Bussiness Insider

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Sony told off for unfair 20th Anniversary PS4 competition

To celebrate 20 years of PlayStation, Sony created 12,300 limited edition PS4 consolesand offered them to gamers all over the world. In the US, they were sold to whoever could click the buy button fast enough, but in the UK, the company took a more convoluted approach. First was the PlayStation '94 Shop in London, where 94 consoles were put aside for the low price of £19.94 (with all proceeds going to gaming charity GamesAid). Then came a partnership with GAME, which required gamers to solve riddles, click iconic PlayStation characters and enter a competition before anyone else.

As expected, it was all a bit of a mess. People quickly realised they could pool their resources and share the answer seconds after the riddle was posted, effectively locking out those who had taken time to work it out themselves. Then, an enterprising developer found a way to extract the clues before they were publicly shared by Sony. This led six people to file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which argued that "promotion's terms and conditions had been breached in a number of ways."

Today, the ASA upheld the complaint, noting that the competition was not fair and had "caused unnecessary disappointment." Although GAME had disqualified anyone who had submitted a competition entry before Sony had posted their clue, five people had managed to acquire two consoles while the promotion was taking place. This, of course, went against the terms of the competition, which was meant to allocate a single 20th Anniversary PS4 to each winner. To make things worse, those extra consoles then found their way to eBay.

So what's happening to Sony and GAME? Well, they've been given a slap on the wrist. Both companies have been told that they must "ensure that future promotions were administered fairly and avoided causing unnecessary disappointment to participants." Okay then.

Microsoft details the many different versions of Windows 10

A new Windows release wouldn't be the same without many different versions of the OS to confuse the heck out of you. Microsoft finally gave us the skinny on Windows 10's upcoming versions today -- and they're all pretty familiar to Windows fans. There's the usual "Home" version for mainstream consumers and the "Pro" version for business users. The latter is different from Windows 10 Enterprise, which is meant for bigger organizations with support for large-deployments. There's also a version of Windows 10 targeted specifically at schools, which is likely part of Microsoft's plan to take on Google's Chromebooks. On the phone front, Windows 10 Mobile is what you'll see on most consumer devices, but there's also a "Mobile Enterprise" version for businesses.

Windows 10 is still on track for release later this summer, and it will be available free to existing Windows 7 and 8 users for the first year. Microsoft revealed at its Build conference that it would be staggering the OS's release across different device types, so don't expect to have it on a phone until the fall.

Since there's still no mention of a new Windows RT, the ill-fated version of Windows 8 meant for ARM-powered devices, it's safe to call that edition of the OS dead. The mobile version of Windows 10 will support phones with ARM chips, but all of the desktop versions are geared towards x86 chips. That's not a huge surprise, since Microsoft even chose to go with an Intel chip for its latest Surface, a product line that previously served as a Windows RT showcase.

A new cybercriminal ransomware tool makes it easy for anyone to hijack other people's devices

Would-be cybercriminals who lack the technological prowess to actually hack into their targets computers themselves can now overcome that hurdle, thanks to a new “ransomware-as-a-service” tool discovered on the darknet by researchers at McAfee.

Branded as “Tox”, the tool lets anyone, regardless of technical ability, automatically create ransomware: software which encrypts a victim’s hard drive and demands payment before decrypting it.

The most notorious example of ransomware, named Cryptolocker, ran wild in the first half of 2014. It demanded a ransom paid in the cryptocurrency bitcoin, rising as high as 2 bitcoin ($2000 at the time), or the victim’s documents were lost forever. In November 2013, a US police force fell prey to the scam and ended up having to pay a ransom equal to £832 at the day’s exchange rates.

But Cryptolocker was disrupted in a simultaneous US-EU raid in June 2014, seizing the command and control network which had been used to run the software remotely. After the raids, which also took out a related piece of malware called Gameover Zeus, reports of new infections have died off.

Tox threatens to revive the problem. But unlike Cryptolocker, which had the hallmarks of a co-ordinated criminal operation, Tox lets would-be criminals roll their own ransomware. Any user can register on the darknet site and choose to create their own cryptolocker-style software. They get the option to set the ransom amount, in US dollars, as well as add a personal note.

The site then automatically generates a downloadable virus, which can be downloaded and then shared however the attacker desires. And the whole thing is funded by Tox taking a 20% cut of any ransom paid.

“We don’t expect Tox to be the last malware to embrace this model. We also anticipate more skilled development and variations in encryption and evasion techniques,” writes McAfee’s Jim Walter.

Tox shows how the hidden side of the tech industry follows the same trends as the surface side. The trend of “software-as-a-service” – charging on a regular basis for programmes, rather than one fee upfront – has grown to the point that Microsoft’s next version of Windows – Windows 10 – will be sold in that way.

Popular enterprise software such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suite have been sold as services for some time now. What other trends from the enterprise will virus writers follow in the future?

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

NASA wants to send humans to Mars in this giant flying saucer and it's about to go for a test run — here's how to watch

Due to unfavorable ocean conditions, NASA has postponed their test flight of the low-density supersonic decelerator spacecraft to Wednesday, June 3 no sooner than 1:30 pm ET.

NASA has big plans to land the first humans on Mars by 2035, but getting there is going to take spacecraft of giant proportions — and larger than anything the agency has ever sent to the red planet before.

Enter NASA's low-density supersonic decelerator (LDSD) project, which includes a genuine, bonafide flying saucer that could be what astronauts ride down to the surface of Mars for the first time in the not-too-distant future.

To make sure the spacecraft is up to this very important task, NASA is scheduled to launch and test fly the project off the coast of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii on Wednesday, June 3.

Live coverage of the event should begin at 1 pm ET. The live feed is provided at the end of this post.

The test flight involves the use of a balloon to transport the spacecraft high above Earth's atmosphere. That means the wind can't be too strong during the test flight, which is why the launch window is fairly long. If weather conditions don't permit a test now scheduled for Wednesday, the LDSD team will have other opportunities up through June 12.

The technology NASA used to land its Curiosity rover on the red planet in 2012 won't cut it when it comes to heavier payloads like manned missions.

So, NASA is pushing the boundaries of spacecraft technology with their LDSD project to design the safest, most cost-effective way of slowing a spacecraft down once it has entered the red planet's atmosphere.

How to slow down a giant flying saucer moving at supersonic speeds

This ambitious new technology includes two major components: a body that is shaped like a flying saucer and a giant blow-up tube — called the Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) — wrapped around the body.

NASA's flight scheduled for June 2 will be the second time that the LDSD team will have put this flying saucer to the test. The first flight test took place about a year ago on Jun 28, 2014, and this year's test flight will be very similar.

During the 2014 test flight, the spacecraft was transported to over 120,000 feet above Earth's surface by a giant balloon. Up there, Earth's atmosphere is very thin, and, therefore, more similar to the atmosphere on Mars.

Here's a diagram showing each step of the test:

After it's reached soaring heights, the balloon breaks and the flying saucer fires its monster engine, located at the bottom, to climb even higher
Then, when the spacecraft is 180,000 feet above the ground, SIAD, which is the giant inflatable dough-nut-shaped tube, inflates. Similar to how a puffer fish expands by filling itself with air, this makes the spacecraft larger.

By simply increasing the overall size of the spacecraft, SIAD can reduce its overall speed from 2,600 miles per hour to 1,500 miles per hour — two times the speed of sound. Here's what SIAD looks like on its own

Best Books by Billionaires that will teach you how to run the World

Whether you want to launch an empire or become the best in your field, who better to consult than those who've achieved the peak of professional and financial success?

That's why we've rounded up 15 books by self-made billionaires. Learn how these masters of industry achieved the impossible, in their own words.

BOOKS.

1 The Virgin Way' by Richard Branson

Although Branson confesses he's never read a book on leadership, his nearly 50-year entrepreneurial career has taught him a thing or two about building a business.

In "The Virgin Way," the billionaire founder of Virgin Group offers lessons on management and entrepreneurialism, including the importance of listening to others and hiring the right people. Branson is honest about his successes as well as his failures, such as underestimating Coke's influence when he tried to launch Virgin Cola in the 1990s.

Overall, the book is a compelling glimpse into the life of someone who's never shied away from a challenge.

Buy it here >>

2 'Onward' by Howard Schultz

After resigning as Starbucks CEO in 2000, Schultz returned to the post in 2008, just as the company was struggling through a financial crisis. "Onward" details how the billionaire brought the global coffee chain back to life.

Readers will learn how Schultz made tough decisions — like temporarily shutting down more than 7,000 US stores — in order to help Starbucks grow without neglecting its core values. They'll learn, too, about Schultz as a person, as he weaves together his unique business strategy with anecdotes about growing up in Brooklyn, New York. It's an honest and passionate recounting that will inspire entrepreneurs and everyone else to be brave in the face of adversity.

Buy it here >>

3 'How to Win at the Sport of Business' by Mark Cuban

In "How to Win at the Sport of Business," Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" investor Cuban fleshes out his best insights on entrepreneurialism from his personal blog.

He writes candidly about how he progressed from sleeping on his friends' couches in his 20s to owning his own company and becoming a multi-billionaire. It's a story of commitment and perseverance — Cuban writes that even though he didn't know much about computers, he beat his competition because he spent so much time learning about the software his company sold.

Buy it here >>

4 'Business @ the Speed of Thought' by Bill Gates

With a net worth of $79 billion, Forbes estimates the Microsoft founder is the richest person in the world. In "Business @ the Speed of Thought," Gates explains how business and technology are inextricably linked.

Using examples from companies like Microsoft and GM, Gates suggests that businesses see technology as a way to enhance their operations. While the book was initially published in 1999, many of Gates' insights remain accurate and relevant today.

Buy it here >>

10 mindfulness habits that will make you more productive at work

Beyond being an increasingly popular practice for top executives and celebrities, mindfulness meditation is scientifically proven to increase memory and awareness and reduce stress and negative thinking.

Even if you're not ready to make a commitment to a Transcendental Meditation group or your local yoga studio, there are some simple daily habits that can make you more productive and happier at work, say Learn Mindfulness founder Shamash Alidina and Mindfulnet.org founder Juliet Adams.

They've gathered 10 easy practices from their book "Mindfulness at Work For Dummies" into the following presentation.

See the Habits

There are totally 15 Habits that can change yours life