Tag Archive for 'Microsoft'

IT News - December 24-31, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on January 1, 2008 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Russia’s satellite navigation system, Google Reader’s privacy issues, Microsoft’s security blog

Russia successfully launched a rocket on December 25 carrying the last three satellites to complete a navigation system to rival America’s GPS. The military-run GLONASS mapping system works over most of Russia and is expected to cover the globe by the end of 2009, once all its 24 navigational satellites are operating. — Reuters

In its attempts to add social elements to products, is Google pulling a Facebook? Google Reader has allowed people to share items they are interested in with others since 2006 with hyperlinks, clips on blogs and storing them on a public page. Last week, Google tweaked Google Reader so that your shared items are automatically made available to your Google Talk contacts. But, as anyone who uses instant messaging knows, not all of your IM contacts are friends. Many are acquaintances or people you barely know and with whom you may not want to share a reading list. — CNet News

Microsoft has launched a security blog that provides more technical details about the vulnerability research behind the patches and security updates the company releases each month. The Security Vulnerability Research and Defense blog provides in-depth technical information and ways security professionals can protect an organization from vulnerabilities. The blog will be updated the second Tuesday of every month, called “Patch Tuesday,” which is when Microsoft releases security updates for Windows and other software. There also will be debugging techniques and information on how to triage security vulnerabilities, and overviews on some of the challenges the company faces when fixing specific security bugs. — Information Week

IT News - Dec. 10-17, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on December 17, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: IBM releases two new services for alphaWorks, Wikimedia introduces high-quality printing capabilities for Wikipedia, five wireless trends for 2008, strong laptop sales during the fourth quarter, device allows authors to sign books remotely

IBM has added two new Web services to its alphaWorks (http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/) Web site, which provides “sneak previews” of the kind of technologies that are being contemplated at IBM research and development labs. The new Web services include IBM Sharable Code, a platform for managing Web 2.0-type mashup applications, and IBM Web Highlights — Campus Technology

The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. announced a partnership that will make it possible to obtain high quality print and word processor copies of articles from Wikipedia and other wiki educational resources. The development of the underlying open source software is supported by the Open Society Institute and the Commonwealth of Learning. It is led by PediaPress.com, a start-up company based in Germany. — Information Today

Microsoft released updated institutional licensing terms for education customers. Microsoft’s subscription licensing programs for education, collectively known as the Campus Agreement and School Agreement (CASA), now offer two additional benefits–home usage and evaluation rights–as well as several other changes in the areas of license renewal, buyouts, prorating, and other program terms. — THE Journal

150272362_95f26266a2_m.bmpAndrew Hickey at EETimes makes a prediction what five wireless trends will define the industry in 2008. The technologies and issues he bets on are wireless LAN, open networks, legislation, dual networks, and web services. — EETimes Online

Strong laptop sales are making this a hot holiday shopping season for PC makers. In its Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, IDC projects that worldwide PC shipments will increase by 16.7% in the fourth quarter of this year, bolstered by the strong laptop sales. — Computer World Hardware

books.bmpA device called the LongPen, originally created for Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood in 2004, so that she could meet remotely with fans, chatting with them by videoconference, allows authors to remotely sign books. The author uses a touchpad, which conveys handwriting to a remote autopen in a bookstore and is printed on the copy of a novel. More than two dozen authors, including Alice Munro and Norman Mailer, have used LongPen in 2007. The device is developed by Unotchit, a Toronto-based company. — The New York Times (free registration may be necessary to view article)

Awards in the News — Dec. 10-17, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on December 17, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Tony Kent Strix Award, European Research Council, Ingenuity Point contest, European eLearning Award

The 2007 Tony Kent Strix Award, sponsored by Sage Publications was awarded to Mats Lindquist, who traveled from the National Library of Sweden with two colleagues to accept the trophy. The award was given on the basis of both his key role in the development of, or significant improvement in, accessibility to an information service, and for his sustained contribution to the field of information retrieval generally over a number of years. — UKeiG Weblog

The European Research Council (ERC), a new research funding body created under the EU’s 7th Framework Program for Research, announced the outcome of its first competition for Starting Independent Investigators. About 300 up-and-coming research leaders, between two and nine years after their doctorate, will receive grants. The first Starting Grants will be signed in February of 2008. — Public Technology

Microsoft recognized the creators of My Tobii - Tobii Technology of Stockholm, Sweden - for the positive impact that the software is having on the lives of people with disabilities as part of the Ingenuity Point contest, a competition for software development efforts in the areas of education, healthcare and environmental sustainability. The other winners are TR Control Solutions, a UK-based provider of resource monitoring technologies for schools, and OSIsoft, a California-based developer of real-time information controls that are used by water utilities around the world. — MySolutioninfo.com

scrennsh.gifMalta won in the 2007 European eLearning Award held in Brussels, Belgium. The Maltese entry, entitled “Rescue La Vallette – An Adventure in Time,” is a game that introduces young learners to the e-skills of the European Computer Driving Licence through a mix of storytelling and instructional content. — The Malta Independent Online

IT News — November 26, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on November 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Microsoft Vista’s (un)popularity, Forterra Systems and CIA’s partnership to develop a secure virtual world, Career Education Corporation’s choice of data loss prevention solution, and One Laptop Per Child Program’s extension

Sales of Microsoft’s year-old Windows Vista operating system have hit 88 million. But a recent survey by King Research showed that 90 percent of IT professionals have concerns about migrating to Vista and about half reported they have considered non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux and Macintosh, to avoid Vista. Meanwhile, a Forrester report showed that that 88 percent of companies with 5,000 to 20,000 users have standardized on the XP operating system and their demand forced Microsoft in September to extend XP’s availability another five months. — AHN

Forterra Systems Inc., a California-based computer-simulation company, announced it received a “strategic investment” from In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s privately run venture affiliate, to develop computer-based virtual-conferencing systems for the nation’s intelligence community. Forterra says its “virtual world” product is an organized version of the increasingly popular Second Life, a freewheeling online “reality game” produced by Linden Lab of San Francisco. Some of the technologies will include in-depth data mining to track potential terrorists, high-speed image analysis, and online behavior-pattern recognition. — OrlandoSentinel.com

Career Education Corporation implemented Vontu, a Data Loss Prevention solution, to protect the private information of its students and make online credit card transactions compliant with security regulations. — CNN

One Laptop Per Child

The “Give One, Get One” program will now run through December 31, instead of ending on November 26, according to the One Laptop Per Child Program, a nonprofit spinoff from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The program was extended because people and local and national groups requested more time to participate. — Associated Press

IT News - November 8, 2007

Published by Zornitsa Vodenska on November 8, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Facebook’s social ads, Microsoft’s server farm, Interwrite’s donation, Nokia and Vodafone’s web services, Yahoo’s mobile advertising strategy, AMD’s new high performance chip, Sony Ericsson’s new phone with Google maps and RSS feeds

Facebook has unveiled plans to target advertisements by injecting them into its members’ conversations, and now the popular online hangout must persuade its users to embrace the initiative. In addition, companies can now create their own pages on Facebook for free and tailor their pitches to the activities of users’ friends. – CNN

Microsoft will invest $500 million for a new “server farm” data center in a Chicago suburb in the latest investment to enhance its Internet services business, planning to include an element of Web services in each of its business divisions. – Reuters

Interwrite Learning donated 30 Interwrite Pads, Bluetooth-based wireless pads used in interactive classroom instruction, to support distance learning for teacher professional education in Southeast Asia. – T.H.E. Journal

Under a new agreement, Nokia’s Ovi platform–which includes music, maps, gaming and social networking–will be introduced on handsets for Vodafone next year. Handset giant Nokia will also produce a number of devices exclusively for mobile operator Vodafone. – The New York Times

Yahoo unveiled its strategy to make advertising on mobile phones as big a market as computer-based web browsers. The company will rely on three-way partnerships involving device makers, network operators and web services. — ZDNet

AMD is introducing a high-performance chip package that uses a technology commonly found in graphics processors, called parallelism, and applies it to general purpose computing. Called the FireStream 9170, the chip package is aimed initially at high performance computers (HPCs) like those used for climate research and oil exploration. But it could also be used more widely for tasks like video-editing and security tasks. – PC World

Sony Ericsson has introduced a “world standard” 3G USB modem, and has extended its relationship with Google by announcing its first mobile phone with Google Maps and RSS newsfeeds as standard. – PC World

IT News - November 7, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on November 7, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Microsoft, India’s Reliance Communications, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, One Laptop per Child, T-Mobile, ASUS, Apple, and Advanced Media Design

Microsoft and India’s Reliance Communications have signed a 500-million-dollar deal to launch India’s first high-definition Internet TV service, executives from both firms said. — AFP

The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin might be coming back the only way dead folks can: virtually–through a site like Second Life. The  LBJ crew wants to create a world that touches on his major issues like civil rights and the Vietnam War. — CBS News

Following a number of delays, the One Laptop per Child Foundation’s much-awaited XO laptop for needy kids has finally gone into mass production. Early Tuesday (local time), Taiwan’s Quanta Computer started producing the green-and-white computer in its new Changshu manufacturing center, two hours northwest of Shanghai. — News Blog

T-Mobile USA announced that if you make a donation of one laptop to the One Laptop per Child Foundation ($399, $200 of which is tax-deductible) during this month’s Give One Get One promotion, then T-Mobile will reward you with one free year of access at its Hotspots (a $360 value). — Wi-Fi Planet

According to Taiwanese computer maker ASUS, Apple is in the process of designing a new tablet computer and they’ve hired ASUS to do the manufacturing. — SciFi Blog

AV technology developer Advanced Media Design has started shipping a new model in its MediaPointe family of digital media recorders, the DMR210e, designed for capturing presentations and classroom lectures. — Campus Technology

IT News - November 1, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on November 1, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Ethernet Alliance, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, e-books and distance learning

Nine universities have joined the Ethernet Alliance, a group advocating the adoption of and research into Ethernet technologies, through the Ethernet Alliance University Program (EAUP). The Ethernet Alliance has also launched its first-annual White Paper Challenge Program through the EAUP. — Campus Technology

Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp are supplying Libya’s government with 150,000 rugged laptop computers that cost $200 to build and are designed to meet the needs of children in developing countries. Libya’s education ministry ordered the equipment in August and shipments began last month. — OLPC News

Intel is to provide 3,000 Classmate subnotebooks to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, building on the 250 already sent in a pilot project started a year ago. Announced by Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, the gift is part of a “digital inclusion project” that will also see Intel paying to train 150,000 new teachers in the populous African nation. — Wired News

Oracle announced the global availability of its new Oracle PartnerNetwork Competency Center tool. The Competency Center, found within the Oracle PartnerNetwork Portal and available free to Oracle PartnerNetwork members, is designed to help partners train more efficiently on Oracle products by generating a custom-designed curriculum based on partners’ performance and personal attributes. — CNN

Amazon had promised delivery of its keyboard-equipped electronic book reader, Kindle, during the second week of October. Now, those same people say that the company has pushed back that date and is aiming for a launch by the end of this year. — BITS Blog

Recent articles in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and now the Wall Street Journal have discussed e-books and printed books. Librarian Jeff Scott takes a thorough look at the history and attitudes related to e-books and hardcopy books, pointing out interesting points made in recent literature. — Gather No Dust Blog

The 95th anniversary of Dr. Herman DeVry’s portable movie projector, a technology that pioneered the concept of “visual distance learning,” highlights a timely paradigm shift in the use of technology to facilitate education. High school and college students today take for granted that much of what they learn in class is supplemented with educational tools found on the World Wide Web via the Internet. — ah hoc news

IT News – October 30, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 30, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Oracle, Asustek Computer, Google, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Cybook, Web 2.0

Oracle Corp., the world’s third-largest software maker, may land BEA Systems Inc. without raising the $6.7 billion hostile bid rejected by its California rival. BEA’s board says it wants more than $8 billion, and let Oracle’s offer expire Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. New York time. Because no other suitors have emerged, Oracle may renew its bid or offer a lower price than its $17 a share proposal, said Peter Goldmacher, a Cowen & Co. analyst in San Francisco. — Bloomberg

Asustek Computer Inc., whose customers include Sony Corp. and Apple Inc., reported profit rose 21 percent to a record in the third quarter on sales of notebook computers under its own brand. Net income increased to NT$7.44 billion ($230 million) from NT$6.13 billion a year earlier, Asustek, the world’s largest maker of boards connecting computer parts, said today. — Bloomberg

Google Inc., owner of the world’s most-used Internet search engine, received approval from the Australian government for its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. The purchase by Mountain View, California-based Google is “unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition” in the country’s Web advertising market, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement on its Web site today. — Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, agreed to buy programs and other assets from closely held Global Care Solutions, a Bangkok-based provider of products that manage medical information for hospitals. — Bloomberg

T-Mobile USA Inc., seeking to boost wireless e-mail and Web access revenue, introduced a mobile phone designed to ease consumers into using online features. The T-Mobile Shadow, a pocket-sized phone that slides open to reveal a keyboard for typing e-mails, uses a custom version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile software. The handset, which can also connect to Wi-Fi wireless Internet networks, is the first in a line of Shadow devices. — Bloomberg

Cybook’s Gen3 lightweight, high resolution e-book reader is now available to purchase around $350. It has a 6 inch Vizplex E Ink screen, revealing more contrast than the older E ink technology with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. It also comes with a 2.5mm stereo headphone jack, a 64MB of storage capacity and an SD expansion card slot for an extra memory boost. Furthermore, it has a battery life of 8000 page flips between charges. — Softpedia

As increasing numbers of enterprises climb aboard the Web 2.0 bandwagon, it’s more important than ever for software developers to keep security in mind during the development process. The two top vulnerabilities affecting Web 2.0 applications today are cross-site scripting (CSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). — Campus Technology

IT News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

With its $240 million equity investment announced Wednesday, along with a commitment to expand its pre-existing relationship as exclusive third-party representative for advertising on Facebook, Microsoft has cemented its connection to the company Silicon Valley is obsessed with. — CNN

In 2008, HP will award nearly $7 million in cash and equipment to K-12 schools in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and to colleges and universities throughout North America (Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.). The HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative is designed to support the innovative use of mobile technology in K-16 education, and to help identify K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities that HP might support with future grants. – HP

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today $8.3 million in grants to help public libraries in 10 states provide quality access to computers and the Internet. — All American Patriots

Microsoft has rolled its Office Live Workspace technology into Live@edu, the company’s portal, communications, and collaboration suite for higher education. — Campus Technology