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Thu, 30 Sep 10
The Law's Losing the Texting-While-Driving Fight
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70928.html
The many laws enacted by states to ban texting while driving appear to be for naught, suggest findings from a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute. It found no reductions in crashes after these laws took effect. In fact, the bans were associated with a slight increase in the frequency of auto insurance claims: Crash reports were up in three of the four states studied for the project after the bans were instituted. Despite the findings, the institute and other highway safety advocates are not ready to abandon a legislative solution to the issue of distracted driving.

Thu, 30 Sep 10
10 Commandments for Large Business and IT Transformation, Part 2
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70875.html
There are 10 basic principles that can have a substantial influence on the successful implementation of a large IT transformation program. These recommendations, or "10 Commandments," will help direct energies toward the most fundamental aspects of program management. First, the Program Management Office must be independent of business and IT delivery teams with full-time empowered members responsible for the success of the program.

Thu, 30 Sep 10
Hey You, Get Off of My Cloud!
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70927.html
By all accounts, cloud computing is the future. The market will grow at five times the rate of traditional IT products, IDC has predicted, estimating it will be worth $55.5 billion by 2014. While the future should be rosy, some policy groups are warning that without proper protections, the sector could stumble hard. The problem is a law -- the Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- that hasn't been updated to reflect new technological realities.

Thu, 30 Sep 10
Portable Linux Apps: Not Always an Easy Schlep
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70921.html
One of the best productivity tools I had when I used Microsoft Windows was a collection of portable applications. I missed those tools when I migrated to Linux. Now several open source projects could make portable apps available to mainstream Linux users. Three websites are trying to create that functionality. But the efforts might need more work before they all perform well out of the box. I found that being able to get these portable apps to run is largely hit and miss. Sadly, my testing showed that it is mostly miss.

Wed, 29 Sep 10
Kindle Breaks Into Browsers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70922.html
Amazon on Tuesday cracked the cover of its new book-in-a-browser service designed to make it easier for readers to discover new reads. "Kindle for the Web," as the service is called, doesn't allow customers of Amazon's e-bookstore to read their purchases within a browser window -- Amazon already has a software download for that purpose. Instead, readers will be able to sample the first chapters of books via the Web before making a purchase decision, and without downloading any special software, Amazon said.

Wed, 29 Sep 10
Office Space: Technology's Good vs. Evil Battle, Part 1
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70917.html
21st Century Western civilization bears the brunt of the greatest health threat since the black plague. Although not quite as dramatic -- there are no bodies in the street or mass graves of the afflicted, for example -- the death count is high and climbing, and the toll on company costs (from health insurance to lost productivity) seems unending. While the actual disease presentation varies among individuals, the leading cause is the same: death by sitting.

Wed, 29 Sep 10
PlayBook Aims to Cut Off iPad at Enterprise Pass
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70916.html
RIM announced its entry into the tablet computer space on Monday with the introduction of the BlackBerry Playbook. The device, which comes with a 7-inch touchscreen and boasts extensive multimedia capabilities, is expected to be available for purchase in the U.S. in early 2011. At its unveiling, RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis intimated that business users would be the PlayBook's target market, but he also went to great lengths to point out specific features of the PlayBook that are not available on the consumer-oriented Apple iPad, the current market leader.

Wed, 29 Sep 10
Open Source Databases Have Come of Age
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70919.html
When the Internet and World Wide Web finally went mainstream in the mid-1990s, new Unix-like operating systems running on PCs went mainstream too. Developers working on these systems had access to a wide range of development tools, but these platforms didn't initially offer anything like the mature, SQL-based and 4GL-based database frameworks common on traditional platforms of the time; commercial database vendors were in no hurry to remedy this situation.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
Feds Seek Sweeping Power to Hunt Bad Guys on the Web
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70913.html
The White House is working with several federal law-enforcement agencies to draft legislation that would make it possible to monitor all Internet communication services, including social networking sites, peer-to-peer messaging and encrypted email systems, according to a New York Times report. "Society has changed the way we communicate, and what we're looking for is a technology fix to ensure we have the ability to do what we've always been able to do," FBI spokesperson Paul Bresson told TechNewsWorld.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
Apple Cracks Ping's Door a Little
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70914.html
Apple has updated its social network for music, Ping, which it released at the beginning of the month to less than rave reviews. The changes address a major complaint from users upon its initial rollout -- the dearth of social features. To be sure, Apple hasn't addressed all the issues -- or even the main one -- with Ping. However, the enhancements it has made appear to be mollifying social networkers accustomed to greater control over how they use a platform. Ping's main perceived failing is that it is limited to the iTunes ecosystem.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
Sharp Launches Kindle/iPad Competitor in Japan
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70912.html
Electronics manufacturer Sharp said Monday that it will offer a Japan-only media service with an apparent focus on periodicals as well as e-books. In addition, Sharp will make two Android-based tablet devices that link to the service. "Galapagos," as the service will be called, will launch in December with about 30,000 titles, including newspapers, magazines and books, the company said. Pricing and additional details are being withheld until the launch, Sharp added. The two new devices will hook into the service.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
Virtual Systems, Real Security Holes
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70908.html
As businesses seek new ways to cut costs, IT departments are often placed on the hot seat, and that has fueled interest in virtualization. For example, VMworld 2010, held in San Francisco recently, drew more than 17,000 attendees and saw more than 145,000 virtual machines deployed. However, as businesses rush to virtualize, they too often tend to sweep security under the carpet, figuring they'll deal with that problem later. A recent survey found that the cost-cutting mindset is pushing organizations toward virtualization at the expense of security and risk mitigation.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
James Gosling vs. Oracle: Acquisitions, Open Source and Reality
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70900.html
Java Creator James Gosling explained why he quit Oracle in an interesting interview on eWeek. It is clear he had no understanding about what happens in an acquisition, particularly for an old school open source unit that has been the exact opposite of a profit center. I've been part of a lot of mergers over the years, and we are now in a buyers' market for companies, suggesting that many of you will go through one of these too and may want, and need, a better grasp of what is coming than Gosling clearly had.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
A Tale of Two Root Exploits, and Why We Shouldn't Panic
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70907.html
There's no denying Linux is more secure than perpetually-patching Windows, but the past month or so has not provided an ideal demonstration. In August, we saw the arrival of a long-overdue fix for a kernel bug that was six years old; now, in the last week or so, it's been not one but two root exploits causing a fuss. "Running 64-bit Linux? Haven't updated yet? You're probably being rooted as I type this," was the introduction on Slashdot to CVE-2010-3081, the second such vulnerability to come to light in recent days.

Tue, 28 Sep 10
No Love for VLC on iPad
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70904.html
In recent days, Apple has shown signs of relaxing its hand on what kinds of apps it will allow into its iTunes store. The first sign of the change occurred when the company opened up its review policies for public scrutiny. Another sign has been the appearance in the store of programs that were previously barred from admission, most notably some Google Voice apps. It's also hung out the welcome sign to categories of apps that have previously been taboo at the store. One of those kinds of apps recently arrived at the shop, VLC Media Player.

Sun, 26 Sep 10
The FCC's Great White Spaces Hope
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70901.html
The airwaves -- or really, electromagnetic spectrum -- are everywhere, but they definitely are not free. At least, the legal rights to use spectrum aren't free. In the U.S., those rights are managed by the FCC, and the commission just granted wireless companies the rights to a significant chunk of unused spectrum. That chunk, which is really a lot of chunks, is collectively known as "white spaces." They're the frequencies that fall in between regular over-the-air television channels.

Sat, 25 Sep 10
IBM's Atomic Speed Gauge Could Mean Big Things for IT
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70902.html
IBM researchers can now look into what's happening in individual atoms in close to real time, according to a paper published Friday in Science. "We're interested in what happens at the very end of semiconductor and the IT industries," Andreas Heinrich, one of the IBM researchers involved in the project, told TechNewsWorld. "At that point, you're looking at single atoms, and we wanted to explore what happens at that scale." To do that, the researchers used IBM's Scanning Tunneling Microscope to take 100,000 snapshots of an atom within less than one second.

Sat, 25 Sep 10
Ready for 'Facebook,' the Verb?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70893.html
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg came forward to clarify rampant rumors that his company was working with a mobile handset manufacturer to make a Facebook-branded smartphone. The problem is, he didn't address the question. In an interview this week with TechCrunch, Zuckerberg asserted that people can mean "very different things" when they use the phrase "build a phone." Facebook is not looking to compete with smartphone manufacturers, he said, nor is it interested in developing its own handset operating system.

Sat, 25 Sep 10
The Death of the Silent Majority
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70895.html
From Russia, where winters are cold and vodka is the best-known potato product, came news earlier this month that authorities there had cracked down on an environmentalist group, Baikal Environmental Wave, on the pretext of searching for pirated Microsoft software. The Putin government -- which is apparently unfamiliar with the concept of Glastnost, or openness, introduced by then-head of state Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s -- has reportedly been using the excuse of concern about software piracy to attack outspoken advocacy groups and opposition newspapers over the years.

Fri, 24 Sep 10
Stuxnet Suspicions Rise: Has a Cyberwar Started?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70892.html
The Stuxnet worm, which made headlines last summer when it hit one version of a system that controls critical infrastructure systems governing power grids and industrial plants, is once again creating a buzz. This time, there's speculation that it was created by Israel to target Iran. However, security experts remain divided on the origins of this troublesome bit of malware. Ralph Langner, an expert on industrial systems security, published an analysis of the worm and suggested it may have been used to sabotage Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor.

Fri, 24 Sep 10
How to Cut Website Localization Costs: The Secret's in the Source
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70886.html
Website developers and localization experts who help ready international websites in multiple languages know that the quality of source content is a major factor of success in website translation and localization -- but often they just have to work with whatever source content comes through the door. In the past few years, we have started to counsel our clients on how they will benefit if they consider introducing XML/DITA for source documentation, both for websites and for other content, such as technical manuals and user manuals.

Fri, 24 Sep 10
Should the Command Line Be Deep-Sixed?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70885.html
In what's surely a testament to Linux's increasingly mainstream-ready graphical user interfaces, it seems to be par for the course that every once in a while someone will suggest that there's no longer any need for the command line. Last week, it happened again. TuxRadar was the one to ask the question this time, and it's been echoing around the blogosphere ever since. "Is it finally time to do away with the command line?" TuxRadar asked in a recent podcast.

Fri, 24 Sep 10
MasterChef Academy: Delicious Cooking App Serves iPhone-Busting Portions
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70879.html
Full disclosure: I know absolutely nothing about "MasterChef" as a TV show. So when I spotted MasterChef Academy in the App Store, I didn't know I was getting into something that might in some way be related to Gordon Ramsay. He may be a great chef, but I really did not want to be screamed at through my iPhone, so I was a bit reluctant to try this app out even after I'd downloaded it. Luckily I was greeted by a much jollier guy who explained what MasterChef Academy is. It goes well beyond being a typical cookbook app. Instead, it's sort of an iPhone-based cooking show.

Thu, 23 Sep 10
BlackTab Could Kick RIM Into Gear Again
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70881.html
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion will likely introduce a new operating system along with a tablet PC, known informally as the "BlackPad," when its developer conference opens on Monday in San Francisco. The BlackPad is expected to become available by the end of this year, perhaps as early as November. The industry's eyes will be on RIM's developer conference -- and there are big expectations. "The market is waiting for something big and interesting," said Aziti Arvani, principal of the Arvani Group.

Thu, 23 Sep 10
10 Commandments for Large Business and IT Transformation, Part 1
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70873.html
A Fortune 100 company decided to revamp its IT application landscape to improve profitability. It embarked on a business and IT transformation that was a massive undertaking, requiring hundreds of dedicated individuals not only from within the organization but also from external service providers. After about 18 months, the new application was ready to be validated by the business users. The first deployment was just two months away. Everything seemed to go as planned -- until chaos erupted.

Thu, 23 Sep 10
Zim Desktop Brings Wiki Wizardry to Note Taking
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70869.html
Typically, we use computers to help us track our information and organize our data. Most everything else involves the computer functions related to accessing and processing all that information. Often, we use software apps to handle our journals, wikis and to-do lists. Putting all three of those functions into one app can greatly enhance our productivity. That is what Zim Desktop Wiki does. When I first stumbled upon Zim, I thought it was more focused on Web site publishing than note-taking management.

Wed, 22 Sep 10
Tackling Data Disarray Takes Center Stage at OpenWorld
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70874.html
Working with data and the cloud were the topics of choice for keynote speeches delivered by Intel and Oracle executives at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 on Tuesday. "I'm going to talk about harnessing the data footprint in terms of delivering services to IT users and consumers -- but more importantly, businesses -- to make data more portable, more personable, and make money while doing that," Thomas Kilroy, senior vice president and general manager of Intel, said during his keynote.

Wed, 22 Sep 10
MetroPCS Beats the Big Boys to LTE
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70871.html
Texas-based wireless provider MetroPCS announced Monday that it has turned on the first LTE network in the U.S., beating upmarket rivals Verizon and AT&T in deploying what is widely expected to be the next generation of wireless network technology. The company also announced a new Samsung LTE-enabled phone designed to feature LTE's advantages in carrying multimedia content as compared to existing 3G networks. LTE, which stands for Long Term Evolution, is a standard produced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a collaboration of telecommunications companies and industry groups.

Wed, 22 Sep 10
Are Your Employees Perfect? Or Are You Just Not Looking for Trouble?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70866.html
A lot of folks have been making a big deal the past few days about Google employee David Barksdale. If you haven't caught the coverage, the fuss is centered around this one employee -- a mid-twenties "site reliability engineer" -- who (allegedly) inappropriately used his position of authority and corresponding elevated levels of access and privilege to view the private data of a number of individuals. The fact that the data included details of a few individuals who were minors -- well, that wasn't good. Anyway, this thing is turning into quite the brouhaha.

Wed, 22 Sep 10
Dueling Droids: When 2 Is Greater Than X
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70859.html
Summer was a Droid double-header for Motorola. The company opted to follow up last year's successful original Droid launch by introducing not one but two sequels: The Droid X, followed by the Droid 2. When I first heard this, I started to believe Motorola was having a numerological crisis, unable to find the value of X or unwilling to give it a number lest the world think it's somehow better than 2. The actual goal, it seems, was to split the Droid family into two different lines.

Tue, 21 Sep 10
Facebook Phone, No - Facebookish Phone, Maybe
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70861.html
Facebook on Monday denied a weekend report that it is preparing to launch a branded phone designed to make the mobile phone experience more social, Facebook style. Although rumors spread following an anonymously sourced report that first appeared on TechCrunch purporting that such a phone is coming, the company said that while it is working on spreading its presence in the mobile space, it is not getting into the hardware business. One analyst's reaction: "Facebook phone sounds like an absurd idea," said IDC's Al Hilwa.

Tue, 21 Sep 10
Google Apps Does Two-Step Security Dance
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70860.html
Google Apps has announced added security and authentication to the online application suite's fee-based Premier edition as well as its Education and Government versions. The two-step enhanced verification system will be added to all versions of Google Apps in coming months. The goal is to help overcome resistance to the use of in-the-cloud utilities by adding an additional layer of security. The two-step process will fend off risks such as phishing and password reuse, according to Google.

Tue, 21 Sep 10
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Custom-Built Mobile Apps
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70855.html
With smartphones becoming ubiquitous and more and more people using mobile devices both at work and at home, enterprises are increasingly looking to make use of mobile applications. Small and medium-sized businesses are apparently beginning to pick up on this trend, and many of them are turning to developers to create custom mobile apps for them. Apple and Google recently launched efforts to make mobile app development easier, so why would SMBs want to pay extra to app devs instead of using those tools to create their own apps?

Tue, 21 Sep 10
Microsoft's Secret Plan to Take Over the World
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70848.html
Here in Silicon Valley, otherwise known as drama central, we live for conspiracy theories, have vampire CEOs who are rewarded for bleeding their companies dry, and even have executives who have their own fighter planes and are at war with each other. You would think we would have a few good conspiracy theories as well. Last week, it occurred to me that maybe what we've been seeing from Microsoft over the last decade was a plan to lull us into thinking the firm couldn't execute -- and while we were snoozing, it would come back and take over.

Tue, 21 Sep 10
Redmond's FOSS-Friendly Mask Slips Again
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70856.html
"The truth will out," as the Bard once wrote, and Microsoft just proved it again. Certainly, Redmond makes regular attempts to appear a friend to open source -- the latest, in fact, was not long ago. But, just as Lady Macbeth's imaginary "spot" can't be washed away, nor can Microsoft keep its true sentiments about FOSS from slipping out. First, we have Tivanka Ellawala, a Microsoft CFO, warning that Android should not be considered truly "free." Then we have Hernan Rincon, president of Microsoft Latin America, equating open source with "incompetence."

Tue, 21 Sep 10
Manage for iPad Is a Smooth Operator
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70852.html
With the pace at which many of us live our lives, lists have become life preservers in a sea of tumultuous activity. Software makers learned that early in the development of the personal computer. Hell, it was the cornerstone of an entire hardware platform pioneered by Palm. A problem with PC programs, though, is that you can't take them with you when you leave your desk. Sure, you can run them on a laptop, but booting one up just to find a list isn't always convenient. A more flexible place for a list is on a mobile device -- on a smartphone, maybe, or on the iPad.

Sun, 19 Sep 10
Microsoft's Next IE: Ninth Time's the Charm?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70850.html
Microsoft's Internet Explorer has had a lead in the Web browser battle for years, and that lead is still alive, but it's not well. IE has been losing some serious market share over the last few years, mostly because of young Turks like Firefox and Chrome. Not helping matters is the fact that the ancient IE6 browser is still tottering around like a sick old dog that won't die on its own, and it seems nobody has the heart to put it to sleep. So Microsoft's pressing on with a public beta release of its next-generation browser, IE9.

Sat, 18 Sep 10
Microsoft Tells WinPho7 Devs to Build, CDMA Carriers to Wait
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70851.html
Microsoft released the Windows Phone 7 software development kit on the Web Thursday, just over two weeks after the WinPho7 platform had been released to manufacturing. This release is in English only, but versions in French, Italian, German and Spanish will be available in "the next couple of weeks," Brandon Watson wrote on the Windows Phone Developer Blog. The WinPho7 platform will have game apps as well as apps for Twitter, Netflix and other services. The SDK will have several new controls as well as Bing Maps, and Microsoft also released its Mobile Advertising SDK on Thursday.

Sat, 18 Sep 10
Samsung's Galactic Empire to Span All Major US Carriers
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70849.html
Details about the Galaxy Tab are beginning to his the street following a Samsung event Thursday, including the fact that device maker will reportedly ship the Android-based tablet to the four largest U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. The Galaxy Tab will be shipped in Europe later this month. In the United States it will ship in late October or November. The Galaxy will be powered by version 2.2 of the Android operating system. It will have a 7-inch display. The tablet comes with a 3 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.

Sat, 18 Sep 10
The Data Liberation Movement
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70844.html
Renaissance Italy created an explosion of new ideas across art, science and culture, but the biggest idea to come from that era was the idea of the modern bank. By creating an independent entity to hold and protect customer assets, modern banking helped lay the foundation for modern capitalism, and all the wealth that it has created. The beautiful thing about banks is that when you put your money in, you still own it. You can withdraw it at any time, usually in a matter of minutes. If only cloud computing could work this way.

Sat, 18 Sep 10
AutoStich Handily Expands the iPhone Camera's Horizons
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70840.html
While there are hundreds of thousands of apps for the iPhone, knowing what you need before you need it is a challenge even Apple hasn't been able to overcome. Case in point: A photo-stitching app that can take several small-frame photos of a panoramic vista and stick them together to create one big glorious photo. Of course, there are applications that do this for Mac, Windows and Linux computers, but I don't get the impression they are widely used among millions of consumers. Why? It's sort of the out of sight, out of mind problem.

Fri, 17 Sep 10
Buddies or Stalkers? Gadgets That Really Know Us Are Coming
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70843.html
The brave new world of technology will include devices that change our whole relationship to them and, perhaps, to the world around us. That's according to Intel CTO Justin Rattner, who outlined the future of "context-sensitive" computing at his keynote address to IDF this week. The new class of context-aware gadgets will gather information on their users through what Rattner called both "hard" and "soft" sensors. This data will be collated and used to offer suggestions to users based on what the device understands to be their personal needs.

Fri, 17 Sep 10
IE9 Aims to Out-Chrome Chrome
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70832.html
Microsoft on Wednesday released the open beta version of Internet Explorer 9, a browser tightly integrated with Windows 7 and designed to fend off the rising threat of Google's Chrome browser and other competitors. The version unveiled Wednesday is by far the most complete look most people will have yet at this version of Microsoft's browser. Earlier this year, Microsoft released developer preview builds that had no user interface or security features and were intended only to show off standards compliance advancement and performance enhancements.

Fri, 17 Sep 10
Facebook Foe Diaspora Releases Source Code ... Now What?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70841.html
The team that created Diaspora, the open source social network launched earlier this year to take on Facebook, released their source code on Thursday, as promised. "This is now a community project, and development is open to anyone with the technical expertise who shares the vision of a social network that puts users in control," reads a note on the site written by the creators. "Getting the source into the hands of developers is our first experiment in making a simple and functional tool for contextual sharing."

Fri, 17 Sep 10
Apple Gives Devs One iOS to Rule Them All
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70838.html
A new version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 4.2, was made available to developers recently. Although many of the new features in the OS have already been made public by the company, one was a revelation: wireless printing. The new feature, which Apple's calling "AirPrint," allows the iPad, iPhone and iPhone touch to find a printer on a wireless network and print text, photos and graphics with it without installing any software or device drivers on the iDevices.

Fri, 17 Sep 10
Programming Lessons From Linux Geeks in the Trenches
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70833.html
There's nothing like the school of hard knocks to teach a person a thing or two, and geeks are no exception. "If you are writing a program that touches more than two persistent data stores, it is too complicated" is one such lesson, for example. "If Linux can do it, you shouldn't" is another. Both, in fact, are words of wisdom shared in a recent post entitled "Programming things I wish I knew earlier" by programmer Ted Dziuba. Dziuba's hard-won pearls of insight must have struck a strong chord with Linux bloggers.

Fri, 17 Sep 10
If You've Got to Have a White iPhone 4 Right Now...
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70823.html
The white iPhone 4 is set to be released in 2011, but that does not mean you can't make your own now. I've seen many requests come through for white iPhone 4 conversions. Sometimes this happens because somebody has already broken their screen or back cover, and other times simply because people want it and they want it NOW!!! Regardless of whether you need an iPhone 4 repair or not, a white iPhone 4 could make you the most popular iPhone owner in your region, state, country or animal kingdom.

Thu, 16 Sep 10
Twitter Wants Micro-Messengers to Stick Around Longer
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70830.html
Twitter is revamping its Web page so that users will actually stay on the site. With its reliance on 140-character messages that typically link to other content, Twitter's model was tailor made to send users elsewhere. The design changes and new partnerships with content providers are meant to keep users at the site longer -- and hopefully draw in more advertisers. Twitter is rolling out the changes incrementally to its 160 million-user base. At the center of the redesign is a two-pane format: Links clicked on the left-hand side open up on the right.

Thu, 16 Sep 10
HTC Gives Sense UI a Facelift in New Desire Phones
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70829.html
HTC rolled out two new Android phones for the European and Asian markets on Wednesday, as well as an update to its Sense user interface and a new online service featuring remote phone locate and wipe services. The Desire HD is similar to the Evo model the company released in North America this year. The Desire Z shares similarities with the T-Mobile-branded G2. It is expected to arrive on North American shores later this year. Both devices will be available in Europe and Asia in October, according to HTC.

Thu, 16 Sep 10
10 Best IT Practices for Smartphone Security
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70826.html
The use of smartphones as business tools has reached a tipping point. Soon, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access devices worldwide. As a result, employees will look less to corporate IT as a source for technical leadership. As mobile phones provide cutting-edge smartphone technology, employees will look to consumer-oriented vendors that cater to their own personal needs, rather than their employers. The issue is that consumer smartphone platforms are inherently insecure, as mobile network endpoint devices are exposed to the threats of the Web.

Thu, 16 Sep 10
Audacity Delivers Bold Sound Editing Tools
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70822.html
Audacity, an open source multitrack audio editor, has versions for Linux/Unix, MacOS and Windows. If all you do with audio files is play them, then Audacity could be much more than you need. This is not an application for organizing your music collection. It has no fancy search and play functions. Sure, you can use it to listen to your music collection. But Audacity's main focus is on importing and exporting audio files. Its toolset delves into the realm of editing sound tracks in much the same way graphic editors let you manipulate images.

Wed, 15 Sep 10
Nokia Delivers Solid Symbian Smartphone Trio
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70816.html
Nokia added three new siblings to its upcoming family of smartphone offerings at Nokia World on Tuesday, adding a business-oriented handset and two consumer-oriented devices to its previously announced flagship N8 phone. The E7, C7 and C6 are expected to roll out before the end of the year, but it's not clear whether that launch is worldwide or if the phones will be available for the holiday shopping season. Nokia did not respond to a message seeking comment by deadline for this article.

Wed, 15 Sep 10
Intel's Sandy Bridge Buffs Up On-Board Graphics
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70819.html
Intel announced its latest processor, code-named "Sandy Bridge," at the Intel Developer Forum, being held in San Francisco through Wednesday. This has several new features, with a focus on providing a "rich visual experience," Intel said. The processor is scheduled to be in production this year, and new laptops and PCs built around it will be available early next year, according to Intel. Tech specs for the Sandy Bridge processors were outlined in a presentation at IDF 2010 by Opher Kahn and Rob Valentine, senior principal engineers at Intel.

Wed, 15 Sep 10
E-Skin for Robots Could Lead to Touchy-Feely Prosthetics for Humans
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70808.html
Robots can be made made strong, robots can be made tireless, but a big problem with robots so far is that they can't be made to have a sense of touch as humans do. The same issue challenges designers of prosthetic limbs. Imitating the motor movements of joints and muscles is one thing, but imitating human skin with all its myriad ways of detecting sensation is quite another. Now, a team at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a pressure-sensitive electronic material from semiconductor nanowaires that they're calling "e-skin."

Wed, 15 Sep 10
Encryption vs. Tokenization: Under the Hood
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70809.html
The encryption vs. tokenization battle sometimes seems as fierce as the war between Pepsi and Coke, or the Cubs versus the White Sox. A lot has been written recently about securing data in the cloud, and the merits of the two methodologies are constantly being debated. The good news is that an argument over which is superior is far better than the alternative -- no data protection in the cloud. Securing data while in storage or in transit is mandatory in today's business climate. Implementing data security to protect sensitive information is becoming the norm.

Wed, 15 Sep 10
Apple Will Make Mobile Video Calling Ubiquitous
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70815.html
When I first learned about Apple's FaceTime video-calling feature on its iPhone 4 units, I was a bit skeptical. I thought there were too many hoops to jump through. I thought Apple's TV ad with families gushing over newborn babies and showing off ultrasounds to soldiers was just a sappy marketing ploy. And the free 888 FaceTime number Apple created to let customers FaceTime with some stranger employed by Apple? I never bothered to try it out. After using it, though, I realize I was wrong. Now, one thing is certain: Apple's FaceTime video calling simply rocks.

Wed, 15 Sep 10
Why Linux Is Poised for Domination
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70774.html
For over a decade, Linux watchers have predicted that one day the open source operating system will become the dominant player -- and yet that day never seems to arrive. Already, of course, Linux has a very healthy share of the server market and a growing place on the desktop, but it's the rise of Internet-connected devices like smartphones, tablets and netbooks that may finally catapult Linux into the mainstream. Why? Because users of these convenient, portable devices don't really care what operating system they run, as long as their devices offer downloadable apps and fast access.

Tue, 14 Sep 10
FCC Likely to Give WiFi a Shot in the Arm
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70812.html
Next week, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to approve use of the so-called "white spaces" -- the airwaves between broadcast television channels -- for wireless broadband. However, the approaches for implementing this plan are still under debate. Television transmission is local, meaning that each broadcast station takes up a certain range in the spectrum. Two stations broadcasting in localities next to each other will have a buffer zone of unallocated "white space" so their broadcasts don't overlap.

Tue, 14 Sep 10
YouTube Gives Live Streaming a Spin
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70810.html
YouTube began a limited two-day test of live streamed video on Monday, partially fulfilling years of rumors that the Google-owned service would enter the live market currently dominated by players such as Livestream, UStream and Justin.tv. The experiement began on Monday with shows from Rocketboom, Howcast, Indy Mogul, Barely Political and JR Sport Brief. It's unclear how the early testing is going. Live user comments enabled by Google on the streams indicated mixed results.

Tue, 14 Sep 10
10 MS Exchange Practices Most Companies Should Shun
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70799.html
Deploying, managing and maintaining the high availability of the Microsoft Exchange 2010 email platform in enterprise environments is no small feat. Given the increased complexity of this new Microsoft platform, there are numerous key decisions to be made as the precursor to keeping Exchange running smoothly. Here are the top 10 worst practices that you should avoid if you want to maintain the performance and uptime of your Exchange email system.

Tue, 14 Sep 10
Come to Silicon Valley, the Drama Capital of the World!
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70801.html
At one time, HP was such a nice, quiet company. It was a relatively steady firm known for loyal employees, solid ethics, and products you could trust but not necessarily get excited about (unless you loved calculators and were part of the pocket protector set). While I think excitement is grand, I'm thinking there are a lot of folks at HP who are wishing for the old days. National scandals, out of control CEOs, and blossoming wars have defined Silicon Valley's last decade -- and if last week is an indicator, this decade will be even more exciting.

Tue, 14 Sep 10
Does Linux Offer Too Much Choice?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70806.html
User choice is one of the hallmarks of the Linux world, and most seem to agree that it's a good thing. One might even go so far as to say it's a big part of the reason so many of us embrace Linux. Every once in a while, however, a naysayer pipes up with concern that the choice is too much, and that's just what happened earlier this month. "The trouble with Linux: there's too much choice" was the title of the post that sparked the debate this time around, and quite a debate it has been.

Sun, 12 Sep 10
Smoking Out Attackers Hiding in Encrypted Data
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70807.html
Most enterprises have a number of network security appliances that provide protection against attacks aimed at enterprise computing resources, as well as prevent the loss of sensitive enterprise data due to leakage. They work by matching network traffic with threat signatures or tracking application state as a means to detect suspicious behavior. One guaranteed way to ensure that these types of security appliances will not detect threats or data loss is to prevent signature matching and state tracking from working; the easiest way to do this is to encrypt network traffic.

Sat, 11 Sep 10
'Here You Have' Exposes Internet Security's Achilles' Heel
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70803.html
A worm dubbed "Here you have" -- the subject line of the email it hides in -- is spreading wildly across the Internet. The attack comes in the form of a link purporting to take the reader to a PDF file, but instead leads to an executable that tries to send copies of the worm to people listed in the victim's email address book. Several variants of the worm are out on the Web, according to McAfee. While the email attack has been crippled, infected hosts may continue to spread the worm.

Sat, 11 Sep 10
The Technological Tyranny of the Minority
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70790.html
Out in the Florida swamps, where men may be swamp things and believe in a jealous divinity, a crackpot pastor decided to commemorate Sept. 11 by the time-honored practice of book burning. In this instance, the book was the Quran. That act of lunacy roiled the nation, arousing criticism from the White House as well as General David Petraeus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Minority Leader John Boehner. It also sparked protests from Muslim nations and a slew of media requests for interviews.

Fri, 10 Sep 10
New Zero-Day Attack Riddles Adobe Reader
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70791.html
Adobe has acknowledged that its widely used programs for creating and reading PDF files currently are under attack by hackers, but it has offered little information about how it plans to thwart the assault. In an advisory posted on its website Wednesday, Adobe said essentially all versions of its Acrobat and Reader programs running on Windows, Macintosh and Unix-based machines have been exposed to a "critical vulnerability that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system."

Fri, 10 Sep 10
Apple Eases iOS Dev Clampdown as Android Gains Ground
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70794.html
Apple on Thursday said it will relax some of the restrictions it places on application developers who create tools for its iOS mobile operating system. The company also announced it's publishing review guidelines for its App Store. The moves follow months of unrest among mobile app developers, many of whom have chafed at Apple's restrictions on tools and were angered by what appeared to be a haphazard and at times arbitrary process for approving apps submitted to the iTunes App Store.

Fri, 10 Sep 10
iOS Upgrade Slides In, Jailbreakers Bust Out
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70787.html
As promised last week, Apple delivered the first major upgrade of its mobile operating system, version 4.1 of iOS, and true to form, hackers found a way to jailbreak the software less than 24 hours following its official release. The major fun features of iOS 4.1 were revealed last week when Apple rolled out its latest line of iPods. Those features include the ability to automatically create high dynamic range photos. HDR is a technique for adding detail to images by melding multiple shots taken at different exposures.

Fri, 10 Sep 10
Nike's New GPS App Leaves the Old Shoe-Chip System in the Dust
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70779.html
The Nike+iPod system has been a great idea from the get-go: Use this music machine not only to play tunes while you run, but also to measure your time and distance, provide audible updates on your stats and keep track of your progress over a period of weeks, months or years. Even if you're a purist who shuns on-the-run music, you might get something out of Nike+'s other features. The only problem with the original setup was that it required a bit of extra gear. Have a favorite pair of running shoes? Toss 'em, 'cause you'll need a new pair of Nikes.

Fri, 10 Sep 10
How Linux Land Got Better Since Last Summer
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70786.html
If the end of the year is a good time to take stock of all that's passed in the preceding 12 months, then why not the end of the summer? That, indeed, is just what Linux bloggers have been doing over the past week or so, thanks to a recent Open Ballot on TuxRadar. "Out of all the changes we've seen in the Linux world in the last year, what's your favourite?" was the question being posed, and Linux fans had no shortage of answers. "The biggest improvement in linux for me is the better and easier to use look from linux nowadays," wrote Penguin Timo, for example.

Fri, 10 Sep 10
YouTube for the Enterprise? Adobe Unleashes Flash Media Server 4
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70785.html
YouTube's daily tally of roughly two billion downloads proves that viewing video is among the most popular activities among Internet users. Now Adobe, creator of the ubiquitous Flash Player, has introduced several solutions that could make video standard fare on corporate networks as well. These new tools are embedded in Flash Media Server 4, the latest version of Adobe's video-delivery platform, formally unveiled at IBC 2010, a global conference for professionals involved in creating and managing multimedia content, taking place this week in Amsterdam.

Thu, 9 Sep 10
Google Answers Searches Before You're Finished Asking
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70782.html
Google on Wednesday announced what it says are even faster Web search capabilities in its new "Google Instant" service. Billed as "search before you type," the new feature uses predictive analysis to search the Web for the most likely matches as the user is typing in a query and streams results in real time according to its predictions. This is yet another move in the ongoing war over online search between the dominant players -- Google on the one hand and the Microsoft/Yahoo team on the other. Whether or not users will see any tangible benefits from this speeded-up search remains to be seen.

Thu, 9 Sep 10
Burning Rubber on the Internet Superhighway
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70776.html
Online commerce is in its prime. Never before has a similar priority been placed on Web presence by organizations in every industry. Even brick-and-mortar companies are scrambling to put their best foot forward in the online world and not be eclipsed by their more technology-savvy competitors. E-commerce vendors spend huge amounts of resources on elaborate, logical websites that are designed to lead the end-user to conversion. There is one factor, however, that is commonly overlooked in the process: performance.

Thu, 9 Sep 10
Clam or Klam? Either Way, It's Easy Linux Protection
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70777.html
Have you run a virus scan lately? Nope? Don't need to, you say. That's because you run a Linux OS. Think again. To quote the title line of Bob Dylan's third studio album, "the times they are a-changin.'" Yes they are. And part of that change is the greater risk of malware attacks to the Linux operating system. It used to be that Linux was so iron-clad safe security-wise that virus intrusions did not exist. Used-to-be has now given way to possibly maybe. The rallying cry among security experts in the past was simply that using a Linux OS gave your built-in security by obscurity.

Wed, 8 Sep 10
Android May Paddle Samsung Canoe Into Turbulent Web TV Waters
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70772.html
Samsung may begin building televisions with the Android operating system built in, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Yoon Boo Keun, head of Samsung's TV business line, reportedly said the company is reviewing whether to use Android, an OS more commonly found in various smartphones, in a new line of TV sets. Samsung is working on an operating system that can be used for both mobile phones and television, Yoon apparently revealed. The Korean electronics could be stepping into a confusing market -- it has its own Bada mobile phone OS and also makes Android smartphones.

Wed, 8 Sep 10
The Ultimate Jailbreaker, Part 3
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70769.html
While the cloud appears to be the ultimate jailbreaker, it is prudent to remember that a freed device is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the phone becomes a truer handheld computer, fully enabled to exceed native carrier and device restrictions. On the other hand, the phone becomes a miniature computer prone to mega security problems. "For most enterprises and consumers today, mobile and cloud security are viewed in a pretty straightforward way -- don't assume there is any," said Russ Dietz, CTO of SafeNet.

Wed, 8 Sep 10
Why Do We Love Linux?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70767.html
When you're a fan of Linux, any blog post entitled "27 Good Reasons to Love Linux" is going to be impossible to resist. No wonder, then, that a recent post with just that title has created endless fodder for conversation in the Linux blogosphere of late. Among the reasons listed in said post were the usual arguments in favor of Linux's attractive price and superior security, of course. In addition, however, the list refers to the ease of installing new software, the compatibility with older hardware, and Linux's environmental friendliness, among other virtues.

Wed, 8 Sep 10
Apple TV Should Get a Nice Reception
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70764.html
During Apple's media announcement last week, CEO Steve Jobs said two critically important things about Apple TV, the first of which was this: Apple TV owners love their Apple TVs. "They absolutely love them -- and use them a lot," he stressed. I'm one of these Apple TV lovers, and I have been for the last three-plus years. My old 40 GB Apple TV is simple, elegant and just works. For non-Apple TV lovers, the product is an HDTV bridge device that lets you buy or rent movies and TV shows, watch podcasts, view photos, and listen to music -- all through the big-screen TV.

Tue, 7 Sep 10
3Par: Pyrrhic Victory for HP or Strategic Defeat for Dell?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70756.html
The entire future of a company or industry can hinge on one little deal. The $50,000 IBM paid to license Windows was the foundation for Microsoft and the technology industry for the last couple of decades. Apple's licensing contract with Portal Player to create the iPod was nearly as big -- and certainly huge for that company. The sale of 3Par could also be one of those pivotal deals, as huge firms like HP, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell, VMware, Cisco and EMC position themselves around the new "cloud" opportunity.

Sat, 4 Sep 10
Rabid Consumer Watchdog Attacks Google CEO
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70760.html
Consumer Watchdog, a privacy advocacy group, is running a 15-second spot on a 540-square foot digital display in Times Square to promote a longer video the group made highlighting what it perceives to be Google's intrusions on privacy. Both the 15-second spot and the longer video feature a ghoulish caricature of Eric Schmidt driving an ice cream truck, offering "free ice cream" to children. All the while, he is taking their personal information, conducting full body scans -- and in the final, longer version of the video, scaring them with secrets he has gathered about their parents.

Sat, 4 Sep 10
Fail-Safe: Achieving 100% Uptime for Crucial Web Services
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70757.html
For a growing number of businesses, maintaining fail-safe website availability is a matter of business-critical importance, and not just for the e-commerce industry. Certainly for the e-tail trade, website downtime equates to lost business, but beyond the online sales realm, Web availability is paramount for organizations of all sorts and sizes. As demand for SaaS, or hosted, applications grows and the move to cloud computing gains momentum, always-on Web availability has literally become a do-or-die proposition for the vast majority of organizations.

Sat, 4 Sep 10
Can Spam-Swamped Ping Survive Without Facebook?
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70759.html
Facebook has reportedly shut off access to its friend search feature for subscribers to Apple's newly introduced Ping social music service. The social networking apparently giant did this by denying Ping access to its application programming interfaces, AllThingsD reported. Talks between Apple and Facebook to give Ping subscribers the ability to search for Facebook friends also using Ping reportedly broke down before Apple's service was launched Wednesday. The two are said to be holding talks again.

Sat, 4 Sep 10
Papers Turns iPad Into a Scholarly Study Buddy
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70751.html
Like it not, we live in the Information Age. As such, we're almost always researching something. Which means we're almost always looking for some place to stash our research where we can find it again. Papers will give you that place on the iPad. Papers is a vertical app targeted at scientific and academic researchers, but it can be valuable to anyone doing any kind of research. It's especially valuable to researchers working across Apple platforms, since Mekentosj makes versions for not only the iPad, but also for the iPhone, iPod touch and Macs.

Sat, 4 Sep 10
Tablet Skirmish Heats Up With Toshiba Entry
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70750.html
Toshiba has announced its own entrant into the tablet market with the Folio 100, which will run on the Android 2.2 operating system. Sporting a screen just over 10 inches, the device will be larger than other early competitors to Apple's iPad tablet computer, such as the Dell Streak. The Folio will debut in late October in Europe as a standalone device with WiFi capability. Depending on individual market conditions in European countries, said Toshiba, it will retail for prices that cluster around $500, give or take.

Fri, 3 Sep 10
Windows Phone 7 Could Bring a New Look to the Smartphone Show
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70752.html
Microsoft has released the code for its latest mobile operating system to manufacturers. That means U.S. consumers should be able to purchase smartphones running Windows Phone 7 during the upcoming holiday shopping season, while European consumers could have those new devices in their hands as early as next month. The question now is how many consumers actually will want a new Windows-based smartphone, given the buzz already being generated by Apple's iPhone 4, as well as the latest batch of devices running Google's Android operating system? The answer might surprise you.

Fri, 3 Sep 10
Samsung's Galaxy Whirls Into the Tablet Universe
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70748.html
Samsung has unveiled its much-discussed Galaxy Tab Android-powered tablet at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany. The device runs Android 2.2, has a seven-inch display, and focuses on connectivity and entertainment. It also enables video conferencing and can be used as a mobile phone. "This is a true alternative to the iPad and is vastly more capable," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld. "It showcases what Android devices can do and is a strong counterpoint to the built-in limitations of the iPad."

Fri, 3 Sep 10
Through the Looking Glass: 3D Everywhere
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70745.html
"What is the use of a book, without pictures or conversations?" That's the question Alice asks at the beginning of Lewis Carroll's classic adventure. Perhaps Mr. Carroll knew more than he realized. 3D Movies. Multitouch screens. iPads. Everywhere you look, consumers increasingly demand more of an "experience" when engaging with their content, be it a book, a movie or their computers. This change in expectations has put pressure on the print world to deliver a similar experience in that medium.

Fri, 3 Sep 10
Apple Teaches Old iPods New Tricks
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70741.html
Apple put a charge in its iPod line Wednesday, but it remains a holdout in the "all you can ear" music subscription market. Apple revamped its flagship player, the iPod touch, so it's now essentially an iPhone without the phone. It also brought buttons back to the iPod shuffle and a touchscreen to the iPod nano. In addition, while the company remained true to its a la carte mode of delivering music, it is dipping its toes into social networking with the new Ping service it added to the latest version of its music software, iTunes 10.

Fri, 3 Sep 10
Sony's Shocking 'Other OS' Win and Suspect Distro Popularity Trends
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70744.html
You can't win them all, as the saying goes, and that apparently includes Linux fans. To wit: Despite the best hopes of many of us in the community, the man suing Sony over the removal of the "other OS" feature from its PS3 has apparently lost his case. The bad news is that the man won't get the money he had requested to compensate for an upgrade to his newly crippled PS3; the good news is that he reportedly wasn't forced to pay Sony's legal bill to boot. Linux bloggers were none too pleased with the news.

Thu, 2 Sep 10
HP Breathes New Life Into WebOS
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70739.html
HP on Wednesday announced a restricted beta release of webOS 2.0, the operating system it acquired when it purchased Palm earlier this year. This is open to developers belonging to Palm's Early Access program. The beta adds several new features, and apps built with it will be released to all carriers that offer Palm devices, Palm spokesperson Alex Hunter told TechNewsWorld. Hunter added that webOS 2.0 will be available by the end of the year and "will be the most significant update we've done since launch."

Thu, 2 Sep 10
Apple Reprograms TV
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70740.html
Apple on Wednesday made a host of announcements focused around music and entertainment. These included a revamped version of its Apple TV device, iTunes 10, a refreshed iPod family and new versions of its iOS mobile operating system. Overall, the announcements came as relatively little surprise, as most major points conformed with speculation and rumors that had arisen on the Web over the past few weeks. Although Apple CEO Steve Jobs drew cheers from the audience repeatedly as he made the announcements on stage, Cupertino may still face a long struggle ahead.

Thu, 2 Sep 10
VMware: Get Ready for the New Infrastructure
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70737.html
The number of businesses moving toward virtualization is growing constantly, and together they will lead to an important change in the face of IT, according to to VMware President and CEO Paul Maritz. Speaking at his company's VMworld expo on Tuesday, Maritz told his audience that the focus will change from hardware efficiency to operational efficiency, that a new infrastructure will evolve, and that IT must figure out how this infrastructure will be consumed and paid for, among other things.

Thu, 2 Sep 10
Cloud Computing Calms Open Source Warfare
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70736.html
Cloud computing, technology delivered over the Internet, has become a hot area in the last few years. The technology marketplace moves at breakneck speeds, but it is still shocking when innovation almost completely wipes out squabbles like those over open source vs. proprietary software. "In a cloud world, source code is almost irrelevant," Matt Asay recently wrote at GigaOm. Tim O'Reilly was among the first to point this out in 2008, when he said that "Architecture trumps licensing any time."

Thu, 2 Sep 10
2 Smart Backup Apps Show You the Way to Go Home
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70728.html
In my dumber days when I ran Microsoft Windows, I was more concerned with backup programs. After I moved into the Linux desktop, I became much less paranoid about system failures. The Linux environment just never crashed. That does not mean that I never make backup copies of my critical data files. It's just that I do not worry about the Linux OS crashing to the point that I have to reinstall everything from scratch. That was the nudge with Windows that pushed me to migrating to Linux.

Wed, 1 Sep 10
Gmail Gets an Algorithmic Mail Sorter
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70732.html
Google is reaching out to help those who just don't have the time to wade through hundreds of emails each day. The company unveiled Priority Inbox, an application that aims to automatically identify important incoming messages and separate them from more general, tedious emails. "It's about time," said Scott Steinberg, president and CEO of Digital Trends. "The vast majority of our emails are not pressing concerns. It shouldn't be difficult to prioritize these."

Wed, 1 Sep 10
Trend Micro Handles VM Security Sans Agents
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70726.html
Trend Micro on Tuesday announced an agentless antimalware module for VMware virtual environments in its Deep Security 7.5 product. The company also announced on Tuesday that it's throwing open its Trend Micro SecureCloud beta to the public. Both products will protect data in the virtual environment as well as in the cloud. Deep Security 7.5 combines agentless antimalware with agentless intrusion detection and agentless Web application protection. Traditionally, security, monitoring and other apps that watch a computing environment plant a small agent into the apps they are watching.

Wed, 1 Sep 10
Mac-Loving Engineers Can Have Their AutoCAD and iPads Too
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70730.html
AutoCAD, a popular design and engineering tool from Autodesk, is returning to the Mac after an absence of some 18 years. Autodesk is launching a version that runs natively on Apple's Mac OS X. To be released in October, it will cost US$3,995 without a support subscription, and $4,445 with one. Autodesk is also releasing a free version of the AutoCAD application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The mobile iteration is not a full-blown application. Essentially it will allow users to view, edit and share DWG -- AutoCAD's format -- files.

Wed, 1 Sep 10
The Ultimate Jailbreaker, Part 2
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70725.html
For decades, U.S. cell carriers have crippled the American mobile ecosystem. Their nickel-and-dime mentality has hobbled user and device manufacturer alike. RIM's BlackBerry nearly didn't get off the ground simply because carriers couldn't see a need to push email nor a way to squeeze more money out of users for the service. Ditto every mobile innovation from ringtones and wallpapers to mobile browsers and texting. Mobile broadband speeds are at a near-crawl in the U.S., compared to other countries, and carriers have spent too little, too late to keep pace.

Wed, 1 Sep 10
India to Give RIM's Data-Monitoring Solution a Whirl
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70723.html
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has struck a deal with officials in India that will allow it to continue to operate in the country, for now. According to a statement by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, the two parties will conduct a 60-day trial of access methods that RIM has proposed so that the Ministry can monitor communications sent on RIM devices. The government needs such access to adequately conduct antiterrorist activities, it said.

Wed, 1 Sep 10
What iPods May Come
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/70722.html
Apple first introduced its iconic white iPod in the fall of 2001, then gave it the technology buddy it needed -- the iTunes store -- in the spring of 2003, which was when I bought my first iPod. It was heavy, a third-generation unit with a built-in spinning hard drive and four buttons across the middle, and it irrevocably changed the way I consumed and listened to music. Instead of buying just a handful of choice CDs each year, I bought more songs from more artists, and I was a far happier consumer.