Visit One News Page for the latest Computer Industry news from around the world, aggregated from leading sources including newswires, newspapers and broadcast media. Search millions of archived news headlines. This feed provides the latest Computer Industry news headlines. http://www.onenewspage.com/latest/Computer+Industry.htm (c) copyright One News Page. All headlines and description content (c) by the accredited news source - see http://www.onenewspage.com/tc.php#accreditation for further details. 15 webmaster@onenewspage.com (One News Page Webmaster) Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:27:49 +0000 http://static.onenewspage.com/ONPglobe100.png http://www.onenewspage.com/latest/Computer+Industry.htm en-us Shaun Nichols in San Francisco, V3.co.uk, Saturday 21 November 2009 at 00:48:00 New services set for release in 2010 Sony is planning to launch a new set of web services over the next year. The company revealed in a special press event in Tokyo that it is preparing a... Reported by V3.co.uk 7 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038366/Sony-planning-web-services-offensive.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:21:18 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038366/Sony-planning-web-services-offensive.htm Rosalie Marshall, V3.co.uk, Saturday 21 November 2009 at 00:42:00 Depressed woman's benefits stopped after her insurers saw happy Facebook photos Canadian insurance firm Manulife has reportedly cut a depressed woman’s benefits because photos showing her happy were posted on Facebook.... Reported by V3.co.uk 7 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038367/Insurers-using-Facebook-to-investigate-claimants.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:21:18 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038367/Insurers-using-Facebook-to-investigate-claimants.htm Rosalie Marshall, V3.co.uk, Saturday 21 November 2009 at 00:40:00 Governor discusses speed of technology innovation, digital divide and Facebook General Colin Powell addressed 19,000 Salesforce customers and developers yesterday at the company’s largest annual event of the year. Salesforce chief executive, Marc Benioff, introduced Powell as his “biggest inspiration”.... Reported by V3.co.uk 7 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038368/Colin-Powell-addresses-Dreamforce-attendees.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:21:18 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038368/Colin-Powell-addresses-Dreamforce-attendees.htm Shaun Nichols in San Francisco, V3.co.uk, Saturday 21 November 2009 at 00:37:00 Reader device sells out early, faces delays Book retailer and publisher Barnes and Noble is having trouble meeting demand for its recently-unveiled Nook reader table. The company said that the initial crop of Nook units had already... Reported by V3.co.uk 7 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038369/Barnes-and-Noble-falls-short-on-Nook-shipments.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:21:18 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038369/Barnes-and-Noble-falls-short-on-Nook-shipments.htm Rosalie Marshall, V3.co.uk, Saturday 21 November 2009 at 01:01:00 Oracle given six more days to develop arguments The European Commission (EC) has granted Oracle extra time to respond to its anti-trust concerns over the $7.4bn acquisition of Sun Microsystems.... Reported by V3.co.uk 7 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038370/Oracle-gets-more-time-to-defend-Sun-buy.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:21:18 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038370/Oracle-gets-more-time-to-defend-Sun-buy.htm The world's biggest particle accelerator is in full operation after a year of repairs. Reported by CNET News.com 13 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038157/Large-Hadron-Collider-up-and-running-again.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:14:24 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038157/Large-Hadron-Collider-up-and-running-again.htm Reported by The Register 21 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038080/SQL-Server-2008-from-semi-relational-to.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:06:33 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038080/SQL-Server-2008-from-semi-relational-to.htm Reported by The Register 21 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038081/Blogger-outs-back-end-Google-tech.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:06:33 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6038081/Blogger-outs-back-end-Google-tech.htm Brizzly, an application for managing messages in Twitter and Facebook, expanded its beta test today — now you don’t need an invite code, so anyone can use it. The application was created by San Francisco-based Thing Labs, and includes features like expanding links and photos, the ability to “mute” people who you want to stop seeing updates from temporarily, and recently-added support for Twitter Lists. In addition to opening the beta, Brizzly also added a new feature today, the ability to translate tweets with a single click (using Google Translate). Oh, and Thing Labs announced a new hire — Ben Darnell, who previously worked at Facebook, which he joined after the social network’s acquisition of FriendFeed. Darnell worked with Thing Labs chief executive Jason Shellen on Google Reader. Reported by Industry Standard 27 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037904/Now-anyone-can-try-Brizzly-app-for.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:00:38 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037904/Now-anyone-can-try-Brizzly-app-for.htm Twitter said it’s planning a large-scale advertising network soon, but U.K.-based Tweetmeme beat them to the punch with a monetization effort of its own today. The startup, which creates those green ‘Retweet’ buttons you see everywhere (including on this site), is rolling out the same feature for ads.  They’re partnering with Federated Media to insert retweet buttons into their advertising two weeks from now, enabling people to share compelling ads with others. Advertising in social streams has historically been a touchy issue (see: Facebook Beacon in 2007). Users logged into Twitter and Facebook want to see what their friends are up to and they don’t want those personal messages to be conflated with advertising. There have also been other advertising efforts launched around Twitter, like Sponsored Tweets, which pays people to send out commercial messages. But those haven’t gained widespread traction for the very simple reason that if you pollute your stream with too many boring messages, you risk losing followers. But Tweetmeme’s product is interesting because it returns advertising to its roots in some ways. Great advertising has always been about connecting with people — remember Apple’s “Think Different” campaign or the never-ending “Got Milk” print and TV ads. They’ve become cultural touchstones in some ways. This could incentivize online advertisers to create material that’s more engaging or social. It’s also the direction advertising is headed on other social networking platforms as well. Facebook, for example, sends detailed metrics back to its advertisers on how many shares, likes and comments their campaigns receive. They also send how many “Hides” an advertiser’s content gets if users find it uninteresting. Reported by Industry Standard 27 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037905/Tweetmeme-launches-buttons-for-re-tweetable-advertising.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:00:38 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037905/Tweetmeme-launches-buttons-for-re-tweetable-advertising.htm Oracle and SpringSource have teamed up to propose a new Eclipse project called Enterprise Modules and codenamed Project Gemini, to provide a home for subprojects that integrate existing Java enterprise technologies into module-based platforms. - Oracle and SpringSource have teamed up to propose a new Eclipse project called quot;Enterprise Modules quot; and codenamed Project Gemini, to provide a home for subprojects that integrate existing Java enterprise technologies into module-based platforms. According to the proposal, released on Nove... Reported by eWeek 37 minutes ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037719/Oracle-SpringSource-Launch-New-OSGi-based-Eclipse-Project.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:50:54 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037719/Oracle-SpringSource-Launch-New-OSGi-based-Eclipse-Project.htm In this week's special (and slightly long) episode of the PC World podcast, editors Robert Strohmeyer, Tim Moynihan, Melissa Perenson, and Nick Mediati discuss the just-announced Google Chrome OS. The lean, netbook-centric operating system isn't for everyone--especially those who want to run installed applications or store all their media locally--but it is an exciting development for the cloud-computing world. Will Google Chrome OS take over the world of netbooks, tablets, kiosks, and digital signage? Time will tell, but that won't stop the PC World editors from talking about its potential (or lack thereof). Download the podcast here. Read more PC World coverage about the Google Chrome OS announcement: Google Chrome OS Unveiled: Speed, Simplicity, and Security Stressed Google Chrome OS: A Visual Tour Google Chrome OS: A Simple FAQ Get Chrome OS Now Five Reasons Chrome OS Will Succeed... ...And Five Reasons Chrome OS Will Flop Is Chrome OS a godsend or a bunch of Google hooey? We want to read your take. You can reach us at podcast@pcworld.com and review our podcast on iTunes. Also, you can subscribe to the weekly PC World Podcast either on iTunes or via the PC World RSS feed. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037004/Google-Chrome-OS-on-the-PC-World-Podcast.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037004/Google-Chrome-OS-on-the-PC-World-Podcast.htm All big companies have their critics. But what's interesting about Apple's detractors is universal surprise. Their disappointment often stems from finding out that Apple isn't the company they thought it was. So I'm going to do all you would-be critics a favor, and explain some fundamental aspects of Apple's culture. Next time, you won't be blindsided and confused. Here are four things that Apple believes that explain the unexplainable: 1. Everything Apple sells is an Apple product Developer Paul Graham wrote an impassioned post this week called "Apple's Mistake," where he expressed his shock and disappointment at Apple's heavy hand with iPhone developers. Graham said the "App Store approval process is broken." Apple doesn't "understand software." "They treat iPhone apps the way they treat the music they sell through iTunes," he wrote. That last statement is truer than Graham realizes. Everything Apple offers on iTunes is viewed by Apple in the same way they view music: They're all Apple products. When you drop 99 cents for Lady Gaga's newish single, "Paparazzi," you're buying an Apple product, according to Apple. In fact, Ms. Gaga's only function in life is to make a marginal contribution to the overall Apple experience. Graham thinks his product is his, and that Apple simply makes the hardware and software it runs on. But Apple views all of it as part of the Apple experience. If you want to sell an iPhone app, Apple will dictate the shape, size and look and feel of the buttons, windows, typeface, and how most of the user settings will appear. They will reject and ban it if it competes with another of their products, or even with possible product directions. If it offends Apple in some way -- either because of sex, politics or religion or some other banned topic -- Apple will simply deny it. And they'll take their sweet time deciding, too. As a developer, you have two options: love it or leave it. This would make no sense if your assumption is that Apple is just another hardware and software maker cultivating an applications ecosystem. But it makes perfect sense if you realize that Apple views app developers as employees or contractors who have been allowed to work for Apple as long as they follow the rules. Another bit of evidence for Apple's world view emerged this week. Long story short: A software company called The Little App Factory was put on notice by Apple's legal department to change the name of their product, iPodRip, because it contained the word "iPod." The owner wrote an impassioned letter to Jobs practically begging him to intervene and allow the product to keep its name. The man professed his undying loyalty to Apple, and pointed out how he even dropped out of school to devote his life to creating software for Apple products. He said he has 6 million customers, and the product has been recommended by Apple itself. Jobs' reply was simply, "Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal. Steve" This peon wasn't even worth the hassle of an apostrophe. You see the disparity in how each party views the relationship? The developer's attitude was: "Hey, I've devoted my life to your brand, and I have good reasons why I should be given special consideration as a loyal partner and friend of the company. We can work this out." Apple's attitude is: Get in line or you're fired." This isn't now how CEOs talk to software partners. This is how CEOs talk to low-level employees or unimportant contractors. There's a great scene in the upcoming movie, "Me and Orson Welles," in which Welles responds to a fellow actor's complaint that "he is an arrogant, selfish..." with the line: "I am Orson Welles, and every single one of you stands here as an adjunct to my vision. [If] you don't like the way I work here, there's the door." That, in a nutshell, is Jobs' view of the relationship between Apple and its developer community. 2. Apple products are disposable Apple makes high-quality, durable gadgets. I've dropped my iPhone many times, and it hasn't got a scratch on it. But don't let that fool you into thinking Apple wants those products to enjoy years and years of use. Apple expects you to dump your old product and buy the new one just as soon as it comes out. And they don't expect you to sell the old one to someone else. There's no such thing as an old Apple product. There is only the current Apple product, and trash. Phones similar in size to the iPhone, for example, typically have a removable battery. A battery that can be replaced is just common sense, given that batteries rapidly lose their ability to hold a charge after a few hundred charges. But iPhones are not designed to last. They're designed to be used until the new one comes out, then discarded. The same goes for iPods. iPhone and iPod batteries don't make sense, unless you understand that these are disposable products. They look like fine china, but they're sold like paper plates. 3. Nothing exists unless Apple sells it Steve Jobs famously said that "People don't read anymore." This comment (which you're reading, by the way), was made in response to a question about the Amazon Kindle. In Steve Jobs' world view, nothing exists outside the Appleverse. People don't read because Apple doesn't sell a reader. Mark my words, when Apple ships its tablet or some other device that can be used for the serious reading of books, people will read again. 4. Apple doesn't want to be a successful business Tech watchers love the horse race aspect of technology industry competition. Apple competes with Microsoft. Apple competes with Google. Apple competes with companies like HP. But Apple doesn't see it that way. Industry titans like Microsoft, Google and HP instinctively "fill out" their product lines to dominate huge areas of technology. Microsoft, for example, wants Microsoft software running on wristwatches, supercomputers and everything in between. Google wants to offer every conceivable service that can be squeezed through an internet connection. HP's massive product line runs the gamut from consumer digital cameras sold at Best Buy to entire data centers filled with enterprise systems. Apple doesn't want to dominate like this. It has no interest in this kind of imperialist expansion. Apple is interested only in surgical strikes into this business or that product category, where they can solve design problems others have failed to solve. Understanding this about Apple helps explain otherwise inexplicable decisions, such as why Apple got into the mobile phone handset business, and why the company is so ambivalent about business products. To Apple, the mobile phone industry proved clueless at how to offer a compelling user experience with a phone, with its history of cramped buttons and claustrophobic user interfaces. They believed, correctly it turns out, that their designers could drop a game-changing phone into the market and "change the world" again. But when Apple casts its gaze at the enterprise space, it doesn't see sufficiently compelling design problems that will emotionally affect users. So why bother? Apple's choices in markets it gets into make no sense, unless you understand that they don't want to dominate industries, or even maximize revenues. They just want to design and sell better products that will affect user experience in markets where that's an achievable goal. Of course, business success is great. But Apple sees that as only a means to the end of shipping thrilling designs. Steve Jobs was recently named CEO of the Decade by Fortune Magazine. I'm sure Jobs' ego was pleased by the designation. But ultimately, he doesn't care about this sort of thing as much as you might expect. Jobs doesn't want to be viewed by history as a Lee Iacocca or a Henry Ford. He wants posterity to look at him as a Mozart or a Da Vinci. He wants to be seen as a builder of beautiful things, not a builder of business empires. Next time Apple does something that infuriates you, or makes you go "huh?" remember that Apple has its own unique world view. And only by understanding that perspective can you understand why Apple does what it does. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037005/Four-things-you-need-to-know-about-Apple.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037005/Four-things-you-need-to-know-about-Apple.htm Everyone's all a-twitter over Google's newly announced operating system, Google Chrome OS. Some swear it'll be a hit; others are convinced it's destined for failure. Love it or hate it, though, this puppy's one tough piece of software to ignore. So what's Chrome OS all about, and what could do it for you? Here are some answers. What is Google Chrome OS? Google Chrome OS is a lightweight, cloud-based operating system demonstrated by Google for the first time this week. How's it different from Windows 7? Well, it won't feature any launch parties, to start (at least, as far as we know). But the primary difference is that Google Chrome OS is designed to operate entirely off of the Internet. That means you won't store data or run programs on the computer itself; rather, everything will Web-driven. So, what's the advantage? Speed is one big plus: Because of the cloud-based configuration, Chrome OS can boot within as little as three seconds. That instant-on capability is a large reason why Google describes the Chrome OS experience as more like using a TV than using a computer: You press a button, and seconds later, you're doing your thing. Security is another expected advantage. Since you aren't storing data or running applications locally, the odds of contracting a virus are significantly reduced. In fact, the Chrome OS won't even allow applications to make changes to the operating system if they want to -- and, on top of that, the OS will continually update itself and correct any corrupted modules automatically. The critical pieces of the OS will also be stored in read-only memory. Do you actually save any data locally? Not much. Chrome OS will store a small amount of data locally, such as your system preferences. Even that data will be encrypted, though -- and synched with an online storage center, too. The idea, as Google explains it, is that you could lose your Chrome OS system, go get another one, and have everything back exactly the way it was within a matter of seconds. Will you be able to work offline? Kinda-sorta-maybe, a little. Since Google Chrome OS runs cloud-based applications, your options will be limited when you aren't connected. Developers, however, may be able to build in a small amount of offline functionality for their programs. What's the Chrome OS interface like? No big surprise here: It's just like the interface of the Chrome browser. All of your applications run in tabs, and all of the tabs reside in windows. You can drag and drop tabs between windows at will. And there's a permanent tab called the application menu that shows you new and noteworthy apps for your system. Want a closer look? Check out this Chrome OS visual tour. Will you be able to run any program? Technically, any Web-based application will work, so long as it's able to operate in a standards-compliant browser. Even Microsoft's Office Live will run on a Chrome OS computer -- in fact, it's the software's default program for opening files such as Excel documents. Does that mean you couldn't install your own browser, like Firefox? More or less. Chrome is the default browser in the Chrome OS, and you can't install software onto a Chrome OS system. The only way around it would be if a developer such as Mozilla were to take Google's open source code, create its own version of the Chrome operating system, and then sell its own Chrome OS devices with the Firefox browser built in. What about Android apps -- can you run those? Nope. Google says its Chrome OS will not run Android-specific applications, since they have to be downloaded to a device to work. What kind of computers will run Google Chrome OS? Google Chrome OS will run on netbooks and mobile tablets (the ones that actually exist, anyway). They'll be fairly scaled-down systems, since they won't need much functionality besides USB and Wi-Fi. Google is already working with manufacturers to come up with a list of hardware components that'll be allowed within the Chrome OS machines. Some of the early specifications include solid states disks (no hard drives) and full-sized keyboards. Would Chrome OS replace your current computer? Probably not. Chrome OS will provide more of a companion device -- after all, you won't be able to run complex programs not available on the cloud, nor will you necessarily be able to use advanced peripheral devices. When will the Chrome OS computers be available? Google expects to have Chrome OS systems on the market late next year, in time for the holiday season. Can you try Chrome OS out any sooner? Why, sure, as long as you're up for an adventure. Since the code is completely open source, you can get your hands on it right now. But since it won't run on just any computer, you'll have to set up a virtual machine to make it work. Read through this handy guide if you're brave enough to give it a whirl. Just make sure you know what you're doing. How many golf balls can you fit in a school bus? Uh, sorry, buddy -- wrong story. That's one of Google's interview questions. If you figure it out, though, let me know. JR Raphael is co-founder of geek-humor site eSarcasm. You can keep up with him on Twitter: @jr_raphael. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037006/Google-Chrome-OS-Simple-FAQ.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037006/Google-Chrome-OS-Simple-FAQ.htm Thanks to everyone who made it out to GreenBeat 2009 yesterday and Wednesday! We were thrilled with the turnout, and couldn’t be more grateful for all the support we received from attendees, speakers, sponsors and the press. It’s clear that the Smart Grid has gained the momentum it needs for serious work to be done, and we are excited to play a big role in this conversation going forward. With Al Gore, and several of the biggest utilities and brightest entrepreneurs leading the charge, 2010 should be a big year for smart metering initiatives, regulatory reform and consumer conservation education. Whether or not these efforts will result in a cleaner, more efficient grid, or a population more committed to saving power (even if it’s only to trim their bills), will become a reality still hinges on policy and money. Located in the most progressive state for environmental legislation, and at the heart of the venture capital community, VentureBeat is ideally situated to report on how this unfolds. We’re already looking forward to future events on the power grid that will pick up where GreenBeat 2009 left off. Once again, we’d like to thank all of our event sponsors and strategic partners for making this possible: Accenture, Southern California Edison, Accel Partners, Mayfield Fund, Oracle Utilities, Schwartz Communications, Cisco Systems, CPower, CSC, S&C Electric Company, KPMG, Vantage Communications, DEMO, Matter Network and Fora.TV. We were also honored to have so many of our colleagues from the press in attendance during the event. To thank them for their coverage, and give our readers a more holistic sense of the Smart Grid dialogue sparked by GreenBeat, here’s a roundup of articles from the last several days: GreenBeat in the New York Times: Google says it doesn’t want to be a utility In Pursuit of a Smarter Grid On Al Gore: Al Gore: Super grid is critical to combating the climate crisis, Cleantech Group Gore: White House shooting for climate bill by spring, Greentech Media Al Gore: The Smart Grid is Key, Earth2Tech Al Gore: Our next power grid will be like the Net, CNet On Innovation Competition and winners Locust and CPower: Data storage startup, energy manager, win GreenBeat Innovation Contest, TriplePundit 3 Next-Gen Applications for Smart Grid 2.0, Earth2Tech Data centers that feed power to the grid?, Greentech Media Xtreme Power named a Smart Grid innovator in VentureBeat’s Innovation Competition Related news: Google PowerMeter: It’s our gift to humanity, really, Greentech Media Cisco seeks smart grid CTO, EE Times Viridity Energy poised to make next generation of Smart Grid a reality, TMCNet Current CEO Casey talks about SGIG, GreenBeat 2009 Award, Smart Grid Today Here are some photos from the event — look for more media, including an image and video gallery, in the next few days. [Photo credits: Alexa Lee, David Lin and Cheng Saechao] Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037007/GreenBeat-Big-thank-you-and-media-roundup.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037007/GreenBeat-Big-thank-you-and-media-roundup.htm One of my favorite Windows 7 amenities is thumbnail previews, which appear when you mouse over any running program in the taskbar. In fact, each thumbnail has a little red X in the upper-right corner, meaning you can close that program without first having to maximize it. iTunes takes this a step further by adding player controls. As you can see in the screenshot below, the thumbnail sports three little icons: previous track, play/pause, and next track. These buttons work just like the controls in iTunes proper, but they save you from having to actually switch to the program whenever you want to, say, skip to the next song or temporarily pause playback. Of course, savvy users know that you can add an entire iTunes toolbar to the taskbar in both Windows 7 and Vista, but that just adds clutter. Here you get basic playback controls without consuming extra space. Nice! Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037008/Control-iTunes-from-the-Windows-Taskbar.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037008/Control-iTunes-from-the-Windows-Taskbar.htm NEW YORK -- The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex keeps decades of music alive through rare videos of rock's greatest musicians playing on wall-sized screens, along with a display of prized artifacts including guitars, clothing and original sheet music from legends like John Lennon and Mick Jagger. Turn it up to 11: Tech's contributions to rock and roll Guarding the extensive collection, which is located in New York City's SoHo area, is a priority. Guards with Motorola radios and chic black suits man their posts, while shatter-resistant transparent casings surround many items (though not the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible owned by Bruce Springsteen . Keeping an eye on nearly every inch of the display collection is a networked IP-based video surveillance system with more than 40 discretely placed Mobotix cameras integrated into the larger IT control room at the museum. Motion detectors are in place, too. "Some artifacts are particularly valuable," said David Waggett, general manager at the museum, which opened about a year ago as the annex to the main Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Not only does the Annex hold Bruce Springsteen's famous Bel Air, but also there's the 1964 album "Meet the Beatles" signed by all members of the band a few days after their historic TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. There's also John Lennon's Vox prototype, a special guitar/organ hybrid and a piano he used, plus Ringo Star's drumhead from 1964 used in the film "Help." Exhibits also hold the colorful jumpsuits worn in concert by Mick Jagger and Elvis Presley and much more. Recognition of musicians by the museum starts with induction to the Hall of Fame, which can take place "25 years after your first album," Waggett says, adding that naturally the technology of recording means something different today than it did in the dawn of rock. In the New York museum, there's a wall of tribute that comes alive electronically with a musical sampling of each honored rock star and rare film footage of them. Whether it's rock's early age with Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, or the more recent vintage (Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, U2, Elton John, Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, the Grateful Dead), the audio-visual is exhilarating -- and distributed via a digital IP broadcast through servers housed in the museum's IT control room. No security incident has directly threatened the valuable artifacts themselves, but the museum's network did once get hit with a computer virus, which disrupted the network and the audio-visual broadcast streams. Waggett believes the virus was introduced by a contractor's USB token, though it's hard to know for sure. But Windows-based servers had to be patched and the virus cleaned up. The Mobotix cameras on the IP-based network can be operated remotely by museum employees from their PCs, so they can observe different locations in the museum. Working at her PC, Assistant Operations Manager Nicole Fernandez showed how it's possible to pan and zoom an IP-based  camera located on a ceiling or wall in various areas of the museum. Though it looks real-time, the streaming image is actually a fraction of a second delayed and delivered off a server. Fernandez says the museum had Mobotix set it up this way because it facilitated the return of the camera to the proper angle without employees having to do that manually. "We're actually looking at an image off a server," she says.. A month's worth of surveillance footage is stored and archived as data in an Overland Snap Server 620 in the museum control room should it ever be needed if any security incident occurs. The museum also has the option to remotely access the digital cameras. Currently, the museum has a special exhibit on display of items connected with Lennon. Organized by his widow, Yoko Ono, it includes personal items such as the Green Card that Lennon got on July 27, 1976. One display holds a brown paper bag containing the clothes Lennon was wearing the day he was shot and killed in 1980. Ono received "the patient's belongings" from New York's Roosevelt Hospital and said she included this grim item of tragedy in the exhibit as a plea against gun violence. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037009/Listen-up-Rock-and-roll-artifacts-under-surveillance.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037009/Listen-up-Rock-and-roll-artifacts-under-surveillance.htm One of the government agencies in charge of doling out broadband stimulus cash has pushed back the dates for when it will start handing out grants. FCC identifies roadblocks to broadband adoption The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said in a filing with the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees this week that it was planning to start awarding broadband stimulus grants this December and would begin funding the grants in February of next year. The NTIA's original timeline had been to fund all first-round projects by year-end, but the agency says that it has had to push back its timeline due to "the large number of complex applications and the voluminous amount of information the agency needs to review." This past August, the NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service said they had http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/082709-broadband-stimulus-applicat... ">received roughly 2,200 applications for the $4 billion worth of grants available for broadband projects in the United States. The applications, which were submitted earlier in the year, requested funds for a total of about $28 billion in broadband projects, or seven times the total funds available. The $4 billion in grants currently available to applicants is just the first part of the $7.2 billion that the government has allotted to fund broadband infrastructure investment over the next two years. Of that money, $4.7 billion has been given to the NTIA to award grants for projects that will build out broadband infrastructure in un-served or under-served areas; to deliver broadband capabilities for public safety agencies; and to stimulate broadband demand through training and education. The remaining $2.5 billion in broadband stimulus money has been allotted to the Department of Agriculture to make loans to companies building out broadband infrastructure in rural areas. Because the NTIA and RUS have received so many requests, they now plan to release the rest of the funds for projects early next year rather than having two separate rounds of awards. The broadband grants are being awarded as part of the larger $787 billion economic stimulus package passed into law earlier this year. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037010/Broadband-stimulus-grants-delayed.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037010/Broadband-stimulus-grants-delayed.htm Hurricane Electric, a Fremont, Calif., ISP, will announce on Monday that its IPv6 network has doubled in size in less than a year -- a sign of how rapidly IPv6 traffic is increasing across the Internet. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/073009-ipv6-guide.html ">IPv6: The essential guide IPv6 is the long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol, known as IPv4. IPv6 features vastly more address space, built-in security and enhancements for streaming media and peer-to-peer applications. All carriers and enterprises must run IPv6 when IPv4 addresses are depleted, which is expected in 2012.  Hurricane Electric claims to be the No. 1 IPv6 backbone in the world in terms of the number of IPv6 networks that it peers with and the number of IPv6 routes that it announces. On Monday, Hurricane Electric will announce that it is the first network in the world to connect to over 600 IPv6 networks. This is twice as many IPv6-based interconnections as its closest rival, Hurricane Electric says. Hurricane Electric offers native IPv6 connectivity, IPv6-enabled Web hosting and a free tunnel broker using the Teredo protocol that allows network managers to send IPv6 traffic over IPv4 pipes. The ISP also offers a free online program that allows network managers to certify their level of IPv6 knowledge. Hurricane Electric's IPv6 connectivity has grown dramatically this year. In July, the ISP peered with 480 IPv6 networks. Next week's announcement that Hurricane Electric peers with 600 IPv6 networks represents a 25% increase in four months. "This rapid growth uniquely positions Hurricane Electric's network to be able to provide the best native IPv6 connectivity to our business partners in strategic locations all over the world," said Martin Levy, Hurricane Electric's Director of IPv6 Strategy in a statement. Hurricane Electric's role in pushing IPv6 traffic is being noticed across the Internet. Arbor Networks said in a blog post that Hurricane Electric's free tunnel broker introduced in April was one of the main reasons that global IPv6 traffic grew more than 1,400% from September 2008 to September 2009. Craig Labovitz, chief scientist at Arbor Networks, wrote that the most important IPv6 traffic increase "came on April 21, 2009, with Hurricane Electric's turn up of a global anycast'ed Teredo relay service. Hurricane Electric enabled 14 Teredo relays in Seattle, Fremont, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Toronto, New York, Ashburn, Miami, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Hong Kong." Labovitz said that "by all accounts, Hurricane Electric's Teredo service significantly improved the IPv6 goodput for the average Internet end user overnight." IPv6 now represents 0.03% of all Internet traffic, according to Arbor Networks. Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037011/Hurricane-Electric-IPv6-network-doubles.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037011/Hurricane-Electric-IPv6-network-doubles.htm Nobel Prize winner and former vice president Al Gore gave a wide-ranging, passionate talk at VentureBeat’s GreenBeat 2009 conference yesterday in San Mateo about combating global warming. We already liveblogged Gore’s talk, but for folks who don’t want to read the blow-by-blow description, here’s a summary. Perhaps the most significant point: That energy efficiency is “the single largest solution to the climate crisis,” and the Smart Grid will “play a crucial role” in achieving that efficiency. The Smart Grid will have a number of advantages, Gore said. It will reduce the carbon emissions that accelerate global warming.  It will give us more access to alternative energy sources like solar and wind, and will equip us to cope with the inconsistency of those sources. It will create jobs. And it will be cost-effective, eventually paying for itself by preventing grid failures and blackouts. “The analogy to the internet is close to exact and very relevant,” Gore added. Like the internet, the Smart Grid is moving from a centralized to a distributed model, and it will spur the creation of new devices and applications. Gore also talked about the obstacles facing the Smart Grid and other efforts to fight global warming. Those obstacles involve politics, economics, and short-term thinking. But those challenges must be overcome — because he said members of the next generation will ask one of two questions. If the climate crisis has come to a devastating head, they’ll ask, “‘What were you thinking? Were you watching Dancing with the Stars? Didn’t you hear the scientists? Didn’t you care?’” Or they may see that we’ve taken the political, economic, and technological steps necessary to create “a new renewable energy platform and sustainable environment,” and they’ll ask, “‘How did you find the moral courage to rise and solve a crisis that so many people said was impossible to solve?’” [photo:David Lin] Reported by Industry Standard 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037012/GreenBeat-Al-Gore-says-Smart-Grid-part-of.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6037012/GreenBeat-Al-Gore-says-Smart-Grid-part-of.htm Lenovo will offer Qualcomm's latest Gobi multimode 3G (third-generation) mobile data chipset on ThinkPad laptops, allowing users to connect to the world's two major types of 3G networks and use assisted GPS for location-based services. Reported by InfoWorld 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036947/Qualcomm-updated-3G-chipset-coming-to-ThinkPads.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:17:33 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036947/Qualcomm-updated-3G-chipset-coming-to-ThinkPads.htm Here are four things that Apple believes that explain the unexplainable. Reported by Computerworld 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036936/Elgan-Four-things-you-need-to-know-about.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:16:52 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036936/Elgan-Four-things-you-need-to-know-about.htm Google's Chrome OS captured a lot of headlines and hype this week after the company invited the media in to have a look-see, setting off a whole lot of opinions about whether it will be any good. Microsoft, predictably, doesn't think so. Otherwise, Al Gore offered his opinion on the role supercomputers can play to quell climate change, and for the first time we can recollect there were not one, but two, cat-related IT stories that caught our attention. Reported by Computerworld 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036937/Chrome-shines-Gore-opines-staffs-decline.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:16:52 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036937/Chrome-shines-Gore-opines-staffs-decline.htm Twitter service Seesmic expands from the desktop with two new apps for Google Android and BlackBerry phones. Reported by CNET News.com 1 hour ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036813/Seize-Seesmic-Twitter-app-on-BlackBerry-Android.htm Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:14:54 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091121/6036813/Seize-Seesmic-Twitter-app-on-BlackBerry-Android.htm Color Microsoft solution providers unimpressed with the limited details Google provided this week on its forthcoming Linux-based Chrome OS. Reported by ChannelWeb 2 hours ago. http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091120/6036565/Microsoft-Partners-Yawn-In-Chrome-General-Direction.htm Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:50:53 +0000 http://www.onenewspage.com/news/Computer+Industry/20091120/6036565/Microsoft-Partners-Yawn-In-Chrome-General-Direction.htm