TechnologyNews

Here’s the problem with book publishers’ discovery problem

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:05:45 +0000

Conferences are most useful when they shift your thinking in some way. Those moments are rare, but I got to enjoy two of them this week at two separate conferences — Book^2 Camp, a book publishing “un-conference,” in New York on Sunday and the much larger O’Reilly Tools of Change Conference on Wednesday and Thursday. I came away with some new thoughts on discoverability and walled gardens — concepts that have been thrown around a ton in the past year or so, including sometimes by myself.

Discoverability is a problem for publishers, maybe not so much for readers

This post on why online book discovery is broken and how to fix it got the most comments of any post I’ve ever written, and a couple commenters complained that the solutions I offered in that post were aimed at publishers, not readers. That might be because discovery is more of a problem for publishers than readers: It is in publishers’ best interest to help readers find a not-so-well-known book, but it is not necessarily in readers’ best interest to read that book. It’s also unclear whether the average reader is really having all that much trouble finding the next book he or she wants to read.

A Book^Camp session led by Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky of BookRiotfocused on the “average” reader, a person who reads at most a few books per year. (Recent Pew data shows that of the 75 percent of Americans who read at least one book in 2012, the median number of books read was six.) This session was, not surprisingly, filled with bookish people who read at least a book a week, so I suggested that we think about areas of media consumption in which we, ourselves, are average.

For me that’s music and movies. I’m an avid reader — I spend a lot of time thinking about what I will read next and searching for books and talking to people about books — but I don’t put that level of effort into finding which songs to listen to next or which movie to watch. Instead, I kind of wait for things to rise to the surface. When something finally breaks through to the point where I’ve heard about it enough, through various internet and non-internet sources, I consume it.

This is why I saw Argo three months after it was released and will maybe get around to watching Zero Dark Thirty some time in 2014. It’s why I mostly listen to the radio on Spotify. I’m not really proud of this, but I’m not that embarrassed by it either. If I put as much effort into consuming movies and music as I do into reading books, I would have way less time to read. I’d rather read, so something’s gotta give.

There are a lot of people like me — big readers who spend a lot of time thinking about what they are going to read next. Book publishers do not have to worry about these people. At the same time, getting average readers to be interested in book discovery — getting average readers to visit Bookish, for instance — is going to be difficult, because you are also going to have to require these people to make big shifts in their behavior and in their media consumption patterns.

Are these people really not reading more because they don’t know what they should read? Maybe. But it’s more likely that they have plenty of things they’d like to read, and just don’t have time, or, like me, there are other forms of media that they care about more than books, and if they were to shift into reading more books, they would have to give up things they really like instead.

As Brett Sandusky points out, “Most people who read books read for pleasure. They will have gaps in their reading before they pick up something else. Yet somehow, we’ve decided, implicitly, that the normative reading behavior, which discoverability facilitates, is shotgun style where readers are reading book after book after book after book.”

It’s hard to change people’s behavior patterns — that’s a challenge for any industry, not just for book publishing. Book publishers have to continue to focus on getting their books into new readers’ hands, but it is unclear whether algorithmic solutions like Bookish are going to be of interest to anyone but the people who are the most avid readers already. Since publishers can’t physically enter people’s living rooms, turn off their TVs and shove books into their hands, they may instead have to focus on retailand, as Guy LeCharles Gonzales writes, work on their direct relationships with readers.

Walled gardens are permeable

At Tools of Change on Wednesday, Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler presented the results of a survey of 1,500 U.S. Goodreads users. (His full presentation is here.) This is, of course, a survey of those avid readers I mentioned above — not only are they on Goodreads but they are willing to actually sit down and take a survey about their ebook reading behavior. Nevertheless, check out this slide:

Goodreads / “What’s Going on with Readers Today”http://www.slideshare.net/GoodreadsPresentations/whats-going-on-with-readers-today-16508449

There are way more questions than answers here, but the results appear to suggest that readers don’t see platform lock-in as an insurmountable problem — or in fact as something that’s actually locking them in. Instead, they’re reading across different retail platforms.

These results “made us scratch our head,” Chandler said. The company didn’t delve further into which devices readers are using to read ebooks across platforms, and so it’s unclear how exactly this experimentation is taking place. For example: Are people confusing “iBooks” with iPad — so that someone reading ebooks on a Kindle is also reading them on an iPad Kindle app, but somehow counts that as reading on iBooks? Or are readers using multiple retailers’ tablet apps, and also buying ebooks from multiple retailers? Or are they actually breaking DRM so that they can buy a Nook book and read it on a Kindle? It seems possible that tablets actually break down walled gardens because readers can have multiple ebook vendors’ apps on a single device.

Disclosure: Goodreads is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True Ventures.

Upcoming: paidContent Live, Apr. 17, 2013, New York, Save $100, Register by 3/22More upcoming conferences.

E-textbooks for Colleges—Less Costly, More Functional

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:53:18 +0000

E-textbooks for Colleges—Less Costly, More Functional

The convenience of new multifunction tablet computers, combined with the rising

costs of college textbooks, are driving the increasing adoption and availability

of e-textbooks. Textbook price increases are outpacing inflation and represent

a sizable burden for students struggling to pay tuition. Textbooks now cost much

more than $100 each and sometimes more than $200 each. These high prices

are driven by the cost to produce the supplemental material authors prepare for

teachers and students, including CDs, quizzes, and lesson plans.

E-textbooks are about half the cost of hardcopy textbooks and offer other advantages,

as well. They are often offered as 180-day rentals at even lower costs.

Moreover, e-textbooks will decrease the number of used books purchased. The

National Association of College Stores estimates that used books account for

one-third of total sales of college textbooks. Publishers receive no royalties on

used-book sales.

Another advantage of electronic formats is that they lend themselves to interactive

features and other enhancements. For example, new tablet computers support

full-color and interactive graphics that students can manipulate; for instance,

they can edit the inputs of pie charts and bar graphs to see how the outcome

changes. In addition, publishers are thinking about other creative ways to offer

information online, such as selling single chapters of books on particular topics.

Publishers receive lower royalties on e-textbooks because of the lower overall

prices. However, they will gain material savings on printing, warehousing, and

distribution, which are major cost considerations. In addition, authors will be

able to more easily edit their books for the inevitable errors that show up after

a book has been printed. Some publishers allow professors to customize books

for their classes by reorganizing or deleting chapters and uploading syllabuses.

Asegurando una tablet para navegar por Internet, en 6 simples pasos.

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:04:58 +0000

Internet en cualquier lugar se ha convertido finalmente en una realidad con la tecnología móvil de hoy. Ya sea que se consulte el correo electrónico en la cafetería o tomar una llamada en conferencia rápida en la playa, las tablets nos permiten que sea fácil mantenerse entretenido y productivo prácticamente en cualquier lugar la vida te lleve.

Sin embargo hay que tener mucho cuidado.

Tener la Tablet on line puede hacernos vulnerables a una variedad de peligros de Internet, como el robo de identidad y estar sujetos a estafas y robos. Esto es especialmente cierto si usted está utilizando un punto de acceso público en lugar de su red doméstica.

Siga estos sencillos pasos para garantizar una navegación segura y protegida sin importar dónde se encuentre.

G en vez de WiFi gratis

Los puntos de acceso inalámbricos a menudo no nos dan garantía de seguridad, dejando su información dentro de alcance de cualquier persona dentro de la red, pasibles a Snifeo de la red. Incluso las conexiones WiFi cifradas pueden hacer que sus datos sean accesibles a las personas que te rodean. Un plan de datos 3G o 4G es la mejor opción para la seguridad, pero no todos los servicios móviles son ilimitadas. Las puntos próximos son para minimizar sus riesgos cuando se conectan a través de una red pública.

2. Utilice una VPN

Las redes privadas virtuales (VPN) están disponibles a través de muchos proveedores de servicios móviles. Con varios niveles de cifrado, una VPN ofrece una forma segura de navegar por la web sin poner en peligro sus datos sensibles. Una VPN puede incluir también características adicionales, tales como acceso de escritorio remoto para acceder de forma segura y cómoda y transferir archivos entre su hogar y redes de trabajo.

3. Sea selectivo con su navegación

Si usted no está utilizando una VPN, es importante tener cuidado al navegar por la web utilizando un punto de acceso WiFi. Páginas web con direcciones https (en lugar de sólo http) son encriptadas para mayor seguridad. Asegúrese de que su servidor de correo electrónico utiliza la encriptación durante toda la sesión para mantener a posibles fisgones fuera de su bandeja de entrada.

No realice actividades sensibles como utilziar Homebanking o realizar compras a traves de Internet.

4. Mantenga el dispositivo seguro

Esperamos que todo el mundo entienda la importancia de proteger su tablet de los ladrones físicos. Usted debe tener un código PIN o contraseña fuerte para evitar el acceso no autorizado, y seguir los consejos de Naked Security sobre cómo proteger su teléfono o tableta de los ladrones .

Sin embargo, debemos ser conscientes de que existen otras maneras en que los criminales podrían acceder a sus datos o recursos de su tablet.

Ya sea que usted se va a conectar en una red 3G o un punto de acceso público, una aplicación de seguridad puede evitar muchos dolores de cabeza. Estas aplicaciones son similares a software de seguridad y puede ayudar a proteger el dispositivo contra el malware, así como otros percances en línea.

Sophos ofrece una herramienta gratuita para proteger los dispositivos Android de las amenazas de malware y otros.

Desafortunadamente, Apple no permite plenamente las funciones de los programas antivirus en su App Store – pero la buena noticia es que iOS no ha sufrido hasta ahora de algo como el problema del malware que ha preocupado a los dispositivos Android.

Servicios VPN pueden proporcionar navegación segura para los ordenadores portátiles y tabletas.

5. Descarga de fuentes de confianza

Incluso cuando usted está navegando en una red segura, ciertos tipos de sitios web pueden ser una amenaza para la seguridad de la tablet. Algunos sitios pueden intentar descargar archivos a su dispositivo capaz de recoger información o dañar los archivos existentes. Descarga de aplicaciones desde fuentes externas puede poner su dispositivo en riesgo. Se adhieren a las tiendas de aplicaciones de confianza, como la tienda iOS App, Jugar con Google y Amazon App Store.

Históricamente, los mercados oficiales han sufrido menos aplicaciones maliciosas que las tiendas no autorizadas de terceros.

6. Mantenga su sistema operativo y las aplicaciones hasta al día

Mantenga su tablet y su software al día es una de las mejores maneras de protegerse. Las actualizaciones del sistema son particularmente importantes debido a que muchas de estas actualizaciones contienen soluciones vitales de seguridad. Al utilizar una versión anterior del sistema operativo puede abrir el dispositivo a peligros aún mayores, especialmente a los piratas informáticos. Asegúrate de mantener tus aplicaciones al día también. Muchos tienen acceso a una gran cantidad de información.

Asegúrese de seguir estos consejos antes de poner su tablet en línea

CYBER THREAT TO UK

admin — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:16:43 +0000

MPs have warned that UK armed forces are so dependent on information technology that their ability to operate could be "fatally compromised" by a cyber attack. Other countries have faced virus attacks, often from other states.

Stuxnet

Perhaps the best known cyber attack on a nation, Stuxnet targeted Iran's uranium refining systems.

Research has suggested that although the Stuxnet virus was felt in Iran in 2010 it had origins back to 2007.

Stuxnet is also related to Duqu (see below) and it could be that the two were created to work simultaneously, it also has similarities to Flame.

Flame

According to Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs, Flame has been operating since August 2010 but was not uncovered until May 2012. The company told the BBC last year that it believed the attack was state-sponsored, but could not be sure of its exact origins.

Flame is a computer virus that contains a sophisticated attack toolkit, and which is a lot more powerful than previously encountered malware such as Duqu according to ITU (International Telecommunication Union.

The virus collected huge amounts of sensitive data.

Flame has been reported in North America and Europe but affects have also been felt in:

Iran
Israel
Sudan
Syria
Lebanon
Saudi Arabia
Egypt

Wiper

Wiper is still under investigation by both Kaspersky Labs and ITU and is named for its primary trait – destroying and wiping files.

Wiper may have been responsible for wiping hard disks in an attack targeting oil facilities in western Asia.

Wiper also spawned copycats such as Shamoon, but little is known about it to date.

Duqu

Duqu has been described as a sophisticated Trojan (a programme which looks like a benign file but which hides the virus) and is believed by Kaspersky Labs to have been written by the same people who created Stuxnet.The Lab says that Duqu acts as a way to extract information from infected systems. It differs from Stuxnet in that it was created to extract intelligence rather than targeting computer systems which control industrial processes in the real world.

Gauss

Targeting the Middle East Gauss was designed to steal sensitive information and was discovered during the ITU investigation in to Flame.

It is believed that the malware has been operating since September 2011 and was uncovered in June 2012. It is possible that tens of thousands have been infected, while a much lower figure than that believed to be infected by Stuxnet it is significantly higher than those subject to Duqu or Flame.

Kaspersky Labs describes Gauss as "a complex, nation-state sponsored cyber-espionage toolkit designed to steal sensitive data, with a specific focus on browser passwords, online banking account credentials, cookies, and specific configurations of infected machines"

Kaspersky Labs is a private Russian company which has often worked with the ITU, providing services on a non-commercial, pro-bono basis.

STUXNET – El arma del siglo 21

admin — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:09:15 +0000

[

Stuxnet es capaz de reprogramar controladores lógicos programables y ocultar los cambios realizados.³ También es el primer gusano conocido que incluye un rootkit para sistemas reprogramables PLC.⁴

La compañía europea de seguridad digital Kaspersky Labs describía a Stuxnet en una nota de prensa como "un prototipo funcional y aterrador de un arma cibernética que conducirá a la creación de una nueva carrera armamentística mundial". Kevin Hogan, un ejecutivo de Symantec, advirtió que el 60% de los ordenadores contaminados por el gusano se encuentran en Irán, sugiriendo que sus instalaciones industriales podrían ser su objetivo.⁵ Kaspersky concluye que los ataques sólo pudieron producirse "con el apoyo de una nación soberana", convirtiendo a Irán en el primer objetivo de una guerra cibernética real.⁶ ⁷ ⁸

El objetivo más probable del gusano, según corroboran medios como BBC o el Daily Telegraph,⁹ ¹⁰ pudieron ser infraestructuras de alto valor pertenecientes a Irán y con sistemas de control de Siemens. Medios como India Times apuntan que el ataque pudo haber retrasado la puesta en marcha de la planta nuclear de Bushehr.¹¹ Fuentes iraníes han calificado el ataque como "guerra electrónica"¹²aunque minimizan el impacto de los daños en sus instalaciones. Algunos medios como el norteamericano New York Times han atribuido su autoría a los servicios secretos estadounidenses e israelíes.¹³

Historia

A mediados de junio de 2010 la compañía VirusBlokAda informó de su existencia, y se han fechado parte de sus componentes en junio de 2009.³ El gusano contiene algunos elementos compilados el 3 de febrero de 2010, según indica su time stamp.¹⁴

Aunque el ataque inicial parece centrarse en Irán, desde entonces la infección ha ido expandiéndose por distintos países. Según la empresa de seguridad Symantec, en agosto de 2010 los principales países infectados eran los siguientes:

En septiembre se hizo público en el periódico New York Times que el código del gusano contiene la referencia a un archivo con nombre "Myrtus".¹⁷ Este nombre es similar al hebreo Esther, hecho que puede entenderse como una indicación de que Israel podría estar detrás del ataque, o bien como una pista falsa de sus creadores para sembrar confusión.

[editar]Método de operación

Stuxnet ataca equipos con Windows empleando cuatro vulnerabilidades de día cero de este sistema operativo, incluyendo la denominada CPLINK y otra empleada por el gusano Conficker. Su objetivo son sistemas que emplean los programas de monitorización y control industrial (SCADA) WinCC/PCS 7 de Siemens.

La diseminación inicial se hace mediante memoria USB infectadas, para luego aprovechar otros agujeros y contaminar otros equipos con WinCC conectados en red. Una vez lograda la entrada al sistema, Stuxnet emplea las contraseñas por defecto para obtener el control.³ El fabricante, Siemens, aconseja no cambiar las contraseñas originales porque esto "podría tener impacto en el funcionamiento de la planta".¹⁸

La complejidad de Stuxnet es muy poco habitual en un ataque de malware. El ataque requiere conocimientos de procesos industriales y algún tipo de deseo de atacar infraestructuras industriales.³ ¹ En concreto, según la empresa Symantec, Stuxnet verifica la existencia en el objetivo de cierto número de motores variadores fabricados por dos empresas concretas, una iraní y otra finlandesa, estableciéndose rutinas distintas según la cantidad de variadores de uno y otro fabricante.¹⁹

El número de vulnerabildades de día cero de Windows que aprovecha Stuxnet también es poco habitual. Este tipo de errores de Windows son muy valorados por crackers y diseñadores de malware puesto que permiten acceder a sistemas incluso aunque hayan instalado todas las actualizaciones de seguridad, al no ser conocidos públicamente. Un ataque malware normal no desperdiciaría cuatro de estos errores en un solo gusano.⁹

Además, Stuxnet es extrañamente grande, ocupando medio megabyte,²⁰ y está escrito en distintos lenguajes de programación, incluyendo C y C++, algo que se ve con poca frecuencia en otros ataques de este tipo.³ ¹

Stuxnet fue firmado digitalmente con dos certificados auténticos robados de autoridades de certificación. Tiene capacidad de actualización mediante P2P, lo que permite su puesta al día incluso después de que el servidor remoto de control haya sido desactivado.²⁰ ²¹

Todas estas capacidades habrían requerido un equipo completo de programadores de distintas disciplinas, y la verificación en sistemas reales de que el malware no bloquearía los PLCs. Eric Byres, programador con años de experiencia en el mantenimiento y reparación de sistemas Siemens, declaró a Wired que escribir este software podría haber requerido meses o incluso años de trabajo si lo hubiera realizado una sola persona.²⁰

[editar]Eliminación

Siemens ha puesto a disposición del público una herramienta de detección y eliminación de Stuxnet. Siemens recomienda contactar con su soporte técnico si se detecta una infección, instalar los parches de Microsoft que eliminan las vulnerabilidades de Windows y prohibir en las instalaciones industriales el uso de memorias USB ajenas o no controladas.²²

También la empresa BitDefender ha desarrollado una herramienta gratuita para eliminar Stuxnet.²³

[editar]Especulaciones sobre el origen del ataque

Un portavoz de Siemens declaró que el gusano Stuxnet fue encontrado en 15 sistemas, cinco de los cuales eran plantas de fabricación en Alemania. Según Siemens, no se han encontrado infecciones activas y tampoco existen informes de daños causados por el gusano.²⁴

Symantec afirma que la mayor parte de los equipos infectados están en Irán,²⁵ lo que ha dado pie a especulaciones de que el objetivo del ataque eran infraestructuras "de alto valor" en ese país,⁹ incluyendo la Central Nuclear de Bushehr o el Complejo Nuclear deNatanz.²⁰

Ralph Langner, un investigador alemán de seguridad informática, cree que Stuxnet es un arma diseñada "para disparar un solo tiro" y que el objetivo deseado por sus creadores fue probablemente alcanzado,²⁶ aunque ha admitido que esto son solo especulaciones.²⁰Bruce Schneier, otro investigador en seguridad, ha calificado estas teorías como interesantes, si bien señala que existen pocos datos objetivos para fundamentarlas.²⁷

Algunos especialistas (pendiente de encontrar referencias) señalaban a Israel como principal sospechoso, y en concreto a la Unidad 8200 de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel.

Finalmente el New York Times eliminó todo rumor o especulación confirmando que se trata de un troyano desarrollado y financiado por Israel y Estados Unidos con el fin de atacar las centrales nucleares iranies.²⁸

READ MORE

Kim Dotcom estrenó Mega, a un año del cierre de Megaupload

admin — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:35:46 +0000

El sitio, cuya apertura se da a un año del cierre de su anterior web por infringir derechos de autor, ya está en línea. Según anunció su fundador, obtuvo 100.000 usuarios en menos de una hora

Kim Dotcom, fundador de Megaupload, cuya extradición han pedido los Estados Unidos para juzgarlo por violación de derechos de autor, lanzó oficialmente este domingo un nuevo sitio de intercambio de archivos denominado Mega, inundado de visitas desde sus primeras horas.

Dotcom anunció el lanzamiento del sitio mega.co.nz el domingo a las 06H48 en Nueva Zelanda (17H48 GMT del sábado), exactamente un año después de la pesquisa de policía de neozelandesa en su vasta propiedad de Auckland (norte).

Kim Schmitz, quien cambió su nombre a Kim Dotcom, se halla actualmente en libertad bajo fianza en Nueva Zelanda, donde vivía en el momento de su detención a raíz de la incursión policial.

En su cuenta Twitter, el alemán se congratuló: "100.000 usuarios en menos de una hora" y "250.000 usuarios registrados. Servidores a su máxima capacidad. Todo irá mejor cuando pase la euforia inicial. Wow!", escribió.

Asimismo, Dotcom anunció el 12 de enero pasado que postergaría la salida de su servicio musical, llamado Megabox, para mediados de este año.

Mega.co.nz se presenta como un sitio de almacenamiento en línea como Dropbox oGoogle Drive, pero con una capacidad de 50 GB, una propuesta netamente superior a sus competidores.

Kim Dotcom lo anunció como ultraseguro y más potente que Megaupload, cerrado hace un año por las autoridades estadounidenses.

Desafiando abiertamente a la Casa Blanca, Kim Dotcom publicó un corto tweet a la intención de la cuenta @BarackObama: "15 minutos", un cuarto de hora antes de la activación del sitio.

De nacionalidad alemana, Kim Dotcom está amenazado de extradición a los Estados Unidos, pero la audiencia que verá el caso ya fue postergada dos veces y ha sido fijada para agosto de 2013.

La justicia norteamericana acusa a los responsables de Megaupload de haber ganado de manera fraudulenta unos 175 millones dólares, al ofrecer copias piratas de películas, programas de televisión y otros contenidos.

Fundado en 2005 y con sede en Hong Kong, el sitio afirmaba reunir cada día 50 millones de usuarios y representar un 4% de la web.

Kim Dotcom quiere evidentemente protegerse de nuevas demandas judiciales al afirmar que los datos que intercambiarán los usuarios del sitio mega.co.nz son encriptados e inaccesibles para los administradores.

FCC chairman challenges states to create ‘gigabit’ cities

admin — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:13:29 +0000

FCC chairman challenges states to create ‘gigabit’ cities #thecircuit

By Hayley Tsukayama

Gigabit cities: Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski Friday challenged each state to create a “gigabit city,” one with high-speed Internet, by 2015.

“American economic history teaches a clear lesson about infrastructure,” said Genachowski in a statement. “If we build it, innovation will come. The U.S. needs a critical mass of gigabit communities nationwide so that innovators can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global competitiveness.”

Genachowski said that he plans to hold workshops on gigabit communities and create an online source of best practices for broadband deployment to help communities reach these goals.

Internet freedom day: One year ago, Web activists were celebrating the end of two Internet piracy bills. Now, Friday, Jan. 18, is known as “Internet Freedom Day,” organized by the groupsthat rallied an unexpected force of Internet users to support the concept of the open Web.

As part of Internet Freedom Day, Web advocacy groups are asking for people to take that momentum to a variety of causes, including demanding updates to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, sending letters to the House and Senate Judiciary committees to ask them to support an open Web and participating in a University of California study about Internet activism.

Batteries: A pair of incidents related to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in Boeing 787 Dreamliners has called attention to the safety concerns that surround the popular technology, The Washington Post reported.

More than 4 billion rechargeable batteries were produced last year, the report said, and fires are far from common. When fires do happen, however, they are powerful and dramatic, and point to a need for further evaluation about the risks and benefits of the batteries.

Instagram releases user stats: Instagram has released new user statistics — perhaps in an attempt to head off speculation that the photo-sharing service is suffering in the wake of its terms of service controversy.

According to new statistics posted on the company’s press page, its active membership has grown 10 percent month-over-month between December and January, to 90 million monthly active users. Instagram says its users post 40 million photos to the service every day.

There have been scattered reports that Instagram’s user base has seen a dramatic drop since the company proposed — and then retreated from — changes to its terms of service that dealt with advertising.

Las “telcos” invierten en “fibra” y “fierros”

admin — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:19:37 +0000

“Popeye el marino” renace a su manera en las empresas de telecomunicaciones argentinas que proveen servicios al mercado corporativo, empresario y gubernamental. El famoso personaje de tiras cómicas y cortometrajes es caracterizado como un marinero independiente con los músculos de los antebrazos muy desarrollados, a base de comer espinaca.

En las “telcos” no asumen esa fisonomía en la forma de vestir pero sí en sus anuncios de inversiones realizados en lo que va de este mes de noviembre.

Es que estos desembolsos procuran dotar de mayores capacidades de transmisión a sus redes, a partir de la expansión de la fibra óptica.

Las inversiones no sólo van a “fibra” sino a “fierros”, como hardware para centros de datos y hasta nuevos “data center”.

Así como Popeye salió en ayuda de Olivia, los operadores ofrecen a las empresas y gobiernosredes más robustas y servicios como computación en la nube, comunicaciones entre máquinas y hasta “ciudades inteligentes”.

Telefónica
La filial argentina del grupo español Telefónica anunció el jueves que incrementará 50% su inversión sólo para la unidad de la compañía que brinda soluciones y servicios a empresas, por lo que pasará de los 200 millones de pesos invertidos este año a más de 300 millones en el curso de 2013.

Así lo aseguró el responsable de esta unidad para la Argentina, José Luis Aiello, para precisar que esta medida es parte de los 4.500 millones de pesos que invierte el grupo en el país.

Esta inversión incluye el desarrollo de soluciones a medida para los clientes corporativos, y el despliegue de fibra óptica para llegar a unos 7.500 pertenecientes a los mismos en todo el país, afirmó Aiello.

¿Cuáles son los puntos a los que llegarán con fibra óptica directa para asegurar la capacidad de ancho de banda que las corporaciones requieren? Según dijo el ejecutivo ante una consulta de la agencia Télam, pueden ser sucursales bancarias, oficinas céntricas o establecimientos dispersos en el interior, como así también una estación de servicio.

En una conferencia de prensa en el contexto del 012, una reunión que Telefónica organizó para sus clientes del segmento empresarial, Aiello comentó que este año para la operación en la Argentina fue muy positivo en términos de adopción de tecnología, y agregó que los tres segmentos que se destacaron fueron salud, banca y gobierno.

El sector público representa el 17% de los ingresos de la unidad de negocios para empresas, apuntó el director comercial de Gobierno, Enrique Fornonzini, quien añadió que este grupo, en los tres niveles jurisdiccionales (nacional, provincial y municipal), es el que más ha crecido en el año.

Y precisó que en 2012 trabajaron soluciones para 230 reparticiones públicas y especialmente distinguió los casos de plataformas tecnológicas de seguridad, vulgarmente conocidas como el 911.

Claro
El gran rival regional que tiene Telefónica es el grupo América Móvil, propietario de Claro. Esta empresa anunció este mes que invertirá el próximo año 400 millones de dólares para mejorar su infraestructura de red y aumentar la cobertura en el país.

La inversión, según indicó Claro, busca garantizar a los clientes la disponibilidad de comunicación y una mayor velocidad de conexión en un mercado donde el 40 por ciento de los usuarios de telefonía móvil utiliza a diario Internet.

“Es importante que se expanda la infraestructura actual ante el rápido crecimiento del sector. Estos 400 millones de dólares tienen como principal objetivo la mejora del servicio y atención de nuestros más de 20 millones de clientes“, dijo Julio Carlos Porras, presidente de Claro.

Fernando del Río, director comercial de la compañía, afirmó que la Argentina es un mercado “clave” para la estrategia regional de Claro, propiedad del magnate mexicano Carlos Slim.

Puntualmente, la firma apunta a incrementar y fortalecer su infraestructura de red (antenas, redes, fibra óptica, interconexiones, etc.), con el objetivo de garantizar la disponibilidad de comunicación, asegurar la mayor velocidad de conexión y ofrecer mejor servicio y atención.

iPLAN
IPLAN, una “telco” dedicada a la provisión de servicios de conectividad, centros de datos y computación en la nube para empresas inauguró el miércoles Ringo DCI, su quinto “datacenter”, en el que invirtió unos 20 millones de dólares.

Se trata del centro de datos más avanzado de la ciudad de Buenos Aires y está ubicado en elDistrito Tecnológico del barrio porteño de Parque de los Patricios.

Las instalaciones llevan el nombre de Ringo en homenaje a Oscar “Ringo” Bonavena, el famoso boxeador fallecido oriundo de esa zona.

El centro cuenta con una infraestructura edilicia de 3.300 m2 y capacidad energética para soportar 4.000 KW (Kilowatts).

Las 516 posiciones de racks disponen de las más innovadoras y eficientes tecnologías de alta densidad, sistemas de enfriamiento y sofisticados sistemas de seguridad.

“Venimos trabajando desde hace más de trece años para poder completar nuestra oferta de servicios para grandes empresas, desarrollando capacidades profesionales, generando alianzas estratégicas con los mejores desarrolladores de tecnología, y completando ahora el proceso con la inauguración del ‘datacenter’ más avanzado de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Esto nos permitirá generar una nueva experiencia de servicio para las grandes, asegurándoles la tecnología de punta y la calidad de servicio que ellas requieren, agregándoles una flexibilidad, rapidez y versatilidad novedosas en el mercado, que sólo una empresa con las características de IPLAN puede ofrecer”, describió Pablo Saubidet, presidente de la compañía.

Análisis
¿Por qué las empresas de telecomunicaciones hacen ahora las inversiones? En el caso de Telefónica la respuesta vino por el lado de Daniel Jiménez Muñoz, director del Segmento Empresas de Telefónica Latinoamérica, quien arribó a Buenos Aires procedente de Madrid para participar en el TIC Forum 2012.

Este alto directivo explicó el desafío que enfrenta el grupo español: “Queremos ser más que un operador, queremos ser un ‘player’ TIC (Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones).Hoy estamos entre los 10 primeros, pero no entre los cinco primeros jugadores TIC. Como Telefónica, no nos queremos perder esto”.

El foro trató temas propios del sector corporativo: movilidad, servicios financieros, computación en la nube, salud y ciudades inteligentes, máquina a máquina (M2M, sigla en inglés) y seguridad.

América latina es vital para Telefónica: “Tenemos en la región 16.000 holdings que son nuestros clientes”, explicó Jiménez. “La Argentina es uno de los mercados más relevantes de la región en cuanto al mercado corporativo”, resaltó.

Según afirmó Jiménez en la conferencia de prensa, hay en la región “una velocidad muy alta de adaptación y de crecimiento de clientes. Esto impone ritmos de cambios muy vertiginosos. Hay mucha demanda de banda ancha también. Otro punto importante es la estabilidad política, todos los países la tienen. Esto va acompañado de un crecimiento económico, además. Éstas son las variables que más mueven a invertir en la región. Latinoamérica está de moda”.

El directivo español puso en números el desafío: “Del total de la facturación de la unidad, únicamente el 10 por ciento corresponde a los denominados servicios TIC. La gran mayoría de los ingresos de Telefónica Empresas proviene de los de telefonía y conectividad. Queremos llevar los servicios TIC al 20 por ciento de la facturación de la unidad en el futuro cercano”, dice Jiménez.

El analista Enrique Carrier apuntó también para el mercado de consumo masivo: “Es indudable que en los últimos tiempos, y como consecuencia de una mayor demanda sobre las redes vía un aumento del consumo de datos así como la proliferación de números gratis y promociones de llamadas ‘on net’, la calidad general del servicio (de telefonía móvil) se ha visto deteriorada”.

Luego de recordar que el Gobierno puede mejorar esta situación con la asignación de espectro, armonización de los requerimientos para la instalación de antenas, fomento de la competencia, el consultor advirtió que “también hay cosas que los operadores pueden hacer por su parte. Y esto resultó evidente cuando Claro anunció sus inversiones”, entre cuyos destinos se mencionó la interconexión de las antenas con fibra óptica.

”La antena es el punto de entrada a la red. Pero no siempre estas antenas están conectadas directamente a fibra óptica. Muchas veces se utilizan cables de cobre de menor capacidad, y en ocasiones también radioenlaces. Esto que inicialmente era suficiente, hoy puede convertirse en un cuello de botella que se da ya no en el espectro sino en la misma red del operador”, detalló.

Carrier concluyó que “es probable que los operadores cuenten con más recursos en mejorar la capacidad de las redes ya instaladas ante la ausencia de escenarios de inversión en otras nuevas como consecuencia de la no asignación de espectro adicional en el futuro próximo. Quizás ayuden también las restricciones al giro de utilidades existentes. Al no haber inversiones financieras atractivas, es un buen momento”.

Russian Roulette — An Excerpt From the Wired E-Book John McAfee’s Last Stand

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:44:45 +0000

Twelve weeks before the murder, John McAfee flicks open the cylinder of his Smith & Wesson revolver and empties the bullets, letting them clatter onto the table between us. A few tumble to the floor. McAfee is 66, lean and fit, with veins bulging out of his forearms. His hair is bleached blond in patches, like a cheetah, and tattoos wrap around his arms and shoulders.

More than 25 years ago, he formed McAfee Associates, a maker of antivirus software that went on to become immensely popular and was acquired by Intel in 2010 for $7.68 billion. Now he’s holed up in a bungalow at his island estate 15 miles off the coast of Belize. The shades are drawn so I can see only a sliver of the white sand beach and turquoise water outside. The table is piled with boxes of ammunition, fake IDs, Frontiersman bear deterrent, and a single blue baby pacifier.

McAfee picks a bullet off the floor and fixes me with a wide-eyed, manic intensity, his light blue eyes sparkling. “This is a bullet, right?” he says in the congenial Southern accent that has stuck with him since his boyhood in Virginia.

“Let’s put the gun down,” I tell him. I’d come here to investigate why the government of Belize was accusing him of assembling a private army and entering the drug trade. It seemed implausible that a wildly successful tech entrepreneur would disappear into the Central American jungle and become a narco-trafficker. Now I’m not so sure.

But he explains that the accusations are a fabrication. “Maybe what happened didn’t actually happen,” he says, staring hard at me. “Can I do a demonstration?”

He loads the bullet into the gleaming silver revolver and spins the cylinder.

“This scares you, right?” he says. Then he puts the gun to his head.

My heart rate kicks up; it takes me a second to respond. “Yeah, I’m scared,” I admit.

“We don’t have to do this.”

“I know we don’t,” he says, the muzzle pressed against his temple. And then he pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. He pulls it five times in rapid succession. There are only six chambers.

“Reholster the gun,” I demand.

He keeps his eyes fixed on me and pulls the trigger a sixth time. Still nothing. With the gun still to his head, he starts pulling the trigger incessantly. “I can do this all day long,” he says to the sound of the hammer clicking. “I can do this a thousand times. Ten thousand times. Nothing will ever happen. Why? Because you have missed something. You are operating on an assumption about reality that is wrong.”

It’s the same thing, he argues, with the government’s accusations. They were a smoke screen—an attempt to distort reality—but there’s one thing everybody agrees on: The trouble really got rolling in the humid predawn murk of April 30, 2012.

Buy WIRED’s new eBook, John McAfee’s Last Stand, on Amazon.com for Kindle eReaders. You can also get the eBook by downloading the Wired app on the iPad, Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire.

Israel’s Rocket-Hunting Ace Got His Start Playing Warcraft

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:40:30 +0000

War has once again erupted between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces, with the Gaza-based militant group launching hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israeli towns. But many of these projectiles never made it to their targets, thanks to the new Iron Dome missile defense system that’s arguably become this conflict’s most important technological difference-maker. This article, first published in April, tracks the story of Iron Dome’s most prolific “gunner.” While his record for shooting down missiles and rockets has by now undoubtedly fallen, the tale still gives insight into the battle now gripping Israel and Gaza.

KFAR GVIROL, Israel — While many of the boys in Idan Yahya’s high school class were buffing up and preparing themselves for selection into elite combat units, this gawky teenager was spending “a lot of time” playing Warcraft — the real-time strategy computer game where opposing players command virtual armies in a battle to dominate the fictional world of Azeroth.

Four years later, the high school jocks who sweated it out in pre-military academies so they could make the cut into the Israel Defense Force’s Special Operations units are now crawling through the sand dunes on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip and watching while Idan knocks rockets out of the sky hundreds of meters above their heads. Idan Yahya, 22, an Iron Dome “gunner” in the Active Air Defense Wing 167, currently holds the record for the number of rockets intercepted: eight.

People in the army describe him variously as a geek and an ace. But the geek who grew up playingWarcraft is now a highly prized soldier on the cutting edge of real war craft. He’s the Israeli army’s top rocket interceptor.

The Iron Dome is a mobile anti-rocket interception system that Israel moves around the country to shoot down the rockets fired at its civilian population centers by armed groups in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Its radar picks up launches and fires interceptor missiles at them if they’re calculated to be heading towards populated centers. The system has become increasingly important as Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups amass surface-to-surface missiles to hit the Israeli home front with, thus bypassing the Israel Defense Force’s overwhelming advantage of concentrated firepower and fighter aircraft. Should Israel attack Iran’s nuclear installations, the expected rocket reprisals from the armed groups on its borders will keep Iron Dome very, very busy.

As the war between Israelis and Arabs enters its sixth decade (or its 500th depending on who you ask), it is increasingly becoming a hi-tech rocket war. The IDF’s Director of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi in February said there were 200,000 rockets aimed at Israel from the south, north and east. And in this increasingly technological battlefield of rockets, anti-rocket interceptors, radars, control rooms, drones and drone hacking, it is soldiers like Idan Yahya (and whoever his counterparts on the Arab side are) who are making the most impact.

Computer geek, keyboard combatant, soldier, call him what you will, Idan and others like him man the controls of the latest rock star in advanced military technology. “There are a lot of flashing blips, signs, symbols, colors and pictures on the screen. You look at your tactical map; see where the threat is coming from. You have to make sure you’re locked onto the right target. There’s a lot of information and there is very little time. It definitely reminds me of Warcraft and other online strategy games,” Idan says.

Iron Dome gunner Idan Yahya holds the record for most rockets shot down.Photo: IDF

The young soldier has at his console a machine of vast computing power and aerial TNT. Each Iron Dome battery is manned by a crew of 100 soldiers, including perimeter guards, working in shifts, and the entire system is connected to the larger Israeli multi-tiered air defense order of battle. The unit is a mobile battlefield installation that meshes radar information from a mini multi-mission and fire control radar, powerful networks and processors, launchers, GPS-guided rockets, and human operators pushing the buttons and making the decisions. It is the first system of its kind that is designed specifically to detect the launch and trajectory of short-range rockets, and intercept them in flight if they’re deemed to be headed for a populated area.

Based on information from the Iron Dome’s radar about the incoming rocket’s current and projected trajectory, the processors at the BMC (Better Management Command) calculate its Ground Impact Point whether it’s going to fall into an open field or an apartment building – and based on that decides whether to shoot it down or leave it alone. The incoming missile is not a static object that’s being fired at, so the interceptor missile is constantly provided with updated trajectory information.

The Iron Dome’s ‘brain’ then, and what makes it such a successful system is its powerful ‘trajectory prediction mechanism,’ which assesses where along the trajectory the intercept point is going to be. “When I shoot one down, I feel happy, satisfied. I try disconnect from my feelings when I’m at the controls though,” Idan says.

The Iron Dome is different from the anti-ballistic systems out there for the simple reason that it’s specifically designed for rockets between the 5km to 40km range, and for the other simple reason that is battle-proven and very, very successful. For short-range mortar interception there is the Phalanx [a rapid-fire cannon for close-in protection], and for the longer-range missiles there are the Patriot and Arrow interceptor systems. But there has been nothing for the shorter-range rockets in the arsenals of a variety of terror groups, militias and even some states. And nothing that has shot them out of the sky with such success.

Following the barrage of over 4,000 Grad Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel in the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, Israel harried through the Iron Dome from development to deployment in five years. The system’s developers had to provide a solution to a challenging problem: design a rocket system that can identify a rocket launch, classify its type, calculate its trajectory, decide the level of the threat it poses, launch an interceptor missile at it, keep the interceptor locked onto the incoming rocket, and blow it out of the sky – and all within a minimum of 15 seconds and a maximum time of 40 seconds, depending on the distance from the launch source.

A long-range rocket launched from Iran, for instance, takes around 11 minutes to reach Israel; plenty of time for a Patriot or Arrow interceptor to lock onto it and shoot it down. A rocket launched from Gaza takes 15 seconds to hit Ashkelon, a city in southern Israel with a population of about 120,000 people. So the issue of speed to decision-to-interception was critical.

The Iron Dome fits snugly into the IDF’s multi-tiered missile defense system and may even soon provide cover fire to some of the bigger systems that tackle rockets of the100km – 200km range, like the ones in the arsenals of Hezbollah and Syria. In an interview at the Hatzor air force base near Ashdod, Colonel Zvika Haimovich, commander of the Israel Air Force’s Active Defense Wing, tells Danger Room that all of the air defense systems in Israel’s arsenal “talk to each other” through a network in order to provide the best possible answer to incoming rocket fire. The systems share data on the ballistic picture, about which targets are in the line of fire, and about which system is to be set into motion. “Our battles are going to be more multi-arena and multi-dimensional. In the past, if you wanted to protect Tel-Aviv from rocket attack, you only had to look east. Now you need to look to Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza also,” Haimovich says.

An Iron Dome radar watches over the city of Ashkelon. Photo: IDF

The Iron Dome has been so successful in its last round of deployment — interceptors shot down over 60 rockets headed for populated areas, at a success rate of 80 percent — that the Israeli government has asked the U.S. administration for money to fund additional batteries. According to reports here, the Israelis are asking for 700 million shekels (about $ 206 million), in addition to the $200 million the Obama administration has already provided for Iron Dome development. It costs $45 million to produce an Iron Dome battery and every Tamir interceptor missile fired at a Grad or Kassam rocket costs 40,000 dollars. There are 20 Tamir interceptors per battery (the Grads and Kassams they shoot down cost about $ 1,000 each; you do the math). There are currently four operational Iron Dome batteries deployed in Israel, with the last one coming online on Thursday, April 5, in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro, whose boss provided much of the funding for the Iron Dome project as a whole.

Shapiro, making a visit to the newly operational battery on Thursday, tells Danger Room that the Pentagon and the Israeli Ministry of Defense were in talks about finding the money to help Israel build more of the machines. Israeli officials say they’ll need about 14 Iron Domes to provide countrywide security against short-range rockets – that’s another 10 systems. The Obama administration is keen to secure the funds, for several reasons, chiefly because, as Shapiro says, “the U.S. is committed to Israel’s security,” but also, as some analysts in Israel put it, because Obama wants to use funding for the Iron Dome as a carrot to entice Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear installations.

Shapiro also did not rule out that funding the Iron Dome for the Israelis would be less of a donation and more of an investment in the possible future use of the system “in other theaters.” But funding another 10 more Iron Dome batteries, at a base cost of some $450 million might be beyond even a President who swears he’s “got Israel’s back.” In lieu of finding that kind of money, the Israelis are now working on increasing the Iron Dome’s range from its current 70km maximum to 250km – that way it can cover more of the small country without having to necessarily buy and build a lot more of the interceptor batteries. Officers involved in the project say increasing Iron Dome’s range is possible, but it remains to be seen how quickly and effectively this can be done.

“The Iron Dome saves lives, pure and simple,” says the U.S. ambassador, adding that he believes there will be “very strong support in Congress” for Israel’s funding request. “We’re very proud to support this technology, which is an Israeli-developed technology, because of the acute threat of missiles fired by terrorist organizations against civilian populations here in Israel. It’s proven itself as an effective technology that’s reached 80 percent success rate in its most recent round. There is certainly the possibility that this technology could have other uses in other theaters, but I think that’s something for military professionals in Israel, the United States and many other countries who may have an interest to discuss. Our focus right now is on supporting the acceleration of the deployment of this system because it’s part of our commitment to Israel’s security,” Shapiro says.

While the Israeli government deals with the Pentagon and Congress, the Iron Dome operators in the field are concerned with sharpening their swords ahead of the expected next round of fighting. And for the Air Force’s Haimovich, that’s less about technology, and more about soldiering.

“You need fighters; people who know how to use the technology, and even take decisions that go against the system’s recommendations. My Iron Dome operators are all fighters, and sure, many of them probably played PlayStation and computer games in their teens before they got to my unit. But now we train them to look at a very complex ballistic picture, with a lot of information about targets and threats, a lot in the air, to decide which target is more threatened and which is less, to know how to communicate with other systems online, and to take decisions in a matter of seconds under conditions of extreme stress and with a lot of unknowns. Being a techie is no longer something to be ashamed of, no longer a dirty word, in the IDF. These teenagers who get drafted into the army need to be able to thrive in a technological environment,” says Haimovich.

And this is specifically what Idan Yahya, the IDF’s ace rocket interceptor, is so very good at.

With four months to of his mandatory service left, Idan says he’s going to sign up for the permanent force and become an air defense instructor at the army Command and Staff College’s air defense simulator. He’s going to train the next generation of interceptors on a big simulator. Or in other words, he’s going back to play Warcraft.

Cybersecurity Stalls in Senate, Obama Could Issue Executive Order

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:32:32 +0000

CIO — WASHINGTON — Now that the latest effort to advance comprehensive cybersecurity legislation has failed in Congress, attention is now shifting to the White House, where officials have been developing an executive order to better protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from digital attacks and vulnerabilities.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that President Obama had signed a secret policy directive outlining new protocols for federal agencies in dealing with cyberthreats and providing new authorities for the military “to act more aggressively to thwart cyberattacks on the nation’s web of government and private computer networks.”

“Given Republican intransigence, I hope President Obama uses all the authority of the executive branch at his disposal to fully protect our nation from the cybersecurity threat.”

–Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

That revelation came as Senate Republicans on Wednesday defeated a procedural measure that would have advanced the Cybersecurity Act backed by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), objecting that the Democratic majority was trying to push the bill through without sufficient debate and by limiting the number of amendments that members could introduce.

At the very least, that will move the debate over cybersecurity legislation into next year, and likely into the new session of Congress, with the primary fault lines in the debate — whether the government should impose cybersecurity mandates on private-sector infrastructure operators; whether the military or Department of Homeland Security should take the lead in civilian cybersecurity — expected to resurface, while the White House could still move ahead with a more expansive executive order that the policy directive Obama reportedly signed in October.

Cybersecurity Out of Congress’ Hands (for Now)

Following Wednesday’s vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated that comprehensive cybersecurity reform is effectively off the table for this Congress, and called on the White House to move ahead with its executive order to address the issue.

“Given Republican intransigence, I hope President Obama uses all the authority of the executive branch at his disposal to fully protect our nation from the cybersecurity threat,” Reid said.

But then on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said he is hopeful that the chamber can return to cybersecurity in January with a more inclusive debate.

“The majority leader had made prior commitments to allowing a free and open debate on cybersecurity, a matter that Republicans acknowledge must be addressed especially in the areas of information sharing, and providing some degree of liability protection to those companies that do share cyberthreat information with one another and the federal government,” McConnell said Thursday on the Senate floor, calling for consideration of an alternative — and much more limited – cybersecurity bill backed by several leading Republicans to be included in any debate of the more comprehensive Lieberman-Collins measure.

“My expectation is that sometime in December after we have completed floor debate on the Defense Authorization bill, and then dispose of the Intelligence Authorization bill, we will then attempt to get an agreement on amendments to the cybersecurity bill,” McConnell said.

Several leading technology trade groups, including the Business Software Alliance (BSA), expressed disappointment that lawmakers could not advance an issue that has been under debate for years in Washington and remains a matter of high importance to their members. At the same time, BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman conceded that no bill is likely to move before the next session of Congress, a view echoed many other observers.

“It is disappointing that Senators haven’t yet been able to reach an agreement on cybersecurity legislation — but stalemate doesn’t make the issue go away,” Holleyman said in a statement. “There is no getting around the fact that we need to bolster America’s cybersecurity capabilities. We urge both parties to put this issue at the top of the agenda in the next Congress.”

Some of the core provisions of cybersecurity reform have broad, bipartisan support, such as the need to reduce barriers that have prevented government and private-sector entities from sharing information about cyberthreats, and the importance of boosting programs that support cybersecurity research and education.

But the notion of binding regulations for private-sector infrastructure operators and the question of where government oversight authority should be concentrated have thus far proved intractable, leaving lawmakers deadlocked.

Cybersecurity Experts Offer Advice

On Thursday, a panel of cybersecurity experts weighed in on the political landscape at an event here at the National Press Club co-hosted by the American Bar Association and Northwestern University’s Medill National Security Journalism Initiative.

Joel Brenner, an attorney with the firm Cooley LLP and the former inspector general at the National Security Agency, suggested that the comprehensive approach that the Lieberman-Collins bill takes — and the administration supports — is one of the main reasons for the snag on Capitol Hill.

Unpacking that bill into smaller, piecemeal initiatives would enable Congress to advance less controversial measures, such as information sharing, that could have an easier time passing and would do so with a broader bipartisan mandate.

“If you took this big omnibus bill apart, which is what Republicans wanted to do, you really might find that we could get some of these smaller balls over the goal line,” Brenner said. “But it’s not happening, and the administration seems determined to do it this way, at least for the time being. I think it’s a terrible error.”

Of all the issues at play — and there are many, spanning technical, policy, business and jurisdictional concerns — the fundamental divide over whether the government should play a role in drafting and enforcing cybersecurity standards is among the most contentious.

Jody Westby, founder and CEO of the consultancy and legal firm Global Cyber Risk, argued that many of the current challenges in the cyber arena arise from the problem of attribution, the inability for law-enforcement authorities to track and trace the origin of an attack, particularly when that trail leads them outside the borders of the United States.

For Westby, a debate over regulation and federal enforcement of standards misses the point. Instead, she argues for reframing the discussion to focus on legal reforms and other measures that would enable law enforcement to more effectively capture and prosecute cybercriminals.

“I’m thrilled that the bill didn’t pass. I think it was the right thing to do. I think now we have to the perfect opportunity for a new conversation with a new Congress,” she said.

“You could put all the mandates in the world on businesses, and it will not do anything about the software vulnerabilities, the hardware vulnerabilities in their systems. It will not do anything about the social engineering vulnerabilities of the human — people that are being exploited every day. It will not do anything about the websites that are infected, when you get your own computers infected simply because you went to a website and clicked on something. Those are called drive-by infections. It’s not going to do anything about all the different police departments that don’t know how to investigate cybercrimes, so nothing ever gets done with them. It’s not going to do anything about all the bring-your-own-device issues and all the vulnerabilities that exist in mobile apps. There are so many flaws in that bill that it would have been a travesty to pass it.”

Then supporters of some level of baseline standards warn that the threats against critical systems such as the electrical grid, oil and gas pipelines and the nation’s financial houses are only escalating. The phrase “cyber Pearl Harbor,” recently invoked by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, has often been repeated throughout the debate inside the Beltway (dismissed by some, Westby included, as hyperbole), and in public statements and in testimony before congressional committees, administration officials routinely stress the urgency of the threats and the shortcomings of the nation’s defenses.

Many Washington insiders with national security experience are of the same mind. Stewart Baker, a partner at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson who previously served as assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security and general counsel at the NSA, noted how the tools to launch a damaging attack have become more automated and far easier to deploy, while an attack like Stuxnet offered “proof of concept” that critical digital systems face a real risk.

“This is an area where regulation probably makes some sense,” Baker said. “The idea that no regulation is necessary is irresponsible.”

Kenneth Corbin is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who covers government and regulatory issues for CIO.com.

Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, on Facebook, and on Google +.

How to buy a cell phone

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:27:24 +0000

Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the cell phone, which allows you to be in touch from almost anywhere, almost all the time. And you can do more than just talk: Today’s phones let you send and receive email and text messages, surf the Web, and play music and videos. Sifting through the sea of service plans and handsets can be difficult, but we’ll walk you through what you need to know to get the phone and the service plan that are right for you.

If you don’t have to own the latest and greatest smartphone, there’s no time like the present to buy a new one, whether it be the newest iPhone, an Android superphone, or a business-friendly Windows Phone. Before you hit the stores, however, do a bit of research and read this guide so that you’ll know exactly what to look for.

Features to Consider

When you’re shopping for a phone, you can do some simple hands-on tests in the store to ensure that the handset has everything you need.

Call quality: What good is a phone if it can’t make calls? Some of the simplest, most bare-bones feature phones offer the best call quality, and some fancy smartphones offer dismal calling. When evaluating phones, be sure to make a few test calls. In our hands-on tests, we generally place some calls from a quiet room and several others in a noisy environment. You might not be able to replicate such tests indoors, but try your best. Listen for static, tinny voices, and interference. Ask the people you call if they can hear a disruptive amount of background noise.

Design: Your choices range from phones with large touchscreens to slider-style handsets with full-QWERTY keyboards. Whichever type of phone you select, check to see if it’s comfortable to hold against your ear, if you can hear callers without constant adjustment, if you can use the phone with one hand (or by scrunching your neck and shoulder), if it fits comfortably in your pocket or bag, and if it’s durable enough to handle some rough treatment. A solidly built phone should be able to withstand getting banged around in a handbag or pocket, as well as a bit of moisture and a short-range drop. You should consider investing in a case or display protector as well—especially if you’re somewhat accident-prone.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 is one of the many mobile operating systems you can choose from.

Operating system: If you’re looking to do more than make calls and send text messages with your phone, consider the platform that it runs on. The mobile operating system you choose will greatly affect your phone‘s capabilities. The most popular platforms are Google’s Android (found on multiple devices), iOS (found only on iPhone models), BlackBerry OS (found on BlackBerrys of various designs), and Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Each operating system has its own advantages and disadvantages, so familiarize yourself with all of them before settling on one.

Display: If you intend do a lot of Web browsing or movie streaming, make sure that the screen is big enough for you to take full advantage of the phone‘s features. For surfing the Web or editing Office documents on your phone, a screen that measures less than 3 inches diagonally will feel cramped.

Screen resolution: The higher the resolution, the better the screen will look—an important factor if you plan to watch videos or view photos on your phone. A high-resolution display is desirable if you plan to do a lot of reading on your phone, since text will look much sharper on it and be easier to read.

If your phone lets you adjust contrast and brightness (including backlighting), you can make text and graphics easier to view in well-lit places, and you can also save battery life in a pinch.

4G support and availability: 4G networks offer data speeds that are vastly superior to those available on a 3G network. You can expect to see average download speeds of around 6 to 9 megabits per second while connected to a 4G network—though of course those speeds vary depending on your location and on reception quality. You’ll encounter two kinds of 4G networks when buying a new phone: LTE and HSPA+. Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T have their own LTE networks, while T-Mobile uses an HSPA+ network that delivers comparable speeds.

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD is one of countless LTE compatible phones.

4G is pretty much the norm on smartphones these days, and you’ll definitely want it on your next phone. Normally, connecting to a 4G network costs nothing extra, though the faster data speeds do mean that you can quickly hit your data cap if you aren’t careful. Carriers are constantly expanding their 4G networks; but if you’re leaning toward choosing a 4G-capable phone, check the relevant carrier coverage maps to confirm that your region already has 4G service.

Cameras: If you expect to take a lot of photos with your phone, you’ll want to pay attention to the phone‘s camera specs. For mid- to high-level smartphones, 8 megapixels is now pretty much the standard. However, a higher megapixel count doesn’t necessarily mean a better camera. Verify that the phone camera you’re interested in has a flash (dual-LED or Xenon flashes work best); otherwise, pictures you take indoors or at night will come out looking like blurry messes. Try to take a few pictures in the store to get a clear idea of the camera’s photo quality.

The camera on the Apple iPhone 5 is one of the best around.

Most cell phone cameras also video-capture capabilities, and most midrange and high-end phones can capture high-definition 720p or 1080p video. If video is your thing, make sure that the OS provides an easy way to upload your videos to services such as Facebook and YouTube.

Many modern smartphones have front-facing cameras. These are mostly good for making video calls; but some camera apps, such as photo-booth apps, use the front-facing camera too.

Processor: Much like 4G, dual-core processors are quickly becoming the standard in phones. You can still purchase and run most phones just fine on a single-core processor—but going forward, most phones will have two or more cores. As time goes on, having a phone with a single-core processor may limit the types of applications you can run on your phone, and the types of updates it can receive.

Battery life: There’s no easy way to predict how long a phone’s battery will last. In our lab tests and hands-on evaluations, LTE phones have generally supported shorter battery lives than 3G phones have. Ultimately, however, it all depends on how much you use your phone. If you’re always on your phone, browsing the Web and making calls, your phone probably won’t make it through a full day before needing to recharge. If you aren’t always near an open outlet, you can buy a case with a built-in wireless charger, or you can carry around an extra battery for your phone. For a complete guide to extending your phone’s battery life, check out our “How to Boost Your Smartphone Battery Life” article package.

Picking the Right Plan

While shopping for a new plan, be realistic about how you’ll use your phone. If you’re getting a smartphone, you’ll probably benefit from getting a plan that offers at least 2GB of allotted data. Having at least 2GB of data will enable you to download apps and browse the Web without having to worry much about going over your data cap. On the other hand, if you like to do a lot of bandwidth-heavy activities such as streaming music or video, you’ll be better off paying the premium for a higher data tier. One upside to getting a smartphone plan is that the carrier usually includes unlimited talk and text. The days of mobile carriers’ charging users for a set number of minutes or text messages are quickly drawing to a close, though the cost of data usage is going up. Customers on AT&T and Verizon face caps on how much data they can use before extra charges or restrictions kick in. T-Mobile and Sprint offer unlimited data plans, but their networks are smaller than Verizon’s and AT&T’s.

Most smartphones will require you to purchase a data plan.

If everyone in your family wants a smartphone, or if you have a lot of phones and tablets that you pay for data on, it may be worthwhile to look into shared data plans. Such plans offer unlimited talk and text, and all devices on those plans share their data from a set pool. The big benefit of having a shared data plan is that you don’t have to pay for data on each device individually. If you or your family members never use more than 500MB apiece, you could save some money by paying for only the maximum data you’d use. Shared data plans also usually include tethering, which allows you to share your wireless connection with other devices such as laptops and Wi-Fi-only tablets. The biggest drawback of a shared data plan is that it can cost more if you or your family use a lot of data. Before switching to a shared data plan, it’s best calculate how much data your family uses in a typical month and compare the amount you currently pay with the amount you’d pay if you had a shared plan.

Feature phones don’t need data plans, so you can get away with signing up for a plan that covers just talk and text. Plans for feature phones generally cost less than those for smartphones, but you’ll have to pay extra for unlimited minutes and text messages. In addition, you’ll have a limited selection of feature phones to choose from, as many companies are now starting to manufacture smartphones exclusively.

When selecting a plan, it’s wise to overestimate the number of minutes you’ll be using for every sent and received call. Because one carrier’s definition of off-peak hours may be different from another’s, ask the carrier to specify the times for its peak, off-peak, and weekend hours. It’s also important to overestimate how much data you’ll use, as smartphones can easily burn through 1GB of data if you’re not careful.

Choosing the Right Carrier

Tired of your current carrier, or shopping for your first smartphone ever? Choosing a carrier is a daunting task. Most likely you’ve heard of the Big Four: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You’ll also encounter smaller, regional carriers such as Cellular One and U.S. Cellular, as well as prepaid carriers like Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, and MetroPCS.

Before you begin examining plans, find out which (if any) carriers offer solid coverage in your city, town, or area. Ask your neighbors about the carrier they use, and whether they have reliable service. If you don’t have good coverage in your home, you’ll be in for a frustrating two years. You should also check the coverage in any other areas where you spend a lot of time, such as your office, or a friend’s or relative’s house. Carrier coverage maps are a good place to start, but we strongly recommend using a service like OpenSignalMaps to determine which carrier has the strongest reception in your region.

If you don’t like the idea of signing up for a two-year contract with a carrier, try a prepaid plan. These days, you can find full-featured smartphones with prepaid plans that offer unlimited minutes, text messages, and data—plans that cost less than half of what the equivalent ones would cost with AT&T or Verizon. Such plans vary from region to region, so shop around to see who has the phones you want at a price you’re willing to pay.

Shopping Tips

Comparison-shop at a third-party retailer:You can purchase a new phone directly from a carrier store; but if you’re not sure what to buy, we recommend going to a third-party retailer. Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, and even Walmart sell phones, as well as carrier plans. A big advantage of buying a phone or a tablet from a third-party seller is that you have dozens of phones from multiple carriers at your disposal. If your contract has expired and you’re trying to choose between the iPhone 5 (AT&T) and the T-Mobile Galaxy S III, for instance, you can compare the two phones side-by-side in the store. You can’t do the same at a carrier store, because the phones are on different networks. If you’re willing to wait a few days, Amazon can be a great place to purchase a new phone. The online retailer frequently has sales on hot new devices, and you can sometimes get a high-end phone for just a penny.

Don’t give phones as surprise gifts: If you’re considering buying a phone as a gift, consult with the recipient before you go shopping. Although it will ruin the surprise, you should probably bring the recipient along on your shopping trip, too. We recommend getting as much hands-on time as possible with multiple phones before settling on one.

Cut to the chase: When dealing with store representatives, ask them to be as straightforward as possible. Tell them exactly what you’re looking for, and describe the kind of phone or plan that fits your requirements. If you’re completely unsure, ask the reps what phone they use, or which phones impressed them this year. Don’t let them launch into a sales spiel, or you’ll spend way too much time in the store. But remember, they’re human beings, and they’re just doing their jobs; so be courteous, and you’ll receive the same treatment in return.

WordPress now accepts bitcoins

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:23:58 +0000

WordPress said Thursday it will accept bitcoins, opening up the blogging platform to payments from users in countries not supported by PayPal or credit card companies.

WordPress is free, open-source software, but the company Automattic offers paid-for features such as blog designs, custom domains, hosting partnerships, and anti-spam measures.

As with many Web-based services, payments for those features are dependent on credit card transactions and eBay’s PayPal service. But WordPress wrote on its blog that PayPal doesn’t serve more than 60 countries, and credit card companies have restrictions due to political, fraud, and other reasons.

“Whatever the reason, we don’t think an individual blogger from Haiti, Ethiopia, or Kenya should have diminished access to the blogosphere because of payment issues they can’t control,” WordPress said. “Our goal is to enable people, not block them.”

About bitcoins

Bitcoin is an electronic currency that uses a cryptographic system to verify transactions. A bitcoin has no physical representation, such as government-issued paper or metal currencies, in that the coin itself is an encrypted number that is stored on a person’s computer. It has a fluctuating value based on market demand, and as of Friday, was worth around US$11.20.

Hackers can steal bitcoins from a person’s computer, but the system is generally immune to many of the kinds of fraud affecting PayPal and credit card companies.

Merchants benefit since there are no chargebacks: If you spend a bitcoin, the transaction cannot be reversed due to unauthorized fraudulent spending unless the merchant decides to send it back to the purchaser. Transactions are verified by the bitcoin system within an hour, and merchants do not need to collect sensitive personal information from users.

Since bitcoin’s debut in 2009, a small but growing number of merchants are accepting the currency, but it has not seen mass adoption in part due to a lack of easy-to-use software tools, an unstable exchange rate and concerns over how governments may regulate it. Bitcoins can be acquired through exchanges, which often require cash bank transfers.

WordPress said it is using BitPay.com, a Florida-based company, to handle its bitcoin transactions. BitPay provides an API (application programming interface) for e-commerce sites that processes bitcoin transactions and handles the exchange from bitcoins back to cash, which is transferred to the merchant.

“With Bitcoin we join a new digital economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind, essentially making financial transactions open source — something WordPress.com is behind 100 percent,” WordPress said.

AT&T’s LTE service expands to 103 cities, ahead of schedule

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:21:42 +0000

Computerworld - AT&T said Friday it is ahead of schedule for 4G LTE network deployments and has now reached 103 U.S. cities.

Previously, AT&T had predicted it would reach 100 cities by the end of 2012.

All the major U.S. carriers are in a race to build widespread LTE networks offering greater speeds to help smartphone and tablet data users take advantage of wireless video streaming, gaming and other functions.

AT&T’s coverage now includes areas affecting more than 150 million people, twice the number at the end of 2011, the company said.

The carrier plans to expand LTE to 250 million people by the end of 2013 and to 300 million by the end of 2014.

AT&T also reminded customers that its widespread 4G HSPA+ network is faster than 3G networks of both Verizon Wireless and Sprint. When a customer cannot get LTE coverage over AT&T, the wireless signal usually reverts to an HSPA+ signal.

Wireless speeds vary according to how many people are using a single cell tower and other factors, although carriers generally advertise LTE speeds as up to 10 times faster than 3G speeds, with HSPA+ often at three times 3G speeds.

In an area where LTE has recently been introduced by a carrier and there are few LTE customers, downlink speeds can soar to more than 20 Mbps. In some cities recently added to AT&T’s LTE network, downlink speeds have reached 50 Mbps, based on emailed reports byComputerworld readers. Analysts note that it is unrealistic to use early network rollouts as an indication of LTE speeds in coming years.

Generally, carriers with LTE often average 8 Mbps to 12 Mbps on downlinks and 3 Mbps to 5 Mbps on uplinks.

Verizon got a head start on LTE and advertises that it has reached more than 440 cities, making it the largest LTE provider globally.

On Tuesday, Sprint said it had begun LTE work in nine more cities, including Minneapolis/St. Paul, after previously announcing more than 125 cities where LTE is coming. So far, Sprint‘s service reaches 32 cities. While Sprint is behind AT&T and Verizon in providing LTE service, it advertises unlimited data plans that the other carriers do not.

Fourth-largest carrier T-Mobile USA is planning to kick off LTE expansion in 2013, but already offers fast 4G HSPA+ service.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt’s RSS feed. His email address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

Visit 100,000 stars in your browser with this Web app

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:14:37 +0000

Never mind visiting every star in our galaxy, we’re still a long, long way from being able to take an intergalactic cruise across the Milky Way. Fortunately, there are things like this Chrome Experiment called 100,000 Stars.

Powered by music from Mass Effect’s Sam Hulick, 100,000 Stars makes use of Google Chrome’s support for Web technologies like WebGL, CSS3D, and Web Audio, as well as imagery and data from sources like NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to create a very cool visualization of the galaxy.

The whole experience is kind of humbling and more than a little awe-inspiring. Regardless of whether you opt for the guided tour (which comes with an awesome array of facts you can use on your friends) or decide to virtually explore the outer reaches of digitized space all on your own, there is a lot to see. 100,000 stars will allow you to zoom in and out through the galaxy, spin your stellar neighborhood around in circles, view artistic renditions of the stars closest to our sun, and read up about our cosmic neighbors as well.

But be forewarned: If you have any interest in space, chances are you’re going to waste more than a few hours on 100,000 Stars.

Like this? You might also enjoy…

Android dominates China, takes 90% of the mobile market

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:11:29 +0000

Little green robots have invaded China and conquered its mobile market. The Android operating system has seen substantial growth in the Asian country and is now estimated to have captured 90.1% of the market, a year-over-year increase from 58.2%. The numbers come to us from Analysys International, which in a new report also revealed that Apple’s (AAPL) Chinese market share declined from 6% to 4.2% in the same timeframe. Numbers for both operating systems may be higher than recent estimates, however. The research firm does not include knock-off Android smartphones, nor does it include iPhones that have been smuggled in from Hong Kong. Budget smartphones continue to be a hot seller in the country with the average price of an Android device being roughly $ 220, compared to the iPhone’s average of $ 720. While China has more than 1 billion mobile subscribers, Google’s (GOOG) mobile monopoly isn’t as lucrative as it sounds. A number of the Internet giant’s services are blocked or constricted in the country and make it difficult for it to capitalize on Android’s success.

CompTIA Security Plus Exam Cram 2008

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:26:43 +0000

“>
Download Download This Torrent - Usenet 5x Faster

MCTS 70-640 Cert Guide 2010

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:25:17 +0000

“>
Download Download This Torrent - Usenet 5x Faster

Comp TIA Network Plus Cert Guide 2011

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:24:16 +0000

“>
Download Download This Torrent - Usenet 5x Faster

MCTS 70-662 Rapid Review 2012

admin — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:20:25 +0000

;background-color:rgb(55,55,55)”>
Download Download This Torrent - Usenet 5x Faster Total Size 10.53 MBs