information.log

legal milestone for open source
the court has now said conditions of an agreement called the artistic licence were enforceable under copyright law.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7561943.stm

researcher urges prompt patch to fix dns flaw
with details of the domain name system flaw discovered now public and attack code in the wild, security researcher dan kaminsky once again is urging it administrators to patch promptly.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/With-DNS-Flaw-Attack-Code-Out-Researcher-Urges-Patch/

cancer expert issues warning on cell phone risks
the eternal question about cell phone use -- whether the phones can cause cancer -- is being raised again.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209600447

senior microsoft developer dumps redmond to embrace open source
mike gunderloy spent over a decade consulting for microsoft, helping to build the access and excel versions of microsoft office 97 and 2000, as well as sql server, c#, and asp.net. a series of microsoft moves, most particularly its "patent land-grab," has pushed gunderloy away from microsoft to the point that he's now "100 percent microsoft-free" and has embraced a variety of open-source projects and programming languages.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9998419-16.html

intel switches from ubuntu to fedora for mobile linux
chip manufacturer intel wants to use parts of the fedora project linux distribution instead of ubuntu as the basis for the second version of moblin (mobile & internet linux project). intel is keen on using a linux distribution that uses rpm packages and package management software.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/113351

verizon wireless offers mobile banking for some blackberry models
verizon wireless customers who have a blackberry curve 8330, pearl 8130 or 8830 world edition can now access their financial information with verizon wireless’ mobile banking application. users get the following services: account balance information and transaction history; the ability to transfer funds between accounts at the same financial institution; the convenience of viewing and paying bills when enrolled in their financial institution’s bill pay service and the ability to view the last five transactions successfully completed on their mobile device.
http://mobilecrunch.com/2008/07/17/verizon-wireless-offers-mobile-banking-for-some-blackberry-models/

say goodbye to the computer mouse
a gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years. taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7508842.stm

chip giant won’t embrace microsoft’s windows vista
intel, the giant chip maker and longtime partner of microsoft, has decided against upgrading the computers of its own 80,000 employees to microsoft’s vista operating system, a person with direct knowledge of the company’s plans said.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/et-tu-intel/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

google docs adds pdf support
late last week google took the wrapper off its latest addition to the google docs web-based office suite: support for the popular portable document format (pdf). according to a post by product manager jen mazzon on the google docs blog, pdf support represents a “highly requested feature” of the free web-app. the changes made to the service now allow users to upload, preview, and share pdf files via the standard google docs interface, as well as copying text into other documents. editing features aren't yet available, but it's certainly sounding like something the team is planning for the future.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/06/17/google-docs-adds-pdf-support/1

sun: we screwed up on open source
many open source developers remain sceptical of sun because their memories of the company focus on sun's interactions with the community in 2001/2002, which sun's chief open source officer simon phipps concedes was a period where sun "screwed up".
http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Sun-We-screwed-up-on-open-source/0,339028227,339290077,00.htm

nielsen: 9 mln have bought on mobile phones
the nielsen company says nine million u.s. mobile phone users have used their phones to pay for goods and services...and half of all data users expect to do so. the survey also found men are somewhat more likely than women to engage in mobile commerce, with roughly 53 percent of mobile transactions being conducted by men. adults between the ages of 25 to 34 are also the most likely mobile buyers.
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/16993/nielsen-9-mln-have-bought-on-mobile-phones

microsoft arguments against linux are bollocks
microsoft pr threw down the gauntlet; “see how windows server 2008 stacks up versus linux,” they say. there’s a “get the facts” url being promoted with claims of direct comparisons between the two operating systems. anyone reading the headlines alone could be fooled into thinking there’s substance to be found.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/17883/1141/