Dell signs deal with British mobile retailer

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Dell signs deal with British mobile retailer
News: IBM's India lab develops disaster management tool
News: Mayer: translation, universal search Google's future
News: Ask.com to let users scrub search records
News: Tomy to release tiny humanoid robot
News: Google's chief legal officer slapped with SEC fines
Q&A: Wozniak on Apple, AI and future inventions
ITWhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: "The Mighty Offenders"


NEWS UPDATES

Dell signs deal with British mobile retailer
Dell Inc. has signed a deal with a U.K. mobile phone retailer to distribute free laptops with the purchase of a broadband Internet access subscription, continuing the company's push into the retail market.


IBM's India lab develops disaster management tool
IBM Corp.’s India Research Laboratory has developed the Resiliency Maturity Index (RMI), a framework that quantitatively assesses the ability of an organization to recover from a variety of disasters such as floods, power outages, software glitches, epidemics, and terrorist attacks.


Mayer: translation, universal search Google's future
Universal search and automated translation are big parts of Google Inc.'s future, a company executive said Friday in Beijing.


Ask.com to let users scrub search records
Search portal Ask.com plans to make it easier for Web searchers to cover their tracks.


Tomy to release tiny humanoid robot
Toy robots have been in the dog house since the demise of Sony Corp.'s Aibo, but another Japanese company, Tomy Co. Ltd., hopes to change all that. In October it will start selling what it says is the world's smallest humanoid robot.


Google's chief legal officer slapped with SEC fines
Google Inc.'s chief legal officer was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Thursday over accounting issues arising from when he was chief financial officer (CFO) at former company.


Q&A

Wozniak on Apple, AI and future inventions
Steve Wozniak isn't perhaps as well known as his Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, but "Woz" invented the Apple I in 1976 and the Apple II in 1977, which was one of the best-selling PCs of that time. In this interview, Wozniak, who turns 57 on Aug. 11, talks about how he met Jobs, his most cherished inventions and why he believes thinking robots and artificial intelligence will never happen.


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: "The Mighty Offenders"
Are you still a super-hero if your "super" powers are lame? And if you have to hold down a day job? This strip, described as "'Clerks' meets 'X-Men,' poses just those questions.

Sources: Windows Vista SP1 beta due this week

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Sources: Windows Vista SP1 beta due this week
News: IBM shakes up sales organization to target SMB market
News: Epson plans Windows Rally wireless products
News: Lenovo retakes No. 3 spot from Acer in Q2 rankings
Related Reading: Desktop PC sales not slowing as predicted, Intel says
Related Reading: PC sales slow ahead of expected Intel price cut
News: Texas state Web site leaks sensitive information
News: Micro Focus offers fast track to SOA
News: Open-Xchange and Ubuntu woo small business
News: Wal-Mart to sell $300 PC with OpenOffice
News: Firefox update fixes problem with Internet Explorer
News: Health experts: E-health records privacy rules needed
Feature: Former spammer: 'I know I'm going to hell'
ITWhirled: Terrifying sea beast emerges from murky Pacific


NEWS UPDATES

Sources: Windows Vista SP1 beta due this week
Microsoft Corp. could pull the trigger on putting out a beta of the first service pack for Windows Vista any day, with a final release by November, sources close to the company said.


IBM shakes up sales organization to target SMB market
IBM Corp. is revamping part of its sales organization to better target the small-to-medium-sized business (SMB) market.


Epson plans Windows Rally wireless products
Japan's Seiko Epson Corp. is planning to develop a range of products based on a Microsoft's Windows Rally technology for wireless networked devices.


Lenovo retakes No. 3 spot from Acer in Q2 rankings
Lenovo Group Ltd. reclaimed the number three spot among PC vendors during the second quarter, pushing rival Acer Inc. back into fourth place. But Acer's exceptionally fast growth means the company is likely to overtake Lenovo as number three for the entire year, if current trends continue.


Related Reading: Desktop PC sales not slowing as predicted, Intel says
Predictions that growing demand for notebook PCs would result in a corresponding slowdown in demand for desktops haven't come to pass, Intel Corp.'s top executive in Asia said.


Related Reading: PC sales slow ahead of expected Intel price cut
Global PC sales have slowed a tad over the past few weeks as the market waits for Intel Corp. to announce new price reductions, market researchers said.


Texas state Web site leaks sensitive information
Troy Aikman may not be happy about it, but the State of Texas has made his address and Social Security number available via the Internet.


Micro Focus offers fast track to SOA
Companies looking to get a head-start with an SOA roll-out are being offered a new service from Micro Focus. The company has launched a new product called SOA Express that provides a way for customers to convert the code for existing services.


Open-Xchange and Ubuntu woo small business
Open-Xchange has released an Outlook-compatible groupware server specifically designed for smaller businesses, and designed as a simple, open-source alternative to the likes of Microsoft Exchange.


Wal-Mart to sell $300 PC with OpenOffice
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opened its campaign for the back-to-school PC sales season on Wednesday by unveiling a US$298 desktop from Everex that combines three of the most popular industry trends -- open-source software, a power-efficient processor, and a lack of "bloatware."


Firefox update fixes problem with Internet Explorer
A new update for the Firefox browser fixes an unusual vulnerability that could cause malicious code to run if the browser is launched by Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer.


Health experts: E-health records privacy rules needed
The United States needs new medical privacy rules as the country moves toward greater use of IT to store health records, a group of health-care experts said Wednesday.


FEATURE

Former spammer: 'I know I'm going to hell'
"Ed," a retired spammer, built a considerable fortune sending e-mails that promoted pills, porn and casinos. At the peak of his power, Ed says he pulled in US$10,000 to $15,000 a week, storing the money in $20 bills in stacks of boxes.


ITWHIRLED

Terrifying sea beast emerges from murky Pacific
Scientists were baffled by the appearance of an unknown form of undersea life off the big island of Hawaii. The creature appears to be half octopus and half squid, and has been dubbed an "octosquid." Reports that the octosquids were carefully plotting to rise up and conquer the land could not be confirmed at press time.

Intel sampling Penryn chips ahead of Q4 launch

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Intel sampling Penryn chips ahead of Q4 launch
News: Government, contractors hit in targeted attack
News: Oracle adds Google Maps to Field Service
News: No plans for network operations center in Asia, RIM says
News: Sanyo restarts chip plant after earthquake
News: Rapid growth seen for India's mobile market
News: Data recorder stores 48 terabytes
News: FBI, military names being used in e-mail scams
News: Big Blue enters mid-market BI with Datamirror buy
News: Microsoft adds Ask.com ad keyword purchases to Office Live
News: DRAM market pauses in price drop, analyst says
Gadgets: TOKYO EDGE: July's coolest gadgets
Gadgets: Microsoft photo technologies aim big
Gadgets: Microsoft Research inventions are wacky and useful
ITWhirled: Top ten funny franchise names (that mean business)


NEWS UPDATES

Intel sampling Penryn chips ahead of Q4 launch
Intel Corp. is making samples of its Penryn server chips widely available to computer makers ahead of a planned product launch during the fourth quarter, a company executive said Wednesday.


Government, contractors hit in targeted attack
Computers belonging to the U.S. government, contractors and companies in the transportation industry were hit by a targeted computer attack in July that yielded password information for hundreds of Internet and intranet Web sites, a computer security vendor said Tuesday.


Oracle adds Google Maps to Field Service
Oracle Corp. is integrating one of its applications with Google Inc.'s mapping service to help service providers locate customers more quickly.


No plans for network operations center in Asia, RIM says
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) has no plans to set up network operations centers outside Canada, despite growing demand for the BlackBerry in Asia and other markets.


Sanyo restarts chip plant after earthquake
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. has restarted chip production at a factory that automatically stopped when a powerful earthquake hit on Monday.


Rapid growth seen for India's mobile market
New research has confirmed that India's mobile phone market is set for a period of fast growth, with revenue from cellular services expected to jump by more than 18 percent each year for the next five years.


Data recorder stores 48 terabytes
Network Instruments has brought out an expandable version of its GigaStor network data recorder, capable of storing up to 48 terabytes of network traffic.


FBI, military names being used in e-mail scams
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is warning of fraudulent e-mails that appear to come from the FBI and U.S. military.


Big Blue enters mid-market BI with Datamirror buy
IBM's C$170 million (US$177 million) acquisition of a Markham, Ont.-based business intelligence company may not dramatically change its product portfolio, however, the investment will fill previously lacking areas of expertise, according to an analyst.


Microsoft adds Ask.com ad keyword purchases to Office Live
Microsoft Corp. has added the ability for subscribers of its Office Live small-business hosted service to purchase paid-search advertising from Ask.com from directly within the service.


DRAM market pauses in price drop, analyst says
Struggling memory chip vendors may see a ray of hope in the near future, as prices for DRAM (dynamic RAM) chips stopped their long slide during the first half of July, according to a report released Tuesday.


GADGETS

TOKYO EDGE: July's coolest gadgets
Bringing together existing technologies can often make a new product more useful, as can be seen with a few of the gadgets coming out of East Asia this month. Casio Computer Co. Ltd. has added a YouTube function to its newest digital still camera, so you can just shoot, connect and click to upload video to the popular Web site, while Sony Corp.'s PSP is getting a mobile digital TV tuner.


Microsoft photo technologies aim big
Microsoft Corp. is working on a variety of innovative photo projects, ranging from experiments with its 3D maps offering to massive panoramic photos that users can zoom into for details.


Microsoft Research inventions are wacky and useful
Flying bikes, cell phone robots, smart walking sticks and audio speakers that defy logic are inventions all on display Tuesday at Microsoft Corp. Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Top ten funny franchise names (that mean business) ... Top 10 tips for meeting etiquette

Google offers site search for small businesses

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Google offers site search for small businesses
News: Security firm: Don't use iPhone Web dialer
News: Microsoft Research explores location technologies
Related Reading: Microsoft researchers show off wireless projects
News: Lenovo makes India its marketing hub
News: Hundreds weigh in on net neutrality
News: Vodafone denies plan to buy Verizon
News: HP recycles a billion pounds of e-waste
News: Intel improves dual-core chip to protect its notebook share
ITWhirled: $19 million a bargain for space toilet


NEWS UPDATES

Google offers site search for small businesses
Google Inc. introduced a new service for small businesses that allows visitors to search within their Web sites on a customized search page.


Security firm: Don't use iPhone Web dialer
Security researchers at SPI Labs Inc. are warning iPhone users not to use a special feature that lets them dial telephone numbers over the Web using the iPhone's Safari browser.


Microsoft Research explores location technologies
Microsoft Corp. researchers are working on a variety of location-based tools, some of which could turn into interesting commercial applications.


RELATED READING: Microsoft researchers show off wireless projects
Microsoft Research workers showed off some of their projects, including several that find new uses for mobile phones, on Monday at a summit in Redmond, Washington.


Lenovo makes India its marketing hub
Lenovo Group Ltd. has moved worldwide marketing services such as creative development to a new hub it has established in Bangalore, India, with marketing communications firm Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Inc.


Hundreds weigh in on net neutrality
Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency's inquiry into the proposed regulation.


Vodafone denies plan to buy Verizon
Vodafone Group PLC has denied a Monday report by the Financial Times that it was considering buying Verizon Communications Inc. in a huge US$160 billion deal.


HP recycles a billion pounds of e-waste
HP has recycled half a billion pounds of e-waste in three years, and plans to recycle another billion by the end of 2010 -- but is the figure just be a measure of the size of HP's ink cartridge mountain?


Intel improves dual-core chip to protect its notebook share
Intel Corp. launched a dual-core notebook chip for high-end users on Monday, continuing an effort to defend its share of the fast-growing notebook PC market against Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).


ITWHIRLED

$19 million a bargain for space toilet
NASA has agreed to pay the Russians $19 million for a new toilet for the International Space Station. That might seem like a lot, but it's apparently less than it would have cost NASA to build the thing.

Powerful earthquake disrupts Japan communications

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Powerful earthquake disrupts Japan communications
News: Symantec declares Chinese offer a success, withholds numbers
News: No breakthrough in efforts to unlock the iPhone
News: Indian Telco buys Ethernet service provider Yipes
News: Italy arrests 26 for phishing operation
News: MS WPC: Partners praise Microsoft software-plus-services plan
News: After criticism, Sun fixes Java flaw
News: Dell faces overclocking issue on quad-core desktops
Feature: Chinese sport fans embrace e-commerce for 2008 Olympics
Q&A: Steven Sprague, Trusted Computing Group
ITWhirled: Germophobes, rejoice! The no-touch toilet paper dispenser is here


NEWS UPDATES

Powerful earthquake disrupts Japan communications
A powerful earthquake that struck northern Japan Monday morning has caused disruption to communications services in the country.


Symantec declares Chinese offer a success, withholds numbers
Symantec Corp. declared its compensation offer for Chinese users who saw their computers damaged by a bad software update a success Sunday, but declined to say how many users had accepted the deal.


No breakthrough in efforts to unlock the iPhone
Hackers are working to unlock Apple Inc.'s iPhone, but the job appears to be more difficult than initially expected.


Indian Telco buys Ethernet service provider Yipes
India's Reliance Communications Ltd. has agreed to buy Yipes Holdings Inc. of the U.S. for $300 million in cash, with plans to extend its managed Ethernet services into additional countries, the companies announced Monday.


Italy arrests 26 for phishing operation
Italy has become the latest country to clamp down on phishing, with authorities there arresting 26 people for an alleged scam to swindle bank customers.

MS WPC: Partners praise Microsoft software-plus-services plan
Microsoft Corp. partners introduced to the company's software-plus-services strategy this week at its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) applauded the plan, though they noted a few challenges as the company makes the transition from selling business software to offering more hosted and Web-based services.


After criticism, Sun fixes Java flaw
Just days after a security researcher blasted its Java patching system, Sun Microsystems Inc. has issued a critical update to the consumer version of its Java software.


Dell faces overclocking issue on quad-core desktops
Dell Inc. has stopped taking orders for one model of its high-end desktop PCs, citing issues related to overclocking quad-core processors from Intel Corp.


FEATURE

Chinese sport fans embrace e-commerce for 2008 Olympics
Chinese sport fans have embraced an online lottery for tickets to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.


Q&A

Steven Sprague, Trusted Computing Group
Steven Sprague is one of the original founders of the Trusted Computing Group, a nonprofit forum to develop open standards for hardware-enabled trusted computing and security technologies. Steven is a long-time advocate of securing PC platforms via hardware chips.


ITWHIRLED

Germophobes, rejoice! The no-touch toilet paper dispenser is here
Tired of making icky physical contact with anything in a public restroom? You might be interested in a new gadget that dispenses toilet paper just by detecting the proximity of a human hand. Of course, such technology has been around for years for hand towels, but apparently it took quite a bit of focus-grouping to determine just how much toilet paper should be spat out at a time.