Symantec warns of new zero-day Word attack ... Oracle sneaks out E-Business Suite 12

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Symantec warns of new zero-day Word attack
News: Oracle sneaks out E-Business Suite 12
News: Microsoft net income falls by 28 percent in Q2
News: Fox subpeonas YouTube over pirated shows
Interview: The Geek Gap
Opinion: Business Innovation Defined
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update


NEWS UPDATES

Symantec warns of new zero-day Word attack
Hackers are exploiting a new, unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft Word, Symantec Corp. has warned. The zero-day vulnerability is the fourth in Microsoft's widely-used Word 2000 software that has not yet been patched.

Oracle sneaks out E-Business Suite 12
Oracle Corp. has quietly released E-Business Suite Release 12 to customers a few days in advance of a big launch event planned for next week in New York City. The update to its suite of business applications is available for download now in all supported languages.

Microsoft net income falls by 28 percent in Q2
Microsoft Corp.'s net income fell 28 percent year over year for its 2007 second fiscal quarter as it spent ahead of its mass market launch of Windows Vista this month.

News Corp. subpeonas YouTube over pirated shows
News Corp.'s Fox television division has subpoenaed YouTube Inc. regarding programs posted on the video-sharing Web site. The subpoena asks YouTube to provide information that could help Fox to identify the person who posted the videos, which include recent episodes of "24" and "The Simpsons," according to a report in Friday's Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft to push new anti-phishing technology
At next month's RSA Conference in San Francisco, Microsoft plans to announce that a number of Web sites have gone through a new certification process designed to make it harder for phishers to spoof them. The process gives third-party certification authorities like VeriSign Inc. and Entrust Inc. a more stringent set of guidelines to follow when they are authenticating Web sites.

Half of pirated Vista is malware
About half of the downloads claiming to be free versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Vista operating system are actually malicious Trojan horse software, security vendor DriveSentry Inc. warned Thursday.

Free software group attacks educational software patent
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is going to review the patent held by e-learning software maker Blackboard Inc., in the wake of a challenge by a group advocating open source software.


INTERVIEW

The Geek Gap: Why business and technology professionals don't understand each other
Lack of respect and trust, poor communication and a culture clash are often at fault for the clash between "geeks" and "suits", according to Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin, authors of The Geek Gap. A geek's primary strength is problem solving or creating and maintaining technology, while a suit's talent is influencing people. Here's an interview with the authors, and some tips for closing the divide.


OPINION

Business Innovation Defined
By James Gaskin

Last time I mentioned that businesspeople define IT's value to the company by how much you and your coworkers enabled business innovation. What do they mean by that? Innovation to them means shifting their work load to someone else, usually IT. The more of their work you do, the more innovative they are. Those with older siblings will recognize this: you are the sucker.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft to promote anti-phishing technology ... Oracle releases E-Business Suite 12 ... Zero-day Word flaw being exploited ... Mobile shipments top 1 billion in 2006

Wireless boosts AT&T's quarterly earnings ... Cisco discloses three router security problems

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Wireless boosts AT&T's quarterly earnings
News: Nokia sales up, market share steady
News: Cisco discloses three router security problems
News: Nintendo sales, profits surging on Wii, DS Lite
Unix Tip: Shells and search order
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Indexed


NEWS UPDATES

Wireless boosts AT&T's quarterly earnings
AT&T Inc. reported a 17 percent increase in profits for its latest quarter, citing a substantial increase in new wireless subscribers and wireless service revenues.

Nokia sales up, market share steady
Nokia Corp. reported strong sales and profits for the fourth quarter and year end but had a couple of dark spots, namely continued declines in North America and a slipping average selling price of phones.

Cisco discloses three router security problems
Cisco Systems Inc. is warning of three vulnerabilities within its Internet Operating System (IOS) software that could allow a denial-of-service attack or let a hacker run arbitrary code on an affected switch router. The company has published workarounds and issued an updated version of the software.

Nintendo sales, profits surging on Wii, DS LiteSales and profits at Japanese games maker Nintendo Co. Ltd. are surging on strong sales of its new Wii console and DS handheld gaming device. The company sold 3.2 million Wii consoles in November and December, together with 17.5 million pieces of software.

Symantec storage revenue down; job cuts ahead
With sales of its storage software dropping, Symantec Corp. plans to lay off some staff as part of plans to cut $200 million in expenses.

Partners and retailers rally apps, support for Vista
With the consumer launch of Windows Vista on the horizon, Microsoft Corp.'s software and retail partners are preparing for the launch with applications and support for the new OS.


UNIX TIP

Shells and search order
By Sandra Henry-Stocker

It's easy to take the Unix command line for granted. That is, it's easy to get used to typing in commands and getting responses without thinking very much about how the system determines what command to run. Some of the commands we type are binary files that are part of the OS, some are scripts, some are shell built-ins and some are aliases that are configured into our accounts. Still others may be shell routines. The order that Unix systems use in evaluating the commands we enter is not solely dependent on our PATH variables. Instead, the search order follows a predefined order. If you happen to have a script that has the same name as a Unix command, an alias and a shell routine or built-in, for example, how do you know which one you will end up executing when you press the return key?


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Nokia reports strong Q4 profit ... Pope criticizes violent video games ... TSMC reports weak Q4 results ... PS3 coming to Europe March 23 ... iTunes faces legal woe in Norway


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Indexed
For the visually/mathematically inclined: a series of line graphs, scattergrams, and Venn diagrams on index cards, conveying information both odd and wonderful. Such as: What happens when you plot spaces in a mall parking lot against spaces in landfill? What larger set are hats, rabbits, advertising, and truth all subsets of? What category could Enron and the Brady Bunch both fall into?

MS already gearing up for Vista service pack ... SAP to offer hosted midmarket apps

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft already gearing up for Vista service pack
News: SAP to offer hosted suite of midmarket apps
News: Toshiba preps 2GB NAND flash memory chips
News: Broadcom takes massive $2.24 billion in backdating charges
Windows Tip: Preventing removal from a domain
Podcast: SAP prepares hosted midmarket apps ... Sun reports a quarterly profit ... Toshiba makes 2G byte NAND chip ... Apple patches Quicktime hole
ITwhirled: CSI: 19th century


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft already gearing up for Vista service pack
On the verge of the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp. is already accepting orders for features to go in the OS's first service pack.

SAP to offer hosted suite of midmarket apps
SAP AG is developing a hosted suite of business applications for the midmarket, hoping to attract an untapped segment of customers with the promise of faster implementation and lower ownership costs.

Toshiba preps 2GB NAND flash memory chips
Toshiba Corp. will begin selling in April NAND flash memory chips capable of holding up to 2G bytes of data, the company said Wednesday.

Broadcom takes massive $2.24 billion in backdating charges
Broadcom Corp. Tuesday unveiled the largest restatement of financial results related to stock options backdating so far, totalling $2.24 billion.

Apple patches security flaw in QuickTime
Apple Inc. has patched a vulnerability in its QuickTime media player. The problem concerns a buffer overflow that can occur when QuickTime processes a RTSP URL, which directs the player to a streaming file and allows a user to play and pause it.

Sun returns to black after five red-ink quarters
Sun Microsystems Inc., fresh from news of a renewed alliance with chipmaker Intel Corp., on Tuesday reported its first quarterly profit in more than a year. Sun posted net income of $126 million, or $0.03 per share, on a 7 percent gain in revenue to $3.566 billion, in its fiscal 2007 second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006.

ATI buyout eats into AMD's Q4
Beset by sinking prices for microprocessors and the cost of acquiring graphics chip company ATI, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $574 million, down from a profit of $96 million for the same quarter last year.

FTC clears Brocade-McData deal
The Federal Trade Commission has cleared the pending acquisition of McData Corp. by Brocade Communications Systems Inc. after an antitrust review, removing the last regulatory hurdle to the deal.

Microsoft releases Ajax tool
Microsoft Corp. Tuesday released a developer tool formerly code-named Atlas for building Web applications based on Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).


WINDOWS TIP

Preventing removal from a domain
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

By default, any authenticated users on an Active Directory-based network can add a Windows XP workstation to a domain. In fact, they can create up to ten computer accounts in the domain if they want to. As an administrator, you can use Group Policy to manage who in your organization has the right to join workstations to the domain by configuring the Add Workstations To Domain policy setting, which is found under Computer Configuration/Windows Settings/Security Settings/Local Policies/User Rights Assignments.

Here's how to configure this setting.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
SAP prepares hosted midmarket apps ... Sun reports a quarterly profit ... Toshiba makes 2G byte NAND chip ... Apple patches Quicktime hole


ITWHIRLED

CSI: 19th century
For decades, historians have buzzed that Napoleon may have been poisoned by his British captors. But recent research has come up with a more prosaic answer: He died of stomach cancer -- just like the coroner who first examined his body said.

Microsoft said to offer payment for Wikipedia edits ... EMC reports strong Q4, full-year results

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft said to offer payment for Wikipedia edits
News: EMC reports strong Q4, full-year results
News: Windows OneCare update coming worldwide Jan. 30
News: Symantec: Storm Trojan worst outbreak since 2005
Tip: The role of data protection in governance
Podcast: Sun, Intel strike broad alliance ... European consumer groups band on iTunes ... Alcatel-Lucent warns of poor Q4
ITwhirled: How to win Wii Tennis (at any cost)


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft said to offer payment for Wikipedia edits
A software engineer in Australia has said he was offered payment by Microsoft Corp. to edit certain entries in the Wikipedia online dictionary, opening a heated debate about the ethics of such a move.

EMC reports strong Q4, full-year results
EMC Corp. reported record revenue for its fourth quarter on Tuesday, propelled by strong growth in its RSA security division and VMware subsidiary.

Windows OneCare update coming worldwide Jan. 30
Microsoft Corp. will begin the international roll-out of its consumer security software on Jan. 30 when it releases a new version of Windows Live OneCare in the U.S. and 16 other countries.

Symantec: Storm Trojan worst outbreak since 2005
Malicious software that was sent out in millions of spam messages over the weekend has now infected about 300,000 computers, making it the worst malware outbreak since 2005.

McAfee upgrade jams up Lotus Notes
The latest upgrade to McAfee Inc.'s VirusScan Enterprise security software is causing hiccups for some versions of IBM Corp.'s Lotus Notes, the companies warned. The problem affects users who have upgraded to VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i and are using the R6 or R7 version of Lotus Notes, McAfee said.

Alcatel-Lucent expects poor Q4 results
Alcatel-Lucent SA warned on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter revenue and operating profit will be significantly lower than a year earlier, dragged down by uncertainty among customers and employees about the merger of Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc., which completed on Nov. 30.

Adult movie stars nervous about high definition
Families with new high-definition (HD) video camcorders and news anchors being broadcast in HD have already discovered just how revealing the picture quality is. But few professionals bare as much in front of the camera as adult-film stars, and many are nervous abut the new technology.

Majority of Americans prefer computer to spouse: survey
Don't say to the love of your life, "Either that computer goes or I do!" According to a new survey, you'll be packing your bags. Sixty-five percent of Americans polled said they spend more time with their home computer than their spouse or significant other, according to research by Kelton Research.


TIP

The role of data protection in governance
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

You have to come to grips with trying to understand the impact of the changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). One way of helping you do this is to organize your thinking around how the changes relate to the need for data protection. What do you need to know?


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Sun, Intel strike broad alliance ... European consumer groups band on iTunes ... Alcatel-Lucent warns of poor Q4


ITWHIRLED

How to win Wii Tennis (at any cost)
Obsessed with the Nintendo Wii's workout of a tennis game? Can't figure out how to defeat your human opponent? Here are some tips -- for those of you whose sense of ethics regarding the safety of your property and/or friends is malleable.

Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple ... OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple
News: OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge
News: Sun server deal with Intel likely
News: MySpace files lawsuit against 'Spam King'
Windows Tip: Troubleshooting group policy in Windows Vista
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Truly odd IT setups


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple
A senior Microsoft Corp. executive was so frustrated by his experience with digital music players made by Microsoft's partners that he proposed turning to Apple Inc.'s iPod for salvation, documents made public as part of an Iowa antitrust case reveal.

OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge
The two main evangelizers of the Linux operating system, Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and the Free Standards Group (FSG) are merging to form the Linux Foundation.

Reports: Sun server deal with Intel likely
Sun Microsystems Inc. may start buying server chips from Intel Corp. in a deal that could be announced Monday, according to media reports.

MySpace files lawsuit against 'Spam King'
MySpace.com has filed a lawsuit against the self-proclaimed "Spam King" for allegedly blasting the portal with spam through the use of compromised user accounts, the Web site said on Monday

Cisco admits iPhone license violation
Cisco Systems Inc. plans to resolve a license compliance issue regarding the use of Linux in one of its iPhones, the company wrote in a blog posting, but a researcher contends that Cisco has more work to do.

Unisys untangles chargeback mess in IT
Unisys Corp. is introducing a software suite that, among other things, automates the process of billing departments for computing time in a virtual environment.

Microsoft offers Vista preview to fight piracy
Microsoft Corp. is offering a free online "test drive" of its Windows Vista OS in its latest effort to fight software piracy and counterfeiting.

3Par offers carbon-neutral storage
3Par is going for the green sysadmin by promising to offset storage purchases to make them carbon-neutral. For every terabyte sold in 2007, the company will purchase carbon credits to compensate for its disk drive products' greenhouse gas emissions, it has said.


WINDOWS TIP

Troubleshooting group policy in Windows Vista
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

Group Policy is a key technology for managing computers on Windows-based networks where Active Directory is deployed. But Group Policy has been considerably enhanced in Windows Vista, and also in the soon-to-come Windows Server Code-Name "Longhorn." And of course, changes mean more learning for those who are going to administer these platforms, so this tip deals with one of these changes, namely how to troubleshooting Group Policy processing in Windows Vista.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
IBM adds social networking tools to Lotus Notes ... AMD may buy Intel server chips ... Microsoft exec discusses partnering with Apple iPod .. Riots in Bangalore


ITWHIRLED

Truly odd IT setups
Air conditioners in inappropriate places. Felt pads from three generations of equipment ago. U-bends. Slashdot readers share the weirdest IT setups they've had the pleasure of dealing with.