Author: Dr. Bill

A lot of posts tonight, I know! BUT, I have been totally absorbed this week at work with late night (early morning) Red Hat Enterprise Linux server upgrades. When I got home all week, I just crashed. Today was my first semi-normal day all week (and I still had a server upgrade today… but it was at least during the day!) So… long story short… no time for blogging! So, I “saved it all up” for tonight’s blogging burst! The downside of being a busy systems guy, I guess! But, hopefully, I still uncovered some interesting info for you from the tech news!

Now, on to do the video Netcasts tomorrow morning! For now, to bed!

The notorious group, Anonymous, stole some code from anti-virus and security company Symantec in India… wow!

Symantec says some source code stolen, no customer information exposed

“Symantec confirmed today that a group of Anonymous members based in India obtained source code based on a small amount of code released by the group this morning.

This is the second attack focused on Internet security companies performed by the hacker collective, Anonymous. The group recently infiltrated the servers of security analyst firm Stratfor stealing over 9,000 credit card numbers and other personally identifiable information. At the time Anonymous threatened to use the credit cards to make donations to charities as part of its vigilante appearance. In general, Anonymous doesn’t have a unified agenda, but it seems embarrassing security companies by infiltrating them and stealing credit cards and code is the flavor of the week.

Symantec, which creates anti-virus software for both businesses and consumers, discovered the potential hack on Wednesday when the group posted about its newest trophy on an Internet forum. At the time, Symantec believed only some documentation on source code built in 1999 was compromised. According to Symantec spokesperson Cris Paden, who spoke with VentureBeat over e-mail, the cyber criminals posted a segment of code on the same forum, which led Symantec researchers to confirm the code’s theft. The source code is of two outdated enterprise-grade anti-virus products built five or six years ago. No consumer products have been compromised.”

So, what if Apple hardware was even easier to buy? Closer to the public, broader appeal, more sales, hummmm… might work!

Mini Apple Stores to open inside Target locations?

“In an effort to expand its retail reach, Apple is reportedly planning to open mini Apple Store displays inside select Target locations later this year.

As many as 25 locations in smaller metro areas not large enough for Apple Stores of their own could end up with the in-Target Apple Store set-ups, “according to a source familiar with Apple’s plans,” the website AppleInsider reported Friday.

Officials at Apple weren’t available for comment on the report — the company’s usual practice is to decline to comment on rumors — but the tech giant has taken this type of approach before.

Hundreds of Best Buy locations feature Apple Store displays, with Apple signage and tables that match the look of what is seen in Apple’s retail locations.

At some Best Buy stores, there are even Apple staffers on hand from time to time to explain products to customers and show off iPads, iPhones, iPods, iMacs and MacBook laptops as well as accessories.

Target sells iPods, iPhones and iPads but no Mac computers. That is likely to change with the Apple-Store-within-a-store plan, AppleInsider said.

The site also noted that although there are 1,752 Target locations and 245 Apple Stores in the U.S., there are also more than 600 BestBuy locations with mini Apple Store displays inside.”

The Nook is successful, B&N less so, what to do… I know, sell off the Nook!

Barnes & Noble: Pros, Cons of Selling Off Nook

“For a company better known for its box stores than computing boxes, Barnes & Noble has done an impressive job of carving a technological place for itself in the burgeoning e-reader and tablet hardware market. Now it seems the company wants to cash in on all that hard work and take a back seat to companies like Amazon and Apple by spinning off its Nook hardware business, or possibly selling it entirely. Is it a good idea? Is it a dumb idea?”

I vote dumb.

First it was netbooks, then tablets, now “ultrabooks!” So… what is an “ultrabook?” Well, they “can weigh no more than 3.1 pounds, be no more than 0.8 inches thick, and offer five to eight or more hours of battery life.”

Ultrabooks, expected to be hot at CES, could be boon for enterprise IT

“Computerworld – With ultrabooks poised to be the hottest computers to come out of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), analysts say the new hardware should be a boon for enterprise IT shops.

Backed by Intel, all of the major PC manufacturers are expected to unveil or show off ultrabooks — super thin and lightweight, high-end laptops. The launch of new ultrabooks is expected to be a blow to the netbook market and could even make the burgeoning tablet market stumble a bit.

However, the biggest impact could be on enterprise IT.

‘The ultrabook is really about creating a new baseline for mobile computing for consumers and businesses alike,’ said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT Inc. ‘Since ultrabooks are mostly Windows-based machines, they should actually be easier for enterprises to incorporate into existing IT management and security schemas than Apple products.’

King added that ultrabooks should be far more appealing to most IT departments than the popular, consumer-oriented Apple iPad.

‘The iPad laid down the challenge for what people could expect in media delivery and battery life, though at significant cost in overall system features, flexibility and performance,’ he said. ‘With ultrabooks, Intel is suggesting that users can and should have it all.’

Intel is pushing hard on ultrabooks — Intel coined and trademarked the term — as a way to fire up the PC market and do battle with netbooks, tablets and Apple’s own popular, high-end MacBook Air.

So what qualifies a laptop as an ultrabook? Intel has some stringent criteria: Ultrabooks can weigh no more than 3.1 pounds, be no more than 0.8 inches thick, and offer five to eight or more hours of battery life. They also will have flash-based storage, and use Intel’s Rapid Start Technology for fast boot times.”

Yep, the new Roku I told you about before Christmas last year is small, just a bit over 3 inchs by 3 inchs by 3/4 inch…. BUT, the new Roku device that will be coming out sometime this year will be as small as a USB stick! Check it out!

Roku media player shrinks again — to an HDMI dongle

“Roku announced a tiny dongle version of its Linux-based streaming player device, designed to plug directly into a TV’s HDMI port. Due to ship in the fall, the ‘Roku Streaming Stick’ will send its signals to — and accept power from — Mobile High Definition Link-enabled televisions, including some of Best Buy’s Insignia models.

Only six months after shrinking its Linux-based Roku media player boxes to 3.3 x 3.3 x 0.9 inches with the Roku 2, Roku has cranked up its miniaturization machine again to produce an even smaller, simpler model.

Although Roku does not list the dimensions for the Roku Streaming Stick, it is said to be the size of a USB flash drive. Instead of being built around a USB port, however, it offers an HDMI port that plugs directly into its counterpart on an HDTV, says Roku.

According to the MHL Consortium, MHL features a single HDMI cable with a five-pin interface, supporting 1080p HD video and digital audio transport while simultaneously powering mobile devices. The technology potentially ‘enables the TV remote to control … [a] mobile phone and access its contents.’

MHL has been ‘adopted’ by nearly 100 hardware and manufacturing vendors, according to Roku. These are said to include the MHL Consortium’s joint founders: Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba. MHL is already supported by over a dozen devices, primarily Android smartphones, including the HTC Rezound, according to a list posted on Wikipedia.

However, it might be easier finding an MHL-enabled smartphone than an MHL-ready TV. The possibly dated Wikipedia story says that only the Toshiba Regza WL800A LED TV and Samsung’s UN55D8000YF and UN55D6300SF LED TV range are currently shipping with the technology.

Some of Best Buy’s Insignia brand TVs, however, will be available with MHL by the time the Roku Streaming Stick ships this fall, says Roku. The Roku device will be offered with the Insignia TVs, presumably as an extra-cost option.”

We will be carrying TechPodcasts Network coverage LIVE on our site starting when CES starts. It will run January 10-13… so, join us next Tuesday for daily LIVE information!

Merry Christmas from all of us here at Dr. Bill Bailey.NET! May you have a great day tomorrow with family, friends, and we look forward to an awesome New Year as well!