MCTS Online Training

Google will cut 1,200 more jobs at Motorola Mobility
Motorola described it as a continuation of staff cuts announced in August

Motorola Mobility is cutting 1,200 staff, in addition to a reduction of 4,000 staff it announced in August, to focus on high-end devices.

“These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer,” said Motorola spokeswoman Katie Dove in an email. “It’s obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition.”

[MORE LAYOFFS: Biggest tech layoffs of 2012]

Motorola’s mobile business has been overwhelmed in the smartphone market by larger players such as Samsung Electronics, Apple, Sony, Huawei Technologies and ZTE. Samsung, the largest smartphone maker in the fourth quarter, like Motorola makes phones using Google’s Android operating system.

The revenue of Motorola’s mobile business as a result of knocks in the market was US$1.51 billion, or 11 percent of parent Google’s consolidated revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012. It also had an operating loss of $353 million in the quarter. Apple in contrast posted revenue of $54.5 billion and net profit of $13 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 29.

Staff at Motorola were informed by email this week that while the company is optimistic about new products in the pipeline, it still faces challenges, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The company added that its costs are too high, and it is operating in markets where it is not competitive and is losing money. The layoffs will affect workers in the U.S., China and India, according to the newspaper.

Motorola was acquired by Google in May, and it was thought that the Internet giant was mainly acquiring the company for its patents, and may not be interested in its mobile hardware business in a cut-throat market.

Google said in December that it planned to sell Motorola’s TV set-top box business to Arris Group, a broadband device vendor, for $2.35 billion.

Motorola had 11,113 staff in its mobile business and 5,204 in its home business at the end of December. The new cuts will hence reduce the staff in its mobility business by over 10 percent.

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Fewer businesses standardizing browser use on Internet Explorer, but the practice isn’t gone yet.

Just as Internet users in general have defected in huge numbers from Microsoft Internet Explorer over the past several years, the business world, as well, is becoming less dependent on the venerable browser.

Companies that used to mandate the use of IE for access to web resources are beginning to embrace a far more heterodox attitude toward web browsers. While it hasn’t gone away, the experience of having to use IE 6 to access some legacy in-house web app is becoming less common.

“Things have changed a lot in the last three years, and I think a lot of it has to do with the emergence of the modern web and the popularity of mobile. They have made it very different for companies to truly standardize on a browser,” says Gartner Research analyst David Mitchell Smith.

One example of the changing face of business browser use is SquareTwo Financial, a Denver-based financial services company that works primarily in distressed asset management. The firm’s 280 employees handle both consumer and commercial business, buying and selling debt, and a franchise program means that there are upwards of 1,500 more people working at SquareTwo affiliates. According to CTO Chris Reigrut, the company takes in roughly $280 million in annual revenue.

“In addition to buying and selling debt, we also provide a software-as-a-service platform that our franchises (and we) use to actually negotiate and litigate the debt,” he tells Network World.

Square Two hasn’t needed to standardize, he says, because keeping their offerings diverse is part of the idea – the company’s various online resources all have differing requirements.

“We do distribute Firefox on Windows systems – however, Safari and IE are both frequently used. Our internal wiki is only officially supported on Firefox and Safari. Our SaaS ‘client’ is a pre-packaged Firefox install so that it looks more like a traditional thick-client application. Most of our employees use their browser for a couple of internal systems, as well as several external services (i.e. HR, training, etc),” says Reigrut (who, like the other IT pros quoted in this story is a member of the CIO Executive Council Pathways program for leadership development).

The Microsoft faithful, however, are still out there. Many businesses have chosen to remain standardized on IE, for several reasons. SickKids, a children’s research hospital in Toronto, sticks with Microsoft’s browser mostly for the ease of applying updates.

“We have more than 7,000 end-point devices. Most of those devices are Windows workstations and Internet Explorer is included as part of the Microsoft Windows operating system. As such, this makes it easier and integrates well with our solution to manage and deploy upgrades, patches and hotfixes to the OS including IE,” says implementations director Peter Parsan.

“Internet Explorer is more than a browser, it is the foundation for Internet functionality in Windows,” he adds.

The complexity of managing an ecosystem with more than 100 types of software – running the gamut from productivity applications to clinical programs – requires a heavily controlled approach, according to Parsan.

Smith agrees that IE still has its advantages for business users that want just such a strictly regimented technology infrastructure.

“If you want a managed, traditional IT environment … really, your only option is Internet Explorer,” he says, adding that both Firefox and Chrome lag behind IE in terms of effective centralized management tools.

Some companies, however, have gone a different way – standardizing not on IE, but on a competing browser.

Elliot Tally, senior director of enterprise apps for electronics manufacturer Sanmina, says his company’s employees are highly dependent on browsers for business-critical activities. Everything from ERP to document control (which he notes is “big for a manufacturing company”) to the supply chain is run from a web app.

Tally says Sanmina made the move to standardize on Chrome in 2009, in part because of a simultaneous switch to Gmail and Google Apps from IE and Microsoft products.

“It made sense to go with the browser created and supported by the company that created the apps we rely on. Also, Chrome installs in user space so it doesn’t require admin privileges to auto-update,” he says. “It also silently auto-updates, as opposed to Firefox, which requires a fresh install to update versions, or IE, which is similar. Chrome, over the last year or so, has supported web standards better than any other browser, and (until recently) has offered significantly better performance.”

Plainly, broad diversity exists both in the actual browsers used by workers and the approaches businesses have taken in managing their use.

That diversity, says Smith, is the reason Gartner has been advising clients against standardization from the outset.

“Standardize on standards, not browsers,” he urges. “That was a controversial position for 10 years. People really didn’t agree with it, they didn’t listen to it, and they paid the price.”

Microsoft, as well, has had to pay a price.

“[Standardization] hurts Microsoft’s reputation as an innovator; as a forward-thinker,” he says. “When people’s impression of using Microsoft technology – whether it’s a browser, whether it’s an operating system – is something that is two or three versions old, because they’re dealing with it through what enterprises want.”

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MCTS Overview

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications are designed to validate your skills on the features and functionality of Microsoft technologies. You can show your depth of knowledge in one specific technology, earn multiple MCTS certifications to show breadth across different products, or build on the MCTS to earn a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) or Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) certification.

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MCTS candidate profile

MCTS candidates are capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

Why get certified?

Earning a Microsoft Certification validates your proven experience and knowledge in using Microsoft products and solutions. Designed to be relevant in today’s rapidly changing IT marketplace, Microsoft Certifications help you utilize evolving technologies, fine-tune your troubleshooting skills, and improve your job satisfaction.

Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned professional, becoming certified demonstrates to customers, peers, and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and taking on greater challenges. In addition, certification provides you with access to exclusive Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) resources and benefits, including opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of MCPs.

MCTS Network Infrastructure Certification

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) on Windows Server 2008 credential is intended for IT professionals who work in the complex computing environment of medium-sized to large companies.

The MCTS candidate should have at least one year of experience implementing and administering a network operating system in an environment that has the following characteristics:

250 to 5,000 or more users
Three or more physical locations
Three or more domain controllers
Network services and resources, such as messaging, a database, file and print, a proxy server, a firewall, the Internet, an intranet, remote access, and client computer management
Connectivity requirements, such as connecting branch offices and individual users in remote locations to the corporate network and connecting corporate networks to the Internet.

Job Roles for MCTS Network Infrastructure

This course is for those who work with or plan to work with IP addressing and services, names resolution, file and print services, network access and remote access, and monitoring network services. It is also for those looking to stand out for their specialised knowledge in a Windows Server 2008 environment.

Train for this Microsoft Certification and achieve MCTS status.
Which can be credited towards an MCITP.

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The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) is a program of professional certifications awarded by Microsoft. Individual certifications are received upon passing one or more exams. The MCP program itself is designed for software developers and all kinds of IT Professionals. Microsoft also awards a variety of more targeted certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified IT Professional).

Like Apple, Cisco, Oracle, Red Hat, Sun and Ubuntu programs, the certifications mainly focus on their respective product, as opposed to employment aptitude tests designed for programmer trainee jobs. These branches of technical series with the MC (Microsoft Certified) prefix include Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA), Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS).

Each exam costs depending on the region and certification track.Exams usually take between two and three hours to complete and consist of between 40 and 90 multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, and solution-building questions; and simulated content with respect to which students must perform certain common administrative tasks.

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MCTS offers different fields of specialization to IT professionals. 

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist – MCTS certification provide the foundation for Microsoft Certification. These certifications are designed to validate your skills on the features and functionality of key technologies. You can show your depth of knowledge in one specific technology, earn multiple MCTS certifications to show breadth across different products, or build on the MCTS to earn a Professional Series credential.

MCTS candidates are capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

 MCTS certifications can be achieved in following technologies:

* Windows technologies

* Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft .NET Framework technologies

* Microsoft SQL Server technologies

* Microsoft Office System technologies (including Office SharePoint Server and Office Project Server)

* Microsoft Exchange Server technology

* Other technologies

Certification and Exam number Windows technologies

Business Desktop Deployment Exam 70-624

Connected Home Integrator Exam 70-625

Windows Embedded CE 6.0: Application Development Exam 70-571

Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuration Exam 70-654

Windows Mobile 5.0, Applications Exam 70-540

Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing Exam 70-500

Windows Server 2003 Hosted Environments – Configuration and Management Exam 70-501

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration Exam 70-640

Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration Exam 70-642

Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Exam 70-643

Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration Exam 70-652

Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuration Exam 70-653

Windows Vista – Configuration Exam 70-620

Microsoft Visual Studio and Microsoft .NET Framework technologies

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-528

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-526

Dot .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-529

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 ADO .NET Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-561

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 ASP .NET Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-562

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Communication Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-503

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Forms Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-505

Dot .NET Framework 3.5 Windows Presentation Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-502

Dot .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications Exam 70-536 and Exam 70-504

Microsoft SQL Server technologies

SQL Server 2005 Exam 70-431

SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Exam 70-445

SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance Exam 70-448

SQL Server 2008, Database Development Exam 70-433

SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance Exam 70-432

Microsoft Office System technologies (including Office SharePoint Server and Office Project Server)

Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 Exam 70-633

Communications Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-638

Groove 2007, Configuration Exam 70-555

Live Communications Server 2005 Exam 70-262

Performance Point Server 2007, Applications Exam 70-556

Projects 2007, Managing Projects Exam 70-632

Project Server 2007, Configuration Exam 70-639

SharePoint Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-630

SharePoint Server 2007 – Application Development Exam 70-542

Visio 2007, Application Development Exam 70-545

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development Exam 70-541

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Configuration Exam 70-631

Microsoft Exchange Server technology

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 – Configuration Exam 70-236

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Microsoft 70-640 Exam Quick Pass Tips ( Windows Server 2008)
As the your know that getting good job you need pass Microsoft exams and get certified to eligible for the job. Some Microsoft exams are not as simple and easy to pass; you need get the core concept of the exam this article will help you to under stand Microsoft Server 2008 for the exams of 70-640, 70-642.

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WHAT IS WINDOWS SERVER 2008
Windows Server 2008 R2, or simply R2 for short, is the second release of Windows Server 2008 . It isn’t a completely new release, but rather adds additional features and refinements to the existing release . In this book, we focus on the new features and refinements in R2 . We assume you have at least a general knowledge of Windows Server, and that you have some familiarity with Windows Server 2008, although we don’t assume you’re actively running Windows Server 2008 . Where an R2 feature is a refinement of a feature that was new in Windows Server 2008, we provide background on the Windows Server 2008 feature to provide context .

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The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications enable professionals to target specific technologies and to distinguish themselves by demonstrating in-depth knowledge and expertise in their specialized technologies. An MCTS is consistently capable of implementing, building, troubleshooting, and debugging a particular Microsoft technology.

Start by showing companies that you mean business by certifying on the technology that you already know. And let DreamSpark to lend you a hand by providing you with a free certification exam while supplies last from now until June 30th, 2009. You have the knowledge; now put it to the test and advance your career!

Technology Series (MCTS)

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credential enables professionals to target specific technologies, and are generally the first step toward the Professional-level certifications. There are currently 20 MCTS certifications which can be roughly grouped into the following specializations, each requiring certain examinations to be passed:

Office specializations

Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007

Exam 70-632: Microsoft Office Project 2007, Managing Projects

Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007]

Exam 70-633: Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Managing Projects

Forefront Client and Server, Configuration

Exam 70-557: Microsoft Forefront Client and Server, Configuration

Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuration

Exam 70-630: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuring

Office SharePoint Server 2007, Application Development

Exam 70-542: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Application Development

Sharepoint 2010, Application Development

Exam 70-573: TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development

.NET Framework specializations

.NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications

Exam 70-528: .NET Framework 2.0 – Web-Based Client Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications

Exam 70-526: .NET Framework 2.0 – Windows-Based Client Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications

Exam 70-529: .NET Framework 2.0 – Distributed Application Development

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation

.NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Applications

Exam 70-536: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-562: .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Presentation Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-502: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Presentation Foundation

Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Communication Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-503: TS: .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Communication Foundation Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Workflow Foundation Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-504: TS: .NET Framework 3.5 – Windows Workflow Foundation Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-505: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development

.NET Framework 3.5, ADO.NET Applications

Exam 70-536: TS: .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-561: TS: .NET Framework 3.5, ADO.NET Application Development

.NET Framework 4, Windows Applications

Exam 70-511: TS: .NET Framework 4, Windows Applications

.NET Framework 4, Web Applications

Exam 70-515: TS: .NET Framework 4, Web Applications

.NET Framework 4, Service Communications Applications

Exam 70-513: TS: .NET Framework 4, Service Communications Applications

.NET Framework 4, Data Access

Exam 70-516: TS: .NET Framework 4, Data Access

SQL Server specializations

SQL Server 2005

Exam 70-431: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Implementation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence

Exam 70-445: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence – Implementation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance

Exam 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008, Database Development

Exam 70-433: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Development

SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance

Exam 70-448: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance

SQL Server 2008 Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database

Exam 70-450: PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Server Infrastructure using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 Design Database

Exam 70-451: PRO: Designing Database Solutions and Data Access Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence

Exam 70-452: PRO: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008

Exam 70-453: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 DBA to MCITP SQL Server 2008 DBA

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008, Database Development

Exam 70-454: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 Database Developer to MCITP SQL Server 2008 Database Developer

Upgrade SQL Server 2005 Certification to SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence

Exam 70-455: Upgrade: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Developer to MCITP SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Developer

Business intelligence specializations

BizTalk Server 2006*Exam 70-235: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using Microsoft BizTalk Server

Live Communications Server 2005*Exam 70-262: Office Live Communications Server 2005-Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Configuration*Exam 70-236: Exchange Server 2007, Configuring

Windows specializations

Windows Mobile 5.0 Applications

Exam 70-540: Windows Mobile 5.0 – Application Development

Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing

Exam 70-500: Windows Mobile 5.0, Implementing and Managing

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Application Development

Exam 70-541: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuration

Exam 70-631: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuring

Windows Vista Configuration

Exam 70-620: Windows Vista, Configuring

Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops, Deploying and Maintaining

Exam 70-624: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration

Exam 70-640: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring

Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration

Exam 70-642: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring

Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration

Exam 70-643: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring

Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSA to Windows Server 2008, Technology

Specializations

Exam 70-648: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring and Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring: upgrade of Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008 for the two above aforementioned MCTS credentials consisting parts of exams 70-640 and 70-642

Windows 7 Configuration

Exam 70-680: Windows 7, Configuring

Windows 7 and Office 2010, Deployment

Exam 70-681: Windows 7 and Office 2010, Deploying

Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

Exam 70-685: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

Exam 70-686: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Administrator

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On August 9, 2011, Apple’s market capitalization briefly rose to $341.5 billion, edging it just ahead of Exxon, until that morning the highest-valued company in the world. The company Steve Jobs had co-created putting together computers, the one that Michael Dell had suggested shutting down 14 years earlier because it had no future, was now worth more than any other. The stock fell back by the end of the day, but it had made its mark; the transformation of Apple from financial basket case to ruler was complete. At the end of the day it was worth $346.7 billion; Microsoft was worth $214.3 billion and Google $185.1 billion.

Compared to the end of 1998 (Apple $5.54 billion, Microsoft $344.6 billion, Google $10 million), the aggregate wealth of the companies had more than doubled. Microsoft, though, had shrunk by 40%, after being outdistanced first in search, then in digital music and then in smartphones — in the latter category by both companies.

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The companies had changed enormously. Google was soon to celebrate its 13th birthday, having roared from a three-person garage start-up to web giant; it was struggling too with having nearly 29,000 staff worldwide. Larry Page, once more the chief executive, was forcing the divisions to justify themselves, getting divisional heads to explain their projects in soundbite-length memos. His greatest concern was that Google was getting too big and slow to act: “Large companies are their own worst enemy,” he said in September. “There are basically no companies that have good slow decisions. There are only companies that have good fast decisions.”

Where Apple hadn’t heard of Google 13 years before, now it had gone from having a common cause against Microsoft to being just a business acquaintance, and sometimes opponent; Apple and Microsoft bid together against Google for patents covering the mobile business. Apple was seeking to disintermediate Google from search with the cloud-based voice search of its upcoming iPhone. And they were constantly niggling each other in smartphones and tablets. Even so, by September 2011 the majority of mobile search still came from iPhones, according to Google testimony at the US Senate.

Apple had changed. From just under 10,000 full- and part-time staff in September 1998, it had grown to being 50,000 strong, though around 30,000 were in its retail store chain; the core of the company in Cupertino remained small and relatively tight-knit. The old enmity with Microsoft still flickered occasionally, but strategically they almost ignored each other. Apple’s position in PCs was set at 5% of the market. It had won in music. It didn’t do search. Its position in phones and tablets had pushed Microsoft to playing catch-up; yet the Redmond company could rely on the sheer heft of 1.5 billion PC installations to ensure a stream of replacements and of new sales for Office. Apple’s value, revenues and profits had all passed those of its old rival. Its reputation had been transformed from put-upon also-ran PC maker to world-spanning design brand. Tim Cook’s influence was visible in its inventory, whose value was equivalent to three days’ hardware sales.

Microsoft, by contrast, had gone from world-beater to catch-up. The staff at Microsoft (90,000 worldwide, compared to 27,000 in summer 1998) were a little battle-weary too. As Steve Ballmer, still the chief executive, spoke at the September 2011 all-hands company meeting in front of 20,000 employees, some simply got up and left, unhappy at the ‘cloud computing’ strategy, the stock’s lack of movement, and the lack of excitement at their employer. The version of Windows that would truly work on tablets was still a year away. Microsoft seemed mired in its fabulously profitable past – not a leader or innovator in search or on mobiles or tablets or anything. People began whispering that Steven Sinofsky, who had conquered internal politics and got the Windows team to grapple successfully with the future of tablets and chip architectures, might be chief executive material.

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Mozilla said yesterday that it will build a “proof-of-concept” version of Firefox for Windows 8′s Metro touch-first interface next quarter, then follow that with more functional editions later in the year.

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The company is the first of Microsoft’s browser rivals to publicly commit to a Metro edition. Microsoft has said it will ship both Metro and traditional desktop versions of Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) with Windows 8 and Windows on ARM (WOA), the new OS targeting tablets and other low-powered devices.

Metro is Microsoft’s label for the touch-enabled interface at the center of both Windows 8 and WOA. Windows 8 will run Metro and traditional 32- and 64-bit Windows applications, but WOA will run only those third-party apps designed for Metro.

In an update to its 2012 roadmap published Sunday, Mozilla said that it would craft a “technology proof of concept” of Firefox on Metro as a first step. “This is not [an] alpha or a beta, but should demonstrate the feasibility of Firefox in Windows 8 Metro,” Asa Dotzler, the product director of Firefox, wrote in a roadmap overview.

The proof of concept is currently slated to roll out in the second quarter of 2012. Alpha and beta versions of the browser will follow in July through December.

“The Alpha will prove the installation path and basic browsing features, [and] the beta will be feature complete for a 1.0-capability product,” Dotzler added.

In a more detailed planning document, Mozilla spelled out some specific goals of Firefox on Metro, saying that it will rely on existing Gecko libraries in 32-bit Windows to avoid having to port the bulk of the browser’s code to the WinRT API (application programming interface).

Gecko is the Firefox browser engine, while WinRT refers to “Windows Runtime,” the new programming model Microsoft is promoting for developing Metro apps in Windows 8.

“Firefox on Metro [will be] a full-screen App with an Appbar that contains common navigation controls (back, reload, etc.,) the Awesomebar, and some form of tabs,” the document stated.

If Mozilla’s assumptions are correct — that it will power Firefox Metro on Windows 8 via current Gecko libraries — its new browser would run only on Windows 8, not on WOA.

Mozilla has already put considerable resources into Firefox for Android, and has talked about creating a Web-based operating system of its own, dubbed “Boot to Gecko,” for tablets and smartphones.

Mozilla said it will have a better idea of the work necessary to create a Metro Firefox on Windows 8 after Microsoft ships the Consumer Preview of the new operating system on Feb. 29.

Metro apps will be distributed only through the Windows Store, Microsoft has said.

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After months of waiting, Google+ invites enterprises, brands into the fold

Computerworld – Google is getting ready for businesses to start jumping onboard its Google+ social network.

The social network Monday began to roll out Google+ Pages to help businesses create a presence on the social network platform for connecting with their users locally or worldwide. Vic Gundotra, Google senior vice president of engineering, wrote in a blog post that users can add businesses to their circles, recommend them with a +1 and connect with business team members personally in Hang Outs.

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“For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour,” Gundotra wrote. “Google+ Pages give life to everything we find in the real world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.”

Google+ engineers appear to be gradually rolling out the new Pages. While some organizations, like the band ColdPlay, already have signed up, not everyone can. Some users clicking on the link to create a business page receive the prompt, “Google+ Pages isn’t ready for everyone, and asks users to “check back soon.” Gundotra said in his blog post that everyone “will soon be able to join.”

Google released its social network last June and a month later was asking enterprises and organizations to back off from using the site for business purposes.

“Right now, we’re very much focused on optimizing for the consumer experience,” said Christian Oestlien, a developer on the Google+ project, in a video blog posted last summer. “But we have a great team of engineers building a similarly optimized business experience for Google+. We are very excited about it and hope to roll it out later this year.”

At the time, Google also put out a call for business that would be interested in acting as a test group so Google engineers could see how users want to interact with companies.

A matter of days after that post, Google said it was accelerating its efforts to develop a business version of Google+. The company also noted that “tens of thousands” of businesses had signed up to be part of their test group.

In Monday’s blog post, Gundotra did not say how the company had optimized Google+ Pages for business use. Google has not yet responded to a request for more information.

Despite the lack of details, Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group, said this is a good move for Google+. “It’s high time that Google delivered on the promise of a more business-oriented social networking mechanism,” Olds said. “This is one area where they can get a jump on Facebook and make a name for themselves.”

Many businesses and organizations use Facebook for marketing purposes, but the social network isn’t optimized for them, Old said. Monday’s announcement could give Google+ an advantage in the lucrative enterprise market.

“With Facebook, companies are using mechanisms that are really designed and geared to individuals,” he added. “While they’re making it work, they’d probably be better served with tools that are designed with companies in mind. Google+ can get the jump on Facebook if they can put together a set of tools that make social networking easier and more effective for businesses.”

A group of businesses, including Macy’s, Pepsi, Toyota, Angry Birds and Zen Bikes, already have set up business pages on Google+.

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After ten days of hemming and hawing, Google is ready to address — but not apologize to — those users upset by the death of Reader’s social features. “We understand that some may not like this change,” a Google spokesperson told The Atlantic Wire. “Retiring Reader’s sharing features wasn’t a decision that we made lightly, but in the end, it helps us focus on fewer areas and build an even better experience across all of Google.”

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Related: How to Survive the Switch from Google Reader to Google+
Undoubtedly, some people like Reader’s facelift for the cleaner design, but those opposed are increasingly vocal. As we’ve reported last week, the group of Google Reader evangelists known as the Sharebros did not take Google’s decision to redesign the social RSS-site lightly. About 10,000 disgruntled Sharebros have signed a petition, and some are even working on building their own replacement site, HiveMined, that resurrects the now missing following, sharing and commenting features as Google encourages people to use Google+ for these kinds of things. Francis Cleary, the developer that came up with and has been building the Reader replacement, told us on Monday, “Google+ is a cool idea, but it’s not about content first. It’s about page views — that’s not what people want.”
Related: The World Is Surprisingly Angry About the End of Google Reader

Then there’s the matter of the Iranian freedom fighters. Because Google Reader worked effectively like a social network, and because it existed in the google.com domain, the Iranian government didn’t block access as they had for Facebook and Twitter. The network of Iranian activists protested loudlywhen Google announced the move to Google+, because they were worried that the Iranian government would cut off yet another lifeline used to organize online. In a post on their official Farsi blog, Google addressed the Iranian protesters but not the domain issue. A rough (Google Translate) translation reads:[indent]
We are currently developing solutions to tackle other forms of support for the identity (beyond the common use of real names), but in time we’ll try to post more information that’s not in this report. We believe that support for pseudonyms valuable feature for Google+ and the team is trying to accomplish it. Meanwhile, Google Reader continues to support the RSS feed Subscribe (RSS Feed) to a large group of users in Iran.[/indent]
Pseudonyms could protect Iranians freedom fighters from being identified on social networks, but Iran’s history of blocking freedom of speech suggests that the probably won’t have access to Google’s social network at all. In July, Iran’s culture minister called Google+ “a new spy tool on the Web” andcut off access less than two weeks after launch. But don’t worry, “a large group of users in Iran” can still read RSS feeds. Free speech between the Iranian citizens, be damned.

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Users must be alert about having their real identity from Google+ replace pseudonyms in other Google services

Google’s work to integrate its Google+ social networking site broadly with its other services could raise red flags for users who want to closely guard their privacy.

It’s valid to raise concerns over Google’s decision to integrate Google+, which carries a real-name requirement for users, with other Google services people have been using with pseudonyms for years, said John Verdi, senior counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, in a phone interview.

Google’s nightmare scenario would be for a critical mass of users to inadvertently green-light Google+ integrations only to later complain that they didn’t know their pseudonyms in certain services would be replaced by their Google+ real name.

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If that were to happen, Google could find itself in a privacy controversy that it can ill afford. The U.S. government has the company on a short leash, having mandated audits of its privacy policies and practices for the next 20 years after a privacy firestorm ignited with the launch of the now-closed Buzz service last year.

Buzz, a microblogging and social networking service, debuted with an integration with the Gmail webmail service that exposed users’ private e-mail contacts publicly and without authorization.

Since launching Google+ this summer, Google officials have been stressing that it makes it simple and intuitive for members to control what they share, with whom and how.

During this initial period, when Google+ has operated mostly as a stand-alone social networking site, consensus has been that, yes, its content sharing and privacy controls work well and as advertised.

However, Google has now started to integrate Google+ with other services, and it remains to be seen whether a critical mass of users will fully understand the interaction, cross-functionality and data sharing between Google+ and other Google services.

Google officials, from the CEO on down, are gung-ho about Google+ and it’s clear that the push to fuse Google+ with other company services will be extensive.

Google has redesigned the interface of the Google Account control panel, whose previous version clearly listed Google services available to users as part of the account, along with links to the services and some of their settings pages. The new control panel lacks that list of services.

Previously found at google.com/accounts, the control panel is now part of the Google+ site domain, another sign that Google+ is becoming the command center for privacy controls and settings across Google services. The new control panel includes a link to the old control panel, but it’s not clear for how long the latter will be available.

The road to propagate Google+ across the Google product line is just starting, and the potential for a misstep at some point seems high, considering that at issue is the online identity of potentially hundreds of millions of people.

In some cases, shielding their real identity is of life-and-death importance for some people, such as spousal abuse victims and political dissidents in totalitarian regimes.

“If Google wants to be the broker in the relationship between pseudonyms and real names, there will be all sorts of ways that that could go wrong across their many services. If you’re a user in Syria depending on your pseudonymity in order to stay alive, that’s not a very comforting situation,” said Peter Eckersley, technology projects director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, via e-mail.

In other words, now more than ever, Google must make sure that it fully complies its famous “do not be evil” philosophy.

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Google (NSDQ:GOOG) and Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) are likely helping finance rival bids to acquire Yahoo (NSDQ:YHOO), with mountains of cash as likely a motive as competitive reasons, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

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Google has talked to at least two private equity firms about the possibility of financing bids to acquire Yahoo, the Journal reported.

The word of the potential deal comes less than a month after it was reported that Microsoft may be looking for a partner to bid on Yahoo.

The possibility of both Google and Microsoft financing rival bids for Yahoo makes a powerful statement about the future of the Internet and search engines.

Yahoo and Microsoft in 2009 agreed to work together in the online search and advertisement business, with Microsoft’s Bing search engine powering Yahoo’s search capabilities and Yahoo becoming the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

A successful bid by a Microsoft-backed private equity firm could help cement that company’s relationship with Yahoo.

At the same time, Google is Yahoo’s top rival in the online search engine business, an important business because searches help drive a large portion of internet advertising dollars. If Google were to back a successful bid for Yahoo, it could help prevent Microsoft from capitalizing on its Yahoo relationship.

The Journal, citing two unnamed sources, wrote that Google is in talks with two private equity firms about the possibility of financing a bid for Yahoo.

Such a move, however, would come under strong antitrust scrutiny, especially since an agreement between the two regarding an advertising partnership was scuttled by the U.S. government in 2008.

Google and Microsoft may be looking to finance bids for Yahoo for reasons other than competitive drivers. The Journal, in a separate report, wrote that Google has about $42.6 billion in cash, while Microsoft has about $57.4 billion in cash. For both companies, the bulk of that cash is overseas, and could be put to better use as a loan to private equity firms than leaving it in the bank, the Journal wrote.

Yahoo’s share prices rose 3.7 percent to $16.71 on the news of the rival bids.

Google did not respond to a request for further information.

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Microsoft’s share of the global browser market fell 0.92 percent in September in comparison with the prior month. What’s more, Internet Explorer’s market share has declined 7.5 percentage points since the same time last year, according to the latest data from Net Applications.

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On the other hand, 22.1 percent of all Windows 7 machines accessing the Internet worldwide were running Microsoft’s latestIE9 browser at the end of September, the web metrics firm said Saturday. The other top browsers running on Windows 7 machines were IE8 (31.6 percent), Firefox 6 (13.7 percent), Chrome 13 (13.1 percent) and Chrome 14 (5.9 percent).

Microsoft specifically designed IE9 to take advantage of the advanced graphics capabilities of the latest desktop PCs, laptops, netbooks and media tablets running Windows 7. As a result, IE9 on Windows 7 machines accounted for a 31 percent market share of the browser market in the United States last month.

“Microsoft has been pushing IE9 and Windows 7 as the best browsing experience on Windows 7 because of IE9′s use of hardware acceleration and its integration with the Windows 7 user interface,” said Net Applications, which is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Leveraging Windows 7 Machines
Given that most people never change the browser that ships with their new machines, IE9′s market share will inevitably continue to rise as more people upgrade to new hardware. According to Net Applications, machines running Windows 7 accounted for 30.4 percent of all browser users worldwide at the end of September.
However, IE9′s emphasis on advanced hardware characteristics made it impossible for Microsoft to offer IE9 support on older machines running Windows XP, which was introduced in August 2001. Microsoft reports that IE6 still held a 9 percent share of the global browser market in September.

In China, for example, IE6 held a 28.7 percent market share and also continues to post significant numbers in South Korea (11.9 percent), Japan (7.1 percent), India (7.1 percent) and Taiwan (6.6 percent). Asia as a whole currently accounts for more than 42 percent of the world’s Internet usage, according to Internet World Stats.
Elsewhere in the world, however, IE6 is tottering on the edge of extinction. In the United States last month, for example, IE6 held a mere 1.4 percent share of the browser market and also posted similar low share numbers throughout Europe, Africa and South America.

Chrome Uptake Climbs
Mozilla notified its browser developer community last April that Firefox would be moving to a shorter development cycle with respect to future releases. Under the new system, Mozilla can in theory issue a Firefox browser refresh at six-week intervals from now on. Nevertheless, Firefox’s 22.5 percent share of the global market at the end of September was slightly down from where the browser stood in April.

The shorter development cycles are great for individual users, but corporations take a while to accept and implement a new browser throughout their workforce, said Net Applications Executive Vice President Vincent Vizzaccaro.
“This factor alone can put a ceiling on what non-IE browsers can hope to achieve in terms of usage market share,” Vizzaccaro said. “Mozilla may be backing off of a rapid development cycle and [I] would guess that the reason [would be] to bring corporations back into their mix of users.”

By contrast, Chrome’s share of the global browser market leaped from 12.5 percent in April to 16.2 percent in September. Apple’s Safari browser uptake also rose in September as is generally the case at the start of the annual back-to-school shopping season.

“This year, Mac share rose 0.42 percent to reach 6.45 percent of worldwide desktop usage and 13.7 percent in the United States,” Net Applications said.

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Facebook has outlined plans to encourage users to share more of the media they consume – including music and movies – with friends.

Its founder Mark Zuckerberg also unveiled a dramatic redesign to the website, replacing user profiles with an audio visual timeline of their life.

The updates were revealed at Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference.

A wave of new features in recent weeks have been welcomed by some users and caused annoyance to many others.

Facebook’s latest changes point to a desire to keep users engaged through new features, in the midst of rapid innovation from social networking rivals.

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The site’s application platform has been redesigned to allow users to share what they are consuming on streaming music services such as Spotify, and the movie rental site Netflix.

Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
[indent]
Knowing you helped a friend discover something new and they liked your taste in music, and that you now have that in common, is awesome”
Mark ZuckerbergFacebook founder[/indent]
News sites, including the Guardian and Independent newspapers, are also included in the initial roll out.

Depending on privacy settings, users will be able to see what friends are doing – for example, playing a song – then listen-in themselves.

Mr Zuckerberg said he wanted to create, what he called, “real time serendipity”.

“Being able to click on someone’s music is a great experience, but knowing you helped a friend discover something new and they liked your taste in music, and that you now have that in common is awesome,” he added.

Facebook said that users would only be able to do as much on the site as its media partners allowed in each country, so free music sharing through streaming apps would only work where that service was already available outside Facebook.

New look
Alongside the deeper integration of media content, the restyling of Facebook’s profile pages is also likely to prove a hot topic among users.

Rory Cellan-Jones examines how Facebook’s announcement affects the social networking war

The most radical departure so far from the site’s well known profile format will doubtless prove contentious with its sometimes conservative members.

Identities will now be defined through a densely packed vertical timeline of major life events, made up of photos, videos and other items. The level of detail diminishes the further down a reader scrolls.

Profile pages had previously been limited to basic information along with a stream of every single item posted by a user.

The latest offering is significantly different to those of Facebook’s biggest social networking rivals, Google+ and Twitter, and more closely resembles the once-popular site Myspace.

“Facebook is positioning itself as not just your social graph online, but your life online,” Forrester Research analyst Sean Corcoran told the Associated Press.

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Google has no reservations about baking Zagat’s right into its artificial intelligence search engine of tomorrow

Computerworld – Google bought Zagat Survey this week for an unknown amount between $50 million and $200 million. Zagat specializes in ratings for restaurants, hotels and travel destinations informed by the input of some 350,000 contributors 70-640 Training .

The acquisition is Google’s 104th. (The blog TechCrunch claims that the deal did not merit an FTC antitrust review, which happens automatically for any deal worth $66 million or more.)

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Google offered Zagat competitor Yelp $500 million in December 2009, but the offer was rejected.

Silicon Valley companies often make acquisitions to gain access to talent, intellectual property or markets. But Google’s Zagat buy is mostly about data and a winning methodology for maintaining it.

Zagat ratings are on a 30-point scale, with 30 being the highest score for each attribute. In the case of restaurants, attributes are “Food,” “Decor” and “Service.” The database behind all this has a number between zero and 30 associated with each location’s attribute, as well as pricing and other information. It also contains a field where short blurby “reviews” are entered.

Data for Zagat’s is gathered using a reliable methodology that’s much harder to “game” than Google’s “Places” service.

As an embarrassing example of how unreliable Places is, the New York Times this week published an expose about the apparently widespread problem of sabotage on the service. Unscrupulous business owners are apparently using the tools on Places to falsely label their competitors as “permanently closed.”

Places data also shows up on Google Maps, associated with each business’s location.

“Closed” or “open” status is either true or false. As such, it’s a relatively easy thing to check. The hidden problem with sites like Places, as well as Yelp, is the unmeasurable “reviews” portion of each service. It’s very easy for a business owner to write fake positive reviews for his own business, and fake bad reviews for the competition.

The Times also published another expose recently about the growing industry of fake restaurant and hotel reviews for hire.

Zagat’s reviews are more reliable in part because participation is more time consuming and engaging, and also because Zagat uses editors to filter comments. Zagat also polices results, and threatens on its website to remove any establishment caught violating its Content Creation Policy.

There’s no question that Zagat data will improve the quality of recommendations on Places and Maps.
Why Google really bought Zagat

Google started out as a search company, and continues to rely on search for the core of its business. But this success requires constant innovation and improvement in the search experience.

About a year ago, Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal about the next big leap in search technology that Google is working on.

In the future, according to Schmidt, you won’t have to do searching as much as you do now. Instead, Google’s back-end system will proactively suggest things like a personal assistant would. Those suggestions will be based on a detailed understanding of your preferences, and also of the world.

Schmidt said at last year’s TechCrunch Disrupt conference that the next step in boosting the speed of search results is something called “autonomous search.” The idea is that Google is always searching in the background for you based on your context at any moment Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training.

This self-directed search engine will draw from multiple data points, including product and service rankings, store inventory databases, geo-location data and most of all, your personal history using Google services. Another aspect of the “autonomous search” idea is constant improvement. The more you use the service, the more accurate and useful it becomes.

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Getting the hang of Google+ and looking for more? Check out these four Google+ tools that let you easily upload photos in bulk, find new people to follow, translate posts and more.

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CIO — While rumors continue to swirl about when the Google+ API will be released to developers, that’s not stopping some people from getting in on the Google+ action.

Whether you’re just starting out on Google+ or consider yourself an advanced user, more and more Google+ enhancements and add-ons are popping up across the Web.

Here’s a look at four new ones that do everything from streamlining bulk photo-uploading to helping you increase your network reach.

1. Google+ Photo Importer for iPhone
If you store your photos on multiple sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Instagram or Photobucket, there’s a new download available in the Apple App Store that lets you upload 100 photos in less than a minute to your Google+ account. This tool is especially handy if you plan on shifting your social networking focus to Google+.

The Google Plus Photo Importer by Dropico costs 99 cents, and while uploads I tested generally took longer than the advertised 60 seconds, it was still impressively fast.

10 Google+ tips for Beginners
Google+ Privacy: 5 Settings You Need to Know

2. Find People on Google+
Looking for more connections on Google+? While its own search feature only lets you find people by name, you can dig a bit deeper to find groups of people with certain characteristics at FindPeopleOnPlus.

Here, you can not only search for people by name, but you can also search by profession, location, relationship status, gender, education, employer, occupation and more, which makes growing your network and tailoring it to your needs a lot easier.

You can also choose to add yourself to its directory. This will keep your FindPeopleOnPlus profile updated and in-synch with your Google+ profile.

3. PlusClout
Akin to Klout.com, a site that measures your social media influence, PlusClout measures the influence a user has on Google+ and rates it from 0 to 100.

When you visit the site, PlusClout will ask you to insert your Google+ ID in order to generate your score. Your ID is the string of numbers that appear in the URL of your profile page.

PlusClout says that while its formula is still evolving, right now it calculates your number based on 15 million public Google+ profiles and items shared, such as posts, comments, +1s, the number of followers you have and the frequency and volume of information sharing.

You can also browse people with the highest PlusClout in categories such as bloggers, designers, entrepreneurs and the most-followed users on Google+. Click on any of these names and you will see their current PlusClout score, a graph of their score over the last five days, and websites associated with that person.
4. Google Translate for Google+

If you want to connect with people from around the world but find that language is a barrier, this is a must-download Google Chrome extension.

Google Translate for Google+ is a powerful tool that inserts a button into your Google+ streams, letting you quickly interpret a chunk of foreign text.

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Summary: Google’s decision to introduce a plug-in that runs Google Chrome inside Microsoft’s Internet Explorer isn’t sitting well with the folks at Redmond.

Google’s decision to introduce a plug-in that runs Google Chrome inside Microsoft’s Internet Explorer isn’t sitting well with the folks at Redmond.

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The Google Chrome Frame, which is presented as a  seamless way to bring Google Chrome’s open web technologies and speedy JavaScript engine to Internet Explorer, has increased the attack surface for IE users, Microsoft said today.

Here’s Microsoft’s official reaction:

“With Internet Explorer 8, we made significant advancements and updates to make the browser safer for our customers. Given the security issues with plug-ins in general and Google Chrome in particular, Google Chrome Frame running as a plug-in has doubled the attach area for malware and malicious scripts. This is not a risk we would recommend our friends and families take. For a deeper look at how the browsers stack up in security, take a look at the latest phishing and malware data from NSS Labs.”

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VPN and secure Wi-Fi also added to Google’s Chrome OS

Google’s Web-based Chromebooks can now access Windows desktops and applications through Citrix’s virtualization technology, thanks to a new app released this week.

The Citrix Receiver Tech Preview for Chrome OS, available on the Chrome Web Store, is a free client app for businesses that use Citrix virtualization to host desktops and applications in the data center.

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Citrix Receiver was already available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and BlackBerry, letting users access virtual desktops and applications from just about any computer, tablet or smartphone. This week’s addition brings the same technology to Chromebooks, addressing a key limitation in the devices, which force users to do all their computing within Google’s Chrome browser.

“If you use Citrix in your organization, you can now install the Citrix Receiver Tech Preview app from the Chrome Web Store to access desktop software such as Adobe Photoshop directly from your Chromebook,” Google technical program manager Alberto Martin writes in a blog post.

Google also updated the Chrome OS operating system this week, bringing “VPN and secure Wi-Fi support (802.1X),” according to Martin.

Updating Chromebooks to the latest version requires users to go into the settings, accept the update and restart the computer. Because Chromebooks boot in seconds, the process is very quick.

Google revealed its Chromebook plans in May, claiming that a new type of operating system is needed because Windows is “torturing users.” Chromebooks are being sold by Samsung and Acer for $350 to $500, and Google offers a subscription plan to businesses and schools for $20 to $30 per device per month.

Citrix joined Google at the Chromebook launch to announce Citrix Receiver support, saying the software uses HTML5 to create a rich user experience in the Chrome browser. Google said VMware also plans to bring virtualization technology to Chromebooks, but no release date has been revealed.

To use the Citrix Receiver client on Chromebooks, businesses must have a XenApp or XenDesktop deployment in their data centers, and install some new files allowing the connection from the clients to the virtual desktops and applications.

“If your company uses Citrix to host applications, you can use Citrix Receiver to check your email, review documents, tune into project dashboards, and approve expenses from your Chrome OS Chromebook,” Citrix says on the Receiver download page. “Just ask your help desk for the URL to set up Receiver.”

Citrix notes that the Chromebook setup lets users “Access your applications and Windows desktop at your office, home, or on the road; keep your information stored on your provider’s secure servers, not on your device; [and] move from desktop to tablet to smartphone.”

Citrix support will make Chromebooks a viable business option for some types of workers. But Google has a long way to go before Chrome OS desktop usage catches up to Windows, Mac or even Ubuntu Linux.

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Google noticed an increase in attacks on Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer machines and is working with its rival to mitigate the MHTML exploit, which targets political activists.

Google said it is working with Microsoft to patch a hole in the Windows operating system hackers are trying to exploit to target activists, among other users.

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The search engine, which called the attacks “highly targeted and apparently politically motivated,” said the perpetrator(s) abuses a known vulnerability Microsoft treated with a temporary patch in late January.

Update: Google would not reveal which activists have been targeted or the origin of the attacks.

The bug lies in the MHTML (MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML) protocol handler on Windows XP and later Windows versions, and is exploited as a cross-site scripting attack when users surf the Web with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser.

An attacker could leverage the hole by writing an HTML link designed to trigger a malicious script and convince the targeted user to click it.

The exploit can be used to run JavaScript code on IE, giving an attacker a way to access user information stored in the browser and trick users into installing malicious code.

Microsoft issued this fix for the security flaw in January, but  the flaw is being used to target political activists and even users on at least one popular social Website, Google said.

Google’s security engineers recommend users, including businesses whose computers use IE, run Microsoft’s Fixit solution on their computers to block this attack until permanent patch is available.

For its part, Google said it has set up several server-side defenses to protect users of its own Web services against the MHTML exploit.

“That said, these are not tenable long-term solutions, and we can’t guarantee them to be 100 percent reliable or comprehensive,” Google’s security team wrote in a blog post March 11. “We’re working with Microsoft to develop a comprehensive solution for this issue.”

That Google is working directly with rival Microsoft is a testament to the seriousness of the issue. Rivalries tend to get placed on the backburner where computer security is concerned, but the joint effort certainly underscores the companies’ shared concern.

Indeed, Google said the abuse of this vulnerability represents a new quality in the exploitation of Web-level vulnerabilities. The company said such attacks previously focused on directly compromising users’ systems, as opposed to leveraging vulnerabilities to interact with Web services.

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Microsoft Bing needs to stick around and not only drive Google to innovate, but to enjoy the fruits mobile, local and One backlash of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) revelation that its online services business lost $2.6 billion in the last fiscal year is that it had financial pundits calling for not only CEO Steve Ballmer’s resignation, but for the Redmond, Wash., software giant to dump the main culprit: Bing.

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Reuters Breakingviews columnists Robert Cyran and Martin Hutchinson July 24 called for Microsoft to shed its search business for cash. Cyran said:

Microsoft needs to concentrate on a different kind of search: finding a buyer for Bing, its online search business. Bing is the industry’s distant No. 2 after Google. It has become a distraction for the software giant—one that costs shareholders dearly. The division that houses Bing lost $2.6 billion in the latest fiscal year. Facebook, or even Apple, might make a better home for Bing. A sale would be a boon for Microsoft’s investors.

This prompted a public relations reaction from Microsoft, which quickly seeded The New York Times with an insider’s piece on Bing. Microsoft granted the Times rare access to Bing leader Qi Lu, whom the software giant lured from Yahoo three years ago to power Bing. Lu talks about the need for a decision engine to make search more intuitive for users.

Analyst David Card, who recently became GigaOm Research’s director, said ridding itself of Bing would be a bad idea for Microsoft.

“Microsoft must have a credible search-engine business to defend its core platforms and APIs, as well as keep its biggest rival, Google, honest by forcing Google to create sustainable business models in competitive markets like applications and mobile,” Card wrote. “And a somewhat more successful search engine would solidify Microsoft’s own ad business and open emerging revenue streams.”

In other words, without Bing, Microsoft lacks the necessary firepower to counter Google online. Facebook enjoys a growing social display-ad business, but it hasn’t quite taken off the way experts believe it should or will. There really are no other formidable challengers, not only to keep Google “honest,” but also to keep the dominant search engine from resting on its laurels. That’s prone to happen in the Internet era; see Yahoo for reference No. 1.

Indeed, Google has accelerated its pace of innovation. Perhaps Google’s biggest search innovation since Bing formally launched in June 2009 came in the form of Google Instant predictive-search technology in September 2010.

Instant was first used for search results, but is now also employed for actual Web pages for which users are searching. The idea is to speed up the pace at which users search for and land on information they are seeking. Google believes this will save its 1 billion Web searchers countless hours of time.

IDC analyst Hadley Reynolds also said that Bing is better for Google, Microsoft and the rest of the world. Reynolds suggests that the reward for success—new business in software and services for social, mobile and local territory—could be bigger than Office for Microsoft at some point in the future.

“The business models may be different, more subscriptions and advertising, but the ability to provide users with an attractive and functional online experience is a constant,” Reynolds told eWEEK. “They will refuse to cede this territory to Google, no matter how many mistakes like Zune and Windows Phone and their earlier Web-search products it takes to eventually gain a good, strong competitive position.”

To that end, Reynolds doesn’t see Microsoft shareholders forcing the company to give up their grip on future business franchises, no matter how many pundits clamor for the play.

“While Google will continue to innovate, the reason they are more focused on this is because there is a viable competitor in the market,” Altimeter Group founding analyst Charlene Li told eWEEK. “Is this keeping Google honest? I prefer to think that it’s serving our [consumers'] needs better.”

Li—who admitted that she is a Google power user who occasionally goes to Bing for travel search, which she claimed is better than what Google offers to date—also pointed to the broad, deep partnership between Facebook and Microsoft: Facebook gives Microsoft social-network access and Bing powers Facebook’s Web search, need each other.

“The social search on Bing is decent, and at some point, I expect that parts of it will show up in Facebook itself. So add Facebook to the equation, and the whole dynamic changes,” Li said.

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