Gumblar attack worse than Conficker, experts warn

The website compromise attack known as Gumblar has added new domain names that are downloading malware onto unsuspecting computers, stealing FTP credentials to compromise more sites, and tampering with web traffic, a security firm said on Thursday.

The Gumblar attack started in March with websites being compromised and attack code hidden on them. Originally, the malware downloaded onto computers accessing those sites came from the gumblar.cn domain, a Chinese domain associated with Russian and Latvian IP addresses that were delivering code from servers in the UK, ScanSafe said last week.

Ballmer live at D: It's Bing

CARLSBAD, Calif.--Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off his speech Thursday talking about the economy, though he also plans to show off Microsoft's revamped search engine within minutes.

In a speech at D: All Things Digital, Ballmer was asked by moderator Walt Mossberg to discuss the economy and how long the downturn will last. Ballmer said that he didn't expect the the economic collapse to be a 50-year-thing, but it won't turn around in three months either. (Thanks for narrowing that down)

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Sophos: Mind your software defaults

Companies need to pay attention to software configurations and control them appropriately, or risk compromising their security posture, industry experts have warned.

Users can be better protected if more thought was given to the default product configuration, Fraser Howard, principal virus researcher at SophosLabs, pointed out in a recent blog post.

One case in point was Adobe Reader, which runs embedded JavaScript by default. That leaves an open door to the attacker, as seen in recent PDF-based attacks. "Given the growth in malware using PDFs as a point of entry, why do we accept the decision to enable such functionality by default?" Howard questioned.

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Five top IT recruitment trends

Today's job market is not as dismal as some would have you believe. Stuart Packham, director of UK recruitment agency Michael Page Technology, describes the latest trends.

With a conservative number of available jobs and an increase in the volume of job applications, recruitment consultants have their work cut out for them these days.

As job seekers try to get visibility on their career prospects, what kind of opportunities exists and what sort of recruitment is taking place?

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Students learn from robot games

SINGAPORE--Some may consider it kids' game, but robotics can go a long way in encouraging students to think creatively and learn to build products that are commercially viable, said a local educator at Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Sophos: Mind your software defaults

Companies need to pay attention to software configurations and control them appropriately, or risk compromising their security posture, industry experts have warned.

Users can be better protected if more thought was given to the default product configuration, Fraser Howard, principal virus researcher at SophosLabs, pointed out in a recent blog post.

One case in point was Adobe Reader, which runs embedded JavaScript by default. That leaves an open door to the attacker, as seen in recent PDF-based attacks. "Given the growth in malware using PDFs as a point of entry, why do we accept the decision to enable such functionality by default?" Howard questioned.

Sophos: Mind your software defaults

Companies need to pay attention to software configurations and control them appropriately, or risk compromising their security posture, industry experts have warned.

Users can be better protected if more thought was given to the default product configuration, Fraser Howard, principal virus researcher at SophosLabs, pointed out in a recent blog post.

One case in point was Adobe Reader, which runs embedded JavaScript by default. That leaves an open door to the attacker, as seen in recent PDF-based attacks. "Given the growth in malware using PDFs as a point of entry, why do we accept the decision to enable such functionality by default?" Howard questioned.

Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design

The basic rules by which chips are being designed could be wrong, physicists have warned.

Researchers at the US National Institute of Science and Technology have warned that a flaw exists in transistor noise models which could fundamentally affect the efficiency of future chips.

The elastic tunneling model predicts that as transistors get smaller, electronic noise within the transitors, which can cause erratic on-off states, should increase. However, a team of Nist scientists, who have been exploring nano-scale transistor behavior, have found that transistor noise does not increase as transistors are scaled down.

Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design

The basic rules by which chips are being designed could be wrong, physicists have warned.

Researchers at the US National Institute of Science and Technology have warned that a flaw exists in transistor noise models which could fundamentally affect the efficiency of future chips.

The elastic tunneling model predicts that as transistors get smaller, electronic noise within the transitors, which can cause erratic on-off states, should increase. However, a team of Nist scientists, who have been exploring nano-scale transistor behavior, have found that transistor noise does not increase as transistors are scaled down.

Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design

The basic rules by which chips are being designed could be wrong, physicists have warned.

Researchers at the US National Institute of Science and Technology have warned that a flaw exists in transistor noise models which could fundamentally affect the efficiency of future chips.

The elastic tunneling model predicts that as transistors get smaller, electronic noise within the transitors, which can cause erratic on-off states, should increase. However, a team of Nist scientists, who have been exploring nano-scale transistor behavior, have found that transistor noise does not increase as transistors are scaled down.

Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design

The basic rules by which chips are being designed could be wrong, physicists have warned.

Researchers at the US National Institute of Science and Technology have warned that a flaw exists in transistor noise models which could fundamentally affect the efficiency of future chips.

The elastic tunneling model predicts that as transistors get smaller, electronic noise within the transitors, which can cause erratic on-off states, should increase. However, a team of Nist scientists, who have been exploring nano-scale transistor behavior, have found that transistor noise does not increase as transistors are scaled down.

Sophos: Mind your software defaults

Companies need to pay attention to software configurations and control them appropriately, or risk compromising their security posture, industry experts have warned.

Users can be better protected if more thought was given to the default product configuration, Fraser Howard, principal virus researcher at SophosLabs, pointed out in a recent blog post.

One case in point was Adobe Reader, which runs embedded JavaScript by default. That leaves an open door to the attacker, as seen in recent PDF-based attacks. "Given the growth in malware using PDFs as a point of entry, why do we accept the decision to enable such functionality by default?" Howard questioned.

Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design

The basic rules by which chips are being designed could be wrong, physicists have warned.

Researchers at the US National Institute of Science and Technology have warned that a flaw exists in transistor noise models which could fundamentally affect the efficiency of future chips.

The elastic tunneling model predicts that as transistors get smaller, electronic noise within the transitors, which can cause erratic on-off states, should increase. However, a team of Nist scientists, who have been exploring nano-scale transistor behavior, have found that transistor noise does not increase as transistors are scaled down.

Nokia's Ovi Store launch marred by server issues

Nokia has rolled out Ovi Store, a marketplace for handset applications, but has seen its servers struggle to deal with user demand.

The Ovi Store, launched on Tuesday, is designed to support around 50 Nokia models. The storefront can be reached using a mobile browser or using a standalone Ovi Store application that can be found in the device's 'Download' section.

The browser-based Ovi Store suffered from poor performance on launch day, with registration issues and server time-outs widely reported on the web and Twitter. The Ovi team subsequently blogged that Nokia's servers had experienced "extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues for users accessing store.ovi.com and store.ovi.mobi".

Melbourne university taps cloud to water farms

Far from the world of data centers and silicon, an agriculture project at the University of Melbourne is an unlikely place to find the forefront of cloud computing and Web applications.

However, it's a little easier to understand when the university's dean of Engineering, Iven Mareels says profit increases of up to 300 percent on an experimental farm are possible by using irrigation automation in concert with the predictive abilities of IBM's new stream computing software called System S.

Facebook payments: Think virtual

It's become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Facebook is finally inching toward the launch of a micropayment platform. The social site has been expanding the presence of its virtual currency, which Facebook debuted last November when it changed the monetary units for its "Gifts" product into "credits" rather than U.S. dollars.

Credits are now bundled with some promotional items in the Gifts app. And soon, select developers on the Facebook Platform will be able to start working "credits" into their own applications, in a move that could lead to a lucrative new revenue stream for Facebook, which currently relies on an advertising-based business model. First reported by a number of tech blogs, the company has confirmed this development.

Windows server has Linux in crosshairs

SINGAPORE--Microsoft's new entry-level server edition, Windows Server 2008 Foundation, is aimed squarely at Linux, and the software giant says its "simplicity" is expected to give it the edge over Linux as the choice server OS for the small business segment.

By competing with Linux on a lower price point and touting Windows' familiar interface, Microsoft said it hopes to make both servers and its server OS an easy choice for small businesses looking to deploy a server. Each server, preloaded with the OS, will cost below S$1,500 (US$1,029).

Windows server has Linux in crosshairs

SINGAPORE--Microsoft's new entry-level server edition, Windows Server 2008 Foundation, is aimed squarely at Linux, and the software giant says its "simplicity" is expected to give it the edge over Linux as the choice server OS for the small business segment.

By competing with Linux on a lower price point and touting Windows' familiar interface, Microsoft said it hopes to make both servers and its server OS an easy choice for small businesses looking to deploy a server. Each server, preloaded with the OS, will cost below S$1,500 (US$1,029).

Windows server has Linux in crosshairs

SINGAPORE--Microsoft's new entry-level server edition, Windows Server 2008 Foundation, is aimed squarely at Linux, and the software giant says its "simplicity" is expected to give it the edge over Linux as the choice server OS for the small business segment.

By competing with Linux on a lower price point and touting Windows' familiar interface, Microsoft said it hopes to make both servers and its server OS an easy choice for small businesses looking to deploy a server. Each server, preloaded with the OS, will cost below S$1,500 (US$1,029).

Windows server has Linux in crosshairs

SINGAPORE--Microsoft's new entry-level server edition, Windows Server 2008 Foundation, is aimed squarely at Linux, and the software giant says its "simplicity" is expected to give it the edge over Linux as the choice server OS for the small business segment.

By competing with Linux on a lower price point and touting Windows' familiar interface, Microsoft said it hopes to make both servers and its server OS an easy choice for small businesses looking to deploy a server. Each server, preloaded with the OS, will cost below S$1,500 (US$1,029).

CIO Jury: Are we recovering yet?

Reports that the beginnings of a UK economic recovery are premature, according to IT chiefs.

Asked whether they can see signs of recovery in the wider economy, the latest silicon.com CIO Jury poll returned a resounding 'no' vote.

With CIOs from a range of sectors and industries responding to the poll - including retail, social care, recruitment, travel, media and the public sector - just one CIO among the 12-strong jury reckons recovery is now underway.

Sun to connect billion with Java app store

Sun is to launch a Java application store, chief executive Jonathan Schwartz has revealed.

Currently code-named 'Project Vector' but likely to be called the Java Store, it was described by Schwartz as a "network service" that will connect companies of all sizes and types to the approximately one billion Java users found worldwide.

"Vector has the potential to deliver the world's largest audience to developers and businesses leveraging Java and JavaFX," Schwartz wrote in a blog post on Monday. "Most folks don't think of Sun as a consumer company, and largely we're not, but our runtimes reach more consumers than just about any other company on earth."

Through the worst

British manufacturers expect the pace of decline in output to slow in the next quarter, according to the latest industrial trends survey from the CBI.

The survey suggests that firms believe the toughest phase of the recession is behind them.

Out of 575 firms surveyed, 17 per cent said they expect the volume of output to increase over the next three months, against 34 per cent who anticipate a fall.

The number is an improvement on April’s figures and it takes the measure back to where it was before the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.

Microsoft files 'magic wand' trademark

While virtually every tech company is concerned with building the better mouse trap, Microsoft is apparently trying to build a better mouse.

Seattle based technology blog TechFlash this week picked up on a newly disclosed patent filing from Microsoft for a motion-sensing "Magic Wand" interface that would allow users to turn on lights, crank up the heat, and possibly even play games with a flick of the wrist.

The wand is technically described as "an architecture that can facilitate rich interaction with and/or management of environmental components included in an environment." It could incorporate a number of handy devices including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a camera, a laser, a biometric sensor, a transmitter, or a receiver, and would have a handy adviser in text, audio, or video form to assist users in getting their gestures just right.

From Russia with Mac clones

RussianMac is the latest company to release a Mac clone and test Apple's resolve to stop companies from selling its operating system.

On its Web site, RussianMac says that a full version of Mac OS X Leopard comes pre-installed on its computers. The company also confirms that the operating system is able to receive automatic system updates from Apple once installed.

This is where Apple seems to have the clone-makers over a barrel. Apple's Mac OS X End User License Agreement (EULA) clearly forbids anyone from installing the software on hardware not sold by Apple. This effectively closes the door on companies determined to make a Mac clone.

Display administration

Cambridge-basedScreen Technology Group and its subsidiary Screen Technology Limited, which specialise in high-resolution display systems for the digital advertising and signage markets, have called in the administrators.

The administrators are working with the directors to sell the business as a going concern and any interested parties or investors should contact the joint administrators immediately.

Chris McKay of East Anglian business rescue and insolvency specialist McTear Williams and Wood, joint administrators, said: 'We became involved after the company hit cashflow problemswhen a deal to provide working capital to take the business through to profitability fell through due to the credit crunch.'

Google releases a faster Chrome 2

Google has made available a new version of its browser, which it has named Chrome 2.

The company has stressed that Chrome 2, which it announced on Thursday, is not a major release with a host of updates. It is named '2' mainly as a metric to help Google keep track of changes internally, it said. Chrome 2 does, however, include some new features and a speed boost.

Google attributed the speed boost to the incorporation of a new version of WebKit Chrome's underlying engine and an update to the browser's V8 JavaScript engine. As a result of these changes, Darin Fisher of the Chrome team wrote in a blog post, "interactive web pages will run even faster".

Mysterious virus strikes FBI

The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service were forced to shut down parts of their computer networks after a mystery virus struck the law-enforcement agencies Thursday, according to an Associated Press report.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed that it had disconnected from Justice Department computers as a precaution after being hit with the virus, while an FBI spokesperson would only say that it was experiencing similar issues, according to the report.

Chrome replacement

For many years, chrome has been used to add a protective coating and shiny lustre to a wide range of metal products, from bathroom fixtures to car bumpers.

Chrome adds beauty and durability, but those features come at a heavy cost.

Although it is inexpensive to produce, the industrial process to create it is dangerous for workers and pollutes the environment.

'People have been trying to replace it for a very long time,' said Christopher Schuh,Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) associate professor of materials science and engineering.

Super store

Unity Semiconductor, a manufacturer of memory integrated circuits in Silicon Valley, is developing a new class of non-volatile memory devices with unprecedented storage levels.

Unity chairman, presidentand chief executive DarrellRinerson, a former executive at Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices, said that the company is just two years away from launching its first 64Gbit memory device.

Founded in 2002, the company has already successfully created smaller versions of its passive rewritable crosspoint multilayer memory array device that, unlike competing technologies, does not require a transistor per memory cell to enable it to function.

'ZuneX' gaming portable/cell phone in the works?

Source: The blog of underground German game and puppet crossover Web show Mimbee.tv.

What we heard: It's not every day a German Web show starring a horny hand puppet makes game-industry headlines. But that's exactly what happened when the host of site Mimbee.tv posted a story with the headline "World Exclusive: ZuneX - The Microsoft Handheld!!!" on May 7.

After leering/discussing the vast numbers of booth babes that will be at the expo, the author claims to have been present at a product presentation during a two-day event at Microsoft. Referencing a Twitter post by Germany's Xbox product manager which teases a major announcement after his company's June 1 E3 Press Conference, "Mimbee" touts that only he can reveal that "the inventor of the Red Ring of Death is working on a new handheld!"

Waze: The traffic of the crowds

Israeli start-up Waze is at the Where 2.0 conference this week showing off its service for collecting real-time traffic and driving condition data from its users.

Currently running on 80,000 smartphones in Israel, Waze shows you traffic flows on highways, and unlike other traffic services, it also shows it on side streets, and it creates routing advice based on that data.

Chink in encryption armor discovered

An underlying flaw in the widely used encryption protocol Open Secure Shell (OpenSSH) has been made public by researchers from the Royal Holloway, University of London.

The flaw, which lies in version 4.7 of OpenSSH on Debian/GNU Linux, allows 32 bits of encrypted text to be rendered in plaintext, according to a research team from the Royal Holloway Information Security Group (ISG).

An attacker has a 2^{-18} (that is, one in 262,144) chance of success. ISG lead professor Kenny Patterson told ZDNet UK last Monday that the flaw was more significant than previous vulnerabilities in OpenSSH.

Kaspersky impressed with Conficker botnet's slickness

Cybercrime fighter Eugene Kaspersky can't help but be impressed by the slick operations behind the Conficker botnet, and says that it could have been worse had the botnet been after more than just money.

"They are high-end engineers who write code in a good way," Kaspersky told ZDNet.com.au yesterday. "They use cryptographic systems in the right way, they don't make mistakes they are really professional."

Kaspersky says he's "60 per cent certain" that Conficker is being controlled from the Ukraine, but can't be certain. And while the threat posed by Conficker seems serious enough, Kaspersky says, "It could be worse. We are lucky they are just cybercriminals looking to make money and not worse than that."

Microsoft to pay $200 million for patent infringement

A federal jury in Tyler, Texas, on Wednesday ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million in a patent infringement case.

The jury ruled that the custom XML tagging features of Word 2003 and Word 2007 infringed on a patent from Toronto-based i4i.

A Microsoft representative said the company was "disappointed" by the verdict and would seek to have it reversed.

"We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe and that the i4i patent is invalid," Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster said in a statement. "We believe this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported, so we will ask the court to overturn the verdict."

Yahoo search: Time to kill the 10 blue links

Yahoo! is continuing its attempt to redefine internet search by focusing on intent, not results.

The company held a talk in San Francisco on Tuesday to discuss the state of Yahoo!'s search efforts, a renewed priority under new CEO Carol Bartz. There were a few tidbits of news - such as the one-year anniversary of Yahoo!'s SearchMonkey project - but the talk really served as a further reminder that Yahoo!'s future vision of search revolves around structured data.

Intel boosts Atom; puts a new face on Moblin

Intel on Tuesday gave the first preview of its next-generation Atom chip, with a more integrated design intended to improve performance and energy efficiency.

Protect yourself from vishing attacks

You might have heard about online "phishing" scams designed to steal money from unsuspecting Web users, but now criminals are using another type of scam called "vishing" to commit the same crimes.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed lawsuits against two telemarketing firms in Florida and a company claiming to sell extended automobile warranties for violating the Do Not Call registry and fraud for selling bogus warranties for between $2,000 and $3,000 a pop. Since 2007, the companies supposedly made 1 billion calls and generated more than $10 billion.

'Gumblar' web attacks spreading quickly

The attackers behind a series of rapidly spreading website compromises have begun using a new domain to deliver their malicious code, security experts said on Monday.

The attacks, collectively referred to as 'Gumblar' by ScanSafe and 'Troj/JSRedir-R' by Sophos, grew 188 percent over the course of a week, ScanSafe said on Thursday. The Gumblar infections accounted for 42 percent of all infections found on websites last week, Sophos said on Thursday.

Mozilla's Fennec goes alpha for Windows Mobile

Mozilla has released a Windows Mobile-targeted alpha version of its mobile browser, code-named Fennec, for download.

Fennec Alpha 1 for Windows Mobile 6 was announced on Friday in a blog post by Brad Lassey, a senior software engineer at Mozilla.

The company, best known for its Firefox desktop browser, has been making progress on its handset-oriented browser. Fennec is already available in alpha form for the Maemo Linux operating system on Nokia's N810 internet tablet.

Microsoft warns of new server vulnerability

A new, unpatched vulnerability exists in one of Microsoft's server products, the company warned late on Monday.

In a technical bulletin, the company said it is looking into "public reports of a possible vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)."

The company said that a flaw exists in a certain type of web-serving operation.

"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the WebDAV extension for IIS handles HTTP requests," Microsoft said. "An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a specially crafted anonymous HTTP request to gain access to a location that typically requires authentication."

MPAA vs. Real: Five reasons why Hollywood will win

RealNetworks, the company behind the Real media player and Rhapsody music service, could this week become the latest courtroom conquest of the entertainment industry's fierce efforts to protect copyrights.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel is expected to hear closing arguments in proceedings that will determine whether to remove a ban on the sale of RealDVD. The $30 software enables users to create and store copies of DVDs to their computer hard drives.

Microsoft backs document-format test tool

Geman research institute Fraunhofer Fokus and Microsoft on Monday announced plans to build an online tool that will help organizations validate their documents against internationally recognized document-format standards.

The tool is intended to be a step towards delivering on the promise of the ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA-376 standards, both of which are based on Microsoft's Open Office XML (OOXML) document format, Microsoft said.

Several other tools aimed at easing document-format interoperability were also introduced or updated on Monday by the software maker.

Microsoft backs document-format test tool

Geman research institute Fraunhofer Fokus and Microsoft on Monday announced plans to build an online tool that will help organizations validate their documents against internationally recognized document-format standards.

The tool is intended to be a step towards delivering on the promise of the ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA-376 standards, both of which are based on Microsoft's Open Office XML (OOXML) document format, Microsoft said.

Several other tools aimed at easing document-format interoperability were also introduced or updated on Monday by the software maker.

Free Web services a more reliable choice

Free online services are still a more reliable choice over an in-house setup for SMBs (small and midsize businesses), say users and industry players.

Even though free services are unprotected by SLAs (service level agreements) and uptime guarantees, these industry voices claim their uptime is still higher compared to that of an on-premise equivalent--and bring the additional features touted of Web services, they say.

Scott Rutherford, CTO of UserVoice, a U.S.-based SMB using Web services, told ZDNet Asia in an interview, the traditional, in-house set up is no more reliable than a free, online alternative.

Free Web services a more reliable choice

Free online services are still a more reliable choice over an in-house setup for SMBs (small and midsize businesses), say users and industry players.

Even though free services are unprotected by SLAs (service level agreements) and uptime guarantees, these industry voices claim their uptime is still higher compared to that of an on-premise equivalent--and bring the additional features touted of Web services, they say.

Scott Rutherford, CTO of UserVoice, a U.S.-based SMB using Web services, told ZDNet Asia in an interview, the traditional, in-house set up is no more reliable than a free, online alternative.

Gartner: Skip Vista and wait for Windows 7

Businesses that have not yet begun a deployment of Windows Vista should skip the operating system and start preparing for Windows 7, analysts at Gartner have advised.

In an advisory, Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans said Windows 7's release was so close that it would not make sense to move to Vista beforehand.

"Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7 so, at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity," the Gartner analysts wrote in the advisory, published on Wednesday.

Microsoft backs document-format test tool

Geman research institute Fraunhofer Fokus and Microsoft on Monday announced plans to build an online tool that will help organizations validate their documents against internationally recognized document-format standards.

The tool is intended to be a step towards delivering on the promise of the ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA-376 standards, both of which are based on Microsoft's Open Office XML (OOXML) document format, Microsoft said.

Several other tools aimed at easing document-format interoperability were also introduced or updated on Monday by the software maker.

Gartner: Skip Vista and wait for Windows 7

Businesses that have not yet begun a deployment of Windows Vista should skip the operating system and start preparing for Windows 7, analysts at Gartner have advised.

In an advisory, Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans said Windows 7's release was so close that it would not make sense to move to Vista beforehand.

"Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7 so, at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity," the Gartner analysts wrote in the advisory, published on Wednesday.

Microsoft backs document-format test tool

Geman research institute Fraunhofer Fokus and Microsoft on Monday announced plans to build an online tool that will help organizations validate their documents against internationally recognized document-format standards.

The tool is intended to be a step towards delivering on the promise of the ISO/IEC 29500 and ECMA-376 standards, both of which are based on Microsoft's Open Office XML (OOXML) document format, Microsoft said.

Several other tools aimed at easing document-format interoperability were also introduced or updated on Monday by the software maker.

Free Web services a more reliable choice

Free online services are still a more reliable choice over an in-house setup for SMBs (small and midsize businesses), say users and industry players.

Even though free services are unprotected by SLAs (service level agreements) and uptime guarantees, these industry voices claim their uptime is still higher compared to that of an on-premise equivalent--and bring the additional features touted of Web services, they say.

Scott Rutherford, CTO of UserVoice, a U.S.-based SMB using Web services, told ZDNet Asia in an interview, the traditional, in-house set up is no more reliable than a free, online alternative.

Gartner: Skip Vista and wait for Windows 7

Businesses that have not yet begun a deployment of Windows Vista should skip the operating system and start preparing for Windows 7, analysts at Gartner have advised.

In an advisory, Michael Silver and Stephen Kleynhans said Windows 7's release was so close that it would not make sense to move to Vista beforehand.

"Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7 so, at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity," the Gartner analysts wrote in the advisory, published on Wednesday.

Playing with Windows 7's Slingbox-like feature

With many versions of Windows, Microsoft chops features as it gets closer to release.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has actually added a few features as it has gotten closer to launch. One of the most intriguing is a feature that debuted with the most recent release candidate allows a user to stream media from one PC to another over the Internet, a la the Slingbox.

Playing with Windows 7's Slingbox-like feature

With many versions of Windows, Microsoft chops features as it gets closer to release.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has actually added a few features as it has gotten closer to launch. One of the most intriguing is a feature that debuted with the most recent release candidate allows a user to stream media from one PC to another over the Internet, a la the Slingbox.

SF Giants save big with new tech

SAN FRANCISCO--Could changing phone systems pay a big-league baseball player's salary? To hear Bill Schlough, the CIO of the San Francisco Giants tell it, the answer is a definite yes.

Xbox 360 to challenge Wii with motion-sensing camera?

The Wall Street Journal may have spoiled one of Microsoft's big surprises at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The Journal Tuesday posted an article sourcing "people familiar with the matter" as saying Microsoft "is developing a new video camera for its Xbox 360 video game console that will allow players to control games with the movement of their bodies."

The brief piece went on to say that the add-on would not require any physical controller like the Wii, before speculating that it might--might--be shown at E3. After declining to answer the Journal's queries, corporate reps would tell GameSpot only that "Microsoft isn't commenting" on the report.

Ubuntu gets web-based file sync and sharing

Canonical has begun beta-testing a file-synchronization service called Ubuntu One for its Ubuntu Linux desktop operating system.

The closed beta test began on Monday for invited members of the Ubuntu user community, with further testers able to sign up by requesting an invitation, Canonical said.

Ubuntu One offers file synchronization for systems running Ubuntu 9.04, code-named Jaunty Jackalope, and is intended to be available to the general public in time for the launch of Ubuntu 9.10, codenamed Karmic Koala, in October, Canonical said.

Blizzard working on new online game project

Rumors of a "World of Starcraft" were jettisoned this week when a Blizzard Entertainment representative revealed that the company's next MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) will be based on an entirely new franchise.

Viruses now penetrating deeper

New malware variants have taken researchers by surprise by adapting new "stealth" methods to penetrate systems deeper so as to avoid detection, according to Kaspersky Lab.

The antivirus company said in a video conference Wednesday, a new variant of botnet, Sinowal--also known as Torpig--marks the first time cybercriminals have used such sophisticated methods.

Kaspersky said Sinowal writes itself to the user's hard drive master boot record (MBR), the operating system's lowest level, and has been successful in avoiding detection by antivirus products.

Zune phone rumors resurface

The idea that Microsoft may release a Zune-phone, based on its portable music player, has once again resurfaced.

Although the likelihood of a Microsoft-branded handset has been repeatedly denied by the software giant, a post from one of the firm's Twitter accounts suggests otherwise.

@officethemovie, which generally exists to direct Twitter users to the promotional website for the next version of Microsoft Office, posted on Tuesday morning: "New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre. :)"

Zune phone rumors resurface

The idea that Microsoft may release a Zune-phone, based on its portable music player, has once again resurfaced.

Although the likelihood of a Microsoft-branded handset has been repeatedly denied by the software giant, a post from one of the firm's Twitter accounts suggests otherwise.

@officethemovie, which generally exists to direct Twitter users to the promotional website for the next version of Microsoft Office, posted on Tuesday morning: "New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre. :)"

Zune phone rumors resurface

The idea that Microsoft may release a Zune-phone, based on its portable music player, has once again resurfaced.

Although the likelihood of a Microsoft-branded handset has been repeatedly denied by the software giant, a post from one of the firm's Twitter accounts suggests otherwise.

@officethemovie, which generally exists to direct Twitter users to the promotional website for the next version of Microsoft Office, posted on Tuesday morning: "New product launch, that's all I'm allowed to say. Hold off from buying an iPhone/Pre. :)"

Future-proofing the application infrastructure

Commentary--Theres no shortage of discussions around service oriented architectures (SOA), Software as a Service (SAAS) and enterprise modernization. Regardless of the catchphrase du jour, the heart of these conversations is really about the best approaches to building a cost efficient application infrastructure that will sustain a company today and in the future.

Future-proofing the application infrastructure

Commentary--Theres no shortage of discussions around service oriented architectures (SOA), Software as a Service (SAAS) and enterprise modernization. Regardless of the catchphrase du jour, the heart of these conversations is really about the best approaches to building a cost efficient application infrastructure that will sustain a company today and in the future.

Future-proofing the application infrastructure

Commentary--Theres no shortage of discussions around service oriented architectures (SOA), Software as a Service (SAAS) and enterprise modernization. Regardless of the catchphrase du jour, the heart of these conversations is really about the best approaches to building a cost efficient application infrastructure that will sustain a company today and in the future.

Google fallout: One in seven users hit by outage

About one in seven Google users around the world lost the use of some or all of the company's services on Thursday as a result of a major network outage.

Blamed by the company on a systems error that caused network traffic misrouting through Asia, the failure occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. PST and lasted for two hours. The outage affected Googlemail, search and other services. Many UK users were affected, according to online comments on Twitter and other forums, although people reported rapid changes in connectivity over time and dependent on which ISP they were using.

Google fallout: One in seven users hit by outage

About one in seven Google users around the world lost the use of some or all of the company's services on Thursday as a result of a major network outage.

Blamed by the company on a systems error that caused network traffic misrouting through Asia, the failure occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. PST and lasted for two hours. The outage affected Googlemail, search and other services. Many UK users were affected, according to online comments on Twitter and other forums, although people reported rapid changes in connectivity over time and dependent on which ISP they were using.

Google fallout: One in seven users hit by outage

About one in seven Google users around the world lost the use of some or all of the company's services on Thursday as a result of a major network outage.

Blamed by the company on a systems error that caused network traffic misrouting through Asia, the failure occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. PST and lasted for two hours. The outage affected Googlemail, search and other services. Many UK users were affected, according to online comments on Twitter and other forums, although people reported rapid changes in connectivity over time and dependent on which ISP they were using.

Group aims to keep MySQL healthy

One of original authors of MySQL, Michael 'Monty' Widenius, has founded the Open Database Alliance, a consortium that aims to become the industry hub for the open source database.

The move was announced on Wednesday. The two founding parties of the vendor-neutral consortium are Widenius' engineering company, Monty Program Ab, and the MySQL services and support company Percona.

According to a statement from the Open Database Alliance (ODA), the consortium will act as a hub for MySQL and its derivative code, binaries, training and support. Specifically, the ODA will work on the software, support and service for Widenius' branch of MySQL, MariaDB.

Cisco taps next-gen networks for the cloud

Networking company Cisco has introduced a package of data center tools for carriers wishing to deliver cloud services over next-generation IP networks.

The Unified Service Delivery package, announced on Tuesday, combines Cisco's existing Unified Computing System technology with its Nexus 7000 switch an updated, data center-optimized version of its CRS-1 router and the company's next-generation IP products.

The combination will make delivery of video and data services more efficient and lay the groundwork for the delivery of business applications to any place, according to Cisco.

Group aims to keep MySQL healthy

One of original authors of MySQL, Michael 'Monty' Widenius, has founded the Open Database Alliance, a consortium that aims to become the industry hub for the open source database.

The move was announced on Wednesday. The two founding parties of the vendor-neutral consortium are Widenius' engineering company, Monty Program Ab, and the MySQL services and support company Percona.

According to a statement from the Open Database Alliance (ODA), the consortium will act as a hub for MySQL and its derivative code, binaries, training and support. Specifically, the ODA will work on the software, support and service for Widenius' branch of MySQL, MariaDB.

Cisco taps next-gen networks for the cloud

Networking company Cisco has introduced a package of data center tools for carriers wishing to deliver cloud services over next-generation IP networks.

The Unified Service Delivery package, announced on Tuesday, combines Cisco's existing Unified Computing System technology with its Nexus 7000 switch an updated, data center-optimized version of its CRS-1 router and the company's next-generation IP products.

The combination will make delivery of video and data services more efficient and lay the groundwork for the delivery of business applications to any place, according to Cisco.

AMD antitrust response: Ruling will unseat Intel

AMD has responded to Intel's record 1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) antitrust fine from the European Commission, which followed complaints by AMD that Intel was abusing its market dominance to shut out the smaller chipmaker.

Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and chief executive, said that the ruling was an important step toward establishing a truly competitive market.

"AMD has consistently been a technology innovation leader, and we are looking forward to the move from a world in which Intel ruled to one which is ruled by customers," Meyer said in a statement on Wednesday.

AMD antitrust response: Ruling will unseat Intel

AMD has responded to Intel's record 1.06 billion ($1.45 billion) antitrust fine from the European Commission, which followed complaints by AMD that Intel was abusing its market dominance to shut out the smaller chipmaker.

Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and chief executive, said that the ruling was an important step toward establishing a truly competitive market.

"AMD has consistently been a technology innovation leader, and we are looking forward to the move from a world in which Intel ruled to one which is ruled by customers," Meyer said in a statement on Wednesday.

France passes controversial antipiracy bill

The French National Assembly ignored a vote last week by the European Parliament and approved its "Creation et Internet" three-strikes bill on Tuesday.

The measure supported by French President Nicolas Sarkozy punishes digital pirates by suspending Internet service if they are caught illegally sharing copyrighted material. The vote comes a little more than a month after the same government body rejected the proposal.

It seems the vote by the French Assembly is in direct opposition to the European Parliament, which last week passed a measure prohibiting EU governments from terminating a user's Internet access without a court order. The European Parliament also adopted an amendment that said, "Internet access is a fundamental right such as the freedom of expression and the freedom to access information."

Google News down - but bounces back with YouTube

Google News was inaccessible for many on Thursday morning. But when it re-emerged, it sported news videos hosted at YouTube.

Reports indicate that Google and Gmail are also experiencing technical difficulties. The service appears to be back as of noon EDT in New York city, but packets were still being lost around the globe.

Some news headlines now feature a small YouTube logo. Clicking on it triggers an embedded YouTube player with a news video, though my attempts involved a long lag between clicking the icon and getting the video.

Google News down - but bounces back with YouTube

Google News was inaccessible for many on Thursday morning. But when it re-emerged, it sported news videos hosted at YouTube.

Reports indicate that Google and Gmail are also experiencing technical difficulties. The service appears to be back as of noon EDT in New York city, but packets were still being lost around the globe.

Some news headlines now feature a small YouTube logo. Clicking on it triggers an embedded YouTube player with a news video, though my attempts involved a long lag between clicking the icon and getting the video.

Fujitsu launches 18-blade 'Dynamic Cube'

Fujitsu announced a blade server system on Tuesday that fits up to 18 blades into a 10U chassis and is designed to make cooling more efficient than in the company's previous systems.

The Primergy BX900, also called the Dynamic Cube, is part of the company's campaign to expand its server sales to 500,000 in 2010, up from 270,000 in 2008, Fujitsu said in a statement.

The new system is designed to offer IT administrators an all-in-one package for the data center, including server blades, a management blade, networking switches, redundant power supplies and other infrastructure, according to the company.

Fujitsu launches 18-blade 'Dynamic Cube'

Fujitsu announced a blade server system on Tuesday that fits up to 18 blades into a 10U chassis and is designed to make cooling more efficient than in the company's previous systems.

The Primergy BX900, also called the Dynamic Cube, is part of the company's campaign to expand its server sales to 500,000 in 2010, up from 270,000 in 2008, Fujitsu said in a statement.

The new system is designed to offer IT administrators an all-in-one package for the data center, including server blades, a management blade, networking switches, redundant power supplies and other infrastructure, according to the company.

Will Intel face antitrust case in Australia?

AMD has not ruled out moving its battle against Intel's antitrust behavior onto Australian soil.

The European Commission Wednesday fined Intel more than 1 billion ($1.45 billion) for violating antitrust legislation after receiving complaints from rival AMD.

The EU found that Intel had been illegally keeping AMD out of the market by giving rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all their CPUs from Intel and making payments to manufacturers to delay the launch of specific products containing competitors' CPUs.

Will Intel face antitrust case in Australia?

AMD has not ruled out moving its battle against Intel's antitrust behavior onto Australian soil.

The European Commission Wednesday fined Intel more than 1 billion ($1.45 billion) for violating antitrust legislation after receiving complaints from rival AMD.

The EU found that Intel had been illegally keeping AMD out of the market by giving rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all their CPUs from Intel and making payments to manufacturers to delay the launch of specific products containing competitors' CPUs.

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

Thomas Edison is famous for lightbulbs and phonographs, but his major invention was Menlo Park, the world's first industrial research laboratory. Taking up two city blocks and stocked with everything that could conceivably be useful for researching, it provided the model for the great corporate labs of the 20th century IBM, Bell, General Electric. The general principle is easy to grasp: if you give creative, disciplined people the chance to have good ideas and the means to follow them up, good things will follow.

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

Thomas Edison is famous for lightbulbs and phonographs, but his major invention was Menlo Park, the world's first industrial research laboratory. Taking up two city blocks and stocked with everything that could conceivably be useful for researching, it provided the model for the great corporate labs of the 20th century IBM, Bell, General Electric. The general principle is easy to grasp: if you give creative, disciplined people the chance to have good ideas and the means to follow them up, good things will follow.

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

The Bionic Commando launch site is HERE! (Bionic Commando (Next-Gen))

It seems like just yesterday we were playing Bionic Commando on our NES. But it was actually last week, because we at the GR offices love us some Bionic Commando, whether we’re playing with anexpensive propor beating other gaming journalists for akick-ass lunch box.

And it seems even yesterdaier that the next-gen return of BC was announced. But the much anticipated title is just days away. How many days, you may be wondering? Well wonder no more! You can know the time left up to the second at theBionic Commando Launch Center!

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

Thomas Edison is famous for lightbulbs and phonographs, but his major invention was Menlo Park, the world's first industrial research laboratory. Taking up two city blocks and stocked with everything that could conceivably be useful for researching, it provided the model for the great corporate labs of the 20th century IBM, Bell, General Electric. The general principle is easy to grasp: if you give creative, disciplined people the chance to have good ideas and the means to follow them up, good things will follow.

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

Thomas Edison is famous for lightbulbs and phonographs, but his major invention was Menlo Park, the world's first industrial research laboratory. Taking up two city blocks and stocked with everything that could conceivably be useful for researching, it provided the model for the great corporate labs of the 20th century IBM, Bell, General Electric. The general principle is easy to grasp: if you give creative, disciplined people the chance to have good ideas and the means to follow them up, good things will follow.

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

Thomas Edison is famous for lightbulbs and phonographs, but his major invention was Menlo Park, the world's first industrial research laboratory. Taking up two city blocks and stocked with everything that could conceivably be useful for researching, it provided the model for the great corporate labs of the 20th century IBM, Bell, General Electric. The general principle is easy to grasp: if you give creative, disciplined people the chance to have good ideas and the means to follow them up, good things will follow.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Global piracy on the rise

Despite progress in stopping the illegal use of software, PC software piracy remains a serious problem globally, especially in the fastest-growing markets, a new study revealed.

Released Tuesday, the study found that the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second consecutive year, to 41 percent in 2008 from 38 percent in the previous year. This was mainly because PC shipments grew fastest in high-piracy countries such as China and India, as well as overwhelming progress in these and other countries.

Underdogs triumph in Prato

Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Yulia Putintseva of Russia, both unseeded, came through tough draws to claim titles at the Grade 2 International Junior Citta Di Prato in Italy.

Fucsovics reached the final of the Grade 2 tournament in Florence last month but had previously advanced past the last 16 on just one occasion since he began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit two years ago. In Prato the Hungarian’s toughest match came in the third round, when he lost a close first set tiebreak against Italian wild card Andrea Dall’Asta before fighting back to win 67(5) 64 62. However, Fucsovics’s other matches, against a host of highly seeded opponents, were all completed with little drama. These included a 75 63 quarterfinal victory over top seed and home favourite Federico Gaio (ITA), who had beaten Fucsovics in the Florence final four weeks previously. Then, in the semifinal Fucsovics demolished seventh seed Francesco Picco (ITA) 60 60 to book his place in the final against fifth seed David Thomson (GBR).

Tsunami monitor

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a contract by the Thai government to produce and deliver a sea-based system that can warn against the threat of a tsunami.

The so-called Tsunami Buoy system will replace the current NOAA Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting Tsunamis (DART) buoy system in the Bay of Bengal, provided to Thailand in 2006.

The system itself consists of three subsystems: a surface communications buoy, a buoy mooring and a pressure recorder that sits on the sea floor.

Underdogs triumph in Prato

Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Yulia Putintseva of Russia, both unseeded, came through tough draws to claim titles at the Grade 2 International Junior Citta Di Prato in Italy.

Fucsovics reached the final of the Grade 2 tournament in Florence last month but had previously advanced past the last 16 on just one occasion since he began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit two years ago. In Prato the Hungarian’s toughest match came in the third round, when he lost a close first set tiebreak against Italian wild card Andrea Dall’Asta before fighting back to win 67(5) 64 62. However, Fucsovics’s other matches, against a host of highly seeded opponents, were all completed with little drama. These included a 75 63 quarterfinal victory over top seed and home favourite Federico Gaio (ITA), who had beaten Fucsovics in the Florence final four weeks previously. Then, in the semifinal Fucsovics demolished seventh seed Francesco Picco (ITA) 60 60 to book his place in the final against fifth seed David Thomson (GBR).

Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying of World Junior Tennis underway

The next four spots for the team finals in Prostejov were at stake this week at the Asia/Oceania boys’ final qualifying for World Junior Tennis in Kuching, Malaysia, where 16 teams are competing for a place in the Finals.

The four teams that qualified for the World Finals are Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Uzbekistan.

This week, the Asia/Oceania final qualifying will continue with the girls 14&under event, where 16 girls teams will be competing for the four available places in the Finals.

Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying of World Junior Tennis underway

The next four spots for the team finals in Prostejov were at stake this week at the Asia/Oceania boys’ final qualifying for World Junior Tennis in Kuching, Malaysia, where 16 teams are competing for a place in the Finals.

The four teams that qualified for the World Finals are Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Uzbekistan.

This week, the Asia/Oceania final qualifying will continue with the girls 14&under event, where 16 girls teams will be competing for the four available places in the Finals.

Tsunami monitor

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded a contract by the Thai government to produce and deliver a sea-based system that can warn against the threat of a tsunami.

The so-called Tsunami Buoy system will replace the current NOAA Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting Tsunamis (DART) buoy system in the Bay of Bengal, provided to Thailand in 2006.

The system itself consists of three subsystems: a surface communications buoy, a buoy mooring and a pressure recorder that sits on the sea floor.

Underdogs triumph in Prato

Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Yulia Putintseva of Russia, both unseeded, came through tough draws to claim titles at the Grade 2 International Junior Citta Di Prato in Italy.

Fucsovics reached the final of the Grade 2 tournament in Florence last month but had previously advanced past the last 16 on just one occasion since he began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit two years ago. In Prato the Hungarian’s toughest match came in the third round, when he lost a close first set tiebreak against Italian wild card Andrea Dall’Asta before fighting back to win 67(5) 64 62. However, Fucsovics’s other matches, against a host of highly seeded opponents, were all completed with little drama. These included a 75 63 quarterfinal victory over top seed and home favourite Federico Gaio (ITA), who had beaten Fucsovics in the Florence final four weeks previously. Then, in the semifinal Fucsovics demolished seventh seed Francesco Picco (ITA) 60 60 to book his place in the final against fifth seed David Thomson (GBR).

Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying of World Junior Tennis underway

The next four spots for the team finals in Prostejov were at stake this week at the Asia/Oceania boys’ final qualifying for World Junior Tennis in Kuching, Malaysia, where 16 teams are competing for a place in the Finals.

The four teams that qualified for the World Finals are Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Uzbekistan.

This week, the Asia/Oceania final qualifying will continue with the girls 14&under event, where 16 girls teams will be competing for the four available places in the Finals.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

EC wants software makers held liable for code

Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva have proposed that EU consumer protections for physical products be extended to software. The suggested change in the law is part of an EU action agenda put forward by the commissioners after identifying gaps in EU consumer protection rules.

PC Gamer UK gets reboot (Wii)

The world's premier PC gaming magazine, PC Gamer UKhas been revamped, redesigned and relaunched - the firstfull rebootsince 1993 - to reflect the changing face of PC gaming.

We asked Ross Atherton, editor of the mag to tell us what's new...

"In a world full of delicious websites such as, I dunno, GamesRadar for example, why would people spend cash on games magazines?," Atherton asks (while simultaneously andunexpectedlymassaging our ego).

Deep inside Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is like a cross between a research library, a graphing calculator, and a search engine. But does Wolfram Research's "computational knowledge engine," set to debut publicly later this month, live up to its hype as a Web site that Google needs to be afraid of?

Report: US air-traffic control systems hacked

Hackers have broken into the air traffic control mission-support systems of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration several times in recent years, according to an Inspector General report sent to the FAA this week.

In February, hackers compromised an FAA public-facing computer and used it to gain access to personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, on 48,000 current and former FAA employees, the report said.

EU lawmakers vote to introduce net neutrality

The European Parliament has voted through a massive tranche of reforms for the European telecommunications sector, including a significant net-neutrality amendment.

The 'Telecoms Package' of laws was voted into force on Wednesday with a large majority, and must now be ratified by the Council of Telecoms Ministers. The vote marks the first time that internet access has been recognized in European law as a fundamental right on a par with freedom of expression.

Windy purchase

RWE Innogy has acquired more than 20 per cent of the shares of Belgian offshore wind farm developer C-Power.

At present, C-Power is constructing the Thornton Bank wind farm off the Belgian coast. Once completed, it will have a capacity of up to 300MW and is expected to produce around 1,000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.

The wind farm will be equipped with 60 5MW turbines, the first six of which have already been installed successfully as part of a pilot phase. Another four phases are due to follow by 2013.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Beware hidden costs in your IT department

The recession has been a bitter pill for many IT organizations to swallow--not only are budget cuts and cost-cutting directives common, there has also been more scrutiny on the management of IT expenses.

Despite the need to shave expenses, not all enterprises know where to start, or what their Achilles' heel is.

In e-mail interviews with ZDNet Asia, industry watchers highlighted hidden or overlooked costs within an enterprise, and offer recommendations on what businesses should do to tackle these problems.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Will BlackBerry kill the iPhone?

Just a few short weeks after the Mac trounced competitors in a customer satisfaction survey, the iPhone has repeated the same trick for Apple in the smartphone market.

The iPhone has taken first place in a consumer survey by J D Power published last week, dominating all but one of the categories: physical design, ease of operation, features, operating system, battery aspects and overall satisfaction.

Most iPhone owners won't be surprised to hear it came last in battery performance.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Google: The cloud is cheaper

When considering the costs of going to the cloud, consider the whole picture, not just hardware costs, said a Google executive.

Following a recently published report from McKinsey (below), which cast a shadow on cloud computing, the cloud platform vendor is perturbed.

The search giant spoke to ZDNet Asia Thursday in response to the report, which recommended large companies be better off managing their IT resources in-house. It compared the costs of running a typical enterprise data center against a cloud alternative, and found the latter to be a more costly option for large enterprises.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.

Microsoft under fire for ODF glitch in Excel

Microsoft has come under fire for spreadsheet interoperability issues in its latest release of Office 2007 SP2, but the company said it is an issue inherent in ODF (Open Document Format) 1.1.

The software giant released last week the second service pack for Office 2007, which provides support for documents saved in the ODF 1.1 format.

However, Rob Weir, chief ODF architect at IBM posted a report on his blog saying SP2 had problems reading some ODF spreadsheets saved by OpenOffice.org and lost data by "silently stripping out formulas" from cells. The resulting spreadsheet displays "the last value that the cells had", said Weir.