NewsFactor Network

Sprint Turns Baltimore into One Big Hotspot

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:53:32 -0500

A rapidly growing phenomenon in the telecommunications world is the growth of "cord cutters," people who give up their hardwired landline phones and use only cell phones. Now one of the leading proponents of that shift, Sprint Nextel, hopes to do for the Internet what it's doing for telephones.

At a ceremony Friday in Baltimore, officials from Sprint Nextel celebrated the official launch of the company's XOHM WiMAX service by literally cutting a cord -- they sliced through some Cat-5 wire with pruning shears to mark the end of the wired Internet.

"4G has rapidly gone from a mobility vision to service reality with the launch of XOHM service in Baltimore," said Barry West, XOHM's president. "Nothing has ignited the imagination of a cross section of industries and the partnership of an ecosystem the way WiMAX technology has. We are delighted with the reception we have received."

Can You Ping Me Now?

Although XOHM, Sprint's 4G business unit, has aggressive plans for nationwide WiMAX, the actual implementation may take some time. John Polivka, a spokesperson for Sprint/Nextel/XOHM, said that not every corner of Baltimore can receive WiMAX just yet.

"About 70 percent of the city has coverage, and we continue to work on expanding it," Polivka said. "There are 180 base stations operating, and the target at end of build out is about 300." Polivka did not say how long it might be before the build out was complete.

Long-term, XOHM hopes to roll out enough of its national network to make WiMAX available to as many as 140 million people by the end of 2010. Executives said that financing is in place to provide approximately $3.2 billion of the $5 billion needed for the build out, and expressed confidence that despite the ongoing economic problems, the remaining $1.8 billion would be available.

Polivka said that the...

Zoho Mail Goes Public With Offline Capabilities

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:49:59 -0500

Zoho Mail has emerged from its private beta-testing stage. Tapping functionality built into Google Gears, Zoho's Web-based e-mail application now sports a "setup offline" link at the top of the page that gives users offline e-mail access.

To operate Zoho Mail in offline mode, the user needs to have Google Gears installed in a Internet Explorer or Firefox browser, said Zoho cofounder and evangelist Raju Vegesna.

"We offer support for up to 5,000 e-mails currently and make them available to users as a download they can access when not online," Vegesna said. "You can also choose to download images and attachments to access in the offline mode."

Unlimited Storage

One component of Zoho's product release is an e-mail add-on to the company's suite of productivity applications, Vegesna said. "If an individual, you'll get a free e-mail account with unlimited storage, and will be able to open e-mail from your other existing accounts as well," he said.

Any e-mail in the offline user's outbox will be sent as soon as an online connection is established, and any other changes the user has made while in offline mode will automatically synchronize with the online platform.

"I've got to say that I am really impressed," commented Brad Neuberg of the Google Gears team. "Offline is hard, especially with something like e-mail."

Zoho Mail automatically detects the user's connectivity status and switches to online and offline modes seamlessly, Vegesna said. "While offline, you can view your e-mails as you would normally," he added.

The application supports both the standard folders structure in Microsoft Outlook and the labels capability in Gmail. "We didn't want to decide what you should use -- we wanted to give you a choice," Vegesna said.

The labels capability allows users to view e-mails as conversations, Vegesna noted. "In conversations, responses are listed hierarchically so that...

Apple Will Fix MacBook Pros with Faulty Nvidia Chips

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:50:49 -0500

When Apple released its MacBook Pro laptop, reviewers called it an evolutionary improvement and touted its new GeForce 8600 GT mobile graphics processor, made by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia. Now some models may have faulty chips.

After months of speculation that the MacBook Pro included failing Nvidia chips, Apple finally said Thursday that three MacBook Pro models manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008, including the 15-inch, 17-inch and Early 2008, may have faulty chips.

But Apple said it was not at fault in a note posted on its MacBook Pro Web site. The company said Nvidia told Apple that Mac computers with the graphics processors were not affected.

It was not until its own investigation that Apple determined some MacBook Pro computers with the GeForce processors were affected.

"Our analysis shows that a failure in an Apple MacBook Pro notebook is remote," Nvidia spokesperson Derek Perez said in an e-mail. "However, Apple, like other OEMs, decides on their own how to handle their warranty and repair programs, based upon their own quality standards. Regardless, we stand by our products, thus the reason why we set aside such a large reserve, and we have and will continue to work closely with Apple and their customers."

Extended Warranty

MacBook Pro users, according to Apple, need to check their systems for distorted or scrambled video or the absence of video when the computer is running.

"If the Nvidia graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty," Apple said.

Owners of affected MacBook Pros are asked to bring them to an Apple retail store or Apple authorized service provider. Customers who already paid for repairs to the MacBook Pro as a...

Microsoft Prepares To Preview Oslo Modeling Platform

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:51:36 -0500

Microsoft is preparing to release new details about its Oslo modeling development platform. The company said Friday that it will offer a preview of the platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.

New details emerging before the conference include a declarative modeling language code-named M and a software development tool code-named Quadrant. The preview will also demonstrate a repository for integration between models. Microsoft said it is looking for user feedback to help outline the road map for Oslo technologies.

"Microsoft hopes Oslo will open up programming technology to people who aren't necessarily or primarily developers," said Rob Helm, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft. "Microsoft has had technologies for work flow, which help you write down a business process and then automate it. But it wants to provide another layer to simplify development."

Opening Up Application Development

Modeling is leveraged across a range of domains to allow more people to participate in the application-design process. Analysts say it also allows developers to write applications at a much higher level of abstraction. Part of Microsoft's Connected Systems Division, Oslo offers three prongs.

First, Oslo consists of a tool that helps people define and interact with models in a rich and visual manner, Microsoft said. Second, it consists of a language that helps people create and use textual domain-specific languages and data models. Finally, it consists of a relational repository that makes models available to both tools and platform components.

"Microsoft would like to have a tool for someone who's an occasional software developer -- the kind of person that does complicated Excel macros or Access database programs -- so they can write down a business process," Helm explained.

Those business processes might include how a company processes invoices or how it maintains its subscription base, or even what level of...

Yoo-Hoo! Google's Satellite Can See You Much Better

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:20:55 -0500

For people who worry that it's impossible to escape from Google's amazing search capabilities, the ability to hide just got harder. Last month, Google helped sponsor the launch of the high-resolution GeoEye-1 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. After a month of calibration and testing, the satellite's first image was released Friday by Satellite Imaging, a Houston-based remote sensing and survey company.

The stunningly clear image shows the campus of Kutztown University, located midway between Reading and Allentown, Penn. According to GeoEye executives, the image was formed by blending panchromatic and multispectral data to create a true-color image; it has a resolution of one half meter, or about a foot and a half.

"This image captures what is in fact the very first location the satellite saw when we opened the camera door and started imaging," said Brad Peterson, GeoEye's vice president of operations. "We expect the quality of the imagery to be even better as we continue the calibration activity."

Far-Seeing Satellite

The Geo-Eye-1 satellite is arguably the most accurate mapping satellite ever launched. The bird's panchromatic camera can take photographs at .41-meter resolution, which means objects as small as 16 inches across will be visible. One byproduct of the heightened resolution is that objects on Earth can be mapped to within an accuracy of three meters of their true location on the planet. The satellite's capabilities are all the more remarkable since it orbits 423 miles above the Earth's surface.

Under the terms of Satellite Imaging's contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees U.S. satellite imagery, only the U.S. government will have access to the most detailed images. One-half of the satellite's cost was provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which evaluates satellite imagery as part of the homeland security effort.

For other customers, including Google, Satellite Imaging will...

Firefox Plug-In Updated To Fight Clickjacking Attacks

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:46:13 -0500

Mozilla is doing its part in the battle against clickjacking. The open-source company is offering an updated plug-in for the Firefox browser that blocks what security researchers call one of the most dangerous problems on the Web.

Clickjacking occurs when a person browsing a Web site clicks on an invisible link that leads them to a malicious site without their knowledge. Some never realize it even happened. A design feature in HTML that lets Web sites embed content from other sites makes it possible, which means nearly everybody is vulnerable.

The Firefox add-on, NoScript, is a well-known security plug-in. It is used to block all sorts of content types within Web pages. It is not a security scanner in the sense that it does not scan content with any form of signature database to look for specific known threats. Rather, it is a tool that enables you to block certain types of content. An update to NoScript includes a feature dubbed ClearClick to combat clickjacking.

Combating Clickjacking

According to Fraser Howard, principal malware researcher at SophosLabs, the new feature in NoScript is specifically designed to combat the user-interface redress attacks known as clickjacking and should help. However, there is a potential downside.

"Enabling the feature will result in some degree of false positives," Howard warned. "This is not a criticism of the product; more a reminder that given the widespread legitimate use of similar techniques, some false positives are inevitable."

Of course, the NoScript add-on alone isn't enough to solve the problem. That's because it only covers Firefox. The other 70 percent of the browser market is still open to clickjacking.

"User discretion is still an important factor in the defense against these attacks, just like any other," Howard said. "The usual common-sense guidelines apply to this, just like other forms of malicious Web attack."

More Fixes...

Amazon Lowers Costs for Its S3 Online Storage

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:51:59 -0500

Amazon Web Services announced Friday that it will be lowering prices for its Simple Storage Service, known as Amazon S3. Beginning Nov. 1, there will be new volume discounts, based on a tiered pricing structure that offers greater discounts as storage volume increases.

S3 offers volume storage via a Web-service interface, allowing users in the United States or Europe to store any amount of data and then download or delete it from anywhere.

'Over 29 Billion Objects'

Amazon said its service is presently storing "over 29 billion objects," which is an increase from 22 billion at the end of the second quarter. S3 has received, during its peak at the beginning of this month, more than 70,000 requests per second to store, download or remove one or more of those objects.

The new tiered pricing for U.S. customers starts at 15 cents per gigabyte for the first 50 terabytes of storage used each month, on a sliding scale that goes down to 12 cents per gigabyte for storage over 500 terabytes.

Alyssa Henry, S3 general manager, says the growth of S3 has allowed the operation to "become even more efficient and further lower our operating expenses," which has helped the company to pass along savings to customers. She noted that, in addition to this new storage savings, S3 recently lowered its data-transfer costs.

Amazon said S3 is being used by a wide range of companies. For example, National Geographic's topo.com offers topographic maps that users can buy for planning and sharing trip information. "Prior to Amazon S3," said Paul Glauthier, National Geographic Maps vice president, "the resources required to host such a large data set would have been cost-prohibitive."

Also cited was Oracle, whose Secure Backup Cloud module uses S3 for its scalable database backup.

'Boost to Cloud Computing'

Al Hilwa of industry research firm IDC said the current...

RIM, AT&T Want Bold 9000 To Avoid iPhone Woes

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:49:08 -0500

Research In Motion and its U.S. carrier, AT&T, are being careful to avoid the problems Apple had with its launch of the iPhone 3G.

In May, the Ontario, Canada-based company said the BlackBerry Bold 9000 would go on sale in the summer. What it didn't mention was that the phone would be available only outside the United States.

Since August, RIM has announced the availability of the Bold 9000 in a slew of countries, including Taiwan, Bahrain, Japan, Indonesia, India and Serbia, but release in the U.S. is being delayed to complete further testing, according to the company.

"The BlackBerry Bold has been launched by 60 carriers in 29 countries, and RIM is looking forward to continued rollout of the BlackBerry Bold around the world, including a U.S. launch in the near future," said Rachel Colley, a spokesperson for RIM. "The device is currently undergoing certification with AT&T."

An Eye on iPhone Woes

The Bold 9000 features a large HVGA color LCD, GPS and support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b and g. The smartphone includes a media player for music, videos and photos, and a two-megapixel camera with video recording.

"We have said consistently that we will offer the Bold this year," Mark Siegel, AT&T Mobility's spokesperson, told us. He would not comment on whether the delay had anything to do with the problems involving the iPhone 3G.

RIM CEO Michael Lazaridis, however, told the Associated Press that the phone is still undergoing certification by AT&T and implied that it's because of the number of complaints received by AT&T and Apple about the iPhone 3G.

"RIM is taking an extremely cautious approach to launching the device on AT&T's network until AT&T can guarantee that the Bold won't suffer from the same problems as the 3G iPhone," said analyst Stuart Robinson of Strategy Analytics. "What may...

Fake YouTube Pages Used To Spread Viruses

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:22:19 -0500

Savvy Internet users know that downloading unsolicited computer programs is one of the most dangerous things you can do online. It puts you at great risk for a virus or another time bomb from a hacker.

But even some sophisticated surfers could get taken in by a sneaky new attack in which criminals create fake YouTube pages -- dead-on replicas of the real site -- to push their malicious software and make it look like it's safe stuff coming from a trusted source.

A program circulating online helps hackers build those fake pages. Users who follow an e-mail pointing them to one of the pages would see an error message that claims the video they want won't play without installing new software first. That error message includes a link the hacker has provided to a malicious program, which delivers a virus.

Even worse: once the computer is infected, it's simple for the hacker to silently redirect the victims to a real YouTube page to see videos they were hoping to see -- and hide the crime.

"It's spot-on accurate, and that is scary," said Jamz Yaneza, threat research manager for security software company Trend Micro Inc. "If I were watching YouTube videos all day I would probably click on this one."

The tactic itself isn't new: There's a constant push by criminals to build more convincing spoofs of legitimate sites to trick people into downloading harmful software. And the latest attacks don't target any vulnerability in the YouTube site.

But it highlights the fact that criminals are getting better at creating bogus sites and developing so-called "social engineering" methods to fool people.

Fortunately, truly alert Internet users can still see the telltale warning signs with the fake YouTube pages. For one, the Web browser won't show the real YouTube's Internet address. And to even see the malicious...

Probe Finds Homeland Security Network Has Problems

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:31:29 -0500

The replacement for the Homeland Security Department's computerized network for nationwide information sharing could be headed down the same path as its cumbersome original, said a government report released Wednesday.

The Homeland Security Information Network, or HSIN, was launched in 2004 to provide a secure, Internet-based system to share terrorism information with federal, state and local agencies and the private sector. Last year officials stopped trying to improve the $91 million system, opting instead to replace it with a new and improved version, called HSIN Next Gen, which could cost as much as $62 million more.

The original was criticized for limited capabilities and features that made the system hard for users to navigate. That was particularly true for users in critical areas such as transportation systems and food distribution. For example, the original system could not let users use one sign-in name and password, send and receive alerts through e-mail or cell phones or support online meetings, the Government Accountability Office said.

GAO, Congress' investigative arm, found that plans for HSIN Next Gen are not clear, which could lead to delays and higher costs for the final product. And an internal department review of the original system found that HSIN had been developed without enough planning and management, GAO said.

The contract for the new system was awarded in June to Virginia-based General Dynamics. The first system was run by several contractors, including Raytheon Co. and Man Tech International Corp.

The Homeland Security Department describes the new system as a "software upgrade" and defends the success of the original system among its law enforcement and emergency management partners. For instance, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when New Orleans' 9-1-1 emergency telephone system went down, the city was able to link with the HSIN network to carry about 20,000 9-1-1 calls, said Homeland Security spokesman...

Sleek, But Don't Touch: Samsung's Glyde Disappoints

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:26:12 -0500

Touchscreen cell phones are everywhere these days. Yet precious few offer the finger-swipe scrolling and dragging of the iPhone's display. Most of these phones merely let you poke an icon rather than scoot around the screen with a flick or drag of a finger.

There are some notable exceptions. One is the Storm [BusinessWeek, 10/8/08], from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

Another is the Samsung Glyde, available through Verizon Wireless for about $80, when purchased online with a two-year contract. The Glyde is a sleek, compact device with several high-end capabilities, including a full-typewriter keyboard that slides out from behind the screen. You can also swipe your finger along the display to move the image up and down, side to side, or even diagonally. No, you can't flick it with the same dexterity as you can an iPhone screen, but even limited swipe-ability makes the Glyde's touchscreen a whole lot more useful -- at least in theory. As full-featured and handsome as the device is, I found working with its screen too taxing to make the Glyde a phone I'd strongly recommend.

Native Format Viewing

The Glyde's screen is incredibly fickle. All too often during testing, I found myself poking on an icon three or four times, if not more, just to get my command to register -- this despite the fact that I felt a small vibrational feedback in my fingertip, presumably confirming that my pokes had hit their mark. Even after I adjusted the screen settings for maximum touch sensitivity, I had to stub my finger with maddening regularity to get my commands to register.

To its credit, the Glyde lets users connect with the Internet and view Web pages in their native format, rather than in the "optimized" mobile versions that Verizon and other cellular providers feature on most mobile phones. Of...

Online Recruiting: Monster's Big China Move

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:20:35 -0500

There's no shortage of U.S. Internet companies that have failed to replicate their successes at home in Chinese cyberspace. Despite throwing considerable resources at its Chinese-language operation, for instance, Google (GOOG) is a distant No. 2 in online search [BusinessWeek.com, 8/30/07] behind local champion Baidu.com (BIDU). In online auctions, eBay (EBAY) threw in the towel [BusinessWeek.com, 12/19/06] in December 2006 after failing to dislodge the market leader, Hangzhou-based Taobao, and joined forces with Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's TOM Online. In instant messaging, Microsoft (MSFT) lags far behind local rival Tencent. Most recently, News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace has had a disappointing performance in its attempt to export its social-networking model to China.

Edward Lo, the top China executive for online recruitment company Monster Worldwide (MNST) knows all about this sorry track record, but he says those failures won't deter him and his colleagues. In a sign of their confidence, Monster on Oct. 8 announced it was taking 100% control of ChinaHR, one of the top online recruiting companies in the country. Monster, which already owned a minority stake in the company, is paying $174 million for the remaining 55% of the Beijing-based ChinaHR.

Why is Lo so confident that Monster can avoid the traps other U.S. e-commerce powerhouses faced in China? Demographics. With some 70 million college graduates a year, China has a strong demand for online recruitment, he argues, and Monster can capitalize on that. "The key thing is, we are in the right space," says Lo, a former executive at AIG (AIG) who joined Monster in January.

Net-Savvy Job Seekers

Another plus: China's young people are extremely savvy about using the Net, he says. Chinese college students spend a lot of their time playing online games, sending instant messages, and participating in social networks. So it's only natural that young Chinese will...

Information-Technology Product Roundup

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:29:41 -0500

Wireless Keyboard/Mouse

Designed to complement Windows Vista OS, the Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 includes an ergonomic keyboard and rechargeable, high-definition laser mouse with a charging station. The keyboard features hot keys for one-touch access to most-used Web sites, files and folders. The mouse features four-way scrolling and five customizable buttons. Users can work up to 30 feet away from the transceiver, even if it is out of sight.-Microsoft

E-Discovery Archive Service

With the managed service ActiveVault 4.0, enterprises can consolidate, archive and manage inactive data from virtually any media source into an accessible format in order to apply and enforce retention policies and legal holds to ensure data is properly retained and managed. Self-service early case-assessment tools are available through a Web browser interface.-RenewData

Peripheral Device Control

Delivering access control at plug-and-play ports and drives, DeviceLock 6.3 prevents employees from using corporate or personal mobile computing resources to extract information beyond the scope of security policy guidelines.

Featuring centralized management integrated with Microsoft Active Directory, DeviceLock enables administrators to control, monitor, shadow-copy, log and analyze end-user access to USB and FireWire devices, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters, CD and DVD drives, serial and parallel ports, local and network printers, PDAs, smart phones and other plug-and-play devices. Local sync filtering allows IT administrators to set permissions for different objects transferring to or from PDAs running Palm OS.-DeviceLock

BlackBerry Monitoring

Zenprise 3.3 monitors the overall health of the entire BlackBerry infrastructure and automatically troubleshoots BlackBerry end-user challenges with detailed detection of user-specific issues such as low battery life, weak signal strength or low available device memory. Enterprises can proactively identify issues outside their infrastructure that impact users, such as wireless carrier outages or users traveling in and out of network coverage areas.

The software collects and analyzes data across the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Exchange and Active Directory infrastructure, and provides...