John at myITforum.com

Bradley, a former Gateway executive who joined Palm in June 2001, will step down Feb. 25 and serve as an adviser to the company through May. PalmOne President Ed Colligan will take on the role of interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a permanent head.

"Todd was an operations guy...PalmOne needs fresh leadership with the right vision to lead PalmOne into the wireless future," said Pablo Perez-Fernandez, a research analyst at Stanford Financial Group. "Colligan is considered to be very knowledgeable about wireless."

Bradley joined Palm when it was struggling with a glut of products and was credited with helping steady the company. However, analysts said new leadership might be needed as the company increasingly focuses on its Treo line of advanced cell phones.

Search-engine rivals Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. will open a new front in their Internet battle today when they plan to unveil dueling efforts to let users hunt through the content of television shows.

Google Video will let people look for text in the closed-captioning of television shows on PBS, C-SPAN, Fox News, ABC and other channels. Google has been recording thousands of hours of programming with its own equipment and hopes to eventually let people watch the content through Google Video.

Yahoo Video Search, which has been available in an experimental form since last month, scours the Web for video clips. And Yahoo plans to announce today that its video search engine will soon include news clips from Bloomberg and the BBC that are indexed by closed-captioning.

Hewlett-Packard's board of directors is considering a plan that would redistribute some of the day-to-day responsibilities of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carly Fiorina to other HP executives, due in part to the board's displeasure with the company's uneven performance, according to a report published Monday.

Rather than seeking to undermine Fiorina, the board believes that by giving three senior executives more authority, it would enable HP to respond more quickly to customer demands and the increased competition it faces from industry players such as Dell according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The Journal article doesn't name any sources, only citing "people familiar with the situation."

Symbian OS anti-virus specialist SimWorks has announced that it has identified the first malware able to so severely disrupt the functioning of a Symbian phone that it can no longer be used to make phone calls. Previously identified threats, such as the Skulls trojans, have affected only the higher level functions of a device, not affecting basic functionality such as the ability to make calls.

The threat, Gavno.a is spread via a file called patch.sis and induces Symbian OS device users to install it on their devices by masquerading as a patch for their phone, a concept familiar from other computing platforms such as Microsoft Windows.

CNN hemorrhaged more than half their audience from the 2001 Inauguration. The news network only averaged 779,000 viewers during Inauguration coverage from 10am-4pm with just 168,000 of those viewers landing in the coveted 25-54 demo.

Like CNN, MSNBC also suffered major losses, only averaging 438,000 viewers throughout coverage (141,000 in 25-54), down a whopping 68% over 2001 and faring even worse in primetime with just 385,000 viewers.

In contrast, Fox News averaged 2,581,000 viewers from 10a-4p (up 30% over 2001) and their 25-54 demo average of 705,000 came close to CNN's total coverage ratings yesterday.

Fox News anyone? 

Interesting news article this morning.  Apparently Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela spit at Lleyton Hewitt during a third round match at the Australian Open.   Hewitt won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 but Chela became irritated by Hewitt's antics whenever he won a big point and after the Australian appeared to swear at him, he spat in his direction.

Spitting during a professional tennis match?  I quit doing that during kick ball at recess in the third grade.  How about you?  When’s the last time you spit at someone during a sporting event.  What a true sportsman.

The Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Developers Conference 2005 (MEDC) is coming to a Las Vegas near you, MEDC 2005 will be held at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas 9^th thru 12^th May 2005 – SAVE THE DATES !!!

What to expect at this years event…

• Windows XP Embedded SP2
• Windows CE 5.0
• Windows Mobile and Visual Studio 2005

Two vulnerabilities were reported in in the Sun Java Plug-in. A malicious applet can access local files and applications or interfere with other running applets.  A remote user can create an applet that, when loaded, will gain elevated privileges via malicious Javascript. The applet can read and write local files or execute local applications with the privileges of the user running the untrusted applet.

An untrusted applet may also be able to interfere with another applet within the same web page, causing the other applet to incorrectly load non-code resources such as files and web pages.  Sun credits Fujitsu with reporting these flaws.

SDK and JRE 1.4.2_05 and earlier, all 1.4.1 and 1.4.0 releases, and 1.3.1_12 and earlier are affected.

Sun has issued the following fixes:

SDK and JRE 1.4.2_06 and later and 1.3.1_13 and later

J2SE releases are available at:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/

J2SE 5.0: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp
J2SE 1.4.2_06: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html and http://java.com
J2SE 1.3.1_14: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/download.html

Microsoft has released Deploying Windows XP Service Pack 2 in Enterprise Environments

The guides describe planning and implementation considerations for deploying Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) in enterprise environments.  The guides describe planning and implementation considerations for deploying Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) in enterprise environments. It includes readiness assessment, application compatibility, training, and infrastructure planning. It describes the three methods for deploying Microsoft® Windows® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) in enterprise environments: Microsoft® Software Update Services (SUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and Group Policy.

Go here.

Virus researchers at identified a new worm which poses as information on the latest news stories. Crowt-A(W32/Crowt-A) takes its subject lines, message content and attachment names from headlines gathered in real-time from the CNN website. It attempts to send itself by email to addresses found on infected computers.  Crowt-A's subject line and attachment share the same name, but continually change to mirror the front-page headline on the CNN news site. The message text is also lifted from CNN's site, duping the recipient into thinking that they are reading a bonafide newsletter rather than receiving an infected email.

Crowt-A also installs a backdoor Trojan function. This attempts to log keystrokes on infected PCs and sends gathered data to a remote user. These Trojans are often used by hackers to gain unauthorised control of PCs and to steal personal information such as bank passwords.

Looks like the virus writers are getting a little more clever, and according to folks like Cringely, it’s all Microsoft’s fault.

Well, the reports are in.  Firefox gained a whopping .88% market share during the months of December and January.  All this news reporting drove users of IE en masse to pick up the Firefox browser.  Without naming names here (again, very BIASED reporting), some news agencies are actually calling this a “snowballing effect”.  .88% increase a snowballing effect?  That’s .88, please notice where the decimal point is.  Not  even one percent.  Take you forever to build a snowman at this rate.

I will give the reporting agencies a little credit though.  They actually did draw attention to the fact that viruses and spyware are often aimed at IE because of its near-total market dominance, and that FireFox may eventually attract the attention of malicious code writers trying to exploit security holes, as evidenced by the recent download flaw (which some said wasn’t a flaw).  Next they’ll be saying it’s not a flaw, it’s a feature.

Stay tuned.  Time will tell.

Emir Aboulhosn, vice president of Marketing Communications for Laplink Software Inc., will discuss Laplink's adoption of Microsoft(R) Office Live Meeting, an online collaboration and Web conferencing service, during an online business seminar titled "Laplink Connects With Its Customers." During the complimentary seminar powered by Live Meeting, Aboulhosn will explore how Live Meeting has strengthened and shortened Laplink's sales cycles while enabling the company to reach a broader audience without the need to travel. Aboulhosn will also discuss how Laplink expects to recover an estimated $80,000 in expenses and lost productivity by replacing some business travel with Live Meeting Web conferences.

During the seminar, Aboulhosn will interact with participants in real time through instant polling, ongoing questions and answers, and an online survey, empowering the audience to deliver immediate feedback, exchange ideas and communicate directly with him. The "Laplink Connects With Its Customers" business seminar is part of an ongoing series of complimentary business interest seminars powered by Live Meeting. These engaging seminars are targeted at helping companies maximize their potential through interactive
discussions on topics that affect today's business leaders, including communication as a business tool, customer loyalty, the power of persuasion and teamwork.

What:     Emir Aboulhosn discusses Laplink's adoption of Live Meeting and how the solution has benefited the company during the "Laplink Connects With Its Customers" business seminar.
When:     Thursday, Jan. 27, 9-10 a.m. PST
Where:    Details and registration information can be found at http://www.placeware.com/go/laplink . Those interested in taking part in the seminar need only a phone and a PC with an Internet connection.

Virus experts have discovered a mass-mailing worm that fools computer users into believing that pornographic adult content has been found on their PC, and lures them into running malicious code which opens a backdoor allowing remote hackers access to their data.

The W32/Baba-C worm spreads via email, duping innocent users into believing that it is a warning about XXX content found on their Windows PC. Users are told that adult material on their PC can be hidden by running a program called "Evidence Cleaner". However, in reality, no X-rated content has been found on the PC, and clicking on the attached file runs the worm which will attempt to forward itself to other email addresses, and open a backdoor for hackers to gain access to the system.

Part of the email message sent by the W32/Baba-C worm.

Emails sent by the worm have the following characteristics:

Subject:
Important! XXX sites found on your computer!

Message body:
Windows Evidence Checker has found XXX content on your computer. You can hide your activities with Evidence Cleaner service.

To run Evidence Cleaner click to quick shortcut attached.

Warning! Your copy of Evidence Cleaner will be expired after 7 days. Today you can register for FREE.

Please check attached instructions for more details.

I’ve blogged earlier that there are some internet news companies trying to make a story out of Microsoft happenings when there isn’t one.  Yesterday a story was released that read, in part:

“If Microsoft's tepid entrance into the PC security market--with the enhanced security capabilities of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and its recently announced anti-spyware beta application--are going to cut into the earnings of Internet security companies, it hasn't happened yet. At least not in the earnings reported by Symantec Corp. on Wednesday.”

OK, correct me if I’m wrong but Symantec released QUARTERLY earnings reports.  When did Microsoft release the beta application for anti-spyware?  I won’t say anymore about this (how can a January release of a beta product impact previous quarterly reports?), but why push for a story, why push for controversy when there isn’t anything there? 

“Symantec executives showed little concern during an investor conference call Wednesday about Microsoft's foray into their territory. Symantec executives said they believe they'll continue to compete with Microsoft as well as partner with the company.”

Good for Symantec.  Only if we all continue to work together will all the viruses, spyware, malware, you name it be reduced to a level to get most users to a safe browsing experience (OK…some users will never have a safe browsing experience just by the nature of their browsing habits).  If you put out great products, continue to put out great products.  Continue to be innovative.  Continue to do what you do extremely well.  Look for ways to do things better than your competition and you have nothing to worry about.  Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how many anti-virus companies are out there?  What about the number of anti-spyware companies?  Any guesses?  A dozen or more?  Why the concern if Microsoft attempts to release a couple of products?  Hasn’t companies like Symantec been competing with other security vendors for years?  I haven’t uninstalled a single program from my computer that looks for viruses and spyware.  I don’t plan to.

Symantec should be extremely pleased with quarterly revenue growth (greater than 40% year to year growth).  That’s a great accomplishment in this economy.   They just bought Veritas and have some great plans.  Lets leave it at that and quit trying to make a “story” when one doesn’t exist.

Microsoft said Wednesday that it's ready to start offering a paid-subscription version of its Outlook e-mail program, marking the first time the software giant has made a component of Office available as a subscription service.

Known as Microsoft Office Outlook Live, the service includes a subscription version of Outlook 2003 to connect with Hotmail or MSN e-mail accounts. For $59 a year, customers get an e-mail account with 2GB of storage and the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments. Customers can also check multiple e-mail accounts, including corporate accounts that are managed through an Exchange server.

I tried to download the new reader, and for some strange reason the download link for 2.0 takes me to Adobe Reader 7.0 downloads.  If you want the new reader, go here:

OK…more from the just plain wacky front (and is making me a little worried where its headed).  Schools in Atlanta, Georgia were placing stickers on their science textbooks.  The stickers read:

“This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

Before you read the rest of this, if this is all you know, what’s wrong with the sticker?  Is evolution a theory or not?  It’s never been proven (and in my opinion never will be proven), so what’s wrong with the sticker?  No really, what’s wrong?  Well, authors of the textbooks sued and guess what?  They won the lawsuit, and the stickers have to be removed.  How ridiculous is that?  Why did the judge rule this way?  Let him answer:

"By denigrating evolution, the School Board appears to be endorsing the well-known prevailing alternative theory, creationism or variations thereof ....An informed, reasonable observer would understand the School Board to be endorsing the viewpoint of Christian fundamentalists and creationists that evolution is a problematic theory lacking an adequate foundation.”

Say what?  So, we now we not only have to take all religion out of the schools, but anything appearing slightly related to religion, even if it isn’t even mentioned?  We can even APPEAR to be supportive?  Heaven forbid if we’re seen “endorsing religion” without even mentioning it.  Someone please tell me this is just one big joke.  According to this reasoning, then, merely stating the fact that evolution is a theory (and it is) and encouraging students to have an open mind, to study carefully, and to critically consider the theory is "denigrating" evolution?  Since when is stating facts wrong? This, in the court's mind, is tantamount to "endorsing" creationism or variations thereof.    Really?  What is our legal system coming to?  What is everyone afraid of? 

Judge Cooper continued with his explanation for finding an Establishment Clause violation: "Evolution is more than a theory of origin in the context of science. To the contrary, evolution is the dominant scientific theory of origin accepted by the majority of scientists." 

Read that again.  Judge Cooper called it a scientific theory, but you can’t put stickers on the text books calling it a theory.  Why?  BECAUSE ITS ACCEPTED NY THE MAJORITY OF SCIENTISTS.  This society is in BIG trouble folks.  It’s bordering on the hysterical because everyone is “afraid”.  Call me crazy.  Call it making a big deal out of nothing.  You know what though, if we continue to ignore this, and continue to say “what’s the big deal”, guess where we’ll end up?

You know what?  I have a big eye opener for everyone.  Do you know who said, “If you deny me, I WILL DENY YOU”?

The quake, which struck shortly after 11 p.m., was centered about 30 miles under the seabed off the coast of Kushiro, about 550 miles northwest of Tokyo.

Toshiba has developed software to remotely operate a PC using a mobile phone over a cellular network. The software will be available in cooperation with one of Japan's cellular networks in late March, a Toshiba executive said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The software, called Ubiquitous Viewer, is installed on the mobile phone and on a client computer running Windows. The software recreates the desktop of a PC or notebook PC on the mobile phone's screen, allowing the user, for example to use the PC via the mobile phone to complete tasks such as reading e-mails and editing documents, said Mitsunobu Aoyama, director of Toshiba's software engineering center.

Overview

Need to know what time it is in other time zones?  Microsoft released a time zone program back in October 2004.  This program lets you keep track of up to five different time zones just by clicking the time zone icon in the system tray.  If your like me and support multiple time zones, get this free program from Microsoft.  Go here.

Overview

Virus experts have discovered a mass-mailing worm that poses as a plea for donations to help with the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

The W32/VBSun-A worm spreads via email, tempting innocent users into clicking onto its malicious attachment by pretending to be information about how to donate to a tsunami relief effort. However, running the attached file will not only forward the virus to other internet users but can also initiate a denial-of-service attack against a German hacking website.

Emails sent by the worm have the following characteristics:

Subject line:
Tsunami Donation! Please help!

Message text:
Please help us with your donation and view the attachment below! We need you!

Attachment name:
tsunami.exe

eBay said the problem was industry-wide, and that its sites were as secure as possible.  The scam targets eBay users with infected spam or mail-shot e-mails.  If the e-mails are opened, they can record what keys the user types and send the details back to the criminals behind the spam mail shots.

How the scam works

The method, known as 'key logging', allows the fraudsters to find the eBay user's exact password, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has confirmed. A spokeswoman for the NHTCU said the agency would not be making any further comment. Once they have gained access to users' accounts, the criminals can steal from them in a number of ways.

Firstly, they can pretend to be a seller and inform the eBay users that one of their specific recent failed bids has, after all, been successful, and ask for payment. The goods in question obviously never appear. Fraudsters can also use an eBay user's account to buy an item put up for sale by one of their criminal associates.

The way for users to avoid getting trapped by key logging is to ensure their computer's virus protection software is up to date. In addition to infectious spam e-mails including the 'key logging' software, more simple e-mail scams have also been targeting eBay customers. These generally work by the using fake e-mails purporting to be from eBay which ask for users to reconfirm their log-in details.

I’ve been commending Microsoft for the last week or so for it’s two latest attempts to combat viruses and spyware.  This week, PBS’ own Bob Cringely weighed in.  His “pulpit” is rather unbelievable.  A few select quotes:

While the move, which was announced a week ago, makes good business sense for Redmond, it makes little or no sense of any sort for customers because Microsoft simply isn't very good at this type of business.

What?  It makes NO SENSE OF ANY SORT FOR CUSTOMERS?  Wait, there’s more. 

The reasons why Microsoft might want to get into these new businesses are obvious and real. Viruses and spyware are not only endemic problems, but protecting us from them has become big business for any number of smaller companies. Microsoft has always hated firms that sell products that enhance their operating systems. They hate sharing revenue with others. Microsoft has to be envious and annoyed by the fact Symantec and others get more recurring revenue from Windows than Microsoft does. Every dollar that goes to Symantec or Network Solutions ought really to be going to Microsoft -- that's the way Bill Gates probably thinks about this.

What?  Notice how he clandestinely puts in “that’s the way Bill Gates probably thinks about this”.  Lots of “hate” going on here don’t you think?  But wait, it gets better.  

But in this case there is the added issue that the very ills these other companies (and now Microsoft) are trying to cure can be easily seen as a result of Microsoft's own lack of rigor. They allowed viruses and spyware to get as bad as they are, and now they want us to pay them to make things better.

Ok, how ridiculous is this?  Microsoft allowed viruses and spyware to get as bad as they are?  What about anti-virus and anti-spyware companies?  Why not throw them in to the mix?  You know, the anti-spyware companies that push the pop-up adds to your computer and then say if you had a program this wouldn’t be happening?  But, I guess it’s all Microsoft's fault.  

And for those of you who manage Microsoft’s SMS, you’ll love this one.  Get this:

Like every Microsoft initiative, this anti-virus/spyware is intended to serve multiple purposes. The new plan is based around extending to new customers Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS). The penetration of SMS hasn't been fast or far enough for Gates and Ballmer, but targeting viruses and spyware might change that situation dramatically. It has been Microsoft's dream since the early 1990s to move their software licensing to a subscription or usage based model. The original design of SMS was to put in place the infrastructure needed for this -- unbeknownst to customers. Just not enough of us bought into the concept for the transition to fully take place. Until now.

Cringely has it all figured out doesn’t he?  The great master plan hidden behind anti-spyware?  

Police do not need a search warrant to examine an employee's computer for incriminating files, a Washington state appeals court has ruled.

All that is necessary is the permission of the business that owns the computer, the appeals court said in a 3-0 decision last week.

In April 2003, when Jack Leck briefly worked at a nonprofit organization called the World Peace Ambassadors, he allegedly used an office computer to do Web searches for preteen boys and girls and participate in related mailing lists from his Hotmail account. When police showed up with some questions, the nonprofit group permitted that computer to be seized without a warrant.