Best-Technology

Google kills off print-advertising project

2009-01-20T18:07:00.001-08:00

As the publishing industry gradually moves online, Google has discovered that it's hard to shift some of its initiatives in the other direction--specifically, advertisements.

"While we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we--or our partners--wanted," Spencer Spinnell, director of Google print ads, wrote in a blog post Tuesday. "As a result, we will stop offering print ads on February 28."

Google launched the print ad program in November 2006, then expanded it in 2007, but with the recession in full bloom, the search giant has been winnowing projects to cut expenses. Google also offers programs for video and radio ads.

Spinnell said Google still wants to find a way to help the ailing journalism trade.

"We remain dedicated to working with publishers to develop new ways for them to earn money, distribute and aggregate content, and attract new readers online," he said. "We will continue to devote a team of people to look at how we can help newspaper companies. It is clear that the current Print Ads product is not the right solution, so we are freeing up those resources to try to come up with new and innovative online solutions that will have a meaningful impact for users, advertisers, and publishers."

Witness Recalls Last Messages in MySpace Hoax Case

2008-11-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

Witness Ashley Grills, who helped Lori Drew with her coupon magazine business, said she remembered at least one time when Drew sat down and typed messages on the computer. She also testified that Drew wanted to print the conversations between "Josh" and Megan, lure the teen to a mall and then reveal who the fake boy really was.

A Missouri woman knew her 13-year-old neighbor was depressed and suicidal when she sent cruel Internet messages to the teenager, her former assistant testified. The girl killed herself after being told the world would be better off without her.

Ashley Grills, 20, told jurors Thursday she helped Lori Drew set up a fake MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy to lure Megan Meier into an online relationship. Testifying for the prosecution under a grant of immunity, Grills also said she sent the last message from the fictitious "Josh Evans" to Megan in October 2006 on the day the girl hanged herself.

When she learned of Megan's death, Grills said Drew told her, "We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.'"

Testimony was to resume Friday in the case against Drew, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing computers without authorization. Each count carries a potential sentence of five years in prison.

Prosecutors say Drew, 49, her then-13-year-old daughter, Sarah, and Grills created the MySpace alias in September 2006 to befriend Megan to find out if she was spreading rumors about Sarah.

The case is believed to be the nation's first cyberbullying trial. Its results could set a legal precedent for dealing with the issue of online harassment.

Defense attorney Dean Steward told jurors that Drew did not violate the Computer Use and Fraud Act -- used in the past to address computer hacking -- and reminded them that she was not facing charges dealing with the suicide. Steward has repeatedly asked U.S. District Judge George Wu to exclude testimony about Megan's suicide and twice sought a mistrial.

Grills, who helped Drew with her coupon magazine business, testified that she told Drew they might get in trouble for the scheme, but that Drew replied, "It was fine and people do it all the time."

Grills said Drew thought the MySpace account was a funny idea and was present about half of the time when Grills and Sarah sent messages to Megan.

Grills said she remembered at least one time when Drew sat down and typed messages on the computer. She also testified that Drew wanted to print the conversations between "Josh" and Megan, lure the teen to a mall and reveal who the fake boy really was.

To finally end the hoax, Grills said she devised a scenario in which "Josh" would move away so Megan would lose interest in him. When Megan persisted, the tactics changed.

"We decided to be mean to her so she would leave him alone," Grills said.

She testified that she sent the final message to Megan saying the world would be better off without her. Prosecutors did not ask if Drew was in the room when that message was sent, but Grills said she believed the message contributed to her death.

Grills said that a short time after finding out that Megan committed suicide, Drew and her husband ordered her to close the MySpace account.

The case is being prosecuted in Los Angeles because MySpace computer servers are based in the area.

Rumors Have Microsoft Live Search Becoming Kumo

2008-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

Web rumors have Microsoft rebranding its Live Search service using the Kumo.com domain. Group Marketing Manager David Beaupariant is among Microsoft officials suggesting that Live services need to be better organized. Kumo.com is rumored to be owned by Microsoft and currently pointing to Microsoft test servers.

The Web's rumor mill kicked into overdrive during the weekend, with speculation that Microsoft is preparing to rebrand its Live Search service. Several sites noted that the software giant has taken control of a domain that could be the new Live Search -- Kumo.com.

The question of whether Live Search will become Kumo is being debated among those who follow the attempts by Microsoft to better position its search engine. According to LiveSide.net, "Kumo means 'cloud' or 'spider' in Japanese."

Possible New Interface

LiveSide, noting that there has been speculation for months among industry observers about a new branding and positioning for Live Search, said ownership of the Kumo.com domain was hidden behind the registrar, but it's pointing to an internal Microsoft test site.

In October, newlivesearch.blogspot.com posted "Windows Live Search Secrets," with screenshots of a possible new interface for the search service. The images had the brand of Windows Live Search. The site also quoted a comment on a Microsoft company blog by Group Marketing Manager David Beaupariant that the company recognizes "there is a brand issue across Windows Live."

LiveSide also reported that it had received a tip from a reader in the United Kingdom who said he had been shown new computers at a store and, in the process, was also shown a video touting Windows Live services, "coming in 2009." He sent the site some shots from his camera phone.

Like Beaupariant, Microsoft officials have, from time to time, expressed interest in organizing the various Live services into a more easily understood and differentiated set of services, especially since the company is continually adding new ones.

A new Microsoft manta, "software plus services," has been expressed frequently by the company, but even some industry observers have noted confusion at sorting out the different services and their names. Live.com has a variety of server, client and social-networking services and software under its umbrella brand.

Thinking of Shakespeare

Michael Gartenberg, vice president for consumer strategy at Jupitermedia, said the discussion made him think of Shakespeare. "Live Search by any other name," he paraphrased The Bard, "is still not Google."

Gartenberg noted that Live Search and the other "Live" services have also been known as Windows Live. Since the current Microsoft operating system is Vista, he said, perhaps this could be an indication that Windows as a brand signifier is losing favor.

If Microsoft does move to Kumo, he said, it would start with "zero brand equity," which, he noted, may be what Microsoft wants -- a blank slate on which it can imprint a new identity. But, he added, the main issue for the consumer is the product itself, and whether a newly branded search service will offer new features.

Insuring and Securing Your Network's Data

2008-11-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Developing a smart data security protocol will not eliminate the risk posed by unauthorized access to private or sensitive data, but it should at least reduce it. And when the data genie does escape the bottle, risk transfer in the form of insurance coverage can hopefully soften the financial blow.

The risk of data theft has never been greater. Businesses, organizations and government agencies (as well as their employees) have access to huge quantities of information -- some of which is not for public consumption. Making matters more complicated for risk managers involved in safeguarding data is that improvements in bandwidth, hard drive size and wireless capabilities have permitted firms to transact business with amazing mobility. With this mobility, however, comes added risk. The volume and speed with which data can be hacked is dizzying. As such, risk managers will increasingly be called upon to ensure that these risks are addressed and minimized as best as possible.

Protecting computer data with both existing and new stand-alone insurance products is no mean feat. The insurance market for such coverage is in a continuous state of flux, and very few of the product offerings can be characterized as "customer-friendly." Purchasing coverage for catastrophic loss events at affordable premiums remains challenging.

One major pitfall of policies that are supposed to cover data involves clauses that purport to condition coverage on the absence of "errors" or "omissions" in the data security measures employed by the policyholder. Such insurance policy clauses can be exploited and disputed by insurance companies seeking to evade their coverage obligations by arguing that the policyholder was somehow derelict in safeguarding computer data from hackers, among others. Furthermore, some policies may attempt to limit insurance coverage in situations where the data breach occurs when a computer is not actively connected to a network. This can leave a serious gap in coverage. Accordingly, policyholders should work with their brokers to pick insurance policy forms that are devoid of as many coverage exclusions as possible. Not all insurance policies are created equal.

Risk managers should be working in tandem with their IT departments and in-house attorneys to protect data that is both created by the business or is entrusted to it by outside entities and individuals. One of the starting points is developing a data security protocol that establishes clear directives regarding the handling of and access to information within the organization. An important step in the process is to inventory the information possessed and determine its sensitivity. Certain categories of information call out for heightened protection, including: health information, personally identifying information of customers and employees, certain types of nonpublic financial information, trade secrets, customer lists and business processes that yield competitive advantages.

Once such information is identified for heightened protection, it is not enough to simply guard against external threats of unauthorized access. It is also important to make intelligent decisions about internal access to protected classes of information. For example, it can be risky (and unnecessary) to grant company-wide access to sensitive customer information. Instead, under most circumstances, limiting the access internally to such information based upon necessity and security clearance reduces risks of unauthorized or improper disclosure of sensitive information.

Another important risk management consideration is access to and use of data from off-site locations. There should be policies specifying the types of documents that can be kept at home, as well as the permissible time period for keeping documents off-site. Additionally, the protocol should address the security of laptops used at home, on business trips and at any other remote location. Given the size of their hard drives, the theft of a laptop computer from a hotel room, office or elsewhere possesses a significant risk of unauthorized use and access to potentially sensitive information.

Developing a smart data security protocol will not eliminate the risk posed by unauthorized access to private or sensitive data but it should at least reduce it. And when the data genie does escape the bottle, risk transfer in the form of insurance coverage can hopefully soften the financial blow.

Yahoo's Search for a Leader Raises a Strategic Question

2008-11-27T09:16:00.000-08:00

The United States advertising industry is one constituency hoping that Yahoo remains independent and intact. It often looks at Google and Microsoft as competitive threats that increasingly seek to broker the sale of ads in all media formats and even in some cases to help advertisers create their own Internet spots.

There is a new parlor game in Silicon Valley: guessing who will replace Jerry Yang at the helm of the troubled Internet giant Yahoo.

Yang, a Yahoo co-founder, said Monday that he would relinquish the chief executive role once a successor is named and revert to being "chief Yahoo," the strategy position he held before his 18 turbulent months of running the company.

But even before a new boss is selected, Yahoo has an even more fundamental decision to make, analysts and other Internet watchers say. Does it want to remain an independent company, trying to grow in a range of businesses while it fights Google in the crucial arena of Web search? Or should it finally listen to the devotees of deal-making and sell some or all of itself to another Internet player, most likely Microsoft?

Yahoo shareholders are clearly rooting for a deal. Shares of Yahoo rose 8.7 percent, or 92 cents, Tuesday to $11.55, largely on hopes that Yang's departure might help push the company into the arms of an acquirer.

Steven Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, has said he has no interest in making another bid for Yahoo, but he has expressed repeated interest in buying Yahoo's search business. Many observers and Internet veterans agree that this remains the company's most attractive option.

"Yahoo is still in many ways the definitive brand of the consumer Internet, but I don't think they can or should compete with Google any longer," said Ross Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media. "That game is over."

If the Yahoo board agrees, it will want an experienced chief executive with a history of deal-making who is also capable of running the online media properties left behind.

Potential candidates who could embrace this vision of Yahoo include Peter Chernin, the president of the News Corp.; Jonathan Miller, a former chief executive of AOL; and John Chapple, president of Hawkeye Investments, who was listed on the alternative slate of Yahoo directors offered by Carl Icahn, the activist investor, during a proxy battle last summer.

But some observers think Yahoo's board could forgo any kind of deal with Microsoft and select a leader who stabilizes the company, unifies its employees and tries to capitalize on its broad technological assets. Potential candidates that fit with this strategy have strong technical backgrounds and include Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape, and Jeff Jordan, a former eBay executive who runs the online reservations start-up OpenTable.

Susan Decker, the president of Yahoo, will also be considered for the job, although analysts say anyone from Yahoo's current leadership would encounter significant skepticism from investors.

The U.S. advertising industry is one constituency hoping that Yahoo remains independent and intact. It often looks at Google and Microsoft as competitive threats that increasingly seek to broker the sale of ads in all media formats and even in some cases to help advertisers create their own Internet spots.

Yahoo, on the other hand, remains a largely unthreatening friend.

"The ad community doesn't want another big Internet player sitting in the hands of someone that competes with them," said Mike Leo, the chief executive of Operative, a digital advertising technology firm.

To avoid deals that would break up Yahoo, a new chief executive would need to tackle some of the well-chronicled cultural problems that former employees said seemed to get worse under Yang.

These include a climate of indecision, constant, interminable meetings and widespread overlapping of responsibilities. The new chief executive will also have to deal with a legacy of head-scratching management moves -- like Yahoo's announcement last month that it would lay off 10 percent of the company but would not announce who was being cut until December. That put Yahoo employees under a two-month cloud of uncertainty.

Whatever the Yahoo board decides to do, it still has considerable assets with which to work. The company still attracts 500 million users a month, is the leading Web e-mail service and has many other profitable Internet franchises in news, sports and video.

It also remains one of the top brands on the Internet, even if the exclamation point at the end of its name now looks wildly overexuberant.

"This isn't like AOL. They actually have a big loyal audience that isn't going away," said David Card, an analyst at Forrester. "They just need to pick their battles more sensibly."

One More Update, Then IE8 Will Be Final in 2009

2008-11-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

Microsoft plans one more release of the beta for its Internet Explorer 8 browser early next year. After that, Microsoft plans to release the final version of IE8. The new Microsoft browser is expected to favor Internet standards in default mode, rather than Microsoft's standards. The final IE8 will have new features, including a privacy mode.

Microsoft has announced that its final update of the current beta Internet Explorer 8 browser will be released in next year's first quarter -- after which it will launch the final release. Some observers had been expecting the final update to be released this year.

After one more update of beta IE8 early in 2009, the next public release is "typically called a 'release candidate,'" Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch explained earlier this week on a company blog. The release candidate, he noted, indicates the end of the beta period.

'Complete and Done'

"We want the technical community of people and organizations interested in Web browsers to take this update as a strong signal that IE8 is effectively complete and done," he added. "They should expect the final product to behave as this update does."

Practically speaking, he noted, this means testers should feel comfortable testing sites and services with the early 2009 beta release, he said, making changes if needed for customer experience and reporting any critical issues back to Microsoft. The final release, Hachamovitch said, will be delivered after the company responds to any feedback on critical issues.

He added that "we will be very selective about what changes we make between the next update and final release."

However, a posting by a Microsoft technical manager earlier this year noted that IE 8 will be more favorably disposed to Internet standards, rather than proprietary Microsoft standards, as in the past. So browsing with the default settings could cause problems for pages and services designed for earlier IE versions.

The default mode will include greater compatibility with W3C Internet guidelines, CSS 2.1, and HTML 5, as well as improved support for AJAX techniques. An upcoming add-in from Microsoft can be used by developers so their pages are displayed according to IE7.

New Privacy Features

Hachamovitch reported that Microsoft has been going through extensive data on IE8's performance. This includes 20 million IE sessions, hundreds of hours of usability lab sessions, thousands of threads from user forums, and hundreds of hours "listening and answering questions in meetings with partners and other important organizations."

He added that this doesn't include data from users who choose to say yes to report a Web page problem when IE 8 has crashed or otherwise failed to perform correctly.

The additional time before final release will allow Microsoft to tweak any bugs and finalize several expected new features. News reports indicate that the additions are primarily in the area of privacy. For instance, one feature could include include private browsing so users can control whether the browser saves their history and other related data. Some observers have referred to this as porn mode.

O Google, Who Can Resist Thy Charms?

2008-11-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Google has begun to crowd out other brands. I was a loyal MapQuest guy, but as Google Maps added features, it seemed cumbersome to go elsewhere. And even something as specific as HopStop, an elegant tool I used to navigate the New York subways, is left behind as Google gets smarter about the difference between the N-R line and the A-C-E.

Not long ago, someone invited me out to the Googleplex, the nickname for Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The fact is, I already live there. And it's starting to worry me.

Having grown up in the vapor trail of the '60s, I learned to be wary of large, centralized organizations, and yet Google, a huge enterprise with a market value of $80 billion, is my ever-present wingman.

My increasingly exclusive relationship with Google started with search, of course, when I switched from Yahoo years ago. Eventually I accepted an invitation to Gmail, with its oodles of storage and very granular search function, and it has oddly become my default database -- deep, rich and personal.

I added the company's calendar because I needed one I could share both inside and outside of work. And then the calendar and e-mail started talking to each other -- and to me, I guess -- by asking whether I wanted to schedule an event that was mentioned in an incoming message. Although it sort of creeped me out, the answer was yes, which it almost always is when it comes to Google.

Google has begun to crowd out other brands. I was a loyal MapQuest guy, but as Google Maps added features, it seemed cumbersome to go elsewhere. And even something as specific as HopStop, an elegant tool I used to navigate the New York subways, is left behind as Google gets smarter about the difference between the N-R line and the A-C-E.

I'm getting ready for the Oscar season, so I needed to set up some relevant RSS feeds, and Google Reader was handy, so there's that. It's easy to update my status under my chat icon while I'm on Gmail, so I tend to update that mood ring with more frequency than my Facebook status. When Google acquired YouTube, it gained another chunk of my mindshare.

And then a few weeks ago, I noticed there was a steady march of new little camera icons on the Gmail chat function. I looked around and saw a colored button at the top of my e-mail page that was a link to Google voice and video chat. I clicked it, hit the download button, and within 20 seconds, I was ready to go.

It's not the first video chatting that I have done, only the first that actually worked well. Within minutes of downloading, I was talking live on my PC to my 11-year-old daughter on a Mac, a process that in the past would have involved everything short of splitting the atom. Then I told my twins away at college and, yes, my mother-in-law about it, and before long we were all chatting away in an easy, friction-free future.

Score another one for the Googleplex.

You could credit Google, the largest ad seller in the world, with being a brilliant marketer and advertiser, but when was the last time you saw an ad, not served up by Google, but about Google? Not very often. That's largely because Google's Web platform, in all of its high-functioning glory, is its marketing.

"The most powerful form of advertising is to be exceptional," said Ranjit Mathoda, an investor and technologist who blogs at Mathoda.com. "Google has created an ecosystem that perpetuates itself by being useful."

Take video chat. Many other companies would take that kind of quantum leap and shout it from the rooftops, but Google just did a smallish blog post about the new feature and left it at that.

"We do have a philosophy that our products should speak for themselves," said Jeff Huber, senior vice president for engineering at Google. "We tend not to make a lot of noise."

As always with Google, the price point is appealing: zero, if you don't count the amount of personal data that I am trading for all that utility. With Google, it is always simple, and any engineer will tell you that simple is hard. There had been a lot of talk within Google about creating video chat as a PC-only application, a much easier endeavor for the company, but it would not have been simple for the consumer.

If Google owns me, it's probably because I am in favor of what works.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, who was in New York last week. "We want a little bit of Google in many parts of your life."

Mission accomplished, at least on my desktop, but I asked Schmidt if I shouldn't be worried that I am putting all of my digital eggs in one multicolored, goofy-lettered basket.

"That depends on what you think of our company and our values," he said. "Do you believe we have good values?"

Schmidt seems nice enough, but I sometimes wonder if I will come to regret the easier, softer road I have chosen.

A record of my surfing lives on its servers for 18 months -- not by name, but still. Google continues to insist that my IP address is not me, but a motivated government with a subpoena in hand could find me, lots of me, on Google's servers.

Most data privacy experts would call me a fool to index my life into any one company so deeply, and diversification in all matters is just common sense.

Huber countered that I am free to come and go as I wish.

"The nice thing is that we don't force you to use only our stuff," he said. "It is not tied tightly together, and the content is all easily exportable.

"If you feel like we are letting you down, or you don't like our products or we are failing to innovate, you can pick up and go where you want."

But with video chat now enabled in my Gmail, how likely am I to click away?

Some people worry that Google will take over the world. Through the sins of competence and innovation, the company has quietly and efficiently surrounded me.

"That's our business model," Schmidt said.

T-Mobile's G1 Gets Visual Voice Mail, Opera Browser

2008-11-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

A visual voice-mail application from PhoneFusion and the Opera Mini 4.2 browser have become available for T-Mobile's G1 smartphone powered by Google's Android mobile operating system. The free Opera Mini browser runs faster than the beta and is also available for the Samsung Instinct and newer phones from Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

A new visual voice-mail application and the Opera Mini browser were made available Monday for T-Mobile's Android-based G1 smartphone.

The Opera Mini 4.2 mobile browser, released as a beta earlier this month, is now out in a free final version. It includes a performance increase of up to 30 percent over the beta, thanks to a farm of U.S.-based servers that preprocess and compress Web requests. It also includes skins, syncing with notes, support for multiple languages, and other features.

'World's Most Popular'

Opera Software describes the browser as "the world's most popular mobile Web browser," with more than 20 million users. Other features include staying in touch with friends via Facebook, searching with Google, and secure online banking,

The browser is also available for the Samsung Instinct and newer Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones. It offers browsing of full Web pages, with the user being able to zoom into a page whose text has been formatted correctly for the small screen.

The Opera Mini browser is available from the Opera Software site, as well as the Android Market, a Google app store comparable to Apple's iPhone App Store. The Android Market is also offering the beta version of Fusion Voicemail Plus from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based PhoneFusion.

Voicemail Plus lets users centralize voice-mail boxes they may have at home and at work, in addition to the one on their mobile device, and see a list of messages in one place. They can also see information about the messages and play the voice mail from the device.

PhoneFusion, which describes its voice-mail application as "iPhone-like," had previously released the product for BlackBerries and smartphones with Windows Mobile 5 and 6.

Projection of One Million Sales

The availability of the two popular software products could help propel the already growing sales estimates for the G1, manufactured by HTC. On Monday, HTC CEO Peter Chou increased his sales projection, predicting a million units sold by the end of this year, up from his earlier prediction of 600,000.

While some observers are describing the software releases as enabling the G1 to become more "iPhone-like," Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said its appeal in the U.S. goes beyond that.

The U.S. "is a carrier-driven market," he said, where users largely choose the carrier first and then the device. For T-Mobile customers, he said, the G1 offers a unique device in the carrier's product line -- a high-end touchscreen smartphone with Google's mobile operating system.

At the moment, he said, the G1 "feels half-finished" because of the limited selection of available applications. But, Greengart noted, the other big factor in the G1's favor is "the promise of what people will be able to add."

Web Searches Revealed in Missing Florida Girl Case

2008-11-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

On March 17, someone used the home computer to do Google searches for peroxide, shovels, acetone, alcohol and making chloroform. Traces of chloroform, which is used to induce unconsciousness, were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car during forensic testing. Cell records include texts in which Casey calls herself "the worst mother."

Someone performed Internet searches for "neck breaking" and "household weapons" on the home computer of a Florida mother charged with killing her missing 3-year-old daughter, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The Orange County State Attorney's office released almost 800 pages of discovery documents in the case of 22-year-old Casey Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the June disappearance of her daughter Caylee.

On March 17, someone used the Anthonys' home computer to do Google searches for peroxide, shovels, acetone, alcohol and how to make chloroform. Traces of chloroform, which is used to induce unconsciousness, were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car during forensic testing by a Tennessee lab.

Cell phone records include text messages in which Casey calls herself "the worst mother," and calls Caylee a "little snothead," according to the documents.

Caylee has not been seen since June, but she wasn't reported missing until a month later. The child's grandmother first called authorities in July to say she hadn't seen Caylee for a month and her daughter's car smelled like death.

Anthony told authorities she had left her daughter with a baby sitter in June and the two were gone when she returned from work. She says she spent the next month trying to find her daughter and didn't call authorities because she was scared. Investigators say they have poked several holes in her story.

Todd Black, a spokesman for Casey Anthony's attorney Jose Baez, said the standard procedure for defense attorneys was to review discovery documents for a few days before commenting.

Later Wednesday, Circuit Judge Stan Strickland denied a prosecutor's request for a wide-ranging gag order. Strickland ruled the state did not prove that national TV appearances by Baez and other comments in the media would sufficiently prejudice the jury pool.

"Even with a gag order the publicity and media attention would continue unabated," Strickland wrote in his opinion.

Strickland said attorneys on both sides already are bound to a Florida Bar statue prohibiting comments that are false or would otherwise taint the jury pool.

The gag order would have not only affected prosecutors and defense attorneys, but Orange County Sheriff's investigators and Casey Anthony's parents, George and Cindy.

"Given the fact the prosecution has been leaking information almost nonstop for months, a gag order wouldn't matter at this point," Black said for the defense.

Ballmer Ordered to Testify in 'Vista Capable' Case

2008-11-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has been ordered to give a deposition in the "Windows Vista Capable" lawsuit after U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman denied a motion to exclude Ballmer. The plaintiffs contend that Ballmer knew Microsoft authorized "Windows Vista Capable" labels for PCs not powerful enough to run all Vista's features.

The advertising and marketing company hired to create Apple's commercials poking fun at Microsoft's Vista operating system might get new material to work with. After Microsoft tried to protect its top brass from testifying in a case involving "Windows Vista Capable" PCs, a judge has ordered CEO Steve Ballmer to give a deposition.

In September, Ballmer tried to avoid being pulled into the suit and having to go through the discovery process, but U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman has denied a motion to exclude Ballmer, according to the judge's order posted on SeattlePI.com's blog.

Microsoft Responds

The plaintiffs showed evidence that Ballmer had personal knowledge of the situation, according to court documents.

"We will, of course, comply with the court's order," said David Bowermaster, a Microsoft spokesperson, in an e-mail. "Mr. Ballmer's knowledge about the Windows Vista Capable program comes from the executives he empowered to run the program and make decisions, and two of those executives already testified in this case."

Bowermaster is referring to two former Microsoft executives, Jim Allchin and Will Poole. Allchin retired in Jan. 2007 on the same day Microsoft officially released Windows Vista to consumers while Poole left Microsoft last month "to pursue other interests."

Microsoft thought the former executives' testimonies would take the pressure off Ballmer. Instead, Pechman ruled that Ballmer would have to testify based on several pages of e-mail correspondence in which he was included.

Ballmer will have to testify about his knowledge of Microsoft releasing "Windows Vista Capable"-labeled PCs that weren't powerful enough to run all Vista's features and could only run a stripped-down version.

"Plaintiffs believe that Judge Pechman correctly denied Microsoft's motion to preclude us from taking Mr. Ballmer's deposition," said Jeff Thomas of Gordon Tilden Thomas & Cordell, the law firm representing the plantiffs, in an e-mail. "We look forward to obtaining his testimony, under oath, regarding his knowledge and involvement in the events and issues relevant to this case."

Leading up to Ballmer

In 2006 Microsoft, a year before the company released the Vista operating system, authorized original equipment manufacturers such as Dell and Sony to place a sticker on PCs indicating that the PC was certified as Windows Vista capable, according to court documents.

In February, Microsoft was hit with news that a group of PC owners had filed a class-action suit. Microsoft argued that the PC owners had different information about the PCs at the time of purchase, but attorneys argued that the PC owners did not receive what they paid for.

The judge at the time said the plaintiffs could not pursue a class-action lawsuit because the consumers' behavior at the time of purchase would have to be analyzed. But the judge also said it was okay for the plaintiffs to argue as a class that Microsoft caused artificial inflated demand and prices for computers only capable of running Vista Home Basic by marketing them as "Windows Vista Capable," according to the Web site of Gordon Tilden Thomas and Cordell LLP, the Seattle law firm representing the consumers.

Ballmer has 30 days from the Nov. 21 order to pick a date for an up to three-hour deposition.

Web 2.0 Security: Getting Collaborative Peace of Mind

2008-11-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Experts agree that part of the investment that enterprises are making in Web 2.0 technology must include security measures to protect organizations' intellectual property. One reason that Web 2.0 garners more attention for security safeguards than its predecessors is that its open nature makes it naturally more vulnerable to breaches.

Web 2.0 applications have opened up a lot of communication channels -- and opportunity -- for business professionals. They can, more than ever before, reach out to individuals from across the globe and share content and web applications. Through blogs, wikis, and social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, people are becoming more and more electronically intertwined. "There's a sense of security in a Web 2.0 world where people trust their personal information to others," says Jordan Frank, VP of sales and marketing for Traction Software. "They trust these sites." Frank points out that some people trust such systems just because their friends do, and because sites such as Facebook haven't let people down -- yet. He cautions that a breach could cause a backlash against such networks. "Ensuring success in Web 2.0 means that trust doesn't get broken," says Frank.

Most companies don't want to inhibit the collaborative flow that Web 2.0 has brought with it; they don't want it to hinder their overall operations and they want to continue to build on their Web 2.0 platforms. A Gartner Executives Programs survey of 1,500 CIOs from across the globe revealed that half of the respondents expected to invest in Web 2.0 technologies for the first time in 2008.

Internet experts agree that part of that investment must include security measures to protect organizations' intellectual property. One reason that Web 2.0 garners more attention for security safeguards than its predecessors is that its open nature makes it naturally more vulnerable to breaches. "The fact that security is becoming an issue speaks to the growth that Web 2.0 applications are having in the business world," says Isaac Garcia, CEO and co-founder of Central Desktop, which offers a web-based business collaboration platform.

Companies need to recognize the fact that the benefits that new technologies afford are typically accompanied by challenges. Web 2.0 is no different in this regard than any other technology offering. "The key thing is that when you're rolling out new technologies, these new technologies bring new vulnerabilities, as well as renew old vulnerabilities," according to John Pescatore, VP of Internet research at Gartner, Inc. "It's an important time to build security features."

The Implications

Web 2.0 security goes beyond the content that users find on the web and share with others within their network. It also involves preventing data leakage; that is, ensuring that that content doesn't find its way out, notes William "Sandy" Bird, CTO for Ql Labs. The main vulnerabilities can be found directly in the collaboration applications such as wikis and blogs, in syndication (from RSS feeds and mashups), as well as Rich Interface Applications (RIA) and AJAX-enabled Web sites. Web 2.0 applications are vulnerable to a variety of threats, from cookie tampering to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

Oftentimes, when such attacks occur, the user is unaware that his computer -- and important data -- has been compromised. It's a different world from years ago when viruses would wreak immediate (and very obvious) havoc on computer users. The threat may be imperceptible, and potentially even more dangerous.

The potential for security breaches caused by Web 2.0 technology is not likely to go away on its own. As more and more individuals use these applications (especially in the workplace), the risk of suffering from security breaches will likely increase considerably. Tn fact, companies are facing security issues on both the client side and the server side, says Danny Allan, director of security research for IBM Rational. Both can have devastating effects on companies, their employees, and their customers when the data created and stored in these Web 2.0 environments is compromised.

"Web 1.0 was a static page. With Web 2.0, you've got more client-side processes, like AJAX and widgets. Technically, there's more going on," says Doug Camplejohn, CEO and founder of Mi5 Networks, which focuses on the client side of the security issue.

Don't Drop Your Guard

This collaborative environment seems to be one in which users have let their guards down. "People don't read licensing agreements, they'll add a widget or they'll click on a link," adds Camplejohn, noting that the "bad guys" have gotten better at making harmful applications look legitimate. What has also changed, notes Camplejohn, is that when a virus and spam infected a system, their effects were noticed immediately. "The new threats are silent," says Camplejohn. "They sneak in under the radar."

Mi5 Networks provides companies with Webgate appliances that help prevent vulnerabilities from occurring as well as helping to dean up any problems that do occur. The Webgate solutions don't require any installation and immediately monitor and block vulnerabilities. "Companies use us for two reasons: to see what employees are doing and what they are not doing; and to see what applications are okay and not okay," explains Camplejohn.

Imperva stresses the importance of having security measures in place on the server side when explaining its security solutions to customers. "What we talk to customers about is the need to apply security on the server side because that's where you have control," says Mark Kraynak, Imperva's director of strategic marketing. Still, with this approach, the goal is to prevent future problems. "We can show how the applications are working and we use the model to prevent attacks," explains Kraynak. Imperva's SecureSphere monitors the activity in its customers' applications and databases to prevent vulnerabilities. By using dynamic profiling, Imperva creates profiles of applications and databases, so changes and possible malicious activity can be more easily noticed.

Experts agree that such a proactive approach is the best approach, and one of the most popular solutions seems to be the technology that enables its clients to closely monitor its Web 2.0 systems and send alerts when a security breach is detected.

It's also helpful for companies to identify exactly who caused a security breach, and Ql Labs' flagship product offers clients that visibility. QRadar enables its clients to uncover the source of a security problem and protect themselves against any security threats before they cause problems. "It's providing visibility to the incident as a whole," says Bird.

Most often, violators don't have malicious intentions, notes Camplejohn. However, safeguards still need to be in place to prevent users from accessing harmful Web sites and applications. Mi5 Networks has technologies that will block users from visiting a webpage that is identified as a risk. They receive a message that informs them that the particular page violates company policy. "We can also block a portion of a page and still deliver the good content," adds Camplejohn.

Pescatore notes that many organizations seek solutions that have security features already built in. He points to IBM and HP, which both purchased companies last year that offer security tools. IBM acquired Watchfire and HP bought SPI Dynamics. (Allan actually joined Watchfire in 2000 and transitioned to IBM with the acquisition).

Within a few months, IBM released IBM Rational AppScan, which is a complete suite of automated web application security tools that scan and test web applications for security vulnerabilities. It also offers recommendations for how to fix problems that are identified, which helps organizations close the loop on their security issues.

Securing Enterprise 2.0

Frank notes that while security in the Web 2.0 world is focused more on the protection of personal information, Enterprise 2.0 security (or Web 2.0 in the Enterprise) is targeted on protecting information in the project or community workspace. "The matter of security goes beyond simple authentication -- am I who I say I am? -- and privacy control -- who can see what information," says Frank. In addition to authentication, he notes that other important aspects of security include permissions/access control (What can you see and do in the environment?), an audit trail (What happened over time? When was a document emailed? What comments were included on it?), and monitoring (the ability for users to keep up-to-date on new activity). It also enables administrators to monitor harmful content and suppress it as it's posted.

Apple Gears Up for Black Friday Sale

2008-11-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

An announcement on Apple's Web site said the online store is holding a "one-day-only holiday shopping event. You'll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas." An Apple spokesman declined to provide details. Apple products are typically more expensive than those of competitors, and it doesn't offer price reductions very often.

Apple Inc., facing a tight U.S. consumer spending environment, is gearing up for a one-day sale on Friday and at least one analyst expects the company to offer discounts of up to 15 percent.

The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is the traditional kickoff to the U.S. holiday shopping season and one of the biggest buying days of the year for consumers.

The outlook for the computer and consumer electronics industry is universally grim, with shoppers widely expected to cut back on purchases as a recession looms.

An announcement on Apple's Web site said the online store is holding a "one-day-only holiday shopping event. You'll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas."

An Apple spokesman declined to provide details.

Apple products are typically more expensive than those of competitors, and it doesn't offer price reductions very often.

Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu said in a research note that he expects Apple's Black Friday promotions to be "a little more aggressive than usual."

Wu expects Mac computers, iPod digital media players and accessories to be discounted up to 15 percent, but said it was unclear whether the iPhone would also be on sale. In years past, Apple has cut prices by 5 percent to 10 percent.

Retailers, including Best Buy Co Inc and Amazon.com Inc, are already discounting Apple products. The Best Buy Web site is currently offering $100 to $150 off certain MacBook laptops.

Wu also said many Apple stores are electing to match the price discounts of resellers.

Apple shares rose 2.7 percent to $93.23 on Tuesday, in line with other technology issues on Nasdaq.

Today's LCD Monitors Trump Ancient CRTs

2008-11-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

The Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP 24-inch widescreen flat-panel TFT active-matrix LCD monitor provides excellent color accuracy and uniformity from a 3000:1 contrast ratio. Additionally, its 1920 x 1200 resolution and TrueColor technology provide sharp and brilliant images. The 2408WFP features a response time of 6ms that prevents smudging.

Today's LCD monitors and plasma displays are a substantial evolution from the monochrome CRT relics of PC antiquity. High brightness, support for more than 1 billion colors and sharp resolution are just a few of the latest improvements.

Color-Critical LCD

Based on HP's DreamColor Engine technology, the LP2480zx Professional Display features support for more than 1 billion active colors -- 64 times the colors traditional LCDs support. Innovative 30-bit LCD panel technology and a tri-color LED backlight create rich color fidelity, CRT-quality blacks and programmable whites across its 24-inch wide-aspect screen. Seven custom color space presets achieve accurate rendition of sRGB, Adobe RGB, Rec. 601, Rec. 709, and DCI-P3 (97 percent), all at the touch of a button.

Inputs include analog, DVI-I (2), Display Port 1.1, HDMI 1.3, component (YPbPr), S-video and composite. HDCP support for protected content and an integrated USB hub (4 USB 2.0, rear) also come standard. 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 40 cd/m^sup 2^ minimum typical brightness (250 cd/m^sup 2^ maximum) ensure a crisp, bright display. Hewlett-Packard , Palo Alto, Calif.

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Exceptional Clarity, Vibrant Color

The Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP 24-inch widescreen flat panel TFT active matrix LCD monitor provides excellent color accuracy and uniformity from a 3000:1 contrast ratio and 400 cd/m^sup 2^ brightness. Additionally, its 1920 x 1200 resolution and TrueColor technology provide sharp and brilliant images. The 2408WFP features a response time of 6ms that helps prevent smudging and ghosting. www.rsleads.com/811ht-241

Large-Screen Plasma Displays

The PlasmaSync Professional Series 42- (42XP10), 50- (50XP10) and 60-inch (60XP10) high-definition displays from NEC reproduce brilliant colors, perfect whites and deep, rich blacks; they sharpen text for easy reading and optimize contrast for viewing various content in any lighting condition. Enhanced Motion Adaptive 3D Scan Conversion provides optimized interpolation of moving video for a near 3-D experience.

Advanced AccuBlend technology scales non-native resolutions to the native resolution of the display without sacrificing image quality, while Color Tune technology allows for adjustment of individual colors without affecting white balance. Technologies such as TileMatrix allow for the building of video walls (up to 25 displays in a 5x5 matrix) using the OSD, while TileComp compensates for the bezel width to create a more seamless video wall. Contrast ratios up to 15000:1, native resolutions as high as 1366 x 768 and 1.07 billion colors supply a vivid picture.

Inputs/outputs include 24-pin DVI-D, HDCP, RGB, component video (Y,Pb,Pr/Y, Cb, Cr), S-video, composite and RCA stereo + external speaker jacks. A 1-year warranty covers parts and labor and the plasma module. NEC Display Solutions, Itaca, Ill.

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LAN/WAN Compatible LCD Displays

The Samsung 400DXn and 460DXn SynMaster Professional Network Digital Information Display LCD monitors support both downloading and streaming of files from multiple content servers and offer WAN and LAN networkability via MagicNet Pro technology. Ultra-thin 20mm bezels make construction of a seamless video wall possible; Natural Mode correction accounts for the bezels keeping images matched up perfectly for distortion-free, seamless displays. Both feature 700 cd/m^sup 2^ brightness, with sensors that adjust to ambient light, and 10000:1 dynamic contrast that adjusts intensity based on the picture.

These technologies enable placement of the displays in even the brightest environments, while exclusive DNle Pro image enhancement technology provides unsurpassed color and detail. Three built-in fans for improved panel cooling enable usage of up to 20 hours a day. Support for 1920 x 1080 full HD content is provided via the MagicNet Pro Network, however, maximum native resolution is 1366 x 768. Response time is 8 ms and video inputs include CVBS, S-video, component and HDMI; PC inputs include VGA, DVI and BNC. Samsung Electronics America Inc., San Jose, Calif.

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Medical Grade LCD Surgical Monitors

The 19-inch Sony LMD-1950MD/HD includes a preinstalled BKM0243HS high-definition serial interface card in the option slot of the monitor that includes a 2-channel input and one channel output. The card can accept an SDI signal and can automatically detect HDSDI or SDI signals. In addition, the monitor features 10-bit signal processing that provides accurate lifelike images with smooth and natural gradation. It minimizes color shift and displays accurate color reproduction with consistent color temperature throughout the grayscale. The LMD-1950MD achieves a high horizontal resolution exceeding 700 TV lines, providing extremely precise and detailed images that are essential during endoscopie procedures, for example.

The monitor incorporates an extremely bright LCD panel with a 5:4 aspect ratio, 1280 x 1024 SXGA native resolution, and accept a variety of signals ranging from SD to HD video, analog VGA to SXGA, and includes three PC inputs, as well as DVI-D. A durable multi-layer AR-coated protection layer minimizes damage by accidental scratching of the panel while its vent-less sealed chassis prevents any matter from entering or exiting the unit to help prevent possible damage. Sony Electronics Inc., Park Ridge, NJ.

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Dicom-Calibrated Display

The Planar Dome E4c is a 4-megapixel, 30-inch, bezel-less diagnostic display that is FDA 510(k) medically certified and can be used throughout a healthcare enterprise . Its widescreen 16:9 format eliminates image split caused by the bezel of a dual-head monitor and offers more screen space to show multiple-images features, simplifying the study comparisons. The 330 cd/m^sup 2^ high-bright color display shows 90 percent of a CR image without scaling and has the ability to display 15 full size 512 x 512 images simultaneously. A broad color spectrum enables various color modality support, 2-D color imaging , image fusion and 3-D reconstruction.

The Dome E4c has a contrast ratio of 600:1 and a native display resolution of 1600 x 2560 (portrait mode), with a 16 ms typical response time. Intervention-free automatic DICOM grayscale calibration, full DICOM conformance and remote monitoring/maintenance are additional features and a 5-year standard warranty is included. Planar Systems Inc., Beaverton, Ore.

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Portrait Mode LCD Monitor

The 65-inch Sharp PN-G655RUP 16:9 aspect ratio monitor offers high performance, excellent image quality and resolution, in addition to an integrated protective acrylic overlay. The overlay shield, with antireflection, anti-glare film, makes the monitor ideal for high traffic areas, while its rugged enclosure and components offer superior reliability for extended use in portrait mode applications.

A full complement of inputs such as DVI-D, RGB analog, component video, composite video, stereo audio for PC and A/ V and RS-232C (In/Out) provide a range of connectivity options. Outputs offer support for DVI-D loop-through (for use with an HDCP compatible device), and stereo audio line-out and stereo audio (7W/ channel) speaker out. The LCD also features full 1920 x 1080 (2-megapixel) high-definition native resolution, 400 cd/m^sup 2^ brightness and 2000:1 contrast ratio. Proprietary technology contributes to crisp text, virtually eliminating burn-in and ensuring longevity and reliability, while reducing the potential for bright pixel illumination. A 3-year parts and labor warranty (including backlight) is included. Sharp Electronics Corp., Mahwah, NJ.

Hewlett-Packard Intros Notebook with Multi-Touch Screen

2008-11-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

Hewlett-Packard has debuted its new TouchSmart tx2 multi-touch notebook PC. HP's TouchSmart tx2 can be configured in three different modes: PC, display and tablet. With the tx2's release, HP hopes to strengthen its product portfolio for the holiday season. HP's TouchSmart tx2 is available now at a base price of $1,149.

Hewlett-Packard has taken the wraps off the TouchSmart tx2 -- the PC maker's first convertible notebook screen to include capacitive multi-touch technology.

The machine's touch-sensitive screen and MediaSmart software work together to recognize and execute commands based on motions such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, as well as single and double taps. The technology combo enables users to more naturally select, organize and manipulate photos, music tracks, video clips and other Web content by touching the screen -- including content from 10 cable-TV channels and online brands owned by MTV Networks.

"With the introduction of the TouchSmart tx2, HP is providing users with an easier, more natural way to interact with their PCs," said Ted Clark, the manager of HP's notebook group.

A Convertible Twist

Empowered by Windows Vista Home Premium, the tx2 sports an AMD Turion X2 dual-core mobile processor, a built-in Webcam with integrated microphone, and a rechargeable digital ink pen. The laptop 's convertible design also incorporates a twist hinge that enables the machine to be configured in three different modes: PC, display and tablet.

Users can transform the tx2 into a tablet PC in order to write, sketch, draw, take notes or graph right onto the screen, with handwriting automatically converted into typed text. The tx2 also ships with a notebook stand that elevates the unit while stationary, which enables the user to put the machine in an upright position to allow for full interactivity with the device's touchscreen.

Rival Dell blazed a trail in the multi-touch notebook field late last year with the introduction of the Latitude XT -- a convertible tablet PC priced at $1,829 that features both pen and capacitive touch capabilities. However, HP's TouchSmart tx2 is available now at a base price of $1,149.

Vast Product Offerings

With its release of the tx2, HP has acted to strengthen the appeal of its consumer-product portfolio in advance of what is shaping up to be an especially tough holiday season for PC vendors. And the company's renewed focus on the mobile-PC segment is understandable, given the rising popularity of mobile-computing products overall.

Mobile PCs accounted for "a little over 50 percent" of all computer shipments in the third quarter of 2008, "exceeding global desktop PC shipments for the first time," said Mika Kitagawa, a principal analyst at Gartner.

However, HP's mobile-PC growth in the third quarter was below the worldwide average, Kitagawa noted. "It was partly because they were not aggressive" in bringing new mini-notebook products to market at a time when these low-cost devices were experiencing strong growth, she explained. HP should benefit from its recent addition of three new mini-notebook models.

Though individual companies such as Acer and Asus are enjoying success in the popular mini-notebook market niche, HP's emphasis on appealing to a broader market has its adherents. "HP's vast product offerings should help it to weather the current economic climate and enable it to grow as the market begins to recover," predicted IDC analysts.

The Venerable Computer Mouse: Soon To Be Extinct?

2008-11-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

A glimpse of the future can be found at the Microsoft Technology Center in Manhattan, where visitors can get their hands on a Surface table. The Surface computer, which debuted for commercial use in July, has a 30-inch screen on which users can tap, drag, spin and zoom in and out with their fingers or an object such as a paintbrush.

The computer mouse may someday become an endangered species.

Instead of rolling a mouse around to move a cursor around on the screen, more and more users will gesture with their fingers on touch screens and multi-touch track pads, analysts say.

Or they will tilt or shake the phones or other hand-held devices themselves to manipulate them, said Steve Prentice, vice president and fellow at Gartner, a market-research firm based in Stamford, Conn.

Apple's iPhone, Nokia and other smart phones are already undergoing such a transformation with touch screens, he said in an e-mail, and the switch "will accelerate over the next two to three years."

On an iPhone or iPod touch, a user can scroll through album covers by flicking a finger across the screen, or tilt and turn the device to control actions in a game.

Prentice, based in Egham, England, said it is likely users will stop connecting a mouse to their laptop computers within the next five years, if they haven't already. And the use of a mouse will diminish on office desktop computers after that. The new track pads are seen as offering more versatility.

"The demise will be hastened by the move toward 3D environments, which encourage a more complex range of movements to move around, and by the growth of multimedia applications and manipulation, which encourage a more natural user interface," he said.

Already, Hewlett-Packard makes a TouchSmart personal computer with a touch-screen monitor. Apple's new laptop computers have track pads that support gestures with two, three or four fingers. And the upcoming Microsoft Windows 7 will also support multi-touch.

Not so fast, says Logitech International, the Swiss maker of mice and other peripherals . Touch screens will continue to develop, but, "I don't see a world where it would override the effectiveness of the mouse and keyboard," said Erik Charlton, director of product marketing for Logitech retail pointing devices.

The history of the mouse dates to 1968, originating at what was then known as Stanford Research Institute.

A glimpse of the future can be found at the Microsoft Technology Center in Manhattan, where visitors can get their hands on a Surface table.

The Surface computer, which debuted for commercial use in July, has a 30-inch screen on which users can tap, drag, spin and zoom in and out with their fingers or an object such as a paintbrush.

Self-Diagnosis on the Net -- and Fearing the Worst

2008-11-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

Although the term "cyberchondria" emerged in 2000 to refer to the practice of leaping to dire conclusions while researching health matters online, a recent Microsoft study is the first systematic look at the anxieties of people doing searches related to health care, according to Eric Horvitz, an artificial intelligence researcher at Microsoft Research.

If that headache plaguing you this morning led you first to a Web search and then to the conclusion that you must have a brain tumor, you may instead be suffering from cyberchondria.

On Monday, Microsoft researchers published the results of a study of health-related Web searches on the company's Live search engine as well as a survey of the company's employees.

The study suggests that self-diagnosis by search engine frequently leads Web searchers to conclude the worst about what ails them.

The researchers said they had undertaken the study as part of an effort to add features to Microsoft's search service that could make it more of an adviser and less of a blind information retrieval tool.

Although the term "cyberchondria" emerged in 2000 to refer to the practice of leaping to dire conclusions while researching health matters online, the Microsoft study is the first systematic look at the anxieties of people doing searches related to health care, Eric Horvitz said.

Horvitz, an artificial intelligence researcher at Microsoft Research, said many people treated search engines as if they could answer questions like a human expert. Horvitz is also a computer scientist and has a medical degree, and his fellow investigator, Ryen White, is a specialist in data retrieval technology.

They found that Web searches for things like headache and chest pain were just as likely or more likely to lead people to pages describing serious conditions as benign ones, even though the serious illnesses are much more rare.

The researchers said they had not intended their work to send the message that people should ignore symptoms. But their examination of search records indicated that researching particular symptoms often led quickly to anxiousness.

They found that roughly 2 percent of all Web queries were health-related, and about 250,000 users, or about a quarter of the sample, engaged in a least one medical search during the study.

About a third of the subjects "escalated" their follow-up searches to explore serious illnesses, the researchers said.

Of the more than 5,000 Microsoft employees who answered a survey on their medical search habits, more than half said that online medical queries related to a serious illness had interrupted their day-to-day activities at least once.

The researchers said that Web searchers' propensity to jump to awful conclusions was basic human behavior that has been noted by research scientists for decades.

In 1974, the psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman wrote a seminal paper about decisions that are based on beliefs about the likelihood of uncertain events, like the outcome of an election or the future value of the dollar.

They said that people usually employ common sense rules to aid in decisions. The rules can be quite useful, but they also frequently lead to systematic errors in judgment.

The Microsoft researchers noted that reliance on the rankings of Web search results contributes a similar bias to the judgments people make about illness.

Hands-Off Hackers: Crooks Opt for Surgical Strikes

2008-11-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

According to Symantec, in the company's yearlong look at 135 so-called "underground economy servers" -- all public servers hosting mostly legitimate chat channels, with a few bad ones catering to cyber crooks -- researchers determined that criminals have latched on to this tactic as a way to make money and self-police the underground.

Internet criminals have been getting more "professional" for years, trying to run their businesses like Big Business to get better and more profitable at selling stolen data online. Now the bad guys of the cyber-underworld are exhibiting other unexpected traits: remarkable patience and restraint in stalking their victims.

A new report by antivirus software vendor Symantec Corp. details a startling trend that highlights the inventive ways criminals are figuring out ways to make money online.

Hackers are sometimes breaking into online businesses and not stealing anything. Gone are the bull-in-the-China-shop days of plundering everything in sight once they've found a sliver of a security hole.

Instead of swiping all the customer data they can get their hands on, a small subset of hackers have concerned themselves with stealing only a very specific thing from the vendors they breach -- they want access to the compromised companies' payment-processing systems, and nothing else, according to the "Symantec Report on the Underground Economy," slated for release Monday.

Those systems allow the bad guys to check whether credit card numbers being hawked on underground chat rooms are valid, the same way the store verifies whether to accept a card payment or not.

It's a service the crooks sell to other fraudsters who don't trust that the stolen card numbers they're buying from someone else will actually work, and it's good business.

The bad guys hardly touch anything. The customer data for that store's clientele remains intact. They don't install malicious software that turns the compromised machines into spam-spewing robots.

Think of it like taking a used car to a mechanic for an inspection before buying. Only in this case the mechanic's a squatter who's holed up illegally in some other guy's shop and using his tools when no one's around at night. And he cleans up spotlessly once he's done.

"They treat these things fairly pristinely so they can maintain access," Alfred Huger, vice president for Symantec Security Response, said in an interview.

According to Symantec, in the company's yearlong look at 135 so-called "underground economy servers" -- all public servers hosting mostly legitimate chat channels, with a few bad ones catering to cyber crooks -- researchers determined that criminals have latched on to this tactic as a way to make money and self-police the underground.

Symantec said it didn't find out which vendors had been compromised. The company says it didn't get inside the compromised servers that carry even more secretive back-channel conversations, because doing so would have broken the law.

The Cupertino-based company's researchers were only able to determine the trend is happening by looking at thousands of credit card numbers being checked every day -- and either accepted or rejected -- by shadowy groups online promoting that service and charging a fee. That fee is about $10 per card checked. Considering they're typically checked in batches of 10 or more, the revenue can add up fast.

Researchers said that the high number of cards the groups were checking each day suggests that they either had long-term access to a few compromised vendors, or had a lot of compromised vendors under their control and would shift the credit-card-checking chores to different ones to avoid being detected.

Huger said the reason the criminals don't raid the victim companies' databases is it's much lower risk to just check the card numbers on someone else's computers, rather than to start taking stuff out, which gets noticed.

Plenty of bad guys are still looting everything in sight, according to Symantec's study. Researchers spotted $7 billion worth of stolen credit cards and bank accounts being sold during the yearlong project. That figure assumes the cards and accounts were completely drained by the crooks.

The actual price for those cards and accounts could command on the black market was far less, however, because of the risk the buyer takes on in trying to extract money or make fraudulent purchases. Symantec estimated that the total value of the goods advertised for sale was more than $276 million during the time they were watching the servers from July 2007 to June 2008.

The report mostly underscores the trend that online criminals are adding more touches of professionalism to their businesses, like bundling packages of exploits together and selling them, or offering up programmers -- like a company would hire a consultant -- to write malicious code for other people.

Huger said the report just touched on the "low end" of the underground economy. The report emphasized that the potential bounty for hackers on the underground economy will only go up as "matures and operates more like a traditional business model."

OpenOffice 3 Available for Mac, Windows and Linux

2008-11-27T07:04:00.000-08:00

OpenOffice 3.0 now supports Macs for the first time, along with Windows and Linux computers. The Microsoft Office alternative even supports Microsoft Access .accdb files and the word processor can create Web 2.0 XHTML and MediaWiki documents. OpenOffice also puts some functions into extensions to reduce feature bloat.

The OpenOffice business productivity suite is now available as a native Mac application for the first time.

Version 3.0 of the free open-source software -- which integrates word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, formula and database capabilities -- is now available for download for Windows, Mac and Linux computers.

"With 3.0, the application is more interoperable with MS Office, more capable, more extensible," said Louis Suárez-Potts, community manager of OpenOffice.org. "It frees the desktop from vendor lock-in."

Reducing Feature Bloat

OpenOffice 3.0 features a number of improvements that should appeal to users of past suites, as well as anyone thinking about making the change from Microsoft Office. For example, the suite can now open files created with Microsoft Office 2007 or Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac OS X.

The new software suite also smooths the way for making better use of Visual Basic for Applications macros, and even supports Microsoft Access 2007 .accdb files. And it is fully compatible with the latest ISO document standard known as Open Document Format 1.2, which is being being mandated for use in a growing number of countries.

OpenOffice 3.0 even makes it easier for anyone to participate in the new Web 2.0 world without having to learn and master esoteric web languages such as XHTML and MediaWiki, said John McCreesh, OpenOffice.org marketing project lead. "Users can create Web and Wiki documents straight from Writer," he explained.

To reduce the feature bloat commonly encountered in Microsoft Office and other productivity suites, OpenOffice.org has elected to relegate a number of supplemental functions to its online-extensions repository. Even more capabilities are available from third-party developers, including an Impress presenter console, support for business analytics, PDF import, and the creation of Hybrid PDF documents.

Sliding Zoom Control

OpenOffice.org struggled Tuesday to keep up with the dizzying pace of worldwide download requests. However, I was able to download and install the suite with a minimum of fuss.

OpenOffice 3.0 sports a flashier user interface featuring a more graphic-intensive start center, a splash screen, and a colorful icon refresh. The Writer application in OpenOffice 3.0 now features a slider control in the bottom right corner of the display window for zooming, which will even enable multipage displays while editing.

Writer's latest language-selector tool gives users the ability to assign a different language to individual paragraphs other than the language assigned to the overall document. This makes editing and spell-checking of documents in multiple languages a much less onerous task.

What's more, Writer aficionados finally have more control over the way that selected Web content is displayed within the text-editing program. By using the Ctrl-Shift-V command, the user gains the option of pasting content into the program in a standard HTML format, as HTML without comments, or just plain old unformatted text.

On the Spreadsheet side, the application has been expanded from 256 columns to 1024 columns per sheet. Also on tap: A new Solver tool that will allow users to calculate the optimum value of a particular spreadsheet cell based on constraints provided in other cells.

OpenOffice 3.0 also now allows multiple users to collaborate on spreadsheets. Even better, the suite's PDF export feature now features a far wider set of formatting and security options.

Firefox Extensions Add New Functionality

2008-11-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

Cooliris detects when you are browsing a page containing photos or videos, such as Flickr, Google Images, YouTube, or Facebook. It then highlights a browser button that lets you switch from viewing the media on that page to a true full-screen view with a solid black background. You can browse an entire Flickr gallery as a 3D wall of images.

Mozilla Firefox is the second most-popular browser on PC and Mac platforms (after their respective default browsers, Internet Explorer and Safari) for a few reasons. First, it is secure and blocks pop-ups. It is also free and open source, so a large community is always working to improve it.

My personal favorite reason is its extensibility: The open source code lets users develop extensions (or add-ons) that add new functionality to the browser. [In this article], we'll take a look at two useful Firefox extensions. If you don't use Firefox and these features sound good to you, maybe it's time to switch.

Read It Later

(https://addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/addon/7661)

What is it? A Firefox add-on that simplifies bookmarking Web pages to read later.

Who cares? Overwhelmed info addicts and anyone using Firefox.

How does it work? Read It Later adds a checkmark icon to the end of the browser's address bar that can be clicked to add a page to your To Read list. It also adds a button to the toolbar that can be configured to open the To Read list or to simply load the next unread page. If you right click on a link, a context menu item called Read This Link Later lets you add the target Web page to your list. When you're finished reading a page, click on the checkmark icon again for a list of options, including Mark as Read & Add to Delicious, Mark as Read & Digg, and just Mark as Read.

What makes Read It Later most useful is that To Read lists can sync across multiple computers. So when you are at work and glance at the news, you can add the stories to your To Read list and then read them in their entirety at home when you have more time.

I've found using Read It Later is more convenient and simple than using a general online bookmarking service and a "to read" tag. It requires less maintenance on the user's part than other methods, and by setting the icon to autoload the oldest item on the list, I find that I never leave something in the "to be read" file for so long that it is no longer relevant. This was a problem I had when I simply filed articles to be read using Delicious.

Any bugs? Read It Later does not handle marking multipage articles read well. Once you've moved past the first page, it no longer recognizes that you are reading the same item, and if you click on a link to get back to the first page, it still doesn't recognize it. In this case, you have to load the page from your To Read list again before you can mark it read.

Cooliris

(https://addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/addon/5579)

What is it? A Firefox add-on that enables full-screen media browsing and viewing.

Who cares? Photo fans and YouTube addicts.

How does it work? Cooliris detects when you are browsing a page containing photos or videos, such as Flickr, Google Images, YouTube, or Facebook and MySpace, among others. It then highlights a browser button (and embeds a mouse-over icon into the media itself) that lets you switch from viewing the media on that page to a true full-screen view with a solid black background. You can browse an entire Flickr gallery as a 3D wall of images.

When you are not on a page of media, you can still launch Cooliris and use it to browse and search for media across the sites covered.

The extension also features a sharing option that lets you drag and drop a group of pictures into an album that you can email without leaving Cooliris.

Any bugs? There seem to be none. Early incarnations of the add-on had a tendency to reset the layout and options settings on other Firefox add-ons, but that problem has been eliminated.

Microsoft Works To Help Media in Europe

2008-11-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

Microsoft plans to work more closely with publishers on the development of a new technological standard, called the Automated Content Access Protocol, that would give them more control over what happens to their material after it has been referenced by search engines like Microsoft's Live Search, Google and Yahoo.

In a move to redefine the often testy relationship between online publishers and search engines, Microsoft plans to help European media owners protect and profit from copyrighted material online, the company's top intellectual property lawyer, Thomas Rubin, said Wednesday.

Rubin said Microsoft planned to work more closely with publishers on the development of a new technological standard that would give them more control over what happens to their material after it has been referenced by search engines like Microsoft's Live Search, Google and Yahoo.

The standard, called the Automated Content Access Protocol, "has the potential to be an important element of more vibrant business models for publishers in the future," Rubin said, in the text of a speech prepared for delivery Thursday in London.

His comments, while stopping short of a full embrace, are the strongest endorsement of the new standards by any of the major search engines, which follow fierce clashes between Google and publishers over copyright issues.

The Automated Content Access Protocol was introduced a year ago, and is supported by hundreds of publishers, said Angela Mills Wade, executive director of the European Publishers Council.

So far, though, no major search engines have adopted the system. Instead, they use a 15-year-old program called robots.txt. To ensure that their articles turn up in searches, publishers also have to keep using robots.txt, which gives them little control over what happens to their material after it has been released on the Internet.

Rubin said adoption of the new protocol could encourage publishers to make additional information available in digital form. Some newspaper publishers, for instance, have been reluctant to open their archives online.

Complicating the battles between search engines and copyright owners is a disagreement over how best to profit from the rise of the Internet. Some newspaper publishers, for instance, try to make it as easy as possible for search engines to find their articles in an effort to attract more Web traffic and to sell more online advertising.

Critics of the Automated Content Access Protocol have compared it to the "digital rights management" systems imposed on some online music services, saying such restrictions inhibit the development of Internet business models.

But Rubin said the practice of offering virtually unrestricted, free access to newspapers online had its limits because Internet ad revenue has not made up for a loss of readers and advertising in print versions of papers.

"The newspaper industry has tried free for a decade and it hasn't worked," Rubin said in an interview before his speech to the Association of Online Publishers in London.

But Google has been unenthusiastic about the new protocol.

"We encourage initiatives that aim to help search engines and Web publishers work better together, but it's important that such initiatives work for the entire Web -- meaning millions of Web publishers, not just the needs of a small minority," Google said.

Among other things, Google is concerned that under the new protocol, publishers would have control over what snippets of text appeared in Google searches, allowing spammers to abuse the system.

Verizon Wireless Offers Touchscreen Samsung Omnia

2008-11-27T06:41:00.000-08:00

Verizon Wireless is offering the Samsung Omnia smartphone with a touchscreen and Windows Mobile 6.1. The Omnia includes Samsung's TouchWiz to personalize the device. The Samsung Omnia includes a QWERTY keyboard, a camera, Wi-Fi and an FM radio. An analyst said the Omnia shows the diversity possible with Windows Mobile.

On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America brought the Samsung Omnia to market for the holiday shopping season. The newest Samsung device offers a touchscreen, a customizable user interface, and Windows Mobile 6.1 capabilities.

"The Omnia is an interesting device that further demonstrates the tremendous set of choices for consumers looking for high-end or high-feature phones for the holiday season," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia. "It also demonstrates the diversity of the Windows Mobile device ecosystem."

An All-In-One Smartphone

Verizon is billing the Omnia as an all-in-one smartphone with state-of-the-art features, including Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. TouchWiz offers widgets that let users customize and personalize the way they use the phone by using icons to offer one-touch access to customers' favorite and most commonly used applications and features.

The Omnia also has a full on-screen QWERTY keyboard for text messaging, mobile IM, and e-mail messages. The haptic feedback on the touchscreen provides subtle vibrations to confirm selections. And an optical mouse provides easy navigation with finger swipes. It supports the Opera 9.5 Mobile browser.

A true multimedia phone, the Omnia has a 5.0-megapixel camera with digital zoom and power LED flash, a camcorder, stereo Bluetooth wireless , and Wi-Fi. An FM radio is built into the device.

While the BlackBerry Storm, the T-Mobile G1 Android-based phone, and Apple's iPhone 3G may be the ultimate winners this holiday shopping season, analysts said there is room for Windows Mobile-based devices like the Omnia.

Differentiated Windows

With Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Omnia users can tap into Microsoft Outlook Mobile to stay connected to e-mail, schedules and contacts that can be synchronized over the air. Office Mobile enhances productivity with the ability to manage Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on the smartphone.

Windows Mobile 6.1 also enables access to Verizon's VZAppZone, where consumers can download games, ringtones, wallpapers and other digital media like the VZ Navigator, which gives users visual and audible directions. While Windows Mobile is found on many of today's smartphones, Gartenberg said vendors are proving its diversity.

Spinning Windows Mobile

"With Windows Mobile you are dealing with a standard operating system, so handset manufacturers want some degree of diversity in order to stand out from their competitors," Gartenberg said.

Gartenberg pointed to HTC and Sony Ericsson, which have each put their spin on Windows Mobile. Samsung's approach is highlighted with the TouchWiz widgets. While Google's Android mobile platform promises the ability for similar diversity, Windows Mobile is offering that diversity now.

"The Omnia underscores the power of the Windows Mobile platform," Gartenberg said. "We continue to see handset manufacturers leveraging the strength of the platform and putting their own spin on things."

Verizon Wireless has priced the Samsung Omnia at $249.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Firefox 3.1 beta 3 in January

2008-11-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

It’s no big surprise that the Mozilla team decided for sure to release a third beta of Firefox 3.1 before moving to release candidate mode.

That was all but voted on at last week’s meeting (I thought) but Mozilla “corporate” PR folks informed me that no decision was made. The formal proposal for beta 3 was only issued today.

With that, beta 2 is now expected to be available in early December and beta 3 in early January, according to information available on the Mozilla web site. fflogo-only.png

“After that discussion, the decision was to propose that we add a third beta milestone for Firefox 3.1,” lead developer Mike Beltzner wrote in his blog.

Aside from fixing the remaining “blockers,” a third beta will give testers more time to test recently added features debuting in beta 2 such as Private Browsing Mode, Worker Threads,
Speculative Parsing and TraceMonkey …. with wide-reaching changes like those listed above, it was felt that this was prudent, especially if it could be done without major impact to schedule,” Belzner wrote.

Mozilla said the code is essentially frozen and no new features will be added to Firefox 3.1. “Beta 3 code freeze will be scheduled based on the results of the triage, but is expected to be in early January 2009,” Beltzner summed up in the group’s meeting notes.

Google's New SearchWiki Tool Lets Users Give Their Two Bits

2008-11-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Googlers now have the ability to re-rank, delete, add and comment about the results coming in on their queries. The hope is that with enough users chiming in and providing feedback, Google will be able to sharpen its accuracy in determining what exactly people are looking for. The tough part will be getting enough people using it.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has released a new search editing tool that gives users more control over their results. SearchWiki enables users to customize their searches by re-ranking, deleting, adding and even commenting on their search results. Users will also be able to see how others have edited their searches; however, the edits will only apply to their personal searches.

"It will enable the end-user by contributing to the Wiki and the community aggregation to give Google more input on how the relevancy of search engine results," Gene Alavarez, a Gartner (NYSE: IT) Research analyst, told TechNewsWorld.

Alvarez likens the new tool to those ubiquitous product reviews and the "report this reviewer" feedback option.

"Now in the wiki environment, if I take my search results and start to play around with it, they get to take a look at how the aggregate has done that. And I'm sure over time they will be able to garner patterns from that which will help strengthen the relevancy ranking of all of the search results returned," he said.

Better Search

Google's SearchWiki will help users over time while also benefiting Google, according to Alvarez.

"It will improve the relevancy of results from Google because of the contributions they will provide over time," he noted.

In the long term, as increasing numbers of searchers use the Wiki and indicate what they believe the results should have been or would have liked them to be, Google can alter the search results to jibe with their input.

"Let's say a particular search term has been altered in the wiki 1,000 times, and 800 out of that 1,000 are pretty similar. Now when that search term is used, Google can say, for the majority, this result listing in this order is preferred and may also contribute to the 'I feel lucky' function better," Alvarez continued.

Everybody Wiki

The tough part that Google has to confront, however, is adoption, Alvarez stated.

"There are some types of users, including those developing around Google, that will be early adopters of the tool, but for those who use Google like it is a phone book, will they know what a wiki is? It's going to take a while for the general public to pick up on this," he pointed out.

The value in SearchWiki will come from large adoption of the tool by users.

"This is probably a good thing for Google users over time in terms of helping shaping relevancy of search results and it will probably be a profitable thing for Google in the long term in terms of its contribution to the engine search results. The toughest challenge will be the adoption," he concluded.

YouTube Pays Homage to Its Stars at Live Event

2008-11-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

YouTube took a moment on Saturday to pat itself -- and the instant celebrities it has helped create -- on the back. In the process, YouTube undertook its first effort at live streaming, which appears to have gone fairly well. The video site reported strong traffic in the 24 hours following.President-Elect Barack Obama didn't show (previous commitment), but Obama Girl was there. So was Obama's unofficial Web troubadour, will.i.am. A real politician, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, presented an award to a real member of royalty, Queen Raina of Jordan, while Chad Vader, the unambitious, not-so-real brother of a member of pseudo-royalty, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, looked on.

It was that kind of night at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on Saturday for the first-ever YouTube Live event, where the world's most successful video Web site celebrated itself by inviting all its user-generated celebrities to party -- where else? -- live on the Web.

You may not know the guests and performers by name, but if you have even a passing interest in YouTube's influential three-year history, you probably know them by the talents that got them attention and video views. So there was the guy who shoves all kinds of things in a blender; the young Korean guitar prodigy who uploaded his electric version of Pachelbel's "Canon," jamming with real-life guitar hero Joe Satriani; the guy who gives out free hugs; the host of celebrity dissing segment "What The Buck?"; the Dutch girl whose singing talents -- first displayed on webcam -- landed her a deal with Justin Timberlake's label; and, of course, the aforementioned Chad Vader, grocery store night manager whose viral videos show him using the dark side of the Force to score dates and get stockboys to finish their inventory.

Virgin America's "party plane" got in on the act from 35,000 feet to introduce the fellow who re-enacts key scenes from "The Dark Knight," playing both Batman and the Joker.

YouTube representatives did not respond to a request seeking information on traffic numbers from Saturday's live webcast -- a first for YouTube -- but a press release Monday said YouTube Live videos generated 2.5 million views in the 24 hours after the event.

The Critical Response

One press account described a mixed reaction from YouTube's audience; some liked it, others thought it was a waste of time on a Saturday night. But the fact that some of the site's demographic decided to stay home on that night, when other leisure-time activities beckon, may say something about YouTube's influence and popularity.

"You're talking about movie, dinner, a date," Bobby Tulsiani, digital media analyst with Forrester Research told TechNewsWorld. "Are we talking about competing with that? Younger audiences move faster than the pundits and myself can predict. We are in an economic downturn -- maybe you just want to sit at home and watch TV or the computer. It's a testament that they can celebrate their success."

Tulsiani found it interesting that YouTube decided to stage its self-congratulatory fest on a Saturday night. "I don't think it's a coincidence that three years ago we were talking about 'Lazy Sunday' and pulling it off of YouTube."

The "Lazy Sunday" short film from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" featured comedians Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rapping to the sublime joys of cupcakes and "The Chronicles of Narnia." It went on to viral video infamy and a special place in YouTube history; after hearing about millions of views and all that success, NBC threatened legal action if the site didn't remove "Lazy Sunday."

GE-manufactured light bulbs must have flicked on simultaneously over several heads at NBC Universal, however, because the network began to slowly embrace the marketing and buzz-generating magic -- not to mention the possible online advertising revenue -- of releasing clips on the Internet. Now "Lazy Sunday" can be viewed to one's cupcake-chewing content on Hulu, NBC's own online video site.

Tulsiani says YouTube's live event strategy puts it more on a collision course with traditional media. "Did they approach a cable size audience, between 1.5 and 7 million viewers? I doubt they got to network levels, but if they got to cable-size, they can start telling advertisers, 'Hey, you've been buying TV for a lot of years, this is a very different demographic, young and powerful.'"

YouTube's Parallel World of Celebrities

Andy Warhol's oft-quoted maxim on fame and its expiration date may need updating thanks to YouTube and the Internet, said Taso Lagos, a lecturer in the communication department at the University of Washington. "Fifteen minutes may be too long," Lagos told TechNewsWorld. "We might be down to seven minutes. It's certainly fun when somebody gets that kind of publicity, but in a society where things move at a very fast pace, we're soon on to the next person and then the next person. It (YouTube) does bring celebrityhood down to the mass level. It tells you something about how content is much more democratic. Obama Girl is big because of the election, but in a year's time there may be some other person."

Those invited to the YouTube Live event do qualify as legitimate celebrities, even without the benefit of household names, Lagos believes. "Why not? They're seen by millions of people. When movies first came out, people clamored to find out more about movie stars. When there were no credits on films, people wrote to the studios and wanted to find out more about the actors."

Lagos, who is currently researching technology and the Internet's effect on creating parallels to traditional entertainment and government institutions, called the YouTube Live event its "coming out party, its debutante ball, if you will. YouTube is not just a trend or a phenomenon. It says something about our culture and the fact that some people did stay home to watch. You also saw that with the election, people using the Internet, YouTube, Facebook to show their support."

Crackle.com to Take a Crack at Online-Only Programming

2008-11-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

Sony's Crackle.com has has released some details regarding its upcoming season of original, only-for-the-Web programming. The shows will mostly feature short, bite-sized formats and will be updated regularly, in contrast to some Web TV programs that roll out new episodes whenever they happen to be ready.Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures Entertainment's online video network, Crackle.com, has announced its upcoming season of online programming, which will start airing next month.

Crackle's claim to fame is short, original episodes produced and filmed with the same basic high-quality production values that go into producing network or cable television. In other words, Crackle is not about blurry and poorly lit webisodes filmed in some dude's basement.

Regularly Scheduled Programming

The new 13-week season consists of a mixture of new shows as well as the return of several sophomore series, Crackle said. Highlights of the new season include "Anytime With Bob Kushell," an online talk show hosted by the Emmy-nominated television writer and producer, which features guests including Jennifer Esposito, Neil Patrick Harris, John Stamos and Christina Applegate.

Crackle will also air new seasons of "The Groundlings," "Owen Benjamin Presents" and four brand-new episodes of "The Jace Hall Show." In addition, Crackle announced that "Married ... with Children" star David Faustino's new comedy series "Star-ving" will premiere on Friday, January 16, 2009.

Most of the weekly episodes run just a few minutes long and will air on the same day weekly over the course of the 13-week season. Most Web-produced mini "TV" shows tend to be posted whenever they happen to be completed rather than as a cohesive, regular season or schedule.

Never Heard of It?

While many watchers may not have heard of Crackle.com or the shows it produces, Reuters reported that Crackle.com saw 2.4 million visitors in the month of October. In June, Crackle reported that "The Jace Hall Show" snagged 500,000 visitors in the first 48 hours of its launch, which grew to 1 million views of the first two episodes. That program features behind-the-scenes footage from game developers and interviews in which actors, musicians and athletes discuss their lives in context of the entertainment convergence world.

Crackle has said it's looking to attract advertisers and support the site as a business, but might there be other motivations for parental owner Sony Pictures Entertainment?

"I think they want to experiment with independent producers and actors and see how they play out, and if they do well they want to take them to the next level," Phil Leigh, principal analyst for Inside Digital Media, told TechNewsWorld.

"In other words, this is the farm team for the majors -- they might find good script writers, directors, actors and shows," he added.

TV and movies, Leigh also noted, are increasingly moving toward the Internet, and on the PC side, the average video length is increasing. On mobile platforms, however, length remains more of a challenge.

Crackle.com isn't the exclusive delivery site for Crackle's content. Watchers can also find it on YouTube , Hulu, MySpace , Adobe Media Player (Nasdaq: ADBE) , AOL, Verizon Wireless' Vcast Video service, AT&T (NYSE: T) , Sprint (NYSE: S) TV, and direct to Sony Bravia TVs via the Bravia Internet Video Link.

Astronauts Cheer Success of Urine Conversion Machine

2008-11-26T09:36:00.000-08:00

Astronauts aboard the international space station ran their first full test on equipment designed to turn urine into potable water. The trial comes after five problematic days of attempting to get the machine up and running. Samples of the processed fluid will be brought back to Earth for further tests before anyone will begin drinking from the machine.

After several days without luck, astronauts finally ran a successful test on equipment that turns urine into drinking water -- a necessity for supporting the international space station's crew, which will soon double.

"Not to spoil anything, but I think up here the appropriate words are 'Yippee!'" space station commander Mike Fincke told Mission Control early Tuesday morning, shortly before bedtime.

"There will be dancing later," Mission Control replied.

Trial and Error

Astronauts had spent a frustrating five days trying to get the urine processor working. But until early Tuesday, the machine couldn't last the four hours needed for a successful test run.

Another urine processor test was planned later Tuesday, shortly after the seven astronauts on the docked space shuttle Endeavour and the three space station crew members woke up.

NASA added a 16th day to Endeavour's mission so astronauts could tinker with the urine processor before the shuttle returns to Earth, possibly with the troubled equipment packed aboard. NASA managers had debated bringing part of the contraption back to Earth for repairs if tests weren't successful.

Endeavour is now set to undock Friday and land in Florida on Sunday.

Don't Drink It Just Yet

The urine processor makes up a section of the US$154 million water recycling system that was delivered to the space station by Endeavour. The machine is crucial to providing drinking water for the space station's crew, which is supposed to double to six members next year.

Samples of the processed urine, sweat and condensation will be tested on Earth before astronauts can start drinking the purified water next year.

In an effort to fix the problem, Fincke and Endeavour astronaut Don Pettit had removed vibration grommets which were used to mount a centrifuge in the urine processor, and bolted the piece down.

Other Tasks

The Endeavour astronauts on Tuesday also were to find out if the four spacewalks they performed during the mission paid dividends. The focus of the four spacewalks was cleaning and lubricating a jammed solar-wing joint on the station's right side. Flight controllers sent commands to make the joint rotate twice while the crew slept.

Mission Control said the early morning test was proceeding well.

That joint had not worked properly for more than a year, preventing the solar wings on that side from pointing automatically toward the sun to generate electricity. Grinding parts left the joint full of metal shavings that kept it from rotating.

The station's crew members and Endeavour's astronauts were told to tiptoe around the orbiting complex if they woke up in the middle of the night so as not to create vibrations during the test. Astronauts were given an extra half hour to sleep in because of the test.

"No early risers tomorrow, apparently," Fincke said Monday night.

Security Sleuths See Rising Tide of Virtualized Malware

2008-11-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

Virtual malware -- nefarious, unwanted software that exists as a virtual layer on a computer's hardware rather than entangling within the main operating system -- will gain in popularity among hackers in the coming years, predicts MessageLabs. Such a threat would be difficult for a computer user to detect, let alone cure.

Virus writers are likely to unleash increasingly sophisticated strains of malware next year in an attempt to bounce back from some high-profile botnet shutdowns in 2008, according to new predictions from managed security provider MessageLabs .

The company predicted that hackers will launch new attacks in which malware will exist as a virtualization layer running directly on the hardware and undiscoverable by the operating system.

"The operating system does not know it's there, and the malware will be intercepting low-level operating system calls," explained MessageLabs senior analyst Paul Wood.

Agile Malware

"The problem will be in realizing it's there and understanding how to clean up, because it's so low-level and tangled up in the operating system that sometimes the only recourse is to reinstall the machine from scratch."

Cyber criminals will concentrate on infecting machines with more agile malware which can switch between tasks as appropriate, said Wood. For example, if a piece of malware determines that the spam it is sending out is being blocked, it could then be told to launch denial-of-service attacks instead.

Mobile malware is also likely to increase in 2009, according to MessageLabs, but not with the goal of infecting devices to create botnets. Attackers will instead seek to make money by subverting the phones so that they call premium rate numbers established by the criminals.

Gone Phishing

Phishing attacks will also increase in sophistication, as criminals target flaws in the Domain Name Server (DNS) system to launch phishing sites by creating sub-domains in exposed accounts. This method will help to circumvent traditional URL (uniform resource locater) filters that can detect when criminals use typo-squatting techniques, which rely on mistakes made by surfers when entering a Web site address into a browser.

"We have seen legitimate businesses with good domains being taken over in some way," said Wood. "The criminals gain access to the admin function of their DNS console, add sub-domains to their records and then use these domains in phishing e-mails."

My iPhone, Myself

2008-11-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

The iPhone may be the gadget du jour among people who routinely pay attention to that sort of thing, but it's also managed to find a warm place in the hearts of those who aren't so tech-centric. At least, it has in the case of Mary Jo Pehl, who prided herself in resisting gizmos until she got her hands on an iPhone.

Breathless, my body trilling with excitement, I hold the small, sleek box in my hand. The sun breaks through the clouds and a choir of angels seems to sing as I open it. Behold! In the hands of this mere mortal -- an iPhone!

No mere telephone this. It is an MP3 player, digital camera, text messager, calendar, GPS , voice recorder, tiny TV, and cell phone. You can check your e-mail anywhere, anytime! Clearly it is a wondrous and magnificent item because you must stand in line at the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) store for hours to have one bestowed upon thee. It fairly sparkles as I hold it aloft. And for this one fleeting moment, I am modern. Dare I say I may even be ... cool? Hear me, world! I have an iPhone!

Hold everything. Am I the woman who never even wanted a cell phone? Two days earlier, I would have been happy to communicate with two tin cans connected by string. Now I am cooing over this precious little miracle, oohing and aahing over everything it could do. It never left my sight. Had I not had one last filament of restraint left, I would dress it up in cute clothes and carry it around in a baby sling.

What happened?

Chronic Late Bloomer

I have always been a latecomer to everything. For one thing, I tend toward frugality because I think that most of the stuff we "need" is superfluous. But mostly, my overriding philosophy can be summed up in the words of the Marx Brothers: "Whatever it is, I'm against it." Because I am afraid. Every new iteration of the once simple telephone seems like a testimony about technology as a whole, and I cannot keep up. I have seen the tip of the iceberg and I'm overwhelmed. (Granted, this is coming from someone who thinks an ironing board is an engineering marvel.)

It had become rather a point of pride that in resisting the forces of progress, I'd actually circled 'round and become radically progressive in how far behind I was. After all, it was only three years ago I finally acquired a cordless phone after the ancient cord phone finally gave out. Everyone I knew had cell phones, and here I was marveling at the newfangled device that permitted me to move about freely in my apartment and converse -- at the same time! This was that "technology" that people were talking about! Maybe the lemmings were on to something!

Whatever it was, I wanted to be part of it. Just being an average American, I am part of the modern age, whether I like it or not. And so I managed to incorporate computers and the information superhighway and even electricity into my life. It was time, I figured. Who knows, maybe it would even be somewhat helpful to be somewhat less un-current?

And then I got the iPhone.

The Things You Can Do

Like any convert to anything, my addiction to it is now full-blown. With my new state-of-the-art productivity tool, I can do things I'd never planned or wanted to do, like watch YouTube any time I want. The GPS (global positioning system) tracks my progress walking to the coffee shop I go to every day. I can take photographs of my home and send them instantly to my husband, who lives in the same home.

And what is this vague feeling of smugness when people are impressed with the contraption? Why, I'm so in love with the thing I barely have time to register my disgust with myself! Isn't technology amazing?

I know that this mere thing cannot bring me happiness (I suspect they're still working out the kinks in that application). But for this flash of a moment, I feel in step with the rest of the world. Even a little bit, well, progressive.

And ... there goes the moment. It was fun while it lasted.

Sent from my iPhone.

Opera 4.2 Browser Blooms in Android's Unwalled Garden

2008-11-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

Users of mobile phones running the Android software platform now have the option of running a new version of Opera's browser, Mini 4.2. Opera aims to increase the speed with which mobile users surf by delivering pages rendered to fit small screens via the company's own servers.

Opera Software has thrown open the doors to reveal the final version of its popular Opera Mini 4.2 browser for mobile phones. The 4.2 version has been in beta the last few weeks, and now that Opera Software has opened a new server park, users of the browser in the United States should see a 30 percent speed boost.

This release is the first version officially available for Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android mobile platform -- and the T-Mobile G1 smartphone. It's also the first Web browser alternative to the built-in browser on the open Android platform.

Opera Mini 4.2 adds more language versions and offers new skins to let users personalize the look and feel of the browser. Opera Mini's claim to fame is speed, which is delivered in part by cutting out superfluous content on Web pages.

How it works

Opera has remote servers set up that pre-process Web pages before sending them to a user's phone. The content is compressed to reduce the size of the data transfers, which enables faster browsing -- even on feature phones. For U.S. users, the 30 percent speed gain with 4.2 comes largely from a new Opera server park; however, Opera says that other users around the world should also see improvements due to a reduced load on other servers.

The browser runs on a wide variety of Java-capable mobile phones, including certain BlackBerry, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) , Samsung and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) models, as well as phones that run Windows Mobile.

Opera Software reports that 21 million unique users browsed 5 billion pages in October 2008 alone, making it the world's most popular mobile Web browser.

"It is without question the world's most popular aftermarket mobile Web browser, but I couldn't tell you if it is the most used overall," Avi Greengart, research director of wireless devices for Current Analysis , told LinuxInsider.

"Nokia sells an awful lot of phones with mobile browsers," he added.

Regardless of whether it's extremely popular or just very popular -- is it really that good?

"For devices with small screens or limited connectivity, no question -- Opera Mini does the best job of quickly modifying the site for your tiny screen on its servers, and then sends just that data on to your phone. It is certainly my mobile browser of choice for feature phones," Greengart explained.

No Opera Love for iPhone

While Opera Software has created a version of its Opera Mini for the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone, the company was reportedly rejected by Apple last month because Opera Mini replicates core functionality already built into the iPhone -- namely Apple's own Safari Web browser. Other reports indicated that Opera had created an iPhone browser but hadn't submitted it for approval, thus was never rejected. Regardless, the fact remains that there is no alternative browser available through Apple's official App Store, and none will get there without the company's explicit approval.

This point highlights the stark contrast between the openness of the Android platform and Apple iPhone/iPod touch walled garden.

"As a general rule, Apple likes to control the user experience as much as possible. While Apple has opened up the App Store to all comers, there are a number of ill-defined gates to getting programs onto the iPhone. This appears to protect Apple's own software development efforts for the platform, which means that users get a consistent Apple experience across major functions, but miss out on potentially disruptive innovations from others," Greengart noted.

"Google is taking the opposite approach, hoping that the development community can smooth over Android's rough edges, fill in missing functionality, and potentially tinker with the OS itself," he explained.

"Right now, Android is mostly potential, and while I can reasonably know what the iPhone experience will be like a year from now, I can't predict whether Android will be a whole lot better ... or just the same," he added.

Meanwhile, Opera Mini 4.2 is available in the Android Market as well as via direct downloads from Opera.com and OperaMini.com

Online Suicide Watchers - Connected but Detached

2008-11-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Internet allows people to be more connected than ever. Live streaming webcams let strangers participate in the intimate details of each others' lives. In the case of Abraham Biggs, that social intercourse extended to his death. What mechanisms of social behavior led those observing the 19-year-old as he took his own life to do nothing but watch?

Last Wednesday, a troubled teenager went home, logged onto the Internet, and discussed his unhappiness with strangers at a discussion board he liked to frequent. He wanted to kill himself, he said. And then Abraham Biggs Jr. did just that -- on live videocam. The camera stopped running approximately 12 hours later when the police came to the door.

Biggs had told viewers what he was going to do. Some reportedly urged him on. Some discussed among themselves whether the dosage of pills he was taking was enough. The sequence of these events is unclear, as the video-streaming site connected to the discussion forum, Justin.tv, has removed the video.

The site has issued a statement of regret over the young man's death. The incident is now under investigation by the police.

It may be that Justin.tv and the people who watched Biggs' suicide will not find themselves in legal jeopardy. It is not against the law to fail to stop a suicide in most states, although a few do outlaw people advising someone else to commit suicide. Also, it is well established that Web sites cannot be liable for illegal activity that takes place on their domain unless they are notified specifically about it.

On the other hand, it may be that officials will find an existing piece of legislation that can form the basis of a prosecution, much as attorneys have done with the current prosecution of Lori Drew, the woman accused of provoking the suicide of a 13-year-old girl through fraudulent online activity.

Even if the site, a forum moderator, or a viewer who encouraged Biggs is prosecuted, though, it is unlikely that any legal action will scratch the surface of the big questions surrounding the tragedy: Why did this happen? How could this happen? And, perhaps worst of all, what have we done to ourselves?

Cause and Effect?

There is a school of thought suggesting that the Internet and the collaborative nature of Web 2.0, specifically, is desensitizing people to violence and tragedy to an unprecedented degree. Worse, the Internet is making possible crimes that may not have otherwise occurred.

Indeed, there are many horror stories -- several of which have found their way into the "Law and Order" television franchise -- from murder to rape to kidnapping, whose beginnings were traced to online activity. The events surrounding Biggs' suicide, according to this view, suggest that human behavior has reached a new tipping point.

"This event was tragic on so many levels," Corinne Gregory, founder and president of The PoliteChild and SocialSmarts, told the E-Commerce Times. Society's devaluation of life and loss and human tragedy is not new, "but the Internet is accelerating that trend to a new level."

Still, no discussion of societal trends is ever that pat. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence, for instance, to suggest that at least some viewers thought Biggs was joking.

"From what I understand, Biggs was a well known 'troll' on Justin.tv," said Cord Silverstein, EVP of interactive communications at Capstrat -- "troll" meaning someone known to frequent sites specifically to try to get a rise out of the other participants. "

"Anyone familiar with Biggs' past comments and behavior might have easily decided he wasn't serious," Silverstein told the E-Commerce Times.

That it apparently took 12 hours for the police to be summoned may not have been utter callousness on the part of the viewers, but rather an assumption that someone else would do it. True, such a "dispersion of responsibility," said Richard Shadick, director of Pace University's counseling center and an adjunct professor of psychology, is hardly humankind's finest impulse. It is an online version of the Kitty Genovese phenomenon -- another horrifying societal touch point. Genovese was a young woman who was violently murdered in 1964 in view of 38 onlookers who failed to go to her assistance or even call the police.

"The more people that are witness to a tragic event, the less likely it is they will step in," Shadick said. "That is one possibility why those individuals didn't contact the police in time."

New Responsibilities

This discussion will no doubt continue as our lives become ever more intricately entwined with the Internet. One area of growing consensus, though, appears to be the need to put more safeguards in place.

"It is essential to drill home that whenever someone talks about suicide, that person needs to be taken seriously, no matter what," Shadick said.

"People -- younger people in particular -- are comfortable with sharing every aspect of [their] lives online now," said Armen Berjikly, founder and CEO of Experience Project -- a social experience site that has archived more than two million individual experiences. "[That's] something that many of us are only coming to grips with right now."

It is essential for sites to impress upon their visitors that some subjects require more than a layperson's response, Berjikly told the E-Commerce Times. The Experience Project, for instance, offers several links to suicide prevention for that reason.

No Going Back

t should not go unmentioned that the Internet has helped many people who were isolated connect to others. "I just read about how a woman blogging about losing her son could be therapeutic," Paulette Kouffman Sherman, a licensed psychologist, told the E-Commerce Times. Blogging gives her an outlet to express herself -- and could help assuage another parent's grief as well.

But does that advantage outweigh the damage the Internet can potentially cause? Unlike the angst over how or whether society has devolved into something lesser, that particular existential discussion will not have much value.

Useful or destructive, the Internet is here to stay.

'Fallout 3' Mod Pack to Let Gamers Redecorate the Post-Apocalypse

2008-11-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

The desolate, dangerous wastelands of "Fallout 3" are in for some serious landscaping. Bethesda Softworks is rolling out an editing tool for the post-nuclear hit, allowing gamers to create their own characters, in-game items and environments. Also coming are three new mini-games that add to the title's overall story.

Bethesda Softworks announced Tuesday that it will software tools to allow gamers and developers to tinker with the publisher's recent PC and console release, "Fallout 3."

Dubbed the "Garden of Eden Creation Kit," or G.E.C.K., the editor will enable gamers to create mods, or personal modifications of the PC version of the game.

Bethesda will make the editor available as a free download in December. Games for Windows users will be able to create and add their own content to the game. In January, the game developer will release the first official downloadable additional content, "Operation: Anchorage" for Microsoft Xbox 360 and Games for Windows players. More downloadable content will follow in February and March.

"Creating game mods is something which has gone out of fashion, so it's great to see Bethesda supporting it with this announcement. The most interesting thing in this announcement is that the downloadable content will also be available for Xbox 360. Making this kind of content available on a console is unusual -- I can only think of one other instance of that really happening, which was 'Unreal Tournament 3' on [PlayStation 3]," Mark DeLoura, a video game expert, told TechNewsWorld.

Modding the Wastelands

"Fallout 3" takes place in and around Washington, D.C., hundreds of years after a devastating nuclear war. With the G.E.C.K release, gamers can create a wide array of characters, limited only by their imaginations, to explore a vast and dangerous wasteland. The editor will offer the "Fallout 3" community tools to enable players to expand the game however they wish. They can create, modify and edit data for use in the game, designing new landscapes, towns and locations as well as writing dialog and creating new characters, weapons, creatures and anything else they can dream up.

The downloadable content, available in three packs, will add new quests and items to "Fallout 3" for the PC and Xbox 360, but not the version created for Sony's PlayStation 3 . "Operation Anchorage" will feature a military simulation as well as an epic battle to liberate Anchorage, Alaska, from Communist occupiers.

In February, "The Pitt," will enable gamers to travel to an industrial town located on the remains of what was once Pittsburgh, Penn. "Broken Steel," coming in March, will provide gamers with the opportunity to join a guild of heavily armed protectors known as "The Brotherhood of Steel" and take on the remaining evil Enclave forces in order to retake the Capital Wasteland, continuing game play beyond the original "Fallout 3's" main quest.

"Since online gaming is still looking promising, more and more gamers will demand downloadable content. Part of the online gaming experience is to create a personal and unique identity, so I think gamers will really appreciate the ability to customize content to their own liking," Stephanie Ethier, an analyst at InStat.

PCs Have It Going On

Releasing modding software for a game is not new, but it has fallen somewhat out of favor recently.

"I love this kind of thing. Shipping game mod tools is something that has been done for quite a long time, but recently it hasn't been as popular as it used to be. One of the most famous game mods is 'Counter-Strike,' which was made with the original 'Half-Life' game engine. For a few years, making a game mod was the way for hobbyists/students to show off their abilities and try to break into the game industry. These days, it is casual games, iPhone games, things of that sort," DeLoura pointed out.

Bethesda's decision to release the title's editor reaffirms why gaming on a PC can offer a richer experience than on a console.

"It's really, really, cool," Michael Gartenberg, vice president mobile strategy at Jupitermedia/Mobiledevicestoday.com, told TechNewsWorld. "Once again it drives the notion of why the PC is such a powerful platform in terms of development. Even with the rise of consoles and mobile platforms and everything else ... consumers still flock to the PC for their gaming. It's because they can do cool stuff like this."

While Sony's recently released "Little Big Planet" and upcoming title "Home" will allow gamers to customize games, that sort of functionality must be included from the start of the game's development.

"On the console you get ease of use, the plug-and-play notion where you don't have to download patches and updates and can look at it on a high-definition TV. The PC experience is a little different. It comes with a high degree of flexibility, evidenced by this type of modding," Gartenberg noted.

"We're not talking about the same degree of customization and interaction. [With the 'Fallout 3' editor], I can almost build my own game if I want. They are giving me the keys to the kingdom, and I can go out and build my own experience," Gartenberg explained.

At Home With Robots: The Coming Revolution

2008-11-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Normally, we think of robots as humanoid and self-aware, like Rosie or Data. Some day, they might be more like that, but robots are here in our homes today, cleaning our floors and even making our coffee. What does the future of human-robot relations hold?

You might not think you have robots,in your house, but think again. There's your dishwasher, for instance; you put dishes in it, walk away, and a half hour later they're clean. Same thing with your washing machine. Or your programmable coffeemaker.

Though these everyday mechanical devices aren't humanoid, they are on the robotic spectrum, in the sense that they perform functions with minimal human involvement.

"People use the word 'robotics' a lot, and it means a lot of different things," Rich Hooper, a robotics consultant who develops and designs computer-controlled machines for Austin, Texas-based,told TechNewsWorld. "Robotics has gotten so loosely defined that it means almost anything with movable parts."

Steve Rainwater, a robot technologist and editor of the Robots.net blog, agrees.

"'Robot' is a word that's almost impossible to define; it has come to be used for too many different things these days," Rainwater told TechNewsWorld. "Personally, I think of robots as autonomous machines that evolved initially with the help of humans. I also tend to think of the word robot as an ideal that we haven't really achieved yet, rather than just a description of the artifacts that have resulted from trying to realize that ideal."

Growth of an Industry

Whether they're called robots or just smart machines, these devices are quickly becoming an everyday feature of our lives. In fact, according to a study done by the International Federation of Robotics, there were 3.4 million personal domestic service robots in use at the end of 2007, and it predicted another 4.6 million domestic service robots will be sold between 2008 and 2012.

The first possibility is that we'll eventually have general purpose humanoid robots that do many tasks and interact with us more or less like we interact with each other," Rainwater said. "This is the future so often predicted in science fiction stories. You might want to ask your household robot to do the dishes, babysit the kids, mow the lawn, or play a game of chess with you."

The smart machine path is one other -- perhaps more likely -- future.

"The other possibility is that homes of the future will have function-specific robotics integrated transparently into the house itself," Rainwater said. "The house will become a network of smart machines that interact with you and each other."

The Future Is Now

iRobot is one company that helped to make robots part of our everyday lives. There's the Roomba, which is an automatic vacuum cleaner, and the Scooba, an automatic floor washing system. Then there's the pool-cleaning Verro and the gutter-cleaning Looj.

"Roomba made practical robots a reality for the first time and showed the world that robots are here to stay," the company's Web site says. "With nearly two decades of leadership in the robot industry, iRobot remains committed to providing platforms for invention and discovery, developing key partnerships to foster technological exploration and building robots that improve the standards of living and safety worldwide."

Founded in 1990 by roboticists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner and headquartered in Bedford, Mass., iRobot has more than 400 employees and a wide selection of household robots.

Other robots available to consumers now are items like the Clocky, an alarm clock that spins away if it's chased, produced by Nanda; or security robots that travel around the premises of a home or business sold by companies like MobileRobots.

Honda has also been working on a humanoid robot project called "Asimo." Still in the development phase, Asimo can carry trays, push carts, climb stairs, and do a number of other tasks. In the future, it might be used to care for the elderly, provide service at social functions, and do simple housework. It is also being developed to work in conjunction with other appliances.

"In the home, Asimo could someday be useful as it can connect wirelessly to the Internet to retrieve requested data, for example," Alicia Jones, Honda's North American Asimo Project Supervisor, told TechNewsWorld. "Asimo could also be integrated with other household electronics so that it could control those devices as requested by a user. Of course, it will still be some time before Asimo is ready to help in other ways in the home."

Robot Rights

Robots continue to fascinate people, if only because they see themselves reflected in these machines. And as they become more common, questions of the ethics of this kind of labor might come to the fore.

"If you're doing something that a human can do, you might as well have a human do it," Hooper said. "As much as I like robots, I don't really identify with them."

Rainwater argues the other side of this debate, suggesting that robots might eventually have something akin to basic human rights.

"Robots are fascinating because, unlike all the other machines we humans have invented, they're the first that may someday have the capacity to be our friends and companions," Rainwater said. "In a sense they're our children. Some people think robots may even eventually become our evolutionary successors. That's something to think about before you kick that robot dog that's annoying you."

Spammers must leave facebook!

2008-11-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Facebook has won $873 million judgment against a Canadian man who bombarded the popular online hangout with sexually explicit ''spam'' messages.

The victory, sealed with a judge's order issued last Friday, probably won't yield a windfall for privately held Facebook Inc., whose revenue this year is expected to range between $250 million to $300 million.

Court records indicate the alleged spammer, Adam Guerbuez of Montreal, has been difficult to find since Facebook sued him four months ago.

But Facebook is hoping the size of the judgment will scare off other spammers who might be tempted to target the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's audience of more than 120 million users.

''Everyone who participates constructively in Facebook should feel confident that we are fighting hard to protect you against spam and other online nuisances,'' Max Kelly, Facebook's director of security, wrote Monday on the company's blog.

Efforts to reach Guerbuez for comment on Monday were unsuccessful.

The case against Guerbuez and his business, Atlantis Blue Capital, illustrates how Internet rogues can manipulate Facebook's communications system to unleash massive marketing blitzes.

According to Facebook, Guerbuez fooled its users into providing him with their usernames and passwords. One method was the use of fake Web sites that posed as legitimate destinations.

After Guerbuez gained access to user's personal profiles, he used computer programs to send out more than 4 million messages promoting a variety of products, including marijuana and penis enlargement products, during March and April of this year, Facebook said.

''Despite the resources dedicated to spam eradication, current available technology does not permit Facebook to completely prevent the transmission of spam on its site,'' the company's lawyers wrote in the case against Guerbuez.

100,000 laptop battery go to trash !?

2008-11-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Computer makers are recalling 100,000 laptop battery packs made by Sony Corp. after 40 reports of overheating, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice Thursday.
Sony also recalled nearly 10 million of a different model of battery in 2006 and 2007.

The voluntary recall applies to certain Sony 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Toshiba Corp.

Some incidents involved smoke or flames, according to Sony. Twenty-one of the reports claimed minor property damage, and small burns were reported in four cases.

Sony blamed two factors for the defects: adjustments on its manufacturing line from October 2004 to June 2005, which may have affected the quality of cells in certain production lots; and a possible flaw in the metal foil for electrodes.

The company said no reports have been filed for batteries made after 2006, and noted that the recalled units are a small fraction of the more than 260 million it has shipped over six years.

This also pales in comparison to the recall of nearly 10 million of a different model of Sony batteries in 2006 and 2007, which affected almost every major PC manufacturer, including Dell Inc. and Apple Inc.

In this batch of problematic laptops, the bulk of the 35,000 affected computers in the U.S. were sold by HP between December 2004 and June 2006, according to the safety commission, including HP Pavilion, HP Compaq and Compaq Presario models.

Some Dell Latitude and Inspiron models shipped between November 2004 and November 2005 are also covered by the recall, as well as some Toshiba Satellite and Tecra laptops sold from April 2005 to October 2005.

An additional 65,000 of the flawed batteries were sold outside the U.S. The PCs and separate batteries were sold directly by the computer manufacturers, electronics stores and online retailers worldwide, not by Sony.

Sony said its own Vaio laptops don't use the battery in question. Last month, however, the company recalled 440,000 Vaio notebooks worldwide because of a wiring flaw that can cause overheating.

The safety commission said PC users should remove laptop batteries immediately and contact the manufacturer to request a replacement. Details, including laptop model numbers and contact information for Dell, HP and Toshiba, have been posted on the commission's Web site.

Google launches a video chat!

2008-11-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

Google has brought video and voice chat to GMail, adding a further string to the bow of what is already the most fully featured free webmail service.

"We've made it easy enough that your mom - or your employees - will actually use it," says the Google homepage, which runs through the simple setup procedure.

The new chat functionality will work on PCs with Windows XP or Vista, as well as on Macs with OS X 10.4 or later. The plugin will work with all the major browsers, including Google's own Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

From what we have seen so far, the videos integrate directly with the standard chat function in Google. To get started, you have to first enable this new functionality from the 'Options' menu at the bottom of a Gmail chat window. After that, all you have to do is select the contact you want to speak with and click on 'Video & more' in the lower-left part of the chat window. From there, you can then start a voice or video chat.

Gmail Video and Voice will be made available to all Gmail users starting Tuesday at noon PST. Global rollout should be complete by the end of the day. To see if you have it, open a chat with someone (you don't actually have to message them). If your account is video-enabled, at the lower left of the chat window, there will be an interface element labeled "Video & more." When you click on that it will walk you through installing the plug-in. If you want to make a video call to someone who hasn't yet installed the plug-in, you'll be able to invite them to do so. (In my early test of the service, this feature wasn't yet enabled).

The existing downloadable Google Talk application, which has supported voice chat for a while, only later may get the video capability. The Google people I spoke with were noncommittal.

New Usb 3.0

2008-11-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

A and B-side USB connectors
Intel and other companies have formed a group to promote the USB 3.0, which should deliver more than ten times the speed of the existing USB 2.0 standard.Ten times faster than the old USB spec, USB 3.0 can transfer a 27GB file in just 70 seconds. Plus, with more "lanes" of data within the connector, new USB will be able to simultaneously send and receive information—that might not sound like much, but the old USB couldn't do so.
President and general manager of the chipset business unit at AMD, Phil Eisler, released a statement saying, "The future of computing and consumer devices is increasingly visual and bandwidth intensive. Lifestyles filled with HD media and digital audio demand quick and universal data transfer. USB 3.0 is an answer to the future bandwidth need of the PC platform.”Intel stated that the USB 3.0 specification would be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency. The USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed with both copper and optical cable capabilities, meaning even higher speeds will be possible in the future.
Jeff Ravencraft, Intel's technology strategist, said: "The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining (USB 2.0's) ease-of-use experience."

Ps3 review

2008-11-11T20:58:00.001-08:00

From the outset, the PlayStation 3 has billed itself as more than just another game console. And this machine lives up to its promise: It's one of the most capable Blu-ray Disc players available today. The 40GB PS3 ($400, as of 4/24/08) has built-in gigabit ethernet and is one of the few Blu-ray players that supports BD-Live (Profile 2.0) content that can be delivered via the Internet. It also supports Blu-ray BonusView, for playing back picture-in-picture content.

The PS3's movie playback experience is best if you start from scratch, inserting a disc into the front-loading slot as soon as you power up the unit. It took just 3 seconds for a test disc to physically load into the unit itself, followed almost immediately by the PlayStation 3 startup music. The screen then blacked out, and the movie came up. Total elapsed time from disc insertion to the start of the film: a respectable 24 seconds.

The PS3 doesn't come with a separate remote control for video playback, so I had to use the game controller to navigate through movies, and that required two hands. (Sony does sell a dedicated remote control, for an extra $25; with this remote, the Blu-ray playback experience should be exponentially smoother.)

You'll want to buy the remote: Using two hands to control basic functions like play, fast forward, and rewind was both ungainly and imprecise; I missed not having dedicated buttons for such common features.

To navigate up, down, left, or right within the disc menus, you can use either the PS3 controller's directional pad or the left analog stick controller. You press X to select options and to activate play. The O button lets you exit the Blu-ray player, the square button brings up the disc's pop-up menu, and the triangle button gives you a handy, transparent-overlay on-screen menu that pops up on the left side of the screen. This menu provides quick access to certain settings, and awkward access to dedicated, software-based playback controls (buttons for fast-forward, rewind, play, and stop, for example)--which you need, since the game controller lacks such dedicated controls.

Trying to perform certain operations, such as precise fast-forwarding, was particularly frustrating. The fast-forward steps ahead at 1.5X, 10X, 30X, and 120X, and you must press the X button to cease moving forward. Stepping forward frame by frame is even more awkward: No option clearly exists for this, but you can press the controller's X button to pause playback and then use the analog stick or the right and left arrows on the directional pad to advance a frame at a time.

Unfortunately, you'll have to experiment to figure all this out: The manual included with PC World's PlayStation 3 test unit provided no clues on how to use the controller's buttons for movie navigation. I had to dope out the responses via trial and error, and frequently found several paths to the same operation. This could be either confusing or convenient, depending on your perspective and on how comfortable you are using the controller to navigate the interface.

I found the pop-up info display elegantly designed--unobtrusive, yet easily readable. (The easiest path to this display: Press the Select button in the middle of the controller.) It's a good thing that the display is a pleasure to read, because you'll be invoking it a lot: The pop-up is the only way to figure out where you are in the disc, since the PlayStation 3 console lacks an LCD screen such as those commonly found on DVD and dedicated Blu-ray Disc players.

In the PC World Test Center's jury evaluation, the PlayStation 3's video quality proved to be average. On its own, it looked good, but compared with our top Blu-ray Disc models, such as the Philips BDP7200/37, the PS3's video seemed to lack contrast, detail, and dimensional depth.

Nevertheless, the PS3 remains quite a deal if you want to play high-def Blu-ray movies and aren't wedded to getting a stand-alone home-theater-style device. Even factoring in the cost of the remote, you're getting a versatile, reasonably priced Blu-ray Disc player that can handle all of the latest BonusView and BD-Live content. Plus, you could use the machine to play games, browse pictures, and surf the Web, too.

Best antyvirus software 2008

2008-11-11T20:55:00.001-08:00

You're crazy to use a computer on the web without antivirus software, but getting solid antivirus protection doesn't have to mean spending a fortune. In fact, some of the most capable antivirus products don't cost a thing.

Here are some of my personal thoughts on the best antivirus products on the market, both free and commercial.

Free

Alwil Avast! 4.6 Home Edition - Venerable Avast! is still free for personal use, and it's a relatively unobtrusive and capable virus stomper that will work well for just about anyone. A new feature adds a web proxy to the mix (which filters all traffic running through it for security risks), and it works will all major web browsers. It also recognizes non-virus threats like spyware and adware. The Pro edition ($40) adds a few power-user features that the average user probably won't miss. Give the free version a try!

Aviva AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic 7 - This has long been a capable and effective antivirus product, especially noteworthy for its fast operation.

UPDATE: Many readers have asked me about Grisoft's AVG product. I've used it and don't really prefer it to Avast/Aviva, namely because it does not seem to scan all files effectively. Independent security ratings place it relatively low in overall capability as well. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Paid

Trend Micro Internet Security Pro - Trend Micro has long been an also-ran in the antivirus world, but after spending some time with a recent version of the software I've been impressed with how well it works, its paucity of crashes, and how generally effective it is. Trend offers three vaguely similar versions of its security application; this one ($70) is the most inclusive, and cheaper than the rest. You can also get plain antivirus for just $40.

Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 - If you want absolute and utter control over every 1 and 0 that enters and exits your computer, Kaspersky is the app for you. I honestly don't think you can get any more secure than with Kaspersky locking down your system, but it was overkill even for me, and I had trouble convincing it not to remove some applications I knew were OK and actually wanted on my PC. Kaspersky is a hungry shredder with no reverse button (and it's on the slow side, too). $80. (Anti-virus only is $60.) I put NOD32 in this category; it's very similar in operation but can be heavy-handed.

Symantec Norton 360 - I've been a Norton user in various forms for close to a decade; the latest version doesn't do much different than the last few years' worth, but it's still rock-solid security that I don't hesitate to rely on. My only complaint is that Norton can slow down your computer quite a bit (like Kaspersky) and almost invariably hangs when I'm trying to shut down my computer. If you've ever wondered where all those error messages about programs like "ccApp" not responding come from, well, you've found it. It's frustrating that these problems persist year after year. $80 for Norton 360, or AntiVirus only for $60.

Windows Vienna

2008-11-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

Windows "Vienna" (formerly known as Blackcomb) is Microsoft's codename for a future version of Microsoft Windows, originally announced in February 2000, but has since been subject to major delays and rescheduling.

The code name "Blackcomb" was originally assigned to a version of Windows that was planned to follow Windows XP (codenamed "Whistler"; both named after the Whistler-Blackcomb resort) in both client and server versions. However, in August 2001, the release of Blackcomb was pushed back several years and Vista (originally codenamed "Longhorn" after a bar in the Whistler Blackcomb Resort) was announced as a release between XP and Blackcomb.

Since then, the status of Blackcomb has undergone many alterations and PR manipulations, ranging from Blackcomb being scrapped entirely, to becoming a server-only release. As of 2006, it is still planned as both a client and server release with a current release estimate of anytime between 2009 and 2012, although no firm release date or target has yet been publicized.

In January 2006, "Blackcomb" was renamed to "Vienna".

Originally, internal sources pitched Blackcomb as being not just a major revision of Windows, but a complete departure from the way users today typically think about interacting with a computer. While Windows Vista is intended to be a technologies-based release, with some added UI sparkle (in the form of the Windows Aero set of technologies and guidelines), Vienna is targeted directly at revolutionizing the way users of the product interact with their PCs.

For instance, the "Start" philosophy, introduced in Windows 95, may be completely replaced by the "new interface" which was said in 1999 to be scheduled for "Vienna" (before being moved to Vista ("Longhorn") and then back again to "Vienna").

The Explorer shell will be replaced in its entirety, with features such as the taskbar being replaced by a new concept based on the last 10 years of R&D at the Microsoft "VIBE" research lab. Projects such as GroupBar and LayoutBar are expected to make an appearance, allowing users to more effectively manage and keep track of their applications and documents while in use, and a new way of launching applications is expected—among other ideas, Microsoft is investigating a pie menu-type circular interface, similar in function to the dock in Mac OS X.

Several other features originally planned for Windows Vista may be part of "Vienna", though they may be released independently when they are finished.

"Vienna" will also feature the "sandboxed" approach discussed during the Alpha/White Box development phase for Longhorn. All non-managed code will run in a sandboxed environment where access to the "outside world" is restricted by the operating system. Access to raw sockets will be disabled from within the sandbox, as will direct access to the file system, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and complete memory addressing. All access to outside applications, files, and protocols will be regulated by the operating system, and any malicious activity will be halted immediately. If this approach is successful, it bodes very well for security and safety, as it is virtually impossible for a malicious application to cause any damage to the system if it is locked in what is effectively a glass box.

Another interesting feature mentioned by Bill Gates is "a pervasive typing line that will recognize the sentence that [the user is] typing in." The implications of this could be as simple as a "complete as you type" function as found in most modern search engines, (e.g. Google Suggest) or as complex as being able to give verbal commands to the PC without any concern for syntax. This former feature has been incorporated to an extent in Windows Vista.

Microsoft has stated that "Vienna" will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit for the client version, in order to ease the industry's transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing. Vienna Server is expected to support only 64-bit server systems. There will be continued backward compatibility with 32-bit applications, but 16-bit Windows and MS-DOS applications will not be supported as in Windows Vista 64-bit versions. They are already unsupported in 64-bit versions of XP and Server 2003.