Windows 8 ‘Grace Period’ Ends

Microsoft has halted the 30-day grace period, a trademark of Windows 7, in the retail copies of Windows 8, requiring that users provide a product key during setup.

The change runs counter to previous practice by the Redmond, Wash. developer. With Windows 7, for example, users could run the OS for 30 days before activating the copy by providing a legitimate key.

That “grace period” was used by some to evaluate the software prior to purchasing, to save up to $100 by using an “upgrade” license to install the OS on a newly-formatted hard drive, and to create physical partitions or virtual machines for quick testing purposes.

Because Windows 8 handles activation differently, the grace period has been eliminated.

As several blogs have noted, customers must enter a unique product key — a 25-character alpha-numeric string — to proceed during Windows 8 setup. Failure to do so stops the process in its tracks. The Consumer Preview and Release Preview used this technique too, although Microsoft provided users a generic key for those sneak peeks.

Once Windows 8 is installed — assuming the machine is connected to the Internet — it automatically seeks out a Microsoft server to verify that the key is valid and then activates the OS. “If the licensed computer is connected to the Internet, the software will automatically connect to Microsoft for activation,” states the end-user licensing agreement, or EULA, for Windows 8 Pro.

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Chase Building 1/2 Billion Dollar Data Center

The enthusiastic backer of Enron and serial over charger of  mortgage payers, JPMorgan Chase has just splashed out on a new $500 million data center.

CEO Jamie Dimon announced the move which practically everyone in the IT industry finds a bit strange. While Chase is the US’s largest bank, the new facilities are a little big by anyone’s standard. It is about the same about of money that Google and Microsoft in their largest data centres for their cloud networks.

Dimon cited the figure as one of the advantages of being a big size. It can afford to invest cash in this way. Size lets Chase build a $500 million data centre that speeds up transactions and invest billions of dollars in products like ATMs and apps that allow your iPhone to deposit cheques, he enthused.

JPMorgan Chase operates two large data centres in Delaware and a 400,000 square foot facility. It also acquired data centres in its deals for distressed rivals Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in the early days of the 2008 financial crisis. So why it needs a huge new one is anyone’s guess.

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Will Microsoft Sell The Surface RT For $199?

Microsoft’s Surface for Windows RT tablet will sell for $199 when it ships on Oct. 26, according to an unidentified source in an Engadget story.

At that price, Microsoft would surely be selling below its costs, analysts said. However, Microsoft could take the loss in hopes of making up revenues on apps and media sales for the device.

Also, Microsoft would be trying to make an impact against the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire sold at the same $199 price, since Microsoft arrived arrived late to the tablet game.

Engadget said it learned the price from an inside source at Microsoft’s recent Tech Ready15 conference, where launch details for Surface were announced.

Microsoft said the Surface tablet would be priced in-line with Windows RT tablets from other makers such as Asus, which hasn’t announced a price. However, given the components in the Surface and other Windows RT tablets, analysts have suggested it could cost more than $600.

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Toshiba Cancels Windows Tablet

Toshiba on Tuesday officially confirmed what Microsoft recently hinted at: It won’t be delivering a Windows RT-based tablet anytime soon.

“Toshiba has decided not to introduce Windows RT models due to delayed components that would make a timely launch impossible,” the Japanese electronics company said in a statement to Bloomberg earlier today. “For the time being, Toshiba will focus on bringing Windows 8 products to market. We will continue to look into the possibility of Windows RT products in the future while monitoring market conditions.”

Last June, Toshiba showed two Windows RT-based concepts — a tablet with a docking station and a “clamshell” design that resembled a keyboard-equipped ultralight notebook — at Computex. The devices were not operational, however.

Based on those concept devices, most had included Toshiba in the slowly-growing list of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) that were believed to be preparing Windows RT hardware for launch this year or early next.

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Ford Dealers Get iPad App

Ford dealers now have an iPad app they can access to quickly check available inventory and offer product information to help out customers in their showrooms.

Also included in the Showcase app is video content on car features that sales personnel can show to customers on an iPad as they shop at a dealership.

Michelle Moody, cross vehicle marketing manager for Ford, said the company started considering the app in early 2011 to improve the car-buying experience.

The app builds on the Ford.com website, which allows for configuring and comparing vehicles. Sales personnel can use the iPad app to determine what features a customer wants and then immediately check inventory to find a vehicle in stock that most closely matches those needs, Ford said in a statement.

Videos on the app can explain a variety of features such as Sync and active parking assistance, along with other features such as a lane-keeping system that Ford said might not be easy to showcase during a test drive.

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Is Acer Threatened By The Surface?

Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer has suggested that Microsoft Corp should reconsider its planned venture into the tablet market, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Acer Chairman and Chief Executive J.T. Wang, said Microsoft’s plans to launch its own “Surface” tablet in October would be “negative for the worldwide ecosystem” in computing.

Microsoft’s “Surface” tablet would enter the market in direct competition with Acer’s “Iconia” or Hewlett-Packard Co’s “TouchPad” tablets.

“We have said think it over. Think twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice,” Wang is quoted as saying.

For the past two decades, Microsoft and personal computer makers have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship.

Campbell Kan, Acer’s president for personal computer global operations, said the company was debating internally how to respond to the Surface.

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ID Theft Projected To Cost $21B

A new audit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has discovered that the agency paid refunds to criminals who filed fraudalent tax returns, in some cases on behalf of people who had died, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), which is part of the U.S. Treasury.

The IRS stands to lose as much as US$21 billion in revenue over the next five years due to identity theft, according to TIGTA’s audit, dated July 19 but publicized on Thursday.

TIGTA noted that the IRS did not agree with the $21 billion figure, but wrote that the figure does include estimated savings from new fraud control filters. Without new controls, TIGTA estimated losses of $26 billion.

Part of problem is that the IRS is not gathering enough data about fraud trends, such as how a return was filed, income information from W-2 forms, the amount of refunds and where those refunds were sent, TIGTA said.

“We found that $8.1 million in potentially fraudulent tax refunds involved tax returns filed from one of five addresses,” the audit said.

The IRS said it detected 938,664 fake tax returns during the 2011 processing year, which would have cost $6.5 billion. While TIGTA said the figure was “substantial,” it believes the IRS doesn’t know how many identity thieves are filing bogus returns and how much money is lost.

The IRS has implemented new fraud detection measures, but TIGTA found that institutional procedures were undermining those efforts. For example, taxpayers can begin filing returns in mid-January, but third parties that have information linked to those tax returns do not have to file until March 31.

The IRS is contacting some taxpayers to verify their identity. That simple measure stopped the issuance of $1.3 billion in potentially fraudulent tax returns as of April 19, TIGTA said.

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Huawei Investigating Security Flaws

Huawei Technologies said on Thursday it was investigating claims that its routers contained critical vulnerabilities, after security researchers disclosed alleged problems last.

“We are aware of the media reports on security vulnerabilities in some small Huawei routers and are verifying these claims,” Huawei said in an email. The company added it uses “rigorous security strategies and policies” to protect the networks of its customers, while following industry standards and best practices concerning security.

“Huawei has established a robust response system to address product security gaps and vulnerabilities,” the company said. The company is also calling on industry to promptly report all product security risks so that the problems can be addressed and fixed, it said in its email.

The alleged security vulnerabilities were disclosed at the Defcon hackers conference this past Sunday by two security researchers. The vulnerabilities were found in the firmware of Huawei AR18 and AR29 series routers, which once exploited through the flaws, could be taken over via the Internet.

One of the researchers, Felix Lindner the head of security firm Recurity Labs, described the security of the Huawei devices he analyzed as “the worst ever”, and said there were bound to be more security flaws with the products.

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at@t Wants More

AT&T plans to buy NextWave Wireless, a holder of spectrum that could be used for mobile data services, for about $600 million.

NextWave owns licenses for spectrum in both the WCS (Wireless Communications Services) and the AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) band. AT&T said in a press release it plans to use that spectrum to feed “skyrocketing” demand for mobile data, but it will have to wait for an ongoing Federal Communications Commission review before it can take advantage of the WCS band.

The FCC auctioned WCS spectrum in 1997, but it has not been used for mobile data because of rules designed to prevent interference with satellite users in adjacent bands, AT&T said. In June, AT&T and satellite radio company Sirius XM filed a proposal to the FCC for using WCS while protecting the nearby satellite users, but the agency is still reviewing that plan. If it is approved, AT&T hopes to start using the WCS band in about three years.

The NextWave deal is only the latest in a series of moves by big mobile operators to secure more spectrum. AT&T characterized its proposed merger with T-Mobile USA last year, which was opposed by the FCC and other regulators, as first and foremost a deal to acquire spectrum. Verizon Wireless announced a deal earlier this year, which is still under FCC review, to acquire unused wireless licenses from major U.S. cable operators.

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PC Sales Takes Toll On Seagate

Seagate Technology Plc’s shares tumbled as much as 8 percent on Tuesday, after the hard disk drive (HDD) maker projected first-quarter revenue below estimates on slowing sales of personal computers.

The company has been hit by sluggish economic growth and shaky sales of PCs as consumers shift toward tablets and smartphones.

FBN Securities cut its price target on Seagate’s stock to $32, saying selling prices had started to decline from their peak levels after theThailand floods last year and inventory had started rising.

Seagate’s weak outlook follows an upbeat fiscal 2013 forecast from rival Western Digital Corp, which is banking on strong sales to big businesses.

The company forecast first-quarter sales of about $4 billion, below analysts’ estimates of $4.62 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

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