Some steal stationary, some steal secret stuff

Remember that sysadmin who refused to relinquish control over much of the government's networks in San Francisco after he was canned? Well it seems that he isn't much of an aberration: a recent surveyed done by security company Cyber-Ark Software turned up some interesting results. A full 88% of IT administrators surveyed said that they would not hesitate to take sensitive information with them if they were fired for whatever reason. The survey questioned 300 people.

It seems like the majority of sysadmins just felt like it was sort of their property to take with them -- much the same way as Jim or Dwight from The Office (TV show) would take stationary or pens if they found themselves canned. Unfortunately, the survey did not question the administrators as to what they would do with the "CEO's passwords, the customer database, R & D plans, financial reports, M & A plans, and most importantly the company's list of privileged passwords," -- or whether they would steal them just because they could.   

The most prized information to retain were network passwords. Presumably these would be all changed by the new, incoming system administrators of course, but in the interim, a devious and disgruntled sysadmin could wreck all sorts of havoc from home with these passwords. Or, on the flip side of the coin, if the sysadmin was unfairly fired for some hardly significant reason, the admin could use the passwords for leveraging a good reference, or a better severance package.

"Most company directors are blissfully unaware of the administrative or privileged passwords that their IT staff has access to which allows them to see everything that is going on within the company. These privileged identities, which lie on hundreds of servers and applications, very rarely get changed as it's often considered too much hassle," said Udi Mokady, of Cyber-Ark Software.

Another interesting tidbit turned up by the survey was that a full one third of network geek-lords surveyed admitted to leaving passwords around the office on Post-It notes and pieces of paper. This is alarming of course, because study after study have shown Post-It notes to be notoriously dangerous and frighteningly insecure. 

Computers and mobile phones to compensate teacher shortage

That eternal struggle between nature and technology always seems to be ongoing; when do we go too far? Sometimes though, you get a clearcut case like this, where the technology just plain benefits everyone: Tanzania and Zambia, two African countries, have started ICT projects which utilize mobile telephone messaging and computer-generated classrooms for primary and secondary schools. About 200 primary schools will benefit from the former's programme, which will launch early October. This will serve as a 'pilot project' before being copied in other schools that need it.

Training minister Professor Jumanne Mughembe told APA this is all mainly due to acute teacher shortages in the region; currently they're short of over 40,000.

"This IT project will also be using projectors, which would be operated from one control center manned by a few instructors in a bid to reach many students," he stressed.

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has of course helped usher in these teaching methods in Africa, with many different countries ordering them in, following on the project's goals of putting one in the hands of each student. Going with these African government programmes (headed by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development's e-Africa Commission), learning materials will be posted regularly to a website, which students will then access through their OLPC computers.

The e-Africa Commission is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is set to equip roughly 16,000 African schools with computers and Internet access by 2015; hopefully they won't see the kind of censorship China has.

100 Mbps fast enough for you?

The largest communications service provider in the UK, BT, will be investing about $3 billion to improve network speeds for many Brits. The money will go to securing "superfast" broadband for up to 10 million homes by 2012.

How fast is superfast? The luckiest people (and generally, those with the newer homes) that are able to get on a fibre-to-the-premise network can theoretically achieve speeds up 100 Mbps (megabits per second.) Most people however, will be connecting to the new highspeed network through their homes' copper cabling, which leads to a speed cap around 40 Mbps. Though BT does hope to raise this cap eventually to around the 60 Mbps mark with some new technologies they will be rolling out.

BT will be making this network available to other ISPs, selling wholesale broadband to companies such as Carphone Warehouse and BSkyB.

The move by BT has been seen as some as a response to earlier announcements from the Virgin Media group, which also plans to deliver more extensive high speed broadband to UK customers.

Company making steady progress

Yet another reason to love "The City That Knows How": company Meraki is planning on having free Wi-Fi set up in all of the city by the end of 2008, with a service called Free The Net. Can you believe that? Heck yes. Last month, about 6,000 users were logged on, as of now it's 100,000.

The company is accomplishing this by installing repeaters (electronic devices which repeat a signal without degradation) on rooftops, going about it neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood, with the permission and assistance of the city. Here's a statement about the company released back in January:

After raising an additional $20 million from venture capitalists, Meraki decided it had enough money to set up free Wi-Fi in San Francisco's remaining 47 square miles. Meraki probably will have to give away 10,000 to 15,000 repeaters, estimated Sanjit Biswas, the Mountain View-based company's chief executive.

Hm, I guess venture capitalism can have its benefits. Aside from VCs, municipal branches also support Meraki, so as a result, it's completely free. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this, I keep waiting to hear the scam; what a progressive city.

At the moment they're focusing on affordable housing areas, which is sweet, really. And more than that, in one of these places in particular, the Valencia Garden Complex, they've set up a computer lab where workshops and programs are hosted. Developed back in April, it allows people to utilize resume and academic services.

Honestly, the more I hear about this place the more I want to go. It's odd to know of a city that actually seems to really care about its people, especially the not so well off. More or less (I've moved around a lot), I'm from a small city myself, the province of which is built on that small town, everyone supporting everyone mentality, but even there most people just bitch about how much of their money those on welfare are taking from them. In SF they give them free Internet! Well, I'm oversimplifying the issue, but it is still a valid point I think.

Obviously, it's not a perfect system, bandwidth is shared and all, but I expect the service will only improve over time. There's talk of it being set up in other cities, as well. All things considered, would you like to see the same setup in your city or town?

Columbus does it again

Defying previous attempts, the first commercial Ethernet switch has been sent off in space successfully. Now 400km above Earth onboard the Columbus module research laboratory, the switch will create part of a half duplex 10Mbps local area network, sustained on the International Space Station (ISS). Up until now, a mixture of IT technology decades old was used.

Cisco, D-Link, Avaya, 3Com, NetGear, and Hewlett Packard switches underwent similar conditions before, but were exposed to extremely high levels of radiation. This time HP's ProCurve 2524 switch (which holds a 10 year lifespan) succeeded. In the dev, configuration and qualifications cycles for three years, HP says it was the "most unusual and demanding" project Procurve has endeavoured.

Lack of wi-fi encryption raises security concerns

Everybody wants an iPhone, according to Apple.  It's the cell phone's industry next big thing, so of course consumers will want one!  In fact, even some businesses are getting them for their executives or the executives are buying them themselves.  However, Internet security group Pure Hacking advises otherwise.

In fact, the company's senior security consultant Chris Gatford says that "there are a lot of vulnerabilities" with the increased used of the iPhone on Wi-Fi networks.  Why? 

Because of the lack of data encryption.  This means that anyone who watches your iPhone could watch every packet and determine every single keystroke from passwords to bank account numbers to major corporate secrets.  Gatford's other concern is that the use of iPhones in Wi-Fi hotspots will increase thanks to the falling price of network plans.  For those of us out there that want to make sure we're not being watched, don't use your iPhone or other mobile device for anything but casual surfing or the occasional looking up of directions. 

Packet sniffers will care less about what you post in an online message board or what you're looking for on Mapquest than they will personally identifiable information.  Of course, it's always smart to keep in mind your plan for your web-enabled phone if you have one so you don't go over your limit and get hit with overages.  If you need to do any serious surfing like looking up your bank account's information or reading e-mail concerning your job that needs to be kept private, do it from a properly firewalled computer and make sure there's no spyware, adware, or other malware around.

I am ashamed to own a Denon receiver, this is worse than Monster Cable!

Initially, I saw a post about this ummm.... "interesting" pricing at the Inq.

A $499 5' ethernet cable? I thought they must be kidding.

Unfortunately the Inq had it right; as visiting the Denon site brings us this:

 

Right now, I am ashamed to own a Denon receiver. Don't buy that Denon overpriced cable, go to a dollar store, and buy a $0.99 5' Cat-5 cable, or to a network equipment supplier and buy a $5 Cat-6 cable - you cannot possibly tell the difference.

 

 

Thanks, Bluetooth!

Bluetooth technology's usage in the medical field isn't new, but streamlining it is, and this is just what German communications development house Stollmann GmbH has done. Specifically, they've implemented a Bluetooth Special Interest Group's (SIG) Health Device Profile (HDP) into the profession.

What is a Bluetooth profile? Just like any other device profile you may have on your computer, really - it defines how different applications use the Bluetooth wireless technology, allowing the desired ones to communicate with each other and transfer appropriate data. Basically, it acts as a mediator between Bluetooth devices and whatever other devices (in this case, medical ones).

So what we have with the final result is a profile which should make virtually all medical devices compatible with the technology, and therefore, a virtually wireless field, something previously unfounded. According to a press release last year from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), this is a very important step:

"Thanks to its elementary values such as low power, low cost, high security and robustness, Bluetooth wireless technology is ideally suited for these applications. With the healthcare costs globally caught in a relentless upward spiral, the healthcare industry needs creative solutions to meet the ever-growing need for quality health services with wireless convenience while allowing patients, insurers, and governments to keep their budgets in check."

The endeavour has garnered a lot of support from various companies in various industries, which "foster applications related to patient monitoring." All of these companies are a part of Continua Health Alliance group, whose mission it is to  "establish a system of interoperable personal telehealth solutions that [foster] independence and [empower] people and organizations to better manage health and wellness." One of the most noticeable members: Intel.

New Linux Streamer promises to deliver "game streaming" from PCs to PS3s (running Linux) over local network; meanwhile remote streaming coming Q1 2008

StreamMyGame is preparing to deliver streaming of PC games over local networks, with plans to bring remote streaming access over broadband internet by "March 2008". With its 3MB "Streamer" plugin, gamers will be able to set up a Windows XP, Vista or Linux (natch) compatible PC to run as a server for their games, which client devices will then stream from.

The Game Stream can be recorded to a file, broadcast, transmitted over the home network and will soon be able to be sent over the internet and played on the remote computer. The encrypted keyboard commands from the remote computer are captured and transmitted back over the network and used to play the game.

The client can be a similar PC setup, or Linux-based device. Interestingly, StreamMyGame's official press release strongly emphasizes the PlayStation 3 (which supports optional Linux OS installations) as a possible client in this regard. Clients will need to run the Streamer Linux Player as well, though it doesn't need to have the game itself installed like the host streamer device does. Of equal interest (or even higher depending on your gaming priorities) is the Streamer's support for DirectX10 games, which should keep the application ready for the high end stuff down the road.

Gamers will need to register at StreamMyGame's homepage to download the free Streamer application. Registration itself is free at the "Standard" level, but interested parties can opt for either the "Premium" and "Unlimited" level memberships which do require a $9.99 USD and $19.99 USD annual fee, respectively. Those willing to go Premium or Unlimited can enjoy additional benefits like game streaming at 720p and 1080p resolutions, which shuld be very nice for PS3 owners with supporting displays, and even gameplay recording. More details can be found on the developer's website.

Members to www.StreamMyGame.com can;

• Register for our free Standard membership or subscribe for our Premium and Unlimited memberships
• Build gaming communities
• Record gameplay to video and upload these videos to the web
• Broadcast games live over networks and at LAN parties
• Stream games over their local network so they can be played on any computer in their home
• Stream games over their local network so PC games can be played on Linux PCs and the PS3
• Share their games over the internet so they can be played at remote locations by other gamers*
• Improve their game skills with dual play of single player games

* Broadband player released Q1 2008.

Hook up with other Skype users over PSP, and possibly dial landline and mobile phone numbers as well

Sony Computer Entertainment has always been planning VoIP (voice-over-IP) for the PlayStation Portable ever since it announced Go!Messenger for the UK last year. While Go!Messenger is set to launch in Europe this month, SCE may have something similiar in store for North Americans with Skype. Eagle-eyed readers visiting Sony's special CES (Consumer Electronics Show) website have caught onto a (very brief) blurb highlighting upcoming support for the popular voice/video chat client on the handheld:

Call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers or catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP system.

Skype definitely brings the PSP that much closer to being a mobile phone (though dialing landline and mobile phone numbers will probably require a fee as with the PC Windows version), despite SCE's denials over making an actual "PSP phone" thus far. It appears we'll have to wait until CES kicks off this weekend before we get more official confirmation, including further details on a launch date and features. Will phoning between PC and PSP users be possible as well?

A Company in Sweden has developed a P2P cell system for mobile phone users.

Ever sign up for a cellular plan that promises a flat rate of only $19.99 a month, but much to your surprise (or expectation) you're hit with first bill and an additional (unmentioned) $15 dollars worth of service fees. It's a sad fact that cell companies will ding their customers for every dime and nickel they can, baiting us in with low prices, blinding us with some complex contract in nano-scale print and then rip us off.

It would be so nice to break away from that.

Perhaps TerraNet can help. The Swedish company has begun testing of their new peer-2-peer calling system. No service provider needed, no cell towers required, just a fully charged cellphone and other users are all that is required.

Their system uses modified handsets to roam out over a cellular mesh network to find peers within 2km of range. Once a peer is found, your cell call is passed through that peer and up to a maximum of seven hops in total until you're connected. Though the system probably wont be implemented in large cities, TerraNet has pointed out that this P2P calling feature would be sufficient to cover a small rural village or a disaster area. The modified handset are currently undergoing some field testing in both Tanzania and Ecuador.

As mentioned earlier, the handsets in question do require the TerraNet hardware to function in this mesh network calling mode. TerraNet is hopeful that cell phone manufacturers will begin adopting this technology in future revisions of their phones. So far only Ericsson has signed on.

Though this may seem to hurt service providers, it could mean a boon for handset manufacturers. If they can start selling new cell phones that don't require a contract and will work in areas of little or no service then they'll be happy. It might mean fewer cell phone towers too, and less radiation blasting through our bodies.

The full force of the Worm 'Storm' not yet unleashed, experts believe

Not all worms are created equal. Some cause minor annoyance. Some propagate madly for a few weeks, then end up doing nothing worse than wasting bandwidth. Some strum up some spam, and then that's it.

Then, every once in a while, a worm will come along -- such as Storm -- that potentially has the power to shutdown even the largest, and most protected of networks, at the drop of a cyber-hat.

First pinned down in mid-January of this year, Storm (also known as Dorf/Fam, Peacomm, and SMALL.EDW by Sophos, Symantec, and Trend Micro respectively) has been quickly gaining in strength. It takes advantages of holes in Windows operating systems -- pretty much every version of Windows, excluding Windows Server 2003.

Once a system is compromised by the trojan, the 'Stormed' computer will become a zombie-slave. The comprised computer then becomes one more machine composing Storm's massive botnet. The virus primarily propagates itself by using this gargantuan botnet to send out infected emails that have intruiging, fake news headlines for subjects -- such as: “Chinese missile shot down USA aircraft” or “U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has kicked German Chancellor Angela Merkel.”

How big is Storm's botnet? Some estimates think the botnet could be as large as 50 million computers. It's entirely possible that one person is behind the worm, pulling the strings, and is able to focus the power of this zombie-network, however they like. “In terms of power, the botnet utterly blows the supercomputers away,” chief anti-spam technologist Matt Sergeat, from MessageLabs, was quoted as saying. “If you calculate pure theoretical throughput, then I'm sure the botnet has more capacity than IBM's BlueGene. If you sat them down to play chess, the botnet would win."

So far, experts have seen the activity of Storm's botnet periodically spike, for a few hours at a time. But it is estimated that only about %10 of the botnet's power has been applied in these activity spikes -- if the person pulling the strings of Storm were to fully engage the zombie-networks, the full Denial-of-Service powers could possibly be enough to cause severe chaos -- such as overwhelmingly networks of even the largest of companies and services.

It is also possible that the services of the 'Storm' infection could be 'rented' to service nefarious criminal purposes, such as mega-spam campaigns, or possibly even to launch some sort of mercantile cyberwar.

So far, it seems that Storm has been applied to 'pump-and-dump' stock scams (the zombie-networks send millions of emails saying that some stock is about to take off -- and once the price of the stock is artificially inflated by many suckers buying into it, the stock is sold off for huge profits.)

Chief forsenic officer of MyNetWatchman.com, Lawrence Baldwin, related to website itnews.com that: “Cumulatively, Storm is sending billions of messages a day. It could be double digits in the billions, easily."

It'll be interesting to see if the full force of Storm will be unleashed before network security specialists, or Microsoft employees, are able to clamp down at all on the trojan's proliferation -- but unfortunately, it seems the primary reason why this worm has gotten so huge, is that many people just can't resist opening up mysterious emails with interesting subjects.

Curiosity killed the computer network.

Emergent Platform aims to reduce barriers of entry and costs for online game developers

The makers of the Gamebryo game engine utilized in the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Emergent Game Technologies, is working on a new development/deployment platform for online multiplatform games titled the "Emergent Platform". Designed to assist developers with the production and associated costs of their online game titles, the Emergent Platform bundles software and hardware services which licensees can tap into as far as necessary. Licensees pay for whatever services they actually use, as part of Emergent's "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) business model. Emergent can even provide licensees with hosting and bandwidth for their software titles. HP will be providing the technology infrastructure with their server blades.

The Emergent Platform will provide studios of all sizes a robust suite of best-in-class hardware and software technologies that will be pre-integrated in a single full-spectrum development and deployment environment.

"With the Emergent Platform, we are leveling the playing field by offering to studios of any size the best infrastructure technologies available at an affordable cost so they can 'stand-up' and launch creative, compelling online PC and multi-platform games quickly," said Geoffrey Selzer, CEO of Emergent.

"As developers and publishers are able to work with best-in-class technologies with virtually no upfront costs, we will see a whole new spectrum of games come to market, which will propel innovation and growth of the industry overall."

For those people who thought thin clients were dead... think again

Virtualization is here to stay, and it may just rescue the idea of thin client computing!

Pano Logic is betting that enough companies will go towards centralized application / virtual machine servers so that it will be able to sell its tiny (think about 1/4 the size of a Mac mini) thin client. Pano claims a 70% savings - $3,200 per desktop - over three years; and it is based on a "Pano Logic Chip" that reside inside the tiny cube providing up to 1600x1200 VGA graphics, USB keyboard and mouse support as well as a 10/100Mbps ethernet connection to the "server".

Basically, it is a tiny descendant of an X terminal.

Frankly, the idea has a certain ammount of merit for internet cafe's and casual business users - after all, what is simpler than restoring a VMWare image if the user (or worms) manage to corrupt the currently running one?

The savings would be even greater if Linux were used on the server side, as I am certain Micro$oft will insist on a full Vista license for each running VM.

Engage in text, voice and video chat with fellow PSP users, or get your bearings... in Europe anyways

Now you can annoy your friends through IM on the PlayStation Portable, as Sony Computer Entertainment reveals that Go!Messenger is in the works for the handheld console. Developed by BT, Go!Messenger will be released as a downloadble update next January in Europe and is accessed in the PSP's XMB. Go!Messenger gives PSP users access to a revamped virtual keyboard which we assume should facilitate quick text entry, and it supports both voice and video chat thanks to the PSP's headset and Go!Cam.

The Go!Messenger suite of communications tools will become a key part of the PSP owner’s busy lifestyle, enabling a variety of communications options to help them stay in touch with their friends, and truly bringing the entertainment potential of PSP to life.

SCEE also announces Go!Explore for the PSP, also scheduled for launch next year. Go!Explore is a GPS navigation application developed in collaboration with TeleAtlas and NavNGo, and supports a proprietary a GPS receiver which apparently will be used in tandem with UMD software. Users can tap into Go!Explore for 3D city maps for "certain key cities", complete with audio in 11 European languages. Additional maps and "points of interest" (POI) can be purchased via PlayStation Network.

“Bringing GPS navigation to PSP is simply fantastic and shows again the unrivalled potential of PSP,” said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Developed in collaboration with key companies TeleAtlas and NavNGo, the market leaders in the map data and Navigation software industry, Go!Explore offers the best and most innovative In-Car and Pedestrian GPS navigation experience. With the ability to use 3D city maps and even 3D landmarks in certain key cities, GPS on PSP is a totally unique experience.”

Make life hell for other Home users, and you'll probably need to get a new PS3 if you want to go online again

Sony Computer Entertainment warned at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2007 that users making a nuisance of themselves on the PlayStation Network's social networking service stand to have their PlayStation 3 consoles permanently banned from Home, and possibly other PSN online services as well. Based on information SCE plans to collect on troublemakers, banned users will likely need to acquire a new PS3 and access Home from a different location in order get their consoles online again. This is reminiscent of Microsoft's decision to lock out modified Xbox 360 consoles from Xbox Live.

Of course this will be the most drastic action Sony intends to take when other options fail. On any other day, the usual options will include communication blocking for disruptive users; members should be trusted to be able to do their part in reporting problems.

"Ultimately we know a user's details, we know machine details and we know where they live," said [Home Platform director Peter Edward].

"If you really feel like you've been abused or that someone has just shown wholly inappropriate behaviour then you are able to complain about it. If you really, really misbehave you can have your console disconnected at a machine level, so you would actually have to move house and buy a new PS3 before you could get online again.

"Clearly that's not something we would want to be doing very often but as a disincentive to mess round too much it's in our power," he admitted.

Google shows off its prototype cell phone to manufacturers, while hints of free coverage are abound.

Though most of the developements are being kept tightly under wraps, Google may be entering the cellular phone business. Apparantlly, Google has been showing off a prototype model of a phone that would come with suppousdly free coverage. That coverage would be paid by advertising bundled with their search engine, e-mail and Web browser software applications. There is some hopes on behalf of Google that their new phone will offer users a better mobile web browsing experience, and all perhaps for free.

Furthermore, Google has been buying up free spectrums like it's going out of style. They've even been pushing the FCC to lift holds on avaliable communications spectrums that have been purchased by companies, but have yet to be used. Back in July, Google had announced that they would be purchasing $4.6 billion dollars worth of avaliable communications spectrum which may had assumed would be for wireless Internet access and not for manile communications.

But they're not alone of course. Apple has snatched a signifigant market share with he iPhone, but has alienated many perspective cumstomers with the $499 basic model price tag, and the $60 per month AT&T service plan, not to mention how AT&T and Apple request users' SIN (Social Insurance Numbers) for account activation.

Goole has apparantly been in discussion with LG who would perhaps construct the phone hardware, while the likes of AT&T would provide the coverage service for users. Rumours abound indicated that Verizon Wirless as a perspective carrier, but severed ties when complications errupted over the diviosn of revenues accrued throught the intergrated advertising on the phones.

Google has stated that they are indeed “partnering with carriers, manufacturers, and content providers around the world,” but made it quite clear that they had no plans to actually build their own phone. Google is after all in the data transferance business, and doesn't do hardware.

American Airlines says they may be in-flight WiFi on their planes by 2008. P2P at 30,000 feet, here I come!

For years, there was the great scare that electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones could interfere with the fly-by-wire systems of passenger airliners. We still can't use those devices during take off and landing, but in-flight use has been deemed okay. That's thanks in part to a great deal of testing that has been undertaken by a number of major airlines to certify these electronics safe. But the holy grail of digital bliss remained ever so elusive, until now.

Getting a good wireless signal whilst flying over the Pacific is pretty hard, so American Airlines has begun testing the possibility of WiFi access fro possibly deployment by 2008. Dubbed AirCell, the broadband service will consist of three WiFi antennas located on the exterior of the plane (two on the belly and one on the top). They will beam an 802.11 a/b/g signal to any passenger(s) willing to pay for the service. Initial testing will take place upon their Boeing 767-200 aircraft that primarily fly transcontinental routes. A series of transmitting towers throughout the continental U.S. will be the broadcast point for the signal.

American Airlines was the first airline to relax cell phone restrictions on their flights, and the first carrier to offer in-flight satellite cellular service.

 

Windows Home Server is now in the hands of manufacturers, scheduled for a fall product release.

It should have happened years ago; the release of a simple server OS for the masses. Finally, the entire family can back-up their files to the home server, use it to stream music, and store those gobs of digital photos.

 

Microsoft has just released to manufacturers their Microsoft Home Server OS. This step comes roughly one month after Microsoft had released a candidate version of the new OS to testers. Over 100,000 people have tested what has been touted as the "coolest version of Windows ever", according to Windows Home Server Manager Charlie Kindel. Microsoft Home Server can be used on any home network to store music, files, photos, to provide backup storage for PCs connected, and allow for remote access from anywhere in the world.  

Based upon Windows Server 2003, it will be available as a standalone OEM software package. It should be compatible with most every piece of hardware out there, though Microsoft does recommend a 64-bit processor (for optimal performance), though 32-bit will do. Gigabit Lan Ports would sweeten the deal, though of course, many of us still get by on 10/100 base connections.

"It started with a vision that an always available device on the home network was an essential ingredient of a Microsoft platform for the home," said Kindel. "At first there was only one of us, then three, then five... We put together a plan for a plan and executed. The result was an ambitious, yet pragmatic product plan that would deliver real value to consumers."

The HP MediaServer, wrapped up in a very nice case.

Scheduled for a tentative release date of  "early fall, late September and early October", there are a number of manufacturer on-board for the launch. Some of worthy mention are Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega LaCie and Medion. But HP will be leading the charge with its MediaSmart Server, running with an AMD 64 processor and 750GB of storage space. Of course, many of us would probably want a terabyte or more of space.

"We'll keep moving forward," said Windows Home Server Senior Product Manager Joel Sider. "There will certainly be future versions of WHS."

Though pricing has yet to be announced, most would place the starting price of Windows based home servers like this at around $800 USD plus. Seems a little steep since you can throw together a pile of parts to build a Linux based server on the cheap. And will Wondows Home Server handle BotTorrent seeding?

Bit Torrent announces its new SDK for HTPC's and NAS storage.

Bit Torrent is without a doubt, perhaps the best way to share files. As it grows in popularity each and every day, it whats always been suspected it would take on a more integrated role in the realm of file transfers and downloaded content.

Yesterday, Bit Torrent announced their deal with Buffalo Technology (a well known manufacturer of wireless gear) and how they will be working together to provide an integrated Bit Torrent client for NAS (Network Attached Storage). This announcement comes in addition to the release of a new Bit Torrent client and accompanied SDK (Software Development Kit) for HTPC (Home Theater PC) systems. It would seem that we're on the fringe of a P2P Bit Torrent revolution.

Bit Torrent president and co-founder Ashwin Navin and director of communications Lily Lin had recently said Bit Torrent currently aims to narrow that gap between the Internet and the television by "focusing on devices that allow people to enjoy media in their living rooms." Bit Torrent obviously hopes that consumer electronics manufacturers will embrace the new SDK to offer embed Bit Torrent software on "set-top boxes, digital media players, routers, and NAS storage devices" and that they "expect one or all of those [devices] to merge with televisions in the future." However, Navin was quick to note that they don't have any plans to break into the mobile market at this time. I guess that means wait a year for a Bit Torrent Lite client to be loaded onto your cell phone.

With nearly 160 million installs on PC's around the world (Windows, Mac, Linux, you name it), Bit Torrent is quickly becoming the new P2P choice. Bit Torrent has also announced future partnerships with the likes of Netgear, Planex, Asus, and QNAP, in addition to chip manufacturers IAdea/Star Semiconductors and Marvel Semiconductors. And with the finalized Bit Torrent SDK, the list will begin to grow.

While discussing their dealings with Buffalo, Navin ( our friendly afore mentioned Bit Torrent rep) said "[the] NAS product line is one that has tons of storage, shipping terabytes. Running Bit Torrent means an always-on Bit Torrent that can be remotely configured to queue up downloads from Bit Torrent.com or any other place."

But perhaps the greatest advantage that can be forecast for new and improved Bit Torrent systems is the number of seeds they will provide. Anyone familiar with Bit Torrent will know the difference between 'Seeders' and 'Leeches', or supply versus demand. With terabyte capable NAS storage, Bot Torrent users probably wouldn't have any problem leaving their network storage drive on 24/7, seeding those files to the masses. And if Bit Torrent becomes popular in the realm of HTPC's and set-top boxes, then we'll be in for a real treat.

And if any of you budding software developers out there what to take it for a whirl, more information on the Bit Torrent SDK can be found right here. Go ahead, develop your little hearts out.

Xbox Live messaging gets cross-platform

Earlier this week Microsoft confirmed its upcoming Spring update for the Xbox 360, scheduled this May 7th, will enable Windows Live Messenger functionality for cross-platform chat.  A QWERTY keyboard peripheral attachment for the Xbox 360 controller will launch this Summer to facilitate text input during instant messenging.

According to Xbox Live group product manager Aaron Greenberg, both Silver and Gold level XBL members will be able to use Windows Live Messenger on the Xbox 360 in full, free of charge.  Windows Live Messenger friends lists will be separate from the XBL friends lists.  Users will be able to engage in up to 6 different conversations at once, and they will also be able to participate in group chats with up to 3 other people.  Instant messenging across Xbox 360, (Windows Vista) PC and Windows Mobile device users will be supported.  Chats can take place even during gameplay.

In hopes of curbing spam, Xbox 360 users can use privacy settings to customize who they can receive IMs from.  As with other IM programs, Xbox 360 users may also set their online status so others may see whether or not you are open to chat at a given time.

Sun-Intel announcement may lead to significantly lower server prices.

Tuesdays announcement of the strategic alliance between Sun Microsystems and Intel has a number of implications for the marketplace - and while they are likely to be bad for the bottom line of server and processor manufacturers, it is very likely that consumers will benefit.

For the past three years, Sun (other than its various SPARC processors) has been focusing on using AMD Opteron processors in its servers. This has been a significant "prestige" boost to AMD, as well as helping to move significant numbers of Opteron processors.

Intel was not used by Sun due to better energy efficiency of the Opterons, although I am certain that the much higher memory and I/O bandwidth and better 64 bit performance were also part of the equation.

Now however, with this deal, the landscape at Sun is changing.

The new Woodcrest family of Xeon's from Intel, due largely to being a newer 65nm design, have better power consumption figures than the current Opteron lineup. Their integer performance, if not memory bandwidth bound, is excellent. Dual core versions on a Blackford chipset even partially get around the FSB performance bottleneck by having dual independent FSB's on the chipset with four memory channels - but all is not roses, as the cache coherency traffic must still traverse the chipset to reach the other socket, and Intel's decision to force the adoption of the very expensive lower performance FB-DIMM's by only supporting FB-DIMM's hurts the memory performance.

Regardless, a Blackford / Woodcrest dual socket dual core system has excellent performance per watt, and is a credible server platform.

Currently, the playing field is still severely tilted in AMD's favor once you get to four sockets or more, however that will not last forever - once Intel's CSI (their Hypertransport-like interconnect scheme to get away from FSB's) shows up, their multi-socket performance will increase.

What does this mean to you or me?

• Intel gets more servers out there, they have been getting clobbered by Opterons
• Intel has been pricing the socket 771 Xeon's VERY aggressively; you can by the same dual / quad core chips in their Socket 771 versions for a fraction of the cost of the same die's in Socket 775
• With this deal costing AMD its exclusivity with Sun, you can be fairly sure AMD will start chipping away at Opteron pricing
• With the AMD 4x4 platform being out, which is nothing more or less than their server Opteron socket 1207 processors re-badged as "FX-70/72/74" processors, and using non-ecc/non-registered DDR2 people will see low cost dual socket dual core platforms, inevitably leading to further erosion in the "server premium"

Servers will get cheaper.

Intel's, AMD's and every server manufacturers margins will get thinner.

Welcome to the world of commodity servers.

 

Intel unveils the next generation of wireless with their new WiMax chip.

Intel has just put the last bit of polish on a new integrated SoC (System on Chip) hat will incorporate both the current (and future) WiFi standards, and will run with their new WiMax system to boot. Intel Exec. Vice Pres. and Chief of Sales Sean Maloney gave a brief demonstration at he 3G World Conference this week in Hong Kong.

Maloney used an Intel Centrino Duo based laptop to browse the web before spectators. The laptop in question used the Intel WiMax 2300 Connection, 802.16e-2005 (WiMax), the yet to be ratified 802.11n (WiFi), and something else called HSDPA (Or 3G High-Speed Download Packet Access). Though no one caught a whiff of the wireless downstream rate, it was probably comparable to really fast Ethernet cable, if not faster. I guess a whole lot of virtual wires could make a big difference.

"The Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 will help speed the deployment of mobile WiMAX, and accelerate the availability of a new wave of 'personal broadband' laptops and mobile devices that deliver the real Internet,"

And though this new wireless standard has been promised for the past year, its very late arrival is none the less, quite welcome. And to sweeten the deal, Intel took those extra 12 months of development time and cooked up an integrated chip design. You know what that means? No add on cards for the latest laptops, though wireless cards will of course be made available later on in 2007.

We probably won't see the first WiMax enabled laptops until the first quarter of 2007, but there will be plenty of connectivity when it's up and running. Samsung, Intel, Motorola, and Sprint Nextel have all recently joined forces to build a national WiMAX network within the United States.

It sounds great, if it can pull in some lightning fast down stream speeds. And if someone would start building WiMax routers and PCI cards, I'd defiantly buy a few. Anything to get my down stream rate above 47 Mbs, even when the router is only a couple of meters away.

PS3 OS still won't be providing central support for specific online community features

We already know that certain networking features on the PlayStation Network Platform may not necessarily apply across multiple PlayStation 3 games, but gamers nonetheless will still be able to use a universal user account (online ID) and log-in for PS3 games. Sony previously admitted the aforementioned online features including buddy lists, matchmaking, in-game ranking, etc. will have to be unique and totally separate per game, and the developers themselves will be required to provide their own support for them.

Insomniac Games producer Dan Brooke clarifies that gamers will at least not be required to register for new user accounts for each online PS3 game:

[Insomniac] wishes to be clear that Resistance uses the PlayStation online ID to sign into the game. There is no separate login for Resistance and the online ID you create will be the same you use for all titles.

North American Xbox 360s get direct-download movie rentals over XBL

Microsoft has scored agreements with television networks and film studios to deliver standard and high-definition telelvision and motion picture downloads to the Xbox Live Marketplace. The partners in particular include Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, MTV Networks, CBS, and Turner Broadcasting. Digital distribution of TV and film content. While digital distribution of TV progamming and movies over XBL will be limited to the North American market for the time being, Microsoft hopes to forge similiar partnerships in other territories where the Xbox 360 has (or will) officially launched.

TV programming can purchased and downloaded to the Xbox 360 hard drive as many times as needed, while motion pictures will be limited to 24 hour rentals. TV/movie XBL Marketplace downloads will not be transferrable to PC for the time being, despite the overall push on Microsoft's part to bridge both its console and MCE-supporting PC platforms.

The initial lineup of TV shows and feature films available for download will include a growing catalog of popular hits. Examples of what will be available before the end of the year include:

• Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force from The Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
• CSI, Survivor, and remastered episodes of classic Star Trek from CBS.
• Emmy and Peabody award-winning comedy South Park and Chappelle's Show from COMEDY CENTRAL.
• The Real World and Pimp My Ride from MTV.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender and SpongeBob SquarePants from Nickelodeon.
• Skyland and The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival from Nicktoons Network.
• Mission: Impossible III, Nacho Libre, and Jackass: The Movie from Paramount Pictures.
• Carpocalypse and Raising the Roofs from Spike TV.
• Race Rewind provided by NASCAR.COM.
• Select episodes of the original season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series and UFC: All Access from the UFC.
• Breaking Bonaduce and Hogan Knows Best from VH1.
• The Matrix, Superman Returns, and Batman Forever from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Microsoft isn't the only player in town with a next-gen console supported by a digital-distribution network. Sony's soon-to-launch PlayStation 3 will also feature a similiar network we know as the PlayStation Network Platform, and they too intend on exploring movie downloads:

"Sony has natural in-house advantages with Sony Pictures film and television units and music divisions, which they haven't taken advantage of with PlayStation 2," said PJ McNealy, video game analyst for American Technology Research.

"Microsoft has their work cut out for them," McNealy added. "They've taken the highlights from what has worked with the iTunes model and are incorporating them into Xbox Live Marketplace. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery."