Google to fight Siri with Alfred

Android owners looking for a fully-integrated response to Apple's Siri will have to wait a little longer, according to Mashable.

Google yesterday said it acquired a company called Clever Sense, the maker of the app Alfred, which serves as a digital personal assistant. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, Google confirmed the Alfred app does not have voice-command capabilities.

Windows Phone users are being warned of a new bug in the latest version of the operating system, which could allow hackers to effectively disable the messaging function, reports V3.co.uk.

WinRumours first reported the flaw after a reader contacted the title to raise the alarm. A specially crafted SMS is first sent to the Windows Phone 7.5 handset, which will then cause the phone to reboot, and once it has done so, prevent the messaging hub from opening.

The bug is not device-specific and can also be triggered if the attacker sends a Facebook chat message or Windows Live Messenger message to a victim.

Based off a year-long study conducted by The NPD Group's Connected Intelligence, the percentage of tablet owners that utilise WiFi to connect to the Internet has increased over 2011, reveals Digital Trends.

During April 2011, 60% of tablet owners stated they only use WiFi to go online, but only 5% had plans to invest in a mobile 3G broadband plan within the following six months.

By October 2011, WiFi-only users had grown to 65%, while users that utilise both WiFi and cellular data, users that only use cellular data, and users that don't use any Internet connection had shrunk.

Federal investigators yesterday charged six former executives of Siemens AG, including a board member, with conspiring to spend $100 million bribing Argentine officials in an effort to secure a $1 billion contract for the global engineering giant, says The Washington Post.

“The allegations in this indictment reflect a stunning level of deception and corruption,” assistant attorney general Lanny A Breuer, who oversees the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a conference call announcing the indictments.

The charges came more than a decade after the alleged conspiracy began and three years after Siemens paid $1.6 billion to settle accusations in the US and Germany that the company engaged in a systematic effort to win business by paying bribes in various countries.