We read the technology and Internet related news so that you don’t have to. This is the first in a monthly round up of the top ten stories which caught our eye. This covers everything from wearable technology to security issues with 4G dongles.

1. Top 10 Tech Stories from
March 2013
Issue 1: March 2013
Contact us: socialimpact@ict.gov.qa
Twitter: @ictqatar

2. Contents Issue 1:
March 2013
Slides
1.
Introduction
2. Top 10 Tech Stories
1. First Apple. Then Samsung. Now Google? Are Smartwatches the
next big thing?
2. Arabic-only web domain set to launch
3. Google Keep is a note-taking app with great potential
4. Sony announces PS4 during NYC event, launching holiday 2013
5. Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV
6. The New RetroN 5 Plays Cartridges from Five Classic Gaming
Consoles
7. 3G and 4G USB modems are a security threat
8. „Veronica Mars‟ Kickstarter campaign rattles movie industry
9. Google Reader shutting down on July 1
10. Apple buys WiFiSlam, maker of tech for locating phones indoors
3
4-13
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5
6
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10
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12
13

3. Introduction
We read the technology and Internet related news so that you don‟t have to.
This is the first in a monthly round up of the top ten stories which caught our
eye. This covers everything from wearable technology to security issues with
4G dongles.
Happy reading!
Image: http://bit.ly/101Uspy

4. 1. First Apple. Then Samsung. Now Google?
Are Smartwatches the next big thing?
•
The anticipated demand for “Smartwatches” and wearable tech has grown in recent
months, especially after a number of small players that also build smartwatches, have
received a warm welcome from consumers.
•
Now, it seems the larger tech players may also join
the party.
•
Apple is rumored to have a team of 100 people
working on a Smartwatch while recently both
Samsung and Google executives admitted that
both companies are working on a watch device
with capabilities similar to a Smartphone.
•
Read more: http://lat.ms/11px04g

5. 2. Arabic-only web domain set to launch
•
An Arabic-only web domain is due to launch in the
middle on 2013, offering users a purely Arabic
channel through which to operate.
•
The Top-Level Doman, .shabaka, translates to .web
in English and will only be available in Arabic script.
•
Moving away from non-Arabic domains
such as .com, .net and .org, .shabaka has
been approved and will be rolled out by
the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global
regulator of web addresses.
•
Read more: http://bit.ly/11ByM60
Images: http://bit.ly/1arEU2B , http://bit.ly/10wkzYn

6. 3. Google Keep is a note-taking app with great
potential
•
•
Before the arrival of Keep, which Google launched this month, there
was no default note-taking app for Android. (Although downloadable
tools like Evernote are very popular.)
It was a glaring hole, considering that Apple‟s has built-in Notes and
Reminders apps that can be powered by Siri.
•
Google Keep isn‟t simply just a
place to bank whatever random
half-thoughts come to mind: Users
can construct to-do lists, stash
photos, and color code your notes
— all in one well-designed and
easy-to-use interface.
•
Read more: http://cnnmon.ie/ZZDm7T
Images: http://bit.ly/11KKo0G , http://bit.ly/16fIb1M

7. 4. Sony announces PS4 during NYC event,
launching holiday 2013
•
Sony has officially lifted the lid off the PS4 during
its New York City event this month.
•
The console, which Sony didn‟t show once
during the 2-hour gathering, should arrive by
holiday time 2013.
•
Sony and an ample helping of game
developers walked the audience through
a host of launch titles.
•
Read more: http://bit.ly/WXRhy1
Images: http://bit.ly/Zh94fW , http://bit.ly/YHMluO

8. 5. Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV
•
This month Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S IV.
•
Samsung said the phone would be available at the
end of April.
•
With a 1920×1080 pixel display and
features that far exceed its
predecessor.
•
How it will compare with Apple‟s next
iPhone or Google‟s future Nexus
flagship phone, however, remains to
be seen.
•
Read more: http://cnnmon.ie/XMtMIM
Images: http://bit.ly/11cKqzF , http://bit.ly/TIjI2k

9. 6. The New RetroN 5 Plays Cartridges from
Five Classic Gaming Consoles
•
Hyperkin is releasing a new console that will allow
gamers to play games from five classic consoles.
•
In addition to NES, SNES, and
Genesis, the RetroN 5 will play
cartridges from Famicom (the Japanese
version of NES) and Game Boy
Advance.
•
Read more: http://bit.ly/YwJ2sV
Images: http://bit.ly/109vb94 , http://bit.ly/WW1yuc

10. 7. 3G and 4G USB modems are a security threat
•
The vast majority of 3G and 4G USB modems handed out by
mobile operators to their customers are manufactured by a handful
of companies and run insecure software.
•
Researchers Nikita Tarakanov and Oleg Kupreev analyzed the
security of 3G/4G USB modems obtained from Russian operators
for the past several months.
•
The researchers tested the software
preloaded on the modems and found
multiple ways to attack it or to use it in
attacks.
•
Read more: http://bit.ly/10XJQKk
Images: http://bit.ly/16fKh1G , http://bit.ly/11KW6bC

11. 8. ‘Veronica Mars’ Kickstarter campaign rattles
movie industry
•
•
After years of hope, stalled efforts and studio
frustration, “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas
watched a long-held dream come to fruition in a
sudden digital rush.
Thomas last week launched a Kickstarter campaign to
fund a movie of his cult TV show, which was canceled
after three seasons in 2007.
•
•
•
•
The “Veronica Mars” film is far and away its most lucrative
movie project.
This project has shown that instead of going through
industries entrepreneurs could go directly to the fans or
consumers, to get the funding they require.
It met its stated goal of raising $2 million in less than 11
hours. Since being founded in 2009, Kickstarter has
raised more than $500 million for some 35,000 creative
projects.
Read more: http://nbcnews.to/YwGesy
Images: http://bit.ly/11YID45 , http://bit.ly/ISFwCm

12. 9. Google Reader shutting down on July 1
•
Google Reader, one of the best-known RSS
readers through which users can pull together
their favorite Web content in one place, will be
shutting down, the company announced.
•
In an age of Facebook posts and
retweets, Google Senior Vice President Urs
Holzle said in a post on the official Google blog
that Reader was losing popularity.
•
Read more: http://bit.ly/YcezjP
Images: http://bit.ly/11vjdKp , http://bit.ly/19hWwg0

13. 10. Apple buys WiFiSlam, maker of tech for
locating phones indoors
•
Apple has acquired WiFiSlam, a
company that makes an app that
lets smartphones locate themselves
indoors using ambient Wi-Fi signals
that already exist in buildings.
•
The WiFiSlam page describes the company‟s product as
one that would: “Allow your smartphone to pinpoint its
location (and the location of your friends) in real-time to
2.5m accuracy using only ambient Wi-Fi signals that are
already present in buildings.”
•
Read more: http://cnet.co/108V6Pv
Images: http://bit.ly/13mJPRQ , http://bit.ly/16a5cTW

14. Thank you for reading.
Comments, suggestions and feedback for future issues are
welcome.
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Contact us: socialimpact@ict.gov.qa
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Disclaimer: all content in these slides is in the public domain and referenced so that you can read the original sources.
Any omissions, errors or mistakes are mine, and mine alone.