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Hacker posts over 4,000 sensitive documents from Mexican embassy
Thousands of documents containing sensitive information belonging to Mexico's embassy in Guatemala were leaked online this week by a hacker. The stolen cache contained more than 4,800 files related to the embassy's activities including its dealings with personal documents belonging to Mexican citizens. The hacker, identified on Twitter as @0x55Taylor, published the data online after the embassy failed to reply to his attempts at making contact. The files were eventually pulled offline by the cloud storage company used to host them, but TechCrunch was able to confirm the authenticity of the documents.
LiDAR reveals Mayan mega city hidden in Guatemalan jungle
A vast Mayan megalopolis apparently lies hidden underneath all the trees, creepers and centuries of growth and soil in the Guatemalan forest -- and we might never have found it if not for the wonders of laser technology. The PACUNAM Foundation, which champions the use of scientific research to preserve cultural heritage, has scanned the jungles in the country using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and found an interconnected network of ancient cities. They discovered 60,000 previously unknown structures without having to cut down a single plant, and that discovery changes many things we thought we knew about the ancient civilization.
iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries
The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices -- within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they're signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it's more likely that you'll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there's no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.
Video from South Korean launch of new iPad
Today Apple launched the new iPad in an additional 12 countries around the world. While eleven of the countries -- Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela -- are relatively small markets, the new iPad also went on sale in South Korea, one of the most technologically advanced countries on the planet and one of the major tech markets in Asia. Check out the video below, first posted by Apple 2.0, to see South Korean Apple fans lining up for the new tablet at a local Apple reseller. Apple's new iPad international rollout isn't done for the month either. One week from today on Friday, April 27, Apple will begin selling the new iPad in an additional nine countries: Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand. The new iPad will then be available in 56 countries around the world.
New iPad launching in 21 additional countries this month
Apple today issued a press release announcing the new third-generation iPad will go on sale in another twleve countries starting on Friday, April 20. Notably, one of the twelve is the important South Korean market. The other eleven countries include Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Then one week later on Friday, April 27, Apple will begin selling the new iPad in an additional nine countries: Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand. Both the Wi-Fi and 4G models will be on sale and available through Apple's online store and at select Apple Authorized Resellers. The new iPad will be available in 56 countries around the world as of April 27th.
'New' iPad landing in South Korea, Israel and 19 other countries, officially ceases to be new in US
Are you not in one of the 35 countries that already has the "new" iPad? Well, this week may finally mean you can get your hands on the tablet that's already become old hat here in the US. The "resolutionary" slate is landing in South Korea, Venezuela and ten other nations this Friday, while Israel, India and seven more will be granted membership to the cool club on April 27th. Outside of some region-specific language tweaks the devices will be exactly the same as those that have been on sale here in the US for whole month now. (Isn't it amazing how time flies!) If you want to see if you're home is joining the list of places you can pick up a Retina display-equipped tablet head on after the break.
iTunes Match launches in 19 more countries, shows Latin America some love from the cloud
Once Apple let the iTunes Match genie out of the bottle it has actually been pretty quick to spread the love to our international friends. Australia, Canada, the UK and a host of other European nations came online last month, now a sizable chunk of Latin America (along with a few EU stragglers) are joining the party. In total, 19 new countries were added to the list this week, headlined by Central and South American nations like Argentina, Guatemala, Venezuela and Nicaragua. With a few Eastern Block countries, including Lithuania and Latvia, also being added to the list, Apple has increased the total number states where iTunes Match is available to 37. Now Apple just has to start getting a few of the Asian and African areas where the iPhone is available on board and it can officially call Match a global service. To see if your country is invited hit up the more coverage link.
iPhone 4S arriving in Hong Kong, South Korea and a number of other locales on November 11th
Apple is getting ready to add a whole slew of new locations to its iPhone 4S world domination plan. Starting November 11th, the company's latest smartphone will be available in Hong Kong, South Korea and 13 additional countries, including Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. Pre-orders for those locations (save for Albania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro and Panama) will begin on the 4th. The handset is currently available in 29 countries -- that number will increase to more than 70 by year's end. Press info can be found after the break.
From volcanoes to Third World schoolchildren: Why I chose the iPad 2
Last week, I posted two stories about my iPad 2's big trip to Guatemala for I4U and TechEye. The articles -- mainly the pictures, if I'm honest -- provoked a larger reader response than I'm used to dealing with. Most of the comments and emails came from female fans, excited by my rugged handsomeness. But many came from doubters -- people with a reflexive negative reaction towards any Apple product. First off, I'll provide a dram of personal background: the iPad 2 is the first Apple product I've ever purchased. I'm not a fanboy, and I've written some very nasty things about Apple that have been read by a few million folks. So I didn't come into this experiment with an eye on providing Apple with some free PR. Not everyone simply accused me of being an Apple fanboy. Reader "Tom" on TechEye brought up an interesting point ... and made a butt joke. "Another article by someone who thinks an expensive toy that can do the sort of things we've been able to do on computers for a long long long long time is somehow newsworthy may just result in an article on 'First iPad found by proctologist'."
The DS Life: A DS Country For Old Men
Over the course of this human-interest column, we've collected photographs of gamers from a variety of countries, collecting scenes from Spain's parks, South Korea subways, La Palma's streets, and even Antartica's glaciers.For this week's image, we'll visit a new region, Central America -- Guatemala specifically -- where a young girl is teaching her uncle how to play with a Nintendo DS.
iPhone 3G rolling worldwide, Russia coming soon
Thanks to the magic of time zones, the iPhone 3G is already on its worldwide march across 21 countries. Tipster Lawrz let us know that the handset is on sale in the Philippines from Globe Telecom, after a sold-out party that started at 10 p.m. local time counting down to midnight August 22. It's already Friday in India, and midnight is just now crossing Europe, as of this writing. Also, tipster Efthymios tells us that Vodafone Hellas is distributing unlocked iPhone 3Gs, as is the law there. 8GB models are €499 and 16GB models are €569. Contracts plans for the handsets have not been announced, but should be available in the next few hours. (Update: and here they are.) However, Efthymios notes that Greek character input is not yet available for the iPhone, with many people having to resort using "Greeklish" instead: Greek words typed with English characters. Reuters notes today that Russia will also be getting the iPhone 3G in October. Apple struck a deal with the country's largest mobile provider, MTS, which has nearly 84 million subscribers. Thanks, Lawrz and Efthymios! [MTS details via Macworld]
August 22: Big day for iPhone abroad
Mark your calendars for August 22, when many countries will start offering the iPhone 3G for sale. Here's a list of the countries that are expecting launches that Friday (and their associated carriers, in parentheses): Argentina (America Movil) Chile (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica) Colombia (America Movil) Czech Republic (Telefonica O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone) Thanks, Luke and Tom! Ecuador (Porta/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica) Thanks, Andy! El Salvador (America Movil) Estonia (TeliaSonera, EMT) Guatemala (America Movil) Greece (Vodafone Hellas) Honduras (America Movil) Hungary (T-Mobile) India (Bharti Airtel, Vodafone) Latvia (TeliaSonera) Lithuania (TeliaSonera) Paraguay (America Movil) Peru (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica) Philippines (Globe Telecom) Poland (Orange, Era) Romania (Orange) Slovakia (T-Mobile, Orange) Thanks, Hannah and Bulu! Uruguay (America Movil) Apple said last month that 20 countries would be getting iPhone 3G on the 22nd. Singapore is also rumored to be releasing the iPhone 3G that day, but SingTel hasn't confirmed their participation yet. In other news, Virgin Mobile is now offering iPhone 3G service in Australia. This addition gives the country four providers to choose from: Vodafone, Optus, and Telstra are the other three. Sadly -- according to this article, they're already out of stock. [Compiled with help from setteB.it, VentureBeat and AppleInsider.]
