Celeb hack bizarre twist

In this edition of the Worldwide Wrap: The anonymous message board, believed to be the source of the original celebrity photos leak, is now down; and Getty Images is suing Microsoft.

In the latest bizarre twist in the celebrity photo hack, the anonymous message board, believed to be the source of the original leak, is now down.

A message posted to AnonIB says the site will be unavailable for at least a "few days" as it undergoes maintenance. Though not widely known outside certain darker corners of the Internet until the recent hack, AnonIB is an anonymous message board where users reportedly make a game out of stealing explicit photos of women.

Via: Mashable

Getty Images has flung a sueball at Microsoft, alleging the new Bing Image Widget breaches its copyright.

Microsoft says the widget "enhances your Web site with the power of Bing Image Search and provides your users with beautiful, configurable image collages and slideshows".

Via: The Register

Barclays has revealed what it says is the future of fraud prevention in corporate banking. The Barclays Biometric Reader is a Hitachi-developed tool that uses "vein authentication technology" to ensure secure customer authentication for corporate transactions.

Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays personal and corporate banking, told press the biometric reader represents a "very, very exciting development" which will be available to corporate clients from 2015.

Via: Computing.co.uk

Apple plans to include short-range wireless technology in its coming smartwatch, according to people familiar with the matter, signalling that it sees a role for the device in digital payments.

The gadget's use of near-field communication, or NFC, reflects Apple's broader ambitions for the so-called iWatch beyond health and fitness tracking, the most commonly cited use. Apple is also expected to add the wireless technology to the next versions of its iPhone, people familiar with the device said, potentially simplifying the process of connecting, or pairing, the two devices.

Via: Business Spectator

US president Barack Obama yesterday named Google vice-president Megan Smith as his new chief technology officer, charged with unleashing the power of data and computers inside the fusty world of government.

Smith fronted Google's acquisition of major platforms including Google Earth, Google Maps and Picasa, and has been active in gay, lesbian and trans-sexual rights, a key social policy goal for many members of the Obama administration.

Via: NDTV

Electronic chopsticks that can detect whether food is unsafe to eat have been unveiled by Chinese tech company Baidu.

The search giant said the utensils could detect unsanitary cooking oil - a common concern in the country.

At its annual conference in Beijing, Baidu also unveiled its own wearable headset, a rival to Google's Glass.

Via: BBC