Monday 31 October 2011

Duqu / Stuxnet are Real

Built on Stuxnet code, the strategic new variant appears to have been developed for espionage but researchers are squabbling over the real target of the virus, while still trying to understand how it spreads and who or what it targets.

One security company says it is also designed to attack Certificate Authorities (CA), the very institutions that issue the digital certificates that make up the trust base of the internet. It creates a certificate from the companies CA. What an innovative idea.
Stuxnet which was specifically designed to take over industrial control systems – mainly by Siemens - used in critical infrastructure installations such as nuclear facilities
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/new-virus-a-cyber-attack-in-the-making-20111020-1m8t2.html#ixzz1cOJLm9rN

Oracle - Sun Accquisation

With Oracle's Sun Accquisation a lot of questions come around with Java JDK and one which often kicked Sun hard was support . Oracle seems to have got that working http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/173782. Oracle will be releasing Java 7 officially this year soon and have a clear support agreement for the same. While this brings in a lot more credibility to Java a Platform and silences a lot of critics on Java Open Source Areas.

Who will IBM Accquire Next -

Who Will IBM Acquire Next?

Oracle - Heading towards a Unique Value Proposition

Browsing the list of Oracle's Accquisation the last one been Right Now Technology Cloud CRM as of Oct 24th 2011, Oracle seems to moving up the ladder of having everything under the sun for the customer. One Stop Shop.
The next best guess is likely to be its accquisation in the Mobility Market. With all the forces getting aligned it for a one stop shop it will be interesting to watch the mobile space now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Oracle.

For its competitor I;m sure everyone is building  COMBAT strategy soon.

Product Roadmaps Microsoft

http://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/product-roadmaps.html


Sync fw Toolkit 4.0 very interesting - " extends Microsoft's data synchronization platform to non-Windows devices such as the Apple iPhone, and mobile devices based on Google's Android OS, substantially expanding the reach of the technology"

Forrester: Tech Changes to Expect in Next 3 Years

Forrester: Tech Changes to Expect in Next 3 Years

Business Intelligence tools, mobile apps and cloud application platforms are areas that will evolve and create significantly more business value between today and 2014

In the article http://www.cio.com/article/692280/Forrester_Tech_Changes_to_Expect_in_Next_3_Years
Forrester speaks on 3 tech changes. For each of these areas
  • BI - this has always been a area of interest across verticals. Companies have brought some great tools in this area, The question remains provision of the intelligence at the speed of light. Very few platforms can deliver this kind of performance. We are moving into an era where a micro second can be decider for the company to be make money , a government to response to a possible terrorist attack.
  • Mobile Apps; With Android & Apple war heating up , Mobile does take the centre stage of revenue making for most software companies, The trend of software companies possibly buying out a mobile companies and the equation of for every PC in the world there 50 mobiles, a 1:50 ratio is definitely where most companies will making profit. The PC era is over.
  • Cloud: Very confused is the state of most companies, The trend of moving to cloud is slow. The offerings from most IT software cloud specialization companies are highly obscure and for the end customer it only leaves confusion.

8 Cool Google Labs Projects Spared the Axe

http://www.cio.com/article/692467/8_Cool_Google_Labs_Projects_Spared_the_Axe

Ironic but good to see something is really working the Google way

Insider Trading & High Frequency Trading

Insider Trading may sound very much on the wrong side of the law , High Frequency Trading (HFT) a computer based trading in a window on micro seconds based algorithms, stochastic or metrics of the stock data. While one may argue Insider Trading does in turn benefit someone and becomes the reasons for the loss of some, so does HFT the 2006 black out. Ethical or practical or simply we may ignore in terms of saying HFT is something which was devised to do that evil in a known manner Vs. insider information which reaches the hedge fund masters who ride on the wave and benefit. Kicking off the debate.