500 GB USB now!!!

Buffalo unveils 500 GB portable drive:
Buffalo Technology introduced a 500GB version of its MiniStation TurboUSB hard disk drive. The 500GB model joins other systems in the MiniStation TurboUSB line and costs US$329. The device features a plastic chassis equipped with shock resistant technology. The drive connects to a host Mac or PC using USB 2.0 and 1.1. The USB cable is built into the drive and wraps around the outside for easy storage. Inside is a 5400 RPM mechanism connected via a USB to SATA bridge. The drive measures 5 x 0.8 x 3.3 inches and weighs 0.42 lbs. It's powered over the USB interface. Software is included, but it's Windows-only. Regardless, the drive is Mac-compatible.

European Union approves Google-DoubleClick deal:
European Union approved Google-DoubleClick merger. After Microsoft failed to make a deal with Yahoo recently, this deal might thwart Microsoft's bid for Internet supremacy. In a statement released, European Commission rules that the Google-DoubleClick merger is unlikely to harm consumers in ad serving or online advertising intermediation markets.The E.U.'s competition regulator reached its decision after a four-month in-depth investigation of the US$3.1 billion merger, which received the approval of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in December.

A merger of Google and DoubleClick will not hurt competition because the companies are not competitors, the Commission said. The Commission also examined the risk of Google tying sales of its services to use of those of DoubleClick, or vice versa, to boost revenue. However, it concluded that Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL present sufficiently strong market alternatives that a merged Google-DoubleClick would be unable to exploit the link in that way.

BlackBerry Servers Ripe for the Hacking:
A penetration testing consultancy NTA Monitor has found that many companies running BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) with Microsoft Exchange were taking the path of least resistance by opening unencrypted ports from the heart of their network to service providers. The providers, in turn, opened a return back to the BES that would pass through firewalls without any policies being applied. This left the network open on several levels, including session hijacking, IP spoofing, or just the interception of unencrypted traffic.

"A hacker could potentially use this back channel to move around inside an organization undetected, removing confidential information or installing malware on to the network," said Roy Hills, NTA's technical director. The company recommends implementing a BES in a demilitarized zone (DMZ), which would isolate attacks against the sever from the wider network to fight back the security flaw. However, this added complexity, and added complexity added expense. So, companies now have to choose the combination between expenses and the security that provides the best possible results.

Snippets:

• Apple Updates Radeon HD 2600 XT Firmware
• Symantec's new Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection protects Mac OS and
  Windows partitions on Macs running Boot Camp.
• eMusic, the world's second largest music service after iTunes, announced Monday that its catalog now contains more than 3.5 million tracks.
• Verizon Business plans to start deploying a 100Gbps network over its major routes at the start of 2009.
• Microsoft and Sun expand their collaboration.
• Toast 9 Features Blu-Ray Video Streaming.