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Tablets To Hurt Notebook Sales

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Tablet sales are beginning to make major inroads into the notebook PC market, according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Analyst Bill Shope predicts 19.1 million notebook sales will to be lost to tablets globally in 2011, and 26.1 million will be lost in 2012.

Shope believes total tablet unit shipments will jump to 54.7 million in 2011, with 35 percent PC unit cannibalisation, and to 79.2 million in 2012, with 33 percent cannibalisation

Like a number of analysts, he has taken serious note of Apple’s claim in its last earnings call that more than 65 percent of the Fortune 100 have either deployed or are piloting the iPad.

ASIC Stop Channel CEO From Leaving OZ

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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has obtained a court order temporarily barring the CEO of an ASX-listed IT distributor from leaving Australia as it investigates what it says is the misappropriation of about $1.2 million after a public share issue last year.

The Federal Court heard that Kim Wong, managing director of Melbourne-based service provider WinTech is being investigated by ASIC over claimed transfers of funds from the company’s account to those of Wong and his Korean girlfriend, Yun Jung Choi, according to a Melbourne Age report.
ASIC’s counsel, Daniel Crennan, told Justice Alan Goldberg the regulator was concerned that some of the funds WinTech raised from a $2.53 million share issue in early 2009, which should have been held on trust, appeared to have been transferred firstly into the company’s trading account and then into private bank accounts.
The judge was told that records obtained from Crown Casino by ASIC indicated that Wong attended the casino on 188 days from the start of 2009 until September 9, and in that period lost $407,900.
Wong’s travel ban is in place until June 24. Wong’s lawyer, Murray Gerkens of FCG Legal, told The Age that his client denies any wrongdoing and will challenge both the travel ban and any allegations levelled at him by ASIC.
Activities of WinTech (www.wintechgroup.com.au) are listed on the ASX as importation and wholesale distribution of computers, computer parts and accessories.
The company’s shares have not been traded on ASX during the past six months.

Norton Drops Text 100 Also Facing Problems With Cisco

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Symantec subsidiary Norton has dumped PR agency Text 100, which has handled the PC security outfit’s publicity needs since 2007. The PR Company is also facing the loss or a major downsizing of the Cisco consumer electronics account which it won 18 months ago after Cisco axed the entire Flip Camera division.

A statement e-mailed to media late yesterday by Natalie Connor, PR senior manager at Norton, said: “The decision to end the partnership with Text 100 is in line with the changing business and communication requirements.”

She thanked Text 100 for its “valuable partnership and continued support in building the Norton brand in Australia.

The e-mail said Symantec’s consumer team will “continue to source for a new communications partner in Australia and will make a formal announcement in due course”. In the meantime, Norton’s PR activity will be conducted in-house.

Parent Symantec uses a different agency, Max Australia.

Telstra Next G Set To Be Blocked

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The European Aeromobile group, controlled by Norway’s Telenor, has won the right to supply what appears to be a less than thrilling service for Australians who want to use mobile devices to access the Internet while on passenger aircraft. As part of the contract they will be allowed to block other carriers.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority late last week approved radiocommunications licensing arrangements that permit the use of mobile phones “and PDAs” (remember them?) on aircraft flying in Australian airspace.
The system will involve the use of onboard jammers to prevent connections to terrestrial services like Telstra’s Next G. The preferred option – currently offered only by Aeromobile – is for an onboard pico-cell connecting to an Inmarsat satellite.
That means international roaming charges – even though passengers never leave Australian airspace – on top of anything the airlines decide to charge for the service.
The Aeromobile service offers connections at GPRS speeds, hardly likely to appeal to laptop and iPad owners. In effect, any services will be largely limited to SMS and text messages – Australia’s airlines have, it’s understood, decided to ban voice calls, due to the understandable desire of fellow passengers for a bit of peace and quiet.
International airlines will have to abide by the Australian rules once they enter our airspace. Thus passengers on Emirates, and other airlines now adopting more sophisticated inflight broadband connections, seem likely to be told to switch off once they cross the coast.

PC Market Pumping 20% Growth Tipped

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Continued strength of the portable PC sector will see worldwide PC shipment growth leap almost 20 percent in 2010, according to a new IDC report. This compares with overall growth of just 3 percent in 2009, the market research firm says.

This follows exceptional growth of 27 percent in Q1, IDC says, reflecting a “sometimes bumpy” economic recovery with strong buying in both the commercial and consumer sectors.
And – unlike 2009 – the recent market recovery has also seen a small rebound in higher priced models as netbooks become less of a driver of volume. IDC tips this trend to pick up steam.
Although low to mid-range portable PCs still dominate the market, desktop PC sales also recovered with their first yearly growth since Q2 2008, IDC says.
However main growth in 2010 is expected to come from mainstream notebooks – tipped to rise 26.6 percent over the full year.
IDC tips PC market growth to continue in coming years, with worldwide shipments reaching 569.6 million units in 2014, made up of 142.7 million desktops and 426.9 million portables.
However notions of what makes a portable PC may change. “New devices such as e-readers and media tablets will pose disruptive challenges to conventional usage models while opening up intriguing possibilities in consumer and mobile business spaces,” IDC says.

New Boss At Google OZ

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After a three-month search, Google Australia and NZ has hired a Murdoch group executive as its new managing director. Nick Leeder, former deputy chief executive of The Australian newspaper, will slip behind the executive desk in late March.

He replaces another former newsman, ex-Fairfax executive Karim Temsamani, who was promoted to run Google’s mobile ad sales business in the US. Temsamani left in October.

At News Ltd, Leeder has been working on the group’s plans for publishing paid content via the Internet, including the online and iPhone versions of The Australian. He scored a farewell accolade from News chairman John Hartigan, who said that, together with CEO Richard Freudenstein, “he tripled traffic and revenue at News Digital Media and over the past 12 months has brought new focus and drive to The Australian’s commercial operations.”

At Google, Asia-Pac president Daniel Alegre made it plain he expects to tap into those talents. He said: “Google is investing significantly in Australia and New Zealand to help businesses of all sizes, from small and large advertisers to advertising agencies and publishers, grow online. In the next year, Nick will help us to increase our investment locally and better serve our users, advertisers and partners.”

PC Market Grows 71.9M Units In Last QTR

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Falling prices in mobile computing and the proliferation of faster and cheaper communications infrastructure has seen the rate of PC shipments worldwide increase by 16 percent to top 71.9 million units in the latest quarter, research group Gartner reports.

Falling prices in mobile computing and the proliferation of faster and cheaper communications infrastructure has seen the rate of PC shipments worldwide increase by 16 percent to top 71.9 million units in the latest quarter, research group Gartner reports.

The growth rate has been even faster in the Asia-Pacific region, Gartner says – but Australia appears to be lagging behind the global rate.

Gartner’s survey of the worldwide PC market for Q2 2008 shows mobile PCs driving growth in all regions.

The quarter also saw a sharp decline in the average selling price (ASP) of desktop PCs, particularly in the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa on the back of economic worries.

In Australia preliminary figures, due out next week, show growth in the double-digit range.

“As a whole in Australia, mobile PCs, notebooks and laptops are driving demand,” Lillian Tay, Gartner principal analyst client computing market in Asia Pacific, told CDN. “In Australia we expect growth at a minimum of 10 percent for the period.

 

“The market for desktops is flat so the trend is for continuing demand for mobile PCs ­ even for first time buyers,” she says.

“We are seeing more and more adoption of mobile computing from young professionals. You only have to look at the stores, like Harvey Norman, which all have the presence of notebooks far outweighing desktops.”

Tay says in the Asia-Pacific region, PC shipments totalled 20.1 million units, up 18.1 percent from the second quarter of last year.

In the region mobile PC shipments grew 45.6 percent in the quarter,” Tay told CDN. “Prices have come down and performance increased.

“They now represent not just a desktop replacement. There is so much more choice in models, specifications and form factors. You only have to go into any retail shop and the machines jump out at you with different colours and graphics. The current offerings also have better sound quality and prices have come down so much.”

 

Massive Credit Scam On Retailers

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It’s the biggest computer hacking and credit-card fraud in history. Some 11 people, including a US Secret Service grass, have been charged with hacking computer systems of nine major US retailers and the theft and sale of more than 41 million credit and debit card numbers.

The suspects have been charged with conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft. three of them are US citizens; the others hail from Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus and China.

The indictment alleges that the suspects hacked into the wireless computer networks of major US retailers including TJX, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW. Once in, they set up programs that captured card numbers, passwords and account information.

They either sold this information to others or used it themselves. In total, said US Attorney General Michael Mukasey, “they caused widespread losses by banks, retailers, and consumers.”

US Attorney Michael Sullivan said the 11 accused weren’t computer geniuses, just opportunists who used a technique called “wardriving”. This involved cruising through areas with a laptop and looking for accessible wireless Internet signals.

Once they located a vulnerable network, they installed sniffer programs that
captured credit and debit card numbers as they moved through a retailer’s
processing networks.

The US Justice Department says the defendants made “tens of millions” of dollars from their scheme, and had used the stolen data to make cards that withdrew “tens of thousands of dollars at a time” from automated teller machines.

Complicating the case, the alleged ringleader, Albert Gonzalez of Miami, was said to have been working as an informant for the Secret Service. His indictment states that during the course of his “cooperation,” he obtained sensitive information that he used “to warn off conspirators and ensure that they would not be identified and arrested.”

Another suspect, Maxym Yastremskiy, a Ukrainian who has been arrested in Turkey, is accused of creating a Web site to sell the stolen account information to buyers around the world. It wasn’t known last night if any Australian buyers were involved.

Telstra LTE Test Reaches 100Mbps

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Telstra and Nokia Siemens Networks have reported reaching speeds of up to 100Mbps in its long-term evolution (LTE) technology.The tests achieved 100Mbps download and 31Mbps upload over a distance of 75 kilometres in regional Victoria, the companies say.

The news comes as Telstra has been assured of being able to bid for LTE spectrum in future auctions – provided the historic weekend agreement on its role in the NBN becomes reality.

Average speeds attained in the trials were 88.1Mbps downlink and 29.6Mbps for uplinks.

The field trial was conducted between Mount Hope and Mount Burrumboot in central Victoria. It used Nokia Siemens’ commercially-available LTE-ready Flexi Multiradio base station and evolved packet core (EPC), with pre-commercial LTE dongles from third-party vendors.

Michael Rocca, Telstra chief operations officer, said the range testing was of critical importance for the future of LTE in regional Australia and the findings would be of great interest internationally.

How To Cheat An ATM Demo Cheered

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Computer hacker Barnaby Jack – not to be confused with Australian pollie Barnaby Joyce – has demonstrated a way to force automated teller machines (ATMs) to disgorge their cash by hijacking the computing gear inside.

Crowds of watchers yesterday cheered as Jack successfully demonstrated his technique at the annual Black Hat Conference under way in Las Vegas, attended by around 6000 hackers and security experts.
A director of security research for IOActive, Jack spent more than a year learning to break into standalone ATMs found at service stations, bars and retail establishments.
He found physical keys used to unlock the ATMs were the same for all models. After buying a legitimate ATM , he used the key to unlock a compartment in other ATMs and – via USB – insert a program that commanded the machines to dump their cash on command.
He also hacked into ATMs by exploiting weaknesses in the way ATM makers communicate with the machines over the Internet.
Jack did not give more details because he said the goal of his talk “isn’t to teach everybody how to hack ATMs. It’s to raise the issue and have ATM manufacturers be proactive about implementing fixes.”