The men, who had no specific computer training, are believed to have played a part in operating the command-and-control servers for the botnet, according to PandaLabs' technical director Luis Corrons, who spoke to ZDNet UK about Mariposa following the arrests.

When did security researchers start tracking the botnet?
Corrons: It started in May 2008. Defence Intelligence noticed companies were getting infected and found a new botnet, which was Mariposa. They started an investigation and found links to Spain. They found that some of the command-and-control servers were located in Spain.

Read more of 'How the butterfly botnet was broken' at ZDNet UK.

Source: Breaking the Ma...

'Building a modern browser requires a modern operating system,' Internet Explorer general manager Dean Hachamovitch said at a press conference at the Mix10 event.

Microsoft unveiled a 'platform preview' of IE9 earlier on Monday. That early version, which contains the Chakra engine, but not the full user interface (or even a back button) requires Vista Service Pack 2 or later.

One of the areas of focus was on the ability to play HTML 5 video. As for which video codecs, Microsoft will support, Hachamovitch would only commit to H.264.

Source: Microsoft: IE9 ...

On that date in 1985, a Cambridge, Mass., company named Symbolics became the first to register a dot-com domain. But the Internet at that time was still primarily a network devoted to research and academic use, and Symbolics' move didn't exactly start a land rush. By the end of the year, only five other companies had dot-com addresses, and it was nearly two years before there were a hundred.

A Million by 1997

Flash forward to 1997, just as the Internet was beginning its phenomenal rise, when one million dot-coms had been registered. Today, there are about 80 million dot-com sites.

Now with the Federal Communications Commission on the verge of declaring the broadband Internet as the main communications medium for the United States -- surpassing even telephone and broadcast TV -- dot-com sites seem to be as commonplace as street addresses.

In fact, according to news reports, these days more than 660,000 dot-coms are registered every month. Symbolics may have been the first, but today even pizza parlors have dot-com addresses.

According to a report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, dot-coms now account for about $400 billion in annual economic activity, and that will likely grow to about $950 billion in annual revenue by 2020.

And online advertising is on the verge of surpassing print-based ads this year. A survey of 1,000 advertisers by the research firm Outsell projected online ad spending this year at $120 billion, compared to about $111 billion for print-based ads in newspapers and magazines.

Project Apollo

As the Internet continues its growth, key organizations are gearing up for the next generation. VeriSign, a provider of Internet infrastructure that has been a central player in the story of the dot-com domain, said it has undertaken a new initiative called Project Apollo.

The company said the initiative is intended to "dramatically strengthen and scale the .com infrastructure" in the next decade so that it can, for instance, go from today's levels of four trillion queries daily to the four quadrillion queries per day that are expected within the next decade.

When the first dot-com addresses were registered, said IDC Program Director Al Hilwa, "no one expected it would become as pervasive in our lives as it is today."

The dot-com address, he noted, is the "Internet's business district," underpinning such well-known online-only successes as Google.com, eBay.com, Facebook.com and Amazon.com. But, in addition to anchoring the Internet's business district, the dot-com name has also become a metaphor for the boom-and-bust period in the nineties that laid the groundwork for today's Internet.

Source: Internet Dot-Co...

Apple iPhone had the highest results for BlackBerry users who "definitely or probably would" trade their smartphone in to get the smartphone. With 39 percent of BlackBerry users willing to switch to the iPhone, the platform certainly represents a threat to RIM.

While true, though, that one statistic seems less impressive when compared with the fact that Android followed close behind at 34 percent for "definitely or probably would", and if you add that result together with the result for "might or might not", there were actually more respondents indicating an interest in Android than the iPhone.

That said, there are some glaring omissions from the survey. While it has declined steeply, Windows Mobile is still the third place smartphone platform in United States market share--well ahead of Android (at least for the time being). Why not add Windows Mobile to the survey equation?

For that matter, what about the Palm Pre? It has not lived up to market expectations, but those who have embraced the WebOS device generally seem to feel that it offers a superior platform to other smartphones. The survey, however, seems to lump Windows Mobile and Palm's WebOS together under a survey category called "other smartphone".

Surveys are like scientific experiments. They are not capable of truly unique revelations because they are specifically crafted to seek the intended result. Perhaps 95 percent of BlackBerry users would rather have a Palm Pre, or 60 percent of iPhone users plan to switch to a Windows Phone 7 device. I doubt it, but we don't know because this survey doesn't address those scenarios.

To be fair, I completely understand that it is also impossible for a survey (or experiment) to include every potentiality. Obviously, the survey is being conducted with a purpose in mind, and obviously there has to be a limited number of options within the survey.

Windows Mobile, in particular, strikes me as a logical platform to include in this survey, though for a number of reasons. It has more smartphone market share than Android, and the unveiling of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series platform has generated some renewed enthusiasm for the Microsoft mobile operating system.

Arguably the most important reason to include Windows Mobile--or Windows Phone 7--in the survey, though, is that the Microsoft mobile operating system offers the most direct comparison to the BlackBerry platform in terms of enterprise adoption. The survey showed BlackBerry users are most likely to use the smartphone strictly for business purposes, and business adoption of the BlackBerry platform is the primary factor keeping RIM at the head of the smartphone pack.

The survey does yield some interesting, and useful statistics for RIM, Apple, and Google. I am simply playing devil's advocate and pointing out that surveys yield the results they are looking for, but don't necessarily imply that other results aren't equally true, or even more so. Apply some critical thinking, and consider the agenda of the survey in addition to the results of it.

Tony Bradley is co-author of Unified Communications for Dummies . He tweets as @Tony_BradleyPCW . You can follow him on his Facebook page , or contact him by email at tony_bradley@pcworld.com .

Source: Smartphone Surv...

The announcement, made at the MIX10 developers' conference in Las Vegas, didn't specify which apps will be offered for the successor to the current Windows Mobile operating system, or the price ranges. But the company said its Silverlight multimedia technology, a competitor to Adobe Systems' Flash and AIR technologies, will be the basis for "rich Internet application" development. Flash, ubiquitous on the web, is supported on a wide variety of mobile devices -- with the notable exception being Apple's iPhone and iPad.

XNA Support

Microsoft also said Windows Phone 7 supports XNA programming tools for game development. A software development kit for Phone 7 application development was released last week.

While virtually all mobile platforms now have app stores, Microsoft is taking a few cues from Apple. For instance, the company said all Phone 7 apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile store must be approved first by Microsoft, as Apple requires for its App Store.

However, Microsoft has told news media it will make decisions about applications more expeditiously than Apple, which should please developers. It also said that trial versions of applications will be required, so customers can try before buying.

The Windows Phone 7 Series platform was unveiled in mid-February at the World Mobile Congress. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made the presentation, which the company touted as bringing together for the first time Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone. Devices based on the platform are expected to be on the market by the Christmas holiday season.

Phone 7 as a Gaming Platform

Microsoft has said it is taking a "fundamentally different" approach to software with Phone 7. For example, "live tiles" on the Start screen are dynamically updated with real-time content, instead of simply serving as static doors to an application.

The company's Bing search engine is also being integrated into Phone 7 devices in the form of a dedicated hardware button. The interface uses a variety of new approaches, including categorizing content, applications and services into six hubs -- People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace and Office.

IDC Program Director Al Hilwa, who is attending the MIX10 conference, pointed out that Microsoft is integrating several major platform technologies into Phone 7. "It's interesting that they've chosen a web-based technology, Silverlight, as their main environment," he noted. Additionally, Microsoft said it is committed to extending Silverlight to other platforms, such as Symbian.

He also noted that the support for XNA indicates that "Microsoft is making Phone 7 its mobile gaming platform." This means, Hilwa said, that Xbox games should be able to be as readily adapted for mobile devices as, say, iPhone apps can be adapted for the iPad. "Essentially, it will be the same application," he said, but modified for different display and control options.

Hilwa said that, while Microsoft is going to exercise more control over apps, it probably won't be quite as tight as Apple's -- and certainly not as loose as Google's over Android apps. Instead, he said, "their degree of control will probably be somewhere in the middle."

Source: Microsoft Will ...

As previously reported, the Core i7- 980X desktop processor, aka the Xeon 5600 for servers, is based on Intel's newest 32-nanometer process technology. Generally, the smaller the manufacturing process, the better the performance. To date, most Intel processors have used 'fatter' 45-nanometer technology.

'We've already shipped hundreds of thousands of these (processors). We build up the supply chain (beforehand),' said Boyd Davis, general manager for Server Platforms Group Marketing at Intel. Prices for the 6-core processors range from $999 for the Core i7 980 to $1,663 for the Xeon 5680.

For server customers, the message from Intel is more bang for the buck. 'Eighty percent of the (server) installed base is up for a refresh. And the installed base is a lot of old, inefficient, single-core servers,' said Davis.

'Take 15 old single-core servers and replace them with a single server based on the Xeon 5600. You get roughly the same performance level and a 95 percent reduction in energy costs. As well as getting a payback in as little as five months,' he said.

Intel 32-nanometer 6-core chip: marketed as both the Core i7 980 and Xeon 5600

(Credit: Intel)

Intel has also added security. AES-NI, or Advanced Encryption Standard New Instruction, is a technology for boosting security by increasing encryption performance. On older chips, encryption processing could bog down a system, AES is more efficient at handling these workloads, according to Davis.

Dell is one of the first major vendors to begin selling servers and workstations with the Xeon 5600. Dell on Tuesday is introducing nine PowerEdge blade, rack-mount, and tower servers, and three Dell Precision tower workstations updated with the new Intel Xeon 5600.

Hewlett-Packard HPE-180t tower: adding the new Core i7-980x adds $810 over the standard Core i7-930

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

The new Dell servers include two blade servers (M710, M610), four rack servers, (R710, R610, R510, R410) and three tower servers (T710, T610, T410).

IBM on Tuesday unveiled new System x servers based on the Xeon 5600, delivering 50 percent more (processing) cores and 40 percent to 60 percent better performance than previous generations. The new System x M3 and Blade Center systems include two new rack servers, the x3650 M3 and the x3550 M3, two new enterprise tower servers, the x3500 M3 and x3400 M3--the latter feature twice the storage capacity of previous generations and lower power and facilities costs.

Other IBM systems include the BladeCenter HS22 and the virtualization-optimized BladeCenter HS22V, which allows clients to fit between 30 percent and 50 percent more virtual machines on a single blade server, IBM said.

On the gaming front, Hewlett-Packard is making its HPE-180t Pavilion tower available with the Core i7 980x. Buyer beware: a consumer can buy a respectable midrange gaming system for the price of the new chip alone. On the HPE-180t the 980x adds $810 to the cost of the system.

Source: IBM, Dell, HP a...

(Credit: Sanyo)

Soon after announcing a new series of eneloop electric bicycles, Sanyo has completed work on two solar-powered parking lots for 100 eneloop bikes in Tokyo.

The zero-emissions system involves high-efficiency 7.56kW HIT solar panels capturing energy that's used to recharge the lithium ion eneloop bike batteries and power LED lights illuminating the lots at night. No commercial power sources will be used, regardless of the available sunlight.

The solar parking lots are located along the Keio and Tokyu Den-en Toshi rail lines in the ward of Setagaya, a well-to-do community west of downtown Tokyo.

The eneloop bikes parked there will be available as community bicycles for local residents and visitors. It's unclear if there will be a fee or deposit to use them. A video on the Japanese press release shows the lots protected by turnstiles and fences.

The power-assist eneloop bikes take about 3.5 hours to recharge, according to the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. The battery recharging cabinets will also house standard outlets to power electrical equipment in an emergency.

Sanyo says the lots are part of its Smart Energy System, a major company initiative aimed at reducing CO2 by generating and storing renewable energy. Sanyo is promoting it as a solution for housing, transport, manufacturing, and other public facilities.

(Credit: Sanyo)

Source: Sanyo solar pan...

Internet Explorer 9, the next version of Microsoft's browser, will draw on the graphics chip and other hardware to accelerate the rendering of text and graphics from the Web. At the Mix show here on Tuesday, Microsoft is showing some of that code and releasing a 'platform preview' of IE 9. The code (available here) contains the new engine but is not a full-featured browser.

In an interview ahead of the keynote, IE general manager Dean Hachamovitch said the company plans to update the browser code every eight weeks or so as the company moves toward a more full featured beta. Hachamovitch didn't say when that beta would be ready, although I would expect a final version of IE 9 to hit the market before Windows 8.

Hachamovitch said that the hardware acceleration built into IE 9 is far greater than anything being talked about by other browser makers. It's the difference, he said, between having an area rug as compared to wall-to-wall carpeting.

'The ability for web developers to get the power of hardware using standard markup is huge,' he said.

Separately, Microsoft is using Tuesday's keynote to announce a second community technology preview of 'Dallas,' the company's Windows Azure-powered information marketplace.

The 9 a.m. PDT keynote is just under way, so check back for updates.

Update 9:06 a.m. PDT: Hachamovitch is on stage, talking about how HTML 5 will be important and how Microsoft plans to focus on HTML with IE 9.

'Done right, HTML5 apps will feel more like real apps than Web pages,' Hachamovitch said.

Hachamovitch briefly talked about Internet Explorer 6, saying Microsoft would continue to support the aging browser with security updates, but noted that Microsoft shares the community's desire to see users move to newer browsers. Hachamovitch also referred to an IE 6 'funeral' held recently in Denver.

'The IE 9 team couldn't make it,' he said. 'We sent flowers.'

9:15 a.m. PDT: Hachamovitch is now talking about IE 9 and its ability to take advantage of the hardware. He brings out Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows division at Microsoft, to demo GPU acceleration.

Hachamovitch is using Chrome and Firefox, while Sinofsky is using IE 9. In a light moment, Hachamovitch interrupts Sinofsky to note that the two machines on stage are identical. He apologizes for interrupting, but Sinofsky says it's no big deal.

'You always want to interrupt your boss on stage,' Sinofsky said.

The two then show a couple different demos, with spinning browser logos and another with the famous Clippy, with each demo showing IE 9 rendering faster.

IE general manager Dean Hachamovitch calls on boss and Windows unit head Steven Sinofsky to do a head-to-head comparison of IE 9 with rival browsers.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

9:30 a.m. PDT: Sinofsky exits and Hachamovitch starts talking about the IE 9 platform preview and talks about the company's commitment to both standards and to taking feedback from the community.

As for the preview, it is not a full browser, but can be installed alongside other versions of Internet Explorer.

'The preview is not all of IE 9,' he said. 'There is no back button. There is no phishing protection.'

9:33 a.m. PDT: On to HTML 5 video. Hachamovitch shows a Netbook running HTML 5 video, with the CPU struggling under Chrome but having plenty of headroom using the IE 9 preview.

9:35 a.m. PDT: Hachamovitch wraps up and exits and VP Scott Guthrie comes on stage to talk about next month's planned release of Visual Studio 2010 and the updated .Net framework.

9:45 a.m. PDT: And we're on to coding demos...These are getting applause from the crowd and not just because of the polo shirt jokes.

9:55 a.m. PDT: Talk has shifted to jQuery, an open source JavaScript library project that Microsoft has been increasingly supporting. Microsoft says it will now contribute code as well as offering testing resources.

10:05 a.m. PDT: Douglas Purdy on stage talking about Web-based services. He uses Twitter as an example of a service. There is a Web site, but that is a small part of the experience, which is really centered around an API that can be used by different software running on many devices.

The shift, he said, poses an opportunity, but also a business challenge.

'We know how to make money on Web sites,' Purdy said. 'There are these things called advertising... But how do you make money out of that underlying API?'

Doug Purdy talking on Tuesday about Netflix's use of Odata.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

Microsoft said it is backing the Open Data Protocol, or Odata and releasing a software development kit for the HTTP and Atom-based approach to accessing data in the cloud.. Today, Microsoft said, Netflix announced it will make its catalog available using Odata.

'If you can dream of a query, you can start,' Purdy said.

10:20 a.m. PDT: Purdy said that the new versions of Excel and SharePoint will support Odata, with every list in SharePoint 2010 able to be published as an Odata feed, while a PowerPivot add-on for Excel will allow the spreadsheet to access Odata feeds. Meanwhile, Purdy said the .Net client for Odata will be released under the open source Apache 2 license.

10:30 a.m. PDT: Now on to the question of how do people make money out of creating APIs. Here's where Microsoft's product, code-named Dallas. It's an information repository where businesses can bring their data sets and business models and, at least in theory, make money from them. Microsoft says there are 25 new data sets from providers that range from commercial companies to governments to individual developers.

As I noted earlier, Microsoft is releasing an updated community technology preview of Dallas.

10:35 a.m. PDT: Purdy says that Dallas allows for a range of business models from free to costly and shows a video of Dallas in action and some of the companies and others that are providing data sets to the project.

Among those in the video are mapping firm Navteq and weather data provider Weather Central.

10:40 a.m. PDT: Purdy cedes the stage to designer Bill Buxton of Microsoft Research.

OK, this is kind of cool. So yesterday someone was asking Buxton what's missing in all this mobile technology. Buxton said, well one thing is that these new touch screens don't let the 12-year-old girl text under her desk while looking at the teacher. He joked that maybe what is needed is Morse Code with its simple entry method of just dots and dashes.

After hearing Buxton, last night a developer wrote a Morse Code Twitter application for Windows Phone using the developer tools Microsoft made available on Monday.

'This is what I love about this business,' Buxton said.

10:50 a.m. PDT: Buxton is talking about natural user interfaces.

Microsoft researcher Bill Buxton plays a digital saxophone at the Mix 10 tradeshow on Tuesday, illustrating the power of natural interfaces.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET)

To illustrate his point, Buxton, a musician, brings out a digital saxophone and talks about it as a natural user inteface because he plays the saxophone. He even makes the instrument sound like a guitar and a flute.

'It's natural for me because I don't play flute,' Buxton said, adding he does play the flute a little but not well. So for him, the digital saxophone is a natural useful interface for all manner of instruments.

'It's interfaces that respect the skills that have been acquired by the user,' Buxton said.

But, even then, it is only the right interface for music, that is, it's not going to replace a mouse and keyboard for doing one's income taxes online.

Source: Live blog: IE 9...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved on Tuesday a summary of the agency's national broadband plan, that aims to expand access, increase Internet speeds and shift airwaves to mobile services.

Details of the plan were released on Monday and it comes as the Internet increasingly delivers everything from telephone service to movies, music and banking services.

The blueprint has been sent to Congress, which requested the report as part of the economic stimulus bill enacted in February of 2009.

Congress will consider whether to introduce legislation to enact portions of the plan, including giving the FCC more power to auction some of the airwaves now used by broadcasters.

The plan is also expected to spawn a series of rulemaking actions by the FCC.

All five FCC commissioners voted to approve the plan's mission statement.

"Congress was right. We need a broadband plan," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said at an open meeting. "We must act and will act with an urgency that meets the moment."

(Reporting by John Poirier; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: FCC backs plan ...