Apple Vision Pro comes to new markets
Apple Vision Pro will soon be available in several new countries and regions. Starting this Thursday, June 13, at 6 p.m. PT, pre-orders will open for customers in China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, with availability beginning Friday, June 28.
Additionally, customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom will be able to pre-order Vision Pro starting Friday, June 28, at 5 a.m. PT, with availability beginning Friday, July 12.
Cyberattacks -- where they come from and the tactics they use
A new report from Netskope looks at the activities of cybercriminals based on the techniques and motivators that were most commonly detected among its customers in the first three quarters of 2023.
In news that will come as a surprise to precisely nobody it shows that the highest percentage of cybercriminal activity comes from Russia, while China accounts for most politically-motivated attacks.
COVID-19 in China may prevent Johnny from getting an iPhone 14 Pro this Christmas
In the USA, the COVID-19 pandemic is pretty much over. You no longer need to wear masks everywhere, and life has largely gone back to normal. In China, however, the virus is still wreaking havoc -- residents of that communist country still face regular lockdowns.
Unfortunately, according to Apple, the ongoing COVID-19 situation in China has negatively impacted the production of both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Sadly, this will lead to delays. While this is bad news for Apple and its shareholders, it is also tragic for those that were hoping to buy one of these phones for the upcoming holiday season. In other words, Little Johnny may not get the phone he wants under the tree this year.
Chinese-made Linux distribution deepin 23 Preview now available for download
Created and maintained by Chinese developers, deepin has long been considered one of the prettiest Linux-based operating systems. Understandably, due to its development happening in China, many people do not trust the distribution -- especially with biometrics being added. Not to mention the recent dustup over Taiwan and apparent ongoing genocide.
If you are someone that trusts deepin despite its country of origin, however, I have some really exciting news. Today, an official public preview of the upcoming deepin 23 becomes available for download. The developers highlight the inclusion of the new "Linglong" package format, atomic updates, and new repositories.
Facial recognition comes to deepin Linux -- can you trust China with your face?
deepin is one of the prettiest Linux distributions, and many people use it every day. Unfortunately, there is a big problem with the operating system -- it is developed in China. While the Chinese people are good, the government of that country is not -- it oppresses its citizens and censors a lot of information. And so, some people are wary of using any Chinese-made software. That is understandable.
Normally I am OK with using deepin Linux, despite its Chinese roots, as it is largely open source. However, with version 20.5, I am a bit hesitant. You see, the newest variant of the operating system adds optional facial recognition for gaining access to your computer. This is similar to Microsoft's Windows Hello -- something I use regularly. But Microsoft is a USA company. When it comes to deepin, can we trust China with our faces?
Majority of attacks on SaaS platforms come from Russia and China
Analysis of security events across more than 120,000 user accounts last year shows that the vast majority of attacks on top SaaS platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack and Dropbox are coming from Russia and China.
The latest SaaS Application Security Insights (SASI) Report from SaaS Alerts also suggests these countries may be coordinating attack efforts. Attack trend lines that compare Russia and China show almost exactly the same pattern.
Microsoft is shutting down LinkedIn… in China
Microsoft launched a Chinese version of LinkedIn in 2014, having weighed up the pros and cons of operating under the scrutiny -- and restrictions -- of the Chinese government.
Today, the software giant announces it is pulling the plug on LinkedIn there, citing a lack of success with the social aspects of the site, and the difficulties it faced with complying with the government’s many demands. Microsoft isn’t pulling out of China's blossoming business market entirely though -- rather it’s changing its focus.
Download deepin 20.2.4 Linux distro now
Linux does not belong to any specific country -- the open source kernel can be enjoyed by people all over the world. This includes China, a great ally of the United States. We depend on China to manufacture many of our goods, but also, developers in that country contribute to open source projects.
Case in point, deepin is a Linux-based operating system from China that is both beautiful and elegant. For some, it could be a nice alternative to Windows 11. deepin is a miraculous Chinese gift to the open source community. Today, the wonderful deepin developers release version 20.2.4 of the Linux distribution. Based on Debian, it uses Linux kernel 5.13.13 and has a new global search feature.
Lithuanian government warns consumers not to buy new Chinese phones and to throw out old ones ASAP
The Defence Ministry of Lithuania has issued a warning that people should stop buying phones from China and should "get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible".
The extraordinary advice comes after a government report found that handsets produced by Xiaomi and Huawei include a feature to detect and censor certain words and phrases. On the blacklist are terms such as "free Tibet", "long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", and while the censoring functionality was disabled for the European market, there is the potential for it to be remotely activated at any time.
China accused of large-scale Microsoft Exchange Server hack
The US, UK and other allied nations have accused the Chinese Ministry of State Security of engaging in a global hacking campaign. Included in this was an attack on Microsoft Exchange servers earlier in the year, and other activity that has been described as "irresponsible and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace".
China has been called on to "end this systematic cyber sabotage", and a statement issued by the White House said that "an unprecedented group of allies and partners are joining the United States in exposing and criticizing the PRC’s malicious cyber activities".
Logitech Voice M380 Wireless Mouse with Speech Input is exclusive to China
When is a mouse not just a mouse? When it has a dedicated voice button, apparently. In collaboration with Baidu, Logitech is launching an all-new mouse which features such a button. Called "Voice M380 Wireless Mouse with Speech Input," Logitech's newest product is exclusive to China and is priced at 199 RMB -- that's equivalent to about $30 here in the USA.
It appears to have no thumb buttons, but it does have both vertical and horizontal scrolling -- a feature I adore for working with large (particularly wide) spreadsheets. Besides the off-white color seen above, it will also be available in graphite and rose.
Debian-based deepin Linux 20.2 is here and you should switch from Windows 10 now!
Debian is a great operating system in its own right, but also, it makes for an excellent base for other Linux distributions as well. For example, Ubuntu is probably the most well-known Linux distro and it is based on Debian. There are countless other operating systems, such as Netrunner, that stand on Debian's figurative shoulders.
The prettiest and most exciting Debian-based operating system, however, is deepin. This Chinese-developed Linux distribution is probably the most beautiful desktop operating system on the planet; it is arguably better than both Apple's macOS and Microsoft's Windows 10 in the style department. deepin has what some consider the most beautiful and intuitive user interfaces.
TikTok says no to Microsoft, but what about Oracle? [Update]
In a brief statement issued late last night, Microsoft revealed that it was out of the running to buy TikTok’s US operations.
US President Donald Trump claims that TikTok (and other Chinese apps) pose a threat to national security and his administration has set a September 15 deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to either sell US operations or shut them down.
Chinese APTs have been targeting Linux servers for almost a decade
Five related Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups operating in the interest of the Chinese government have systematically targeted Linux servers, Windows systems and mobile devices running Android while remaining undetected for nearly a decade.
A new report from BlackBerry looks at how these threats have been part of pervasive economic espionage operations targeting intellectual property.
Zoom admits to routing some US calls through China
As if the various privacy and security concerns that have plagued Zoom recently had not been enough, now it has been revealed that the company has been routing some calls made in North America through China.
Asking whether Zoom is a "US company with a Chinese heart", security researchers at Citizen Lab reported their discovery that during test meetings, encryption and decryption keys were routed through a server in Bejing. This raised eyebrows, and the company has now tried to explain what happened and issued its second apology this week.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.