Microsoft and Intel hook up on parallel computing
By Jason | March 19, 2008
Intel and Microsoft are partnering with academic institutions to create two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centres aimed at accelerating developments in mainstream parallel computing.
The centres will be located at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Microsoft and Intel
have committed a combined $20m to the Berkeley and Illinois centres over the next five years.
An additional $8m will come from the University of Illinois, and UC Berkeley has applied for $7m in funds from a state-supported programme to match industry grants.
Research will focus on advancing parallel programming applications, architecture and operating systems software.
The companies said in a statement that this is the first joint industry and university research alliance of this magnitude in the US focused on mainstream parallel computing.
Parallel computing focuses on the development of advanced software and processors that have multiple cores or engines which, when combined, can handle multiple instructions and tasks simultaneously.
“Intel has already shown an 80-core research processor, and we are quickly moving the computing industry to a many-core world,” said Andrew Chien, vice president at Intel’s Corporate Technology Group and director of Intel Research.
“We think these new applications will have the ability to efficiently and robustly sense and act in our everyday world with new capabilities, such as rich media and visual interfaces, powerful statistical analysis and search, and mobile applications.
“Ultimately, these sensing and human interface capabilities will bridge the physical world with the virtual
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FCC closes $19bn wireless spectrum auction
By Jason | March 19, 2008
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially ended the auction for the highly-contested 700MHz spectrum.
The FCC said that the auction raised roughly $19.6bn. The winners were not named.
Around $4.75bn of the total was for the highly-publicised Upper-C block, previously used for over-the-air television transmissions, which had been hotly contested by internet firms and television companies.
The FCC has placed a stipulation on the block which requires the winner to make the spectrum an open network for all wireless devices.
Other wireless networks allow the operator to limit access to specific handsets sold by the service provider and its partner companies.
Prospective buyers for the spectrum included Google, Verizon and AT&T. The decision to make the Upper-C block an open network was first announced by FCC chairman Kevin Martin in July.
Telecoms operators objected to the announcement, accusing the FCC of deliberately setting guidelines which would favour Google and other tech firms. One trade group went so far as to condemn the ruling as “Silicon Valley welfare “.
The auction for the spectrum kicked off on 24 January and had reached the $4.65bn reserve price by 1 February, thus assuring that the winner would be bound to make the spectrum an open network.
“This auction provided an opportunity to have a significant effect on the next phase of wireless broadband innovation,” said Martin.
“The open platform will help foster innovation on the edge of the network, while creating more choices and greater freedom for consumers to use the wireless devices and applications of their choice
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Apple issues major OS X security update
By Jason | March 19, 2008
Apple has issued a major security update for Mac OS X and Safari. The update addresses 86 common vulnerability and exposure CVE entries in 30 applications for Mac OS.
Among the components addressed by the update are vulnerabilities in the Printing and Preview components which could allow encrypted PDF files to be viewed without authentication.
Other fixes include security updates for the ClamAV antivirus application, the OS X Leopard application firewall and several Apache components.
The Safari update addresses 13 security vulnerabilities, one of which could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on OS X, Windows XP and Windows Vista systems if exploited by an attacker.
Nine of the patched flaws could allow an attacker to conduct a cross-site scripting attack in which information entered into one page is transmitted to another site run by an attacker.
These vulnerabilities were found in the WebKit and WebCore components of the browser, as well as the elements of the browser that handle JavaScript and the error page.
Both the OS X and Safari updates can be downloaded automatically by way of Apple’s Software Update tool or manually from the Apple Downloads site.
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McAfee steps up online safety education drive
By Jason | March 18, 2008
To help educate internet users about the potential dangers of the online world, security firm McAfee has created a free 10-step internet safety plan.
Available through the McAfee Advice Center, the ebook is broken into separate sections each aimed at providing safety guidelines for various age groups and experience levels, including kids, teens, parents, teachers and community groups.
In conjunction with the guidelines, there is also a quiz aimed at that challenges teens’ knowledge of online risks and their ability to stay safe from spyware, spam, scams and identity theft.
“The days when people went online only to gather information and send email have changed,” said Todd Gebhart, senior vice president and general manager of Consumer, Mobile and Small Business for McAfee.
“Cyberspace is an exciting environment full of opportunity, but it is also increasingly risky, with numerous threats emerging daily. Parents need to be on guard whenever their children venture online, so we’ve developed some simple steps to help ensure that young people’s online experiences are safe and pleasant.”
According to recent research, teens and kids are known to engage in risky online behaviour. For example, while 51 per cent of teens have downloaded music, the search term ‘digital music’ often leads to drive-by download sites that can populate a computer with spyware, viruses and exploits without users’ knowledge. In addition, 45 per cent of young people said someone they’ve never met in person has asked them for personal information online.
The guidelines also include a section on how to save chat session logs, block users, report intruders and it provides recommendations for age-appropriate browsers and search engines, among other tips.
McAfee hopes that its new ebook will help families work together to set boundaries and create a list of rules to follow
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London takes global Wi-Fi crown
By Jason | March 18, 2008
London is officially a world leader when it comes to Wi-Fi usage, with the average user spending an impressive 72 minutes online per session.
According to iPass’s ‘Wi-Fi Hotspot Index’ report, which studied Wi-Fi use for the second half of 2007, Londoners clocked up nearly three times as many sessions as the world’s number two city Singapore.
The last six months of 2007 saw Londoners engaging in almost 30,000 Wi-Fi sessions, a leap in growth of more than 150 per cent on the same period in 2006.
The report pointed to a significant growth in business usage across the UK, with airports accounting for almost half of all business sessions. Heathrow alone hosted over 41,000 sessions, making it the fourth busiest Wi-Fi airport in the world.
The availability of Wi-Fi services on trains is also spurring growth. National Express recently reported a trebling of usage since introducing free Wi-Fi on the UK’s East Coast Main Line.
However, in terms of overall usage, the US remains the most popular Wi-Fi region, despite growth of 60 per cent compared to 121 per cent in the UK.
The top 10 Wi-Fi nations are:
1. US
2. UK
3. Germany
4. Switzerland
5. The Netherlands
6. France
7. Japan
8. Australia
9. Belgium
10. Brazil
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Cybercrooks step up taxing attacks
By Jason | March 18, 2008
With the US tax deadline drawing closer, criminals have stepped up their use of tax-themed spam attacks
.
Researchers at Symantec have documented new attacks which use the tax season as a way to lure users into downloading malware.
“We have recently observed a few new types of spam in relation to tax season. This spam being of a more sinister type as it directs you to download a virus,” wrote Symantec researcher Kelly Conley.
One of the attacks directly mimics the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The user is sent an email from what appears to be an IRS email address. The message tells the user that a new law has been passed requiring all users to download special software in order to file their taxes.
The email then directs the user to what appears to be an official IRS web page. In reality, the URL redirects to another page which then installs a Trojan application. Believing the software to be genuine, the user then launches the Trojan and installs the malware.
Conley also noted a second attack which attempts to mimic the TurboTax tax preparation software. Like the first attack, the message tells the user that a new law is requiring users to update their software. The user is directed to a fraudulent TurboTax update page which leads to the download of a Trojan.
The researcher noted that users can spot the attack by the distinct ” turbotax.cn” domain of the sender and the use of a suspicious address for the download page.
“Be alert during tax season for those preying on you for sinister purposes such as stealing of personal information and spreading viruses,” warned Conley.
“Above all, do not download anything on your computer unless you are sure that it is what it says it is and comes from someone you know and trust or a reputable company.
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China becomes world’s biggest internet population
By Jason | March 16, 2008
China now has the world’s greatest number of internet users, according to Beijing-based research firm BDA.
The projected figures were based on data from the China Internet Network Information Center which registered the country’s internet user base at 210 million at the end of 2007.
BDA said that Nielsen//NetRatings estimated US web users at 216 million for the same period, making China the world’s largest user of the internet given the recent pattern of growth rates.
“Based on these sources, and the assumption that these markets have continued to grow in 2008 at the same rates that they grew in 2007, we can conclude that China has comfortably surpassed the US as the world’s largest internet population,” said BDA analyst Bin Liu.
BDA said that e-commerce will be the next sector to witness stellar growth in China as businesses reap the benefits of a newly emerging online consumer market.
“China will emerge as part of an Asian ‘New California’ where innovative applications and companies help shape consumer trends globally,” said BDA chairman Duncan Clark
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Five News heads for MySpace
By Jason | March 16, 2008
Five News is teaming up with MySpace in an agreement that will allow both parties to exchange content.
MySpace members will be offered a daily co-branded news broadcast via the Five News MyspaceTV channel presented by Natasha Kaplinsky.
Members will be able to share the news clips with friends and send messages to the Five News team.
The move is widely seen as an effort by the national news broadcaster to reach an audience of younger web-obsessed viewers.
MySpace’s target of audience of 16 to 34 year-olds will also be encouraged to upload their own clips for possible inclusion in Kaplinksy’s broadcast, allowing Five News to use the social networking site as a news gathering source.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of ITV’s deal with Bebo earlier in the week, which will see the social networking site host a range of ITV2 programmes, including Gossip Girl and Keith Lemon
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Berners-Lee calls time on Google
By Jason | March 16, 2008
Google may have to stand aside as the next wave of web technologies sweeps in, according to Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
Sir Tim told The Times Online that Google’s achievement in making the internet more easily navigable could be dwarfed by the “web of the future”.
The man who developed the World Wide Web in 1989 predicted that the Google of the future will be a “mega-mash-up” where web-based connectivity is built into every piece of data.
“In the semantic web, it’s like every piece of data is given a longitude and latitude on a map, and anyone can ‘mash’ them together and use them for different things,” said Sir Tim.
“Imagine if two completely separate things - your bank statements and your calendar - spoke the same language and could share information with one another.
“You could drag one on top of the other and a whole bunch of dots would appear showing you when you spent your money.
“If you still weren’t sure of where you were when you made a particular transaction, you could then drag your photo album on top of the calendar, and be reminded that you used your credit card at the same time you were taking pictures of your kids at a theme park. So you would know not to claim it as a tax deduction.”
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace could also become just one of a kind as a multiplicity of networks become available.
“At the moment, people are very excited about all these connections being made between people - for obvious reasons, because people are important,” said Sir Tim.
“But I think after a while people will realise that there are many other things you can connect to via the web
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Younger surfers shun print media
By Jason | March 16, 2008
The younger generation of internet users are more likely to avoid traditional print media and get all their news online, according to research from comScore.
Meanwhile, heavy newspaper readers are more likely than average to engage with traditional print news brands online.
“Current generations are growing up getting their news online for free indicating that print circulations are likely to continue their decline,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore.
“But the internet represents a significant opportunity to extend and improve existing news brands and reach out to new consumers with living, breathing, real-time content.
“Just because print circulations are declining does not mean there are fewer news consumers. In fact, just the opposite is true.”
Heavy print newspaper readers show a strong skew towards older age segments, while the non-newspaper reader segments skew towards younger segments, comScore found.
Those age 65 and older are nearly three times more likely to read the print edition of newspapers six times a week, while those age 18-24 are 38 per cent more likely not to read a print newspaper at all during a typical week.
However, it is clear that based on their heavier than average visitation across most key news sites, those who do not read print versions of newspapers are not necessarily light news consumers.
In fact, they show a high propensity to visit the majority of sites studies, including print, TV and internet brands.
Also, heavy print newspaper readers and non-readers show similarly heavy consumption of print news brands online, suggesting that print news sites are not merely an extension of their offline brands but have a standalone brand presence in the online world.
For example, the websites of three of the largest US city newspapers (The New York Times, LA Times and Chicago Tribune) show above average visitation from both heavy newspaper readers and non-readers.
TV news brands are also heavily visited by non-print newspaper readers, underscoring the importance of sight, sound and motion to the digital news experience.
Non-readers were 29 per cent more likely than the average internet user to visit FoxNews.com and 15 per cent more likely to visit CBS News Digital.
“Non-newspaper readers are a particularly important segment to reach because they are heavier than average news consumers. They just prefer to consume it in a digital format,” said Flanagan.
“That they are receptive to print, TV and internet news brands indicates a broad opportunity online, but the brands that will ultimately win over these key news consumers are those that successfully integrate cutting edge digital content with high quality journalism
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