Verizon workers soon to be back on duty!

Verizon Communications said today its workers are heading back to work August 22 without a contract, signaling some progress on a new contract.

The New York telecommunications provider said the company and the two unions representing the workers--the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers--have made headway in their talks over a new contract.

The workers, who are based in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, are returning after striking for nearly two weeks. The strike was a distraction for the company, which had to fill the empty positions with replacement workers, retirees, and managers.

The workers returning will have no new contract. They will be temporarily working under the terms of the old contract.

"We agreed to end the strike because we believe that is in the best interest of our customers and our employees," said Marc Reed, head of human relations for Verizon. "We remain committed to our objectives, and we look forward to negotiating the important issues that are integral to the future health of Verizon's wireline business."

The unions said the two sides have agreed on the new structure of the talks, but warned that the sides were still far apart.

Indeed, the unions appeared to have been blindsided by Verizon's official statement on the temporary arrangement.

Not long after that statement was released, the CWA and IBEW sent out an updated response lashing out at Reed's comments.

"We are disappointed to see this quote from Marc Reed, Verizon's executive vice president for human resources, that the company hoped 'to convince the unions to begin bargaining with us in good faith.' It is both inaccurate and insulting," the unions said in a statement.

"We agreed with management not to claim victory in changing the process, re-instituting the contract, or shaping our goals," they said. "We will live by that commitment."

But the unions warned that if Verizon doesn't retract the statement, they would continue to "fight and fight hard," likely complicating the talks.

CNET has not yet heard back from Verizon about the unions' response to Reed's quote.

The strike began August 7, with the unions claiming Verizon was dragging its feet on negotiating.

The strike had turned bitter over the past two weeks, with Verizon taking legal action to curtail its workers' protests. The company claimed that union members prevented replacement workers from entering the building, harassed managers, and engaged in acts of sabotage. It said the company was working with the FBI to investigate the damage done to its telecommunications equipment.


Earlier this week, Verizon said it would soon strip away the striking employees' health benefits and medical coverage.

The union, meanwhile, said Verizon managers were being too aggressive in their driving, and claimed two dozen reports of strikers getting clipped by cars.

Verizon is attempting to change the terms of the contract to better reflect the realities facing the older landline business. Executives have said the changes are necessary given the competitive pressures from cable rivals and wireless providers.

Verizon is seeking changes that would allow it to more easily fire employees, tie pay to performance, and require workers to pay for a share of health benefits.

The workers point to the record profits of the company and have dismissed the need for changes in their contracts. They also argue that they are responsible for the fixed-line infrastructure necessary to run the higher growth wireless business.

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Advertising groups lambaste Net address expansion

Advertisers and the Internet's overseers seem unable to reconcile a profound disagreement about the future of Internet addresses.

Three prominent groups representing advertisers--the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A)--have come down hard on a program to dramatically expand the number of Internet addresses beyond .com and .net to a new class that could include everything from .berlin and .movie to .plumber and .pepsi. The International Corporation for Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees Net addresses globally, approved in June the program to expand these so-called generic top-level domains (GTLDs) starting in 2012.

The three groups urged ICANN to reconsider the domain-name expansion program. The strongest terms came from the ANA, which outlined its concerns in an August 4 letter to ICANN that threatens broader and "far more expensive" action than just strongly worded correspondence.

"Should ICANN refuse to reconsider and adopt a program that takes into account the ANA's concerns expressed in this letter, ICANN and the program present the ANA and its members no choice but to do whatever is necessary to prevent implementation of the program and raise the issues in appropriate forums that can consider the wisdom, propriety, and legality of the program," ANA said in its letter.

It sent copies to senior officials at White House, Commerce Department, and House and Senate judiciary committees. And in July, it sent a letter (PDF) to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration saying "ICANN has violated its own Code of Conduct and abrogated its Affirmation of Commitments with the Department of Commerce," saying it shouldn't be taken for granted that the department will renew its contract with ICANN to manage Internet names.

But ICANN itself vigorously defends the program, dismissing many criticisms as ill-informed.

"The assertions in your letter are either incorrect or problematic in several respects," said ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom in his response (PDF). After taking six years to come up with the program, ICANN shows no sign of giving an inch.

ICANN's tagline is "One World. One Internet." But the dispute reflects how hard it is to squeeze opposing agendas into a single globe-spanning technology.

GTLD expansion plan
Under the generic top-level domain expansion plan, registrars would apply to operate new domains that could include generic terms such as .movie or .eco. Registrars would control the new domains and potentially sell others rights to register their names, much as Network Solutions sells rights to use .com today. ICANN plans to accept the first applications from January 12, 2012, to April 12, 2012, and ICANN could add the new domains to the Internet itself before the end of 2012.

It's not cheap to participate: ICANN charges registrars an $185,000 application fee and $25,000 a year to operate a new generic domain registry.

One company that's expressed an interest is camera and copier maker Canon; .canon e-mails and Web addresses bring an opportunity to reinforce the brand and provide some assurance to a customer that communications aren't with a fake entity.

But it's possible that a registrar could set up the .camera domain, at which point Canon might feel compelled to pay that registrar for canon.camera. There could be different reasons for that move: Consumers might try to load that Web address, or companies might want to ward off cybersquatters--those who register a brand name address in hopes of selling it at a premium to a trademark holder.

Another possible problem: the financial uncertainty of auctions to decide who gets to operate a particular domain registry. That's not the sort of problem Coca-Cola would have, but there are plenty of cases where companies in different industries have the same or similar names.

To deal with these potential problems, ICANN has established a trademark clearinghouse to track trademarks and a mechanism to unplug trademark-infringing domains.

"We've created a brand-new system to allow...a very rapid takedown" of a domain found to be infringing trademarks, outgoing ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said in June. "The tradeoff is...if someone brings a case, it's got to be argued and proved to a pretty high standard."

Dissatisfied advertising groups
That's not enough to satisfy the advertising groups. ANA, which says its 400 members have 10,000 brands and spend more than $250 billion a year in advertising and marketing, launched the current round of objections with its August 4 letter. Chief Executive Robert Liodice said:

By introducing confusion into the marketplace and increasing the likelihood of cybersquatting and other malicious conduct, the Program diminishes the power of trademarks to serve as strong, accurate and reliable symbols of source and quality in the marketplace. Brand confusion, dilution, and other abuse also poses risks of cyberpredator harms, consumer privacy violations, identity theft, and cybersecurity breaches...

Brand owners are essentially being forced to buy their own brands from ICANN at an initial price of $185,000. For companies with robust trademark portfolios considering multiple TLDs, the application costs can be exorbitant because a separate application must be filed (and paid for) for each separate name. At the end of this name-selling application process, if there are two applicants seeking TLDs with confusingly similar strings, ICANN determines the winner by auction, at costs to brand owners that could be staggering.

Then, on Monday came the IAB's criticisms. Among other concerns, the group said the GTLD expansion will offer cybersquatters "an opportunity to harm a brand's integrity and/or profit greatly from their bad-faith domain registrations." IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg said:

ICANN's potentially momentous change seems to have been made in a top-down star chamber. There appears to have been no economic impact research, no full and open stakeholder discussions, and little concern for the delicate balance of the Internet ecosystem, This could be disastrous for the media brand owners we represent and the brand owners with which they work. We hope that ICANN will reconsider both this ill-considered decision and the process by which it was reached.

And 4A CEO Nancy Hill criticized the ICANN plan in these words:

"We are very disappointed in the position taken by ICANN concerning the assignment and sale of new domain names. These changes would cost brand owners billions of dollars, severely, if not irreparably, diluting the value of trusted and respected brand names, as well as abrogate the good work 4A's members have done on behalf of their clients.

All marketers share the goal of a stable global marketplace, served by an Internet system that consumers can rely on to accurately reflect the quality and history of a product or service. ICANN's actions would remove that trust and place consumers at a significant disadvantage in making marketplace choices and decisions.

ICANN appears willing to risk the advertising groups' wrath, though.

In its response to ANA, ICANN said the GTLD process has safeguards that eliminate the need for companies to apply for domains defensively, merely to protect trademarks rather than to actively use them with a new domain. It defended its process as very much bottom-up, taking into account abundant feedback.

And Beckstrom--who will leave his role at ICANN on July 1, 2012--said ICANN won't bow to the views of a single group, even if it's one as powerful as major advertisers.

"Please be advised that ICANN will vigorously defend the multi-stakeholder model and the hard-fought consensus of its global stakeholder participants, its duty to act in accordance with established bottom-up processes, and its responsibility to the broad public interest of the global Internet community, rather than to the specific interests of any particular group."

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Microsoft lists 'App Store' as a Windows 8 feature

An app store is officially among the features Microsoft is working to include in Windows 8, much like Apple's App Store for OS X.

The revelation, which confirmed months of rumors, came today from Microsoft President Steven Sinofsky in a Building Windows 8 blog titled "Introducing the team." Among a list of teams associated with building the forthcoming operating system was "App Store."

Sinofsky said that work on the new OS is organized by feature teams, of which there are about 35, each containing 25 to 40 developers.

"Many of the teams listed below describe features or areas that you are familiar with or that you can probably figure out based on the name," he said. "As we post more, team members will identify themselves as part of these teams."

Microsoft representatives did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Rumors that Microsoft was developing an app store for Windows have been around for more than a year. Based on a series of Windows 8 documents leaked June 2010, Microsoft has reportedly been eager to match Apple at its own game by offering its own dedicated app store.

An app store appeared in a demonstration of Windows 8 that Sinofsky gave at the All Things Digital D9 conference in late June. Included in the start-up menu tiles was a direct link to a Microsoft Store, suggesting that Microsoft was working it own version of an online application store, similar to Apple's App Store.

The company has also been working hard to keep Apple from winning a U.S. trademark for the phrase App Store. Microsoft argues the phrase is too generic to register and would restrict competitors' ability to use of the term to describe their own services.

Microsoft has not officially announced when the new OS would be released, but CEO Steve Ballmer said in May that the new OS would reach consumers in 2012, although the company later said Ballmer misspoke. In June, Vice President Dan'l Lewin hinted that Windows 8 would launch during the fall of 2012.

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Hackers break into BART police union Web site

Hackers have broken into a second Web site affiliated with the San Francisco Bay Area subway system, which has come under fire in the last week for turning off cell phone service before a planned protest.


A database belonging to the BART Police Officers Association was posted online today, complete with full names, e-mail addresses, home addresses, and passwords. BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit.





It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the embarrassing information leak--a Twitter account affiliated with Anonymous said that no one has "claimed responsibility for the hack," and speculated that it could be the work of either an ally or an adversary.

As of this afternoon, the BARTpoa.com Web site was offline. "These people are criminals and we're going to forward this information to the FBI," the BART union president, Jesse Sekhon, told the San Francisco Chronicle today. "These people need to be brought to justice. They can't be terrorizing people."

(Worth noting is the use of passwords that fail to meet general guidelines for creating strong passwords, such as: cowgirl, firefly, 69square, hawaii50, grover, jennifer, sfgiants, cowboytough, and BUFFY10.)


The intrusion follows a similar one on Sunday, when the amorphous Anonymous collective broke into the MyBART Web site, which allowed users to create accounts to receive discounts or special offers.

BART pulled the plug on cell service last Thursday in four subway stations in downtown San Francisco before a planned protest that was intended to call attention to the fatal shooting of an apparently homeless man named Charles Blair Hill.

Thursday's planned protest might have gone unnoticed outside the San Francisco metro area. But disabling underground cell service -- a move more associated with authoritarian regimes in the Middle East than supposedly progressive California cities -- captured the attention of Internet users around the country concerned with government overreach and civil liberties.

The Anonymous group of online activists began promoting what became known as "Operation BART," with one account announcing: "We are going to show BART (@SFBART) how to prevent a riot #OpBART." And the Federal Communications Commission said it was reviewing the legality of BART's move.

A second protest happened on Monday, prompting BART to close at least four San Francisco subway stations during the evening rush hour.

The ACLU of Northern California said in a blog post last week that: "Shutting down access to mobile phones is the wrong response to political protests, whether it's halfway around the world or right here in San Francisco. You have the right to speak out. Both the California Constitution and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protect your right to free expression."

An archived version of the BARTpoa.com Web site says the union boasts about 230 members. Its purpose is to "enhance wages, benefits and working conditions" of BART police officers.

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Verizon may suspend health benefits for strikers

Verizon Communications plans to suspend health-insurance coverage and medical benefits for any worker still on strike, applying further pressure on employees who have been off the job for more than a week.

It's the latest escalation in a contract dispute between telecommunications workers facing competitive pressure on its legacy landline business and workers who don't want their benefits stripped away. The disagreement over benefits has caused 45,000 employees in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions to walk off the job on August 7, and has resulted in accusations of violence, illegal interference, and legal action.

The latest move will test the mettle of the workers, who have been without pay since the strike began. The loss of health benefits is an option that companies have when their workers go on strike. While the talks continue, neither side has reported any progress.

Verizon confirmed that the letters were sent out. Representative Robert Varettoni said the notices were sent as early as possible so workers could make the necessary alternative arrangements. He added the rules of how the benefits can be suspended are laid out in the contract.
"This is not a surprise to the unions," he said.

The news of Verizon's threat to strip the benefits away was first reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

The unions representing the workers, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have issued advice on how to keep their medical benefits going. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires group health plans to offer striking workers and covered dependents the opportunity to continue health coverage for up to 18 months by paying for the coverage out of their own pocket. COBRA gives workers up to 60 days to decide if they want to continue coverage, it and gives them another 45 days to pay the premium.

Strikers also have the option to pay for their core medical benefits, or choose to pay just for themselves or their dependents.
The CWA said it would make available the Robert Lilja Members Relief Fund for workers who need assistance paying for their health care needs. In the meantime, it said it is readying a petition to be sent to Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam, urging him to "get serious about bargaining and stop trying to push Verizon workers out of the middle class."

The union said the petition has more than 100,000 signatures. CWA representative Candice Johnson said the petition has spurred many groups into action.

The strike has gotten uglier, with Verizon taking legal action to stop workers from blocking the entrances to facilities, and harassing management and replacement workers sent in to man the facilities. It has injunctions in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as a temporary restraining order in Massachusetts, where an injunction is pending.

Johnson said the CWA doesn't condone any illegal action.
Increasingly, union workers are organizing their protests through Facebook.

The workers are striking because of what it feels are unfair concessions to its contract. Verizon wants freeze pensions, tie pay to compensation, make it easier to fire workers, and require employees to contribute to their own health benefits. Executives have said the cuts are necessary for the landline business to remain competitive with that of the cable operators, who don't have union workers.

The unions have dismissed the calls for changes in the contract, and they note that Verizon remains a highly profitable company.

Much of the profits, however, are generated from the wireless business, which has nearly no union workers. The wireline business posted a 0.3 percent decline in revenue in the second quarter, compared with a 2.2 percent decline in the first quarter. One growth area, however, has been its Fios bundle of Internet, phone, and television service. But Verizon said the costs to run the business are higher because of the need to strike content deals.

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Facebook: Ceglia contract an "outright fabrication"

Facebook says its inspection of a computer belonging to a man who claims to have a contract that entitles him to half-ownership of the social-networking giant has turned up an "authentic contract" that does not mention Facebook.

Forensic analysis proves that the alleged 2003 contract between Paul Ceglia and Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was an "outright fabrication," Facebook said, asking that Ceglia's suit against Zuckerberg and Facebook be dismissed, according to a Facebook filing yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
The contract, which Facebook contends Ceglia was trying to conceal, was found embedded in electronic data from 2004 and refers only to StreetFax, a Web site Ceglia was trying to develop, Facebook said.
Facebook lawyers also complained that Ceglia had refused to supply documents covered by a discovery order in June and was "willfully concealing" six USB drives that contain relevant documents related to possible manipulation of the original contract.

"It is very likely that Ceglia used these removable devices to manipulate and store documents, including the purported Facebook contract, in the belief that this evidence would not be discovered or that the devices could easily be discarded if necessary, as Ceglia has now apparently done," Facebook lawyers said in their filing. "This is the digital equivalent of throwing critical evidence into Lake Erie."

Ceglia has reportedly relocated his family to Ireland as a result of the attention the case has attracted and could not be reached for comment. San Diego-based law firm Lake, which represents Ceglia in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, attorney Jeffrey Lake acknowledged in a filing with the court today that the StreetFax contract differs from the one previously admitted as evidence in the case but said his client has an explanation for why the two contracts differ. Lake did not indicate what that explanation might be.

Ceglia claimed in a lawsuit filed last year against Facebook and its CEO and Zuckerberg that Zuckerberg entered into a contract with Ceglia in 2003 to design and develop the Web site that would ultimately become Facebook--a company now with an estimated value of more than $70 billion.

Ceglia has said he hired Zuckerberg through a Craigslist ad to write code for a project called StreetFax and paid Zuckerberg $1,000 for coding work; he also allegedly invested $1,000 in Zuckerberg's The Face Book project, which gave him a 50 percent interest in the company, as well as an additional 1 percent interest for every day after January 1, 2004, that The Face Book was delayed.

Zuckerberg and Facebook, which had previously called the alleged Facebook contract a "cut-and-paste job," filed a discovery motion in June for the original contract, e-mails in native form, and inspection of all computers in Ceglia's possession, as well as those in his parents' house.

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Five possible responses to the Google-Motorola merger

There's no question that the mobile market was turned on its head yesterday when Google announced its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola.

So what's it mean for the rest of the industry? Typically, industry consolidation begets more consolidation. CNET offers five predictions for how this mega-merger may affect other players in the mobile market from highlighting the potential alliances that might form to the companies that may be possible acquisition targets.

1. Microsoft keeps close partnership with Nokia but adds closer ties to Asian handset makers: Samsung, HTC, and LG Electronics

Since Google's plan to buy Motorola was announced, pundits have been speculating on what Microsoft's next move might be. As a sort of knee-jerk reaction, people have wondered if Microsoft might take its relationship with Nokia to the next level.
It is certainly possible that this could happen. After all, not many people expected Google to buy Motorola just a couple of days ago. But most Microsoft watchers are skeptical that Microsoft would actually buy Nokia outright.

Here's why: Microsoft can benefit from its existing relationship with Nokia without having to buy the whole company.
One of the potential benefits of Google buying Motorola is that it could follow Apple's model and build devices that are tightly integrated with its Android operating system. Some people argue that this control translates into a better experience for end users on these Android devices. Microsoft, has a similar model to Google in that it currently licenses its software to several manufacturers. So some have suggested that Microsoft may want to follow the Apple model, too.

But that's unlikely because Microsoft already tightly controls the specifications for the devices on which its Windows Phone software operates. So Microsoft already ensures a more consistent look and feel to the user experience on Windows Phone devices.
The main reason that Google is buying Motorola is for its 24,500 patents. Microsoft may also want to own Nokia's mobile phone patents to bulk up its war chest of patents. But again this isn't necessary, given that the two company's have cross-licensing arrangements already.
And finally, Microsoft may have a disincentive to buy Nokia because it may want to cozy up with some of Googe's tight Android partners, such as Samsung, LG Electronics and HTC. These companies, which have been relying on Android, may now feel threatened and may be looking to diversify their product lines to ensure they aren't too dependent on Google.

2. Amazon and Hewlett-Packard team up via WebOS

Google, Apple, and Amazon have increasingly become competitors in the wider online world. Each of these companies now offers cloud-based content, and they're vying for consumer loyalty to their services. Devices such as Apple's iPhone and iPad and Google's Android devices provide that link to the cloud the services. And as portable devices, such as smartphones and tablets replace desktop and laptop computers, the battle for consumers hearts and minds will be fought in the mobile market.

While Amazon and Google are rivals when it comes to cloud services, they are also budding partners. Amazon is rumored to be developing tablets using the Google Android platform. But Google's purchase of Motorola may threaten this relationship with Amazon. And as a result, force Amazon to look for an alternative to Android.

Hewlett-Packard could be the perfect partner, according to ZDNet blogger Jason Perlow. HP, which bought Palm for its WebOS mobile operating system, hasn't seen much success with its first tablet, the TouchPad. But the WebOS software has actually won a lot of praise from experts. Perlow thinks that HP should cut a deal with Amazon.

He said that HP could continue to advance the WebOS technology, while leveraging Amazon's sales and distribution network for the tablets and phones that use the operating system. But more importantly, Amazon could provide the cloud services and content for the WebOS devices, including books, video, music, storage, and e-books. Currently, one of WebOS's biggest problems is that it doesn't have any content relative to Apple and Google.

On the hardware side, Amazon already has lots of experience partnering with Asian device makers for its Kindle e-readers.

Amazon could serve as the primary brand for the WebOS devices, giving HP much-needed marketing and distribution for its products. It could be a win-win for each company. But Perlow points out that this also means that Amazon would have to abandon or curtail its existing strategy for its Amazon Appstore for Android and its plans to build Android tablets.

3. Research In Motion becomes an attractive acquisition target, but who's buying?

Once worth $83 billion at its peak, RIM has lost about 80 percent of its value over the past three years as Apple and Google have eaten into its smartphone business. The company has fallen from the No. 2 position in terms of smartphone operating systems worldwide to the No. 4 spot as of the second quarter of 2011.

The company has plans to release seven new BlackBerry 7 handsets starting this summer, which may offer a slight boost to sales in the ultra competitive smartphone market. But the turn-around is likely to be a long one for the company, which is struggling to regain its footing.
Still, RIM owns some 10,000 to 15,000 patents that cover advanced wireless technology, security, enterprise mobility, and software. And of these patents more than 3,000 are specific to mobile technology. According to MDB PatentVest, RIM has more mobile device patents than anyone else.
Based on the recent jockeying for patents, it's clear that Apple, Microsoft, Google, and others see patents related to mobile technology as valuable and important. And given RIM's strong patent portfolio plus its low share price, it could be attractive to potential suitors, even though its current product line-up is in transition.

But who would be interested? That's the big question. Microsoft had been a rumored suitor, but as noted above, the company may not be interested in being saddled with a hardware provider at this time.

HP, which bought Palm for its WebOS, could be another candidate, or perhaps one of the other hardware companies, such as Samsung, may be interested.
RIM's other option may be to spin off its patent portfolio into a separate patent-holding company that licenses the patents to other companies. It's unclear what will happen, but RIM's outlook now may be better than it was last week.

4. Sony Ericsson may feel pressure to monetize its patents.

Sony Ericsson, a relative small player in the overall smartphone market, may also look for ways to extract some value from its patent holdings. Sony Ericsson, formed in 2001, is owned in a 50-50 partnership between Sony of Japan and Ericsson of Sweden. Together its parent companies own 1,470 patents specific to mobile devices.

In recent years, the company, which has always been a bit of niche player, has struggled to keep up with rivals. And it's continued to lose market share, despite shifting from the Symbian mobile platform to Android.

In the second quarter of 2011, Sony Ericsson's total mobile device market share fell to 1.7 percent from 3 percent a year ago, according to Gartner. Chinese manufacturer Huawei bumped it from the No. 9 spot. And Sony Ericsson is now in the No. 10 spot in terms of worldwide device sales.

As a result of its poor performance, investors may pressure the company to do something with these patents.

5. Apple (or someone else) could spend a whole lot of dough on the Kodak imaging patents.

It's clear that battle being fought in the mobile market right now is over patents. My CNET colleague Jay Greene recently wrote in a piece that the next big portfolio of patents to go up for sale will likely come from Kodak. Last month, the imaging company said it was considering selling about 1,100 patents that cover capturing, storing, organizing, and sharing digital images. These patents cover technology that is increasingly becoming important in mobile devices.

And one particular patent that is likely to be included in the batch that Kodak plans to sell may be end up starting one of the most ferocious bidding wars to date for mobile patents. The patent in question covers image previewing technology that Kodak alleges is being infringed upon by Apple and Research In Motion.

This patent in particular is considered very valuable because there is still so much uncertainty surrounding the validity of the claim. The case has been batted around the legal system, and it's still being reviewed by an administrative law judge.

Even though its unclear whether Apple or RIM is infringing on the Kodak imaging patent, Apple will likely bid on this patent simply to keep it out of the hands of its rivals, namely Google.
"If you're Apple, are you going to let Google buy those patents? No way," Christopher A. Marlett, chief executive of MDB Capital Group, an investment banking firm that focuses on intellectual property, told CNET for a previous story.

There is a good chance that the bidding on these patents could go very high. Indeed, the value of mobile and communications related patents has already been high. According to recent estimates by Sanford Bernstein, Google's $12.5 billion bid for Motorola will give it access to about 24,500 patents at a price of about $350,000 per patent. Meanwhile, Apple, RIM, Microsoft and other players, paid a total of $4.5 billion for the Nortel Networks patents. This works out to about $750,000 per patent.

With $76 billion in cash and marketable securities as of the end of June, Apple is certainly in a strong position to pay what it must to secure whatever intellectual property it needs.

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Adobe debuts Muse, a no-code-required site builder

Adobe Systems today is expanding its efforts at putting Web design tools within reach of those who don't want to learn how to hand code.
The company is introducing a new application codenamed Muse. Built on its AIR platform, Muse lets users create and publish Web sites like they would make a site mock-up in the company's InDesign or Illustrator software. Adobe promises it will simplify the process for designers who would have previously had to hand off their designs to developers to do the coding necessary to turn that mock-up into an actual site.

Adobe says part of the reason to build such a tool stemmed from a study it did that found most Web design products require users to learn code, something that could be problematic for the more than half of designers surveyed who still did mainly print work.

"What we're seeing is that the tools that have been made available for designers to be able to create digital experiences require people to learn code. And most designers either don't want to, or they're not interested--or they've learned, and it's just not the way their brain works," said Jane Brady, the senior product marketing manager of Adobe's creative suite. "What they kept telling us is that they want to be able to create a Web site or other kinds of digital content as easily as if they're working in InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop."

The company's solution was to grab some former InDesign engineers and put them to work on a product that would do just that, with Muse being the result.

Adobe's Muse software aims to give designers a way to mock up site designs that are actual full-working Web sites.
(Credit: Adobe)
The software (which Adobe says will get a new name when it's out of beta) lets users design a Web site using a familiar Adobe creative tool set, plugging in backgrounds, headers, footers, menus and Web widgets in a what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) menus. Page assets like photos and image elements can then be worked on in the company's other design software including Photoshop. All the while, any code that's powering the site sits quietly behind the scenes. Designers can see how their work looks by loading it up in a built-in, Webkit-based browser, or sending it to open in a browser that's installed on their computer.

Muse is being offered up as a standalone app, and has not been designed to interact with Dreamweaver, the company's other Web design software product. It cannot, for instance, open up Dreamweaver files, or offer a way to make edits to Muse code within Dreamweaver.

"We're in an interesting world where our primary goal is to support that visual designer, but they don't live in a vacuum. There's so much going on around them, that we do need to make Muse extensible," said Danielle Beaumont, Muse's group product manager. "But a little bit like a PDF or a Postscript file, we feel like it's our job to generate fantastic code that loads very very quickly and is cutting edge, but we're not looking at generating code that a hand-coder would like to take forward and try to wrap it back into Muse."

Muse has, however, been set up to accept chunks of arbitrary HTML, and make use of Web widgets that can be embedded into pages, things like YouTube videos and Google Maps.

One thing you won't find in the initial release are templates, a mainstay of consumer-facing Web site builders, and even Adobe's own Dreamweaver site building software. "I'll be really honest--templates sometimes really insult visual designers," said Beaumont. "Examples of Web sites that [designers] might want to emulate? Sure that makes a lot of sense." What Beaumont said the company doesn't want is something where users plug in a different photo and consider their work done. Users, however, can import things like .png, .gif, animated .gif, and .flv files, along with content from the company's Edge product.

Building a builder
Like the reason for making the software in the first place, the ramp-up to actually build Muse centered on consumer research. Following its market research, Adobe's plan involved hosting workshops in San Francisco and Seattle to talk with designers about work flows and features. The company also tapped print-centric designers at a local San Francisco design academy, giving them early access to the software and seeking feedback on ways to improve it.

"Early on we realized that as we developed the product, we wanted input from the community. But the community we're working with isn't a Web community necessarily," Beaumont said. "These are visual designers, they're probably highly accomplished. They're not necessarily folks who play with beta software that hasn't been stabilized. They don't necessarily search the Web and go to pre-release sites and post comments in forums to figure out how to intuit a product that's being evolved."

That puts Adobe in a tight spot with the product's release since that's exactly what Muse will be during its beta phase. The company's answer to that is to offer as a free beta for the next six months in order to squash bugs and tighten up features, followed by a version 1.0 software in the first quarter of next year. Following the end of that beta period, Adobe's going to offer it as a subscription service that users pay $20 a month to use, or $15 a month if they buy a whole year at a time ($180). The company admits that the system may not be for everyone but notes that offering it as a subscription service comes with some benefits as a result.

"The way we recognize revenue, once you ship something, we can't add another feature until we add another version," Brady said. "We want to be able to add functionality, and from a product development standpoint, if we know everybody on the marketplace is on the same version, we don't need to worry about different versions--with a subscription they're always on the latest version." That's especially important given the rapid development of browsers and Web standards, Brady argued.

That strategy also continues the trend of Adobe offering its software as a subscription, something it took a big step in as part of an update to its Create Suite product line in April. One big difference in that case is that you can continue to purchase that software bundle up front. The big incentive Adobe's offering with both the subscription-based version of its Creative Suite and Muse is giving paying subscribers the most up to date version of those products.

Muse follows hot on the heels of Adobe's public preview of its Edge software. That tool lets people create animation effects for Web pages using a timeline approach, akin to a video editor, as opposed to having them hand-code everything. Like Muse, that product too is being offered up as a preview ahead of becoming a paid service next year.

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Apple iPhone shipments to hit 95 million in 2011?

Apple's production partners could ship as many as 95 million iPhones this year, a report from DigiTimes claims.

According to the Taiwan-based publication, those shipments are made up of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the much-rumored iPhone 5. Citing anonymous sources, DigiTimes reported today that Apple has upped its iPhone orders for the second half of 2011 from 50 million to 56 million.
Out of that, 20 million devices in the third quarter and about 8 million in the fourth quarter will be iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 units. DigiTimes' sources say Apple will be shipping about 6 million iPhone 5 units during the third quarter, and then ramp up production of the iPhone 5 to 20 million in the fourth quarter.

DigiTimes' latest report doesn't appear to line up with earlier claims from the publication. Earlier this month, DigiTimes reported that manufacturing company Pegatron would produce 10 million iPhone 5 units for shipment in September.

Even so, the report further intensifies rumors surrounding the iPhone 5. Over the last several months, a host of rumors have cropped up, claiming the device could be released in September or October. There is also debate over what the device might offer, ranging from an edge-to-edge screen to near-field communication.

Apple hasn't commented on the iPhone 5 so far and likely won't until it hosts an event to detail the upcoming smartphone. Last week, Japanese tech news site Kodawarisan reported that Apple would be holding an event on September 7 to unveil the iPhone 5. So far, Apple hasn't sent out invites to any event.

All the speculation surrounding the iPhone 5 has prompted some folks to chime in on other moves Apple should be making. Jean-Louis Gassee, general partner for Allegis Capital, wrote a blog post yesterday in which he first offered a fanciful vision of Apple acquiring a carrier like T-Mobile. But Gassee quickly went on to refute such a scenario, citing a host of issues, including regulatory problems and the negative reactions of other carriers toward Apple and any such deal.

Although Apple likely won't be buying a carrier anytime soon, Google today made the surprising announcement that it has agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility for a whopping $12.5 billion in cash. That deal is expected to close by year's end or early 2012.

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FCC reviewing SF subway cell shutdown

Update 6:30 p.m. PT: So far, at least, the protests have remained peaceful. A dozen or so people showed up in the BART station at 5 p.m., chanting and occasionally blocking train doors. Police closed the station about 20 minutes later and threatened to arrest any protestor who didn't immediately leave. Entrances to nearby BART stations, too, were closed soon afterward (although people in those stations could board trains). A group of at least 50 people ended up at the Ferry Building. Trains now appear to be skipping the Embarcadero station near the Ferry Building.

The Federal Communications Commission said today that it's investigating a decision by government officials in San Francisco to pull the plug on subway cell service before a protest last week.
Also today, Bay Area Rapid Transit officials were bracing for a second protest scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PT to highlight the civil liberties concerns raised by silencing mobile devices. Today's protest was organized by the group Anonymous, which appears to have been behind an intrusion into a BART Web site over the weekend.

It's unclear whether BART will disable service again. BART spokesman Linton Johnson told CNET this afternoon that he would not reveal his agency's "tactics," and declined to elaborate.

Preliminary reports on Twitter this afternoon suggested that BART police--the agency maintains a uniformed division, which was involved in a fatal shooting that sparked the initial outcry--would shut down the subway station where today's protest is scheduled to be held. The location, at the Civic Center BART, is adjacent to San Francisco city hall.

"I cannot talk about our tactics tonight because we are obliged by the Constitution to balance everybody's rights," BART spokesman Johnson told KRON TV this morning, saying that he would not reveal what BART plans are in preparation for the protest.

"We were forced into a gut wrenching decision" to cut cell service to protect BART users' "constitutional right to safety."
There is, however, no right to safety in the U.S. Constitution, only a right to speak and assemble freely--which, some legal experts say, BART violated. The word "safety" appears in the state constitution, but in a section that talks about individual rights, not police powers.

The move to shut down a communication channel, while regularly done in the Middle East, including Egypt and other regimes attempting to thwart pro-democracy and human rights demonstrations, is something previously unseen in the United States.

That's what appears to have captured the FCC's attention. "Any time communications services are interrupted, we seek to assess the situation," FCC spokesman Neil Grace said in a statement. "We are continuing to collect information about BART's actions and will be taking steps to hear from stakeholders about the important issues those actions raised, including protecting public safety and ensuring the availability of communications networks."

BART operators angered people when they switched off cell service in four downtown San Francisco stations Thursday in an attempt to prevent people from organizing and holding a protest of the fatal shooting of 45-year-old Charles Blair Hill on July 3 by BART officers in Civic Center station.

People are also angry about the January 1, 2009, fatal shooting of Oscar Grant by BART officers. His shooting--while he was restrained, unarmed, and on the ground--became highly publicized after video from cell phones and cameras went viral on the Internet. The officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after claiming he meant to fire his Taser instead of his gun and served a two-year sentence.

To retaliate against BART, the Anonymous group of online activists defaced the MyBART.org site yesterday and released thousands of subscribers' names, e-mail addresses, unencrypted passwords, and for many their addresses and phone numbers too. And they planned a protest to take place at Civic Center station today.

A San Francisco Police Department spokesman said there will be officers above ground ready to help BART officers if needed. An FBI spokeswoman, meanwhile, confirmed that BART had contacted the agency for help in investigating the Web site hack.

Support that Anonymous had last week when it announced "OpBART," or Operation BART, may have diminished when BART users' information was released publicly yesterday. There was dissent even within Anonymous, which lacks a formal structure or hierarchy and seems to attract followers based on the target. (See this list of recent Internet attack activities.)

"The customer data leak was grossly irresponsible. But there is Anonymous and there is Anonymous. Some dumb apples here and there. That's it," someone controlling the AnonyOps Twitter account wrote to CNET today. "Many of us fight against this sort of action, but being we're leaderless, it's hard."

The Twitter profile also released this public statement: "Today's protest is about more than just today's actions. We're also trying to grow the public's appetite for protest. We want maximum exposure for this event and for others. We want the public to see that we aren't bad people."
AnonyOps and other Anonymous members were urging people to protest peacefully and to wear red shirts and masks. "Today's protest is about more than just today. Keep it peaceful and we will succeed in increasing the public's appetite for protest," AnonyOps tweeted.

Participants had created an Operation BART channel on UStream where they would post video and people could chat. Anonymous also released a link to what was billed as a live audio feed from BART.

And protesters were urged to use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the event that cell service is cut off. One Android app, Auto-BAHN, is designed to let people communicate via Bluetooth when cell service isn't working. However, it's not available in the Android Market and you need the Android software developer's kit to install the application.

BART created this page with resources for commuters who need transit information today.

Meanwhile, Joe Weiss, a critical infrastructure security expert, told CNET he was dismayed that people seem more concerned with hackers posting people's personal data than they do with problems that affect BART's operations and which could conceivably harm more than people's privacy.

For example, BART's 28 trains were stopped for more than two hours a week ago due to a communication problem between two routers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "What led to the router failure remains a mystery," BART spokesman Johnson told the news outlet.
"Here you had two cases within a week--one you never heard of and it shut down the entire system," Weiss said. "While the Anonymous hack is front page."

Separately, Anonymous has launched an operation against the city of Fullerton, Calif., to protest the death of Thomas Kelly, who died after being beaten by Fullerton police last month.

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Apple OKs Cinemax application, despite anti-porn policy

A new app has arrived at the iTunes store that may violate Apple's own policy of keeping pornographic material off its app store.

The company has given its blessing to the Cinemax Max Go app, which provides on-demand access to movies and programming on mobile devices to the cable channel's subscribers. The app also includes a Max After Dark tab, which allows streaming of some of the channel's softcore programming, which helped earned Cinemax the nickname "Skinemax."
The app includes a disclosure that states users must be at least 17 years old to download the app because, among other things, it includes "frequent/intense sexual content or nudity." It also contains parental controls designed to prevent children from viewing racy material.

However, as first pointed out by GigaOm, the programming being made available on iPads appears to violate Apple's own anti-porn policy.
Movies with titles such as "The Hills Have Thighs," "Bikini Jones," and "The Temple of Eros" are available under the tab. But Apple's App Store guidelines state that "apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster's Dictionary as 'explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings,' will be rejected."

Apple is notoriously strict about what type of content it allows on the App Store. The company has in the past banned apps that contained certain sexual material and at one point even rejected an app from Project Gutenberg because it provided access to the Kama Sutra.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs even reportedly told a customer asking about the company's porn policy that "we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy and (sic) Android phone."

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4 Fast Ways to Save Money Now

A free-falling stock market can make everyone more frugal. How to find the extra cash in your budget

The falling market and the economic uncertainty that comes with it has even the most frugal looking for new ways to save. Many of the easiest ways to do so may not even require that much sacrifice.

More from SmartMoney.com:

• Where to Park Your Cash

• How to Find Financial Advice on the Fly

• Complete Coverage: Tumult in the Markets
Right now, there are plenty of reasons to build savings. For the intrepid, extra cash may mean the ability to snatch up stocks at bargain prices. Far more people are still shoring up their personal balance sheets from the last downturn, and another market tumble reinforces the need for an emergency fund, or to pay down debt. Even for spenders, there's an incentive to sock away a little more: The down market is expected lead to sales on many big-ticket items like cars, airfare and electronics. "It's smart to save wherever you can," says certified financial planner Sheryl Garrett, founder of the Garrett Planning Network, a national group of fee-only advisors.

In general, Americans are already better savers than they used to be. In June 2011, Americans saved 5.4% of their disposable income, up slightly from 2010 but more than double the 2.4% savings rate circa 2007. Still, most financial planners recommend aiming higher, to 10% or so. And while cutting out morning lattes and MP3 purchases can add up, keeping on track requires serious discipline. Better to aim for the bigger expenses by reviewing regular monthly bills. A little research and a phone call or two to can save hundreds of dollars on cellphone and cable service, insurance payments and credit card bills, says Schwark Satyavolu, co-founder of BillShrink.com.

Of course, financial experts rarely advocate against saving. But market swoons to tend to bring out consumers' thrifty sides. For some help with boosting your monthly savings, here are four options that won't take more than an hour or two:

Switch Cellphone Plans
Save: $400 a year

Cellphone users are paying more -- $92 per month on average for a two-year contract, up from $78 last year, according to J.D. Power & Associates. And picking the right plan has also become more complex as carriers add new data plans and require different packages for different phones. In early July, Verizon joined AT&T in eliminating unlimited data plans for new subscribers. Moving into a plan that better fits your calling texting and data patterns could save up to $400, Satyavolu says. Sites like BillShrink and Validas will analyze your current bill and make savings suggestions, or you can call your provider and competing services. (Some apps can also help you save on texting or talk time.) But if the best bet seems to be switching carriers, be warned: early termination fees can go as high as $350, which could eat up any savings in a hurry. Switching can also change call quality, so ask friends who use that carrier if they've had problems -- or better yet, borrow their phone and test for yourself.

Shop Insurance Policies
Save: $200 a year

More severe natural disasters and higher rebuilding costs have led insurers to raise homeowners insurance premiums by more than 7% in many areas over the past year. (Some are hurricane-prone areas, but not all. Some Pennsylvania homeowners saw premiums jump 33% last year.) That's reason enough to shop around on sites like Netquote.com and Insurance.com, checking rates and available discounts. Be sure to call your current insurer, too, and see if they have any new programs you might be eligible for, Garrett says. It wouldn't be hard to save at least $200 per year or more. Last month, Garrett bought new homeowners and auto insurance policies, cutting her yearly bill by $800.

Change (or Ditch) Cable
Save: $800 a year

Consumers can save substantially by finding a new cable provider, or depending on their viewing habits, cutting the cord altogether. Switching is easier to compare with sites like BillShrink or WhiteFence.com. And most viewers have more options than they think, especially for those who are interested in satellite -- and the annual savings for switching averages $800 a year, Satyavolu says. Providers often make their best deals available via cable-phone-Internet bundles, though, and switching to a lower price can entail an unbearably slow Internet or a crackly phone connection, says Dan Rayburn, an analyst for investment bank Frost & Sullivan who covers digital media companies. Also, the growing options for free or cheap TV online mean some people may be able to get by with fewer channels, says Rayburn. A viewer might, for example, switch to a basic cable package with 13 or so channels and use an $8 monthly streaming subscription from Netflix or Hulu to catch more missed movies and TV shows.

Get a Better Credit Card
Save: $600 a year

Thanks to Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt, many experts expect credit card rates will rise soon. But right now, offers are better than they have been in years, says Curtis Arnold, founder of card comparison site CardRatings.com. Consumers who haven't re-assessed in the past year can compare on sites like CardRatings or CardHub.com to get a better ongoing rate, 0% balance transfers of up to 24 months, or generous reward bonuses. Delta and Continental, for example, have offered some customers sign-up bonuses worth two free round-trip domestic tickets, while an 18-month balance transfer offer would save someone paying off a $5,000 debt in $300 increments more than $650 in interest. BillShrink.com estimates average savings of $600, from lower interest rates and more lucrative rewards. But if you're transferring a balance, be sure to compare fees, Arnold warns. Most cards charge 3% of the balance, but a few are starting to charge as much as 5%, which eats into savings.

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Biggest Businesses Run by College Dropouts

Ever wonder where the chief executives of some of the world's most successful companies went to college? Well, don't tell your kids, but some CEOs never graduated college—and some never even bothered to apply.

From computers to cruise lines, these 10 CEOs made it to the top without a college degree and defied the idea that to be successful you have to have a diploma.

Ralph Lauren
Position: CEO, Polo Ralph Lauren
Market Cap: $11.9 billion
Ralph Lauren, the chief executive of Polo Ralph Lauren , established his company in 1967 as a line of men's ties and developed the company into a global fashion empire. Lauren's successful clothing line came from his unique, classic style that went against conventional fashion of the time.

According to the Ralph Lauren website, Lauren said, "I never went to fashion school—I was a young guy who had some style. I never imagined Polo would become what it is. I just followed my instincts."

With only a high school diploma in hand, Lauren followed his instincts. His decision to ditch college and focus on running his business lead to a series of breakthroughs in the fashion world, including the first shop-within-a-shop designer boutique for men in Bloomingdale's department store in 1969. Lauren continued to build his empire, expanding it to include women and children's fashion, fragrances, and home furnishings.

Today, Polo Ralph Lauren is one of the most successful fashion companies in the world.

Richard Branson
Position: CEO, Virgin Group
Company Worth: $18 billion
Virgin Media Market Cap: $8.1 billion
Forget graduating from college, this chief executive didn't even finish high school. Richard Branson, the current CEO of Virgin Group , dropped out of high school at age 16 to start Student Magazine . Four years later, Branson founded Virgin Group as a mail-order retailer. He opened his first record shop in London and two years later built Virgin's first recording studio. In 1977, Branson signed his first big name group, the Sex Pistols, and continued to sign popular artists such as the Rolling Stones and Culture Club.

In 1984, Branson developed Virgin Atlantic and the brand began to grow. Today, Virgin Group provides mobile, broadband, TV, radio, finance, health, tourism, leisure, and travel services.

Michael Dell
Position: Founder/CEO, Dell
Market Cap: $30 billion
Most 19 year olds would spend a thousand dollars on a spring break weekend, or a put it toward buying a new car, but Michael Dell spent his $1,000 founding Dell .

The founder and CEO of Dell expanded his company with the idea that "technology is about enabling human potential." In 1992, he became the youngest chief executive to earn a ranking on Fortune magazine's "Fortune 500" list. His staff also grew from a one-man operation to 100,000 employees in just eight years.

Today, the company provides information-technology services for global corporations, governments, health care providers, small and medium businesses, education institutions, and home computing users.

Dell is not the only company this CEO has had a hand in creating. Dell founded MSD Capital in 1998 and a year later launched the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, a philanthropic organization for global issues.

Bill Gates
Position: Co-Founder/Chairman, Microsoft
Market Cap: $226.2 billion
College dropouts such as Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz are not the only successful business founders who attended, and then left, Harvard University.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft , enrolled at Harvard as a freshman in 1973. Gates, who lived down the hall from Microsoft's current chief executive, Steve Ballmer, created BASIC, a programming language for the first microcomputer, during his first year of college.

Gates dropped out of Harvard in his junior year to concentrate all his efforts on a company he called Micro-soft with his childhood friend Paul Allen.

As if founding Microsoft wasn't enough, Gates went on to found Corbis , one of the world largest resources of visual information. He also earned a seat on the board of directors for Berkshire Hathaway , an investment company engaged in diverse business activity.

Steve Jobs
Position: Founder/CEO, Apple
Market Cap: $362.4 billion
As a young boy, this college dropout showed an early interest in computers.

When he was 12, Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple , called Bill Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett Packard , after finding his number in the phonebook. When Hewlett answered, Jobs said, "Hi I'm Steve Jobs. I'm twelve years old and I'm a student in high school. I want to make a frequency counter. I was wondering if you had any spare parts I can have?"

Hewlett gave Jobs the spare parts and hired him that summer to work on the assembly line at his company. During this time, Jobs formed a friendship with Stephen Wozniak, a soon-to-be dropout from the University of California at Berkley.

Jobs enrolled at Reed College after high school, but he later dropped out. He connected once again with Wozniak and the pair quit their jobs to start production on a computer in Jobs' garage.

There are different versions of how the pair came up with the name for Apple. The best-known story comes from Jobs summer spent working on an apple orchard and his love for the fruit. The bite in the side of the apple is said to be a play on the computer term "byte."

In a biography, Jobs said he was worth more than $1 million when he was 23, $10 million when he was 24, and $100 million when he was 25.

Apple went from a garage-based operation to a multibillion-dollar, worldwide corporation, and it all started with two college dropouts tinkering in a garage.

Today, Gates serves as Microsoft's chairman and as an advisor on key development projects.

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Hack Windows passwords using the Linux application chntpw

First and foremost of all, please don’t mix a Hacker with a Cracker. A Hacker is someone that has “technical adeptness and a delight in solving problems and overcoming limits” (http://insideinformationdaily.info/gold-2012.htm) While a Cracker is the popper word for someone that uses security penetration techniques in order to gain access to something. If you dare to mix the two, Linux fanatics will loose their minds and eat your soul!… Ok maybe not, but you will have a whole community on your head going “HOW DARE YOU!!!!”. Trust me, I’ve got it hard…

You don’t tell a Linux user he can’t do something… never! Ever! You will piss him off and he’ll do whatever it takes just to prove you wrong, if it’s worth the trouble (at least that’s how big my ego is, feel free to disagree). I’m especially talking to you Windows users; you usually tend to be a lot more naive than the rest.

A friend of mine dared me to crack his Administrator account, so I did, in 30 seconds, and this is how I did it:

You need a Live Linux (CD, DVD, USB, Diskette, who cares) and the application chntpw

Note: It works for Windows XP, Vista and 7. I’ve tested it on Windows 7.

A bit of theory: Windows stores its local user accounts in the C:\windows\system32\config\SAM file. If you want to change ANYTHING that is related to the user accounts you do it from this file, but it is of course encrypted. Not a problem! While we can’t read the file and see what password is already assigned to a user, we can sure as hell overwrite it.

Now you need a version of Linux that has chntpw, for example BackTrack. Otherwise you can install it, most Debian-based distros have it in their repositories. Of course if you’re running your Linux from a LiveCD or DVD, installing it is not really an option; so you need a Linux that already has it… stick with BackTrack

Without further ado, I present to you: Step by step instructions on how to crack the Administrator password…

Blanking out the Administrator password

1. Boot from Live Linux (CD/DVD/USB)

2. If not already mounted, mount your Windows Drive. Here is an example on how to mount your Windows drive presuming it is on the first partition of your hard drive:

su
mkdir /mnt/windows
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/windows
cd /mnt/windows

3. Now we need to navigate to the SAM file, so presuming that Windows is installed in it default location, you just:

cd /mnt/windows/Windows/System32/config/

3.1 OPTIONAL STEP: Some Linux distros (like BackTrack 5) don’t have the command chntpw added as an alias, so I had to do the following in order to get it to work properly, you might not need to do this on other distros:

alias chntpw='/pentest/passwords/chntpw/./chntpw'
Proper explanation: this creates an alias to the chntpw executable so you can utilise the application without having to type its full executable path

Simplified explanation: lets you use the chntpw command from within any folder you may be on the system

4.Do this!

chntpw SAM
This command enables you to edit the Administrator account.

5. Let’s say we just want to change the Administrator password to NOTHING. Press 1, Enter, Y, Enter aaand that’s it. Complicated I know…

Warning! This method is not very stable, it can backfire (in my experience, it dosen’t write the new password properly), a safer bet is to change the password to nothing and then set a new password from User Accounts Control in Windows

It’s the exact same procedure, only that at step 4 instead of the above command, you use this

chntpw -u user_name SAM
Remember that Linux is case-sensitive so make sure to write the username in the same exact case.

And at step 5 press 2, Enter, type in new password, Enter, y, Enter, DONE!

And that my children is how you can play a really mean prank on your girlfriend (provided you have one) making her think she forgot her own password.

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Microsoft to Release Hadoop Connectors for SQL Server, Parallel Data Warehouse

New Hadoop connectors will provide interoperability between SQL Server, PDW and Hadoop environments.

In the age of big data, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) says it is moving forward with plans to help customers better store, manage, and analyze both structured and unstructured data – in particular, data stored and managed in Hadoop environments.

A TechNet blog by Microsoft's SQL Server Team detailed the company's plans to release a community technology preview (CTP) of two new Hadoop connectors: one for SQL Server and one for the Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) solution.

PDW is Microsoft's high-scale enterprise data warehousing solution for enabling self-service business intelligence using SQL Server. The new Hadoop connectors would provide interoperability between SQL Server, PDW and Hadoop environments.

In describing the interoperability benefits for customers, Microsoft claims the Hadoop connectors would enable customers to easily integrate Hadoop with their Microsoft Enterprise Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence (BI) solutions to gain deeper business insights from both structured and unstructured data.

Microsoft also released the second Appliance Update (AU2) to PDW – an update that the company says delivers features such as richer programmability and four new connectors for heterogeneous BI and ETL (extract, transform and load) environments. The update will refresh the full appliance with both hardware and software updates.

In the Technet blog, the SQL Server Team said the Appliance Update is Microsoft's response to the most demanding customer needs for data warehouses by including features that were requested by customers, including multi-statement batches, T-SQL variables, temporary tables, conditional logic and control flow statements.

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Microsoft's SQL Server Team also said that PDW is also taking significant steps forward with a strategic alliance between Microsoft and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and the release of the Dell Parallel Data Warehouse appliance. The new Dell appliance scales beyond 600TB with a starting price under $12,000 per TB, and offers "white glove service" through Microsoft's Critical Advantage Program (MCAP) support service for appliances.

Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) Appliance Update 2 also includes new connectors for SAP Business Objects and Informatica, enabling customers to use Parallel Data Warehouse seamlessly in heterogeneous BI and ETL environments.

MicroStrategy has also certified high-speed connectors for PDW, according to the Microsoft SQL Server Team blog.

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Facebook Messenger

Checking Facebook messages on your phone is now one-tap easy.

Facebook has published a new free app for iPhone and Android, Facebook Messenger, that unbundles its private message service from the all-in-one Facebook app. Rather than trying to combine your entire online life into one app, it goes the other way: Messenger, when started, goes straight to your Facebook messages, so you can read and reply to them without having to navigate through all of Facebook.

Messenger also pushes messages to the forefront of your phone with optional settings that provide multiple ways for your phone to notify you that you’ve got a new message. On Android it can vibrate, blink, play a sound, or play a ringtone.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

The way people connect digitally.
If you’ve spent as much time as I have tapping though the Facebook app impatiently trying to check messages while the Facebook app tries to load photos and notifications instead, Messenger is a very practical gift. You tap it and poof, up pops your Facebook inbox. That’s it. For me, it’s great because my Facebook inbox contains timely messages from people who want to make plans with me, but who aren’t the professional colleagues in my separate e-mail account, or the guy waiting in the car outside sending me text messages I need to see right this second. I can ignore my Facebook inbox for hours until I have the attention for it. Then, I can check those messages with one thumb-tap while doing something else in the real world. I’m much less likely to get hit by a bus thanks to this thing.

I wish more app developers would think this way: Instead of trying to combine everything on the Internet into one mobile interface, create separate apps for stand-alone functions that people perform often and want to do in a hurry. Let the phone’s home screen be the thing that contains and presents them all. Whoever coded this app at Facebook might not win geek points for programming prowess, but they’ve made Facebook more convenient for a lot of users. Can I next get an app that jumps straight to my groups?

My only skepticism is that the Messenger name might confuse potential users into thinking it’s an instant messaging app, like MSN Messenger or BlackBerry Messenger. Why not call it Messages? To any Facebook user, that would be obvious.

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7 apps to make you feel like a better PERSON!

While the Web can be a prime locale in which to nurture said ills and watch them flourish in "real time," turning one's soul into an eight-byte mess, it can also serve as a way to keep tabs on your own bad habits -- essentially taking on the work of the long-gone angel who once perched upon your shoulder.
Read on for seven apps and services that will at least make you feel like a better person as you live your life in line with the seven deadly sins. We admit it, though: We largely subscribe to Billy Joel's famous axiom that "the sinners are much more fun."

1. Gluttony
Being that we reside in America (aside from everyone reading CNN International, yo), otherwise known as "the land of plenty," there's a good chance everyone reading this is a glutton of some sort. In this case, we're going to forgo the obvious "FatBooth" recommendation and instead address smokers, aka gluttons for self-punishment.
If your lungs are aching to ache, might we suggest downloading Quitter, a free iPhone app that tells you how much money you're saving by not smoking? Sure, all that cash could lead you to indulge in No. 2 on our list, but we're just getting started...

2. Greed
Blew all your cigarette money on moonshine and snooker? Well, once you shamble back from the 1920s, alleviate your soul-crushing guilt by giving back: Sign up for Catchafire, a service that will match you up with a social good organization based on your skills -- whatever they may be.
Granted, you'll only be able to offer up your services (pro bono) if you have skills, which leads us to sin No. 3...

3. Sloth
This is a tough one, because the Internet basically breeds more sloth than the rain forest -- especially where that great time waster, Facebook, is concerned.For the students among you, we suggest checking out hoot.me, a Facebook plugin that turns the social network into a study group, allowing you to connect with other users and get homework help. For those of us whose school days are long gone, maybe just exercise a little self control -- or, if all else fails, have a friend change your password and bravely suffer the pangs of withdrawal.

4. Wrath
We can say it once, we can it say it 1,000 times: A public forum is not the best place to get out your rage -- unless you work in a field that encourages said rage, like the arts or talk radio (in which case we No. 5 you, carry on).
For the rest of us cubicle supplicants, here's a little toy to help you reign in your wrath: RageGage Connect, a USB gadget that hooks into your Facebook, allowing you to "punch" your friends and co-workers in effigy. Think of it as a really high-tech version of punching your pillow.

5. Envy
Your friend just posted an entire album to Facebook titled "My New Summer Condo!" Your former drama-school classmate just tweeted that he will be appearing on "Entourage." Your sister just Instagrammed a photo of her new convertible.
Aside from the fact that it seems like everyone you know is a total tool, you're feeling jealous of their success. Instead of busting out the voodoo dolls, do something that makes you feel better about you (cue the Muzak), like asking for a raise.
GetRaised will help you on your quest for fiscal feast by helping you create a letter outlining why your deserve a raise. Pro tip: "Because I do!" probably should not be included in the text of that letter.

6. Pride
Really proud of your poem/nature photography/"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" fan fiction? Well, then, post it in an anonymous forum. That should smack the smug smile off your face.
Or visit Opinionaided, a much more positive Q&A experience -- with badges for good advice given, etc. -- than, say, Formspring, if you need to talk about yourself but you're overly prone to crying.

7. Lust
As we said before, the sinners are much more fun, so we're not about to suggest using the Web to quell your lustier desires. However, if you are in dire need of some sort of cool down, here, look at these baby animals.

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Ruby on Rails chases simplicity in WEB Programming

Can one man and a mantra of "radical simplicity" change the world of Web development?

David Heinemeier Hansson, a 26-year-old Copenhagen native, has built a "framework" to help Web developers be more productive and has released the package of tools through an open-source project.
His software, Ruby on Rails, only out for a little more than a year, has started a buzz among the legions of developers and high-level executives that track the trend-driven world of software development.
News.context

What's new:
Ruby on Rails, a relatively new Web development framework, has become popular among programmers for its simplicity and productivity.
Bottom line:
Although created by just one person, the software is having an impact and getting noticed by pioneering programmers eager to spot hot, new trends. Some analysts are recommending it for new Web applications.
More stories on Web development tools
Hansson's quest to build a practical and productive Web development framework demonstrates how a single person can shake up the status quo, even in a development world where a few companies dominate.
The trick, said Hansson, is to "slaughter the holy cows," the well-understood ideas of computer science that dictate how programmers work. In many cases, software vendors design products for difficult problems, an approach that leads to excess complexity, he said.
His goal with Ruby on Rails is not to create a sophisticated development framework that the engineers at Google or Amazon.com will flock to. Instead, he has focused on creating templates and designs that tackle the unglamorous problems, such as making database modifications, that the great majority of Web developers face every day.
"The major delusion I want to shatter is that you can successfully use the same types and tools for solving the biggest problems in the world and have a pleasant time applying that to solving the normal problems of the world," Hansson said.
Ruby on Rails is not used nearly as much as other Web tools such as PHP, Java or Microsoft tools. But it has caught the attention of some of the influential programmers who help popularize new products.
David Geary, who has authored books on Java and sits on the technical committee for the latest Java Web programming model, has found that Ruby on Rails is five to 10 times faster than comparable Java frameworks. Like Java did a decade ago, Ruby on Rails is getting developers excited by making them more productive, he said.
Clearing the tracks
"No other alternative in enterprise computing has nearly as much mindshare as Rails," Geary wrote in a blog posting. "Will Rails hit a tipping point and become widely adopted in the near future? I am certain of it."
Listen up
CNET News.com reporter Martin LaMonica talks with Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson about why the software is getting noticed.
Listen now... (3.2MB mp3)
The vision of Ruby on Rails, or RoR, is to combine the speed and ease-of-use of scripting language PHP with the "clean," structured approach of Java, Hansson explained. That combination makes code quick to write and easy to maintain over time, he said.
"We're trying to fuse those two extremes (of Java and PHP) and be quick and clean," Hansson said. PHP applications are difficult to maintain, while Java Enterprise Edition software is a "complex monstrosity" that's hard to learn, he said.
There is currently one book on Ruby on Rails, but seven or eight are being written now. The first conference of Ruby developers last year had 60 people; this year there were about 200, the majority of whom were doing commercial development, Hansson said. He predicts 800 attendees will be at next year's conference.
The interest in Ruby on Rails is fueled in part by a larger trend toward scripting languages that aim to replace Java or Microsoft's C# language. Scripting, or "dynamic," languages such as Python, PHP and Ruby are simpler to learn, according to analysts and developers.

David Heinemeier Hansson
Creator, Ruby on Rails
Research company Burton Group recommends that corporate customers consider Ruby on Rails for new Web development projects. The tool set is particularly useful for "Web 2.0-style" applications that may be hosted, said Burton Group analyst Richard Monson-Haefel. Ruby on Rails allows developers to build interactive Web pages using the AJAX set of development techniques.
But because Ruby on Rails takes some unconventional approaches, notably in databases, it does have some limitations, he said.
"It's really only practical in cases where you have complete control over the database schema or you're doing a new 'green field' application," Monson-Haefel said.
For Hansson, his decision to not support common database features, notably programs

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Microsoft updates HOSTING package

Microsoft on Tuesday released a software package aimed at hosting companies that includes the latest version of the company's database and .Net programming software. Microsoft Solution for Windows-based Hosting version 4.0 includes SQL Server 2005, which was released late last year, and ASP.Net 2.0, the most recent edition of its Web development software. The package also includes Visual Web Developer Express Edition, a free Web development tool.
"We're giving service providers the ability to easily host software-as-a-service applications and target the developers who are building them," said John Zanni, director of worldwide hosting at Microsoft, in a statement. In the past two years, Microsoft has boosted its efforts to convince hosting companies to use Windows-based software rather than Linux and other open-source components which are often used.

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Microsoft readies Atlas AJAX tooling

Microsoft intends by the end of the year to release a commercial-grade tool for building Ajax-style Web applications.


The Ajax tools are being developed under the code name Atlas, which has been available for several months on a prerelease basis.
On Monday, Microsoft said it expects to release supported and certified Atlas products that work with its flagship tool, Visual Studio 2005, and its Web development framework, ASP.Net.
Atlas is a set of components for writing applications using Ajax, a Web development technique for building interactive Web pages that automatically deliver information from Web servers to browsers.
The company said it will fully integrate the Atlas software into the next Visual Studio version, code-named Orcas, which is due some time next year.
What was called Atlas will now be recast into separate products, said Scott Guthrie, a general manager of Web development tooling in Microsoft's developer division, in a blog posting.
The set of client-side JavaScript libraries, or prewritten components, will be called Microsoft Ajax Library.
Server-side components that integrate with ASP.net will be called ASP.Net 2.0 Ajax Extensions. A third product, called Atlas Control Toolkit, is a set of free shared-source components.
Guthrie said Microsoft is determining which features will be put into the Atlas tools' 1.0 version, which will work with multiple browsers and operating systems. He added that the company will launch a beta and "release candidate" later this year.

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Microsoft HINTS at general plan for IE 8

Microsoft will continue to prioritize security and ease of use in the forthcoming Internet Explorer 8 and will seek to improve Web development with current standards compatibility, according to the company.

At Microsoft's Mix '07 conference in Las Vegas this week, IE platform architect Chris Wilson recapped Microsoft's development priorities in the making of Internet Explorer (IE) 7 and outlined some of its goals for the next version of its browser.
Wilson said Microsoft intends to create a follow-on version, IE 8, within two years of IE 7's release, which came out in October.
The priorities Microsoft set for IE 7, Wilson said, are the same for IE 8: strong security, ease of use and Web development improvements.
"It's clear we have a lot to do with the Web developer platform," he said addressing an audience of mostly Web developers at Mix.
Specifically, he said Microsoft will invest more in layout and adhering to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) 2.1 specifications. He also said Microsoft wants to make its browser object model more interoperable "to make it easier to work with other browsers and allow more flexible programming patterns."
In addition, he said the Ajax Web programming style needs more client-side application programming interfaces to allow developers to create more powerful applications.
"There's work in the standardization bodies to do local storage and get better security models," Wilson said, adding that Microsoft is working with the W3C on standardizing HTML version 5 and XHTML version 1 and 1.1.
He said adherence to standards is increasingly important to Web site developers but Microsoft is in a "challenging" position as it introduces more standards compliance.
Because previous versions of Internet Explorer strayed from standards, new versions of Internet Explorer, such as IE 7, have caused some Web sites to not work for end users, he said.

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