Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Takes Aim at Windows

Ubuntu 11.04, the 'Natty Narwhal' is now out marking the first release of the popular Linux distro in 2011.

The 11.04 release provides new features for both desktop and server users as well as new cloud technologies. The Natty release also provides the most visible change to the Linux desktop in years with the new Unity interface. For Canonical, the lead commercial sponsor behind Ubuntu, the 11.04 release is a big step forward in its effort to help attract Windows users over to Linux.

"For Windows users, all of the attributes of Ubuntu, including the security, fast boots and the stability, are things we take into Ubuntu 11.04." Gerry Carr, marketing manager at Canonical, toldInternetNews.com. "What was missing before and stopping us from getting more into the mainstream was a complete and compelling, different experience for PC users."

The new Unity interface is Ubuntu's take on what the next-generation Linux desktop shell should look like. Ubuntu split with the broader GNOME desktop community on the interface issue, rejecting the GNOME Shell approach that other distros, including Red Hat and its Fedora Linux, are taking.

The Unity interface, however, is not for everyone. Unity requires users have graphics hardware acceleration to support the system. For those that choose not to use Unity, Ubuntu 11.04 also provides the 'Ubuntu Classic' experience. Carr noted that the Ubuntu Classic provides what is essentially an older GNOME 2.29 interface in 2D.

Carr noted that Canonical will be serving the Ubuntu 11.04 web version from the Amazon cloud. The service will be able to support up to 800 concurrent users at any one time.

The next Ubuntu release is currently scheduled for October and will be codenamed the Oneiric Ocelot.

Intel said set to ship five new SSDs, hybrid drive

Intel plans to release five new solid-state drives (SSD) before year's end, according to reports.

In combination with its upcoming Z68 chipset, any one of the new SSDs could be used as performance-boosting cache in combination with a standard hard disk drive (HDD), the reports say.

According to technology news site VR-Zone, Intel will release its Z68 chipset for Sandy Bridge processors next month. The Z68 chipset supports Intel's Rapid Storage Technology SSD caching, which allows an SSD to be used in combination with a traditional HDD to create a hybrid drive similar to Seagate's Momentus XT.

The SSD would act as a cache, increasing performance for operations such as operating system and application load times.

Intel's hybrid drives require an SSD with a capacity of 18.6GB to 64GB, according to VR-Zone. Like Seagate's Momentus XT, the most frequently used data would also be cached for faster access.

Some of the five new Intel SSDs due out this year will exceed the performance of the company's current top-of-the-line SSD 510 Series products, according to an Intel drive road map obtained by Engadget. According to that road map, Intel plans to release a PCIe-based 400GB single-level cell (SLC) solid-state drive as part of the new "Ramsdale" SSD 720 Series. The company will also ship a new "Lyndonville" SSD 710 series that uses enterprise-class multilevel cell (MLC) memory.

Microsoft fixes Office flaws found in Patch Tuesday updates

Microsoft today issued a fix for a problem in its Outlook 2007 email client caused by an update that shipped two weeks ago. It was the second time in the last six days that Microsoft patched bugs introduced in Office applications by updates it issued April 12.

"After installing the April 2011 Public Update, some Outlook 2007 users reported difficulty with print previewing messages," Microsoft acknowledged in a post to its Office Updates blog. "To correct this issue, we have issued a public hotfix which you can download and install."

Although not a security update, the original Outlook 2007 fix appeared on Patch Tuesday, Microsoft's monthly roll-out of bug updates. The April 12 update for Outlook was described as offering "stability and performance improvements."

Users quickly began reporting problems after installing the Outlook 2007 update, with some saying that they could no longer send or receive mail, while others claimed that they could not print.

Microsoft pulled the update from its Windows Update service. "This update was recalled by Microsoft and will be re-released shortly," a company support document read.

The latest Outlook 2007 hotfix can be downloaded from Microsoft's site.

Facebook's 'green' data center design to have ripple effect

Facebook's innovative new data center design -- believed to be one of the world's most energy-efficient facilities of its kind -- will have a significant influence on corporate data center build-outs over the next several years, experts say.

Facebook's new Prineville, Ore., data center features an outside air-cooled building, energy-efficient power supplies, battery back-up and custom servers.

In an unusual move, Facebook revealed the details of its data center design and created the Open Compute Project, an open source community, to help improve it. Facebook has partnered with Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Quanta and others on the Open Compute Project, and is also working with Dell, HP, Rackspace, Skype and Zynga on new designs.

Facebook's data center design is 38% more energy efficient than conventional designs. That's why companies planning to build data centers in the next three years are likely to borrow some of Facebook's ideas, experts say.

Among the innovations in the Facebook data center design expected to be copied are the use of outside air cooling -- which is already popular in Europe -- instead of air conditioning. This alleviates the need for not only chillers but all of the duct work required by central air conditioning.

Kingston announces Hyper X Plug and Play memory

Kingston has announced its high performance DDR3 Hyper X Plug and Play memory starting from £39. 

Kingston claims its Hyper X memory modules are the first to scale the higher memory speeds that are associated with Intel's second generation Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors. 

Apparently the memory is programmed with faster frequencies when you install it into a Sandy Bridge chipset and will then automatically play at 1600MHz or 1866MHz in either a desktop or laptop. Hence the name Plug and Play which avoids the need for heading off to your system's BIOS screens to fiddle with settings. The modules are also backwards compatible with existing DDR3 memory systems on the market.

The Hyper X kits start at £39 for 4GB - two modules of 2GB each - for 1600MHz. Double this to 8GB - two modules of 4GB each - and the cost is £72. These kits are available in DIMM and SODIMM formats at the same prices.

Google releases a Google Docs app for Android

Google has released a Google Docs app for its Android mobile operating system.

The app comes with a slew of features, including the ability to search for and filter through documents from any Google account. Users can then edit documents easily from within the app and save them online.

Documents can be shared with phone contacts from within the app and they can also be uploaded to or opened from Gmail.

A nice addition is a widget for the home screen that can open the app, open starred documents, take a photo to upload, or instantly open a new document.

The photo feature is interesting, because Google's optical character recognition technology allows users to take a photo of text and have Google Docs convert it into a text document. This can be done through the widget button or within the app itself, and users can convert old photos to documents as well. Handwriting and fancy fonts won't be recognised, but Google hinted that they might be in future versions.

The app is available now in the English language on Android versions 2.1 and above. 

Intel prepares its 20GB Larsen Creek SSD

Intel is preparing to release a 20GB solid state disk (SSD) drive, according to documents leaked by the motherboard manufacturer Asrock. 

Chipzilla recently updated its popular range of SSDs with the 320 Series of drives based on 25nm NAND flash memory modules, but it looks like the chipmaker will release another, smaller capacity drive to interface with the Z68 chipset for its Sandy Bridge line of processors. At the launch of the 320 Series, Intel announced capacities ranging from 40GB to 600GB, however a new 20GB drive codenamed Larsen Creek was spotted when Asrock sent out some marketing material about Intel's upcoming Z68 chipset.

Asrock was touting Intel's Smart Response technology that aims to use an SSD as a cache drive to boost overall system performance with conventional mechanical hard drives. The marketing material, which has since been pulled from Asrock's servers, claimed that boot time was significantly reduced when a Z68 chipset motherboard with a 20GB Larsen Creek SSD was used. It also showed that the system with a Larsen Creek SSD returned PC Mark 05 scores that were three times higher than those of a system with a single Western Digital's 1TB hard drive.

It's not known how much Intel will charge for its 20GB Larsen Creek SSD when it does tip up, but given that Intel's 40GB Series 320 goes for around £70, we expect prices around the £50 mark. That means that if Asrock's performance claims turn out to be representative of real world benchmarks, a Z68 chipset motherboard with a small SSD onboard could become an attractive upgrade.

Phishing attacks spiked in late 2010

Phishing attack spiked to 67,677 during the last half of 2010, up from 48,244 in the first half of last year, according to the "Global Phishing Survey 2H2010" report published today.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group, which issues the bi-annual reports, says the increase is largely due to better information it now has about attacks on Chinese targets. That data was contributed by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), which operates the .CN domain registry, and is also the secretariat of the Anti-Phishing Alliance of China.

The history of .CN domains is that in December 2009, "new rules in China barred individuals from registering .CN domains, and required all potential registrants to present a paper application form with a copy of a company business license and a copy of the registrant's personal identification," the APWG report notes. The result is that "the .CN registry fell from 13.5 million in late 2009 to just 3.4 million in March 2001."

Although historically about 80% of phishing attacks around the world appear to have used the hacked Web servers of innocent domain registrants, "in contrast, the Chinese phishers prefer to register domain names and subdomains for their malicious work," the report notes.

Another indicator measured by the report is the average and median uptimes of phishing attacks. According to the Global Phishing Survey 2H2010, that rose to an average uptime of 72 hours, "the longest average for any time period since we began our uptime measurements three years ago," according to the report. The median uptime of a phishing site was 15 hours and 19 minutes.

ASUS Launches HD 6770 DirectCU and HD 6750 Formula Graphics Cards

ASUS today announced the launch of the new self-designed HD 6770 DirectCU and HD 6750 Formula graphics cards. Both are equipped with the ASUS-exclusive Super Alloy Power technology that delivers a 15% performance boost along with a lifespan that is 2.5 times longer than conventional graphics cards. The HD 6770 DirectCU features copper pipes that are in direct contact with the GPU to offer a 20% cooler performance than reference graphics cards, while the HD 6750 Formula’s integrated aerodynamic cover and micro surface treatment technology achieves a cooling performance 13% better than references. With this combination of ultimate cooling and durability, the HD 6770 DirectCU and HD 6750 Formula graphics cards allow users to enjoy unprecedented levels of realistic PC gaming and multimedia entertainment.

The HD 6770 DirectCU features the award-winning ASUS-exclusive DirectCU thermal design with copper heat pipes that are in direct contact with the GPU to effectively draw heat away from the core. This improves cooling by 20% and is quieter when compared with reference designs.

The HD 6750 Formula features a streamlined aerodynamic cover design, and fin modules with micro surface treatment technology to create a centralized air flow and effectively dissipate heat for 13% cooler operating temperatures than reference graphics cards.

Android popularity among consumers soars high

Android has been making waves as the best smartphone platform. It has turned out to be the favorites among the consumers as compared to Apple's iphone . 

The monthly surveys done by Nielsen in U.S. on mobile consumers revealed interesting facts. It stated that 31 percent of consumers prefer their smartphone in Android Phones. And a 30 percent vouched for Apple iphone. Mobile users who planned to upgrade to a smartphone in the next year also opted for an Andriod platform than Apple. 

The inclusion of Verizon iphone in U.S. also could not reduce the desirability and popularity of Android Smartphones.

Though Apple overtook Nokia in handset sale by revenue, looking on to the past 6 months sales record of Smartphones, purchase of Andriod based smartphone outnumber iOS. Fifty percent of people who purchased a smartphone in the past six months said they had chosen an Android device and 25 percent said they had bought an iPhone, and 15 percent said they got a BlackBerry device.

Google patches 27 Chrome bugs, pays out record bounties

Google today patched 27 vulnerabilities in Chrome as it boosted the "stable" build of the browser to version 11 on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The company paid out a record $16,500 in bounties to researchers who reported a majority of the bugs, beating the previous biggest payday by several hundred dollars.

Wednesday's 27-patch update fixed 18 vulnerabilities rated "high," the second-most-severe ranking in Google's scoring; six labeled "medium"; and three pegged as "low."

None of the vulnerabilities was ranked "critical," the category reserved for bugs that may let an attacker escape Chrome's anti-exploit "sandbox." Google has patched three critical bugs so far this year.

As is its practice, Google locked its bug tracking database to bar outsiders from viewing the technical details of the just-patched vulnerabilities. The company blocks public access to flaws for weeks or even months to give users time to update.

Today's bounties totaled $16,500, handed out to 11 researchers for finding and reporting 17 of the patched vulnerabilities. Frequent contributor Sergey Glazunov took home $4,000, as did another researcher identified only as "kuzzcc."

Verizon acknowledges 4G LTE outage

Verizon this morning acknowledged that its 4G LTE network was not working for users across the U.S. after reports trickled in overnight about a nationwide outage.

In an update posted through its official Twitter account, Verizon Wireless acknowledged that it was "aware of an issue with 4G LTE connections" and said that its "network engineers are working to resolve quickly."

Verizon's update came hours after reports began surfacing on tech news sites such asEngadget that 4G connectivity had been knocked offline nationwide. Engadget's Vlad Savov reported that when he tried to connect to the LTE network with an HTC Thunderbolt in San Francisco this morning, the phone could only latch onto Verizon's 3G EV-DO Rev. A network. Multiple LTE users also registered problems they were having over Twitter.

The outage marks the first major issue for Verizon's LTE network, which came on line in December. The carrier's network has so far proven to be the fastest wireless data network in the U.S., as initial tests showed data downloads frequently topping 10Mbps in most major markets, although these tests were run when the network just started and didn't have much congestion. A test released in March by PC Worldshowed that Verizon's LTE laptop air cards provided average download speeds of 6.5Mbps and average upload speeds of 5Mbps.

Puppet Labs releases extensible API

In the six years since it launched, systems management vendor Puppet Labs has earned kudos as an open source company to watch, been heralded as a thought leader on the need to bring together IT development and operations teams, and grabbed a spot in the data centers of prominent companies such as Apple, Disney, eBay and Twitter.

That's all good news for Puppet Labs CEO Luke Kanies, who created Puppet with the stated goal of enabling companies to build a much better operation.

Kanies explains Puppet, the latest release of which is available for download today, as "a tool that allows you to explain in very simple configuration language how you want your infrastructure to look -- what it means to be a database server, or a Web server or an application server and which hosts you want running each of those servers -- and then builds each of those machines in the way you configured them."

The new release, Puppet 2.7.0, lets users further capitalize on this flexibility and modularity, Kanies says. It does so through availability of Faces, a new set of extensible tools and application programming interfaces for interacting with Puppet and its core components.

With Faces, Puppet exposes command-line functionality to the user, creating a ready-made connection to Puppet's core data components and enabling creation of more services. For example, a company could use Faces to create a new set of cloud capabilities -- setting up a server on Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) with a simple command such as "puppet ec2 create."

Apple releases Snow Leopard font update

Apple has released an update for OS X that addresses font-rendering problems that cropped up for users who had upgraded to OS X 10.6.7. We initially reported on this issue in late March, where a number of people who had upgraded to OS X 10.6.7 were not able to read PDFs that were created in the latest version of the Mac OS. The issue was narrowed to how OS X was managing OpenType PostScript fonts.

If you check Software Update from within OS X 10.6.7 you should be able to apply the update there; however, you can also download it from the update's Web page (it is 3.77MB in size). Be sure that even if you update OS X by installing the latest Combo updater, that you apply this patch to fix the font problems.

The update released today addresses this issue, and includes fixes that:

1. Address an issue in which some OpenType fonts don't display correctly in certain    applications
2. Resolve issues printing from Preview
3. Address an issue with PDF files not opening in third-party PDF-viewing applications
4. Resolve invalid font errors when printing to PostScript printers

If you have been waiting to upgrade to OS X 10.6.7 or have downgraded your Mac to the previous version as a result of the font-handling issue, you should be able to now update it and properly print and manage fonts.

Chrome lets you delete plug-in storage data

For privacy fans or others who want to keep their computers free of traces of what they've been doing online, Google's Chrome browser is getting an option to make sure Adobe Systems' Flash Player isn't getting in the way.

Web sites often store details about a user in small text files called cookies that can record details such as usernames, browsing history, and advertisements that have been seen. But storage abilities in Flash mean that even if a person deletes regular cookies, a Web site could reconstruct particulars from Flash data. There are other storage mechanisms arriving in browsers, too, leading to the term "evercookie," but Adobe is trying to take care of its responsibilities with a beta of Flash Player 10.3 that lets browsers delete that data.

"As of this week's Chrome Dev channel release, you can delete local plug-in storage data (such as Flash LSOs [local storage objects]) from within Chrome by clicking Wrench > Tools > Clear browsing data and selecting 'Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data,'" said Chrome programmer Bernhard Bauer in a blog post. Chrome also can be set to delete such data when people shut down the browser.

Oracle fixes Java.com website hole after heads-up from hacker group

The secretive hacker group known as YGN Ethical Hacker Group has done it again, exposing a vulnerability in a vendor website -- this time one owned by Oracle -- through assessment scanning. YGN says Oracle responded promptly to its notification about the vulnerability it found in www.java.com and fixed the hole.

YGN told Network World by email that the Oracle Security Alerts team has thanked it for the information provided about an "arbitrary URL redirect vulnerability" in www.java.com. YGN published advisory information about this vulnerability both on the public SecLists online and the hacker group's own website on Sunday.

Oracle had no immediate comment.

This interaction between YGN and Oracle, which took place over the last week, seems to have followed a far different course than the hacker group's recent interaction with McAfee, which ended last month with YGN disclosing it had found a vulnerability in the McAfee websitebefore the security vendor had fixed it.

Researchers discover alternative to cryptography

US researchers have developed software that allows data to be stored on a hard drive safely and invisibly, without the use of encryption. The method is described in the report, 'Designing a cluster-based covert channel to evade disk investigation and forensics.

The fact that this data is hidden means it is less vulnerable to hacking than encrypted information because, with the latter, the hacker can ascertain that the information actually exists, even though it is in encrypted form.

The new system fragments the data in question and scatters it in individual segments around the hard drive. Its inventors said it allows users to truthfully state there is no hidden information on the drive.

"We present a new approach to storing sensitive information on a cluster-based file system. [This] does not require storage of any additional information on the file system," according to the report.

Moreover, the channel effectively hides all data stored on the hard drive, meaning an investigator - or hacker - without the key will not be aware of the presence of information. 

Writing on his blog at Kaspersky's security site Threatpost, Dennis Fisher explained its advantages over traditional cryptography: "Modern cryptosystems are effective at preventing adversaries from reading the encrypted data, but they're not so good at hiding the presence of that data. Forensic techniques can easily identify encrypted files, and attackers can then use other means to perhaps force a user into divulging the secret key to decrypt them."

Cloud-Connected Backup and Recovery Delivers a Command Performance

What distinguishes the most innovative, dynamic backup and recovery solutions from the rest of the pack? Is it the benefits that come with transitioning from tape to disk? Is it shorter backup windows and faster recovery times? Is it the confidence that no matter where data is stored, it is totally secure and can be

recovered right when you need it? Yes, it’s all of these.

But a more elemental, evolutionary leap is underway. It’s the cloud, connected to your organization.

While the cloud may not be the ideal foundation for every organization’s data protection needs, it undeniably offers virtually every company many clear and compelling data storage advantages. Organizations that fail to put the cloud to use for backup and recovery, in the right way at the right time, are handicapping a vital business process. 

Cloud-connected storage solutions use the power of the cloud selectively, enabling you to combine cloud-based and on-premise technologies in a seamless hybrid that provides exactly the right mix of security, accessibility, affordability, and performance. This paper explores how cloud-connected offerings are taking center stage and helping customers thrive in the evolving, exciting data protection environment.

Click the title to download.

Nokia hands Symbian OS work and 3,000 employees to Accenture

Nokia will outsource its Symbian software activities to Accenture, transferring 3,000 employees to the company in the process, as it moves its focus to making phones running on Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.

The Finnish phone manufacturer will also close some of its research and development sites and eliminate a further 4,000 jobs by the end of next year as it seeks to cut €1 billion ($1.4 billion) from its annual devices and services operating expenses by 2013, it said Wednesday. Most of the jobs cut will be in Denmark, Finland and the U.K.

Accenture will initially provide Nokia with software development and support services for the Symbian mobile platform, and later with software and services around the Windows Phone platform, the companies said.

The employees to be transferred to Accenture will come from Nokia units in China, Finland, India, the U.K. and the U.S. After initially providing Nokia with services related to Symbian software, they will be retrained and redeployed on other activities, the companies said.

They did not say whether Accenture will pay for the business unit -- or whether Nokia will pay Accenture to take it on.

Sony confirms PSN user data has been stolen

In an update on the Playstation Blog today, Sony's Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media Patrick Seybold confirmed our worst fears: your Playstation Network info may have been stolen.

Here's the most impactful part of the post:

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

Seybold urges members to be particularly aware of the potential for phishing and other scams in the days to come.

As to restoration of the Playstation Network, he says "some services" will be restored within a week.

Microsoft explains its location data collection practices

In the midst of an uproar over ways that Apple and Google collect and store location information from mobile phones, Microsoft has laid out details about its Windows Phone 7 data collection policies.

Microsoft says that it collects location information only if users allow an application to access location data and when that particular application requests location information. It also said that it keeps that data in a Microsoft database.

Microsoft said that it assembles and maintains a database of the locations of cell towers and Wi-Fi access points in order to provide its location services. When a user accesses an application that requires location information, Microsoft compares the Wi-Fi access points and cell towers in range of the device with the location database, which contains details of the locations of the access points and cell towers.

In addition, when customers are using location-aware applications and Wi-Fi is turned on, the phones collect information about nearby Wi-Fi access points. If the user has GPS turned on, Microsoft will also collect location details.

Microsoft said it only collects location information when a particular application requests it. Also, it said that when it collects location information, it matches it with a randomly generated ID assigned to the device, which is retained for a limited period. It uses that ID to distinguish location requests.

The company left a few unanswered questions, including how long it retains data collected from user phones. It said it stores the data in a Microsoft database, but did not specify whether it also stores any such data on user devices.

Google acquires Indian founded company TalkBin

Montain View-based, TalkBin, the feedback platform for businesses has announced that it has been acquired by Google, reports TechCrunch.

TalkBin allows customers to give immediate feedback to local businesses. Users can submit their opinions and critiques via mobile applications. The applications could be from Android and iOS as the homepage of TalkBin shows screenshots of the applications.

Google sees a lot of potential in the service but Google will shut down the TalkBin feedback platform for a while. It plans to reopen the service with more options for the platform.

Facebook joins Google in taking on Groupon

Last week, Google launched a beta test version of its new Google Offerscompetitor to Groupon service. And today Facebook added an offering that further takes on the increasingly popular site that offers daily discounts to local restaurants, services and attractions.

Facebook Tuesday launched the Deals on Facebook service in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco. The new service focuses on helping users find discounts on local activities like concerts or hot air balloon rides.

Facebook said the service is set up so users can get deals in a few different ways. For example, users can sign up for email notifications or they can click on the Deals tab on their own Facebook homepage. And if their online friends share information on a particular deal, it will show up in their news feed.

Today's Facebook news comes on the heels Google's plan to go after a chunk of Groupon's local, daily-deals market.

Much like Groupon, Google Offers is designed to send people who sign up for the service daily discounts for local restaurants, services and attractions. According to the Google Offers sign-up page, the coupons offer discounts of 50% or more.