InformationWeek Daily Archives
05/26/2013 10:54:05 Daily, January 09Software From Google: Sign Me Up
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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Software From Google: Sign Me Up
2. Today's Top Story
- Update: More Unpatched Bugs Loose In Microsoft Windows Meta File
- New IM Worm Makes New Use Of Old Techniques
3. Breaking News
- Judge Gives Nod To Sony BMG Copy-Protection Deal
- Review: Palm Treo 700w
- Chips In 2006: A CPU Road Map
- Wiki Developer Debuts Competition For Microsoft Excel
- Review: Advancing Firewall Protection
- Microsoft Hires Rocker To Record Windows Vista Sounds
- Wal-Mart: Error To Blame For Offensive MLK Link
- Why You Should Take The VoIP Plunge--Now
- CA Moves Ahead With Acquisition, Resale Plans
- H&R Block Unveils TaxCut Online
- IPv6: World's Largest Technology Upgrade On Deck
4. Grab Bag: Review Of The Latest Palm Treo
5. In Depth: The Latest On Google
6. Voice Of Authority: Fighting Hackers
7. White Papers: Microsoft Office Optimization
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote of the day: Choices
"I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for
their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects.
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies." -- Oscar Wilde
I'm a reasonably proficient PC user. I load and unload
programs--including freeware and open-source programs--as my
needs dictate. I periodically scrub my personal PC of spyware, I
recently cleaned up my Windows registry, and I've set up a
handful of in-home wireless networks. I'm no power user, mind
you, but I can address the majority of routine PC management
functions that crop up.
Yet it's not uncommon for me to be utterly flustered at other
tasks--not necessarily those that are more complex, but often
those that are more laborious. Recent examples include loading a
video-editing program that came with a new portable kids' video
camera, as well as maddening file- and media-compatibility
problems with digital photos as I tried to back them up from one
PC hard drive to another. I've got a headache just thinking what
could transpire when Windows Vista ships, introducing a whole new
round of compatibility and maintenance functions that must be
performed.
It's these latter experiences that lead me to believe Google's
latest anti-Microsoft volley--the Software Starter Kit for PCs, introduced late
last week--provides long-term hope for people like me--the
'tweeners who have decent skills on the PC but really don't want
software and hardware maintenance to consume a weekend.
What Google is planning to do--bundle together a series of
applications (notably excluding word processor and
spreadsheet) that make it easier to perform common computing
functions--offers the potential to alleviate the pain for those
of us who struggle with the bizarre, inexplicable behavior of so
many Microsoft Office and other Windows apps.
With its pristine search interface, Google has one influential
stake in the ground for a simplified approach to finding
information and using computers. A bundle of applications from
Google--presumably including its assurance that its own apps and
the third-party apps in the bundle will play together
nicely--would put even more pressure on Microsoft to clean up its
act when it comes to ease of maintenance and operation.
Will Google revolutionize or become the dominant player in
personal computing, as it did with Web searching? Not as long as
Microsoft is still in the picture. But I'm confident the
company's commitment to simpler software and accessibility of
information will, over time, make the starter pack the kind of
viable alternative that's been missing for years. Sign me up.
Tom Smith
Update: More Unpatched Bugs Loose In Microsoft Windows Meta File
Related Story:
New IM Worm Makes New Use Of Old Techniques
Judge Gives Nod To Sony BMG Copy-Protection Deal
Review: Palm Treo 700w
Chips In 2006: A CPU Road Map
Wiki Developer Debuts Competition For Microsoft Excel
Review: Advancing Firewall Protection
Microsoft Hires Rocker To Record Windows Vista Sounds
Wal-Mart: Error To Blame For Offensive MLK Link
Why You Should Take The VoIP Plunge--Now
CA Moves Ahead With Acquisition, Resale Plans
H&R Block Unveils TaxCut Online
IPv6: World's Largest Technology Upgrade On Deck
In the current episode:
Elena Malykhina With 'Mobile & Wireless Resolution'
Tony Kontzer With 'The Return Of Techmaster T'
Personal Technology: Walter S. Mossberg / New Microsoft-Supported Palm Treo Doesn't Beat 650 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Computer Chips Get Under Skin Of Enthusiasts (ABC News)
PSA Peugeot Citroen Unveils Small Fuel Cell (Reuters UK)
New From InformationWeek: Get Your News In A Flash--Literally
-----------------------------------------
Google Introduces Software Starter Kit For PCs
Commentary: It's Not A Google PC
Google Video To Compete With Apple ITunes
Google Adds Support To Viiv Technology
Get all the latest at InformationWeek's Google Center
Business Technology: Prep For Sober.z Sends Vermin Back Into Rat Hole
Optimizing Microsoft Office Applications For Wide Area Networks
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InformationWeek Daily Newsletter
1. Editor's Note: Software From Google: Sign Me Up
tsmith@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com
Microsoft released its WMF patch just days ago, but multiple unpatched
memory-corruption vulnerabilities remain. Symantec is warning users to
disable the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer application.
The new worm targets PCs that have been infected with the
lockx.exe or palsp.exe viruses and uses Internet Relay
Chat-enabled malware to connect the host to a server for further
infection through a series of commands.
Buyers of specific Sony BMG music CDs could receive cash
payments, additional album download privileges, or both.
Palm's first foray to the smart phone "dark side" delivers the
power and functionality of a Windows Mobile device, with much of
the simplicity and ease of use you normally find only with Palm
OS gadgets. It's the first smart phone our reviewer has used that
doesn't sacrifice either PDA functionality to make the phone work
or phone capabilities for the PDA.
What do Intel and AMD have planned for the desktop in 2006?
Sixty-five-nanometer fabrication, more sophisticated multicore
architecture, virtualization, and a new 940-pin socket, among
other things.
JotSpot takes wikis, or collaborative Web sites, a step further
by offering menu-driven page editing as an alternative to markup
languages. The result with its new software is surprisingly
simple spreadsheet collaboration.
SmoothWall's latest Web-security effort not only supports up to
20 network interfaces, but combines perimeter and internal
firewalls with intrusion detection, E-mail-virus protection, and
bandwidth management.
Noted electronic musician Robert Fripp has been tapped by
Microsoft to record the sounds that will be used in its upcoming
Windows Vista operating system.
An employee's online misclassification resulted in a film about
Martin Luther King Jr. being recommended to buyers of a "Planet
Of The Apes" DVD, the retailer says.
If you're still on the fence about VoIP, consider these reasons
from telecom experts about why it's time to make the move.
CA will resell StoreAge cross-platform virtualization and
multitiered data-protection solutions with BrightStor intelligent
storage-management software.
H&R Block is the last of the top three providers of federal and
state tax preparation and filing returns to go live for the 2006
tax season. TurboTax Online and TaxBrain have been live for more
than a week.
IPv6, the latest version of the Internet Protocol, expands the
address space and offers improved security, quality of service,
digital-rights management, and mobile communications features.
Elena's New Year's resolution to upgrade her mobile and wireless gear.
Tony raps about the trials and tribulations companies face
protecting consumer data.
4. Grab Bag: Review Of The Latest Palm Treo
Despite some nice new features, the Windows Mobile software is
still inferior to the Palm software for one-handed use on the go.
Its crucial E-mail and phone functions are also weaker. And
there's a serious bug in its E-mail software that affects
individuals, though not corporate users.
Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of
frustration, but a solution may literally be at hand--in the form
of computer chip implants.
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen on Monday unveiled the
smallest fuel cell currently available for cars and pledged
further research to halve the price of these environmental
friendly power sources by 2010.
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5. In Depth: The Latest On Google
The "Google Pack" software bundle will include third-party apps
such as the Firefox browser, Adobe Reader, Norton AntiVirus, and
six of Google's own programs, including Desktop Search and the
Picasa image-management tool.
Google co-founder and president Larry Page kicked off the Google
Pack and Google Video at a colorful CES keynote, with the
assistance of funnyman Robin Williams.
Google will sell thousands of video downloads, including recent
TV broadcasts of popular CBS shows and pro basketball games, as
well as vintage episodes from old TV series. Google is trying to
be more flexible than Apple's iTunes by allowing content owners
to set their own prices.
Intel will team with the search-engine company to make Google
Video, a form of video on demand, accessible on Viiv computers.
6. Voice Of Authority: Fighting Hackers
Cooperation and preparedness by vendors, customers, and law
enforcement scared off hackers planning to unleash the latest
variant of the Sober worm, Bob Evans says.
7. White Papers: Microsoft Office Optimization
Because Microsoft Office files were designed for use in LANs,
users attempting to access and share files across WANs often
encounter long waits and frustration. To address these WAN
latency and performance issues, Brocade Tapestry Wide Area File
Services utilizes unique technologies to provide "local-like"
access to these types of files across the WAN.
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
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