Weather layer added to Google Maps

Weather geeks (we know you're out there) and lifehackers alike now have a new tool to feed their obsessions. Google has added a weather layer to Google Maps that displays current conditions from around the world, from London right down to the tiniest town in northern New Mexico, where the weather's always likely to be better than in London.

Google shows clear skies over the Land of Enchantment on Thursday.

(Credit: Screen capture by Eric Mack/CNET)

In Google Maps, hover over other the widget in the upper-right corner and you can chose the weather layer from the drop-down to make it visible. To actually see cloud cover and current weather conditions, you'll need to zoom out quite a ways, generally to at least a state-level view.

Don't forget the umbrella if traveling to Labrador City, and watch for that ugly cloud swirl off Mexico's west coast.

(Credit: Screen capture by Eric Mack/CNET)

The cloud-cover and other weather visualizations come courtesy of the U.S. Naval Research Lab. Current condition information and the local forecasts that pop up when a certain locale is clicked are provided by Weather.com.

The weather layer doesn't seem to be supported just yet on the Android version

Kaspersky: 12 different vulnerabilities detected on every PC

Researchers from Kaspersky have sampled their customer base, and found out that on average, every PC has 12 different vulnerable applications installed.

During the second quarter of 2011, the company saw 27,289,171 vulnerable applications and files detected on users’ computers, and detected an average of 12 different vulnerabilities on each computer.

Here are the vulnerabilities discovered:

• Adobe Reader / Acrobat SING “uniqueName” Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
• Sun Java JDK / JRE / SDK Multiple Vulnerabilities
• Adobe Flash Player SharedObject Type Confusion Vulnerability
• Adobe Flash Player Multiple Vulnerabilities
• Adobe Flash Player Multiple Vulnerabilities
• Sun Java JDK / JRE / SDK Multiple Vulnerabilities
• Adobe Flash Player / AIR AVM2 Instruction Sequence Handling Vulnerability
• Adobe Flash Player Unspecified Memory Corruption Vulnerability
• Adobe Shockwave Player Multiple Vulnerabilities
• Adobe Flash Player Unspecified Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

The company contributes the decline in Windows vulnerabilities, to improvements in the automatic Windows update mechanism and the growing proportion of users who have Windows 7 installed on their PCs. Moreover, Kaspersky Labs emphasizes on the fact that seven of the Top 10 vulnerabilities are found in one product only — Adobe Flash Player, and that vulnerabilities from 2007-2008 remain in the Top 10, with seven of the ten vulnerabilities were discovered in 2011, and the other three in 2010.

Android users prefer mobile apps over mobile Web

Android owners like to use mobile apps over the mobile Web, says a new study from Nielsen.

The average Android user in the U.S. spends 56 minutes a day surfing the Web and firing up apps on their phone. In that amount of time, two-thirds is spent using mobile apps, while only one-third is spent using mobile Web sites.

Even further, among the hundreds of thousands of apps available in the Android Market, only a small number of them are used the majority of the time.

The top ten Android apps chew up 43 percent of the time spent by Android users, while the top 50 grab 61 percent of time spent, according to Nielsen.

Estimating more than 250,000 Android apps currently available, this points to more than 249,950 that have to battle for the remaining 39 percent of an Android owner's attention.

Nielsen compiled this information from its Smartphone Analytics, a new service that looks at data from meters installed on iOS and Android smartphones.

Whether they're using apps or the Web, smartphone owners are consuming more and more data. In June, Nielsen found that the average user is grabbing 89 percent more data each month compared with last year. The amount of data used per month jumped to 435 megabytes in the first quarter, up from 230MB during the same period in 2010.

Android owners in particular eat up the most data, according to another Nielsen study from June. Specifically, Android users captured 582MB of data each month during the first quarter, compared with iPhone users, who consumed 492MB of data.

Source : cnet

Logitech unveils the new G300 gaming mouse

Nice new plaything for all you gamers out there - the Logitech G300 gaming mouse.

The Logitech G300 packs an awful lot of features into a package which will retail for under $40.

• 2500 dpi multi-surface optical sensor
• Nine programmable controls, three onboard profiles stored in onboard memory
• Sculpted ambidextrous shape (no thumb button)
• 1,000 reports per second communication rate
• User-configurable seven-color lighting scheme to make it easy to see which profile you’re using
• Easy-to-use software (compatible with G-Series keyboards and headsets)
• Durable build - buttons rated for up to 10 million clicks

“The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is perfect for PC gamers who want intelligent features that give them real benefits in-game” said Chris Pate, senior product marketing manager for gaming at Logitech. “Whether you need more programmable buttons for your MMO, better precision for targeting enemies in an FPS, or a compact, comfortable shape to get you through hours of gameplay, we’ve got it covered.”

The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is expected to be available in the US and Europe some time in September, for a suggested retail price of $39.99.

Compatible with Windows XP, Vista or 7.

Apple grabs top spot in mobile PC market from HP

Fueled by demand for the iPad, Apple has shot past Hewlett-Packard to claim the leading share of mobile PC shipments during the second quarter, according to data out today from DisplaySearch.

For the quarter, Apple shipped 13.6 million mobile PCs. That figure marked a leap of 136 percent from the prior year's quarter and gave the company more than 21 percent of the market, according to preliminary results from DisplaySearch's "Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report."

How did Apple reach the top spot? In its report, DisplaySearch defines a tablet as a mobile PC. Though some many disagree with that definition, it means the iPad alone gave Apple the lead, accounting for 80 percent of the company's mobile PC shipments. Apple shipped more than 10.7 million iPads, a gain of 107 percent from a year ago.

In contrast, HP shipped 9.7 million mobile PCs, giving it a 15 percent share of the market.

Apple had initially captured the top mobile PC perch from HP during last year's fourth quarter, as noted in aDisplaySearch report released in February.

Tablets also fueled overall growth for the mobile PC category, according to DisplaySearch. For the quarter, tablet vendors shipped almost 16.4 million units, a surge of more than 400 percent over the prior year. Even discounting Apple, shipments of non-iPad tablets reached 5.6 million units for a growth rate of 25 percent.

In contrast, notebooks makers eked out just 48 million units, an increase of only 2 percent from the prior year's quarter. Weakening consumer demand for notebooks continues to stall the sector following a 2 percent drop in shipments during the first quarter, the report noted.

Total mobile PC shipments around the world hit 64.4 million in the second quarter, a gain of 28 percent from a year ago.

Looking beyond Apple and HP, Samsung and Dell experienced the biggest jumps in shipments, rising 44 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Dell's shipment growth was boosted by a recovery in PCs for the business market, said DisplaySearch. Among the top five mobile PC shippers, Acer saw the biggest drop in shipment growth, falling 12 percent from the prior year.