Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Opera Software have given the world a glimpse of their next big (and yet tiny) production: Opera Ice, a mobile web browser to out-simplify every competitor. The mobile version of this browser is the first in a set of browsers that’ll also be out for desktop machines and – if you’re lucky – in-between machines as well. The aim of this browser is to take what Opera has learned over the past few years about the tendencies of the public to do only a limited number of tasks in a web browser on a mobile device and turn those tendencies into efficiency.

What you’re going to be seeing here is a demonstration filmed by Opera in their own den of developers and passed on to the folks at Pocket Lint. The demonstration of this Webkit-based browsser is done on an iPad, but the Opera team promises it’ll be revealed for iOS, Android, and desktop machines in the near future. It is at Mobile World Congress 2013 that we’ll get our chance to work with the mobile version first – tablets and smartphones all at once.

The first major difference between this web browser and the whole rest of the universe is the ability to swipe back and forth instead of tapping or clicking back and forward buttons. While we’ve got similar functionality with gestures in some environments, no browser until now takes out the buttons from the onset – Opera is confident that you’ll get used to swiping right out of the box.

This environment uses a collection of apps (or shortcuts to webpages) right at the start not unlike Chrome and Chrome OS. One big difference is the tiny bar at the bottom of your page wherever you roam inside an app, this button bringing you back out to the main collection of apps. At the moment we’re not sure if this button is meant to remain in every app or if it’s just being used as a demonstration.

You’ll be working with a set of apps right from the outset, searching then for additional apps with the front and center search bar at the top of your display when you want more. Searching brings up a “visual experience” not unlike instantly appearing app icons, but here you’re seeing sized-down previews of webpages the same aspect ratio as the iPad (or perhaps whatever device you happen to be using.) Each of these icons leads to a webpage or, eventually, an app associated with a webpage.

Once you’ve visited a webpage this way and you want to back out, you hit the bar at the bottom of the page and it’ll minimize, turning then into an icon which you can then add to your collection. Simple and smooth! Can’t wait to see the real deal up close and personal at Barcelona’s own MWC 2013!

Opera Ice makes mobile web browsing ultra-minimalistic is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the Moscow-based antivirus company Kaspersky Lab has revealed details of a five year long campaign that apparently targeted diplomatic, governmental and scientific-research organizations across the former Soviet Union. This attack used software known as Operation Red October, aka Rocra, a piece of malware designed to locate and make copies of both encrypted and non-encrypted documents in a target’s computer. This attack appears to have been spread across hundreds of victims since 2007 with an intent on gathering classified information as well as geopolitical intelligence.

Kaspersy chief malware expert Vitaly Kamluk spoke on the situation this week, noting that “there are about 300 computers infected that we know about.” These computers include those owned by embassies, government research centers, and aerospace facilities throughout former Soviet states as well as Belgium and India. Most of the attacks appear to have been directed at former Soviet states while Belgium and India each suffered a total of 15 infections, while the United States and Iran were confirmed to have suffered six and seven attacks, respectively.

The team at Kaspersy noted that though they’d found a set of 60 “command and control” servers throughout Germany and Russia that were responsible for these attacks, they each appeared to have been controlled by a sort of “mother ship” server which they’ve not yet located. Each of the attacks thus far appear to have been attached to Microsoft Word or Excel documents and delivered via email. When the document was downloaded and opened, a connection was made between the computer and one of the many command and control servers which then delivered the files necessary to collect secure data.

This Rocra malware was also spread with USB drives as well as through smartphones, not just through desktop machines. Mentions of Russian words throughout the discovered malware systems have been suggested to either point towards the software as being Russian in origin or placed deliberately to make the software appear to have come from Russia when in fact it was made by a different group entirely.

We’ll see more information on this relatively widespread attack in coming weeks, without a doubt. Stay tuned to SlashGear’s hacking tag to see all the action as it comes down.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Operation Red October cyberattack detailed by Kaspersky Lab is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung has been enraptured with Dropbox and its cloud storage since last year, and we’re quickly learning that it’s a long-term love affair. The Korean firm is expanding its integration with Dropbox to not just include another smartphone, the Galaxy Grand, but also its 2013-era PCs (now that Windows 8 has support) and Smart Cameras. Details of when the integration comes, and exactly how it works, aren’t forthcoming just yet. It’s safe to presume, however, that a large part of Samsung’s technology this year will put online sharing front and center.

Continue reading Samsung expands its Dropbox integration to include PCs, Smart Cameras

Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Storage, Internet, Samsung

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When we think of hardcore PC gaming, Lenovo isn’t exactly the first manufacturer that comes to mind, but the company is looking to change that. Today Lenovo unveiled its new Erazer X700 gaming PC, and if you’re thinking of entering the PC gaming realm but don’t want to build your own rig, the Erazer X700 might be worthy of your consideration. Most gaming PCs come equipped with truly stellar enthusiast-level hardware, but the Erazer X700 has one feature in particular that sure to turn some heads.

Specifically speaking, we’re talking about Lenovo’s Onekey Overclocking feature. We’ve heard about Onekey before, as it’s a standard feature on many Lenovo machines that lets you create a backup and recover your computer with a simple button press. Onekey has been somewhat revamped for the Erazer X700, as it allows you to overclock your processor without going into the BIOS first. That should prove to be a pretty handy feature for gamers who need to be getting the most juice out of their processor.

Speaking of processors, it seems that you’ll have your choice of Intel’s Core family of CPUs with the Erazer X700, along with dual-graphics support for NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon HD GPUs. Lenovo didn’t say what kind of graphic card will come standard in the Erazer X700, but the company did point to the fact that the X700 comes equipped with a whopping 32GB of RAM. That should be more than enough to make sure your game is running silky smooth.

Add to that support for AMD Eyefinity technology, a liquid cooling system, and the ability to add up to 4TB of storage while the computer is running, and it sounds like we’ve got one beefy gaming PC on our hands. The Erazer X700 will be available starting in June, and models start at $1,499. We imagine that $1,499 price tag applies to the lower end of the spectrum, so if you want your rig to be rocking a Core i7 and a top-of-the-line graphics card, expect to shell out a little more cash. Keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more from CES 2013!

Lenovo Erazer X700 PC targets the gaming crowd is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Velocity Micro was busy this December, and it’s not about to let up with CES right around the corner. At the forefront of its Las Vegas launches is the Edge Mini. While we’re sure some companies might take issue with the PC builder’s claims of having the world’s smallest desktop, there’s no denying that the extra-small Edge’s 4 square inches of surface area and 1.5-inch thickness let it slot easily into a home theater. A Core i3 won’t make the Edge Mini the most powerful tiny desktop, either, although its $499 asking price may not be an obstacle for those willing to buy the PC when it ships next week.

The tablet crowd also gets its fill with a pair of 10-inch Cruz tablets (pictured after the break). The D610 and Q610 respectively use dual- and quad-core, 1.5GHz Allwinner processors that help keep the starting price down to $199, a company spokesperson tells us. Velocity Micro expects both Cruz models to ship toward the end of March with Android 4.1 inside.

Continue reading Velocity Micro unveils tiny Edge Mini desktop, Cruz D610 and Q610 tablets

Filed under: Desktops, Tablets

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Source: Velocity Micro