What is IPv6?
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride.
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B.
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel.
First look: Adobe Media Player for the Mac
A cross-platform media delivery option for users who want to watch videos online and, in some cases, download them
April 9, 2008 (MacWorld) Leveraging Adobe Interactive Runtime (AIR), Adobe Media Player is a cross-platform-compatible media delivery option for users who want to watch videos online and, in some cases, download them. Here's a look at what to expect.
Installing Adobe Media Player (AMP) is a painless affair, if you've ever run an AIR application. Adobe Systems Inc. relies on its own installation technology to manage AMP's installation, which requires you to give it permission to load up. Once that's done, you'll be looking at the main AMP interface, which is a stylish black. The application resides in your Applications folder along with everything else.
Like all AIR applications, AMP leverages Adobe's Flash technology in order to work. The software also supports Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology and can restrict you to just watching videos as opposed to downloading them and viewing them offline -- the content provider has control over that, and a legend of icons lets you know what you can do with the content you're viewing.
That means -- at least in the case of content whose provider wants it so -- that you're able (for the first time, I should add) to download video outside the browser in the Flash format. Adobe said the content can scale from 480i up to 1080p, so HDTV fans will be able to get their fill of high-definition material.
So far, Adobe has signed up major broadcasters and content publishers to provide video material for AMP users. CBS has jumped into the fray with its CSI shows and a bevy of archive material, for example. And MTV Networks is offering The Hills. PBS has some good stuff available for viewing, along with Universal Music Group and others. Adobe said that more content is coming soon from Comedy Central, Spike and other broadcasters in the coming months.
You can mark content that's of specific interest for you. I found some anime that I wanted to watch, along with archives of classic Twilight Zone episodes, so I marked them both. Favorites appear when you first fire up AMP.
While the emphasis here is on free content, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes. Adobe is working with content owners and publishers to generate advertising opportunities and targeted marketing campaigns based around AMP. The software itself measures content usage, and Adobe provides options such as "protected" streaming, DRM and advertising protection (to keep users from arbitrarily blocking ads).
And for what it's worth, AMP also lets you keep track of "personal videos" you've created yourself. If you have video content on your own machine you'd like to manage using AMP, that option is open to you.
My experience with a pre-release version of AMP was that it works, although the actual quality of video, even after manipulating the software's options, left a little to be desired. You can either watch a small streaming view or scale it upward to fill the window or even your entire screen.
The software offers intuitive navigation that lets you explore to find the content you want. Its archive of video from the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) event, for example, offered detailed synopses of each segment as well as an overview of what the event was about. It was pretty simple to understand how to find what I wanted to watch.
You can "drill down" by recently added content, view by network or click on genre buttons to help explore particular types of video you'd like to watch. The catalog window also lets you search using words or phrases.
All told, AMP is an interesting way for Adobe to leverage Flash video away from its "traditional" place on Web pages. The technology works reasonably well on the Mac. For now, there's a relative paucity of compelling content, and nothing unique to AIR to make it a "must have" product. If Adobe is able to convince content providers that this is the way to share their material with the public, then AMP could be an important player in the burgeoning digital video delivery market. And the fact that it's cross-platform compatible is a boon for Mac users, who won't be left out of the mix.
Adobe Media Player is a new application for Mac. It is easy to install and allows users to listen to music and download music. It also has a nice black style. There are restrictions such as the Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology which can control what one watches and what one can download. But users can watch their videos offline. Networks such as CBS, MTV, and PBS have joined AMP to allow users to download their shows. AMP seems like a great program for Mac users but unfortunately for me I am not a Mac user so I will not be able to use Adobe Media Player.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Software News
What is IPv6?
What must an operating system do to allow it to interconnect with another type of operating system? Make itself look like the operating system it wants to share with.
Which NDS value is similar to a Windows domain? 2
Which protocol must a Windows machine run to allow it to use Client Services for NetWare? IPX/SPX
Which product comes only on Windows Server and allows the creation of one login that enables multiple Windows machines to access a NetWare server? Gateway Services for NetWare
What is now a part of NetWare servers that eliminated the client concept? Native File Access
Adobe Photoshop Express puts image editing online
This online editor can't compare with its offline namesakes, but it might be a blogger's best friend
April 4, 2008 (Computerworld) Adobe last week released the beta version of Photoshop Express, an online, Flash-based image editing tool. Therein lies the problem -- although it bears the same name as the well-known and venerable image editor, Photoshop Express isn't Photoshop at all.
In fact, it isn't even Photoshop Elements, the paired-down version of Photoshop that is given out free with many digital cameras. Because this application is based in Flash, it doesn't allow for right-click or keyboard shortcuts and has much less functionality than a typical desktop application.
However, if you are looking for a way to do minor adjustments to your online photos or if you'd like an online photo album with a good amount of editing functionality, you should definitely check out Photoshop Express.
Convenience is where this application really shines. Instead of having to download a photo, edit it in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, and then upload it again, you can just use a Web-based Flash inline editor. I can see this application being a blogger's best friend, since it really speeds up the process of editing an online photo and allows collaborative editing as well.
Its simplicity may also provide a way for children to get their feet wet in the image editing world. (Incidentally, Adobe says that it is officially available only in the U.S., but I had no trouble evaluating it from France.)
The application requires a broadband Internet connection and a browser with the Flash 9 plug-in -- all fairly standard fare these days. Once you create a log-in and Web site (which will be accessible through an URL such as http://yournamehere.photoshop.com), and confirm your e-mail address, you are on your way.
The obvious first step is to upload photos to your site, which is currently capped at 2GB of storage. (Considering that many rival sites offer either more or unlimited storage, one would hope that this figure will go up in the future.) The service is currently free; my expectation is that a free version may eventually have an advertising component to it and possibly a higher-capacity/better feature version that will come at a fee.
The upload process works as it should, including the ability to add multiple files at a time, and the photos load relatively quickly (although not, of course, with the instant response of a computer-based editor).
The real usefulness of Photoshop Express is its ability to edit images that have already been uploaded. Users can access their photo galleries from Facebook, Google's Picasa (which can include Blogger/Blogspot photos) and Photobucket (but not other popular sites such as Flickr and Kodak Gallery).
The tool palette, which runs along the left side of the window, is extremely sparse compared to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements -- the closest desktop application to compare it to is Google's Picasa -- but offers much more than any other online tool. Basic functionality includes cropping, rotating, autocorrecting, changing exposure, red-eye removal, a touch-up tool and a saturation tool. There are also some tuning and effects filters that many users will have fun with.
Because most users are still used to editing images from computer-based products, the fact that things take a bit longer online may be an issue. For example, rotating an image in Photoshop Express would be almost instantaneous in one test and take 20 seconds in another with the same image. Browsing big directories also takes a bit of time. It took a few minutes for all of the 376 images in my Photobucket account to be rendered in thumbnails, for example.
Still, with all of its limitations, Adobe Photoshop Express is a promising product, even in its early beta form. The online blogging and social media sites have created a demand for photo-editing software that Adobe has been smart enough to identify and fill. With any luck, future versions of the software will be able to perform more functions and operate at speeds closer to traditional image editors.
Adobe Photoshop express seems like a great photo editing tool for internet use. It’s not as good as the regular Photoshop but it good for quick use. Photoshop Express can be used on websites such as Photobucket, Google’s Picasa, Blogger, and Facebook, but not Fickr (which is a website that I use). Though Photoshop Express has many limitations it is good for young users and inexperienced users.
What must an operating system do to allow it to interconnect with another type of operating system? Make itself look like the operating system it wants to share with.
Which NDS value is similar to a Windows domain? 2
Which protocol must a Windows machine run to allow it to use Client Services for NetWare? IPX/SPX
Which product comes only on Windows Server and allows the creation of one login that enables multiple Windows machines to access a NetWare server? Gateway Services for NetWare
What is now a part of NetWare servers that eliminated the client concept? Native File Access
Adobe Photoshop Express puts image editing online
This online editor can't compare with its offline namesakes, but it might be a blogger's best friend
April 4, 2008 (Computerworld) Adobe last week released the beta version of Photoshop Express, an online, Flash-based image editing tool. Therein lies the problem -- although it bears the same name as the well-known and venerable image editor, Photoshop Express isn't Photoshop at all.
In fact, it isn't even Photoshop Elements, the paired-down version of Photoshop that is given out free with many digital cameras. Because this application is based in Flash, it doesn't allow for right-click or keyboard shortcuts and has much less functionality than a typical desktop application.
However, if you are looking for a way to do minor adjustments to your online photos or if you'd like an online photo album with a good amount of editing functionality, you should definitely check out Photoshop Express.
Convenience is where this application really shines. Instead of having to download a photo, edit it in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, and then upload it again, you can just use a Web-based Flash inline editor. I can see this application being a blogger's best friend, since it really speeds up the process of editing an online photo and allows collaborative editing as well.
Its simplicity may also provide a way for children to get their feet wet in the image editing world. (Incidentally, Adobe says that it is officially available only in the U.S., but I had no trouble evaluating it from France.)
The application requires a broadband Internet connection and a browser with the Flash 9 plug-in -- all fairly standard fare these days. Once you create a log-in and Web site (which will be accessible through an URL such as http://yournamehere.photoshop.com), and confirm your e-mail address, you are on your way.
The obvious first step is to upload photos to your site, which is currently capped at 2GB of storage. (Considering that many rival sites offer either more or unlimited storage, one would hope that this figure will go up in the future.) The service is currently free; my expectation is that a free version may eventually have an advertising component to it and possibly a higher-capacity/better feature version that will come at a fee.
The upload process works as it should, including the ability to add multiple files at a time, and the photos load relatively quickly (although not, of course, with the instant response of a computer-based editor).
The real usefulness of Photoshop Express is its ability to edit images that have already been uploaded. Users can access their photo galleries from Facebook, Google's Picasa (which can include Blogger/Blogspot photos) and Photobucket (but not other popular sites such as Flickr and Kodak Gallery).
The tool palette, which runs along the left side of the window, is extremely sparse compared to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements -- the closest desktop application to compare it to is Google's Picasa -- but offers much more than any other online tool. Basic functionality includes cropping, rotating, autocorrecting, changing exposure, red-eye removal, a touch-up tool and a saturation tool. There are also some tuning and effects filters that many users will have fun with.
Because most users are still used to editing images from computer-based products, the fact that things take a bit longer online may be an issue. For example, rotating an image in Photoshop Express would be almost instantaneous in one test and take 20 seconds in another with the same image. Browsing big directories also takes a bit of time. It took a few minutes for all of the 376 images in my Photobucket account to be rendered in thumbnails, for example.
Still, with all of its limitations, Adobe Photoshop Express is a promising product, even in its early beta form. The online blogging and social media sites have created a demand for photo-editing software that Adobe has been smart enough to identify and fill. With any luck, future versions of the software will be able to perform more functions and operate at speeds closer to traditional image editors.
Adobe Photoshop express seems like a great photo editing tool for internet use. It’s not as good as the regular Photoshop but it good for quick use. Photoshop Express can be used on websites such as Photobucket, Google’s Picasa, Blogger, and Facebook, but not Fickr (which is a website that I use). Though Photoshop Express has many limitations it is good for young users and inexperienced users.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Software News
What is Troubleshooting?
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters
A loopback connector may be connected to the far side of a TDR when the other end of the cabling is not accessible. True.
A network protocol is part of the software in an operating system that helps which layers of the OSI model run? Layers 3 through 7
Which section represents the layers of the OSI model important to understanding protocols? 3
Broadcasting and going through a server are two ways to accomplish name resolution. True.
Researcher finds new flaw in QuickTime for Windows
Petkov locates another one, but so far no known exploits
April 28, 2008 (IDG News Service) A security think tank says it has found a vulnerability in Apple's QuickTime multimedia player that can be exploited remotely to compromise Windows Vista PCs upgraded to Service Pack 1, as well as XP SP2.
From the scant details published on the GNUCitizen's blog, the exploit involves a maliciously crafted media file. When a user opens the file, which can be hosted on a Web site, the vulnerability in QuickTime allows the hacker to take complete control of the machine, according to Petko D. Petkov, known to the hacking community as "pdp."
Petkov doesn't think users are in danger of being attacked as of yet.
"I highly doubt that anyone knows how to exploit this vulnerability," Petkov said. "I haven't shared the details with anyone, and the actual vulnerability is different enough to be rather challenging for even some of the most gifted hackers out there."
In a video with a thumping techno beat, Petkov shows a QuickTime file sitting on the desktop of a PC running XP SP2. If a user opens the malicious file, Petkov then has control of the PC, demonstrated by the way the applications Paint, Calculator and Notepad are seen launching, apparently without further user intervention. The demonstration is repeated on a PC running Windows Vista inside a virtual machine.
Attacking vulnerabilities in applications is becoming increasingly favored by hackers, as finding problems in operating systems becomes increasingly harder, said Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, last week at the Infosec conference in London.
Petkov said Monday that he has notified Apple of the problem.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
QuickTime has proved to be one of the more porous applications. Apple, which doesn't have a regular patching schedule like Microsoft, patched the application for at least the sixth time earlier this month, fixing 11 vulnerabilities.
A researcher has found that Apple QuickTime is hacker prone. This is what happens: “When a user opens the file, which can be hosted on a Web site, the vulnerability in QuickTime allows the hacker to take complete control of the machine, according to Petko D. Petkov, known to the hacking community as "pdp." This can make many users open to having the PC or Mac hack able, though sources have said that users are safe as of now because it is very complicated for even gifted hackers to figure out how to exploit the file. The researcher says he has not given out any information on how to exploit the file. Many users use QuickTime; I also have used QuickTime many times before and I would be devastated if my laptop was hack.
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters
A loopback connector may be connected to the far side of a TDR when the other end of the cabling is not accessible. True.
A network protocol is part of the software in an operating system that helps which layers of the OSI model run? Layers 3 through 7
Which section represents the layers of the OSI model important to understanding protocols? 3
Broadcasting and going through a server are two ways to accomplish name resolution. True.
Researcher finds new flaw in QuickTime for Windows
Petkov locates another one, but so far no known exploits
April 28, 2008 (IDG News Service) A security think tank says it has found a vulnerability in Apple's QuickTime multimedia player that can be exploited remotely to compromise Windows Vista PCs upgraded to Service Pack 1, as well as XP SP2.
From the scant details published on the GNUCitizen's blog, the exploit involves a maliciously crafted media file. When a user opens the file, which can be hosted on a Web site, the vulnerability in QuickTime allows the hacker to take complete control of the machine, according to Petko D. Petkov, known to the hacking community as "pdp."
Petkov doesn't think users are in danger of being attacked as of yet.
"I highly doubt that anyone knows how to exploit this vulnerability," Petkov said. "I haven't shared the details with anyone, and the actual vulnerability is different enough to be rather challenging for even some of the most gifted hackers out there."
In a video with a thumping techno beat, Petkov shows a QuickTime file sitting on the desktop of a PC running XP SP2. If a user opens the malicious file, Petkov then has control of the PC, demonstrated by the way the applications Paint, Calculator and Notepad are seen launching, apparently without further user intervention. The demonstration is repeated on a PC running Windows Vista inside a virtual machine.
Attacking vulnerabilities in applications is becoming increasingly favored by hackers, as finding problems in operating systems becomes increasingly harder, said Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, last week at the Infosec conference in London.
Petkov said Monday that he has notified Apple of the problem.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
QuickTime has proved to be one of the more porous applications. Apple, which doesn't have a regular patching schedule like Microsoft, patched the application for at least the sixth time earlier this month, fixing 11 vulnerabilities.
A researcher has found that Apple QuickTime is hacker prone. This is what happens: “When a user opens the file, which can be hosted on a Web site, the vulnerability in QuickTime allows the hacker to take complete control of the machine, according to Petko D. Petkov, known to the hacking community as "pdp." This can make many users open to having the PC or Mac hack able, though sources have said that users are safe as of now because it is very complicated for even gifted hackers to figure out how to exploit the file. The researcher says he has not given out any information on how to exploit the file. Many users use QuickTime; I also have used QuickTime many times before and I would be devastated if my laptop was hack.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Software News
What is Diaster recovery?
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride.
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B.
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core.
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool.
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel.
Apple, VMware update Mac software for XP SP3
Revs of Boot Camp and Fusion to account for Microsoft's newest old OS
April 25, 2008 (Computerworld) Apple and VMware yesterday updated software designed to let Mac owners run Microsoft's Windows, amending it to accommodate the newest version of Windows XP.
Apple released Boot Camp 2.1.1, the program included with its Leopard operating system that allows Intel-based Macs to run Windows in a separate disk partition. The company posted three downloads — one each for Windows XP, Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit — to its Web site.
A typically terse note accompanying the update said only that it "addresses issues and improves compatibility." Apple made clear, however, that Boot Camp 2.1.1 is necessary to run Windows XP Service Pack 3 on a Mac. SP3, a collection of patches and enhancements was completed Monday, and will be offered to users starting next Tuesday, April 29, via Windows Update.
Also on Thursday, VMware updated its Fusion virtualization software to Version 1.1.2, adding support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions when they're run as virtual machines (VM), and fixing bugs when Fusion is used on the MacBook Air, Apple's newest notebook.
Fusion 1.1.2 also adds support for Time Machine, Leopard's built-in backup and restore program, and patches half a dozen other bugs. To back up VMs with Time Machine, Mac owners must be running Mac OS 10.5.2.
The update is free for registered users and can be downloaded from the VMware site.
Apple is letting its Leopard users run Microsoft windows (version XP) on their new systems. This is something that I believe I have seen before. I know I’ve used Microsoft’s office on a Mac system earlier this year. I was not as complicated as I though once I became use to it. There were though some features that I did not like and couldn’t understand. Also VMware “VMware updated its Fusion virtualization software to Version 1.1.2, adding support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions when they're run as virtual machines (VM), and fixing bugs when Fusion is used on the MacBook Air, Apple's newest notebook.” These updates can be found on the VMware site for registered users.
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride.
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B.
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core.
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool.
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel.
Apple, VMware update Mac software for XP SP3
Revs of Boot Camp and Fusion to account for Microsoft's newest old OS
April 25, 2008 (Computerworld) Apple and VMware yesterday updated software designed to let Mac owners run Microsoft's Windows, amending it to accommodate the newest version of Windows XP.
Apple released Boot Camp 2.1.1, the program included with its Leopard operating system that allows Intel-based Macs to run Windows in a separate disk partition. The company posted three downloads — one each for Windows XP, Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit — to its Web site.
A typically terse note accompanying the update said only that it "addresses issues and improves compatibility." Apple made clear, however, that Boot Camp 2.1.1 is necessary to run Windows XP Service Pack 3 on a Mac. SP3, a collection of patches and enhancements was completed Monday, and will be offered to users starting next Tuesday, April 29, via Windows Update.
Also on Thursday, VMware updated its Fusion virtualization software to Version 1.1.2, adding support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions when they're run as virtual machines (VM), and fixing bugs when Fusion is used on the MacBook Air, Apple's newest notebook.
Fusion 1.1.2 also adds support for Time Machine, Leopard's built-in backup and restore program, and patches half a dozen other bugs. To back up VMs with Time Machine, Mac owners must be running Mac OS 10.5.2.
The update is free for registered users and can be downloaded from the VMware site.
Apple is letting its Leopard users run Microsoft windows (version XP) on their new systems. This is something that I believe I have seen before. I know I’ve used Microsoft’s office on a Mac system earlier this year. I was not as complicated as I though once I became use to it. There were though some features that I did not like and couldn’t understand. Also VMware “VMware updated its Fusion virtualization software to Version 1.1.2, adding support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions when they're run as virtual machines (VM), and fixing bugs when Fusion is used on the MacBook Air, Apple's newest notebook.” These updates can be found on the VMware site for registered users.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Software News
What is Wireless Networking?
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones
From which tab in the DNS Properties window can DNS root servers and their IP addresses be viewed? Root Hints
Which command is used from the command prompt to view the DNS cache? ipconfig /displaydns
Sun looks to open-source the rest of Java
Sun Microsystems Inc. is stepping up efforts to boost Java usage in Linux shops by working to remove some final encumbrances in the open-source Java platform.
By freeing these up, Java can be fully open source and thus be packaged more easily with Linux distributions. In conjunction with this activity, Sun is talking with Linux distributors -- including OpenSuse, Ubuntu and Fedora -- to have them offer an updated version of OpenJDK, which constitutes the open-source Java platform. Sun plans to offer the updated OpenJDK soon and clear the last few encumbrances later.
"We're hoping to see some movement [with the] Linux distributions in the very near future, hopefully by JavaOne," said Rich Sands, group manager for developer marketing at Sun, in an interview on Tuesday. The JavaOne conference will be held in San Francisco in two weeks.
OpenJDK is based on Java Platform, Standard Edition 6. The open-sourcing process began in November 2006. But a few components, including some encryption libraries, graphics libraries, the sound engine and some SNMP management code, still could not be offered under the GNU General Public License. These components accounted for 4% of the platform.
"We've been engaging with the open-source community for Java to finish off the OpenJDK project, and the specific thing that we've been working on with them is clearing the last bits that we didn't have the rights" to distribute, Sands said.
"Over the past year, we have pretty much removed most of those encumbrances," Sands said. Work still needs to be done to offer the Java sound engine and SNMP code via open source; that effort is expected to be completed this year. Developers, though, may be able to proceed without a component like the sound engine, Sands said.
The few remaining encumbrances on Java have prevented Linux distributors from offering a fully open-source version of Java, said Sands. "All those Linux distributions, they haven't had a full-blown implementation in them," he said.
Once Java is 100% open source, it can be shipped as part of Linux, Sands said. Ubuntu has distributed Java as separately available commercial software, he noted. But once Java is fully open source, it can be offered as part of the free Ubuntu distribution and other Linux variants, Sands said.
"We're trying to get Java into places it's never been before," Sands said. Linux developers, absent of an open-source Java, have been building applications with languages like C, C++ and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), he said.
With its Linux push for Java, Sun seeks to expand the footprint of Java usage worldwide, which could yield opportunities to sell support, services and systems to these new users.
OpenJDK features a runtime component as well as compilers and tools to build Java programs. "What we can do is create Java programs and then run them on Linux," said Sands.
Having Java on Linux helps Sun, said analyst Michael Cote of RedMonk. "I think it's in Sun's interest to have Java spread as widely as possible," he said. Linux developers have wanted Java, but "I don't really know to which magnitude."
Sun's bread-and-butter operating system has been Solaris, but the Linux push shows the company's determination to spread Java to Solaris' open-source rival. Meanwhile, Sun also has sought to make Solaris more palatable to Linux users through Project Indiana, which is intended to provide binaries for the OpenSolaris open-source implementation of Solaris, similar to how Linux is packaged.
Sun is looking to expand java to the Linux operating systems. This may be good for Linux users who also need to use java for whatever purposes. I do not use Linux and I believe java is used for video or flash. If java is used for Flash or videos, then I have probably used it for various websites or have seen it before. This may have happened for video sites such as YouTube or site that use flash like the architectural sites I often go to for inspiration. If the change for Sun is a success, they may gain a lot of new users from Linux.
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones
From which tab in the DNS Properties window can DNS root servers and their IP addresses be viewed? Root Hints
Which command is used from the command prompt to view the DNS cache? ipconfig /displaydns
Sun looks to open-source the rest of Java
Sun Microsystems Inc. is stepping up efforts to boost Java usage in Linux shops by working to remove some final encumbrances in the open-source Java platform.
By freeing these up, Java can be fully open source and thus be packaged more easily with Linux distributions. In conjunction with this activity, Sun is talking with Linux distributors -- including OpenSuse, Ubuntu and Fedora -- to have them offer an updated version of OpenJDK, which constitutes the open-source Java platform. Sun plans to offer the updated OpenJDK soon and clear the last few encumbrances later.
"We're hoping to see some movement [with the] Linux distributions in the very near future, hopefully by JavaOne," said Rich Sands, group manager for developer marketing at Sun, in an interview on Tuesday. The JavaOne conference will be held in San Francisco in two weeks.
OpenJDK is based on Java Platform, Standard Edition 6. The open-sourcing process began in November 2006. But a few components, including some encryption libraries, graphics libraries, the sound engine and some SNMP management code, still could not be offered under the GNU General Public License. These components accounted for 4% of the platform.
"We've been engaging with the open-source community for Java to finish off the OpenJDK project, and the specific thing that we've been working on with them is clearing the last bits that we didn't have the rights" to distribute, Sands said.
"Over the past year, we have pretty much removed most of those encumbrances," Sands said. Work still needs to be done to offer the Java sound engine and SNMP code via open source; that effort is expected to be completed this year. Developers, though, may be able to proceed without a component like the sound engine, Sands said.
The few remaining encumbrances on Java have prevented Linux distributors from offering a fully open-source version of Java, said Sands. "All those Linux distributions, they haven't had a full-blown implementation in them," he said.
Once Java is 100% open source, it can be shipped as part of Linux, Sands said. Ubuntu has distributed Java as separately available commercial software, he noted. But once Java is fully open source, it can be offered as part of the free Ubuntu distribution and other Linux variants, Sands said.
"We're trying to get Java into places it's never been before," Sands said. Linux developers, absent of an open-source Java, have been building applications with languages like C, C++ and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), he said.
With its Linux push for Java, Sun seeks to expand the footprint of Java usage worldwide, which could yield opportunities to sell support, services and systems to these new users.
OpenJDK features a runtime component as well as compilers and tools to build Java programs. "What we can do is create Java programs and then run them on Linux," said Sands.
Having Java on Linux helps Sun, said analyst Michael Cote of RedMonk. "I think it's in Sun's interest to have Java spread as widely as possible," he said. Linux developers have wanted Java, but "I don't really know to which magnitude."
Sun's bread-and-butter operating system has been Solaris, but the Linux push shows the company's determination to spread Java to Solaris' open-source rival. Meanwhile, Sun also has sought to make Solaris more palatable to Linux users through Project Indiana, which is intended to provide binaries for the OpenSolaris open-source implementation of Solaris, similar to how Linux is packaged.
Sun is looking to expand java to the Linux operating systems. This may be good for Linux users who also need to use java for whatever purposes. I do not use Linux and I believe java is used for video or flash. If java is used for Flash or videos, then I have probably used it for various websites or have seen it before. This may have happened for video sites such as YouTube or site that use flash like the architectural sites I often go to for inspiration. If the change for Sun is a success, they may gain a lot of new users from Linux.
Software News
What is Wireless Networking?
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? HTTP
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. True.
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels.
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Analysts: With Live Mesh, Microsoft tries to shift Web 2.0 playing field back to its strengths
Device-synchronization service continues its effort to blend desktop, Web computing
April 23, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp.'s development of a Web-based device-synchronization service called Live Mesh shows that the software vendor is trying hard to shed its desktop PC heritage without completely playing against its strengths, several industry analysts said today.
Live Mesh, which Microsoft announced as a "limited technology preview" release, is intended to enable technology users to easily and automatically synchronize word processing files, photos and other content among their various computers and other high-tech devices. Users also will be able to share content with friends, family members and other people who are using the new service, according to Microsoft.
"The announcement finally puts something real behind Microsoft's 'Software + Services' slogan," said Neil MacDonald, an analyst at Gartner Inc. Live Mesh is "not tied just to Windows," he noted. "It acknowledges that no single device will dominate in the world of the consumer Web."
For developers, he added, the synchronization service is language- and platform-neutral. And, MacDonald said, "unlike traditional Microsoft-architected products, the architecture of Live Mesh is based on small, loosely coupled services."
Nonetheless, Microsoft remains committed to a hybrid of desktop and Web computing, in opposition to Google Inc., Salesforce.com Inc. and other competitors that are betting on purely online-centric software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud computing models.
"Live Mesh represents an effort to catch up to the Web 2.0 movement," said Jeff Kaplan, an analyst at Thinkstrategies Inc., a SaaS-focused consulting firm. "Microsoft is now trying to define this trend in its own terms."
Jason Bloomberg, an analyst at ZapThink LLC, thinks that Microsoft is moving backward, not forward.
"Instead of coming up with an offering that enables Microsoft to participate in that world of collaborative, Web-based applications, they are taking a page from their old playbook and trying to move Web 2.0 to the proprietary Windows platform," Bloomberg said. "To be fair, Live Mesh is an exciting technology for Windows users and will likely contribute to a social networking environment similar to Web 2.0 — but as it will be proprietary, few people outside Microsoft would truly classify it as Web 2.0."
MacDonald said the online services market is young and ill-defined enough that the Live Mesh announcement immediately "puts Microsoft in the running with other providers of cloud-based platforms," including Google, Amazon.com and IBM.
But, he said, "what was clearly missing from the announcement is how Microsoft intends to monetize the technology over time." Live Mesh users will get 5GB of online data storage for free. MacDonald expects Microsoft to charge for higher amounts of data, "but this can't just be a storage-based fee model."
Moreover, since the technology is so new, Microsoft didn't trot out its usual plethora of business partners "to demonstrate what could be done with this platform," MacDonald said. He added that Live Mesh's synchronization capabilities are "cool, but most consumers could do something similar today — not as quickly or easily — just copying files around between devices."
The head of one potential rival — and partner — said that he thinks Live Mesh needs to be as ubiquitous as possible in order to catch on.
"It remains to be seen how seamlessly third-party services can be integrated into the mesh," said Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box.net, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up that offers online storage and file-sharing services. But he added that if Live Mesh "is as open as they purport," it likely will be "very complementary" to the service that his company offers.
"From a market standpoint," Levie said, "it's good to see new and innovative ways to move data to the cloud, though we'll likely see conflicts emerge in the battle between Microsoft's and Google's competing platforms."
Microsoft continuously comes up with newer software. This time it’s Microsoft’s Live Mesh. It allows users to “automatically synchronize word processing files, photos and other content among their various computers and other high-tech devices. Users also will be able to share content with friends, family members and other people who are using the new service.” This program probably has nothing to do with and is probably for professional users. I use Microsoft software, but it’s normally Microsoft office, video creator, and internet explorer.
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? HTTP
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. True.
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels.
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Analysts: With Live Mesh, Microsoft tries to shift Web 2.0 playing field back to its strengths
Device-synchronization service continues its effort to blend desktop, Web computing
April 23, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp.'s development of a Web-based device-synchronization service called Live Mesh shows that the software vendor is trying hard to shed its desktop PC heritage without completely playing against its strengths, several industry analysts said today.
Live Mesh, which Microsoft announced as a "limited technology preview" release, is intended to enable technology users to easily and automatically synchronize word processing files, photos and other content among their various computers and other high-tech devices. Users also will be able to share content with friends, family members and other people who are using the new service, according to Microsoft.
"The announcement finally puts something real behind Microsoft's 'Software + Services' slogan," said Neil MacDonald, an analyst at Gartner Inc. Live Mesh is "not tied just to Windows," he noted. "It acknowledges that no single device will dominate in the world of the consumer Web."
For developers, he added, the synchronization service is language- and platform-neutral. And, MacDonald said, "unlike traditional Microsoft-architected products, the architecture of Live Mesh is based on small, loosely coupled services."
Nonetheless, Microsoft remains committed to a hybrid of desktop and Web computing, in opposition to Google Inc., Salesforce.com Inc. and other competitors that are betting on purely online-centric software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud computing models.
"Live Mesh represents an effort to catch up to the Web 2.0 movement," said Jeff Kaplan, an analyst at Thinkstrategies Inc., a SaaS-focused consulting firm. "Microsoft is now trying to define this trend in its own terms."
Jason Bloomberg, an analyst at ZapThink LLC, thinks that Microsoft is moving backward, not forward.
"Instead of coming up with an offering that enables Microsoft to participate in that world of collaborative, Web-based applications, they are taking a page from their old playbook and trying to move Web 2.0 to the proprietary Windows platform," Bloomberg said. "To be fair, Live Mesh is an exciting technology for Windows users and will likely contribute to a social networking environment similar to Web 2.0 — but as it will be proprietary, few people outside Microsoft would truly classify it as Web 2.0."
MacDonald said the online services market is young and ill-defined enough that the Live Mesh announcement immediately "puts Microsoft in the running with other providers of cloud-based platforms," including Google, Amazon.com and IBM.
But, he said, "what was clearly missing from the announcement is how Microsoft intends to monetize the technology over time." Live Mesh users will get 5GB of online data storage for free. MacDonald expects Microsoft to charge for higher amounts of data, "but this can't just be a storage-based fee model."
Moreover, since the technology is so new, Microsoft didn't trot out its usual plethora of business partners "to demonstrate what could be done with this platform," MacDonald said. He added that Live Mesh's synchronization capabilities are "cool, but most consumers could do something similar today — not as quickly or easily — just copying files around between devices."
The head of one potential rival — and partner — said that he thinks Live Mesh needs to be as ubiquitous as possible in order to catch on.
"It remains to be seen how seamlessly third-party services can be integrated into the mesh," said Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box.net, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up that offers online storage and file-sharing services. But he added that if Live Mesh "is as open as they purport," it likely will be "very complementary" to the service that his company offers.
"From a market standpoint," Levie said, "it's good to see new and innovative ways to move data to the cloud, though we'll likely see conflicts emerge in the battle between Microsoft's and Google's competing platforms."
Microsoft continuously comes up with newer software. This time it’s Microsoft’s Live Mesh. It allows users to “automatically synchronize word processing files, photos and other content among their various computers and other high-tech devices. Users also will be able to share content with friends, family members and other people who are using the new service.” This program probably has nothing to do with and is probably for professional users. I use Microsoft software, but it’s normally Microsoft office, video creator, and internet explorer.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Software News
What are remote connection options?
Define the acronym DNS. Domain Name Service.
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? NNTP.
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. True.
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels.
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones.
Microsoft to halt Hotmail access via Outlook Express
Vendor looks to nudge users toward its newer Windows Live Mail desktop client.
April 18, 2008 (Computerworld) In the latest death knell for Outlook Express, Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will turn off access to its Web-based Hotmail service from the desktop e-mail software at the end of June.
Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 are being encouraged by Microsoft to download its free Windows Live Mail software.
Users will still be able to use Outlook, the big brother of Outlook Express, to read their Hotmail messages offline, but they may have to first upgrade their Outlook Connector synchronization software, according to information posted online today by Scott Hammer, a Microsoft e-mail support manager.
Hammer said that users of the paid Hotmail service will also still be able to use any other desktop e-mail client that is POP3-compliant, such as the open-source Thunderbird software. Macintosh users, meanwhile, can continue using Microsoft's Entourage e-mail client for the Mac to access Hotmail, which is the second most popular Web mail service in the U.S. behind Yahoo Mail, according to market research firm HitWise Pty.
Outlook Express first appeared in 1997, when it was bundled with Internet Explorer 4.0. At one point the most popular e-mail software for Windows users, the technology saw its usage start to decline after suffering major virus and malware problems early this decade. Microsoft's last update of the software, Outlook Express 6, was released in August 2004.
In a blog post at Microsoft's e-mail technical support Web site, Hammer said that Microsoft is disabling the DAV e-mail protocol used by Outlook Express to download messages because it is too slow for the larger e-mail in-boxes now in use. For instance, the Windows Live service offers Hotmail users 5GB in-boxes free of charge.
Instead of DAV, Windows Live Mail uses a new technology called DeltaSync to replicate e-mail, contacts and other data between Hotmail and a user's PC. Microsoft said DeltaSync is faster because it only downloads new or modified messages and headers from the Hotmail server, whereas DAV downloaded everything. But, Hammer wrote, "the new protocol unfortunately is not supported by Outlook Express, and support would require too many changes to the Outlook Express software."
Released last November, Windows Live Mail is a successor to both Outlook Express and the Windows Mail client that shipped with Windows Vista. New features above and beyond the improvements that were in Windows Mail include support for RSS feeds, improved photo-sharing and increased integration with other cloud-based Windows Live online services.
This reporter's main trepidation about moving to Windows Live Mail was how well it would import my existing Outlook Express messages and contacts. The experience was fine, though: After setup, Windows Live Mail automatically searched for and found the right folders. Importing more than 10,000 e-mails took about 15 minutes.
Microsoft Corp. has announced that it will stop using the web-based Hotmail service at the end of June. PC users who use hotmail will be able to access their mail, even offline, by downloading out look express. Mac users can continue to use Microsoft’s entourage. This is something I do not have to worry about because I am a BellSouth/AT@T user. So far my email service has worked fine with the exception of the one time where all of my messages were some how deleted. If any of the Hotmail users have problems with the shut down I guess I will feel sorry for them.
Define the acronym DNS. Domain Name Service.
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? NNTP.
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. True.
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels.
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones.
Microsoft to halt Hotmail access via Outlook Express
Vendor looks to nudge users toward its newer Windows Live Mail desktop client.
April 18, 2008 (Computerworld) In the latest death knell for Outlook Express, Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will turn off access to its Web-based Hotmail service from the desktop e-mail software at the end of June.
Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 are being encouraged by Microsoft to download its free Windows Live Mail software.
Users will still be able to use Outlook, the big brother of Outlook Express, to read their Hotmail messages offline, but they may have to first upgrade their Outlook Connector synchronization software, according to information posted online today by Scott Hammer, a Microsoft e-mail support manager.
Hammer said that users of the paid Hotmail service will also still be able to use any other desktop e-mail client that is POP3-compliant, such as the open-source Thunderbird software. Macintosh users, meanwhile, can continue using Microsoft's Entourage e-mail client for the Mac to access Hotmail, which is the second most popular Web mail service in the U.S. behind Yahoo Mail, according to market research firm HitWise Pty.
Outlook Express first appeared in 1997, when it was bundled with Internet Explorer 4.0. At one point the most popular e-mail software for Windows users, the technology saw its usage start to decline after suffering major virus and malware problems early this decade. Microsoft's last update of the software, Outlook Express 6, was released in August 2004.
In a blog post at Microsoft's e-mail technical support Web site, Hammer said that Microsoft is disabling the DAV e-mail protocol used by Outlook Express to download messages because it is too slow for the larger e-mail in-boxes now in use. For instance, the Windows Live service offers Hotmail users 5GB in-boxes free of charge.
Instead of DAV, Windows Live Mail uses a new technology called DeltaSync to replicate e-mail, contacts and other data between Hotmail and a user's PC. Microsoft said DeltaSync is faster because it only downloads new or modified messages and headers from the Hotmail server, whereas DAV downloaded everything. But, Hammer wrote, "the new protocol unfortunately is not supported by Outlook Express, and support would require too many changes to the Outlook Express software."
Released last November, Windows Live Mail is a successor to both Outlook Express and the Windows Mail client that shipped with Windows Vista. New features above and beyond the improvements that were in Windows Mail include support for RSS feeds, improved photo-sharing and increased integration with other cloud-based Windows Live online services.
This reporter's main trepidation about moving to Windows Live Mail was how well it would import my existing Outlook Express messages and contacts. The experience was fine, though: After setup, Windows Live Mail automatically searched for and found the right folders. Importing more than 10,000 e-mails took about 15 minutes.
Microsoft Corp. has announced that it will stop using the web-based Hotmail service at the end of June. PC users who use hotmail will be able to access their mail, even offline, by downloading out look express. Mac users can continue to use Microsoft’s entourage. This is something I do not have to worry about because I am a BellSouth/AT@T user. So far my email service has worked fine with the exception of the one time where all of my messages were some how deleted. If any of the Hotmail users have problems with the shut down I guess I will feel sorry for them.
Monday, April 21, 2008
WAN Connections
What are WAN Connections?
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride.
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B.
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core.
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool.
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel.
PayPal: We won't block Safari
Clarification or backtracking?
PayPal Inc., the electronic payment service owned by eBay Inc., has denied that it plans to tag Apple Inc.'s Safari as "unsafe" and block it from accessing the site.
"We have absolutely no intention of blocking current versions of any browsers, including Apple's Safari, from our Web site," a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail late Friday.
PayPal was reacting to reports of a research paper released the week before by Michael Barrett, the firm's chief information security officer, that said the payment service would ban browsers that lacked a way to block known or suspected phishing sites and didn't support Extended Validation (EV) certificates.
Safari does not have an antifraud blocker and does not support EVs, the relatively new digital certificates meant to reassure consumers that the site has been vetted and is legitimate.
"It's critical to not only warn users about unsafe browsers, but also to disallow older and insecure browsers," Barrett said in the paper, which was released at the RSA Conference on April 10. "Letting users view the PayPal site on one of these browsers is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seat belts."
Although the PayPal paper only called out Microsoft Corp.'s 1996 browser, Internet Explorer 3, and 1997's IE4, Barrett defined "unsafe browsers" as those "which do not have support for blocking phishing sites or for Extended Validation certificates."
On Friday, the company seemed to backtrack. "PayPal is developing features to block customers from logging into PayPal when using obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," the company's spokeswoman specified. "An example of such a browser/OS combination might be, for example, Internet Explorer 4 running on Windows 98."
Microsoft dropped support for Windows 98 in July 2006 and dead-ended IE4 at the same time. IE3, which had been packaged with Windows 95, fell off Microsoft's support list with the demise of its parent operating system at the end of 2001.
Newer versions of IE, including IE5, IE6 and IE7, are still supported by Microsoft, although the first of the three -- IE 5.01, to be exact -- will be terminated in mid-2010 when Microsoft retires Windows 2000.
Meanwhile, Apple currently supports only Safari 3.0 with security updates and other patches. However, its predecessor, Safari 2.0, shipped with Mac OS X 10.4, alias "Tiger," an operating system that Apple still supports.
According to PayPal's revised criteria of "obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," it would not block IE5 until 2010 and would not bar Safari 2.0 on Tiger until Apple ships the successor to Mac OS X 10.5, a.k.a. "Leopard."
However, as of Sunday, PayPal had not replied to questions about when it would switch on its browser blocking. Apple has also not responded to queries asking for comment.
I have personally never used PayPal before, but can understand why they do not support Apple Inc’s. Safari systems. For users who use Safari, it may be unsafe for them to use PayPal when Safari doesn’t have alerts on their systems to protect users from phishing and other harmful activities. I wouldn’t know the best internet browser to use; I am only use to Internet Explorer and have little experience with Safari. If Safari couldn’t protect me like Internet Explorer could then I wouldn’t be using Safari in the first place.
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride.
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B.
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core.
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool.
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel.
PayPal: We won't block Safari
Clarification or backtracking?
PayPal Inc., the electronic payment service owned by eBay Inc., has denied that it plans to tag Apple Inc.'s Safari as "unsafe" and block it from accessing the site.
"We have absolutely no intention of blocking current versions of any browsers, including Apple's Safari, from our Web site," a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail late Friday.
PayPal was reacting to reports of a research paper released the week before by Michael Barrett, the firm's chief information security officer, that said the payment service would ban browsers that lacked a way to block known or suspected phishing sites and didn't support Extended Validation (EV) certificates.
Safari does not have an antifraud blocker and does not support EVs, the relatively new digital certificates meant to reassure consumers that the site has been vetted and is legitimate.
"It's critical to not only warn users about unsafe browsers, but also to disallow older and insecure browsers," Barrett said in the paper, which was released at the RSA Conference on April 10. "Letting users view the PayPal site on one of these browsers is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seat belts."
Although the PayPal paper only called out Microsoft Corp.'s 1996 browser, Internet Explorer 3, and 1997's IE4, Barrett defined "unsafe browsers" as those "which do not have support for blocking phishing sites or for Extended Validation certificates."
On Friday, the company seemed to backtrack. "PayPal is developing features to block customers from logging into PayPal when using obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," the company's spokeswoman specified. "An example of such a browser/OS combination might be, for example, Internet Explorer 4 running on Windows 98."
Microsoft dropped support for Windows 98 in July 2006 and dead-ended IE4 at the same time. IE3, which had been packaged with Windows 95, fell off Microsoft's support list with the demise of its parent operating system at the end of 2001.
Newer versions of IE, including IE5, IE6 and IE7, are still supported by Microsoft, although the first of the three -- IE 5.01, to be exact -- will be terminated in mid-2010 when Microsoft retires Windows 2000.
Meanwhile, Apple currently supports only Safari 3.0 with security updates and other patches. However, its predecessor, Safari 2.0, shipped with Mac OS X 10.4, alias "Tiger," an operating system that Apple still supports.
According to PayPal's revised criteria of "obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," it would not block IE5 until 2010 and would not bar Safari 2.0 on Tiger until Apple ships the successor to Mac OS X 10.5, a.k.a. "Leopard."
However, as of Sunday, PayPal had not replied to questions about when it would switch on its browser blocking. Apple has also not responded to queries asking for comment.
I have personally never used PayPal before, but can understand why they do not support Apple Inc’s. Safari systems. For users who use Safari, it may be unsafe for them to use PayPal when Safari doesn’t have alerts on their systems to protect users from phishing and other harmful activities. I wouldn’t know the best internet browser to use; I am only use to Internet Explorer and have little experience with Safari. If Safari couldn’t protect me like Internet Explorer could then I wouldn’t be using Safari in the first place.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Software News
What are WAN connections?
What is the default frame type value in protocol properties? Auto
What binary format of ones and zeros represents the number 197? 11000101
What is the maximum value that an IP address can contain? 256
What is a command from one computer that broadcasts an inquiry for another computer's MAC address? ARP
Every computer will receive a sent out frame if the destination MAC address contains all of what characters? 1 or F
Apple makes minor concession on pushing Safari to Windows users
Separates updates and new offers, but Mozilla wants more
April 17, 2008 (Computerworld) Apple Inc. has changed its software update tool for Windows users so that it separates updates for already-installed programs from offers to install new software.
Last month, John Lilly, Mozilla Corp.'s CEO, took Apple to task for using the update tool, familiar to Windows users as the mechanism for updating iTunes, to push the Safari browser to people who had not previously installed the program. Lilly said the practice "undermines the Internet" and "borders on malware distribution practices."
Lilly's comments, which appeared in a blog post, raised a furor, with Apple defenders calling his criticisms, among other things, a "mountain out of a molehill" and a "load of crap."
Apple has updated the Windows utility, dubbed "Software Update," to version 2.1. That version features a split-pane displays that lists "Updates" atop and "New Software" below. On Windows XP and Vista machines sans Safari, for instance, the Apple browser appears in the New Software section, with its selection box pre-checked.
Mozilla noticed the change.
Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of community development, said the move was "an important, though not sufficient, improvement" and called on Apple to go a step further. "Now Apple needs [to] stop checking the box for 'New Software' items by default," he said in a post to his blog.
In his March reproach of Apple, Lilly had also brought up the checked-by-default box; today he echoed Dotzler. "Good change! A bit more to do..." he wrote on his blog.
It's unclear when Apple first started offering Software Update 2.1; there was no mention of it on Apple's Web site, for example. On Windows Vista, however, the installed tool carries a date stamp of April 11.
"In this latest release we have made it easier for customers to identify between software updates and new applications," said Apple spokesman Anuj Nayar. He declined to comment on whether Apple made the change in response to last month's criticisms, or if it would consider Mozilla's request to deselect the Safari install box.
Apple updated, Safari to 3.1.1 yesterday fixing four flaws in the Windows version and two in the Mac edition. One of the two bugs on the Mac side had been used in a hacker contest last month by a researcher who took home a $10,000 check and the MacBook Air notebook he hacked.
To me, it would interesting to see Apple’s Safari on a Windows machine. I have used safari on a Mac and it was quit similar to windows explorer. The only things that confused me was the bookmark feature (because I’m use to favorites), and it was hard for me at first to open a second browsers window. One of the biggest things I hate about Macs is that one has to click too many times or has to use the edit bar to do simple things like copy and paste. I know that there are short cuts for those things on the key board, but once a person gets use to using windows mouse right click features things become complicated when using a Mac.
What is the default frame type value in protocol properties? Auto
What binary format of ones and zeros represents the number 197? 11000101
What is the maximum value that an IP address can contain? 256
What is a command from one computer that broadcasts an inquiry for another computer's MAC address? ARP
Every computer will receive a sent out frame if the destination MAC address contains all of what characters? 1 or F
Apple makes minor concession on pushing Safari to Windows users
Separates updates and new offers, but Mozilla wants more
April 17, 2008 (Computerworld) Apple Inc. has changed its software update tool for Windows users so that it separates updates for already-installed programs from offers to install new software.
Last month, John Lilly, Mozilla Corp.'s CEO, took Apple to task for using the update tool, familiar to Windows users as the mechanism for updating iTunes, to push the Safari browser to people who had not previously installed the program. Lilly said the practice "undermines the Internet" and "borders on malware distribution practices."
Lilly's comments, which appeared in a blog post, raised a furor, with Apple defenders calling his criticisms, among other things, a "mountain out of a molehill" and a "load of crap."
Apple has updated the Windows utility, dubbed "Software Update," to version 2.1. That version features a split-pane displays that lists "Updates" atop and "New Software" below. On Windows XP and Vista machines sans Safari, for instance, the Apple browser appears in the New Software section, with its selection box pre-checked.
Mozilla noticed the change.
Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of community development, said the move was "an important, though not sufficient, improvement" and called on Apple to go a step further. "Now Apple needs [to] stop checking the box for 'New Software' items by default," he said in a post to his blog.
In his March reproach of Apple, Lilly had also brought up the checked-by-default box; today he echoed Dotzler. "Good change! A bit more to do..." he wrote on his blog.
It's unclear when Apple first started offering Software Update 2.1; there was no mention of it on Apple's Web site, for example. On Windows Vista, however, the installed tool carries a date stamp of April 11.
"In this latest release we have made it easier for customers to identify between software updates and new applications," said Apple spokesman Anuj Nayar. He declined to comment on whether Apple made the change in response to last month's criticisms, or if it would consider Mozilla's request to deselect the Safari install box.
Apple updated, Safari to 3.1.1 yesterday fixing four flaws in the Windows version and two in the Mac edition. One of the two bugs on the Mac side had been used in a hacker contest last month by a researcher who took home a $10,000 check and the MacBook Air notebook he hacked.
To me, it would interesting to see Apple’s Safari on a Windows machine. I have used safari on a Mac and it was quit similar to windows explorer. The only things that confused me was the bookmark feature (because I’m use to favorites), and it was hard for me at first to open a second browsers window. One of the biggest things I hate about Macs is that one has to click too many times or has to use the edit bar to do simple things like copy and paste. I know that there are short cuts for those things on the key board, but once a person gets use to using windows mouse right click features things become complicated when using a Mac.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Software News
What are dial up connections?
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters.
A loopback connector may be connected to the far side of a TDR when the other end of the cabling is not accessible. True
A network protocol is part of the software in an operating system that helps which layers of the OSI model run? Layers 3 through 7
Which section represents the layers of the OSI model important to understanding protocols? 3
Broadcasting and going through a server are two ways to accomplish name resolution. True
Study: LimeWire remains top P2P software; uTorrent fast-rising No. 2
Popular download choice hangs in after eight years
April 17, 2008 (Computerworld) LimeWire, a grizzled veteran of the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing scene, remains the most popular software for exchanging music, video and software — much of it pirated — through the Internet, according to a study released Wednesday.
LimeWire was used on 17.8% of PCs in September last year, according to the latest Digital Media Desktop Report. Since about half of surveyed PCs have at least one peer-to-peer sharing application installed, that gives LimeWire a 36.4% share — more than three times the 11.3% share of the next-most-popular client, µTorrent.
The report is a collaboration of digital music consultancy BigChampagne, utility software provider PC Pitstop and Digital Music News. More than 100,000 Windows PCs were polled each month, with a total of 1.67 million machines polled during the 12 months.
The first version of LimeWire was released in 2000 as an alternative to the pioneering Napster MP3 sharing network. Its contemporaries, such as KaZaa, Morpheus, FastTrack, SoulSeek, Audiogalaxy and (of course) Napster, have long since faded, though Napster now operates today as a small service dealing strictly in legal downloads, and Audiogalaxy evolved into the Rhapsody subscription service.
Overseen by New York-based Lime Wire LLC, the open-source LimeWire software comes in free and professional versions. The latter costs $21.95 and runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
LimeWire's ongoing dominance is surprising for a number of reasons. Two generations of college students — often characterized as the most avid file sharers — have graduated since its release. Indeed, today's college freshman would've been just 10 years old when LimeWire was first released.
Moreover, LimeWire long relied solely on the slower Gnutella network, which made it less suitable for exchanging large video files such as high-definition TV shows or movies. LimeWire only recently released an upgrade that lets users search and exchange files via BitTorrent.
Finally, like Napster, LimeWire has faced several lawsuits from music companies and the RIAA — though unlike the former, LimeWire has survived them all without a major shutdown.
Nevertheless, LimeWire LLC last month signaled its intention to, like the company behind BitTorrent, go at least partly legal. It launched a beta version of the LimeWire Store where users can buy music online, similar to Apple Inc.'s iTunes store. Unlike iTunes, however, the LimeWire Store sells its music without DRM copyright restrictions.
Meanwhile, µTorrent's share nearly quadrupled over the course of the year, from 3% in September 2006 to 11.3% in September 2007. The BitTorrent client was the third most popular client, with 4.6% market share.
BitTorrent — the system as a whole, including both the network and the BitTorrent client — has been heavily hyped in the past several years as a way of sharing files, especially large ones, because of its more efficient distributed technology. Besides BitTorrent, other popular desktop software that allow users to connect with others in the BitTorrent network include µTorrent, Azureus/Vuze, BitComet, BitLord and BitTornado. Those programs collectively held 28.2% of the P2P market last September.
But the Gnutella network, to which LimeWire users connect, also remains the most popular, with 40.5% of the market. Other Gnutella software in the report's top 13 includes BearShare and FrostWire.
Limewire is a p2p software that most people use to download music, videos, movies, and software; most of the time these files are illegal. Many people who have used limewire, or any other p2p filesharing software, have been sued over recent years. I was introduced to limewire by my older brother after our KaZaa software disappeared off of our computer. Because of the threat of law suites (and viruses) I was too scared to continue to use the limewire software and have not used it in the past couple of years, However, another software that I have been guilty of using is the program Aries (my brother now uses it also). To be safe when using this program I normally download music that I know is not copyrighted and I use virus blockers to protect my computer.
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters.
A loopback connector may be connected to the far side of a TDR when the other end of the cabling is not accessible. True
A network protocol is part of the software in an operating system that helps which layers of the OSI model run? Layers 3 through 7
Which section represents the layers of the OSI model important to understanding protocols? 3
Broadcasting and going through a server are two ways to accomplish name resolution. True
Study: LimeWire remains top P2P software; uTorrent fast-rising No. 2
Popular download choice hangs in after eight years
April 17, 2008 (Computerworld) LimeWire, a grizzled veteran of the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing scene, remains the most popular software for exchanging music, video and software — much of it pirated — through the Internet, according to a study released Wednesday.
LimeWire was used on 17.8% of PCs in September last year, according to the latest Digital Media Desktop Report. Since about half of surveyed PCs have at least one peer-to-peer sharing application installed, that gives LimeWire a 36.4% share — more than three times the 11.3% share of the next-most-popular client, µTorrent.
The report is a collaboration of digital music consultancy BigChampagne, utility software provider PC Pitstop and Digital Music News. More than 100,000 Windows PCs were polled each month, with a total of 1.67 million machines polled during the 12 months.
The first version of LimeWire was released in 2000 as an alternative to the pioneering Napster MP3 sharing network. Its contemporaries, such as KaZaa, Morpheus, FastTrack, SoulSeek, Audiogalaxy and (of course) Napster, have long since faded, though Napster now operates today as a small service dealing strictly in legal downloads, and Audiogalaxy evolved into the Rhapsody subscription service.
Overseen by New York-based Lime Wire LLC, the open-source LimeWire software comes in free and professional versions. The latter costs $21.95 and runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
LimeWire's ongoing dominance is surprising for a number of reasons. Two generations of college students — often characterized as the most avid file sharers — have graduated since its release. Indeed, today's college freshman would've been just 10 years old when LimeWire was first released.
Moreover, LimeWire long relied solely on the slower Gnutella network, which made it less suitable for exchanging large video files such as high-definition TV shows or movies. LimeWire only recently released an upgrade that lets users search and exchange files via BitTorrent.
Finally, like Napster, LimeWire has faced several lawsuits from music companies and the RIAA — though unlike the former, LimeWire has survived them all without a major shutdown.
Nevertheless, LimeWire LLC last month signaled its intention to, like the company behind BitTorrent, go at least partly legal. It launched a beta version of the LimeWire Store where users can buy music online, similar to Apple Inc.'s iTunes store. Unlike iTunes, however, the LimeWire Store sells its music without DRM copyright restrictions.
Meanwhile, µTorrent's share nearly quadrupled over the course of the year, from 3% in September 2006 to 11.3% in September 2007. The BitTorrent client was the third most popular client, with 4.6% market share.
BitTorrent — the system as a whole, including both the network and the BitTorrent client — has been heavily hyped in the past several years as a way of sharing files, especially large ones, because of its more efficient distributed technology. Besides BitTorrent, other popular desktop software that allow users to connect with others in the BitTorrent network include µTorrent, Azureus/Vuze, BitComet, BitLord and BitTornado. Those programs collectively held 28.2% of the P2P market last September.
But the Gnutella network, to which LimeWire users connect, also remains the most popular, with 40.5% of the market. Other Gnutella software in the report's top 13 includes BearShare and FrostWire.
Limewire is a p2p software that most people use to download music, videos, movies, and software; most of the time these files are illegal. Many people who have used limewire, or any other p2p filesharing software, have been sued over recent years. I was introduced to limewire by my older brother after our KaZaa software disappeared off of our computer. Because of the threat of law suites (and viruses) I was too scared to continue to use the limewire software and have not used it in the past couple of years, However, another software that I have been guilty of using is the program Aries (my brother now uses it also). To be safe when using this program I normally download music that I know is not copyrighted and I use virus blockers to protect my computer.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Software News
How do you interconnect OS?
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel
When punching down wires, what is the indicator that a wire is completely down in the punchdown block? A snap is heard
Identify the equipment shown. Face plate
What is the best indicator of physical connectivity in a system? Link light
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters.
Flypaper Studio challenges PowerPoint
April 14, 2008 As a step toward offering professional Web developers an industrial-strength product, Flypaper Studio Inc. on May 13 will release a Beta2 version of its free, downloadable application that lets people without any programming skills build interactive Web content that looks like Adobe Flash presentations.
On the heels of securing $3 million in Series A funding, the company's first beta drew a global audience of more than 5,000 users. Their feedback prompted the company to add 50 new features to improve performance of its first beta version, said CEO Pat Sullivan.
The product competes with Microsoft's PowerPoint, new online presentation applications such as recently announced SlideRocket of San Francisco (now in private beta and based on Adobe's Flex platform), simple Web pages and Flash presentations created by professionals.
"When you offer beta, people are more apt to give you feedback because they have a sense you might actually listen to them," said Sullivan. "Now we make money on things we used to give away."
The company expects to earn money by selling a professional version of Flypaper later this year for the world's estimated 5 million Web programmers. And, in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, it will provide secure media hosting services for all types of users -- from individuals to corporations and online communities. Besides hosting, Flypaper offers services for those needing help with customized presentations, interactive training, content development and branded model templates.
As part of its strategy to help companies make their Web sites "sticky," Flypaper Studio is aligning itself with other companies whose online members or employees may benefit from using its application. For example, Starbucks uses the Flypaper beta version in a private portal so employees can develop stories about themselves and other types of presentations.
Flypaper Studio and professional utility start-up MyWorkster.com in New York today announced a partnership that will give MyWorkster members -- mostly recent college graduates -- the ability to build media-rich resumes directly from the MyWorkster Web site.
The resumes will be hosted on Flypaper Studio and the Flypaper software will be used as a value-added tool for all universities that join MyWorkster. Like other media-rich presentations made with Flypaper, the resumes can be published right from the Flypaper Studio site to social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.
While on a swift growth path, rich media communications software for nonprogrammers is in its infancy. Office suites and digital-content-creation software grew to more than $12 billion in 2006, according to a Gartner Inc. report in May 2007.
Flypaper-built story templates, called models, can easily be edited, shared and reused, according to the company.
New features of Flypaper Beta2, which plays on any browser with a Flash plug-in, include:
· User profiles.
· A search function for YouTube videos and images from Google, Yahoo and Flickr.
· A "share" toolbar button to host content on Flypaper.net and embed the content on blogs, Web sites and social networking pages, or to send via e-mail.
· A new "Flybrary" user interface for templates, images, video and audio.
· New components, including a RSS feed in presentations, zoom for images, a video controller, scrolling text, a scrolling image gallery and 15 others.
Flypaper for nonprofessionals doesn't include Web site analytics, although Sullivan said that feature will be part of its professional version.
Sullivan joined the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company in January. At that point, it was called Interactive Alchemy Inc., formed in 2003 as a courseware and learning-related software services company targeting big companies such as United Air Lines Inc. and MetLife Inc. At that point, the firm rebranded itself as Flypaper Studio. It employs 43 people.
In February, the company closed a deal for $3 million in Series A funding from venture capital firms Sierra Ventures Management Co. in Menlo Park, Calif., and SCF Arizona in Phoenix. Private investors provided $3 million in angel funding as well. When its product was introduced at the DEMO 08 conference in January, Flypaper took home a coveted "DEMOgod" award.
Flypaper is a new application that lets users create resumes, among other things, and can publish them on the web. It has combined with other websites to allow this to happen. Websites that users can publish to include MySpace, facebook, Google, yahoo, and flcikr. Many say they are satisfied with the application. It has helped many people get started on new software.
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel
When punching down wires, what is the indicator that a wire is completely down in the punchdown block? A snap is heard
Identify the equipment shown. Face plate
What is the best indicator of physical connectivity in a system? Link light
What is the maximum cable length for a horizontal run according to EIA/TIA standards? 90 meters.
Flypaper Studio challenges PowerPoint
April 14, 2008 As a step toward offering professional Web developers an industrial-strength product, Flypaper Studio Inc. on May 13 will release a Beta2 version of its free, downloadable application that lets people without any programming skills build interactive Web content that looks like Adobe Flash presentations.
On the heels of securing $3 million in Series A funding, the company's first beta drew a global audience of more than 5,000 users. Their feedback prompted the company to add 50 new features to improve performance of its first beta version, said CEO Pat Sullivan.
The product competes with Microsoft's PowerPoint, new online presentation applications such as recently announced SlideRocket of San Francisco (now in private beta and based on Adobe's Flex platform), simple Web pages and Flash presentations created by professionals.
"When you offer beta, people are more apt to give you feedback because they have a sense you might actually listen to them," said Sullivan. "Now we make money on things we used to give away."
The company expects to earn money by selling a professional version of Flypaper later this year for the world's estimated 5 million Web programmers. And, in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, it will provide secure media hosting services for all types of users -- from individuals to corporations and online communities. Besides hosting, Flypaper offers services for those needing help with customized presentations, interactive training, content development and branded model templates.
As part of its strategy to help companies make their Web sites "sticky," Flypaper Studio is aligning itself with other companies whose online members or employees may benefit from using its application. For example, Starbucks uses the Flypaper beta version in a private portal so employees can develop stories about themselves and other types of presentations.
Flypaper Studio and professional utility start-up MyWorkster.com in New York today announced a partnership that will give MyWorkster members -- mostly recent college graduates -- the ability to build media-rich resumes directly from the MyWorkster Web site.
The resumes will be hosted on Flypaper Studio and the Flypaper software will be used as a value-added tool for all universities that join MyWorkster. Like other media-rich presentations made with Flypaper, the resumes can be published right from the Flypaper Studio site to social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.
While on a swift growth path, rich media communications software for nonprogrammers is in its infancy. Office suites and digital-content-creation software grew to more than $12 billion in 2006, according to a Gartner Inc. report in May 2007.
Flypaper-built story templates, called models, can easily be edited, shared and reused, according to the company.
New features of Flypaper Beta2, which plays on any browser with a Flash plug-in, include:
· User profiles.
· A search function for YouTube videos and images from Google, Yahoo and Flickr.
· A "share" toolbar button to host content on Flypaper.net and embed the content on blogs, Web sites and social networking pages, or to send via e-mail.
· A new "Flybrary" user interface for templates, images, video and audio.
· New components, including a RSS feed in presentations, zoom for images, a video controller, scrolling text, a scrolling image gallery and 15 others.
Flypaper for nonprofessionals doesn't include Web site analytics, although Sullivan said that feature will be part of its professional version.
Sullivan joined the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company in January. At that point, it was called Interactive Alchemy Inc., formed in 2003 as a courseware and learning-related software services company targeting big companies such as United Air Lines Inc. and MetLife Inc. At that point, the firm rebranded itself as Flypaper Studio. It employs 43 people.
In February, the company closed a deal for $3 million in Series A funding from venture capital firms Sierra Ventures Management Co. in Menlo Park, Calif., and SCF Arizona in Phoenix. Private investors provided $3 million in angel funding as well. When its product was introduced at the DEMO 08 conference in January, Flypaper took home a coveted "DEMOgod" award.
Flypaper is a new application that lets users create resumes, among other things, and can publish them on the web. It has combined with other websites to allow this to happen. Websites that users can publish to include MySpace, facebook, Google, yahoo, and flcikr. Many say they are satisfied with the application. It has helped many people get started on new software.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Software News
What is Interconnecting OS?
Novell NetWare Novell NetWare makes client software for interconnectivity with every type of operating system.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Novell NetWareNovell Client for Windows Which are NDS values in the Novell Client for Windows dialog box? Choose all that apply.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Novell NetWareConnecting to Windows Machine What is the main way for non-Windows systems to connect to a Windows machine?References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Connecting to MicrosoftSamba Which are functions of Samba? Choose all that apply.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Samba/Third Party ToolsTelephony Groups All telephony concepts are broken up into which groups? Choose all that apply.References:Dial-Up Connections Hardware and GroupsPOTS/PSTN What is the maximum speed of POTS/PSTN?References:Dial-Up Connections POTS/PSTNDigital Connections What was the first digital telephone line that connected directly to a residence? References:Dial-Up Connections ISDNBRI What is the total throughput of the B channels on ISDN BRI?References:Dial-Up Connections ISDNSatellite With one-way satellite Internet access, what is used for uploads?References:WAN Connections Cable/Satellite ConnectionsT3 How many DS0 channels are contained in a T3 line?References:WAN Connections TDM and T3/DS3Fiber Optics What is the name of the signal carried by SONET in fiber-optic technology?References:WAN Connections Fiber OpticsVPN Which statements are true concerning VPNs? Choose all that apply.References:Remote Connection Options VPNAuthentication Protocols Which are authentication protocols used with remote access connections? Choose all that apply.References:Remote Connection Options Authentication ProtocolsShare Connection Which technology allows multiple computers to share a single Internet connection?References:Remote Connection Options ICS802.11g The 802.11g standard runs on the 2.4 GHz frequency with how many available channels?References:Wireless Networking 802.11 StandardsWireless Security Which wireless security option uses passphrases that are compared and changed approximately every minute?References:Wireless Networking Wireless SecurityServer Functions What are the primary functions of a server? Choose all that apply.References:Disaster Recovery Fault ToleranceRAID Which RAID level has parity but does not have a dedicated parity drive?References:Disaster Recovery RAIDSAN Which are features of SAN? Choose all that apply.References:Disaster Recovery SANBackup/Recovery Which methodology is comprised of on-hand equipment that can be used in the case of a malfunction, but requires the computer to be shut down for installation?References:Disaster Recovery Hot and Cold Spares/SitesHomeRF Which are reasons for the decline in HomeRF? Choose all that apply.References:Alternate Wireless HomeRFIPv6 Shortcuts When writing out an IPv6 address, which shortcut character can replace a string of zeros between two colons?References:IPv6 IPv6 Address
Microsoft patched critical Windows bug in XP SP3 early
Endless-reboot problem stemmed from GDI flaw
April 13, 2008 (Computerworld) The appearance and disappearance of a Windows XP installation snafu indicates that Microsoft Corp. patched a critical vulnerability in XP's still-unfinished Service Pack 3 (SP3) weeks before it fixed any other version of Windows. The glitch, which sent some PCs into an endless round of reboots, was strangely similar to one faced by Vista users in February.
Attackers have already tried to exploit that bug, which was patched last Tuesday -- as it turned out, two weeks after the newest build of Windows XP SP3 was released with the flaw fixed.
According to reports from multiple users on a Microsoft support newsgroup, PCs began rebooting immediately after they had been updated to SP3. "I have just updated my pc from xp sp2 to sp3," said a user identified as "yaojinglin" in a message to an SP3 support forum last Thursday. "The installation was successful, but when I reboot my pc after the installation finished, my pc started to reboot again and again."
Nearly two months before, some Windows Vista users experienced similar endless rebooting after an update designed to prepare machines for the upcoming Service Pack 1 locked up PCs. It's believed that the similarities are a coincidence.
An explanation emerges
On the XP SP3 support threads, a Microsoft representative named Shashank Bansal stepped into the rebooting discussion, which was beginning to seem as endless as the rebooting itself. Bansal asked for more information, then offered an explanation: "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
The 3311 build of Windows XP SP3 was released to the general public Feb. 19 and was dubbed "Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate 2" by Microsoft. It was superseded by the public release of "Windows XP SP3 RC2 Refresh" on March 25; that version was pegged as Build 5508.
"Using a later SP3 build (5508) would ensure the issue would not happen," Bansal told users whose PCs had been rebooting. He also said that the problem could be solved by booting with a Windows installation disc, selecting the Repair option, then copying the "gdi32.dll" from one directory to another.
That GD... I
The support document that Bansal referenced covers one of the eight security bulletins Microsoft issued last Tuesday, and it spells out a pair of critical vulnerabilities in Windows' GDI, or graphics device interface, a core component of the operating system. Within 48 hours of Microsoft patching the GDI, however, attackers had crafted an exploit and were using it in attempts to infect PCs, said Symantec Corp.
Ironically, SP3's endless reboot problem and Bansal's response on the support newsgroups confirmed not only that the service pack -- which is still in development -- was the one version of Windows that did not require a GDI patch, but also that it was patched 14 days before any supported edition of Windows.
"The KB [948590] mentioned was released post 3311," said Bansal, talking about the GDI fixes. "The KB carried a version of gdi32 higher than [the version included in] 3311 (as it was released later). This caused the [file version] difference."
The file version conflict caused the reboot error, but it affected only users who had patched their copies of Windows XP SP2 with the GDI fixes and then subsequently tried to upgrade to SP3 using an older build of the service pack.
Most operating systems tend to have problems and this is what happened to windows xp recently. Many have commented to say that the bug is similar to ones on vista. The patch has been fixed by Microsoft, but one thing that users have experienced was the continuous rebutting of their system; it would rebut once, then repute and repute and repute. A representative from Microsoft commented on a discussion board to say "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
I don’t know much about operating systems myself, but if I had this problem I would be extremely frustrated and eager to get the problem solved. Furthermore, I would have been very angry if my computer continued to have rebutting problems. But this problem has yet to happen to me.
Novell NetWare Novell NetWare makes client software for interconnectivity with every type of operating system.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Novell NetWareNovell Client for Windows Which are NDS values in the Novell Client for Windows dialog box? Choose all that apply.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Novell NetWareConnecting to Windows Machine What is the main way for non-Windows systems to connect to a Windows machine?References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Connecting to MicrosoftSamba Which are functions of Samba? Choose all that apply.References:Interconnecting Operating Systems Samba/Third Party ToolsTelephony Groups All telephony concepts are broken up into which groups? Choose all that apply.References:Dial-Up Connections Hardware and GroupsPOTS/PSTN What is the maximum speed of POTS/PSTN?References:Dial-Up Connections POTS/PSTNDigital Connections What was the first digital telephone line that connected directly to a residence? References:Dial-Up Connections ISDNBRI What is the total throughput of the B channels on ISDN BRI?References:Dial-Up Connections ISDNSatellite With one-way satellite Internet access, what is used for uploads?References:WAN Connections Cable/Satellite ConnectionsT3 How many DS0 channels are contained in a T3 line?References:WAN Connections TDM and T3/DS3Fiber Optics What is the name of the signal carried by SONET in fiber-optic technology?References:WAN Connections Fiber OpticsVPN Which statements are true concerning VPNs? Choose all that apply.References:Remote Connection Options VPNAuthentication Protocols Which are authentication protocols used with remote access connections? Choose all that apply.References:Remote Connection Options Authentication ProtocolsShare Connection Which technology allows multiple computers to share a single Internet connection?References:Remote Connection Options ICS802.11g The 802.11g standard runs on the 2.4 GHz frequency with how many available channels?References:Wireless Networking 802.11 StandardsWireless Security Which wireless security option uses passphrases that are compared and changed approximately every minute?References:Wireless Networking Wireless SecurityServer Functions What are the primary functions of a server? Choose all that apply.References:Disaster Recovery Fault ToleranceRAID Which RAID level has parity but does not have a dedicated parity drive?References:Disaster Recovery RAIDSAN Which are features of SAN? Choose all that apply.References:Disaster Recovery SANBackup/Recovery Which methodology is comprised of on-hand equipment that can be used in the case of a malfunction, but requires the computer to be shut down for installation?References:Disaster Recovery Hot and Cold Spares/SitesHomeRF Which are reasons for the decline in HomeRF? Choose all that apply.References:Alternate Wireless HomeRFIPv6 Shortcuts When writing out an IPv6 address, which shortcut character can replace a string of zeros between two colons?References:IPv6 IPv6 Address
Microsoft patched critical Windows bug in XP SP3 early
Endless-reboot problem stemmed from GDI flaw
April 13, 2008 (Computerworld) The appearance and disappearance of a Windows XP installation snafu indicates that Microsoft Corp. patched a critical vulnerability in XP's still-unfinished Service Pack 3 (SP3) weeks before it fixed any other version of Windows. The glitch, which sent some PCs into an endless round of reboots, was strangely similar to one faced by Vista users in February.
Attackers have already tried to exploit that bug, which was patched last Tuesday -- as it turned out, two weeks after the newest build of Windows XP SP3 was released with the flaw fixed.
According to reports from multiple users on a Microsoft support newsgroup, PCs began rebooting immediately after they had been updated to SP3. "I have just updated my pc from xp sp2 to sp3," said a user identified as "yaojinglin" in a message to an SP3 support forum last Thursday. "The installation was successful, but when I reboot my pc after the installation finished, my pc started to reboot again and again."
Nearly two months before, some Windows Vista users experienced similar endless rebooting after an update designed to prepare machines for the upcoming Service Pack 1 locked up PCs. It's believed that the similarities are a coincidence.
An explanation emerges
On the XP SP3 support threads, a Microsoft representative named Shashank Bansal stepped into the rebooting discussion, which was beginning to seem as endless as the rebooting itself. Bansal asked for more information, then offered an explanation: "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
The 3311 build of Windows XP SP3 was released to the general public Feb. 19 and was dubbed "Windows XP SP3 Release Candidate 2" by Microsoft. It was superseded by the public release of "Windows XP SP3 RC2 Refresh" on March 25; that version was pegged as Build 5508.
"Using a later SP3 build (5508) would ensure the issue would not happen," Bansal told users whose PCs had been rebooting. He also said that the problem could be solved by booting with a Windows installation disc, selecting the Repair option, then copying the "gdi32.dll" from one directory to another.
That GD... I
The support document that Bansal referenced covers one of the eight security bulletins Microsoft issued last Tuesday, and it spells out a pair of critical vulnerabilities in Windows' GDI, or graphics device interface, a core component of the operating system. Within 48 hours of Microsoft patching the GDI, however, attackers had crafted an exploit and were using it in attempts to infect PCs, said Symantec Corp.
Ironically, SP3's endless reboot problem and Bansal's response on the support newsgroups confirmed not only that the service pack -- which is still in development -- was the one version of Windows that did not require a GDI patch, but also that it was patched 14 days before any supported edition of Windows.
"The KB [948590] mentioned was released post 3311," said Bansal, talking about the GDI fixes. "The KB carried a version of gdi32 higher than [the version included in] 3311 (as it was released later). This caused the [file version] difference."
The file version conflict caused the reboot error, but it affected only users who had patched their copies of Windows XP SP2 with the GDI fixes and then subsequently tried to upgrade to SP3 using an older build of the service pack.
Most operating systems tend to have problems and this is what happened to windows xp recently. Many have commented to say that the bug is similar to ones on vista. The patch has been fixed by Microsoft, but one thing that users have experienced was the continuous rebutting of their system; it would rebut once, then repute and repute and repute. A representative from Microsoft commented on a discussion board to say "This issue happens with 3311 build of XP SP3. It happens because KB948590 stops installation of SP3 version of gdi32.dll on the system due to file-version differences."
I don’t know much about operating systems myself, but if I had this problem I would be extremely frustrated and eager to get the problem solved. Furthermore, I would have been very angry if my computer continued to have rebutting problems. But this problem has yet to happen to me.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Software News
What is a sample blog?
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel
When punching down wires, what is the indicator that a wire is completely down in the punchdown block? A snap is heard
Global Dispatches: Asustek sues IBM in patent dispute
Asustek Sues IBM in Patent Dispute
TAIPEI — Motherboard maker Asustek Computer Inc. earlier this month filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court charging that IBM has infringed on two of its patents.
The suit was filed four months after the U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate IBM's claims that Asustek had violated three of its patents.
Asustek alleges that IBM has infringed on patents related to its storage-area networking equipment and server products.
Asustek is seeking undisclosed monetary damages and wants to halt IBM's alleged use of the patented technology.
Asustek, which is based here, declined to comment on the lawsuit. IBM officials could not be reached.
Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service
Reported today: Asustek sues IBM for infringement. Asustek claims IBM has stolen two of Asustek’s patents related to its storage-area networking equipment and server products. The U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate IBM’s claims that Asustek violated three of its patents but this was before the suit was filled. Asustek wants to halt IBM’s alleged use of the patented technology; they declined to comment on the lawsuit. I really don’t know much about this subject, but if any one copied anything from me with out mu promotion, especially if it was something important, I would also want to sue.
Which cabling jacket fire rating type is inexpensive but creates smoke and noxious fumes when burned? Polyvinyl chloride
Which cabling type is shown? EIA/TIA 568B
Which type of unshielded twisted pair cabling is best to use for horizontal runs? Solid core
Which tool is used to attach an RJ-45 connector to a cable? Crimping tool
What is described as a small, self-contained device used for replacements in an equipment rack? Patch panel
When punching down wires, what is the indicator that a wire is completely down in the punchdown block? A snap is heard
Global Dispatches: Asustek sues IBM in patent dispute
Asustek Sues IBM in Patent Dispute
TAIPEI — Motherboard maker Asustek Computer Inc. earlier this month filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court charging that IBM has infringed on two of its patents.
The suit was filed four months after the U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate IBM's claims that Asustek had violated three of its patents.
Asustek alleges that IBM has infringed on patents related to its storage-area networking equipment and server products.
Asustek is seeking undisclosed monetary damages and wants to halt IBM's alleged use of the patented technology.
Asustek, which is based here, declined to comment on the lawsuit. IBM officials could not be reached.
Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service
Reported today: Asustek sues IBM for infringement. Asustek claims IBM has stolen two of Asustek’s patents related to its storage-area networking equipment and server products. The U.S. International Trade Commission agreed to investigate IBM’s claims that Asustek violated three of its patents but this was before the suit was filled. Asustek wants to halt IBM’s alleged use of the patented technology; they declined to comment on the lawsuit. I really don’t know much about this subject, but if any one copied anything from me with out mu promotion, especially if it was something important, I would also want to sue.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Software News
Who do we protect network protocols?
Define the acronym DNS. Domain Name Service
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? NNTP
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. False
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Adobe claims it knew of 'Pwn to Own' bug
Patch done, says security team, but won't be released until later this month
By Gregg Keizer
April 3, 2008 (Computerworld) Security researchers at Adobe Systems Inc. claimed that they knew of a Flash bug before it was used to crack a Windows Vista laptop last week in the "Pwn to Own" hacker challenge.
Late yesterday, Adobe also said it had fixed the flaw and would patch the problem this month.
"After some internal investigation, we found that via our ongoing response and security testing process, we were aware of the issue and had fixed it for our security update coming in the next Flash Player update later this month," said Erick Lee, the manager of Adobe's secure software engineering team, in a post to the group's blog.
3Com Inc.'s TippingPoint unit, which ponied up the cash prizes awarded for hacking a MacBook Air and the Vista-powered Fujitsu laptop, acquired the vulnerabilities as part of the deal and reported them last week to Apple Inc. and Adobe.
At the CanSecWest security conference last Friday, Shane Macaulay, a consultant at Security Objectives, claimed a $5,000 prize by compromising the Fujitsu Ltd. machine using an exploit of the Flash vulnerability that Lee said had been known and fixed. According to TippingPoint, Macaulay took several hours to work up an attack, his difficulties caused by some of the defense-in-depth measures added by Microsoft Corp. to Service Pack 1 of Vista.
Neither Macaulay nor TippingPoint have discussed the Flash bug in more than general terms.
Lee downplayed the threat posed by the bug Macaulay used. "Adobe is not aware of any active exploits in wild," he said. "The security researchers have reported the information to us responsibly, giving the Flash Player team time to investigate and deliver a patch."
That patch will be issued as part of a previously scheduled update to Flash Player that is to intended to, among other things, fix a longstanding problem posed by .swf files, the Adobe proprietary Shockwave Flash format. The .swf bug, which was reported in December by a Google Inc. researcher, has left thousands of Web sites vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks.
More than three weeks ago, Adobe alerted users that a Flash Player update was coming. Although it said the patches would not affect end users, it warned Web site designers and administrators that they would need to make numerous changes to how they deliver Shockwave Flash content or risk their sites "breaking" when the April update lands on users' desktops.
Adobe was not immediately available to answer questions about when it first knew of the bug and why it had not released it earlier.
This week Adobe Flash will fix the bug problem that cracked windows vista during the “Pwn to Own" challenge. Flash claims it knew about the problem before it occurred. The problem will be solved during the next update of flash player. Web designers and administrators were alerted about the problem and would have to make changes when it comes to how they run shock wave. The solution will be a path which will be released with the later update.
Define the acronym DNS. Domain Name Service
Which service is used to transfer Usenet newsgroup messages from a news server to a newsreader program? NNTP
A hierarchical namespace is a basic database or list of names. False
Which section of the fully qualified domain name represents the uppermost domain? Samuels
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Adobe claims it knew of 'Pwn to Own' bug
Patch done, says security team, but won't be released until later this month
By Gregg Keizer
April 3, 2008 (Computerworld) Security researchers at Adobe Systems Inc. claimed that they knew of a Flash bug before it was used to crack a Windows Vista laptop last week in the "Pwn to Own" hacker challenge.
Late yesterday, Adobe also said it had fixed the flaw and would patch the problem this month.
"After some internal investigation, we found that via our ongoing response and security testing process, we were aware of the issue and had fixed it for our security update coming in the next Flash Player update later this month," said Erick Lee, the manager of Adobe's secure software engineering team, in a post to the group's blog.
3Com Inc.'s TippingPoint unit, which ponied up the cash prizes awarded for hacking a MacBook Air and the Vista-powered Fujitsu laptop, acquired the vulnerabilities as part of the deal and reported them last week to Apple Inc. and Adobe.
At the CanSecWest security conference last Friday, Shane Macaulay, a consultant at Security Objectives, claimed a $5,000 prize by compromising the Fujitsu Ltd. machine using an exploit of the Flash vulnerability that Lee said had been known and fixed. According to TippingPoint, Macaulay took several hours to work up an attack, his difficulties caused by some of the defense-in-depth measures added by Microsoft Corp. to Service Pack 1 of Vista.
Neither Macaulay nor TippingPoint have discussed the Flash bug in more than general terms.
Lee downplayed the threat posed by the bug Macaulay used. "Adobe is not aware of any active exploits in wild," he said. "The security researchers have reported the information to us responsibly, giving the Flash Player team time to investigate and deliver a patch."
That patch will be issued as part of a previously scheduled update to Flash Player that is to intended to, among other things, fix a longstanding problem posed by .swf files, the Adobe proprietary Shockwave Flash format. The .swf bug, which was reported in December by a Google Inc. researcher, has left thousands of Web sites vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks.
More than three weeks ago, Adobe alerted users that a Flash Player update was coming. Although it said the patches would not affect end users, it warned Web site designers and administrators that they would need to make numerous changes to how they deliver Shockwave Flash content or risk their sites "breaking" when the April update lands on users' desktops.
Adobe was not immediately available to answer questions about when it first knew of the bug and why it had not released it earlier.
This week Adobe Flash will fix the bug problem that cracked windows vista during the “Pwn to Own" challenge. Flash claims it knew about the problem before it occurred. The problem will be solved during the next update of flash player. Web designers and administrators were alerted about the problem and would have to make changes when it comes to how they run shock wave. The solution will be a path which will be released with the later update.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Software News
How does one protect networks?
What common language is used by all directories using directory-based networks? LDAP
Which type of database is used by Novell NetWare v3? Bindery
Windows 3.1 was a resource-based operating system that did not require a login. True
The introduction of which operating system changed the problem of no security or power within a workgroup? Windows NT
What is the name of the super account on all Windows machines? Administrator
Another Windows XP reprieve unlikely, analysts say
While Microsoft may keep XP alive for low-cost laptops, there's little chance XP will get a second general stay
By Gregg Keizer
April 2, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. may be set to extend Windows XP's availability for low-cost laptops and a new generation of handheld devices, but it won't give the aged operating system a general reprieve from its June 30 retail and reseller cutoff, analysts said yesterday.
"Not likely," said Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry, citing Microsoft's need to push Windows Vista.
"XP has had one reprieve already," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch LLC. "And there are ways they can extend the life of the technology without extending the life of the XP brand."
Last September, Microsoft gave Windows XP a five-month stay, saying it would continue selling the operating system to large computer makers and at retail through the end of June, rather than call it quits Jan. 31, 2008, which had been its original plan.
Yesterday, reports surfaced that said Microsoft would also relax the June 30 deadline for low-cost laptops, such as the Asus Eee and the low-priced pocket devices that plan to use Intel's Atom processors. Those laptops and devices will lack the horsepower to run Windows Vista.
"There's clearly a need for something like XP in the mobile or ultramobile market, where it shines relative to Vista," Gartenberg said.
Cherry agreed that Vista has no place on low-powered hardware, but said Microsoft was in a tough spot. If Vista's specifications preclude its use on laptops in the $200 to $300 range, as they certainly do, and Microsoft doesn't want to cede the turf to Linux, its only choice is XP. Yet Cherry said Microsoft would put XP to bed if it could.
"Regardless of what happens, at the end of the day we've got XP, Vista -- all five versions of it -- and then Windows 7 coming along," Cherry said. "How long can they keep maintaining three big globs of code?"
But if people are expecting Microsoft to lengthen the life span of Windows XP for all users, they're dreaming, Cherry continued. "I think it's likely that Microsoft will extend the deadline, but I don't think everyone will like what it is. They won't keep it alive for all."
Cherry again cited the difficulty of maintaining the code base for XP at the same time it makes the case for Vista and develops Windows 7. He also dismissed the fact that last September, Microsoft promised to make Windows XP Starter Edition available in emerging markets -- generally defined as countries such as China, India, Russia and the like -- through June 2010. "There's a difference between maintaining something like XP Starter and XP for anyone who wants it," Cherry argued.
Interest in Windows XP's longevity has been driven by several factors, including the approaching June 30 deadline and the imminent release of another service pack, but the biggest reason users seem to want XP to live is a general reluctance to upgrade to Windows Vista.
Earlier this week, Forrester Research Inc. released results of monthly surveys during 2007 that polled more than 50,000 enterprise computer users. According to the surveys, Windows XP usage remained constant throughout the year at slightly over 89% of all Windows users in businesses. Windows Vista, meanwhile, grew from nearly nothing to just over 6%, but it appeared to get its gains at the expense of Windows 2000, not the dominant Windows XP.
A Forrester researcher said the data hinted that companies might hang onto Windows XP until the next iteration, Windows 7, is available in late 2009 or early 2010, skipping Vista altogether.
Gartenberg acknowledged the pressure to push out XP's drop-dead date came from Vista's troubles. "In the past, you could argue that the latest and greatest from Microsoft was better. But for many people and businesses, that just doesn't fly this time.
"It boils down to the simple question," he continued. "If Microsoft can't convince their customers to move to Vista, will they will be able to kill XP?"
Windows XP has been one of the easiest OS for people to use. Recently, Microsoft released its new Windows Vista; Vista has been having many problems that make users want to stay with XP and skip Vista. There is also a new OS to be released late next year called Windows 7; it may be better than vista and an upgrade from XP but easy to use like XP. If this is the case with Windows 7, many users may skip over Vista all together but that may mean XP will have to remain until after its cut of date which is June 2008.
What common language is used by all directories using directory-based networks? LDAP
Which type of database is used by Novell NetWare v3? Bindery
Windows 3.1 was a resource-based operating system that did not require a login. True
The introduction of which operating system changed the problem of no security or power within a workgroup? Windows NT
What is the name of the super account on all Windows machines? Administrator
Another Windows XP reprieve unlikely, analysts say
While Microsoft may keep XP alive for low-cost laptops, there's little chance XP will get a second general stay
By Gregg Keizer
April 2, 2008 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. may be set to extend Windows XP's availability for low-cost laptops and a new generation of handheld devices, but it won't give the aged operating system a general reprieve from its June 30 retail and reseller cutoff, analysts said yesterday.
"Not likely," said Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry, citing Microsoft's need to push Windows Vista.
"XP has had one reprieve already," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch LLC. "And there are ways they can extend the life of the technology without extending the life of the XP brand."
Last September, Microsoft gave Windows XP a five-month stay, saying it would continue selling the operating system to large computer makers and at retail through the end of June, rather than call it quits Jan. 31, 2008, which had been its original plan.
Yesterday, reports surfaced that said Microsoft would also relax the June 30 deadline for low-cost laptops, such as the Asus Eee and the low-priced pocket devices that plan to use Intel's Atom processors. Those laptops and devices will lack the horsepower to run Windows Vista.
"There's clearly a need for something like XP in the mobile or ultramobile market, where it shines relative to Vista," Gartenberg said.
Cherry agreed that Vista has no place on low-powered hardware, but said Microsoft was in a tough spot. If Vista's specifications preclude its use on laptops in the $200 to $300 range, as they certainly do, and Microsoft doesn't want to cede the turf to Linux, its only choice is XP. Yet Cherry said Microsoft would put XP to bed if it could.
"Regardless of what happens, at the end of the day we've got XP, Vista -- all five versions of it -- and then Windows 7 coming along," Cherry said. "How long can they keep maintaining three big globs of code?"
But if people are expecting Microsoft to lengthen the life span of Windows XP for all users, they're dreaming, Cherry continued. "I think it's likely that Microsoft will extend the deadline, but I don't think everyone will like what it is. They won't keep it alive for all."
Cherry again cited the difficulty of maintaining the code base for XP at the same time it makes the case for Vista and develops Windows 7. He also dismissed the fact that last September, Microsoft promised to make Windows XP Starter Edition available in emerging markets -- generally defined as countries such as China, India, Russia and the like -- through June 2010. "There's a difference between maintaining something like XP Starter and XP for anyone who wants it," Cherry argued.
Interest in Windows XP's longevity has been driven by several factors, including the approaching June 30 deadline and the imminent release of another service pack, but the biggest reason users seem to want XP to live is a general reluctance to upgrade to Windows Vista.
Earlier this week, Forrester Research Inc. released results of monthly surveys during 2007 that polled more than 50,000 enterprise computer users. According to the surveys, Windows XP usage remained constant throughout the year at slightly over 89% of all Windows users in businesses. Windows Vista, meanwhile, grew from nearly nothing to just over 6%, but it appeared to get its gains at the expense of Windows 2000, not the dominant Windows XP.
A Forrester researcher said the data hinted that companies might hang onto Windows XP until the next iteration, Windows 7, is available in late 2009 or early 2010, skipping Vista altogether.
Gartenberg acknowledged the pressure to push out XP's drop-dead date came from Vista's troubles. "In the past, you could argue that the latest and greatest from Microsoft was better. But for many people and businesses, that just doesn't fly this time.
"It boils down to the simple question," he continued. "If Microsoft can't convince their customers to move to Vista, will they will be able to kill XP?"
Windows XP has been one of the easiest OS for people to use. Recently, Microsoft released its new Windows Vista; Vista has been having many problems that make users want to stay with XP and skip Vista. There is also a new OS to be released late next year called Windows 7; it may be better than vista and an upgrade from XP but easy to use like XP. If this is the case with Windows 7, many users may skip over Vista all together but that may mean XP will have to remain until after its cut of date which is June 2008.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Software News
How do we protect network protocols?
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones
From which tab in the DNS Properties window can DNS root servers and their IP addresses be viewed? Root Hints
Which command is used from the command prompt to view the DNS cache? Ipconfig /displaydns
5 reasons to ditch the Mac and return to PCs
Productivity gains, compatibility issues drive a CTO (and Mac fan) to switch to Windows at his company
By Robert Lemos
1. Productivity trumps religion
It's easy to fall in love with the aluminum cases used in Mac hardware and the slick interface design of the Mac OS X, Keanini said. Those are two reasons why more people are moving to Apple products: Apple announced that shipments of its personal computers grew by 44% in the first quarter of 2008, beating the 15% growth in PC shipments worldwide, according to market researcher IDC.
Yet, depending on how a company uses Macs, trying to integrate the computers into a company's workflow can kill productivity, Keanini said. The applications never quite match up, data has to be massaged to be useful, and the company has to design work-arounds for each issue, he said.
"My rule is to find the technology that makes your company most productive and be honest with yourself about it," he said. "Don't bring religion into it."
2. Work-arounds waste time
As soon as a company allows a different operating system onto workers' desks, employees have to start dealing with all the little problems that crop up. Calendar programs no longer sync with the rest of the company, and documents created in one office software suite have to be converted to another, usually Microsoft Office. If your company uses Microsoft Exchange, as Keanini's does, this adds another layer of problems.
"Everything is going to be a little bit different, and that little difference in everything eventually adds up," Keanini said.
One company engineer woke up Keanini the night before presentation slides were due for a conference, his voice cracking with stress, because his slides -- exported from Apple's Keynote presentation application to Microsoft PowerPoint -- looked nothing like they had on the Mac.
While such mistakes can be avoided, the effort required to keep the company's data working on two platforms eventually saps productivity gains, he said.
3. It's hard to abandon favorite tools
You may become quite attached to a Windows application or two and decide that Apple doesn't have a comparable equivalent. Apple is well known for creating user-friendly applications, but for Keanini, Microsoft has a lead with at least one program: One Note which he uses for personal information management.
The application, originally created for Microsoft's tablet PC platform, allows the user to bring all sorts of data into a single notebook format. Also, OneNote does not have a Save dialog box, Keanini said. Microsoft recognizes that if a user enters data into his computer, he is going to want to save it.
Keanini finds himself using OneNote as an organizational hub for his day.
"It integrates so well from Office," Keanini said. "I can send mail from it, I can do To-Dos from it. Bottom line, does it make me more productive? Yes."
4. The Hotel California factor
"The designers of Mac -- again, this is their priesthood -- are not thinking about letting their users go," Keanini said. "It's like Hotel California: They are not expecting you to leave."
Companies that move over to the Mac OS X should expect to spend a lot of time converting data if they decide to move back to Windows, Keanini said.
The CTO said that moving all his data back to the Windows platform took more than week. Among the problems: Contacts and appointments exported from the Mac's applications had to be cleaned up, he said. Also, there's no simple way to get e-mail out of the Apple Mail application, he said.
"Today, companies need to be thinking about interoperability," he said. "It's the users' data, not the vendor's data."
5. You may feel the heat, literally
Aluminum cases make MacBook Pro laptops, like the one Keanini chose, very sleek. But, Keanini said, the focus on design overlooked the fact that the computers throw off a lot of heat; so much so that he found he could not use the computer on his lap.
"The religion made me blind," he said. "I was bringing [the MacBook] on business but leaving it in the hotel room."
Moreover, the heat causes another problem, he said: The computers' lithium-ion batteries tend to have a shorter life span when they run hot. Having to replace the batteries on the laptops more often hit the IT budget bottom line, he said.
Now, the executive runs a Lenovo ThinkPad. "It's a monster, but it runs cool and it's very fast," Keanini said.
Many people enjoy Mac OS X systems because of their sleek look and programs such as Photoshop. For most of my computer history I have been using windows and have gotten vary use to it. The first time I used a Mac was in a graphic design class. It was a challenge even with simple things such as copy/paste because there is no right click on a Mac mouse. It took a while for me to get use to; when I compare my experiences with it and windows, I find myself liking windows better simply because I’m so use to it and know many of it functions. If any problems happen, I normally can get myself out of it. Many things that Keanini mentioned were true; it is very hard to switch from one OS to another, especially for a company. I think that if one is comfortable with one OS, they shouldn’t waste too much time switching to another unless they can bare the struggle.
What is the cornerstone of all DNS functions? Forward Lookup Zone
Which computer is the DNS server and has the most control? 1
Which option is used to view IP addresses that point to specific computers within a domain? Reverse Lookup Zones
From which tab in the DNS Properties window can DNS root servers and their IP addresses be viewed? Root Hints
Which command is used from the command prompt to view the DNS cache? Ipconfig /displaydns
5 reasons to ditch the Mac and return to PCs
Productivity gains, compatibility issues drive a CTO (and Mac fan) to switch to Windows at his company
By Robert Lemos
1. Productivity trumps religion
It's easy to fall in love with the aluminum cases used in Mac hardware and the slick interface design of the Mac OS X, Keanini said. Those are two reasons why more people are moving to Apple products: Apple announced that shipments of its personal computers grew by 44% in the first quarter of 2008, beating the 15% growth in PC shipments worldwide, according to market researcher IDC.
Yet, depending on how a company uses Macs, trying to integrate the computers into a company's workflow can kill productivity, Keanini said. The applications never quite match up, data has to be massaged to be useful, and the company has to design work-arounds for each issue, he said.
"My rule is to find the technology that makes your company most productive and be honest with yourself about it," he said. "Don't bring religion into it."
2. Work-arounds waste time
As soon as a company allows a different operating system onto workers' desks, employees have to start dealing with all the little problems that crop up. Calendar programs no longer sync with the rest of the company, and documents created in one office software suite have to be converted to another, usually Microsoft Office. If your company uses Microsoft Exchange, as Keanini's does, this adds another layer of problems.
"Everything is going to be a little bit different, and that little difference in everything eventually adds up," Keanini said.
One company engineer woke up Keanini the night before presentation slides were due for a conference, his voice cracking with stress, because his slides -- exported from Apple's Keynote presentation application to Microsoft PowerPoint -- looked nothing like they had on the Mac.
While such mistakes can be avoided, the effort required to keep the company's data working on two platforms eventually saps productivity gains, he said.
3. It's hard to abandon favorite tools
You may become quite attached to a Windows application or two and decide that Apple doesn't have a comparable equivalent. Apple is well known for creating user-friendly applications, but for Keanini, Microsoft has a lead with at least one program: One Note which he uses for personal information management.
The application, originally created for Microsoft's tablet PC platform, allows the user to bring all sorts of data into a single notebook format. Also, OneNote does not have a Save dialog box, Keanini said. Microsoft recognizes that if a user enters data into his computer, he is going to want to save it.
Keanini finds himself using OneNote as an organizational hub for his day.
"It integrates so well from Office," Keanini said. "I can send mail from it, I can do To-Dos from it. Bottom line, does it make me more productive? Yes."
4. The Hotel California factor
"The designers of Mac -- again, this is their priesthood -- are not thinking about letting their users go," Keanini said. "It's like Hotel California: They are not expecting you to leave."
Companies that move over to the Mac OS X should expect to spend a lot of time converting data if they decide to move back to Windows, Keanini said.
The CTO said that moving all his data back to the Windows platform took more than week. Among the problems: Contacts and appointments exported from the Mac's applications had to be cleaned up, he said. Also, there's no simple way to get e-mail out of the Apple Mail application, he said.
"Today, companies need to be thinking about interoperability," he said. "It's the users' data, not the vendor's data."
5. You may feel the heat, literally
Aluminum cases make MacBook Pro laptops, like the one Keanini chose, very sleek. But, Keanini said, the focus on design overlooked the fact that the computers throw off a lot of heat; so much so that he found he could not use the computer on his lap.
"The religion made me blind," he said. "I was bringing [the MacBook] on business but leaving it in the hotel room."
Moreover, the heat causes another problem, he said: The computers' lithium-ion batteries tend to have a shorter life span when they run hot. Having to replace the batteries on the laptops more often hit the IT budget bottom line, he said.
Now, the executive runs a Lenovo ThinkPad. "It's a monster, but it runs cool and it's very fast," Keanini said.
Many people enjoy Mac OS X systems because of their sleek look and programs such as Photoshop. For most of my computer history I have been using windows and have gotten vary use to it. The first time I used a Mac was in a graphic design class. It was a challenge even with simple things such as copy/paste because there is no right click on a Mac mouse. It took a while for me to get use to; when I compare my experiences with it and windows, I find myself liking windows better simply because I’m so use to it and know many of it functions. If any problems happen, I normally can get myself out of it. Many things that Keanini mentioned were true; it is very hard to switch from one OS to another, especially for a company. I think that if one is comfortable with one OS, they shouldn’t waste too much time switching to another unless they can bare the struggle.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Software News
How do you protect Network protocols?
Which NTFS security option allows a user to read and run a program or application only?Read and ExecuteWhich operating system has a super account called root? UNIX/LinuxWhat allows Apple computers to function as Web or e-mail servers?AppleShare IPIn a UNIX environment, which Falseis used to perform printing on an individual machine?LPRWindows NT Workstation is directory-based, while Windows NT Server is server-based.False
Adobe joins Linux Foundation, develops Air for Linux
Releases early version of its platform for rich Internet applications to run on Linux
By Peter Sayer
March 31, 2008 (IDG News Service) Adobe Systems Inc. released an early alpha version of its Air rich Internet application platform for Linux today and announced that it has joined the Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes and standardizes Linux.
Air allows Internet-enabled applications to run on Windows and Mac OS X desktops. Air applications use the same technologies as Web applications built to run inside a browser, including HTML, AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and Flash, Adobe's own multimedia programming language.
The Air runtime framework is already available for Windows and Mac OS X. Adobe's goal is to allow such applications to also run on Linux, although some applications may not work with the version released today.
Adobe described this Linux version of Air as "alpha quality," meaning it will still have bugs and will lack some key features that will be in the final version. The bugs include an inability to work with GNU Java -- the alpha version will work only with Sun Java. Adobe has not yet implemented features such as document printing, IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6), support for multiple monitors and digital rights management.
Programmers can use Adobe's Flex software-development tools to build applications for Air. The company also released Adobe Flex Builder Linux Alpha 3, allowing developers to build Flex applications using Linux.
As a member of the Linux Foundation, Adobe will join companies including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Google and Nokia. The foundation was formed last year from the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group.
Although the Linux Foundation hailed Adobe's arrival as "a natural extension of its commitment to open standards and open source," that commitment stops short of publishing source code for the Linux version of Air. Adobe's end-user license for the code explicitly forbids any attempt to "reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the software."
Adobe has just joined with the Linux operating system to develop Air which is an internet application platform. This program can run on Windows and Mac OS desktops.
It uses the same features as many other applications. The program is already available but some applications may not be able to run on the version released today. Not only is Adobe joining Linux, it is also joining other companies such as IBM, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Nokia.
Which NTFS security option allows a user to read and run a program or application only?Read and ExecuteWhich operating system has a super account called root? UNIX/LinuxWhat allows Apple computers to function as Web or e-mail servers?AppleShare IPIn a UNIX environment, which Falseis used to perform printing on an individual machine?LPRWindows NT Workstation is directory-based, while Windows NT Server is server-based.False
Adobe joins Linux Foundation, develops Air for Linux
Releases early version of its platform for rich Internet applications to run on Linux
By Peter Sayer
March 31, 2008 (IDG News Service) Adobe Systems Inc. released an early alpha version of its Air rich Internet application platform for Linux today and announced that it has joined the Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes and standardizes Linux.
Air allows Internet-enabled applications to run on Windows and Mac OS X desktops. Air applications use the same technologies as Web applications built to run inside a browser, including HTML, AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and Flash, Adobe's own multimedia programming language.
The Air runtime framework is already available for Windows and Mac OS X. Adobe's goal is to allow such applications to also run on Linux, although some applications may not work with the version released today.
Adobe described this Linux version of Air as "alpha quality," meaning it will still have bugs and will lack some key features that will be in the final version. The bugs include an inability to work with GNU Java -- the alpha version will work only with Sun Java. Adobe has not yet implemented features such as document printing, IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6), support for multiple monitors and digital rights management.
Programmers can use Adobe's Flex software-development tools to build applications for Air. The company also released Adobe Flex Builder Linux Alpha 3, allowing developers to build Flex applications using Linux.
As a member of the Linux Foundation, Adobe will join companies including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Google and Nokia. The foundation was formed last year from the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group.
Although the Linux Foundation hailed Adobe's arrival as "a natural extension of its commitment to open standards and open source," that commitment stops short of publishing source code for the Linux version of Air. Adobe's end-user license for the code explicitly forbids any attempt to "reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the software."
Adobe has just joined with the Linux operating system to develop Air which is an internet application platform. This program can run on Windows and Mac OS desktops.
It uses the same features as many other applications. The program is already available but some applications may not be able to run on the version released today. Not only is Adobe joining Linux, it is also joining other companies such as IBM, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Nokia.
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