4664227
submission
Preedit writes
"The hacking group 'm0sted', which once defaced the Web site of security firm Kaspersky, has broken into servers maintained by the U.S. Army. The Defense Department has not publicly disclosed the breaches, but Infoweek says it's obtained records that show the break-ins occurred at two sites, including the Army's highly sensitive McAlester Ammunition Plant. Infoweek says DoD has subpoenaed records from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo in connection with the case."
4650319
submission
Preedit writes
"Infoweek says it's got the exclusive scoop that Dell has hired away IBM M&A chief David Johnson and plans to name him senior VP for strategy. Perhaps predictably, IBM has sued Johnson, claiming the move would violate a non-compete clause in his contract. It's the third time in recent months that IBM has sued a senior exec for jumping ship. First it was Apple's Mark Papermaster, then Unisys' Sam Khanna, and now Johnson. Does Big Blue have a retention problem?"
4429703
submission
Preedit writes
"The city of Seattle's IT department appears to be stealing content from major tech Web sites and magazines for its online Information Security Bulletin. Infoweek notes that numerous recent entries in the bulletin are word-for-word copies of stories that have run in Wired, PC World, DarkReading, and other outlets, with no links or attribution.
The story notes that Microsoft, which has hunted down content pirates in far-flung places like China, might want to start worrying about its own backyard!"
3787043
submission
Preedit writes
"The leader of India's main opposition party said that if he's elected Prime Minister this year he'll spend the equivalent of $2 billion to procure laptops costing less than $200 each for ten million Indian students.
The catch, according to this story in Infoweek: To meet the affordability test, the laptops must be free of pricey applications and operating systems, such as Windows Vista or Windows 7, from commercial software vendors like Microsoft. Instead, LK Advani, leader of India's BJP party, wants open source systems."
2814289
submission
Preedit writes
"Mac cloner Psystar is claiming in new court papers that Apple's copyright suit against it should be dismissed, because Apple has never filed for copyright protection on Mac OS X 10.5 with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Infoweek is reporting that the claim, if it holds up, could open the door for third-parties to enter the Mac market without fear of legal action from Apple. In its latest set of allegations, Psystar is also accusing Apple of bricking Macs that don't run on genuine Apple hardware."
413889
submission
Preedit writes
"There's an Infoweek story today that says Microsoft has asked Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child organization to redesign its Linux-based XO laptop so it can accommodate Windows XP. Specifically, Microsoft wants slots added so extra memory can be introduced to the system via an SD Card. The story notes that the XO was previously chided as unusable by Bill Gates, so this might be tacit admission that Microsoft and Intel's Classmate PC for emerging markets has failed to catch on."
411817
submission
Preedit writes
"Microsoft has set up a Web site that uses inkblot images to help users create passwords, InformationWeek is reporting. The way it works: users view a series of inkblots, and write down the first and last letters of whatever word they associate with each inkblot. Then they combine the letters to form a password. Microsoft claims it's a way to create passwords that are easy to remember but hard to crack. But word of warning: the story notes that Microsoft is collecting and storing users' word associations."
400559
submission
Preedit writes
"An InformationWeek story has an exclusive on California's plan to move from in-house systems to a hosted e-mail environment for more than 250,000 state workers. The story says the state is taking a long look at Google Apps, but that Microsoft is also in the mix. The contract could be worth millions to either vendor, according to the story."
388209
submission
Preedit writes
"A story at InformationWeek says don't listen to reports that the $199 Everex gPC Linux PC offered by Walmart.com is sold out. The story notes that the Web site's main computer page lists the gPC as "coming soon." But clicking on the gPC link reveals that the computer is in stock and available for purchase immediately — just in time for the holidays!"
383073
submission
Preedit writes
"This InformationWeek story points out a recent deal between Microsoft and Japanese printer maker Kyocera Mita, under which Kyocera obtained from Microsoft a license to patents used in "certain Linux-based embedded technologies." The question everyone's asking is why Kyocera needs a patent license from Microsoft to develop its embedded Linux products."
