Outdated Security Threatens Web Commerce

A team of U.S. and European computer security researchers have used a cluster of several hundred Sony PlayStation 3 video-game machines to exploit a basic weakness in the software system used to protect commercial transactions made via the Internet.

The attack is possible because a handful of commercial organizations that provide components of the basic security infrastructure of the Internet are using an older security technology — despite years of warnings that it is now potentially obsolete. The flaw would make it possible for a criminal to redirect a Web surfer to a fake bank or online merchant without being detected by the security mechanism embedded in today’s Web browsers. It could also be used to subvert e-mail communications and other applications that use cryptographic software for authentication and security.

The demonstration underscores that the commercial infrastructure, as well as the privacy and security, of the Internet are based on an advanced branch of mathematics that in the future may become vulnerable to more powerful computing systems and more clever attackers.

Today’s browsers display a tiny image of a padlock when a user has a secure connection to a Web site. This is intended to provide evidence that the Web site is legitimate, as the browser and the site exchange digital certificates provided by a Certificate Authority — a trusted third party.

Researchers have proven they can create fake certificates that will be accepted by the security system.

Although most Certificate Authorities have shifted to a more modern digital fingerprinting algorithm known as SHA-1, a small number have not. The digital certificate system is designed in such a way that if a single Certificate Authority can be compromised, it is possible for an attacker to mass-produce forged certificates that undermine the “web of trust” the entire system is based on. It relies on public key cryptography, a system in which each user creates a public and private key — long numbers — to help mathematically prove their identity and encrypt and decrypt information.

The results of the research were announced Tuesday afternoon in a paper the researchers presented at a technical conference in Berlin. The flaw is contained in an algorithm known as MD5, which is widely used to produce unique digital fingerprints. The weakness had first been discovered in 2004 by a group of Chinese researchers, but at the time, it still required vast amounts of computing to produce a forged certificate.

However the group of independent cryptographers and mathematicians, based in California, the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica and Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne in Switzerland, were able to create a “collision” — generating two different messages sharing an identical signature — in just three days of computing. The researchers estimated that it would take a typical desktop machine about 32 years to perform the same calculations.

The researchers said that by creating a fake certificate, they had demonstrated that a critical part of the Internet security infrastructure is not safe. To ensure that it was not used for criminal purposes, Arjen Lenstra the head of EPFL’s Laboratory for Cryptologic Algorithms, said they had created the certificate to be valid for only one month, August 2004, as a proof of concept.

Computer security specialists were divided on the significance of the exploit.

“This is good research,” said Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer for British Telecom. “But in the scheme of things, how many people do we know who rely on these certificates for anything? When was the last time you checked your browser certificates to make sure they’re good?”

Others said that the researchers had done a valuable service by exposing lax practices in the industry.

“It’s shocking that a commercial Certificate Authority is still using only MD5,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of Cryptography Inc., a San Francisco-based computer security firm. “Although the problems with MD5 have been known for ages, the paper does an clever job of demonstrating how a badly run certification authority can be subverted.”

“It impacts 99 percent of the browser infrastructure and it goes beyond Web browsers,” said Jacob Applebaum, an independent computer security researcher based in San Francisco. Also potentially affected are e-mail and chat servers and online collaboration systems.

Although the MD5-only Certificate Authorities were not identified in the paper, one of the California-based researchers, Alexander Sotirov, said that two low-cost providers of digital certificates, RapidSSL and FreeSSL, relied on the vulnerable protocol. Both of them are owned by Geotrust, a Mountain View, Calif., firm that was acquired earlier this year by VeriSign. Mr. Sotirov said the researchers had contacted the firm and that it was ending its reliance on the MD5 algorithm. Researchers said they were also investigating a Japan-based firm that appears to rely solely on MD5.

The certificate authority system has been subverted in the past. One case occurred in 2001, when VeriSign issued certificates to a person claiming to represent Microsoft. Because the certificates had the name “Microsoft Corporation,” they could have been used to convince someone that fraudulent software updates came from the software publisher. (Microsoft offered a software patch to deal with the problem.)


Source: NY Times

Linux: New versions of Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE

When you're talking Linux, three big names always pop up: Canonical's Ubuntu, Novell's openSUSE and Red Hat's Fedora. Ubuntu has ridden a groundswell of both consumer and commercial support to its current ranking as the most popular Linux distribution. OpenSUSE, with its business underpinnings, has always been popular in Europe and has been making inroads in the U.S. And it is largely thanks to Fedora that Red Hat has become the biggest Linux company with a major role in community Linux.

Each of these "big three" has recently released a new version of its distribution, which means it's time to check them out and decide which is No 1. Or, more properly, which is No. 1 for what user.

To test them, I installed each distro on a Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. The test machine had 4GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set. This is a standard 2008 computer, which retails for approximately $450.

I also ran each distribution on other PCs to get an idea as to how they worked on a day-to-day basis. For example, I ran openSUSE on a Lenovo ThinkPad R61, Fedora on a Gateway GT5622 desktop and Ubuntu on an older Gateway 503GR desktop.

The Linux distros all had several things in common. First, installing each of them was a no-brainer. I popped in the CD, DVD or (in Fedora's case) a USB memory stick; got the computer to boot from the installation media; agreed on the time zone, the keyboard type and the new username; and then had a cup or two of coffee. At the end, each distribution was installed and ready to go.

In every case, there wasn't even a hint of a hardware problem. It's less trouble these days, frankly, to install Linux on a PC than it is Windows Vista.

The same was also true with getting each distribution to work with my hybrid Active Directory/Samba domain-based network with its server and NAS devices, and with a variety of Canon and HP printers. Within half an hour, I had each distribution working with my CIFS (Common Internet File System) and NFS (Network File System) servers.

In addition, installing new software with each new PC was a snap. On each system, I added the Banshee music player; Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Flash Player; and Crossover Linux, which allows users to run Windows programs on top of Linux. Once installed, all these programs, and more besides, ran as smooth as silk.

To date, none of these Linux distros have given me a lick of trouble, and they've worked extremely well. Now, more than ever, I can't see any general reason why someone wouldn't use one of these Linux desktops in place of Windows.

None of this should be surprising, since these distributions are identical at the core -- all three are built on top of the Linux kernel 2.6.27 and use the GNOME 2.24 desktop. While their ingredients may be the same, though, the dishes made from them are quite different. What sets these three and other great Linux distributions apart is how they mix their ingredients together.

Canonical Ubuntu 8.10
Anyone who knows anything about Linux has heard about Ubuntu. It's easily the most popular desktop Linux around. There's a very good reason for that: Ubuntu 8.10, a.k.a. Intrepid Ibex, is easy with a capital "E."

The GNOME-based interface is easy enough to use, but Canonical backs it up with a strong community. If there's something you want to do on Ubuntu -- anything at all -- chances are you can find the answer on one of the Ubuntu forums such as the Ubuntu Forums and the Ubuntu Community Team Wiki. This support isn't a feature per se, but it shouldn't be underestimated. An open-source truism is you can always find help online -- well, sometimes you can. When it comes to Ubuntu, though, you can almost always find help.

Of course, you may not need that much help. For example, with the new Network Manager 0.7 you can not only easily hook up to wired and Wi-Fi networks, but you can also now easily connect with 3G access points. I used an AT&T USBConnect Quicksilver USB device on my ThinkPad to get a 3G connection, and it worked like a charm. Since Network Manager treats all 3G devices as vanilla serial devices that use PPP (Point to Point Protocol) for network connections, it should actually work with more 3G devices than Windows does.

Another real plus is that Ubuntu 8.10 now includes Dell's DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support). This feature will be invisible to most users, but the effect it can have on stability is profound.

DKMS automatically updates and downloads drivers that match your system hardware whenever you update your Linux kernel -- even if your kernel doesn't include built-in support for a graphics card or other device. Get it? With this, you don't need to worry about your system working even if you add in new hardware or your distro updates its Linux kernel.

There are a few things I don't care for with the new Ubuntu, though. The first is that, while you can set Ubuntu and its KDE-based cousin, Kubuntu, to use the older KDE 3.5.x interface, the distro now defaults to using the KDE 4.x desktop. Personally, I find KDE 4.x to simply be not as good as KDE 3.5x, and I know I'm not the only user who feels this way.

I also wish that Ubuntu had included OpenOffice 3.0 by default. As it is, the distribution comes with the older 2.4 version. Getting the new OpenOffice isn't a big deal, but still, I'd just soon not have to worry with this 100MB+ download and update.

So who is Ubuntu for? To my mind, there's no question about it -- Ubuntu is the best beginner's Linux in the land. It's also more than good enough for experienced Linux power users, but if you're just getting your feet wet with desktop Linux, Ubuntu is the Linux for you.

Novell openSUSE 11.1
If I could use one word to describe openSUSE 11.1, it would be "solid." There may be a way to knock this version of openSUSE off-stride, but I haven't found it yet. In the past, updating openSUSE could be a pain, thanks to what seemed like endless development problems with its update routines. Those finally appear to be history.

Where I see openSUSE operating best, based on my look at the release candidate, is in the office. Whether you use it as a desktop system or as a server, openSUSE is the most business-ready of the community distros.

It starts with Novell's customized version of OpenOffice 3.0. With this version, you can read and write to all Microsoft Office files, including Office 2007's Open XML formats.

On the server, however, is where openSUSE really shines. The installation routine lets you automatically set up Web servers, file servers, Internet services servers, database servers -- you get the idea. Any Linux distribution makes a great foundation for servers, but only openSUSE makes it so easy to set them up.

OpenSUSE, like the other Linuxes, also comes with virtualization apps KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) and Xen. In addition, openSUSE includes my favorite virtualization software: Sun's VirtualBox. In my experience, VirtualBox is the easiest virtualization program to set up and works extremely well on openSUSE.

Finally, while some people dislike Mono, the open-source Linux version of .Net, because of its Microsoft connections, openSUSE has the best integration of Mono and Linux. This functionality, combined with Novell's other Windows-network friendly features, makes openSUSE not just the best of these distros for business use, but for integration with a business' existing Windows infrastructure.

Since I'm frequently working in hybrid Linux/Unix/Windows business network environments, openSUSE is my own Linux of choice. If that's you too, then you should look into openSUSE as well.

Red Hat Fedora 10
All community Linux distributions, by their very nature, challenge the limits of Linux and open-source software. Fedora, though, is the distro that takes those limits the farthest. This distro has always moved as far to the edge as possible while trying not to fall over into being painfully unstable.

With Fedora 10, Red Hat and community developers have once more pushed Linux as far as it will go, and what I find truly remarkable with this go-around is that they still ended up with an exceptionally stable distribution.

For example, Fedora uses PulseAudio for its audio system. PulseAudio is a good audio server, but in its earlier incarnations it could sometimes stutter a bit if your computer was already loaded down with other stacks. In Fedora 10, however, I've yet to find a reasonable workload that stops PulseAudio from delivering excellent sound.

Another noteworthy improvement is that Fedora 10 includes a better webcam support. This is because of some recent work with LinuxTV V4L-DVB and Linux UVC. The net result is that most, if not all, webcams will now work out of the box with Fedora.

There are also numerous new applications that are, for now, only available on Fedora. The first of my favorites is connection sharing. With this, you can turn your laptop into a router/Wi-Fi access point. You can still use your notebook the same as ever, but at the same time share your broadband connection with others. This is a handy when there aren't enough Ethernet connections to go around and no other Wi-Fi.

PackageKit, which hides the complexities of software installation from users, has also been greatly improved. Besides just making the process of finding, downloading and installing software a seamless experience, it also automatically recognizes when you run into a media codec that you've never used on your media player before. PackageKit will not only find and automatically install the appropriate codec, it will also present you with the option of using proprietary codecs. It's a really neat trick, and Red Hat promises that it will get better.

Another plus is that you can now run and/or install Fedora from a USB memory stick. That's nice, but what's even nicer is that you can now keep "persistent changes" on your USB stick. What that means is that you can not only boot any PC at hand in Fedora with your USB stick, you can also keep any changes you make on the stick. In other words, you can literally carry your personal desktop and your work with you on a USB stick.

Does that make you worry about your files ending up in the wrong hands? Don't bother. Fedora has you covered by including encryption for all home directories. Even if your stick goes missing, the thief still won't be able to get into your stuff.

Still, you do pay a price for living with extreme Linux. As stable as Fedora is, it's not perfect. For example, a recent update to an IPC (interprocess communications) program, D-Bus, managed to knock out Fedora's software installation programs. The problem has since been fixed, but you can expect to see this kind of thing from time to time. Because of this, I can't recommend Fedora for any kind of mission-critical work.

With all its new features, this is the distribution for people who want to live on technology's cutting edge. It's not as easy as Ubuntu, or as business-oriented as openSUSE, but for a Linux pro's Linux it's great.

Conclusion
To sum up, any of these Linux distros is a great replacement for Windows. Which one will prove the best for you really depends on your needs.

For beginners, Ubuntu is the desktop Linux of choice. OpenSUSE is perfect for business users, especially those who stand between the Windows and Linux worlds. And last, but in no way least, Fedora is for people who want to see just how far they can push Linux.

Regardless of your choice, you're not going to go far wrong. Desktop Linux has been mature for years now and these distros are just proving once again that there's a Linux for every user.

Source: ComputerWorld

Windows 7 beta 1 makes early debut

The first beta of Microsoft's next operating system has apparently been spotted in the wild.

The first beta of Windows 7, which is expected to hit retailer shelves in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season, has reportedly popped up on torrent trackers as an ISO file. ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes also reports having a copy and has posted his first impressions of the beta.


Windows 7 Beta 1

While, overall Kingsley-Hughes wrote that he likes Windows 7, calling it "solid and fast." But he does take issue with a few new features:

The new revamped taskbar is visually very interesting (and certainly a lot easier to use at higher screen resolutions that the Vista or XP taskbar), but it tries to do too much and as such comes across as kludgey and counter-intuitive. One failure is that it's hard to tell the difference between apps that are running and shortcuts that have been pinned to the taskbar.

Microsoft demoed the forthcoming operating system at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles last month, but apparently the differences between Windows 7 and Vista were so subtle that they can go unnoticed. Attendees to PDC 2008 received pre-beta copies of Windows 7 on DVD, as well as a 160GB Western Digital portable hard drive packed with code.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is expected to talk Windows 7 from a consumer perspective during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics next week. Microsoft is expected to officially distribute the first beta to beta testers in early January.

Source: CNET

Apple, Google, Microsoft sued over icons

A Michigan-based networking company on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Google, Microsoft, and Apple, alleging that all three tech giants violated a patent it owns on the use of document-preview icons--or thumbnails--in operating systems.

In the suit (PDF), Cygnus Systems targets Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Vista and Internet Explorer 8, and Apple's iPhone, Safari, and Mac OS X as patent infringers. Apple uses the patent-protected technology in its Finder and Cover Flow Mac OS X features, the lawsuit claims.

Cygnus describes the technology covered by the patent as "methods and systems for accessing one or more computer files via a graphical icon, wherein the graphical icon includes an image of a selected portion or portions of one or more computer files."

E-mails seeking comment from Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Cygnus' attorney were not immediately returned.

The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona, where company owner Gregory Swartz lives, according to PCWorld.

Cygnus was granted the patent in March 2008, according to the lawsuit, although it first applied for it back in 2001 as a continuation to a 1998 application, according to Ars Technica, which appeared to report the case first.

Cygnus is seeking damages and a permanent injunction to prevent further alleged infringement. It has also indicated that it might go after other companies as defendants.

Source: CNET

OS Shoot-out: Linux vs. Windows vs. Mac OS X

The Mac's been on a roll, both due to its highly regarded Mac OS X Leopard operating system and to an unhappy reception for Microsoft's Windows Vista. The result: For the first time in memory, the Mac's market share has hit 9.1 percent, according to IDC data, and Windows' market share has dipped below 90 percent. (Linux distributions make up the rest.)

But can either Mac OS X or Linux be more than a niche OS? After all, Windows runs practically everything, from widely used productivity apps such as spreadsheets to highly niche applications such as chemical modeling. Mac OS X and Linux simply don't have the app base that Windows does. Of course, the fact you can run Windows on a Mac or Linux system, thanks to Parallels Desktop and EMC VMware Fusion, lets you have your cake and eat it too.

For some users -- often technically savvy people such as engineers, consultants, designers, and CTOs -- it is clearly an option that already works quite well. In the past year, running Mac OS X or Linux as your default OS has been made easier by the capability to run Windows in a virtual machine, giving you access to both Windows-only applications and Web sites that rely on Microsoft's Internet Explorer-only ActiveX technology. But in a business environment, switching to a Mac or Linux PC may not be quite as easy.

The Windows option
Despite the increasing adoption of alternatives to Windows, the Microsoft OS remains the standard choice for the vast majority of businesses. After all, it's been their standard for nearly two decades; they know it, have become dependent on it, and understand its capabilities and limitations. Plus, it's backed by a company that puts a lot of resources into maintaining, supporting, and enhancing the OS for its very wide user base -- and has a huge third-party support system, from vendors to consultants.

For most businesses, considering something other than Windows is not even a question; their concern is when to shift to a new version of Windows. Still, as users (re)discover the Mac and questions over Windows' long-term resource requirements hang in the air, some are considering alternatives to, or at least supplements for, Windows in the form of Mac OS X and Linux.

The Mac OS X option
Of the plausible alternatives to Windows, Apple's Mac OS X has the largest market share and history. InfoWorld chief technologist Tom Yager has written that the latest version of the Mac OS, Leopard (10.5), is simply the best operating system available. And Macs are indeed popping up more frequently even within IT circles -- I've seen more MacBook Pros in the hands of CTOs and IT execs at conferences in the past year more than ever before. Although there are no real numbers on just the business adoption of Macs, it's clear that Apple is in growth mode, gaining an increasing proportion of all new computer sales for more than a year now.


Many businesses have already adopted the Mac as a standard platform, discovering that the hardware is typically better designed than equivalent Windows systems for the same price, that security risks are lower, and that there are more enterprise-quality management tools than they expected. InfoWorld has chronicled how to make the switch to Mac OS X.

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The drive for Mac adoption often comes from users, not IT. InfoWorld's Yager has chronicled the adventures of one PC user who switched to the Mac OS, showing that for an individual, the conversion was ultimately a rewarding one.

A key tool for any Mac OS X switcher is a virtual machine to run Windows for those apps and Web sites that require it. Both Parallels Desktop 3.0 and VMware's Fusion software will do the trick, as InfoWorld's comparative review has shown.

Although Macs are compatible with most typical hardware, such as monitors and drives, fitting a Mac into an enterprise's management systems and ERP applications can be a different story. Yager's Enterprise Mac blog and the Mac Enterprise user group both provide advice on managing Macs in a traditional IT environment.

The Linux option
The more technically inclined may be attracted to Linux, the most popular form of desktop Unix. Linux desktops typically are challenged by limited hardware compatibility (due to lack of drivers), limited application options, and user interfaces that require active participation to get work done, which tends to keep Linux away from the general user population. Still, it's possible to do, and InfoWorld has chronicled how to make the switch to Linux.

But those who work with a Linux server all day may find that using it on the desktop as well actually makes their lives easier.

Just as Mac users need occasional access to Windows, so do Linux users. Because Linux distributions run on Windows-compatible hardware, it's straightforward to use desktop virtualization software, such as Parallels Workstation, Sun's (formerly Innotek's) VirtualBox, and VMware's Workstation software, to provide access to both environments.

Although some enterprises have committed to wide Linux deployment -- such as automaker Peugeot Citroën's plans to install 20,000 Novell Suse Linux desktops -- most have left Linux to the engineering and development staff.

InfoWorld Enterprise Desktop blogger Randall Kennedy argues that desktop Linux is doomed to remain a tiny niche OS, given the Linux community's lack of interest in providing a UI that regular people could use. Kennedy tried to spend a week working on nothing but the Ubuntu distribution of Linux but gave up on the fifth day.

But Kennedy's take isn't the last word on desktop Linux. Frequent InfoWorld contributor Neil McAllister put together a special report on how to move from Windows to Linux, concluding that the effort was not as hard as you might think.

Who's right? As with any platform choice, they both may be. A one-size-fits-all approach may be unrealistic. And that likely explains why many businesses will have a mix, dominated by Windows XP today (and perhaps Windows 7 in a few years) but not exclusively tied to Microsoft's OS.

Source: Info World

Linux: Showing up in the strangest places

OK. You've heard of Linux . It's another operating system for a computer. But why use it when you can choose between Windows and Macs? Unless you run business-class servers, Linux isn't really something consumers really need to hear about, right?

Well, if that's what you think Linux is, you couldn't be further from the truth. Look around you. Linux is everywhere, but you may not know it. However, you'll have to look at the fine print to be sure, because manufacturers usually don't openly advertise with labels announcing "Linux Inside."

For instance, Linux probably drives your HDTV and the set-top box. Linux is now regarded as the de facto operating system of choice by many manufacturers of electronic toys and video and telephone equipment, along with many things that involve hand-held devices and remote controls.

"The only way to find that Linux is inside is to look for the fine print in product materials. That's where you might find reference to Linux. No manufacturer tends to tell consumers that," Jim Ready, founder and CTO of MontaVista Software, told LinuxInsider.

Why So Secret?
When Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) started to design its processor chips for consumer-grade computers, it went with a marketing strategy to display its existence on a label that would be slapped onto the computer's case. Before that, few consumers knew what Intel was. But hawking the Linux engine on consumer products today is seen as counter-productive. Simply put, product makers want their own brand recognition.

Linux gives consumer product manufacturers a stable operating system with no royalty overhead and no ownership hassles. Not having to cater to a controlling corporate entity gives manufacturers tremendous marketing advantage.

"Linux uses open protocols exclusively. There are no proprietary vendor protocols that try to lock you into certain vendors and products. Monopolies do not exist in the Linux world," Juan Pablo Roig, Unix Specialist at Globant, told LinuxInsider.

Amenability-Enabled
Linux is often the go-to guy for silent operating systems in the manufacturing industry. It owes its success there to its solid reliability and its ability to scale and innovate. Why Linux? It's a very functional operating system that can be customized and controlled without having to ask permission from on high.

"No small part of the Linux phenomenon is being in control and a good alternative to Microsoft," offered Ready.

Linux provides manufacturers with another marketing trait both Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) cannot provide. Linux was written by programmers who created the code for other programmers, rather than for a corporate system. To a large degree, this is why Linux is one of the more stable operating systems available today. The programmers themselves, not executives considering a corporate or business angle, were the only people who decided what went into the system, according to Roig.

"The fact that the source code for Windows and other systems is a closely guarded secret keeps people from learning from it. It means that problems which are technically easy to fix cannot be fixed by any user with the technical expertise. Everyone must wait until Microsoft publishes a patch. In summary, the availability of source code is a particularly useful thing for users," explained Roig.

Classic Case
In the earliest days of computing, the first-generation OSes, including mainframes, had no memory protection. Very quickly, building in memory protection became a fundamental goal for developers, noted Ready.

"Linux doesn't have that problem. It's Unix and very functional," he said.

In essence, the benefits of a worldwide open source operating system is much more attractive to manufacturers of consumer products. Typically, Linux wins on four scores.

"Electronics companies are attracted to Linux for a variety of reasons," Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for market research and analysis firm The NPD Group, told LinuxInsider. "First, there are no licensing royalties to pay. The operating system is also powerful and stable and can support a wide range of applications. They can also tailor it to their needs and have complete flexibility with the user interface so they can differentiate their products."

Also, there is a tremendous pool of developers around the world, particularly in Asia, who are comfortable with Linux and other open source technologies, he said.

Other Factors
Three other reasons make Linux the choice of product makers. Linux is cheap to run, cheap to modularize, and easy to secure.

"Since Linux is open source, you can literally have an army of developers take care of most of the maintenance, while you can take care of your module only. When you make changes to the core portion of the Linux code, you can always propose that your changes be included in the original source code. You then no longer need to have someone maintain that code, since others can do it," Laurent Duperval of Consultation Laurent Duperval told LinuxInsider.

In addition, since the code is open, manufacturers have control over which parts they want to include in their components. This allows them to easily reduce the size of the code footprint, he explained.

"Most security issues are quickly fixed and made available to the general public. You don't always have to wait for a vendor-approved patch before correcting any problems you may have. This helps speed up your time to market," he said.

Linux Sampling
Turn to many of the major mobile phone makers to find hard-core use of Linux. But the Linux legacy does not end with pocket phone conversations. You'll find Linux at the heart of smart devices such as portable media players, cameras and most handheld devices. Even dashboard-mounted GPS systems share a Linux heritage.

We at LinuxInsider scoured the Internet for details of products that run on Linux. Here is a brief inventory listing of what we found.

'Netting' the Web
Perhaps the latest craze is the use of Linux in netbooks -- ultra-small portable computers that fill a gap between smartphones and notebook computers. Many of these tiny laptops are nurtured with Intel's low-energy Atom processor.

The Asus EEE PC can be had with Linux, as can offerings from Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) or LG, among others. Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 offers up to 1GB SDRAM, an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 600 display, three USB ports, Ethernet, a 4 GB to 16 GB solid-state drive, and 2 GB of free online storage. LG's X110 netbook boasts a 10-inch, 1024 x 600 display, 1 GB RAM, an 80 GB or 120 GB hard drive, 802.11b/g, and an Ethernet port. Some of these netbooks are available with Windows XP, as well.

Music Mania
In the Spring, SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK) released the Sansa e200 with Podzilla. This is a flash-based MP3 player that, when tweaked, can run Podzilla. This creative device is based on the open source media player stack first developed by the iPod Linux project.

Also last spring, Slacker introduced a personal music player that connected to WiFi hotspots. Slacker also brought consumers a Web-based Personal Radio browser.

Film Flair
Fedora Linux runs Cirgon's Encore Media Server, which supports 1080i HD resolution. The hard drive options include 320 GB, 500 GB and 750 GB varieties to control and manage music, photos and video for use with an HD-based home theater system.

The Linux-based Netflix Player set-top box lets subscribers stream Netflix movies on demand via a broadband Internet connection.

Control4's Home Controller HC-500 meshes with various home theater appliances. These include multi-room music access, lighting, thermostats and security systems that are Linux-driven.

Cool Stuff
We think one of the most impressive uses of Linux in a consumer product is the Cool-Idea Technology Cool-Karaoke. This is an open source MP3, video and Karaoke player equipped with a 400MHz ARM920t processor, 4GB of flash and a 320x240 display. It includes a free downloadable Linux toolchain and source code. Use its numerous hardware mixers to improve synchronization with recorded music.

And why have snapshots but no music? The Samsung i70 PMP does it both in one package. This digital camera and personal media player is built on a MontaVista Linux platform and has a 7.2-megapixel resolution with a 3x optical zoom and Samsung's ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) technology.

Source: Tech News

New Technology to Save Solders' Lives

Regrowing a fingertip cut off in an accident sounds like something from a futuristic movie. But with innovative technology developed by the U.S. Army, such regrowth is possible today.

This research project and a hundred others were on display this month at the 26th Army Science Convention. Some the greatest minds in science from around the world gathered at the four-day conference to exchange ideas and showcase collaborative projects between the Army's research laboratories, universities and partner industries.

The main goal is to develop technology to make soldiers safer and more effective, said Thomas H. Killion, the Army's chief scientist.

The Army's regenerative medicine study combined properties from the intestinal lining and the urinary bladder to create a regenerative substance called Extracellular Matrix.

The cream-colored crystallized powder, called "magic dust," boosts the body's natural tendency to repair itself, said U.S. Army Biological Scientist Sgt. Gen Rossman. When the matrix is applied to a missing digit or limb, "the body thinks it's back in the womb," Rossman said.

One civilian participated in the regenerative-medicine study after cutting off the tip of his finger in a model plane's propeller. Researchers continually applied the matrix to the wound, and after four weeks, the body grew skin and tissue to replenish the damaged area.

The U.S. military branches have begun a consortium with private institutions to develop treatments for severely injured troops. With the help of grants, the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine is studying nerve and vein transplantation, treating burns without scarring and regeneration of tissue, skin and even bone.

Through both animal studies and civilian clinical trials, the institute is developing therapies for the large number of soldiers injured by improvised explosive devices and other explosives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"We are working on trying to regenerate limbs, to repair limbs and to keep them from being amputated," institute Project Director Col. Bob Vandre said.

Army scientists also have developed an engineered skin substitute made in a laboratory from patients' own cells. A postage stamp-sized patch of skin could grow several times larger than the original sample. The engineered skin could then be placed over a wound or burn, protecting it from infection, and eventually cover large portions of the body that have been damaged.

"Our goal is to restore the function to our wounded warriors who have given so much in battle," Vandre said.

Armed Forces Institute scientists also say they also have developed a process to rebuild missing or damaged bone. A web-like tube of calcium-phosphate ceramic, called hydroxyapatite, acts as a biodegradable scaffold that is set in place of the missing bone, giving the body a platform on which to rebuild.

Scientists say the scaffold allows the body to regrow its own natural tissue, bone and veins so it can support itself. Because of the complexity of the process, researchers so far have regrown only 3 centimeters of bone in clinical trials on rats, but they hope to reach 5 centimeters in two years. With the regrown bone, scientists could avoid placing titanium or other medical devices in the body.

Of course, to apply this technology, the Army needs a way to safely remove injured soldiers from combat zones. Enter the Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot, or BEAR, a human-shaped machine with eyes, ears and arms for lifting heavy objects.

Built by Vecna Technologies in association with the Army, BEAR is still a prototype. But its potential is promising. BEAR is outfitted with lights, two cameras and infrared abilities, and it can travel up to 10 mph. The device also can lift 250 pounds while balancing on its toes.

Vecna robotic engineer Andrew Allen says BEAR can be remotely operated, reducing the chance of injuries to soldiers' human rescuers.

"BEAR can easily be replaced; it costs money and not lives," Allen said.

Robot technology has exploded in the past six years, said Army scientist John Parmentola. Robot prototypes of all kinds were on display at the conference, and about 10,000 military robots are expected to be deployed in the field in 2009.

Robots can be outfitted to accomplish various tasks. One can detect 38 different chemical or biological explosives from a distance of 3 to 5 meters. The robot could be used to scan car doors or truck lids for explosives or chemical residue.

Another, called Packbot, is deployed in Iraq for surveillance, reconnaissance and explosives removal. Packbot has been outfitted to react to voice commands, given remotely through an earpiece. Loud background noises do not distort the commands, because the system monitors the vibrations of the operator's jawbone.

Finally, some robots come with a retractable apparatus called a Zipper Mast or Situational Awareness Mast, which can be equipped with a camera or antenna and raised to peer over walls or send radio communications.

The smallest Zipper Mast is not much bigger than a coffee pot and can extend to a height of 8 feet. Designed by the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, the larger mast is affixed to tanks and can reach heights over 30 feet.

Source: CNN

Google Reveals New Android Features

Imminent enhancements to Google's Android mobile platform have been revealed this week, in the form of a development effort called "Cupcake."

Android is in the process of being turned by Google from its own development project into open source. This week, some of the changes made to the mobile operating system by a private group of developers came to light in Cupcake--the Android code the group shares with the outside world. Now, according to the Android road map, the Cupcake enhancements have started to be merged into the wider, open-source Android project.

The private development branch will continue to operate, and the current merging of the new features into the master Android branch will be completed in early January.

Some of the changes coming to Android are bug fixes, affecting elements such as e-mail, conversation-list scrolling, and the alarm clock. Several new features are, however, also being added--for example, the ability to save MMS attachments. The Linux kernel upon which Android runs has been upgraded to version 2.6.27, and "basic x86 support" has been added.

The WebKit browser core has been updated, and support for the new SquirrelFish JavaScript engine has been added. The browser will now support cutting and pasting, and will also include a find function.

Android's camera functionality has received a major boost, with the addition of video capture. Download functionality has also been enhanced; applications can pause their downloads, and interrupted downloads can now be resumed instead of failing.

Virtual keyboards will also become possible, and third-party developers will be given the application programming interfaces to create their own input methods. A new API for speech recognition is also included, as is A2DP stereo Bluetooth support.

Source: CNET

3D Apple Desktop Revealed

Are you ready for a 3D desktop?

Apple is working on such a project, according to patent filings unearthed by MacRumors this week. The "multidimensional desktop" applications suggest that Apple wants to take familiar parts of the Mac OS X desktop--such as the dock--and add depth, allowing you to stack documents or folders behind application icons on the "floor" of your desktop.

The idea of a 3D desktop is not new, but neither is it something that people are using in large numbers. When it comes to patent applications there's always a distinct chance that the technology never actually makes it into a product; still, it's always interesting to see what companies are working up in the labs.


Source: CNET

Is Microsoft going the wrong direction?

New Microsoft President of Online Services Qi Lu has given his first public interview, and it shows that the division may be headed in the wrong direction. Lu is taking dead aim at Google search, when he should instead be focusing on creating new services focused around Office and other Microsoft products. Microsoft will never catch Google, but it has a considerable lead it can build on when it comes to applications.

Lu was interviewed in a friendly forum --- on the Microsoft PressPass site. The interview is mostly innocuous, but toward the end, Lu reveals that he believes that Microsoft's success online is directly tied to catching Google in search.

Toward the end of the interview, he is asked, "Where do you see the opportunities for Microsoft in the search and online space?" This is the kind of open-ended question that allows him to reveal his vision for the future. But the vision, instead, looks to the past --- trying to improve search. Here's his answer:

First, I think there is a genuine opportunity to take our search products to the next level. I see that Microsoft's search product quality is improving at a very, very fast rate, that there are great foundations there. And with the technology base, the talent base, the computing infrastructures, I'm confident that we will be in a position to produce a differentiated and compelling search experience.

The second opportunity is to continue building a very powerful advertising platform. Microsoft has made a series of strategic acquisitions, and also built a bunch of internal technologies and products. The key is to put all those assets together to build powerful, highly scalable advertising platforms. The advertising we see today will be very different in the future because of new platforms for it. Ads will be truly relevant and useful, and the experience will be compelling.

In other words, build better search and then monetize it. There's no mention anywhere about bringing Office online, or innovative new online services and applications. The focus is squarely on catching Google. But it's this simple: Microsoft will never catch up to Google when it comes to search. It's not just that Google's search results are far superior, but the company has gained so much of a lead and market share, that when it comes to search, the game is over.

In my blog, New Microsoft online chief: Right person, wrong job, I've said that Lu is an extremely accomplished technologist with a superb engineering background, but that he doesn't have enough background in business strategy to turn around Microsoft's struggling online efforts. I think that his interview only emphasizes that point.

On the other hands, Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's business division, has said that Microsoft will be introducing for-pay and free versions of Office available on the Web. In my blog Microsoft: Expect free online versions of Office, I explain why that's the future of Microsoft's online efforts, not trying to catch Google.

It may be that overseeing Office's online expansion isn't one of Lu's responsibilities, and that he's been told to focus on search. If that's the case, though, it means that Microsoft's online strategy is divided among several different people, which doesn't bode well, either.

Source: Computer World

Through Google's Eyes - 2008

From Obama to Palin to iPhone, the search giant reviews the zeitgeist with a compilation of the year's top queries.

Scanning around the blogosphere and the popularity rankings on sites like YouTube and Twitter is a great way to take the pulse of the times. People vote in herds to tell us matters most to them, what they like, what they hate.

It's called the wisdom of the crowds, and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has applied it on a grand scale to sum up the year of 2008 by compiling the most popular queries on its search engine.

And with 63 percent of the search market, Google has a bird's-eye view of the digital zeitgeist.

Among U.S. searchers, the query that saw the biggest lift on Google.com over last year was, perhaps unsurprisingly, "Obama."

But in a year when U.S. politics took center stage, the victorious president-elect by no means had a lock on the public interest.

Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor who co-anchored the Republican ticket, was the fastest rising query among international searchers. By that same measure, Palin checked in at No. 7 among U.S. searchers, but ranked at the top in queries on Google News and Google Images.

The Web-wide fascination with Palin is all the more remarkable given that she only entered the main stage in the second half of the year, touching off a digital vetting process that was by many measures cruel and unusual.

Google also ranked the top campaign buzzwords, essentially a chronicle of the headlines that, for a brief while, dominated the news cycle through the jots and turns of a very political year.

At the top of the list -- what else! -- "Joe the Plumber." Three of Obama's politically dangerous associates -- Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers and Rashid Khalidi -- checked in at Nos. 2, 4 and 9, respectively.

Not to be outdone, buzzwords tagged to Palin -- "maverick," "lipstick pig," and "hockey mom" -- respectively took the Nos. 3, 6 and 10 positions.

But there was more to 2008 than just politics. Social media and shiny gadgets held a prominent position in the conversation, too. As the fastest rising U.S. queries on Google.com, Facebook ranked No. 2, iPhone No. 4 and YouTube No. 5.

Of course, no year-in-review is complete without a roundup of the noteworthy personalities who passed away. In 2008, Heath Ledger was tops in searches for celebrity obituaries, followed by Bernie Mac, Tim Russert, Isaac Hayes and George Carlin.

Source: InternetNews

Website Traffic - The keys to online financial success

Every website owner knows that website traffic is the key to financial success. Whether you sell products or run affiliate ads, traffic to your website is the most important aspect of making money on the Internet. But before you can generate the traffic you need, like any business, you need a business plan that states your dreams and goals.

The Dream
This may sound a bit silly or unrealistic, but without "dreams" or goals, how do you expect to reach them? Write down your goals and dreams first, no matter how unreachable they may seem. Taking the steps to try to reach them will certainly put you ahead, so don't limit yourself. Write down your "dreams" in order of importance that of course is relevant to increasing your website traffic.

For example:
1. I want to make 10 million dollars or more a year from my website alone.
2. I want 100,000+ unique website visitors a day.
3. And so on...

Creating Good Content...and lots of it!
The more website content or web pages you have will increase your websites search engine saturation. The more web pages you have indexed my the major search engines, the more opportunities for your website to be found in search results. Always create content that is relevant to your website's subject matter. Most traffic comes from Google, and Google loves "organic" pages. They should be readable in the real world, and the best way to do this is to "write like you speak". I suggest creating the organic content for your website first, then begin "tweaking" it using the next step before you upload the web pages into your server. For information on creating Title and Meta Tags for your website which is equally as important, you can refer to our SEO Articles because this tutorial will focus more on getting your website traffic, and less on the aspects of "on-page search engine optimization".

Do the Research
There are many tools and resources online that can help you with "tweaking" your website's content, but only the best that I have found will be mentioned. So what do I mean by research? You need to find the keywords that people "actually" search for to find websites with your subject matter or niche. Since Google is where most search traffic comes from, I find their tools are the best. Use Google Suggest and Google Adwords Keyword Tool to find keyword suggestions for your website. Google suggest works by typing words into the search box, and as you type, suggestions come up. Write down any relevant combinations you try show find. This tool also show the number of search results for that keyword or phrase. The less the result pages, the easier it is to rank higher. So I recommend finding several with low search results as well as some highly competitive keywords. The Google Adwords Keyword tool allows you to type in a word and find many search keywords and phrases related to that word. Once these terms are collected, reread over your content and replace and/or change words occasionally with the keywords that fit. Just make sure it is readable because your website visitors should always come first.

Get Indexed
The old way of submitting your website to search engines isn't very efficient, so submit and forget. The best two ways to get your site indexed is one, submitting a sitemap XML file to Google using Google Webmaster Tools. The second way which includes all major search engines is to join forums related to your website's niche. You can create a "Profile Signature" from the user control panel that has your website address (URL). If the forum is indexed by search engines, they will follow your website URL in your posts when they update their index. Be sure to contribute to forums and don't spam. Keep your URL out of posts except for your signature. Besides, contributing will generate website traffic from your signature link from forum users in your post.

Reach Out and Socialize
There are many other ways to get traffic besides search engines (Google being tops). Deciding what to do next may depend on your website's niche. If you write articles well, add them as part of your content and submit them sites that allow you to submit articles, like Digg. The other options out there are the all to famous social networks like FaceBook and MySpace. Although these social networks can generate a lot of traffic, your website's niche can be a factor. They do not provide targeted traffic, so if your website sells toasters, it's unlikely you will get visitors that will buy. Yes, they may eat toast, but most of the users still live with their parents...who already own one. "All kidding a side", if your site sells iPhones for example, then this is your target audience.

So to sum up...because you have a lot of work to do, there are many ways to increase your website traffic. The traffic generating ideas mentioned here do work, they just take time and we all know that nothing great comes easy. So be patient, diligent, experiment and the website traffic will increase. Good luck!

Cyber Monday: Will online retailers prevail?

Black Friday wasn't as disastrous as many feared (except, of course, for the poor Wal-Mart employee trampled to death by impatient shoppers).

As far as sales go, overall, the retail industry did get a slight boost. The National Retail Federation counted 172 million shoppers visiting Web sites and brick-and-mortar stores between Thanksgiving and the following Sunday, which is up from 147 million last year. In total, the NRF expects holiday sales to rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion.

But it's tough to say whether today, known as Cyber Monday, will prove as promising for retailers. In fact, this has been one of the hardest holiday sales seasons to predict in years, according to retail analysts, since the current economic recession is wreaking havoc on consumer confidence.

Cyber Monday is traditionally the day online retailers push as the best day for holiday deals. So far, analysts are mixed as to what to expect when the last order is placed at midnight tonight.
"We certainly saw Black Friday had some surprising bright spots. But we saw buying start to fall off Saturday and Sunday," said John Squire, chief strategy officer for online retail tracking service Coremetrics. "We're going to hesitate in suggesting Cyber Monday will be as shiny as Black Friday."

Early Monday, traffic to the retail Web sites his company follows and the number of orders placed or started were down 10 percent compared with the same time last year, Squire said. Of course, he cautioned, the day is not over. The final tally won't be ready until Tuesday.

Cyber Monday has typically proved to be an accurate measure of the overall shopping season, according to ComScore. Though individual year-over-year growth rates for online spending each day varies throughout the holiday sales season, during the past few years Cyber Monday has been within a few percentage points of the final holiday season growth rate.

But many people have already done their shopping online. ComScore on Sunday reported that online, nontravel retail sales on the Friday after Thanksgiving reached $534 million. That's up from the same day a year ago, but just barely--online retail sales rose just 1 percent, from $531 million.

So will online shoppers come out again and respond to the aggressive deals being offered today? Again, it's tough to say due to the volatile economy, and the competing influences on consumer spending, Gian Fulgoni, chairman of ComScore, said in a statement.

But even if Cyber Monday doesn't bring in the sales retailers were hoping for, all is not lost. Typically, while the Monday after Thanksgiving produces the first sales spike for online sales, it's not the biggest spike.

That will likely be two weeks from today, Monday, December 15, according to Ken Cassar, an analyst with Nielsen Online.

For the past three years, the third Monday following Thanksgiving was the function of two factors. "It's a Monday, and Mondays are the most heavily trafficked days of the week as people get back to work. And it's the Monday that's closest to Christmas without being dangerously close as far as shipping goes," he said.

Overall, the calendar could actually be the industry's ally for the rest of this year.

Though Thanksgiving was later this year, Christmas will fall on a Thursday, which gives consumers two more days of online shopping with guaranteed shipping this year than last, when Christmas was on a Tuesday.

Because of that, Squire of Coremetrics says that in addition to December 15, the following Tuesday and Wednesday will be big days too, since those often offer the last chance for free shipping from retailers.

"That's usually the last big spike of online buying," he said. "Expectations are we'll see that again."

But how big of a spike is relative. Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, said Black Friday provided a welcome bump in sales from what had been shaping up to be a "weak" November for his company. But Cyber Monday and beyond should be better.

At Overstock.com, Byrne said, "We'll be happy if we end up anywhere near zero percent growth."

Source: CNET