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IT admins: users' online antics greatest threat to security July 22, 2009 at 11:10 pm Hackers don't have to work very hard to steal information from people and organizations—people are pretty willing to give it away. Social networks and other Web 2.0 sites are making it ever easier for Internet users to accidentally share too much information or become victim to phishing scams, leading to security research firm Sophos to warn IT admins on how to handle employee use of these services. A majority of sysadmins—63 percent—told Sophos that they worry about employees sharing too much information on social networking sites. This could potentially put the corporate infrastructure at risk, especially if they reveal too much about the company, not to mention details about their personal identities. According to Sophos' research, this worry is justified—33.4 percent of business users have been spammed on a social networking site and 21 percent have been phished there. (23.6 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively, said that they had no idea either way. That should really inspire some confidence.) Windows Live Messenger turns 10 July 22, 2009 at 10:01 pm 10 years ago today, MSN Messenger version 1.0 was released to the world. A decade later, we're at Windows Live Messenger version 2009 (build 14.0.8064.206). Despite the different name, it's still run on the same IM network which just so happens to be the world's most popular. To celebrate, Microsoft has a website in the US and in the UK where it is offering an anniversary gift pack with free themes and emoticons for download. The software giant has also put together a five-minute video for the tenth anniversary of Messenger: Disney puts toll on format shifting, rolls out microSD films July 22, 2009 at 9:41 pm Disney's Japan unit has embarked on an experiment at once fascinating and sad: bundling microSD cards with Hollywood popcorn fare like the National Treasure series and Pirates of the Caribbean. The cards will contain digital copies of the films meant to be viewed on mobile phones and other portable devices... for an additional ten bucks. Beginning this fall, Disney will sell a line of its films with both a DVD and a microSD card inside the package. According to Reuters, it can be had for the low, low price of ¥4,935 ($53)—a mere ¥1,000 ($11) more than the DVD alone. New sources pour fuel on iTablet rumor fire July 22, 2009 at 9:17 pm Inside sources again claim that Apple has a tablet ready to release "in time for the holidays," and will be partnering with Verizon to provide mobile data services and possible subsidies, though those details have apparently not been worked out. This new rumor seems to confirm rumors from earlier this year that Verizon would be carrying an Apple "media pad," as well as reports earlier this month that Chinese suppliers had already received orders for parts to produce the device in time for a possible October launch. According to sources for The Street, Apple has been working on the tablet for about two years. Working prototypes have supposedly existed for almost a year, which would lend credence to a fall launch window. Verizon is expected to subsidize at least some of the rumored $800 price, though because the device will be data-only, subsidies may be much less than those for the iPhone—which also involves lucrative monthly voice and texting plans. Intel tells EU court antitrust fine violated its human rights July 22, 2009 at 8:10 pm Intel has officially appealed the hefty €1 billion+ fine levied against it in May by the European Union after a years-long antitrust investigation. In doing so, the chipmaker made what appears to be an unusual argument: that the EU has violated Intel's human rights by assessing such a large fine. Unlike the United States, where the Department of Justice often files lawsuits in the course of its inquiries, a European Union antitrust investigation is administrative in nature. The European Commission's Directorate General for Competition investigates and issues a finding once it has gathered sufficient data. The end result is often a very large fine, such as the €500 million Microsoft was forced to pay. Apple drops legal threats against wiki operator—for now July 22, 2009 at 6:10 pm Apple has officially backed off from legal threats made against OdioWorks, the operator of a wiki that hosted pages discussing how users might use an iPod with non-Apple media software. The company sent a letter to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (which was representing OdioWorks in its legal case against Apple) earlier this month stating that the company had chosen to withdraw its takedown notifications. As a result, OdioWorks is also dropping its lawsuit against Apple, though this issue may not lay dornmant for long. BluWiki, like most wiki platforms, is open to the public for the purpose of sharing information. The site is noncommercial and doesn't run ads, and depends on its users to edit and publish articles on a wide variety of topics. Some of those topics cover how to use an iPod or iPhone with third-party software—something not possible under Apple's normal product restrictions. Microsoft: Windows 7 is done, on its way to manufacturers July 22, 2009 at 4:40 pm Microsoft today announced that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have hit the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) milestone. The software giant still has a lot of work to do, but the bigger responsibility now falls to OEMs that must get PCs ready, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that are testing their new apps, and Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) that are preparing their new hardware. Expression 3 arrives in English July 22, 2009 at 4:09 pm Microsoft Expression 3, the company's set of tools for creating and delivering Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and media experiences on the Web, is now available for purchase. 60-day trial versions are now also available: Expression 3 Design (53.6MB), Expression Encoder 3 (25.3MB), Expression Web 3 (122.9MB), Expression Studio 3 (249.8MB), and Expression Blend 3 + SketchFlow (71.2MB). Before making any rash decisions, make sure to check out the system requirements for Expression Studio 3 or Expression Web 3. AMD still in the red on shrinking margins, PC downturn July 22, 2009 at 2:50 pm With the release of its second quarter earnings yesterday, AMD now has 11 straight quarters of losses under its belt (the company was last profitable in the third quarter of 2006). Even more importantly for its share price, which is down around 14 percent after yesterday's earnings, the company underperformed analysts' expectations by about 2¢ per share, with losses coming in at $0.49 per share. You would think that AMD's position as a value player would give it an edge in this market over rival Intel, which also posted a loss due to a major fine imposed by the EU. But a combination of lower average selling prices, capacity underutilization, and inventory clearing squeezed the chipmaker's margins from an already low 43 percent in the first quarter of this year to 37 percent (compare Intel's margins, which are north of 50 percent). Mini DisplayPort no longer a hassle with cables and adapters July 22, 2009 at 2:01 pm There were several moans and groans when Apple announced last fall that it would be standardizing on Mini DisplayPort for all its computers, but the reality is that Mini DisplayPort is with us to stay—at least for the foreseeable future. Luckily, a number of sources are now available for an array of adapters and cables to help in situations that don't necessarily involve Apple's 24" LED Cinema Display. For the simplest situations, such as connecting a VGA or DVI-equipped monitor to any recent Mac, Apple has offered mini-DP to VGA and mini-DP to DVI adapters. However, Apple's adapters tend to be pricey and it hasn't as yet deigned to offer its own HDMI adapter. This is where third parties have come to the rescue. Flaming iPod complaints released after Apple stonewalling July 22, 2009 at 1:22 pm iPods smoking and bursting into flames: freak accidents, or more common than we think? It's at least the former, but according to a recent disclosure by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there may in fact be far more of these incidents than previously thought. Apple's legal team appears to have tried to keep the information under wraps, too, though the CPSC itself doesn't yet consider the issue to be a serious one. The CPSC sent KIRO 7 Eyewitness News some 800 pages of documentation over smoking, burning, and exploding iPods this week in response to a Freedom Of Information Act request. In fact, the request was first submitted this past December—more than seven months ago—but was continually delayed "because Apple's lawyers filed exemption after exemption." It's unclear whether the 800 pages are comprehensive or whether there's more. Regardless, they apparently reveal enough to anger a number of victims even more, because the incidents continued long after they reported their own issues to Apple. Review: Layers for iPhone is a boon for digital painters July 22, 2009 at 12:55 pm Drawing apps are nothing new to the iPhone. Since the platform opened up to developers, there have been numerous apps that tout a wide range of drawing features. Layers from Gotow Creative Studios is one of the newest entries into the fray. Layers is the second drawing application from this company and aims to bring a stalwart feature of digital drawing apps: (you guessed it) layers. Layers offers basic painting functionality on the surface, eight different brushes (unfortunately no blending tool), the ability to adjust the diameter of the brush stroke, the ability to pick just about any color through a palette or a color picker, and the ability to adjust opacity of the paint. Further, you have 30 levels of undo and redo (undo saves even after quitting the app) and an eraser, making it next to impossible to make a mistake you cant fix. The UI for these functions is clean and easy to use; some forethought and refinement obviously went into the development. Radial 50 brings circular Breakout to iPhone: Interview July 22, 2009 at 12:20 pm What does it take to update a classic, and do it well? I was challenged to pick up a game called Radial 50 for the iPhone, and while I thought the most likely outcome would be $2 blown on a crappy BreakOut clone, the game turned out to be quite the pleasant surprise. The circular design worked well, the game was fun, and the music added to the atmosphere. I decided to catch up with Robin Rath, the creator of the game, to find out what it takes to put your own stamp on such a well-worn design. Canonical's Launchpad now open source and ready for takeoff July 22, 2009 at 12:15 pm Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, announced this week that it has opened the source code of its Launchpad project hosting service. This will enable third-party developers to participate in improving the software and could also make it a lot more attractive as a project hosting option. Launchpad provides much of Ubuntu's underlying development infrastructure, including bug tracking, code hosting, project management, and localization tools. Canonical has broadly encouraged open source software developers to bring their own projects to Launchpad and take advantage of this functionality. Launchpad itself, however, was a proprietary service and the source code was not available. This became a source of friction between Canonical and the open source software community, deterring some potential adopters. Canonical's move to completely open the Launchpad source code will largely address the concerns expressed by prospective adopters. ESA sues CTA over banned game ads, citing first amendment July 22, 2009 at 11:43 am What's the difference between the advertisements for violent films and the advertisements for violent games? You can advertise one on the side of buses in Chicago, and the other one you can't. The Entertainment Software Association has a slight problem with that policy, and has filed suit against the Chicago Transit Authority. Physicalization looks for gold in the margins July 22, 2009 at 11:25 am "Physicalization" is an awkward name for an approach to server consolidation that seeks to offer a hardware-based alternative to virtualization by cramming multiple, low-power processors into a small amount of rack space. These processors are invariably mobile processors, designed for power-sensitive mobile products, and server vendors are building very small, modular server nodes around them and packing them as densely as possible into rack units. It's too early to tell if this trend has legs, but ever since we've started covering it, something about it has been bothersome: in short, it seems to go against Moore's Law. But more on that in a moment. Modern Warfare 2 benefits greatly from Call of Duty branding July 22, 2009 at 11:14 am Modern Warfare 2 looked amazing at E3, but there was almost nothing to say about it. "Here is another excellent FPS title from Infinity Ward," makes for a boring post. What is fascinating about the game is the title: it was assumed that the game was going to be released as Modern Warfare 2, until it was revealed via Twitter that the boxes would say Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Adding the "Call of Duty" back into the name added up to much more consumer interest. Adobe releases open source media framework for Flash July 22, 2009 at 11:10 am Adobe has released an Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) that can be used to build Flash-based streaming video players. The framework emerged from Adobe's Strobe initiative and is part of a broader collaborative effort called the Open Video Player project that has brought together Microsoft, Adobe, Akamai, and other key players with the aim of simplifying real-world video delivery on the Internet. The OSMF provides a preintegrated stack of components for building a streaming video player that runs on top of Adobe's Flash browser plugin. It includes stream loading functionality, user interface classes, and other parts that are needed to build a video player. The roadmap, which has been published at the project's website, lists a wide range of more specialized features that are planned or under active development, such as rich playlist support and a connection plugin for streaming content from Akamai's content delivery network. First Band Hero trailer reveals pop heavy soundtrack July 22, 2009 at 10:40 am While Activision has revealed details on two of its upcoming Hero games—DJ Hero and Guitar Hero 5—the company has been relatively quiet about its more mainstream take on the rhythm game, Band Hero. And while details are still slim, the company has released a teaser trailer for the game, which at least gives us some idea of what Top 40 hits we can expect to play. LHC delayed again due to vacuum leaks July 22, 2009 at 10:20 am The Large Hadron Collider at CERN was shut down last September due to cooling problems, and the repair and restart process has continued to turn up additional issues. Most recently, CERN's Bulletin revealed that a new complication has arisen—specifically, some vacuum leaks—that will push the LHC's restart back to early November. The leaks were found in two of the "cold" sectors, 8-1 and 2-3, of the LHC, the kind that are the most difficult to fix because they're kept at extremely low temperatures. The leaks became visible when these sections were being prepared for electrical tests on their copper stabilizers, which were to occur at 80 Kelvin, or -316º Fahrenheit. Guild raids on the big screen: Sam Raimi to direct Warcraft July 22, 2009 at 10:01 am While gamers may think of long nights spent grinding for the next level when they hear the name Warcraft, many of us still remember the game's real-time strategy roots... as well as the series' sometimes overlooked story and epic cinematics. Now that world will be brought to the big screen, as Sam Raimi has officially been announced as the director of the Warcraft film. In the official announcement, there is no "World of" in the title, the project is simply listed as Warcraft. reboot.FCC.gov: a website devoted to FCC reform comes online July 22, 2009 at 8:58 am Federal Communications Commissioner Julius Genachowski says that FCC staff can now access a new tool for improving the agency: reboot.FCC.gov. Its purpose is to "solicit reform proposals from every FCC employee," Genachowski explained on Tuesday. But don't bother going there if you don't work at the Commission, at least not yet. "The website will later become publicly accessible," he promised, "allowing the agency to receive reform ideas from all interested parties." First look: major Yahoo makeover trickles down to US users July 22, 2009 at 7:19 am The world's number one online destination—still the main Yahoo front page—is slowly rolling out the major redesign that was first discussed last fall. US users should start seeing an option to opt-in to the new design when logging in today, while Yahoo will begin rolling out the refresh in France, India, and the UK later in the week. Yahoo's senior vice president of Integrated Consumer Experiences, Tapan Bhat, is already patting himself on the back, calling the new design "the most fundamental change to the homepage ever." We took it for a brief test-drive to see if it lives up to the hype. The front page has gained a few customization features, similar to the My Yahoo page. "We want to be the center of people's lives online and want to do it in an open, innovative way, all while providing a compelling experience," Bhat told All Things Digital in an interview yesterday. "It marks the beginning of a renaissance of Yahoo, a renaissance where every pixel matters."