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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 13 Issue 14
Volume 13, Issue 14 Atari Online News, Etc. April 8, 2010
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2011
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1314 04/08/10
~ Email Breach Worrisome ~ People Are Talking! ~ Atari Hits on iTunes!
~ Anonymous Vows Payback ~ Seagate's GoFlex Slim! ~ Verizon Appeal Nixed!
~ House Votes Web Regs! ~ Gmail Now Annoys Less! ~ Firefox 5 and Beyond!
~ Chrome Detects Malware ~ Happy 20th B-Day, Linux ~ Acer's Iconia Tablet!
-* New C64 and VIC Computers Out *-
-* California Touts Do Not Track Bill! *-
-* Internet Sales Tax Is A Tariff, Not A Tax! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It was only a matter of time before the topic of internet sales tax made
headlines again. This time around, it's Massachusetts wants to tax its
residents for purchases made on the internet, outside of the Commonwealth.
This is nothing new, but just the fact that various states are looking for
ways to increase its coffers in these tough economic times is bothersome.
In this week's issue, we've included an article that makes some good points
about the issue.
Y'know something, perhaps if states found ways to curb the majority of their
excessive and needless spending, they may have the cash to spend on the
important things. States are taxing its citizens on just about everything
these days, and looking for the means to tax us even more! It's more than
ridiculous these days!
The United States political system can't come up with a budget plan that
will appease the Democrats and Republicans? Oh well, let the government
shut down until it does! Wonderful system! I call that political
blackmail, with worse results.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-tax. But I am against unfair taxes
just to be able to pay for some politician's new program that is needless
and unwarranted. If states want to raise some revenue, let them do what
many organizations do, and have done for years - have a bake sale!!
Elsewhere in this issue you'll read that Commodore has announced "new"
Commodore 64 and VIC 20 computer systems. For nostalgia buffs, I think
it's a great idea. Now if we could get someone to take over the old Atari
systems licenses and introduce some new Atari machines. Just bring them
all into this new generation of computers, with a little bit of the old
thrown in. Is it possible? Well, ask Commodore!
It's been another long week, and a tiring one, so before I zonk out due
to tiredness, I'll keep my diatribes short!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Commodore Announces New Commodore64, VIC Computers
Commodore, the legendary brand that helped drive home computing with an
emphasis on entertainment, has opened a Web store where consumers can
buy a modernized Commodore 64 and two new versions of the VIC, now
redesigned as a "keyboard computer".
The new Commodore 64 costs anywhere from $250 for a "barebones"
configuration for modders, to an $895 "ultimate" configuration with a
terabyte hard drive, Blu-ray., and wireless. The VIC-Pro costs $495 to
$1,195, while the VIC-SLIM costs $295 to $495.
Commodore also posted some basic specs of three new Amiga models: the
1000, 2000, and 3000.
Strangely, the new offerings bear almost no similarity to what Commodore
showed off behind closed doors at this year's CES. Then, the company
emphasized smartphone apps and gaming, and the E715 all-in-one PC. Instead,
the company's Web site now focuses almost exclusively on updating the
company's iconic machines of yesteryear with modern components.
Although Commodore celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2007, the company
has languished in obscurity for many of those years, a faint shell of the
company that helped launched computing and computer games.
"I'm sure you'll appreciate the Commodore thing has been in a state of
flux over the last 20 years," Peter Bromage, the vice president of sales
and marketing for Commodore said in January. "But now the ownership is
resolved, we 100 percent own the brand."
Although the Commodore 64 appears on the Commodore site in prototype
form, the company said it has designed it to be a "modern functional PC
as close to the original in design as humanly possible," even with the
original taupe brown/beige color.
Aside from the barebones model, the C64x, as the company calls it,
includes a 1.8-GHz D525 CPU, Nvidia Ion2 graphics (with 512 Mbytes of
graphics RAM), either 2 or 4 Gbytes of memory, with options for Wi-Fi,
DVD, Blu-ray, and either a 160-, 250-, or 500-Gbyte hard drive.
The computer also features a Cherry-made "clicky" keyboard.
And what OS will it run? Not Windows, at least natively. "Units come
with the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS operating system on disk ready to install,"
Commodore said. "Commodore OS 1.0, along with emulation functionality
and classic game package, will be mailed to purchasers when available."
The VIC-PRO appears to be a massive update to the VIC-20, a 1980 8-bit
personal computer that followed the PET into market. Like the C64x, it's
available in several (three) versions, from $495 to $1,195.
It measures 17.5 inches wide and only 2 inches tall, Commodore said.
Commodore has based the VIC-PRO on the Intel Core 2 processor, either
the 2.93-GHz E7500 Core 2 Duo or the 3.0-GHz Q9650 Core 2 Quad.
Commodore also offers either 2- or 4-Gbyte memory options. Wi-Fi, a tray
DVD drive are options, and users have a choice between either a
500-Gbyte or a 1-Tbyte hard drive.
Connectivity options include four USB ports, a parallel port, 2 serial
ports, 2 PS2 ports, VGA out and dual DVI connections. Stereo speakers
are also included, as well as LED lights to show the status of hard
drive, LAN, and keyboard functions.
Like its name, Commodore's specifications for the "slim" version of the
VIC are slim as well.
The VIC-SLIM measures 17.5 inches wide and 2.0 inches tall, and weighs
7.4 pounds.
Inside, the unit contains a 1.8-GHz Intel Atom D525, the Intel GMA3150
graphics chipset, either 1- or 2 Gbytes of memory, dedicated
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and either a 250- or 500-Gbyte 2.5-inch, removable hard
drive. Like the other models, it ships with the Ubuntu 10.04 OS;
"Commodore OS 1.0, along with emulation functionality and classic game
package, will be mailed to purchasers when available," Commodore said.
The VIC-SLIM includes 5 USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, RJ45, DC-in and COM, but
apparently no DVI connection.
Commodore provided physical dimensions for the new Amiga models, but
very few specifics on what they contain. For example, the Amiga 1000,
the slimmest model of the Amiga family, is a desktop PC based on the
micro ATX form factor, with two standard full-height expansion slots, a
FireWire port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and some card reader options. But the
available CPU, storage, and memory options have been left out, for now.
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Anonymous Vows Payback Against Sony!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Atari's Greatest Hits on iTunes!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Anonymous Vows Payback for Case Against PS3 Hacker
Internet vigilante group Anonymous has vowed retribution against Sony for
taking legal action against hackers that cracked PlayStation 3 (PS3)
defenses to change console operating software.
A message signed by Anonymous at website anonnews.org on Monday
announced an "Operation Payback" campaign aimed at the Japanese consumer
electronics titan because of its cases against George "GeoHot" Hotz and
Alexander Egorenkov.
"Your recent legal actions against fellow internet citizens, GeoHot and
Graf_Chokolo (Egorenkov) have been deemed an unforgivable offense
against free speech and Internet freedom," the message read.
Anonymous argued that people who bought PS3 consoles have the right to
do what they wish with them, including modify them in whatever manner
they wish.
The hacker group threatened to retaliate against Sony by attacking the
company's websites.
Sony went to court early this year to stop hackers that figured out how
to "jailbreak" PS3 consoles to operate on software other than that
originally installed by the firm.
A judge granted Sony a restraining order against Hotz, a 23-year-old New
Jersey resident, and opposing sides are wrangling over the company's
request to have the case heard in a federal district court in California.
Sony wants Hotz taken task for violations of the US Digital Millennium
Copyright Act and a Computer Fraud Abuse Act. The case against
Egorenkov, who also maintains his innocence, is playing out in Germany.
Hotz has denied doing anything wrong. Sony has reportedly tried to find
out whether other hackers helped Hotz or if he shared his PS3
breakthrough with others.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Game On: Atari Unleashes Greatest Hits On iTunes
From "King of Kong" to Google's productivity-zapping reboot of Pac-Man,
retro gaming is firmly etched in the zeitgeist. And now grown-up kids
can re-live their arcade-centric youth in all its quarter-scrounging
glory with the release of Atari's Greatest Hits for Apple's iOS.
The Atari package available on iTunes for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
includes a free version of Pong plus 17 more classic Atari arcade games
and 92 Atari 2600 games. Customers can purchase 25 separate four-game packs
for $0.99 apiece or 100 games for $14.99.
The games require systems with iOs 3.0 or better. Bluetooth Mutliplayer
for head-to-head play on titles such as Pong and Warlords is available,
and the package comes with original cabinet and box art.
Multiple versions of ultra-popular games like Asteroids are listed
(shield loyalists and hyperspace partisans can both rejoice - both
versions of the game are available). But so are the more obscure games
that only a rare few mastered, if only because the big kids were hogging
the Pac-Man and Centipede machines.
Yes, Tempest, we're looking at you.
The full Atari's Greatest Hits lineup includes the following separate
game packs:
*Asteroid Pack* (Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Asteroids 2600, Canyon
Bomber - Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Battlezone Pack* (Battlezone, Red Baron, Air-Sea Battle - BLUETOOTH
MULTIPLAYER, Submarine Commander)
*Centipede Pack* (Centipede, Millipede, Centipede 2600, Millipede 2600)
*Black Widow Pack* (Black Widow, Space Duel - Bluetooth Multiplayer,
Desert Falcon, Space War)
*Crystal Castles Pack* (Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles 2600, Surround
- Bluetooth Multiplayer, Maze Craze)
*Gravitar Pack* (Gravitar, Gravitar 2600, Radar Lock, Demons to Diamonds
- Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Star Raiders Pack* (Star Raiders, Liberator, Star Ship - BLUETOOTH
MULTIPLAYER, Human Cannonball)
*Missile Command Pack* (Missile Command, Missile Command 2600, Fun with
Numbers, Flag Capture - Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Lunar Lander Pack* (Lunar Lander, Sky Diver - Bluetooth Multiplayer,
Video Pinball, Code Breaker)
*Super Breakout Pack* (Super Breakout, Breakout - Bluetooth Multiplayer,
Off-the-Wall, Circus Atari - Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Tempest Pack* (Tempest - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Tempest 2600 -
Bluetooth Multiplayer, Outlaw, Atari Video Cube)
*Major Havoc Pack* (Major Havoc, Secret Quest, Sentinel, Yars' Revenge -
Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Warlords Pack* (Warlords - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Warlords 2600, Combat
- Bluetooth Multiplayer, Combat 2 - Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Adventure Pack* (Adventure, Haunted House, Return to Haunted House,
Save Mary)
*Tic-Tac-Toe Pack* (3D Tic-Tac-Toe, A Game of Concentration, Backgammon,
Brain Games)
*Fatal Run Pack* (Fatal Run, Dodge 'Em, Night Driver, Street Racer -
Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Quadrun Pack* (Quadrun, Slot Racers - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Stellar
Track, Math Gran Prix)
*Casino Pack* (Casino - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Slot Machine, Video
Checkers, Video Chess)
*Sword Quest Pack* (Sword Quest Earthworld, Sword Quest Fireworld, Sword
Quest Waterworld, Sprintmaster)
*Championship Soccer Pack* (Championship Soccer - Bluetooth Multiplayer,
Golf, Double Dunk, Basketball)
*Football Pack* (Football - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Home Run, Miniature
Golf, Bowling)
*Real Sports Basketball Pack* (Real Sports Basketball - BLUETOOTH
MULTIPLAYER, Real Sports Boxing - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Real Sports
Tennis - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Real Sports Baseball - BLUETOOTH
MULTIPLAYER)
*Real Sports Football Pack* (Real Sports Football - BLUETOOTH
MULTIPLAYER, Real Sports Soccer - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Real Sports
Volleyball - Bluetooth Multiplayer, Video Olympics - Bluetooth Multiplayer)
*Battlezone Pack* (Battlezone 2600, Super Breakout 2600, Super Baseball,
Super Football)
*Hangman Pack* (Hangman, Black Jack, Steeplechase)
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
House Votes To Repeal Regs on Internet Access
House Republicans adamant that the government keep its hands off the
Internet passed a bill Friday to repeal federal rules barring Internet
service providers from blocking or interfering with traffic on their
networks.
Republicans, in voting to repeal rules on "network neutrality" set down
by the Federal Communications Commission, said the FCC lacked the
authority to promulgate the rules. They disputed the need to intervene
in an already open Internet and warned that the rules would stifle
investment in broadband systems.
"The FCC power grab would allow it to regulate any interstate
communication service on barely more than a whim and without any
additional input from Congress," said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., sponsor
of the legislation. The Internet, he added, "is open and innovative
thanks to the government's hands-off approach."
But in what has become a largely partisan battle, the
Democrat-controlled Senate is not expected to go along with the House.
Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce
Committee, said he was "disappointed that House leadership wants to undo
the integrity of the FCC's process and unravel their good work."
Even if it cleared Congress, the White House has threatened to veto a
bill it said puts in doubt whether "the democratic spirit of the
Internet will remain intact."
Rep. Henry Waxman of California, top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce
Committee, said nullifying the FCC rules would "give big phone and cable
companies control over what websites Americans can visit, what
applications they can run and what devices they can use."
The vote to pass the bill, mainly along party lines, was 240-179.
The FCC rules were adopted on a 3-2 vote last December after years of
debate over the federal role in ensuring a free and open Internet. The
FCC's three Democrats voted in support and its two Republicans opposed.
While generally seen as a compromise between technology companies
fearing provider limitations on their access to the Internet and the big
phone and cable companies insisting they need flexibility to manage
Internet traffic, the rules drew a quick legal challenge from Verizon
Communications Inc., which said the FCC had overstepped its authority.
A year ago a federal appeals court also ruled that the FCC exceeded its
authority in sanctioning Comcast Corp. for discriminating against online
file-sharing traffic Comcast said was clogging its network.
The rules prohibit phone and cable companies from favoring or
discriminating against Internet content and services, including online
calling services such as Skype and Web video services such as Netflix
that could compete with their core operations. They require broadband
providers to let subscribers access all legal online content.
They do give providers flexibility to manage data on their systems to
deal with network congestion and unwanted traffic as long as they
publicly disclose those practices. They do not specifically ban "paid
prioritization," where a provider might charge more for faster
transmission of data, but they outlaw "unreasonable network
discrimination."
Wireless carriers are also barred from blocking access to any websites
or competing services, but they are given more leeway to manage data
traffic because wireless systems have less network bandwidth.
Even supporters acknowledged that the rules are mainly about preserving
the status quo of a system that is generally working well.
But absent the rules, said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., "there would be a
major shift in power on the Internet to the broadband providers from the
content providers."
He said there was legitimate fear among nonprofit and religious groups
that they would be consigned to a lower tier because they could not pay
a higher price for premium service. "So your Web page from Nike might
load faster than your Web page from the Catholic Church because, if
there was tiered access, who would be more likely to pay for the speed
of the access?"
He also cited the actions of autocratic states such as China in blocking
Internet content in saying the government must make clear that providers
cannot discriminate against customers because of political or
philosophical differences.
The bill is H.J.Res. 37
Appeals Court Knocks Down Verizon Net Neutrality Challenge
An appeals court Monday dismissed Verizon's challenge of the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission's December net neutrality ruling,
calling it premature.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia noted in its decision that the FCC's net neutrality order is a
rule-making document subject to judicial review once it is published in
the Federal Register. The panel said that the appeal's "prematurity is
incurable."
In its December ruling, the FCC voted to prohibit broadband service
providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web content and
applications. As expected, the ruling unleashed protests from an array
of big service providers.
Verizon appealed the FCC ruling on Jan. 20.
"We are deeply concerned by the FCC's assertion of broad authority for
sweeping new regulation of broadband networks and the Internet itself,"
said Michael Glover, Verizon's senior vice president and deputy general
counsel, in a statement accompanying the challenge.
Backers of the net neutrality ruling Monday hailed the appeals court's
decision.
"This is hardly surprising," said a statement from Andrew Jay
Schwartzman, senior vice president and policy director of the Media
Access Project. "Verizon tried to game the system by attempting to
challenge the FCC's open Internet decision prior to its official
release. ... The future of the Internet is too important for such legal
shenanigans. Notwithstanding Verizon's ploy, this case will be heard in
the right court, at the right time."
Internet Sales Tax Is a Tariff Not a Tax
There has been an ongoing debate about sales tax on the net with one
side saying that net sales are killing the brick and mortar stores by
offering better deals, and the other side saying the net needs to be
protected so it can grow bigger and be taxed later when it's big.
It should never be taxed.
This debate actually goes back to the roots of the mail order business
which was not taxed except in the state in which it exists. So this is
not a new debate or a new idea. And mail order sites are pretty much the
same as Internet sites when it's all is said and done.
In fact, the old mail order companies had the same price and selection
advantages/disadvantages as any Internet sales site. They are the exact
same thing.
The big difference is that Amazon came around and Jeff Bezos is an
obvious retailing genius. So because of his success, everything is
different? No, it's not different; we just have interesting new players.
So out-of-the-blue the Retailer Association of Massachusetts is pushing
a bill to collect taxes from individuals in the state who buy anything
on the Internet. These Inter-state collection mechanisms have yet to
work ,and I'm guessing that MA users will have to voluntarily turn over
taxes. Whatever the case, this will not work.
What I fear is a convoluted national system that collects taxes through
some massive mechanism.
Taxes are bad and should be resisted by every citizen. I am appalled by
people who love taxes and insist on more taxes. With State income tax,
property tax, sales tax, airport tax, car rental fees, Federal Income
tax, excise taxes, liquor taxes, gas taxes and on and on, we have more
than enough taxes. We must be the most taxed people in the world.
Our ridiculous corporate income tax is 35 percent - the highest in the
world. That tax is merely passed on to the consumer resulting in 35
percent higher prices. The higher price is taxed with a sales tax at 35
percent higher than what it would have been without the corporate tax,
resulting in more taxes collected. It's a complete scam.
I could go on and on about this, but suffice it to say we are
over-taxed. So why add another new bogus tax?
The fact is that Amazon is in Washington State, and it pays plenty of
money for state and county services, such as sewers, power connections,
and roads. Local taxes go to that. Why should Massachusetts be
collecting taxes when none of that benefits Amazon?
You do know that taxes are collected to benefit you, right? You pay city
taxes to have a police force and fire department. You pay state taxes
for roads and infrastructure. Taxes are not just collected to steal money.
So how does Amazon benefit from taxes collected by Massachusetts? This
is not a tax it is a penalty fine or a tariff for competing with local
businesses. To be honest about it, they should call it a tariff, not a
tax. Be honest about it. Oh wait; a tariff would be illegal, wouldn't it?
And before you say Amazon benefits from the roads to deliver the books,
UPS already paid for that.
If a company is not doing physical business in a state and is taxed,
then it is an interstate tariff, which is unconstitutional. It will lead
to California adding a tariff to Florida oranges and tariffs on wine and
everything else going state to state.
This idea should go away fast. Pass it and a nightmare begins.
Targeted Nature of Email Breach Worries Experts
Think twice next time you get an email from Chase or Citi asking you to
log in to your credit card account. The bank may not have sent it.
A security breach that exposed the email addresses of potentially
millions of customers of major U.S. banks, hotels and stores is more
likely than traditional scams to ultimately trick people into revealing
personal information.
Security experts said Monday they were alarmed that the breach involved
targeted information - tying individuals to businesses they patronize -
and could make customers more likely to reveal passwords, Social Security
numbers and other sensitive data.
The company that was in charge of the email addresses, a Dallas
marketing firm called Epsilon, handles online marketing for some of the
biggest names in business. Those companies have flooded customers in
recent days with warnings to be on guard.
Epsilon said that while hackers had stolen customer email addresses, a
rigorous assessment determined that no other personal information was
compromised. By itself, without passwords and other sensitive data,
email addresses are of little use to criminals. But they can be used to
craft dangerous online attacks.
Citi credit card customers, for example, are more likely to respond to
an email claiming to be from Citigroup than from a random bank. The
email might direct the customer to a site that looks like the bank's
site, capture login information and use it to access the real account.
David Jevans, chairman and founder of the nonprofit Anti-Phishing
Working Group, said criminals have been moving away from indiscriminate
email scams, known as "phishing," toward more intelligent attacks known
as "spear phishing," which rely on more intimate knowledge of victims.
"This data breach is going to facilitate that in a big way," said
Jevans, also CEO of security company IronKey Inc. "Now they know which
institution people bank with, they know their name and they have their
email address."
The information could also help criminals send highly personalized
emails to victims. Doing so makes the email more likely to get past a
spam filter.
Epsilon, a unit of Alliance Data Systems Corp., sends more than 40
billion emails a year and has more than 2,500 business clients. Stock in
the parent company fell $1.73, or 2 percent, to close Monday at $84.20.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen companies contacted customers to instruct
them never to reveal personal information in response to an email.
Financial institutions affected include Barclays Bank, Capital One
Financial Corp., Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Bancorp. The parent
companies of Best Buy, Ethan Allen furniture stores, the Kroger grocery
chain, the Home Shopping Network and Walgreens drugstores issued similar
warnings, as did the Hilton and Marriott hotel chains. The College
Board, the not-for-profit organization that runs the SATs, also warned
that a hacker may have obtained student email addresses.
Many of the companies contacted by The Associated Press declined comment
or referred reporters to statements acknowledging the breach. Epsilon
also declined further comment. Some of the companies said Epsilon has
referred the breach to unspecified authorities.
For victims of this type of security breach, there is little to do but
be vigilant. Changing passwords doesn't help.
Jill Kocher of Crystal Lake, Ill., said she got at least five emailed
warnings, including from U.S. Bank, Best Buy and clothier New York & Co.
Because she works for Groupon, an Internet coupon company, she said she
feels savvy enough to avoid any phishing come-ons. But she's concerned
for those who aren't.
"U.S. Bank sends you an email and it looks legit and you cough up the
information, and now you're in big trouble. It sure does sound like a
big increase in fraud just waiting to happen," Kocher said.
The attack offers a window into a business that serves a vital role in
the Internet age for companies looking for effective ways to find
customers, sell to them, and figure out what they might want to buy in
the future.
Epsilon is a big moneymaker for Alliance Data Systems. Epsilon turned
$65 million in operating profit last year, and its $613 million in
revenue was 22 percent of Alliance Data Systems' total.
Companies like Epsilon send emails to customers on behalf of companies,
using vast stores of data and millions of addresses. Companies are eager
to give up information about their customers - if the third parties such
as Epsilon can do a better job at enticing them to spend.
So for example, an email that a retailer blasts to customers about an
upcoming sale on big-screen TVs might not actually come from the company
at all. A company such as Epsilon might be the one that analyzed the
spending of that store's customers and decided which ones would be most
likely to buy a big-screen TV.
Dave Frankland, an analyst with Forrester Research who studies Epsilon
and other businesses that specialize in "customer intelligence," said
large companies often outsource their email marketing to avoid being
having their messages zapped by email service providers' spam filters.
Companies such as Epsilon work with the email providers to ensure that
their customers' messages aren't blocked as spam. He said that is a job
that requires daily attention.
Frankland said the industry's reputation will take a hit because the
breach exposed how much the relationships between companies such as
Epsilon and their customers depend on trust.
"At first glance, I shrug my shoulders and go, `Oh my goodness - a
spammer knows my name,'" he said. "I get enough spam; that isn't new.
But the bigger concern is when someone gets an email from one of these
blue chip companies and it looks genuine. That's when I get very
concerned."
But he added: "The industry should be looking at this as a let-off. This
could have been a heck of a lot worse. It's not just Epsilon - it's an
industry issue, and this could have been any of them."
Breaches involving millions of customers have happened before. In one of
the largest, more than 45 million credit and debit cards were exposed to
possible fraud because of hackers broke into the computer system of TJX
Cos., the parent company of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's, starting
in 2005.
And last month, RSA, the security division of data storage company EMC,
acknowledged that its computer network was hacked. The implications are
serious because RSA's technology underpins the security of some of the
world's most closely guarded data. RSA makes small security devices that
supply constantly changing numbers that are used as secondary passwords
for accessing corporate networks and email.
If the attacker managed to steal the codes that determine which numbers
appear on the tokens, that information could be used to perform mass
infiltrations - if the attacker already has other information about the
targets. That information can be gleaned from the type of "spear
phishing," or targeted phishing, emails that the Epsilon breach can enable.
"I'm a little concerned that there's a big pattern going on here of very
major breaches, where if you combine that information together, you
could launch some pretty major attacks that would be very successful,"
Jevans said.
California Lawmaker Touts Do-Not-Track Bill
A state senator in California has introduced a bill that would allow Web
surfers to opt out of online tracking efforts by websites and
advertising networks.
State Senator Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, and Consumer
Watchdog, a privacy group that supports the bill, detailed the bill
in a press conference Monday. Lowenthal originally introduced a
placeholder bill in February, then amended the bill March 24 to include
new do-not-track language.
"Nearly 80 percent of Californians use the Internet and nearly 45
percent use Facebook - including myself," Lowenthal said in a
statement. "But today millions of Californians are unaware that their
online behavior is being tracked; their data collected and sold to
advertisers."
Lowenthal's legislation, designated as a computer spyware bill, would
direct the California attorney general to adopt regulations requiring
Web companies that collect personal data to allow users to opt out of
data collection and online tracking.
The regulations would also require Web companies doing business in
California to inform users of their collection and tracking efforts, and
it would allow civil lawsuits against companies that fail to comply with
the regulations.
The bill would hurt the Internet, said Steve DelBianco, executive
director of NetChoice, an e-commerce trade group.
"Consumer Watchdog is backing a California version of do-not-track that
would impose $1,000 class-action lawsuits for every technical
violation," he said. "The plaintiff's bar in California must be
salivating over this. And the bill lets the attorney general create new
rules without hearings or showing evidence of harm."
In February, U.S. Representative Jackie Speier, a California Democrat,
introduced a similar bill in Congress that would direct the U.S. Federal
Trade Commission to create standards for a nationwide do-not-track
mechanism.
In December, the FTC recommended that the technology industry create a
do-no-track tool for Web users. In the following months, Google, Mozilla
and Microsoft all announced do-not-track features in their browsers.
Those browsers offer simple ways for Web users to opt out of tracking
efforts, said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's privacy director.
But websites are not required to honor the browsers' do-not-track
instructions, Simpson said. The California bill "changes that and
ensures consumers' choices will be honored," he added.
Seagate Shipping World's Slimmest Portable External Hard Drive
Seagate has started shipping its super-slim GoFlex Slim external
hard-drive. Originally announced at this year's Consumer Electronics
Show (CES), Seagate' claims that its latest is the World's thinnest
portable drive, which, at 9mm thick, is around the same thickness as a
regular number two pencil.
The portable drive, which measures in at 124mm by 78mm by 9mm, is both
USB 2.0- and USB 3.0-friendly, and comes with a default 320GB capacity.
Seagate were also keen to stress the drives interoperability with both
Mac and PC's.
The Go Flex Slim is shipping now for just under $100 and comes with a
3-year limited warranty.
Acer Iconia Tablet Joins the Party
The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is now available for pre-order at Best Buy for
only $449. The tablet costs less than its rivals, and brings a lot to the
table, so this may be the tablet that some have been waiting for.
First, let's take a look at what you get for your $450. The Iconia A500
is a 10.1-inch tablet running Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" - just like the
Motorola Xoom. Other than the fact that it has only half of the 32GB
storage that comes in the Xoom, the hardware specs on the two tablets are
actually almost identical. It has the same dual-core 1GHz processor, the
same 1GB of RAM, and the same half-inch thickness as the Xoom, but weighs
slightly more at 1.7 pounds.
One thing that sets the Iconia A500 apart is its graphics capabilities.
The Acer tablet has an Nvidia GeForce graphics core capable of
delivering 720p HD on the tablet, or playing 1080p HD video on a monitor
or TV with its HDMI port.
It is inevitable that the tablet will also be compared against the iPad 2,
so let's stack them up. The Iconia has vastly superior cameras on both
the front and the back of the tablet. It has the same 16GB of internal
storage as an equivalent iPad 2, but the Acer tablet also has an SD
memory card slot capable of adding 32GB of removable data, and it has a
USB 2.0 port. Then, there's the fact that the Acer Iconia tablet is
compatible with Adobe Flash.
On paper, the Iconia makes a compelling case against the iPad 2. The
iPad 2 has a smaller display, and it is thinner and lighter than the
Acer tablet. Aside from that, though, the differences come down to user
experience and other intangibles that are subjective, and don't compare
well on paper. Still, the iPad 2 has sold 2.6 million units since its
launch, while the Motorola Xoom has managed only about 100,000 with a
two-week head start, so those intangibles must count for something.
Money matters, though, and undercutting the price of the equivalent iPad
2 is bound to catch the eye of bargain-conscious tablet buyers. If you
are looking to join the tablet revolution, you should at least take a
look at the Acer tablet to see if it's the right one for you.
Firefox 5 and Beyond: What's Next?
Mozilla has some big plans for future versions of Firefox, including
Internet Explorer 9-style dynamic jump lists, new sharing capabilities,
identity management, and the end of the home button.
Firefox 4 is less than two weeks old, and already the folks at Mozilla are
hard at work to keep their promise of releasing Firefox 5, 6, and 7 by the
end of 2011. The next iteration of Firefox is expected to be ready for
download by the summer.
At the moment, Firefox 5 is still in early development so Mozilla may
delay certain features currently being discussed until future releases.
In fact, some of the features discussed below, such as the home tab,
were originally slated for Firefox 4 so you can never tell when a
feature might actually make it into Firefox. It's also possible that
Mozilla could cancel certain features entirely. With than in mind,
here's a look at what Mozilla has planned for Firefox 5 and beyond in
2011.
Mozilla looks set to integrate its Prism add-on with Firefox 5 and include
new enhancements such as IE9-style dynamic jumplists.
Prism, currently available for Firefox 3 through 3.6, lets you place a
shortcut to sites or Web apps right in your taskbar (Windows) or dock
(OSX). When you launch the site shortcut it opens as a separate process
from your main Firefox browser, and can include a variety of app-like
functions such as notifications when you receive a new mail message.
Based on current UI design proposals, Mozilla may add menus to Prism Web
apps so you can access a site menu right in your browser. This feature
would depend on the Website implementing the option. Desktop-accessible
site menus is exactly what Microsoft included for IE9 with its dynamic
jumplists feature used by sites such as Facebook, The New York Times,
Windows Live, and PCWorld.
Unlike Microsoft, however, Mozilla may offer the option to access
Website menus directly from the browser tab as a drop-down instead of
right clicking on the taskbar or dock. This decision would be consistent
with Firefox's design of the new orange Firefox button that houses most of
the browser's menus in Firefox 4 as a drop-down menu.
Firefox 5 may dump the home button and replace it with a permanent home
tab instead, according to a list of new Firefox features on Mozilla's
user experience page.
Mozilla has been talking about a permanent home tab since the early days
of Firefox 4, so it's not clear what is the status of this feature.
In late 2009, Mozilla discussed including dynamic content in the home
tab such as social networking updates and RSS feeds instead of providing
a link to a specific website such as iGoogle or Yahoo. If you want to
read up on current thoughts about the home tab, check out this
discussion on bugzilla.
Mozilla wants to enhance the sharing features for later versions of
Firefox. The new sharing feature would let you integrate your logins for
social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter into Firefox.
Then you would be able to click an icon in the URL address bar that
would automatically let you share a link to specific Web pages with your
Twitter followers or Facebook friends.
Mozilla plans to beefing up Firefox's account management features by
allowing you to save login credentials for multiple accounts at once.
It's not the most exciting feature, but Mozilla is finally working on an
integrated PDF viewer for Firefox. This means you won't have to download
PDFs to your hard drive to see them or rely on Google's "Quick View"
option to see the PDF in Google Docs.
Don't worry, download fans - you will still have the option to save
PDFs to your hard drive if you want to view them offline.
Mozilla has a lot of work ahead of it to get three more versions of
Firefox finished by the end of 2011, but it looks like some great new
features are coming to the open source browser.
Malware Detection Will Be Added To Chrome Browser
Users of Google's Chrome browser will soon receive alerts telling them
that files they're about to download may contain malicious software. The
search giant and growing software pioneer announced on its Online
Security Blog this week that a new feature, available first to
developers, will work with its Safe Browsing Application Programming
Interface, which enables client applications to check URLs against
Google's blacklists of suspected phishing and malware pages. That list
is regularly updated.
"It's easy to find sites hosting free downloads that promise one thing
but actually behave quite differently," wrote Moheeb Abu Rajab of the
Google Security Team on the blog. "These downloads may even perform
actions without the user's consent, such as displaying spam ads,
performing click fraud, or stealing other users' passwords. Such sites
usually don't attempt to exploit vulnerabilities on the user's computer
system. Instead, they use social engineering to entice users to download
and run the malicious content."
Growing detection methods may be turning the tables on spammers and
hackers. Madrid-based cloud-security company Panda last month reported a
decrease in infected computers detected by its online ActiveScan, from
50 percent in January to 39 percent the following month. Trojan programs
were the most common threat at 61 percent, with more common viruses at
11.59 percent, and worms at nine percent.
The highest rates of infection were in China, Ukraine, Thailand and
Taiwan. The U.S. ranked in the middle of the scale, while Australia had
the lowest rate.
Google's update will begin small, as an experiment for certain users who
subscribe to the Chrome development release channel, with later
inclusion planned for the next stable release of Google Chrome. "We hope
that the feature will improve our users' online experience and help make
the Internet a safer place," Rajab said.
Google has invested heavily in security for Chrome, paying out thousands
of dollars for exploit tips from non-employees, and those efforts paid
off last month when no participant in the PWN2OWN hacking contest
attempted to exploit the browser.
"I think Google is taking the right approach," said Chester Wisniewski,
a senior security adviser at Sophos Canada, a consulting firm. "They are
sort of following in our footsteps by chasing after the 'known malware
destinations,' as we call them in SophosLabs."
Wisniewski said that given the staggering volume of web sites being
infected daily, it's nearly impossible to keep track of them, but the
downloads themselves change less frequently, "making the payload an
easier target."
While Chrome is not hackproof, Google is trying hard, he added. "They
were the first to introduce HSTS support, they are a founding member in
stopbadware.org, and they seem to understand the importance of trust on
the web. There seems to be a race between Microsoft, Mozilla and Google
in the security space, and I heartily welcome the competition to do
right by their customers."
Gmail Receives Some Love, Becomes Less Annoying
Google has boosted Gmail with several small features that make it
significantly less annoying. Google says the tweaks have come directly
from its suggestions page, whereby users can comment on what irks them.
Some tweaks are so obvious it's amazing the original way of working ever
made it into Gmail. For example, quickly creating a filter based on a
message you're reading wouldn't return you to the original message once
the filter was made. It does now.
Other tweaks should have been around since day one. Gmail has always
added anybody you reply to you to your contacts list. This is useful but it
can also lead to address books that are massive - I've been using Gmail
since 2004 and have amassed 1400 reply addresses. I e - mail around 10 of
them regularly and have no idea who the rest are.
An overstuffed address book can be a particular issue when syncing
contacts with a phone, for example, when you can end - up with a massive
phone contacts list.
Well, now you can switch off automatic addition of contacts. To do so,
click Settings and look at the entries under the heading that reads
Create Contacts for Auto - Complete.
Additionally, there's now an undo history attached to the contacts
component that means you can restore the list to a previous state,
within a 30 - day window. Again, this can be useful when syncing with
devices like phones, which have a habit of pruning or updating entries
without permission.
Want to explore keyboard shortcuts? Hitting Shift+? will now show a pop-up
window showing popular examples, even if keyboard shortcuts are switched
off. Bear in mind this list varies depending on which mode Gmail is at the
time - you'll see a different list when composing a mail than you will
when browsing your contacts list, for example.
There's now a dedicated Refresh button at the top of the screen that
should update the display with new messages. This is useful considering
Gmail tends to do odd things like showing your Inbox an unread entry,
without actually showing the new message in the list.
Perhaps the most useful new feature is address debugging when you're
sending group e - mails. Previously, if you typed a list of addresses in
a new e - mail and one had a problem (perhaps you'd typed a space in it),
Gmail would alert you to a problem but not provide specifics. Now it
will tell you the errant addresses in a dialog box. I'd have liked to
have seen something more intuitive, such as highlighting the badly
formed addresses, but this is better than nothing.
The tweaks are typical examples of Google's organic approach to
improving its software, which contrasts strongly with Microsoft's
approach of providing major periodic updates that can confuse users.
Of course, updating in this way wouldn't be possible if services like
Gmail weren't based in the cloud. And because we all access the software
online, Google never has to worry about rolling out changes and the
problems that arise, such as different versions on different computers.
Windows 8 To Replace Your Toolbar with a Ribbon
Just hours after an early build of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating
system leaked we're starting to get a good idea of how the latest
version of Windows is shaping up.
Intrepid users have already begun mining the build and a major departure
besides the OS's new welcome screen is already evident. Microsoft seems to
have replaced the toolbar in the explorer window with the Ribbon user
interface currently used Microsoft Office programs, including Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint.
Once you've logged in, the most noticeable change to Windows is the new
Ribbon interface on every Explorer window. At this stage, the Ribbon UI
is in a pretty confused state and doesn't seem to have some of its
functionality, so it's hard to tell exactly how successful this switch
will be. Within Windows even suggests some disagreement may exist within
Microsoft about using the new interface at all.
Also unclear is whether this change is permanent for all devices. The
current build of Windows 8 has a toggle to return the toolbar and menus
we've all grown accustomed to, but it's not clear whether this will make
it to the final version of Windows 8 or if it's just a temporary measure
while the design of the Ribbon gets ironed out.
This is a very early build, so many features, such as specialized tablet
support, haven't yet made their way in. Still, even this early on, we
can say with some certainty that Windows 8 will bring some dramatic
changes to the OS.
Twitter Disables New Version of Website
Twitter experienced service disruptions on Tuesday, displaying an older
version of the social networking website to some users and becoming
completely inaccessible to others.
A message on Twitter's Web page that provides updates on the service's
status said: "We've temporarily disabled #NewTwitter. Our engineers are
working on re-enabling it and we'll update you shortly."
Twitter, which allows users to send short, 140-character messages to
groups of "followers," has more than 200 million registered accounts and
has become a popular communications service with businesses, celebrities
and protesters in the Middle East.
Last month Twitter announced that it had moved its infrastructure to a
new home at an undisclosed location, which the company said would allow
it to constantly "stay abreast" of its capacity needs and provide
greater reliability.
But a custom-built datacenter in Utah that was meant to house Twitter's
gear has been plagued with problems, according to people familiar with
the matter, forcing Twitter to move most of the site's operations to a
facility in Sacramento, California instead.
Tuesday's disruptions meant that some people were using the version of
the Twitter site that preceded a redesign unveiled in September. Other
Twitter users were unable to log on at all, and were greeted with a page
informing them that "something is technically wrong" and promising to
have things "back to normal soon."
A Twitter spokeswoman said the company had no details to provide beyond
the statements on its special technical status Web page.
Happy 20th Birthday, Linux: The Celebrations Begin
The Linux Foundation on Wednesday kicked off what will be several months
of celebrations in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Linux
operating system with a range of festivities and events as well as key
news announcements from three of its working groups.
A new 20th Anniversary Website marks the occasion with a summary of the
various initiatives planned for the upcoming months, including a new
training scholarship and contests.
Released to the public by creator Linus Torvalds back in 1991, Linux has
become an essential part of the computing world, where it quietly powers
many of the modern innovations we take for granted. Torvalds is now a
fellow at the Linux Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering the
growth of the free and open source operating system.
In its short new video (embedded below), the Linux Foundation recounts
many of the highlights of Linux's tale. It's also inviting fans of the
operating system to create and submit their own to its third annual
video contest, however, which for the first time Torvalds himself will
judge.
From now through July 2, the video contest seeks user-generated videos
that celebrate Linux while demonstrating the impact of the operating
system on computing, business, or culture over the last 20 years and
today. The winner will get registration and hotel expenses to attend
LinuxCon North America, LinuxCon Europe, SXSW 2012, or the LA Film
Festival.
"The story of Linux has many chapters and there are literally no limits
on how the operating system will innovate in the future," said Amanda
McPherson, the Linux Foundation's vice president of marketing and
developer programs. "We're looking forward to seeing how people choose
to illustrate the impact Linux is having on computing and our society."
You can see winners of the contest from 2010 and 2009 on the Linux.com
site.
This year the foundation is also hosting a T-shirt design contest, while
a 20th Anniversary Video Booth will be onsite at Linux Foundation events
throughout the year to record fans' personal messages and favorite
memories of the operating system. Linux.com will also host an exclusive
series highlighting some of the most interesting Linux stories from the
last 20 years.
A new Linux Foundation Scholarship Program, meanwhile, will focus on
training the Linux developers who will shape the next 20 years of
computing. Details on the program will be announced soon.
Then, too, there's the working-group news announced Wednesday at the
foundation's Collaboration Summit in San Francisco, including the
availability of the Yocto Project Release 1.0 and version 5.0 of the
Carrier Grade Linux specification as well as the launch of a new High
Availability working group.
There's no doubt that we all have much to appreciate about Linux and the
two decades of freedom it's already provided.
In addition, though, there's also plenty to look forward to. With Ubuntu
promising to shake up the mainstream and Red Hat on the verge of
billion-dollar revenues, for example, I'm betting the next 20 years will
be even better.
=~=~=~=
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