Hackers Crack T-Mobile's Computers

A hacker broke into the computer systems of T-Mobile
USA over several months, viewing the names and Social
Security numbers of 400 customers.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Do not use T-Mobile which has the weak signal, delayed
voice mail and even charge for receiving text message.

I will definitely change the wireless carrier next year...

Interview: Sun CEO Scott McNealy Discusses Open Source

Interview: Sun CEO Scott McNealy Discusses Open Source
Robert McMillan, InfoWorld

Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy spoke with IDG News Service
correspondent Robert McMillan about company changes, plans for 2005,
and how open source relates to Solaris and Java. McNealy: "Open
sourcing
Solaris is a big deal. The momentum with Java is a story that people
are now just taking for granted, but it is a stunning achievement.
Imagine that we hadn't done Java 10 years ago; where do you think Sun
would be today? It would be all Windows. We'd be done. If people aren't
writing Java Web services, they're writing to .Net. If they write to
.Net they write to Windows. If they write to Windows, they don't write
to Sun equipment. So people say well how come you didn't monetize Java.
Wait a second, there's $7.4 billion cash in the bank since we launched
Java. Just because we didn't charge for it -- it's like saying, HP
doesn't make much money on printers, they make it all on printer
cartridges. There's different ways to create the market and monetize
it."

China Posts Record Trade Surplus

China exported $11.1 billion more to the world than it imported in 2004, its
government said, a record-high surplus sure to raise fresh cries for China
to revalue its currency. China, the world's third-biggest economy in terms
of purchasing-power parity with the U.S. dollar, behind only the U.S. and
the EU, keeps its currency pegged to the greenback, artificially weakening
it. That gives its manufacturers a competitive advantage over those in other
nations, helping fuel its whopping trade surplus. Though the U.S. has howled
about the situation, China has shown little inclination to budge its
currency for now.

More pressure, though, came from the International Monetary Fund, which
warned that China's economy was still at risk of overheating and again
called for it to float its currency to help slow things down. Despite an
interest-rate increase and other monetary policy moves by the central bank,
China's economy grew more than 9% in 2004, just as it did in 2003. "There
have not been clear signs of growth moderating to a level that can safely be
viewed as sustainable," IMF official Anne O. Krueger said in a speech last
night. But Ms. Krueger also said that a "hard landing" -- a dramatic
slowdown in economic growth -- might not be the end of the world, citing the
strength of the U.S. and other Asian economies. She also warned that, if
China is to boost its currency, it also needs to make sure its ailing banks
can handle the shock.

Yahoo! Desktop Search Beta

I've been using Google Desktop Search tool for quite a few month. Frankly
speaking, I didn't feel that it is very helpful since it has the limitation
on some type of files. I definitely is going to try the Yahoo Desktop search
to see whether it is better...


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As noted last month, there's been a lot of interest and excitement around
Desktop Search products and technology. Today you get a chance to try out
the beta version of what we call YDS (Yahoo! Desktop Search).
So What?

If you're like us, you might be thinking "Yet another desktop search
product... What makes this one special?" Well, there are two ways to answer
that. First, a quick rundown on a few of the features we like to brag about.
Then we'll talk about our larger view of what searching your "desktop"
really means.

* Speed. YDS is really fast.
* Instant Feedback. YDS provides incremental search, much like you find
in Firefox. As you type each character of your search, the results are
updated instantly. Not only does this mean less typing, but you'll catch
spelling mistakes a lot faster too.
* Comprehensiveness. YDS indexes a lot of file types. Over 200.
* Built in Preview: YDS renders a preview view for most of the 200+ file
types and enables you to page through the preview, so you don't need to
launch the full-blown application just to see if you've found the right
document. You can page through a PowerPoint, Word or PDF doc, examine
individual cells in Excel, or even play an mp3 file--right there in YDS.
* Actions. If you right click on a result, YDS provides a
context-specific menu that allows you to do things with the email or
document: reply, forward, print, open, etc.
* Cost. YDS is free.

Going Beyond the Desktop

The notion of a "desktop" is changing. Most products are built with the
premise that your desktop is just a way of seeing what's on your computer's
hard disk. But in today's world, many of us create, find, use, and share
information that lives in many places. Some of it lives on your computer,
some lives on Yahoo! and other on-line services, some may live on other
computers or devices on your home network.

We don't think you should have to think about where your stuff is stored in
order to find it. That's where this is all headed. And as YDS evolves,
you'll see that becoming more and more clear.

In the meantime, we need to know what you think of our first cut at getting
there. Download YDS and let us know what you think. We've setup a message
board for YDS discussion or you can leave a comment here.

Bradley Horowitz
Jeremy Zawodny
#END

WiFi turns into must-have, everyday technology

WiFi has made significant strides in 2004 to make it a must-have, says BusinessWeek. As new applications and devices proliferate, wireless broadband will become a necessity for businesses and ordinary folks alike. "No doubt about it," says the magazine's analyst, "this will be the year WiFi goes from a novelty to a standard feature in many types of devices. It's not a stretch to say this hot wireless technology will become a must-have for service companies, from big restaurants to garbage collectors."

The reasons for this are numerous. Improvements in technology have made WiFi faster and reasonably secure from hackers. It is also more affordable as prices for WiFi chips for laptops have declined 50 percent in the past two years. In 2005, another draw-back of WiFi will be resolved as the power consumption of WiFi devices will decline. This will result in further expansion of WiFi hotspots beyond the 100,000 mark in the US and will also facilitate the incorporation of WiFi into more and more new business and consumer applications and devices.

Consumer-electronics makers are already putting WiFi into cameras, portable music players, and TVs. We will soon see moving music files from portable MP3 players to TVs, or creating interactive photo slide shows. By mid-2005, all major cell-phone makers will roll out WiFi-enabled devices. In short, "WiFi enables lots of people to produce crazy applications," says Louis Mamakos, chief technology officer at service provider Vonage. He would know, too.

For more on WiFi as an everyday technology:
- see BusinessWeek's report

SalaryClock

SalaryClock -- enter your salary at the top, pick Larry Ellison's salary on the bottom, hit the calculate buttons and start crying ...

Ipod Shuffle

Ipod shuffle is released today at MacWorld. I bought one online. Can't wait to see .... Exciting.