Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator
News: Security company launches eBay for bugs
News: Solar Web hosting company powers Live Earth sites
News: iPhone, new iPods to spur flash prices
News: UK company says it's close to unlocking iPhones
News: Talking Trojan says 'bye bye' to victims' data
News: Microsoft to release six security updates next week
News: Alfresco rolls Web 2.0 features into CMS upgrade
News: Lasers could make disk drives a hundred times faster
News: Lenovo promises safe hard drive wiping
Go Figure: Businesses allow 'shadow IT culture'
ITWhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Transformers: Roommates In Disguise


NEWS UPDATES

Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator
Sun has released the final version of its Open Document Format (ODF) plug-in for Microsoft Office, designed to allow the ODF standard to better compete with Microsoft's dominant Office formats.


Security company launches eBay for bugs
Psst. Want to buy a zero-day? A Swiss startup called WabiSabiLabi Ltd. has some for sale, but to qualified buyers only.


Solar Web hosting company powers Live Earth sites
The Web hosting company chosen to power the Web sites for this weekend's Live Earth concerts adopts an environmentally friendly business plan: Let the sunshine in.


iPhone, new iPods to spur flash prices
Sales of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and new iPods slated for release later this year will mark the end of cheap flash memory for a time, and that means users may see fewer bargains on older digital music players or bundled flash memory cards.

UK company says it's close to unlocking iPhones
A company that unlocks cell phones in Europe said it is close to having an application that will allow customers to unlock their Apple iPhones so they can use SIM cards from carriers other than AT&T Inc. to activate the phones.


Talking Trojan says 'bye bye' to victims' data
A newly identified malicious program not only messes up its victims' computers, it taunts them too.


Microsoft to release six security updates next week
Microsoft Corp. will release six groups of security patches next week including three critical updates for Windows and Excel users.


Alfresco rolls Web 2.0 features into CMS upgrade
Alfresco Software Inc. is taking cues from the so-called Web 2.0 craze with the release of the latest version of its open-source content management software (CMS).


Lasers could make disk drives a hundred times faster
Researchers have demonstrated disk write speeds one hundred times faster than current hard drives. The method uses a laser to heat the recording surface and alter its magnetic field. There is no equivalent read speed increase though.


Lenovo promises safe hard drive wiping
Lenovo has launched software to comprehensively delete data on PC hard drives, after surveys revealed a widespread failure to remove sensitive data from hard drives on PCs slated for disposal.


GO FIGURE

67%
The share of IT managers who reported rogue behavior among end-users, including "users installing software, or tampering with existing software or macros, without the IT department's consent," according to a survey by Blue Prism, an integration specialist. Most IT departments accept this "shadow IT culture"; only 10 percent of survey respondents said they favor measures to eradicate it.
SOURCE: Techworld.com


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Transformers: Roommates In Disguise
What with the upcoming release of the big movie, you've no doubt got Transformers fever! So if you've ever wanted to see what the Transformers do between epic battles for world domination in their San Francisco apartments, this photo-based comic's for you.