Ng Khai Computer Solutions Blog

Days after Microsoft Corp. launched a new anti-piracy program, hackers have found a way to get around it. The software company’s new program, called Windows Genuine Advantage, requires computer users to go through a process validating that they’re running a legitimate copy of the Windows operating system before downloading any software updates except for security patches.

The validation check can be bypassed by entering a simple JavaScript command in the Web browser’s address bar and hitting the “Enter” key. When that’s done, the validation does not run and the user is taken directly to the download. More …

A judge has temporarily barred barred a former Microsoft executive from performing his job at Google, saying Microsoft has a well-grounded fear that leaked trade secrets could hurt its business.

Kai-Fu Lee had confidentiality and non-compete agreement when he joined Microsoft. He supposedly took up an offer to head the research unit of Google in China.

Yahoo! News

HP has announced it will discontinue selling IPods (Apple’s popular digital music player) once supplies are sold. HP has sold over 500,000 units ever since the partnership was announced under the previous CEO, Carly Fiorina. While the sales have been tremendous, HP, under its new CEO Mark Hurd feels that it did not make sense for a technology company to sell something by just slapping their brand over the product. The Philippines is not affected as it never introduced the product into the cuontry.

It did not mention whether it was launching its own line of mp3 players, but under the original agreement, HP cannot sell their own music players until August 2006.

The latest reports from IDC Philippines, after surveying 191 companies, noted that SMEs ( small and medium enterprises) was heavy on computer equipment purchase, with desktop computers, being allocated the biggest budget.

Hardware expenditure averaged 38.3 percent of total IT expenses among the SMBs surveyed. Software was next with 26.5 percent, followed by IT staff compensation at 13.6 percent.

Expenses for IT staff training amounted to 12.4 percent and contracted IT services expenses 9.2 percent. More in Inq7 .

Earlier, we covered reports that said that earlier Cisco IOS had a security vulnerability. Cisco and ISS have asked a court to silence the security expert who described how attackers could take over Cisco routers.

More….

Forbes Magazine has identified 7 of the best technology blogs.  Here it is  - click on the first to read the reviews and click on the second to go to the site.

Slashdot    — goto Slashdot

BoingBoing  — goto BoingBoing

Engadget  — goto Engadget

Gizmodo  — goto Gizmodo

Kuro5hin  –   goto Kuro5hin

Lifehacker  — goto Lifehacker

O’Reilly Network  — goto O’Reilly

Think Secret  — goto ThinkSecret

Have also added them to my blogroll.

Lots of good practical tips from the recent Google AdSense Optimization Webinar last June 30, 2005 . From ad unit size, to position and color…if you’re really serious about raising your AdSense revenues, you shouldn’t miss the first installment of my Practical AdSense Tips series.

‘Sossaman’,  ‘Yonah’,  ‘Paxville’ , ’Dempsey’ , ‘Tulsa’ , ‘Whitefield’ ,  ‘Woodcrest’, ‘Merom’

Do you know what they are?  They are codenames for Intel’s Next generation of processors.  Know what they mean, and also Intel’s roadmap.

This keyboard will ease your strain, for $495 . More here.

One of the many advantages of a hardware based appliance is that when an image gets corrupted. An administrator can easily upload the image thru a TFTP server. Minimizing the hassle of installing and configuring the OS (which could usually take sometime) and also installing applications itself.

For Cisco Routers and Cisco Catalyst Switches, backing-up the image and running configuration before and after making any major changes in the configuration is a must. Some would consider it as the “Golden Rule” in internetworking.

Managing Cisco Routers and Cisco Catalyst Switches may slightly differ in some of the commands and syntax, but the concepts which is more important are the same.

Click here - Managing Cisco Routers

I just read an excellent article, which is written by John Batelle, the author of the book, ” The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture” which encapsulizes how Larry Page and Sergey Brin meet in Stanford University and eventually, through a project in which they try to trace ‘academic citations’ which is predominant in writing university papers, and turn it to a project on assessing how important a website is ( by how many sites link to them), and turn it into a billion dollar business.

Some nice trivias — PageRank, the innovative way in which the Google technology is based (on how to rank websites) is actually named after Larry Page, who originated the idea. Reading it will allow you to get a better idea on how Google does it, and gives you insights on how to rank better in search engines, as the other competitors also have adopted similar technologies.

Michael Lynn, a security researcher has revealed that a bug discovered in an operating system for Cisco routers( IOS) that runs the majority of the world’s computer networks would, if exploited, allow an attacker to bring down the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The security hole has been patched by Cisco since last April, and the flawed version is no longer available. However, while the updated firmware would likely be safe for now, it was possible to imagine a future scenario in which an attacker could write a worm to exploit the previous bug that would leave unpatched versions vulnerable.

More in Wired.com….

In my Wired Desktop July 28 column for Sunstar Daily, I discussed on the phenomena of blogging and how recent technology change has made it imperative for people to start enabling enhanced conversations in the marketplace as a way to succeed.

NG KHAI gives you a great deal on the HP iPAQ h6365. Get it at a discounted price with a free 512MB SD Card!
Grab an iPAQ now, this bargain is only until August 15, 2005.

Standard Price 39,950.00
On PROMO! 34,600.00 with FREE 512 MB SD Card

One of the global devices for all your mobile communication needs would be the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h6365. This pocket PC is the first and not to mention the smallest handheld with integrated 3-way wireless capabilities (GSM/GPRS, WLAN, and Bluetooth wireless technology) which gives you high-speed wireless voice and data connectivity at home, at work, on the go — wherever you are!

Specifications…