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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 121 declined, 109 accepted (230 total, 47.39% accepted)

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Apple

Submission + - EFF dubs Apple a 'jealous feudal lord' over iPhone (computerworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: The Electronic Frontier Foundation has attacked the agreement Apple has with iPhone developers after obtaining a copy of the agreement the company has with NASA through a FOIA request. In a message on the EFF website, it called Apple Inc. a "jealous and arbitrary feudal lord" and singled out several clauses in the agreement as "troubling," including the requirement for secrecy and the arbitrary ability of Apple to reject or remove apps from the App Store. It's not the first time the EFF has attacked Apple's iPhone ecosystem. Last year, it tangled with Apple in court over the company's claim that jailbreaking constitutes a copyright violation. Later in the year, EFF again filed suit against Apple over its lawyers' assertions that discussions on Bluewiki about using software other than iTunes with iPods and iPhones constituted copyright infringement.
Government

Submission + - Microsoft VP suggests 'Net tax to clean computers (itworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Microsoft's Vice President for Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney, speaking at the RSA conference in San Francisco, has floated an interesting proposal to deal with infected computers: Approach the problem of dealing with malware infections like the healthcare industry, and consider using "general taxation" to pay for inspection and quarantine. Using taxes to deal with online criminal activity is not a new idea, as demonstrated by last year's Louisiana House vote to levy a monthly surcharge on Internet access to deal with online baddies.
Security

Submission + - Microsoft: Don't press F1 key in Windows XP (computerworld.com) 2

Ian Lamont writes: Microsoft has issued a security advisory that warns users not to press the F1 key in Windows XP owing to an unpatched bug in VBScript discovered by Polish researcher Maurycy Prodeus. The security advisory says that the vulnerability relates to the way VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer, and could be triggered by a user pressing the F1 key after visiting a malicious Web site using a specially crafted dialog box.
Programming

Submission + - "Logan's Run" syndrome in programming (infoworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: InfoWorld has an interesting analysis of the reasons behind the relative dearth of programmers over the age of 40. While some people may assume that the recession has provided a handy cover for age discrimination, a closer look suggests that it's the nature of IT itself to push its elderly workers out, in what the article describes as a "Logan's Run"-like marketplace. A bunch of factors are listed as reasons, including management's misunderstanding of the ways in which developers work:

Any developer can tell you that not all C or PHP or Java programmers are created equal; some are vastly more productive or creative. However, unless or until there is a way to explicitly demonstrate the productivity differential between a good programmer and a mediocre one, inexperienced or nontechnical hiring managers tend to look at resumes with an eye for youth, under the "more bang for the buck" theory. Cheaper young 'uns will work longer hours and produce more code. The very concept of viewing experience as an asset for raising productivity is a nonfactor — much to the detriment of the developer workplace.


Submission + - Superbowl tech ads, 1976 - present (computerworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Computerworld has put together a collection of interesting, funny, and just plain weird Superbowl television advertisements from tech companies — exluding Internet retailers. Everyone has seen the Macintosh ad that played during the 1984 Superbowl, but there are a bunch of other gems, starting with a long-winded ad for the Xerox 9200 from 1976. The funniest is probably EDS' "herding cats" ad from 2000, but there are some oddities, too, including a bizarre ad for Network Associates depicting a Russian nuclear missile launch, and a very dated ad for Sharp from the mid-1980s. Intel has one ad in the collection from 1997, and it turns out that it is returning with two ads this year that it says feature "geek humor".
Security

Submission + - Can you trust Chinese computer equipment? (itworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Suspicions about China slipping eavesdropping technology into computer exports have been around for years. But the recent Chinese spying attacks on Google and other Internet companies have revived the hardware spying concerns. An IT World blogger suggests the gear can't be trusted, noting that it wouldn't be hard to add security holes to the firmware of Chinese-made USB memory sticks, computers, hard drives, and cameras. He also implies that running automatic checks for data of interest in the compromised gear would not be difficult.
Java

Submission + - Oracle unplugs Project Wonderland (itworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Oracle has announced it is dropping support for Sun Microsystems' Project Wonderland. The Java-based virtual world developed some interesting features, such as voice communication with distance attenuation and phone-based access, but with Oracle's acquisition and integration of Sun, it seems that Wonderland didn't have a place in Oracle's strategic plans. An official blog post says a core group hopes to keep Wonderland going, and will be pursuing for-profit and not-for-profit options.
Communications

Submission + - Asterisk vishing attacks "endemic" (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Remember the report last year that the FBI was concerned about a "vishing" exploit relating to the Asterisk IP PBX software? Digium played down the report, noting that it was based on a bug that had already been patched, but now the company's open-source community director says that attacks on Asterisk installations are 'endemic.' There have been dozens of reported vishing attacks in recent weeks, says the article:

The victims typically bank with smaller regional institutions, which typically have fewer resources to detect scams. Scammers hack into phone systems and then call victims, playing prerecorded messages that say there has been a billing error or warn them that the bank account has been suspended because of suspicious activity. If the worried customer enters his account number and ATM password, the bad guys use that information to make fake debit cards and empty their victim's bank accounts.

The article adds that businesses can prevent many of these attacks by changing the port they use for SIP connections on their VoIP systems, by blocking connections after a certain number of failures, and by simply using better passwords on their voice systems.

Businesses

Submission + - The alternate reality of e-commerce for cars (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Even though the Web has been around for more than 15 years, when it comes to online auto sales in the United States, all roads lead still to local dealerships, at least when new car sales are involved. Many times during that period the auto industry and online players such as Amazon have created online sales models that incorporate local dealers, but none have been a great success. Consider the recent GM/eBay trial that managed to sell 13 cars in the last two weeks of operation. While 13 cars would be OK for a single dealership, the experimental program covered the entire state of California, and involved 21,000 listings. Is there any hope for the system to change, perhaps using a model from another country, or new technologies? Or will American consumers be forced to deal with real-world dealerships whenever they want to buy a new car for the foreseeable future?
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft: "Shame on us" for Vista rollout snafus (itworld.com)

Ian Lamont writes: Microsoft has admitted that the way it handled previous operating system launches to business customers was flawed and says the company has learned from the botched rollout of Vista in 2006. A Microsoft product executive gave several examples, such as customers being forced to wait for independent software vendor support and a service pack release, and said "shame on us, we've learned our lesson." Not surprisingly, the same company official promised that Windows 7 will be a much better experience for business customers and urged them to start their migrations now, even before the official Oct. 23 launch. That's a six-week head start, which should be more than enough time to handle the reported 20-hour upgrade process that impacts even high-end hardware.
Businesses

Submission + - Zer01 service still vapor, distributors empty-hand (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: "Zer01's "unlimited everything" mobile phone service is looking shaky, after leadership changes at its parent company, Global Verge, and warnings from observers that had previously praised the planned service. There were signs of trouble last month, but the new developments cast doubt about whether the Zer01 service will ever see the light of day."
United States

Submission + - FCC to probe exclusive mobile deals (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: "The Federal Communications Commission is planning on launching an investigation into exclusive handset deals between mobile carriers and handset makers. In a speech on Thursday, acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps said the agency "should determine whether some of these arrangements adversely restrict consumer choice or harm the development of innovative devices, and it should take appropriate action if it finds harm." It's not hard to imagine who might be targeted — At a separate Senate Committee on Commerce hearing on Thursday, much of the discussion centered on AT&T's exclusive deal to carry the iPhone. AT&T claimed "consumers benefit from exclusive deals in three ways: innovation, lower cost and more choice," but carriers and senators from states with large rural populations disagreed, saying that their customers had no choice when it came to the iPhone — it's not available because AT&Ts network doesn't reach these areas. One panelist also brought up the Carterfone precedent (PDF), which concerned an "electrical acoustic coupling device" that a man named Tom Carter developed in the 1950s to let field workers make phone calls using a radio tranceiver connected to AT&T's phone network. AT&T, which was then a monopoly, claimed no foreign devices could be connected to its network, but lost when it challenged the Carterfone in court. The result spurred innovation such as the fax machine."
Security

Submission + - Investigators replicate Nokia 1100 banking hack (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: "Investigators have duplicated an online banking hack using a 2003-era Nokia mobile phone. Authorities had been aware for some time that European gangs were interested in buying the phone, and were finally able to confirm why: It can be used to access victims' bank accounts using "special software written by hackers." The hack apparently works by letting criminals reprogram the phones to use someone else's phone number and receive their SMS messages, including mTANs (mobile transaction authentication numbers) from European banks. However, the only phones that work are 1100 handsets (pictures) made in a certain factory. Nokia had claimed last month it had no idea why criminals were paying thousands of euros to buy the old handsets."
Businesses

Submission + - AT&T sends mixed message on behavioral adverti (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: "An advertising company that runs a "targeting marketplace" and partner AT&T are playing down the telecommunications giant's use of its services, after AT&T's chief privacy officer told a House subcommittee yesterday that the company does not engage in behavioral advertising. The AT&T executive testified to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet that AT&T would not use behavioral advertising methods without informed customer consent. However, AudienceScience, a company that records "billions of behavioral events daily" has apparently worked for AT&T since 2005. After the hearing, AudienceScience removed a client testimonial relating to AT&T from its website, so "all the appropriate parties [have] consistent messaging," its CEO said. An AT&T spokesman also said that the testimony was talking about AT&T's role as an ISP, not an advertiser."
The Media

Submission + - Paid online news venture fails to get subscribers (thestandard.com)

Ian Lamont writes: "The idea of migrating people from free online news content to paid subscriptions has been dealt a blow. A venture meant to fill the void left by the print Rocky Mountain Times has attracted 3,000 subscribers — just 6% of its original goal of reaching 50,000 paid subscribers by Thursday. InDenverTimes.com is currently free, but the plan was to have gated premium content starting next month for a $5/month subscription. The project has entrepreneurial backing and articles from journalists who used to work for the print-focused Rocky Mountain News, which closed last month. However, a lack of paying subscribers and low online ad rates means that the venture might have to scale back its ambitions."

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