InformationWeek Stories by Robert Strohmeyer

InformationWeek Stories by Robert Strohmeyerhttp://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2011-09-02T09:15:00Z5 Location-Tracking Rights You Should DemandMicrosoft, Apple, and Google are being sued over location-tracking practices. Isn't it time for a location privacy bill of rights?http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600705?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_Microsoft has joined the ranks of Apple and Google in attaining the dubious honor of being sued by its users over its location tracking practices. A lawsuit filed in a Seattle district court alleges that Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 tracks a user's location even when the phone's location services are supposedly turned off. By this time, smartphone makers should be getting the message that users don't appreciate <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/231500171">being tracked</a> without their knowledge or consent. Location data ranks among the most personal types of information our devices can reveal about us, with the potential to expose where we work, where live, where we drop our kids off for school. As users, we have a right to protect that data from interlopers, including the companies that supply our mobile devices and services. Here are five basic rights that all users should demand from manufacturers and carriers that offer location-aware devices. 1. Everything Must Be Opt-In The decision about whether to let a device track its user's movements belongs to one party only: the user. It's unconscionable that any smartphone should come with geolocation features enabled by default, regardless of the reason. If a user wants to let his phone track his movements, either in fine detail or in rough outline, the device should present him with the option to consciously enable the feature. By no means should a manufacturer assume a paternal right to track any aspect of a user's movements in the name of improved wireless service or any other motive, unless the user first opts in. As it happens, it was Google's opt-in policy that saved it from a recent <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-17/apple-s-iphone-users-in-south-korea-claim-data-collection-breached-privacy.html">lawsuit in South Korea</a>. 2. Off Means Off This should go without saying, but the current <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/security/privacy/231600657">lawsuit against Microsoft</a> suggests it needs to be stated clearly: When we turn off (or opt not to turn on) location services, that should mean the phone isn't tracking us at all, not "just track our movements in the aggregate." Users who choose not to enable location services on their phones should not have to worry about the phone continuing to compile data on their movements without their knowledge. It's bad enough that cellphones have always allowed carriers to determine a device's position based on a triangulation of its signal, but that fact is simply an artifact of the way cellular communication works. There's no good reason why a user should be forced to accept being tracked by their handset's operating system as well. [See our related story on a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/privacy/231600626">laptop tracking software lawsuit</a> that's asking new questions about how far tracking technology can reach into your life.] 3. Clear, Comprehensible Labeling When a user does opt-in to location services, it should be clear exactly what he or she is agreeing to. Most smartphones offer very poor labeling within location services menus, such that users aren't really sure to what degree their movements might be tracked. Google is beginning to offer increasingly lengthy explanations of what its location settings do, but Apple and Microsoft communicate considerably less detailed information. All three platforms need to do a better job of telling users exactly how their location data will be used by the device and by installed apps. 4. Granular Controls Users have a right to determine which apps on the device, including the device software itself, can track their movements. All smartphones should include options to enable or disable location services for not only the individual apps, but also for the device itself. It's perfectly reasonable for a user to want to use Facebook Places, for instance, without necessarily wanting to let Apple and Google know where they've been. 5. Location Data Must Be Encrypted Even when users do opt-in to location services, they have a right to expect that the data collected won't sit on their phones in an unencrypted state that might expose their movements in the event that they lose the device. A thief should never be able to discover where you live or work simply by <a href="http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/apple-location-tracking.html">opening up a file</a> on your phone's hard drive. All of the major smartphone platforms get a big, fat F when it comes to protecting their users' location privacy with strong encryption, and they simply must do better. In the new, all-digital issue of Network Computing: Microsoft and Citrix are closing the gap with VMware. Before you roll out the latest edition of vSphere, reconsider your virtualization platform. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/nwcdigital/nwcaug11?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the issue now</a>. (Free registration required.) 2011-09-01T10:00:00ZiPhone 5 Lost In Bar? Say It Ain't SoAnother Apple employee has reportedly lost yet another iPhone prototype in a California bar.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600620?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_Heard this one before? An Apple employee walks into a bar and (in a punchline that's becoming too familiar to be funny) he leaves his prototype iPhone behind. It may sound like a joke, but apparently it really did happen again. According to a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20099899-37/apple-loses-another-unreleased-iphone-exclusive/">report from CNET</a>, an Apple employee took an iPhone 5 prototype out on the town in San Francisco and left it at a tequila bar called Cava 22 in the city's Mission district. The device was reportedly then sold for $200 on Craigslist, which is a pretty good deal for a yet-to-be-released iPhone 5 with no contract. Perhaps aiming to keep the incident under wraps, Apple apparently did not contact San Francisco police right away, but waited a couple of days before notifying the police that the "priceless" device had gone missing. According to CNET, a source inside Apple claimed that the company traced the missing phone to a house in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, but the resident there denied any knowledge of the phone. Given the weeks-long fiasco that last year's loss of an iPhone 4 prototype--also in a Bay Area bar--had caused (including a police raid on the home of a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/225900085">Gizmodo editor</a>), it's more than a little surprising that the company would allow a repeat of the incident. One might expect that this latest story would have to be either a stunt or a hoax, because it's practically unthinkable that Apple wouldn't have put measures in place to avoid losing yet another of its prototype devices, particularly given the company's penchant for Draconian secrecy about forthcoming products. Perhaps Apple workers just need to learn to handle their liquor a little better. The iPhone 5 is expected to launch in October, according to prevailing rumor, and is expected to be available on all of the major U.S. carriers, including <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/231600410">Sprint</a>, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/231600198">T-Mobile</a>, AT&T, and Verizon. The device will reportedly ship in both 3G and 4G versions, including an <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal-tech/smart-phones/231400249">LTE model</a>. [See our related mobile coverage on Samsung's new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/231600629">tiny tablet and huge smartphone</a>. Plus, a privacy case asks, how far can <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/privacy/231600626">laptop tracking software</a> go?] Apple's new iPhone will face its stiffest competition yet from the rival Android OS, which has surged to a 42% share of the smartphone market, according to a <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/8/comScore_Reports_July_2011_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share">ComScore report</a>. In the coming months, a new Android device reportedly called the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/231500388">Nexus Prime</a> is expected to drop and could provide some competition to the iPhone 5. In the new, all-digital issue of Network Computing: Microsoft and Citrix are closing the gap with VMware. Before you roll out the latest edition of vSphere, reconsider your virtualization platform. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/nwcdigital/nwcaug11?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the issue now</a>. (Free registration required.) 2011-08-31T13:45:00ZJustice Department Sues To Stop AT&T T-Mobile DealAT&T's planned acquisition of T-Mobile has met with some fierce resistance, now DOJ antitrust complaint could leave deal dead in the water.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600578?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_AT&T's planned acquisition of T-Mobile has met with some fierce resistance in recent months, but now that the U.S. Department of Justice is moving to block the merger, this deal could be dead in the water. In a press conference in Washington, D.C. this morning, DOJ deputy attorney general James M. Cole explained that the federal agency has filed an <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/August/11-at-1118.html">antitrust complaint</a> against AT&T, arguing that the deal would hamper competition within the industry, diminishing price, quality, and innovation. "We all reap the benefits of this incredible technology because there has been fierce competition in this industry, which has brought all of us innovative and affordable products and services," <a href="http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/dag/speeches/2011/dag-speech-110831.html">said Cole</a>. "In order to ensure that competition remains and that everyone--including consumers, businesses, and the government--continues to receive high quality, competitively priced mobile wireless products and services, the Department of Justice today filed an antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to block AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile." Cole argued that because only four wireless carriers account for more than 90% of the U.S. wireless market at present, reducing that number to three carriers would hurt not only customers, but the industry. "As can be seen in the Department's complaint, AT&T felt competitive pressure from T-Mobile," Cole said. "One example cites an AT&T employee observing that '[T-Mobile] was first to have HSPA+ devices in their portfolio ... we added them in reaction to potential loss of speed claims.'" News of the lawsuit has already created ripples in the wireless sector, as <a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/sprint-shares-surge-on-att-regulatory-setback/">Sprint stock hit a big surge</a> just after the DOJ press conference. While the moves of the stock market don't generally hold much bearing on the realities of the technology industry, the bump for Sprint appears to represent some confirmation from tech investors that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger would have hurt other wireless competitors. This is not the first legal effort to block the merger. Earlier in August, a New York-based law firm sought to halt the deal by <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20110722/att-customers-file-arbitration-cases-seeking-to-block-t-mobile-merger/">bringing arbitration cases</a> on behalf of AT&T customers. In addition to the complaints mentioned by James M. Cole of the DOJ, there are compelling reasons <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231400260">why business customers should be wary</a> of the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Potential data service limitations, roaming restrictions, exclusive handset lock-ins, and harm to the backhaul providers that build out wireless infrastructure could all result from a merger of these two major carriers. Robert Strohmeyer has been covering tech since before Google existed, and spent a few years in IT before ascending his ivory tower. Reach him at <a href="mailto:robert@strohmeyer.org">robert@strohmeyer.org</a>. IT teams areas are packing more information on fewer devices, delivering faster throughput while using less space and power, and managing the needs of more applications with fewer people. Our new report shows how smart CIOs will accelerate this trend by adopting new multipurpose arrays and converged networks. <a href="http://data-deduplication-tech-center.networkcomputing.com/util/download.jhtml?id=188100011&cat=whitepaper?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Download our report here</a>. (Free registration required.)2011-08-31T11:45:00ZGoogle Sites Adds Page-Level Permissions: First LookMuch-needed security feature gives Google Apps business customers more control. Here's advice on how to use it.http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/231600552?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/hardware/reviews/229300081?pgno=95"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/605/sites-sharing-permissions_tn.jpg" alt="Enable Page-Level Permissions" title="Enable Page-Level Permissions" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Enable Page-Level Permissions</div> </div>Google has added a much-needed security feature to Google Sites for Apps business customers, giving businesses the ability to enable page-level permissions within the service. The new feature will make it easier for admins to control who can find and edit any given Site page without having to alter site-wide permissions. While relatively few businesses use <a href="http://sites.google.com">Google Sites</a> to run their public Web presences, the service has obvious utility in creating intranet pages for internal use within a company. However, until now, Sites has lacked the ability to set <a href="http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2011/08/better-control-in-google-sites-with.html">page-level permissions</a>, meaning that everyone with permission to view or edit anything on the site would have the power to view or edit everything on the site. It was a less-than-ideal situation for large companies with even remotely complex permissions demands. With the addition of page-level permissions, admins can now set exactly who can view or edit a single page, and then opt to let the page either inherit or ignore future changes to site-level permissions. As with most <a href="http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html">Google Apps</a> features, page-level permissions within Sites is both simple to use and slightly unintuitive to access. To use it, first enable Sites on your Apps account. Then access your Sites URL (sites.google.com, by default). To enable page-level permissions, first go to a page that you would like to edit permissions for, and then click More actions in the upper-right corner, then click Sharing and Permissions. In the blue bar at the top, look for Enable page-level permissions off to the right, and click it. Read the fairly unhelpful Getting Started Guide if you want to, then click Turn on Page-Level Permissions. Once you've enabled page-level permissions, go to any page you'd like to edit permissions for and then click More actions, Sharing and Permissions. By default, all pages will use the same permissions as the entire site. You can modify this by choosing one of three options: 1. Use the same permissions and members as site. 2. Start with the list below and include any future changes to site. 3. Start with the list below but ignore any future changes to site. Clicking either of the "Start with the list below..." options and then clicking Save will open up the "Who has access" box for editing, so you can then add or remove specific users as needed. The addition of page-level permissions is a big improvement for Google Sites, but the feature still needs some tweaks to make it really useful. For starters, it would be nice if you could batch-edit the permissions for a group of pages at once, and it would be nice if admins could access and edit these settings from the main Google Apps management console, rather than having to navigate through Sites as a user to make changes. But overall, bringing page-level permissions to Sites is a good thing, and more than a few intranet administrators will be pleased with the upgrade. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-29T15:00:00Z5 Predictions For Amazon's TabletForrester says that an Amazon tablet will pose a credible threat to the iPad. Here's a look at the reasons why.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600411?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_As rumors about the possible launch of an Amazon tablet continue to build, a credible voice has emerged from the cacophony to place odds on the device's prospects. In a <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/sarah_rotman_epps/11-08-29-amazon_will_be_tablet_product_strategists_new_frenemy">blog post</a>, Forrester senior analyst Sarah Rotman Epps says that she and her team project that Amazon will emerge as Apple's top competitor in the tablet market. Citing Amazon's influence, the strength of Android as a platform, and pent-up opportunity for outside players to dive into the Android app market, Epps said, "If Amazon launches a tablet at a sub-$300 price point--assuming it has enough supply to meet demand--we see Amazon selling 3-5 million tablets in Q4 alone." That's a big prediction. As it happens, I have a few predictions of my own where Amazon's tablet is concerned. Here are five probable details about the forthcoming tablet that will set it apart from the pack. 1. It will run Android. This isn't a particularly bold prediction, given that it's consistent with all of the prevailing rumors, but it's an essential one because it defines the Kindle tablet as part of a major platform. Until now, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Special-Offers-Wireless-Reader/dp/B004HFS6Z0/ref=amb_link_357186542_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0XSW80TRAFW4K5KW8GJM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1315433422&pf_rd_i=507846">Kindle devices</a> have run a closed operating system built on top of a Linux kernel, with very limited functionality. A fully Android-based tablet will not only offer a noteworthy alternative to the iPad, but will likely undercut most of the other Android-based alternatives. 2. It won't be very hackable. Existing <a href="http://pandigital.net/search.asp?productid=459">Android-based e-readers</a> enjoy a cult following for being so hacker friendly, and I know more than a few savvy users who've bought them just to install a clean Android image. But Amazon's business is all about content distribution, and that requires solid device security. Where other manufacturers, such as Motorola for instance, have remained lax on using anti-tampering technology, like the eFuze chip, to prevent users from modding their devices, I predict Amazon will become the first major Android device producer to openly brick modded devices. 3. It'll be thin. Apple has routinely swatted away competitors through the sheer thinness of its iPads. Amazon, meanwhile, has produced some wonderfully small and lightweight Kindles. Prevailing rumors peg the Kindle tablet's screen size at 9 inches, which is smaller than the iPad. I predict Amazon will deliver a device that's no thicker than the current Kindle's 0.33-inch depth, and weighs less than an <a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/">iPad</a>. 4. It'll be low-power. Amazon likely realizes that Apple's strength lies in the simplicity of its devices. To keep its tablet thin, light, and cheap, Amazon will probably try to play Apple's game, opting for slightly anemic components that work great for ebooks and basic browsing, and will last a very long time between charges. It's unlikely that Amazon will attempt to grab the high-end enthusiast market with big performance specs. Keeping it simple will pay off for Amazon's mainstream customer base and those who've already bought into the Kindle ecosystem. 5. It won't be that cheap. Most rumors about the Android tablet peg it at a price point well below that of the iPad, somewhere in the $200 to $250 range. Based on the current $379 price for the 10-inch <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Wireless-Reader-3G-Global/dp/B002GYWHSQ/ref=kin3w_ddp_compare_title3?pf_rd_p=1299275442&pf_rd_s=center-19&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004HFS6Z0&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=07BKKQ5RS72CZ19HKV7D">Kindle DX</a>, I think that's low. In fact, I suspect Amazon will drop the DX and offer the new tablet at the $379 price. That pricing would put Kindle's tablet well below the price of a 16-GB iPad, while also undercutting most of the major Android tablets on the market. Amazon doesn't need to race to the bottom to succeed here. It just needs to offer a compelling alternative to devices that are already available. Robert Strohmeyer has been covering tech since before Google existed, and spent a few years in IT before ascending his ivory tower. Reach him at <a href="mailto:robert@strohmeyer.org">robert@strohmeyer.org</a>. IT teams areas are packing more information on fewer devices, delivering faster throughput while using less space and power, and managing the needs of more applications with fewer people. Our new report shows how smart CIOs will accelerate this trend by adopting new multipurpose arrays and converged networks. <a href="http://data-deduplication-tech-center.networkcomputing.com/util/download.jhtml?id=188100011&cat=whitepaper?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Download our report here</a>. (Free registration required.)2011-08-29T10:53:00Z5 Key Challenges For AMD's New CEORory Read steps to the helm as the chipmaker confronts serious trouble in the turbulent mobile processor market.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600374?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_As former Lenovo president and COO Rory Read takes to his new role as CEO of chipmaker AMD, he'll find plenty of challenges. The company faces increasing market pressure from competitor Intel, the Goliath of the semiconductor industry. Meanwhile, AMD's past is fraught with operational issues that have hampered its ability to make critical strategic moves. InformationWeek spoke with chip industry analyst <a href="http://www.linleygroup.com/analyst_detail.php?Tom-R.-Halfhill-6">Tom R. Halfhill</a> of the Linley Group, who outlined the five most pressing challenges Read will face at AMD. Product Delays: Historically, AMD has had trouble launching its chips on time, and that has cost the company dearly in its ongoing struggle to compete with Intel, according to Halfhill. The most recent and dramatic product delay for AMD was delivery of its combination CPU-graphics <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/processors/229000090">Fusion processors</a>. "When they acquired ATI and announced they were going to merge the CPU and GPU on one chip, they gave a date which was about two years ago," said Halfhill. "If they had been able to deliver that product on time, they would have got a big jump on Intel." Unfortunately for AMD, Intel took advantage of delays in Fusion's development and caught up. "AMD's a pretty good example of Murphy's law," Halfhill remarked, pointing to a multitude of troubles that have led to past delivery delays, from management problems and design issues to manufacturing glitches. "Read might be the right kind of CEO to get things in order," Halfhill said. "He has a reputation for being a good operations man." Foundry Frustrations: AMD made a strategic decision to spin off its chip manufacturing with the creation of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/processors/215800543/">GlobalFoundries</a> in 2009. The move may have made business sense in that it streamlined AMD's internal operations, but it leaves the company at the mercy of outside organizations to deliver its products. "In a sense that's one less thing to worry about, but on the other hand, now their fortunes are in the hands of the people who are running GlobalFoundries," said Halfhill. "It's not a very forgiving industry. One little glitch in manufacturing can screw you up for a year." Mobile Chips: Shipping delays for AMD's Fusion product line put the company at a significant disadvantage in the mobile market. "It's been pretty widely reported that [former AMD CEO] Dirk Meyer was pushed out because the board didn't feel he was pushing in the direction of mobile computing fast enough," said Halfhill. "So presumably, Rory Read has been assigned the mission of getting AMD competitive in mobile systems." While it's clear that mobile devices represent the most important growth sector for technology right now, Halfhill points to the fact that Intel--a much bigger company than AMD--is having trouble breaking in there. "AMD just came out with its Bobcat product line, which competes with Intel's Atom processors, but they need something even lower-power than that if they want to get into really small mobile devices," Halfhill said. Server Strategy: The growth of the mobile market is increasing demand for server-side computing power, which means server chips will remain an important focus for AMD. Halfhill points to recent <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110531VL202.html">remarks</a> from multiple Intel executives that the company sells a server for every 122 tablets in the marketplace and another for every 600 smartphones. "The point they're making is that the smartphone market isn't just smartphones," said Halfhill. "When you have a lot of smartphones out there, you need more servers that serve up the stuff that the smartphones are downloading." So, in essence, the growth of cloud computing in response to mobile innovation represents both a challenge and an opportunity for AMD, and timely delivery of its 16-core Opteron processors will be critical to the company's success in that arena. "The main thing AMD has to do is keep pace with Intel in terms of multi-core integration," Halfhill said. "Intel is putting more and more cores on a chip, and it's going to be very difficult for AMD to keep up." Security Integration: Intel's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/client/229100391">acquisition of McAfee</a> poses a significant challenge to AMD, as it gives Intel the ability to integrate security software directly into the CPU. Halfhill views this as a critical issue for AMD, and one that the company will need to respond to quickly. Unfortunately, says Halfhill, the chip industry doesn't work like many other sectors where being smaller affords a chipmaker increased agility. Instead, being smaller just makes it that much harder to align all of the design, supply-side, and manufacturing elements to produce new technology quickly. "We have to wait and see how AMD catches up," said Halfhill. The vendors, contractors, and other outside parties with which you do business can create a serious security risk. Here's how to keep this threat in check. Also in the new, all-digital issue of Dark Reading: Why focusing solely on your own company's security ignores the bigger picture. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/drdigital/july11/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download it now</a>. (Free registration required.) 2011-08-26T15:12:00Z10 Smartphone Apps For Weathering A HurricaneAs Hurricane Irene makes her way up the East Coast, these essential mobile apps for iOS and Android can give you peace of mind--and critical information.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600286?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_ <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/personal-tech/mobile-apps/231001238"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/638/01_ipadapps_tn.jpg" alt="10 Hot iPad Apps For Summer" title="10 Hot iPad Apps For Summer" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Hot iPad Apps For Summer</div> </div>  Hurricane season is officially underway in the eastern U.S., with Irene pushing her way up the coast throughout the weekend. If the winds are headed your way, this would be a good time to load up your smartphone with useful apps to help you track the storm, prepare for the worst, cope with emergencies as they arise, and get your life back on track when the storm passes. Hurricane Trackers As a hurricane approaches, it's critical to know where it is, how fast it's moving, and when to expect it in your area. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hurricane/id291430598?mt=8">Hurricane for iPhone</a> and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hurricane-hd/id363451838?mt=8">Hurricane HD for iPad</a> give you active updates of storm conditions, complete with essential projections and storm strength information. For Android users, the cleverly named <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=Hurricane.Software&hl=en">Hurricane Software</a> offers similar features to keep you up to date on storm conditions in real time. Emergency Information Before a storm hits, convert your phone into an emergency ID system with <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/emergency-info/id338809557?mt=8">Emergency Info+ for iOS</a>. Fill this simple app with your contact info, emergency contacts, health and allergy information, and then activate its wallpaper feature to present your vital information right on the phone's wallpaper screen. That way, if you're injured or incapacitated in any way, emergency workers will be able to get your essential information directly from your device without having to hunt for it. On Android devices, <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.appventive.ice&feature=search_result">ICE: In Case of Emergency</a> offers the same functionality. Emergency Preparedness Once the storm hits your area, you'll be lucky to get any phone service at all, much less a reliable data connection. At that point, you need apps that can help you cope with the uncertainty of hurricane conditions and prepare for any emergencies that may arise. One of the most essential apps for this is <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/emergency-first-aid-treatment/id349889651?mt=8">Emergency First Aid & Treatment for iOS</a>, which offers a comprehensive database of first aid advice for handling everything from blunt trauma to broken bones, hypothermia, and burns. For Android, <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.phoneflipper&feature=search_result">Phoneflips Emergency First Aid Guide</a> provides a nearly identical resource. It's worth noting that neither of these apps should be considered a replacement for actual first aid training from a qualified organization such as the American Red Cross, but the apps provide an invaluable resource for refreshing your first aid knowledge as you head into a potential crisis. Speaking of the Red Cross, if you have an iOS device, you'll want to avail yourself of the <a href=" http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/american-red-cross-shelter/id419258261?mt=8">American Red Cross Shelter View app</a>, which helps you locate your nearest Red Cross shelter should you need assistance or a safe place to sit out the crisis. For After the Storm Once the storm passes, you may have some property damage to address. If you do, you'll want to have a good home inventory to help you deal with your insurance company. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/home-inventory-photo-remote/id419131094?mt=8">Home Inventory Photo Remote for iOS</a> lets you quickly capture the important items for your home inventory by snapping a picture with your iPhone's camera, and it includes a barcode scanner to identify products instantly. If you take some time to capture an inventory of important items before the storm hits, you'll be in a better position to recover or replace lost or damaged property afterward. A good counterpart for Android users is <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.accesslane.myhome&feature=search_result">MyHome Pro</a>, which also includes the essential barcode scanner feature. Of course, we hope that if the hurricane is heading your way, you'll stay safe and dry with or without these apps. But if you have some time to prepare yourself with the right tech, it should bring you peace of mind and--we hope--keep you a little safer through the rough weather. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-26T10:24:00Z5 Succession Planning Lessons From Steve JobsLeadership guru Carmine Gallo offers tips from the Apple CEO transition that your enterprise would be wise to learn.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600242?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/hardware/mac/231600184"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/655/01_apple_jobs_20110329_full.jpg" alt="10 Key Steve Jobs Moments and Innovations" title="10 Key Steve Jobs Moments and Innovations" class="img175" /></a> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Key Steve Jobs Moments and Innovations</div> (click image for larger view and for slideshow)</div> As the high-profile CEO of what many regard as America's--if not the world's--most dynamic tech company, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/231600215">Steve Jobs has influenced</a> more than just computer design during his storied career. His idiosyncratic leadership style, hyperbolic presentations, and fiercely hands-on management approach have inspired the envy of executives and the fear of more than a few employees and competitors. Even as he steps down from the helm at the company he founded, he sets an example for those who would aspire to his level of leadership. Author <a href="http://www.carminegallo.com/">Carmine Gallo</a> has followed Jobs' career closely over the years, and penned two popular books, The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, explaining how Jobs' leadership and management practices have made Apple the world's most valuable company. InformationWeek.com caught up with Gallo the day after Jobs announced his departure as Apple CEO to find out what insight enterprise execs can glean from Jobs' handling of this transition. Here are Carmine Gallo's five lessons from Steve Jobs' succession at Apple. Focus on the customer, client, user experience. "Above everything else, Steve Jobs really understands his customer," said Gallo. Throughout his terms as CEO of Apple, Jobs has bucked conventional wisdom in the industry and eschewed the demands and expectations of the industry--and sometimes even the most vocal consumers--to bring the best end-user experience, as he understood it at the time--to market. "When Jobs announced 99-cent music downloads, a lot of people thought it was crazy, because people were used to downloading music online for free," remarked Gallo. At the same time, the music industry balked at what it perceived as a rock-bottom price per song. "He stuck to his guns, and he was right." To Gallo, Jobs' apparent stubbornness is an outcropping of his deep convictions about user experience. "Users don't always know what they want," Gallo said. "Steve Jobs does, and he gives them what they want." Jobs displayed the same mentality in executing his departure from Apple, enforcing his trademark secrecy and weathering anger from the investment community and Apple customers over his refusal to disclose many details about his health condition. Yet he consistently pursued his vision of user experience at Apple until the moment of his resignation. Ultimately, said Gallo, that deep focus on the user will be his legacy. Build a culture that transcends your leadership. Steve Jobs has developed such a cult following that he can seem impossible to replace. But in Gallo's view, Jobs has done a remarkable job of planning for his own succession by building a management team and company culture that embrace his vision for the company and the technologies it creates. "He surrounded himself with people who share his passion for design, user experience, and excellence," said Gallo. "He built a culture within the company that puts the user first." This move is critical to Apple's future success after Jobs steps down, and we'll soon see how well Jobs has done at selecting and training lieutenants who can carry the company forward. But for Gallo, the message to other leaders at all levels of business is clear: Great leaders build companies that can excel without them. Control the message, stay consistent. Apple has developed a reputation for extreme secrecy, and has taken more than a little heat for it at times. Every Apple product launch is preceded by months of rumors, about which the company refuses to comment. Steve Jobs' succession plans have been no exception, handled with the same tight-lipped secrecy as the launch of a new Mac. Of course, as with any anticipated Apple announcement, speculation and rumor have abounded, and most analysts predicted Tim Cook would emerge as the company's leader. But Jobs and company remained silent on the matter publicly, rolling out the transition of power with the kind of terse messaging that might accompany a new iPod announcement. Said Gallo, "Very few leaders really understand the extent to which they can control the message, so too often you have the CEO saying one thing, the PR department saying another, and managers within the company contradicting all of that." Leaders at every level need to reign in their words and get clear about their messaging for the good of the company, said Gallo. "I don't think it's necessary to be so secretive," Gallo said of Jobs' characteristic stealth. "But it's absolutely critical to control the message. When Apple got <a href="http://www.apple.com/the-beatles/">the Beatles on iTunes</a>, the whole front page of their website was just a picture of the Beatles and the words, 'The Beatles. Now on iTunes.' Steve Jobs used the same kind of simple language in his resignation. He stuck to the central message he wanted to communicate." Transition proactively. Gallo observes that, when we look back, we see that Steve Jobs has been gradually handing off power and public exposure to other key personalities within Apple since news of his health woes first surfaced. "I noticed that, really, Tim Cook began doing a lot of the presentations for new product announcements. Phil Schiller and Jonathan Ive stepped into the limelight more," Gallo said. While the media cameras at any given product launch remained focused on Jobs, Jobs began presenting the other personalities behind Apple in a more concerted way, acclimating the company, its customers, and the media to the look and feel of an Apple product launch sans Steve Jobs. Gallo is confident that Apple's new leaders now have ample preparation to lead the company forward. Choose people who can take over your duties, not your personality. It's become hard to imagine anyone but Steve Jobs leading Apple, but that perception likely doesn't match reality, according to Gallo. "There's no better pitch man than Steve Jobs," Gallo said. "But Steve has done a great job of assembling a management team that can lead the company in a way that's consistent with his vision." Pointing to the design aesthetic of Jonathan Ive and Tim Cook's apparent sympatico with Jobs' laser-like focus on user experience, Gallo sees the leadership traits of Steve Jobs distributed throughout the company's new leadership, rather than packed into the personality of a Steve Jobs imposter. "I think he's done as good a job as he can do at choosing people who can take over his duties," said Gallo. "But there's nobody else like Steve Jobs." At the 2011 InformationWeek 500 Conference, C-level executives from leading global companies will gather to discuss how their organizations are turbo-charging business execution and growth--how their accelerated enterprises manage cash more effectively, invest more wisely, delight customers more consistently, manage risk more profitably. The conference will feature a range of keynote, panel, and workshop sessions. St. Regis Monarch Beach, Calif., Sept. 11-13. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/conference?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-25T14:51:00ZT-Mobile May Get iPhones In OctoberWith the expected launch of the iPhone 5 this fall, will all major US carriers offer iOS phones?http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600198?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229202277 "><img src="http://i.cmpnet.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/593/01_Outer_Package_tn.jpg" width="175" alt="Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown" title="Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown</div> </div> Once the sole differentiator for AT&T's wireless service, the Apple iPhone is now set to roll out on all major U.S. carriers. Just days after reports that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/smart_phones/231600098">Sprint is poised to unleash iPhone 4 and 5</a> on its network in October, reports say that <a href="http://www.mactrast.com/2011/08/iphone-5-to-launch-concurrently-on-sprint-verizon-att-t-mobile/">T-Mobile will join the growing list of companies offering Apple handsets</a> to its customers. According to MacTrast blogger J. Genn Kunzler, a source inside T-Mobile has leaked information from an internal briefing on the deal. "The informant, who requested to remain anonymous, went on to claim that the iPhone 5 would also operate at 3G speeds on T-Mobile US network. Current unlocked iPhone 4 units can only operate at 2G 'edge' speeds on T-Mobile's network, and lack certain network-dependent features, such as Visual Voicemail," said Kunzler. While the T-Mobile source reportedly speculated on the iPhone's potential impact for T-Mobile's bottom line, such speculation may ring hollow if a pending acquisition by AT&T moves forward. At present, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231400260">legal challenges</a> appear to be slowing down the possible merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, but in the event that the two companies become one, the hype over T-Mobile iPhones could prove very short-lived. After all, AT&T was the first U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone. Some outlets, including MacTrast, have suggested that this multi-carrier release could indicate an unlocked iPhone 5, but it's not yet clear whether this will be the case. Apple does sell the <a href="http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC603LL/A">iPhone 4 as an unlocked device</a>, and could very well do the same with the iPhone 5, but these carrier-specific versions of the device may yet come locked to the reselling carrier's network. The availability of the iPhone on all major U.S. carriers bodes well for enterprise customers, because it means a company can now issue iOS handsets to its users without engaging in the hassle of switching carriers or dealing with multiple carriers to provision its users. Many enterprises have longstanding roots with Sprint, dating back to early contracts with Nextel and its walkie-talkie handsets, and those companies will now have the flexibility to adopt iPhones within their current contracts. Meanwhile, T-Mobile, which is popular with many small businesses, appears set to offer the same luxury to its customers. See the latest IT solutions at Interop New York. Learn to leverage business technology innovations--including cloud, virtualization, security, mobility, and data center advances--that cut costs, increase productivity, and drive business value. Save 25% on Flex and Conference Passes or get a Free Expo Pass with code CPFHNY25. It happens in New York City, Oct. 3-7, 2011. <a href="http://www.interop.com/newyork/?_mc=CPFHNY25">Register now</a>. 2011-08-25T12:29:00ZWho Should Buy RIM?Mobile-watchers debate the merits of a sale to Google, Microsoft, or Samsung. Or does RIM need a buyout at all?http://www.informationweek.com/news/231600175?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_The past few months have not been kind to Research In Motion. On August 5, Eric Jackson of Ironfire Capital predicted that the company would <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231300237">need a buyout by early 2013</a>. Since that time, the company's stock has rebounded a bit, likely due to the recent announcement of new handsets and a new <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/smb/mobile/231400254">BlackBerry Management Center</a> for small business. But if the BlackBerry maker did go up for sale, which of today's tech giants would be best suited to the acquisition? As the recent failure of HP's Palm buyout demonstrates, successful tech mergers require more than just capital. They demand a good match. A failed merger could mean the end of RIM, and that would be <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231300311">bad news for businesses</a> that depend on the company's technology. To make the most of a potential merger, the acquiring company must be the right match for RIM's technology, for its customers, and for the future potential of its patents. There's no shortage of speculation over possible buyers for RIM, and the two most common names that pop up are, of course, Google and Microsoft. These are good guesses, and you don't need to be a tech industry or Wall Street analyst to put these two behemoths at the top of your list. In fact, if you walked out onto the sidewalk and asked any random stranger who they think should buy any given tech company, be it Apple, Twitter, or Facebook, the answer you'd get would almost certainly be Google or Microsoft. Of course, obviousness doesn't make these propositions wrong, and some good minds have offered sound reasons for advancing these two companies as suitors for a flailing RIM. Back in June, Boston-based venture capitalist Richard Dale <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/15/why-google-should-buy-rim/">suggested Google as the best fit</a>. "Google could get the patent portfolio to allow them to use (or better, out-license) that great keyboard, instead of the crappy one on, say, the Motorola Droid slide-outs," Dale wrote in a commentary for CNNMoney. "Google could even choose to spin off the hardware altogether to a handset manufacturer (HTC?), to reap the benefits of getting Android onto the platform but avoid competing with their channel." Last month, over in the Crackberry camp where the love of RIM runs deep, blogger Kevin Michaluk offered <a href="http://crackberry.com/10-reasons-why-google-will-buy-research-motion">10 reasons Google will buy RIM</a>. Among those reasons: QNX would make a good kernel for Android, RIM has lots of neat patents, the BlackBerry enjoys deep enterprise penetration, and "Canada is nice." While it's clear Michaluk was stretching to reach 10 bullet points in his commentary, some of his reasons are pretty compelling. Speaking for Microsoft advocates, PCMag's Peter Pachal pointed to Steve <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384918,00.asp">Ballmer's attendance at BlackBerry World</a> in May as possibly pointing to a Microsoft buyout. "Microsoft has been very aggressive in the mobile space, pushing Windows Phone 7 hard and forging an alliance with the top handset maker in the world, Nokia," Pachal said. "Despite device sales that are probably not that great (and some are calling 'catastrophic'), Microsoft is serious about making WP7 a success, and it's clearly playing the long game of mobile platforms to win." But Microsoft and Google aren't the only players that could pounce on a vulnerable RIM and make the most of it. Cameron Kane of the investment site SeekingAlpha has <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/288004-why-dell-should-buy-rim-and-sirius-xm">proposed Dell</a> as a worthy suitor, though it's hard to imagine Dell taking on something as uncharacteristically platform-centric as a RIM buyout, particularly after a similar move proved so catastrophic to HP. In an interview with InformationWeek.com, Current Analysis research director Avi Greengart proposed some more interesting possibilities, and discounted the idea that Google or Microsoft would make the play. "Microsoft and Google do not need the headache of managing a completely separate ecosystem, and Microsoft doesn't need RIM's IP," Greengart said. "The only companies I could see interested in taking on RIM as-is are Samsung--which has articulated a goal of getting more enterprise mobility business and already has experience managing multiple operating systems--and Chinese vendors such as Huawei, ZTE, or Lenovo, who would want it for market access and brand--but could run into problems with North American government approval for the sale for security reasons," said Greengart. The idea of Samsung buying RIM seems particularly compelling. Given the company's ongoing patent war with Apple, acquiring RIM could arm the company with a large enough pool of intellectual property to push Apple back, and it would give the company an instant in with the enterprise world. Ultimately, though, Greengart doesn't really believe RIM needs a buyout. "I don't think it has to be anyone, frankly. RIM's sales are down overall and its platform is clearly losing steam, but the company is still extremely profitable and sales in certain markets are actually growing rapidly. RIM needs to complete the transition to QNX and provide a rationale why consumers and enterprises should buy those QNX devices (reaching parity with Apple and Google on user interface is not enough), but it does not need to find a buyer," Greengart said. At the 2011 InformationWeek 500 Conference, C-level executives from leading global companies will gather to discuss how their organizations are turbo-charging business execution and growth--how their accelerated enterprises manage cash more effectively, invest more wisely, delight customers more consistently, manage risk more profitably. The conference will feature a range of keynote, panel, and workshop sessions. St. Regis Monarch Beach, Calif., Sept. 11-13. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/conference?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-24T16:57:00Z5 Ways Google Should Expand Google+Google has made a small stride toward integrating Google+ with Gmail. Here are five ways we'd like to see Google+ expand.http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/231600113?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_Google+, the rapidly growing successor to the company's failed Buzz experiment, is finally showing signs of integrating with core Google services. On Monday, Google's <a href="https://plus.google.com/103097764320602190090/posts/KDBHdtSKBNd">Mark Striebeck previewed</a> a tweak to Gmail's people widget that will display the most recent Google+ post from a given user. Now that Google is moving towards integrating Plus with services beyond PicasaWeb, here are the five services we'd most like to see Google combine with its social network. Google Apps I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until it's done. Google simply must get on the stick and roll out Profiles and Google+ to its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/interviews/231002478">business customers</a> soon. Until that happens, many business users who've already gone through the productivity disruption of migrating their old personal accounts to their Apps accounts won't even bother joining Plus. Perhaps <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/social_crm/231600097/ford-shares-google-early-feedback">feedback from Ford</a>, which is testing Google+ will speed the process. Frankly, it's a little shocking that Google continues to encourage Apps users to go start a Plus personal account while waiting for the business accounts to emerge. Just last month, the company <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/internet/google/231002473">booted business pages</a> from Plus. And even if Apps users do go to the trouble of starting Google+ personal accounts for non-business use, they'll have to deal with the hassle of moving their circles to their Apps accounts once the service finally emerges for business. It's an invitation to disaster. Yes, the business world would like to see Profiles for Apps rolled out right, but we'd also like to see it rolled out soon. Gmail Inbox Adding the latest Google+ post to the Gmail people widget just makes sense. What makes even more sense is giving users the option to integrate Plus into their Gmail inboxes the same way Buzz did. There are lots of cues that this would be a counterintuitive move, since Buzz worked this way and flopped. But let's remember that Buzz didn't fail because it worked with Gmail; it failed because it did a crappy job of surfacing relevant posts and left users' private information hanging out for all to see. The one thing Buzz did right was reduce the number of places its users had to go to interact with their social graph. Google Places Checking in at visited sites with geo-location has become such an obvious extension of the social media experience that it's a little surprising Google didn't include Google Places integration with Plus at the time of launch. It's hard to imagine that this feature won't be coming very soon, particularly now that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/social_networking_consumer/231500597/5-key-facts-on-facebook-privacy-revamp">Facebook has expanded its geotagging feature</a> to work from any device, even when users aren't actually at the location in question. If Google wants Places listings to garner serious commitment from the business world, it needs to connect local businesses to its social media users through Places and Plus. Google Voice <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/telecom/voice/229100233">Google Voice</a> gives users a single phone number for all their phones, and lets them text their contacts directly from the browser. If Google integrated Voice into Plus, allowing users to view and send texts and voicemail transcripts from Google+, it would expand the relevance of Plus as a central inbox. It would be even cooler if Google+ and Voice converged within the Gmail interface, creating a one-stop social inbox for everything. Google Sites While <a href="http://informationweek.com/byte/howto/personal-tech/consumer-services/231500423">Google Sites</a> isn't huge with consumers, it's massively important to enterprises that use Google Apps. As a tool for building and managing intranets, the possibility of connecting Sites to Google+ social streams opens up meaningful opportunities for businesses to foster more dynamic communication among workers at all levels of an organization. I'd expect Sites integration to come along with Apps integration, but let's hope it doesn't get left on the cutting room floor. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-24T14:11:00ZTwitter Co-Founder Launches New Startup: LiftBiz Stone and fellow Web entrepreneurs have announced in a series of cryptic blog posts a forthcoming app aimed at "unlocking potential."http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/231600093?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_ <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/slideshows/231400069"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/646/05_Raven-Tools_tn.jpg" alt="10 Cool Social Media Monitoring Tools" title="10 Cool Social Media Monitoring Tools" class="img175" /></a> <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: 10 Cool Social Media Monitoring Tools</div> (click image for larger view and for slideshow)</div> Moving on from the popular success Twitter, social media entrepreneur Biz Stone has announced, however guardedly, his next venture: a new social app called <a href="http://lift.do">Lift</a>. While details about the forthcoming app are sketchy at best, some interesting information is beginning to emerge. In a blog post titled <a href="http://obvious.com/2011/08/unlocking-potential/">"Unlocking Potential"</a> on the Obvious Corporation website, Biz Stone said, "Tony Stubblebine and Jon Crosby have created an interesting new application for unlocking human potential through positive reinforcement." Stone offered little more in the way of useful facts about the new venture, other than to say that he and partners Stubblebine and Crosby have "tried it and it works." Tony Stubblebine, who is serving as CEO of Lift according to the company's email autoreply, had more to say on his <a href="http://www.stubbleblog.com/index.php/2011/08/uplifting-news-obvious-partnership/">Stubbleblog</a>. According to Stubblebine, the venture is being funded through investments from Twitter's Evan Williams and Jason Goldman, in addition to Biz Stone. Stubblebine said Lift is "a long way from opening the doors," and that the fledgling company is currently seeking a user-experience design lead. It's not yet clear what Lift will actually do, or who its target user will be. The three cofounders all come with deep social media pedigrees, with Stubblebine having most recently created the events-based social network Crowdvine and Crosby hailing from companies like Path, Songbird, and EngineYard. Over on <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/what_twitters_co-founders_appear_to_be_building_ne.php">ReadWriteWeb</a>, Marshall Kirkpratrick has uncovered what may be an interesting clue as to the company's underpinnings, noting that a previous Stubblebine venture, Mibbles, now redirects to Lift.do. Based on that information, one might surmise that Lift will offer a way for users to track their projects and daily activities socially while receiving awards for progress made against their goals. Social productivity, if that is Lift's aim, is not a new field, but it's one that badly needs some significant leadership. However, Lift appears to be more broadly targeted at encouraging any kind of activity, business or personal. Users can find out more about Lift by signing up at the company's website. While the site itself offers no useful information as of this writing, registering will get you an email from Tony Stubblebine, which reads, "We're not ready to let people in yet, but when we are, we'll make sure you get an early invite. "What is Lift? We're interested in ways new technology can help unlock human potential, especially through the use of positive reinforcement. That's all we can tell you right now." Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-23T16:27:00Z5 Key Facts On Facebook Privacy RevampFacebook has once again revamped its privacy options, giving users more control. Here are the most important changes to explore.http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/231500597?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/smb/services/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227800083"><img src="http://i.cmpnet.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/532/RSSGrafitti_tn.jpg" alt="Top 15 Facebook Apps For Business" title="Top 15 Facebook Apps For Business" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Top 15 Facebook Apps For Business</div> </div> Facebook is set to roll out <a href="http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150251867797131">new privacy controls</a> on Thursday, continuing the site's habit of constantly tweaking user interfaces. Some of the additions fulfill the long-expressed wishes of Facebook users, while others simply add new functionality. Here are the five most interesting Facebook privacy changes you need to know about. Profile Tag Review Perhaps the most exciting new feature for those who value the sanctity of their online identity is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/about/control">Profile Tag Review</a>. This handy feature gives users the ability to look at how their profile tag is being used before it goes live on your profile. This feature won't prevent people from tagging you in unflattering photos, but it will save you the embarrassment of having the shot posted straight to your wall before you get a chance to look at it or remove the tag. A new Pending Posts screen will give you the ability to accept or reject tags individually or all at once. Inline Sharing Controls You'll now have the ability to modify the sharing settings for each post separately. Each item in your feed will have a little globe button that drops down a menu offering Public, Friends, and Custom options. Editable Sharing Historically, once you posted something to Facebook, its sharing settings were locked in. With the new update, you'll have the ability to go back and change the sharing preferences for each post separately, long after it has gone live. Tag Anyone Or Anything, Whether You've Liked It Or Not To date, you've had to Like a page or be friends with a person to tag them in a post. Now you can tag anything or anyone, and you won't be forced to go click Like on a page before you can tag it in your post. If a stranger tags you, you can use the Profile Tag Review feature to remove the tag if you want to. This change will likely have a mixed impact on business pages, since it might increase the number of posts a given page gets tagged in, while potentially reducing the frequency with which users click Like on your page. Tag Locations Any Way You Want If you've ever wanted to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/about/location">check in someplace</a> while using your laptop, and didn't bother because you didn't feel like pulling out your phone, you'll probably like this update, since it allows you to check in via the browser interface. You can also check into places you're not actually at, so you can tag a place you're just talking about. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-23T14:25:00Z4 Things We Want In Rumored New MacA source in Apple's Asia supply chain has leaked info about an "absolutely different" Mac coming by year end. Here are a few changes that we'd like to see.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500589?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_According to the Japanese Apple blog <a href="http://www.macotakara.jp/">Macotakara.jp</a>, a source inside Apple's Asia supply chain has reported news of a new Mac product line that's "absolutely different" from the current generation of Macs. Apple rumors being what they are, it's impossible to know what the new machines will be, if they exist at all--but we do know a few things business users would like to see in the next generation of Mac computers. 1. Touch Displays: Apple has proven its competence with touch-sensitive interface design through the iPhone and iPad, and OS X already performs admirably on third-party tabletized Macs. With companies like HP and Dell already producing touchscreen PCs, the market looks ripe for a touchscreen Mac. 2. iOS Hybrid: If Apple were to combine iOS and OS X on a dual-mode mobile or touch-screen computer, it would give users the ability to switch between the to operating systems as the use case demands. However, to make it work, Apple would need to devise a reliable way for users to share data between the OS X filesystem and the iOS mode. Dual-mode Android/Windows PCs like the <a href="http://uncategorized.sendori.com/search?q=levnovo.com&s=DSRI3aK1lGzZvEiI">Lenovo U1</a> have been emerging over the last couple of years, and Apple may be able to capitalize on its whole-ecosystem business model to bring a compelling dual-mode option to market. 3. Dockable Mac: While we're envisioning totally different form factors for the Mac, let's consider the possibility of an iPad-centric computer. The idea of dockable phones and tablets isn't new. Apple has experimented with this approach in the past, but the mobile technology hadn't come far enough to make it worthwhile. Now <a href="http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Mobile+Phone+Accessories/Docking-Stations/Atrix-Laptop-Dock-US-EN">Motorola's Atrix Lapdock</a> is offering a pretty interesting laptop/smartphone dock system that makes the whole concept look a little more compelling. 4. Gigantic Slate: In a move that would combine all three of the above concepts, Apple could conceivably produce an oversized iPad running either iOS or a dual-mode configuration, built for docking onto a desktop stand. Such a machine would serve as a user's primary desktop PC, while dismounting for trips down the hall to the boardroom. Less a mobile device than a luggable one, a dockable slate in excess of 15 inches would make for a uniquely versatile workplace computer. Of course, only time will tell whether the current rumor out of Asia bears any resemblance to reality, and Apple is unlikely to respond to the conjecture. But if we're betting on something "absolutely different" from what's on the market today, these four possibilities would be significant enough to catch our attention. At the 2011 InformationWeek 500 Conference, C-level executives from leading global companies will gather to discuss how their organizations are turbo-charging business execution and growth--how their accelerated enterprises manage cash more effectively, invest more wisely, delight customers more consistently, manage risk more profitably. The conference will feature a range of keynote, panel, and workshop sessions. St. Regis Monarch Beach, Calif., Sept. 11-13. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/conference?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-22T17:51:00ZGoogle+ Verfies IDs For High-Profile UsersIs that person in your circle really who they say they are? Google+ can now tell you.http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/231500504?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_Google+ is still <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/interviews/231002478">not available for businesses</a>, but the service is continuing to add new features that will be important for business users once the social network becomes available to the corporate world. In a blog post Monday, Google’s Wen-Ai Yu announced the release of verified IDs for high-profile users. A Google+ verified ID badge attests that Google has checked the identification of the account holder and that, as far as Google knows, that person really is who they say they are. Similar verified accounts have been available for celebrities and businesses on Twitter for some time, and help to reduce uncertain, "wild west" atmosphere of social networks. On Google+, the verified badge appears as a checkmark within a circle to the right of the user's name. When you mouse over the checkmark, the badge expands to reveal the text "verified name." "Many celebrities and public figures are joining Google+, and if you're like me, you want to be sure the person you're adding to a circle is really who they claim to be," said Yu in a < a href="https://plus.google.com/103618543375127073102/posts/ZiXUSJQ3fGA">video posted to her Google+ profile</a>. "When you visit the profile of a celebrity or public figure, you'll see a verification badge next to their profile name. This will help you easily determine which profiles are owned by real, verified people." At present, according to Yu, Google is only deploying the feature for high-profile celebrities and users who appear in a very large number of other users' circles. However, over time Google intends to offer the feature to other users. It's not clear yet what the qualifying criteria will be. ID verification has obvious value for celebrities, but the feature will also prove indispensible to businesses once Google+ eventually rolls out to the corporate sector. With it, companies will be able to verify the accounts of executives and spokespeople, which will give organizations the confidence to use Google+ for important communications with the public, as many companies currently do via Twitter and Facebook. At present, Google is quiet about how, exactly, a user can get his or her account verified. Presumably the company is contacting qualified users directly. By the time the service rolls out to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/cloud-computing/software/231400168">Google Apps accounts</a> and non-Google Apps businesses, the verification process will likely become fairly streamlined. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-22T17:10:00ZAnonymous Hackers Are Hypocrites, Not HacktivistsAn amorphous group of hackers has proven its ability to breach, torment, and embarrass. But as its dance with BART shows, its larger ambitions ring hollow.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500509?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_The hacker group Anonymous, which is less a coherent group of people working together toward a common cause than a random medley of hackers out to prank and disrupt the online world, has been busy these days. <a href=" http://informationweek.com/news/government/security/231400253?queryText=bart ">Multiple hacks on Bay Area Rapid Transit websites</a> in response to BART's shutdown of the railway's underground cellular system have captured the attention of activists and technophiles alike. But even as the name Anonymous strikes fear into the hearts of many IT security workers, the group's political ambitions ring hollow. Anonymous has a penchant for making grand--if sometimes dimly worded--proclamations about its motives. After the group initially hacked a BART website on August 14, it posted a message to the <a href="http://anonops.blogspot.com/ ">AnonOps blog</a> that stated, "In the Bay Area, we’ve seen people gagged, and once more, Anonymous will attempt to show those engaging in the censorship what it feels like to be silenced." The group frequently issues demands in conjunction with its operations, and the BART hacks were no exception: "Anonymous demands that this activity revolving around censorship cease and desist and we know you are already planning to do this again." Through its attacks against a variety of high-profile organizations, Anonymous has made itself difficult to ignore. But what's also hard to ignore is the hypocrisy and futility of the group's tactics. Even as the group proclaims its opposition to oppression, it resorts to little more than online bullying in pursuit of its aims. In purporting to advance the cause of freedom, the group brings its own brand of oppression to bear. Its message is pretty much always the same: Stop doing whatever it is we don't like, or we'll take down your website, steal your private data, and embarrass your workers and customers on the Internet. In response to a decision by BART management to interrupt cell phone service in four underground stations in downtown San Francisco for a couple of hours on August 11, Anonymous hacked into a third-party BART website and released the personal information of thousands of BART riders, all of whom were innocent of BART's actions. The organization then proceeded to <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/231500219?queryText=bart ">hack a BART police officer's association website</a> and released the personal information of its users. All told, within a week, this loose-knit group of hacktivists victimized a few thousand people who were in no way connected to the actions in question. As of Monday afternoon, the group is reportedly <a href=" http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Anonymous-Plotting-Another-BART-Protest-Tonight-128184433.html ">mounting a third protest</a>, which we can only assume will be accompanied by further hacks targeting BART riders and workers. And amid all this chaos, thousands of Bay Area commuters have had their commutes disrupted, causing ripples of inconvenience and hardship throughout their lives. Which part of Anonymous's ongoing assault against BART riders and employees is supposed to encourage change? Is there a specific policy that Anonymous would like BART to adopt? It's impossible to tell, because the group hasn't put nearly as much thought into advancing a substantial argument as it has into causing disruption. And this is where the intellectual bankruptcy of hacktivism reveals itself. It outlines no argument. It advances no coherent cause. It brings only vague threats and intimidation. Ask yourself this: If Anonymous were to single out your organization for attack, what would you do? Would you search your soul for the source of whatever transgression might have elicited the group's animosity? Or would you spend a little extra on IT security and hunker down to weather the storm, while mobilizing your legal department to track down and prosecute the offenders? For anyone charged with running a business, the obvious answer is the practical one. Anonymous's tactics force an organization into IT defense mode, while doing little, if anything, to engage the organization's leadership in a meaningful dialog about the issues. It is, quite simply, online thuggery, with only the barest pretense of a political motive. So for all the IT pros out there watching the Anonymous-BART drama unfold, there are certainly lessons to be learned. But those lessons have nothing to do with high-minded questions of liberty, equality, and human rights. Instead, they're just reminders to run your patches, secure your site's navigation layer, and enforce strict password policies on your users. At a full-day virtual event, InformationWeek and Dark Reading editors will talk with security experts about the causes and mistakes that lead to security breaches, both from the technology perspective and from the people perspective. It happens Aug. 25. <a href="http://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1003410&K=6TW">Register now</a>. 2011-08-19T14:31:00ZApple Battles Knockoff Products In New YorkApple is moving aggressively to shut down stores in the U.S. moving fake iPod, iPad, and iPhone accessories bearing the company's logo.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500386?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/personal-tech/tablets/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229300841"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/606/Front_Page_tn.jpg" width="175" alt="Apple iPad 2 3G Teardown" title="Apple iPad 2 3G Teardown" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Apple iPad 2 3G Teardown</div> </div>When you're the top dog, everybody wants a piece of you. After fighting its way back from the brink of oblivion to become the <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/apple-most-valuable-company/">most valuable company in the world</a>, Apple has been learning this lesson the hard way. Last month, news emerged of the presence of 22 phony-baloney stores doing business under the company's trademark in China, and now <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/18/apple-knockoffs-idUSN1E77H1Y920110818">Reuters reports</a> that Apple is aggressively combating the sale of knock-off products on American shores. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Apple has accused two stores in Flushing, New York--Apple Story and Fun Zone, Inc.--of infringing its trademark through the sale of unauthorized iPod, iPad, and iPhone accessories bearing the company's logo. While the complaint was originally filed on July 25, it is only coming to light now, after Reuters requested access to filed documents from the court. The court filing from Apple stated that company representatives visited these stores on multiple occasions over the course of several weeks, according to Reuters. During those visits, Apple representatives purchased an assortment of products with packaging designed to duplicate the appearance of official Apple merchandise, even bearing the familiar "Designed by Apple in California" designation. Apple is no stranger to knock-off products, both legitimate and nefarious. The company has often argued that other mainstream technology products--including Microsoft Windows--constitute a copying of Apple's work, and Apple lawyers have been perpetually embroiled in patent infringement cases over the years. Meanwhile, clear examples of lookalike iPods, iPhones, and <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/hardware/handheld/231500334">iPads</a> are easy to come by, particularly for anyone walking down Beijing's Silk Alley or the Chinatown district of any U.S. city on a weekend afternoon. Ordinarily, though, most copycats lack the temerity to actually emblazon Apple's logo and trademark on their products and packaging. It's unclear how widespread these fake Apple accessories may be, but buyers and resellers would both be wise to point a skeptical eye at merchandise coming from less than reputable sources. For retailers, Apple's message is clear: Sell Apple knock-offs, and we'll come after you. For buyers, the best bet is to stick with trusted stores that get their inventory straight from Apple. See the latest IT solutions at Interop New York. Learn to leverage business technology innovations--including cloud, virtualization, security, mobility, and data center advances--that cut costs, increase productivity, and drive business value. Save 25% on Flex and Conference Passes or get a Free Expo Pass with code CPFHNY25. It happens in New York City, Oct. 3-7, 2011. <a href="http://www.interop.com/newyork/?_mc=CPFHNY25">Register now</a>. 2011-08-18T17:00:00ZAT&T Kills $10 Texting Plans, Pushes Unlimited OptionsAT&T is forcing new wireless customers to choose between an unlimited text messaging plan and a 20-cent per-message rate.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500304?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_In the midst of ongoing controversy over the company's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/231400260">proposed acquisition of competitor T-Mobile</a>, AT&T has confirmed reports that the company has revamped its text messaging plans, cutting out its popular $10 Messaging 1000 plan entirely and forcing customers to choose between a $20 unlimited plan or pay 20 cents per message. According to a screenshot that first appeared on the gadget blog <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/17/atandt-streamlining-individual-messaging-plans-august-21st-leavin/">Engadget</a> late last night, the change will take place on this coming Sunday, August 21. The move will affect new customers only at this time, and it is not yet clear whether or when existing AT&T customers will be affected. AT&T has reportedly said that current customers will be able to keep their $10 texting plans, at least for the time being. As of this writing, <a href="http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/services/services-list.jsp?wtSlotClick=1-005NV6-0-2&catId=cat1470003&catName=Messaging+Plans">AT&T's website</a> still offers the $10 Messaging 1000 plan, and it appears that customers interested in that plan will still be able to sign up for it between now and Saturday. In a statement to Engadget, AT&T confirmed the plan changes. "The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers. Existing customers don't have to change any messaging plan they have today, even when changing handsets," a spokesperson said. Viewed in light of the company's proposed merger with T-Mobile, that statement makes sense. T-Mobile currently offers unlimited texting with nearly all of its plans, without breaking the service out as a separate billing item. It remains to be seen whether T-Mobile customers would be forced to change their texting plans if the merger does go through. In addition to the $20 unlimited plan, AT&T will also continue to offer its $30-per-month Family Unlimited plan, which can be applied to up to five lines on a single account. However, customers hoping to keep their messaging costs to $10 per month will have to use the 20-cent-per-message plan and cut the total number of texts down from 1,000 to 50. AT&T's largest competitor, Verizon Wireless, continues to offer a variety of texting plans, including a 250-message package for $5 per month and a 500-message package for $10 per month. Sprint, meanwhile, continues to offer a $10 plan with 1,000 messages, as well as a $5 plan with 300 messages. All three companies offer the same $20 unlimited plans and 20-cent pay-as-you-go plans. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-18T14:51:00Z11 Milestones In Linux HistoryAs Linux turns 20, we look back on key moments for the OS that started as a school project and became a major force in technology.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500285?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_ <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227100391"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/486/Mighty-Meeting_tn.jpg" width="175" alt="Top 20 Android Productivity Apps" title="Top 20 Android Productivity Apps" class="img175"/></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Top 20 Android Productivity Apps</div> </div>  Twenty years ago, the tech landscape looked very different from that of today. Cell phones were a luxury of the rich, and the devices themselves were pretty dumb. Microsoft ruled the desktop landscape barely challenged by competition from IBM and Apple. The Internet was just a gleam in Al Gore's eye (kidding!). And a young University of Helsinki student named Linus Torvalds started work on an operating system that came to be known as Linux. Linux has come a long way since the early tinkerings of Torvalds in 1991. The OS has proliferated around the world and into every kind of computer, from smartphones to supercomputers. Here are 11 major milestones in the <a href="http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/blogs/browse/2011/08/linuxcon-20th-anniversary-linux-celebration-kicks">20-year history of Linux</a>. April 1991: From his dorm room at the University of Helsinki, college student Linus Torvalds begins working on his own operating system kernel, mostly just to see if he could do it. As he was doing his early development in a Unix clone called Minix, he <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~awb/linux.history.html">posted a note</a> to a Minix newsgroup that said, "I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." Torvalds was wrong in his assessment of his creation's potential. May 1992: Just over a year after Torvalds began working on his pet project, the first comprehensive distribution of Linux, <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/historic-linux/distributions/sls/1.05/INSTALL">Softlanding Linux System</a>, shipped to users. SLS stood out for its incorporation of TCP/IP and X Windows. July 1993: Slackware Linux, developed by Patrick Volkerding, launches as the first commercial Linux distribution. It is currently the oldest Linux distribution still under development. March 1994: Linus Torvalds releases <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel">Linux 1.0</a>, consisting of 176,250 lines of code. April 1995: Linux gets its own trade conference, Linux Expo, created by Donnie Barnes at North Carolina State University. Barnes went on to work for Red Hat, which later took over the expo. November 1998: In the midst of a federal antitrust lawsuit, Microsoft lawyers <a href="http://www.redhat.com/about/companyprofile/history/">present a box of Red Hat Linux</a> as evidence that Windows did not represent a monopoly on the OS market. November 1999: VA Systems launches <a href="http://sourceforge.net">SourceForge</a>, which becomes a leading repository of open source projects for Linux and other platforms. October 2004: Canonical releases <a href="http://ubuntu.org">Ubuntu 4.1</a>, aka "Warty Warthog," which raised the bar for community-developed Linux distributions with a six-month release cycle and a focus on user experience. January 2007: Several leading mobile technology companies, including Motorola, NEC, Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, and Vodafone form the <a href="http://www.limofoundation.org/">LiMo Foundation</a> to collaborate on Linux-based smartphones. This represents a major shift in the direction of Linux devices, and presages the arrival of Google Android. November 2007: The <a href="http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/">Open Handset Alliance</a>, which includes Google, Intel, Sony, HTC, Motorola, and 78 other companies, announces its presence with a preview of Android. One week later, the OHA released a SDK to developers. October 2008: The first commercial Android phone, the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/217100329">T-Mobile G1</a>, ships to consumers, marking the emergence of Linux onto mainstream consumer computing devices. On mobile phones, Android has gone on to compete mightily with Apple's iOS, putting Linux squarely in the forefront of today's hottest platform war. See the latest IT solutions at Interop New York. Learn to leverage business technology innovations--including cloud, virtualization, security, mobility, and data center advances--that cut costs, increase productivity, and drive business value. Save 25% on Flex and Conference Passes or get a Free Expo Pass with code CPFHNY25. It happens in New York City, Oct. 3-7, 2011. <a href="http://www.interop.com/newyork/?_mc=CPFHNY25">Register now</a>. 2011-08-18T09:15:00Z3 Security Lessons From BART's Anonymous BreachAs BART continues to face attacks from the hacker group Anonymous, its security weak points have become painfully obvious. Here's what your IT staff can learn from BART's mistakes.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500219?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229300675"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/586/TJX_tn.jpg" alt="10 Massive Security Breaches" title="10 Massive Security Breaches" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: 10 Massive Security Breaches</div></div>An attack on Bay Area Rapid Transit websites by the hacker collective Anonymous this week drew international attention for political reasons. But these intrusions are catching the interest of IT pros for professional reasons, since the weaknesses in BART's IT security are by no means unique to the transit authority. On Sunday, Anonymous appeared to have attempted a denial of service attack on BART.gov, the agency's primary site, to little effect, but did manage <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/government/security/231400253">to breach</a> a secondary site, myBART.org, and released the private information of BART customers on an Anonymous website. On Wednesday, the group compromised the BART Police Officers Association site, again publishing private information from the database of BART police officers. So what can IT admins learn from looking at BART's security crisis? Plenty. Here are the three biggest lessons from BART's ordeal. 1. Use Strong Passwords This one's so basic that every enterprise IT worker who reads it might feel inclined to roll his or her eyes right now, but face it: Too many of us aren't doing the job. If the Wednesday <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/18/MN101KOI7G.DTL">hack on BARTpoa.org</a> demonstrated anything, it's that far too many users are allowed to jeopardize the organization's security with flimsy passwords that any 9-year-old could break via a crude dictionary attack. Yes, users gripe loudly when you enforce sound <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/231002097">password security policy</a>, but holding the line on strong passwords eliminates one of the most basic security threats any network faces. Standard rules apply: at least eight characters, at least one number, a capital, and a punctuation mark. 2. Reign In Outside Sites After the latest breach, BART officials demonstrated an appalling lack of authority over the weakness of the compromised sites. In an <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/17/anonymous-hacker-group-says-it-publishes-personal-information-of-bart-police/">interview with NPR</a>, BART police chief Daniel O. Hartwig repeatedly passed the buck, emphasizing that the hacked sites were not operated by BART. "When you have a site that's not controlled by the BART district and/or owned and operated by the BART district, that would fall back on the administrators and operators," Hartwig said. While it's far from clear that Hartwig's comments reflect BART's overall IT security policy, his words betray a lack of concern for security of the organization's data, wherever it may reside. By allowing so much of its customers' and employees' data to reside outside the control of its own IT organization, BART abdicated responsibility for the security of that data. Enterprise IT organizations know this story all too well, and diligent IT pros constantly fight the good fight to keep data assets securely within the company's control, even when working with third parties. BART failed to protect its workers by vetting the security of its third-party sites, and now it's reaping the consequences. 3. Respond Swiftly And Proactively As of this writing, BART and its affiliates have sustained nearly a week of threats attacks from Anonymous, and the transit district's passengers and workers have taken the brunt of the attack thanks to repeated security failures. It's unclear whether BART's IT staffers could have intervened quickly enough to prevent any data from leaking out, but the agency could almost certainly have shored up its defenses by moving quickly to lock down its security gaps (and those of its affiliated sites) when it first got word of the threat. Had BART issued a demand that all workers and members of its third-party sites take a moment to examine and beef up their security last Friday, the press would likely be telling a somewhat less depressing story about them today. Ultimately, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. There's a lot BART could've done differently to protect the privacy of its employees and customers, and it won't help them to dwell on what could've been. But for the rest of us, watching these events mindfully can be a very helpful lesson in <a href="http://informationweek.com/news/security/management/231500128">IT security best practices</a>. At a full-day virtual event, InformationWeek and Dark Reading editors will talk with security experts about the causes and mistakes that lead to security breaches, both from the technology perspective and from the people perspective. It happens Aug. 25. <a href="http://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1003410&K=6TW">Register now</a>. 2011-08-17T15:31:00Z5 Smartphone Location Tracking Myths, BustedApple, Google, and Microsoft are taking renewed heat over smartphone location tracking, but the topic is fraught with misunderstanding. Keep these points in mind.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500171?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229202277 "><img src="http://i.cmpnet.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/593/01_Outer_Package_tn.jpg" width="175" alt="Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown" title="Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Verizon iPhone 4 Teardown</div> </div>iPhone users in South Korea have filed a lawsuit against Apple over the company's location-tracking practices. This is the latest of several lawsuits filed against smartphone makers in recent months over the issue of location tracking. Microsoft and Google have also come under fire for their handling of users' location data. While mobile users are understandably worried about the security of their personal location data, not all fears are equally warranted. Here are five things every user should know about their smartphone's location tracking. 1. You can turn it off. Many users complain that their smartphones are tracking their location without their knowledge or consent. This is generally a myth, given that both iOS and Android prompt users repeatedly about allowing the device to use their location data. By default, iOS has geolocation enabled, whereas Android typically requires the user to turn it on. But both platforms allow users to turn off location services entirely. Android gives users more granular control over which type of location tracking to enable, which has saved the company from some legal woes on this front. Users who worry about the security of their location data can solve the problem on their own phone by turning off location services, provided they're willing to give up the benefits of location-aware apps. 2. Nobody's scrutinizing your movements. There's something infectious about the paranoia that a large company might be watching your movements from day to day, but it's a decidedly implausible idea. In reality, out of the millions of smartphone users whose data makes its way onto Apple and Google servers, spotting you in the data stream and <a href="http://www.willclarke.net/?p=247">tracking your movements</a> specifically would serve little practical purpose for these companies. In Apple's case, it turns out the phone is just storing the locations of cell towers and hotspots. That's not to say that location data can't be associated with your profiles with either company. Certainly Google has enough information about you to customize search results and advertising, and there's no reason the company couldn't use your location history in this way. But Google has strongly denied doing this via Android's built-in location services, stating that even the unique identifier sent to Google's servers is not associated with a particular device. Apple, meanwhile, claims to use customer location data only for the purpose of maintaining its database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers. 3. It's often unencrypted. While Apple and Google state clearly that they're not digging into your personal location data, both companies have been scolded by international authorities for <a href="http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/apple-location-tracking.html">failing to encrypt location data</a> on the device. The threat here is that anyone who gets their hands on your lost or stolen phone could potentially discover your location history and use it for nefarious ends. However, because the location data doesn't pinpoint your actual location with much accuracy, you'd be in more danger from other data you've entered into the device manually (such as your address and phone number in the address book) than from the contents of your location history. 4. Not all of the location data is yours. Some bloggers have added to the paranoia about smartphone location tracking by stoking fears about the amount of data stored on iOS devices. While it's true that the iOS location cache can contain up to a year of past data, <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/04/27Apple-Q-A-on-Location-Data.html">Apple has pointed out</a> that not all of the stored data is actually that of the handset's owner. Instead, the device downloads a subset of Apple's larger location database to help speed up location tracking. Apple acknowledges that the excessive amount of data stored on the device is the result of a bug, and plans to fix that issue in a future update. 5. "Anonymous" doesn't always mean anonymous. Google attaches a unique identifier to the location data it sends from an Android phone to its servers, and that number is not directly linked to the user's identity. So in principle, the company is anonymizing user data. However, if someone really wants to find a needle in that haystack of data, they very likely can. <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/09/your-secrets-live-online-in-databases-of-ruin.ars">"Deanonymizing"</a> techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and the more personal data you release into the cloud, the easier it is to spot you in the data stream. So if location security is of prime importance to your business, your users, or your sense of personal privacy, opting entirely out may be your best bet. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-17T10:49:00Z5 Most-Ignored IT Security Best PracticesMore than half of IT departments are failing at basic security measures, with 82% falling short on key practices, a new survey shows. Are you on top of these five issues?http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500128?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=226700232"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/478/SecurityAnalytics_Slide01_tn.jpg" width="175" alt="Strategic Security Survey: Global Threat, LocalPain" title="Strategic Security Survey: Global Threat, LocalPain" class="img175" /></a> <div class="storyImageTitle">Strategic Security Survey: Global Threat, Local Pain</div>(click image for larger view and for full slideshow)</div>There's nothing simple about enterprise security, but there are plenty of best practices that can keep most businesses safe from the most likely and pervasive threats. Unfortunately, according to a <a href="http://www.venafi.com/Collateral_Library/2011_IT_Security_Best_Practices_Assessment_Executive_Overview.pdf">new study</a> from research firm Echelon One and enterprise key and certificate management company Venafi, more than half of all IT departments are failing at some of the most important security practices. Here are the top 5 things your company could probably do better. 1. Rotate SSH Keys Annually The most startling statistic in the study shows some 82% of IT departments fail to rotate SSH keys every 12 months. Because the average employee turnover rate is about two years, failure to rotate SSH keys at least once a year leaves critical network infrastructure wide open to malicious access from former staffers. 2. Train Users In Best Practices The most vulnerable element in any network is almost always the human element. You can patch your servers and beef up your firewall 'til the cows come home, but it'll do limited good if your users click on every phishing message that comes their way. Still, according to the Echelon One study, 77% of companies offer no regular security training to their end users. Venafi recommends that IT departments conduct quarterly training for all users, teaching workers to avoid common security threats through established best practices. "The Venafi/Echelon One IT security research supports everything we've been seeing and warning against," said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of security training firm KnowBe4, which has conducted <a href="http://www.knowbe4.com/fail500/">similar research</a> into the vulnerability of workers to phishing attacks. "Companies are not investing in Internet security training; and as a result, they're exposing their networks to potential cyber attacks." 3. Encrypt Cloud Data It sounds like such an obvious blunder, but 64% of IT organizations don't encrypt all of their cloud data and cloud transactions. The reason, according to the study, is that many cloud applications do not encrypt by default. Clearly, most IT pros need to do a better job of checking and managing the security settings on the public cloud services that handle their data. 4. Use Appropriately Strong Encryption Keys While the Echelon One study found that most businesses do fairly well at enforcing encryption policies generally, it found that the majority of companies do not use appropriately strong encryption keys. According to a February 2011 <a href="http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-131B/draft-SP800-131B_February2011.pdf">report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology</a>, 1024-bit encryption keys have depreciated in effectiveness, and 2048-bit encryption should be used for all symmetric keys. Only 44% of IT departments use recommended key strengths, according to the study from Echelon One and Venafi. 5. Have A Plan For Replacing Breached Certificate Authorities Nearly every business uses digital certificates to authenticate a host of network services, many of which are critical to revenue flow. Digital certificates are vulnerable to fraud, and must be replaced when compromised. Surprisingly, Echelon One said a majority of IT departments--55%--have no management processes in place to ensure business continuity by quickly replacing a compromised certificate and its accompanying encryption keys. At a full-day virtual event, InformationWeek and Dark Reading editors will talk with security experts about the causes and mistakes that lead to security breaches, both from the technology perspective and from the people perspective. It happens Aug. 25. <a href="http://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1003410&K=6TW">Register now</a>. 2011-08-16T16:24:00Z6 Key Facts About Firefox 6Firefox 6 has officially launched. Here are the six most important things you should know about the latest Mozilla browser.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231500079?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/reviews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224800005"><img src="http://i.techweb.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/433/FFextIG_03_cooliris_tn.jpg" alt="Top 12 Firefox Add-Ons" title="Top 12 Firefox Add-Ons" class="img175" /></a> <div class="storyImageTitle">Slideshow: Top 12 Firefox Add-Ons</div><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/reviews/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224800005">(click for larger image and for full slideshow)</a></div>Continuing its trend for fast-track releases, Mozilla has officially launched Firefox 6, just two months after the launch of Firefox 5. While hardly a major overhaul, the new version includes a number of noteworthy feature updates and additions. Here are six of the most salient developments in Firefox 6. 1. Site-Specific Permissions Firefox 6 includes a few tweaks aimed at keeping users more secure and putting power over data privacy in the hands of the end user. A new permissions manager, accessible by typing "about:permissions" in the address bar, lets users set site-specific permissions to control acceptance of cookies, location sharing, pop-ups, and password and data storage. This allows users to set their overall security settings to be highly restrictive, without sacrificing usability on trusted sites. IT pros will want to spread the word about this feature to their users, since it doesn't appear in the standard menus. 2. Enhanced Site Identity Block The <a href="http://blog.margaretleibovic.com/post/4769940235/identity-block-uplift">site identity block</a>--that box to the left of the site's url--has received some attention in this update. While the update hasn't added significant new functionality, it should now be easier for users to determine whether they're looking at a legit site with valid security credentials or a phishing site. 3. Faster Tab Groups Firefox's Panorama feature, which debuted in Firefox 4, groups tabs together to help cut down clutter at the top of the browser. This new version <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/6.0/releasenotes/buglist.html">fixes several bugs</a> with Tab Groups, including a bug that caused tabs to switch groups after a restart, and also speeds up the feature's performance. 4. Improved Firefox Sync <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/mobile/sync/">Firefox Sync</a>, which lets you sync your bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings between your desktop Firefox and <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/mobile/features/">Firefox Mobile</a>, now plays a more prominent role on the browser. If enabled, the feature will now prompt users to sync newly created bookmarks and passwords. 5. New Android Version Alongside Firefox 6 for desktop, Mozilla has launched an <a href="http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2011/08/16/firefox-for-android-has-a-new-look-and-tools-that-empower-developers-to-build-rich-mobile-web-experiences/">update to its Android browser</a>, streamlining the look of the browser, as well as some navigation features. Some of the new tweaks are aimed at making the browser easier to use, though most are designed to enable new developer features that now appear on both the desktop and mobile browsers. 6. Tons of Developer Tweaks Firefox development is on a tear right now, with new versions projected every six weeks for the near future. By Thanksgiving, we should see Firefox 8 emerge. In Firefox 6, most of the changes are actually invisible to end users, but might draw significant attention from developers. A new Scratchpad tool will let developers prototype JavaScript code on the fly without accessing the console. The Web Console has a timesaving auto-complete feature. And server-sent APIs and WebSockets will enable new ways of communicating between servers and browsers. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a> 2011-08-15T15:52:00ZRIM BlackBerry Management Center Woos SMBsCloud-based management system provides backup and restoration, remote locking and wiping, and find-my-phone features. Here's why it's sized right.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231400254?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_<div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/hardware/reviews/229300081?pgno=91"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/605/BMC-Screenshot---Protect_tn.jpg" alt="BlackBerry Management Center" title="BlackBerry Management Center" class="img175" /></a> (click image for larger view) <div class="storyImageTitle">BlackBerry Management Center</div></div>Amid widespread concerns about the BlackBerry's decline among consumers, Research in Motion has launched a new cloud-based management system aimed at winning over small and midsize business (SMB) users. BlackBerry Management Center, introduced Monday, offers companies with up to 100 BlackBerry handsets the ability to manage consumer-grade accounts in a central interface with remote administration, backup, and security features. <a href="http://www.blackberry.com/managementcenter">BlackBerry Management Center</a> supports handsets running BlackBerry OS 4.6 or later, and works with a variety of cloud-based or ISP-based email and calendar services, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail. The opt-in service allows SMB IT administrators to sign up for a management account and invite users over the air. End users can grant or deny specific permissions for mail management and <a href="http://us.blackberry.com/apps-software/protect/">BlackBerry Protect</a> services, ensuring that users retain control over their privacy. With full control granted from the end user, SMB IT admins can configure and administrate cloud-based email and calendar accounts, wirelessly back up data from a device on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, and restore data to a handset. The Management Center's BlackBerry Protect features allow an admin to remotely lock a device, as well as wipe the contents of the internal storage or any data stored on MicroSD in the event that the device is lost or stolen. It also includes phone-finding features to initiate a loud ring and display a message on the home screen to aid in recovering a lost handset. The service allows for multiple admins on one account. "It's very distinct from [BlackBerry Enterprise Server], in that BES is an on-premises solution," Pete Deveyni, senior VP of email and management platforms at RIM, told InformationWeek. "This one is entirely cloud-based and entirely focused on cloud-based email solutions." RIM sees BlackBerry Management Center as a big growth opportunity for the company, according to Deveyni, given that some 70% of SMB mobile users are not yet using smartphones. "And, of course, the lion's share of cloud email is still small-business user focused," Deveyni said. BlackBerry Management Center is launching as an international solution, with 32 languages supported. The service's cloud interface is simple enough that any tech-savvy manager should be able to work with it effectively, which ought to be a boon to small businesses with no dedicated IT staff. It could also prove valuable for resellers and IT consultants supporting SMBs. "This solution helps small businesses address the most fundamental mobile security risk they face, which is a lost or stolen device," said Tim Doherty, research analyst for SMB mobility at IDC. "Small businesses typically are less equipped to handle <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/hardware_software/229300907">employee-owned devices</a> than enterprise businesses are." According to Doherty, most companies with fewer than 50 workers--a massive segment of the marketplace--often have no full-time <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/ebusiness/229402838">IT staff</a>. "At this level, a lot of businesses don't want to run a dedicated server," Doherty said. For this reason, BlackBerry Management Center is an attractive offering for any company struggling to cope with an influx of employee-owned devices on consumer carrier plans. "Out of the box, with these features, for free, this is fairly novel," said Doherty. From the management console, an admin can invite users to join the service. The user can then authorize BlackBerry Management Center to access his or her email account, calendar service, and administrative control over the handset itself. Each handset can include multiple email accounts, which the administrator can configure or troubleshoot from within the console itself. Configuring and initiating backups is easy and straightforward, as is restoring user data onto a new device. And when a user loses a phone, the admin can quickly force it to ring, and can wipe its storage easily to prevent company data from falling into the wrong hands. Tim Doherty is optimistic about this SMB BlackBerry manager. "When you look at barriers to adoption for mobile solutions in small business, you look at price, deployment, and ease of use," Doherty said. "I think this covers all three." You can't afford to keep operating without redundancy for critical systems--but business units must prioritize before IT begins implementation. Also in the new, all-digital InformationWeek SMB supplement: Avoid the direct-attached storage trap. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/062011SMB?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download it now</a>. (Free registration required.) 2011-08-15T15:21:00Z5 Reasons Businesses Fear AT&T's T-Mobile MergerA law firm seeks to block AT&T's merger with T-Mobile by calling on AT&T customers to seek arbitration. Here's a look at the top merger worries.http://www.informationweek.com/news/231400260?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Mobile_AT&T this week is fighting back against a <a href="http://allthingsd.com/20110812/breaking-att-sues-in-federal-court-to-stop-merger-blocking-arbitration-effort/">law firm that has been rounding up AT&T customers</a> to seek arbitration and block the company's acquisition of T-Mobile. This development shines a stark light on the prospect of combining the two wireless companies, resurfacing fears among competitors and customers alike. Here are five basic reasons why many business customers are worried an AT&T/T-Mobile merger. 1. Reduced Competition Could Distort Pricing The most obvious potential problem with an AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile is that it would take a major player out of the United States wireless market. The expected outcome of such a move is that customers would have fewer options in the marketplace, reducing carriers' incentive to offer competitive pricing plans. In particular, T-Mobile has earned a reputation as a cheaper alternative to AT&T and Verizon, and its absence from the market may eliminate some of the most <a href="http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans.aspx?catgroup=business-cell-phone-plan">affordable business plans</a> around. 2. Data Service Woes AT&T's data service has had its ups and downs in recent years, with the lows drawing significantly more attention than the highs. The company has developed a poor reputation among wireless data users, particularly those who rely on wireless hotspot connections for business. While T-Mobile itself generally isn't regarded as a standard-bearer in data performance, adding those customers to AT&T's already massive population of data customers could be a worrisome proposition for users on both networks. AT&T is reportedly already working to <a href="http://www.appolicious.com/finance/articles/9070-wsj-at-t-prepared-to-drop-8-billion-in-network-assets-to-secure-t-mobile-merger">sell some $8 billion in network assets</a> as part of the deal. 3. More Handset Lock-Ins Could Reduce Options Once a company signs on with a given wireless carrier, it's not easy to switch, and that makes handset exclusivity a problem for business customers. In a recent <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mobiledia/2011/07/27/franken-urges-fcc-to-reject-att-merger/">letter to the FCC and the Department of Justice</a>, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota raised concerns that the deal could worsen the existing problem of handset exclusivity if AT&T and Verizon rule 82% of the U.S. wireless market. 4. Roaming Restrictions Franken and other opponents of the merger also have raised concerns that an enlarged AT&T could hurt smaller, regional wireless carriers, many of which carry the last-mile connection to areas underserved by the larger carriers' own networks. If those carriers fail, business travelers in rural areas could lose connectivity. 5. Threat to Backhaul Providers Some of the most vocal opposition to the merger comes from within the wireless industry itself. Not just from direct competitors, but from telecom companies that work with carriers to provide the network infrastructure. These <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/160407-backhaul-industry-fears-atat-merger">backhaul companies</a> mostly serve smaller carriers, but they're responsible for building out much of the U.S. mobile infrastructure. If AT&T squeezes them out, they argue, it would create a duopoly in the industry that could further hurt end users. Attend Enterprise 2.0 Santa Clara, Nov. 14-17, 2011, and learn how to drive business value with collaboration, with an emphasis on how real customers are using social software to enable more productive workforces and to be more responsive and engaged with customers and business partners. Register today and save 30% off conference passes, or get a free expo pass with priority code CPHCES02. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/santaclara/?_mc=CPHCES02">Find out more and register.</a>