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| Oct 2008 | Sep 2008 | Aug 2008 | Jul 2008 | Jun 2008 | May 2008 | Apr 2008 | Mar 2008 | Feb 2008 | Jan 2008 | Dec 2007 | Nov 2007 |Wed, 30 Apr 08
The Art of Cyber Warfare, Part 2: Digital Defense
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62807.html
In Late April last year, about 1 million computers under botnet control started attacking the Estonian government's computers in a denial of service assault. The onslaught continued for three weeks. In the aftermath of this cyber warfare incident, NATO provided the Estonian government with some help in restoring the computer systems and investigating the attacks.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Ditching the Disc: Car Stereo Makers Ejecting CDs for iPod-Only Units
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62773.html
First eight-track players slid off into history. Then that unruly stack of cassette tapes disappeared from glove compartments. Now, car-stereo makers are marketing units that threaten to boot compact discs into the auto audio graveyard. Last Wednesday, Blaupunkt announced it's shipping a second-generation, $160 stereo and AM/FM radio that ditches the CD player in favor of ports for other digital music technologies.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
'GTA IV' Takes Gamers on Wild and Crazy Spree
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62806.html
"Grand Theft Auto IV," the latest version of the controversial and outrageously popular series from game developer Rockstar, hit the street at midnight Tuesday. For an industry that has already set sales records in 2008, the release of the long-delayed but highly anticipated game will likely give Microsoft, Sony and Rockstar parent Take-Two even more sales fuel through the Spring.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
IBM Lures SMBs to the Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62805.html
IBM released an on-demand, cloud-based suite of products targeting small and mid-sized businesses looking to offload security, e-mail continuity and archiving services. The Express Advantage product line is meant to offload some of the more data-intensive processes an IT department has to handle.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Warner Bros. Resurrects The WB Online
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62799.html
More than a year after it shut down The WB Television Network, Warner Bros. said Monday it is bringing back the brand as an advertising-supported, video-on-demand site. Warner will launch a beta version of TheWB.com sometime early next month as part of a larger push to capitalize on new channels for distributing video content.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
CinemaNow: The Phone Is the Box Office, Not the Theater
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62796.html
The online delivery of movies and TV content is encumbered by a tangle of digital rights management, copyright and technological issues. The cell phone's proper place in the whole landscape is one of many difficult questions the industry's trying to sort out. With its new offering, CinemaNow proposes that the cell phone work as a sort of portable box office.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
iPhone Takes Off to the Great White North
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62804.html
All the Canadians who've held off driving down to America to buy a bootleg iPhone can rest assured that their wait is nearly over. Rogers Communications, Canada's leading wireless carrier, will bring the popular Apple device to the land up north later this year. Announced in conjunction with the release of Rogers' first quarter results Tuesday, the details are sparse.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Intel, Cray Ink Supercomputing Tech Deal
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62795.html
Intel has signed a multiyear agreement with supercomputer vendor Cray. The deal gives microchips from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel an avenue into Cray supercomputer systems that serve some of the most highly advanced computing applications in the government, military and engineering sectors.
Wed, 30 Apr 08
Solid-State Drives Inspire Technolust
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62792.html
One of the best ways to speed up any computer is to add more memory to it. As the old joke goes, you can't be too rich, too thin or have too much RAM. There are two places data live in a computer: in memory and in storage -- either a hard drive or an optical disk, such as a CD or DVD. Working with information in storage is always slower than working with it in memory.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
The Art of Cyber Warfare, Part 1: The Digital Battlefield
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62779.html
New-age warfare is here. Governments and Internet security firms are quietly gearing up for the potential onslaught. Don't think that cyber warfare is merely fuel for novel writers. Cyber attacks are being waged in increasing numbers. Computer network attacks are often perpetrated by gangs of criminal hackers attempting to break into a system for financial gain.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Social Networking and Open Source: Cut From the Same Cloth
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62786.html
The ideas blend together so well. Open source has been around for a long time and is built on the concept of developers working together and sharing software. Social networking has broken into the headlines as a new generation uses MySpace and Facebook as a whole new means of sharing their life experiences.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Runners and the Great iPod Debate
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62776.html
iPod, therefore ... I run? A corny statement, for sure, but in the world of runners there is a culture clash surrounding this notion, between those who opt to run with their portable music players and those who prefer to be completely unplugged. iPods and other portable music players were initially banned for last weekend's Big Sur International Marathon in California.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
MySpace Brings Karaoke Home From the Bar
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62790.html
You're sitting at home online and suddenly you get an irresistible urge. You absolutely have to belt out R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" and share it with the world. You now have that ability, thanks to the new MySpace Karaoke, to be launched Tuesday by the social networking site.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Yahoo Rings Up Jajah to Manage Messenger Phone Functions
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62789.html
Yahoo is outsourcing the Internet telephone functions of its instant messaging program to the startup Jajah. Jajah will connect the calls to and from users of Yahoo Messenger and handle billing and customer care, the startup said Tuesday. Terms of the deal where not announced.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Skype Plants Its Flag in Mobile Turf
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62784.html
Skype released a beta version of its mobile Voice over Internet Protocol application that can be downloaded to a variety of phones. The application, which the company says is still unstable, will allow people to set up group chats, see when contacts are online, make SkypeIn and SkypeOut calls and talk with those who use the computer-based Skype application.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Mass SQL Attack a Wake-Up Call for Developers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62783.html
A mass SQL injection attack has infected hundreds of thousands -- as many as 500,000, according to some accounts -- of normally trusted Web sites, including those of the United Nations and several governments. The attack is unusual in some ways that are worrying the Internet security community.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
New Google Tech Could Make Image Searches Smarter
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62781.html
Search online for a particular type of image today, and the results will reflect more or less exclusively the text that's associated with them. A new technology presented by two Google researchers last week, however, promises to use visual cues in the images themselves to rank their relevance.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
OMG! TXT TLK BL33ding In2 Teenz Forml Riting
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62764.html
A large number of teens feel that language more appropriately used in e-mails, text messaging and online postings has made its way into their school work, according to a new survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. About 50 percent of teenagers said they write something for school nearly every day.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
Apple Puts Pedal to the Metal With New iMacs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62777.html
Apple has upgraded its all-in-one iMac line by adding faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the fastest of which will cruise along at up to 3.06 GHz. The processors come with 6 MB of L2 cache and a faster 1,066 MHz front-side bus, with 2 GB memory standard in most models.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
3G BlackBerry for AT&T May Take Longer to Ripen
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62778.html
Research In Motion has delayed the release of its 3G BlackBerry for AT&T from June to August, according to reports. The postponement may be due to testing of the new device. A June launch might have placed the device, the BlackBerry 9000, in direct competition for marketplace attention with Apple's 3G iPhone, which is expected to surface that month.
Tue, 29 Apr 08
How Live Mesh Will Reinvent Microsoft
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62759.html
Microsoft has just brought out the physical representation of its fifth major evolutionary change, and this one may turn out to be the most dramatic. The technology, Live Mesh, may actually both help Microsoft's customer satisfaction issues and help move Apple and Linux onto desktops everyplace.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
Bringing Up Broadband: Higher Traffic, Higher Costs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62672.html
Back in the days of dial-up, Internet users were content to watch text download onto screens, one excruciating line at a time. Nowadays, people get annoyed if they have to wait more than a few seconds for downloads to their PCs, laptops or mobile devices. They also want Hollywood-quality video feeds for everything from TV shows and blogs to breaking news.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
OK, iPod, You Win
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62755.html
I've finally given in and purchased Apple's signature product, the iPod. Funny, I remember when Apple was a computer company. Now, it's a music company that also makes computers. If it weren't for Apple's "I'm a Mac; I'm a PC" commercials, I might not remember that Apple even makes computers. And what's up with those commercials? The PC guy is likable, but the Mac guy is a jerk.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
Taking On the Chinese Censorship Juggernaut
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62749.html
If an Internet user in China searches for the word "persecution," he or she is likely to come up with a link to a blank screen that says "page cannot be displayed." The same is true of searches for "Tibetan independence," "democracy movements" or stranger sounding terms such as "oriental red space time" -- code for an anti-censorship video made secretly by reporters at China's state TV station.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
The Art of Data Management Compliance, Part 2: Guarding Against Theft
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62711.html
Identity theft, a cyber-crime causing inestimable damage for scores of ordinary citizens, has prompted passage of the federal FACT Act Identity Theft Red Flags Rule, issued this year. Part of the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, the rule aims to combat the scourge of identity theft, which each year victimizes 8.3 million Americans for a total of $15.6 billion in losses, according to the FTC.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
Extreme XP Makeover: Vista Edition
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62718.html
Windows Vista sure does look attractive. However, once you get beyond the pretty face, you might find that you miss the utilitarian appeal of Windows XP. Vista, after all, is never as fast as XP is, given the same hardware. Compatibility is sometimes still an issue, too, even though Vista's first service pack goes some way toward remedying that situation.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
Will Cute Factor Be Enough for Chumby?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62758.html
It resembles an alarm clock -- except it's squishy like a beanbag. You can buy charms to hang on it. To say it's being marketed as cute would be an understatement. Say hello to Chumby, a tiny Linux computer disguised as a snugly toy -- sort of a Tickle Me Elmo for gadget geeks.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
The Art of Data Management Compliance, Part 1: Keeping Pace
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62710.html
When it comes to properly managing and protecting critical enterprise data and information resources, Corporate America is stuck between two strongly opposing forces. The U.S. is world "cyber-crime" headquarters, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center 2007 Internet Crime Report.
Sun, 27 Apr 08
Deciphering the Jobs Code
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62668.html
Probably no figure in Silicon Valley history has inspired more curiosity or attained a greater mythical status than Steve Jobs, the icon behind Apple. For decades, journalists have toiled in vain to offer a peek behind the curtain of the Wizard of Cupertino, Calif. Not for lack of trying. Jobs has famously remained tight-lipped and cloistered in secrecy, offering interviews to few reporters.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
The Foul Flavor of Force-Fed Vista
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62766.html
Costco and Sam's Club are rationing rice. Friday's reported incident in the Persian Gulf probably has more than a few paranoid individuals stocking up on gasoline. And to top it all off, Microsoft's cutoff date for Windows XP is coming in two months, a decision that's left over 165,000 fans of the OS so upset that they were willing to devote a full three seconds of their lives to sign an online petition to save XP.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Yahoo Gives Itself a Social Makeover
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62762.html
Yahoo wants to tie all its various services together so each user needs to log in just once to access and manage its services, and will be able to do so from one central site. To do this, it is rewiring its architecture from the inside out and opening up its platform to third-party developers, Yahoo chief technology officer Ari Balogh said at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Cyber-Attacks and Cyber-Disasters: Are You Prepared?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62725.html
Have you seen the recent television commercial that shows the Pentagon and says, "This building gets attacked 3 million times a day." The sad news is that it's true. Cyber-warfare and cyber-attacks have now become a reality. Ever consider how your business would be impacted if the Internet went away for an hour, a day or an even a longer period of time?
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Mac Bloggers Crunch Numbers, Chew on P.A. Purchase, Feast on Fine Italian
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62740.html
The Apple- and Mac-focused blog world is all over the map this week, but three stories stand out: How much money Apple is making, what it's spending that money on, and what's going on in Italy. With a whopping 51 percent increase in Mac sales, Apple released its financial results for the second quarter fiscal year quarter in 2008. However, just before that, news broke of its purchase of semiconductor company P.A. Semi.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Finger-Pointing in the Senate, XP's Stay of Execution, Tech Profit Bonanza
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62754.html
It seems there's no love lost between FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Comcast. In testimony before a Senate committee about the practice of blocking peer-to-peer traffic on the Internet, Martin said Comcast lied when it described its practices to the FCC. Comcast maintained that it was merely engaging in justifiable management of network traffic in order to preserve the Internet experience for all customers.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
One Person's Tech Trash Is BuyMyTronics' Treasure
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62737.html
The hottest gadgets of today will look old and tired a year from now. Sellers of mobile handsets, smartphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles, camcorders, digital cameras and laptops constantly push the latest and greatest technology, leaving yesterday's choice items in the dust. Then there's the fact that this stuff is pretty easily broken.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
Sending the World's Libraries to the Cloud, One Page at a Time
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62751.html
In a dimly lit back room on the second level of the University of Michigan library's book-shelving department, Courtney Mitchel helped a giant desktop machine digest a rare, centuries-old Bible. Mitchel is among hundreds of librarians from Minnesota to England making digital versions of the most fragile of the books to be included in Google's Book Search.
Sat, 26 Apr 08
China, US Online Populations Neck and Neck
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62753.html
By some measures, China has tied the United States as the online population leader with its government reporting that the number of Internet users there has soared to 221 million. The figure, reported Thursday by the Xinhua News Agency, reflects China's explosive growth in Internet use despite government efforts to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Ballmer: XP's Demise Negotiable
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62741.html
Microsoft may reconsider its decision to pull Windows XP off the shelves in June if it sees enough customer demand, CEO Steve Ballmer said -- despite a huge customer outcry over the decision. Speaking at Louvain-La-Neuve University in Belgium, Ballmer also said it's a "statistical truth" that most people who buy PCs today buy them with Vista.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Ubuntu's Hardy Heron Makes Splashy Landing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62746.html
Months of eager anticipation came to an end Thursday with the long-awaited release of Ubuntu Hardy Heron. Both desktop and server editions of Ubuntu 8.04 were released as free downloads, and both are Long Term Support releases, meaning that they come with commercial support for five years on the server and three years on the desktop.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Take-Two Taps PS3 to Rev Up 'GTA IV' in Europe
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62744.html
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe confirmed Wednesday it will release an official "Grand Theft Auto IV" bundle exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Available the same day the game launches, April 29, the "GTA IV" package will include the 40 GB model PS3, a Sixaxis wireless controller and, of course, a copy of the highly anticipated installment in the "Grand Theft Auto" series.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
AMD Stakes Claim on Tri-Core Niche With New Chips
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62742.html
AMD has announced the availability of three new triple-core x86 processors in its Phenom X3 lineup. New offerings include the 8750, the 8650 and the 8450, with power levels ranging from 2.4 to 2.1 gigahertz. Appropriately enough, the triple-core X3 lineup seems to play well in the middle ground between dual-core and quad-core processors.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
VoIP: When Cheaper Could Mean Costlier
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62723.html
For enterprises, the primary reason for adopting Voice over Internet Protocol phone service is money. Long-distance phone calls placed over the Internet typically cost a mere fraction of those placed under the business rate plans offered by traditional telephone companies.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
WOA: An Acronym in Search of a Meaning
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62728.html
Mike Meehan at SearchSOA.com has done some homework on the use of Web Oriented Architecture, and the IT folks in the field are fed up. Enough with the labels, they seem to be saying. And they raise excellent points. I for one am by no means wed to the "WOA" nomenclature.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Rough Going on the Way to a $100 Laptop
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62726.html
The former president of the One Laptop Per Child project stepped down from his position earlier this week as the non-profit continues restructuring and faces competition from the private sector. Walter Bender directed the MIT Media Lab for six years before joining Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC project in 2006.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Menacing Greenhouse Gases Outstripping Efforts to Curb Them
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62730.html
Major greenhouse gases in the air are accumulating faster than in the past despite efforts to curtail their growth. Carbon dioxide concentration in the air increased by 2.4 parts per million last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday, and methane concentrations also rose rapidly.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Let Them Eat Toast
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62709.html
I have written a lot about the Apple TV. I've written about updates, I've pointed to stories and reviews, and I've discussed the compression issues related to getting HD content into the customer's Apple TV via the Internet. All along the way, I've resisted buying one for several reasons. I didn't think much of the content selection, and I was trying to avoid another "buy the box then pay for the content" syndrome.
Fri, 25 Apr 08
Hubble Images Show Massive Galactic Smashups
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62734.html
Galaxies colliding! Sounds like a job for the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Astronomers believe galaxies have been running into each other for billions of years. There's even evidence our own Milky Way galaxy has swallowed a smaller companion, with more to come, both big and small.
Thu, 24 Apr 08
New IBM Server: It's No Hottie
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62724.html
IBM on Wednesday unveiled a new category of server designed specifically for cloud computing and Web 2.0 applications. The iDataPlex system builds upon IBM's blade server background and more than doubles the number of systems that can run in a single IBM rack. It also uses 40 percent less power while quintupling the amount of computing that can be done.
Thu, 24 Apr 08
Microsoft Aims to Lasso Everything With Live Mesh
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62720.html
Microsoft unveiled a new service Tuesday that will take the software maker into the realm of cloud computing. Currently available as an invite-only beta, Live Mesh will initially enable users to share files and synchronize folders across multiple PCs. Support for Windows Mobile and Mac OS X is coming later in the year, the company said.
Thu, 24 Apr 08
FCC Chairman Calls Comcast Liar, Critics Pile On
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62722.html
Comcast has lied about how and why it blocks peer-to-peer Internet traffic, and may be lying in its promise to stop some of its practices by year end, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said during a hearing held by a Senate committee on the future of the Internet.
Thu, 24 Apr 08
New BlackBerry Voice App Cuts Down on Button Mashing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62708.html
Microsoft's Tellme subsidiary launched an application for the BlackBerry on Tuesday that lets people speak commands into their smartphones to search for businesses, look up movie times, check traffic and make other queries. Once users download the program, they can push on their phone's green "talk" button and say either the name of a business, type of business or keywords.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
PCI's False Dilemma: Code Review or Application Firewall?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62701.html
Web application vulnerabilities put critical business applications and back-end databases at risk from attack, theft and fraud. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which recognizes the threat Web application vulnerabilities pose to credit card data, allows organizations to choose between two mitigation techniques.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
A Linux Server in the Palm of Your Hand
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62704.html
Japanese Linux computer firm Plat'Home released in March a palm-sized, full-featured Linux-based server dubbed "OpenBloks." This tiny marvel is no lightweight wanna-be replacement to a real Linux server. It can run most server applications that you would expect to run on a "normal" full-sized Linux box. Despite its tiny size, OpenBloks servers are capable of doing real work.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Apple TV: A Sophisticated Device Hobbled by Limitations
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62694.html
Soon after launching the set-top box known as "Apple TV" last year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously downgraded it from a major new business line to a "hobby." Jobs and company recently tinkered with the device, making it a whole lot more compelling. But the company has more work to do before Apple TV's a bona-fide hit.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Will a PS3 Download Service Starve Blu-ray?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62696.html
PlayStation 3 owners may soon be able to watch movies without ever leaving their living rooms. In an official PlayStation blog entry dated April 15, the game maker hinted at plans for the PlayStation Network in 2008 and a recent revamp of the PlayStation Store. A senior marketing executive also mentioned that a video service was in the works for the PS3.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
iGoogle Hooks Up With OpenSocial
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62703.html
Google has opened up a new sandbox for developers designed to entice them into building richer social networking gadgets for iGoogle. iGoogle is basically a customizable home page for individuals that uses Web-based "gadgets" to deliver content to the page. iGoogle's new social features for developers will change iGoogle from a backyard toy to a full-fledged public playground.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
No Going Home Yet for PS3 Fans
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62700.html
Sony Computer Entertainment pushed back its open beta test for the launch of Playstation's Home, a 3-D virtual world, from the summer to the fall, marking the second time the company has delayed the launch of the product. Unlike traditional games, Home is a sandbox world designed to allow players the flexibility to build, create and interact with other players without directed goals.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
ISP Subscriber Info Is Private, Court Rules
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62698.html
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that people have an expectation to privacy online and that the authorities can't just demand citizens' IP addresses from their Internet service providers without a grand jury warrant. The ruling was handed down in the case of a woman who was charged with hacking into her employer's computer system.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
'Free Tibet' Message Masks Rootkit Malware
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62679.html
Malware creators are taking advantage of the controversy over the upcoming Olympic Games to spread their wares for illicit financial gain. Latching onto the Free Tibet political demonstrations that have spread around the world, would-be thieves have embedded a piece of rootkit malware that logs keystrokes in an executable Flash movie file called "RaceForTibet."
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Adobe Media Player: A Good Start
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62677.html
The new Adobe Media Player 1.0 is a good first step into territory the company hadn't before ventured. Yet it's clearly a 1.0 version that needs some tender loving care to bring it up to 1.5 or 2.0. I don't say this lightly -- I started the free download process from Adobe with high hopes that I'd find a media player that fills in the gaps left by the likes of iTunes and Hulu.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Six Apart Builds Blog Ad Network From Scratch
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62690.html
Six Apart launched a social media platform that the company wants to use to build a conglomeration of individual bloggers and corporation-run community networks that it will use to create a blog advertising network. The company announced the acquisition of Apperceptive, a largely open source Web development company.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Veodia: Gambling on a Better Way to Stream Video
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62675.html
Creating videos in-house means corporations have to either hire contractors who have their own equipment or sink thousands or millions of dollars into hiring trained staff and leasing or buying equipment. Then they have to spend days, if not weeks, editing the videos.
Wed, 23 Apr 08
Facebook Catches Flak for Collaborative Translation Effort
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62689.html
The three-year-old social networking phenomenon Facebook, worth more than $15 billion by many estimates, got a good deal on going global. Its users around the world are translating Facebook's visible framework into nearly two dozen languages -- for free -- aiding the company's aggressive expansion to better serve the 60 percent of its 69 million users who live outside the United States.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Expert: Domain Name Redirects Open Door for Hackers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62678.html
Internet service providers that serve advertising when a user requests a Web page that doesn't exist are exposing their users to a giant security breach, according to security researcher Dan Kaminsky. The vulnerability resulting from the practice, which is an increasingly common way for ISPs to make money from users' typos, was identified last week on Earthlink by Kaminsky.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
New VelociRaptor Runs Fast, Runs Cool
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62674.html
Western Digital is now shipping the next generation of its 10,000 RPM "Raptor" series drives. The new drive doubles the previous capacity to 300 GB and picks up a 35 percent performance increase. Aimed at PC and Mac enthusiasts as well as users of professional-grade workstations that can benefit from high-performance drives, the new WD VelociRaptor is a SATA hard drive built in a 2.5-inch form factor.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Tools and Tricks for Information Junkies
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62644.html
I am an information junkie, and I suffer from information overload. There, I've said it! And even though sometimes it seems like a momentous task to wade through the virtually endless supply of information to find and view the information that I want without wasting hours each day, there is hope.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Etelos Syncs Offline Data to Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62681.html
Etelos has released a limited beta that provides access to offline data -- a chief requirement for any on-demand vendor. The feature, called "Apps on a Plane," allows any browser-based application from the Etelos Marketplace to exchange data with any other AOP-enabled app.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Skype Debuts Dirt-Cheap International Calling Plans
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62673.html
Voice over Internet protocol service provider Skype announced new and expanded calling plans Monday. The new offerings will enable subscribers to make calls to more than one-third of the world's population for a single monthly flat rate, the company said. The three new subscription plans come with no long-term contracts and provide users with up to 10,000 minutes, or five hours a day, of calling each month to 34 countries.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
The Secret Global War to Beat Apple
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62661.html
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been meeting with vendors all over the country that range from those that build PCs to those that build tools and parts, to those that build back-end solutions. One common message has come through. They all are targeting Apple as the company whose performance they most want to beat.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Banshee iPod Speakers Pack Big Bass in a Small Package
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62662.html
The Jensen Banshee JiSS-550 Docking Speaker Station for iPod sports several desirable features and sounds better than most iPod speaker systems in its price range. It's a two-piece system with the iPod dock in a separate cup. While its specifications aren't spectacular, its 25 watt amplifier and five small speakers provide surprisingly rich and satisfying sound at most frequencies.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
Will Hardy Heron Shine Where Red Hat Fears to Tread?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62663.html
You know it's a good week on the Linux blogs when there are topics that draw more than a thousand comments on Slashdot. Indeed, such was the case last week. To start with the most obvious, Red Hat's announcement that it would not develop a desktop version of Linux for the consumer market in the near future made quite a stir on the Linux blogs.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
You Call This HD?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62665.html
In Brent Swanson's basement home theater, there should be nothing drab about "Battlestar Galactica." He's got a high-end projector that beams the picture onto a wall painted like a silver screen, and speakers loom in the corners, flanking two big subwoofers. Yet when he tuned in Sci Fi HD for a recent episode filmed in high definition, the image was soft.
Tue, 22 Apr 08
LP Dock Brings Vinyl Into the Digital Age
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62666.html
While testing Ion Audio's new LP Dock -- a USB turntable and iPod dock -- I was quickly reminded why I hated LPs so much back in the day. Yes, the tactile feeling of holding a big record and album-cover art is cool. Yes, the analog sound might be "warmer" than today's digital ditties. And, well, blah, blah, blah. LPs are simply a pain.
Mon, 21 Apr 08
Is Psystar On to Something?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62655.html
Macolytes around the world were buzzing this week with news that an online hardware vendor called "Psystar.com" is selling a US$555 PC called the "Open Computer" that runs the Macintosh OS X Leopard operating system. In fact, for about the same price, you can buy the machine with Windows or Leopard installed -- or buy it for $400 with the open source Linux operating system.
Mon, 21 Apr 08
Coding for Dollars - and Bragging Rights
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62645.html
Jack Hughes, cofounder of TopCoder, admits that if he were to compete in one of his company's online computer programming competitions he'd be laughed off the screen. Hughes, a computer programmer, said his inability to write elegant code at cyber-speed doesn't bother him a whit.
Sun, 20 Apr 08
Communication in the Workplace: Beyond the Virtual Water Cooler
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62613.html
A few weeks ago, University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer said his team's chemistry was suffering. The reason: cell phones and iPods. Meyer said his players come into the locker room with iPods, put their football gear on and go out to practice, come back in and grab their iPod or whip out their cell phone and text people, and leave.
Sun, 20 Apr 08
FileMaker Gets Personal With Bento Database
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62653.html
Long ago and far away -- about 1982 or 1983 -- there was a database called "Nutshell" which used the simple metaphor of index cards to let you store and use information. I remember Nutshell fondly even if it and the MS-DOS platform that supported it are only fit for computer museums. A Macintosh version of Nutshell evolved into the successful software program FileMaker.
Sun, 20 Apr 08
Avaya's Jim Smith on the Advantages of SIP in the Call Center
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62617.html
I recently got a chance to speak with Jim Smith, vice president and general manager of Avaya's customer service applications division, about Avaya's launch of the Communication Manager 5.0 solution, which the company has positioned as a more cost-efficient and reliable way to implement end-to-end SIP in the contact center.
Sun, 20 Apr 08
Bypassing Carriers for Mobile Content
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62598.html
Tonya Carter used to buy cell phone ringtones from her mobile service provider, Verizon Wireless. However, lately she's found a way to bypass her carrier and download them straight from the Web. Carter, a 33-year-old Houston resident, pays about $10 a month for a service called "Thumbplay," which gives her access not only to ringtones but to a gamut of games and graphics.
Sun, 20 Apr 08
Face Time Instead of Facebook Time
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62573.html
Some people blame the Internet for a decline in social interaction. They say that even as we use online technology to join groups and communicate with others around the globe, we isolate ourselves and ignore the personal and social rewards derived only from face-to-face interaction.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Hooked on Tech: How Much Is Too Much?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62625.html
Having an interest in computers and the Internet is one thing, but can going overboard with it qualify you for a deviant behavior diagnosis from a clinical therapists? That may depend on how much time you sit at the keyboard and how much that impacts your job, your family and your other important interests. Jennifer Hall Goodwin, president of Internet Girl Friday, has given it her own layman's term: "Screen Addiction."
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Microsoft Sheds Light on Upcoming Subscription Suite
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62658.html
As consumer-focused word processing and spreadsheet applications become less expensive and more available from non-Microsoft sources like Google and Apple, Microsoft is working to ensure that it too has lower-priced, higher-value "essential software" solutions for consumers. The Redmond, Wash., software maker has been secretly working on a new service, code-named "Albany," which the company publicly acknowledged Friday.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Don't Panic: Accounting for Human Nature in IT Disaster Response
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62612.html
Ever heard that story about the mother who lifted the car off of her son? I thought it was an urban legend until I looked it up. But apparently it's true: In 1982, Angela Cavallo saw her son being crushed by a 1964 Impala. Seeing that happen brought Angela to a state of panic so severe that she temporarily gained superhuman strength -- enough strength necessary to lift the car off her son.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Tax Day Is Over, but Internet Tax Threats Loom
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62623.html
As Americans stretched to pay the tax man this week, California Assemblyman Charles Calderon was working on the sly to institute a new digital tax. Such a move is not only short-sighted, but also could seriously harm the state's competitiveness. It is shocking that some political leaders seek to increase the regulatory and tax burden on the tech sector.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
FCC Weighs Next Steps at Second Net Neutrality Hearing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62660.html
A divided FCC on Thursday grappled further with the thorny issue of how to relieve increasing online congestion, disagreeing sharply over whether government regulations are needed. The commission met at Stanford University during a seven-hour meeting delving into "net neutrality," the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equal.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Funny Way to Launch a Product
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62656.html
On any given Monday, a half a million new startups come into the world -- tiny, brand-new companies, sometimes operating out of a garage. Most of them have about as much funding as the CEO/CFO/janitor can ring up on the MasterCard. A few will grow into successful enterprises -- most will die within a year.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Mac Bloggers on a Psystar Feeding Frenzy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62646.html
By far the biggest news this week has been the return of the Mac clones, courtesy of a tiny company in Florida doing business under the name "Psystar." While Psystar has sparked the imaginations -- and disdain -- of Mac lovers by offering a $399 PC capable of running Mac OS X, it hasn't been the only blog-worthy topic.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
An Oil Change for the Global Economy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62587.html
Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower are increasingly becoming more popular. In fact, wind power is the fastest-growing energy source in the world. Presently, there are about 30,000 wind turbines operating worldwide, and that number is ever increasing. While this is very encouraging news for our environment, the fact remains that the world will be heavily relying on oil for some time to come.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Linux on the Desktop: Is the Market Too Tough?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62643.html
In what surely came as a blow to many Linux aficionados, Red Hat announced Wednesday that it will not develop a desktop implementation of the operating system for the consumer market anytime soon. "We have no plans to create a traditional desktop product for the consumer market in the foreseeable future," the company wrote in a post on its blog, citing market pressures as its reason.
Sat, 19 Apr 08
Gizmo Backlash: Debate Simmers Over Phones on Public Transit
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62650.html
The world has never been more connected, but in some corners, it's developing a real hang-up over the ubiquitous cell phone. Taking a cue from France's national railway, which offers phone-free "zen zones" on high-speed trains, Austria's second-largest city this week began ordering public transit commuters to keep their phones on silent mode.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Web Video Viewership Balloons by Two-Thirds
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62642.html
Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos in February, according to a comScore report released Wednesday at the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas. The comScore data shows that the number of videos viewed online has risen by two-thirds since February 2007. Roughly 73 percent of Internet users in the U.S. viewed video online in February.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Google Earth Updates Give Users a New Global Perspective
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62647.html
Google has released a new version of its Google Earth application, updating it to version 4.3 by adding a more realistic, immersive set of features intended to make the virtual planet feel more like home. In addition to features like the ability to control the sun, Google Earth 4.3 also comes with a lot more real-world data, new photos and cities ready for 3-D exploring.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Student Journalist Twitters Himself Out of the Pen
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62641.html
When UC Berkeley journalism graduate student James Karl Buck was grabbed by police in the Egyptian industrial city of Mahalla El-Kobra while photographing a noisy demonstration, he sent a one-word text message to Twitter: "Arrested." That eventually got him out of jail.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Smarter Than Your Average Card
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62621.html
Think having a credit or debit card with your photo on it is cool? Well, how about a card the same size and thickness as a credit card, with a window that shows a passcode, and with a public key infrastructure chip on it? When you need to use the card, press on its switch and the PKI chip will run an algorithm that generates a one-time passcode for you to use.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Global PC Sales Remain Hardy in Face of Tepid US Market
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62637.html
Sales of personal computers continued their growth trends in the first quarter despite the U.S. economic slowdown, according to studies released simultaneously by Gartner and IDC. Notebook sales are driving the PC market worldwide, according to the reports, and there are sharper PC sales in developing markets, such as India and the Asia-Pacific region, than in the U.S.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Is Microsoft Feeling the Heat in Embedded Systems?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62620.html
Microsoft is renaming its existing embedded Windows operating systems and supplementing them with additional offerings in key device categories, the company announced Tuesday. Windows XP Embedded will become Windows Embedded Standard, while Windows Embedded CE will be renamed Windows Embedded Compact.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Safari Fix Makes Macs a Little Less PWNable
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62640.html
Apple issued four security updates Thursday for its Web browser Safari, one of which patches the highly publicized -- yet secret -- hole that let security expert Charlie Miller burrow his way into a MacBook Air at the CanSecWest security conference last month. The vulnerability was immediately disclosed to Apple from the conference, but today is the first time it's been widely identified.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Publishers, Advertisers, Consumers Pick Sides in Online Tracking Debate
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62630.html
A firestorm of fury has erupted over behavioral tracking -- the tracking of consumers online by marketing companies and advertisers to serve them up with targeted advertisements when they're on the Web. Both consumer organizations and trade and industry groups have responded to the Federal Trade Commission's call for comments on its proposal to control behavioral tracking.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Al Gore's Sudden Case of Secrecy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62615.html
When the former vice president of the United States gives a speech at a major technology conference in San Francisco, you'd expect to see a story about it the next day, or -- since it was a technology conference -- later on that same day. You'd see a run-of-the-mill story in the Chronicle, marvel that Gore's still going on about that global warming stuff, then move on to the sports section.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
The PC of Doctor Moreau
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62607.html
Here's why I can't have nice things: Sometimes I like to tinker, and when I do, I can't stop swimming out of my depth. Nothing in my home is safe from a screwdriver, or worse. Not my car, not the thermostat, not the guitar amp, nothing. My "nice" PC has seen its fair share of registry edits to the operating system -- don't even ask about the test mule.
Fri, 18 Apr 08
Well-Worn Passwords Are Gold Mines for Hackers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62628.html
Using the same password for multiple Web pages is the Internet-era equivalent of having the same key for your home, car and bank safe-deposit box. Even though a universal password is like gold for cyber-crooks because they can use it to steal all of a person's sensitive data at once, nearly half the Internet users queried in a new survey said they use just one password for all their online accounts.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Comcast Steers for High Ground With P2P Bill of Rights
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62626.html
Taken aback by the intense outcry that arose over reports that it blocked or slowed down traffic to peer-to-peer file-sharing Web sites, Comcast has graciously offered to police itself. The company will begin testing technology from Pando Networks that's designed to smooth the journey of BitTorrent data through its pipes.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Psystar's Open Computer: A $400 Rotten Apple Scam?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62627.html
News of a $400 Mac clone on the market spread like wildfire this week -- only to be supplanted by suspicions that the offering may well be a giant fraud. The first inkling that something was wrong came when a message appeared on the Web site of the mysterious vendor, Psystar, stating it could not take orders over the phone but only via the Internet.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Six Apart Gives Facebook Bloggers Blastability
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62619.html
A new software application allows users to publish information from their Facebook social networking account directly to their personal blogs. Six Apart, steward of the TypePad blog publishing system, released Blog It, a software application that enables users to cross-post information on Facebook to blogs using software from most of the major blog hosting companies.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
A Burgeoning Bevy of Biometric Barriers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62596.html
Passwords are not the best of security solutions, as enterprises and individual users have found over the years. They can be cracked or stolen, and not necessarily by high-tech means either. Often, passwords created by end users in corporations are simple, being based on numbers significant to them, such as their birth dates.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
OpenLogic Kicks Off Open Source Head Count
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62603.html
OpenLogic, a provider of open source packages, kicked off the data-gathering second phase of a global project aiming to collect and share quantitative data on the use of open source software. The company on Wednesday announced an initial list of 10 survey sponsors and launched a census designed to survey the land of open source.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
A Love Affair With MacBook Air
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62593.html
I adore Apple's MacBook Air so much I'm starting to think I can live with its shortcomings. At 3 pounds and about as thick as a weekly magazine, this is the most endearing laptop I've ever used. But if you've read anything about this remarkably thin beauty, you know it achieved its fine figure because it lacks an optical disc drive and offers only one USB hub.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
AOL CPO Jules Polonetsky on Hitting the Privacy Sweet Spot
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62583.html
The privacy requirements of Internet users can vary widely. Some divulge the most personal details of their lives on blogs and social networking sites; others want to remain as anonymous as possible. Users know they have control over what they push onto the Web -- but what about data that portals and other online giants retain on the back end?
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Music Videos Get Sharper Image on New Site
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62618.html
Another company is making a play at online video. Launched Wednesday, PluggedIn is the new kid on the block in a market of heavy hitters that includes MySpace Music, Yahoo Music, AOL Music, MTV.com and of course YouTube. PluggedIn, however, offers at least one thing those other sites do not have -- initial access to 10,000 free streaming high-definition and broadcast-quality music videos.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Best-Selling Computer Game Ever: Day-to-Day Life
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62622.html
There are no scary monsters to slay, no enemies to shoot and no cars to hijack. But with more than 100 million units sold since its launch in 2000, "The Sims" is the world's best-selling computer game. The game's publisher, Electronic Arts, announced Wednesday that the franchise had hit the 100 million mark.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Using Your Cell in Europe Without Breaking the Bank
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62609.html
Question: I'm heading to Europe this summer, and I want to bring my cell phone, but international roaming looks expensive. How do I keep costs down? Answer: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Switch out your SIM card -- the little chip in the phone that carries your account information -- for a prepaid local one, and pay local rates.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
XP to Get One More Service Pack in April
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62599.html
The clock is ticking for Microsoft to roll out the third and likely final service pack for its seven-year-old Windows XP operating system. Microsoft announced at the end of 2007 that the long-awaited service pack would be released sometime during the first half of 2008; however, thus far the company has remained mum about the official date and details of the release.
Thu, 17 Apr 08
Google Turns Antipiracy Tools Against Child Porn
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62602.html
A handful of Google engineers has redesigned a set of video and image analysis tools to help find missing children and combat child pornography and abuse. Their effort is now being tested by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and it stems from anti-piracy software Google developed for the company's YouTube division.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
NAND Flash in Media Players: Hot on the Heels of HDD
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62577.html
Unlike in the digital audio player market, the fight between NAND flash and hard-disk drive on the personal media player platform is far from over. The 1.8-inch HDD still has a firm grip on the PMP category that requires storage capacity of 20 GB or higher due to the cost per byte advantage over NAND flash.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Securing Your Network, One Zone at a Time
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62586.html
As corporations implement compliance with various regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, they find that they end up with different zones within their network that can't talk to each other. This makes it difficult to implement an enterprise security solution. Adding virtualization to the mix complicates things further. Apani Networks has come up with a solution to this: EpiForce VM.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Mid-Sized Businesses and the Quest for Compliance
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62584.html
Mid-market companies often have few choices when it comes to ensuring compliance with federal regulatory edicts for customer identity and financial records. Big companies use business process management and enterprise resource planning systems to track everything their employees do. Mid-size companies have to spend a small fortune or manage with manual spreadsheets and homegrown solutions.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Catch That Memory Bug Before It Catches You
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62579.html
Memory bugs, essentially a mistake in the management of heap memory, are caused by a number of factors and can occur in any program that is being written, enhanced or maintained. The fact that memory bugs can be introduced at any time is part of what makes memory debugging a challenging task.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
The Lessons of iPhone Mania
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62570.html
"If you're not a reviewer, chances are you won't even bother to look at the manual," wrote Time magazine reviewer Lev Grossman about the Apple iPhone. That's nothing less than a stunning comment about any cell phone, particularly one that brings you phone, camera, Internet, WiFi and, of course, an iPod music player.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Adobe Rolls Camera on New Digital Cinema Standard
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62581.html
Adobe on Monday announced what it hopes will become a new industry standard for digital cinema files, CinemaDNG, in Las Vegas at the National Association of Broadcasters Show. Defining an industry-wide open file format will streamline workflows and serve to ensure easy archiving and exchange for video editing professionals, according to Adobe.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Microsoft's Silverlight Gaining Ground - and DRM
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62582.html
Adobe may still enjoy a resounding lead with its Flash rich-media runtime and player, but Microsoft appears to be gradually gaining ground with its Silverlight application platform. At the National Association of Broadcasters Show 2008 in Las Vegas, Microsoft on Monday announced a raft of new companies that have adopted Silverlight.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Who's Watching You at Work?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62528.html
When they put in long hours, workers sometimes begin to see their workplaces as something of a second home. They decorate the walls of their cubicles or offices with pictures of loved ones, plants and an assortment of personal memorabilia. When someone's spending 40, 50, 60 hours a week on the job, that feeling of home-away-from-home can extend to use of electronic devices.
Tue, 15 Apr 08
Mac Clone MIA Shortly After Birth
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62576.html
A small Miami-based business has jumped into the deep end of the pool -- the one controlled by Apple in Cupertino -- by offering Macintosh clones to everyday consumers. Pystar's Web site has regular PC hardware capable of running Mac OS X Leopard unmodified for a measly $399, according to early reports. Perhaps "had" is a better word, because as of Monday morning, the site was inaccessible.
Mon, 14 Apr 08
Microsoft's End to End Trust Request: Is the Messenger Killing the Message?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62558.html
This cuts close to the heart because I truly believe this Web anonymity thing actually helps criminals more than it protects honest citizens. Microsoft has released a white paper that lays out the problem and asks for feedback on a solution -- asking our opinion first at the very least should be applauded.
Mon, 14 Apr 08
It's Almost Tax Day: Do You Know Where Your Identity Is?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62565.html
Spending your tax refund before it arrives? You might want to rethink that plan -- and not just because it's fiscally imprudent. There is a growing chance that this tax season you'll learn for the first time that you were the victim of identity theft at some point during the last year.
Mon, 14 Apr 08
Pondering Windows' Bloated Demise
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62562.html
Well, it was a relatively quiet week on the Linux blogs, and we can only speculate that everyone out there was feverishly working on their taxes. Yes indeed. Taxes, as we know all too well, are one of the few certainties in this world -- along with death, as our good friend Mr. Franklin so aptly noted.
Sun, 13 Apr 08
Into the Wild With WiFi
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62550.html
Outdoor enthusiasts may dislike the idea of a laptop in every tent, but the number of state parks with wireless Internet service is growing rapidly. State officials say park users want WiFi, so parks are installing it in campgrounds, lodges and visitors centers. Some states, including Tennessee and Kansas, plan to equip every park with it.
Sun, 13 Apr 08
The New Dungeon Master
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62560.html
It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you. That's what's happened to "Dungeons & Dragons," the roleplaying game that for decades has drawn geeks to roll dice and pretend to be elves, sorcerers and other fantasy heroes. It has never quite become mainstream entertainment, but it has inspired roleplaying computer games like "World of Warcraft."
Sun, 13 Apr 08
Apple's OS Edge Is a Threat to Microsoft
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62551.html
The 20-year death grip that Microsoft has held on the core of computing is finally weakening -- pried loose with just two fingers. With one finger you press "Control" and with the other you press "right arrow." Instantly you switch from a Macintosh operating system to a Microsoft Windows OS. Then, with another two-finger press, you switch back again.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Who's on Top in Tech-Readiness?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62535.html
The Middle East isn't known as a hotbed of technological achievement. However, in the seventh annual "Global Information Technology Report" released on April 9 by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum and French management school INSEAD, the region demonstrated the most improvement in its tech-readiness and expertise of any in the world.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Green Tech and Greenbacks: The Money Case for Eco-Friendly Computing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62542.html
One interpretation of the term "green computing" focuses on the machine's energy consumption. The less power a computer needs, the less harm to the environment it does -- and the less the owner has to spend on energy costs. Are those energy savings enough of a reason to make major enterprise buying decisions based in part on how green a computer is?
Sat, 12 Apr 08
So You've Jailbroken Your iPhone - Now What?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62471.html
Until iPhone 2.0 software is released in June, if you want to add third-party software to your iPhone, you first need to jailbreak it. Jailbreaking, however, is only the first step. The next step is to actually install your choice of software. For this task, hackers have standardized on an iPhone application called, appropriately enough, "Installer."
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Is Windows Getting Morbidly Obese?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62556.html
Microsoft Windows is collapsing under its own weight and must radically change for the sake of users, independent software vendors and Microsoft itself, according to research firm Gartner. Because Microsoft Windows is so large and complex, covering 20 years of legacy code, it can no longer adequately respond to market forces, a pair of Gartner analysts said.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Deal Gives MySpaceTV's Viral Tendrils Global Reach
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62557.html
MySpace on Thursday announced a new partnership with ShineReveille International under which original content developed for MySpaceTV will be distributed internationally. The information was revealed at the MIPTV conference in Cannes, France. Under the plan, online shows such as "Prom Queen," "Quarterlife" and "Roommates" will receive deluxe distribution treatment.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Drumbeat Slows for TomTom's Tele Atlas Buy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62555.html
Navigation device maker TomTom reportedly hasn't offered any remedies to the European Commission's antitrust worries over its bid of more than $4 billion to take over the digital map firm Tele Atlas. The commission's deadline to rule on the deal is May 21. TomTom had until Thursday to present a solution to the group.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Yahoo Scrambles, Scrabble Scraps, Chertoff Coaxes
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62552.html
Unwilling to believe that resistance to a Microsoft takeover is futile, Yahoo is throwing a lot of strategies at the wall to see what sticks. Its latest effort is a trial advertising partnership with Google -- a two-week test of its AdSense service. Yahoo plans to run Google ads alongside up to 3 percent of the search results generated on Yahoo Web properties in the U.S.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Video Beating Stokes Debate Over Fame, Violence
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62544.html
For the eight Florida teens accused of imprisoning, beating and videotaping 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay as they brutalized her for more than half an hour, the events of March 30 have led to kidnapping and battery charges that cast a dark shadow over their future. For the rest of the world, the case has shone a bright light on the negative potential of the Internet.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Blockbuster May Be Moving Into Set-Top Box Territory
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62547.html
Blockbuster is working on a new movie-streaming and/or downloading service, according to a news report. The reported device apparently would let its customers view movies from a television set-top box similar to the Apple TV or an Xbox 360, both of which can download rentable movies.
Sat, 12 Apr 08
Grin-Gauging Tech Designed to Judge Joy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62549.html
The breadth of a smile can be measured by new technology from Japanese electronics and healthcare company Omron. The software technology, shown to reporters Thursday, scans a video image to detect faces. It can find up to 100 faces in an image, according to Yasushi Kawamoto of Omron. "Okao Catch," which means "face catch," then analyzes the curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
The Uneasy Future of Online Security
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62538.html
The face of online security will change drastically, Jim Bidzos, founder and chairman of trusted certificates vendor VeriSign, said in a keynote speech on Wednesday at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco. "In the '70s in enterprises, there were mainly mainframes." When local area networks came along in the '80s, tokens were introduced and "they were good enough for this kind of access," Bidzos said.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Mac Bloggers Fantasize Over Fresh MacBooks, Bicker Over Apple TV Resolution
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62545.html
In Mac- and Apple-focused activity this week, bloggers and commenters have been beating up on allegations of premature iPods deaths as well as speculating on the next generation of redesigned MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Also in the air is a mysterious MacBook firmware update and the supposed upcoming downfall of Apple TV.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
The OSS Cure for What Ails Hospital IT
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62536.html
What does a systems engineer in charge of a computer network for a major medical facility do to trim expenses and administer much-needed performance medicine to mission-critical applications? In the case of Orlando's Florida Hospital, network administrators surgically removed failing proprietary software and hardware and implanted open source technology.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
Microsoft Taps AI to Outsmart Traffic
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62541.html
Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a predictive traffic system that combines historical traffic data with real-time updates from GPS-enabled devices in order to build real-time maps for drivers. The services, which runs on the Live platform, grew out of research by Eric Horvitz, who has been working on the project for four years.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
National Mobile Alert System Gets Legs, Head Still Missing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62537.html
The United States emergency response system may be coming to a mobile phone near you. The Federal Communications Commission took a big leap Wednesday in setting up the framework necessary to use the nation's wireless carriers to transmit text message alerts, warnings and critical information to citizens via cell phones and other mobile devices during disasters or other emergencies, the FCC said.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
RSA Town Hall: It Takes a Village to Weather a Cyber Storm
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62530.html
How do you respond when hit by a cyber attack tsunami? That's the question Cyber Storm II, the most comprehensive cyber exercise ever held in the U.S., was designed to answer. Forty private sector companies, 11 Cabinet-level agencies, 10 states and five countries were involved in the March exercise.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
IBM Unveils Enterprise 2.0 Mashup Tools
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62532.html
IBM has introduced a mashup portfolio designed to help line of business users create applications for specific situations. The driver behind development of the portfolio is the recognition that there is a huge amount of value in unstructured data and content that doesn't always fall neatly under the IT enterprise umbrella.
Fri, 11 Apr 08
MIT Artist Finds Beauty in Cyber Threat Code
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62529.html
Cyber threats like NetSky, Mydoom and Parite are the bane of IT departments around the globe, but artist Alex Dragulescu has found subtle beauty deep within the dangerous computer code that can bring down networks and bombard e-mail inboxes with murderous spam. Dragulescu has peeled back the code behind the world's worst tech bugs and rendered stunning images from it.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
The Eco PC: Less Power In, Fewer Hazards Out
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62520.html
How green is your computer equipment? The answer could provide insight into how much electricity you aren't buying each month to run your computers and peripherals. It can also provide a clue to how much long-term harm your computing activity is having on the world around you. The question of green computing becomes more intense as energy issues move from the home office to the corporate office.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Giving Technical Documents Legs With XML
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62527.html
Services Oriented Architecture should dramatically improve the relationship between people, processes, and IT. Yet the potential for SOA remains clouded due to a gulf between worker knowledge and the new services automation benefits, which remain focused on structured data and existing applications.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Have Mainframe Skills, Will Travel
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62526.html
In technology, the hot jobs aren't always in starting an Internet company from scratch or designing the slimmest laptop. In mainframe computing, an almost-forgotten corner of corporate information technology departments, demand is growing for a new generation of professionals who can manage these complex systems.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Office 2008 Gets a Face-Lift With Mac-Like Feel and Features
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62523.html
As you probably know, Microsoft released an upgraded, updated version of its venerable Office suite last January. I've been hard at work on a book about it, so for the past few months I've had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of quality time with it. Dubbed "Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac," it's still available in three versions, like its predecessor.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Adobe Grabs a Slice of Video 2.0 Pie
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62522.html
Adobe on Wednesday announced that its Adobe Media Player 1.0 is now available as a free download. The cross-platform software, which is built on the Adobe Integrated Runtime platform, is customizable and works both online and off to give viewers new ways to discover and interact with their favorite content. It also offers revenue and brand-building opportunities for content publishers, Adobe said.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Flickr Adds Video Snippets
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62525.html
Yahoo rolled out a limited video-sharing service for its online photo-sharing service, Flickr, which will allow its members to upload short videos and integrate them with photo sets and slide shows. The new service isn't a competitor to the likes of YouTube or other video sites.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Chertoff on Cybersecurity: 'Reverse Manhattan Project' Needed
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62517.html
After working for years to prevent cyberterrorist attacks on the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security has approached the private sector for help. At a talk given to information security professionals at the RSA Security Conference, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned that a cyberterrorist attack would hurt the U.S. as much as the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Microsoft Releases Forefront Stirling to Beta
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62515.html
Microsoft has unveiled the public beta of its Forefront enterprise security product, known as "Stirling." This is a single product that delivers coordinated protection across desktop and server applications and the network edge. It comes with a single dashboard that shows all the systems protected by Stirling.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Multi-Tenant Matters
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62502.html
There is an interesting debate beginning to brew in the on-demand market. Although most people are still clearing their throats, sides have been chosen and trial balloons have been floated. It appears that a small group of big companies, including Oracle, SAP and Microsoft, are trying to slow Salesforce.com's momentum by going after the crown jewel.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Archer Launches Exchange for Enterprise Apps
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62511.html
Archer Technologies on Tuesday launched the Archer Exchange, a virtual marketplace for on-demand application development wherein companies that have developed applications in-house can put them up on the exchange for sale to other corporations. The company made the announcement at the RSA Security Conference, being held through Friday at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center.
Thu, 10 Apr 08
Microsoft Opens Arms a Little Wider With 14,000 Pages of Tech Specs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62507.html
Microsoft is continuing to make good on its promises of openness. The Redmond software behemoth posted an additional 14,000 pages of preliminary versions of technical documentation of Microsoft protocols that should help third-party developers -- including open source developers -- build more interoperable applications.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
PolyFuel CEO Jim Balcom: Stoking the Flame for Fuel Cells in Consumer Tech
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62509.html
Fuel cell technology is often associated with cars, specifically the next generation of automobiles that won't run on gasoline, juice from a wall socket or any combination of the two. Instead, fuel cell cars will run on highly efficient hydrogen and put out next to nothing in the way of emissions. Making that a reality won't be easy, though.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
The Whole World Is Watching: Google Shines Light on Refugee Camps
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62504.html
Google and the UN High Commission for Refugees -- the United Nations agency responsible for tracking and caring for refugees from the world's conflicts -- unveiled a Web-based mapping tool Tuesday meant to help raise awareness of displaced populations. The tool, Google Earth Outreach, will help to highlight efforts to help millions of people forced to flee their homes because of war and other conflicts.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Symantec CEO Calls for Federal Hacking Law
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62505.html
The federal government should step in and pass laws to ensure computer security, the CEO of Symantec told a security conference Tuesday. In the last six months of 2007, nearly 50 million people worldwide were the victims of identity theft, and 70 percent of the most common malicious code used in attacks on computers targeted confidential files.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Don't Kill the Blogger
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62501.html
Here I am tempting fate. Risking my life. Writing a blog post. Bloggers are living on the edge, suggests Matt Richtel. It's harrowing having to come up with all those ideas and translate them into words. The hunger for cyber scoops robs them of sleep. The endless hunt for eyeballs is a merciless slog.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
IBM Conjures Phantom to Fight Hacker Menace
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62506.html
IBM unveiled a new research initiative intended to solve problems associated with virtualization and security Tuesday in San Francisco at RSA 2008. Code-named "Phantom," the project will be run jointly by IBM X-Force threat analysis team and IBM Research. The project seeks to create virtualization security technology to efficiently monitor and disrupt malicious communications between virtual machines, the company said.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Google Opens a Web App Playground in the Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62497.html
Google unveiled a preview version of its new hosted Web application platform, Google App Engine, late Monday. The new service is more than a simple database-style platform; rather, it provides developers of Web apps with a hosted solution upon which they can write their applications. Google App Engine is a way for developers to run their Web applications using Google's extensive infrastructure.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
HP Joins the Crowd at the Low End
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62503.html
HP has jumped into the "mini-computer" market with an education-focused computer that costs less than $500. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC is part of a growing segment of the computing market that focuses on laptops that come with basic functionalities -- Web surfing, e-mail, instant messaging plus video and playback.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Security Sleuths Search for a Single Sign-On Solution
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62488.html
Project Concordia -- formed last year by vendors offering electronic identity products to create a harmonized standard and ensure identity initiatives and protocols can interoperate -- held a series of demonstrations by seven vendors: FuGen Solutions, Internet2, Microsoft, Oracle, Ping Identity, Sun Microsystems and Symlabs.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
HP Draws Up Plans for New Enterprise Printers and Programs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62498.html
HP on Tuesday introduced a new line of imaging and printer services designed for the needs of the enterprise market. A major component of the company's new offerings is a business partner accreditation, certification and test program. Its latest products help enterprises manage, secure and simplify their imaging and printing environments and improve workflows to reduce costs and enhance productivity, HP said.
Wed, 9 Apr 08
Battle Gets Down and Dirty Over TV White Spaces
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62495.html
Ten months before the nation flips to digital television, technology companies and TV broadcasters are fighting over the virtual remote, with different ideas of what to do with the unused airwaves. Google, Microsoft and others on Tuesday are launching an advertising and lobbying blitz to convince Capitol Hill that these unoccupied airwaves, or "white spaces," could be used.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
How to Help the Help Desk: 21st Century Support for IT Pros
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62475.html
Whether your company calls them "technical support technicians," "help desk representatives" or "strategic Support Analysts," in-house help desk professionals are an integral part of any business. Increasing productivity and satisfaction ratings while reducing costs and resources are the hallmarks of an effective IT help desk.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Barack Obama: First CRM President?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62486.html
Much ink has been spilled about what, exactly, has been the secret of Barack Obama's overwhelming success. There is no denying his charisma or the appeal of his message, but a behind-the-scenes look at how his political machine operates -- namely, how it empowers its people on the ground to operate -- is worth a look as well.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
iPod Speaker System Keeps Tunes Flowing in Wet Conditions
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62473.html
iceBar2 from Atlantic is an integrated iPod case and miniature speaker system for all three generations of the iPod nano. However, it's a nano case and speaker system with a nifty twist -- the whole kit and kaboodle is waterproof. The last time I reviewed a waterproof case I was impressed, but in real life I never used it once the review was done, mostly because the waterproof earphones I reviewed with it weren't very good.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Scrabble Brings Scrabulous Scrap to Facebook
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62485.html
Until recently, the closest Facebook users could get to playing Scrabble online was Scrabulous, the wildly popular application launched by two Indian brothers back in 2006. That game -- essentially a Scrabble impostor -- now attracts some 600,000 users per day, but in the last few weeks a new, official beta version of the popular board game was quietly launched on Facebook.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
New Finjan Appliance Sniffs Web Traffic for Crimeware
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62484.html
Secure Web gateway products vendor Finjan unveiled version 9.0 of its Vital Security Web appliance on Monday at the RSA Security Conference. This includes a new active real-time inspection technology that checks both inbound and outbound Web traffic and SSL traffic for malicious content to provide enterprises real-time information on system performance and security risk levels.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Jive Adds Web 2.0 Rhythms to New Enterprise Collaboration Software
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62482.html
A little over a year following the initial release of its Clearspace collaboration platform in February 2007, Jive Software announced the availability of the Clearspace 2.0 Monday. The newest iteration of Clearspace enables users to share information and connect with coworkers and business partners in order to increase communication and workplace productivity.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Live From RSA: Getting Ready for the Security Smackdown
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62479.html
It's quiet on the streets of San Francisco today, the first day of the RSA Security Conference, being held at the Moscone Convention Center south of Market Street. Traffic on the streets is light, so either the cops are doing a good job redirecting the crazy San Francisco traffic, which in this area can almost rival that of New York, or the gloomy economic news has trickled down to the streets.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
The Horror at 37,000 Feet: EU Allows In-Flight Cell Phone Use
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62478.html
The European Commission introduced new rules Monday for mobile communications on aircrafts during flights. The new regulations give the airlines a green light to let their passengers talk on their mobile phones midair -- with a few caveats, of course. The Commission, however, did not create protections for quiet passengers who might find themselves stuck next to a working business person or a chatting teenager.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
IBM Soups Up RFID-Ready Server
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62481.html
IBM is unveiling upgrades to its WebSphere Premises Server at Impact, its SOA event taking place in Las Vegas this week. The buffed-up SOA software -- Version 6.1 -- and IBM's RFID Information Center will be the two main product spotlights at the event. The cumulative effect of the improvements is that users will find it far easier to gather, analyze and act upon data.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
Census 2010: Rock, Paper, Scissors
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62465.html
When the Census Bureau sends out its legions of employees to count American heads two years hence, the roughly 140,000 address canvassers and 580,000 enumerators won't be armed with custom-built handheld computers. Instead, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told a House panel on Friday, the government agency will use a paper-based system.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
A Linux Device That Could Beat the iPhone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62433.html
Last week I was in Shanghai, China -- which is truly an amazing place -- attending the Intel Developer Forum, where the company is officially launching its new Netbook and iPhone-like mobile Internet device platforms. This is actually the first time I've seen products that are based on Linux that may exceed Apple's vaunted user experience.
Tue, 8 Apr 08
iFob: Turning iPhones Into Tools of Flirtation
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62430.html
Two Missoula, Mont., entrepreneurs have launched software for the iPhone, iPod touch and laptop computers that upends the conventional sense of social networking. Unlike online dating and friendship Web sites where connections are made in cyberspace, the software's goal is moving people from virtual relationships into real ones.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
The Apps Small Biz Needs Now
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62414.html
Why doesn't someone invent clothing with very small, powerful magnetic material woven in? That way all the clothes teenagers leave strewn about the house could be automatically pulled toward a designated laundry basket. Or what about a central trash system, like central plumbing, where all refuse gets whisked away to some underground recycling facility inhabited only by the alligators of urban mythology.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Linux Foundation: Paid Contributors Helping to Grow Kernel
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62454.html
Over the last three years, the number of developers of the Linux kernel has tripled, according to the Linux Foundation. A research team from the organization has reported that the growth of the open source operating system into new areas is attracting more hands-on code writing of the Linux engine.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
The Pusher of Cupertino
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62386.html
After two years of stellar service, my beloved iPod suddenly started giving me gip last week -- crashing three times in an afternoon. Although I managed to restart it each time, I couldn't understand why it should suddenly start malfunctioning now -- after all, I've only had it for two years, and I've been careful to look after it.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Revving Up to Join the Plug-In Vehicle Charge
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62370.html
In a sign of accelerating progress on plug-in hybrids -- the 100 mile per gallon vehicles you can't yet buy in showrooms -- electric utilities quickly are linking with automakers and tech companies to develop "smart-charging" technology that controls when and how fast a vehicle is recharged.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Collaboration at Work: IT Resistance Is Futile
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62456.html
The enterprise Web 2.0 market will continue to gain importance in 2008 as an increasing number of firms look to Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis and social networking to solve long-standing information worker problems, according to a recent report from Forrester Research.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
miShare Tune Swapper: Almost There but Still Buggy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62440.html
In the world of iPod accessories -- 4,000-plus and counting -- the ones worth the money are those that improve the listening experience. I have two for you today, one that will be great when the bugs are worked out and a pair of headphones that make iPod portability even better. Let's start with the almost-there product.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
DRM for Cars: No Pay, No Play
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62391.html
When the light starts to flash, you had better have the cash. That's the reality for millions of subprime borrowers whose used car purchase is contingent upon having an unusual option: a little box mounted underneath the dashboard that forces them to make their payments on time.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
XP to Live On in Cheap PCs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62461.html
Microsoft has again decided to let Windows XP operating system live a little longer. This time, the software maker has given the OS a reprieve in order to sell preloaded versions of Windows XP Home Edition in ultra-low cost PCs. Ultra-low-cost PCs offer first-time PC buyers and consumers interested in a second or third PC at home an inexpensive, low-power alternative to standard PCs.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Bumpy Road on the Way to WiMax
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62446.html
Adding another bump in the road on the way to WiMax, Sprint has delayed the nationwide launch of its Xohm WiMax network. The launch had been expected to happen this month, but now "it's not looking like it will be April," company spokesperson John Polivka told TechNewsWorld.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Web Crime Spikes in 2007, Losses Near $240M
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62462.html
The financial losses tied to Internet crime reached record levels in 2007, the FBI said Thursday, citing data from its annual Internet Crime Report. The Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3 -- which the FBI operates along with the nonprofit National White Collar Crime Center -- fielded 206,884 complaints of crimes perpetrated over the Internet during 2007, the bureau said.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
Winning Bidders Spell Out How They'll Use Their Spectrum
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62455.html
Though the basic outcome of the Federal Communications Commission wireless spectrum auction has been known for some time -- Verizon Wireless and AT&T won major chunks of the spectrum while Google was shut out -- responses to the closely watched event came fast and furious Thursday as the anti-collusion quiet period ended.
Mon, 7 Apr 08
The World's Smartest End Table, Smoking Your Phone, Document Standards Gone Wild
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62453.html
Last year, Microsoft successfully mated a touch-screen PC with one of those old Ms. Pacman games you might see at your typical dive bar. Thus the Microsoft Surface -- the world's smartest end table -- was born. At first, it spent most of its time finger painting and identifying objects placed on top of it.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Comcast Goes Full Throttle With Experimental Wideband Roll-Out
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62448.html
Comcast is now delivering super high-speed Internet services to households in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. -- up to 50 Mbps, significantly faster than typical low-end broadband, which comes in at 1.5 Mbps or less. The new speeds come courtesy of the company's next-generation Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications 3.0 technology.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
MySpace Music Buddies Up With Record Labels
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62435.html
MySpace announced Thursday a joint venture with three of the world's four largest record companies -- Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music -- to launch a new online music service. The service will add new features to the social network's existing music portal, MySpace Music.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Sun Takes a Shine to Ubuntu for Servers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62441.html
Sun Microsystems, one of the largest server makers, announced that it would increase the number of products certified for use with Ubuntu Linux, one of the fastest growing open source operating systems. The upcoming expansion is the latest development in the two-year relationship between Sun and Canonical.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Yahoo to Mobile Searchers: Talk to the Handset
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62431.html
Yahoo has launched its next-generation mobile search service and also appears determined to get a jump on competitors by making it readily available to third-party developers. Yahoo's oneSearch 2.0 will deliver a number of improvements that will allow users to perform quicker, more comprehensive searches through text and voice-based activation.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Android A-OK With AT&T, Says CEO
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62439.html
AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega caused a stir at a press conference at CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas Wednesday when he expressed interest in Google's Android platform. Some reports even had him committing to shipping phones running Android later this year. Others, however, only had him saying that Android was "something we would want in our portfolio."
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Simplifying Data Storage With iSCSI
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62415.html
Companies evaluating iSCSI are driven primarily by the need to lower the cost of their storage infrastructure. However, adoption of iSCSI storage solutions by large enterprises has been slow. A recent study by Aberdeen provides evidence that iSCSI is now replacing or supplementing fibre channel and other competing technologies in all market segments, including large enterprises.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Microsoft Gives Windows Mobile a Tune-Up
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62427.html
Using mobile devices running Windows Mobile operating system may become a little easier with the upcoming release of Windows 6.1 and a few changes to Internet Explorer Mobile that Microsoft plans to make. The software maker unveiled new versions of its mobile OS and Web browser this week at the CTIA Wireless 2008 mobile show.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
RIM Scoffs at 'R' Word With Doubled Profit, Revenue
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62434.html
RIM posted strong earnings and sales growth in its fourth quarter. The positive news signals that it has not seen the Apple iPhone cut into the market share for its BlackBerry device and that adoption may continue to grow even amid a weakening economy. RIM beat Wall Street targets for the quarter ending March 1, shipped a record number of BlackBerry handsets and issued an outlook that was also more robust than expected.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
US Gamer Population Swells to 72 Percent
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62425.html
A report from the NPD Group reveals that 72 percent of the U.S. population played video games last year, up from 64 percent in 2006. Among the people playing games, 58 percent said they played online. The online participation included everything from children's game sites and casual word, card and puzzle games to the hard-core role-playing games and online racing and combat games through consoles such as the Xbox 360.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Where Have All the Good Domain Names Gone?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62424.html
While President Bush's advisers were taking offers on an ideal spot for his library and museum, they probably should have paid more attention to the virtual real-estate market. Officials finally settled on Southern Methodist University in Dallas to house the $250 million complex.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Are iPhone and Air the Beginning of the End?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62422.html
The writing is clearly on the wall. The iPhone will grow into a significant enterprise end-point role, and OS X Macs will quickly advance beyond the now 20 percent share of the total non-enterprise fat client compute device market. This is all but done. Problem is that Apple is winning in the old war -- the PC vs. the Mac, and the smartphone vs. the mobile Internet device battles.
Fri, 4 Apr 08
Wetpaint to Add New Coat of Gloss With Balco Wiki Platform
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62432.html
Wetpaint Chief Executive Ben Elowitz told me he'll have a big product announcement in a few months, but while we were talking at his office in Pioneer Square in Seattle on Monday, one of his potential customers was apparently talking to Michael Arrington at TechCrunch, the popular blog on venture enterprises and startups.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Intel Unleashes Powerful, Power-Saving Atom Chips
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62421.html
Intel on Wednesday unveiled the Centrino Atom family of low-power processors for mobile Internet devices. It also announced a new class of inexpensive, simple Internet-centric computers, called "netbooks," which will hit the market later this year, and new developments in other chip families.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
AT&T Customers to Dabble With Microsoft's New Hands-On Surface Display
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62416.html
Surface, Microsoft's newly developed touch-screen interactive tabletop display, will be available beginning April 17 in select AT&T stores, including those in New York, Atlanta, San Francisco and San Antonio The success of the initial appearance of the technology will determine how many of AT&T's 2,200 stores it eventually will reach, the companies said.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Amazon Aims to Light M-Commerce Fire With TextBuyIt
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62417.html
Amazon.com launched a text-message shopping option Tuesday that enables users to search for, compare and buy products with short message service, in addition to its existing browser-based mobile commerce offerings. TextBuyIt, as the service is known, joins Amazon's mobile site and a site dedicated for access with the iPhone in Amazon's mobile arsenal.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
HP Bundles CRM Road Maps With New Servers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62413.html
HP has released a number of new offerings targeting the mid-market, including new Linux management tools, remote security access products and -- for companies embarking on a customer relationship management implementation -- two new additions to the HP ProLiant server line that include configuration blueprints for two popular applications: Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Oracle's Siebel CRM.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
IOC Cautions China Against Walling Off Net During Olympics
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62408.html
The Internet must be open during the Beijing Olympics. That was the message a top-ranking International Olympic Committee official delivered Tuesday to Beijing organizers during the first of three days of meetings -- the last official sessions between IOC inspectors and the Chinese hosts before the games begin in just over four months.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
Scent of iPhone Lingers in the Air at CTIA
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62411.html
Consumers looking to upgrade or replace their cell phones later this year will have their pick of new handsets offering improved multimedia features, navigation services and plenty of responses to the iPhone. CTIA, the U.S. wireless industry group, kicked off its annual confab in Las Vegas on Tuesday with a barrage of product releases from major carriers and handset manufacturers.
Thu, 3 Apr 08
FCC's Martin Rebuffs Skype's Open Access Plea
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62409.html
The Federal Communications Commission should reject a petition by eBay's Skype division to require wireless operators to allow any device on their networks, the agency's chairman said Tuesday. To applause, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told an audience at the CTIA Wireless trade show that the industry's recent push toward openness makes such a rule unnecessary.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Botnet Survivor: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Bot Herders at Their Own Game
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62401.html
Early adopters are typically characterized as progressive risk-takers who have little to lose and much to gain. Following this logic, it makes perfect sense that within this crowd we find bot herders -- hackers who control a large number of compromised PCs for malicious purposes. Yet it's unsettling that these unsavory characters are using some of the industry's most promising technologies to further their criminal agendas.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Photoshop Express Is Surprisingly Snappy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62406.html
The beta launch of Adobe Systems' latest addition to its Photoshop family of image editing tools offers up the most commonly needed edits on the Web -- for free -- and throws in a solid range of Web 2.0 sharing features. The new online tool is Photoshop Express, and while it won't replace any current customer installations of Photoshop CS3 or Elements, it's certainly a handy tool for mass consumption.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Linux: Always a Bridesmaid
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62404.html
The free Linux operating system handles big tasks like running supercomputers and ATMs. Now Linux has a chance to finally crack Microsoft's hold on computing's most visible domain -- mainstream PCs -- because of the rise of innovative, inexpensive machines. Of course, prognosticators perennially say Linux is on the verge.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
10 Simple Steps to Boost Search Engine Rankings
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62402.html
There are several steps to follow to ensure top rankings in search engines. Sites that follow these simple steps will likely see their traffic and search engine rankings soar through the roof. The better optimized your site is for the search engines, the better results you can expect. The following tips will help you understand how the search engines rank sites and why some sites achieve higher rankings than others.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Google Heats Up Office Battle With Offline Docs Access
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62399.html
Google announced Monday it plans to take its Google Docs word processing application into unchartered territory -- offline. "We've taken another small step toward making Web applications accessible anywhere and everywhere. We're rolling out a way for you to edit documents in Google Docs even without a connection," Jason Freidenfelds, a Google spokesperson, told TechNewsWorld.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Advanced Auto Parts Scrambles to Placate Customers Following Data Breach
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62403.html
A network intrusion at Advance Auto Parts has put the credit card, debit card and checking account information of up to 56,000 customers in jeopardy. Data security at 14 stores in Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Virginia and New York, has been compromised, according to the auto parts retailer.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Sprint Nextel Swings for the Stands With iPhone Rival
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62394.html
Sprint Nextel on Tuesday said it is betting heavily on a touch-screen phone that appears to be the closest thing the U.S. market has seen to Apple's vaunted iPhone. The Samsung Instinct will be available in June for a yet undetermined price, Sprint announced at CTIA Wireless, a cell phone industry trade show in Las Vegas.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Better Monitoring With Smart Medical Devices
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62375.html
About 90 million people in the U.S. suffer from one or multiple chronic conditions, with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory conditions having the highest prevalence. These conditions are also the most suitable for medical monitoring devices. Glucose meters and test strips are a multibillion-dollar business in the U.S.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Sony Pushes Old Movies to Cell Phone Screens
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62396.html
Haven't seen "The Karate Kid" in a while? Soon, AT&T customers will be able to catch it on their mobile phones. On Monday, Sony Pictures Television said it is launching Pix, the first movie network for mobile TV in the U.S. The network, making use of Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology, will be available to subscribers of the AT&T Mobile TV service, which is scheduled for a May launch.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
New Utility Enforces Policies Across Linux, Unix and Windows Networks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62373.html
Symark International on Tuesday released PowerADvantage, an integrated authentication and configuration tool that extends features of Microsoft Windows' Active Directory to networks also running Unix and Linux systems. PowerAdvantage adds centralized authentication, authorization and account access functionality to Unix and Linux systems.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
The Beauty of Not Asking Permission
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62388.html
Last year, when Viacom visited YouTube and spotted shows from MTV, Comedy Central and other content producers it owns, it decided to act quickly -- and the only quick reaction a company of Viacom's size is capable of in that sort of situation is to sue. Only after many months did other giant TV networks put the finishing touches on Hulu, a site that does basically the same thing that YouTube had been doing.
Wed, 2 Apr 08
Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac Brings Pro Power to Everyday Users
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/62371.html
It took a couple of years -- as well as a few months of jealousy -- but the wait for the next version of Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac is over: Adobe is now shipping version 6 for the Mac. The last version of Photoshop Elements for the Mac was version 4, which means Adobe completely skipped over the Mac community when it came out with version 5.