Category: Computers, Science & Technology

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there may be shortages in parts for some very popular devices that are in high demand, like, oh, say, the new iPad 2! Since everyone and their brother want an iPad 2, this could be a huge deal for Apple!

Japan Quake Poses Supply Issues For Apple IPad 2 -IHS ISuppli

“Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) newly unveiled iPad 2 may suffer from supply shortages in its electronic compass, the battery and possibly its touchscreen glass because of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a research firm said Thursday.

IHS iSuppli found at least five parts in the iPad 2 sourced from Japanese suppliers that could be impacted, including NAND flash memory chips from Toshiba Corp. (6502.TO), dynamic random access memory made by Elpida Memory Inc. (6665.TO), an electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor, the touchscreen overlay glass likely from Asahi Glass Co. (5201.TO) and the system battery from Apple Japan Inc, according to IHS iSuppli.

‘While some of these suppliers reported that their facilities were undamaged, delivery of components from all of these companies is likely to be impacted at least to some degree by logistical issues now plaguing most Japanese industries in the quake zone,’ the research firm said.

Apple declined to comment Thursday on its supply chain. On Monday, the company said its Japanese facilities were open and functioning following the earthquake and tsunami.

Apple released the iPad 2 in the U.S. last week, and analysts estimated sales over the weekend ranged anywhere between 500,000 and 1 million units. Apple’s online store is showing a shipping delay of a month or more for all new versions of the iPad 2.

Apple said earlier this week that it would delay the iPad 2’s launch in Japan following the recent developments that have devastated the country. The company had planned to begin iPad 2 sales in Japan on March 25, alongside 25 other countries in various points around the globe.”

We are saddened by the tragedies in Japan, and our hearts go out to them! It is also a reminder that more than ever, we are a completely interconnected planet! What happens on one side of the world, definitely effects us all!

Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, is giving up on the company. It has been “upstaged” by Twitter, Facebook, et al. And, it had a shaky upgrade some time back. I reckon it dead. Kevin is rumored to have new ventures in the works… we will see if he can bounce back… I wouldn’t bet against him!

Shame about Digg, though… it was a good ride!

Sigh. I don’t have a Zune… but I hear it was pretty good. And, the Zune Marketplace is supposed to be pretty cool too. Also, the Zune at least kept Apple “honest” by offering SOME competition for the iPod. But, these days with music on your phone (like my DroidX), I suppose it was inevitable!

Goodnight Zune

“After five years of false starts, word is leaking out that Microsoft is giving up on its much-maligned portable music player.” In the article at the link above, Mark Horowitz gives an “ode to the Zune!” Alas, poor Zune, we knew thee!

IE9 just came out this past week. Firefox 4.0 is supposed to be released on Tuesday of next week. However, Microsoft reports that 2.3 million downloads of IE9 occurred in the first 24 hours of its release! Zowie! Has Firefox lost before it starts? Probably not… but, I am sure it is “sobering” for Mozilla! Then again, Google’s Chrome upgrades itself with NO fanfare, and just keeps working better and better! I’d say IT is the one to watch!

Ouch! This makes me feel old! As much as we fight malware and computer virii, it is amazing to think that virii are forty years old!

The Virus Turns 40

“Today we have the dubious honor of wishing a happy birthday to the computer virus. It is hitting its 40th birthday, so get out the grim reaper cake and ‘Over the Hill’ balloons. While we certainly won’t be wishing the virus many happy returns, we can get a look at how the virus has evolved over time.

You may be wondering what the first virus was? As it turns out that the first virus was created in 1971, and was promptly given the name Creeper. The Creeper most noticeable side effect was when the virus displayed the message “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!” on the screens of the infected machines. Scooby Doo fans may also remember this name from another campy 70’s creation. A villain named The Creeper made an appearance in the animated film Scoobie Doo and the Ghoul School.

Bad 70’s jokes aside, and trust me with those hairstyles and mustaches this reporter could go on for at least another 500 words, this virus was the beginning of the digital war that we are living in today: where companies try harder and harder to shore up the holes in their operating systems while the creators of malicious code work their hardest to exploit them. This war is about more than simple exploitation, it is a numbers game as well. When you consider that viruses have grown from 1,300 viruses in 1990 to over 200 million computer viruses on the web currently, we can see how things have grown exponentially.”

Wow! Scoob and viruses (I like the term “virii” as the plural… I KNOW… it is technically WRONG!) Yeeesh!

Yep… official release is today. I gotta admit… it is a significant improvement. You would do well to get it! I actually heard about it on the radio coming in to work! Microsoft is spreading the word!

Microsoft (of course) claims that there is no exploitable bug in the FINAL release of IE 9 that was used to allow a successful attack by an Irish researcher this week on an earlier (IE8) version. Uh huh.

Microsoft: No Pwn2Own bug in IE9

“Computerworld – Microsoft on Thursday said its Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) does not contain the bug exploited this week by an Irish researcher at the Pwn2Own hacking contest.

But while IE9 is not vulnerable to attacks using the same Pwn2Own exploit, up to 99% of IE’s users may be at risk.

On Wednesday, researcher Stephen Fewer of Harmony Security chained three exploits to hack the older IE8, receiving $15,000 and a Sony laptop from HP TippingPoint for his work.

Shortly after Pwn2Own organizer Aaron Portnoy announced Fewer’s success, Microsoft said it had the vulnerabilities in hand and had started investigating.

IE9, however, will not need a patch. ‘The vulnerability was addressed in the RC [release candidate] and RTM [release to the Web] versions of Internet Explorer 9,’ said Jerry Bryant, a group manager with the Microsoft Security Response Center, in an e-mail reply to questions. ‘This update is already in the pipe for down level-versions of Internet Explorer.’

The “Thunderbolt” technology built into the new MacBook Pros is making big news! Thunderbolt is FAST! Faster than USB 3.0… so fast it can transfer a full DVD movie in 30 seconds! Yep… the mind boggles! WANT!

Canon announces future cameras will have Thunderbolt

“Spurred by Apple’s desire for a consolidated, universal cable, Intel unveiled Thunderbolt last month. Previously known as Lightpeak, Thunderbolt not only offers data throughput speeds that put the likes of USB 3.0 to shame, it also merges your computer’s sundry cables into one super umbilical, capable of doing everything from video to audio to data transfer.

It’s fantastic technology, and we can’t wait to see what happens with it. The only problem is that right now, only Apple is really supporting it in their 2011 line-up of MacBook Pros. Sure, a few of the usual accessory makers have said they’ll release the usual line of external hard drives and the like with Thunderbolt capabilities, but we haven’t seen a lot of other big names join the standard.

Consider that remedied. Camera maker Canon has just thrown its support behind Thunderbolt.”

Apple Insider is reporting that Apple may reach the 1 MILLION mark in iPad 2’s sales by this weekend! DEWD!

Don’t be surprised if Apple sells 1M of iPad 2 this weekend, analyst says

“With expanded availability, two colors and a buzzworthy magnetic case, the iPad 2 could more than triple last year’s sales debut and reach a million units over the weekend, one analyst believes.

Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Friday that he “would not be surprised” if sales of the iPad 2 reach 1 million over the weekend. That would easily best last year’s sales of 1 million in just 28 days.

White said the sales pace will also likely continue into the coming weeks, as Apple plans to launch the iPad 2 in 26 more countries on March 25. Friday’s 5 p.m. sales start applies to the U.S. only.”

I knew there were a lot more reasons to love Google Chrome, my favorite browser! At “Pwn2Own” at the CanSecWest security conference participating hackers attempted to hack the major browsers in the field: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. The idea being that the first team of hackers to be able to do it woudl win a $15,000 prize AND the new computer that they were using at the conference to do the hacking!

Sounds cool! BUT… Chrome was not hackable! Dewd! THAT rocks! Why couldn’t they do it? Because the Chrome browser has a “sandbox” that things run in… which creates an isolated area of memory to run in. Cool stuff!