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Android Beam in action: Ice Cream Sandwich's flashy NFC feature

At first blush, Android Beam sounded like it could go the route of face unlocking--one of those fun, breezy gimmicks in the new Ice Cream Sandwich operating system that would last for a party trick or two, but ultimately die down.

With only one review unit in-house, there was no way to know for sure. However, fellow mobile journalist Blake Stimac and I brought our Galaxy Nexus phones together for a little playdate, and it quickly became clear how useful and broad Android Beam can be.

As a refresher, Android Beam uses NFC (near-field communication), a radio frequency technology, to pass certain types of information from one phone to a compatible phone (for starters, both phones need NFC.) Assuming both phones' screens are on, NFC is enabled on both phones, and Android Beam is activated, which it is by default, you can simply press the backs of the two phones together to trigger a beam.… Read more

Get the Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard on your Android phone

Android Ice Cream Sandwich offers up a new keyboard with new features to make typing easier and faster.

You may have seen some of the new keyboard features when viewing the Galaxy Nexus video, or maybe you've read about them online. Fortunately, you can skip the wait and get the new keyboard right now.

Notice: This version will only work on smartphones and is not configured for tablets at this time.

Step 1: Head to the Android Market and install Ice Cream Sandwich Keyboard, by johntanmi.

Step 2: Go back to your Home screen and press the Menu button, … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review: The full monty

The buzz surrounding Google's release of its Ice Cream Sandwich operating system is similar to every release of the latest Android operating system on a single, debut device. The difference is: this one's a doozy.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first to introduce the Android 4.0 OS, better known as Ice Cream Sandwich (or ICS). Google redesigned or recoded nearly every element of the previous Android OS to create this power-packed software that melds the tablet-centric Honeycomb flavor for tablets with the alphabet of Google's Android smartphone treats.… Read more

Google and Samsung electrify Android (video)

An hour-long event in Hong Kong yesterday revealed a brave new world for Android smartphones.

Yesterday's launch of the Samsung Nexus smartphone and new details about Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has the tech community buzzing. Executives from both companies detailed the most cohesive strategy yet for the smartphone platform, which you can fully watch in the embedded video above.… Read more

Google shares how to prep for Ice Cream Sandwich

In the latest sign that the unwrapping of Ice Cream Sandwich is near, Google has clued in developers on how to get their apps ready to take advantage of the upcoming, new flavor of Android.

In a blog post yesterday, Scott Main, lead tech writer for Google's official site for Android developers, reminded readers that Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS, has been designed to run on anything from small-screen smartphones to big-screen tablets.

But apps designed to run under Android 3.0 Honeycomb are "forward-compatible" and therefore will run on any device with ICS, whether phone or … Read more

Ice Cream Sandwich to debut in Oct. or Nov.

Android users waiting for the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the mobile operating system will see the latest flavor pop up sometime in October or November.

Google's own executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, tipped off the time frame for the new version of Android in an interview yesterday with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

Uncovered by Android and Me and other sources, the videotaped interview shows Schmidt specifically saying that "we have a new operating system, internally known as Ice Cream Sandwich for some reason, which is being released in October/November, which everyone's really excited about."

The … Read more

U.S. warns of security holes in Chinese SCADA apps

Software made by a Chinese company and used around the world by chemical, defense, and energy companies contains security holes that attackers could exploit to hack into critical systems.

In an advisory issued yesterday (PDF), the Department of Homeland Defense warned of two vulnerabilities in software made by Beijing-based Sunway ForceControl (Google Translate English version). The Chinese company makes SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) software, which is used in computer systems that control and monitor manufacturing plants and equipment used by different industries.

Discovered by security researcher Dillon Beresford of NSS Labs, the security holes could allow cybercriminals to … Read more

TI launches Kilby Labs, marks 50 years of integrated circuits

Texas Instruments commemorated the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit with the opening Friday of Kilby Labs, honoring Jack Kilby, the Nobel-prize-winning inventor of the seminal electronic device.

As a new TI employee in 1958, Kilby was forced to work during the traditional company summer vacation. During that time, he built the first integrated circuit, now the basic building block of everything from 3G cell phones to supercomputers.

The first IC was crude: a sliver of germanium with protruding wires glued to a glass slide (see image below). When Kilby applied electricity to the circuit, "an unending sine wave … Read more

FBI warns of new Storm worm variant

On Wednesday, the FBI and its partner, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), warned against a new e-mail campaign being used by the creators of the Storm Worm botnet.

The e-mail uses the the phrase "F.B.I. vs. Facebook" in its subject line and contains a link to view an article about the FBI and Facebook, a popular social networking website. Clicking on the link downloads malicious software onto the victim's computer.

"The spammers spreading this virus are preying on Internet users and making their computers an unwitting part of criminal botnet activity," said … Read more

Report: Losses due to Internet crime rose in '07

Worried about online auction fraud? If you're a man you should be, according to the latest Internet Crime Complaint Center report (in PDF). On average, men lost more money to online fraud than women in 2007. Men also perpetrated most of the online crime, accounting for 75 percent of the total reports last year. And while the overall number of complaints declined when compared with previous years, the total dollar value in losses rose to a record high of $239 million in losses in 2007. That's $40 million more than in 2006.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) … Read more