Stability and security releases for the browser will end next month, despite ongoing problems with Firefox 3 The Mozilla Foundation is planning to end support for the Firefox 2 browser in mid-December, despite the persistence of significant flaws in the most-recent version of the popular browser. ...
Mobile industry calls for RFID payment push

(Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:01:25 -0800)

The GSM Association has called on manufacturers to build technology for contactless payments into their handsets by the middle of next year The GSM Association has called on phone manufacturers to build RFID technology into handsets from mid-2009, in a bid to kick start the mobile-payment industry. ...
Greening the data center

(Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:06:41 -0800)

Rising costs of energy - along with limited availability of energy in some areas are forcing the IT industry to take a new approach in designing and managing data centers, says IBM's Christopher O'Connor. Commentary--Energy efficiency is a significant global issue today, and is expected to be even...
Jaquar chases Roadrunner for fastest supercomputer

(Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:42:55 -0800)

Two systems, including one based on x86 chips, have become the first ever to break the petaflop/s barrier in the latest Top500 supercomputer list. Cray's XT5 Jaguar supercomputer has narrowly missed displacing IBM's Roadrunner system as the world's fastest supercomputer, according to the results of the bi-annual 'Top500' supercomputing...
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 unleashed

(Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:02:04 -0800)

The final specification for so-called SuperSpeed USB, which is said to be 10 times faster than USB 2.0, has been published by the USB Implementers Forum. Version 3.0 of the universal serial bus specification has been released. Unveiled on Monday by the USB Implementers Forum,...
Gartner: 85 percent of companies using open source

(Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:13:05 -0800)

The analyst house warns that, although take-up of open-source software is widespread, most companies do not have formal procurement or governance policies in place for such software. Eighty-five percent of companies are already using open-source software, with most of the remaining 15 percent expecting to do so...
Ubuntu to run on ARM-based netbooks

(Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:50:21 -0800)

Canonical and the chip designer are to collaborate on a version of Ubuntu tailored to ARM's architecture, with a focus on low-cost subnotebooks. Canonical has announced it will be developing a version of its Ubuntu Linux desktop operating system specifically for ARM's Cortex-A8 and Cortex-A9 processor architectures. ...
Net bombarded by heaviest ever attacks this year

(Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:32:08 -0800)

Online networks suffered their heaviest brute force attacks to date this year, with more sites than ever coming under sustained assault. Online networks suffered their heaviest brute force attacks to date this year, with more sites than ever coming under sustained assault. IP networks were...
Study: BlackBerry has twice the failure rate of iPhone

(Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:58:48 -0800)

Apple's iPhone has half the failure rate of RIM's BlackBerry in the first year of use, a study carried out by a mobile-phone warranty firm has found. Apple's iPhone has half the failure rate of RIM's BlackBerry in the first year of use, a study carried out by...
A fraud ring or social networking - it's the same thing

(Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:22:32 -0800)

Silicon.com sat down with SAS's CEO in Las Vegas this week to find out his thoughts on cloud computing, succession planning and the iPhone. SAS is unique among tech heavyweights for its private ownership - the business intelligence BI company has been run for more than 30 years by...