CourseCast of the Week

Episode 109, 07/13/2009

Title/Description:

Welcome to Course Technology's CourseCast of the week, Episode 109, recorded July 12th, 2009. This is Ken Baldauf bringing you this week's technology news and information. This CourseCast is brought to you by Course Technology. Check out www.cengage.com/coursetechnology for innovative textbooks and creative electronic learning solutions.

Visit the CourseCasts Website at coursecasts.course.com where you will find links to the full stories covered in this CourseCast, related discussion questions for use in your technology courses, and the CourseCast Archives.

And now the news.

Story 1: Google Chrome OS

This week Google announced a big new product: Chrome OS, an operating system designed for Netbook computers. Named after Google Chrome Web browser, the new OS will extend the browser to take over the computer system. Utilizing Linux at its core, Chrome OS is designed for users that predominantly work with Web-based services and applications. Intel has had its hand in the design of the new operating system which is due out in the second half of 2010. Analysts are predicting that the new OS will challenge Microsoft Windows in the mobile computing market. Most of the major Netbook manufacturers are planning to offer Chrome OS devices including Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba. The announcement changes the plans of some PC vendors who have been working on adapting Google's Smartphone OS Android for use in netbooks.

• Google to launch open-source Chrome OS this year [Computerworld]
• Google Chrome OS shows limitations of Android [Computerworld]
• Google plans Chrome-based Web operating system [c|net]
• Google reveals its Chrome OS cohorts [c|net]
• Google's Chrome OS: what it means, why it matters [Ars Technica]

Story 2: Cyber attacks against the US and South Korea

For three days, beginning July 4th, major South Korean and US government Web sites were put out of commission by distributed denial of service attacks. Dozens of top South Korean government and commercial Web sites, and US Web sites including the Federal Trade Commission, the Secret Service, the Transportation Department, and The Washington Post, were overwhelmed by requests generated by roughly 20,000 zombie computers designed to take down their servers. North Korea is suspected of organizing the attack that utilized botnets made up of infected PCs located around the world.

• DDOS attack again takes down South Korean Web sites [Computerworld]
• North Korea Blamed for Cyberattacks on U.S., South Korea [CIO Today]

News Briefs

• After only five years of heavy use by the general public, Gmail has come out of Beta! Also Google Calendar, Docs, and Talk have been promoted from beta to real applications. Google is hoping the move will help its applications gain the confidence and adoptions of more businesses.
  Beta no more: Google apps graduate to non-beta status [Ars Technica]
• A recent study discovered that 12,000 laptop computers are lost each year in Airports. Los Angeles International tops the list with 1200 laptops lost or stolen each week. Most are left at security checkpoints with only about a third recovered.
  Airport Surprise: 1,200 Laptops a Week Lost at LAX [LAWeekly]
• Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an algorithm that can guess a person's social security number given the persons birth location and birthday with a high rate of success. The researchers warn that "unless mitigating strategies are implemented, the predictability of SSNs expose the public to risks of identity theft on massive scales. The Social Security Administration calls the study "a dramatic exaggeration."
  Weakness in Social Security Numbers Is Found [NYTimes]
  Study: Social Security numbers are predictable [Computerworld]
• Internet radio stations and the recording industry have finally reached an agreement on music royalty rates. Two years ago, Pandora founder Tim Westergren, threatened to shut down his popular Internet radio service, saying that the company could not turn a profit while paying the exorbitant royalty fees demanded by the recording industry. This week Westergren announced that "the royalty crisis is over!" The new rates are likely to open the door for more competition in online music services.
  Experimental Fees Settle Royalty War for Internet Radio [CIO Today]
  Pandora lives! SoundExchange cuts deal on webcasting rates [Ars Technica]
• Web developers in the audience will be interested to hear that XHTML is on the way out, and HTML is back! The World Wide Web Consortium is no longer backing the development of XHTML2 and is investing in HTML 5 instead. HTML 5 is backward compatible with XHTML, is supported by the latest versions of all the popular Web browsers, and offers developers powerful new tools that are already providing for new innovative Web applications and services.
  XHTML 2 language dumped in favor of HTML 5 [InfoWorld]
  XHTML 2 Dies a Lonely Death, Makes Room For HTML 5 [WebMonkey]
• The US National Security Agency, or NSA, is investing $1.8 billion to build a massive datacenter in Fort Williams Utah. The two large power corridors that pass through Fort Williams will power the high energy demands of the data center. Some analysts are speculating about how the NSA will use its new computing power.
  NSA's power- and money-sucking datacenter buildout continues [Ars Technica]

That's it for this week's CourseCasts. Email me with your comments and suggestions for the show at coursecasts@gmail.com. Let me know how you use CourseCasts in your classes and I'll give you and your school a shout out on my next CourseCast. Until next time have a great week and be sure to take advantage of the Power -- of Technology!