Bangalore:Microsoft is in a radicalchange, new hardware, new operating system, new business strategies and the man behind themost drastic change to Microsoft’s ubiquitous operating system in 17years is Steven Sinofsky, the President of Widows and WindowsLive at the company. And apparently, he is being cited as the Heir to Steve Ballmer, the present CEO of Redmond softwaregiant.Sinofsky was the man who held responsibility for running Microsoft’s heart, the Windows operating system, from past threeyears. He cleared up the mess created by Windows Vista and launched Windows 7 on time. According to Business Insider, Sinofsky is an “extremely polarizing figure, Stubborn, Secretive and Dictatorial, best known for delivering exactly what he promises, and always on time.”And with the launch of Windows 8 on time, he had strengthened thatbelief. According to many people at Microsoft, this is what earned him the trust and respect of both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.With the launch of Windows 8, thething is pretty much clear to many, unless the new operating system is an utter failure, Steven Sinofsky will be the next CEO of the company.Earlier in 2009, at a Microsoft event,Steve Ballmerhad told other leaders to “align” with Windows team, since it drives all the products of the company. For the people who didn’t understand what he said, Sinofsky gave an explanation: “Plan first, then build. Eliminate most middle management. Deliver exactly what you promise, exactly on time.”Even though many executives at the company were not comfortable with this decision, Sinofsky’s method has since then become a standard in the company, even for products like database software and Bing, whichSinofsky doesn’t run. According to many insiders, he is close to Bill Gates and Ballmer and his methods have worked miracles for products like Office and Windows, Microsoft’s two biggest products.So the fate of Microsoft’s biggest launch, may in turn decide the leader of the Redmond software giant.
Friday, 8 February 2013
Secret Review Gives Obama License to Cyberkill
Preemption as a military strategy has moved from the battlefield to the world's networks. Revelations about a secret report suggesting President Obama could authorize preemptive cyberstrikes to deflectthreats of an attack on the U.S. have spurred debate over the merits and risks of a cyberwarfare offensive.
President Obama can order a preemptive strike if there's credible evidence of a pending major cyberattack from abroad, a secret legal review has found, according toThe New York Times.New policies will dictate how intelligence agencies can monitor remote computer networks elsewhere for signs of potential attacks on the U.S., the newspaper said. The policies will also apparently allow intelligence agencies to attack adversaries by injecting them with destructive malware, even if war has not officially been declared.Counterattacks must be approved by the president first.The news comes in the wake of recent reports of cyberattacks on the IT infrastructure of theTimesand other major media organizations.An American power station was the recent target of a cyberattack, the Department of Homeland Security revealed.Acting on ThreatsThe new guidelines reportedly make DHS responsible for defending against cyberattacks on American companies or individuals.The military could become involved if there were a major cyberattack within the country. However, the threshold for determining when its involvementmight be justified has been kept vague."I think what's happening is the president's setting up to move unilaterally in case he sees a pending threat," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at theEnderle Group, told TechNewsWorld. "In a cyberthreat, the nature of the attack is it will happen when you see it, and he wants to be able to shut down the attacking nation, which would involve a preemptive strike. Given the case that governments are likely to be involved in these attacks, it's likelyour government is looking at cyberdetente."Legal IntrepretationsThe legal review brings to mind a similar controversial move by the Bush administration to justify the invasion of Iraq, as well as its use of what it called "enhanced interrogation techniques," and it could cause the same kind of skepticism about its use."I believe it's more of a public relations tool than anything else," Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst atTirias Research, told TechNewsWorld."[The Obama administration is] just trying to build a case for any actions that may eventually come to light through either open or covert channels," McGregor continued.
Google Victorious in 6-Year Aussie Legal Battle
Today in international tech news: Google ends a lengthy legal battle in Australia; Raspberry Pi goes on sale in Europe for $25; Japanese authorities and rights-holders plant fake files on piracy sites; the new BlackBerry is received with a collective "meh" in Canada; and Nokia drops a hint about a future tablet.
A court in Australiahas ruled in favorof Google in its lengthy legal fight with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, according toThe Sydney Morning Herald.The case, which lasted six years, concerned search results from 2006-07.The Commission claimed that sponsored links published by Google diverted users to rival companies, according to theHerald. For instance, a search for"Honda Australia" would prompt a paid ad for CarSales, which was a competitor.The Commission charged that results like that insinuated that CarSales and Honda were partnered in some way -- and Google, therefore, was to blame for the mix-up.The Federal Court found Google liable for misleading and deceptive conduct, but upon appeal, the High Court ruled unanimously in favor of Google.In October, an Aussie courtfound Google liablefor damages when a man complained that Google's autocomplete function linked him to a meth kingpin.Raspberry Pi on Sale in EuropeA less expensive version of the Google-funded Raspberry Pi computer is now on sale in Europe.The BBCreportsthat the computer, dubbed Model A, is scaled-down from its Raspberry Pi successor, the Model B. The ModelA lacks a network jack and containsless memory. It also uses less power.Drawbacks, maybe, but the humble design means the computer costs all of $25.The Model A is only available in Europe, but that will change soon, according to the BBC.Japanese Government, Rights-Holders Planting Fake FilesIn Japan, government authorities and rights-holdersare seeding fake fileson file-sharing sites that contain anti-piracy messages, according to Torrent Freak.The nationapproved a major upgradein anti-piracy legislation in2012. However, file-sharers have been slow to heed the policies. Thus the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and rights-holding companies have embarked, as the Ministry puts it, on "experiments to contribute to the enlightenment of users" who download illegal files.Torrent Freak posted a sample warning. It says that similarly-named files contain illegal content,and that downloading said files is illegal. The message also makes note of the October 2012 passage of laws that can punish offenders with up to two years in prison and more than US$20,000 fines.No Frenzy for New BlackBerrys in CanadaTuesday'slaunch in Canadaof BlackBerry's new Z10 phone was a"subdued event," according toThe New York Times.The debut of the new smartphone,which is seen as critical for BlackBerry, was "underwhelming" and "sluggish" across Canada, home country of BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion or RIM.All three major Canadian carriers are charging US$150 for the Z10 ifcustomers agree to a three-year contract. Verizon said that it wouldcharge $200 for the Z10 when it arrives in the US in March.Nokia Eyeing Tablet MarketNokiacould soon take a shotat thetablet market, according to The Australian Financial Review.The tablet will likely be Windows-based, which makes sense seeing as Nokia turned to Windows for its Lumia 610 smartphone.The company has yet to officially confirm plans for a tablet, but company CEO Stephen Elop spoke to reporters in Sydney about"broadening out the [company's] portfolio," and that tablets could be part of that strategy
Nearly a Million iOS Apps and Discovery Still Sucks
Apple has some work to do. It's app lists are pretty dumb. There's no way to hide things you don't want to see, which would enable other well-rated apps to percolate up. If you could take out all the games from the top 100, say, suddenly 70 apps would appear that would have been much harderto find through categories.
There are well over 800,000 iOS apps in the App Store, 300,000 of which are native to the iPad, and I'm constantly surprised and irritated at Apple's inability to helpits customers discover great apps. Of course, maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm the only one who actively goes into Apple's various App Store points of entry -- iTunes, iPad and iPhone -- only to walk away without downloading anything.I also spend more time online than I care to admit, tooling around the online Apple universe -- and still, it seems like I just get lost in app reviews and news of things like Temple Run 2, which more than 50 million people managed to find and download. Maybe really great apps are all being found, and that as I look andlook and walk away vaguely dissatisfied, maybe there's something inherently wrong with me.
More Than Room for ImprovementHere's what I don't understand: Apple is a freakishly large company that's focused on creatingthe very best consumer experience. It has resources -- billions of dollars and very smart employees -- and it has a vision of excellence. All of the apps in the App Store have to be managed somehow, and they have to be managed with a database. Databases are pretty amazing things -- and yet, the front-end to the App Store is woefully dumb.Let's consider iTunes. First, Apple seems to be trying to put humans behind the discovery effort by letting editors select "Editor's Choice" apps. They also showcase acouple dozen "New and Noteworthy" apps. Then there's"What's Hot" and other topical, pithy, or fun categories like"Awards Season" or "Great Game Soundtracks."These curated app collections are pretty good. Apple does about as good a job at it as I can imagine. The company has to create tame collections that won't offend anyone, freak out parents, or be confusing to the masses.Hide? Sort? Filter?The search works pretty well if youknow what you're searching for. Search is not really for discovery though. Search isnotabout browsing. We can sort by iPhone or iPad apps. That's handy. There are about two dozen categories wecan sort through -- like education, finance, games and news. Each of these has a What's Hot and New and Noteworthy list. Plus, there are more Apple editor-curated lists, like High School Zone within the Education category.Within these categories, we can sort of drill down into 200 of the Top Paid Apps, the Top Free Apps, and the Top Grossing Apps.So why do I feel like I'm wasting my life as I search for amazing new apps? Is it that there really are only a few hundred great apps at any one time and that there arejust hundreds of thousands of appsthat are either irrelevant for most people or just so bad that no one wants them at all?The sheer effort of managing nearly a million apps is hard for most people to grasp. It's not an easy challenge. Imagine owning a small retail store in a mall and trying to find a good way to displaya few thousand products on just a single wall of shelves. Yet I think improvements are not only needed, but doable.What could be some relatively easy fixes? What might be some solutions that wouldn't require a wholesale recreation of a new AppStore?Hide That App, PleaseSome apps are immensely popular, but I know I'll never buy them and never download them. I will not download Clear Vision. I won't download Fruit Ninja. I am not going to play Scribblenauts Remix, and I'm not ever going to pimp my screen or call Elmo.If I could click or tap on a little "X" button on their icons and hide them from my view -- effectively giving a dynamic Top 200 list morespots for interesting apps to slide up into -- I would be very happy. This alone would be a huge boon.To amp up this notion just a little, how about the ability to hide all the apps you've already downloaded? Suddenly a Top 200 list would have a lot more relevance to you personally, wouldit not?What if you could hide categories that you don't want to look for? Like Games. If you could hide all the crappy games designed to create habit loops of addiction in small children . . . that would free up a heckuva lot of app discovery real estate. I'd call this an Exclude feature.Can't you already exclude Games by browsing through other categories? Yes, but the point is to be able to browse multiple categories at the same time while eliminating the categories you don't want, like Games, Weather, Catalogs and Navigation. I'm not buying any new navigation apps anytime soon. I have several apps that do what I need really well andI don't want others. Same goes for Weather. I'm sure other people wouldn't mind eliminating Finance or Sports while they're looking for something new and surprising.
How to Fine-Tune Your Privacy Settings for Facebook Graph Search
Depending on your tolerance for personal exposure, you may love it or hate Facebook's new Graph Search. What makes it most interesting, and perhaps most insidious, is the way it's set up to let users mix and match search terms to make new discoveries. Soyou Like a random website? Big deal. What might a list of all the websites you've ever Liked say about you though?
Facebook Graph Search is coming, and now -- before it hits -- is a good time to tweak your Facebook privacy settings.What is it?Graph Search is a new search function within Facebook. It's not yet been officially launched yet, but it is available in Beta. Graph Search differs from existing Facebook search functions becauseinstead of just indexing bits of information, it indexes a large number of connections between pieces of information.For example, Facebook's search functionality now provides people,places and things. The initial phaseof Graph Search will provide the relationships between people, places and photos as well.Some Graph Search term examples, provided by Facebook on its website: "people who like cycling who are from my hometown"; "restaurants in London my friends have been to";"photos I like"; and "music my friends like."Essentially, with Graph Search you will be able to look up and get results for anything shared with you on Facebook, and others will be able to do the same with thingsyou've shared with them.What Is Indexed in Graph?Content set to Public will be searchable. People will be findablebased on things they've shared with you, including interests and items within their profile -- for example, friends who have shared their city with you, or friends whose city is public.Photos will findable by you if you -- or friends -- have posted or tagged them. Others will see any photos they can normally see, including photos hidden from the timeline.Your location tags will be searchable.What's the Problem?What's the problem with all this? There isn't one if you believe that searching for and finding connections is an integral part of the future of social networking.However, if your attitude toward privacy runs a bit more on the old-school side, you can control some of this information, including who can see your currentcity. Control can include reporting or removing photo tags; deleting photos; and removing location tags.
Anonymous' Hack of Bank System Startling for Its Ease
Anonymous apparently exploited aweak spot in a system connected to the Fed in retaliation against the U.S. government's prosecutionof Internet activist Jason Swartz, who committed suicide while facing hacking charges. The incident raised awareness not onlyof the group's cause, but also of the unaccountable vulnerability of sensitive government systems to common attack vectors.
The hactivist collective Anonymousannounced via a tweet during last Sunday's Super Bowl that it had published a document dump including publishing private data tied to more than 4,000 U.S. bank executives.It included a spreadsheet containing login information and credentials, along with IP addresses and personal contact information pulled from a St. Louis Fed Emergency Communications System database,ZDnet reported.The website used for the data dump belongs to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC). The page extensionURLwas ominously titled, "oops-we-did-it-again."
EU's Cybersecurity Plan Requires Members to Report Attacks
The European Union on Thursday announced a strategic plan designed to prevent and respond to cyberdisruptions and attacks. The heart of the plan: a requirement that all member states and key Internet enablers --including some U.S.-based companies -- must report attacks. Web-based companies and critical infrastructure operators such as e-commerce platforms, social networks and members of the energy, transport, banking and healthcare services, would have to report security incidents and adoptrisk management strategies.
Details of the EU StrategyThere are five priorities in the EU's cybersecurity strategy: achieving cyber resilience, slashingcybercrime, developing a cyberdefense policy and capabilities relating to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CDSP), developing the industrial and technological resources for cybersecurity, and establishing a coherent international cyberspace policy forthe EU that promotes the Union's core values.Member states will have to adopt a strategy and designate a nationalnetwork and information security (NIS) authority that has adequate funds and human resources for its task. They will also have to create a joint early warning system on cyberthreats.The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) will work with standardization bodies and all relevant stakeholders to develop technical guidelines and recommendations for the adoption of NIS benchmarks and good practices.The directive must be implemented within 18 months after its adoption by the EC and the European Parliament.Who Will Be Affected?Essentially, any company that offers service online will have to report cyberincidents.That will include Apple, Google, Amazon, Sony, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, DropBox, Picasa and Wordpress.Although the EU has regulations in place to improve cybersecurity, itsprevious efforts have been on too small a scale and too fragmented, the EU argues in the NIS directive.For example, existing EU rules require only telecoms companies and data controllers to adopt security measures, and only telecom companies have to reportsignificant security incidents.