Skoda Kodiaq SUV announced; heading to India in 2017

Automobile manufacturer Skoda has finally unveiled its SUV called Kodiaq. While pricing details aren’t available just yet, Skoda has made it official that it will be bringing its SUV to India in 2017. Autocar India claims that Skoda Kodiaq will launch in India in September 2017.

Skoda Kodiaq – World Premiere, Berlin (Image: Skoda)

The Kodiaq gets its name from the Kodiak bear which is found in Alaska. The vehicle has been derived from the Vision S concept that debuted at the 86th Geneva Motor Show back in March.

Image: Skoda

Coming to the design, the Kodiaq SUV features some sharp lines as per previous teasers. The design is influenced by Czech cubism and features plenty of cuts and straight lines but retains the recent change in Skoda’s design philosophy that is also evident in the new Superb sedan.

Image: Skoda

Image: Skoda

The 3D-front grille adds to the sharp looks and so do the tail lights and the headlamps both of which get the LED treatment.

Image: Skoda

Moving to the internals, the Kodiaq is based on Volkswagen’s MQB platform and weighs in at just 1,452kgs.

Image: Skoda

The interior is fairly simple but packs in a few modern hints like the black dash you see in the image above. Still then it seems like a subtle version of the SUV’s exterior. It is however practical, one that which Skoda claims, offers a larger than average space compared to other SUVs.

Image: Skoda

The five seat model offers 2.065 litres of boot space while the seven seat option will deliver 720 litres.

Image: Skoda

The Kodiaq will be offered in two TDI variants and three TSI variants. The petrol engine will be a 2.0-litre unit that develops 177bhp, while the more powerful diesel will also be a 2.0 litre engine capable of delivering 189bhp. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual gearbox or DSG transmissions that will arrive with six or seven speeds.

The Skoda Kodiaq will be offered in three trim levels Active, Ambition and Style

Lenovo lays off over 700 Motorola employees

Lenovo has started its latest round of layoffs that is set to hurt Motorola employees, yet again. Lenovo had acquired Motorola back in 2014, and the new move is aimed at streamlining workforce after another sluggish quarter. However, it is said to impact two percent of the overall workforce, which is 55,000 employees globally.

The new number is pegged to be more than 50 percent of the remaining Moto workforce. According to DroidLife, over 700 out of the 1200 Motorola employees will be informed they’ve lost their jobs.

An official statement from Lenovo states:

Lenovo today announced a resource action impacting less than two percent of its approximately 55,000 employees globally. The majority of the positions being eliminated are part of the ongoing strategic integration between Lenovo and its Motorola smartphone business as the company further aligns its organisation and streamlines its product portfolio to best compete in the global smartphone market.

The company is also making adjustments in other areas of the business as part of a continued effort to manage costs, drive efficiency and support ongoing improvement in overall financial performance. While these actions are never easy, they are a necessary part of our continued efforts to ensure long-term, profitable growth across all of our businesses.

Lenovo is absolutely committed to Chicago and we plan to maintain our Motorola Mobility headquarters there. Chicago has a well-deserved reputation for technical excellence and as the hub of our global R&D for our smartphone business we expect to take advantage of local talent to continue developing Moto products there.

Many see it as the last step to merge Motorola completely into their own business. It was not too long ago that Motorola was renamed Moto by Lenovo. The move, as stated above, is also a change in its strategy to improve financial performance.

Meanwhile, AndroidPolice claims that Motorola has lost more than 95 percent of its employees in the last four years. It should be noted that Google acquired Motorola in 2012, and sold it to Lenovo in 2014

Samsung Galaxy On8 announced for Rs 15,900; to sell exclusively on Flipkart

Samsung India on Tuesday launched its 4G and VOLTE-enabled smartphone Galaxy On8 with a host of India-specific features which will be available on Flipkart’s “Big Billion Day” sale from 2 October.

The phone is pre-loaded with two “Make for India” initiatives — ultra data saving (UDS) and S-bike mode.

The device, available in gold, black and white colours, is priced at Rs 15,900. The device is loaded with a 3GB RAM and 1.6 GHz Octa Core processor for fast operations.

“Galaxy On8 not only looks stylish but also packs a punch with superior consumer experience with powerful processor and vivid display. We are pleased to announce the new Galaxy On8 exclusively on Flipart’s ‘Big Billion Day’ Sale,” Manu Sharma, vice president, Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics, said in a statement.

The 7.8mm slim device offers an internal storage space of 16GB — expandable upto 128GB — and a powerful 3,300 mAH battery. Galaxy On8 also sports a dual-SIM functionality with a separate slot for memory card.

The device comes with an f/1.9 aperture in both front and rear cameras that deliver brighter images in low-light conditions.

The rear camera is a 13MP shooter to capture high quality, crisp and detailed photographs. The device also features a front LED flash with 5MP front camera.

IANS

Hacker Who Helped ISIS to Build 'Hit List' Of US Military

A computer hacker who allegedly helped the terrorist organization ISIS by handing over data for 1,351 US government and military personnel has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison.

Ardit Ferizi, aka Th3Dir3ctorY, from Kosovo was sentenced in federal court in Alexandria, for "providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information in order to provide material support to ISIL," the Department of Justice announced on Friday.

The 21-year-old ISIS-linked hacker obtained the data by hacking into the US web hosting company's servers on June 13, 2015.

Ferizi then filtered out over 1,300 US military and government employees' information from the stolen data and then handed them over to Junaid Hussain, according to court filings [PDF].

The stolen data contains personally identifiable information (PII), which includes names, email addresses, passwords, locations and phone numbers of US military service members and government workers.

Junaid Hussain, who was a British jihadi and believed to be the then leader and creator of a group of ISIS hackers called the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), posted the names and personal data of 100 US service member's families online.

The Hussain's statements included:

"We are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the Khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!"

Hussain, who was also known as Abu Hussain Al-Britani and used the moniker TriCk, was later killed in a US drone strike in Syria in August last year.

The US authorities also tracked down Ferizi to Malaysia, where he was arrested by the local authorities on October 6, 2015, while trying to catch a flight back to Kosovo.

Before helping ISIS, Ferizi had served as an alleged leader of the Kosova Hacker's Security (KHS) hacking group and hacked into a number of government sites belonging to the Presidency of Macedonia, the Greek Ministry of Education, the Greek Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace (DAMT), Lifelong Learning and Religion. He also stole data from IBM and Greek mobile telecoms firm OTE.

Ferizi was pleaded guilty on June 15, 2016, and faced a sentence of up to 35 years in prison, but the sentence was reduced to a maximum of 25 years after agreeing to plead guilty. However, defense lawyers said he meant no real harm and asked for a six-year sentence