The next-generation storage device, solid-state drive, or SSD, is expected to become more popular next year thanks to its rapidly falling price, a report said.The report by iSuppli, a U.S.-based market researcher, said the global SSD sales volume in the third quarter of 2012 reached 15.5 million units, a 137 percent increase from the same period last year.SSDs have better stability and speed compared to conventional hard disk drives. Since these specifications are most important for storage devi

Facebook says it is moving all users to secure HTTPS browser connections to help block attacks over WiFi networks.HTTPS, a secure version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with which browsers connect with websites, encrypts data as it is transferred, making it harder to see for potential attackers on the same wireless network.First adopted by financial institutions and on-line shopping sites, HTTPS is becoming widespread among Web services, PC World reported.Facebook offered HTTPS as an option

Mobile communication venture firm Kakao launched three new mobile service platforms on Tuesday, aiming to secure at least 1 million individual and group partners in three years. Before the launch, Kakao had 31 mobile game partners and 260-some “plus friend” partner companies. In unveiling the new applications ― Kakao Page, Story Plus and Chatting Plus ― the mobile venture tech firm is poised to convert itself from customer-centered social servant to a powerful marketing-booster to its business p

 A U.S. computer scientist says he‘s developed a prototype smartphone with a touchscreen that can sense touches from different parts of the hand.Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh says the screen can distinguish between touches from the knuckle, fingertip and even a fingernail, and initiate different phone action based on the hand part used, NewScientist.com reported.Harrison’s modified Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone senses the acoustic and vibrational differences between t

Hollywood-style robots able to shoot people without permission from their human handlers are a real possibility and must be banned before governments start deploying them, campaigners warned Monday.The report “Losing Humanity” -- issued by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School‘s International Human Rights Clinic -- raised the alarm over the ethics of the looming technology.Calling them “killer robots,” the report urged “an international treaty that would absolutely prohibit the development,

Dongbu Insurance Co. pays the highest annual salaries to first-year employees, beating the former best-paying company Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co., according to news reports. Unlike the public conception that Samsung affiliate companies offer the highest annual starting salaries, Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co. ranked No. 3 despite its No. 1 performance in business Yonhap News said. Before tax reduction, the annual salaries for first-year employees with bachelor’s degrees was the

The nation’s best-selling tobacco manufacturer KT&G Corp. will export 300,000 packs of its premium tobacco brand “Tonino Lamborghini” to Hong Kong by the end of November. KT&G has already sold “Tonino Lamborghini” in Chinese duty-free shops since September, with its first import order at 488,000 packs. China and Hong Kong together form the largest, most competitive tobacco market in the world, the company said. “From the beginning, Tonino Lamborghini was meant to be launched worldwide,” a KT&G o

KT Corp. chairman Lee Suk-chae won the 11th CNBC Asia Business Leaders Award in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, the mobile operator said on Sunday.The award acknowledges Asian business visionaries with strength, innovation, ingenuity, knowledge and foresight that are especially required for the leaders of today’s global economy. One of the six awardees this year, Lee won the accolade in recognition of his personal involvement in supporting and fostering the next generation of leaders. Lee has beco

Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun was ranked fifth out of 50 CEOs in “2012 Businessperson of the Year” selected by global business magazine Fortune, followed by Google CEO Larry Page who ranked sixth. Fortune evaluated Kwon as a CEO who has successfully run the $149 billion Samsung Electronics empire since June 2012 as the head of component business. “Under Kwon, the Korean company became the second-largest chipmaker in the world. Now the new CEO has to contend with its top customer and compe

Georgia Tech researchers, in a cyberthreat forecast for 2013, warn new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data will be seen.The report was released at the annual Georgia Tech Institute of Technology Cyber Security Summit, a gathering of industry and academic leaders in the field of cybersecurity.Specific threats predicted for the coming year include cloud-based botnets of virtual attack systems, manipulation of search-engine algorithms and other automated mechanisms

“Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm,” the first expansion pack of “Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty,” will be released in March next year, game developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment said Tuesday. “Heart of the Swarm” features new units, including Terran Hellbats, Zerg Swarm Hosts and Protoss Tempests, along with new maps. The expansion set has about 20 campaign missions, and provides an enhanced battle net service, Blizzard said at a “Starcraft” community party held in Seoul.“With ‘Heart of