From The Editor
By Jeff Caruso, Site Editor
- Cisco backdoor still open, and other Black Hat news #BlackHat
- In another memorable Black Hat security conference this week, vulnerabilities were found in products ranging from Cisco to Microsoft to Wi-Fi, and beyond.
Cisco backdoor still open
The...
- Resources for helping Haiti
- In the horrible aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti, many people in IT and elsewhere want to do what they can to lend a hand without getting scammed. Our sister sites at IDG passed...
- Tell us about your favorite IT gear
- Do you have a favorite enterprise IT product you can't live without? Tell us about it and we'll share your raves with our readers.
Please send your submissions to Ann Bednarz at Network World by...
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Cisco, Juniper focus on mobile; Adobe apologizes for flaw fix failure Listen now!
- Stealthy start-up backed by VMware founder Diane Greene looks to virtualize networks
- A start-up with financial backing from VMware founder Diane Greene is developing a network operating system designed to virtualize networks and create networks ideal for cloud deployments.
- Taiwan relaxes rules on chip and LCD investments in China
- Taiwan moved forward with new guidelines on technology investments in China on Wednesday, announcing an easing of rules that could help its chip and LCD panel makers compete in China.
- Identity fraud climbed 12% last year
- Identity fraud struck an estimated 11.1 million adults in the United States last year, according to new data from Javelin Strategy & Research.
- Appeals court to review standards for cellphone data requests by government
- In a case with broad privacy implications, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday will hear arguments on the minimum legal standards that prosecutors need to meet when requesting cell phone location data for law enforcement purposes.
- Panasonic takes swing at rugged rivals as it launches latest Toughbook tablet
- Panasonic released the latest model in its 13-year-old Toughbook line, a rugged Windows tablet with a power-sipping Intel Atom processor.
- Opera to reveal alternative iPhone browser next week
- The
- Chinese artist-dissident lauds Google plan to stop censoring
- A well-known Chinese artist and activist voiced strong support late Tuesday for Google's plan to stop censoring results on its China-based search engine.
- New iPhone app will put your dog on Twitter
- Your friends and family are on Twitter, as are celebrities and even astronauts, so why shouldn't your dog be on as well? That will soon happen thanks to an iPhone application that "translates" dog barks into English and tweets them out to the world.
- Baidu sees confidence boost after Google's China threat
- After Google's threat last month to exit China, advertisers have become more confident in the search engine's main local rival Baidu.com, Baidu said Tuesday.
- Micron acquires flash memory maker Numonyx
- Micron Technology has agreed to acquire flash memory maker Numonyx, adding NOR flash chips -- a memory type commonly found in mobile phones and MP3 players -- to its product lineup and expanding its manufacturing capacity
- New Russian botnet tries to kill rival
- An upstart Trojan horse program has decided to take on its much-larger rival by stealing data and then removing the malicious program from infected computers.
- Research firm: Mass Effect 2 dominated January game sales
- Video game marketing research firm DFC Intelligence posted results of their GamerDNA survey data taken from Xbox Live for January. Looks like Mass Effect 2 is the only game that even came close to Modern Warfare 2's numbers.
- Disney weighs bringing Marvel games to 'high-end' consoles
- During the company's investor call today, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked about the company's current approach to the video game market when compared to the introduction of Disney Interactive Studios in 2007. In his answer, he noted that the company would be publishing fewer titles for "high-end" systems, but suggested that the company may soon be publishing Marvel-based titles to make up for the shift. The high-end consoles weren't named, but it's likely he was referring to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as he stated "Disney-branded games seem to perform better on the Wii and DS platforms."
- Broadcom adds Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi Direct to Android
- Broadcom increased its bet on the Android mobile operating system on Tuesday, announcing additional capabilities for its software stack and a new chip for navigation in Android-based devices.
- Slew of Critical Updates from Microsoft
- Time flies. Another month has gone by and Patch Tuesday is upon us again. Microsoft is delivering a record-tying 13 security bulletins for February, a virtual avalanche of updates after a relatively quiet January that saw only one security bulletin on Patch Tuesday, and one released out-of-band mid-month to address a zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer that was used to launch attacks against Google and other companies in China.
- MS Word Tip: Print Multiple Copies of Individual Pages
- Most Word users know how to print multiple copies of a document: Just change the Number of copies setting to the number you need, then click OK.
- In Defense of Microsoft
- I know, I know. You hate Microsoft for its bloated, buggy software, its slowness to innovate, and its government-certified, monopolistic bullying. I won't argue with any of those points, or those made last week in the NY Times by former Microsoft VP Dick Brass, who called his former employer "a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator."
- Cake Wrecks, my new source for video game cakes
- Sadly, GameCakes.com went offline January 1, 2010. Since then, no one site as presented itself as a game cake-viewing alternative, but a recurring weekly feature on the Cake Wrecks blog recently filled some the void with sweet, sweet gamer wedding cakes.
- VividWireless 4G to launch in capital cities in a year
- Australia’s first 4G wireless network will begin rolling out across capital cities within a year, according to Seven Network director Ryan Stokes.
- Comp-sci professionals voice opposition to Internet filter
- A conglomerate of Australasian computer science academics has voiced opposition to the Federal Government’s plans to introduce mandatory ISP-level Internet content filtering.
- NBNCo's Quigley unphased by Opposition's NBN policy void
- National Broadband Network (NBN) chief Mike Quigley has kept mum on whether a change in Federal Government could signal trouble for the $43 billion initiative.
- Report says Apple gained U.S. smartphone market share
- According to market analysis firm ComScore, Apple's share of the U.S. smartphone market grew by a full percentage point in December of 2009.
- Judge dismisses Microsoft Windows Genuine Advantage suit
- A judge dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against Microsoft over its much-criticized Windows Genuine Advantage program in 2006.
- Apple releases iLife, Raw, and Aperture updates
- In the wake of Apple's release of Aperture 3 on Tuesday comes a flurry of related image software updates: iLife Support 9.0.4, Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.0, and Aperture SlideShow Support Update 1.0. All are available now via your Mac's Software Update.
- BIA: Future Proofing on Converged Networks
- CIO 100 Winner: Bengaluru International Airport aims at making itself one of the most modern airports equipped with state-of the-art information and communication facilities in the world.
- UC Leads to Cost Savings at Tractor Manufacturer
- About Rs 31,500 crore (US$748.8 million) Mahindra Group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India and the world's third-largest manufacturer of tractors. Its operations, run by 10,000 employees, span the globe. But as the company grew, communications between its staffers became more tenuous.
- Disney sings the praises of the iPad to its investors
- As was expected, Disney's recent conference call spent precious little time dedicated to the goings-on for the game-publishing Disney Interactive division, instead focusing largely on its TV networks, movie studios, and theme parks. However, a statement made by Disney CEO Bob Iger could signify the company's dedication to the platform in the new year across all of its media divisions, gaming included. When asked about the iPad during the Q&A session of the company's investor call, Iger stated that he thought the product "could be a game-changer in terms of enabling us to create new forms of content."
- Context for discussions of mandatory certification
- In this third article, I look at the wider context of certification and licensing for a range of professionals in the United States and point to the efforts beginning in the early 2000s to force certification for IA officers in the US Department of Defense.
- Indian Bank Consolidates Data Centers, Saves Costs
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, was established in 1986. Today it has over 450 offices (including offsite branches and ATMs) and a customer base of over 6.4 million. The company was scrambling to cope up with the dizzying speeds at which it was growing. The bank and the rest of the group's companies couldn't curb mushrooming datacenters, all entwined in a sprawled network infrastructure.
- Can Google Generate Buzz in the Enterprise?
- Google dove into the deep end of social networking this morning with the announcement of Google Buzz. In addition to providing a platform for users to share information, status updates, pictures, and videos with their social network, Google also wants enterprises to embrace Buzz as a business tool.
- IT projects reactivated in 2010: Robert Walters
- There is growing evidence of previously suspended IT projects and commercial activities being reactivated, plus an increased demand for information technologies professionals across the Asia Pacific.
- Carzonrent Sets Industry Standard With Web Platform
- Carzonrent is one of India's largest car rental companies with over 5,000 cars and operations in 13 cities. It offers end-to-end, long- and short-term car rental solutions to individuals and corporates but is also well known for spearheading the organization of the car rental sector.
- Cloud Computing Will Cause Three IT Revolutions
- Every revolution results in winners and losers -- after the dust settles. During the revolution, chaos occurs as people attempt to discern if this is the real thing or just a minor rebellion. All parties put forward their positions, attempting to convince onlookers that theirs is the path forward. Meanwhile, established practices and institutions are disrupted and even overturned -- perhaps temporarily or maybe permanently. Eventually, the results shake out and it becomes clear which viewpoint prevails and becomes the new established practice -- and in its turn becomes the incumbent, ripe for disruption.
- Google Gives In On Nexus One Fees, Support
- Google may be busy buzzing about new services this week, but behind the scenes, the G-Team is quietly working to fine-tune its last major endeavor.
- Oracle revises plan to shut down Project Kenai
- In a revision of what the company had said previously, Oracle now will enable projects hosted on the soon-to-be-shut Project Kenai site to be moved to the java.net site.
- Australian man has to pay Nintendo $1.5 million
- Nintendo and a Queensland, Australia man accused of pirating New Super Mario Bros. settled their dispute out of court late last month. Today, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the alleged pirate has to pay Nintendo $1.5 million as part of the deal.
- NeoGAF posters to shoot/slice mainstream gaming with Dudebro
- Grimoire Assembly Forge, a development team comprised of over 100 volunteers from the well-known NeoGAF message board, announced today that they will be publishing top-down shooter parody of mainstream games called "Dudebro — My S**t Is F****d Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time." Based on a meme created on NeoGAF last year, Dudebro will come to the PC and Mac as a free download this summer.
- Travel App Gets LinkedIn Features; No Official LinkedIn App
- LinkedIn users with BlackBerry smartphones are still waiting for an official LinkedIn for BlackBerry app--though that application is "coming soon," according to the company.
- Rails 3.0 beta features merger with Merb framework
- Ruby on Rails 3.0, an upgrade to the popular Web development framework that features a merger with the Merb framework, has just gone into a beta release, according to a blog post on the Ruby on Rails Web site this week.
- ATI Introduces Radeon HD 5570, Targets Small Desktop PCs
- Following up the recent launch of its Radeon HD 5450, ATI today announced the Radeon HD 5570. This new card supports DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3.2, and is designed with small-form-factor desktop PCs in mind.
- Cut in Line for Google Buzz
- So you're pining for Google Buzz, the social-feed addition to Gmail, but you're tired of hitting F5 every 30 seconds to see if it's on your Gmail. Here's how you can try out Google Buzz, get a head start on all your similarly Buzz-less buddies, and, of course, take one more step to Internet infamy by beating the Twitter mob to the punch.
- Disney Interactive's video game sales disappoint
- In a short statement included with The Walt Disney Company's first fiscal quarter report for 2010, the company revealed that their self-published video games sales weren't doing so hot -- but overall, their interactive unit did a lot better than last year.
- IBM, HP servers won't stop x86 onslaught on Unix
- The announcement of high-end servers by IBM and Hewlett-Packard this week won't halt declining Unix server sales as the onslaught of x86 servers continues, analysts said on Tuesday.
- Google Buzz takes the fight to Facebook
- Today's leading social networks -- Facebook and Twitter -- now face a very formidable foe with search giant Google's unveiling of social upgrades to its Gmail e-mail service.
- HP app preserves SharePoint for the ages
- Hewlett-Packard has updated its records management software so it can now capture for legal posterity Microsoft SharePoint files and even entire SharePoint workspaces, the company announced.
- Researchers warn of likely attacks against Windows, PowerPoint
- Some of the bugs Microsoft patched today will be exploited by hackers almost immediately, security researchers predicted.
- PayPal: India payments suspended for 'at least a few months'
- PayPal said a ban on personal transactions to and from India will continue for "at least a few months" while the online payment service tries to resolve a problem with local regulators.
- NASA Endeavour set to dock with, expand International Space Station
- NASA's Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the ISS shortly after midnight Wednesday. Once docked the shuttle and ISS crews will begin removing from the space shuttle’s storage bay and docking the life support module known as Tranquility.
- Critical Windows Fixes For Network-based Attacks
- Today's Patch Tuesday update release from Microsoft ships out a bevy of high-priority fixes, including five rated critical. Many of the vulnerabilities are likely to be attacked, according to Redmond.
- Box.net upgrades iPhone app, announces new API
- Box.net provides cloud-based file-sharing and collaboration tools aimed at business users. A variety of iPhone apps already integrate with the service.
- Gmail gets social with Google Buzz
- Google has given Gmail a social networking component with its introduction of Buzz, a service built inside of the Web mail product that lets users post and share content in similar ways as they do in sites like Facebook and Twitter.
- Gmail Goes Social With Google Buzz
- Google introduced a social networking tool called Google Buzz Tuesday that allows sharing of status updates, images, and videos via a new Gmail tab called Google Buzz. The Google Buzz features will also be available on Android based phones as well as the iPhone (via a Web-based application) allowing for real-time updates to your Google Buzz feed that can show up on a new version of Google's mobile maps.
- iPhone and Android Market Share on the Rise
- New statistics from comScore show that Apple and Google are both gaining ground in the battle for smartphone market share in the United States. Perhaps, as Google indicated when introducing the Nexus One, the iPhone and Android platforms are really next-generation "superphones" and the comparison with "normal" smartphones is unfair.
- Google brings Buzz social networking to Gmail, mobile
- You've got to hand it to Google: when they take on a project, they don't do things by halves. On Tuesday, in an event at the company's Mountain View campus the company announced Google Buzz, its newest entry into the social-networking arena.
- LinkedIn Quick Tip: How to Reorder Profile Sections
- This new LinkedIn feature allows you to customize the display of your profile, enabling you to prioritize certain sections over others.
- Enable some missing Snow Leopard Services
- When Snow Leopard first came out, I wrote about the new-and-improved Services feature, including what seemed to be a bug regarding which Services do and do not show up in the contextual menu. For example, try this experiment on your 10.6 machine. Select some text in TextEdit, then Control-click on the selection. In the contextual menu that appears, you should see three entries at the bottom of the menu: New Note With Selection, New Email With Selection, and Make New Sticky Note.
- Ubisoft's master plan: pushing quality, multiplayer modes
- During the Q&A section of Ubisoft's earnings call today, the company outlined its master strategy for the next 10 years. In addition to pumping out more franchise games like Prince of Persia and resurrected Driver, they're working on crafting more multiplayer modes, and totally pushing for new in-house technology and piracy protection.
- Papershow for Mac makes interactive presentations possible
- Papershow, a tool for interactive presentations from Canson, will soon be available for the Mac. The kit, which is making its debut at Macworld Expo this week, includes a Bluetooth-equipped pen, a USB key for your computer, and special paper that transmits your handwriting to a screen.
- Microsoft delivers huge Windows security update
- Microsoft today shipped a record 13 security updates that patched dozens of vulnerabilities in Windows.
- Company offers video-chat technology to app makers
- Some hurdles remain to using your iPhone for holding iChat-like video confabs--not the least of which is that the phone's camera is on the opposite side of the display. But one company is looking to remove some of the technical hurdles, releasing its video chat technology to iPhone developers on Tuesday.
- Oracle launches worldwide cloud-computing tour
- Oracle has officially put both legs on the cloud-computing bandwagon, recently launching a roughly 50-date global road show on the topic for developers and system administrators.
- Virginia firm files encryption lawsuit against tech giants
- TecSec, an encryption vendor based in McLean, Virginia, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against several large tech vendors, including IBM, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, eBay, Oracle and Adobe Systems.
- E3 2010 registration now open to industry attendees, media
- With the show returning to its former glory in 2009, industry interest in the Electronic Entertainment Expo is likely at its highest point in years. For folks who're hoping to stamp their ticket to E3 2010, the trade show's official website is now accepting registration from industry-affiliated and media attendees.
- Digital music sales growth slowing since variable pricing
- The nature of cause and effect is sometimes surprising--at other times, it seems so blindingly obvious that all you can do is say "duh." If you'd ever predicted that raising the price of a product might cause some consumers to think twice before purchasing, then congratulations: a winner is you!
- Startup opens offshoring alternative in distressed Michigan
- Systems in Motion is taking advantage of an educated, available workforce and state incentives in opening an IT services operation in Ann Arbor, Mich., that it hopes will employ 1,100 people in five years.
- Rome trial tackles piracy responsibility of telecom carriers
- A trial is due to open in Rome Wednesday that pits a major antipiracy organization against Telecom Italia and the national Privacy Authority over who is responsible for policing the Internet.
- Researchers use nanobubbles to burst cancer cells
- Scientists are using nanoparticles and lasers to kill cancer cells by blowing them up from the inside.
- Google Nexus One fee cut follows broad FCC inquiry
- Google has seemingly acknowledged that $350 is a bit too much to charge consumers for ditching its Nexus One smartphone.
- Ubisoft's big news: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- Ubisoft announced today that the new Ghost Recon game -- previously known as Ghost Recon 4 -- has a name and is due out during the Holiday 2010 season. "Future Soldier" makes more sense than "Advanced Warfighter," doesn't it?
- Ubisoft's big news: 7 franchises returning, including Driver
- In conjunction with the company's quarterly financial report, Ubisoft revealed that seven franchises and two new IPs would be coming between April 2010 and March 2011, with Driver and one mystery title comprising the former.
- Windows 7 Rollout Lessons Learned by Early Adopters
- Now's the time to learn from early adopters as you plan your Windows 7 rollout. As you deal with issues from timing to training, consider these five best practices Forrester has culled from work with Windows 7 earlybirds.
- Most smartphones now have touchscreens, research finds
- Several market research outfits have released a bevy of interesting smartphone data this week, highlighted by the Canalys research group's finding that a majority of smartphones now have touchscreens.
- iPhone 4G: Rumored Parts Suggest a Slightly New Design
- An iPhone repair shop claims to have replacement parts for the iPhone 4G, which leave open some interesting possibilities about the rumored device.
- Judge dismisses Windows anti-piracy software lawsuit
- A federal judge has dismissed a three-year-old lawsuit that accused Microsoft of duping customers when it fed them company anti-piracy software as a critical security update, court documents show.
- AMD details speed, power saving features of Fusion
- Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday offered more details about its forthcoming Fusion processor, including the speed, power consumption and plans to begin shipping samples in the first half of this year.
- Nook Is Available Again, But is it Worth it?
- After a long wait and gobs of frustration, Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader is finally available. Online stock of the $259 e-reader disappeared over the holiday season as consumers sopped up the much-anticipated device that was hailed as strong competition against the current king of the heap, Amazon's Kindle. The Nook is also expected to make a physical appearance at some Barnes and Noble stores by midweek (scope out locations using the Nook in-store locator). But after all the hubbub and hair-pulling, is the Nook worth it?
- KEMP Technologies Offers Load Balancing For SMBs
- Most small businesses typically outsource their Web and e-commerce hosting needs to a dedicated hosting operation rather than host it on-site, because it's cheaper and more reliable than hiring someone full-time to do it themselves. However, small businesses that instead choose to bring their own Web servers, or have other application and terminal servers prone to overloading, might want to look at a dedicated load-balancing appliance that can help them deal with more traffic while minimizing service slowdown and outages. Enter the LoadMaster 2000, a $1590 load balancer by KEMP Technologies aimed at SMBs with overworked servers.
- Five Ways Early Adopters Have Been Screwed
- Apple executives have hinted that an early price drop for the $500-and-up iPad may be in the works. A Credit Suisse analyst who reportedly met with Apple executives learned that Apple may slash the price of the iPad if demand for the new device is low.
- EC's Reding faults Facebook on protecting children
- Social networking sites need to tighten up their privacy settings to protect children, European commissioner for the information society Viviane Reding said Tuesday at the launch of the Safer Internet Day initiative.
- Why most antivirus doesn’t work (well)
- Almost everybody runs AV, or at least they think they do. On Windows, over 90 percent of all people are running AV, and the number of people who think they are is even higher.
- Why antivirus software is slow
- Even a bad AV technology can be valuable, because protection against, say, 30 percent of all threats is still a lot better than protection against 0 percent of all threats.
- Oracle revises plan to shut down Project Kenai
- Java.net is the destination for projects being moved off the Kenai hosting site set up by newly acquired Sun
- 'Political hacktivism' surged in 2009, says report
- Last year, the web saw a surge in 'political hactivism' or politically-motivated attacks on the internet, says McAfee.
- British Library to offer 65,000 free eBooks
- The British Library has joined forces with Microsoft to offer Amazon Kindle owners access to 65,000 free eBooks.
- Cure an Insomniac PC and Other Tips
- As you probably know by now, I just love a good keyboard shortcut. This week I've got a few new ones for you--but first I'll solve The Case of the Mysterious Waking Laptop.
- Australian airports to deploy body scanning technology
- The attempted terrorist attack aboard a US-bound Christmas Day flight has prompted the Federal Government to introduce body scanning technology at international airports, as part of a $200 million airport security boost.
- 25% think retailers should be responsible for web security
- A quarter of Brits think retailers should be responsible for making online shopping safer, says CyberSource.
- Violence and Video Games gets the ProCon treatment
- Nonprofit public charity ProCon.org adds a "violence and video games" section to break down the debate for the public. So far, they've got 15 Pros (as in "yes, games do cause violence") to 14 Cons.
- Astronaut tweets photos of Earth from space
- An astronaut aboard the International Space Station yesterday used its newly souped up wireless connection to Twitter Twitpics of various cities on earth.
- Exetel stops disconnecting pirates
- Exetel will stop blocking customer accounts linked to copyright infringement as a result of last week's failed lawsuit against Internet Service Provider (ISP) iiNet.
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