Silicon Valley Sleuth: May 2009 Archives

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Who wants the online czar job?

So the new administration has decided, after its review, that it wants a 'czar' to oversee online security. The question is does anyone want the job?

After all it's a thankless task. There's a refrain you hear constantly from chief security officers that they are unappreciated because if everything works without a fault and no security breaches happen then it's a sign things are going well. This is not the job for someone high profile looking to build a career.

It's also a highly political job. Much of the US critical infrastructure is in private hands and whoever gets the job will have to spend a lot of time negotiating with them to ensure security standards are met. Businesses are looking to keep costs and complexity down so it'll be an uphill job for the new czar.

Key to the effectiveness of the position is going to be budgets. Unless the role has a budget, and a serious one, then it will be little more than a figurehead position, or to be less kind a blamehound - someone to take the rap when it all goes wrong.

Personally I'd like to see Bruce Schneier get the job. He's got the skill set, and the ability to knock some heads together, but I doubt he'd want the job.

Posted by Iain Thomson on May 30, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Microsoft/Linux partnership fails

It was a valiant last stand but the Linux Foundation and Microsoft's efforts to delay the American Law Institute's (ALI) ruling on software warranties have failed.

The two took the unusual step of joining forces at the last minute to try and thwart a clause in the ALI's Principles of the Law of Software Contracts - an influential legal guide handed out to US judges and other legal professionals. The clause basically states that the buyer has a de facto warranty that any commercial software they buy will work perfectly.

"The ALI adopted the Principles in a vote on May 19th," wrote Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft, in a company blog.

"We are disappointed that the ALI did not allow for additional input, and will continue to work with the Linux Foundation and others across the software industry to ensure that any application of the principles does not adversely impact software developers, the software industry or consumers."

How the two respond to this is going to prove very interesting. Both sides aren't keen on the definition.

Microsoft is, for obvious reasons, not wild about the prospect of a flood of legal cases under the new guidelines. It's impossible for any entity to write a perfect operating system with no flaws, particularly if you're supporting a myriad of older products, standards and security protocols.

If you're Linux then the case is more down to legal fees. While the guidance appears to exempt free software it's such a legal gray area, and an expensive worry for new firms. Is selling services for your software counted as free for example? Open source companies have reason to fear such murky waters in court.

Today's confirmation looks to be a classic case of the law trailing after reality. The judiciary is seldom trained in real world problems,particularly in IT, and the experts that examine cases are paid for by defence and prosecution services and often exaggerate for effect.

In a perfect world independent counsel would be taken from the best experts in the field to advise how to deal with legal minefields like this. Maybe the team behind the minesweepers doesn't have the best interests of their clients at heart?

We can only hope that the two sides see that their enemy's enemy is their friend.

Posted by Iain Thomson on May 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)

New search engine for Microsoft?

Rumours are swirling that Microsoft will unveil its new search engine at the D: All Things Digital conference next week.

The engine, codenamed Kumo, has been running inside Microsoft for a few months now and comes with a new semantic search algorithm after Redmond's purchase of Powerset in 2008.

Microsoft desperately needs to get back in the search game in order to be taken seriously. With any deal over Yahoo seemingly stalled it is trailing a distant third in the market, with some interesting competition coming up from below.

The Wall Street Journal is predicting a launch next week and it has been a place for Microsoft to leak news before. We shall wait and see.

Posted by Iain Thomson on May 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Job hunting on Second Life?

We all know that virtual worlds are gaining increasing interest from organisations for use in internal and customer-facing scenarios. But finding a new job on Second Life? Well, yes, it can happen. At the Thinking Digital Conference in North East England today, we heard a heart-warming story.

Here's the thing. A couple of years ago, a young Simone Brunozzi from Assisi (yes, as in St Francis of...) was just a lowly web app enthusiast. Now, being a true geek, Brunozzi decided to create a virtual Assisi in Second Life, which he did, and blogged about his work.

Then one day, wandering through the digital hallways and walkways of Second Life, he came upon Amazon Web Services. They said they were looking for a new European evangelist. He said, "Hello! I'm from Assisi, as in, you know, saints and stuff," and 16 interviews later he got the job.

Joking aside, this is probably a long shot for most of us hoping to follow in the footsteps of Brunozzi, but it does show the increasing impact virtual worlds are having in the real one. Whether organisations take their presence on these new platforms seriously or not is a matter for them to decide, but if you're a developer with a great idea, it might be worth checking out.

Posted by vnuneteditor on May 14, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft gearing up for big bid

Some interesting news that makes the possibility of a Microsoft bid for Yahoo much more likely came to light today.

Redmond issued bonds for the first time to raise $3.75bn. The company's offering was oversubscribed thanks in part to the company's AAA rating from Standard & Poor.

Given that Microsoft is sitting on big cash reserves already the move has heightened speculation that a big buy is in the offing. Top choices seem to be Yahoo or SAP.

Either would be expensive but to my mind SAP looks to be a better bet. The Obama government is looking very hard at antitrust and so a Yahoo deal could come with millions in legal fees to head off action.

SAP on the other hand looks like a solid bet. It would give Microsoft a needed boost in the enterprise market at a time when Google and others are attacking its Office applications.

Posted by Iain Thomson on May 13, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apple set to buy Twitter?

Apple is poised to launch a $700m bid for Twitter, the hugely popular social messaging service, according to insider reports.

Silicon Valley blog Valleywag cites an inside source at Apple, claiming that the firm will launch the bid in early June, in time for its Worldwide Developer Conference.

"A source who's plugged into the Valley's deal scene and has been recruited by Apple for a senior position says Apple and Twitter are in serious negotiations, with the goal of unveiling a deal by June 8, when Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference launches in San Jose," said Valleywag reporter Owen Thomas.

This is not the first time that Twitter has been the subject of buyout advances. In November the firm turned down a bid from Google which was said to be in the region of $500m.

Despite concerns raised by some over high churn rates and continued attacks against the service, the Valleywag report suggests that it will be the lure of Twitter's web savvy developers and users that appeals to Apple more than the actual technology, a version of which is available through the App Store.

"Users overshare every last detail of their lives, while Twitter makes these updates available on its web site, via RSS, and through third-party applications," wrote Thomas.

"Apple is surely realising it needs to play in this world, and needs someone to show it the way. Is it coincidence that Apple has put Twitter executives on stage so frequently, or that it profiled Twitter as a business recently?

"If Apple buys Twitter, it won't be about making money. It will be about making a statement. In 140 characters or less."

Apple recently posted a business profile of Twitter under the heading: Twitter. Triumph of humanity.

Posted by Ian Williams on May 5, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who wants the online czar job?

Microsoft/Linux partnership fails

New search engine for Microsoft?

Job hunting on Second Life?

Microsoft gearing up for big bid

Apple set to buy Twitter?

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