Hackers will get bolder in 2007
December 18, 2006 at 9:15 am | In News, Tech | Leave a CommentComputer hackers will open a new front in the multi-billion pound “cyberwar” in 2007, targeting mobile phones, instant messaging and community websites such as MySpace, security experts predict.
As people grow wise to email scams, criminal gangs will find new ways to commit online fraud, sell fake goods or steal corporate secrets. “The attacks are becoming more sophisticated,” said Dave Rand of Internet security firm Trend Micro.
“It’s all about making money. And they’re making a lot of it,” he told Reuters. In 2007, hackers will be scouring social networking sites such as MySpace to gather information for more focused attacks on people’s computers.
“It is definitely an area that is ripe for more exploitation by malware (malicious software),” said Ed English, Trend Micro’s Chief Technology Officer for anti-spyware.
People could find their computers infected with viruses that secretly record all their keystrokes or send out millions of spam e-mail messages. Continue reading Hackers will get bolder in 2007…
IBM and Yahoo try to challenge Google
December 18, 2006 at 9:13 am | In News, Tech | Leave a CommentIBM Corp and Yahoo Inc are teaming up to offer a free data-search tool for businesses, a quirky move challenging Google Inc and other corporate-search specialists in a blossoming market.
IBM already sells a business-focused search product, OmniFind, that lets organisations comb through internal documents. This free new edition of OmniFind will be limited in the number of documents it can query, but it will combine the results with Web searches powered by Yahoo.
IBM hopes the service, being announced on Wednesday, bolsters its overall efforts to improve its dealings with small companies.
More broadly, though, Yahoo and IBM expect their partnership to shake up the field of ”enterprise search,” in which leading providers such as Google, Autonomy Corp and Norway-based FAST are seeing forays from business software giants such as Microsoft Corp, Oracle Corp and SAP AG.
Google has been dominant at the lower end of the market selling ‘’search appliances” that begin at $2,000 and range up to $30,000. The top-of-the-line version can comb through 500,000 documents. Not coincidentally, that is the same limit that IBM and Yahoo have set for their free software – although Google’s product includes hardware that operates the search service. Continue reading IBM and Yahoo try to challenge Google…
Arctic ice to disappear by 2040: study
December 18, 2006 at 9:11 am | In News, Study | Leave a CommentA new scientific research report has predicted that the frozen sea areas in the Arctic circle will be completely gone by the summer 2040 due to the impact of global warming resulting from Greenhouse gas emissions.
If it happens, it will raise global water levels and submerge low-lying regions around the world, including parts of Florida and already flood-prone Bangladesh. The rapid meltdown, caused by global warming, is also likely to speed up the heating of the oceans, the study says.
The new study, using computer models, indicates that if Greenhouse gases continue to be released at their current rate, most of the Arctic basin will be ice free in September by 2040. And winter ice, now about 12 feet thick, will be less than 3 feet thick.
The scientists first tested the model by simulating fluctuations in ice cover since 1870, including a significant shrinkage of late-summer ice from 1979 to 2005. The simulations closely matched observations, a sign that the model was accurately capturing the present-day climate variability in the Arctic. Continue reading Arctic ice to disappear by 2040: study…
Wikipedia gets bigger, better, freer
December 18, 2006 at 9:08 am | In News, Tech | Leave a CommentFree software is about to get freer. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said on Monday his for-profit company, Wikia Inc., is ready to give away – for free – all the software, computing, storage and network access that website builders need to create community collaboration sites.
Wikia, a commercial counterpart to the non-profit Wikipedia, will go even further to provide customers – bloggers or other operators who meet its criteria for popular websites – 100 per cent of any advertising revenue from the sites they build.
Started two years ago, Wikia (http://www.wikia.com) aims to build on the anyone-can-edit success of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia.
Using the same underlying software, called MediaWiki, Wikia hosts group publishing sites, known as wikis, on topics from Star Wars to psychology to travel to iPods. Continue reading Wikipedia gets bigger, better, freer…
After Mush who?
December 18, 2006 at 9:00 am | In Political | Leave a CommentPakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s popularity quotient is a matter of debate among American think tanks who differ if his succession will be smooth and whether his exit could cause chaos, leaving the “nuclear button” in the hands of radical Islamists.
The current issue of National Journal has analysts saying that the army chief is at his “weakest now” and his exit could cause concern about succession. The Pakistan Army is also being scrutinised in the context of its past performance in power.
Musharraf’s “only friend in the world” is US President George W Bush, says one analyst.
Analysts also advise that Washington should abandon the tendency to support the military “strongmen” that successive US administrations have tended to support and instead have more faith in civilian leadership. Continue reading After Mush who?…
Sunita Williams takes her first stroll in space
December 18, 2006 at 8:58 am | In News, Science | 3 Comments
Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams took her first walk in space to complete the rewiring of her new home, the International Space Station, with some help from a veteran spacewalker.
“It’s great to have some good on-orbit electricians working for us,” astronaut Stephen Robinson in Mission Control at Houston told the shuttle Discovery crew after the newly wired circuits were turned on for the first time.
The spacewalk, which began at 12.55 hours IST Sunday (7.25 p.m. GMT Saturday) was to be the third and final outing of space shuttle Discovery’s 12-day flight before the Mission Management Team approved another one on Monday to attempt to retract the balky Port 6 solar array. Continue reading Sunita Williams takes her first stroll in space…
Jagmohan Dalmiya – expelled and deserted
December 18, 2006 at 8:49 am | In Sports | Leave a Comment
It is pertinent to recall that Jagmohan Dalmiya was President of the BCCI several times and was also the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) during 1997-2000. He had a long association with the BCCI when he first became its member in 1979. He is generally perceived to be responsible for taking the cricket marketing to new heights. Continue reading Jagmohan Dalmiya – expelled and deserted…
Brett Lee strikes a chord with Asha : Asha and Friends
December 18, 2006 at 8:44 am | In BollyWood, Sports | 38 Comments
They are as different from each other as chalk and cheese, and yet one of the fastest bowler in the world, Brett Lee and legendary singer Asha Bhosle have come together to sing a duet for the Indian legend’s new album, Asha and Friends.
As the duo caught up across the continents via video-conferencing, there was lots to talk about, like Lee’s new-born son for instance.
“Do you want your son to become a cricketer or a singer?” asked Asha. “If he plays sports or cricket in general I will be very proud,” replied Lee.
Their mutual admiration for each other was evident. “She’s an icon of India. It was fantastic to sing with Ashaji and learn Hindi,” he said.
“When I taught him how to write my name, he learnt how to write Hindi instantly,” said Asha.
So enamoured is the cricketer with the singer, that he has promised to name his daughter after the songstress. “Asha Lee sounds nice, it’s got a lovely ring to it,” he said. Continue reading Brett Lee strikes a chord with Asha : Asha and Friends…
Sachin says he is no more 17-year-old-something!
December 18, 2006 at 8:36 am | In Sports | Leave a Comment
So, the original master blaster himself admits now that he cannot blast the bowlers anymore (the way he used to do it earlier) as he is no more a 17-year-old-something!
This is Sachin Tendulkar speaking about his growing age and the differences that it makes to his performance as a 33-year old payer now. Sachin Tendulkar has had a spate of injuries in last 4-5 years forcing him to be in and out of the action every now and then.
Well said, Sachin. But, there have been players who succeed more with the growing age. Or who play equally well even with growing age as they used to play at a younger age. Steve Waugh is one such example, who used to be successful almost always inspite of the age factor. For that matter, in the contemporary cricket, even Brian Lara is not doing that bad.
It is true that the age has an effect on the reflex action of the body. But, at the same time it is compensated, to some extent, by the extra experience that one gets with growing age. At least till the thirties of the age. Yes, may be in the forties, the reflex action become much more of a problem. But then, if the reflex action is weak today, then it is perhaps time to act also. Continue reading Sachin says he is no more 17-year-old-something!…
Ganguly Wants to Be back in ODI
December 18, 2006 at 6:35 am | In Sports | 1 Comment
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said he believed he was good enough to play in next year’s World Cup.
Ganguly, who made 51 not out and 25 on his return to the Test side to help them close in on victory in the first Test against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium, said he had never doubted his ability.
“I felt I was good enough to contribute in international cricket. I hope it will continue. I still want to play both forms of the game.”
He said he hoped his experience and his record in one-day internationals would get him back into the one-day side in time for the World Cup Continue reading Ganguly Wants to Be back in ODI…
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