IT News Digest

Archive: 08-2007

• Apples easier to crack, says Black Hat expert

  The Black Hat conference underway in Las Vegas has revealed many interesting things, none the least of which is Mac OS insecurity. Charlie Miller, researcher with Independent Security Evaluators...

  Posted by Lea Rush | August 3, 2007, 5:23 PM PDT

• Vista price slashed in China: May a billion copies of Windows bloom through low, low prices!

  Microsoft’s Beijing office announced today the price of the Windows OS dropped Wednesday by two-thirds for Vista Home Basic and by over half on Vista Premium. Home Basic was slashed to 499...

  Posted by John Bartley K7AAY | August 3, 2007, 8:33 AM PDT

• Geekend: Scandinavian summer lures geeks to cell phone doom

  If you’ve been wondering what to do with all that comp time now that summer is nearing an end, have you considered the Mobile-Phone Throwing World Championships in Savonlinna, Finland?...

  Posted by Lea Rush | August 3, 2007, 7:39 AM PDT

• (Wi-Fi) cookies are bad for you: Security of public Wi-Fi fails

  Almost all Web-based e-mail and other collaborative services just aren’t safe to use over public Wi-Fi any more, due to a breach described today by a security firm CEO at the Black Hat...

  Posted by John Bartley K7AAY | August 2, 2007, 11:08 PM PDT

• The Google Phone identity

  Various reports around the Web shows that Google Inc. has approached wireless phone operators and handset makers as it goes about its not-so-secret-plan-anymore to create a new market empire...

  Posted by Paul Mah | August 2, 2007, 10:54 PM PDT

• Microsoft tests free Works software with embedded advertising

  Software giant Microsoft pledged yesterday a test of its low-end Works suite, to arrive preloaded on some new PCs, with embedded advertising paying the bills, per a Reuters report. The idea of...

  Posted by Lea Rush | August 2, 2007, 10:54 PM PDT

• Sony fits Cell processor into prototype computer

  It appears that Sony has developed a prototype computer board that is based upon the famed Cell processor. If you recall, the Cell processor is the fruit of a joint development project headed by...

  Posted by Paul Mah | August 2, 2007, 2:05 PM PDT

• Office 2008 for Mac to be delayed until... well, 2008

  According to TUAW, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Microsoft has pushed back the release of Office 2008 for the Mac to make sure that the suite is up to mark. Apparently, it will be released for...

  Posted by Paul Mah | August 2, 2007, 1:39 PM PDT

• Vista kernel defenses defeated

  It appears that a security feature present in the 64-bit edition of Windows Vista can be easily circumvented. One of the security provision in this edition of Vista would be the fact that only...

  Posted by Paul Mah | August 1, 2007, 11:59 PM PDT

• Laptop makers facing supply shortages

  According to DRAMeXchange, makers of laptop computers are currently facing a shortage of various components, and that could get worse this quarter. The tight supplies of components started last...

  Posted by Paul Mah | August 1, 2007, 11:58 PM PDT

• A deal's a deal: Ninth Circuit rules Web contracts can't change without notice

  Contracts on Web sites now can’t change without at least a notice to users who agreed to earlier versions, says the progressive (and therefore oft-overruled) U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

  Posted by John Bartley K7AAY | August 1, 2007, 11:24 PM PDT

• Will laser printers be banned from nightclubs?

  I quit smoking almost three years ago, and quite a few states in the U.S. have enacted smoking bans in various places of business, but now research says even cute little laser printers can kill...

  Posted by Sonja Thompson | August 1, 2007, 8:01 AM PDT

• Voice over IP independents plummet, major players pushing them out?

  Comcast was Number One in VoIP subscriber growth for calendar year 2006, outselling Vonage two-to-one. VoIP popularity is rising (note Digium, the company backing the VoIP open-source software...

  Posted by Lea Rush | August 1, 2007, 7:51 AM PDT

• Extending a big "thanks" to BlogHer 2007

  The BlogHer 2007 conference in Chicago, IL, included two days interesting and informative sessions. In fact, there were so many different offerings that it was impossible to attend them all. The...

  Posted by Sonja Thompson | August 1, 2007, 6:06 AM PDT