News

Google mobile OS unlikely, analysts say

Analysts have varying ideas about what Google's foray into the mobile world should be, but they largely agree that creating its own mobile OS would be a bad move

Mozilla’s Prism project blends Web, desktop

Mozilla software lets users strip a Web app from its enclosing browser and work with it as if it were a desktop program

Storm Trojan dupes users with Halloween jig

Storm worm floods in-boxes with a Halloween spam blitz, again capitalizing on current events to dupe people into infecting their PCs

Critics: FTC should investigate online advertising practices

Consumer groups complain that online advertisers are using targeted advertising aimed at children and at social-networking sites

Google denies ranking hanky-panky

Screenshot of a Google search results list with dollar values for each link raises speculation that commercial considerations play a role in how Google ranks Web sites

Defense comes to forefront at China’s Congress

Chinese president's comments about 'building computerized armed forces and winning IT-based warfare' raises concerns outside the country

NTT DoCoMo admits to crisis over subscriber losses

NTT DoCoMo has lost 1 million subscribers in the last year since portability was introduced to let subscribers switch carriers without losing their telephone number

Superbugs, cyber- criminals and IT

Lenovo has another strong quarter, but loses ground to Acer

Lenovo's PC shipments rose 23 percent, and the company plans to start selling consumer PCs outside China

Autodesk buys Chinese software developer

Autodesk purchases Hanna Strategies to attract and develop more top engineering students and professionals in China

NEC gets first order for SX-9 supercomputer

Japanese university orders an NEC 16-node SX-9 supercomputer to support scientists working in cutting-edge fields such as aeronautics and environmental simulations

Cisco to spend $16B in China over next five years

Cisco plans to double its manufacturing in China, increase investment in Chinese startups, and train Chinese 100,000 students on networking technology

Microsoft services engine readied for SOA

Experts skeptical of alleged Nov. 11 cyber jihad

DEBKAfile is reporting that numerous al-Qaeda-affiliated hackers are planning a massive DDOS-style attack for November 11, but security experts are unconvinced

HP puts touchscreen PC in play

The Touchsmart PC, which allows users to record voice and video messages and edit digital photos, is part of a trend of desktop PCs re-emerging as information centers

Interview: Microsoft’s Ferguson talks about Oslo, SOA

Don Ferguson was a fellow at IBM who, in a rare move, left the company. In an interview, he explains his move and what he's up to at his new home, Microsoft

College coders vie for cash in enterprise-sponsored contest

More than 100 coders are competing for cash and, more importantly, recognition at the TopCoder Challenge, which has attracted the attention of enterprises

Acer files counterclaims against HP

Acer has responded to Hewlett-Packard's patent-infringement lawsuits by filing counterclaims that HP has infringed on Acer's patents

Five frustrating, wasted days

Update: Privacy groups call for do-not-track list

Nine consumer privacy groups have called on the FTC to create a list that would allow consumers to opt out of having their online movements tracked by advertisers

The top 5 tenets of SaaS

Researchers dig for hidden links in spam

Spammers are 'munging' their links — adding extra characters or removing tags — so that their e-mail passes filters but is still renderable HTML

Hackers sneak tricks into MySpace band pages

By clicking bands' MySpace pages, users could unknowingly download malware and infect their own machines

Microsoft continues pursuit of software pirates

Microsoft files 20 more lawsuits and launches new Web site that provides information for how customers can tell whether software is genuine

Google shares break $700 on reports of wireless talks

Search engine giant Google is said to be in talks with U.S. wireless carriers over the adoption of mobile phone software Google is reportedly developing

Wireless slowly dies after Leopard upgrade, users report

Mac users are experiencing problems with their wireless connections after updating to Leopard

Judge delays decision on extending Microsoft antitrust settlement

Microsoft wins motion to delay until Jan. 31, 2008, a decision on whether to extend its antitrust oversight

Taiwan steps up work on next-generation chip production

Taiwan government hopes to work with chipmakers to encourage the adoption of advanced chip production technology using 18-inch round silicon wafers

Update: Iron Mountain to buy e-discovery company

Iron Mountain's purchase of e-discovery company Stratify should help its customers better manage and monitor sensitive documents required for regulatory compliance

YouTube available again in China

Two weeks after it was blocked, Google's YouTube became available again in China; Wikipedia remains unavailable

Dell restates earnings after internal probe

Dell completes an internal accounting investigation and restates its financial results from fiscal 2003 to Q1 of 2007, bringing it into compliance with Nasdaq requirements

Update: Alcatel-Lucent CFO leaves in management shake-up

Just two former Lucent employees remain on merged Alcatel-Lucent's panel of seven senior executives

AOL takes Truveo video search worldwide

AOL extends video search site as part of strategy to switch its focus from providing Internet access to helping people find and view content

Cisco, Wipro team on services

Joint offerings combine Cisco's networking equipment with Wipro's infrastructure and managed services

Dell to unveil simpler, cheaper products at Oracle OpenWorld

Dell set to announce a simpler virtualization product, new blade servers for large datacenters, and IT support services for small companies

Microsoft apps developers to get Vista relief

Upcoming Visual Studio platform is tuned for Vista OS, unlike current Visual Studio 2005 system

On social media, part 2: What’s right

Update: Poor results at Alcatel-Lucent prompt more layoffs

Alcatel-Lucent unveils a three-point plan for restoring profitability as its postmerger financial performance continues to disappoint

Intel pushes forward with updated dual-core Itanium 2

Intel's 'Montvale' server processor provides a faster front-side bus and features that lower power consumption and improve reliability

Google makes social-networking power move — finally

Google is set to unleash OpenSocial, its response to the popular MySpace and Facebook social-networking sites

Meebo to transform Web-based IM into ‘platform’

Internet startup Meebo hopes to create Facebook-like momentum behind its Web-based IM site

Security geeks say Leopard needs fixing

Leopard's new security features are often implemented incompletely and leave users vulnerable to attack, researcher says

Van Wyk aims to transform Red Hat for future growth

Company seeks to capitalize on its purchase of JBoss and transform itself into a billion-dollar company

Storm Worm sent 15 million pump-and-dump e-mails

Though Storm's botnet is deflating, the month of October saw big numbers for one of the most insiduous Trojans in circulation

Companies tap RSS to tame info overload

Enterprise RSS feeds can overcome e-mail fatigue and deliver pertinent information to affected or interested parties, without clogging the inbox

Pharma industry touts cure for data security ills

A group of pharmacy benefits managers contends that it has charted a model for stronger data security

Microsoft hails Oslo for services, modeling

Conference notes company's efforts in services space

EMC buys change-management vendor Voyence

Voyence software is already integrated with EMC Smarts network management platform, but they could be further combined, EMC spokesman says

Microsoft shows off future features of Project

Next and upcoming versions of Microsoft Office Project will give customers an easier way to customize fields, as well as enable access from mobile devices

A waste of time: Teaching programming?