Sony Gets Over Its Netbook Aversion

Tuesday - July 7, 2009

Sony joined the netbook race on Monday with a new line of Vaio models. The move comes nearly a year after the Sony executive in charge of the Vaio line derided the diminutive computers as part of a damaging "race to the bottom" for computer manufacturers. Retailing for about $500, the Vaio W series isn't quite at the bottom of the netbook market, which floors out under $300. However, it's part of an inescapable trend in the industry, whether PC makers like it or not, said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group. [More...]

Firefox 3.5 Streaks Onto the Web

Tuesday - June 30, 2009Mozilla has released Firefox 3.5, the latest edition of its open source browser, one year after its release of Firefox 3. The update went through four betas, incorporating JavaScript fine-tuning and other improvements, resulting in the fastest version yet, according to Mozilla. [More...]

Is Software Installation on Linux 'Broken'?

Thursday - July 2, 2009You know a controversy is a big one when none other than RMS weighs in with his opinion, and sure enough, that's what happened in the Mono debate late last week. "Debian's decision to include Mono in the default installation, for the sake of Tomboy which is an application written in C#, leads the community in a risky direction," RMS wrote on the Free Software Foundation's site. Of course, rather than settling the debate, Stallman's proclamation only fanned the flames higher, resulting in a raging inferno. [More...]

They Tweet, You Decide

Sunday - July 5, 2009Cassy Hayes and Jasmine Coleman were among the first fans to arrive outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles where Michael Jackson was brought and later pronounced dead. How had Hayes, 25, and Coleman, 21, heard the news so quickly? Twitter. The two young women had learned about Jackson's health like so many who get their news nowadays: by reading the ever-flowing feed of real-time information on the microblogging service. Jackson's unexpected death at 50 was just the latest major news event where Twitter played a central role. [More...]

Microsoft's Security Freeware Poised for Beta Launch

Microsoft said Thursday it plans to release a beta test of its free computer security program next week and is on track to launch a finished product in the fall. The program, Microsoft Security Essentials, is designed to find and kill malicious software that can steal passwords and other personal information or turn PCs into spam distribution hubs. Once the PC security software is installed, Microsoft said it will download updated lists of identified malware daily, but will keep a low profile unless it detects dangerous software. [More...]

Neutralizing the Smartphone Security Threat

There are many common, but inaccurate, assumptions about the security and privacy of smartphones and other handheld converged devices. For many corporate employees today, mobile phones and PDAs have replaced PCs. Enterprise workers are now performing the same functions they previously carried out on their desktop PCs on much smaller devices, virtually anywhere and anytime. [More...]

Beware of the Information Security Inertia Syndrome

We all know that some things are easier to do than others. In fact, what separates an average manager from a great one is the ability to balance decisions based on two almost totally unrelated sets of criteria: ease of accomplishment on the one hand vs. value to the organization on the other. [More...]

Friend or Fraud? Security and Social Networks

Back in January, friends of Seattle, Wash., resident Bryan Rutberg were stunned when they read e-mails from his Facebook account accompanied by his photo. In the messages, Bryan appeared to claim he was in big trouble and that he needed their help. At least one friend wired him money. However, Rutberg wasn't really in trouble and was in no need of assistance. [More...]

Watch Your Word of Mouth

Blogs and online review sites have proliferated in recent years, as ostensibly "with-it" influencers offer "independent" reviews, endorsements and testimonials that increasingly drive consumer traffic to a wide variety of product sellers. However, many of those serving up rave online comments are being compensated in some fashion. [More...]

iPhone Software, Hardware and Carrier: 2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

The Apple-focused blogosphere is positively hopping this week, and it's all about the new iPhone 3G S and new iPhone OS 3.0 -- with a little sprinkle of AT&T action thrown in. Early reviews have been largely positive about the new 3G S, pegging it as a evolutionary upgrade rather than anything revolutionary. [More...]

No Circus as iPhone 3G S Hits Shelves

The new iPhone went on sale Friday morning, greeted by much smaller lines and less hoopla than previous models. A few hundred people were in line just before the 7 a.m. opening of Apple's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, a fraction of the people who lined up around the block for last year's launch. That launch turned into a debacle as Apple's servers failed to cope with the load of new customers trying to activate their phones. People who already had iPhones were trying to install a software update on the same day, adding to the pressure. [More...]

EnterpriseDB Smooths Way for Oracle App Migration

EnterpriseDB, which has commercialized the PostgreSQL open source database, announced on Tuesday the fifth version of its Postgres Plus Advanced Server. This latest version of EnterpriseDB's relational database management system is designed to let users easily migrate more Oracle applications in order to cut costs. [More...]

Wind River Releases Hard and Heavy Hypervisor

Wind River on Tuesday announced the availability of a high-performance Type-1 hypervisor as the latest addition to its VxWorks product portfolio. The Wind River Hypervisor Multicore Software Solution for device development supports virtualization on single and multicore processors. [More...]

Smartbooks: Embracing Linux With Open ARMs

Asus notwithstanding, netbooks have received a great deal of attention in the Linux community for their role in gaining wider acceptance for our favorite operating system. So, when Freescale and Qualcomm recently debuted a line of what they call "smartbooks" at Computex -- featuring ARM processors and a low price point -- the blogosphere had no choice but to sit up and take notice. [More...]

Dell Drums Up Virtualization-in-a-Box

Less than three months after announcing a slew of products and services to propel its thrust into the data center market, Dell on Wednesday released several out-of-the-box virtualization solutions targeting both enterprises and SMBs. These are aimed at simplifying virtualization and helping customers cut their costs. In addition to hardware and hypervisors, Dell is offering virtualization, lifecycle and system management capabilities. Dell also announced a set of flexible, modular virtualization consulting services. [More...]

No Circus as iPhone 3G S Hits Shelves

The new iPhone went on sale Friday morning, greeted by much smaller lines and less hoopla than previous models. A few hundred people were in line just before the 7 a.m. opening of Apple's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, a fraction of the people who lined up around the block for last year's launch. [More...]

iPhone Software, Hardware and Carrier: 2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

The Apple-focused blogosphere is positively hopping this week, and it's all about the new iPhone 3G S and new iPhone OS 3.0 -- with a little sprinkle of AT&T action thrown in. Early reviews have been largely positive about the new 3G S, pegging it as a evolutionary upgrade rather than anything revolutionary. [More...]

A Week of Free Updates, Free Advice and Free Speech

Friday - June 19, 2009What we're seeing in Iran could be the beginning of some big political changes. Fishy results in the presidential election last week have led to massive protests, some of which have turned violent. The way the news about the country's turbulence is reaching other parts of the world is monumental in its own right -- symptomatic of the changes that have been brewing ever since the term "Web 2.0" moved into cliché territory. [More...]

Google Hustles to Meet China's Porn-Blocking Demands

Google has stepped up its efforts to fight Internet pornography in China, following Beijing's move on Friday to block some Chinese-language results delivered by its search engine. "We are undertaking a thorough review of our service and taking all necessary steps to fix any problem with our results," said Google spokesperson Scott Rubin. [More...]

Blockbuster, TiVo Join to Deliver the Video Goods

Wednesday - March 25, 2009Blockbuster and TiVo have joined forces to deliver Blockbuster's vast library of digital video to owners of the TiVo television set-top box. "We are excited to be teaming with TiVo, the company that created the DVR, to make Blockbuster's entertainment content readily available to their millions of subscribers," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. READ MORE

RIAA, YouTube, China: Plotting New and Creative Ways to Separate You From the Internet

Saturday - March 28, 2009The Recording Industry Association of America has apparently found out the hard way what other organizations, like the mafia, have known for years: The American legal system is for pansies. If you want to get something done, don't bother with the courts. It's expensive, it's time-consuming, and it'll air out all your dirty laundry. If you really want results, you've gotta use back-room strong-arm tactics. For example, the RIAA used to take the almost gentlemanly approach of suing you if they caught you illegally sharing music. READ MORE

Facebook Lets Devs Swim in User Info Streams

Monday - April 27, 2009Facebook announced Monday that it will allow more access for third-party developers, a move designed to open the door to potential revenue streams and help it hold off social network rivals like Twitter. However, at least one privacy advocate fears the network may instead lift the lid on a Pandora's Box full of personal information abuse. READ MORE

Blunkett seeks 'end to ID cards'

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett repeats a call for the government to scrap plans to introduce ID cards for all. READ MORE

Obama Pledges Big Bump in Sci-Tech R&D Spending

Tuesday - April 28, 2009President Barack Obama promised a new era of science and technology for the nation, telling the National Academy of Sciences on Monday that he wants to devote more funds to research and development. America has fallen behind other countries in science, Obama said. "I believe it is not in our character, American character, to follow -- but to lead," Obama said. READ MORE

Tailoring Enterprise Web Apps for the iPhone

Tuesday - April 28, 2009In today's connected world, there is a great need to be able to access the latest information. With email and calendaring, this has already happened, mainly thanks to the introduction of push email in recent years. Now that screens have become bigger on phones and bandwidth broader, the time is right to start porting enterprise applications to the iPhone. READ MORE

Brits Back Away From 'Big Brother' Data Storage Plan

Tuesday - April 28, 2009The British government said Monday it wants communications companies to keep records of every phone call, email and Web site visit made in the country, but it has decided not to set up a national database of the information -- a proposal that had been condemned as a "Big Brother"-style invasion of privacy by civil liberties groups. READ MORE

The Tower of Techno-Babel: What Languages Do Devs Love Now?

Tuesday - April 28, 2009IT developers are moving toward higher-level languages that make their work simpler in order to keep up with business needs. That simplicity is found in lingos such as Java, C Sharp, Visual Basic and .Net. However, even those languages are sometimes not simple enough for the Web 2.0 world, spurring developers to also turn to dynamic languages such as PHP and Ruby, which can provide a faster return on development efforts. Simplicity equals speed in application development, and that speed is being driven by the move to Web 2.0. READ MORE