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Tue, 30 Jun 09
Toyota Wheelchair Guided by Thought Alone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67457.html
U.S. automakers have spent a lot of time lately wondering whether someone can think up a solution for their economic woes. Meanwhile, one of their Japanese counterparts is using brainpower in a different way: to control the movement and direction of a wheelchair. Researchers at Toyota headquarters in Japan have announced the development of a new brain-machine interface that can allow a person to start and turn a wheelchair with the use of brain waves. There's no need for any implants or invasive surgery.

Tue, 30 Jun 09
Will PlayStation Play the Cellphone Game?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67455.html
If you're working your thumbs into a carpal-tunnel frenzy on your Sony PlayStation Portable, navigating the blood and gore of the company's successful gaming franchise "God of War," do you really want to interrupt the mayhem to take a phone call from Mom? Sony may soon get an answer to that question, according to a weekend report that says the Japanese consumer electronics giant is looking into the prospect of developing a hybrid mobile phone/gaming device.

Tue, 30 Jun 09
Toasted iPhone 3GS Rumors Spreading Like Wildfire
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67456.html
The iPhone 3GS may be selling like hotcakes, but some users are saying that's not where the comparison ends -- and it's just the latest in a string of complaints about Apple's newest gadget. Temperatures rose over AT&T's initial attitude toward iPhone users who wanted a subsidized 3GS upgrade before their contracts were up for renewal. Steam shot out of quite a few ears when users found there would be no tethering capability even though the iPhone 3GS could support it. What else could happen to disillusion the owner of a shiny new 3GS? Try having it catch fire.

Tue, 30 Jun 09
Adesso's New Slimtouch Keyboard: Terrific Touchpad, Loopy Layout
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67420.html
Adesso's newest keyboard, the Wireless Slimtouch Ergo, is a love-it-or-hate-it type of product. If you can get along without the features it misses and get through the learning curve, you might just keep it. It has a few interesting features to offer those looking for a change of pace. However, making the move probably will not be an easy transition. I routinely work on four or five computers, and different keyboards often have slightly different layouts. Sure, they're all QWERTY designs, but sometimes things are just a little different when it comes to the delete key, for instance.

Tue, 30 Jun 09
A Tale of Two Demos: Innovation vs. Desperation
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67450.html
Over the last two weeks I attended two events: one organized by the Blu-ray folks and one by HP. Both PR teams did excellent jobs; however, one had a strong offering to work with, while the other was stuck with a toad of a product offering. Both products look to add value to platforms that are struggling at the moment. Printing is dropping off in favor of an increasing number of electronic screens. Blu-ray, despite a massive push to convince everyone otherwise, is still not a significant part of the DVD space.

Tue, 30 Jun 09
Conspiracy Theories and the 'Smoking Gun'
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67451.html
Linux bloggers are never shy about laying blame at Microsoft's door, but in recent days the accusations seemed to be flying faster than ever. First, Groklaw published a post entitled, "Linux on Netbooks: The Smoking Gun." Referring to a post from earlier this month by ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn, Groklaw zeroed in on comments made by Li Chang, vice president of the Taipei Computer Association, in response to a query at Computex about "where the Linux went," as Blankenhorn put it.

Mon, 29 Jun 09
The Troublesome Task of Rejiggering the Keyboard
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67444.html
Lenovo put nearly a year of research into two design changes that debuted on an updated ThinkPad laptop this week. No, not the thinner, lighter form or the textured touchpad -- rather, the extra-large "Delete" and "Escape" keys. It may seem like a small change, but David Hill, vice president of corporate identity and design at Lenovo, points out, "Any time you start messing around with the keyboard, people get nervous." Computers get smaller and faster every year, but keyboard design remains largely stuck in the 19th century.

Sun, 28 Jun 09
Building a Better 'Bot: Behind the Scenes With the Transformers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67443.html
Giant alien robots don't actually exist. So the dozens featured in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" had to be built from the ground up. That effort took hundreds of artists, thousands of hours and even caused one computer to explode. "We lost some machinery," visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar said with a smile. "The thing just kind of gave up." A high-tech blockbuster, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is practically two movies in one. There's the live-action element, which took director Michael Bay and his cast to Egypt, Jordan and New Mexico.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
Google Throws Its Voice to the Masses
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67449.html
Three months after unveiling its Google Voice application, Google unveiled a limited public roll-out on Thursday. The application's home site says the tool is available by invitation only. Anyone can sign up for an invitation, though they must then wait for a go-ahead from Google. Google has added several features to the application since March. It's not yet clear how Google will monetize the service, but there has been speculation that Google might sell ads. Asking for an invitation to participate in the limited roll-out is easy, though it appears one will have to wait on Google.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
The Iran Lesson: Technology Can Set You Free
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67434.html
After two weeks of news from Iran, it wasn't a tweet from Tehran that came to symbolize the horror in a potential revolution and the real-time, cinema verite nature of its storytelling. True, it was a moment brought to you by digital technology and the Internet, but it wasn't Twitter that made the leader of the free world search for the right words during this week's presidential press conference. It was video -- Neda Agha-Soltan's death at the hands of an Iranian militiaman's bullet, a forty-second snippet of camera-phone video.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
The Flawed Focus of Universal Broadband
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67430.html
This month, the Federal Communications Commission begins drafting a national broadband plan as part of the 2009 stimulus package. This is not the first government attempt at broadband ubiquity, so the FCC can learn from past failures. The commissioners have less than eight months to "ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability," as well as provide additional guidelines for using existing high-speed Internet infrastructure to support more than a dozen socioeconomic and political objectives.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
Shutters Close on iPhone Peep Show
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67437.html
The blogosphere began buzzing Thursday when "The Hottest Girls," the Apple App Store's first iPhone app featuring nude women, suddenly became unavailable hours after it had won Apple's approval. Initial speculation was that Apple had finally decided to pull it for being too risquÃ©. However, the app's developer, who styles himself AllentheGeek, said the app had simply been "sold out." The "Hottest Girls" app initially featured only scantily clad women. It was updated to feature nude women, and Apple apparently approved.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
What I Need to Help Sell Linux
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67440.html
I believe with the right approach, Linux can take a great chunk of the market; you just have to give the market what it needs and wants, while allaying its fears. What's needed is a true Linux SMB Edition, targeting specifically the needs and fears of those businesses that are using Windows -- especially those that are still using Windows 2000, which is going to lose support in 2010. It should run using low resources, thus giving a better performance than Windows on the same hardware.

Sat, 27 Jun 09
Apple's Tally, iSuppli's Breakdown, and Cupertino's Best-Kept Secrets
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67435.html
Apple doesn't talk much publicly, but when it does, it's usually bragging about its awesome products or some special milestone it's achieved. Monday was no different: Apple announced that it had sold more than 1 million iPhone 3G S models over its launch weekend. To put this in summer blockbuster movie opening perspective, the 3G S grossed at least $199 million at the box office in three days -- and that's if no one bought the more expensive 32 GB model, and if you don't count the actual price the cellular service carriers pay Apple for the device.

Fri, 26 Jun 09
Pros Cool, Bloggers Warm Toward Microsoft's Security Freeware
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67436.html
A beta version of Microsoft's free computer security software is now out. Microsoft Security Essentials, or SE, aka "Morro," replaces Redmond's OneCare subscription service. Features in SE are designed to preempt such typical malware activities as stealing passwords or turning a PC into a zombie bot. The application is expected to be generally available in the Fall. Meanwhile, not surprisingly, commercial providers of similar applications are getting out the long knives, pointing to the lack of more sophisticated protection in SE.

Fri, 26 Jun 09
Facebook Lets You Have Privacy Your Way
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67431.html
Your 21st birthday party will no doubt go down in the record books as a legendary debauch, but the photos of you doing jello shots off a stripper's belly won't be nearly as impressive to future employers as they are to your Facebook friends. So, Facebook made it easier Wednesday for you to decide exactly who gets to see those photos -- as long as you are the one doing the posting. The world's largest social network announced it is testing new privacy settings that will sit next to the update box at the top of your FB page.

Fri, 26 Jun 09
Microsoft Achieves Trifecta With Hohm
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67429.html
When Microsoft rolled out its beta version of Hohm on Wednesday -- a Web site that helps consumers save electricity -- it pulled off a veritable hat-trick. First comes the good publicity from positioning itself as a public benefactor. Second is a live test of its Azure cloud service, first announced at Microsoft's Professional Developers' Conference in Los Angeles last October. Third, Microsoft is staking out its turf in a battle with Google over a possible business helping consumers cope with the results of governmental efforts to combat the greenhouse effect.

Fri, 26 Jun 09
Nvidia to Android: We're Just Not That Into You
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67427.html
Well, the proverbial ink hadn't even dried on our recent column about smartbooks and ARM when Nvidia came around and doused the excitement with a bucket of ice water. The prospect of Linux in general or Android in particular running on an ARM smartbook has had many in the blogosphere salivating, but Nvidia's Mike Rayfield recently said his company prefers Microsoft's Windows CE over Android for that purpose. CE "is a rock-solid operating system," Rayfield told Computerworld.

Fri, 26 Jun 09
Just Because I'm Paranoid Doesn't Mean My Mac Is Secure
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67428.html
I was buying a fully loaded Mac to replace the 4-year-old Mac I had at home. Along with Microsoft Office for the Mac, I also wanted to buy a standard security AV and firewall application. The salesperson's response? Not necessary. I was sufficiently chastened by the $2,000-plus tab I had racked up that afternoon to let it go. But years of writing about online security had made me paranoid. I ran out the next morning to buy the software at a nearby Best Buy. Still, there's doubt in my mind about the wisdom of that purchase. Did I waste my money?

Thu, 25 Jun 09
New Military Command to Guard US Cybersystems
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67421.html
The Department of Defense will proceed with the creation of a new command to coordinate the day-to-day defense of military, federal government and critical civilian networks from attack. The cyberdefense command will be part of the U.S. Strategic Command, a multiservice military operation that is responsible for, among other things, cyberwarfare policies. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates proposed that the command be led by the director of the National Security Agency.

Thu, 25 Jun 09
Why You Need a Network Analyzer
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67411.html
In today's world, it seems that more of the people I run across do not feel they need -- or, more accurately, don't understand why they need -- a protocol analyzer for their network. A few years ago, it seemed that more people understood just how important the analyzer was. For some reason, as networks have become smarter and much more complex, this understanding seems to have dissipated. I am not sure whether it is due to the proliferation of network tools or the belief that a network can "heal" itself. Trust me, it can't.

Thu, 25 Jun 09
HTC's Hero Strides Onto Smartphone Playing Field
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67415.html
Taiwan-based HTC, a fast-rising star in the smartphone manufacturing industry, has unveiled its latest model, the Hero, its third offering based on the Android operating system. The Hero comes with a new user interface called "Sense" that makes use the device almost intuitive. The Hero is the first Android smartphone with Adobe Flash support, according to HTC. HTC's focus on form and function, evident in its other smartphones, such as the TouchPro2 and the Diamond, continues with the Hero.

Thu, 25 Jun 09
Socializing the Revolution
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67413.html
Events taking place on the streets of Tehran may have an important effect on how social networking rolls out across the rest of the world, and that includes the CRM world. Last week, the media began carrying stories about a "cyber revolution" that may be happening in the Islamic Republic, but those stories fail to account for the whole story -- the yin and yang of social media. We tend to think about social media as unalloyed goods, but our thinking is clouded by one important point: The social media environment is literally a free-for-all.

Thu, 25 Jun 09
Blogger Gets Front-Row Seat at Obama Press Conference
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67419.html
White House officials phoned a blogger from a popular left-leaning Web site on Monday evening to tell him that President Barack Obama had been impressed with his online reporting about Iran. Could the writer pass along a question from an Iranian during the president's news conference on Tuesday? Of course. The next day, The Huffington Post's Nico Pitney, the Web site's national editor, got a prime location in the White House Briefing Room and was the second reporter Obama picked for a question.

Wed, 24 Jun 09
Flash to Brighten Most Smartphones - iPhone, BlackBerry to Stay Dim
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67408.html
With the news that its omnipresent-on-the-desktop Flash player will be available in more mobile forms before the end of the year, Adobe is finally following through on its goal of joining the smartphone party -- but the two biggest names in that market are still missing from the invitation list. Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry won't be getting the beta version of Flash Player 10 at the Adobe Max conference in October.

Wed, 24 Jun 09
HP's Web-Connected Printer Could Be a Game-Changer
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67401.html
In a move that could rock the printing world and set Amazon's Kindle e-reader on its ear, HP announced on Tuesday an all-in-one printer that can connect directly to the Internet. The device, the HP Photosmart Premium, will let users download content and make purchases from the Internet. Partners for content on delivery include USA Today; Google; and Fandango. HP also announced the HP Apps Studio, from which users will be able to download apps and content on the Photosmart Premium.

Wed, 24 Jun 09
Is It Quality Assurance or Quality Control?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67397.html
Is there a difference between quality control and quality assurance? Just night and day. Unfortunately, many companies believe they are the same, when in reality the differences are overwhelming. Quality control, or black box testing, is chartered to ensure that the product is going to meet the user's needs -- not just to demonstrate that the program runs. A program can run and still not meet the user's needs. The involvement of QC begins with the project specification. How can a tester test without knowing the client's expectations?

Wed, 24 Jun 09
The Folly of Predicting New Products From Apple's Patents
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67400.html
As a user of Apple products, I relish the mystery of what's coming next, eagerly consuming the rumors and speculation dished out by the blogs and Web sites. As a patent lawyer, however, I can't help but to eye with skepticism each new patent application served up by an Apple watcher as potential evidence of the next big thing. A published patent, by itself, is an unreliable predictor of a new product or feature. It's not that patents fail to give an accurate picture of what Apple works on. Apple appears to be aggressively patenting all of its innovations.

Wed, 24 Jun 09
Twitter Game Makes Money for the Mob
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67402.html
Twitter's founders still haven't decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service -- to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. However, the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among opportunistic outsiders. Lolplaying, the maker of a new role-playing game on Twitter called "140 Mafia," is trying to explore Twitter's moneymaking potential with Super Rewards, a "virtual currency" service that already has been reaping revenue from various forms of online recreation.

Wed, 24 Jun 09
China Determined to Use Green Dam to Block Porn
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67404.html
China is sticking to its planned launch of a controversial Internet censoring software in about one week, an official newspaper said Tuesday, despite Washington's concerns over the move's possible impact on trade and access to information. The China Daily said the plan to require the Web-filtering Green Dam Youth Escort software on all personal computers sold in China starting July 1 remains unchanged, citing an unnamed source from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is to be preinstalled or included on a compact disc with all PCs sold in China.

Tue, 23 Jun 09
Sony Plugs Blu-ray on a Budget With New Vaio
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67392.html
Amid questions about consumer enthusiasm for Blu-ray technology, Sony on Monday announced a new notebook computer positioned by the electronics giant as an entry-level Blu-ray player for mobile viewing. The VAIO NW notebook series carries an $880 starting price tag for a Blu-ray equipped model, and comes with a 15.5-inch widescreen display, as well as an HDMI output connector for use with a larger screen. It also includes the ability to turn the screen display off while allowing the laptop to continue running, saving battery life.

Tue, 23 Jun 09
Wired Water: IT Gets Ready for the Shock
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67376.html
Go wet, young IT man. Your parched, imperiled planet needs you. When it comes to creating a future filled with fresh, drinkable water, information technology professionals have a significant career opportunity in a mega-sized market. The very economic survival of a thirsty, arid Earth -- with the U.S. southwest as a prime example -- depends a great deal on properly applying the skills and expertise of app developers and systems administrators to the mapping, modeling and management of water across the world.

Tue, 23 Jun 09
Iran, Technology and Truth: Do You Care If Your Information Is False?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67386.html
Whether you're identifying with a religious group, a technology group, or some other group, I often wonder if you truly care if the information you receive is false. If you look at how people flock to Web sites that are obviously on the extreme right or left of an issue, or if you watch debates on abortion or gay marriage -- or even whether the sitting president has a clue -- don't you often get the sense that for many, believing they are right and putting down those who disagree is more important than actually being right?

Tue, 23 Jun 09
Agile Turns Labor of Necessity Into Best Seller
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67388.html
When some PC users move to a Mac, they occasionally can't find an Apple analog for a bread-and-butter application they had in the Windows world. In those cases, most users learn to live without their cherished app. The folks at Agile Web Solutions, though, learned how to build a business on theirs. Founded by Roustem Karimov and Dave Teare in 2005, Toronto-based Agile makes 1Password, a cross-browser password manager that's garnered more than a million users since its introduction in 2006.

Tue, 23 Jun 09
Is Linux Suffering From Mono?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67387.html
In the general population, "Mono" may be best known for infecting teenagers with the "kissing disease." On the Linux blogs, it's recently caused a different kind of anguish as geeks far and wide have debated whether it's infected Linux too. It's a different Mono, of course, but its effects -- or, at least, the discussion of them -- have been no less agonizing. It all started earlier this month when Linux Canuck posted an explicit description of why he -- or she -- dislikes Mono and is consequently considering abandoning Ubuntu.

Mon, 22 Jun 09
Terrorists' Newest Weapon: Hacktivism
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67380.html
Terrorist groups that have long used the Internet to spread propaganda are increasingly tapping the Web to teach Islamic extremists how to be hackers, recruit techies for cyberwarfare and raise money through online fraud, U.S. officials say. A senior defense official said intelligence reports indicate extremist groups are seeking computer experts, including those capable of breaching government or other sensitive network systems. The official said the extent and success of those recruiting efforts are unclear.

Sun, 21 Jun 09
Hunch.com Provides Limited Help, Still Fun to Play With
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67372.html
I'm sick of spending so much time making decisions, like what to eat for lunch or where to go on a date. So lately I've been outsourcing the process to a free new Web service that is happy to do it for me. Hunch, which was cofounded by one of the people who launched the popular photo-sharing service Flickr, helps you make thousands of decisions ranging from "Am I drunk right now?" to "Which Zelda game should I play?" Hunch asks you several multiple-choice questions to help it hone in on the best advice. The breadth of topics on the site is pretty limited.

Sat, 20 Jun 09
Google Hustles to Meet China's Porn-Blocking Demands
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67385.html
Google has stepped up its efforts to fight Internet pornography in China, following Beijing's move on Friday to block some Chinese-language results delivered by its search engine. "We are undertaking a thorough review of our service and taking all necessary steps to fix any problem with our results," Google spokesperson Scott Rubin told TechNewsWorld. The Web search giant needs to get cracking. Chinese authorities have warned they may take further action depending on Google's response.

Sat, 20 Jun 09
A Week of Free Updates, Free Advice and Free Speech
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67379.html
What we're seeing in Iran could be the beginning of some big political changes. Fishy results in the presidential election last week have led to massive protests, some of which have turned violent. The way the news about the country's turbulence is reaching other parts of the world is monumental in its own right -- symptomatic of the changes that have been brewing ever since the term "Web 2.0" moved into clichÃ© territory. Iran's efforts to suppress international news coverage of the unrest have largely failed, because the tools of journalism are in the hands of too many.

Sat, 20 Jun 09
iPhone Software, Hardware and Carrier: 2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67377.html
The Apple-focused blogosphere is positively hopping this week, and it's all about the new iPhone 3G S and new iPhone OS 3.0 -- with a little sprinkle of AT&T action thrown in. Early reviews have been largely positive about the new 3G S, pegging it as a evolutionary upgrade rather than anything revolutionary. As for the new operating system that's available to existing iPhone owners, most everyone seems pleased, too. As for AT&T, well, you might think the company could get at least a little love.

Sat, 20 Jun 09
No Circus as iPhone 3G S Hits Shelves
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67381.html
The new iPhone went on sale Friday morning, greeted by much smaller lines and less hoopla than previous models. A few hundred people were in line just before the 7 a.m. opening of Apple's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, a fraction of the people who lined up around the block for last year's launch. That launch turned into a debacle as Apple's servers failed to cope with the load of new customers trying to activate their phones. People who already had iPhones were trying to install a software update on the same day, adding to the pressure.

Sat, 20 Jun 09
Microsoft's Security Freeware Poised for Beta Launch
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67382.html
Microsoft said Thursday it plans to release a beta test of its free computer security program next week and is on track to launch a finished product in the fall. The program, Microsoft Security Essentials, is designed to find and kill malicious software that can steal passwords and other personal information or turn PCs into spam distribution hubs. Once the PC security software is installed, Microsoft said it will download updated lists of identified malware daily, but will keep a low profile unless it detects dangerous software.

Fri, 19 Jun 09
Dell Drums Up Virtualization-in-a-Box
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67373.html
Less than three months after announcing a slew of products and services to propel its thrust into the data center market, Dell on Wednesday released several out-of-the-box virtualization solutions targeting both enterprises and SMBs. These are aimed at simplifying virtualization and helping customers cut their costs. In addition to hardware and hypervisors, Dell is offering virtualization, lifecycle and system management capabilities. Dell also announced a set of flexible, modular virtualization consulting services.

Fri, 19 Jun 09
Friend or Fraud? Security and Social Networks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67366.html
Back in January, friends of Seattle, Wash., resident Bryan Rutberg were stunned when they read e-mails from his Facebook account accompanied by his photo. In the messages, Bryan appeared to claim he was in big trouble and that he needed their help. At least one friend wired him money. However, Rutberg wasn't really in trouble and was in no need of assistance -- his Web page had been hijacked by cybercriminals. This is just one of the cyberscams that have hit Facebook, the world's leading social networking site.

Fri, 19 Jun 09
Smartbooks: Embracing Linux With Open ARMs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67359.html
Asus notwithstanding, netbooks have received a great deal of attention in the Linux community for their role in gaining wider acceptance for our favorite operating system. So, when Freescale and Qualcomm recently debuted a line of what they call "smartbooks" at Computex -- prominently featuring ARM processors and priced as low as $199 -- the blogosphere had no choice but to sit up and take notice. "Good opportunity here," wrote jginspace. "I looked at the pictures in the article and was crestfallen," countered fnj.

Fri, 19 Jun 09
'Star Defense' Brings New Dimension to Classic Strategy Game
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67348.html
Just about every "tower defense"-style game ever made can be described like this: You've got a base you need to protect. Wave after wave of bad guys keep on attacking it, running down a long and winding path before, I don't know, running face-first into the front door, or something. Point is, when they reach the gate, they do damage, and it's your job to strategically set up a bunch of defensive towers along that path and shoot, bomb, pummel and blaze them before they get to your doorstep. If your gauntlet fails to take down a certain number of attackers, you lose.

Fri, 19 Jun 09
The Pirate Bay Offers Safe Haven to Iran Critics
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67369.html
Popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay said Wednesday it has helped launch an Internet network in support of Iranian election critics allowing users to dodge the regime's censorship rules by surfing anonymously. The Pirate Bay, whose operators were convicted in April of helping others commit copyright violations, temporarily changed its logo to "The Persian Bay" early Wednesday with a link to a protest forum. The Web site, iran.whyweprotest.net, says it allows "a secure and reliable way of communication for Iranians and friends."

Thu, 18 Jun 09
Study: U.S. Broadband Adoption Leaps Despite Recession, Rising Prices
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67363.html
The recession may indeed be forcing you to cut back on some cellphone and cable television services, but apparently it will only get your high-speed Internet access when it pries your computer mouse from your cold, dead hands. The latest Pew Internet and American Life Project study, released Wednesday, shows broadband adoption growing in the face of a sour economy. The study put the adoption rate at 63 percent, up from 55 percent last year -- with senior citizens and low-income Americans experiencing the largest growth rates year-over-year.

Thu, 18 Jun 09
Software Update Teaches Old iPhones New Tricks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67364.html
As expected, Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 software update was made available to users Wednesday morning. The software contains dozens of new features -- some of which may appear incidental for most users and some of which have been hotly anticipated. That latter category would include copy and paste functionality as well as the ability to use landscape typing mode -- as opposed to portrait -- in all applications, not just Web browsing. These, plus global search or Spotlight, have come to be downright demanded by iPhone users, even casual ones.

Thu, 18 Jun 09
Shuttle Launch Delayed 3 Weeks by Hydrogen Leak
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67362.html
For the second time in four days, a potentially dangerous hydrogen gas leak forced NASA to delay shuttle Endeavour's launch to the international space station, this time until July at the earliest. Launch officials waited almost an hour after the leak appeared during fueling, trying to fix it through remote commands, before calling off Wednesday's pre-dawn launch. The leak occurred in the same place as one that cropped up Saturday: in the hydrogen gas vent line that hooks up to the external fuel tank. A similar problem stalled a shuttle flight three months ago.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Neutralizing the Smartphone Security Threat
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67354.html
There are many common, but inaccurate, assumptions about the security and privacy of smartphones and other handheld converged devices. For many corporate employees today, mobile phones and PDAs have replaced PCs. Enterprise workers are now performing the same functions they previously carried out on their desktop PCs on much smaller devices, virtually anywhere and anytime. One of the hidden dangers most CSOs and CIOs aren't adequately addressing these days is rogue code infecting their employees' mobile phones -- or worse, their corporate networks.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Wind River Releases Hard and Heavy Hypervisor
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67356.html
Wind River on Tuesday announced the availability of a high-performance Type-1 hypervisor as the latest addition to its VxWorks product portfolio. The Wind River Hypervisor Multicore Software Solution for device development supports virtualization on single and multicore processors. The new hypervisor integrates with Wind River's two operating systems, VxWorks and Wind River Linux, and supports other operating systems as well as SMP, asymmetric multiprocessing and supervised AMP.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
New BlackBerry Tour Caters to Globetrotting Users
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67355.html
Research In Motion announced on Tuesday that its new BlackBerry 9630 Tour world phone will hit the shelves this summer. What's really new about it is that it supports 3G EV-DO networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad. Other features -- the built-in camera, the preloaded DataVIZ Documents To Go, the GPS and access to social networking services -- are similar to the features available in most of the newer BlackBerry devices. Sprint and Verizon have already committed to carrying the 9630.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Iran Protests: The Whole World Is Watching, Flickring, Tweeting
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67352.html
"The whole world is watching" was one of the loudest rallying cries of Vietnam protesters gathered in the streets of Chicago outside the Democratic convention in 1968. Forty-one years later, the same slogan is even more relevant in the chaotic streets of Tehran. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and other social media technologies, the whole world is indeed watching Iranian citizens rise up against suspect presidential election results. The chaos roiling Tehran is reflected in the surge of claims, counterclaims and unverified information streaming in and out of the country.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Opera Gives You a Server of Your Own
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67351.html
Norway-based Opera Software opened access Tuesday to what it described as a "revolutionary" technology that allows average computer users to set up browser-based servers to share files and photos, stream music and chat. "Unite," as the service is called, is included in a beta release of the company's Opera browser, which ranks a distant third behind Internet Explorer and Firefox in user adoption worldwide. A Unite-enabled Opera browser allows users to designate the content they want to share and who should have access to it.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Beware of the Information Security Inertia Syndrome
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67338.html
We all know that some things are easier to do than others. In fact, what separates an average manager from a great one is the ability to balance decisions based on two almost totally unrelated sets of criteria: ease of accomplishment on the one hand vs. value to the organization on the other. Think about it this way: A manager that only focuses on the quick-to-accomplish "low-hanging fruit" isn't going to last long because he or she is not focusing on what's critical to the organization and of the highest value.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
EnterpriseDB Smooths Way for Oracle App Migration
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67342.html
EnterpriseDB, which has commercialized the PostgreSQL open source database, announced on Tuesday the fifth version of its Postgres Plus Advanced Server. This latest version of EnterpriseDB's relational database management system is designed to let users easily migrate more Oracle applications in order to cut costs. It also provides massive scalability using commodity hardware through its Infinite Cache feature. While several open source databases are available, demand for PostgreSQL is strong because enterprises are emphasizing analytics in database management systems.

Wed, 17 Jun 09
Survey: As Web Use Climbs, Family Time Slips
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67347.html
Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together. The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame. The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
Playing a Hunch: Social Decision-Making Site Carves Out New Niche in Search
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67336.html
Should you read this article? Maybe Hunch can help you decide. The new Web service, open to the public Monday, is meant to help people make decisions on hundreds of topics -- such as what kind of camera to buy or where to go on vacation. While it can't really decide something so vague as "should I read this article," its founders say they expect it to get better and better at pairing users with highly accurate custom answers on thousands of topics, many of them user-contributed.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
China Scrambles to Repair Crumbling Green Dam
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67337.html
For years, China's government has kept the country's Internet surfers on a very short leash. Censors attempt to block any content considered immoral, which could be anything from pornography to politically charged blog posts. Its latest plan is to order the installation of filtering software directly into all personal computers. While that software may shut Internet users out of certain corners of the Web, it could also leave doors wide open for malicious hackers, according to J. Alex Halderman's students at the University of Michigan.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
Samsung Takes Wraps Off New Omnia Smartphone Lineup
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67335.html
Samsung is set to unveil updates to its Omnia handset lineup, including new OmniaPRO units and the OmniaII, at the CommunicAsia information and communication technologies expo being held in Singapore through Wednesday. The OmniaPRO duo consists of two form factors: a standard keypad/screen arrangement on the B7320 and a touchscreen design with slide-out QWERTY keypad on the 7610. The OmniaII's features include video recording/playback capabilities and a 7.7-inch active matrix OLED display. Samsung will likely market the OmniaPRO line first in Asia.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
The Rise and Fall of Traditional Journalism, Part 5
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67333.html
When questions about the future of journalism come up, there are generally two driving concerns: what happens to the notion of "news" in an era of ubiquitous communications; and how you, as a writer, get paid. One of the great paradoxes of the information age is that as channels of distribution have proliferated, rates of pay for producing content for those channels have continued to fall. The bad news is that the immediate future is not likely to improve significantly. The good news is that the need for skillful, professional writers will persist in the long term.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
Apple Pounds Palm, Sets Sights on Redmond
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67327.html
Apple is making an impressively strong statement that it can survive Steve Jobs' departure. While I still don't think it has the magic that Steve Jobs brings to the table in terms of execution, it is actually doing better at the moment than when he was there and active. Palm just took a major shot at its base and missed, and Apple is going after it with blood in its eyes. In addition, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last week, the company took aim at Windows 7.

Tue, 16 Jun 09
Trolls and Astroturfers and Shills, Oh My!
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67329.html
There has been plenty of news and excitement on the Linux blogs in recent days, including the release of Linux kernel 2.6.30 and word that Linux will be the first OS to support USB 3.0. Woohoo! In an ordinary week, such news would be sure to put a smile on any geek's face. Yet the mood on the blogs hasn't been particularly celebratory or cheerful; in fact, in recent days, one could even say it was downright dark. To wit: "Don't Get Me Wrong, Linux Sucks as Much as Windows" is the title of one recent post.

Mon, 15 Jun 09
Is Online Learning a Solution for Cash-Strapped California Schools?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67316.html
In the state that gave the world Facebook, Google and the iPod, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says forcing California's students to rely on printed textbooks is so yesterday. The governor recently launched an initiative to see if the state's 6 million public school students can use more online learning materials, perhaps saving millions of dollars a year in textbook purchases. "California is home to software giants, bioscience research pioneers and first-class university systems known around the world," Schwarzenegger wrote in a recent op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News.

Sun, 14 Jun 09
Using GPS Phones to Track Virtual Infections - and Real Epidemics
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67326.html
A few months from now, a highly contagious disease will spread through a Japanese elementary school. The epidemic will start with several unwitting children, who will infect others as they attend classes and wander the halls. If nothing is done, it will quickly gain momentum and rip through the student body, then jump to parents and others in the community. However, officials will attempt to stymie the disease and save the school -- using mobile phones. The sickness will be a virtual one, in an experiment funded by the Japanese government.

Sat, 13 Jun 09
Facebook Members to Become Masters of Their Domain Names
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67322.html
Just when you thought you had that 12:01 a.m. Saturday deadline figured out for this weekend's big switch from analog to digital television, along comes another form of midnight madness to worry about -- that is, if you want to make it easier for Facebook friends to reach you, or have a brand you want to protect from the dark side of social media. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday morning, Facebook will allow registration for customized URLs, instead of the usual long list of numbers that show up as a Web address for a profile.

Sat, 13 Jun 09
Safari 4 Goes to Eleven
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67325.html
Apple reports that in the past three days more than 11 million copies of the newly released Safari 4 have been downloaded -- including more than 6 million downloads of Safari for Windows. It is easy to see why -- at least from Apple's perspective. Safari 4 is the fastest browser on the market, the company claims, besting Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 by eightfold. It is also three times faster than Firefox 3. Apple credits its advanced browser technologies, including its new Nitro JavaScript engine.

Sat, 13 Jun 09
Clampdown Week: iPhone vs. Pre, China vs. Web, FTC vs. Worst ISP Ever
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67319.html
Google doesn't want you to use Bing to search the Web, and it would much rather see you using Gmail and Google Docs than Hotmail and MS Word. But if you want to use Google's Chrome browser, you have to run Microsoft's Windows operating system. Does the irony just kill you? Don't worry -- it's all temporary. Google has released versions of Chrome for the Mac and Linux platforms. Don't get too excited, though; from a general-user point of view, both versions suck. They crash, they behave unpredictably, and they don't even support Google's own YouTube videos.

Sat, 13 Jun 09
Yahoo's Hadoop to Run Free in the Wild
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67314.html
Although it's struggling against both giant rivals like Google and smaller ones like Microsoft's new search venture Bing, Yahoo is handing over the source code for its version of Hadoop to the community. Hadoop, a top-level Apache project, is an open source distributed file system and parallel execution environment that lets its users process massive amounts of data. Yahoo, which uses Hadoop extensively in its Web search and advertising businesses, has been a major contributor to the project.

Sat, 13 Jun 09
WWDC: iPhone Invigorated, Snow Leopard Spruced, AT&T Tarnished
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67313.html
The hottest news in the Apple-focused blogosphere this week all started with Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. On Monday, the company -- sans still-on-hiatus CEO Steve Jobs -- announced the faster iPhone 3GS, multiple MacBook upgrades, and its next Mac OS X -- aka "Snow Leopard." All these announcments gave the online world plenty to talk about. Heading into the conference, no one was quite sure whether Apple would announce new iPhone hardware in addition to its iPhone OS 3.0 software.

Fri, 12 Jun 09
The TV Studio in Your Hand: The Future of News Gathering
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67309.html
The soundtrack for today's column is provided by the Dex Romweber Duo and their new CD, "Ruins of Berlin." It's a choice slice of rockabilly heaven with several tunes that would fit right in streaming from a jukebox in some blood-soaked Quentin Tarantino epic. Yet for all the retro goodness in the sound, my vision was filled with newfangled digital technology the night I saw the band in a smoky East Atlanta bar. That's because Dex and Sara Romweber weren't 10 seconds into their first song when several people in the audience had whipped out their smartphones.

Fri, 12 Jun 09
HP Gives Scale-Out Architecture Extreme Makeover
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67312.html
HP on Wednesday announced its Extreme Scale-Out portfolio, intended to cut data center costs for businesses involved in heavy Web 2.0, cloud computing and high-performance computing activities. Such companies typically have data centers with thousands of servers. The HP ExSO portfolio includes a lightweight modular system architecture, as well as services and support. However, HP is in some ways already behind archrival IBM, which last year unveiled its System x iDataPlex solution for the same target markets.

Fri, 12 Jun 09
Should You Spring for an iPhone 3GS?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67311.html
Craving the new iPhone 3GS? Apple's newest baby will be faster than ever and offer yet more functionality. If you are already an iPhone 3G devotee, the upgrade will likely cost you $399. If you've been cannily waiting in the wings for the last few years -- expecting that Apple would continue to upgrade its mobile device while dropping the price -- it will cost you a mere $199 or $299, depending on the version you choose. That is, of course, if you opt for a two-year service contract with AT&T. Without it, get ready to plunk down an additional $400.

Fri, 12 Jun 09
Endeavour Visitors to Make Record-Setting ISS Crowd
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67306.html
Mix seven shuttle astronauts and six space station residents and you set a record for the biggest off-the-planet gathering. NASA is aiming to launch Endeavour on Saturday morning to the international space station for a long, laborious construction job. When the shuttle pulls up, there will be 13 people at the station -- the most people ever together in space at one time. Complicating matters is that the station tenants are still getting used to having twice as many people around. Now they're getting seven house guests who will stay for nearly two weeks.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
The Asus EeeTop: A Nettop in Search of a Mission
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67303.html
The Asus EeeTop ET1602 is an interesting computer with some potential for home and business use. However, it will surely cause considerable discussion over what users might really do with it. The ET1602 is essentially a netbook-like computer with a 14-inch by 8-inch LCD touchscreen wrapped around it. With an overall unit measurement of 16 X 11.5 inches, it's in some ways a fully functional computer, and in others it's more reminiscent of a wireless PDA from yesteryear.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
Leeches or Users? Should Enterprise IT Have to Give Back to FOSS?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67300.html
When an enterprise adopts open source software, that's generally cause for celebration in the eyes of most Linux fans, signifying as it does another victory for all that is FOSS. Not everyone sees it that way, however, as a recent debate on the Linux blogs made patently clear. "The eclipse community should create peer pressure to prevent the freeloaders and parasites from getting away without punishment," suggested Michael Scharf in April. "Leeches" was the term applied to such users in an article that ran just last week.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
TwitterFon Pro: Tweet Harder, Tweet Smarter
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67291.html
Twitter was made for the mobile device. If it was confined to a desktop browser, the question "What are you doing right now?" wouldn't have much of an answer, other than something like "Looking at this Web page -- here's a link." Access Twitter on your cellphone, though, and you can tweet from almost anywhere and probably say something at least marginally more interesting. Twitter's creators have put some effort toward facilitating the use of the site on mobile browsers.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
Google Edges Deeper Onto MS Turf With Outlook Plug-In
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67301.html
Google released on Tuesday a plug-in to its Google Apps arsenal that could be the last push needed to nudge some businesses into fully adopting its cloud computing services. The product, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, works with the Premier version of Google apps, which costs $50 per business user per year, as well as the free educational version, which is limited to 50 user accounts. The software plug-in will allow enterprise users to adopt Google's email services without without forcing a migration to the Gmail user interface, according to Google.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
Snow Leopard to Claw at Enterprise Front Doors
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67298.html
In what looks to be a bid to penetrate the corporate environment, Apple has provided Snow Leopard, its upcoming version of Mac OS X, with the ability to sync with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. On Tuesday, Apple previewed Mac OS X 10.6, aka "Snow Leopard," at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Instead of focusing on new top-level features that a typical consumer might quickly notice, Apple is positioning Snow Leopard as a refinement of the current OS X 10.5, aka "Leopard."

Thu, 11 Jun 09
On Friday, Analog TV Will Breathe Its Last
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67297.html
The last major TV stations that are still broadcasting in analog will turn those signals off Friday and go all digital, and this time, they really mean it. The original Feb. 17 deadline for the shutdown was delayed by the Obama administration after funding ran out for $40 coupons the government offered to help people buy converter boxes for old TVs. Now officials say the country is much better prepared than in February, though they still expect some viewers to be confused. About 3.1 million U.S. homes were unprepared to receive digital signals as of late last month.

Thu, 11 Jun 09
'MobMovs' Give New Meaning to 'Community' Theater
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67292.html
Think the only way to see a big-screen movie is while slurping a 64-oz. soft drink, eating a five-dollar candy bar and shushing the wannabe film critic behind you? That's not the case anymore, thanks to people like John Young, part of a loosely knit network of celluloid renegades resurrecting the drive-in for a new age. For the past four years or so, the 38-year-old Web developer has been showing films -- real, honest-to-goodness 16mm film -- from a 1970s school projector mounted on the sidecar of his 1977 BMW motorcycle.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
Blerp Refocuses the Web Through Comment-Colored Glasses
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67289.html
Marking up Web pages is nothing new. Offerings like Sharedcopy, MyStickies and Stickis allow you to annotate any Web page and, in some cases, share those annotations with others. However, a new entry into this genre, Blerp, adds a new twist to the practice. Blerp, currently in its alpha phase, is the brainchild of the folks at RocketOn. The company's eponymously named first product allows anyone to create a virtual world that will run on any Web site. Like other markup programs, Blerp lets you post comments to any Web page.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
Computer Accident Study Highlights Hazards of Home Office
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67290.html
Computers are the cause of a surprising number of serious injuries every year -- usually to children. The number of acute computer-related injuries increased by 732 percent -- from nearly 1,300 to approximately 9,300 injuries per year -- according to a study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital from 1994-2006. The findings are published in the online issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
Picking Up the Pieces After Downsizing: Avoid Orphaned Data
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67278.html
Employees are the lifeblood of any business, and the data they produce is critical to productivity. Unfortunately, during recent uncertain economic times, businesses of all sizes across America have laid off hundreds of thousands of employees. Yet when any employees leave during turnover, important data can be lost or forgotten. Such "orphaned data" can consist of any business information, application or intellectual property that has become unrecoverable because it was left on no-longer-accessible edge devices like laptops that were never backed up.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
Fedora Sets Leonidas Loose, Builds Collaboration Portal
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67288.html
The Fedora Project on Tuesday announced Fedora 11, the latest version of its free open source operating system. Code named "Leonidas," Fedora 11 takes another whack at virtualization, a technology market in which its sponsor, Red Hat, is working hard to carve out a niche. It also has several features that make things easy for desktop users. Together with the operating system, the Fedora Project announced the beta test of Fedora Community, a portal that will make it easier for the volunteers working on Fedora to interact.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
New iPhone Features Are More Than AT&T Can Handle
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67287.html
As you can imagine, it was all cheers, whistles and hurrahs from the audience when Apple executives listed the features on the new iPhone 3GS during Monday's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. However, the accolades quickly turned to derisive laughter -- and even boos -- at nearly every mention of Apple's sole U.S. carrier partner, AT&T. That's largely because AT&T will not offer immediate support for multimedia messaging and tethering when the new iPhone OS 3.0 software becomes available June 17.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
LOL, I'm on Vacay, Rob Me!
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67283.html
Like a lot of people who use social media, Israel Hyman and his wife Noell went on Twitter to share real-time details of a recent trip. Their posts said they were "preparing to head out of town," that they had "another 10 hours of driving ahead," and that they "made it to Kansas City." While they were on the road, their home in Mesa, Ariz., was burglarized. Hyman has an online video business called IzzyVideo.com, with 2,000 followers on Twitter. He thinks his Twitter updates tipped the burglars off.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
Apple Launches Speedy New iPhone, Cuts a Bunch of Prices
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67277.html
Apple used the first day of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference to focus on power, speed and price-slashing regarding its hot-selling iPhone. Monday's keynote speech and demonstrations introduced the new iPhone 3GS that is supposed to be faster in terms of download and connection speeds and more robust when it comes to juggling applications. It comes with a more-powerful three-megapixel camera than previous generations. The camera will also be able to shoot video. The phone will include still photo and video-editing software.

Wed, 10 Jun 09
NASA May Buddy Up With Europe on Road to Mars
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67281.html
For almost half a century, the United States has dominated the exploration of Mars from the first grainy black-and-white pictures of the craggy surface to the more recent discovery of ice. Now, budget woes are pushing NASA toward a joint exploration venture with Europe. By 2016, the U.S. may unite with the European Space Agency for future Mars trips -- a move that would mark a significant shift for NASA. Details of such a union could come by the end of this month. In May, NASA's Ed Weiler said he believed a partnership was the best avenue to pursue shared science goals.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
China's New PC Policy Injects Big Brother With Steroids
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67273.html
China is stepping up the monitoring of its citizens' Internet activity. A new directive requires PC makers selling products in the country to include software that can filter out pornography and other online content the government deems inappropriate. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology order, which reportedly has caught PC makers by surprise, is to go into effect starting July 1. The software is reportedly called "Green Dam"; the "green" represents a foil to the "yellow smut" of the Internet.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
New App Aims to Plug Holes in Leaky Enterprise Data Hulls
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67272.html
Trend Micro on Monday announced LeakProof 5.0, designed to reduce the complexity and cost often associated with the discovery, monitoring and blocking of sensitive enterprise data. New features are built around the Active Update service and language-independent fingerprinting technology the company calls "DataDNA." Leakproof 5.0 will be available June 22. "LeakProof 5.0 focuses on three key strategies. It lowers security risk through immediate protection, is less complex and more flexible," Trend Micro's Mark Bloom told TechNewsWorld.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
The Rise and Fall of Traditional Journalism, Part 4
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67270.html
Ask someone about the future of journalism, and it's likely that most people will point to something like E-Ink or perhaps the Amazon Kindle -- high-fidelity readers that use millions of embedded, magnetically sensitive spheres which can show a black, white or in-between state to create dynamically refreshing text content. Such readers no doubt have a great deal of potential, but while it's entirely possible that future newspapers will be displayed on such readers, they will also be displayed on laptops and netbooks, on cellphones, and on car heads-up displays.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
Natal Drops Jaws, Nvidia Shines, Pre Sets New Bar
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67256.html
Last week, Microsoft stole E3 with what may be the closest thing to a "Star Trek" holodeck yet: Project Natal, which turns a gamer's whole body into a controller. The only negative is that there is no announced release date for the product. Computex was all about battles between smartbooks and netbooks; Intel and AMD; and Windows and Android. Also last week, the Palm Pre actually showed up on my doorstep, and I got a first look. You may recall that I felt Palm really messed up this launch -- but I've always been impressed with the phone, and I wasn't disappointed.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
TuneUp: An iTunes Librarian, Archivist and Concierge
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67269.html
Gabriel Adiv is a music lover. Like many music lovers who manage their digital music in iTunes, he once bemoaned how labor-intensive that could be. Unlike many music lovers, though, he decided to do something about it. Adiv, with his sidekick Raza Zaidi, founded San Francisco-based TuneUp Media in 2007, and a year later, their company introduced an iTunes plug-in by the same name. The plug-in cleans up an iTunes library -- adding missing information to songs, importing cover art, making recommendations, and more.

Tue, 9 Jun 09
Ruminations on the Chrome-to-Linux 'Clusterf*ck'
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67261.html
It may be natural for Linux aficionados to get upset when someone criticizes their favorite operating system, but that doesn't make it any easier to bear. So when some less-than-flattering comments about Linux were revealed recently -- made back in January by none other than Google Chrome developer and ex-Firefox lead Ben Goodger -- many Linux bloggers were dismayed. Goodger had been working on the Linux port of the Chromium project, for which the alpha was recently released. "This entire situation is a clusterf*ck," he wrote earlier this year.

Mon, 8 Jun 09
The Slow and Spendy March to 3-D Movie Technology
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67247.html
To hear the folks in Hollywood talk about it, improved 3-D technology and the quality films that are quickly lining up behind it represent nothing short of a moviegoing revolution. Tell that to the folks who still live hours from the nearest 3-D-equipped theater. For them, all the extradimensional summer offerings and slick marketing campaigns amount to nothing more than a big, frustrating tease. For them, the movie world is still flat. Because of the credit crunch and high cost of upgrading equipment, the vast majority of theaters don't yet have the ability to show 3-D.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Shrink That Link: Boosting Brevity With URL Shorteners
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67266.html
On the short-messaging service Twitter, space is at a premium: You've got 140 characters to make your point, and you probably don't want to waste half of it on a super-sized link to your latest YouTube obsession. There's an increasingly popular quick fix: a free URL shortener. On one of these Web sites, you can plug in a long Internet address, known as a "URL," and it will assign you a much shorter one that is easier to post in e-mails, on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else. Some link-shrinkers let you personalize the new address with a unique phrase such as your name.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Google Chrome Sprouts Linux, Mac Versions
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67264.html
Google this week released early developer channel versions of its Chrome browser for the Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Google emphasized that both new versions are very much rough drafts intended for developers, not for consumers looking for a smooth browsing experience. A finalized Mac version of Chrome will open Google's doors to a growing population of Apple computer users. However, porting to Linux may be even more important, because it will help Google gain ground with netbooks running Android.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Apple Primed for iPhone Song-and-Dance Extravaganza
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67265.html
Photos around the Web have already revealed the banners gracing the walls at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. On them are the letters "WWDC" and the legend "One Year Later, Light-Years Ahead." Both the letters and the words are surrounded by a blizzard of Apple App Store icons. "WWDC," of course, means next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple's annual mid-year show-and-tell for its third-party ecosystem partners. The icons help underscore the company's strategy as it gets ready to fend off new big-name competitors to the iPhone.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Searching for the Ed Murrow of the Backpack Journalist Generation
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67250.html
Pop quiz: If you can remember the last time you saw a "backpack" journalist -- a one-person band, an all-platform journalist, whatever you want to call them -- filing a story on a network evening newscast or a prime-time cable news broadcast, scream out that reporter's name. Loud. Louder, please. Chances are you weren't just thrown out of your neighborhood coffee house/WiFi hot spot, or received any puzzled looks from your cube-farm mates in your office. You would be hard pressed to single out any next-generation digital journalists for recognition.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Pre: iPhone Killer for a Day?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67252.html
Speculation surrounding the next-generation iPhone has been simmering all week, and with Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference set to hit next week, it just might boil over. Lots of bloggers have been rounding up the rumors, like a 3.2 megapixel camera or even video conferencing. However, it's not an all-iPhone world, after all. Overall, Apple appears to be raking in -- and spending -- plenty of cash. The company's flagship store in New York might be taking in as much as $440 million per year, and Apple plans to build a data center in North Carolina.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
White House Works the Web
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67254.html
President Obama in Egypt told Muslims he wants to engage them and their countries. More than 5,000 miles away, U.S. administration officials sent notes to supporters -- and critics -- via Twitter, Facebook and text messages to reinforce the point. Obama's speech Thursday was an illustration of the administration's aggressive strategy to work the Web to enhance the White House's message. A flurry of messages flooded the Internet, as the White House's Twitter feed and Facebook page posted highlights while Obama was still speaking.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Easing Airline Customers Into High-Tech Travel Habits
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67253.html
Welcome to the 21st century, passengers. Self-serve ticket kiosks and other electronic screens and gadgets aren't exactly new at airports around the world, but some travelers are hesitant -- maybe a little scared -- about using them. They prefer the old-fashioned comfort of face-to-face contact with an agent, even if waiting in line slows them down. However, there are a growing number of ways to cut time and hassle out of a trip to the airport, from new kiosks to boarding passes scanned directly from your cellphone screen. There is, airports insist, no reason to be afraid.

Sat, 6 Jun 09
Twitter Sued for Distress Caused by Impostor Tweets
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67258.html
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing the social networking site Twitter, claiming an unauthorized page that used his name to make light of drunken driving and two Cardinals pitchers who died damaged his reputation and caused emotional distress. The suit filed last month in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages. The lawsuit claims that someone created a false account under La Russa's name and posted updates, known as "tweets," that gave the false impression that the comments came from La Russa.

Fri, 5 Jun 09
Pre Gets 'B' in Early Review Tests
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67249.html
The media buzz around the Palm Pre is rising to deafening levels as the countdown to the Pre's release on Saturday proceeds. Generally, early reviewers like its design and ease of use. The device's short battery life and small keyboard were concerns. However, the battery can be swapped out easily, unlike the iPhone's, the Apple handset with which the Pre is often compared. Little can be done about the Pre's keyboard. Starting on Saturday, we will begin to see whether the Pre will help Palm turn its battered fortunes around.

Fri, 5 Jun 09
Legacy Software: Rebuilding the Ship in Rough Waters
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67234.html
As the market recedes further and companies look to shed cost in any way feasible, many look inwardly in order to find key areas for improvement. Aberdeen's research shows that the top business pressures forcing companies in the direction of legacy application modernization are largely internal. The top two pressures have to do with agility. With the volatility of the current economy, opportunities for growth will be harder to come by, and organizations need to find ways to react to these opportunities before the window closes.

Fri, 5 Jun 09
The US Army: It's Better with Vista?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67242.html
Sometimes it's hard to distinguish fact and fiction on the Linux blogs. Take last week, for example, when Asus's apparent decision to join hands with Microsoft and proclaim that its netbooks were "better with Windows" shook things up. Few saw that one coming, we'd bet; once it did, the shock and disbelief were enough to make many look around for the hidden camera. Think that was incredible? Better sit down for this one, then. Following that little episode of the Twilight Zone, we now apparently have a sequel -- no less bizarre, just as surprising.

Fri, 5 Jun 09
'The Sims 3' for iPhone: How Large Can You Live on a Small Screen?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67230.html
"SimCity," originally released by Maxis 20 years ago, was the matriarch of a gaming dynasty, giving rise to an impressive sprawl of spinoffs and sequels. The main series hit its true stride with "SimCity 3000," and related "Sim" titles like "SimAnt," "SimEarth," and "SimTower" achieved varying degrees of success. However, the real breakout of the bunch -- the "Frasier" to "SimCity's" "Cheers" -- has been "The Sims," which this week released its third edition. In addition to PC and Mac versions, "The Sims 3" is also available for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Fri, 5 Jun 09
Plane Disappearance Prompts Call for Better In-Flight Tech
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67246.html
Get lost in the woods and a cellphone in your pocket can help camping buddies find you. Drive into a ditch and GPS in your car lets emergency crews pinpoint the crash site. However, when a transcontinental flight is above the middle of the ocean, no one on the ground can see exactly where it is -- in the air, or worse, in the water. The disappearance of Air France Flight 477 and its 228 passengers over the Atlantic Ocean this week has critics of radar-based air traffic control calling on the U.S. and other countries to hasten the move to GPS-based networks.

Thu, 4 Jun 09
Microsoft Slates Windows 7 Delivery for October
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67239.html
Windows 7 will be available on new computers starting Oct. 22, according to Microsoft. That date puts Microsoft ahead of the year-end retail season; however, it largely misses the annual back-to-school sales window. Those who buy a Vista PC in the weeks preceding Oct. 22 may be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 once it's available, but details of that program remain unclear. Microsoft announced the final release date for its new OS Wednesday during a keynote address at Computex 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Thu, 4 Jun 09
Sony Whips Up Wii-Like Motion Controller
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67238.html
Desperate to gain more traction in the video gaming market, where it trails behind rivals Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony on Tuesday demonstrated a new motion-sensing controller to an audience of gamers. The demo at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles showed off a device about the size and shape of a television remote control with a colored ball at one end. The device appears to work in a way similar to a Nintendo Wii controller -- the user moves it around, and the object appearing in the game screen moves the same way.

Thu, 4 Jun 09
Girding the Grid for Cyberattacks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67227.html
The future of the U.S. energy grid is at a crossroads. Energy grids and power distribution systems face a number of daunting challenges. One of the most critical is the ability to respond to changing variables in real-time. Meanwhile, The energy industry is often slow to implement new technology that optimizes energy consumption and bolsters the power grid from electronic intrusion. Energy generation, supply, consumption, distribution and security pose numerous high-tech challenges.

Thu, 4 Jun 09
Openness, Linux and Mobile Innovation
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67231.html
As the most dynamic and commercial industry on Earth -- which has grown its annual revenues from zero to $1 trillion in less than 25 years and today manages 4 billion consumer relationships -- mobile has propelled itself forward with a highly discriminating attitude toward openness within device technology. From the beginning, the need for interoperability has sustained widespread pragmatism about "opening" individual technologies through closely crafted proprietary licenses and establishing supporting industry standards.

Thu, 4 Jun 09
Chinese Government Darkens Web on Anniversary of Tiananmen Square
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67233.html
Foreign journalists were barred from Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Wednesday as an Internet clampdown that blocked Twitter expanded to include more blogs on the eve of the 20th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Authorities have also shut photo-sharing site Flickr and confined dissidents to their homes or forced them to leave Beijing, as they ramped up efforts to prevent online discussions about or commemorations of those who died in the military assault on demonstrators on the night of June 3-4, 1989.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
Microsoft at E3: Look, Nintendo, No Controllers!
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67221.html
Microsoft is controlling the early buzz at the massive E3 video game convention with its Project Natal technology, which allows gamers to interact with their Xbox 360s without the need for handheld controllers. Along with the publicity, though, the company is creating a lot of questions regarding its ability to deliver on the innovation and promise demonstrated on a Los Angeles Convention Center stage Monday. Microsoft invited Steven Spielberg to help introduce Natal to the throng of media and industry insiders in the audience.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
Military Tweets News From War Zone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67225.html
Last month, the Pentagon began using a newly opened Twitter account to deliver on-the-ground news of events in Afghanistan, and the channel has begun to pick up traction. Like all Twitter messages, the military dispatches are short and to the point. A recent tweet, for instance, reported that "Afghan, coalition forces kill four militants, detain two in Wardak; one detainee believed resp. for a 2008 attack that killed 3 US troops." Not all of the tweets relay body counts, but many do.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
Acer Greases Android for Netbook Duty
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67220.html
Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer, which seems to be having an on-again, off-again relationship with netbooks running Android, is now reportedly working on one. Jim Wong, the firm's president of IT products, made the announcement Tuesday at Computex Taipei, Asia's largest computer exhibition. The first Acer model to run Android will be the Aspire One. Acer is expected to begin shipping the Android netbooks in the third quarter of this year.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
The WAN Traffic Controller Juggling Act
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67211.html
The Internet has become a critical component in today's fast-moving business environment and continues to play a central role in delivering mission-critical business applications and vital communications to employees, partners and customers. The Internet holds the promise for organizations to streamline operations, improve operational efficiencies and lower costs. As a result, businesses have come to rely on networked applications delivered over the Internet for day-to-day operations and as a means for gaining competitive advantage.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
Cuba Smolders Over Microsoft Messenger Withdrawal
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67217.html
Cuba criticized Microsoft on Friday for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington's "harsh" treatment of Havana. The technology giant recently announced it was disabling the program's availability in Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea to come into compliance with a U.S. ban on transfer of licensed software to embargoed countries. The move "is just the latest turn of the screw in the United States' technological blockade against the island," a technology writer stated.

Wed, 3 Jun 09
On the ISS, Six Is Company, Thirteen's a Crowd
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67224.html
Life on board the international space station is busier and more crowded now that it's a full house. For the first time ever, the space station is accommodating a permanent crew of six, the way it was intended when the first piece flew a decade ago. The population at the orbiting outpost doubled Friday when three new residents moved in. "I come from a large family, and I'm used to a lot of activity and busyness and a lot of laughter, and we certainly have that now with these guys coming," U.S. astronaut Michael Barratt said Monday.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
Windows 7 Starter Breaks Away From App Restrictions
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67216.html
In a departure from what it did with Windows XP and Windows Vista, Microsoft has decided to give users of Window 7 Starter on small notebook PCs -- netbooks -- the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like. The original plan had been to limit users of the Windows 7 Starter edition to three simultaneous applications, excluding background processes such as antivirus applications, wireless and Bluetooth, and system tools like Explorer and Control Panel.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
First Impressions: Blah-da Bing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67215.html
Like many others, I was salivating at the thought of getting my hands on a new, faster search engine, and so I was impatiently waiting for Wednesday when Microsoft was scheduled to unleash Bing on the world. When it made Bing available on Monday instead, I leaped on the application and began running searches on the Web with little cries of joy. Those cries soon changed to gurgles of dismay -- Bing is not yet ready for the big time. In fact, it isn't ready at all.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
The Rise and Fall of Traditional Journalism, Part 3
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67209.html
The shift from highly centralized corporations to distributed, networked "clouds" of micro-businesses is a hallmark of the Internet age, and it finds its expression most clearly in the rise of social media. Social media services can best be thought of as ad hoc organizations of contributors providing media content of some sort over the Web. The variety of such services is stunning. Among them, blogging represents one of the most immediate threats to traditional journalism, to the extent of likely supplanting it completely within the next decade.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
Apple May Charge for App Double-Dipping
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67214.html
June 1 doesn't just herald the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. The winds of gossip and speculation regarding Apple are already swirling in anticipation of next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, and the latest squall line focuses on those beta-testing the new iPhone 3.0 operating system. Several blogs and tech Web sites are reporting no more free lunches of iPhone apps already paid for -- at least not unless you physically plug the phone back into your computer.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
Microsoft Goes Bing, Palm's Pwned
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67203.html
Last week, Microsoft announced its new search push at Google -- and unlike Live Search, which was a joke, Bing looks to have the right stuff. The question is, can Microsoft get people to move? Palm initially looked as though it was going to get iPhone users to move, but that hope started to sputter last week. It increasingly looked like Palm would follow Netscape and Transmeta in making the mistake of scaring a competitor into corporocidal behavior. Rather than taking a bite out of Apple, it looks like Palm may be pwned.

Tue, 2 Jun 09
Asus and Microsoft: 'It's Better With Windows'?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67205.html
Every once in a while a topic comes up on the Linux blogs that simply can't be ignored. Just last week, for example, the blogs were humming along as they always do, with various cheers and debates over news such as Red Hat's appeal for open competition in Switzerland and the New Zealand government's decision to stop its negotiations with Microsoft for a pan-government agreement. Indeed, bloggers were fairly rubbing their hands with glee as they sped along the highway of joy pondering such news when suddenly -- out of nowhere -- a brick wall appeared.

Mon, 1 Jun 09
The Buzz on Big-Ticket Bluetooth and High-End Headgear
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/67197.html
Bluetooth wireless headsets have become a lot better in the last few years at picking out the user's voice from noisy surroundings. However, a key problem has persisted: If you're in a breezy place, it's been hard to make yourself heard above the sound of the wind whistling over the microphone. The latest generation of high-end headsets, with prices ranging from $100 to $130, promise to do a better job at wind suppression. I tested three of them in locales that included a windy rooftop and the streets of New York.