Xiaomi's MIUI 6 beta is here and the Android ROM shames Google's stock experience
As a Linux user and lover, I prefer Android smartphones to iOS. While I love the freedom and functionality of Google's mobile operating system, there is one thing I hate -- the UI. That is a pretty big deal and usually a deal-breaker for a consumer. However, I put up with the dreary UI and clunky app drawer because I can customize it with different launchers, wallpapers and icon packs. While this is passable, I long for a redesign to mimic something similar to iOS 7. I crave beauty and art, but alas, Google seems disinterested in doing anything radical -- Android L "Material Design" seems too safe and boring.
The design savior for many years has been the Chinese-born ROM, MIUI; however, as more and more devices ship with impossibly hard-to-hack locked bootloaders, the gorgeous ROM has not been ported to as many devices; even unofficially. And so, users have been limited to MIUI-styled launchers, but not the full experience. Excitingly, MIUI 6 is now released in beta form, but sadly, most Android users will not be able to flash the beta, or the final version for that matter. This locked bootloader nonsense is a tragedy, as MIUI 6 is sexy as hell and puts Google's vision of Android to shame.
IBM signs landmark cloud computing security deal in China
In a country where state-owned enterprises are increasingly rejecting foreign technology that pose "security risks," IBM has revealed it will be helping bolster the security of a Chinese financial data firm using cloud-based risk analysis.
It's a significant move that executives are hailing as a model for future business in China, encouraging the country to embrace foreign technologies rather than shunning them.
Apple stays quiet on Chinese ban whispers
China has stepped up its tough stance on foreign technology suppliers with reports it has banned government purchases of Apple products.
Apple has so far declined to comment on reports that China’s government has banned its agencies from buying Apple products including iPad, iPad Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
Xiaomi leads the smartphone market in China
Xiaomi's name may mean close to nothing in western markets, but the smartphone maker is well-known in Asia for its powerful yet affordable handsets. Take the new Mi 4 flagship, for instance. It rivals HTC's One (M8) in the specs department, but can be had for less than what Google asks for its Nexus 5. There's a similar story with other Xiaomi-made devices, that are proving to be extremely popular with consumers in China.
Xiaomi's smartphones are so popular in China that, in the second quarter of the year, they allowed the manufacturer to overtake worldwide leader Samsung in the local Asian market, according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys. Xiaomi, which is a Chinese vendor, was responsible for 14 percent of smartphone shipments in the country, surpassing Samsung, Lenovo, Yulong and Huawei. The combined market share of top worldwide vendors Samsung and Apple was just 18 percent in China in Q2 2014, as the two were able to ship just 20 million units put together.
China bans Kaspersky and Symantec antivirus
China has come down hard on US-based security company Symantec and its Russian counterpart Kaspersky, removing it from the list of approved antivirus providers in Chinese government computer systems.
The news comes amid a move from the Beijing government to limit Chinese dependency on foreign technology firms.
China investigates Microsoft for being a monopoly -- is the company guilty?
Thanks to technology, the business world is shrinking. Compared to prior decades, it is becoming far easier for businesses to operate in multiple countries. While this has the potential of being great, it also can be bad. After all, economies are not puzzle pieces that fit together nicely. No, sometimes there is an oil and water situation, where things don't mix.
Ultimately, communism and capitalism will never work together hand in hand. In other words, for an American company to operate in a communist republic, such as China, there will be pains. Today, it is revealed that China is investigating Microsoft for being a monopoly and has raided its offices.
Xbox One now available for pre-order in China
On Friday, China Telecom, the country's third biggest telecommunications company, said it would start selling the Xbox One in China from September, although no pricing details were revealed.
Today JD.com Inc, China's second largest e-commerce company (by market share), confirmed it has started to accept pre-orders for the games console.
China leaks $2bn of secret Microsoft Android patents
Microsoft has maintained for the last three years or so that every Android phone ever made infringes on patents locked away somewhere in Redmond. High-profile legal cases, like Microsoft's suit against the Android-powered Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader, and its successful lawsuits against five major Android smartphone manufacturers, have fueled a huge amount of public speculation as to what exactly those patents are.
The problem is, Microsoft hasn't been saying, and with only a few exceptions has taken every measure possible to keep them hidden from the public.
China brands Windows 8 a threat to its national security
It’s fair to say China isn’t a fan of Windows 8. A few weeks ago, the tiled OS was banned from Chinese government computers, as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products (if this sounds a bit vague, that’s because the reason given is).
Then, if that wasn’t bad enough news for Microsoft, a state-backed news report broadcast on China's CCTV has really put the boot in, branding the operating system a threat to China's cybersecurity, and suggesting it is being used to spy on Chinese citizens.
How five Chinese hackers stole secrets from some of America's largest companies
208 Datong Road is a nondescript concrete high rise on one of Shanghai's busiest roads. Amid the lingering smog rising like mist off the honking lines of traffic, and the trains screeching to a halt in the nearby main railway station, this building doesn't look like much. But this is exactly where five members of an elite People's Liberation Army group codenamed Unit 61398 were assigned to hack into some of the largest companies in the United States of America.
According to an indictment unveiled on Monday, "the co-conspirators used email messages known as 'spearfishing' messages to trick unwitting recipients into giving the co-conspirators access to their computers”.
Apple announces long-awaited deal to bring iPhones to China Mobile
It’s been a long time coming, but finally Apple announces it has entered into a multi-year agreement to bring the iPhone to China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network.
As part of the agreement, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available from China Mobile's extensive network of retail stores, as well as Apple’s own retail locations across mainland China, beginning on Friday, January 17, 2014. Pre-registration to get a handset will begin 25 December.
Tablets devastate laptop market
The white box battle is on, and laptops are losers. The big trend in tablets isn't iPad, contrary to public convention, but non-big-brand slates, which account for one-third of shipments, according to NPD DisplaySearch. Their success is good for Android, bad for Apple and worse for notebooks.
The early DOS/Windows PC market succeeded largely because of clones (like those from Compaq) and white label/box manufacturers and build-your-own enthusiasts. BYO isn't a tablet trend, but white box is, and its greatest impact is growth markets PC manufacturers count on -- or at least did.
What is Bing's China problem?
A few weeks ago, while doing a bit of research for a story, I had occasion to visit the Bing search page. More importantly to this article, it was the Chinese version of Bing. Over the following days I forgot about this brief foray into Asia, but my web browser remembered.
When I return to Bing several days later I am defaulted to the China site -- it still says I am on www.bing.com, but all information is displayed in Chinese characters, which Chrome helpfully translates on the fly. I close the tab, re-open and try again with the same results. I close Chrome and try again -- still nothing.
'Slightly closed Android ecosystem could be reality by the end of 2015'
That's the prediction Aapo Markkanen, ABI senior analyst, makes today. It's the right call, as Larry Page starts his third year returning as Google CEO. Page resumed duties on April 4, 2011, and the company's direction took a hard turn. Business is more aggressive, altruistic goals less and so-called openness a waning thing. As I asserted a year ago, "Google has lost control of Android". That Page and Company would try to wrestle back control is no surprise.
Facebook Home is good reason. The user interface debuting April 12 takes over the more app-centric Android homescreen, putting the social network first before anything else, including Google+. Facebook's OEM program could put Home on many more devices. HTC already is on board with the First smartphone. Then there is Samsung, which during fourth quarter accounted for 42.5 percent of all Android handset sales, according to Gartner. TouchWiz, which gets a big update with forthcoming Galaxy S4, is the user experience -- not that determined by stock Android. These are but two examples of many.
Microsoft opens new online store in virtual Chinese mall
Microsoft is making another attempt to get into the Chinese market by way of something other than piracy. China is the world's largest market for computers, but many of the customers run pirated versions of software, including Windows and other Microsoft products. Now the company is attempting to provide users with a legitimate way to get their hands on its wares, and not just software.
In October 2012 Microsoft opened a version of its online store in the Chinese language, and now Tmall, one of largest online shopping malls in the People's Republic of China, has just added an official Microsoft retail point.
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