Nigeria election: Muhammadu Buhari wins

His opponent, Goodluck Jonathan, has conceded defeat and called Gen Buhari to congratulate him on his victory.
Gen Buhari was ahead of Mr Jonathan by at least three million votes.
Observers have generally praised the election but there have been allegations of fraud, which some fear could lead to protests and violence.
However, a spokesman for Gen Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) party praised Mr Jonathan, saying: "He will remain a hero for this move. The tension will go down dramatically."
"Anyone who tries to foment trouble on the account that they have lost the election will be doing so purely on his own," the spokesman added in quotes carried by Reuters.
This is a hugely significant moment in Nigeria's history - never before has a sitting president lost an election, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Abuja.
For the first time, many Nigerians feel they have the power to vote out a government that is not performing well, our correspondent adds.
Nigeria has suffered from several attacks by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in its drive to establish an Islamic state.
Many voters have said that they believe Gen Buhari is better positioned to defeat Boko Haram. intellicore.blogspot.com

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Linux’s worst-case scenario: Windows 10 makes Secure Boot mandatory, locks out other operating systems

Microsoft unveiled new information about Windows 10 at its WinHEC conference in China today, and the news is deeply concerning to anyone who values the ability to run non-Microsoft operating systems on their own hardware. Like Windows 8, Windows 10 will ship with support for the UEFI Secure Boot standard — but this time, the off switch (previously mandatory) is now optional.

Let’s back up and review what Secure Boot is. As the name implies, Secure Boot is a security measure that’s meant to protect PCs from certain types of malware that are typically loaded before the OS boot process has begun. With Secure Boot active, the UEFI checks the cryptographic signature of any program that it’s told to load, including the OS bootloader.

The image above shows the conventional boot process compared with the Secure Boot process. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with Secure Boot, and multiple Linux distros support the capability. The problem is, Microsoft mandates that Secure Boot ships enabled. This caused panic in the open source community back in 2011, since the firmware is configured with a list of signed, acceptable keys when the user receives the system. If an alternative OS bootloader isn’t signed with an appropriate key on a Secure Boot-enabled system, the UEFI will refuse to boot the drive.

Microsoft defused the situation back then by mandating that all x86 systems ship with the ability to disable Secure Boot, and by partnering with VeriSign to create a method of signing third-party binaries in exchange for a $99 fee. With Windows 10, the situation is changing.

How Windows 10 changes things

OEMs are still required to ship Secure Boot, but the previously mandatory disable switch is now optional, as Ars Technica reports. With Windows 8, MS had split the feature by CPU architecture — x86 chips had to offer a disable switch, but ARM chips didn’t. Now, the split is between desktop and mobile, where desktop users can choose to offer the option, but mobile devices must leave Secure Boot locked on.

Image courtesy of Ars Technica

What this means for the future of Linux and alternative OSes is unclear at best. Those who build their own desktops will retain the ability to disable Secure Boot, since Asus or MSI doesn’t know what kind of operating system you’re going to load on the board. But laptops are a different story. Some laptop vendors will undoubtedly continue to ship a “Disable” option on Secure Boot, but vendors like HP and Dell may simply decide that closing the attack vector is more important than user freedom, particularly when the margin on PCs is so low to begin with. When every support call is measured against the handful of dollars an OEM makes on each machine, eliminating the need for such interaction is extremely attractive.

It’s not clear, as of this writing, whether Linux and BSD distro developers will be able to sign their software and install to a Windows 10 system with Secure Boot enabled or not. Regardless, it’s difficult not to see this as another step along the long, slow journey of locking down PC hardware and making it more difficult for end users to control their own software. Psychological research has long confirmed the power of default settings — ship something enabled (or disabled), and the vast majority of users will never change the option. Given that Windows machines were already required to enable Secure Boot by default, where’s the security benefit in making the kill switch optional?

As far as we can tell, there isn’t one.

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Windows 10 to get biometric sensor support with ‘Windows Hello’

When it launches later this year, Windows 10 will include software support for Windows Hello, but it sounds like you’re going to need some specific hardware to take full advantage of it. Fingerprint readers are well-established, so any computer mobile device that has the necessary hardware will be able to use the built-in Windows Hello security features. The face and iris scanning, on the other hand, are probably going to require a new computer or add-on.Microsoft is trying to move beyond the password with Windows 10 using a new feature called Windows Hello. That’s the blanket term Redmond is using to describe a set of biometricidentification technologies, including facial recognition, iris scanning, and fingerprint readers. These features will also be extended into the online world with Microsoft Passport to save you from ever typing a password again. Okay, maybe not ever, but hopefully less often.

The facial recognition engine is based on technology used in the Kinect Xbox camera. It relies on IR illumination to capture more points of reference on the face and operate in a wider range of lighting conditions. It can even see past a beard or makeup that might confuse other systems. Microsoft says the system is very good at only unlocking for you, but what about a photograph of you? The IR camera should also be able to tell the difference between a real face and the photo. By comparison, the Trusted Face system on newer Android phones can still be fooled by a picture of the owner.

Iris scanning will also require specialized hardware, but I imagine this will be less common in the consumer space. Device makers will be able to integrate front-facing IR cameras on phones and mobile devices that can scan irises as well as faces, but it will probably be an added expense most people don’t need.

Microsoft is also working to make Hello an important part of the Microsoft Passport single sign-in service. So, let’s say you’ve got a Windows 10 PC with a front-facing IR camera and facial recognition set up. After the machine verifies that you are indeed who you claim to be, it will automatically authenticate with Passport. Any site, app, or service that integrates Passport should then allow you immediate access from that device without typing a password.

Passport doesn’t have to transmit your face or fingerprint anywhere to log you into websites, though. All the recognition happens locally first — then Passport cryptographically authenticates you with compatible services. If an Internet ne’er-do-well were to gain access to the information stored on a Passport-enabled website’s server, all they would get is your public encryption key, which isn’t of any use.

Microsoft is working with OEMs to make sure there are Hello-compatible systems available when Windows 10 launches. There will also be some advanced webcams like the Intel RealSense F200 that can be plugged into existing computers to allow face and iris scanning.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 vs. HTC One M9: Design matters

Samsung and HTC both know what it’s like to be the top Android device maker. Samsung currently occupies that position, but HTC is struggling to climb back from a tough couple of years. Samsung has stumbled in the past year, but the newly announcedGalaxy S6 is its chance to turn around slumping sales. At the same time, HTC is looking to keep its recent momentum going with the One M9. This year Samsung is changing it up dramatically, but HTC is staying the course. Let’s see how these 2015 flagships stack up.

Design and style

If you’ve held one Samsung phone, you’ve held them all, right? Light, somewhat cheap-feeling, and almost entirely plastic — that was Samsung’s modus operandi before mid-2014 when it became apparent Galaxy S5 sales were coming in significantly below expectations. It began tinkering with metal frames and tweaked designs, but the Galaxy S6 is more than a tweak.

While it retains that general Samsung aesthetic, the GS6 has virtually no plastic anywhere. The front (with its 5.1-inch screen) and back are both glass, and the frame is aluminum. No more of that painted chrome plastic for Samsung’s flagship. There are two versions of the GS6, one with a regular flat screen and another with a curved panel that slopes down at the edges. I don’t see the point of this personally, but it does look kind of neat. It might be annoying in practice, though.

On the face is a physical home button flanked by capacitive multitasking and back buttons. The fingerprint reader is now a touch sensor rather than swipe-based. The GS6 does bear a striking resemblance to the iPhone 6, but you can’t blame Samsung for doing what works. Samsung did, however, do a good job of slimming down the bezels from the GS5, which always felt rather clunky to me.

Samsung’s devices have always had two notable features — a removable battery and microSD card slot. The Galaxy S6 doesn’t have either. I find this strange, especially for Samsung, but it has bumped the base model’s storage to 32GB and will offer both 64GB and 128GB (wow) versions.

The Galaxy S6 has a lot in common with the HTC One M9. The M9 too is a sealed phone just like the M8 was. The battery doesn’t come out, but there is a microSD card slot. The Galaxy S6 looks much different than its predecessor, but HTC changed very little from the M8 to the M9. Again it’s a rounded unibody aluminum frame with a 5-inch screen (more on that later) and dual front-facing Boom Sound speakers. If you see the M9 from certain angles, you might not even be able to tell it from the M8.

HTC has made a few changes in the design, as an eagle-eyed observer will note. First, the black bezel at the bottom of the front has been shrunk a touch and the top-mounted power button has moved to the side. Some of the lines on the phone are also ever so slightly different as well. Around back there’s a single large camera sensor instead of the dual cameras from the M8.

So both phones will feel very premium, but the M9 will feel about the same as last year’s model did. Samsung changed a lot to catch up in the general look and feel department.

Batteries vs. screens

HTC and Samsung have both stuck with identical screen sizes from last year’s flagships. The GS6 is sporting a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED panel and the M9 has a 5-inch LCD. Samsung’s screen might be the same size, but the resolution has been bumped up to 2560×1440. HTC will use 1080p for the third year in a row, probably because 1440p LCD panels are still rather mediocre.

Samsung’s quad-HD AMOLED will pack in a lot more pixels in a smaller space than other phones. It works out to a staggering 576 pixels per inch. The One M9 will again offer a “mere” 440 pixels per inch. One of those numbers is definitely larger than the other, but there are very few instances where most people will be able to notice the difference in resolution. If you’ve got less than perfect vision, those extra pixels on the GS6 might be wasted anyway.

These screens are also based on completely different technologies. Samsung makes the best AMOLED screens in the world, and it shows. The panel used on the Note 4 was devastatingly gorgeous, and the GS6 will probably look even better. Samsung has overcome many of AMOLED’s issues like low brightness and inaccurate, too-warm colors. Meanwhile, LCD is a reliable technology that offers accurate colors and good outdoor visibility. HTC tends to choose very good LCD panels too.

So, it’s likely that Samsung has a more impressive screen on its flagship device, but the battery has only grown a little to 2550mAh (2600 in the Edge variant). It should get solid battery life, but HTC’s 1080p LCD will use much less juice in most instances and it packs a larger 2840mAh cell. That should translate to much better battery life with more screen-on time for HTC.

Both of these screens have their strengths, but it’s up to you to decide what’s most important — being pretty or lasting a long time.

Cameras

HTC first introduced the 4MP UltraPixel camera to the world in 2013 with the One M7. In 2014 it put out the M8 with another 4MP camera, but an additional depth sensor was added. The “Duo Camera” was mostly ignored by consumers, and this year HTC is going back to basics with a single high-resolution camera. The One M9 has a 20MP camera on the back and a 4MP UltraPixel sensor on the front.

The M9 has only just been announced, so it’s impossible to say how good the photos will be. At the very least HTC will have more to work with. At 4MP, you couldn’t crop a photo from the M8 even a little bit without seeing some blurring. It will come down to how well HTC has optimized the software and post-processing. However, one major knock against the M9 is the lack of optical image stabilization. That’s the technology that helps avoid blurriness in longer exposures from hand shaking.

Samsung has consistently been at the top of the heap when it comes to photography on Android. The hardware is almost the same across OEMs these days, but Samsung has some truly excellent software tricks that can pull above average images out of poorly lit environments. The HDR shots that come out of Samsung’s phones have also been excellent.

The Galaxy S6 will come equipped with a 16MP camera, which is the same as last year. Samsung uses phase detection to speed up focusing and promises the GS6 will be even faster than the Galaxy S5 was. It has optical image stabilization, which is good for pictures in low light and HDR. However, that makes the camera module a little thick, meaning there’s a noticeable hump on the back of the Galaxy S6.

Both these devices have the ingredients to take great pictures. HTC has a lot of ground to make up, though.

Internals and charging

Usually, there’s very little difference on the inside of flagship phones. They’re always using the latest and greatest from Qualcomm, but this year is a bit weird. Samsung allegedly encountered overheating issues with the Snapdragon 810 during the design phase, so it ditched Qualcomm’s chip in favor of its own in-house Exynos solution. HTC, on the other hand, didn’t have many options and has opted to use the Snapdragon 810 in the M9.

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Sony to launch PlayStation Vue IPTV in three US cities soon

Later this month, Sony will be launching PlayStation Vue in three major US markets. New York, Chicago and Philadelphia will receive access in the next two weeks, and the service will supposedly roll out to the rest of the US later in 2015. We still don’t know pricing and firm launch details, but if this gains enough traction, this could potentially turn Sony into a major player in the burgeoning business of IPTV.

Over at the Wall Street Journal, Sony’s Andrew House laid out some of the plans for the initial launch of PlayStation Vue. Unfortunately, the details remain fuzzy. For example, I live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, but not in Philadelphia itself. Will I be eligible for early access to Vue? I have no idea. How much will subscribers have to pay? No clue. Sony is staying mum on much of the nitty gritty, so it’s hard to gauge the value of this service just yet.

Later this month, Sony will be launching PlayStation Vue in three major US markets. New York, Chicago and Philadelphia will receive access in the next two weeks, and the service will supposedly roll out to the rest of the US later in 2015. We still don’t know pricing and firm launch details, but if this gains enough traction, this could potentially turn Sony into a major player in the burgeoning business of IPTV.

Over at the Wall Street Journal, Sony’s Andrew House laid out some of the plans for the initial launch of PlayStation Vue. Unfortunately, the details remain fuzzy. For example, I live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, but not in Philadelphia itself. Will I be eligible for early access to Vue? I have no idea. How much will subscribers have to pay? No clue. Sony is staying mum on much of the nitty gritty, so it’s hard to gauge the value of this service just yet.

Originally announced back in November of last year, PlayStation Vue is aimed directly at cord-cutters. With CBS, Discovery, FOX, NBC, Scripps, and Viacom on board as content partners, this actually has the potential to succeed. However, it needs to be the right content at the right price. If we’re talking $10 to $20 per month for all of Vue’s live and on-demand content, that’s definitely going to entice the cable-free among us. But if it ends up as a tiered service with the best content locked away behind $40 and $50 packages, it’ll be no better than traditional cable services. Sony really needs to get this right, or Vue will fade to the background like all of Sony’s past streaming efforts.

Initially, the PlayStation Vue service will be available on PS3 and PS4 consoles exclusively, but Sony doesn’t plan on keeping it exclusive for very long. An iPad app is in the works, and support for other devices has already been promised. It’s highly unlikely that it will ever come to the Xbox One, but Roku and Apple TV may well be in the realm of possibilities. After all, Sony isn’t in much of a position to turn away more revenue.

The PS4’s success is definitely a bright spot for Sony, but its flagging TV business and its lackluster digital storefronts have left the Tokyo-based company in a vulnerable position. Vue could be the next big thing or a giant flop. But it’s still way too early to tell.

Originally announced back in November of last year, PlayStation Vue is aimed directly at cord-cutters. With CBS, Discovery, FOX, NBC, Scripps, and Viacom on board as content partners, this actually has the potential to succeed. However, it needs to be the right content at the right price. If we’re talking $10 to $20 per month for all of Vue’s live and on-demand content, that’s definitely going to entice the cable-free among us. But if it ends up as a tiered service with the best content locked away behind $40 and $50 packages, it’ll be no better than traditional cable services. Sony really needs to get this right, or Vue will fade to the background like all of Sony’s past streaming efforts.

Initially, the PlayStation Vue service will be available on PS3 and PS4 consoles exclusively, but Sony doesn’t plan on keeping it exclusive for very long. An iPad app is in the works, and support for other devices has already been promised. It’s highly unlikely that it will ever come to the Xbox One, but Roku and Apple TV may well be in the realm of possibilities. After all, Sony isn’t in much of a position to turn away more revenue.

The PS4’s success is definitely a bright spot for Sony, but its flagging TV business and its lackluster digital storefronts have left the Tokyo-based company in a vulnerable position. Vue could be the next big thing or a giant flop. But it’s still way too early to tell.

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