IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (ComputerWorld) 08/02/2009

Sunday, February 8, 2009

IT News HeadLines (ComputerWorld) 08/02/2009

Image Gallery - Apple's iWork '09 gets online sharing, 'evolutionary' updates
In addition to evolutionary changes, Apple's new iWork '09 suite now includes iWork.com for online sharing of documents.
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Review: Apple's iWork '09 gets online sharing, 'evolutionary' updates
Apple's iWork '09 suite of office applications gets a number of evolutionary updates this year, along with iWork.com, Apple's take on Web-based document sharing.

Microsoft reveals 'My Phone' backup, sync service
Only hours after Microsoft accidently launched, then yanked, a Web site promoting its new "My Phone" backup and sync service, the company restored the site and posted more information about the free service.

Elgan: Here comes the e-book revolution
Six trends will conspire over the next year to drive e-book reading to levels that will surprise just about everybody, says columnist Mike Elgan.

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Senate approves 'strict' rules on hiring H-1B workers
The U.S. Senate Friday agreed to a set of restrictions on the hiring of H-1B workers by financial services firms that receive federal bailout funds, but it didn't bar the hiring of foreign workers as proponents had sought.

Economy could slow enterprise adoption of Windows 7
The turbulent economy could hinder enterprise adoption of Windows 7, even though many companies opted to skip Windows Vista and are still running the outdated Windows XP OS, analysts said.

IBM offers to shift workers losing jobs to lower-wage countries
IBM workers whose jobs are being eliminated in ongoing cutbacks are being given the chance to stay with the company — if they'll move to India or other low-wage countries.

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WSO2 offers open-source, componentized SOA
Open-source vendor WSO2 on Monday will debut a componentized framework for SOA, with the intent of letting users assemble just what they need for their own deployments without having to carry excess software.

Google, IBM team to take health records from PDA to e-health database
Google, IBM and the Continua Health Alliance this week unveiled software that can transfer personal health data from a doctor's PDA to an online e-health database.

Good IT salary news, changes, scams, drugs, DTV
We're taking a break from (most) bad economic news this week. Oh, it's not that the week was without that sort of news, we just need a break and we figure our faithful readers do too. The only nod in that direction is toward China, where Lenovo had an executive shake up amid its falling fortunes. Keep reading, though, because a couple of new salary surveys struck encouraging notes. Rumors, scams, psychedelic drugs, and the transition to DTV -- we don't like when the government messes with our TV -- are in the mix, too.
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9 ways to go green and save green

Going green is all the rage for a lot of reasons. Although some of this green talk is hype, a lot of it is the real deal. There are a number of things that you can do in your business to easily and cheaply jump on the green bandwagon and saving your organization a few dollars at the same time you help reduce your impact on the planet.

Unix tip: Monitoring network switches

Cisco logs aren't very valuable unless you look at them once in a while, but when should you review them? Let's examine a simple way to routinely review what might be filling up your log files.

How to Transfer Blackberry Contacts to an iPhone

Here's how to transfer contacts from a Blackberry to an iPhone.

Analyst: Apple making smart moves with next OS, Snow Leopard

Apple has delivered another pre-release build of Snow Leopard, its next operating system, that includes developer tools to mimic the iPhone's location-sensing skills and boost the multi-touch function of the company's laptops, according to reports on the Web.

Remove PC User Rights, Reduce Windows Bugs

When Windows users sign on as a user, not Administrator, your security improves greatly. Remember the company, not the user, owns the computer and decides how it's used.

Survey: Ubuntu not just for desktop anymore

Ubuntu should not be considered merely the desktop Linux distribution of choice anymore if a new survey conducted by Canonical and open-source analyst firm RedMonk is an indicator.

Top 10: Good IT salary news, changes, scams, drugs, DTV

We're taking a break from (most) bad economic news this week. Oh, it's not that the week was without that sort of news, we just need a break and we figure our faithful readers do too. The only nod in that direction is toward China, where Lenovo had an executive shake up amid its falling fortunes. Keep reading, though, because a couple of new salary surveys struck encouraging notes. Rumors, scams, psychedelic drugs, and the transition to DTV -- we don't like when the government messes with our TV -- are in the mix, too.

Geeks.com operator settles data breach complaint

An online seller of computer supplies and consumer electronics has failed to adequately protect customer data and will have to submit to outside audits for 10 years in a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

RIM's new bid for Certicom trumps VeriSign's, says board

RIM has doubled the value of its previous offer to buy elliptic curve cryptography specialist Certicom, one of its suppliers.

Top 10 spam-friendly registrars named and shamed

Spam-fighting organization KnujOn has released a report on the top 10 registrars it has linked to spam and other illicit activity. It found that some companies have cleaned up their act in recent months and that others -- most surprisingly Network Solutions and GoDaddy sister company Wild West domains -- have suddenly popped up on the list.

Identity thieves beat Obama to stimulus package punch

Although the U.S. government's economic stimulus package hasn't even gotten out of Congress, scammers aren't waiting; they've launched multiple campaigns that tempt users into revealing personal information, a security researcher warned Thursday.

Microsoft cites 'click fatigue' for Windows 7 security change

Microsoft changed the default settings of one of its most important security features for Windows 7 because users balked at clicking more than two prompts a day, a company executive said Thursday.

Four security updates due from Microsoft next week

Microsoft plans to patch critical flaws in its Internet Explorer and Microsoft Exchange Server software next week.

Microsoft changes Windows 7 UAC due to new exploit code

A pair of Windows bloggers posted more proof-of-concept code today that subverts an important security feature of Windows 7 , a problem Microsoft knew about as long ago as last October and which one of its software engineers said would be fixed in the beta.

Intel employee warns on Windows 7 netbook pricing, SSDs

Intel blogger Josh Bancroft thinks Windows 7 "runs GREAT on netbooks," but he foresees several serious problems with pricing and storage.

Windows 7 Editions That Microsoft Forgot

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 would come in six editions. While it sounds like Microsoft will have an edition for everyone and anyone, we feel there are a good number of other Windows 7 editions Microsoft should consider. Here are some of them, listed in no particular order.

Give Vista a Windows 7 Makeover

Don't feel like waiting until the end of 2009 to make the move to Windows 7? Luckily for you, developers have already started cranking out copycat tweaks for Windows Vista (and, in some cases, XP) so you can trick out your current version of Windows to look and act much like Windows 7.

Removal of OLPC donation program rattles observers

One Laptop Per Child's removal of a program that enables small-scale XO laptop deployments has rattled observers, who are concerned that the nonprofit is changing its focus to large-scale deployments.

IBM offers to shift laid-off workers to lower-wage countries

Some of the workers being let go by IBM have a chance to remain with the company - if they're willing to move to Brazil, India, China or a dozen other low-wage countries. But the expatriate employees likely would be paid local wages as they begin their new lives overseas.

Leak: Amazon Kindle 2 Pictures and Pricing

Official-looking pictures and pricing of Amazon's Kindle 2 e-book reader have been leaked on the Internet. The information surfaced on a forum late last night and reveals a thinner Kindle but without the speculated price increase. Amazon is expected to officially announce the Kindle 2 during a press conference on Monday.

Salesforce.com president quits, no replacement named

Salesforce.com's president and chief strategy officer, Steve Cakebread, resigned from the company effective Feb. 1, according to a U.S. regulatory filing this week.

Windows Mobile online storage beta coming soon

Microsoft has revealed some details of a forthcoming service that will allow Windows Mobile users to synchronize information between their phone and the Web.

Hospital chain sues Lawson Software over retiring ERP apps

A Kansas-based nonprofit hospital chain has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Lawson Software, saying its agreement with the ERP vendor requires Lawson to provide -- for just a small fee -- replacements for two software modules that will be decommissioned next year.

Panasonic will cut 15,000 jobs as it forecasts $4.3B loss
Japanese electronics company Panasonic forecast its first yearly loss in a long time and said it will slash jobs due to the worsening global economy.

U.S. Army tries out Salesforce.com in recruiting
U.S. Army is using the customer relationship management software of Salesforce.com in a pilot program to help it recruit for Uncle Sam.

Alcatel-Lucent posts Q4 loss as sales drop 5.4%
Losses at Alcatel-Lucent widened for the fourth quarter of 2008 as the economic outlook forced the company to write down the value of more assets.

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Social Engineering: Anatomy of a Hack
As the founder of Lares, a Colorado-based security consultancy, social-engineering expert Chris Nickerson is often asked by clients to conduct penetration testing of their on-sight security. Nickerson leads a team which conducts security risk assessments in a method he refers to as Red Team Testing. Watch Nickerson and his team pull off a $24,000 heist in this video.

Citrix improves XenDesktop administration, user experience
Citrix is adding features to cut the cost of desktop virtualization and improve the user experience in the new version of its XenDesktop platform, it said on Wednesday.

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Google offers tool to let you track your friends' movements
Not content with indexing the world's information, Google is now tracking where users of its maps service are, and making that location data searchable by others.

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Mobile tech 2010: Five trends that will change our lives
Over the next two years, mobile technology is going to change radically. We look at five of the trends that are most likely to make our lives simpler and more productive.

U.S. court stays Rambus cases against DRAM makers
A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday announced his decision to stay court proceedings by memory chip designer Rambus against four DRAM makers.

Intel delays Itanium upgrade to add new features
Intel on Tuesday said it has delayed the release of the quad-core Tukwila chip, its next-generation 64-bit Itanium processor designed for use in enterprise servers.

Completely skip Vista and move to Windows 7

Forrester recently declared that Windows Vista has seen less than 10% uptake in the enterprise space. With hype over Windows 7 starting to approach "fervent" it's time to start thinking about what to do when it comes to desktop operating systems in your business. Windows XP will eventually go end-of-life meaning that an upgrade path must be determined. Should you move to Vista and see how Windows 7 works out or should you go right to Windows 7?

Microsoft: All Windows 7 editions to run on netbooks

Microsoft will release six editions of Windows 7 and is emphasizing the two it expects most users to buy.

Microsoft prepares for Windows 7, Windows Server upgrade

Looking to make partners ready for upcoming Windows client and server releases, Microsoft began on Monday its Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program, featuring tools and resources to test existing applications, devices, and systems to ensure compatibility.

Mac OS X Elbowing its Way Into Business

Are swaths of PC-only outfits finally moving to mixed-platform environments?

Windows 7, Mac OS X gain market share

Although the beta of Windows 7 quickly grabbed one-tenth of 1% of the operating system market share last month, Microsoft's OS continued its downward trend, while Apple's Mac OS X posted gains for the third month in a row, edging even closer to a 10% share.

Getting started with security visualization

Having spent 6 years shooting crossbow and air rifle on the Swiss National Team, Raffael Marty knows how to shoot straight. Here, the author of Applied Security Visualization shares 3 must-dos (and 3 don'ts) for getting started with visualization.

Federal workers notified after SRA virus breach

Employees at U.S. government security agencies including the DoD and DHS are being notified after a virus breached security at SRA International.

Secret Military Files Found On Used MP3 Player

A 29-year-old New Zealand man reportedly got more than he bargained for when he bought an MP3 player from an Oklahoma thrift shop.

Ex-engineer pleads innocent to server bomb charge

The engineer accused of trying to destroy data on 4,000 servers operated by Fannie Mae has pleaded innocent, court documents show.

Microsoft denies Windows 7 UAC vulnerability

Microsoft is denying that there is a security hole in the User Account Control (UAC) feature of Windows 7 after a blogger reported it last week.

Study: Data losses proving more costly for businesses

Data breaches are costing companies more than ever as consumers shun those businesses that have lost information, according to a new study.

NHS worm infection was 'entirely avoidable', says review

The infection of 4,700 PCs by a worm at three London hospitals in mid-November was "entirely avoidable," according to an independent security review.

Microsoft to offer XP-to-Windows 7 upgrades

Microsoft Tuesday confirmed that it will sell what it calls "upgrades" for Windows 7 to users running the aged Windows XP operating system. Those users, however will have to do a "clean" installation of Windows 7, meaning that all data on the machine will be lost.

Windows 7 to be sold in six versions

Looking to answer complaints about the proliferation of Windows flavors, Microsoft said Tuesday that it will generally deploy two primary versions of Windows 7, although it will still offer six editions for sale.

Microsoft to shove XP toward retirement

In 10 weeks, Microsoft will begin to retire Windows XP by shifting the seven-year-old OS into a more limited support plan.

Vista Marketing Program Receives Big Complaints

Government antitrust attorneys are reportedly still receiving complaints from hardware makers and other companies about Microsoft business practices, even as the software giant has stepped up its efforts to cooperate with those state and federal authorities overseeing its antitrust consent decree.

Gamers and enterprises saying yes to Windows Vista

The Internet's chattering classes may have already given up on Windows Vista, but two key segments of the PC population apparently haven't. More than a third of online gamers are running Windows Vista and almost one third of North American and European corporations have started deploying Vista.

"Killer instincts" at Microsoft, Apple

Very few people would doubt that Microsoft has a "killer instinct" as a corporate entity. This isn't unusual, in fact, most successful corporations have it. Wall Street executives won't last a single day without it. You walk out of business school with an MBA with "killer instinct" imprinted on your psyche.

India's outsourcing revenue will grow more slowly

India's outsourcing revenue is likely to grow more slowly in the Indian fiscal year to March 31 as a result of the global economic downturn, according to a local trade body.

Paris appeals court confirms no iPhone exclusive for Orange

Apple may not give mobile phone operator Orange exclusive rights to distribute the iPhone in France, the Paris Court of Appeals confirmed Wednesday

Alcatel-Lucent posts loss

Losses at Alcatel-Lucent widened for the fourth quarter of 2008 as the economic outlook forced the company to write down the value of more assets.

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