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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 11 Issue 11
Volume 11, Issue 11 Atari Online News, Etc. March 13, 2009
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2008
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:
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1111 03/13/09
~ US Privacy Bill Looms! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Cybercrime Treaty!
~ Networking or Email? ~ Maine Expanding OLPC! ~ Gmail Outage Pains!
~ Retro-link, New Forum! ~ New Firefox Beta Out! ~ OLPC Gets Upgrade!
~ Hotmail Gets Restored! ~ Tiny Phishing Trick! ~ Dell All-in-One!
-* PayPal Expects To Blossom! *-
-* Fighting Web Militants, Crude Effort *-
-* US Struggling To Pinpoint Its Cyber Attacks *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, I've pretty much run out of time this week to really get going with
doing another vicious editorial regarding the economy, or clueless CEOs,
or whatever hot issue - and there are many of 'em! - abounds these days.
So, I'll just mention the fact that there are signs of Spring - subtle
ones, but they're there. Much of last week's snowstorm has disappeared,
and the long-term forecast is for warmer temperatures. To me, that's a
bit of long-awaited news! Too much cold, too much cold, too many short
and dreary winter days!
An early Happy St. Patrick's Day - we're all Irish on this holiday - to you
all. Just be sure to enjoy the holiday, because you never know how that
pint of green beer will affect you!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
New Forum: Retro-link.com
Paul Quirk has created a new web forum for users of
classic computers. Go to http://retro-link.com to see the
opening message or to http://retro-link.com/smf/ to browse.
To sign up, send an e-mail to paul(at)retro-link.com
According to Paul, Retro-link.com will be different. This is
what he says --
"There will be a new site for enthusiasts of retro computers...
It will include other retro computer systems, as demand
warrants. That site will be called retro-link. The domain,
which has been registered, is at retro-link.com. I intend to
have it ready and open to the public this weekend.
The theme will be a mature, friendly, harassment-free
place where people can contribute as much or as little
as they wish. It will be a positive place where people can
post questions that have been asked a hundred times
without being insulted for doing so. It will be less of a
repository of information, and more of a social place to
gather and discuss...
The forum seems to be all-encompassing in its eight
categories -- General, 8-bit Commodores, Amiga, Atari,
Apple, Tandy/TRS-80, Vintage PC, and Others.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
Notacon 6 / Blockparty 3 on April 16-19
http://www.notacon.org , http://www.demoparty.us
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
[Editor's note: Due to the scant number of messages in the Atari
newsgroups this week, Joe's column will be delayed a week...hopefully
only a week!]
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Your Primary Games System?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" The Wii Gets a Little More Evil!
Racing the Beam
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
What's Your Primary Games System?
Nintendo's DS was bound to bounce past 100 million units sold sooner than
later. Bets on whether it'll be months or years before Nintendo's tiny
two-screened wunderkind surpasses Sony's PlayStation 2 for all-time
best-selling games console? That's right, games *console*.
I don't draw the category line between a DS and PS2 or a Sony PSP and an
Xbox 360. Today's handhelds pack enough muscle in that the technical
differences between a game you play with a gamepad versus a gamepad with
a screen (or two) that fits in the palm of your hand are, depending on
your tastes, largely incidental.
The PlayStation 2 holds the world record for best-selling video game
console ever, somewhere north of 140 million units shipped. That's
followed by the original PlayStation at about 102 million. Contrast with
Microsoft's 28 million Xbox 360's sold, and the latter suddenly seems
like a splash in the bucket.
Now factor in the Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Color, which - between
1989 and 1998 - sold 119 million units, placing the platform behind the
PlayStation 2 but well ahead of the original PlayStation in aggregate
sales. Nintendo's often referred to as the only games company with
strings-free sales booty in the bank. With numbers like those, no wonder.
Will handhelds - as notebooks to PCs - eventually trade places as the
center of our gaming universe? Will game systems like the Nintendo Wii
and PlayStation 3 eventually merge with their handheld cousins?
How many of you still have landline phones?
The Game Boy and Game Boy Color's sales during the 1990s never
challenged sales of the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sony PS1 and PS2,
or Microsoft Xbox. The Game Boy was a "plus" accessory. "Plus" PC. Or
Mac. Or whatever set top console you sprang for.
But games for today's handhelds are often functionally indistinguishable
from their set top peers. Buy Star Wars: The Force Unleashed or X-Men
Legends II for the PSP and there's not much reason to pick up the Xbox
or PS2 versions. You'd mostly be niggling over the differences between
the PSP and set top versions of Marvel Ultimate Alliance or the LEGO
Star Wars and Indiana Jones games. And ports of mechanically complex
games like Final Fantasy Tactics are actually improvements over the set
top originals.
Sure, that's not always the case. Sometimes the ports are emasculated,
like all of the Madden games. Or they're handled by entirely different
developers, e.g. all of Activision's Spider-Man iterations. And I
realize I won't be playing a real-time tactical thinker like THQ's
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II on a PSP or DS anytime soon, much less
visual torture tests like Crytek's Crysis or Ubisoft's Far Cry 2.
But the DS's 100 million in sales coupled with the PSP's hugely
respectable 50 million add up to a third as many handheld game systems
in the wild as the combined worldwide install base of the Wii, Xbox 360,
and PS3. Factor the rise of alternative mobile gaming platforms with
mass appeal, like Apple's iPhone alongside rumors of expandable mobile
screens and sophisticated tactile control surfaces, and - to paraphrase
futurist Ray Kurzweil - the mobile gaming singularity may be near.
The Wii Gets a Little More Evil
North American Wii owners got an early holiday present today: Confirmation
from global game manufacturer Capcom that it is releasing three versions
of its multi-million seller franchise "Resident Evil" for the motion-based
game system.
The first, "Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles," is promoted as a
sequel to "The Umbrella Chronicles," the first of the RE titles to be
released on the Wii. The other two titles, "Resident Evil" and "Resident
Evil Zero," are re-workings of Nintendo GameCube releases, and are being
billed as part of a new RE Classics line.
"We are very excited to be bringing the sequel to Resident Evil: The
Umbrella Chronicles to the Wii, as it's the perfect fit for the
platform," said Mona Hamilton, vice president, marketing, Capcom
Entertainment. "We are always looking for new ways to give Capcom fans a
chance to experience our games. Umbrella Chronicles was a huge success
for us, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles includes a more in-depth
co-op experience, and we are excited to bring this exclusive content to
the Wii audience."
Prices for the games are expected to be approximately $30 per title.
The Resident Evil games are being designed to take advantage of the
motion-sense capabilities that have made the Wii gaming system so
popular. In single mode, as in most games, players can take advantage of
the assistance of an A.I.-controlled character.
With two Wii Remote controllers, however, players can play
simultaneously and cooperate with each other as they try to survive wave
after wave of hostile zombies. The games will also introduce a new
"Evade system" that Capcom says "will utilize the Wii Remote for a more
intense experience when fighting enemies."
The announcement about the pending release of Wii versions comes on the
eve of Capcom's major event for 2009, the release of "Resident Evil 5."
The game, which is set in the mythical African nation of Kijuju, has
drawn criticism for perceived racial overtones and pervasively gory
violence.
G4 TV reviewer Adam Sessler thinks that the controversy is overblown.
"Let me be clear," Sessler wrote in a recent review, "the game is not
racist, insofar as it in no way attempts to advance an agenda of one
group's superiority over another. Nonetheless the game does traffic in
some truly loaded images, the most blatant of which are the residents of
the native village who are adorned in grass skirts, tribal masks, and
spears; images that held much currency through the centuries of colonial
rule and were used to justify the imperialism vis-a-vis this 'otherness.'"
As disturbing as such images undoubtedly are, it is fair to wonder how
they compare to the more visceral experience of using the Wii remote to
simulate pointing and shooting, or as a mock weapon in an on-screen
brawl or knife fight.
For Greg Sterling, founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence,
it raises some potentially troubling questions for the Wii brand.
"There's something more 'wholesome' and family friendly about the image
of the Wii," Sterling said, "that questionable games such as Resident
Evil potentially undermine. If I were Nintendo, I would want to maintain
the 'Wii's innocence' and family appeal."
Mike Tyson Makes Virtual Return to The Ring
Heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson is making a comeback - virtually.
Tyson will share the cover of EA Sports new Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
game, "Fight Night Round 4," with another former boxing champion,
Muhammad Ali, with both appearing in the game as playable characters at
the peak of their fighting careers.
"Ali was a special champ, and I have the highest respect for him as a
person and a fighter," said Tyson, 43, the undisputed heavyweight
champion for more than two years who retired in 2005 after a career
marred with controversy.
"People always ask me if I think I would have beaten Ali if I had the
chance to fight him when we were both in our prime. Now you can figure
it out for yourselves. "Fight Night" puts you right in that ring and
gives you the gloves to settle the score."
Although "Fight Night Round 4" will feature over 45 of the greatest
boxers from the past and present, it's the match-up between Ali and
Tyson that has garnered the most attention.
"These fighters are going to play to their strengths in this game," said
Mike Mahar, producer of "Fight Night Round 4."
"Tyson is going to come barreling in at Ali throwing big upper cuts. Ali
is going to use his speed and his reach to his advantage."
Tyson had a chance to play the game before its June 30 release and he
said he didn't have much luck playing as himself, so he choose Joe
Frazier and "kicked ass."
In some ways, Tyson's videogame career has mirrored the ups and down in
his boxing career and personal life. Nicknamed "Iron Mike," Tyson was
convicted of raping an 18-year-old beauty contest entrant in 1992 and
served three years in prison.
A comeback bout against Evander Holyfield in 1996 ended in uproar and
disqualification after Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear.
Tyson was featured in Nintendo's best-selling "Mike Tyson Punch-Out" in
1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, an early example of a video
game endorsed by a professional athlete, which sold well.
Nintendo is bringing out a new version of "Punch-Out" to the Wii this
March, but it will not include Tyson's character.
But Tyson didn't appeared in any of EA Sports' "Fight Night" games that
first appeared in 2004 because he signed a deal with game publisher
Codemasters to do his own boxing game in 2000.
But both "Mike Tyson Boxing" and "Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing" ended
up being critical and commercial failures, opening the way for Tyson to
enter the ring with "Fight Night."
According to The NPD Group, EA has sold nearly 6 million copies of the
"Fight Night" games in the United States alone.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Racing the Beam: How Atari 2600's Crazy Hardware Changed Game Design
The Atari Video Computer System was, in fascinating ways, unlike any other
videogame console.
As the first wildly successful home game machine, the VCS, also known as
the Atari 2600, was in millions of homes for well over a decade after its
1977 release. Even after Atari fell out of favor and Nintendo took over
the 8-bit game business, the company continued to produce VCS games and
hardware until 1992. (Let's see if Nintendo is still manufacturing Wii
consoles in 2021.)
The VCS' unrivaled longevity is all the more astounding when one considers
that the hardware itself was nearly obsolete even when it was first
released. The VCS' unique hardware limitations forced game designers to
jump through all sorts of hoops to squeeze more complex game designs out of
the VCS. In a new book from MIT Press titled Racing the Beam: The Atari
Video Computer System, media studies professors Nick Montfort and Ian
Bogost present an engaging, fascinating look at the VCS platform and how it
changed the nature of game design.
"The minimal but exploitable design of the VCS showed how long unexpected
tricks and techniques could continue to be developed on a platform, over
more than a decade. It showed that there's more to a console than is
understood when it's first released," says Bogost.
In the book, Montfort and Bogost explain that the primary difference
between the VCS and most every other game console is the machine's lack of
a "frame buffer." This is the section of a system's RAM that saves the
image data for each successive screen that the game displays. The
programmer writes each image to RAM, and they are flashed up onto the
television screen in succession.
The Atari VCS had a miniscule 128 bytes (that's bytes) of RAM, not nearly
enough for a frame buffer. So programmers had to generate graphics
literally in real time, drawing on the screen as the television screen's
electron gun was passing over the tube.
As illustrated in this image from Racing the Beam, the electron gun's
movement included three large spaces where it was not drawing on the
screen: the vertical and horizontal "blanks" on the top and left, and the
"overscan" on the bottom. These blind spots were crucial for Atari
programmers, as these were the only times they could do anything that
didn't involve drawing graphics on the screen, such as computing joystick
inputs, player movements, scoring, etc.
If you've ever seen little black lines appear at the left edge of the
screen while you're playing a VCS game, those are bits of the game's code
where the program is taking too much time doing other calculations, and it
can't draw on the screen, leaving it blank. The black bar on the left-hand
side of the Pitfall! screen at top was Activision designers' solution -
they cut out part of the gameplay field in exchange for more processing
time.
As if all this weren't enough, the VCS could only display five interactive
objects at any one time: two "player" sprites, two "missile" sprites, and
one "ball." This was more than enough for replicating Pong and Tank, the
popular arcade games of 1977. It was useless for anything even slightly
more complicated, such as Space Invaders.
What saved the VCS, ironically, was the lack of a frame buffer. Yes, the
system could only display two sprites at any given moment. But once the
electron beam had drawn a sprite, the program could shift the position of
said sprite horizontally and redraw it. But because the sprite had already
been drawn on the screen, the original one would not disappear until the
electron gun came back around to redraw the screen. By doing this,
programmers could create rows and rows of sprites - perfect for Space
Invaders' rows of aliens.
Eventually, use of these techniques allowed designers to create scenes on
the VCS that were significantly more detailed than the hardware maker had
ever imagined. Consider again the Pitfall screen at top. The tiny details
in the tree's branches are drawn with sprites. When Pitfall Harry swings
on a vine, that vine is drawn with the "ball" graphic intended for games
of Pong.
Many of the most popular Atari VCS games were ports of popular arcade
titles, a staple of the videogame industry that lasted long past the VCS'
heyday. "The porting of arcade games to home systems was first really
worked through on the VCS," says Bogost. "It was because of this VCS
development that developers were able to figure out what to try to carry
over and what to leave behind, and how to adapt the arcade experience for
more limited consoles that would be played at home."
The most popular, and most notorious, arcade-to-Atari port was Pac-Man,
released in 1981. The general consensus, then and now, is that the VCS
version of Pac-Man totally sucks. The visual appeal of the arcade game is
totally lost, and the gameplay doesn't fare much better in translation.
It's considered to be one of the games that helped cause Atari's downfall.
But after you learn about the VCS hardware, its version of Pac-Man starts
to seem more like a crowning achievement, not a massive stumble. If the
2600 could only display a handful of sprites on screen, how would a
designer create a screen full of dots that could be individually eaten in
any order? The answer turned out to be creating the dots using the same
"playfield" graphics as the maze, so that every time you eat a dot, the
game redraws the entire background.
Racing the Beam is an excellent book, chock full of fascinating tidbits
that I've only scratched the surface of here. Other groundbreaking games
examined in its chapters include Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and
Adventure. Montfort and Bogost say it is the first in a series of
"platform studies" that take an accessible, academically focused look at
how gaming platforms affect how games are created.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
US Struggles To Pinpoint Cyber Attacks
The United States often cannot quickly or reliably trace a cyber attack
back to its source, even as rival nations and extremists may be looking
to wage virtual war, a top official warned Tuesday.
"It often takes weeks and sometimes months of subsequent investigation,"
said US intelligence director Dennis Blair, "and even at the end of very
long investigations you're not quite sure" who carried out the offensive.
China, Russia and other countries already could be potent online foes
and terrorists may find it easier in the future to hire hackers to
target key systems, Blair told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"Terrorists are interested in using cyberweapons, just the way they're
interested in using most any weapon they can use against us," notably to
target systems critical to the high-tech driven US economy, he said.
"We currently assess that their capability does not match their
ambitions in that area, although that's something we have to work on all
the time because things become more widespread, terrorists can find
hackers to work for them," he said.
"It is a concern, but right now I'd say their capability is low and, in
addition, I think the more spectacular attacks that kill a lot of people
on very publicly is what they are looking for," said Blair.
Blair told the panel, which was looking at global threats to US
interests, that Washington is "absolutely" trying to speed up what is
now the "very slow and painstaking" process of determining who carried
out a cyberattack.
Countries Move Forward on Cybercrime Treaty
Countries are ratifying the only global cybercrime treaty slower than
expected, but many are closer to implementing it, a senior Council of
Europe official said Wednesday.
The Convention on Cybercrime, adopted in 2001, defines legal guidelines
for countries seeking to establish effective laws against computer
crime. The Council of Europe (COE), an organization composed of 47
European countries, has spearheaded a drive to help countries either
create computer crime laws or bring existing ones in line with the treaty.
So far 24 countries have ratified it, with Germany being the latest one
earlier this week. Twenty-three others have signed it but not ratified
it. The COE was hoping that as many as 40 countries would have ratified
it by the year, but the pace has been slower than expected, said
Alexander Seger, head of the COE's economic crime division.
"When we look at every single case, there is an explanation," Seger said
during an interview Wednesday at the COE's International Conference on
Cybercrime in Strasbourg, France. "On the other hand, I also believe
countries should have made stronger efforts."
There are other reasons. One is that countries must have fully
implemented laws complying with the treaty before they can sign it,
Seger said. That's different from other international treaties, where
countries can often sign on before complying, he said.
It means that nations must first revise their own laws, a process that
takes time and can be disrupted by changes in administrations.
"There are sometimes long discussions that take place," Seger said.
Since 2006, the COE has provided legal expertise to help countries
comply with the treaty. The first phase of the project, called the
Project on Cybercrime, ended last month. The Council, Microsoft and
Estonia provided funds for the US$1.5 million program, Seger said.
The second phase of the program started last month and will run through
June 2011. It will again focus on legislative compliance and other
initiatives, such as the 24/7 Network. Under the treaty, countries are
required to have a computer security professional on hand at all times
in order to assist other countries with breaking cybercrime investigations.
Many countries are very close to ratifying the Convention. Countries
outside the COE are invited to accede to the treaty, which means they
conform to it like a COE member state.
In a few weeks, Serbia's Parliament is expected to ratify the treaty,
Seger said. The Dominican Republic has also passed a good computer crime
law, putting it on the path to accession.
Strong progress is also being made in Asia, where the Council expected
less enthusiasm since the treaty originated in Europe.
"The doors are wide open," Seger said. "It shows that countries are
really looking for guidance in how they can cope with new technologies,
the regulatory framework and how to deal with cybercrime."
The Philippines has been invited to accede to the Convention along with
Mexico and Costa Rica. Indonesia is also almost 90 percent complete in
its cybercrime law development, Seger said.
Laos and Cambodia do not have specific computer crime laws. However, the
Council has translated the Convention into Lao, which has kick-started
work in that country. Vietnam is undertaking a rewrite of its criminal
code and also asked for assistance. Vietnam wants "us to come as soon as
possible," Seger said.
This year, the Council has seen seven new countries attend the
cybercrime conference, including Congo, Kenya, and Botswana, Seger said.
Sixty-five countries were represented last year; 72 are represented at
the conference this week.
U.S. Privacy Bill on Internet Companies Coming
A top U.S. lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday said
he is working to develop a bill to impose mandatory guidelines on Internet
companies to protect user privacy, because the current voluntary approach
is falling short.
Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from Virginia that heads the
telecommunications subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
described his intent as putting "mandatory guidelines applicable to all
Websites."
Privacy advocates say regulations on big Internet and phone companies
are too lax, giving the firms excessive control over consumers' personal
information.
"I do believe that there should be a minimum set of statutory
requirements that should apply to all behavioral advertising," the
congressman said in an interview with Reuters.
He said he is working very closely with Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns
and Rep. Joe Barton, ranking Republicans on the subcommittee and full
committee, respectively.
"We will be doing this together," he said.
Earlier today, Google Inc introduced a new plan to target consumers
using so-called behavioral advertising, in which a content company,
Internet service provider, or intermediary firm tracks an individual's
online use over time to target ads.
Boucher said he did not have all the details he needed on the plan. But
he said he will judge it based on how prominent the notice of Google's
policy is displayed, how concisely it is stated and how understandable
it is to consumers.
Spot the Tiny Phishing Trick
The TinyURL service allows you to enter a long URL, such as one for a
particular Google Maps location, and convert it into a short, easy-to-type
or e-mail link. Good for sending links - or as Trend Micro reports, for
hiding a malicious Web site URL in a phishing e-mail.
Trend says the dirty trick, which it first reported on in February, is
becoming more popular and spreading into multiple languages. The ruse is
intended to make it more difficult for the wary to immediately peg a link
as suspicious when they mouseover a link to see where it actually goes.
Of course, you'd probably be just as suspicious if you receive an e-mail
that purports to be from your bank but uses a TinyURL, but Trend also
writes that the technique is being used for IM-based phishing with
messages that pretend to come from a friend.
If you suspect that a TinyURL link you've received might hide a
malicious URL, you can check it out without clicking the link. First
copy the link to the clipboard and paste it into your browser's address
bar, or type it in directly. Then type 'preview' before the address, so
that http://tinyurl.com/g0hz would become http://preview.tinyurl.com/g0hz,
for example.
Then hit enter to bring up a preview page, and you'll see the the full
URL used for the TinyURL link without actually bringing up the linked-to
page. If you want to see if that link has been reported as a phishing
site, or if you want to report it as such yourself, cut and paste the
(real) link and enter it on http://www.phishtank.com.
Microsoft Restores Service After Hotmail Outage
Microsoft scrambled to fix a global outage that hit its Windows Live
Hotmail service for several hours on Thursday.
The company said in a blog posting that "service has been restored for
all users" around 5 p.m. Eastern Time and that it was "taking steps to
make sure this doesn't happen again." It also apologized to Hotmail users
for the inconvenience but did not say what caused the problem.
Hotmail users across the globe Twittered widely about the outage, which
Microsoft said it first began hearing reports of at around 12 p.m.
Eastern Time.
Twitter users said they were receiving a "Server is too busy" message
when they tried to log into Hotmail, which has more than 375 million
active users worldwide, according to Microsoft.
The Twitter reports were so widespread that Microsoft even sent out a
message on its own WindowsLive Twitter feed letting people know it was
aware of the outage, and then again when the outage was repaired.
This was the second outage for a major online e-mail service this week.
On Monday, Google's Gmail service went down for as many as 24 to 36
hours for some users.
For Microsoft and Google, which are competing to bring more Web-based
services to consumers and businesses, e-mail has been a proving ground
for how many users their online services can support. Outages raise
questions about the ability of those companies and other online service
providers to maintain a consistent quality of service for end-users.
Gmail Down; Outage Could Last 36 Hours for Some People
Google's Gmail e-mail service is down for an undetermined number of
users, and while the outage has been partially fixed, some people could
be locked out of their accounts for many more hours.
In its latest update about the problem, posted at around 9:30 a.m. U.S.
Eastern Time on Tuesday, Google said that it could take between 24 hours
to 36 hours from that moment to restore all affected accounts.
The issue, which at its peak affected "a small subset of users,"
prevents people from accessing their accounts. About two weeks ago,
Gmail suffered a major outage that affected many of its users worldwide
and lasted for two and a half hours. Gmail also ran into problems several
times in August and October of last year.
The outages affect all types of people, from casual users who use Gmail
for personal communications to those who rely on it for their work
e-mail as part of the Google Apps hosted collaboration and communication
suite. This is because Google serves all of its Gmail users from the
same data-center infrastructure, including Apps Premier users, who pay
for their service and are covered by a 99.9 percent uptime commitment.
One outage, on Aug. 11, lasted about two hours, but affected almost all
Apps Premier users. Others on Aug. 6 and Aug. 15 hit a small number of
Apps Premier users, but both outages were lengthy, affecting some users
for more than 24 hours. In all of the incidents, users were unable to
access their Gmail accounts. In mid-October, an outage locked some
affected users out of their Gmail accounts for about 30 hours. Later
that same month, a glitch delayed by days the activation of the Gmail
service for new Apps subscribers, leaving them without e-mail access
during that time.
Performance and availability problems continue to be among the main
objections and concerns about Web-hosted applications, which reside on
the Internet "cloud" and are gaining popularity among IT managers and
CIOs. There are also concerns about security and privacy. This weekend,
a Google glitch made some Apps files accessible to unauthorized users in
a small number of accounts.
Asked why some Gmail outages last more than 24 hours, Matthew Glotzbach,
product management director of Google's Enterprise, told IDG News
Service in November 2008 that those instances are "very rare."
All Gmail users have their data served from two separate locations, as a
failover provision, but in the infrequent cases where the backup option
doesn't kick in, then a lengthier restoration process has to take place,
he said at the time.
"Any time there's an outage, the vast majority - 99-plus percent of
people - don't experience any issue because we automatically fail them
over to the other location," he said.
"Where there are problems is in the cases where we can't fail that user
over [to the backup] for whatever reason - there's an error with the
account, or the master and the slave [copies] are out of sync. So in a
few circumstances, we have been unable to fail a user over and we can't
restore that user's access to the service until we restore that physical
location. This is an area where we're constantly getting better and some
of the things we've done as a result of our learnings over the last few
months address that," he added.
Google's Openness Intensifies Focus on E-mail Woes
Google Inc.'s recent pledge to be more open about periodic service outages
appears to be drawing more attention to the breakdowns when they occur,
even if it's a minor hiccup affecting a sliver of its users.
A prime example of the phenomenon surfaced Tuesday and Wednesday when
some of Google's e-mail users couldn't get into their accounts. The
outage occurred around 2 a.m. Pacific time Tuesday, with most of the
affected users regaining access to their e-mail within 30 minutes.
A "small subset" of Gmail's more than 100 million users were locked out
of their e-mail until early Wednesday morning, according to Google.
Company spokesman Andrew Kovacs declined to elaborate on how many people
couldn't get their Gmail or what parts of the world were affected.
Word of the trouble quickly spread because two weeks ago Google set up a
Web page showing the status of all its online applications after a
worldwide outage locked people out of their e-mail for 2 1/2 to four
hours. Last month's problems were so severe that Google even gave
service credits to businesses and organizations that subscribe to a
premium version of its e-mail program.
The service updates, available at http://www.google.com/appsstatus,
disclose problems even if the outages involve fewer than 10 people. But
Google makes it difficult to know precisely how many people actually are
affected because the Internet leader steadfastly refuses to give those
specifics.
By making it easier for the public to see when there's a problem, Google
also has made it easier for bloggers and reporters to write about the
trouble.
Other major providers of free e-mail services aren't as transparent
about their outages.
Microsoft Corp. offers a help center with a community board where users
can report problems.
A quick check of that board late Wednesday found numerous complaints
about Microsoft's e-mail service being unavailable, with some users
asserting they had been cut off from their accounts for three days.
Microsoft responded with a post that the service was having "login
issues."
Dell Plans All-in-One Touchscreen PC with Style
Last week, Apple refreshed its one-piece iMac line, and now Dell plans
a one-piece computer. Called the Studio One 19, the new desktop was
announced Thursday and will be launched in Japan next week.
The computer maker said a U.S. rollout is expected later this spring.
The Studio One 19 features an optional multi-touch screen, a hard drive
of up to 750GB, and a starting price of $699.
A major targeted environment for the Studio One 19 is the kitchen. "More
and more people are making the kitchen the center of their entertainment
and computing experience," said Alex Gruzen, Dell senior vice president
of consumer products. The new model, he continued, is "the ideal system
for that need" because of its form factor, its capabilities, and a
pricing that is "very affordable for the family."
The lifestyle and design aspect is being emphasized. The Studio One 19
is made with aluminum, glass and fabric, which Dell expects will offer a
"style statement" that people will want to display rather than park in a
corner. Colors include Solid Pure White, Tuscan Red, Navy Blue, Powder
Pink, and Charcoal.
In addition to the footprint and the style, the Studio One 19 is being
promoted for its multimedia capabilities. If the multi-touch option is
chosen, that kind of interaction can be used for photo editing,
slideshow creation, playlist building, note-taking, and Web browsing.
You Paint finger-painting software offers a playful means of expression
without the mess, and there's a multi-touch percussion center for
creating music. Videos can be recorded and uploaded right to YouTube
with touch controls and, similarly, photos can easily be uploaded to
Flickr.
Options for processors include the Intel Celeron, Dual Core Celeron,
Pentium Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, or Core 2 Quad Core. Integrated graphics
options include the Nvidia GeForce 9200 or GeForce 9400. There are six
USB ports and dual-channel memory is available up to 4GB.
Media input includes a slot-load optical drive and a 7-in-1 media-card
reader. A Web camera, Blu-ray Disc drive, and wireless capability are
options, as is face-recognition security, which requires the Web cam.
Doug Bell, an analyst for industry research firm IDC, called the Studio
One 19 "a very nice product." He pointed out that this isn't Dell's
first all-in-one product, but multi-touch could be a key differentiator
in helping to make the model popular in the kitchen and living room.
"Relatively speaking," Bell said, the Studio One 19 "has great specs and
some nice bells and whistles." Although PC sales are down in many
categories, he noted, the "all-in-one PC form factor is a bright spot"
and growing.
Firefox 3.1 (Or Is It 3.5?) Beta 3 Released by Mozilla
The next version of Firefox is almost fully baked, with the release of
what one would assume is the penultimate beta test version on Thursday.
Some of the major differences from beta 2 involve the browser's Private
Browsing Mode, TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, and new standards support.
The release comes just a week before the expected final release of
Microsoft's market-leading Internet Explorer 8.
One oddity on Mozilla's Developer Center Web pages is that the browser
PCMag.com questioned Mozilla reps, they pointed us to a post by Firefox
head honcho Mike Beltzner, entitled "Firefox 3.1 may become Firefox 3.5."
In the post, Beltzner posits that "Shireteko," the codename for the next
browser version, is far more than a small incremental improvement and
therefore may merit a larger version jump. The post goes on to propose
that the next beta of what was version 3.1 be called Firefox 3.5 beta -
somewhat confusing, but with its own logic nevertheless. The
nomenclature on the developer pages indicates that this proposal has
taken hold.
Firefox 3.1's (or 3.5's) Private Browsing Mode, similar to Internet
Explorer 8's InPrivate mode, aims at removing any trace of a browsing
session the user engages in while in the mode. Tech journalist-pundits
have dubbed both features "porn mode." Records of pages that are
visited, form entries, passwords, downloads, cookies, and cache files
are all discarded for these private browsing sessions. Unlike Internet
Explorer 8's implementation, however, the feature doesn't prevent
third-party sites from tracking your activities on visited sites.
Another significant change to the new build is that its TraceMonkey
JavaScript engine has improved in performance and stability. In
PCMag.com Labs testing, the new beta's result on the SunSpider
JavaScript benchmark was 3,045 ms, pretty much in line with previous
testing of version 3.1 builds. It's still slightly behind Chrome's 2,689
ms, but significantly ahead of Internet Explorer 8's 10,108 ms. Keep in
mind, however, that JavaScript performance is not the be-all and end-all
of browser performance.
Other changes in this beta from the previous version will be mostly of
interest to Web developers: Native support for the JSON (JavaScript
Object Notation), improvements to web worker thread support, support for
new web technologies such as the and elements, the W3C Geolocation API,
JavaScript query selectors, CSS 2.1 and 3 properties, SVG transforms,
and offline applications.
The beta is available for download in 64 languages and for Windows,
Macintosh, and Linux operating systems. According to the open source
project's planning calendar overseen by the Mozilla Foundation, only one
more beta version is scheduled, with no date given. A Mozilla
representative did confirm to us that one more beta version is planned,
with a final release expected this summer.
OLPC Set To Dump X86 for Arm Chips in XO-2
One Laptop Per Child is set to dump x86 processors, instead opting to
put low-power Arm-based processors in its next-generation XO-2 laptop
with the aim of improving battery life.
The nonprofit is "almost" committed to putting the Arm-based chip in the
next-generation XO-2 laptop, which is due for release in 18 months, said
Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC. The XO-1 laptop currently ships
with Advanced Micro Devices' aging Geode chip, which is based on an x86
design.
OLPC's goal is to extend the battery life of the XO-2 laptop while
building in more functionality than is in the XO-1, said Ed McNierney,
chief technology officer at OLPC. OLPC officials said Arm-based
integrated chips will draw less power than x86 integrated chips while
building in functionality such as graphics and wireless networking.
"Our current XO-1 uses an average of 5 watts of power, and while most
people think that's amazingly low, we think it's our biggest problem,"
McNierney said.
While x86 chips potentially could cut their power consumption, Arm-based
chip makers have been paying more attention to low-power and
power-management features on chips, McNierney said.
"We're seeing some very impressive system-on-chip (SOC) designs that
provide both fundamentally low-power demands and the kind of
fine-grained power management ... in the XO-1," McNierney said.
However, the Arm chip could lead to problems for XO-2 in trying to load
a full version of Windows, Negroponte said. As with the XO-1, OLPC wants
to offer a dual-boot option on XO-2 where users can choose to load
either Linux or a full Windows OS. While Arm processors can run Windows
Mobile operating systems, they can't run a full Windows OS.
"Like many, we are urging Microsoft to make Windows - not Windows
Mobile - available on the Arm. This is a complex question for them,"
Negroponte said.
OLPC is in talks with Microsoft to develop a version of a full Windows
OS for XO-2, Negroponte said. The XO-2 is still 18 months away from
release, so "a lot can change with regard to Microsoft and Arm,"
Negroponte said.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Designed for use by children in developing countries, the XO laptop has
been praised for its innovative hardware features and environmentally
friendly design. In the same vein, XO-2 is also being engineered with
hardware and software features that OLPC hopes will appeal to kids in
primary schools.
The XO-2 will include a software-designed, touch-sensitive keyboard and
two touch-screen displays. It can be both a traditional laptop and an
e-book reader, a tablet and even a piano with its touch-based input,
McNierney said.
The nonprofit is also aggressive in efforts to increase the battery life
of XO-2 laptops in situations where power is unreliable or unavailable.
The laptop may carry current XO laptop features, including the ability
to run on solar power, foot pedal or pull-string.
Plans to add wireless networking features such as WiMax and 3G to XO-2
are also on OLPC's table, McNierney said. OLPC is especially considering
WiMax, which offers specific power benefits that could improve laptop
battery life, he said. WiMax networks have already been rolled out in
many developing countries.
"But everything has to first fit in a very, very tight power budget, and
if it can't be done at low power, it can't be done," McNierney said.
OLPC can't implement all its ideas in XO-2, so it ultimately wants to
"open source" the hardware design to other PC makers for use in building
devices, McNierney said. He hopes that opening up the hardware design
will spur the development of a "rich family of devices" that accelerate
the adoption of the XO-2 technology.
"One size doesn't fit all, even in the countries we're targeting, but
OLPC can't design a dozen variations of the XO-2 all by ourselves."
McNierney said.
Arm designs low-power integrated chips that are licensed by many chip
makers for use in mobile devices. Though found mostly in smartphones,
Arm chips are now making their way into low-cost laptops. Freescale is
chasing the netbook market with its i.MX515 chip, which is based on the
Cortex-A8 Arm core and includes a 1GHz CPU, 3D graphics and
high-definition video support. Qualcomm offers the Arm-based Snapdragon
chip for netbooks, which integrates a 1GHz CPU, 3D graphics, video
capabilities and GPS.
Switching to an Arm processor could also help OLPC partner with more
chip makers for input on chip design, McNierney said. Rather than
relying on a small number of vendors for chips as it did for XO-1, using
more partners could give the nonprofit flexibility and choice in
acquiring chips.
Maine Expanding School Laptop Program with Apple
Despite the economic turmoil, Maine is expanding its program to provide
laptop computers to students.
Maine started its first-in-the-nation program by distributing more than
30,000 computers to each seventh- and eighth-grader in all of the
state's public schools in 2002 and 2003. Now the goal is to provide a
laptop to every public school student in grades 7-12 by the fall.
About 30 high schools already have laptops that they obtained outside
the scope of the original program. But now all 120 of Maine's high
schools, along with 241 middle schools, will have new laptops under the
same program, at a cost of about $242 per computer per year, said
Education Commissioner Susan Gendron.
Education Department officials announced this week that they're
negotiating a four-year lease with Apple Inc. for 100,000 Apple MacBook
laptops.
Gov. John Baldacci said in his State of the State address Tuesday night
that revamping the laptop computer program would turn it "into a
powerful tool for the entire family."
"Every night when students in seventh through 12th grade bring those
computers home, they'll connect the whole family to new opportunities
and new resources," Baldacci said. The computers would come with
software to connect to the state's career centers, he added.
The state hasn't yet completed its negotiations with Apple, but it's
expected that the new lease will cost the state about $25 million per
year, said David Connerty-Marin, an Education Department spokesman.
An Apple spokesman in Cupertino, Calif., referred questions to the
governor's office.
The state currently pays about $13 million per year to provide Apple
laptops to 37,000 middle-schoolers and about 10,000 middle school and
high school teachers and administrators. The expansion would add 53,000
high schoolers to the program.
At a time when state lawmakers are facing a two-year budget shortfall of
more than $800 million, Baldacci pointed out that the program expansion
is being done within existing resources and won't require additional taxes.
School administrators say the laptop program, aimed at eliminating the
so-called "digital divide" between wealthy and poor students, has been a
success. A study released in 2007 by the Maine Education Policy Research
Institute at the University of Southern Maine indicated writing scores
improved after laptops were introduced.
eBay's PayPal Envisions Doubling in Size by 2011
EBay Inc.'s name may conjure images of online auctions, but the company is
hoping to turn attention to its second-largest business - PayPal - which
it expects to blossom significantly in the next few years.
That could be a welcome boost for eBay, which posted drops in revenue
and profit in the last quarter and has seen its stock lose 80 percent of
its value since late 2004.
Speaking Wednesday during a day of briefings for analysts, PayPal
President Scott Thompson said the service should double in size in the
next three years, processing between $100 billion and $120 billion in
annual payments by 2011.
PayPal, which has 70 million active user accounts, processed $60 billion
in transactions in 2008. It runs local sites in 17 languages and accepts
19 currencies for transactions.
PayPal, which takes a cut of transactions, reported $2.4 billion in 2008
revenue, while eBay as a whole had revenue of $8.5 billion. The
projected increase in PayPal's volume would translate into $4 billion to
$5 billion in revenue in 2011, Thompson said.
PayPal plans to do this by continuing to grow on eBay itself and by
increasing the service's use among merchants that are not part of eBay.
PayPal wants to handle more mobile transactions and payments for
businesses like banks, non-profits and online social networks.
"It doesn't matter where you go online today," Thompson said. "Almost
everybody needs a fast, secure way to pay for something."
PayPal is still combining its operations with Bill Me Later, a company
eBay bought in October that lets online retailers extend credit to
shoppers without requiring detailed application forms. This will let
people choose to pay for purchases immediately through PayPal or be
billed down the road through Bill Me Later.
Report Slams "Crude" Effort To Fight Web Militants
Western governments have overstated the role the Internet plays in the
recruitment of militants, and measures to block extremist material are
"crude, expensive and counterproductive," a report said on Tuesday.
Any attempts to filter or restrict access to sites grooming potential
suicide bombers would be impractical and ineffective, said the study by
the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political
Violence (ICSR) in London.
In fact there was little politicians could do, said the report, which
brought together government, industry and experts to look at the issue.
"Self-radicalization and self-recruitment via the Internet with little
or no relation to the outside world rarely happens, and there is no
reason to suppose that this situation will change in the near future,"
it said. "Indeed it is largely ineffective at drawing in new recruits."
For years, governments and security agencies have warned that the Web
was allowing extremists, particularly Islamist militants, to recruit and
radicalize people to their causes.
Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff once said
recruits no longer needed to travel to al Qaeda camps overseas, and the
European Commission has suggested trying to block online searches for
material such as bomb-making recipes.
Last week a report found extremist groups in Southeast Asia were
increasingly using the Web to radicalize youths.
However, the study suggested fears about the radicalizing power of the
Internet appeared misplaced. Peter Neumann, head of the ICSR, said there
had been only four or five reported cases across Europe where the
process had taken place wholly online.
He told Reuters that Internet Service Providers could do more to deal
with users' complaints about extremist material, and governments would
regulate if the ISPs failed to bring in a system to better police content.
But it was a fallacy that "there is some sort of switch that can be
pressed and you can eliminate all extremist radicalizing content from
the Internet."
Officials have argued that it should be possible to filter militant
material in the same way authorities crack down on child pornography.
But the report said this analogy was flawed: issues surrounding militant
content are less clear cut, and it is politically hard to decide what is
illegal and what is merely offensive.
Removed websites can soon crop up again using a different Internet
Service Provider (ISP); filtering methods are either too crude (because
they block legitimate sites), too expensive (as they need constant
updating), or they impede Internet traffic.
Meanwhile almost nothing can be done to target chat rooms, and
networking sites, the report said,
While most of the focus has been on al Qaeda-inspired Islamist
militants, far-right white supremacist sites are equally as popular, the
report found.
Online Networking More Popular than Email
Are you spending hours and hours on Facebook? If so, you are not alone.
Networking and blogging sites account for almost ten percent of time
spent on the internet - more than on email.
Time on the sites ranked fourth, after online searching, general
interest sites, and software sites, according to a study released by
Nielsen Online..
"While two-thirds of the global online population already accesses
member community sites, their vigorous adoption and the migration of
time show no signs of slowing," said John Burbank, the CEO of Nielsen
Online.
One in every 11 minutes spent online globally is on networking sites.
Between December 2007 and December 2008, the time spent on the sites
climbed 63 percent to 45 billion minutes.
The figure was even higher for the world's most popular networking site,
Facebook, where members spent 20.5 billion minutes, up 566 percent from
3.1 percent the previous year, according to the study.
More people are also visiting networking sites. In the past year, the
reach of online networking sites grew more than 5 percent.
Brazilians are the most avid fans of networking sites, according to the
report. Eighty percent of online Brazilians visit networking sites. They
also spend the largest portion of their time online - 23 percent - on
networking sites.
Although Facebook is the most popular networking site globally, with
108.3 million unique visitors, preferences differ by nationality.
Facebook is the top site in Australia, Spain, Switzerland, France, the
United Kingdom and Italy. But Americans favor MySpace, in Japan, local
site Mixi reigns, and in Brazil, Google's networking site, Orkut, is
number one.
Many social networking sites were originally geared toward younger
audiences, but the sites are no longer just for kids, the report showed.
The biggest growth in Facebook membership comes from the 35-49 year old
set. Facebook has added twice as many 50-64 year old visitors as it has
visitors under 18.
In the United Kingdom, if current trends continue there will be as many
35-49 year olds on Facebook as 18-34 year olds by mid-June 2009.
Grandpa Is ... Browsing Your Facebook Page
When your 88-year-old grandfather sends a request to be your "friend" on
Facebook, you have two choices: Either confirm it, then quickly take down
all those party pictures you thought were so funny, or plan on never
coming home for the holidays.
As someone who lists pinot grigio as a hobby, I was seriously concerned
about my grandfather joining Facebook.
I was worried my grandfather would get the wrong idea about me. Or worse
yet, he'd find out exactly who I was - not the teetotaling granddaughter
I try to portray twice a year when I go home.
And that's just what happened: We got to know each other through a
social networking site that many 30-somethings haven't learned to use,
let alone octogenarians.
"I don't browse Facebook much, but I see that it is a way to get to the
nitty-gritty of a person's character," my grandfather explained. "Also a
way to do something late at night when I can't sleep."
Turns out, my grandfather isn't the only one with an AARP card using
social networking sites.
Facebook estimates that it has a few million users over the age of 65.
MySpace claims to have 6.7 million users age 65 and over on its site. In
fact, according to MySpace spokeswoman Jessica Bass, older users are
among the site's fastest growing demographic.
Seventy-one-year-old Lynne Bundesen of Santa Fe, N.M., is one of them.
Why did she join? "To keep track of what my grandchildren are doing, of
course," she said.
Her grandson, 27-year-old Russell Simon, knows that but doesn't mind.
"It keeps her young to be on there, in more ways than one," he said.
"She puts these very young pictures of herself up there. She was
beautiful. Just seeing her when she was young, out on a boat with her
hair flowing, it makes me think of her differently.
"But mostly, it's so she can spy on us, not so we can learn about her,"
he said half-jokingly.
Simon actually has three grandparents on Facebook. And he admits that
having them there has changed his online behavior.
"When you do status updates - sometime I forget that they're on - I have
to look at it a different way," he said.
Not everyone is thrilled with the Baby Boomers' discovery of such sites.
Some young people have responded by searching out new ways to stay a
step ahead of grandma, moving from Facebook to Twitter, for example.
"I think that these developments might be the death of Facebook," said
Simon's friend, Charlie Pabst.
Social networking sites are still predominantly used by a younger
population. The median ages of MySpace and Facebook users were 26 and 27
years old, respectively. At the career-focused LinkedIn, it was 40,
according to a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
But there may be no escaping the onslaught from older relatives.
Bundesen also uses Twitter to update her status. "I'm adapting to their
lifestyle," she explained.
Like some younger users, my grandfather initially joined looking to
connect to old classmates - in his case, any that were still alive.
He wasn't so successful there. But soon, he found that he could use it
to stay in touch with grandchildren near and far.
I spent a fair amount of time around my grandfather growing up in
Colorado. But truthfully, I never really knew him - his personality, his
war stories, the story of how he and my grandmother met.
After my grandmother passed away last year, my grandfather found himself
alone for the first time in 65 years. He was looking for ways to occupy
his time.
So this summer, about six months after becoming a widower, 88-year-old
Howard Hilt of Pueblo, Colo., joined Facebook and got to know his
granddaughter in New Jersey. For better or worse.
When I posted a status update about running my first mile since
recovering from ankle surgery, he wrote on my page: "That's the way to
go Tiger!"
He also comments on pictures.
"I sure look my age in this one, and not too good in the others either,"
he said of one recent picture my cousin posted. "Candid shots are too
stark for me, I think."
When I sent him a list of 25 random things about me, he returned the
favor with a list of "Notes about me, Grandpa Hilt."
They were very different lists, to be sure.
He learned that I once met Magic Johnson and that that I don't prepare
food using fire.
I learned that he used to make spare money as a kid by watering
graveyard grass in Brooklyn; he flew B-24 bombers in WWII; and he worked
for Anastasio Somoza Garcia, Dictator of Nicaragua, as a controller in
his steamship agency's New York office.
"While in Managua on a business trip (my wife accompanied me), we became
embroiled in an insurrection by communists and had a ducky time of it,"
he wrote.
But his No. 2 random thing was my favorite. It read: "Met my future wife
in kindergarten."
Before that, I had no idea how or when my grandparents met.
And despite my initial concerns, he assures me that he hasn't been
shocked by what he's seen.
The reason is simple: "At my age, nothing shocks me!"
=~=~=~=
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