H-P, Dell spar over 3PAR, DLL attacks rage - Arts

The bidding duel between Hewlett-Packard and Dell over 3PAR took over IT news headlines this week with a dizzying back-and-forth flurry of increased bids. Meanwhile, DLL attacks are keeping IT security pros up at night and a top official said that the Pentagon got a security-related wake-up call when a low-level worm caused a serious systems breach.
1. The battle for 3PAR: The volleys will continue -- both want their prey badly.
2. How to thwart the new DLL attacks: Attacks involving dynamic link library load hijacking are sweeping the Internet, with Microsoft urging users to download a free tool for protection.
3. Low-threat worm caused 'most significant breach' of U.S. military net: What is being called "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever" was caused by a worm that could easily be removed from systems. We'll take small comfort in being told by a high-level Pentagon official that this fact was taken as "an important wake-up call."
4.Allen sues Google, Apple, others over patents: Paul Allen's firm Interval Licensing filed patent infringement lawsuits against Google, Apple, Facebook and other companies alleging patent violations related to search, multimedia, screen pop-ups and database management.
5. Google Voice: 5 truths behind the hype:: A bit of context to the news that Google introduced new VoIP functionality to Gmail this week.
6. How IT will change when Gen Y runs the show: More fun, more encouragement, more flexibility, a positive attitude with fewer meetings and less focus on time worked and more on results -- that's what some Generation Y up-and-comers say is in store when they are running IT.
7. Gmail hiccup sends e-mail messages multiple times and Google fixes Gmail bug that re-sent e-mail messages: This explains the inundation our inbox endured and why the onslaught suddenly (thankfully) stopped.
8. Intel's upcoming laptop chips will play Blu-ray 3D: Now, if someone would just figure out how to watch without wearing silly-looking glasses that may or may not fit over the glasses we need to see in the first place.
9. Apple announces Sept. 1 special event and Will the iPod Touch get some FaceTime at Apple's event?: As usual, to build suspense and excitement, Apple isn't saying much beyond issuing invitations to an event Sept. 1, though it does offer some clues. The invitation includes a photo of a guitar and the event will be at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Apple has in recent years announced music-related news, including iPods, in September.
Watch Arts Online

Prime-time TV show hits Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - Tv Series

* Brotherhood members portrayed as aggressive, cunning
* Analysts play down impact on Brotherhood's popularity

By Yasmine Saleh
CAIRO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A prime-time TV show charting the
rise of Egypt's main opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood
is gripping audiences and angering leaders of the group, who see
an attempt to tarnish its name before elections this year.
The sweeping historical drama shows how the Brotherhood's
call for a return to Islam's roots took hold in colonial 1920s
Egypt and gained traction after independence as its criticism of
Western influence on Muslim society resonated among the poor.
The 35 million Egyptian pound ($6.15 million) series is
being aired every night on Egypt's main state-owned channel
during the holy month of Ramadan, when TV ratings soar as
families and friends gather in the evening.
"The government would never allow a series on the
Brotherhood to be shown on its TV channels unless it is happy
with it... The government is very cautious towards anything that
involves the group," said film critic Tarek el-Shenawy.

� Continued...
The relations between First Quantum and the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone from bad to worse in recent months, after the country expropriated the miner’s $765 million Kolwezi copper tailings project in September. � Blog�
When some of the most influential figures in emerging markets finance spoke to a group of Reuters editors, they were asked about top picks for growth beyond the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.� Blog�
The giggles started when the seventh journalist in a row said that his question was for Egypt’s water and irrigation minister, Mohamed Nasreddin Allam.� Blog�
It has debt levels to die for and huge amounts of oil, but economically it’s lagging and political concerns remain. Speakers at a Libyan trade and investment forum this week saw the North African country as a mixed bag.� Blog�
If Guinea can pull off free and fair elections this weekend, it will lay the foundations for what could be one of Africa’s most unexpected and significant good news stories.� Blog�
Africa is providing a lot of fine material for the London theatre these days.� Blog�
Watch Tv Series Online

Smoking still too common in movies, CDC says - Movies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. movies showing people smoking has declined since 2005, but cigarettes still feature in far too many films and could be influencing young people to take up the habit, according to a report released on Thursday.
The report's authors recommended that movie ratings also consider whether the film depicts smoking and suggested strong advertisements about the dangers of smoking precede movies that show tobacco use.
"The results of this analysis indicate that the number of tobacco incidents peaked in 2005, then declined by approximately half through 2009, representing the first time a decline of that duration and magnitude has been observed," the team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of California San Francisco and elsewhere wrote.
"However, nearly half of popular movies still contained tobacco imagery in 2009, including 54 percent of those rated PG-13, and the number of incidents remained higher in 2009 than in 1998," they added in the CDC's weekly report on death and illness.
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Edward Markey and Republican Joseph Pitts, who both serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote the Motion Picture Association of America encouraging the industry to adopt stronger anti-smoking measures.
"Exposure to onscreen smoking in movies increases the probability that youths will start smoking. Youths who are heavily exposed to onscreen smoking are approximately two to three times more likely to begin smoking than youths who are lightly exposed," the CDC report reads.
The researchers counted each time tobacco use was shown in the biggest-grossing films of 1991 to 2009.
"This analysis shows that the number of tobacco incidents increased steadily after the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between the state attorneys general and the major cigarette companies, in which the companies agreed to end brand placement," they wrote.
They said the Motion Picture Association of America had done little to make changes but noted some studios had made voluntary changes and said Viacom was the first company whose movies rated for youth showed no use of tobacco in 2009.
They suggested more policies could encourage filmmakers to do better.
"Such policies could include having a mature content (R) rating for movies with smoking, requiring strong antitobacco ads preceding movies that depict smoking, not allowing tobacco brand displays in movies, and requiring producers of movies depicting tobacco use to certify that no person or company associated with the production received any consideration for that depiction," they wrote.
Watch Movies Online