Sources: Windows Vista SP1 beta due this week

HIGHLIGHTS

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


NEWS UPDATES

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


FEATURE

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


ITWHIRLED

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

Intel sampling Penryn chips ahead of Q4 launch

HIGHLIGHTS

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


NEWS UPDATES

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


GADGETS

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


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


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

ITWHIRLED

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

Google offers site search for small businesses

HIGHLIGHTS

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


NEWS UPDATES

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


ITWHIRLED

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

Powerful earthquake disrupts Japan communications

HIGHLIGHTS

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


NEWS UPDATES

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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


FEATURE

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


Q&A

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


ITWHIRLED

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

IBM's storage virtualizer wins speed trials

HIGHLIGHTS

News: IBM's storage virtualizer wins speed trials
News: Oracle will release 46 patches next week
News: HP's India lab secures paper documents
News: NTT DoCoMo targets 300M bps in Super 3G experiment
News: Logitech gets air time with new mouse
News: Overcharging suit against Cingular goes forward
News: Spam filter costs lawyers their day in court
News: MS WPC: Microsoft puts partner muscle behind Office Live
News: NetSuite makes its apps available via iPhone
News: Itheon launches desktop network simulator
News: Work-around puts Skype on the iPhone
News: Greek spying case uncovers first phone switch rootkit
Q&A: John Chambers on collaboration, avatars and mashups
Green IT: Time to power down
ITWhirled: Geek Comic of the Week:The Non-Adventures of Wonderella


NEWS UPDATES

IBM's storage virtualizer wins speed trials
IBM's storage virtualizing SAN Volume Controller performs faster than any competing product, according to benchmarks -- and it's greener, because it uses less energy.


Oracle will release 46 patches next week
Oracle Corp. will release 46 patches on Tuesday for products including its Oracle Database 10g, Application Server and E-Business Suite.


HP's India lab secures paper documents
Hewlett-Packard Co. has developed a technology at its labs in Bangalore that secures paper documents against fraud, and integrates paper documents with electronic processes by allowing them to be used as a medium for transferring data.


NTT DoCoMo targets 300M bps in Super 3G experiment
NTT DoCoMo Inc. has embarked on a month-long experiment of a Super 3G (third-generation) cellular system.


Logitech gets air time with new mouse
Logitech fused the old with the new on Thursday, launching a wireless laser mouse that doesn't need a surface to sit on, combining features of the traditional mouse and remote control.


Overcharging suit against Cingular goes forward
Washington State's highest court on Thursday let a class-action lawsuit alleging overcharging by Cingular Wireless LLC go forward.


Spam filter costs lawyers their day in court
The trouble at Franklin D. Azar & Associates PC began with pornographic spam.


MS WPC: Microsoft puts partner muscle behind Office Live
Microsoft Corp. this week unveiled a partner program for its Office Live hosted service for small businesses, a product Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner predicted will one day be nearly as important to the company as its Windows client OS.


NetSuite makes its apps available via iPhone
NetSuite Inc.'s users can start accessing the company's hosted midmarket applications suite via their iPhones as businesses start to investigate the possibilities of using the much hyped Apple Inc. mobile device at work.


Itheon launches desktop network simulator
Itheon Networks has announced a compact network simulator which can check, on a desktop, how applications will perform over a wide area network.


Work-around puts Skype on the iPhone
A complex remote-control work around has achieved what every geek wants: running Skype on an iPhone.


Greek spying case uncovers first phone switch rootkit
A highly sophisticated spying operation that tapped into the mobile phones of Greece's prime minister and other top government officials has highlighted weaknesses in telecommunications systems that still use decades-old computer code, according to a report by two computer scientists.


Q&A

John Chambers on collaboration, avatars and mashups
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., spoke with Computerworld Hong Hong (CWHK) about the SMB market, the company's new TelePresence high-definition video-conferencing technology, Web 2.0 and a lesson learned about avatars.


GREEN IT

Time to power down
Despite datacenters heating up as their electricity demands skyrocket, Hong Kong enterprises may find it difficult to implement "green" initiatives.


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week:The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
Super-hero ladies! With super powers! Engaging in ... non-adventures! This funny send-up is a great read for fans of superhero comics and those who mock them.

Apple fixes serious QuickTime flaws

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Apple fixes serious QuickTime flaws
News: Nokia adds Skype to N800 tablet
News: Microsoft OOXML spec 'dangerously flawed'
News: Suspense mounts for San Francisco Wi-Fi plan
News: HP designing cheaper servers for Asia
News: 3Com pins hopes on China's low labor costs
News: Motorola sees slowdown in mobile sales
News: Vendors push quad-core desktops on wary users
News: Study: US, Japan have best IT environments
News: Oracle 11g for Linux to debut in August
News: Lawmakers: New wireless rules needed
News: Synchronica evades iPhone corporate e-mail barrier
Q&A: The future of the Web as seen by its creator
ITWhirled: Paris welcomes World Cup ... of video games


NEWS UPDATES

Apple fixes serious QuickTime flaws
With the 7.2 update, users can now view videos on the full screen with the QuickTime player, but the software also contains a number of critical security fixes. In total, Apple has addressed eight security vulnerabilities with the release, which was made public on Wednesday.


Nokia adds Skype to N800 tablet
Nokia Corp. introduced Skype Internet-calling software for its N800 Wi-Fi tablet on Wednesday, providing another alternative to using a cell phone, while a debate in the U.S. over what networks such devices may be able to use in the future heated up.


Microsoft OOXML spec 'dangerously flawed'
Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) document format specification is fatally flawed where it comes to spreadsheets, with many functions filled with careless errors, according to a critic.


Suspense mounts for San Francisco Wi-Fi plan
Two important votes concerning San Francisco's plan for citywide Wi-Fi that were set for this week have been pushed back, delaying what may be life-or-death decisions on the controversial network.


HP designing cheaper servers for Asia
Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced an entry-level rack server in India on Thursday, part of its strategy to design lower-cost servers specifically for Asian countries.


3Com pins hopes on China's low labor costs
Networking equipment vendor 3Com Corp. is counting on low labor costs in China to help the company earn better margins on its products and compete against rivals like Cisco Systems Inc., the company's chief executive officer said Wednesday.


Motorola sees slowdown in mobile sales
Amid increasing competition in a fickle cell phone market, Motorola Inc. expects to report a loss for its mobile devices business in 2007 and now estimates that second quarter sales will be lower than expected.


Vendors push quad-core desktops on wary users
PC vendors are launching more and more computers with dual-core and quad-core processors, promising users that the expensive machines can juggle more applications at work or play better games at home.


Study: US, Japan have best IT environments
The U.S. and Japan have the top national environments for their IT industries to grow and flourish, including intellectual-property protections and IT infrastructure, according to a study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) Wednesday.


Oracle 11g for Linux to debut in August
While Wednesday marked the official unveiling of Oracle Corp.'s 11g database and a look at its new features, pricing and availability information was pretty thin on the ground. All the vendor would confirm is that the Linux version of 11g will ship this quarter, probably in August.


Lawmakers: New wireless rules needed
U.S. consumers should be allowed to take phones along with them when they switch wireless carriers, and spectrum to be auctioned through the U.S. Federal Communications Commission should include rules requiring the winning bidders to sell access to competitors at wholesale rates, some U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday.


Synchronica evades iPhone corporate e-mail barrier
Synchronica has updated its Mobile Gateway 3.0 middleware to let iPhone users synchronize email with Microsoft Exchange, the company said.


Q&A

The future of the Web as seen by its creator
According to Webster's Online Dictionary semantic means "the relationships between symbols and what they represent." Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the World Wide Web in 1989 at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, has used the term to christen the Internet of the future.

In this exclusive interview, he explains his vision of the future Semantic Web, which he says will be much more powerful than anything we have seen before.


ITWHIRLED

Paris welcomes World Cup ... of video games
Video games are moving into the mainstream, and perhaps there's no better indication than the Electronic Sports World Cup final, held in Paris this past weekend. More than 750 players -- both men and women -- competed for $200,000 in prizes in CounterStrike, Quake, World of Warcraft, Pro Evolution Soccer. 5,000 people were expected to turn out to watch the games live, for whatever "live" might mean in this context.

MS WPC: Microsoft debuts ERP for small businesses

HIGHLIGHTS

News: MS WPC: Microsoft debuts ERP for small businesses
News: Who's to blame for browser bug? IE or Firefox?
News: Google lets users customize their own maps
News: Infosys forecasts over 29 percent annual revenue growth
News: HP looks to add color to cell phones
News: EEye: Sun update system exposes users
News: Active Directory flaw patched in Microsoft's July updates
News: Dell's Vostro aims to ease PC use for small businesses
News: Samba switches to GPLv3
News: Phishing tool constructs new sites in two seconds
News: MS WPC: Ballmer gives his take on software-plus-services plan
News: MS WPC: Microsoft: Search wins tied to sales compensation
News: MS WPC: Microsoft to launch next product wave in February 2008
News: MS WPC: Microsoft sets initial pricing, rollout for CRM Live
News: MS WPC: Microsoft launches OBA partner program
Green IT: Europeans mandate public-sector Energy Star purchases
Green IT: Fujitsu Siemens launches low-carbon server
Feature: WORLDBEAT: Common sense tops SMS alert system
ITWhirled: Top 10 billboard advertisements


NEWS UPDATES

MS WPC: Microsoft debuts ERP for small businesses
Microsoft Corp. hopes to better meet the back-office needs of smaller businesses with a new take on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software called Dynamics Entrepreneur Solution.

For more news from Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), being held this week in Denver, see MS WPC, below.


Who's to blame for browser bug? IE or Firefox?
A security researcher has found a security bug that could be attacked in Internet Explorer. Mozilla Corp. said it plans to patch the problem in its next Firefox software update.


Google lets users customize their own maps
Google Inc. introduced a feature to its mapping service on Wednesday that allows people to create their own customized maps, by adding information such as the location of cheap gas stations or property for sale.


Infosys forecasts over 29 percent annual revenue growth
India’s outsourcing industry continues to do well despite the appreciation of the Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar and higher staff costs.


HP looks to add color to cell phones
Hewlett-Packard Co. could soon turn mobile phones into shopping advisors with a color-matching prototype technology it demonstrated on Wednesday.


EEye: Sun update system exposes users
Sun Microsystems Inc. is putting millions of Java users at risk by staggering the release of security patches for the software, security vendor eEye Digital Security Inc. said Monday.


Active Directory flaw patched in Microsoft's July updates
Microsoft Corp. released six sets of security patches Tuesday that address critical flaws in its products, including a bug in Active Directory software.


Dell's Vostro aims to ease PC use for small businesses
Dell Inc. reached for a larger share of the small business market Tuesday, launching the "Vostro" brand of notebook and desktop PCs designed to simplify tech support, an area that has attracted complaints and lawsuits for Dell in recent months.


Samba switches to GPLv3
Samba developers have definitively switched future versions of the software to the GPL v3 licence, which could have a serious impact on companies maintaining software patent covenants.


Phishing tool constructs new sites in two seconds
Software developers like to make installation of their programs simple and quick. So do hackers.


MS WPC

Ballmer gives his take on software-plus-services plan
Microsoft Corp.'s top executive Tuesday for the first time outlined the company's plan to transition from a traditional software company to offering software plus services, giving some roadmap details for how the strategy will play out in the next year.


Microsoft: Search wins tied to sales compensation
Microsoft Corp. is emphasizing areas of its business where it needs to catch up to competitors by tying partner team compensation to specific product deployments, such as enterprise search, a top executive said Tuesday.


Microsoft to launch next product wave in February 2008
Microsoft Corp. Tuesday said it would formally unveil the next wave of its enterprise products -- including the long-awaited "Longhorn" version of Windows Server -- in February 2008 at a launch event in Los Angeles.


Microsoft sets initial pricing, rollout for CRM Live
Microsoft Corp. continues to prepare for the third-quarter launch of its Dynamics Live CRM service with Tuesday's announcement of initial pricing and product information.


Microsoft launches OBA partner program
Determined to get partners on board to help transform Office 2007 from a productivity suite to a platform for business applications, Microsoft Corp. Tuesday unveiled a program to help partners add functionality to the suite by creating Office Business Applications, or OBAs.


GREEN IT

Europeans mandate public-sector Energy Star purchases
All public-sector purchasers of office equipment in Europe will in future be obliged to buy brands that carry the Energy Star logo, the environmental quality standard agreed on by the U.S. and the European Union, following a vote in the European Parliament Tuesday.


Fujitsu Siemens launches low-carbon server
Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) has launched what it claims is the smallest and quietest server with the lowest carbon footprint currently available.


FEATURE

WORLDBEAT: Common sense tops SMS alert system
After smoke was spotted billowing from a San Francisco subway tunnel on June 5, the city government swung into action, alerting citizens via SMS to not panic and to expect public transport delays.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Top 10 funny iPod videos ... Top 10 billboard advertisements

Cisco, Microsoft, EMC join on gov't data project

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Cisco, Microsoft, EMC join on gov't data project
News: MSN streams Live Earth to 8 million people
News: With Postini, a business case for security at Google
News: AMD cuts chip prices, Intel expected to follow
News: Laptop PC sales hit records in June after Santa Rosa lull
News: Sprint Nextel bid talk 'groundless' says SK Telecom
News: Microsoft customers sour on Software Assurance
News: TurboLinux to help translate Open XML for Asia
News: SF Wi-Fi plan faces key votes
News: CommVault's QiNetix gets new name and refresh
News: Intel Capital to buy $218.5 million share of VMware
Feature: TB case highlights e-mail archiving trend
ITWhirled: Shocker: Webcam actually helps personal security


NEWS UPDATES

Cisco, Microsoft, EMC join on gov't data project
Several technology companies will build a system to let the U.S. government share data securely among its various agencies, a goal it has struggled to achieve since the September 2001 terrorist attacks.


MSN streams Live Earth to 8 million people
Microsoft Corp. says it set a record for streaming an online event to the most customers after offering the Live Earth concerts on MSN over the weekend.


With Postini, a business case for security at Google
Google Inc. believes that its consumer-grade Web applications represent the future of enterprise IT. But while Google is quick to trumpet its products' innovative features, the search giant hasn't said much about their security. Until recently, that is.


AMD cuts chip prices, Intel expected to follow
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) announced its latest round of desktop processor price cuts on Monday, and rival Intel Corp. is expected to follow the move later this month.


Laptop PC sales hit records in June after Santa Rosa lull
Laptop PC shipments by the world's two largest contract makers surged in June, rebounding from a lull in April and part of May as system makers awaited the launch of Intel Corp.'s Santa Rosa laptop chips, an upgrade to its popular Centrino package.


Sprint Nextel bid talk 'groundless' says SK Telecom
South Korea's SK Telecom Co. Ltd. denied on Tuesday a local newspaper report that it is preparing a bid for Sprint Nextel Corp.


Microsoft customers sour on Software Assurance
IT procurement managers are finding that Microsoft Corp.'s Software Assurance maintenance program may not save them money as hoped, according to a survey by Forrester Research Inc.


TurboLinux to help translate Open XML for Asia
Microsoft Corp. is enlisting Linux distributor TurboLinux Inc. to help tailor work being done to translate documents between Open XML and ODF file formats for Japanese and Chinese users.


SF Wi-Fi plan faces key votes
San Francisco city officials could bring the city's proposed Wi-Fi network closer to reality at two meetings this week as a key leader proposes significant changes to the plan.


CommVault's QiNetix gets new name and refresh
There will be no more duplicated files in storage managed by CommVault's QiNetix data management suite. The company has added security, indexing and search too, as well as renaming it Simpana.


Intel Capital to buy $218.5 million share of VMware
Intel Corp. said Monday it plans to buy a US$218.5 million stake in the software firm VMware Inc., bolstering the companies' existing agreement to run VMware's virtualization software on Intel's processors.


FEATURE

TB case highlights e-mail archiving trend
E-mail archiving and recovery software has proved itself useful in the case of the American who flew to Europe even though he had tuberculosis (TB).


ITWHIRLED

Shocker: Webcam actually helps personal security
Remember all those Webcam ads whose text implied that they were a security measure but whose pictures all features women in bikinis for some reason? Well, a Portland man's Webcam actually helped him with the first thing, capturing images of the burglars who ransacked his house.

Google to buy Postini for US$625 million

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Google to buy Postini for US$625 million
News: Clinton urges Indian businesses to invest in U.S.
Related Reading: GE's CEO says India won't grow at the expense of US
News: Dell will sell Linux on PCs outside of U.S.
News: Average zero-day bug has 348-day lifespan, exec says
News: Taiwan companies team up on Microsoft smartphones
News: Google trails in Asian markets
News: Microsoft to study Japan's digital lifestyle
News: Google Earth captures China's new ballistic-missile sub
News: Yahoo sites hit by availability problems
News: Fraudsters use charities to test credit cards
News: Insurer may jump in to cover iPhones
News: Court dismisses lawsuit against US wiretapping
News: Kremlin accused of DDOS cyberbullying
Go Figure: Study: Smaller UK firms reject working at home
ITWhirled: Postal worker unmasked as Netflix scourge!


NEWS UPDATES

Google to buy Postini for US$625 million
Google Inc. has agreed to buy messaging security company Postini Inc. for US$625 million in a move to increase the appeal of Google's hosted applications among big businesses, the companies announced on Monday.


Clinton urges Indian businesses to invest in U.S.
U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. is not just a market for foreign companies to sell into but to invest in as well.

Related Reading: GE's CEO says India won't grow at the expense of US
General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt warned an audience of Indian business leaders Friday that India's strong economic growth wouldn't come at the expense of the economic health of countries like the U.S.


Dell will sell Linux on PCs outside of U.S.
Dell Inc. plans to sell computers with preinstalled Linux outside the U.S. as well as offer the Ubuntu Linux distribution to small business customers.


Average zero-day bug has 348-day lifespan, exec says
The average zero-day bug has a lifespan of 348 days before it is discovered or patched, but some vulnerabilities live on for much longer, according to security vendor Immunity Inc.'s chief executive officer.


Taiwan companies team up on Microsoft smartphones
Two Taiwanese companies have signed a technology agreement to develop 3G (third generation telecommunications) and 3.5G smartphones around the Windows Mobile OS, adding to the growing pool of companies developing mobile phones based on Microsoft Corp. software.


Google trails in Asian markets
Google Inc.'s dominance may seem unassailable in North America, but it's the search giant that is playing catch-up in Asia, according to new survey results released Sunday.


Microsoft to study Japan's digital lifestyle
Microsoft Corp.'s Japan unit plans to study more closely the use of digital technology in the lives of average Japanese to gain insight that it might use overseas, the head of its Japanese unit said Monday.


Google Earth captures China's new ballistic-missile sub
Google Inc. is offering a rare public glimpse of China's new ballistic-missile submarine, according to a researcher at the Federation of American Scientists.


Yahoo sites hit by availability problems
Yahoo Inc. suffered availability problems on Friday that affected its home page as well as other of its Web sites and services for a sustained period of time.


Fraudsters use charities to test credit cards
Credit card thieves are becoming big-time charity donors, but it's not out of the goodness of their hearts.


Insurer may jump in to cover iPhones
A company that insures laptops and smartphones may save the day for iPhone owners worried about their pricey handsets getting stolen or damaged.


Court dismisses lawsuit against US wiretapping
A U.S. appeals court has ordered that a lawsuit against the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) for a wiretapping program be dismissed because the plaintiffs haven't been hurt by the agency's actions.


Kremlin accused of DDOS cyberbullying
Russia has been used as the launch-pad for a new wave of cyberattacks aimed at a number of political and media organizations within the country.


GO FIGURE

40%
The share of SMBs that allow telecommuting, compared with 75 percent of large companies, according to a survey by Citrix.
SOURCE: Techworld.com


ITWHIRLED

Postal worker unmasked as Netflix scourge!
DVD delivery services began to flourish once it became clear that people weren't going to start paying to download full-length movies in bulk anytime soon. But there are weak points in the system: a Houston postal clerk was busted after stealing nearly 6,000 Netflix DVDs -- and close to 1,500 Blockbuster DVDs for good measure.

Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator
News: Security company launches eBay for bugs
News: Solar Web hosting company powers Live Earth sites
News: iPhone, new iPods to spur flash prices
News: UK company says it's close to unlocking iPhones
News: Talking Trojan says 'bye bye' to victims' data
News: Microsoft to release six security updates next week
News: Alfresco rolls Web 2.0 features into CMS upgrade
News: Lasers could make disk drives a hundred times faster
News: Lenovo promises safe hard drive wiping
Go Figure: Businesses allow 'shadow IT culture'
ITWhirled: Geek Comic of the Week: Transformers: Roommates In Disguise


NEWS UPDATES

Sun finalizes Open Document Format translator
Sun has released the final version of its Open Document Format (ODF) plug-in for Microsoft Office, designed to allow the ODF standard to better compete with Microsoft's dominant Office formats.


Security company launches eBay for bugs
Psst. Want to buy a zero-day? A Swiss startup called WabiSabiLabi Ltd. has some for sale, but to qualified buyers only.


Solar Web hosting company powers Live Earth sites
The Web hosting company chosen to power the Web sites for this weekend's Live Earth concerts adopts an environmentally friendly business plan: Let the sunshine in.


iPhone, new iPods to spur flash prices
Sales of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and new iPods slated for release later this year will mark the end of cheap flash memory for a time, and that means users may see fewer bargains on older digital music players or bundled flash memory cards.

UK company says it's close to unlocking iPhones
A company that unlocks cell phones in Europe said it is close to having an application that will allow customers to unlock their Apple iPhones so they can use SIM cards from carriers other than AT&T Inc. to activate the phones.


Talking Trojan says 'bye bye' to victims' data
A newly identified malicious program not only messes up its victims' computers, it taunts them too.


Microsoft to release six security updates next week
Microsoft Corp. will release six groups of security patches next week including three critical updates for Windows and Excel users.


Alfresco rolls Web 2.0 features into CMS upgrade
Alfresco Software Inc. is taking cues from the so-called Web 2.0 craze with the release of the latest version of its open-source content management software (CMS).


Lasers could make disk drives a hundred times faster
Researchers have demonstrated disk write speeds one hundred times faster than current hard drives. The method uses a laser to heat the recording surface and alter its magnetic field. There is no equivalent read speed increase though.


Lenovo promises safe hard drive wiping
Lenovo has launched software to comprehensively delete data on PC hard drives, after surveys revealed a widespread failure to remove sensitive data from hard drives on PCs slated for disposal.


GO FIGURE

67%
The share of IT managers who reported rogue behavior among end-users, including "users installing software, or tampering with existing software or macros, without the IT department's consent," according to a survey by Blue Prism, an integration specialist. Most IT departments accept this "shadow IT culture"; only 10 percent of survey respondents said they favor measures to eradicate it.
SOURCE: Techworld.com


ITWHIRLED

Geek Comic of the Week: Transformers: Roommates In Disguise
What with the upcoming release of the big movie, you've no doubt got Transformers fever! So if you've ever wanted to see what the Transformers do between epic battles for world domination in their San Francisco apartments, this photo-based comic's for you.

Euro consumer group questions Google-Doubleclick deal

HIGHLIGHTS

News: Euro consumer group questions Google-Doubleclick deal
News: China will be top destination for off-shoring, says IDC
News: Court holds Belgian ISP responsible for file-sharing
News: Toshiba files suit against German DVD maker
News: Denmark to test Open XML, ODF next year
Feature: WORLDBEAT: In India, bands and elephants at work
Feature: UK National Archives seeks to unlock file formats
Feature: Wireless drives vending machines to the high end
Feature: Public-sector CIOs debate: One vendor or many?
ITWhirled: How to make Palm's Foleo a winner, in ten easy steps


NEWS UPDATES

Euro consumer group questions Google-Doubleclick deal
A European consumer group has complained that Google Inc.'s proposed acquisition of online ad broker DoubleClick Inc. could hurt privacy rights due to the massive amount of data the companies would hold.


China will be top destination for off-shoring, says IDC
Chinese cities are expected to unseat Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi in India, and Manila in the Philippines, as the most popular offshore delivery centers by 2011, according to IDC.


Court holds Belgian ISP responsible for file-sharing
A court has ruled that the Belgian ISP Scarlet Extended SA is responsible for blocking illegal file-sharing on its network, setting a precedent that could affect other ISPs in Europe, according to a recording industry group.


Toshiba files suit against German DVD maker
Toshiba Corp. has filed a lawsuit against German DVD replicator EDD Bizz GmbH over the alleged infringement of DVD patents.

Denmark to test Open XML, ODF next year
Denmark's government agencies will be required to handle two competing document format standards, the Open Document Format (ODF) and Microsoft Corp.'s Open XML, during a one-year test period that will begin next year.

FEATURES

WORLDBEAT: In India, bands and elephants at work
New recruits to Aditi Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a vendor of product development services in Bangalore, were on their first day of work given a traditional Indian welcome fit for a Maharajah, to the beating of drums, the blowing of traditional trumpets, and even an elephant saluting them.

UK National Archives seeks to unlock file formats
The U.K. has embarked on a plan to make terabytes of government data locked up in mostly Microsoft Corp. proprietary file formats viewable to the public in their original form.

Wireless drives vending machines to the high end
Vending machines are not just about soda and candy and chips anymore.


Public-sector CIOs debate: One vendor or many?
Keenly aware of staff and budget constraints, government IT departments wrestle with their mix of applications. Is it best to take as much enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) functionality as you can from one software vendor, or opt for a best-of-breed approach? This question came to prominence again recently when in May mid-market vendor Infor Global Solutions announced it will pay US$92 million to acquire Hansen Information Technologies, a public-sector applications provider.


ITWHIRLED

She's a 10
Open source's ten hottest apps ... How to make Palm's Foleo a winner, in ten easy steps

Unlocked iPhones coming in one week or less, hacker says

Happy Fourth of July!


HIGHLIGHTS

News: Unlocked iPhones coming in one week or less, hacker says
News: Google argues for right to comment on Microsoft case
News: After attacks, US government sending team to Estonia
News: T-Mobile to sell iPhone in Germany on Nov. 1, report says
News: LG sues world's largest laptop PC maker over DVD patents
News: Autonomy buys e-discovery firm Zantaz for $375 million
News: Developer annoys open-source faithful over code release
News: Networking execs sentenced for accounting fraud
News: Dell delays filing 401(k) statement as audit drags on
Go Figure: Beijing scores number one spot for malware
ITWhirled: Everybody hates cookies, blogs


NEWS UPDATES

Unlocked iPhones coming in one week or less, hacker says
Hackers may successfully unlock an iPhone in as soon as three to seven days, according to a representative of one effort that aims to unlock Apple Inc.'s new handset.


Google argues for right to comment on Microsoft case
Google Inc. still hopes to influence changes that Microsoft Corp. plans to make in Vista's desktop search function, even after the parties involved in Microsoft's 2002 antitrust settlement agreed to alterations to the search system.


After attacks, US government sending team to Estonia
Two months after much of Estonia's online infrastructure was targeted by an online attack, the U.S government is sending cyberinvestigators to help the Baltic state better understand what happened.


T-Mobile to sell iPhone in Germany on Nov. 1, report says
Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile division has won a deal to sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in Germany starting Nov. 1, according to a report in a German regional newspaper.

LG sues world's largest laptop PC maker over DVD patents
LG Electronics Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the world's largest contract manufacturer of laptop PCs over the infringement of four patents related to DVD (digital video disc) technology, the company said Wednesday.


Autonomy buys e-discovery firm Zantaz for $375 million
Autonomy Corp. PLC is acquiring Zantaz Inc., a provider of e-discovery and content archiving software, for US$375 million in cash, the companies announced Tuesday.


Developer annoys open-source faithful over code release
Open-source developer Parallels finally released the source code for the Wine software used by Parallels Desktop 3.0 on Monday -- but only after weeks of prodding by Wine developers and negative publicity on the IT forum Slashdot.


Networking execs sentenced for accounting fraud
Four former executives with computer networking and security vendor Enterasys Networks Inc. have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in accounting fraud at the company that cost investors millions of dollars, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.


Dell delays filing 401(k) statement as audit drags on
Dell Inc. told government regulators on Monday that it cannot file a financial statement for its 401(k) plan, as the company continues to struggle with investigations of its accounting practices.


GO FIGURE

40%
The share of malware distributed worldwide in June that originated from Beijing, according to research from security vendor Network Box Corp. That's nearly double Beijing's stats in May, when 21 percent of malicious software originated in the Chinese capital.
SOURCE: IDG News Service


ITWHIRLED

Everybody hates cookies, blogs
A group of British pollsters tried to discover what bits of tech jargon made Internet users want to "wince, shudder or want to bang your head on the keyboard." Many were the sort of overused buzzwords you might expect -- "wiki," "cookies," and both "blog" and "blogosphere" -- but there were also some dark horses, like "me-media" and "godcast."

SAP admits to 'inappropriate downloads' in Oracle case

HIGHLIGHTS

News: SAP admits to 'inappropriate downloads' in Oracle case
News: Hackers make progress towards unlocking iPhone
News: YouTube coming to LG cell phones
News: Sony patents liquid airbag
News: AOL's AIM update alert bothers upgrade holdouts
News: Massachusetts adds Open XML to open formats list
News: EU, US passenger data sharing deal under scrutiny
News: BSA raises reward to $1 million for reports of piracy
iPhone Watch: Report: Parallel importers promise iPhone coming to China
iPhone Watch: Two days after iPhone launch, AT&T EDGE goes down
iPhone Watch: Hopeful iPhone users suffer delays
ITWhirled: Hacker jerk threatens to ruin Harry Potter fun for everyone


NEWS UPDATES

SAP admits to 'inappropriate downloads' in Oracle case
Responding to a lawsuit filed by Oracle Corp. earlier this year, SAP AG admitted on Tuesday that its TomorrowNow division in the U.S. made some "inappropriate downloads" from an Oracle Web site but said SAP never had access to the material.


Hackers make progress towards unlocking iPhone
Efforts to unlock Apple Inc.'s iPhone continued on Monday, with hackers claiming "very significant progress."

For more iPhone news, see iPHONE WATCH below.


YouTube coming to LG cell phones
The ability to view and upload videos to YouTube is coming to some LG Electronics Inc. cell phones later this year.


Sony patents liquid airbag
Sony has filed for a U.S. patent on a liquid airbag for electronics - in particular, for hard disks. The idea is that the electronics will be wrapped in a fluid-filled bag so if the outer case suffers a shock, the liquid acts as a cushion.


AOL's AIM update alert bothers upgrade holdouts
Some AIM users are angry about a recent alert message AOL LLC displays on their screens urging them to upgrade to the newest version of the instant messaging software.


Massachusetts adds Open XML to open formats list
Microsoft Corp. has achieved a small victory in its effort to make Open XML an open technology standard. Massachusetts, the U.S. state that has mandated the use of open technology formats in its government agencies, has put the specification on its list of possible standards that can be used for documents, according to a document on its Web site.


EU, US passenger data sharing deal under scrutiny
Critics of last week's agreement allowing European passengers' personal data to be shared with U.S. authorities have just under a month to reshape the accord before it comes into force, said Stavros Lambrinidis, vice president of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee Monday.


BSA raises reward to $1 million for reports of piracy
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has temporarily raised the reward that's part of controversial program encouraging people to report software piracy from US$200,000 to $1 million, the trade group announced Monday.


iPHONE WATCH

Report: Parallel importers promise iPhone coming to China
Parallel importers have promised a small quantity of Apple Inc.'s iPhone is headed to China, likely arriving in the next day or two, according to an online report.


Two days after iPhone launch, AT&T EDGE goes down
IPhone users across the U.S. were complaining Monday that AT&T Inc.'s wireless data network was down.


Hopeful iPhone users suffer delays
After standing in line for hours on Friday to buy the new Apple Inc. iPhone, some users were forced to wait even longer to activate the phones, while others found the store shelves empty and will have to wait another week for their phones to arrive in the mail.


ITWHIRLED

Hacker jerk threatens to ruin Harry Potter fun for everyone
A hacker known only as "Gabriel" claims to have acquired a copy of the final Harry Potter book; if that's true, he's posted a major spoiler on his site. He openly admits his vendetta against millions of Potter-lovers everywhere: "We make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring."

iPhone launch marred by activation delays

HIGHLIGHTS

News: iPhone launch marred by activation delays
News: Hackers target C-level execs and their families
News: EU hardware disposal law could hurt small businesses
News: India’s software, services exports forecast at US$40 billion
News: 1TB optical disks now in prospect
News: SAP users seek to benchmark performance
News: Floral giant sends bouquet to EnterpriseDB
iPhone Watch: Race is on to unlock the iPhone
iPhone Watch: With iPhone launch, a hacker's to-do list
iPhone Watch: AT&T expands wireless coverage with Dobson buy
iPhone Watch: IPhone buzz reaches to Microsoft's back yard
iPhone Watch: Stores open doors for iPhone sales
ITWhirled: Buried aliens? No, just tree trunks


NEWS UPDATES

iPhone launch marred by activation delays
Apple Inc.'s iPhone launch has been marred by delays in AT&T Corp.'s phone activation system, leaving some people unable to use their new toy throughout the weekend.

For more iPhone news, see iPHONE WATCH below.


Hackers target C-level execs and their families
Hackers appear to have stepped up their efforts to trick corporate executives into downloading malicious software programs that can steal company data over the past year, according to new data released Monday.


EU hardware disposal law could hurt small businesses
Under a European Union law that went into effect recently, business users, producers and retailers of IT equipment must dispose of unwanted hardware in a regulated fashion that could add up to £30 (US$60) to the cost of a PC, says Gartner.


India’s software, services exports forecast at US$40 billion
India’s business providing software and services to companies outside its borders will grow a healthy 26 to 29 percent this year, the country's main trade association for that sector said Monday.


1TB optical disks now in prospect
Manufacturers are being offered the world's highest capacity optical storage technology to license, reportedly, leap-frogging 300GB holographic disks and offering 1TB in a DVD-size disk. But the technology has not been commercialized and product could be three to five years away.


SAP users seek to benchmark performance
One of the world's largest SAP user groups is preparing to conduct a series of surveys among its Canadian and U.S. members to establish benchmarks of how enterprises make use of the German software giant's business applications.


Floral giant sends bouquet to EnterpriseDB
EnterpriseDB has notched up international florist FTD Group as a customer in a vote of confidence for the young database company, which is trying to poach customers from Oracle Corp. with the promise of lower license fees and compatibility with Oracle applications.


iPHONE WATCH

Race is on to unlock the iPhone
Now that Apple Inc.'s iPhone is finally on sale, the race is on to see who can unlock it.


With iPhone launch, a hacker's to-do list
When Apple Inc. introduced the latest version of its Safari browser two weeks ago, it took the hacking community just hours to start reporting bugs in the beta code. On Friday, the iPhone is likely to get even closer scrutiny from many of the same security researchers. Here's a list of the top items on the typical iPhone hacker's to-do list.


AT&T expands wireless coverage with Dobson buy
The iPhone won't be just for customers living in the big cities. On the day it is introducing the hugely hyped cell phone, AT&T Inc. announced it will acquire wireless provider Dobson Communications Corp. for US$2.8 billion in cash.


IPhone buzz reaches to Microsoft's back yard
As 6:00 p.m. approached Friday, the mob in front of the Apple Inc.'s flagship San Francisco store counted down the seconds as if it was New Year's Eve.


Stores open doors for iPhone sales
Apple Inc. began selling its iPhone Friday, ending six months of waiting by consumers and rival smartphone vendors.


ITWHIRLED

Buried aliens? No, just tree trunks
Malaysian villagers were really nervous when a gravedigger told them that he and his associates were burying the corpses of extraterrestrials in the local cemetery. They were quite relieved to learn the truth: they were just burying tree trunks for "medicinal purposes" at the behest of a local witch doctor.