Planet Enterprise 2.0

Sign of the times...

Nasa has confirmed that laptops carried to the ISS in July were infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG.

The worm was first detected on earth in August 2007 and lurks on infected machines waiting to steal login names for popular online games.

Nasa said it was not the first time computer viruses had travelled into space and it was investigating how the machines were infected.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Computer viruses make it to orbit

I suspect the timing has something to do with the impending beta 2 of IE8, which is going to surprise a lot of people, in terms of innovative and useful new features

After more than four years in development, a new feature that suggests queries as letters and words are typed into Google Inc.'s search engine, is being rolled out over the next week.

Google Suggest, which the company began developing in 2004, aims to help users better formulate queries, reduce spelling errors and save keystrokes, Google noted in a blog post Monday.

More than four years in development -- so much for "Internet time"...

Google Rolls Out Tool That Suggests Search Queries - NYTimes.com

Hmm...

Amazon.com Monday agreed to acquire Shelfari, a social network for book lovers, for an undisclosed sum.

Amazon's acquisition of Shelfari means the site will likely make it a much stronger competitor to other social networks that focus on bibliophiles, according to some observers. In addition, Amazon earlier this month acquired online rare book seller AbeBooks, and gained its 40% stake in one of Shelfari's main competitors, LibraryThing. Thus, observers note, Amazon will have a stake in two competing social networks for readers.

Amazon.com to Buy Social Network for Book Lovers - NYTimes.com

Key concepts from the article:

Radio-frequency identi­fication (RFID) tags are embedded in a growing number of personal items and identity documents.

Because the tags were designed to be powerful tracking devices and they typically incorporate little security, people wearing or carrying them are vulnerable to surreptitious surveillance and profiling.

Worldwide, legislators have done little to address those risks to citizens.

How RFID Tags Could Be Used to Track Unsuspecting People: Scientific American

An excerpt from a Google App Engine snapshot (see this page for the beginning of the article)

However, no matter how quick and easy building Web applications is with App Engine, and no matter how good Google's infrastructure is, the service's lack of openness remains a serious drawback. While Google's representatives say that they want to avoid locking companies into their system, the reality is that as long as important components such as the database remain proprietary, developers will have limited flexibility. In my case, I don't currently want to manage my blog so much as just write it: I just want software that works. Yet it was important to me to reserve the right to move it wherever I want, to add or remove tools, and possibly to learn enough at some point to begin participating in the design of the platform. In its current incarnation, App Engine doesn't give developers analogous options.

Technology Review: Web App Writers: Rejoice, Beware

A stark reality check

More data breaches have been reported so far this year than in all of 2007, according to a report released yesterday by a nonprofit group that works to prevent fraud.

Identity Theft Resource Center of San Diego found that 449 U.S. businesses, government agencies and universities have reported a loss or theft of consumer data this year. Last year, the center tallied 446 breaches involving 127 million consumer records. About 90 million of those records were attributed to a single retail chain, TJX, which operates T.J. Maxx stores.

Officials said they do not know whether there have been more breaches this year or if there is better reporting of the incidents.

Data Breaches Have Surpassed Level for All of '07, Report Finds - washingtonpost.com

Some significant IE updates -- check the full post for more details; also see a related video interview 

With respect to privacy, IE8 gives users more choice about controlling what information they keep and exchange. In the first part of this post I’ll describe two Internet Explorer 8 features that help you control your history, cookies, and other information that Internet Explorer stores on your behalf. In the latter part, I’ll describe two more features that can help you control how your browsing history is shared by websites. By default, IE8 browses the web the same way IE7 does.

• InPrivate™ Browsing lets you control whether or not IE saves your browsing history, cookies, and other data
• Delete Browsing History helps you control your browsing history after you’ve visited websites.
• InPrivate™ Blocking informs you about content that is in a position to observe your browsing history, and allows you to block it
• InPrivate Subscriptions allow you to augment the capability of InPrivate Blocking by subscribing to lists of websites to block or allow.

IEBlog : IE8 and Privacy

Some significant IE updates -- check the full post for more details; also see a related video interview 

With respect to privacy, IE8 gives users more choice about controlling what information they keep and exchange. In the first part of this post I’ll describe two Internet Explorer 8 features that help you control your history, cookies, and other information that Internet Explorer stores on your behalf. In the latter part, I’ll describe two more features that can help you control how your browsing history is shared by websites. By default, IE8 browses the web the same way IE7 does.

• InPrivate™ Browsing lets you control whether or not IE saves your browsing history, cookies, and other data
• Delete Browsing History helps you control your browsing history after you’ve visited websites.
• InPrivate™ Blocking informs you about content that is in a position to observe your browsing history, and allows you to block it
• InPrivate Subscriptions allow you to augment the capability of InPrivate Blocking by subscribing to lists of websites to block or allow.

IEBlog : IE8 and Privacy

"Think different", continued...

By creating games and other programs for the iPhone, software developers hoped to find millions of new customers. But they didn't expect to feel muzzled.

The software-development kit that Apple distributed to programmers bound them to not discuss the process of creating iPhone programs. Companies typically waive such legal restrictions once products launch, but Apple didn't. And it won't say why.

As a result, iPhone developers — and businesses that cater to them — say they are prohibited from asking technical questions or sharing tips. On Apple's official support Web site, moderators remind visitors that they are bound by the nondisclosure agreement and should mind what they say or ask.

Business & Technology | iPhone gag order hampers developers | Seattle Times Newspaper

"Think different", continued...

By creating games and other programs for the iPhone, software developers hoped to find millions of new customers. But they didn't expect to feel muzzled.

The software-development kit that Apple distributed to programmers bound them to not discuss the process of creating iPhone programs. Companies typically waive such legal restrictions once products launch, but Apple didn't. And it won't say why.

As a result, iPhone developers — and businesses that cater to them — say they are prohibited from asking technical questions or sharing tips. On Apple's official support Web site, moderators remind visitors that they are bound by the nondisclosure agreement and should mind what they say or ask.

Business & Technology | iPhone gag order hampers developers | Seattle Times Newspaper

An interesting snapshot; see the full article for a couple more stats

For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set, according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics, a search marketing company. The study found that 83 percent of Internet users in that age bracket spent an hour or more online a day, but only 68 percent devoted that much time to television.

Drilling Down - Preferring the Web Over Watching TV - NYTimes.com

An interesting snapshot; see the full article for a couple more stats

For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set, according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics, a search marketing company. The study found that 83 percent of Internet users in that age bracket spent an hour or more online a day, but only 68 percent devoted that much time to television.

Drilling Down - Preferring the Web Over Watching TV - NYTimes.com

A timely reality check

It can be hard for a business to stay ahead if its technology is falling behind. That is one reason that despite an uncertain economy, worldwide information technology spending is on track to reach $3.4 trillion in 2008 — an 8 percent increase over 2007, according to the research firm Gartner.

Of all spending categories, software and services are set to show the healthiest growth — with projected increases of around 10 percent each. This is partly because companies are in the middle of an upgrade cycle that will continue beyond the end of the decade, Gartner explains.

The Count - In a Downturn, but Still Spending on Technology - NYTimes.com

A timely reality check

It can be hard for a business to stay ahead if its technology is falling behind. That is one reason that despite an uncertain economy, worldwide information technology spending is on track to reach $3.4 trillion in 2008 — an 8 percent increase over 2007, according to the research firm Gartner.

Of all spending categories, software and services are set to show the healthiest growth — with projected increases of around 10 percent each. This is partly because companies are in the middle of an upgrade cycle that will continue beyond the end of the decade, Gartner explains.

The Count - In a Downturn, but Still Spending on Technology - NYTimes.com

Cool...

The observations were made by George Orwell, whose copious diaries are now being published every day in blog form, exactly 70 years after they were made. The scholars behind the project say they are trying to get more attention for Orwell online and to make him more relevant to a younger generation he would have wanted to speak to.

“I think he would have been a blogger,” said Jean Seaton, a professor at the University of Westminster in London who administers the Orwell writing prize and thought up the idea of the blog.

Media Talk - What George Orwell Wrote, 70 Years Later to the Day - NYTimes.com

Cool...

The observations were made by George Orwell, whose copious diaries are now being published every day in blog form, exactly 70 years after they were made. The scholars behind the project say they are trying to get more attention for Orwell online and to make him more relevant to a younger generation he would have wanted to speak to.

“I think he would have been a blogger,” said Jean Seaton, a professor at the University of Westminster in London who administers the Orwell writing prize and thought up the idea of the blog.

Media Talk - What George Orwell Wrote, 70 Years Later to the Day - NYTimes.com

It's only a matter of time before a device of this type is pervasive for all full-time students, imho

Amid reports that Amazon is working on new models of its e-book reader, the Kindle, one analyst says the online titan has an academic spin in mind.

Amazon's Kindle e-book reader

(Credit: Amazon.com)

Amazon sees a chance to cash in by marketing the Kindle to college students, according to McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman, by way of Seattlepi.com reporter Andrea James.

A collegiate version could be just one of a number of potential Kindles-to-be, apparently. "There are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works," Bueneman wrote in a note Friday, per James.

Report: A Kindle for college kids? | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET

It's only a matter of time before a device of this type is pervasive for all full-time students, imho

Amid reports that Amazon is working on new models of its e-book reader, the Kindle, one analyst says the online titan has an academic spin in mind.

Amazon's Kindle e-book reader

(Credit: Amazon.com)

Amazon sees a chance to cash in by marketing the Kindle to college students, according to McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman, by way of Seattlepi.com reporter Andrea James.

A collegiate version could be just one of a number of potential Kindles-to-be, apparently. "There are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works," Bueneman wrote in a note Friday, per James.

Report: A Kindle for college kids? | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET

That's a lot of Silverlight downloads...

Benefiting from the growth in broadband Internet access, NBCOlympics.com served up more than 1.2 billion pages and 72 million video streams through Saturday, more than doubling the combined traffic to its site during the 2004 Games in Athens and the 2006 Games in Turin. The popularity of the site will very likely make digital rights more significant in next year’s bidding for the 2014 and 2016 Games.

Web Audience for Games Soars for NBC and Yahoo - NYTimes.com

That's a lot of Silverlight downloads...

Benefiting from the growth in broadband Internet access, NBCOlympics.com served up more than 1.2 billion pages and 72 million video streams through Saturday, more than doubling the combined traffic to its site during the 2004 Games in Athens and the 2006 Games in Turin. The popularity of the site will very likely make digital rights more significant in next year’s bidding for the 2014 and 2016 Games.

Web Audience for Games Soars for NBC and Yahoo - NYTimes.com