40 Windows apps affected by critical security flaw, researcher claims
A Texas-based researcher claimed he had discovered that about 40 different Windows apps, including the Windows shell, suffer from a critical vulnerability that could open up users to attacks by hackers. The flaw was originally discovered in iTunes for Windows, and was patched by Apple four months ago with iTunes 9.1.
Rapid7 chief security officer HD Moore detailed his findings to Computerworld in an interview on Wednesday. He said a wide range of applications are affected, and it was found while looking into another flaw involving Windows shortcuts, which Microsoft patched in an emergency update.
Toshiba's hard drive breakthough could herald mega-capacity drives
Toshiba said Wednesday that it had made a breakthrough in hard disk design that will allow hard drives to have much higher capacities than what is currently possible today. The research is in something called bit-patterned media, a magnetic storage technology.
The recording surface is broken up into tiny magnetic bits, each of which can hold a single bit of data. The bits are made up of several grains, which are organized in rows. This organization is what makes it possible for data to be found easily.
LightSquared initiates L-band spectrum shift critical to new 4G LTE/Satellite network
LightSquared, the company responsible for the first wholesale hybrid Satellite/Cellular network that many expect will power the 4G services of at least one of the four major wireless carriers in the U.S., announced Wednesday the beginning of the wireless spectrum shift that will ultimately make its network possible.
In a December 2007 agreement, SkyTerra (now LightSquared) and mobile satellite service provider Inmarsat arranged a system that would allow the L-band spectrum to be re-banded for use in both MSS (satellite) and ATC (terrestrial) services.
RIAA, music industry step into net neutrality debate once again
In a letter to Google chief Eric Schmidt, RIAA and 12 other music industry groups asked that any proposal on the issue of net neutrality be specific in taking steps to combat copyright infringement and child pornography. The inclusion of pornography in the industry's request is somewhat unusual considering none of the groups listed are active participants in any anti-pornography efforts.
The groups feel that any proposal should permit ISPs to take action against these issues. While the proposal put forth by Google and Verizon does address 'unlawful content,' it is not specific as to what that may entail.
Is Facebook stifling innovation?
The answer could prevent startups like foursquare from ever coming to be.
I predict that social geotagging service "Places" will be Facebook's TCP/IP moment. During the 1990s, Microsoft started to aggressively integrate previously standalone features into Windows, with TCP/IP and disk compression being notable. The features' integration made products from smaller companies -- many of them startups -- redundant. Microsoft didn't necessarily offer something better, but something free and easily accessible as part of Windows.
Intel seeks to change cybersecurity with $7.6B McAfee acquisition
Intel Corporation Thursday morning announced that it will acquire security software and management company McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion in cash. Intel says the move reflects the changing security climate as more non-PC devices connect to the Internet, like cars, TVs, and medical equipment.
"With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences."
Intel says there needs to be "a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services," for the increasingly connected world.
Facebook adds check-in feature with "Places," teams up with likely competitors
Leading social network Facebook Wednesday announced Facebook Places, a service which adds location awareness to the service's mobile experience.
The service launches tonight in the United States as a part of the Facebook application for iPhone, and on the HTML5 touch.facebook.com, and users will have the ability to "check in" to their locations similar to the way users on Foursquare, Gowalla, and Brightkite can, and likewise they can find out who and what is available around them.
FCC says broadband ISPs routinely exaggerate connection speeds
The Federal Communications Commission has said that ISPs are not truthful in advertising broadband speeds, often choosing to use maximum connection speeds in attracting customers. The finding came as part of a larger study on broadband performance released this week.
While the advertised speeds have averaged in the range of 7 to 8 Mbps, actual speeds are roughly half that. This gap was found to be about the same across all technologies, including cable, DSL, and fiber to the home. The FCC argued that the gap may cause confusion among consumers as the speeds determine the consumer experience.
Bike tech is Hot: Google Maps gets help from 10,000 bicyclist beta testers
Google announced on Wednesday that it has expanded the bicycle mapping feature of Google Maps to include 80 new cities, thanks to an overwhelming response from its community of beta testers.
In March, Google introduced the beta of bike routes in Google Maps, a feature which lets users plan directions optimized for bicycle transportation. When we ran a story about this, it got a tremendous amount of traffic, beating nearly everything else the whole week in terms of unique reads.
T-Mobile's first HSPA+ phone to be called G2
Mobile network operator T-Mobile today announced that the first smartphone capable of fully utilizing the company's HSPA+ network upgrade will be called the G2. Unfortunately, there were few details about the device, and the site announcing the G2 is currently unavailable.
The brief announcement on the vanity site said, "The T-Mobile G2 will deliver tight integration with Google services and break new ground as the first smartphone designed to run at 4G speeds on our new HSPA+ network. In the coming weeks, we'll share more details about the G2 and offer exclusive first access to current T-Mobile customers." instead of a photograph of the device, there is simply a white block suggesting the shape of a smartphone.
New PlayStation 3 includes largest hard drive of any video game console
At Gamescom, the annual video game tradeshow in Cologne, Germany, Sony Computer Entertainment unveiled a new PlayStation 3 bundle that includes not only the new PlayStation Move motion controller, but also the Playstation 3 with the largest hard drive ever.
In conjunction with the launch of Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller, the new 320GB PlayStation 3 slim will launch on September 19 for $399.99, and will include the PlayStation Move motion controller, PlayStation Eye camera, and a motion-based game entitled Sports Champions.
Yahoo begins transition to Bing search, kills SearchMonkey
Yahoo said Tuesday that it would begin to switch over its search backend to the Microsoft platform in the US and Canada, the cornerstone of an agreement reached between the two companies last July. A "Powered by Bing" graphic would appear at the bottom of its search pages after the transition, the company said.
It would still be some time yet before other markets worldwide transition to Bing, for which Yahoo gave no timeline, although it's expected the full transition wouldn't be complete until 2012. Of course, one notable example would be Japan: that division is switching to a Google backend pending regulatory approval and any legal challenges.
iPad likely cannibalizes Mac sales, but that's OK
Analysts and pundits have fiercely debated whether or not iPad would cannibalize Mac sales. Or netbooks, or Windows PCs or iPods. Or nothing at all. Cannibalization will happen now, if at all, which is what I predicted in April. Based on NPD July US retail sales data, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty asserted in a report yesterday: "iPad momentum is likely contributing to the moderation of both broader PC and Mac unit growth."
Oh yeah? I'm skeptical about iPad sapping PC growth, except for perhaps netbooks, but Macs make sense. It's about time a Wall Street analyst finally acknowledged the inevitable. In April I asked "Will iPad cannibalize Mac sales?" and answered: "The question isn't if iPad will cannibalize Mac sales but when. If the cannibals are coming, they'll first strike during back-to-school buying season."
Move over Apple: Canonical to add multitouch gestures in Ubuntu Linux 10.10
Citing manufacturer demand, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said Monday that Ubuntu 10.10 would include the beginnings of the company's UTouch multitouch framework.
"Rather than single, magic gestures, we're making it possible for basic gestures to be chained, or composed, into more sophisticated 'sentences,'" he said in a blog post. "The basic gestures, or primitives, are like individual verbs, and stringing them together allows for richer interactions."
RIAA, broadcasters want mandatory FM radio in cell phones, electronics
The music industry is looking for a way to save broadcast radio, and may have found it: a legislative mandate to carry FM radio in personal electronics. Like the net neutrality debate, this idea was born out of two sides disagreeing and attempting to come to a compromise.
RIAA and broadcasters are at odds over the payment for the right to play songs on the radio. While satellite and Internet broadcasts must pay this fee, radio is exempt under current copyright law. The labels want this changed, obviously the broadcasters do not.
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