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Mon, 30 Nov 09
More Evolution Than Revolution on Display at PDC
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68732.html
It ended up being a somewhat different PDC than we had anticipated, and even, to a certain extent, than we were led to believe. Maybe this was due in part to a little intentional misdirection to help generate surprise, but in the end, the big stories here in Los Angeles last week were more evolutionary than revolutionary. That was actually quite all right with attendees I spoke with, most of whom are just fine with one less thing to turn their worlds upside down. It's tough enough for many of these good people to hold onto their jobs every week.

Mon, 30 Nov 09
The Macintosh Cometh, Part 2: Willing to Break Barriers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68721.html
When younger folks today ask me what it felt like to experience a Macintosh for the first time, expecting a moment of revelation as though I'd set foot on Mars, it's hard for them to understand this embryo of the Mac in the context of the world we early developers lived in. While we appreciated the Apple II for having accelerated the pace of evolution in computing, most of us in the business had the sincere impression that Apple least of all understood what our work was about.

Sun, 29 Nov 09
Foursquare Facilitates Social Networking in Meatspace
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68740.html
Laura Fitton's ascent has been staggering: In less than a year, she's become mayor of nine different places in several different states, all without giving any speeches or kissing any babies. Instead, Fitton has gone out. A lot. And that's allowed her to build an empire in the world of a rapidly growing Internet startup called "Foursquare," which rewards users with points and virtual "mayorships" for checking in on their cellphones when they're out and about. Foursquare is the brainchild of Dennis Crowley, 33, and Naveen Selvadurai, 27.

Sun, 29 Nov 09
The Macintosh Cometh, Part 1: The Audacity of Mistakes
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68720.html
The reason there's a Macintosh today is not because of some brilliant flash of engineering genius, as many revisionists like to believe. It's because Apple had the audacity to make a few big mistakes first, and learn from them. The main reason I wasn't escorted out of those first computer conferences, even though they typically displayed signs that expressly forbade anyone under 18 from entering, was because I looked the part of someone older who knew what he was doing.

Sat, 28 Nov 09
Your Log Records Have an Important Message for You
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68760.html
I spend a good deal of my time meeting existing and potential customers, and from that, I believe two things are clear: First, the Internet is now fundamental to the operations of both public and private organizations; second, those organizations are increasingly concerned with threats and risks due to those Internet-based operations. Since the term "cybersecurity" is quite broad, perhaps it's more helpful to consider what that term covers. At one end of the spectrum, we have what I will call "cyberthreats"; at the other, "cyber-risks." Both can cause serious problems.

Sat, 28 Nov 09
An 'Historical Blunder' and Other Tech Turkeys of 2009
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68755.html
So Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year here in the U.S., and all that remains is a bunch of leftovers. What better diversion as we all make our way through Avogadro's number of turkey sandwiches than the Linux Blog Safari's first annual "Tech Turkeys" column? Yes, you heard that right! It's time to talk turkey here in the Linux blogosphere, and Linux Girl has her Quick Quotes Quill at the ready. She couldn't resist asking some of her favorite bloggers: What were the tech turkeys this year?

Sat, 28 Nov 09
Is Apple Missing the E-Reader Boat?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68748.html
E-readers seem to be smoking hot this year. The Amazon Kindle, of course, has been leading the pack, but Sony seems to have sold more than a handful as well, and its new Sony Daily Edition e-reader may be in short supply. Meanwhile, newcomer Barnes & Noble already sold out of its new Nook e-reader, which the company just announced a month ago -- and that's only pre-orders that aren't shipping until the end of this month. Order a new Nook now, and you'll have to wait until January to get it. Sounds a bit like Amazon's first sold-out holiday sales effort with the Kindle.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
When a Picture Is Worth 1,000 Complaints
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68753.html
A manipulated image of Michelle Obama that drew headlines and controversy when it became the first result users saw when performing a Google Image search for the First Lady was pulled down Wednesday -- but not by Google. While the picture may have disappeared, questions about Google's response to so-called Googlebombs remain for the company. The image, which was originally displayed on a blog, was doctored to make Obama's face appear ape-like, drawing massive criticism and demands that Google cease displaying it in its Image Search engine.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
Hacked Climate Emails: Tempest in a Teapot?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68752.html
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen just a few weeks away, leading scientists on the topic probably had a lot of work they would have liked to accomplish this week. That hasn't been possible, however, thanks to the recent anonymous theft of thousands of emails and documents from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. Instead, key climate-change scientists whose work was involved in the hack have had to spend the past few days defending their research and conducting other forms of damage control.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
Home Sweet Networked Home, Part 1
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68742.html
By now many of us -- even some of us who once couldn't program the clock in the VCR -- have installed a WiFi router somewhere in our homes to use a laptop on the front porch or in the back den. If you fall in this group, congratulations. Whether you know it or not, you have joined the home network revolution. Of course, for some consumers, the revolution begins and ends with that WiFi connection. A growing number, however, have dabbled in some of the Web 2.0 entertainment technologies and services that are being introduced almost on a daily basis.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
Giving Thanks for Leading Health Technology Advances
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68739.html
While Congress debates an $850 billion healthcare bill with questionable benefits, leaders in the technology industry are quietly creating products and services that will truly reform healthcare. This Thanksgiving, for example, Americans can be appreciative of the incredible price decline in genome sequencing, one of the most important health advances. The genome is like the source code for humans, and cheap sequencing for individuals will kick-start a real revolution in personalized medicine.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
Emblaze Shows Off Something Else
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68741.html
Israeli manufacturer Emblaze Mobile announced in London Tuesday the official launch of the Else, a Linux-based mobile phone. The company initially previewed the device in Japan in October. The new phone is still little more than a twinkle in Emblaze designers' eyes. Still, company officials expect to have more Else mobile phones on store shelves by the middle of 2010. "Where are they now? They have a platform that is not yet ready to ship. They are looking for operator partners in Europe and North America for it," Ian Fogg, research analyst at Forrester, told LinuxInsider.

Thu, 26 Nov 09
FCC Chair Calls For Broadband for All
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68745.html
Making broadband Internet access universally available is this century's version of building highways or extending railroads coast-to-coast, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday. Julius Genachowski said broadband is "a critical infrastructure challenge of our generation." As part of the federal stimulus package, the FCC is charged with creating a plan -- due in February -- to make broadband available everywhere in the country.

Wed, 25 Nov 09
Large Hadron Collider Gets Smashing
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68733.html
Before the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, can begin to unlock the mysteries of the universe -- as physicists around the world hope it will -- it has to be taken for a series of test drives. Scientists on Monday did just that, driving protons into each other at energies approaching 550 billion electron volts, and the resulting successful collision is being hailed as an important first step to realizing the LHC's ultimate capabilities. "The way complicated accelerators are built, you go through a commissions process," said Fred Dylla of the American Institute of Physics.

Wed, 25 Nov 09
A Twitter App for Every Purpose Under Heaven
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68730.html
Thanks to Twitter's open API, applications that enhance the tweeting experience have proliferated. From TweetDeck to Tweetie, there's an app for everyone and for every purpose. This diverse world of Twitter apps, however, remains a mystery to some of the site's users. "When you go and buy a car, no one tells you that you need to fill it up with fuel; it is just a given," said Twitter consultant Mark Shaw. "When you join Twitter, no one tells you that to really become effective with using Twitter, that you need to use some third-party applications to help you."

Wed, 25 Nov 09
Google Widens the Road for Android Nav App
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68735.html
Google has rolled out a new version of its free Google Maps Navigation application that's compatible with smartphones running the Android 1.6 operating system, such as T-Mobile's myTouch 3G and its G1. When the app was introduced last month in beta, it could only be used by smartphones running Android 2.0, the latest version of the OS, such as Verizon's Droid. Google Maps Navigation is an Internet-connected GPS system with voice guidance and automatic rerouting.

Wed, 25 Nov 09
Is Google's Chrome OS Waiting for a Strong ARM?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68728.html
It's not every brand new operating system that gets open sourced a year before it hits the retail shelves. Then again, Chrome OS isn't just any OS, and Google isn't just any company. Indeed, that's just what Google did last week, making its brand new Chrome OS freely available for download by developers far and wide. Devices running the new operating system, on the other hand, are not expected until the fourth quarter of next year.

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Leaked Emails Fuel Climate-Change Firestorm
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68725.html
Thousands of emails and documents were stolen from a prominent climate research center in the UK recently and posted online, firing up a fresh controversy over global warming. More than 1,000 emails and several thousand documents were apparently included in the hack attack on the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, which is dedicated to tracking past and present causes of climate change on Earth. The stolen materials cover roughly a decade's worth of research.

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Clicker Cuts Through Web Video Chaos
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68711.html
Let's put this simply: If you want to stream free, professional videos online, Clicker makes finding the video easier than most other solutions I've seen. In fact, it's one of the few online television and video search guides that I've felt compelled to create an account with. Why? Easy. It targets the content I want -- full episodes of network television shows, and what's not a network television show is professional-grade content. It might be full-length movies or Web originals, but there's also some free music videos.

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Dangerous New Worm Wriggles Through Jailbroken iPhones
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68723.html
For the third time in a matter of weeks, jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches have come under attack, this time by a worm that could set up botnets and steal banking information. Security researchers, already on alert as a result of the two previous attacks on jailbroken iPhones, jumped on the worm right away. "This is one of the first, if not the first, mobile botnets ever," Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, told MacNewsWorld. "It clearly shows that the more criminal elements are entering the mobile space and targeting mobile phones."

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Outstanding Tech Gift Ideas for Under $500
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68706.html
With Black Friday only a few days off, I thought it would be timely to list a few of the products that I think stand out this year and, given that the economy is what it is, focus on things that are relatively affordable. In my mind, half the fun of a gift is the sparkle you see in the eyes of someone who is truly excited about what you have given. The things I'm going to list here will make a lot of men's and women's eyes light up. The product of the week is a Web site called CafÃ©Give, which takes a portion of your purchase and applies it to the charity of your choice.

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Two-Wheel Linux, and Other Reasons to Be Thankful for FOSS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68716.html
As Thanksgiving Day approaches in the U.S., it seems only natural that Linux bloggers would wax sentimental about their favorite operating system. Datamation's Bruce Byfield kicked things off early a few weeks ago with his column, "Why FOSS Matters to Me (But Maybe Not to You)." Free software is succeeding, Byfield maintained. "Looking back over my decade of involvement, I am often amazed by the progress I have seen, both in the software itself and in its acceptance outside the community."

Tue, 24 Nov 09
Learning the Way of the Snow Leopard
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68712.html
While hoary Mac users might prefer to familiarize themselves with the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, Snow Leopard, through intuitive fumbling, less experienced ones may prefer the more formal approach released earlier this month by Class On Demand. The company has introduced a new training DVD-ROM, Basic Training for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, that covers a variety of new features found in the operating system from its desktop, dock and Time Machine to Spaces, iChat and Boot Camp 3.0, Apple's application for running Microsoft Windows on a Mac.

Mon, 23 Nov 09
The Making of Mario
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68709.html
You might call him the Mickey Mouse of video games. He's reminiscent of a doughnut, round and sweet and comforting. He's also a vessel, devoid of a real personality so you can live vicariously through him. Mario, the pot-bellied Italian plumber with a penchant for rescuing princesses, collecting golden coins and gobbling magic mushrooms, has been around for nearly three decades. And even though he hasn't changed much, the latest game he stars in, the newly released "The New Super Mario Bros. Wii," is one of the holiday season's top titles.

Sun, 22 Nov 09
Guiding Cybersecurity Principles for a Swiftly Changing World
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68717.html
Cybersecurity is a young and immature field, but it cannot remain so for much longer. We are at a point in time when it is clear that the future will be dramatically different just on basis of technologies that are already in the pipeline. Faster communications, faster computers, mobility with smarter devices, cloud computing, massive data stores, and many other technology trends are not science fiction but reality already being played out.

Sun, 22 Nov 09
The Mac Cybercrime Immunity Fallacy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68695.html
Recently, ESET commissioned a poll to identify the knowledge, beliefs and experiences of Americans with respect to cybercrime. One of the findings was that 2 percent of Americans think that PCs are not vulnerable to cybercrime, while 9 percent feel a Mac is not vulnerable to cybercrime. Twenty-nine percent felt that a PC was only somewhat vulnerable to cybercrime attacks, where 42 percent felt a Mac was only somewhat vulnerable to cybercrime attacks. It has been extrapolated from the poll that Americans have lost $11 billion to cybercrime.

Sat, 21 Nov 09
New Pogoplug Brings Mobile Devices Into the Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68703.html
On Friday, Cloud Engines launched a bigger, shinier version of its Pogoplug USB file-sharing device/service. This will let users share files, photos and videos directly from USB drives or memory sticks plugged into the Pogoplug device with friends or clients over the Internet. The device is accessible from smartphones and mobile computers. Pogoplug is made up of two components: an adapter that plugs into a router and accepts any USB 2.0 drive or memory stick, and the Pogoplug service.

Sat, 21 Nov 09
Google's Strange and Shiny New OS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68707.html
Google just keeps invading new territories, and its latest target is your computer's operating system. It's officially released the open source code for its Chrome OS, an operating system that will turn up in third-party vendors' netbooks. Those devices should start selling next year. With Chrome, Google takes a very different approach than major OSes like Windows, Mac OS, or even most Linux distributions. It's sort of like what would happen if an Ubuntu mated with a Firefox. It's basically a browser that does not run on an operating system -- it is an operating system.

Sat, 21 Nov 09
Playboy's Bunny Couldn't Make the Hop to the Web
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68698.html
What the hell happened to the sort of man who reads Playboy? How could he let the Internet develop into the world's strip club -- and worse -- without taking Hugh Hefner's company along for the ride? There's no long tail for the Playboy bunny, judging from the rumored impending sale of Hefner's company for around $300 million to Iconix, collector of apparel brands like Candies and Joe Boxer. The 83-year-old Hefner will have to spend his remaining days on Earth watching the bunny head logo he turned into a global brand show up on all manner of clothes.

Sat, 21 Nov 09
Open Source Science: A Revolution From Within
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68701.html
Ask anyone in the open source science movement what it's all about, and you're likely to come back to the word that's right there in its name: "open." Open source science is all about open access. To research methods. To data. To scholarly publications. And supporters feel that it's vital to the continued growth and evolution of science itself. "Open source science is a collaborative and transparent approach to science," said Walter Jessen, a bioinformatician and cancer biologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Sat, 21 Nov 09
The Gphone That Could Catch My Eye
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68700.html
So far, I haven't seen a compelling competitor to my iPhone -- at least, for me personally -- and this includes the new Motorola Droid. It's nice enough, but is it so much better that I'd leave the iPhone? Definitely not, and that includes some Droid widescreen envy. But what about the rumored Google phone -- a Gphone, manufactured by Google, leveraging everything Google does well with the Android operating system? Now that idea makes me pause. Of course, it's just an idea.

Fri, 20 Nov 09
Google Spills Chrome OS' Guts
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68697.html
Google on Thursday opened the source code for its fledgling Chrome operating system to developers. This means "Google developers will be working on the same tree as external developers, and we're looking forward to working with the open source community," said Sunder Pichai, vice president of product management at Google. Netbooks running Chrome OS will hit retail shelves next year in time for the holiday season, Pinchai added. Google is developing specifications for hardware and will work with OEMs to ensure they deliver products made to its specs.

Fri, 20 Nov 09
FOSS and the Google Question
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68691.html
Devices based on Google's Linux-based Android operating system may be dominating headlines in the mobile world, but does the search giant *really* love FOSS? Google's introduction of the open Go programming language, for instance, has attracted considerable notice in the blogosphere, inviting widespread speculation as to how it will compare with competitors. Meanwhile, there was also discussion on the blogs of Google's use of Linux in its own operations.

Fri, 20 Nov 09
Trashing IT Hardware the Responsible Way
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68689.html
Disposing of obsolete and broken electronic devices, or e-waste, is not as simple as taking out the trash. Heavy metals and other poisonous contaminants can leak into the environment if electronic equipment is not properly processed. Without foresight, discarded data is also at risk of unintended exposure. Analysis of 206 respondents from Aberdeen's "Responsible Disposal of IT Assets" benchmark study shows that data protection and compliance with environment regulations top the list of e-waste concerns.

Fri, 20 Nov 09
Windows 7: Burning Simplicity to Save the OS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68693.html
The reason Windows Vista seemed slow, and somehow, strangely seemed even slower over time, is now abundantly clear to Microsoft's architects: The evolution of computer hardware, particularly the CPU, exceeded anyone's expectations at the time of Vista's premiere in early 2007. However, the surge in virtualization, coupled with the rise of the multicore era, produced a new reality where suddenly Vista found itself managing systems with more than 64 total cores. Architects had simply not anticipated that the operating system would be managing this many cores, this soon.

Fri, 20 Nov 09
Familiar Desktop Features Make Up For Full Browser's Quirks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68679.html
If you search for "browser" in the App Store, you'll get dozens of applications, each purporting to be an alternative to the iPhone and iPod touch's built-in Safari browser. In a sense, they are alternatives, since they look different and might have a few unique features. But they're really all Safari underneath -- Apple will only approve browsers that are basically built with Safari guts using a reworked user interface. On the down side, this means we won't be seeing alternative browsers from the likes of Mozilla or Opera any time soon.

Thu, 19 Nov 09
Cyberfraud Arrests Unlikely to Stem ZeuS Rampage
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68687.html
British police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two people in the city of Manchester on suspicion of using the so-called ZeuS Trojan horse to commit banking fraud. The couple, who were detained Nov. 3, are out on bail pending trial. ZeuS, also known as "Zbot," is a notorious bit of malware used to steal users' banking and other personal information from their computers. It has been around for several years in several flavors because there are online toolkits that make it easy to create new variants.

Thu, 19 Nov 09
Cloud Security's Silver Lining: Q&A With ISF President Howard Schmidt
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68674.html
The Information Security Forum may bill itself as the world's leading independent authority on IT security, but the companies and agencies that its members work for are finding themselves more dependent than ever on its computer security expertise. Current trends that are expanding access to networks for companies and consumers are also providing more potential opportunities for IT's "bad guys": hackers, cybercriminals, Web fraudsters. It's Howard A. Schmidt's job to make sure the ISF can be a go-to organization for those looking to secure their networks.

Thu, 19 Nov 09
Maemo Edges Out Symbian in Nokia's N900 Smartphone
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68684.html
Three months after Nokia announced its N900 smartphone, the device has arrived in the United States. The N900 runs on the Linux-based Maemo platform, and Nokia's hype around it raises questions about whether the company plans to replace its older Symbian platform with Maemo. Meanwhile, rumors that Nokia might purchase device maker Palm have been swirling around in the market, drawing yet another question mark around the Finnish smartphone vendor's plans. Maemo is an open source platform based on Debian GNU/Linux.

Thu, 19 Nov 09
Microsoft FOSSifies .Net Micro Framework
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68677.html
The latest version of Microsoft's .Net Micro framework is now in the hands of the FOSS community. Microsoft announced at its Professional Developer Conference on Tuesday the release of version 4.0 under the Apache 2.0 license. The license transfer makes good on a longstanding promise from Redmond that it would make the popular .Net code base available as open source. The gift to the open source community, however, does come with some strings attached -- or, rather, removed from the gift wrapping.

Thu, 19 Nov 09
GAO Accuses Nuke Lab of Shoddy Cybersecurity
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68682.html
Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's classified computer network could increase the risk of a breach of classified information, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a new report. The GAO audited key parts of the nuclear weapons lab's classified computers from November 2008 to July 2009. The classified computer network consists of more than 3,900 computers and devices for about 3,800 users, the report said.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
YouTube Gives More News Reporting Power to the People
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68673.html
News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch is threatening to divorce Google over the issue of unpaid news content. However, Google's YouTube division still wants the marriage of technology and traditional journalism to work; hence the Tuesday launch of YouTube Direct, a tool designed to bring together media organizations and citizen journalists. The new tweak to the YouTube API allows news outlets to embed themselves in the user-generated video upload process and set up a so-called virtual assignment desk.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
Adobe Makes Video Power Grab With Flash, Air Betas
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68671.html
Adobe on Tuesday announced pre-release betas of Flash Player 10.1 and Air 2. The technologies have been enhanced to enable access to online video on any platform, including smartphones. They will also help provide a single, unified application development platform for online apps. Flash Player 10.1 will support PCs, netbooks, smartbooks, smartphones and other mobile devices. The beta supports PCs and netbooks running Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. A version for the Palm webOS will be released later this year.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
The Drums of Cyberwar
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68669.html
The world's increasing reliance on information technology, combined with the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and cyberattacks, is leading to a sort of cyber-cold war, according to a new report from computer security research firm McAfee. For example, Estonian government and commercial Web sites were hit by a series of denial of service attacks over a period of weeks back in 2007. Technical analysis showed the attacks came from sources in Russia, but the Russian government denied any responsibility and refused to help find or prosecute the suspects, the report states.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
Road Warning: Swarms of Texting Teens Ahead
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68667.html
Despite laws, safe-driving campaigns and even gory public service announcements, an overwhelming number of teens are still texting while driving, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Teens and Distracted Driving." Driving while distracted -- often due to texting while driving -- has been identified as an automobile accident causal factor that's on par with driving while intoxicated. A number of states have already passed laws specifically prohibiting texting while driving.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
Back to Basics: 5 Things IT Could Do Better in 2010
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68662.html
Well, it's November again -- which means that it's just about time for this year's set of New Year's predictions. Every year around this time, everyone from antimalware companies to analyst firms line up to tell us about the top IT and security trends -- what they are and why we should care. This year, chances are they'll tell us all about cloud computing, virtualization and social networking and why these technologies are the new best friends for security folks in 2010. Now if you're sensing a bit of snarkiness here, you're right -- I find these lists a bit frustrating.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
Microsoft Goof - One Small Snag in a Code-Licensing Quagmire
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68665.html
Microsoft will soon release the source code and binaries for a Windows 7 tool that was recently found to contain code licensed under the GNU General Public License. The tool in question is the company's free Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool, which enables consumers to create bootable USB drives or DVD backup media from the electronic software edition of Windows 7 that comes in an ISO format. "Within Windows" blogger Rafael Rivera Jr. uncovered the GPL-licensed code earlier this month.

Wed, 18 Nov 09
What's Apple's Game Plan?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68664.html
Last year, Apple began marketing its iPod touch as the "funnest iPod ever," a nod to the significant popularity of the game applications available on the iPhone/iPod touch App Store. Games designed by third-party developers have been big sellers for the platform, and now Apple itself looks like it wants in on more of the fun -- it's advertising for an in-house game developer. The candidate must "help design and implement interactive multimedia experiences on the iPhone and iPod touch" and be a creative thinker who can "contribute and comment on the design process."

Tue, 17 Nov 09
Microsoft Addresses Prickly Pair of Windows 7 Flaws
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68659.html
Windows 7, which was publicly released Oct. 22, has been hit by at least two security flaws. One of these lets hackers execute code remotely; the other lets them trigger an infinite loop remotely, causing a kernel crash. Both are flaws in SMBv2, security researcher Laurent Gaffie, who posted details about them on his blog, told TechNewsWorld. SMB, or Server Message Block, is a Microsoft file-sharing protocol used in Windows. It is most often used with the NetBIOS transport protocol over TCP/IP.

Tue, 17 Nov 09
Samsung's Android-Powered Galaxy Spins Into Marketplace
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68656.html
The Android army gained yet another recruit Monday with the release of Samsung's Galaxy Spica phone in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, or former Soviet republics. Equipped with an 800 MHz application processor and DivX support, the new device -- also known as the "I5700" -- reportedly runs Android 1.5, or "Cupcake." It will next be rolled out in the Middle East and Africa, Samsung said, but no mention was made of North American availability.

Tue, 17 Nov 09
Network Forensics and Digital Time Travel
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68651.html
Network forensics is the capture, storage and analysis of network traffic. You might also hear the term referred to as "packet mining," "packet forensics," or "digital forensics." Regardless of the name, the concept is the same, with the objective to record every packet and the data it contains moving across the network and storing it for some period of time. Simply put, this means having a network recorder that would allow you to see all emails, database queries, Web browsing activity, etc.

Tue, 17 Nov 09
War and Peace: HP Drops Bomb; Intel and AMD Call Truce
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68638.html
We seem to be surrounded by conflict; sometimes it seems peace is harder to make than war. There were two big events in tech last week: HP picked up 3Com, the company that first dominated the network space, as a major shot across Cisco's bow. Also the major legal battle of the decade, between AMD and Intel, came to an end. This market is defined by battles and partnerships, and it was the initial partnership between Intel and AMD that helped launch the PC. Before that, there was IBM. HP seems hell bent to become the next giant, and the market may just let it.

Tue, 17 Nov 09
Microsoft's Patently Absurd 'Sudo Patent'
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68652.html
There's just never a dull moment here in the world of FOSS, especially when it comes to Microsoft. One minute, we're busy exclaiming our disbelief at the notion of a Microsoft version of Linux. The next minute -- on *Friday the 13th*, no less -- we learn that Redmond has acquired Teamprise, and will soon be shipping the company's Linux tools as part of its upcoming Visual Studio 2010 release. Also last week, it was revealed that Microsoft has been granted a patent on technology many say is essentially none other than the sudo command.

Tue, 17 Nov 09
VMware Fuses Performance With Convenience
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68645.html
There's more than 50 new features in the latest version of VMware Fusion -- an application that allows Windows and OS X to run together in a virtual environment on a Mac -- but the one that has users raving is the big boost in performance. "I installed VMWare Fusion 3.0 just a few days ago," Leon Kotovich, president and CEO of AgileSequent told MacNewsWorld. "The upgrade from VMware 2.0.5 was flawless. Performance of Win XP Pro SP3 virtual machine is noticeably faster."

Mon, 16 Nov 09
BlackBerry Storm Gathers Strength in Second Version
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68632.html
The first touchscreen BlackBerry phone, the Storm, got a few things right, but generally it was a chore to use. Good thing a lot can change in a year. Though not without flaws, the latest version of the device, the BlackBerry Storm2 , is the phone Research In Motion should have released last year: It's faster, smarter and more fun to use. The Storm2's face is still dominated by a large, bright touchscreen. The buttons that previously sat just below the screen have been integrated, making most of the phone's face one big, slick slab.

Sun, 15 Nov 09
Exchange Server 2010: Microsoft Explains It All
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68650.html
The biggest change to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 was supposed to have been the introduction of something called "Unified Communications" -- the introduction of a singular console for the handling of all forms of digital communication, wrapping voice mail, instant messaging, and email into a single delivery system. History may yet vindicate UC as the product's singular achievement. However, in the near term, administrators credit Exchange more for what it gives them than the world at large.

Sun, 15 Nov 09
Safe Mac Computing on an Unsafe Web
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68653.html
We first saw the Apple Macintosh at the 1984 Super Bowl. At the time, IBM and Microsoft gave us only text-based computing. The Mac appeared looking like nothing we had ever seen. Its screen was all graphics, all the time. It had a mouse, the first one seen by most people. It was smaller than a PC, lighter and more portable. The Super Bowl ad was dramatic, reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. Right from the start it was appealing to a different kind of computer user. The early Macs were very limited.

Sat, 14 Nov 09
Rumor: Google Greasing Chrome OS for Launch
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68647.html
Google will release its Chrome operating system for download within a week, according to a report in the blog TechCrunch, which sited an unnamed source. Launching the OS as soon as possible makes sense, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "I would expect the Chrome OS will show up shortly because they need the ecosystem ready by the end of 2010," he told TechNewsWorld. That ecosystem consists of products from Chrome OS project partners, including Lenovo, Acer, Asus, HP, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

Sat, 14 Nov 09
Dell's Mini 3 Android to Begin Global March in China
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68641.html
After months of rumors, Dell has confirmed its intention to become a major player in the smartphone sector, announcing partnerships with China Mobile and Brazil-based Claro, which is part of the America Movil network. This is not a regional or emerging market strategy on the part of Dell. "We plan to announce agreements with carriers in other markets eventually," said spokesperson Matt Parretta. Dell and its carrier partners will be marketing the Mini 3 smartphone, built on the Android platform. Specs for the device have not yet been revealed.

Sat, 14 Nov 09
Flu Fear Goes Viral on the Web
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68633.html
There's a very good reason why we call Internet memes and themes "viral." Good and bad information spreads on the Web in much the same way those nasty bundles of nucleic acid and proteins do when they attack your body's cells and make you sick. Some of the Internet news items I've seen related to the H1N1 swine flu virus are making me feel a little ill. I see nothing public service-related about the page view bait that has popped up since H1N1 started taking priority in newsrooms around the world.

Sat, 14 Nov 09
New Ubuntu OS Features Create Good Karma
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68639.html
Canonical's Ubuntu 9.10, otherwise known as "Karmic Koala," could be for the Linux community what the recently released Windows 7 OS from Microsoft is to the Windows world. Of course, this latest release that replaced Ubuntu 9.04 did not have as much to do in bettering its predecessor as did Windows 7 had in overcoming Vista. Still, no operating system is ever flawless. This latest Ubuntu release fixes some lingering problems and builds in several useful enhancements. Its eye candy is tasty. Its performance is like a sugar rush!

Sat, 14 Nov 09
Apple's House Rules Won't Be the Death of App Development
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68637.html
So Facebook developer Joe Hewitt tweets that he's ditching the super-popular Facebook iPhone app, and TechCrunch, clearly sensing there's more to the story here, reaches out to learn why. "My decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple's policies," Hewitt told TechCrunch. "I respect their right to manage their platform however they want; however, I am philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process." He's very concerned, he said, about Apple setting a bad precedent.

Sat, 14 Nov 09
NASA Engineers Aim to Unsnag Spirit
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68643.html
For NASA's stuck Mars rover, the Spirit may be willing, but the wheels could prove too weak. The space agency on Thursday outlined a rescue plan to try to free the rover Spirit, which has been bogged in a sand trap on the red planet for half a year. The risky operation is expected to last several months. "If it cannot make the great escape from this sand trap, it's likely that this lonely spot straddling the edge of this crater might be where Spirit ends its adventures on Mars," said Doug McCuistion, who heads the Mars exploration program at NASA headquarters.

Fri, 13 Nov 09
Clicker Charts the Seas for Online TV Surfers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68628.html
Clicker Media on Thursday publicly launched Clicker.com, its programming guide to Internet television. This comes less than a year after the company began building what it describes as the "ultimate programming guide for Internet television." Clicker catalogs the broadcast-quality movies, music videos and Web videos available online on more than 1,200 networks. Clicker offers listings on more than 400,000 full episodes from more than 1,200 sources in more than 1,200 categories, according to the company.

Fri, 13 Nov 09
W3C Validation: It's Not Just About Rankings
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68625.html
In the world of search engine optimization, a perennial argument is whether Google's ranking factors look for clean code in a Web site. The W3C has developed two popular tools that check Web sites for errors: The W3C validation tool looks at HTML code, while the CSS validation tool checks the CSS Style Sheet. These free tools scan all of a site's code to make sure it is compliant with current Web standards. Not long ago, Matt Cutts, a Google software engineer, said -- not for the first time -- that W3C Validation does not affect search engine rankings.

Fri, 13 Nov 09
FOSS' Sunny Place in the Cloud
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68627.html
Richard Stallman's now-famous warnings about cloud computing (his verdict in a nutshell: It's "marketing hype") sparked a fresh round of debate in the blogosphere this week, along with some outbursts of incredulity. Stallman "is a few bubbles off of plumb and gets weirder every year," Slashdot blogger hairyfeet told LinuxInsider. "I mean, you are talking about an OS whose big selling point is the Web, and you are taking advice about it from a guy who 'surfs' by using a mailing daemon to fetch pages and drop them in his email?"

Fri, 13 Nov 09
RedLaser for iPhone: There's a Bargain for That
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68619.html
It's easy to see why the retail industry has been in love with the bar code for the past several decades. It makes checkout faster, and it probably makes inventory a lot easier when you've got a computer system to keep track of everything that passes over the counter. But some retailers abuse the technology by using it as an excuse to not put an actual price tag -- written in good ol' Arabic numerals -- anywhere on or near the products on their shelves. The customer is expected to make a small economic leap of faith and presume the item is reasonably priced.

Fri, 13 Nov 09
The Netbook OS Enigma
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68630.html
On Monday, Apple rolled out the 10.6.2 update to its Snow Leopard operating system, which concentrated mostly on general bug fixes and stability issues as well as some issues in Mail, MobileMe and Safari. In all, there are more than 100 improvements, and more than 40 security-related fixes. However, the big talk today is that this update officially terminates support for Intel's Atom processor family. These low-cost, low-power processors have become the standard in many nettops, netbooks, MIDs, and ultraportables.

Thu, 12 Nov 09
Google Latitude Lets Users Follow Their Own Footprints
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68623.html
Users of Google's location-aware mobile software can now track their whereabouts over time and receive alerts when contacts are nearby, thanks to two features added to the software on Tuesday. The free application, Google Latitude, introduced earlier this year for a variety of cellphones, was originally designed to let friends see each other's locations and then contact each other via SMS, IM or phone to meet up when they're in close proximity.

Thu, 12 Nov 09
The PC Privacy Battle at the Border
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68614.html
Civil liberties groups continue to lock horns with the Department of Homeland Security over border searches of electronic equipment, although relatively few people have been affected. The Department's statistics show that only 1,000 laptops were searched between October 2008 and August 2009, a time period in which more than 221 million travelers came through U.S. ports of entry. So why has the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the DHS over the issue?

Thu, 12 Nov 09
Go Go Google Programming Language
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68622.html
Google on Tuesday announced an experimental new computer programming language called "Go." This combines the development speed of dynamic languages such as Python with the performance and safety of compiled languages like C or C++, the Internet search giant said. Go is still in the experimental stage, and Google says it is still working on it. It's time for a new language because of the tremendous changes in the computing landscape over the past decade, according to the Go FAQ page.

Thu, 12 Nov 09
Samsung Chimes In With Bada Mobile OS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68611.html
Does the mobile phone world really need yet another platform, open source or otherwise? South Korean-based electronics firm Samsung answered yes to that question on Tuesday when it announced the launch of Bada. Bada, the Korean word for "ocean," is a new open platform that Samsung hopes will become a top phone OS in the future. Samsung envisions its new platform to enable developers to create applications for millions of new Samsung mobile phones and consumers to enjoy a fun and diverse mobile experience, according to company officials.

Thu, 12 Nov 09
Windows 7 Gets a Bye on Latest Patch Tuesday
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68618.html
Microsoft's newest computer operating system has survived its first few weeks on the market without needing any security fixes. Microsoft plugged several security holes Tuesday, but none are aimed at Windows 7, which was released Oct. 22. That's to be expected, said Ben Greenbaum, a researcher at the antivirus software company Symantec. "Attackers will take more time to figure out ways of breaking into Windows 7," he said. Computer users can get the patches through Microsoft's automatic-update service.

Thu, 12 Nov 09
Schools Slam Kindle Over Blind Access Failure
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68617.html
Amazon's Kindle can read books aloud, but if you're blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now two universities say they will shun the device until Amazon changes the setup. The National Federation of the Blind planned to announce Wednesday that the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University in New York won't consider big rollouts of the electronic reading device unless Amazon makes it more accessible to visually impaired students.

Wed, 11 Nov 09
Kindle for PC: A Good Preview for E-Reader Fence-Sitters
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68610.html
The scales of justice definitely don't tip in grayscale's favor when it comes to the overall e-reader device experience for consumers. Whether it's an Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader or Barnes & Noble Nook, 16-level grayscale means nothing more than a digital version of the weather in Seattle between November and April: different shades of gray. I realize that for the most part we're talking about black words on a white "page," and having test-driven all but the Nook, I'm well aware of the advantages of storing the equivalent of a home library in an 8-inch long, 10-ounch tablet.

Wed, 11 Nov 09
Snow Leopard Smashes Atom
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68608.html
Apple on Monday issued its latest update to its Snow Leopard operating system. Mac OS X 10.6.2 fixes a slew of bugs and glitches that users had been complaining about. It also froze out Intel's Atom chip, leaving "hackintosh" users -- people who use do-it-yourself methods to run Mac OS X on Intel-powered netbooks -- out in the cold. Mac OS X 10.6.2 includes general operating system fixes, font fixes, graphics fixes, mail fixes, MobileMe fixes, and Safari browser fixes.

Wed, 11 Nov 09
Mobilization and the Big Security Opportunity
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68595.html
It seems like it was just yesterday that talking on a mobile phone made you cool. You were obviously important, walking around with the confidence that you could be reached at all times. Well, times have certainly changed. Roughly half the planet's population -- over 4.1 billion people -- now pay for what was once limited to a select few, according to a recent United Nations survey. However, the widespread adoption of mobile phones is just one way communications have changed in the last 10 years, fostered in large part by the dramatic growth of the Internet.

Wed, 11 Nov 09
Has Firefox Peaked?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68599.html
It was exactly five years ago Monday that Mozilla released version 1.0 of its open source Firefox Web browser, and fans around the globe marked the occasion with a multitude of special events held as part of the "Light the World with Firefox" campaign. "We've vastly improved the browsing experience for hundreds of millions of people around the world," wrote Christopher Blizzard on the Mozilla Hacks blog. "We've managed to keep Microsoft honest and forced them to release newer versions of their browsers."

Wed, 11 Nov 09
New Worm Gives Jailbroken iPhones the Ol' Rickroll
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68602.html
Although it apparently causes no actual harm besides a trivial annoyance, a worm that hits jailbroken iPhones has security researches worried. The so-called Ikee worm was discovered by security researchers recently. It installs a picture of pop singer Rick Astley and displays the message "Ikee is never going to give you up" on victims' iPhones. The concept is based a widespread Internet prank known as "Rickrolling." However, the worm prevents further reinfection by shutting down the vulnerability it exploited.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Microsoft Pushes UC With Latest Exchange Release
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68601.html
Microsoft on Monday announced the worldwide release of Exchange Server 2010. Exchange Server 2010 is at the heart of Microsoft's unified communications push. The idea behind unified communications is to let users contact other people based on their availability and communicate with them in the best possible way. This could be e-mail, VoIP, instant messaging, or audio, video or Web conferencing. All communications are accessible with a single sign-on and in a single in-box. Users can connect with other people from within Microsoft Office applications.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Cisco Adds New Technologies to Collaboration Tool Chest
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68598.html
Cisco has introduced new technologies to its collaboration platform -- a product portfolio that encompasses its telepresence, unified communications and WebEx solutions. Among the additions are new hosted email offerings and integration with enterprise social software. The enhancements leverage real-time and asynchronous collaboration applications in both video and voice-based communications. The package as a whole is a significant leap forward for Cisco, said David Hsieh, the company's vice president of marketing for emerging technologies.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Nokia Recalls Potentially Hazardous Chargers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68594.html
After a flaw was uncovered in some of its handset chargers that could expose consumers to a shock hazard, Finnish mobile giant Nokia on Monday announced a recall program through which it is offering a free exchange. The problem affects a limited number of chargers of certain model types manufactured by Chinese third-party supplier BYD Electronic, Nokia said. Specifically, the affected models are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15 and Aug. 9 of this year, and the AC-4U model, manufactured between April 13 and Oct. 25, 2009.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Will Hardware Block Moblin's Path to Netbook Nirvana?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68600.html
Until recently, netbooks seemed to be computers designed by a subtractive process. That is, you start with a notebook design, and you scale back on the cost by equipping it with lower-power processors, less on-board storage, smaller screens, and either open source software or truncated desktop operating systems. There really hasn't been a powerful example of a "netbook experience" that was built from the ground up to differentiate the devices from their full-powered counterparts.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Samsung Intrepid: Sleek Hardware Makes Up For Uncomfy OS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68579.html
Business users whose lives revolve around their mobile phones won't be disappointed with Samsung's Intrepid smartphone. The handset, which uses Sprint's 3G network domestically and also connects to 3G networks abroad, is packed with features aimed at the pinstripe crowd. Intrepid runs under the latest version of Microsoft's cellphone operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. One improvement in this edition of Windows Mobile is a customizable Today screen.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Betrayals: Obama's Hollywood Sellout, Tech Companies' Layoffs
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68577.html
Last week, two troubling trends were in evidence. The scarier one is that it appears the Obama administration is in the process of putting in place a secret antipiracy provision that has little to do with antipiracy and everything to do with killing properties like YouTube. It is truly frightening, and people are already planning civil unrest to stop it. The other is the growing number of layoffs in the tech segment. I'm of the firm belief that layoffs are typically the last resort of incompetent management.

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Is There Room for Microsoft at the Linux Table?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68593.html
Well, the Karmic Koala may have ruffled a few feathers last week, but already the scales seem to be tipping back toward the positive side. TuxRadar recently put Vista, Windows 7, Ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10 through their paces -- focusing in particular on boot speeds -- and the newborn marsupial proved itself to be a sprightly little thing. FOSS aficionados had even more reason to cheer in recent days when word came out that Skype will soon be open sourced. The good news just keeps on coming!

Tue, 10 Nov 09
Mouse Meets Multi-Touch
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68580.html
If Apple has its way, buttons will become a thing of the past. After slowly emaciating the mechanical controls on its wildly popular iPod media players and obliterating them from the touchpads on its notebook computer line, it now wants to purge them from every keyboard jock's favorite rodent. The company's new Magic Mouse, which is standard with all new iMacs or can be purchased separately for $69, is as sleek as an alien interstellar taxi, its other-worldly appearance fortified by the total absence of buttons.

Mon, 9 Nov 09
Security, Speed and the Trouble With Transparency
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68587.html
The key selling point for Windows 7, as emphasized in a concerted advertising campaign that stretches across both TV and the Web, is that it's leaner, simpler and faster. It doesn't have to complete the phrase "faster than ..." because we all know how to complete that phrase. Microsoft's bet for Windows 7 is that users smart enough to complete that phrase, care. So if some of the comments Betanews has been receiving about Internet Explorer's recent problems being a non-event, or a "YAWN," really did reflect reality, then Microsoft has already lost the bet.

Sun, 8 Nov 09
The Modern PC: Lighter, Touchier, More Mobile
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68586.html
Personal computers are changing -- and not just because of the recent launch of Windows 7. Visit an electronics store and you might also find laptops are missing a familiar component. You could experiment with new ways of controlling some computers, and you'll see portable PCs slimming down. Even with all the attention lavished on Apple's iPhone and Amazon.com's Kindle this year, your PC likely is still the center of your digital universe. Here's a look at what the season's computer trends mean for you.

Sat, 7 Nov 09
Verizon Launches a Droid of a Different Color
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68581.html
Amid the frenzy Friday surrounding the launch of Verizon Wireless's Motorola Droid smartphone, another Verizon Android handset also made its debut -- the HTC Droid Eris. The Eris is essentially a slightly modified version of the HTC Hero, a phone Sprint started selling last month. The one-two punch powered by the Droid and Droid Eris mark the beginning of a new Android line of phones from Verizon. The Eris has a seven-panel home screen that users can customize with a variety of widgets, according to Verizon.

Sat, 7 Nov 09
Cyber-Meltdown: Managing the Message When IT Hits the Fan
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68576.html
It started as an act of Web site defacement by some anti-capitalist zealots, attacking one of Canada's largest multinational corporations. You know the kind -- they've got their fingers in all kinds of business pies, from airplane parts to media content to their own very popular brand of hand sanitizer. So they were ripe for some cyber-sabotage, judging from the overheated invective that appeared scrawled all over the corporate Web site. Things went downhill fast, however, for the information technology specialists on hand trying to clean up the vandalism.

Sat, 7 Nov 09
Droid Lurches to Life
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68584.html
Today is the day of the Droid. The Motorola smartphone touches down today in what's shaping up to be one of the biggest handset launches in recent memory. Of course Verizon is going all-in as far as advertising is concerned, but there's more to the Droid's story than a marketing campaign. First, there's Motorola. Droid is it's big jump back into the smartphone market, a place where it's been at best lame and at worst absent over the past few years. It's got a lot of chips on the table with this one.

Sat, 7 Nov 09
Let's Give the iPhone Hackers a Big Round of Applause
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68578.html
I'm the kind of guy who rarely bothers to hack my devices. By "hack," I mean use the hacks and instructions of those who are much more intrepid than I. Tinkering with a device that I shelled out hundreds of dollars for, if not more, isn't something I take lightly. If I break it, I've not only lost usage of the device, I'm out of the money, too. If I had a bigger bank account, I might be more cavalier about it all. I've poked at my Apple TV, messed around with a first-generation iPhone, and the like.

Sat, 7 Nov 09
Droid: Enjoyed
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68573.html
If I had my way, I would encourage Verizon Wireless to invest in both hologram technology and more "Star Wars" film rights. That would allow the carrier to hire an Alec Guinness lookalike who could pop up in 3-D visions in Verizon stores across the country, wave his hand over racks full of Motorola's new smartphone, and in full Obi-Wan Kenobi drag intone the words, "these are the Droids you're looking for." Ohhh-kayyyy, so maybe it's a good thing I'm not in charge of Verizon marketing.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
Google Dashboard Lights Up User Access to Privacy Controls
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68571.html
Google on Thursday announced the launch of Google Dashboard, an online utility that offers one view into all Google products a customer uses. This is intended to give users more transparency and control over their data, the Internet search giant claimed. Dashboard is really an information aggregator. After a user logs into his or her Google account, he or she can access Dashboard to see a summary of data for each Google product he or she uses -- Gmail activity, YouTube activity, Docs activity, etc. Dashboard also provides direct links to privacy and control settings.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
There's Something About Droid
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68574.html
Verizon Wireless is stoking the excitement around its upcoming Motorola Droid smartphone, which it will officially put on sale on Friday. The buzz on the Droid isn't driven entirely by a marketing team, though. The phone's hardware has received many positive reviews, and it will be the first phone to ship with an updated version of the Android operating system. The circumstances of its arrival also make for a compelling back story: Motorola desperately needs a hit, and Verizon needs an answer to AT&T's iPhone.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
Secure, Real-Time UC: Safe Connections While on the Move
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68565.html
Unified Communications holds enormous promise as a coherent, integrated approach to incorporating the full spectrum of business communications modalities, and as direct path to cut through "communications clutter" resulting in accelerated time-to-action. It also offers a cost-effective way to more directly connect the company to its customers, employees to employees, and more tightly bind business partners and suppliers. Reducing human latency is a key benefit of UC, resulting in measurably increased efficiency and improved customer intimacy.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
New Study Finds Canned Food Laced With Toxic Chemical BPA
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68569.html
Consumer Reports has unleashed its findings on toxic levels of Bisphenol A in food packaging on a largely unsuspecting public. Before the report, many felt the BPA danger had passed with the introduction of BPA-free baby bottles and so-called microwave-safe plastics. Not so, says the report: Certain canned foods contain high levels of BPA -- but it may also be present in alternative packaging. Almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contained measurable levels of BPA. Most disturbing: BPA was found in some foods packaged in "BPA-free" cans.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
Chorus Should Sound Great Once More Singers Join In
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68555.html
The iTunes App Store became 100,000 applications strong this week, and it took less than a year and a half to get there. Would it surprise you to know that not every last one of those apps is a perfect work of art? Yes, believe it or not, many of the apps that compete for your attention in the App Store are pretty worthless. I definitely don't think they should be banned or anything. Who knows, maybe one flatulence simulator really is 10 times better than another and completely worth three bucks.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
Does Wine Make Linux Too Loose?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68566.html
Following the Karmic Koala's joyful reception last week, sentiments toward the FOSSy marsupial have become distinctly less enthusiastic in recent days -- at least for some. "Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala" was the headline on a piece that ran in The Register on Tuesday, which chronicled multiple cases of frustration among some users upgrading to the new version. Still, the problems one is likely to encounter with Linux tend to pale by comparison with the security problems one is likely to have using Windows. Unless, that is, you're using Wine.

Fri, 6 Nov 09
Study: Internet Doesn't Cause Introversion
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68570.html
A new study confirms what your 130 Facebook friends and scores of Twitter followers may have already told you: The Internet and mobile phones are not linked to social isolation. Online activities such as e-mail, blogging and frequenting Internet hangouts can even lead to larger, more diverse social networks, according to the study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The study refutes research earlier in the decade suggesting that people's growing embrace of technology has come at the expense of close human connections.

Thu, 5 Nov 09
Microsoft Scrapes Years of Mold Off MSN Portal
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68556.html
White space replaces the sky-blue color scheme in MSN.com's new redesign, which Microsoft began previewing Wednesday before it becomes an official re-launch sometime in early 2010. Content sections are streamlined down to five top-of-page links: news, entertainment, sports, money, lifestyle and "more." Gone is the lengthy, more specific section director. The company's well-reviewed Bing search engine -- which has helped Microsoft gain some market share traction -- is more prominently integrated.

Thu, 5 Nov 09
Free Flow of Internet Traffic Requires Sensible Road Rules
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68552.html
Free marketeers' primary argument against Net neutrality is that a government watchdog role in protecting neutrality is bound to be "political" -- and that any government agency will ultimately start a slippery slide to full-bore regulation of the Internet. This all-or-nothing approach is a false choice that ignores significant factors arguing for a sensible, soft-touch rule to prohibit discrimination against content and applications on the edge of the Net.

Thu, 5 Nov 09
Chrome: How Fast? This Fast ...
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68548.html
If Apple's Safari is going to make any kind of a challenge for best performing Windows-based Web browser moving into next year, it needs to be now. In Betanews' most extensive testing to date, involving tests that by anyone's guess should not have given it any special advantages, the latest stable edition of Google Chrome runs away with a three-point lead over the latest stable Safari -- a lead that now grows by one-half point with each point release.

Thu, 5 Nov 09
Yahoo Lets FOSS Community Drive Its Traffic Server
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68553.html
In a move that resembles a major food vendor giving away its prize recipe -- minus the secret sauce -- to all of its customers and competitors, Yahoo on Monday donated the source code for its Traffic Server software to the Apache Software Foundation through the Apache Incubator Project. Yahoo hopes to grow a community of product users who return to use the full recipe rather than trying to make the recipe work on their own. Yahoo intends to build a robust community of developers around the open source Traffic Server, the company said.

Thu, 5 Nov 09
'Dragon Age' Puts a Little GTA in the RPG
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68559.html
The role-playing fantasy has been a staple of electronic gaming since the 1970s, when students cobbled together interactive quests on university mainframes. However, the genre has fallen out of favor in recent years, overtaken by grittier dramas like the "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty" franchises. "Dragon Age: Origins" tries to bring some of that grit to the fantasy role-playing game. In its quasi-medieval kingdom, Ferelden, the streets are muddy and the buildings are crumbling.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
Sony Ericsson Starts Some Early Buzz for a Late Android
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68543.html
Handset maker Sony Ericsson on Tuesday announced the new Xperia X10 smartphone. It will run on the Android 1.6 mobile operating system, also known as "Donut." The Xperia X10 will begin shipping to select markets next year. In announcing the Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson named the handset as the flagship device of a family of phones coming to market during the first half of 2010. The device will have a new UX platform that will let users organize everything on the smartphone with what the company calls the "most open, human and intuitive user experience yet."

Wed, 4 Nov 09
ISF Panelists Spar Over Security vs. Anonymity
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68547.html
Can the Web's big-time masters of malware really be tracked down? How risky is cloud computing to network security? And what challenges await the Obama administration's plans to lock down the nation's electronic infrastructure -- while at the same time creating a "smart grid?" An experienced panel of computer security experts representing industry, governments and law enforcement batted around possible answers to those questions Monday during a "guru fireside" session that was a highlight of the Information Security Forum's 20th World Congress.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
Is AES Encryption Crackable?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68538.html
In the field of computer technology, some topics are so frequently and fiercely disputed that they almost resemble religious feuds -- Mac vs. PC, for instance, or open source vs. proprietary software. Other topics, though, don't see nearly the same level of high-profile debate. Take the invulnerability of AES encryption, for example. Governments and businesses place a great deal of faith in the belief that AES is so secure that its security key can never be broken.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
Firefox 3.6 Tweaks Are Mostly Under the Hood
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68540.html
Promising faster performance and a bevy of new features, Mozilla on Friday released the first beta version of its Firefox 3.6 browser. Built on the Gecko 1.9.2 Web rendering engine, the new version contains numerous improvements for developers and users, Mozilla said, including support for what it calls "personas," improved responsiveness and faster startup time. The free, open source Web browser is available for download in versions for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in 53 different languages.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
Mac OS X May Split With Atom
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68539.html
An update from Apple for its OS X 10.6 operating system could cause a lot of grief for tinkerers who have installed Snow Leopard on low-cost netbook computers. The update may cause Snow Leopard to no longer run on Intel's Atom processors. Withdrawing Atom support would prevent device hackers from creating so-called hackintosh netbooks. Apple has changed around a significant amount of CPU-related information in the latest build for Snow Leopard, according to a blog post by the hacker Stellarolla.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
'DJ Hero' Puts a Great New Spin on Music Gaming
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68545.html
I was never much one for "Guitar Hero." Playing "Smoke on the Water" 50 times while holding a pint-sized plastic guitar just never really got the blood flowing. I've been waiting for something better, and now it's here. Activision's new "DJ Hero" has solved my music video game plight. It's got better music, better action and is frankly just a lot less goofy feeling than "Guitar Hero." "DJ Hero" consists of the game disc and a wireless turntable and mixer controller. The mixer can be attached to either side of the turntable, so lefties and righties can scratch and fade as they choose.

Wed, 4 Nov 09
New Bill Would Ban Personal Gadgets From Cockpits
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68544.html
Lawmakers are moving to ban the use of computer laptops and other personal electronic devices in airline cockpits to prevent another incident like the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot Minneapolis by 150 miles. Sen. Byron Dorgan, chairman of the aviation subcommittee, said in an interview that his staff is working on a bill that he expects to introduce in about a week. He said he was surprised to learn after the Oct. 21 incident that the FAA doesn't specifically prohibit pilots from using personal devices during flight except below 10,000 feet while the plane is taking off or landing.

Tue, 3 Nov 09
MainGear Warms Up New Line of Personal Supercomputers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68535.html
Boutique gaming PC maker MainGear on Monday announced a new line of what it describes as "personal supercomputers." The Shift, a large desktop built to user specifications, runs at up to 4 GHz and features its a liquid cooling system. Prices begin at $2,199. MainGear has designed the Shift line to exploit the natural behavior of heat, according to the company. The internal components have been rotated so that all heat is radiated through the top vents and cool air is drawn in from the bottom. The case has large ventilation grates and inlets for increased air flow.

Tue, 3 Nov 09
Unblinded With Science: Technology to Restore Vision
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68530.html
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed technology that could help fight blindness. It's aimed at the millions of people impacted by two of the major causes of blindness: age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. The MIT project is one of several that use a physical prosthesis -- a chip implanted directly into or onto the eyeball, coupled with a pair of electronic glasses that provide assistance. Here's a rough description of how our eyes normally work: Light enters the eyeball and stimulates an array of microscopic rod and cone formations.

Tue, 3 Nov 09
Windows 7 Takes Back Mac Switchers and Other Reasons for Hope
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68512.html
Last month was fascinating for me. Not only was Windows 7 launched, but it appeared last week that because so many Mac users were installing Windows 7, some huge enterprise servers crashed. In addition, I got a chance to see Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz in action, and was both impressed with her and a little disappointed in the event. Finally, I got a chance to talk to the new managing director of the FCC and got a good sense for how the FCC is using social networking to actually create a more responsive government and move the needle on Net neutrality.

Tue, 3 Nov 09
Can the Karmic Koala Take on Win 7?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68529.html
Well the Karmic Koala finally climbed down from its eucalyptus tree last week, and the general result was feverish excitement across the Linux blogs. Reviews of the new release seem highly favorable, on the whole, as does the download process via release mirrors and torrents. Though the Koala was released Thursday, the anticipation has been building for weeks, as one might expect. Amid all the Win 7 hoopla, the Koala seems to be doing well. For all the glowing reviews and general excitement, however, not everyone is convinced Linux is ready for the mainstream.

Tue, 3 Nov 09
McAfee Gives Enterprise Macs a Bodyguard
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68525.html
If you believe those ads from Apple, malware should be the farthest thing from the mind of a Mac owner. Chances are, though, you're not going to find a lot of believers among IT professionals. That's why a major malware fighter like McAfee has released a new security product to protect Macs in corporate networks from black hat attacks. The product, McAfee Endpoint Protection for the Mac, is designed for a corporate environment that may have anywhere from a few Macs to thousands of them.

Mon, 2 Nov 09
For Web Search, the Time Is Now
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68520.html
We all contribute to the news cycle when we post timely content online, even if it's 140 characters or fewer, and recently we learned that our little bits of information have substantive value when search giants Google and Microsoft announced that they will index our tweets and status updates. But the sheer volume of content that we produce could be a problem, and Twitter users who find day-to-day value in the service may scoff at the idea that the "information firehose" of live content can be tapped and made searchable.

Sun, 1 Nov 09
Print Pubs, Meet Moving Pictures
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68528.html
Hold Esquire's December issue in front of a webcam, and an on-screen image of the magazine pops to life, letters flying off the cover. Shift and tilt the magazine, and the animation on the screen moves accordingly. Robert Downey Jr. emerges out of the on-screen page in 3-D, offering half-improvised shtick on Esquire's latest high-tech experiment for keeping print magazines relevant amid the digital onslaught. Esquire's top editors are clearly enthused about the new technology, called "augmented reality."