Vietnam
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Apple may move some production to Vietnam to avoid trade tensions
Apple is reportedly shifting some iPad and MacBook production to Vietnam to reduce the potential damage from a US-China trade war.
Watch the trailer for Spike Lee's Netflix movie 'Da 5 Bloods'
Spike Lee has premiered the trailer for his first Netflix movie, 'Da 5 Bloods,' and it's clearly not just another Vietnam flick.
Hackers targeted BMW, Hyundai in hunt for trade secrets
Two of the world's larger car makers were the victims of a sophisticated (but still not very successful) hacking campaign. Bayerricscher Rundfunk has learned that intruders from the hacking group OceanLotus slipped into the networks of BMW and Hyundai in an attempt to find trade secrets. BMW, at least, found the hackers quickly -- instead, it let them operate for "months" to gather data before blocking them at the start of December. No sensitive data would have leaked out of BMW, according to an anonymous security expert, and the attackers wouldn't have breached the central data center in Munich.
The CGI ghost of James Dean will star in a Vietnam War movie
More than 60 years after his last film, James Dean will return to the screen in Finding Jack. In an exclusive, The Hollywood Reporter shares that the iconic actor, who passed away in 1955, has been posthumously cast in a major supporting role. Production house Magic City Films plans to use photos and videos to recreate Dean in CGI.
Tinder Lite brings the dating app to countries with limited data
Tinder is finally ready to take the wraps off its lightweight dating app. The company has formally unveiled Tinder Lite for Android, a version of the service designed for areas with limited data and lower-cost phones. It still has the familiar swipe-based matching, chats, "super likes" and paid features like seeing everyone who has liked you. For the most part, it's just a leaner app that should perform better in less-than-ideal conditions.
Leaked Galaxy Fold pops up in a video with a significant seam
Samsung's first foldable Galaxy phone is still more than a month away from launch, but as tends to happen, it looks like someone has gotten their hands on one early. It's unclear if the one appearing in a phone unlocker's YouTube video is a retail version or an early prototype, but SamMobile notes it appears to originate from Vietnam, which is home to one of the company's manufacturing hubs. The video is a much clearer hands-on than anything we saw that the Galaxy Fold's unveiling event (it stayed in glass cases and in the hands of demonstrators), but what jumps out the most is a visible crease on the unfolded screen.
Vietnam's new tech laws may stifle online dissent
Today, lawmakers in Vietnam voted in favor of a bill that requires tech companies that do business in the country to house all user data domestically. Additionally, social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook must remove any offensive content within 24 hours of receiving a request from Vietnamese authorities.
Google will work with Vietnam to remove ‘toxic’ content
In line with recent agreements to prune their internet content in certain countries, Google's parent company Alphabet will now work with Vietnam's government to remove "toxic" information from its sites. The announcement came today following a meeting between Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
'WannaCry' ransomware attack spreads worldwide (update)
England's healthcare system came under a withering cyberattack Friday morning, with "at least 25" hospitals across the country falling prey to ransomware that locked doctors and employees out of critical systems and networks. It's now clear that this is not a (relatively) isolated attack but rather a single front in a massive digital assault. Update 2 (5/13): In response to infections like the ones that crippled parts of the NHS system, Microsoft is releasing a patch for unsupported systems including Windows XP, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2003.
Hackers target Vietnam airport screens with political messages
China, the Philippines and Vietnam are embroiled in a bitter dispute over territory claims in the South China Sea (a court has ruled that China's claims are illegal), and that appears to have led to some audacious cyberattacks on July 29th. Vietnam's state media claims that hackers compromised both the website of Vietnam Airlines and the flight info screens at both the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City international airports. Reportedly, passengers saw messages slamming the Philippines and Vietnam over their South China Sea positions -- it won't surprise you to hear that the government is blaming a Chinese hacker group (1937CN) for the incident.
Activists say Vietnam shut down Facebook during Obama's visit
During President Obama's three-day trip to Vietnam this week, authorities in the country blocked access to Facebook in an attempt to silence political dissidents, according to reports from two activist organizations. Digital-rights group Access Now and local pro-democracy organization Viet Tan collected reports from within the country and concluded that Facebook was fully blocked or restricted in Vietnam from Sunday through Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Opera's web compression app can now save you some Vietnamese dong
After eight months of beta testing, the Opera Max web compression app is finally getting a launch partner, and it happens to be in Vietnam. Opera's joining forces with local carrier Mobiistar to have the app preloaded on select Android devices (Lai504m, Bean414 and Prime508). By way of multimedia content plus text compression, the service claims to save up to 50 percent of data bandwidth -- it's all visualized in the app for your viewing pleasure. For those outside of Vietnam, you can still install the beta app and try it out in the US, Europe, Brazil and Russia; or try the customized version of Opera Max if you're in China.
Vietnam decree prevents social media posts from linking to outside news reports
Unfortunately, decrees such as the one just approved in Vietnam are seemingly becoming more common, not less. Similar outcries were voiced after both Iran and Belarus laid down draconian laws about how their citizens were to interact with the internet, and now Vietnam is being shelled by residents and outsiders alike for a new decree that essentially bars the sharing of outside news. The specific verbiage states that "personal electronic sites" (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) "are only allowed to put [sic] news owned by that person." In other words, sharing of information from "press organizations or government websites" is now outlawed, as is the act of providing "general information" on profiles and blogs. Exact punishments are apparently still being drafted, but whatever arises, you can bet that the Vietnamese government is going to take a huge amount of flack for crossing this line.
HTC Desire 200 surfaces in Vietnam with 3.5-inch display and Android 4.0
HTC might be making another push into the very affordable Android phone market with the Desire 200. As teased a few months back and joining the now-official Desire 600, the smartphone pulls together a 320 x 480 3.5-inch screen, 1GHz processor and Android 4.0. It sounds a whole lot like the UK-bound Vodafone Smart Mini, which has been priced at just £50 on pay-as-you-go. HTC does put in a little more effort, however, including its Sense UI, front-facing speakers like the HTC One and a 5-megapixel camera on the entry-level device. According to thegiodidong, the Desire 200 also houses 4GB of storage, expandable up to 32GB through microSD and the whole package will land in Asian markets soon. Watch it get handled after the break or visit the source for a closer look. Update: According to the video, the loudspeaker resides on the back of the Desire 200. It looks like those front grills are largely for design reasons -- we just wanted BoomSound a little too much...
Next Apple earbuds potentially sighted in Vietnam, may fix an iconic design (video)
The pack-in earbuds for iPhones and iPods have been among the most recognizable of technology symbols for more than a decade... just not for their technical merits. They're notorious for slipping out of wearers' ears and having a mediocre sound next to just about anything else you can buy. If Tinhte's own discovery in Vietnam is authentic, Apple might be breaking with another one of its longstanding traditions this year by redesigning those earpieces for the better. Gone are the usual buds that only vaguely aim towards your ear canals. Instead, what's on show has oval tips very loosely resembling those of the Klipsch Image S4 II, and slots in at an angle to fit more directly into the canals -- not to mention more comfortably, based on early tests. We can't guarantee that these headphones are more than just the products of an ambitious third-party manufacturer, but Tinhte has had a good track record for snagging pre-release Apple gear, and that "Designed by Apple in California Assembled in Vietnam" lettering would reduce the possibilities to either a good KIRF or the real thing. One way or the other, we could know the truth soon enough.
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.
iTunes Store opens in Hong Kong, Taiwan and 10 other Asia-Pacific territories
Our Apple-loving compatriots on the west side of the Pacific Ocean have been able to purchase the latest in iPhone and iPad software from the App Store for a while, but believe it or not, they've been shut out of the iTunes Store. Apple has just opened the virtual iTunes storefront in a dozen locations across the Asia-Pacific region. The "big three" Asian markets that will get access to music and movies for the first time today are Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Other locations that are going live today are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. All of the new stores will feature local content as well as the big international favorites. Apple chose to launch the new branches of the iTunes Store complete with iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match subscriptions.
Apple opens iTunes Store in Hong Kong, Taiwan and 10 other Asia-Pacific territories
Many Apple fans on the opposite side of the Pacific from Cupertino haven't had much of a choice to shop from iTunes, even though they've had the App Store for some time. There's now a much better sense of balance: Apple just flicked the switch on the iTunes Store for music and movies in a dozen countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. The company singles out our own Richard Lai's Hong Kong as well as Singapore and Taiwan, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam are also getting the media catalogs, which include local content along with the international hits. It's a full catch-up as well, with iTunes in the Cloud re-downloads and iTunes Match subscriptions available in every new country. If you're a huge Andy Lau fan but wanted his albums from the most iPhone-friendly store possible, the wait is over.
Internet Trends report finds online growth driven by China and India, users increasingly mobile
You probably don't need a 112 slide PowerPoint presentation from Mary Meeker and the venture capital firm KPCB to tell you this, but the Internet, she's getting bigger. Every year more and more people sign on and, not surprisingly, many of the 663 million netizens added over the last three years have come from developing nations like China and India. In fact, since 2008, China has accounted for almost a third of new web users, adding 215 million to the connected population. What also shouldn't come as a shock, is that the boon in connectivity is also being pushed by the broader availability of 3G data connections. Areas like India, China and Vietnam have all seen triple digit percentage growths in 3G penetration since last year. Wireless broadband has really exploded in India, where year over year growth in subscribers was 841 percent, though, that still only equates to a four percent penetration rate. For more info about the state of the internet and the world's 1.1 billion 3G subscribers hit up the source link.
New iPad to hit 30 more countries this weekend, work on its tan
The corners of the Earth that don't have a new iPad have been quickly shrinking, and Apple's tablet is about to get nigh-on inescapable as of this weekend. A round of 23 more countries is getting the 2012 refresh on May 11, most of it being South American countries such as Foxconn's new manufacturing hub, Brazil. Parts of Africa and southeast Asia will be served as well, such as the home of our favorite unofficial hands-on sessions, Vietnam. Seven Persian Gulf countries will get their Retina Display fix one day later. By the time the weekend is up, the iPad will be available in nearly 90 countries on this planet, which makes it highly likely that anyone reading this article can find the slate in a local retail store.
