Top 10: iPhone 3G, DNS flaw, Microsoft’s cloud

Apple stole the IT news show yet again this week with the Friday launch of the iPhone 3G in 22 countries. But there was other news as well, including warnings that a DNS vulnerability really is serious and the ouster by VMware’s board of cofounder and CEO Diane Greene.

1. iPhone 3G: The arrival day FAQ, iPhone activation woes hit early buyers, and First impressions: iPhone 3G: With cheers in Japan and some jeers in London because of software compatibility problems that caused problems activating the phones, Apple’s iPhone 3G launched in 22 countries Friday, ending a week that had been ripe with reviews, analysis and words of warning and praise about the greatly anticipated new smartphone. As of press time for this weekly news roundup, activation problems continued during the U.S. launch because of a glitch related to the iTunes server. Some early buyers were miffed about those issues.

[ For the big picture on the iPhone 3G, see InfoWorld’s special report, and for more on bringing the iPhone into the office, read How to make the new iPhone work at work | Slideshow: 10 enterprise apps for the iPhone ]

2. Talk of Internet bug spawns backlash from hackers: A Domain Name System vulnerability reported earlier this year is among the most serious uncovered to date in the DNS architecture and should be patched immediately, said Paul Mockapetris, the inventor of DNS. Some in the security community have questioned how problematic the cache-poisoning flaw really is, so Mockapetris added his voice to the growing chorus of those urging that patches be applied immediately. Products from some 80 vendors are affected by the flaw, and various of them have begun releasing patches. “The time to fix is now. The clock is ticking,” Mockapetris said. The flaw was publicized this week by researcher Dan Kaminsky, who set off some in the community because he didn’t provide technical details to verify the bug.

3. VMware ousts founder, hires ex-Microsoft bigwig: In a surprise move, virtualization pioneer VMware ousted cofounder and CEO Diane Greene, replacing her with Paul Maritz, a former Microsoft executive who retired from that company in 2000 after a career managing the development and marketing of various products. He went on to found cloud-storage vendor Pi. VMware, which is primarily owned by EMC, has faced increasing pressure from competitors, including Microsoft.

4. Microsoft’s cloud forms: Microsoft made its biggest foray into cloud computing this week with Microsoft Online Services, a family that includes Online versions of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications, Office Live Meeting, and Dynamics CRM. The low pricing and suscriptions rates were attractive, but experts see holes in the strategy, particularly given that customers will need to purchase additional add-ons.

5. Yahoo opens its search technology to third parties: Yahoo will allow other Web sites to use its technology to build their own search services in a new revenue-sharing scheme. The company’s beta version of an API that Web sites can use to build services based on its search infrastructure and algorithms, including the ability to rerank results and control how they are presented. A publisher could use the API to build a search service that specializes in a particular topic, such as sports, for example. Or it could use the API to give users a better way to search the content on its Web site. The release is part of Yahoo’s BOSS (Build YourOwn Search Service) strategy.

6. ACLU files lawsuit to challenge surveillance law: The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups focused on civil rights filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenging the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, signed into law by President George Bush the same day as the lawsuit filing. The law, approved Wednesday by the Senate, allows the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies to spy on people, including U.S. residents who talk to people who live overseas and are suspected of having connections to terrorists. The law includes a provision granting limited immunity for telecommunication companies that allegedly participated in the NSA surveillance program before it had any court oversight. The groups contend the law violates the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure.

7. Intel set to launch Centrino 2 next week: Intel is expected to release Centrino 2, the next version of its mobile platform, on Monday. It will be the first major Centrino upgrade since the first launch in 2003, and will feature Core 2 Duo chips, support for 802.11n wireless networking and WiMax, among other improvements.

8. Sun lays off approximately 1,000 employees: As part of a planned workforce reduction that was previously announced, Sun followed through this week by laying off about 1,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada. The company has said it will lay off 1,500 to 2,500 employees worldwide. Future cuts are expected in other regions.

9. Good incentives boost datacenter energy efficiency: Employee incentive programs and automation tools developed in-house have helped Microsoft decrease datacenter energy consumption. The company was among those sharing such tips and tricks at a datacenter efficiency strategy conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

10. How Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday affects business processes and security: A whole IT industry has been built around Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday, which was started in October 2003 in response to customers who wanted to get patches in an organized way. Patch-management and security consultants, along with a thriving services sector, have sprung up since the advent of Patch Tuesday.