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Harvey Norman Profits Crash 57%

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Harvey Norman profits have slipped 57% to $99 million and that the outlook does not look good going forward. In comparison JB Hi Fi reported a 40% incrrease in profits and a 26% increase in sales.

Harvey Norman profits have slipped 57% to $99 million and that the outlook does not look good going forward. In comparison JB Hi Fi reported a 40% incrrease in profits and a 26% increase in sales.

Chairman Gerry Harvey said that the first-half had been market by unprecedented market turbulence and that trading conditions in the second-half remained challenging however the Group was operating well he said and its core operations remained strong and resilient.

“We are confident of sustainable growth across all of our brands and the property portfolio through sound strategic and financial management during the current period and in preparation for improved economic conditions,” he said.

“Our integrated retail, franchise and property system and the resilient strength of the franchising operations segment has the consolidated entity very well placed for the future.”

However, the company noted that retail conditions in Ireland remained stagnant and said it had taken a $17 million charge against the business.

Returning to earnings, Mr Harvey said net profit from underlying business was down 29% on the previous corresponding period, however argued that this should be viewed in light of the retail boom conditions experienced during HY 2007.

The company, which has been shuttering stores because of the slump in consumer retail spending, said sales revenue rose to $770 million from last year’s $765 million.

Google Delivers 32% Jump In Profits

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Google who are set to launch their Google Chrome OS up against Microsof’s Windows shortly has announced third quarter profits of $2.2 billion a 32 per cent jump on the same period in 2009. Helping them is Google Android and mobile aqdvertising.

Google who are set to launch their Google Chrome OS up against Microsof’s Windows shortly has announced third quarter profits of $2.2 billion a 32 per cent jump on the same period in 2009. Helping them is Google Android and mobile aqdvertising.
Google hit $7.63bn in sales during the period.
The results were announced during a Q3 results call, which surpassed the lofty forecasts from Wall Street and sent the share price up by 9 per cent by the end of trading in New York at the weekend.
Google says a 3 per cent increase on what it charged Google Ads partners on top of a rise in the amount of clicks on those ads were responsible for the year-on-year leap.
“Google had an excellent quarter,” read a statement by CEO Eric Schmidt. “Our core business grew very well, and our newer businesses – particularly display and mobile – continued to show significant momentum.”
Continued growth in Google’s Android mobile operating system, likely to boast 17.7 per cent of the market by the end of 2010 is likely to see the company’s coffers swell further in the next few months.
The company also revealed that it had increased its workforce by more than 1,500 during the period.

Aircraft Wi Fi Ban Following Bomb Discovery Tipped

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Airlines such as Qantas and Virgin may have to delay plans to install in-flight Wi-Fi on their aircraft following the discovery at the weekend of several bombs which experts claim could easily be set off using an onboard Wi Fi network. The move will be a blow to people who want to use tablets on aircraft


The Daily Telegraph in the UK said that mobile phones have long been used by terrorists to remotely detonate explosives, by calling or texting the handset, and there are now concerns that by allowing people to use mobile devices during flights could enable terrorists to easily activate a bomb.
 
In-flight Wi-Fi gives would-be bombers ample opportunity to contact explosive devices hidden on an aircraft, said Roland Alford, managing director of an explosives consultancy firm.

“If it were to be possible to transmit directly from the ground to a plane over the sea, that would be scary,” he told New Scientist. “Or if a passenger could use a cellphone to transmit to the hold of the aeroplane he is in, he could become a very effective suicide bomber.”

Experts discovered mobile phones packed in with explosives in the printer bombs that were discovered on cargo planes last weekend. It is not yet clear whether the phones would have worked as timers, or whether they would have been activated remotely by terrorists calling or texting the phone.

But companies who have invested heavily in developing in-flight Wi-Fi systems have defended the technology.

“There are many ways of coordinating an attack without using a mobile phone,” said Aurelie Branchereau-Giles, a spokesman for OnAir, which makes in-flight Wi-Fi equipment.

“The position of our security experts is that the use of mobile phones on planes does not constitute any additional security threat.”

Surprise Surprise The ACCC Wants To Seperate Telstra

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A long time foe of Telstra the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is calling for the structural seperation of Telstra in a submission to the Federal Government.

Imposing a tougher structural separation regime on Telstra is the only way to guarantee an equal playing field during the transition to a planned national broadband network.

To see the full submission see file below.

“The ACCC is of the view that structural separation of Telstra is the only framework that will ensure equivalence in access during the transition to the NBN and is the only form of separation consistent with the type of wholesale-retail market structure the Government envisages for the NBN environment of the future,” the watchdog said in a submission to a government review of current telecommunications regulations.

Australia’s center-left Labor government in April announced ambitious plans to help build a A$43 billion fiber-to-the-home national broadband network.

The new network could make large parts of Telstra’s existing fixed line infrastructure redundant and, while the door is open for Telstra to participate in building the new network, this could cost the group its title as the nation’s dominant phone company, along with billions of dollars in lost revenue over time.

In its submission to the regulatory review, Telstra said its “overarching objective” is to help find an NBN solution that is in the interests of Australia while promoting a sustainable industry structure.

“We are committed to working constructively with the Government to enable the timely and successful implementation of the NBN,” the company said.

 

Skype Set To Trial Group Video Chats

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Internet communication company Skype whose service is now found on Samsung, LG and Panasonic TV’s is planning a a public “beta” test of a group video chat function that lets up to five people participate in a video call simultaneously. The service that could be a big hit with business organisations looking to cut travel costs.

When the feature launches next week it will be free, but Skype plans to start charging for it along with some other upcoming features in three or four months, said Neil Stevens, general manager of Skype’s consumer business segment.

Skype’s software already offers a range of free services, including the ability to make voice or video calls and send instant messages to other Skype users. Users pay for services such as making calls from a PC to a landline or cell phone.

Stevens said group video chat will first be available to those who use Skype on Windows PCs, and the company expects to roll out a Mac version later this year.

Stevens said the feature is the one users have requested most.

Skype, which was sold late last year by eBay for about $2 billion to an investor group that includes Skype’s founders, is also expanding its monthly subscription offerings to include calls to both cell phones and landlines in more than 170 countries.

The company’s existing subscription plans include one that allows calls to more than 40 countries, but they focus mostly on calls to landlines. That is generally cheaper for the company than routing calls from the Internet to cell phones.

YouTube Video Clips Targeted By Hackers

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Video clips posted to web sites like YouTube are attracting the attention of malicious hackers and hi-tech criminals.

Security firms are reporting more and more instances of booby-trapped Windows codecs – file compressors – required to play some video formats.

Some of the codecs let users play types of net-based video, but also have spyware and adware wrapped inside. Others, say experts, are outright fakes that just want to infect victims with data-stealing programs.

Audience ratings

“Everyone is watching movies on their PC,” said David Robinson, UK head of security firm Norman Sandbox, “they are downloading the latest, greatest clips.” While sites such as YouTube and Revver try to make it easy to watch video online, many of the downloadable clips posted on the web require extra software, called a codec, to play them.

Mr Robinson said many security firms were now logging instances in which spyware and adware firms are turning out software bundles that claim to roll together many popular codecs or just have the one needed to play a particular clip. Some of the codecs do help to play clips, but others are disguised as a variety of nuisance or malicious programs.

Some rogue codecs plague users with pop-up adverts, while others invisibly install keyloggers that try to grab confidential data. Anti-spyware firm Sunbelt Software discovered one codec that became a program that found fictitious security problems on a PC and demanded payment to repair them.

Many downloads look benign when scanned with an anti-virus program, but, once installed, download updates from other websites that contain the malicious payload.

 
Security firms expect the popularity of clips to be exploited
Mr Robinson said the growth of booby-trapped video codecs was just another example of how hi-tech criminals have moved on from the old days in which a virus only travelled by e-mail.

Now, he said, they maintain a diverse portfolio of attack methods and will tailor these to whatever is proving popular online.

Mr Robinson said his company Norman Sandbox, which analyses captured samples of malicious code, gets hundreds of new variants of malicious programs submitted to it every day.

David Emm, senior technology consultant at anti-virus firm Kaspersky Labs, said it was only a matter of time before virus writers turned to sites such as YouTube and booby-trapped popular clips with bugs.

“YouTube is almost by definition unregulated,” he said, and was ripe for exploitation by malicious hackers. “It gives an almost endless stream of stuff to tap into.”

Already spyware firms are known to be using the popularity of some clips on YouTube and social networking site MySpace to install their wares on the PCs of more victims.

Increasing numbers of malicious attacks were pegged to news or other events, said Mr Emm, which helped to catch people out.

The upcoming Halloween holiday is already being exploited by malicious hackers who are baiting websites with viruses and trojans.

Mobile Touchscreens Set To Be Hot In 07

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The introduction of the Apple iPhone later this year will see touch screens become “Fashionable” on mobile phones.

 While we allready have touchscreens on the likes of the Sony Ericsson M600i phone we have seen during the past week or so announcements from Apple, Samsung, and LG, showcasing new handset models that feature touchscreens as the primary input device. 

Although 2006 will be remembered as the year that thin was in, 2007 is shaping up to be breakout year for touchscreens. The touchscreen has suddenly become the interface of choice for manufacturers wanting to make a trendy splash with their cellular handsets. It also set to spill down into remote controls and portable pads that can be used for home automation.

 Although touchscreens in cellular handsets are not a new technology (models offering a touchscreen have been commercially available for several years), previous handsets did not have the benefit of the market buzz from a high-profile product launch such as the iPhone. Consumer awareness of touchscreens in cellular handsets has dramatically increased since the MacWorld show, and manufacturers are racing to take advantage of the media attention.

Touchscreens do offer significant benefits for manufacturers who are struggling to differentiate their product from competitors. First and foremost, touchscreens offer a novel user interface for the consumer. Manufacturers and operators are banking on this novelty to drive sales. A second key benefit is the increased screen size that can enhance multimedia applications. Operators with an interest in providing Mobile TV and other multimedia content have been quick to recognize the appeal that this will have for consumers.

These benefits are offset by some potential drawbacks. Naturally, the first is cost. A touchscreen interface is significantly more expensive than using a standard keypad, increasing the cost of the BOM. However, the increased demand from OEM’s should help to bring those costs back down as more touchscreen handsets hit the market. The second drawback is also very familiar – power use. Touchscreens draw more power than physical keypads, increasing the demands for an already scarce resource. Finally, with an unproven track record, it is unclear how strongly consumers will embrace the touchscreen as a primary input technology, especially with the lack of tactile response. Although Samsung has announced its SCH-W5559 handset will feature tactile feedback (provided by Immersion’s VibeTonz technology), the lack of tactile feedback in most handset models could be a significant drawback.

IMS Research Director, John Devlin, commented, “Consumers have been demanding handsets with easier to use input technologies and a cleaner user interface. The touchscreen is a tool that manufacturers can use to help achieve these goals.” He continued, “The willingness of consumers to embrace touchscreens in cellular handsets is going to be the key measure of their success in the marketplace.”

Although handset manufacturers and operators are embracing the newfound popularity of the touchscreen, traditional keypads will continue to be the mainstay for the foreseeable future. Cost, ease-of-use, and power efficiency will all be strong motivators for manufacturers to continue to invest in traditional keypads.

 

Samsung Upbeat But Memory Shortage Looming

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Samsung Electronics has said that profitability would improve significantly in the second half, helped by higher demand and better pricing.

The upbeat guidance came after the Korean company last month said first-quarter operating profit dropped 25 per cent due to falling prices of its mainstay products – memory chips, mobile phones and flat screens.

Samsung forecast that the Nand flash memory market would see supply shortages in the second half as lower prices sparked more demand. It also expected flat screen prices to stabilise, helped by strong growth in LCD TV panels. Its handset sales were forecast to beat the 2006 target of 115m units.

According to the UK Financial Times, the optimistic forecast has helped ease investor worries about the negative impact that Samsung’s $67m settlement over a chip price-fixing lawsuit would have on its earnings this year.

The world’s largest memory chipmaker said Thursday that it reached a settlement with small businesses and computer makers in the US, who claimed in 1999 that Samsung conspired with rivals to drive up D-ram prices. Infineon Technologies of Germany will pay $20.8m for the settlement, which has been approved by a US court.

Hynix Semiconductor, Samsung’s rival, said it also reached a $73m settlement for the class action lawsuit but it has yet to be approved by the court. The court is set to hold an approval hearing next week. Micron Technology of the US and Elpida Memory of Japan also face the same charges.

Memory chipmakers have seen profitability deteriorate this year as prices of Nand flash memory chips used in mobile digital gadgets dropped about 65 per cent amid a supply glut. But Samsung said on Thursday demand for the chips was improving, prompting it to raise the chip prices.

The company said it would see “marked improvements” in LCD margins in the second half as the market recovery accelerates and cost-reduction continues. It aims to become the world’s number one flat panel TV maker, overtaking Japan’s Sony.

Samsung is the world’s third-largest mobile phone handset maker, after Nokia and Motorola. It introduced more than 30 new handset models in the second quarter, which it hopes will drive sales and lift profit margins.

Samsung’s shares closed up 0.91 per cent at Won663,000 on Thursday and Hynix shares rose 0.78 per cent to Won32,250.

World First Drive From Samsung

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Samsung has unveiled, what it claims to be the first commercial prototype of the Hybrid Hard Disk Drive (H-HDD).

 H-HDD, which will initially be available with two cache densities, 128MB and 256MB, is said to be a next-generation drive for notebooks and PCs that integrates Nand Flash memory with traditional rotating magnetic storage.

Jon Kang, senior vice president – semiconductor division, Samsung, said that they see the H-HDD as the most advanced and cost-effective means of improving the performance of a notebook computer’s storage functionality.

Kang further said that the Samsung H-HDD addresses two of the biggest consumer desires which include extended battery life and improved boot and resume performance.

The company claims that the system boots or resumes twice as fast as conventional hard disk drives, lasts 20 to 30 minutes longer when running on battery power, and is up to five times more reliable. Moreover, the system eliminates the need for the hard disk to spin constantly whenever a computer is operating on battery power, and is said to be less susceptible to damage from jarring or being dropped since it is idle most of the time.

Each time the cache is filled, the rotating drive spins to transfer data from the cache, spinning only a few seconds every ten to twenty minutes. The Samsung H-HDD architecture uses Samsung’s OneNAND flash with 108MB/s read and 18 MB/s write data-rates. The functionality of the H-HDD is automated by the high performance HDD SOC which supports 3.0G Native Command Queuing SATA and an OneNAND interface.

The H-HDD saves between eight and twenty-five seconds of boot-up time, and extends laptop battery life by eight to ten per cent depending on the model of computer.

In addition, the H-HDD allows PC manufacturers to deploy value-added features such as direct media experiences with instant-boot function-altiy and accelerated processing for specified applications.

Samsung intends to test the device with customers in the next quarter, and intends to ship the product in large quantities by January 2007, just in time for the Windows Vista launch.

Microsoft Word Flaw Exposed

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Microsoft has advised users of Word to run the application in Safe Mode in order to protect against “zero-day” attacks. The recommendation comes after the discovery of a serious flaw in the word processor that could result in code execution.

The vulnerability can be exploited after a user opens a specially crafted Word file with a malformed object pointer. The issue causes memory to corrupt, and opens a hole that allows for code execution. The flaw can also be exploited through e-mail or the Web, however it requires the opening of a malicious file.

“Microsoft is completing development of a security update for Microsoft Word that addresses this vulnerability,” the company said in a security advisory. “The security update is now being finalized through testing to ensure quality and application compatibility and is on schedule to be released as part of the June security updates on June 13, 2006, or sooner as warranted.”

The flaw affects Microsoft Office Word 2002 (XP) and 2003. Until it is fixed, Microsoft is recommending that customers open up the application in Safe Mode. To do this, a user must first disable the Word mail editor feature as the default, and then change Word shortcuts to run “WINWORD.EXE /safe” at the command line.

Microsoft has provided a list of suggested actions within the advisory for its users to follow. The company says not to open Word files embedded in other applications, or through any mail client. Instead, files should be saved to the desktop and then opened in Word “Safe Mode.”

Additionally, Microsoft says users should not open Word documents through a Web browser. Customers can confirm they are in safe mode by looking for “Safe Mode” in the title bar. If it is not present, “you may be vulnerable to the malicious .doc files,” Microsoft says.

Microsoft did say that Word Viewer 2003 is immune to the flaw, and can be used to open any file without issue.