72424
submission
El Lobo writes:
Most businesses on the net get 70% of their traffic from Google, but what happens when Google — the source of more than 70 percent of your traffic — decides it will no longer index your web site? That's what happened to JavaLobby last month. From the article:
"We had completely disappeared from Google's main index!...if you run a website, then you know how serious a problem this is. On any given day over 10,000 visitors arrive at Javalobby as a result of Google searches, and suddenly they stopped coming! Suddenly we no longer existed in the eyes of the World"
Microsoft is often accused of being a monopoly, but nothing compares to the dangerous power of Googles monopoly.
67616
submission
El Lobo writes:
Ever since the next generation high definition movie formats were announced, consumers have been up in arms about the proposed content protection by Hollywood film studios known as Advanced Access Content System or AACS for short. One annoyed consumer, going by the name of "muslix64", bought an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player over the holidays along with some HD-DVD's and was annoyed to discover he couldn't watch his movies at 1080p because his hardware lacked HDCP support. In what would seem like an act of frustration, the consumer set out about finding a way to playback his HD-DVD movies on a system without any content protection available.
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1025/hd_dvd_cont ent_protection_already_hacked_muslix64_believes_so /index.html
muslix64 has a video of the hacking on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oZGYb92isE
66502
submission
El Lobo writes:
As an early Christmas present to you all, Twentieth Century Fox proudly presents the teaser trailers for The Simpsons Movie, which will arrive in cinemas, in all its yellow glory, on July 27th 2007!!
http://contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/thes impsonsx22x12x06
(Windows media, Real and QuickTime format)
64192
submission
El Lobo writes:
Apple has updated a software repair tool for its first-generation iPod Shuffle that is said to now allow the Flash-based music player to work correctly with songs downloaded from the company's own online music shop.
Apple quietly posted iPod Shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 just before Christmas, but it's only just begun to be noticed by users. Some are claiming on a variety of online forums that using the utility finally eliminates problems the old-style Shuffle has had playing DRM-protected songs.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/27/ipod_shuff le_itunes_fix/
64190
submission
El Lobo writes:
The register http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/26/bosnian_py ramids is reporting about some structures found in Bosnia-Herzegovina that make the pyramid of Giza look like a scale model. From the article:
At 267 metres tall, the Pyramid of the Sun blows the Egyptian opposition into the weeds. If that wasn't enough, it is simply one of a number of pyramids located in the same region — there are also the Pyramids of the Sun, the Dragon and, most recently discovered, Love.
You can see some photos here: http://www.bosnian-pyramid.com/gallery.html
63414
submission
El Lobo writes:
Two security researchers have made an early New Year's resolution, promising to release information on a security bug in Apple's software every day for a month, most likely January. The security researchers — Kevin Finisterre of Digital Munition and the person behind the Month of Kernel Bugs, known only by his initials, L.M.H. — have discovered enough flaws in Apple's Mac OS X and other Apple software to release 31 vulnerabilities, Finisterre said in an interview with SecurityFocus.
"OS X users still think their system is bulletproof, and some people are interested on making it look that way," LMH of the MoKB project told the Washington Post.
http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/387
62020
submission
El Lobo writes:
For the Linux desktop, 2002 was an important year. Since then, we have continiously been fed point releases which added bits of functionaility and speed improvements, but no major revision has yet seen the light of day. What's going on?
A big problem with GNOME is that it lacks any form of a vision, a goal, for the next big revision. GNOME 3.0 is just that- a name. All GNOME 3.0 has are some random ideas by random people in random places.
KDE developers are indeed planning big things for KDE4 — but that is what they are stuck at. Show me where the results are.KDE's biggest problem is a lack of manpower and financial backing by big companies.
In the meantime, the competition has not exactly been standing still. Apple has continuously been improving its Mac OS X operating system. Microsoft has not been resting on its laurels either. Windows Vista is already available. Many anti-MS fanboys complain that Vista is nothing more than XP with a new coat, but anyone with an open mind realises this is absolutely not the case.
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=16783
62014
submission
El Lobo writes:
Apple Computer would face challenge from a pair of security researchers who have announced their plans to reveal one bug a day in Mac OS X and Apple applications starting January 1.
This new project would be hosted by a poster using the alias "LMH," and his partner, Kevin Finisterre. Finisterre is a tech researcher and has posted several Mac vulnerabilities and analyses on his own site.
The security researchers hope to use the project to dispel the perception that Apple systems are free of the security bugs that have long plagued Windows users.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/20/month_of_a pple_bugs/
61786
submission
El Lobo writes:
Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse and AIG Technologies today became some of the first customers to tap the benefits of the recently announced collaboration between Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. on interoperability between Microsoft(R) Windows(R) and Linux.
Deutsche Bank, already a significant user of Novell and Microsoft products, was pleased that the collaboration would improve interoperability among various systems. "Microsoft and Novell*s agreement gives us the benefit of choice of platforms and tremendous flexibility that will help make our company more competitive and efficient." said Clemens Jochum, chief technology officer of Deutsche Bank AG.
http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/17037.html
61542
submission
El Lobo writes:
While the open-source scene is still busily debating the possible implications of the patent agreement between Novell and Microsoft, Microsoft has already begun to implement part of its pact with Novell.
Microsoft has now proudly announced that the first customers for the latter service have already been found. The company explicitly names Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and AIG Technologies as companies that in the interest of ensuring the smooth running of their mixed-source environments have chosen to conclude an agreement with Microsoft to supply and support both Microsoft and Novell software.
"Microsoft and Novell's agreement gives us the benefit of choice of platforms and tremendous flexibility," says Clemens Jochum, chief technology officer of Deutsche Bank AG.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/82876
56268
submission
El Lobo writes:
Google is hoping to launch an office software suite that mimics Microsoft Office, according to http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2170714/google-w ants-office-suite
However, the Korea-based creator of the ThinkFree http://www.thinkfree.com/ suite is reluctant to sell it to Google, an executive at the firm said.
ThinkFree has developed several versions of a Java-based office suite that can run online inside a web browser, or in a standalone version. ThinkFree Office is often described as a 'Microsoft Office clone' because it deliberately mimics the layout of menus and toolbars in Microsoft's Office suite.
56198
submission
El Lobo writes:
Wired http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72281-0.html?t w=wn_technology_2 features an article about the advantages of the very underrated Zune. From the article:
Microsoft's Zune is a slick piece of hardware. It's a worthy competitor to the iPod that surpasses its rival in some surprising ways, like the interface, which is drop-dead fantastic. The Zune is taking a good kicking in the press, but the criticism — especially from the Mac web which as always seem to be knee-jerk and defensive.
The Zune's interface impressed me the most: It's much slicker and easier to use than the iPod's. I don't say this lightly. I'm a big fan of Apple's interface design but I prefer the way you choose songs on the Zune. The Zune's navigation scheme is also better-designed and easier to use. The Zune is much more intuitive. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. It's just half an inch bigger than the iPod's, but it makes all the difference.
53992
submission
El Lobo writes:
OS X is more appealing to enterprises as a desktop operating system than ever before and although it is unlikely to take market share away from Windows, the Mac could reduce the number of Linux-based desktops, according to research group Gartner.
Gartner said that as the penetration of OS X increases, it is unlikely to mean less Windows PCs: "In many instances, Macs are replacing Unix and Linux workstations, rather than Windows PCs"..
The report predicts that Windows will be unrivalled on the desktop for the near future.
Apple is making a number of mistakes when it comes to attracting large scale enterprise deployments, according to the report.Firstly, Apple does not licence its operating system to third party manufacturers, which is a disadvantage.Secondly, Apple is not clear enough in its roadmaps for supporting current versions of OS X: "Microsoft supports versions of Windows for a minimum of 10 years.Apple needs to make similarly explicit minimum commitments".
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/OS_X_mor e_appealing_than_desktop_Linux_Gartner/0,130061733 ,339272622,00.htm
53988
submission
El Lobo writes:
Microsoft, of course, maintains valuable intellectual property on its internal network, including the source code to all its operating systems and applications. These are constant targets for hackers...What do I mean by a constant target? Last year, Microsoft IT said it was the target of more than 100,000 intrusion attempts per month.
So how does Microsoft mitigate those risks while continuing to offer VPN access to remote employees and contractors? "Today, we require a smartcard with a valid certificate and PIN as well as network credentials and authorization to use the network remotely" says the director of MS's internal security. The second layer of protection for the Microsoft corporate VPN is a connection "sandbox," implemented using Windows Server 2003's Network Access Quarantine Control.
A very good reading about MS internal security:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?com mand=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9005756&pageNumber =1
53184
submission
El Lobo writes:
European governments have long complained about their dependence on Microsoft's software, but their rhetoric has not turned into a mass migration away from Windows. During the past few years, Europe's officials have made a lot of noise about projects to switch to open source software. Yet the actual migrations have been negligible.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/computers/0,7 2246-0.html?tw=wn_culture_2
France's police is a public sector that have sought to adopt open source platforms. But in the case of the Gendarmes, for example, the PCs made available to its 100,000-member police force run almost exclusively on Windows.
A Gendarme said he's not too happy with OpenOffice. He said he missed MS Office, even though it is designed by a company run by people he considers to be "thieves."
"(OpenOffice) is complicated. It is atrocious," the Gendarme said. "We save money but the advantages of its use are not terribly clear."
Ironically, the French Gendarmes will probably still have to pay a U.S. company licensing fees for the Linux distribution it uses on its PCs.
