Thursday, July 31, 2008
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The expert International staff which encompasses fourteen time zones is always available to help you as are other PC Help Forum members just like yourself. Everyone can contribute his or her own knowledge about the wonderful world of computers on PCHelpForum.com.
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source: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=69979
Monday, July 28, 2008
New Zealand teen hacker let off without convictions over US computer invasion
Owen Thor Walker, 18, known by his online name "AKILL," was involved in a network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers around the world and skimming millions of dollars from victims' bank accounts.
Walker earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of accessing a computer for dishonest purposes, two charges of accessing computer systems without authorization, one of damaging or interfering with computer systems and one of possessing software for committing crime.
The charges stemmed from a 2006 attack on the computer system at the University of Pennsylvania's engineering school.
Walker faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each charge, but on Tuesday the charges were dismissed and he was released without a criminal record.
Prosecutor Ross Douch and defense lawyer Tony Balme told the Hamilton High Court that New Zealand police were interested in using the teen's skills on the right side of the law.
Detective Inspector Peter Devoy said later that while "there is no offer on the table" for Walker to work with police, "that option is being kept open."
Justice Judith Potter ordered Walker to pay 9,526 New Zealand dollars (US$7,300) for damage caused to the university computer and other costs of NZ$5,000 (US$3,800).
She also ordered him to hand over his computer-related assets to police. These include software and hardware Walker had purchased with the cash he made from his offenses.
Walker allegedly was part of a hacker group said to have infected more than a million computers and caused millions of dollars of damage.
Tuesday's charges did not directly address his alleged role in the network, and police have released only a few details of the operation. They have not filed charges linked to the alleged theft of millions of dollars and have still not explained why no such charges have been filed.
The case against Walker was part of an international crackdown on the group, which police said would assume control of computers and amass them into centrally controlled clusters known as "botnets." Police said the hackers would then use the computers to steal credit card information, manipulate stock trades and even crash industry computers.
Eight people around the world have been indicted, pleaded guilty or have been convicted since the investigation began in June last year. Thirteen additional warrants have been served.
Police said Walker did not take money from people's bank accounts himself, but that software he designed was used by criminals around the world who paid him less than NZ$40,000 (US$30,600).
The FBI has estimated that more than a million computers were infected by the group and put the combined economic losses from the skimming activities and the damage caused to computer systems at more than US$20 million.
The investigation was carried out by the New Zealand police in conjunction with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and Dutch authorities.
source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/15/asia/AS-GEN-New-Zealand-Cyber-Attacks.php
Friday, July 25, 2008
WildTangent wants to bring the arcade to the desktop
Mercury News
Video-game consoles don't make sense, according to Alex St. John.
Flamboyant and impassioned, St. John is the chief executive of a company that hopes to blur the line between PC and console game-playing and revolutionize the economic model for selling games.
St. John runs WildTangent, a Redmond, Wash., developer and publisher of a wide range of downloadable games for PCs.
He's in the middle of launching a new method of playing games via desktop and laptop computers and has announced some of the key ingredients, including deals for console-brand games from high-profile publishers. Announced so far: THQ and Sierra Online.
Talk within the game industry is that WildTangent's major innovation is a new kind of wireless controller that would operate much like the motion-sensitive remote for Nintendo's popular Wii console. St. John apparently has shown it off to some outsiders, leading to information leaks despite confidentiality agreements.
Asked recently if WildTangent's plans include a new form of game controller, St. John said only, "We're not announcing one yet."
But St. John clearly wants to move past the time when companies must take expensive development risks with consoles while consumers must spend hundreds of dollars for both the console hardware and a collection of $50-$60 retail games that typically are played from start to finish.
The solution, as St. John sees it, is to make gaming through PCs more of a console-like experience and to enable people to spread their money or time over an assortment of games, as if they were at an arcade. WildTangent says a consumer's options will include playing any future WildTangent game in low-price sessions - say, $1 for hours of play at a time - or getting the same session for free when advertisements accompany the game's download.
St. John has dubbed everything he's doing - with hardware, software and session-by-session pricing - as the WildTangent Orb. No one facet of the Orb pops out as revolutionary, but everything together amounts to a unique approach.
Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, a prominent games industry analyst following the Orb announcements, says St. John's approach is well formulated. "That'll work," said Pachter when asked about luring console gamers to Orb's services.
Heading into the game industry's major business summit - this week's console-focused Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles - WildTangent said it was on the verge of releasing the Orb application, which consumers will download from the company's Web site (www.wildtangent.com) and find featured later in the year on computers from Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba.
When all the features, services and control options of the Orb have been unveiled, the highlights are expected to include:
• Automatic detection of whether the consumer's computer has the necessary processing power to display, download and run specific games in a satisfactory way.
St. John, an ex-Microsoft employee who helped create the DirectX technology that's important to game programming, says the typical PC user is overmatched when trying to install a game. Console games have virtually no installation issues.
"I'm a computer expert," St. John said, "and it has been so much of a problem for me (with PC games) that it's the kind of thing that makes you go out and buy a console like the Wii."
• The ability to connect desktop and laptop computers to TV screens and play WildTangent games with console-like graphics and some existing game controllers, without any need for a keyboard or mouse.
Not only can that enhance the visual experience, it's crucial to any multiplayer mode that families and friends want to enjoy without crowding around a tiny PC screen.
• A pricing system that allows consumers to sample and repeatedly play big chunks of games in short or long sessions, instead of buying a full game at a retail box price.
Wild Tangent uses a virtual micro-currency called Wild Coins that can be compared to tokens. Consumers can buy them in small or large amounts and spend them in whatever combinations they choose on game sessions (or for full games if they desire).
There's some family utility as well: Children don't have the credit cards for buying the Wild Coins but parents can do the purchasing and then give kids a dedicated amount to spend, just like tokens at an arcade.
source: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_9885128
Monday, July 21, 2008
Lenovo Launches Complete PC Solution for Small Businesses with New ThinkPad SL Notebooks, Software and Services
"The ThinkPad name is synonymous with leadership in notebook computing for the business user," said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Notebook Business Unit, Lenovo. "Now we're bringing the same quality and reliability that ThinkPad is known for to small business customers with a number of leading technologies like high speed mobile broadband and new services and capabilities. ThinkPad customers expect more from their notebook PCs, and with today's announcements, we are pleased to continue our tradition of industry-leading innovation."
Today, Lenovo also announced an additional six new notebooks - the ThinkPad R400, R500, T400, T500, X200 and W500. Lenovo brings many of the technologies first pioneered in the industry-acclaimed ThinkPad X300 notebook, such as solid state drive storage, LED backlit displays and GPS functionality to select models in the line. The new T Series includes models with technologies like switchable graphics and support for Display Port. Using these new technologies, this generation of notebooks offers significant improvements over the previous one, featuring cooler and quieter notebooks with lighter weight and longer battery life. Lenovo offers its first 12-inch widescreen ultraportable notebook, the ThinkPad X200 notebook, in a lighter design than the previous ThinkPad X61 notebook. With a larger keyboard, lighter weight and focus on productivity, the notebook balances performance and portability. Lenovo is introducing the ThinkPad W-Series, the first in a new class of mobile workstations with models offering the mobility of an Open-GL Graphics performance notebook. The newly announced notebooks also expand Lenovo's portfolio of environmentally-responsible notebooks with many of them being rated Gold by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. All the newly announced ThinkPad notebooks, including the SL Series, are based on Intel's(R) latest Centrino(R) 2 processor technology.
Designed for the Unique Needs of the Small Business
Quality, affordability and service and support are critical factors to SMB notebook users, and Lenovo's SMB solution combines all of those. Lenovo designed the notebooks for the unique way these users work - whether at home, the office, the park or coffee shop. With the need for always-on, 24/7 connectivity growing, select models of all three of the ThinkPad SL notebooks are available with built-in high speed mobile broadband. Lenovo's program with AT&T and Ericsson makes providing optimized mobile broadband service even more affordable and accessible for customers. The notebooks also feature WiFi, Ethernet and optional Bluetooth technologies.
The number of SMB users is growing dramatically. IDC forecasts that in 2009, the SMB segment will command 31 percent of the total notebook (including ultraportables) PC market worldwide and will grow to 76.6 million in 2011. The growth in this space is outpacing the growth in traditional large volume buyers, the large enterprise and very large enterprise. In the United States, IDC forecasts the SMB space to grow from 7.5 million notebook PCs in 2007 to 11.6 million in 2011.(2)
The notebooks also excel with their multimedia capabilities. Speakers, microphones and an optional webcam provide excellent support for Internet voice and video conferencing. And support for HDMI/VGA means users can watch video content, like movies in high-definition. The ThinkPad SL Series also combines looks with performance with a glossy black top cover, a first for ThinkPad notebook design.
"Lenovo created the ThinkPad SL notebooks with entrepreneurs like me in mind," said Sarah Farzam, owner of Bilingual Birdies in New York City. "The notebook's light weight and sleek design makes using it in children's classes easy. The multimedia features are fantastic for meetings with teachers and clients on the go. And its wireless connectivity features are a must have for any small business owner. This notebook will be a vital tool in helping me take my small business to the next level in the children's education industry."
Known in the industry for hardware reliability, Lenovo designed the notebooks with durability and performance in mind. Lenovo's Active Protection System, an air-bag like system, protects the hard drive against drops or falls, and an optional fingerprint reader helps protect against unauthorized users. The ThinkPad SL300 notebook also comes with an available LED backlit display.
"This is the ThinkPad notebook I've been waiting for," said Kevin Oleksa, President, OTS, Inc. "With the SL Series, Lenovo has engineered a notebook that gives me the quality and reliability I trust in Think products but is tailored with the unique technologies small business users need at an affordable price. This will help me better meet my customers' needs and grow my business with Lenovo."
source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lenovo-launches-complete-pc-solution/story.aspx?guid=%7BBF366F8D-9A3F-4D3D-9331-7FC24B50FDE9%7D&dist=hppr
Thursday, July 17, 2008
NewVoiceMedia Patents "4th Generation CTI" - CTI as a Service Now Available
Hosted Contact Centre provider NewVoiceMedia today announced that it has been granted a UK patent for its Computer-Telephony Integration as a Service. From today, any call centre can implement customer-centric handling simply by using an 08XX number and renting the NewVoiceMedia service ’on-demand’. There’s no new hardware or software integration required, and users can still use their existing switch.
Research shows that 80% of UK call centres have not been able to implement CTI because of the costs involved and the complexity of integration. However, CTI offers major advantages for call centres as it enables them to route calls according to information on the caller held by a CRM system. CTI is much more than screen popping data to the agent before the call is put through. For example, callers can be routed to the last agent they spoke to; loyal customers can be identified by their recent spending patterns and prioritised in the queue; and callers can be given targeted messages while in-queue, making cross-selling much more relevant and effective. Some of the early adopters of this Individual Caller Treatment report sales increases of 15% because of its implementation.
source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/CTI/SaaS/prweb1105164.htm
3D rotary and slider controls for computer notebook screens

Imagine a LCD control surface with real knobs, sliders, and switches for your favourite music player, video editor or game. This is SenseSurface, just place the unique controls on your application e.g. a music mixer, and ready to go.
Applications that would normally use a mouse or Qwerty keyboard can be now controlled with traditional knobs. The scroll bar on the right hand side of your computer screen can be controlled with a real slider button.
SenseSurface can be retrofitted to most laptops with a USB input. The sensing knobs have a custom designed movement sensor to determine position within 180 degrees with a 10 bit digital output. The magnetic knobs can be removed and repositioned immediately by picking them up and moving to a different part of screen.
A unique sensing surface is attached to the rear of the laptop screen to detect the control's position. The rotary controls are low friction and there are no screen finger prints as with normal touch surfaces. Linear sliders and switches can also be used on the lcd surface. Controls can be rotated without using a mouse. Applications can include audio and video processing, games and medical. Spreadsheets can be controlled using a rotary potentiometer to set values.
source: http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=49280
