As Apple fans queue up in long lines to get their hands on the iPad 2, the contrast with the last big PC-related release – Windows 7 – couldn’t be more stark.

PCs and new operating systems just don’t create a lot of excitement anymore.

You could chalk this up as a fad, or you could argue that scarcity is driving up demand. You could even point out that the PC market is a mature one and not likely to spawn the excitement that gets triggered by novelty. All are reasonable points, but a closer look at the underlying numbers indicates that a serious computing shift is well underway.

Analysts expect Apple to ship 30 million iPads in 2011, double what it shipped in 2010. Android, meanwhile, has been taking the smartphone market by storm. The latest feather in its cap is in Europe, with Android’s market share surging from 4 percent to over 30 percent in less than a year.

Even Microsoft, which stands to lose the most in this computing shift, is banking heavily on cloud computing. As Microsoft touts Windows 7’s cloud functionality in a slew of commercial and product-placement deals, it’s also tacitly admitting that a device’s form factor will soon be far less important than the services it taps into.

How do PCs fit into the cloud computing landscape?
To put it bluntly: they don’t. Okay, that’s probably an overstatement; however, the gains in efficiency, agility and cost that organizations now seek through virtual and cloud-based infrastructures can be undermined by large deployments of PCs.

“In a typical enterprise, as much as 80 percent of IT’s budget is spent on maintenance, which makes it very hard for any IT organization to add value to the business,” said Jeff McNaught, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for Wyse, a provider of cloud client computing solutions.

“Even in cloud-enabled organizations, the maintenance problem does not disappear, since PCs are far more difficult to manage than servers. Data loss, intellectual property theft, viruses, targeted phishing attacks and more plague the PC, which is why end points must evolve in order to unlock the cloud’s true potential.”

Tablets and smartphones are getting all the hype, but many business users are more excited about thin or cloud clients. Unlike PCs, cloud clients can be configured so that they have little or no onboard storage or processing, virtually eliminating client-side attacks.
Moreover, since maintenance, management, patches and updates are all centralized, IT overhead is vastly reduced.

A case in point is Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company. As is common with enterprises of all sizes in all industries, Amerisure had a regular PC replacement cycle. Every three years, the company would write a $2 million check for updated equipment. The $2 million price tag was just the tip of the iceberg cost-wise, however. Productivity was disrupted with each upgrade, and, of course, management and maintenance were ongoing cost centers.

In 2009, Amerisure decided to go in a different direction. Instead of dropping $2 million on new PCs, the company ditched them in favor of a virtualized infrastructure and cloud clients.

Even though the dollar signs are eye catching, the switch wasn’t primarily about money. Rather, it was a strategic business decision. Amerisure sought an agile infrastructure that would deliver ubiquitous access to systems and data from anywhere, at any time and on any device.

The solution Amerisure chose was a Citrix XenApp infrastructure with Wyse cloud client end points. Amerisure estimates that its total savings over five years will be more than $8.5 million.

“Our virtualization implementation was critical for us to lower costs while improving service,” said Jack Wilson, Enterprise Architect at Amerisure. “Amerisure IT now runs like a utility, particularly in the way that our computing infrastructure is now part of the business fabric, like heat or electricity.”

What does the enterprise really want?
The enterprise as a whole hasn’t made up its mind. It’s growing weary of PCs, but is not ready to crown a successor.

Most enterprises are still wary of smartphones, due to IT’s inability to control and secure them. Cloud clients are catching on, offering improved security and lower IT overhead, but most of those clients are still tethered to the desktop.

Tablets represent the middle ground, delivering mobility combined with a scaled-down operating environment. Security, management and maintenance are still question marks, but the enterprise seems to be nearly as excited about tablets as consumers are, which is unusual this early in an adoption cycle.

According to a recent Frost & Sullivan report, tablets had the highest growth rate of all IT hardware sectors worldwide in 2010. Only 5 percent of the 18.3 million tablets shipped last year went to businesses, but the research firm predicts that businesses will snatch up 30 percent of those shipped by 2015.

Continuing on, Toshiba has several new LED HDTVs to unload, some with 3D support and one touted as the “world’s first” personal TV with face recognition.

The UL863 series (pictured above) is really the most intriguing of the TVs introduced today. These devices can identify up to four users using built-in face recognition. Why would that even be necessary? Well, it would automatically adjust the personal settings put in place by the individual user such as volume and favorite channel list. One could argue we’ve reached a whole new level of laziness here and it’s unlikely most consumers would spend extra money simply for that capability, but perhaps it could be useful for someone.

This series is also the only one mentioned here that includes an integrated WLAN interface for Wi-Fi connections. All of these Toshiba TV collections include Smart TV models with DLNA support for connecting and sharing over the same home network. However, both the SL833 (pictured below) and VL863 (pictured right) have to connect using an optional WLAN dongle.

Both the SL833 and UL863 models are available in 32-, 37-, 42- and 46-inch display sizes, host a quartet of HDMI ports along with dual USB 2.0 slots and are Windows 7 certified. The VL863 only ships in 42- and 47-inches wide. Furthermore, all of these full HD LCD panels sport edge LED backlighting and a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Note that pricing hasn’t been announced for any of these panels just yet. Both the UL863 series and VL863 series will roll out in Europe during the second quarter. The VL863 is slated for a May release in Europe.

Forget chatting with friends and browsing Google Maps. These 10 innovative, sometimes off-the-wall uses for the iPad turn into everything from a sketchbook to an in-car navigator, restaurant kiosk and doctor’s sidekick.

And you thought Apple made the iPad just so you can play Angry Birds on a bigger screen. These innovative apps and alternative uses for the 10-inch tablet push a few boundaries – ordering drinks? reviewing an X-Ray? – but show how tablets are making computing mobile and immediate.
Interactive training at a trade show

We’ve taken the iPad at trade shows before, especially CES. However,  Schott, a company that makes a ceramic-glass material for use in  fireplaces, took the concept a step further. At the Hearth, Patio and  Barbeque Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company mounted iPads around  their booth and let people play around with an app that shows how the  technology works.
Check an X-Ray

This one is probably the most innovative use of the iPad we’ve seen.  At the Children’s Hospital of Central California, the staff use an app  called VMware View to treat patients. Essentially, they can tap into a  desktop remotely to view x-rays, check on patient tests, and look at  health records. The technology, called “follow me desktop” is more  streamlined than traditional remote access apps, which just show you  another computer screen, and tap into the data stored on your computer.
Sketch out a drawing

Artists took to the iPad right away – it has an accurate touch screen, it’s viewable from a side angle, and it has a big enough screen to create a real work of art. The Interactive Sketchbook app is one of the best artist tools around. You can pull up a photo on one side of the screen and sketch out your image on the right panel. Some artists swear by the Pogo stylus as well, which gives you a bit more accuracy – though a stylus is not required. Some of the artwork produced with the app is outstanding.
Place your order at a restaurant

There’s an iPad on every table at the Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company  restaurant in Indianapolis, encased in a metal shroud. There are no  regular menus, so you can browse through the dinner selections and order  drinks, check on the status of an order, and even watch videos showing  how they make the food (and the beer). You can also update your Facebook  status.
Go surfing

That’s right, you can go surfing with the iPad. Well, that might be a stretch, but the G-Form outdoor case for the iPad uses a technology called reactive protection which uses a flexible exoskeleton to make sure the iPad doesn’t break. (The company has demonstrated dropping a bowling ball onto the case with an iPad inside playing a movie.) Molecules actually form together when the pad senses impact.
Order a drink at a bar

At the Lunar nightclub in Cincinnati, servers carry around iPads (and iPhones) and can order drinks and menu items using a custom app. (“Runners” bring the food out, so the server never has to go back to the kitchen.) The club also manages the guest list, which is helpful since it hosts parties for as many as 800 people. Managers can communicate about guest check-ins in real-time with the doormen.
DJ at a party

Djay is one of the best apps for iPad because it shows how the tablet can be used for so many different purposes. The app, which allows you to create scratches on the fly and mix to songs together, actually works better than the expensive physical equipment. You can load up countless songs, use the touch interface to make some memorable mixes, cue up tracks for a party, and even use a feature that analyzes your song library to see which songs would be best for a playlist.
Universal remote control

Another universal remote replacement, the Apptwee works with 200  brands and 845 models of home entertainment equipment. There’s an IR  (infrared) dongle that connects to the headphone jack that you use to  communicate with your gear – the dongle costs just $20 and the app is  free to download. What’s cool about the app is that it does more than  just let you control volume. You can change the source, adjust audio  properties, and even control subtitles using the full-screen touch  interface.
Control Verizon FiOS TV

The iPhone and iPad have made those proprietary remote controls with    4,000 buttons and a tiny screen look like a bad joke. One of the most    powerful iPad apps for controlling television is for the Verizon FiOS    TV. You can browse the program guide, set recordings, view which shows    have been recorded recently, and of course switch channels and  control   basic DVR functions.
Mount one in your car

The RAM Mount POD (www.ram-mount.com) clamps to the seat rail on the passenger side of your car so you can run apps, use an app like Navigon for navigation, or even watch a movie (but not while you drive). The mount costs about $73 and includes a roller that holds the tablet in place. RAM Mount also makes iPad mounts for boats and even airplanes, walls in your home, and for desktop use.


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It's official: The iPad 2 handily beats its rivals in nearly every category, according to Consumer Reports' testing.

Apple’s iPad 2 has beat out a flurry of increasingly difficult competition in the tablet market to earn top marks from Consumer Reports, the product testing and review publication announced today. Motorola’s Xoom tablet, which tied in the rankings with the original iPad, “revealed itself as the iPad 2′s chief rival,” says Consumer Reports, and even beats Apple’s latest creation on a variety of points.

“So far, Apple is leading the tablet market in both quality and price, which is unusual for a company whose products are usually premium priced,” said Paul Reynolds, Electronics Editor at Consumer Reports. “However, it’s likely we’ll see more competitive pricing in tablets as other models begin to hit the market.”

All tablets tested (10 in total) were judged on 17 different criteria, which included the responsiveness of the device’s touchscreen, versatility, portability, screen glare, battery life and overall ease of use. The tablets tested included devices from Archos, Dell, Motorola, Samsung, and ViewSonic, as well as Apple’s 32GB WiFi-only iPad 2, 32GB WiFi + 3G iPad 2 and the original iPad.

The $730 iPad 2 with WiFi and 3G connectivity earned an “Excellent” rating in nearly every category. In terms of “versatility,” which Consumer Reports defines as “the presence of useful features,” the iPad 2 scored the second highest rating of “Very Good.” This is primarily due to the iPad 2′s lack of a built-in memory card reader and the lack of Flash support — both of which the Motorola Xoom includes.

According to Consumer Reports, the most wide-ranging factor between the top 10 tablets on the market is battery life. While the iPad 2 boasts the longest battery life — 12.2 hours — the Archos 70 Internet Tablet could only stay alive for a mere 3.8 hours. Considering the entry level iPad 2, (16GB WiFi-only) costs $499 compared to the Archos 70′s price of $270, the iPad 2 seems like a bargain, even if battery life were the only factory taken into consideration. Of course, the iPad 2 wins on a variety of other levels as well.

Linux can now be thought of as a mainstream operating system. It’s used everywhere, from home and enterprise systems to powerful supercomputers. Many companies have adopted Linux systems, generally citing cost savings, system stability, better security and access to the source code.

It was back in 2006 when Microsoft realised that it could do absolutely nothing to stem the tide and entered into partnership with Novell, the first time that the company had collaborated directly with a Linux and open-source vendor. Microsoft and Novell stated in a joint open letter that Linux was an important part of IT’s future, and that Microsoft would not assert its patents against individual or non-commercial developers.

The partnership made it much easier for companies to have a ‘dual strategy’. The letter said: “Why is Microsoft doing this? Because they recognise that customers today are deploying mixed source solutions - Windows and Linux - and they want these solutions to work well together.”

The open-source community initially viewed the deal with suspicion, but the partnership has been going for nearly five years and has seen some degree of success.

“The relationship has substantially benefited Microsoft’s Linux integration story, and has driven Linux revenue for Novell,” said Jay Lyman, a 451 Group analyst.

Sean McCarry, Novell’s UK and Ireland country manager, quoted recent IDC figures suggesting that around 67 per cent of the enterprise market is looking at a Windows/Linux strategy in the datacentre. He also revealed that Novell saw 80 per cent growth in its Linux revenues last year in the UK alone.

“It’s very topical, because the only two operating systems growing at the moment worldwide are Windows and Linux,” McCarry said.

Novell uses SUSE Enterprise Linux, a distribution that allows for mixed Linux and Windows computing. Aimed very much at the business market, it is targeted at servers, workstations and mainframes, and can also be installed on desktop computers.

“Either SUSE can be the guest on Windows, or Windows can be the guest on SUSE. It makes sense that customers want that interoperability,” said McCarry.

Microsoft pushes its customers in this direction if they want to go Linux, and McCarry said that the growth Novell has seen is “very much Microsoft pushing SUSE Linux to some of their large customers”.

Major organisations like Deutsche Bank, HM Revenue & Customs and BAA have moved to SUSE Enterprise Linux, and companies are also moving from Novell’s enterprise Linux competitor Red Hat to Novell, partly owing to the Microsoft connection, claimed McCarry.

“One of the biggest wins we had last year was with Experian. It migrated from Red Hat to Novell because of the Microsoft relationship, for cost implications and the technical performance issues, though Red Hat will say one thing and we would say another,” he said.

Another example was in 2007, when Microsoft provided HSBC with support subscriptions to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. HSBC said that it reduced the cost of Linux ownership and improved interoperability with its existing Windows infrastructure.

Matthew O’Neill, group head of distributed systems for HSBC global IT operations, said at the time that the Microsoft-Novell agreement “is a great catalyst to helping us reduce the complexity of our Linux environment as we standardise our Linux infrastructure with SUSE Linux Enterprise and continue to extend the use of Microsoft Active Directory”

"A pirated version of an Android app is actually a Trojan that shames someone who installs it by sending an SMS message to all his/her contacts telling them of his/her piracy. The original app is called Walk and Text, and costs $2.10 in the Android Market. The app uses the camera on the back of a smartphone to show a user a visual of his upcoming surroundings, which will supposedly prevent the user from running into the street or across a set of train tracks. The pirated version is available from unofficial Android app markets, and once installed redirects the pirate to the legitimate app in the Android Market, while also sending the SMS message to the phone's entire contact list."

Would-be 4G wholesale provider LightSquared says it's still on track to launch initial Long Term Evolution (LTE) markets in the U.S. by the end of 2011 despite renewed interest from some government bodies about the potential for interference to GPS receivers from the new network.

The Harbinger Capital Partners LP -backed venture has previously said it wants to launch its first LTE markets in the third quarter of 2011, with up to nine markets expected to be active by the end of the year. (See LightSquared Confident in Q3 Launch Schedule.)

"Our launch is still on track. We're looking for a launch by the end of the year certainly," Jeff Carlisle, executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy at LightSquared, told Light Reading Mobile during a call Thursday.

LightSquared's goal is ambitious, as it plans to build out the first wide-scale hybrid LTE terrestrial and satellite network using L-Band spectrum. In return for the use of 59MHz of the 1.6GHz spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that the operator must cover 100 million Americans by the end of 2012, 145 million by the end of 2013, and 250 million by the end of 2015. (See Harbinger Hatches LTE Challenger in US.)

The 1.6GHz L-Band, however, sits adjacent to frequencies used by global positioning satellites (GPS) to broadcast triangulated location data to earth-bound receivers. That data is used by the U.S. military, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and emergency services as well as many mobile mapping applications.

The worry is that the GPS receivers will pick up interference from the L-Band network, since signals from a terrestrial LTE cell site -- particularly in a dense urban environment with multiple radios -- will be much stronger than the signals the receiver is tuned to grab from satellites. That interference could disrupt GPS services.

The FCC has already mandated that LightSquared works with the United States Global Positioning System Industry Council (USGIC) to form a technical working group to report back on any interference issues discovered and fixes required. The initial report has been filed, with another due on April 15. The FCC wants the final report by June 15. (See LightSquared Files First Report to FCC.)

The speed of this process clearly has some in Washington worried. On Wednesday it emerged that the Deputy Defense Department Secretary William J. Lynn and Transportation Department Deputy Secretary John Porcari sent a joint letter to the FCC on March 25 calling for a "comprehensive review" of the GPS issue. (See Pentagon Calls Interference on LightSquared.)

If LightSquared's Carlisle is worried by the additional government interest, however, it doesn't show. He tells LR Mobile that the technical group looking at the potential issue now has representatives from the DoD, the FAA and NASA onboard.

"All have had valuable input," Carlisle says.

Nonetheless, although Carlisle says the group is "making good progress," he admits "there's a lot of work left to be done." Namely, the group has to figure out which categories of "legacy receivers" are affected by the LightSquared network, if any, and establish how these receivers are being used.

"We really won't know what kind what kind of mitigation is necessary without a datasheet," Carlisle says. The group has selected independent testing firms and is "close to starting testing," according to the LightSquared representative.

At least one testing firm tells us that interference could be an issue, particularly in cities like New York where GPS systems can already struggle to triangulate location data because skyscrapers block the signals. In this situation, stronger RF signals from multi-radio L-Band cell-sites in the adjacent band could be an issue for receivers looking for weaker communications from satellites in orbit around the earth.

"Theoretically, that possibility definitely exists," Nigel Wright, vice president of wireless for Spirent Communications plc (NYSE: SPM; London: SPT) told LR Mobile recently. "GPS signals are weakest in the areas where you're most likely to have the greatest concentration of base stations."

Spirent is working on test equipment that could prove the interference issue one way or the other. For the moment, Wright says he'd be "foolish" to predict what the results of any tests may be before seeing any hard data.

Others, however, are much more vocal about what they perceive as the threat to critical GPS infrastructure. The coalition to Save Our GPS was launched on March 11 and claims representatives from a range of industries, including aviation, agriculture, transportation and GPS equipment makers and service providers. The group worries that the 40,000 base stations that LightSquared plans to eventually deploy will mean the equivalent number of "dead spots" in GPS services.

LightSquared's Carlisle says the fledgling operator is "cognizant" of opposition to its plans, but doesn't believe the deployment of the earthbound LTE network will be slowed while it waits for the results of the GPS testing.

"There are any number of things that can be done in the meantime," Carlisle explains. LightSquared has been developing tower agreements "for many months" while working on zoning agreements, he says.

Meanwhile, the operator has been co-operating with its network equipment vendor Nokia Siemens Networks on completing development of the L-Band-suitable base station it will use in the rollout. Decisions are also being made on what kind of backhaul it will need for the network. (See NSN: We're Still in at LightSquared.)

The FCC mandate means that LightSquared has to keep the pace up whatever happens, Carlisle reminds us: "We've still got to have 100 million covered by [the end of] 2012."

A new motion in a class action suit filed against WiMax service provider Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) alleges that in mid-2008 the operator intentionally started a scheme to sign up customers outside of its coverage areas in order to boost subscriber numbers and collect on termination fees when the aggravated users left.

The motion was filed Thursday with the United States District Court for the Western District of Seattle alleging that Clearwire’s practices with respect to Early Termination Fees (ETFs) are unlawful. You can read the motion here and associated documents here.

The motion and associated documents claim that top executives at Clearwire knew of a scheme -- supposedly called "Project Star Trek" internally -- that changed the coverage area of the operator's towers in its "pre-qualification" tool so that it appeared that potential customers were in signal range when they weren't.

Clearwire responded to the allegations early Friday afternoon calling them "baseless and absurd."

"We flatly deny any inference of fraud," a company spokesman told us in an email. "We will vigorously defend ourselves against any such allegations.”

On the back of the these new allegations, plaintiffs in a class action suit against Clearwire have asked the court to grant leave for a ruling on a second amended complaint against the operator. The initial class action case was filed in April 2009. The court originally granted Clearwire's motion to dismiss the case in February 2010, but the plaintiffs claim they now have new information at hand.

From the papers filed, much of the new material in the case appears to hang on information offered up by former Clearwire employee Donald Hammond, an ex-general regional manager at the operator, who worked for the company for four years before leaving in early 2010. Hammond claims that executives including former CEO Ben Wolff and COO Perry Satterlee knew of the scheme.

As well as other testimony, Hammond has also provided an email dated May 22, 2008, purporting to be from Gabe Suarez, who is named as a "director of engineering" at Clearwire and "a direct report" to Satterlee. The email states that "last night, the sector limits were changed in the markets below to increase the potential PQ opportunities." The email lists some 20 markets.

The motion goes on to claim that the pre-qualification limits around the fixed wireless towers Clearwire was operating were pushed out from 1.5 miles to 2.5 miles. This is the crucial detail because the motion claims that the executives knew that the towers didn't work well -- or at all -- in providing coverage beyond 1.5 miles to 1.7 miles. The alleged re-programming of the pre-qualification tool, however, would increase the coverage area "passed" by the tower by 280 percent, from nearly eight square miles to 19.6 square miles.

The motion claims that the distance requirements held true for both the Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Expediance technology that Clearwire used in its first 48 markets and the WiMax technology it began to deploy during 2008. The company launched its first "Clear"-branded WiMax market in January 2009. (See Clearwire Sets Portland WiMax Launch.)

The motion claims that this had a two-fold effect for Clearwire. It allowed the operator to try to boost its gross subscribers at a time when this was an "important metric" for Clearwire's potential strategic investors.

Clearwire completed its asset merger with Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) on November 28, 2008. At the same time, it received a $3.2 billion infusion of cash from Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and others. (See Clearwire, Sprint Complete Merger.)

Furthermore, the motion claims that Clearwire management called for staff to strictly enforce ETFs for customers canning the service within 30 days. The instances of customers wanting to drop their Clearwire service contract allegedly tripled following the claimed pre-qual tool changes that were said to have been made in May 2008.

There is no denying that mobile devices like tablets are changing the way we communicate, work and share information on the go -- it's the next logical step in the "post-PC" world. In fact, 200 million tablets could be sold annually by 2014, according to predictions, and cloud-based services are becoming a key feature for consumers.

In addition to an increase in cloud-based services, there is a surge in multiple mobile devices -- with consumers not only using several at one time, but also switching between them throughout the day. C-level executives are a key driver, especially as tablets continue to grow in popularity and are added to the "workforce arsenal" that already includes PCs and BlackBerry devices.

Whatever device is being used, consumers are starting to expect data and application continuity when switching between tablets, smartphones and laptops, which further feeds the demand for cloud-based services. When applications and data are accessed and stored in the cloud, the transition from one device to another is seamless, guaranteeing users' continuity without any problems.

Organizations are realizing that beyond cost efficiencies, they can leverage the advantages of data and application continuity in the cloud to provide employees with greater flexibility. However, this new environment, though convenient, poses several security challenges -- such as blurring the lines between private and company-issued devices.

As employees increasingly use personal devices to access and store sensitive corporate resources and data, organizations need to address key security issues that until now did not pose a significant challenge.
End-Point Device Security

The need for end-point device security is not new and is recognized by most businesses. Until recently, though, the primary device used to access the corporate Virtual Private Network (VPN) by employees from outside the office was a corporate-issued laptop. When all laptops were centrally issued and managed by the IT department, it was relatively easy to implement standard security policies throughout the organization, and to manage the devices employees were using to access corporate applications and data.

Today, however, when employees are bringing personal tablets and smartphones into the office, organizations are having a more difficult time ensuring the devices are trusted. Companies are facing a situation in which data protection, network protection and identity protection are becoming much more complex.

When both private and corporate data is stored on the same device, it becomes a data container that is vulnerable to data leakage. As a result, when employees use personal devices to access core business applications that reside in the cloud, how can organizations ensure that the device won't be used by unauthorized personnel to penetrate the organization? How can they make sure that passwords stored on a device are protected, and cannot be hacked or stolen for perpetrating identity theft?
Mobile Access and Cloud Security

In parallel to the security vulnerabilities surrounding mobile devices, there are also key security issues related to cloud applications. These issues relate to the challenges of protecting data in a multitenant environment, as well as to the need to secure applications residing in the cloud and protect virtual machines and instances -- not to mention the need to secure access to core business applications such as CRM and email.

As organizations transition to the cloud and simultaneously witness a surge in the number and variety of mobile devices being used by employees and managers, they are facing a convergence of both end-point and cloud-related security issues.

To address these issues, organizations need to think about how they can protect identities by maintaining the integrity of credentials stored on the device, and how they can protect cloud-based applications and data by preventing unauthorized access from mobile devices.

Moreover, the complexity of these security demands and the need for IT departments to adopt new security mechanisms have operational implications for IT staff tasked with implementing and managing these new security policies.
Mobile Device Identity Protection

One way organizations can implement security mechanisms for mobile devices is to establish a framework that supports credential life cycle management and automatic certificate provisioning to mobile devices. These mechanisms ensure that only authenticated users with a trusted device can access corporate information and applications.

By embedding a personalized configuration profile on an employee's mobile device, organizations can implement personal security credentials to each device and thus require employees to authenticate with their personal profile when accessing corporate resources.

When logging on to corporate systems, only those users with a certificate on their device (something they have), combined with the certificate password (something they know) are granted access. Moreover, by eliminating the need for passwords, strong authentication significantly reduces the vulnerabilities associated with password caching on mobile devices and lowers the risk of identity fraud that result from password theft.

With this type of solution, IT staff can provision several certificates to a single mobile device and specify which resources can be accessed. These may include network access via VPN, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Exchange and WPA2 enterprise WiFi networks.
Cloud-Access Protection

For cloud access security, organizations can use identity federation combined with strong authentication to ensure that only authorized personnel are accessing sensitive SaaS services. Through use of the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) protocol, organizations can extend the identities of employees to cloud-based applications.

Employees use a dynamic one-time passcode (instead of the password stored on their mobile device) to remotely access corporate resources that are stored in the company's data center and those that are hosted in the cloud.

Passcodes can be generated either by a software authentication application installed on an employee's mobile device or, if preferred, on a hardware authentication device that is issued separately. Beyond ensuring secure access, this solution also offers single sign-on, which is easier for employees, as they can use the same logon credentials for all remote applications.
Integrated Management

It is up to IT departments to implement security access policies that can keep pace with new technology and mobile trends. However, investing in security can be costly, especially if organizations have to purchase, implement and integrate several different applications from different vendors, each of which only offers a single component of their required security solution.

Strong authentication, implemented on mobile devices in the form of personalized credentials and extended to cloud applications using identity federation, offers organizations a flexible, yet highly secure framework that can extend security mechanisms to employees' mobile end-point devices, as well as core corporate applications that have migrated to the cloud.

Solutions, which are based on a single and versatile authentication server that offers wide platform support, present the added benefit of being easier to manage and implement, as well as being far more cost-effective.
Letting Organizations Play to Their Strengths

Being able to issue personalized credentials to mobile devices and ensure secure access to cloud-based applications through strong authentication helps IT staff to prevent security malaise. Moreover, it enables organizations to be proactive in a world where technological developments are often lagging -- or worse, still responding retroactively to security breaches or data loss.

By implementing a strong security posture, organizations increase strength, receive maximum benefits from the new technologies, and offer employees a more flexible work environment, which ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction and productivity.

t's been a long, long wait since we saw the next generation of mobiles saunter onto the stage at MWC (OK, a little over a month), but HTC are making comparatively fast work of getting their new batch of handsets out to the masses, with the HTC Incredible S appearing last month, and now the HTC Desire S - currently winging its way into the pockets of UK smartphone owners via SIM-free smartphone pushers unlocked-mobiles.com.
The HTC Desire S, which is now on sale on the site for £384.98 SIM-free, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and comes with a 1GHz processor, 768MB RAM and an 800x480 pixel 3.7-inch touchscreen (all overlayed with that super-smooth HTC Sense UI).


A spokesman for unlocked-mobiles.com told T3: "The HTC Desire S is now on sale and stock is selling fast - we had an unprecedented level of pre-orders for this new HTC - it's looking as popular as the original Desire already."


We were enamoured with the original HTC Desire, which picked up the Phone of the Year Award at the 2010 T3 Gadget Awards. Can its baby brother hold onto the crown in the face of competition from the Samsung Galaxy S2, LG Optimus 3D and Sony Xperia Play? Check out our full, hands-on HTC Desire S review for the T3 verdict.

Find What Your Friends Like on Google with +1A new Google service looks like it could completely change the way we look for sites on the world’s largest search engine.

The idea is called Google +1 and it is going to work a bit like the Facebook option to “like” something. As you look at the results which pop up on screen you can add the +1 symbol to anything which you want to recommend to your friends,

It is possible that the activity on this feature will be added in the Google search algorithm at some point in the future but at the moment putting a +1 next to the search results won’t affect the order in which sites get ranked. What it will do is put your name next to the site when one of your contacts makes a search for this type of site.

The contacts that will see your likes are those which Google can take from your Gmail account, Buzz and Reader. One possible use is where you want to recommend something to a friend but either you don’t have the full details with you or they don’t have any way of noting down the full address. Just tell me what to search under on Google and then they can look out for your name next to the recommended site.

If you want to give Google +1 a try then you will either need to wait until it is released or else go to google.com/experimental. Once there you can click on the option to join in on the current trial.

iVIP, a brand for the rich and famous, have launched a range of iPhone 4 smartphones that would make Kanye West with his gold teeth look like a tramp. Prices start off at a somewhat meek £2,000, I say meek because the prices top out at £1 million in the standard range with customised versions costing even more.

They are available in 24 carat gold, platinum and of course covered in diamonds (if you like that sort of thing). The phones can only be purchased by owners of the iVIP iPhone app, which doesn’t come cheap either. In fact the site doesn’t even have a price list for the iPhone’s, many of the comments on the page ask for some where as others sensibly point out “if you have to ask then you probably can’t afford one anyway”.

You may have heard of the iVIP apps that unlock exclusive venues and deals for the millionaires amongst you. The app comes in a number of flavours with the range topping one costing £599 – this sets off a partnership between iVIP and the app owner who provides proof of earnings in return for planning of their wealthy lifestyle – sounds a bit crazy but is no doubt popular with the rich and famous.

For their ‘investment’ users receive perks such as free champagne on arrival, butlers, offers, entry to VIP events and more – surely millionaires can afford these types of things anyway?

Do you know anyone with an iVIP app or fancy an iPhone 4 encrusted with diamonds?