Mar 13
Jan 15
InfoWorld launches drive to save Windows XP by InfoWorld Editors - January 14, 2008
The clock is ticking for Windows XP, the tried-and-true Microsoft operating system that millions of businesses and individuals depend on. Soon, the only Windows option will be Vista, an operating system that businesses as well as individuals have disliked and often avoided. The lackluster changes to Vista, coupled with the high costs of switching tens of millions of computers to it, have convinced InfoWorld that XP should not be retired as planned on June 30.
“Over the past year, CIOs and CTOs have consistently told me they see no significant benefits to Vista, and really don’t want to spend the time and money to update all their computers, retrain their users, and deal with application incompatibilities for a cosmetic upgrade,” said Galen Gruman, executive editor at InfoWorld.
Already, due to customer resistance to Vista, Microsoft has granted XP a stay of execution, delaying its scheduled demise from December 31, 2007, to June 30, 2008. But that’s not enough. InfoWorld’s editors believe Microsoft should make XP available indefinitely. Therefore, InfoWorld has launched a petition drive aimed at convincing Microsoft to not only stay XP’s execution but to take it off Death Row.
“We encourage IT and business staff alike to sign the petition today and to ask their friends and colleagues to do the same,” said Eric Knorr, editor in chief at InfoWorld. “In the past, Microsoft has responded to customer dissatisfaction and changed its plans, so there’s reason to believe it will listen today if the message is loud enough,” he added.
Under Microsoft’s current plans, June 30 is the last day that Microsoft will have XP available for sale as shrink-wrapped software, as well as available from computer makers as an installation option on new computers. Makers of white-box computers can sell XP until December 31.
Article Source: InfoWorld.com
Jan 11
Engineer: I stole IDs from hotel computers
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
A Colombian engineer pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to illegally hacking into hotel computers in Miami, Las Vegas and other cities to steal credit card numbers and other personal information to pocket more than $400,000 to finance his luxurious lifestyle.
Mario Alberto Simbaqueba Bonilla, 40, who was arrested at Miami International Airport in August, pleaded guilty to a 16-count indictment charging him with conspiracy, fraud and identity theft involving hundreds of travelers.
Between June 2004 and August 2007, Simbaqueba checked into major hotels around the United States and overseas, where he would install software on all of the computers at their business centers, according to court records. Later, he would watch as guests logged onto these machines. The software would copy their keystrokes, which would often contain login information, passwords and other personal financial information.
He would then log on to a remote computer and download the information, using it to steal money and credit cards for buying expensive electronics, personal luxuries and international travel.
Among the items he bought with stolen identities were laptop computers, high definition televisions, stereo systems, jewelry and clothing for himself and his various girlfriends. He also used it to stay in first-class hotels in places like Hong Kong, France and Italy.
Simbaqueba was assisted by an ex-wife, identified in court records as Nelya Alexandra Valero of Northbrook, Ill. Authorities say she is at large and believed to be in Colombia. They say she helped him circumvent scrutiny by credit card companies and other institutions by allowing him to connect from his home computer in Colombia to her computer in Northbrook. This hid his true location as he carried out his criminal activities.
Simbaqueba faces seven to 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for March 19 before U.S. District Judge Paul Huck.
Simbaqueba’s attorney, Jay White, said his client was “extremely remorseful.”
”He accepted responsibility as soon as he got off the airplane and was arrested,” White said.
Many of the individual victims did not lose any money because they were reimbursed by financial institutions. But those companies, which include Chase Manhattan Bank, AmericanAirlines and eTrade, lost a total of more than $400,000, according to court records.
Article Source: Miami Herald
Sep 20
A survey asked 1,011 American adults how long they would feel OK without going on the Web, to which 15 percent said a just a day or less, 21 percent said a couple of days and another 19 percent said a few days.
Only a fifth of those who took part in an online survey conducted by advertising agency JWT between Sept 7 and 11 said they could go for a week. “People told us how anxious, isolated and bored they felt when they are forced off line,” said Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, which conducted the survey to see how technology was changing people’s behavior. “They felt disconnected from the world, from their friends and family,” she told Reuters.
The poll, released on Wednesday, found the use of cell phones and the Internet were becoming more and more an essential part of life with 48 percent of respondents agreeing they felt something important was missing without Internet access.
More than a quarter of respondents—or 28 percent—admitted spending less time socializing face-to-face with peers because of the amount of time they spend online. It also found that 20 percent said they spend less time having sex because they are online.
Cell phones won out over television in a question asking which device people couldn’t go without but the Internet trumped all, regarded as the most necessary.
“It is taking away from offline activities, among them having sex, socializing face-to-face, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines. It cuts into that share,” Mack said. “I don’t suppose their partners are too pleased about it.”
Mack said a clear trend to emerge from the survey was the increasing need for mobility with people no longer satisfied with just broadband access from home and wanting hand-held devices like iPhones and BlackBerrys.
JWT, whose parent company is WPP, has come up with a new advertising category for people whose lives are so tied up with new technology. “We are calling them ‘digitivity denizens,’ those who see their cell phones as an extension of themselves, whose online and offline lives are co-mingled and who would chose a Wi-Fi connection over TV any day,” Mack said. “This is how they communicate, entertain and live.”
Story Link: CIOInsight.com
Mar 07
FAA May Ditch Microsoft’s Windows Vista And Office For Google And Linux
Combo
FAA chief information officer David Bowen said he’s taking a close look
at the Premier Edition of Google Apps as he mulls replacements for the
agency’s Windows XP-based desktop computers and laptops.
March is coming in like a lion for Microsoft’s public sector business.
Days after InformationWeek reported that the Department of
Transportation has placed a moratorium on upgrades to Windows Vista,
Office 2007, and Internet Explorer 7, the top technology official at the
Federal Aviation Administration revealed that he is considering a
permanent ban on the Microsoft software in favor of a combination of
Google’s new online business applications running on Linux-based
hardware.
In an interview, FAA chief information officer David Bowen said he’s
taking a close look at the Premier Edition of Google Apps as he mulls
replacements for the agency’s Windows XP-based desktop computers and
laptops. Bowen cited several reasons why he finds Google Apps
attractive. “It’s a different sort of computing strategy,” he said. “It
takes the desktop out of the way so you’re running a very thin client.
From a security and management standpoint that would have some
advantages.”
Google launched Google Apps Premier Edition last month at a price of
$50 per user, per year. It features online e-mail, calendaring,
messaging, and talk applications, as well as a word processor and a
spreadsheet. The launch followed Google’s introduction of a similar
suite aimed at consumers in August. The new Premier Edition, however,
offers enhancements, including 24×7 support, aimed squarely at corporate
and government environments.
Bowen said he’s in talks with the aviation safety agency’s main
hardware supplier, Dell Computer, to determine if it could deliver
Linux-based computers capable of accessing Google Apps through a
non-Microsoft browser once the FAA’s XP-based computers pass their shelf
life. “We have discussions going on with Dell,” Bowen said. “We’re
trying to figure out what our roadmap will be after we’re no longer able
to acquire Windows XP.”
Bowen, however, said he has not definitely ruled out an FAA-wide
upgrade to Windows Vista and related software — if Microsoft can
satisfy his concerns over compatibility with the agency’s existing
applications and demonstrate why such a move would make financial sense
given Google Apps’s low price. “We have a trip to Microsoft scheduled
for later this month,” said Bowen.
Like the Department of Transportation, the FAA — technically under DOT
but managed separately — has its own moratorium in place on upgrades to
Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Microsoft Office 2007. Among
other things, Bowen said the FAA’s copies of IBM’s Lotus Notes software
don’t work properly on test PCs running Windows Vista.
Bowen’s compatibility concerns, combined with the potential cost of
upgrading the FAA’s 45,000 workers to Microsoft’s next-generation
desktop environment, could make the moratorium permanent. “We’re
considering the cost to deploy [Windows Vista] in our organization. But
when you consider the incompatibilities, and the fact that we haven’t
seen much in the way of documented business value, we felt that we
needed to do a lot more study,” said Bowen.
Because of Google Apps’ sudden entry into the desktop productivity
market, what once would have been a routine decision at the FAA to
eventually upgrade to Microsoft’s latest software is now firmly up in
the air. With similar debates doubtless playing out at other government
agencies — and in the private sector — Microsoft is going to have to
work a lot harder than in past years convincing customers to follow its
well worn path of new releases and follow-on patches.
Link:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197800480
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