I recently discussed a useful utility for your toolbox, FreeBASIC, a BASIC compiler that is very good and, as the name implies, free.
Read more
Sony
Your e-reader has gone missing. Now what?
Don't be expecting GPS to help you out
Submitted by Paul McNamara on Thu, 10/20/11 - 8:54am.
Mashable this morning has a post headlined, "What to do if your e-reader is lost or stolen," which I read in part because my daughter recently acquired our family's first Kindle. Read more
Cybersecurity Tipping Point?
Recent attacks suggest that we are at the crossroad between a broad cyber security strategy and devastating cyber attacks
Submitted by joltsik on Thu, 06/02/11 - 11:15am.
While driving home last night, I happened to catch the NPR radio show, "On Point," and a lively discussion on hacks, cyber attacks, and cyberwar. Worth a listen, here's the link (http://onpoint.wbur.org/2011/06/01/hacks-and-cyber-attacks).
This isn't the first time I've heard the mainstream media approach the cybersecurity topic but it is certainly happening more frequently these days. Why? Unfortunately, cybersecurity, cyber attacks, and cyberwarfare have become very topical over the last few months because of: Read more
Sony PlayStation Breach: Sophisticated Attack or Insecure Internally-Developed Software?
Hint: Bad guys got in through a web application vulnerability
Submitted by joltsik on Wed, 05/04/11 - 2:12pm.
In spite of the fact that RSA Security and Epsilon recently suffered a security breach, Sony seems to be getting the majority of nightmare security headlines. Why? Probably because Sony and its PlayStation are more ubiquitous. Sony is a trusted brand that was producing high-end Trinitron TVs back in the 1970s, and anyone with young boys in their house probably owns a PlayStation or some similar gaming device. Read more
JustStopItGate
A plea to my colleagues in the business
Submitted by Paul McNamara on Fri, 04/29/11 - 10:21am.
The point has been made before but bears repeating: enough with the scandal-gates already.
The Watergate break-in happened on June 17, 1972. President Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. And "All the President's Men" - my all-time favorite movie - was released April 9, 1976. Read more
Will the iPhone 5 sport an 8 MP camera from Sony?
Well, it looks like we have some more insight into why the iPhone 5 will be delayed until later this Fall. In what may very well have been a slip of the tongue, Sony CEO Howard Stringer intimated that Sony has been contracted to supply 8 megapixel cameras for the iPhone 5.
Submitted by Yoni Heisler on Tue, 04/05/11 - 2:16am.
Well, it looks like we have some more insight into why the iPhone 5 will be delayed until later this Fall. In what may very well have been a slip of the tongue, Sony CEO Howard Stringer intimated that Sony has been contracted to supply 8 megapixel cameras for the iPhone 5.
Read more
Microsoft Welcoming Geohot to Hack Windows Phone 7?
Microsoft embracing hackers from the start? It appears that Microsoft is inviting iPhone and PS3 hacker Geohot to get creative with Windows Phone 7.
Submitted by Ms. Smith on Wed, 01/19/11 - 12:42pm.
Microsoft embracing hackers from the start? It appears that Microsoft is inviting iPhone and PS3 hacker Geohot to get creative with Windows Phone 7. Read more
Sign of the digital times: Sony shutting plant that used to make 18M CDs a month
Sony shuttering 50 year-old media plant in Pitman, NJ
Submitted by Layer 8 on Wed, 01/12/11 - 9:28am.
Sony this week said it was shuttering one of its largest CD manufacturing plants - citing the impact of digital downloads and other economic issues. Read more
Why the Sony Walkman is Another Microsoft Windows
Backward compatibility keeps us all happy, even when it’s to our detriment.
Submitted by Dustin Puryear on Tue, 10/26/10 - 5:52pm.
Poor Sony. They just can’t kill the Walkman. It’s hard to believe that the Walkman is still a high-profit product in Sony’s portfolio, but continued consumer need, however small, seems to be strong enough to keep Sony’s production moving forward. Read more
Mark's rating: 
Xandros 'Presto: No rabbit in this hat
By Mark Gibbs on Thu, 05/28/2009 - 11:00pm.
Sony, Google play the free card vs. Amazon Kindle
Submitted by Source Seeker on Fri, 03/20/09 - 8:58am.When it comes to eBooks, Amazon's Kindle seems to get all the attention--especially after Oprah Winfrey deemed the Kindle one of her favorite things. In an effort to get more of the spotlight on its own Reader Digital Book, Sony has partnered with Google to offer Reader users free access to more than half a million public domain titles via Google Book Search. Read more
Sony's P Series - Not a MID, Netbook, or a Good Idea
Submitted by Craig Mathias on Wed, 02/25/09 - 10:28am.While in Washington last week, I had a few free minutes and stopped by the amazing Fashion Center Mall at Pentagon City. Let me tell you; no recession there! The place was mobbed with people carrying packages. It looked like Christmas, but, no, it was just Thursday. Anyway, I stopped by the Sony store to try the new VAIO (I never liked that acronym) P Series notebook. Read more
Steve Jobs wins argument with Sony over timing of tiered pricing
Steve Jobs emerges victorious in dispute with Sony over timing of tiered pricing
Submitted by Yoni Heisler on Mon, 02/02/09 - 8:18pm.
When Apple announced at Macworld that the entire iTunes music store would soon be going DRM free, music lovers rejoiced. The drama leading up to that announcement, however, was anything but joyous. Read more
Researchers exploit Playstation to devise undetectable phishing attack
Submitted by Alpha Doggs on Tue, 12/30/08 - 12:35pm.From IDG News Service:
With the help of about 200 Sony Playstations, an international team of security researchers have devised a way to undermine the algorithms used to protect secure Web sites and launch a nearly undetectable phishing attack.
Read more
Sony hit with $1 million penalty over underage online privacy violations
Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 12/11/08 - 12:16pm.It really isn't a big enough penalty and the company admitted no guilt but Sony BMG Music Entertainment today agreed to pay $1 million as part of a settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that it knowingly violated the privacy rights of over 30,000 underage children.
Specifically the FTC said the company violated the agency's Children's Online Privacy Read more
Mark's rating: 
The Wolverine Internet radio is almost good
By Mark Gibbs on Wed, 11/05/2008 - 12:00am.
Internet radio is big. Pretty much every "terrestrial" radio station of any size now streams live and many, such as KCRW in Santa Monica (one of my all-time-favorite radio stations), offer dedicated news and specialized music streams. And then there's the huge number of Internet-only stations such as soma fm with its 14 commercial-free, advertiser-supported, incredibly groovy channels (a big high five to DJ Rusty Hodge).
Read more
Mark's rating: 
A better portable video tool
By Mark Gibbs on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 11:00pm.
A few weeks ago I discussed the Flip Mino, a miniature digital movie camera that quite impressed me.
Well, the bar has been raised. Kodak sent me its latest digicam, the Zi6 Pocket Video Camera. As much as I liked the Mino, I think this product is a better choice.
Read more
Subscriptions will work this time! For sure!
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 3:47pm
The usual rubbish. "Pay, er, PlayNow Plus is completely unlimited, covers all major labels, no DRM, get all you want any time you like! This is the biggest deal in mobile music ever! Of course, it'll only play for the duration of the contract, all songs then disappearing. Well, just a little DRM. Honest." Perhaps subscriptions will make big bucks this time, since they didn't every other time.
Tags:
Mircosoft and Sony; You're on thin ice
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 06/13/2008 - 4:25pm
Seriously, I hate Microsoft enough as it is (Sony too, but not to the same degree). I have all 3 platforms, and I play with certain friends on each console (unfortunately, not everybody owns more than one). Like November of '07, when Sony paid Epic (maybe it was Midway) for a timed exclusive for Unreal Tournament; Sure, I bought it for my PS3, at the time, but that's one of the games I would have bought for my 360 since my friends who own a PS3 aren't the biggest FPS fans (I'm not implying this is the norm, I'm only referring to MY friends/family). Now UT3 is being released on 360 next month, all my friends who've played it at my place are going to buy it for their 360, and if I want to play with them I'll have to buy another copy for a different platform. Read more
I wonder if they'll remove their rootkits!
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 10:41am
Sony probably ships their hardware with their own pre-installed rootkits (can't let users pirate Sony Music, don't ya know!). I wonder how much Sony would charge to pre-delete that rootkit? Of course, they'd probably take your money and still leave the rootkit installed!
Sony is on my permanent "do not buy" list after they pulled that surreptitious rootkit stunt a couple of years ago.
-- chicopanther
-
Network World, Inc
The Connected Enterprise