MacBook, MacBook Pro Models Tipped to Be Refreshed With Kaby Lake Processors This Year

ast year, Apple launched its 2016 MacBook Pro models, which come equipped with sixth-

generation Intel Core processors. If well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, the Cupertino-based company is now reportedly planning to update all of its MacBook laptops with seventh-generation Intel Core 'Kaby Lake' processors from Intel.

Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has suggested in an investor note that apart from the updated processors across MacBook Pro models, the 15-inch variant of the laptop will also get a 32GB RAM option, as per a report by 9to5Mac. Kuo says that the first MacBook to receive Kaby Lake treatment will be the 12-inch MacBook laptop, mass production of which will start in Q2 this year. He added that a 16GB RAM variant is also expected to be added for the laptop.

The production of 13-inch and 15-inch variants of MacBook Pro laptops (equipped with Kaby Lake processors) has been tipped to start from Q3 this year. Further, Kuo says that the 15-inch MacBook Pro is expected to receive a 32GB RAM variant. The KGI analyst says that this laptop will receive desktop memory in order to aim for high-end users.

Interestingly, Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, justified in October last year that the maximum of 16GB RAM option enables the laptop to offer better battery life.

Kuo says that Apple is expected to grow in terms of shipments during 2017 and slow start to the year has been mostly because of production delays as the demand for the Touch Bar variant of MacBook Pro is "better than expected," as per the report.

However, the 13-inch variant of MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar has underperformed and is likely to see a price-cut from the company, Kuo reportedly pointed out.

Minecraft link to net's biggest botnet

Malware that launche the net's largest ever cyber-attack last year had links to Minecraft servers, according to those investigating it.

Security blogger Brian Krebs has spent months investigating the attack which knocked his blog offline.

He claims that the origins of the Mirai botnet can be traced back to rivalries in the Minecraft community.

His claims are backed up by a security expert who provided net security for Minecraft servers.

Robert Coelho, vice president of security firm ProxyPipe, told the BBC that his suspicions about who was behind the Mirai code have been passed to the FBI, which is "actively investigating" the claims.The botnet Mirai was made up of more than 500,000 web-connectedevices such as webcams and routers
                                      The attacks it launched - so-called denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that hit web pages with so much data that they fall over - were the biggest the net had ever experienced.

Victims that were knocked offline included Twitter, Spotify and Reddit.

'Hundreds of hours'

Shortly after the attacks, the individual claiming responsibility - using the codename Anna Senpai - released the source code online, paving the way for copycat attacks.

A modified form of the malware was later used to attack UK internet service providers TalkTalk and the Post Office.

Since being hit by the Mirai botnet in September 2016, Mr Krebs has devoted "hundreds of hours" into uncovering who was behind it.

"If you've ever wondered why it seems that so few internet criminals are brought to justice, I can tell you that the sheer amount of persistence and investigative resources required to piece together who's done what to whom (and why) in the online era is tremendous," he wrote.

His research led him directly to the community around Minecraft, a computer game now owned by Microsoft, in which users build things from cubic blocks.It has a huge following, especially among children, and it is estimated that at any one time a million people are playing it.

           

According to Mr Krebs, a large successful Minecraft web server with more than 1,000 players logging on each day can earn up to $50,000 (£40,600) per month, mainly from players renting space to build their Minecraft worlds.

"The first clues to Anna Senpai's identity didn't become clear until I understood that Mirai was just the latest incarnation of an IoT [internet of things] botnet family that has been in development and relatively broad use for nearly three years," he writes.

The code for these earlier versions was often used to knock over web servers used to host Minecraft, he claims.

ProxyPipe - owned by Mr Coelho - had plenty of Minecraft servers as clients and in mid-2015 was hit by a massive attack, launched from a botnet made up of IoT devices such as web cameras.

Mr Coelho told the BBC that he had his suspicions about who was behind the attack: "Minecraft is a tight knit community. We know who is talking to who."

He alleged that the attack came from a competing security firm, which also offered DDoS protection to Minecraft clients.

He claimed that the founder of the security firm had previously run a Minecraft web server and was one of his clients.

He also claims that the Mirai author - Anna Senpai - contacted him via Skype at the end of September, partly to explain that the attack on his firm was "not personal" but also to brag that he had been paid by the owners of a large Minecraft server to launch an attack on a rival server.

OPPO A59

Oppo A59 smartphone Will be  launched in india in feb 2017. The phone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 720 pixels by 1280 pixels at a PPI of 267 pixels per inch. 

The Oppo A59 is powered by 1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Oppo A59 packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

The Oppo A59 runs Android 5.1 and is powered by a 3075mAh non removable battery. It measures 154.50 x 76.00 x 7.38 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 160.00 grams.

the Oppo A59 is a single SIM (GSM) smartphone that accepts a Micro-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, FM, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope.

About Oppo

OPPO Electronics Corp. is an electronics manufacturer based in Guangdong, China. Known for its smartphones, the company also makes MP3 players, portable media players, LCD-TVs, and DVD/Blu-ray players. It was founded in 2004. The company is also a smartphone maker. It has launched a whole range of Android powered smartphones.I

F YOU WANT THIS PHONE NOW CONTACT ME.

NEW DELHI: The government's call for highly-affordable 4G smartphones - priced as low as Rs 2,000 - has rung a bell with at least two domestic manufacturers, though experience with these phones may be patchy as components used for camera, processors and battery may not be cutting-edge.

Karbonn and Intex, two homegrown manufacturers, have said that they are "in a position" to meet the low-price criteria - spelled out recently by NITI Aayog - but "it depends on variables" such as size of the order and the government's advocacy to push the products. NITI Aayog spoke about the aggressive price point in a recent meeting with local manufacturers that included Karbonn, Lava, Intex and Micromax.

"We will be in a position to come out with a prototype of the low-budget product in a month's time. But the government needs to clarify some key issues, including the support it will lend to the project," said Pardeep Jain, MD of Karbonn Mobiles.

As the government pushes digital payments agenda in line with demonetisation efforts, smartphones are being perceived as key instruments to drive home the point of Digital India. There is an increasing feeling that apart from cashless transactions, a smartphone in the hands of the poor can also help deliver services around health, education, farming and employment.

Flexible smartphones may become common by 2018: Report

The company’s colourless polyimide division head Kang Chung-seok told the website, “Around three to five tech companies are expected to mass produce foldable phones in 2018 globally. The devices will then grab around 20 percent of the total smartphone market here [South Korea].”

Jain said while working towards a pre-designated price point, it is critical that the final product does not fall short of consumer experience. So the battery capacity, camera clarity, processor capability, screen size and build quality must be able to satisfy users.

Nidhi Markanday, director at Intex, said the company is already selling smartphones priced at Rs 2,000. "But these are devices that run on 2G networks. As the reach of 3G and 4G networks increases, and depending on demand and support extended by the government, we are ready to manufacture phones that are compatible with them."

At present, a 3G device from Intex sells for between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000, while a 4G phone costs between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000. "We have the capacity to make a 4G phone at Rs 2,000. But, it depends on scale of the order and how fast 3G and 4G networks penetrate rural markets," Markanday said.