Government & Regulation

Some people think that security awareness is an exercise in futility. I think it is an important layer in security-in-depth, especially when dealing with the spear phishing that is going on these days.

It's IT Blogwatch: in which Seagate protects its intellectual property portfolio against a flash drive maker. Not to mention how not to fix a leak of personal information...

It's the real deal: Tonight on PBS, National Geographic has a special documentary on counterfeit goods that you don't want to miss. Illicit: The Dark Trade is a chilling piece of work...

With apologies to Marc Wilmore, it's IT Blogwatch: in which a Mac clone gets people chattering and puts Apple's lawyers on DEFCON 1. Not to mention a home-built iMac clone...

Arnold Kim broke the story early this morning:

A company called Psystar has started advertising a $399 computer called "OpenMac" which claims to be a Leopard compatible Mac built from standard PC-parts ... marketing this as a cheaper and more expandable alternative to a true Apple Mac ... Leopard compatible with some "minimal patching" but does offer Leopard pre-installed ... accomplished by using parts that are known to be compatible with Mac OS X Leopard, as well as the use of an EFI emulator ...

Just a minute, Michael Chertoff. I'm not disagreeing with your contention that America needs its best and brightest to contribute to the cybersecurity effort. And no one sane would claim that the threat from Those Who Would Harm Us is not great and will not grow. But I'm not moved in quite the way you might have hoped by your talk at RSA...

You will never go wrong if you take official forecasts and plan and prepare as if the event is at least one category higher than predicted.

OECD reports notwithstanding, the state of broadband in Germany isn't as good as one might think, says this former resident.

The Feds have no objection to rural banks moving from T1 landlines to this secure wireless network.

Am not. Are too. Is IT Blogwatch: in which Yahoo and Microsoft bicker like spoiled children. Not to mention alternative opening titles for Lost...

Linda Rosencrance is in rude health:

Yahoo Inc.'s board of directors told Microsoft Corp. that it would consider the software company's unsolicited takeover bid, but only if it makes a big higher than the initial $44.6 billion offer. In a letter today, Yahoo also told Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that it didn't take kindly to ultimatums or threats of a hostile takeover. Microsoft declined to comment on Yahoo's letter ...

Finding original sin the Census Bureau's IT failure

If Apple's iPhone application development strategy succeeds, the company may find itself in hot water with the government in the not-too-distant future

You'd think that sooner or later even Microsoft would learn there's a right way and a wrong way to do things. But whenever it has a choice it persists in choosing the wrong way. There are lots of smart people who work there. Didn't even one of them think bribery and corruption maybe weren't the best way to get the company's OOXML document format declared an international standard?

Census Bureau, Harris Corp. fail to resolve requirements dilemma

Cupertino Apple sues Big Apple; NYC responds, calling Steve Jobs "ice-cold tranny mess." And it's not even April Fools anymore...

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The U.S. Justice Department seems to believe that if you tell a big enough lie, people will listen. Here's the latest: Attorney General Michael Mukasey claims that terrorists sell pirated software as a way to finance their operations, without presenting a shred of evidence for his case. He's doing it to push through a controversial piece of legislation that's bad for you.