Technology - Improving Our Life

Amazon bestsellers in Electronics, and Music & Entertainment.

2009-12-10T02:06:00.000-08:00

Yahoo and Microsoft Gang up Against Google

2009-07-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

YaSoft or MicroHoo? Yahoo and Microsoft have reached agreement on a long-awaited web search partnership that will unite the two companies against market leader Google.

Under the no-cash deal, Yahoo will use Microsoft's new Bing search engine on its own sites, while Yahoo will act as the exclusive global sales force for the companies' premium search advertisers.

According to research firm ComScore, Google has a 65 per cent share of the lucrative search market. The combined forces of Yahoo and Microsoft will have a 30 per cent market share.

Yahoo, which last year turned down a $US47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft, said it stood to gain about $US500 million in annual operating income and $US200 million in capital expenditure savings through the agreement with the software giant.

Yahoo also estimated the deal would provide it with a $US275 million benefit to annual operating cash flow.

"This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo, our users, and the industry. And I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of internet innovation and development," Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz said in a statement.

The partnership, Microsoft said, "will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry."

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said the deal will enable Bing to better compete against Goggle, as well as attract more users and advertisers.

"Through this agreement with Yahoo, we will create more innovation in search, better value for advertisers, and real consumer choice in a market currently dominated by a single company," Ballmer said.

"This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search."

The agreement, which has a 10-year term, will be subject to review by US regulatory authorities, the companies said.

It is restricted to internet search and related advertising revenue, while the pair would retain full autonomy on other properties and products such as email, instant messaging and display advertising.

Calling the link-up a "significant opportunity," Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock said the company's board backed it with its "full and unanimous support."

"Microsoft is an industry innovator in search, and it is a great opportunity for us to focus our investments in other areas critical to our future," he said.

Microsoft to open its 'Apple-style' Retail Stores later this year

2009-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Microsoft will follow the the path blazed by Apple and open its first two bricks and mortar retail stores in the US later this year.

The software maker said on Tuesday it signed leases at shopping centres in Mission Viejo, California and Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Shops at Mission Viejo is already home to an Apple store. The other location, Scottsdale Fashion Square, does not have a competing Apple shop.

Microsoft maker picked those areas because they're "hot markets", with the right demographics, said Kim Stocks, a corporate communications director at the company.

She said the stores will sell laptops in addition to Microsoft and third-party software, Zunes, and Xbox 360 games and consoles.

News of the store strategy was leaked earlier this week on the Gizmodo technology news site. Gizmodo obtained a detailed Powerpoint presentation showing a fit out bearing a striking resemblance to the Apple Store look.

"Essentially, Microsoft is taking the best elements from the Apple Store, Sony Style and other "flagship" stores," Gizmodo said.

The Microsoft stores will feature a "Guru Bar" where customers can ask for technical advice. Apple Stores feature a service area known as the Genius Bar.

Apple, however, is not the only source of inspiration. The leaked Powerpoint document also says that the Microsoft stores will be available to host birthday parties - a service which has a long association with that other chain that specialises in (Big) Macs.

Apple Launches its Touch Tablet Device before Christmas

2009-07-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new tablet-sized device before Christmas in what is a new product category that will fall between its iPhone/iPod Touch and the entry level MacBook laptop.

The company is also working with four record labels on a plan to increase digital sales of albums, according to a report in the Financial Times newspaper.

The project with the record companies - EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Vivendi's Universal Music Group - aims to offer interactive features with music downloads.

"It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," one unnamed executive told the paper.

Dubbed project "Cocktail", the Financial Times said book publishers have also been in talks with the computer maker about offering their services on the new device, which could compete with Amazon's Kindle e-book reader.

The AppleInsider blog, which broke the story on Friday, said the device will be feature a 10-inch screen and be "3G-enabled".

However the Financial Times report states that device will "probably [come] without phone capability".

The AppleInsider report puts the launch date as a first quarter 2010, citing "people well-respected by AppleInsider for their striking accuracy in Apple's internal affairs".

Confirmation of the twin projects could come as early as September when Apple traditionally launches its new line-up of iPods for the pre-Christmas shopping seasons.

iPods with cameras?

There has also been speculation that the new generaion iPods - the Nanos and Touches - will retain their current shape but will both come with built-in cameras, similar to those found on iPhones.

The Cult of Mac blog has reported that Chinese companies which make iPod accessories have been showing off new designs and protoypes with space on the back for the new features.

The iPhone 3GS, which was launched last month, comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera.

Verizon Launches RIM BlackBerry Storm November 21, $199.99 on Contract

2008-11-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

The BlackBerry Storm (model 9530) from Research In Motion – the first touch screen BlackBerry smartphone with the world’s first “clickable” touch screen – will be available November 21 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

The BlackBerry Storm is not only a stylish smartphone, it's also a workhorse for enterprise decision makers, helping them stay connected to the people and business information that matter most to them. With the BlackBerry Storm smartphone, business customers can connect globally in more than 200 countries for voice and more than 150 countries for data worldwide. In the U.S., Verizon Wireless customers will benefit from the nation's most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon Wireless' reliable high-speed 3G Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network. Incorporating the world's first "clickable" touch screen, the BlackBerry Storm lets business customers conduct research on the Internet, access their intranet and edit Microsoft(R) Word, Excel(R) or PowerPoint(R) documents directly on their BlackBerry Storm while on-the-go.

Click to see its features and specifications:

BlackBerry Storm Features

BlackBerry Storm Specifications

Engineering As A Career In Nigeria

2008-11-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, is a body set-up by the Decrees 55/70 and 27/92 (now Acts 110). The Decrees empowered the Council to regulate and control the training and practice of engineering in Nigeria and to ensure and enforce the registration of all engineering personnel (i.e. Engineers, Engineering Technologists, Engineering Technicians, and Engineering Craftsmen) and consulting firms wishing to practice or engage in the practice of practice of engineering. [7]

COREN has been able to regulate that a person desiring to become a registered Engineering Personnel must, after obtaining the approved/accredited required academic qualification, must have four (4) years post-graduate experience which must be under the supervision of a senior registered Engineer. Council believes that the continuing effectiveness of an engineering personnel depends on his contact with a recognized professional society and therefore advises engineering personnel to belong to a recognized professional society. It must be emphasized that membership of a society does not by itself grant automatic right to registration. Council still needs to satisfy itself that the academic qualification is registrable for the category applied for.

APPROVED SCHEDULE OF ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS INTO ENGINEERING CADRES

S/N	ENGINEERS	TECHNOLOGISTS	TECHNICIANS	CRAFTSMEN
1.	B.Sc, B. Eng, B. Tech in Engineering	HND in Engineering from COREN accredited Polytechnics or Monotechnics.	ND in Engineering from accredited Polytechnics or Monotechnics.	WAEC Technical/NABTEB
2.	HND in an Engineering field + COREN accredited PGD in the same field, e.g. HND Civil Engineering + PGD Civil Engineering.	Degrees in Engineering from East Bloc translated as B.Sc in Engineering.	Full Technological Certificate (FTC) – Technician.	Trade Test I
3.	HND in an Engineering field + NSE Graduateship Exam in the same field, e.g. HND Electrical + NSE Grad in Electrical Engineering.	Diploma – Grad from Continental Europe.	Technicians Professional Examination for registered Craftsmen.	Craft Certificate from City & Guilds.
4.	B.Sc Physics with Electronics or B. Sc Computer Science + COREN accredited PGD in Electrical/Electronics Engineering or NSE Grad in Electrical/Electronics Engineering = B.Sc or B.Eng. or B.Tech. in Electrical/Electronics Engineering.	B. Tech in Engineering from some accredited American Universities as contained in ABET List.
5.	B. Sc Physics + COREN accredited PGD or NSE Grad in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering = B.Sc. or B.Eng. or B.Tech. in Met. &Mat.	Technologists Professional Examination for registered Technicians
6.	B. Sc Chemistry or Industrial Chemistry + COREN accredited PGD or NSE Grad in Chemical Engineering = B.Sc. or B.Eng. or B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering.
7.	HND in an Engineering field + COREN accredited Post HND in the same field.
8.	Diploma – Engineer from Continental Europe.
9.	Degrees in Engineering from the East Bloc translated as M. Sc.
10.	B.Sc (Building) + PGD (Civil) or NSE Grad in Civil.
11.	New B.Sc in some countries in Eastern Bloc as degree.
12.	H.N.D in a field + M.Sc in the same field.
Note: For further clarification on foreign qualifications, Consult ABET or FEANI

The decree specifies the abbreviation to be used by each cadre as follows: A Registered Engineer shall use the abbreviation “Engr” before his name. A Registered Engineering Technologists shall use the abbreviation “Engn. Tech” after his name. A Registered Engineering Technician shall use the abbreviation “Tech” after his name. A Registered Engineering Craftsman shall use his full title “Craftsman” with his trade in bracket under his name.

It is illegal:

1. For any firms or persons to engage in engineering practice unless they are:
Fully registered by COREN to practice in their appropriate cadre (except engineering personnel still undergoing practical training e.g. pupil engineers, etc, for the purpose of acquiring the requisite experience for registration). Financially up to date in the payment of their practicing fees.

2. For any person, government or company to: Engage a non-registered engineering person or consulting firm to execute or participate in doing engineering work in an engineering project (except engineering personnel still undergoing practical training e.g. pupil engineers, etc, for the purpose of acquiring the requisite experience for registration). Use non-engineering personnel to perform engineering functions. Assign non-engineering functions to engineers below managerial levels, particularly where the engineering functions are available. Engage expatriate engineering personnel to do engineering work when qualified Nigerian engineering personnel are unemployed and available to be engaged to do such work.

COREN has established a network of Inspectors headed in each of the many zones around the country by a Chief Inspector. The Inspectors are very senior, experienced registered engineers selected from branches of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in the various zones. These Inspectors, constituted into teams of four or more members, are empowered to visit industrial and construction sites as well as company offices and work locations to ensure that COREN regulations are being observed. Their indictment of any person or firm will lead to possible prosecution. Inspectors will ensure that:

· All those assigned engineering functions are engineering personnel and are duly registered by COREN.

· All registered engineering personnel have paid their practicing fees.

· Engineering personnel are not used for non-engineering jobs when they can appropriately be engaged in engineering function, and

· Consulting firms engaged by Industry or Government for engineering jobs are fully registered by COREN.

The Inspectors will also ascertain that engineering personnel not yet registered by COREN are not employed on or promoted to positions beyond the following levels:

· Unregistered engineers NOT TO BE APPOINTED OR PROMOTED BEYOND the level of Senior Manager or equivalent (Grade Level 10).

· Unregistered technologists in engineering NOT TO BE APPOINTED OR PROMOTED BEYOND the level of Principal Technologists (GL.10).

· Unregistered technician NOT TO BE PROMOTED OR APPOINTED BEYOND the level of FOREMAN or Equivalent (GL.06)

It is illegal for any tertiary institution to run engineering programmes at the University degree and Higher National Diploma Levels without full accreditation of COREN. Defaulting institutions shall be compelled to close down such programmes instantly. It is illegal and an offence punishable by fine or imprisonment as prescribed by Decree 55/70 to engage non- engineering personnel to do engineering work.

By law, engineering practice is defined to include any professional service or creative work requiring the application of special knowledge of mathematics, physics and engineering in form of consultation, invention, discovery, valuation, research and teaching in recognized engineering institution, planning, operation, maintenance, supervision of construction and installation involving investigating, advising, operating, evaluating, measuring, planning, designing, specifying, laying and directing, constructing, commissioning, inspecting or testing in connection with any public or private utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes works or projects. The Federal civil Service commission, the States Civil Service commission, the local Government Service commissions, the Federal and State government parastatals and companies and industries within the organized private sectors shall in particular ensure compliance.

COREN over the years have been advocating for graduating engineering students of the nation's tertiary institutions to be exposed to a mandatory one year internship programme called Supervised Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE) before proceeding on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. This novel programme is still far from taking off.

Verizon Wireless Enables Green Growth

2008-11-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

There’s no reason why business and environmental objectives can’t go hand-in-hand. With Verizon Bbusiness, you get a communications team with the resources to deliver a secure global IiP network, the expertise to create advanced collaboration solutions, and the dedication to help going green make good business sense.

It’s gratifying when both a company and its customers can “do well by doing good.” For Verizon, that opportunity comes every day by virtue of our leadership in global communications, which enables our customers to do business both more effectively and in a more environmentally friendly way. Far from being a mere bumper sticker slogan, “going green” underscores Verizon’s enormous opportunity—and responsibility—to positively impact our planet’s environment while helping its customers realize the transformative power of broadband networks.

Verizon has 240,000 employees worldwide and operates one of the Earth’s most interconnected and expansive communications networks. In the U.S., we lead the industry by deploying a large- scale, all-fiber network to the home, and we operate the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network. These state-of-the-art networks enable us to offer the most advanced communications services available today—services that drive productivity while mitigating adverse environmental impacts.

Enabling Global ‘E-commerce’
As a global IP leader, our expansive global network provides the foundation for e-commerce. Some of the world’s largest Internet-based “e-tailers” rely on Verizon Business to host and remotely manage the application infrastructure at the heart of their businesses. By replacing bricks and mortar for business-to-business or business-to-consumer e-commerce, companies can control their procurement and distribution costs while reducing their carbon footprints.
Through Supply Chain Managed Services, Verizon Business facilitates the business-to-business exchange of standard transactions electronically between business partners. Automating the purchase-to-pay cycle of a company’s processes not only enables direct benefits like eliminating paper and inefficient manual processes, but also permits “just in time” processing which can streamline inventory, storage and 3PL (3rd Party Logistics) expenses.
Audio, video and web conferencing can foster collaboration among workers and students in various locations. Mobility solutions can enable teleworking (anywhere/anytime connections to corporate resources). Along with secure e-mail and instant messaging, these solutions can dramatically reduce the
need for travel by allowing people to come together via our innovative offerings.

Numerous multinational corporations worldwide are using Verizon Business’ communications services to go green and also work smarter. They’re employing advanced collaboration solutions such as high definition (HD) conferencing and telepresence to improve productivity across their operations, reduce employee air travel and support their overall corporate social responsibility initiatives.

In addition to helping manage costs and energy associated with real estate and travel, Verizon’s broadband networks can enable remote monitoring and adjusting of energy use at “smart buildings,” remote reporting of traffic congestion to “smart cars,” and remote monitoring of patient health to “smart doctor’s offices.”

Practicing What We Preach
Verizon practices what we preach. In addition to using our own communications services, the company has implemented a wide range of initiatives to conserve energy and protect environmental resources. With more than 32,000 buildings around the world and more than 59,000 vehicles in our service fleet, we are sensitive to our own potential environmental impact. For example, the company has introduced 100 Toyota Prius hybrid sedans and is piloting the use of hybrid-powered vans. Additionally, we’re implementing alternative technologies such as fuel cells and small natural-gas turbines to power our network equipment and reducing energy usage in many of our buildings with new, highly reflective roofing materials.

Last year, in celebration of Earth Day, Verizon Business teamed with Computershare to implement its successful eTree program and have American Forests plant a tree for each large business or government customer that chooses electronic billing over paper. This program is modeled on the successful eTree program Verizon implemented for shareholders opting for electronic versions of annual reports, proxies and other shareholder communications materials. Please visit our Web site at verizon.com/responsibility to learn more about our corporate responsibility strategy and what we are doing to reduce our environmental impact.

Environmental conservation is everybody’s business. It also happens to make good business sense. Each individual and organization contributes to the production of carbon emissions, whether we’re heating and cooling our homes or offices, driving our cars or flying to business meetings. At Verizon, we’re harnessing the power of our networks and the expertise of our people to enable a win-win—making our customers more effective and productive while enabling them to do their part for the environment.

Major League Baseball and Verizon Announce FiOS TV Service Agreement

2008-11-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

Major League Baseball and Verizon announced today that MLB Network and the MLB Extra Innings Package will be offered on Verizon's FiOS TV service as a result of new multiyear agreements.

MLB Network will be available to all Verizon FiOS TV customers as part of the Essentials and Extreme HD packages on Channel 86, when it debuts Jan. 1, 2009. Verizon also will offer a high-definition (HD) simulcast of the MLB Network on Channel 586. MLB Network -- which will air live games, original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events -- is expected to be available to approximately 50 million homes on TV systems across the country, the largest launch in cable history.

In addition, Verizon and Major League Baseball have entered into a new multiyear agreement to provide the MLB Extra Innings package on FiOS TV, offering baseball fans up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games per week. The two agreements mark the first television arrangements between Major League Baseball and Verizon.

"We are looking forward to launching MLB Network on Verizon FiOS TV, which is the fastest-growing television provider in the country," said Tony Petitti, MLB Network president and CEO. "MLB Network will offer baseball fans an insider's perspective that has never been seen before. This partnership further expands on our ability to bring the ultimate coverage of the national pastime to fans on a 24 x 7 basis."

Terry Denson, vice president - FiOS TV content and programming, added, "Verizon FiOS TV is the best place to watch sports. Baseball fans will be able to keep up with their favorite teams and rivalries, with access to 80 games from around the country each week. And FiOS TV's stunning rock-solid picture will make fans feel like they're sitting right behind home plate."

Chris Tully, Major League Baseball senior vice president, broadcasting, said, "The MLB Extra Innings package plays a key role in our continuing effort to provide fans around the country with access to as many MLB game telecasts as possible. Adding Verizon FiOS TV to our roster of MLB Extra Innings distributors provides our fans with more choice in accessing the package."

MLB Network and the MLB Extra Innings Package join Verizon FiOS TV's extensive channel lineup, which offers customers more than 400 total channels, including a growing number of HD channels, with 100 HD channels already available in most markets. FiOS TV also offers more than 11,000 video-on-demand titles each month - 8,500 of which are free of charge.

Verizon, the nation's fastest-growing television service provider, delivers FiOS TV over the country's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes and businesses. Verizon's FiOS TV service was selected as the top-ranked residential television service provider in the Northeast region by J.D. Power for 2008. FiOS TV is currently available to more than 8.2 million homes in 14 states: California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

The MLB Extra Innings agreement is subject to ratification by the Major League Clubs.

Sprint Wireless Integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Launched

2008-11-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

Sprint has announced availability of Sprint Wireless Integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, an integrated mobility solution that delivers fixed mobile convergence to businesses - only on the Now Network(TM). Sprint Wireless Integration extends customers' Cisco Unified Communications Manager functionality to Sprint mobile phones, providing productivity, cost efficiencies, and greater control of mobile devices.

"Sprint Wireless Integration takes convergence to a whole new level," said Dan Dooley, president of Wireline, Sprint. "It not only converges your desk and mobile phones, but it allows all calls within your enterprise to be "on-net." No other solution in the marketplace offers this kind of convergence. This is a great example of Sprint leveraging our core wireline and wireless assets and working with best-in-class partners to deliver a unique and compelling solution to our customers that no other competitor can match."

Sprint Wireless Integration is delivered using the Sprint IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture, built into Sprint's IP/MPLS network, which not only minimizes equipment required on the customer premises but also allows for intelligent routing and "on-net" calling capabilities nationwide.

The solution uses a customer's existing Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unified Internet Protocol (IP) phones, and a Cisco Unified Border Element (provided by Sprint). A Sprint Global MPLS connection provides connectivity directly to Sprint's IMS Core, allowing Sprint CDMA phones (3G) to be fully integrated into the Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Sprint Wireless Integration targets a minimum of 100 users and provides the business enterprise the opportunity to minimize capital costs and allows customers to pay only for the service they use.

"We're constantly in motion as we go through our day from workspace to workspace," said Steve Slattery, vice president and general manager of Cisco's IP Communications Business Unit. "Customers using Cisco Unified Communications Manager with Sprint Wireless Integration leverages Sprint's unique wireline and wireless assets to collaborate, enhance productivity, and reduce operating costs through on-net dialing."

Sprint Wireless Integration allows abbreviated dialing from the mobile device. Calls are transferred seamlessly and transparently between devices in a user's workspace such as a Sprint mobile phone and a Cisco Unified IP phone. It provides businesses numerous ways to save on telecom expenses.

Key benefits:

* Leverage existing assets. Sprint Wireless Integration is a network-based solution that uses your existing Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Sprint mobile phones, so getting started is easy and doesn't require a large capital outlay.
* Reduce trunks. Sprint Wireless Integration leverages the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) in Sprint's core network. The "all-IP" architecture enables calls to be routed more efficiently. Because many calls can be moved onto your IP network or routed around your enterprise altogether, you'll be able to reduce trunk usage.
* Extend class of service. Class of service can be extended to your mobile devices, so you can enforce such restrictions as international dialing or 900-number dialing on your mobile phones - just as you do on your desk phones. You can even set restrictions for your mobile devices, such as "no-outbound calls" or "intra-enterprise calls only" for users who require those limits.
* Track mobile calls. Mobile calls can be tracked and logged with Cisco Unified Communications Manager.
* Increase flexibility. With Sprint Wireless Integration, you can provide new employees intra-company dialing and corporate voicemail the day they start, anywhere on the Nationwide Sprint Network. If an employee leaves the company, their single phone number remains a company asset, which can then be passed to a new employee.

End-user features:

* Simple dialing. Employees can reach co-workers by just dialing their extension. There are no access codes or additional dialing required. Calls outside of the corporate dial plan can be reached by dialing the 10-digit number, so employees don't have to change their address books.
* One phone number. Increase "reachability" with one phone number that rings both the desk phone and the mobile phone simultaneously. Because the existing desk phone number is used, employees won't have to notify customers of the change.
* One voicemail. All messages go to the enterprise voicemail, so callers only need to leave one message, and employees only have one voicemail inbox to clean out.
* Simple interface. Sprint Wireless Integration is available on Sprint CDMA phones (3G). In addition, intuitive end-user clients are available for some phones with graphical menus for easy access to all of your functions. (Ask your Sprint representative about available options.)
* Mid-call transfer. Calls can be transferred seamlessly between the mobile and desk phone without anyone on the call knowing the transfer took place.

IBM and Intel® Drive Adoption of Open Switch Specification for Blade Servers

2008-10-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

IBM and Intel Corporation announce that they are extending their collaboration in the blade server market to drive adoption of an open industry specification for blade switches. This will enable switch vendors to maximize return on their research and development by developing products to a single design, reaching more customers with just one product.

Switches are essential components of every blade system, channeling data to and from the server. As part of the agreement announced today, IBM will extend the BladeCenter switch specification for blade servers to the Server Systems Infrastructure (SSI) organization on a royalty-free basis, allowing switch vendors to create one product that works across the BladeCenter and SSI ecosystems and driving more switch products for clients to choose from. The companies also announced plans to work together to establish a third-party Switch Compliance Lab, where the developer community can test and verify their blade server products for BladeCenter and SSI environments.

The announcement today builds upon a history of IBM and Intel collaboration on blade technology -- starting in 2002 with the development of the first BladeCenter servers and continuing in 2006 when IBM, Intel and other industry leaders formed Blade.org, the industry consortium driving open innovation in blade-based solutions that today has over 200 members.

SSI is an industry organization established over 10 years ago to enable server builders to develop compliant and interoperable building blocks for blade, chassis and manageability software technology. The incorporation of the open switch specification into SSI is intended to broaden the market for switch module vendors as they collaborate on SSI-specified blade switch solutions with Intel and IBM. In this segment, Blade Network Technologies, Brocade, NextIO and others have committed their support for the open specification. By extending its switch specification and ecosystem to affiliated members of SSI, IBM is driving greater adoption of BladeCenter-compatible switches.

"The extension of the BladeCenter switch specification and ecosystem to SSI advances open specifications for blade systems," says Alex Yost, vice president of IBM BladeCenter. "Making the switch design in our open BladeCenter specification available to a broader set of vendors demonstrates IBM's commitment to foster openness in the blade server market."

Demand for a common switch specification comes at a time when blade servers are becoming a critical ingredient in IT infrastructure. The availability of the open BladeCenter switch specification to SSI members allows them access to the more than 25 specification-compliant switches on the market today.

"By working with IBM, we have expanded ecosystem support for SSI blade specifications to over 70 vendors," says Kirk Skaugen, General Manager, Server Platforms Group, Intel. "Continued IBM and Intel collaboration will go further to expanding the entire blade server market. This is good for customers who will benefit from increased choice from a breadth of server, networking and storage vendors while enabling each product to maximize return on the R&D invested."

Microsoft Security Update Turn Pirate's Screen Black

2008-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

An anti-piracy tactic by Microsoft that turns some computer users' screens black is setting off a wave of unexpected indignation among Chinese consumers, posing renewed problems for the software maker in the huge China market.

In the days since Microsoft deployed an updated anti-piracy tool here, some Chinese have fumed about what they see as an invasion of privacy. Users of legitimate software have been turning their own screens black in protest. One authorized user complained to the police.

"It's a crime," said Beijing lawyer Dong Zhengwei, who filed a complaint against Microsoft with the Public Security Ministry. The ministry hasn't responded.

"The black-screen plan implies that Microsoft can hack all its users, not just the pirates," Dong said. "That's not fair."

Microsoft defended its actions, saying the company complies with Chinese law. It issued a statement late last week promising its anti-piracy campaign would not be used to collect personal information. It is also offering steep discounts on some software to give consumers an affordable legal alternative.

At issue is a software feature that searches for pirated copies of Windows and is part of the XP operating system and Vista. In conducting the search, the tool logs certain information about the personal computer and then notifies the user if it detects illegal copies or counterfeits.

While the tool has been in use for several years, the update released last week by the Internet is more intrusive when it detects a fake copy of XP: it turns the PC's desktop black, replacing the user's background image. A piracy warning appears in the corner of the screen. Though the user can override the blackout, it reappears every 60 minutes.

In all other ways, the blacked-out computer still works. Users not yet affected can avoid getting hit by disabling Windows' automatic update feature, though they will then might miss security updates. For those already hit, software patches to avoid the black screen are already circulating online.

But Chinese computer users' outrage points to continuing problems for the world's largest software maker in what is projected to become the world's biggest computer market.

While Chinese know their Internet is monitored and censored, that rarely creates such a stir. Rather the reaction against Microsoft's Big Brother-esque tactics show Chinese consumers' persisting belief that there's little wrong with buying cut-rate pirated goods.

Knockoff software and electronics are rampant in China. Brand-name computers are sold by retailers with pirated software bundled in, helping to keep prices low. More than 80 percent of personal computer software in China last year was pirated, according to the U.S.-based Business Software Alliance. One in five Chinese consumers do not know they're using pirated software, Microsoft said in a statement.

In an upstairs corner of a Cybermart electronics emporium in downtown Shanghai, saleswoman Jin Li stood in a pink smock under a large Microsoft sign, the shop's counters cluttered with computer parts, mobile phone trinkets and imitation iPods. The shop isn't a licensed Microsoft seller.

"We just wanted to put a brand name up there," Jin said, nodding at the sign.

Customers, she said, have a main complaint about Windows XP. "The real thing is definitely too expensive. They can download it or buy it pirated for 10 yuan," or less than $2, she said. "The real thing is hundreds of yuan. What do you think?"

That easy availability threatens Microsoft's potential profits.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told a business forum last month that China will surpass the United States as the largest consumer market for personal computers within two years. But software piracy in China has undercut sales of the real thing, keeping Microsoft from meeting revenue growth targets, according to Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell.

The focus on the Chinese consumer has grown with the China market. For years, Microsoft aimed its anti-piracy campaigns at businesses, the government and other large customers. Two years ago, the Redmond, Washington-based company began signing deals with computer makers both inside and outside China to install genuine versions of its software before PCs reach the stores.

Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing tech consulting firm, said the updated Genuine Advantage push is likely an attempt to use shame to target business customers and professionals who do not want to be seen using a fake product.

"There's a little bit of a Big Brother effect," said Clark. "As for the youth, Microsoft probably couldn't win them over in any case."

The move has only increased bitter feelings toward a company perceived by many to charge too much.

"There's absolutely no need for such a monster cash cow like Microsoft to take this obviously dramatic step and make itself the No. 1 enemy of most Chinese PC users," said Steven Lin, a spokesman for the video sharing Web site Youku.com, in an e-mail. "Business/government users are their primary income source in China, how much more can they squeeze from ordinary users who can make on average $500 (3,400 yuan) per month? They're crazy!"

So far, the Chinese government has made no comment, though the Web site of People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, allowed plenty of room for Chinese to vent.

As of Thursday, almost 80 percent of more than 10,000 people responding to a poll on the site said Microsoft should solve the piracy issue by further lowering its prices.

Still, with piracy rampant across the country, lower prices might not be enough.

As the day of the black-screen update loomed in China, a poll taken by the popular Tencent QQ instant messaging system showed 84 percent of the more than 90,000 respondents said they were using pirated software -- and 60 percent said they'd keep doing so.

"Actually, I'll still use pirated software," said 24-year-old Shanghai advertising salesman Tai Chenggong, whose screen turned black this week after downloading a fake copy of Windows for free. "It still works, no problem."

Sprint to Launch WebCapTel(R) On the Go, for Customers Hearing Loss

2008-10-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sprint announces the availability of Sprint WebCapTel(R) On the Go, a new, free mobile Web-based service that allows hard of hearing customers to read word-for-word captions on Windows Mobile 6 Web browsers, such as the Diamond by HTC, Mogul by HTC, Palm Treo 800w and the MOTO Q9c by Motorola. In addition, this service is also compatible with the Safari 2.0 Web browser. This new service is expected to help an estimated 30 million Americans with hearing loss.

"Sprint is committed to equal access to all individuals," said Mike Ligas, director of Sprint Relay. "As such, we pride ourselves on offering the newest technology to hard of hearing individuals. This new solution offers the hard of hearing community mobility by being able to read real-time Web-based captions on Windows-enabled mobile devices."

With Sprint WebCapTel On the Go, users can make calls using two phones -- reading captions on a wireless phone and listening and speaking on a second phone. Prior to making a call, the user would log onto www.sprintcaptel.com on one mobile device to read text captions of what the other party is saying. For more information on Sprint's wireless devices and select plans, go to the Sprint Relay Store at www.sprintrelaystore.com.

Sprint WebCapTel On the Go is an extension of Sprint's existing WebCapTel service, which also provides captions during phone calls, but requires a computer with an Internet browser of Internet Explorer 7.0, Firefox 3.0 or Safari 2.0 on which to display the captions. This new and free service is available almost anywhere as long as the wireless device is equipped with Windows Mobile 6 or an Apple Safari Web browser. Sprint WebCapTel On the Go changes spoken words and sounds heard on a telephone into words to read.

"Sprint WebCapTel On the Go allows individuals with hearing loss the mobility that many of us take for granted," said Robert Engelke, president of Ultratec, Inc., the company that developed CapTel technology. "It gives people with hearing loss the independence to make and receive telephone calls without the necessity of wireline phones or computer connectivity."

This free service is available for customers anywhere in the United States and within U.S. Territories. However, calls to or from international locations, such as Canada or Mexico, are not available. To learn more about this free service, visit www.sprintcaptel.com or www.sprintrelay.com/webcaptel.htm

Sprint and MiCTA to Provide Cost-Effective Wireless Solution to Universities

2008-10-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sprint today announced the expansion of its existing partnership with MiCTA, a national association of more than 19,500 members from higher education, healthcare, libraries, K-12, government and other non-profit organizations that helps identify and resolve common voice, data and video issues and problems for its membership. Under this new expansion, Sprint will now offer discounted wireless services and solutions to the students of MiCTA higher-education institution members. Sprint, a MiCTA partner since 1989, is also the association's exclusive provider of wireless services and among its preferred list of partners for wireline services as well.

"We are pleased to join with Sprint to offer students discounted wireless services under our Educational Services agreement," said John Sundstrom, president of MiCTA. "Our positive experience with Sprint gives us confidence that students' wireless needs will be well-served through this cooperation."

MiCTA serves as a clearinghouse of information for these technologies, provides information on new products and services and offers these solutions to members at reduced cost and improved quality. With this new expansion, MiCTA's higher-education members will now be able to offer their students with Sprint's differentiated solutions at highly competitive prices. Key benefits include:

-- 10 percent discount for students on their rate plans

-- Waived activation fees for students, an instant savings of $36

-- Additional discounts available for add-on services, including
messaging, Vision Pro Pack and other Vision services

-- Higher education institutions will receive administrative fees
from MiCTA to market the program based on new student
activations

"Sprint has a strong business focus on the education vertical and is always looking for simple and innovative ways to offer the best experience to our higher education customers," said Ed Davalos, national director of education sales at Sprint. "Our expanded partnership with MiCTA is another testament of our continued commitment to this sector and allows us to extend the reach and visibility of our wireless solutions portfolio to additional universities across the country."

The New 2009 Nissan GT-R Can Tell The Police When You Overspeed

2008-09-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

Michael S. Malone

Weires, an attorney who lives in Florida, is apparently something of a car nut and, like most of his peers, he fell in love with the new 2009 Nissan GT-R. Enough in love that he ordered one.

In case you haven't heard about the GT-R, it is basically an ICBM tipped over on its side. It's just an absolute screamer of a car -- 480 HP, 0-60 in a reported 3.2 seconds -- and even at the $82,000 Weires paid for his Super Silver version (Nissan just bumped up the price by seven grand), it is still one of the world's best automobile performance buys.

So you can understand why Weires wanted one of these Ultimate Rice Rockets and plunked down the money in advance.

And then something amazing happened: Suddenly, after years of dreaming about the car after he first saw the concept design, and after months of waiting in line, Weires suddenly canceled his order.

Why? Because he found out that the GT-R is going to have tucked away deep inside and attached to its chassis a black box similar to the ones we always hear about after airplane crashes. Yeah, that's right: an electronic data recorder (EDR) that keeps track of everything from air-bag sensors to throttle controls to engine performance gauges.

Worse, at least to Weires, was that the GT-R contained an even more sophisticated version of EDR called a "Vehicle Status Data Recorder" (VSDR) -- this little baby not only activates when a crash is imminent, but runs all the time.

Think about that for a moment, and then think about your driving history.

Dude, I live in Silicon Valley, the land of the California Rolling Stop, the ignored speed limit signs and the place where the Rice Rocket was invented. And, in this land of automotive scofflaws, I am the guy who a friend once described as "driving like I just robbed a bank."

I have done things with cars that make me burst into sweat just recalling them. And if you are a red-blooded American male -- or, from what I've seen lately, an American teenage girl -- your driving history is probably very similar to mine. And you can understand why a sports car enthusiast and lawyer like Weires might object to having a driving behavior monitor strapped beneath his seat.

The automobile makers tell us not to worry, that these devices are only there to identify design weaknesses in the car so that those problems can be improved in future models. According to AutoWeek magazine, Nissan says that the VSDR in the GT-R does not record sounds or images but "always records and stores vehicle-operating data between periodic inspections, which can assist and be used for servicing, diagnosing and performing warranty repairs."

It was that last part that made Weires jumpy -- and understandably so, once you picture the scenario where the Nissan dealership refuses to honor the warranty on your engine because you over-revved it twice last Thursday.

But I think there's a lot more to worry about. Right now, carmakers also see EDRs and VSDRs as a way to protect themselves in product safety lawsuits. And law enforcement folks understandably like the idea of showing up at an accident scene, plugging in their laptop and downloading information on the final moments before the crash: Did the driver brake? Veer? Why did the side air bags not open? Etc.

It also sounds pretty benign, even useful. But unlike Weires, I'm a technology guy -- and I have a very acute sense of how seemingly harmless new technologies have a tendency to metastasize into something far nastier and, usually, end up invading our privacy or diminishing our freedoms. And, perhaps due to my own driving history, the story of Weires and his black box had sirens going off in my head.

Think of the worst possible scenarios, and whatever you come up with has a good chance of happening. For example, you know those random checkpoint stops that the police set up every year around the holidays to catch drunks. I've never been a big fan of them, mostly for civil liberties reasons, but like most people I endure this little inconvenience for the perceived larger good.

But what about a checkpoint where the cop walks up, plugs his laptop into your car and then tickets you for going over the speed limit three times last week? Put up some "smart" speed signs that send out signals to your car's black box and it would be simple to make the comparison. Like that one?

How about this -- because the black box also records the forces, such as yaw, on the car, the cop could also check the number of times you overstressed the car's suspension and arrest you for reckless driving. Oh, did I mention that there is nothing to keep the black box from recording your conversations in the car, your movements, the places you visited, etc., etc. Drive into the wrong neighborhood and you may void your car insurance -- and do so in real time when your black box gains a wireless "voice."

The car companies and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assure us that even if they were to gather this information, they would never, ever use it for the wrong reasons. Sure, just like Google promises to never look up your identity and to throw out all search records every six months. Just trust them -- even though, by their very behavior in all of this, the automakers and the NHTSA have already shown that they don't trust you. Oh, did I mention the small print in the owner's manual that says all of your car's black box info belongs to you … except when requested by a court order? I'm sure that makes you feel all safe and warm inside.

So, the solution is to just not buy a Nissan -- right? Well, no. In fact, most U.S. carmakers have already, or are about to, install EDRs. If you've got On-Star in your car, you certainly already have it. And if a car has an EDR, a new federal mandate requires that it monitor 30 different data points by 2012. Take a Ball-peen hammer or a jumper cable to your car's black box and you will be breaking the law.

The good news is that some carmakers have no plans to install EDRs. For some, such as Kia, it's a cost consideration on their low-priced cars. More interesting is at the other end of the spectrum, where Mercedes and other German cars don't carry black boxes because they are deemed to violate privacy laws.

Shouldn't that be some kind of clue? When the Germans -- who, after the Gestapo and the Stasi, know a little something about surveillance and the loss of privacy -- ban these devices, why should we let them into our daily lives?

I'm predicting a run on old cars very soon. Maybe it's finally time to buy that '67 GTO and laugh as I pass all those suckers whose powerful new cars refuse to let them exceed the speed limit.

Earthquake Scientists Look For Volunteer Trackers

2008-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Earthquake scientists want to borrow your laptop or maybe a little space in your basement or garage.

Researchers don't have enough high-tech monitoring stations to track every instance of ground shaking, so they are enlisting help from ordinary people to document quakes and pinpoint areas of possible damage.

Almost anyone can participate by equipping laptop computers with special software or installing quake sensors at home.

"If they can provide scientific data that can prepare us for events in the future, then that's extremely important," said Tom Jordan of the Southern California Earthquake Center at the University of Southern California.

The epicenter of the movement is in California, the most quake-prone state in the continental United States. Each year, some 10,000 temblors rattle Southern California alone, though most are too small to be felt.

The Quake-Catcher Network was launched earlier this year to tap into the computing power of some 300 participants worldwide, including 50 volunteers in California.

The network relies on a sensor called an accelerometer that is built into many newer laptops to detect sudden motion. If the computer is dropped, for instance, the sensor can alert the hard drive, shielding it from potential damage and preventing data from being lost.

Volunteers download software that links their computers to others in the network and sends information about shaking to scientists through the Internet.

Since any movement -- passing trucks, neighbors moving furniture or a pet jumping on the desk -- can trigger a laptop's internal sensor, scientists scan incoming data only when the U.S. Geological Survey determines that an actual quake has occurred, based on readings from its field stations.

"If there's a bunch of laptops that trigger in one location, there's probably an earthquake," said seismologist Elizabeth Cochran of the University of California, Riverside, who is a leader of the project.

In the past, people could only report ground shaking in their neighborhood by logging onto the USGS Web site and filling out a questionnaire.

The computer network, run by Stanford University and UC Riverside, supplements data from about 800 permanent monitoring stations in California that beam readings to the USGS, the chief federal agency in charge of monitoring for quakes.

Emergency personnel use the data to locate potentially hard-hit areas. The more sensors that can record shaking, the more accurate the picture about possible damage.

The volunteer system is similar to the one already used by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project at the University of California, Berkeley. Started in 1999, the SETI system harnesses shared PC power to analyze radio-telescope data for sounds of alien intelligence. It now boasts more than 1 million volunteers.

The Quake-Catcher system was put to the test in July during a magnitude-5.4 quake that was centered in the hills east of Los Angeles. The temblor rattled a large swath of Southern California, but caused little damage. Fewer than a half-dozen laptops with the software sensed the quake, and only three sent back clean signals seven seconds after the fault ruptured.

While scientists were pleased that some laptops detected motion, they acknowledged the system needed work.

Seismology graduate student Julian Lozos of UC Riverside was among those whose laptop sent back good data. Since installing the program last winter, he has kept it running except when he sleeps and has not noticed any slowing of his computer's performance.

The project was initially limited to Apple computer users but was expanded this summer to include Lenovo Thinkpads. Scientists are also developing software compatible with other PCs.

Scientists who are not involved in Quake-Catcher said it could be helpful to detect low rumblings, but might run into problems involving larger events.

"When the ground really gets going, a recording instrument needs to stay well-connected to the ground to record the motion, but a laptop will be jumping all over the place," USGS seismologist Susan Hough said in an e-mail.

The USGS is embarking on its own volunteer program by tapping homeowners willing to donate space in their basement or garage for a portable seismometer. As part of its NetQuakes project, the agency plans to begin deploying the devices as early as this year in the San Francisco Bay area on a test basis. Public participation could start next year.

The USGS and its partners operate a network of permanent stations, but it is limited by cost and other factors. For example, a seismic station on the southern San Andreas Fault, which has not ruptured in more than three centuries, cost about $70,000 to install and another $3,000 a year to maintain, the agency said.

To participate, residents must have a wireless Internet connection to allow the device to communicate with the USGS network.

Like Quake-Catcher, the USGS will only scan volunteer data from NetQuakes after an actual quake.

"Someone stomping on the instrument isn't going to cause us to analyze the data," said project leader David Oppenheimer, a USGS scientist.

Intel To Close The Gap Between Man And Machine By 2050

2008-08-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Intel Corporation's chief technology officer took a fascinating look at how technology will bring man and machine much closer together by 2050.

Justin Rattner, during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, predicted big changes are ahead in social interactions, robotics and improvements in computer's ability to sense the real world. He said Intel's research labs are already looking at human-machine interfaces and examining future implications to computing with some promising changes coming much sooner than expected.

"The industry has taken much greater strides than anyone ever imagined 40 years ago," Rattner said. "There is speculation that we may be approaching an inflection point where the rate of technology advancements is accelerating at an exponential rate, and machines could even overtake humans in their ability to reason, in the not so distant future."

Cutting the Last Cord, Wireless Power

Imagine being able to walk into an airport or room with your laptop and instead of consuming battery, it is recharged. Based on principles proposed by MIT physicists, Intel researchers have been working on a Wireless Resonant Energy Link (WREL). Rattner demonstrated powering a 60-watt light bulb without the use of a plug or wire of any kind, which is more than is needed for a typical laptop.

The magic of WREL is that it promises to deliver wireless power safely and efficiently. The technology relies on strongly coupled resonators, a principle similar to the way a trained singer can shatter a glass using her voice. At the receiving resonator's natural frequency, energy is absorbed efficiently, just as a glass absorbs acoustic energy at its natural frequency. With this technology enabled in a laptop, for example, batteries could be recharged when the laptop gets within several feet of the transmit resonator. Many engineering challenges remain, but the company's researchers hope to find a way to cut the last cord in mobile devices and someday enable wireless power in Intel-based platforms.

Programmable Matter: Computers that Change Shape

Intel researchers are also investigating how millions of tiny micro-robots, called catoms, could build shape-shifting materials. If used to replace the case, display and keyboard of a computing device, this technology could make it possible for a device to change physical form in order to suit the specific way you are using it. A mobile computer, for example, could be tiny when in a pocket, change to the shape of an earpiece when used as a mobile phone, and be large and flat with a keyboard for browsing the Internet or watching a movie.

Rattner described this as a difficult exploratory research agenda, but steady progress is being made. He demonstrated for the first time the results of a novel technique for fabricating tiny silicon hemispheres using photolithography, a process used today to make silicon chips. This capability is one of the basic structural building blocks needed to realize functional catoms, and will make it easier to bring the necessary computational and mechanical components together in one tiny package less than a millimeter across. The technique is compatible with existing high-volume manufacturing and enables the possibility to produce such catoms in quantity at some point in the future.

Dr. Michael Garner, program manager of Emerging Materials Roadmap, joined Rattner onstage to discuss the importance of research of novel silicon technology, keeping Moore's Law alive and well through the next decade and beyond. Among other things, Intel is researching how to go beyond planar transistors to 3D transistors and is looking at using compound semiconductors to replace silicon in the transistor channel. Looking further out, Intel is exploring into a variety of non-charge-based technologies that could one day replace CMOS altogether.

Robots: From the Factory Floor to Your Kitchen

Robots today are primarily used in the factory environment, designed to perform a single task repeatedly and bolted down. To make robotics personal, robots need to move and manipulate objects in cluttered and dynamic human environments, according to Rattner. They need to be cognizant of their surroundings by sensing and recognizing movement in a dynamic physical world, and learn to adapt to new scenarios. Rattner demonstrated two working personal robot prototypes developed at Intel's research labs. One of the demonstrations showed electric field pre-touch that has been built into a robot hand. The technique is a novel sensing modality used by fish but not humans, so they can "feel" objects before they even touch them. The other demonstration was a complete autonomous mobile manipulation robot that can recognize faces and interpret and execute commands as generic as "please clean this mess" using state-of-the-art motion planning, manipulation, perception and artificial intelligence.

In addition to robots becoming more human-like, Rattner said he believes more innovation will emerge to make human and machine interaction more robust. Randy Breen, chief product officer of Emotiv Systems, joined Rattner onstage to demonstrate the company's EPOC* headset. The Emotiv EPOC identifies brainwave patterns, processes them in real time and tells a game what conscious or non-conscious thoughts the user has had, like facial expressions, conscious actions or emotions. A user with the headset could think about smiling or lifting an object, and an avatar in a game would execute it. EPOC can currently identify more than 30 different "detections" through the 16 sensors on the headset.

Treo Pro Smartphone By Palm Made Simple

2008-08-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Treo^™ Pro smartphone by Palm is thoughtfully designed for people who define their workday the way they see fit. Respond to business and personal email, stay on top of appointments and contacts, and use Wi-Fi or GPS when you’re out and about. Then watch a video on YouTube, catch up with news and sports on the web, or listen to a few songs. Treo Pro. Perfectly balanced.

PHONE + MOBILE OFFICE
Whether you’re rehearsing a presentation over breakfast, making changes to a spreadsheet at the ballpark, or picking up email1 while you’re picking up the kids, getting work done on the go is easy.

Phone
Look up a contact directly from the Today screen by entering just a few letters of their name. Then call, email, or text them right from the same screen.

Messaging
Chat-style messaging lets you keep track of the entire conversation, while the full keyboard makes it comfortable to type messages of any length.

Windows Mobile® 6.1
Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition provides the familiar look and feel of Windows®, plus mobile versions of applications you use every day. Download, view, and edit Word- and Excel®-compatible files. Rehearse PowerPoint® presentations. Even review PDF and open ZIP files. And do it all with the ease of a touchscreen and a keyboard at your fingertips.

Touchscreen
The large color touchscreen gives you one more way to access the applications you use most—great for checking email or opening your calendar. Just tap the screen to navigate without scrolling through menus.

Organizer
Carry your calendar, contacts, tasks and notes, so you’re prepared and organized wherever you go. You can sync with Outlook®, accept meeting invites, look up people in your company’s directory, or set an Out of Office email reply when you’re away from your computer.

Add-on applications
Boost productivity by adding an expense tracker, shopping list, or any of the other applications made for the Windows Mobile Professional platform. Even use sales force automation software or your organization’s custom applications.

GPS AND WI-Fi
With GPS and Wi-Fi, you can find where you’re going—and then have wireless connectivity options when you get there.

GPS
Search for the nearest café using GPS and arrive easily thanks to turn-by-turn directions on your touchscreen. (Ah, there it is.) Before you leave, look up the address of your next meeting, and get there without worrying about being late or getting lost.

Wi-Fi
Just press a button and you’ll be online faster than you can say double non-fat latte. The instant-on Wi-Fi button lets you join a local Wi-Fi network, whether you’re in a hotel lobby or an airport, a conference room or a café.

EMAIL + WEB
The Treo™ Pro smartphone by Palm works at mobile wireless broadband speeds, so you can do the things you want to do—even away from your computer.

Outlook® email
Stay on top of your latest Outlook® email on your touchscreen thanks to Microsoft® Direct Push Technology. You can even view graphics and links in HTML email.

Personal email
Check your Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo! account and make dinner plans for the weekend. You’ll never miss a thing and always be in touch.

Web
Check news, stocks, or sports scores with Internet Explorer® Mobile. Access your company data in seconds. Stream audio or video without annoying pauses and delays.

High-speed modem
You can even use the Treo Pro as a high-speed modem for your laptop when you’re traveling for business. Suddenly all this speed makes perfect sense.

MUSIC + VIDEO
The large color touchscreen brings your photos and videos to life. Add a pair of headphones, and you’ve got an entertainment center to go.

Windows Media® Player Mobile
With Windows Media® Player Mobile, you can listen to music or podcasts on the train to work. Or watch video clips when you’ve got a few minutes to spare.

Photos
Snap a picture of your son’s first little league hit, and share it with his grandparents as it happens.

Built-in storage
The Treo™ Pro smartphone by Palm gives you plenty of room to carry songs, photos, and videos, and you can always add gigs more with a microSDHC expansion card.

PALM SHORTCUTS
Palm shortcuts and a touchscreen make Windows Mobile® simply effortless, so you can do the things you need to do much faster. With the Treo™ Pro smartphone by Palm, a little ease goes a long way.

Wi-Fi
Join a Wi-Fi network with one touch.1 There’s no scrolling through menus or navigating to different screens—just press a button on the Treo Pro and you’re connected.

Web
Do a quick web search by typing directly on the Today screen. You’ll get your answers without having to locate and launch another application.

Voicemail
The voicemail light flashes on the front of the device, letting you know that you’ve got a new message without even turning on your phone.

Calendar and email
One-touch shortcut buttons take you directly to email and Calendar. So when you need to quickly access your inbox or look up an appointment, there are no complicated steps or wasted time.

Ringer Switch
Palm makes it quick and easy to silence your phone for meetings—just by sliding the ringer switch. No menus, no scrolling, no worries.

SPEC
Platform: Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition

Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201 400MHz

Display: 320x320 transflective color TFT flush touchscreen

Radio: HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio
Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz
Quad-band GSM – 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz

Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, and 801.1x authentication

GPS: Built-in GPS

Bluetooth: Wireless Technology Version: 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate

Memory: 256MB (100MB user available), 128MB RAM

Camera: 2.0 megapixels with up to 8x digital zoom and video capture

Battery: Removable, rechargeable 1500mAh lithium-ion; Up to 5.0 hours talk time and up to 250 hours standby

Expansion: microSDHC cards (up to 32GB supported)

Connector: MicroUSB™ 2.0 for synchronization and charging

Audio: 3.5mm stereo headset jack

Dimensions Length: 4.49", Width: 2.36", Depth: 0.53", Weight: 4.69 oz

Color: Obsidian

System Requirements: Windows® XP, Windows Vista™

Software on device
ActiveSync®; Adobe Reader LE; Bluetooth®; Bubble Breaker; Calculator; Calendar; Communications Manager; Contacts; File Explorer; Get WorldMate; GoogleMaps; Internet Explorer® Mobile; Messaging; Microsoft® Office Mobile including Excel® Mobile, OneNote Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, and Word Mobile; My Treo; Notes; Pics & Videos; QuickGPS; Quick Tour; SIM Manager; Solitaire; Sprite Backup; Streaming Media; Tasks; Telenav; Voice Command; Windows Live™; Windows Live™ Messenger; Windows Media® Player Mobile

Intel And Yahoo Unites Internet With Television

2008-08-21T03:35:00.000-07:00

Intel Corporation and Yahoo! Inc. previewed plans for the Widget Channel, a television (TV) application framework optimized for TV and related consumer electronics (CE) devices that use the Intel Architecture. The Widget Channel will allow consumers to enjoy rich Internet applications designed for the TV while watching their favorite TV programs. The Widget Channel will be powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine, a fifth-generation applications platform that will enable TV watchers to interact with and enjoy a rich set of “TV Widgets,” or small Internet applications designed to complement and enhance the traditional TV watching experience and bring content, information and community features available on the Internet within easy reach of the remote control. The Widget Channel will also allow developers to use JAVASCRIPT, XML, HTML and Adobe® Flash® technology to write TV applications for the platform, extending the power and compatibility of PC application developer programs to TV and related CE devices. In addition to supporting the Yahoo! Widget Engine, Yahoo! will also provide consumers Yahoo!-branded TV Widgets that are customized based on its category-leading Internet services.

TV Widgets will enable consumers to engage in a variety of experiences, such as watching videos, tracking their favorite stocks or sports teams, interacting with friends, or staying current on news and information. Viewers will be able to use TV Widgets to deepen their enjoyment of the programming they are watching, discover new content and services, or share their favorites with friends and family. TV Widgets can be personalized because they will be based upon popular Internet services such as Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Blockbuster® and eBay® that viewers have customized for use in their daily lives.

"TV will fundamentally change how we talk about, imagine and experience the Internet," said Eric Kim, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the company's Digital Home Group. "No longer just a passive experience unless the viewer wants it that way, Intel and Yahoo! are proposing a way where the TV and Internet are as interactive, and seamless, as possible. Our close work has produced an exciting application framework upon which the industry can collaborate, innovate and differentiate. This effort is one of what we believe will be many exciting new ways to bring the Internet to the TV, and it really shows the potential of what consumers can look forward to."

"On the PC and mobile devices, Yahoo! is a leading starting point for millions of consumers around the world," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! aims to extend this leadership to the emerging world of Internet-connected TV, which we call the Cinematic Internet™. By partnering with leaders like Intel, we plan to combine the Internet benefits of open user choice, community, and personalization with the performance and scale embodied in the Intel Architecture to transform traditional TV into something bigger, better and more exciting than ever before. By using the popular Yahoo! Widget Engine to power the Widget Channel, we intend to provide an opportunity for all developers and publishers to create new experiences that can reach millions of TV viewers globally. Yahoo! plans to enable the Cinematic Internet™ ecosystem, which will benefit consumers, device makers, advertisers and publishers."

Widget Channel Framework and TV Widget Developers

Underlying the Widget Channel will be a powerful set of platform technologies, including the Yahoo! Widget Engine and core libraries that expose the powerful functions enabled by the Intel Architecture. The Widget Channel framework will use established Internet technologies to dramatically lower the barrier of entry for developing applications optimized for TV. To help create new TV Widgets for the Widget Channel, Intel and Yahoo! plan to make a development kit available to developers, including TV and other CE device makers, advertisers and publishers. The Widget Channel will also include a Widget Gallery, to which developers can publish their TV Widgets across multiple TV and related CE devices and through which consumers can view and select the TV Widgets they would like to use.

Intel and Yahoo! are working with a range of industry-leading companies that are planning on developing and deploying TV Widgets, including Blockbuster*, CBS Interactive*, CinemaNow*, Cinequest*, Comcast*, Disney-ABC Television Group*, eBay*, GE*, Group M*, Joost*, MTV*, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.*, Schematic*, Showtime*, Toshiba* and Twitter*. These and other companies and individuals will be able to innovate, differentiate and deploy TV Widgets across multiple TV and related CE devices using the Widget Channel framework. Additional information on the Widget Channel framework and the Yahoo! Widget Engine can be found at www.intel.com/go/celink and connectedtv.yahoo.com/newsroom.

Intel Architecture

Intel Architecture (IA) is at the heart of millions of PC-, MID- and server-based Internet clients, which has helped enable the proliferation of Internet-based content and services while providing users with an uncompromised Internet experience. Accelerating the delivery of the Internet to the TV, Intel today extended performance, headroom and connectivity of IA into a new family of "purpose built" system-on-chip (SoC) media processors for Internet-connected CE devices, including optical media players, U.S. cable set-top-boxes, digital TVs and other connected audio visual products.

Intel's first CE IA-based SoC, the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 (formerly "Canmore"), is a highly integrated chip which includes a high-performance IA core and other functional I/O blocks to enable high definition video decode and viewing, home-theater-quality audio, 3-D graphics, and the fusion of the Internet and TV experiences. The Widget Channel software framework is designed to work with a new generation of Internet-connected CE devices based on Intel's purpose built SoC. The hardware and software compatibility of IA also provides support for broadcast and Internet content.

Intel also plans to release the Intel Media Processor CE 3100-based hardware development system called the "Innovation Platform" which will provide the initial development and validation environment for developers of TV Widgets on the Widget Channel.

An Open Framework

Finally, Intel and Yahoo! are working with industry members to promote the development of open and consistent standards necessary to grow the TV Widget ecosystem. As part of their efforts, the companies are sharing an early version of a development kit for the Widget Channel with selected TV Widget developers now.

Intel Moves Future Core™ Processors Into Turbo Mode

2008-08-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

In his Intel Developer Forum keynote today, Pat Gelsinger detailed the road map for Intel's continued march toward pervasive, higher performance and power efficient computing. The senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group discussed new features of the company's next-generation processor family including a new turbo mode that shifts the processor into a higher gear for mind-blowing performance without a heat penalty.

The company's first desktop PC chips branded Intel® Core™ i7 processors and initial energy-efficient, high-performance server products (codenamed "Nehalem-EP") will be first to production. Intel is also planning to manufacture a second server derivative designed for the expandable sever market ("Nehalem-EX"), and desktop ("Havendale" and "Lynnfield") and mobile ("Auburndale" and "Clarksfield") client versions in the second half of 2009.

"Our engineers have put together an incredible processing family here that will include a tremendous amount of new processor features all centered on delivering faster computer performance and terrific energy efficiency," Gelsinger said.

The next-generation Core microarchitecture also features Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology* delivering up to 8-threaded performance capability on 4 cores in the initial versions and best-in-class memory bandwidth thanks to the new QuickPath Interconnect. QuickPath is a technology that connects processors, chipsets and memory together, and delivers up to three times the memory bandwidth of previous generation Core microarchitecture solutions.

The new Intel Xeon processor X7460 with 6 cores and 16MB L3 cache for expandable servers launching in September has already broken multiple performance world records¹. An 8-socket IBM System x* 3950 M2 server became the first platform to break the 1 million tpmC barrier on the TPC*-C benchmark. New 4-Socket performance records include TPC*-C on HP Proliant* DL580 G5, TPC*-E on Dell PowerEdge* R900, SPECjbb*2005 on Sun Fire* X4450 and SPECint*_rate2006 on Fujitsu-Siemens PRIMERGY* RX600 S4.

Gelsinger also discussed the industry's first many-core Intel Architecture (IA) based design, codenamed "Larrabee." Expected in 2009 or 2010, the first product based on Larrabee will target the personal computer graphics market, support DirectX and OpenGL, and run today's games and programs. Larrabee is expected to kick start an industry-wide effort to create and optimize software for the dozens, hundreds and thousands of cores expected to power future computers.

The Intel executive also outlined Intel's vision for the next wave of the Internet, called the Embedded Internet. Emerging markets in the embedded computing space such as IP networking and security, video intelligence, medical, in-vehicle infotainment and home automation can greatly benefit from the always-on Internet connectivity. Gelsinger said that this area is another growth opportunity for Intel and the high-tech industry, and predicted that there will be 15 billion devices connected to the Internet as a result of the rapid rise of the embedded internet.

Where Will Mobile Computing's "On-the-Go, Go?"

Showing the breadth and health of Intel's next-generation processors, David (Dadi) Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobility Group today demonstrated the first working laptop platform codenamed "Calpella."

"Calpella will redefine how we compute on-the-go by giving users a stunning new computing visual experience, better manageability and security, enhanced turbo mode features and evolutionary power management for notebooks," said Perlmutter. "It is all about dramatic mobile performance without compromise."

New Mobile Processors Unveiled

Building on the recent Intel Centrino® 2 launch for notebook PCs in July, Perlmutter unveiled Intel's first-ever mobile-focused quad-core laptop workstation – the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor. While the products include four cores, they only use 45 watts of power.

Perlmutter also introduced the company's second-generation dual-core mobile processors for increasingly popular ultra thin and light notebook PCs.

He also outlined upcoming mobile platform enhancements including the Intel High-Performance SATA Solid-State Drive product line for faster system responsiveness, lower power consumption and rugged, reliable operation and available later this year, Intel Anti-Theft Technology, which features intelligent hardware-based detection and response mechanisms that enable IT managers or service providers to disable the platform and/or access to data in case of loss or theft.

WiMAX Connecting Soon

Emerging WiMAX 4G networks around the world will be connecting the plethora of mobile platforms and devices, and specifically within the United States where Sprint XOHM* plans to turn on its first citywide network in Baltimore in September. Globally, more than 400 WiMAX trials and networks² extend the richness of the mobility experience. Perlmutter also announced that Dell has now joined other computer-makers such as Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Panasonic, and Toshiba as publicly committing to include the Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5050 Series module to future laptop product lines.

Barrett: "Get involved"

During the conference's opening keynote, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett applauded the developer community for technology innovations that contributed to unimagined advances in entertainment and business productivity during the past 40 years. He said the impact of their work is borderless and challenged them to collaborate and use their technology expertise to inspire and empower the billions of people who have recently joined the world's free economic system.

"Technology is a tool to address some of the world's most pressing challenges related to health care, education, economic development and the environment," said Barrett, who also chairs a United Nations initiative on technology in the developing world. "No nations or individuals are untouched by these issues. Get involved. Be part of the solution."

Barrett also announced that Intel will award four $100,000 prizes to the most innovative ideas for applying technology to meet unmet needs related to education, health care, economic development and the environment. Ideas will be evaluated for sustainability and innovativeness of the solution.

Palm Rolls Out Its Treo Pro Smartphone

2008-08-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Palm, Inc. today introduced Treo(TM) Pro, an effortlessly usable smartphone for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs, and for users who want to stay on top of their professional and personal lives. With its streamlined design and Palm shortcuts layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Treo Pro is a unique combination of sleek simplicity and robust productivity -- including email, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities -- that meets the needs of businesses and end users alike. Treo Pro, which will be available from Vodafone and O2 in Europe and from Telstra in Australia, also will be available in an unlocked version in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

"Businesses want the control and savings that Windows Mobile affords, in an innovative and elegant package that keeps their users happy. That's where Palm comes in," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. "Everything about Treo Pro -- from the hardware design to the packaging and accessories -- embodies the elegant and simplified end-to-end experience that our customers expect from Palm."

The Treo Pro smartphone lets IT managers support an increasingly mobile work force with the ease of use and robust feature set business professionals demand. Besides the benefits of lower costs and increased productivity, Treo Pro can deliver the increased security, easier device management and access to information on the corporate network that Windows Mobile 6.1 provides.

Users can quickly respond to business and personal email, access the web, stay on top of appointments and contacts, and use Wi-Fi or GPS on the go. Treo Pro's thin design blends a flush, high-resolution color touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard with a removable battery that packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user's needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience.

"I'm really happy with Treo Pro -- it's a technology leap from a device design and capability standpoint, enhancing Palm's presence in the Windows Mobile realm," said Wasif Malik, senior systems consultant, Student Educational Services & Mobile Solutions, Ohio State University Medical Center. "It's cleverly designed for Windows Mobile, with a large touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and all the productivity applications for Windows Mobile 6 in a much thinner design."

Palm Experience on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

The Treo Pro smartphone, based on the popular Windows Mobile platform, helps optimize business processes by effortlessly mobilizing users with enhancements to the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform, including:

-- One-touch Wi-Fi button -- Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g).

-- Today screen enhancements -- Web search directly from the Today screen.

-- Ringer switch -- Silences the device immediately.

-- Screen saver -- Lets users know at a glance -- without turning on the device -- what time it is and whether they've missed a call or have a new SMS/MMS message.

-- New voicemail indicator -- The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting.

-- Dedicated email and calendar buttons -- Fast one-button access.

"Windows Mobile is delivering mobile solutions that help businesses address the changing competitive landscape," said Andrew Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business. "The Treo Pro smartphone brings together a powerful combination of Palm's feature innovations and Windows Mobile 6.1, providing access to the information people need when away from the office."

Lower Costs, Increased Productivity

With Treo Pro, businesses can quickly and easily deploy a secure, low-cost and compatible infrastructure for their mobile workforce by taking advantage of a tightly integrated Palm and Windows Mobile 6.1 solution, including:

-- Microsoft Direct Push Technology -- Direct connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007 gives users up-to-date email, contacts and calendars.

-- Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 -- With the deployment of Mobile Device Manager, the Treo Pro can deliver increased security, easier smartphone management, and access to information on the corporate network. IT professionals can confidently manage large Treo Pro deployments.

-- Thousands of applications available for Windows Mobile -- Businesses can extend mobility beyond email to optimize business processes.

-- World phone -- With high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network capabilities, Treo Pro is a sleek world phone that's ideal for companies with an international work force.

-- Integrated GPS -- Users can access maps, turn-by-turn directions and point-of-interest (POI) searches.

-- Support and training -- Palm shortcuts make Treo Pro so easy to use, businesses can spend less on training and support for their users. End-to-end enterprise support means companies can expand the scope of their mobile deployments without putting a strain on internal support personnel.

-- Familiar Windows experience -- Users can browse the web with built-in Internet Explorer Mobile; open, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files; review PowerPoint presentations and PDF files; and open ZIP files remotely.

Pricing and Availability

Treo Pro will be available in September in Europe through Vodafone (from free to EUR 399 with contract) and O2 (pricing is available from O2 direct sales and online business stores), and in Australia through Telstra (from free with contract). It will be available in the United States in the fall through the Palm online store (http://www.palm.com/store) as well as select Internet, retail and enterprise resellers for a suggested retail price of $549. The U.S. version is unlocked and unsubsidized, giving end users the flexibility to simply insert their existing active SIM card and immediately start using their Treo Pro without a new contract.

Detailed regional pricing is available from local resellers and distributors. Additional Treo Pro availability is scheduled to follow worldwide.

The Treo Pro smartphone comes with an international power charger, microUSB cable and a stereo headset (3.5mm). Other accessories designed exclusively for Treo Pro (sold separately) include a vehicle power charger, leather side case, travel microUSB cable, cradle, extra battery, TTY audio adapter, and replacement styli.

Global Warming, What Is it?

2008-08-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Scientists have concluded that human activities are contributing to global warming by adding large amounts of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. Our fossil fuel use is the main source of these gases. Every time we drive a car, use electricity from coal-fired power plants, or heat our homes with oil or natural gas, we release carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the air. The second most important source of greenhouse gases is deforestation, mainly in the tropics, and other land-use changes.

Since pre-industrial times, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. Over the same period, atmospheric methane has risen by 151 percent, mostly from agricultural activities like growing rice and raising cattle.

As the concentration of these gases grows, more heat is trapped by the atmosphere and less escapes back into space. This increase in trapped heat changes the climate, causing altered weather patterns that can bring unusually intense precipitation or dry spells and more severe storms.

The Causes of Global Warming

Carbon dioxide (CO2) during the last 400,000 years and the rapid rise since the Industrial Revolution;
Changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, known as Milankovitch cycles, which are believed to be the pacemaker of the 100,000 year ice age cycle;
Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

The monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere. The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the sun (orbital forcing), volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus identifies elevated levels of greenhouse gases due to human activity as the main influence.

Changes In Greenhouse Gas Concentrations

In the figure above are the fluctuations in temperature (red line) and in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (yellow) over the past 649,000 years. The vertical red bar at the end is the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over the past two centuries and before 2007.

Is There Anything We Can Do about Global Warming?
Yes! The most important action we can take to slow global warming is to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. Governments, individuals, and businesses can all help. Governments can adopt a range of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including

increasing energy efficiency standards
encouraging the use of renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power)
eliminating subsidies that encourage the use of coal and oil by making them artificially cheap
protecting and restoring forests, which serve as important storehouses of carbon

Individuals can reduce the need for fossil fuels and often save money by

driving less and driving more fuel-efficient and less-polluting cars
using energy-efficient appliances
insulating homes
using less electricity in general

Businesses can increase efficiency and save substantial sums by doing the same things on a larger scale. And utilities can avoid building expensive new power plants by encouraging and helping customers to adopt efficiency measures.

Scientific Frequently Asked Questions About Global Warming

Are humans contributing to global warming?

In 1995, the world's climate experts in the IPCC concluded for the first time in a cautious consensus, "The balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on the global climate." In its 2001 assessment, the IPCC strengthened that conclusion considerably, saying, "There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities." Scientists have found significant evidence that leads to this conclusion:

The observed warming over the past 100 years is unlikely to be due to natural causes alone; it was unusual even in the context of the last 1,000 years.
There are better techniques to detect climatic changes and attribute them to different causes.
Simulations of the climate's response to natural causes (sun, volcanoes, etc.) over the latter half of the 20th century alone cannot explain the observed trends.
Most simulation models that take into account greenhouse gas emissions and sulphate aerosols (which have a cooling effect) are consistent with observations over the last 50 years.

Would a temperature rise of a couple degrees really change the global climate?

An increase of a few degrees won't simply make for pleasantly warmer temperatures around the globe. Even a modest rise of 2°- 3°F (1.1°-1.7°C) could have dramatic effects. In the last 10,000 years, the Earth's average temperature hasn't varied by more than 1.8°F (1.0°C). Temperatures only 5°-9°F cooler than those today prevailed at the end of the last Ice Age, in which the Northeast United States was covered by more than 3,000 feet of ice. Scientists predict that continued global warming on the order of 2.5°-10.4°F over the next 100 years (as projected in the IPCC's Third Assessment Report) is likely to result in:

a rise in sea level between 3.5 and 34.6 in. (9-88 cm), leading to more coastal erosion, flooding during storms, and permanent inundation
severe stress on many forests, wetlands, alpine regions, and other natural ecosystems
greater threats to human health as mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects and rodents spread diseases over larger geographical regions
disruption of agriculture in some parts of the world due to increased temperature, water stress, and sea-level rise in low-lying areas such as Bangladesh or the Mississippi River delta.

What is the best source of scientific information on global warming?

In 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to examine the most current scientific information on global warming and climate change. More than 1,250 authors and 2,500 scientific experts reviewers from more than 130 countries contributed to the panel's most recent report, Climate Change 2007: The Fourth Assessment Report (the full report will be released in November 2007). These scientists reviewed all the published and peer-reviewed scientific information produced during the previous few years to assess what is known about the global climate, why and how it changes, what it will mean for people and the environment, and what can be done about it. The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report is the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of global warming. As the new benchmark, it serves as the basis for international climate negotiations.

NASA Finds Water In Marsian Soil

2008-08-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

With enticing results so far and the spacecraft in good shape, NASA also announced operational funding for the mission will extend through Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months ends in late August. The mission extension adds five weeks to the 90 days of the prime mission.

"Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The soil sample came from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. When the robotic arm first reached that depth, it hit a hard layer of frozen soil. Two attempts to deliver samples of icy soil on days when fresh material was exposed were foiled when the samples became stuck inside the scoop. Most of the material in Wednesday's sample had been exposed to the air for two days, letting some of the water in the sample vaporize away and making the soil easier to handle.

"Mars is giving us some surprises," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're excited because surprises are where discoveries come from. One surprise is how the soil is behaving. The ice-rich layers stick to the scoop when poised in the sun above the deck, different from what we expected from all the Mars simulation testing we've done. That has presented challenges for delivering samples, but we're finding ways to work with it and we're gathering lots of information to help us understand this soil."

Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying soil with a chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope, a conductivity probe and cameras. Besides confirming the 2002 finding from orbit of water ice near the surface and deciphering the newly observed stickiness, the science team is trying to determine whether the water ice ever thaws enough to be available for biology and if carbon-containing chemicals and other raw materials for life are present.

The mission is examining the sky as well as the ground. A Canadian instrument is using a laser beam to study dust and clouds overhead.

"It's a 30-watt light bulb giving us a laser show on Mars," said Victoria Hipkin of the Canadian Space Agency.

A full-circle, color panorama of Phoenix's surroundings also has been completed by the spacecraft.

"The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated terrain as far as the eye can see," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager camera. "They help us plan measurements we're making within reach of the robotic arm and interpret those measurements on a wider scale."

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

7 Phones That Push The iPhone To The Background

2008-06-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

BlackBerry Thunder
Details on the phone itself are thin. However, it's hard to imagine Research in Motion being able to back up the wide, media-friendly screen (seen in leaked images) with the wealth of multimedia content Apple has packed into its iTune store for its iPhones, iPods and Macs. Research in Motion might do better than Apple if it were to roll out a phone with tiny plastic keys aimed at prying your credit card company's vice president away from her CrackBerry. But Apple is too smart to go there.

Samsung Instinct
Samsung's iPhone killer, the Instinct, isn't about to amaze anyone. The phone is little more than an iPhone knockoff, right down to the blank black face and chrome trim--a disappointment from a company that shouldn't stoop to knock off anyone. Worse yet, the phone's look--and $199 retail price--invites comparison to a competitor the Instinct doesn't match. Unlike the new iPhone, the Instinct lacks wi-fi, has less memory and its touch-sensitive interface is less sophisticated.

Google Phone
Next up, Google, another company with an inside track at Apple. Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt holds a seat on Apple's board. And he's admitted that he's had to sit out some meetings, with Google readying an effort to pump its software into Internet-friendly phones due in the fourth quarter from such manufacturers as HTC, Samsung and LG Electronics. At first glance, Google's so-called Android effort poses quite a threat, since Google has a host of online services it can pour into the handsets. The challenge: timing. By the time the first of these handsets arrive, Apple could already be synonymous with Web-friendly phones.

HTC Touch
This was an iPhone knockoff before there was an iPhone to knock off. In other words, it's no knockoff. HTC's engineers toiled long and hard to design a touch-sensitive smart phone, only to see Steve Jobs launch a phone, weeks later, incorporating many of the same ideas. And while the Touch hasn't matched the iPhone's hype, it hints that HTC may be the company with the best odds of one day cranking out a handset that knocks Steve Jobs & Co. on their butts.

Nokia N95
This phone is a chunky monkey. But it packs some pretty amazing capabilities into a hefty package, like a five-megapixel camera with a fancy Carl Zeiss lens. Couple that with a capable media player, slick blogging software and a broad selection of games, and this phone is a radically different approach to building a media-friendly phone, compared with the iPhone.

Sony Ericsson Walkman w580i
When word first got out that Sony Ericsson would pair its slick handsets with music, selling the gadgets under the "Walkman" brand, many feared the result would be an iPod killer. That hasn't happened. Nevertheless, these handsets have done well, particularly in Japan.

AT&T Tilt
OK, Tilt isn't as pretty as the iPhone. But that's its secret weapon. Bear with us here. For starters, no one will accuse you of packing an iPhone knockoff. And sure, it's ugly, but this handset makes up for it by cramming tons of capability into its 6.1 ounces. This gadget, which is built for AT&T by Taiwan's HTC, has a wi-fi connection, Bluetooth, a three-megapixel camera and a satellite navigation system. And that's just for starters. Not only does this device cruise along on high-speed 3G networks, but its Windows Mobile software allows users to crack open and edit Word documents using a slide-out keypad and a tilt screen.

Samsung Instinct Challenges Apple's IPhone Via Sprint Nextel

2008-06-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-largest maker of mobile phones, began selling its touch- screen Instinct handset for $70 cheaper than Apple Inc.'s new iPhone to win sales in the U.S.

Sprint Nextel Corp. will offer the phone, which can access e-mail and get live television programs, starting today for $129.99 each, according to Sprint's Web site. That's below larger rival AT&T Inc.'s $199 price for the iPhone. Unlike Apple's latest phone, the Instinct can also record videos.

The Instinct joins High Tech Computer Corp.'s Diamond and LG Electronics Inc.'s Vu in challenging the iPhone, which helped Apple become the second-largest maker of so-called smartphones in the U.S. in less than a year. Still, like other touch-screen models, Samsung's new phone is ``no match'' for Apple's product because it fails to replicate the strength of the iPhone's software, according to technology columnist Walt Mossberg.

``I still feel like the Instinct is inferior to the iPhone, in part because it seems so obviously to be imitating it, but falls short in quite a number of areas,'' said Jan Dawson, an analyst at London-based researcher Ovum. ``There's been so much hype and excitement around the iPhone 3G that almost no matter what Sprint does to publicize this launch it will be very hard to compete with the iPhone buzz.''

Apple will probably ship 4 million iPhones in the U.S. in the second half of this year, or quadruple the number of Instinct phones Samsung is likely to sell, according to estimates by Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics in London. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment.

3G IPhone Launch

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, announced the faster and cheaper iPhone this month, which will go on sale in 22 countries on July 11 and run on third-generation, or 3G, wireless networks. AT&T said it would subsidize the device, which will sell for half as much as the previous version.

Unlimited 3G data plans for iPhone consumers will be available for $30 a month, in addition to voice plans starting at $39.99 a month, according to AT&T. The Instinct can be activated with Sprint's plan for unlimited data service starting at $69.99 per month, which will include 450 minutes of voice service.

LG, the world's fourth-largest handset maker, began selling its Vu to AT&T last month, increasing the number of touch-screen phones sold by the Korean company in North America to five. Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, has also promised to introduce touch-screen handsets this year to take on the iPhone.

Samsung, based in Suwon, South Korea, earlier this month unveiled its latest touch-screen model, the Omnia, which may be introduced in the U.S. by the end of the year.

Omnia Negotiations

``We are negotiating with a number of carriers in the U.S. and we are optimistic that we will come to an agreement soon,'' Youngcho Chi, senior vice president of Samsung, said in a Bloomberg Television interview on June 18. The company is talking to all four major U.S. carriers, Chi said.

The Instinct will run on Sprint's EV-DO Revision A network, which provides faster wireless access to browse the Internet and access e-mails.

The phone also comes with so-called ``haptic'' technology that makes the phone vibrate when the screen is touched. Equipped with 2 gigabytes of memory, the phone can store approximately 2,000 songs from the Sprint Music Store, according to Sprint.

Still, the Instinct is less attractive than the iPhone because of the smaller screen and user interface, according to Ovum's Dawson.

``If you're a devoted Sprint customer, or want to avoid AT&T, the Instinct is an OK choice. But it's no iPhone,'' Mossberg wrote in a column on the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

Fastest-Growing Market

Phones with Internet, e-mail and video are the fastest- growing part of the handset market, with users forecast to quadruple to 400 million units in the next three years, according to RBC Capital Markets estimates.

Samsung boosted its global market share of the mobile-phone market to 16 percent in the first quarter, closing the gap with Nokia, which had a 41 percent, according to researcher Strategy Analytics. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd., ranked fifth after LG Electronics, also plans to introduce its touch-screen X1 device under the new Xperia brand.

Motorola Inc., ranked third worldwide, may lose its No. 1 spot in the U.S. this year as consumers abandon its handsets for more-advanced models, research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics said last month.

``The iPhone is something Samsung will watch out for and may have to sell their phones at lower prices to compete,'' said Choi Hyun Jae, an analyst at Tong Yang Investment Bank in Seoul. ``Samsung will probably have to compete with the iPhone to win market share from Motorola, which is losing share in the U.S.''

Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kansas, fell 21 cents to $8.07 at 9:34 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Apple declined $1.48 to $179.42 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

How To Use Water As Fuel And Cut Down On Gas Consumption

2008-06-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) produce energy by oxidizing hydrogen into water, giving water vapour as the only exhaust gas. Extra energy is needed to obtain the hydrogen in the first place, but even if this comes from natural gas the overall result is a major reduction in emissions.

In the long run, HFC technology could help combat air pollution due to its zero carbon emission. This technology is currently being put to use in London's Transport system. However with the hike in gas prices in the United States, the idea of using water as fuel is gaining grounds with the help of companies like those listed below:

Company: 'Run Your Car on Water'
Website: www.RunYourCarOnWater.com
Rank:
Cost: $49.97 ~~$297~~ Get 75% OFF By Using Any Link On This Site
Guarantee: 8-Week 100% Money Back

Description: 'Run your car on water' is the best value guide for converting vehicles to run on water. I found the directions in the guide to be very easy to follow and everything was setup in a clear, step by step format with lots of high quality pictures so you can see exactly how to do the conversion.

But more importantly, the HHO technology recommended in this guide works! After spending just $54 at my local hardware store for the materials I needed to pull of this conversion, I begun the installation process which was surprisingly quick. Right away my car was faster, quieter and smoother!

Click to Get Your Copy of the guide Now!

Company: 'Water 4 Gas'
Website: www.Water4Gas.com
Rank:
Cost: $97.00
Guarantee: 8-Week 100% Money Back

Description: 'Water 4 Gas' uses the same HHO technology as the No.1 product 'Run your car on Water' and hence, achieves the same results of doubling your car's fuel mileage. So are these two products the same thing? In one word, yes.

What seperates the two is that 'Water 4 Gas' gives you two very valuable bonuses that you don't get with 'Run your car on water'. The first one is a report showing you how to let the IRS pay for your whole car upgrade! The second exclusive bonus report teaches you how to make $300 profit an hour by installing these systems for other people.

Click to Get Your Copy of the guide Now!

July 11: Dawn of A New Era For 3G iPhone in Canada

2008-06-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

An exact date for the iPhone’s launch into Canada has finally been confirmed: as of July 11, the latest, 3G iPhone will be available through Rogers Wireless stores.

The new 3G model, debuted at the Apple Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, CA today, includes features like built-in GPS, compatibility with “hundred” of third-party applications built with the new iPhone SDK, and 2.0 software with support for Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, which could help to make it a fierce competitor to the popular BlackBerry. Anotherr feature that will appeal to the business customer is called MobileMe, which will effectively “push” e-mails, contact, and calendar information from an online “cloud” to native applications. A MobileMe gallery served as a repository and sharing site for photos snapped using the iPhone. As icing on the cake, a new “App Store” includes various applications, ranging from gaming to business, sports, health, and travel-related activities.

Like its predecessor, the next-generation iPhone works on WiFi networks, as well as cellular high-speed. The phone has a rated 5-hours of talk time, up to 5 or 6 hours of web browsing, and 7 hours of video playback. Audio can be played back for up to 24 hours on a full charge of the battery.

“We’re excited to be working with Rogers to bring iPhone 3G to Canada,” added Tim Cook, Apple’s COO. “We can’t wait to get this revolutionary phone in the hands of even more people around the world.”

Although I was unable to gather Canadian pricing information from Rogers (TBA), we do know that the device will sell in the U.S. for $199 for the 8 GB model, and US$299 for the 16 GB model.

Nvidia's Tegra Designed To Match Intel's Centrino Atom

2008-06-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Sumner Lemon
Nvidia jumped into the market for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) on Monday with the introduction of a processor family based on the Arm processor core.

Tegra will primarily compete against Intel, which released a chip platform called Centrino Atom in April. Atom is designed for MIDs, a general name for portable computers that can be used for Web access and other activities while being small enough for users to carry them around in a pocket.

"This is a complete computer on a chip. It's got CPU, graphics, GPU, all the imaging and all the peripherals necessary to build a Mobile Internet Device," said Michael Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's Mobile Business group.

"It's aimed at devices that want ultra-long battery life, that want to do great Web browsing, great video, run your productivity tools but not be caught into a form-factor that looks like a PC," he said.

The Tegra line comprises three chips, including the 800MHz Tegra 650 and 700MHz Tegra 600. The lineup will also include the APX 2500, an Nvidia processor designed for cell phones and smartphones that was announced earlier this year.

The heart of the Tegra chips is an Arm11 processor core from Arm. The chips also include a GeForce graphics core, high-definition video decoder and other components, allowing them to perform functions normally carried out by several different chips.

Putting all of these capabilities in a single chip allows system makers to produce smaller devices and reduces the amount of power these devices consume, allowing longer battery life.

To illustrate how Tegra can save space, Nvidia showed an Eee PC from Asustek Computer with the motherboard removed and replaced with a Tegra-based board that measured 43 millimeters square. The only other component required for the computer to function was a battery.

The Arm processor core uses a different instruction set than x86 processors made by Intel. This means that software written for a PC or laptop cannot run an Arm-based computer. But Arm processors have long been used in mobile devices and generally consume far less power than x86 processors, making them ideal for small, portable devices.

Indeed, two of the most successful devices that fit Intel's description of a MID are based on Arm processors: Apple's iPod Touch and Nokia's N800.

Apple TV, End of Set-Top Cable Boxes?

2008-06-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Richard Siklos

The announcement this week that Sony plans to work with other television makers to eliminate the need for set-top cable boxes could not have gained more affection at Fortune magazine's Hollywood digital test lab - also known as my living room.

Under the auspices of a cable industry standard called Tru2Way, Sony's plan is to sell TVs that will allow consumers to access interactive services like video-on-demand without renting and hooking up these bothersome cable boxes. (When was the last time you saw a cable box on top of a set, anyway?)

Last weekend, it so happens, I ventured into the newfangled world of gizmos designed to bypass the cable box - and cable altogether. These devices aim to bridge the computer and TV and, finally, allow people easily to download movies and shows directly from the Internet to their big screens. I decided to give the year-old Apple TV a whirl, and, as is often the case with things from Steve Jobs' elf-works, I was tickled to see that it arrived as a perfect little shiny white box with a wee remote. Hooking up the little guy was a little trickier, mostly because of the confounding array of inputs and controls on the LCD TV. (Truth is, had we not had a houseguest who happens to specializes in hooking up Apple networks, the Apple TV box would have been packed up and sent back - thanks John.)

Once up and running, it was great to use Apple's elegant navigation system to browse and order movies - and to watch trailers - compared to a typical cable-box remote and on-screen guide. The selection of movies (around 1,000) is better than what's available on cable video-on-demand, but still considerably less than the 10,000 that Netflix offers on its new set-side device. One cool feature of Apple TV: for a dollar more than the $2.99-$3.99 rental price, a lot of the latest films are available in high-definition. Podcasts, TV shows and selected Youtube videos are also available - plus the ability to look easily at photos and listen to music via my iTunes library.

Jobs has said he's disappointed with Apple TV sales, and, despite all its features, I can sort of see why. Undoubtedly cool, it was also something that most could live without - unlike, of course, their laptop, phone or music player - at least in this early iteration.

The endless parade of new gizmos that crescendos each January around the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld highlight two vital questions for the gadget gods as well as the media mavens who are churning out the stuff to play on them. First, just because you can, does it mean that you should? For instance, because you can distribute all your content inexpensively for free online, is it really the best way to go? If you look at subscription-based cable channels like HBO, the answer would be no (or at least not yet). Similarly, the debate over whether all print media is created equal - and should be free and advertising-supported online - is still far from resolved. Of course, the specter of Napster-like piracy is a powerful inducement to play with new business models, however unproven.

Now for the second vital question: Is your product a solution to a real problem, or an answer to a problem that does not yet exist? In this category - and I know I'm inviting flaming by saying this - I'll put the well-received Amazon Kindle book reader. While it makes visceral sense that the production and distribution of books is amazingly inefficient and archaic, it's also not clear that book lovers have been yearning for a portable digital solution the way music lovers were (nor are they likely to start ripping them online).

So, back to the living room. Is a TV set that doesn't require an external cable box an answer to a real problem? Absolutely. But here again there are limits to what Tru2way can and can't do - for instance, you won't automatically be able to access the Web or a service like iTunes or Youtube from the built-in program guide. Therein lies the groaning irony: By the time the cable box is truly gone, new and improved versions of Apple TV and its ilk will probably take their place on ye olde set top.

No Merger For Microsoft And Yahoo, Microsoft Can't Pay

2008-05-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

MIGUEL HELFT and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Microsoft said Saturday that it was abandoning its blockbuster bid to acquire Yahoo after it raised its offer by $5 billion but Yahoo rejected it as still too low.

The about-face followed a meeting on Saturday morning in Seattle between Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, and Yahoo’s chief and co-founder, Jerry Yang, according to a person familiar with the talks.

At the meeting, which also included Yahoo’s other founder, David Filo, and a Microsoft president who oversees its online unit, Kevin Johnson, Mr. Ballmer increased Microsoft’s offer to $33 a share, or a total of about $47.5 billion, from $29.40 a share. Mr. Yang told Mr. Ballmer that Yahoo would not accept an offer below $37 a share, this person said.

“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo has not moved toward accepting our offer,” Mr. Ballmer said in a statement. “After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal.”

A person close to Yahoo said the price was not the only stumbling block. The person said Yahoo was also concerned that the deal could be blocked by regulators and wanted a higher offer, in part, as a hedge against that risk.

Microsoft’s decision to walk away casts a cloud of uncertainty over Yahoo and its shareholders. The breakdown in the talks is likely to send Yahoo’s shares plunging, and Mr. Yang and his team will have to decide how to placate investors.

The company has been exploring alternatives to a marriage with Microsoft, including a partnership in search advertising with its arch rival, Google, which could lift Yahoo’s profit and perhaps its stock price. Yahoo has also discussed possible mergers with the AOL unit of Time Warner and the MySpace unit of the News Corporation. The MySpace talks have not been active of late.

But both remaining options pose challenges. A Google partnership would be likely to attract scrutiny from regulators because of Google’s dominance over online search and advertising, while AOL and Yahoo have many overlapping businesses and technologies, making a merger difficult.

In a statement issued late Saturday, Mr. Yang said, “With the distraction of Microsoft’s unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies on executing the most important transition in our history.”

Reactions inside Yahoo are likely to be mixed. Several senior executives favored selling to Microsoft and said in recent days that they were hoping to see a deal happen. Yet other executives were high-fiving each other for defeating Microsoft’s bid, people close to the company said.

While its stock may fall on Monday, Yahoo’s management was encouraged by discussions with its largest investors in which they urged management to not accept $33 a share, these people said. For Mr. Yang, Microsoft’s withdrawal is considered a “personal victory,” according to one person who spoke with him.

Microsoft has spent years and billions of dollars trying to build an online business. Yet it has steadily lost ground to Google in the search business and has failed to gain significant momentum with advertisers.

Microsoft’s decision to abandon its pursuit of Yahoo is not necessarily the last chapter in the three-month-old saga. If Yahoo’s shares fall significantly, the company will be under intense pressure to act, and may choose to resume negotiations.

Earlier this year, under intense shareholder pressure, BEA Systems did just that, agreeing to a takeover by Oracle soon after Oracle dropped an unsolicited offer it had made for BEA.

“This seems like a very strong but serious negotiating tactic,” said Jonathan Miller, the former chairman and chief executive of AOL. “It will be up to Yahoo to come back to the negotiating table.”

Microsoft had threatened to pursue a hostile takeover if it could not come to an agreement with Yahoo’s management. That could have involved an appeal directly to Yahoo’s shareholders and an effort to remove members of Yahoo’s board of directors.

In a letter to Mr. Yang sent on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Ballmer wrote: “It is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest.”

He added: “Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.” Mr. Ballmer took particular aim at Yahoo’s discussions of a partnership with Google, noting that it would “make an acquisition of Yahoo undesirable to us for a number of reasons.”

Microsoft’s decision to abandon its bid is likely to raise questions among investors about the judgment of both Microsoft and Yahoo.

When Microsoft made its initial bid, it said Yahoo was an important part of its strategy to take on Google. Its choice to withdraw, after threatening to force a shareholder vote, may prompt its shareholders to doubt its resolve. At the same time, many Microsoft shareholders who did not want the company to bid for Yahoo may be relieved and send shares of Microsoft higher on Monday.

For Yahoo’s shareholders, the abandoned bid may create even more uncertainty over the company’s management. Many Yahoo shareholders would have preferred that the company accept the offer of about $47.5 billion, which was roughly 70 percent higher than the company’s market value at the end of January.

Over the last three months, the companies had infrequent talks, according to people involved in the negotiations from the start who were not authorized to be quoted by name.

Frustrated by the lack of discussions, Microsoft sent a threatening letter to Yahoo on April 5 suggesting that Microsoft would try to force a shareholder vote to circumvent Yahoo’s management if the companies could not reach an agreement within three weeks. At the same time, Microsoft began seeking a partner for its bid, holding talks with the News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, as well as AOL. Both of those companies had been holding concurrent negotiations with Yahoo about their own partnerships.

On April 15, Microsoft and Yahoo held a secret meeting in Portland, Ore., in which the companies discussed “social issues” — like who would run the Yahoo unit if it were folded into Microsoft — but no decisions were made.

Three days later, bankers for Microsoft and Yahoo held a conference call in which Yahoo’s bankers suggested that $40 a share would be a “slam dunk” that would get the deal done. A week later, Microsoft’s deadline passed without Microsoft proceeding with a proxy contest as it had threatened. Microsoft decided that it would still try to seek a friendly deal and that a hostile bid could impair the value of Yahoo.

Last Tuesday, three days after the deadline, Mr. Ballmer and Mr. Yang had several telephone conversations as Yahoo sought to reach a deal to keep Microsoft from turning hostile. In those talks, Mr. Yang overruled his bankers, telling Mr. Ballmer that Microsoft did not have to go as high as $40 a share to get a deal done, and suggested that they begin negotiations.

The next day, Microsoft and Yahoo began talks in earnest, pulling in dozens of bankers and lawyers to try to reach a deal. Mr. Ballmer flew to Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., where Mr. Yang said Yahoo would be willing to accept nothing lower than $38 a share. Each dollar per share is equal to about $1.4 billion.

Microsoft pushed back, saying it would pay no more than $33 a share. The talks culminated in a final meeting on Saturday in which Mr. Yang flew to Seattle to meet with Mr. Ballmer. Mr. Ballmer stuck to his $33 price, and Mr. Yang said Yahoo’s board would accept $37 a share. Hours later, Mr. Ballmer sent Mr. Yang the letter saying Microsoft would withdraw its bid.

Friendsters, Southeast Asia's Top Social Networking Website

2008-05-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

LING WOO LIU

If they recall it at all, most Americans probably remember Friendster as the also-ran of social networking sites. Although the site had a head start when it launched in 2002, its founders squandered their lead when software glitches and slow access times prompted users to flee to the now hugely popular MySpace and Facebook. Friendster seemed destined for the scrap heap, remembered mainly as the company with the smiley-face logo whose owners in 2003 turned down a $30 million buyout offer from Google.

But Friendster never died — it just moved. Thanks largely to an accident of geography, it's become Southeast Asia's top social networking site. Asia is home to three-quarters of Friendster's 58 million users, compared to 17% in the U.S., and it's the source of 89% of the site's traffic, compared to just 8% from North America. While its bigger rivals MySpace and Facebook are just discovering the land across the Pacific, Friendster is already the most-visited web site in the Philippines and Indonesia, and the second most-visited site in Malaysia and Singapore, according to rankings from web tracker Alexa. In 2006, Friendster hired a 20-person engineering team in the Philippines, and last September, it opened a sales office in Singapore. Friendster's second life came almost by accident. The company started in Mountain View, California, before moving its headquarters two years ago to San Francisco, "the most Asian of U.S. cities," says Friendster president Kent Lindstrom. As a result, thousands of early adopters were Asian-American Californians who formed a nucleus that quickly expanded across the Pacific as users invited friends and relatives in Asia to join the network. Until last fall, Friendster was available only in English, but that didn't impede its growth in Southeast Asia, where colonial history has left high English proficiency and romanized Asian languages. Still, the site's new home across the Pacific came as a surprise to management. "We never envisioned it'd be growing like this," says Lindstrom.

Friendster's international reach has become a competitive advantage, for the company as well as for users. Five months after releasing her first album, Malaysian pop singer Karen Kong uploaded a video of a recent concert performance onto her Friendster page last summer, attracting two million viewers, mostly from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. Her manager, Fred Chong, says that even though the record label created an expensive web site for the artist, Kong's Friendster profile is "way more powerful than any official page," attracting up to 800,000 page views per month. With more than 150,000 friends linked to her page, Kong has the biggest following of any Friendster user. "Her profile just exploded," says Chong. "For us, it's been a miracle."

Friendster's trying to pull off another miracle. It's reaching out to the 210 million Internet users in China, where the company's user base is already "in the hundreds of thousands," Lindstrom says. Last September, the company began rolling out foreign language capabilities: traditional Chinese for Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Chinese communities around the world, followed by simplified Chinese for mainland China, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. Unlike MySpace, which has launched separate, localized sites for different countries, Friendster is keeping all of its worldwide users on one multilingual site, according to Lindstrom, whose own Friendster profile shows pictures of him in Tiananmen Square and on the Great Wall.

Friendster may have a tough time staying ahead of its wealthier American rivals, which are starting to look to Asia for growth, as well as formidable local competitors such as Shanghai-based 51.com, which already has 90 million subscribers, and Xiaonei, a Chinese replica of Facebook. Less than 10% of visitors to MySpace and Facebook live in Asia, according to June 2007 figures from Internet research company comScore, but that is set to change. MySpace now operates separate sites in Japan and China, and has plans to launch sites in several more countries this year, including South Korea and India. Though Facebook has yet to release foreign-language versions of its site, comScore data shows the number of Asian visitors to its main site spiked more than 3,000% between August 2006 and August 2007.

The privately-owned Friendster, which is operating on $25 million in venture capital, says it's not intimidated by these billion-dollar giants. "We're not surprised that people are competing in our space," says David Jones, vice president of marketing at Friendster. "That's validation of the industry we helped create." And the Americans who've written them off? "Most of the world is outside the U.S.," says Lindstrom. "We're very globally focused." Stiffer competition in Asia is surely on the way, but until then, Friendster has plenty of reasons to smile.

Abuja Technology Village: Is Nigeria There Yet?

2008-01-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

Prof. Manny Aniebonam
Especially for those in the profession who had for many years wished that both government and private sector will come together and fashion out the necessary vehicle for leap frogging the giant of Africa in the 21st century. But then again, one is reminded of several lopsided ICT programs by the Nigerian government, staring with NUNET to the launching of a limited use satellite, and one must then wonder:

• Is Nigeria REALLY serious about designing, developing, deploying and maintaining a sustainable Technology Park in Nigeria?

• Besides quoting the huge amount of money required to build the park, and showing up on television to announce the concept, are the primary stakeholders in the project part of the discussion for what is really needed, by whom, where, and how such a project could be developed for maximum benefit to the country?.

• Finally, given a well defined set of objectives for building a centralized technology park in Abuja, have we considered alternative concepts such as decentralized technology parks, with broadband linkages, as a viable option?.

These questions are raised, not as arguments against the best intentions of the government to undertake this project, but as an additional thought provoking contribution by a circle of Nigerian IT Professionals in the Diaspora whose interest it is that a viable, functional and world-class Technology Park befitting Nigeria must not only be conceived but expeditiously built as a viable tool for accelerated economic development, not as a kangaroo show simply aimed at scoring a few political points.

To examine the role of Technology Parks (TPs) in economic development we must first of all fixate the concept of what we understand by Science or Technology Park. According to the International Association of Science Parks (IASP):

A Science Park, according to AISP definition, is an organisation managed by specialised professionals, whose main aim is to increase the wealth of its community by promoting the culture of innovation and the competitiveness of its associated businesses and knowledge-based institutions.

To enable these goals to be met, a Science and Technology Park stimulates and manages the flow of knowledge and technology amongst universities, R&D institutions, companies and markets; it facilitates the creation and growth of innovation-based companies through incubation and spin-off processes; and provides other value-added services together with high quality space and facilities.

This definition, which is now broadly accepted and used, encompasses not only the different models currently existing in the world, but also other labels and expression such as Technology Park, Research Park, Technopole, Technology Precinct, Learning Village, Science City etc. Although there may be some differences among the projects under these labels, such differences are not as significant as to constitute different projects or "categories", but rather different subtypes of one concept. Therefore it is perfectly possible in this definition to substitute the expression "Science Park" by any of the other expressions mentioned.

From this definition we can infer a first and important conclusion: TPs are tools for creating wealth, which have a social purpose, a purpose which Nigeria and all of Africa must see as a means of augmenting our foreign earnings if well implemented.

Having reached this point it is important to underline the main feature of Technology Parks:

They accomplish their "social purpose" (that is: "to increase the wealth of their community") by serving businesses, by helping companies to become more competitive in the global economy. In other words, the real "stars" of the TPs are companies, businessmen and entrepreneurs that make up the private sector. TPs are there to support them, and by so doing they will also serve and benefit their entire communities and societies.

In the last 30 years or so TPs have spread all over the world, and many different models have appeared, especially in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Perhaps because of their name (some times referred to as Science Park/Technology Park) there has been some confusion about the nature and meaning of these projects. These models, differences and types must be studied and understood before embarking into developing the appropriate model for the Abuja Technology Park. In essence, TPs not only deal with high-tech industry; they also deal with advanced services, with Research and Development processes, with the creation of new companies through incubation and spin-off processes, with technology transfer and technology commercialization. But most of all TPs deal with innovation: that is, with all the processes, methodologies and entrepreneurial attitudes that aim at constantly adding value to all the different elements of companies' activities: products, production processes and techniques, management, marketing, etc. In today's global economy it is only through innovation that companies can ensure their progress and their place in the market and can become strong enough to survive.

If innovation is crucial for single companies in Nigeria, it is also of the greatest importance from the Regional and National points of view. In more advanced economies, the political, social and economical authorities strive to create and foster the necessary conditions, infrastructures and programmes to allow and to encourage entrepreneurs and companies to be innovative, and not only today, or tomorrow, but permanently innovative. Innovation is a non-stop path. In the words of the famous Greek philosophical principle Heraclitus -that "Everything changes, nothing is permanent" , we see a dialectical nature of innovation.

By creating a favourable climate for innovation, developing country such as Nigeria and regions will allow their industries and companies to become stronger, to make more profits and to generate more employment. And by doing so, they will reach their most important objective in economic and industrial policy: to increase the social welfare, and the level of life of their citizens. In other words, to build better life conditions and social fairness.

To explore what the role of TPs is today in economic development, we must not only agree upon a definition of Science Park, but we must also have a broad picture and understanding of the frame and scenarios in which TPs operate.

Currently around the globe, we are not witnessing "the end of history", as some would have it, but rather a spectacular "acceleration of history". This new era has received many names, such as "Information Age", "Information Society", "New Economy", "Knowledge Economy", etc., and if TPs must be used as tools for economic development, a Public-Private Partnership must be designed to carefully fashion out the role of Technology Park constructs in support of the tenets of Nigeria's economic development strategies.

Today we are witnessing an amazing acceleration of historical processes and of social and cultural changes, very much based on the breathtaking IT revolution and, therefore, it is pertinent to ask ourselves about the relevance of TPs within this new world order, a world order:

• which is global and yet crowded with anti-globalisation movements (the paradox being that most of this anti-globalisation movements are themselves global),

• which has created a new environment, "the cyberspace", which we call virtual simply because it is not geographical, but which is, in fact, quite real and allows not only information and communication to take place, but also action,

• which raises doubts and questions about the role and legitimacy of states and governments,

• which is increasingly dependent on science and technology, and consequently on knowledge,

• which demands, more than ever before, a very high level of training and education and very solid skills from the individuals so that they are able to perform efficiently,

• which is dramatically changing the type of work, and worker and company profiles,

• which has promoted networks and networkers to a pivotal position,

• which has given birth to a new species -the 'globapolitans', who are like modern centaurs - half physical, half virtual, speaking languages and living in airports and in websites…

In other words, a whole new set of rules and situations is resulting in an interwoven world and society of astonishing contrasts, lights and shadows, which many find threatening and others, myself included, risky but also at the same time intriguing and fascinating, although not necessarily fair.

What then is the role of Technology Parks in the new World Order?.

After more than 30 years of existence of TPs as a world-wide movement, there is of course much to be said about their role and their nature. I shall try to briefly summarise a few important points.

To begin with, two things should be emphasized:

1. Technology Parks must be regarded as a tool, as the means to achieve certain goals and objectives, rather than as being an objective in itself.

2. TPs have proved to be very powerful elements for Regional Development, provided the adequate model is chosen for a given nation, Region or city.

At this stage it is important to underline once more that the best way in which TPs can be really effective in promoting National or Regional Development is by focusing on companies and entrepreneurs. The main aim of a TP is to help companies to become more innovative, and therefore more competitive, and in general, to increase the economic level of their region or municipality. Through global perspective, we all know that in today's global economy, the key words for economic success are technology, R&D, and knowledge management, and most of all innovation. We also know that one of the pillars in which innovation is based is research, and a large portion of the research potential of a Region or country is to be found in Universities and High-educational institutions. TPs are the bridge between Universities and companies. They are the "translators" of the often-different language and different interests of the Academics and the entrepreneurs.

It is indeed important to realise that by helping the businesses in the ways described above, TPs are also very significantly helping the universities to increase their own competitiveness, to better fulfil the new role that today's society demands, namely to be active agents of economic development, and last but not least to increase their income via research contracts with the Industry. This then raises the question: where are the Nigerian tertiary institutions in the design, planning, and implementation processes of the Abuja Technology Park?. In fact, how many first-class institutions, universities or national centers of excellence are within 20 miles radius of the planned Technology Park?.

In general, and to further provide the planners of this important project some KPI's at this planning stage, TPs must provide the following elements and services to their clients:

o High-quality and adequate infrastructures (space, landscaping, communications and transportation accesses, good location, good facilities and buildings, etc.)

o Good common services (office facilities, meeting rooms, parking, cafeteria, restaurant, hotel accommodation, security, etc.).

o Good value-added services (telecommunication infrastructures, quality access to Internet, videoconference, consulting services, commercial support to the companies, etc.)

o Efficient links to University and Research institutions, to the researchers, lab and equipment facilities, etc.

o Incubation units, to encourage and facilitate the creation of new local companies.

o International links and contacts to facilitate the access of their companies to international networks.

o Technology / knowledge monitoring and observatory, helping their clients to be updated, to know what their competitors are doing, to know where are the sources of new and relevant technologies and knowledge, etc.

In short, a TP must provide their companies and entrepreneurs with a range of services and infrastructures that will help them to better concentrate their efforts in becoming more competitive and in saving costs by making proper use of the synergies and scale-economy generated by the TP.

In other words, a TP must add value to their tenant companies. If they do not add value to the companies, they must not be considered TPs, but just simple conventional industrial settlements without a much lesser impact from the Regional Development point of view within the frame of a world knowledge economy.

Technology Parks are a means of supporting any knowledge economy, and fostering market-oriented technological development. They typically accomplish this by bringing together academic, business and governmental organizations into one physical location, and supporting interrelationships between these groups through incentives established by government policies. Since academic institutions tend to draw technically qualified personnel to a particular region , locations immediately near these institutions become prime candidates for such parks.

As possible models for Technology Parks which Nigeria may understudy for possible global best practices, two examples, from both the developed and developing economies are worth citing:

o The University City Science Center in Philadelphia is owned by a consortium of more than thirty academic and scientific institutions. It is physically located immediately adjacent to both the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Established in 1963, it is both the oldest and largest urban research park within the US. More than two hundred technology and research-based organizations are located within the Science Center, and approximately 7,000 people are employed there. The Center was the world's first business incubator, and has also been the most successful - it has launched approximately 250 private sector companies during the past three decades.

o In China, the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park is the first state-level high-technology development zone. There are many research institutions and universities with within its borders, including Beijing University, Tsinghua University, and institutes of the Chinese Academy of Science. And also, around one third of the members of both the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering can be found within the Science and Technology Park. The Science and Technology Park currently has five zones in which houses not only Chinese enterprises, but also local subsidiaries of internationally recognized firms such as IBM, Microsoft and Mitsubishi. In the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), several major construction projects are being launched, including software, biotechnology/medicine, telecommunications and other high technology industries..

Both of these parks have developed and implemented a series of policies designed to provide assistance to fledgling enterprises and organizations, thereby laying an important foundation for establishing world-class science/technology entities. Such an approach could prove very useful in promoting much-needed new and emerging technologies for sustainable development, particularly for meeting needs in developing countries.

Technology Parks (TPs) such as the planned Abuja Technology Village, must ensure that their strategies for future growth and development match the features of the knowledge-based digital economy (KE), (generally referred to as the New Economy), which in turn is embedded in a bigger context: the global Information Society (IS).

Understanding the main features of this new context, and being able to make the diagnosis of the current social, economical and political trends, is vital for choosing the models and strategies that will enhance the role of TPs in the Knowledge Economy.

Proposed Strategy for establishing the Abuja Technology Village

Given what we now know about the need for a sustainable Technology park for Nigeria, and our interest in seeing that such engagement is executed in the best national interest, it is worth pitching in our conclusion of this piece, some viable roadmap that this Abuja Technology Village planners may consider:

1. Review the Experience of Existing Science and Technology Parks

There are many different Science and Technology Park entities in many countries, two of which we have cited above. Some of these operate as independent organizations, some are attached to municipal governments, and some have national and international ties. Moreover, some have a narrow "high-tech" focus, while others have a broader technological base. The immediate task facing the Architects of the Abuja Technology Village is to: review the nature of these various parks based on global best practices; identify their institutional and/or organizational structure; estimate their "success" in developing and fostering new technological entities; and determine what fraction of these activities might be considered relevant to the Abuja Technology Village project in conjunction with international partnerships for sustainable development

2. Establish a Plan to Appropriately Cite the Technology Village

When these analyses have been completed, a development plan for the Technology Village is to be produced, outlining: the location of the park based on well informed logistics ; the nature of that facility; its technical focus; funding arrangements; financial viability; and short, medium and long term goals for new and emerging technological development. This plan should then become an instrument for promoting the role of business-science partnerships in utilizing new and emerging technologies for sustainable development - an important goal of both the Beijing Forum and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. With the announcement that the Technology Village should be cited in Abuja, it is necessary to re-evaluate this decision based on sound technical and logistic reasoning rather than political or sociological machinations. The purpose must drive the location; not the other way round as that will certainly lead to another federal white elephant.

3. Target Sustainable Development Technologies

While a wide range of technologies might be appropriate for sustainable development efforts, it may be appropriate for the Abuja Technology Village to become more narrowly focused. Some existing Science and Technology Parks in developed countries have addressed solely the information and communications technologies (ICT). It may be appropriate for the proposed entity to focus on clean energy technologies, eco-environment protection, cleaner production technologies, water efficiency technologies, agriculture, health issues, or other topics of immediate concern to developing countries. As an ICT professional, it is easy for me to recommend that Information and Communication Technology should be the main focus of the Technology Village. Nonetheless, a decision to target ICT as the main focus of the project must be informed by the potential income to be realized through creation of skills, products, and services at the Village capable of earning desired foreign income for the country.

4. Estimate Financial Needs and Develop Sustenance Program

When a potential institutional arrangement for the Technology Village is developed, the next step will be to estimate the financial needs necessary to establish the project, and to sustain its future efforts. The key is not in the initial financial cost of development but in maintenance of the facility for at least 20 years, something that hardly figures in many Nigerian projects. As noted above, a wide range of models for the development of such parks exists, and the first task will be to help select a successful one for this effort. Given the international nature of this effort, comparable seed funding is required from multilateral international agencies or bilateral donors, as well as from private industry. With the claim that Nigeria is ready to kick in 50 billion Naira in Seed money for the Abuja Technology Village, it remains to be seen to what extent this seed fund will go in establishing the necessary infrastructure needed for the take of the Technology Village.

5. Get the buy-in of all stakeholders into the Technology Village

Information on the development of the Technology Village must be shared with both private and public stakeholders, many of whom will subscribe to be partners, service providers, tenants or customers. Not only is this intended to promote their participation, but also to increase capacity building for the establishment of various other allied projects for sustainable development, in particular for states and local governments who would need to be linked to the Technology Village.

In conclusion, the idea of a Nigerian Technology Village is a needed shot in the arms of ICT development in Nigeria. There are, however, much planning to be done, more analysis to be conducted, several consultations and consensus to be built, and above all, major mobilization of critical human resources to be made. Until the right people from the private sector are engaged into this project, empowered to take ownership of different component of the initiative, with government as an enabler, there are reasons to believe that even this noble dream will go the way of several other projects of the past - yet another smoke screen of this federal government.

About the Author:

Prof. Manny Aniebonam is the National President of NITPA, The Nigerian IT Professionals in the Americas, based in Washington DC USA (www.NITPA.org). He is also the President/CEO of AfriHUB LLC, USA (www.afrihub.com) , with several years experience as a Professor of Information Technology at major US universities, including Howard University, and The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA. Further writing and lectures by Prof. Manny Aniebonam on Digital Access and ICT Solutions for developing economies are available online from www.aniebonam.com .

Sun Microsystems To Provide Support For OpenOffice

2007-12-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

Sun Microsystems on Monday plans to announce that it will provide support for the OpenOffice.org productivity software suite, citing a wave of momentum behind the open-source project.

The support, which starts at $US20 per user per year, will be offered to companies that distribute OpenOffice.org, not directly to end-users, according to senior director of marketing for StarOffice/OpenOffice.org and Network.com, Mark Herring. "For a lot of distributors, they wanted to distribute OpenOffice.org and had no option for back-line support," he said.

OpenOffice.org and StarOffice, Sun's accompanying commercial product, are compatible with Microsoft Office and identical in terms of capabilities, which include word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software. But until now, Sun only supported StarOffice.

Another difference will remain -- Sun does not plan to provide indemnification against lawsuits for OpenOffice.org, as it does for StarOffice, Herring said.

Sun's move comes as OpenOffice.org is being downloaded 1 million times per week, with total downloads to date standing at about 110 million, Herring said.

Out of that number, Sun estimates that "tens of millions" of people are actively using the software, according to Herring. The most recent version is 2.3. Version 2.4 is expected in March and will contain significant new features, according to the [openoffice.org] qebsite.

"Microsoft Office is still the dominant tool out there -- only a fool would deny that," he said. "But [OpenOffice.org] has had a huge amount of momentum."

Sun believes the average OpenOffice.org user skews younger on average, and that download activity in Europe and the US has been greater than in Asian countries, he added.

Developers can create extensions to the core OpenOffice.org suite. Sun has made a new one for shaving down the size of presentation files, Herring said. The wizard-like tool goes through a file and asks users whether they want to keep or compress the various elements, he said.

Sun plans to provide support for any extensions it creates, according to Herring. As for ones made by third parties, "we would have to work with them on that code on a case-by-case basis," he said.

Sun is also releasing StarOffice 8 Server. Herring described it as a conversion engine that changes 40 document types into PDF files. The server, which costs $11,000, is aimed at enterprises with large stores of legacy documents that aren't archived with an open standard, according to Herring.

Wireless LAN Signals & Xbox 360 Signals Clashing

2007-12-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

Microsoft's popular Xbox 360 game console can create a strong and strange signal on wireless LANs, according to IT staff at Morrisville State College.

It's not clear whether the signal disrupts the college's WLAN access points or students' wireless notebooks. There is some anecdotal evidence, however, that it at least affects other radios in the same 2.4GHz band.

Morrisville IT staff typically use Bluetooth headsets, which run in the 2.4GHz band, with their mobile phones when they troubleshoot problems on the spacious campus. "We had problems syncing our headsets to our phone where this signal was strong," says Matt Barber, the college's network administrator. A phone user had to physically touch the headset to the cell phone to make the initial connection, he says.

There may be effects on the WLAN that the equipment itself, from Meru Networks, is circumventing, according to Barber. Part of Meru's WLAN architecture employs software that gives the access points more control over wireless-client transmission behavior than does the software of some of Meru's rivals. An access point near a radiating Xbox may be compensating for interference by in effect guiding a wireless laptop to send and receive when open spectrum is available, essentially dodging around the Xbox signal.

Working with Meru, the small IT staff is planning to test soon the effect of multiple Xbox consoles in a dorm with a large number of active notebook clients.

Network World has asked Microsoft to comment on the Xbox signal phenomenon, but the company was not able to reply before this story was posted. We'll update this report as soon Microsoft provides information.

The latest version of the Xbox, the Xbox 360 Elite, went on sale earlier this year with a 120G-byte hard disk and a high-definition video interface.

Morrisville is a small college in rural New York state, taking its name from a nearby town. In summer 2007, the college deployed a campuswide 802.11a/b/g WLAN based on equipment from Meru.. The plan was to replace those access points with Meru's new, two-radio devices that added support for Draft 2 of 802.11n, the IEEE standard that boosts throughput from 22M to 25Mbps to at least 150M to180Mbps. That replacement was just completed, creating the first large-scale deployment.

During the fall, Morrisville IT staff, working with Meru engineers and IBM, the network integrator, detected an unusual signal in the 2.4GHz band. "We wanted to look at the [radio frequency] environment in our dorms," Barber says. "We always thought we'd run into some strange stuff [there] in the 2.4 range."

The signal was discovered using Cognio Spectrum Expert, from Cognio (recently bought by Cisco). Spectrum Expert is RF-analysis software packaged with a WLAN adapter card that slots into any laptop PC. Among other capabilities, Spectrum Expert identifies sources of radio energy in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz WLAN bands, and identifies the cause, such as a brand of access point or a microwave oven.

"The signal really stood out," Barber says. "In some places it was so strong we thought it might be affecting the air [that is, the radio environment] around it."

The Cognio software, however, was baffled by this new signal: "Unknown emitter" was the classification. The signal shows up in the Cognio display as a kind of green-blizzard effect, covering a large swath of the 2.4 band, Barber says. That means the signal "is jumping all over the spectrum band," he says. In contrast, a nearby Meru access point shows up in the same scan as a strong, stable yellow-red glow, almost like a sun. The green blizzard is shot through with red dashes, which show, Barber says, that the signal at moments nearly rivals the access point in strength.

The mystery signal baffled the IT staff and Meru until Barber had a brainstorm: He brought in his own Xbox 360 and plugged it in, and turned on the Cognio spectrum analyzer. Presto: The same signal appeared.

Barber says the signal seems be created by the console's embedded 2.4GHz radio, which is used to communicate with the handheld wireless controller -- the gizmo with the buttons that manipulate a game running on the console. The Xbox also takes an optional Wi-Fi adapter, in the form of an USB dongle, to connect to a WLAN access point.

Barber says his "best guess" at this point is that the embedded radio, not the USB adapter, causes the signal. The signal is created even if the Xbox console is shut off: Just plugging its AC adapter into an electrical outlet seems to trigger the radio to look for -- and keep looking for -- a companion wireless controller. "It's even worse when you have multiple Xboxes in an area," Barber says.

At one point, IT staff wrapped the console in a static discharge bag, the material used, for example, to wrap and protect consumer electronics gear from static damage during shipment. The same properties make it act like radio "blanket" to muffle a transmission. Sure enough, the Cognio software showed a significant drop in the Xbox signal's strength.

The next step is more systematic testing. "We want to get several consoles together with a bunch of WLAN clients, to create a busy [RF] environment, and do some measurements," Barber says. "Are we seeing frames being dropped in the air, or people getting disconnected?"

Answering that question may be a bit more urgent, with Christmas looming, and the likelihood of still more brand-new Xboxs and other wireless entertainment products turning up in January when students return.

German Speaking Trojan Defrauding Banks In US, UK, Spain And Italy

2007-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

Gregg Keizer
A German-speaking hacker crew is looting commercial bank accounts in four countries using a custom-built Trojan put in place by expertly crafted and extremely focused phishing attacks, a security researcher said Thursday.

The malware's most distinguishing feature, said Don Jackson, a senior security researcher at SecureWorks, is its ability to mimic the steps the human account owner would take to move money.

A variant of the Prg Banking malware, the new Trojan has stolen hundreds of thousands from accounts at some of the biggest banks in the US, the UK, Spain and Italy, said Jackson. "This is not widespread, but it is very dangerous. They've already stolen more than US$200,000 from the accounts we've monitored, but this has really flown under the radar."

Jackson also said he has found at least four servers that contain Prg configuration files and bogus versions of legitimate banking sites, as well as caches of data harvested by the Trojan.

The cleverness and technical know-how of the attackers was almost breathtaking. "If you were on the bank side of this connection [with the Trojan], it would appear to be a person on the other end running the account," Jackson said. "It would seem as if someone was clicking the keys on the virtual keyboard and sending wire transfers."

According to Jackson, the hackers -- who speak German, though they may not reside in Germany proper -- mined the vast amount of data collected previously by a less powerful generic version of Prg for evidence of commercial banking accounts, including specific URLs of offshore banks or indications of wire transfers.

The crew targeted commercial accounts, said Jackson, both because those accounts typically contain bigger balances and because they usually have the built-in ability to conduct wire transfers. Once they break into a business account, the hackers can quickly plunder it by using wire transfers to move its monies to hacker-controlled accounts.

With victim accounts picked, the hackers then create what Jackson called "very convincing" phishing e-mails and send them to the account owners, who have been identified using data stolen earlier. "They'll usually have the bank account number, and the first and last name of its owner," said Jackson, as well as security details, such as whether the account is protected by a one-time password. "The e-mail will claim that the user needs to download a new one-time password or soft token, but when the user clicks on the link and reaches the phish site, the Prg Trojan is downloaded instead."

From there, the highly automated account thief takes over. The malware alerts the hacker when the account owner is actually online with his bank, "piggybacking" on the session to silently steal the username and password without actually duping the user into entering it. Then using its ability to simulate keystrokes, the Trojan walks through all the steps a human being would take to, for instance, wire funds to another account. An account can be emptied in seconds.

"That's a very clever part of the Trojan," said Jackson. "How it downloads JavaScript from the command-and-control server so it looks like the [account owner] is accessing the account, not a bot." While less-sophisticated malware heads straight to a money transfer page without first appearing to "visit" the pages a real person would view before reaching the transfer page, Prg visits the bank's pages in order, as a person would. Because most antifraud looks for automated, nonhuman behavior, Prg won't trigger a fraud alert.

Each bank site has had customized code written for it, Jackson added, to make updating the Trojan-controlled PCs easier. If the hackers need to change the destination account -- because it's been spotted and frozen by local law enforcement, say -- a new one can be fed to the Trojans from the server.

"Fewer than 20 banks have been hit by this so far," said Jackson, "but they include some of the biggest banks in the US, UK, Spain and Italy.

He came close to praising the criminals. "To me, the automation of this is very, very crafty."

The surest defense against the Prg Trojan, Jackson concluded, is to be suspicious of any e-mail received from a bank. "Even if you recognize the sender, you should confirm that the sender sent that message before clicking on any links."

Dell Notebooks Comes With Integrated Mobile Broadband

2007-12-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

Rodney Gedda

Dell has announced the addition of BigPond, using Telstra's Next G mobile network, as an option for integrated mobile broadband in a number of its notebooks.

From today 13 notebook models will sport the capability to access BigPond wireless broadband built-in, with plans starting at $34.95 per month on a 12-month plan.

Dell previously only offered built-in support for Vodafone mobile broadband.

Dell client computing strategist Jeff Morris said the move is in response to direct customer feedback and the company has worked with BigPond to make the wireless broadband experience "simple, easy to buy and to use".

BigPond group managing director Justin Milne said customers simply need to "fire up your new notebook, run the connection manager, pick a plan, and you're online".

Notebooks that support mobile broadband are throughout Dell's Latitude, Precision, Inspiron, Vosto, and XPS ranges.

RecoverGuard Provides Error-Proof Disaster Recovery Plan

2007-12-03T01:05:00.000-08:00

Mario Apicella

In IT, change is the only constant, as hardware and software is updated almost continuously. Companies that take business continuity seriously protect themselves by creating a recovery site to run vital business processes during an emergency.

Needless to say, keeping the recovery site current is essential to business continuity, but given the constant flux of hardware and software updates, the outcome of that effort is often uncertain.

And this uncertainty is compounded by the fact that changes to the IT infrastructure are often automated, whereas replicating those updates to the DR (disaster recovery) site remains a manual, error-prone activity.

An overlooked change could cripple your business in the event of a disaster. Think, for example, how damaging it would be if an important database was moved to a different volume to improve performance but that change was never replicated at the recovery site.

Is there a better way other than zealous attention to details to keep a DR plan effective? According to startup Continuity Software, its recently announced RecoverGuard 2.0 is the answer.

Think of RecoverGuard as a watchdog that can automatically compare the details of two IT infrastructures, then finds and reports their differences. Not only does RecoverGuard continuously monitor the two sites, but it also automatically creates a problem ticket when discrepancies arise.

It's interesting to note that RecoverGuard has a bottom-up, data-comes-first discovery process that initially identifies the storage objects of a site, then seeks out the hosts that owns them.

During discovery, RecoverGuard builds an accurate topology map of the datacenter that admins can use to better understand and solve problem tickets.

According to Continuity Software, RecoverGuard 2.0 brings some interesting improvements over previous versions, including a more efficient and faster discovery process, and a Dashboard that empowers nontechies to manage this critical business activity.

How intrusive is RecoverGuard? Not very, according to the vendor. In fact, it sits on a dedicated Windows machine and doesn't require you to install agents on your servers. Understandably, you'll have to provide the software with ample authentication credentials, just as you give your security guards keys to open every door in the building.

I liked just about everything I heard and saw during my briefing and demonstration with Continuity Software, including its assessment challenge -- a sort of gauntlet thrown at your current DR procedure.

It goes like this: Continuity Software volunteers to perform a risk assessment that won't cost you anything if no damaging difference is found between your primary and recovery sites.

What happens if a significant inconsistency is found? Well, then, you pay US$15,000 for the assessment, plus a yearly license fee of US$2,000 per server. Are you confident enough to take that challenge?

Solid-State Drives In The Market Soon

2007-12-03T00:57:00.000-08:00

John Brandon

For laptop owners, flash-memory drives boost battery life and performance while making notebooks lighter and more bearable for frequent business travelers. In the data center, benefits include higher reliability than their magnetic counterparts, lower cooling requirements and better performance for applications that require random access such as e-mail servers.

So far, the biggest barriers to adopting solid-state drives (SSD) in the data center have been price and capacity. Hard disk drives (HDD) are much less expensive and hold much more information. For example, a server-based HDD costs just US$1 to US$2 per gigabyte, while SSD costs from US$15 to US$90 per gigabyte, according to IDC.

Capacities are just as disparate. The Samsung SSD drive only holds 64GB, although the company plans to release a new 128GB version next year. Meanwhile, Hitachi America makes a 1TB HDD that's energy efficient and priced at US$399 for mass deployment in servers.

Enterprise Strategy Group analyst Mark D. Peters explains that solid-state technology has been on the radar for years, but has not been a "slam-dunk" in terms of price and performance for corporate managers. That's about to change, he says, because the IOPS (input/output operations per second) benefits to SSDs are too impressive to ignore. Advantages include how SSD has no moving parts, lasts longer, runs faster and is more energy efficient than an HDD.

And prices are falling fast. Right now, the industry trend is a 40% to 50% drop in SSD pricing per year, according to Samsung.

The arrival of hybrid drives such as Samsung's ReadyDrives -- which use both SSD and HDD technology -- and SSD-only servers "suggests the time for SSD as a genuine -- and growing -- viable option is getting closer," says Peters. He was referring to the recent IBM announcement about BladeCenter servers that use a SSD.

"Price erosion, coupled with increased capacity points, will make SSDs an increasingly attractive alternative to HDDs" in data centers, agrees Jeff Janukowicz, an analyst at IDC.

Two examples of how SSDs solve persistent throughput problems for high-performance computing shows how SSD technology may make new inroads in corporations in 2008, some industry watchers believe.

Solid-state at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

At this research center, SSD is being used for some of the most data-intensive work going on today. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) uses particle accelerators to study questions, including where antimatter went in the early universe and what role neurexin and neuroligin proteins play in autism.

The amount of data is immense -- in the petabytes -- and the lab uses a cluster of 5,000 processor cores. Despite that, the discrete chunks of data that are requested and analyzed by several hundred researchers are highly granular -- usually just 100 to 3,000 bytes of information. At the same time, scientists tend to perform thousands of data requests, accessing a few million chunks of data per second.

Richard Mount, SLAC's director of computing, explains that the response time for these researchers' data requests is limited not by the number of processors or by the amount of network bandwidth, but rather by disk access time. "Flash memory is over a thousand times faster than disk" drive technology," says Mount. "Hard disks are limited to around 2,000 sparse or random accesses per second. When accessing thousand-byte chunks, this means that a disk can use only 1/50th of a gigabit-per-second network link and less than 1/100,000th of a typical computer center network switch capacity."

This limitation has translated into the need to make what the lab calls "skim data sets." In other words, preassembled collections of related data that at least one researcher has already requested. "There is no waiting for skim data sets that already exist, but if somebody wants one that does not already exist, then they normally have to wait for a skim production cycle that takes place once every four to six months," Mount says.

To help researchers receive data in a more ad hoc manner, flash storage may be just the thing. "We have no religious attachment to flash, but we can construct flash-based storage at a reasonable cost and around 25ms latency, and we are doing so."

SLAC has developed its own SSD-based system that is in the final debugging stages, Mount explains. "The first version of this will provide about 2TB of storage, but we can easily grow this to 5 or 10TB just by buying flash chips," though he reckons the scalability will require "more serious expenditure." At the 2TB level, it will serve as a test and development system only.

Eventually, the goal is to use SSD technology as a cache for all particle accelerator research, which will allow scientists to access data at any time from any data store. "SSDs help the entire system run more efficiently by ensuring the I/O capability is in balance with the rest of the application system," adds IDC's Janukowicz. "The characteristics of flash-based SSDs make them a well-suited alternative for high-IOPS applications that are read intensive. SSDs have no rotational latency and have high random-read performance. Thus, with SSDs the time to access the data is consistent and very small regardless of where on the device the data is held."

Considering SSD at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington, solid-state technology could help alleviate a supercomputer bottleneck. At the lab, researchers run tests that sustain a write speed of 80Gbit/sec. and a read speed of 136Gbit/sec. Yet, one or two slow hard disk drives running at one quarter the speed of other disks causes performance to degrade quickly.

"Solid-state devices such as flash drives can use a RAID striping technique to achieve high streaming bandwidth -- just like [hard] disk drives -- while also maintaining very low latency for random access," says Robert Farber, a senior researcher at PNNL. "This is a very exciting combination."

The lab has not moved to solid-state technology yet. But Farber says the real debate is whether low-latency access for "seek-limited applications" -- in other words, many requests for small amounts of data -- can alleviate the pressure of computing bandwidth. It is not solely a price-per-gigabyte debate. "It remains to be seen how much of a price premium consumers will tolerate before robustness, power, storage capacity and physical space differences cause a mass departure from magnetic media," Farber says.

At the PNNL, the latency goal for its last supercomputer was 25Mbit/sec., per gigaflop of peak rate floating-point performance. This is mostly to be able to handle the data-intensive nature of the NWChem scientific software calculations running. The lab's new environmental molecular sciences facility contains a new supercomputer with a theoretical peak floating point performance of 163 teraflops. And, like at the Stanford lab, disk speed is a critical part of the equation, so solid-state is the forerunner in solving the bottleneck.

One breakthrough Farber expects in the not-too-distant future: Operating systems will change their memory hierarchy to directly access SSD, turning the technology into a hard drive replacement for mass storage.

Complementary, not replacement tech for most users

One question that remains: When will SSD really impact the corporate world? Some say SSD in the data center is just on the horizon, since laptops such as the Dell XPS M1330 uses a Samsung 64GB SSD. Alienware also offers a 64GB option in some of its desktop computers. And SSD is applicable across the commercial landscape; while researchers need the speed to study proteins, retailers may need or want faster POS transactions.

One company to watch in this space: Violin Memory. The company's Terabyte-Scale Memory Appliance provides over 1Gbit/sec. access for sequential and random-access. SLAC's Mount says he tested a DRAM-based prototype appliance from Violin, and that its upcoming flash-based system "seems a good match for our applications."

A Violin spokesman explains that the two key bottlenecks in corporate computing are network speeds and IOPS for storage systems. Today, disks run at about 100Mbit/sec. for sequential operations, but only 1Mbit/sec. for random 4k blocks, he says.

"In some cases, there are minimal capacity requirements which are well suited for SSDs," Janukowicz adds. "Also, in high-performance applications, the IOPS metrics can favor SSDs over HDDs." However, even with all those benefits, he says that "IDC does not see SSDs completely replacing HDDs in servers. SSDs do offer performance advantages and are a 'green' solution. However, there are many applications that require the capacity provided by HDDs."

Enterprise Strategy Group's Peters says that throughput requirements will lead to a gradual shift away from hard disk drives to solid-state technology, but it will take time in the corporate world. "Moving wholeheartedly from one technology to another is a rare thing within data centers," he says.

John Brandon worked in IT management for 10 years before starting a full-time writing career. He can be reached at jbrandonbb@gmail.com.

MIT Finally Completes Its OpenCourseWare Project.

2007-12-03T00:52:00.000-08:00

John Cox

MIT this week announced an important digital achievement: the completion of its pioneering OpenCourseWare project. And everyone involved seems quite happy with being unsure about why exactly it's important.

The achievement is digitizing all the classroom materials for all of MIT's 1,800 academic courses, putting them online, and inviting anyone and everyone to do whatever they want with that information. It's called the OCW project, and it's spawning a global movement to make what had been jealously guarded education resources accessible to educators and learners everywhere.

You can find the outline of a course in fundamentals in data networking, with a syllabus and lecture notes. There's a PowerPoint presentation from 2006 on "Trends in RFID Sensing".

Proposed in 2000 by a faculty committee, announced in 2001, and launched in 2002, OCW has received US$29 million in funding, US$5 million from MIT, the rest from foundations and contributors. One key backer, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has decided on investing another US$100 million over five years in various open education projects largely because of its experience with OCW, according to Marshall Smith, director of the foundation's education program.

MIT has taken a step in doing something more with OCW. As part of Wednesday's celebration on the MIT campus in Massachusetts, University President Susan Hockfield announced a new portal for OCW, one designed specifically for high school teachers and students. Dubbed "Highlights for High School," the portal's home page selectively targets MIT's introductory science, engineering, technology and math courses, with lecturer's notes, reading lists, exams and other classroom information. The OCW resources, including video-taped labs, simulations, assignments and other hands-on material, have been categorized to match up with the requirements of high school Advanced Placement studies.

It's that "letting them do whatever they want" part that creates the uncertainty about why OCW is important. The data on usage are impressive. In the five years since the launch of OCW, with a 50-course pilot site, an estimated 35 million individuals have logged in. About 15% are educators, 30% are students, and the rest are what MIT calls "self learners" with no identifiable education affiliation, says Steve Carson, OCW's external relations director.

The recently formed OpenCourseWare Consortium has 160 member institutions, creating and sharing their own sites, on the MIT model. Something like 5,000 non-MIT courses are now available globally, some but not all using material from the OCW Web site.

Yet, one of the most striking statistics is from a completely unexpected source: iTunes, Apple's Web site for music and videos. MIT President Hockfield said she was told in September by her daughter to check out the iTunes list of most-popular videos. To her astonishment, Hockfield found two OCW videos in the top-10 listing. "No. 3 was 'classical mechanics,' she said. "No. 7 was 'differential equations.' Go figure."

"This expresses, to me, the hunger in this world for learning, and for good learning materials," she told her audience.

A distinguished group of speakers and panelists at the MIT event all agreed that OCW represents...well, something.

"We're unlocking a treasure trove of materials," said Steve Lerman, MIT's dean for graduate students, and chairman of the OCW Faculty Advisory Committee.

OCW's resources will factor large in plans by the government of India to create a massive expansion of educational resources, according to Sam Pitroda, chairman of the government's Knowledge Commission, which is charged with making specific recommendations on how to spend the new US$65 billion the government will invest in education over the next five years. The nation has over a half-billion people younger than 25, Pitroda says. Just one of a series of almost unimaginable goals is to increase the number of universities from 350 today to 1,500 in five years, he said.

Pitroda said the scale of such goals requires questioning basic assumptions about what education is and how it is accomplished. "We don't have enough resources to train teachers and build an entire [traditional] infrastructure to support them," he said. Hence, the commission's interest in open projects like OCW, which hold the promise of a massive transfer not only of knowledge but of teaching approaches and learning structures that can be adapted to local requirements and cultures.

"Given this expansion, OCW plays a key role in these emerging experiments" in education, Pitroda said.

Former Xerox Chief Scientist John Seely Brown, sounding what for him is a recurring theme, said Web technologies in education are creating a new generation of tinkerers, who tinker with content online rather than nuts and bolts. This is the domain of mashups, of combining existing content from various sources and media to create new, often more complex creations, often in the context of a community of peers who share a common passion.

"Maybe the next stage for OCW is shifting from [a focus on] content to actions on or with the content," he said. "We have the ability to bring back tinkering, which is the basis of our intuition. We get our intuitions from playing around with stuff."

Their musing prompted further musings from the audience.

Someone wondered if the new technologies both inspiring and enabling OCW and other projects have rewired the brains of the next generation, so that entirely novel ways of teaching and learning are now needed. Another asked if these technologies were democratizing learning, didn't that call into question the classic idea of the university as a "certifier" by its degree programs that a student has acquired a certain degree of knowledge. Still another wondered how OCW could be augmented by faculty from around the world while balancing a need for maintaining some criteria of excellence.

These and many other questions will have to be addressed as part of a developing global conversation about the "meta university," suggested Charles Vest, MIT's former president and an early and enthusiastic backer of OCW. This concept is an attempt to blend what Vest described as the "deeply human activities" of teaching and learning, with advances in information technology that are making possible new tools for those activities: vast digital archives, open digital publications such as the Public Library of Science, projects like the Sakai open source learning management system, and projects like MIT's iLabs, which lets students around the world use the Internet to access automated lab equipment, run automated experiments, and analyze and share data.

"The emotion I feel right now is humility," said Hal Abelson, professor of computer science and engineering at MIT, and founding director of Creative Commons, a non-profit that offers free tools for content creators to mark their online creative work with the freedoms and permissions they want the work to carry. "What OCW has led us to see is what we're in something like 'Education 1.0' What comes next? We're imagining the future."

Cisco Confirms Its VOIP Phones Spies On Remote Calls

2007-12-03T00:46:00.000-08:00

Linda Leung

Cisco confirmed it is possible to eavesdrop on remote conversations using Cisco VoIP phones. In its security response, Cisco says: "an attacker with valid Extension Mobility authentication credentials could cause a Cisco Unified IP Phone configured to use the Extension Mobility feature to transmit or receive a Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) audio stream."

Cisco adds that Extension Mobility authentication credentials are not tied to individual IP phones and that "any Extension Mobility account configured on an IP phone's Cisco Unified Communications Manager/CallManager (CUCM) server can be used to perform an eavesdropping attack."

The technique was described by Telindus researcher Joffrey Czarny at HACK.LU 2007 in Luxembourg in October.

Cisco has published some workarounds to this problem in its security response.

Also in October, two security experts at hacker conference ToorCon9 in San Diego hacked into their hotel's corporate network using a Cisco VoIP phone.

The hackers, John Kindervag and Jason Ostrom said they were able to access the hotel's financial and corporate network and recorded other phone calls, according to a blog on Wired.com.

The hackers used penetration tests propounded by a tool called VoIP Hopper, which mimics the Cisco data packets sent at three minute intervals and then trades a new Ethernet interface, getting the PC - which the hackers switched in place of the hotel phone - into the network running the VoIP, according to the blog post.

The Avaya configuration is superior to Cisco, according to the hackers, because you have to send requests beyond a sniffer. Although it can be breached the same way, by replacing the phone with a PC.

Botnet Ringleader In New Zealand, Busted

2007-11-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

The swoop is the FBI's second phase of "Operation Bot Roast" -- the same operation which resulted in four felony charges against 26-year-old Los Angeles security consultant, John Schiefer.

The New Zealand suspect, who goes by the name of "AKILL", came under fire after an information sharing exercise between the New Zealand Police, the US Secret Service and the FBI. He has been interviewed by New Zealand police and investigators have seized computers from his home.

FBI director Robert S Mueller III, said botnets are the "weapon of choice" for cybercriminals.

"They seek to conceal their criminal activities by using third party computers as vehicles for their crimes. In Bot Roast II, we see the diverse and complex nature of crimes that are being committed through the use of botnets," he said.

Since "Operation Bot Roast" was announced last June, eight individuals have been indicted, pled guilty, or been sentenced for crimes related to botnet activity, according to the FBI. Law enforcement agencies have also served 13 search warrants in the US and overseas.

FBI Assistant Director James E Finch, Cyber Division, warns users to protect their systems.
"Practicing strong computer security habits such as updating antivirus software, installing a firewall, using strong passwords, and employing good e-mail and Web security practices are as basic as putting locks on your doors and windows.

"Without employing these safeguards, botnets, along with criminal and possibly terrorist activities, will continue to flourish," he said.

Except for Alexander Dmitriyevich Paskalov, 38, all individuals identified by the FBI in "Operation Bot Roast II" are male, US citizens, under 30 years old.

Micron Technology Releases 64GB Solid-State Hard Drives In 2008

2007-11-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

Michael Kanellos

Micron Technology, the Boise, Idaho-based maker of BDRAM and flash memory, this week unveiled plans to come out with solid-state drives. The drives function like regular hard drives. But instead of storing data on spinning disks, solid-state drives store it on NAND memory chips -- the kind found in cameras and MP3 players.

Micron will start mass-producing solid-state drives in the first quarter of 2008. The first drives will hold either 32GB or 64GB of memory. While that's less than half the capacity of the average notebook drive today, it's actually more storage than most business users need, said Dean Klein, vice president of memory system development at Micron. Plus, solid-state notebooks can come out of deep sleep or launch applications far more rapidly.

"Sixty GB to 80GB is the sweet spot for the notebook market," he said.

Micron didn't talk pricing, but the drives will likely cost a few hundred dollars, a stumbling block. For example, swapping out a 160GB standard hard drive for a 64GB solid-state drive (from Samsung) on a Dell XPS 1330 notebook costs an additional US$950. Considering that the notebook with the 160GB drive already costs US$1,599, the solid-state drives aren't exactly economical.

Nonetheless, the magic of Moore's Law and the ability of memory makers to take it on the chin are going to make these drives more affordable. The first thing that will happen is that toward the end of 2008, solid-state drive makers will start to incorporate multilevel cell flash chips in the drives, Klein said. Manufacturers currently use single-level cell flash memory.

Multilevel cell chips hold two (and soon four) bits of data per cell. The chips aren't as reliable as single-level cell memory, but the error rates are small enough to make these types of drives more than adequate for the notebook market, he added.

In addition, multilevel cell chips will enable drive makers to increase the capacity of their drives, driving down the price. At equal capacities, multilevel cell chips could cut the price of making a drive by roughly 40 percent, estimated Frankie Roohparvar, vice president of NAND development at Micron.

Meanwhile, the world is swimming in NAND flash, leading to drastic price declines. NAND prices are set to drop 57 percent this year and 52 percent next year, said Joseph Unsworth, an analyst at Gartner.

Put those two factors together, and it could be possible to come out with a 64GB solid-state drive for close to US$300 toward the end of 2008, Unsworth speculated. That's still high. He estimates that only eight million solid-state drives will get shipped in all of '08.

But after that, the industry should begin to be able to show the benefits of these kinds of drives, the Micron executives predict. Even if price declines begin to slow, 64GB drives will likely move toward the US$200 range by late 2009 and then drop to sub-US$100 about 18 months after that. Hard-drive makers will continue to increase the density of their products at the same time, of course, but competition between the two technologies will become tighter.

It happened in MP3 players, after all. Most upscale players came with 1.8-inch drives. The industry, however, at one point abruptly switched to flash.

Unsworth said the flash makers are going to have to tout the supposed benefits of having a flash drive with less capacity than a spinning disk (better battery life, can withstand a drop from a table better, you may not need all that storage, etc.).

He added that notebook makers will have to cooperate by making smaller laptops that showcase the features of flash. Flash takes up less space and, because it doesn't radiate as much heat, you can eliminate a fan. Currently, the notebooks that contain flash are basically the same size as the hard-drive models.

"With MP3 players, it was easy. You just turn it sideways and quote the battery life," Unsworth said.

QuickTime Vulnerability Experienced In Mac OS X Too

2007-11-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

Gregg Keizer

The QuickTime vulnerability disclosed in the Windows version of QuickTime last week also affects Mac OS X, Symantec said yesterday.

According to additional research by Symantec's security response team, the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) bug in QuickTime is also present in the Mac versions of Apple's media player. "We tested it, and the [proof-of-concept] exploit does cause a denial of service," said Marc Fossi, manager of the Symantec team, explaining that the Windows-specific attack code fails to give a hacker access to a Macintosh but instead causes QuickTime to crash.

However, Fossi cautioned Mac users against believing that they are in the clear. "QuickTime vulnerabilities have tended to affect both Windows and Mac OS X, and it's always possible that a denial of service could lead to remote code execution," he warned.

Fossi also said that on Windows, it now appears that Microsoft's Internet Explorer Versions 6 and 7, as well as the beta of Apple's Safari browser, will offer some additional protection against attacks that are based on duping users into visiting malicious or compromised sites hosting rigged streaming content.

"The buffer overflow protection built into IE and in Safari prevents the exploit shell code from executing in the [QuickTime] plug-in," said Fossi. To successfully attack a user via IE or Safari, the current exploit example would have to be refined, Symantec added in a posting to its security blog Monday.

Firefox, however, provides no such protection, Fossi noted, because it passes off the streaming content request directly to the stand-alone QuickTime Player, ceding control to the Apple program.

Any attack on a Windows XP or Vista PC that circumvents the browser -- by delivering a rogue attachment that when opened automatically launches the QuickTime Player -- executes and compromises the computer, Symantec's research showed.

Fossi also repeated a warning given over the weekend that in-the-wild use of the exploit will probably come sooner rather than later. "When there is an exploit that's fairly complete, like this one, attacks could be soon in coming," he said. "It doesn't take someone very long to develop a malicious exploit when they start with something like this."

He recommended that network administrators block RTSP traffic -- the protocol's default outbound port is TCP 554 -- and that users steer clear of links to untrusted sites and be wary of file attachments.

Even though Apple has issued six QuickTime security updates so far this year and patched a total of 31 vulnerabilities, Fossi declined to call Apple's player less secure than those of rivals, such as Microsoft's Windows Media Player.

"Windows Media Player has had its share of vulnerabilities," he said. "A lot of people have media players installed on their computers, and they make pretty nice targets. Multimedia in general is a nice target for attackers. Most people know not to open a Word doc or an executable file, but with multimedia, everyone has a natural curiosity to see what their buddy just sent them.

"Then, bang."

Apple did not respond to questions about the QuickTime vulnerability and its plans for patching the program.

Electricity From Renewable Energy, Google New Goal

2007-11-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Google said Tuesday it will invest in developing ways to create electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than the electricity produced from coal.

Google Co-founder Larry Page said in 2008, the company plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on research and development and other related investments in renewable energy. Currently, coal supplies 40 percent of the world's electricity, according to Google.

"We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers," said Page in the statement. "We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal."

Page said Google's goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal.

"We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades," he said, adding that one gigawatt can power a city the size of San Francisco.

Page said that if Google meets that goal and large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, then the world could meet a large part of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources and significantly reduce carbon emissions. "We expect this would be a good business for us as well," he said.

Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, will invest in the initiative, known as RE.

Google.org is now working with two companies on renewable energy technologies: eSolar, a California-based company specializing in solar thermal power that replaces the fuel in a traditional power plant with heat produced from solar energy; and Makani Power, a California-based company developing technologies to harness the wind for energy.

Google said Tuesday's announcement is just the latest step in its commitment to a clean and green energy future.

Earning The CISSP : What It Takes And What It Is Worth

2007-11-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

Greg Schaffer

Recently, I became an International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). The pursuit was difficult, but that was to be expected, as the certification is one of the most sought-after information security credentials. Like many certifications, it can add significant bargaining weight when changing positions or jockeying for a raise.

Certifications don't necessarily make or break one's career, but can contribute to one's overall package. Whether you're satisfied in a position or looking to upgrade, it's in your best interest to stay as knowledgeable and marketable as possible. Understanding that certifications may not be a panacea but certainly have value is the first step in determining which certifications (if any) are worth pursuing based on your career goals.

The value of certifications

There has been much debate over the validity and usefulness of certifications, but one thing is clear: knowledge without the ability to apply it is functionally useless. That's one reason why some certifications require significant real-world experience as part of the certification process. IT recruiters are keenly aware of this.

"You may be a whiz at taking certification exams," says John Estes, vice president at IT staffing agency Robert Half Technology, "but if you don't have the benefit of troubleshooting [experience] in a business environment, you won't last long." Justin Keller, an infrastructure recruiter at TEKsystems Inc., agrees. "Certifications are something that will set apart qualified candidates from the rest of the field but they cannot be expected to replace real life experience," Keller says.

However, there has to be some value to a certification besides a fancy certificate for display on the wall. Overall, it's not unreasonable to expect a relevant certification to command roughly a 10% average increase in salary over those performing the same duties without the credentials, according to Brian Hunter, an executive and technical recruiter at Talent Scouts Inc. He suggests that people interested in pursuing a particular certification do a cost-benefit analysis to determine the certifications' return on investment.

Without a doubt, pursuing certifications requires tenacity and a willingness to put in long hours of preparation, not to mention the monetary costs, particularly if a "boot camp"-type preparation course is used. As Keller points out, "the financial and time commitments that are required to get many of these certifications are significant."

Basically, certifications by definition should certify that a professional possesses the qualities necessary to accomplish the duties of a particular position. In information security, that means having a very broad experience, knowledge and skills base.

My pursuit to become a CISSP

Information security is one of the fastest growing areas in IT today. Keller notes that "specialization in this area is going to be a solid differentiator in a market that is already very competitive." Certainly in the information security field, having the paperwork to back up the knowledge can be quite valuable. As my information security duties have increased dramatically over the past several years to the point where the majority of my professional activities are related to information security, I felt it was time to achieve that differentiator.

While there are other information security credentials available such as the Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA) from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), I chose to go after the CISSP certification because of its reputation and vendor-neutrality and because my knowledge and experience matched the CISSP requirements well. In addition, the managerial components of the CISSP credential fit with my aspirations to become a chief information security officer (CISO).

To become a CISSP, a minimum of five years' work experience in two of 10 knowledge areas, referred to as domains, is necessary. We're not talking just technical areas here, as the domains include not only nuts-and-bolts topics such as networking and cryptography but managerial and planning tools such as business continuity and disaster recovery. This is because information security is at the core a business process or, more exactly, a method to ensure that the business continuity is unimpeded.

"It seems like almost every week, you hear about a Fortune 500 company or government department having a breach of sensitive information," explains Louie DiNicola, who expects to complete his undergraduate degree in computer information systems next spring and already has a position lined up working in IT assurance. "I want to be able to help companies avoid that and maximize their potential by helping them identify problems in IT policy and implementation."

DiNicola has an edge outside of the certifications with his college degree. Companies will often ignore a potential candidate, regardless of experience and qualifications, if he hasn't earned a degree. "It does not matter if the person can walk on water," according to Hunter. "If they do not have a degree, they won't be considered" for some positions.

DiNicola knows that a degree and certifications, coupled with experience, make for a powerful mix. "I realize that as an entry-level graduate, the certification might be better suited as a long-term goal," he explains. DiNicola has already begun plans to pursue the CISA credential and the CISSP certification after that.

The CISSP credential goes far beyond measuring one's book knowledge. First, the candidate must be endorsed by an ISC2-certified professional confirming that the candidate meets the experience requirements. Also, the candidate must pledge to adhere to a code of ethics. Finally, to maintain certification, the CISSP must constantly engage in security activities, such as ongoing education and participating in security speaking opportunities.

But it all starts with the exam, and there are many ways to prepare for it. For me, self study was the best way to go. You have to be disciplined and self-motivated to forego structured courses, but self study can provide more flexibility while saving costs. Note that bypassing the class route doesn't mean that you have to go it alone. I found valuable resources online from CISSP forums such as one at CCCure.org and free online workshops such as those offered by the University of Fairfax.

Passing the CISSP and other certification exam tips

The following tips helped me pass the CISSP exam, the most difficult certification exam I have ever taken. As learning methods vary, so should your approach to preparing for any certification exam.

My first action was to register for the exam to allow for two months of preparation. While this may seem obvious, registering for the exam a certain period in advance helps to focus on the goal. Without a deadline, it can be difficult to achieve that goal, since the propensity to procrastinate is great.

My next step was to purchase a review book with practice questions and exams. I opted to purchase ISC2's CISSP review book, which came with a CD of practice exams. Of course, there are other study guides with practice exams available. The point is to have a good resource to prepare with. Multiple books can help especially in locking down difficult concepts by approaching them from different angles.

You should take a practice exam before beginning to study because it can point out subject-matter strengths and weaknesses. Predictably, I was strongest in the two domains for which I met the required experience and quite weak in some others. This helped me prioritize my studying.

Plan to study until one week before the exam and spend the last week reviewing material at a leisurely pace. A light review the night before the exam is fine, but do not cram. If the test is given in a location that requires significant travel, plan on arriving the night before, particularly for an early morning exam. I relaxed the night prior to the exam, because I knew I would need all my faculties the next day.

The CISSP test consists of 250 multiple-choice questions that must be completed in six hours. That equates to less than one and a half minutes per question. There are various strategies for attacking such exams; mine was to be well rested and answer every question in the exam in four hours, then review the rest of the time. If time becomes a factor toward the end of the exam, answers will be rushed, so pacing is important.

After I left the exam, confident that I had a 50-50 chance of passing, I began crafting my retest strategy. Since I had just spent so much time over two months preparing for this exam, I planned to register to retake the exam the moment I found out I failed, because I didn't want to lose the freshness of the knowledge. Fortunately, I didn't have to activate that plan, but I was ready to.

Summary

While these tips are based on my pursuit of becoming a CISSP, they have applicability to other certifications as well.

* Match certifications with your goals and skills.
* Study, study, study. Whether that means books, classes or both, studying can't be overemphasized.
* Cramming rarely works. Rather, relax the night before, and get a good night's sleep.
* Certifications should be part of an overall success strategy, not the singular focus.
* The further up the ladder, the more important degrees become. If CISO is a goal, look into pursuing an advanced degree.
* Realize it's just an exam. Everyone has bad days, and failing is not the end of the world.
* If you do fail, plan to retest sooner than later. Don't give up the pursuit.

Finally, don't look at obtaining certifications as the primary goal but as part of an overall strategy for achieving your career aspirations. "No single accreditation will guarantee career success," summarizes Robert Half Technology's Estes. "But a mix of relevant, broad-based certifications can help support an IT professional who has experience in the field as well as a strong set of appropriate skills."

Greg Schaffer is a freelance writer based in Tennessee. He has over 15 years of experience in networking, primarily in higher education. He can be reached at newtnoise@comcast.net.

Microsoft Set To Check Windows Genuine Advantage's Anormalies

2007-11-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

Three months after a major failure of Microsoft's anticounterfeit system fingered legitimate Windows XP and Vista users as pirates, a senior project manager has spelled out the steps his team has taken to prevent a repeat.

Alex Kochis, the senior project manager for Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), used a company blog to outline new processes that have been put in place, including drills that test the WGA group's response to an outage like the one in late August.

"We've revamped the monitoring that is used to track what's happening within our server infrastructure so that we can identify potential problems faster, ideally before any customer gets impacted," Kochis said. "[And] since August, we have conducted more than a dozen 'fire-drills' designed to improve our ability to respond to issues affecting customers or that could impact the quality of the service."

Those drills, Kochis said, have ranged from pre-announced simulations to surprise alerts that test a specific scenario. "The team is now better prepared overall to take the right action and take it quickly," he promised.

In late August, servers operating the WGA validation system went dark for about 19 hours. Customers who tried to validate their copy of Windows -- a Microsoft requirement for both XP and Vista -- during the blackout were pegged as pirates; Vista owners found parts of the operating system had been disabled, including its Aero graphical interface.

Several days after the weekend meltdown, Microsoft blamed preproduction code for the snafu and said that a rollback to earlier versions of the server software didn't fix the problem immediately, as expected.

Microsoft, however, downplayed the incident, claiming that fewer than 12,000 PCs had been affected. The company's support forums, however, hinted that the problem was much more widespread: one message thread had collected over 450 messages within two days and had been viewed by 45,000 people.

One analyst gave Kochis' status report a mixed grade.

"I was looking for two things from Microsoft, and the first was that they would acknowledge that there was a failure," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Kirkland, Wash.-based Directions on Microsoft. "If they couldn't do that, it would show a real lack of insight into the severity of the problem. But they called it an 'outage' [here], which I don't think they had actually admitted before."

Cherry was more than on the mark. While Kochis called the incident a "temporary service outage" in his newest post, three months ago, he denied that the word applied. "It's important to clarify that this event was not an outage," he said on August 29, five days after the servers went down.

"Second," said Cherry, "I wondered if Microsoft would acknowledge that failures are going to happen, that something's going to go wrong no matter how many drills they have. And when that happens, what would they do? But I don't see anything like that here."

Kochis said the WGA team has also changed the way it updates the validation service's servers, beefed up free WGA phone support to round-the-clock coverage and improved the speed of delivery of "get-legal" kits to users who discover they're running counterfeit software, but he made no mention of any modifications to the antipiracy program itself, how it's implemented or how users are handled when it determines they're using fake copies of Windows.

"They should make it so that any impact [of an outage] is on Microsoft and not on the customer," Cherry said.

Back in August, Kochis claimed that Microsoft's policy was to do just that -- err on the side of the customer -- but he contended that the outage had been an anomaly. "Our system is designed to default to genuine if the service is disrupted or unavailable," Kochis said then. "If our servers are down, your system will pass validation every time. [But] this event was not the same as an outage, because in this case the trusted source of validations itself responded incorrectly."

That's not good enough, according to Cherry. "If users can't validate, for whatever reason, Microsoft should leave them in their current state, but not invalidate them, or validate them, at least until the next check," he said.

"You have to take the utmost care before you deny something to someone that they have purchased in good faith," he concluded.

'Gdrive,' Google's Online Storage And Backup Service Out Soon

2007-11-27T15:22:00.000-08:00

Google may release an online storage and backup service in the coming months, adding to its suite of hosted services, which already includes a variety of communication and collaboration applications, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Rumors that Google is developing such a service, informally known as the "Gdrive", have been circulating for more than two years. It's not clear why it has taken Google so long to deliver Gdrive, considering its concept is far from new and online storage and backup services are available already from a variety of vendors.

In fact, according to the Journal, the company isn't still completely sure it will bring this service to market, and plans for it could be shelved.

As existing services do, Google's would let people store files on Google servers so that they could make backup copies of files on hard drives and access and share them with others from any computer via the Internet, the Journal reported.

The service would provide an undetermined amount of storage for free, with additional space available for a fee, the Journal reported, quoting anonymous sources familiar with the plans.

Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from IDG News Service. A Google spokeswoman contacted by the Journal declined to comment about any specific online storage plans.

Google hopes to differentiate the service from existing competing ones by making it easier to use, the Journal reported.

Google already offers hosted storage for a variety of its Web-based applications, but this service would act as a sort of umbrella storage for multiple Google applications, allowing people to do keyword searches on their files, according to the Journal.

Cisco Gives Oracle 11g A Boost

2007-11-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

Stephen Lawson
Cisco did its part for Oracle users as the OpenWorld conference opened Monday, announcing a protocol it developed with the software company for running Oracle databases over larger server clusters.

The two vendors developed the RDS (Reliable Datagram Sockets) protocol and will make it part of an industry-developed open-source software distribution called Open Fabrics Enterprise Distribution, said Pramod Srivatsa, a product line manager for Cisco server fabric switches. It is intended for Cisco switches using Infiniband high-speed data-center technology.

Growing data centers and demands for processing have driven the development of new forms of connectivity, such as Infiniband and 10-Gigabit Ethernet, between servers in data centers. But pure networking speed -- up to 20G bps (bits per second) in the case of Infiniband -- isn't all that's needed to make data centers run faster.

Enterprises that want to set up a very large deployment of the Oracle 11g database software once had to do it on a single large server, Srivatsa said. Oracle already offers RAC (Real Application Clusters) 11g software for distributing that deployment over multiple, smaller Intel-based servers running Linux. But that only works up to a cluster of about four servers, and RDS makes it more scalable, he said. RDS has been tested successfully with as many as 16 servers and is designed to work for clusters of as many as 64 using Infiniband, according to Srivatsa.

Infiniband is well-suited to Oracle database software because it has to quickly exchange many messages of varying sizes, Srivatsa said. Mellanox, which supplies some of Cisco's chips for Infiniband switches, helped develop RDS. In the future, customers will probably be able to use RDS with 10-Gigabit Ethernet too, Srivatsa said.

RDS was designed for clusters of servers in one data center, which could include blade as well as rack servers, he said. Customers of both Oracle and Cisco can request the software from the companies now and start testing it. Cisco will start providing RDS for commercial use in its Infiniband servers after it is certified by Oracle, probably next month, Srivatsa said.

On Tuesday, at the SC07 supercomputing conference in Reno, Nevada, Cisco introduced the SFS (Server Fabric Switch) 3504, designed to let enterprises connect blade servers running Oracle database software with traditional Fibre Channel storage-area networks (SANs). The switch connects to a blade or rack server using Infiniband and serves as a gateway to both an Ethernet LAN and a Fibre Channel SAN, Srivatsa said. In the case of blade servers, it helps IT departments do more with systems that typically have just one type of external connectivity, he said.

The SFS 3504 can be ordered starting later this month and is set to ship in December. The average starting list price, depending on configurations, will be US$150 per port.

Microsoft Windows XP & 2003 Server Gets New Updates

2007-11-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Robert McMillan
Microsoft has released its November security updates, fixing a critical Windows bug that has been exploited by online criminals.

Microsoft released just two security updates this month, but security experts say that IT staff will want to install both of them as quickly as possible. The MS07-061 update is particularly critical because the flaw it repairs has been seen in Web-based attack code, said Amol Sarwate, manager of Qualys's vulnerability research lab. "This was a zero day [flaw] that was being used in the wild by hackers," he said.

The flaw has to do with the way Windows passes data between applications, using a technology called the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) protocol handler. This is the part of Windows that allows users to launch applications -- an e-mail or instant messaging client, for example -- by clicking on a Web link. Because Windows does not perform all of the security checks necessary, hackers found ways to sneak unauthorized commands into these Web links and the flaw could be exploited to install unauthorized software on a victim's PC.

This type of flaw lies in both Windows and the programs being launched by the Web link and Microsoft had initially said that it was up to third-party software developers to fix the issue. It later reversed this position and decided to fix the flaw in Windows as well. These URI protocol handler problems have turned up in Adobe, Firefox and Outlook Express.

Microsoft was forced to revise its position on the URI bugs after researchers discovered that they were far more problematic than first thought, said Nathan McFeters, a security researcher with Ernst & Young, who has been studying this problem. "I think that early on it wasn't clear that this was an issue," he said via e-mail. "There's really a handful of issues with this URI use and abuse stuff."

Microsoft's patch for this problem is rated critical for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users, but the bug does not affect Windows 2000 or Vista, Microsoft said.

The second vulnerability, rated "important" by Microsoft, has to do with Windows DNS (Domain Name System) servers, which are used to exchange information about the location of computers on the Internet. Attackers could exploit this flaw to redirect victims to malicious Web sites without their knowledge, something known as a "man in the middle" attack. "All system administrators should look very closely at this vulnerability," Sarwate said. "I would have personally rated it as critical," he said.

Security experts were surprised that Microsoft did not include a patch for a known vulnerability in some Macrovision antipiracy software that has been shipping with Windows for the last few years. Microsoft has said that it plans to patch the problem and that it is aware of "limited attacks" that exploit this vulnerability to get elevated privileges on a victim's machine.

The bug lies in the secdrv.sys driver built by Macrovision that ships with Windows XP, Server 2003 and Vista, but Vista is not vulnerable to the problem, according to Microsoft.

Macrovision has also published a patch for this problem.

Its a "bit worrisome" that Microsoft hasn't pushed out a patch for the bug, given that Macrovision has already made its fix available, said Andrew Storms, director of security operations with nCircle Network Security. "However, [it's] understandable that Microsoft would want to run the patch through its QA [quality assurance] and software release cycles," he added. "Given the choice between the URI bug and the Macrovision fix, enterprise security operations teams would much rather have the URI fix."

Users of Microsoft's WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) update system had been wondering if they were going to get Tuesday's patches, after a Microsoft programming error knocked WSUS administration consoles offline on Sunday and Monday. Microsoft had misnamed an entry in WSUS's database causing the consoles to crash.

The problem was fixed on Monday, said Bobbie Harder, a Microsoft senior program manager, in a blog posting. But WSUS servers that synchronized with Microsoft between 5 pm.Sunday and 11 am Monday Pacific Time will need to resynchronize to avoid the problem.

Though she had heard of one user who had to manually updated his WSUS server, Tuesday's updates went off without a hitch, said Susan Bradley, a WSUS user who is chief technology officer with Tamiyasu, Smith, Horn and Braun, Accountancy.

Microsoft Releases Three Updates For Vista

2007-11-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

John Fontana
Microsoft releases three non-security updates to Windows Vista that relate to battery life, sleep/hibernation issues, and glitches in the Media Center version.

The updates are part of an ongoing release of fixes for Vista that will eventually be incorporated into Service Pack 1, which is set to ship in the first quarter next year.

A public beta of the service pack is due by the end of the year.

Microsoft has been using occasional updates to tune Vista since it shipped a year ago. The company has been promoting the on-going updates to Vista as an alternative to one large service pack.

In October, the company released speed and reliability updates for Vista. In August it issued a pair of updates to address reliability and performance in the operating system.

The first update for this latest release addresses system compatibility, reliability and stability, including the extension of battery life for mobile devices and the stability of Windows PowerShell and wireless network services.

The update also improves the stability of portable and desktop computers that use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and the reliability of Vista when you open the menu of a startup application. The upgrade also shortens the startup time of Windows Vista by using a better timing structure, the recovery time after Windows Vista experiences a period of inactivity, and the recovery time when users try to exit the Photos screen saver.

The second update addresses a number of USB core components, including problems trying to recover or enter sleep or hibernation mode. The upgrade is a collection of 21 previously released fixes for USB issues. The second upgrade also addresses problems with USB devices that may no longer work correctly after Vista resumes from sleep or hibernation, problems that may occur with USB-connected microphones, the enabling and re-enabling USB composite devices, and problems with the hardware removal and "eject" command when used with an Apple iPod.

The third update focuses on Windows Media Center and issues with its extensibility platform. It also fixes issues associated with interaction between Media Center and Xbox360, when the gaming console is used as a Media Center Extender.

Microsoft plans to make the updates available via Windows Update beginning November 13, which is the same date for the release of the company's monthly security patch updates.

The three updates will also be included with Vista Service Pack 1, which also will include an update to the Windows kernel to align it with the kernel in Windows Server 2008.

The service pack is expected to ship at the same time as the server, which is slated for the first quarter of 2008. Microsoft officials hope to ship the server on or before the February 27, 2008, launch event in Los Angeles.

Microsoft Unveils Its Stand-Alone Virtualization Server

2007-11-13T21:39:00.000-08:00

John Fontana
Microsoft Monday tweaked its virtualization strategy by unveiling a stand-alone virtualization server that won't require users to run the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

The announcement came at the company's annual TechEd IT Forum conference in Barcelona, Spain, where Microsoft also outlined pricing, packaging and licensing for Windows Server 2008 and the availability of management tools that address needs of virtualized environments.

Microsoft's virtualization announcement, however, is just a placeholder since the technology likely won't be available until August 2008. Microsoft's Hyper-V technology, formerly code-named Viridian and Windows Server Virtualization, will ship no more than 180 days following the release of Windows Server 2008, which is now slated between January 1 and March 31, 2008.

Microsoft's stand-alone hypervisor technology is called Hyper-V Server. It is hypervisor virtualization technology that is installed on the "bare metal" of a hardware platform without the need for a Windows operating system.

In fact, the Hyper-V Server could be the only piece of Microsoft technology running on the hardware given that Hyper-V supports virtual machines running operating system other than Windows, including Linux.

Microsoft rival VMWare has an enterprise-focused virtualization product it currently ships called ESX that also installs on bare metal.

Microsoft has been marketing virtualization as a feature of the operating system, but critics say the company is bending to the reality that OEMs will likely include a hypervisor virtualization layer as part of their hardware.

Dell, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Lenovo, NEC and Unisys have all signed up to include Microsoft's Hyper-V server on their platforms.

Microsoft, however, also plans to sell Hyper-V directly to corporate users who could wipe a server clean and install Hyper-V Server, which is priced at US$28 and allows an unlimited number of virtual machines on a single box.

"Microsoft had clearly been very much in the hypervisor-virtualization-is-a-feature-of-the-operating-system camp," says Gordon Haff, an analyst with Illuminata. "I don't think Microsoft would phrase it this way, but clearly this is a step back from you can only get virtualization in the OS."

For its part, Microsoft says Hyper-V Server recognizes the fact that all hardware in essence will be a virtualization appliance.

"What we are trying to do enable customers to live in world where they treat all compute resources -- such as CPU cycles, storage, networking -- as a single blob while providing a consistent way of maximizing effectiveness and utilization while reducing costs for IT and making things more automated for IT," says Andy Lees, corporate vice president in Microsoft's server and tools marketing and solutions group. "And virtualization is the key piece of technology to enable that."

Haff says Microsoft's strategy shift isn't a negative, just a realization of where the technology seems to be headed.

"I think the general direction is going to be that the base hypervisor virtualization is going to be feature of the server rather than the [operating system]," he says " People like Dell and HP are going to embedded a hypervisor in the server, and in my view, it is not a big jump from there to say that in the not too distant future virtualization is just something that comes with the server like BIOS."

In addition to VMWare, others offer hypervisor technology that can install on bare metal including XenSource, which was recently bought by Citrix. Novell and Red Hat are also offering hypervisor technology with their operating systems.

Microsoft has existing partnership deals with both Novell and XenSource around virtualization integration.

But rival VMWare says Microsoft is sending a mixed message.

"Their product architecture is that virtualization is part of the [operating system] so they seem to be rethinking what hypervisor should be," says Raghu Raghuram, vice president of products and solutions for VMWare. "They are going to be coming out in almost one year with a basic-function hypervisor where today we have a robust hypervisor and 20,000 customers." And Raghuram adds WMWare comes with benefits such as availability and various management tools.

Haff says that speaks to what is truly interesting with virtualization, which are the tools needed to run and maintain a virtualized environment, especially requirements around management, and the fact that virtualized environments force IT to think about other parts of the network including storage, VLans, load balancing, SSL acceleration and firewalls.

"It's not about server virtualization," Forrester analyst Frank Gillett told Network World in August, "It's about when I have virtual servers I can completely change how I think about IT infrastructure. When I move virtual servers around I have to have storage that is not only networked but flexible so when I move the virtual server the storage connections go with it."

To that end, Microsoft Monday announced the availability of three of its System Center tools, including Virtual Machine Manager to manage virtualized servers.

The other tools are System Center Configuration Manager 2007, for client and server deployment and update, and System Center Data Protection Manager 2007, for backup and data recovery.

EU To Critically Review Google's DoubleClick Deal

2007-11-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

The European Commission will open a four-month, in-depth review of Google's plans to buy rival DoubleClick for US$3.1 ($4.18) billion, a source familiar with the situation said yesterday.

Google, which stores data on the internet-surfing habits of consumers, wants to buy DoubleClick to increase its clout in tailoring advertisements to consumer activities.

Both companies are involved in the sale of on-line ads, although their business models differ.

Google has already proposed alterations, and the deadline had been extended to Nov. 13 so the changes could be vetted by customers and competitors.

Google competition counsel Julia Holtz has said that in response to third-party concerns the company had committed to the Commission that it would keep certain DoubleClick business practices unchanged.

An in-depth probe will last an additional 90 working days and does not necessarily mean there would be more changes required in the transaction.

Critics have also raised questions about what effect the deal might have on privacy, but the Commission has said privacy by itself is not part of a competition review.

Google has by far the strongest position in Web searching in Europe. The acquisition has drawn vehement opposition from competitors such as Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc.

The European Commission is working closely with the US Federal Trade Commission, which has been reviewing the case since May.

In the United States, there has been one congressional hearing on the deal and Republicans are pressuring for more.

Google's purchase is part of a rapid consolidation in the internet ad industry that includes Microsoft's US$6 ($8.10) billion acquisition of aQuantive Inc, home to the largest interactive ad agency.

Yahoo bought BlueLithium for US$300 million and Time Warner Inc's AOL unit bought Tacoda.

Both of the acquired companies use cookie technology to record web surfing habits of consumers so advertisers can target ads based on the information.

CBS, BSkyB, BBC... To Provide Free Video Content To Bebo

2007-11-13T12:55:00.002-08:00

A host of media groups including US television network CBS, BSkyB and the BBC will provide free video content to the 40 million users on Bebo and keep any advertising revenues under a deal with the social networking site.

Bebo said on Tuesday its new "Open Media" system would allow users to store their favourite video and music content within their profile pages, and share it with others on the network.

The company expects the thousands of hours of entertainment content to make the site more attractive to users and therefore increase the value of its own advertising.

For the media companies involved, they will use their own video players to distribute content and will retain all of the advertising-related revenues. They will not be charged to distribute their content.

"Every media company is looking for better ways to deliver their content online," Bebo President Joanna Shields said.

"By opening our platform to media owners, who gain free access to our community while retaining control over their brand, their content and their revenues, we are creating valuable new inventory for advertisers and a new business model for the entire media industry."

Social networking sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace are hugely popular with younger Web users - an important yet hard-to-reach category for advertisers - but media groups have struggled to convert their soaring popularity into revenue.

Bebo says its average user ranges from 13 to 24 years old and spends 40 minutes on the site each day they log on.

Facebook recently announced a new advertising system that will let companies introduce ads into the user pages of its 50 million members, and launch dedicated pages on the site for their brands.

Hulu, a free, advertising-supported online video service formed by NBC Universal and News Corp, launched at the end of last month.

Two New Updates From Microsoft Expected Tuesday

2007-11-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

Gregg Keizer

Microsoft has scheduled just two security updates for Tuesday to fix flaws in Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003. One of the two is a leftover from October that was bumped at the last minute.

Only one of the bulletins will be rated "critical," Microsoft's highest ranking, while the other will be labeled "important," the next-lower rating. As usual, Microsoft disclosed a limited amount of information about the upcoming updates in a prepatch notification posted to the company's Web site today.

The critical update affects Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, said Microsoft, which classified the vulnerability as a remote code execution bug. What the bulletin will fix, however, is up for speculation.

"It could be the Macrovision vulnerability," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle, referring to the digital rights management software bundled with Windows that has already been targeted by in-the-wild attacks. "Macrovision has already got a fix, so Microsoft wouldn't have had to do any coding."

Storms noted, however, that Microsoft would have to stretch its usual definition of "remote code execution" to make the Macrovision vulnerability fit the update, since both companies have been calling it a privilege elevation flaw, and thus less serious. "Microsoft sometimes seems to go back and forth about privilege elevation," Storms said. "They might just say, 'sure it's an elevation, but it could also lead to remote code execution.' Or we may just see a reversal here of the bug's severity."

On the other hand, the critical bulletin may be aiming at something completely different. "It could be the URI protocol handler bug," Storms said.

Less than two weeks ago, Microsoft accepted responsibility for fixing a widespread flaw in how Windows deals with the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) protocol handlers, which let browsers run other programs via commands in a URL. At the time, Bill Sisk, a member of Microsoft's security response team, said that the group was "working around the clock" on a patch. The company would not commit to a release date, however, or say whether it would make the next update rollout, now just a day away.

The debate over who was responsible for patching the problem with the URI protocol handler raged over the summer, when Microsoft denied that its software was at fault, and third-party application vendors, including Mozilla and Adobe Systems, pointed fingers at the company even as they patched their own products.

Tuesday's second update, which targets Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 but not XP, appears to be the one that was yanked before October's bulletins hit the Internet. The only hint Microsoft gave of its composition was the "Spoofing" label, which in the past has usually been used to describe vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer that phishers and identity thieves exploit to deceive users.

"I have no idea what this one is about," Storms said.

He was, however, sure of one thing: the light patching load users and administrators faced this month. "It's a 'where's the beef?' kind of month," he said. "Maybe we can all catch up a bit."

A Look At Microsoft's Anti-Piracy MAR Program

2007-11-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Eric Lai

Microsoft introduced late last week a new pilot program to encourage refurbishers to install legitimate copies of Windows XP on used PCs.

The new Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) program offers a discount off the retail price of Windows XP, along with deployment tools to help refurbishers reinstall Windows and all of the relevant drivers on renewed PCs in as little as 15 minutes, said Hani Shakeel, senior product manager of the genuine Windows product marketing team.

When MAR is fully expanded, it will also help stem what Microsoft acknowledges as widespread flouting of Microsoft's XP licensing rules by price-pressured refurbishers.

"There's a range of behavior. Definitely, what you're describing is happening," Shakeel said.

Observers say MAR also attempts to ameliorate another risk: that refurbishers, frustrated by the high cost and difficulty of following Microsoft's arcane Windows licenses to the letter, will simply install a free Linux operating system on renewed PCs instead.

Some resellers "are saying, 'We're just going to ship this stuff out with Ubuntu Linux,'" said Adam Braunstein, an analyst with the Robert Frances Group.

Braunstein estimates that for now, no more than one in ten refurbished PCs goes back out for sale sporting Linux rather than Windows. But Microsoft is worried.

"There are pieces of the armor that are pretty rapidly deteriorating," he said.

And the first two contestants are...

Two large refurbishers have been initially selected to participate in MAR: Redemtech and TechTurn.

Microsoft has long encouraged the donation and reuse of older PCs, albeit in a limited way. Its Community MAR program lets PC recyclers obtain cheap copies of Windows that they could use to install on used computers.

But the catch was that those licenses were only available for PCs destined for use by charities, schools and other non-profit groups. As a result, only 200,000 refurbished PCs worldwide last year benefited from the Community MAR program, according to Microsoft.

Meanwhile, up to 28 million refurbished PCs will be sold this year, making up 10% of the global PC market, according to Microsoft's Shakeel. Nearly all are destined to consumers and smaller companies.

Many of those PCs shipped will be violating some aspect of Microsoft's complicated End User License Agreement (EULA) for Windows. For instance, most refurbishers will assume that they can reinstall Windows onto a recycled PC using the license number on the original Certificate of Authenticity (COA) that shipped with it. In fact, Microsoft requires that refurbishers also have the original Windows installation CD.

That's a "near-impossible" requirement, says Braunstein. "You're probably lucky if half of the PCs [at a large company] still have the COA after three years," he said. As for the installation CD, "one of the first things a company does when they get a new PC is throw away the installation disc."

Confirmed Jake Player, president of TechTurn: "The majority of machines we get don't come with the original Windows CD."

A mixed message

Moreover, refurbishers struggle with even lower margins then conventional PC makers. At TurnTech's site, many several-year-old Pentium 4 desktops with Windows XP Professional command less than US$200.

"It's very difficult to make any money in this market," Braunstein said. "Microsoft has only been standing in the way of folks."

Unofficially, Microsoft has not strictly enforced its EULA with smaller refurbishers, choosing to tolerate this de facto piracy because the alternative -- refurbishers installing Linux instead -- is far worse in Redmond's eyes.

Microsoft's attitude "is 'Please don't pirate software. But if you do it, make it's ours,'" Braunstein said.

But large refurbishers such as TechTurn, which expects to sell 800,000 refurbished PCs this year, have been forced to comply with Microsoft's rules and ship out most of its PCs without any OS on them, says Player, which is why he has been "begging" Microsoft for relief.

Besides giving TurnTech an undisclosed discount on certified copies of Windows XP, Microsoft will supply the company with deployment software that will help detect and load needed drivers onto a large number of PCs in a matter of minutes.

"It helps customers know what they are buying," he said. "We are anticipating a sales uptick of 20%."

Relief and respite on the way

MAR comes just in time, too, from Player's point-of-view. He predicts a huge wave of older PCs will start hitting the market within a year or two, as companies upgrade to Vista and dump their existing, underpowered PCs.

Braunstein applauds MAR: "Microsoft is getting a little smarter," he said. But he thinks that until Microsoft expands the program, especially with smaller refurbishers, the company's likely to "continue to do things as is."

Shakeel said MAR will be "expanded as quickly as we can," first to North American refurbishers selling more than 5,000 systems a month, and then to other parts of the world.

A different program is in the works to encourage smaller refurbishers to get legal, he said. In the meantime, Shakeel confirmed that those firms won't have to worry about sudden anti-piracy enforcement coming from Redmond.

"There's nothing in the immediate horizon that should be a worry to the market," he said.

Intel's Long-Awaited Power-Efficient 'Penryn Processors' Launched

2007-11-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Agam Shah

Intel has launched its long-awaited new line of power-efficient microprocessors, code-named Penryn, designed to deliver better graphics and application performance as well as virtualisation capabilities.

The chip-maker teamed up with 40 original equipment manufacturers to deliver Penryn-based Xeon and Core 2 processors. Vendors including HP and Lenovo have already announced business desktops with Penryn-based quad-core Xeon 5400 processors, with more server announcements scheduled to come soon.

The processors, manufactured using a 45-nanometre process, feature smaller transistors and cut down on electricity leaks, which made them faster and more power efficient than earlier 65-nm processors, director for Intel's digital enterprise group operations, Stephen Smith, said. The most power-hungry Penryn-based systems will consume no more than 120 watts (W).

Penryn-based notebooks that were due in the first quarter of 2008 would use 25W, Smith said. Today's 65-nm notebooks consumed 35W. While cutting down on power usage, Penryn processors jumped to higher clock rates and feature cache and design improvements that improved the processors' performance compared with earlier 65-nm processors, he said.

The processors deliver a 40-60 per cent improvement in video and imaging performance, Smith said. New instructions on the processor sped up photo manipulation and encoding of high-definition video.

Intel's Penryn processor for gaming systems, the 45nm Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad-core processor, took advantage of the instructions and included a larger cache to deliver better graphics and video performance, Smith said.

Hardware enhancements allowed virtual machines to load up to 75 per cent faster, Smith said.

The Penryn launch signalled a new era in the way Intel manufactures chips, he said. The processors were the first to use high-k metal-gate transistors, which make the processors faster and less leaky compared with earlier processors that have silicon gates. The processor was lead free, and by the second half of 2008, Intel would produce chips that were halogen free, making them more environmentally friendly, Smith said.

Intel will ship 12 new quad-core Intel Xeon 5400 server chips in November with clock speeds ranging from 2GHz to 3.20GHz, with a 12MB cache. In December, it will ship three dual-core Xeon 5200 server chips with clock speeds of up to 3.40GHz and a 6MB cache. Intel would deliver the 45nm Penryn processors in multiple phases, Smith said.

In the first quarter of 2008, Intel will release the 45nm Core 2 Quad processors and Core 2 Duo processors for desktops. In the same quarter, it will launch the Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo processors for notebooks. Intel plans to release 45-nm processors for ultramobile PCs in 2008, though Smith couldn't provide an exact release date.

Penryn was a significant follow-up to the 65-nm Core 2 processor launched last year, principal analyst at Mercury Research, Dean McCarron, said.

A lot of business workstation users and gamers were interested in the improved media and system performance Penryn processors deliver, he said.

While the Penryn provides a small performance boost, it's not a major change in architecture, an analyst at Insight 64, Nathan Brookwood, said. Rather than upgrading to Penryn systems, customers might wait for Nehalem, the next big overhaul in Intel's chip architecture that was scheduled for release in 2008, Brookwood said.

At Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco in September, Intel CEO, Paul Otellini, demonstrated Nehalem, and said it would deliver better performance-per-watt and better system performance through its QuickPath Interconnect system architecture. Nehalem chips will also include an integrated memory controller and improved communication links between system components.

However, people who need to buy hardware now would invest in Penryn systems, Brookwood said.

"It's not a massive upgrade cycle on notebooks and desktops," he said.

Pricing of the 45-nm Intel Xeon processors ranges from $US177 to $US1279 in quantities of 1000, depending on the model, speeds, features and number ordered.

The 45-nm Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad-core processor is $999 in quantities of 1000.

What Google GPhone Means For Apple, MS, Open Source, Enterprises

2007-11-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

Jon Brodkin and Brad Reed

What, no GPhone? That was the reaction from numerous commentators after Google unveiled its long-anticipated mobile phone plan on November 5. Yet what Google and partners such as T-Mobile, Motorola and Sprint Nextel of the newly formed Open Handset Alliance are doing will have broad impacts on wireless technology.

At the moment, Google is not releasing any mobile devices on its own. Rather, it has collaborated with several technology and wireless companies to develop Android, an open source platform that can be used by third-party developers to create applications for mobile devices. Although Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms, won't comment on the company's future plans to create a mobile phone of its own, he does note that "if you were to build a GPhone, you'd build it out of this [Android] platform."

Even without a GPhone, Android is fascinating in its own right. Here's a look at what Android means for the wireless market, for the enterprise, for open source, for Apple and Microsoft, and of course, what it means for Google.

What Android means for the wireless market

Because Android is an open source platform, it will allow users to connect to any network they choose, and will also let them add whatever applications they want. Van Baker, a research vice president at Gartner, says if the platform is successful and becomes widely adopted, it could pressure the major carriers to loosen their grip on their wireless devices. Thus, he says, companies such as Verizon might think twice before they disable Bluetooth on their handsets if they know their customers can easily switch to another carrier that will allow them to do as they please.

Dylan Schiemann, CEO of Web applications developer SitePath, also thinks that Android could go a long way toward prodding carriers to open their devices to more third-party applications.

"The mobile carriers always want to control everything, but they're showing signs of backing off on that," he says. "Carriers have enjoyed a long period where they've controlled what you put on a phone, and where they've charged you for what you put on your phone. If the Android platform works, it could change that dynamic."

While AT&T has yet to publicly comment on the Android announcement, Verizon has given it a warm reception. Jeffrey Nelson, Verizon's executive director of corporate communications, says Verizon "welcomes the support of Google, handset makers and others for our goal of providing more open development of applications on mobile handsets" and that "the highly competitive wireless industry is demonstrating that neither legislation nor regulation is required to produce innovation."

What Android means for the enterprise

Some analysts say the enterprise impact will be minimal, because Google is making a consumer play with Android. But consumers like to bring popular devices to the office, and end up using them for both work and play.

"If it's successful and people have it, it will come into businesses and we'll adapt to it," says CTO Dave Leonard of Infocrossing, an IT outsourcing provider in New Jersey.

It's hard for IT departments to decide whether to support Google's Android, because it's a platform for developing phones, rather than a phone itself, says Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst. Each IT department is likely to pick one type of Android-powered phone to support and not support others, because they don't want to risk lack of interoperability, he says.

A better approach, argues Dan Kohn, COO of the Linux Foundation, is to pick one set of standards that IT will support for calendaring, e-mail applications, VPN and so on, and tell users they can use any mobile phone compatible with those standards.

What Android means for Google

Since Google makes most of its money from its AdSense ad distribution network, it has an interest in giving mobile phone users broad access to the Web. If more people have access to Google on their desktops and mobile devices, then advertisers will pay more for ad space.

Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt ambitiously describes Google's target market: the entire universe of cell phone users.

"There are at least three billion mobile users in the world today, and there are more mobile phones worldwide than there are Internet users or landline phones," Schmidt says. "Getting people access to info is Google's core mission and mobile phones have to be part of that."

Implied in that mission is that Google, in turn, gains access to consumers of advertising.

"Google is enabling advertising in a very real way in the handset world," says Frank Dickson, co-founder and chief research officer of Multimedia Intelligence. "You're going to see a whole host of advertising-supported applications being ... delivered ... into the handset. Google is the most efficient provider of advertising in the online world."

What Android means for open source and Linux

Linux already has a major presence on mobile phones, but the entrance of Google and the Open Handset Alliance -- which has 34 member organizations worldwide -- adds to the momentum.

"We're a huge believer in diversity of options on mobile phones," Kohn of the Linux Foundation says. "Linux is already an important, growing presence there. I think having the Google software as an additional open source option is only going to accelerate that adoption."

Today's mobile operating systems include the open source Symbian and the proprietary Windows Mobile. Kohn's key concern is enabling interoperability, so that Web applications designed for one open source phone work well on others. "Although there are a huge number of mobile phones using Linux today, there tends not to be great interoperability between them," he says.

While Kohn welcomes Google's presence, he thinks further crowding of the Linux mobile landscape might confuse matters. There's already the LiMo Foundation, which makes a Linux platform for mobile phones; the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum; and the Mobile Linux Initiative.

"We have so many darn acronyms and different consortiums at this point, that I'd actually hope to see a little consolidation," Kohn says."

What Android means for Microsoft

Nothing -- but only if you believe Microsoft.

"We already have an alliance around Windows Mobile, with 160 wireless operators in 55 countries and with 48 device makers," Scott Rockfeld, a mobile communications group product manager at Microsoft, says in a Computerworld story. "Nothing new and revolutionary was announced" with Android, Rockfeld said. "It was ho-hum compared to what we've done for the last five years with Windows Mobile."

But an open source development platform backed by a name like Google could eat into Microsoft's market share, Dickson argues.

"They're struggling because the Microsoft model is licensed software," he says. "When you start licensing software for US$20 or US$40 on a handset that costs US$100 to manufacture, that's quite a hit."

Forrester wireless analyst Charles Golvin says Microsoft should take an approach similar to the one Google is taking with Android. "Competitors like Yahoo and even Microsoft stand to benefit should they embrace this approach," Golvin says. "The impact will build slowly over time as initially the devices using this platform will form a very small percentage of the market."

What Android means for Apple

Apple's iPhone will survive Google's wireless initiative unscathed, partly because Apple's focus is hardware rather than software, and partly because it commands only a small portion of the mobile phone market to begin with, Dickson says.

"Apple is a fraction of a percent of the global market share in handsets," Dickson says. "They're just not that big. ... Because of the size of Apple I don't see a large impact on Apple. I see Apple still providing innovative hardware solutions coupled with well-performing software."

Apple has little need to join Google's open source initiative, according to research issued by financial services company Piper Jaffray.

"While Apple is a closed system, it does allow developers to build applications for the iPhone. We believe that Android will give many phone makers their first access to software with full Web-browsing functionality, which the iPhone already offers," states a research note issued just after Google's announcement. "Apple is confident that its iPhone operating system is a compelling one, and developers will want to build applications for the iPhone.

Vodafone Introduces Toll Free Service Thus Eliminating Fixed-Line Phone

2007-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Christine Nikiel

Vodafone hopes to unlock Telecom's stranglehold on the home phone market, today releasing a toll-free service which eliminates the need for a fixed-line phone.

To use the service, customers plug their existing handsets, cordless or corded, into a box and make calls, keeping their existing phone number.

But their calls will then be transmitted via the Vodafone mobile network - bypassing Telecom's copper wire network.

Vodafone's general manager of products, Kursten Shalfoon, said it was the first time that national competition had existed in the local fixed-line market. Traditionally Telecom has had the market to itself through its control of fixed-line infrastructure, although Telstra competes in Wellington and central Christchurch.

Called "Vodafone at home", the service offers unlimited free national calling to any local number and means consumers no longer need to have a Telecom landline to make and receive free local calls.

"The idea of toll calling areas is old fashioned and out of date so we've decided not to bother with it at all," Shalfoon said. "For the first time every New Zealander will be able to make a complete break from the old way of making phone calls."

Vodafone has been chipping away at Telecom's offerings in a bid to expand beyond the mobile market. Earlier this year it bought internet service provider ihug, and offered a free broadband package, and in November released a business tolls package offering heavily discounted calls to mobiles.

Shalfoon said Vodafone had been working on the new service for "a number of years", and the company had to get help from the Commerce Commission to access local numbers.

He would not give figures but said that the investment was "sig-nificant".

Shalfoon said Vodafone's next offering would be a mobile phone version of the box which would work within a virtual zone in the home, next year.

The "Vodafone at home" service costs $39.95 a month. Calls to Vodafone mobiles would have a set price per minute, and international calls would be based on Vodafone's existing fixed-line offers. The box will retail for $99.

Calls to Vodafone mobiles in New Zealand will still cost 39c a minute and calls to other mobiles 55c a minute.

FACT BOX

* Vodafone is taking on Telecom in the fixed line market.

* New service from Vodafone means no need for fixed line and no more local toll calls.

* Customers pay $39.95 a month for an unlimited number of calls, including free toll calls.

* The box retails for $99.

TelstraClear Australia Uses CDMA To Re-Enter Mobile Phone Market

2007-11-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

Australian owned TelstraClear said today it was re-entering the mobile phone market ahead of schedule with a full service offering for small and medium enterprise business customers.

Early next year, the service would be offered to residential customers and large businesses.

TelestraClear previously resold Vodafone's service, but the pair parted company in June.

The new service will use Telecom's CDMA network. TelestraClear will attempt to woo its fixed line service small and medium business customers to its mobile service.

Spokeswoman Brenda Stonestreet said that in the past TelstraClear offered the same plans as Vodafone at much the same price, but it would now deliver something different.

It had successfully run a pilot scheme of its service with selected customers.

The small and medium business offering includes two voice plans and one data plan, with further plans and bundled products planned for the new year.

TelstraClear's BizMobile Plus plan costs $99.95 per month including 400 minutes of calls to any local landline or mobile at any time. Customers can also buy three gigabytes of data for $75 per month.

The Starter plan costs $30 per month access, with a straight calling rate 40 cent a minute.

Even The Most Primitive Societies Can Not Do Without Apple Products

2007-11-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

Apple Products You Can Not Live Without

2007-11-08T08:16:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Offers Free Version Of Its Search Server

2007-11-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

Microsoft announced today that it will give out a free version of its enterprise search product, dubbed Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express, starting next year. This is the latest in a growing line of "Express" products, which Microsoft hopes will get people hooked on Microsoft software and eventually buy more expensive versions. Microsoft also put up a test release-candidate version of Search Server Express for download on its web site.

Search Server Express shares nearly the same feature set as the company's more robust enterprise search products, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Search Server. Microsoft will also release a paid version of the product, which allows business users to search internal computer systems in addition to the web at large, that will basically be the same as the free edition but licensed to run on multiple servers.

"We really believe enterprise search is at a tipping point," Jared Spataro, group product manager for enterprise search, told CNET. "We really think people will look back on this time as the time when search went from just being a consumer tool to one that businesses can harness."

Because Search Server Express delivers web results from Live.com, a popular free enterprise search product could have a positive effect on Microsoft's consumer web search strategy as well. According to Spataro, only 1 percent of 6 million business are doing enterprise search. Microsoft hopes that a free and easily deployed search application will remove any entry barriers that businesses may have to hopping on the enterprise search bandwagon. Competition is stiff, however, with competing products being offered by Google and IBM/Yahoo, as well as a number of smaller firms.

Google Adds MySpace To The OpenSocial fold

2007-11-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Google has recruited MySpace to join the OpenSocial fold, after announcing plans to implement a standard programming interface for building social apps online.

Mashable claims the two have been secretly working on the project all along.

OpenSocial's API standards are designed to evolve with contribution from the open source community, and as new features are developed by its partners.

MySpace joins Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING as founding partners in OpenSocial.

Despite Google's assertion that it would be happy to work with Facebook, Fortune divulges that the popular social networking site was not invited to the OpenSocial party.

Meanwhile, a Hitwise graph shows the overall traffic market share of the OpenSocial collective to be more than five times greater than Facebook.

But it may not be TKO just yet. In mid-October, Facebook released a cryptic invitation for the unveiling of a new ad platform this November 6th. According to John Battelle, it's a contender for AdWords.

In an earlier development last week, after the Microsoft-Facebook deal, Google unveiled plans to take Facebook head-on.

Codenamed "Maka-Maka," according to TechCrunch, Google plans to add a social matrix atop its applications, from Gmail to Google Maps. Google will also incorporate "activity feeds" (a la Facebook's "news feeds"), using the same engine that powers Google Reader.

And like Facebook, the search giant plans to open its back-end to developers — starting with social network Orkut, and ultimately spreading to all things Google. It's even taking it a step further by making those third-party apps compatible with non-Google parts of the web, such as competing social networks.

At Maka-Maka's core, Google sees the entire web as its playing field, instead of limiting social features and user apps to a closed-in social network.

It must first, however, work to match what Facebook has built. In the six months since Facebook originally opened its back-end, over 4,000 third-party apps have landed on the site.

"The Basics of Voice over Internet Protocol" By Frank M. Groom & Kevin M. Groom

2007-10-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

OVERVIEW

Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), the transmission of person-to-person voice conversations over IP–based networks, is a topic of great interest within the telecommunications industry. With VoIP service, customers see an opportunity to significantly reduce their local and long-distance calling expenses, while long-distance carriers have seen an opportunity to possibly avoid sharing a large portion of their revenues with the local telephone companies for use of their access links to originate long-distance calls. Moreover, service providers and customers see an increasing appeal in the rich array of services that VoIP enables. Among these are a range of Web-like phone displays, information services, and data exchange.

The Basics of Voice over Internet Protocol examines the fundamentals of delivering VoIP service while exploring its potential in the communications market. VoIP is now becoming a mainstream service offered by RBOCs, CLECs, long-distance carriers, international carriers, and virtually any entrant to the transport business. Yet despite this, multiple standards for VoIP still exist, making the interworking of vendor products and the myriad alternative protocols—H.323, SIP, MGCP, etc.—a continuing issue. Further, the quality of VoIP telephone conversations is still under question, and the seeming significant initial costs of setup, including the change-out of phones and PBXs, as well as the addition of gateway and gatekeeper devices, may undermine the benefits to be had from implementing VoIP.

As the industry moves forward, the direction of the complete national network is toward an IP–based architecture, and voice traffic seems to be moving in this common direction. There are many challenges still to be addressed, but the benefits of VoIP continue to draw mounting levels interest, pushing this technology ever further into the mainstream of communications. The Basics of Voice over Internet Protocol analyzes this trend in depth while bringing readers up to date on the evolution of VoIP service.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction
The Opportunity for Voice Traffic in IP Networks
Open Standards for VoIP

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Voice and IP Traffic
Public Telephone Network Service versus IP Networking
IP Voice Standards
Basics for Transmitting Voice in IP Packets
VoIP Overhead and Its Effects
The General VoIP Architecture Model
Voice Content Packetization
Voice Packet Transmission
Voice Packet Reception
Standards for VoIP Beyond H.323
Interconnecting VoIP Nets to the Public Telephone Network
Assigning IP Telephone Addresses – DHCP

Chapter 3: VoIP Models for Connection
Enterprise Connection over Public and Private Networks
Residential Connection over Networks
VoIP Terminals

Chapter 4: VoIP Using the H.323 Protocol
The ITU H.323 Protocol
Terminals
Gateways
Gatekeepers
The Operation of an H.323 Network
The H.323 Frame
H.323 Audio Coding and Compression
H.323 Call-Setup Signaling and Message Flow
Operation of Gateways and Gatekeepers in an H.323 Network
Real-Time Transfer Protocol

Chapter 5: SIP for Voice Transmission
SIP Messages
SIP Headers and the TCP/IP Packet
SIP Addressing and Operation
The Specifics of User Agents Using SIP Proxy Servers
The More Detailed Flow Using Proxy and Redirect Servers

Chapter 6: Gateways and Gatekeeper Protocols
Media Gateway Control Protocol – MGCP
The MGCP Commands
Media Gateway Control Protocol – MEGACO
Simple Gateway Control Protocol
Skinny Protocol – An Alternative to MGCP and MEGACO
Summary Comparison of the Protocols

Chapter 7: Transmitting Voice over a Public WAN and IP Network
IP Voice over Frame Relay – IP VoFR
IP Voice over ATM – IP VoATM

Chapter 8: Service-Provider VoIP Offerings
RBOC VoIP Services
CLEC VoIP Services
Long-Distance Carrier VoIP Services
Cable VoIP Services
Small Service-Provider VoIP Services

Chapter 9: Strategies for Vendors, Regulators, and Customers
The Federal Communications Commission
Interexchange Long-Distance Carriers
Regional Bell Operating Companies
Competitive Local-Exchange Carriers
Service Providers
Enterprise Businesses
Residential Customers
VoIP Hardware and Software Vendors

Chapter 10: Conclusion
Appendix: VoIP Terminals and Other Equipment
IP PBX Components and Prices
IP Phones and Prices
H.323 IP Phones and Prices
SIP–Only Phones
General List of IP Phones and Vendors
Cisco Systems Gateway and Module Component Costs
Avaya Gateway and Module Component Costs

FEATURES
· Provides the essential fundamentals of how VoIP functions
· Offers an encompassing overview of the evolution of VoIP services
· Analyzes current market conditions for VoIP and the drivers behind its movement into the mainstream of communications
· Explores the myriad challenges involved in implementing VoIP
· Discusses the various protocols available for VoIP delivery, fully explaining the functionality and benefits of each
· Examines the opportunities and benefits that VoIP presents to RBOCs, CLECs, long-distance carriers, and service providers
· Highlights current VoIP offerings from today's service providers and vendors
· Offers informed strategies on deploying and utilizing VoIP for long-distance carriers, RBOCs, CLECs, service providers, and enterprise businesses, residential customers, and hardware and software vendors
· Provides a comprehensive glossary that defines key terminology
· Presents easy-to-digest graphics, charts, and tables that illustrate important aspects of VoIP

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Frank M. Groom is a Professor at the Graduate Center for Information and Communication Science at Ball State University. His research is concentrated in the areas of high-bandwidth networking, distributed systems, and the storage of multimedia objects. Dr. Groom is the author of six books-among his best known are "The Future of ATM" and "The ATM Handbook". Dr. Groom received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in Information Systems and was formerly Senior Director of Information Systems for Ameritech.

Kevin M. Groom is a Senior Member of the Technical Staff for AT&T, where he is involved in provisioning the network that supports the operations support systems that provide information and functionality to the carrier's long-distance and metro networks. Mr. Groom has a B.A. in Telecommunications and an M.S. in Information and Communication Sciences from Ball State University. He is the co-author of "The Future of IP and Packet Networking" and has presented numerous talks on managing the metropolitan and national carrier networks at networking conferences.

Get A Copy Of "The Basics of Voice over Internet Protocol" By Frank M. Groom & Kevin M. Groom