From The Editor
By Jeff Caruso, Site Editor
- Economy forcing IT workers to wear multiple hats
- The idea of taking on more responsibility might be daunting to some in IT, but people aren't necessarily complaining with the threat of job cuts as the alternative. One IT manager tells of adding...
- Here comes Mobile Firefox, sort of
- The alpha version of Mobile Firefox will be released next week to Mozilla community members, though this is really a pretty limited test.
Those who want to give the mobile browser a spin will...
- Smartphone smackdown: RIM and Verizon vs. Apple and AT&T
- We take a side-by-side look at the new RIM Storm and the market favorite Apple iPhone in terms of call quality, network coverage, price and more.
Of course, with the Storm not actually available...
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Blogger warns: "Nortel doesn't make it out alive"; Firefox for mobile Listen now!
- Mafiaboy grows up; a hacker seeks redemption
- The Internet attack took Yahoo engineers by surprise. It came so fast and with such intensity that Yahoo, then the Web's second most-popular destination, was knocked offline for about three hours.
- Here comes the digital nomad dream vehicle
- The economy is in full-blown meltdown. Home values are dropping. Businesses are closing. Layoffs are coming. Maybe it's time to escape from civilization and wait out the crash?
- Ning adds Google OpenSocial support to its social networks
- Social network platform provider Ning Inc. - the brainchild of Netscape founder Marc Andreessen - Friday announced that it is adding support for the OpenSocial standard to the more than 500,000 social networks created by its users.
- Exploit code loose for six-month-old Windows bug
- Microsoft Thursday acknowledged that exploit code is circulating for a vulnerability it acknowledged six months ago, but has yet to patch.
- Google in curious alliance with click-fraud detection firm
- In a development that would have seemed impossible two years ago, Google is cooperating publicly with Click Forensics, a click-fraud detection company with which it has had a rocky relationship.
- Microsoft sues DHL after train dumps 21,600 Xboxes
- Microsoft is suing U.S.-based cargo-delivery service DHL Express for allegedly losing 21,600 Xbox game consoles because of a train derailment in Texas, according to court documents.
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- How to renegotiate an outsourcing contract
- Sitting down with a vendor to renegotiate an existing outsourcing contract can be a challenging task. David Patzwald, CIO of Schneider Electric North America, offers the following suggestions for how to make your negotiation sessions a fruitful-not frustrating-experience.
- It only seems like the only news is the economy
- Not all of this week's news involved global financial turmoil: while IT budgets are being cut and AMD is breaking itself up, a security tool was released for Firefox that prevents "clickjacking" and Microsoft said that Windows 7 will fix issues in Vista's user account control feature.
- Feds weigh changes to H-1B application process after report
- A report by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that found evidence of forged documents, fake degrees and shell companies being used in H-1B applications likely will lead to increased scrutiny of the visa petitions if the USCIS implements some of the steps it is now considering. A USCIS spokesman said Friday that the agency is weighing a series of reforms to the H-1B application process, including the use of "independent open-source data" to obtain information about visa seekers or the companies that file the petitions on their behalf. For instance, USCIS officials could check petitioning companies against commercially available records in order to make sure that they are legitimate businesses.
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- Kernel developers, Wall Street to come together
- The Linux Foundation is holding its first End User Summit beginning Monday in New York, in an effort to bring Linux kernel developers in closer contact with users at Wall Street institutions and other major companies.
- Forrester: Discontent persists over SAP maintenance hike
- A new Forrester Research study that polled more than 200 SAP customers found widespread discontent over the vendor's recent decision to shift customers to a pricier Enterprise Support offering, and also provides tips on how customers can mitigate the increased cost.
- Ellison strikes bullish tone at shareholder meeting
- Seemingly unfazed by the ongoing meltdown in global financial markets, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said Friday his company will likely emerge unscathed, and in fact may "come out of this downturn stronger than we ever have before."
- Yahoo investor proposal unlikely to push Microsoft
- A relatively small Yahoo shareholder is proposing a new Microsoft takeover offer, but analysts don't think it's enough to entice the companies back to the negotiating table.
- What happens to my DSL when I give up my landline?
- Most local phone companies in the United States offer what's commonly called "naked DSL," although the companies themselves don't tend to use that term. Simply put, it's DSL service without analog voice or a dial tone. It usually costs more than adding DSL to existing phone service, but less than the combination of both.
- PCI app security: Who's guarding the data bank?
- While Willy Sutton never really said it, the truth is that people rob banks because that is where the money is. Today's criminals don't walk into banks with loaded guns and get-away drivers. Rather they connect from a remote location using a browser and are armed with hacking tools and spyware.
- Sprint's 4G Xohm WiMax: How fast is it?
- With most American mobile data networks busy trying to deliver third-generation (3G) mobile wireless access to traveling businesspeople, Sprint's newly launched Xohm service takes a giant step forward by offering America's first 4G system.
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- Ugandans comment on 10 years of ICT regulation
- Earlier this month, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) celebrated 10 years of regulating the country's highly competitive ICT sector, garnering reflection from observers and ICT users.
- Favorite Firefox extensions
- One of the big advantages Firefox 3 holds over Safari is extensibility. Savvy users can customize the browser to look, feel and perform in any number of ways. Our earlier review said "Firefox 3 is an improvement on its useful but somewhat clunky predecessor in nearly every respect."
- Ericsson racing team to raise awareness of MDGs
- Telecommunications giant Ericsson will raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during the Volvo Ocean Race, an around-the-world sailing competition.
- Vodafone to acquire 15% more of Vodacom Group
- The dispute between Vodafone and Telkom South Africa over shareholding in Vodacom Group seems to be dying down after the South African government yielded and accepted Vodafone's latest bid.
- Tom Bihn Zephyr
- Tom Bihn's Zephyr is billed specifically as a laptop "briefcase" for good reason: This sturdy, waterproof bag has a pre-formed shape that makes it best-suited for business-minded people who have a lot of material to haul. If you require crisp, clean, organized files when you arrive for a meeting, this bag is for you.
- Zoho launches e-mail app with offline, mobile access
- Zoho has added e-mail to its portfolio of Web-hosted applications for individuals and organizations.
- Mobile penetration to hit 95 percent by 2013
- Mobile penetration rates will increase to 95 percent by 2013 from 46 percent in 2008, according to a new survey of 34 emerging markets by Tariff Consultancy Limited.
- Newsstand and News Now for iPhone
- Old rituals wither and die; new rituals crop up and replace the old. When I used to work on the west side of Los Angeles, one of my favorite rituals was to stop every morning at a newsstand at Robertson Avenue and Pico Boulevard and load up on reading materials--three or four newspapers and often one or two magazines. The year was 1994.
- i-rocks RF-7550A 2.4GHz Cordless Optical Mouse
- The i-rocks RF-7550A 2.4GHz Cordless Optical Mouse is a decent mouse created by a company that doesn't believe in the famous marketing dictum that to keep your customers happy you should "under-promise and over-deliver."
- Mobile industry split over UMA versus femtocells
- As mobile data traffic continues to increase, with more generated by home users, operators are under pressure to adopt either UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) or femtocells, both of which have a lot going for them, according to their respective proponents.
- CCK challenges Postal Corporation to adopt technology
- The Communications Commission of Kenya has challenged the Postal Corporation of Kenya to adopt technology or risk losing the market to more innovative competitors.
- World Bank urges Zambia to review telecom issues
- As Zambia's international gateway issues continue, the World Bank said a review is needed of the problems relating to infrastructure, regulatory and institutional requirements of the telecom industry in order to solve troubles affecting the sector.
- Neotel ready to offer multiple services on fiber
- Neotel, South Africa's second national operator, has finalized plans to offer fiber to its enterprise customers in major cities and towns.
- Romanian pleads guilty to phishing-related charges
- A Romanian man pleaded guilty earlier this week to charges related to possession of stolen credit card information obtained from fraudulent Web sites.
- South Africa ranked region's most networked economy
- South Africa is the most networked economy in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Mauritius and Botswana, according to the latest edition of "The Global Information Technology Report" by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- How IT pros can prosper despite economic woes
- IT budgets are on hold and staff hiring is frozen, but IT professionals can view the downturn as an opportunity to spotlight their skills and add a few more to their résumés.
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- Appointments for British visas now online
- British visa seekers in Sierra Leone will now have to book appointments online, according to the British High Commission in Freetown.
- Zain Zambia CEO resigns
- Zain Zambia CEO David Venn has resigned barely two months after Celtel Zambia was taken over by Zain of Kuwait.
- World Bank releases ICT development funds to Africa
- The World Bank has given Eastern and Southern African countries about US$424 million for a program designed to improve regional communication infrastructure and increase the deployment of e-government.
- U.K. companies offered 'password amnesty'
- Authentication specialist Cryptocard is offering U.K. businesses the chance to test the company's remote access login service free-of-charge until year-end.
- Opera promises faster surfing with new browser
- Opera Software, which is battling hard for market share with Google's Chrome, is promising users a faster surfing experience, an improved e-mail client, and better browser-synchronization capabilities, with the latest version of its browser launched this week.
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- Antivirus superhero comes to the rescue
- Japan's cheap and pervasive high-speed Internet connections are finally catching up with the country.
- U.S. gov't proposes digital signing of DNS root zone file
- The U.S. government is soliciting input on a way to make the Internet's addressing system less susceptible to tampering by hackers.
- Forbidden City goes virtual with IBM
- The world's largest palace complex Friday unveiled an addition -- a virtual one.
