IT fuel

Oct 29,2007
Source:gizmodo.com

Samsung has just rolled out a 30nm 64Gb NAND flash memory chip, which happens to be the world's densest. By packing together the maximum of 16 of the multi level cells, a memory card containing 128GB of storage space can conceivably be created.

Samsung has managed this feat by developing a new process they are calling self-aligned double patterning technology (SaDPT). SaDPT involves a more efficient pattern transfer than used in Samsung's (older) charge trap flash (CTF) procedure, and if we get any more technical we may implode spontaneously. Both procedures are cost effective and we can expect to see higher capacity flash based drives at a reasonable price. Although a 128GB memory card at a realistic price point is optimistic, the general price of flash memory should fall as a consequence of the new development. The devices are planned to begin mass production in 2009 and an estimated market value, in a three year period, is projected to be as high as $20 billion for the new class of memory chips. [Via Press Release]

Oct 25,2007
Source:newsvine.com


SAN FRANCISCO — Rapidly rising Internet star Facebook Inc. has sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google Inc.

Culminating weeks of negotiations, the investment announced Wednesday values Palo Alto-based Facebook at $15 billion — a stunning figure for an online hangout started in a Harvard University dorm room less than four years ago.

Microsoft also will sell Internet ads for Facebook as the site expands outside the United States, broadening a marketing relationship that began last year.

"This is a strong statement of confidence in this partnership and in Facebook," Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, said during a Wednesday conference call with reporters and analysts.

Besides validating founder Mark Zuckerberg's decision to rebuff a $1 billion takeover offer from Yahoo Inc. last year, Microsoft's money should be more than enough to pay for Facebook's ambitious expansion plans until the privately held company goes public.

Zuckerberg, 23, has indicated he would like to hold off on an initial public offering for at least two more years. In the meantime, Facebook hopes to become an advertising magnet by substantially increasing its current worldwide audience of nearly 50 million active users, who connect with friends on the site through messaging, photo-sharing and other tools it offers.

Although News Corp.'s MySpace.com remains the largest social network, Facebook has been growing much faster the past year.

Facebook attracted 30.6 million U.S. visitors during September compared with 68.4 million at MySpace. Microsoft's entry in the social networking arena — "Windows Live Spaces" — attracted 9.8 million U.S. visitors, according to comScore Inc.

To support its growth, Facebook is gearing up to more than double its payroll during the next year to about 700 employees. The company currently employs about 300 workers with annual revenue believed to fall between $100 million and $150 million.

The Facebook investment represents a coup for Microsoft because it strengthens the world's largest software maker's toehold on a hot Internet platform ripe for more advertising — a field that Google otherwise dominates.

During its fiscal year ending in June, Microsoft's online ad revenue rose 21 percent to $1.84 billion. Over the same period, Google's ad revenue soared 64 percent to $13.3 billion.

Microsoft also appears interested in Facebook's success with "widgets" — the interactive capsules that offer applications available on other Web sites. Outside developers have created about 8,000 widgets since Facebook began soliciting the contributions in May.

Johnson said Microsoft plans to work with Facebook in areas besides advertising but declined to elaborate.

With the Facebook investment, Microsoft dealt a rare setback to Google, which trumped its rival in earlier bidding battles involving a stake in AOL and ownership of online video sharing pioneer YouTube and Internet ad service DoubleClick Inc.

Microsoft couldn't afford to lose the tug-of-war for the Facebook investment and advertising alliance, said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner.

"This was a muscle-in from Microsoft," Weiner said. "It would have been a nice-to-have for Google, but it was certainly not essential."

Facebook also felt more comfortable about working with Microsoft because Google has made no secret about its interest in building a more formidable social network of its own. Google's current social network, called Orkut, has had relatively little success outside South America.

Owen Van Natta, Facebook's chief revenue officer, said the company talked to several suitors before settling on Microsoft. He declined to provide further details.

Microsoft's successful courtship of Facebook shows the 32-year-old company is becoming more savvy about the Internet, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst for the research group Directions on Microsoft.

"I think they understand it now and they're proceeding correctly," Rosoff said. "Two years ago, I would have said they don't get it at all."

Tim Armstrong, who oversees Google's North American advertising, declined to comment on the Facebook negotiations during a meeting with analysts Wednesday at the company's Mountain View headquarters.

"We have tremendous respect for them," Armstrong said of Facebook.

___

AP Technology Writer Jessica Mintz contributed to this story.

Oct 19,2007
Source:bbc

More holes have been picked in the security measure designed to protect the privacy and data of wi-fi users.

The latest attack lets criminals defeat firewalls and spy on where someone goes and what they do online.

It comes after a series of other attacks that, experts say, have left the basic protection in wi-fi comprehensively "broken".

But compatibility issues mean that many will have no alternative but to use the much weakened protection system.

Lock picking

The basic security measure in the technical specification for wireless networks, 802.11, is known as Wired Equivalent Privacy.

WEP encrypts data flying back and forth between a computer and an access point to stop people spotting and stealing confidential information.

It does this using an encryption key but numerous attacks have shown how easy it is to get hold of this key and unlock access to the wi-fi network or your data.

"WEP as a security measure is so broken that your (and everyone else's) kid sister can easily circumvent it," said computer security researcher Ralf-Philipp Weinmann, co-author of the aircrack-ptw tool that can crack WEP in minutes.

Anyone caring about their privacy, said Mr Weinmann, should not use WEP to stop others using their wi-fi hotspot.

Mr Weinmann and his colleagues unveiled aircrack in early 2007 but prior to that three other research teams, in 2001, 2004 and 2005 showed how to circumvent WEP.

The latest attack, created by Vivek Ramachandran of AirTight Networks, tricks a computer into thinking it is logged on to a wi-fi network it trusts. It exploits the basic hand-shaking system in wi-fi to get hold of lots of data it can analyse to crack a key.

While the chance that someone will piggyback on your wi-fi network is low, there have been cases in the UK where this has happened.

In London one man has been arrested and charged under the 2003 Communications Act for using someone else's wi-fi link without permission.

Alongside this is the risk of people using your broadband connection for potentially criminal activity.

However, said Mark West of the home tech help company Geek Squad, many people are forced into using WEP despite its shortcomings.

"WEP might be all they can run," he said.

The well-publicised problems with WEP have resulted in improved security systems for wireless networks known as Wi-fi Protected Access (WPA).

An improved version of this, called WPA-2, appeared in 2004 but is not yet widely used.

Mr West said backwards compatibility problems might mean that people cannot opt for the better protection found in WPA or WPA-2.

Using either of these requires Windows XP fitted with Service Pack 2, Vista or OS X on the Mac.

Drivers for wi-fi access cards might also need to be updated and the firmware on a hub might also need refreshing. Any other device that tries to link via wi-fi will also need updating.

For many, said Mr West, updating all these separate components could be too much to ask.

A spokesman for BT said that it used WEP on its home hub products because of the compatibility issues.

"We use WEP for a very sensible reason," said the spokesman, "there are a number of devices out there in the marketplace that do not use WPA."

When helping people install wi-fi networks Geek Squad started trying to use WPA-2 but often had to fall back on the weaker protection.

WPA-2 was only made mandatory on wi-fi access points manufactured after September 2006, which means much wireless hardware still relies on WEP.

"It's often the lowest common denominator," said Mr West, adding that it was better than nothing.

He said: "It's more of a deterrent that will prevent most people being able to access that router."

Oct 18,2007


NepaLinux have been announced the co-winners of Apc Chris Nicol FOSS Prize 2007 in Montevideo,Uruguay along with "Free Geek" from Portland in the USA.The winners will share the $4000 prize.

Oct 18,2007
Source:bbc

The town of Whitehaven in Cumbria has become the first place in the UK to undergo the official switchover from analogue to digital TV.

BBC Two's signal was switched off at 0200 BST on Wednesday, with digital channels replacing it shortly after.

The other signals will go from 14 November, when 25,000 households will need Freeview, satellite, cable or broadband in order to watch television.

Analogue TV will be switched off in the rest of the UK by the end of 2012.

Any local residents who stayed up to watch the switchover would have been watching BBC Two's Learning Zone before the screen went blank.

Engineers spent 37 minutes switching off the analogue signal on BBC Two and switching on digital versions of BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, CBBC, BBC News 24 and Five.

Other digital channels will follow when analogue BBC One, ITV1 and Channel 4 are switched off next month.

Industry body Digital UK has been overseeing the country's switchover from analogue.


Whitehaven town crier Rob Romano
In all honesty, there has been a degree of uncertainty
Rob Romano
Whitehaven town crier

Chief executive Ford Ennals said it was "a landmark day for British broadcasting history".

Mr Ennals said he believed more than 92% of Whitehaven households had already converted to digital.

"We know that conversion is continuing," he added. "We were monitoring sales in the area yesterday and we saw many hundreds of equipment sales in retailers.

"We're very confident that in the next couple of weeks the remaining households will convert. Everyone we talked to said they actually intended to. No one wants to lose TV."

Asked if there was a sense of relief that the transition had occurred without any technical hitches, Mr Ennals said: "We're very pleased with the way it's gone.


"The key thing was to make sure people understood what the switchover was, understood what to do and understood when it was happening, and that campaign seemed to have gone very well."

About 84% of households across the rest of the UK have already installed digital equipment, according to media watchdog Ofcom.

Local town crier Rob Romano said there had been a "mixed reaction" from residents about the transition.

"In all honesty, there has been a degree of uncertainty," he told the BBC News website.

"The people who are already digital are not bothered, but people like my father-in-law who has a 30-year-old television are a little bit uncertain."

The people of Whitehaven and the surrounding borough of Copeland have been the subject of a major campaign in recent months to make sure they are clear about what equipment they will need.

Four help centres are assisting anyone who is still unsure of the equipment they need to install.

Local residents told the BBC News website they were well prepared.


"We've already got Sky so we're OK," said Katrina Shields, 40. "We don't need to change anything over. We're getting digi boxes for the two bedrooms."

Joan Hartley, 70, said: "I'm in the process of buying one of these disk drives that you can record everything on.

"It's costly isn't it? I've spent £80 now because I've got one main television in the lounge and one in each bedroom."

"I'm quite annoyed about the cost," agreed Brian O'Hare, 48. "I had to buy four digiboxes. It's quite a bit of money to spend at £25 each."

Fellow Whitehaven resident Elaine Mathers said the cost was "not so bad" but said she "hadn't a clue" how to install her newly purchased equipment.

Oct 14,2007

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