HIGHLIGHTS
News: Skype launches first mobile service
News: Sony seen losing big money on PS3 hardware
News: Qualcomm buys IT monitoring and management vendor
News: BenQ weighs on Infineon's earnings
Security Tip: When security through obscurity makes sense
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The seven phases of owning an iPod
NEWS UPDATES
Skype launches first mobile service
Skype Ltd. launched its first mobile voice-over-IP service in collaboration with an operator, 3 Group, whose customers will soon be the first to use it.
Sony seen losing big money on PS3 hardware
Sony Corp. is taking a big loss on each PlayStation 3 console it sells but end users are benefitting from "supercomputing performance" at the price of a cheap PC, according to research company iSuppli Corp., which dismantled the console to analyze the parts inside.
Qualcomm buys IT monitoring and management vendor
Wireless technologies developer Qualcomm Inc. has acquired nPhase LLC, a provider of "machine-to-machine" technology that helps large businesses manage and monitor dispersed computing devices, Qualcomm announced Thursday.
BenQ weighs on Infineon's earnings
Additional charges related to the spin-off of its memory chip unit and bankruptcy of a large mobile phone customer have widened the fourth-quarter loss at German chip maker Infineon Technologies AG.
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft partner to help webmasters
Strange bedfellows Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have partnered to simplify how webmasters and online publishers submit their sites' content for indexing in the companies' search engines.
Microsoft plans CardSpace plug-in for Firefox
Microsoft Corp. will write a software plug-in that allows the Firefox open-source Web browser to work with Microsoft's Cardspace identity management technology.
Apple iPhone rumors multiply
Rumors that Apple Computer Inc. plans to launch a mobile phone next year are gaining momentum, although the company's Taiwanese manufacturing partners are giving little away.
SECURITY TIP
When security through obscurity makes sense
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
For years you have been hearing how security through obscurity doesn't work. Pundits, auditors, security consultants and everyone else who has been through infosec 101 consistently hammer home the point that security through obscurity is a dangerous practice. But, with some of the recent things that have emerged, it just might be useful to your organization.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Google, Microsoft, Yahooo collaborate .... iPhone rumors multiply ... Sony's loss on PS3 is users' gain
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
The seven phases of owning an iPod
Everyone knows about the "OH MY GOD IT'S SO SMALL AND SHINY" phase. Apple doesn't want you to find out about the next six, where you end up eating cardboard to survive.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
E.C. may fine Microsoft again ... AOL upgrades AIM with offline messaging, chat logs
HIGHLIGHTS
News: European Commission may fine Microsoft again
News: SAP, Microsoft plan more Duet features and new version
News: AOL upgrades AIM with offline messaging, chat logs
News: Microsoft releases six security updates
Unix Tip: Automating Analog
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: New Zealand allows "text-speak" in test answers
NEWS UPDATES
European Commission may fine Microsoft again
The European Commission has threatened Microsoft with daily fines of €3 million (US$3.8 million) if it doesn't provide interoperability information about its Windows operating system by Nov. 23, the Commission said Wednesday.
SAP, Microsoft plan more Duet features and new version
Businesses interested in Duet, the software application jointly developed by Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG, can look forward to new features and a new version of the product over the next several months.
AOL upgrades AIM with offline messaging, chat logs
AOL LLC has upgraded its popular AIM instant messaging service with new features like the ability to send messages to offline users and to store IM sessions in a PC.
Microsoft releases six security updates
Microsoft Corp. has issued six security updates, fixing critical bugs in Windows components ranging from Internet Explorer to the Microsoft NetWare client service.
Security group ranks human error as top security worry
The SANS Institute has some controversial advice for computer security professionals looking to lock down their networks: spear-phish your employees.
Nokia releases Sourcefire-based security appliance
Nokia Corp. has introduced a security appliance aimed at helping enterprises keep their networks secure, particularly in the face of threats that arise as more employees access corporate data remotely from devices like smartphones and laptops.
Pirated Vista may be useless, Microsoft says
Pirated copies of Microsoft's new Vista computer operating system "will be of limited value" to those who use them. "This unauthorized download relies on the use of pre-RTM [release-to-manufacture] activation keys that will be blocked using Microsoft's Software Protection Platform," Microsoft said in a prepared statement.
Former CA sales executive gets seven years in jail
The former head of worldwide sales at Computer Associates has been sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to financial fraud charges in April.
No stores and no phones means no clients for EasyMobile
EasyMobile Ltd. plans to shut its mobile phone service in the U.K. on Dec. 13, leaving its 80,000 customers to find a new service provider. The EasyMobile low-cost offering launched first in the U.K. last year, with plans to become available in 12 European countries. Mimicking a successful model spearheaded in Denmark, EasyMobile initially only sold SIM cards but no phones, and had no stores, selling exclusively online.
UNIX TIP
Automating Analog
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
For those of us who use Analog routinely to understand how well our web sites are doing, a little automation goes a long way. To prepare monthly reports, for example, you will want to rotate your log files, keeping each month's log data separately. Whether you retain old log files or only the Analog reports, you can set up for your sites in a way that lends itself to month by month comparisons.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
E.U. threatens additional fines against Microsoft ... AOL upgrades AIM service ... Borland to spin off developer tools group ... Microsoft issues six security updates
ITWHIRLED
New Zealand schools give up: "Text-speak" to be accepted in test answers
Kiwi high schoolers will be permitted to use "text-speak" -- the sort of abbreviations common in text messages and instant messaging conversations -- in national exams this year, as long as the answer "clearly shows the required understanding." Throwing a bone to everyone over the age of 19 who is righteously horrified by this idea, the nation's educational authority noted that on English tests and others where good language use is specifically required, text abbreviations would be penalized.
News: European Commission may fine Microsoft again
News: SAP, Microsoft plan more Duet features and new version
News: AOL upgrades AIM with offline messaging, chat logs
News: Microsoft releases six security updates
Unix Tip: Automating Analog
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: New Zealand allows "text-speak" in test answers
NEWS UPDATES
European Commission may fine Microsoft again
The European Commission has threatened Microsoft with daily fines of €3 million (US$3.8 million) if it doesn't provide interoperability information about its Windows operating system by Nov. 23, the Commission said Wednesday.
SAP, Microsoft plan more Duet features and new version
Businesses interested in Duet, the software application jointly developed by Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG, can look forward to new features and a new version of the product over the next several months.
AOL upgrades AIM with offline messaging, chat logs
AOL LLC has upgraded its popular AIM instant messaging service with new features like the ability to send messages to offline users and to store IM sessions in a PC.
Microsoft releases six security updates
Microsoft Corp. has issued six security updates, fixing critical bugs in Windows components ranging from Internet Explorer to the Microsoft NetWare client service.
Security group ranks human error as top security worry
The SANS Institute has some controversial advice for computer security professionals looking to lock down their networks: spear-phish your employees.
Nokia releases Sourcefire-based security appliance
Nokia Corp. has introduced a security appliance aimed at helping enterprises keep their networks secure, particularly in the face of threats that arise as more employees access corporate data remotely from devices like smartphones and laptops.
Pirated Vista may be useless, Microsoft says
Pirated copies of Microsoft's new Vista computer operating system "will be of limited value" to those who use them. "This unauthorized download relies on the use of pre-RTM [release-to-manufacture] activation keys that will be blocked using Microsoft's Software Protection Platform," Microsoft said in a prepared statement.
Former CA sales executive gets seven years in jail
The former head of worldwide sales at Computer Associates has been sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to financial fraud charges in April.
No stores and no phones means no clients for EasyMobile
EasyMobile Ltd. plans to shut its mobile phone service in the U.K. on Dec. 13, leaving its 80,000 customers to find a new service provider. The EasyMobile low-cost offering launched first in the U.K. last year, with plans to become available in 12 European countries. Mimicking a successful model spearheaded in Denmark, EasyMobile initially only sold SIM cards but no phones, and had no stores, selling exclusively online.
UNIX TIP
Automating Analog
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
For those of us who use Analog routinely to understand how well our web sites are doing, a little automation goes a long way. To prepare monthly reports, for example, you will want to rotate your log files, keeping each month's log data separately. Whether you retain old log files or only the Analog reports, you can set up for your sites in a way that lends itself to month by month comparisons.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
E.U. threatens additional fines against Microsoft ... AOL upgrades AIM service ... Borland to spin off developer tools group ... Microsoft issues six security updates
ITWHIRLED
New Zealand schools give up: "Text-speak" to be accepted in test answers
Kiwi high schoolers will be permitted to use "text-speak" -- the sort of abbreviations common in text messages and instant messaging conversations -- in national exams this year, as long as the answer "clearly shows the required understanding." Throwing a bone to everyone over the age of 19 who is righteously horrified by this idea, the nation's educational authority noted that on English tests and others where good language use is specifically required, text abbreviations would be penalized.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Microsoft hits rough patches with managed services ... Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft hits rough patches with managed services
News: Idea sharing leads IBM to invest $100M in new areas
News: Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
News: Microsoft puts corporate AV client into beta
Windows Tip: Are cached credentials secure?
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Powerbook vs. microwave
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft hits rough patches with managed services
Microsoft Corp. is nurturing a plan to expand its work in managed services over the next year as companies look to reduce the cost of their internal IT management, a top company executive said Tuesday.
Idea sharing leads IBM to invest $100M in new areas
IBM Corp. will invest $100 million over the next two years in 10 potential new business opportunities after conducting a massive trawl for ideas among its staff, partners, customers and academic institutions.
Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
Intel Corp. has launched a family of quad-core processors, hoping to take back its crumbling share of the server market and win users in the trendy gaming PC segment.
Microsoft puts corporate AV client into beta
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday will take a step toward competing with McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp in the enterprise security market by releasing a beta version of its Forefront Client Security desktop software.
Longhorn beta 3 due first half of 2007
Microsoft Corp. will release beta 3 of the next version of Windows Server, code-named Longhorn, in the first half of 2007. Beta 3 of Longhorn is expected to be feature complete and will be tweaked only for performance and quality control before the first release candidates of the product appear.
IBM holds lead on Top500 Supercomputers list
IBM has maintained its lead, and its bragging rights, over rivals in the number of supercomputer systems it operates throughout the world. IBM holds a 47.8 percent share of the biannual Top500 Supercomputers list. Second-place HP holds a 31.2 percent share of systems on the list.
HP brings its quad-core servers to market
Tuesday's debut of Intel Corp.quad-core-powered computers from Hewlett-Packard Co. completes the introduction of quad-core hardware from major computer and server manufacturers.
WINDOWS TIP
Are cached credentials secure?
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A reader recently contacted me concerning a previous tip Troubleshooting Cached Logons where I shared a script that could be used to query your event logs to determine whether your machine is currently logged on using cached credentials. When you try to log onto your domain and your Windows XP computer can't contact a domain controller, your computer uses cached credentials to authenticate. These credentials are cached locally on your machine from a previous successful domain authentication, and are designed to enable you to log onto domain members when domain controllers are unavailable.
The reader told me that he heard from "some security experts" that storing domain credentials locally on client machines like this poses a security vulnerability since anyone who can gain access to your computer can run a password cracker against these stored credentials and extract your domain username and password from them. But how serious a vulnerability is this? To find the answer, I cracked open one of my all-time favorite books, Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter To Data by Jesper M. Johansson and Steve Riley.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Zune to hit store shelves today ... IBM tops supercomputer list ... Sun releases Java under open-source license
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Powerbook vs. microwave
We know that G3 Powerbooks are really outdated these days, but does that mean you should just stick them in a microwave to see what happens? This group of destructive types apparently thought so. Thankfully, Google Video exists to help document the "experiment."
News: Microsoft hits rough patches with managed services
News: Idea sharing leads IBM to invest $100M in new areas
News: Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
News: Microsoft puts corporate AV client into beta
Windows Tip: Are cached credentials secure?
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Powerbook vs. microwave
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft hits rough patches with managed services
Microsoft Corp. is nurturing a plan to expand its work in managed services over the next year as companies look to reduce the cost of their internal IT management, a top company executive said Tuesday.
Idea sharing leads IBM to invest $100M in new areas
IBM Corp. will invest $100 million over the next two years in 10 potential new business opportunities after conducting a massive trawl for ideas among its staff, partners, customers and academic institutions.
Intel bids for rebound with quad-core chips
Intel Corp. has launched a family of quad-core processors, hoping to take back its crumbling share of the server market and win users in the trendy gaming PC segment.
Microsoft puts corporate AV client into beta
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday will take a step toward competing with McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp in the enterprise security market by releasing a beta version of its Forefront Client Security desktop software.
Longhorn beta 3 due first half of 2007
Microsoft Corp. will release beta 3 of the next version of Windows Server, code-named Longhorn, in the first half of 2007. Beta 3 of Longhorn is expected to be feature complete and will be tweaked only for performance and quality control before the first release candidates of the product appear.
IBM holds lead on Top500 Supercomputers list
IBM has maintained its lead, and its bragging rights, over rivals in the number of supercomputer systems it operates throughout the world. IBM holds a 47.8 percent share of the biannual Top500 Supercomputers list. Second-place HP holds a 31.2 percent share of systems on the list.
HP brings its quad-core servers to market
Tuesday's debut of Intel Corp.quad-core-powered computers from Hewlett-Packard Co. completes the introduction of quad-core hardware from major computer and server manufacturers.
WINDOWS TIP
Are cached credentials secure?
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A reader recently contacted me concerning a previous tip Troubleshooting Cached Logons where I shared a script that could be used to query your event logs to determine whether your machine is currently logged on using cached credentials. When you try to log onto your domain and your Windows XP computer can't contact a domain controller, your computer uses cached credentials to authenticate. These credentials are cached locally on your machine from a previous successful domain authentication, and are designed to enable you to log onto domain members when domain controllers are unavailable.
The reader told me that he heard from "some security experts" that storing domain credentials locally on client machines like this poses a security vulnerability since anyone who can gain access to your computer can run a password cracker against these stored credentials and extract your domain username and password from them. But how serious a vulnerability is this? To find the answer, I cracked open one of my all-time favorite books, Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter To Data by Jesper M. Johansson and Steve Riley.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Zune to hit store shelves today ... IBM tops supercomputer list ... Sun releases Java under open-source license
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Powerbook vs. microwave
We know that G3 Powerbooks are really outdated these days, but does that mean you should just stick them in a microwave to see what happens? This group of destructive types apparently thought so. Thankfully, Google Video exists to help document the "experiment."
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sun open sources Java under GPL ... Hands on with PlayStation 3
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Sun open sources Java under GPL
News: Qualcomm makes headway in Europe and against Nokia
News: Samsung offers look at future of mobile phones
News: SAP appoints head of new SME unit
Storage Tip: The long tail of data storage
Product Review: Hands on with PlayStation 3
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 10 Reasons why Opera is better than Firefox
NEWS UPDATES
Sun open sources Java under GPL
It's no surprise that Sun Microsystems Inc. is making its core Java platform freely available; what is somewhat unexpected is the vendor's choice of open-source license - the GNU general public license version 2 (GPLv2).
Qualcomm makes headway in Europe and against Nokia
Motorola Inc. will use Qualcomm Inc. chips in future UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) phones in a deal that could give Qualcomm leverage in an ongoing patent licensing dispute with Nokia Corp.
Samsung offers look at future of mobile phones
Mobile phones will undergo a dramatic transformation over the next few years, incorporating more powerful processors and more storage, as well as new technologies, including sensors to monitor a user's health and a wider range of entertainment and online services.
SAP appoints head of new SME unit
Keen to carve out a larger chunk of the global market for enterprise applications, German business software vendor SAP AG has established a new global unit to target small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and appointed a company veteran to head the assault.
Google gives 'start' page to hosted apps suite
Google Inc.'s Apps for Your Domain has a new component: an entry Web page that organizations can use as a central point for users to access this suite of hosted applications.
Iran nukes, not Iraq, biggest concern, Netanyahu says
Iran's potential development of nuclear weapons is a bigger threat to Middle East peace than the ongoing war in Iraq, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of technology investors Sunday in Palo Alto, California.
Samsung plots showdown between flat-panel TVs
PDP and LCD TVs occupy different segments of the flat-panel television market, with PDPs generally used for larger screens, or those that measure more than 40 inches across the diagonal. However, Samsung hopes that a new factory set to start production late next year will permit volume production of LCD TVs with screens that measure 50 inches or more across the diagonal.
STORAGE TIP
The long tail of data storage
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Thinking about how to approach the abundance of data caused by fixed content data isn't easy but thinking about how to create tiered storage and active archives to take advantage of the data "niches" of the "Long Tail" of storage is a start.
Read the full article here.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Hands on with PlayStation 3
Are first impressions meant to last or made to be broken? On Friday I wrote of my first impressions of the PlayStation 3 console. Based on gaming last week, I found the graphics great but otherwise the experience wasn't much different from other games consoles. I picked up the PlayStation 3 Saturday morning when it launched here in Japan and after a weekend with the device find myself with a new opinion of the industry's latest hot product.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
PlayStation 3 debuts in Japan ... Novell deal binds Microsoft with exclusivity ... Google downplays Google Video lawsuit
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 classic commercials ... 10 Reasons why Opera is better than Firefox ... Top 10 QB rivalries of all time ... 10 Coolest Lego creations ... 10 confusing signs
News: Sun open sources Java under GPL
News: Qualcomm makes headway in Europe and against Nokia
News: Samsung offers look at future of mobile phones
News: SAP appoints head of new SME unit
Storage Tip: The long tail of data storage
Product Review: Hands on with PlayStation 3
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 10 Reasons why Opera is better than Firefox
NEWS UPDATES
Sun open sources Java under GPL
It's no surprise that Sun Microsystems Inc. is making its core Java platform freely available; what is somewhat unexpected is the vendor's choice of open-source license - the GNU general public license version 2 (GPLv2).
Qualcomm makes headway in Europe and against Nokia
Motorola Inc. will use Qualcomm Inc. chips in future UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) phones in a deal that could give Qualcomm leverage in an ongoing patent licensing dispute with Nokia Corp.
Samsung offers look at future of mobile phones
Mobile phones will undergo a dramatic transformation over the next few years, incorporating more powerful processors and more storage, as well as new technologies, including sensors to monitor a user's health and a wider range of entertainment and online services.
SAP appoints head of new SME unit
Keen to carve out a larger chunk of the global market for enterprise applications, German business software vendor SAP AG has established a new global unit to target small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and appointed a company veteran to head the assault.
Google gives 'start' page to hosted apps suite
Google Inc.'s Apps for Your Domain has a new component: an entry Web page that organizations can use as a central point for users to access this suite of hosted applications.
Iran nukes, not Iraq, biggest concern, Netanyahu says
Iran's potential development of nuclear weapons is a bigger threat to Middle East peace than the ongoing war in Iraq, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of technology investors Sunday in Palo Alto, California.
Samsung plots showdown between flat-panel TVs
PDP and LCD TVs occupy different segments of the flat-panel television market, with PDPs generally used for larger screens, or those that measure more than 40 inches across the diagonal. However, Samsung hopes that a new factory set to start production late next year will permit volume production of LCD TVs with screens that measure 50 inches or more across the diagonal.
STORAGE TIP
The long tail of data storage
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Thinking about how to approach the abundance of data caused by fixed content data isn't easy but thinking about how to create tiered storage and active archives to take advantage of the data "niches" of the "Long Tail" of storage is a start.
Read the full article here.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Hands on with PlayStation 3
Are first impressions meant to last or made to be broken? On Friday I wrote of my first impressions of the PlayStation 3 console. Based on gaming last week, I found the graphics great but otherwise the experience wasn't much different from other games consoles. I picked up the PlayStation 3 Saturday morning when it launched here in Japan and after a weekend with the device find myself with a new opinion of the industry's latest hot product.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
PlayStation 3 debuts in Japan ... Novell deal binds Microsoft with exclusivity ... Google downplays Google Video lawsuit
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 classic commercials ... 10 Reasons why Opera is better than Firefox ... Top 10 QB rivalries of all time ... 10 Coolest Lego creations ... 10 confusing signs
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Motherboard sales slide further ahead of Vista ... PS3 to get software update on launch day
HIGHLIGHTS
News: PC motherboard sales slide further ahead of Vista
News: Lenovo reports slimmer profit as sales rise
News: PlayStation 3 to get software update on launch day
News: Google filing reveals video lawsuit
Security Tip: Three steps toward enclave computing
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The interface of a cheeseburger
NEWS UPDATES
PC motherboard sales slide further ahead of Vista
Sales of motherboards used in desktop PCs continue to decline ahead of the launch of Microsoft's new Windows Vista OS, a sign that could foretell bargains for users in coming months.
Lenovo reports slimmer profit as sales rise
Lenovo Group Ltd. reported a 10 percent year-on-year increase in the volume of shipments for the second fiscal quarter, but pricing pressure meant that revenue for the quarter increased just 1 percent year on year, to $3.7 billion.
PlayStation 3 to get software update on launch day
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. will offer the first software update for its PlayStation 3 games console on Saturday simultaneously with the start of sales of the device.
Google filing reveals video lawsuit
Google revealed that its own online video-sharing service is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit, adding to worries that the company may become the subject of expensive lawsuits related to the YouTube Inc. video-sharing service it is buying.
Cisco profit, revenue surge ahead in Q1
Cisco Systems Inc. kept growing fast in its fiscal first quarter, posting revenue of $8.2 billion and net income of $1.6 billion or $0.26 per share.
Firefox 1.5 support ending April 24
On April 24, 2007, developers plan to stop issuing security and stability fixes for the open-source browser, Mozilla said Wednesday in a note posted on the Mozilla.com Web site.
Gartner: Consumers to lose $2.8B to phishers in 2006
Browser makers may have added new antiphishing features to their products in recent months, but the criminals are still gaining ground in their efforts to defraud U.S. consumers, according to the Gartner Inc. research firm.
Ozzie: Vista fulfills fundamental OS role
Vista, the next version of Windows' client-side operating system, is designed to fulfill the fundamental role of an operating system today: provide users with a safe environment when they are on the Web, the company's Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said Wednesday.
AOL wanted to buy YouTube, CEO says
AOL LLC wanted to acquire YouTube Inc. but Google Inc. was the only company in a position to put together the $1.65 billion all-stock offer that landed it the deal with the video sharing maverick, AOL's chief executive officer said Wednesday.
Ask, Microsoft brainstorm ways to topple Google
Plenty of opportunities exist in the search engine sector to make a run at leader Google Inc., executives from Ask.com and Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday. Among the arguments they shared with attendees at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco is that much potential exists for improvement in the search user experience.
SECURITY TIP
Three steps toward enclave computing
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Many organizations have identified the move to enclave computing as a viable and logical strategy for their future security architectures. To prepare for this transition, organizations and security teams must start by doing three things.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Vista released to manufacturers ... Nvidia announces new GPU technology ... News Corp. looking for Chinese MySpace partner
ITWHIRLED
The interface of a cheeseburger
One western information architect in Japan had an epiphany while waiting in line at McDonald's. Check out this funny but informative piece on why the Golden Arches has one of the easiest-to-use interfaces you'll ever encounter -- and why the iPod's logo is on the back, not the front.
News: PC motherboard sales slide further ahead of Vista
News: Lenovo reports slimmer profit as sales rise
News: PlayStation 3 to get software update on launch day
News: Google filing reveals video lawsuit
Security Tip: Three steps toward enclave computing
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The interface of a cheeseburger
NEWS UPDATES
PC motherboard sales slide further ahead of Vista
Sales of motherboards used in desktop PCs continue to decline ahead of the launch of Microsoft's new Windows Vista OS, a sign that could foretell bargains for users in coming months.
Lenovo reports slimmer profit as sales rise
Lenovo Group Ltd. reported a 10 percent year-on-year increase in the volume of shipments for the second fiscal quarter, but pricing pressure meant that revenue for the quarter increased just 1 percent year on year, to $3.7 billion.
PlayStation 3 to get software update on launch day
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. will offer the first software update for its PlayStation 3 games console on Saturday simultaneously with the start of sales of the device.
Google filing reveals video lawsuit
Google revealed that its own online video-sharing service is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit, adding to worries that the company may become the subject of expensive lawsuits related to the YouTube Inc. video-sharing service it is buying.
Cisco profit, revenue surge ahead in Q1
Cisco Systems Inc. kept growing fast in its fiscal first quarter, posting revenue of $8.2 billion and net income of $1.6 billion or $0.26 per share.
Firefox 1.5 support ending April 24
On April 24, 2007, developers plan to stop issuing security and stability fixes for the open-source browser, Mozilla said Wednesday in a note posted on the Mozilla.com Web site.
Gartner: Consumers to lose $2.8B to phishers in 2006
Browser makers may have added new antiphishing features to their products in recent months, but the criminals are still gaining ground in their efforts to defraud U.S. consumers, according to the Gartner Inc. research firm.
Ozzie: Vista fulfills fundamental OS role
Vista, the next version of Windows' client-side operating system, is designed to fulfill the fundamental role of an operating system today: provide users with a safe environment when they are on the Web, the company's Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said Wednesday.
AOL wanted to buy YouTube, CEO says
AOL LLC wanted to acquire YouTube Inc. but Google Inc. was the only company in a position to put together the $1.65 billion all-stock offer that landed it the deal with the video sharing maverick, AOL's chief executive officer said Wednesday.
Ask, Microsoft brainstorm ways to topple Google
Plenty of opportunities exist in the search engine sector to make a run at leader Google Inc., executives from Ask.com and Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday. Among the arguments they shared with attendees at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco is that much potential exists for improvement in the search user experience.
SECURITY TIP
Three steps toward enclave computing
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Many organizations have identified the move to enclave computing as a viable and logical strategy for their future security architectures. To prepare for this transition, organizations and security teams must start by doing three things.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Vista released to manufacturers ... Nvidia announces new GPU technology ... News Corp. looking for Chinese MySpace partner
ITWHIRLED
The interface of a cheeseburger
One western information architect in Japan had an epiphany while waiting in line at McDonald's. Check out this funny but informative piece on why the Golden Arches has one of the easiest-to-use interfaces you'll ever encounter -- and why the iPod's logo is on the back, not the front.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Skype upgrade to get smart features ... Sun expands support for Ubuntu Linux
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Skype upgrade to get smart new features
News: Sun expands support for Ubuntu Linux
News: Dell puts four-core processors in servers, workstations
News: IDG plans computer games event to fill E3 void
Windows Tip: Outlook merge mail vs. DLs
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Don't fall prey to "office-itis"
NEWS UPDATES
Skype upgrade to get smart new features
Skype Ltd. will begin testing an upgrade of its free communications software that can automatically detect phone numbers in Web pages and initiate calls.
Sun expands support for Ubuntu Linux
Sun Microsystems Inc. is making its Java Enterprise Edition 5 programming platform available on the open-source Ubuntu Linux distribution.
Dell puts four-core processors in servers, workstations
Dell Inc. will begin shipping its first servers and workstations running quad-core Intel processors in a two-socket configuration next week. Dell will feature the Quad-Core Xeon 5300 processor from Intel Corp. on its PowerEdge rack and blade style servers, and in Precision workstations.
IDG plans computer games event to fill E3 void
IDG World Expo will attempt to fill the void left by the scaling back of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) computer games show by starting a new event in 2007 aimed at gamers, it said Wednesday.
Novell deal to cost Microsoft hundreds of millions
Microsoft Corp will spend more than $440 million in licensing fees and sales and marketing costs over the next five years to keep up its end of the historic Linux agreement it made with Novell Inc., according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed by Novell on Tuesday.
Samsung debuts combined mini-PC phone
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has taken a stab at what the next generation of wireless broadband devices will look like, unveiling a converged computer and mobile phone that uses 3G and mobile WiMax connections.
Seagate cans distributor for blocking third-party audit
Seagate Technology LLC has broken off its distributor relationship with Singapore's eSys Technologies Pte. Ltd., previously the company's largest distributor, after it denied access to its accounts for an audit, the hard-disk maker said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
SAP invests in another NetWeaver partner
SAP AG has made an undisclosed investment in a Visiprise Inc., a company that develops integration software for manufacturing companies that use SAP's NetWeaver platform.
NY Times to expand citizen journalism features
The New York Times Co. plans to add capabilities to the Web site of its flagship newspaper so that readers can submit more content to it, like photos and reports from the field, the company's chairman said Tuesday.
Yahoo tests mobile banner ads
After U.S. mobile subscribers have paid their carriers for data plans, advertisers on Yahoo Inc. mobile services this week will start trying to sell them other things.
WINDOWS TIP
Outlook merge mail vs. DLs
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
Ever needed to send an email out to a lot of contacts in your organization or customer base in a hurry? Here's a tip that may help if your mail client is Outlook 2003.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
E-voting problems reported in U.S. ... Microsoft to issue domain names ... Intel, Micron plan Singapore memory plant
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Don't fall prey to "office-itis"
Just because you sit in front of a computer all day instead of digging ditches for a living doesn't mean that your body doesn't suffer for it. Office workers routinely experience fatigue, headaches, back and neck pain, and stomach and vision problems as a result of their jobs. Only one in three escape unscathed.
News: Skype upgrade to get smart new features
News: Sun expands support for Ubuntu Linux
News: Dell puts four-core processors in servers, workstations
News: IDG plans computer games event to fill E3 void
Windows Tip: Outlook merge mail vs. DLs
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Don't fall prey to "office-itis"
NEWS UPDATES
Skype upgrade to get smart new features
Skype Ltd. will begin testing an upgrade of its free communications software that can automatically detect phone numbers in Web pages and initiate calls.
Sun expands support for Ubuntu Linux
Sun Microsystems Inc. is making its Java Enterprise Edition 5 programming platform available on the open-source Ubuntu Linux distribution.
Dell puts four-core processors in servers, workstations
Dell Inc. will begin shipping its first servers and workstations running quad-core Intel processors in a two-socket configuration next week. Dell will feature the Quad-Core Xeon 5300 processor from Intel Corp. on its PowerEdge rack and blade style servers, and in Precision workstations.
IDG plans computer games event to fill E3 void
IDG World Expo will attempt to fill the void left by the scaling back of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) computer games show by starting a new event in 2007 aimed at gamers, it said Wednesday.
Novell deal to cost Microsoft hundreds of millions
Microsoft Corp will spend more than $440 million in licensing fees and sales and marketing costs over the next five years to keep up its end of the historic Linux agreement it made with Novell Inc., according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed by Novell on Tuesday.
Samsung debuts combined mini-PC phone
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has taken a stab at what the next generation of wireless broadband devices will look like, unveiling a converged computer and mobile phone that uses 3G and mobile WiMax connections.
Seagate cans distributor for blocking third-party audit
Seagate Technology LLC has broken off its distributor relationship with Singapore's eSys Technologies Pte. Ltd., previously the company's largest distributor, after it denied access to its accounts for an audit, the hard-disk maker said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
SAP invests in another NetWeaver partner
SAP AG has made an undisclosed investment in a Visiprise Inc., a company that develops integration software for manufacturing companies that use SAP's NetWeaver platform.
NY Times to expand citizen journalism features
The New York Times Co. plans to add capabilities to the Web site of its flagship newspaper so that readers can submit more content to it, like photos and reports from the field, the company's chairman said Tuesday.
Yahoo tests mobile banner ads
After U.S. mobile subscribers have paid their carriers for data plans, advertisers on Yahoo Inc. mobile services this week will start trying to sell them other things.
WINDOWS TIP
Outlook merge mail vs. DLs
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
Ever needed to send an email out to a lot of contacts in your organization or customer base in a hurry? Here's a tip that may help if your mail client is Outlook 2003.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
E-voting problems reported in U.S. ... Microsoft to issue domain names ... Intel, Micron plan Singapore memory plant
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Don't fall prey to "office-itis"
Just because you sit in front of a computer all day instead of digging ditches for a living doesn't mean that your body doesn't suffer for it. Office workers routinely experience fatigue, headaches, back and neck pain, and stomach and vision problems as a result of their jobs. Only one in three escape unscathed.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
She's a 10: Top 10 headphones reviewed
- 10 Useless or even dangerous first aid myths
- 10 Pros & cons of switching from Windows to Mac OS X
- 10 reasons people make stupid decisions
- Top 10 headphones reviewed
- Top 10 controversial pieces of evidence for extraterrestrial life
HP, SAP embark on collaborative research ... PlayStation 3 hits Net auctions
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP, SAP embark on major collaborative research
News: Ahead of launch, PlayStation 3 hits Net auctions
News: Flash and Firefox to unite
News: NTP files patent infringement suit against Palm
Windows Tip: Planning VoIP deployments
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Top 10 headphones reviewed
NEWS UPDATES
HP, SAP embark on major collaborative research
The research organizations at Hewlett-Packard Co. and SAP AG will work together to resolve IT issues faced by their joint customers, notably around virtualization.
Ahead of launch, PlayStation 3 hits Net auctions
The PlayStation 3 won't hit store shelves until this weekend in Japan and next week in North America, but that hasn't stopped it already appearing on Internet auction sites.
Flash and Firefox to unite
Adobe Systems Inc. will contribute source code to the Mozilla Foundation as the two organizations aim to establish a standard scripting language that developers can use to create interactive applications for Adobe's Flash Player and Mozilla's Firefox browser.
NTP files patent infringement suit against Palm
NTP Inc. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palm Inc., echoing the allegations the patent-holding firm made that nearly shut down Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIM's) BlackBerry service.
Network Appliance adds to storage lineup
Network Appliance Inc. is introducing midrange network storage platforms Tuesday that it says pose a competitive challenge to storage devices from rivals EMC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
BEA unveils latest SOA integration tools
Middleware vendor BEA Systems Inc. has announced the first three members of its Enterprise Integration Portfolio (EIP), tools aimed at helping users at different stages of their SOA (service-oriented architecture) deployments.
VOIP is step toward open IT
Experts discussing Internet telephony strategies at the Von conference in Berlin view VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) as a key step toward open communication infrastructures.
Siemens looks to UWB for broadband video
IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is no good if it can't get from the broadband router to the TV, so a Siemens AG division is going to use high-bandwidth wireless technology in gear that carriers will distribute to their subscribers.
Microsoft enhances online maps in local search
Microsoft Corp. plans to up the ante in local search by adding 3D models of 15 U.S. cities to the maps of its Live Local service. The 3D models will allow users to zoom into these metro areas and "fly" over and into them using their Web browser, a Microsoft official said.
WINDOWS TIP
Planning VoIP deployments
By Barrie Dempster, WindowsNetworking.com
This article discusses management of the VoIP PBX, and proposes that it be treated as another service which should be comprehensively managed by the network administrator. It will demonstrate how Voice connectivity relates to data networks and how to effectively and securely implement a PBX within the context of a network infrastructure.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
NTP files lawsuit against Palm ... Nvidia acquires PortalPlayer ... NCR ordered to reinstate executive fired over porn
INTERVIEW
Microsoft: Door open to open-source pacts
Last week's pact between Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. has led to widespread speculation over the long-term impact on the adoption of open-source software. Under the deal, the companies will work on ways to enable Novell's Linux distribution, Suse, and Microsoft's Windows operating system to work better together. They also reached a patent truce in which users of the other's software can't be sued for infringement, and Microsoft agreed not to sue noncommercial open-source developers. On Monday, Microsoft's Bill Hilf, general manager for platform strategy, spoke further about the deal, addressing how Microsoft views its intellectual property relative to Linux.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 Useless or even dangerous first aid myths ... 10 Pros & cons of switching from Windows to Mac OS X ... 10 Reasons people make stupid decisions ... Top 10 headphones reviewed ... Top 10 controversial pieces of evidence for extraterrestrial life
News: HP, SAP embark on major collaborative research
News: Ahead of launch, PlayStation 3 hits Net auctions
News: Flash and Firefox to unite
News: NTP files patent infringement suit against Palm
Windows Tip: Planning VoIP deployments
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Top 10 headphones reviewed
NEWS UPDATES
HP, SAP embark on major collaborative research
The research organizations at Hewlett-Packard Co. and SAP AG will work together to resolve IT issues faced by their joint customers, notably around virtualization.
Ahead of launch, PlayStation 3 hits Net auctions
The PlayStation 3 won't hit store shelves until this weekend in Japan and next week in North America, but that hasn't stopped it already appearing on Internet auction sites.
Flash and Firefox to unite
Adobe Systems Inc. will contribute source code to the Mozilla Foundation as the two organizations aim to establish a standard scripting language that developers can use to create interactive applications for Adobe's Flash Player and Mozilla's Firefox browser.
NTP files patent infringement suit against Palm
NTP Inc. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Palm Inc., echoing the allegations the patent-holding firm made that nearly shut down Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIM's) BlackBerry service.
Network Appliance adds to storage lineup
Network Appliance Inc. is introducing midrange network storage platforms Tuesday that it says pose a competitive challenge to storage devices from rivals EMC Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
BEA unveils latest SOA integration tools
Middleware vendor BEA Systems Inc. has announced the first three members of its Enterprise Integration Portfolio (EIP), tools aimed at helping users at different stages of their SOA (service-oriented architecture) deployments.
VOIP is step toward open IT
Experts discussing Internet telephony strategies at the Von conference in Berlin view VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) as a key step toward open communication infrastructures.
Siemens looks to UWB for broadband video
IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is no good if it can't get from the broadband router to the TV, so a Siemens AG division is going to use high-bandwidth wireless technology in gear that carriers will distribute to their subscribers.
Microsoft enhances online maps in local search
Microsoft Corp. plans to up the ante in local search by adding 3D models of 15 U.S. cities to the maps of its Live Local service. The 3D models will allow users to zoom into these metro areas and "fly" over and into them using their Web browser, a Microsoft official said.
WINDOWS TIP
Planning VoIP deployments
By Barrie Dempster, WindowsNetworking.com
This article discusses management of the VoIP PBX, and proposes that it be treated as another service which should be comprehensively managed by the network administrator. It will demonstrate how Voice connectivity relates to data networks and how to effectively and securely implement a PBX within the context of a network infrastructure.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
NTP files lawsuit against Palm ... Nvidia acquires PortalPlayer ... NCR ordered to reinstate executive fired over porn
INTERVIEW
Microsoft: Door open to open-source pacts
Last week's pact between Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. has led to widespread speculation over the long-term impact on the adoption of open-source software. Under the deal, the companies will work on ways to enable Novell's Linux distribution, Suse, and Microsoft's Windows operating system to work better together. They also reached a patent truce in which users of the other's software can't be sued for infringement, and Microsoft agreed not to sue noncommercial open-source developers. On Monday, Microsoft's Bill Hilf, general manager for platform strategy, spoke further about the deal, addressing how Microsoft views its intellectual property relative to Linux.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 Useless or even dangerous first aid myths ... 10 Pros & cons of switching from Windows to Mac OS X ... 10 Reasons people make stupid decisions ... Top 10 headphones reviewed ... Top 10 controversial pieces of evidence for extraterrestrial life
Monday, November 06, 2006
Microsoft vulnerability rooted in ActiveX control ... MySpace launches Japanese version
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft vulnerability rooted in ActiveX control
News: MySpace launches Japanese version
News: Wikipedia hijacked by malware
News: Aruba upgrades products for 'VoFi'
Interview: Security basics: Why process matters
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: FTC's Buddy Builder game teaches social-networking safety
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft vulnerability rooted in ActiveX control
Microsoft Corp. is investigating reports of a vulnerability in a Windows ActiveX control that could allow an attacker to remotely take control of a computer, according to an advisory issued Friday. One security company rated the vulnerability critical, while Microsoft said it allowed only limited attacks.
MySpace launches Japanese version
News Corp. launched a Japanese version of its MySpace social networking service Monday. The Japanese service becomes the sixth national version and fourth language version of the service.
Wikipedia hijacked by malware
Malware writers have used a Wikipedia article and special storage features to attempt to plant malicious code on unsuspecting users' systems, the online encyclopedia's organizers have confirmed.
Aruba upgrades products for 'VoFi'
Aruba will support voice-quality links on office WLANs, disputing competitors' claims that the job needs a whole new architecture.
DriveSentry offers 'firewall' for storage drives
A Mountain View, California, startup company has developed what it calls a storage "firewall" to prevent computer viruses from wrecking the data on desktop computers.
INTERVIEW
Security basics: Why process matters
'The best technology in the world, not used properly, becomes completely worthless and works against you because it gives you a false sense of security,' says Ira Winkler, author of Spies Among Us and President of Internet Security Advisor's Group. In this interview, Winkler discusses why security is primarily a process issue.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Red Hat decries Microsoft-Novell Linux alliance ... Microsoft cans Codename Max project ... Sony expands PS3 launch plans
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
FTC's Buddy Builder game teaches social-networking safety
The FTC has launched an online quiz-show style game called Buddy Builder to test users' abilities to spot potential threats on social networking Web sites. In the game, players move through rounds by correctly reacting to common requests found on social networking sites. For example, when the game asks: 'Accept or Deny: Wazzup? I think I know U -- send me your pic (in swimsuit, pls!)?' the correct response (obviously we hope) is to deny the request.
News: Microsoft vulnerability rooted in ActiveX control
News: MySpace launches Japanese version
News: Wikipedia hijacked by malware
News: Aruba upgrades products for 'VoFi'
Interview: Security basics: Why process matters
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: FTC's Buddy Builder game teaches social-networking safety
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft vulnerability rooted in ActiveX control
Microsoft Corp. is investigating reports of a vulnerability in a Windows ActiveX control that could allow an attacker to remotely take control of a computer, according to an advisory issued Friday. One security company rated the vulnerability critical, while Microsoft said it allowed only limited attacks.
MySpace launches Japanese version
News Corp. launched a Japanese version of its MySpace social networking service Monday. The Japanese service becomes the sixth national version and fourth language version of the service.
Wikipedia hijacked by malware
Malware writers have used a Wikipedia article and special storage features to attempt to plant malicious code on unsuspecting users' systems, the online encyclopedia's organizers have confirmed.
Aruba upgrades products for 'VoFi'
Aruba will support voice-quality links on office WLANs, disputing competitors' claims that the job needs a whole new architecture.
DriveSentry offers 'firewall' for storage drives
A Mountain View, California, startup company has developed what it calls a storage "firewall" to prevent computer viruses from wrecking the data on desktop computers.
INTERVIEW
Security basics: Why process matters
'The best technology in the world, not used properly, becomes completely worthless and works against you because it gives you a false sense of security,' says Ira Winkler, author of Spies Among Us and President of Internet Security Advisor's Group. In this interview, Winkler discusses why security is primarily a process issue.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Red Hat decries Microsoft-Novell Linux alliance ... Microsoft cans Codename Max project ... Sony expands PS3 launch plans
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
FTC's Buddy Builder game teaches social-networking safety
The FTC has launched an online quiz-show style game called Buddy Builder to test users' abilities to spot potential threats on social networking Web sites. In the game, players move through rounds by correctly reacting to common requests found on social networking sites. For example, when the game asks: 'Accept or Deny: Wazzup? I think I know U -- send me your pic (in swimsuit, pls!)?' the correct response (obviously we hope) is to deny the request.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Oracle buys SPL WorldGroup ... MS closes photo sharing development project
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Oracle buys SPL WorldGroup for public sector business
News: Microsoft closes Max photo sharing development project
News: Linux advocates wary of Novell-Microsoft tie
News: FCC delays decision on AT&T-Bellsouth merger again
Unix Tip: Filename completion
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Wondermark
NEWS UPDATES
Oracle buys SPL WorldGroup for public sector business http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2428/061103oraclespl/index.html
Oracle Corp. Friday said it acquired SPL WorldGroup in an effort to better target public sector utility companies. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. SPL develops revenue and operations management software for utilities, and tax management software for government agencies.
Microsoft closes Max photo sharing development project http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/061103msmax/index.html
Microsoft Corp. has closed a project to develop a tool, Codename Max, for sharing photos with friends and reading RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, among other functions.
Linux advocates wary of Novell-Microsoft tie http://open.itworld.com/4917/061103novellms/page_1.html
Novell Inc. investors may be cheering the Linux vendor's historic partnership with Microsoft Corp., but Linux advocates had an entirely different reaction Thursday, expressing concerns that the deal may hint at future patent lawsuits and possibly even violate Linux's software license.
FCC delays decision on AT&T-Bellsouth merger again http://www.itworld.com/Man/2697/061103attfcc/index.html
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has once again delayed its decision on AT&T Corp.'s proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp. The agency was scheduled to consider the acquisition on Friday, but on Thursday it deleted the agenda item regarding the acquisition from its Friday schedule.
Microsoft unwraps Zune site, makes changes to MSN music http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5051/061103zune/index.html
Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new Web site that describes features of the upcoming Zune music store and also revealed that MSN Music won't continue to sell digital songs.
Oracle to acquire Stellent for $440 million http://www.itworld.com/App/4108/061103oraclestellant/index.html
Oracle Corp. Thursday continued its string of acquisitions, announcing it will buy content management software company Stellent Inc. for about $440 million.
Security threat changing, says Symantec CEO http://security.itworld.com/4337/061103securitythreat/page_1.html
The threat posed to computer users and companies by hackers is shifting from attacks on the computers to attacks on electronic transactions, according to the head of one of the world's largest security software vendors.
HP now offers cluster computing on Windows http://www.itworld.com/Comp/1181/061103hpcluster/index.html
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s cluster computing products can now run a Microsoft Corp. cluster operating system, which should be helpful to end users familiar with the ubiquitous Windows operating system.
UNIX TIP
Filename completion
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
A number of readers have recently asked how they set up and use filename completion in a variety of Unix shells. Since file completion does not work the same in every shell, we will examine how you can use this great time saving feature in csh (tcsh), bash and ksh.
Read the full article here:
http://open.itworld.com/5040/nlsunixfile061102/page_1.html
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5042/daily_news_podcast/index.html
Former CA chief Kumar gets 12 years ... Microsoft to support Linux ... Microsoft backs down over Vista licensing
More podcasts
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5042/
ITWHIRLED
Geek Comic of the Week: Wondermark
http://www.itworld.com/itwhirled/#comic
Would it be possible to create endless amusement from clip art Victoriana? David Malki illustrates that this is in fact the case in the sublime Wondermark. Find out how to defend your thesis -- from ninjas -- and why some people need to be put in jail for "felony podcasting."
News: Oracle buys SPL WorldGroup for public sector business
News: Microsoft closes Max photo sharing development project
News: Linux advocates wary of Novell-Microsoft tie
News: FCC delays decision on AT&T-Bellsouth merger again
Unix Tip: Filename completion
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Wondermark
NEWS UPDATES
Oracle buys SPL WorldGroup for public sector business http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2428/061103oraclespl/index.html
Oracle Corp. Friday said it acquired SPL WorldGroup in an effort to better target public sector utility companies. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. SPL develops revenue and operations management software for utilities, and tax management software for government agencies.
Microsoft closes Max photo sharing development project http://www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/061103msmax/index.html
Microsoft Corp. has closed a project to develop a tool, Codename Max, for sharing photos with friends and reading RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, among other functions.
Linux advocates wary of Novell-Microsoft tie http://open.itworld.com/4917/061103novellms/page_1.html
Novell Inc. investors may be cheering the Linux vendor's historic partnership with Microsoft Corp., but Linux advocates had an entirely different reaction Thursday, expressing concerns that the deal may hint at future patent lawsuits and possibly even violate Linux's software license.
FCC delays decision on AT&T-Bellsouth merger again http://www.itworld.com/Man/2697/061103attfcc/index.html
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has once again delayed its decision on AT&T Corp.'s proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp. The agency was scheduled to consider the acquisition on Friday, but on Thursday it deleted the agenda item regarding the acquisition from its Friday schedule.
Microsoft unwraps Zune site, makes changes to MSN music http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5051/061103zune/index.html
Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new Web site that describes features of the upcoming Zune music store and also revealed that MSN Music won't continue to sell digital songs.
Oracle to acquire Stellent for $440 million http://www.itworld.com/App/4108/061103oraclestellant/index.html
Oracle Corp. Thursday continued its string of acquisitions, announcing it will buy content management software company Stellent Inc. for about $440 million.
Security threat changing, says Symantec CEO http://security.itworld.com/4337/061103securitythreat/page_1.html
The threat posed to computer users and companies by hackers is shifting from attacks on the computers to attacks on electronic transactions, according to the head of one of the world's largest security software vendors.
HP now offers cluster computing on Windows http://www.itworld.com/Comp/1181/061103hpcluster/index.html
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s cluster computing products can now run a Microsoft Corp. cluster operating system, which should be helpful to end users familiar with the ubiquitous Windows operating system.
UNIX TIP
Filename completion
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
A number of readers have recently asked how they set up and use filename completion in a variety of Unix shells. Since file completion does not work the same in every shell, we will examine how you can use this great time saving feature in csh (tcsh), bash and ksh.
Read the full article here:
http://open.itworld.com/5040/nlsunixfile061102/page_1.html
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5042/daily_news_podcast/index.html
Former CA chief Kumar gets 12 years ... Microsoft to support Linux ... Microsoft backs down over Vista licensing
More podcasts
http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5042/
ITWHIRLED
Geek Comic of the Week: Wondermark
http://www.itworld.com/itwhirled/#comic
Would it be possible to create endless amusement from clip art Victoriana? David Malki illustrates that this is in fact the case in the sublime Wondermark. Find out how to defend your thesis -- from ninjas -- and why some people need to be put in jail for "felony podcasting."
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Mozilla to fix second minor Firefox 2.0 bug ... UTube sues YouTube
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Symantec CEO encouraged by MS moves on Vista
News: UTube sues YouTube
News: Google preps mobile app for Gmail
News: Mozilla pledges to fix second minor Firefox 2.0 bug
Opinion: What's in your pack? Security tools for road warriors
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: MySpace miscreant of the week
IN THE NEWS
Symantec CEO encouraged by MS moves on Vista
The head of Symantec Corp. said Thursday that he is encouraged by recent statements from Microsoft Corp. that it plans to work with security software companies and provide them with more access to the Windows Vista operating system.
UTube sues YouTube
A dealer of used tube and pipe equipment filed a lawsuit this week hoping to strip YouTube Inc. of its domain name.
Google preps mobile app for Gmail
On Thursday, Google plans to launch a new downloadable application for Java-enabled mobile devices that acts as a client for Gmail, letting users read, create, delete, search, send and receive e-mail messages.
Mozilla pledges to fix second minor Firefox 2.0 bug
A second minor bug found in the Firefox 2.0 Web browser will be fixed, but users shouldn't encounter much of a problem in the mean time, a Mozilla Corp. official said Thursday.
Vista, Office 2007 to launch in US on Nov. 30
After years of waiting, U.S. business customers will finally have a chance to get their hands on Windows Vista and Office 2007 when Microsoft Corp. launches the products on Nov. 30 at an event in New York City.
IBM expands BI alliance with Business Objects
IBM Corp. is increasing the scope of its existing relationship with business intelligence (BI) software vendor Business Objects SA with a particular focus on midmarket customers.
Users grow impatient with Google's Blogger
Some users of Google Inc.'s Blogger are steaming over persistent problems that have affected the popular blog hosting and publishing service in recent weeks. Outages and sluggish and erratic performance have reached unacceptable levels for some publishers who voiced their displeasure in interviews on Wednesday.
Hacker project puts spotlight back on Mac security
The security of Apple Computer Inc.'s wireless drivers is under scrutiny again, thanks to a new hacker project. On Wednesday HD Moore posted code that exploits a flaw in the Proxim Wireless Corp. Orinoco wireless cards used by PowerBook and iMac computers built between 1999 and 2003.
IBM introduces virtualization dashboard
IBM Corp. Thursday is introducing a new tool to manage virtualized data centers even if the center is running different types of virtualization software.
OPINION
What's in your pack? Security tools for road warriors
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
I am often asked about the security tools that I regularly use, so here's a look at what I carry every day -- whether I'm on the road meeting with clients or at the office. You never know ... you might find a tool or two here worthy of a spot in your own security backpack.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Universal Tube sues YouTube over domain name ... Symantec CEO won't rule out MS antitrust complaint .... Blogger users unhappy
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
MySpace miscreant of the week: Student impersonates teacher online
You might think that it would be inappropriate and not very smart for a schoolteacher to put comments about his students in a public, online forum like a MySpace page, and you'd be right. But the Connecticut teacher who appeared to do just that had a good excuse: the profile was actually created and updated by a thirteen-year-old student.
News: Symantec CEO encouraged by MS moves on Vista
News: UTube sues YouTube
News: Google preps mobile app for Gmail
News: Mozilla pledges to fix second minor Firefox 2.0 bug
Opinion: What's in your pack? Security tools for road warriors
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: MySpace miscreant of the week
IN THE NEWS
Symantec CEO encouraged by MS moves on Vista
The head of Symantec Corp. said Thursday that he is encouraged by recent statements from Microsoft Corp. that it plans to work with security software companies and provide them with more access to the Windows Vista operating system.
UTube sues YouTube
A dealer of used tube and pipe equipment filed a lawsuit this week hoping to strip YouTube Inc. of its domain name.
Google preps mobile app for Gmail
On Thursday, Google plans to launch a new downloadable application for Java-enabled mobile devices that acts as a client for Gmail, letting users read, create, delete, search, send and receive e-mail messages.
Mozilla pledges to fix second minor Firefox 2.0 bug
A second minor bug found in the Firefox 2.0 Web browser will be fixed, but users shouldn't encounter much of a problem in the mean time, a Mozilla Corp. official said Thursday.
Vista, Office 2007 to launch in US on Nov. 30
After years of waiting, U.S. business customers will finally have a chance to get their hands on Windows Vista and Office 2007 when Microsoft Corp. launches the products on Nov. 30 at an event in New York City.
IBM expands BI alliance with Business Objects
IBM Corp. is increasing the scope of its existing relationship with business intelligence (BI) software vendor Business Objects SA with a particular focus on midmarket customers.
Users grow impatient with Google's Blogger
Some users of Google Inc.'s Blogger are steaming over persistent problems that have affected the popular blog hosting and publishing service in recent weeks. Outages and sluggish and erratic performance have reached unacceptable levels for some publishers who voiced their displeasure in interviews on Wednesday.
Hacker project puts spotlight back on Mac security
The security of Apple Computer Inc.'s wireless drivers is under scrutiny again, thanks to a new hacker project. On Wednesday HD Moore posted code that exploits a flaw in the Proxim Wireless Corp. Orinoco wireless cards used by PowerBook and iMac computers built between 1999 and 2003.
IBM introduces virtualization dashboard
IBM Corp. Thursday is introducing a new tool to manage virtualized data centers even if the center is running different types of virtualization software.
OPINION
What's in your pack? Security tools for road warriors
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
I am often asked about the security tools that I regularly use, so here's a look at what I carry every day -- whether I'm on the road meeting with clients or at the office. You never know ... you might find a tool or two here worthy of a spot in your own security backpack.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Universal Tube sues YouTube over domain name ... Symantec CEO won't rule out MS antitrust complaint .... Blogger users unhappy
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
MySpace miscreant of the week: Student impersonates teacher online
You might think that it would be inappropriate and not very smart for a schoolteacher to put comments about his students in a public, online forum like a MySpace page, and you'd be right. But the Connecticut teacher who appeared to do just that had a good excuse: the profile was actually created and updated by a thirteen-year-old student.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
MS launches upgraded embedded OS, CE 6 ... Hitachi maps out 2.5-inch hard disk roadmap
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft launches upgraded embedded OS, CE 6
News: Hitachi maps out 2.5-inch hard disk roadmap
News: Former McAfee executive settles with SEC
News: Vulnerability found in Visual Studio 2005
Storage Tip: Self-service storage recovery
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Math nerds ruin lotto fun for ordinary folk
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft launches upgraded embedded OS, CE 6
Microsoft Corp. is courting embedded device developers by including new tools with the release on Wednesday of Windows Embedded CE 6.0, designed to run a wider variety of applications.
Hitachi maps out 2.5-inch hard disk roadmap
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc. (HGST) is planning capacity increases for its 2.5-inch hard-disk drives over the next 12 months, the company said Wednesday. In the first half of 2007, HGST anticipates a 200G byte 7,200rpm drive and in the latter half of the year a 5,400rpm drive with a capacity of around 250G bytes.
Former McAfee executive settles with SEC
A former financial officer at McAfee Inc., the security software company that has been under fire since 2002 for accounting irregularities, has agreed to pay over $757,000 to settle fraud charges by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission.
Vulnerability found in Visual Studio 2005
A vulnerability in Visual Studio 2005 could let an attacker execute code on a targeted Windows machine, Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday. Danish security vendor Secunia AsP rated the vulnerability as "extremely critical" since it hasn't been patched and there are unconfirmed reports it's being exploited, said Thomas Kristensen, chief technology officer for Secunia.
Cicero supports Wi-Fi cellular roaming on Nokia phones
Some users of Nokia Corp.'s combined Wi-Fi and cellular phones will soon be able to make voice calls that can roam between the two networks without dropping the call.
New alliance puts crosshairs on spam
The StopSpamAlliance Web site launched on Tuesday, the result of a plan hatched at the World Summit on the Information Society meeting in Tunisia in November 2005. The alliance brings together several organizations to better coordinate efforts to stop spammers, who frequently frustrate law enforcement efforts by running operations across borders.
U.S. intelligence community's wiki aids info sharing
Members of the U.S. government's intelligence community are using a Wikipedia-like community networking Web site to share information across agency boundaries and open dialogue about disagreements over assessments such as those that led to the war in Iraq, project leaders said.
Vista licensing also limits benchmarking
License transfers aren't the only thing the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista OS limits. The license also puts restrictions on how benchmarks of certain components of the OS can be published, another issue that is raising eyebrows as Microsoft still has not clarified how changes will specifically affect users.
Apps player Infor aims at $3 billion business within 12 months
Midmarket applications vendor Infor Global Solutions shows no signs of satisfying its hunger for gobbling up its peers in the hopes of becoming a US$3 billion business within a year.
STORAGE TIP
Self-service storage recovery
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
There are steps you can take to make your users more self sufficient when it comes to the safety of their stored data, but not before your basic data protection infrastructure is in place.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
AMD wants more Intel documents for antitrust case ... TCS acquires Swiss software company ... Google buys JotSpot
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Math nerds ruin lotto fun for ordinary folk
A syndicate of university professors and tutors in the U.K. have used their professional knowledge of mathematics and probability to win a $9.9 million lotto jackpot. Math dummies should take heart, though: it took them four years and $6,600 in ticket buys to finally get to the winning numbers.
News: Microsoft launches upgraded embedded OS, CE 6
News: Hitachi maps out 2.5-inch hard disk roadmap
News: Former McAfee executive settles with SEC
News: Vulnerability found in Visual Studio 2005
Storage Tip: Self-service storage recovery
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Math nerds ruin lotto fun for ordinary folk
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft launches upgraded embedded OS, CE 6
Microsoft Corp. is courting embedded device developers by including new tools with the release on Wednesday of Windows Embedded CE 6.0, designed to run a wider variety of applications.
Hitachi maps out 2.5-inch hard disk roadmap
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc. (HGST) is planning capacity increases for its 2.5-inch hard-disk drives over the next 12 months, the company said Wednesday. In the first half of 2007, HGST anticipates a 200G byte 7,200rpm drive and in the latter half of the year a 5,400rpm drive with a capacity of around 250G bytes.
Former McAfee executive settles with SEC
A former financial officer at McAfee Inc., the security software company that has been under fire since 2002 for accounting irregularities, has agreed to pay over $757,000 to settle fraud charges by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission.
Vulnerability found in Visual Studio 2005
A vulnerability in Visual Studio 2005 could let an attacker execute code on a targeted Windows machine, Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday. Danish security vendor Secunia AsP rated the vulnerability as "extremely critical" since it hasn't been patched and there are unconfirmed reports it's being exploited, said Thomas Kristensen, chief technology officer for Secunia.
Cicero supports Wi-Fi cellular roaming on Nokia phones
Some users of Nokia Corp.'s combined Wi-Fi and cellular phones will soon be able to make voice calls that can roam between the two networks without dropping the call.
New alliance puts crosshairs on spam
The StopSpamAlliance Web site launched on Tuesday, the result of a plan hatched at the World Summit on the Information Society meeting in Tunisia in November 2005. The alliance brings together several organizations to better coordinate efforts to stop spammers, who frequently frustrate law enforcement efforts by running operations across borders.
U.S. intelligence community's wiki aids info sharing
Members of the U.S. government's intelligence community are using a Wikipedia-like community networking Web site to share information across agency boundaries and open dialogue about disagreements over assessments such as those that led to the war in Iraq, project leaders said.
Vista licensing also limits benchmarking
License transfers aren't the only thing the End User License Agreement (EULA) for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista OS limits. The license also puts restrictions on how benchmarks of certain components of the OS can be published, another issue that is raising eyebrows as Microsoft still has not clarified how changes will specifically affect users.
Apps player Infor aims at $3 billion business within 12 months
Midmarket applications vendor Infor Global Solutions shows no signs of satisfying its hunger for gobbling up its peers in the hopes of becoming a US$3 billion business within a year.
STORAGE TIP
Self-service storage recovery
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
There are steps you can take to make your users more self sufficient when it comes to the safety of their stored data, but not before your basic data protection infrastructure is in place.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
AMD wants more Intel documents for antitrust case ... TCS acquires Swiss software company ... Google buys JotSpot
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Math nerds ruin lotto fun for ordinary folk
A syndicate of university professors and tutors in the U.K. have used their professional knowledge of mathematics and probability to win a $9.9 million lotto jackpot. Math dummies should take heart, though: it took them four years and $6,600 in ticket buys to finally get to the winning numbers.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
MS takes legal moves against auction pirates ... IBM launches SOA centers in India, China
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft takes legal moves against auction pirates
News: IBM launches SOA development centers in India, China
News: AMD asks court to consider Intel's worldwide activities
News: U.S. Dept. of Justice probes Sony SRAM sales
Opinion: IT Horror Stories. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Star Trek fans stun Christie's with collective buying power
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft takes legal moves against auction pirates
Microsoft Corp. is preparing 55 legal actions worldwide against sellers on auction sites who are hawking illegal copies of the company's software, the company said Tuesday.
IBM launches SOA development centers in India, China
IBM Corp. is setting up development centers in Beijing and Pune, India that will focus on developing industry-specific SOA (service-oriented architecture) services to be reused across various customers.
AMD asks court to consider Intel's worldwide activities
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has asked a U.S. court to compel Intel Corp. to disclose documents relating to its activities outside the U.S., as part of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
U.S. Dept. of Justice probes Sony SRAM sales
Sony Corp. said Tuesday that its U.S. unit, Sony Electronics Inc., has received a subpoena from the DOJ seeking information on its SRAM business. In a brief statement the company said it will cooperate with the request.
Office Live to emerge from beta November 15
Microsoft Corp.'s Office Live service is set to go out of beta Nov. 15, and will eventually offer small businesses a chance to buy ads from rival Google Inc. and others, according to a Microsoft executive.
HP looks to simplify SANs for the little guy
Hewlett-Packard Co. is readying a trio of storage products targeted at small- to medium-sized businesses with growing data storage needs.
Industry group to study benchmarks for virtualization
The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC) this week is forming a group to discuss whether virtualization benchmarks are needed and, if so, then set those benchmarks over an estimated three-month process.
Nokia software aims to ease converged phone use
Typically, each time users of dual-mode phones try to access Internet services, they must choose which network they want to connect to, sometimes from a list of multiple cellular and Wi-Fi networks. But if a user subscribes to a service from a provider using Nokia's Service Suite, that choice can happen automatically, based on lowest cost and highest speed network or other parameters set by users or the service provider.
NTT DoCoMo, Intel to let users set OS on cell phones
NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Intel Corp. will publish Wednesday a set of specifications that will allow users to load a second operating system onto their cell phones, the companies said Tuesday.
OPINION
IT Horror Stories. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
By Peter Armstrong, BMC Software
The visions of axe murderers, zombies, and giant spiders that Halloween conjures are nothing compared to the very real threats to your enterprise. Do you have any idea of the potential nightmares that lay dormant within your own organization? Here are two true tales of IT terror, guaranteed to keep you up at night. Read them if you dare.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
French publisher association joins lawsuit against Google ... Microsoft releases Media Player 11 ... IBM and Lehman Brothers set up China investment fund
ITWHIRLED
Star Trek fans stun Christie's with collective buying power
An auction of Star Trek memorabilia netted more than $7 million -- including $576,000 for a model of the Enterprise alone.
News: Microsoft takes legal moves against auction pirates
News: IBM launches SOA development centers in India, China
News: AMD asks court to consider Intel's worldwide activities
News: U.S. Dept. of Justice probes Sony SRAM sales
Opinion: IT Horror Stories. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Star Trek fans stun Christie's with collective buying power
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft takes legal moves against auction pirates
Microsoft Corp. is preparing 55 legal actions worldwide against sellers on auction sites who are hawking illegal copies of the company's software, the company said Tuesday.
IBM launches SOA development centers in India, China
IBM Corp. is setting up development centers in Beijing and Pune, India that will focus on developing industry-specific SOA (service-oriented architecture) services to be reused across various customers.
AMD asks court to consider Intel's worldwide activities
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has asked a U.S. court to compel Intel Corp. to disclose documents relating to its activities outside the U.S., as part of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
U.S. Dept. of Justice probes Sony SRAM sales
Sony Corp. said Tuesday that its U.S. unit, Sony Electronics Inc., has received a subpoena from the DOJ seeking information on its SRAM business. In a brief statement the company said it will cooperate with the request.
Office Live to emerge from beta November 15
Microsoft Corp.'s Office Live service is set to go out of beta Nov. 15, and will eventually offer small businesses a chance to buy ads from rival Google Inc. and others, according to a Microsoft executive.
HP looks to simplify SANs for the little guy
Hewlett-Packard Co. is readying a trio of storage products targeted at small- to medium-sized businesses with growing data storage needs.
Industry group to study benchmarks for virtualization
The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC) this week is forming a group to discuss whether virtualization benchmarks are needed and, if so, then set those benchmarks over an estimated three-month process.
Nokia software aims to ease converged phone use
Typically, each time users of dual-mode phones try to access Internet services, they must choose which network they want to connect to, sometimes from a list of multiple cellular and Wi-Fi networks. But if a user subscribes to a service from a provider using Nokia's Service Suite, that choice can happen automatically, based on lowest cost and highest speed network or other parameters set by users or the service provider.
NTT DoCoMo, Intel to let users set OS on cell phones
NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Intel Corp. will publish Wednesday a set of specifications that will allow users to load a second operating system onto their cell phones, the companies said Tuesday.
OPINION
IT Horror Stories. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
By Peter Armstrong, BMC Software
The visions of axe murderers, zombies, and giant spiders that Halloween conjures are nothing compared to the very real threats to your enterprise. Do you have any idea of the potential nightmares that lay dormant within your own organization? Here are two true tales of IT terror, guaranteed to keep you up at night. Read them if you dare.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
French publisher association joins lawsuit against Google ... Microsoft releases Media Player 11 ... IBM and Lehman Brothers set up China investment fund
ITWHIRLED
Star Trek fans stun Christie's with collective buying power
An auction of Star Trek memorabilia netted more than $7 million -- including $576,000 for a model of the Enterprise alone.
Monday, October 30, 2006
IBM and Lehman create $180M China venture fund ... Microsoft offers free SMB software
HIGHLIGHTS
News: IBM and Lehman Brothers create $180 million China venture fund
News: Plunging desktop demand could mean bargains for users
News: Microsoft offers free small-business software
News: Seagate tries again with encrypted drive
Opinion: Smaller, Cooler Blades
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 10 seriously cool workplaces
NEWS UPDATES
IBM and Lehman Brothers create $180 million China venture fund
IBM Corp. and investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. have set up a $180 million fund to invest in Chinese companies to help them transform themselves through the adoption of information technology and new business practices.
Plunging desktop demand could mean bargains for users
Demand for desktop PC motherboards "is falling off a cliff" in late October as users put off purchases until the Windows Vista OS launches in January, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs said Saturday.
Microsoft offers free small-business software
Microsoft Corp. has turned its accounting suite for small businesses into two separate offerings, one of which users can download for free starting Monday.
Seagate tries again with encrypted drive
Beginning early next year, Seagate Technology LLC will begin shipping its first widely available hard drives with built-in encryption.
Microsoft's new browser haunted by old flaw
A security problem originally found in Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 6 browser has returned to haunt IE7, the new version of the browser launched two weeks ago, a security consultant said Monday.
Red Hat defends support while buying back stock
The board of Linux distributor Red Hat Inc. has decided to buy back some of the company's stock to shore up its share price in the wake of a competitive blow from Oracle Corp.
OPINION
Smaller, Cooler Blades
By James Gaskin
I drove to Houston a couple of weeks ago to see HP, and take a tour of their factory where servers are stuffed into racks and cabinets. Let me start by talking about their new blade servers, and next week I'll tell you about my Factory Express tour.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Seagate develops drive with built-in encryption ... Online game retailer shut down by Sony lawsuit ... Intel to close Cambridge R&D lab
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 Apple innovations ... 10 secrets to better memory use ... 10 HDTV myths ... Top 10 most effective ab exercises ... 10 seriously cool workplaces
News: IBM and Lehman Brothers create $180 million China venture fund
News: Plunging desktop demand could mean bargains for users
News: Microsoft offers free small-business software
News: Seagate tries again with encrypted drive
Opinion: Smaller, Cooler Blades
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 10 seriously cool workplaces
NEWS UPDATES
IBM and Lehman Brothers create $180 million China venture fund
IBM Corp. and investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. have set up a $180 million fund to invest in Chinese companies to help them transform themselves through the adoption of information technology and new business practices.
Plunging desktop demand could mean bargains for users
Demand for desktop PC motherboards "is falling off a cliff" in late October as users put off purchases until the Windows Vista OS launches in January, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs said Saturday.
Microsoft offers free small-business software
Microsoft Corp. has turned its accounting suite for small businesses into two separate offerings, one of which users can download for free starting Monday.
Seagate tries again with encrypted drive
Beginning early next year, Seagate Technology LLC will begin shipping its first widely available hard drives with built-in encryption.
Microsoft's new browser haunted by old flaw
A security problem originally found in Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 6 browser has returned to haunt IE7, the new version of the browser launched two weeks ago, a security consultant said Monday.
Red Hat defends support while buying back stock
The board of Linux distributor Red Hat Inc. has decided to buy back some of the company's stock to shore up its share price in the wake of a competitive blow from Oracle Corp.
OPINION
Smaller, Cooler Blades
By James Gaskin
I drove to Houston a couple of weeks ago to see HP, and take a tour of their factory where servers are stuffed into racks and cabinets. Let me start by talking about their new blade servers, and next week I'll tell you about my Factory Express tour.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Seagate develops drive with built-in encryption ... Online game retailer shut down by Sony lawsuit ... Intel to close Cambridge R&D lab
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 Apple innovations ... 10 secrets to better memory use ... 10 HDTV myths ... Top 10 most effective ab exercises ... 10 seriously cool workplaces
Friday, October 27, 2006
SAP competitor throws in towel ... A series of unfortunate events hobble Blogger
HIGHLIGHTS
News: SAP competitor throws in towel
News: A series of unfortunate events hobble Blogger
News: Microsoft clarifies Vista licensing; users still irked
News: Another headache for Sony: falling PSP sales
Windows Tip: Managing local users and groups
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek Comic of the Week - EMOTICOMICS!
NEWS UPDATES
SAP competitor throws in towel
The air appears to be growing thinner for small suppliers of ERP (enterprise resource planning) software competing against industry giants SAP AG and Oracle Corp. Semiramis Software AG in Hanover, Germany, and Semiramis Software GmbH in Kirchbichl, Austria, have filed for bankruptcy protection, after failing to agree to a plan for turning around their loss-making operations, the companies said Thursday.
A series of unfortunate events hobble Blogger
Google Inc.'s Blogger has experienced availability problems in recent days, continuing a series of mishaps that began several weeks ago.
Microsoft clarifies Vista licensing; users still irked
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday finally attempted to clear up confusion over licensing of Windows Vista for power users who rebuild their PCs on a regular basis. But the answer from the software vendor did little to placate some users, who are still upset about Microsoft's one-machine transfer policy for Vista.
Another headache for Sony: falling PSP sales
As if the laptop battery recall and stumbles towards the launch of the PlayStation 3 weren't enough for it to deal with, Sony Corp. said this week that shipments of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game device are well below expectations.
Wall Street Beat: Net, software buoys Nasdaq
Though earnings season has been a mixed bag, as usual, some encouraging trends are emerging in the Internet and software sectors. While the cost of doing business is high for companies whose business model is based on Internet search and sales, revenue has been rising for key companies.
Software, Xbox sales lift Microsoft to strong Q1
A strong quarter from its software server and entertainment divisions helped Microsoft Corp. beat Wall Street analyst expectations for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 30.
Sun Microsystems narrows loss significantly
Stronger sales of its Solaris 10 operating system helped Sun Microsystems Inc. cut its losses significantly in quarterly financial results released Thursday, beating analysts estimates.
WINDOWS TIP
Managing local users and groups
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
Is being able to manage local users and groups using scripts useful to enterprise administrators? Here's what Ed Wilson, author of Microsoft VBScript Step by Step, and the Microsoft Windows Scripting with WMI: Self-Paced Learning Guide has to say on the topic.
Read the full article here
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft confirms licensing changes will hit power users ... IBM finds way to keep chips cooler ... Microsoft sees revenue rise 11 percent
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Geek Comic of the Week: EMOTICOMICS!Simultaneously pushing the boundaries of both comics and emoticons, this series of dialogues between characters constructed out of elaborate series of punctuation marks varies from the philosophical to the absurd to the deeply juvenile. Look for special guest appearances by God and the devil (who can't be represented by images, even in emoticon form).
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Batteries, PS3 push Sony to Q2 operating loss ... Secunia finds another IE7 bug
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Batteries, PS3 push Sony to Q2 operating loss
News: Scottish school is first to use palm-vein biometrics
News: SAP co-founder Plattner backs new Open Source Forum
News: Bug causes Microsoft to push Vista RTM to Nov. 8
Opinion: The inevitability of cruft
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: GPS system drives obedient German into trouble
NEWS UPDATES
Batteries, PS3 push Sony to Q2 operating loss
The global recall and replacement of millions of laptop batteries, and start-up costs for the PlayStation 3 console, pushed Sony Corp.'s operations into the red for the July to September quarter, despite a jump in sales.
Scottish school is first to use palm-vein biometrics
The cafeteria at Todholm Primary School, in Paisley, Scotland, has gone cashless and students are buying lunches by holding their hands over a palm-vein recognition unit produced by Glasgow-based Yarg Biometrics Ltd.
SAP co-founder Plattner backs new Open Source Forum
Hasso Plattner, the billionaire co-founder of business software maker SAP AG, has teamed with IBM Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG to host a forum aimed at giving open source software entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their business ideas to venture capitalists and other IT experts.
Bug causes Microsoft to push Vista RTM to Nov. 8
PC manufacturers that expected to get their hands on the final version of Windows Vista on Wednesday have to wait a couple more weeks for the OS, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
Mozilla team downplays first Firefox 2.0 bug reports
Of the two vulnerabilities in Firefox 2.0 reported since the browser's release on Tuesday, the first was patched in a previous version and the second alleged problem couldn't be replicated during testing, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering.
Cisco acquires Orative for $31 million
Cisco Systems Inc. continued its buying spree by announcing Thursday it will acquire privately-held mobile telephony software company Orative Corp. for $31 million in cash.
Capgemini to acquire IT services firm Kanbay
French IT services company Capgemini SA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kanbay International Inc., an IT services firm in Rosemont, Illinois, to boost its services delivery from India, and its business in the financial services sector. The deal values Kanbay at
$1.25 billion.
Secunia claims second IE 7 flaw
Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft Corp'.s Internet Explorer 7 browser could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser.
OPINION
The inevitability of cruft
By Sean McGrath
The word 'cruft' is a truly excellent word. From the moment the subject of this article entered my head, I knew I wanted to use it in the title. Now I have a dangerous habit of using words because they sound right at the time, even if they are not the right words in the sense of their meaning. Needless to say this can be a problem. Call it a character flaw. I thought it expedient to hit the dictionaries on 'cruft' just to be sure.
Read the full article here
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Oracle to offer full support for Red Hat Linux ... Secunia finds another IE7 bug ... Vista bug won't derail November release
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
GPS system drives obedient German into trouble
An 80-year-old man and his wife were driving near Hamburg with the aid of one of those new-fangled talking GPS systems. They followed the computerized directions faithfully -- right past a barrier and sign that read "closed for construction" and into a pile of sand.
News: Batteries, PS3 push Sony to Q2 operating loss
News: Scottish school is first to use palm-vein biometrics
News: SAP co-founder Plattner backs new Open Source Forum
News: Bug causes Microsoft to push Vista RTM to Nov. 8
Opinion: The inevitability of cruft
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: GPS system drives obedient German into trouble
NEWS UPDATES
Batteries, PS3 push Sony to Q2 operating loss
The global recall and replacement of millions of laptop batteries, and start-up costs for the PlayStation 3 console, pushed Sony Corp.'s operations into the red for the July to September quarter, despite a jump in sales.
Scottish school is first to use palm-vein biometrics
The cafeteria at Todholm Primary School, in Paisley, Scotland, has gone cashless and students are buying lunches by holding their hands over a palm-vein recognition unit produced by Glasgow-based Yarg Biometrics Ltd.
SAP co-founder Plattner backs new Open Source Forum
Hasso Plattner, the billionaire co-founder of business software maker SAP AG, has teamed with IBM Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG to host a forum aimed at giving open source software entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their business ideas to venture capitalists and other IT experts.
Bug causes Microsoft to push Vista RTM to Nov. 8
PC manufacturers that expected to get their hands on the final version of Windows Vista on Wednesday have to wait a couple more weeks for the OS, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
Mozilla team downplays first Firefox 2.0 bug reports
Of the two vulnerabilities in Firefox 2.0 reported since the browser's release on Tuesday, the first was patched in a previous version and the second alleged problem couldn't be replicated during testing, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering.
Cisco acquires Orative for $31 million
Cisco Systems Inc. continued its buying spree by announcing Thursday it will acquire privately-held mobile telephony software company Orative Corp. for $31 million in cash.
Capgemini to acquire IT services firm Kanbay
French IT services company Capgemini SA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kanbay International Inc., an IT services firm in Rosemont, Illinois, to boost its services delivery from India, and its business in the financial services sector. The deal values Kanbay at
$1.25 billion.
Secunia claims second IE 7 flaw
Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft Corp'.s Internet Explorer 7 browser could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser.
OPINION
The inevitability of cruft
By Sean McGrath
The word 'cruft' is a truly excellent word. From the moment the subject of this article entered my head, I knew I wanted to use it in the title. Now I have a dangerous habit of using words because they sound right at the time, even if they are not the right words in the sense of their meaning. Needless to say this can be a problem. Call it a character flaw. I thought it expedient to hit the dictionaries on 'cruft' just to be sure.
Read the full article here
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Oracle to offer full support for Red Hat Linux ... Secunia finds another IE7 bug ... Vista bug won't derail November release
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
GPS system drives obedient German into trouble
An 80-year-old man and his wife were driving near Hamburg with the aid of one of those new-fangled talking GPS systems. They followed the computerized directions faithfully -- right past a barrier and sign that read "closed for construction" and into a pile of sand.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
AMD wraps up ATI merger, plans fusion of CPU and GPU ... Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0
HIGHLIGHTS
News: AMD completes ATI merger, plans fusion of CPU and GPU
News: Xen founder says project will stay on top
News: 3G for mobile broadband? Think again
News: Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0
Security Tip: Application security assessment options
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: U.K. man admits 'Web rage' attack
NEWS UPDATES
AMD completes ATI merger, plans fusion of CPU and GPU
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans to make chips integrating its x86 with a graphics processor on a single piece of silicon by early 2009. The announcement came as AMD completed its $5.4 billion merger with graphics chip manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc. on Wednesday.
Xen founder says project will stay on top
As virtualization technology gets increasing attention from large enterprises, the founder of the Xen open-source project said on Wednesday that Xen will develop more quickly compared to competitors, including Microsoft Corp and VMware Inc.
3G for mobile broadband? Think again
The GSM Association (GSMA), an industry group comprised of mobile operators, wants to see 3G (third-generation) cellular technologies used for wireless broadband in notebook PCs, but operators will have to change their way of doing business to make that happen.
Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0
The browser wars are back. Just two weeks after Microsoft Corp. delivered its highly anticipated Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Corp. has shipped a major update to its Firefox browser.
Microsoft comforts PC vendors with Vista upgrade
In an effort to mollify hardware vendors that are scared that delays in the launch of Windows Vista will dampen holiday PC sales, Microsoft Corp. is offering a discount to consumers and small businesses that want to upgrade from Windows XP to the Vista OS.
HP looks to shed strategic partners
In reasonably feisty form, given the boardroom-level spying scandal dogging his company, Mark Hurd, HP's chairman and chief executive officer, laid out HP's moves to reinvent its operations, including reducing its number of partners, in a keynote address at Oracle Corp.'s OpenWorld conference in San Francisco.
MacBook Pros now have Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Confirming the rumors, Apple has updated its entire 17- and 15-inch MacBook Pro range of notebooks to include new Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
BenQ Mobile bankruptcy prompts Infineon to cut jobs
The insolvency of German handset maker BenQ Mobile GmbH &Co. OHG continues to reverberate in the mobile phone sector. On Tuesday, chip maker Infineon Technologies AG said it will lay off workers and take hundreds of millions of dollars in charges after losing BenQ Mobile as a customer.
Program to wean developers off Coke and pizza
Altiris Inc. is trying to break its software developers of their unhealthy habits. Participants accumulate virtual kilometers each time they engage in a positive activity, like exercising and eating healthy, and quitting smoking. The winner will receive a trip for two to a Kakadu safari.
SECURITY TIP
Application security assessment options
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Modern consumers have come to expect easy access to online services such as shopping, banking, access to healthcare, tax records and the like, but that access comes at a price. Convenience often brings increased exposure to underlying data -- attackers have long focused on the application layer as a source of vulnerability. If application security is not a part of your web commerce plans, it should be.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft postpones XP Service Pack 3 to 2008 ... Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0 ... Microsoft to offer Vista upgrade coupons for XP PCs
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
U.K. man admits 'Web rage' attack
In another good example of why you should be hesitant about providing personal information online, Paul Gibbons admitted that after he and John Jones exchanged insults in a chat room, Gibbons drove 70 miles to Jones' home and attacked him with a pickaxe handle.
News: AMD completes ATI merger, plans fusion of CPU and GPU
News: Xen founder says project will stay on top
News: 3G for mobile broadband? Think again
News: Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0
Security Tip: Application security assessment options
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: U.K. man admits 'Web rage' attack
NEWS UPDATES
AMD completes ATI merger, plans fusion of CPU and GPU
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans to make chips integrating its x86 with a graphics processor on a single piece of silicon by early 2009. The announcement came as AMD completed its $5.4 billion merger with graphics chip manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc. on Wednesday.
Xen founder says project will stay on top
As virtualization technology gets increasing attention from large enterprises, the founder of the Xen open-source project said on Wednesday that Xen will develop more quickly compared to competitors, including Microsoft Corp and VMware Inc.
3G for mobile broadband? Think again
The GSM Association (GSMA), an industry group comprised of mobile operators, wants to see 3G (third-generation) cellular technologies used for wireless broadband in notebook PCs, but operators will have to change their way of doing business to make that happen.
Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0
The browser wars are back. Just two weeks after Microsoft Corp. delivered its highly anticipated Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Corp. has shipped a major update to its Firefox browser.
Microsoft comforts PC vendors with Vista upgrade
In an effort to mollify hardware vendors that are scared that delays in the launch of Windows Vista will dampen holiday PC sales, Microsoft Corp. is offering a discount to consumers and small businesses that want to upgrade from Windows XP to the Vista OS.
HP looks to shed strategic partners
In reasonably feisty form, given the boardroom-level spying scandal dogging his company, Mark Hurd, HP's chairman and chief executive officer, laid out HP's moves to reinvent its operations, including reducing its number of partners, in a keynote address at Oracle Corp.'s OpenWorld conference in San Francisco.
MacBook Pros now have Intel Core 2 Duo processors
Confirming the rumors, Apple has updated its entire 17- and 15-inch MacBook Pro range of notebooks to include new Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
BenQ Mobile bankruptcy prompts Infineon to cut jobs
The insolvency of German handset maker BenQ Mobile GmbH &Co. OHG continues to reverberate in the mobile phone sector. On Tuesday, chip maker Infineon Technologies AG said it will lay off workers and take hundreds of millions of dollars in charges after losing BenQ Mobile as a customer.
Program to wean developers off Coke and pizza
Altiris Inc. is trying to break its software developers of their unhealthy habits. Participants accumulate virtual kilometers each time they engage in a positive activity, like exercising and eating healthy, and quitting smoking. The winner will receive a trip for two to a Kakadu safari.
SECURITY TIP
Application security assessment options
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Modern consumers have come to expect easy access to online services such as shopping, banking, access to healthcare, tax records and the like, but that access comes at a price. Convenience often brings increased exposure to underlying data -- attackers have long focused on the application layer as a source of vulnerability. If application security is not a part of your web commerce plans, it should be.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft postpones XP Service Pack 3 to 2008 ... Mozilla releases Firefox 2.0 ... Microsoft to offer Vista upgrade coupons for XP PCs
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
U.K. man admits 'Web rage' attack
In another good example of why you should be hesitant about providing personal information online, Paul Gibbons admitted that after he and John Jones exchanged insults in a chat room, Gibbons drove 70 miles to Jones' home and attacked him with a pickaxe handle.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker ... Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
News: Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
News: Sony details battery problems, replacement program
News: Google readies custom search engine service
Storage Tip: Application classification is not data classification
Opinion: Vista vacuum blowback
ITwhirled: 10 Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
Microsoft Corp. released the final version of its Windows Defender antispyware tool on Tuesday, while security rivals squabbled about whether the company has given them sufficient access to Windows Vista to build competing products.
Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
Telecommunications equipment manufacturers Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. both reported increased revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. This will be the last time the companies report their financial results separately: In April, they announced their intention to merge, and now expect to complete the deal by the end of the year.
Sony details battery problems, replacement program
Sony Corp. has provided greater detail about a battery manufacturing problem that is expected to see the replacement of up to 9.6 million laptop computer battery packs.
Google readies custom search engine service
Google Inc. is launching a new service designed to let Web site publishers build their own search engines using Google's massive index of page links.
Dell talks up being green, upcoming quad cores
Taking a line out of server rival Sun Microsystems Inc.'s play book, Michael Dell recommitted his company to doing its best to save the planet by producing more energy-efficient products. Dell also mentioned his company's next move with long-time chip supplier Intel Corp. Within the next few weeks, Dell will start rolling out computers using Intel's "Clovertown" Xeon quad-core chip, he said, with models including PowerEdge 1950 server, Precision 690 workstation and Dell's XPS gaming machines.
French operator follows Apple on mobile music pricing
French mobile phone operator Société Française du Radiotéléphone SA (SFR) will cut the price of its music downloads in half next month, matching that of Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store. It's no coincidence that the new price matches that of Apple's iTunes Store in Europe, said SFR spokeswoman Caroline Mir. Apple's "is the reference price today," she said.
BenQ posts huge Q3 loss on BenQ Mobile write-down
BenQ Corp. posted its fourth straight quarterly loss in the three months ending Sept. 30, and expects further losses as it writes down debt after pulling funding from its German mobile phone unit.
Microsoft agrees to Arkansas settlement
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to offer US$37.8 million in vouchers for free software and hardware to Arkansas residents as part of a settlement of an outstanding class action suit against the company.
Oracle lays out 11g in broad brushstrokes
In his keynote at Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco Monday, Chuck Rozwat, an Oracle executive vice president who heads up Oracle's database business spoke in general terms about the next major release of the company's database, Oracle 11g.
STORAGE TIP
Application classification is not data classification
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Classify your data by application if you wish, but do not think that you have done data classification as well. You must separate data into different classes in order to obtain the benefits of information lifecycle management, such as tiering storage. You may not get all the benefits right away, but you have to start somewhere.
OPINION
Vista vacuum blowback
By James Gaskin
My Vista Budget Vacuum column got Slashdotted, so 500 plus message replies alternate between calling me an idiot and a genius. Unfortunately, the Slashdot headline made it sound like the cost estimates were for just Vista. My point is that Vista is the engine pulling a long train of other products and services some vice presidents will demand. Those are the ones that cost money.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
The 10 best unreleased horror movies ... Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets ... Dot-com flops ... Portable grills ... Firefox Web 2.0 add-ons
News: Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
News: Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
News: Sony details battery problems, replacement program
News: Google readies custom search engine service
Storage Tip: Application classification is not data classification
Opinion: Vista vacuum blowback
ITwhirled: 10 Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft releases spyware tool while rivals bicker
Microsoft Corp. released the final version of its Windows Defender antispyware tool on Tuesday, while security rivals squabbled about whether the company has given them sufficient access to Windows Vista to build competing products.
Alcatel and Lucent report rising revenue before merger
Telecommunications equipment manufacturers Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. both reported increased revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. This will be the last time the companies report their financial results separately: In April, they announced their intention to merge, and now expect to complete the deal by the end of the year.
Sony details battery problems, replacement program
Sony Corp. has provided greater detail about a battery manufacturing problem that is expected to see the replacement of up to 9.6 million laptop computer battery packs.
Google readies custom search engine service
Google Inc. is launching a new service designed to let Web site publishers build their own search engines using Google's massive index of page links.
Dell talks up being green, upcoming quad cores
Taking a line out of server rival Sun Microsystems Inc.'s play book, Michael Dell recommitted his company to doing its best to save the planet by producing more energy-efficient products. Dell also mentioned his company's next move with long-time chip supplier Intel Corp. Within the next few weeks, Dell will start rolling out computers using Intel's "Clovertown" Xeon quad-core chip, he said, with models including PowerEdge 1950 server, Precision 690 workstation and Dell's XPS gaming machines.
French operator follows Apple on mobile music pricing
French mobile phone operator Société Française du Radiotéléphone SA (SFR) will cut the price of its music downloads in half next month, matching that of Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store. It's no coincidence that the new price matches that of Apple's iTunes Store in Europe, said SFR spokeswoman Caroline Mir. Apple's "is the reference price today," she said.
BenQ posts huge Q3 loss on BenQ Mobile write-down
BenQ Corp. posted its fourth straight quarterly loss in the three months ending Sept. 30, and expects further losses as it writes down debt after pulling funding from its German mobile phone unit.
Microsoft agrees to Arkansas settlement
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to offer US$37.8 million in vouchers for free software and hardware to Arkansas residents as part of a settlement of an outstanding class action suit against the company.
Oracle lays out 11g in broad brushstrokes
In his keynote at Oracle's OpenWorld conference in San Francisco Monday, Chuck Rozwat, an Oracle executive vice president who heads up Oracle's database business spoke in general terms about the next major release of the company's database, Oracle 11g.
STORAGE TIP
Application classification is not data classification
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Classify your data by application if you wish, but do not think that you have done data classification as well. You must separate data into different classes in order to obtain the benefits of information lifecycle management, such as tiering storage. You may not get all the benefits right away, but you have to start somewhere.
OPINION
Vista vacuum blowback
By James Gaskin
My Vista Budget Vacuum column got Slashdotted, so 500 plus message replies alternate between calling me an idiot and a genius. Unfortunately, the Slashdot headline made it sound like the cost estimates were for just Vista. My point is that Vista is the engine pulling a long train of other products and services some vice presidents will demand. Those are the ones that cost money.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
The 10 best unreleased horror movies ... Unneccessary - but cool - gadgets ... Dot-com flops ... Portable grills ... Firefox Web 2.0 add-ons
Monday, October 23, 2006
IBM sues Amazon.com over patents ... AT&T's net income, revenue up in Q3
HIGHLIGHTS
News: IBM sues Amazon.com over patents
News: AT&T's net income, revenue up in Q3
News: Oracle offers $219 million for MetaSolv
News: Nokia gets second chance to stop Qualcomm
Unix Tip: The directory that wasn't
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The latest to hold a grudge against YouTube: Utube
NEWS UPDATES
IBM sues Amazon.com over patents
IBM Corp. is taking Amazon.com Inc. to court, alleging patent infringement against the e-commerce giant. IBM alleges that Amazon.com knowingly exploits its intellectual property by infringing on several patents that cover, among other things: the presentation of applications in an interactive service; the storage of data in an interactive network; the presentation of advertising in an interactive service; and the ordering of items from an electronic catalog.
AT&T's net income, revenue up in Q3
AT&T Inc. reported net income of $2.2 billion for the third quarter of 2006, up significantly from $1.2 billion before SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp. merged last November.
Oracle offers $219 million for MetaSolv
Oracle Corp. has offered to buy MetaSolv Inc., a developer of operations support software for telecommunications service providers, for $219.2 million in cash, the companies said Monday.
Nokia gets second chance to stop Qualcomm
A U.S. court gave Nokia Corp. another chance Friday to hold off one of Qualcomm Inc.'s patent infringement lawsuits.
$100 laptops to roll off production lines in Q2 2007
The $100 laptop PC at the heart of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative aimed at school children in developing countries will start rolling off production lines in the second quarter of next year.
On heels of IE 7 release, Mozilla readies Firefox 2.0
Not to be outdone by Microsoft Corp.'s recent release of Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Corp. is planning the second major release of its rival Firefox browser this week.
EMC refreshes storage line
EMC Corp. is adding new features to some of its storage products, with claims of improved performance, energy efficiency and ease of use, to remain competitive with rivals' offerings.
IBM, 3Com team up on IP telephony
IBM Corp. is collaborating with 3Com Corp. to put IP (Internet Protocol) telephony in an IBM server so small and medium-sized businesses can make phone calls more cheaply without adding extra servers to their networks.
Munich Linux scales desktop management
The City of Munich has developed impressive systems for rolling out and maintaining Linux desktops for large numbers of users, according to a British developer who had a close-up view of the system.
IBM completes ISS buy
IBM Corp. has closed its $1.3 billion acquisition of security vendor Internet Security Systems Inc. The acquisition, which closed Friday, is the fifth-largest in IBM's history.
UNIX TIP
The directory that wasn't
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
I recently found myself with a directory that didn't contain the standard "." and ".." directories that would have properly tied it into the file system. To fix the immediate problem, I moved the troublesome directory (using mv) and created a new one. When I tried to remove the (then renamed) directory, I found that I couldn't.First, I tried the obvious. I tried removing the directory with rm, rmdir, rm -f and rm -rf. None of these commands worked for me. Here's the process I took to remedy the problem.
Read the full article here
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Oracle plans to keep shopping ... EMC updates two storage lines ... 10 million $100 laptops to come from Taiwan manufacturer
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
The latest to hold a grudge against YouTube: Utube
Ohio's Universal Tube and Rollerform Equipment Corp. thought that "Utube.com" would be a good URL. That was before red-hot video-sharing site and recent Google acquisition YouTube burst onto the scene. Now, so many people are mistyping YouTube's URL that Universal Tube and Rollerform's servers are down -- and putting "Utube" into Google brings YouTube up as the top result.
News: IBM sues Amazon.com over patents
News: AT&T's net income, revenue up in Q3
News: Oracle offers $219 million for MetaSolv
News: Nokia gets second chance to stop Qualcomm
Unix Tip: The directory that wasn't
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The latest to hold a grudge against YouTube: Utube
NEWS UPDATES
IBM sues Amazon.com over patents
IBM Corp. is taking Amazon.com Inc. to court, alleging patent infringement against the e-commerce giant. IBM alleges that Amazon.com knowingly exploits its intellectual property by infringing on several patents that cover, among other things: the presentation of applications in an interactive service; the storage of data in an interactive network; the presentation of advertising in an interactive service; and the ordering of items from an electronic catalog.
AT&T's net income, revenue up in Q3
AT&T Inc. reported net income of $2.2 billion for the third quarter of 2006, up significantly from $1.2 billion before SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp. merged last November.
Oracle offers $219 million for MetaSolv
Oracle Corp. has offered to buy MetaSolv Inc., a developer of operations support software for telecommunications service providers, for $219.2 million in cash, the companies said Monday.
Nokia gets second chance to stop Qualcomm
A U.S. court gave Nokia Corp. another chance Friday to hold off one of Qualcomm Inc.'s patent infringement lawsuits.
$100 laptops to roll off production lines in Q2 2007
The $100 laptop PC at the heart of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative aimed at school children in developing countries will start rolling off production lines in the second quarter of next year.
On heels of IE 7 release, Mozilla readies Firefox 2.0
Not to be outdone by Microsoft Corp.'s recent release of Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Corp. is planning the second major release of its rival Firefox browser this week.
EMC refreshes storage line
EMC Corp. is adding new features to some of its storage products, with claims of improved performance, energy efficiency and ease of use, to remain competitive with rivals' offerings.
IBM, 3Com team up on IP telephony
IBM Corp. is collaborating with 3Com Corp. to put IP (Internet Protocol) telephony in an IBM server so small and medium-sized businesses can make phone calls more cheaply without adding extra servers to their networks.
Munich Linux scales desktop management
The City of Munich has developed impressive systems for rolling out and maintaining Linux desktops for large numbers of users, according to a British developer who had a close-up view of the system.
IBM completes ISS buy
IBM Corp. has closed its $1.3 billion acquisition of security vendor Internet Security Systems Inc. The acquisition, which closed Friday, is the fifth-largest in IBM's history.
UNIX TIP
The directory that wasn't
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
I recently found myself with a directory that didn't contain the standard "." and ".." directories that would have properly tied it into the file system. To fix the immediate problem, I moved the troublesome directory (using mv) and created a new one. When I tried to remove the (then renamed) directory, I found that I couldn't.First, I tried the obvious. I tried removing the directory with rm, rmdir, rm -f and rm -rf. None of these commands worked for me. Here's the process I took to remedy the problem.
Read the full article here
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Oracle plans to keep shopping ... EMC updates two storage lines ... 10 million $100 laptops to come from Taiwan manufacturer
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
The latest to hold a grudge against YouTube: Utube
Ohio's Universal Tube and Rollerform Equipment Corp. thought that "Utube.com" would be a good URL. That was before red-hot video-sharing site and recent Google acquisition YouTube burst onto the scene. Now, so many people are mistyping YouTube's URL that Universal Tube and Rollerform's servers are down -- and putting "Utube" into Google brings YouTube up as the top result.
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