Tech Newsic :: hear the techiness: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Xen.org aims for the cloud with open source initiative

Developers of the Xen open source hypervisor are trying to make Xen the industry's cloud-building platform of choice with a new initiative designed to expand upon the hypervisor's ability to create "secure, customizable, multi-tenant cloud services."

Sharp to launch ultramobile device with Arm chip

Sharp Electronics this week introduced a netbook-like mobile device with a 5-inch touchscreen that is designed to run Internet-based applications.

The PC-Z1 device is as easy to handle as a mobile phone and provides performance similar to PCs, the company said in a statement. It is designed for an audience that relies mostly on the Web for computing.

Open source BI vendor Pentaho touts migration deal

Add open source BI (business intelligence) vendor Pentaho to the list of vendors rolling out financial incentives to lure customers during the global recession.

On Monday, the company will announce a new migration program along with the launch of its 3.5 release. Under the "Escape" offer, users of Actuate e.Reports, Brio, Cognos Impromptu, Crystal Reports, and Oracle Reports can have their BI reports converted to Pentaho for special rates, starting at $5,000 for 25 reports. For bigger volumes, the cost can go as low as $100 per report.

EMC to resell VMware management software

EMC will resell virtualization management software from VMware alongside its own Ionix management platform in an expanded partnership aimed at helping enterprises build private clouds.

The combination of Ionix and VMware vCenter AppSpeed will allow IT departments to both measure the performance of applications running in VMware vSphere 4 virtual environments and pinpoint the cause of any performance problems, according to Bob Quillin, senior director of marketing for the EMC Ionix Software Group.

Users cite HP printer problems after Snow Leopard upgrade

Mac users who upgraded to Snow Leopard on Friday began reporting problems with Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers within hours of Apple launching the upgrade, according to the company's support forums.

Some were infuriated that their long-reliable printer was not currently supported by Snow Leopard, while others rebelled when HP told them to buy a new printer.

Skype spy Trojan escapes into wild

Only days after Swiss programmer Ruben Unteregger released the source code for a Trojan he wrote three years ago to hack Skype phone calls, the inevitable has happened -- someone has released it as a compiled piece of "faux" malware.

Cloud-enterprise integrations readied for Amazon EC2 users

Cast Iron Systems is looking to make it easier for users of cloud applications on the Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) to integrate with their in-house enterprise systems.

VMware unwraps virtualization management tools

VMware has revealed several new virtualization management products to be announced at VMworld Monday, but is so far shying away from any big-ticket announcements.

Snow Leopard: Five reasons to upgrade now

After a year of hype, Snow Leopard is finally here. But does it have claws? Apple's newest Mac OS has been billed as an under-the-hood upgrade -- a necessary evolution of the operating system. But it's a little light on new features that Mac users can touch, see, and feel (except, of course, for the mouse that responds to multiple finger gestures).

iPhone apps: Five markets under siege

Thanks to the App Store and the iPhone's versatility, Apple's smartphone combines many different devices into one compact product. In the face of such a juggernaut, is it possible for stand-alone GPS devices, MP3 players, handheld games, low-end digital cameras, and e-readers to survive?

Security vendor: Snow Leopard malware defense 'very basic'

The industry has been speculating that Apple's Snow Leopard operating system (released today) would include anti-virus functionality. In reality, the Apple XProtect anti-malware feature defends against just two Trojans, says one security vendor.

AJAX widget security enabled

In an upgrade to one of its core technologies, the OpenAjax Alliance, an industry group formed to boost interoperability in the AJAX space, on Monday is offering OpenAjax Hub 2.0, featuring capabilities for secure interaction between JavaScript widgets.

FBI investigating laptops sent to U.S. governors

There may be a new type of Trojan Horse attack to worry about.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is trying to figure out who is sending laptop computers to state governors across the U.S., including West Virginia Governor Joe Mahchin and Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal. Some state officials are worried that they may contain malicious software.

Apple may have app competition in Android

The iPhone may be the king of the app world, but Android-powered devices are rapidly gaining ground.

Dell open to developing mobile devices with carriers

Dell said it was willing to work with carriers worldwide to develop more mobile devices, suggesting that another phonelike prototype like the one it developed with China Mobile could be on the cards.

The company recently showed off a prototype mobile handset it developed with the Chinese mobile service provider, though neither has commented on when it will be available.

Dell, HP back Microsoft in Word legal battle

Dell and Hewlett-Packard, the world's two largest computer makers, have sided with Microsoft in its appeal of a ban that would block Word sales in the U.S.

The two companies warned that the injunction would ripple through the PC ecosystem, and that without more time to test any Microsoft tweaks, users might lose data.

Apple posts list of software incompatible with Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard day is finally here, and forecasts call for the deluge of application compatibility updates to continue throughout the day. However, there are some specific programs that are currently incompatible with Snow Leopard -- so incompatible, in fact, that 10.6's installer will move them into a folder called Incompatible Software on your hardware.

Wyse offers desktop virtualization for the iPhone

IPhone and iPod touch devotees can now access their PCs or virtual desktops remotely using PocketCloud from Wyse, released Thursday.

Because of the iPhone's small screen size, compared to a standard PC display, intuitive navigation is key. The PocketCloud user interface supports standard iPhone gestures, which, for example, make it possible to zoom in closer at a part of the screen or move around on the display.

Windows 7 user rollouts could come in pieces

Corporate users are more likely to move to Windows 7 on a piecemeal basis as they replace PCs rather than looking for big budget outlays to cover mass migration, says analyst Michael Cherry.

Update: Intel raises sales forecast

Fueling hopes that the hardware sector will bounce back from the recession in the second half of the year, Intel on Friday said its expectations for third-quarter revenue are higher than its prior forecast due to stronger-than-expected demand for processors and chip sets.

Microsoft misses target date for Office Web Apps preview

Microsoft will miss its target date for releasing a technical preview of Office Web Apps, the Web-based versions of software in its Office productivity suite.

The company had planned to release test versions of the applications in August, but they will not appear before the end of the month, Microsoft confirmed through its public relations firm Friday.

New cloud infrastructure service focuses on security

OpSource on Friday announced a new cloud computing infrastructure service that it says meets the security and management needs of enterprises more effectively than rival offerings.

Users get a dedicated "virtual private cloud" of resources, and can determine how much access it has to the public Internet, according to OpSource. The VPC can be connected with users' on-premise data centers via a VPN connection.

Snow Leopard doesn't sync with Palm OS devices

Some users of Palm smartphones are upset that the new Snow Leopard operating system won't sync Apple computers with Palm OS devices, calling it Apple's payback for the Palm's sync of iTunes to the Palm Pre.

While the Palm OS is being retired by Palm, there are still many customers using the Palm Treo Pro, the Centro and older Palm devices, which run the Palm OS. Some have used earlier versions of the Apple OS X to synchronize their home computers with their smartphones for access to e-mail, contacts, calenders and other applications.

US agency launches two flash memory patent investigations

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to investigate technology-related patent complaints brought by two companies, with the vendors asking the agency to ban the import of a wide range of products using flash memory.

In one case, Samsung Electronics of South Korea filed a complaint, and in the second, Samsung is among the targets in the investigation. The two cases involve different types of flash memory.

Rally links Oracle Java tool to agile ALM

Rally Software Development, which offers a hosted service and onsite software for application lifecycle management for agile programming teams, is connecting its platform to Oracle's JDeveloper IDE for Java development.

Forrester: Social networking grows up

Companies can begin to target people over the age of 34 with media campaigns that leverage social networks as that age group has become the largest segment using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, a new study from Forrester Research claims.

Parallelism needs killer application for mass adoption

The addition of multiple cores to microprocessors has created a significant opportunity for parallel programming, but a killer application is needed to push the concept into the mainstream, researchers said during a panel discussion at the Hot Chips conference.

H-1B reform bill could complicate offshore outsourcing

While the fate of the legislation that would alter the administration and regulation of the H-1B visa program remains up in the air, one thing is clear: The bill contains an important provision, designed to prevent the displacement of American workers, that could put a serious wrinkle in the typical offshore outsourcing arrangement.

Inside Snow Leopard's under-the-hood additions

Snow Leopard features several new under-the-hood technologies that, at first glance, might seem to be of interest only to Mac software developers. But those technologies will in fact benefit regular Mac users--if not right now, then in the not-too-distant future. Here's a look at how three of these additions to Snow Leopard -- 64-bit computing, Grand Central Dispatch, and OpenCL -- work and how they could improve your Mac experience sometime soon.

Gauging Snow Leopard's speed boosts

Apple describes Snow Leopard as a top-to-bottom refinement of existing features. One major goal of those refinements: Improved performance.

Snow Leopard aims to run leaner and faster on current and recent Macs, in part by dropping support for legacy Power PC systems and focusing solely on Intel-powered Macs. And while some of Snow Leopard's potential performance gains won't show up until software developers optimize their applications for the new OS, others are apparent right now.

New attack cracks common Wi-Fi encryption in a minute

Computer scientists in Japan say they've developed a way to break the WPA encryption system used in wireless routers in about one minute.

Six reasons why Microsoft struggles with innovation

When I think of Exchange 2010 and its hybrid approach to cloud computing, it reminds me that Microsoft can be innovative. With Exchange 2010, users can keep some e-mail accounts on premises while sending others to the cloud. It strikes a good balance between maintaining what customers want in an e-mail server product while gently leading them into next-generation cloud e-mail.

Report: Tablet is Apple's third try, Jobs' top interest

Word that Steve Jobs is now hard at work on an Apple tablet, which he reportedly deep-sixed twice in the past, may be good news for the tablet and bad news for its delivery date.

Dell finds rare bright spot in demand for iSCSI storage

Like many technology vendors, Dell has been battered in recent months by a steep drop in demand for computers and other technology products. Yet demand remains strong for one of Dell's smaller product families, the EqualLogic range of iSCSI (Internet SCSI) storage-area network products.

"A lot of the growth is coming from virtualization," said Travis Vigil, senior global manager for storage at Dell.

Apple adds basic anti-malware to Snow Leopard

Apple has expanded a download warning feature in Mac OS X 10.5 to create rudimentary anti-malware detection in the new Snow Leopard operating system due out Friday, sources have confirmed.

Out of the box, Snow Leopard will be able to detect only two Trojan horses, although Apple will be able to push other signatures to users through the Mac operating system's Software Update service, those sources said.

Iomega unveils new Linux-based, entry-level NAS server

EMC's Iomega unit Wednesday introduced its next-generation quad-drive desktop NAS server, which offers a storage capacity of up to 8TB, iSCSI connectivity for block-level data transfer, multiple RAID configurations, and remote access and management capabilities.

The Iomega StorCenter ix4-200d NAS server, based on EMC's AX line of low-end arrays, runs on Linux and can be set up in in a few minutes via four mouse clicks, according to the company.

Oracle demands information from Rimini Street

Oracle wants Rimini Street, provider of third-party support for enterprise applications, to reveal the details of its business model in connection with Oracle's ongoing intellectual-property litigation against rival SAP, according to documents filed last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Oracle filed a lawsuit in March 2007 against SAP and its now-shuttered subsidiary TomorrowNow, which provided lower-cost support for Oracle's PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel applications.

Analysts: Windows 7 could spur enterprise PC sales

Windows 7 could inspire businesses to begin spending money on PC upgrades again because it repairs major problems enterprise users had with Vista when it was released nearly three years ago, analysts said this week.

Fujitsu aims for 10-petaflop supercomputer

Fujitsu aims to deliver by early 2011 a 10-petaflop supercomputer, which would be almost 10 times more powerful than today's fastest system.

Fujitsu is building the supercomputer for Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, known as RIKEN, said Takumi Maruyama, head of Fujitsu's processor development department, on the sidelines of the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University on Tuesday.

Sun plans on-chip security boost for Ultrasparc

Sun Microsystems' product plans are up in the air pending its acquisition by Oracle, but the company's chip engineers continue to present new designs in the hope they'll see the light of day.

At the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University on Tuesday, Sun presented plans for a security accelerator chip that it said would reduce encryption costs for applications such as VoIP calls and online banking Web sites.

Sun plans on-chip security boost for Ultrasparc

Sun Microsystems' product plans are up in the air pending its acquisition by Oracle, but the company's chip engineers continue to present new designs in the hope they'll see the light of day.

Hackers like Christmas best of all

Most people may be busy with year-end gift buying and holiday parties at the end of December, but security professionals have an added obligation: keeping the hackers off their corporate networks.

Most security pros know that spammers and online criminals like to launch their campaigns when they think nobody will be minding the store, and according to a survey of attendees at the Defcon hacking conference earlier this month, Christmas is the best time of year for hackers to strike.

Symantec offers fix for buggy Norton patch

Symantec has posted a software fix after hundreds of users reported problems with a buggy update of the company's flagship Norton AntiVirus software.

Salesforce.com rolls out VAR program for Force.com

Salesforce.com on Wednesday announced a VAR (value added reseller) program for its Force.com development platform, in a bid to spur wider adoption of the on-demand CRM vendor's homegrown technology.

The program will primarily appeal to system integrators and consultants who can develop custom applications on Force.com for clients.

The Free Software Foundation attacks Windows 7 'sins'

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) on Wednesday launched a campaign against Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Windows 7 operating system , calling it "treacherous computing" that stealthily takes away rights from users.

At the Web site Windows7Sins.org , the Boston-based FSF lists the seven "sins" that proprietary software such as Windows 7 commits against computer users.

Amazon Web Services integrates with datacenter using private clouds

Amazon Web Services has announced a limited beta version of its Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) service, which aims to connect a company's existing computing resources and Amazon's cloud as if they were part of one data center, Amazon said on Wednesday.

Cloud e-mail gets 'significant upgrade', boasts Mimecast

Mimecast has launched what its CEO described as one of the most significant upgrades in recent years to its e-mail flagship Unified Email Management platform.

Nokia enters increasingly crowded mobile money market

Nokia is getting ready to launch Nokia Money, which will offer basic financial services on mobile phones, it said on Wednesday.

It will enable consumers to send money, pay for goods, services and bills, and recharge their prepaid SIM cards, according to Nokia.

[ Stay ahead of advances in mobile technology with InfoWorld's Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. ]

BP awards application development contracts

BP has awarded contracts in the area of application development and maintenance to IBM, Accenture, and three top Indian outsourcers.

BP was earlier outsourcing these services to 40 service providers and decided to rationalize the number to five, a BP spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Microsoft starts serving IE8 upgrade to enterprises

As promised more than a month ago , Microsoft began pushing Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) to enterprises yesterday via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

The IE8 upgrade for Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, and Server 2008 was cast as an "Update rollup" to WSUS, Microsoft's most popular tool for deploying patches within businesses.

ACLU files lawsuit on border laptop searches

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit demanding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release details of its policy that allows the agency to search travelers' laptops at U.S. borders without suspicion of wrongdoing.

Yahoo still considers Bing a search competitor

Yahoo hopes to remain relevant and competitive in the search engine market, battling for users not only against nemesis Google but also against its future search partner, Microsoft.

So said Yahoo executives during a press conference on Monday during which they announced enhancements to Yahoo's search engine, Web mail, and instant messaging products, three areas that Yahoo considers key to its success.

Judge overturns 2007 Unix copyright decision

A federal appeals court Monday overturned a 2007 decision that Novell owns the Unix code, and the ruling now clears the way for SCO to pursue a $1 billion copyright infringement case against IBM.

Judge overturns 2007 Unix copyright decision

A federal appeals court Monday overturned a 2007 decision that Novell owns the Unix code, and the ruling now clears the way for SCO to pursue a $1 billion copyright infringement case against IBM.

The business iPhone apps finder

A trip to the Apple iTunes App Store reveals an endless array of iPhone applications. And filtering by the store's broad categories such as "business" doesn't do much to help users find apps they may want.

To address this issue, InfoWorld.com has launched its iPhone business apps catalog, an interactive listing of Phone apps of use to professionals, businesses, and IT staff. The online tool lets people sort apps by more specific categories than the Apple store provides, as well as by name, price, and release date.

Cisco wireless LAN vulnerability could open 'back door'

Some wireless access points from Cisco Systems have a vulnerability that could allow a hacker to redirect traffic outside the enterprise or potentially gain access to an entire corporate network, a security company said.

At the root of the problem is the way that new Cisco APs are added to a network, according to AirMagnet, a wireless network security company that discovered the problem and planned to report its findings Tuesday.

Intel details power-savings features on Moorestown

Intel has made a number of power-saving enhancements to its Atom architecture that will be included in its upcoming Moorestown platform for smartphones, a company official said on Monday.

The platform draws up to half the power in active mode and up to 50 times less power in idle mode compared to its predecessors, said Rajesh Patel, lead architect for the Lincroft system-on-chip at Intel during a presentation at the Hot Chips conference in Stanford. Intel currently ships the Menlow platform, which is targeted at handheld computers called mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

Windows 7 worse on netbook battery life than XP?

Windows 7 cuts almost a third off the battery life of some netbooks shipping today with Windows XP, several recent reviews and user reports say.

Laptop magazine reported in its blog on Monday that during a recent test, a Toshiba netbook lost 2.5 hours of battery life when running Windows 7 instead of XP, or about 30 percent (6:53 for Windows 7, versus 9:24 for XP).

IBM hails ALM standards participation

IBM will use the occasion of the 2009 Agile conference in Chicago on Tuesday to trumpet its ongoing support for an industry initiative intended to make it easier for different application lifecycle management products to interoperate. But Big Blue's efforts may not mean much given that other critical ALM vendors, including Microsoft and Micro Focus -- which now owns the former Borland ALM line --- have not signed on to the initiative.

Asustek's Android Eee PC remains in deep freeze

The CEO of netbook pioneer Asustek Computer said Tuesday that he still sees no clear market for mini-laptops known as smartbooks, the reason the company isn't moving forward in that product segment.

Novell, SCO ready for another day in court over Unix fight

Both SCO and Novell are anticipating their next day in court to settle who owns Unix copyrights after a judge Monday overturned a 2007 decision that favored Novell.

Appirio aims new SaaS app at large services businesses

Appirio, a company known for helping companies adopt cloud-based software, is launching a SaaS (software as a service) application for large services providers.

The application, Appirio Professional Services Enterprise, is built on top of Force.com, the native development platform of a key Appirio partner, on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) vendor Salesforce.com.

NetApp reveals cloud computing plan, new Data OnTap OS

NetApp Tuesday unveiled products and services that support cloud computing architectures used in the datacenters of its enterprise-class customers.

Google to gather SVG boosters

Emphasizing its support of SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) and the so-called Open Web, Google will help host the SVG Open 2009 conference in October, pitching it as the "premier forum" for SVG designers, developers, and implementers.

Update: Microsoft to halt Live Framework CTP

Microsoft on Sept. 8 plan to discontinue its Live Framework Community Technology Preview for developers, instead integrating the framework into the next release of the company's Windows Live online services.

In a blog post on Friday, David Treadwell, Microsoft corporate vice president for Live Platform Services, asked developers to download data and/or code from the service prior to Sept. 8 and to remove devices from the services. Controls also must be removed.

Antitrust attorney: Microsoft-Yahoo deal won't pass regulatory muster

A prominent antitrust lawyer predicts that Microsoft and Yahoo's new partnership won't pass muster with government regulators because it would narrow search competition.

Apple tries to 'pull the wool over' FCC's eyes, says iPhone dev

The developer of one of the Google Voice-related applications yanked from the iPhone App Store last month isn't buying Apple's explanation to the Federal Communications Commission.

"Is Apple lying? I've been debating this for a while," said Kevin Duerr, the chief executive of Durham, N.C.-based Riverturn Inc. "My first reaction was that they're trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the FCC, especially when you see the transparency of their statements.

Forget desktop virtualization, here comes user virtualization

A management software vendor has released software that it said helps IT managers oversee and maintain the "personalities" of virtualized desktop PCs.

Tranxition said its software, called AdaptivePersona, saves labor and storage resources for IT administrators, and keeps employees happier and more productive. The Beaverton, Ore. firm plans to show off the software at the VMworld show in San Francisco next week.

The new face of virtualization

From its genesis in x86-based servers, virtualization technology has spread rapidly into storage and the network. Today, it's at your desktop, in your processors and memory, and in your switches. It's shaping hardware and software appliances -- heck it's even in your smartphones.

Apple to ship Mac OS X Snow Leopard Aug. 28

Apple will ship its new Mac OS X version, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, on Friday, Aug. 28, the company's Web site confirmed today. Speculation has run rampant in the last week about the Aug. 28 date, given leaks at Apple's and Amazon.com U.K.'s Web-based stores. Apple formally unveiled Snow Leopard at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June but gave only a vague release schedule of "September."

Update: Nokia enters the netbook market with the Booklet 3G

Nokia has unveiled the Booklet 3G, a netbook with high-speed mobile broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a GPS receiver, the company said on Monday.The Booklet 3G should run for up to 12 hours on one battery charge, Nokia said. It weighs 1.25 kilograms, has an aluminum chassis and is slightly more than 2 centimeters thin.

First cloud computing devices from Quanta due next year

Quanta Computer, the world's largest contract notebook computer manufacturer, will put out its first cloud computing products next year as it seeks growth in new markets, the company's chairman said Monday.

Open Group announces standards for SOA, cloud computing

The Open Group, a consortium focused on standards and interoperability for enterprises, on Monday will announce the availability of what it describes as industry standards for the adoption of SOA and cloud computing.

The standards include Open Group Service Integration Maturity Model (OSIMM) and SOA Governance Framework.

RealNetworks submits Rhapsody music-streaming app to Apple's iPhone

RealNetworks on Monday said it will submit its Rhapsody music-streaming application for the iPhone to Apple this week, perhaps as early as today.

The application, which will run on both the iPhone and iPod Touch, lets Rhapsody subscribers listen to any of the 8 million-plus tracks the service offers, call up saved albums, and tune into any of Rhapsody's ready-to-go playlists.

RIM may get new browser through Torch Mobile acquisition

BlackBerry phones may soon get a new browser, now that Research in Motion has acquired Torch Mobile.

The Toronto company is best known for its Iris browser, which is built on Webkit and currently runs on Windows Mobile phones. It also runs on Qtopia, the application development platform for Linux devices.

Update: DOJ approves Oracle-Sun deal

Oracle on Thursday said the U.S. Department of Justice has approved its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, although the deal is subject to certain conditions and still needs the blessing of European regulators.

Oracle first announced its bid in April, and Sun shareholders approved the acquisition on July 16.

Microsoft to 'ribbonize' Vista with Windows 7 look

Microsoft will offer Windows 7's ribbon-style application interface to Windows Vista users in an update this October, according to the company.

As first reported by Long Zheng, the blogger who writes the popular istartedsomething.com, Microsoft will provide Vista users an optional update that installs the code necessary to display Windows 7's Ribbon framework on its predecessor.

You don't know tech: The InfoWorld news quiz

We're another week closer to Apple's annual September event, and the air is thick with smoke from burning rumors. In real news: Model Liskula Cohen won her suit to force Google to unmask the anonymous blogger who defamed her, sending ripples through the snarkosphere. Netscape's Marc Andreessen gave his blessing to yet another browser, the FCC finally started a blog, and researchers are spending way too much time parsing the "pointless babble" that is Twitter. Can you point your way to a perfect score on our quiz? Each correct answer is worth 10 points. OK, now start babbling.

Online class helps security pros sharpen their skills

To help IT security professionals sharpen their skills, InfoWorld is offering a free, 20-lesson "Security Boot Camp" online class. The class is conducted via e-mail, with students getting one assignment each workday that connects the theory of best security practices with the hands-on reality of implementing such advice.

Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon to fight Google book deal

Microsoft, Amazon.com and Yahoo plan to join a consortium to fight a proposed settlement Google has made with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service, according to a report published in The New York Times.

Microsoft Hotmail users angry over pulled photo feature

Windows Live Hotmail users have been venting their frustration at Microsoft for the past month since the software maker suddenly removed a popular feature because it created a security hole.

Price drops in ultrathin laptops may squeeze netbooks

The dominance of low-cost netbooks could be threatened by an emerging category of ultrathin laptops, which could compete on features and price, analysts said.

Ultrathin laptops are a new category of lightweight laptops that are as portable as netbooks and provide adequate performance to run most applications such as high-definition multimedia or casual gaming. The category emerged earlier this year when Hewlett-Packard in January introduced DV2 laptop, which was priced at around US$700.

Tweak offers free trial of any Windows 7 edition

A Microsoft Windows 7 installation disk can be tweaked to install any version of the operating system, giving users a "try-before-buy" opportunity before upgrading to a more expensive edition, a popular newsletter revealed.

By deleting one small text file from a Windows installation DVD, users can choose to install any of five different editions, according to Woody Leonard, a contributing editor to the Windows Secrets newsletter.

Microsoft offers open source link for PHP, .Net

Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism Interoperability team is introducing on Friday an open source project to bridge PHP and Microsoft's .Net programming model, Microsoft representatives said.

Hot Chips to spotlight eight-core server processors

Chip makers will describe plans to deliver server processors with eight CPU cores at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University next week, though there is some debate about what the products will mean for end-users.

For a long time, vendors boosted the performance of their microprocessors by increasing the clock speed, but concerns about power consumption and heat dissipation have steered them toward adding more processor cores to each chip instead.

Intel to focus on next generation of chips

Intel will focus on its next generation of smaller and faster chips at a conference next month as it prepares to ship new chips for systems in 2010.

Intel plans to shed more light on the Westmere architecture at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), which will be held Sept. 22-24 in San Francisco. The company is expected to talk about the architecture behind its future chips for servers, laptops, and desktops.

Intel acquires software company RapidMind

Intel has acquired software company RapidMind in an effort to push development of programs that can exploit the power of Intel's multicore processors, the company said Friday.

The chip maker plans to integrate RapidMind's data-parallelism products into Intel offerings. Intel already offers compilers, middleware and other tools that enable programmers to execute tasks across multiple threads and cores.

AT&T says it didn't block Google Voice

Apple is still reviewing the Google Voice iPhone application, and AT&T has not played any role in that review process, the companies told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Friday.

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