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Sara et Sara

Né(e) le 11 août 2016

10 ans

Depuis sa naissance

Suivez les premières fois, les découvertes et tous les souvenirs de notre enfant.

Notre journal

Tous nos moments

De l’attente aux premières années, retrouvez ici les étapes et les souvenirs qui composent notre histoire.

Les échographies

Battery for HP ProBook 4540s

The vulnerabilities in question are CVE-2016-4957 (another vulnerability in Crypto-NAK found by Cisco), and from Red Hat there's CVE-2016-4953 (an authentication bug), CVE-2016-4954 (server packet spoofing), CVE-2016-4955 (autokey association reset) and CVE-2016-4956 (a broadcast interleave bug).This Damn War “What’s the smallest fire I could start to be noticed, but not so big that I risk burning down the building?” is one of the stranger thoughts to have entered my head, in many years of working in IT. No, I'm not a closet pyromaniac, so why was I entertaining such thoughts?I had found myself stuck in a data centre on a Sunday afternoon and by that point, I’d been in there for over two hours with no sign of rescue. That shouldn’t have been the case, of course, but a series of unfortunate events had led me down that road.The data centre in question was undergoing an enormous refurbishment, and the rack I was working on was one of the last stragglers in an aged hall that was waiting to be decommissioned. When I arrived, the on-site team were very conscientious in pointing out open floor tiles and various other construction-related trip hazards; unfortunately, the contractors had been rather less meticulous.


I completed the work I needed to, then packed up my bag to leave. When I got to the exit however, my access card wouldn’t unlock the door. After a few frustrated swipes I tried the emergency door release button, also to no avail. Following some rather pitiful shoulder bunts against the door, to see if the release was working but the door itself was physically stuck – it wasn’t, it hurt – I conceded that the contractors must have fouled up the access control system somehow.“Not a problem,” I thought to myself, and picked up the telephone on the wall adjacent to the door, normally a direct line through to the operations centre. The line was dead, another casualty of the building work.“Still nothing to worry about,” I mused, and started waving my arms in front of the CCTV camera above the door to get someone’s attention.I jumped around in front of that camera for far longer than I’d care to admit, before I resigned myself to the fact that nobody was watching (or rather, able to watch) and sat down on the floor to take stock of my options.I first reached for my mobile phone which was almost fully charged, but had no signal in the metal sarcophagus of the data centre’s innards. Next up was my laptop: I could grab a network cable, plug directly into the network switch in my rack, and contact the outside world to achieve my freedom. Unfortunately, that was my third stop of the day and I’d already worn my laptop’s meagre battery down… and the power supply was on my desk at home. There wasn’t even a KVM trolley in the hall to use one of our servers to call for help, another casualty of the decommissioning process.



Deflated, I sat on the floor, and wondered how long it would take for someone to notice I was gone. I hadn’t given my wife an ETA for arriving home and as far as my colleagues were concerned this was a “pop in on my way past” flying visit, so they wouldn’t be expecting to hear from me again. By this point, I’d been in there for well over an hour and nobody had been to check on me; I was starting to get worried.What got me really worried was when I couldn’t open the fire door at the back of the hall. I could depress the release bar, but there was some construction detritus behind the door that meant it simply wouldn’t budge. Cue more pathetic shoulder charging, to no avail.I hammered on the fire door for a while and shouted myself hoarse, but nobody heard, so I tried the main door. Shouting for help turned into profanities, which turned into pleading and plaintive wails, but no help was forthcoming.Again, I sat on the floor and stewed for a while, and by the two-hour mark I was starting to feel desperate, which probably explains the (admittedly, very poorly-thought out) ‘start a small fire’ plan; quickly shelved, when I realised the fire alarm didn’t go off when I tried the door.


As I began to contemplate a night in my personal air-conditioned hell, a thought occurred to me: the fire alarm might have been yet another casualty of building works, but it wasn’t the only kind of monitoring.I ran over to my rack and pulled a couple of redundant power cables; not serious enough for an outage, but enough to generate some alerts from our own monitoring. I replaced them and did the same with more servers – lather, rinse and repeat – until the constantly flapping monitors caused one of my team to ring the data centre, to ask them to eyeball our rack and check for ‘power problems’.All told, I’d been trapped in that data centre for less than three hours, but even so when that door did finally open I felt like Shawshank Redemption’s Andy Dufresne. Lenovo is warning users to uninstall its Accelerator support application after it was revealed to have what it says are serious interception vulnerabilities.The company is one of five vendors caught pre-installing dangerously-vulnerable OEM software.


Duo Security researcher Mikhail Davidov reported the holes that would allow eavesdropping attackers to tap into Accelerator's unencrypted update channels to compromise users."A vulnerability was identified in the Lenovo Accelerator Application software which could lead to exploitation by an attacker with man-in-the-middle capabilities," Lenovo says."The vulnerability resides within the update mechanism where a Lenovo server is queried to identify if application updates are available."Lenovo recommends customers uninstall Lenovo Accelerator Application."Unencrypted update channels open an avenue for attackers to among other efforts push malware masquerading as software patches. It is limited in that it requires affected users to connect to malicious or open wireless networks to be exposed.Only those Lenovo machines with Windows 10 pre-installed sport the exposed app.The Lenovo Accelerator Application is used to speed up the launch of Lenovo applications and was installed in some notebook and desktop systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system.



Laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP were also tested and found to have a dozen vulnerabilities. All contained at least one hijacking flaw, most of which are easy to exploit.Lenovo says some 46 notebook and 25 desktop lines are affected, including its top end Y700 gaming laptop, IdeaCentre all-in-one desktops, and Yoga flip netbooks.It follows the 2014 shelling of Lenovo after it bundled the Superfish adware which used a trusted root certification authority certificate that allowed attackers to spoof HTTPS traffic. AMD has officially torn the wraps off its seventh-generation processors for laptops and notebooks. These are, we're told, shipping in volume in gear from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.As warned in April, and announced today at Computex 2016 in Taipei, the CPUs use AMD's Excavator architecture as found in Carrizo.AMD's new “Bristol Ridge” seventh-gen family features 35W and 15W versions of AMD's FX, A12 and A10 processors, and the “Stoney Ridge” gang includes 15W A9, A6 and E2 chips. The list of Mini Chipzilla's seventh-gen CPUs is here.


Meanwhile, the $199 Radeon RX 480 graphics processor has popped up, powered by the Polaris architecture, and is aimed at VR geeks. Computers from many of the biggest PC makers are riddled with easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities in pre-loaded software, security researchers warn.The research from Duo Security shows that bloatware is not just a nuisance that causes a lag in system boot-up, but a security risk. Laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo all have at least one security vulnerability that can lead to a full system compromise. Most of the vulnerabilities would be straightforward to exploit even for technically unsophisticated hackers, according to Duo Security.Lenovo copped an enormous amount of flack after it began bundling Superfish adware with some of its computers in September 2014. Superfish adware was installed on some Lenovo PCs with a trusted root certification authority (CA) certificate, allowing an attacker to spoof HTTPS traffic.A machine with Superfish VisualDiscovery installed will be vulnerable to SSL spoofing attacks without a warning from the browser, as US CERT warned around the time the scandal broke in early 2015.

Les achats

Battery for Dell 0J70W7

Delegates at these cons are a mix of professional penetration testers and security admins, hackers of dubious history, curious developers, and students. Some of those attending are partly responsible for defending the nation’s biggest and most important companies.Most of these volunteer-run and continually sold-out events cost between A$50 and A$150, with some occasionally free for the most broke hacker, and are home to a staple of community-run lockpick and capture the flag competitions lasting what is a typically two-day conference.After an arguable decade of hiatus, the cheap grassroots cons have spread out to cover almost all Australian states. Hackers have WAHCKON in Perth, CrikeyCon in Brisbane, Platypuscon in Sydney, BSides in Canberra, Unrest in Melbourne, and regional pillar Kiwicon in Wellington.These could not be further from the typical C-level security event where ticket prices demand up to A$2000, technical talks are scarce, and vendor booths and pressed suits are as prolific as branded backpacks.BSides Canberra, held on the shoulder of the Government’s large defence sector-orientated Australian Cyber Security Conference (ACSC), concluded its second and last day to a standing ovation. The $50 hacker meet run by security pair Silvio Cesare and Kylie McDevitt sold out quickly. “There are many reasons we started BSides Canberra,” co-organiser Cesare says. “We wanted to provide a local conference for Canberra at which we could inspire the next generation of hackers.”


The popular pair have a focus on encouraging new blood into the security sector at large, and more specifically into the conference circuit to consume and present new research. To that end they have kept the ticket prices rock bottom to ensure it is accessible to anyone interested in the field.Sponsorship from community-centric security firms means the conference breaks even, throws two open-bar parties, and gives each of the 360 delegates a custom t-shirt and home-made Arduino badge that displays the conference running order. Says Cesare: “… we think there will be people at corporate conference that will go nowhere near a hackercon and vice versa but there will also be an overlap,” Cesare says. “We don’t make a profit … this is just our passion.”Highlights of the con include auctioning nasty Oracle zeroday flaws – one written on a napkin – to fund a ‘steak dinner’ for the organisers, a “nail-biting” capture the flag competition decided in the last four minutes, and some delegate badge re-tweaking.
Who: A stable core 'Crüe' of Bogan, Pipes (retired), metlstorm, Sharrow, Ad, Vex, Madman, Squirrelboy, and Lisa, along with a retinue of volunteers who make the ship sail, and SiteHost who host the con's web presence gratis.Kiwicon celebrates its tenth year in November and is placed at the top of many Aussie and Kiwi hacker con wish lists. It has ballooned in size from a small gathering at a university campus building to outgrow Wellington's iconic Opera House and the St. James Theatre.



Local and overseas speakers come to offer technical strolls, highlight horrid holes in enterprise software and advice to improve delegates' exploitation prowess, and a litany of illustrations that paint the sorry state of information security. This all takes place against a backdrop of metal music and pyrotechnics. Attendees gain perspective on the event with the aid of local craft beer bearing Kiwicon insignia.The genesis was simple; if the Aussies can do it, surely we can? con organiser Metlstorm says. How hard can it be to get 80 people in a room, talk about computer hacking, then go to the pub? … From there Kiwicon just burgeoned into a monster that fundamentally is built in our own image of not taking ourselves very seriously.What is now more of a hacker themed variety show Kiwicon has become a slick entertaining production that balances showmanship with technical content that guarantees the expanded 2200 seats this year will again fill fast. The upcoming event will likely be the biggest antipodean security con, despite its banishment of the immortal trade event annoyances: vendor shillin', big money illin', no booth babes, no booths, no paid talks, no swag bags full of crap you're gonna throw out immediately, no bullshit, and of course the sticker shock of the ticket price, the respected penetration tester says.


Recent notable talks include William Turner's evisceration of then still-vulnerable Christchurch bus system, a feat which led to the then kid hacker winning 'most likely to be arrested' and, through subsequent bureaucratic hamfisting, led to admin credentials being disclosed in public freedom of information documents.Another year hacker Denis Andzakovic outfitted his Yamaha with a HUD and hardware to build a Wi-Fi war bike. At last year's con two hackers displayed equal measures of daring and showmanship when revealing algorithm flaws that allowed Kiwis to print their own non-expiring discount petrol coupons scanned at the pump. They even printed and successfully demonstrated the barcodes printed on teeshirts.Kiwicon is like all the community cons that followed it a manifestation of hacker imaginings. We built the con we wanted to go to; cheap, real, friendly and interesting, Metlstorm says. That probably excludes the national-security F35-lovin' conference crowd. Tradeshow events showcase the root cause of the problems in the infosec industry, Metlstorm says. We humbly aim to be the opposite.


The con bears a different theme each year which of late tend to mock the corporate technology world and the military industrial complex: 'it's always 1989 in computer security' chimed one 8-bit motif, while cyber-friends was painted on Kiwicon 7 as an answer to the vacuous cries of cyber war.Still, Kiwicon is an inclusive event and Meltstorm welcomes the errant military industrial tradeshow traveller: So, if the day comes when they're ready to accept empiricism into their cold dead hearts, after all their shit got owned via the security products they bought or sold, we'll be here still, actual practitioners doing the actual work that actually advances the state of the motherf**kin' art.
Unrest is a brand spanking new security con set to hold the first of what history says will be many events in Melbourne's north. The hacker con is billed as an audiovisual experience which will eschew the traditional conference space along with its filter coffee, jerks in suits, and awful hors d'oeuvre for an unconventional audio-visual experience.The con with its fictitious Ministry of Unrest and Illuminati-esque iconography is home to promising technical and social engineering talks, workshops, and a chill-out art and gaming area.It is the brainchild of penetration tester, lockpicker, and hopeful comedian Wily. We wanted to do something different, he says. A non-traditional venue, no corporate sponsorship, low cost, and high impact.



Wily gives a nod to Ruxcon, the established but more pricer Melbourne hacker con that since 2003 has regularly sold out with technical talks and workshops. Ruxcon has been around in Australia since 2003, and has always brought together the Australian community, Wily says. Other community hacker conferences have sprung up around the country, and there is certainly room for more of these events.There is, Wily says, space for both the pricer cons such as the recently held AusCERT corporate conference in Queensland's Gold Coast, and the more expensive Syscan technical hacker con in Singapore, and the grassroots community events.But without the big ticket price tag, Wily is merely aiming to break even: We are hoping to break even, and if we're lucky we might, he says. When asked by Vulture South if he and his fellow con organisers 'hate money', the hacker sums up their collective commitment to community: we are a bunch of overpaid infosec jerks.
This Sydney startup con is a hands-on hacker meet where the policy is show up with a laptop or not at all. Co-organiser lin_s has, with a little help from his friends, developed a conference that emphasises practical hacker experimentation. “We started the con and our community (Just Hack Shit) on the basis that we wanted to see something different from the traditional security content of just speakers talking at the audience,” she says. “We wanted to build a group where people from all walks of life could come and do infosec nerd stuff on the proviso that they had to participate.”

Les présentations

Batterie pour HP Compaq NW8240

L’équipe WordPress.org vient d’annoncer une nouvelle version du populaire CMS, WordPress 4.5.3, qui comprend des correctifs pour 8 bugs de sécurité, et 17 problèmes de maintenance.La faille de sécurité la plus importante du projet, qui est désormais patché dès lors que vous mettez à jour votre plate-forme de blogging, permettait à un hacker de modifier le mot de passe d’un utilisateur en récupérant les cookies. Michael Adams, de l’équipe de sécurité de WordPress, a découvert ce problème en interne.Les cookies de navigateur sont faciles à dérober, et il y a beaucoup d’opportunités par une simple injection XSS (cross-site scripting), allant jusu’à voler le cookie d’un utilisateur pour un site spécifique, ou pour tous.L’équipe WordPress a également corrigé un problème de redirection dans le thème, et une autre problématique dans la fonction d’historique des révisions. Il a également été rapporté deux vulnérabilités XSS. Les deux ont été trouvés dans la façon dont WordPress gère le nom des pièces jointes dans les pages. Rien de trop grave, mais encore une fois, un problème XSS n’est dangereux que s’il n’est pas corrigé. WordPress 4.5.3 a également corrigé une faille, permettant à des hackers d’éliminer les catégories de vos articles.


L’équipe Automattic a d’ores et déjà poussée la mise à jour. Pour tous ceux ayant configuré les mises à jour automatiques, cette dernière version est déjà installée sur votre installation. Pour tous les autres, il faudra manuellement déclencher la mise à jour depuis le tableau de bord en cliquant sur un unique bouton.Si vous espériez un tout nouveau design pour l’iPhone 7 attendu cet automne, et bien le Wall Street Journal indique que vous risquez d’être déçu. Mise à part la rumeur relayant la décision plutôt controversée de retirer la prise casque standard de 3,5 mm en faveur de son port Lightning et le sans-fil par la technologie Bluetooth, l’iPhone 7 de cette année vont avoir beaucoup en commun avec l’iPhone 6 et l’iPhone 6S.Selon les habituelles « personnes familières avec le sujet », la nouvelle conception de l’iPhone lui permettra d’être environ un millimètre plus mince que les actuels iPhone 6 et iPhone 6S, et la suppression de la prise casque améliorera l’étanchéité du smartphone.Hormis ce changement, les smartphones seront semblables à la conception des iPhone 6 et 6S, et ils vont conserver les mêmes tailles d’écran de 4,7 et 5,5 pouces.



Une refonte plus large, y compris un écran OLED bord à bord et la suppression du bouton Home, pourrait arriver pour le 10e anniversaire de l’iPhone, en 2017 — soit l’iPhone 8.On peut donc s’attendre à un changement majeur en 2017. Le Wall Street Journal note qu’Apple espère utiliser des écrans courbés qui ne sont pas prêts pour les modèles de cette année. Autrement dit, il pourrait être un rival au Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.Apple a redessiné l’iPhone tous les deux ans depuis l’iPhone 3G, sorti en 2008. Le 3 GS a apporté un changement des composants internes, mais a gardé le même design, et l’iPhone 4 et 4S, 5 et 5S, et 6 et 6S ont maintenu la même ligne directrice. Comme dans les années « S », Apple devrait se pencher sur l’amélioration des performances et de la caméra pour son prochain smartphone.Les détails de deux Chromebooks ont fuité sur la toile, dont l’un sera offert par Lenovo et l’autre par HP. Tous deux seraient dotés de processeurs Intel « Braswell », et d’un écran tactile de 11,6 pouces. Le modèle de Lenovo s’affiche encore sur le site Web de CDW, et coûte à peine 274 dollars, en embarquant 32 Go de stockage eMMC et 4 Go de mémoire vive (RAM).


Il s’agit d’une mise à niveau du Lenovo N22 Chromebook, comme le souligne Brent Sullivan sur sur Google Plus. Le Chromebook N22 a été lancé au mois de mars pour les étudiants, embarquant un processeur Intel Celeron N3050 cadencé à 1,6 GHz, un écran de 11,6 pouces avec une résolution de 1 366 x 768 pixels, 4 Go de mémoire vive, 16 Go de stockage interne, et une connectivité sans fil Wi-fi 802,11 ac. Il est alimenté par une batterie promettant jusqu’à 10 heures d’autonomie sur une seule charge.Les détails concernant la nouvelle génération du Chromebook N22 sont rares, indiquant simplement que le modèle inclura un écran IPS tactile. Cela dit, il semble que la mise à niveau ne concernera que l’écran, qui va s’avérer essentiel pour le support des applications Android, attendu plus tard dans l’année.Concernant le Chromebook de HP, le dispositif est apparu dans un document officiel de HP. Le HP Chromebook 11 G4 a été lancé il y a six mois, mais le document révèle un modèle G5 arborant un processeur Intel Celeron N3060 cadencé à 1,60 GHz avec 2 Go ou 4 Go de mémoire vive (RAM). Des options de stockage internes sont de 16 ou 32 Go.


Le document montre que le modèle G5 dispose d’un écran de 11,6 pouces avec une résolution 1366 x 768. La version tactile semble être protégée par un verre Gorilla Glass, tandis que le modèle de base (sans le tactile) n’aura pas cette caractéristique. Parmi les autres spécifications attendues, celles-ci comprennent une sortie HDMI v1.4, deux ports USB 3.1, un port pour carte micro SD, une connectivité Wi-fi 802.11 ac et du Bluetooth 4.2, deux haut-parleurs intégrés, un webcam TrueVision HD 720p, deux microphones, et une batterie à deux cellules de 43,7 W/h.Nous ne savons pas quand Lenovo et HP lanceront leurs nouveaux Chromebooks, mais on peut s’attendre à ce que ces derniers arrivent juste avant le début de la nouvelle année scolaire, au mois d’août.Puisque les consommateurs qui attendent de mettre la main sur un tout nouveau MacBook Pro trépignent d’impatience et ne savent pas vraiment si une telle machine va voir le jour, une nouvelle publication suggère que l’entreprise est tranquillement en train de réaliser les préparatifs pour son futur ordinateur portable, attendu pour le dernier trimestre de cette année.



Parmi les nouveautés attendues, on s’attend à une réorganisation de la gamme Pro du fait de l’écoulement des stocks, et notamment des machines non Retina, dont le dernier modèle n’a pas reçu une mise à niveau depuis 2012, selon Apple Insider. Les sources des Apple Store mentionnent que le géant de la technologie a commencé à mettre à l’écart des ventes la plus ancienne machine de 13 pouces. Néanmoins, j’avoue que je ne savais même pas que les Apple Store affichaient toujours des MacBook Pro non Retina sur ses bureaux.À 1 199 euros, la machine non Retina coûte 300 euros de moins que la version Retina — 1 449 euros pour le modèle d’entrée de gamme. Outre l’écran de meilleure qualité, le modèle plus récent est également plus léger, plus mince, plus puissant, et comprend du stockage flash au lieu d’un disque dur mécanique.Le MacBook Po pourrait fortement évolué en 2016Le MacBook Pro pourrait fortement évolué en 2016
En plus d’être plus légère et plus mince que l’actuel MacBook Pro, la prochaine génération d’ordinateur portable d’Apple devrait inclure une « barre d’écran tactile OLED » à la place des touches de fonction le long de la partie supérieure du clavier. Celle-ci permettrait de lancer et d’interagir avec le périphérique d’une nouvelle façon.Il pourrait également avoir un clavier similaire à celui observé sur le MacBook de 12 pouces, le plus mince ordinateur que la société a lancé en 2015. Sont également attendus un capteur Touch ID, et le support pour la connectique Thunderbolt 3 et USB-C.

Les échographies

Akku für Apple A1008

Das Elektroauto lädt sich teilweise durch Sonnenenergie selbst auf. Im Dach, in der Motorhaube, im Heck und in der gesamten seitlichen Karosserie befinden sich monokristalline Siliziumzellen, die unter einer acht Millimeter dicken Polykarbonat-Schicht angebracht sind. Dieses Material ist nahezu unzerbrechlich und witterungsbeständig. Insgesamt 7,5 Quadratmeter der Außenfläche des Wagens nehmen sie ein und laden, wenn das Auto abgestellt wird. Der Sion kommt mit seinen Batterien auf eine Reichweite von bis zu 250 Kilometern. An sonnenreichen Tagen sollen die Solarzellen nach Herstellerangaben Strom für bis zu 30 zusätzliche Kilometer erzeugen können. Bei bewölktem Himmel sind es immerhin noch 15 Kilometer extra.


Solarauto und Stromgenerator in einem


Das bidirektionale Ladesystem (biSono-System) des Sions macht aus dem Elektroauto einen mobilen Stromspeicher. Elektronische Geräte lassen sich an den Sion durch eine von außen zugängliche Steckdose anschließen. Mittels eines Haushaltssteckers für alle gängigen elektronischen Geräte (230 Volt) mit bis zu 2.700 Watt ist die Stromentnahme möglich. Mit einem Output von 6,6 Kilowatt ist er sogar in der Lage, andere Elektroautos zu laden. Über eine App kann man Strom, der nicht benötigt wird, zur Weitergabe anbieten. Außerdem soll man über die Applikation den Sion als Mitfahrgelegenheit anbieten können oder den Wagen vermieten.


Spezielles Moos filtert Luft


Viel Wert auf Nachhaltigkeit legten die Entwickler auch bei der Gestaltung des Innenraumes. Sie integrierten in die Armatur Moos, das als natürliche Klimaanlage fungieren soll. Es sorgt für Luftfilterung und bedarf keinerlei Pflegeaufwand. Das Moos zieht das Wasser, das es benötigt, aus der Luft und reguliert so gleichzeitig die Luftfeuchtigkeit im Innenraum. Die Mikrostrukturen des Mooses binden Feinstaubpartikel aus der Luft, so atmet man selbst auf stärker befahrenen Straßen frischen Sauerstoff ein. Außerdem schützt das Moos nach Brandschutzklasse B1, da es feuerhemmend ist.



Dank seines einzigartigen Instandhaltungssystems reSono erweist sich die Wartung des Sion als kostengünstig und unkompliziert, betont der Hersteller. Das Werkstattbuch ist kostenlos auf der Website von Sono Motors einsehbar. Ersatzteile sollen preiswert online nachbestellbar sein. Auch ohne große Fachkenntnisse lassen sich einfachere Arbeiten mit Hilfe von Erklärungsvideos sowie eines Anweisungskatalogs selbstständig verrichten. Die Instandhaltungskosten halten sich so im Rahmen und eine lange Lebensdauer ist gewährleistet.


Geringer Preis macht Elektromobilität alltagstauglich


Der Sion soll im Vergleich zu anderen E-Autos auf dem Markt deutlich preiswerter sein. Bei der Präsentation des Solarautos gab der Hersteller bekannt, dass es nicht wie ursprünglich angekündigt die Version Urban (12.000 Euro) und Extender (16.000 Euro) geben wird, sondern nur den Extender. Der Wagen soll mit einer monatlichen Batteriemiete oder einem einmaligen Batteriekauf in Höhe von 4.000 Euro verfügbar sein. Frühestens 2019 wird die Auslieferung beginnen. Dafür sollten allerdings 5.000 Vorbestellungen vorliegen.


Der ETM Verlag verleiht in Zusammenarbeit mit der Dualen Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) Ravensburg zum zweiten Mal den Deutschen Telematik Preis. Die Nominierten und damit die jeweils ersten drei Platzierten der ersten Runde stehen fest. Ihre Anwendungen werden jetzt im Labor getestet, um den Gewinner in den neun Kategorien zu ermitteln. Alle Leistungen der Teilnehmer werden in den fünf Klassen Systemeigenschaften, Ortung und Kartendarstellung, fahrzeugbezogene Funktionen, fahrerbezogene Funktionen und Geschäftsprozessmanagement untersucht.


OEM-Telematik setzt zunehmend auf Apps

In der Kategorie Hersteller-Telematik beziehungsweise OEM-Telematik sind Daimler Fleetboard, Scania One und ­Volvo Dynafleet nominiert. In der ersten Runde stellte sich heraus, dass Fleetboard besonders beim Geschäftsprozessmanagement herausragt. Mit Fleetboard Disposition und Fleetboard Messaging hat das Unternehmen eigene Funktionen im Programm, um die Fahrzeuge auch zu disponieren.

Hinzu kommt ein App Store, in dem sich die Nutzer spezialisierte Programme herunterladen können. Bisher wurden gerade diese Features eher vernachlässigt. Die Hersteller konzentrierten sich mehr auf ihre Kernkompetenzen, die Fahrzeug­daten. Daraus konnten sie überdies sehr gut die Fahr­weise der Fahrer analysieren. Damit punkten Scania und Volvo. Zudem sticht Volvo mit Dynafleet auch bei den Ortungs- und Kartenfunktionen heraus. Das wird ein spannender Kampf um die Trophäe.



Das größte Feld mit acht ­Lösungen im Wettbewerberfeld bildeten die Nachrüst-Lkw-Telematiken für Komplett-/Teilladungen. Dort setzten sich nach der ersten Runde Arealcontrol, GPS over IP und Tom Tom ­Telematics durch. Die Drittanbieter sind auf den ersten Blick besonders stark bei den Ortungsfunktionen und der Karten­darstellung. Hier kommen die Nominierten teilweise auf mehr als 90 Prozent. Wer sich hier durchsetzen will, musste aber auch in den anderen Unter­suchungsfeldern starke Funktionen nachweisen. Arealcontrol konnte sich hier mit dem Arealpilot 720 MDT und dem eignen Telematik­portal durchsetzen, GPS over IP kommt mit dem GPS-Auge und dem GPS-Explorer in die nächste Runde und Tom Tom Tele­matics schafft es mit dem Pro 8275 in Verbindung mit Link 510 und dem Portal Webfleet.


Im Stückkgut braucht es andere Funtionen

Wie wandelbar die Lösungen der Drittanbieter sein können, zeigt sich in der Kategorie Nachrüst-Lkw-Telematik für Stückguttransporte. Im Vergleich zu Komplett- und Teilladungen müssen die Lösungen im Stückgutbereich differenzierte Funktionen anbieten, um die Ladung immer im Blick zu behalten. Die gleichen Unternehmen haben teilweise auch hier die Nase vorn, obwohl besonders das Geschäftsprozess-Management beim Stückgut höher gewichtet wird.

Les échographies

Battery for Lenovo ThinkPad SL500

NASA has deliberately set a fire inside a Cygnus spacecraft, after detaching from the International Space Station (ISS) for safety reasons.The capsule is carrying the Spacecraft Fire Experiment, which has ignited a variety of materials to study how they burn and spread in microgravity. The purpose is to help protect future missions from the possibility of burning up while the nearest fire department is millions of miles away.NASA reports that the experiment is burning nicely and has traveled 1,000 miles in space so far. When NASA is sure it's received all the data it can from the tests the whole lot will be pushed earthward for fiery disposal. It is with incredible sadness that El Reg must report that Lester Haines, one of our finest story-tellers and an all-round good bloke, passed away on Monday. We have published his obituary, The Life and Times of Lester Haines.Lester, who was 55, died of a heart attack at his home in Spain. He will be cremated on Friday 17 June.Readers will know Lester for his biting wit, his piloting of the Special Projects Bureau – including the PARIS and LOHAN projects – and his wonderful recreations of real-world events through the medium of PlayMobil.


Lester joined The Register in 2000 to manage merchandising and photography but grabbed the nearest laptop and wrote his first article in September that year, about one of our own defecting to the dark side – or PR, as it is otherwise known.Among the 7,300 stories Lester produced for El Reg were regular features including Logo Watch, Strategy Boutique, Rise of the Machines, and Flame of the Week.It didn't get any airtime at the big opening day of the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but excitement is building around Apple's next-generation file system.Early specs show the system will bring your hard drive into the modern era, most notably by supporting native encryption. It will also time-stamp files by nanoseconds (rather than seconds), making it better for modern databases, and take snapshots of the file system, massively reducing the time needed to make backups.Other interesting features include crash protection, space sharing – which will enable much more flexible partitioning – optimization for solid-state hard drives, and a better system for cleaning up deleted files.In short, the new Apple File System (APFS) can be expected to bring significant advances in speed and efficiency, and the updating of Apple's file sharing technology, which hasn't changed in nearly 20 years (others, of course, have developed more modern systems that are now 10 years old).



APFS' preliminary information has been released to developers, and sessions on it will take place this week at WWDC. It is scheduled to ship sometime in 2017, meaning that the company may be able to boast big performance improvements in its products toward the end of that year. It is designed to work with all of Apple's operating systems – iOS, watchOS, tvOS and macOS.There is still a lot of work to be done, however. It is not currently possible to start your computer directly with the file system, and it doesn't work with Apple's current encryption and archiving systems – presumably because it is intended to replace them.The file system is also case-sensitive and that apparently cannot be disabled, which will lead to all sorts of knock-on compatibility issues. Yep, you will have to buy more Apple gear: a new watch to go with your new phone to sync with your new laptop. Apple is always looking after that bottom line.Support documents published by 9to5Mac indicated the platform will be rebranded macOS, the name of the Mac’s original OS when it launched in 1984, one of four Apple platforms. The others are watchOS, tvOS and iOS.


9to5Mac later updated its story to say Apple had changed its pages back to read Mac OS X.The workstation NeXTSTEP 1.0 was originally unveiled in 1988, before going cross platform.Apple acquired NeXT in a reverse takeover that brought Steve Jobs back to the company he founded, and the platform was revamped extensively before launching as Mac OS X in 2001. Presumably, Apple now reckons it's so long (15 years) since the last release of the original MacOS, no confusion will be created.USB-C and Thunderbolt are the last mainstream connections devices will need to the outside world, according to analyst firm ABI Research.The company's new Device Connectivity Report predicts that by the year 2020 “Almost half of the smartphones and 93% of laptops will include USB Type-C connectivity.” In coming years we'll also see gadget-makers will offer “fewer connectivity types and ports per device as the industry steadily transitions toward wireless solutions and cable-free devices.”ABI analyst Andrew Zigani opines that “USB-Type C and Thunderbolt 3.0 will be the last major physical ports to gain major significance and mainstream traction.”Next up? Wi-Gig, aka 802.11ad, which has already made it on to some business laptop vendors' feature lists for 2016 and is expected to become more common in coming years. WiGig can handle video traffic to displays or general purpose data. WiGig Docks are starting to emerge, but before long it's expected the standard will appear in devices like televisions, projectors and monitors.



Of course there are untold millions of such devices out there, most of which are good for years more use. Further, nobody is suggesting wireless charging pads are going to become so ubiquitous that we can all do without mains connections. So chances are gadgets will need at least one physical port for the foreseeable future.But Zignani reckons there's no need for the industry to consider mainstream connectors beyond USB-C and Thunderbolt 3.0. And seeing as Intel last year decided it's happy for the USB-C port to handle Thunderbolt traffic, rather than its own physical port design, we're on track for a single standard hole for most portable devices any year now.Special report In Australia and New Zealand, hackers are doing it for themselves by creating vibrant security conferences that run on their own terms and actively avoid the corporate-speak and fear-mongering that characterises so many vendor-led events.These conferences, or cons, are booming and showcase security skills that rival the best the global security industry can offer.The hacker-run conferences are nothing like commercial technology confabs: vendor pitches are universally banned, so are trade show booths. Bars replace bain maries full of conference casseroles and black metal-inspired custom shirts are the de facto uniform.At these events hackers reveal holes in the world's most popular technology and public transport systems to a soundtrack of sweeping moans of derision, laughter, and, for some cons, bursts of on-stage pyrotechnics.Most hacker presenters follow the modern line and push the companies they hack to fix holes ahead of their on-stage disclosures, yet blasé promises to fix earn retribution as zero-days are still dropped.

Les échographies

Battery for LENOVO ThinkPad W701

Using the iPad Pro made for some confused moments when reaching for a mouse that wasn’t there, but I quite quickly became accustomed to mashing the screen instead of rolling a rodent. I found the touch screen is not a precise instrument for selecting an edit point in text and therefore a little frustrating compared to a mouse. Over time I found I can live with it.I don’t like to write directly into The Reg’s CMS, because it is a web app and I worry about losing work with a fat-fingered mistake. So I write in a word processor and then copy and paste into the CMS.That’s a bit tricky in the iPad Pro, and rather slower than using a mouse. On the upside, iOS now has just enough filesystem so it’s easy to save into Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. And also easy to find files and do things like send them as attachments.Writing Reg stories and loading them into our CMS requires simple tools and processes.When Apple familiarised me with the iPad Pro (Cupertino doesn't just shove kit into a courier bag and let you start playing alone) it mentioned that the device really shines when you run apps built for a touch interface. Those apps also make use of the Pencil, which I've tried and found just doesn't fit into my workflows.


For now, it's clear that the iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard is a very, very capable mobile device that offers exceptional convenience to travellers and can do a job for simple content creation.But I must confess I couldn't stop myself reaching for the laptop when assembling a photograph-heavy story, and had to force myself to use the iPad for the photographs it contains as my instinct was to use my phone.“Lappability”, for me, therefore did not translate into easy ubiquity. At least at nine inches. But the iPad Pro can clearly do a job for many mobile workers, who will find it an elegant and reliable tool. Developing and deploying software is too hard, according to Chef co-founder and CTO Adam Jacob. An application may work fine on a developer's laptop or as a prototype on a single VM (virtual machine).However, if you want to run a production environment across thousands of servers, it gets significantly harder. Most of what's hard about it is about, how do I build the application that goes in the virtual machine? How do I build the virtual machine image? How do I orchestrate the way to deploy? How do I know that deployment is safe? How do I handle dynamic topology? How do I do service discovery, if my application depends on 15 other services for it to run? How do you know where they are? How do you update them? Those are the sorts of problems that are intractable, he told The Register.



His solution is Habitat, which went public today under the Apache license.What is Habitat? The core concept is that instead of deploying applications as-is, you deploy them as packages that are managed by a Habitat supervisor. A Habitat package includes the software and all its dependencies and configuration options. The supervisor manages the lifecycle of the package for which it is responsible, and is able to start, stop and update it. Habitat supervisors can be linked to form rings, which are groups of services. Habitat is agnostic about where it runs, which could be in a container or on a VM or on a physical server.The Habitat command line tool lets you build and install packages. It is most at home on Linux, but also works on Mac OS X in conjunction with Docker Toolbox, which creates a Docker environment on a Mac. A Windows version is on the way.We're going to work closely with Microsoft to get the Windows port of Habitat so that you can write Windows native apps and run them under the Habitat supervisor, said Jacob.The software in a package is ideally built from source, but can also be a proprietary binary. Habitat records all the dependencies and version information in a manifest. You also include configuration files in a language called TOML (it stands for Tom's Obvious, Minimal Language).


Using Habitat, all the behavior of the application through its entire lifecycle lives with the application itself as it moves through the lifecycle. It doesn't need any other system in order to behave correctly. So if you deploy the application and it's using Habitat, and you put it on bare metal, you manage it the same way you would manage it if you deployed that application on Cloud Foundry, or if you deployed it on Docker, or Mesos, or Kubernetes, said Jacob.The capabilities of Habitat supervisors, when linked, include dynamic configuration of services, called topologies. An example would be, you have a database. And you need to have one leader and lots of followers, so you're replicating all the data that comes into the database. The supervisor can manage that for you without you having to do anything. You don't have to deploy a configuration management server, or service discovery, or a deployment orchestration engine, or any of those things. You just tell the supervisor: this service runs in this topology, and it just works, Jacob told The Reg. As you deploy the application, you are also deploying the automation.



Is Habitat middleware? We describe it as application automation because we think that is the best possible fit for what it is. In a way it's middleware. It provides a bunch of services that an application can use. What's very different is that traditionally, you write the application for the middleware. That's backwards from Habitat. Habitat wraps around your application as it is. It's actually a new way of solving the problem, said Jacob.Habitat itself is written mostly in Rust, a systems programming language created by Mozilla. It makes some really great guarantees about safety. And it has no runtime, so it allows the supervisor itself to be very small. We love Rust, Jacob said.The most telling part of my conversation with Jacob came toward the end, when I asked what benefit Habitat brings to those who have already embraced fully automated application delivery.If you've gone through the trouble to understand how to do it the hard way, Habitat is like doing that in easy mode, he said. It sounds like a confession that doing DevOps right is currently too difficult.The project has initial support from others including Intel, Mesosphere and CoreOS. Future plans include an automated public build service as well as extending Habitat to cover more scenarios and platforms. An intriguing project, which you can check out here. Information about ChefConf 2016 in July can be found here.

Les présentations

Battery for LENOVO IdeaPad S205

The new so-called Swarm Mode in Docker Engine 1.12 is optional: it can be turned off if you still prefer to use Kubernetes or similar. It is designed to be self-organizing and self-healing, which is a fancy way of saying the software automatically makes sure it just works as configured, rebalancing workloads even if a server falls over.Basically, you run docker service create and a bunch of managers are fired up. They break the service into tasks and assign these to worker nodes, which run containers to provide that service.(These services, tasks and containers can be optionally described using a distributed application bundle – a .dab file – which uses a JSON format and is an experimental feature. DAB files are expected to arrive formally in Docker 1.13.)
The managers assign IP addresses, and ensure the workers are kept busy. If something falls over, it's restarted to a given state. A service deployment API will be available so software and admins can configure and control their swarms. There's also a routing mesh feature that provides multi-host overlay networking, DNS-based service discovery, and round-robin load-balancing out of the box.Swarm nodes are configured, by default, to use end-to-end TLS encryption between themselves to secure their communications with rotating certificates and cryptographically secured identities. This cryptography is handled automatically and silently. Essentially, that's the deal with Docker Engine 1.12: taking Swarm's features and bringing them into Docker and making the setup as automatic and as painless as possible.


Finally, Docker is integrating Docker 1.12 with Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's AWS clouds. This is a private beta: you can apply for access here. You can already run Docker in these off-premises systems just fine; the integration allows you to deploy a Docker swarm with a few clicks – the Docker Engine nodes are automagically secured with end-to-end TLS encryption and tap into the clouds' autoscaling, load-balancing and storage facilities directly.So that's an overview of what Docker's announcing today. We'll have more detail from DockerCon this week. WDC and CTERA have developed a joint product that combines HGST's Active Archive System (S3-compliant, scale-out object storage) with CTERA’s Enterprise File Services Platform.Enterprises and CSPs can launch enterprise file services. The two say customers can have enterprise-grade file sharing, data protection, and branch office file storage capabilities. Their joint product offers file sync and share, cloud storage gateways, endpoint and server backup.



Road test “Lapable” is not a word I would ordinarily use, save for the fact that Apple’s applied it to the new iPad Pro nine-incher.The horrid word is an admission that the smaller iPad Pro is not a strong contender as a laptop replacement, but can do the job when required. And in my experience, a very decent job once you take the leap.I didn’t jump for a while. The iPad Pro is a very, very, refined iPad and I happily wallowed in content consumption and games for my first few days with the device. Batteries lasted all day even when I fought a cold while watching Netflix. The screen is crisp and the whole package is light enough that it can serve as a one-handed World’s Poshest Kindle™ if required.Apple’s attention to hardware detail is amazing: the Pro does a neat trick of ensuring the left audio channel comes from the left speakers even when you rotate the device. Apparently there's even a sensor near the Home Button that can detect the proximity of your finger so that the fingerprint reader isn't always on and sucking battery.In my early days with the Pro I tried Apple's Smart Keyboard, the keyboard-hidden-in-the-cover that distinguishes the Pro from standard iPads. My first efforts produced a shoulder-hunching, downward-looking experience that literally gave me headaches I’d last experienced working on Netbooks.


Those aches appeared when using the device for long-ish stints of work on desks. Which isn’t what the iPad Pro is necessarily for: the “lappable” concept means Apple thinks it’s good enough for occasional lap visits, at times when you need to do more than just touch.So when I scored the gig to attend Computex in Taiwan I decided to road test the iPad Pro, deep-ending myself whenever possible by making it my go-to device for surfing, writing and using The Reg’s content management system (CMS) while jumping around between press conferences and exhibition halls. I couldn't quite bring myself to leave my laptop in the hotel, but forced myself to use the iPad whenever possible.The iPad came into its own because WiFi is oddly scarce at Computex. The iPad Pro comes with a slot for your own SIM plus a built-in global SIM that Apple's telecoms partners can access to offer data plans that cover most nations on Earth.I tested the global offering in the cab from Taipei’s Taoyuan airport. About five minutes into the ride I'd signed up for 500MB of local downloads for US$35. That’s not cheap, but certainly is more convenient than hunting for a local SIM.One odd side effect was that GigSky, the carrier offered to me in Taiwan, appeared to offer me a Swedish IP address, if the ads served by publishers was any guide.GigSky integrates well with the iPad Pro: I could see my download balance easily at all times in the Control Panel, so cut out trivial web surfing to make sure my expenses didn’t bloat.



The experience of signing up for GigSky is impressively simple, making the iPad Pro a very useful way to get online.For a writer like myself being online is no use until I can get to our CMS and add some stories. The iPad Pro comes with Apple’s Pages word processor, so writing was easy. Pages gets out of the way and lets you write. The Smart Keyboard proved surprisingly easy to wield at speed. It’s a little noisy, but nicely stiff. I felt no more inaccurate than usual and was helped by autocorrect that seldom created comic results.Critically, when the iPad Pro and keyboard are deployed in typing mode, the devices sit flat on your lap. That’s a huge difference compared to the Surface Pros, with their flip-back stand that is quite thin and I find cuts in to one’s legs.I find the Pro is more “lappable” for that reason alone. It’s excellent balance doesn’t hurt either: I could pound the keyboard hard while it was on my lap and never felt like I’d risk a fall. I can’t say that about the Surface Pro 3.What would you rather have on your lap: The Surface Pro's thin stand or the iPad's Smart Keyboard?
Another important feature of Apple’s keyboard is the inclusion of Control, Option and CMD keys, which means text-editing key combinations are available. I use such shortcuts without thinking but am denied them on the iPad’s on-screen keyboard. Adding extra keys to the Pro means I was immediately more productive than on consumer-grade iPads. Yes, I could bring Apple’s svelte Bluetooth keyboard along for the ride with a consumer iPad, but at the expense of a more cluttered bag and battery-related hassle. The Pro and Smart keyboard are a more elegant combination.

Les achats

Batterie pour Fujitsu BTP-B4K8

Le Lumia 520, sorti il y a plusieurs années, est le best-seller sous Windows Phone. Son pari était d’offrir de solides performances à un faible coût, et les consommateurs ont adoré. Avec le Lumia 550, Microsoft tente clairement de renouveler le succès de ce dernier.Et, Windows 10 Mobile a besoin d’un smartphone qui va rallier les consommateurs à sa cause. Mais, le Lumia 550 ne suffira peut-être pas. Ceci est principalement dû à l’état du marché, même dans l’entrée de gamme. Il ne suffit plus d’être simplement « bon » ou même « grand ». La véritable excellence est attendue.La co mpétition se resserre, et des smartphones qui offrent une meilleure autonomie, beaucoup plus d’applications et de meilleures performances sont nombreux. Cela dit, le Lumia 550 pourrait potentiellement être une jolie petite affaire pour les utilisateurs peu exigeants.Pour les irréductibles amoureux de Windows à la recherche d’un périphérique pas cher, c’est un choix avéré. Pour tous les autres, vous trouverez certainement mieux ailleurs.Les smartphones d’entrée de gamme s’améliorent d’année en année, et les entreprises chinoises s’en donnent à cœur joie. Le dernier ajout à la vaste gamme de smartphones d’entrée de gamme est le Oppo A37, un téléphone commercialisé pour la modique somme de 200 dollars, mettant fortement l’accent sur la photographie.


Si l’on commence par les caméras, sachez que le A37 dispose d’une caméra frontale de 5 mégapixels au format 1/4 pouce, et chaque pixel est de 1,4 μm pour capter davantage de lumière. Les deux caractéristiques devraient permettre à la caméra frontale de prendre des selfies relativement corrects, dans des environnements de faible luminosité. En outre, semblable à l’iPhone 6S et plusieurs autres smartphones, l’écran du A37 s’allume lorsque vous prenez un selfie, imitant les effets d’un flash LED.En retournant le smartphone, on découvre un capteur de 8 mégapixels. Même si le nombre de mégapixels n’a rien d’impressionnant, le logiciel assemble cinq images pour former une image de 24 mégapixels. En plus de présenter également des pixels de 1.4μm, il suffit de bouger votre main devant le capteur pour prendre un cliché.Par ailleurs, le A37 est plus un smartphone de milieu de gamme, comme en témoigne son écran IPS de 5 pouces d’une résolution HD, de 1 280 x 720 pixels. Sous le capot, le A37 embarque un processeur quadricœur Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 cadencé à 1,2 GHz 2 Go de mémoire vive (RAM). Le A37 dispose également de deux emplacements pour des cartes nano SIM, ainsi qu’une fente pour carte micro SD pour grossir les 16 Go de stockage natifs. La batterie d’une capacité de 2 630 mAh devrait être suffisante pour offrir une autonomie d’une journée. Enfin, le A37 tourne sous ColorOS 3.0 de Oppo, la surcouche sur le vieillissant Android 5.1 Lollipop.



Dans l’ensemble, le A37 ne cherche pas à rivaliser avec les flagships, mais avec un prix de 200 dollars, soit environ 190 euros, c’est logique. Cependant, il y a beaucoup de smartphones abordables sur le marché, parmi lesquels on peut citer le Honor 5X ou le Moto G4.Il y a eu beaucoup de rumeurs suggérant que nous aurons un écran incurvé sur le Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Mais, ce qui n’était pas clair jusqu’à maintenant était de savoir s’il y aurait une version « plate » — traditionnelle. Le passé peut laisser quelques doutes, puisque dans les deux dernières années, Samsung a généralement libéré les deux versions, une plate et une courbée, de ses fleurons, comme on l’a récemment vu avec le Galaxy S7 et le Galaxy S7 edge.Mais, il semble que la compagnie pourrait uniquement opter pour un écran incurvé, comme le souligne le journal sud-coréen Korea Herald. Il fait mention que Samsung « ne considère pas le lancement d’une version à écran plat de son Galaxy Note », et va lancer à la place seulement un seul smartphone, embarquant un écran avec les deux bords incurvés.Étant donné que la plupart des récentes rumeurs mettant en évidence un écran incurvé ne sont pas surprenantes, la décision de Samsung de libérer l’année dernière un Galaxy S6 edge+ courbé en Europe et non pas le modèle plat, le Samsung Galaxy Note 5, a déçu beaucoup de monde. Autrement dit, comment le monde va réagir avec un modèle ayant un seul écran incurvé ?


Les écrans incurvés vont devenir "normaux" chez SamsungLes écrans incurvés vont devenir « normaux » chez Samsung
Fin d’une époqueEn supposant que le smartphone est apprécié, cela pourrait être la fin des flagships plats pour Samsung. Ne soyez pas surpris si le Galaxy S8 et ses successeurs soient également uniquement disponibles dans des variantes courbées. Mais, cela suppose que cette rumeur soit exacte, et pour l’instant il faut la prendre avec des pincettes.Que ce soit un Samsung Galaxy Note 7 plat ou courbé, la phablette de Samsung est fortement attendue. Il est rapporté qu’elle aurait un écran de 5,8 pouces d’une résolution Quad HD couplée à la technologie Super AMOLED, une énorme batterie d’une capacité de 4 200 mAh, un processeur Snapdragon 823, 6 Go de mémoire vive (RAM), un port USB Type-C, et peut-être même un scanner de l’iris.Il est une fois de plus le temps de se plonger dans les rumeurs entourant le futur smartphone d’Apple ! Cette fois, l’iPhone 7 aurait des haut-parleurs plus grands, et un capteur de lumière ambiante positionné différemment. Autrement dit, cela signifie que les vieux protecteurs d’écran et couvertures peuvent être en voie de disparition.



Des informations provenant de fabricants de protecteurs d’écran suggèrent un changement dans la conception physique du smartphone, principalement en ce qui concerne le haut-parleur incrusté en façade, et le capteur utilisé pour détecter les niveaux de lumière rapporte 9to5Mac. En effet, les divers fabricants et vendeurs de protecteurs d’écran auraient cessé de recevoir des commandes en raison des changements.Un plus grand écouteur va théoriquement permettre d’augmenter le volume et la qualité des appels téléphoniques. Néanmoins, on ne sait toujours pas pourquoi Apple souhaite déplacer le capteur de lumière ambiante du côté gauche du haut-parleur, vers la droite, et qu’elle va être le gain de ce changement.Bien que ce soit des changements très mineurs — à moins qu’il y a un autre détail important jusqu’ici inconnu — cette conception pour l’iPhone 7 pourrait nécessiter des changements pour les protections d’écran, et bien d’autres accessoires, comme des coques et étuis. Autrement dit, tout ce que vous avez acheté pour votre iPhone 6 S pourrait être obsolète.Bien sûr, comme cela est toujours le cas avec le prochain iPhone, il est préférable de prendre ces rumeurs avec des pincettes. Tout comme cela a été le cas par le passé, et la spéculation que l’iPhone pourrait potentiellement abandonner la prise casque de 3,5 mm, rien n’est gravé dans le marbre.

Les échographies

Akku für HP ProBook 6360b

Der japanische Autohersteller Nissan verkauft sein gesamtes Batterie-Geschäft an den chinesischen Finanzinvestor GSR Capital. Das teilt Nissan auf seiner Webseite mit. Davon umfasst seien die Batterie-Sparte Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) sowie zwei Batterie-Werke in Nordamerika und Großbritannien. Auch Teile der Entwicklungsabteilung in Japan seien vom Verkauf umfasst. Das Geschäft solle im Dezember abgeschlossen sein.

Nissan will weiter Batterien für seine Elektroautos von GSR beziehen. Über den Kaufpreis des Geschäfts wurde nichts bekannt. Nissan-Chef Hiroto Saikawa sprach von einer Win-Win-Situation für beide Seiten: Man könne sich nun stärker auf die Produktion und das Design von Elektrofahrzeugen konzentrieren und gleichzeitig eng mit dem neuen Akku-Giganten kooperieren. So steigere man seine Wettbewerbsfähigkeit.


Neuer Akku-Gigant aus China

Der GSR-Vorsitzende Sonny Wu sagte, man werde sowohl bei der Produktion als auch bei der Entwicklung seiner Akkus in den USA, Großbritannien, Japan, China und Europa die Kapazitäten ausbauen. Die chinesische Autoindustrie bereitet sich bereits seit Jahren vor, unter anderem den europäischen Markt mit Elektroautos zu beliefern. So planen unter anderem die wiederbelebte Marke Borgward sowie der Geely-Konzern über Volvo und die neue Marke Lynk Co , chinesische Elektrofahrzeuge auch in Deutschland zu verkaufen.


Die Hand von Stein H. Auno gleitet über den Tisch zu seinem Smartphone. Zuerst ruft er die App auf, die ihm die Akkufüllung seines BMW i3 anzeigt. Fast voll, er grinst zufrieden. Dann wischt der Manager des norwegischen Netzbetreibers Statnett durch die Menüs, bis im Browser eine Nordeuropa-Karte erscheint. Blaue Pfeile darauf geben an, in welche Richtung der Strom durch die Netze der Region fließt. Aunos Grinsen wird breiter. Wir exportieren mal wieder kräftig.



Keine der fünf Preiszonen, in die Norwegen unterteilt ist, führt zu diesem Zeitpunkt Strom aus dem Ausland ein. Stattdessen fließt er über die Landgrenzen nach Russland, Finnland und Schweden sowie durch zwei Seekabel nach Dänemark und Holland.


Bald kommt eine neue XXL-Trasse hinzu: Nordlink, ein 623 Kilometer langes Kabel, das Statnett zusammen mit dem niederländischen Netzbetreiber Tennet und der KfW-Bank zwischen Norwegen und Deutschland baut. Es ist der Grund, warum sich die Projektpartner an diesem Abend Ende Juli zum Festmahl im malerisch über dem Fjord gelegenen Utsikten-Hotel treffen: Wenn alles glattläuft, wird Nordlink am kommenden Morgen ganz in der Nähe von einem Kabelverlegungsschiff aus mit dem Land verbunden.


Zwei-Milliarden-Euro-Leitung: Norwegen wird zur Batterie Europas


Es ist ein Meilenstein beim Bau der Zwei-Milliarden-Euro-Leitung, durch die ab 2020 bis zu 1400 Megawatt Strom fließen sollen. Das entspricht in etwa der Leistung des aktuell größten deutschen Atomkraftwerks Isar 2 und fast einem Drittel aller derzeit installierten deutschen Offshore-Windparks.


Damit wächst die ohnehin große Bedeutung Norwegens für Europas Stromversorgung. Das Land im hohen Norden mit seinen 5,2 Millionen Einwohnern wird mehr und mehr zur Batterie des Kontinents.


Der Grund sind seine gewaltigen Wasserkraftwerke. Nirgendwo in Europa sind die Bedingungen dafür günstiger als im regenreichen Norwegen mit seinen steilen Fjordwänden und den Seen in den fast menschenleeren Hochebenen darüber. Sind die Speicher komplett gefüllt, könnten sie theoretisch 82 Terawattstunden Strom liefern - fast ein Fünftel des gesamten deutschen Jahresverbrauchs.


Wir haben viel mehr Energie als wir brauchen, sagt Statnett-Manager Auno, der Nordlink als Projektleiter verantwortet. Und Deutschland braucht nach dem Atomausstieg neue Quellen. Von dem Kabel profitieren also beide Seiten. Dann steckt er das Handy weg. Zeit, zu Bett zu gehen - die Verlegung der Leitung beginnt am frühen Morgen und vorher hat sich auch noch das norwegische Radio für ein Interview angemeldet.


Die Skagerrak verlegt tonnenschwere Unterwasserkabel


Auf der Baustelle am Vollsfjord herrscht anderntags gespanntes Warten. Unten auf dem Wasser liegt die Skagerrak, eines der größten Kabelverlegungsschiffe der Welt. Sie hat die ersten 124 Kilometer des Nordlink-Kabels an Bord. Gesamtgewicht: etwas mehr als 6000 Tonnen.


Eine Kamera überwacht 30 Meter unter dem Wasserspiegel den ersten heiklen Moment des Tages: Das Kabel, samt Ummantelung so dick wie ein Bein, wird an ein Stahlseil angeschlossen, das es durch einen nur wenig breiteren, aber 400 Meter langen Tunnel bis hinauf zur Baustelle oben am Fjord ziehen soll. Dort entsteht derzeit eine sogenannte Kabelübergangsanlage, von der aus die Leitung später an Masten aufgehängt über 50 Kilometer bis zu einer weiteren Großbaustelle bei Tonstad geführt wird.


Hier errichtet der Schweizer Industriekonzern ABB auf einer Fläche von 16 Fußballfeldern eine Konverterstation. Sie ist nötig, weil durch Nordlink Gleichstrom fließt - eine Technologie, die es erlaubt, Energie über große Distanzen nahezu verlustfrei zu transportieren.



Von einer vertikalen Integration von Batterie- und Elektroautoproduktion, wie sie Tesla Motors propagiert, hält der japanische Autohersteller Nissan offenbar nichts mehr: Die Japaner verkaufen ihre komplette Batteriefertigung inklusive aller zugehörigen Werke an einen chinesischen Finanzinvestor.


Während der US-Elektroautobauer Tesla den Vollausbau seiner eigenen Gigafactory-Batteriefabrik vorantreiben und so die Kosten für die Akkus senken will, wendet sich Nissan nun von dieser Strategie ab - und will sich künftig auf die Fahrzeugentwicklung konzentrieren.


Es ist eine Kehrtwende, die auch den deutschen Autoherstellern zu denken geben dürfte. Denn hierzulande wird immer wieder die Forderung nach einer herstellereigenen Fertigung von Lithium-Ionen-Zellen laut - die Japaner glauben offenbar nicht mehr dran.


Dabei sind Nissan und sein Partner Renault alles andere als eine kleine Nummer im Elektroauto-Geschäft: Die japanisch-französische Autohersteller-Allianz verkaufte im ersten Quartal weltweit 36.723 Elektroautos und damit um gut 50 Prozent mehr Stromer als der kalifornische Konkurrent Tesla.


Das nicht mehr taufrische Modell Nissan Leaf, dessen Neuauflage im September auf den Markt kommt, war noch im Mai das weltweit meistverkaufte Elektroauto. In den ersten fünf Monaten dieses Jahres verkaufte Nissan weltweit 21.888 Leafs, wie die Autozähler von EV Sales ermittelten, Teslas Model S kam im selben Zeitraum auf 18.720 verkaufte Fahrzeuge.


Les échographies

Battery for Lenovo ThinkPad X300

Chircop thinks: The container market is on the verge of being enterprise-ready, there being a vast ecosystem of developers and products pumping huge momentum into the area. OpenStack supports containers. So too does VMware, with Photon. NetApp has a container plug-in and its SolidFire unit is involved with DockerCon, as will IBM.In the fast-moving container compute environment, traditional storage is too slow, too awkward, too complex and over-expensive. It has to have lower cost and automated provisioning yet, for enterprise container use, it must also have enterprise-class data services. That balance of features is what StorageOS intends to provide.StorageOS is available now – www.storageos.com/download. The Professional Version costs less than $30/month. The beta test is this month and full product GA is scheduled for the Autumn. Check out the product at DockerCon in Seattle, June 19-21, stand number E12. DockerCon Docker will kick off its DockerCon 2016 conference in Seattle this morning with a bunch of announcements: its OS X and Windows Docker clients will be made publicly available as beta software for anyone to try out; out-of-the-box orchestration is coming to Docker 1.12; and integration with Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure is in the works.


First off, the OS X and Windows clients: these were available to about 70,000 developers as a private beta; you had to ask nicely for access to the software. After its tires were thoroughly kicked, and the crashes ironed out, the code is now available for all to experiment with. The clients allow you to easily and seamlessly fetch, craft and fire up Docker containers on your laptop or workstation.The OS X client uses Apple's builtin hypervisor framework – yeah, Apple quietly embedded a hypervisor API in its desktop operating system. Previously, you had to use Docker with Oracle's VirtualBox, but it was a rather clunky setup and relied on Oracle not screwing around with VBox. Now, the client is neatly packaged as an OS X app and uses the underlying framework to bring up Linux containers at the flutter of your fingers on the keyboard in a terminal.Apple's hypervisor framework provides an interface to your Intel-powered Mac's VT-x virtualization hardware, allowing virtual machines and virtual CPUs to be created, given work, and shut down. Docker provides a thin hypervisor layer on top of this to craft an environment for the Linux kernel to run in, and then on top of that sits your software containers. On Windows, Docker uses Microsoft's Hyper-V.



Interestingly, Docker founder and CTO Solomon Hykes told The Register gurus from Unikernel Systems – acquired by Docker in January – helped develop both clients. Unikernel Systems, a startup in Cambridge, UK, includes former Xen hypervisor programmers; the team are otherwise working on creating all-in-one software stacks that roll kernels and microservices into single address spaces running in sandboxes on a hypervisor.The OS X and Windows clients use a lot of unikernel technology under the hood to make the software integrate with the underlying hypervisor, said Hykes.Eighty per cent of that client work is unikernel tech. We try to use as much as possible the native system features. MacOS bundles its own hypervisor, so we use that, although it still requires developing a thin hypervisor on top. On Windows, there’s Hyper-V, so we use that. We did consider bundling VirtualBox, but it’s such a monster to bundle.Installing the OS X client is pretty painless, takes up a couple of hundred megabytes of disk space once you get going with it, and requires an administrator password to setup. Once in place, it's accessible from a menubar icon, and you can configure how much memory and many CPUs you're willing to throw at it. Docker hired designers from the mobile gaming world to polish the user interface, we're told.
Initially, you have no images installed. So let's pull in the Ubuntu image by firing up a simple Hello World. Open an OS X terminal and run docker run --rm ubuntu /bin/echo 'Hello world'.


When the download completes and the container is built – which takes a minute or so – it's fired up by Docker, and runs /bin/echo 'Hello world' on Ubuntu Linux, outputting the text to the OS X terminal. That part happens almost instantly on your humble hack's mid-2012 Core i7 MacBook Pro. An instance is brought up, the command run, and it's all torn down.
Checking the images present on the system with docker images shows our little Ubuntu is ready and waiting for its next command or workload; there's no need to fetch it again.
So at this point, you've got a tiny but capable Linux installation running as close to the bare metal as possible on your Mac: you can use it as you would SSHing into a one-shot Linux virtual machine. For example, you can inspect its CPU and RAM info by looking into /proc/cpuinfo and running free -m.


If you're scratching your head at this point and wondering why bother with any of this, then – and forgive me if I sound like a character from a Philip K Dick novel – you need to clear your mind and think about containerization. Like plenty of Reg readers, I've got virtual and bare metal systems in the cloud and at home for various tasks, from build servers to VPN boxes, which are all a SSH away. Why would I need Docker to run Linux apps on my laptop?The point is to create container images of software – little bundles of dependancies and services needed to perform a particular task – and test them locally, let fellow developers also use them knowing they have the same sane environment as you do, and ultimately deploy the containers.Think of it as you watching the four-hour-long director's cut Blu-ray edition of a movie at home, then going to the bar and chatting about it to your friend, who has only seen the 90-minute cut-for-TV version. There are scenes in the flick you've seen that your pal hasn't so what you're saying isn't making much sense to them. You get into an argument. Evening ruined.



The next day, you both go to Netflix and watch the same damn movie, suddenly everything clicks into place, and everyone's happy again. Containers fix the software side of this story: you both install and run the same damn libraries, tools and services.That leads us into the next part: how to deploy and control large numbers – potentially thousands – of these containers at scale. Docker Swarm is available to do that, but it's a separate tool from the main client. Meanwhile, there are a bunch of other utilities out there, such as Kubernetes and Mesos, that will manage containers running on your servers for you.With Docker 1.12 – which is due out in July – that Swarm functionality will be brought into the fold and is designed to be easy to use without any extra tools.We're doing for orchestration for what we did with containerization, Hykes told us.Orchestration today is not easy to use: it's reserved for experts. What the community is telling us is that they love Docker but that the orchestration is a mess. First of all, they need to choose between 10,000 tools, choose a specific model, and once they’ve chosen a tool or a platform, they discover that setting it up and using it for a Hello World example versus using in a production-ready way is actually a lot of work.It's a really specialized job that requires the kind of engineers who work at Google, Uber or anyone else who can afford an ops team. We want to make it usable for anyone who wants to deploy an application and scale it.

Mes rendez-vous

Battery for DELL XPS 13

The big loser in all this is Google's Chrome browser. It may be the most popular browser out there, but Chrome is notoriously resource-hungry and can take up a lot of power and processing cycles. Other browser manufacturers know this and are increasingly using the issue as a stick to beat Google's browser with.Will it work? That remains to be seen. It's too early to know if Opera's battery saving tech is pushing its market share out of the single digits, and while the latest stats on Edge look good, it's doubtful they'll be a big selling point for people considering upgrading to Windows 10 in the future. HP is working on a worldwide recall of laptop batteries for the usual reason: they might overheat and catch fire.The batteries shipped with a bunch of different HP and Compaq-branded models sold between March of 2013 and August of 2015, including HP ENVY, Compaq Presario and HP Pavilion. Batteries sold as spares or replacements are also included in the recall.Since there are a lot of different barcode numbers covered by the recall, HP has posted software to check whether a unit has an at-risk battery, here.DockerCon StorageOS is a UK-based startup offering simple and automated block storage to stateless containers, giving them state and the means to run databases and other applications that need enterprise-class storage functionality without the concomitant complexity, rigidity and cost.


It runs as a container in a Linux system and provides plug-ins for other containers to use that give them easy, programmatic access to stateful storage services.The company was founded by CEO Chris Brandon, CTO Alex Chircop, product management VP Simon Croome, and engineering VP James Spurin. It is Brandon's fifth startup, others he has worked with being GreenBytes and Xsigo – both bought by Oracle – where he led the technical teams.Chircop has been global head of storage platform engineering at Goldman Sachs and head of infrastructure platform engineering at Nomura International; about as strong a traditional enterprise IT background as you could wish for.Croome led global engineering teams at Fidelity and Nomura, and web development at UBS in London. Spurin was previously the block storage product manager for Goldman Sachs and the technical lead for storage engineering at Nomura. We see lots of experience in enterprise IT and storage here.These four got together and after a year's discussion of product technology needs, architecture and design, set up StorageOS in 2015, with private investor support.What they want to provide is an enterprise-class storage platform that is simpler, faster, easier, and lower-cost to use than legacy IT storage, which they characterise as needing storage admins, slow, complex, costly and rigid. They want to provide automated storage provisioning to containers which can be instantiated and torn down many thousands of times a day.



Brandon says the company is deliberately not located in Silicon Valley, which venture capitalists expect, because Silicon Valley has an insular environment. There is lots of innovation in London, England, where several other container-focussed startups exist.The founder's thesis is that manually provided and managed storage is obviously not practical for containerised and DevOps-type environments. So, Brandon said, We built a toolset for people to store data in containers.It is agnostic about the underlying platform: bare metal, containerised, virtualised server or the cloud. The company says StorageOS, the product, is an ultra-low entry point, full enterprise functionality storage array that is integrated with VMware, Docker, AWS, and Google Cloud.StorageOS is focussed on containers for now because that is where the largest initial opportunity is located. It has four focus areas in the container arena:The product works like this: it installs as a container under Linux or a containerised OS such as CoreOS. It locates the storage accessible by its host node: direct-attached, network-attached and cloud-attached, and connected nodes. This is aggregated into a virtual, multi-node pool of block storage. Volumes are then carved out for accessing containers, (thinly) provisioned, mounted, and a database can be loaded and started. This is done in single-digit seconds, typically 2 or 3.Accessing containers use a StorageOS plug-in from Docker or Kubernetes to see the StorageOS container, and have their storage provisioning automated, accelerated and simplified.


The back-end storage itself is not accessed unless data needs to be read or written.On top of this basic provisioning there are bells and whistles adding enterprise storage-class functionality:Brandon says: There is a lot of power in the rules engine – far beyond what a traditional storage array would provide.StorageOS encourages performance by running storage for databases that runs on the same node as the app and provides local caching.The QoS comes in two forms. Basic QoS is about not exceeding thresholds for IOPS and throughput while enterprise QoS is more sophisticated, using a fair use scheduler to balance out QoS across different services and remedy the noisy neighbour problem. With the QoS features, Brandon says, admins don't have to hand-tweak containers.This set of features is variably distributed across a free edition of the software and two paid-for editions:Freemium – download at no cost and run on, for example, a laptop, and experiment with product.
Professional Version adds clustering, high-availability and caching in DRAM and flash (acceleration), deduplication, compression.
Enterprise Edition Professional Feature provides replication, encryption, migration and QoS.
Volume-based pricing will also be available.



StorageOS provides cost-reduction for public cloud users. For example, with replication in Amazon you have a compute instance running in the source environment and a second running in the target environment. With StorageOS, data is replicated to the target with no need for any compute instance there, until a fail-over occurs. This saves money.StorageOS is not limited to use by containers – it being a general and software-defined storage provisioning platform for virtualised servers and the cloud. It will have iSCSI and Fibre Channel support added, being a general software-defined storage product if customers want to treat it that way. The beta product is being released now and here is what it broadly looks like:Support for free software version customers will involve a forum and email, while paid-for customers can buy next-day and 24x7 4-hour support services.StorageOS has joined the Linux Foundation and is a board member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), where it is involved in setting up a Storage SIG and has a Kubernetes plug-in. It has also been accepted as a Docker Alliance Partner.

Les échographies

Battery for Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E125

The Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing (CSLFR) has admitted paying off ransomware runners after one of its main test computers got infected with Truecrypt malware. The laptop was quickly isolated, but left the team's crucial test data locked up two days before a big race.Just knowing that we could lose everything that we have worked so hard to achieve over the years in 48 hours was terrifying, said Dave Winston, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief for CSLFR.The data that they were threatening to take from us was priceless, we couldn't go one day without it greatly impacting the team's future success. This was a completely foreign experience for all of us, and we had no idea what to do. What we did know was that if we didn't get the files back, we would lose years' worth of work, millions of dollars.
After failing to recover its files, the team made the decision – a common enough one – to pay up and get its data back. After sourcing a few hundred bucks in Bitcoins to pay the fee, the encryption key was sent over by the online criminals running the code.


That gave the team the ability to get back into its data, but they were worried about other infections lurking on their systems. A survey with security firm Malwarebytes found more ransomware malware on its computers, and now the team has a cleaner network and the security firm's name emblazoned across its car.Companies of all types and sizes can fall victim at any time. Instances of ransomware infection are growing rapidly, and the first step in fighting a disease is protection, said Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes. Microsoft's claim that its Edge browser is the thriftiest with power has drawn a sharp response from rival browser biz Opera, who called for open testing to work out which app provides better battery life.Earlier this week, Microsoft released research which, it claims, shows that the Edge browser that comes with Windows 10 uses less power than its rivals – although it didn't include its own legacy Internet Explorer browser in that test. But Opera claims its openly replicable tests tell a different story.Like most other engineering teams, we love it when someone picks a fight. If we get beaten in a test like this, we consider it a bug, said Opera's director of software development, Blazej Kazmierczak.Edge hadn't been included in Opera's earlier testing because it was a Windows 10-only browser, he said, but using the same test methodology as before, the Edge laptop crapped out at three hours 12 minutes compared to Opera, which managed five minutes short of four hours.



Kazmierczak published the testing metrics used in the tests and launched an implicit challenge for Redmond in return. Microsoft declined to comment to The Reg officially, but Edge program manager Kyle Pflug disputed Opera's findings online.This test turned on an ad blocker, which is off by default. Not loading+rendering the same content in all browsers. Opera is the perennial red-headed stepchild of the browser world – currently hovering at about 2 per cent of the desktop market and 5 per cent of mobile compared to more than a third of the market for Microsoft – but has skin in the game when it comes to power usage.The underdog has made battery use a big selling point of its latest build and, in a cloudy world, many users are starting to wake up to how much power their browser is costing them. Google's market-leading Chrome has been rightly criticized for being overly power and memory-hungry, and since browsers are typically the most used app on a computer, others are using this as a selling point.Chrome has nearly half of the desktop browser market, and the lion's share of the mobile sector via Android. So far there's little sign that the search giant is ready to play the power-saving game.


There'll be champagne corks popping at cloudy comms firm Twilio after shares rose 71 per cent on the first day of trading.The company raised $150m after pricing its IPO at $15, but is currently trading at $25.67 a share, up $10.67 or 71 per cent. No doubt there'll be some profit taking at the end of the day, but it's a strong showing for the first tech IPO of the year, and values the company at around $1.2bn.Twilio has yet to make a profit, but it seems to be getting close, only losing $6.5m against revenues of $59m.The voice, messaging and collaborative working tools company is now looking to augment its VoIP and messaging platform and get into the Internet of Things market. A PR snapshot of Mark Zuckerberg's desk has shown quite how seriously the king of the information sharing economy takes his own privacy.On Tuesday, the Behoodied One shared an at-work picture to celebrate hitting 500 million active monthly users on Instagram. But a closer look by California startup employee Chris Olson shows that his laptop has the webcam blocked and there appears to be tape over the audio jacks of his MacBook.The desk setup matches a Facebook Live video from September last year and the cover-up tape would make sense. FBI director James Comey does the same to his computer and while some honestly admit to not bothering, the amount of malware out there that can take secretive snapshots is huge.


Only the paranoid survive was one of the key mottos of Intel cofounder Andy Grove, and he was only talking about Silicon Valley business practices. When it comes to security, a healthy dose of paranoia isn't an aberration, it's a survival trait – and one that Zuck is lacking in.The picture also appears to show that Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird. It kind of makes sense – when Zuck cut his coding teeth, Mozilla's email client was very popular and nostalgia is a powerful force in software.Facebook has spent around $16m keeping its head honcho secure, according to SEC filings. It's telling that he's still taking such precautions over personal computer use. The fact that a multi-billionaire with a world-class IT team protecting him is taking such basic security measures like this should make IT managers concerned that their users aren't doing the same. Microsoft has published new research in which it claims that its Edge browser, bundled with Windows 10, can outperform the competition when it comes to battery life.The lab rats at Redmond set up four identical charged laptops, each using a different browser to stream an identical video. The Laptop running Google Chrome ran out of juice after just under four hours and 20 minutes, compared with five hours and nine minutes for Mozilla and six hours 18 minutes for Opera – while Edge lasted for seven hours 22 minutes.



The laptops were then powered up again and put through a series of automated tasks, including opening websites, scrolling through articles, and watching videos, each in a new tab. Again Edge won out, although Chrome did better than you might expect and Firefox proved the worst in tests.For these browsing activities, our tests show Microsoft Edge is a more energy-efficient browser on Windows 10, with up to 36%-53% more battery life to get what you need done – whether you're studying at the library, researching dream vacation destinations, or checking in with your friends on social networks, said Jason Weber, director of the web platform team for Microsoft Edge.Finally, Microsoft used its own user data from Windows 10 users that gets sent back to Redmond's servers for analysis. Here Firefox nearly held its own against Edge, with Chrome a distant third. Microsoft did not supply data for Opera.So why is Microsoft making such a fuss about all this? Well, battery usage by browsers is the next big differentiator for the applications and Redmond wants some skin in the game.Last month, Opera issued the first code for its battery-saving systems in the browser, claiming a 50 per cent power saving over some of the competition.

Les achats

Batterie pour DELL Latitude E6120

Comme on l’a entendu en début de semaine, les iPhone prévus pour 2017 pourraient être l’iPhone 7S et l’iPhone 7S Plus. Ou, Apple pourrait décider de complètement sauter de version, et passer à l’iPhone 8. Peu importe son nom, les spéculations s’accordent à dire que les iPhone de 2017 auront des écrans OLED (fournis par Samsung) quand ils arriveront sur le marché.Deux rapports distincts en provenance d’Asie indiquent que Samsung et Sharp (propriété de Foxconn) s’apprêtent à répondre à la forte demande entourant la production d’écrans OLED pour l’année prochaine. Autrement dit, cette déclaration conviendrait parfaitement avec les plans d’Apple. Selon l’Asian Review Nikkei, la firme de Cupertino prévoit une « libération partielle en 2017 » d’un nouvel iPhone équipé d’un écran OLED.Les écrans OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), connus dans leur forme la plus commune comme des écrans AMOLED, diffèrent des écrans IPS (In-Plane Switching) utilisés dans les actuels iPhone dans un certain nombre de façons. Mais, il n’est pas facile de savoir qu’elle est la technologie la plus intéressante pour les consommateurs.


Les couleurs sont généralement plus brillantes, et le contraste est généralement supérieur avec les écrans OLED, mais les écrans IPS sont traditionnellement connus pour être plus nets, plus naturels et moins chers à produire. Aujourd’hui, la qualité d’un écran de smartphone est généralement liée à la mise en œuvre de la technologie par le fabricant, plutôt que la technologie sous-jacente elle-même.Si les rumeurs sont réelles, alors la prochaine paire d’iPhone sera la dernière à présenter un écran LCD IPS avant qu’Apple ne fasse le grand saut pour la technologie OLED.La rumeur veut que Google publie au moins deux nouveaux smartphones Nexus cette année encore. Et, HTC pourrait être le constructeur de l’un d’entre eux. Aujourd’hui, certains détails le concernant commencent à émerger, et il semble que le smartphone aura notamment un écran de 5 pouces, 4 Go de mémoire vive (RAM), et une batterie d’une capacité de 2 770 mAh.



Android Police a publié les spécifications pour le smartphone Nexus connu sous le nom de code « Sailfish » ou « S1 ». En supposant que les intentions de Google sont semblables à celles de l’année dernière, Sailfish est probablement le successeur du Nexus 5X. Évidemment, et comme chacune des rumeurs que je publie sur le blog, vous devez prendre cette information avec des pincettes, d’autant plus, car elle vient d’une source unique. Néanmoins, Android Police indique que c’est une source qui a été fiable par le passé.Le smartphone aurait un écran légèrement plus petit que le modèle de l’an dernier avec une taille de 5 pouces d’une résolution de 1 920 x 1 080 pixels, soit une densité de pixels de 440 ppp, un processeur quadricœurs 64 bits cadencé à 2 GHz, et 32 Go de stockage interne (bien qu’il puisse y avoir d’autres options de stockage).HTC prendrait le relais de LG pour construire le successeur du Nexus 5XHTC prendrait le relais de LG pour construire le successeur du Nexus 5X
Les autres caractéristiques mentionnées incluent un capteur d’empreintes digitales à l’arrière du smartphone, un appareil photo de 12 mégapixels à ses côtés, une caméra frontale de 8 mégapixels, un port USB Type-C, une prise casque sur la tranche supérieure, et un haut-parleur (ou haut-parleurs) en dessous.


La rumeur ne fournit pas de détails sur l’aspect de l’appareil ni les spécifications sur le périphérique plus grand. La plupart des spécifications ne sont pas surprenantes, et sont celles que l’on attend d’un appareil qui sort plus tard dans l’année. Avec Android N attendu cet automne, il est possible que les appareils Nexus de cette année soient libérés plus tôt que plus tard.Si le choix entre un iPhone de 4,7 pouces et 5,5 pouces a été difficile, votre processus décisionnel pourrait être encore plus complexe cet automne. En effet, une nouvelle rumeur suggère que la gamme d’iPhone 7 va suivre celle de l’iPad, avec trois modèles à choisir.Plus précisément, il pourrait y avoir un iPhone 7, un iPhone 7 Plus et un nouveau modèle « Pro ». C’est essentiellement la même chose que l’on a avec l’iPad Mini, l’iPad Air et l’iPad Pro. Les prix ci-dessous montrent une gamme qui inclurait des options de 32 , 64 et 265 Go pour l’iPhone 7, et des modèles de 32, 128 et 256 Go pour l’iPhone 7 Plus, et la nouvelle gamme iPhone Pro.Néanmoins, bien que très passionnant, on ne sait pas si le modèle « Pro » sera un dispositif plus large, comme l’original iPad Pro a été pour la gamme iPad. Les rumeurs indiquent que ce modèle sera doté d’une double caméra sur la coque arrière, et la recharge sans fil disponible par le smart connector que nous retrouvons sur l’iPad Pro.


Il s'agirait des prix des différents modèles d'iPhone 7Il s’agirait des prix des différents modèles d’iPhone 7
Bien sûr, les rumeurs sont faites pour être démenties. Les composants d’une double caméra sont considérés comme trop « jeunes » au goût d’Apple, et le smart connector semble un peu encombrant pour un iPhone — tout du moins, si c’est le même connecteur que l’on retrouve dans l’iPad Pro.Si cette rumeur est authentique, l’iPhone 7 « Pro » devrait être le modèle le plus cher ! Selon la source, la gamme Pro sera environ 150 dollars plus chers que la gamme d’iPhone 7 Plus. Je ne sais pas quelles seront les caractéristiques au sein de ce dispositif, mais nous devrions en apprendre davantage dans les mois à venir.La plupart du temps, Apple a pour habitude de garder le même prix pour les différentes générations de ces iPhone, tout en introduisant de nouvelles fonctionnalités, améliorant le matériel, et réduisant les prix sur les modèles de la précédente génération qui sont encore disponibles. Mais, si l’entreprise libère une troisième gamme Pro en même temps que les mises à niveau de la gamme actuelle, la firme à la pomme croquée pourrait complètement revoir ses tarifications.



Selon l’endroit où vous vivez, Huawei peut avoir ou non une solide réputation dans le secteur du mobile. Mais rassurez-vous, la place de la société chinoise est énorme dans le monde entier. Selon le récent rapport d’IDC présentant les ventes de smartphones au 1er trimestre 2016, la société se classe comme le troisième fournisseur sur la planète, derrière Samsung et Apple.Maintenant, Huawei se prépare à offrir quelque chose de nouveau. En plus d’embaucher l’ex-concepteur d’Apple, Abigaïl Brody, pour réorganiser sa surcouche EMUI sur Android, The Information signale que Huawei développe son propre système d’exploitation mobile. Autrement dit, exit Android ?La publication note que la nouvelle plate-forme est conçue comme une mesure d’urgence en cas où Google resserre encore son emprise sur Android ou cesse de l’offrir aux fabricants de smartphones. L’équipe de travail est composée d’ex-employés de Nokia, et est basée en Scandinavie.Mais, que penser de cette déclaration ? Avons-nous besoin d’un autre système d’exploitation ? Et surtout, êtes-vous prêt à changer Android pour quelque chose de nouveau ? De plus, il y a une véritable problématique. Sans un grand écosystème d’applications, toute nouvelle plate-forme sera probablement vouée à l’échec dû fait de l’énorme concurrence qu’imposent Android et iOS. L’argument d’urgence est le seul qui a du sens pour Huawei, ou tout autre fabricant à ce jour.

Les échographies

Akku für ASUS N76V

Die Entscheidung der Automobilhersteller für da 48-V-Bordnetz zur schrittweisen Umsetzung der Elektromobilität ist gefallen. Damit setzen sie auf ein hybrides Bordnetz mit 12 und 48 V. Für die Integration in das 48-V-Teilbordnetz sind im ersten Schritt vor allem Großverbraucher prädestiniert, wie die Heck-, Frontscheiben- und Sitzheizungen und der PTC-Zuheizer. Auch dynamische Lasten werden vom 48-V-Netz übernommen. Neben verschiedenen Kompressoren ist es vor allem der E-Boost, der dem Hybridfahrzeug mit praktisch verlustfreiem Antrieb den typischen niedertourigen Drehmomentverlauf eines Diesel-Verbrennungsmotors und das entsprechende Fahrgefühl verleiht. Hinzu kommt der Start-Stopp-Generator, der als zentrale Komponente von Hybridfahrzeugen die Rekuperation der Bremsenergie und damit das emissionsfreie Segeln (Sailing/Coasting) ermöglicht. Mittelfristig werden weitere Lasten folgen, wie die elektrische Lenkung, Fahrwerksstabilisierung, Audio-Endstufen und LED-Beleuchtungen, die sich dann mit höheren Spannungen betreiben lassen. Im 12-V-Bordnetz verbleiben lediglich kleinere Verbraucher.


Batterien für das hybride Bordnetz


Aktuelle Mittel- und Oberklasse-Fahrzeuge mit Start-Stopp-Generator sind mit zwei 12-V-Batterien aufgebaut: Eine versorgt primär das Bordnetz und stellt sicher, dass alle notwendigen Verbraucher stets einsatzbereit sind. Die andere speist den Start-Stopp-Generator.


Eine 48-V-Batterie wird zukünftig eine der 12-V-Batterien ersetzen. Das wird zumindest anfangs eine Lithium-Ionen-Batterie oder -Batterie-Pack sein. Denn sie verfügt über eine sehr hohe Energiedichte und übersteht wiederholt hohe Spitzenströme. Doch auch wenn diese Stromspitzen die Batterie nicht unmittelbar schädigen, wirken sie sich auf die komplexen elektrochemischen Reaktionen im Inneren der Batterie aus und tragen dadurch erheblich zu ihrer Alterung bei.



In Hybrid- und Elektrofahrzeugen ist die Batterie hohen dynamischen Belastungen ausgesetzt: Bei der Rekupera¬tion entstehen beim aktiven Bremsen des Elektromotors sehr hohe Stromspitzen, das schnelle Aufnehmen der rekuperierten Energie erfordert hohe Ladeströme. Auch das Ziel, ein Schnellladen der Batterie zu bieten, bringt hohe Ladeströme mit sich. Bei Nutzung des E-Boost hingegen wird sehr schnell viel Energie benötigt, das heißt die Batterie sehr schnell entladen. Diese Faktoren hängen weitestgehend vom Fahrverhalten ab und können nicht durch eine geeignete Betriebsstrategie vermieden werden.


Um eine lange Lebensdauer der Batterie sicherzustellen, setzen die Batterie-Pack-Hersteller auf verschiedene Maßnahmen – von einer hochwertigen und stabilen Struktur der im Batteriesystem verbauten Zellen und deren Kontaktierung, über ein ausgeklügeltes Batteriemanagementsystem bis zum Thermomanagement, das die Batterie in ihrer Komfortzone zwischen 0 und 45 °C hält.


Die im Batteriemanagementsystem hinterlegten Algorithmen sorgen dafür, die Batterie bestmöglich vor schädlichen Einflüssen zu schützen und den Degenerationsprozess gering zu halten. Hierfür müssen die Lade- und Entladeströme ebenso wie weitere Einflussfaktoren – vor allem die Temperatur – überwacht und gemanagt werden. Dann lässt sich beispielsweise die Start-Stopp-Automatik automatisch abschalten, wenn die Temperatur einen bestimmten oder definierten Wert unter- oder überschreitet oder die Last auf der Batterie bereits zu hoch ist. Ziel der ständigen Überwachung der Batterie ist die Dia¬gnose ihres Ladezustandes (State of Charge, SoC), sowie ihres tatsächlichen Gesundheitszustands (State of Health, SoH).


Rund 135 Mio. Dollar soll GSR laut der Nikkei Asian Review dafür bezahlen. Außerdem sei GSR interessiert daran, den eigenen Anteil von 49 Prozent (von NEC und NEC Energy Devices) am Batterie-Joint-Venture mit Nissan zu übernehmen. NEC Energy Devices stellt in einem Werk in Tokio vor allem Elektroden für Li-Ionen-Batterien her, die Nissan in seinen Elektroautos verwendet. Das Unternehmen setzt rund 135 Mio. Dollar um.



Dem Markt für Autobatterien prognostizieren die Analysten enormes Wachstum. Kein Wunder in Zeiten, in denen die Regierungen in Ländern wie Frankreich und Großbritannien schon die Termine für den kompletten Ausstieg aus der Verbrennungstechnik nennen. Und in China stehen ebenfalls alle eichen auf Elektromobilität. So schätzen die Analysten der japanischen Fuji Keizai , dass sich der Markt für Autobatterien gegenüber letztem Jahr bis 2015 auf 60 Mrd. Dollar verfünffachen wird.


GSR hat bereit in amerikanische und chinesische Batteriehersteller investiert, um in China eine Infrastruktur für die Fertigung von Batterien aufzubauen, die die Elektrofahrzeuge benötigen.


Les achats

Battery for Dell XPS L502X

There are some password-managing products that use facial recognition to confirm the identity of a user, but LogmeOnce argues they are not accurate enough, producing a high rate of false positives and negatives, ie: letting others into your account, or refusing you access.Before you get too excited however, there are two potential caveats with the system.For one, unless you decide to remove the master password, it will still be there even with the PhotoLogin feature; if enabled, that master password will still grant access to your account, it's just that you may choose to no longer type it in.That means that if you choose a poor master password, you are opening yourself up to being hacked regardless of whether or not you use the photo-based auth.And second, LogmeOnce is cloud-based, running on Amazon's servers. Therefore, if you choose to, your passwords are stored on someone else's computers rather than on your own device. To hackers, LogmeOnce will look like one big pot of honey to crack open, allowing them to devour everyone's credentials.LogmeOnce told El Reg you can, alternatively, choose to store your passwords on your local device or on a USB stick rather than send them to the cloud. That would however limit your ability to sync passwords across devices. It also claims that passwords are encrypted on your local device before being sent to the cloud.


As ever, it's a balance. Since people are persistently better at snapping selfies and having a phone to hand than remembering complex passwords, the photo login could be just the feature that causes a lot of folks to start using a password manager rather than the same two or three weak passwords for everything. That can only be a good thing. A California woman has won $10,000 from Microsoft after a sneaky Windows 10 update wrecked the computer she used to run her business. Now she's urging everyone to follow suit and fight back.Teri Goldstein – who manages a travel agency in Sausalito, just north of San Francisco – told The Register she landed the compensation by taking Microsoft to a small claims court.Rather than pursue a regular lawsuit, she chose the smaller court because it was better suited to sorting out consumer complaints. Crucially, it meant Microsoft couldn't send one of its top-gun lawyers – or any lawyer in fact: small claims courts are informal and attorneys are generally not allowed. Instead, Redmond-based Microsoft had to send a consumer complaints rep to argue its case.



That put her on an equal footing with the multibillion-dollar software giant, giving her a fair fight.Goldstein told us Microsoft needed to be held accountable for its negligence regarding the forced Windows 10 upgrade, which rendered many users' computers useless.Microsoft cannot just say 'read our user agreement form, we hold no responsibility, you cannot sue us and go away.' Just because they are a large corporation does not make them exempt from consumer business rules, she said.
Goldstein told the Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael that in August last year, Windows 10 forced its upgrade on my business computer without my knowledge or permission.This update caused the Windows 7 Home Premium PC to crash and, even when it booted back up, made it mostly unusable. Goldstein had no idea what the problem was – she hadn't even heard of Windows 10 at this point – so complained to her cable provider, thinking it was a problem with her internet connection. After Comcast told her the problem was entirely at her end, she contacted Microsoft.After hours and hours of support desk calls, her computer remained in a barely usable state: three technicians uninstalled and reinstalled the operating system software to no avail. It was a complete waste of time.


It took every minute of the day on the phone with Microsoft, she told The Register.She told the court the Microsoft technicians' constant work remotely tied up days of [her] time all during the month of August, and [she] could not work. After an entire day, one technician even got [her] husband involved after he had worked a long day at this job, asking him for assistance.Goldstein believes her PC – unbeknownst to her – was enrolled in the Windows 10 beta program, meaning she was left with broken unfinished code that could not be uninstalled from her Windows 7 Home Premium system. In October, she gave up and bought a new laptop.After further complaints, which Goldstein says were ignored, a Microsoft regional manager eventually offered her $150 in compensation.He was continually rude, unwilling to assist me and told me not to contact him, Goldstein said.When I asked for his suggestions on what to do, his responses were 'I cannot help you,' 'Do not call or contact me,' and finally 'Do not ever contact me again.' It was made very clear that he just wanted me to go away and had no concern about my problem.In January this year, Goldstein went to the small claims court in her county to seek compensation for wages and lost business while her computer was borked.California is one of the strictest states in the US regarding consumer rights, Goldstein told us. There is a California Uniform Commercial Code which protects consumers. In section 1792 it clearly states that all products and services sold or distributed in California have an implied warranty to be fit for purpose.



This code overrides any corporation's user agreement form. Microsoft knew that its Windows 10 was not fit for purpose and allowed its release anyway. They used thousands of people like myself to learn how to troubleshoot the problems with no concern of consequences to the users. This is totally wrong.In a judgment handed down in March, Microsoft was ordered to pay $10,000 (£7,500) to Goldstein, and $90 towards her costs. Microsoft appealed the decision but dropped this action last month. A spokeswoman for the Windows maker told us what it also told the Seattle Times last week: Microsoft dropped its appeal to avoid the expense of further litigation.Goldstein added to El Reg: My reason for taking them to small claims court was to collect monetary loss due me from this effect of their forced upgrade and also to hold them accountable for their wrongdoing. I urge every person who has a consumer issue to know their rights and fight back. Only then will large corporations begin to understand that they cannot just do what they want. NASCAR, America's favorite no-right-turn racing format, has joined the growing ranks of people hit by, and paying out to fix, ransomware.

Mes rendez-vous

Battery for Acer AS07A72

Moynul Haque, 21, paid about £900 in Bitcoins for the slide, barrel and recoil spring of a Glock 9mm pistol.The unnamed seller hid the parts in an antique radio and posted it to Haque from an address in Michigan.The parcel was intercepted by US customs officials, who promptly contacted the UK’s National Crime Agency. The NCA searched Haque’s home in Smethwick and seized a laptop and a small quantity of amphetamines.With the assistance of the West Midlands Police Cyber Crime Unit, they found that Haque had tried to check the status of the parcel sent from the US.Haque paid well over the odds for the parts. And his motives remain a mystery, according to local paper The Express and Star's court report.Prosecutor Philip Beardwell said: There is no evidence he was part of a network or received money to buy the parts on someone else's behalf. There is equally no evidence of any links to terror groups. It is a very curious case.According to Haque's defence counsel, he was unemployed when he purchased the gun parts – and playing a lot of video games. His somewhat reclusive client may have simply not thought through the full extent of what he is doing when ordering the parts, The Express and Star reported.


Haque pleaded guilty to the importation of firearms and possession of class B drugs. He was sentenced at Wolverhamption Crown Court on 28 June. Comment As Brexit sends London's tech sector and Silicon Roundabout into post-traumatic shock, and protesters out onto the streets of London, inventor Andrew Fentem wonders what sort of hippy free-for-all is this anyway?While some sections of the British press celebrate the Brexit vote in the UK, in the technology press there has been much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments.Forbes interviewed a clearly traumatised Brent Hoberman – of Lastminute.com fame – who seems to be in need of a reassuring cuddle: People feeling rejection. I think this is what the Leave campaign underestimated: the psychology of rejecting openness.Preening international elitists like Hoberman are exactly what Brexit voters so dislike. While the self-styled “digital elite” talk in therapy-speak about European peace, love, and understanding, they are masking their true motivation – which is the freedom to exploit low-cost mobile tech labour. Cheap labour was the top reason cited by Tech City startups for voting Remain.



Whatever happens after Brexit, tech poseurs will remain in the UK because the global elite just love London – it's a wealthy, well-connected, cool, creative city with a ready supply of precarious labour and an impressive money-laundering infrastructure.Last week, I met up with a friend who is the head of software for a large, well-known British technology company. Like a lot of the Remainers in the tech press, he was complaining that he had to do most of his recruitment abroad – such as from Eastern Europe. So I asked him what levels of salaries he was offering. The answer, it turned out, was £25k a year for junior roles. I was quite shocked. In the very early 1990s I was briefly employed as a junior coder and was paid about the going rate back then: £19k. Since those days, general compound inflation has been approximately 100 per cent, and rents have increased approximately 200 per cent.When I asked why they were offering so little, my friend replied that with the EU’s mandatory freedom of movement, the owners of the company know that they can get away with it.In the early stages of my career I was an engineering apprentice and benefited from a considerable amount of on-the-job training. Apparently British tech employers no longer feel the need to provide that, either.


Meanwhile, over at the BBC – among their deluge of Project Fear articles – was a piece about London's apparently endangered Tech City. What is most interesting about this BBC article – and is unwittinglyly ironic to the point of satire – is the image they used to illustrate the UK's thrusting tech sector. The photo is of a young man sitting alone in an empty cafe with his laptop, presumably waiting for his next tech gig.This not a picture of UK tech success – this is a picture of the precariat: no steady job, not even a desk to work at, living in cramped and expensive housing. These same young people have spent this past weekend petitioning, protesting, and marching for the right to be further exploited.Silicon Roundabout is not an economic phenomenon, it’s a lifestyle scene, and this “tech lifestyle” is underpinned by taxpayers' money. The European Union is the biggest investor in UK venture capital firms, according to Adrian Drodz of Frost & SullivanThe beneficiaries of this public money in Silicon Roundabout are simply disguising their self-interest as modernity.During these protests, I received an email from a well-known Silicon Roundabout innovation agency urging their mailing list to “Save the UK” by signing a referendum petition. I reminded a worried friend that in 1974 (when I was very small) the UK only had commercial electricity for three days a week, and sometimes after school we would just sit in the silent darkness until bedtime. Amazingly, the UK survived.


KPMG's sensible head of technology, Tudor Aw, also sought to reassure us, saying that, Technology is a sector that will only increase in importance and works without borders. He's right. Speaking personally, very few of my own activities in the high-tech sector have involved anyone in the EU; almost all of the significant collaboration offers that I have received over the years have come from the US, China, South Korea, Japan, and from within the UK. The EU has primarily been a source of legal headaches – as I explained here on The Register two weeks ago.Moving on from Brexit and the referendum, what will damage the UK more than Brexit is a continuation of the angst and disunity being driven by the losing Remain camp’s Project Fear. I suggest that, in the interests of true peace and understanding, technology entrepreneurs, VCs and pundits take a break from jetting between London, Berlin, and New York, and instead go on a Brexit Safari – taking in the delights of Grantham, Sunderland, Bolton and Merthyr Tydfil.Forget master passwords, literally. Password manager LogmeOnce has come up with a new-ish way to log into websites – selfies.



The cloud-based biz told El Reg today it has added a new PhotoLogin option which takes a photo of you and uses it to unlock the services you're trying to access.It works by getting you to take a picture of yourself on one machine – a laptop, for example – and then sends that snap to an already set-up trusted device, such as your mobile phone.If you confirm on that second device that the pic that appears is the same one that you just took, LogmeOnce authenticates your access to your online password vault, and from there you can log into other websites.Therefore, if your phone flashes up a photo that you didn't just take, you know that someone else is trying to access your vault and you can stop them. The pictures self-destruct after one minute.The big advantage to this system is that it yanks out the need to remember a complex master password and replaces it with a one-time login requiring a trusted device. Within their vaults, people can follow best practices for passwords: such as coming up with randomized passwords using upper and lowercase, numbers and punctuation, and using a different password for each website.That side of things, the use of non-password authentication, is far from new – there is a wide range of password managers on the market and security experts are increasingly advising people to use them – but the real-time use of photos is novel and potentially more secure.

Les présentations

Battery for SAMSUNG RV420E

The Surface Book has a decent chance of becoming a successful device in its own right, and not purely as an accelerant for new W10 form factors – though that will be a double-edged sword for Microsoft, whose PC partners still have to pay for Windows licences for larger gadgets, and which have Chrome and Linux alternatives in their sights too, if they feel squeezed out of the post-PC segment. On the other hand, a successful Surface could help keep Windows relevant and in-demand, proving to the OEMs that there is still a good reason to stay loyal to the old platform.The situation is very different for the Lumia smartphones, which are not defending a dominant position, like Surface, but struggling with single-digit market share and no obvious role in life except to ensure that W10 options are available across all form factors.The first Lumia smartphones designed specifically for Windows 10 made their debut with all the genuinely strong attributes of former Nokia products - the innovative Windows Phone user interface, now the basis of the whole W10 experience: the top class imaging. But they launched without US carrier support and with the usual challenge of a far smaller apps base than Android or iOS.


Since Nadella slashed into the former Nokia business and pulled smartphone activities back to fewer models and markets, the main focus is the enterprise space, and the idea that W10 smartphones can be companions to their more successful tablet and PC stablemates – an argument often used by Apple, of course, which believes that adoption of one of its devices nearly always leads to the uptake of others. It is a cornerstone of the W10 strategy – and another borrowing from Apple – that the new Microsoft OS should do the same, providing a sufficiently enticing user experience for customers to want it on all their screens, and offering the simplicity of a single set of apps and interfaces on each one.These devices promise to fuel even more enthusiasm and opportunity for the entire Windows ecosystem, claimed Nadella in a statement, while devices chief Panos Panay went further, claiming that the W10 handset would be a natural extension of the huge in-stalled base for the operating system on other products.Now, we want to put Windows in your pocket, he said. 110 million people using Windows 10 right now. If you haven't thought about these phones, wake up! Spend a minute, with the universal apps coming. 110 million users in eight weeks - the opportunity is unbelievable.


Microsoft has been gradually moving towards a unified experience across all screens, building on the Universal Apps platform that first appeared in Windows 8. Facebook, Instagram and Uber were among those announcing Universal Apps which work in the same way across different W10 devices. Also, with a new Display Dock, users can connect a Lumia to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, turning the smartphone into a small desktop PC.Like Apple again, Microsoft has announced a flagship smartphone in two screen sizes. Both the 5.2-inch Lumia 950 and 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL have 20-megapixel cameras with high level imaging functionality (a key Nokia strength), including 4K UHD video capture. The handsets run on Snapdragon 808 and 810 processor and cost $549 and $649 respectively. They are due to go on sale in November.Pumped up by a (claimed) $1bn in profit in 2015, Chinese phone-maker Xiaomi will start selling Linux laptops early next year, according to a report.DigiTimes suggests that two models will be built by contract manufacturers, Inventec and Compal, and feature 12.5 inch and 13.3 inch displays.According to the trade paper, Xiaomi has been tapping up Lenovo executives aggressively to manage the new laptop venture.



The consumer electronics upstart is best known for selling smartphones at cost, or close to cost price, a strategy that allowed it grab the No.3 spot in vendor market share worldwide.It's currently slipped to No 5, and Huawei has clawed back top spot in the PRC in the most recent quarter.Xiaomi already produces a curious mix of white goods, networking kit and consumer electronics, ranging from an air humidifier to routers, TVs, and a fitness band. So why not?There's no indication that Xiaomi will impact Western buyers, but as we've seen with phones, the volumes generated in the highly competitive Chinese market can have a dramatic impact. Popular apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, combined with weaknesses in LTE protocols, could help spooks or attackers locate users, a group of German and Finnish researchers have found.The problem, however, isn't the apps, but the network protocols they use. The work, here at Arxiv, details how LTE protocols can be attacked to deny service to a target's device; and how the network can be persuaded to leak device locations.The location problem is this: the social apps – and other applications, like Voice over LTE – generate broadcast “paging” messages from the network to the device, and the supposedly-anonymous Global Unique Temporary ID given to devices by the network lasts so long (up to three days) that it's easy to de-anonymise devices.


Those messages have always existed, but as the group writes here, in the 3G world the broadcasts covered areas of 100 km2, which isn't so useful for tracking a user.The designers of LTE wanted better user location, so broadcast activity is now confined to the much-more-snoopable 2 km2 – and building kit to sniff all the broadcast messages a network transmits is relatively easy. The boffins needed only a laptop running open-source LTE baseband software, and a suitable software-defined radio card.In Facebook, the paging messages are triggered by incoming messages, and in WhatsApp, they're generated to tell you that the other person in a conversation is typing. Since the broadcast message only reaches the cell you're connected to, watching those broadcasts gives an attacker your location within that cell.The other key to the location attack is to get the network to leak a user's IMSI, but the authors say there are a variety of existing attacks that will do this. With IMSI and user presence in hand, it's then easy to refine location to a much finer degree, by getting users to log into a rogue cell (think “Stingray”).


Luckily, the authors note, the fix for the location tracking bug should be easy enough for operators: if they cycle GUTIs often enough (a pain in the neck if operators have to comply with data retention, but there you go), it becomes impossible to associate paging messages with a specific individual.The over-the-air denial-of-service attacks the paper presents are based on LTE network signalling messages that aren't protected – “Tracking Area Update” (TAU) messages.Because LTE devices don't check the integrity of these messages, the messages can be sent from a rogue access point to force downgrade or deny services either to a specific device, or all devices in reach of the attacker.The DoS attacks are a much thornier problem: forcing authentication of all the network messages requires at least infrastructure upgrades, and in some cases, new LTE protocols. Powerful malware with speculative National Security Agency (NSA) links has infected the private laptop of Germany's secretary of state in the Federal Chancellery, according to reports by national news digger Der Spiegel.The Regin-derived malware in question is thought to be a plugin dubbed Qwerty, used in the NSA's WarriorPride framework.



That connection is based on Snowden documents and deep technical analysis that also shows Regin bears links to the infamous Stuxnet malware and spin-offs Flame and Duqu, as well as the long-running and truly advanced Equation hacking group which has operated for some 15 years and infected hundreds of targets.The current Chancellery chief is Peter Altmaier, who has held office since 2013. The Chancellery is charged with assisting the German Chancellor, presently Mrs Angela Merkel.Der Spiegel does not specify who was in the seat when the attacks occurred but says the compromise was discovered in 2014.Germany's federal prosecutor's office is investigating the attacks but has not provided a timeline for the probe.News of the alleged infection comes after the country's former Attorney General Harald Range dropped a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Merkel's mobile phone revealed in October 2013.Merkel was also thought to be the first of multiple German Government officials to be compromised by Russian-based actors who used her computer to spread a trojan thought to have ultimately infected some 20,000 systems.


Windows 10 has its benefits but not everyone is willing to stomach the force-fed upgrade. This week a Reg hack found out the hard way that latest Microsoft OS had knackered his laptop's mic and webcam, preventing him from using Skype properly.Microsoft says users who have selected the do not notify me again option or who have manually disabled notifications through registry key settings will not see the update, as will those who have previously uninstalled Windows 10, have had a failed installation, or don't have PCs that can support the new OS.This comes as Microsoft has been widely criticized for forcing the Windows 10 upgrade on folks and popping up migration screens at wildly inappropriate times. It's hoped that after the free period is over, and you'll have to pay for Windows 10, Microsoft will dial down its efforts to cram its software onto people's machines. A West Midlands man who bought gun parts on the so-called Dark Web has been sentenced to 10 months in prison.


Mes rendez-vous

Batterie pour ASUS N53JQ

Microsoft rapporte avoir eu « une forte demande », et elle a obtenu « une réelle satisfaction parmi ses clients » concernant la Surface 3, et que le dispositif représente apparemment un peu plus d’un cinquième de toutes les Surface vendues. Autrement dit, les faibles ventes ne semblent pas être la raison pour laquelle elle est abandonnée.À certains égards, le modèle d’entrée de gamme [Surface 3] est le plus attrayant, notamment concernant son prix, disait-on lorsque la tablette a été lancée. Microsoft aura très certainement envie de répéter cette formule (bon rapport qualité-prix) avec la future génération de tablettes 2-en-1.Outre la Surface 3, les stocks concernant le tracker d’activité Microsoft Band 2 sont également très faibles, mais jusqu’à présent, la société est restée discrète. Elle n’a pas évoqué l’arrêt de la production, ou le remplaçant de ce dispositif. Si Microsoft attend de libérer sa seconde mise à jour majeure de Windows 10 pour lancer ses nouveaux produits, alors nous pourrions attendre un petit moment…


Voici une preuve que vous n’êtes pas obligé de rester dans le secteur de la téléphonie mobile juste parce que vous avez commencé à lancer un smartphone. En effet, un géant chinois diversifie une fois de plus sa gamme de produits. Cette fois, Xiaomi a publié un vélo électrique pliable QiCycle, qui est idéal pour les rues exiguës et surpeuplées des villes chinoises.Cette dernière annonce montre que Xiaomi continue à montrer ses capacités à ne pas sortir que des smartphones. Jusqu’à présent, la société a fait ses débuts dans le secteur du high-tech, offrant un bon nombre d’objets connectés, allant des purificateurs d’air, aux objets portables (wearables), aux cuiseurs à riz, et aux bouilloires. Mais, le vélo, qui est en vente pour un prix étonnamment abordable de 450 dollars, peut être encore plus utile.Dans le cadre de l’écosystème Mi de Xiaomi, le vélo QiCycle vous permettra de vous déplacer sans pédaler pendant 45 kilomètres sur une batterie complètement chargée, et est livré avec sa propre application autonome. Grâce aux données transférées sur votre smartphone, vous serez en mesure de garder un œil sur la distance, la vitesse, la localisation GPS, les calories brûlées, et plus encore.


Et, afin de rester fidèle au reste de la gamme de produits de Xiaomi, ce vélo est assez malin. Il dispose d’une méthode nommée IDbike Torque Measurement, qui emploie des capteurs pour optimiser votre production d’énergie. Cela signifie qu’une fois que vous avez défini votre vitesse désirée, le vélo va vous dire si vous devez pédaler ou non. Pourquoi forcer alors que ce n’est pas nécessaire !Du côté de la technique, sachez que Shimano équipe ce vélo. Et lorsque vous avez terminé votre balade, il suffit de plier le vélo, et le glisser sur votre épaule — après tout, il ne pèse que 14,5 kg.Actuellement uniquement vendu en Chine, Xiaomi est certainement bien placé pour conquérir un marché avide. La popularité et l’attrait des smartphones de Xiaomi semblent faire des merveilles pour la société. Et, étant donné la nécessité d’un vélo dans les rues congestionnées de Chine, le QiCycle vient probablement comme une innovation qui est la bienvenue.Si vous souhaitez Windows 10, mais que vous tergiversez encore, il est temps d’agir. À partir du 29 juillet, la mise à niveau gratuite de Windows 10 pour les utilisateurs sous Windows 7/8.1 ne sera plus gratuite. Autrement dit, cela signifie que Windows 10 vous coûtera au moins 135 euros.



Bien que cette information ne soit pas nouvelle, elle a été renforcée par le fait que Microsoft ait envoyé un communiqué au blog WinBeta. Un représentant de Microsoft a mentionné qu’après le 29 juillet, les utilisateurs pourront « acheter Windows 10 chez les revendeurs agréés, ainsi que sur le Microsoft Store ».Pour ceux qui l’ignorent malgré les nombreux articles et autres alertes en tout genre, Windows 10 est une mise à jour gratuite pour les utilisateurs sous Windows 7 et Windows 8, mais seulement jusqu’au 29 juillet. Et comme je l’ai précédemment souligné, Windows 7 ne recevra que des mises à jour de sécurité jusqu’en 2020. Donc, si vous souhaitez recevoir des mises à jour sans payer, vous allez devoir passer votre périphérique à Windows 10 dans les 34 jours qu’il vous reste.« Une fois que le périphérique est passé à Windows 10, nous allons continuer à le mettre à jour depuis Windows Update pendant la durée de prise en charge de l’appareil — sans frais », a indiqué le communiqué de Microsoft. « La meilleure façon d’obtenir Windows 10 est de le mettre à niveau gratuitement. Vous pouvez également acheter Windows 10 si vous décidez de ne pas mettre à niveau, ou si vous avez besoin de l’acheter pour d’autres raisons, comme l’installation sur un PC que vous venez de monter. Les prix de Windows 10 sont les mêmes que pour Windows 8.1 », précise la firme de Redmond.


À partir du 29 juillet, il faudra aller acheter Windows 10À partir du 29 juillet, il faudra aller acheter Windows 10
Après le 29 juillet, Windows 10 ce sera 135 ou 279 euros !Alors, quels sont les prix ? Windows 10 Famille coûte actuellement 135 euros, alors que Windows 10 Pro coûte 279 euros.Donc, si vous avez fermé toutes les fenêtres vous implorant d’installer Windows 10, et que vous envisagez de mettre à niveau votre périphérique ce weekend, ne vous inquiétez pas, ce n’est pas difficile. Il suffit de trouver l’icône Windows 10 dans votre barre d’état de votre système, et de suivre les étapes. Dans le pire des cas, sachez que vous avez 30 jours pour revenir à votre ancien système d’exploitation, avec tous vos anciens paramètres.
Et même si vous revenez à Windows 8 ou 7, vous avez encore réclamé votre mise à jour gratuite. Vous pouvez même télécharger gratuitement l’ISO de Windows 10, pour une utilisation future.Vous l’aurez compris, il n’y a vraiment aucune raison de ne pas mettre à jour votre périphérique, même si c’est temporaire. Quoi qu’il en soit, attention les jours défilent très vite !On dirait que la volonté d’avoir un deuxième écran qui correspondant à votre iMac pourrait bientôt ne plus l’être. Apple a mentionné vouloir arrêter le Thunderbolt Display, qui a fait les beaux jours de son site Web et de ses boutiques physiques depuis 2011.


Si le Thunderbolt Display continue d’être disponible à la fois sur le site d’Apple et les revendeurs d’Apple, une fois que sa disponibilité épuisée, cela marquera la fin de l’écran. Le Thunderbolt Display de 27 pouces a fait ses débuts en 2011, et a été apprécié pour sa capacité à relier différents périphériques à l’aide de sa connexion Thunderbolt. Cependant, sa résolution de 2 560 x 1 440 pixels, et sa caméra FaceTime HD faisaient défaut alors que la résolution 4K était la norme. Toujours en vente à 1 149 euros, aujourd’hui cet écran est obsolète, et bien trop cher.Actuellement, on ne sait pas pourquoi Apple abandonne son écran, mais certaines rumeurs suggèrent qu’Apple travaille sur un écran plus grand avec une résolution 5K. La pénurie de stocks avant la WWDC a également conduit certains à croire qu’Apple dévoilera une nouvelle itération à la conférence, mais aucune annonce n’a été faite.Un écran 5K serait certainement quelque chose d’impressionnant, et correspondrait à l’iMac 5K d’Apple. Il offrirait une résolution de 5 120 x 2 880 pixels, et pourrait aussi inclure des choses comme des ports USB-C et Thunderbolt 3, et aurait un design ressemblant aux derniers iMac de la firme. Si un tel écran est en cours d’élaboration, il pourrait être lancé avec la prochaine génération de MacBook Pro, attendu cet automne.



Pourtant, pour l’instant son remplaçant n’est pas connu, et il est possible qu’il n’y ait pas de confirmation de la part d’Apple avant sa disponibilité.Bien sûr, si vous êtes à la recherche d’un nouvel écran il n’y a pas qu’Apple. Il y a beaucoup d’écrans sur le marché qui offrent une excellente qualité d’image, dont beaucoup sont beaucoup moins chers que le Thunderbolt Display. Il faudra néanmoins passer par une autre boutique que celle d’Apple.Les dernières versions previews d’Android N n’ont pas apportées de réelles nouveautés, gardant les mêmes fonctionnalités et le même design introduit un peu plus tôt dans l’année. Mais, c’est peut-être parce que Google veut garder le meilleur pour la fin. En effet, Android N pourrait arriver avec quelques ajustements esthétiques, et notamment de nouveaux boutons de navigation.Android N est actuellement à la 4e version Developer Preview sur les 5 de prévues. Dès que la version Developer Preview 5 sera poussée aux développeurs, la version finale sera envoyée aux fabricants et aux opérateurs mobiles, qui, espérons-le, ne perdent pas de temps à pousser la mise à jour vers les périphériques dès lors que Google l’officialisera avec les appareils Nexus à l’automne.

Mes rendez-vous

Akku für Toshiba PA3635U-1BRS

Forscher der University of Washington in Seattle haben ein Handy entwickelt, das keinen Akku benötigt und dennoch Telefonate ermöglicht. Das kleine Gerät, dessen Prototyp momentan eine Platine ist, hat einen Strombedarf von nur 3,5 Mikrowatt. Die Energie wird sowohl durch ein nur reiskorngroßes Solarmodul aufgenommen als auch durch eine Basisstation, die die Stromversorgung durch Radiosignale bis zu einer Reichweite von zehn Metern sicherstellt.


Die Technologie der Basisstation ließe sich den Forschern zufolge leicht in jede Mobilfunkbasisstation und in Router einbauen, so dass eine flächendeckende Stromversorgung von Handys gesichert sein könnte. Um den Energiebedarf des Handys so niedrig zu halten, mussten die Wissenschaftler bei der Art und Weise, wie Sprache übertragen wird, umdenken. Anstatt das analoge Sprachsignal in ein digitales umzuwandeln und dieses zu übertragen, wird die Sprache mit Hilfe des Mikros in Vibrationen erfasst.


Sprache wird über Radiosignale übertragen

Diese Schwingungen werden anschließend von einer Antenne in Veränderungen eines Radiosignals umgewandelt und über die Basisstation übertragen. Dafür nutzen die Forscher Skype und können auf diese Weise Telefonate führen, Daten übertragen und Anrufe halten. Aktuell müssen Nutzer noch manuell zwischen Senden und Empfangen umschalten, in etwa wie bei einem Funkgerät.


Das batterielose Handy wurde mit Standardteilen hergestellt, die Herausforderung dürfte die Basisstation sein. Die maximale Entfernung des Handys zur Basis kann die angegebenen zehn Meter überschreiten: Dank des Solarmoduls konnten die Wissenschaftler in ihren Versuchen den Abstand auf mehr als 15 Meter erhöhen. Außerhalb dieser Reichweite funktioniert das Handy nicht.


Als Nächstes wollen die Forscher die Entfernung zwischen Handy und Basisstation weiter erhöhen und die Konversationen verschlüsseln. Zudem soll in späteren Modellen auch Videotelefonie möglich sein, dafür soll eines der kommenden batterielosen Handys auch einen Bildschirm haben.



Eigentlich hat das kürzlich veröffentlichte System-Update 3.0.1 für die Nintendo Switch etwaige Probleme mit der Akku-Anzeige behoben. Einige User beklagen sich aber immer noch über eine fehlerhafte Darstellung der verbleibenden Batterielaufzeit, sodass sich Nintendo nun selbst zu Wort meldet.


Demnach rät euch Nintendo, den Akku komplett zu entleeren und wieder vollständig aufzuladen - und das sechs mal hintereinander. Dadurch wird die Batterie neu kalibriert.


Die zweite Generation des Elektroautos wird mit einem sogenannten E-Pedal ausgestattet. Auf Knopfdruck wird aus dem einfachen Gaspedal mithilfe der Rekuperationsleistung des Elektromotors auch eine Bremse.


Aufgrund eines deutlich höheren Wirkungsgrades soll es nun möglich sein, das Fahrzeug mit nur einem Pedal zu beschleunigen, zu bremsen und anzuhalten. Die Verzögerung ist hoch genug, um die Bremslichter des Elektroautos aufleuchten zu lassen.


Elektromotor verzögert bis zum Stillstand

Das Besondere ist laut Nissan, dass die Bremswirkung auch auf hügeligen Strecken – bergauf oder bergab – bis zum Stillstand des Fahrzeugs funktioniert. Der Nissan Leaf fährt erst wieder bei einem Tritt auf das E-Pedal los. So sollen vor allem bei dichtem Verkehr bis zu 90 Prozent mit nur einem Pedal gefahren werden können, ohne auf das noch vorhandene Bremspedal wechseln zu müssen. Daher bezeichnet Nissan das E-Pedal auch als Fahrassistenzsystem.


Der Nissan Leaf war das erste in Großserie gefertigte Elektrofahrzeug und ist mit 277.000 verkauften Einheiten immer noch das meistverkaufte Elektroauto der Welt.


Eine Unaufmerksamkeit des Fahrers und eine Verkettung tragischer Umstände haben vor einem Monat zu dem verheerenden Busunfall auf der A9 mit 18 Toten geführt. Wie Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft am Mittwoch in Hof mitteilten, war der Fahrer des Busses dabei der alleinige Unfallverantwortliche.

Bus fährt auf Anhänger auf


Nach Angaben von Staatsanwalt Jochen Götz fuhr der 55-Jährige mit seinem Reisebus in Folge einer Unaufmerksamkeit an einem Stauende auf den Anhänger eines vorausfahrenden Lastwagens auf. Während der Lkw von 80 auf 28 Kilometer pro Stunde abgebremst habe, fuhr der Bus den Ermittlungsergebnissen zufolge mit 60 bis 70 Stundenkilometer auf den Lkw-Hänger auf. Ein Grund für die Unaufmerksamkeit lasse sich nicht mehr aufklären, hieß es. Fest stehe aber, dass der Busfahrer noch zu bremsen und nach rechts auszuweichen versuchte.


Das Ausweichmanöver wiederum hatte laut den Ermittlungen allerdings zur Folge, dass die Zusammenstoßfläche von Bus und Anhänger lediglich noch 60 Zentimeter betrug. Diese kleine Fläche habe aber wegen des massiven Aufpralls dazu geführt, dass die Front des Busses etwa 1,50 bis zwei Meter nach hinten geschoben worden sei. Dabei wurde der Busfahrer schwer verletzt auf seinem Fahrersitz eingeklemmt und konnte nicht dabei helfen, Businsassen zu retten - was zunächst spekuliert wurde.


Das starke Zusammenschieben der Front des Busses hatte weitere verheerende Folgen: Laut dem Ermittlerbericht befanden sich nämlich hinter der Kollisionsstelle außer den Drucklufttanks auch die Batterie samt Elektrik sowie der mit 300 Litern Treibstoff befüllte Zusatztank.



Ein Foto, das am 02.08.2017 auf einer Pressekonferenz von Verkehrspolizeiinspektion und die Staatsanwaltschaft in Hof (Bayern) gezeigt wird, stellt dar, wie die Batterien und der Zusatzkraftstofftank im verunglückten Bus auf A9 verbaut waren.

Die räumliche Nähe von Batterien und Zusatztank hinter der Aufprallfläche war eine weitere Voraussetzung für die verheerende Explosion.

Bildrechte: dpa

Laut den Ermittlern kam es bei Batterie und Elektrik in der Folge zu Kurzschlüssen mit extrem heißen Lichtbögen. Gleichzeitig sei der Zusatztank zerplatzt, der Treibstoff habe sich unmittelbar entzündet. Das Feuer sei durch die entweichende Druckluft aus den Drucklufttanks noch zusätzlich angefacht worden. Da der Bus durch den Unfall aufgerissen worden sei, habe sich Rauch und Feuer schlagartig im Innenraum ausbreiten können.


Zusätzlich verschlimmerte sich die Situation den Angaben zufolge noch dadurch, dass der Bus weiterrollte und der auslaufende, brennende Treibstoff von unten so das gesamte Fahrzeug in Brand setzen konnte. Außerdem habe sich durch das Öffnen der Türen und das Zerschlagen der Fenster zur Rettung der Insassen das Feuer noch schneller ausgebreitet.


Les présentations

Battery for Apple A1304

Andrew Huang and Sean Cross, two self-employed engineers living in Singapore, built their computer around a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9-powered Freescale system-on-chip and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) – the specs are here. (The pair trust the system-on-chip and the FPGA behave as documented.)Even the display bezel is hackable, with Huang explaining: Anyone with access to an entry-level machine shop can fabricate a custom bezel to accommodate a different LCD, as well as mount additional sensors (such as a camera or a microphone) or additional buttons and knobs.A crowdfunding round via Crowd Supply 18 months ago far exceeded its goals, even though prices ranged from $1,195 to a $5,000 wooden model.The pair were obliged to reject RedHat and Ubuntu because they required black-box drivers for GPU acceleration to draw the pointless desktop eye candy, and opted for a fully free Debian on GNU/Linux with the Xfce4 window manager.We hope eventually to figure out enough of the GPU to let us do 3D graphics with acceleration sufficient to produce a user experience much like that of any mainstream laptop, the guys said.The pair want you to think of it as a piece of lab equipment. A software-defined radio board was developed for the Novena by Myriad RF to avoid using more black-box radio hardware and firmware.As an exercise in producing an open system from scratch, it's fascinating. The Novena board has already been used as the basis for a crypto key signing box, Cryptech.You can read the duo's adventures at the IEEE's Spectrum, here. For what it's worth, a startup called Purism is doing similar with an x86-based laptop, but it relies on Intel's closed-source processor initialization firmware, which gives some people the heebie-jeebies.


Analysis Microsoft stubbornly refuses to let go of making hardware, but now the reasons why CEO Satya Nadella has not followed his clear instinct to ditch devices (except Xbox) are becoming clearer.We have analysed many times why Microsoft should not make smartphones and tablets, mainly because of conflicts of interest with the OEM partners which have always been the basis of its model. However, there is the defensive reason that without the former Nokia products, there would be very few Windows handsets at all. The software giant is ill-equipped, in terms of its business model and its capabilities, to be a vendor of mass market hardware.Yet it does need Windows 10 to live up to its promises of spanning every kind of device and screen, which means continuing to provide users, especially in the business sector, with the option of a Windows smartphone.And the Surface range is starting to justify the approach that software platform giants need to create and drive new form factors themselves by showcasing the capabilities of their operating systems on their own hardware. Microsoft has taken that tack in the past, though usually retreating quickly once a particular product gained traction among real hardware vendors (as seen with its Wi-Fi access point, for instance).



Google has done the same with Nexus. Neither of these represents the integrated hardware/platform business model of Apple – briefly chased by Nadella’s predecessor Steve Ballmer, with the resulting failure of the Nokia devices acquisition. Instead they show the need for a new OS to have worthy devices.With the first Surface tablets, it was clear that Microsoft should have left this task to its partners. Google may have complained, when it launched the first release of Android for larger screens, that very few device makers could produce a quality experience to live up to the OS’s potential. But that is not true of Microsoft, which has established and capable customers such as Acer and Asustek.They were vocal in their misgivings about the Windows giant competing with them with Surface.However, between the unloved Surface RT and this week’s launch of the Surface Book, there has been a significant change, partly driven by the emergence of Windows 10 and partly by the decline of the conventional PC. It is imperative that W10 – Microsoft’s last chance to remain a company with its own OS rather than just a multi-platform service provider – succeeds in that post-PC space which is currently being defined, and will include some combination of tablet touchscreens and notebook keyboards, at the base level. There have been all kinds of experiment with these hybrids, but unexpectedly, Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet-with-keyboard has proved definitive, especially since W10 came along.


To prove that point, we only had to see Apple head-to-head with its old enemy with its launch of the iPad Pro, a clear response to the Surface Pro. Now Microsoft has returned the compliment with the launch of its first notebook, the Surface Book. The dividing line between a professional tablet and a laptop is blurring, but increasingly it seems that, after many experiment with post-PC form factors, this is where the successor to the PC will be found.Both Microsoft and Apple are looking to colonize the space via a pincer movement. Both are now offering a beefed-up tablet with optional keyboard, and an ultraslim laptop, though the MacBook Air does not yet have a touchscreen, and Apple CEO Tim Cook last week insisted that, unlike Microsoft, his firm had no plans to converge its mobile/touch and notebook/desktop operating systems.So it’s back to the good old days of Windows and Apple Mac fighting it out for the business base – though with the critical difference that Microsoft is making its own hardware rather than relying on its PC OEMs. Just as one of the problems for Windows Phone was the conflict of interest between the Microsoft/Nokia alliance and the bid to create a broad device ecosystem, so Microsoft risks the same effect in the emerging market for tablet/notebook hybrids.



That form factor, with its assorted variations from Intel Ultrabooks to Surface Pro tablets, will be vital to propel Windows 10 growth, but despite the latter-day success of the Surface family, Microsoft cannot dominate the post-PC territory all by itself. To fend off MacBooks, iPads, Chromebooks and Android devices, it needs to have a broad base of OEMs making innovative Windows 10 products. If it confines its Surface launches to a leadership role – demonstrating to OEMs, developers and users what can be done with W10, as Google does for Android with Nexus – that should be possible. But if it competes with its own partners, it risks driving them towards Linux.The Surface Book sports a 13.5-inch touchscreen which detaches to work as a standalone tablet. It claims up to 12 hours of battery life and comes in flexible configurations, with choices of memory (up to 16GB of RAM), hard drive size (up to a terabyte) and processor speed. The device runs on sixth-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors with Intel HD graphics, and there is an optional Nvidia GeForce GPU. All that comes at a price - $1,499 for the entry level model, up to $2,699 for the top end.