IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 09/10/2009

Thomas Seifert appointed AMD Chief Financial Officer
Sunnyvale-based chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD for short) has just announced that Thomas Seifert has joined the company as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Succeeding Robert Rivet, who's now AMD's Chief Operations and Administrative Officer, Seifert has last held the positions of chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Qimonda, a memory manufacturer that went belly up this year.

"Thomas is a talented industry veteran with a wealth of knowledge and experience managing the operations and finances of companies in the most difficult and competitive sectors of the semiconductor industry," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and chief executive officer. "This knowledge and experience will enable him to further strengthen AMDأ¢آ€آ™s financial foundation and help accelerate our transformation into a product design and marketing leader."

Thomas Seifert (pictured below) has a bachelor's degree from Friedrich Alexander University, a master's degree in economics from Wayne State University, and a master's degree in business administration from Friedrich Alexander University.

Scythe intros the Samurai ZZ CPU cooler
Scythe has now let loose the Samurai ZZ, a beefy new cooler to keep your CPUأ¢آ€آ™s temperatures at bay. Seen below, the cooler weights 472 grams, it measures 94 x 122 x 94 mm, and features a Nickel-plated copper base, three U-shaped copper heatpipes, and a 92mm fan which works at speeds between 300 and 2500 RPM and has a maximum sound output of 31.07 dBA.

The Samurai ZZ is compatible with AMD Socket 754, 939, AM2(+), AM3, Intel Socket 478, LGA 775, 1156, 1366 processors, and is priced at $31.80 / 16.75 Euro (without VAT).

Prices slashed on HP MediaSmart LX195 Home Server
With the introduction of the MediaSmart LX197 this week, the HP Shopping site has just added an instant $100 rebate on its predecessor, the LX195, which is now priced at just $299!

For those just moving into the world of Home Server computing this is a really good first step. The MediaSmart software the HP installs in its home server products is unparalleled and offers the best user experience available. Users can automatically collate media from multiple computers, stream music and photos from their home server to any location with an internet connection and importantly, backup both PCs and Macs within the household.

With such a neat little package you can't go wrong, so if you're in the market for a server at home, Amazon is selling it for just $289! (check it out over here!)

Alcatel-Lucent expand portable enterprise security
Alcatel has now expanded its portable enterprise security solutions into the HSPA MiFi Hotspot system from Novatel wireless, which is geared at notebooks and ultra-portables.

Alcatel-Lucent's OmniAccess 3500 'Nonstop Laptop Guardian' offers automatic VPN using Wi-Fi and 3G, as well as a GPS receiver.

"As the number of remote and mobile workers increases, organisations need to ensure that they can securely track, manage and control laptops and the data they contain," said Michel Emelianoff, head of enterprise security at Alcatel-Lucent. "With the joint solution, organisations can economically extend their reach and control over mobile laptops, and protect assets and business-critical information. Alcatel-Lucent continues to develop innovative solutions and creative ways to deploy them."

The firm wants to market this solution toward companies looking for better control over workers' devices, as it includes the ability to update security protection and has a 'remote kill' feature that can even be used when the device is turned off.

Virtual Drive Creator software version 3.0.1
Create virtual drives from long paths. Type the full path, or browse to the path via the Drive and Folder lists. Choose a drive letter from the Available Virtual Drive Letters list, and click Add Virtual Drive or double-click the letter to create the virtual drive. Make CD-ROMs obsolete: copy the contents of your CD-ROM to a folder on your hard drive and install it from there, then run the Virtual CD from your hard drive.

Changes include:
- Added Restore VDC to the Help Menu.
- Added Create Virtual CD to the Help menu.
- Added View Virtual Drives to the Help menu.
- Added Check for Upgrade Menu item.
- Combined several menu items under the File Menu.
- Added View Menu item to view all assigned Virtual Drives.

Website: J.A. Associates
Download: Virtual Drive Creator 3.0.1

FBI close Phish Phry, biggest phishing case to date
Nearly 100 people have been charged by the FBI in the bureau's largest anti-phishing investigation ever, codename Phish Phry. Of the offending charged, more than 50 people were from California, Nevada, and North Carolina, while the rest were Egyptians. The individuals have all been charged with crimes including computer fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identify theft.

"The FBI is a law enforcement and national security agency, which means we can and must address every angle of a cyber case," said FBI director Robert Mueller. "This is critical, because what may start as a criminal investigation may lead to a national security threat. At the start of a cyber investigation, we do not know whether we are dealing with a spy, a company insider or an organised criminal group."

The group appear to have profited quite nicely from their phishing scheme, earning hundreds or even thousands of accounts, taking around $1.5 million in total between them.

[i]"Cyber crime might not seem real until it hits you," the FBI said. "But every personal, academic, corporate and government network plays a role in national security. Something that looks like an ordinary phishing scam may be an attempt by a terrorist group to raise funding for an operation."

Eye-Fi memory cards to reach the UK this month
Already available in the US and Japan, the Eye-Fi wireless memory cards are going to start selling in the UK from October 19. The first arrivals in the UK market will be the Eye-Fi Home Video, the Eye-Fi Share Video and the Eye-Fi Pro, all three featuring 4GB of storage space and the ability to wirelessly upload photos and videos to PCs and/or Macs.

The Home Video card, boasting only the functionality mentioned above, is set to cost أ‚آ£49.99, while the Share Video, which also includes the option of uploading pictures/videos to sharing sites, will go for أ‚آ£69.99. As for the Pro card, it is priced at أ‚آ£119.99, and will include everything its little brothers have, plus lifetime access to a geotagging service, ad hoc uploads and the option of wirelessly transferring RAW files to computers.

For more info about Eye-Fi's memory card line visit the company's website.

Iolo technologies say Windows 7 is slower than Vista
Microsoft has been heavily making claims that Windows 7 is a faster operating system than its predecessor, and until now the objections have been few and far between. Iolo technologies, however, has stepped up to the plate with a stopwatch and challenged Redmond's pride and joy. Iolo are the developers of world famous tune-up software System Mechanic, and they claim that Windows 7 is in fact slower than Windows Vista, with a boot up taking 1:34 on Windows 7 and 1:06 on Windows Vista.

How did they reach this conclusion? Well, they say that the boot shouldn't be to where the desktop appears, but rather to where the machine becomes usable, and the stop watches are only tripped when the PC sits "with CPU cycles no longer significantly high and a true idle state achieved".

Interesting, but is it not possible that the distributed load of a boot means that you can get to the information/applications you want faster, regardless of how long it takes the Operating System to settle? What Iolo also fail to recognise is the number of machines that were before incapable of running Vista that have successfully been upgraded to Windows 7 - with the compatibility and stability of the new system software being far from anything that Vista can touch.

They do admit that Windows 7 did outperform Vista at the three-month and six-month old machines. But it "trailed the older version significantly" in its earlier boot-up tests. Iolo plans to release more details on its findings and methodology next week.

MSI CR500 laptop pictured and detailed
MSI's Classic series of laptops will soon be updated to include a new model, the 15.6-inch CR500. The upcoming portable machine measures 374 (L) x 247 (D) x 30 (H) mm, weights 2.48kg with a 6-cell battery, has a native screen resolution of 1366x768 pixels, a brushed aluminum touchpad, the ECO engine (power management system), and is equipped with a Core 2 Duo T3000/T4200 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, a 25/320/500GB hard drive, and GeForce 8200M G graphics.

MSI's laptop also features a DVD writer, a 4-in-1 card reader, WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, a 6- or 9-cell battery, a HDMI output, and runs Windows Vista. The CR500's pricing scheme and release date have yet to be revealed.

Yahoo to close down GeoCities on October 26
Announced this summer, the shut down of GeoCities, Yahoo's free website creation service, has been officially set for Monday, October 26. Claiming the need to cut costs, Yahoo has previously stopped accepting new registrations, and is now gearing up to put the final nail in the service's coffin.

Those who still use GeoCities are advised to either transfer their site to Yahoo! Web Hosting (which costs $4.99 per month) or download their files in order to move to other hosting services. The clock's ticking...

Friday, October 9, 2009

IT News HeadLines (TechConnect Magazine) 09/10/2009

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