Nokia launches first open source Symbian phone

The first handset to use the Symbian operating system since it became open source has been announced by Nokia.

The N8 phone has a 12 megapixel camera and allows people to record and edit High Definition video clips, as well as watch web TV services.

Analysts said the phone was a "pivotal device" in efforts "to make Nokia's high end phones credible again".

It is also a chance for Symbian to prove itself alongside Google's Android operating system and Apple's iPhone.

Despite being the world's most popular smart phone software, Symbian has lost "mindshare" against more high-profile software, according to industry experts.

Analysts at CCS Insight described the Symbian 3 software as "evolutionary not revolutionary" but said it was a "key first step if it proves reliable".

Cinema support

It is the first version of the software since the Symbian foundation announced that it had made its code open source in February.

The Foundation - which includes Nokia, Motorola and Samsung amongst others - gave away the code to developers for free in the hope that it would help speed up the pace of improvements. Any organisation or individual can now use and modify it.

The software in the N8 allows the phone to have multi-touch and multi-tasking, meaning more than one application can be open at any one time.

The device will be Nokia's flagship smartphone. It can be plugged into home theatres and supports surround sound as well as high-quality video.

Social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, can be displayed on the home screen in a single application.

Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation, said he was "stoked" that Nokia had chosen to use the operating system on its phone.

The phone will ship in the third quarter of 2010, following delays.

Legality of raid on home of iPhone blogger raid queried

The examination of computers belonging to a technology blogger who bought an iPhone prototype has been put on hold.

Gizmodo editor Jason Chen had computers and other equipment taken from his house after he paid $5,000 (£3,200) for the phone, which was found in a bar.

His lawyers argue that he is protected by California's shield law.

State lawyers are considering whether the raids in Fremont were legal, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The shield law states that journalists have the right to protect their unpublished material from examination.

'Thief' found

San Mateo county chief deputy district attorney Steve Wagstaffe said he was considering the matter and expected to issue a legal memo later this week.

He told the Chronicle that the computers would not be examined until then.

The laptops, hard-drive and USB memory sticks that belong to Mr Chen are currently being held by the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (React), the state's high-tech crime taskforce that conducted the raid.

They ordered the search after Apple reported the phone stolen.

The prototype was left in a bar by Apple software engineer Gray Powell and details and pictures of it were subsequently published on the Gizmodo website.

Earlier, in an interview with technology news site CNet, Mr Wagstaffe had defended the raid, saying prosecutors had considered whether reporter shield laws applied to the case but decided to proceed.

He also said that police knew the identity of the person who took the phone and that they had talked to him.

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Tech brings remote mountain data to scientists

Mountain environments can be unpredictable and need constant monitoring, especially for potential hazards brought about by climate change.

Weather stations have become an invaluable tool for scientists monitoring the conditions 2,000 metres up the Alps.

Stations in remote parts of Italy's Valle d'Aosta have been linked to the mobile telephone network with the help of new technology.

They enable scientists to forecast temperature, snow and rainfall, wind direction back in their offices.

"This allows us to have at our desks real-time data measured in remote sites," said Umberto Morra di Cella, a researcher at the Valle d'Aosta environment agency.

"This means we can always verify that the equipment is up and running, but we can also remotely gather the data we need, even when there are intense storms and it is impossible to reach the stations," he said.

Solar panels supply power to the remote stations, which can be reached by helicopter for occasional hands-on maintenance work.

5,000 landslides

Climate change might also have a bearing on the frequency of extreme weather events in the Alps.

The Italian valley has been affected by life-threatening floods and landslides in every decade since the 1970s, and more recently in the year 2000.

Researchers can gather mountain data from their offices

"Our territory is particularly fragile and we have counted almost 5,000 mud or landslides in history and we have had a whole series of floods," said geologist Sara Ratto.

"In the last 10 years we have implemented systems to give us the information to see if we about to have a very serious weather event," she added.

Researchers hope technology will help them spot the signs of floods and mudslides before they take place.

Valle d'Aosta's forecasting department compares gathered data from a network of stations to information catalogued from past environmental disasters.

Falling glacier

Mr Morra di Cella said the Alpine region was particularly sensitive to climate shifts.

"Rapid changes impact heavily on ecosystems and the social system in the Alpine region," he said.

Rising temperatures are resulting in ice melting more quickly than before, and another group of scientists are monitoring a hanging glacier in danger of falling.

The remote 4,400 metre Grand Jorasse Peak is being monitored with time-lapse and 3D imaging technology.

Researches hope to be able to anticipate when a chunk of ice is going to fall off.

Fabrizio Diotri, environmental engineer at the Secure Mountain Foundation said: "This is not a static object, but is a dynamic one. We study this evolution because knowing the volumes of these ice masses is very important for risk managers."

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Google warning on fake anti-virus software

Fake anti-virus software that infect PCs with malicious code are a growing threat, according to a study by Google.

Its analysis of 240m web pages over 13 months showed that fake anti-virus programs accounted for 15% of all malicious software.

Scammers trick people into downloading programs by convincing them that their PC is infected with a virus.

Once installed, the software may steal data or force people to make a payment to register the fake product.

"Surprisingly, many users fall victim to these attacks and pay to register the fake [anti-virus software]," the study said.

"To add insult to injury, fake anti-viruses often are bundled with other malware, which remains on a victim's computer regardless of whether a payment is made."

'Be suspicious'

The study, which was presented at the Usenix Workshop on Large-Scale Exploits and Emergent Threats in California, analysed websites between January 2009 and February 2010.

It discovered more than 11,000 web domains involved in its distribution of fake anti-virus.

More than half of the fake software - which predomianntly targets Windows machines - was delivered via adverts, Google said.

Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos, who was not involved in the study, said that one of the key ways that hackers spread fake anti-virus was so-called black hat search engine optimisation techniques.

"The hackers track trending news stories - such as the death of Michael Jackson," he said.

"They then create websites stuffed with content, which in many cases can appear on the first page of search results."

Anyone clicking on the link, he said, would be confronted with a pop-up with a link to fake anti-virus software.

Google uses tools to filter out booby-trapped websites, but the firm said that hackers were managing to avoid detection by moving between domains quickly.

Mr Cluley said that people should be familiar with their own anti-virus software and should "always be suspicious" if they were confronted with a pop-up telling them you need to download something extra or spend money to clean up a computer.

"If you already have anti-virus installed you shouldn't need to do that," he said.

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Yahoo chief Carol Bartz sees trouble for Google

Google will have "a problem" if it does not diversify its business, the head of Yahoo has told BBC News.

Carol Bartz said that Google would have to "do a lot more than search" and suggested that it would have to "grow a company the size of Yahoo every year".

Ms Bartz made the comments when asked if Yahoo's sprawling network of sites and services had a defined brand image.

Yahoo is one of the largest sites in the world with an audience of more than 200m, according to analysts Nielsen.

It competes with Google in the search market, but has only 17% of the US market, compared to Google's 65%, according to Comscore. Yahoo recently did a deal to use Microsoft's Bing to power searches on its sites.

"Google is going to have a problem because Google is only known for search," said Ms Bartz.

"It is only half our business; it's 99.9% of their business. They've got to find other things to do.

"Google has to grow a company the size of Yahoo every year to be interesting."

Social side

Yahoo has more than 70 websites and services, many of which are available in 20 languages around the world.

Some have criticised the firm for growing too large, not making use of acquisitions and having too many sites.

Technology blog Techcrunch has said that Yahoo is the place where "startups go to die".

But Ms Bartz said that its broad portfolio would be its advantage in the long run.

Continue reading the main story Advert uplift helps Yahoo profit Yahoo 'talks tough' about search

Ms Bartz also said that the firm could also hold its own against Facebook, the current poster child of the web.

She described the site, which has more than 400 million users and has stated that its ambition is to be at the heart of the "social web", as a "frenemy".

"They certainly are taking people's attention and time," she said. "But what is kind of wrong about the conversation is that social just means Facebook.

"Social is interaction. Social is commenting on news stories. It's blogging. It's sharing photos.

"So there are social capabilities running throughout all of our sites, including Twitter feeds and Facebook feeds."

However, earlier, she had told a press conference that she expected that Facebook and Google would overtake Yahoo in terms of the amount of time visitors spent on the site.

Local site

Ms Bartz took over the company from founder Jerry Yang in January 2009.

Since then, she has been trying to reverse the fortunes of the firm by cutting costs and jobs, as well as changing the organisational structure of the company.

The firm recently posted quarterly profits which were almost treble what they were a year ago.

During the interview, Ms Bartz stated an ambition to bolster the firm's mobile offerings, but said it would not follow Google by offering a mobile operating system.

The firm currently has its mobile application on around 2,000 different handsets from various manufacturers. It recently signed a deal with Samsung to extend its reach.

She also said that she wanted the firm to focus on personalised and "hyperlocal information" for users.

"It's about what is going on in your local area," she said.

There has been a lot of speculation in the technology press that Yahoo is about to buy Foursquare, a location-based game that allows people to earn points for visiting locations in the real world.

However, Ms Bartz would not confirm if a deal was imminent.

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