More doubt tossed onto iPad numbers

A second report has surfaced claiming Apple is experiencing spotty overseas production of the iPad, due for release later this month, reveals The Register.

ThinkEquity analyst Vijay Rakesh issued a note to investors on Thursday claiming checks with manufacturers suggested "some minor delays" in ramping up production for the tablet.

Apparently, a light flow of only 200 000 to 250 000 iPads per month is all that's possible at present, and production may not hit 800 000 to a million units per month until at least April.

Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano has admitted there is an urgent need to step up efforts to protect Americans from cyber attacks, writes the BBC.

Her comments, at the world's largest security conference hosted by vendor RSA, come as the cyber threat grows ever more sophisticated.

Incidents like the attack on Google in China have underscored the issue.

Perhaps stirred by Apple's claim of being one of the biggest mobile device companies in the world, Sony plans a number of new devices and services to compete with Apple's iTunes Store, iPhone and iPad, says Ars Technica.

That strategy will revolve around what's currently being called Sony Online Service, along with smartphone and tablet-like devices meant to connect to it, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.

Sony plans to introduce its online media platform, aimed squarely at Apple's iTunes Store, later this month.

YouTube is making the tens of millions of videos it hosts more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing by putting automatic captions on them, reports the BBC.

The Google-owned company said this use of speech recognition technology is probably the biggest experiment of its kind online.

Previously, captions were only on a small amount of content.