Conduits Releases Pocket Launcher 3.0 [Pocket PC Thoughts]
“Conduits Technologies, Inc. announced today the release of Pocket Launcher 3.0, a customizable application launcher that improves upon the device’s built-in program launcher with a tab-based categorization system that is expandable to a user’s needs, and adaptable to a user’s tastes. Pocket Launcher runs on all Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC and Smartphone devices, as well as Pocket PC 2002, Pocket PC 2003, Smartphone 2002, and Smartphone 2003 devices.”
Conduits Pocket Launcher is a standalone program launcher that allows you to organise your program shortcuts any which way you want, plus allows quick access to your documents and running tasks (a complete rundown on the program’s features can be found here). You can download a trial or pick it up for $9.95 through our affiliate link. If you are a registered owner of previous versions of Pocket Launcher, version 3.0 is a free upgrade if you purchased the app during or after January 2006, and $3.95 if purchased before that.
Asus Launches Ultra-slim A686 and A696 GPS PDAs [Pocket PC Thoughts]
“With the overall PDA market slowly dwindling into oblivion, Asus is attempting to keep the PDA kickin’ for just a bit longer, and the company’s latest duo actually isn’t half bad considering the GPS functions and relatively slim enclosure. The A686 / A696 units ditch the MyPal moniker from days past, and rather than adding that bulky GPS antenna the side, Asus has bumped up the style points by crafting a stainless steel frame with a non-protruding GPS antenna. Both units pack Windows Mobile 5.0, 802.11b/g, a SiRF Star III receiver, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 64MB of SDRAM, 3.5-inch 320 x 240 resolution touchscreen, integrated speakers / microphone, audio recording capability, rechargeable battery, and it comes in at just 1.57-centimeters thick.”
Despite the negative view of the PDA market, Engadget offers a good summary of two new Asus offerings. The 802.11g is a nice touch! Though I’m not a GPS user yet, I can certainly see the benefit, assuming that it wasn’t too big of a drain on battery life. The 696 offers 256MB Flash ROM but only 64MB SDRAM. I’d still like to see more. 
Is GPS a killer feature for you?
Identity theft pays, just ask Martha Coakley
(InfoWorld) – As anybody who has ever been the victim of identity theft knows, the reason it’s so common is because it pays.
And why does it pay? Because identity thieves never go to jail.
Case in point: Friday’s Boston Herald had a story about a local woman having her credit card number stolen. While on a ski vacation two weeks ago, she got a call from Dell saying she had ordered a $1,250 computer to be sent to Texas. Luckily, the victim was able to cancel the transaction before the computer got shipped, but not everyone is so lucky.
According to the Herald, the victim says the chances of this criminal ever being prosecuted are “slim to none.”
She ought to know. Her name is Martha Coakley and last Wednesday she was sworn in as Attorney General for the state of Massachusetts.
HTC Titan Eye Candy [Pocket PC Thoughts]
“We’ll say upfront that these photos have been ’shopped to protect the innocent, but don’t let that fact turn you off; given what we know and what we’ve seen, we’ve every reason to believe this thing is the real deal. This is, of course, the Titan — the long-overdue successor to the Apache — coming to the table with goodies like Rev. A-upgradeable EV-DO, 256MB of internal storage, Bluetooth 2.0, and a 2 megapixel cam.”
Engadget Mobile has scored a few pictures of the upcoming HTC Titan (no, not the TyTN) of which the XV6800 and PPC-6800 are based on. If recent leaks are to be believed, we may see the Titan as early as May. Anyone hoping to make this their next device?
Hackers to target mobile banking, study says
(InfoWorld) – This year could see a sharp rise in hacker attacks on Internet-enabled smartphones as a number of new banking and payment initiatives enter the mobile channel, a research group warned Monday.
The Tower Group, a research and advisory company focused on the financial services industry, believes that many mobile commerce offerings now emerging from the financial services sector “lack a reasonable and justifiable focus” on mobile security.
Among the new mobile wallet services are phones that consumers can use as a credit or debit card.
The success of mobile banking and payment initiatives will be determined by the industry’s ability to effectively contain the malware problems to a level that is at least on part with that of the existing Internet channel, TowerGroup said.
More than 200 mobile phone viruses have been identified since phones have been able to support PC-like applications such as e-mail, instant messaging, and Web browsing, and the number is doubling every six months, TowerGroup said.
PSI sues IBM for right to share System z
(InfoWorld) – Mainframe computer vendor Platform Solutions Inc. (PSI) has countersued IBM, saying the giant company should not have accused it of infringing patents when it created computers that allow customers to run IBM’s System z operating system and software on mainframes from other vendors.
IBM sued the Sunnyvale, California, company in November for patent infringement and breach of contract because PSI is a licensed z/OS user. Now PSI has filed its own lawsuit alleging that IBM has committed antitrust violations, unfair competition, and business torts, according to papers filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
PSI’s computers provide the only alternative in a market where IBM has held a monopoly position for decades, PSI vice president of product management and marketing, Christian Reilly, said in a release.
“IBM’s lawsuit against PSI is part of a concerted effort to eliminate competition for mainframe computers, and its refusal to provide the operating systems needed to run mainframe computers is? blatantly anticompetitive,” Reilly said.
IBM did not respond to a request for comment.
PSI plans to launch a line of “open mainframe computers” later in 2007 that can run IBM’s z/OS as well as other data center operating systems like HP-UX, Linux, and Windows. PSI is now testing the design with corporate beta users and has demonstrated it at trade shows such as the IBM users’ group SHARE.
PSI hopes to sell the mainframes to corporate and government users who need to perform high-volume and mission-critical data processing needs, including matters such a billing, accounting, order entry, record keeping, and transaction processing, the company said.
In addition to denying IBM’s patent infringement claims, PSI’s lawsuit charges that IBM has now turned to illegal tactics, such as barring its software customers from using other vendors’ hardware.
“Contrary to IBM’s assertions, IBM has and is engaged in anticompetitive, deceptive, and tortious acts intended to eliminate competition and prolong its monopoly in the worldwide market for mainframe computers compatible with IBM applications and software,” PSI said in its lawsuit.
“Until 2001, IBM’s ability to abuse its monopoly power was limited by the existence of competition from developers of other IBM-compatible mainframes, such as Amdahl and Hitachi. Since the decisions by Amdahl and Hitachi to exit the mainframe market, IBM’s market power in the IBM-compatible mainframe market has grown year by year.”
Today IBM has greater than 85 percent market share, towering over competitors like Bull and Unisys, PSI stated. Even Sun or Linux servers from larger competitors cannot compete because a user would have to link 30 of those machines to do the work of a single mainframe.
“Rather than competing on the merits against PSI by offering better products, better service, or lower prices, however, IBM has sought to extinguish the threat posed by PSI by conditioning the sale of its mainframe operating systems on the purchase or continued use of an IBM mainframe and by refusing to license its operating systems to customers of PSI’s mainframe computer,” PSI said.
By suing IBM, PSI is picking a fight with a much larger opponent. But PSI does have some friends in its corner. The computers use the Itanium 2 processor from Intel, whose investment arm, Intel Capital, also provides some of the funding for PSI.
?
Silicon Valley would get mixed wireless network
(InfoWorld) – The municipal wireless system planned for Silicon Valley and surrounding areas will use a wider array of technologies than most such projects and offer several levels of free and paid service, according to officials crafting the plan.
The network, designed to cover about 1,500 square miles and 2.4 million residents, has strong support in the region and is on schedule for deployment starting this year, backers said Friday at the Wireless Communications Association Symposium in San Jose, California.
Though city and county elected officials haven’t yet started debating the plan, trying to get the high-tech mecca covered with Wi-Fi and other wireless Internet access so far looks easier than? EarthLink’s and Google’s uphill battle in nearby San Francisco. That’s because organizers have kept their eye on a viable business model, according to Seth Fearey, vice president and chief operating officer of Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, a regional group backing the project.
“What I think has happened in a number of municipalities around the country is they have gotten diverted into social goals,” Fearey said. How municipal Wi-Fi would get lower income residents on the ‘Net has been a major issue in San Francisco and other cities.
The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force last September chose Silicon Valley Metro Connect, a joint venture of big IT vendors and a nonprofit organization, to build and run the network. Metro Connect brings together heavy hitters Cisco and IBM? along with wireless service provider Azulstar Networks and SeaKay, a nonprofit company. The Metro Connect partners are still working out the exact business model, but some preliminary details came out during panel discussions on Friday.
As envisioned now, users would be able to choose among five or six services, including free Internet access at 1Mbps downstream, paid 1Mbps access with a high level of tech support, service with the same speed both downstream and upstream, a gaming service, and filtered services for children.
Metro Connect would use different networks to serve the region, which includes urban, suburban, and rural areas. Urban users could log on to Wi-Fi networks, while those in less dense areas may get WiMax, an emerging technology with a longer range. For city employees and public safety agencies, another network may be included.
Task force members are confident the plan will sail to approval, though the model contract being worked out now would need approval by 40 individual cities, counties, and other entities to fill the planned coverage area. No tax dollars can be spent on the project, estimated to cost $100 million for hardware, software, and services, but a portion of revenue will need to come from governments that pay to use the network for their own operations.
“We know they’re going to come. It’s just the challenge of building it,” said Liz Kniss, a Santa Clara County supervisor involved in the project.
Craig Settles, an independent municipal network consultant, said the network’s backers had better have asked cities and residents a lot of questions about what they wanted out of the network.
“When you bring in 40 different cities, trying to find a series of consensus points that all these cities can agree on, that requires a hefty amount of legwork beforehand,” Settles said.
Google antiphishing site exposes private user data
(InfoWorld) – Google has removed a few user names and passwords posted inadvertently to a phishing blacklist it compiles and makes publicly available on the Web, the Mountain View, California, company said Monday.
The login information was contained in 15 URLs submitted through? Google’s Firefox toolbar, which lets users report Web pages they suspect to belong to phishing sites. Most of the URLs on the list didn’t have login information.
Google said it also has implemented a mechanism that detects when a submitted URL contains login data and prevents that information from getting posted to the list.
“We are in the process of notifying the users who inadvertently disclosed this information and suggesting that they reset associated passwords,” Google said in an e-mailed statement.
Finjan found the sensitive information on the list and informed Google in early January, the San Jose, California, security vendor said Monday.
In addition to user names and passwords, the list also included e-mail addresses and session tokens, putting in jeopardy the users’ privacy, Finjan said.
Finjan has posted a snapshot of a portion of the list here containing the offending URLs, albeit with the sensitive information blacked out.
Users of the Firefox toolbar get a chance to review the suspicious URLs they plan to submit to Google, Google said.
More information about the Safe Browsing feature in Firefox can be obtained here. The Safe Browsing feature isn’t available in Google’s Internet Explorer toolbar.
Simple Page To Install Some Apps And Services On Your Device [Pocket PC Thoughts]
In the course of setting up a device after a hard reset, I found myself having to go to my desktop to search for the URLs to access some of the services I enjoy on my device. There isn’t much point in being able to download and install directly on the device if you can’t find the URLs. So, I created a very basic page on my website with a few that I use, mainly the Java based Gmail app and the Windows Live Search service. I also added the Java based Google maps app, though I personally find it inferior to the Windows Live Search tool.
If you have suggestions for other services, let me know in this thread. I am not really interested in links to cab installers for a lot of apps, though I will probably put links to my favorite applications on my Pocket PC if over-the-air installers are available, but it is mainly meant to be a mobile download portal for services that are ideally suited to Windows Mobile devices that have online access, like WiFi or any cellular data service.
Survey: Gov’t managers don’t see support for telework
(InfoWorld) – Just 35 percent of U.S. government managers believe their agencies support telecommuting despite a 7-year-old law requiring agencies to offer telework options to workers, according to a study released Monday.
The study shows that federal agencies and managers still need to be convinced of the value of telecommuting, said Joel Brunson, president of Tandberg Federal, a videoconferencing software and services vendor that helped fund the survey. Sixty-one percent of federal managers surveyed said they have misinterpreted co-workers when communicating by e-mail, and 43 percent misinterpreted phone conversations, according to the survey.
Thirty-two percent of managers said the lack of face-to-face communication is a telework challenge, Brunson noted. “The big thing the survey showed was that there is a real inertia among federal managers and the agencies to endorse teleworking,” he said.
The U.S. Congress passed a law in 2000 requiring federal agencies to offer telecommuting as an option to many employees. Advocates of telework say it can provide government agencies several benefits, including a way to remotely continue operations during a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Telecommuting can also ease the Washington, D.C., area’s traffic problems, reduce pollution, and increase worker productivity, advocates say.
Although many agencies seem to see organizational benefits from telecommuting, there’s a “misalignment” between agency views and manager views, Brunson said. In addition to continuity of operations, agencies see telework as a way to recruit workers, he said.
But managers see mostly benefits to employees, Brunson said. Seventy-four percent of federal managers who do not manage teleworkers said a better work/life balance was the top driver for telework, while only 32 percent saw continuity of operations as the top reason.
“Maybe we need to do a better job of educating the managers on how … telework helps the agency,” Brunson said.
Fear of not having control over employees’ activities was the biggest concern from managers who do not manage teleworkers, while productivity concerns were the largest among managers who do manage teleworkers. Those fears are understandable, Brunson said, but many companies use performance metrics to track teleworker production, and several studies have suggested that teleworkers are more productive than their in-office counterparts.
“Telework is not a substitute for a face-to-face meeting,” he added. “But there’s a lot of technology out there that will allow you to collaborate on face-to-face communications, spreadsheets, and whatever you’re working on.”
While 35 percent of the 214 U.S. agency managers surveyed said they believe their agencies support telework, 18 percent were unsure and 47 percent said they don’t believe that’s the case. Last May, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report saying only nine of 23 agencies surveyed reported they had plans in place for essential workers to telecommute.
The survey also found that support for telecommuting grew the more a manager was involved with it. Only 54 percent of managers who do not manager teleworkers had a favorable impression of telecommuting, while 63 percent of managers who do manage teleworkers were favorable and 75 percent of mangers who are teleworkers were favorable.
The survey was commissioned by Telework Exchange, a public and private partnership focused on government telecommuting, and the Federal Managers Association, an organization representing U.S. government managers.
Asus Launches Ultra-slim A686 and A696 GPS PDAs [Pocket PC Thoughts]
“With the overall PDA market slowly dwindling into oblivion, Asus is attempting to keep the PDA kickin’ for just a bit longer, and the company’s latest duo actually isn’t half bad considering the GPS functions and relatively slim enclosure. The A686 / A696 units ditch the MyPal moniker from days past, and rather than adding that bulky GPS antenna the side, Asus has bumped up the style points by crafting a stainless steel frame with a non-protruding GPS antenna. Both units pack Windows Mobile 5.0, 802.11b/g, a SiRF Star III receiver, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 64MB of SDRAM, 3.5-inch 320 x 240 resolution touchscreen, integrated speakers / microphone, audio recording capability, rechargeable battery, and it comes in at just 1.57-centimeters thick.”
Despite the negative view of the PDA market, Engadget offers a good summary of two new Asus offerings. The 802.11g is a nice touch! Though I’m not a GPS user yet, I can certainly see the benefit, assuming that it wasn’t too big of a drain on battery life. The 696 offers 256MB Flash ROM but only 64MB SDRAM. I’d still like to see more. Is GPS a killer feature for you?