Open XML translator for MS Word available ... YouTube execs talk copyright in Japan next week

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Open XML translator for Microsoft Word available
News: CA begins simplification of product names
News: YouTube execs due in Japan next week to talk copyright
News: Tokyo ward mistakenly e-mails citizens of earthquake
Windows Tip: Daylight Savings Time fix
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Internet makes parakeet a superstar


NEWS UPDATES

Open XML translator for Microsoft Word available
Companies have completed the first phase of a Microsoft Corp.-sponsored project to create software that can convert Microsoft Word documents between Open XML and Open Document Format for Office Applications file formats.

CA begins simplification of product names
CA Inc. has unveiled plans to simplify the naming of its entire software range over the next 12 to 18 months to better brand the products and more clearly indicate their function.

YouTube execs due in Japan next week to talk copyright
Top executives from YouTube Inc. are due in Tokyo next week for talks with some of Japan's largest video content producers over copyrighted material available on the popular site.

Tokyo ward mistakenly e-mails citizens of earthquake
A routine test of an earthquake information system in Tokyo on Friday mistakenly notified citizens about an earthquake that hadn't occurred.

Verizon rolls out faster 3G
Verizon Wireless Inc. on Thursday unveiled its first deployments of a faster mobile broadband service that multiplies speeds upstream to the Internet.

CA unhappy with its storage business
While software vendor CA is pretty happy with the financial performance of three-quarters of its business, its storage management operations are not up to par, according to executives.

Oracle apps launch, short on glitz, long on reassurance
Oracle Corp.'s launch of new releases of its five application families was a surprisingly sober affair, designed to restate the vendor's May 2006 pledge to continue to enhance all of the software products.

Wall Street Beat: Google drops, but confidence high
Despite a drop in Google Inc. share price after its Wednesday earnings announcement, investor confidence in the IT sector appears to be high as earnings season winds down.


WINDOWS TIP

Daylight Savings Time fix
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

There are several ways for companies still running legacy Windows platforms to address the impact of these Daylight Savings Time changes on their products.

Read the full article here.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Yahoo launches Indian portals in seven languages ... E.U. to spend heavily on tech R&D ... Lenovo sees profits rise, as sales stay flat


ITWHIRLED

Internet makes parakeet a superstar
Thanks to video-sharing sites, A.J. the basketball-dunking parakeet is now known to more people around the world than this year's Nobel laureates. Read the bird's saga, which involves the untimely death of two of his predecessors. Watch out, A.J.!

Dell takes over as CEO, Rollins out ... IBM Labs sees 5 innovations in 5 years

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Europe bolsters for battle on U.S. traveler data
News: IBM Labs sees five innovations in five years
News: Michael Dell back in charge as Rollins exits Dell
News: Microsoft ships SSL VPN software
Tip: Five Security Mistakes to Avoid
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Majority of Americans prefer computer to spouse: survey


NEWS UPDATES

Europe bolsters for battle on U.S. traveler data
The European Parliament has delayed a vote on how to react to the U.S.' growing appetite for personal information about European citizens, in order to intensify its opposition.

IBM Labs sees five innovations in five years
Real-time language translation, medical monitoring via the mobile Web and nanotechnology to purify water are some of the innovations IBM Labs thinks will be on the market within five years.

Michael Dell back in charge as Rollins exits Dell
Two and a half years after handing the chief executive title to his hand-picked successor, Kevin Rollins, Michael Dell is again running the company he founded, Dell Inc.

Microsoft ships SSL VPN software
Microsoft has introduced a new product combining the Whale Communications VPN software it bought last year with the latest version of its ISA Server, the company said Wednesday.

California police arrest 'mid-level' software pirate
California police arrested a man on Tuesday who allegedly sold illegally copied Microsoft and Adobe software on the Internet for seven years, netting him an estimated $750,000.

BT to buy services company INS for over £100M
U.K. telecommunications carrier BT Group PLC plans to extend its enterprise services offering in the U.S. with the acquisition of International Network Services Inc.

Google exceeds expectations in Q4
Google Inc. beat Wall Street's expectations for its fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2006, as the company continues on a tear, selling search engine advertising much faster than its biggest rivals and than the industry average.

Research firm: Weaker voice will hold back WiMax
The GSM family of technologies will continue to dominate the mobile infrastructure business over the next five years, research company Dell'Oro Group Inc. said Wednesday. Sales of network gear for WiMax will grow by an average of 50 percent per year until 2011 but still only make up about 5 percent of the market worldwide.

Microsoft's top three Vista security features
Microsoft Corp. finally rolled its Vista operating system out the door Tuesday, billing it as its most secure operating system ever. In this interview, Russ Humphries, a senior program manager with the Vista security team, lists the three Vista features that will have the biggest effect.


TIP

Five Security Mistakes to Avoid
A security auditor shares five of the most common yet problematic mistakes companies make that substantially increase the likelihood of a security breach.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Dell takes over as CEO, Rollins out ... Microsoft executive who helped develop Zune leaves ... Turbolinux offers media player that can also boot Linux OS


ITWHIRLED

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.

Coast Guard searches for missing Microsoft researcher ... Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Coast Guard searching for missing Microsoft researcher
News: Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits
News: Turbolinux's Wizpy multimedia player coming in February
News: IBM, Cisco soft launch IPTV
Opinion: Technological (non)predictions for 2007
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Adult movie stars nervous about high definition


NEWS UPDATES

Coast Guard searching for missing Microsoft researcher
The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting an extensive search for Jim Gray, a senior manager with Microsoft Corp.'s Silicon Valley research organization, who failed to return from a sailboating trip Sunday off of San Francisco.

Apple settlement boosts Creative's Q2 profits
Creative Technology Ltd. Wednesday reported net income of $92.2 million for the second quarter of its fiscal year, largely due to a one-time licensing payment by Apple Computer Inc.

Turbolinux's Wizpy multimedia player coming in February
Japan's Turbolinux Inc. will begin selling its Wizpy Linux-based multimedia player in February. As a bonus, the device can also be used to boot a PC into the Linux OS, allowing users to access their files in their own working environment on almost any PC.

IBM, Cisco soft launch IPTV
IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. have "soft launched" an IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) with HD, video-on-demand and other capabilities at a demonstration center at the IBM Industrial Solutions Center in La Gaude, outside Nice, France.

Gamers targeted by online thieves
Gamers have been warned to be more security conscious due to the increasing number of online criminals stealing virtual assets and selling them on for real money.


OPINION

Technological (non)predictions for 2007
By Sean McGrath

The early part of any new year sees its fair share of prediction lists. You know the sort of thing : 'In 2007, X will go mainstream' or 'Y will finally grind technological opponent Z into the dust'.

For grins, I have taken a different tack. Here is a list of things that I predict will not happen in 2007.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
U.S. Coast Guard searches for missing Microsoft researcher ... Intel to research health technology in Ireland ... Dreamscape offers Wi-Fi software for mobile devices


ITWHIRLED

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.

PS3 price cut pulls down Sony profits ... Google upgrades Mini workplace search device

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Gates: Vista key to multimedia computing era
News: PlayStation 3 price cut pulls down Sony profits
News: Google upgrades Mini workplace search device
News: Hitachi provides liquid-cooling system for HP machine
Opinion: RFID Chips: Not in my arm!
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Dim-witted thieves steal GPS


NEWS UPDATES

Gates: Vista key to multimedia computing era
Just as Windows 95 ushered in the Internet era, Windows Vista, which will be released to U.S. consumers at midnight on Tuesday, sets the stage for the multimedia hub the PC is set to become in the future, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Monday in New York.

PlayStation 3 price cut pulls down Sony profits
Sony Corp.'s core electronics business more than doubled profits in the last quarter of 2006, but failed to offset price cuts to its PlayStation 3 game console, leading to an overall profit decline of just over 5 percent, the company said Tuesday.

Google upgrades Mini workplace search device
Google Inc. has improved the security and search features of its Mini search device, a hardware box with Google software aimed at small and medium-sized companies and at departments within large organizations.

Hitachi provides liquid-cooling system for HP machine
Hitachi Ltd. will supply a liquid-cooling system for one of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s high-end computer models, reducing the noise generated by the machine. Hitachi's liquid-cooling system moves the fan found on the CPU heat sink in a typical computer, putting in on the computer's chassis where it can create more air flow while running slower and quieter.

Ballmer dispels notion that Vista is last client OS
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Ballmer on Monday attempted to end rumors that Windows Vista will be the last Windows client OS, claiming that Microsoft has "plenty more where that came from" at a press event to mark the consumer launch of the new OS and Office 2007 in New York.

Open-source BI player gets internationalized
Open-source business intelligence software vendor JasperSoft Corp. is set to unveil the final piece in its BI suite, JasperETL, after signing its first full-blown original equipment manufacturer (OEM) deal with French vendor Talend. At the same time, the U.S. company will commit to complete internationalization of its entire BI suite.

Virus located in TomTom GPS systems
If you've picked up a TomTom GPS (global positioning system) over the past few months, you may have bought more than you bargained for. TomTom International BV confirmed Monday that some of its latest GO 910 devices have shipped with a virus pre-installed.


OPINION

RFID Chips: Not in my arm!
By Dan Blacharski

RFID technology is here to stay, and in its most benign form, brings a lot of advantages. But there are two things to make clear: First, despite industry claims to the contrary, RFID is not a secure technology, and it should never be used to track anything sensitive. Second, it should never be used on people, or in personal identification of any type. But regrettably, our government is moving away from being one which values the privacy of its citizenry, and seems bound to push this technology into places where it has no business being.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Vista not the last client OS for Microsoft ... PC makers hope to cash in on Vista ... AT&T IPTV service delayed by software problems


ITWHIRLED

Dim-witted thieves steal GPS
Note to aspiring criminals: Stealing something that can detect its own location -- and report that location back to a central server -- is a really, really bad idea.

Nokia, Siemens to share proposed product plan ... Symantec to buy Altiris

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Nokia, Siemens to share proposed product plan
News: Verizon revenue up, but net income down
News: Symantec to buy asset management software maker Altiris
News: IBM, Intel pace each other with improved transistors
Opinion: Trapping attackers and naming names
Interview: Five things companies must do to better manage third-party data sharing
ITwhirled: Big Brother arrives -- for wasps


NEWS UPDATES

Nokia, Siemens to share proposed product plan
In another sign that Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG are confident that the merger of their network equipment divisions will go through, the companies announced they will start sharing their proposed product portfolio in early February.

Verizon revenue up, but net income down
Verizon Communications Inc. posted net income of US$1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2006, compared to $1.7 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005, the company reported Monday.

Symantec to buy asset management software maker Altiris
Symantec Corp. will acquire Altiris Inc., a maker of asset management software for mobile devices and other hardware, for $830 million, the companies said Monday.

IBM, Intel pace each other with improved transistors
IBM Corp. and Intel Corp. accelerated their horse race in semiconductors when each unveiled at midnight Saturday Eastern Time similar chip-manufacturing advances.

Vista holds clues to Microsoft's future
It's just days before the consumer launch of Windows Vista, and by now most everyone has heard about Vista's new and improved Aero user interface, desktop search, security and various multimedia enhancements. But there's far more to Vista than the features consumers will experience when they use the OS.

YouTube may share revenue with users
Video-sharing site YouTube Inc. may start paying users for their content, the company's cofounder said in a video displayed on the site.

Adobe looks to have full PDF spec become ISO standard
Adobe Systems Inc. is taking the first step towards having its entire Portable Document Format (PDF) specification recognized as a global standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

WebEx adds e-mail to hosted apps suite
WebEx Communications Inc. has developed an e-mail service for its WebOffice hosted applications suite for small businesses, which already includes a document manager, group calendar, database, task manager and Web meetings.


OPINION

Honeynets: Trapping attackers and naming names
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.

The Web Honeynet Project, an independent group of Honeynet researchers from Securiteam and the ITOSF have decided to launch web application honeynets with a new twist. They plan to name not only the attack details, as usual, but they also plan to divulge the IP addresses and other tracking information about the attackers themselves.


INTERVIEW

New Ernst & Young survey says most organizations fail to manage risks associated with sharing data with third parties -- Jose Granado
In this interview, Jose Granado, a Principal and Service Delivery Leader at the Security and Technologies Solutions Practice for Ernst & Young shares findings from the survey, and the top five things companies must begin to do in order to better manage this data and mitigate risks.


ITWHIRLED

Big Brother arrives -- for wasps
The more privacy conscious among us have long worried that RFID tags will allow the government or big companies to track our every move. Perhaps we shouldn't tell them about this study, in which the tags helped scientists understand the family lives of paper wasps.

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


INTERVIEW

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


OPINION

Business Innovation Defined
By James Gaskin

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


PODCAST

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

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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


UNIX TIP

Shells and search order
By Sandra Henry-Stocker

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


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


WINDOWS TIP

Preventing removal from a domain
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

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

Here's how to configure this setting.


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


TIP

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

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


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

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

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


NEWS UPDATES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


WINDOWS TIP

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

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


PODCAST

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


ITWHIRLED

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

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.