Friday, July 21, 2006

Google toolbar scam spreads trojan ... Dell warns on profits

Daily IT News Audio Update
India relents on blog blocking ... Google toolbar scam spreads trojan ... Dell warns on profits


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Dell warns of lower Q2 profits amid slowing sales
News: Motorola to integrate Yahoo software in mobile phones
News: Microsoft sees 15 million Xbox 360 sales by mid-2007
News: Fake Google site hides Trojan horse
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!


NEWS UPDATES

Dell warns of lower Q2 profits amid slowing sales
Dell Inc. said on Thursday that it expects profits for its second quarter to be lower than expected, blaming what it called "aggressive pricing and slow commercial sales worldwide."

Motorola to integrate Yahoo software in mobile phones
Yahoo Inc. has now signed up the two biggest handset manufacturers to load its Yahoo Go for Mobile services on their phones, after an announcement with Motorola Inc. on Thursday.

Microsoft sees 15 million Xbox 360 sales by mid-2007
Microsoft Corp. Thursday forecast its Xbox 360 game console sales will total as many as 15 million by the end of its fiscal 2007, which ends June 30 of next year.

Fake Google site hides Trojan horse
Scammers have set up an exact copy of the download page for Google’s Toolbar plug-in in an attempt to lure users to download a Trojan backdoor.

Microsoft revenue up, but profits down for Q4
Strong sales of the Xbox 360 and SQL Server 2005 helped Microsoft Corp. end its fiscal year on a bit of a high note Thursday, though income was down due to expenses and legal charges.

AMD misses earnings target despite Opteron sales
Growing demand for its Opteron server chips pushed Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) to greater second quarter profits, but the company failed to meet financial analyst expectations.

Wall Street Beat: Earnings give rollercoaster ride
Mixed quarterly reports from high-tech vendors made for a stomach-churning ride in the markets this week, but strong earnings from Google Inc., IBM Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. and some good news from Microsoft Corp., among other companies, gave heart to IT investors.

Google exceeds Wall Street's forecast in Q2
Google Inc. topped financial analysts' revenue and pro-forma earnings expectations in its second quarter, which ended June 30, the Mountain View, California, company said Thursday.


ITWHIRLED

Geek comic of the week: The Adventures of Pathos and Bathos
This one's kind of hard to describe, but imagine those ancient Greek smiley-and-frowny masks (you know, the universal symbols of drama) locked in an antagonistic relationship that they work through with lots of philosophical discussions against an increasingly surreal series of clip-art backgrounds. Oh, and lots of swearing. And attempts at strangling. And bicycle helmets made out of meat.

A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!http://www.accelacomm.com/jlp/itwtodayblog/1/10007005/

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Unix Tip: Using fuser to Identify Users and Processes
By Sandra Henry-Stocker

The fuser (pronounced "ef-user") command is a very handy command for determining who is currently using a particular file or directory. If one user can't access a file because another user has it locked in some way, the fuser command can help you determine who that user is so that
you can decide how to resolve the apparent conflict.

Read the full article here
Wireless Management 2.0
By James Gaskin

AirWave (.com) makes software to manage wireless networks. They're crowing about "going back to school" in the sense they just added the Spokane Public School System to their customer list. Case studies like this interest me because schools are IT-hostile environments and cheap
besides. If products do well in that environment, they usually do well in corporate networks.

Read the full article here
Microsoft Bets on Integrators For Hosted Services
By Joel Shore

With Microsoft in the midst of its biggest transition ever, it was interesting to see the company CEO give the opening keynote speech last week at the Microsoft Worldwide Partners Conference in Boston. He announced products, services, a new partner council, and undying love for integrators selling Microsoft products.

Read the full article here
Intel reshuffles senior executives ... Skype WiFi phones on the way

Today's IT News Audio Update
Skype WiFi phones on the way ... Rambus faces stock option restatements ... Intel results down


HIGHLIGHTS
News: Intel reshuffles senior executives
News: Indian bloggers may get reprieve
News: Amnesty blasts Google, Yahoo, Microsoft
News: SAP: Strong Q2 earnings but lower sales
Benchmark: Compare your processes to relevant world-class companies
ITwhirled: Street gangs invade the Web


NEWS UPDATES

Intel reshuffles senior executives
A day after posting its second quarter of weak earnings, chip-making giant Intel Corp. announced Thursday it would shuffle top managers to new positions.

Indian bloggers may get reprieve
Indian bloggers are likely to get a reprieve as Indian Internet service providers (ISPs) reverse a blanket block of key blogging sites, according to an executive of an association of Indian ISPs.

Amnesty blasts Google, Yahoo, Microsoft
Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have undermined the rights of Chinese to freedom of expression through their actions in China, Amnesty International said in a report.

SAP: Strong Q2 earnings but lower sales
Net income at SAP AG soared 43 percent in the second quarter, with software license revenue up 8 percent thanks to strong U.S. demand, the business application vendor said Thursday.

World Cup slows PC sales in Q2; Apple shines
PC market growth slowed during the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year as the World Cup soccer tournament distracted Europeans, leading to a steep slow down in shipment growth on the continent, market researcher IDC said in a report.

Intel earnings plunge on soft chip sales

Reeling from recent layoffs and a slowdown in the growth of worldwide PC sales, Intel Corp. on Wednesday posted profits of $885 million for the second quarter, less than half of the $2 billion it earned in the same period last year.

Strong sales, margins help Apple beat Street
Fueled by strong product sales and an increase in gross margins, Apple Computer Inc. Wednesday solidly beat Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter, reporting earnings of $472 million, or $0.54 per share.


BENCHMARK YOUR IT OPERATIONS

Compare your processes to relevant world-class companies
ITworld.com and APQC, a leading, non-profit research organization, offer you an opportunity to contribute to an in-depth IT benchmarking and best practices study.


ITWHIRLED

Street gangs invade the Web
Members of violent street gangs, not content with drug dealing, robbery, and clashes with rival gangs and police, have begun to establish a presence on Web sites, blogs, and (you guessed it) MySpace. "I'm just being real and I ain't got nothing to hide," says one professed member of the 18th Street Gang, referring to his site, "Kaspers World," and horribly downgrading the meaning of the word "real" in the process.

A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

AOL intros free enterprise AIM ... Software pushes up IBM results

Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft buys Winternals ... AOL intros free enterprise AIM ... Software pushes up IBM results


HIGHLIGHTS

News: AOL launches AIM Pro for business users
News: HP's Memory Spot presents security challenge
News: Oracle has 65 fixes in latest security update
Tip: Keep an eye on solid state disk technology
TopCoder: Are you a programming whiz? Try this week's problem.
ITwhirled: 10 Best flickr mashups; 10 alien encounters debunked; 10 best rural places to live


NEWS UPDATES

AOL launches AIM Pro for business users
AOL LLC launched a new, free, instant messaging application for business users on Wednesday. AIM Pro Professional Edition integrates with Microsoft Outlook corporate directories and calendars, encrypts messages and scans them for viruses, and offers quick access to business conferencing services from WebEx Communications Inc., the company said.

iPods, USB storage to gain from Samsung chip
iPods, handsets, USB (universal serial bus) flash drives and other gadgets stand to gain from a new 8G-bit NAND flash memory chip in mass production at Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. chip factories.

Sony aims high with new camcorders
Sony Corp. is expanding its line-up of high-definition camcorders to quickly transition its Japanese sales from standard-definition to HD, the company said Wednesday.

Wipro profits up 44 percent for Q1
Indian outsourcer Wipro Ltd. reported Wednesday growth in both profit and revenue for the quarter ended June 30, as global corporations made offshore outsourcing a key component of their IT strategy.

HP's Memory Spot presents security challenge
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s tiny Memory Spot chip is designed to put digital information on documents and photos. However, the chip's size and wireless capability can also be used by corporate thieves to copy and steal valuable data.

Oracle has 65 fixes in latest security update
Oracle Corp. has issued 65 fixes for a wide range of software products as part of its quarterly security release, called the Critical Patch Update.


TIP

Keep an eye on solid state disk technology
By Mitch Tulloch

IT departments have always known that the hard drive is the main performance bottleneck, and that's why the development of solid state disk technology (SSD) is exciting as it will push performance up significantly. Keep your eyes on SSD technology as it makes inroads into the notebook, desktop, and eventually server arena.


TOPCODER CHALLENGE

This week's problem: Paper Rock Scissors Qualifications (Level 1)

Each player must face all of his opponents in head to head gamesconsisting of 5 throws. On each throw, each player will choose one ofthe following: Paper ('P'), Rock ('R') or Scissors ('S'). Try theproblem, and compare it to the winning code.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Sun details Java open source plans ... Microsoft and Nortel to codevelop unified comms

Today's IT News Audio Update
Sun details Java open source plans ... Google News still indexing AFP content ... Indian government blocks sites over terror links


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Microsoft and Nortel to codevelop unified comms
News: Nuance claims breakthrough on speech recognition
News: India blocks Web sites, blogs after terrorist attacks
News: Researcher posts Google-based malware search tool
Tip: Choose when to use encryption wisely
ITwhirled: Talking iPod on the horizon?


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft and Nortel to codevelop unified comms
Microsoft Corp. and Nortel Networks Ltd. will unify their efforts to develop "unified communications" products to break down the barriers between telephony, voice mail, e-mail and instant-messaging systems. The companies have struck a four-year alliance to jointly develop and sell unified communications systems, they said Tuesday.

Nuance claims breakthrough on speech recognition
Watch what you say about your computer: It's getting better at understanding your voice.

India blocks Web sites, blogs after terrorist attacks
The Indian government has blocked about 20 Web sites and blogs in India, following suspicions by the country's intelligence agencies that the sites were likely being used by terrorists to communicate with each other.

Send your love into space on a personal satellite
Forget flowers. A Japanese company is offering people the chance to say "I love you" with a personal satellite.

Microsoft sues U.S. resellers for piracy
Microsoft Corp. has filed 26 lawsuits against alleged dealers of pirated software in seven U.S. states, the company said Tuesday. Microsoft claims the companies sold pirated software or computers loaded with pirated software.

Researcher posts Google-based malware search tool
A well-known security researcher has released code that can be used to mine Google Inc.'s database for malicious software.


TIP

Choose when to use encryption wisely
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

When evaluating vendor products, look at what part of the data securityproblem they are trying to solve -- data preservation, dataconfidentiality, or both. For example, an encryption product providesfor data confidentiality. However, unless encryption key management iswell-handled, there is a risk of the permanent loss of all of theencrypted data. So you must weigh the need for data confidentiality withthe risk to data preservation. Keeping in mind that data security isabout data preservation and data confidentiality is the starting pointfor thinking about data security in greater depth.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Salesforce.com turns 20 ... Microsoft pulls private folder software

Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft pulls private folder software ... Novell offers new release of Suse Linux for enterprise ... HP Labs shows prototype wireless memory chip

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Salesforce.com turns 20, targets SAP R/3 users
News: HP announces grain-sized wireless memory chip
News: Intel to launch Montecito server chip Tuesday
News: McAfee: Hackers learning from open source
Opinion: A Storage Story
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Google Maps to Malta: You are nothing


NEWS UPDATES

Salesforce.com turns 20, targets SAP R/3 users
Salesforce.com Inc. will officially unveil the 20th generation of its hosted CRM (customer relationship management) software Monday, as well as announcing a connector integrating its CRM software-as-a-service with SAP AG's R/3 ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications.

HP announces grain-sized wireless memory chip
Hewlett-Packard Co. researchers have developed a memory chip with wireless networking capabilities that is roughly the same size as a grain of rice, the company said Monday.

Intel to launch Montecito server chip Tuesday
Intel Corp. will launch its often-delayed "Montecito" dual-core Itanium chip for high-end servers on Tuesday. The company has already begun shipping the chips to server vendors.

McAfee: Hackers learning from open source
Hackers are taking a page from the open-source playbook, using the same techniques that made Linux and Apache successes to improve their malicious software, according to McAfee Inc.

IBM to support Xen virtualization through Suse
IBM Corp.'s low-end servers and middleware for the first time will support XenSource Inc.'s open-source Xen virtualization technology, since it's included in Novell Inc.'s new Suse Linux distribution, IBM announced Monday.

New companies join Linux phone group
Several companies including Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) and ZTE Corp. have joined the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum, the group announced on Monday.

Suit over Google PageRank faces hard fight
A company suing Google Inc. over low page rankings has been given a chance to bolster its case, but the attempt to take on the search giant on behalf of all sites left behind appears to be an uphill battle.

Microsoft pulls plug on private-folder software
Responding to pressure from corporate users, Microsoft Corp. Friday pulled free software from the Web that allowed users sharing Windows PCs to shield information from other users in a private folder.


OPINION

A Storage Story
By James Gaskin

It's like a heartbeat: more STORage, more STORage, more STORage. Space you have today must increase tomorrow. I called up Gary Gammon, Senior VP of Marketing at Bell Micro (.com) a "storage-centric value added distributor" to see how the storage world spins.


ITWHIRLED

Google Maps to Malta: You are nothing
The tiny Mediterranean island nation of Malta has been overlooked by many over the centuries, but you'd think that with its heroic resistance to Nazi bombers during World War II and recent European Union membership, it would finally start getting some respect. Well, it's not getting any from Google, anyway: Google Maps reveals a broad blue expanse where Malta should be.