Microsoft Office 2010 takes on all comers: SoftMaker Office 2010
For several years now, SoftMaker Office has been accruing a reputation as a low-cost replacement for the Microsoft Office product line. It's indeed much cheaper than Office 2010: $79 to Office's $149, $279, or $499 (the MSRPs for the Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional versions, respectively). For those who don't exclusively require Word, it's a very strong contender. It's also been written with much more of an eye toward integration with Windows than the OpenOffice.org family; for example, the Windows 7 Taskbar jump lists are supported.
The suite features replacements for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in much the same way that IBM Lotus Symphony strips the OpenOffice.org suite down to its three most essential programs. A single copy of the program can be used on up to three PCs, with no copy protection or other restrictions. Academic pricing ($34.95 per copy) is also available, but there's no need to purchase different versions of the program for work and home.
The best way to see SoftMaker Office's much-vaunted document compatibility in action is to grab the 30-day trial version of the product, open documents in it side-by-side with your existing program, and see how they look. SoftMaker Office has its own native document formats for each program, but it does a strikingly sound job of reading and interpreting Office's native formats. It can also handle some of the OpenDocument formats used by OpenOffice.org.
TextMaker, SoftMaker's word processor, is the most likely place to start testing how well the suite works with your existing files. With most every document I threw at it from my own collection, everything from relatively complex style-driven formatting to annotations and corrections was preserved. The programmers also took the trouble to make many individual features behave like their counterparts in Microsoft Office, such as the way corrections can be viewed in a callout pane to the side of the text. OpenOffice.org and its derivatives do the same thing, but often lose the name of whoever submitted a given correction. TextMaker preserved the names properly (as did Symphony's word processor). Details like this position TextMaker as that much more attractive to users who care about preserving document fidelity.
PlanMaker, the suite's spreadsheet program, supports up to 65,536 rows and works with both older and newer Excel documents. It opened existing spreadsheets better than any of the OpenOffice.org variants, but I still ran into some hitches. When I opened the mortgage calculator spreadsheet, it displayed the charts properly but didn't recalculate the charts when I changed the data. Even forcing a recalculation of the charts from the program menu didn't work. Also, PlanMaker doesn't open OpenDocument-format spreadsheets (.ods), though TextMaker opens word processing documents in the OpenDocument format (.odt).
SoftMaker Presentations had some similar file format hitches. PowerPoint 2007/2010 presentations (.pptx) are not yet supported, and neither are OpenDocument presentation files (.odp), but files in the older PowerPoint (.ppt) format load and run very well. In-slide animation and transitions also work. One key omission from Presentations is the lack of a feature like PowerPoint's synchronized multiscreen presentation mode. This allows a presenter to run the presentation on one display, such as a projector, while having his notes for the presentation visible on his notebook display. With Presentations, it is possible to run the slideshow on one display while manually browsing the notes for the presentation on another, but it's not quite the same.
All SoftMaker Office applications use a scripting language that's based on Microsoft's own VBA for application automation, and the suite includes an editor (BasicMaker) for creating and debugging scripts. Note that while SoftMaker's scripting language is similar to VBA, this doesn't mean existing Office documents with VBA automation can be used as-is. You'd have to export the code from those documents, reimport it into BasicMaker, and then modify it line by line. I did like the program's PDF exporter, which is on a par with OpenOffice.org's excellent tool.
Showing posts with label mcitp database developer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mcitp database developer. Show all posts
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
One IT pro explains why he fears and embraces disruptive cloud and mobile platforms
Betanews welcomes reader contributions. Here, Eric Neumann responds to two February 21st posts by Joe Wilcox -- "iPad is not a PC" and "5 reasons Macs will never outsell PCs." If you would like to submit a post, please email joewilcox at gmail dot com.
Being a business IT professional, I have been watching with great interest and excitement the emergence of the iOS model of computing and cloud movements hitting the personal and now commercial computing worlds. However, I must add that initially I have also viewed these big changes with fear; as recently as 2006, my career was purely based on the SME IT status quo of on-premise Microsoft and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stacks.
I have always enjoyed the ensuing comment threads that some of the topics spawn. In the interest of participating in the discussion I would like to offer a few counter points to your earlier articles "iPad is not a PC" and "5 reasons Macs will never outsell PCs." I make five points to counter others which you made: 1) iPad is not a PC; 2) Macs cost too much; 3) Windows' ecosystem is too big for Macs to compete; 4) Windows owns the enterprise, and Apple isn't even trying; 5) Windows' shadow ecosystem of malware writers and cybercriminals is large and profitable.
1. What used to be a PC vs. what will a PC be. In a way it makes sense to classify PCs exclusively as independent devices and to exclude devices that don't fit this profile, such as iPad. For many years PCs were the center of their own respective universes, with networking and external data hubs and control points being mere optional extras. They were not core to the "PC experience."
Today we are rapidly moving away from an independent device arrangement across all our form factors. iOS devices require another device to update the OS, require an App Store cloud to gain and update applications. Android devices are dependent on the Google cloud. Chrome OS is cloud or bust.
I believe that in a few years we will need to either change our definition of a PC or accept that all our personal computers have become dependent devices (and thus no longer PCs.)
2. Macs cost too much... But so may Windows some day. Microsoft has always expertly priced Windows to be the cheapest commercial product and so gained and held the OS market for generic devices. This expertly gained monopoly has also been under threat from free non-commercial offerings for over a decade, with no market share losses to speak of.
This new phenomenon of commercial-but-free (and maybe even cheaper-than-free) options appearing from Google are not to be confused with the Linux threats of the past. Android and Chrome OS are commercial ventures that have significant developer efforts and funds backing them. These OSes have behind them teams of people working on development, distribution, partnerships, advertising -- the works.
Consider that major Windows-PC vendors like Dell, Samsung and LG are already active Android licensees and HP has noted plans for WebOS PCs. The sole protective barrier currently shielding the Windows ecosystem is the form factor divide. When Android, Chrome OS and HP's WebOS invade the Windows-PC space, there will be trouble.
Microsoft has tons of smart people, they will surely be able to match any technology disruption in the PC OS space. However, responding to a business model disruption via Google (advertising, information) or HP and Apple (hardware), will be more difficult. There is some precedent with Windows Mobile's business model disruption by Android and iOS to illustrate my point.
3. Windows ecosystem is simply too large...to adapt. There is no doubt that the Windows ecosystem is large, mature and has been outstandingly successful. The dark side of these attributes -- it's age, it's established but outdated ways and customs -- are also its weakness.
Chrome OS, WebOS and the like will at some point breach the Windows form factor barriers and start spilling into the laptop and desktop world. When this happens the Windows ecosystem with its informal application distribution, secret handshakes and focus on traditional standalone applications will be squaring off against a single store, single merchant model a la App Store with the dominant focus on cloud-centric applications.
To contrast the ecosystem differences, I cannot imagine my mother sufficiently finding, purchasing, downloading and installing a single application on her Windows 7 laptop. Even more importantly, she wouldn't even attempt it. Windows software is installed by whizz-kid relatives, that's how it has always been. On the other hand, let her loose on an iOS device with her established iTunes account and 6 weeks later there is almost a full page of purchased, downloaded and installed applications on it.
4. Windows owns the enterprise - and Apple isn't even trying... but the cloud is! The on-premise enterprise ecosystem (e.g. the windows stack) will be eaten by cloud computing at a pace approaching Smartphone-PC revolution pace. I'm currently watching this unfold from the coalface working in business IT, and it is remarkable just how readily established businesses with a lot to loose are prepared to jump into the cloud with both feet.
To be clear, I don't mean to say Microsoft will be the loser in this change; but it does leave Windows on the enterprise desktop very vulnerable to attack. From a business perspective, a core cloud computing attribute is that services are self contained. A cloud provider wants the list of prerequisites for its prospective customers to be as short as possible.
The result is that the inherent stickiness of the enterprise desktop SOE is fading away at a remarkable pace.
5. A note about the Shadow Ecosystem. A shadow ecosystem thrives because of a strong platform; not the other way around. An ecosystem contributes must-have applications, word of mouth "buzz," associated advertising by third parties and much more back to the platform. A shadow ecosystem on the other hand siphons off large amounts of money from the consumer without doing anything to retain or attract new consumers into the fold.
Malware writers and cybercriminals have plenty incentive to keep the Windows ecosystem running, but they lack any direct control to do anything about this desire.
Eric Neumann has worked in the IT industry as a consultant for almost 10 years. His technological bread and butter are advising businesses on IT system decisions as well as implementing solutions. He currently works at a boutique IT firm providing on-premise and cloud solutions to the SME market. In his free time he pursues software development as a hobby.
Being a business IT professional, I have been watching with great interest and excitement the emergence of the iOS model of computing and cloud movements hitting the personal and now commercial computing worlds. However, I must add that initially I have also viewed these big changes with fear; as recently as 2006, my career was purely based on the SME IT status quo of on-premise Microsoft and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stacks.
I have always enjoyed the ensuing comment threads that some of the topics spawn. In the interest of participating in the discussion I would like to offer a few counter points to your earlier articles "iPad is not a PC" and "5 reasons Macs will never outsell PCs." I make five points to counter others which you made: 1) iPad is not a PC; 2) Macs cost too much; 3) Windows' ecosystem is too big for Macs to compete; 4) Windows owns the enterprise, and Apple isn't even trying; 5) Windows' shadow ecosystem of malware writers and cybercriminals is large and profitable.
1. What used to be a PC vs. what will a PC be. In a way it makes sense to classify PCs exclusively as independent devices and to exclude devices that don't fit this profile, such as iPad. For many years PCs were the center of their own respective universes, with networking and external data hubs and control points being mere optional extras. They were not core to the "PC experience."
Today we are rapidly moving away from an independent device arrangement across all our form factors. iOS devices require another device to update the OS, require an App Store cloud to gain and update applications. Android devices are dependent on the Google cloud. Chrome OS is cloud or bust.
I believe that in a few years we will need to either change our definition of a PC or accept that all our personal computers have become dependent devices (and thus no longer PCs.)
2. Macs cost too much... But so may Windows some day. Microsoft has always expertly priced Windows to be the cheapest commercial product and so gained and held the OS market for generic devices. This expertly gained monopoly has also been under threat from free non-commercial offerings for over a decade, with no market share losses to speak of.
This new phenomenon of commercial-but-free (and maybe even cheaper-than-free) options appearing from Google are not to be confused with the Linux threats of the past. Android and Chrome OS are commercial ventures that have significant developer efforts and funds backing them. These OSes have behind them teams of people working on development, distribution, partnerships, advertising -- the works.
Consider that major Windows-PC vendors like Dell, Samsung and LG are already active Android licensees and HP has noted plans for WebOS PCs. The sole protective barrier currently shielding the Windows ecosystem is the form factor divide. When Android, Chrome OS and HP's WebOS invade the Windows-PC space, there will be trouble.
Microsoft has tons of smart people, they will surely be able to match any technology disruption in the PC OS space. However, responding to a business model disruption via Google (advertising, information) or HP and Apple (hardware), will be more difficult. There is some precedent with Windows Mobile's business model disruption by Android and iOS to illustrate my point.
3. Windows ecosystem is simply too large...to adapt. There is no doubt that the Windows ecosystem is large, mature and has been outstandingly successful. The dark side of these attributes -- it's age, it's established but outdated ways and customs -- are also its weakness.
Chrome OS, WebOS and the like will at some point breach the Windows form factor barriers and start spilling into the laptop and desktop world. When this happens the Windows ecosystem with its informal application distribution, secret handshakes and focus on traditional standalone applications will be squaring off against a single store, single merchant model a la App Store with the dominant focus on cloud-centric applications.
To contrast the ecosystem differences, I cannot imagine my mother sufficiently finding, purchasing, downloading and installing a single application on her Windows 7 laptop. Even more importantly, she wouldn't even attempt it. Windows software is installed by whizz-kid relatives, that's how it has always been. On the other hand, let her loose on an iOS device with her established iTunes account and 6 weeks later there is almost a full page of purchased, downloaded and installed applications on it.
4. Windows owns the enterprise - and Apple isn't even trying... but the cloud is! The on-premise enterprise ecosystem (e.g. the windows stack) will be eaten by cloud computing at a pace approaching Smartphone-PC revolution pace. I'm currently watching this unfold from the coalface working in business IT, and it is remarkable just how readily established businesses with a lot to loose are prepared to jump into the cloud with both feet.
To be clear, I don't mean to say Microsoft will be the loser in this change; but it does leave Windows on the enterprise desktop very vulnerable to attack. From a business perspective, a core cloud computing attribute is that services are self contained. A cloud provider wants the list of prerequisites for its prospective customers to be as short as possible.
The result is that the inherent stickiness of the enterprise desktop SOE is fading away at a remarkable pace.
5. A note about the Shadow Ecosystem. A shadow ecosystem thrives because of a strong platform; not the other way around. An ecosystem contributes must-have applications, word of mouth "buzz," associated advertising by third parties and much more back to the platform. A shadow ecosystem on the other hand siphons off large amounts of money from the consumer without doing anything to retain or attract new consumers into the fold.
Malware writers and cybercriminals have plenty incentive to keep the Windows ecosystem running, but they lack any direct control to do anything about this desire.
Eric Neumann has worked in the IT industry as a consultant for almost 10 years. His technological bread and butter are advising businesses on IT system decisions as well as implementing solutions. He currently works at a boutique IT firm providing on-premise and cloud solutions to the SME market. In his free time he pursues software development as a hobby.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Microsoft, Juniper urged to patch dangerous IPv6 DoS hole
Security experts are urging Microsoft and Juniper to patch a year-old IPv6 vulnerability so dangerous it can freeze any Windows machine on a LAN in a matter of minutes.
Microsoft has downplayed the risk because the hole requires a physical connection to the wired LAN. Juniper says it has delayed a patch because the hole only affects a small number of its products and it wants the IETF to fix the protocol instead.
SEE IT YOURSELF: How to use a known IPv6 hole to fast-freeze a Windows network
The vulnerability was initially discovered in July 2010 by Marc Heuse, an IT security consultant in Berlin. He found that products from several vendors were vulnerable, including all recent versions of Windows, Cisco routers, Linux and Juniper’s Netscreen. Cisco issued a patch in October 2010, and the Linux kernel has since been fixed as well. Microsoft and Juniper have acknowledged the vulnerability, but neither have committed to patches.
The hole is in a technology known as router advertisements, where routers broadcast their IPv6 addresses to help clients find and connect to an IPv6 subnet. The DoS attack involves flooding the network segment with random RAs, which eats up CPU resources in Windows until the CPU is overloaded and a hard reboot is required. “For Windows, a personal firewall or similar security product does not protect against this attack, as the default filter rules allow these packets through,” explains Heuse.
Heuse became so frustrated with Microsoft’s refusal to fix the hole that he published his findings to the Full Disclosure mailing list on April 15. He notes that Microsoft has not even issued a security advisory warning users of the problem. Other Windows networking and security experts have also urged Microsoft to fix the problem, and sources have said that there are even employees inside Microsoft who have been trying to nudge the company to action.
Microsoft has little to say on the subject. “Microsoft is aware of discussions in the security community concerning a technique by which a Windows server or workstation on a target network may experience unprompted high resource utilization caused by an attacker broadcasting malicious IPv6 router advertisements. The attack method described would require that a would-be attacker have link-local access to the targeted network -- a situation that does not provide a security boundary,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Network World.
However, experts aren’t buying it. The hole is “very easy to fix,” Heuse says, and Microsoft has a long history of addressing DoS holes on the local LAN that have far less of an impact. He points to Microsoft fixing a similar issue in 2008 of its implementation of IPv4. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also committed to fixing another issue he recently reported to the company which he describes as “a very minor vulnerability of detecting if a host is sniffing. It, too, is only possible on the local LAN.” His conclusion is that there is a political issue inside Microsoft where the “responsible team does not want to fix these kinds of issues anymore.”
Microsoft has downplayed the risk because the hole requires a physical connection to the wired LAN. Juniper says it has delayed a patch because the hole only affects a small number of its products and it wants the IETF to fix the protocol instead.
SEE IT YOURSELF: How to use a known IPv6 hole to fast-freeze a Windows network
The vulnerability was initially discovered in July 2010 by Marc Heuse, an IT security consultant in Berlin. He found that products from several vendors were vulnerable, including all recent versions of Windows, Cisco routers, Linux and Juniper’s Netscreen. Cisco issued a patch in October 2010, and the Linux kernel has since been fixed as well. Microsoft and Juniper have acknowledged the vulnerability, but neither have committed to patches.
The hole is in a technology known as router advertisements, where routers broadcast their IPv6 addresses to help clients find and connect to an IPv6 subnet. The DoS attack involves flooding the network segment with random RAs, which eats up CPU resources in Windows until the CPU is overloaded and a hard reboot is required. “For Windows, a personal firewall or similar security product does not protect against this attack, as the default filter rules allow these packets through,” explains Heuse.
Heuse became so frustrated with Microsoft’s refusal to fix the hole that he published his findings to the Full Disclosure mailing list on April 15. He notes that Microsoft has not even issued a security advisory warning users of the problem. Other Windows networking and security experts have also urged Microsoft to fix the problem, and sources have said that there are even employees inside Microsoft who have been trying to nudge the company to action.
Microsoft has little to say on the subject. “Microsoft is aware of discussions in the security community concerning a technique by which a Windows server or workstation on a target network may experience unprompted high resource utilization caused by an attacker broadcasting malicious IPv6 router advertisements. The attack method described would require that a would-be attacker have link-local access to the targeted network -- a situation that does not provide a security boundary,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Network World.
However, experts aren’t buying it. The hole is “very easy to fix,” Heuse says, and Microsoft has a long history of addressing DoS holes on the local LAN that have far less of an impact. He points to Microsoft fixing a similar issue in 2008 of its implementation of IPv4. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also committed to fixing another issue he recently reported to the company which he describes as “a very minor vulnerability of detecting if a host is sniffing. It, too, is only possible on the local LAN.” His conclusion is that there is a political issue inside Microsoft where the “responsible team does not want to fix these kinds of issues anymore.”
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Microsoft, VeriSign Secure .NET
Since Microsoft announced its upcoming .NET and Hailstorm services, the company has faced much criticism from security experts and privacy advocates. In turn, Microsoft has decided to add an extra touch of security by extending its partnership with VeriSign. In addition to Microsoft's own Passport authentication system, the integrity of certain transactions will be augmented by digital certificates. Both companies were eager to point out that the extra security measure does not require any additional passwords.
Although Passport will remain the standard method of authentication for most of the .NET services, particular scenarios demand enhanced security. In instances were users transfers funds, or divulge sensitive personal information such as their medical history, a certain level of trust is required. Mountain View, California, based VeriSign touts its digital certificates as the solution to these concerns. Both companies will collaborate on fine tuning the technology as Microsoft's Hailstorm progresses.
The agreement between the two companies is non exclusive, meaning that either party is free to seek out other partnerships. This announcement puts to rest speculation that Microsoft would develop its own digital certificates for Hailstorm - at least momentarily.
Although Passport will remain the standard method of authentication for most of the .NET services, particular scenarios demand enhanced security. In instances were users transfers funds, or divulge sensitive personal information such as their medical history, a certain level of trust is required. Mountain View, California, based VeriSign touts its digital certificates as the solution to these concerns. Both companies will collaborate on fine tuning the technology as Microsoft's Hailstorm progresses.
The agreement between the two companies is non exclusive, meaning that either party is free to seek out other partnerships. This announcement puts to rest speculation that Microsoft would develop its own digital certificates for Hailstorm - at least momentarily.
Monday, May 2, 2011
No more 'draft:' 802.11n Wi-Fi certification program finally begins
Well over seven years since work began on the standard, and four years since the first draft of the proposed standard was published to vendors -- and subsequently rejected by them -- there is at last a process in place for wireless networking equipment vendors to get their products formally certified using a certification that means the product is certified. If that last sentence sounded redundant, believe it or not, it wasn't: Since 2007, some Wi-Fi products have been certified using a certification that did not mean the product was certified.
Huh? Some products that adhered to so-called "draft-11n" standards (in this case, "Draft 2.0") were allowed to carry a logo that said "Wi-Fi Certified 802.11n Draft 2.0," with the latter two terms in smaller print. At the time, the Wi-Fi Alliance described this certification as "the consumer's indication that a product has passed rigorous testing and can deliver the very best user experience." More than 700 Wi-Fi products received the right to bear this logo. But among professional network engineers, there was no doubt that this "mark of excellence" was perhaps the world's most definitive maybe.
Now that the standard itself is almost certainly official (the formal ratification comes next month), the Wi-Fi Alliance is replacing the old "draft" logo with a new one that it hopes will represent the world's most absolutely certain maybe.
To distinguish itself from the old logo -- literally, to "prevent" confusion -- the Alliance is employing something it's calling the "Matrix," which is full of multi-colored letters representing not only 11n but all the standards leading up to it. If you see the matrix on a product, you'll know it has passed the Alliance's current test battery for certification.
But what does that test mean, especially now? The whole point of 802.11n was to open up 40 MHz of bandwidth in the 2.4 GHz frequency band for use by more multiplexed signals, giving it the amount of space that wasn't available for 11g. But as SmallNetBuilder's Tim Higgins discovered at the time, wireless routers that received the "Draft 2.0" semi-certification logo could default to using two of the allotted three channels in this band at the same time, making it impossible not to interfere with 11g-certified equipment operating in the same vicinity.
The Alliance actually never solved this problem, as one of its marketing directors told Wi-Fi Networking News' Glenn Fleishman last August. Although manufacturers may go ahead and use this wide-band approach as proposed for Draft 2.0, the marketing official said it's now officially "discouraging" this practice; and Fleishman points out, Apple is heeding that warning. For those who aren't paying attention to the warning, however, there will be a "rigorous" testing process.
But an engineers' white paper (PDF available here) updated yesterday by the Alliance shows no sign of any such discouragement. "While 802.11 a/b/g networks operate in a 20 MHz channel, 802.11n defines the use of 20 and 40 MHz channels. 40 MHz channels allow doubling of the data rate to 150 Mbps," the paper reads. "All 802.11 devices send a packet over the air as a sequence of symbols. Devices using 40 MHz channels can encode and transmit more data in each symbol. Depending on the degree of complexity that the environment can support, 802.11 devices choose an appropriate data rate for use over the air."
Later, the paper points out that devices bearing the new logo can create wide channels (40 MHz) for themselves in either or both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. If a device uses the 2.4 GHz band ("draft 11n"), it must also pass the test for 11g -- the class of device with which an 11n device may interfere. If it uses 5 GHz, the device must also pass the test for 11a -- the class with which it may interfere there. However, 11n devices will be tested to ensure that they can detect possible interference with other signals as much as possible, and take corrective measures where it can.
Since interference may always be a problem, the new 11n standard (the one with the matrix logo) will utilize a multiple-antenna encoding technique called space/time block coding (STBC). It's such a clever technique that, conceivably, a manufacturer may be able to use two old "draft 11n" chips in tandem, to create the multiplexed antenna for a new class of 11n devices. (That's one way to get rid of those old chips.)
As the white paper explains, "STBC improves reception by coding the data stream in blocks which are distributed for transmission across multiple transmitting antennas and across time. At the receiving antenna, the data is recombined in an optimal way making use of the coding. STBC requires multiple transmit antennas and delivers benefits to devices with the ability to receive one or more data streams."
An 11n device does not have to have the capability to use the 5 GHz band, or use STBC, in order to obtain the logo. It should have either or both capabilities to avoid interference. But this way -- as the Alliance promised its members -- devices that had received the previous edition of the certification logo will be able to receive the new matrix logo.
But how, then, will consumers know the difference between an old 11n device and a new one that overcomes the problems of the old one? With an addition to the logo, of course: The Alliance is adding two classes of small print taglines for possible inclusion below the multi-colored letter boxes: one that reads "dual-stream n" if it supports 5 GHz, and another that reads "multi-stream n" if it both supports 5 GHz and STBC.
A chart distinguishing the three classes of 802.11n 'real' certification, apart from the general 'Matrix' introduced on September 30, 2009.
The Alliance is advising manufacturers to provide a complete set of features alongside the matrix plus taglines, so that consumers are fully aware of what those taglines mean. But they're encouraged not to rely on the feature set chart alone: "While the interoperability certificate provides a detailed look at the features tested for a certified product, the logo and tagline graphics are meant to distinguish products with a richer feature in a retail environment."
With that, the Alliance has created a fifth permutation of 11n devices since 2006: first the "pre-11n" class (actually created by default, by manufacturers that disapproved of the Alliance's tactics), then the "draft-11n" class, followed by the "Draft 11n" class (capital "D," also known as "Draft 11n 2.0"), then the Matrix, and now the Matrix with taglines. These additional branding elements, the Alliance says, will "help consumer users differentiate products and understand their capabilities."
Huh? Some products that adhered to so-called "draft-11n" standards (in this case, "Draft 2.0") were allowed to carry a logo that said "Wi-Fi Certified 802.11n Draft 2.0," with the latter two terms in smaller print. At the time, the Wi-Fi Alliance described this certification as "the consumer's indication that a product has passed rigorous testing and can deliver the very best user experience." More than 700 Wi-Fi products received the right to bear this logo. But among professional network engineers, there was no doubt that this "mark of excellence" was perhaps the world's most definitive maybe.
Now that the standard itself is almost certainly official (the formal ratification comes next month), the Wi-Fi Alliance is replacing the old "draft" logo with a new one that it hopes will represent the world's most absolutely certain maybe.
To distinguish itself from the old logo -- literally, to "prevent" confusion -- the Alliance is employing something it's calling the "Matrix," which is full of multi-colored letters representing not only 11n but all the standards leading up to it. If you see the matrix on a product, you'll know it has passed the Alliance's current test battery for certification.
But what does that test mean, especially now? The whole point of 802.11n was to open up 40 MHz of bandwidth in the 2.4 GHz frequency band for use by more multiplexed signals, giving it the amount of space that wasn't available for 11g. But as SmallNetBuilder's Tim Higgins discovered at the time, wireless routers that received the "Draft 2.0" semi-certification logo could default to using two of the allotted three channels in this band at the same time, making it impossible not to interfere with 11g-certified equipment operating in the same vicinity.
The Alliance actually never solved this problem, as one of its marketing directors told Wi-Fi Networking News' Glenn Fleishman last August. Although manufacturers may go ahead and use this wide-band approach as proposed for Draft 2.0, the marketing official said it's now officially "discouraging" this practice; and Fleishman points out, Apple is heeding that warning. For those who aren't paying attention to the warning, however, there will be a "rigorous" testing process.
But an engineers' white paper (PDF available here) updated yesterday by the Alliance shows no sign of any such discouragement. "While 802.11 a/b/g networks operate in a 20 MHz channel, 802.11n defines the use of 20 and 40 MHz channels. 40 MHz channels allow doubling of the data rate to 150 Mbps," the paper reads. "All 802.11 devices send a packet over the air as a sequence of symbols. Devices using 40 MHz channels can encode and transmit more data in each symbol. Depending on the degree of complexity that the environment can support, 802.11 devices choose an appropriate data rate for use over the air."
Later, the paper points out that devices bearing the new logo can create wide channels (40 MHz) for themselves in either or both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. If a device uses the 2.4 GHz band ("draft 11n"), it must also pass the test for 11g -- the class of device with which an 11n device may interfere. If it uses 5 GHz, the device must also pass the test for 11a -- the class with which it may interfere there. However, 11n devices will be tested to ensure that they can detect possible interference with other signals as much as possible, and take corrective measures where it can.
Since interference may always be a problem, the new 11n standard (the one with the matrix logo) will utilize a multiple-antenna encoding technique called space/time block coding (STBC). It's such a clever technique that, conceivably, a manufacturer may be able to use two old "draft 11n" chips in tandem, to create the multiplexed antenna for a new class of 11n devices. (That's one way to get rid of those old chips.)
As the white paper explains, "STBC improves reception by coding the data stream in blocks which are distributed for transmission across multiple transmitting antennas and across time. At the receiving antenna, the data is recombined in an optimal way making use of the coding. STBC requires multiple transmit antennas and delivers benefits to devices with the ability to receive one or more data streams."
An 11n device does not have to have the capability to use the 5 GHz band, or use STBC, in order to obtain the logo. It should have either or both capabilities to avoid interference. But this way -- as the Alliance promised its members -- devices that had received the previous edition of the certification logo will be able to receive the new matrix logo.
But how, then, will consumers know the difference between an old 11n device and a new one that overcomes the problems of the old one? With an addition to the logo, of course: The Alliance is adding two classes of small print taglines for possible inclusion below the multi-colored letter boxes: one that reads "dual-stream n" if it supports 5 GHz, and another that reads "multi-stream n" if it both supports 5 GHz and STBC.
A chart distinguishing the three classes of 802.11n 'real' certification, apart from the general 'Matrix' introduced on September 30, 2009.
The Alliance is advising manufacturers to provide a complete set of features alongside the matrix plus taglines, so that consumers are fully aware of what those taglines mean. But they're encouraged not to rely on the feature set chart alone: "While the interoperability certificate provides a detailed look at the features tested for a certified product, the logo and tagline graphics are meant to distinguish products with a richer feature in a retail environment."
With that, the Alliance has created a fifth permutation of 11n devices since 2006: first the "pre-11n" class (actually created by default, by manufacturers that disapproved of the Alliance's tactics), then the "draft-11n" class, followed by the "Draft 11n" class (capital "D," also known as "Draft 11n 2.0"), then the Matrix, and now the Matrix with taglines. These additional branding elements, the Alliance says, will "help consumer users differentiate products and understand their capabilities."
Sunday, May 1, 2011
OpenDocument Gets ISO Certification
The OpenDocument Format Alliance said Wednesday that it had won approval of ODF as an standard by the International Organization for Standardization. The approval ends a two-year process by ODF supporters to have the format officially recognized.
In May 2004, OASIS was urged by the European Commission's Interchange of Data between Administrations Management Committee to submit ODF to the ISO. OASIS obliged, which led to a vote that ended on May 1.
The ODF Alliance believes that the ratification of the format as a standard will help its adoption across Europe. Under European Union directives, ISO standards are officially recognized.
"There's no doubt that this broad vote of support will serve as a springboard for adoption and use of ODF around the world," ODF Alliance executive Director Mario Marcich said. "At the same time, it also represents a milestone for the ODF Alliance, which in just weeks has seen a groundswell of support and continues to grow everyday."
Since its inception in early March, the ODF Alliance has grown from 38 members to over 150. The group's primary goal is to promote the use of ODF within government organizations as a way to ensure that public data will always be viewable no matter what application is used.
"The ODF Alliance intends to build on this successful vote by working with governments around the world to adopt the OpenDocument Format," Marcich said. "We believe access to public records and essential services should never be restricted to users of a particular brand of software or computer platform."
In May 2004, OASIS was urged by the European Commission's Interchange of Data between Administrations Management Committee to submit ODF to the ISO. OASIS obliged, which led to a vote that ended on May 1.
The ODF Alliance believes that the ratification of the format as a standard will help its adoption across Europe. Under European Union directives, ISO standards are officially recognized.
"There's no doubt that this broad vote of support will serve as a springboard for adoption and use of ODF around the world," ODF Alliance executive Director Mario Marcich said. "At the same time, it also represents a milestone for the ODF Alliance, which in just weeks has seen a groundswell of support and continues to grow everyday."
Since its inception in early March, the ODF Alliance has grown from 38 members to over 150. The group's primary goal is to promote the use of ODF within government organizations as a way to ensure that public data will always be viewable no matter what application is used.
"The ODF Alliance intends to build on this successful vote by working with governments around the world to adopt the OpenDocument Format," Marcich said. "We believe access to public records and essential services should never be restricted to users of a particular brand of software or computer platform."
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Has Firefox 3 certificate handling become too 'scary?
In a scenario reminiscent of the fairy tale about the fellow who cries "wolf" too often, security engineers are actively wondering whether Firefox' "blowing of the whistle" on self-signed certificates is a) frightening, and b) fair to developers.
One of the oft-touted improvements in Mozilla's Firefox 3.0 Web browser has been its improved handling for sites that authenticate their own identities using SSL certificates -- the kind used to initiate encrypted transactions with HTTPS protocol. For instance, a site whose authentication is verified will be indicated in Firefox's address bar by having its icon expanded to a full name, printed on a green background. Supposedly, this is to reassure the user that everything's copacetic.
But on the other end of the scale is the browser's handling of certificates it cannot validate, which in recent weeks, multiple users and developers alike have characterized with the word "scary." Now, Firefox replaces the Web page with a full-screen warning, featuring a traffic-cop pictogram and explaining the problem in detail. The color scheme is yellow, not red (which Firefox reserves for such things as suspected phishing sites or scam practitioners). Still, developers are asking whether the level of alarms Firefox raises now are so intense that many users will actually choose to ignore them rather than pay attention to them.
The issue may have become critically important earlier this year, when a major potential Internet-wide exploit was uncovered by security researcher Dan Kaminsky. As security software provider Qualys' Chief Technical Officer Wolfgang Kandek told BetaNews in an interview last month, the success of spoofs that involved that exploit may have come down to whether Web browser users actually read the warnings that tell them the SSL certificates they've received don't match or can't be validated.
In order for you, the everyday user, to avoid falling into the trap yourself, Kandek told us, "you would depend on a browser popping up saying a certificate does not match. The question would be, how many people understand that? How many people simply do not acknowledge that? What happens every once in a while is that [a certificate] expires, or there is a redirect. I get these messages every once in a while, I usually read them, and then decide, can I go on or not? Of course, a common person would [have trouble with] that because you have to be reasonably security-savvy to understand the warning message and decide what to do."
Mozilla began implementing a stricter policy on warning its users, according to its developers' site, after having received no fewer than three independently created warnings about how, at that time, Firefox 2 handled so-called self-signed certificates (SSC). These are valid, though not authenticated, certificates that can be used for encrypting connections, as long as the user is willing to trust their validity in the absence of a third party certificate authority (CA) -- such as VeriSign -- that can do the validation on the user's behalf.
The warning, essentially, stated that the earlier method's handling of SSCs gave users a kind of a plea to become accepted. Once it was, its acceptance extended to any so-called alternate site names the certificate may contain, even though those alternate names weren't presented to the user. Conceivably, an SSC could be used as a kind of gadget for maneuvering invalid Web sites into becoming validated automatically, leveraging the user's willingness to just trust the main site for what it says it is, and get on with it.
A self-signed certificate warning from Firefox version 3.0.2
Developers often build SSCs for themselves. It's an easy process, especially if you have Internet Information Services 7.0; and both Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox (versions 3.0 and above, as well as version 2.0.0.15), in fairness, have tightened their behavior with regard to recognizing a self-signed certificate that a CA can't vouch for.
Sometimes it makes sense for a Web developer to create SSCs from a security standpoint -- for instance, it may not be a good idea to register on the books of a third party, the name, IP, and DNS addresses for a project operating in stealth. Otherwise, SSCs are often just more convenient for developers than having to register, and then pay for, every certificate for every project.
Meanwhile, SSCs and expired certificates turn up in the most unusual places, including such places as Google Checkout, Yahoo's publisher network, and LinkedIn, according to the SSL developers' blog SSL Shopper.
So Firefox's sudden treatment of SSCs as "second-class citizens" -- or, in a sense, as more prone to suspicion than a standard HTTP site with no encryption at all -- is annoying many independent developers, including open source advocates, some of whom go so far as to question whether they should be paying for authentication.
In a personal blog post three weeks ago, developer Nat Tuck wrote, "Mozilla Firefox 3 limits usable encrypted (SSL) web sites to those who are willing to pay money to one of their approved digital certificate vendors. This policy is bad for the Web. Not only does it make users less secure overall by reducing the number of encrypted connections, it damages the basic principle of equality among Web participants."
In a blog post two weeks ago intended to put the entire issue to rest, Mozilla developer Jonathan Nightingale responded to this claim and others by saying Firefox 2's warnings were easier for users to ignore or just blindly accept, and that a real security issue could emerge from that acceptance.
"With a self-signed certificate, we don't know whether to trust it or not," Nightingale wrote. "It's not that these certificates are implicitly evil, it's that they are implicitly untrusted -- no one has vouched for them, so we ask the user. There is language in the dialogs that talks about how legitimate banks and other public web sites shouldn't use them, because it is in precisely those cases that we want novice users to feel some trepidation, and exercise some caution. There is a real possibility there, hopefully slim, that they are being attacked, and there is no other way for us to know."
As for developers who sign their own certificates for their own purposes, he goes on, well, they know who they are, and certainly it's up to them whether they trust themselves or not. But the new warning is meant to wake people up, and give them an opportunity to override Firefox's default behavior -- which is now to distrust -- with a statement of trust that is applied specifically to the main site under suspicion.
One alternative to the use of SSLs that many developers may not be aware of comes from a company called StartCom, which offers some Class 1 digital certificates for free.
One of the oft-touted improvements in Mozilla's Firefox 3.0 Web browser has been its improved handling for sites that authenticate their own identities using SSL certificates -- the kind used to initiate encrypted transactions with HTTPS protocol. For instance, a site whose authentication is verified will be indicated in Firefox's address bar by having its icon expanded to a full name, printed on a green background. Supposedly, this is to reassure the user that everything's copacetic.
But on the other end of the scale is the browser's handling of certificates it cannot validate, which in recent weeks, multiple users and developers alike have characterized with the word "scary." Now, Firefox replaces the Web page with a full-screen warning, featuring a traffic-cop pictogram and explaining the problem in detail. The color scheme is yellow, not red (which Firefox reserves for such things as suspected phishing sites or scam practitioners). Still, developers are asking whether the level of alarms Firefox raises now are so intense that many users will actually choose to ignore them rather than pay attention to them.
The issue may have become critically important earlier this year, when a major potential Internet-wide exploit was uncovered by security researcher Dan Kaminsky. As security software provider Qualys' Chief Technical Officer Wolfgang Kandek told BetaNews in an interview last month, the success of spoofs that involved that exploit may have come down to whether Web browser users actually read the warnings that tell them the SSL certificates they've received don't match or can't be validated.
In order for you, the everyday user, to avoid falling into the trap yourself, Kandek told us, "you would depend on a browser popping up saying a certificate does not match. The question would be, how many people understand that? How many people simply do not acknowledge that? What happens every once in a while is that [a certificate] expires, or there is a redirect. I get these messages every once in a while, I usually read them, and then decide, can I go on or not? Of course, a common person would [have trouble with] that because you have to be reasonably security-savvy to understand the warning message and decide what to do."
Mozilla began implementing a stricter policy on warning its users, according to its developers' site, after having received no fewer than three independently created warnings about how, at that time, Firefox 2 handled so-called self-signed certificates (SSC). These are valid, though not authenticated, certificates that can be used for encrypting connections, as long as the user is willing to trust their validity in the absence of a third party certificate authority (CA) -- such as VeriSign -- that can do the validation on the user's behalf.
The warning, essentially, stated that the earlier method's handling of SSCs gave users a kind of a plea to become accepted. Once it was, its acceptance extended to any so-called alternate site names the certificate may contain, even though those alternate names weren't presented to the user. Conceivably, an SSC could be used as a kind of gadget for maneuvering invalid Web sites into becoming validated automatically, leveraging the user's willingness to just trust the main site for what it says it is, and get on with it.
A self-signed certificate warning from Firefox version 3.0.2
Developers often build SSCs for themselves. It's an easy process, especially if you have Internet Information Services 7.0; and both Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox (versions 3.0 and above, as well as version 2.0.0.15), in fairness, have tightened their behavior with regard to recognizing a self-signed certificate that a CA can't vouch for.
Sometimes it makes sense for a Web developer to create SSCs from a security standpoint -- for instance, it may not be a good idea to register on the books of a third party, the name, IP, and DNS addresses for a project operating in stealth. Otherwise, SSCs are often just more convenient for developers than having to register, and then pay for, every certificate for every project.
Meanwhile, SSCs and expired certificates turn up in the most unusual places, including such places as Google Checkout, Yahoo's publisher network, and LinkedIn, according to the SSL developers' blog SSL Shopper.
So Firefox's sudden treatment of SSCs as "second-class citizens" -- or, in a sense, as more prone to suspicion than a standard HTTP site with no encryption at all -- is annoying many independent developers, including open source advocates, some of whom go so far as to question whether they should be paying for authentication.
In a personal blog post three weeks ago, developer Nat Tuck wrote, "Mozilla Firefox 3 limits usable encrypted (SSL) web sites to those who are willing to pay money to one of their approved digital certificate vendors. This policy is bad for the Web. Not only does it make users less secure overall by reducing the number of encrypted connections, it damages the basic principle of equality among Web participants."
In a blog post two weeks ago intended to put the entire issue to rest, Mozilla developer Jonathan Nightingale responded to this claim and others by saying Firefox 2's warnings were easier for users to ignore or just blindly accept, and that a real security issue could emerge from that acceptance.
"With a self-signed certificate, we don't know whether to trust it or not," Nightingale wrote. "It's not that these certificates are implicitly evil, it's that they are implicitly untrusted -- no one has vouched for them, so we ask the user. There is language in the dialogs that talks about how legitimate banks and other public web sites shouldn't use them, because it is in precisely those cases that we want novice users to feel some trepidation, and exercise some caution. There is a real possibility there, hopefully slim, that they are being attacked, and there is no other way for us to know."
As for developers who sign their own certificates for their own purposes, he goes on, well, they know who they are, and certainly it's up to them whether they trust themselves or not. But the new warning is meant to wake people up, and give them an opportunity to override Firefox's default behavior -- which is now to distrust -- with a statement of trust that is applied specifically to the main site under suspicion.
One alternative to the use of SSLs that many developers may not be aware of comes from a company called StartCom, which offers some Class 1 digital certificates for free.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Microsoft: Windows Phone 7 update with HTML5 browser on track
Microsoft confirmed a brief delay for an update that includes cut and paste, but said an even bigger Windows Phone update remains on track for year end
Microsoft has confirmed a delay to the Windows Phone 7 update that includes cut and paste, but the company said it is still on track to deliver an even bigger update by the end of the year.
On Wednesday, the Mobiletechworld blog noticed an entry on an official Microsoft France blog that said the update that contains cut and paste would come in the second half of March. That's a slight setback, because Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had said the update would come in early March.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Who wins in the Microsoft-Nokia $1 billion deal? | iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android? Whatever handheld you use or manage, turn to InfoWorld for the latest developments. Subscribe to InfoWorld's Mobilize newsletter today. ]
In a blog post, Eric Hautala, general manager of customer experience engineering at Microsoft, has now confirmed the delay. He wrote that it was the result of problems with an earlier update, the first one Microsoft has tried to send to Windows Phone 7 devices. Ironically, that update is designed to improve the update process itself. While some phone users have gotten that first update, Microsoft has twice suspended the process due to problems with installing the software, which have plagued primarily users of Samsung phones.
"I've decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners. As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March," Hautala wrote.
Some people have wondered whether this delay might affect another update that Ballmer said would come later this year.
Hautala said the update for later this year is still on schedule. "This short pause should in no way impact the timing of future updates, including the one announced recently at Mobile World Congress featuring multitasking, a Twitter feature, and a new HTML 5-friendly version of Internet Explorer Mobile," he wrote, referring to the event where Ballmer spoke about the update.
Hautala seemed to shift some of the blame for the problems onto carriers. Microsoft has to ship its update to carriers, which often add their own software and do their own testing, he said. "But it's still their network, and the reality is that some carriers require more time than others," he wrote.
He also refuted speculation that operators may block updates, a theory that has been rampant in the Android community, typically when certain phones don't get the most recent update. But while operators may ask for a specific date to start an update and may ask that updates get bundled together, "you should ultimately receive all the updates we send out," he wrote.
He confirmed that Microsoft is using Windows Update, the system it has used for years to push out updates to desktop PCs. Still, it's always hard to predict what will happen once software is in use, he said. "Microsoft has been making and delivering software updates long enough to know that the laboratory can simulate -- but never quite equal --the experience of delivering software to thousands of real phones 'in the wild,' each loaded with its own unique set of apps, pictures, songs, and other stuff," he wrote.
While the practice of issuing software updates to mobile phones is relatively new, Google and Apple have now been doing so largely without issues, and to far more phones, for more than a year. While Microsoft years ago was one of the first to say it would push updates to phones, with its Windows Mobile software, it seldom did.
Microsoft has confirmed a delay to the Windows Phone 7 update that includes cut and paste, but the company said it is still on track to deliver an even bigger update by the end of the year.
On Wednesday, the Mobiletechworld blog noticed an entry on an official Microsoft France blog that said the update that contains cut and paste would come in the second half of March. That's a slight setback, because Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had said the update would come in early March.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Who wins in the Microsoft-Nokia $1 billion deal? | iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android? Whatever handheld you use or manage, turn to InfoWorld for the latest developments. Subscribe to InfoWorld's Mobilize newsletter today. ]
In a blog post, Eric Hautala, general manager of customer experience engineering at Microsoft, has now confirmed the delay. He wrote that it was the result of problems with an earlier update, the first one Microsoft has tried to send to Windows Phone 7 devices. Ironically, that update is designed to improve the update process itself. While some phone users have gotten that first update, Microsoft has twice suspended the process due to problems with installing the software, which have plagued primarily users of Samsung phones.
"I've decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners. As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March," Hautala wrote.
Some people have wondered whether this delay might affect another update that Ballmer said would come later this year.
Hautala said the update for later this year is still on schedule. "This short pause should in no way impact the timing of future updates, including the one announced recently at Mobile World Congress featuring multitasking, a Twitter feature, and a new HTML 5-friendly version of Internet Explorer Mobile," he wrote, referring to the event where Ballmer spoke about the update.
Hautala seemed to shift some of the blame for the problems onto carriers. Microsoft has to ship its update to carriers, which often add their own software and do their own testing, he said. "But it's still their network, and the reality is that some carriers require more time than others," he wrote.
He also refuted speculation that operators may block updates, a theory that has been rampant in the Android community, typically when certain phones don't get the most recent update. But while operators may ask for a specific date to start an update and may ask that updates get bundled together, "you should ultimately receive all the updates we send out," he wrote.
He confirmed that Microsoft is using Windows Update, the system it has used for years to push out updates to desktop PCs. Still, it's always hard to predict what will happen once software is in use, he said. "Microsoft has been making and delivering software updates long enough to know that the laboratory can simulate -- but never quite equal --the experience of delivering software to thousands of real phones 'in the wild,' each loaded with its own unique set of apps, pictures, songs, and other stuff," he wrote.
While the practice of issuing software updates to mobile phones is relatively new, Google and Apple have now been doing so largely without issues, and to far more phones, for more than a year. While Microsoft years ago was one of the first to say it would push updates to phones, with its Windows Mobile software, it seldom did.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
10 Fun Microsoft Facts You Might Not Know
Despite ever-increasing Mac sales, Microsoft still has an undisputed dominance over the computer industry.
With such a vast presence, much has already been written about Microsoft: Its history, its products, even its former CEO Bill Gates. For those itching to know even more, we’ve dug up 10 snippets of info that you might not have heard before.
What experimental musician created the Windows start-up sound? How do they celebrate anniversaries? Does Microsoft have a “pest” problem? Have a read of our Microsoft-themed facts, stats and trivia and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
1. “Micro-soft’s” First Ever Mention
The first ever mention of “Microsoft” was in a letter from Bill Gates to co-founder Paul Allen in 1975. Gates initially wrote the company name as Micro-soft, which made sense considering it’s a portmanteau of “microcomputer” and “software.”
Losing the hyphen, “Microsoft” was officially registered as a company in November, 1976 in New Mexico where Gates and Allen were working with their first major customer, MITS. Microsoft didn’t move to its current campus in Redmond, Washington until 1986.
The Microsoft logo has changed several times over the years, the current “Pac-Man” logo was introduced in 1987, but previous to that was the “blibbet” logo that’s pictured above. The “blibbet” refers to the stylized “o” and was apparently once the name of a burger served in the Microsoft company cafeteria.
2. Brian Eno Composed “The Microsoft Sound”
Pioneering musician Brian Eno was the musical brains behind Window 95′s start up tune, dubbed “The Microsoft Sound.”
The influential musician, who has worked with the likes of David Bowie and U2, told the San Francisco Chronicle that making such a short piece of music was “funny” and “amazing.” Eno likened the process to “making a tiny little jewel.”
Other musical trivia from the launch of Windows 95 is, of course, the use of The Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” in the ad campaign, while a related Eno fact is that he also composed the music for the computer game Spore.
3. Microsoft’s Fave Food Is Pizza
Although not quite at Google‘s level of snack-tastic, free-for-all wonder, Microsoft does offer free drinks. Over 23 million gratis beverages are downed on the corporate campus each year.
Apparently the top two drinks of choice for Microsoft staffers are milk and OJ. There’s also free candy on the Microsoft campus shuttle.
As far as food goes, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias (one of which is pictured above) serving around 37,000 people each day. Pizza tops the list of most popular meal.
4. Microsoft Uses Codenames
Ever since the company’s first operating system, Microsoft has worked on its projects under codenames, of which Wikipedia has a long list. Apparently Gates was ready to launch Windows under the name “Interface Manager” before he was persuaded to change it by an employee.
Past codenames include “Longhorn,” “Lone Star,” and “Vienna.” While you might be tempted to add “Mojave,” to that list, it’s actually part of a Microsoft ad campaign. The “Mojave Experiment” was a marketing exercise that battled Vista’s poor PR by presenting the software to new users as a fresh product.
5. The Average “Softie”
The average Microsoft employee, or “Softie” as they call themselves, is a 38-year-old male with the average salary for a developer coming in at $106,000.
Microsoft currently employs 88,180 people who work across 32,404,796 square feet of Microsoft’s premises, over 50,000 of which are U.S.-based. The male to female ratio is very high among Microsoft’s American employees with a staggering 76% male workforce.
6. Microsoft Celebrates Anniversaries With M&Ms
All companies have their little in-house traditions, and Microsoft is no exception. It seems it’s customary for Softies to celebrate their yearly employment anniversaries with candy, and more specifically, M&Ms.
Each anniversary, a Microsoft employee is expected to provide one pound of M&Ms for every year they’ve worked. That means if Bill Gates observed the tradition, he should have turned up with 33 pounds of M&Ms on June 27, 2008.
7. Microsoft’s Stock Has Split Nine Times
Microsoft has split its stock nines times since it went public back in March 1986. Put very, very simply, a company will generally split its stock when its share price becomes too high.
Since Microsoft has had six 2-for-1 splits and three 3-for-1 splits, one original Microsoft share would now be equal to 288 shares today. Interestingly the price of Microsoft’s stock at its initial public offering was $21 a share, at the time of writing a share is now around the $23 mark. One original MSFT share would now be worth over $6,000.
8. Microsoft Has a Huge Art Collection
No, we’re not talking about Clip Art. Microsoft is one of the largest corporate collectors of artworks with over 5,000 contemporary pieces including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, ceramics, studio glass, and multimedia works. Microsoft gathers arts from local artists, up-and-coming artists and big names such as Cindy Sherman, Chuck Close and Takashi Murakami.
A large proportion of the works are on display at more than 150 of Microsoft’s many campuses, as the company subscribes to the belief that art in the workplace reduces stress, increases productivity and encourages discussions and expression of opinions.
9. Microsoft Asks Strange Interview Questions
Microsoft has a reputation in the industry for asking off-beat, off-the-wall questions during its job interview. The most oft-quoted question is: “Why is a manhole cover round?” Whether this particular example is genuine, or an urban legend, it’s certainly true that Microsoft employs a very unusual, and forward-thinking interview process. It’s even rumored that companies like Google have since emulated the style.
Rather than plain “Where do you see yourself in five years” type questions, Microsoft is more likely to ask you to solve a logic puzzle or think through a problem like “Design a coffee maker that will be used by astronauts.” Obviously, Microsoft isn’t planning to go into the coffee-in-space industry anytime soon, but the process serves to find candidates that can think creatively.
10. Microsoft Holds Over 10,000 Patents
Microsoft holds over 10,000 patents and files around 3,000 every year, ranking as one of the top five patent owners in the U.S.
Although a large majority of the patents relate to obscure elements of software, the 5,000th and 10,000th were consumer-friendly, easily-understandable ideas. The 5,000th was for tech in Xbox 360 games that lets people “watch” a video game remotely, while the 10,000th was for the Microsoft Surface, linking real-life objects with data and images.
Microsoft also rewards its staff members for securing a new patent. Besides a $1,500 bonus, they get a wooden plaque and a decorative black “cube” that features their name, as well as the title and date of the patent.
BONUS: The Microsoft Campus is Full of Bunnies!
Our very own Jolie O’Dell found a great factoid about the Microsoft Corporate Campus, she gleaned while on a recent visit.
“So, back in the mists of time, some people dumped a bunch of rapidly reproducing pet bunnies — leftovers from kids’ Easter gifts — on a grassy knoll near the MSFT campus,” Jolie said. “The bunnies started doing what bunnies do best, that is, making more bunnies.
At one point, there were so many that MSFT staff had to start catching them and having them spayed and neutered! Nowadays, you’ll still see lots of rabbits hopping around, though. Way cuter than Google’s goats.”
It seems the bunny proliferation has been a long term issue. According to a 1998 Seattle Times article, the “Redmond rabbit problem” does not just affect Microsoft, but Nintendo, Eddie Bauer and other companies in the area.
The problem back then spawned the Redmond Rabbit Coalition group (many members of which are now involved in the current day Evergreen Rabbit Rescue) who campaign for a humane solution to the ongoing pest problem.
With such a vast presence, much has already been written about Microsoft: Its history, its products, even its former CEO Bill Gates. For those itching to know even more, we’ve dug up 10 snippets of info that you might not have heard before.
What experimental musician created the Windows start-up sound? How do they celebrate anniversaries? Does Microsoft have a “pest” problem? Have a read of our Microsoft-themed facts, stats and trivia and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
1. “Micro-soft’s” First Ever Mention
The first ever mention of “Microsoft” was in a letter from Bill Gates to co-founder Paul Allen in 1975. Gates initially wrote the company name as Micro-soft, which made sense considering it’s a portmanteau of “microcomputer” and “software.”
Losing the hyphen, “Microsoft” was officially registered as a company in November, 1976 in New Mexico where Gates and Allen were working with their first major customer, MITS. Microsoft didn’t move to its current campus in Redmond, Washington until 1986.
The Microsoft logo has changed several times over the years, the current “Pac-Man” logo was introduced in 1987, but previous to that was the “blibbet” logo that’s pictured above. The “blibbet” refers to the stylized “o” and was apparently once the name of a burger served in the Microsoft company cafeteria.
2. Brian Eno Composed “The Microsoft Sound”
Pioneering musician Brian Eno was the musical brains behind Window 95′s start up tune, dubbed “The Microsoft Sound.”
The influential musician, who has worked with the likes of David Bowie and U2, told the San Francisco Chronicle that making such a short piece of music was “funny” and “amazing.” Eno likened the process to “making a tiny little jewel.”
Other musical trivia from the launch of Windows 95 is, of course, the use of The Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” in the ad campaign, while a related Eno fact is that he also composed the music for the computer game Spore.
3. Microsoft’s Fave Food Is Pizza
Although not quite at Google‘s level of snack-tastic, free-for-all wonder, Microsoft does offer free drinks. Over 23 million gratis beverages are downed on the corporate campus each year.
Apparently the top two drinks of choice for Microsoft staffers are milk and OJ. There’s also free candy on the Microsoft campus shuttle.
As far as food goes, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias (one of which is pictured above) serving around 37,000 people each day. Pizza tops the list of most popular meal.
4. Microsoft Uses Codenames
Ever since the company’s first operating system, Microsoft has worked on its projects under codenames, of which Wikipedia has a long list. Apparently Gates was ready to launch Windows under the name “Interface Manager” before he was persuaded to change it by an employee.
Past codenames include “Longhorn,” “Lone Star,” and “Vienna.” While you might be tempted to add “Mojave,” to that list, it’s actually part of a Microsoft ad campaign. The “Mojave Experiment” was a marketing exercise that battled Vista’s poor PR by presenting the software to new users as a fresh product.
5. The Average “Softie”
The average Microsoft employee, or “Softie” as they call themselves, is a 38-year-old male with the average salary for a developer coming in at $106,000.
Microsoft currently employs 88,180 people who work across 32,404,796 square feet of Microsoft’s premises, over 50,000 of which are U.S.-based. The male to female ratio is very high among Microsoft’s American employees with a staggering 76% male workforce.
6. Microsoft Celebrates Anniversaries With M&Ms
All companies have their little in-house traditions, and Microsoft is no exception. It seems it’s customary for Softies to celebrate their yearly employment anniversaries with candy, and more specifically, M&Ms.
Each anniversary, a Microsoft employee is expected to provide one pound of M&Ms for every year they’ve worked. That means if Bill Gates observed the tradition, he should have turned up with 33 pounds of M&Ms on June 27, 2008.
7. Microsoft’s Stock Has Split Nine Times
Microsoft has split its stock nines times since it went public back in March 1986. Put very, very simply, a company will generally split its stock when its share price becomes too high.
Since Microsoft has had six 2-for-1 splits and three 3-for-1 splits, one original Microsoft share would now be equal to 288 shares today. Interestingly the price of Microsoft’s stock at its initial public offering was $21 a share, at the time of writing a share is now around the $23 mark. One original MSFT share would now be worth over $6,000.
8. Microsoft Has a Huge Art Collection
No, we’re not talking about Clip Art. Microsoft is one of the largest corporate collectors of artworks with over 5,000 contemporary pieces including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, ceramics, studio glass, and multimedia works. Microsoft gathers arts from local artists, up-and-coming artists and big names such as Cindy Sherman, Chuck Close and Takashi Murakami.
A large proportion of the works are on display at more than 150 of Microsoft’s many campuses, as the company subscribes to the belief that art in the workplace reduces stress, increases productivity and encourages discussions and expression of opinions.
9. Microsoft Asks Strange Interview Questions
Microsoft has a reputation in the industry for asking off-beat, off-the-wall questions during its job interview. The most oft-quoted question is: “Why is a manhole cover round?” Whether this particular example is genuine, or an urban legend, it’s certainly true that Microsoft employs a very unusual, and forward-thinking interview process. It’s even rumored that companies like Google have since emulated the style.
Rather than plain “Where do you see yourself in five years” type questions, Microsoft is more likely to ask you to solve a logic puzzle or think through a problem like “Design a coffee maker that will be used by astronauts.” Obviously, Microsoft isn’t planning to go into the coffee-in-space industry anytime soon, but the process serves to find candidates that can think creatively.
10. Microsoft Holds Over 10,000 Patents
Microsoft holds over 10,000 patents and files around 3,000 every year, ranking as one of the top five patent owners in the U.S.
Although a large majority of the patents relate to obscure elements of software, the 5,000th and 10,000th were consumer-friendly, easily-understandable ideas. The 5,000th was for tech in Xbox 360 games that lets people “watch” a video game remotely, while the 10,000th was for the Microsoft Surface, linking real-life objects with data and images.
Microsoft also rewards its staff members for securing a new patent. Besides a $1,500 bonus, they get a wooden plaque and a decorative black “cube” that features their name, as well as the title and date of the patent.
BONUS: The Microsoft Campus is Full of Bunnies!
Our very own Jolie O’Dell found a great factoid about the Microsoft Corporate Campus, she gleaned while on a recent visit.
“So, back in the mists of time, some people dumped a bunch of rapidly reproducing pet bunnies — leftovers from kids’ Easter gifts — on a grassy knoll near the MSFT campus,” Jolie said. “The bunnies started doing what bunnies do best, that is, making more bunnies.
At one point, there were so many that MSFT staff had to start catching them and having them spayed and neutered! Nowadays, you’ll still see lots of rabbits hopping around, though. Way cuter than Google’s goats.”
It seems the bunny proliferation has been a long term issue. According to a 1998 Seattle Times article, the “Redmond rabbit problem” does not just affect Microsoft, but Nintendo, Eddie Bauer and other companies in the area.
The problem back then spawned the Redmond Rabbit Coalition group (many members of which are now involved in the current day Evergreen Rabbit Rescue) who campaign for a humane solution to the ongoing pest problem.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tablet Wars: Microsoft and HP to Unveil Apple Tablet Competitor
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is set to reveal his own rival to the Apple Tablet, according to The New York Times Bits Blog. We first learned about a Microsoft tablet device in September. We believe tomorrow’s announcement will be about the same device, currently called the Courier.
According to leaked details at that time, the Microsoft Courier is a tablet built like a notebook, with a two-screen setup and a stylus, made for saving and sharing content and “clippings” from the web. It also supposedly acts as an e-reader. The NYT piece reveals that its manufacturer will be none other than computing giant HP.
While we don’t have any more details, we do think that it makes sense for Ballmer to reveal a new device at the world’s largest gadget trade show. We’re almost certain that Apple‘s coming out with a tablet at the end of the month, and this is a strong way to counter that problem. We’ll be at Ballmer’s keynote, covering whatever may come from Microsoft and HP live tomorrow.
According to leaked details at that time, the Microsoft Courier is a tablet built like a notebook, with a two-screen setup and a stylus, made for saving and sharing content and “clippings” from the web. It also supposedly acts as an e-reader. The NYT piece reveals that its manufacturer will be none other than computing giant HP.
While we don’t have any more details, we do think that it makes sense for Ballmer to reveal a new device at the world’s largest gadget trade show. We’re almost certain that Apple‘s coming out with a tablet at the end of the month, and this is a strong way to counter that problem. We’ll be at Ballmer’s keynote, covering whatever may come from Microsoft and HP live tomorrow.
Monday, April 25, 2011
What The iPod Wholesaler Can Provide
Hey, guys, have you asked yourself that what's the significance of our every 24 hours, what is the essence of our life. Are you in a fog? Have you gotten an answer and what is it? Have you talk about the title of life significance with your friends? Are you reach a consensus?
Yesterday my friend and I had taken a rest, went to a remote villa. We walked, sit, and laid all the afternoon, a cloudy weather, which was not sunny and not raining, made us sit outside all the afternoon,talked something un-important. At the time, we were both happy and relaxe, just like all the mess became footy. We just breathed the clear air and imaged the beautific future, smile and laugh loudly. I was in there, but I had start to miss theis happy and wonferful time. We had fun and got drunk into the quite environment. Such wonderful time, we handed out my ipod and shared the music together, which behavoir made our mood more comfortable. I am sure we will remember this perfect time.
As to the life significance, we will find it easily when you throw off the mess things in our everyday city life, stay with nature alone, not about job, house, car, and something substantial. In there, you will find nature and you are in one.
But our daily life are full of mess things , are awlays make us confused and forget what we do such things for. The most things in our daily life are boring and have no significance, but regrettably we can not run out them. We can not always have time to go to the clear nature and find yourself, sober the things in the world. Music is a great thing that can substitite for nature in some degree. And music is a thing which we can get it easily, can make us quite, understand you, happy you, console you, exert yourself and something possitive, negetive aslo.
I choose ipod only after I had tried many mp3 player brands, and now I own Ipod 5th 8G, the discount ipod nano, paid to ipod wholesaler in a discout money. As a user, I can introduce to you, because it is cheap now, can buy online in a discout price, and the useful funtions are enough for you.
Yesterday my friend and I had taken a rest, went to a remote villa. We walked, sit, and laid all the afternoon, a cloudy weather, which was not sunny and not raining, made us sit outside all the afternoon,talked something un-important. At the time, we were both happy and relaxe, just like all the mess became footy. We just breathed the clear air and imaged the beautific future, smile and laugh loudly. I was in there, but I had start to miss theis happy and wonferful time. We had fun and got drunk into the quite environment. Such wonderful time, we handed out my ipod and shared the music together, which behavoir made our mood more comfortable. I am sure we will remember this perfect time.
As to the life significance, we will find it easily when you throw off the mess things in our everyday city life, stay with nature alone, not about job, house, car, and something substantial. In there, you will find nature and you are in one.
But our daily life are full of mess things , are awlays make us confused and forget what we do such things for. The most things in our daily life are boring and have no significance, but regrettably we can not run out them. We can not always have time to go to the clear nature and find yourself, sober the things in the world. Music is a great thing that can substitite for nature in some degree. And music is a thing which we can get it easily, can make us quite, understand you, happy you, console you, exert yourself and something possitive, negetive aslo.
I choose ipod only after I had tried many mp3 player brands, and now I own Ipod 5th 8G, the discount ipod nano, paid to ipod wholesaler in a discout money. As a user, I can introduce to you, because it is cheap now, can buy online in a discout price, and the useful funtions are enough for you.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Google To Offer Chrome Notebook Subscriptions [REPORT]
Remember those Chrome notebooks Google was testing late last year? Now a report claims Google will be offering Chrome OS-based notebooks this summer on a subscription basis, charging between $10 and $20 per month per user.
Why would somebody want to subscribe to a piece of hardware? The monthly fee will include hardware refreshes as they’re released, as well as a replacement warranty as long as the subscription lasts, according to Neowin.net. There were no further details about the duration of those subscriptions or plans associated with them.
If you don’t like the idea of a subscription, according to Neowin’s source, Google will also offer the laptops for a flat fee. All the laptops will be distributed by third parties, the source said — similar to the way Android works now.
It’s not clear which hardware will be used in this deal, but we expect it to be similar to the CR-48 Chrome OS notebook we tested late last year as part of Google’s pilot program. That program was finished in March when Google stopped shipping the test laptops.
When announcing the end of the pilot program in March, Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai told Mashable that the first Chrome OS devices will go on sale this summer. Neowin’s report matches that, narrowing down that ship date to late June or early July.
If Google’s subscription laptop is anything like the CR-48 we tried last fall, it’ll boot up unusually quickly — we noticed it was ready to use in less than 10 seconds. Beyond that, it’s a rather plain and nondescript laptop that runs the Chrome OS quite well, fast enough for most web browsing activities.
Would you be interested in subscribing to a laptop? Let us know in the comments.
Why would somebody want to subscribe to a piece of hardware? The monthly fee will include hardware refreshes as they’re released, as well as a replacement warranty as long as the subscription lasts, according to Neowin.net. There were no further details about the duration of those subscriptions or plans associated with them.
If you don’t like the idea of a subscription, according to Neowin’s source, Google will also offer the laptops for a flat fee. All the laptops will be distributed by third parties, the source said — similar to the way Android works now.
It’s not clear which hardware will be used in this deal, but we expect it to be similar to the CR-48 Chrome OS notebook we tested late last year as part of Google’s pilot program. That program was finished in March when Google stopped shipping the test laptops.
When announcing the end of the pilot program in March, Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai told Mashable that the first Chrome OS devices will go on sale this summer. Neowin’s report matches that, narrowing down that ship date to late June or early July.
If Google’s subscription laptop is anything like the CR-48 we tried last fall, it’ll boot up unusually quickly — we noticed it was ready to use in less than 10 seconds. Beyond that, it’s a rather plain and nondescript laptop that runs the Chrome OS quite well, fast enough for most web browsing activities.
Would you be interested in subscribing to a laptop? Let us know in the comments.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Amazon: Cloud Problems To Be Fixed Friday; Affected Sites Back
Amazon said Friday morning that it expected that the majority of sites affected by its unexpected cloud services outage would be back up by the end of Friday, with some exceptions. (See PCMag's analysis on why the Amazon cloud outage matters.)
Amaazon's published round-the-clock updates overnight, advising customers that the company had brought "all hands on deck" to solve the problem. At issue, Amazon said, was a single "availability zone" in the Eastern U.S. that with "stuck" volumes of data.
"We continue to see progress in recovering volumes, and have heard many additional customers confirm that they're recovering," Amazon wrote Friday morning. "Our current estimate is that the majority of volumes will be recovered over the next 5 to 6 hours. As we mentioned in our last post, a smaller number of volumes will require a more time consuming process to recover, and we anticipate that those will take longer to recover. We will continue to keep everyone updated as we have additional information."
It appeared that the sites which had been affected by the Thursday outage to Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Amazon Web Services were functional, but that data for the affected period was in the process of being restored. That means that visitors to those sites would be able to use them, but not necessarily access comments, access rights, documents or other data affected by the outage.
Quora and Reddit, two sites that were affected by the outage, were operational at press time, but partly so. "We are slowly getting our capacity back, and as such users are being randomly granted access back to the site," Reddit posted to the top of the site. "Please check back soon, as you may be able to log in shortly. Thanks!"
Charlie Cheever, one of the founders of Quora, also explained why some of the site's data was still missing. "The Amazon EBS volumes where the data for Quora is stored are still not available," he wrote on the site. "To get the site back online, we brought up a new database based on the most recent database backup we had available which was from midnight on Tuesday night. So, any writes to the database during the time between the backup and the outage (most activity on the site on Wednesday) are missing right now.
"When the volume is restored, we'll try to merge the data from Wednesday back into the current version of the site," Cheever added. "There will likely be some conflicts, but we think there will be graceful ways to resolve most of those."
Foursquare, which had also been taken down by Amazon's cloud problems, also reported that it had restored full access to the site at 1:40 AM EDT on Friday morning, taking the site down for ten minutes just to ensure there were no problems.
Hootsuite, which also had been affected by the outage, said that service had been restored at 9:25 PM on Thursday, although not all profiles were available.
At 6:18 AM PT, Amazon reported that it had begun to see "more meaningful progress" in restoring its volumes, and at 8:49 AM PT customers began telling Amazon that they were coming back online.
Amaazon's published round-the-clock updates overnight, advising customers that the company had brought "all hands on deck" to solve the problem. At issue, Amazon said, was a single "availability zone" in the Eastern U.S. that with "stuck" volumes of data.
"We continue to see progress in recovering volumes, and have heard many additional customers confirm that they're recovering," Amazon wrote Friday morning. "Our current estimate is that the majority of volumes will be recovered over the next 5 to 6 hours. As we mentioned in our last post, a smaller number of volumes will require a more time consuming process to recover, and we anticipate that those will take longer to recover. We will continue to keep everyone updated as we have additional information."
It appeared that the sites which had been affected by the Thursday outage to Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Amazon Web Services were functional, but that data for the affected period was in the process of being restored. That means that visitors to those sites would be able to use them, but not necessarily access comments, access rights, documents or other data affected by the outage.
Quora and Reddit, two sites that were affected by the outage, were operational at press time, but partly so. "We are slowly getting our capacity back, and as such users are being randomly granted access back to the site," Reddit posted to the top of the site. "Please check back soon, as you may be able to log in shortly. Thanks!"
Charlie Cheever, one of the founders of Quora, also explained why some of the site's data was still missing. "The Amazon EBS volumes where the data for Quora is stored are still not available," he wrote on the site. "To get the site back online, we brought up a new database based on the most recent database backup we had available which was from midnight on Tuesday night. So, any writes to the database during the time between the backup and the outage (most activity on the site on Wednesday) are missing right now.
"When the volume is restored, we'll try to merge the data from Wednesday back into the current version of the site," Cheever added. "There will likely be some conflicts, but we think there will be graceful ways to resolve most of those."
Foursquare, which had also been taken down by Amazon's cloud problems, also reported that it had restored full access to the site at 1:40 AM EDT on Friday morning, taking the site down for ten minutes just to ensure there were no problems.
Hootsuite, which also had been affected by the outage, said that service had been restored at 9:25 PM on Thursday, although not all profiles were available.
At 6:18 AM PT, Amazon reported that it had begun to see "more meaningful progress" in restoring its volumes, and at 8:49 AM PT customers began telling Amazon that they were coming back online.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Norton 2012 Betas Earn High Marks from Antivirus Group
Public beta testing for the 2012 Norton security products began last Friday. In the few days since, German antivirus test lab AV-Test.org has worked up initial impressions for Norton AntiVirus 2012 beta and Norton Internet Security 2012 beta, and both products definitely made a good first impression.
Norton detected 98.87 percent out of almost 150,000 very recent malware samples, beating the current industry average of 97.71 percent. In both on-demand and on-access tests, it detected 100 percent of widespread "WildList" malware. Since all current products detect 100 percent of those samples, this success isn't surprising.
AV-Test also challenged Norton to detect, terminate, and clean up about two dozen active malware samples. It detected them all and successfully removed 95.7 percent of them. The average program in this test detects 95.2 percent, removes the active components for 85.7 percent, and fully removes just 47.6 percent. Norton also detected and removed 87.5 percent of active rootkit samples, compared to an average of 56 percent.
The lab didn't report any measurable slowdown of system operations in daily use, and reported that after the initial full scan, subsequent scans cut 85 to 90 percent off the scan time. Norton also correctly refrained from identifying any of 250,000 valid files as malicious—zero false positives.
The final test challenged Norton to detect and prevent active attacks by malicious Web sites and malicious downloads. It correctly warned and blocked all but one sample, for a success rate of 96.8 percent. The average product detects 80 percent of these threats and successfully blocks 64 percent.
Overall, the Norton products put on a stellar performance, achieving above-average results in every test. AV-Test will replace Norton AntiVirus 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2011 in their ongoing tests once the 2012 editions are actually released. PCMag will put them through a thorough evaluation at that time as well.
Microsoft MCTS Certification, MCITP Certification and over 2000+ Exams at Actualkey.com
Norton detected 98.87 percent out of almost 150,000 very recent malware samples, beating the current industry average of 97.71 percent. In both on-demand and on-access tests, it detected 100 percent of widespread "WildList" malware. Since all current products detect 100 percent of those samples, this success isn't surprising.
AV-Test also challenged Norton to detect, terminate, and clean up about two dozen active malware samples. It detected them all and successfully removed 95.7 percent of them. The average program in this test detects 95.2 percent, removes the active components for 85.7 percent, and fully removes just 47.6 percent. Norton also detected and removed 87.5 percent of active rootkit samples, compared to an average of 56 percent.
The lab didn't report any measurable slowdown of system operations in daily use, and reported that after the initial full scan, subsequent scans cut 85 to 90 percent off the scan time. Norton also correctly refrained from identifying any of 250,000 valid files as malicious—zero false positives.
The final test challenged Norton to detect and prevent active attacks by malicious Web sites and malicious downloads. It correctly warned and blocked all but one sample, for a success rate of 96.8 percent. The average product detects 80 percent of these threats and successfully blocks 64 percent.
Overall, the Norton products put on a stellar performance, achieving above-average results in every test. AV-Test will replace Norton AntiVirus 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2011 in their ongoing tests once the 2012 editions are actually released. PCMag will put them through a thorough evaluation at that time as well.
How Many BlackBerry PlayBooks Did RIM Sell?
The reviews for the BlackBerry PlayBook might prompt tablet fans to think twice, but according to one analyst, first-day sales of the Research in Motion device were solid, with the company possibly selling 45,000 PlayBooks.
"While the launch of the Playbook is not attracting overnight crowds, preorder sales and in-store demand in major cities has been solid; however, AT&T's prohibition of free tethering is an unexpected negative," Peter Misek, an equity analyst with Jefferies, wrote in a Wednesday note.
The PlayBook went on sale on Tuesday and in first-day checks, Misek found that sales skewed toward pre-orders, as well as the 32GB and 64GB models, while inventory and demand was higher in urban areas. He predicted that Best Buy and Staples sold about 20,000 units, excluding pre-orders, while consumer pre-orders totaled 25,000.
"If correct, 45K+ sell through on the first day would be a success," Misek wrote.
Despite more glowing reviews for the Motorola Xoom, Misek speculated that PlayBook sales "are far exceeding" the Xoom's.
One controversial aspect of the PlayBook is that it's tied to a BlackBerry smartphone via the BlackBerry Bridge software, which pipes over email and messages and lets the PlayBook get on the Internet for free. That feature, however, is not yet available via AT&T.
"AT&T is working with RIM to make the BlackBerry Bridge app available for AT&T customers. We have just received the app for testing and before it's made available to AT&T customers we want to ensure it delivers a quality experience," AT&T said earlier this week.
Misek estimated that of the 60 million BlackBerry users, about 8 million are on AT&T, so "the lack of free tethering support is obviously disappointing," he said.
RIM, meanwhile, has promised that the PlayBook will get a native email client in the next 60 days.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the PlayBook and the slideshow below, the unboxing, our review of the BlackBerry tablet OS, and PCMag's comparison of the Xoom, PlayBook and iPad 2.
"While the launch of the Playbook is not attracting overnight crowds, preorder sales and in-store demand in major cities has been solid; however, AT&T's prohibition of free tethering is an unexpected negative," Peter Misek, an equity analyst with Jefferies, wrote in a Wednesday note.
The PlayBook went on sale on Tuesday and in first-day checks, Misek found that sales skewed toward pre-orders, as well as the 32GB and 64GB models, while inventory and demand was higher in urban areas. He predicted that Best Buy and Staples sold about 20,000 units, excluding pre-orders, while consumer pre-orders totaled 25,000.
"If correct, 45K+ sell through on the first day would be a success," Misek wrote.
Despite more glowing reviews for the Motorola Xoom, Misek speculated that PlayBook sales "are far exceeding" the Xoom's.
One controversial aspect of the PlayBook is that it's tied to a BlackBerry smartphone via the BlackBerry Bridge software, which pipes over email and messages and lets the PlayBook get on the Internet for free. That feature, however, is not yet available via AT&T.
"AT&T is working with RIM to make the BlackBerry Bridge app available for AT&T customers. We have just received the app for testing and before it's made available to AT&T customers we want to ensure it delivers a quality experience," AT&T said earlier this week.
Misek estimated that of the 60 million BlackBerry users, about 8 million are on AT&T, so "the lack of free tethering support is obviously disappointing," he said.
RIM, meanwhile, has promised that the PlayBook will get a native email client in the next 60 days.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the PlayBook and the slideshow below, the unboxing, our review of the BlackBerry tablet OS, and PCMag's comparison of the Xoom, PlayBook and iPad 2.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
How to Recycle Your Technology
Recycle with Computer Manufacturers and Mobile Carriers
Computer Manufacturers Most will take their own stuff, but how you go about it depends on the maker. You can find a quick chart on the Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-In to eCycling site.
Mobile Carriers
Every one of the four major mobile phone service providers will take cell phones back for recycling, either to dispose of safely or, better yet, to refurbish for special use as 911 emergency phones for those in need, such as abuse victims or active duty military soldiers. Just remember to erase the data from your phone before you drop it off. If it's from AT&T or T-Mobile, take out the phone's SIM card, too. All of the carriers' efforts are also part of the EPA Plug-In to eCycling campaign.
AT&T Reuse & Recycle
Takes any phone, plus batteries and accessories. Just drop them at the nearest AT&T store.
Sprint Re:cycle
Sprint offers to buy-back some phones from existing customers and provides credit toward a new one, but if that doesn't work, it will take any phones, batteries, and accessories you want to drop off or send in by creating a pre-printed, postage-paid shipping label.
T-Mobile's Handset Recycling Program
Again, T-Mobile will take any carrier's phone and accessories—it's a good idea to also donate the charger—either in the story or by mail with a pre-printed label with postage already paid.
HopeLine from Verizon
Specifically targeted to get recycled phones to victims of domestic violence, Verizon's program is no different for you, the donate—you can drop phones, batteries, and accessories at the stores around the country or use the pre-paid shipping label. Start your own HopeLine Phone Drive to get involved.
Computer Manufacturers Most will take their own stuff, but how you go about it depends on the maker. You can find a quick chart on the Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-In to eCycling site.
Mobile Carriers
Every one of the four major mobile phone service providers will take cell phones back for recycling, either to dispose of safely or, better yet, to refurbish for special use as 911 emergency phones for those in need, such as abuse victims or active duty military soldiers. Just remember to erase the data from your phone before you drop it off. If it's from AT&T or T-Mobile, take out the phone's SIM card, too. All of the carriers' efforts are also part of the EPA Plug-In to eCycling campaign.
AT&T Reuse & Recycle
Takes any phone, plus batteries and accessories. Just drop them at the nearest AT&T store.
Sprint Re:cycle
Sprint offers to buy-back some phones from existing customers and provides credit toward a new one, but if that doesn't work, it will take any phones, batteries, and accessories you want to drop off or send in by creating a pre-printed, postage-paid shipping label.
T-Mobile's Handset Recycling Program
Again, T-Mobile will take any carrier's phone and accessories—it's a good idea to also donate the charger—either in the story or by mail with a pre-printed label with postage already paid.
HopeLine from Verizon
Specifically targeted to get recycled phones to victims of domestic violence, Verizon's program is no different for you, the donate—you can drop phones, batteries, and accessories at the stores around the country or use the pre-paid shipping label. Start your own HopeLine Phone Drive to get involved.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Microsoft's persistence brings software patent fight to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Monday heard oral arguments on i4i's patent lawsuit against Microsoft, and the software industry is holding out hope that a pro-Microsoft ruling will help bring sanity to a software patent system run amok.
Microsoft wants the high court to lower the standard of proof required to overturn a patent. But opposition to the change is also running high as the ruling would affect all patents, not just those for software, potentially making it easier to overturn any patent.
BIG STAKES: U.S. government sides against Microsoft in Supreme Court patent case
Intellectual property experts and patent-owning corporations from multiple industries have piled on this case, filing more than 40 amicus briefs, with the software industry mostly on Microsoft's side. Support from Microsoft even includes its typical rivals such as Red Hat and Google. In opposition stand such heavyweights as the U.S. government itself.
"The case raises a pivotal issue in patent law, and the standard that applies when the defendant challenges the validity of a patent," Andy Culbert, associate general counsel at Microsoft, told Network World. "I don't think this case is anything at all like the David versus Goliath case that i4i says it is. If you look at all amicus briefs that i4i solicited, many of them are from major pharmaceutical companies. I don't think you could characterize pharmaceutical companies as 'the little guy.'"
CASE UNFOLDS: History of i4i v. Microsoft
The legal issue revolves around a special rule, created by the Federal Circuit. It applies only to patent cases and not to other types of civil cases involving property rights, and it stacks the odds in favor of the patent holder, Culbert explained. A higher standard of proof is required to overturn a patent than the standard of proof required for other civil matters. For patent cases, the standard to overturn a patent is that there must be "clear and convincing" evidence that shows a patent should not have been issued in the first place, whereas in other civil cases the standard is a "preponderance of the evidence."
That special rule originally included a punishment, too: The courts would issue an automatic injunction against selling the disputed product or service if the defendant was found to have infringed. In a case involving eBay (eBay v. MercExchange, 2006), the Supreme Court decided that injunctions should not be automatic. Microsoft is now arguing to eliminate the special rule that creates a higher standard of proof to overturn a patent, too.
"Microsoft wants the same burden of proof to apply to patents that applies to other civil cases," Culbert said.
Steve Chang, a patent attorney from national law firm Banner & Witcoff, attended Monday's hearing and characterized the discussion as lively, sprinkled with chuckles. While the justices didn't tip their hand, there were some questions over i4i's position.
"It's kind of like reading tea leaves," Chang told Network World. "The questions were not hostile to one side or other, but it was clear that some justices, like Justice Alito, were questioning what the statutory support would be for the 'clear and convincing' standard. Justices Ginsberg and Sotomayor asked if the Patent Act was passed in 1952, and the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 and the 'clear and convincing' standard came along after that, what happened in the first 30 years?"
Microsoft wants the high court to lower the standard of proof required to overturn a patent. But opposition to the change is also running high as the ruling would affect all patents, not just those for software, potentially making it easier to overturn any patent.
BIG STAKES: U.S. government sides against Microsoft in Supreme Court patent case
Intellectual property experts and patent-owning corporations from multiple industries have piled on this case, filing more than 40 amicus briefs, with the software industry mostly on Microsoft's side. Support from Microsoft even includes its typical rivals such as Red Hat and Google. In opposition stand such heavyweights as the U.S. government itself.
"The case raises a pivotal issue in patent law, and the standard that applies when the defendant challenges the validity of a patent," Andy Culbert, associate general counsel at Microsoft, told Network World. "I don't think this case is anything at all like the David versus Goliath case that i4i says it is. If you look at all amicus briefs that i4i solicited, many of them are from major pharmaceutical companies. I don't think you could characterize pharmaceutical companies as 'the little guy.'"
CASE UNFOLDS: History of i4i v. Microsoft
The legal issue revolves around a special rule, created by the Federal Circuit. It applies only to patent cases and not to other types of civil cases involving property rights, and it stacks the odds in favor of the patent holder, Culbert explained. A higher standard of proof is required to overturn a patent than the standard of proof required for other civil matters. For patent cases, the standard to overturn a patent is that there must be "clear and convincing" evidence that shows a patent should not have been issued in the first place, whereas in other civil cases the standard is a "preponderance of the evidence."
That special rule originally included a punishment, too: The courts would issue an automatic injunction against selling the disputed product or service if the defendant was found to have infringed. In a case involving eBay (eBay v. MercExchange, 2006), the Supreme Court decided that injunctions should not be automatic. Microsoft is now arguing to eliminate the special rule that creates a higher standard of proof to overturn a patent, too.
"Microsoft wants the same burden of proof to apply to patents that applies to other civil cases," Culbert said.
Steve Chang, a patent attorney from national law firm Banner & Witcoff, attended Monday's hearing and characterized the discussion as lively, sprinkled with chuckles. While the justices didn't tip their hand, there were some questions over i4i's position.
"It's kind of like reading tea leaves," Chang told Network World. "The questions were not hostile to one side or other, but it was clear that some justices, like Justice Alito, were questioning what the statutory support would be for the 'clear and convincing' standard. Justices Ginsberg and Sotomayor asked if the Patent Act was passed in 1952, and the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 and the 'clear and convincing' standard came along after that, what happened in the first 30 years?"
Monday, April 18, 2011
Wanted: Brilliant technology slave
Is it just me, or are the postings for IT jobs utterly ridiculous these days? Lately I've seen some postings that appear to be jobs for two or three positions collected into one hire. Reading through some of them, I have to wonder if the person they're looking for exists. If they do, they surely aren't seeking work because they must be a wizard and/or god.
[ Also on InfoWorld.com: Read Paul Venezia's instant classic, "Nine traits of the veteran Unix admin." | Then, if you dare, join the debate about rebooting Unix-based systems. ]
This is a slightly embellished example -- and I do mean slightly, because it's based on a few postings I've seen recently.
WANTED TO HIRE - System Administrator
Fergenschmeir Systems is an advanced technology company specializing in advanced technology. We are a growing and fast-paced group that has just completed our first round of financing and is looking for driven, focused, and talented people to enable us to achieve our shared vision.
Opportunity:
The role of System Administrator is the key to enabling our team to work smarter and simpler. This person must be able to maintain a positive outlook, work one-on-one with other team members and stakeholders in developing solutions to problems, and take ownership of their roles and responsibilities. This fast-paced position requires knowledge of key technologies and computing foundations and will involve interactions with the rest of the company, in addition to customer-facing tasks. This person must be able to communicate extremely well and present positive, take-charge attitudes at all levels of engagement. Hobbies and families are frowned upon.
Responsibilities:
* Provide technical problem resolution at all levels of Fergenschmeir's infrastructure
* Assist with customer infrastructure integration, problem resolution
* Present highly technical information clearly to other team members and customers
* Provide a wealth of deep technical information on all technical subject matters
* Assist sales in the construction of proposals
* Provide presales technical assistance to sales during customer interactions
* Build and maintain new technologies internal to Fergenschmeir's operation
* Work closely with engineers on developing new, revolutionary technology products
* Attend trade shows to present technical resources to event participants
* Know all competing products and technologies, and remain current with their progress
* Provide on-call services for a far-flung, international stakeholders and customers
* Care and maintenance of the break room and refrigerator contents
[ Also on InfoWorld.com: Read Paul Venezia's instant classic, "Nine traits of the veteran Unix admin." | Then, if you dare, join the debate about rebooting Unix-based systems. ]
This is a slightly embellished example -- and I do mean slightly, because it's based on a few postings I've seen recently.
WANTED TO HIRE - System Administrator
Fergenschmeir Systems is an advanced technology company specializing in advanced technology. We are a growing and fast-paced group that has just completed our first round of financing and is looking for driven, focused, and talented people to enable us to achieve our shared vision.
Opportunity:
The role of System Administrator is the key to enabling our team to work smarter and simpler. This person must be able to maintain a positive outlook, work one-on-one with other team members and stakeholders in developing solutions to problems, and take ownership of their roles and responsibilities. This fast-paced position requires knowledge of key technologies and computing foundations and will involve interactions with the rest of the company, in addition to customer-facing tasks. This person must be able to communicate extremely well and present positive, take-charge attitudes at all levels of engagement. Hobbies and families are frowned upon.
Responsibilities:
* Provide technical problem resolution at all levels of Fergenschmeir's infrastructure
* Assist with customer infrastructure integration, problem resolution
* Present highly technical information clearly to other team members and customers
* Provide a wealth of deep technical information on all technical subject matters
* Assist sales in the construction of proposals
* Provide presales technical assistance to sales during customer interactions
* Build and maintain new technologies internal to Fergenschmeir's operation
* Work closely with engineers on developing new, revolutionary technology products
* Attend trade shows to present technical resources to event participants
* Know all competing products and technologies, and remain current with their progress
* Provide on-call services for a far-flung, international stakeholders and customers
* Care and maintenance of the break room and refrigerator contents
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Oracle to patch 73 critical DB server flaws
The next batch of security patches from Oracle will be a biggie: 73 new security vulnerability fixes across hundreds of Oracle products.
According to an advance notice from the database server giant, some of the vulnerabilities affect multiple products and may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.
The patches, scheduled for release next Tuesday (April 19, 2011), will affect the following products and components:
Security vulnerabilities addressed by this Critical Patch Update affect the following products:
* Oracle Database 11g Release 2, versions 11.2.0.1, 11.2.0.2
* Oracle Database 11g Release 1, version 11.1.0.7
* Oracle Database 10g Release 2, versions 10.2.0.3, 10.2.0.4, 10.2.0.5
* Oracle Database 10g Release 1, version 10.1.0.5
* Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1, versions 11.1.1.2.0, 11.1.1.3.0, 11.1.1.4.0
* Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3, version 10.1.3.5.0
* Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2, version 10.1.2.3.0
* Oracle Identity Management 10g, versions 10.1.4.0.1, 10.1.4.3
* Oracle JRockit, versions R27.6.8 and earlier (JDK/JRE 1.4.2, 5, 6), R28.1.1 and earlier (JDK/JRE 5, 6)
* Oracle Outside In Technology, versions 8.3.2.0, 8.3.5.0
* Oracle WebLogic Server, versions 8.1.6, 9.2.3, 9.2.4, 10.0.2, 11gR1 (10.3.2, 10.3.3, 10.3.4)
* Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, versions 12.0.6, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3
* Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, version 11.5.10.2
* Oracle Agile Technology Platform, versions 9.3.0.2, 9.3.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM, version 8.9
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise ELS, versions 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS, versions 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal, versions 8.8, 8.9, 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise People Tools, versions 8.49, 8.50, 8.51
* Oracle JD Edwards OneWorld Tools, version 24.1.x
* Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools, version 8.98.x
* Oracle Siebel CRM Core, versions 7.8.2, 8.0.0, 8.1.1
* Oracle InForm, versions 4.5, 4.6, 5.0
* Oracle Sun Product Suite
* Oracle Open Office, version 3 and StarOffice/StarSuite, versions 7, 8
The highest CVSS 2.0 Base Score for vulnerabilities in this Critical Patch Update is 10.0 for Oracle JRockit of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server, Sun Java System Application Server of Oracle Sun Products Suite, the company said.
“Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply Critical Patch Update fixes as soon as possible.”
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
According to an advance notice from the database server giant, some of the vulnerabilities affect multiple products and may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password.
The patches, scheduled for release next Tuesday (April 19, 2011), will affect the following products and components:
Security vulnerabilities addressed by this Critical Patch Update affect the following products:
* Oracle Database 11g Release 2, versions 11.2.0.1, 11.2.0.2
* Oracle Database 11g Release 1, version 11.1.0.7
* Oracle Database 10g Release 2, versions 10.2.0.3, 10.2.0.4, 10.2.0.5
* Oracle Database 10g Release 1, version 10.1.0.5
* Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1, versions 11.1.1.2.0, 11.1.1.3.0, 11.1.1.4.0
* Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3, version 10.1.3.5.0
* Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2, version 10.1.2.3.0
* Oracle Identity Management 10g, versions 10.1.4.0.1, 10.1.4.3
* Oracle JRockit, versions R27.6.8 and earlier (JDK/JRE 1.4.2, 5, 6), R28.1.1 and earlier (JDK/JRE 5, 6)
* Oracle Outside In Technology, versions 8.3.2.0, 8.3.5.0
* Oracle WebLogic Server, versions 8.1.6, 9.2.3, 9.2.4, 10.0.2, 11gR1 (10.3.2, 10.3.3, 10.3.4)
* Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, versions 12.0.6, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3
* Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i, version 11.5.10.2
* Oracle Agile Technology Platform, versions 9.3.0.2, 9.3.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM, version 8.9
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise ELS, versions 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise HRMS, versions 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal, versions 8.8, 8.9, 9.0, 9.1
* Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise People Tools, versions 8.49, 8.50, 8.51
* Oracle JD Edwards OneWorld Tools, version 24.1.x
* Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools, version 8.98.x
* Oracle Siebel CRM Core, versions 7.8.2, 8.0.0, 8.1.1
* Oracle InForm, versions 4.5, 4.6, 5.0
* Oracle Sun Product Suite
* Oracle Open Office, version 3 and StarOffice/StarSuite, versions 7, 8
The highest CVSS 2.0 Base Score for vulnerabilities in this Critical Patch Update is 10.0 for Oracle JRockit of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server, Sun Java System Application Server of Oracle Sun Products Suite, the company said.
“Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply Critical Patch Update fixes as soon as possible.”
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Internet Officially Runs Out of Addresses
Today the well of addresses on the Internet officially runs dry, but there's no need to panic. The exhaustion has been known about for years, and new addresses—which are designed not to run out for a long, long time—are already in operation.
The Number Resource Organization (NRO), an industry group made up of five regional Internet provider registries, held an event in Montevideo, Uruguay, today where members announced that it had today handed out the last of the available addresses on the old system.
"This is truly a major turning point in the on-going development of the Internet," said Rod Beckstrom, President and CEO of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the organization responsible for assigning IP addresses. "Nobody was caught off guard by this, the Internet technical community has been planning for... depletion for quite some time."
Two years ago the organization proposed that when the pool of unused addresses had been depleted to five "blocks," as they recently had, each registry would get one of the blocks. The agreement was ratified by ICANN, and those blocks were assigned today. Each block comprises 16.8 million addresses, according to NRO.
The old system, called IPv4, uses a system of numbers, typically separated by decimals, that even casual users of the Internet would probably recognize (if your unsure, check your computer or phone's network settings for numbers like "192.162.2.235"). IPv4 had about 4.3 billion addresses, which ran out more rapidly once mobile devices with Internet connections became commonplace.
Now all new Internet addresses will use IPv6, a system that has more numbers and characters, and is said to have enough spots for 340 trillion, trillion, trillion unique IP addresses. Equipment that uses IPv6 has been in use since 1999.
The two systems aren't automatically compatible with each other, however, so service providers and network operators need to upgrade systems to ensure the transition is smooth, which is why there has been so much recent attention focused on the subject.
"This is an historic day in the history of the Internet, and one we have been anticipating for quite some time," NRO Chairman Raúl Echeberría said. "The future of the Internet is in IPv6. All Internet stakeholders must now take definitive action to deploy IPv6."
Despite the magnitude of the issue, most users should not even notice the change from IPv4 to IPv6, the experts said. If you own a business with an online presence or host your own Internet services, you should check out PCMag's summary of what you should know.
The Number Resource Organization (NRO), an industry group made up of five regional Internet provider registries, held an event in Montevideo, Uruguay, today where members announced that it had today handed out the last of the available addresses on the old system.
"This is truly a major turning point in the on-going development of the Internet," said Rod Beckstrom, President and CEO of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the organization responsible for assigning IP addresses. "Nobody was caught off guard by this, the Internet technical community has been planning for... depletion for quite some time."
Two years ago the organization proposed that when the pool of unused addresses had been depleted to five "blocks," as they recently had, each registry would get one of the blocks. The agreement was ratified by ICANN, and those blocks were assigned today. Each block comprises 16.8 million addresses, according to NRO.
The old system, called IPv4, uses a system of numbers, typically separated by decimals, that even casual users of the Internet would probably recognize (if your unsure, check your computer or phone's network settings for numbers like "192.162.2.235"). IPv4 had about 4.3 billion addresses, which ran out more rapidly once mobile devices with Internet connections became commonplace.
Now all new Internet addresses will use IPv6, a system that has more numbers and characters, and is said to have enough spots for 340 trillion, trillion, trillion unique IP addresses. Equipment that uses IPv6 has been in use since 1999.
The two systems aren't automatically compatible with each other, however, so service providers and network operators need to upgrade systems to ensure the transition is smooth, which is why there has been so much recent attention focused on the subject.
"This is an historic day in the history of the Internet, and one we have been anticipating for quite some time," NRO Chairman Raúl Echeberría said. "The future of the Internet is in IPv6. All Internet stakeholders must now take definitive action to deploy IPv6."
Despite the magnitude of the issue, most users should not even notice the change from IPv4 to IPv6, the experts said. If you own a business with an online presence or host your own Internet services, you should check out PCMag's summary of what you should know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)