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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 12 Issue 46
Volume 12, Issue 46 Atari Online News, Etc. November 12, 2010
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2010
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 #1246 11/12/10
~ Rockmelt Social Browser ~ People Are Talking! ~ Mac OS X 10.6.5 Out!
~ Woman Illegally Fired? ~ Nobel Peace Prize Scam ~ Linux Mint 10 Julia!
~ RIM's Playbook Tablet! ~ Apple: No More Servers ~ IE9 Lags on Sites!
~ The Queen, On Facebook! ~ Facebook Email Service ~ Call of Duty Stolen!
-* Trend Micro Declares MS Foul *-
-* Google Data Collection Investigation *-
-* GOP Election Victory Dooms Net Neutrality! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's been a long 'short' week this past week! The Veterans Day holiday
in the middle of the week cut back the amount of news that made headlines
this week, as well as available time to collect it all. But, Veterans Day
is a significant holiday in this country, celebrating our nation's large
group of military veterans. It doesn't matter if you're a hawk or a dove,
we owe an immense amount of gratitude to those who have fought to protect
all that we hold dear in this country.
The Fall season has reached us and going strong. All it takes here in the
Northeast is to see the amount of leaves laying about! I've cleaned my
yard a couple of times already, but it's once again blanketed with more
leaves. And yea, I'll be at it again this weekend cleaning them up again!
It's a seasonal task that won't go away on its own, so I'll just spend the
time that it takes to complete it. A couple of more time and the yard
should do it, I hope!
On an editorial note, there won't be a People Are Talking column this week.
No, Joe isn't ailing. The omission this week is, however, due to a very
good reason - Joe has finally found a job and is busy getting himself
acclimated to his new endeavors. We'll see his return next week, so don't
fret! It's good to see Joe back in the rolls of the employed!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Call of Duty: Black Ops Stolen at Gunpoint!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sony's 'Gran Turismo 5' Coming!
'It's on Like Donkey Kong'!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Call of Duty: Black Ops Stolen at Gunpoint
Video game violence hit a little too close to home last weekend, as
armed robbers in Maryland held up a video game store and ran off with
100 unreleased copies of the combat-themed Call of Duty: Black Ops video
game.
According to a statement from the Harford Sheriff's Office, at least two
men wielding semi-automatic handguns burst into a GameStop store in the
Festival at Bel Air shopping mall, as it was closing on Saturday night.
While robbing the store, two customers walked in and were forced into a
backroom at gunpoint.
The robbers ran off with four crates of 'Black Ops,' cash from the
register and several gaming systems. No one was hurt.
The suspects are still at large and a sheriff spokeswoman told the
Baltimore Sun that anyone who has the game should report it to the
Harford police immediately.
Developed by Treyarch and published by ActiVision, Black Ops is the
latest installment of the popular Call of Duty series. At least a few
analysts expect it to be one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Pre-sales have already overtaken Activision's Modern Warefare 2, which
debuted this time last year and grossed $1 billion by January.
Black Ops puts players in the middle of the wilderness for first-person
guerilla warfare, and includes Treyarch's trademark Nazi zombies. It has
been rated "mature" for intense violence, strong language, and blood and
gore.
The 3D-ready game will be released for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and
Windows PCs. It will also be available on the Nintendo Wii in the non-3D
version.
Sony's 'Gran Turismo 5' Coming
After several delays, Sony's "Gran Turismo 5" is set to be released on
November 24, the company announced Friday.
The long-awaited game, available for the PlayStation 3, will hit stores
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in North America. Pre-orders are being
accepted now via Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart for the
$59.99 standard edition. Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are also selling a
$99.99 collector's edition, which includes a 1:43 scale collectible diecast
car, a 300-page guide to cars and racing techniques, a GT-branded key
chain, a voucher for five DLC cars, and a numbered certificate of
authenticity.
"Gran Turismo 5 is an ambitious project, with challenges and complexities
which have made it our version of the Apollo Space Program" Kazunori
Yamauchi, president of game studio Polyphony Digital, said in a statement.
"When we created the original Gran Turismo back in 1997, we wanted to set
a completely new precedent for the racing genre. With the technological
leap onto PlayStation 3, our objective with Gran Turismo 5 was to create
another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high
expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans."
"Gran Turismo 5" was slated to go on sale in Japan in March, but that was
pushed to November 2. In October, however, executives announced that the
release would again be delayed, but would arrive in time for the holidays.
"Satisfying the loyal Gran Turismo followers is at the heart of all of our
efforts, which is why it was such a difficult decision to delay the release
of the game, and one which we did not take lightly," Yamauchi said Friday.
"I can only apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope
that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran
Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed."
"Gran Turismo 5" brings players to the world's most famous racetracks like
Nurburgring and the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sony said. It includes a
lineup of over 1,000 in-game cars, including the Lamborghini Murcielago
LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, the Lexus LFA, and the McLaren MP4-12C.
A version of the game for the PlayStation Portable was released last year,
but the last major overhaul of the racing simulator, Gran Turismo 4,
was released in 2005.
Nintendo Eyes 'It's on Like Donkey Kong' Trademark
Nintendo's anticipated 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' finally lands on
November, 21st, but the company is commemorating the launch early with an
incredibly atypical publicity maneuver. Despite Nintendo's beloved
reputation as an unconventional and fan-friendly entity, it reportedly
intends to trademark and protect a quirky piece of pop culture.
According to CNN, Nintendo hopes to trademark the phrase "It's on like
'Donkey Kong.' " (Et tu, Nintendo?) The company issued a press release
lauding "Donkey Kong's status as an enduring pop-culture icon and video
game superstar," and the ubiquitous presence of the phrase in "popular
music, television and film over the years." The press release doesn't
address the possible repercussions of improperly busting the rhyme, but
- just to be certain - fitting and similar alternatives certainly exist.
"It's on like Diddy Kong!" has a better ring to it anyway.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Republican Victory in US Election Dooms 'Net Neutrality'
The stunning Republican gains in the US elections appear to have doomed
efforts to pass a "net neutrality" bill that would require Internet
service providers to treat all Web traffic equally.
President Barack Obama, Democrats in Congress and Silicon Valley have
backed net neutrality but it has met with opposition from telecom and
cable companies and many Republicans who see it as unnecessary government
regulation.
With the Republicans seizing control of the House of Representatives in
Tuesday's vote and picking up half-a-dozen seats in the Senate, analysts
said net neutrality is not expected to make any headway in Congress.
"There's essentially no prospect of a net neutrality bill passing anytime
soon," said Richard Bennett, a senior fellow at the Information Technology
and Innovation Foundation.
Bennett, in a blog post at Hightechforum.org, noted that all 95 Democratic
members of the House and Senate who had signed a public pledge to protect
an "open Internet" had lost their seats in the Republican tidal wave.
"This election puts net neutrality on the back burner, and raises the
importance of spectrum, intellectual property protection, and Internet
privacy," Bennett said.
While disagreeing on net neutrality, many Republicans and Democrats agree
there is a pressing need to auction off more wireless communications
spectrum to cope with the explosion of mobile devices.
Another issue that appears headed for the back burner is immigration
reform, which has been pushed by technology companies eager for visas
for skilled engineers and software programmers from countries such as
India.
"The Republican gains though are likely to make it more difficult to get
comprehensive immigration reforms passed, which the tech industry has
supported," said Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications
Industry Association (CCIA).
While net neutrality and comprehensive immigration reform appear to be
out of reach, the new Congress being sworn in in January can be expected
to move forward on some technology legislation.
"Many tech issues are bipartisan," said Black, citing cybersecurity and
online privacy protection as areas where Democrats and Republicans can
find common ground.
A number of bipartisan cybersecurity bills are already wending their way
through Congress while the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act is
also being examined to bring it into the Internet age.
Tuesday's vote also saw the defeat of a US congressman who has been a
prominent voice in technology issues for a long time and the election of
a senator who has been a thorn in the side of technology giants.
Representative Rick Boucher, a Democrat from Virginia and net neutrality
advocate who chaired the House subcommittee on Communications,
Technology, and the Internet, lost his re-election bid.
Elected to the Senate was Richard Blumenthal, who as the attorney general
of Connecticut spearheaded probes into adult services advertisements on
Craigslist and Google's "Street View" online mapping service.
Tuesday's election also saw two high-profile former chief executives of
technology companies, both Republicans, lose their bids for elected
office in California.
Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman lost the governor's race despite
spending more than 160 million dollars of her own money on her campaign
and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina failed in her
Senate bid.
FCC Opens Inquiry into Google Data Collection
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether Google Inc.
broke the law by inadvertently sucking up fragments of e-mails, Internet
passwords, Web surfing behavior and other online activities over public
Wi-Fi networks while photographing neighborhoods for its "Street View"
mapping feature.
The probe by the FCC comes two weeks after the Federal Trade Commission
concluded its own inquiry into the problem, which Google said it
discovered following an investigation by German regulators.
While the FTC criticized the search giant for collecting potentially
sensitive information over unsecured wireless networks for several years
before realizing it, the agency said it is satisfied that Google has taken
adequate measures to improve its internal privacy controls. Those include
privacy training for all 23,000 of the company's employees
The FCC inquiry, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will focus on
whether Google violated a federal law that prohibits the unauthorized
publication or use of messages intercepted over radio networks.
"As the agency charged with overseeing the public airwaves, we are
committed to ensuring that the consumers affected by this breach of privacy
receive a full and fair accounting," Michele Ellison, head of the FCC's
Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.
Google has said it gathered about 600 gigabytes of data - enough to fill
about six floors of an academic library - in more than 30 nations and
wants to delete all of the information as soon it's cleared to do so in
all affected countries. But the company is facing a number of
investigations both in the U.S. and overseas.
In addition to the FCC, a coalition of state attorneys general is examining
the data collection and several prominent House members have criticized the
company. Authorities in several other countries, including Italy, are also
looking into the problem.
Last month, an investigation by Canada's Privacy Commissioner concluded
that Google violated Canadian privacy law by collecting highly sensitive
personal information - including complete e-mail messages, e-mail
addresses, telephone numbers and even personal medical details - affecting
thousands of citizens. The report blamed the episode on "an engineer's
careless error as well as a lack of controls to ensure that necessary
procedures to protect privacy were followed."
Reacting to the FCC inquiry on Wednesday, Google stressed that the incident
was simply a mistake, that it did not want the data and that it has never
used the information in any of its products and services. "As we have said
before, we are profoundly sorry for having mistakenly collected payload
data from unencrypted networks," the company said in a statement.
Trend Micro Calls Foul Over Microsoft Offering
Free AV Software Via Windows Update
Microsoft this week began offering U.S. customers its free antivirus
program via Windows' built-in update service, a move one major security
firm said may be anticompetitive.
Last Monday, Microsoft started adding Security Essentials to the optional
download list seen by U.S. users running Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7
when they fired up the operating system's update service. The move
followed an Oct. 19 kickoff of a similar program in the U.K.
"Commercializing Windows Update to distribute other software applications
raises significant questions about unfair competition," said Carol
Carpenter, the general manager of the consumer and small business group at
Trend Micro, on Thursday.
"Windows Update is a de facto extension of Windows, so to begin delivering
software tied to updates has us concerned," she added. "Windows Update is
not a choice for users, and we believe it should not be used this way."
If Windows doesn't detect working security software on the PC, Microsoft
adds Security Essentials to the Optional section of Microsoft Update, a
superset of the better-known Windows Update, or to Windows Update if it
has been configured to also draw downloads from Microsoft Update.
Microsoft made a point to say that it was not offering Security
Essentials via Window Update, but only through the Microsoft Update
service, which also offers patches for new versions of non-operating
system software, notably Office and Windows Media Player.
But most users won't understand the distinction because of the way that
Microsoft has intermingled the two services.
In Vista and Windows 7, for example, Windows Update is configured out of
the box to also poll Microsoft Update. And although Microsoft Update was
once optional in Windows XP, new PCs with new installations of the OS
now use Microsoft Update as the default update service.
"We welcome competition on a level playing field," said Carpenter of
Trend Micro. "What concerns us is a vendor using market leverage to
drive its solution in some unfair way."
Microsoft defended the practice, saying it was giving customers a
convenient way to acquire antivirus software.
"We are always looking for the most effective and efficient ways to
ensure our customers are protected against viruses, spyware and other
malicious threats," said Jeff Smith, director of marketing for Security
Essentials, in an e-mail reply to questions. "By offering Security
Essentials as an optional download for PCs that are unprotected, we make
it easy for those who want and know they need protection, but for
whatever reason have not gotten around to installing it."
When asked to respond to rivals' anticompetitive concerns, Smith
reiterated that Microsoft was not forcing users to download its product.
"[It's] an optional download that customers with no antivirus solution
can elect to download and install," he said. "[This is] just one of many
options available to customers to get security software."
Other security vendors, including Symantec and McAfee, declined to say
whether they, like Trend Micro, viewed Microsoft's move as
anticompetitive or unfair. Instead, they downplayed Security Essentials'
effectiveness.
"It's clear that today's threat landscape requires more comprehensive
protection than what Microsoft Security Essentials offers," said
Symantec in a statement. "From a security perspective, this Microsoft
tool offers reduced defenses at a critical point in the battle against
cybercrime."
McAfee took the same tack.
"Options that provide an elementary level of security, including
Microsoft Security Essentials, mostly rely on traditional protection
mechanisms," McAfee said. "McAfee products offer not only more features
but most importantly, McAfee products offer real-time protection using
cloud-based intelligence to combat even the most sophisticated threats."
All three vendors scoffed at the idea that they're scared of free
antivirus rivals, and by implication, Security Essentials. "We've
competed against free for a long time," said Carpenter. "We've not seen
[free products have] much impact on our market share."
This isn't the first time that security companies and Microsoft have
butted heads.
In 2006, Symantec and McAfee complained to European Union antitrust
regulators about Microsoft's decision to block them from accessing the
kernel in the 64-bit version of Vista, and barring them from its new
integrated security center. Microsoft bowed to the pressure, and later
promised to produce APIs (application programming interfaces) that gave
security vendors some access to the kernel and allowed them to mesh their
product's on-screen status features with the security center.
Carpenter declined to says whether Trend Micro would consider legal action
against Microsoft over the issue, but said that her company "was always
looking at issues like this."
In a follow-up e-mail, Carpenter was clearer. "We're concerned that
Microsoft may be using its OS-based market leverage to box out other
choices. If that were to happen, it would not be good for consumers or the
industry, and would warrant a second look."
Trend was aware of the Security Essentials offer in the U.K. that started
last month, but Microsoft's decision to do the same in the U.S. caught it
by surprise. "We work with Microsoft on a lot of levels," Carpenter said,
but added that Microsoft had not told Trend Micro it was expanding the
deal to the U.S.
Not all eligible U.S. users have seen the Security Essentials offer because
Microsoft is rolling it out over the course of the month, the company said.
Users who decline the download and then want to block the offer from
reappearing can do so by right-clicking on the Security Essentials item,
then selecting "Hide update" from the drop-down menu.
Rockmelt: The Facebook of Web Browsers
A new Web browser, Rockmelt debuts in limited beta Monday and aims to help
you keep tabs on your Facebook friends and your favorite sites, and make
your Web searches faster. Backed by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen,
Rockmelt was first reported on by The New York Times in August 2009. At
the time, Rockmelt was supposedly going to be a next-generation Web browser
designed to take advantage of new Web applications and services.
A year later, and Rockmelt appears to be nothing more than another social
networking-focused browser similar to Flock. Just like Flock, Rockmelt
incorporates your social networking activity into browser sidebars so you
can stay up to date on your friends' activities while you browse other
parts of the Web. Unlike Flock, however, Rockmelt features a single sign-on
profile tied to your Facebook ID that you can carry with you using any
computer running Rockmelt. Both browsers are based on Chromium, Google's
open source project that is basically a test ground for Google Chrome.
If you'd like to try out Rockmelt, you can sign up for the limited beta at
Rockmelt.com by signing in with your Facebook ID.
I haven't had a chance to get my hands on Rockmelt yet, but here's a look
at some of the key features of the world's latest social-focused browser.
You can use Rockmelt as you would any normal Web browser by just firing
it up and surfing the Web. But Rockmelt's real power is unlocked when
you log into the browser using your Facebook ID. This allows the browser
to display a list of your Facebook friends in a slim sidebar on the left
side of the browser window; feeds from your favorite sites in a sidebar
on the right; and stores your browser bookmarks and preferences.
All of this personalized information is saved on Rockmelt's servers so that
you can access it by logging into the Rockmelt browser from any computer.
Rockmelt does not, however, save your Web searches or browsing history,
according to an interview with Rockmelt co-founders Eric Vishria and Tim
Howes by blogger Robert Scoble. The company also says that all of your
personal data is stored as an encrypted bundle on its servers to keep it
private. It's not clear if Rockmelt has the ability to decrypt your data,
but the company does say they are not interested in your information for
the purposes of ad targeting.
It should be noted that in addition to being an investor in Rockmelt,
Andreessen also sits on Facebook's board of directors.
On the left side of your browser window is a thin sidebar that lists the
Facebook profile pictures of your "favorite" Facebook friends. It's not
clear how Rockmelt determines which people are your favorite Facebook
friends or how you can change that setting.
As you hover over each picture in the left sidebar you see a summary of
their latest Facebook activity, such as whether they have an updated
status or how many photos they've uploaded recently. Clicking on the
profile photo opens a small pop-up window where you can see their recent
Facebook activity at the top along with a chat area on the bottom for
instant messaging.
Your own Facebook profile photo sits at the top of the left-hand column
and you can click on it to update your Facebook status from there.
On the other side of your browser window is a second sidebar where you
can get feeds from your favorite sites including news sources such as
/The New York Times/ or CNN. You can also add other social networking
sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Rockmelt didn't explain what the
differences are between the Facebook updates on the left side and right
side of the browser. If I had to guess, however, I would say that
including Facebook in your right sidebar shows you updates from your
newsfeed, while the left sidebar features select updates from your
"favorite" Facebook friends.
As each site is updated, an unread count appears next to the site's icon
telling you how many new articles or updates there are. Clicking on a
site brings up another pop-up window that shows you a summary of the new
stuff you haven't seen. If you'd like to read further, clicking on the
link for each article brings it up in the main browser window.
If you put your Twitter account in the right sidebar, you can click on
the Twitter icon to send out an update, reply or retweet a message and
access any Twitter lists you subscribe to.
Rockmelt also has a share bookmarklet in the browser toolbar to let you
quickly share links with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Rockmelt features two search boxes: a regular Chrome-style Omnibox and a
special Rockmelt search field. Rockmelt's search feature is designed to
help you get to your Web results faster, and the company said it wanted
to make search as "simple as leafing through a magazine."
Let's say you were searching for information about flu shots, and the top
search results were links to the Center for Disease Control, Wikipedia,
and a CNN news item followed by four other site links. Rockmelt would
display the results just as you would see them in Google in a drop down
menu. You would then see a preview of each site in the main browser window
as you scrolled through your results in the drop down menu. So you could
preview the content from the CDC, Wikipedia, CNN, and so on until you find
what you're looking for.
If you just want typical Google results then you can use the Omnibox
instead of Rockmelt's dedicated search box.
Rockmelt appears to be an interesting take on integrating social features
into your Web browsing and the new search feature could be useful. But
Rockmelt has a tough road ahead to gain a foothold in an already crowded
browser market that includes Apple's Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Flock, and many others.
RIM Plans To Take on iPad with a Price Below $500
As its mobile devices lose ground, Research In Motion's decision to sell
its jumbo BlackBerry, the PlayBook tablet, for less than $500 could help
the company gain some traction. The Wi-Fi-equipped PlayBook has a
seven-inch touchscreen and front and back cameras for video
conferencing, unlike Apple's popular but camera-less 9.1-inch iPad.
The PlayBook will launch in North America in the first quarter next year
and globally in the second quarter.
At the Group of 20 Business Summit in Seoul, Korea, this week, RIM
co-CEO Jim Balsillie told news organizations that the device will sell
for less than $500. The iPad's basic 16GB model with Wi-Fi sells for $499.
"A price under $500 enables a media tablet to reach a broader audience,"
said ABI Research analyst Jeff Orr.
The PlayBook is thin and light for traveling business users, has
security options through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and supports
Adobe Flash for video content, which is banned on Apple's mobile
devices. That combination of features might make it a formidable iPad
rival compared to other tablets like Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which went on
sale this week.
"Professionals and business users are showing interest in a touchscreen
companion computing device that allows easy interaction with frequently
used applications for both home and work lifestyles," Orr said. "RIM's
approach with PlayBook is to provide a Wi-Fi-enabled device initially
that also synchronizes with BlackBerry smartphones."
But Orr said adoption of the devices in the workplace could pose a
challenge to IT teams that will have to integrate them with current
services, applications and security systems.
"Supporting any and every consumer device in the enterprise is
cost-prohibitive," he said. "RIM's attempt to extend its IT-friendly
BlackBerry solution to media tablets could give it a leg up on
media-tablet vendors squarely focused on infotainment and delivering an
excellent consumer experience in and around the home."
Devices powered by RIM's BlackBerry OS made up 14.8 percent of the
market in the third quarter compared to the 16.7 percent share running
Apple's iOS, according to Gartner Research.
The PlayBook will be powered by an operating system made by Canada-based
QNX Software Systems, a RIM subsidiary. Most other recent tablet
devices, including the Galaxy Tab, Toshiba's Folio100, and the Archos 7,
are powered by Google's Android.
Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile will sell the Galaxy Tab for $599, though
T-Mobile will offer it for $399 with a two-year data plan.
"Keep in mind that the 'sweet spot' for consumer electronics in the U.S.
is still $200," Orr said. "Products priced below that threshold are more
likely to be purchased on an impulse, while those priced above the mark
require more budgeting and consideration before the purchase."
Linux Mint 10 'Julia' Is Now Official
The Linux Mint team announced [Friday} that the final release of version
10 of the free and open source operating system, dubbed "Julia," is now
officially available.
Launched in 2006, Linux Mint has quickly become the third most popular
Linux distribution out there behind only Ubuntu and Fedora, and version 10
makes it easy to see why. Based on Ubuntu 10.10, or Maverick Meerkat,
Julia offers numerous enhancements that put it at the forefront of
usability.
A new Welcome Screen, for instance, lets users install any multimedia
codecs they might need right from the start as well as upgrade to the
DVD edition, if necessary. Linux Mint has always stood out for its
compatibility, thanks in large part to its inclusion of many proprietary
multimedia codecs that are often absent from other distributions, and
this new capability makes that compatibility even easier to ensure.
A revamped menu, meanwhile, highlights newly installed applications and
adds support for GTK bookmarks and themes for easier customization. It's
also now aware of what's available in the user's software repositories,
meaning that they can search for software and install packages without
even having to open the Software Manager.
Search capabilities are now directly integrated into the menu as well,
so users can simply begin typing to look something up on Google or
Wikipedia, for example. It's also now possible to look up words in the
dictionary and find tutorials, software, hardware devices and even other
Linux Mint users that way.
Then, too, there are the updates to Linux Mint 10s Software Manager,
making packages easier to browse through and find. Software is now
categorized more clearly, while application icons make them easier to
recognize.
Also new in Julia is an Update Manager that lets the user tell the
operating system if there are packages for which they're not interested in
receiving updates. When updates are selected, the Update Manager now shows
the size of the file about to be downloaded.
There's a new look and feel in Linux Mint 10, adding a metallic twist to
the distribution's traditional light theme and dark background. A number
of artist-created backgrounds are also available.
Under the hood, components include security-enhanced version 2.6.35 of the
Linux kernel, GNOME 2.32 and Xorg 7.5. The speedy Adobe Flash "Square" is
also part of Julia, as is a new metapackage called "virtualbox-nonfree"
that points to the non-open-source version of Oracle's VirtualBox
virtualization software and provides USB support.
Finally, for developers and administrators, Julia's Upload Manager has
been polished with a raft of new improvements.
Following the debut of its release candidate last month, Linux Mint 10 is
now available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions via Torrent and HTTPdownload.
It will be supported through April 2012. The software requires an x86
processor with 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of disk space for installation along
with a graphics card capable of 800×600 resolution.
If you're curious about Linux Mint as a user-friendly alternative to Mac
or Windows - or if you're an Ubuntu user who wants to see what Mint is
like in light of all the big changes coming down the pike for Canonical's
distribution - there's no better time to give Julia a try.
Facebook May Be Poised To Launch Email Service
Facebook, rumored for some time to be planning its own email service, may
finally be on the verge of doing so in a move that would send a shot across
the bow of Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft.
TechCrunch, a leading Silicon Valley technology blog, reported Friday that
the social network plans to announce a Web-based email service complete
with @facebook.com addresses at an event in San Francisco on Monday.
Agence France-Presse and other media outlets have been invited to
Facebook's event but have not been told what it will be about.
Facebook boasts more than 500 million members around the world and
offering a personal email service would lay down a powerful challenge to
the established email giants - Microsoft's Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and
Google's Gmail.
Hotmail currently has the most users, 361.7 million as of September,
according to online tracking firm comScore, followed by Yahoo! with
273.1 million and Gmail with 193.3 million.
TechCrunch said Facebook's planned Web-based email service is part of a
secret project known as "Project Titan" that is "unofficially referred
to internally as its 'Gmail killer.'"
"And while it may only be in early stages come its launch Monday,
there's a huge amount of potential here," TechCrunch's Jason Kincaid
noted.
The report comes amid a recent bout of sparring between Facebook and
Google over data sharing and Silicon Valley engineering talent.
Google last week blocked Facebook from importing Gmail contact
information over the Palo Alto, California-based social network's
refusal to reciprocate and share data about its users.
And The Wall Street Journal reported that Internet search king Google,
in a bid to stem defections to rival technology firms such as Facebook,
has given all of its 23,000 employees a 10 percent pay hike.
According to the Journal, roughly 10 percent of Facebook's employees are
Google veterans.
TechCrunch's Kincaid and others noted the advantages Facebook could
bring to an email battle.
"Facebook has the world's most popular photos product, the most popular
events product, and soon will have a very popular local deals product as
well," Kincaid said.
"It can tweak the design of its webmail client to display content from
each of these in a seamless fashion.
"And there's also the social element: Facebook knows who your friends
are and how closely you're connected to them; it can probably do a
pretty good job figuring out which personal emails you want to read most
and prioritize them accordingly," he said.
Gadget blog Gizmodo said the prospect of an email service from Facebook
should make Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft "very nervous."
"Facebook Mail could be a killer not only because of its potential
instant size, but because of its natural advantage at making mail more
useful," Gizmodo blogger Jesus Diaz said.
"Actually, it may become the only 100 percent useful mail service out
there, only showing you the email you are actually interested in," Diaz
said.
"Since Facebook knows how you interact with all your contacts, they
would be able to perfectly separate what is important from what is not."
"Of course, not every Facebook user will jump on its mail bandwagon,"
Diaz added. "But chances are that a huge percentage of the user base
will."
Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.5
Apple on Wednesday released Mac OS X 10.6.5, the latest version of its
Snow Leopard operating system. As per usual, the update - which is
recommended for all users of 10.6 - is chock full of bug fixes, feature
enhancements, and security patches.
Among the most prominent additions in 10.6.5 are improved reliability with
Microsoft Exchange servers, better stability and performance of graphics
applications and games, more robust pairing with Apples Magic Trackpad,
and improved reliability of Ethernet connections. Theres also now SSL
support for iDisk connections, a fix for an issue syncing Address Book
contacts with Google, and added support for raw images from a metric ton
of digital camera models.
In addition, the update brings plenty of other welcome changes, such as
better performance in some iPhoto and Aperture image-processing operations,
axing a delay between print jobs, a fix for a problem dragging Address Book
contacts into iCal, improved performance of MainStage on certain Macs,
resolution of spacing issues with OpenType fonts, better reliability with
some Bluetooth braille displays, and a fix for a VoiceOver issue on some
Websites when using Safari 5.
Theres no mention in the release notes of AirPrint, Apples forthcoming
printing feature for iOS, adding weight to reports that Mac OS X 10.6.5
would not bring support for sharing printers with iOS devices.
Apple also released a 10.6.5 update for Mac OS X Server that includes a
number of improvements and updates for the server software, including the
ability to manage iChat and iCal preferences, improved reliability for
Directory Services, an updated version of PHP, and the ability for the
Software Update Services to allow administrators to host older software
updates (i.e. 10.6.4) after a new version is released (10.6.5, for
example).
Mac OS X 10.6.5 and 10.6.5 Server are available now via Software Update -
their size will vary depending on your Mac (my 2008 MacBook shows a
517.3MB update for 10.6.5 client).
*Mac OS X 10.6.5*
* Improves reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers.
* Addresses performance of some image-processing operations in
iPhoto and Aperture.
* Addresses stability and performance of graphics applications and
games.
* Resolves a delay between print jobs.
* Addresses a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an
AirPort Extreme.
* Resolves an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal.
* Addresses an issue in which dragging an item from a stack causes
the Dock to not automatically hide.
* Resolves an issue in which Wikipedia information may not display
correctly in Dictionary.
* Improves performance of MainStage on certain Macs.
* Resolves spacing issues with OpenType fonts.
* Improves reliability with some Bluetooth braille displays.
* Resolves a VoiceOver issue when browsing some websites with Safari 5.
* Improves Bluetooth pairing with Magic Trackpad.
* Resolves performance issues with third-party displays that use
InstaPort technology.
* Add SSL support for transferring files with iDisk.
* Resolves an issue when opening 4-up Photo Booth pictures in Preview.
* Addresses keyboard responsiveness issues in the Dock when Spaces
is turned on.
* Resolves an issue syncing Address Book with Google.
* Fixes an issue when replying to a Mail message sent by a person
whose name contains certain characters such as é or ü.
* Improves performance for users bound to an Active Directory domain.
* Improves reliability of Ethernet connections.
* Systems with a Mac Pro RAID Card (Early 2009) installed can now be
put to sleep. For more information, see Mac Pro RAID Card (Early
2009): Enabling system sleep.
* Improves reliability of fibre channel connections, resolving a
potential Xsan volume availability issue.
* Adds RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
Apple Exits Server Market
It's the end of the line for Apple's line of servers, the Xserve. The
Cupertino giant has just announced that the Xserve line (no more future
models, either) will no longer be sold after January 31, 2011, and advises
people interested in Mac OS X Server to buy either a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro
with Snow Leopard Server installed.
Support-wise, Apple will obviously fulfil all its duties. "Apple will
continue to take orders for current Xserve models through January 31,
2011," Apple writes, "These systems will have Apple's full standard
one-year warranty. The AppleCare Premium Service and Support program for
Xserve is available as an option at time of order to extend complimentary
technical support and hardware service coverage to three years from the
Xserve date of purchase."
There will be no replacement for the Xserve; instead, Apple advises
interested customers to buy Snow Leopard-equipped Mac Minis or Mac Pros. I
think that when Lion arrives, there will be no more separate server release
- it'll be a single release, so you can just buy any device you want and
turn it into a server.
IE9 Lags on Popular Websites
Speed is supposed to be a hallmark of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9,
but the head of a Web optimization firm says improvements are negligible
on the most popular Websites.
For the top 200 Websites ranked on Alexa, Bixby found that the IE9 beta
was just a hair faster than its predecessor on average first page load
times, and a little bit slower on average first view renders.
On these measurements alone, Microsoft appears to have made its biggest
advancements with Internet Explorer 8, not the latest version.
Hold on. What about JavaScript benchmarks that have pegged IE9 as
considerably faster than IE8 and Firefox, and Microsoft's claims that its
new "Chakra" JavaScript engine makes Websites faster and more responsive?
Strangeloop Chief Technical Officer Kent Alstad doesn't think those claims
come into play for many the Web's most popular sites.
"My conclusion is that IE9 is mostly aimed at HTML5 (especially CSS drawing)
and JavaScript acceleration," he wrote in a a note to Bixby. "I suspect that
these sites [the Alexa Retail 200], in attempts to be faster and more usable
to more people, do not exploit these enhancements."
In other words, IE9's speed gains are focused new techniques, such as HTML5
and Ajax, which may become popular in the future. Take a small grain of
salt with Bixby's conclusion: Strangeloop is in the business of optimizing
Websites, so Bixby's test conveniently ties into his company's business.
In any case, IE9 has more going for it than page load times. The browser
sports a new, minimalist user interface that's more in line with Chrome
and Firefox 4, and it allows Windows 7 users to dock Websites in the
taskbar. And according to some tests by Engadget, IE9 starts up faster than
its predecessor - but still slower than Chrome and Firefox - and consumes
less memory than Chrome. With all these improvements, IE9 feels faster even
if individual Websites don't show it.
Queen Elizabeth Officially Joins Facebook
Although you can't exactly poke her, Queen Elizabeth is now among the
more than 500 million members of Facebook.
The British Monarchy on Monday launched its own Facebook fan page to
provide news and information about the royal family.
More than 74,000 people have already "liked" the Facebook page. With it,
users can see pictures of different members of the family, can get updates
through their News Feed, and find events in their area.
Britain's royal family isn't new to social networking. In 2007, it set up
a YouTube channel. The monarchy has been tweeting under the
@BritishMonarchy handle since 2009, and announced that the Facebook page
was live on the micro-blogging site. Earlier this year, the royal family
expanded its online presence with an official photostream on image-sharing
site Flickr.
"If you look at the royal forays into technology and social media, we
were already pretty much everywhere," a spokesman for the royal family
said in a Time report. "Facebook was really the last area we didn't have a
presence."
A two-person team manages the monarchy's Facebook page. This same team
also monitors the other three online profiles as well as the British
royal family's official Web site. Shortly after the page went live at 8
Greenwich Mean Time, the team was already sifting through potentially
offensive comments, according to Time. With a growing number of Facebook
fans, however, the reception from users has been mostly positive.
Feds: Woman Illegally Fired over Facebook Remarks
A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks
about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by
federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labor
laws.
The National Labor Relations Board alleges that American Medical Response
of Connecticut Inc. illegally fired Dawnmarie Souza from her job as an
emergency medical technician late last year after she criticized her
supervisor on her personal Facebook page and then traded Facebook messages
about the negative comments with other employees.
The complaint, filed Oct. 27 by the board's Hartford, Conn., regional
office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as more workers use
social networking sites to share details about their jobs.
"It's the same as talking at the water cooler," said Lafe Solomon, the
board's acting general counsel. "The point is that employees have
protection under the law to talk to each other about conditions at work."
Federal labor law has long protected employees against reprisal for
talking to co-workers on their own time about their jobs and working
conditions, including remarks that may be critical of managers. The law
applies whether or not workers are covered by a union.
NLRB officials claim the Connecticut ambulance company has an unlawful
policy that prohibits employees from making disparaging remarks about
supervisors and depicting the company "in any way" over the Internet
without permission.
"This is the first complaint we've issued over comments on Facebook, but
I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more," Solomon said. "We have to
develop policies as we go in this fast-changing environment."
The trouble for Souza started when her supervisor asked her to prepare
an investigative report when a customer complained about her work,
according to the complaint. Souza claimed she was denied representation
by her union, the Teamsters Local 443.
Later that day, Souza logged onto her Facebook page from a home computer
and wrote: "Looks like I'm getting some time off. Love how the company
allows a 17 to be a supervisor."
A 17 is the code the company uses for a psychiatric patient. Souza also
referred to her supervisor with two expletives. Her remarks drew
supportive Facebook postings from other colleagues.
John Barr, an attorney representing the company, said the real reason
Souza was fired was because of two separate complaints about her "rude
and discourteous service" within a 10-day period. He said Souza would
have been fired whether the Facebook comments were made or not.
Barr said the company understands that workers have right to talk about
wages and working conditions. But he said it stands by its policy
against employees discussing the company on the Internet, including
social media sites.
"If you're going to make disgusting, slanderous statements about
co-workers, that is something that our policy does not allow," Barr said.
Jonathan Kreisberg, director of the board's regional office in Hartford,
said the company's policy is overly broad. He acknowledged that the law
protecting worker speech has some limits, such as not allowing employees
to disrupt the workplace or engage in threatening conduct. But Kreisberg
argued that Souza's Facebook comments did not cross a legal line.
"Here she was on her own time, on her own computer and on her own
Facebook page making these comments," Kreisberg said. "If employees are
upset about their supervisor and get together on their own time talk
about him, criticize and call him names, they can do that."
A hearing on the case before an administrative law judge is set for
Jan. 25.
New Cyber Attack Linked to Nobel Peace Prize
A fake email invitation to this year's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is
currently circulating and carrying with it a virus capable of infecting
the computer of anyone who opens it, computer security experts warned.
Appearing to come from the Oslo Freedom Forum, a group with no direct Nobel
ties, the email includes a PDF attachment containing a so-called "Trojan
horse," allowing hackers to take control of victims' computers, reported
the Contagio Internet security blog (http://contagiodumb.blogspot.com).
"Dear Sir/Madame. I enclose a letter from Oslo Freedom Forum founder
Thor Halvorssen inviting you to join him in Oslo for the December 11th
(sic) prize ceremony. Let me know if you have any questions," the email
reads.
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, which was attributed in October to jailed
Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, much to the distaste of Beijing, is to be
handed over at an official ceremony in Oslo on December 10.
"We don't know who launched the attack, or who the target was," the
F-Secure computer security group said on its website.
According to daily Aftenposten's online edition, Nobel Institute
director Geir Lundestad has meanwhile been the target of a cyber attack
through an email that appeared to come a technician at a IT company
working for the institute.
The email reportedly contained a link requesting him to type in his user
name and password, but Lundestad had become suspicious and alerted
Norwegian data security authorities.
"There is someone trying to infect the Nobel Institute," the head of the
Norwegian Computer Emergency Response Team, Christophe Birkeland, told
the paper.
"There is a lot to indicate that the same person is behind these
attacks," he added.
The Nobel Peace Prize website (www.nobelpeaceprize.org) was also the
target of a cyber attack two weeks ago, with the last IP address used in
that attack belonging to the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.
However, there is no way of knowing if the attack actually came from
there, since hackers often used many computers to hide their traces.
=~=~=~=
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