Study Confirms The Government Produces The Buggiest Software

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The problem boils down to an oversight in the regulations for government software set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, says Wysopal. NIST’s rules outline security standards for network security–systems like firewalls and intrusion detection systems–as well as endpoint security like antivirus programs. But only the latest round of its regulations included standards for coding secure applications, and even those didn’t extend to most of the government’s web applications.

via Study Confirms The Government Produces The Buggiest Software – Forbes

“We’re zeroing in on the application layer, but that’s something that’s been pretty much ignored in the government space,” says Wysopal. “They don’t take a risk-based approach. They take a compliance-based approach. If it’s not in the regulations, it doesn’t get done.”

ZoneFlex Outdoor | Ruckus Wireless

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ZoneFlex outdoor access points uniquely combine dynamic beamforming and adaptive meshing to enable a new level of outdoor performance at the lowest cost. Built to withstand the harshest of outdoor conditions, they’re designed with the flexibility to function as standalone APs or as managed devices, using the same wireless controller as their indoor Smart Wi-Fi products. If no Ethernet cabling is available, the outdoor AP meshes seamlessly with the indoor access points.

via ZoneFlex Outdoor | Ruckus Wireless.

San Jose tries again with free downtown Wi-Fi

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The IEEE 802.11n network from Ruckus Wireless is designed for outdoor public use, with multiple antennas and beam-forming mechanisms to get around obstacles. It will be implemented by system integrator SmartWave Technologies.

via San Jose tries again with free downtown Wi-Fi.

San Jose’s new system will replace a series of public hotspots that the city set up with partner MetroFi in 2004. Those networks were supported by advertising, but the arrangement fell apart when MetroFi went out of business in 2008. The annual $22,000 operational cost for the single new network will be about equal that of the old hotspots, Sammeta said.

Are ESLs A Mercury-Free Replacement for CFL Lights?

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Are ESLs A Mercury-Free Replacement for CFL Lights? | Green Prophet.

If only there were a light bulb as efficient as a compact fluorescent light (CFL), but without the ghastly green light and brain-eating  toxic mercury.   Am I asking too much?  The inventors of the Electron Stimulated Luminance (ESL) lights don’t think so.  A company called Vu1 plans to sell ESL bulbs in Europe and the Mideast in 2013.  Vu1 lights are based on cathode ray tube (CRT) technology, are dim-able and have the cozy glow of incandescent light bulbs.  How did Vu1 accomplish this magic?  It helps that I know a little bit about CRTs from the days when my brother and I repaired old televisions.

IT staff can now manage iPads, iPhones, iPod touches with Configurator tool

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According to Apple’s description of the application, IT staff can create and restore from a backup of preconfigured settings and app data, as well as create and install configuration profiles, among a number of other setup options. Admins can also supervise devices and organize those into custom groups, restrict which computers they can sync with, and add common configurations automatically. Admins can even apply custom text, wallpaper, or pictures to the iOS devices’ lock screens (keep an eye on your snarky IT staff if your work-issued iPhone’s lock screen image mysteriously changes to Nyancat).

via IT staff can now manage iPads, iPhones, iPod touches with Configurator tool.

Apple: iWork.com to get the axe on July 31 so back up your documents

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Apple first introduced iWork.com as part of an iWork software refresh in January of 2009. The goal was to allow iWork users to share their documents online for collaboration with others—sort of like a Google Docs, but by Apple. Since then, however, Apple launched iCloud—among other things, the service allows apps like iWork on the iPad to sync documents to other devices, and the launch of Mountain Lion for the Mac will bring that same functionality to the desktop.

via Apple: iWork.com to get the axe on July 31 so back up your documents.

Replicant project

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Replicant is a fully free Android distribution running on several devices. It is a free software project.

via About | Replicant project.

On this release, here is a quick summary of which major components are working and which are not:

  • Telephony is stable enough, there is working in-call volume change and audio routing, though we miss some features like conferencing
  • SMS are working nicely, including multi-part messages, both on sending and receiving
  • Data has a minimal implementation that is far from being ready (but can be set up manually), so this will be for next time
  • Some other minimal features are there (SIM I/O, DTMF, SIM unlock, etc)
  • Some are missing (USSD, working airplane mode for instance)

IBM optical chip moves data at 1Tbps

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The chip, called Holey Optochip, is a parallel optical transceiver consisting of both a transmitter and a receiver, and is designed to handle the large amount of data created and transmitted over corporate and consumer networks as a result of new applications and services. It is expected to power future supercomputer and data center applications, an area where IBM already uses optical technology.

via IBM optical chip moves data at 1Tbps | Computer Hardware – InfoWorld.

Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix, our recommended distro, is ready for download!

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The Remix is a distribution comprised of software packages from the Fedora ARM project, plus a small number of additional packages that are modified from the Fedora versions or which cannot be included in Fedora due to licensing issues – in particular, the libraries for accessing the VideoCore GPU on the Raspberry Pi.

The SD card image for the Remix includes a little over 640 packages, providing both text-mode and graphical interfaces (LXDE/XFCE) with an assortment of programming languages, applications, system tools, and services for both environments. There are over 16,000 software packages available from the Fedora ARM repositories which can be easily installed using the Internet to customize your system to meet your needs and interests (again, using either command-line or graphical tools).

via Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix, our recommended distro, is ready for download! | Raspberry Pi.