VMware working on public cloud service
Sources told CRN on Friday that VMware is developing a public cloud solution to compete with Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's EC2 services.
At VMware's Partner Exchange Conference in Las Vegas just last week, "sources familiar with the plans" let slip some information about the cloud service to CRN.
The public cloud solution is, reportedly, referred to internally as "VMware Public Cloud" and currently in beta.
CRN reported in August of last year that VMware was working on a similar-sounding hosted solutions service, but wrote that this latest leak refers to a separate project. Read more...
13 Windows 8 features worth knowing about
Upgrades, system migration, support headaches -- IT folks are probably dreading the next major Windows rollout. Yet Windows 8, which is scheduled to move to the beta stage in late February and will likely launch in the fall, does offer several compelling new features for both IT and end users.
By far the most talked-about aspect of Windows 8 is the Metro interface. Designed for touchscreen computers and tablets, and built to use HTML5 and CSS3, Metro ties into Internet apps like SkyDrive and Flickr. As with Windows Phone 7, you can swipe to navigate through tiles showing live Web info like stocks and news as well as more traditional apps. Read more...
Why cloud computing will kill programming – and make us all developers
We've been promised all sorts of benefits from cloud computing: faster development, cheaper applications - and even a recession-friendly switch from capex to opex for IT projects.
All of this is marvellous news for the CIO, but could it be that the cloud is anything but good news for the humble techie?
Certainly those IT workers who spend their time taking care of rickety, homegrown enterprise applications will find their jobs automated when the business moves to cloud applications instead. But as cloud computing matures over the next few years, could the impact on tech workers be even greater? Could the cloud really kill off programming altogether?
In this new cloud computing world, so the argument goes, any element needed to build an application will already exist on the web somewhere, so all that will be needed is for someone to connect up this series of ready-made modules and APIs in order to create a new application. Read more...
Burnish your blacklists to patrol internet access
Desktop
What makes PCs so popular is the range of software you can run on them. But, as always, with great power comes great responsibility. And one of the first decisions you need to make about your desktop estate is who you give the power to.
Some users may well benefit from full admin privileges, given the range of "revolutionary" tools they will be chasing you to install. But such privileges, even if temporary, need to come with a serious dose of education.
Otherwise you will find them installing everything from malware to network hogs and anything in between, none of which will make your life any easier.
Crash and burn
In some respects, then, it is good news that software that insists on running in admin mode is much less common. Thanks to a combination of developer education and user complaints about the inconvenience of privilege elevation in Vista and Windows 7, badly written software, whether malicious or not, is still the main reason Windows PCs crash. Read more...
Hackers school next generation at DEFCON Kids
DEFCON hackers will share their skills with the next generation at a first-ever children's version of the infamous gathering of software renegades, lock pickers and social engineers.
DEFCON Kids will take place in Las Vegas on August 6-7 during the 19th annual DEFCON started by hackers such as "Dark Tangent" when they were young computer coding or hardware cracking rebels.
"Hackers are getting older and having kids," said Joe Grand, a DEFCON veteran known as 'Kingpin' who has wowed attendees with event badges made of circuit boards that could be hacked to serve as radios or other gadgets.
"It is interesting to follow the process of other people's backup units; how they are coming along." Read more...
Apple wants smaller SIM cards for future smartphones
Apple has proposed a standard for new, smaller SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards, in an effort to free up more space on future smartphones.
The Apple proposal was filed last week, when ETSI's (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) Smart Card Platform technical committee met, according to a spokesman. So far, no decision has been made on whether accept the proposal.
If ETSI agrees to accept Apple's proposal for a new miniaturized SIM card as an industry standard, manufacturers could potentially start producing the devices by the end of the year. But for that to happen ETSI members, which include industry and government representatives, have to agree on technical details. If not that is not the case, it will take longer, ETSI said. Read more...
Open Source Software Is Now a Norm in Businesses
We've already seen mounting evidence that the numerous benefits of open source software are making a big impression on businesses far and wide, and this week saw the release of yet more data corroborating that fact.
At the Computerworld-sponsored Future of Open Source Survey."
Currently in its fifth year, the study's results for 2011 suggest that open source is now fully embraced by organizations in both the public and private sectors, and that user confidence in such open technologies is growing "dramatically," North Bridge said. Read more...