Releasing the Chromium OS open source project
Nov 19th
Today we are open-sourcing the project as Chromium OS. We are doing this early, a year before Google Chrome OS will be ready for users, because we are eager to engage with partners, the open source community and developers. As with the Google Chrome browser, development will be done in the open from this point on. This means the code is free, accessible to anyone and open for contributions. The Chromium OS project includes our current code base, user interface experiments and some initial designs for ongoing development. This is the initial sketch and we will color it in over the course of the next year.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/releasing-chromium-os-open-source.html
New York Tests Xbox-Based Alert System
Nov 19th
Gamers are used to confronting invading terrorists, nuclear attacks, and natural calamities—in virtual form. But those living in New York State could soon receive warnings about real emergencies through their favorite video console.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/state-local/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221900336
Microsoft denies it built ‘backdoor’ in Windows 7
Nov 19th
Computerworld – Microsoft today denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141182/Microsoft_denies_it_built_backdoor_in_Windows_7
China military site draws hackers
Nov 19th
The Chinese military defence website was subjected to 2.3 million hacking attempts in its first month online according to officials.
NSA Is Giving Microsoft Some Help On Windows 7 Security
Nov 18th
The National Security Agency has been working with Microsoft Corp. to help improve security measures for its new Windows 7 operating system, a senior NSA official said on Tuesday.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/11/nsa_microsoft_windows_7.html?ft=1&f=103943429
Mininova Breaks 10 Billion Torrent Downloads
Nov 18th
Despite negative court verdicts against the two leading torrent sites, the BitTorrent popularity surge is still underway judging from ever increasing download figures. Mininova, the most visited BitTorrent indexer, broke an impressive record today. Since its inception, the site has served a dazzling 10 billion torrent downloads.
http://torrentfreak.com/mininova-breaks-10-billion-torrent-downloads-091118/
The Google Phone Is Very Real. And It’s Coming Soon
Nov 18th
The next “super” Android device will almost certainly be a HTC phone that’s much thinner than even the Droid or iPhone – The Dragon/Passion. This is the phone the senior Android guys at Google are now carrying around and testing, at least as of a couple of weeks ago. If you’re willing to give up the Droid’s keyboard, the Dragon/Passion is going to be a really cool phone. It should be fully available very soon.
YouTube launches channel for citizen journalists
Nov 18th
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Celebrities beware: YouTube is making it even easier for anyone with a camera phone to turn your behavior — be it mundane or sensational — into news.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AF4QT20091117?feedType=RSS
Hollywood Takes OpenBitTorrent’s ISP to Court
Nov 18th
The Swedish hosting provider Portlane is being sued by several Hollywood movie studios for hosting the standalone BitTorrent tracker, OpenBitTorrent. The movie studios are claiming that OpenBitTorrent is a re-branded copy of The Pirate Bay tracker that shut down yesterday.
http://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-takes-openbittorrents-isp-to-court-091118/
US Government Using PS3s To Break Encryption
Nov 18th
The report notes that a six-digit password has nearly 282 trillion possible permutations, and the networked PS3 can attempt 4 million guesses per second.
