Trends

US, Russia Cyber Hotline Brings Back That Cold War Feeling
June 19, 2013

The U.S. and Russia are going to cooperate more closely on cybersecurity. They are setting up a new working group under the auspices of the Bilateral Presidential Commission, set up in 2009 by President Obama and then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, to assess emerging threats to information and communications technology and propose concrete joint measures to address them.

Google Takes Heat for Illegal Rx Drug Sales Online
June 19, 2013

Mississippi AG Jim Hood has called on his counterparts in other states to join him in confronting Google for not doing enough to prevent illegal online activities including the sale of prescription drugs by rogue pharmacies. Hood invited Google CEO Larry Page to discuss his concerns but did not receive a response, he said. Consequently, the state had no choice but to issue subpoenas.

Sprint Takes Clearwire Fight to Court
June 19, 2013

Sprint has taken legal action to prevent Dish from closing a deal with Clearwire. This is the latest development in the tug of war between the companies over the 50 percent of Clearwire's spectrum that Sprint does not already own. Sprint announced last December that it had worked out a deal to purchase the rest of Clearwire for about $2.97 per share, which would value the company at $2.2 billion.

Apple's E-Book Trial Shrouded in Fog, Not Smoke
June 19, 2013

The e-book price-fixing trial took another turn this week, with Apple claiming that what the Department of Justice called a "smoking gun" was simply a misunderstood email draft. Apple veteran Eddy Cue worked with the late Steve Jobs to engineer a price-fixing plan that would undermine Amazon's dominant position in the e-book market, the DoJ has alleged.

Adobe Sends Creative Suite to the Cloud for Good
June 18, 2013

After announcing last month that all of its Creative Suite apps would soon move to the cloud, Adobe on Tuesday made good on its promise and delivered the resulting subscription-based software. Now included under the umbrella name Creative Cloud, the latest versions of apps including Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Premiere Pro are now available exclusively to Creative Cloud subscribers for prices starting at $19.99 per month.

The Ghost of SCO Dogs IBM Again
June 17, 2013

Like Carrie, whose hand emerged from the grave to grab Sue by the ankle in Sue's nightmare, SCO has reemerged from its grave to revive its lawsuit against IBM, 10 years after the case was first filed. A court has granted SCO's motion for reconsideration and reopening the case. SCO originally had sought $1 billion in damages from IBM, but it was soundly defeated in court.

Tech Giants Dump Data in Trust-Rebuilding Bid
June 17, 2013

In the wake of recent revelations that the government has been tapping their networks to monitor users, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft in recent days have all published more information about those monitoring requests. Facebook, for example, reported that for the six months ending December 31, 2012, the number of user-data requests it received from U.S. government entities was between 9,000 and 10,000.

Tech-Hungry 'Crazy Ants'? Not So Fast
June 17, 2013

To read some reports in the tech press lately, one might think there's an electronics-hungry menace from South America on a march of conquest through the Southeastern United States and Texas, leaving a trail of destroyed smartphones and other precious devices in its wake. It's known as the "crazy ant," and recent reports of its arrival derive from an article published in April.

Google to Pit Technology Against Child Pornographers
June 17, 2013

Google is spearheading an initiative to build a picture-sharing database aimed at ridding the Web of child pornography. The company's new database will rely on "hashing" technology; once an image has been flagged as offensive, it uses an algorithm to identify that photo elsewhere on the Web. Despite widespread efforts to combat it, child pornography online is only growing.

Hackers Find WordPress Easy Pickings
June 17, 2013

Adobe Reader and Oracle Java aren't alone in having a bull's eye painted on their code. WordPress also is becoming a popular target for Internet outlaws. It's quite a large target, too. About 18 percent of the sites on the Web -- about 60 million of them -- use WordPress. One reason WordPress is attracting hacker attention is that it's so easy to write plug-ins for it.

Up, Up and Away: Google Balloons to Beam Internet Access
June 17, 2013

Regardless of how this turns out, at least they nailed the name. Google is launching about 30 superpressure balloons that will beam Internet access back to the ground. With equal parts brevity and self-deprecation, the effort has been dubbed "Project Loon." Taking flight from New Zealand, the balloons will sail around the world on a controlled path.

Pondering Life in a PRISM World
June 17, 2013

Not a single week goes by here in the Linux blogosphere without some assortment of news and events to keep life interesting. It's not often, however, that something comes along with the magnitude of PRISM. Linux Girl was comfortably ensconced on her favorite barstool when the news broke down at the Punchy Penguin Saloon, and it's been chaos ever since.

Ending the US' Cyberwar Against Its Citizens
June 17, 2013

I'm into fixing problems -- in fact, for much of my life I've been employed as someone who is brought in to fix a difficult problem. I don't see much point in just complaining -- either try to fix it, ignore it, or move someplace where it doesn't affect you. The current problem is that the U.S. appears to be conducting a cyberwar against its citizens.

It Was a Mad, Mad Gaming World at This Year's E3
June 15, 2013

Another Electronic Entertainment Expo video game show has come to a close, and more than ever, the battle lines were drawn as Microsoft and Sony both unveiled new systems. Sony may have gotten the upper hand by announcing that its PlayStation 4 will be $100 cheaper than the Xbox One and free of restrictions on the buying and selling of used games, but a lot can happen in the next few months.

Apple Exec Points Finger at Publishers in E-Book Trial
June 15, 2013

Apple SVP Eddy Cue gave testimony Thursday in the e-book price-fixing trial under way in the New York U.S. District Court. Cue, who was Apple's primary negotiator with most of the publishers during the run-up to the launch of iBookstore in 2010, told the court that it was not surprising that publishers began increasing pricing for e-books after Apple entered the market.

Integrating the Enterprise's Old and New Worlds
June 15, 2013

With nearly every market forecast and growing anecdotal evidence pointing to escalating demand for cloud-based alternatives to traditional on-premises systems and software, the challenges of integrating the new on-demand solutions with existing applications and data sources are becoming even more critical. Data integration continues to be a pivotal part of successful "as a Service" adoption.

Best Buy Clears Floor Space for New Windows Shops
June 14, 2013

Microsoft is the latest product manufacturer to follow the retail trend of setting up shop within a big box store. Best Buy and Microsoft on Thursday announced plans to open the Windows Store only at Best Buy in 500 retail locations in the U.S. and more than 100 in Canada. The stores will range in size from 1,500 square feet to 2,200 square feet. Microsoft specialists will staff each shop.

Ouya, ESA Scrap Leaves Both Bruised
June 14, 2013

Indie startup Ouya had a showdown with ESA at E3 this week, momentarily overshadowing the rivalry between Microsoft and Sony. The brouhaha actually involved real police and took place on the streets of Los Angeles. It seems Ouya opted to introduce its open source gaming console not on the floor of the trade show, but in a parking lot across the street.

From the Inevitable Files: Lawmakers Scrutinize Snowden-China Connections
June 14, 2013

Well, this was bound to happen. U.S. lawmakers said Thursday that the House Intelligence Committee -- the same House Intelligence Committee that trashed Chinese telecommunications companies last year -- will conduct a "thorough scrub" of connections between China and Eric Snowden. Snowden -- a "traitor," according to Committee chairman Mike Rogers, R.-Mich. -- is now believed to be in Hong Kong.

Patenting Future Cures - or Not
June 14, 2013

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decided that some of Myriad Genetics' patent claims were invalid for claiming products of nature. However, the Court also held that other Myriad patent claims were perfectly valid. In short, Myriad discovered the location and DNA sequence listing for two human genes that pertain to breast and ovarian cancer.