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Source: Philip Virgo: When IT Meets Politics
My attention has just been drawn to an article on the value of regularly purging datafiles to cut cost, legal risk cost and enhance security and privacy. It reminded me of a very thoughful contribution to last year's Parliament and the Internet Conference - on the need to pay more attention to disaggregation as one of the safest approaches to enhancing security.&... View Philip Virgo: When IT Meets Politics
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FirEfox 3 Sets Download Record

Firefox 3 Sets Download RecordJune 20th, 2008 by Anil
Firefox 3 was released on 17 June. And its already downloaded more than 14 million as of now, heading for a record.

You can watch the live count as it streams in from Mozilla’s raw server logs, and according to the download day page, the majority of downloads have come from the US. Despite some hiccups, Firefox had no problem setting the record (though no one really seems to know if there was any old mark to break — so anything might have been a record with Guinness watching).

Download Firefox!.
Check out the ultimate guide by Mozilla and power users guide for FF3 by lifehacker.
Check out this video which shows what the soon expected FF for mobile might look like.

Chrome: Another Browser From Google

Chrome: Another Browser From GoogleSeptember 9th, 2008
Google released beta of Chrome, their own browser.
Google said in its announcement: “To most people, it isn’t the browser that matters. It’s only a tool to run the important stuff — the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.”
Currently Beta version is available for only Windows platform, but Google is working on releases for Mac and Linux.
As per Google’s Chrome download page:
Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.
One box for everythingType in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.
Thumbnails of your top sitesAccess your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.
Shortcuts for your appsGet desktop shortcuts to launch your favorite web applications.Tagged:computers, Google, internet, Open Source, software, web
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Linux Killer Application: AppCheckerAugust 8th, 2008
Many of the developers face one problem in Linux applications development, that to ensure the application works fine in all distributions like SUSE, Redhat, Debian etc.
Fortunately, The Linux Foundation has just released a beta of a new program, Linux Application Checker (AppChecker), that’s going to make vendors and programmers start to love developing for Linux. The Linux Application Checker (also referred to as “AppChecker”) is a powerful new tool designed to help software developers target Linux. It draws on the extensive testing framework developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Linux Foundation and leverages the work of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) workgroup.
Some of the highlights of Linux Application Checker (AppChecker):
Its open source
It checks .rpm, .deb, tar.gz and tar.bz2 files.
Checks the application for LSB compliance.
And check against all the Linux distribution.
So you can check if your app will work with all Linux distributions without actually installing all the distributions. Now that’s something that should excite all the developers.
For more information, visit Linux Developer Network Linux Application Checker. You do need to register on the site before downloading the Linux Application Checker source code. And, once you do, you want to review the Getting Started page for information on installing and using the tool.Tagged:computers, Innovative, Linux, Open Source, os, software, Tips & Tricks, trends
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Posted in Innovative, Software, OS, Open Source, Tips & Tricks, Trends, Linux, Computers No Comments »
Nokia Acquires Symbian, Plans To Open PlatformJune 25th, 2008
Nokia announced it will acquire the remaining shares of mobile software licensing company Symbian Limited–moreover, the handset giant will team with Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo to unite the Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP technologies and forge a single open mobile software platform. The firms will also collaborate with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone to establish the Symbian Foundation, a non-profit initiative dedicated to accelerating the availability of new services and mobile experiences. The foundation will be open to all developers and “will provide a unified platform with common UI framework” under the royalty-free Eclipse Public License.Read the rest of this entry »Tagged:gadgets, Google, gphone, mobiles, nokia, Open Source, os, smart phone, software, trends

IT 'not just for boys'

The stigma attached with being a woman working in IT is disappearing and women are now being appointed in some of the industry's best jobs, according to experts.A skills shortage is contributing to increased demand for women in IT and females are taking up the roles more and more frequently, the Independent reports.Differences between male and female IT learning begins at a young age, with Microsoft systems engineer Eileen Brown stating that "women see computers as tools whereas men see them as toys".A continued increase in the amount of women in IT is expected, with 45 per cent of people entering into a University College London financial computing course this year being women, compared to an average of 20 per cent in the department.Christopher Clack, the course director, commented: "Our women students, in particular, like the career-oriented nature of the degree and the fact that they can see a purpose to all this computing stuff."At Microsoft, 28 per cent of the staff is female, compared to an industry average of 11 per cent.View careers advice to help you secure your ideal position on womenintechnology.co.uk.

The New IT Worker Shortage

Software giant Microsoft could be set to make the working life of employees that bit easier with the launch of a new mouse. Men and women in technology and IT jobs look set to benefit from the new technology which has so far only been hinted at. No official word has yet been given on the new equipment but the company has released an animation with the tag-line 'say goodbye to laser'.The teaser has set tongues wagging across the technology world, but a full announcement is not expected to be made by the firm until an event it is holding in Seattle, USA, next month. Computer experts have already been attempting to guess at the new technology, with some such as gadget website T3 predicting it will be Blue Track technology.This is similar to LED but is joined with a wide-angle lens to allow the mouse to work on a larger variety of surfaces than the current laser version.

Information Technology

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term is more recognizable than ever before. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems. When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "infotech". Information Technology (IT) is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.

[edit] Professional organizations
AITech-Assinform is an Italian association of information & communication technology companies and an affiliate of Confindustria.
Malaysian National Computer Confederation is a Malaysian confederation dedicated to the development of IT Professionals and the creation of an Information Rich Society. [1]
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) was founded in 1957 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. [2]
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is an association for information & communications technology (ICT) professionals in Australia.
The Australian Information Industry Association is the national organisation representing ICT companies in Australia. [3]
The British Computer Society (BCS) is the largest UK-based professional body representing those working in IT.
The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) is the largest professional body for computing in Canada.
The Computer Manufacturers, Distributors, and Dealers Association of the Philippines (COMDDAP) is an association of leading information technology businesses in the Philippines.
The Computer Society of India (CSI) is the national body representing computer professionals in India.
The Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) is a non-profit organisation that promotes high standards among informatics professionals across Europe. [4]
The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) is an industry trade group for most of the world's major ICT companies.
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is an association of Indian IT companies.
The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) is the national body representing ICT professionals in New Zealand
The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) is an association of Philippine IT companies.
The Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) of Armenia is Armenia's first and largest IT association. [5]
The Professional Computer Association (PCA), Lebanon, is an association for information & communications technology (ICT) professionals.[6]