larryshouse.com

(Credit:
CNET Networks)

Overall, I really like this browser. I still think that the lack of extensibility will hurt it, but on most features it has what it takes to unseat even the biggest-name browsers. You just need to hear it sing.

The new default theme for Opera.

Personal data synchronization has become a must-have for any browser worth its weight in code, and Opera performs well with Opera Link. Once you register, it enables users to keep bookmarks, the Personal bar, Speed Dial, and Notes synced to any version of Opera being used, including the cell phone iteration, Opera Mini. The Notes feature isn’t new, but it’s absolutely one of the best things about Opera: a savable notepad built right into the browser, allowing users to keep track of thoughts in a lightweight but integrated manner.

There’s no reason to repeat the basics of why Opera is such an excellent browser to use. Suffice to say that it covers the essentials with built-in tabbed browsing, mouse-over previews, a customizable search bar, advanced bookmarking tools, simple e-mail and chat integration, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and drag-and-drop functionality.

The useful and well-designed Sidebar in Opera 9.50 does not appear by default. It needs to be unhidden by the user.

(Credit:
CNET Networks)

Improvements to the search tool, Quick Find, make it possible to search for full in-page text from the address field, the history panel, and opera:historysearch. This cuts out having to hit the Find hotkey combo to bring up the search window. The Status bar has been restored as a default, addressing many user complaints. Spatial navigation–the function that lets you navigate elements on a page with a hotkey combo–has finally been introduced, too.

Opera is not perfect. The new version is faster, although the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark found it slightly slower than Firefox 3 Release Candidate 3. I liked the “Fast Forward” and “Fast Rewind” buttons that let users jump back and forth by more than one link. The Fast Forward’s predictive nature is especially cool, but it was strange that the drop-down history options were available, but not set as the default for the Toolbar navigation.

Many of the new features that I saw today in Opera can be found in
Firefox 3, which has release candidates out now and a final version due this coming Tuesday. Of course, Opera can claim dibs on such utilities as the Wand, which combines autofill with saved passwords, built-in torrent support, and real-time fraud prevention bolstered by Haute Secure’s antimalware technology. The Wand now loads a password-encrypted page before asking the user to save the password, preventing failed password entries from cluttering up the log.

The full list of changes and fixes made to Opera 9.5 can be read at Opera’s Web site.

(Credit:
CNET Networks)

Opera 9.50 lets you search for text from within the address bar.

Truly, it’s Opera’s extras that push it to the top of the class. Integrated theme support previews themes from within the interface, and the new default is a redo that nicely balances “dark” and “light” aesthetics. It could be worse, I suppose–they could’ve gone for raver green. I’ve always felt that Opera’s desktop widgets were a poor replacement for extensibility, which Opera still lacks. They’re fine if you’re looking for widget action that doesn’t depend on the Google, Yahoo, or
Windows Vista desktop widget holders, but this is probably a personal preference thing more than anything else.

The browser wars are heating up again, and the first major browser update of 2008 is Opera 9.50. Available for Windows and Mac, there are some impressive new features worked into this release, even though it’s not listed as a major-point update.

Hackers with their own podcasts are also invited to contribute. With a project manager named “LexIcon” a chief engineer who goes by “nikgod,” it should be interesting. I’ll be there, and maybe they’ll even have a few minutes to talk to me.

The seventh Hackers on Planet Earth conference, organized by 2600, starts Friday in New York. If you can’t be at The Last HOPE, you can listen online.

Radio Statler (the hotel hosting the conference used to be called The Statler) will be broadcasting from radio.hope.net. The station will be live from 10 a.m. ET Friday until the close of the conference at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For more, see 2600 HOPE conference bringing hacking to New York City and the Wikipedia entry for the HOPE conferences. Audio is still available from the prior HOPE conference.

(Credit:
2600)

See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.

Update July 18, 2008: There are two radio stations at The Last Hope. W2H (according to Bernie S., those are real, albeit temporary, call letters) is a ham radio station.

There isn’t a published schedule, most likely because there isn’t an unpublished one, either. Plans are to stream the keynote presentations and other popular seminars, interview some of the speakers, carry reports from roving reporters, and talk to some of the attendees.

I should note, though, that I really do enjoy games on the Wii. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a fun game to play and Wii Fit is enjoyable. I really like Mario Kart Wii and even Mario Party 8 had me captivated for a little while.

In contrast, a quick glance at the recent releases for the Wii tell you much of what you need to know about the console. In the past few weeks, titles like SimAnimals, Imagine: Fashion Party, Fishing Master World Tour, and Neopets Puzzle Adventure have been made available on the console. And although more violent games like Tenchu Shadow Assassin and House of the Dead: Overkill will be hitting store shelves in the next few weeks and Red Faction and Call of Duty are already available for the system, the Wii is currently overrun with titles that are either too casual for my liking or provide the most value when in the company of friends. And as a married man, having that 30-minute respite with a solid Action/Adventure title is ideal for me.

I realize that gaming is an individual choice. After all, why else would we have fanboys who support one console or another? Some prefer the Wii because they’ve always loved their Nintendo consoles and enjoy the Wii’s style of gamplay. Others dislike the Wii, casting it aside as if it’s not a worthy competitor to their favorite consoles, the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360. Either way, everyone has their preference.

Do you see a trend here? All of the games that I enjoy most are multiplayer titles that are best-suited for more than one person. Sure, you can play those games alone, but to be quite honest, they’re not that fun without someone else to play with. And although online gaming can be fun at times, I really have no desire to engage in that on the Wii either.

I love the Wii. I really do.

According to NPD, Nintendo sold 2.15 million Wii consoles in December 2008, which pushes the company’s total unit sales to more than 46 million. Compare that with the
Xbox 360’s 27.8 million unit sales and the PlayStation 3’s 19.8 million units, and it becomes reasonably apparent that many people are having fun with the Wii, at least for a while.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m alone.

Obviously someone is playing the Wii. Just not me.

It’s not that I dislike the Wii. I think it’s one of the greatest consoles I’ve ever owned and I enjoy the style of gameplay. And when I do play games on the system, they’re usually fun. But I haven’t done that in months.

(Credit: Nintendo of America)

Since early November 2008, I haven’t played my Wii at all, unless I’m reviewing a game for my Digital Home Video Show. During that time, I’ve spent most of my game time on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. I’ve even played a few games on my SNES (I’m a sucker for old school gaming).

Though I’m sure some who will look at this column will say that I reside in the second grouping and I’m a Nintendo hater, that’s actually not true at all. I’ve owned every Nintendo console and loved each one. I’ve just lost interest in the Wii lately and I’m desperately trying to find a title that will give me the kind of gameplay experience I’m currently finding in blockbuster titles on other consoles.

That’s further evidenced by a recent study performed by MTV. Using the Wii’s Nintendo Channel, which the company claims tracks the playing habits of more than 1 million U.S. gamers, MTV determined how long people are playing different Wii titles.

I realize nothing is stopping me from popping Super Mario Galaxy or Red Steel into the console. But the sad reality is I never really liked those games enough to play through them again, and much like other titles on the Wii, I find myself only enjoying them if I have a group of friends to play with.

Over the weekend, as I was playing Prince of Persia on the
PlayStation 3, I came to the realization that my
Wii has been dormant for months, except when I needed to fire it up to review a game.

Check out Don’s Digital Home podcast, Twitter feed, and FriendFeed.

But on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, I’ve been playing a slew of titles that are just as fun when playing alone as with friends. Gears of War 2 has topped the list lately and as I mentioned above, I’ve enjoyed my time with Prince of Persia. I can’t get enough of Fable 2 and when I want to play some football, I pop in Madden NFL 09.

MTV found that Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the most played game on the console, and that the average player put in almost 65 hours with the title. Guitar Hero III is second with 58 hours and 41 minutes of average gameplay, followed by Twilight Princess, tallying 46 hours and 29 minutes of average gameplay. The 10th most popular title, Metroid Prime 3, is played for 21 hours by the average player.

“It appears that there may be no statutory basis for this unprecedented action, that Kentucky may lack sufficient jurisdictional grounds and that it also may violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” ICA President Jeremiah Johnston said in a statement.

Lawyers will descend upon a Frankfort courtroom on Friday for the next phase of the Kentucky takeover, which began with a lawsuit from the state’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, seeking to force the gambling sites to block access to Kentucky users, or relinquish control of their domains. A district judge on September 18 ordered (PDF) the domain names be transferred to the state after Friday’s hearing. Representatives for the sites will have an opportunity at the hearing to object to the transfers.

“There’s a recognition among the industry that this is an action that has been occurring illegally,” Brislin said. “Registrars in the United States and foreign countries have been following the court order.”

Gaming industry and Internet commerce groups are balking at the state of Kentucky’s attempts to seize 141 Internet domain names for online gambling sites.

The list of sites affected includes AbsolutePoker.com, Bodoglife.com, and PokerStars.com. A large number of the sites have already been transferred to the state or are now locked from being transferred to anyone else, according to Jennifer Brislin, communications director for the Justice Cabinet. Some sites, such as GoldenCasino.com, have already notified users based in Kentucky they will no longer have access to the site.

Among other things, the state says online gambling drains the state of money by undermining horse racing, a key tourism industry for the state.

The ICA, along with other groups like the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, are actively opposed to the court order.

“Our laws are very specific about what constitutes illegal gaming, and anything that promotes or supports illegal gaming in Kentucky is illegal,” she said.

Groups like the Internet Commerce Association have voiced their concern over the state’s actions and are skeptical the seizure would stand up to legal scrutiny.

However, Brislin said it is clear the state has jurisdiction to act because the sites it is attempting to take over agreed under the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to refrain from using their respective domain names for illegal purposes.

The state initiated the lawsuit in an effort to stop illegal online gaming. Kentucky is the first state to bring an action against Internet gambling operators resulting in the seizure of domain names, according to a press release from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s office.

“The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue,” Beshear said. “It’s an underworld wrought with scams and schemes.”

Markey said his bill would help ensure the long-term competitive health of local radio, since the XM-Sirius merger “underscored the importance of ensuring consumer access to a diversity of sources for digital radio content, in particular content originating in their local communities.”

Markey’s legislation so far appears to be garnering bipartisan support, with co-sponsors like Lee Terry, R-Neb., Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Joe Wilson, R-S.C.

The FCC committed itself to exploring the possibility of requiring satellite radio to include digital audio broadcast when it approved the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio in July. It released a Notice of Inquiry (PDF) on the subject in late August, for which the comment deadline is November 10. The inquiry seeks answers to questions such as how many multifunctional radio receivers may be available in the near future without it being mandatory.

Legislators over the weekend introduced new legislation requiring satellite radio receivers to pick up digital signals, even though federal regulators are still seeking public comment on the issue.

House Representative Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Saturday introduced the Radio All Digital Channel Receiver Act, which requires equipment designed to receive both satellite digital audio radio and terrestrial AM/FM radio to be equipped to receive digital radio signals transmitted by terrestrial AM/FM stations.

The responsibility for overseeing this new regulation would fall to the Federal Communications Commission, which would be required to act on the legislation within 180 days of its passage. The FCC, however, is still receiving public comments on the merits of this issue.

“Millions of Americans today rely on local broadcast radio for news, public safety bulletins, sports, weather, traffic, and other information,” Markey said in a press release. “As the broadcast radio industry migrates to digital broadcasting technology, this legislation will ensure that consumers are able to readily receive free service through consumer electronics systems that are otherwise receiving satellite digital audio radio and traditional AM or FM stations.”

Announced by Bill Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2007, Windows Home Server is designed to act as a central repository and backup point for files and media, such as music, movies, and photos. I’ll have a post up by Tuesday that takes a broader look at the product and how it is doing in the marketplace.

Microsoft said on Monday that it has released the first update to its Windows Home Server product. Power Pack 1, as the release is called, adds some minor new features as well as fixes a months-old bug that can lead to data corruption in some cases.

The software, which is available now from Microsoft’s Web site, also allows the home servers to share data with PCs running the 64-bit version of
Windows Vista. Although most Vista machines use the 32-bit version, the 64-bit is used by the same kinds of hard-core enthusiasts who have been the likeliest to give Windows Home Server a try.

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Related content:
CNET’s quick guide to the DTV transition
Which DTV converter box should I buy?

The future of the DTV transition is still uncertain, and Wednesday the House of Representatives is set to vote on the latest bill to delay the transition from February 17 to June 12.

Yes: We need at least four more months to properly prepare.
No: The original Feb. 17 deadline offered more than enough time; delays will only add to confusion.

Probably the biggest reason for the delay is that the government-subsidized DTV coupon program is essentially out of money, so anyone without a coupon (or with an expired coupon) will have to shell out their own money if they don’t already have a converter box. While the new DTV bill will end the expiration dates on DTV coupons, funding for that bill is dependent on the economic stimulus program passing–another uncertainty. If the DTV delay passes, but the stimulus program doesn’t, it’s unclear if new coupons will issued.

UPDATE (February 4, 2009): Both houses of Congress have now passed identical versions of a revised DTV bill that President Obama is expected to sign into law. However, it appears that the law will still allow analog stations to shut down starting February 17. See CNET News for more information.

With all those issues in mind, we put the question to you: should the DTV transition be delayed?

That sounds simple enough, but the reality is still pretty muddled. For one, the delay is still voluntary, which means it’s possible that TV stations will turn off analog signals anytime between February 17 and June 12. (Some representatives dispute how voluntary the delay actually is.) Early switchovers seem likely if it’s true that just running the analog transmitters will cost stations tens of thousands of dollars.

Be sure to vote in the poll and discuss the details in the comments section below.

News.com Poll DTV decisions
Should the DTV transition be delayed?

“Just as they’ve helped medical researchers find genetic markers pointing to certain types of breast cancer and Huntington’s disease, they might tell grocers what type of fruit to promote to buyers of canned food or what kinds of magazines dog-food buyers tend to read,” he wrote.

In practical application, data processed by numerati from calendars, instant messaging, e-mail, cell phones, social networks, project records, resumes, and other sources could render a digital portrait of each worker. Machines could handily determine the optimal group for a specific project, taking into account budgetary, geographical, and other constraints.

The pile of digital data is growing, doubling every 18 months or less. That pile is the new gold, drawing data miners hoping to strike it rich by finding patterns and uncovering insights that can lead to more efficient markets, higher productivity, safer streets, and the much loved increased profits.

“Part of what needs to be calculated is how much this freaks out workers. It impacts productivity and the morale of employees. If a big technology company gets a reputation for monitoring every keystroke, the smart people will choose to work elsewhere. Companies have to figure out what works and what is overkill or freaks people out,” Baker told me.

“At work, perhaps more than anywhere else, we are in danger of becoming data serfs–slaves to the information we produce,” he wrote.

He states in his book that the “mathematical modeling of humanity….promises to be one of the great undertakings of the twenty-first century.” This concept could be applied to Google and other companies who are extracting and analyzing billions of digital signals generated by individuals and groups.

Baker told me in our conversation that we need tools to decide what information to share and with whom. Some of the social networks and major Web sites are working on that problem, but the solutions so far are inadequate. We’ll need a generally accepted Bill of Rights for personal data to give the numerati and their overseers guidance on how to avoid “evil” in the evolving digital world. Of course, that is wishful, optimistic, and, perhaps, naive thinking.

Stephen Baker’s new book, The Numerati (Houghton Mifflin), introduces some of the data miners, or numerati, who are leading efforts to probe the depths of the global data dump.

IBM researcher and featured numerati Samer Takriti is building detailed mathematical models of 50,000 of his colleagues. Baker describes Takriti’s ultimate goal as follows:

He profiles several numerati, focusing more on the personalities and potential use cases than the arcane details of the computer science and mathematics. Baker, who has written for BusinessWeek for more than 20 years, paints a rich portrait of how the flood of data and the efforts of the numerati will transform shopping, marketing, politics, health care, matchmaking, work, medicine, and other disciplines.

The data could also be used to ferret out employees who aren’t fulfilling their productivity quotient or are bypassing the chain of command. Companies have technology installed to monitor e-mail for spam, porn, and other abuses, they might as well use it to see what people in the company are thinking, Baker told me in a conversation last week. He acknowledged the significant privacy issues that go along with unleashing numerati on the world of data and addresses the issue in his book:

“The goal here is to build entire models, complete with each person’s quirks, daily commute, and allies and enemies. These models might one day include whether they eat beef or pork, how seriously they take the Sabbath, whether a bee sting or a peanut sauce could lay them low. No doubt, some of them thrive even in the filthy air in Beijing or Mexico City, while others wheeze. If so, the models would eventually include this detail, among countless others. Takriti’s job is to depict flesh-and-blood humans as math.”

Just because computer science and applied math makes data divination possible, the means don’t necessarily justify the ends. The same technology used to determine the mathematical model of a terrorist or poor performer in the workplace can be used to violate the privacy and rights of unsuspecting, innocent people.

Could it be that the world is resetting to life after Microsoft?

Google? Maybe. Its increasing power and sometimes slippery hold on its “don’t be evil” mantra could make it the big player everyone bands against. Cisco? Powerful but still a bit bland. IBM? Nah. It had its chance decades ago and is content to mint billions of dollars without dominating the industry.

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Unlike Windows, one of the most compelling aspects of Linux is the fungibility of Linux skills across employers. Linux is Linux is Linux, which means that my embedded Linux skills put to use for Sony, for example, could tomorrow be made effective for Cisco Systems’ new Linux-based router, or for corporate IT’s newest Red Hat or Suse Linux server.

Who will be the software industry’s new monopolist that we love to hate? Who will the open-source community revile? Who will become the new shorthand for all that is wrong (and much that is right) in software?

Microsoft has helped reset customer expectations about quality and cost of software. Now Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer suggests that the economy is foiling its profitability as “the economy (resets) to a lower level of business and consumer spending.”

Just a momentary blip that Microsoft will soon right? Possibly, but have you checked the job boards recently? A quick Monster.com search reveals that more than 115 new Linux-related jobs have been posted since January 1. (Not that Windows jobs are in short supply.) Companies like Qualcomm have posted more than 100 Linux jobs in January alone, and I’m hearing similar numbers from other employers.

The Web is abuzz the past few days with Microsoft layoffs, with a whiff of severe Microsoft vulnerability in the air. Microsoft’s problems may well result from its dogmatic insistence that Vista isn’t rubbish, as Gartner suggests, but that will provide small consolation to the 5,000 employees set to be laid off.

I like to compete against Microsoft. It’s a tough competitor. I would miss it. I don’t want Microsoft to “go softly into that good night, but rather to rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

That’s power, and it’s sapping Microsoft’s strength. Still, I can’t help but worry about life after Microsoft.

The report first appeared in the Burlington Free Press.

IBM competes worldwide with companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Chartered Semiconductor.

In effect, a 20 percent premium for shift workers is being eliminated, according to Couture. To mitigate employee earnings losses, IBM is making a one-time base pay increase, he added. However, even with this increase, the “net for employees will range from no impact to a maximum of 10 percent (pay cut),” he said.

(Credit:
IBM)

Though revenue from IBM’s Systems and Technology segment totaled $5.2 billion in the second quarter, up 2 percent year over year, revenue from “microelectronics OEM” (which is within the Systems and Technology group and includes chipmaking-related operations)–decreased 19 percent, according to the IBM 2008 second-quarter earnings report.

Some shift workers at IBM’s semiconductor plant in Essex Junction, Vt., will see net pay reductions of up to 10 percent in early 2009, said Jeff Couture, an IBM spokesperson.

The Essex Junction facility is a contract manufacturing operation that builds chips that go into cell phones, DVD players, TVs, and other consumer electronics devices, Couture said. East Fishkill, on the other hand, builds the specialized processors that go into Sony’s
PlayStation, Microsoft’s
Xbox, and the
Nintendo Wii, among other products.

One aspect–not surprisingly–of the pay-cut move “is to reduce costs,” Couture said. The other imperative is to remain competitive with rivals that don’t pay the kind of premiums that IBM is paying.

IBM is cutting pay for workers at chip manufacturing plants in New York and Vermont. This comes on the heels of job cuts at the Vermont facility.

IBM chip manufacturing facility

Earlier this year, IBM announced 180 job cuts at the Essex Junction plant, reducing the employee count to about 5,400.

Overall, pay cuts would affect about 3,500 workers at plants in Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill, N.Y., as well as Essex Junction, Couture said.