| Malware writers exploring Software as a Service model
The business of writing, buying, and selling malware has become increasingly commercial over the past few years, but a new report from online security firm Finjan sheds light on just how mainstream the crimeware business has gone. Earlier this month, the company discovered a small, standalone application gathering data on over 8,700 servers, including web sites from 2,500 North American companies and a handful of sites in Alexa's top 100 ranking. Potential buyers were able to log into the malicious server hosting the data-gathering service and evaluate any given web site's size and Google Page Rank to decide whether or not the site's FTP information was worth purchasing or not. The concept of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is nothing new, but this is the first time anyone has organized the purchase of FTP login credentials, with additional tools available to help a buyer confirm he's making a smart purchase.
Allton Starts Web Design Firm in Lake Saint Louis, MO
Michael Allton can still remember his first website. "It was 1997, and my mother had just formed a new non-profit organization in Norwalk, Ohio called Project Leadership. It was designed to promote leadership and community values and she wanted a website to help recruit members. I used FrontPage 97 and it was very basic, but it sparked my love for website design." Since then, Michael has come a long way. For several years, he designed websites for businesses and organizations in Ohio while with an IT Firm. Then, last year, after moving to Lake Saint Louis, he started his own design firm, Stadia Studio. "I wanted very much to get back into designing websites for small businesses," said Michael. "I've always enjoyed helping businesses grow, and having a great website is an integral part of that." Stadia Studio specializes in providing small businesses with complete web services including website design, hosting, search engine optimization and consulting.
Julian Lennon Invests in MyStore.com
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Today MyStore.com confirmed Julian Lennon, son of Beatles icon John Lennon, is among the group of private investors behind yourStore, LLC. The company owns and operates http://www.mystore.com/, an online marketplace. "In addition to his monetary investment, Julian has contributed some great ideas to the options MyStore.com offers to musicians and artists who want to resell or self distribute their music and art online. As an independent artist himself, Mr. Lennon was an early user of MyStore.com, setting up his own MyStore and linking it to several places he has a presence online including his MySpace page. We are glad to have him involved. He's been a friend for a long time," stated Todd Meagher, the company's CEO. About MyStore: MyStore.com is owned by yourStore, LLC (http://www.yourstore.com/) which is a virtual real estate company and application service provider offering individuals and businesses with FREE online "retail" space and software usage in the form of personalized web stores located within the company's marketplace http://www.mystore.com/ and an e-commerce service provider offering seller support and software services; including web hosting, site design, marketing, fulfillment and inventory and customer management tools.
Google turns to X Factor's Fuller for push into TV
Internet giant Google is in secret talks with Simon Fuller, the British entrepreneur behind the Spice Girls, about a joint venture that could change the way TV is watched over the internet. News of the collaboration will prompt speculation that Google's plans for the TV market include generating original content and competing with major broadcasters. Executives from the £229bn internet giant have been in discussions with Fuller, who invented Pop Idol, the world's most successful TV franchise, for about a year. Although details of the deal are a closely guarded secret, sources close to Fuller say it could revolutionise the way entertainment and music are distributed. 'It's a big idea on a global scale,' he said. 'It will change television in much the way iTunes changed the way music is disseminated.' Last year saw the launch of Google Video, which offers full-length TV programmes and films on a pay-per-view basis over the internet.
Silverlight helps bring streaming video to Olympics Web site
How would you like to be handed this IT project: create a website that will present 2,200 hours of live, interactive video, plus integrated broadcast coverage. The site will have huge spikes of traffic, and operate under worldwide scrutiny, so it has to be designed for performance. It has to be done in the next 150 days; no schedule extensions are possible. And it must deliver a brilliant user experience. That's the job in front of the developers for the Summer Olympics website, which also will offer expert commentary and sports biographies and permit users to share links to favorite event videos. During the MIX 08 keynote address on Wednesday, Perkins Miller, senior vice president of digital media for NBC Sports & Olympics, said that this was "the most ambitious online project." During the Olympics, the site (demonstrated in prototype form during the keynote) will deliver video interactively for 17 days.
Ghosts of Kosovo
Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian leaders have belatedly tried to extend an olive branch to the province's aggrieved 120,000 Serbs. In addition to allowing Serbs in northern Kosovo to have their own police, schools and hospitals, Kosovo's new Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, did the unthinkable: he delivered part of his inauguration speech in the hated Serbian language. Even in Serbia, whose citizens feel genuine humiliation over losing Kosovo (which Serb nationalists call their "Jerusalem"), the protests should abate. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has threatened to retaliate against Kosovo's becoming independent by suspending talks with the European Union, but Kostunica can't afford to cut ties with the West. The E.U. supplies 49% of Serbia's imports and buys 56% of its exports--a far more valuable trade relationship than Serbia's with Russia.
Nation's Largest Solar PV System Takes Flight at Nellis Air Force Base
(CSRwire) LAS VEGAS, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today the U.S. Air Force celebrates the completion of North America's largest solar photovoltaic system at Nellis Air Force Base. A joint project of the U.S. Air Force, MMA Renewable Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC (NYSE: MMA), SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), and Nevada Power Company, the 14 megawatt Nellis solar energy system will generate more than 30 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity annually and supply approximately 25 percent of the total power used at the base, where 12,000 people live and work. Combining technology and systems expertise from SunPower Corporation and financing by MMA Renewable Ventures with discounted purchase commitments by the U.S. Air Force, the innovative Nellis solar energy system demonstrates that the U.S.
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