Microsoft better at patching XP than Vista

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Microsoft better at patching XP than Vista
News: Pentagon shuts down systems after cyber-attack
News: Nuance buys T9 text-input tool for mobile phones
News: Dell lets users avoid 'bloatware'
News: DIGITAL GEAR: Keeping data secure with biometrics
News: RFID trial dubbed a supply chain utopia
News: IBM pushes z9 mainframe for small business
News: Mainframe users get faster remote vaulting
News: Malicious GIF conceals PHP attack
Gadgets: SEK: Gadgets of Seoul's SEK
Gadgets: Solar jacket powers up cell phones, iPods on the fly
Gadgets: Camera phones will top 1 billion this year
ITWhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Palindramas


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft better at patching XP than Vista
A Microsoft Corp. security executive released data Thursday showing that, six months after shipping Windows Vista, his company has left more publicly disclosed Vista bugs unpatched than it did with Windows XP.


Pentagon shuts down systems after cyber-attack
The U.S. Department of Defense took an estimated 1,500 computers offline Wednesday after a security breach within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).


Nuance buys T9 text-input tool for mobile phones
Nuance Communications Inc. has agreed to buy the developer of the T9 predictive text input software for mobile phones from current owner AOL LLC.


Dell lets users avoid 'bloatware'
Dell Inc. is allowing its customers to decline the unwanted software applications loaded on new PCs, after hundreds of users complained about such "bloatware" on a company blog.


DIGITAL GEAR: Keeping data secure with biometrics
Fingerprint readers have been offered as PC peripherals since the late 1980s, but have never caught on, says Jim Wayman, a biometrics expert. That didn't sway Apricorn Inc. from releasing Aegis Bio, a new portable biometric hard drive that accesses encrypted data after validating a fingerprint. Also portable is Microsoft Corp.'s timeless Natural Ergonomic Keyboard, updated with radio technology to make it free of wires. Microsoft's peripheral adversary, Logitech Inc., threw a small surprise by changing gears and launching notebook accessories -- the sleek Kinetik laptop cases and Alto laptop stands -- aimed at everyday users.


RFID trial dubbed a supply chain utopia
The National EPC Network Demonstrator Project (NDP) Extension in Australia has achieved a 100 percent RFID tag identification rate, up 5 percent on last year's pilot, researchers claim.


IBM pushes z9 mainframe for small business
IBM Corp. unveiled a Web site and IT security software application Thursday as part of its effort to compete with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sun Microsystems Inc. for customers in the fast-growing small and medium business sector.


Mainframe users get faster remote vaulting
Brocade has introduced pipelining technology for transferring data from a mainframe across a WAN and FICON link to IBM and Sun virtual tape libraries -- claiming to increase backup speed up to 70 percent.


Malicious GIF conceals PHP attack
Hackers have begun circulating a PHP exploit embedding it in a seemingly harmless GIF image, according to security researchers.


GADGETS

SEK: Gadgets of Seoul's SEK
Seoul's SEK exhibition this week has the usual mix of gadgets and toys to keep attendees amused as they walk the aisles. Here's a sampling of some of those devices.


Solar jacket powers up cell phones, iPods on the fly
Heavy users of mobile phones, iPods and other portable devices may want to try on a new coat lined with solar modules and a battery to charge their gadgets on the fly.


Camera phones will top 1 billion this year
The number of mobile camera phones in use will top 1 billion this year, reflecting their tremendous growth rate since they hit the market around seven years ago, according to a new market evaluation.


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Palindramas
Word mavens love palindromes -- words or phrases that read the same forward and backward. This clever strip takes some of the funnier ones and illustrates them. My personal favorites include "Purr, it's a stirrup!" and "Total L.A. tot."