Thursday, April 3, 2008
Calling Carla: Brown enlists first lady to give Britain style
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the first lady of France, has been appointed by Gordon Brown to spearhead a government initiative aimed at injecting more style and glamour into British national life.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
New color Kindle
In a surprise move that left Kindle owners speechless, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, announced today that the new SuperKindle will be available only as a free upgrade for Kindle early adopters. Optional features include a dishwasher attachment and DVD player.
A slap in the face for hackers and virus writers
SophosLabs is today announcing ground-breaking technology that detects hackers using facial recognition. By identifying and stopping the virus writer, we can stop malware from even being written, tested and released.
Utilizing the webcams built into many modern computers, SophosLabs is able to produce a real-time forensic analysis of a PC user’s facial features to determine if they are exhibiting hacker-like characteristics. Current tests have shown that, with a clear background and face void of any obstructions, such as hats, moustaches or glasses RAPIL has a success rate of 97.78%.
Utilizing the webcams built into many modern computers, SophosLabs is able to produce a real-time forensic analysis of a PC user’s facial features to determine if they are exhibiting hacker-like characteristics. Current tests have shown that, with a clear background and face void of any obstructions, such as hats, moustaches or glasses RAPIL has a success rate of 97.78%.
Unusual banking trojan found
Now, the really surprising part is what the trojan does. Normal banking trojans would insert extra transactions or change the deposit account numbers on-the-fly. However, Win32.Pril.A doesn't withdraw money from you - it actually inserts money TO your account. This looked so weird we had to test it several times, on all of our accounts.
An Inconvenient Truth About Privacy
One of the lessons we’ve learned from Al Gore is that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. We all like to tool around in our SUVs, but too much driving leads to global warning. We must all take responsibility for our own carbon emissions.
The same goes for online privacy, except that there the problem is storage rather than carbon emissions. We all want more and bigger hard drives, but what is going to be stored on those drives? Information, probably relating to other people. The equation is simple: more storage equals more privacy invasion.
That’s why I have pledged to maintain a storage-neutral lifestyle. From now on, whenever I buy a new hard drive, I’ll either delete the same amount of old information, or I’ll purchase a storage offset from someone else who has extra data to delete.
The same goes for online privacy, except that there the problem is storage rather than carbon emissions. We all want more and bigger hard drives, but what is going to be stored on those drives? Information, probably relating to other people. The equation is simple: more storage equals more privacy invasion.
That’s why I have pledged to maintain a storage-neutral lifestyle. From now on, whenever I buy a new hard drive, I’ll either delete the same amount of old information, or I’ll purchase a storage offset from someone else who has extra data to delete.
Adios iPhone
I was flying back from California last week, watching a video on my iPhone, and next to me was this guy who kept glancing at me and smirking. "Is that an iPhone?", he finally asked. I nodded. "Humph," he grunted and assumed an air of superiority. I was a bit taken aback so I asked him why he didn't like iPhones. "Oh," he said, "they're okay, I guess," and then he mumbled under his breath "if you are into that sort of thing."
BMW Ads
Each year WCRS (BMW's advertising agency) produces a tactical April Fool's day advert which appears in the broadsheet press on April 1st only.
- BMW ensures the cameras always lies (2000)
- SHEF Technology (2001)
- Marque Wiper (2002)
- Tyre Pressure (2003)
- No Flies (2004)
- Midnight in the City (2005)
- BMW uninvents the wheel (2006)
- BMW Instant Messaging (2007)
- Canine Repellent Alloy Protection (2008)
Announcing Google Weblogs (Beta)
Google Weblogs, or “GWeblogs,” or “Gblogs,” which will launch later this year in a public beta, is the next revolution in personal publishing. Here’s what you can expect:
- Don’t limit yourself to “reverse chronological” publishing. Our advanced Google algorithms put your best content at the top of your blog. Even if your later work goes downhill your previous posts will still shine.
And there's more from InfoWorld
Dell, Intel to team on low-cost laptops
Companies will build hardware to foster education in the developing world
IBM targets Global Services customers with System z
New mainframe product automates accounts payable, invoice fulfillment for Global Services engagements
Apple's plans for iPhone Enterprise Server revealed
Bootleg download from anonymous source provides details of centralized management server for the popular Apple handset
Google to acquire U.S. government: What this means for IT
President Bush and CEO Schmidt outline the benefits of the takeover to citizens and shareholders
Hewlett-Packard unveils new green server partnership
Hosted "Windy" servers convert hot air into CPU cycles for small and midsize businesses
Cringely: So long and thanks for all the dish
It's kind of a bittersweet day here in Cringeville. The end of a long wild ride and, hopefully, the start of something better
Companies will build hardware to foster education in the developing world
IBM targets Global Services customers with System z
New mainframe product automates accounts payable, invoice fulfillment for Global Services engagements
Apple's plans for iPhone Enterprise Server revealed
Bootleg download from anonymous source provides details of centralized management server for the popular Apple handset
Google to acquire U.S. government: What this means for IT
President Bush and CEO Schmidt outline the benefits of the takeover to citizens and shareholders
Hewlett-Packard unveils new green server partnership
Hosted "Windy" servers convert hot air into CPU cycles for small and midsize businesses
Cringely: So long and thanks for all the dish
It's kind of a bittersweet day here in Cringeville. The end of a long wild ride and, hopefully, the start of something better
Security study: You will be owned
Enterprises seeking a modicum of certainty in the ever-evolving threat landscape finally have it: No matter how much human, technological, and financial resources you commit to securing your enterprise, you're hosed.
In a recent paper published by the Foundation of Underground Developers (FUD), an all-star team of high-ranking experts assembled from a collection of the industry's leading anti-malware labs contends that despite continued investments made in a wide range of security technologies, nearly all businesses remain utterly helpless in defending themselves from external attacks.
From botnets to spear-phishing, to cross-site scripting and DDoS (distributed denial of service) threats, there are no shortage of attacks that will "summarily exploit companies' ubiquitous vulnerabilities" and "expose their most sensitive data to any half-baked thieves with Internet access," said the FUD researchers who authored the paper.
In a recent paper published by the Foundation of Underground Developers (FUD), an all-star team of high-ranking experts assembled from a collection of the industry's leading anti-malware labs contends that despite continued investments made in a wide range of security technologies, nearly all businesses remain utterly helpless in defending themselves from external attacks.
From botnets to spear-phishing, to cross-site scripting and DDoS (distributed denial of service) threats, there are no shortage of attacks that will "summarily exploit companies' ubiquitous vulnerabilities" and "expose their most sensitive data to any half-baked thieves with Internet access," said the FUD researchers who authored the paper.
Product review: Two routers make their mark
It was with great anticipation that I unboxed two new routers in the lab a few days ago. Both Cisco and Black & Decker had sent me their best entrants in the hotly contested medium-workload router market. Both had promised the sun, the moon, and the skies above, claiming that their product was simply the best available. I was anxious to put these claims to the test.
Study: Don't Know tops IT's to-do list
Organizations seeking to leverage cutting-edge technology in service of business goals, look no further: Don't Know is fast shaping up as the long-sought-after paradigm shift to competitive advantage, one that has tech departments across all sectors scrambling to implement Don't Know into every facet of the enterprise.
OLPC offshoring trend
If your last customer service call sounded as if it were fielded by an 8-year-old, it probably was. Outfitted with technology donated by the One Laptop Per Child program, overseas firms -- spearheaded by a new breed of young, ambitious technologists -- are bent on filling what some are calling a growing offshore void.
Long the bread and butter of major Indian and Chinese outsourcers, back-office "commodity" skills such as customer service, help desk processing, and data entry are fast phasing out of India and China, as traditional offshore firms ride the KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) wave toward the enterprise core. No longer content to sit in classrooms informing Internet denizens of the travails of daily life in the Third World via lightweight blogging tools, children from Montevideo to Addis Ababa to Kabul are banding together to capitalize on the newfound opportunity.
"The educational push of the OLPC program was a phenomenal first step. But this, the introduction of children to the lucrative IT market, will likely be the game-changing business trend of the century," said Robert Munson, chief staffing analyst at The Red Hill Group and author of the research report "The Children Are Our Future: The Low-Cost Laptop Staffing Revolution."
Long the bread and butter of major Indian and Chinese outsourcers, back-office "commodity" skills such as customer service, help desk processing, and data entry are fast phasing out of India and China, as traditional offshore firms ride the KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) wave toward the enterprise core. No longer content to sit in classrooms informing Internet denizens of the travails of daily life in the Third World via lightweight blogging tools, children from Montevideo to Addis Ababa to Kabul are banding together to capitalize on the newfound opportunity.
"The educational push of the OLPC program was a phenomenal first step. But this, the introduction of children to the lucrative IT market, will likely be the game-changing business trend of the century," said Robert Munson, chief staffing analyst at The Red Hill Group and author of the research report "The Children Are Our Future: The Low-Cost Laptop Staffing Revolution."
Google buys Facebook
In a move that stunned Silicon Valley, Google announced it will purchase popular social network Facebook in a cash and stock deal valued at $25 billion.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a hastily arranged press conference where they outlined the key elements of the agreement.
Technically, Zuckerberg explained, Google is purchasing 98.4 percent of Facebook, leaving Microsoft with 1.6 percent ownership.
“We feel this accurately reflects Microsoft's market share in the Web 2.0 economy,” Schmidt said.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a hastily arranged press conference where they outlined the key elements of the agreement.
Technically, Zuckerberg explained, Google is purchasing 98.4 percent of Facebook, leaving Microsoft with 1.6 percent ownership.
“We feel this accurately reflects Microsoft's market share in the Web 2.0 economy,” Schmidt said.
Steve Jobs "miracle" in the Valley
They came alone or in groups, giddy with excitement or hushed with awe. They brought flowers and ribbons and broken-down PowerBooks. They lined the sidewalks of this quiet suburban neighborhood, patiently waiting to see what everyone had been talking about.
There, on the wall of the garage where it all began more than 30 years ago, stood a six-foot-tall slime mold in the shape of Steve Jobs.
Angus McDongle noticed the growth as he skateboarded to work this morning.
"I was like, whoa," said the 37-year-old, who works as a copy technician at a nearby Kinkos. "It was unmistakable. The glasses, the turtleneck, the whole 'screw you I'm Steve Jobs' attitude. And when I remembered Apple Computer was incorporated on April 1, 1976, I had a total Mulder moment."
There, on the wall of the garage where it all began more than 30 years ago, stood a six-foot-tall slime mold in the shape of Steve Jobs.
Angus McDongle noticed the growth as he skateboarded to work this morning.
"I was like, whoa," said the 37-year-old, who works as a copy technician at a nearby Kinkos. "It was unmistakable. The glasses, the turtleneck, the whole 'screw you I'm Steve Jobs' attitude. And when I remembered Apple Computer was incorporated on April 1, 1976, I had a total Mulder moment."
Microsoft, Yahoo agree on buyout price
After much internal debate and industry speculation, Yahoo today agreed to be acquired by Microsoft, adding $2.6 billion to Redmond's original offer of $44.6 billion on Jan. 31.
The agreement was reached near midnight last night, thus closing a contentious quarter for the Web company, one rife with in-fighting and power jockeying since Microsoft's initial offer.
Of the agreed $47.2 billion, $10 billion is in cash and the rest in stock, with $1.12 of Microsoft stock being swapped for each share of Yahoo stock, roughly a 12-cent-per-share premium over Yahoo’s $29.05 closing stock price on Monday.
The final price -- $33 per share vs. the original $31-per-share offer -- was less than Yahoo’s board wanted, sources said, but its recent “poison pill” actions such as providing all employees with four to 24 months of severance, based on their level in the company, should they be laid off in an acquisition, limited its ability to obtain a higher offer from either Microsoft or another firm such as Google, said Arbor Research analyst Jane Simons.
The agreement was reached near midnight last night, thus closing a contentious quarter for the Web company, one rife with in-fighting and power jockeying since Microsoft's initial offer.
Of the agreed $47.2 billion, $10 billion is in cash and the rest in stock, with $1.12 of Microsoft stock being swapped for each share of Yahoo stock, roughly a 12-cent-per-share premium over Yahoo’s $29.05 closing stock price on Monday.
The final price -- $33 per share vs. the original $31-per-share offer -- was less than Yahoo’s board wanted, sources said, but its recent “poison pill” actions such as providing all employees with four to 24 months of severance, based on their level in the company, should they be laid off in an acquisition, limited its ability to obtain a higher offer from either Microsoft or another firm such as Google, said Arbor Research analyst Jane Simons.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Six best downloads of 2008
On the first day of the new quarter, it's a good time to take a look back at the first three months of 2008 and expose some of the coolest software downloads that you might not know about. From innovative new games for your PC or mobile devices to creative accounting tools and invaluable utilities for Windows Vista 64-bit users, there's something in this list for all of you friendly PC users.
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