Software news, comment and analysis

Chinese Hummer deal

2009-06-04T17:54:00.001-07:00

General Motors (GM) has named the outfit that is to acquire its Hummer brand of vehicles, along with the division's senior management and operational team.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery (Tengzhong), a major industrial machinery group, will acquire the rights to the brand and assume existing dealership network agreements.

It is contemplated that Tengzhong will, as part of the transaction, enter into a long-term contract assembly and key component and material supply agreement with GM.

In an earlier statement, GM said it expects the deal, if successful, to secure more than 3,000 US jobs.

The final terms of the deal are subject to final negotiations.

Based in the Chinese province of Sichuan, Tengzhong is a privately owned company and a domestic manufacturer of road, construction and energy industry equipment.

'We will be investing in the Hummer brand and its research and development capabilities, which will allow Hummer to better meet demand for new products such as more fuel-efficient vehicles in the US,' said Yang Yi,chief executiveofficerof Tengzhong.

Hummer will continue to maintain its headquarters and operations in the US, and will continue to be managed by its existing leadership team.

The team intends to expand Hummer's dealer network worldwide, particularly into new and underserved markets such as China.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Cloud computing: Resistance is futile

2009-04-30T21:05:00.005-07:00

There may be a number of unresolved security issues around cloud computing but if you try to resist the trend you are likely to be shown the door.

This was the claim of Philippe Courtot, chairman of security company Qualys, speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco last week.

"We know that it's getting harder and harder to secure the current computing infrastructure and something has to change. Fundamentally there are too many variables and too many security patches," he said.

Read more: RSA Security Conference

"The burden today is on the enterprise: they have to select the components, the servers, the routers and the applications, and to add insult to injury they have to secure that."

According to Courtot, the burden of security on organizations is too great, and the cloud is potentially the answer.

Proponents of cloud computing often point to the ability it gives businesses to buy services themselves, bypassing the IT organization. Courtot warned: "If you resist the move to the cloud you will be replaced. Resistance is not an option."

However, he still sees a role for the internal IT security team: "The security people will have a more strategic role because they will be selecting the correct partners," he said.

The complexity of combining cloud applications with traditionally sourced applications will also secure an important role for IT teams, at least in the short term.

Chief information officers, however, remain sceptical of cloud computing, and recent research by silicon.com saw it branded this year's most overhyped technology.

According to Courtot, a number of improvements are needed before cloud computing will be able to take off, including the development of more secure browsers, stronger authentication and federated ID in the cloud, secure open protocols and standards, and legal and contractual improvements.

This article was originally published on silicon.com.

Cloud computing: Resistance is futile

2009-04-30T21:05:00.003-07:00

There may be a number of unresolved security issues around cloud computing but if you try to resist the trend you are likely to be shown the door.

This was the claim of Philippe Courtot, chairman of security company Qualys, speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco last week.

Read more: RSA Security Conference

"The burden today is on the enterprise: they have to select the components, the servers, the routers and the applications, and to add insult to injury they have to secure that."

According to Courtot, the burden of security on organizations is too great, and the cloud is potentially the answer.

However, he still sees a role for the internal IT security team: "The security people will have a more strategic role because they will be selecting the correct partners," he said.

The complexity of combining cloud applications with traditionally sourced applications will also secure an important role for IT teams, at least in the short term.

Chief information officers, however, remain sceptical of cloud computing, and recent research by silicon.com saw it branded this year's most overhyped technology.

This article was originally published on silicon.com.

CPV solar farm

2009-04-30T21:05:00.001-07:00

ZenithSolar, an Israeli start-up company, has recently launched its first 'solar farm' near Tel Aviv, based on concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems developed by Prof David Faiman of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).

Faiman, who is chairman of the Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics at BGU's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, believes that the system will harvest more than 70 per cent of incoming solar energy (as compared to industry norms of between 10 per centand 40 per cent).

The concept of CPV systems is to use low-cost optics to increase the light incident ontohigh-efficiency semiconductor solar cells, thus reducing overall cost of the system while increasing energy output.

The ZenithSolar optical dish is based on a patented design, using multiple simple flat mirrors mounted on a plastic surface. The moulded plastic surface, divided into four quadrants, is fixed onto a rigid, high-precision metal frame assembled onto an azimuth elevation solar tracking system.

The concentrated solar radiation is reflected from each individual mirror onto an array of solar cells. ZenithSolar uses field-proven high-efficiency multi-junction III-V solar cells for the job.

In conventional CPV systems, the excess heat generated in the solar cell needs to be removed to avoid damaging the cell and to maintain high efficiency of electricity conversion.

By contrast, ZenithSolar uses the heat generated at the solar-cell receiver to provide usable hot-water heating, improving overall solar power conversion efficiency.

'By concentrating solar energy to a level 1,000 times more intense than natural sunlight and taking advantage of the higher efficiencies at which solar cells operate under these conditions, only minute amounts of expensive PV material are necessary to produce large amounts of power,' said Faiman.

Report: Conficker in attack mode

2009-04-30T14:56:00.001-07:00

The Conficker threat has a new twist, with the worm now reportedly installing a second mass-mailing virus that many know as Waledac.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Conficker-infected machines are now being turned into servers for e-mail spam. Quoting Vincent Weafer, vice president of Symantec Security Response, Xinhua reported Conficker now installs a second virus--Waledac--that sends out e-mail spam without the computer owner's knowledge.

Read also: Conficker's estimated economic cost? $9.1 billion

"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," Weafer was quoted as saying of the Conficker impact. "It's not going to be fast [or] aggressive."

According to security vendor Trend Micro, the worm also installs malware that masquerades as antivirus software.

Earlier this month, Trend Micro's advanced threats researcher Paul Ferguson, said Conficker and Waledac originated from the same authors. Waledac has been referred to by some experts as a new version of Storm, a mass-mailing worm that surfaced in early 2007.

This article was originally posted on ZDNet Asia.

CPV solar farm

2009-04-30T14:55:00.005-07:00

The concentrated solar radiation is reflected from each individual mirror onto an array of solar cells. ZenithSolar uses field-proven high-efficiency multi-junction III-V solar cells for the job.

In conventional CPV systems, the excess heat generated in the solar cell needs to be removed to avoid damaging the cell and to maintain high efficiency of electricity conversion.

By contrast, ZenithSolar uses the heat generated at the solar-cell receiver to provide usable hot-water heating, improving overall solar power conversion efficiency.

Cloud computing: Resistance is futile

2009-04-30T14:55:00.003-07:00

There may be a number of unresolved security issues around cloud computing but if you try to resist the trend you are likely to be shown the door.

This was the claim of Philippe Courtot, chairman of security company Qualys, speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco last week.

Read more: RSA Security Conference

"The burden today is on the enterprise: they have to select the components, the servers, the routers and the applications, and to add insult to injury they have to secure that."

According to Courtot, the burden of security on organizations is too great, and the cloud is potentially the answer.

However, he still sees a role for the internal IT security team: "The security people will have a more strategic role because they will be selecting the correct partners," he said.

The complexity of combining cloud applications with traditionally sourced applications will also secure an important role for IT teams, at least in the short term.

Chief information officers, however, remain sceptical of cloud computing, and recent research by silicon.com saw it branded this year's most overhyped technology.

This article was originally published on silicon.com.

Cloud computing: Resistance is futile

2009-04-30T14:55:00.001-07:00

There may be a number of unresolved security issues around cloud computing but if you try to resist the trend you are likely to be shown the door.

This was the claim of Philippe Courtot, chairman of security company Qualys, speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco last week.

Read more: RSA Security Conference

"The burden today is on the enterprise: they have to select the components, the servers, the routers and the applications, and to add insult to injury they have to secure that."

According to Courtot, the burden of security on organizations is too great, and the cloud is potentially the answer.

However, he still sees a role for the internal IT security team: "The security people will have a more strategic role because they will be selecting the correct partners," he said.

The complexity of combining cloud applications with traditionally sourced applications will also secure an important role for IT teams, at least in the short term.

Chief information officers, however, remain sceptical of cloud computing, and recent research by silicon.com saw it branded this year's most overhyped technology.

This article was originally published on silicon.com.

Report: Conficker in attack mode

2009-04-30T12:14:00.001-07:00

The Conficker threat has a new twist, with the worm now reportedly installing a second mass-mailing virus that many know as Waledac.

Read also: Conficker's estimated economic cost? $9.1 billion

"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," Weafer was quoted as saying of the Conficker impact. "It's not going to be fast [or] aggressive."

According to security vendor Trend Micro, the worm also installs malware that masquerades as antivirus software.

This article was originally posted on ZDNet Asia.

CPV solar farm

2009-04-30T10:31:00.003-07:00

The concentrated solar radiation is reflected from each individual mirror onto an array of solar cells. ZenithSolar uses field-proven high-efficiency multi-junction III-V solar cells for the job.

In conventional CPV systems, the excess heat generated in the solar cell needs to be removed to avoid damaging the cell and to maintain high efficiency of electricity conversion.

By contrast, ZenithSolar uses the heat generated at the solar-cell receiver to provide usable hot-water heating, improving overall solar power conversion efficiency.

Report: Conficker in attack mode

2009-04-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

The Conficker threat has a new twist, with the worm now reportedly installing a second mass-mailing virus that many know as Waledac.

Read also: Conficker's estimated economic cost? $9.1 billion

"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," Weafer was quoted as saying of the Conficker impact. "It's not going to be fast [or] aggressive."

According to security vendor Trend Micro, the worm also installs malware that masquerades as antivirus software.

This article was originally posted on ZDNet Asia.

Cyberspies breach US fighter-jet project: Report

2009-04-23T03:51:00.009-07:00

Computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted current and former government officials familiar with the matter as saying the intruders were able to copy and siphon data related to design and electronics systems, making it potentially easier to defend against the plane.

The spies could not access the most sensitive material, which is kept on computers that are not connected to the internet, the paper added.

Citing people briefed on the matter, it said the intruders entered through vulnerabilities in the networks of two or three of the contractors involved in building the fighter jet.

Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor. Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems also have major roles in the project. Lockheed Martin and BAE declined comment and Northrop referred questions to Lockheed, the paper said.

The Journal said Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on the matter, but the paper said the US Air Force had begun an investigation.

The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be established, the paper said.

The Journal quoted former US officials as saying the attacks seemed to have originated in China, although it noted it was difficult to determine the origin because of the ease of hiding identities online.

The Chinese Embassy said China "opposes and forbids all forms of cybercrimes", the Journal said.

The officials added there had also been breaches of the US Air Force's air-traffic control system in recent months.

Cyberspies breach US fighter-jet project: Report

2009-04-23T03:51:00.007-07:00

Computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The spies could not access the most sensitive material, which is kept on computers that are not connected to the internet, the paper added.

Citing people briefed on the matter, it said the intruders entered through vulnerabilities in the networks of two or three of the contractors involved in building the fighter jet.

The Journal said Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on the matter, but the paper said the US Air Force had begun an investigation.

The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be established, the paper said.

The Chinese Embassy said China "opposes and forbids all forms of cybercrimes", the Journal said.

The officials added there had also been breaches of the US Air Force's air-traffic control system in recent months.

Cyberspies breach US fighter-jet project: Report

2009-04-23T03:51:00.005-07:00

Computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The spies could not access the most sensitive material, which is kept on computers that are not connected to the internet, the paper added.

Citing people briefed on the matter, it said the intruders entered through vulnerabilities in the networks of two or three of the contractors involved in building the fighter jet.

The Journal said Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on the matter, but the paper said the US Air Force had begun an investigation.

The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be established, the paper said.

The Chinese Embassy said China "opposes and forbids all forms of cybercrimes", the Journal said.

The officials added there had also been breaches of the US Air Force's air-traffic control system in recent months.

Cyberspies breach US fighter-jet project: Report

2009-04-23T03:51:00.003-07:00

Computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The spies could not access the most sensitive material, which is kept on computers that are not connected to the internet, the paper added.

Citing people briefed on the matter, it said the intruders entered through vulnerabilities in the networks of two or three of the contractors involved in building the fighter jet.

The Journal said Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on the matter, but the paper said the US Air Force had begun an investigation.

The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be established, the paper said.

The Chinese Embassy said China "opposes and forbids all forms of cybercrimes", the Journal said.

The officials added there had also been breaches of the US Air Force's air-traffic control system in recent months.

Cyberspies breach US fighter-jet project: Report

2009-04-23T03:51:00.001-07:00

Computer spies have repeatedly breached the Pentagon's costliest weapons program, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The spies could not access the most sensitive material, which is kept on computers that are not connected to the internet, the paper added.

Citing people briefed on the matter, it said the intruders entered through vulnerabilities in the networks of two or three of the contractors involved in building the fighter jet.

The Journal said Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on the matter, but the paper said the US Air Force had begun an investigation.

The identity of the attackers and the amount of damage to the project could not be established, the paper said.

The Chinese Embassy said China "opposes and forbids all forms of cybercrimes", the Journal said.

The officials added there had also been breaches of the US Air Force's air-traffic control system in recent months.

More MOX

2009-04-06T15:49:00.001-07:00

Areva has signed a contract to supply Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel for Japan’s new Ohma nuclear power plant located in the Aomori prefecture and operated by the Japanese utility Electric Power Development.

MOX fuel is an alternative to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in the light water reactors that predominate nuclear power generation.

Under the terms of the contract, the fuel will be fabricated at Areva's Melox plant in southern France, using Japanese plutonium recovered from the treatment operations performed at Areva’s La Hague plant, thereby recycling it to be used in Japan as MOX fuel.

The Ohma nuclear power plant is scheduled tostart operation in 2014.

The contract comes as part of Japan’s nuclear programme to recycle used fuel, and follows contracts Areva signed in 2006 and 2008 with Japanese utilities Chubu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Kansai.

With 1,426 tons produced to date, Melox plant is the world’s leading producer of MOX fuel.

Wind fund

2009-04-04T15:59:00.003-07:00

The British Wind Energy Association(BWEA) has built up a £3.2m industry fund thatit plans to use to develop advanced technologies designed to solve issues such as wind turbine interference with radar.

When rotating, wind turbine blades show up on radar displays, which is of concern to both military and civil radar operators. The so-called Aviation Investment Fund Company (AIFC) will look at how to solve the problem, having already identified a number of technologies likely to yield a solution.

Maria McCaffery, chief executive of the BWEA, said: 'The aviation fund shows the wind industry's commitment to resolve aviation objections as a barrier to further wind-energy deployment. We have brought key parties to the table and have progressed negotiations from a memorandum of understanding in 2008, to the establishment of a fund management company to administer and oversee deployment of the funds raised.'

The first companies to support the AIFC are Airtricity, Banks Developments, E.On Climate & Renewables, EDF Energy Renewables, Ecotricity, Falck Renewables, Novera Energy, RES UK and Ireland, RWE Npower Renewables, ScottishPower Renewables, Vattenfall, West Coast Energy, Wind Prospect and Your Energy.

The BWEA hopes thatother companies with current or future potential wind farm aviation issues will also come on board in the future.

Wind fund

2009-04-04T15:59:00.001-07:00

The BWEA hopes thatother companies with current or future potential wind farm aviation issues will also come on board in the future.

UK gets its own public game event 'Game On! London' (Xbox 360)

2009-04-03T14:59:00.021-07:00

You might say that the UK is under-represented when it comes to public-access game events - shows where you can play previews of upcoming games and take part in multiplayer game tournaments. And pick up schwag.

The Germans get the yearly Game Convention, the Japanese Tokyo Game Show, the US the Penny Arcade Expo (regular punters still aren't allowed access to E3) but gamers in the UK - not much, except the successful, but PC-centric PC Gamer Showdown.

This year that all changes with the HMV sponsored Game On! London. The event is being run by the UKeSA, a nascent organisation tasked with developing and growing professional and grass-roots competitive gaming.

Hosting 25,000 attendees, Game On! London will be held in the Olympia Exhibition Center between 20th and 21st June 2009 and will give gamers the chance to play early versions of unreleased games and spectate at the Dell XPS Premiership Season One Finals - comprised of UK eSport's most elite gaming teams.

The GamesRadar network will be representing at the show and we'll let you know as soon as tickets become available and how much it's going to cost to get in. Plus keep an eye out for ticket giveaways to our most loyal readers near the time.

Meanwhile, If you fancy taking part in the season two UKeSA leagues you can sign up atwww.enemydown.eu/content/ukesa2

Apr 2, 2009

UK gets its own public game event 'Game On! London' (Xbox 360)

2009-04-03T14:59:00.019-07:00

Meanwhile, If you fancy taking part in the season two UKeSA leagues you can sign up atwww.enemydown.eu/content/ukesa2

Apr 2, 2009

UK gets its own public game event 'Game On! London' (Xbox 360)

2009-04-03T14:59:00.017-07:00

Meanwhile, If you fancy taking part in the season two UKeSA leagues you can sign up atwww.enemydown.eu/content/ukesa2

Apr 2, 2009

Verizon promises 4G wireless for rural America

2009-04-03T14:59:00.015-07:00

LAS VEGAS--The new 4G wireless broadband network that Verizon Wireless plans to launch in 2010 could be rural America's answer to its broadband access prayers. But extending the network to every nook and cranny in the U.S. will likely take years.

Tony Melone, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Verizon Wireless, said during an interview at the CTIA Wireless 2009 tradeshow here Wednesday that the new 4G network that the company is building will blanket the entire continental United States, including the far corners of rural America.

"The licenses we bought in the 700MHz auction cover the whole U.S.," Melone said. "And we plan to roll out LTE throughout the entire country, including places where we don't offer our CDMA cell phone service today."

UK gets its own public game event 'Game On! London' (Xbox 360)

2009-04-03T14:59:00.013-07:00

Meanwhile, If you fancy taking part in the season two UKeSA leagues you can sign up atwww.enemydown.eu/content/ukesa2

Apr 2, 2009

Verizon promises 4G wireless for rural America

2009-04-03T14:59:00.011-07:00