Is that the Chain we want to Grab?

Google, Microsoft and Apple appear to be playing a game of musical chairs, with Google taking the "dark side" throne away from Microsoft and Microsoft stealing the innovation perch from Apple. Where does that leave Apple? Perhaps it's the one still looking for its place when the music stops.

This past week, two rather interesting events got me thinking about how Apple , Google  and Microsoft  seem to be changing places. Microsoft announced Windows Phone Series 7, and Google announced Buzz (also known as "Buzz Kill") into the market.

Microsoft kind of pulled an Apple with this, in that it stepped away from the field and created something distinctly different, potentially more capable, and much more interesting than the products it has been competing with. (Oh, and it looks like it is a complete offering this time).
With Buzz, Google tossed out a turd of a product that was unfinished -- and privacy concerns forced it to stop forcing it on its customers. The label "arrogant" has now officially passed from Microsoft to Google.
These things are my main focus this week. I'll close with my product of the week: an electric bed warmer/cooler that is based on the same technology used to keep race car drivers cool.

Google's Buzz Kill

Through most of the last decade, Microsoft became known for products that were poorly thought out and failed. Among the duds: Mira, a tablet that required a business version of Windows on a networked PC to work in the home; Origami, an unfinished tablet operating system that was prematurely released; and Vista, which was a train wreck of biblical proportions.
Well, this is a new decade, and coming into it we had Google Wave a product that was both unfinished and so weird folks are still trying to figure out what it is for, and Buzz, also unfinished, which apparently has pissed off more people in less time than anything I've seen in recent memory.
It's safe to say that the Bozo (no offense to the deceased clown) award is moving from Microsoft to Google, as Google starts to recreate the same kinds of mistakes. There are a couple of reasons behind this. The first I've seen several times, starting with IBM (NYSE: IBM). What happens is folks who aren't working out at a big declining company find critical jobs in a new up-and-coming company and proceed to repeat the mistakes they made at the older firm in the new one.
I watched the IBM and Digital folks royally screw up Microsoft. Then Microsoft folks left to help royally screw up Netscape, and then they wandered over to Google, and now we have a trifecta.
Number two is Google's hiring practices, which favor men and engineers. They're so bad that Google (and others) are actively trying to conceal their employee mix. I think they know if folks were to realize a company that was trying to do social networking stuff had only engineers and no core of creative types, then confidence in those efforts would fall sharply. However, given how bad Buzz was at its launch, it is hard to imagine how it could have fallen farther any faster.
Number three is Google's apparent belief that anything that is free doesn't need to be very high quality. Looking at Google's offerings -- other than search -- don't they generally feel kind of unfinished and rough?
The new Nexus One, Google's branded phone, came out as a second-generation device, but it felt like a beta, given how rough it was around the edges. Granted, that phone isn't free, but Google gives away its Android OS to OEMs who then apparently have to finish it. Without the OEM, it's not much good.
The idea that if it's free, then it doesn't have to be good is both common and wrong. Whether it is Wave, Buzz, Google Apps, Gears, or Android, people expect finished products and adequate quality. Free or not, folks just don't want crap.
In effect, Google is repeating many of the mistakes

Windows Phone Series 2: Is Microsoft becoming Apple?

Not exactly -- but it seems that the only problem most folks are having with this new platform is the name, which in acronym form would be "WPS," or "Whoops." I'm not sure I'd want my product to be called "the Whoops phone," but then I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't want my product named after a feminine hygiene product like the "iPad." Every time I hear that name I think of the Mad TV iPad sketch.
What Apple did with the iPhone and iPod was to not emulate anyone else (well maybe the LG Prada a little with the iPhone) and step around them with something new, innovative and different. It also established a higher level of control over the entire user experience with both offerings, which now assure Apple's revenue, profit and market valuation.
With the WPS 2 platform, Microsoft isn't copying Apple or anyone else, but it is using a blend of good ideas from inside and outside the company. For instance, it is being very aggressive on the hardware specification to assure consistency of the experience and reliability of the result.
This should result in a better user experience than either Google or the old Microsoft Mobile platform enjoyed, as well as more phone variety than either RIM or Apple currently offers. There are clear tradeoffs, but this is clearly a differentiated approach.
In terms of UI, Microsoft rethought moving even farther away from the Windows interface than either Google or Apple has done so far (though I'll bet those two vendors now rethink their own approach) and combined animation with large icons to create clickable interfaces that are informative and not static.
Rather than turning multitasking off like Apple does (except for phone features) -- or all the way on, like Google -- Microsoft is allowing it only where it makes sense for the application. This allows for a potentially more useful device than the iPhone and a potentially higher-performing one than the Android phones, which can get bogged down by too many running applications.
In short, this is a product that feels more like something Apple would launch then Microsoft, and I hope it is a sign of things to come from that company.

By Rob Enderle
TechNewsWorld 

Google Buzz : We've had a lot buzzes lately

Google's new Gmail-based social network, Buzz, is raising hackles among security experts who see it as fertile new ground for propagators of malware and spam. "In the industry's haste to create the next 'Big Thing' for users," said Authenware President Tom Helou, "what results is a one-stop-shop for even amateur hackers to create an imitation identity and get access to sensitive information."

In general, Internet security experts become alarmed whenever a new social networking app looks like it is going to become the next big craze. "People already have so much information coming at them online and through their email boxes," said Gerry Egan, vice president of product development at Symantec .The last thing we need is another vehicle to bombard us with spam or malware, he told the E-Commerce Times.
Buzz -- Google's newly introduced social networking application -- is already drawing some boos from security experts, particularly for its default setting.
One of the ways Google hopes to facilitate adoption is by pre-establishing users' social networks with Gmail address books. Buzz seeds the network with email addresses of contacts with whom the user appears to communicate the most.

If the user accepts the default setting, that list becomes available to other Buzz users.

The default setting automatically provides a list of followers comprised of those you chat or email with, Michael Sutton, VP of security research at Zscaler, told the E-Commerce Times.

Cranky Spouses

The privacy risk is obvious.
"Everyone on your network can see who you communicate with," Sutton said. "Google says it takes addresses with whom you've recently had contact with, but we don't know exactly how the algorithm works."
It could be a contact from several months ago, for instance, which could make seeding that person in the network awkward. "I can see a scenario is which someone's network includes an ex-girlfriend -- someone your wife might not appreciate having there."
The potential for spam is also a problem. Spam has become endemic on social networks, Sutton noted -- and Google Buzz, if and when it reaches the same mass as Twitter or Facebook, will likely be similarly inundated.
"The model we have been seeing is that 'someone' posts a Twitter message that contains a link to malware. Certainly the same thing can and likely will develop with Buzz. What I am saying, though, is that Google hasn't created a new security issue with this site because email addresses are so easy for spammers to get anyway. What it has done is roll it out in a way that creates more privacy issues than someone might realize at first."

Still a Danger

While Buzz is unlikely to attract generic bots or spammers, it is possible a spammer would be interested in using it to validate an email address, Mike Geide, senior security researcher at Zscaler, suggested in a blog post.
"As a spammer, one could create a network of Gmail accounts connected to Buzz and follow a large number of users, follow their followers, etc," he wrote. The spammer would then harvest user names for those being followed, and do its best to guess at their email address and start sending test messages. "Once a successful guess has occurred, the email address will then be exposed in the Buzz interface validating that the email address exists and is tied to that user."
Buzz will likely be yet another vulnerable spot on the Internet, said Tom Helou, president and COO of Authenware.
"In the industry's haste to create the next 'Big Thing' for users, our analysis shows that securing the information passed through these sites suffers," he told the E-Commerce Times. "What results is a one-stop-shop for even amateur hackers to create an imitation identity and get access to sensitive information."

Present a Little : The Power Point Competition

Amity Microsoft Tech Club

Brings to You

"Present a Little : The Power Point Competition"

Key Points

• Participation is to be done in teams of 2
• Would consist of 3 rounds
• Round 1 : Submission
• Round 2 : Selected Teams would go to the Question Answer Round, where they will be asked questions based on their presentations.( teams would not be allowed to look at the presentations during the Q & A Session)
• Round 3 : Selected teams would move on to the Final Round, in which they have to present their presentation in front of a jury.
• All teams, reaching round 3 would be given certificates.

The Presentations have to be mailed at the below mentioned Email Addresses by 13/2/10 , 8 PM

For Details Regarding Competition,
Contact
Rahul Jain
rahulindelhi@gmail.com
9873343013

OR

Nipun Jolly
nipunjolly@gmail.com
9868081426

Google With NSA: The Search just got bigger..reallyy!!

Google  has allegedly requested help from the National Security Agency in tracking down hackers who attacked its infrastructure. The development has raised concerns among privacy advocates.

The Washington Post broke the story that Google had turned to the NSA on Thursday, citing anonymous sources.

Security experts and privacy advocates have questioned Google's motives. Some have warned that this could constitute another attack on American citizens' civil liberties. Others say the move is part of a scheme by Google to curry favor with the government as it seeks to get more government contracts.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request and asked for expedited processing with the NSA Thursday. It seeks information on the agency's arrangements with Google on cybersecurity. It is also looking for records regarding the NSA's role in setting security standards for Gmail and other Web-based applications.
Google declined to discuss the issue. "We're not going to comment beyond what we said in our original blog post," spokesperson Jay Nancarrow told TechNewsWorld. "At the time, we said we are working with the relevant U.S. authorities."

What Is Truth?

There is another possible explanation for Google's alleged cozying up to the NSA: that it is looking to get more government contracts. The Internet search giant plans to create a dedicated cloud for government customers in the U.S. It has also launched Google Public Sector, a site with tools and tips for government officials.
Further, Google is penetrating local and state governments. The city of Los Angeles has put all of its 30,000 city workers on Gmail and Google's productivity suite. Other cities in California are also interested, according to reports.
"It's in Google's best interest to get the NSA to investigate the hack, and it's in NSA's best interest to investigate this issue because some of the companies hacked may well be suppliers to NSA," Randy Abrams, director of technical education at ESET, pointed out.
"When the company that makes your computers gets hacked, that raises security concerns, and in terms of global business, when another country gets an unfair advantage, that could be a bit of a national security concern," Abrams told TechNewsWorld.

The Ongoing Threat

Whether the attack came from China, Taiwan or elsewhere is less of an issue than what it points to -- that cyberattackers are constantly targeting American institutions and corporations.
"Sensitive information is stolen daily from both government and private sector networks, undermining confidence in our information systems and in the very information these systems were intended to convey," Dennis Blair, U.S. Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence earlier this week.
Cyberterrorists and cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and we're fighting a losing battle against them, Blair pointed out.
That terrifies Baker. "Some very sophisticated companies haven't been able to prevent attacks by adversaries," he said. "We're living in a world where we can't be sure we can build adequate security to keep people out of our networks, and that's deeply troubling."

Source : ECT News Network