MaSSSoftech

People often ascribe failures in technology projects in government (and private sector) to technology-specific issues such as hardware or software glitches. However when you look closer, underneath the so-called technology failure is often more of a human issue. The issue in Virginia over Governor's Kaine's complaint that in effect, he is accountable for VITA's results but not responsible for it, is an organizational issue, not a technical one. However it is still leading to technology failures in the Virginia Government.

Let's step back a little bit - taking the example pf a point I made in an old paper published way back in 1999 on the critical importance of coordination in getting technology implementation right. The paper is obviously outdated in a lot of ways, but the fact that it is still current in one aspect - the importance of coordination - shows how little progress we have made in this area.

At the time I had observed that

"Most of the literature surveyed recommended that governments take strong measures towards promoting coordination and interaction of IT elements. Particular emphasis has been given on handling interministerial and interdepartmental conflict as well as promoting partnerships between business/government/ academia .....However in reality most of the governments failed to implement this".

This is something that remains as much of an issue in 2009 as it was in 1999, and as Candi Harrison, who has been in the web management trenches for 10 years (and co-chaired the U.S. Government Web Managers Council), notes in her blog, proper communication between all involved, whether they are agency heads, or agency employees, remains a big part of it.

A good example of this is right here in Virginia. Governor Timothy M. Kaine has just taken the unusual step of saying, quite publicly, that the Virginia agency that provides computer and information technology service to every other state agency should have to answer to the governor. Kaine said he feels most of the failures that have resulted in two legislative panels just to probe the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) are a result of its less than sane oversight structure and management. "I hope what the Legislature will do ... is come to the conclusion that this agency should report to the governor like every other agency does," Kaine said on his monthly radio program in Richmond. VITA, established six years ago, and Northrop Grumman Corp., its partner, have missed major deadlines in building a single integrated statewide network. These delays in providing service have caused problems (and complaints) from state agencies for some years now. Two committees: the House Science and Technology Committee and a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee have held hearings on the troubling topic. In addition, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council ruled last month that the board that oversees VITA improperly met in private to discuss the Northrop Grumman contract, the largest state contract with a single vendor ever in Virginia. If Governor Kaine is right, then it is almost a textbook case of how lack of coordination between agencies has led to failures in technology implementation. Also worth noting, that so far the failures have been ascribed primarily to Northrop's performance but not lack of coordination between agencies or the absence of coherent reporting relationships. This is because things like over-billing, delays in paying subcontractors, and a lack of security at a warehouse that was holding state computers - all uncovered by audits - were much more obvious. Also obvious was the fact that the state e-mail addresses were not switched to a new statewide system on time. However factors like coordination or reporting relationship coherence are harder to pinpoint and recognize. While it is possible that technology failures can lead to unsuccessful e-government implementation, and in this case it is possible that all of these apparent failures can be laid at Northrop's door, it is also apparent that without proper coordination of IT elements - in this case - adequate coordination and authority over VITA, government managers will have a very difficult time implementing IT initiatives successfully. In this case, it seems to me, without the authority he needs, Governor Kaine cannot be expected to be held accountable for IT implementation in the state of Virginia.

Sources Used:

Northrop Grumman missed deadlines for a new billing system and an inventory of the state’s IT infrastructure: http://www.fcw.com/Articles/2009/06/19/Virginia-questions-northrop-contract.aspx

Fred Duball, a director of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, wrote that “Northrop Grumman’s failure to complete transformation in a timely manner means . . . the commonwealth is deprived of the benefit of those services and may incur other damages to compensate for Northrop Grumman’s deficiencies.“ Duball left open the possibility of legal action, saying, “By notifying Northrop Grumman of its failure to fulfill its contractual obligations and requesting a corrective plan, the commonwealth is not waiving any contractual rights or remedies available to it, nor is it excusing Northrop Grumman’s breach.“ Northrop Grumman spokeswoman Christy Whitman, told of the Duball memo, replied in an e-mail, “We are working to address the issues of critical importance to the program’s success.“.....Kaine defended Northrop Grumman, which has donated more than has $808,000 to Virginia political candidates of both parties since 2001, including $76,000 to his campaign and inauguration. "Generally, the issue has been VITA management of the contractor rather than the contractor itself," Kaine said.
Tricities.com

Results of audit findings: Select Sector SPDR

Not a single state agency's computer system was transformed by the deadline Virginia and its politically connected contractor have worked toward for the past three years, under a $2.3 billion contract. Business Week

By SONYA MISQUITTA

MUMBAI -- A striking 71% of students in Indian metropolitan areas say they use personal computers, according to a new survey by information technology giant Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

And 66 % of students in the southern city of Bangalore said they were active on blogging and social networking sites, compared with 39% nationally, the same survey found.

The survey of nearly 14,000 kids studying in English-language schools in 12 major cities in India shows schoolchildren here have embraced technology and the Internet, with Google and Wikipedia overtaking the library as the most trusted source of information.

The survey "confirms that today's students are shifting their academic and social life online and embracing the digital world as true digital natives," said S. Ramadorai, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Consultancy.

Conducted in 2008 and 2009, the survey is the outgrowth of a quiz show that Tata Consultancy launched a decade ago in English schools across India to create an interest in technology. Through the survey, Tata Consultancy hopes to connect with potential employees by gaining a better understanding of how young people use technology to work, play and think, company officials said.

Rising incomes among India's middle class have meant that more families are likely to own a personal computer.

Among the many significant findings of the survey was the fact that the highest percentage of users of personal computers were in Bangalore and Delhi -- at 77%.

Some 63% of children surveyed said they spent more than an hour each day on the Internet; 41% of school children surveyed chose Google as a source of information, while 46% said they use online sources to access news.

Far fewer children reported using the library. Cochin in Kerala ranked the highest in library usage, at 14%.

Blogging and social networking also appear to be gaining ground. Higher education abroad remains a common goal among students. The U.S. remains the most popular study destination with nearly 40% preferring to study there, the survey found. However, when it comes to their careers, 49% said they would like to stay in India.

Laptops and Ipod players do not appear to have reached many homes, according the survey. Mumbai had the highest laptop penetration, at 38%, compared to the national average of 19%. Tata Consultancy is one of India's largest information technology players, with 48,000 employees in India, 95% of whom are 25 years old or younger.

"In Vino Veritas," the Latin phrase meaning "In wine there is truth," was a tactic employed at the White House this week, it seems.

It was a surprising (and refreshing) next chapter to the Gates-Crowley story that many people wish would escape the front pages.

Prominent Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, who is black and in his fifties, is a well-known documentary filmmaker. Police Sergeant James Crowley, who is white, arrested Gates for "disorderly conduct" July 16th. Gates was returning from a trip to China and found his door jammed. After forcing it open, he was confronted by Crowley, who reportedly began the interaction with the sort of language African Americans know mean trouble: "Sir, please step off of the porch"--one important aspect of the escalating event that has not gotten much attention.

Information technology has advanced calendar and address book management, but still falls short for conveying the social realities at the heart of many such conflicts. Obama left his famed Blackberry out of sight.

Crowley has not appologized. Obama, with his "beer summit" as a "teachable moment" was trying to share information -- to communicate the experiences of the African-American community to law enforcement and vis-a-vis. Lack of communication is after all, the most prevalent and impactful type of lack of access to information.

The Internet, with all it's power, simply brought millions of more people into the Gates-Crowley misunderstanding; it is unclear if it has helped focus us on the fundamental truths to be discovered and shared.

Beer, it seems, may have helped more. But that's no surprise, considering small circles of people, gathered like this to exchange Vino-equivalents and their thoughts, have shaped social agreements dating back farther than recorded history. Now there's a great information technology.

MEDFORD — Because of its commitment to utilizing information technology to inform and serve the public, Jackson County Government has been named one of 2009’s Top Ten Digital Counties in the United States. Jackson County ranks 8th in its category, based on size, in the 2009 Digital Counties Survey, which recognizes the most technologically-advanced, cutting-edge county governments in the U.S.

The 2009 Digital Counties Survey is an annual study by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government (Center) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) which identifies best practices and recognizes those counties with exemplary digital service to their citizens.

“We are honored to be recognized for our leading-edge technology use,” said Mark Decker, Director of Jackson County Information Technology Services. “County government has a duty to taxpayers, especially during these hard economic times, to operate as efficiently as possible. Our investments in technology have helped us deliver services more efficiently, increase convenience for citizens, and communicate with the public. The Jackson County website is one of the most cost-effective communication tools we have. We've put a lot of energy into making information available online. As a result, citizens have instant access to a wealth of public information, and don't have to call or visit county offices to get it. This saves time and money, both for county staff and for the citizen.”

Jackson County Government undertook a major web site renovation last year to provide improved search tools, more information, and easier navigation. The web address is www.jacksoncounty.org.

The new site was designed to encourage more citizen participation and allow better access to government. Some of the new services include: a new search engine optimized to return the best results to the 100 most commonly searched terms; embedded interactive maps to County offices with pan, zoom and driving directions; RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds which allow citizens to subscribe to news and pages such as election results, and be notified as soon as information is added; “Quick Link” navigation with one-click access to the most commonly viewed pages; a live video feature so users can watch live RVTV (Rogue Valley Television) video of weekly Board of Commissioners’ meetings; land survey information; and real-time public water data, including current reservoir levels, from the Watermaster.

“The response to our new web site has been very positive,” said Decker. “The number of people who subscribe to receive county news via email has increased by more than 50 percent since the re-design.”

Jackson County competes in the 150,000 to 249,999 population category; winner in that category was Roanoke County, Virginia. Complete results are available at www.centerdigitalgov.com or direct at www.govtech.com/dc/surveys/counties/90/2009.

“As counties face the budgetary challenges of 2009 and beyond, they are finding Information Technology essential for effective and efficient government,” said NACo Executive Director Larry E. Naake. “Not only are county governments using technology to continue delivering services with fewer resources, they are using innovative technology to communicate more effectively with their citizens and businesses. The Digital Counties Survey illustrates the innovation and tenacity of counties across the country."

The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The Center is a division of eRepublic, Inc., a national publishing, event and research company focused on information technology in the public sector.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is a full-service organization that provides legislative, research, technical, and public affairs assistance to county governments. Created in 1935, NACo continues to ensure that the nation’s 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress.

For more information, please contact: Mark Decker, Director, Jackson County Information Technology Services, at (541) 774-6023.

By BOB LEWIS
AP Political Writer
Published: July 30, 2009

2:00 p.m.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The state superagency that provides computer and information technology service to every other state agency doesn’t answer to the governor, and it should, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday.
Kaine said he feels most of the failures that have spawned two legislative panels to probe the Virginia Information Technologies Agency result from its oversight structure and management.
“I hope what the Legislature will do ... is come to the conclusion that this agency should report to the governor like every other agency does,“ Kaine said on his monthly radio program on WRVA in Richmond and the Virginia News Network.
VITA, established six years ago, and Northrop Grumman, its partner in a $2.4 billion, 10-year contract, have missed major deadlines in their task of transforming a far-flung patchwork of disparate agency computer systems into an integrated statewide network. Delays in providing service have prompted complaints from state agencies for several years.
The House Science and Technology Committee and a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee have both held hearings on the issue. Also, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council ruled last month that the board that oversees VITA improperly met in private to discuss the Northrop Grumman contract, the largest state contract with a single vendor ever in Virginia.
Kaine voiced frustration Thursday that the agency through which all other agencies communicate is outside his authority to manage.
“State agencies have felt they have not been well served by the contractor and by VITA, the agency. This is where the structural problem becomes important,“ Kaine said.
He noted that rather than report to the governor, VITA reports to the Information Technology Investment Board, a majority of whose members are appointed by the General Assembly.
“More of the customer service problems have been because of the VITA structure and management than because of the performance of the contractor,“ Kaine said.
The issue of Northrop Grumman’s performance was at the heart of the dismissal in June of the former state chief information officer Lemuel Stewart. In the CIO’s role as overseer of VITA, Stewart had balked at paying a monthly bill to Northrop Grumman, citing missed deadlines and other complaints.
Stewart’s interim replacement is Leonard Pomata, a former corporate information technology executive whom Kaine had appointed days earlier as his secretary of technology. Legislators criticized Pomata’s holding the dual roles as VITA’s overseer and his seat on the governor’s cabinet.

————

12:40 p.m.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gov. Tim Kaine says the state’s information technology superagency is the only statewide department not under executive control, and it ought to be.
Kaine said Thursday on his monthly radio show on Richmond’s WRVA that he’d like to see the General Assembly transfer oversight of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to the governor.
Two legislative committees are investigating charges that VITA and its corporate partner, Northrop Grumman, have missed key deadlines by months and provided poor service to state agencies.
Kaine voiced frustration that the one agency that doesn’t report to him is the one that provides computer service and online technology support to every other agency, those that answer to him.
He said he feels more service complaints result from the structure and management of VITA than from Northrop Grumman.

By BOB LEWIS , 07.30.09, 02:09 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia superagency that provides computer and information technology service to every other state agency doesn't answer to the governor, and it should, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday.

Kaine said he feels most of the failures that have spawned two legislative panels to probe the Virginia Information Technologies Agency result from its oversight structure and management.

"I hope what the Legislature will do ... is come to the conclusion that this agency should report to the governor like every other agency does," Kaine said on his monthly radio program on WRVA in Richmond and the Virginia News Network.

VITA, established six years ago, and Northrop Grumman Corp. ( NOC - news - people ), its partner in a $2.4 billion, 10-year contract, have missed major deadlines in their task of transforming a far-flung patchwork of disparate agency computer systems into an integrated statewide network. Delays in providing service have prompted complaints from state agencies for several years.

The House Science and Technology Committee and a subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee have both held hearings on the issue. Also, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council ruled last month that the board that oversees VITA improperly met in private to discuss the Northrop Grumman contract, the largest state contract with a single vendor ever in Virginia.

Jackson County is one of the top 10 most technologically advanced counties of its size in the U.S., according to an annual study by e.Republic's Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.

The way this county uses technology, particularly through its Web site and other Web features, has given it a ranking of eighth nationwide in the 2009 Digital Counties Survey.

"We are honored to be recognized for our leading-edge technology use," stated Mark Decker, director of the county Information Technology Services, in a prepared statement.

Last year the county completed a major Web site renovation to provide more information, easier navigation and improved search tools.

Some of the new features on the site include interactive maps to find county offices and instant electronic feeds of county news and election results.

The county has a live video feature through Rogue Valley Community Television so that viewers can see the weekly Board of Commissioners' meetings.

Jackson County competes with other counties that have a population between 150,000 and 249,999. The winner was Roanoke County, Va.

Results of the survey are at www.centerdigitalgov.com or www.govtech.com/dc/surveys/counties/90/2009.

— Damian Mann

Internet services provider Bharti Airtel is all set to launch a price war in the broadband segment, with plans to offer high bandwidth at low prices.

Its main competitors – the government-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) have said that they would offer services at lower than Bharti prices.

“We are bringing down prices of 1 Mbps broadband speed to Rs 1,699 per month from Rs 2,999 per month,” said K Srinivas, joint president, telemedia services, Bharti Airtel. This is a 43 per cent cut.

The company is also reducing charges for 512 kbps connection by 31 per cent from Rs 1,599 to Rs 1,099 a month. Bharti Airtel has about 12.5 lakh broadband subscribers.

“If our private competition reduces tariff, then we will certainly react and have a look at our tariff,” said MTNL director (technical) Kuldeep Singh. “We are always more competitive than our competitors.”

The company is planning to offer speeds up to 8 Mbps for home users. Currently, MTNL offers broadband speed up to 2 Mbps.

BSNL is also set to lower its tariff. “New plans are being finalised and we will soon announce them,” said a BSNL official who did not want to be identified. “Our plans will be much lower than our competitors.”

BSNL has about 40 lakh broadband subscribers. The company plans to add a broadband capacity of another 50 lakh subscribers. Reliance Communications, another broadband service provider did not comment to HT’s queries.

Asus, the company that kickstarted the netbook craze that's taking over the world, today announced the launch of the Eee PC Seashell series. This netbook is all about stylish looks, with Asus stating that they emanate the beauty of nature. The Eee PC Seashell Series comprises of the Eee PC 1008HA, Eee PC 1005HA & Eee PC 1101HA. All three sport the Super Hybrid Engine that intelligently monitors the programs in use and adjusts the power supply with performance to provide an power saving solution.

The Eee PC 1005HA has a claimed battery life of 10.5 hours (real-world usage should see at least 7-8 hours of battery life) while the Eee PC 1101HA has a screen size of 11.6 inches. The Eee PC™ Seashell series have a 2.5-inch SATA II 160GB hard disk drive with a 10GB of online Eee Storage facilities.

With a design inspired by a seashell, the Eee PC Seashell is enveloped in an opalescent glossy exterior—created through In-Mold Roller technology—that looks good and also serves as a protective shell providing scratch resistance for day-to-day durability. The lid has reflective specks which glisten in the light. The ergonomically designed keyboard makes typing on-the-move relatively easy, measuring in at 92% compared to its conventional desktop counterpart.

New models offer HD video recording, advanced features.

Melissa J. Perenson, PC World

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Tue, Jul 28 12:55 PM

Washington, July 28 (ANI): Forming an international team with US experts, an IIT Kharagpur researcher is developing a new in-car yawn-detection system that will keep an eye on a driver while behind the wheel.

Aurobinda Routray and his colleagues - including Indian-origin researchers Aurobinda Mishra of Vanderbilt University and Mihir Mohanty of ITER - say that their system will warn a drive to pull over and take a break when he/she starts to yawn.

Writing about the new computer program in the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics, the researchers have revealed that it is based around an in-car camera hooked up to image-processing software that captures a sequence of images of the driver's face.

The team say that the system analyses changes in the face, and accurately identifies yawning as distinct from other facial movements-such as smiling, talking, and singing.

According to them, the yawn frequency can be correlated with fatigue behaviour, and hooked up to a warning system to alert drivers to the need to take a break.

They believe that the program will be effective at yawn detection regardless of image intensity and contrast, small head movements, viewing angle, spectacle wearing, and skin colour.

The researchers point out that for traffic safety, it is essential to recognize and understand the physical and mental stress leading to fatigue in drivers.

They reckon that a system that watches the driver and analyses their facial expressions would be so much simpler and less invasive. (ANI)

Tue, Jul 28 03:59 PM

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Can hospitals in a big metropolis such as Delhi cope with the outcome of a covert anthrax attack, in spite of an effective public health response which could be tripped by delays in detecting the attack and initiating a response?

Scientists in the US have recommended counter-measures to minimize a hospital surge resulting from anthrax-related illness and a response in the first two days after a major bio-terrorism attack.

In a study they have examined one of the major bio-terrorism response programmes of the Centres of Disease Control (CDC), called the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI).

The researchers found that a CRI-compliant prevention of disease campaign starting two days after exposure would protect as many as 86 percent of exposed victims from illness.

However, each additional day needed to complete the campaign would result in as much as three percent more hospitalizations in the exposed population.

Unsustainable levels of hospitalizations would result from delays in detecting and initiating a response to large-scale, covert aerosol anthrax releases in a major city, even with highly effective mass prophylaxis campaigns.

The report, authored by Nathaniel Hupert, incorporates some of the latest types of modelling techniques scientists use in disaster preparedness. Such models have become increasingly important to public health officials and hospital administrators.

This research set out to determine the best way a clinic could vaccinate as many as 15,000 clients in 17 hours, including such factors as how to best configure the personnel to maximize the number of clients vaccinated; and to estimate the costs and revenue of such an undertaking.

The researchers found that it was possible for the clinic to reach its target and that using a computer simulation could help them determine the most efficient use of staff, machinery, supplies, and time.

'How hospitals and public health agencies are prepared for an attack--and how they respond to the surge in patients seeking care-will determine our success in containing an attack if one happens.'' said Mark Helfand, editor of Medical Decision Making, which published the report.

Tue, Jul 28 04:07 PM

London, July 28 (IANS) Engineers are developing a way to capture the energy released by the marching boots of soldiers and are trying to use it to power their equipment, according to the latest research.

The new system designed to convert foot-power into battery power could help troops reduce the weight of their packs by up to 10 kg.

The project has been designed to address the needs of infantrymen. Heavy packs can severely limit a soldier's mobility and also lead to long-term health problems.

The typical pack weight that an infantryman carries on a six-hour patrol is around 75 kg, with batteries making up 10 kg of the load. Essential kit such as ammunition and water make up much of the rest.

A similar energy harvesting idea has been used in cars for some time where braking force is stored and later used to drive the vehicle forward.

However, harvesting energy from people walking has always proved difficult due to the flexibility and strength of the materials required and the fact that everyone's walking patterns are different.

The devices will use high tech ceramics and crystals as piezoelectric transducers in order to convert mechanical stress into an electric charge.

Andrew Bell, professor at the University of Leeds, who is leading the project says: 'It could also reduce a soldier's pack weight by around 15 percent.'

'And this technology could potentially have lots of applications in civvy street too.' Bell says his team will succeed where others have failed because they are taking a holistic approach.

Wed, Jul 29 01:30 PM

Enlarge Photo How To Tackle A Virtual Trade Show

Melanie Lindner, Forbes.com

Trade shows are an expensive but necessary part of doing business for David Appelbaum, senior vice president of marketing for BigFix, an Emeryville, Calif.-based information-technology security software maker.

"In the tech industry, you have to participate in trade shows to generate new leads," says Appelbaum. "The problem is the uneven playing field for small and medium businesses. Bigger firms with a lot of money can get premium booth space, podium presentation time and top advertising on event programs and lanyard name tags. With the cost of your booth rental and all of that extra promotion you could easily spend up to $100,000 per show."

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Traditional trade shows have long been a convention-center-sized hassle. "At a physical show, you have hundreds of vendors in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall with competing messages," says Appelbaum. "It's really hard to know who's worth talking to." Throw in a recession and it's little wonder that overall trade show revenue ($12 billion at last count in the U.S.) is expected to contract nearly 7% this year.

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Hence the rise of virtual trade shows, designed to look and function like the real thing but that play out in real time in cyberspace. Entry fee: just $3,000 to $8,000. Better yet, you don't need to be a computer wizard to participate. Revenue generated by North American Web events hit $156 million last year, according to Frost & Sullivan's 2009 World Web Events Services Market Report.

These virtual events can be designed to look like a convention center (complete with lobby, exhibit hall and networking lounge), a college campus, the top of a skyscraper in Paris, or anywhere else in the world. The savvier the crowd, the more realistic and compelling the show. "I've been doing this for seven years, and one of the biggest changes I've seen is the improvement in computer skills of the sponsors and attendees," says Paul Scroggs, founder of Huntley, Ill.-based virtual trade show designer GoExhibit. "More businesspeople are comfortable navigating through virtual space."

Show hosts pay an event designer--such as GoToMeeting, GoExhibit, ON24 and SecondLife--$20,000 to $50,000 to create the custom virtual environment; they make the money back (and then some) by charging exhibitors fees to set up their booths, make presentations and even buy additional, premium advertising.

Getting Started

Before you invest a dime in showcasing at a virtual trade show, get a feel for the environment. (Most shows are free for attendees.) You can also contact the show designer and for a demo walk-through. "Browse" the booths and listen to a few seminars to get a feel for the style and length of presentations.

Unlike in the physical world, setting up a booth eats all of 30 minutes and takes no sweat. Designers like ON24 will construct a booth free of charge; all you have to do is set up a brief phone call to lay out the general design, and send them your materials (white papers, logos and audio and video clips) for formatting. If you'd rather do it yourself, you can log onto the designer's Web site and work within a template wizard that walks you through the process.

Generating Leads

As for placement, "It absolutely helps drive attendees if you pay for prime real estate in the virtual exhibit hall," says Paul Scroggs, founder of Huntley, Ill.-based GoExhibit. Generally, attendees "enter" the exhibit hall from one main doorway, so getting near that portal is important. Prime placement could run a few thousand dollars more, but it's still significantly cheaper than a bad spot at a physical show for $25,000.

During designated show days (some events run for three days, others go on for months), have a representative from your company logged in and prepared to engage booth visitors. When an attendee visits your booth, her name appears in a sidebar list of all the people present, and you can greet her in the form of an instant message. When you IM visitors, they immediately see your name, business affiliation and title; for more information, they can click on your name to view your profile.

"Last month I worked my booth while on a flight from Atlanta to Portland," says Jeff Pedowitz, chief executive of Alpharetta, Ga.-based marketing firm the Pedowitz Group. Pedowitz recently set up a virtual booth at the B-to-B Magazine show, where he says he ginned up some 50 leads for his marketing services. Not a bad return for a $5,000 investment.

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Wed, Jul 29 01:30 PM

Andy Greenberg, Forbes.com

If you receive a text message on your iPhone any time after Thursday afternoon containing only a single square character, Charlie Miller would suggest you turn the device off. Quickly.

That small cipher will likely be your only warning that someone has taken advantage of a bug that Miller and his fellow cybersecurity researcher Collin Mulliner plan to publicize Thursday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking.

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"This is serious. The only thing you can do to prevent it is turn off your phone," Miller told Forbes. "Someone could pretty quickly take over every iPhone in the world with this."

Though Miller and Mulliner say they notified Apple about the vulnerability more than a month ago, the company hasn't released a patch, and it didn't respond to Forbes' repeated calls seeking comment.

The iPhone SMS bug is just one of a series that the researchers plan to reveal in their talk. They say they've also found a similar texting bug in Windows Mobile that allows complete remote control of Microsoft-based devices. Another pair of SMS bugs in the iPhone and Google's Android phones would purportedly allow a hacker to knock a phone off its wireless network for about 10 seconds with a series of text messages. The trick could be repeated again and again to keep the user offline, Miller says. Though Google has patched the Android flaw, this second iPhone bug also remains unpatched, he adds.

The new round of bugs aren't the first that Miller has dug up in the iPhone's code. In 2007, he became the first to remotely hijack the iPhone using a flaw in its browser. But while that vulnerability gave the attacker a similar power over the phone's functions, it required tricking the user into visiting an infected Web site to invisibly download a piece of malicious software. When Miller alerted Apple in July of that year, the company patched the vulnerability before Miller publicized the bug at the Black Hat conference the following month. ("See: Hacking the iPhone.")

The new attacks, by contrast, can strike a phone without any action on the part of the user and are virtually unpreventable while the phone is powered on, according to Miller and Mulliner's research. And unlike the earlier exploits, Apple has inexplicably left them unpatched, Miller says. "I've given them more time to patch this than I've ever given a company to patch a bug," he says.

The Windows bug he and Mulliner plan to reveal hasn't been patched either, says Miller, though he admits that he and Mulliner discovered the Windows flaw on Monday and hadn't yet alerted Microsoft to its existence.

The attack developed by Miller and Mulliner works by exploiting a missing safeguard in the phones' text messaging software that prevents code in the messages' text from overflowing into other parts of the device's memory where it can run as an executable program. The two researchers plan to demonstrate how a series of 512 SMS messages can exploit the bug, with only one of those messages actually appearing on the phone, showing a small square. (Someone could easily design the attack to show a different message or without any visible messages, Miller cautions.) The entire process of infecting an iPhone and then using the device to infect another phone on the user's contact list would take only a few minutes, Miller says.

The vulnerability of SMS to that sort of attack will likely be a hot topic at this year's Black Hat and Defcon cybersecurity confabs. Two other researchers, Zane Lackey and Luis Miras, say they plan to present other vulnerabilities in major vendors' SMS applications, though they declined to discuss which vendors or the specifics of the vulnerabilities before the companies had issued patches.

Lackey and Miras argue that SMS demands far more attention from the cybersecurity community and device vendors. "Like a lot of mobile phone software, it's been relatively unexplored in the past," Lackey told Forbes. "Only recently has there been proper debugging and development tools available. SMS exemplifies a common trend: once it was a simple technology. Now it's being used in devices far beyond its original purposes, and security is still playing catch up."

The researchers' concerns aren't merely theoretical. Finnish security firm F-Secure says it's found nearly 500 different variants of mobile phone malicious software since 2004, mostly using Bluetooth to hop between phones in close proximity. But in the last 18 months, cybercriminals have begun using text messages to send links to malicious Web sites that infect the phone with malware, says Mikko Hyppönen, an F-Secure researcher.

One seemingly-Chinese variant, known as "Sexy View" and currently targeting the Symbian operating system, is far more threatening than an iPhone attack, given that around 50% of cellphones use Symbian, Hyppönen says. "After years of the security industry wondering why we aren't seeing text message worms, it's starting to happen now," he says.

While many of those ongoing attacks are merely hacker experiments, some have used phones to text premium numbers that generate revenue for cybercriminals. "Mostly it's still about curiosity and fun, but eventually the criminal guys move in," says Hyppönen. "We're probably on the verge of that right now."

As dangerous as his iPhone attack sounds, Miller argues that it's important to expose flaws in SMS software before they can be exploited by more malicious actors. Texting applications' insecurity isn't due to the software's complexity so much as the security community's inattention and the expense of sending thousands of text messages to test a phone's security, Miller says.

"The bad news is that SMS is the perfect attack vector, but the good news is that it's probably possible to build it securely," he says. "As a researcher, I can only show [Apple] the bugs. It's up to them to fix them."

See Also:

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Hacking The iPhone

Wed, Jul 29 02:05 PM

Sydney, July 29 (ANI): Want to measure your performance in the sack? Well, all you need to do is to download a new iPhone application and see how competent you are when it comes to action between the sheets.

The "Passion" application uses the phone's built-in accelerometer, used to sense motion, as well as the device's microphone and timer.

Users will just have to place the phone on the bed or in a pocket before intercourse and, at the end of the horizontal dance, the phone will give a rating out of 10 based on three criteria-duration, orgasm and activity.

The timer measures duration, while the accelerometer measures activity and the microphone measures the orgasm.

And then one can uploaded the scores and compare to those of other people around the world.

In fact, "high scores" leaderboard also gives you a chance to go on a bragging drive.

Priced at 4.99 dollars, the application is the brainchild of Chris Alvares, a US computer science student who has previously developed a number of iPhone quiz apps including WikiQuiz, Four Squared and MusicApp.

"All you have to do is start the application, put your iPhone on the bed, in an arm band, or even in your pocket and have intercourse, it is as easy as that," the Sydney Morning Herlad quoted Alvares as saying in a blog post announcing the new app.

He added: "Once you are finished, press the stop button and view your results."

In case a person is not happy with the score, there is an option of "try again", providing a chance for another stint in the bed.

In an email interview, Alvares said that he was not sure how many copies of the app he had sold yet, as it had recently been added to the iTunes App Store.

"No, it is not a hoax, and it actually works! The idea came up as a joke between some of my co-works [sic] and I, and later I figured out an algorithm that I could use with the iPhone's available features," he wrote. (ANI)

Wed, Jul 29 04:30 PM

London, July 29 (ANI): Popular microblogging website Twitter has launched a new home page.

The Internet phenomenon, which boasts of an estimated 55 million visitors each month, made changes to the page, that now includes a search facility and lists the 23 most popular "trending topics" "by the minute, day, and week".

"Today we're trying a redesigned front page for folks who are new to Twitter.com. If you're a regular around these parts, then you won't notice the new look unless you sign out of your account," The Telegraph quoted a statement on the Twitter blog as saying.

"Helping people access Twitter in more relevant and useful ways upon first introduction lowers the barrier to accessing the value Twitter has to offer and presents the service more consistently with how it has evolved.

"Twitter began as a rudimentary social tool based on the concept of status messages but together with those who use it every day, the service has taught us what it wants to be.

"From features invented by users to applications built on the platform, we're still discovering potential," it was added. (ANI)

By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO and NICK WINGFIELD

Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are close to sealing an Internet-search partnership, said people familiar with the matter, ending a protracted dance and uniting the rivals against Google Inc.

Microsoft, which last year made a failed $47.5 billion takeover bid for Yahoo, would finally win what it wanted most from the Internet pioneer -- huge volumes of queries that run through Yahoo's search engine.

At the same time, Yahoo is expected to reap additional search-advertising business to expand its share of the market.

Asa Mathat /All Things Digital

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz

The agreement, which could be disclosed as soon as Wednesday, includes Yahoo agreeing to use Microsoft's Bing search-engine technology on its own sites, these people say.

One person familiar with the matter said the Bing brand is expected to be used by Yahoo.

A deal between the two companies would immediately narrow the gap with Google.

According to Comscore, Microsoft and Yahoo combined accounted for less than half of Google's 65% share of searches in the U.S. market in June.

Microsoft handled 8.4% of searches that month and Yahoo accounted for just under 20%.

Internet users won't notice a dramatic difference on either Yahoo or Microsoft's sites, since the technology involved in the exchange operates behind the scenes.

Yahoo would continue to handle sales of the text ads that appear next to the search results for its own sites, as well as some Microsoft sites, said the people familiar with the matter.

These people said the deal would involve revenue-sharing from advertising sales. The two aren't expected to exchange hefty up-front payments.

The companies would argue any deal will eventually lead to better search results, in part by giving Microsoft more data to refine its search technology.

Yahoo may also argue that the pact will be a boon to Internet advertisers, helping them more easily reach people conducting searches via Yahoo and Microsoft.

The deal could make it simpler for advertisers to choose an alternative to Google as a vehicle for online-search advertising, said industry observers.

"They should be worried," Danny Sullivan, editor of SearchEngineLand.com, said of Google. "It's going to give Microsoft in one fell swoop a much bigger share of the search market."

Bryan Wiener, chief executive of digital advertising agency 360i, said the proposed deal would make Bing more attractive to advertisers who have been excluding it from their campaigns because its search traffic is relatively low.

Any deal would free up Yahoo to invest in new search ad-sales staff and technology, areas where, he said, it has trailed Google.

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Getty Images

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

Still, Mr. Wiener said it remains unclear whether Yahoo and Microsoft will be able to greatly increase their current combined market share.

"The only thing that can increase that is product development and smart marketing and there is nothing in this deal per se that changes that landscape," Mr. Wiener said. With Google's commanding position, "as long as they focus on their customers, they are going to be fine."

A Google spokesman declined to comment.

Both companies have expressed concern that a deal that reduced the number of search competitors might be opposed by antitrust authorities, the people familiar with the talks said.

These people said Microsoft and Yahoo plan to argue that the deal would enhance competition by helping them provide a stronger alternative to Google.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Continuing to sell search ads could reduce the cost savings that Yahoo could generate from selling its search-advertising business outright.

But it would help Yahoo maintain its relationships with advertisers who buy its other online advertising services, such as selling graphical ads on Web sites.

The deal comes as Microsoft has begun garnering positive buzz for its Internet search engine with the launch of Bing in early June.

But even with Bing, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer made it clear in a recent interview that he still favored a deal with Yahoo to help accelerate Microsoft's search business and the creation of a more serious competitor to Google.

Write to Jessica E. Vascellaro at jessica.vascellaro@wsj.com and Nick Wingfield at nick.wingfield@wsj.com

Mon, Jul 20 05:12 PM

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Only three telecom operators can roll out third generation (3G) services in Delhi due to a spectrum crunch, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said Monday.

'Delhi has only 15 Mhz of spectrum available making it possible only for three telecom operators to offer such services,' Raja told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The minister also told parliament that an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) had been constituted to look into matters concerning 3G spectrum auctions, scheduled to happen this year.

Each telecom operator (successful bidder) will be allocated 5 MHz of 3G spectrum once the auctions are over.

In Delhi, only two private players will be able to offer this high-end services as one slot is already reserved for the state-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).

The minister said West Bengal will get only 10 MHz of spectrum, while Gujarat will have 15 MHz.

Such a crunch may lead operators to make crazy bids to acquire spectrum in maximum number of telecom circles, industry officials worry.

The government is expected to earn about Rs.35,000 crore from the 3G auctions.

Wed, Jul 22 01:05 PM

Washington, July 22 (ANI): Apple has introduced a new application in their iPhone and iPod Touch that lets you find medical marijuana.

Priced at 1.99 dollars, the new application called 'Cannabis' can help find the medicinal drug in the 13 states that have such laws, and lawyers in the 37 others that don't.

It has been developed by AJNAG, or Activists Justifying the Natural Agriculture of Ganja, a Los Angeles-based online group created in 2006.

According to the group's website, this application helps "connect, educate and empower individuals on the cultural, economic, and medicinal benefits of legalization, production, regulation, distribution, and taxation of Cannabis sativa."

AJNAG said it will donate 50 cents for every purchase of the "Cannabis" app to an as-yet nonexistent "cannabis non-profit reform fund, which will be set up once the application reaches 1000 subscriptions."

"Our goal is to put the power of cannabis change in your pocket while you enjoy the most sticky and potent iPhone application available!" Fox News quoted the Web-based brochure as saying. (ANI)

Fri, Jul 24 10:55 AM

Washington, July 24 (ANI): What is being expected to prove the most powerful computer of its kind in the world became operational at the University of Florida this week.

The supercomputer has been named by its designers 'Novo-G'. The first part of its name came from the Latin term for "make anew, change, alter", and the second from "G" for "genesis".

It is a "reconfigurable" computer that can rearrange its internal circuitry to suit the task at hand.

Alan George, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of UF's National Science Foundation Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing, says that applications may range from space satellites to research supercomputers - anywhere size, energy and high speed are important.

Traditional computers use so-called "fixed logic devices" to perform a large variety of tasks, but this approach requires a substantial amount of overhead in space and energy, no matter what work needs to be done.

While special-purpose computers can be built to perform certain tasks very well, they are not flexible.

According to George, reconfigurable computers make the best of both worlds because they can rearrange their internal circuitry like Lego blocks to create the most appropriate architecture for each assignment, and, thus, can be from 10 to 100 times faster than other computers their size, while using five to 10 times less energy.

Although the concept has been proven, reconfigurable computers remain at the research stage and are not easy to use. One of the main goals of the NSF Center is to pioneer techniques to make reconfigurable computers more accessible.

"It is very powerful technology, but it is also very complicated technology. We don't want this important technology to be accessible only to experts," George said.

The University of Florida has three partner universities in its reconfigurable computing center - Brigham Young University, George Washington University and Virginia Tech.

The university also has about 30 industry and government partners. (ANI)

Fri, Jul 24 05:30 PM

Enlarge Photo Tech For Your Pet

Amanda Tsao, Forbes.com

When billionaire Leona Helmsley passed away in 2007, she shocked many by willing $12 million to her Maltese dog, Trouble.

While it seems none have surpassed Helmsley in the amount bestowed on a pet, the average pet owner in the U.S. is not afraid to splurge on their Mr. Fluffles. According to the American Pet Products Association, total pet spending has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. In 2008, sales topped $43 billion, up from $41 billion in 2007; sales for 2009 are expected to reach $45 billion.

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The association says every pet sales category is growing, including gadgets and other technologies. While sales figures aren't widely available for pet tech products, Amazon.com says this category has become quite popular on its site. "Amazon customers are showing considerable interest in pet-based technology. We are seeing strong sales in 2009," says Chris Nielsen, Amazon's home and garden store vice president. "The most significant year-over-year growth is technology applied to pet training and behavior." Nielsen declined to provide Amazon's pet tech sales.

In Pictures: Tech For Your Pet

Experts say high-tech novelty items tend to be top sellers. One popular product has been the Takara Bowlingual/Meowlingual pet translation device. The company claims that the device can translate a pet's barks and purrs into intelligible sentences, such as, "I can't stand it." Other popular novelties include the Pet's Eye View Camera, a digital camera that attaches to your cat or dog's collar and takes photos at timed intervals. When you come home, you can view photos of what your pet has been up to that day.

But not all novelty items are designed with frivolous, fun intent. At first glance, the Zen Dog, a kit that provides therapy and relaxation for your pooch through calming music and massage, seems like a luxury but experts say it has practical uses. "This is great for dogs who have been through puppy mills, bad foster homes or traumatic experiences," Pets Enthusiast editor Dawn Pieke says. "For some dogs, it's really something to be able to reach the point of being touched again."

After novelty products, Amazon says practical gadgets that help owners care for their pets are the next best sellers. One example is the HydroSurge Rapid Bath Dog Bathing System, an "all-in-one" wet, wash and rinse device that resembles a garden hose with a spray-nozzle comb head. The product's patented InjectAir technology draws shampoo and oxygen into massaging shower jets to simultaneously create a sudsing action and eliminate long, messy baths.

GoDogGo, a fetch machine for dogs that automatically shoots out tennis balls at timed intervals, is another practical product that has been successful. Sales reached $200,000 in 2008. Creator Ron Thompson expects sales to double this year, due to a recent factory and distribution reorganization.

"We've always sold consistently," Thompson says. "We started 10 years ago, and there are some pet gadgets that haven't stood the test of time, but ours is basic. It achieves what it is intended for: to provide exercise for your dog."

Thompson also said he has received testimonies from owners who had been paralyzed or were in need of service dogs, and rely on GoDogGo to help keep their dog healthy.

Animal safety products also rank high with pet owners. Products such as the Komfort Pets climate-controlled pet carrier fit the bill. It's ideal for times you need to leave Chuckles in the car when you're running errands. The carrier automatically keeps pets cool when the temperature is hot and warms them when it's too cold.

If your pet is more exotic than a dog or cat, there are tech gadgets for these creatures too. The Retripro 5000 is a small incubator for reptile and bird eggs that allows you to watch your pets being hatched at home. Retripro's creator, Chris Baker, says egg incubators had existed before, but they were made of unreliable Styrofoam or too large and cost thousands of dollars. "I had used Styrofoam incubators before, but they usually fall apart in about a year or so," Baker says. "When I tested out this thermal incubator, my hatch rates went up 25%. The difference is that this incubator both heats and cools, and it only costs $250."

If you're allergic to animals or can't have one where you live, check out The Haptic Creature, a robot designed to recreate the touch-based communication between pet and owner. The creature resembles a small rabbit with long "ears" and fur. When petted, it responds with breathing, ear movements and purring vibrations. Although the Haptic Creature is not available for purchase, creator Steven Yohanan says he is interested in marketing the product.

Still, there are those in the pet industry who believe the old-fashioned, low-tech way of doing things is always best. Sal Peretz, the owner of Groom-O-Rama, a pet store in New York City, is one such advocate.

"The GoDogGo is a fun toy as long it doesn't replace having daily time spent with your dog," Peretz says. "I've been in this business for 19 years, and the products that sell best have been on the market for a long time. We have to remember that pets don't ask for much."

In Pictures: Tech For Your Pet

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Mon, Jul 27 01:20 PM

London, July 27 (ANI): Osaka University engineers in Japan have turned to an unlikely source of inspiration to improve dexterity among robots-a pizza parlour.

"An Italian chef dextrously manipulates a pizza in an oven using a tool called a pizza peel," New Scientist magazine quoted Makoto Kaneko, the team's leader at the university, as saying.

Impressed by the way a pizza peel gives the chef a surprising degree of control over the pizza, the researchers have designed a robotic hand that allows robots to exert similar control.

Kaneko points out that a pizza chef can only move the peel with two degrees of freedom - back-and-forth and by twisting the pole - but still the two motions in combination can be used to provide an extra degree of freedom and rotate the pizza horizontally.

The researcher says that the novel robot "hand" also has the same capability, which allows it to manipulate an object with great precision.

According to Kaneko, this approach is not only simpler than mechanical fingers, but it also has the advantage that none of the electronics or mechanics need be contained within the manipulator itself.

The researcher feels that this should be useful for robot manipulators that need to be operated in confined spaces or harsh environments.

A research article describing the study will be published in IEEE Transactions in Robotics. (ANI)

Tue, Jul 28 12:55 PM

Washington, July 28 (ANI): Forming an international team with US experts, an IIT Kharagpur researcher is developing a new in-car yawn-detection system that will keep an eye on a driver while behind the wheel.

Aurobinda Routray and his colleagues - including Indian-origin researchers Aurobinda Mishra of Vanderbilt University and Mihir Mohanty of ITER - say that their system will warn a drive to pull over and take a break when he/she starts to yawn.

Writing about the new computer program in the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics, the researchers have revealed that it is based around an in-car camera hooked up to image-processing software that captures a sequence of images of the driver's face.

The team say that the system analyses changes in the face, and accurately identifies yawning as distinct from other facial movements-such as smiling, talking, and singing.

According to them, the yawn frequency can be correlated with fatigue behaviour, and hooked up to a warning system to alert drivers to the need to take a break.

They believe that the program will be effective at yawn detection regardless of image intensity and contrast, small head movements, viewing angle, spectacle wearing, and skin colour.

The researchers point out that for traffic safety, it is essential to recognize and understand the physical and mental stress leading to fatigue in drivers.

They reckon that a system that watches the driver and analyses their facial expressions would be so much simpler and less invasive. (ANI)

People leave Facebook every day so what should we read into the high profile exodus of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and home-making queen Martha Stewart?

Mr Gates said he quit because managing his profile became "way too much trouble". He also said that he had 10,000 people wanting to be his friend and that he really didn't have the time to sift through all those messages. Besides, he really couldn't tell who was the real McCoy when it came to his friends.

During an event in India, Mr Gates revealed that despite the amazing benefits that the digital revolution has wrought, some technology could turn out to be a real time-waster.

I am not sure if he remembered that Microsoft ploughed a considerable amount of investment into the social networking site or not.

While Bill might have removed his Facebook page, this very fun mock-up by PC World is worth a look.

And another well-kent figure has followed in Mr Gates' footsteps.

America's so-called domestic goddess Martha Stewart talked to the Daily Beast and said "I'm not knocking Facebook. We use both Facebook and Twitter (at Martha Stewart Organisation). They're very different tools, and I personally don't use Facebook. I prefer Twitter as a means of mass communication - it's the Wal-Mart of the internet."

She also said that the reason she prefers the micro-blogging service is that "I don't have to 'befriend' and do all that other dippy stuff that they do on Facebook."

On Twitter, Ms Stewart has over 1.1 million followers. But despite feigning social media nous, Ms Stewart must not be aware that Twitter has a rough worldwide band of users numbering 40 million while Facebook boasts over 260 million.

Twitter might be less hassle but if you want to reach the biggest possible audience, surely being on Facebook makes business sense at least? Or why not both, especially when it seems you have "staff" to take care of the task of posting on the site?

Perhaps the decision of Mr Gates and Ms Stewart to give up on Facebook speaks to something that affects the human psyche.

"While many users are very engaged, perhaps for some people it has become a place that is too noisy and cluttered," said internet analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.

On a more philosophical level, Mr Sterling told me:

"This reveals something that is hard to articulate, which is that maybe there are limits that have been reached by these people.

"It's the same if you go away for a weekend and there is no internet and pretty soon you realise there is a lot of stuff that is way more important that all the technology you are so involved in. People have to remember these are tools to communicate with and not confuse them with things in our life like our real world communities."

Less prosaically, I have a friend who has also quit Facebook for a pretty simple reason. In an e-mail, she told me "it feels like it's so over?"