CHINESE WOMAN ELECTROCUTED WHILE USING iPHONE5 WHEN CHARGING!!

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Apple Inc is investigating an accident in which a Chinese woman was killed by an electric shock when answering a call on her iPhone 5 while it was charging, the U.S. technology company said on Monday.

Last Thursday, Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old woman from China's western Xinjiang region and a flight attendant with China Southern Airlines, was electrocuted when she took a call on the charging mobile telephone, the official Xinhua news agency quoted police as saying on Sunday.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter," Apple said in an e-mail.

Apple declined to comment on details, such as whether this was an isolated case.

Ma's sister tweeted on Sina's microblog saying that Ma collapsed and died after using her charging iPhone 5 and urged users to be careful, a message that went viral on the site.

In April, Apple apologized to Chinese consumers and altered iPhone warranty policies in its second-biggest market after its after-sales service suffered more more than two weeks of condemnation by the state-run media.

Samsung to buy 3% stake in Japanese rival Sharp

Samsung Electronics has agreed a deal to buy a 3% stake in struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp for 10.4bn yen ($110m; £75m).

Sharp has been trying to restructure its operations amid mounting losses.
However, it has found it tough to raise money after its credit rating was cut to "junk" status last year.
Analysts said the investment from Samsung, the world's biggest TV maker, was likely to provide a boost to Sharp's efforts to revive its business.
"For Sharp, this is good news from all fronts," said Gerhard Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan in Tokyo.
"Not only can Samsung help Sharp smooth its production and operations, it can also become a key customer of Sharp's products, especially flat screens," he added.
His views were backed by a statement from the South Korean firm which said that the deal would help to "lay a firm foundation for Samsung to secure a steady supply of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels from diversified sources".
Earlier in the day, shares in Sharp had jumped following reports that such a deal was set to be announced.
Its shares rose as much as 17% to 350 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, before closing at 341 yen.

Sharp's fortunes, like that of other Japanese electronics makers, have been hurt by a decline in global demand and falling prices of TVs.

It has forecast a loss of 450bn yen for the year to 31 March 2013.
The firm has announced a series of measures, including cutting 5,000 jobs or just under 10% of its workforce, in an attempt to cut costs.
It has also been looking for potential investors to help with its revival plan. However, some of those deals have been tough to negotiate.
Last year, Sharp agreed a deal to sell a stake of about 10% to Taiwan's Hon Hai for $800m.
The deal was announced in March with the Taiwanese firm agreeing to pay Sharp 550 yen per share.
But Sharp's shares fell as much as 70% in the subsequent months and the deal has yet to be concluded.
Though Sharp shares have recovered some of those losses, they are still trading well below the 550 yen mark and there are concerns that the deal may not happen at all.
There have also been reports that Hon Hai has asked for a seat on Sharp's board of directors in exchange for the investment, something that the Japanese firm is not seen as too keen to accept.
Meanwhile, Samsung has stated that it will have "no involvement in Sharp's business management in any way or form".
Analysts said that the South Korean firm's decision not to ask for a greater say in Sharp's day-to-day operations had played a key role in securing this deal.
"Hon Hai tried to have a strong influence on the way in which Sharp is run, that was a major stumbling block," said Mr Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan.
"Samsung has managed to avoid such a deal breaker."
Late last year, there were also reports of chipmaker Intel being keen to invest as much as 40bn yen in Sharp.

GHANA launches IT 'CITY' Project

Ghana's President John Mahama has launched a project to build a $10bn (£6.6bn) IT hub near the capital, Accra, within three years.

Dubbed Hope City, it will have Africa's tallest building, at a height of 270m (885ft), an investor says.
It will be built on empty land and will employ about 50,000 people and house 25,000 people, the investor adds.
In January, Kenya unveiled plans to build an "Africa's Silicon Savannah" within 20 years at a cost of $14.5bn.
Kenya's Konza Technology City, about 60km (37 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, is supposed to create more than 200,000 jobs by 2030. 

Mr Mahama said the private sector would spearhead the building of Hope City.

"Government has led growth since independence with all the major investments... The time has come for the private sector to take over," he said at the project's launch.
"We can see that already in several sectors, including ICT [information, communications and technology] and telecom."
The head of local technology giant RLG Communications, Roland Agambire, told the BBC that his company was investing in Hope City with the aim of making Ghana globally competitive.
"What we are trying to do here is to develop the apps [applications] from scratch," he said.
"This will enable us to have the biggest assembling plant in the world to assemble various products - over one million within a day," he said.
The IT hub would be made up of six towers, including a 75-storey, 270m-high tower, "the highest in Africa", RLG Communications says on its website.
"Hope City will provide work for 50,000 people and will host 25,000 inhabitants," it adds.
It would include an IT university, a residential area, a hospital, as well as social and sporting amenities, the BBC's Sammy Darko reports from Accra.

Get an Email Alert (with Picture) When Someone Tries to Log into your Computer

You have a feeling that someone else used your computer (or at least made an attempt to login) while you were out for a quick coffee break. Maybe that colleague with whom you share the cubicle knows your password or he made a few guesses before finally giving up.
How do you get notified when such an attempt is made to intrude into your computer?
A new website (made in Turkey) called MouseLock.co may have a simple solution here. They will send you an email alert as well as a picture of the intruder as soon as someone tries to use your computer.

Here’s how Mouse Lock works.
You sign-in with your Google Account (they’ll send the alert to your Gmail address) and then select a secret pin on the screen. Next, put your mouse cursor in a designated area on the Mouse Lock website and leave the machine.
Now when someone moves the mouse, they will also have to enter the original pin. If they fail to do that in the first few seconds, Mouse Lock will send you an email and, if the computer has a webcam, it will use that to also snap a picture of the intruder.
Mouse Lock won’t prevent the intrusion but will at least notify you the minute it happens. And best of all, this a web app and thus requires no installation.
Internally, the site uses jQuery (mouseLeaveEvent) to detect mouse movements while the webcam photographs are captured using the getUserMedia() API currently supported in Chrome and Firefox.

GADGET REVIEW: SONY PERSONAL 3D VIEWER

Enter a world of immersive entertainment

Light and comfortable, the Personal 3D Viewer is a head-mounted display for High Definition 2D and 3D viewing with virtual 5.1 surround sound. Perfect for movies and gaming, its twin OLED screens display vividly sharp images to absorb you in a truly personal experience.

 

Sharp, smooth and vivid OLED displays

Dedicated, high response Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) screens for each eye completely eliminates image interference, reproducing deep colour tones and high contrast. Each screen smoothly displays sharply defined 2D and 3D images without blurring.

Create your perfect viewing experience

With the 24p True Cinema feature you can watch films exactly as the director intended for the big screen, at 24 frames per second – the authentic frame rate for movies. Or if you’re a keen gamer, select clear mode for smoother, sharper, blur-free action sequences.

Lose yourself in 5.1 surround sound

Built-in technology reproduces a 360º sound field, as if the acoustic source originates from ambient speakers to simulate true 5.1 surround sound. Combined with Harmonic Equalizer technology, which enhances digitally compressed audio, the effect is a rich audio experience.

Totally adjustable for personal comfort

Weighing just 330g, the Personal 3D Viewer is designed for comfort. It features a highly adjustable headband and forehead support for a secure yet gentle fit with maximum ease. Combined with engrossing sound and vision, you’ll forget you’re wearing a head mounted display.

FeaturesHMZ-T2

• Full High Definition quality images - Experience 2D and 3D games and movies in Full HD quality, with clear, bright images projected in cinematic widescreen
• Watch smooth 2D and 3D images - Dedicated, high response OLED screens for each eye smoothly display 2D and 3D images without the blurring of image cross-talk
• Enjoy crisp, clear 360º audio - Experience everything in virtual 5.1 surround sound as you play movies or games
• 24p True Cinema for an authentic experience - With the 24p True Cinema feature you can watch films at 24 frames per second – the authentic frame rate for big screen movies
• Clear mode to reduce motion-blur - If you’re a gamer, you’ll love the clear mode setting, optimises and enhances lost frames for great clarity of high-speed action
• Use your own headphones - Use your favourite wired or wireless headphones or inner-ear phones with the Personal 3D Viewer to fully enjoy its amazing sound
• Adjustable for comfort and performance - For optimum comfort, headband and forehead supports are fully adaptable, with adjustable screen lenses for precise 3D viewing
• Tailor your experience with personal sound modes - Enhance your movie and gaming experience with a choice of pure audio, surround sound, cinema, gaming or 2.0 channel sound modes
• Wide field of vision with 45° optical display - The 45° viewing angle fully expands your field of view to immerse you in rich HD visuals and a truly widescreen cinema experience
• Light shields for more private, immersive viewing - The Personal 3D Viewer features detachable and adjustable light shields for greater privacy and total involvement in your viewing experience

Sony to make last MiniDisc stereo system in March

Sony has announced it is to deliver its last MiniDisc stereo next month.

It marks an end to the firm's support for the system which it launched in 1992.

The format only ever had limited success outside of Japan and was ultimately doomed by the rise of recordable CDs and MP3 players.

The news coincided with a teaser video released by the company promoting a PlayStation event with the caption: Be the first to know.

SAMSUNG;APPLE NOKIA AND THE SMARTPHONE DOGFIGHT

In little over 24 hours we have seen results from three of the biggest players in smartphones - which may now be the world's most important industry.

Samsung, Apple and Nokia each have given us plenty of new figures to chew on - and that helps us map this fast-changing landscape a little more clearly.
Samsung So famous is Samsung for smartphones that it is sometimes hard to remember that the Korean giant is a vast industrial conglomerate making everything from refrigerators to semiconductors. But it is clear from stunning fourth quarter results which saw profits rise 87% on the previous year to 8.84tn Korean won ($8.3bn; £5.26bn) that it is smartphones which are powering Samsung's rise.
The phone division contributed more than half of that profit, remarkable when you think how much bigger other divisions of the business are. The company doesn't break out smartphone sales figures, but analysts reckon it sold 63.5 million in the quarter, with 40 million coming from the Samsung Galaxy S3.
With its "phablet", the unfeasibly large Galaxy Note also proving an unlikely hit, Samsung looks well placed to extend its lead in the market in 2013. There is however a cautionary note: the company warns that as the market reaches saturation in developed countries and competition increases in developing countries, profits will be harder to come by.
Apple Apple also produced what would in any other context be seen as remarkable results, with profits of $13bn (£8.24bn) in 13 weeks - about the same as it made in 14 weeks in the last quarter of 2011.
48 million iPhones were sold, outpacing the Samsung Galaxy S3, and each of those phones made more money than a Galaxy. Apple is even more dependent for profits on smartphones than Samsung, and that is perhaps why the market responded by sending its shares down 10%.
The same note of caution about market saturation and increasing competition in developing markets applies to the iPhone, although it sold well in China in the last quarter.
Apple still takes a vast share of the mobile phone industry's profits - but how much longer can that last without some radical new innovation?
Nokia Nokia knows how rapidly the landscape can shift in the mobile industry, and how hard it can be to make profits from smartphones.
But, after a terrible year, the outlook brightened in its latest figures which showed a modest return to profit. Over the year as a whole, smartphones sales were down 55%, but they rose 26% in the last quarter.
Nokia's embattled CEO Stephen Elop latched on to the performance of the flagship Lumia range, with sales of 4.4 million providing evidence that the Windows-based phones were at last making an impact.
But one figure buried in the accounts shows how hard it was for Nokia to win those sales - the average selling price of its smartphones was €186 (£158). Compare that with the $641 (£406) that Apple recouped from each iPhone in the last quarter, from 10 times as many sales, and you can see what a chasm the Finnish company still has to cross to offer real competition to the market leaders.
So, Samsung and Apple are still top dogs in the market smartphones, but Nokia is now looking a little better placed to challenge for the number three position.
Next week, the landscape could change again with the launch of Blackberry 10, and then in February the Mobile World Congress will see Chinese firms like Huawei pushing for a pace at the smartphone table.
For consumers, there is the prospect of more choice and lower prices, for the phone-makers an increasingly desperate fight to claim their share of the cake. it will be fun to watch.

culled from bbc technews