T-Mobile Refreshes the BlackBerry Curve

T-Mobile's update of the BlackBerry Curve, the 8900, isn't an earth-shattering revision of one of Research in Motion's most successful QWERTY keyboard models. But for those who are content to browse over T-Mobile's somewhat pokey EDGE network when Wi-Fi isn't available, it offers an improved camera, a sleeker design, and a snappier processor than its predecessor, the Curve 8320 (which is still available from T-Mobile but for US$100 less than the 8900).

Like the 8320, the 8900 is a quad-band phone, meaning you can use it on pretty much any GSM network worldwide. For data, it supports EDGE, the 2.5G network technology that approximates dialup in real-world performance. That's fine for e-mail, but Web browsing is somewhat sluggish (although the desktop-style browser does a good job of rendering large pages and then letting you zoom in on sections of interest).

Black with silver accents, the 8900 is slightly skinnier, a tad more lightweight and more sculpted looking than earlier Curves, with some of the design motifs we've seen in the BlackBerry Bold and Storm. I'm on the fence about the use of red type for keypad numbers, which is more subtle but also makes them slightly less legible than on the 8900's predecessors (which used black on silver). Still, when the phone screen is on, the red numbers do glow so I had no problems dialing. RIM continues to refine its keyboards, and thumb-typing on the Curve is eminently doable. Of course, you get the terrific corporate and Internet e-mail features RIM is known for.

Voice call quality was solid in my tests, Like its predecessor, the 8900 uses UMA technology to let you make voice calls over Wi-Fi when a Wi-Fi network is present. However you must sign up for T-Mobile's Hotspot at Home service to enable seamless transition from Wi-Fi to cellular calls.

The supplied media clips looked good, given the smallish but bright high-res screen. The 8900 comes with the updated media manager introduced since the last Curve, a definite plus. The 3.2-megapixel camera with built in flash and autofocus is also an upgrade from the previous 2-megapixel model, and it definitely shows in the improved images; shutterbugs will appreciate the difference.

Overall performance on apps definitely seemed snappier thanks to the upgraded CPU RIM is touting. Wi-Fi setup was easy and quick. GPS location, on the other hand, wasn't so hot with my production-level unit. The device hung for quite some time on its own requests for satellite fixes, and ultimately appeared to give up. I'm trying to figure out what happened here and will update as needed.

That glitch aside, the Curve 8900 should appeal to T-Mobile BlackBerry fans who feel the original Curve is starting to get a bit tired-and who have no particular need for a handset that supports faster UMTS/DSMA data networks. The rather high $300 pricetag (with a two-year T-Mobile contract) can be lowered to $200 via mail-in rebate when the device hits T-Mobile's retail outlets next week (B to B customers can start ordering now).

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Blackberry Storm's components cost more than iPhone 3G's

iSuppli didn't heed James Dean's outburst in Rebel Without a Cause, because they keep tearing things apart. The latest device to go under their knives screwdrivers isn't an Apple product--rather, it's a competitor--but what lies beneath the surface can shed some light on Apple's iPhone too.

RIM's Blackberry Storm--it of the clickable touchscreen--was touted as a potential rival to the iPhone when it debuted late last year. Interesting thing, though: when iSuppli took apart the Storm, they discovered that its component costs are actually not only more than the price of the very device at your local Verizon store, but more than the comparable cost of the iPhone as well.

The bill of materials for the Storm totes up to US$202.89; the Storm itself has a suggested retail price of $250, but is currently being sold with a $50 rebate from Verizon. iSuppli says the iPhone 3G, meanwhile, costs approximately $174.33 in components, despite a similar retail price.

Of course, a teardown can only tell you what the cost of the physical materials is--it doesn't factor in software development, R&D, marketing, etc. More to the point, as iSuppli points out, the price subsidy from the carrier means it's hard to tell exactly how much each device is really costing.

Still, it's an interesting point that even though the Storm and iPhone seem at first blush to share most of the same parts--LCD touchscreen, camera, cell phone chips, flash memory, GPS--Apple would seem to be in a position to reap more profit of each device than RIM (of course, it's also hard to know what kind of deals each manufacturer has with component vendors).

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Nortel quits WiMax deal with Alvarion

Nortel Networks has pulled out of a deal to resell WiMax equipment from Alvarion and help fund development of Alvarion's WiMax base stations.

The troubled networking vendor joined with Alvarion last June after cutting back its own WiMax efforts. After years of struggling to recover from a financial scandal and compete against bigger rivals, Nortel filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Alvarion said in a press release Thursday that Nortel had informed it of the decision to quit the WiMax deal.

Alvarion is a WiMax specialist based in Israel. The collapse of the deal will hurt its fourth-quarter financial results, due to be announced Feb. 4. The company won't be able to recognize about US$2.4 million in revenue from sales of products to Nortel in the quarter. Alvarion expects that to take $0.04 per share out of its fourth-quarter bottom line, which the company now expects to show a loss of $0.08. Nortel is obligated to pay Alvarion for certain research and development services beyond the fourth quarter, but in the wake of the bankruptcy, Alvarion said it's not certain whether it will be able to collect.

"The action, while difficult, was a necessary step addressing Nortel's current situation and intention to narrow the company's focus," said Richard Lowe, Nortel's president of carrier networks, in the press release. The companies are working on shifting over their joint WiMax customers to Alvarion, he said.

Nortel has its own WiMax infrastructure products, but they're best-suited to use in developed markets, said IDC analyst Godfrey Chua. Alvarion's gear is better for the developing world, which still makes up the lion's share of the WiMax market, he said. But Nortel's move didn't surprise Chua.

"They really need to make some hard choices," he said. "They can't stay at the scale where they are now."

Going up against larger rivals, including Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei Technologies, Nortel is likely to sell off parts of its business and become a specialist in one or two technologies, Chua said. The company will probably focus on LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the fourth-generation mobile data system most mobile operators are expected to adopt, he said. But that will be a hard technology to translate into revenue, since it won't be widely deployed until 2010 or 2011.

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How many flavors will Windows 7 come in?

Recent beta suggests five versions, but Microsoft says the number is undecided as yet
Windows Me may not have had much going for it, but it has one claim to fame: It was the last major release of Windows to come in a single edition, or SKU.

In the ensuing decade, every major release of desktop Windows has come in a wide -- too wide, say many -- variety of flavors.

By one count, Windows XP and Vista came in eight separate editions, if you include two Windows Media Player-free versions mandated by the European Union for antimonopoly reasons.

Even Windows 2000, often romanticized for its small footprint, came in four versions.

This increase in Windows editions has bewildered many consumers, and has led even ardent Windows fans to make dark jokes.

"I wonder whether Windows 7 will have 700 SKUs or if [Microsoft] will streamline that," Andrew Brust, a technology consultant and Microsoft MVP, has said on his Twitter page.

Paul Thurrott, a well-known Windows blogger, said, "It is laughable. It's such a brazen play on their part to juice people for as much money as they can get."

This MBA textbook-style attempt to maximize revenue by divvying up features by customer segment is actually hurting Microsoft, said Rob Enderle, an independent analyst.

He said Microsoft's decision to strip Active Directory features from consumer versions of Vista meant that workers running Macs at home or on personal laptops have an easier time hooking up to their corporate network than many Vista users.

That is helping Apple gain the foothold in the enterprise it has long been denied, Enderle said.

"In effect, this screwy SKU thing has given Apple an advantage in enterprises that Microsoft has taken away from itself and probably will be one of the primary things slowing Windows 7 adoption" should it come in multiple editions, he said.

Will Windows 7 continue the 'SKU inflation'?

How many editions will Windows 7 come in? Recent beta releases of Windows 7 list five versions during the installation process:

• Starter Edition, a stripped-down version for customers in developing countries running underpowered hardware that has been around since XP.
• Home Basic, the controversial low-end consumer flavor introduced with Vista that Microsoft apparently debated whether or not to release.
• Home Premium, also introduced with Vista.
• Ultimate, introduced with Vista, the loaded-with-goodies version aimed at hard-core hobbyists.
• Business, introduced with Vista as the replacement to Professional for corporate use.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed the five version names in the Windows 7 beta, but said they were only "preliminary."

"We will continue to take customer feedback from the beta test period into account as we refine the SKU set for Windows 7 and will share more information when we are further along the development path," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, CNET UK reported that Microsoft plans to make a single version of Windows 7 just for netbooks.

There is evidence, via a Microsoft job posting, that Microsoft plans to release a Small Business version of Windows 7, as it once planned but abandoned for Vista, as well as an Enterprise edition, which already exists with Vista. There would also be two additional 'N' versions of Windows 7 for customers in the EU, which has signaled recently it may even demand Microsoft bundle rival browsers with Windows. Windows 7 could therefore have as many as 10 editions in all.

Thurrott disagreed, arguing that Microsoft will cut down on the proliferation in editions that peaked with XP and Vista. He noted that the public Windows 7 beta includes the locale-specific themes that, in XP and Vista, were available only in the Starter edition, which hints that the latter could be eliminated.

The public beta, which is of Windows 7 Ultimate, appears able to run on low-end hardware like netbooks, obviating the need to create a separate SKU for it, Thurrott said.

He said that he has also heard reports that Microsoft plans to cut the "useless" Home Basic, that the Business edition will eventually be renamed Professional and include Media Center features, and that an Enterprise edition would be eliminated and its features, such as desktop virtualization, offered as add-ons to interested corporate customers.

Thurrott said he believes Microsoft's best strategy is to release Windows 7 in just three versions (not including the EU-mandated ones): Home, Professional and Ultimate.

"Gosh, I really do hope so. If there were just three versions, no one would make fun of it," he said. "Five or seven versions, that's just crazy town."

Thurrott also thinks Microsoft should cut the price on all of its versions, as well as let customers install Windows on multiple PCs or virtual machines, as Apple does with Mac OS X.

He said he was hopeful for a reduction in editions because Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft vice president in charge of Windows 7's development, is "a simplicity maven."

Enderle, who hammered Microsoft's version strategy with Vista -- especially its decision to release Vista Home Basic -- has a more quixotic hope.

"I think there should be one version of Windows which allows the OEMs [PC makers] more flexibility with regard to creating unique user experiences without breaking compatibility, and restores the ability of users to drive OS upgrades in the companies where they work," Enderle said in an e-mail.

"I'm not aware of another instance where a user-focused technology is specifically altered so a user can't bring it into their workplace

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Microsoft delivers Vista SP2 RC to testers, reports say

But some users say Vista irrelevant with Windows 7 coming
Microsoft Corp. has delivered a preliminary release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) to testers and is again on track to offer another public preview next month, according to several reports on the Web.

Just last week, a Malaysian Web site, TechARP, claimed that Vista SP2 had been pushed back a month. Yesterday, however, TechARP, which has accurately predicted Windows delivery dates in the past, revised its estimate, saying that Microsoft had "brought forward their release schedule" and would be issuing an "escrow" build no later than Friday.

Yesterday, reports surfaced that testers had been told by Microsoft that the escrow build of Vista SP2's release candidate was available for downloading. ZDNet blogger Mary-Jo Foley, for example, cited a section of the e-mail notification, which told testers that the company was not interested in feature feedback, but only reports on "SP2 regressions and confirmation of fixes we've made."

An "escrow" build is a version on which development has stopped but that is handed to developers and testers, who are asked to shake out the code one final time to make sure there are no show-stopping bugs.

TechARP's revised timetable claims that Microsoft will deliver a full-fledged release candidate to the public during the week of Feb. 16-20, not in March as the site said last week. That will be followed by a release-to-manufacturing (RTM) build sometime in the first half of the second calendar quarter -- in other words, before mid-May.

Previously, TechARP had said Vista SP2 would reach RTM -- a milestone at which the service pack is officially finished, and sent to computer makers and duplicators for retail copies -- as late as June.

Vista SP2 will be released for download from the Web at an undetermined date after Microsoft slaps the RTM label on the service pack. In the past, Microsoft has waited to post service packs anywhere from just two weeks after RTM to more than six weeks after.

But with the recent appearance of the first public beta of Windows 7, the follow-up to Vista, already in users' hands, some have dismissed Vista SP2 as irrelevant.

"Who cares now with Windows 7?" asked a user identified as Luis Mazza on a message thread discussing Vista SP2 at the Windows enthusiast Web site, Neowin.net.

"I could care less as I just got rid of Vista and I'm now only running 7 beta," added "smooth3006" on the same thread.

One analyst, however, disagreed.

"Service packs always matter," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, a research firm. "Because service packs make it more efficient to update PCs, they increase the chances that people do deploy fixes and patches."

Microsoft has previously declined to comment on TechARPs Vista SP2 schedule, and has instead reiterated its general timetable for delivering Windows Vista SP2 sometime in the second quarter of 2009.

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Second mass hack exposed

Hot on the heels of a recent hack in which 10,000 sites were compromised, researchers have disclosed a new large-scale attack..

Researchers at McAfee estimated that the attack has been active for roughly one week, and in that time frame has managed to place itself on roughly 200,000 web pages.

Most of the infected pages are running the phpBB forum software, said McAfee. The compromised pages are embedded with a Javascript file that links to the site hosting the attack.


Rather than attempt to exploit browser vulnerabilities, the attack attempts to trick a user into manually launching its malicious payload.

"This contrasts [Thursday’s] attack in that the vast majority of those were active server pages (.ASP)," explained McAfee researcher Craig Schmugar on a company blog posting.

"The ASP attacks are different than the phpBB ones in that the payload and method are quite different. Various exploits are used in the ASP attacks, where the phpBB ones rely on social engineering."

The infected pages bring up what appears to be a pornographic web site. Upon loading the page, a 'fake codec' social engineering attack is attempted. The user is told that in order to view the movie on the page, a special video codec must be installed.

The user then downloads a trojan program which installs a malware package on the users system then delivers a fraudulent error message telling the user that the supposed codec could not be installed.

Copyright © 2008 vnunet.com

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Attachment spam – the latest trend

Spammers using common file formats as attachments for pump-and-dump scams

This white paper explains what makes spam such an unbearable problem and how spamming tactics are evolving daily to beat anti-spam software. In the space of two months, spammers have switched from image spam to using PDF, Excel and ZIP file attachments. By using these attachments to send images instead of embedding them in the body of the email message, spammers have taken the cat-and-mouse game with anti-spam software developers to a new level.

At one point or another – like the majority of computer users – you have received emails that promise business deals worth millions of pounds, that try to sell products to improve your appearance or that try to convince that it’s worth investing your money in a particular company or stock. Dealing with spam (unsolicited email that is not targeted at specific individuals), is one problem that all email users share in common. Research shows that between 65% and 90% of all email received is considered spam.
On an individual user basis, spam is annoying; it is a waste of time and often contains spyware, malware and even pornography. On a company-wide basis, the same threats apply however there is also the financial cost to manage spam that must be taken into consideration.

The evolution of spam

Until a while ago, spam was the domain of text- or html-based emails. For anonymous delivery, these messages traditionally relied on abusing open SMTP relays. When open SMTP relays became less common, spammers switched to proxy servers, dial-up services and more recently, hijacked computers. Spammers designed personalized template emails to deliver their messages and then made use of bulk mailing software for distribution.
To block spam, email service providers and companies often relied on keyword ‘detection’, and drew up a list of keywords that commonly appeared in most of the spam email. This list would often include keywords such as ‘viagra’ or ‘bank’. However, this method often blocked genuine email and adding more keywords simply resulted in more false positives which in turn blocked legitimate email. But spammers became smarter too, and they addressed keyword blocking by replacing keywords such as ‘viagra’ to ‘v1agra’.
Another attempt at blocking spam includes making use of blacklists that contain a list of IP addresses of known spammers or compromised hosts. However, these lists have to be constantly updated because spammers have learnt to counteract this by rapidly changing the origin of spam.

New trends: Dynamic Zombie botnets

Botnets can be defined as networks of compromised computers which can be controlled by a single master. The number of nodes (also known as zombies) of these botnets can run into millions and these machines make use of different software vulnerabilities to gain full access to the infected hosts and add it to their existing array of zombies. Computer hackers had long been using botnets to launch DoS (denial of service) attacks and distribute network hacking attacks. Computer criminals had also been using botnets for money-making schemes, such as stealing credit card information and scamming pay-per-click advertising companies.
Seeing huge potential in botnets, spammers started financing hackers to make use of zombie machines. Hackers were able to offer services such as renting of botnets for a few minutes or hours and collections of email recipients (spam lists). The anti-virus industry noticed correlations between the spam industry and botnets. Not only were malware writers allowing spammers to make use of their creations, but they were writing malicious code to specifically suit their needs. An unholy alliance had been created.

Image spam

By early 2006, most anti-spam vendors had added Bayesian filtering to their arsenal of spam blocking methods. The fight between spam and anti-spam looked like it was taking a positive turn. However, by the end of 2006, the nature of spam had totally shifted. Whereas spam had been mainly text based, this time spam started looking more graphic in nature. Spammers began making use of images to bypass text-based content filtering, simply by no longer using any text content. By making use of image spam, spammers were attacking the defenses of most anti-spam solutions; while the images displayed text messages to the end-users, the anti-spam software was only able to see pixels.
Some email anti-spam solutions decided to go with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to turn the images into text that the software could then use. However, spammers took their images to the next level. In an approach usually applied to CAPTCHA (an anti-spam solution that is used on web forums), they started fuzzing (including noise and distortions) images to make it even harder for the machine to recognize text. Although it is possible for the machine to read this text, the process is very CPU intensive – especially when it is handling multitudes of images every few seconds. Read the full article: Attachment Spam- the latest trend

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