It is expected in the next couple of weeks, specifically at CES 2011 in January, that Microsoft will unveil a new version of its operating system compatible with ARM technology.
The software is thought to be designed with battery powered, mobile devices in mind, with Apple and Google’s recent advancements in the tablet and smart phone sector. Despite being the world’s largest software manufacturer, Microsoft certainly has lost ground to its competitors in the mobile computing market, with Apple’s iPad thought to have a 95% stranglehold on the tablet PC market and Microsoft’s only representative being the Windows 7 phone, which has received a mixed response.
Considering Microsoft’s well established relationship with Intel and the type of x86 chips which are favoured by the processing company it would be difficult to figure out why else would Microsoft would endeavour to establish a program attuned with ARM other than to attack the mobile computing market. With wireless technologies such as WiFi and mobile internet making data connection easier and more accessible industry commentators are predicting a significant rise in the use of mobile devices across the next few years and it is understandable that Microsoft, already at a disadvantage to its competitors, wants to make some kind of headway in this lucrative new market sector.
Windows current flagship OS, Windows 7, is known to be far too bulky to function on devices with limited capacity and processing power, this could mean an upgrade for Windows current Phone 7 platform (although unlikely) or the engineering of a ‘Windows Lite’ version that would operate with the systems most popular features.
So does this mean that the door is now closed for Intel and its biggest cash cow? Well, not necessarily; in the initial report from Bloomberg it is revealed that, “The new software also will be able to work on Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. processors — the chips that power PC versions of Windows. While other versions of Microsoft software aimed at phones and mobile devices work on ARM chips, this is the first time it will make a full version of Windows available on that technology.”
If this statement is accurate, it will represent one of, if the not the first instance that a popular operating system has had the opportunity to run on both ARM and x86 architectures for
domestic consumers. What this also means is that there will be a chance to make direct apple to apple comparisons of devices that run on Windows and Intel versus those from competing manufacturers. Intel will have to get their skates on if they are to mount a serious challenge against the new range of ARM chips already set for launch in the new year with improved computing power and miserly consumption, if that is, ABI Research’s prediction that ARM will surpass x86 as soon as 2013.
Some of the world’s largest financial institutions and online commercial businesses, including Visa, Mastercard and Paypal where yesterday targeted by hackers or “hacktivists” operating in sympathy of the Wikileaks online whistle blowing organisation.
Wikileaks has been at the centre of a global media furore following the exposure of thousands of politically sensitive documents, the latest of which suggests that North Korean assisted missile compounds are being constructed in the remote Burmese Jungle.
The group who are called Anonymous set about implementing ‘Operation Payback’ using a host of zombie computers, internet capable systems which have been previously hacked or compromised, in a botnet DDoS attack on the specified corporations. Essentially these multiple inputs flood the bandwidth or resources of the intended targets, preventing their web pages from loading properly. The companies have been targeted for their refusal to process Wikileaks’ payments, resulting in disruptions to Visa’s processing and forcing the Mastercard website offline for several hours.
A spokeswoman for Mastercard said, following the site’s recovery that, “Our core processing capabilities have not been compromised and cardholder account data has not been placed at risk.” Despite reassurances, the success of the coordinated attacks may have some people questioning the safety and security protocols of these international corporations, especially considering that one of the perpetrators who yesterday admitted to being involved in Operation Payback and was consequently arrested, was a 16 year old boy from the Netherlands.
Twitter and Amazon are also said to be proposed targets of the activists, with the former yesterday in a seemingly anxious attempt to dissuade any retributive actions tweeting on its own page that “This week, people are wondering about Wikileaks, with some asking if Twitter has blocked @wikileaks, @cablegate or other related topics from appearing in the list of top trends,”
“The answer: absolutely not. In fact, some of these terms, including @wikileaks and @cablegate, have previously trended either worldwide or in specific locations”
This highly publicised event may have some businesses wondering about their own IT support and security and it seems that as highlighted in the past few days, anyone can be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Although small or medium size businesses are very unlikely to be the target of such an orchestrated manoeuvre my advice would still be to seek out solid, professional systems and advice to prevent any type system compromise.
In a recent post on Adobe’s official blog, Peleus Uhley revealed that 2010, the so called ‘Year of the sandbox’ still has a few surprises in store despite it being December. Adobe’s Flash Player already supports protected mode in both Windows Vista and 7 which assists users in conducting Flash Player and Internet Explorer in a low integrity process. This, Uhley admits, only serves a certain segment of Windows users, what about increased IT support for those who operate an alternate browser, for example Google Chrome? Well, here come Adobe and Google Chrome’s Carlos Pizano to the rescue.
A sandbox for those of you aren’t sure is a security mechanism that is used for separating programs, usually used to execute untested code or suspicious programs from third parties, suppliers and unfamiliar users. Essentially, it traps or at least hinders malware from escaping an application and wreaking havoc on an OS.
Apple which has been in a dispute with Adobe since 2007 regarding Flash on the iPhone, recently dropped the software from the newest MacBook Air and the intention seems to be to remove it from all future machines. Apple insiders cited security as the reason for turning their backs on the product and removing it from their Apple OS X system.
Google it seems took a different approach and instead sought to work in conjunction with Adobe to develop said sandbox. On the Chromium Blog, Chrome’s official news source, Pizano and developer Justin Schuh stated that, “This initial Flash Player sandbox is an important milestone in making Chrome even safer. In particular, users of Windows XP will see a major security benefit, as Chrome is currently the only browser on the XP platform that runs Flash Player in a sandbox.”
Although Google and Adobe are optimistic about their new development they do accept that there is still more to be done, “While we’ve laid a tremendous amount of groundwork in this initial sandbox, there’s still more work to be done. We’re working to improve protection against additional attack vectors, and will be using this initial effort to provide fully sandboxed implementations of the Flash Player on all platforms.”
Some users have already complained that the newly implemented sandbox has had a detrimental effect upon their software including breaking the control panel of the settings menu. No doubt Adobe will consider the long term security implications of the development a worthy compensation for these temporary inconveniences.