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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


TIP

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

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


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


WINDOWS TIP

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

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


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

Middleware propels IBM results ... vendors, NGOs work on privacy and censorship ... iPhone gross margins top 50 percent

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Microsoft, Google agree to NGO code of conduct
News: IBM profits rise 11 percent on middleware revenue
News: iPhone may pay Apple over 50 percent margins: iSuppli
News: Belgian newspapers go after Yahoo
News: California offers Dunn, former HP execs, plea deals
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: No dedicated server closet? Time to improvise


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft, Google agree to NGO code of conduct
Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., and two other technology companies will develop a code of conduct with a coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to promote freedom of expression and privacy rights, they announced Friday.

IBM profits rise 11 percent on middleware revenue
Thanks to a strong jump in revenue generated by its middleware software brands, IBM Corp. recorded profits of US$3.54 billion for the fourth quarter, a rise of 11.1 percent over the same period in the previous year.

iPhone may pay Apple over 50 percent margins: iSuppli
The Apple Inc. iPhone announced earlier this month should pay off handsomely for the company with over 50 percent gross margins for each version of the music-enabled smart phone, according to market researcher iSuppli Corp.

Belgian newspapers go after Yahoo
Copiepresse, the association representing Belgian newspapers, has already accused Google Inc. and MSN of copyright violations and now it's got Yahoo Inc. in its sights.

California offers Dunn, former HP execs, plea deals
The California attorney general has offered to drop felony charges against the four remaining defendants charged in the Hewlett-Packard Co. spying case if they plead guilty to one misdemeaner each, according to published reports.


PODCAST

Middleware propels IBM results ... vendors, NGOs work on privacy and censorship ... iPhone gross margins top 50 percent
Daily IT News Audio Update


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Big Time Toons
This newcomer promises to offer "the world's most comprehensive gaming cartoons." With jokes about Lord of the Rings superweapons and aliens distraught at planned video car obsolescence, it's got a good start, anyway.

Sun moves forward with 16-core Rock processor ... HP retains lead in worldwide PC shipments ... Microsoft to offer Vista upgrade over the Internet

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Microsoft pushes premium versions of Vista
News: Microsoft trots out online ad tools from its labs
News: Sun Rock processor project advances
News: US e-tail sales to reach $116B this year
News: Intel to invest in ClickandBuy payment service
News: HP tops Dell as PC sales continue to slow
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: No dedicated server closet? Time to improvise


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft pushes premium versions of Vista
Microsoft Corp. wants to make sure consumers and small businesses know there are myriad ways they can acquire Windows Vista -- particularly in premium versions -- when it becomes generally available on Jan. 30.

Microsoft trots out online ad tools from its labs
At a time when it's losing ground in key areas of the online services market, Microsoft Corp. is parading several Internet advertising technologies it hopes will boost its revenue in this area.

Sun Rock processor project advances
Sun Microsystems Inc. is moving forward with plans to develop a processor with as many as 16 cores on one piece of silicon, quadruple the capacity available now.

US e-tail sales to reach $116B this year
Growth in U.S. online retail sales will slow over the next five years to an average of 11 percent, but offline sales will continue to benefit greatly from online research, according to a Jupiter Research study.

Intel to invest in ClickandBuy payment service
Intel Capital invested an undisclosed amount in Firstgate Holding AG, owner of hosted online payment system provider ClickandBuy LLC.

HP tops Dell as PC sales continue to slow
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) edged out Dell Inc. again for the title of world's largest PC vendor, even though the global market fell short of predictions, according to an analysis of fourth quarter PC shipments released Wednesday by IDC.


PODCAST

Sun moves forward with 16-core Rock processor ... HP retains lead in worldwide PC shipments ... Microsoft to offer Vista upgrade over the Internet ... LG Electronics unveils iPhone lookalike
Daily IT News Audio Update


ITWHIRLED

No dedicated server closet? Time to improvise
Most of the time, you want to keep a server someplace secure (to prevent unauthorized people from accessing it) and well-ventilated (to keep the machine cool and clean). Most of the time, you wouldn't put it in a toilet stall in a construction trailer. Most of the time.

Violent video games could be outlawed across the EU ... Sun undercuts Red Hat on support pricing ... Symantec to use SONAR to find zero-day

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Symantec to use SONAR to find zero-day attacks
News: Sun undercuts Red Hat on support pricing
News: Germany seeks common EU rules on violent video games
News: NXP to exit chip alliance, forge closer ties with TSMC
News: HP continues to put software house in order
News: Adobe delivers Flash Player 9 for Linux
News: Hit by changes, Intel profit falls 39 percent
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Blog fight!

NEWS UPDATES

Symantec to use SONAR to find zero-day attacks
Starting next month, users of Symantec Corp.'s Norton products will have a new tool to help them avoid unpatched software flaws.

Sun undercuts Red Hat on support pricing
Sun Microsystems Inc. is presenting a challenge to Red Hat Inc. with competitively priced support in an update of its Solaris 10 operating system, announced Tuesday.

Germany seeks common EU rules on violent video games
Violent video games could be outlawed across the European Union, following calls for a clampdown among E.U. justice ministers this week.

NXP to exit chip alliance, forge closer ties with TSMC
NXP Semiconductors, one of Europe's largest chip makers, has decided to drop out of a multi-year research alliance and plans to work more closely with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the Dutch company said Tuesday.

HP continues to put software house in order
In the midst of a companywide restructuring effort, Hewlett-Packard Co. has taken the next step in an ongoing reorganization of its software operation. The vendor has established a new unit to bring together its business intelligence (BI) and information management expertise, which is currently spread out across the company.

Adobe delivers Flash Player 9 for Linux
Adobe Systems Inc. has released Flash Player 9 for Linux, allowing users of the open-source operating system to create or use multimedia applications with the latest version of Flash.

Hit by changes, Intel profit falls 39 percent
Still reeling from the effects of a corporate reorganization that included heavy layoffs, Intel Corp. reported a profit of US$1.5 billion for the fourth quarter, down 39 percent compared to that period last year.


PODCAST

Violent video games could be outlawed across the EU ... Digital music sales doubled last year to $2 billion ... Oracle has released 51 new security fixes .. Intel reported a sharp drop in Q4 profits
Daily IT News Audio Update


ITWHIRLED

Blog fight!
Weblogs are known for many thing, but high-minded avoidance of conflict is not one of them. Wired magazine put together a list of 2006's nastiest blog brawls.

Netflix launches direct download service for PCs ... IBM enhances entry-level storage products ... India nearly doubles mobile phone use in 2006

HIGHLIGHTS

News: India nearly doubles mobile phone use in 2006
News: IBM enhances entry-level storage products
News: HP advances fight to keep Moore's Law healthy
News: Intel selling Israeli flash fab, sources say
News: SAP launches new All-in-One version
News: 3 introduces new roaming policies
News: Joost is the new name of Skype founders' video venture
News: Netflix launches direct download service for PCs
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 25 Titans in waiting


NEWS UPDATES

India nearly doubles mobile phone use in 2006
India added close to 74 million new mobile telephone subscribers last year, making it one of the most attractive markets for mobile telephone operators and wireless equipment vendors.

IBM enhances entry-level storage products
IBM Corp. is adding features and capacity to its entry-level disk storage array products for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB) to match that of more expensive enterprise-level systems.

HP advances fight to keep Moore's Law healthy
Hewlett-Packard Co. researchers may have figured out a way to prolong Moore's Law by making chips more powerful and less power-hungry.

Intel selling Israeli flash fab, sources say
Sources at Intel Israel claim that the company's Fab 8 facility in Jerusalem is to be closed down and that its flash memory operations -- including the Fab 18 facility in Kiryat Gat - are going to be sold.

SAP launches new All-in-One version
Simple PC-like interfaces and integrated reporting capabilities are among the features of a new version of SAP AG's All-in-One business software targeted at midsize companies, the business software maker said Tuesday.

3 introduces new roaming policies
3 Group, the operator owned by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., is hoping to take the sting out of international roaming with a new policy that lets customers make and receive calls while traveling and pay the same as if they were on their home network.

Joost is the new name of Skype founders' video venture
Peer-to-peer technology pioneers Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis have renamed their new online TV service under development and plan to open the gates to let more people test the software.

Netflix launches direct download service for PCs
Can't wait for that copy of "Talladega Nights" to arrive from Netflix Inc.? As of Tuesday, some users will be able to watch movies they rent from Netflix directly through their PCs, the company said.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update


ITWHIRLED

25 Titans in waiting
Need some inspiration to get going in the new year? Check out Red Herring's picks for the 25 young entrepreneurs who lead promising startups. A 17-year-old CEO who has already helmed three companies, a 19-year-old Stanford dropout and a 23-year-old engineer who's taking on Apple are among the "bright sparks who will be setting the global technology agenda for years to come," Red Herring says in this annual listing of businesspeople under 35.

AOL to buy DoubleTrader for $900 million ... IBM plans new SOA centers ... UK government to loosen data-sharing laws

HIGHLIGHTS

News: AOL offers $900 million for TradeDoublers
News: US Attorney investigating Apple stock options
News: IBM takes community approach to SOA
News: UK proposes sharing data among gov't agencies
News: Siemens launches new IT outsourcing and services group
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Celebrity patents


NEWS UPDATES

AOL offers $900 million for TradeDoublers
AOL LLC is hoping to boost its online advertising business in Europe with an offer to buy TradeDoubler AB, a Swedish provider of online marketing and sales services, for US$900 million.

US Attorney investigating Apple stock options
In a move to beef up its Internet networking expertise, communications vendor Avaya Inc. has agreed to acquire Ubiquity Software Corp. PLC, a developer of software applications using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology.

CES: HD DVD gets boost from adult film industry
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California is investigating the stock options backdating activities of computer and consumer electronics manufacturer Apple Inc.

IBM takes community approach to SOA
IBM Corp. Monday is due to officially announce the first two in a planned series of eight centers around the world designed to help build up local expertise in the service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach to IT development.

UK proposes sharing data among gov't agencies
The U.K. government wants to relax data protection laws so it can share people's personal data across different government agencies, but critics are decrying the proposal as another move toward a "big brother" state.

Siemens launches new IT outsourcing and services group
Siemens AG has launched its Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS) division, three months after announcing plans to bundle all of its worldwide IT services and software activities, including Siemens Business Services (SBS), into a new entity, the Munich electronics and engineering company said Monday.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
AOL to buy DoubleTrader for $900 million ... IBM plans new SOA centers ... UK government to loosen data-sharing laws ... MPA accuses Google partner of piracy



ITWHIRLED

Celebrity patents
Celebrities -- they're just like us! They stop for coffee, they walk their dogs, they ... file for patents? An enterprising blogger has collected a wealth of patents filed by famous people. They range from the logical (Eddie Van Halen patented a waist-strap guitar support that allowed him to dedicate both hands to his solos) to the head scratching (Zeppo Marx patented a heart rate monitor).

AOL scraps Music Now in favor of Napster ... AMD warns of Q4 earnings dip

HIGHLIGHTS
News: AMD warns of significant dip in Q4 earnings
News: Avaya to buy SIP software developer
News: HD DVD gets boost from adult film industry
News: AOL scraps Music Now in favor of Napster
Unix Tip: Recovering control of a firmware password protected system
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The 10 worst games of all time


NEWS UPDATES

AMD warns of significant dip in Q4 earnings
Tumbling microprocessor prices have prompted Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) to warn of a dip in earnings ahead of its fourth-quarter results at the end of the month.

Avaya to buy SIP software developer
In a move to beef up its Internet networking expertise, communications vendor Avaya Inc. has agreed to acquire Ubiquity Software Corp. PLC, a developer of software applications using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology.

CES: HD DVD gets boost from adult film industry
Early support from the adult film industry may be helping HD DVD to take an early lead over Blu-ray Disc in the battle to become the next-generation DVD format.

AOL scraps Music Now in favor of Napster
AOL LLC has named Napster LLC exclusive supplier of subscription music for its AOL Music site, and plans to migrate all 350,000 paid accounts away from the existing service, AOL Music Now, over the next 60 days.

Report: Investigator to plead guilty in HP case
A private investigator charged in connection with the HP pretexting case is expected to appear in U.S. Federal District Court Friday and, according to news reports, to plead guilty to charges filed Wednesday.

Canon buys Toshiba stake in display JV to end lawsuit
Canon Inc. will buy Toshiba Corp.'s stake in a SED Inc., a joint venture they formed to develop large-screen, low-power flat panel televisions. The companies hope the move will put an end to a patent lawsuit brought against Canon in the U.S.

AT&T to replace Cingular brand Monday
AT&T Inc. will launch a new advertising campaign to replace the Cingular brand with its own, the company announced Friday. The campaign starts on Monday and will initially feature a transitional graphic that includes elements of both the AT&T and Cingular logos.

SAP warns of Q4 sales slowdown
SAP AG's stock dropped more than 10 percent on Thursday as the business software vendor warned of lower-than-expected revenue growth for its most recent quarter.

Oracle now giving early notice of security updates
Oracle Corp. has taken a cue from Microsoft Corp. and started giving its customers an early warning of what they can expect from upcoming security patch releases. On Thursday, Oracle published its first-ever Critical Patch Update Pre-Release Announcement, detailing what it plans to fix in its next set of patches, due Tuesday.

Apple ad suggests iPhone will have Arm inside
What processor will the iPhone use? That's one of the great unanswered questions left in the wake of Apple Inc.'s launch of the iPhone this week, but a job ad on Apple's Web site may hint at the answer.

Intel files countersuit in Transmeta patent case
Intel Corp. has filed a countersuit against Transmeta Corp. in an ongoing patent infringement disagreement between the two companies. Transmeta first sued Intel in October, saying Intel's Pentium and Core PC processors violate 10 Transmeta patents. Intel, in a court document filed Tuesday, denied it had infringed any Transmeta patents, instead accusing Transmeta of infringing seven of its own patents.


UNIX TIP

Recovering control of a firmware password protected system
By Sandra Henry-Stocker

Firmware passwords can be a very useful security measure when you need to keep systems stable in spite of the fact that they may be exposed to unauthorized individuals, but they can also present a time-consuming challenge if you acquire such a system and don't know the password that was set or if you forget. Having recently purchased some used Sun systems off eBay, I quickly discovered that one of the systems had been configured with a firmware password that the seller didn't know, so I was forced to find a way to overcome this security setting before I could attempt to take control of the system and reinstall it.

Read the full article.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
U.K. schools advised to hold off on Vista ... Oracle warns of upcoming security patches .. AMD and SAP expect lower earnings .. AT&T to drop Cingular brand Monday


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
The 10 worst games of all time ... Top 10 wired colleges ... Ten CSS tricks you may not know

HP investigator faces ID-theft charge ... Sophos buys Endforce ... IBM leads in patents

HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP investigator faces identity-theft charge
News: Sophos buys Endforce for network access control
News: IBM leads year of record patent approvals
News: Google irks Web site owners over malware alerts
Tip: The legal burden of inaccessible data
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Study: Most managers' info searches are useless


NEWS UDPATES

HP investigator faces identity-theft charge
A U.S. attorney has charged Bryan Wagner, an independent investigator
who worked for Hewlett-Packard Co. while the company tried to find the
source of board leaks, with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy.

Sophos buys Endforce for network access control
Sophos PLC has bought Endforce Inc., a U.S. developer of enterprise
network access control software, for an undisclosed sum.

IBM leads year of record patent approvals
IBM Corp. was awarded a record number of U.S. patents in 2006, a year
that saw the most patents awarded ever, according to a study.

Google irks Web site owners over malware alerts
Some Web site operators are complaining that Google Inc. is flagging
their sites as containing malicious software when they believe their
sites are harmless. At issue is an "interstitial" page that appears
after a user has clicked on a link within Google's search engine
results. If Google believes a site contains malware, the page will
appear, saying "Warning - visiting this web site may harm your
computer!"

EBay buys ticket site StubHub for $310 million
EBay Inc. announced Thursday it will acquire ticket selling site StubHub
Inc. for about $310 million in cash. The auction giant said the deal is
expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

iPhone faces uncertain market
Apple Inc.'s iPhone could be a hit in the high-end phone market and work
wonders for partner Cingular's image, but the device that stunned
Macworld Expo attendees is likely to have a narrow market.

New PayPal key to help thwart phishers
Over the next few months, Ebay Inc. will be offering its PayPal users a
new tool in the fight against phishers: a US$5 security key. The key is
actually a small electronic device, designed to clip on to a keychain,
that calculates a new numeric password every 30 seconds. PayPal users
who sign up to use the device will need to enter their regular passwords
as well as the number displayed on the key whenever they log in to the
online payment service.

Cisco sues Apple over iPhone name
Cisco Systems Inc. is suing Apple Inc. to prevent it from using the name
iPhone for the new smartphone Apple introduced Tuesday at the Macworld
Conference & Expo in San Francisco. The name iPhone is a registered
trademark of Linksys, a division of Cisco.

CES: UWB, Wi-Fi and powerline vie for position
While many networking vendors, both wireless and wireline,
diplomatically agree that no single networking technology will prevail
in the connected home of the future, they are still battling over which
technology is most suitable for streaming high-definition video.


TIP

The legal burden of inaccessible data
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

When you start to understand the implications of what is necessary to
bring your company in line with the changes of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure (FRCP) as they impact the process of e-discovery for
civil litigation in the U.S. court system, you may recognize the large
gap between what your company can do now and what it needs to do. For
example, your enterprise must ...


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Cisco sues Apple over iPhone trademark ... Adobe issues updates for
scripting vulnerability ... Infosys posts strong Q4 profit ... EBay buys
ticket sales site StubHub


ITWHIRLED

Study: Most managers' info searches are useless
A recent Accenture survey found that middle managers spend as long as
two hours a day searching for information, and more than half of the
data they find is useless. Of all the managers surveyed, IT workers are
the least likely to find valuable information and they spend the most
time (nearly 30 percent of their working hours) searching.

Microsoft nears accord with Liberty Alliance ... China criticized for 3G delays

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Liberty Alliance, Microsoft discuss identity protocols
News: Kagermann expected to stay on as SAP CEO
News: U.S. commerce secretary slaps China for 3G stance
News: TI sees under-$20 mobiles, $35 GPRS phones this year
Opinion: Windows in the home
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Checkmate for Indian chess player after cell phone ploy


NEWS UPDATES

Liberty Alliance, Microsoft discuss identity protocols
The Liberty Alliance, a consortium working on policy and technology issues for identity management, is discussing with Microsoft Corp. how to reconcile their competing sets of protocols for secure Web transactions.

SAP: Kagermann expected to stay on as CEO
Henning Kagermann, CEO of business software maker SAP AG, is expected to renew his contract for another year after it expires in December 2007, according to a source familiar with the situation.

CES: U.S. commerce secretary slaps China for 3G stance
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez Tuesday criticized China for delaying the creation of a 3G (third generation) wireless network in that country, saying it is thwarting global technology innovation by not embracing standards.

CES: TI sees under-$20 mobiles, $35 GPRS phones this year
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI), is developing a broad range of chips for low-cost handsets aimed at developing countries, and sees prices ranging from under-$20 for basic phones to $35 for GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) mobiles complete with a camera and music player on board by the end of this year.

NSA helped Microsoft make Vista secure
The U.S. agency best known for eavesdropping on telephone calls had a hand in the development of Microsoft's Vista operating system, Microsoft confirmed Tuesday.

Can Apple pick up the iPhone name?
Apple introduced its new iPhone device Tuesday without informing Cisco whether it had accepted a licensing agreement to use the name, which is a registered trademark of Linksys, a division of Cisco.

CES: OLPC updates laptop efforts, says cost at $130
The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) has whittled down the cost of the green and white computer they hope to deliver to school children in developing countries to about $130 so far, and hope to reach the target price of $100 in 2008, a project leader said Monday.

Apple picks Cingular to sell iPhone
The Apple iPhone unveiled Tuesday, described as jaw-dropping by one analyst, will be offered exclusively in the U.S. through Cingular Wireless LLC, both companies announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.


OPINION

Windows in the home
By Dan Blacharski

Apple Computer has to have the most annoying television commercials
ever, with its "I'm cooler than you" campaign that features a smarmy,
casually-dressed Mac user standing next to a geeky PC user. Apple's
intent of course, is to capture the home market, by boxing Windows PCs
into the "business" category. In reality, the Windows versus Mac
battle is little more than a tempest in a teapot, and the difference
between the two is about the same as the difference between
Republicans and Democrats, which is to say, very little.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Jobs unveils the iPhone ... Microsoft issues critical patches ... China criticized for 3G delays ... Microsoft nears accord with Liberty Alliance


ITWHIRLED

Checkmate for Indian chess player after cell phone ploy
A rising Indian chess star was banned for 10 years after chess officials caught him using a mobile phone to cheat.

Apple, Cingular to team for cell phone ... HP offers touchscreen Vista on new PCs

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Apple, Cingular to team for cell phone
News: Second U.S.-German investor groups to bid on BenQ Mobile
News: HP offers touchscreen Vista on new PCs
News: Hack will help kill HD DVD copy protection
Opinion: January's coolest gadgets
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Fake or foto?


NEWS UPDATES

Report: Apple, Cingular to team for cell phone
Apple Computer Inc. may finally end the rumors and announce its own cell phone on Tuesday, with wireless service from Cingular Wireless LLC, a news report said. The device, which will combine a cell phone with Apple's popular iPod music player, is expected to be announced at the MacWorld show in San Francisco.

Second U.S.-German investor groups to bid on BenQ Mobile
A second U.S.-German group of investors, led by Sentex Sensing Technologies Inc., plans to make an offer for insolvent mobile phone maker BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG, following a bid by a rival group of American-German investors, Sentex said Monday.

CES: HP offers touchscreen Vista on new PCs
Hewlett-Packard Co. reached for the consumer market Monday with two new PCs that allow customers to control Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista OS with a touchscreen interface instead of a mouse.

Researchers: Hack will help kill HD DVD copy protection
The recent release of software that can be used to decode encrypted HD DVD and Blu-ray movies is the first step toward making the encryption standard used by these next-generation video players obsolete, Princeton University researchers said Monday.

Brocade acquires Silverback for storage chips
Storage network equipment maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc. has acquired Silverback Systems Inc. for its network acceleration processor technology.

Pegasus Mail put down
New Zealand e-mail pioneer Pegasus Mail is to cease further development of its software, which is used by millions of users worldwide. Pegasus will also cease developing its Mercury mail transport system.


OPINION

January's coolest gadgets
With the new year comes a lot of buzz from the phone industry. Not only are regular cell phones improving by getting smaller, smarter and lighter but a host of new network services, like higher-speed data transmission, are making them more useful. There's also a new breed of handset packing digital TV reception, and you can find examples of these in this month's round-up of hot gadgets. Looking ahead to the rest of the year we're sure to see more advanced phones with features like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony too.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Jobs expected to introduce cell phone at Macworld ... Chambers and Dell are next up at CES today ... Brasil Telecom blocks YouTube


ITWHIRLED

Fake or foto?
They've been predicting for years that CGI would supplant the need for real humans and sets in photography and film. Take this test to see if you can distinguish physical objects from craftily arranged pixels.

NCR to spin off Teradata ... AMD Live! goes mobile

HIGHLIGHTS
News: NCR to spin off Teradata
News: Toshiba expects to ship 1.8M HD DVD players in 2007
News: Nokia slims phone and adds a new Internet tablet
News: AMD Live! goes mobile, faces off against competition
Opinion: Inviting the barbarians in
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Zune vs. iPod: Image war goes badly for Microsoft


NEWS UPDATES

NCR to spin off Teradata
NCR Corp. and its Teradata data warehousing division will separate into two publicly-traded companies in a move designed to better focus their respective business strategies, NCR said Monday.

Toshiba expects to ship 1.8M HD DVD players in 2007
New movie releases, more market entrants, improved technology and 1.8 million HD DVD players from Toshiba Corp. are the weapons companies plan to use in the format battle against rival Blu-ray Disc this year, executives said Sunday.

Nokia slims phone and adds a new Internet tablet
Nokia Corp. unveiled a slim mobile phone, a mobile phone for bloggers, and an updated wireless Internet tablet with VOIP capabilities at the CES show in Las Vegas on Monday.

AMD Live! goes mobile, faces off against competition
Continuing to chase the grail of a media center PC, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) announced a notebook version of its AMD Live! package, which the company had launched for desktop users in mid-2006.

Oracle widens SQL Developer's scope
Oracle Corp. on Monday released the first major upgrade to SQL Developer, its free visual database development tool, with one key theme being the ability to browse non-Oracle databases.

U.S.-German investor group shows interest in BenQ Mobile
While production grinds to a halt at insolvent mobile phone maker BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG, negotiations to find a buyer continue with potential investors, one of them an undisclosed U.S.-German group of individuals with IT and telecommunications backgrounds.

Microsoft pulls four planned security patches
Microsoft Corp. has eliminated four of eight previously announced security patches scheduled to be available to system administrators Tuesday.

San Francisco, Earthlink agree on Wi-Fi terms
EarthLink Inc. and the City and County of San Francisco have agreed on the terms of a contract under which EarthLink would build a citywide Wi-Fi network. EarthLink would offer a paid service on that network while Google Inc. would provide a slower, free service.

LG unveils combo high-def disc players
LG Electronics Inc. took a big step on Sunday towards the end of the next-generation DVD format battle with the unveiling of a player and PC drive that support both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats.

Netgear box plays YouTube, other content, on TVs
Netgear Inc. may be hoping to steal some of Apple Computer Inc.'s thunder by introducing on Sunday an appliance that lets users play Internet and other digital content on their TVs.


OPINION

Too often, the barbarians are not left at the gate, they are invited in
By Joel Shore, ITworld.com

Windows Vista. It hasn't even hit the streets yet, and the first hack is already upon us. Corporations, already reluctant to roll out any operating system upgrade until at least the first service pack is available, are no doubt becoming even more skittish. That's not a good way to start a new year.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Bill Gates opens CES ... Wi-Fi Alliance releases new security specification ... Oracle upgrades SQL Developer


ITWHIRLED

Zune vs. iPod: Image war goes badly for Microsoft
If image is everything in marketing, Redmond must be smarting from this pic: One Seattle-area Costco used a box of Zunes as an impromptu table to hold a stack of iPods.

Google partners with Chinese P2P site ... Adobe to issue Reader patches

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Google partners with Chinese P2P site
News: Adobe to issue patches for Reader vulnerability
News: Drive makers race to be first with 1TB drives
News: VMware for Macs may have limited appeal
Unix Tip: Firmware passwords and the OpenBoot prompt
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: 10 online operating systems reviewed


NEWS UPDATES

Google partners with Chinese P2P site
Google Inc. has struck a partnership with a Chinese peer-to-peer file downloading service, Xunlei Networking Technologies Ltd. of Shenzhen that will give users of the Xunlei service easier access to Google search services and multimedia content via a search link on Xunlei's home page.

Adobe to issue patches for Reader vulnerability
Adobe Systems Inc. will issue patches next week for older versions of its Reader and Acrobat Reader software, which contain a dangerous vulnerability that could be used for phishing attacks or to remotely access files on a computer.

CES: Drive makers race to be first with 1TB drives
Two of the biggest hard-disk drive makers, Seagate Technology LLC and Hitachi Global Storage Technology Inc., both said Thursday that they plan to have drives on the market with the first half of this year that are capable of holding a terabyte (1000G bytes) of data.

VMware for Macs may have limited appeal
VMware Inc. reports strong initial interest in its virtualization software designed to run on the Mac computer platform, but skeptics doubt it will improve Apple's share of the enterprise market.

Researcher: Still risk from QuickTime bug
The QuickTime vulnerability that led to a widespread worm outbreak on MySpace.com last month could be exploited again, according to security researcher Aviv Raff, who has published software that illustrates his point.

Taiwan company sues Apple over lost sales
A Taiwanese manufacturer is suing Apple Computer Inc. for US$100 million after a court ruled it could continue producing a portable music player resembling Apple's iPod Shuffle.

CES: Toshiba readies desktop HD DVD drive
Toshiba Corp. will release a desktop PC version of its HD DVD writer next month in a move to boost support for the next-generation optical disc format. The release will follow the launch of a notebook version last year.

Wall Street Beat: Trading year starts
The New Year holiday, followed by a day of mourning for former U.S. President Gerald Ford, truncated the first trading week of the year. Even so, market events pointed to themes that are due to stay at the forefront in 2007: mergers and acquisitions and relatively strong hardware growth within moderate global IT revenue increases.

DRAM revenue growth to slow in 2007
Despite steady sales volume, DRAM (dynamic RAM) memory chip vendors will see their revenue growth slow dramatically in 2007 thanks to a slump in prices, according to a report released Thursday.

NTT DoCoMo takes stake in Nippon TV
NTT DoCoMo has acquired a 3 percent stake in Nippon Television, one of Japan's largest commercial broadcasters, the companies said Thursday. The acquisition comes 11 months after NTT DoCoMo and NTV began working together on applications that tie together broadcasting and mobile telecommunications services.


UNIX TIP

Firmware passwords and the OpenBoot prompt
By Sandra Henry-Stocker, ITworld.com

A firmware password secures a system against unauthorized changes at
the ok prompt. If you don't have a firmware password set, anyone with
access to your system's console can modify your OpenBoot parameters.
If you do have a firmware password set, be careful not to forget it or
even you may not be able to boot your system. With a restrictive
security setting, accessing a system can be very difficult.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft readies first security updates for 2007 ... Google updates search appliance ... Seagate to ship 1TB hard disk


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Ten best geek quotes ... 10 online operating systems reviewed ... Top 10 point-and-shoot cameras ... Top 10 Web 2.0 crushes ... Top ten invented worlds

Cisco offers $830 million for IronPort ... Patch issued for OpenOffice

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Cisco offers $830 million for IronPort
News: Patch issued for OpenOffice.org WMF vulnerability
News: SanDisk releases 32G-byte drive for notebooks
News: Disk-makers join to push flash-embedded drives
Tip: VPN and domain authentication
ITwhirled: Ten best geek quotes


NEWS UPDATES

Cisco offers $830 million for IronPort
Cisco Systems Inc. has agreed to buy IronPort Systems Inc., a developer of e-mail and Web security products, for $830 million.

Patch issued for OpenOffice.org WMF vulnerability
A patch has been widely released for a vulnerability in the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, a problem rated as "highly critical" by one security vendor.

SanDisk releases 32G-byte drive for notebooks
SanDisk Corp. has launched a 32G-byte solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives.

CES: Disk-makers join to push flash-embedded drives
The five largest manufacturers of hard-disk drives will work together to promote a new technology that promises to improve system performance, the companies said Thursday.

Google nets search deal with China Mobile
Google Inc. has signed a deal to provide mobile search services for China's biggest mobile phone operator, China Mobile Ltd., the company announced Thursday.

CES: LG to show dual HD DVD/Blu-ray player
LG Electronics Inc. will soon begin selling a high-definition video disc player compatible with both the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc standards, it said Thursday.

OLPC aims for mass production in third quarter
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) plans to conclude its third build of the laptop by early April, finalizing any last-minute engineering tweaks and hopes to begin mass production of its low-cost notebooks aimed at children in developing nations in August or September.


TIP

VPN and domain authentication
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

If your enterprise has multiple small offices but only one domain
controller at each office, how will users at one of your sites log on
if their domain controller goes down? One common approach is to have
users make a VPN connection to one of the other offices using PPPoE
over DSL and authenticate with the domain controller there.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Ten best geek quotes ... 10 online operating systems reviewed ... Top 10 point-and-shoot cameras ... Top 10 Web 2.0 crushes ... Top ten invented worlds

Nokia, Samsung sued over Bluetooth patents ... MySQL on track with new storage engine

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Nokia, Samsung are sued over Bluetooth patents
News: MySQL is on track with new storage engine
News: Dash, Yahoo bring local search to GPS device
News: LG's Shine to make international debut at CES
Opinion: What's on tap in 2007
ITwhirled: Practice doesn't make perfect


NEWS UPDATES

Nokia, Samsung are sued over Bluetooth patents
Just as the number of Bluetooth device users passed the billion mark, a lawsuit threatens the momentum of the short range wireless technology.

MySQL is on track with new storage engine
Open-source database maker MySQL AB will soon release the alpha version of its Falcon storage engine, designed for high-volume Web server environments, a company executive said Wednesday.

Dash, Yahoo bring local search to GPS device
Dash Navigation Inc. will work with Yahoo Inc. to add a local search capability to its forthcoming Internet-connected in-car satellite navigation terminal, Dash announced Wednesday.

IBM: ISVs from emerging markets play bigger role
The IBM team that works with developers is putting a "disproportionate amount of focus on emerging markets," says Buell Duncan, IBM's general manager of ISV (independent software vendor) and developer relations. The stakes are high for IBM, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the years to provide technical, sales and marketing support for ISVs around the world.

LG's Shine to make international debut at CES
LG Electronics Inc. will give the successor to its popular Chocolate cell phone its international unveiling at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

AT&T's big buy could mean new bundles
AT&T Inc.'s acquisition of BellSouth Corp. may reshape wired and wireless telecommunications in the U.S., letting the giant carrier create new product bundles and setting the nation's two dominant providers on a collision course.

Incipient delivers virtualization first for Cisco
SAN storage virtualization vendor Incipient has announced support for Cisco MDS9000 switches, which the company claims is the first true enterprise-class SAN virtualization product.


OPINION

What's on tap in 2007
By Dan Blacharski

It's the beginning of a new year, and the blogosphere is full of armchair futurists speculating on what it will hold. It seems everyone is getting in on the act, with predictions that range from the unlikely to the bizarre. An Associated Press/AOL News poll shows that 25 percent of respondents expect the second coming of Jesus Christ in 2007, and 19 percent think scientists will find evidence of extraterrestrial life in the new year. But before you go out and buy your ascension robes and roll out the red carpet for E.T., let's take a look at what 2007 may hold for the world of technology.


ITWHIRLED

Practice doesn't make perfect
Looks like mom was wrong. Scientists have found that inconsistencies in the brain's behavior means that no amount of practice will make perfect. Bye bye sloth-induced guilt.

Alcatel-Lucent completes purchase of Nortel 3G business ... Apple faces lawsuit over iTunes-iPod link

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Alcatel-Lucent completes purchase of Nortel 3G business
News: Google closes Gmail cross-site scripting vulnerability
News: Apple faces U.S. lawsuit over iTunes-iPod link
Reports: Lawsuit may delay SED TV plans
Opinion: Budget adjustments
ITwhirled: Wii get hurt and have pictures to prove it


NEWS UPDATES

Alcatel-Lucent completes purchase of Nortel 3G business
Alcatel-Lucent SA has closed its acquisition of Nortel Networks Corp.'s UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mobile infrastructure business, the companies announced Tuesday.

Google closes Gmail cross-site scripting vulnerability
Google Inc. has fixed a flaw that would have allowed Web sites to harvest information from Gmail contact lists, a problem that could have let spammers collect reams of new e-mail addresses.

Apple faces U.S. lawsuit over iTunes-iPod link
Apple Computer Inc. faces a lawsuit in the U.S., following similar charges in Europe, over tying its iTunes music store to the iPod digital music player.

Reports: Lawsuit may delay SED TV plans
A lawsuit filed against Japan's Canon Inc. by a U.S. company could scupper Canon's plans to jointly produce a new type of television with Toshiba Corp., according to Japanese press reports.

CES: LG to demo 1080p content at CES
LG Electronics Inc. will demonstrate "full HD" content at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company said. Full HD combines 1080 horizontal lines of resolution with progressive scanning and also goes by the moniker "1080p."

BenQ Mobile still seeks buyer for bankrupt German unit
A Munich court has opened insolvency proceedings against BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG after the mobile phone maker failed to meet an end-of-the-year deadline to find a buyer.

Open source personal tracking system gets first test
An open source wireless tracking system for following people around buildings got its first public use last week at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin.

IBM, Siemens venture lands €7.1B German army IT deal
After more than three years of negotiations with half a dozen vendors, German military officials awarded a 10-year contract, worth €7.1 billion (US$9.2 billion), to a consortium including IBM Corp. and Siemens AG shortly before the end of the year.


OPINION

Budget adjustments
By James Gaskin

Whatever your final budget number for 2007, prepare to slice that number. Continued weakness in the residential housing market (construction spending was down for the seventh month in a row in October), a slowdown in US manufacturing, and warnings about flat retail sales from WalMart and others means your budget will probably get cut next spring.


ITWHIRLED

Wii get hurt and have pictures to prove it
Wii Have A Problem is a site devoted to raising awareness of the latest trend in video game violence -- that is, the injuries gamers cause to themselves and others when they play too hard or too long.

AT&T closes BellSouth acquisition ... Blu-ray, HD DVD copy protection cracked

HIGHLIGHTS
News: With FCC approval, AT&T closes BellSouth acquisition
News: Net neutrality advocates cheer AT&T concessions
News: Hacker: Blu-ray, HD DVD copy protection cracked
News: Apple clears Jobs in options probe, restates earnings
News: "Happy New Year!" worm on the move
Opinion: More than words can say
ITwhirled: Top 10 Web 2.0 crushes


NEWS UPDATES

With FCC approval, AT&T closes BellSouth acquisition
On Friday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced that it had approved the $86 billion deal, one day after AT&T made a number of concessions to help push the acquisition through, including a pledge to maintain a "neutral network" for two years after the merger.

Net neutrality advocates cheer AT&T concessions
Net neutrality advocates celebrated this week after AT&T Inc. said it would pledge to maintain a "neutral network" in exchange for U.S. government approval of its proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp.

Hacker: Blu-ray, HD DVD copy protection cracked
A computer hacker claims to have broken the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) encryption specification used to control unauthorized copying on HD-DVD and Blu-ray video players.

Apple clears Jobs in options probe, restates earnings
An investigation into past stock option grants at Apple Computer Inc. has found that Chief Executive Steve Jobs was aware of procedural irregularities but did not benefit personally from the grants or understand the accounting implications.

"Happy New Year!" worm on the move
Verisign Inc. is warning of a new e-mail worm arriving in inboxes with the subject "Happy New Year!" The message, currently being spread from 160 e-mail domains, requires users to click on the attached "postcard.exe" file in order to cause damage.

Italians welcome WiMax sell-off
Italian politicians and businesses welcomed the announcement that the government would begin selling WiMax-capable frequencies next June, saying it was an important step toward the technological modernization of the country.


OPINION

More than words can say
By Sean McGrath

Almost a year ago in this column, I opined the general lack of good diagrams on a certain class of Website. Websites that purport to help their readers figure out something physical like changing a tire or tying a Windsor knot or adding a WIFI card to your PC. Websites that might be selling books and supplementing the books with online information.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Ten best geek quotes ... 10 online operating systems reviewed ... Top 10 point-and-shoot cameras ... Top 10 Web 2.0 crushes ... Top ten invented worlds

Apple clears Jobs in options probe, restates earnings ... "Happy New Year!" worm on the move

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Apple clears Jobs in options probe, restates earnings
News: "Happy New Year!" worm on the move
News: Yahoo to offer full auction refunds in Japan case
News: New Creative Commons head to reach out to businesses
Opinion: Attack of the killer digicam
ITwhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Station V3


NEWS UPDATES

Apple clears Jobs in options probe, restates earnings
An investigation into past stock option grants at Apple Computer Inc. has found that Chief Executive Steve Jobs was aware of procedural irregularities but did not benefit personally from the grants or understand the accounting implications.

"Happy New Year!" worm on the move
Verisign Inc. is warning of a new e-mail worm arriving in inboxes with the subject "Happy New Year!" The message, currently being spread from 160 e-mail domains, requires users to click on the attached "postcard.exe" file in order to cause damage.

Yahoo to offer full auction refunds in Japan case
Yahoo Japan Corp. has decided to refund users of its auction Web site any money that was sent to a consumer electronics retailer that abruptly closed down and disappeared.

New Creative Commons head to reach out to businesses
Creative Commons, the grass-roots content licensing system that has taken hold amongst bloggers and other content creators online, could soon be arriving in your digital camera.

AT&T offers more concessions for BellSouth acquisition
In a bid to win approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its planned $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp., AT&T Inc. has expanded the set of concessions it's offering to overcome opposition to the deal.

Nintendo Wii sales surge in Japan
Sales of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii surged in the third week of December in Japan as more supplies of the hard-to-get games console arrived in shops across the country.

Report: Apple records on Jobs options falsified
Apple Computer Inc. gave Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs 7.5 million stock options in October 2001 without authorization from its board and later falsified documents that said the board had met to approve the grant, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday.

Intel ordered to produce foreign evidence in AMD case
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will be able to collect evidence about events outside the U.S. for an antitrust lawsuit against Intel Corp.


OPINION

Attack of the killer digicam
By Sean McGrath

In recent times, sites publishing user-generated video content, such as YouTube have been very much in the news. Young people who, prior to video sharing sites became popular, had no particular interest in investing in a camcorder are now doing so and producing home videos that are, well ... interesting. Videos of themselves goofing around in the kitchen. Videos of a friend's opinions on pop star X. Videos of how best to care for your pet hamster. Everything imaginable. It is tempting to watch some of these and dismiss them as skateboard-like. That is, possibly a passing fad, possibly a phenomenon destined for niche status. Perhaps "professionally produced" video will always be beyond what amateurs can produce. Perhaps. Perhaps not.


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Station V3
Station V3 is a lonely space station, a rest stop and fuel station in a system where nobody really needs to rest or refuel. The cast of characters, including a overprogrammed robot and plant mastermind, entertain themselves while waiting for visitors. Plus: ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS!

Amsterdam tests open source ... Internet access recovers in Asia after quake

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Amsterdam city authorities test open source software
News: Internet access recovers in Asia after quake
News: Yahoo research goes beyond computing to social science
News: Netflix best, CDW worst in customer satisfaction
Opinion: Short straw people 2
GottaGadget: What's your biggest gadget secret?
ITwhirled: U.K. already considering robot rights


NEWS UPDATES

Amsterdam city authorities test open source software
Microsoft Corp. has two years -- until the company's contract expires in 2008 -- in which to convince Amsterdam city authorities that it can offer better value for money on the desktop than open source alternatives.

Internet access recovers in Asia after quake
Asia's Internet and telecommunication infrastructure showed signs of recovery Thursday, following service disruptions caused by a series of powerful earthquakes off Taiwan's southern coast earlier this week.

Yahoo research goes beyond computing to social science
Yahoo Research has set up a team of economists, ethnographers, cognitive psychologists and sociologists to research new media experiences that will promote the formation of online communities.

Netflix best, CDW worst in customer satisfaction
This holiday shopping season consumers rated Netflix Inc.'s Web site as the best among the 40 largest retail sites, while CDW Corp.'s ranked last, according to a survey whose results were released Wednesday.

YouTube response to Japan complaints 'not satisfactory'
A group of Japanese content producers that asked YouTube Inc. to act on the large amount of copyrighted material on the popular site say a response received from the company was unsatisfactory.

Taiwan IT production largely unaffected by big quake
A pair of powerful earthquakes near Taiwan caused some factories to temporarily halt operations for safety reasons, but mostly left the island's IT production unscathed, companies said Wednesday.

Microsoft sees botnets as top cyber-threat
If there's one thing that Aaron Kornblum, a senior attorney with Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Safety Enforcement team, would like to quash, it's the botnet armies -- the remote-controlled PCs that have been taken over without their user's knowledge. Symantec counted more than 4.5 million of them during the first six months of 2006, and according to Kornblum, they are the backbone of today's cybercrime.

Taiwan allows three chip investments to China
The Taiwan government gave a formal stamp of approval on three major China-bound chip investments on Wednesday, a significant easing of regulations for its technology industry and a sign of improving ties with China.

Report: Feds looking at Apple stock-option documents
U.S. federal investigators are "looking closely" at stock-option documents that former Apple Computer Inc. officials allegedly falsified to boost their own profits, The Recorder legal newspaper reported late Tuesday in its online edition. Revelations regarding past stock-options practices are expected in Apple's delayed annual report due out Friday.

After one month, no rush to adopt Vista
Windows Vista has been on the market for nearly a month now, but enterprise users and industry experts agree that Microsoft's latest and greatest OS still isn't yet ready to replace XP.


OPINION

Short straw people 2
By James Gaskin

Two years ago I wrote Short Straw People for those of us working
during the holidays. Now it's time to revisit that issue, because
we're still working during the holidays. We drew the short straw again.


GOTTA GADGET

What's your biggest gadget secret?
Do you play games on your PDA during boring meetings? Do you have a separate account for gadget purchases that your spouse doesn't know about? Do you use your gadget in an unexpected way?

Share a secret, and enter our drawing to win an Apple iPod (with video capability).


ITWHIRLED

U.K. already considering robot rights
The Brits are definitely forward thinking on this one: A report from the United Kingdom government's chief scientist speculates that by the year 2056, robots may have reached the level of consciousness that will merit rights (voting, health care) and responsibilities (military service, taxes).

Earthquake disrupts Internet access in Asia ... PS3, Wii have banner sales week

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Earthquake disrupts Internet access in Asia
News: PS3, Wii have best week of sales since launch in Japan
News: Samsung develops 1G chip for handheld devices
News: Wikipedia-like search engine in development
Opinion: Remote monitoring
ITwhirled: Terrible iPod-related gift ideas


NEWS UPDATES

Earthquake disrupts Internet access in Asia
A pair of powerful earthquakes off the coast of Taiwan damaged undersea cables and disrupted telephone and Internet access in Asia on Wednesday.

PS3, Wii have best week of sales since launch in Japan
Sales of both the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles jumped in Japan during the second week of December thanks to greater supplies of the consoles from their respective manufacturers.

Samsung develops 1G chip for handheld devices
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has developed a thin, low-power 1G-byte chip for portable devices such as cameras, media players and game consoles.

Wikipedia-like search engine in development
The founder of Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia, is developing a wiki-based search engine to compete with established commercial search engines from Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.


OPINION

Remote monitoring
By James Gaskin

Do you know what's going on at all your remote offices? When someone
calls and reports the network is "acting funny" do you have a way to
look at their network, or are you doing that painful "tell me what
lights are on" dance with the remote site secretary who started work
yesterday?


ITWHIRLED

Terrible iPod-related gift ideas
Were you the lucky recipient of one of these iPod-themed gifts? If so, you may be questioning the gift giver's sanity. Who knew so many undergarments could uselessly be redesigned to accommodate iPods?

Social networks influence holiday e-shopping ... Toshiba to push HD DVD at CES

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Sharp to expand LCD production earlier than planned
News: Toshiba plans aggressive HD DVD push at CES
Report: Panasonic in talks to sell JVC stake to Kenwood
News: Social networks influence holiday e-shopping
News: Project aims to tag Tokyo neighborhood with RFID
Opinion: A quick trip to Redmond
ITwhirled: Top ten geek business myths


NEWS UPDATES

Sharp to expand LCD production earlier than planned
Rising demand for flat-panel televisions around the world is pushing Sharp Corp. to bring forward a planned expansion of display production, the company said Monday. Sharp's second manufacturing line at its Kameyama factory in western Japan will begin producing LCD panels in January -- two months ahead of schedule.

Toshiba plans aggressive HD DVD push at CES
Toshiba will join a group of companies supporting the HD DVD format in a news conference Jan. 7, the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, to announce their plans for 2007.

Report: Panasonic in talks to sell JVC stake to Kenwood
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) is in talks to sell a big stake in its loss-making Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC) subsidiary to Kenwood Corp., the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Saturday morning edition.

Social networks influence holiday e-shopping
New e-commerce trends have shaped this holiday season, including the increasing importance of social networks, blogs and user content, booming sales of luxury items, an extended shopping period and the emergence of niche sellers.

Project aims to tag Tokyo neighborhood with RFID
A location-based services trial that will see a famous Tokyo neighborhood blanketed with around 10,000 RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and other beacons got its start earlier this month.

Elpida begins mass production of 70nm DRAM
Japanese memory-chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. Monday began mass production of memory chips using a 70-nanometer production process, which offers to further reduce costs and improve performance.

Congress in '07: Privacy and patents on agenda
Some technology vendors and advocacy groups see new opportunities in the U.S. Congress in 2007, with issues such as patent reform and data protection getting fresh life under a Democratic-controlled legislature.


OPINION

A quick trip to Redmond
By Joel Shore

Heading up to Microsoft's Redmond, Wash. campus is always interesting. In the past, these trips were for big-time launch events, briefings for large groups of editors and analysts, product reviewers' workshops, or the occasional one-on-one interview for an executive profile piece. This time was different. Very different.

The recent gathering included just a handful of invitees. Several of them were from the world of the blogosphere. The agenda appeared to revolve around the idea of innovation. Certainly many people do not use the words "innovation" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence. I could play the cynic and note that Microsoft purchased DOS, built Windows from ideas first seen in Apple's Lisa, and more recently, launched its Zune music player five years and five million units after Apple's iPod. But I digress.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Top ten dumbest secret identities ... Top ten geek business myths ... Top ten vampire myths ... Top 10 Ruby sites ... Top ten inventor myths