Articles by Jack M. Germain

As malware writers and Internet attackers become moresophisticated, 2009 looks to be a year of more focused attacks byprofit-driven criminals bent on stealing data from businesses,employees and consumers Networking firm Cisco released itsannual Threat Report Monday, citing a nearly 12 percent increase in thenumber of disclosed vulnerabilities over ...

Syncplicity, a startup online data management company, announced last October the closing of its post-seed funding round for US$2.35 million. The company offers an automated, all-in-one service for online and offline file syncing, backup and sharing Silicon Valley-based True Ventures led a group of private investors in compiling the funding pool. S...

Syncplicity, a startup online data management company, announced last October the closing of its post-seed funding round for US$2.35 million. The company offers an automated, all-in-one service for online and offline file syncing, backup and sharing Silicon Valley-based True Ventures led a group of private investors in compiling the funding pool. S...

Syncplicity, a startup online data management company, announced last October the closing of its post-seed funding round for US$2.35 million. The company offers an automated, all-in-one service for online and offline file syncing, backup and sharing Silicon Valley-based True Ventures led a group of private investors in compiling the funding pool. S...

The old adage about a sucker being born every minute is no less true among respondents to spam. Dishonest people have always been trying to make a fast buck by duping others into confidence scams, and the Web has give those people an easy way to communicate with more potential marks. However, modern-day scam artists may be capable of making a faster buck from a lot fewer suckers...

It's a small wonder that the Linux operating system remains vibrant in multiple industries and is poised to make a dash for more consumers' desktops, considering how often misunderstandings get in the way of its advancement For instance, Linux was not immediately recognized as a real OS in the way that consumers and business owners viewed the Apple...

The sour economy is causing industries and individuals alike to tighten their belts in just about all areas of spending, including software. Downloading free and low-cost open-source software is often an attractive alternative to proprietary commercial products. The potential for enterprises and other users to switch from high-priced software to open-source alternatives poses a new opportunity for open-source developers...

Terra Soft Solutions, the developer of Yellow Dog Linux (YDL), has been acquired by the Japanese software firm Fixstars Corporation, a developer of Cell Broadband Engine solutions The new company, now known as "Fixstars Solutions," is operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fixstars and will maintain its entire product line from a regional office...

Search and databases often have troubled relationships. Web-based search utilities have become essential business tools. The database is the lifeblood of many a business' record-keeping system. Both are vital -- just don't try to put the two together or integrate spreadsheets and other documents with them For example, searching just doesn't exist w...

Web developers have many options for the servlet containers they use to host Java apps. Included in these choices are both classic proprietary and a host of open source containers. For the typical Java application developer, the container that holds one or more Java applications together is fairly transparent From a non-techy's perspective, servlet...

Putting Iolo Technologies' System Mechanic 8.0 throughits paces was a long-overdue reunion with an old friend of sorts. Ihad used a much earlier version when it was a different label yearsago. I had forgotten how adept the program's design was even back thenat rooting out the hundreds of glitches and clutter that fall into thedeep recesses of the Windows operating system...

University of Delaware's Dr. Ian Appelbaum is looking to "spin" hisresearch on the magnetic properties of electrons to get moreelectronic enhancements from semiconductors Appelbaum's research is now funded in part with a nearly half-million dollar grantfrom the U.S. Department of Defense Experimental Program to StimulateCompetitive Research (DEPSCo...

"SOA transition" is buzz term growing in popularity among IT managers, especially when they meet with corporate boardroom residents. Businesses are transitioning into service-oriented architecture by tapping into the increasing number of SOA products software makers are creating to meet this new interest However, for the uninitiated, SOA can be jus...

Caution: Just because your company has a payment card industry (PCI)compliance certificate, don't assume your data is perfectly safe and secure. Youcan still suffer a breach That's the lesson recently learned by retail clothing company Forever21. Company officials posted a notice onthe company's Web site last month telling customers of a data breac...

Getting reliable and reasonably priced tech support for an ailing computer is time-consuming and frustrating. PC users at home, school and work face malfunctions caused by human error, software failure and hardware configuration glitches On top of these problems are the increasing daily threats posed by malware and virus infections. The typical hom...

Engine Yard, a software developer of clouddeployment and open source tools for Ruby on Rails applications, lastweek released an open source framework for building fast, high-performance Ruby applications. Called "Merb," the programming tool issimilar to Ruby on Rails Merb is an MVC (model view controller) framework. It features amodular -- rather t...

Open source software is often an unsung hero in the online gaming universe. Game engines are complex applications with core functionalities provided by numerous modules. These include arendering engine for 2-D or 3-D graphics and a physics engine or collision detection and response calculator. In addition, game developers have to provide for sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading and a scene graph...

Cisco Systems announced on Tuesday the extension of its Application Extension Platform (AXP) as well as a contest for developers to provide new applications The Cisco AXP is an open, Linux-based hardware module for the Cisco Integrated Services Router. Its Linux-based integration environment comes with a downloadable software development kit (SDK)....

AppDeploy, an online community for both systemsmanagement professionals and application and computer administrators has released a free software tool called "AppDeployRepackager." The tool is the industry's first free applicationdedicated to the complex task of Windows Installer repackaging, according to the company Software developers use a repack...

RealNetworks released its controversial RealDVD movie ripping application last week but within days removed the program from its Web site due to a legal feud with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) RealNetworks provided TechNewsWorld with a final prelease version of the RealDVD software last week in consideration of a new product revi...