budget 2011 speech by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the fan page now sports 36,843 fans of likeminded Malaysians at the time of writing, and swelling still.

The page administrators have been barred from posting new content yesterday — a pop-up states “Your publishing rights have been blocked due to a violation of the Pages Terms of Use”.

Facebook users can still “like” the fan page, and access to it has not been obstructed in any way.

The owners claim to be victimised, but a quick look at the Terms & Conditions page for Facebook Fan Page reveals that “Pages are special profiles that may only be used to promote a business or other commercial, political, or charitable organisation or endeavour”.

Put simply, a fan page may only represent a specific brand or organisation, none of which is represented by the “1M Malaysians Reject 100-storey Mega Tower” page.

A look at the help page on “Warnings” also suggests that the owners might be blocked from posting any contents since they might have sent messages “at a rate that is likely to be abusive”, or spamming.

Lately, Facebook also has gone on an exercise to convert generic and unofficial fan pages that rakes up thousands of fans to community pages. Community pages concentrate on topics which are discussed by a lot of people, and won’t be maintained by a single author.

If this is why the fan page was blocked, the solution to the block would be as simple as verifying themselves as legitimate owner of the page to Facebook, thus making it “official”.

In any case, Facebook states that a block will be temporary, and lasts between a few hours to a few days. Any attempts to use the blocked feature will only result in a longer block.

The 100-storey tower protesters would do best to keep their calm, and be patient.

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Tasmanians Impressed with Sarawakians Logging Practice

The logjam incident caused a bad name to the Sarawak timber industry.  'They' claimed that we are not ethical in managing our resources especially the logging activity. 

 

Here we have the Tasmanian coming up to see for themselves if we managed our forest badly.  

To my surprise, they were impressed with our forest management and logging practice.  Below is the report published in the local newspapers.

 

Tasmanian govt on mission to Sarawak
Utusan Borneo
by Zoee Hillson. Posted on October 19, 2010, Tuesday

KUCHING: The Tasmanian government is on a fact-finding mission as part of an effort to refute allegations by environmentalist against Ta Ann Holdings Berhad’s operations in the Tasmania, Australia.

FACT FINDING: Harriss (right) in a discussion with Awang Tengah (centre) and Len Talif after the courtesy call at Wisma Sumber Alam.

Member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Andrew Paul Harriss said yesterday that allegations by some environmental groups against Ta Ann were scathing and unreasonable.

He also said the allegations were damaging to Ta Ann and the state’s timber industry as a whole.

“It’s fair to say that some environmental groups in Tasmania have been unreasonable and too critical of Ta Ann and they have tried to bring that back to forest practices in Sarawak.

“We seek to rebut that allegation based on proper information gathering and proper technical assessment,” he said when met by reporters after paying a courtesy call on Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan at Wisma Sumber Alam here.

Harriss added that this was his third visit to the state to gain an insight intoTa Ann’s credibility and performance.

“So, we have a delegation here to understand exactly what Ta Ann logging practices are like in Sarawak and also the broader operation industry in Sarawak,” Harriss said.

“Ta Ann is a credible organisation and an organisation of integrity. I’m satisfied with that and this trip is just an upgrading of knowledge on the ongoing operations.

“We are satisfied with Ta Ann’s operations in the past and the information we gather this time confirms that satisfaction.”

He said they were very impressed with Ta Ann’s operations in Tasmania and added that the forest industry was the state’s fundamental economic driver.

“They’re employing many Tasmanians in the local community and 10 per cent of our total workforce in Tasmania is employed in the forest industry operations,” Harriss said.

He also said Tasmania was opening a wide opportunity for the forest industry operators from around the world, including from Sarawak.

VicForests director Robert Patrick Smith, Ta Ann Tasmania director David Riley and Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) chief executive officer Datu Len Talif Salleh were also present during the courtesy call.

 

 

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iPad Get Extra Solid Touch

SolidMicro’s New iPad Battery/Case

SolidMicro Co have announced a new large-capacity iPad case-cum-external battery to be available for preorder starting today. It’s a full cover that protects the iPad from scratches and some drops, has a 6000mAh battery (2.4 times the size of the one onboard the iPad!), and has as miniscule a profile as possible in order to preserve the sleek look of your Apple device.

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Hackers Threat Growing in Britain

Terrorism and cyber attacks are key threats to Britain, 
Britain faces an increased threat from terrorism, cyber attack and small-scale wars, a National Security Strategy will say.

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 18 Oct 2010

The document will also highlight the threat from cyber attacks on government infrastructure Photo: CLARE KENDALL


The security and intelligence services and counter-terrorism police are to escape major cuts in this week’s public spending review due to the threats.


The strategy is a key precursor for the Strategic Defence and Security Review, to be published tomorrow, which will explain how Britain will defend itself against such attacks.

It will also form the basis for spending decisions to be announced this week, including a £500 million boost to cyber defence, sources told The Daily Telegraph.

“The security strategy will look at the issues we are going to face in coming years and the spending review will look at how to deliver that,” one source said. The security strategy is expected to outline four key threats to Britain.

The primary threat remains al-Qaeda in Pakistan and its associates in Somalia, Yemen and North Africa, who continue to plan attacks against targets in Britain, the security strategy will say.

That is likely to mean that MI5, MI6, GCHQ and the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command will escape the worst of the cuts. But the document will also highlight the threat from cyber attacks on government infrastructure.

While not naming individual states, GCHQ, which is responsible for cyber defence, has been concerned for some time that states such as China and Russia are unlikely to use conventional or nuclear weapons in an attack on Britain and are more likely to attempt to shut down essential systems used to run the country.

Similar attacks have been seen when Russia has been in disputes with Estonia and Georgia, leading to problems with their internet and even cash machines.

A third risk that will be highlighted is the threat of small-scale wars in foreign countries that may escalate out of control, drawing in neighbouring countries and creating havens for terrorists.

That threat is likely to have a major bearing on the defence review tomorrow, which is likely to emphasise the need for mobile forces involving a combination of aircraft carriers and special forces.

The fourth element will be the risk from natural disasters such as pandemic flu, where strategies have been developed over recent years.

Iain Lobban, the head of GCHQ, said in a speech last week that the Government was receiving 20,000 malicious emails a month, of which 1,000 were deliberate attacks.

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Root Your Droid using SuperOneClick Rooter!

DROID one-click rooter, SuperOneClick

by Matthew Billy on October 15, 2010

If you’re a Droid user, you are most likely familiar with the various “one-click” rooting tools we have had come and go. SuperOneClick is now the latest and greatest rooting method for Android phones. The program essentially works via adb-commands, without having the Android SDK installed. So what makes this any differen’t from the other one-clicks? Unlike the others, any Windows user can run this quick root and there needs to be no knowledge of SDKs. I have tested it out on my DROID 1, as well as DROID X, and it has worked great!

Do you want to try this method out for yourself? Follow the break to droid-life’s step by step guide.

Basic Instructions:
(Remember, Everythingandroid.org, and it’s writers are not responsible for any damage that could occur to your phone from following the instructions in this article.)
1.  Download the latest SuperOneClick.zip file to your Windows computer.  Find it here.
2.  Extract the files from the .zip file into a new folder on your PC.
3.  Plug your phone in to your PC and turn on USB debugging.
Settings>Applications>Development>USB Debugging
4.  Open the folder with the SuperOneClick contents and double click “SuperOneClick.exe”.
5.  Allow the process to run and enjoy being rooted.

If you have any questions, comments, or problems with this root method, let us know below!

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4G Signal in Malaysia!

October 15, 2010 10:07 AM

Only Nine Telcos Get 4G Apparatus Assignments For Time Being, Says MCMC 

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

CYBERJAYA, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- The government has not assigned the 4G spectrum to any telecommunication company as yet but had merely given apparatus assignments (AA) to nine telcos to pave the way for the early adoption of the long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G technology mobile services, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli.

 

Citing that there was a difference between AA and Spectrum Assignments (SA), he said MCMC only awarded the AA for them to use the 2600MHz spectrum band to roll out their 4G wireless broadband services and had not given them the Spectrum Assignment (SA).

"The decision to award to the nine telcos was made after a lengthy consultative and deliberation process with various technical groups which started about two years ago. It was not something which was done a month ago," he told Bernama.

Khalid said the nine telcos, which had been picked based on their experience, technological capability in promoting innovation and financial strength, had been asked to submit detailed business plans by year-end on what they planned to do.

An apparatus assignment confers rights on a company to use the spectrum to operate a network facility of a specified kind at a specified frequency or in any specified frequency band or bands.

4G, which refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless technology standards, is the successor to 3G and 2G families of standards. 4G technology can deliver 100 Mbps or megabits per second, which allows a music album to be downloaded as fast as five seconds or an hour-long TV show in about 30 seconds.

The companies that had been awarded the AA by MCMC include existing 3G and WiMAX players, and a new entrant. They are Celcom Axiata Berhad, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, U-Mobile Sdn Bhd, Asiaspace Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd, RedTone Marketing Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd and Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd.

Khalid said MCMC may award the SA if it was satisfied with the business plan and service readiness of the telcos in installing their equipment and services.

These companies were also required to pay annual fees to MCMC in order to use the AA to roll out their 4G services and would not receive grants of any kind from MCMC or from the Universal Service Provision (USP) Fund, which was specifically for developing communications facilities in the rural areas, he explained.

"If they want a piece of action, they will actually have to pay for it," he said, adding that the government would consider giving the SA later on if they could prove their capability.

"We may decide on that later on. In the past, we did allocate the spectrum at a much higher fee. This stage hasn't come as yet (for 4G)," he said in likening MCMC as the regulator and custodian of the Malaysian spectrum.

Khalid also said the government may decide to take back the spectrum if some companies did not perform up to expectations.

Asked why MCMC had decided to award the AA to nine telcos instead of only few like the current market leaders in the country, for example, Khalid said this was based on the need for greater transparency and competition.

Under the provisions of the Communication and Multimedia Act, he said MCMC had to act for the long-term benefit of end-users while taking on a technology-neutral approach.

On why MCMC was initiating 4G technology now while some telcos had yet to provide the full range of 3G or WiMAX technology services, Khalid explained that the regulator was planning for the future.

At certain times in Kuala Lumpur, network congestion occurred due to sharp demand and MCMC had to start work on 4G now to avoid a breakdown in services later, he said.

"It is time to migrate to something better," he stressed.

-- BERNAMA

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PAS Youth Slaps Anwar Without Condoms On?!!

PAS extremist begins their attack on 'gay'.  Is this the true colors for PAS? All this while there are supporting Gay Party which is the Parti Keadilan Rakyat?  Suddenly, they channeled their anger towards Adam Lambert? Is it because they cannot tolerate anymore when all this while ,allegations and police reports were being made accusing Anwar Ibrahim, which is PAS allied for Pakatan Rakyat being 'gay'.  In fact, the correct term is it bi-sexual?

Earlier today, many papers reported that Anwar did not use condoms when sodomising his assistant,  In one case, he sodomised the poor chap for the eighth times without using any condoms at all?  Is he trying to promote HIV? When he himself knows that gay sexual behaviour will encourage more HIV among the party members?

Why is the PAS Youth only concerns about Adam Lambert who by rights practices safe sex when they  could ignore Anwar's immoral practice?  PAS should re-evaluate their partnership with PKR since all evidence pointed towards Anwar being gay!!!

However, one could even say that maybe PAS loves it from behind!!!?

PAS objects to Adam Lambert concert

October 14, 2010


KUALA LUMPUR, – PAS today demanded that authorities cancel a planned concert by US glam rocker Adam Lambert that they say is promoting “gay culture” in the mainly Muslim country.


PAS has also threatened to call “as many of its members and supporters” to proselytise to concert-goers if the performance by the former “American Idol” runner-up goes ahead on Thursday, a party official said.


“Adam Lambert’s shows... are outrageous, with lewd dancing and a gay performance that includes kissing male dancers, this is not good for people in our country,” said PAS Youth leader Nasrudin Hasan. Homosexual sex is a criminal offence in Malaysia.


PAS is Malaysia’s second-largest political party with close to a million members and is a partner in a rainbow opposition grouping led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.


Foreign acts often draw protests from PAS, which since 2007 has campaigned against performances by singers including Beyonce, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne and Mariah Carey.

Police in May broke up a demonstration by Islamists including PAS supporters protesting against a concert by US rapper Pitbull, underscoring a deepening tide of Islamic conservatism in the country.

An official from the Arts, Culture and Heritage Ministry was reported saying that the singer had signed a contract agreeing to abide by the ministry’s rules on performances, which can require foreign performers to tone down their acts to suit local sensibilities. – Reuters

 

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DAP Sibu behind the Logjam Disaster?

‘Logjam a man-made disaster’

by Peter Sibon. Posted on October 14, 2010, Thursday

KAPIT: Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has declared the recent logjam that clogged the Baleh and Rajang rivers a “man-made disaster”.

SABOTAGE: Is DAP behind all this un-natural event?

Masing warns of more such river destructions if uncontrolled logging unchecked

He said ecological devastation at Ulu Melatai, one of the tributaries of Baleh River, could be the main contributor to last week’s disaster.

However, the Baleh assemblyman said the Baleh River’s other tributaries could also have contributed to the devastation.

Baleh River has at least 10 tributaries similar to Ulu Melatai, such as Seranai and Entuloh.

“It is a man-made ecological disaster. It created a mud pool, which completely wiped out the flora and fauna in the area. This includes animals and fish,” Masing told The Borneo Post after a site visit to Ulu Melatai yesterday.

Ulu Melatai is located some 100km southeast of Kapit town and is very close to the Kalimantan border.

With Masing were political secretary to the Chief Minister Angeline Umis, Kapit District Officer Simon Japut Tiok and Kapit district councillor Tan Kian Hoo.

Masing attributed the devastation at Ulu Melatai to extensive logging with little or no control by the authorities.

“It is as if the loggers are in a hurry to clear the whole area above the proposed Baleh hydroelectric power dam, which is currently under feasibility studies,” he said.

He warned that more similar incidents could happen again if such manner of logging was allowed to continue.

Besides, he said, the soil along the Baleh tributaries was loose and heavily churned up by logging activities, which could easily turn into mudslides by prolonged heavy rain.

While the government’s policy on forest management was very clear, he said, greater implementation and enforcement were needed.

“I would like to urge the big boys to stop sub-contracting the jobs to others to prevent illegal logging and gangsterism in the area,” he said, adding that no such incident occurred when large companies operated in the area over the last three decades.

He added that this was the third such incident to happen at Baleh River, causing havoc to the local community.

The first was recorded in 2008 at Sg Ga’at, while last year a similar incident happened at Sg Tutoh.

According to him, the upper reaches of Baleh River are a very hilly and rugged terrain, making logging very dangerous. In a related incident, two people reportedly died in that area when the bridge was swept by the mudslide.

Both bodies have been found.

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How to create a Facebook Group

Facebook has launched a new Group feature that allows people to build a social network within the social network. Here’s a step-by-step guide to how to create a group.

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 2:48PM BST 07 Oct 2010

Facebook Groups is a new feature that allows people to group their friends by interest, activity, or topic. You could set up a group for your netball team, your university or school project, or even to help organise a holiday or a trip.

It enables the members of a group to engage in a real-time conversation using Facebook Chat, share photos or videos that they only want other members of the group to see, and assign the group a special email address to make it easier to keep up with what’s being planned and discussed.

Facebook has always had a "groups" feature, but there are few key differences between the "old" and "new" Facebook Groups.

The "new" groups allows you to engage in group chats, and set up a single email address for the group, so that anything sent to that address will automatically appear on the group's wall. You can also set group notifications in the "new" groups tool, which means that every time something is posted to the group, all users will receive an alert. Don't worry, though, you can decide what kind of notifications you receive, so you're not deluged with alerts.

The "new" groups tool also allows you to post documents to the group; it's not the most fully featured collaborative document tool, but it does allow you to use a small amount of markup on your basic text document (such as bullet points and bold or italics), and it also saves a version history, so you can see what has been changed on the document.

Your list of "old" groups can still be found under your profile picture. There is currently no easy way to turn an "old" group in to a "new" group. Once your profile has been updated to make the "new" groups accessible from your profile page, you will no longer be able to create "old" groups, though you will still be able to access those "old" groups.

So, here's how to set up a group:

:: To create a new Facebook Group, go to www.facebook.com/groups. Some users will be able to access this new feature directly through their profile page; for the time being, others will still access the “old” groups option when they click on Groups under their profile picture. Use the special Facebook Group home page for now to ensure you’re using the right tools.

:: Give your group a name. Then decide who you would like to invite to the group – typing in the name of Facebook friends will automatically add them in to the box; you do not need to use an email address.

:: Select the privacy level for your group. By default, all groups are “closed”, which means that although your other Facebook contacts will be able to see which of your friends are in any given group, they will not be able to see any of the content of that group, such as wall posts, photos and news feeds. You could decide to set your group to “open”, which makes the list of members, and the content of the site, fully public; or you could choose “secret”, which keeps both the list of members and content of the group totally private.

:: Once you have set up your group, you can assign it an email address (on a first come, first served basis). This enables members of the group to send an email to the assigned address to turn their message in to a wall post on the group’s wall. To generate an email address for the group, you need to click on the “Edit Group” option on the group’s home page, and select the “Email address: choose for group” option. Your email address will be something like yourgroupname@groups.facebook.com.

:: You can also use a Group Chat function to talk to all the members of a group at the same time. If anyone from the group is offline when the chat takes place, they can still see the chat history when they log back on, so they don’t miss out on anything.

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Jailbreak iOS 4.1 iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod touch 4G, iPad with GreenPois0n [How to Guide]

By Taimur Asad | October 12th, 2010


Chronic Dev Team has finally released GreenPois0n to the world. You can use it to jailbreak iOS 4.1 on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 4G / 3G and iPad. Support for iPod touch 2G and Apple TV will be added soon.


The following instructions will help you jailbreak iOS 4.1 on iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS using GreenPois0n.

NOTE: If you rely on an unlock, do not update to iOS 4.1 yet as doing so will upgrade your baseband, making it impossible for now to unlock. Either use TinyUmbrella to update to iOS 4.1 without update baseband ( instructions here), or wait for PwnageTool which will help you cook custom firmware files for iOS 4.1 without the upgraded baseband.


Step 1: Download GreenPois0n from the link given below.


Step 2: Connect your iPhone via USB to your computer and click on “Prepare to Jailbreak (DFU)” as seen in the screenshot below.

Step 3: Now follow the following onscreen instructions:

Press and hold the sleep button for 2 seconds

Continue holding sleep; press and hold home for 10 seconds.

Release sleep button; continue holding home for 15 seconds.

Step 4: Your device is now ready for jailbreak. Click on “Jailbreak” to inject the exploit.

Step 5: Your iPhone
iPhone, iPad or iPod touch should now be successfully jailbroken on iOS 4.1 !

Step 6: Now start “Loader” found on the homescreen and install Cydia:

This is it! You are done ! 

Download GreenPois0n for Windows
Download iOS 4.1 for iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod touch 4G / 3G
Download iOS 3.2.2 for iPad 

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Limera1n and Greenpois0n iPhone Jailbreak Tools Released!

By Bob Bhatnagar - 

Published October 13th 2010 


The jailbreak community has been active lately. Thanks to a surprise release of the limera1n jailbreak tool from Geohot, the release of Greenpois0n was delayed. Now both hacks use the same unpatchable bootrom exploit and are available to the iOS device-owning public.

In the meantime, the SHAtter exploit initially planned for Greenpois0n has been shelved for future use. Apple will surely fix the bootrom exploit in the next round of iOS hardware, however this time the jailbreak developers have a countermeasure ready for action.

Limera1n will jailbreak firmware 4.0, 4.01, 4.02, and 4.1 running on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3G , iPod touch 4G, and the iPad running iOS 3.2.2. Limera1n for Windows can be found at limera1n.com. The software is still a beta release and some users have reported problems. Future releases should support other platforms. The iPhone Dev-Team warns on their blog, "DO NOT USE LIMERA1N IF YOU USE THE ULTRASN0W CARRIER UNLOCK — wait for PwnageTool to incorporate the limera1n exploit. This is so that you can avoid updating your baseband and losing the unlock (possibly forever)."

Greenpois0n is also still under beta development. Right now it works for the iOS devices listed above but only when running iOS 4.1. Both Windows and Linux versions are available at greenpois0n.com. The Chronic Dev Team announced that support for Apple TV and iPod touch 2G jailbreaks are in the works, as well as a Mac version.

A wireless carrier unlock that will allow your locked iPhone to work with any compatible service provider is still under development. In the meantime, make sure to use TinyUmbrella to back up your SHSH files.

More explanation from the iPhone Dev-Team blog: "Because the 'untethered' part of this jailbreak comes from a userland hack from @comex, you should still backup your SHSH hashes for 4.1... This way you can always come back to an untethered, jailbreakable 4.1 on your devices after Apple has closed their 4.1 signing window (they’ll close the 4.1 window once they push out their next firmware version)."

As always, jailbreak tools for any and all iOS devices are released free of charge. There are many fake products that will scam users out of money. Never pay for a jailbreak tool unless you're voluntarily donating to the developers!

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Baleh and Rajang River to house the next Kuala Lumpur?

Transport at standstill as debris clog rivers

by James Ling. Posted on October 8, 2010, Friday

KAPIT: Riverine transport here came to a standstill yesterday as a massive amount of dead wood, sawn timber and other debris clogged the Baleh and Rajang rivers from 7am.

NO WAY THROUGH: Driftwood in the river makes it impossible for boats to travel.

Locals called the phenomenon ‘bah tuggal’, which happened after parts of the riverbank is believed to have collapsed, causing havoc among local residents dependent on the river for transport.

As news spread, local residents flocked to the waterfront to see the phenomenon for themselves.

At the Kapit-Sibu Express Terminal, those waiting to pick up relatives and friends from Sibu were speaking anxiously on their phones as no express boats could get through.

Retiree Wasli Nor said a possible explanation could be riverbank erosion in Baleh, which was a logging hub.

“There were massive deposits of dead wood, gravel, and sand,caused by soil and riverbank erosion. Heavy rain may have caused a sudden surge in water level and the deposits collapsed and washed down river,” he said.

Kapit District Council acting secretary Kelimbit Sibat cautioned those dependent on water transport to exercise extreme care, and especially look out for submerged deadwood.

Sergeant Getah Untam, from the Kapit police, said by 3pm the floating debris had reached Sungai Ensilai and was likely to have reached Song by last night.

“Early Friday morning the debris would probably arrive in Sibu. Boat operators should be very careful,” he warned.

Meanwhile, YH Wong said the phenomenon was probably the first sign of more problems to come.

“The water would probably flood Kapit by midnight (today). People should stay vigilant and on guard to get ready for evacuation in case of emergency to higher ground,” he advised.

A local Iban, who wished to remain anonymous, said the rare occurrence was a bad omen.

“It has never occurred over the past 50 years that such a large amount of debris flowed down to completely cover the river, blocking any navigable passage,” he said.

An elderly Chinese man agreed with him, saying this could be the first signal of ‘the end of the world’.

“Because of human destruction to nature. So Mother Nature wants to punish the greed of human activities,” said the man who also requested anonymity.

mukapetang:  The debris could be seen from the Baleh and Rajang river bank.  I pity those chap that uses the river mainly for transport or to get medical help.  They will now have to wait till the debris have been cleared. Who is responsible to clear these debris?  Some say we should blame it on the logging company, some say we should not wait for the debris to clear but need to take up some actions to tackle these river clogging issues.   STIDC should be thinking hard right now to overcome this issue in the future.  Preventive actions and corrective actions should be made at the same time while waiting for decision from the government.  

This is a serious environmental impact and the government should lay out a plan and a working committee to solve this issue. Otherwise this will be a bad omen for us all!!!

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