Group questions Google government contract claims
An organization headed by a former federal CIO contends that despite Google's claims, its consumer privacy policy does apply to government customers in some cases.
SafeGov.org, a group focused on promoting a set of best practices for cloud deployment in the government, has cited three instances where it found Google Apps for Government (GAFG) contracts governed by the company's consumer privacy policy.
In a blog post, SafeGov.org said the CAFG contracts in each case explicitly incorporated the consumer privacy policy that Google had said did not apply to government contracts.
SafeGov was co-founded by Karen Evans, de facto federal CIO during the George W. Bush Administration.
The latest Google consumer privacy policy was created earlier this year amid some controversy. Read more...
Five things to look forward to in Apple’s iOS 6
While hardware got a lot of attention at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the event is still really about software. That's why Apple CEO Tim Cook and other execs offered up a slew of new details about OS X Mountain Lion -- due out next month -- and, more importantly, unveiled iOS 6, the next version of Apple's mobile OS.
iOS 6 will be released this fall, almost certainly in tandem with new iPhones. Much is already known about Mountain Lion, Apple's desktop OS. But iOS 6 is a new arrival, and promises to make iPhone/iPod touch and iPad users very happy when it's released. Apple says there are some 200 or so new features in iOS 6, though many of them are smaller tweaks and updates. But there are still plenty of additions that will change, for the better, how mobile users use their iOS devices. Read more...
Elgan: Siri, how do I feel?
Microsoft is working on technology that will spy on you in your own home, watching your body language and face and listening to your voice for cues about your mood and emotional state.
But would you want to install such a device in your home?
Maybe you already have.
Microsoft's technology works via Kinect for Xbox 360, the company's popular motion-detection gaming peripheral.
Microsoft this month filed a patent application for a method of "Targeting Advertisements Based on Emotion." Read more...
Game on: 3 high-performance laptops duke it out
Whether it's killing zombies or pitching a perfect baseball game, top-notch gaming has always demanded the fastest systems and best graphics. You want a high-end computer? Look at what gamers are buying and you'll have it.
Once the exclusive preserve of desktop computers or stationary gaming consoles, a new generation of notebooks is now offering enough speed and power to satisfy the inner gamer in all of us.
But what is the current state of the art? To find out, I gathered together three of the hottest gaming laptops on the market today: the Eurocom Panther 4.0, Hewlett-Packard's Envy 17 and the MSI GT783.
Each comes with a high-resolution 17.3-in. screen, a performance-oriented graphics engine with at least 1GB of dedicated video memory, a Core i7 processor and a minimum of 12GB of RAM. Read more...
Finalists in Microsoft’s $250K contest take on ‘most-pressing’ exploit tactic
Microsoft yesterday announced that each of the three finalists in its $250,000 BlueHat Prize security contest came up with ways to detect and stymie one of the most effective exploit methods now being used by hackers.
The three finalists -- two from the U.S., the other from Croatia -- took different tacks to block return-oriented programming, or ROP, a technique often used to sidestep DEP, or data execution prevention, one of Windows' primary anti-exploit technologies.
"It's an obvious reflection on the most pressing attack vector hitting systems right now," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Security, commenting on the fact that the ROP technique was the subject of each of the finalists' entries. Read more...
Geeky books to get you through the summer
Most of the year, your reading materials are likely technical guides, journals, instruction manuals, or "how-to" books. With summer vacation time upon us, take a break and crack open a book that doesn't include any coding language.
Presented here are IDG Enterprise editors' recommendations for summer reading that should appeal to geeks of all shapes, sizes, and ages, with a mixture of new books and classic books that you may have already read, but are worth a second glance.
While most of us will likely never travel in space, scientists from around the world are preparing for what life may be like for long space journeys. In this very entertaining book, Mary Roach discusses all sorts of questions about what it's like to live in space, including the lack of privacy, the inability to smell flowers, what happens when you vomit in your helmet during a space walk, and of course, sex in space. Read more...
How Alan Turing set the rules for computing
On Saturday, British mathematician Alan Turing would have turned 100 years old. It is barely fathomable to think that none of the computing power surrounding us today was around when he was born.
But without Turing's work, computers as we know them today simply would not exist, Robert Kahn, co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocols that run the Internet, said in an interview. Absent Turing, "the computing trajectory would have been entirely different, or at least delayed," he said.
For while the idea of a programmable computer has been around since at least 1837 -- when English mathematician Charles Babbage formulated the idea of his analytical engine -- Turing was the first to do the difficult work of mapping out the physics of how the digital universe would operate. And he did it using a single (theoretical) strip of infinite tape. Read more...
U.S. judge dismisses Apple patents lawsuit against Motorola
A U.S. federal judge Friday ruled that Apple cannot seek an injunction against Motorola Mobility in its smartphone patents lawsuit, tossing out the case "with prejudice," meaning that neither side can refile, although the ruling could be appealed.
Judge Richard Posner of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had previously ruled that testimony of various expert witnesses was inadmissable and earlier this month tentatively concluded that the case would have to be dismissed. He canceled the trial date, but agreed to a request from Apple for a hearing where both sides could make their case for damages claims. His 38-page ruling issued Friday evening made it clear that he wasn't moved by the arguments he heard. Read more...