software to stop hackers

Gil Shwed : When I started Check Point
in 1993, I found that the basic security
inside routers was not enough. Today
we still struggle to make security
smarter; that's the opposite of what
hardware does. Whenever there is a
new type of attack, we need to learn
how to analyze it and differentiate
between good connections and
hackers.
You had sales last year of $1.3
billion. What are your big markets?
Finance is probably the largest, and
then telecommunications. But we
have more than 100,000 customers,
from companies with 20 people to all
of the Fortune 100.

Smartphones as unlock tools?? This is hot

Smartphone users, kiss that bulky key ring goodbye. The August Smart Lock, from entrepreneur Jason Johnson and designer
Yves Béhar, leads a wave of new devices that automatically unlock the front door. Questions
abound: What if you lose
your phone? Can someone else use your phone to break into your
house? There are security features that address these concerns and more, and at least 30,000 people have reserved the device, available later this year.
Here's an inside look at, well, how it gets you inside.
    Unlike some of its competitors, August takes up just one side of the door. It replaces the thumb latch on the interior side of the existing deadbolt. That makes installing the lock a process that takes 10 minutes or less.
Energy-saving connectivity
Instead of a physical key, users
download a smartphone app that
securely communicates with the lock over a low-energy kind of Bluetooth. Options include having August autolock and unlock when users are feet away or tapping a virtual button to do the job.
Virtual keys, as you please
The best part? Users can easily grant access to friends and family with in-app invitations. The virtual keys can be customized to work during set hours or to expire after a specific date -- in case, say, the babysitter needs to get
in.

What's the extra cost in making a google phone in the U.S.???

Google made a big splash when it announced the Moto X , the new flagship phone of the company's Motorola division, will be manufactured in Texas. An
analysis of the smartphone's internal components by IHS iSuppli on Wednesday revealed that the Moto X costs between $3.50 and $4 more per
phone to make than the Apple iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4 -- both of which are assembled in China.
    "In spite of its 'Made in the USA' label, overall costs are still competitive with similar smartphones," said Andrew
Rassweiler, IHS' senior director of cost benchmarking services.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    It's a remarkable feat at a time when making gadgets and gizmos in the Far East has become the norm.
    Manufacturing high-profile devices in America has some precedent: Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook made the surprising announcement that some
of the company's Macintosh
production would be shifted to the
U.S. The Moto X is a nice
phone, but no one is predicting that it will sell anything close to the volume of iPhones or Galaxy S phones.
    Similarly, the Macintosh is by far the smallest of Apple's "core four" products in terms of unit sales. Apple sold 17 million Macs in the past four quarters, compared to 138 million iPhones.
And if you assume that it would also cost Apple an extra $4 a phone to make the iPhone in the U.S., that works out to added costs of $550 million -- a non-starter for a company already struggling to stem the tide of
shrinking profit margins . That
estimate also could be too low
because of possible costs involved to enhance domestic manufacturing facilities and train workers.
    But at $4 a phone, cost clearly isn't the only issue. The real stumbling blocks are speed and education . Unlike U.S. plants, Foxconn and other Chinese manufacturing operations house employees in dormitories and
can send hundreds of thousands of
workers to the assembly lines at a
moment's notice. Workers are
subjected to what most Americans
would consider unbearably long
hours and tough working conditions.
    That system gives tech companies the efficiency needed to race products out the door. Plus, most of the component suppliers for tech companies are also in China or other Asian countries. That gives companies
the flexibility to change a product
design at the last minute and still ship on time.
    China also has far more skilled
engineers than the United States
does. Apple has said it requires
30,000 industrial engineers to support its on-site factory workers -- numbers that simply don't exist in America.
    "There has to be a fundamental
change in the education system to
bring back some of this [labor]," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in an interview last year.

Apple stock may ride iPhone roller coaster

Apple's stock has dropped in the month after iPhone announcements
in five of the past six years. Will it
happen again?

    Think the next iPhone will
boost Apple's stock?

    It may initially but the gains may be short-lived. In five of the past six years, Apple's ( , Fortune
500 ) stock has ended up lower a
month after the new iPhone was
revealed. And in 2011 -- the one year that Apple's stock actually finished higher after an iPhone release -- it still pulled back sharply from its initial post-iPhone bump.

Apple ups its odds of gaining on Samsung in China

Apple has bigger designs on the biggest
smartphone market in the world.
New iPhones could help Apple catch up with
Samsung in China -- Samsung is now the single
largest smartphone player in that market -- if
two likely scenarios happen.
First, Apple announces a lower-cost iPhone,
rumored to be the 5C. That would provide a
better match for China's price-sensitive
consumers.
Second, Apple cuts a deal with China Mobile,
the biggest carrier in the largest smartphone
market in the world.
Apple's growth in China has been stunted, in
part, because it hasn't been able to strike a
deal with China Mobile and its 740 million
subscribers. (Apple lost market share in China
last quarter.) Talks continue -- Apple CEO Tim
Cook met with China Mobile Chairman Xi
Guohua in July -- but nothing definitive has
been announced.
Apple, however, could be in a better position
this time to move forward with China Mobile.
Reports out of Asia speculate that Apple's new
phones will better support China Mobile's
3G/4G network standards .
UBS forecasts that Apple could sell 17 million
iPhones through China Mobile next year, with
the bulk of those expected to be the 5C. That's
about 10 percent of UBS' projected total
iPhone sales, according to the Financial Times.
And things may be looking up with Apple's
current partners in China, China Telecom and
China Unicom. A recent report from Ifanr --
citing an unnamed source -- claimed that the
iPhone 5S and 5C have been certified by
China's Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology and that China Telecom and China
Unicom will release the two models in
September, earlier than a previously reported
November release date.
That's all just rumor, of course, but it may
indicate that Apple will be faster at releasing
new iPhones in China this time around.
While all of the above is potentially good news
for Apple, Samsung shipped 72.4 million
smartphones worldwide in the second quarter
compared with Apple's 31.2 million global
shipments, according to IDC.
A nontrivial chunk of those Samsung
shipments happened in China, where the
company is estimated to hold 19 percent of the
market, about 10 percentage points more than
Apple.
Apple's revenue in the most recent reported
quarter fell 14 percent year over year in Greater
China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Jamb concludes the first round of 2013/2014 admission list

The Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board
(JAMB) says it has
concluded the first round
of admissions into degree
awarding institutions.
A statement from the
board on Thursday said the
board was determined to
ensure compliance with
2013/2014 admission
calendar.
``Candidates who made
degree awarding
institutions as their first
choices or most preferred
are enjoined to check the
board’s Website -
www.jamb.org.ng and
print their admission
letters,’’ the statement
said.
It said the admissions were
done from Aug. 20 to Aug.
23 at a technical committee
meeting on admissions into
degree awarding
institutions for 2013/2014
academic session in Uyo,
Akwa Ibom.
Signed by the board’s
Head of Public Relations,
Mr Fabian Benjamin, it
said 109 degree awarding
institutions attended the
meeting while only 76 of
them submitted lists of
admitted candidates to the
board.
According to the
statement, the second
round of admissions will be
conducted from Sept. 23 to
Sept. 27 at Adeyemi
College of Education, Ondo,
for admissions into
polytechnics,
monotechnics, colleges of
education and innovative
enterprises institutions.
It further said that all
admissions into the
nation’s tertiary
institutions were expected
to close by October,
stressing that the
admissions were in
compliance with the
approved criteria. (NAN)

Nigeria: There Is No Need for ASUU to Continue Strike - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said there was no need for the Academic Staff Union of Universities to continue with their industrial action.
Jonathan said this at the inauguration of the Federal Government sponsored-Transformation Projects at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Represented by Prof. Ruqayyat Rufai, the Minister of Education, the president said N30 billion had been released for the payment of earned allowances in all public universities.
The president said that the inaugurated projects were in line with the Federal Government's commitment to providing quality education in the country.
He said the projects were based on the need assessment exercise conducted by the Federal Government in universities.
Jonathan urged the university administration to engage in research for national development, while stressing the need for proper maintenance of completed projects.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chidozie Asiabaka, in his speech, expressed joy at the completion of the structure.
Asiabaka noted that the projects had gone a long way in tackling the dearth of basic infrastructure in the school.
"The dearth of classrooms, lecture theatres, power supply, student hostels, office accommodation, library space and facilities are major challenges my administration faced when I assumed office two years-ago," he said.
The vice chancellor said with the intervention of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, the university got 1000 sitting-capacity lecture theatre, Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies Building.
He said the inaugurated projects are the new Engineering Technology, School of Environmental Technology Building, Centre for Nuclear Energy Studies and Training and the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology building complexes.
The others are the School of Environmental Technology building, landscaping of the campus and the provision of solar energy lights on the campus.
He also commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on the completion of the giant student hostel building in the university.
He lauded the Federal Government for the release of N1 billion for the development of capital projects in each public funded university.

Lagos buys back concensioned Lekki-Epe Expressway

    In a dramatic turn of event, the Lagos State government is buying back the concession rights it granted Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to reconstruct the popular Lekki-Epe Expressway.

    The concession right which would have seen LCC reconstructing the road towards Epe, with three different tolling points, had been a subject of controversy from the beginning – trailed by agitations and mass protests by the residents of the Lekki corridor, backed by civil rights groups.

    The concession agreement, which underpins the “Lagos Infrastructure Project”, was to involve upgrading and creating new road infrastructure along the first 49.4km of the Lekki-Epe Expressway (Phase I). Additional private sector finance was also to be deployed towards developing the first 20km of the coastal road with an option to do the Southern Bypass as well (Phase II).

    In keeping with the globally established BOT model of infrastructure delivery, the concessionaire was to operate and maintain the road for the full 30-year term of the concession, and then hand over the assets to Lagos State in good condition at the end of the concession term.

    In this way, Lagos State was to enjoy new world class infrastructure as a direct consequence of the agreement and users of the road would positively experience the service-based approach that was to be adopted by the concessionaire to deliver certain benefits to the people.

    The benefits were to include convenience – traffic decongestion, easier access to and from the Lekki-Epe corridor, breakdown and recovery assistance, ambulance service, and customer call centre.

Other were shorter journey times, reduced wear and tear on motor vehicles, reduced fuel consumption by road users, security – law enforcement, better street lighting, reduced risk of “go slow robbery among others.

    Although there was official explanation on why the state government is buying back the concession rights, BusinessDay, however gathered that it may not be unconnected with the difficulty of sourcing funds to prosecute by LCC.

    There have been complaints in several quarters over the decision of concessionaire to start collecting tolls on the road when the construction is still ongoing. Many watchers of events in the state had argued that tolling amounted to collecting monies from the citizens to build road as against sourcing funding elsewhere and completing the road before commencement of tolling.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola in a letter dated August 19, 2013 sent to Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, seeking to amend the 2013 budget size of N499.105 billion to accommodate additional N7.5 billion. This will increase the budget to N507.105 billion, in what is intended to fund the buying back of the concession rights.

    Fashola said in the letter, that “the proposal for further amendment is largely predicated on the need to fund the acquisition of existing concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the Lekki Concession Company, the concessionaire for the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe expressway. This will effectively accelerate the transfer of ownership of the road to the state, leaving the state with wider policy options with regards to that important road infrastructure.”

    In order to address these issues, we have proposed a two-prong approach; namely, re-ordering some expenditure provisions and also direct supplementation of the year 2013 budget. These will entail an increase in the overall budget size by N7.5 billion. This is against the a background of a projected shortfall of N22.5 billion in budgeted internally generated revenues (IGR) which now needs to be covered by additional borrowings,” the governor said.

    Fashola stating further in the letter which was read on the floor of the House on Tuesday, said “we also need to restructure our borrowing plan as the N30 billion World Bank DPO II will no longer materialize in 2013. In effect, we will need to issue bonds totaling N87.5 billion this year, instead of the N35 billion originally envisaged, in order to cover the shortfall in the IGR and the delay in disbursement of DPO II, so as to be able to finance the acquisition of the concession rights and take control of the toll regime for the benefit of our citizens.

    The re-ordering and direct supplementation being proposed have brought the budget size to N507.105 billion from N499.605 billion and the capital/recurrent ratio to 58/42 as against 54/46 in the approved budget,” Fashola said. BusinessDay recalls that the 2013 budget earlier passed by the House was assented to by Governor Fashola on January 2, 2013.

    Meanwhile, in a swift action, the House of Assembly has approved the governor’s proposal to acquire the existing 5v 6 concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the LCC and the supplementary budget proposal  read on the floor by the Clerk of the House, Ganiyu Abiru.

Nigeria: ASUU Strike - Student Unions Differ, As JAF Plans Mass Protest

The strike embarked on by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) on July 1, 2013 has indeed
tested the boundaries of student
unionism. From the National
Association of Nigerian Students
(NANS) to other realms of student
activism, conflicting perceptions
reflect students' reaction to the
ASUU strike. This report brings the
different voices to the fore.
It would be recalled that last
executive members of the National
Association of Nigerian Students,
NANS, led by the National Assistant
Secretary, Mr. Ali Mohammed
disowned the national president, Mr.
Yinka Gbadebo, on what they
referred to as "his support for the
Federal Government in the ongoing
strike by the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU." Some members
of the executive told newsmen that
students were largely unbiased in
the crisis and the inclination of Mr.
Gbadebo to support the
government was a deviation from
the students' collective goal of
resolving the crisis.
"The national president did not have
our mandate to support the Federal
Government over the strike as we
are a neutral body. We do not
support either the Federal
Government or ASUU because it is
the students that bear the brunt of
the strike. We call on ASUU and the
Federal Government to resolve the
issue within seven days so that the
students can return to their
campuses." However, in a phone
call with Vanguard Learning,
Mohammed confirmed that he was
not at all conversant with the issues
behind the strike.
Ayo Toe, the chairman of the
Student Union Transition
Committee, Obafemi Awolowo
University is also the leader of the
southwest senators at NANS. Toe,
while commenting on the weak
response of student leaders to the
strike said: "NANS as a body is no
longer on the campus, it is in Abuja.
A lot of these executives are not
even students themselves, and as a
result, cannot feel the pains of
students.
"I, however, disagree with those
who said that the NANS President
was in support of the Federal
Government. Yinka Gbadebo did not
take any position. ASUU went on
strike without informing us, and now
they are seeking students' support. I
heard rumours that ASUU is paying
some students as much as N16, 000
to stage protests for them. We
neither support the Federal
Government nor ASUU."
Not all student leaders buy into this
non-aligned movement. Mr.
Adeyemo Tunde is the coordinator
of the south- west zone of NANS.
While speaking to Vanguard
Learning, Adeyemo said; "We would
like the government to implement
the 2009 agreement signed with
ASUU.
"We are fully in support of the ASUU
strike, but our struggle is beyond
the strike. I have high regard for
Yinka Gbadebo, but this is not
personal. In our opinion, NANS
cannot be neutral on this matter.
When the strike began, our zone
passed a vote of no confidence on
Mr. President, and declared a state
of emergency in education." The
south-west zone has also begun to
mobilise youths for a mass protest
in Lagos next Tuesday.
The mass protest is being organised
by the Joint Action Front (JAF) to
pressure the government to
implement agreement with ASUU
and other unions in the sector. In a
statement signed by the JAF
chairperson, Dr. Dipo Fashina,
tagged; Education is our right,
system change is our goal, the JAF
boss said; "JAF is resolved with
other stakeholders in the Education
sector to kick-start with mass rallies/
procession on Tuesday, August 13th
in Lagos at the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) headquarters,
Tejuoso-Yaba at 8am. This will be
followed by zonal rallies in Kano,
Ibadan, Owerri, Calabar/Port
Harcourt, and Abuja."
Continuing, Fashina said; "The
rallies/procession are a buildup
towards a nationwide mass protest
that will become inevitable should
the government remain insensitive.
We in JAF are of the strong opinion
that government at all levels in
Nigeria operate anti-poor policies
and this is clearly expressed in their
lack of disposition to public
education. Government should be
blamed for all the crises in the
education sector, including the
incessant strikes. The unions in
education sector are not making
fresh demands. Each time any of the
unions goes on strike, it is because
the federal and state governments
failed to implement agreements they
freely entered into and signed with
any of the unions."
Whether or not the mass protests
will attract strong student support
remains to be seen. The last protest
organised by the Education Rights
Campaign (ERC) at the University of
Lagos involved only a handful of
students. Mr. Hassan Soweto, the
ERC boss attributed this to the hijack
of student unions by government
agents.
"No doubt, NANS and so many other
associations have been taken over
by government agents. These
associations have no interest in
fighting for education. If the
government pays them enough
money, they will keep quiet. As for
the faction of NANS which is against
Gbadebo, it is difficult to have a
clear picture about that. Very soon,
the elections to replace the late
senate president of NANS will be
held, I believe that some people are
using this situation as excuse to gain
cheap popularity."
Emmanuel Ahanonu, Chairman,
Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists
said; "It is very unfortunate that
NANS is divided. I commend ASUU's
actions, but I feel that it is to the
detriment of students. ASUU should
first of all have taken the Federal
Government to court, the strike
should have been a last resort.
"ASUU's grievances are legitimate,
but it is the students who are
suffering. It doesn't seem fair that
instead of spending four to five
years in school, a student will spend
about eight years because of the
strike. It is only helping to increase
crime in the country. Student
unionism especially on the part of
NANS has been reduced to money
and politics. There are a lot of
students who are grieved about the
situation, but are simply gnashing
their teeth in silence because those
who are supposed to speak on their
behalf are quiet."