8 February 2006 Technology News

• ndmmxiaomayi

  8 Mar 06, 19:12

  Intel's new chip family: Core Microarchitecture
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Intel on Tuesday gave a name to the next-generation chip innards at the foundation of its counterattack against Advanced Micro Devices: the Intel Core Microarchitecture.
  
  Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner unveiled the name and several performance and power details of processors using the design at the Intel Developer Forum here. The architecture, derived from the design of the Pentium M processor, puts a major emphasis on lowering power consumption and the older priority of boosting performance.
  
  "Energy is on everyone's mind. It's the next frontier. Not only has it become a critical concern in our daily lives, it's become a critical concern in just about every platform we have," Rattner said in a speech at the show.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  8 Mar 06, 19:13

  Microsoft's CTO envisions a Web-savvy clipboard
  
  Microsoft Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie has proposed a way to bring the equivalent of a PC's text clipboard to the Web, a move he said will spur more user-driven "mashups."
  
  In a talk at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego on Tuesday, Ozzie introduced a Microsoft project called Live Clipboard, which he further detailed on his blog.
  
  The idea behind Live Clipboard is to let Web users easily move around structured information, such as user profiles, RSS feeds and calendar dates. Much the way a PC user has a clipboard to copy and paste text between applications, Live Clipboard is designed to combine, or "mash up," information between different Web sites and computers, he said.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  8 Mar 06, 19:15

  Microsoft buy targets Vista transition
  
  Microsoft on Tuesday said it has acquired Apptimum, a maker of tools to help move software from one PC to another. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Apptimum sells a product called Alohabob which can be used to move data and applications from an old PC to a new one.
  
  Microsoft said the first public release of a product based on Apptimum's technology will be an optional download for users of Vista, the update to Windows expected to ship later this year. Details on the new product's delivery date were not announced. Apptimum, based in Sunrise, Fla., was founded in 1998.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  8 Mar 06, 19:17

  Intel plans to beef up business desktops
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Business PCs haven't been the most exciting part of Intel's product plans over the last few years, but several new technologies will reinvigorate interest in the staid systems, according to Intel executives.
  
  Averill PCs, planned for the second half of the year, will be capable of receiving support from a remote technician in the event of a hard-drive failure or hardware problem, said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group.
  
  The PCs will also come with hardware support for virtualization software and a dramatic improvement in processor performance compared with Intel's current dual-core desktop PCs, Gelsinger said during a keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:06

  Itanium allies fund open-source compiler work
  
  In the newest of a series of moves to try to impart momentum to Intel's Itanium processor, allies backing the chip are funding work to improve a key programming tool.
  
  Some of the $10 billion in five years that members of the Itanium Solutions Alliance are spending on Itanium market and technology development will go to Itanium-specific improvements to the GCC, or GNU Compiler Collection. The Gelato Federation, an organization dedicated to boosting Linux on Itanium computers, is overseeing the work, the allies said this week at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:12

  This week in Intel
  
  Analysts, executives and industry insiders met in San Francisco at the three-day Intel Developer Forum, eager to see what the chipmaker has to offer next.
  
  During the conference, Intel gave a name to the next-generation chip innards, on which it's basing its counterattack against Advanced Micro Devices: the Intel Core microarchitecture. Derived from the design of the Pentium M processor, the architecture puts major emphasis on lowering power consumption and the older priority of boosting performance.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:13

  Red Hat releases big-iron update
  
  Red Hat released an update to its premium Linux product that supports 64-processor x86 servers, and even larger configurations of machines using IBM Power and Intel Itanium chips are coming.
  
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux is the leading commercial version of the open-source operating system. Red Hat released Update 3 on Tuesday, taking Linux to multiprocessor heights previously reserved for the Unix operating system after which Linux is modeled.
  
  New processor technology coming to market means that supporting 64 processors no longer necessarily means a customer has a multimillion-dollar refrigerator-size server. One change is the arrival of multicore chips, which have multiple processing engines on a single slice of silicon. Another change is multithreading, in which a single processor core can run more than one instruction sequence at the same time.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:15

  Europe: Microsoft still out of compliance
  
  After reviewing the latest documents submitted by Microsoft in its antitrust case, the European Commission announced Friday that it sent a letter to the software giant reaffirming its view that the company is out of compliance with its antitrust order.
  
  The letter is the latest blow to the software maker as it heads toward its oral hearing in the case. After the hearing, scheduled for March 30 and 31, the Commission will make a final decision on whether to impose a daily fine of $2.36 million (2 million euros), which would remain in force until Microsoft comes into compliance with the Commission's historic antitrust order.
  
  The Commission, which in December issued a "statement of objections" that said Microsoft had not complied with its 2004 order, had its monitoring trustee, Neil Barrett, review additional information Microsoft supplied after the "statement of objections" was released. The order calls for Microsoft to provide accurate and adequate protocol information to allow rivals' technology to interoperate with Windows PCs and servers.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:16

  IBM shows Cell blade in action
  
  HANNOVER, Germany--IBM is showing off to the CeBit crowd a prototype blade server based on the Cell processor.
  
  The company demonstrated the Cell blade server running visualization software to display real-time, 3D video footage of a beating heart. This allows a researcher to rotate the image of the heart and observe it from any angle, or filter out elements such as blood or certain tissue to give a transparent view into the center of the heart.
  
  The demonstration requires a huge amount of data processing, but a blade server using the nine-core Cell chip is well equipped to handle such a workload, according to Utz Bacher, team leader for IBM's Linux on Cell development team.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:18

  Industry wants girls to stick to knitting
  
  The computer industry may pride itself on being different. But for all its self-congratulatory pretensions, this business isn't very different from the rest of the American economy.
  
  When Carol Bartz became Autodesk CEO in 1992, she could have counted the number of female bosses in the computer business on one hand. Fourteen years later, the top of technology's corporate pyramid remains more of a man's world than ever.
  
  "Ironically, the technology business, which has this image of being this young and progressive industry, is just as bad as all the other old-line industries when it comes to promoting women into the top jobs," Marc Lewis, an executive recruiter with the Leadership Capital Group, told me.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:21

  Intel feeds virtualization's need for speed
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--With the first generation of Intel Virtualization Technology now being built into most of the chipmaker's products, Intel is turning its attention to improving its performance.
  
  Virtualization makes it easier to run several operating systems simultaneously on the same computer, an idea of high interest to those trying to run multiple tasks more efficiently. But the virtualization control software, called a hypervisor or virtual machine manager, imposes a performance penalty as it manages resources such as memory or input-output.
  
  It's that performance penalty Intel is trying to fix.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:25

  McAfee update exterminates Excel
  
  For a brief period on Friday, McAfee's security tools killed more than viruses.
  
  An error in McAfee's virus definition file released Friday morning caused the company's consumer and enterprise antivirus products to flag Microsoft's Excel, as well as other applications on users' PCs, as a virus called W95/CTX, Joe Telafici, director of operations at McAfee's Avert labs, told CNET News.com.
  
  "At about 1 p.m. PST we started getting reports that people were seeing an unusual number of W95/CTX infections in their environment," Telafici said. "Files that we did identify would probably be deleted or quarantined, depending on your settings."
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:42

  Open-source bugs undermine digital signatures
  
  A pair of security bugs in cryptography software could allow an attacker to insert content into a digitally signed message or forge signatures on files.
  
  The flaws lie in the open-source GNU Privacy Guard software, also known as GnuPG and GPG, the GnuPG group said in two alerts. The software, a free replacement for the Pretty Good Privacy cryptographic technology, ships with many open-source operating systems such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD and many Linux distributions.
  
  The vulnerabilities could pose a threat to the value of digital signatures, Tavis Ormandy of the Gentoo Linux security team wrote in an e-mail interview on Friday. For example, a miscreant could add information to a security alert sent via e-mail or forge the digital signature on software updates, wrote Ormandy, who discovered both flaws.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:46

  This week in Apple
  
  The war of words is heating up over Apple Computer's Mac OS security.
  
  The Mac maker released a security update for its operating system on Wednesday to plug 20 holes. The patch arrived after two weeks of intense scrutiny of the safety of OS X, prompted by the discovery of two worms and the disclosure of a vulnerability that was deemed "extremely critical" by security monitoring company Secunia.
  
  The update added a function called "download validation" to the Safari Web browser, Apple Mail client and iChat instant messaging tool. The function warns people that a download could be malicious when they click on the link. Before that change, clicking on a link could have resulted in the automatic execution of code on a Mac.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:47

  Mobile operators halt sale of Razr phones
  
  Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile temporarily stopped selling Motorola's popular, ultra-thin Razr phone this week, because of a defect that causes calls to be disconnected.
  
  Motorola said a "limited number" of the phones shipped to the U.S. market were affected by the glitch. The Razr is one of Motorola's most popular phones.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:49

  Mixing music and SMS to get out the vote
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--Young-voter advocates plan to combine two teen passions--music and cell phones--for a one-two punch aimed at getting the vote out in 2008.
  
  Music for America, a nonprofit advocacy for young-voter registration, will kick off a text-messaging campaign this June at concerts around the country, according to Molly Moon, the organization's 27-year-old director.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:54

  Nortel delays filing yet again, plans to restate results
  
  Nortel Networks, one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment suppliers, said on Friday that it would delay filing its 2005 annual report until April 2006 and restate results from certain prior periods to fix accounting mistakes.
  
  Nortel, which was already working to repair damage from a previous accounting scandal, said preliminary fourth-quarter 2005 results show a net loss of $2.2 billion and revenue of $2.9 billion. The quarterly loss includes a $2.5 billion litigation expense.
  
  Preliminary results for the full-year 2005 show a net loss of $2.4 billion and revenue of $10.8 billion.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 12:55

  RIM buys software developer, releases new server
  
  Research In Motion said on Friday that it has acquired a privately held software firm and released an updated version of its corporate server, giving it new tools to more tightly connect its BlackBerry to corporate phone and data services.
  
  RIM, which makes the popular BlackBerry e-mail and mobile phone device, did not disclose financial details of its purchase of Ascendent Systems.
  
  San Jose, Calif.-based Ascendent, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of RIM, makes software that extends the features from a traditional corporate desk phone to mobile devices.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 13:01

  This week in Microsoft
  
  After weeks of rumors, conjecture and suspense, we finally get to see what Microsoft has been tinkering with in its Origami project.
  
  In a preview demonstration, Intel showed CNET News.com several of the ultramobile PC devices, including an example of the kind of hardware that will ship in the next few weeks as part of the Microsoft effort.
  
  The first devices have a 7-inch touch screen and standard x86 processors and can run full versions of desktop operating systems, including the Windows XP variant being used for Origami. In later generations, due for release probably next year or later, the devices could have the pocket-size dimensions, all-day battery life and $500 price Microsoft and Intel are aiming for.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 13:07

  Gold-plated USB stick sparkles
  
  HANNOVER, Germany--A USB memory stick coated in gold and studded with five diamonds has been launched.
  
  The glitzy memory stick, shown at the CeBit trade fair here this week, comes with up to 2GB of memory and can be coated in either 14-carat or 18-carat gold. The diamonds are optional.
  
  Pricing varies depending on whether customers need the full 18 carats of gold or opt for the sparkly version. A 1GB version with 14-carat gold coating and five diamonds costs in excess of 2,000 pounds (about $3,500).
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 13:14

  Nvidia revs up game notebooks
  
  Nvidia on Thursday unveiled new technology that will let gamers double the number of graphics chips in their desktops and notebooks.
  
  The company's SLI (scalable link interface) technology now allows PC users to put up to four graphics processors in their desktop PCs to handle the most demanding high-definition video and games, Nvidia announced at the CeBit technology fair in Hannover, Germany. PC makers such as Dell, which previewed a Quad SLI system at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and others like Alienware, Voodoo and Falcon Northwest can now offer the technology to their customers.
  
  However, like most PC users, gamers are increasingly using notebooks as their primary systems. They'll also now be able to take advantage of multiple graphics processors with support for two GeForce Go 7800 GTX processors in Nvidia's nForce4 SLI chipset. Sager, Alienware, Velocity Micro and Voodoo announced notebooks with the technology at CeBit.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 13:18

  Week in pictures: Gadget heaven
  
  Intel Developer Forum, CeBit attendees find themselves in gizmo paradise. Also: Mashups, cult films and the 'Godfather.'
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 20:32

  Lego addicts chase their dream
  
  SAN FRANCISCO--In a third-floor art school classroom here, lifelong Lego fan Robin Dodd pitted his prodigious building skills against the rest of the best in Northern California.
  
  Dodd, an 18-year-old from Salinas, Calif., was one of 20 contestants at Thursday's San Francisco stop of Legoland California's seven-city search for a new master model builder. In each city, the Legoland judges are picking several finalists, each of whom will be invited to the May 23 finals at the Carlsbad, Calif., theme park.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 21:04

  Netflix meets used-CD store as 'La La' nears launch
  
  Not many start-up businesses have been inspired by a rock band, but Fountains of Wayne is indirectly responsible for a newly launched music discovery and trading community called La La.
  
  Company co-founder Bill Nguyen has been friends with the band since before the group's "Stacy's Mom" was a hit. They often commiserated over how online and physical retailers offer such a limited selection and how hard it is to discover new music.
  
  Nguyen already had considerable success creating technology-based companies, so he harnessed his experience to start La La. Then he raised $9 million in first-round funding from Ignition Partners, Bain Capital and other investors.
• ndmmxiaomayi

  11 Mar 06, 21:06

  Feds suggest 21-day deadline for Google subpoena
  
  The U.S. Justice Department has set a suggested deadline for Google to hand over information about its users' search habits: 21 days.
  
  In court documents submitted Thursday to U.S. District Judge James Ware in San Jose, Calif., federal prosecutors said they need a prompt response because of the compressed schedule of the case. They're asking Ware to set a 21-day deadline that would begin as soon as he makes a decision.
  
  "Delay in this court's resolution of the motion to compel would be unwarranted," the three-page brief says.