HIGHLIGHTS
News: Nokia's GPS patents may help resolve Qualcomm dispute
News: Hitachi joins Sony battery recall
News: IBM announces new service management offerings
News: E.U. and U.S. agree to share air passenger data
Opinion: Interference Cancellation
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Starting young with the eBay buying
NEWS UPDATES
Nokia's GPS patents may help resolve Qualcomm dispute
Nokia Corp.'s patent licensing deal with Trimble Navigation Ltd. this week could give the phone maker an important boost in an ongoing dispute with CDMA developer Qualcomm Inc.
Hitachi joins Sony battery recall
Hitachi Ltd. joins most of the leading notebook computer makers in recalling batteries from Sony Corp. that are known to overheat and potentially cause fires.
IBM announces new service management offerings
IBM Corp. is introducing a range of new products and services, many based on technologies coming from recently acquired companies, aimed at helping businesses better manage and take advantage of their various software and hardware systems.
E.U. and U.S. agree to share air passenger data
European Union and U.S. negotiators have reached agreement on how to share information about passengers flying to the U.S. from Europe, a Finnish government spokesman said Friday. The new deal allows many more U.S. government agencies to access the data, which includes details such as a passenger's name, address and credit card details.
Toshiba lays out plans for mobile Cell chip
The Cell processor sits at the heart of the PlayStation 3, the most powerful game console yet developed, and a high-performance computer from IBM Corp. and now Toshiba Corp. wants to put that power into mobile devices and cell phones.
Dunn, Hunsaker face HP charges in court
Former Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn made a brief court appearance Thursday in Santa Clara County, California, to face four state felony charges in the HP boardroom scandal. Superior Court Judge Alfonso Fernandez scheduled her arraignment for Nov. 17, at which she will enter a plea to charges in the case.
Microsoft to fix Windows, Office security flaws
With hackers exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities in its Windows and Office software, Microsoft Corp. plans to issue 11 security updates next Tuesday -- six for Windows, 4 for Office, and 1 for .Net.
Survey: Regulations take back seat in managing storage
The second annual Bridgehead Software information lifecycle management audit showed that data growth and disaster recovery/business continuity (DR/BC) are driving archive planning much more than regulatory compliance.
OPINION
Interference Cancellation
By James Gaskin
When I visited a company in the technical district of San Francisco, they joked there were so many wireless signals in the area they didn't need a microwave for their popcorn - they just put the bag in the window. Needless to say, wireless connections for their internal computers didn't work because they couldn't find a clear channel. If you struggle with interference for data and cell phone signals, help is on the way.
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Dunn, Hunsacker in court ... Toshiba to use Cell in mobile devices ... Microsoft plans 10 critical patches
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Starting young with the eBay buying
Jack Neal recently made his first eBay purchase: a bright pink $17,000 Nissan Figaro. Problem: Jack Neal is three years old. "Jack's a whizz on the PC and just pressed all the right buttons," says his mom.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Dunn, four others, charged in HP scandal ... Apple: Jobs knew of backdating
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Dunn, four others, charged in HP scandal
News: Apple: Jobs knew of backdating
News: Google helps programmers find code online
Unix Tip: Making a device alias for your root mirror
Opinion: System migration may be the most dangerous thing you ever do
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek comic of the week: Geek and Poke
NEWS UPDATES
Dunn, four others, charged in HP scandal
Ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn, a former company lawyer, and three outside investigators were charged Wednesday in California on felony charges related to the conduct of an investigation to track down news leaks from the HP board that allegedly broke state law.
Apple: Jobs knew of backdating
Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized to shareholders Wednesday after an internal investigation found that he had been aware of the company's practice of "backdating" employee stock options.
Google helps programmers find code online
Google Inc. has created a specialized search engine designed to find software source code publicly available on the Web.
Wyse ships thin clients with embedded Wi-Fi
Wyse Technology Inc. is selling a line of thin-client computers with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, making them easier to deploy in public places like airports and hotel lobbies.
UNIX TIP
Making a device alias for your root mirror
By Sandra Hentry-Stocker
Once you have mirrored your root partition, you may still need to create a device alias for the mirror so that you can boot from it if the primary mirror ever fails. To prepare for this, you should firstgenerate a long listing of the partition on which the mirror resides. It will look something like this:
OPINION
System migration may be the most dangerous thing you ever do
By Joel Shore
Pity the poor IT department that is about to migrate a key application from one platform to another. Or perform a major upgrade. Or worse, merge into another company’s systems after being acquired. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Consider the plight of Mailbank.com, the Boulder, Colo.-based provider of e-mail and Web services under the name NetIdentity. Acquired recently by Toronto-based Tucows, the companies are moving, migrating, and otherwise homogenizing millions of e-mail accounts, including one of mine.
PODCAST
Today's IT News Audio Update
The California attorney general has filed charges against Patricia Dunn ... Google has created a specialized search engine for finding software source code ... IBM is embarking on a five-year campaign to promote wider use of its mainframes
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Geek comic of the week: Geek and Poke
The fabulous new Web 2.0 world may not be so easily caricatured as the last boom -- no foosball tables or incomprehensible IPOs -- but there are lots of silly company names ending in "r" and dumb Wikipedia jokes. And Geek and Poke is there to chronicle all of it.
News: Dunn, four others, charged in HP scandal
News: Apple: Jobs knew of backdating
News: Google helps programmers find code online
Unix Tip: Making a device alias for your root mirror
Opinion: System migration may be the most dangerous thing you ever do
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Geek comic of the week: Geek and Poke
NEWS UPDATES
Dunn, four others, charged in HP scandal
Ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn, a former company lawyer, and three outside investigators were charged Wednesday in California on felony charges related to the conduct of an investigation to track down news leaks from the HP board that allegedly broke state law.
Apple: Jobs knew of backdating
Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized to shareholders Wednesday after an internal investigation found that he had been aware of the company's practice of "backdating" employee stock options.
Google helps programmers find code online
Google Inc. has created a specialized search engine designed to find software source code publicly available on the Web.
Wyse ships thin clients with embedded Wi-Fi
Wyse Technology Inc. is selling a line of thin-client computers with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, making them easier to deploy in public places like airports and hotel lobbies.
UNIX TIP
Making a device alias for your root mirror
By Sandra Hentry-Stocker
Once you have mirrored your root partition, you may still need to create a device alias for the mirror so that you can boot from it if the primary mirror ever fails. To prepare for this, you should firstgenerate a long listing of the partition on which the mirror resides. It will look something like this:
OPINION
System migration may be the most dangerous thing you ever do
By Joel Shore
Pity the poor IT department that is about to migrate a key application from one platform to another. Or perform a major upgrade. Or worse, merge into another company’s systems after being acquired. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Consider the plight of Mailbank.com, the Boulder, Colo.-based provider of e-mail and Web services under the name NetIdentity. Acquired recently by Toronto-based Tucows, the companies are moving, migrating, and otherwise homogenizing millions of e-mail accounts, including one of mine.
PODCAST
Today's IT News Audio Update
The California attorney general has filed charges against Patricia Dunn ... Google has created a specialized search engine for finding software source code ... IBM is embarking on a five-year campaign to promote wider use of its mainframes
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
Geek comic of the week: Geek and Poke
The fabulous new Web 2.0 world may not be so easily caricatured as the last boom -- no foosball tables or incomprehensible IPOs -- but there are lots of silly company names ending in "r" and dumb Wikipedia jokes. And Geek and Poke is there to chronicle all of it.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures ... Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
News: Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
News: Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
News: E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
Opinion: Security needs independence
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: "The only user contribution is your ignorance"
NEWS UPDATES
Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
With the upcoming Windows Vista and Windows Longhorn Server operating systems, Microsoft will introduce the Microsoft Software Protection Platform, a collection of technologies that aims to do better at detecting pirated versions of Windows, and will also force unauthorized versions of its software into a limited-functionality mode, encouraging users to obtain a legal copy.
Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
Executives from the financial data transfer company Swift and the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) faced tough questions in a European Parliament committee meeting Wednesday, about the illegal sharing of private data with U.S. authorities.
Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
Hitachi Maxell Ltd. has developed a thin optical disc that could lead to data cartridges capable of storing terabytes of information.
E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
European Commission antitrust officials investigating computer chip maker Intel Corp. presented what they believe is a watertight argument for prosecuting the firm to an internal panel of so-called devil's advocates on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive
Japanese users won't have to worry about a noisy cooling fan disturbing them while they watch high-definition movies on NEC Corp.'s newest computer -- the PC, equipped with a Blu-ray drive, uses water-cooling instead.
Multicore chips roil software pricing waters
The growing popularity of server chips with multiple microprocessor cores continues to muddy the waters of software pricing: CIOs should start planning now for changes and perhaps some uncertainty in their software budgets.
McAfee cries foul over Vista security features
McAfee Inc. top executives went on the offensive Monday against Microsoft Corp., saying Vista will be even less secure for customers than previous versions of Windows.
Hitachi updates WLAN tags for goods, employees
Hitachi Ltd. this week updated its AirLocation II system, which uses WLAN (wireless LAN) technology to track goods and employees, with the introduction of a smaller tag.
OPINION
Does security need independence?
By James Gaskin
IBM's deal to purchase Internet Security Systems brings some real conflict of interest questions to mind. Essentially, can you trust a security company that can't control its own destiny?
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft will introduce a new system for fighting software piracy ... Antitrust officials at the European Commission have stepped up their investigation of Intel ... Hitachi Maxell has developed a paper-thin optical disc
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
"The only user contribution is your ignorance"
Ask Haddad, which bills itself as "information monarchy," is a defiant response to the interactive, multivalent, user-generated Web 2.0: you ask the questions, he answers them, and you sit there and like it.
News: Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
News: Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
News: Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
News: E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
Opinion: Security needs independence
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: "The only user contribution is your ignorance"
NEWS UPDATES
Windows Vista, Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures
With the upcoming Windows Vista and Windows Longhorn Server operating systems, Microsoft will introduce the Microsoft Software Protection Platform, a collection of technologies that aims to do better at detecting pirated versions of Windows, and will also force unauthorized versions of its software into a limited-functionality mode, encouraging users to obtain a legal copy.
Swift CFO quizzed by Euro Parliament about data privacy
Executives from the financial data transfer company Swift and the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) faced tough questions in a European Parliament committee meeting Wednesday, about the illegal sharing of private data with U.S. authorities.
Hitachi Maxell develops wafer-thin storage disc
Hitachi Maxell Ltd. has developed a thin optical disc that could lead to data cartridges capable of storing terabytes of information.
E.U. prepares possible legal action against Intel
European Commission antitrust officials investigating computer chip maker Intel Corp. presented what they believe is a watertight argument for prosecuting the firm to an internal panel of so-called devil's advocates on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
NEC to sell water-cooled PC with Blu-ray drive
Japanese users won't have to worry about a noisy cooling fan disturbing them while they watch high-definition movies on NEC Corp.'s newest computer -- the PC, equipped with a Blu-ray drive, uses water-cooling instead.
Multicore chips roil software pricing waters
The growing popularity of server chips with multiple microprocessor cores continues to muddy the waters of software pricing: CIOs should start planning now for changes and perhaps some uncertainty in their software budgets.
McAfee cries foul over Vista security features
McAfee Inc. top executives went on the offensive Monday against Microsoft Corp., saying Vista will be even less secure for customers than previous versions of Windows.
Hitachi updates WLAN tags for goods, employees
Hitachi Ltd. this week updated its AirLocation II system, which uses WLAN (wireless LAN) technology to track goods and employees, with the introduction of a smaller tag.
OPINION
Does security need independence?
By James Gaskin
IBM's deal to purchase Internet Security Systems brings some real conflict of interest questions to mind. Essentially, can you trust a security company that can't control its own destiny?
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Microsoft will introduce a new system for fighting software piracy ... Antitrust officials at the European Commission have stepped up their investigation of Intel ... Hitachi Maxell has developed a paper-thin optical disc
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
"The only user contribution is your ignorance"
Ask Haddad, which bills itself as "information monarchy," is a defiant response to the interactive, multivalent, user-generated Web 2.0: you ask the questions, he answers them, and you sit there and like it.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
EMC, Microsoft expand alliance for ECM ... Nokia develops new short-range wireless technology
HIGHLIGHTS
News: EMC, Microsoft expand alliance to a 'Duet' for ECM
News: Nokia develops a new, short-range wireless technology
News: Microsoft appeals E.U. fine for noncompliance
News: Intel praises Apple, but calls for open standards
Tip: 5 tips for better browser security
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The 10 best Firefox extensions for Web development
NEWS UPDATES
EMC, Microsoft expand alliance to a 'Duet' for ECM
EMC Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are substantially stepping up their existing enterprise content management (ECM) relationship to provide tighter integration between EMC's Documentum ECM software and Microsoft's Office, Outlook and SharePoint products.
Nokia develops a new, short-range wireless technology
Nokia Corp. has developed a new, short-range wireless technology that it says could improve on some of the shortcomings of Bluetooth.
Microsoft appeals E.U. fine for noncompliance
Microsoft Corp. has filed an appeal against the latest antitrust fine imposed on it by the European Commission, a Microsoft spokesman said on Tuesday.
Intel praises Apple, but calls for open standards
Intel Corp. looks set to find itself in the midst of an industry battle over how the power and complexity of computers should be combined with the convenience and simplicity of consumer electronics -- and the company couldn't be happier.
Corporate leak probes walk a fine line
In one telling moment during the recent Congressional hearings on the Hewlett-Packard Co. board scandal, ousted chairman Patricia Dunn offered the "everybody does it" defense.
IBM improves efficiency of PowerPC chips
IBM Corp. has improved the power efficiency of two models of PowerPC processors, making an effort to strengthen its position in markets from cars and printers to networking and communications equipment.
Siemens sets up fund to retrain BenQ Mobile workers
Under mounting pressure from German government officials and former employees of the mobile phone division it paid BenQ Corp. to take off its hands, Siemens AG has set up a €35 million (US$44.4 million) fund to aid workers at risk of losing their jobs.
Amazon's A9 loses snazzy features
Amazon.com Inc. is stripping its A9 search engine of the features that won it praise from experts but earned it little attention from users.
Sony unveils Blu-ray Disc recorders, PCs
Sony Corp. will launch a pair of Blu-ray Disc video recorders in Japan this December, the company said Tuesday. The machines both feature hard-disk drives for day-to-day recording and a Blu-ray Disc drive for longer term storage.
TIP
5 tips for better browser security
By Brent Huston
My intent in this week's column is to review the top ways to harden a web-browsing environment, and not cover the entire breadth of browser security. Moreover, I'm sidestepping the argument about what browser is more secure by suggesting that you look more programmatically at what we can do to protect users regardless of browser choice. So here goes ...
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Nokia has developed a new, short-range wireless technology ... Nasscom has asked Channel 4 to hand over information from a news documentary ... Worldwide sales of semiconductor chips surged to a record 20.5 billion dollars
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 concert halls ... The top 10 dark nebulae ... The 10 best Firefox extensions for Web development ... Ten 'best damn' all-time baseball plays ... The top 10 Hawaiian beaches
News: EMC, Microsoft expand alliance to a 'Duet' for ECM
News: Nokia develops a new, short-range wireless technology
News: Microsoft appeals E.U. fine for noncompliance
News: Intel praises Apple, but calls for open standards
Tip: 5 tips for better browser security
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: The 10 best Firefox extensions for Web development
NEWS UPDATES
EMC, Microsoft expand alliance to a 'Duet' for ECM
EMC Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are substantially stepping up their existing enterprise content management (ECM) relationship to provide tighter integration between EMC's Documentum ECM software and Microsoft's Office, Outlook and SharePoint products.
Nokia develops a new, short-range wireless technology
Nokia Corp. has developed a new, short-range wireless technology that it says could improve on some of the shortcomings of Bluetooth.
Microsoft appeals E.U. fine for noncompliance
Microsoft Corp. has filed an appeal against the latest antitrust fine imposed on it by the European Commission, a Microsoft spokesman said on Tuesday.
Intel praises Apple, but calls for open standards
Intel Corp. looks set to find itself in the midst of an industry battle over how the power and complexity of computers should be combined with the convenience and simplicity of consumer electronics -- and the company couldn't be happier.
Corporate leak probes walk a fine line
In one telling moment during the recent Congressional hearings on the Hewlett-Packard Co. board scandal, ousted chairman Patricia Dunn offered the "everybody does it" defense.
IBM improves efficiency of PowerPC chips
IBM Corp. has improved the power efficiency of two models of PowerPC processors, making an effort to strengthen its position in markets from cars and printers to networking and communications equipment.
Siemens sets up fund to retrain BenQ Mobile workers
Under mounting pressure from German government officials and former employees of the mobile phone division it paid BenQ Corp. to take off its hands, Siemens AG has set up a €35 million (US$44.4 million) fund to aid workers at risk of losing their jobs.
Amazon's A9 loses snazzy features
Amazon.com Inc. is stripping its A9 search engine of the features that won it praise from experts but earned it little attention from users.
Sony unveils Blu-ray Disc recorders, PCs
Sony Corp. will launch a pair of Blu-ray Disc video recorders in Japan this December, the company said Tuesday. The machines both feature hard-disk drives for day-to-day recording and a Blu-ray Disc drive for longer term storage.
TIP
5 tips for better browser security
By Brent Huston
My intent in this week's column is to review the top ways to harden a web-browsing environment, and not cover the entire breadth of browser security. Moreover, I'm sidestepping the argument about what browser is more secure by suggesting that you look more programmatically at what we can do to protect users regardless of browser choice. So here goes ...
PODCAST
Daily IT News Audio Update
Nokia has developed a new, short-range wireless technology ... Nasscom has asked Channel 4 to hand over information from a news documentary ... Worldwide sales of semiconductor chips surged to a record 20.5 billion dollars
More podcasts
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
Top 10 concert halls ... The top 10 dark nebulae ... The 10 best Firefox extensions for Web development ... Ten 'best damn' all-time baseball plays ... The top 10 Hawaiian beaches
Monday, October 02, 2006
European airlines in legal limbo as data talks collapse ... Fujitsu details battery exchange plans
Today's IT News Audio Update
Japan's largest electronics show opens its doors on Tuesday ... Sun says its new UltraSparc T1 microprocessor is creating a big splash ... Taiwan's AU Optronics has completed its two billion dollar acquisition of Quanta Display
HIGHLIGHTS
News: European airlines in legal limbo as data talks collapse
News: Fujitsu details Sony battery exchange plans
News: Acer in talks with Sony about battery recall
News: Sun says OpenSparc is gaining traction
Windows Tip: Locking a desktop at logon
ITwhirled: German director boxes online critics
NEWS UPDATES
European airlines in legal limbo as data talks collapse
An agreement sheltering airlines from European privacy laws, allowing them to hand over passenger data required by U.S. authorities, expired Saturday, leaving most European airlines in legal limbo.
Fujitsu details Sony battery exchange plans
Fujitsu Ltd. will offer owners of some of its laptop computers replacement batteries as part of Sony Corp.'s global battery exchange program, it said Saturday.
Acer in talks with Sony about battery recall
Acer Inc., the world's fourth-largest PC vendor, is in talks with Sony Corp. over joining its voluntary laptop PC battery recall, but said Acer users haven't reported any problems so far.
Sun says OpenSparc is gaining traction
Sun Microsystems Inc. says its new UltraSparc T1 microprocessor, nicknamed Niagara, is creating a big splash.
Following Verizon, Cingular sues HP investigators
On the heels of a similar suit filed Thursday by Verizon Wireless Inc., Cingular Wireless LLC on Friday sued private investigators used by Hewlett-Packard Co. to obtain phone records of a CNET News.com journalist.
Apple ships Mac OS X 10.4.8, security patches
Apple has released a series of updates for Mac OS X 10.4.8, including a wide system update and a security patch. All updates are available through Software Update, and also for direct download from Apple's support website.
VOIP users court DNS disaster
Companies installing VOIP may get the quality of service and capacity of their networks right, but are likely to overlook the knock-on effects on supporting identity infrastructure such as DHCP and DNS, according to Infoblox.
WINDOWS TIP
Locking a desktop at logon
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A reader recently contacted me with an interesting question: Can you configure Windows XP so that it logs on automatically but into a locked state? In other words, if the AutoAdminLogon registry value found at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon has been set to 1 and the DefaultUserName and DefaultPassword values have been configured appropriately, is it possible to make Windows lock the desktop immediately after automatic logon occurs?
ITWHIRLED
German director boxes online critics
Uwe Boll, the director of such critical non-darlings as BloodRayne and Alone in the Dark, felt that his films were savaged so badly by online critics before their release that they had no chance to succeed, so he challenged four of his Web-based foes to an exhibition boxing match in Vancouver. While some enjoyed taking part in the spectacle, others weren't so keen. "I feel great. I feel like a very angry German man punched me in the head repeatedly," said the CEO for the Something Awful website. "He kept saying it was PR stunt and a joke, but then he comes on just murderizing me."
Japan's largest electronics show opens its doors on Tuesday ... Sun says its new UltraSparc T1 microprocessor is creating a big splash ... Taiwan's AU Optronics has completed its two billion dollar acquisition of Quanta Display
HIGHLIGHTS
News: European airlines in legal limbo as data talks collapse
News: Fujitsu details Sony battery exchange plans
News: Acer in talks with Sony about battery recall
News: Sun says OpenSparc is gaining traction
Windows Tip: Locking a desktop at logon
ITwhirled: German director boxes online critics
NEWS UPDATES
European airlines in legal limbo as data talks collapse
An agreement sheltering airlines from European privacy laws, allowing them to hand over passenger data required by U.S. authorities, expired Saturday, leaving most European airlines in legal limbo.
Fujitsu details Sony battery exchange plans
Fujitsu Ltd. will offer owners of some of its laptop computers replacement batteries as part of Sony Corp.'s global battery exchange program, it said Saturday.
Acer in talks with Sony about battery recall
Acer Inc., the world's fourth-largest PC vendor, is in talks with Sony Corp. over joining its voluntary laptop PC battery recall, but said Acer users haven't reported any problems so far.
Sun says OpenSparc is gaining traction
Sun Microsystems Inc. says its new UltraSparc T1 microprocessor, nicknamed Niagara, is creating a big splash.
Following Verizon, Cingular sues HP investigators
On the heels of a similar suit filed Thursday by Verizon Wireless Inc., Cingular Wireless LLC on Friday sued private investigators used by Hewlett-Packard Co. to obtain phone records of a CNET News.com journalist.
Apple ships Mac OS X 10.4.8, security patches
Apple has released a series of updates for Mac OS X 10.4.8, including a wide system update and a security patch. All updates are available through Software Update, and also for direct download from Apple's support website.
VOIP users court DNS disaster
Companies installing VOIP may get the quality of service and capacity of their networks right, but are likely to overlook the knock-on effects on supporting identity infrastructure such as DHCP and DNS, according to Infoblox.
WINDOWS TIP
Locking a desktop at logon
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A reader recently contacted me with an interesting question: Can you configure Windows XP so that it logs on automatically but into a locked state? In other words, if the AutoAdminLogon registry value found at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon has been set to 1 and the DefaultUserName and DefaultPassword values have been configured appropriately, is it possible to make Windows lock the desktop immediately after automatic logon occurs?
ITWHIRLED
German director boxes online critics
Uwe Boll, the director of such critical non-darlings as BloodRayne and Alone in the Dark, felt that his films were savaged so badly by online critics before their release that they had no chance to succeed, so he challenged four of his Web-based foes to an exhibition boxing match in Vancouver. While some enjoyed taking part in the spectacle, others weren't so keen. "I feel great. I feel like a very angry German man punched me in the head repeatedly," said the CEO for the Something Awful website. "He kept saying it was PR stunt and a joke, but then he comes on just murderizing me."
Friday, September 29, 2006
Dell expands battery recall ... BEA offers glimpse of WorkSpace 360 tool
Today's IT News Audio Update
http://www.itworld.com/jpitw/itwtodayblog/Tech/5042/daily_news_podcast/index.html
Dell increases battery recall while IBM, Lenovo admit problems ... HP buys VoodooPC for gaming biz ... Google gives data to Brazilian govt
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Dell expands battery recall, Fujitsu considers action
News: BEA offers glimpse of upcoming WorkSpace 360 tool
News: HP buys VoodooPC to boost gaming strategy
News: Toshiba to exchange a further 830,000 Sony batteries
Unix Tip: Mirroring your root partition with Solaris Volume Manager
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Hurry! Only 2 days left.
NEWS UPDATES
Dell expands battery recall, Fujitsu considers action
Dell Inc. has increased by 100,000 the number of laptop batteries it is recalling due to a potential fire hazard, while Toshiba Corp. said it would take part in Sony Corp.'s voluntary battery replacement program kicked off Thursday. Fujitsu Ltd. indicated that it was also considering a voluntary recall.
BEA offers glimpse of upcoming WorkSpace 360 tool
BEA Systems Inc. this week offered a rare glimpse of its upcoming SOA (service-oriented architecture) tool set, called WorkSpace 360, with a demonstration of a prototype tool currently under development.
HP buys VoodooPC to boost gaming strategy
As Hewlett-Packard Co.'s top executive testified before a Congressional committee about an ongoing spying scandal, other company executives were in New York to announce new products and a key acquisition for its strategy to enrich consumers' digital lifestyles.
Toshiba to exchange a further 830,000 Sony batteries
Toshiba Corp. is offering to replace 830,000 laptop batteries containing cells made by Sony Corp., it said Friday. The offer covers computers sold worldwide and is separate from a similar announcement made by the company last week.
Microsoft still scrambling to patch July bugs
It has become a familiar pattern: A hacker posts exploit code to a security Web site; Microsoft Corp. follows soon after with a warning to customers.
UNIX TIP
Mirroring your root partition with Solaris Volume Manager
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
Solaris Volume Manager can make easy work of mirroring your root file system, but you have to use the right commands in the right sequence to make easy work of this task. In this week's column, we'll run through each of the commands required to mirror root and show how you can check on what is happening in each step.
ITWHIRLED
Geek Comic of the Week: Intergalactic Law
This strip is just getting under way, and it's already one of our favorites. Can a one-eyed, one-breasted alien be penalized in divorce proceedings because she tried to eat her soon-to-be-ex-husband? Can an intern be forced to help perfect pirate antics? This strip has the answers to these questions and much more.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
http://www.itworld.com/jpitw/itwtodayblog/Tech/5042/daily_news_podcast/index.html
Dell increases battery recall while IBM, Lenovo admit problems ... HP buys VoodooPC for gaming biz ... Google gives data to Brazilian govt
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Dell expands battery recall, Fujitsu considers action
News: BEA offers glimpse of upcoming WorkSpace 360 tool
News: HP buys VoodooPC to boost gaming strategy
News: Toshiba to exchange a further 830,000 Sony batteries
Unix Tip: Mirroring your root partition with Solaris Volume Manager
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Hurry! Only 2 days left.
NEWS UPDATES
Dell expands battery recall, Fujitsu considers action
Dell Inc. has increased by 100,000 the number of laptop batteries it is recalling due to a potential fire hazard, while Toshiba Corp. said it would take part in Sony Corp.'s voluntary battery replacement program kicked off Thursday. Fujitsu Ltd. indicated that it was also considering a voluntary recall.
BEA offers glimpse of upcoming WorkSpace 360 tool
BEA Systems Inc. this week offered a rare glimpse of its upcoming SOA (service-oriented architecture) tool set, called WorkSpace 360, with a demonstration of a prototype tool currently under development.
HP buys VoodooPC to boost gaming strategy
As Hewlett-Packard Co.'s top executive testified before a Congressional committee about an ongoing spying scandal, other company executives were in New York to announce new products and a key acquisition for its strategy to enrich consumers' digital lifestyles.
Toshiba to exchange a further 830,000 Sony batteries
Toshiba Corp. is offering to replace 830,000 laptop batteries containing cells made by Sony Corp., it said Friday. The offer covers computers sold worldwide and is separate from a similar announcement made by the company last week.
Microsoft still scrambling to patch July bugs
It has become a familiar pattern: A hacker posts exploit code to a security Web site; Microsoft Corp. follows soon after with a warning to customers.
UNIX TIP
Mirroring your root partition with Solaris Volume Manager
By Sandra Henry-Stocker
Solaris Volume Manager can make easy work of mirroring your root file system, but you have to use the right commands in the right sequence to make easy work of this task. In this week's column, we'll run through each of the commands required to mirror root and show how you can check on what is happening in each step.
ITWHIRLED
Geek Comic of the Week: Intergalactic Law
This strip is just getting under way, and it's already one of our favorites. Can a one-eyed, one-breasted alien be penalized in divorce proceedings because she tried to eat her soon-to-be-ex-husband? Can an intern be forced to help perfect pirate antics? This strip has the answers to these questions and much more.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
HP's top lawyer resigns ... Accenture hands $3.7B UK health IT contracts to CSC
Today's IT News Audio Update
HP's top lawyer resigns ... Yahoo buys Jumpcut.com ... Intel unveils new notebook platform
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP's general counsel quits
News: Accenture hands $3.7B UK health IT contracts to CSC
News: BenQ Mobile to file for bankruptcy in Germany
News: Yahoo buys Web video site Jumpcut
News: HP CEO describes a 'rogue' investigation
Tip: File sharing in Windows Vista
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Just 3 days left to enter!
NEWS UPDATES
HP's general counsel quits
Another top Hewlett-Packard Co. executive will leave the company, with HP's announcement on Thursday that its general counsel, Ann Baskins, has resigned, effective immediately.
Accenture hands $3.7B UK health IT contracts to CSC
Accenture Ltd. has walked away from two contracts to deliver regional IT systems and services to the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). An alliance led by Computer Sciences Corp. will take over the contracts, the companies announced Thursday. CSC already has contracts to deliver services in two other regions.
BenQ Mobile to file for bankruptcy in Germany
BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Germany after its Taiwanese parent decided to stop investing in the money-losing operation, the mobile phone maker said Thursday.
Yahoo buys Web video site Jumpcut
Yahoo Inc. agreed to buy Web video editing and publishing site Jumpcut.com on Wednesday, as Internet companies continue to seek ways to compete with YouTube Inc.
HP CEO describes a 'rogue' investigation
Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Hurd blamed the scandal that has besieged his company on "a rogue investigation" that got out of hand, in an advance copy of his Congressional testimony released by a House Subcommittee on Wednesday.
HD DVD coming to Xbox 360 in US, Europe
Microsoft Corp. has expanded on its plans to launch an HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 console to markets in North America and Europe, the company said at its X06 gaming event in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday.
TIP
BS generator for a new generation
Anyone who was around during the tech boom of the late 90s remembers the Dack.com BS generator, which produced such gems as "implement killer web-readiness" that you could sprinkle into your conference calls with salivating VCs. Now Emptybottle.org has updated the concept for the new Web 2.0 world, so you can post pearls of wisdom like "integrate long-tail platforms" to your blog, where salivating VCs will read it.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
HP's top lawyer resigns ... Yahoo buys Jumpcut.com ... Intel unveils new notebook platform
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP's general counsel quits
News: Accenture hands $3.7B UK health IT contracts to CSC
News: BenQ Mobile to file for bankruptcy in Germany
News: Yahoo buys Web video site Jumpcut
News: HP CEO describes a 'rogue' investigation
Tip: File sharing in Windows Vista
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Just 3 days left to enter!
NEWS UPDATES
HP's general counsel quits
Another top Hewlett-Packard Co. executive will leave the company, with HP's announcement on Thursday that its general counsel, Ann Baskins, has resigned, effective immediately.
Accenture hands $3.7B UK health IT contracts to CSC
Accenture Ltd. has walked away from two contracts to deliver regional IT systems and services to the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). An alliance led by Computer Sciences Corp. will take over the contracts, the companies announced Thursday. CSC already has contracts to deliver services in two other regions.
BenQ Mobile to file for bankruptcy in Germany
BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co. OHG plans to file for bankruptcy protection in Germany after its Taiwanese parent decided to stop investing in the money-losing operation, the mobile phone maker said Thursday.
Yahoo buys Web video site Jumpcut
Yahoo Inc. agreed to buy Web video editing and publishing site Jumpcut.com on Wednesday, as Internet companies continue to seek ways to compete with YouTube Inc.
HP CEO describes a 'rogue' investigation
Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Hurd blamed the scandal that has besieged his company on "a rogue investigation" that got out of hand, in an advance copy of his Congressional testimony released by a House Subcommittee on Wednesday.
HD DVD coming to Xbox 360 in US, Europe
Microsoft Corp. has expanded on its plans to launch an HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 console to markets in North America and Europe, the company said at its X06 gaming event in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday.
TIP
BS generator for a new generation
Anyone who was around during the tech boom of the late 90s remembers the Dack.com BS generator, which produced such gems as "implement killer web-readiness" that you could sprinkle into your conference calls with salivating VCs. Now Emptybottle.org has updated the concept for the new Web 2.0 world, so you can post pearls of wisdom like "integrate long-tail platforms" to your blog, where salivating VCs will read it.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Court dismisses part of AMD's case against Intel ... Microsoft offers early fix for critical IE bug
Today's IT News Audio Update
Intel to ship quad-core chips ... Lime Wire sues record companies ... Microsoft patches IE vulnerability
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Court dismisses part of AMD's case against Intel
News: Oracle unveils first core Berkeley DB release
News: Intel to ship quad-core chips in November
News: Microsoft offers early fix for critical IE bug
News: Sophos AV upgraded to block unwanted programs
Security Tip: Keep a lookout for toll call fraud
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Only 4 days left!
NEWS UPDATES
Court dismisses part of AMD's case against Intel
A district court judge in the U.S. state of Delaware has dismissed part of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s lawsuit against Intel Corp. The dismissed claims relate to alleged business practices of Intel that AMD claims affected sales of its own microprocessors.
Oracle unveils first core Berkeley DB release
Oracle Corp. is releasing its first version of the core Berkeley DB embedded database since acquiring the software through its February purchase of open-source developer Sleepycat Software Inc.
Intel to ship quad-core chips in November
Intel Corp. will ship quad-core processors in November for servers and gaming PCs, accelerating its effort to regain momentum in sales of power-efficient chips.
Microsoft offers early fix for critical IE bug
With attackers finding new ways to exploit a critical flaw in Internet Explorer, Microsoft Corp. has released a patch for the problem, ahead of its next scheduled round of security updates.
Sophos AV upgraded to block unwanted programs
Security vendor Sophos PLC has upgraded its antivirus software to allow system administrators to block the installation of file-sharing, VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and instant-messaging programs, the company announced Wednesday.
Server failure makes Google, others unavailable
The failure of a DNS (domain name system) server at Comcast Corp. caused problems for some Web surfers in the northeast section of the U.S. Tuesday, making several Web sites, including Google, inaccessible.
Signiant offers remote office data solution
Signiant Inc. has addressed the problem of tape data backup in remote offices by removing tape from the enterprise entirely. The company will unveil its Mobilize for Remote Data Protection product at the Storage Decisions Conference that opens Wednesday in New York City.
SECURITY TIP
Keep a lookout for toll call fraud
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Toll call fraud is a serious concern for organizations today. The FBI and FCC estimate that more than 4 billion dollars are lost each year due to the problem. As information security folks, we are often so focused on the computer networks and threats against them that we tend to forget that the phone system could be used to hurt us too. Avoid toll fraud by watching for these things.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 NFL Quarterbacks on the hot seat ... The 10 Best Resources for CSS ... Top Ten Best Honeymoon Destinations ... 10 Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now ... Ten CSS tricks you may not know
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Intel to ship quad-core chips ... Lime Wire sues record companies ... Microsoft patches IE vulnerability
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Court dismisses part of AMD's case against Intel
News: Oracle unveils first core Berkeley DB release
News: Intel to ship quad-core chips in November
News: Microsoft offers early fix for critical IE bug
News: Sophos AV upgraded to block unwanted programs
Security Tip: Keep a lookout for toll call fraud
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Only 4 days left!
NEWS UPDATES
Court dismisses part of AMD's case against Intel
A district court judge in the U.S. state of Delaware has dismissed part of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s lawsuit against Intel Corp. The dismissed claims relate to alleged business practices of Intel that AMD claims affected sales of its own microprocessors.
Oracle unveils first core Berkeley DB release
Oracle Corp. is releasing its first version of the core Berkeley DB embedded database since acquiring the software through its February purchase of open-source developer Sleepycat Software Inc.
Intel to ship quad-core chips in November
Intel Corp. will ship quad-core processors in November for servers and gaming PCs, accelerating its effort to regain momentum in sales of power-efficient chips.
Microsoft offers early fix for critical IE bug
With attackers finding new ways to exploit a critical flaw in Internet Explorer, Microsoft Corp. has released a patch for the problem, ahead of its next scheduled round of security updates.
Sophos AV upgraded to block unwanted programs
Security vendor Sophos PLC has upgraded its antivirus software to allow system administrators to block the installation of file-sharing, VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and instant-messaging programs, the company announced Wednesday.
Server failure makes Google, others unavailable
The failure of a DNS (domain name system) server at Comcast Corp. caused problems for some Web surfers in the northeast section of the U.S. Tuesday, making several Web sites, including Google, inaccessible.
Signiant offers remote office data solution
Signiant Inc. has addressed the problem of tape data backup in remote offices by removing tape from the enterprise entirely. The company will unveil its Mobilize for Remote Data Protection product at the Storage Decisions Conference that opens Wednesday in New York City.
SECURITY TIP
Keep a lookout for toll call fraud
By Brent Huston, MicroSolved, Inc.
Toll call fraud is a serious concern for organizations today. The FBI and FCC estimate that more than 4 billion dollars are lost each year due to the problem. As information security folks, we are often so focused on the computer networks and threats against them that we tend to forget that the phone system could be used to hurt us too. Avoid toll fraud by watching for these things.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 NFL Quarterbacks on the hot seat ... The 10 Best Resources for CSS ... Top Ten Best Honeymoon Destinations ... 10 Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now ... Ten CSS tricks you may not know
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
IBM begins services revamp ... Lime Wire turns sues record companies
Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft may issue patch to fix IE flaw ... Skype prepares to add enterprise support ... Oracle steps up with support for Itanium 2
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
News: IBM begins major revamp of its services business
News: Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
News: Oracle to support Itanium platform
News: Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Tip: A hardware approach to storage security
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Hurry! Only 5 days left.
NEWS UPDATES
Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
Peer-to-peer file-sharing software developer Lime Wire LLC has countersued the biggest record companies, charging them with anti-competitive behavior. The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, follows the closing of most of the popular file-sharing Web sites due to lawsuits initiated by record companies. It also comes on the heels of a suit filed by 13 record companies against Lime Wire, accusing the developer of music piracy and demanding damages that could amount to $476 million.
IBM begins major revamp of its services business
IBM is today rolling out the first two of what it terms "service products." The standardized offerings are designed to be used by any IBM customer anywhere, a very different approach from the company's previous focus on providing customized, one-off services to individual users.
Internet problems persist in Zimbabwe
Large-scale Internet connection problems in the African country of Zimbabwe have continued for about a month because of a late payment to a satellite-based telecom provider. Zimbabwe's ISPs still have only about 10% of usual bandwidth available to them after the government-owned TelOne telecommunications provider fell US$700,000 behind on its bill to Intelsat Ltd.
Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
Intel Corp. plans to invest $40 million in Neusoft Group Ltd. as part of a deal that will see the Chinese software vendor optimize its products for Intel microprocessors.
Wallop says its social network packs a punch
It may seem like tilting at windmills, but Wallop Technologies Inc. expects to shake up the social networking market, currently dominated by entrenched players like News Corp.'s MySpace, Facebook Inc. and Friendster Inc. Wallop is betting that a slick platform based on Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash multimedia system, an absence of ads and a community of third-party developers will set it apart.
Oracle to support Itanium platform
Oracle joined with officials of the Itanium Solutions Alliance at the first ever Itanium Solutions Summit in San Francisco Monday to announce that Oracle will soon begin certification of its database software to run on Itanium 2 computing processor platforms.
Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Hackers are intensifying their attacks on Internet Explorer users, increasing the chances that Microsoft Corp. will patch a critical flaw in the software ahead of its regularly scheduled Oct. 10 security update.
AOL members sue over search data release
Three people have sued AOL LLC over the company's controversial release of member search-engine records, in what their lawyers are billing as the first such lawsuit seeking national class action status.
Add location to your digital camera's metadata
Ever been on a trip where you've visited a dozen places, taken hundreds of pictures but can't quite remember where you shot them? Sony Corp. has developed a pocket-size, GPS (Global Positioning System) device and software that helps you identify the location of every picture you've taken within a couple of meters.
TIP
A hardware approach to storage security
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
The Trusted Computing Group storage working group is working on specifications that manufacturers can use to create trusted platform module-like functionality on storage devices, notably hard disk drives, and high-end flash memory devices. A hard disk is a closed system. Disk drives are intelligent in that they have custom controllers, which have a processor and hidden system memory. Intelligent disk drives have firmware that is not alterable by unauthorized third parties, which means that the bad guys cannot get inside to do damage.
ITWHIRLED
"It's pretty awesome when it works"
Nothing's perfect, not even Steve Jobs' fabled Reality Distortion Field. This funny video collects some of the less-than-shining moments from Jobs' famous keynote speeches, including computer bugs and public speaking flubs.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Microsoft may issue patch to fix IE flaw ... Skype prepares to add enterprise support ... Oracle steps up with support for Itanium 2
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
News: IBM begins major revamp of its services business
News: Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
News: Oracle to support Itanium platform
News: Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Tip: A hardware approach to storage security
ITwhirled: A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Hurry! Only 5 days left.
NEWS UPDATES
Lime Wire turns tables, sues record companies
Peer-to-peer file-sharing software developer Lime Wire LLC has countersued the biggest record companies, charging them with anti-competitive behavior. The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, follows the closing of most of the popular file-sharing Web sites due to lawsuits initiated by record companies. It also comes on the heels of a suit filed by 13 record companies against Lime Wire, accusing the developer of music piracy and demanding damages that could amount to $476 million.
IBM begins major revamp of its services business
IBM is today rolling out the first two of what it terms "service products." The standardized offerings are designed to be used by any IBM customer anywhere, a very different approach from the company's previous focus on providing customized, one-off services to individual users.
Internet problems persist in Zimbabwe
Large-scale Internet connection problems in the African country of Zimbabwe have continued for about a month because of a late payment to a satellite-based telecom provider. Zimbabwe's ISPs still have only about 10% of usual bandwidth available to them after the government-owned TelOne telecommunications provider fell US$700,000 behind on its bill to Intelsat Ltd.
Intel invests $40 million in Chinese software vendor
Intel Corp. plans to invest $40 million in Neusoft Group Ltd. as part of a deal that will see the Chinese software vendor optimize its products for Intel microprocessors.
Wallop says its social network packs a punch
It may seem like tilting at windmills, but Wallop Technologies Inc. expects to shake up the social networking market, currently dominated by entrenched players like News Corp.'s MySpace, Facebook Inc. and Friendster Inc. Wallop is betting that a slick platform based on Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash multimedia system, an absence of ads and a community of third-party developers will set it apart.
Oracle to support Itanium platform
Oracle joined with officials of the Itanium Solutions Alliance at the first ever Itanium Solutions Summit in San Francisco Monday to announce that Oracle will soon begin certification of its database software to run on Itanium 2 computing processor platforms.
Pressure mounts for Microsoft to patch IE flaw
Hackers are intensifying their attacks on Internet Explorer users, increasing the chances that Microsoft Corp. will patch a critical flaw in the software ahead of its regularly scheduled Oct. 10 security update.
AOL members sue over search data release
Three people have sued AOL LLC over the company's controversial release of member search-engine records, in what their lawyers are billing as the first such lawsuit seeking national class action status.
Add location to your digital camera's metadata
Ever been on a trip where you've visited a dozen places, taken hundreds of pictures but can't quite remember where you shot them? Sony Corp. has developed a pocket-size, GPS (Global Positioning System) device and software that helps you identify the location of every picture you've taken within a couple of meters.
TIP
A hardware approach to storage security
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
The Trusted Computing Group storage working group is working on specifications that manufacturers can use to create trusted platform module-like functionality on storage devices, notably hard disk drives, and high-end flash memory devices. A hard disk is a closed system. Disk drives are intelligent in that they have custom controllers, which have a processor and hidden system memory. Intelligent disk drives have firmware that is not alterable by unauthorized third parties, which means that the bad guys cannot get inside to do damage.
ITWHIRLED
"It's pretty awesome when it works"
Nothing's perfect, not even Steve Jobs' fabled Reality Distortion Field. This funny video collects some of the less-than-shining moments from Jobs' famous keynote speeches, including computer bugs and public speaking flubs.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Symantec: Browser bugs surging in 2006 ...New security group patches latest IE bug ... RApple legal 'pod' protection continues
HP EO announces resignation of Chairman Patricia Dunn ... Jailed Chinese journalist plans to sue Yahoo in the U.S. ... IBM likely to support China's Red Flag Linux
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Open-source firewall company ModSecurity gets acquired
News: Symantec: Browser bugs surging in 2006
News: SF claims progress in Wi-Fi negotiations
News: Symantec dismisses Vista security debate
News: Sony shuffles control of electronics group
News: Apple legal 'pod' protection continues
News: New security group patches latest IE bug
News: Google plans product search boost in Q4
Analysis: HP lawyer gives blow-by-blow of leak probe
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
NEWS UPDATES
Open-source firewall company ModSecurity gets acquired
Breach Security Inc. will acquire Thinking Stone Ltd., which develops and provides support for an open-source Web application firewall called ModSecurity, the companies announced Monday.
Symantec: Browser bugs surging in 2006
Hackers are hitting paydirt in their search for browser bugs. According to Symantec Corp.'s twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report, hackers found 47 bugs in Mozilla Corp.'s open-source browsers and 38 bugs in Internet Explorer (IE) during the first six months of this year. That's up significantly from the 17 Mozilla and 25 IE bugs found in the previous six months.
SF claims progress in Wi-Fi negotiations
Google Inc. and EarthLink Inc.'s Wi-Fi contract with San Francisco would have a renewable four-year term and would require a proof-of-concept deployment before the full network is rolled out, if progress so far in negotiations holds firm, according to the city.
Symantec dismisses Vista security debate
Symantec Corp. Pacific region Vice President David Sykes has thrown cold water on the Windows Vista security debacle which emerged last week pointing out that it is pointless speculating about software that isn't released yet.
Sony shuffles control of electronics group
Sony Corp. is reshuffling responsibilities in its key electronics group, allowing the head of the division to play a bigger role in Sony's research and development actvities.
Apple legal 'pod' protection continues
Apple is becoming more aggressive in protecting its iPod trademark and is now attempting to establish control of the word 'pod' and, in one case, 'podcast.'
New security group patches latest IE bug
Microsoft Corp. may be waiting until next month to patch a nasty bug in Outlook and Internet Explorer, but security researchers are offering users a more immediate option.
Google plans product search boost in Q4
Google Inc. plans to extend the product search capabilities on its main Google.com Web search engine in the fourth quarter, in time for the holiday shopping season.
ANALYSIS
HP lawyer gives blow-by-blow of leak probe
An attorney hired by Hewlett-Packard Co. to investigate the conduct of HP and outside investigators has provided new details of his firm's investigation of news leaks from the HP board.
ITWHIRLED
"It's pretty awesome when it works"
Nothing's perfect, not even Steve Jobs' fabled Reality Distortion Field. This funny video collects some of the less-than-shining moments from Jobs' famous keynote speeches, including computer bugs and public speaking flubs.
HP EO announces resignation of Chairman Patricia Dunn ... Jailed Chinese journalist plans to sue Yahoo in the U.S. ... IBM likely to support China's Red Flag Linux
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Open-source firewall company ModSecurity gets acquired
News: Symantec: Browser bugs surging in 2006
News: SF claims progress in Wi-Fi negotiations
News: Symantec dismisses Vista security debate
News: Sony shuffles control of electronics group
News: Apple legal 'pod' protection continues
News: New security group patches latest IE bug
News: Google plans product search boost in Q4
Analysis: HP lawyer gives blow-by-blow of leak probe
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
NEWS UPDATES
Open-source firewall company ModSecurity gets acquired
Breach Security Inc. will acquire Thinking Stone Ltd., which develops and provides support for an open-source Web application firewall called ModSecurity, the companies announced Monday.
Symantec: Browser bugs surging in 2006
Hackers are hitting paydirt in their search for browser bugs. According to Symantec Corp.'s twice-yearly Internet Security Threat Report, hackers found 47 bugs in Mozilla Corp.'s open-source browsers and 38 bugs in Internet Explorer (IE) during the first six months of this year. That's up significantly from the 17 Mozilla and 25 IE bugs found in the previous six months.
SF claims progress in Wi-Fi negotiations
Google Inc. and EarthLink Inc.'s Wi-Fi contract with San Francisco would have a renewable four-year term and would require a proof-of-concept deployment before the full network is rolled out, if progress so far in negotiations holds firm, according to the city.
Symantec dismisses Vista security debate
Symantec Corp. Pacific region Vice President David Sykes has thrown cold water on the Windows Vista security debacle which emerged last week pointing out that it is pointless speculating about software that isn't released yet.
Sony shuffles control of electronics group
Sony Corp. is reshuffling responsibilities in its key electronics group, allowing the head of the division to play a bigger role in Sony's research and development actvities.
Apple legal 'pod' protection continues
Apple is becoming more aggressive in protecting its iPod trademark and is now attempting to establish control of the word 'pod' and, in one case, 'podcast.'
New security group patches latest IE bug
Microsoft Corp. may be waiting until next month to patch a nasty bug in Outlook and Internet Explorer, but security researchers are offering users a more immediate option.
Google plans product search boost in Q4
Google Inc. plans to extend the product search capabilities on its main Google.com Web search engine in the fourth quarter, in time for the holiday shopping season.
ANALYSIS
HP lawyer gives blow-by-blow of leak probe
An attorney hired by Hewlett-Packard Co. to investigate the conduct of HP and outside investigators has provided new details of his firm's investigation of news leaks from the HP board.
ITWHIRLED
"It's pretty awesome when it works"
Nothing's perfect, not even Steve Jobs' fabled Reality Distortion Field. This funny video collects some of the less-than-shining moments from Jobs' famous keynote speeches, including computer bugs and public speaking flubs.
Friday, September 22, 2006
US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops... Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug ... Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
HP CEO Hurd to brief reporters on spying scandal ... Germany to make hacking a crime ... Samsung executive pleads guilty to fixing DRAM price
HIGHLIGHTS
News: US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
News: Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
News: Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
News: Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
News: AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
News: Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
News: Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Interview: As BI matures, companies should too
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
NEWS UPDATES
US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that 1,137 laptops have been lost or stolen since 2001, with 249 of them containing some degree of personal data.
Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
A critical bug in the Internet Explorer (IE) browser also affects users of the Outlook 2003 e-mail client, making it much more serious than previously thought.
Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
The next Linux distribution that IBM Corp. throws its weight behind is likely to be China's Red Flag Linux, suggesting that for businesses elsewhere in the world the Linux market will remain a two-horse race for the time being.
Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
A Chinese journalist jailed in part due to e-mail evidence provided by a Yahoo Inc. subsidiary plans to file a lawsuit in the U.S. against the Internet company within the next few months.
AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
AOL LLC continued its strategy of separating its Internet access and content businesses in Europe, with the sale of its France Internet access business to Neuf Cegetel SA. The deal, announced Thursday, is worth ?288 million (US$366 million) and includes an ongoing partnership between AOL and Neuf Cegetel, a broadband operator.
Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
Yahoo Inc. has added sections for Flash and Ruby to its Web site for external developers. The goal is to promote the creation, using those two popular programming languages, of third-party applications that interact and integrate with Yahoo online services.
Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Despite financial and accounting problems at Dell Inc., Novell Inc. and Yahoo Inc., underlying faith in the software sector and a solid first-day performance on Riverbed Technology Inc.'s initial public offering indicate that the end of the year may yet reward IT investors.
INTERVIEW
As BI matures, companies should too
Business intelligence software is evolving into its older sibling, business performance management, a combination of planning, budgeting, reporting and benchmarking tools, according to the father of BI, Howard Dresner. At the same time, the main obstacle to BI or BPM adoption remains cultural rather than technological, he said.
OPINION
Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath
Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the
ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In
effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital
Video Recorder (DVR).
In the intervening period between then and now I have become a
significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why
this is so ...
HP CEO Hurd to brief reporters on spying scandal ... Germany to make hacking a crime ... Samsung executive pleads guilty to fixing DRAM price
HIGHLIGHTS
News: US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
News: Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
News: Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
News: Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
News: AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
News: Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
News: Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Interview: As BI matures, companies should too
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
NEWS UPDATES
US Commerce Department reports loss of 1,137 laptops
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that 1,137 laptops have been lost or stolen since 2001, with 249 of them containing some degree of personal data.
Outlook vulnerable to critical VML bug
A critical bug in the Internet Explorer (IE) browser also affects users of the Outlook 2003 e-mail client, making it much more serious than previously thought.
Red Flag Linux may be next on IBM's agenda
The next Linux distribution that IBM Corp. throws its weight behind is likely to be China's Red Flag Linux, suggesting that for businesses elsewhere in the world the Linux market will remain a two-horse race for the time being.
Jailed Chinese journalist to sue Yahoo
A Chinese journalist jailed in part due to e-mail evidence provided by a Yahoo Inc. subsidiary plans to file a lawsuit in the U.S. against the Internet company within the next few months.
AOL cuts deal to sell AOL France
AOL LLC continued its strategy of separating its Internet access and content businesses in Europe, with the sale of its France Internet access business to Neuf Cegetel SA. The deal, announced Thursday, is worth ?288 million (US$366 million) and includes an ongoing partnership between AOL and Neuf Cegetel, a broadband operator.
Yahoo promotes Flash, Ruby mashups
Yahoo Inc. has added sections for Flash and Ruby to its Web site for external developers. The goal is to promote the creation, using those two popular programming languages, of third-party applications that interact and integrate with Yahoo online services.
Wall Street beat: Software looking good
Despite financial and accounting problems at Dell Inc., Novell Inc. and Yahoo Inc., underlying faith in the software sector and a solid first-day performance on Riverbed Technology Inc.'s initial public offering indicate that the end of the year may yet reward IT investors.
INTERVIEW
As BI matures, companies should too
Business intelligence software is evolving into its older sibling, business performance management, a combination of planning, budgeting, reporting and benchmarking tools, according to the father of BI, Howard Dresner. At the same time, the main obstacle to BI or BPM adoption remains cultural rather than technological, he said.
OPINION
Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath
Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the
ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In
effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital
Video Recorder (DVR).
In the intervening period between then and now I have become a
significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why
this is so ...
Thursday, September 21, 2006
HP's Hurd knew of spying campaign ... Munich begins Linux migration
Today's IT News Audio Update
Hewlett-Packard's CEO could become implicated in the spying scandal at the company ... BenQ Mobile is closing down a handset facility in Taiwan ... AOL is inviting users to test a new version of its search engine
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
News: Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
News: IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
News: Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
ITwhirled: Spice up your e-mail sig
NEWS UPDATES
Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd knew of plans for a disinformation campaign designed to find the source of leaks from boardroom discussions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
Munich has begun its migration to Linux on the desktop, a year later than planned and nearly three years since the city announced its move to open source software.
IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
IBM Corp. is unveiling Thursday a new virtual tape drive management system for mainframes that compares to similar technology introduced last spring by rival Sun Microsystems Inc.
Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. has confirmed the receipt of a notice from the Nasdaq stock market warning that its shares will be delisted from the exchange after the software company delayed filing its most recent quarterly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Dunn to 'set the record straight' in HP case
Embattled Hewlett-Packard Co. chairman Patricia Dunn told an appreciative audience in San Francisco Wednesday night that she looks forward to the opportunity to "set the record straight" regarding allegations that she oversaw an internal investigation of the company which may have broken the law.
Symantec on the attack over Vista security features
When Windows Vista ships next year, customers might have a tougher time getting their security software to work properly, executives from Symantec Corp. said Wednesday.
Qualcomm sees wireless device boom
A perfect storm is brewing in wireless communications, which may soon boom like the PC business did in the 1990s as the Web took off, a Qualcomm Inc. executive said Wednesday.
Security vendors SecureWorks, LURHQ merge
Managed security services companies SecureWorks Inc. and LURHQ Corp. have merged. The combined company is known as SecureWorks and is based in Atlanta. SecureWorks chief executive Mike Cote remains as chief executive officer (CEO) and former LURHQ CEO Tony Prince will be executive vice president responsible for product development.
OPINION
Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath
Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
In the intervening period between then and now I have become a significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why this is so ...
ITWHIRLED
Spice up your e-mail sig
Whether you're talking about specific programming languages or overall concepts, these epigrams are good for insight and for spicing up your e-mail sig. Probably the only collection of programming-related quotes to contain one from Flannery O'Connor.
Hewlett-Packard's CEO could become implicated in the spying scandal at the company ... BenQ Mobile is closing down a handset facility in Taiwan ... AOL is inviting users to test a new version of its search engine
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
News: Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
News: IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
News: Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Opinion: Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
ITwhirled: Spice up your e-mail sig
NEWS UPDATES
Report: Hurd knew of planned deception campaign
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd knew of plans for a disinformation campaign designed to find the source of leaks from boardroom discussions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Munich begins Linux replacement of Windows
Munich has begun its migration to Linux on the desktop, a year later than planned and nearly three years since the city announced its move to open source software.
IBM unveils new tape virtualization engine
IBM Corp. is unveiling Thursday a new virtual tape drive management system for mainframes that compares to similar technology introduced last spring by rival Sun Microsystems Inc.
Novell faces delisting from Nasdaq
Novell Inc. has confirmed the receipt of a notice from the Nasdaq stock market warning that its shares will be delisted from the exchange after the software company delayed filing its most recent quarterly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Dunn to 'set the record straight' in HP case
Embattled Hewlett-Packard Co. chairman Patricia Dunn told an appreciative audience in San Francisco Wednesday night that she looks forward to the opportunity to "set the record straight" regarding allegations that she oversaw an internal investigation of the company which may have broken the law.
Symantec on the attack over Vista security features
When Windows Vista ships next year, customers might have a tougher time getting their security software to work properly, executives from Symantec Corp. said Wednesday.
Qualcomm sees wireless device boom
A perfect storm is brewing in wireless communications, which may soon boom like the PC business did in the 1990s as the Web took off, a Qualcomm Inc. executive said Wednesday.
Security vendors SecureWorks, LURHQ merge
Managed security services companies SecureWorks Inc. and LURHQ Corp. have merged. The combined company is known as SecureWorks and is based in Atlanta. SecureWorks chief executive Mike Cote remains as chief executive officer (CEO) and former LURHQ CEO Tony Prince will be executive vice president responsible for product development.
OPINION
Stay tuned. We will be right back after these.
By Sean McGrath
Some time ago I upgraded my satellite TV service to include the ability to record programs very easily via an integrated hard disk. In effect my satellite receiving box became a computer known as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).
In the intervening period between then and now I have become a significantly less useful individual to TV advertisers. Here is why this is so ...
ITWHIRLED
Spice up your e-mail sig
Whether you're talking about specific programming languages or overall concepts, these epigrams are good for insight and for spicing up your e-mail sig. Probably the only collection of programming-related quotes to contain one from Flannery O'Connor.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales ... Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Today's IT News Audio Update
Oracle has reported another strong quarter of financial results ... Patricia Dunn, the embattled chairman of HP, will answer questions on the spying scandal next week ... Amazon.com is offering to host online stores for small and medium-size businesses
HIGHLIGHTS
News: U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
News: Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
News: Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
News: HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Storage Tip: Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
ITwhirled: In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU
NEWS UPDATES
Schneier: We are losing the security war
Companies are losing the battle to secure their IT systems from attacks by hackers and other threats, warned Bruce Schneier, the founder and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security Inc.
U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
A California seller of servers and other computer components has pleaded guilty to selling products to Iran in violation of federal export controls, the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco reported Tuesday.
Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
A slowing U.S. economy may already be impacting Yahoo Inc.'s Web advertising sales growth, the head of the company said Tuesday, a trend that does not bode well for other ad-supported Internet sites.
Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
The Mambo Foundation has released Mambo 4.6, the first major release of its open-source content management system (CMS) in almost two years, the group said Wednesday.
HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn will answer questions on the spying scandal that has embroiled her company during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill next week.
iTunes nets $1 million in movie sales for Disney in a week
In only one week, Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store generated $1 million in movie sales for Walt Disney Co., and that's "just the beginning," the head of Disney said Tuesday.
Microsoft to ease Vista upgrades with one-DVD plan
In an effort to simplify the distribution of Windows Vista and make it easier for customers to upgrade, Microsoft Corp. will include the various retail versions of the OS on one DVD instead of having separate DVDs for each Vista edition.
Oracle celebrates strong Q1 with some SAP bashing
As Oracle Corp. executives patted themselves on the back for their company's reporting another strong financial quarter, they also couldn't resist having a go at prime applications rival SAP AG.
Microsoft to add HD DVD to Xbox 360
Microsoft Corp. will launch an HD DVD drive add-on for its Xbox 360 console in November, a company executive said Wednesday.
STORAGE TIP
Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Differentiating between operational recovery and disaster recovery is not always clear-cut. Fortunately, most problems are operational problems not disaster recovery problems. Here are some guidelines for when a failover to a remote site is an operational recovery problem and not a disaster recovery problem.
ITWHIRLED
In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU
Those Soviets sure did make some wonderfully clunky computer hardware. Here's the best of computer mouses from the USSR. Our favorite label: "The Manipulator For Graphical Information."
Oracle has reported another strong quarter of financial results ... Patricia Dunn, the embattled chairman of HP, will answer questions on the spying scandal next week ... Amazon.com is offering to host online stores for small and medium-size businesses
HIGHLIGHTS
News: U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
News: Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
News: Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
News: HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Storage Tip: Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
ITwhirled: In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU
NEWS UPDATES
Schneier: We are losing the security war
Companies are losing the battle to secure their IT systems from attacks by hackers and other threats, warned Bruce Schneier, the founder and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security Inc.
U.S. computer firm admits selling banned exports to Iran
A California seller of servers and other computer components has pleaded guilty to selling products to Iran in violation of federal export controls, the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco reported Tuesday.
Yahoo warns on weakening Web ad sales
A slowing U.S. economy may already be impacting Yahoo Inc.'s Web advertising sales growth, the head of the company said Tuesday, a trend that does not bode well for other ad-supported Internet sites.
Mambo Foundation releases Mambo 4.6
The Mambo Foundation has released Mambo 4.6, the first major release of its open-source content management system (CMS) in almost two years, the group said Wednesday.
HP's Dunn to testify before House on spying scandal
Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman Patricia Dunn will answer questions on the spying scandal that has embroiled her company during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill next week.
iTunes nets $1 million in movie sales for Disney in a week
In only one week, Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Store generated $1 million in movie sales for Walt Disney Co., and that's "just the beginning," the head of Disney said Tuesday.
Microsoft to ease Vista upgrades with one-DVD plan
In an effort to simplify the distribution of Windows Vista and make it easier for customers to upgrade, Microsoft Corp. will include the various retail versions of the OS on one DVD instead of having separate DVDs for each Vista edition.
Oracle celebrates strong Q1 with some SAP bashing
As Oracle Corp. executives patted themselves on the back for their company's reporting another strong financial quarter, they also couldn't resist having a go at prime applications rival SAP AG.
Microsoft to add HD DVD to Xbox 360
Microsoft Corp. will launch an HD DVD drive add-on for its Xbox 360 console in November, a company executive said Wednesday.
STORAGE TIP
Rules for differentiating between operational and disaster recovery
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Differentiating between operational recovery and disaster recovery is not always clear-cut. Fortunately, most problems are operational problems not disaster recovery problems. Here are some guidelines for when a failover to a remote site is an operational recovery problem and not a disaster recovery problem.
ITWHIRLED
In Soviet Russia, mouse clicks YOU
Those Soviets sure did make some wonderfully clunky computer hardware. Here's the best of computer mouses from the USSR. Our favorite label: "The Manipulator For Graphical Information."
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Toshiba offers to replace 340,000 laptop batteries ... Microsoft launches YouTube rival
Today's IT News Audio Update
Toshiba is offering to replace 340,000 laptop batteries ... Microsoft has launched the beta version of a new video download service ... EMC will spend $175 million to acquire security equipment provider Network Intelligence
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
News: EMC buys Network Intelligence
News: Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
News: Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Opinion: Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
ITwhirled: Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?
NEWS UPDATES
Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
Toshiba Corp. has offered to exchange 340,000 notebook computer batteries, but said they do not pose a fire hazard. Instead, defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work.
EMC buys Network Intelligence
EMC Corp. will spend $175 million to acquire security information provider Network Intelligence Corp. This latest acquisition, expected to close late Monday, underscores the growing importance of security technology to EMC. Also on Monday, EMC announced that it had completed its $2.1 billion purchase of RSA Security, which will form the basis of a new RSA-branded security division within the company.
Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
Motorola Inc. plans to acquire wireless mobile device developer Symbol Technologies Inc. for $3.9 billion, the companies announced Tuesday.
Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Microsoft Corp. hopes to bank on the popularity of online video-sharing services such as YouTube and Google Video with its own competitive service, which goes into beta on Tuesday.
Napster exploring sale, tie-up
Napster Inc., the remade version of the popular Internet music sharing service, is in talks over a sale or possible strategic partnership, the company said Monday.
DHS picks cybersecurity czar
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally named a leader for its cybersecurity efforts on Monday, fulfilling a promise made last July by an agency that has drawn poor marks for digital security.
Microsoft files 20 more antipiracy lawsuits
Continuing its worldwide assault on software piracy, Microsoft Corp. has filed 20 lawsuits against resellers accused of distributing unauthorized copies of its software.
New AIM worm may prove difficult to fight
A sophisticated computer worm spreading via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is setting up a botnet that may be difficult to combat, security researchers said.
Motorola, Nokia, BenQ bid Cebit adieu
BenQ Corp., Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. will participate at next year's Cebit trade show, and rumors abound that other vendors, particularly in the consumer electronics segment, might also skip the annual event.
T-Mobile top bidder as 3G auction ends
T-Mobile USA Inc. came out the biggest spender in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction, which ended Monday.
OPINION
Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
By Joel Shore
Sitting just a few feet from me in my home office is 2 terabytes of RAID 5 storage, in a cabinet barely bigger than a one-gallon milk bottle. Lying on my desk are four 8-gigabyte Compact Flash cards, each no bigger than a fifty-cent piece. Is it any wonder that few people seem to talk about tape for the SMB market anymore?
ITWHIRLED
Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?
What with a new batch of iPods coming out, you're going to want to show that your MP3 player is classier than the rest. That's why you've got to get the latest in iPod-wear, better than iPod socks: The iZod. Look, it's even got it's little collar popped!
Toshiba is offering to replace 340,000 laptop batteries ... Microsoft has launched the beta version of a new video download service ... EMC will spend $175 million to acquire security equipment provider Network Intelligence
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
News: EMC buys Network Intelligence
News: Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
News: Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Opinion: Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
ITwhirled: Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?
NEWS UPDATES
Toshiba offers to exchange 340,000 notebook batteries
Toshiba Corp. has offered to exchange 340,000 notebook computer batteries, but said they do not pose a fire hazard. Instead, defective batteries could unexpectedly cut power to the notebooks, causing users to lose unsaved work.
EMC buys Network Intelligence
EMC Corp. will spend $175 million to acquire security information provider Network Intelligence Corp. This latest acquisition, expected to close late Monday, underscores the growing importance of security technology to EMC. Also on Monday, EMC announced that it had completed its $2.1 billion purchase of RSA Security, which will form the basis of a new RSA-branded security division within the company.
Motorola to buy Symbol for $3.9 billion
Motorola Inc. plans to acquire wireless mobile device developer Symbol Technologies Inc. for $3.9 billion, the companies announced Tuesday.
Microsoft tests YouTube competitor
Microsoft Corp. hopes to bank on the popularity of online video-sharing services such as YouTube and Google Video with its own competitive service, which goes into beta on Tuesday.
Napster exploring sale, tie-up
Napster Inc., the remade version of the popular Internet music sharing service, is in talks over a sale or possible strategic partnership, the company said Monday.
DHS picks cybersecurity czar
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally named a leader for its cybersecurity efforts on Monday, fulfilling a promise made last July by an agency that has drawn poor marks for digital security.
Microsoft files 20 more antipiracy lawsuits
Continuing its worldwide assault on software piracy, Microsoft Corp. has filed 20 lawsuits against resellers accused of distributing unauthorized copies of its software.
New AIM worm may prove difficult to fight
A sophisticated computer worm spreading via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is setting up a botnet that may be difficult to combat, security researchers said.
Motorola, Nokia, BenQ bid Cebit adieu
BenQ Corp., Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. will participate at next year's Cebit trade show, and rumors abound that other vendors, particularly in the consumer electronics segment, might also skip the annual event.
T-Mobile top bidder as 3G auction ends
T-Mobile USA Inc. came out the biggest spender in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction, which ended Monday.
OPINION
Pray for tape; its demise would be disastrous for small businesses
By Joel Shore
Sitting just a few feet from me in my home office is 2 terabytes of RAID 5 storage, in a cabinet barely bigger than a one-gallon milk bottle. Lying on my desk are four 8-gigabyte Compact Flash cards, each no bigger than a fifty-cent piece. Is it any wonder that few people seem to talk about tape for the SMB market anymore?
ITWHIRLED
Next must-have iPod accessory: The iZod?
What with a new batch of iPods coming out, you're going to want to show that your MP3 player is classier than the rest. That's why you've got to get the latest in iPod-wear, better than iPod socks: The iZod. Look, it's even got it's little collar popped!
Monday, September 18, 2006
HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking ... New iPods priced for profits
Today's IT News Audio Update
Freescale accepts acquisition bid from investment firms ... Microsoft sued over use of Forefront name ... Unisys subcontractor arrested for stealing VA computer
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
News: Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
News: Security measures seen doing more harm than good
News: Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Windows Tip: Resolving IP address conflicts
ITwhirled: 12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places
NEWS UPDATES
HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and journalists were under physical surveillance by investigators trying to find out who was providing information to reporters, and private investigators tried to put tracking software on a journalist's computer to keep tabs on e-mail, according to a New York Times report.
Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
Apple Computer Inc.'s recent introduction of several new iPods shows the company is looking for better profit margins, not gaining market share, according to researcher Gartner Inc. And the move could boost its rivals.
Security measures seen doing more harm than good
Many of the security measures put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York are doing more harm than good, said two speakers scheduled to present at the Hack In The Box Security Conference (HITB) this week.
Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Research analysts at Gartner Inc. are predicting a sticky web of security hazards for IT professionals over the next two years, ranging from targeted financial attacks to spyware to rootkits.
EMC launches new data management software
Network storage vendor EMC Corp. Monday introduced a new data storage management product that is the fruit of three software acquisitions the company has made in recent years.
Freescale accepts $17.6 billion equity buyout
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has agreed to be acquired by a group of investment firms for US$17.6 billion.
Gartner: Security costs fall with good policies
Enterprises will increasingly face skilled IT criminals trying to infiltrate corporate networks for sensitive data stored in databases, but adopting new policies to evaluate risk should help drive the cost of defense down, computer security analysts said Monday.
Cross-site scripting the top security risk
Web administrators beware: cross-site scripting vulnerabilities are now far more attactive targets than more notorious bugs such as buffer overflows, according to new figures from Mitre, a U.S. government-funded research organization.
Caspian Networks may be acquired
Caspian Networks Inc., a one-time core router startup that today makes devices to improve network performance, is on the block.
WINDOWS TIP
Resolving IP address conflicts
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A basic but often hard to troubleshoot issue that can arise on a TCP/IP network is an IP address conflict. This occurs when two computers on a network are assigned the same IP address, and this situation can arise in three different ways. First, you might misconfigure your network by manually assigning two computers the same static IP address. This is a common occurrence on smaller networks especially when computers are in a workgroup not a domain. Second, a DHCP server on your network might assign an address to a client computer that conflicts with a static IP address assigned to some other network device such as a router or printer. And third, if you have two DHCP servers on the same subnet that have overlapping scopes, you're likely to get client computers with duplicate addresses.
What I've discovered is that troubleshooting these situations not only requires clear thinking but sharp eyesight as well. For example...
Read the full article here
ITWHIRLED
12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places
In 10 nations on four continents, the editors at CNNmoney.com have uncovered a dozen of the most intriguing new business opportunities in the world today. No 1: Build cheap Wi-Fi networks for Brazilian resorts.
Freescale accepts acquisition bid from investment firms ... Microsoft sued over use of Forefront name ... Unisys subcontractor arrested for stealing VA computer
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
News: Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
News: Security measures seen doing more harm than good
News: Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Windows Tip: Resolving IP address conflicts
ITwhirled: 12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places
NEWS UPDATES
HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and journalists were under physical surveillance by investigators trying to find out who was providing information to reporters, and private investigators tried to put tracking software on a journalist's computer to keep tabs on e-mail, according to a New York Times report.
Apple's new iPods priced for profits, not market share
Apple Computer Inc.'s recent introduction of several new iPods shows the company is looking for better profit margins, not gaining market share, according to researcher Gartner Inc. And the move could boost its rivals.
Security measures seen doing more harm than good
Many of the security measures put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York are doing more harm than good, said two speakers scheduled to present at the Hack In The Box Security Conference (HITB) this week.
Gartner forecasts trouble with rootkits, ID theft
Research analysts at Gartner Inc. are predicting a sticky web of security hazards for IT professionals over the next two years, ranging from targeted financial attacks to spyware to rootkits.
EMC launches new data management software
Network storage vendor EMC Corp. Monday introduced a new data storage management product that is the fruit of three software acquisitions the company has made in recent years.
Freescale accepts $17.6 billion equity buyout
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has agreed to be acquired by a group of investment firms for US$17.6 billion.
Gartner: Security costs fall with good policies
Enterprises will increasingly face skilled IT criminals trying to infiltrate corporate networks for sensitive data stored in databases, but adopting new policies to evaluate risk should help drive the cost of defense down, computer security analysts said Monday.
Cross-site scripting the top security risk
Web administrators beware: cross-site scripting vulnerabilities are now far more attactive targets than more notorious bugs such as buffer overflows, according to new figures from Mitre, a U.S. government-funded research organization.
Caspian Networks may be acquired
Caspian Networks Inc., a one-time core router startup that today makes devices to improve network performance, is on the block.
WINDOWS TIP
Resolving IP address conflicts
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises
A basic but often hard to troubleshoot issue that can arise on a TCP/IP network is an IP address conflict. This occurs when two computers on a network are assigned the same IP address, and this situation can arise in three different ways. First, you might misconfigure your network by manually assigning two computers the same static IP address. This is a common occurrence on smaller networks especially when computers are in a workgroup not a domain. Second, a DHCP server on your network might assign an address to a client computer that conflicts with a static IP address assigned to some other network device such as a router or printer. And third, if you have two DHCP servers on the same subnet that have overlapping scopes, you're likely to get client computers with duplicate addresses.
What I've discovered is that troubleshooting these situations not only requires clear thinking but sharp eyesight as well. For example...
Read the full article here
ITWHIRLED
12 startups to launch now ... Lucrative ventures in unlikely places
In 10 nations on four continents, the editors at CNNmoney.com have uncovered a dozen of the most intriguing new business opportunities in the world today. No 1: Build cheap Wi-Fi networks for Brazilian resorts.
Friday, September 15, 2006
HP extends deadline for Mercury acquisition ... Microsoft's Zune to ship before year-end
Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft to ship Zune player before year-end ... China's BLX to offer 1GHz Godson-2 processor ... Nintendo gets ready to ship Wii console
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP extends deadline for Mercury acquisition
News: Code posted for new IE attack
News: Adobe Q3 income feels Macromedia hit
News: Microsoft Zune device to ship in time for Christmas
Opinion: If 80 gigs is enough, then...
ITwhirled: Geek comic of the week: Diesel Sweeties
NEWS UPDATES
HP extends deadline for Mercury acquisition
Hewlett-Packard Co. has extended the deadline for Mercury Interactive Corp. shareholders to tender their shares in favor of the companies' proposed US$4.5 billion merger.
Code posted for new IE attack
Hackers have discovered a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer, and they've released code that could be used to attack users of Microsoft Corp.'s popular browser.
Adobe Q3 income feels Macromedia hit
Adobe has reported its financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 1, 2006, reflecting some financial impact following its December purchase of Macromedia.
Microsoft Zune device to ship in time for Christmas
The first Microsoft Corp. Zune products will hit U.S. retailers in time for the busy Christmas holiday season, with a 30G-byte digital media player and a Zune Marketplace online service the first to reach consumers, Microsoft said Thursday.
U.S. urges European regulators to lay off Apple DRM
A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer Inc.'s proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, but groups attacking Apple are defending their actions.
Former Novell head Messman quits board early
Novell Inc.'s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Messman, who was ousted from those positions in June, has quit the company's board of directors a month and a half earlier than had been previously announced.
OPINION
If 80 gigs is enough, then...
By Sean McGrath
I have an 80 gigabyte hard disk in my laptop and, for the first time in my career in computing, I am having difficulty filling it up with stuff that I need to do my job. Sure I can fill it with lots of audio and lots of video (given enough bandwidth and patience) but to be honest, the amount of multimedia stuff I need for my day job is limited to some podcasts and the occasional product demo video.
ITWHIRLED
Geek comic of the week: Diesel Sweeties
This very popular Web comic has a distinctive visual style, in which all characters are built out of very large pixels -- perhaps appropriate for a strip in which many characters are robots. Clango, the main character, has philosophical discussions and a surprising number of emotional exchanges with his mechanical and human friends. There's even robot-human romance in the air (leading Clango to coin the phrase "Irrational flesh-thing! Why must I love you?"). Diesel Sweeties will begin to appear in newspapers in early 2007 -- it will be interesting to see if it can make the transition.
A great geek T-shirt could be yours. Learn how!
The ITwhirled weekly alert covers the best in weird news, geek comics, gadgets, and all manner of offbeat items from the world of IT and beyond. Sign up today and enter our T-shirt drawing.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Microsoft tries to dazzle E.U. with Vista benefits ... Intel, Siemens team on enterprise VOIP
Today's IT News Audio Update
Microsoft touts positive impact of Vista on European economy ... Vista peripherals launched ... Mobile phones to get better TV screens
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft tries to dazzle E.U. with Vista benefits
News: Intel, Siemens team on secure VOIP for enterprises
News: Yahoo, Acer ink home page, search engine pact
News: State says it has evidence to charge HP officials
Opinion: Outsourcing the middleware layer
ITwhirled: The greatest software ever
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft tries to dazzle E.U. with Vista benefits
Microsoft Corp. tried to dazzle the antitrust regulators in Brussels on Thursday with new research that illustrates how immense the effect of Windows Vista will be next year on Europe's IT industry and the broader economy.
Intel, Siemens team on secure VOIP for enterprises
Intel Corp. and Siemens AG have agreed to collaborate in the development of new enterprise communication systems using VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology.
Yahoo, Acer ink home page, search engine pact
Yahoo Inc. reached a deal for prime real estate on all Acer Inc. PCs shipped globally, with a cobranded toolbar, home page and search engine, the companies said Wednesday.
State says it has evidence to charge HP officials
A day after Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) chairman Patricia Dunn promised to step down for her role in a spy scandal, the state of California is continuing to investigate the actions of HP officials and the private investigators they used.
Microsoft takes third shot at buggy security patch
Microsoft Corp. just can't seem to shake problems with its MS06-042 update for Internet Explorer. On Tuesday, Microsoft was forced to release its third version of the update because of a new security bug discovered in the update, according to Tony Chor, a group program manager with Microsoft.
Sun, Accenture back as best buddies after a lull
Sun Microsystems Inc. views global management consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture Ltd. as one of its most important and "indispensable" partners, according to Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's president and chief executive officer.
McData bundles three storage products into one
McData has bundled three separate SAN management products into one, called Enterprise Fabric Connection Manager (EFCM) 9.0, but previously known as EFCM, SANpilot and SANavigator.
OPINION
Outsourcing the middleware layer
By Sean McGrath
Apparently (I am too young to remember) photocopier machines were greeted with suspicion in some quarters when they were first introduced. How can you know that the machine has made a perfect copy of your vital document? I'm told by someone who remembers those days that he used to proof read the copies coming off the photocopier to check for accuracy.
This sounds silly now, which isn't to say that mechanical copying no longer needs to be done with care. Rather, we are now comfortable with the idea that all we need is a quick visual inspection of the photocopied page to see if it is all there. Once we have that, we do not need to inspect the individual letters to know we have a good copy. We trust the photocopier.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 best movie cars ... Greatest software ever ... The 10 best mars images ever ... The 10 most beautiful places in America ... The top ten OS X screensavers
Microsoft touts positive impact of Vista on European economy ... Vista peripherals launched ... Mobile phones to get better TV screens
HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft tries to dazzle E.U. with Vista benefits
News: Intel, Siemens team on secure VOIP for enterprises
News: Yahoo, Acer ink home page, search engine pact
News: State says it has evidence to charge HP officials
Opinion: Outsourcing the middleware layer
ITwhirled: The greatest software ever
NEWS UPDATES
Microsoft tries to dazzle E.U. with Vista benefits
Microsoft Corp. tried to dazzle the antitrust regulators in Brussels on Thursday with new research that illustrates how immense the effect of Windows Vista will be next year on Europe's IT industry and the broader economy.
Intel, Siemens team on secure VOIP for enterprises
Intel Corp. and Siemens AG have agreed to collaborate in the development of new enterprise communication systems using VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology.
Yahoo, Acer ink home page, search engine pact
Yahoo Inc. reached a deal for prime real estate on all Acer Inc. PCs shipped globally, with a cobranded toolbar, home page and search engine, the companies said Wednesday.
State says it has evidence to charge HP officials
A day after Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) chairman Patricia Dunn promised to step down for her role in a spy scandal, the state of California is continuing to investigate the actions of HP officials and the private investigators they used.
Microsoft takes third shot at buggy security patch
Microsoft Corp. just can't seem to shake problems with its MS06-042 update for Internet Explorer. On Tuesday, Microsoft was forced to release its third version of the update because of a new security bug discovered in the update, according to Tony Chor, a group program manager with Microsoft.
Sun, Accenture back as best buddies after a lull
Sun Microsystems Inc. views global management consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture Ltd. as one of its most important and "indispensable" partners, according to Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's president and chief executive officer.
McData bundles three storage products into one
McData has bundled three separate SAN management products into one, called Enterprise Fabric Connection Manager (EFCM) 9.0, but previously known as EFCM, SANpilot and SANavigator.
OPINION
Outsourcing the middleware layer
By Sean McGrath
Apparently (I am too young to remember) photocopier machines were greeted with suspicion in some quarters when they were first introduced. How can you know that the machine has made a perfect copy of your vital document? I'm told by someone who remembers those days that he used to proof read the copies coming off the photocopier to check for accuracy.
This sounds silly now, which isn't to say that mechanical copying no longer needs to be done with care. Rather, we are now comfortable with the idea that all we need is a quick visual inspection of the photocopied page to see if it is all there. Once we have that, we do not need to inspect the individual letters to know we have a good copy. We trust the photocopier.
ITWHIRLED
She's a 10
10 best movie cars ... Greatest software ever ... The 10 best mars images ever ... The 10 most beautiful places in America ... The top ten OS X screensavers
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The hard disk drive turns 50 ... HP insiders could face charges
Today's IT News Audio Update
HP insiders could face charges, California's AG says ... Business Objects buys ALG ... EC warns Microsoft on bundling security tools
HIGHLIGHTS
News: The hard disk drive turns 50
News: IBM puts its first Cell computer on sale
News: Business Objects to buy ALG Software
News: Sun, IBM launch tape encryption technology
Opinion: Deploy on your schedule, not Microsoft's Auto-Update schedule
ITwhirled: Telephone psychics scientifically proven
NEWS UPDATES
The hard disk drive turns 50
Inside the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, sits an odd-looking, refrigerator-sized contraption that could have been created by an out-of-control set designer for "Lost in Space."
IBM puts its first Cell computer on sale
IBM Corp. has started selling the first computer based on its multicore Cell processor, targeting organizations that run compute-intensive tasks like medical imaging or oil exploration.
Business Objects to buy ALG Software
Business Objects SA is stepping up its efforts in the area of corporate performance management software with an acquisition and the integration of some existing applications with its business intelligence suite.
Sun, IBM launch tape encryption technology
Sun Microsystems Inc. and IBM Corp. are both introducing data tape encryption technology this week, protecting against a security breach that can endanger or embarrass an enterprise.
Salesforce.com highlights analytics in next release
Salesforce.com Inc. is drawing particular attention to the analytics customization capabilities it plans to offer in the next version of its hosted CRM (customer relationship management) software, known as Salesforce Winter '07.
Sun, Accenture team up on identity-enabled SOA
Sun Microsystems Inc. and global management consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture Ltd. are expanding their existing relationship to cover joint development work around identity-enabling, service-oriented architecture (SOA) and composite applications.
Skype launches video calling between Macs and PCs
With the latest beta of Skype for the Macintosh, released on Wednesday, Skype hopes to help bridge the barrier between Macs and PCs for video calling.
Apple offers cheaper, brighter, bigger iPods
Apple updated its iPod range Tuesday, introducing larger capacities, brighter screens and lower prices across the range.
OPINION
Deploy on your schedule, not Microsoft's Auto-Update schedule
By Joel Shore
There are probably as many holes in Windows' and Internet Explorer's security infrastructure than there once were in the poorly maintained roads of legend in Blackburn, Lancashire (4,000, according to a 1967 U.K. Daily Mail news story famously paraphrased by John Lennon).
One of the things I like about Windows XP is its ability to heal thyself, using Auto Update to download and apply patches to fill those holes as Microsoft deems necessary. Unfortunately, it needs to do that way too often. That is very likely to become a problem when Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 7.
ITWHIRLED
Telephone psychics scientifically proven
A researcher at the University of Cambridge (yes, that Cambridge) believes he has proven that people do, in fact, have the ability to guess who might be phoning them. And, yes, it works for e-mail too.
HP insiders could face charges, California's AG says ... Business Objects buys ALG ... EC warns Microsoft on bundling security tools
HIGHLIGHTS
News: The hard disk drive turns 50
News: IBM puts its first Cell computer on sale
News: Business Objects to buy ALG Software
News: Sun, IBM launch tape encryption technology
Opinion: Deploy on your schedule, not Microsoft's Auto-Update schedule
ITwhirled: Telephone psychics scientifically proven
NEWS UPDATES
The hard disk drive turns 50
Inside the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, sits an odd-looking, refrigerator-sized contraption that could have been created by an out-of-control set designer for "Lost in Space."
IBM puts its first Cell computer on sale
IBM Corp. has started selling the first computer based on its multicore Cell processor, targeting organizations that run compute-intensive tasks like medical imaging or oil exploration.
Business Objects to buy ALG Software
Business Objects SA is stepping up its efforts in the area of corporate performance management software with an acquisition and the integration of some existing applications with its business intelligence suite.
Sun, IBM launch tape encryption technology
Sun Microsystems Inc. and IBM Corp. are both introducing data tape encryption technology this week, protecting against a security breach that can endanger or embarrass an enterprise.
Salesforce.com highlights analytics in next release
Salesforce.com Inc. is drawing particular attention to the analytics customization capabilities it plans to offer in the next version of its hosted CRM (customer relationship management) software, known as Salesforce Winter '07.
Sun, Accenture team up on identity-enabled SOA
Sun Microsystems Inc. and global management consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture Ltd. are expanding their existing relationship to cover joint development work around identity-enabling, service-oriented architecture (SOA) and composite applications.
Skype launches video calling between Macs and PCs
With the latest beta of Skype for the Macintosh, released on Wednesday, Skype hopes to help bridge the barrier between Macs and PCs for video calling.
Apple offers cheaper, brighter, bigger iPods
Apple updated its iPod range Tuesday, introducing larger capacities, brighter screens and lower prices across the range.
OPINION
Deploy on your schedule, not Microsoft's Auto-Update schedule
By Joel Shore
There are probably as many holes in Windows' and Internet Explorer's security infrastructure than there once were in the poorly maintained roads of legend in Blackburn, Lancashire (4,000, according to a 1967 U.K. Daily Mail news story famously paraphrased by John Lennon).
One of the things I like about Windows XP is its ability to heal thyself, using Auto Update to download and apply patches to fill those holes as Microsoft deems necessary. Unfortunately, it needs to do that way too often. That is very likely to become a problem when Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 7.
ITWHIRLED
Telephone psychics scientifically proven
A researcher at the University of Cambridge (yes, that Cambridge) believes he has proven that people do, in fact, have the ability to guess who might be phoning them. And, yes, it works for e-mail too.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
HP's Dunn steps down amid spying scandal ... Microsoft's new search engine exits beta
Today's IT News Audio Update
HP's Dunn steps down amid spying scandal ... EC expands Intel investigation ... Red Hat offers beta of Linux server OS with Xen
HIGHLIGHTS
News: HP's Dunn to step down in January
News: HP's head of global operations to leave next month
News: Microsoft's new search engine exits beta
News: Juniper, Symantec partner on enterprise security
Tip: Accept no imitation when shopping for an information lifecycle management solution
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: eBay 101
NEWS UPDATES
HP's Dunn to step down in January
Patricia Dunn, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s embattled chairman, will be relieved of those duties after the board's Jan. 18, 2007, meeting, but will continue as a director.
HP's head of global operations to leave next month
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s executive vice president of global operations, Gilles Bouchard, will leave the company at the end of October. The news came Tuesday immediately before HP announced that Chairman Patricia Dunn will step down.
Microsoft's new search engine exits beta
Microsoft Corp. is removing the beta, or test, tag from Live Search, its next-generation search engine, and making it the underlying search tool at its MSN.com portal.
Juniper, Symantec partner on enterprise security
Juniper Networks Inc. and Symantec Corp. will jointly work on unified threat management (UTM) and intrusion detection and prevention (IDP) products, and in the long term will extend their partnership to antivirus and threat detection.
EMC plans new Web content management tool
Storage giant EMC Corp. plans another foray into Web content management with the upcoming launch of a tool to handle content layout as well as management.
Red Hat users invited to test RHEL 5
Red Hat Inc. has pushed out the first public beta of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, an upgrade to its operating system that includes virtualization technologies intended to help companies get more use from their hardware.
U.S. defense department builds world's biggest SAN
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is creating the world's largest storage network by combining a number of separate networks into a gigantic 17,000-port Meta SAN monster.
Grids help eBay do big business
A massive computing grid helps eBay Inc. make changes to its auction Web site on the fly while maintaining a 99.94 percent up time, said Paul Strong, a distinguished research scientist there.
TIP
Accept no imitation when shopping for an information lifecycle management solution
By David Hill, Mesabi Group
Do not accept any simple substitutes or imitations that work only on blocks when searching for an information lifecycle management solution.
ITWHIRLED
eBay 101
Always wanted to learn how to become an eBay mogul? If you attend the UK's University of Northampton, you can take a class on it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
