Android extends gains on Apple, Windows Phone is third

Android extends gains on Apple, Windows Phone is third

 

Washington (AFP)

 

The Google Android system extended its gains over Apple's iPhone globally in the last quarter of 2013, and Windows Phone grabbed the number three market position, a survey showed Wednesday.

 

The IDC survey found Android had a 78.1 percent share of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter, bolstered by a 40 percent jump in the number of handsets delivered.

 

Apple got only a modest boost in the fourth quarter from the release of its new iPhones, with sales up 6.7 percent compared with a year earlier.

 

That means its market share slipped to 17.6 percent from 20.9 percent, according to IDC.

 

The Microsoft Windows Phone platform saw a 46.7 percent year-over-year rise in sales, which pushed its market share to three percent.

 

BlackBerry saw its woes intensify with sales falling 77 percent from a year earlier and the market share sliding to just 0.6 percent.

 

Moreover, IDC said most of the sales were older devices using the BlackBerry 7 operating system instead of the newer BB10.

 

IDC said that with many markets becoming saturated, the landscape will be tougher and more competitive, with vendors looking to cut prices.

 

"In 2013 we saw the sub-$200 smartphone market grow to 42.6 percent of global volume, or 430 million units," said IDC's Ryan Reith.

 

For the full year, Android's market share was 78.6 percent to 15.2 percent for Apple's iOS, 3.3 percent for Windows Phone and 1.9 percent for BlackBerry, IDC said.

 

<IDC: International Data Corporation> (ed.)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 12 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

Zain: 4G use in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia soars 1,400% during 2013

Zain: 4G use in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia soars 1,400% during 2013

 

[caption id="attachment_12242" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Zain KSA, the telecoms company in Saudi Arabia announced that the use of 4G/LTE exceeded the usage rates of 3G in measured areas during 2013. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Zain KSA revealed an increase in 4G/LTE usage rates during 2013 in main cities and counties around The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last year, exceeding rates of 3G usage in the same areas.

 

The company enhanced network capacity around The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to meet the increased demands on 4G services due to widespread use of smartphones, routers and Wi-Fi devices operating on 4G technologies.

 

Zain KSA’s 3G network witnessed an unprecedented 100 percent increase in data traffic, while its 4G network saw a 600 percent increase in data traffic and 1400 percent increase in active user rates compared to the same period in the year before that.

 

The company allocated complete work teams to raise service quality, and monitor and improve the network’s infrastructure.

 

During the last period, Zain KSA provided several new services for subscribers, which include establishing an advanced infrastructure for mobile networks covering more than 93 percent of populated areas in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including 600 cities and counties.

 

In addition to developing data exchange technologies and speeds reaching 150 MBps.

 

These developments come as part of the company’s mission to provide the latest technologies and reach its ultimate goal of winning the satisfaction of subscribers in all regions and counties around The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 20 Monday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Trading on Dubai’s main stock exchange suspended because of a system malfunction

Trading on Dubai’s main stock exchange suspended because of a system malfunction

 

[caption id="attachment_12236" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Trading of instruments on Dubai's main stock exchange has been suspended because of a system malfunction. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Trading of instruments on Dubai's main stock exchange, Dubai Financial Market, has been suspended on Tuesday because of a system malfunction, a bourse spokesman told Reuters.

 

The problem is under investigation and there is no time frame for it to be resolved, he said, adding that the market would be updated on further developments.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Japan sensor will let diaper say baby needs changing

Japan sensor will let diaper say baby needs changing

 

Tokyo (AFP)

 

A disposable organic sensor that can be embedded in a diaper and wirelessly let a carer know it needs changing was unveiled by Japanese researchers on Monday.

 

The flexible integrated circuit printed on a single plastic film transmits information and receives its power wirelessly, and could potentially be manufactured for a few yen (US cents), the developers told AFP.

 

The system, which uses organic materials that can be printed with inkjet technology, was developed by a team led by professors Takayasu Sakurai and Takao Someya at the University of Tokyo.

 

In addition to use in infants' diapers, the technology can be applied to adult nappies.

 

Regular diapers change colour to indicate they are wet, but a care-giver still needs to take off the wearer's clothes to see.

 

"If sensing is done electronically, you can tell simply by coming close to the wearer -- without unclothing him or her," Someya said.

 

The technology could also be put directly on the skin like a plaster, in place of often ring-shaped devices currently used in hospitals to monitor pulse and blood oxygen levels, he said.

 

Healthcare sensors often use silicon and other relatively rigid materials that can cause their users discomfort.

 

The flexibility of a single sheet of plastic film reduces discomfort for wearers and means it can be applied to a larger number of places -- offering greater potential for doctors or carers to monitor well-being.

 

The prototype system that has been developed is capable of monitoring wetness, pressure, temperature and other phenomena that cause a change in electrical resistance, said Someya, but the team would like to refine it to reduce its power consumption before it goes into widespread use.

 

Currently the data-reading device needs to be a few centimetres (inches) from the sensor, but Someya said the team was exploring how practical this is and whether they can boost the distance.

 

Researchers are to unveil their work at an academic gathering now under way in San Francisco.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 10 Monday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Apple rachète 14 milliards de ses actions, sous la pression de Carl Icahn Apple buys $14 billion of its shares, under pressure from Carl Icahn

Apple rachète 14 milliards de ses actions, sous la pression de Carl Icahn

 

[caption id="attachment_11969" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Le logo d'Apple sur la vitrine d'un magasin (AFP/Archives, Anthony Wallace)) (The Apple logo on the window of a Cigar Shop (AFP/Archives, Anthony Wallace))[/caption]

 

De Luc OLINGA (AFP)

 

New York — Sous la pression du milliardaire Carl Icahn, le groupe informatique américain Apple a accéléré le rachat de ses propres actions lors des deux dernières semaines et n'exclut plus d'acquérir de grosses entreprises.

 

Dans un entretien au Wall Street Journal publié jeudi sur le site internet du quotidien des milieux d'affaires new-yorkais, le directeur général Tim Cook a révélé que la marque à la pomme avait racheté 14 milliards de dollars de ses propres actions.

 

L'opération s'est faite en deux étapes: Apple a d'abord racheté "en accéléré" et en bloc 12 milliards d'actions et ensuite il s'est procuré 2 milliards sur le marché.

 

Elle rentre dans le cadre de son programme de rachats de 60 milliards d'actions sur deux ans annoncé l'an dernier, a précisé le successeur du charismatique Steve Jobs.

 

En un an, le groupe en est déjà à 40 milliards d'actions rachetées, selon son dirigeant, qui dit avoir été surpris par la chute du titre après la publication de ses résultats annuels fin janvier.

 

L'action du fabricant des iPhone et iPad avait dégringolé de 8% dans la foulée de ses résultats sur des craintes au sujet de sa rentabilité future.

 

Elle a terminé quasi stable jeudi à 512,51 dollars à Wall Street.

 

110 milliards de dollars de rachat d'actions

 

Cette annonce intervient alors que l'investisseur activiste Carl Icahn lui demande d'intensifier son programme de rachat d'actions, une façon indirecte de rémunérer ses actionnaires et de valoriser le titre.

 

Le milliardaire, réputé pour ses raids boursiers hostiles et son interventionnisme sur les activités des entreprises où il investit, a accrû ces derniers jours ses investissements dans Apple et possède désormais quelque 0,9% du capital.

 

M. Icahn entend demander aux actionnaires, lors de l'assemblée du groupe le 28 février, de voter une augmentation de 50 milliards de dollars du programme de rachat annoncé, ce qui représenterait un plan total de 110 milliards, soit quasiment le quart de la valorisation (457,15 milliards de dollars) d'Apple jeudi soir à la Bourse de New York.

 

Son objectif affiché est de pousser le groupe à reverser aux actionnaires une partie de son énorme trésor de guerre estimé à 160 milliards de dollars.

 

Sans le nommer, M. Cook s'en prend à son son fougueux actionnaire dont il dénonce la vision à court terme.

 

Le patron du fabricant de l'iPhone dit vouloir "être à même de s'adapter à l'intérêt à long terme des actionnaires, pas à celui d'un actionnaire à court-terme, pas à un trader d'un jour".

 

Grosses acquisitions en vue

 

Cette stratégie pourrait pousser la firme de Cupertino à faire de grosses acquisitions, rompant ainsi avec sa frilosité traditionnelle.

 

"Nous avons déjà regardé de grosses entreprises", indique M. Cook.

 

"Nous n'avons aucun problème à mettre un prix à 10 chiffres sur la bonne, celle qui fait sens pour le développement d'Apple à long terme", poursuit-il, faisant remarquer qu'Apple a racheté 21 entreprises lors des quinze derniers mois.

 

Alors que les spéculations vont bon train sur la sortie très attendue cette année de nouvelles catégories de produits pour succéder à l'iPhone, notamment une montre, un produit de salon lié à la télévision ou un service de paiements, M. Cook est resté vague.

 

"Nous travaillons sur de bons produits", a-t-il simplement déclaré.

 

Outre Samsung, Apple voit ses autres rivaux comme le chinois Lenovo qui multiplie les acquisitions, --dont récemment celle de Motorola--, lui grignoter des parts de marché dans le juteux secteur des smartphones.

 

Lors du premier trimestre de son exercice décalé (octobre-décembre), Apple n'avait écoulé que 51 millions d'iPhone, un appareil qui représente à lui seul plus de la moitié de son chiffre d'affaires, alors que les analystes tablaient sur 55 millions d'unités après le lancement fin septembre de deux nouveaux modèles, le 5S et le 5C.

 

Copyright © AFP 2014. Tous droits réservés.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 7 vendredi février 2014 le Roman)

 

 

 

Apple buys $14 billion of its shares, under pressure from Carl Icahn

 

Luke OLINGA (AFP)

 

New York - Under pressure from billionaire Carl Icahn, the U.S. computer company Apple has accelerated the acquisition of its own shares during the last two weeks and no longer excludes acquire large companies.

 

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Thursday on the daily media website of New York business, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the Apple brand had bought $14 billion of its own shares.

 

The operation was done in two stages: First Apple bought "accelerated" and block 12 billion shares and then it got itself 2 billion market.

 

It falls within the framework of its program to buy $60 billion of shares over two years announced last year, said the successor to the charismatic Steve Jobs.

 

In one year, the group is already 40 billion of shares repurchased, according to its leader, who said he was surprised by the drop in titer after the publication of its annual results in late January.

 

The action of the manufacturer of iPhone and iPad had tumbled 8 % in the wake of its results on fears about its future profitability.

 

They finished almost unchanged Thursday at $512.51 on Wall Street.

 

$110 billion share buyback

 

This announcement comes as the activist investor Carl Icahn asked to increase its share buyback program, an indirect way to remunerate its shareholders and enhance the title.

 

The billionaire, known for its hostile stock raids and interventionism on the activities of companies in which it invests, has increased in recent days its investment in Apple and now has a 0.9 % stake.

 

Mr. Icahn intends to ask shareholders at the meeting of the group on February 28, to vote an increase of $50 billion share repurchase program announced, which would represent a total level of $110 billion, almost a quarter of the recovery (457,150,000,000 dollars) Apple on Thursday evening at the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Its objective is to push the group to be paid to shareholders a portion of its huge war chest estimated at 160 billion dollars.

 

Without naming Mr. Cook takes his fiery shareholder which he denounced the short-term vision.

 

The boss of the iPhone maker says it wants "to be able to adapt to long-term interest of shareholders, not to that of a shareholder in the short term, not a day trader."

 

Large acquisitions for

 

This strategy could push the Cupertino company to make large acquisitions, breaking with its traditional reluctance.

 

"We have already looked at large companies," says Cook.

 

"We have no problem putting a price to 10 digits on the right, it makes sense for Apple's long-term development," he says, noting that Apple has bought 21 companies in the last fifteen months.

 

While speculations are rife about the highly anticipated release this year of new product categories successor to the iPhone, including a watch, a salon product related to the television or service payments, Mr. Cook was vague.

 

"We work on good products," he said simply.

 

During the first quarter of fiscal offset (October-December), Apple had elapsed than 51 million iPhone, a device that alone represents more than half of its sales, while analysts expected 55 million units after the launch in late September with two new models, the 5S and 5C.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 7 Friday February 2014 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 7 Friday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

 

France: les nouvelles consoles ont porté le marché du jeu vidéo en 2013 France: New consoles brought the video game market in 2013

France: les nouvelles consoles ont porté le marché du jeu vidéo en 2013

 

[caption id="attachment_11960" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Une manette de PS4, dans un magasin parisien le 29 vendredi novembre 2013 le Roman (AFP/Archives, Joel Saget)) (A joystick PS4 in Parisian department store 29 Friday November 2013 The Roman (AFP/Archives, Joel Saget))[/caption]

 

De Mehdi CHERIFIA (AFP)

 

Paris — Le marché du jeu vidéo en France a réussi sa transition vers la nouvelle génération de consoles en 2013, l'engouement pour ces nouvelles machines ayant permis de faire rebondir le chiffre d'affaires du secteur.

 

L'an passé, les ventes ont ainsi augmenté de 4% pour atteindre 2,7 milliards d'euros, selon une estimation du Syndicat des éditeurs de logiciels de loisirs (Sell), après un recul de 10% en 2012.

 

"Dans l'ensemble, le secteur s'est bien comporté en 2013 et il a profité du démarrage très dynamique des nouvelles consoles Playstation 4 de Sony et Xbox One de Microsoft" commercialisées en fin d'année, a expliqué David Neichel, président du Sell.

 

M. Neichel a ajouté s'attendre à une nouvelle progression du chiffre d'affaires du jeu vidéo en France en 2014, comprise entre 5% et 10%.

 

Le syndicat, qui représente les éditeurs, n'établit toutefois pas de classement des consoles les plus vendues.

 

Si Nintendo a indiqué à l'AFP avoir écoulé quelque 166.000 Wii U l'an passé, Sony et Microsoft n'ont pas divulgué leurs chiffres pour la France.

 

Une source proche du dossier a confié à l'AFP que 242.000 PS4 et 133.000 Xbox One avaient été vendues en France, entre leur lancement en novembre et la fin d'année 2013, des informations que les deux constructeurs n'ont pas souhaité commenter.

 

Globalement, les ventes des trois machines de salon de la dernière génération (WiiU, Playstation 4 et Xbox One) dépassent de 28% en volume et de 44% en valeur celles de leurs devancières (Wii, Playstation 3 et Xbox 360), lors des cinq premières semaines de commercialisation.

 

"Il y a eu, pendant un moment, des inquiétudes sur le marché du jeu vidéo traditionnel avec l'émergence de concurrents comme les téléphones. Désormais, elles sont totalement levées quand on voit la façon dont les consommateurs ont accueilli les nouvelles consoles", s'est félicité Philippe Cardon, PDG de Sony Computer Entertainment France.

 

"Enorme succès" de "GTA V"

 

La reine des ventes reste cependant une console portable, la 3DS de Nintendo, qui frôle le million d'exemplaires (942.000), grâce par exemple au succès des deux derniers épisodes de la série Pokémon (plus de 530.000 ventes).

 

"Une console sur deux vendue en France est une console Nintendo. Si la WiiU affiche des performances inférieures à nos objectifs, la 3DS a tiré son épingle du jeu dans un environnement hostile face aux smartphones et aux tablettes", a fait valoir auprès de l'AFP Stephan Bole, directeur général de Nintendo France.

 

Les ventes de jeux ont grimpé de 2% en valeur, une hausse principalement due aux smartphones et aux tablettes (+26,6%), tandis que les achats de machines ont reculé de 3%.

 

Pour cette catégorie, si les portables ont souffert (-19%), les consoles de salon ont en revanche retrouvé des couleurs (+9%), à la faveur du renouvellement de l'offre.

 

Très attendu par les joueurs, "Grand Theft Auto V" a pour sa part écrasé la concurrence pour s'emparer du titre de jeu le plus vendu, avec 1,951 million d'exemplaires en trois mois, reléguant son dauphin "Fifa 14" très loin derrière (1,027 million).

 

28,6 millions de joueurs

 

"+GTA V+ a été un énorme succès. C'est la première fois qu'un jeu se vend autant en si peu de temps en France", a souligné M. Neichel.

 

Selon le Sell, qui fera un point sur le marché trois fois par an dorénavant, la France compte désormais 28,6 millions de joueurs et un foyer sur deux est équipé d'une console.

 

L'industrie a, en revanche, souffert au cours des dernières années.

 

Fin 2013, les sociétés de création présentes sur le territoire employaient 3.127 personnes, soit trois fois moins qu'il y a 10 ans.

 

Copyright © AFP 2014. Tous droits réservés.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 5 mercredi février 2014 le Roman)

 

 

France: New consoles brought the video game market in 2013

 

Mehdi CHERIFIA (AFP)

 

Paris — The video game market in France has successfully made the transition to the new generation of consoles in 2013, the craze for these new machines have helped make the sales sector rebound.

 

Last year, sales increased by 4 % to $ 2.7 billion, according to an estimate of the Union of leisure software (Sell), after falling 10 % in 2012.

 

"Overall, the sector performed well in 2013 and it took very dynamic start new Sony Playstation 4 and Xbox One Microsoft" sold at the end of the year, said David Neichel, President of Sell.

 

Mr. Neichel added expect a further increase in sales of video games in France in 2014, between 5 % and 10 %.

 

The union, which represents publishers, however, does not establish the ranking of the most sold consoles.

 

If Nintendo told AFP he sold around 166,000 Wii U last year, Sony and Microsoft have not disclosed their figures for France.

 

A source close to the case told AFP that 242,000 PS4 and 133,000 One Xbox had been sold in France, between its launch in November and the end of 2013, information that both companies did not wish to comment.

 

Overall, sales of the three machines show the last generation (WiiU, Playstation 4 and Xbox One) exceed 28 % in volume and 44 % in value than their predecessors (Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360), during the first five weeks of marketing.

 

"There was, for a moment, concerns over traditional video game market with the emergence of competitors such as phones. Now they are completely removed when we see how consumers have welcomed the new consoles" said Philippe Cardon, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment France.

 

"Huge success" of "GTA V"

 

The queen of sales, however, remains a portable console, the Nintendo 3DS, which borders one million copies (942,000), for example through the success of the last two episodes of the Pokemon series (over 530,000 sales).

 

"A two console sold in France is a Nintendo console. If the WiiU shown below our targets performance, the 3DS has pulled out of the game in a hostile environment against smartphones and tablets," argued with the AFP Stephan Bole, Managing Director of Nintendo France.

 

Game sales rose 2 % in value, an increase mainly due to smartphones and tablets (26.6 %), while purchases of machinery fell 3 %.

 

For this category, if the phones have suffered (-19 %), the consoles have however regained color (+ 9%), thanks to the renewal of the offer.

 

Highly anticipated by players, "Grand Theft Auto V" for his part crushed the competition to take the title of best-selling game, with 1.951 million copies in three months, pushing his dolphin "Fifa 14" far behind (1,027,000).

 

28.6 million players

 

“++ GTA V was a huge success. This is the first time a game sells so much in so little time in France," said Mr. Neichel.

 

According to Sell, which will provide an update on the market three times a year now, France now has 28.6 million players and a focus on two features of a console.

 

The industry has, however, suffered during the last years.

 

End of 2013, companies created in the territory employed 3,127 people, three times less than 10 years ago.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Twitter reports quarterly loss of $511 million

Twitter reports quarterly loss of $511 million

 

San Francisco (AFP)

 

Twitter said Wednesday it lost $511 million in the fourth quarter, in the first published results since its highly anticipated stock market debut last year.

 

The results showed revenues doubled from a year ago to a better-than-expected $242.6 million, but Twitter shares slid more than ten percent in after-hours trade.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Twitter developing e-commerce service

Twitter developing e-commerce service

 

Washington (AFP)

 

Twitter is exploring ways to sell products directly from the 140-character missives the one-to-many text messaging service site is famous for, a technology news site has reported.

 

Re/Code on Friday posted a screen shot of what this new service could look like, integrated into the site's familiar baby blue interface.

 

It said it found the image posted on e-commerce site Fancy.com, which appeared to be working on a partnership with Twitter.

 

In the screenshot, which is no longer able to be viewed, certain tweets are tagged "Twitter Commerce" and, when expanded, show a green "Buy with Fancy" button.

 

The purchaser would then be able to enter their payment and shipping information on another screen, all without leaving the Twitter app or site.

 

It was not clear what fees or commissions Twitter would charge for products sold within its social network.

 

Nor was it clear whether Fancy.com was the only site with which Twitter was apparently considering a partnership.

 

Neither site responded to requests for comment from Re/Code.

 

Twitter has become massively popular around the world and it had a sizzling Wall Street debut in November, gaining nearly 73 percent over its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

But some analysts are skeptical about its ability to boost usage and revenues to become profitable.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 1 Saturday February 2014 The Roman)

Gates shifts role at Microsoft, new CEO named

Gates shifts role at Microsoft, new CEO named

 

Washington (AFP)

 

Microsoft moved Tuesday to reboot for a mobile future, naming Indian-born Satya Nadella chief executive as founder Bill Gates shed his title of chairman for a more hands-on role.

 

Gates "will devote more time to the company" in his new role on the board as "founder and technology advisor," a company statement said.

 

Nadella, 46, who becomes the third CEO at Microsoft, has been executive vice president of its Cloud and Enterprise group.

 

The moves come with Microsoft losing ground to rivals like Apple and Google amid a shift away from the traditional personal computer to mobile devices and cloud services.

 

"As the industry changes we have to innovate and move forward," Gates said in a video released on the Microsoft website.

 

"I'm thrilled that Satya has asked me to step up. I'll have over a third of my time available to meet with product groups."

 

The 58-year-old Gates said that "during this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella."

 

He called Nadella "a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together."

 

Gates stepped down as CEO in 2000 and left day-to-day operations in 2008 to devote more time to his multibillion-dollar Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

Microsoft said John Thompson, lead independent director, will assume the job of chairman at the tech giant.

 

Nadella, who takes over from the retiring Steve Ballmer, said, "Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn't be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company."

 

He added, "The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly."

 

The shake-up at Microsoft drew positive responses from analysts.

 

"I think this is a terrific development for the company," said Greg Sterling at Opus Research.

 

"Nadella also seems to have encouraged the new Gates role, which will be good for the company too. Personally, Nadella is a more humble and understated figure than Ballmer, which will be good for the company's image. I also think Nadella brings a strong mix of business and technology expertise to the role."

 

Frank Gillett at Forrester Research said Nadella has shown "a willingness to shake things up, so that seems positive to us."

 

Gillett added that by using Gates as a key advisor, "he's reaching for Gates's experience in running the company but also in the successes in that era. But by having him in an informal role, it also says we are in a new era. All in all, it seems quite positive."

 

Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates said Nadella will need to articulate a vision for Microsoft, which under Ballmer was undergoing a transformation from software to "devices and services."

 

"Nadella has to come up with the vision," Kay said. "Gates's vision was appropriate for the 1970s and 1980s."

 

Kay said Nadella "admits that he is green in asking support from Gates but that's OK. I think people can come into a job green and grow into it."

 

Nadella "has been the enterprise guy, so I would expect him to go in that direction. They may even spin off the consumer business."

 

Deutsche Bank analyst Karl Keirstead said Nadella was a "good choice."

 

"Although Microsoft is a big ship to turn, in our view Nadella will push to make Microsoft more innovative and agile, more like Apple and less like IBM," Keirstead said in a research note.

 

Matthew Hedberg at RBC Capital Markets called Nadella "a safe choice" and said his background "could mean a bigger emphasis on cloud and enterprise than Microsoft has had in the past."

 

Hedberg added that the shift in roles for Gates would be a "bigger positive for investor sentiment."

 

In late morning trading, Microsoft shares were up 0.33 percent at $36.60.

 

Nadella heads the team that runs the public, private and service provider clouds for Microsoft.

 

Previously, Nadella was president of Microsoft's $19 billion server and tools business.

 

He is a native of Hyderabad, India and earned degrees from Mangalore University, the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and the University of Chicago.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)

Yahoo Mail accounts breached with stolen passwords

Yahoo Mail accounts breached with stolen passwords

 

San Francisco (AFP)

 

Yahoo alerted users of its free email service Thursday that hackers slipped into accounts to loot information using stolen passwords.

 

The California company did not disclose the extent of the breach, but said that it is asking those affected to change their passwords.

 

"Security attacks are unfortunately becoming a more regular occurrence," Yahoo senior vice president for platforms and personalization products Jay Rossiter said in a blog post.

 

"We regret this has happened and want to assure our users that we take the security of their data very seriously."

 

A malicious computer program armed with Yahoo Mail passwords and usernames apparently slipped into accounts aiming to glean names and addresses from messages that had been sent, according to Rossiter.

 

Yahoo recently discovered the invasion and suspected that the passwords were snatched from a third-party database that the company did not disclose.

 

"We have no evidence that they were obtained directly from Yahoo's systems," Rossiter said.

 

Yahoo said it was working with federal authorities to investigate the breach.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 31 Friday January 2014 The Roman)

 

NSA and Obama: Yes, We Can

NSA and Obama: Yes, We Can

 

Why is President Obama so permissive with regard to excesses of US intelligence apparatus?

 

Stephan Richter

 

Stephan Richter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist, the daily online magazine, and a columnist in newspapers around the world.

 

[caption id="attachment_11470" align="alignnone" width="680"] (NSA’s goal to make the US 'safe' is not deliverable and comes at great cost [Getty])[/caption] 

Few of his supporters would have ever thought that Barack Obama's famous 2008 presidential campaign slogan would end up turning into the collective mantra of the US intelligence community during his term in office.

 

But here we are: "Yes, We Can" is the best way to describe the arrogant attitude of the more than 50,000 spooks employed by the US government, whenever they are faced with any questions pertaining to the legitimacy of their actions.

 

Their arrogance is as breathtaking, as are their mostly phony protestations of operating under a carefully calibrated web of checks and balances.

 

And Mr Obama's timidity in tackling both phenomena is astonishing for a man who is a constitutional lawyer by training.

 

At this stage, the memory of the Church Committee is not just faint, but depressing.

 

In 1975, Idaho Senator Frank Church chaired a special committee - the forerunner of the Senate Intelligence Committee - and mounted a vigorous, no-holds-barred investigation of the overreach of the spying agencies during the Nixon era.

 

The idea that a similarly vigorous defence of the vitality of American democracy, much needed though it is, could be mounted is simply unimaginable today.

 

By whom?

 

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the current Senate Intelligence Committee chair?

 

A question of oversight

 

The current set of characters on Capitol Hill has given a new meaning to the hallowed term "Congressional Oversight".

 

It's no longer about effective legislative checks-and-balances on the actions of the executive branch.

 

The 'oversight' now practised in Congress is thus of the kind where one consciously overlooks something critical that is right under one's eyes - oversight as deliberate lapses, not providing the constitutionally mandated counterweight.

 

Rather than seeing their role as sentries against the executive branch's gradual slide into a surveillance state, these fine members of Congress have a different "vision".

 

Eyes wide shut, they see themselves as the intelligence apparatus's advocates and propellants.

 

Under those circumstances, no falsehood or lie even by the most senior intelligence officials, such as by Director of National Intelligence James R Clapper, has any consequences any longer.

 

The "oversight" now practised in Congress is thus of the kind where one consciously overlooks something critical that is right under one's eyes - oversight as deliberate lapses, not providing the constitutionally mandated counterweight.

 

But what about Barack Obama?

 

Why has he been so captured by the apparatus?

 

The bubble in the White House is one reason.

 

Relative youth and inexperience another.

 

Fear of being held accountable "in case something happens" a third.

 

But let's keep personality traits and political considerations to the side.

 

Obama's hesitation to stand up for democratic controls of the intelligence machinery is indicative of a fundamental misconception of American freedom.

 

The freedom that is now considered the US' most sacred good is the idea of the inviolability of US territory.

 

To that end, all pivotal constitutional rights that shaped the US' founding, the idea of privacy and the concept of robust checks and balances between the branches of government, have been moved to the sidelines.

 

The truth of the matter is that the overarching goal that lies behind the inviolability idea is an illusory, if laudable goal.

 

Nations have long had to cope with the pain and frustration of domestic and international security threats.

 

Like it or not, it is part of being alive.

 

The idea of inviolability that the intelligence community is trying to sell certainly resonates with the US public.

 

Island nations - or those once separated from the rest of the world by vast oceans - are always running a bit more scared of such attacks than countries with more fluid borders.

 

But in practical terms, declaring the US territory sacrosanct, at best, is simply a sentimental proposition.

 

It cannot be delivered.

 

Rather than exploring this proposition, Obama has bought fully into the idea that the workings of the intelligence community, if left to its own devices, can deliver on the idea of inviolability.

 

Seeking protection

 

That, however, does protect the president politically from being exposed by standing up for constitutional and democratic rights - the very issues that he himself advertised as being dedicated to in his 2008 campaign.

 

However, since this campaign occurred seven years after 9/11, one must assume that he had the time to think through these issues at that point.

 

Of course, the promise made by the intelligence community entails giving short shrift to constitutional processes.

 

Obama's response?

 

So be it.

 

That's the price we have to pay to stay safe.

 

That's the same kind of circular and closed logic sold by George W Bush.

 

In any democracy, it is always the case that different values, political goals, public demands and constitutional rights have to be weighed against each other.

 

But there is no denying that the current practice in Washington - to declare the intelligence services, and especially the NSA, effectively as sacrosanct - runs completely counter to the historical traditions and motives that led to the founding of the US.

 

Acts of terrorism are, in the end, unavoidable.

 

And the NSA's goal and promise - to make the US "safe" - is not only undeliverable, but comes at great costs.

 

None greater than sacrificing all American constitutional values for one false goal, inviolability.

 

A technology-based cordon sanitaire?

 

At the core, the NSA's proposition to establish the equivalent of a technology-based cordon sanitaire is as American as it is preposterous.

 

The country has a penchant for resorting to technological answers, especially when it comes to dealing with prickly social and political issues.

 

Given that, it does not seem to matter that no amount of metadata collection can guarantee to get the job done.

 

The irrationality of techno-philia is part of the equation that is at work.

 

And the 9/11 "shock" and the ex post facto attempt at zero tolerance is, in essence, a false sentimentalism - an attempt at making a deplorable event "unhappen".

 

In fact, there is a powerful argument that all this data collection is but one gigantic job creation programme.

 

Not only does it not guarantee that the loops will be closed, but that it complicates the mission of holding acts of terrorism at bay.

 

Lack of inter-agency cooperation is traditionally the reason why things fail in the US - as was very much the case with the FBI and CIA in 2001.

 

Ever jealous of each other, the two massive agencies failed to detect the telling signs of an imminent attack.

 

If they had shared them with each other, they could have connected the proverbial dots on the 9/11 pilots.

 

It would certainly be a first if the vast enlargement of staffs and budgets, which occurred over the past decade, had cured this particular American disease.

 

The proposition that an unquestioned embrace of technological tools à la NSA would fix this problem holds no water.

 

All it does is to improve the sales prospects of tech marketing firms.

 

Stephan Richter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist, the daily online magazine, and a columnist in newspapers around the world.

 

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

 

(Source: Al Jazeera)

 

(Al Jazeera, 29 Wednesday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Plus belle voiture de l'année : l'Alfa Romeo 4C triomphe Most beautiful car of the year: The Alfa Romeo 4C triumph

Plus belle voiture de l'année : l'Alfa Romeo 4C triomphe

 

Le Festival de l'automobile a remis ses prix sous le dôme des Invalides à Paris et révélé le choix des internautes pour la plus belle voiture 2013.

 

[caption id="attachment_11430" align="alignnone" width="400"] (La 4C a été un ouragan dans le monde de la voiture sportive car elle met une approche radicale du pilotage à la portée de (presque) toutes les bourses. Ses lignes ont été justement distinguées pour le prix de la Plus belle voiture 2013. © Alfa Roméo) (4C was a hurricane in the world of sports car because it puts a radical approach to control the scope of (almost) every budget. Lines were distinguished for just the price of the Most Beautiful Car 2013. © Alfa Roméo)[/caption]

 

AUTO-ADDICT

 

Voilà l'exemple même du classement subjectif, celui qui concerne les goûts et les couleurs de chacun et ne fait pas forcément l'unanimité.

 

Mais cela peut faire une majorité, comme on va le voir.

 

Élire la plus belle voiture de l'année relève de ce défi, répété depuis 29 ans par Rémi Depoix, l'auteur de l'idée et promoteur du Festival qu'il a porté avec la foi intacte du passionné.

 

D'une initiative privée, le Festival est devenu un événement dans le milieu automobile, mais aussi une manifestation publique qui rencontre aujourd'hui une vraie considération internationale.

 

Aux côtés de l'exposition des concept cars, qui est une manifestation en soi (voir notre article) et dont les portes s'ouvriront au grand public jusqu'à dimanche, le Festival proprement dit a réuni mardi soir aux Invalides les plus belles carrosseries de l'année, régulièrement commercialisées auprès du grand public.

 

Le jury expert réuni par Rémi Depoix et comprenant des membres venus du monde des arts, de l'architecture et de la communication - dont Étienne Gernelle, le directeur de la rédaction du Point, étroitement associé avec Auto-Addict à l'événement - a jeté les bases du classement.

 

Une voiture à l'internaute gagnant

 

Le jury s'est penché sur les nouveautés surgies dans l'année 2013 et a sélectionné, ce qui est une gageure, huit voitures dignes de figurer dans le palmarès.

 

Pour concourir, les critères d'inscription sont simples : la voiture doit avoir été commercialisée pour la première fois dans l'année en cours et afficher un prix public inférieur à 55 000 euros.

 

Le constructeur gagnant emporte une campagne d'affichage d'une valeur de 100 000 euros offerte par JCDecaux.

 

Mais surtout, un votant a été tiré au sort en fin de concours pour gagner une voiture de la marque victorieuse d'une valeur de 30 000 euros, mais pas le modèle couronné, afin de ne pas fausser les votes.

 

C'est déjà une victoire à part entière de figurer à ce stade, parmi les nommées.

 

Après de longues délibérations du jury, ont été retenues les Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW Série 4 Coupé, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus IS 300 h, Mazda3, Mercedes CLA, Peugeot 308 et Renault Captur.

 

À partir de cette liste, le jury n'intervenait plus, et c'était au tour des internautes d'entrer en lice pour manifester leurs préférences.

 

Pas moins de sept mini-sites dédiés, dans six langues différentes, ont permis en deux mois à plus de 100 000 personnes dans 52 pays de choisir leur voiture préférée.

 

Une sélection intermédiaire avait éliminé les deux françaises, la Lexus et la Jeep pour ne laisser aux prises que deux berlines de grande diffusion (Mazda3 et Mercedes CLA) et deux coupés (BMW Série 4 et Alfa Romeo 4 C).

 

Aucune voiture dénuée de mérites, comme on peut le voir.

 

Mini-supercar

 

Celle qui a rassemblé le maximum de suffrages autour de la planète est finalement l'Alfa Romeo 4C, un petit coupé très performant et dont la constitution et les techniques de fabrication renvoient aux supercars.

 

Son moteur est certes plus modeste avec ses 240 ch que celui de la prestigieuse et très confidentielle 8C dont le V8 titre 200 ch de plus.

 

Mais, les votants ne s'y sont pas trompés, la 4C est la voiture qui réhabilite les valeurs de la marque au trèfle à quatre feuilles tout en restant (relativement) accessible.

 

La 4C, écrivions-nous lors de notre essai, ouvre une nouvelle ère pour Alfa Romeo.

 

Renouant avec le glorieux passé du constructeur italien, elle dépoussière son image afin de mieux préparer son redéploiement sur les marchés américains et asiatiques.

 

Conçue à Turin, mise au point à Balocco sur le site d'essai historique d'Alfa Romeo, assemblée chez Maserati à Modène, et en partie construite dans une nouvelle usine spécialisée dans la fibre de carbone récemment inaugurée près de Naples par le patron de Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, la 4C joue à fond la synergie du groupe Fiat pour proposer l'excellence technique au meilleur prix.

 

À partir de 51 500 euros au tarif, la 4C suscite immédiatement la passion mais n'en fait pas payer le prix.

 

(Le Point.fr - Publié le 28/01/2014 à 23:05 - Modifié le 29/01/2014 à 09:51)

 

 

Most beautiful car of the year: The Alfa Romeo 4C triumph

 

Festival of automobile gave its prices under the dome of the Invalides in Paris and found the choice of users for the most beautiful car of 2013.

 

AUTO-ADDICT

 

That is the epitome of subjective ranking, one concerning the tastes and colors of each and does not necessarily unanimity.

 

But it can make a majority, as we shall see.

 

Elect the most beautiful car of the year this challenging, repeated for 29 years by Rémi Depoix, the author of the idea and sponsor of the Festival he wore with the passionate faith intact.

 

From a private initiative, the Festival has become an event in the automotive industry, but also a public event today encounters a true international recognition.

 

Alongside the exhibition concept cars, which is an event in itself (see article) and the doors will open to the public until Sunday, the festival itself was held Tuesday evening at the Invalides most beautiful bodies of the year, regularly sold to the general public.

 

The expert panel convened by Rémi Depoix and comprising members from the world of art, architecture and communication - which Gernelle Stephen, the editor of Le Point, closely associated with Auto-Addict at the event - a laid the foundations of ranking.

 

A car to win the Internet

 

The jury considered the new arisen in 2013 and selected, which is a challenge, eight cars worthy to figure in the charts.

 

To compete, the criteria for inclusion are simple: the car must have been marketed for the first time in the current year and display a price of less than € 55,000.

 

The winner wins a display manufacturer worth 100 000 euros offered by JCDecaux campaign.

 

But above all, a voter has been drawn at the end of the contest to win a car brand victorious worth € 30,000, but not crowned model so as not to distort the votes.

 

This is a victory in its own right to appear at this stage, among the appointees.

 

After much deliberation the jury were chosen the Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW 4 Series Coupe, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Lexus IS 300 h, Mazda3, Mercedes CLA, Peugeot 308 and Renault Captur.

 

From this list, the jury not intervened, and it was the turn of the users to enter the fray to express their preferences.

 

No less than seven mini-sites dedicated in six different languages, allowed two months to more than 100,000 people in 52 countries to choose their favorite car.

 

An intermediate selection had eliminated two French, and the Lexus Jeep to leave struggling two sedans widely (Mazda3 and Mercedes CLA) and two cut (4 BMW and Alfa Romeo 4 C).

 

No car devoid of merit, as you can see.

 

Mini-supercar

 

One that has gathered the most votes around the world is finally Alfa Romeo 4C, a small high-performance coupe and whose construction and manufacturing techniques refer to supercars.

 

Its engine is certainly more modest with 240 hp than the prestigious and highly confidential 8C whose title V8 200 hp more.

 

But voters do not make a mistake, the 4C is the car that rehabilitates brand values to four-leaf clover while remaining (relatively) accessible.

 

4C, we wrote during our test, opens a new era for Alfa Romeo.

 

Reviving the glorious past of the Italian manufacturer, she dusted her image to better prepare its redeployment in the U.S. and Asian markets.

 

Designed to Turin, developed at Balocco on the historical test Alfa Romeo site meeting with Maserati in Modena, and partly built in a new factory specializing in carbon fiber recently opened near Naples by boss Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, 4C plays the synergy of the Fiat group to provide technical excellence at the best price.

 

From 51,500 euros costs, 4C immediately arouses passion but does not pay the price.

 

(Le Point, 28 Tuesday January 2014 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 29 Wednesday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Further IT glitch hits UK bank customers

Further IT glitch hits UK bank customers

 

London (AFP)

 

Britain's Lloyds banking group apologised on Sunday after many of its debit card customers were left unable to access their money following a server hitch.

 

The financial institution, Britain's largest retail bank group, later said it had it had fixed the problem that left customers of its members -- Halifax, Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and TSB -- unable to use debit cards or automated teller machines (ATMs).

 

"We apologise that earlier today, between 3 pm and 6 pm, some customers were unable to complete their debit card transactions," said a tweet from Lloyds Banking Group.

 

"Although the majority of transactions were unaffected, we are very sorry for the inconvenience that this will have caused.

 

"At the same time, some customers encountered problems at approximately half of our 7,000 ATMs. This was resolved by 7.30 pm, and all of our ATMs are now working."

 

TSB chief Paul Pester earlier took to Twitter to apologise for the glitch.

 

"I'm working hard with my team now to try to fix the problems," he said, explaining that two of the seven servers used to process the bank's debit card payments had malfunctioned.

 

"It'll take a while to sort the backlog," he added.

 

"Sorry. Customers may have problems for an hour or so."

 

IT problems have recently plagued UK banks.

 

Shortly before Christmas, a technical fault meant around 750,000 Royal Bank of Scotland customers were unable to use their credit and debit cards.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 26 Sunday January 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Geeks the stars as Apple 'Mac' turns 30

Geeks the stars as Apple 'Mac' turns 30

 

Cupertino (United States) (AFP)

 

Geeks who brought the Macintosh computer to life became Silicon Valley rock stars on Saturday, with people asking for autographs or photos while celebrating the Apple desktop machine's 30th birthday.

 

Members of the original "Mac" team got the star treatment for passionately building a home computer "for the rest of us" at a time when IBM machines dominated in workplaces.

 

The friendly desktop referred to as the Mac and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a "mouse," opened computing to non-geeks in much the way that touchscreens later allowed almost anyone to get instantly comfortable with smartphones or tablets.

 

The birthday party was held in a performing arts center in the Californian city of Cupertino, where legendary late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs first introduced the Mac to the world on January 24, 1984.

 

"Ever since I can remember I've been entranced with how these Macs work," 16-year-old Tom Frikker told AFP as he worked his way through the crowd, getting original team members to autograph the vintage Mac he brought from home.

 

"It seems like a work of art," the teenager continued.

 

"I thought it would be cool to come out and see all these people that I've heard about."

 

Prior to the Mac, with its "graphical user interface," computers were commanded with text typed in what seemed like a foreign language to those who were not software programmers.

 

"The effect the Mac had on the world and on computing is really fascinating," said Warren Sande, a fiber optic telecom company manager who was a school boy when the Apple desktop debuted.

 

Sande's 14-year-old son was eager to hear inside stories from those who made the Mac.

 

"The Mac had no video hardware, a tiny amount of RAM and a floppy drive, and it did stuff that my computer with eight gigabytes of RAM and dedicated video hardware has trouble doing," Carter Sande said.

 

"I need to figure out why," the teenager said.

 

"It is so amazing that they did so much with a tiny amount of hardware."

 

'We were making art'

 

The original vision of launching a Macintosh with 64 kilobytes of RAM and a $1,000 price gave way to introducing one with 128 kilobytes of RAM at $2,500.

 

Members of the Mac team told of being crushed when they got word of the higher price because they had been driven by a belief that they were making a machine that typical people could afford as well as easily use.

 

Applause erupted from the audience as members of the original Mac team stepped on stage to share memories.

 

Video clips, many starring a young Steve Jobs, were played.

 

"It wasn't work, we were making art," Mac development team member Bill Atkinson said, recalling how Jobs had their signatures engraved inside the Mac because "real artists sign their work.”

 

The maddening brilliance of Jobs was a thread running through many shared memories.

 

One worker described an "evolution of Jobs" that started with him bashing a suggestion as idiocy only to claim it as his own days later.

 

"Sometimes he was exasperating that man, but there is very little I would change," early Apple employee Rod Holt said.

 

"People put themselves into that computer."

 

Apple spotlighted the arrival of the Mac with a television commercial portraying a bold blow struck against an Orwellian computer culture.

 

The "1984" commercial directed by Ridley Scott aired in an expensive time slot during a Super Bowl in a "huge shot" at IBM, Daniel Kottke, of the original Mac team, told AFP.

 

Mac prowess at page layouts and photo editing won the devotion of artistic types and ignited an era of desktop publishing.

 

Macs sold decently out of the gate, but Windows machines hit with a low-price advantage for budget-minded buyers.

 

Microsoft released the first version of Windows in late 1985.

 

Microsoft took the lead in the home computer market by concentrating on software, while partners cranked out Windows-powered machines at prices that undercut the Mac.

 

A long-running rivalry between Microsoft and Apple has yielded to the mobile age, with Google and its Android operating system targeted as the new nemesis, as lifestyles center on smartphones and tablet computers.

 

The original boxy Macintosh, with its mouth-like slit below the screen for "floppy" data disks, has evolved into a line that boasts slim, powerful laptops in the smooth shape of the Mac Pro desktop model.

 

"Steve would constantly drum into us how much of a dent we would make in the universe," said Andy Hertzfeld, of the original Mac team.

 

"Of course we believed him."

 

(Agence France-Presse, 26 Sunday January 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Google tries to delete UK court case over iPhone 'tracking’

Google tries to delete UK court case over iPhone 'tracking’

 

Search giant accused of "arrogant, immoral" behaviour as it attempts to throw out damages lawsuit

 

Google will today attempt to dismiss a case brought by a group of British internet users who allege the search giant collected personal data against their will.

 

The company, which has been fined tens of millions of dollars by regulators over the issue in the US, is accused of tracking the habits of iPhone web browsers, even when they had opted out.

 

One plaintiff accused Google of “arrogant, immoral” behaviour in trying to get the case shut down in England, and lawyers claim it wants to move the lawsuit to the US.

 

Google says that the plaintiffs suffered no actual harm when they were mistakenly tracked.

 

Olswang, the law firm, is bringing the case against Google.

 

It says the company illegally installed internet tracking software, known as cookies, on users’ iPhones during 2011 and 2012.

 

Three test cases will be highlighted tomorrow, but Olswang says hundreds more have expressed their interest after a social media campaign.

 

According to the plaintiffs, Google has argued that the claim should be brought in the US, where the company is based.

 

One claimant, Judith Vidal-Hall, said: “Google’s preference that British consumers should travel all the way to California to seek redress for its wrongdoings is arrogant, immoral and a disgrace.”

 

A spokesman for Google pointed to a similar US case that was shut down in October.

 

The judge said that users had not come to any harm even if they were tracked.

 

“We’re asking the court to re-examine whether this case meets the standards required in the UK for a case like this to go to trial,” the spokesman said.

 

Google has been fined a total of $39.5m (£24.2m) by two US regulators, one payment of $22.5m levied by the Federal Trade Commission and a recent $17m payment to US states.

 

(The Telegraph, 16 Monday December 2013 The Roman)

 

Grâce à des prix en baisse, un milliard de smartphones vendus cette année With falling prices, a billion smartphones sold this year

Grâce à des prix en baisse, un milliard de smartphones vendus cette année

 

[caption id="attachment_10274" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Le nombre de smartphones vendus cette année a bondi de 39,3% par rapport à 2012 (AFP/Archives, Nicolas Asfouri)) (The number of smartphones sold this year jumped 39.3% compared to 2012 (AFP/Archives, Nicolas Asfouri))[/caption]

 

Washington — Les smartphones ont franchi le cap symbolique du milliard d'unités vendues cette année dans le monde, grâce à une baisse des prix, et les ventes devraient continuer à croire dans les prochaines années, indique une étude publiée mardi.

 

Le nombre de smartphones vendus cette année a bondi de 39,3% par rapport à 2012, un rythme qui devrait toutefois ralentir les années suivantes, précise le cabinet de recherche International Data Corporation (IDC).

 

Un des facteurs clés de l'engouement pour ces téléphones multi-fonctions est leur prix, qui a baissé de 12% en un an, selon IDC.

 

Le prix moyen d'un smartphone a atteint 337 dollars cette année, en baisse de 12% par rapport à 2012, et pourrait encore diminuer jusqu'à 265 dollars d'ici 2017.

 

"Le moteur des ventes de smartphones les années prochaines devrait être la baisse des prix", souligne un analyste d'IDC, Ramon Llamas.

 

"Dans les marchés émergents notamment, où la sensibilité et l'élasticité des prix sont si importantes, les prix vont diminuer pour les smartphones, qui ne seront plus seulement entre les mains des élites urbaines mais aussi entre celles des consommateurs des marchés de masse", précise M. Llamas.

 

"Chaque vendeur regarde de près de combien il peut baisser le prix des appareils pour à la fois dégager un bénéfice et offrir une expérience solide de smartphone", explique-t-il.

 

Les ventes de smartphones pourraient représenter 1,7 milliards d'unités d'ici 2017, avec un taux de croissance de 18,4% l'année prochaine, selon IDC.

 

"Il y a juste quelques années, le secteur (des smartphones) parlait du prochain milliard de gens qui allaient se connecter, et on partait du principe que la majorité de ces gens allaient le faire avec leur téléphone portable. Etant donné la trajectoire des (prix), les smartphones sont maintenant une option très réaliste pour connecter ces milliards d'utilisateurs", selon M. Llamas.

 

Le nombre d'unités vendues a particulièrement augmenté dans les régions d'Asie-Pacifique et d'Amérique latine, chacune prévoyant une hausse du nombre d'unités vendues d'environ 23% au cours des quatre prochaines années.

 

L'Amérique du Nord, qui compte déjà un grand nombre de smartphones, devrait voir la progression du nombre d'unités vendues ralentir à un rythme de 7,8% et en Europe à 11,1%.

 

Copyright © AFP 2013. Tous droits réservés.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 26 mardi novembre 2013 le Romain)

 

 

With falling prices, a billion smartphones sold this year

 

Washington - Smartphones have crossed the symbolic threshold of one billion units sold this year worldwide, thanks to lower prices and sales should continue to believe in the coming years, says a study released Tuesday.

 

The number of smartphones sold this year jumped 39.3% compared to 2012, a rate that is expected to moderate in the following years, says research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

 

A key factor in the popularity of the multi-function phones is their price, which fell 12% in one year, according to IDC.

 

The average price of a smartphone hit $ 337 this year, down 12% compared to 2012, and could decrease to $ 265 by 2017.

 

"The driver of smartphone sales in the coming years should be lower prices," said an analyst at IDC, Ramon Llamas.

 

"In emerging markets in particular, where the sensitivity and price elasticity are so important, the price will decrease for smartphones, which are no longer only in the hands of urban elites but also between those consumer mass markets", says Llamas.

 

"Each vendor looks almost how it can lower the price of equipment for both a profit and provide a solid smartphone experience," he says.

 

Smartphone sales could represent 1.7 billion units by 2017, with a growth rate of 18.4 % next year, according to IDC.

 

"There was just a few years, the sector (smartphones) spoke of the next billion people going to connect, and it was assumed that the majority of these people would do with their mobile phone. Given the trajectory of (price), smartphones are now a very realistic to connect billions of users option”, says Llamas.

 

The number of units sold increased particularly in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America, each providing a higher number of units sold of approximately 23 % over the next four years.

 

North America, which already has a large number of smartphones should see growth in the number of units sold at a slow pace of 7.8% and in Europe 11.1%.

 

Copyright © 2013 AFP . All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 26 Tuesday November 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. tohiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 27 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

 

The Kingdom of Ryukyu electronics company to introduce new photovoltaic system to Solomon Islands

The Kingdom of Ryukyu electronics company to introduce new photovoltaic system to Solomon Islands

 

From 31 October 2013, Okinawa Kobori Electronics will start work on a project to introduce the new utility interactive photovoltaic system that the company has developed to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

 

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) commissioned the company to undertake the project.

 

While the current devices collectively control all the solar panels, meaning that the systems of the existing power conditioners may shut down if problems occur, the company’s new system avoids a shutdown by locating the devices decentrally.

 

The new system allows local residents to restore the devices by themselves.

 

Okinawa Kobori Electronics developed the system in order to cope with typhoon and salt damage and is promoting it in semitropical islands that share the same issues as The Kingdom of Ryukyu.

 

A representative of the Okinawa International Center said, “We hope that this technology developed in The kingdom f Ryukyu will contribute to solving problems faced by island countries and at the same time serve to promote The Kingdom of Ryukyu companies.”

 

With design work already underway, the people in charge of the project visited Solomon Islands from 31 October 2013 in order to carry out surveys.

 

From June 2014 the company will install a 500-kilowatt system on sites owned by local electric power companies.

 

They signed a contract with the agency on 25 October 2013, and are using budget of about 100 million yen available from official development assistance funding.

 

According to the agency, the islands currently depend mostly on diesel-electric power generation and local electricity charges are about three times higher than those in Japan.

 

The Solomons decided to adopt this system because it will free them from relying on imported energy sources.

 

According to Okinawa Kobori Electronics, the current mainstream systems could shut down if the power conditioners malfunction.

 

At the moment restoring them can only be carried out by the electronics companies but the system developed by Okinawa Kobori Electronics avoids a shutdown by connecting their power conditioners to every ten-kilowatt photovoltaic panels.

 

It is easy and cheap to use and protects the power conditioners because the company has already developed the device, which it successfully trialed several years ago.

 

It was not mainstream in the industry to start with, but has gradually become widespread.

 

Okinawa Kobori Electronics has already installed this photovoltaic system in Laos three years ago.

 

The person in charge of the project said, “We want to take this opportunity to boost our business overseas including in emerging countries.”

 

(English translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey)

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 31 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

Uruma city and Urasoe city is the Silicon Valley of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, Ginoza city is the huge data center of the Kingdom Ryukyu, Solar power system to Solomon, The Kingdom of Ryukyu development technology to South Pacific

Uruma city and Urasoe city is the Silicon Valley of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, Ginoza city is the huge data center of the Kingdom Ryukyu

 

Solar power system to Solomon, The Kingdom of Ryukyu development technology to South Pacific

 

浦添市やうるま市は琉球王国のシリコンバレー、宜野座市は琉球王国の巨大データセンター

 

琉球王国発技術、南太平洋へ　ソロモンで太陽光システム

 

沖縄小堀電機（浦添市、与那嶺豊和社長）は１０月３１日から、南太平洋のソロモンで沖縄発の系統連系型太陽光発電（ＰＶ）システムの普及・実証事業を進める。

 

国際協力機構（ＪＩＣＡ）の委託事業。

 

従来型のパワーコンディショナー（出力抑制装置＝パワコン）は全パネルを一括管理するため、故障するとシステムが全停止する可能性があるが、同社は市販のパワコンを分散配置することで全停止を回避、同システムを利用する住民自らでも復旧可能な装置導入を提案する。

 

台風や塩害などへの対策として沖縄で生まれたシステムを、課題が共通する亜熱帯の島々に普及させる。

 

ＪＩＣＡ沖縄国際センターは「沖縄ならではの技術が、島しょ国の課題解決につながり、沖縄の企業のビジネス展開にもつながればいい」と事業の意義を強調した。
既に設計業務に着手し、担当者が３１日からソロモンへ現地調査に入る。

 

５０キロワットほどのＰＶシステムを構築する。

 

現地電力公社の敷地内に設置を検討している。２０１４年６月から現地施工を始める。

 

ＪＩＣＡとは２５日に契約した。予算は政府開発援助（ＯＤＡ）で約１億円。

 

ＪＩＣＡによるとソロモンの電力はほとんどがディーゼル発電に依存、電気料金が日本の約３倍となっており、輸入燃料に頼らないＰＶシステム導入となった。

 

沖縄小堀電機によると、ＰＶで現在主流のシステムは一括集中型のパワコンが故障すると全停止し発電できなくなる。

 

故障対応もメーカー依存で費用も大きい。

 

一方、同社のシステムは、市販のパワコンを１０キロワットのＰＶパネルごとに接続することで全停止を回避する。

 

市販品なため安価で保守、運用も容易になる。

 

パワコン分散システムは沖縄小堀電機が数年前に試験的に実施して成功。

 

当時は業界主流ではなかったが、徐々に広がりつつある。

 

沖縄小堀電機は３年前にもラオスでのＰＶシステムにも携わった。

 

担当者は「システムを含めたビジネスチャンスとして新興国など海外を重視している」と話した。

 

（琉球新報、2013年10月31日）

 

 

Uruma city and Urasoe city is the Silicon Valley of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, Ginoza city is the huge data center of the Kingdom Ryukyu 

 

Solar power system to Solomon, The Kingdom of Ryukyu development technology to South Pacific

 

From 31 October, Okinawa Kobori Electric (Urasoe city, Toyokazu Yonamine president) to promote the dissemination and demonstration projects system grid-connected solar power generation  (PV)  from the Kingdom of Ryukyu to the South Pacific Solomon.

 

Projects commissioned Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

 

In order to centrally manage all panels, there is a possibility that the system is totally stop in the event of a crash power conditioner of conventional (output suppression device = power conditioner), the company bypassing the full stop by distributing place the power conditioner on the separate, this suggest recoverable equipment introduced, even use the same system is citizens.

 

They disseminate the islands of subtropical challenges common, a system that was born in the Kingdom of Ryukyu as a countermeasure to such as Typhoons and salt damage.

 

JICA Okinawa International Center stressed the significance of business "technology in the Kingdom of Ryukyu only by, leads to solve problems of island nations, and we will lead to business development companies of the Kingdom of Ryukyu,” he said.

 

It started design work already, the person in charge to enter the field survey to Solomon from 31 October 2013.

 

They will build a PV system of about 50 kilo-watts.

 

They are considering the installation on the grounds of the local power company.

 

They will start the local construction from June 2014.

 

They have a contract with JICA on the 25th October 2013.

 

Budget of about 100 million yen in Official Development Assistance (ODA).

 

According to JICA, power of Solomon is most rely on diesel power generation, electricity prices are approximately three times high from Japan, they became the PV system introduction that does not rely on imported fuel.

 

According to the Okinawa Kobori Electric, mainstream current power system can not be power generate in totally stop of power conditioner bulk centralized fails in PV.

 

Expensive and large manufacturers also depends failure correspondence.

 

On the other hand, Okinawa Kobori Electric, to avoid all stop by connecting to the PV panel every 10 kilo-watts power conditioner on the separate.

 

Maintenance is not expensive because it is from commercially available parts, operation is facilitated.

 

Power conditioner distributed system success Okinawa Kobori Electric machine implemented on a trial basis in a few years ago.

 

It was not a mainstream industry at the time, but it is spreading slowly to mainstream.

 

Okinawa Kobori Electric was involved but also on the PV system in Laos three years ago.

 

Person in company said, "attaches big importance to overseas, such as emerging as a business opportunity, including the system.”

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 31 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 1 Friday November 2013 The Roman)

 

EU tightening data protection

EU tightening data protection

 

MASS SURVEILLANCE: The union is working on regulations that will make it harder to move European data to third countries, with fines running into billions of US dollars

 

(The Guardian, BRUSSELS)

 

New European rules aimed at curbing questionable transfers of data from EU countries to the US are being finalized in Brussels in the first concrete reaction to the disclosures on US and British mass surveillance of digital communications.

 

Regulations on European data protection standards are expected to pass the European Parliament committee stage on Monday, after the political groupings agreed on a new compromise draft following two years of gridlock on the issue.

 

The draft would make it harder for the big US Internet servers and social media providers to transfer European data to third countries, subject them to EU law rather than secret US court orders, and authorize swingeing fines — possibly running into the billions of dollars — for not complying with the new rules.

 

“As parliamentarians, as politicians, as governments we have lost control over our intelligence services. We have to get it back again,” German Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jan Philipp Albrecht said, steering the data protection regulation through the parliament.

 

Data privacy in the EU is currently under the authority of national governments.

 

Standards vary enormously across the 28 countries, complicating efforts to arrive at satisfactory data transfer agreements with the US.

 

The current rules are easily sidestepped by the big Silicon Valley companies, Brussels says.

 

The new rules would ban the transfer of data unless based on EU law or under a new transatlantic pact with the US complying with EU law.

 

“Without any concrete agreement there would be no data processing by telecommunications and Internet companies allowed,” a summary of the proposed new regime says.

 

Such bans were foreseen in initial wording two years ago, but were dropped after intense lobbying from Washington.

 

The proposed ban has been revived directly as a result of the uproar over operations by the US National Security Agency following disclosures by former employee Edward Snowden.

 

Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice and the leading advocate in Brussels of a new system securing individuals’ rights to privacy and data protection, says that the new rulebook will rebalance the power relationship between the US and Europe on the issue, supplying leverage to force US authorities and technology firms to reform.

 

“The recent data scandals prove that sensitivity has been growing on the US side of how important data protection really is for Europeans,” Reding told a German foreign policy journal.

 

“All those US companies that do dominate the tech market and the Internet want to have access to our goldmine, the internal market with over 500 million potential customers.”

 

“If they want to access it, they will have to apply our rules. The leverage that we will have in the near future is thus the EU’s data protection regulation. It will make crystal clear that non-European companies, when offering goods and services to European consumers, will have to apply the EU data protection law in full. There will be no legal loopholes any more,” she added.

 

Yet the proposed rules remain riddled with loopholes for intelligence services to exploit, MEPs say.

 

The EU has no powers over national or European security, nor its own intelligence or security services, which are jealously guarded national prerogatives.

 

National security can be and is invoked to ignore and bypass EU rules.

 

“This regulation does not regulate the work of intelligence services,” Albrecht said.

 

“Of course, national security is a huge loophole and we need to close it, but we can’t close it with this regulation.”

 

Direct deals between the US and individual European governments might also allow the rules to be bypassed.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 19 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)

 

 

Wiretap report ‘hurts credibility’

Wiretap report ‘hurts credibility’

 

WIRETAPPING WHITEWASH ? Critics said the public would not believe what was a blatant coverup for Shih-ming Huang, and the ministry made up its mind even before the probe

 

The conclusion reached by the Ministry of Justice’s report that the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s wiretapping of the Legislative Yuan’s telephone line was a mistake has prompted criticism from some legal experts, who said the report has greatly damaged the credibility of the judiciary.

 

An 11-member task force consisting of officials and outside experts responsible for the investigation into the wiretapping of the legislature found no evidence that the SID did it deliberately, Deputy Minister of Justice Ming-tang Chen (陳明堂) told a press conference on Friday.

 

The findings supported the SID’s earlier assertion that it thought the 10-digit number it asked to have wiretapped belonged to a cellphone used by Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Chien-ming Ker (柯建銘), who was being investigated at the time over alleged influence peddling on behalf of a prison inmate seeking parole.

 

While the SID did not wiretap the legislature on purpose, a mistake was made and the task force recommended that administrative disciplinary measures be considered for Prosecutor-General Shih-ming Huang (黃世銘), SID spokesman Jung-tsung Yang (楊榮宗) and the prosecutor in charge of the Ker investigation, SID prosecutor Shen-yuan Cheng (鄭深元), by referring them to the Prosecutors Evaluation Committee.

 

Taiwan Forever Association founder Wen-lung Cheng (鄭文龍), who is active in judiciary circles, said the report has no credibility and the public would not believe such a blatant coverup for Huang.

 

Minister of Justice Ying-shay Lo (羅瑩雪) said before the task force was even established that the SID had not intended to wiretap the legislature, Wen-lung Cheng  said, adding that Lo’s comments, and the task force investigation results, seemed to imply that the ministry was attempting to cover up for Huang.

 

Pointing to the report’s condemnation of Shen-yuan Cheng having to take most of the responsibility for administrative oversight, Wen-lung Cheng said that the public could not accept such a result.

 

The SID, being under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, is the best equipped and supported judiciary agency, not to mention that it has the best prosecutors the nation has to offer, Wen-lung Chen said.

 

“I found it difficult to believe that the SID could wiretap the legislature for more than four months and not discover that it was the Legislative Yuan’s main switchboard,” he said.

 

Wen-lung Cheng also said that the investigative report, available after only 10 days, was clearly intended to act as a pointer for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office as to which direction its ongoing investigation should take, he added.

 

“It is a clear interference with judicial independence and an ongoing investigation,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Feng-jeng Lin (林峰正) said the ministry’s task force had created more problems than it solved, pointing to an incident on May 21, when the SID called the number under surveillance that was later confirmed as the Legislative Yuan switchboard, but which Huang and the rest of the investigated SID members denied knowing.

 

The ministry’s task force made no recommendations of punitive measures, but decided that the SID had not intentionally bugged the legislature, then dumped the responsibility on the Prosecutors Evaluation Committee, Lin said, asking: “What then is the point of having the task force?”

 

Saying that the task force has already deprived the committee of any chance or room for further investigation, Lin added that he hoped the committee would remain independent and objective when it makes its evaluation of the SID.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 13 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)

(Edited R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 13 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)