Infected Chinese site leaves gamers vulnerable

The game channel of a popular Chinese information and entertainment Web site, Mop.com, has been compromised, leaving the accounts of online gamers vulnerable to theft, security vendor Websense has warned.

In a blog post Monday, Websense said cybercriminals had injected the game site with malicious code by modifying a Javascript file referenced by the site.

Mop.com has more than 50 million registered users and clocks over 200 million pageviews daily, the security company noted, adding that the game site is especially popular with World of Warcraft fans. The site is ranked No. 274 on Alexa's list of most visited Web sites in the world.

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DoubleTwist for Android: Keep your songs in sync

The new DoubleTwist for Android is a quick way to play and sync your media from the DoubleTwist desktop library.

(Credit: DoubleTwist)

The DoubleTwist Player for Android that debuted in the Android Market this week is a good-looking alternative to Android's default media player. 

The Android app is the mobile arm of theDoubleTwist media library for Windows andMac, itself an iTunes alternative focused on managing media for a variety of smartphone platforms. As such, the mobile player is tasked with syncing your music, videos, and podcasts to and from your desktop and your Android phone.

The app lets you find songs by artist, album, title, or playlist. There are also shortcuts for synced videos and podcasts. The player then spins your picks, giving you basic controls to pause, skip, and shuffe.

We tested DoubleTwist's PC-to-phone syncing on two Android phones. One transfer worked quickly and as advertised, but the other became a source of intense and mounting frustration with incomplete and failed syncs, and even an attempt that led to a memory card error. DoubleTwist's engineers are still poring through our error log to pinpoint the problem.

If your music library is fit to burst, expect a lengthy first sync could take 10 minutes or so, though subsequent syncing should be speedier, especially if you're dealing with smaller media loads. 

DoubleTwist for Android automatically mounts the USB drive to facilitate media syncing.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

When it came to performance, we found the Android player itself to be reliable, but underfeatured. We'd like to see a search bar, a genre category, the ability to build an ad-hoc playlist by adding a song to the queue, and subscribe to podcasts, to name a few points on our wish list. The app could also benefit from controls on the lock screen. Plans are in the works for a home screen widget that will control the player outside the app.

DoubleTwist is advertising version 1.0 of its player as free for a limited time, but there's no indication at this point how much the company intends to charge. Until the feature set gets a boost, we remain skeptical that charging for the app is justified or will increase its usage.

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Microsoft to fix 34 holes in Windows, Office, IE

Microsoft will on Tuesday issue 10 bulletins fixing 34 vulnerabilities affecting Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer.

Six of the bulletins affect Windows, with two of those rated critical by Microsoft. Two bulletins target Office, one targets both Windows and Office, and one critical bulletin affects Internet Explorer, according to a Microsoft Security Response Center blog post on Thursday.

Microsoft also said that with the June bulletins it will be closing Security Advisory 983438, which involves a vulnerability in SharePoint Services 3.0 and SharePoint Server 2007 that was disclosed in late April and which could lead to a cross-site scripting attack via the browser. Proof-of-concept exploit code has been published for that.

The bulletins also address Security Advisory 980088, which involves a hole in IE that could allow information disclosure for users running the browser on Windows XP. It was disclosed in February.

"The June release is a large update and will keep system administrators busy, even if they have migrated to Windows 7 already (the end-of-life date for Windows XP SP2 is coming closer and Windows 7 is certainly one of the options to migrate to...)," Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer of Qualys, wrote in a blog post.

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Nokia unveils bicycle-powered phone charger

The charger and phone holder for the Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit attach to a bike's front handlebars.

(Credit: Nokia)

Nokia unveiled on Thursday a bicycle-powered phone charger.

The Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit, which can be attached to any bicycle, powers up from the pedaling motion of the bike's rider. A dynamo--the electricity generator--is powered by the front bicycle wheel as a rider pedals and transfers electricity to a charger attached to the handlebar, which a phone plugs into.

"To begin charging, a cyclist needs to travel around six kilometers per hour (four miles per hour), and while charging times will vary depending on battery model, a 10-minute journey at 10 kilometers per hour (six miles per hour) produces around 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time. The faster you ride, the more battery life you generate," Nokia said in a statement.

The charger can be used to power any Nokia phone with a 2mm power jack, according to Nokia.

The Nokia bicycle charger comes with a dynamo that attaches to a bike's fork and generates electricity as a rider pedals.

(Credit: Nokia)

The kit comes with two small brackets, in addition to the charger and generator. One bracket attaches to the bicycle's handlebars to secure the charger and a cell phone holder. The other secures the small electric generator to the bike's fork.

The world's largest maker of cell phones said in a statement that its new product will provide "free and environmentally friendly electricity for mobile phones" and will likely be welcomed in areas of the world where bicycles are a transportation staple.

Priced at about $18, the charging kit is set to be available from Nokia online and Nokia phone retailers by year's end.

While its certainly newsworthy that Nokia is offering a bicycle charger, it follows others. In 2007, Motorola demonstrated abike-powered charger at the Consumer Electronics Show. In September, Dahon unveiled the $99 Biologic FreeChargefor charging small electronic gadgets by connecting to any existing dynamo hub on a bike.

Nokia's announcement came in conjunction with the release of the Nokia C2, a cell phone capable of holding and operating two SIM cards at once to allow for separate phone numbers to be used from one device simultaneously. The dual-SIM C2 allows the user to not only switch between SIM cards, but even swap one SIM card for another, while the phone is on and working.

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Photoshop CS5 gets new lens fixes, raw support

Photoshop CS5 is getting the ability to automatically correct lens flaws in raw images.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Adobe Systems has released the final version of an update to its new Photoshop CS5 that gives the program the ability to automatically correct lens flaws while editing raw images.

Photoshop CS5 already could correct geometric distortion, vignetting, and chromatic for ordinary image files, but the Camera Raw 6.1 plug-in lets photographers do the same with the Photoshop module geared specifically for handing raw images from higher-end cameras. The update, released Tuesday, is on the Adobe.com update site.

Raw images taken directly from camera sensors offer more flexibility and quality than JPEGs that have been processed by the camera, but they also bring headaches since some editing is required to make them useful for sharing with others. Another headache: software companies must continually add support for the proprietary raw formats that come with the unending parade of new cameras.

The update also adds support for raw file formats from several cameras already supported in Photoshop Lightroom 2.7, a sibling product geared specifically for editing and cataloging photos. Those cameras include the Canon Rebel T2i, aka the 550D, the Olympus E-600, the Panasonic G2 and G10, and the Sony Alpha A450. Those cameras, except the Olympus model, were supported in Camera Raw 5.7, but Adobe couldn't build that into Photoshop CS5 because of product release timing matters.

The forthcoming Lightroom 3.0 also will get the lens correction feature, Adobe has said.

The update ships with only a "handful" of supported lenses, but people can create and share their own usingAdobe's Lens Profile Creator utility.

The update reflects the fact that software, even mammoth applications such as Adobe's CS products, are becoming more fluid with Internet updates.

Another indicator: Adobe also released a Photoshop CS5 "Knowledge" panel over the weekend, though people must log into the new CS Live service to use it.

"This tool delivers interactive step-by-step guidance, walking you through some 70 tutorials written by expert authors," said John Nack, Adobe's former Photoshop senior product manager and now the chief of its iPad software efforts. The controls in the tutorials can trigger the appropriate actions directly in Photoshop, he said. The panel automatically installs only for those with English versions of Photoshop.

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The Web's best desktop-app replacements

Microsoft Office has been and will continue to be the most popular productivity software in the world. That's not likely to change with the release of Office 2010.

But the fact is, much of the work we do in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps can be accomplished perfectly well using the basic features available in the Web-based equivalents to these and other desktop apps. Here's a quick look at three such services, all of which offer both free and paid versions. I'll also describe a bunch of specialty sites that can help smooth out your workday.

Top Web-based Office alternatives
Three of the best-known Web suites — Google Docs, Zoho, and ThinkFree Online — remain at the top of the category. All three let you create and edit Word documents (DOC), Excel spreadsheets (XLS), and PowerPoint presentations (PPT). The free versions let you share files and folders, but for industrial-strength collaboration, security, and other features businesses require, you need to pay annual fees of $30 to $70 per user.

In addition to browser-based word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation modules, ThinkFree offers an online file viewer and a PDF converter, while Zoho features dozens of specialty apps, including a note-taker, e-mail, and wiki.

The business versions of the three services take very different approaches. The free Google Apps Standard Edition is intended for groups of up to 50 who want to share calendars, collaborate on standard Office files, create a Web site or wiki, and even get a custom e-mail domain. The Premier edition costs $50 per user per year and offers the infrastructure to support an organization's entire network.

The key is that the whole operation resides on Google servers. By contrast, ThinkFree's downloadable Office alternative costs $50 and runs as a standard desktop program. And ThinkFree Enterprise is installed on the customer's own servers. Zoho's many Web-based business tools are free for very small groups or a handful of uses; for subscriptions priced from $10 to $100, you get unlimited use of the programs and usually more features as well. Zoho's apps include Web conferencing, e-mail hosting, CRM, invoicing, and project management.

Zoho's free online invoice application provides basic billing and customer management.

(Credit: Zoho)

The word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation components of Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Zoho look and feel much like their Office counterparts — at least the pre-ribbon Office. For example, the Java-based ThinkFree Write features the familiar toolbars and drop-down menus for selecting font sizes and styles and other formatting options. You even get a handful of drawing tools that Google Docs, Zoho Writer, and other online word processors can't match. (Zoho Writer gets bonus points for supporting footers and headers, watermarks, and other relatively advanced word processing features.)

ThinkFree Writer looks much like a desktop word processing program and offers plenty of not-so-basic features.

(Credit: ThinkFree)

Specialty services complement Office programs
Other Web productivity tools make quick work of typical PC tasks. To create a PDF version of a Word document, image, or other type of file in a jiffy, browse to 7-PDF Web Portal, which lets you choose one of five resolutions and ten JPEG compression levels for your PDF.

For creating and editing images in a browser, try Pixlr Editor. The service provides more than a dozen filters and supports layers and color levels. Slider controls let you adjust an image's hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, and other aspects.

To go beyond your word processor's spelling and grammar checks, paste your prose into the Paper Rater service to get a complete analysis of the text, including its originality (and the likelihood it is plagiarized). In addition to spotting potential grammar and spelling errors, the service also rates your style and vocabulary and suggests alternative words.

Even with Windows' built-in Calc applet, I sometimes find myself needing a little help with my math. There's no faster way to calculate a percentage or perform other basic mathematical operation than the Instacalc Online Calculator. Just enter your equation, such as "27% of 285714," "10 inches in cm," or "100 USD in euro" and the solution appears almost immediately. Now all I need is a site that will answer the question, "where did I put my keys?"

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Boost Mobile first to land Motorola i1

When Motorola announced its i1 smartphone at CTIA 2010, the rugged Android device was slated for release with Nextel; however,  barring any last-minute announcements, it now looks like Boost Mobile will be the first carrier to offer the i1.

The Motorola i1 will be available from Boost Mobile stores, as well as Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile retail locations, starting June 20. The Motorola i1 is the first push-to-talk Android device and it has a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

It looks like the smartphone will launch with Android 1.6, but will also come preloaded with an Opera Mini 5 Web browser (in addition to the Android browser) and a Swype keyboard.

Pricing information has not yet been released.

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LG's edge-lit local dimming LED goes astray

LG's LE5500 series proves not all local-dimming LED-based LCDs are created equal.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

In the last few years, the most-compelling LCD challengers to the picture quality reign of plasma were equipped with multizone LED backlights that could dim or brighten in different areas of the screen independently. Broadly known as local-dimming technology, in the best cases it delivered superb black-level performance and manageable tradeoffs in the form of stray illumination or "blooming." In the worse cases, such as the LG LE5500 series, that stray illumination is not managed well.

Unfortunately, we suspect that many buyers lured by the LG's claims of dimming won't understand the differences--among them the fact that this TV uses LEDs that illuminate the screen from the edge, rather than from behind. The LE5500 does offer plenty of perks, including accurate color, decent bright-room performance, a stylishly thin frame, and numerous Internet features, but seekers of LED-based LCDs who place a premium on image quality should look elsewhere.

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Did the tablet kill the smartbook?

Does anyone care about smartbooks anymore?

(Credit: Lenovo)

Back at CES 2010, we saw two parallel trends developing: a renaissance of touch-screen tablets and slates, and a series of smaller-than-Netbook laptops called "smartbooks" that promised to have automatic 3G, simplified operating systems and very slim profiles.

Well, so far one has come to fruition (thanks largely to the iPad), whereas the other has gone into a state of hibernation.

Lenovo's recent announcement that its "Skylight" smartbook and U1 hybrid tablet/laptop would be delayed underlines the sudden lack of momentum smartbooks have suffered. Lenovo claims it's due to an OS switch from proprietary Linux-based software to Android, but so far at Computex we've heard next to nothing about smartbooks, whereas last year there was a landslide of boasting on the topic.

Instead, even more tablet news abounds from all sectors.

Maybe we never (that is to say, "we" meaning the public) cared about smartbooks. They looked similar to laptops, particularly Netbooks, and what made them different was often hard to explain, even for the manufacturers of those prototypes.

It's enough to make us sigh. Not because an opportunity's been missed, but because we don't really see the point of smartbooks anymore.

• First, any smaller-than-a-Netbook device is bound to either have a compromised, uncomfortable keyboard, or a keyboard that's so big it makes the device's dimensions skew wide and shallow. The beauty of a tablet is that its dimensions can be flexible: a touch interface can adapt easily to any size device, from smartphone up to iPad.
• Second, any tablet with a keyboard can essentially become a smartbook. We've used Bluetooth keyboards with the iPad and enjoyed the combination. All someone needs to do is offer a thin (not giant) case with a lightweight, superthin keyboard attached and we'll be set.
• Third, it's not as if smartbooks had any significant OS advantage over tablets: most smartbook prototypes were running Android or some other smartphone-like closed OS that ran off apps or Web apps. Users would still be limited to the selection of software offered from the app marketplace.

Though we were excited about laptops that could detach from their keyboards back at CES, it now seems equally plausible that we'll simply see keyboard-free devices that can easily attach external keyboards. Same concept, different angle.

Is that what's in the works from here on in? Are you at all still interested in upcoming smartbooks, such as Lenovo's delayed Skylight? Let us know in the comments below.

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Download of the day: Fedora 13 released with automatic printing, open 3D drivers Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/06/02/1459993/download-of-the-day-fedora-13.html#ixzz0pvWrFE3u

All platforms: The Fedora Desktop Project rolled out its lucky number 13 release, adding a few nifty features to the Linux system. Plug-and-go printer support, open drivers for Intel, ATI, and NVidia hardware, and a crafty new desktop shell to try out.

The automatic printing and experimental GNOME Shell support are neat in themselves, but what about "open" 3D drivers? If you've ever had to download NVidia's proprietary drivers for a Linux system, you've felt the compromise - your hardware is recognized and utilized, but your operating system doesn't have real control over it. Setting up things like dual monitors is a true headache with proprietary drivers, so the more natively supported video hardware available for Linux, the better its chances at becoming a really usable workspace.

Fedora 13 is a free download (https://fedoraproject.org/en/index), and should work on most Intel and PowerPC-based systems. Read the release notes for an overview of the new stuff.

Lifehacker recommends downloads, Web sites and shortcuts that actually save time. For more tips and tricks, visit Lifehacker at lifehacker.com.

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