London Stock Exchange begins migration to Linux. The exchange is gearing up for one of its most crucial years yet for technological change. At the end of the 2010, the Linux-based MillenniumIT trading platform, which the LSE gained by acquiring the Sri Lankan company for £18 million in September, will be switched on. It will replace the outgoing TradElect platform, based on Microsoft .Net architecture and upgraded by Accenture only two years ago at a cost of £40 million.
Microsoft slow to fix explorer. Microsoft first knew of the bug used in the infamous Operation Aurora IE exploits as long ago as August, four months before the vulnerability was used in exploits against Google and other hi-tech firms in December. We should all be grateful for is that there is now a patch for Internet Explorer. But if Microsoft knew about this critical security vulnerability for four months - what else is lurking?
Science museum. The London science museum is paying celebrating the humble art of communication with the planned new gallery 'The Making of Modern Communications'. The announcement was made at an event held at the museum to mark the 25th anniversary of cellular communication in the UK. The museum itself is celebrating its 100th birthday. "The Making of Modern Communications gallery is a major part of the Science Museum's development plan for the next decade," said Professor Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum.
Taking the Internet Away. Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone has called for the Government to come to its senses over the threat to disconnect illegal file-sharers. Dunstone was speaking at an event hosted by Carphone's ISP TalkTalk, just yards away from the Houses of Parliament where the controversial Digital Economy Bill is being debated. He was joined by representatives from Which?, civil rights groups Liberty and the Open Rights Group, and the recently founded Pirate Party, all of whom are lobbying the Government to amend the proposed legislation.
Apple Launch the Ipad. There has been no shortage of opinions on the iPad, for sure. Some think it's just a big iPhone that can't make phone calls, while others see it as the tablet of the future. More here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8483654.stm
Why keep upgrading? A sensible business should ascertain the total cost of such an upgrade and will only proceed if the benefits outweigh those costs. Better security means spending less time cleaning up after virus outbreaks, or testing and rolling out patches. This can save a lot of time and money before assessing the benefits to end-users are assessed. Make sure you cost benefit a decision to change.
Internet Deprerssion. People who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression, according to British scientists. Psychologists from Leeds University found what they said was "striking" evidence that avid net users develop compulsive internet habits in which they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social-networking sites. But it isn't clear whether the internet causes depression or whether depressed people are drawn to it.
BT Changes its off peak. BT has shifted night time by an hour. Peak rate now runs from 0700 to 1900, rather than the six-to-six with which we're all familiar.
German Government Steps Away from 2009 Filtering Plan. The German government declared its intention to not continue with the Internet filtering law which was passed in 2009 to block child pornography online. Since the former government, made up of a coalition of Germany´s two biggest parties, the social democratic SPD and the conservative CDU, passed the law in June/July 2009, it remained a controversially discussed topic in Germany. Especially civil society groups including the Internet community criticized the then Minister of Family Ursula von der Leyen for using child porn as an excuse to create a structure of online censorship. An online petition set up in 2009 postulating the cancellation of the law-making process was signed by more than 130.000 people, making it the biggest online petition in Germany. Due to the controversial discussion about the law, President Koehler refused to sign it so far, for which reason it did not come into effect.
Chip and Pin is broken. University of Cambridge researchers succeeded in building a man-in-the-middle device that reads a card and — at the appropriate time in the verification process — sends a success code to the terminal, regardless of the PIN that has been entered. Dispite the demonstration the
UK Payments Administration has rejected the claim. One nil to the criminals.
Australian Plans for Internet Filter in trouble. Search giants Google and Yahoo have joined the Australian Library and Information Association and Inspire Foundation to create a coalition of online interests to lobby against Rudd Government plans to filter the internet.
Open Office 3.2 is now available for download. Details:
http://download.openoffice.org/
Take good care to avoid the OpenOffice 2010 adverts. Open office is open source free to use and free to download from the official site.
BT Fibre Announced. BT has priced its new fibre service at £19.99/month. That price comes with a catch of 20Mb per month quota. So in reality most will opt for the unlimited £24.99/month package. Few areas are connected so many will have to sit on their hands a good while longer. The announcment follows the ending of a trial in Muswell Hill and Glasgow. More here:
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=29019
Take back the PC. A website has been created with lots of resources for those looking for an alternatives to Microsoft. Details:
http://www.goodbyemicrosoft.net/
PC crashes when you insert media. Microsoft has two hotfix listed below may fix this issue on Vista systems:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939720/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938239/en-us
Be aware of problems relating to recent Microsoft Update. Details:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/355507/microsoft-security-patch-brings-bsod-misery-for-xp-users
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