Is this a blagger that I see before me?
Thoughts, opinions, interesting snippets and gossip from ZDNet UK's news editor
Thursday 15 February 2007, 6:05 PM
Why mobile radiation protection may make sense
Guy Kewney, who has been covering this technology lark since around the time I was born, has an interesting take on a new device that is claimed to protect against mobile phone radiation.
The company behind this magical device, Exradia, held a briefing at 3GSM. Guy turned up expecting a good laugh, but came away with a sneaky suspicion that Exradia may be onto something.
Don't worry. Guy didn't chuck his fine collection of mobile gadgets into the Mediterranean. The point isn't that mobile phones fry your brain. It's that there's no definite proof that that don't, and that operators, manufacturers, and firms who give mobiles to their employees might all be tempted to ensure themselves against the danger of future litigation by using an Exradia chip. Then they can stand up in court and argue that they took every available precaution.
Guy compares this to the availability of life jackets in aircraft, which he says have probably never saved anyone. I was grateful for mine last week, when my transatlantic flight to the RSA Conference hit turbulence, but that's another story...
More from Lord Kewney here.
Thursday 8 February 2007, 2:07 AM
EMC semi-floating VMware
Rather bad form of EMC's Joe Tucci not to mention this yesterday at the RSA Conference, but the storage firm has decided to sell 10 percent of VMware stock this summer in an initial public offering.
Analysts think this will help EMC to cash in on the excitement around virtualisation without losing control. Tucci insists this isn't a prelude to spinning off VMware altogether.
More here.
Wednesday 7 February 2007, 11:36 PM
MySpace NoShow. And no Larry either!
Kevin Poulsen, journalist and security expert, has just told the RSA Conference 2007 about how he exposed that child sex offenders were using the MySpace social networking site to contact children.
Last year Poulsen wrote a program that cross-referenced MySpace's user list against the official US database of convicted offenders. This flagged up any who were using genuine registration details, and led to at least one arrest.
Child safety online is an important social issue (although obviously not an enterprise IT one), so it's good to see Poulsen appear on a panel alongside other experts, called Pandora's Box, Youth and the Internet.
It would also be good to hear from MySpace, but unfortunately they're not represented. As the panel moderator explained -- "The chief security officer for MySpace was on the panel at one stage, but he dropped out. I don't know why".
Obviously panel droppouts aren't anything new. But, in the interests of balance, it's a shame that no-one from MySpace is here. Makes it tricky to report both sides of the argument. RSA did russle up a representative from rival social networking site FaceBook, so we learned that their approach to privacy is different (some might conclude more rigorous) than MySpace's.
But for the record, MySpace is backing a proposed US law that would force sex offenders to register their email address, so they could be blocked by web sites.
And again for the record, Poulsen isn't impressed. "It has the feeling of them looking for an easy way out," he said, pointing out that the move wouldn't do anything to detect new offenders or potentially dangerous activity.
Next up, Larry Ellison....
UPDATE:
Or maybe not. The head of Oracle is off with the flu. Cue much disappointment from the audience, and several journalists panicking about what their afternoon news story will be....
Tuesday 6 February 2007, 10:29 PM
Is this cutting-edge journalism?
Great verbal slip just then from RSA's executive vice president, Art Coviello, in the analyst/journalist session at RSA Conference 2007. Opening up to questions, he explained that if we waved our hands in the air someone would "bring the knife over".
Cue much merriment (we don't get many laughs at these trade shows*), and a classy follow-up from Art C -- "You can see how I really feel about the Press".
I'm sure he speaks for many of you.
* - It isn't all serious stuff, mind you. During this morning's keynotes we were played an amusing clip of Bill Gates appearing on The Daily Show (v good US comedy, available on More4). Not forgetting the opening ceremony with the dancing monks. Still chasing those lyrics!
Tuesday 6 February 2007, 10:19 PM
Can EMC leave its wallet alone?
Rather like one of English football's WAGs, storage vendor EMC does love a shopping spree. This week's irresistable accessory is Valyd, an Indian IT company specialising in enterprise data storage.
The takeover will allow EMC to offer better protection for corporate databases, CEO Joe Tucci told the RSA Conference 2007 in San Francisco on Tuesday.
It's only seven months since EMC gobbled RSA up for $2.1bn, and one couldn't blame the company if it decided to retreat somewhere warm and quiet to digest it, rather than promptly buying Valyd (for an undisclosed sum).
Tucci was lightly grilled during his appearance on stage, and again later at an analyst/journalist press conference, about EMC's acquisition strategy. He flatly refused to name any potential targets (bad news for the stock market speculators among you), and did a fairly convincing job of persuading us that he's not planning another mega-takeover. However, he's not planning to kick the shopping habit. He told the conference that they'll see "several more' smaller purchases next year.
The underlying logic, Tucci said, is to continue adding new services that complement EMC's existing storage, security and services range. Or as the WAGs might put it, there's no point buying the shiny new shoes without the matching handbag and earrings as well.
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