information.log

facebook wins $873 million judgment against spammer
facebook on friday won $873 million in damages from a spammer, the largest award to date under the 2003 can-spam act.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212200205

silicon valley starts to feel the sting of layoffs
the economic slowdown has finally begun to hit home in silicon valley, with tech companies large and small shedding jobs in advance of what is widely expected to be a difficult year. the scene may remind some of 2001 and 2002, when the internet bubble exploded and dumped hundreds of thousands of engineers in the area onto the unemployment rolls.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/trends/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212200779

nasa tests deep space internet
nasa has transmitted dozens of space images about 20 million miles in its first successful use of deep space communications modeled on the internet. "this is the first step in creating a totally new space communications capability, an interplanetary internet," adrian hooke, team lead and manager of space-networking architecture, technology, and standards at nasa headquarters in washington, said in a statement monday.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100822

adobe, zend to link php apps to web users
the partnership will allow for exchanging messages between php business logic and the end-user-oriented web applications built with adobe's flash player and flex components.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/webdev/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=QFJJONTTQZNSKQSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=2121

wireless-data led lamps to replace lightbulbs - us profs
'the era of hyperconnectivity is upon us'
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/nsf_smart_lighting_push/

analysts: amd's foundry spin-off may save company
advanced micro devices' decision to spin off its chip-manufacturing business into a separate company just may save the floundering firm, analysts said.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/151991/.html?tk=rss_news

clickjacking attack lets web sites see, hear you
on tuesday, flash developer guy aharonovsky published a proof-of-concept exploit to show how clickjacking can be used to spy on people. "i've written a quick and dirty javascript game [to] exploit just that, and demonstrate how an attacker can get a hold of the user's camera and microphone," he said in a blog post. "this can be used, for example, with platforms [like ustream.tv or justin.tv] or to stream to a private server to create a malicious surveillance platform."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210800544

fake youtube pages used to spread viruses
savvy internet users know that downloading unsolicited computer programs is one of the most dangerous things you can do online. it puts you at great risk for a virus or another time bomb from a hacker. but even some sophisticated surfers could get taken in by a sneaky new attack in which criminals create fake youtube pages — dead-on replicas of the real site — to push their malicious software and make it look like it's safe stuff coming from a trusted source.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tec_techbit_youtube_spoofing

is microsoft buying citrix? novell!?
like sands through the hourglass, so are the stories of microsoft mergers. once more, rumors are swirling that microsoft might buy citrix. by my count, this is the fifth time this particular rumor has emerged. in addition, though, this time around i'm hearing that some people think microsoft might buy novell.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/is_microsoft_buying_citrix_novell

why is the internet so infuriatingly slow?
everyone hates their internet service provider. and with good cause: in the age of ubiquitous internet access, web service in america is still often frustratingly slow. tired of being the villain, telecom companies have assigned blame for this problem to a new bad guy. he's called the "bandwidth hog," and it's his fault that streaming video on your computer looks more like a slide show than a movie.
http://www.slate.com/id/2199368

the growing perils of online game-play
as massively multiplayer online role playing games (mmorpgs) such as "world of warcraft" (wow) and virtual worlds such as linden labs' second life continue to attract millions of users, they have also begun to attract cybercriminals, according to a recent report from eset, a software security vendor.
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/The-Growing-Perils-of-Online-Game-Play-64410.html

dell launches inspiron mini 9 notebook
the mini 9, which weighs 2.28 pounds, has an 8.9-inch led display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and is available with built-in wi-fi and bluetooth wireless support. a webcam comes with the xp model, but costs extra on the linux version. the system supports up to 1 gb of memory and is available with a 4-gb, 8-gb, or 16-gb solid-state drive. the mini-pc is powered by a 1.6-ghz intel (nsdq: intc) atom processor.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/desktop/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210300576