Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 12 Issue 52
Volume 12, Issue 52 Atari Online News, Etc. December 24, 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
To subscribe to A-ONE, change e-mail addresses, or unsubscribe,
log on to our website at: www.atarinews.org
and click on "Subscriptions".
OR subscribe to A-ONE by sending a message to: dpj@atarinews.org
and your address will be added to the distribution list.
To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
subscribe from.
To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
following sites:
http://people.delphiforums.com/dpj/a-one.htm
Now available:
http://www.atarinews.org
Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1252 12/24/10
~ Merry Christmas to All ~ People Are Talking! ~ UK Weighs Porn Ban!
~ Firefox's Do Not Track ~ Neighbor vs. Neighbor! ~ Apple Lisa 1 On Sale!
~ Activision Seeks $400M ~ UK: Twitter in Court OK ~ Keep An Eye on Santa!
~ Firefox 4 Nearly Ready ~ Life Without High Speed ~ Beam Me Up, Watson!
-* Computing Future: Chrome OS? *-
-* FCC Poised To Adopt Net Neutrality! *-
-* Divided FCC Adopts Rules To Protect Traffic *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
'Twas the night before Christmas... Heck, you know the storyline so I won't
belabor the point. But, I will say that because of the holiday, and my work
schedule this week, I have had to try and complete this week's issue way
ahead of schedule. I'll be working Christmas eve, waiting on customers who
have waited until the last minute to pick up deli platters and other deli
items for their various celebration activities. Fortunately, the store will
close early Friday night, but late enough to cut into my getting work done
on this week's issue in a timely fashion. I don't usually work on Friday
nights, but this is one of those work nights where they need "responsible"
people (and probably those who aren't overly concerned working Christmas
eve!).
We're just about ready for the holiday; our shopping has been done for well
over a week. For us, that's a miracle in itself! I just have to wrap a few
more presents and I'll officially be done for preparation. We're spending
the day at my in-laws, as is usual. It will probably be an early day
because I'll probably be working on Sunday. That's okay, I'd prefer it that
way and have a chance to relax a little bit.
We're closing in on the end of another year of publishing A-ONE. Looking
at the masthead above, it's been 12 years that we've been putting the mag
out on a weekly basis. Heck, that's longer than Atari was around, or at
least as the Atari that we're most fond. Joe and I both knew that putting
together an online magazine devoted to all things Atari would be an uphill
battle every week. Our hopes, as partially indicated by the name of the mag
itself, was to be able to have a little bit of Atari-related news each week
(okay, we knew that would be an occasional stretch of the imagination!) and
fill in the rest with interesting news that would inform and entertain the
general computer user.
Over the years, anything remotely tied-in to the Atari world has diminished
to the point of almost non-existent. No one's fault; it's just the way
things are. Enthusiasm wanes, interests change, and lifestyles alter. And,
of course, technology has grown by leaps and bounds. In the back of my mind,
there's always been the thought of where we're headed with the magazine, and
for how long. The focus each week, especially over the past few years, has
been more the "etcetera" rather than Atari. The support of our readers, as
well as the pure enjoyment of doing the magazine has been the primary factors
in our longevity.
Yes, I realize that what I've written above sounds more like an epitaph than
anything else. And to be quite honest, there has been more than one occasion
in which I've considered letting A-ONE fade off into the sunset. That time
hasn't come yet, but it is something that Joe and I will probably consider
in the not-so-distant future. Personally, and I think it's safe to speak for
Joe in this matter, I'd like to know your views on the subject. I know that
there are still some avid readers out there, and that our subscription service
still has a good amount of names on it so people are still reading A-ONE.
It would be nice to hear from some of you more often than we do, and perhaps
offer some interesting tidbits - some interesting memories or other things
pertaining to your Atari experience - that we could include in future issues
of the magazine. Think about it, would you? Our purpose with A-ONE has always
been one to inform and entertain, but there's only so much that we can do to
accomplish that goal each week - or attempt to do so!
Cold, snowy and bleak here this past week, but the sun has finally peaked out
today. Of course, I have to go out in a couple of hours to work! More snow,
and potentially a bad storm is being forecast for late weekend. Like most
New Englanders, I'll believe it when I see it - everything can change in a
matter of hours, or less!
Meanwhile, all of us that are involved with A-ONE in some form or another want
to wish you the best during this holiday season. We hope that you enjoy your
holiday celebrations with family and friends in a joyous occasion. And, as
we always do, we remind you to celebrate responsibly - don't drink and drive!
Happy holidays!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has zoomed past, and we're
staring down the barrel of Christmas and the end of the year. And it's
been a heck of a year in just about every way you might care to look at
it. The economy, although not what anyone would call robust, is making a
comeback. I know, "where's mine?" is the chant of the day, but the signs
are better and better, not the least of which are the projections of
spending this holiday season. They've been revised two or three times this
season already, each one rosier than the one it's replaced. That is a very
good sign, in my opinion.
You see, what a lot of people seem to forget is that there's a "bottom
line"... a least common denominator, kind of, that drives everything. All
the talk about stimulus packages and bail-outs and tax incentives misses
that point.
The point is that people have to BUY things. That's the basis for our
entire economy... or, should be.
That's why all this talk about tax incentives for small businesses misses
the point. Think about it; what happens if you basically 'leave' more
money in the pockets of a small business? Do they hire more employees?
Probably not. It could very possibly allow a struggling small business to
survive, but more than likely, it would do little other than to allow 'the
boss' to buy an expensive car a month or two earlier. And to add insult to
injury, it probably wouldn't even be an American made car. [grin]
The real key, in my opinion, is to give the people who buy things.. you and
me... confidence in the dollar he's using to buy whatever it is, confidence
that he or she will continue to be able to afford things like whatever it
is they're buying... meaning confidence in whether or not they can be
assured of a job down the road... and confidence in those around them...
the whole rest of the country. You can't instill that sort of confidence
with 'tax breaks'. Deep down, we all know tax breaks for what they really
are: gimmicks. We all want the things that taxes pay for: roads,
protection, schools, all the things that we're lucky enough to be able to
take for granted. The catch is that we want someone else to pay for it and
we think that no matter what we pay, we're paying too much.
But how do you gauge "too much"? Should we go to "flat rate taxes"? Do we
really want to take $70 a week from someone making $350 for taxes (leaving
them with $280) because they "should" be paying the same 20 percent as
someone making, say $2,000 a week (meaning they would pay $400 in taxes,
leaving them with $1,600)? Let's face it. There has to be a... bare
minimum somewhere. There's got to be a point where you say "okay, someone
making this much needs this much to survive on, so we're going to let them
keep it".
You've heard me say this before, but if you let someone of more limited
means keep more of their hard-earned money, they're going to spend most of
it. Little luxuries like heating oil and food and washing machines and
maybe, if they save for a bit, a new car.
Conversely, if you let a 'rich' person keep more of their money, they're
not likely to go out and spend any more than they would have without the
tax break... that's kind of the definition of being rich... that you can
afford to buy what you want when you want to. They're more likely to
'bank' it, maybe invest it, but the bottom line is that it doesn't do much
for the economy to help rich people get richer.
And the conservative argument that taxing the rich does nothing but
convince them to not earn so much. Can you imagine someone... anyone...
saying to themselves, "I'll only earn $500,000 this year instead of a
million. That way I'll pay less taxes." No, I didn't think so.
But whether I'm right or wrong about what I just said up above, it's still
true that the economy is driven by buying. If you and I don't buy those
shiny new washing machines and swing sets and new mattresses and clothes
and all the rest, manufacturers aren't selling them, right? If they're not
selling them, they're not making more. If they're not making more, they're
not hiring new employees and may well be laying off existing ones. If
they're not hiring or if they're laying off, there are not only less of us
able to buy things, but those of us who could are less likely to do so
because of fear.
So here we are, caught in this vicious Catch-22. Somewhere, something's
got to give. And as is usually the case, it's US. We are the ones who
start things off. And the holiday season is, I think, the start of a real
turn-around. Just wait and see. This buying season is going to be a good
one, and people will gain confidence. We'll start buying again, employers
will get up to speed, they'll start hiring, things will start moving
faster and faster.
Okay, that's my take on things. Let's see how it pans out in the coming
year.
I'd like to spend the last part of this column 'preaching' to you a little
bit. Yeah, you knew it was coming, didn't you? It's the time of the year,
as Charles Dickens put it, "... it is a time, of all others, when Want is
keenly felt".
I know I've been pushing at you for the past month or so, but the need is
still out there. There are still those who feel 'Want' so keenly. So this
weekend when you go shopping, go ahead and pick up a couple of extra cans
of veggies or dry pasta or cookies or cooking oil or whatever else you
happen to think of. No matter what you get, there'll be someone who would
appreciate it... unless its a tin of smoked oysters... right Charles?
(anyone recognize the reference?)
Gather up a couple of things... it doesn't have to be much... and drop it
off at your church (or someone else's church), or the local shelter or
soup kitchen.
And again, involve your kids in it. Let them go shopping with you and help
pick out some of the things for donation. If your kids pick things that
they like, surely someone else's kids will appreciate it. Show them
that it feels good to do a little something extra. To give something
without expecting anything in return. I know a couple of very good kids who
are doing just that. I'm incredibly proud of them.
Well, that's about it for this week, folks. Please take care over the
holiday. Have fun, but be responsible. Don't drink and drive. Remember:
The life you save may be MINE!
C'mon back next week and we'll celebrate the end of the year together.
Until then, keep your ears open so you'll hear what they're saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Activision Seeks $400 Million!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Activision Seeks $400 Million for "Call of Duty"
Activision Blizzard Inc is seeking $400 million damages from Electronic
Arts Inc. in a lawsuit related to its "Call of Duty" video game franchise,
court filings showed.
In a complaint filed with California Superior Court for Los Angeles County
on Tuesday, Activision sought to add Electronic Arts as a defendant in a
case against two former executives who developed the "Call of Duty" video
game franchise.
In April, Activision countersued former executives Jason West and
Vincent Zampella, charging them with attempting to hijack the company's
assets and threatening the future of "Call of Duty" franchise.
Activision's counter charge was in response to the duo's lawsuit against
the company, which challenged their dismissal and sought $36 million in
royalty payments and damages.
Activision said on Tuesday that West and Zampella broke their long-term
exclusive employment agreements to set up their own independent company
to develop games for Electronic Arts instead of Activision.
Electronic Arts had signed a publishing and distribution deal with
Respawn Entertainment, a new company formed by West and Zampella after
their ouster from Activision.
"As a result, Activision has suffered damages measured not in the
millions, but hundreds of millions of dollars," Activision said in the
filing.
Electronic Arts could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters
outside regular U.S. business hours.
Activision Blizzard is the world's largest stand-alone game publisher
and is home to popular games like "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft:
Cataclysm."
Electronic Arts, which made its name on sports games, publishes famous
titles like "FIFA 11" and "Need for Speed."
The case is Jason West v Activision Publishing, Superior Court of the
State of California, No. 107041
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Google Lets You Track Santa Online and Even Leave Him a Voicemail
Google is getting into the Christmas spirit by letting you track Santa on
Google Earth or Maps; watch highlights from the man-in-red's magical
journey on YouTube; and even leave him a voicemail on his Google Voice
Number.
Google has once again teamed up with the Northern American Aerospace
Defense Command (NORAD) to keep an exact fix on the jolly old elf's
location in real time. This year, according to Google and NORAD, Santa's
2010 route plan includes more than 200 countries and territories
worldwide. You can follow Santa starting at 2 a.m. Eastern Time Friday
using the Google Earth Web browser plug-in, Google Maps for mobile or
desktop, Twitter, and Facebook. The best part is you can teach your
child a little about the world while satisfying their curiosity about
Santa's annual journey.
Here's how you to keep tabs on Santa during Christmas Eve 2010.
*Google Earth*
The easiest way to follow along with Santa is through the Google Earth
browser plug-in (not the Google Earth desktop client) for Windows or Mac
OS X. For Windows, the plug-in works with Google Chrome, Internet
Explorer 6 or higher, Firefox 2.0 or higher, and Flock. Mac users with
Intel-based machines (but not PowerPC-based Macs) can use the plug-in with
Safari 3.1 or higher, Firefox 3.0 or higher and, unlike last year, Google
Chrome for Mac.
Once you install the browser plug-in, visit noradsanta.org and click on
Track Santa in Google Earth. You will then be able to watch Santa steering
his sleigh right from your Web browser. You can also click on special
YouTube videos to see Santa in action at locations around the globe, and
clicking on gift icons on will let you learn more about each city. Last
year, each gift icon provided images from Google's Panoramio service, as
well as Wikipedia entries about each location. It's not clear if Google
will offer the same content this year.
*Track Santa On Google Maps - Desktop and Mobile*
If you don't use the Google Earth plug-in, you can still see Santa's real
time location in the standard version of Google Maps. You will also be able
to view the YouTube videos and click on the gift icons using Google Maps.
As an added bonus, the Google Maps' Street View Pegman (the little
orange man) will also get into the Christmas spirit on Friday by wearing
a miniature version of Santa's cap.
If you're family is on the go Friday, you can use Google Maps for Mobile
to find Santa's latest location. Just point your mobile Web browser to
m.google.com/maps and type "Santa" into the Google Maps search box to see
where the jolly old elf is.
If you don't have access to Google Earth on Friday, you can still follow
along with Santa via @noradsanta on Twitter, the NORAD Santa Facebook page,
or Santa's Picasa Web album. You can also expect regular video updates
through Santa's YouTube page.
**Santa Calling**
As a special treat this year, Google Voice has teamed up with Santa himself
to send personalized messages to kids of all ages. Just visit
SendACallFromSanta.com and fill out some personal information about the
person you want Santa to send greetings to such as their favorite food and
what they want for Christmas.
After you're done, you'll get a chance to hear the personalized message
from Santa to your loved one. After that you can forward Santa's
personalized message to a U.S. telephone number, e-mail address or
Facebook account.
You can also have your child leave Santa a voicemail on his Google Voice
number to make sure he knows what's on your kid's Christmas wish list.
Just call 1-855-34-SANTA to leave Saint Nick a message.
*Santa Gets Government Approval*
With billions of children anticipating his arrival in over 200 locations
around the world, 2010 is shaping up to be a big year for Santa. But
there were early indications that his journey across the United States
was going to be impeded this year. The man in red recently upgraded to a
next-generation sleigh, dubbed Santa One, that is faster and features
improved maneuvering capability when descending into cities and town.
To cross American skies, however, the new aircraft needed approval from
the Federal Aviation Authority's safety inspectors. Children around the
country breathed a sigh of relief Monday after the FAA announced it had
certified Santa's new sleigh for air travel just four days before
Christmas Eve. Santa is the only pilot the FAA approves to fly thousands
of domestic and international short-haul and long-range flights in one
night. You can read the official FAA press release here as well as find
more information about Santa One at FAA.gov.
*The Santa-NORAD Tradition*
Norad's annual tradition of tracking Santa Claus on his Christmas trek
around the world began quite by accident in 1955 thanks to a Colorado
Springs-based Sears. The department store published a newspaper ad
promising kids the chance to call Santa on Christmas Eve. However,
instead of Kris Kringle's hotline the ad mistakenly printed the direct
number for the Commander-in-Chief of Continental Air Defense Command
(CONAD), the predecessor to NORAD. CONAD's hotline was reserved
exclusively for calls from the Pentagon and high-level military
commanders.
That night, however, calls from children soon started rolling in to
CONAD's Colonel Harry Shloup, who was director of operations at the
time, looking to talk to Santa. Not wanting to disappoint the children,
Shloup had his staff check the radar for any indications that a
reindeer-powered sleigh was moving southward from the North Pole. Indeed
there were indications that Santa was on his way, and children who
called in to CONAD that night were given updates on Santa's location.
Thus, the tradition of NORAD tracking Santa Claus was born.
FCC Poised To Adopt Network Neutrality Rules
New rules aimed at prohibiting broadband providers from becoming
gatekeepers of Internet traffic now have just enough votes to pass the
Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday.
The rules would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their
control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content
or services, such as Internet phone calls or online video, or play
favorites with Web traffic.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski now has the three votes needed for
approval, despite firm opposition from the two Republicans on the
five-member commission. Genachowski's two fellow Democrats said Monday
they will vote for the rules, even though they consider them too weak.
The outcome caps a nearly-16-month push by Genachowski to pass "network
neutrality" rules and marks a key turning point in a policy dispute that
began more than five years ago.
"The open Internet is a crucial American marketplace, and I believe that
it is appropriate for the FCC to safeguard it by adopting an order that
will establish clear rules to protect consumers' access," Commissioner
Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Yet many supporters of network neutrality are disappointed. Clyburn and
the other Democrat, Michael Copps, both said the rules are not as strong
as they would like, even after Genachowski made some changes to address
their concerns.
That sentiment was echoed by some public interest groups on Tuesday.
"The actions by the Federal Communications Commission fall far short of
what they could have been," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public
Knowledge. "Instead of strong, firm rules providing clear protections,
the commission, created a vague and shifting landscape open to
interpretation."
A number of big Internet companies, including Netflix Inc., Skype and
Amazon.com Inc., have previously expressed reservations about the
proposal as well.
Meanwhile, even the weakened rules are likely to face intense scrutiny
as soon as the Republicans take over the House next year.
The chairman's proposal builds on an attempt at compromise crafted by
outgoing House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., as
well as a set of broad net neutrality principles first established by
the FCC under the previous administration in 2005.
The rules would require broadband providers to let subscribers access
all legal online content, applications and services over their wired
networks - including online calling services, Internet video and other
Web applications that compete with their core businesses.
But the plan would give broadband providers flexibility to manage data
on their systems to deal with problems such as network congestion and
unwanted traffic like spam as long as they publicly disclose their
network management practices.
Senior FCC officials stressed that unreasonable network discrimination
would be prohibited.
They also noted that this category would most likely include services
that favor traffic from the broadband providers themselves or traffic
from business partners that can pay for priority. That language was
added to help ease the concerns of Genachowski's two fellow Deomcrats.
The proposal would, however, leave the door open for broadband providers
to experiment with routing traffic from specialized services such as
smart grids and home security systems over dedicated networks as long as
these services are separate from the public Internet.
Public interest groups fear that exception could lead to a two-tiered
Internet with a fast lane for companies that can pay for priority and a
slow lane for everyone else.
They are also worried that the proposal lacks strong protections for
wireless networks as more Americans go online using mobile devices.
The plan would prohibit wireless carriers from blocking access to any
websites or competing applications such as Internet calling services on
mobile devices. It would require them to disclose their network
management practices too.
But wireless companies would get more flexibility to manage data traffic
as wireless systems have more bandwidth constraints than wired networks.
"Individuals who depend on wireless connections to the Internet can take
no comfort in this half-measure," said Joel Kelsey, political advisor
for the public interest group Free Press.
Republicans, meanwhile, warn that the new rules would impose unnecessary
regulations on an industry that is one of the few bright spots in the
current economy, with phone and cable companies spending billions to
upgrade their networks for broadband.
Burdensome net neutrality rules, they warn, would discourage broadband
providers from continuing those upgrades by making it difficult for them
to earn a healthy return on their investments.
Still, Genachowski's proposal is likely to win the support of the big
phone and cable companies because it leaves in place the FCC's current
regulatory framework for broadband, which treats broadband as a lightly
regulated "information service."
The agency had tried to come up with a new framework after a federal
appeals court in April ruled that the FCC had overstepped its existing
authority in sanctioning Comcast Corp. for discriminating against online
file-sharing traffic on its network - violating the very net neutrality
principles that underpin the new rules. Comcast argued that the service,
which was used to trade movies and other big files over the Internet,
was clogging its network.
To ensure that the commission would be on solid legal ground in adopting
net neutrality rules and other broadband regulations following that
decision, Genachowski had proposed redefining broadband as a
telecommunications service subject to "common carrier" obligations to
treat all traffic equally. But Genachowski backed down after strong
opposition from the phone and cable companies, as well as many
Republicans in Congress.
Divided FCC Adopts Rules To Protect Web Traffic
Federal regulators adopted new rules Tuesday to keep the companies that
control the Internet's pipelines from restricting what their customers do
online or blocking competing services, including online calling
applications and Web video.
The vote by the Federal Communications Commission was 3-2 and quickly
came under attack from the commission's two Republicans, who said the
rules would discourage investments in broadband. Prominent Republicans
in Congress vowed to work to overturn them.
Meanwhile, critics at the other end of the political spectrum were
disappointed that the new regulations don't do enough to safeguard the
fastest-growing way that people access the Internet today - through
wireless devices like smart phones and tablets.
The new rules have the backing of the White House and capped a year of
efforts by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to find a compromise. They
are intended to ensure that broadband providers cannot use their control
of the Internet's on-ramps to dictate where their subscribers can go.
They will prohibit phone and cable companies from favoring or
discriminating against Internet content and services that travel over
their networks - including online calling services such as Skype,
Internet video services such as Netflix and other applications that
compete with their core businesses.
The prohibitions, known as "net neutrality," have been at the center of
a Washington policy dispute for at least five years. The issue hit home
with many Internet users in 2007, when Comcast Corp. slowed traffic from
an Internet file-sharing service called BitTorrent. The cable giant
argued that the service, which was used to trade movies and other big
files over the Internet, was clogging its network.
The new FCC rules are intended to prevent that type of behavior.
They require broadband providers to let subscribers access all legal
online content, applications and services over their wired networks.
They do give providers flexibility to manage data on their systems to
deal with network congestion and unwanted traffic, including spam, as
long as they publicly disclose how they manage the network.
"Today, for the first time, we are adopting rules to preserve basic
Internet values," Genachowski said. "For the first time, we'll have
enforceable rules of the road to preserve Internet freedom and openness."
On one level, the new rules probably won't mean big changes for Internet
users. After Comcast's actions cast a spotlight on the issue - and drew
a rebuke from the FCC - all of the major broadband providers have
already pledged not to discriminate against Internet traffic on their
wired networks.
Even Genachowski acknowledged Tuesday that a key goal of the new rules
is to preserve the open Internet as it exists today.
Still, critics say the rules don't do enough to break the existing
lock-hold that wireless carriers have over the online applications that
subscribers can access through their systems.
The regulations prohibit wireless carriers from blocking access to any
websites or competing services such as Internet calling applications on
mobile devices, and they require carriers to disclose their network
management practices, too. But wireless companies get more leeway to
manage data traffic because wireless systems have less network bandwidth
and can become overwhelmed with traffic more easily than wired lines.
That means that while wireless carriers must allow access to Internet
calling services such as Skype, they could potentially still block
online video applications, such as Sling.
The rules also wouldn't apply to phone makers, so Apple could still
dictate which applications to accept or reject for the iPhone. Apple
could choose to block Skype, for instance, even if AT&T, which provides
wireless service for the iPhone, can't.
At a time when more and more people go online using smart phones and
other mobile devices instead of computers, the rules leave wireless
carriers with tremendous control over tomorrow's Internet, said Gigi
Sohn, president of the public interest group Public Knowledge.
At the same time, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., fears the rules don't do
enough to ensure that broadband providers cannot favor their own traffic
or the traffic of business partners that can pay extra. Big websites
such as Google Inc., for instance, could pay to have their content
download more quickly than mom-and-pop sites - leading to what critics
term a two-tiered Internet.
While the new rules prohibit unreasonable network discrimination - a
category that FCC officials say would most likely include such "paid
prioritization" - they do not explicitly bar the practice. What's more,
they leave the door open for broadband providers to experiment with
routing traffic from specialized services, such as home security
systems, over dedicated networks as long as they're kept separate from
the public Internet.
These concerns resonated with Genachowski's two Democratic colleagues at
the FCC, who voted to approve the rules only reluctantly.
"Today's action could - and should - have gone further," said Michael
Copps, one of the other two Democrats on the commission. But, he added,
the regulations do represent some progress "to put consumers - not Big
Phone or Big Cable - in control of their online experiences."
Republicans, meanwhile, said they worry the rules will discourage phone
and cable companies from upgrading their networks because it will be
more difficult for them to earn a healthy return on their investments.
Republicans also said the regulations seek to fix a problem that doesn't
exist because broadband providers have already pledged not to
discriminate.
"The Internet will be no more open tomorrow than it is today," said
Meredith Attwell Baker, one of the two FCC Republicans, in voting
against the rules.
A number of prominent Republicans - including Kay Bailey Hutchison of
Texas, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, and Fred Upton
of Michigan, the incoming chairman of the House Commerce Committee - vowed
to try to overturn the rules.
Robert McDowell, the FCC's other Republican, predicted that the FCC will
face court challenges to its regulatory authority as well.
In April, a federal appeals court ruled that the agency had exceeded its
existing authority in sanctioning Comcast for discriminating against
online file-sharing traffic on its network - violating broad net
neutrality principles first established by the FCC in 2005.
Those principles serve as a foundation for the formal rules adopted
Tuesday.
Chrome OS Gives A Peek at Computing Future
What if nearly everything you usually keep on your computer - photos,
documents, music and software - was stored online? Your machine would be
speedier and perhaps less vital because you could simply use another
machine to recoup your digital life should you lose your laptop.
This premise - somewhat scary, yet liberating - is behind Google Inc.'s
upcoming Chrome OS, which will make notebook computers more like
netbooks than most actual netbooks.
The software powering Chrome OS, which is based on the search giant's
eponymously named browser, serves mainly as a tool for connecting your
computer to the Web. That's where nearly everything you use is housed
and linked to your Google username and password. It's a concept known as
cloud computing.
A peek at the upcoming operating system and its vision of cloud
computing shows a promising idea that could make computing faster and
more convenient. But it still needs a lot of work.
Google expects the first computers powered by Chrome OS to be released
this summer, and initially they'll be made by Acer Inc. and Samsung
Electronics Co.
For now, though, Google is operating a pilot for some individuals and
companies to test an unbranded laptop that runs Chrome OS. The company
lent The Associated Press one of these machines, which aren't going to
be sold to the public.
The laptop itself, called the Cr-48, doesn't really deserve to be
critiqued, because it is a stripped-down machine that is chiefly a frame
for Google's OS oeuvre. The shell is entirely matte black plastic,
without a hint of branding. It has a webcam, a screen that is about 12
inches diagonally and a full-sized keyboard with a search key in place
of the caps lock key.
The machine also has 16 gigabytes of flash memory for storing files, if
you feel absolutely compelled to download something. Downloads are
obviously discouraged, though; my music collection alone would nearly
fill this allotment.
Moving on to the main event, Chrome OS brings a few clear benefits:
Starting up the notebook takes just seconds - roughly 13 of them,
according to my stopwatch - and waking the closed notebook from "sleep"
mode is as quick as opening it up (almost too quick, as the notebook
couldn't regain its wireless service quite as fast). By contrast, my
Windows machine at work takes more than two minutes to boot up.
After you sign in with your Google account, the same username and
password you would use to access Gmail, you can pull up a home page
showing all the apps you've installed from the Chrome Web Store.
Assuming you're connected to the Web, you can just start using apps and
surfing the Web right away.
There were plenty of free and paid Web apps and browser extensions
available when I tested the notebook. Some are only for the Chrome OS;
others also work with Google's Chrome Web browser for other computers.
I installed a range of the free ones, some of which seemed to be just
links to existing Web pages. The apps I snagged included Web-based
office suite Google Docs, the chatting service Google Talk, Aviary's
Advanced Image Editor and balloon-popping puzzle game Poppit.
As with smart phones and tablets such as Apple Inc.'s iPad, publications
are also making Chrome apps. USA Today, The New York Times and The Wall
Street Journal are among them.
On my work computer, it can take ages to open up applications that are
stored on my hard drive. With the Cr-48, I could immediately start
editing a Google Docs spreadsheet or tweak the colors in a photo using
Aviary because the programs are all running online. I only needed a
strong Internet connection.
Surfing the Web was a pretty normal experience, with most websites
loading speedily, though the Cr-48 was not that good at displaying Flash
videos.
But I felt constrained because I had to use the lone browser that comes
with the system and the Web-based apps I obtained. Apps loaded slowly
when my Internet connection wasn't stellar. This wouldn't be a problem
with programs stored on a regular computer's hard drive.
If a Chrome OS-based laptop becomes my primary computer, a data plan
would be a must.
I feel anxious just thinking about the possibility that I couldn't
access my documents at any time, and I don't even keep anything that
important on my own laptop.
I mostly used the notebook with Wi-Fi at home and at the office, though
I also tried out its 3G network service, which is provide by Verizon
Wireless.
So what happens if you don't have any Internet access? The Cr-48 is
pretty useless.
I could still write in an already-open Google Docs document, add notes
in Scratchpad and look at photos I'd downloaded. But I couldn't use apps
that are not yet opened because they're all connected to the Web.
If you lose your connection while using an app, you may be able to view
some information that has been temporarily stored in memory, as I could
when browsing The New York Times' app. But you'll need to get online as
soon as possible to really use the machine. Faced with this situation,
I'd probably just search frantically for an Internet connection or
simply put away my laptop.
In its current state, the Chrome OS is far from ready to take over as my
main computer, even if I were using it on a more powerful machine than
the Cr-48.
Sure, I spend most of my time on the Web already, but I'm not quite
ready to rely on having Internet access to do almost anything with my
computer.
I can imagine getting comfortable with that in the not-so-distant
future, though, and I'm curious to see if Google can make it happen.
Firefox 4 Nearly Fully Baked
For Mozilla's next browser version, let's hope eight is enough. The
independent software foundation has just released Beta 8 of the heavily
overhauled new version of Firefox. Firefox 4 sports a trimmed-down user
interface (as has been the trend started with Google Chrome and followed
by Opera and IE9 beta). The browser also makes some significant internal
changes, with a new add-in system, a faster JavaScript engine, and lots
more HTML5 compatibility.
To all this goodness, Beta 8 adds a simplified syncing setup, support for
WebGL 3D graphics, and a redesigned Add-ons manager. Firefox director Mike
Beltzner announced the beta release on a Mozilla Blog post yesterday.
Firefox's syncing allows users to automatically recreate their history,
bookmarks, open tab sets, and passwords on other computers and
smartphones. The new process automatically generates a short key that
you enter when you want to add devices to your syncing account, similar
to a lot of device's Bluetooth pairing setup.
WebGL is an open 3D graphics API related to the Khronos Group's similar
OpenGL. It allows developers to create rich interactive visual environments
inside a browser without the need for plug-ins like Adobe Flash, using the
HTML5 Canvas element. Beltzner's blog post states that the beta's WebGL
implementation supports "most modern built-in graphics cards."
On the add-in front, Firefox 4 Beta 8's Add-ons manager allows
extensions and other add-ons to update themselves automatically, without
that bothersome dialog when you start the browser up. The new design
also makes it easier to find add-ons of interest, according to Mozilla's
Jennifer Boriss. "The new Add-ons manager will be easier to use,
sleeker, and faster than ever before," claims Boriss in a separate blog
post. Taking a page from Google Chrome's playbook, the new add-on gallery
appears in a browser tab page rather than a separate dialog window.
In the JavaScript benchmark wars, this version brings Firefox closer to
the competition, but in quick-and-dirty runs of the Sunspider benchmark,
Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview 7, Google Chrome 8, and Opera still
beat it handily. On my 3.16GHz dual-core machine, the scores were
Firefox 4b8: 254ms, IE9PP7: 203ms, Chrome 8: 216ms, and Opera 11: 229ms.
To try out the Firefox 4 beta for yourself, head to its Mozilla beta
download page. You can run it alongside the stable version of Firefox,
so don't worry about disturbing your current browser setup. Also look
for a full review on PCMag.com of Firefox 4 after its full release early
next year.
Firefox Backs 'Do Not Track' with Online Stealth
As concern about online privacy grows, Mozilla is promising to let people
cloak Internet activity in free Firefox Web browsing software being
released early next year.
"Technology that supports something like a 'Do Not Track' button is needed
and we will deliver in the first part of next year," Mozilla chief
executive Gary Kovacs said while providing a glimpse at Firefox 4 at the
Mozilla's headquarters in Mountain View, California.
"The user needs to be in control," he added.
There is a disturbing imbalance between what websites need to know about
visitors to personalize advertisements or services and the amount of
data collected, according to Kovacs.
"It is not that ads are bad," he said. "It is what they do with my
tracked behavior.
"Where I go on the Internet is how I live my life; that is a lot of data
to hold just for someone to serve me ads."
Microsoft this month unveiled increased privacy options for the upcoming
version of its popular Web browser Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) including a
feature "to help keep third-party websites from tracking your Web
behavior."
Microsoft said "Tracking Protection" will be built into a test version
of IE9 being released early next year.
IE9 users will have to be savvy enough to activate the feature and
create lists of the third-party websites that they do not want to track
their behavior.
Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser in the United
States followed by Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari.
Google, which beefed up Chrome in recent weeks and is testing a notebook
computer that operates on the Web browser software, cautioned that the
mechanics and ramifications of stealth browsing need to be figured out.
"The idea of 'Do Not Track' is interesting, but there doesn't seem to be
consensus on what 'tracking' really means, nor how new proposals could
be implemented in a way that respects people's current privacy
controls," said the company, also based in Mountain View.
"We look forward to ongoing dialogue about what 'Do Not Track' could
look like, and in the meantime we are always looking into new tools to
give people more transparency and control over their online privacy."
Kovacs agreed that the issue is complicated, with vested interests that
include advertisers paying for services or content offered free online.
Supporters of targeted online ads argue that Internet users benefit from
getting pitches tailored to their interests.
Firefox believes perils to privacy online are urgent enough to warrant
building stealth into the coming version of its browser software, which
has 400 million users around the world.
"I fundamentally believe that the balance is tipped too far," Kovacs
said of tracking Web users.
"You can't tell me the delivery of a piece of content is going to be
that much better if you know everything about my life; it's all about
moderation."
Firefox debuted in 2004 as an innovative, communally crafted open-source
browser released as an option to Internet Explorer.
Mozilla touts itself as the people's alternative; only now the
battlefield includes Google as both a supporter and a rival.
"Google is a great partner; it is one of those things where we cooperate
and compete," Kovacs said. "When we get together we are either hugging
or hitting, it depends on the day."
Mozilla doesn't believe that Chrome is truly an open browser despite
being free nor is it convinced that the colossus will sacrifice its
business interests when it comes to money to be made off user data.
"We believe that (Chrome) is tied to their commercial purposes," Kovacs
said.
"As the Web grows in importance in our lives, having all that data sit
with one vendor that is not truly cross platform and not truly cross
device is an alarming thing."
A US Federal Trade Commission staff report released this month proposes
safeguards including "Do Not Track" features in browsers for people who
want their online activities unrecorded by websites they visit.
The report said industry efforts to address privacy through
self-regulation "have been too slow, and up to now have failed to
provide adequate and meaningful protection."
"The report confirms that many companies - both online and offline -
don't do enough to protect consumer privacy," said Democratic Senator
John Kerry.
The Grinch Who Stole Porn for Christmas: UK Weighs Ban
Is the UK banning pornography? That is the question overseas at the
moment as a conservative member of the British Parliament has proposed
forcing ISPs to block all pornographic material seeping into UK homes.
"This is a very serious matter. I think it is very important that it's
the ISPs that come up with solutions to protect children. I'm hoping
they will get their acts together so that we don't have to legislate,
but we are keeping an eye on the situation and we will have a new
communications bill in the next couple of years." Culture Minister Ed
Vaizey told the Sunday Times.
Vaizey hasn't turned this into a crusade against all access to pornography;
rather, he wants the explicit content accessible only on an opt-in basis
instead of opt-out. Vaizey is planning to talk with UK ISPs BT, Virgin
Media and TalkTalk "in the near future."
The media is skeptical about whether this plan, if put into action, would
work at all. The Guardian says that "explicit content" would have to be
legally defined - a process that has been undertaken by many governments
and met with failure. Take Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants
Association, for instance. A California law tries to ban retailers from
selling video games that depict "deviant violence" to minors. However, the
definition of "deviant" is being challenged and three lower courts have
ruled against this application; the U.S. Supreme Court is deliberating.
Other problems with a sweeping blockade: it may constitute censorship;
the UK's public sector has a reputation of mismanaging IT projects; the
massive firewall would be hugely expensive; no matter how big the firewall,
someone will find a way to leap it; and an opt-in list would have to be
created, and that kind of sensitive data has a tendency to leak: the
personal data of thousands of citizens were exposed to the public by a P2P
piracy law firm in the UK.
Never mind that Trefor Davies, chief technology officer at ISP Timico,
told the BBC that "It's technically not possible to completely block
this stuff." Davies said that "the sheer volume of pornographic material
online and the number of ways that people access it, via the web,
file-sharing networks, news groups, discussion boards and the like,"
make the job impossible.
Does the UK really have that big a problem with porno? The conservative
government and a few studies seem to think so.
Conservative MP Claire Perry said that 60 percent of 9- to 19-year-olds
had found porn online but only 15 per cent of computer literate parents
knew how to block access with filters. A Cyber Sentinel study found that
UK teenagers spend around two hours a week watching porn online, and
another study claimed that more than one in three UK office workers surf
for porn at work.
That's a lot of porn - but is creating a colossal filter the right answer?
Top UK Judge: No Ban on Twitter in Court
It's the tweet smell of success for courtroom microbloggers in Britain.
The head of the judiciary in England and Wales ruled Monday that there
is no ban on using Twitter in court.
Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge said the use of "unobtrusive, hand held,
virtually silent" equipment to give live text updates was unlikely to
interfere with the administration of justice.
Among the traditions of British justice - alongside lawyers' black robes
and horsehair wigs - are strict restrictions on communications. Cameras
and recording equipment are banned, phones are usually prohibited, and
even court artists are barred from sketching in the courtroom - they
must make notes and then go outside to draw.
Twitter has been a gray area. Last week a judge allowed journalists to
tweet from a bail hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - the
first time it had been expressly permitted. But two days later the judge
at another hearing for Assange said tweeting was barred.
The chief justice said there was no legal prohibition on using "a mobile
phone, small laptop or similar piece of equipment, solely in order to
make live text-based communications of the proceedings" - giving
journalists a green light to tweet, text or liveblog from hearings.
But he said users would have to seek the judge's permission first, and
this could be refused in criminal trials if there was a risk that
information posted on Twitter might influence witnesses or jurors.
Judge said final rules would be issued after a consultation process.
Fast-changing technology is challenging judicial custom around the world.
U.S. federal courts tell jurors to avoid Twitter, Facebook and other
social networking sites, but deciding whether journalists can tweet or
blog from court has generally been left up to judges. Relatively few
federal courts have embraced Twitter, although last year a federal judge
in Kansas allowed a reporter to use the microblogging service to provide
updates from a gang trial.
Man Used Neighbor's Wi-Fi to Threaten Vice President Biden
A Blaine, Minnesota, man has pleaded guilty to charges that he hacked
into his neighbor's Wi-Fi connection to e-mail death threats and child
pornography, apparently with the intention of causing trouble for the
unsuspecting neighbor.
Barry Vincent Ardolf, 45, pleaded guilty last week to charges of
hacking, identity theft, possession of child pornography and making
threats to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. According to prosecutors, he
used the Aircrack Wi-Fi cracking software to gain access to his neighbor's
WEP-encrypted network. He then created Yahoo and MySpace accounts in his
victim's name and launched a campaign to embarrass and cause legal troubles
for the neighbor.
He used the Yahoo account to mail child pornography to his neighbor's
co-workers, writing "Check it out. New family pic," in one Feb. 22
e-mail. Several such e-mails were sent to co-workers at the large
Minneapolis law firm where the neighbor worked, according to court filings.
Ardolf also posted child pornography to the fake MySpace page. "I bet my
co-worker that since I'm a lawyer and a darn great one that I could get
away with putting up porn on my site here," he wrote on the page. "I bet
that all I have to do is say there is plausible deniability since
anybody could have put this up on my site."
Ardolf had been upset with the lawyer since 2008, when he filed a police
report against Ardolf saying he allegedly "inappropriately touched and
kissed the next-door neighbor's toddler on the mouth," court records state.
Again using the hacked wireless connection and a fake e-mail address,
Ardolf also sent out death threats to Biden, Minnesota Governor Tim
Pawlenty and an unnamed Minnesota Senator. "You guys better start
watching your back," he wrote in the May 6 e-mail. "I'm coming for you
all. I swear to God I'm going to kill you."
After the pornographic e-mails were sent, the law firm hired a security
consultant, who put a packet-capture device on the lawyer's network and
found evidence that Ardolf was logging in, according to court filings.
Both the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and older WPA (Wi-Fi Protected
Access) systems suffer from known cryptographic weaknesses. By sniffing
network traffic, tools such as Aircrack can quickly figure out passwords
on WEP networks. They can also break encryption on WPA-PSK networks that
use simple passwords. Security experts recommend that home users go with
the newer WPA-2 encryption, but this can be tricky, because it isn't
supported on older routers and wireless cards.
In interviews with law enforcement, Ardolf claimed to not know the
difference between WEP and WPA. But he owned a copy of Aircrack and had
hacking books in his house and an "ethical hacker" bumper sticker on his
bathroom mirror, according to investigators.
Ardolf pleaded guilty on Friday - two days into his trial - in U.S.
District Court for the District of Minnesota. He faces 40 years in
prison on the charges. A sentencing date has not been set. Ardolf's
lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
People Can't Live Without High-speed Internet
High-speed Internet has had the greatest technological impact on society
over the past decade and is the technology most people say they cannot
live without, according to a new poll.
Twenty four percent of 1,950 U.S. adults questioned in the online survey
conducted by Zogby International said high-speed Internet had the
greatest impact on their lives, followed closely by Facebook at 22
percent and Google with 10 percent.
Of the technologies people say they cannot live without, high-speed
Internet came in first at 28 percent and email was second at 18 percent.
When asked what they thought would be the greatest technological
advancement in the next year, 24 percent said it would be in home
entertainment and 16 percent said it would be in general computing.
Looking ahead to the next decade, 43 percent of those surveyed predicted
there would be regular use of stem cells and cloning techniques to
create human organs for transplant.
Forty percent said computer chips would be implanted in people to
monitor their health, and the same number said robots would be capable
of performing manual labor jobs.
Rare Apple Lisa 1 Goes Up for Auction
One of Apple's earliest computers, the Lisa 1, has appeared for auction
on eBay. A single $7,500 bid has been made so far; the model in question
is said to be functional and largely intact, for instance including
original floppy drives and ROMs as well as a keyboard. Absent from the
auction are a mouse, battery and the Lisa system software.
Also missing is a serial number, which along with the claimed origins of
the computer suggests that it could be an internal model. Development of
the Lisa 1 began in 1978, culminating with a launch in January 1983.
Steve Jobs is said to have been involved in the project until 1982, when
he was pushed out and ultimately joined work on the first Macintosh.
Although the Macintosh became far more popular after its launch in 1984,
the business-oriented Lisa 1 is noted to have been more technically
advanced in some respects. It supported up to 2MB of RAM, and introduced
early forms of multitasking and protected memory. The system cost nearly
$10,000 at the time, but represented the first commercially-available PC
with a graphical user interface.
Beam Me Up, Watson
The battle of the decade is about to unfold between man and machine this
February as IBM's POWER7-based Watson supercomputer goes head-to-head
against game show Jeopardy!'s top-earning contestants Ken Jennings and
Brad Rutter.
The three-day contest, which will begin airing February 14 (Valentine's
Day), has been four years in the making. IBM engineers are confident
about the prototype computer named Watson (after IBM founder Thomas J.
Watson) handling linguistic challenges to understand natural language
questions. However, experts predict the contest between Jennings,
Rutter, and Watson may be close. Jennings won 74 games in 2004, 2005,
setting the record for the most games played consecutively. Rutter won
$3.26 million, the highest total ever won by a single player.
Computers using artificial intelligence have traditionally had trouble
differentiating between the meanings of words because meanings depend so
much on context. As IBM researcher Dave Ferrucci said recently during an
interview with /Bloomberg News/, "You could use 'bad' to mean 'bad,' you
could use 'bad' meaning 'good,' you could mean 'bad' to mean 'cool,' but
there's an intended meaning," he said. "Language is ambiguous, it's
contextual, it's tacit," Ferrucci said. The computer already has shown
in earlier tests that it is far from infallible. The technology needed
to handle the /Jeopardy!/ challenge was developed by a team of 20 IBM
scientists, including software engineers and computational linguists.
During the course of the development project, Watson reportedly was
asked to name the Eighth Wonder of the world. Its answer, in which it
indicated it was highly confident, was King Kong! The movie ape's name
emerged from a description of the film fed into Watson's database, but
the machine was unable to deduce that King Kong was fictional.
There may be more at stake in the Jeopardy! Face-off than one would at
first surmise. Think of Sputnik and the aftermath when the U.S. put a
man on the moon. The world was in awe of American technology. A win for
Watson could do wonders for IBM and American know-how at a time when the
latter sorely needs a boost in the eyes of the world.
However, even if Watson loses, the computer probably won't be
annihilated. If it presents a respectable showing against Jennings and
Rutter, it will have more or less proved the point that artificial
intelligence is reaching a level where computers can understand
questions from humans and respond appropriately. And if Watson
wins; well, IBM's stock price could go up the next morning. Many of us
remember the 1970s when the original Star Trek aired and the idea of a
crew member talking to a computer and receiving an intelligent
answer; not to mention a selected drink; was amusing but rather
far-fetched. Well, it seems those of us alive today may have the
privilege of living in the era of Star Trek after all. For a small boy
dreaming of space flight, it's almost like his adult astronaut's dreams
are now coming true aboard the space shuttle. One can't help but think
of the first flights of unmanned and manned spacecraft as we consider
computers achieving the ability to understand and respond in human
languages. For the record, Watson speaks only English today, but
translations are in the works.
The three-day Jeopardy! contest will be hosted by Alex Trebek and
comprised of the usual three contestants, including Watson. It will be
broadcast from IBM's laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, and will
air during the regular Jeopardy! time slot. In a slight concession to
Watson, the questions will be typed in as well as spoken. If Watson is
confident enough in its answer, it will sound the buzzer to offer its
solution publicly.
Winner of the contest will receive $1 million, and if Watson prevails,
IBM will donate the money to charity. If either Jennings or Rutter wins,
each has agreed to donate half their winnings to charity.
Though IBM may give away a million dollars, make no mistake about the
company's plans to commercialize the computer's capabilities and
leverage any publicity it receives from the contest. The Watson computer
already has started to generate interest from businesses, particularly
in the areas of customer support and healthcare, according to the
company. IBM is building prototypes for specific applications, including
healthcare, but it's expected to be at least three years before the
solution is ready for prime time.
Make no mistake that the Jeopardy! show will capture the imagination
of people around the world. The difference between having to type in
keywords versus speaking them in natural language will be profound.
Imagine talking to your iPad and having it talk back to you with new
information that you can actually use. People are getting a taste of
this already in their satellite-driven GPS navigators. But if you think
typing keywords into Google has changed your life, you haven't seen
anything compared to being able to easily converse with a computer
orally. Natural-language artificial intelligence will take us
to whole
new planet. Forget about ever getting a human again on a customer
service call!
One advance that has made the Watson computer possible is the POWER7
processor. It will be a POWER7 server that goes up against Jeopardy!
experts Jennings and Rutter. The POWER7 has taken IBM processing
technology to new heights. And Ferrucci and his team believe they are on
the threshold of taking IBM artificial intelligence to a new launch
point as well. The team very well may go down in history along with the
Deep Blue supercomputer, which in 1997 defeated world chess grandmaster
Garry Kasparov. It will be 14 years since that momentous day when yet
another powerful IBM computer faces off against the best we humans have
to offer.
The match also will bring to light the accomplishments of IBM in a
number of fields that are the result of a huge investment the company
has made in research and development. Later this month, IBM CEO Sam
Palmisano and 15 senior vice presidents will gather in Armonk, New York,
to brainstorm next year's technology trends. The top-level team will
outline the company's strategy for 2011 at the company's annual Global
Technology Outlook meeting to decide which projects get funded and which
companies IBM will seek to purchase next year.
In addition to 15 acquisitions in 2010, IBM invested 6.1 percent of
revenue, or $5.8 billion, in research and development. That percentage
is likely to stay about the same for 2011 since it has been relatively
constant for the past eight years, growing in terms of dollars as
revenues increase. Between now and 2015, the company also intends to
spend about $20 billion on additional acquisitions.
In contrast, HP spent about $3 billion or 2.4 percent of revenue on R&D
last year, but that is about to change. HP's new CEO Leo Apotheker has
announced plans to increase R&D over what his predecessor spent.
Meanwhile, IBM, it would seem, is gearing up to be "acquisition ready"
and appears to be building up its war chest. It just sold $1 billion in
18-month floating-rate notes this month after raising an additional $1
billion through the sale of five-year notes earlier in December. That
can be added to the $11 billion in ammunition the company had on hand as
of the end of the third quarter in the form of cash and short-term
investments.
While spending money can be bad, buying profitable companies can be
good. Palmisano has announced that he wants IBM to double its per-share
operating earnings over the next few years; thus the investments in
analytics, cloud computing, storage, and other technologies.
Next year promises to be an exciting one in the technology arena, and
IBM clearly intends to remain on the leading edge of enterprise
computing for the foreseeable future. The fact that HP and Oracle are
also making great strides will give users an opportunity to exercise
choice in the marketplace when considering solutions and should have the
effect of keeping the leading technology providers on their toes; and
possibly in front of television audiences as well. In which reality show
do we expect HP, Oracle, and Dell to appear? Tune in next year for a
possible sequel to Jeopardy!
=~=~=~=
Atari Online News, Etc. is a weekly publication covering the entire
Atari community. Reprint permission is granted, unless otherwise noted
at the beginning of any article, to Atari user groups and not for
profit publications only under the following terms: articles must
remain unedited and include the issue number and author at the top of
each article reprinted. Other reprints granted upon approval of
request. Send requests to: dpj@atarinews.org
No issue of Atari Online News, Etc. may be included on any commercial
media, nor uploaded or transmitted to any commercial online service or
internet site, in whole or in part, by any agent or means, without
the expressed consent or permission from the Publisher or Editor of
Atari Online News, Etc.
Opinions presented herein are those of the individual authors and do
not necessarily reflect those of the staff, or of the publishers. All
material herein is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing.
