Here’s something that worries me a little: RailCorp holds a lost property auction and some of that property is USB keys — auctioned off in the same condition as they were when they were lost. That means that some of them contain resumes, job application letters, university assignments and tax information. Sister site ZDNet Australia’s Michael Lee put together the yarn that details how Sophos’ Paul Ducklin picked up 50 USB keys for about $400, and two thirds contained malware to boot.
It certainly makes me worry about forgetting to zip up my bag and to be more careful when rummaging around on public transport; encrypting removable media would be a good tip, too.
It has been confirmed that once again Australians will not be receiving the same deals as our North American counterparts, as RIM revealed that Australia will not be getting a PlayBook fire sale — if you happen to want one to stuff a stocking, I guess it’s back to the usual grey importing.
Overnight RIM decided that its as-yet unreleased BBX operating system would be relabelled BlackBerry 10 after losing a restraining order appeal in a US District Court.
Finally, the news of international importance as Microsoft previewed its Windows Store. For developers, Microsoft is promoting its install base and the fact that they will only take 20 percent of an application’s lifetime revenue after it has surpassed $25,000. Interestingly, the company will not open application uploading until it is released with the Windows 8 beta in February 2012, but is trying to woo developers with a contest in the meantime. Apps that get into the store during the Windows 8 beta will have to be free, Metro-based applications. For all the details, and marketing fluff, read the full announcement on the Windows Store blog.
