Devicescape unveiled solution for using Wi-Fi hot spots without browsers

Devicescape Software says it has a solution for the problem of using Wi-Fi hot spots with devices that don't have browsers.
Devicescape's free software, formally unveiled on Tuesday at the Demo conference in Palm Desert, California, lets users set up log-in information for multiple Wi-Fi networks and then get on those networks automatically from any supported device.
Publicly available Wi-Fi networks, both free and subscription-based, are proliferating in airports, hotels and shopping areas and even around cities. Carriers and other service providers give users access at many hotspots through the same account, but that often still requires entering a log-in and password. That may be hard or impossible to do on a specialized device such as a phone, handheld game console, or camera.
Devicescape lets users give their subscription information for all the networks they want to use and register their Wi-Fi devices. When they want to use a given hotspot, that data is exchanged in the background in a patented way before the device gets on the network.

Currently, if the user tries to get online in a place where they have more than one choice of operator, the device will automatically choose the network with the strongest signal. In the future, Devicescape plans to let users set priorities based on the cost of different networks or other factors.

Although the service is aimed at consumers, it doesn't conflict with use of a corporate VPN because the log-in process happens before the device goes on the public network, he said.
The system works with many of the world's hotspots, including ones provided by AT&T, EarthLink, Google, T-Mobile, and WayPort, according to Devicescape. Devicescape is focused on North America today, but its system will work with network operators in other parts of the world, such as Orange in the U.K. and Softbank and NTT in Japan. The company doesn't need special arrangements with those operators to allow easy log-ins, but it hopes to set up revenue-sharing agreements with them for cases in which new subscribers sign up because of Devicescape.
The San Bruno, California, startup is also working on licensing its software for non-PC devices, either built in or as an add-on. The software, currently in beta testing, is available now as a free download from Devicescape's Web site. It already works with Microsoft Windows XP PCs and Windows Mobile 5 phones, as well as two other devices: the Nokia 770 Web tablet and the Cisco Linksys WIP 300 VoIP phone. It's relatively easy to develop software for those two devices because of available interfaces, but most nonbrowser devices would require a licensing deal.

Pirated Windows Vista on sale in China on global launch day

As Microsoft kicked off the global launch of its long-awaited Windows Vista, the software giant's new operating system also hit the streets of China -- in pirated form.

In an electronic market in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, scores of sellers were offering the brand new software for as little as 10 yuan (1.3 US dollars), along with Microsoft Office, anti-virus software and others.
The sellers said Tuesday Vista was available even several weeks before its launch, although they would not say how they got hold of the version.
Described as the "official version of the new generation operating system" on its cover, the pirated copy offered an identification code at the back of the disk for downloading the software.
Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment.

Vista, an operating system that took five years and six billion dollars to develop, hit the shops in 70 countries around the world Tuesday.
Counterfeiting remains widespread in China despite government efforts to control the problem following pressure from trade partners, particularly the United States and the European Union.
Everything from pirated books to CDs, DVDs, software, clothes, shoes and medicine can be found in most Chinese cities.

Source: HONG KONG (AFP) - Thanks Sachin for sending me the link

LG's PRADA Phone Rivals Apple iPhone

In the catwalk-crazed nooks of society, the fashionistas who gleefully fork over nearly $3,000 for a PRADA bag, can now have a new, matching accessory -- a PRADA phone. South Korea's LG Electronics has teamed up with Italy's high-end apparel and accessories manufacturer to produce an equally high-end phone.
The companies are touting the PRADA Phone by LG as a real breakthrough in the industry, describing it as the first completely touch-screen mobile phone, apparently sidestepping the fact that Apple introduced its own touch-screen iPhone just last week.
Indeed, there are numerous similarities. The PRADA Phone by LG plays music and videos on a wide, LCD screen. It has a 2-megapixel camera, eight megabytes of internal memory, and yes, it looks a lot like Apple's iPhone. The slick, button-free, touch-screen interface is particularly similar.
And even though the two phones share some of the same characteristics, the PRADA phone is aimed at a high-end consumer, with plenty of extra cash to spend.

When it hits European stores in late February, the 12-mm thick PRADA phone (model KE850) will cost about 600 Euros (equivalent to US$780) in France, Britain, Germany and Italy.

LG says countries in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, can expect the phone in late March. The Korean version is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2007.
There's no word yet though on when and if it will launch in the U.S.

'Apple Bugs' Project Lists 10 Mac Security Holes

After announcing they would spend January trying to find flaws in Apple's OS X software , two researchers have published information on 10 vulnerabilities in the Mac so far.
At the beginning of the year, Kevin Finisterre and a hacker who goes only by the name of LMH told news sources that they want to highlight Mac flaws to make OS X, and the programs that run on the system, more secure.
In their effort, dubbed "Month of Apple Bugs," or MoAB, the two claimed to have discovered an abundance of flaws, with the 10 they have recently reported being only the first wave of vulnerabilities they plan to disclose.
Exploit information has been published along with the vulnerability alerts detailing how attackers can take advantage of the flaws. Not all of the bugs are easily exploitable, Finisterre has noted, but many can be used to gain remote control of a Mac.

Bug Hunt
The researchers have acknowledged that the project has the potential to make life more difficult for Mac users, because malicious hackers will be clued in to software flaws that could be exploited. But a wake-up call is needed, according to the pair, because many Mac users have a tendency to think of their systems as bulletproof, even when vulnerabilities are announced.
Other security professionals, however, are not so sure that Apple deserves the glaring attention proposed by Finisterre and LMH. And at least one other researcher is determined to issue patches as quickly as MoAB researchers find flaws.
Independent code creator Landon Fuller has set up a Web site tracking the MoAB vulnerabilities and issuing fixes where he can.

Problem Set
Both Apple and Microsoft are well aware that hackers and other security aficionados enjoy trying to crack their operating systems, and some of these efforts lead to better protection in the form of updates and patches.
But the companies have been vocal in the past about what they consider to be poor form when it comes to reporting the vulnerabilities, saying that releasing exploit code is often irresponsible, and that hackers should deal only with the system maker rather than putting users at risk.
Whether the companies are responsive is a matter of debate; Finisterre has noted that he has contacted Apple in the past about vulnerabilities and gotten no response, but Apple insists that it is quick to look into security issues.
Like Microsoft, Apple urges researchers who discover vulnerabilities to disclose them responsibly, working with the OS vendor to ensure that a patch is available before the world discovers how to exploit the security hole. Unfortunately, not all security researchers play by the rules, and that must be exasperating for Apple as well as for other software vendors

1-TB drive is coming from Hitachi

In a neck-and-neck race with Seagate Technologies, Hitachi has announced not one but two terabyte-sized hard drives for home users whose thirst for storage space never ends.
The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 is designed for gaming and high-end PCs, such as those found in home entertainment systems where high-def videos chew up a hard drive's space as quickly as broadband connections can download them.
The drive will debut at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where almost every gizmo- and gadget-maker on the planet will show off the latest cutting-edge toys. At a suggested retail price of $399, the Deskstar costs just under 40 cents per gigabyte.

Hitachi also has announced the CinemaStar 7K1000 for DVRs and computers that record TV directly to hard drives. Like the Deskstar, it can hold up to 1 TB of storage and will be released to consumers in the first half of 2007. Hitachi plans to release a business model later this year, too.

How Much Is Enough?

A full terabyte of storage -- 1,000 or 1,024 gigabytes, depending on which definition you use -- might seem enormous to those who can remember when hard drives were still measured in the megabytes.
We all know that the demand is growing for digital content storage like audio and video downloads, home movies, pictures, etc., but would one really need or want a 1-TB drive?

And the Answer Is...
Yes, eventually consumers will get to 1 TB
Yet Hitachi's new drives beat older models in more than just space. The Deskstar offers increased shock protection and three "idle" modes designed to help the drive consume less power. In turn, the CinemaStar boasts Smooth Stream Technology designed to maximize the performance of audio and video applications.
When all is said and done, the terabyte mark remains the drives' best selling point, of course -- and a true beachhead. The industry's first one-terabyte hard drive represents a milestone that is 50 years in the making.

Microsoft Pulls Four Planned Patches

My IBM T60 suddenly was showing me SVCHOST.EXE error and crashing it at start this morning. And i ended up restoring windows to day before yesterdays restore point. This makes me think that there is some probem with windows XP update and find out what is going on and here is what i have found.

According to various news reports, Microsoft has dropped four security updates from tomorrow's scheduled round of patches, known among Microsoft-watchers as Patch Tuesday because it occurs on the second Tuesday of each month.

In advance of each round of updates, Microsoft offers a notice on its Web site so I.T. professionals, for whom updating and patching systems has evolved into a full-time affair, can plan accordingly. But Microsoft typically does not say what problems those updates will fix, merely naming the products -- such as Windows or Office -- that the updates address.

Then There Were Four
Altogether, eight security updates were initially planned. Now, according to its Web site, Microsoft will release four. Only one of those updates will deal with Windows. That update is rated "critical," the most severe rating Microsoft gives to a software patch. It will require a system restart.

The rest of Tuesday's patches deal with Office. Microsoft also rates these updates "critical," meaning they patch flaws that, if exploited, could bring substantial harm to end users' machines and corporate networks. Often such updates are designed to prevent virus attacks and worms from spreading.

Microsoft also plans to update the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool through Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and Microsoft's Download Center, but not through Microsoft's Software Update Services. Microsoft offered no reason for the exclusion of this last service.

Reasons Unknown
Microsoft also gave no reason for dropping four of tomorrow's planned updates, but it is likely that Redmond is delaying them to ensure they work properly.
Because updates can alter key components of Windows, Office, and other software, pains are taken to ensure that each update stops old problems instead of starting new ones.

Intel Introduces Three New Quad-Cores

On Monday, Intel announced the latest maneuver in its campaign to halt the growth of archrival AMD, releasing three quad-core chips at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show.
The latest release brings the total number of quad-core models it offers to nine. In fact, the company now offers a whopping 29 dual-core and quad-core chips for laptops, desktops, and servers alike.
Two of Intel's new quad-cores are Xeon chips designed for the entry-level server market. The third -- called the Core 2 Quad Q6600 -- is destined for high-end gamers and home users who want power, power, and more power on their PCs.
Much like a highway has multiple lanes to handle greater volumes of traffic, a quad-core processor has multiple lanes to handle potentially conflicting functions which would traditionally bring a conventional processor to its knees

Pure Power
Indeed, "power" has become one of quad-core's synonyms. A quad-core design packs four processors onto one chip, and like a shot of steroids to muscle, it lets the quad-core machine run demanding software much more quickly than single- or dual-core chips.
In a published statement, Intel said the new new quad-cores were expressly designed for high-end, media-intensive programs like Adobe After Effects and Premier Pro, Windows Media Encoder, and WinDVD.
The performance once requiring a supercomputer is now on the desktop

Business Use
Intel also released two quad-core Xeon 3200-series processors designed for use in entry-level enterprise servers. The first quad-core Xeon clocks in at 2.13 GHz and the second at 2.4 GHz, a difference that's seen in the chips' price of $690 and $851, respectively.
And while those numbers are nothing to sneeze at -- above all for I.T. managers working on tight budgets -- Intel's new chips could get a boost from Windows Vista, released for business use in late November.

Typically, operating system upgrades do tend to drive an increased need to move to the next generation of hardware . The vast majority of upgrades to Windows Vista will not be based on applying Vista over XP on existing hardware. Rather, they will be based on applying Vista on new machines that are to be shipped in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Vista Features
Vista, will push managers to think long and hard about their hardware, and some will make the quad-core jump to maximize the latest features.
A lot of the security functionality of Vista will now be able to run more efficiently in a quad-core environment than in a single-core, noting that quad-cores' capacity to thread programs -- that is, assign different computing tasks to different processors, to run them in parallel -- will be especially useful on Vista.

Microsoft Opens Vista Kernel to Rivals

This might be old new - but definitely worth mentioning

Microsoft sent some holiday cheer in the direction of security vendors this week by releasing new programming interfaces for developers working to create software that can interact with the Windows Vista kernel.
The new application programming interfaces -- or APIs -- will allow security vendors to extend the functionality of the 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. Security companies, including Symantec and McAfee, already have access to the 32-bit kernel, but have been vocal in their complaints that Microsoft has locked them out of the 64-bit version.

The issue is related to a software module called PatchGuard, which is designed to block malicious software from being able to change any key operating system functions in 64-bit Vista. Security companies complained that without the appropriate programming guidelines, PatchGuard would prevent their software from doing its work.

Still Waiting

Although the release of the APIs should make life easier for some vendors, Microsoft isn't planning on simply handing over the keys to the kernel. PatchGuard is not going away. Microsoft is rightfully standing by its technology -- as it does increase the security of Vista -- but willing to work with the community to allow them access to APIs.
Executives from antivirus software maker McAfee, perhaps Redmond's most vocal critic over the issue, were quoted in news reports saying that they remain concerned that Microsoft waited far too long to disclose the information McAfee needs to protect customers who will use the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, which eventually is expected to supplant the 32-bit version of the OS. McAfee and rival Symantec both claimed these allegedly anticompetitive moves by Microsoft prevented them from effectively developing security software for the new operating system in time for its release.

Lock and Key

With the software giant now delivering on its promise just two months after guaranteeing qualified vendors they would have access to the kernel, there remains the question about when the APIs, which are now only draft versions, will be released in final form.

Microsoft is trying to act as an open book with respect to their policy for API creation by providing a public document listing the technical and use requirements, Microsoft is hoping to reduce the number of complaints it is getting. However, Microsoft still has the power to decide which of the draft APIs will be finalized, which might lead to some additional complaints.