Pub fined $13k for Wi-Fi copyright infringement

A pub owner in the U.K. has been fined £8,000 (about $13,183) because someone unlawfully downloaded copyrighted material over its open Wi-Fi hotspot, according to the managing director of hotspot provider The Cloud.
Graham Cove told CNET sister site ZDNet UK on Friday he believes the case to be the first of its kind in the U.K. However, he would not identify the pub concerned, because its owner--a pub that is a client of The Cloud's--had not yet given their permission for the case to be publicized.
Cove would say only that the fine had been levied in a civil case, brought about by a rights holder, "sometime this summer." The Cloud's pubco clients include Fullers, Greene King, Marsdens, Scottish & Newcastle, Mitchell & Butlers, and Punch Taverns.
The law surrounding open Wi-Fi networks and the liability of those running them is a grey area...
Read more of "Pub 'fined £8k' for Wi-Fi copyright infringement" and the followup story, "Law expert issues warning to open Wi-Fi operators," at ZDNet UK.
cnet

Apple sues power adapter knockoff maker

Hot on the heels of its win against Mac clone-maker Psystar, Apple is suing another company that's making knockoffs of its products, but this time its power adapters.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple filed the lawsuit against Media Solutions Holdings in the California Central District Court on Monday, according to InformationWeek. Apple claims the power adapters violate a patent the company holds on the design of its own adapters.
The power adapters in question come with Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro line of notebooks. Apple also sells the adapters separately for $79 from its online and retail stores.
While several of Media Solutions Holdings Web sites, including Laptopsforless.com, Laptopacadapter.com, and Ereplacements.com, have Apple replacement parts in stock, none currently has the power adapter in question when CNET checked on Friday.
Media Solutions Holdings sells replacement parts for many of today's popular brands of computers like Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer and HP, among others.
cnet

HP Envy eclipses the Apple MacBook

The Hewlett-Packard Envy 13 offers an excellent example of what a cutting-edge ultraportable should be--and it moves past the Apple MacBook Air in some important respects, despite its overly ambitious price tag.
First, let me say that I use a MacBook Air as my main machine and am well aware of its merits. That said, it is beginning to look a little long in the tooth when juxtaposed with the Envy 13--which, like the Air, offers an aluminum chassis. I will also draw comparisons with 13-inch MacBook Pro since the Envy seems to fall somewhere between this and the Air.
(See CNET review of Envy 13.)
Let's start with the Envy's engine. The Envy offers a ULV (ultra-low-voltage) processor option that you won't find in any Apple MacBook: a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SU9600 that draws a mere 10 watts. This is Intel's highest-performance 10-watt dual-core processor--a crucial power-saving and heat-reducing option for ultra-thin designs like the Envy or MacBook Air. The more widely used SL9600 (which many reviewers mistakenly refer to as ultra low voltage) draws 17 watts.
But HP charges a premium for this processor, too. Selecting the power-sipping SU9600 adds $200 to the cost of the Envy. But at least it's an option.

HP Envy 13 is more advanced than the MacBook in some important respects.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Next, graphics. The Envy has switchable graphics. What does this get you? More battery life. When plugged in, the Envy uses the "discrete" (standalone) ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics processor. When unplugged it switches to the less-power-hungry--and lower performance--Intel integrated graphics.
The truth be told, most of the time users don't need discrete graphics. But it can be a godsend in Windows 7, for example, when doing transcoding--which converts, for instance, a movie on a PC to a format that makes it viewable on an iPhone or iPod. And, of course, discrete graphics is needed for playing demanding games.
The ATI 4330 graphics seem to be more capable than the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics used in both the 13-inch MacBook Pro and Air, according to reviewers. "Technically it is more powerful than the integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400 graphics," according to CNET Reviews.
And the Envy has a high-resolution screen option, yet another Apple-trumping extra. The 1,600-by-900 resolution screen is a step up from the MacBook Air's and Pro's 13-inch, 1,280-by-800 display.
In the storage department, the Envy has a more reasonable pricing scheme compared with the 13-inch MacBook Pro. HP has just begun offering an Intel 160GB solid-state drive option. This adds $200 to the standard 5400RPM hard disk drive.
Though the 13-inch MacBook Pro offers both 128GB and 256GB solid-state drive options, these add a whopping $350 and $800, respectively, to the price. That's almost a deal-breaker, in my opinion. Especially if a consumer adds this option to the $1,499 13-inch MacBook model. And the $1,799 MacBook Air offers only a 128GB SSD.
HP Envy 13:

• $1,699
  
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  
• Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400 (w/ 10-watt SU9600 option)
  
• 250GB 5400RPM hard disk drive (w/ 160GB Intel solid-state drive option)
  
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 Graphics w/512MB
  
• 4-cell battery (w/ extra 6-cell battery option)
  
• 3GB DDR3 memory
  
• Aluminum chassis
  
• No built-in optical drive
  
• Weight: 3.8 pounds
  

Apple MacBook Air:

• $1,499
  
• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
  
• Intel 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo (w/ 2.13GHz processor option)
  
• 120GB 4200RPM hard disk drive (w/ 128GB solid-state drive option)
  
• Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics
  
• Battery rated at 5 hours
  
• 2GB DDR3 memory
  
• Aluminum chassis
  
• No built-in optical drive
  
• Weight: 3 pounds
  

(Note: options add cost to the listed Envy and Air base prices.)
Battery life may offer the starkest contrast. Here, once again, the choices that HP offers make the MacBook's feature set look limited by comparison. A 6-cell option boosts the battery life to an almost-unheard-of 14 hours, according to reviews. This is roughly three times the battery life offered on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air, by comparison, delivers, at best, four hours, in my experience.
There is one slight drawback, however. Adding the optional 6-cell battery bumps up the Envy's weight to just more than five pounds (because the extra 6-cell battery is used in tandem with the built-in 4-cell unit), thereby pushing it out of the ultraportable category.
Now we get to the possible deal breaker for the Envy: price. As other reviewers have said--including CNET Reviews--this may be big barrier for some consumers who would be leaning toward the Envy. It starts at $1,699 with a configuration that most consumers won't see as that different from the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro. Throw in the Pro's built-in optical drive, at it looks even worse for the Envy.
A comparison with the MacBook Air is a little better, but not much. The Air starts at $1,499 with a 120GB (4200RPM) hard disk drive. Adding a faster processor and solid-state drive to the Air hikes the price to $1,799. Even at that price point, the Air still looks better to me--because it's thinner and weighs almost a pound less--despite the Envy's technological advantages described above.
Some consumers looking for the latest and greatest in ultraportable design will of course buy the Envy 13 or its high-powered 15-inch cousin, which packs a quad-core mobile Intel Core i7 processor. But HP appears to be artificially elevating the Envy 13 to the rarefied ultra-elite category of laptops like the new Dell Adamo XPS, which offers a truly radical physical design starting at $1,799.
If HP drops the price a little it has a very competitive product and may bring prospective MacBook buyers into the HP fold.
cnet

Antivirus software: The verdict

Reviews of the latest security software

Protecting your computer against Trojans, worms and other invisible exploits is a must in today’s tech landscape. But knowing which antivirus software will offer the best protection without the added extras can be as easy as navigating your way through the streets, eyes closed. With hundreds of antivirus programs available, finding the right software is no easy feat.

A few key features to keep in mind include the detection of known and unknown spyware, worms, and other malware, instant notification of malicious threats, scan speed and application extras. To make the task easier Computerworld in the US tested several antivirus solutions to determine which programs offer the best protection against malicious attacks.

G Data AntiVirus 2010

German-made antivirus software, G Data 2010, uses two separate antivirus engines: BitDefender and Avast. Unlike other single engine security programs, G Data’s double engine provides vast coverage with a 99.95 per cent block rate for traditional, signature-based detection of known malware and 99.8 per cent for blocking adware. Tested alongside other antivirus software including Symantec Norton Antivirus, BitDefender AntiVirus and F-Secure AntiVirus, G Data scored the highest in over all protection. However, the software rejected three benign applications from automatic start-up and has an access scan speed of 10.15MB per second.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2010

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2010 faired well with traditional, signature-based malware detection, but did not live up to antivirus software essentials such as proactive protection and scan speed. Despite differences in the program’s ability to proactively protect against new malware, it scored a 99.9 per cent block rate when tested. VirusScan Plus is said to be relatively easy to use and contains warning pop-ups to notify users of threats, but a few good features and a decent user interface doesn’t outweigh limited critical protection against malicious threats.

Alwil Avast Professional Edition

Alwil Avast Professional Edition scored mid-range results of 97.8 per cent in blocking Trojans, worms, and other malicious threats. It was outperformed, however, by several other programs. And despite a fast scan rate, Avast was less thorough than other programs and did not score well for the quality of its interface.

ESET NOD32

Despite the selection extras available with the ESET NOD32 software, it does not match its competitors when it comes to blocking malware. NOD32 scored a block rate of 94.8 per cent, the lowest percentage compared with other antivirus programs like McAfee VirusScan Plus 2010, Alwil Avast Professional Edition and G Data 2010. While the percentage scored is considered 'decent', NOD32 was outshone by its peers.

Trend Micro Antivirus + Antispyware

Trend Micro Antivirus + Antispyware was noted to have poor malware detection, slow scan speed, and limited task transparency for users. It scored 96.9 per cent in detecting Trojans, spyware, worms and other malware. This was an improvement from the 69.3 per cent it scored last year. On the positive side, Trend did avoid falsely labeling benign files as dangerous and did well disabling malware infections.

F-Secure Anti-Virus 2010

F-Secure Anti-Virus 2010 is reported as being simple to use, and did a reasonable job of blocking malware. It scored a 99.8 per cent performance at blocking rate of known spyware, worms, and other malware and a 99.3 per cent adware block rate. But, despite good percentage scores, F-Secure did not out-perform other anitvirus software available in the market. It does, however, contain a feature that scans Web traffic for potential threats before entering the hard drive.

computerword.com.au

Telstra separation decision to wait at least 60 days

Government's push to split Telstra's wholesale and retail arms will have to wait until the Senate sits again in 2010

The Federal Government's push to split Telstra's wholesale and retail arms will have to wait until the Senate sits again next year, after the lengthy debate over the emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has said he wanted the legislation passed by the end of the year but with the ETS and Liberal party shake up overshadowing the rest of the agenda, he will have to wait until February 2 when both houses of parliament resume.

The news provides some relief to Telstra CEO, David Thodey, who along with several key shareholders wanted to delay the bill and opposed the separation outright.

(View the slideshow of Telstra's Top 10 Greatest Hits).

The Government's moves are seen as key to much of its National Broadband Network (article words) plan, with NBN Co negotiating with Telstra over its network assets.

Despite the often vehement opposition of Telstra and its shareholders over the move, others, particularly rival telco players, have suggested the separation is a necessary evil to improve competition in the industry.

Some telco analysts have also said the future of a separated Telstra (ASX:TLS) is rosy,, one even suggesting it is the deal of the decade.

Regardless of which side you take, the decision on Telstra's future will have to wait for at least another 60 days. And that's a long time in both politics and business.

computerword.com.au

AARNet salutes the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia

AARNet launches book to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia

AARNet salutes the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia

Pioneer of the Internet launches book to commemorate historical milestones

Sydney, AUSTRALIA – 26 November 2009 – The Governor-General of Australia, Ms Quentin Bryce, AC, will launch a book today at Admiralty House, commissioned by AARNet (Australia’s Academic and Research Network) to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Internet in Australia.

AARNet – 20 years of the Internet in Australia documents the history of how the Internet network was established in Australia through AARNet. The book explores how Australia’s commercial Internet network, as we know it today, was originally developed by AARNet. It also documents key individuals, events and milestones that led to the growth and development of a high-speed Internet network dedicated to Australia’s research and education institutions.

Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet said, “20 years ago, the idea of the Internet only existed in the technical realms of Australia’s universities and research institutions. The concept of how the Internet could change the way we work, play, learn and communicate was unknown to the general population in Australia. The Internet has become so much a part of our lives now that it is hard to believe it is only 20 years old in Australia.”

AARNet made history with Australia’s very first international Internet connection through a 56 kilobit per second satellite link that connected the University of Melbourne and the University of Hawaii in June 1989. This was the first known direct live overseas link with Australia. Today, the same connection to the United States is 200,000 times faster operating at 10 gigabits (Gbps) per second.

The need for a dedicated high-speed Internet network to serve the research and education community was developed out of the special demands for a network that had the speed and capacity to manage innovative projects and collaboration between Australian and international researchers. AARNet’s unique governance and funding arrangements meant its network was always more technically advanced and affordable. AARNet has showcased how innovation and collaboration is possible and is future proofing potential applications for the National Broadband Network into the future.

Some of the references in AARNet – 20 years of the Internet in Australia include:

One of the earliest computing networks was CSIRONET, established by Dr Trevor Pearcey in 1963. The first local network in Australia, CSIRONET connected more than 50 computers and more than 250 terminals around Australia in 1976.

Geoff Huston, who is currently the Chief Scientist at the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), was AARNet’s first employee in March 1989. As its Network Technical Manager, Huston was responsible for building the Internet network that connected Australian universities – Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, University of Western Australia, University of Tasmania and Northern Territory University – between April and May 1990.

The first Australian website was established and launched by Australian National University in November 1992 as an experimental server.

AARNet opens its network up to value added resellers in May 1994 to what are widely recognised as Australia’s first retail Internet Service Providers. This includes Internode, OzEmail and iiNet.

In June 1995, AARNet’s main capital city backbone link was 2 Mbps. It connected at 256 Kbps in Northern Territory, 512 Kbps in Tasmania and to the international network at 4.5 Mbps.

CSIRO became the first major organisation in Australia to implement a national VoIP service on AARNet’s backbone in November 1999. Geoff Huston, Chief Scientist of APNIC, who was AARNet’s Network Technical Manager from its inception until 1995, said, “Being centrally involved in building the Internet in Australia was a unique and highly challenging opportunity. AARNet today continues to demonstrate its relevance and importance to Australia’s researchers and educators.”

The author of the book, Glenda Korporaal, said, “For more than half a decade, AARNet’s history was also the history of how the Internet was established in Australia. The individuals we have documented in the book were amongst the pioneers of the Internet in Australia. As Australians debate about the merits of the National Broadband Network, they should look at the history of AARNet to gather deeper insights into what may happen in the future.”

Hancock said, “In the last 20 years, AARNet has enabled many innovations and breakthroughs for Australians via the Internet. We have linked Australian doctors with their peers across Asia to conduct live surgery demonstrations in high definition video. AARNet has been involved in Australia’s bid for the world’s largest ever astronomy project, the Square Kilometre Array. We introduced Optiportal technology to Australia, giving researchers access to high-definition video collaboration to advance medical science and research.”

Today, AARNet serves over one million users in Australia’s research, tertiary education and scientific sectors. AARNet continues to demonstrate its relevance and importance in promoting collaboration and innovation in Australia through its high-speed network, which will complement the advent of the National Broadband Network.

Hancock said, “A National Research and Education Network like AARNet will always be at the forefront of Australia’s Internet industry because the demands of our researchers and educators greatly exceed that which can be delivered over the commercial networks.”

“AARNet’s job is to continually challenge the boundaries of networking and to develop cutting edge applications and services to help future-proof our digital economy.”

Limited copies of AARNet – 20 years of the Internet in Australia will be available for purchase through www.aarnet.edu.au. The book will be available through major libraries around Australia from December 2009 under the catalogue number ISBN: 978-0-646-52111-4.

Note to Editor:

1. Hi-res images can be downloaded from:

Captions https://rcpt.yousendit.com/781229569/2f65f25bbda781b0104876a8fe3008d4

History https://rcpt.yousendit.com/781227693/9e1bd58b916732290a8b5819b1729933

Case Studies http://rcpt.yousendit.com/781203974/5b24e4c10a772c6480eeab53f5d896e6

Chris Hancock https://rcpt.yousendit.com/781209460/b88a8cef1bfb40f5e374c4885fb8044f

2. To watch a video for the book launch, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPDZd4VNIWI

3. Interview opportunities are available on request, please contact Max Australia.

About AARNet

AARNet Pty Ltd (APL) is the company that operates Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet). It is a not-for-profit company limited by shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO. AARNet provides high-capacity leading edge Internet services for the tertiary education and research sector communities and their research partners. AARNet serves more than one million end users who access the network through local area networks at member institutions. For further information, please visit: www.aarnet.edu.au.

Media Contacts:

Almira Anthony / Gabriel Wong

Max Australia

+61 2 9954 3492

+61 404 096 440 / +61 412 868 306

aarnet@maxaustralia.com.au

computerword.com.au

Survey: IT spending to recover in 2010

Goldman Sachs' latest IT spending survey is out and it looks a tech-spending recovery is on the way for 2010. To a large extent, the data suggests not so much that spending is dramatically higher, but that it has normalized at pre-recessionary growth rates, rather than contracting as it has over the past several months.
Goldman is cautiously optimistic about 2010 spending, noting that much of it depends on the macro-economic environment driving more business spending. And while most areas will see growth counter to 2009's downward spiral, some areas such as off-shore development will feel significant retraction.
Regardless, the sentiments are positive and dramatically different than Goldman's report from November 2008 where IT spending was in a total death spiral. What a difference a year makes.
A few key points from the report:

• With recessionary buying cycle clearly through the trough, the remaining question centers on the pace of recovery for 2010.
• Infrastructure, application development, and systems integration remain top spending areas, especially as CIOs start to consider newer technologies such as virtualization and cloud computing.
• There is pent-up demand in hardware most notable, positive for storage and server/PC refresh.
• The appetite for offshore services appears to be below trend at current levels.
• HP, NetApp, CommVault, Red Hat, Riverbed, and Salesforce.com are notable names showing positive upward momentum in our latest survey.

In software, Red Hat and Salesforce.com showed strengthened results with VMware and Citrix remaining top of mind, which Goldman believes to be a good indication of internal and external cloud deployments gaining momentum.

IT Spending in 2010

(Credit: Goldman Sachs IT Spending Survey)

On the desktop Microsoft's Windows 7 is resonating well with CIOs as 94 percent of survey respondents intend to upgrade to Windows 7, underscoring Goldman's thesis that "pent-up demand and a hardware refresh should fuel a robust Windows 7 product cycle." According to the survey:

32 percent expect to upgrade in 2010 (9 percent in 1H, 23 percent in 2H), while another 28 percent anticipate an upgrade in 2011. With the majority of the installed base (around 85 percent to 90 percent) still on Windows XP, and XP support expiring in April 2014, we believe that 2013 becomes a de facto deadline for upgrades.

In regards to professional services, survey results reflect a material uptick in respondents indicating increased budgets for discretionary spending in the next six months, which is consistent with Goldman's view that discretionary IT spending will likely trend upward into 2010 on the back of an improved macro and corporate profit backdrop.
Another interesting area of the survey is which vendors are gaining share of reduced budgets.

PC and Laptop Gaining

Apple Hewlett-Packard Lenovo Dell

Enterprise Servers
Gaining Cisco Hewlett-Packard Dell	Losing Sun IBM

Storage
Gaining Network Appliance Hitachi Data Systems EMC Hewlett-Packard IBM	Losing Sun Dell

Software and Security
Gaining VMware RedHat Hewlett-Packard Salesforce.com Citrix Microsoft CommVault Cisco EMC	Losing CA TIBCO Quest Software BMC Software Check Point

I, too, believe that we'll see a recovery in 2010, but expect to see much more consolidation among big vendors. It will be interesting to see how many start-ups and medium-size companies avoid or opt against becoming part of an IT behemoth.
cnet

Retailers extend deals beyond Black Friday

Attention shoppers: It might pay to just sleep in this Black Friday.
The conventional wisdom is that the most stupendous bargains of the year are to be had on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But the marketplace has become so packed on that crowded shopping day that some retailers are shifting their strategy.
Deals on certain products are likely to be just as good, perhaps even better, in the days and weeks after Friday. In this economy, retailers need to stand out--and some of them are betting they can do so by offering bargains later in the season. Also, while chains are not discounting as deeply as last year, they know the primary way to get penny-pinching consumers to spend is to keep the deals coming all season long.
Exactly which strategy retailers are pursuing this year differs not only among shopping chains but among categories of merchandise. That means the best time to shop for the season could hinge on which items are on your list.
"Black Friday is about cheap stuff at cheap prices," said Daniel de Grandpre, the editor in chief of DealNews.com, which tracks such sales each year. "That means that high-end stuff is not on sale on Black Friday. It just isn't."
That is not to say consumers who brave the nation's stores on Friday will not find deals on flat-screen televisions and fluffy ear muffs. But the products on sale that day, particularly electronics, generally are lower-end products without many extras, or they are older models on the verge of being discontinued. That is, of course, a reason stores are able to offer them at low prices.

Many of the gadgets on sale this Friday will be outdated models, he said, like navigation devices without speech capability, Blu-ray players without Internet connections, and digital cameras without face-recognition technology.
Manish Rathi, a co-founder of Retrevo, cited some "over-the-hill" products, like a Nikon CoolPix digital camera being sold at Target for $88, reduced from $140.
De Grandpre said luxury retailers tend to stay out of the Black Friday fray because they would rather not associate with bargain-basement shopping. To participate in the nation's uber-shopping day in a way that is befitting their status, luxury chains do offer deals, but only in certain popular holiday and seasonal categories, like coats and home decor. And they do not bother to open at 5 a.m., a common opening time on the day after Thanksgiving for the lower-end retailers known as big-box stores.
The luxury chain Saks, for instance, is offering 40 percent off already reduced merchandise, but not its newest collections. The chain does not bring in merchandise specifically for the day after Thanksgiving. And the doors open at the relatively late hour of 8 a.m.
"The key difference is we don't run a strategy of these key items that we buy thousands of and that we mark down to these low, low amounts," said Kimberly Grabel, senior vice president for marketing at Saks. "That is the big-box mentality."
Stores have greatly reduced their inventories since last year, when the economic downturn forced them into panic selling. So while there will be sales, as there are every year in any economy, it is possible stores might run out of certain products or sizes. "For the best selection you are going to need to shop early this year," Grabel said.
Her best advice? "Stay home and shop online."

Indeed, on Wednesday, many stores had begun holiday promotions on their Web sites. On Wednesday, clothing was up to 40 percent off at Bloomingdale's, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Barneys. At Nordstrom, merchandise was up to 50 percent off. At Lord & Taylor, some items, like women's coats, were half off.
Saks planned to offer its early deals online at midnight Wednesday. "We figure some people will need a break from their family on Thursday," Grabel said.
To distinguish themselves from discounters, the likes of Saks and Neiman Marcus also offer gift cards for spending a certain amount of money within a designated time period on Black Friday, which got its name because it was thought to be the day when retailers often shifted into the black, or became profitable. In the coming months, the chains will probably continue borrowing the idea of private, timed online sales.
Made popular by members-only shopping Web sites like Gilt, Rue La La, and HauteLook, the sales give consumers a now-or-never incentive to buy, and are a less conspicuous way for stores to sell designer merchandise at a discount. Consumers must sign up for e-mail alerts on retailers' Web sites to be in the know.
In general, chain stores will not divulge their promotion schedules for the rest of the shopping season, but some Web sites also track sales throughout the holiday season, including DealNews.com, BlackFriday.info, and Bfads.net.
Expect some notable deals online on Monday, now called Cyber Monday, when consumers return to their offices and go holiday shopping on the Web.
This year, more e-commerce sites plan to offer bargains to win over reluctant consumers. For instance, Blue Nile, the online jeweler, has long avoided participating in promotional days. But no more.
"Even the wealthy have become more value-conscious," said John Baird, a spokesman for Blue Nile, noting a shift in the behavior of its more affluent customers.
Blue Nile plans to offer two promotions on Monday--free overnight shipping on orders placed by 6 p.m. Eastern time, and discounts on a different item each day through December 23. (On one of the days, a 15-carat diamond eternity bracelet will cost $27,000, down from $36,500. Blue Nile would not say which day the bracelet would be on sale.)
"We want to be very careful when we offer special promotions like this, to make sure they are brand-appropriate," Mr. Baird said. "We're not going to be like the mall jeweler, so you're not going to see 50 percent off the entire store."
Across-the-board sales are the specialty of the nation's biggest big-box stores and Web sites, and they, too, began discounting before consumers roasted their turkeys.
Kmart had a "Better Than Black Friday Sale." Best Buy offered "Early Black Friday Prices" on some televisions, and on November 11 the chain offered its lowest-ever advertised price on a laptop, $250. Toys "R" Us had early blockbuster deals known as doorbusters. And for weeks, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, has been offering deep discounts.
Consumers who missed those bargains need not fret.
"Once you've started discounting, it's hard to stop midseason," said Maggie Taylor, a vice president and senior credit officer for Moody's Investors Service.
Some chains are even getting a jump on Monday, re-imagining it as Cyber Sunday. J.C. Penney, for instance, plans to offer its Monday sales beginning Sunday, for two days. Staples also plans to offer its Web deals on both Sunday and Monday.
Consumers can track hourly specials on < a href="http://www.cybermonday.com/">CyberMonday.com, which will continue posting news about deals at the nation's major online retailers long after Monday.
Entire contents, Copyright © 2009 The New York Times. All rights reserved.
cnet

Internet Security Predictions for 2010 by Lloyd Borrett, AVG (AU/NZ)

Lloyd Borrett from AVG (AU/NZ) predicts greater criminal activity to steal money, identities and computer resources etc in 2010 using more and more sophisticated techniques. How prepared are you?

Security Predictions for 2010 by Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager, AVG (AU/NZ)

Melbourne, 26 November 2009 - Every year most of the security vendors' forecasts predict dramatic spikes in volumes of spam, phishing, botnet activity, and malware. And unfortunately, every year these predictions come true. While we’d prefer not to be sowing seeds of fear, uncertainty and doubt, the cyber criminals are succeeding on such a scale and making so much money, that each year they are able to invest in better and more automated ways to run their rapidly expanding and increasingly sophisticated operations. So once again we can safely predict that in 2010 the threat environment will look pretty much like this year — except that it will have more of everything and be even more transient, agile and organised!

More diverse, automatically generated malware

Today malicious code is written with more variants. The bad guys can now automatically create hundreds of thousands of unique pieces of malware a day, much of which has no unique signature and can bypass old-fashioned signature-based virus detection software. This makes it increasingly important for people to have more than just anti-virus protection on their computer.

More people will buy complete protection

The good news is that reputable security vendors like AVG now provide full Internet security suites with multiple layers of protection. The majority of people that pay for security software now buy the full suite, complete protection solution instead of entry-level solutions. This trend continued through 2009, in spite of tougher economic times, and we expect it to be maintained in 2010.

The bad guys still want your money, identity and/or resources

For many years now most malicious code and web sites have been directly or indirectly about stealing your money, identity, computer resources, or some combination of these. In simple terms the cyber criminals:

• Trick you to hand over money to them via social engineering and phishing scams. Yes, people still believe they can help that relative of a despot in Nigeria who needs their help to access squillions of dollars. They believe they’ve won a lottery they never entered. Or they believe that there really is a long lost, hugely wealthy, dead relative they’ve never heard of and that the kind and diligent lawyer will help them to get access to the estate.

• Trick you into providing, or steal off of your computer, enough of your personal details so as to build up a dossier of information about you that is sufficient to trick someone else into providing them with money, goods or services. Expect to see even more legitimate-looking and personalised phishing attacks impersonating your bank or other businesses you have accounts with. Once the bad guys have your details they buy online using your credit card details and trick the merchant into providing them with goods or services. They steal online gaming usernames and passwords to gain access to your winnings in your favourite game world.

• Make your computer into a part of their botnet. Then they can use your computer resources and Internet bandwidth to send out spam, host poisoned web pages, host downloads of illegal software, movies, music, xxx adult images, child pornography etc.

Cyber criminals in the cloud

To keep ahead of the computer security industry's efforts to thwart their activities, the “bad guys” have become quite agile. They are using “in the cloud” technologies in far more sophisticated and effective ways than most legitimate businesses. It was recently discovered that Google's AppEngine had been tapped to act as the master control channel to feed commands to large networks of infected computers in a botnet. (Google shut down the rogue app shortly after being notified of it.) We can expect more of sort of activity in 2010.

Highly transient web threats

In 2010 we will see the cyber criminals continue to improve the speed with which they are able to move their campaigns from domain to domain, server to server. This is partly in response to improved detection and blocking methods deployed in updated security products like AVG LinkScanner®. In recent times we’ve been increasingly seeing the bad guys set up hundreds of thousands of new web sites and pages per day, well in advance of using them for nasty purposes. This enables them over a period of a week or so to gain a good rating in the reputation-based security networks being used by some security vendors. Then the bad guys change their “innocent web pages” and go live with their malicious payloads on those same web pages. In early 2009, AVG researchers reported that 60% of these poisoned web threats were active for less than a day and 75% for less than 30 days. By the time the reputation-based networks and blacklists are flagging these poisonous web sites and pages as bad, the cyber criminals have shut them down and moved them on to another domain or server.

Exploitation of major events, news and gossip

Some of these gangs of thieves have also recently enjoyed success in manipulating the popular online search services. They are clearly now investing more effort in such activities so they can, almost at the drop of a hat get search results at or near the top of the first page of results. Should a celebrity die, an election be fought, some video clip “go viral”, the bad guys quickly exploit the blossoming interest in that topic. The cyber criminals hijack search results into clicks on links to their malicious web pages. This is all a part of the bad guys moving away from “spray and pray” attacks into more premeditated attacks with specific objectives. Expect to see more highly targeted, convincing attacks with custom malware in 2010.

“Web two-point-uh-oh”

But that's all so “Web 1.0”. What about “social media” and “Web 2.0” — that's where things are at now. Of course, the bad guys have not failed to notice this either and have been improving their own Web 2.0 skills while checking out the opportunities afforded by “Web two-point-uh-oh”. The Koobface worm has been rattling around Facebook and a worrying number of its users for a while now. Along the way support has been added for MySpace, several other social networking sites and more recently Twitter and LinkedIn. Attacks that impersonate social networking sites or spoof contacts from your “friends” list, are more likely to be clicked on. So the bad guys exploit this trust. This approach seems to have a good return on investment for the financially motivated crooks behind it, and it’s likely we'll see a great deal more of this kind of thing in 2010.

Emerging nations go online with poor security

The number of computers and number of people connected to the Internet is still growing fast. More and more people in places like China, India, Brazil etc. are going online with improved connection speeds. Unfortunately many of them are using pirated software that can’t be kept up to date with security patches. This makes it easy for the bad guys to target those computers, get control of them and start using them as resources to power their criminal activities. We expect to see a big increase in threats being delivered via emerging countries in 2010.

Global economic crisis impacts security

Although the effects of the current economic downturn are quite unequally distributed, employment in the USA and some parts of Europe and Asia has taken a particularly hard hit. This can have a flow on effect.

Firstly, while there is no good data that I'm aware of to support the following suggestion, it is commonly accepted that violent and property crime rates rise during hard economic times. It’s quite likely that more people will be tempted into becoming cyber criminals, especially as more organised underground channels are opened up.

Secondly, it seems likely that otherwise decent people facing increasingly desperate economic conditions, may be more likely to fall for the quick-money appeal of the Nigerian prince offering 40% of his fortune, or to ignore what in better times would be the obvious telltale signs of the too good to be true “work from home” scams and the like, favoured by so many cyber criminals to effect their money laundering schemes. Or as a form of retribution, those who have lost their jobs will take valuable data with them, or details of how to access company resources, and it ends up in the hands of the cyber criminals.

Business still too complacent

If business IT and security managers have ensured that the workstations and servers the business uses are properly up-to-date and protected, that staff understand the threat landscape and know what to do as they move about with notebooks, then they too can be safe. It just requires constant vigilance and contingency planning. Sadly, events in 2009 showed that many businesses simply weren’t properly protected.

The success of the exploits used to penetrate and establish Conficker into business and enterprise networks early in 2009 was largely because of complacency. The attitude common among certain business IT and security people is "we have a firewall to keep out worms and other network vulnerability-based attacks, and content filters to stop employees browsing porn, gaming and other 'dubious' sites".

This attitude means many businesses have poor update policies, which leave their networks well out of date on OS and application patches. These weaknesses are the stock-in-trade of the drive-by download exploits commonly used by the cyber criminals.

It also means business is ignoring the fact that the cyber criminals buy professional advertising served by legitimate ad-serving networks, and yes, even the biggest ad networks. These ads then appear on perfectly legitimate websites that employees are quite likely to access to do their work. So we can expect to see more business damaged as the bad guys expand the use of this attack vector.

It will get worse before it gets better

Sadly, the security threats in 2010 are likely to be nastier than ever, more targeted and more frequent. With malware and cybercrime now being almost exclusively driven by organised crime running on a business model, changes are largely driven by criminal cost/benefit analysis of opportunities and risks.

The good news is that people don’t need to worry if they understand the nature and purpose of the threats, can see through the scams and the “too good to be true” offers, have good Internet security protection on their computers and keep all of their software up-to-date.

Do you measure up for a safe 2010?

About AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd: www.avg.com.au

Based in Melbourne, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd distributes the AVG range of Anti-Virus and Internet Security products in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. AVG software solutions provides comprehensive real-time protection against everything from viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits to cyber-criminals, hackers, scammers and identity thieves. AVG provides outstanding technical solutions and exceptional value for home, small to medium business and enterprise clients. AVG delivers always-on, always up-to-date protection across desktops, servers and e-mail in the home plus corporations, government agencies, utilities and educational institutions.

AVG products actively protect more than 80 million users worldwide, including more than three million users in Australia and New Zealand.

AVG (AU/NZ) has more than 2500 resellers across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

For more detailed information please contact:

Lloyd Borrett AVG (AU/NZ) 03 9581 0807

Shuna Boyd BoydPR 02 9418 8100

Media resources, including logos, box shots, screen shots etc., are available online at: www.avg.com.au/media/

computerword.com.au

Informatica Platform achieves SWIFT certification

B2B Data Exchange Scores 99% to 100% on Rigorous SWIFTReady MDS Certification

News Facts

-Today, Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA), the world’s number one independent provider of data integration software, announced that the Informatica Platform has achieved SWIFTReady Messaging Data Services (MDS) label certification from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

-The SWIFTReady MDS label is one of the most technically advanced solution categories defined by SWIFT. This label focuses on SWIFT message transformation and validation in any environment and architecture. Informatica B2B Data Exchange passed the entire battery of MDS technical qualification tests with either 99 percent or 100 percent accuracy in each of the criteria on the first attempts.

-SWIFTReady certification demonstrates the ability of Informatica B2B Data Exchange and B2B Data Transformation to support legacy SWIFT versions, automate compliance with new SWIFT versions, transition to SWIFT MX, and support the transformation of all SWIFT messages with quality-assured syntactic and semantic validation. 

Broad benefits to banks and enterprises - Financial institutions that use Informatica to automate data integration with their SWIFT Alliance interface gain numerous benefits:

-50% or more reduction in SWIFT messaging development and maintenance costs through a SWIFT library of pre-built transformation rules.

-Accelerated onboarding of customer data from weeks to days by integrating customer data in any proprietary format into SWIFT.

-SWIFT interoperability with other financial standards including EDI X-12, EDIFACT, Telekurs, FpML, BAI, FIX, CREST and NACHA, in any type of architecture (e.g.: legacy, SOA, proprietary) and across multiple environments (i.e.: EAI, ESB, DI).

-High performance integration of large batch files and high volumes of real-time messages inside or outside of the enterprise.

-Ensured compliance with new SWIFT versions months before the new SWIFT standard is in production.

Quotes

-"Passing the MDS technical qualification tests with 99 percent and 100 percent accuracy on the first try is an impressive achievement,” said Eric Meirlaen, Senior Partner Manager, SWIFT. “Through certification, Informatica has demonstrated both their technical ability and their commitment to supporting the SWIFT network and helping to extend its reach and value.”

-“SWIFT certification is the latest in a series of SWIFT-related activities by Informatica this year, including our partnering with SWIFT on a joint offering for SWIFT Alliance Lite and teaming with Intel to support customers using SWIFT in service-oriented architectures,” said Girish Pancha, executive vice president, Data Integration Products, Informatica. “We are committed to partnering with SWIFT to the largest possible set of customers: big and small, banks and corporations. With this new certification, customers can be assured that they can reduce the risk of SWIFT message errors, and the associated costs they can incur.”

Resources

-Informatica B2B Data Transformation

-Informatica B2B Data Exchange

-Informatica SWIFT Integration Solutions

About Informatica

Informatica Corporation (NASDAQ: INFA) is the world’s number one independent leader in data integration software. The Informatica Platform provides corporations with a comprehensive, unified, open and economical approach to lower IT costs and gain competitive advantage from their information assets. More than 3,850 enterprises worldwide rely on Informatica to access, integrate and trust their information assets held in the traditional enterprise and in the internet cloud. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com.

computerword.com.au

Webtrends launches iPhone application for Webtrends Analytics 9

Webtrends today announced a new release to Webtrends Analytics 9. The Autumn 2009 release provides busy marketers, IT professionals, expert analytics users or anyone working within the real-time web the ability to quickly and easily measure data.

Integration of Up-to-the-Minute Analytics, Real-Time Alerts via Twitter and a New iPhone Application Help Deliver Data Anytime, Anywhere

SYDNEY, Australia – 26 November 2009 – Webtrends, an enterprise customer intelligence company, today announced a new release to Webtrends Analytics 9. The Autumn 2009 release provides busy marketers, IT professionals, expert analytics users or anyone working within the real-time web the ability to quickly and easily measure data.

The release boasts a long list of new capabilities including up-to-the-minute analytics. This allows for real-time data assessment and comparison from the previous 24-hour period alongside current day and 365-day comparisons.

It also includes automated alerts on key metrics. These real-time alerts can be received in many ways, including via email, RSS feed, SMS, and Twitter Direct Messages. Webtrends is also pre-announcing availability to all Analytics customers an iPhone application with access to alerts and real-time data.

Nick Sharp, General Manager and VP EMEA and Australasia, Webtrends comments, “The web has progressed from a single channel to a platform for multi-faceted interactions across multiple domains. Interacting and communicating with consumers via those channels is becoming the norm for top brands. The challenge this poses for business however is in harnessing real-time data to drive business value through action. The Autumn 2009 release of Analytics 9 addresses this opportunity directly with real-time analytics linked to alerts and notifications giving customers unsurpassed insight to drive an immediate response.”

Significant new features include:

• Up-to-the-Minute Analytics: real-time updates on key web metrics, which can be analysed alongside equivalent data from the previous 24-hours or the current day. Customers can overlay results from marketing campaigns, RSS feeds, or other activities to gain the real-time insight needed to fuel their business.

• Real-Time Alerts: Analytics 9 now features real-time alerts and notifications when key web site metrics reach, or fail to reach, your pre-determined goals. Alerts can prompt the user at log-in and be delivered via e-mail, authenticated RSS feed, Twitter direct message, SMS, and/or the soon to be released Webtrends iPhone application.

• Analytics 9 On-Demand is receiving a new look: users who need access to advanced features will appreciate a clean and professional look in Analytics 9 On-Demand. Elements that slowed down load times were removed and all data visualisation elements including tables, charts, and graphs have been optimised to improve the speed and confidence of data comprehension. All features remain in the same place — there will be no learning curve for the new look.

• Webtrends iPhone Application: when customers are on the go and need high level insight on web activity, “there is an app for that.” The Webtrends Analytics iPhone app delivers key metrics and trends. The design follows many of the same cues as the Insight web app but delivers an experience tailored specifically for iPhone users. The Webtrends iPhone application soon will be available for download within iTunes.

For more information about Webtrends Analytics 9, and the many additional features from this release, please visit the Analytics 9 Autumn 2009 product pages.

About Webtrends Inc.

Webtrends is a trusted analytics advisor in the business of collecting, analysing, delivering and ultimately transforming data into understanding. Webtrends delivers the industry's most recognised search engine marketing, visitor intelligence, and analytics solutions to enable companies to understand their customers, drive engagement, and enhance marketing and brand awareness. Thousands of global organisations, including Microsoft, Reuters, Renault, easyJet and Ticketmaster have chosen Webtrends business solutions and client services expertise to optimise their customers' online experiences. Webtrends was the first web analytics company, founded over 15 years ago. For more information, visit: http://www.webtrends.com

Webtrends is a registered trademark of Webtrends Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

# # #

Press Contact:

Jasmin Athwal

Max Australia

+61 2 9954 3492

Jasmin.Athwal@maxaustralia.com.au

computerword.com.au

IPscape he-said-she-said hosted voice recording launched - fast and easy compliance tool for insurance and financial services

he-said-she-said can be used by call centre agents or sales team members to record inbound and / or outbound customer calls for management, compliance or quality assurance reasons.

IPscape today launched he-said-she-said, a hosted voice recording service for compliance that can be implemented in 24 hours.

he-said-she-said can be used by call centre agents or sales team members to record inbound and / or outbound customer calls for management, compliance or quality assurance reasons. Using cloud-based technology, voice recording is simply and automatically added to every inbound and outbound call without extensive implementation or training and does not disrupt existing infrastructure and telco operations.

According to Simon Burke, CEO at IPscape, ‘he-said-she-said’s fast and easy implementation also makes it a perfect “emergency” service if existing old world voice recording systems fail or simply can’t deliver the necessary reports.

‘For organisations in insurance and financial services, he-said-she-said is a simple, reliable and easy way to comply with regulations around verbal proof of sale to keep revenues flowing,’ said Burke.

he-said-she-said’s browser based management console provides DIY management of the service including search and download of voice recordings, managing which inbound numbers are recorded and exploring real-time and historic reports. The included real-time reporting and wall boards provides instant insight into call volumes and call duration.

‘Adding IPscape’s cloud-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) explodes inbound capacity and enables clever skills-based routing, instant agent reallocation based on real-time demand and more granular up-to-the-second reporting including wait times and talk times,’ commented Burke.

The he-said-she-said service is available immediately.

ENDS

About IPscape Built from the ground up in Australia, IPscape's award-winning hosted or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) call centre and customer contact solutions benefit from over 50 years first-hand call centre experience and the latest voice and data technologies. IPscape's SaaS approach is simple, clever and fast so clients can concentrate on customer service delivery not the infrastructure. More information from www.ipscape.com.au

Animation showing how cloud-based call centres work is available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CChjA2uSM1g

computerword.com.au

Judging the top 10 Internet moments of the decade

The unveiling of the iPhone, the debut of Twitter, and the growth of Craigslist are just three of decade's most influential Internet moments, as judged by the Webby Awards.
The folks behind the Webby Awards, presented each year for excellence on the Internet, dove into the top 10 craze this week, laying out their picks for the Internet developments of the past 10 years that have had the greatest reverberations. (And no, they're not a year ahead of schedule, despite the tendency of list makers to rally in years that end in '10. The decade technically runs from 2000 to 2009, with 2010 being the start of the next decade.)
The Webby Awards rundown of the decade in chronological order:

• Craigslist moving outside San Francisco in 2000 to revamp the whole notion of classified ads, striking fear in the hearts of newspapers everywhere.
• The launch of Google AdWords in 2000, opening up a new world of advertising for businesses both large and small.
• The start of Wikipedia in 2001 showing off the Internet's ability to let online strangers collaborate, leading to more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages.
• The takedown of Napster in 2001, triggering a revolution in the way we now grab our music and videos.
• Google's IPO in 2004, creating a massive, dominant, and far-reaching force on the Internet.
• The online video revolution in 2006 triggered by beefy bandwidth, cheap camcorders, and YouTube, flooding cyberspace with an array of professional and not-so-professional videos.
• The expansion of Facebook and the debut of Twitter in 2006, creating a fresh way for us to interact and communicate with friends and family.
• The launch of the iPhone in 2007, helping us hop onto the Internet anywhere, anytime through a cell phone.
• The U.S. presidential campaign in 2008 tapping into the Internet with videos like "Obama Girl," social networking use among voters, and online fundraising.
• The Iranian election protesters in 2009 using Twitter to spread their word, a movement that prompted the U.S. State Department to ask Twitter to keep the site up and running.

That's a pretty good list, but of course it immediately started us thinking about the influential Internet-related moments and developments from 2000 to 2009 that got short shrift or that got left off entirely.
Our list, in no particular order:

• The debut and growth of Firefox: The first browser to challenge the IE monopoly, Firefox now holds a 25 percent market share, paving the way for other players like Google Chrome.
• The arrival of blogging: Started as simple online diaries, blogs have grown to become a valid and valued source of news, opinion, and information. As a corollary, there's the rise of RSS, which lets the latest information come to us instead of our having to go out and find it.
• The surge in broadband: The availability of DSL, cable, satellite, and now Fios put a nail in the coffin for dial-up access, letting us download files in seconds, watch each other on webcams, and stream high-res videos.
• The allure of torrents: Whether used for legal or illegal file sharing, technologies like BitTorrent let us share and download all types of content across the Web from movies and TV shows to software. And speaking of movies and TV--the popularity of sites like Hulu and Netflix demonstrated that you no longer need a costly cable TV subscription to indulge your viewing inclinations.
• The reinvention of the telephone. On the one hand, there were VoIP services such as Skype, which saved us from expensive long-distance bills. On the other was 3G technology and mobile broadband, which let us jump into cyberspace from our phones, Netbooks, and a host of other portable gadgets.
• The rise of home workers: Thanks to the Internet, you can now run a full-fledged business or work for your employer without having to leave the house. There's also online education--with many accredited schools now online, today you can attend college or graduate school and get a full degree from your own computer.
• The ascent of Salesforce and cloud computing: With the success of cloud-computing providers like Salesforce, companies can now run much of their business online without the hassle of maintaining their own internal resources.
• The looming menace of cyberwarfare: On the downside, the Internet showed signs of becoming a new virtual battleground between countries, as in the purported cyberattacks against Estonia and Georgia.
• The lessons of the dot-com crash: The decade was barely under way when that bubble burst hard; wildly inflated stocks were tanking and Wall Street was reeling, frenetically hyped Web companies were imploding, and our retirement plans took a beating. That seem so long ago now, what with the current miserable state of the economy, post-housing bubble crash.

Do you agree or disagree with those picks? Sound off in the comments section below.
cnet

3G wireless still holds promise

There's been a lot of talk in 2009 about the next generation of wireless technology, known as 4G wireless broadband, but the current generation of 3G wireless technology is far from dead.
For many wireless operators, especially those that have built their networks using the global standard GSM, the current 3G wireless technology called HSPA still has some legs left. And while many carriers are planning their 4G networks, hundreds of wireless providers throughout the world are also expected to upgrade existing network infrastructure with the latest versions of the 3G wireless technology to increase speeds and offer new services. And because these network speeds will match current 4G speeds, consumers will likely see no difference in capability.

For this reason, the next few years will likely continue to be all about 3G technology. And 4G services, where they will be available, will likely appeal only to niche audiences.
"The average consumer doesn't care about peak data rates or network acronyms," said Dan Warren, the GSM Association's director of technology. "They just care about the experience. They want to be able to watch YouTube or get live traffic updates on their smartphones. And they don't care whether it's a new network or a current network that is being upgraded."
Mobile operators around the world are seeing a huge growth in the amount of mobile data traffic across their networks. This trend is expected to continue as more consumers buy smartphone and jump onto the mobile Web. By 2014, mobile devices are expected to send and receive more data in one month than in all of 2008.
Three-quarters of this traffic will be attributed to Internet access, while nearly all the rest will be due to music and video streaming, the GSM Association recently said. The new usage patterns will put strains on carrier networks, and operators are planning now to keep up with demand. Already, AT&T, which is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., is struggling to keep up with the heavy data usage.
While 4G networks will certainly increase network speeds and capacity, these networks and the devices that can be used on these networks will not be built overnight. This is why many carriers who are looking to meet demands today are turning toward advanced 3G upgrades.
T-Mobile USA, the smallest of the major U.S. wireless operators, has adopted this strategy. The company is currently upgrading its existing HSPA network, which launched just last year, to HSPA Plus, the most advanced 3G technology available. It has already started testing the new service in Philadelphia. And the company expects to deploy the lion's share of its upgrade across its entire footprint in 2010.
Meanwhile other operators, such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are looking toward 4G technologies.
To the 4th power: WiMax vs. LTE
Two technologies dominate the 4G landscape: WiMax and LTE. In the WiMax corner is a company called Clearwire, which is backed by Sprint and Intel, as well as the nation's biggest cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The company is currently building its network and has 13 cities up and running with service.
In the LTE corner is the rest of the wireless industry, including at least 50 mobile operators worldwide that have already committed to LTE plans, trials or deployments. The first LTE networks, including one being built by Verizon Wireless here in the U.S., are expected to be rolled out next year. NTT DoComo of Japan and TeliaSonera of Sweden have also committed to deploying LTE next year. That said, major network expansions aren't expected until at least 2011.
One of the problems that 4G carriers will face is that initially their networks will be islands of service. And it will take years for operators to blanket the country with their services. For example, Clearwire has mostly deployed its service in cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Verizon will likely do the same thing with its LTE network. And then the networks will spread from there. Verizon expects to launch 25 to 30 with 4G service in 2010.
Another problem 4G operators face is a dearth of new devices. Clearwire's WiMax service has been available for more than a year in some cities, and it still only offers USB modems, PC cards, subscriber modems and WiMax-enabled laptops. So far no one has started selling mobile devices, such as WiMax embedded phones. In fact, in January Nokia, one of the initial eco-system backers of WiMax, canceled its N810 WiMax Edition tablet. More devices aren't likely to be developed until the network is more extensive. Sprint is offering a dual-mode service that allows laptop users to switch between its 3G mobile broadband service and the 4G WiMax service, where it's available. But the service is only available for laptops.
As for LTE, no devices exist today because no LTE network exists. Since most of the world's wireless operators will likely use LTE for their next-generation networks, it's a fair bet that there will eventually be a plethora of LTE devices. And carriers, such as Verizon, will likely embed dual-mode chips that work with 3G networks, too. But given the fact that new wireless technology first shows up in laptops and then moves to phones, it's unlikely that consumers will see any LTE-enabled mobile devices for at least another 18 months to two years. And after that, it could take many more months to fill the pipeline.
Meanwhile, there are already 1,600 HSPA-enabled devices on the market, including smartphones, Netbooks, and laptops, according to the GSM Association. There are currently 321 HSPA networks across 120 countries worldwide, and 285 of these networks are commercially live, supporting more than 167.5 million connections.
And while Clearwire reported it added 173,000 new WiMax subscribers in the third quarter of 2009, the GSMA reports that more than 9 million new HSPA connections are added globally every month, with about 1.3 million of these connections coming from the U.S.
The need for speed
Of course, it's true that current 3G technology is considerably slower than 4G networks. Today's 3G technology, whether it is HSPA or EV-DO, offers typical download speeds of between 400 Kbps to 700Kbps. But the latest version of HSPA, called HSPA Plus, offers average download speeds between 4 Mbps and 6 Mbps. This is the same download speed range that Clearwire's WiMax service offers today.
It's difficult to compare these speeds with LTE, since there are no commercial deployments of LTE. But some experts say average speeds for LTE will initially exceed the 4Mbps range. Some people are expecting the service to offer average speeds around 15 Mbps to 20 Mbps.

Because there is little difference between WiMax and HSPA Plus in terms of speed, many operators are opting to invest in upgrading their networks to this technology while they plan for their eventual LTE migration. The GSMA says there are now 56 networks globally deploying HSPA Plus. And 28 of those networks are now live.
T-Mobile USA, as mentioned earlier, is one of them. AT&T initially indicated it was looking into HSPA Plus, but the company has more recently backed away from those claims. Instead, the company has said it is upgrading to a different version of HSPA called HSPA 7.2. AT&T's chief technology officer, John Donovan, said at the CTIA Wireless trade show last month that AT&T will start its LTE upgrade in 2011.
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for the company, said AT&T is keeping its options open.
"We are trying to stay flexible in how we increase 3G speeds as we transition to LTE," he said in an e-mail.
This means that T-Mobile is likely to be the first major U.S. carrier to compete against Clearwire's WiMax service.
T-Mobile has been criticized for entering the 3G market in the U.S. late, but the company has been working aggressively to catch up. At the beginning of 2009, T-Mobile could reach about 100 million people with its 3G wireless service. By the end of the year more 200 million people will have access to its network, according to Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering operations for T-Mobile.
By contrast, Clearwire's WiMax service currently reaches about 30 million U.S. residents. And the company plans to reach about 120 million by the end of 2010.
As for subscribers, Clearwire said that at the end of the third quarter of 2009 it had about 555,000 subscribers, which includes people who have subscribed to the service via its partners Sprint, Comcast, and Time Warner, which are reselling the service. T-Mobile finished the third quarter with a total of 33.4 million customers.
"We have been rapidly expanding the reach of our network over the past 12 to 18 months," Ray said. "And in 2010 we are looking to jump ahead with a leading 3G experience. The only thing that will come close are data sticks from Clearwire. And their service is limited geographically."
Ray said the HSPA-Plus strategy allows T-Mobile to better compete against AT&T and Verizon, because it allows T-Mobile to stretch its 3G investment while still offering faster and more ubiquitous coverage for consumers.
"We may have been a little late to the 3G dance," Ray added. "But clearly the mobile data explosion is rapidly growing today. And our plan for 2010 will put us in a leading position to handle these demands."
T-Mobile USA hasn't said for certain that it will use LTE when it eventually builds a 4G wireless network. But considering that its parent company in Europe, T-Mobile, has committed to using the technology, it's a safe bet the U.S. affiliate will as well.
Ray said for now it's better for T-Mobile to leverage HSPA's existing device ecosystem. The company is already offering several devices, such as the Motorola Cliq, the HTC myTouch, and the Samsung Behold that are equipped with the faster HSPA 7.2 technology. And he said that T-Mobile expects to have HSPA Plus handsets on the market in 2010.
"Because there are a large number of operators throughout the world upgrading to HSPA Plus, it's already on the device roadmaps," he said. "This means we can bring the advanced 3G experience to consumers in mobile devices in 2010. And that is not the case with either LTE or WiMax."
The next generation of wireless may be on its way, but it's a slow road. In the meantime, consumers will likely get more out of faster 3G networks, such as T-Mobile's network than the budding services from Clearwire or Verizon Wireless. It will certainly be a fun horse race to follow.
cnet

Buffalo ships first USB 3.0 hard drive

Buffalo Technology seems to have won the race as the first vendor to actually ship a USB 3.0 hard drive.

Buffalo's new USB 3.0 hard drive

(Credit: Buffalo Technology)

The company announced Tuesday that it is shipping its new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external DriveStation HD-HXU3. Tapping into the speed of the new USB 3.0 spec, the drive can push data at least three times faster than a USB 2.0 drive.
Available in 1-terabyte, 1.5TB, and 2TB capacities, the drive is backward-compatible with existing USB 2.0 computers, said Buffalo. The company is also releasing a two-port USB 3.0 PCI card, so users can upgrade their desktop PCs to take advantage of the drive's higher speeds.
Since the USB 3.0 Promoter Group finalized the new USB 3.0 standard about a year ago, vendors have been pushing to get their new products out the door.
Buffalo had been dueling with Netherlands-based company Freecom to actually deliver the first USB 3.0 hard drive to consumers, not just announce it. Freecom had issued a press release promoting its own USB 3.0 drive in September. That drive was supposed to be available in Europe by mid-November, but I was unable to find any European vendors selling it online.
Responding to an earlier request for comment, a Freecom representative said that samples of the drive were sent to some PC manufacturers and key customers this month. But due to an order backlog, the drive would not generally be available to all customers until next year.
With its higher transfer rates, the new USB standard is ideal for moving around large images as well as huge audio and video streams. As such, USB 3.0 is seen as competition for other high-speed transfer technologies, such as eSATA and FireWire.
Though USB 3.0 offers a theoretical maximum burst rate of 625MB or 4.8 gigabits per second, neither the Buffalo nor Freecom drive will come close to that mark at this point. Freecom has rated its drive at 130 megabits per second while a Buffalo representative told me his company's drive would average around 120Mbps.
USB 3.0 has been promoted as offering speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. But manufacturers will need time to rev up their new drives to approach that threshold.
When will the new Buffalo drive actually hit the stores? The company rep said it's now shipping to online vendor Microcenter and should be available for purchase the week of December 7. Estimated prices are $199 for the 1TB, $249 for the 1.5TB, and $399 for the 2TB.
cnet

Crude Michelle Obama image dumped by site owner

The owner of the Web site that had published an offensive caricature of Michelle Obama has removed the image, and it is disappearing from Google Image Search.

First Lady Michelle Obama, on 60 Minutes last November.

(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)

Google took out an ad earlier this week above Google Image Search results for Michelle Obama to explain why an offensive rendering of the First Lady was the top result in Google Image Search. But the Guardian noticed Wednesday that the image had been removed from the "Hot Girls" blog where it had been posted, alongside an apology written in Chinese.
Google Translate came up with this English version of the apology, "For this article was very sorry that this is the program automatically issued a document from the article. Do not the subject of race and politics make the discussion too radical and sincere hope that the world is very peaceful."
The image can no longer be found in the first five pages of Google Image Search results for Michelle Obama. In its ad, Google said "a site's ranking in Google's search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query."
Google also said that it doesn't remove search results unless they are illegal, violate its Webmaster guidelines against spyware or malware, or if the site owner requests the link be removed. It's not clear whether the owner of the Hot Girls blog requested such treatment, but a Google representative said the company did not ask the site owner to remove the image.
cnet

New Google search UI brings color, search options

Google's new search interface is being tested among small groups of users.

(Credit: Screenshot by Tom Krazit/CNET)

Google's new search results page brings more search options to the fore amid brighter colors that nod at recent changes made by its rivals.
Small groups of Google searchers over the past week or so have seen the new design as the company tests the new user interface, but not everybody was able to gain access to the interface. On Wednesday, Gizmodo published some tips on how to force Google into serving the new pages, and therefore we can bring you some screen shots of the new look and feel for Google search.
The first thing you'll probably notice is the left-hand rail, which has Google's search options feature presented in full color and in permanent position: previously, you had to toggle the search options feature at the top of the search results page, and the links were presented in Google's classic spartan blue. The search bar at the top of the page also has a big blue "Search" button in place of the gray button that used to occupy that space.
Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google, told Search Engine Land last week that the new pages are designed to eliminate inconsistencies in how Google presented search results after it added several new elements to the page. But it also mimics what Yahoo and Microsoft have been doing with their search results pages, focusing on presentation and new ways to sort results.
Let us know what you think of the new search user interface. Fair warning: the procedure described by Gizmodo caused a few temporary issues for some CNET folks that cleared up upon a few refreshes. Google will be testing the new pages for several weeks before deciding what will make the final cut for all searchers.
cnet