Kaspersky Faces Latest Facebook Phishing Attack

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management systems, has responded to the latest phishing attack on Facebook with a practical guide for all Internet users on how to stay safe online from the threats of cybercrime. The Internet security vendor advises that malicious code distributed via social networking sites is 10 times more effective, in terms of successful infection, than malware spread via email.

On May 15, Facebook was hit by another phishing attack, a tactic designed by cybercriminals to steal a person’s identity, gather personal data and use this to defraud the victim of their money.

David Emm, a member of the Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Labs explains, “Given the phenomenal success of Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networking sites, it should come as no surprise that it has attracted the attention of cybercriminals and the threat shows no signs of abating.”

“Phishing scams succeed by luring in their victims under the pretense of something that at first glance may appear legitimate. Remaining vigilant and taking the right precautions is the key to not falling into their trap,” he added.



Malicious code distributed via social networking sites is suggested to be 10 times more effective in terms of successful infection than malware spread via email. Internet users are far more likely to click on a link received from a trusted friend, rather than a link in a random spam message. Kaspersky Lab has recently seen a massive increase in phishing attacks on the Facebook login page. Cybercriminals have been using the site’s internal message system to send short messages that direct visitors to a website purposely designed to clone Facebook’s log-in screen.

Kaspersky Lab’s top tips for protecting against phishing attacks:

• For sites such as Facebook, create a bookmark for the login page, or type the URL directly into the browser address bar.
• Don’t click on links in e-mail messages.
• Only type in confidential data on a secure web site.
• Check your bank account(s) regularly and report anything suspicious to your bank.
• Install Internet security software and keep anti-virus updated.
• Install security patches.
• Be wary of unsolicited e-mail or IM messages.
• Be careful about logging in with Administrator rights.
• Backup your data.

Look for giveaway signs of phishing e-mails:

• If it’s not addressed to you personally.
• If you’re not the only recipient.
• If there are spelling mistakes, poor grammar or syntax or other clumsy use of language.

Emm provides a final word of warning: “High profile reports of scams such as the latest Facebook attempt raise awareness of the risk of cybercrime, but it is important to make clear that it is not an isolated incident as we are detecting over 17,000 new Internet threats everyday.”


P/S : http://www.kaspersky.com/news?id=207575818

Hitachi GST Snags Substrate Facility From WD

Here's an interesting one. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has just snapped up a substrate manufacturing facility located in Sarawak, Malaysia from Western Digital. You heard right -- one hard drive maker is taking some property from a rival hard drive maker. In the release, we're told that the facility that Hitachi GST is taking over produces aluminum substrates used in hard disk drives, which WD originally ended up with when it purchased Komag in 2007.


Steve Milligan, president, Hitachi GST, had this to say about the agreement: "This acquisition further strengthens Hitachi GST and is the next step in our business transformation. The Sarawak facility is located in close proximity to existing Hitachi GST suppliers and drive assembly operations, which will enable us to realize increased operational efficiencies and other long-term benefits." Colleage Ian Sanders, VP of the components group, chimed in with this: "The Malaysian and Sarawak governments have been instrumental in Hitachi GST efforts to develop a local manufacturing presence. We thank them for their ongoing support and look forward to growing our employee base in Malaysia. Sarawak has a highly-skilled workforce with a worldwide reputation for manufacturing and technology excellence. Our goal is to have the Sarawak team play an important role in strengthening our product competitiveness by providing Hitachi GST with greater access to world-class components."


We're told that the closing of the acquisition is subject to customary conditions, which means that everything should be complete just as soon as the right paperwork is filled out. It's hard to say what affect this will have on end users, though we get the idea most folks won't even notice the difference.



P/S : http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090520005332&newsLang=en

LG's New NAS Device Has Built-In Blu-ray Burner

Blu-ray might not be supplanting DVD as the preeminent optical storage medium for data and media anytime soon, but it is at least slowly seeing growing market share. Korean-based manufacturer, LG, for one, believes in the future of Blu-ray as it recently unveiled a couple of new Blu-ray-based products, including what LG claims is "the world's first Network Attached Storage device with a built-in Blu-ray drive."

The LG model N4B1 is a four-drive-bay Network Attached Storage (NAS) device that supports up to a total of 4TB of storage. When used with at least three disks, the N4B1 supports RAID 5 and hot-swappable drives. The N4B1 includes a Gigabit Ethernet connection, three USB 2.0 ports, and a memory-card-reader. But what separates the N4B1 from all other current NAS devices is the inclusion of a Blu-ray burner. LG states that the N4B1 is compatible "with all current types of CD, DVD and BD media up to 50GB." LG didn't provide information on read or write speeds; nor did it provide more detail on the specific formats the N4B1 can write to (for instance, we don't know if the N4B1 can write both DVD+RW and DVD-RW).

The N4B1 includes a "management system" that generates a "content catalog" of whatever data is burned to a Blu-ray disc, and it also keeps track of the filenames of files downloaded and saved to the NAS device. LG promotes this feature as a means for "saving business owners and consumers' time and space by not duplicating files." The N4B1 can be setup to automatically to backup pre-selected folders and files to an optical disk using the N4B1's "Auto Sync" feature. Also, using the N4B1's "Virtual Disc Library," the N4B1 permits a mounted optical disc to be accessible to multiple, simultaneous users. The N4B1 is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. For those looking to the N4B1 as a possible media server, the device can stream content to networked Blu-ray players.

The other Blu-ray device LC announced was the "compact" LG BE08. LG states that the BE08 supports both USB and SATA, which leads us to believe that it will be available in both internal and external form factors. The BE08 has an 8x BD write speed (LG claims that the BE08 can burn 25GB of data onto a single-layer Blu-ray disc in 13 minutes). The drive can also write and read DVD+/-RW (16x) and CD-R (40x) discs. During playback, The BE08 can up-convert DVD content to "near-HD levels;" and it even ships with software that permits the recording of HD content on to Blu-ray discs.

LG also announced the LG GP08 "Slim Line" portable DVD burner with LightScribe support. The GP08 is USB-powered and can burn DVDs at 20x. LG did not release information on the specific formats that the drive can write and read. As a matter of fact, LG also neglected to mention when any of these three new products will be available or how much they will cost. We have a query into LG, and will update this post once we hear back from LG. One of the bits of info we are looking for is what will be the available storage capacities option for N4B1 NAS device when it comes available in the retail channel.

UPDATE: We heard back from LG, but there isn't that much more to add that we haven't already reported. Pricing for the N4B1 and BE08 have not be set yet, and both products will be available sometime in the "first quarter 2009." The N4B1 will be available in a 4TB "commercial" version and a 2TB "consumer" version. The BE08 will only be available as an external drive. The GP08 is currently available and sells for $109.95.



P/S: http://us.lge.com/aboutus/pressdetail/detail/press_Computer%20Products_412.jhtml

Iomega Announces the Home Media Network HDD

New Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive Brings Cost-effective Storage, File Sharing and Media Streaming to Your Home

For a Small Cost Above an External Hard Drive and in Under Five Minutes, You are Streaming Digital Files Throughout Your Home.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Jan 5, 2008 -- Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the debut of the Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive, a new standard in easy-to-use network storage for the digital home. With EMC’s acclaimed LifeLine™ software, in three simple steps users can configure up to one terabyte* of network storage for backing up all of their files as well as streaming music, photos, video and other multimedia files between computers, networked televisions, popular game consoles and other under-utilized digital home entertainment devices.

Iomega will be showing the new Home Media Network Hard Drive at the MacWorld tradeshow in San Francisco, January 6-9, 2009, and at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 8-11, 2009.

Starting at just $159.99, the Home Media Network Hard Drive is available as a 500GB or a 1TB single-drive device. Consumers with multiple computers can use the Home Media Network Hard Drive to centralize their computer storage as well as access files on everything from a laptop to a big screen TV to a Microsoft Xbox 360 or a Sony PlayStation 3. Sharing and streaming multimedia files to a home entertainment system creates lots of enjoyment for the whole family, and the 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive can store plenty of entertainment – more than 4 million photos, 18,500 hours of music, or 1500 hours of video.**

“Iomega’s new Home Media Network Hard Drive is a powerful network storage device that’s so straightforward that even a novice can be backing up multiple computers and streaming media around their home in less than five minutes,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. “The Home Media Network Drive does the serious work of backing up and protecting digital files, but it also does the fun things like streaming photos and videos to game consoles, digital picture frames and networked TVs, as well as automatically feeding music into iTunes® for easy playback – all for little more than the cost of a USB direct-attached desktop hard drive with comparable storage capacity.”

Key Features of the Home Media Network Hard Drive
The new Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive operates EMC’s LifeLine™ Home software, a custom Linux operating system and application suite that can be set up in three easy steps: simply plug the Home Network Hard Drive into a router, power on, and install the software CD. A friendly user interface screen makes it easy to access files on all networked computers, as well as control which family members have access to certain folders.

The Home Media Network Hard Drive supports iTunes™ and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance™ (DLNA) certified devices, which makes the Home Media Network Drive a robust media server that can save, store and stream digital content not only to laptops and desktop computers but popular game consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, as well as digital picture frames, networked TVs and any other compatible device on a home network.

Fast network performance is achieved through a Gigabit Ethernet connection that plugs directly into a router. The Home Media Network Hard Drive also boasts a fast processor so users can save and access large media files quickly, as well as a USB port to add a shared network printer for multiple computers, or an external USB drive for incremental storage capacity.

The Home Media Network Hard Drive is specifically designed to operate cool, thanks to an efficient fan that also adjusts its rotational speed automatically for quiet operation. The drive has a burnished gun metal exterior and a small footprint, making it aesthetically pleasing out in the open, yet small enough to be easily stowed away. Because the Home Media Network Drive is always turned on to serve up content, the product’s power supply is Energy Star® compliant for power conservation and a better environment.

Backup Software and Online Storage, Too
The Home Media Network Hard Drive is a total network storage solution that provides data backup and protection with integrated award-winning EMC Retrospect® Express backup software. During the set-up process, users choose files and folders for scheduled automatic backups from all the PCs and Macs on the network. After that, any changes or additions are updated and saved automatically.

For added protection, home networks utilizing the Home Media Network Hard Drive also get the benefits of online backup with EMC’s MozyHome™ online backup service, a secure way to store, protect and access important files. MozyHome online backup service provides 2GB of free online storage for backing up selected folders to world-class EMC data centers. Users can also upgrade to unlimited online storage for just $4.95 per month.

Compatibility
The Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, and Linux® PCs. The user-friendly interface is localized in 11 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simple Chinese, German, and Russian). Other supported devices include uPnP AV devices, digital media adapters, iTunes™, and digital picture frames.

Price and Availability
The Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive 500GB will be available worldwide in early January for $159.99; the Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive 1TB will also be available in early January for $229.99. (All prices are U.S. suggested retail.)

* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

** 4 photos/MB – highly compressed 3-megapixel JPG photos; 1.1 min/MB – 128 kbps MP3 audio; 11 MB/Min – DVD MPEG 2 (720 x 480).

P/S: http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2009/20090105-01.htm

MSI Announces a Hybrid SSD/HDD Nettbook

MSI has just announced the MSI U115 Hybrid, which it claims is "very first notebook computer in the world that is capable of operating both SSD and HDD hard drives simultaneously." We're highly suspect of that claim, as we know of at least one notebook right off the bat that is currently selling with the option to use both SSD and standard hard drives simultaneously: the Dell XPS M1730 we did a Video Spotlight of back in July. MSI's U115 Hybrid is more of a netbook than a notebook, however, and as such it might be the first netbook to have both a standard hard drive and an SSD (although, we're sure one of our well-informed readers will correct us of this impression).

The MSI U115 Hybrid uses a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, has 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (upgradable to 2GB), and has a 10-inch 1,024x600 display that uses an LED-powered backlight. Based on the specs listed in the MSI press release, it looks like there will be two versions of the netbook: One will come with an 8GB SSD and a 120GB standard hard drive; while the other version will come with a 16GB SSD and a 160GB standard hard drive. The SSD is meant to be the primary drive, housing the Windows XP operating system and applications. The standard hard drive is meant to be used for "file storage." The unit includes an "ECO on Mode," which shuts power down to the standard hard drive in order to save power. The press release states that the battery life of the MSI U115 Hybrid is "super long" no less than four times; although it never actually states what that means exactly (the battery has only three cells--although there is a six-cell battery option).

The MSI U115 Hybrid weighs 2.2 pounds and is 10.24-inches wide by 7.09-inches deep; at its thinnest point it is 0.75 thick, and 1.24-inches at its thickest section. It includes a 2-megapixel Webcam, a 4-in-1 media-card reader, and integrated 802.11b/g/n wireless networking (a Bluetooth module is optional). Ports include VGA, three USB 2.0, Ethernet, Mic-in, and headphones.

There is no word yet on availability or pricing, but the inclusion of an 8GB or 16GB SSD will be sure to bring the netbook's price up another $100 to $200. Unless the MSI U115 Hybrid delivers truly "super long" battery life, we're uncertain that the inclusion of both an SSD and traditional hard drive are going to be enough to attract users who are looking for a netbook, especially when the MSI U115 Hybrid will probably be more expensive than the competition.





P/S: http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=newsdesc&news_no=710

Lenovo's new ThinkPad has 2 LCD screens

We've all done it — had two tabs or screens open, wishing we could have two screens on our laptop so we didn't have to keep switching back and forth between windows. Enter Lenovo Group Ltd. The company's next ThinkPad laptop is more of a "desktop replacement" than ever. ThinkPad W700ds (a follow-on to the standard W700 model we evaluated for you here) will have a 17-inch main screen and a 10.6-inch secondary. The former is a bit larger than the a mainstream 15.4" laptop and the latter about the same size as the average netbook today.

t's far heavier than the norm, too — 11 pounds — and will be a bit pricier than we've come to expect from laptops — starting $3,600 when it goes up for sale in January. But check out its specs, according to ComputerWorld:

The souped-up "mobile workstation," as Lenovo calls it, also comes with customers' choice of quad-core Intel Core 2 processors and Nvidia Quadro mobile graphics CPU with as many as 128 cores. It also comes with as much as 8GB of DDR3 memory and a pair of hard drive/solid-state drive bays for up to 960GB of storage.

And know how you always reach for the separate numeric keyboard when you sit down with your laptop, then curse its non-existence? This one has it.

More tidbits:
• The secondary screen can be tiled up to 30 degrees.
• The main screen is rated at 400 nits of brightness.
• The ThinkPad has dual fans and dual heat-reduction systems.
• The whole thing measures 16 by 12 inches and is 2.1 inches thick.

P/S: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9124101&intsrc=news_ts_head

Samsung INNOV8: 8MP Cameraphone With a Digital Photo Frame Mode

Samsung also included this puntastic entry into its offerings at London's Smartphone Show. The INNOV8, Samsung's first 8MP camera phone, comes with a 2.8-inch 16 million color LCD, 8GB or 16GB of flash memory (with an eternal SD card slot), an optical mouse, HSDPA and WiFi connectivity and a GPS navigation and geo-tagging service. The camera part of the mobile utilizes smile shot, blink shot and face recognition, and you'll also get a couple media editing programs thrown in for good measure. No word yet on price or availability, or whether the lens s good enough to make the 8MP sensor worth it.

Samsung Reinforces Its Leadership In Smartphone Market

With Extensive Product Portfolio

Samsung offers a variety of Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show 2008

The Smartphone Show, London, UK, October 21 2008 - Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, showcases an extensive portfolio of Symbian smartphones at this year’s Smartphone Show (Oct. 21~22) in London, United Kingdom.

Samsung sees a great growth potential in the open Operating System based smartphone market, and has invested a lot of R&D and marketing resources in this market for past several years. Consequently, Samsung plans to offer a wider range of open OS mobiles this year, demonstrating significant progress in open OS and smartphone technology. Your browser may not support display of this image., the ultimate mobile entertainer with an 8-megapixel camera and Symbian OS, was recently launched and extremely well received by users and industry professionals all around the world.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunications Business, said: “I’m sure that we will see more and more demand for smartphones with open Operating Systems thanks to the increasing need for flexibility and customization on mobiles, and the introduction of various mobile applications. Samsung’s new Symbian OS-based smartphones such as Your browser may not support display of this image. shows our strategic focus on the open OS phone market.”

“We will reinforce our open OS and smartphone leadership not only by providing more products, but also by opening our new developers collaboration program ‘Samsung Mobile Innovator’.” He concluded.

At this year’s Smartphone Show, Mr.Ho-Soo Lee, Executive Vice President of Mobile Solution Centre, Telecommunication Business of Samsung Electronics, will deliver the keynote speech, ‘Eight Reasons to Innov8,’ on Tuesday, October 21.

P/S: http://gizmodo.com/5066288/samsung-innov8-rocks-8mp-camera-digital-photo-frame-mode

Gaming Helmet Lets You Feel Headshots

We're probably still a long way off from a realistic, full-immersion game-playing environment, but one vendor is trying to get us a little closer to the experience--although this company's approach appears to be more akin to using a Holodeck with the safeties turned off (alternatively, if you didn't get the Star Trek reference, it's like paying someone to kick you in the chest or head). The vendor is Redmond, Washington-based TN Games, and it makes force-feedback gaming products that you wear--designed to help you actually feel what is happening inside the game world.

N Games refers to its force feedback technology as "3rd Space," and its products as "impact generating gear." The company currently sells a Gaming Vest that comes in black, camouflage, or pink (which all sell for $139). The vest uses compressed air to deliver blows to the wearer that are meant to simulate "the impact of punches, kicks, bullets and blasts that happen to your character in the game." There are a total of eight air actuators on the vest (four on the front and four on the back) that each delivers five pounds of impact force.

What does five pounds of impact force feel like? The TN Games Website states that you can simulate what it would feel like by doing the following:

"Take a single roll of 50 pennies. Lay on the ground face up. Hold the role of pennies end on (up and down) 6 inches above your stomach, then release the roll and let the roll strike your stomach. That is what 5lb of force feels like."

The vest attaches to a Windows PC via a USB connection and it currently works with almost 30 games, such as Call of Duty 4, Crysis, and World of Warcraft, using the 3rd Space Game Driver Software and in some cases, game mods.

Not content to let your torso have all the fun, TN Games now has an impact-generating helmet in the works that will use the same 3rd Space technology as its vest to deliver blows to your head. There is not a lot know about the product yet, other that this tidbit of info TN Games has posted on its site:

"The HTX Helmet is the next product in development for TN Games using its 3rd Space™ technology.

The HTX Helmet is worn in conjuction [sic] with the 3rd Space™ Gaming Vest and delivers blows to the head when you are fired upon.

Feel bullets whizzing by your helmet or the impact of getting shot in the head.

The helmet will communicates [sic] with compatible games to give precise, 3 dimensionally accurate impacts where it happens, as it happens.

Release date 2009"

We're not sure what five pounds of force would feel like on our heads, as we were unwilling to try the experiment with the roll of pennies on our noggins. However, we suspect that the HTX Helmet probably won't use quite as much force as the vest does. The bigger question to ask, however, is that will anyone truly want to simulate the feeling of getting hit, kicked, or shot in the head? If there are any gamers out there who are seriously considering this product, we'd like to suggest to TN Games that it start working on a pair of impact-generating pants with air actuators positioned in the crotch cranked up to at least 10 pounds.



P/S: http://tngames.com/pages/Products/HTX-Helmet-Coming-Soon

Philips LUXE player connects to your music and calls

Now there's no excuse to miss a call. Dutch giant Philips today unveiled a nifty compromise that lets you tune in to your music and pick up calls wirelessly at the same time. Of course, one can already do that on one's mobile phone. So what's the beef here?

Well, for one, the GoGear LUXE is priced to please. At S$139 (US$93.02) for a flash-based 2GB player, this packs Bluetooth 2.1 and dual mikes, so you can pair this wirelessly with your Bluetooth-enabled mobile and answer calls on your player. The music will stop for that. A one-line LCD also lets you view the caller's number at a glimpse. The LUXE additionally packs an FM tuner, Philips' proprietary FullSound for CD-quality enhancement of digitally compressed tracks, and a decent 10 hours of playback time with 100 hours on standby.

New Android Phone on the Market

Australian Entrepreneur Rulan Kogan has designed and produced the world's second Android phone, the Agora, and has done so in less than two months. In November, he announced his goal of an unlocked Android phone for only $199 by December 15th. While the goal wasn't completely fulfilled, the new phone, available in two versions, the Agora Pro (US $256) and the Agora (US $192) are available for pre-order with delivery on January 29, 2009.

The regular Agora boasts a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, 2.5" touchscreen, microSD slot, and 3G connectivity. The Pro version adds a 2MP camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS to the already impressive specifications. Both versions offer, among others things, one-touch Google search, a customizable home screen with instant email, text, and IM notifications, as well as instant access to mobile internet services such as Youtube and Google Maps.

In developing the phone, the company illicited input from its consumers via its blog to make “the design and features of the Kogan Agora appeal to both consumers and business users." said Kogan, adding, “The Android operating system means the handset can capture and play music, photos and video, surf the web, play games, navigate, and organize your life with extremely powerful applications.” As a long time supporter of open source as well as Google, this project seemed a natural fit for the Kogan and his company.

To keep the cost down on the products Kogan designs, his company is completely online based, and builds its products in China. When designing the Agora, Kogan said his team "worked closely with manufacturers and vendors to develop drivers, software, and tweaks to make the Agora an intuitive and exciting experience for everyone."






P/S: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22082/1168/1/0/

Nokia N97: Nokia's New Multimedia Phone

Nokia released its new flagship smartphone, the N97, Tuesday at the Nokia World 2008 conference. With a full QWERTY keyboard and a tilting 3.5-inch touch screen, this phone targets "internet-savvy consumers."

The N97 mixes the best of the old with some interesting new additions. The built in Web browser allows easy access to multiple social-networking sites, as well as streaming of Flash video. This "phone" also features both a music and video player, a 5 megapixel camera, and a relatively large 32GB of on-board memory, that is further expandable with microSD cards.

With this phone, Nokia has introduced a new feature called "social location." By using the capabilities of A-GPS sensors as well as an electronic compass built in to the phone, the user's social networks are automatically updated to let them share their location with the photos or videos they take--i.e. geotagging. The Home screen can be customized using widgets for links to your favorite web and social-networking sites. It's also compatible with Nokia's Ovi Internet services such as the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, and the N-Gage gaming platform.

As a world phone, the handset is quad band HSDPA-capable, however it does not operate on T-mobile or AT&T bands. Along with its cellular capability, there is also integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The Nokia N97 is expected to being shipping in Europe in the first half of 2009 with an estimated price of $695. Will this phone appear any time soon in the US? Considering the previous Nokia N96 still hasn't arrived, it probably won't anytime soon.

Nokia's new device puts it in direct competition with the Apple iPhone, T-mobile G1, and the Blackberry Storm. While it probably won't be met by the same crowds as the iPhone, it certainly has enough pizzazz to be poised for a strong entry into the market. For those of you in the states, if an unlocked version were to appear, could it tempt you away from the more well-known iPhones or Blackberries?






P/S: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10110873-1.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

Microsoft to Expand Vista SP2 Testing

In late October Microsoft released the first beta of Windows Vista SP2 to a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers. In a blog post, Microsoft said they are going to open up the beta to more testers, starting this week.

Currently Vista SP2 is rumored to be scheduled for RTM (release to manufacturing) in April. The blog post did confirm a 1H 2009 release date.

The post says that starting on Dec. 4th, everyone (meaning the general public, too) will be able to download the current beta build of Windows Vista SP2. You'll be able to download the beta here, at TechNet.

Just to repeat, yes, even non-subscribers will be able to access the beta. MSDN and TechNet subscribers already have access.

Microsoft gives the standard warning about beta products:

The CPP ( Customer Preview Program) is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT Pros who would like to test Service Pack 2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release. For most customers, our best advice would be to wait until the final release prior to installing this service pack.

Techies who read this site will probably not be too concerned, but remember our advice is always to wait a day or two (not that we follow that advice) before upgrading systems, gaming consoles, etc. etc. with new software / firmware. Wait for it to sort out before you try (or at least backup your system). There are many examples of early adopters getting the "shaft" by a bug.




P/S: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/12/02/announcing-the-windows-vista-and-windows-server-2008-service-pack-2-customer-preview-program-cpp.aspx

Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic Now Available

Nokia's highly anticipated 5800 XpressMusic, which was codenamed the "Tube," is now available, according to a Thanksgiving Nokia press release.

The 5800 XpressMusic also supports Nokia's "Comes with Music" service, which allows users to download an unlimited amount of music to their phones for a year --- and keep it, even after the year has passed.

The device comes with both a pen stylus and a plectrum (pick) as well. It has a 3.2" haptic touch-screen, 3.2 megapixel AF camera with dual-LED flash, VGA front camera, A-GPS, HSDPA support, and up to 16 GB microSD support (ships with an 8 GB card).

Jo Harlow, Vice President, Nokia said:

"When it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience and still works really well as a mobile phone, without sacrificing features. The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers on this and allows consumers to quickly and easily access and share the content that is most important to them with the people that are most important to them."

Don't get too anxious, though. It's only available in select markets (Russia, Spain, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Finland, among others), and not in the U.S. until 2009.




P/S: http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1273587

USB 3.0 Brings Optical Connection In 2008

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel and others plan to release a new version of the ubiquitous Universal Serial Bus technology in the first half of 2008, a revamp the chipmaker said will make data transfer rates more than 10 times as fast by adding fiber-optic links alongside the traditional copper wires.

Intel is working fellow USB 3.0 Promoters Group members Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, NEC and NXP Semiconductors to release the USB 3.0 specification in the first half of 2008, said Pat Gelsinger, general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, in a speech here at the Intel Developer Forum.

In an interview after the speech, Gelsinger said there's typically a one- to two-year lag between the release of the specification and the availability of the technology, so USB 3.0 products should likely arrive in 2009 or 2010. A prototype shown at the speech is working now, and USB 3.0 will have optical and copper connections "from day one," he added.

The current USB 2.0 version has a top data-transfer rate of 480 megabits per second, so a tenfold increase would be 4.8 gigabits per second. Many devices don't need that much capacity, but some can use more, including hard drives, flash card readers and optical drives such as DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD. The fastest flash card readers today use IEEE 1394 "FireWire" connections that top out at 800 megabits per second.

In addition, USB 3.0 will offer greater energy efficiency, Gelsinger said. It will be backward compatible, so current USB 2.0 devices will be able to plug into USB 3.0 ports.

P/S: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9780794-7.html

Lenovo Launches IdeaPad S9e and S10e Netbooks

Lenovo Launches IdeaPad netbook PCs

Paris, France – November 25th 2008: Lenovo today introduced its “e” netbooks, the IdeaPad S9e and S10e netbooks. Designed for mobile users from all walks of life, the new netbooks combine the portability of a small and light PC device starting under 1.2kg with Internet and multimedia functionality at an affordable price.

“Our new IdeaPad S10e and S9e offer Lenovo's unmatched end user experience and quality to whole new set of users in the market place." said Vincent Fauquenot, VP Transactional Business, Lenovo EMEA. "With the new netbooks, Lenovo introduces a very attractive design, price point, and specification that delivers affordable mobile computing for families and professionals."

Enabling Technology-Led Mobility
The Lenovo IdeaPad S9e and S10e netbooks are designed as lightweight mobile PCs for customers in all segments. Additionally, the Lenovo netbooks provide basic functionality for Word processing and light multimedia capabilities. For a faster PC experience, they include the Instant On¹ feature. This allows users to quickly check email, browse the Internet, conduct video conferencing, view photos or listen to music without having to fully boot the operating system. A built-in webcam makes creating and sharing video messaging simple.

Taking netbooks to the next level
Lenovo offers a variety of customization options including hardware technologies, software and flexible warranties to fit individual needs. Users can choose from either the 8.9-inch or 10.1-inch LED backlit display sizes on the IdeaPad S9e and S10e netbooks, respectively. Choices of operating systems include Microsoft Windows XP Home, XP Pro or Novell SLED 10 Linux. Designed to handle the rigors of mobile computing, the netbooks come equipped with a 4 GB solid state drive for reliability or a hard drive up to 160 GB.

The netbooks come with the Intel® Atom processor, several choices of memory size up to 1.5 GB and a variety of ports for expansion. Users can connect wired or wirelessly through Ethernet, WiFi² and optional Bluetooth. Outfitted with a standard ExpressCard 34 slot, the netbooks can also be enabled for mobile broadband³.

Lenovo also offers flexible warranties extending up to three years and shorter warranty periods covering limited parts replacement.

Availability and Pricing³
The IdeaPad S9e and S10e netbooks will be available starting at the end of November through Lenovo and Lenovo Business Partners. Prices available on request.

¹ Only available on models with hard drive and Windows XP Home.

² WWAN and WiFi Service Providers: Requires separate agreement with select third party service provider, and is subject to credit approval and applicable service agreement/terms, rate plan and coverage maps of the provider. Service is available in select metropolitan markets, not available in all areas. Service provider, not Lenovo, is solely responsible for service. Lenovo customers may be contacted after purchase to activate service. Special credit and tenure restrictions and additional charges may apply to international roaming. A network connection, third-party software, additional hardware, and/or subscription to a third-party service may be required for certain solutions/applications. Additional restrictions apply. Offer subject to change.








P/S: http://news.lenovo.co.uk/news.nsf/0/7EC2FB75DAC373498025750C00347F01?open&lang=EN

Asus Wins "Green" Award For its Notebooks

ASUS Receives World's First EU Flower Eco Certification for Computers

Awarding of EU Flower Certification to N Series Notebooks Bears Testament to ASUS’ Unwavering Commitment to Preserving the Environment

Taipei, Taiwan, November 22, 2008 – ASUS, a company that is as committed to environmental conservation as it is to innovation and quality, yesterday saw its sustainable computing efforts rewarded with the conferring of the world’s first EU Flower Eco Award for computers on its N50, N80, N20, and N10 notebooks. This achievement validates the eco-friendliness of ASUS’ N Series notebooks, which had already been honored with prestigious EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold awards in October this year. On a broader note, it is also a reflection of the growing momentum of ASUS’ sustainability drive—Green ASUS—which it initiated in 2000.

“ASUS aims to create a better world for everyone through top-notch, eco-friendly 3C products. With Green ASUS, we hope to blend technology, innovation and environmental sustainability for a cleaner, greener earth for all to live,” said Jonney Shih, Chairman of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

The EU Flower award ceremony was held in Prague on November 20th, 2008.

ASUS Notebooks: The World’s First EU Flower Certified Computers
With the awarding of EU Flower certification to the N50, N80, N20, and N10 notebooks, ASUS notebooks have secured a spot in history as the world’s first computers to be conferred the prestigious award. Underscoring the magnitude of this achievement is the fact that 15,000,000 computers are sold in Europe each year, and ASUS N Series notebooks are the first to obtain EU Flower certification. The EU Flower award utilizes one of the highest rated and strictest standards for green computing worldwide, and was developed under the Eco Label Scheme in 1992 by the European Union. The EU Flower is recognized in the EU and non-EU European countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The Eco Label scheme was laid down under the new Regulation EC1980/2000 in 2000, and has expanded the product scope to all consumer products and the service sector, with a total of 23 product categories. The EU Eco-label is administered by the European Eco-labeling Board (EUEB).

Products are assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Energy-savings
2. Presence of hazardous substances
3. Product design
4. User instructions
5. Packaging
6. Labeling
7. Noise
8. Lifelong extension
9. Takeback

Green ASUS: Eco-friendly Notebooks from Conception to End-of-life
ASUS pursues the Green ASUS “Four Green Home Runs” in the design and production of each notebook, namely Green Design, Green Procurement, Green Manufacturing, and Green Service and Marketing. From the reduction and elimination of environmentally hazardous substances, to ensuring that the notebooks are easy to assemble, recycle and reuse, Green ASUS ensures disciplined adherence to environmentally-friendly principles at every step of a notebook’s conception. The awarding of EU Flower certification to the ASUS N50, N80, N20, and N10 notebooks is a result of this uncompromising commitment to eco-friendliness. The success of Green ASUS is also evidenced in the fact that more than 50 ASUS notebooks are now qualified by Energy Star and that nine EPEAT Gold awards were conferred on ASUS notebooks in October 2008.







P/S: http://www.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=13548

Windows Vista Kernel Flaw Found

When pimping Windows Vista prior to its release, Microsoft called it "the most secure OS ever." Of course, software is just software, and there are bugs in anything. And on Friday, security firm Phion AG announced they had discovered a TCP/IP stack buffer overflow. As researcher Thomas Unterleitner indicated:

Since this buffer overflow overwrites kernel memory, it could be possible that members of the Network Configuration Operator group exploit this and take control over the operating system without any restriction. This buffer overflow could be exploited to inject code, hence compromising client security.

It's a new vulnerability, meaning it is not reproducible on Windows XP. Microsoft was informed of this vulnerability on Oct. 22nd.

According to Unterleitner,

"We have worked together with Microsoft Security Response Center in Redmond since October 2008 to locate, classify and fix this bug. Microsoft will ship a fix for this exploit with the next Vista service pack."

Yep, no fix until Vista SP2. Microsoft confirmed this issue to ZDNet UK, and that it would be fixed in SP2, but would (quite naturally) not confirm a Windows Vista SP2 release date.

They did confirm they have been investigating the flaw.




P/S: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39559185,00.htm

Cisco Gets 'Green Certification' From Miercom

With everyone starting to think "green," networking product test center and consultancy Miercom has launched a new "Certified Green" testing program designed to provide guidance to organizations looking to improve their green IT and business practices.

Another facet of the program will challenge networking vendors to design, develop and deploy products that lower energy costs and power consumption; comply with increasingly stringent environmental directives; reduce eWaste; and heighten the green effect of network infrastructure.

The initiative, which was announced last week at Interop Las Vegas 2008, also named its first product to be Certified Green: the Cisco Catalyst 3750-E, 3560-E, 3750, 3560 and 2960 Series Switches.

According to an announcement from both Miercom and Cisco, testing and evaluation found the fixed switches offer efficient power draw under various real-world conditions; high-efficiency power supply operation with intelligent power management capabilities; and superior product efficiency, including VLAN, remote management and other "green-enabling" features.

In a statement, John McCool, senior vice president and general manager of San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco's campus switching systems technology group and co-chair of the Cisco EcoBoard, praised Miercom for recognizing green networking. He added that Cisco is working diligently to promote green networking initiatives.

"Focusing on the improvement of power efficiency and green practices in our products is a top priority for Cisco," he said. "We are proud that our Catalyst switches are the first to be certified under this important new program. The certification not only rewards our current work, but also serves as further incentive to push forward on innovations aimed at delivering even greater green returns for our customers."

The Miercom Green Certification is powered by Ixia, an IP performance test system and service verification platform for IP infrastructure and services. Ixia solutions are designed to fully load and exercise Layer 2 through Layer 7 network elements and infrastructures. The solutions emulate real-world data center application traffic and the Ixia test can test multiple application profiles to provide accurate performance per power benchmarks.

According to Miercom, the Certified Green program will combine detailed measurement criteria with a holistic view of product impact in enabling the green IT and business practices of a network operator. The program will certify products based on power efficiency, including power usage and management, heat dissipation, cooling requirements, energy efficiency and overall product efficiency.






P/S: http://www.crn.com/networking/207600473?queryText=ixia

Kingston Boosts Data Traveler 150 to 64GB

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping its high-capacity 64GB DataTraveler® 150 (DT150) USB Flash drive. DT150 offers the largest capacity in Kingston’s entire line of DataTraveler USB drives and allows users the room and flexibility to backup important hard drive contents, and transport and share complete collections of music, videos, photos and documents in one convenient device.
“The new 64GB DataTraveler 150 takes transportable storage to the next level with big capacity in a small package,” said Jaja Lin, Flash business development manager, Kingston®. “As file sizes increase with digital media content such as music and photos, the need for USB Flash drives with high capacities will continue to rise. The DT150 certainly addresses those needs today.”

Kingston’s DataTraveler 150 is fully compatible with Windows Vista, XP and Windows 2000 as well as Mac OS X 10.3 (and above) and Linux 2.6 (and above). The DT150 carries a fully guaranteed five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support.


P/S: http://www.kingston.com/press/2008/flash/11a.asp

MSI Launches Colorful New VR220 Ya Edition Notebook

Available in Denim Blue, Coral Pink, Wasabi Green and Empire Black, the VR220 combines the latest mobile technology with style.

November 19, 2008 - MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is pleased to announce the release of the new VR220 YA Edition Notebook. Available in Denim Blue, Coral Pink, WASABI Green and Empire Black, the VR220 combines the latest in mobile technology with brilliant color and style. Beautiful inside and out, these eye pleasing notebooks also feature Intel Pentium Dual-core processors and MSI's exclusive ECO Engine Power Management System, which allows users to alternate between 5 different operating modes to conserve battery life. By simply pressing the quick launch sensor, users can choose from Gaming, Movie, Presentation, Office, or Turbo Battery modes to fit their power consumption needs. The VR220 also features an optional TV Tuner for recording and watching your favorite digital programming on the VR220's Amazing Crystal Vision widescreen display.

"Notebooks have become as much a fashion accessory as they are a computer," says Andy Tung Director of Sales, MSI US. "The VR220 gives consumers the option to own a notebook that offers great performance without sacrificing aesthetics."

MSI packed all those features to clean magnesium alloy case, which weighs less than 4 pounds. Mobile users will also enjoy the VR220's 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN, and should have no trouble surfing the web at high speeds at school, the airport or at their favorite caf?. The notebook also features a built-in 3 in 1 Card Reader, 1.3 M webcam and a multimedia burner drive for quickly connecting a digital photo and video cameras. FULL SPECS BELOW

For additional information about the MSI VR220 YA Edition Notebook please visit www.msimobile.com, or contact MSI PR representative Mark Olson at 305.576.1171 x17, markolson@maxborgesangency.com.

About MSI

Founded in 1986, MSI strives to design and manufacture superior technology and innovative products, while offering outstanding customer service. The company's expansive range of product lines includes mainboards, graphic cards, servers/workstations, laptops, barebones, IPCs, multimedia products, CE devices and networking devices. MSI is ranked among the world's top 3 motherboard manufacturers and is one of the top 5 server manufacturers. MSI has developed several new technologies, including ACV (Amazing Crystal Vision), and ACS (Advanced Cooling System). MSI's notebooks are known for their aesthetically pleasing designs and powerful components. To keep abreast of the global market MSI provides multi-language customer service and associated web sites. MSI has offices in Taiwan, Mainland China, USA, Germany, France, Holland, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Korea, Poland, Russia, Canada, and India. To learn more about MSI's complete line personal computers and components please visit www.msimobile.com.

P/S: http://gear.ign.com/articles/931/931984p1.html