Can BlackBerry turn profitable by 2016? Check out what their CEO has to say

BlackBerry CEO John Chen: ‘If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the handset business’

BlackBerry CEO John Chen announced that he is ready to shift focus away from the handset division in a bid to turn BlackBerry profitable by 2016.

After announcing a three-year plan to turn things around for Blackberry earlier this year, CEO John Chen has stated that the organization would exit the handset business unless the division turns a profit. Chen said that Blackberry would instead focus on the corporate sector by offering “investments, acquisitions and partnerships.”

Chen did not divulge exact numbers, but did say that overall sales of 10 million units would be a minimum to make a profit. The manufacturer is not off to a great start, as it had recorded revenues for only 2 million handsets last quarter. However, the imminent launch of devices like the BlackBerry Z3 should see increased handset sales this quarter. The BlackBerry Z3 has been manufactured in collaboration with Foxconn and is designed for emerging markets. The Z3 features a 4.5-inch qHD screen, 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400, 1.5 GB RAM, 5 MP camera, 8 GB internal memory and a micro-SD card slot. The handset will likely be available for under $200, which is great value for the hardware it offers.

Even if BlackBerry does not sell 10 million units, the handset division will not be axed. To offset the revenue loss, Chen said that BlackBerry will focus on generating revenue from its QNX software and BBM instant-messaging service. He suggested that network security solutions were also being considered. “We are building an engineering team on the service side that is focused on security. We are building an engineering team on the device side that is focused on security. We will do some partnerships and we will probably, potentially do an M&A on security.”

Chen re-iterated that BlackBerry as a whole is on course to be profitable by 2016. He said that the organization would be cash-flow positive by February 2015, which if it occurs would be an achievement considering it lost $423 million this quarter. Chen also mentioned that long-term goals at BlackBerry included extending the platform to connect to all manner of connected devices.

“We are not only interested in managing BlackBerry devices. We are interested in managing all devices that you would like to speak to each other,” he said.

Today is the last day of support for Windows XP

Today is the last day of support for Windows XP
April 8 will be the last Patch Tuesday for the 12-and-a-half-year-old OS, but many institutional customers have negotiated for extended support.

The day that Microsoft first warned about in 2007 has finally arrived: it’s the last Patch Tuesday for Windows XP.

Microsoft’s stoic operating system was first introduced to the world in August 2001 — that’s still used by an estimated 27.7 percent of all PCs — will no longer be supported by Microsoft as of tomorrow. While this date has been known for approximately six years in order for users to make plans, the last set of patches does not address a critical zero day vulnerability in RTF files that allows for malware delivery (Microsoft will be issuing patches for newer versions of Windows and World).

But for many, support for Windows XP will be available for a year at a hefty price. Some enterprise level customers of Microsoft, which have an active Premier Support agreement with the company, can continue to have Microsoft support the operating system for another year. Microsoft hasn’t announced an exact figure for this stop-gap support, but Gartner reports that number to be in the $200-per-desktop range with a maximum fee of $5 million.

One of the customers paying for an additional year of support is the United Kingdom’s government. For approximately $9 million, the UK government will have an extra year of support for Windows XP as well as Office 2003 and Exchange 2003.

Microsoft has publicly confirmed that ”there is not a consumer equivalent” to this level of custom support being given to enterprises and the UK government.

Source: Microsoft

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Apple launches 8GB iPhone 5c, replaces iPad 2 with 16GB iPad 4

Apple launches 8GB iPhone 5c, replaces iPad 2 with 16GB iPad 4
Apple is changing things around in its product lineup with the launch of an 8GB iPhone 5c and the reintroduction of the iPad 4 as the entry-level iPad model.

Following a leak that revealed Apple’s plans to launch a cheaper iPhone 5c model, the Cupertino giant has launched the 8GB iPhone 5c in Europe. The lower-end model is available for 509 Euro (£429 in the UK), 60 euros cheaper than the 16GB model, in all the existing color options (white, pink, yellow, blue and green) and sports the same internals as the higher storage variants. Its unclear if (and when) the new model will launch in other markets, but given the disappointing sales of the iPhone 5c worldwide, it should only be a matter of time before availability extends outside Europe.

Meanwhile, the 16GB iPad 4 has replaced the three-year old iPad 2 as the base model in Apple’s tablet lineup. It is priced at $399 for the Wi-Fi model (same as the iPad 2) and $599 for the cellular variant, and both are available worldwide on Apple’s website and in retail stores, though only in 16GB flavor. As a refresher, the fourth-gen iPad packs Apple’s custom dual-core A6X processor, a 5 MP iSight camera, and 1.2 MP FaceTime camera, making it a considerably better option for those on a budget compared to the ageing iPad 2.

iOS 7.1 untethered jailbreak out of the question

It has been confirmed that the latest iOS firmware release kills the vulnerability exploited by evasi0n for iOS 7.x untethered jailbreak.

If searching for a new vulnerability takes as long as it did the last time around, then it seems that an iOS 7.1 untethered jailbreak is out of the question at least for a few months.

Only a couple of hours ago Apple finally released iOS 7.1. This firmware had been in beta stage for a few months now, and it was expected since then that it would kill the vulnerability, which it does. The belief grew stronger as every incremental update released after iOS 7.0 did not bring a patch for the vulnerability exploited by evasi0n jailbreak tool. iOS 7.0.6 was a recent incremental update that was focused solely on plugging security vulnerabilities, even it did not kill the jailbreak.

There’s no doubt in the fact that the fatal blow has been delivered by iOS 7.1. Well known iPhone hacker @MuscleNerd has confirmed that the inevitable has finally happened. The smart thing to do for those looking to retain their jailbreaks is to refrain from updating to iOS 7.1, because once you do that, its impossible to downgrade to iOS 7.0.6. Only iPhone 4 users can do that, since its bootrom exploit can be used to push jailbreak code. No other supported device can downgrade from iOS 7.1, and even they need to have the relevant SHSH blobs saved.

There’s no saying when an iOS 7.1 untethered jailbreak will be ready. Jailbreak developers will certainly look at the possibility, but its no secret that its getting harder and harder to find usable exploits as iOS progresses. The future of jailbreaking doesn’t seem to be too bright.

Report: ‘Watch Dogs’ will be 1080p on PS4, 960p on Xbox One and up to 4K on PC

Resolution and frame-rate specs for Watch Dogs have reportedly been unveiled, leading to obvious disparities between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions–further igniting the controversy surrounding the new in-game trailer.

It appears that Ubisoft’s press conference for the upcoming hit Watch Dogs led to more than just an official release date, as the reports of the game’s resolution differences have sent a fresh surge of division across the gaming sphere.

The frame rate and resolution differences have given more credence to the age old console battle, which suggests that one console is inferior due to the lower graphical resolution of many of its games. The reports indicate that both the Xbox One and PS4 will run Watch Dogs at 30 frames-per-second (which is understandable given the open-world elements), but there is a disparity between their resolutions.

Below are the purported resolutions for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC flavors of Watch Dogs, however these figures may be subject to change:

• PS4: 1080p at 30fps
• Xbox One: 960p at 30fps
• PC: Up to 4K with varying frame-rates

This news has already inflamed yet another “resolutiongate” quarrel, with both PlayStation and Xbox One fans defending their respective consoles in light of these figures. The lower native resolutions for Xbox One fall in line as the console uses a graphical upscaler to hit 1080p resolution, and most gamers won’t really notice it during gameplay (this of course varies on a game-to-game basis), leaving some to conclude that the arguments are trivial matters.

This isn’t the only bit of news that has caused the community to quarrel: Ubisoft’s recent story trailer for Watch Dogs has sent both sides into disarray. The trailer, which had been leaked before Ubisoft put it up, has been met with near-universal disfavor due to the apparent lowered quality.

Gamers from all over have voiced their opinions and lambasted Ubisoft for delivering in-game footage which apparently has dropped in fidelity, especially since the publisher has had months of extra development time due to the game’s delay. The community feels that the footage doesn’t aptly depict the same Watch Dogs game that was showcased at E3, leading a few to believe that Ubisoft has dropped the ball entirely.

An infamous NeoGAF denizen, Ahsan “Thuway” Rasheed, recently claimed that Ubisoft is quite concerned about the community’s recent backlash on the trailer’s footage:

It’s fair to say that Ubisoft has a decent amount riding on Watch Dogs, as anticipation for the release has been growing and growing in the last few months. With this recent debacle, however, that staggering excitement may be in the danger of toppling unless the company handles their responses the right way.

While Ubi has a ton of hit franchises (such as the Assassin’s Creed line), Watch Dogs has been a fresh new endeavor and negative reception may in turn affect further games such as The Division–another upcoming next-gen title. The initial screenshots and footage for The Divisionmirror the quality from the early footage of Watch Dogs, and gamers may make the same assumptions that the former will suffer from downgraded res drops and avoid it altogether.

On the flip side of the coin, several industry figures have affirmed that Watch Dogs looks and feels the way a next-gen game should.

Tessa Vilyn, Ubisoft’s PR and Event Manager, Tweeted that the game looks “incredible”, and that there is no downgrade:

Vilyn was also seen Tweeting that Watch Dogs looks “amazing, and true next gen”.

Jonathan Morin, Creative Director for Watch Dogs, weighed in on the next-gen quality of the game. According to Morin, the PC version won’t be a massive leap above the Xbox One and PS4 versions:

It’s only natural for Ubisoft employees and those attached to the project to praise the game, and in an effort for “damage control” of sorts, Ubi held a live stream for Watch Dogs earlier today. Unfortunately it appears that the stream was able to redeem the game as the footage only went to fan the flames.

The general consensus appears to be that gamers feel that Ubisoft lied and willingly subverted the actual quality of the game, instead showcasing PC-level graphics for many trailers. This is a pretty commonplace practice for TV-spots and trailers, however some note that the downgrades are so severe that the actual console versions weren’t showcased for that same reason.

It’ll be interesting to see how Ubisoft handles this quarrel over the next few days, or if they will let the game’s quality speak for itself–which could be a risky move if it is, in fact, downgraded in visual quality. This may not be enough to mar the projected sales for Watch Dogs, as the game still looks like a blast, and we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see more of the game in action.

Watch Dogs is scheduled for a release on current and next-gen consoles on May 27, 2014. For more information be sure to head on over to the game’s official website.

Razer creates first mechanical switch designed for gaming

Razer creates first mechanical switch designed for gaming
Gamers now have a mechanical switch they can call their own.

The Razer Mechanical Switch is the first mechanical switch that is designed for gaming. Built from scratch at Razer, the switch features an actuation distance that is within a fraction of a millimetre. Here’s the official announcement that details the changes:

After extensive research, Razer’s multi-award winning engineers identified the optimal actuation distance for a gaming switch to a fraction of a millimeter and reduced the distance between the actuation and reset point by almost half to allow for faster, more precise gaming commands when compared to standard mechanical switches. Furthermore, the all-new Razer Mechanical Switches are made using an ultra-precise manufacturing technique that, along with gold plated contact points, result in a lifespan of up to 60 million key strokes.

Razer won’t manufacture the switch itself, but will have a team of quality assurance engineers at manufacturing facilities that will ensure that its standards are adhered to. The gaming accessory maker claimed that while the current Cherry MX switches were widely used, they were suitable for gaming.

Razer’s co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan says that the goal was to fine-tune the mechanical switch for gaming. “Our engineers’ focus for the specification was on speed, accuracy and durability to bring the unfair advantage to gamers worldwide.”

There will be two variants of the Razer Mechanical Switch: A clicky version called Razer Green that requires an actuation force of 50 g and a silent switch that requires 45 g actuation, which will be called Razer Orange. It is hard to not see the similarities between Razer’s mechanical switch variants and the Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Brown. The MX Blue also requires the same amount of actuation and offers good tactile feedback, while the MX Brown is designed to be quiet. Razer does claim that its switches were good for 60 million keystrokes, but Cherry’s MX switches are also highly durable, with a claimed longevity of 50 million keystrokes.

We have to wait and see for the first batch of keyboards to launch to discern if there is any actual difference offered by the Razer Mechanical Switch at least as far as gaming is concerned, or if it is just another marketing gimmick.

Source: Razer