From The Editor
By Jeff Caruso, Site Editor
- Social Security numbers can be "guessed"
- You may know that Social Security numbers historically have been based in part on geographical location. But a new study suggests that with a little number-crunching, you can figure out someone's...
- Nortel exec: Bay Networks glory can return after some "chemotherapy"
- I recently wrote about Nortel's current woes, and how they could (at least in part) be traced back to its acquisition of Bay Networks. That got the attention of Nortel's current VP and GM of its...
- This week's 10 most-read stories
- The tearing apart of Nortel was the most-read story of the week, mixed with lighter fare such as a slideshow of tech-related T-shirts and a look back at the "fathers" of the technology we use every...
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IT pros continue to lose jobs; Verizon helps firms assess app vulnerabilities Listen now!
- Mac News Briefs: Squashed Software releases RAID Monitor 3
- Squashed Software (formerly Maza Digital) has released RAID Monitor 3, a new version of its tool for automatically checking the status of RAID storage system.
- Dates set for TMNT, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 & Shadow Complex
- If you don't already have the dates circled in red marker on your planner, do it now. I'll give you a minute or two. OK, all set? Let's proceed. Every Wednesday beginning July 22, a release from the Summer of Arcade will hit your Xbox 360.
- Elder Scrolls II and MechWarrior 4 made free
- Today two separate announcements have been made that The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and all of its expansion packs (Black Knight, Mercenaries, Inner Sphere) will be entirely free to download and play.
- Outlook separation anxiety holds back Google Apps
- In its bold march to become a credible collaboration and communication suite for businesses, Google Apps has encountered a frequent roadblock that has proven more vexing than expected to circumvent: good old Microsoft Outlook.
- Google May Unveil 3D Moon Mapping Tool
- Moon to Google. Standby for liftoff of Google Earth 3D moon mapping. Well, maybe.
- Microsoft releases Silverlight 3
- Microsoft has released Silverlight 3, a major new release of its multimedia software for Mac OS X and Windows -- competition for Adobe's Flash software. It's a free download, compatible specifically with Intel-based Macs (an older version is available for PowerPC based systems).
- Palm Pre developers gather Monday in first East Coast meeting
- The first Palm Pre/webOS meeting for East Coasters will be held Monday in New York City.
- Rackspace aims to repair credibility in wake of power failures
- It's been a difficult two weeks for Rackspace and its users, with two power outages in a co-location facility interrupting service for an estimated 2,000 customers.
- Wi-Fi enabled health care products to surge with electronic medical records
- ABI Research forecasts that Wi-Fi-enabled health care products will hit sales of nearly $5 billion globally in 2014, up 70% from 2009.
- A year after opening App Store, Apple sitting pretty
- How can you tell that the App Store's first anniversary is a big deal? Even Apple--which normally treats milestones the same stony silence divorced couples regard their erstwhile wedding anniversaries--has acknowledged the event.
- Cameras software alleviates your multiple camera woes
- Do you suffer from hypercameraitis? Is your desk littered with picture-taking devices of all sorts: from digital cameras to cell phones to video cameras with still features? Are you tired of iPhoto launching every single time you plug something in? Wish you could be more specific about which application should launch for which camera?
- Does Google Know Too Much About You?
- Do you trust Google? If you use its multitude of online services on a daily basis you might, but is that assumption wise? For some, Google is a wonderful company with a broad selection of useful online tools that make life easier, but for others Google is a looming, unregulated monster just waiting for the moment to drop the 'don't' from the company's unofficial motto, "Don't be evil."
- Microsoft Bing booming; Yahoo appears in its sights
- Researchers agree that use of Microsoft's Bing search engine is growing, but they disagree on whether the new tool's market share has passed rival Yahoo.
- Fourth State Department worker pleads to passport snooping
- A fourth person who has worked for the U.S. Department of State has pleaded guilty to a charge connected to illegally accessing confidential electronic passport records, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
- Dell may test Google's Chrome OS
- Dell on Friday said it would consider testing Google's upcoming Chrome operating system, but didn't commit to offering the Linux-based OS in future products.
- How many Twitter followers does it take to get a job?
- Your online popularity might be as valuable to your career as a post-grad education. A recent job posting on Best Buy’s Web site prefers candidates with a graduate degree and at least 250 followers on Twitter
- Fairmont Hotels check in a green IT strategy
- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts recently announced a comprehensive green IT strategy that addresses technology infrastructure and IT operations for all 56 of its hotel properties worldwide.
- Are Schmidt's days numbered on Apple's board?
- Google's CEO Eric Schmidt said that he will talk to Apple about his role on its board of directors, in light of recent news that Google will get into the operating system business, reports Reuters.
- Windows 7 to get boost from rebounding PC buying plans
- Microsoft's timing of Windows 7's launch is "fortuitous" because U.S. corporate PC buying plans are on the upswing for the first time in 18 months, a market research company said this week.
- iPhone 3.0 users report Wi-Fi connectivity issues
- Ever since upgrading to iPhone OS 3.0 on both my first generation iPhone and my brother's current generation iPod touch, I'd been experiencing flaky Wi-Fi connectivity on both devices. I didn't think much about it at first: Wi-Fi coverage has always been an issue in our three-story brick-and-mortar house, so I kept telling myself it was no worse than before.
- Does Google Chrome OS further fragment Linux landscape?
- Will Google's Chrome OS prove destructive to Linux by further fragmenting the landscape or overshadowing other players, or will it provide the name recognition and engineering prowess to nudge the free OS into the mainstream? Experts weigh in.
- Microsoft Silverlight 3 unveiled
- Seeking an edge in the crowded rich Internet application technology space, Microsoft is officially launching on Friday its Silverlight 3 platform, featuring offline capabilities for running applications outside of a browser and improvements in areas like 3D.
- Reader rabid: Steve Jobs, RIAA, IT bridges to nowhere
- I admit it; I've been a little behind in my mail. That's just what happens when Steve Jobs makes yet another miraculous resurrection and Google turns your world upside down. So here's a quick sampler of what the residents of Cringeville have been telling me lately.
- Sun in the Ice Age
- Blue Sky Studios, a wholly-owned unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, deployed Sun Blade servers and Sun Ultra workstations for the rendering of its new animated feature Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
- BT ramps up superfast broadband upgrade
- BT today announced that it is ramping up its roll out of superfast fibre-based, 40Mb broadband connectivity, making it available to 1 million homes by early next year.
- NASA: Weather clouds Endeavour's 3rd launch attempt Saturday
- NASA is hoping that the weather forecasts for cloud cover and thunderstorms fail to materialize so that the Endeavour space shuttle can take off on schedule tomorrow evening.
- Bugs & Fixes: iPhone 3.0's mystery Mail bug
- iPhone OS 3.1 has already been seeded to developers. Expect a public release in the next month or so. You can also expect the update to squash bugs that have been identified in the 3.0 version. High up on my wish list is the eradication of the "mystery mail" bug. Here's how it works:
- SaaS fails to impress business: Gartner
- Businesses in Britain are "underwhelmed" with software as a service, according to Gartner.
- Government puts £1bn communications framework out to tender
- The government has put out to tender up to £1 billion (US$1.6 billion) worth of ICT framework deals.
- LaCie intros first mobile HD 1080p multimedia player
- Macworld Awards 2009 nominee LaCie has introduced a high-definition version of the LaCinema Rugged multimedia hard drive with the ability to play full HD 1080p resolution content.
- Apple recalls faulty first generation iPod nano in Korea
- Apple has had to recall a batch of first generation iPod nanos in Korea over concerns they might potentially overheat, swell and set fire.
- Sharp Adds LEDs and Size to Aquos HDTVs
- LED-backlit HDTVs once were an expensive rarity, but that's changing. Sharp Electronics' new line of Aquos HDTVs offer the premium of LED backlighting. The advantage of LED backlighting: It can boost black levels and minimize power consumption, even while still providing a superior level of brightness.
- A war of gamers around the globe is about to spark
- A war of gamers around the globe is about to spark with Game & Game World Championship 2009 Europe Finals.
- How Sprint is helping conduct the 2010 census
- When the government conducts its census next year, Sprint will be providing wireless equipment, coverage and secure connections to workers out in the field.
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- iPhone App Store 1 Year Later: Apple's Highs and Lows
- Apple may enjoy smugly tooting its own horn, but it is particularly puffed-up today while celebrating a year of the iPhone and iPod Touch App Store.
- Analysis: Five ways Google spits on Microsoft
- Almost lost in the hoopla over the announcement of Google's Chrome OS were the shots the company took at Microsoft, five taunts that jabbed at Windows' most notable, and cliched, shortcomings. Google blasts, we translate.
- Was North Korea behind the DDOS attack?
- The cyberattacks that took down prominent U.S. and South Korean Web sites in the last week have apparently ended but the search for those responsible is only just beginning. North Korea has emerged as a likely culprit, especially among politicians, but was it really behind the attacks?
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- You don't know tech: The InfoWorld news quiz
- Wait, we know there was some big story this week. What was it? Oh right: Google is introducing its own operating system, and the world as we know it will never be the same. Though you wouldn't guess it from the blogosphere's tizzy over the Chrome OS, other things did in fact happen: Government sites came under cyberattack, the future of Internet radio was ensured, and a Web 2.0 darling just might end up snagging the Nobel Peace Prize (we kid you not). Are you savvy enough to win our quiz prize? Award yourself 10 points for each correct answer. Now let's get cracking.
- 'Hardkor 44': a WW II movie in 'Sin City' and '300' style
- 2003 Oscar nominee Tomasz Baginski is working on his next big project. This time he along with his colleagues from Platige Image animation studio wants to take us back to the summer of 1944 and throw us in the middle of the Warsaw Uprising.
- Google Images Adds Usage Rights Filters
- Google Images, formerly Google Image Search, has added new functionality that lets you find photos licensed for third-party use free of charge, and has made explicit image filtering much easier.
- Amazon Now Hawks Wireless Plans, Phones
- Amazon has already taken the book world by storm with the Kindle. Now the e-retailer is taking on the wireless market with its new Web site, AmazonWireless. AmazonWireless, currently in beta, is a partnership between AT&T;, Verizon, and Amazon that offers an inventory of more than 130 models of phones, including the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm (sorry, no iPhone) plus a slew of carrier plans, all in the same straightforward shopping style Amazon customers know.
- Classilla project aims to update Mozilla for OS 9
- As a Mac-centric news source, we consider it our job--nay, our duty--to keep you informed about the latest software updates. And so, it is with that mission in mind that we bring you the details on Classilla, a port of Mozilla to Mac OS 9.
- Stable IT budgets suggest the worst is over
- The worst could be over, at least where the IT departments of global corporations are concerned.
- Microsoft Finally Patches ActiveX
- As usual on the upcoming Patch Tuesday next week, Microsoft will be issuing a series of critical patches to fix security vulnerabilities for its popular Windows computer operating system.
- Plugin Galaxy 2 includes 160+ Photoshop effects
- The Plugin Site has released Plugin Galaxy 2 for Mac OS X. It costs $70, and a demo version is available.
- Retired mainframe pros lured back into workforce
- Retired mainframe administrators are being offered lucrative deals and better work conditions by businesses unable to replace the experienced workers.
- Standardised pricing may stop illegal downloaders
- The EU is calling for pricing of music and media downloads to be standardised across Europe in a bid to prevent internet piracy.
- Internet content filtering a waste of money: child groups
- Children�s rights group Save the Children has appealed to the Labor Government to drop its controversial plans for a mandatory Internet filter, saying the scheme does not effectively teach children how to protect themselves from online danger.
- Private P2P Networks Add Trust to File Sharing
- Stephane Herry says that he founded his private file-sharing network GigaTribe out of frustration at not being able to share files with his friends on Kazaa. Every time he searched for a file that he knew a friend had uploaded, he saw only similar files uploaded by strangers.
- GEAR4 intros dual clock radio for iPod and iPhone
- GEAR4, the Mac accessory manufacturer, has introduced the GEAR4 CRG-200W a dual alarm clock for both iPod and iPhone.
- Google's 'My Location' Tracks PC's Location on Google Maps
- Google is making it easier for you to find out where you are, with the introduction of My Location for the desktop. First introduced in late 2007 as a tool for Google Maps for mobile, My Location made it easier to find your way around town by triangulating your position based on surrounding cell towers. My Location for the desktop uses WiFi access point information instead of cell towers, but just like the mobile version, My Location on the desktop drops a little blue dot onto your approximate location in Google Maps.
- Carillion IT outsourcing boosts profits
- Carillion operating profits were healthy as result of the sale and outsourcing of its IT services business.
- Microsoft's Bing Comes To Hotmail's Inbox
- Hotmail users can now decide and Bing, in a limited way, right from their e-mail inboxes. While not the sort of thing likely to cause people to switch from Gmail, the feature shows Microsoft has some clues about leveraging one online service off another.
- Mesh pays users £5 to upgrade to Windows 7
- Hard on the heels of software vendors such as Micro Anvika selling copies of Windows 7 for £49 (see How to preorder Windows 7 for £49), PC manufacturer Mesh Computers is offering customers the chance to buy a Windows Vista PC now, get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it's released, and then receive a £5 bonus - in the form of a discount. In effect, Mesh is paying PC customers to use Windows 7.
- Social-networking site Tagged to be sued by New York
- The state of New York plans to sue the social-networking site Tagged.com for allegedly using deceptive e-mails in order to gain new users, the Office of the Attorney General said Thursday.
- Twitter suspends accounts of users with infected computers
- Twitter is suspending the accounts of some users whose computers have fallen victim to a well-known piece of malicious software that has targeted other sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
- Botnets infect fewer computers in China
- The number of botnets and of computers controlled by them in China has fallen in recent years, though the country remains a top host for the networks of compromised computers, according to the government and independent researchers.
- Wildly successful iPhone App Store hits its first year
- Apple's App Store celebrates its first year in business on Saturday, with more than 55,000 applications and downloads surpassing 1 billion.
- Indian mobile operator will spin off infrastructure
- Idea Cellular, a large Indian mobile services provider, said on Thursday that it received shareholder approval to transfer its communications towers and other passive infrastructure to a subsidiary company, Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure.
- PC makers less upbeat than Google about Chrome OS
- Most of the PC vendors Google listed on its blog as partners for the new Chrome operating system say they're evaluating the software but have not committed to creating devices around it, a far less upbeat message than Google had portrayed.
- Text message scammers quietly prey on regional banks
- You get a text message from your bank telling you there's been suspicious activity on your account. You call the number on your phone to see what's going on, and before you know it, you're a victim.
- Intel is working with Google on Chrome OS
- The world's largest chip maker is working with Google on the Chrome operating system and has been privy to the project for some time, a spokesman for the company said Friday.
- Infosy posts revenue decline as customers delay orders
- India's second largest outsourcer, Infosys Technologies, on Friday said its revenue declined in the quarter ended June 30, while its net profit grew marginally.
- Wall Street Beat: Tech shares need to rally Friday
- Wall Street will need to rally on Friday to avoid consecutive weekly losses on its three major indices, including the technology laden Nasdaq Composite Index.
- Microsoft admits it knew of critical IE bug in early '08
- Microsoft on Thursday confirmed it has known about a bug behind widespread Internet Explorer attacks for more than a year, but defended its security process against critics who say it should have acted faster.
- Korea DDOS virus mission shifts to destroying, erasing data
- They say what goes around comes around and on Friday owners of bot-infested PCs in South Korea will discover that's true.
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- News analysis: DDoS attacks highlight need to reduce government Internet access points
- The network attacks that severely disrupted several federal agency Web sites this week highlights the need for the government to quickly finish implementing its ongoing consolidation of Internet access points, the former de facto CIO of the federal government and others said today.
- Ubuntu's maker: Chrome OS 'no slam dunk' just because Google announces it
- Google may possess brand recognition and engineering resources that dwarf the 200-employee, $30-million-revenue-a-year Canonical Inc., but Chrome OS's ascent "is no slam dunk just because you make an announcement," says Gerry Carr, marketing manager for Canonical.
- Cisco charts new paths with Eos media platform
- It's well-known that Cisco has been branching out from its core business of selling routers and switches, but in an open-plan office overlooking San Francisco's up-and-coming Mission Bay district, the networking monolith is venturing into areas that are ambitious even for one of technology's most aggressive acquisition machines.
- Microsoft's Silverlight 3 already available ahead of launch
- Microsoft's Silverlight 3 technology, which adds offline capabilities to the company's rich Internet application platform, already is available for download on the Web, ahead of Friday's official launch event.
- WNS Storage Virtualization Wins
- Faced with the spiraling cost of running separate storage for each of it's 200-plus clients, WNS Global decided to turn to virtualization. But convincing its clients that virtualized storage was secure would call on all of Sanjay Jain's skills of persuasion. Here is how he not only met the challenge of constant growth not matching storage demands, but also managed to get complete client buy-in to his solution.
- Propack Virtualizes For Gains
- Global packaging company Essel Propack was struggling to communicate and collaborate across servers spread over 21 locations. In addition to mammoth costs, the servers were painfully slow. For a smart solution, they turned to virtualization.
- Teamlease Maximizes Scalability
- For a staffing company, Teamlease's escalating volumes of business needed scalability and a basic booking keeping software was proving to be unwieldy. Migrating to Sage Accpac's ERP solutions helped Teamlease make a smart shift.
- U.S.-South Korea Cyberattack: Lessons Learned
- Investigators may not yet know who was behind a series of cyberattacks on the U.S. and South Korea, but analysts are getting a better grasp on where the nations' governments may have gone wrong. Numerous government Web sites in both countries have been hit by distributed denial-of-service attacks, starting on the Fourth of July and continuing into today. Dozens of high-profile sites have been
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- Microsoft, IBM highlight software development advances
- Microsoft, IBM, and Adobe cited during a conference at an IBM facility on Thursday ongoing efforts to improve the lives of programmers and designers.
- Google Chrome OS shows limitations of Android
- Google's decision to create a new Internet-centric OS for netbooks shows the limitations of the Android mobile OS for netbooks and raises questions about its future on those devices, developers and analysts said.
- Chrome OS spotlights rapidly changing mobile Web environment
- Emerging Web standards, more powerful mobile browser are creating a new kind of mobile Web application.
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- Mac News Briefs: CheckUp adds compatibility with latest Macs
- App4Mac announced an update for CheckUp, improving the interface and adding other enhancements to the system maintenance tool.
- Google takes direct aim at Microsoft
- Google wrapped up a flurry of activity positioning itself for a bold run at Microsoft's core businesses, but industry watchers say the search giant has a long road ahead.
- Sprint-Ericsson managed services deal called a boost to both
- Sprint Nextel Inc.'s $5 billion network services agreement with Ericsson promises to boost both companies, industry observers and company officials said today.
- EMC gets Data Domain, now what?
- With its victory over NetApp in the acquisition battle for Data Domain, EMC will soon have the deduplication company in its arsenal, but it paid a high price and realizing a return on its investment will depend largely on how it executes.
- Quicken Financial Life delayed until 2010
- We know the folks at Intuit are busy, but we worry that perhaps they forgot to flip their calendar forward some time back in 2007. On Thursday, the company said that it would once again be delaying the appearance of its new Mac version of Quicken.
- Boxee: On beyond Hulu
- Boxee, the media center application that gathers together multiple streaming sources into a single interface, received a lot of attention a few months ago. And it did so because a good number of computer and Apple TV users wanted to watch Hulu.com's streaming television programs without the bother of launching a web browser. Weeks of cat-and-mouse games ensued with Hulu cutting Boxee's access and Boxee's crew finding ways around Hulu's restrictions.
- Open-Source Media Player VLC Hits the Big Time
- For several years, the free, third-party media player of choice for many video connoisseurs was the open-source VLC media player. It worked on multiple operating systems, it worked on a bare install of Windows without any special codecs, and it was light and fast. All that is still true. Now, VLC finally hits an important milestone: version 1.0.0 (given the James Bond-referencing nickname of Goldeneye), and with this version comes a pile of useful new features.
- Sony Adds Netflix Streaming Video
- Sony Electronics was early to offer HDTVs capable of connecting to the Internet, but the company has been missing one very obvious streaming video provider-until now. Today Sony unveiled its latest content partners, the most noteworthy of which is Netflix.
- Avernum 6 'old school' RPG announced
- Spiderweb Software has announced Avernum 6, the final installment of their long-running series of adventure role playing games (RPGs) for the Mac and WPC. The game is expected to be released in late 2009, first on the Mac, then on Windows in 2010.
- Microsoft ties Dynamics CRM to Twitter
- Microsoft has integrated its Dynamics CRM (customer relationship management) software with Twitter, in just the latest move by an enterprise software company to latch onto the wildly popular micro-blogging service.
- Will Google's OS Make the Desktop Safe?
- Google says that its forthcoming Chrome operating system will be so secure that "users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates." But Google's claim is being met with skepticism within the Internet security world.
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- Cloud computing, security to drive US gov't IT spending
- U.S. government IT spending is projected to grow to US$90 billion in 2014, up from $76 billion in 2009, with cloud computing and cybersecurity being high-growth areas, according to Input, an analysis and consulting firm focused on government contracting.
- Microsoft promises to stymie hackers next week with new patches
- Microsoft today said it plans to deliver six security updates on Tuesday, including two for vulnerabilities that hackers have been using for months to attack Windows and Internet Explorer.