Monday, September 24, 2007

OLPC offers give one, get one for $400 ... Mobile Web developers irate at Vodafone ... Network General bought at discount price

TOP STORY

OLPC offers give one, get one for $400
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) group has launched a program that will let U.S. and Canadian residents pay $400 for one laptop to keep and one to give to a child in a developing nation.


IN THE NEWS

Mobile Web developers irate at Vodafone move
Mobile developers around the world are in an uproar over a change Vodafone Group PLC has made in the U.K. that dramatically decreases the quality of their products and that they fear could prevent new and innovative mobile services from reaching the market.

Microsoft, Philips retest 'white spaces' device
A group of technology vendors has submitted new test results for a wireless device intended to operate in unused portions of the television spectrum, after an identical device malfunctioned in U.S. Federal Communications Commission tests earlier this year.

Tech executives lard richest Americans list
Technology executives dominated the top 10 of Forbes magazine's list of 400 richest Americans this year, with Microsoft Corp. co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates retaining his place at the top of the annual list for the 14th time. According to Forbes, Gates is worth $59 billion.

Zimbra users vexed by Yahoo deal
Zimbra Inc. customers appalled at the company's planned acquisition by Yahoo Inc. are speaking out, saying they are vexed by the deal and upset over its possible negative consequences.

SK Telecom spends on Helio as EarthLink steps back
Struggling EarthLink Inc. has stepped back from further funding Helio, its U.S. mobile joint venture with SK Telecom Co. Ltd., amid hints that the South Korean cellular carrier may become the majority shareholder.

Network General bought at knock-down price
NetScout is to buy Network General, the company behind the legendary Sniffer, for around $205 million in cash, stock and debt


UNIX TIP

Scanning your messages file for warnings
By Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld.com

Too often we sysadmins look through our messages files only when something has gone wrong on our systems and we need some clues that might help us piece together what has happened. Routine scanning or, better yet, intelligent extraction and summarization of important notices and warnings can help alert us to problems when they make their first appearance and sometimes avoid the worst repercussions of a problem on your systems. This article looks at a script that scans for warning messages, collects the text and frequency of appearance of these warnings and presents this information in digested form.


GADGET GIVEAWAY

It's Fall, and we have a new gadget giveaway ... just for the heck of it. We've brought back the ultimate geek tool, the Swiss Army knife equipped with USB flash drive, LED light, and ballpoint pen.

Enter now for a chance to win!


ITWHIRLED

For sale on eBay: One smallish European country, slightly used
Citizens of Belgium went to the polls more than three months ago, but the nation's squabbling political parties still haven't been able to agree on a new cabinet yet. Since nobody else seems to want to run the place, disgruntled Belgian Gerrit Six put the country up for sale on eBay. The company pulled the auction when someone placed a $14 million bid.


POLL

Does the iPhone price cut change your mind about buying one?

- Not really - it's still too much for too little
- I'm holding out - it'll come down another $50 or so soon enough
- Now that it's in the sweet spot, I've got my credit card ready
- It sure made me change my mind about having bought one at the old price, I tell you what

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