Apple apps made to run on Android

19 May 2014 Last updated at 12:54

Android and Apple apps have been shown running side-by-side on the same devices thanks to software developed by US computer scientists.

The software, called Cider, has been created by postgraduate researchers at Columbia University.

Cider lets Android gadget owners mix and match the Android and iOS apps they load on their phone or tablet.

The research team said Cider was only a prototype and that they had no plans to turn it into a commercial product.

Deep link

The six-strong team of researchers said they embarked on the project to create Cider to get around the limitations that smartphone and tablet users are forced to accept.

For instance, they said in an academic paper about Cider that Android users cannot get at apps that call on media in Apple iTunes and iOS gadget owners struggle to use Flash-based content.

Cider would let people use just one gadget to access both, said the researchers.

Getting an application written for one operating system to run on another often involves a technique known as virtualisation.

To avoid the performance problems that virtualisation can introduce, the Columbia researchers adopted a different approach that involves the core or kernel of the Android operating system.

This approach works on the stream of instructions passing through an Android device and alters only those relating to the iOS apps. An additional software helper provides some of the specialised data those apps require to work properly.

A demo video produced by the researchers shows both iOS and Android apps running on a Nexus 7 tablet, though some commentators pointed out that the Apple apps run relatively slowly on the device.

In addition, some Apple apps that call on a phone's camera, GPS system or Bluetooth perform poorly and the researchers are continuing their work on Cider to fix these problems.

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Mobile phone child health risk probe

20 May 2014 Last updated at 00:00 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

A major investigation into whether mobile phones and other wireless technologies affect children's mental development is getting under way.

The study - funded by the government and industry - will track 2,500 11- and 12-year-olds from September.

It will look at their cognitive ability - thinking skills, memory and attention - and then repeat the tests in 2017.

The researchers say "very little" is known about what impact these technologies have on children.

The World Health Organization has said research in this area is of the "highest priority".

More than 160 secondary schools in the outer London area will receive invitations to enrol pupils into the study.

Much of the research into mobile phone use has focused on adults and in particular, the risk of brain cancer. No evidence of harm has been established to date.

Nonetheless, NHS advice is that children under the age of 16 should use mobile phones only for essential purposes and, where possible, with hands-free kits.

Informed choices

The theory has been put forward that children's brains may be more susceptible because they are still developing.

This research - led by Imperial College London - will put that idea to the test by asking children and their parents about their use of mobile phones and wireless devices, such as tablets, as well as analysing data from operators.

The 11-12 age group is particularly important as many children get mobiles at that age to coincide with starting secondary school. Some 70% of that age group now own a mobile.

Lead investigator Dr Mireille Toledano said: "The advice to parents is based on the precautionary principle given in absence of available evidence and not because we have evidence of any harmful effects.

"As mobile phones are a new and widespread technology central to our lives, carrying out the study is important in order to provide the evidence base with which to inform policy and through which parents and their children can make informed life choices."

The researchers will now be writing to 160 secondary schools in the outer London area asking pupils to take part.

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China denounces cyber-theft charges

20 May 2014 Last updated at 10:20

China has denounced US charges against five of its army officers accused of economic cyber-espionage.

Beijing says the US is also guilty of spying on other countries, including China, and accuses the US of hypocrisy and "double standards".

China has summoned the US ambassador in Beijing over the incident. It says relations will be damaged.

US prosecutors say the officers stole trade secrets and internal documents from five companies and a labour union.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai says it is extremely unlikely that any of the accused will ever be handed over to the US.

China's defence ministry put out a strongly-worded statement on its website on Tuesday saying that China's government and its military "had never engaged in any cyber espionage activities".

It also took aim at the US, saying: "For a long time, the US has possessed the technology and essential infrastructure needed to conduct large-scale systematic cyber thefts and surveillance on foreign government leaders, businesses and individuals. This is a fact which the whole world knows.

"The US' deceitful nature and its practice of double standards when it comes to cyber security have long been exposed, from the Wikileaks incident to the Edward Snowden affair."

Analysis: Carrie Gracie, BBC China editor

China always insists it is a victim of hacking, not a perpetrator. And when US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden appeared in Hong Kong a year ago with evidence of US hacking into Chinese networks, Beijing felt vindicated.

The US acknowledges that it conducts espionage but says unlike China it does not spy on foreign companies and pass what it finds to its own companies.

Beijing typically shrugs this off as a smear motivated by those who find its growing technological might hard to bear. But to see five named officers of the People's Liberation Army indicted by a US grand jury is not something that can be brushed aside so easily.

China has already announced the suspension of co-operation with the US on an internet working group. And once it has had time to digest this loss of face, it is likely to consider more serious retaliation.

The defence ministry added that China's military had been the target of many online attacks, and "a fair number" of those had been launched from American IP addresses.

It said the arrest of the five Chinese army officers had "severely damaged mutual trust".

A Xinhua report on Tuesday stated that between March and May this year, a total of 1.18 million computers in China were directly controlled by 2,077 machines in the United States via Trojan horse or zombie malware.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang lodged a "solemn representation" with US ambassador Max Baucus on Monday night, Xinhua reported.

'US losses'

On Monday US Attorney General Eric Holder said a grand jury had laid hacking charges against the Chinese nationals, the first against "known state actors for infiltrating US commercial targets by cyber means".

He identified the alleged victims as Westinghouse Electric, US Steel, Alcoa Inc, Allegheny Technologies, SolarWorld and the US Steelworkers Union.

"The alleged hacking appears to have been conducted for no reason other than to advantage state-owned companies and other interests in China, at the expense of businesses here in the United States," Mr Holder said.

In the indictment brought in the western district of Pennsylvania - the heart of the US steel industry - the US named Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui, all officers in Unit 61398 of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), as the alleged conspirators.

FBI officials said the hacking - between 2006 and 2014 - caused "significant losses" at the companies and that there were likely to be many more victims.

Last year, cyber-defence company Mandiant published a report on a Chinese military unit the firm said was behind the vast majority of significant attacks on American federal agencies and companies.

In March, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon planned to more than triple its cyber-security capabilities in the next few years to defend against such internet attacks.

What is Unit 61398?

• A unit of China's People's Liberation Army, to whose Shanghai address US cyber security firm Mandiant says it traced a prolific hacking team

• The team was said to have hacked into 141 computers across 20 industries, stealing hundreds of terabytes of data

• Mandiant says the team would have been staffed by hundreds, possibly thousands of proficient English speakers

• China said Mandiant's report was flawed and lacked proof

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Arrests in computer malware probe

19 May 2014 Last updated at 21:21

Seventeen men have been arrested in the UK as part of a worldwide crackdown on a malicious computer program.

The FBI-co-ordinated operation targeted BlackShades software which can remotely control computers and webcams. The "malware" was said to have infected more than 500,000 computers since 2010.

The UK's National Crime Agency said 15 arrests took place in England and two men were held in Scotland.

Eighty others were held in 15 countries including the US, France and Germany.

The NCA said the inquiry focused on the developers and "prolific users" of BlackShades.

It said investigators believe about 200,000 usernames and passwords of victims across the world may have been taken by UK users of BlackShades.

The software typically infects computers when people click on external links on social networking sites and in emails that purport to lead to pictures, videos or other items of interest, said the NCA.

Once installed, criminals can use the software to capture personal information, or take photographs of computer users - which may be used to blackmail them.

BlackShades also allows users to take control of a computer secretly and encrypt its data, which is only released on payment of a ransom.

'Invasiveness breathtaking'

The worldwide operation is reported to have come after the FBI arrested two BlackShades developers and obtained a list of the malware's customers.

The software was advertised on forums for computer hackers and copies were available for sale for about $40 (£23) each on a website maintained by Blackshades, US officials said.

The FBI said BlackShades has been bought by several thousand people since it was created in 2010, generating sales of more than $350,000 (£208,000).

US officials said more than 500,000 computers in more than 100 countries had been infected by BlackShades. Security experts have also linked the program to attacks on Syrian dissidents in 2012 and attempts to steal data from more than a dozen French organisations.

Details of the raids were outlined at a press conference by Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who announced charges against five men.

He described BlackShades as a "frightening form of cybercrime" saying the program's capabilities were "sophisticated and its invasiveness breathtaking".

Blackshades "enabled anyone anywhere in the world to instantly become a dangerous cyber-criminal able to steal your property and invade your privacy," he said.

The malware could also be used to bring down websites and send out "ransom notes" to extort cash after telling a user they had lost control of their computer, he added.

The Association of Chief Police Officer's lead on e-crime, Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, said the operation "sends out a clear message to cyber criminals that we have the technology, capability and expertise to track them down".

The NCA said its officers were also to warn people who had downloaded the malware but not deployed it that they were now known to the agency.

In total more than 300 properties were searched across the world and 1,000 data storage devices seized.

The arrests in the UK took place in Derbyshire; Birmingham; Halesowen; Wolverhampton; Newcastle-under-Lyme; Brixham, Devon; Andover, Hampshire; Ashford, Kent; Liverpool; Manchester; Warrington; London; St Andrews; Glasgow, and Leeds.

Further arrests abroad took place in Moldova, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Canada, Chile, Croatia and Italy.

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Google Glass can hurt, doctor warns

20 May 2014 Last updated at 12:13

Google has warned people not to use its Glass eyewear for long periods of time because it can cause pain.

The company said the technology was not meant to be used for "reading War and Peace" and takes time to adjust to.

It follows complaints from some users of pain after wearing Google Glass.

Google's optometrist said the problem was caused by the position of the technology, which forces people to look up.

"When anyone gets a new pair of glasses or starts wearing them for the first time there is always an adjustment period until people get used to them. For some, it's the same with Glass," said a Google spokesman.

The company added that it encouraged people to "ease into Glass, just as they would a new pair of glasses". The spokesman said: "As we note in our help centre, Glass is designed for micro-interactions, not for staring into the screen, watching Friday night movie marathons or reading War and Peace."

'Tension'

Continue reading the main story

I've not noticed any eye strain or headaches as a result of using Google Glass, but then again most of the time the screen is off - I use it to take the odd picture or scan tweets and emails "

End Quote Rory Cellan-Jones BBC Technology Correspondent

The College of Optometrists advised anyone who buys Google Glass to get their eyes tested before using it.

The College's clinical adviser Dr Susan Blakeney said: "The optometrist can advise you, they can see how its position will affect you and they can also advise you on how long you should use Google Glass for before taking a rest."

Harvard optometrist Dr Eli Peli, who acted as a consultant to Google during the development of Glass, said it is unusual for people to look up for long periods of time and doing so can be uncomfortable.

"The only people who look up a lot are some professionals like electricians and painters. Most of us look either straight or down. It's well known that up is less comfortable," he told BetaBeat.

He added that people only tend to look upwards for a second at most until their head catches up with their eyes. And he likened the first few times a user wears the technology to standing on one leg for a long period of time.

"Try to stand on one leg for a long time and you'll feel tension, because you're not using it how it's normally used. If you're looking at the Glass for a minute, you're holding it there for 60 times longer than normal," he said.

Some people have complained of headaches, but Dr Peli said the pain was actually a "discomfort in the eye muscles". He added: "To describe it as a headache is inconsistent with how people experience headaches."

In April, the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones spent a week testing Google Glass and documented his work and home life. He said the technology took some getting used to, but did not cause any pain.

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The BBC's Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones tries out Google Glass

Google believes that only a small proportion of the people who have used Google Glass have experienced discomfort and Dr Peli said that the pain usually lasted up to a week as users' eyes adjusted to the change.

Last month, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt admitted that wearing Google Glass was "weird". He said that talking to the voice-activated technology while in public was "the weirdest thing," according to a report from the Reuters news agency.

The product went on sale for a single day in the USA in April, priced at $1,500. Google previously sold it to 8,000 individuals in 2013 as part of their Explorer programme.

The BBC understands that UK developers may have access to the device next month.

Google has also been criticised by campaigners, who warned that privacy is impossible when Glass and other augmented reality gadgets are used.

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Obama asked to curb NSA surveillance

19 May 2014 Last updated at 11:26

The NSA's wide-ranging surveillance programme should be curtailed, says hardware-maker Cisco in a letter to President Obama.

Cisco boss John Chambers said faith in US technology companies was being eroded by the NSA's activities.

The letter comes after whistleblowers revealed the NSA regularly intercepted Cisco hardware to help it gather information on potential targets.

Mr Chambers said the NSA should be held to higher "standards of conduct".

The first allegations about NSA staff intercepting deliveries of Cisco hardware came from papers given by whistleblower Edward Snowden to journalist Glenn Greenwald.

"If these allegations are true," wrote Mr Chambers in a letter published in the Financial Times, "these actions will undermine confidence in our industry and in the ability of technology companies to deliver products globally."

In addition, pictures have circulated online of NSA staff opening packing crates containing Cisco gear. The NSA is believed to have intercepted and altered the networking hardware so the agency can more easily gather information about the people and companies it targets.

"We simply cannot operate this way," Mr Chambers wrote. "Our customers trust us to be able to deliver to their doorsteps products that meet the highest standards of integrity and security."

To restore confidence in Cisco and other tech firms, President Obama should draw up new rules to govern the way the NSA operates to ensure its conduct was held to a high standard, he said.

The allegations about Cisco were not the last to be published about NSA surveillance, said Glenn Greenwald in a wide-ranging interview with GQ. Mr Greenwald said he was saving some of the biggest leaks until last.

This final tranche of information would detail who in the US the NSA has been targeting and why it chose those targets, said Mr Greenwald.

"Are they political critics and dissidents and activists? Are they genuinely people we'd regard as terrorists?" he said to the magazine. "What are the metrics and calculations that go into choosing those targets and what is done with the surveillance that is conducted?"

Freedom banner

The continuing revelations about the NSA have also prompted action by China which has said it plans to beef up its internet security defences in response to "overseas hostile forces".

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Journalist Glenn Greenwald tells the BBC how he almost missed out on the Snowden scoop.

Such forces were using the net to "penetrate and destroy" China, said Wang Xiujun, the state official in China's Internet Information Office who directs the nation's net regulation system.

"A few countries have used their superiority in internet resources and information technology to conduct large-scale internet surveillance and to steal a large volume of political, economic, military and corporate secrets", Mr Wang is reported to have said.

Information from documents released by Edward Snowden suggest the NSA had managed to get at servers run by Chinese communications giant Huawei to look at documents and monitor messages passing between executives.

In addition, he said, many people were using the banner of "internet freedom" to attack and slander China and undermine its stability.

The improved defences against external threats and improved monitoring and censorship of internal activity would help China win "the struggle for ideological penetration", Mr Wang said.

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Bitcoin backers hit by resignations

19 May 2014 Last updated at 16:28

Ten people involved in overseeing the Bitcoin virtual currency have resigned from its controlling body.

The members resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation following the election of entrepreneur Brock Pierce to its board.

Some of those that resigned said their decision had been prompted by allegations about Mr Pierce's past behaviour that involved drugs and sexual misconduct.

Mr Pierce denied the allegations about his former behaviour.

Continue reading the main story

Bitcoin is often referred to as a new kind of currency.

But it may be best to think of its units being virtual tokens rather than physical coins or notes.

However, like all currencies its value is determined by how much people are willing to exchange it for.

To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.

For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoins.

This provides an incentive for people to provide computer processing power to solve the problems.

To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of about 3,600 new Bitcoins a day.

There are currently about 11 million Bitcoins in existence.

To receive a Bitcoin a user must have a Bitcoin address - a string of 27-34 letters and numbers - which acts as a kind of virtual post-box to and from which the bitcoins are sent.

"None of it is true," said Mr Pierce in a short video statement posted to the Bitcoin Foundation's discussion forum.

Vetting process

The accusations were made in 2000 when Mr Pierce, a former Disney child star, was involved with a web video company called Digital Entertainment Network that filed for bankruptcy.

The Bitcoin Foundation played down the resignations.

But some of those that resigned posted comments to the foundation's discussion forum explaining their decision.

"The track record of prominent Bitcoin Foundation members has been abysmal," wrote Patrick Alexander. "I no longer want to be associated with these people."

Places on the board of the foundation had opened up after two resignations. In January. developer Charlie Shrem stepped down after being arrested and charged with money laundering in connection with the Bitcoin firm he helped to run.

In addition, in February Mark Karpeles resigned as the exchange he founded, MtGox, stopped transferring bitcoins to external addresses while it investigated "unusual activity". The investigation revealed attackers had made off with millions of dollars of bitcoins and forced the shutdown of MtGox.

The resignations come as the Bitcoin Foundation holds its annual conference, which this year is taking place in Amsterdam.

Patrick Murck, chief lawyer for the Bitcoin Foundation, said the organisation had 1,500 members and would recover from the resignations.

"Democracy is messy sometimes," Mr Murck told Reuters. "If in the future members decide they want to have a vetting process, that's great."

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GoPro plans US stock market listing

20 May 2014 Last updated at 01:44

Wearable camera-maker GoPro has filed documents for a public share sale in the US. Money raised from the initial public offering (IPO) will go towards repaying debt and future acquisitions.

The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell, or their expected price.

GoPro indicated it planned to raise at least $100m (£59m) from the sale.

The company makes wearable cameras and accessories which are popular with extreme sports enthusiasts.

GoPro raked in $60.6m in net income in 2013, nearly double its earnings in 2012.

In its filing with regulators the company said it expects to use the proceeds from the share sale to fully repay an outstanding loan, which was $111m as of 31 March this year.

GoPro also said "it may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies or assets."

The company is proposing to list on the NASDAQ Stock Market, under the symbol 'GPRO'.

British bank Barclays, as well as the US financial institutions JPMorgan and Citigroup, are working on the share sale.

Founder and chief executive Nicholas Woodman and his family are the biggest stakeholders with a 49% holding.

The company said that Mr Woodman was "critical" to its success.

"The loss of Mr. Woodman could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results," the statement said.

Taiwanese manufacturer FoxConn has a minority stake in GoPro, which it purchased in 2012 for $200m. That deal values the camera maker at about $2.25bn.

Since the company launched its high-definition camera model in July 2009, it has sold more than 8.5 million HD cameras.

GoPro's products are sold in more than 100 countries.

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BT told to fix faults 'in two days'

20 May 2014 Last updated at 11:33

Openreach, the BT business that deals with the UK's phone and broadband network has been ordered to work harder on repairing faults and installing net access.

UK regulator Ofcom has issued rules that would require the firm to repair faults within two working days.

Customers waiting for a new line to be installed must receive an appointment within 12 working days.

It comes as BT appoints 1,600 new engineers.

BT said the new jobs at Openreach were part of a drive to "improve customer service".

It said it "welcomes the conclusion of this review".

Under the new rules, BT must complete around 80% of fault repairs within one to two working days of being notified and provide an appointment for around 80% of new line installations within 12 working days.

The target will be gradually introduced over three years, Ofcom said.

BT must also publish figures on how its engineers are performing and Ofcom could impose fines if it does not deliver on the new timescales given for repairs and installations.

Elderly and vulnerable

Last year the BBC's Watchdog programme reported that hundreds of people are kept waiting weeks and even months for repairs for line faults.

According to internet service provider TalkTalk a third of faults reported by its customers are not repaired on time.

"Fault repair has not been good enough and we have lots of customer complaints. Elderly and vulnerable people are waiting far too long," a spokeswoman said.

She said that the ISP welcomed the ruling that it had "long campaigned for".

Ofcom told the BBC that the ruling had come as a result of "industry expressing concerns about Openreach's performance".

"The problem was at its worst in 2012. With the exceptionally wet weather, Openreach's performance was at its poorest," said a spokesman.

"Ofcom's proposed new rules over repairs and installations will be met with relief by every household who has ever been left for days, or even weeks, without a working broadband connection," said Dominic Baliszewski, telecoms expert at Broadbandchoices.

"Openreach controls a significant proportion of the UK's broadband infrastructure but has no direct customer relationship, which meant some people were, in effect, stuck in digital limbo if they encountered a service problem their provider was unable to fix."

Sebastien Lahtinen from broadband news site Thinkbroadband added that the ruling could also throw the spotlight on to ISPs.

"Shorter repair times from Openreach may also act to highlight the variations in performance of the retail providers as the clock only starts ticking at the point Openreach are notified of a fault, and sometimes there can be delays with retail providers passing reports to Openreach."

Ofcom's recommendations will now be subject to scrutiny by the European Commission and a final ruling is expected in June.

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Patchy mobile coverage on UK roads

20 May 2014 Last updated at 15:03

A detailed study of mobile coverage on the UK's roads and railways has indicated patchy coverage on both.

The report from mobile measurement company OpenSignal found that rail passengers were without a 3G or 4G signal 28% of the time.

On motorways, users failed to get a 3G or 4G signal 24% of the time and on A-roads 33% of the time.

Poor coverage could hamper future driverless-car operating systems that rely on broadband connectivity.

"Not being able to connect to Spotify while in a car isn't that important, but lots of car companies are putting in sophisticated in-car operating systems that rely on a constant connection," said a spokesman from OpenSignal.

"The car manufacturers took it for granted that there would be mobile coverage, but this report shows that a lot more needs to be done.

"If we are going to have driverless cars the whole road system needs to be covered."

As well as measuring the percentage of time that users had access to 3G or 4G, the report also looked at which networks performed best.

EE's 4G network could be accessed 50% of the time on UK motorways, and it had 95% coverage for 2G and 3G on these roads.

Three's customers could access a 3G or 4G signal 92% of the time on motorways, while Vodafone and O2 customers could expect slightly less coverage - 65% and 67% respectively.

On UK A-roads, coverage was very similar between all the networks, while on the railways EE performed best. Its customers were unable to get any signal only 5.7% of the time, compared with 6.4% for Vodafone users.

In October 2013 Ofcom issued its own findings on mobile coverage on the UK's roads.

It found that 9% of roads had no 3G coverage at all. It is planning a more detailed report later this year.

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