Microsoft, RIM Enter Licensing Agreement Ahead of BlackBerry 10

Microsoft and RIM have signed a licensing agreement that allows the BlackBerry to use technology for transferring audiovisual files between a desktop and mobile devices.

Microsoft and Research In Motion have entered into a patent-licensing agreement that extends Microsoft's Extended File Allocation Tablet—known as exFAT, which, even more fun, is the predecessor of an earlier FAT system—to select BlackBerry smartphones.

exFAT, Microsoft explained in a Sept. 18 statement, is a modern file system that facilitates the transfer of large audiovisual files between a desktop and mobile devices.

"Today's smartphones and tablet require the capacity to display richer images and data than traditional cellular phones," David Kaefer, general manager of Intellectual Property Licensing at Microsoft, said in a statement. "This agreement with RIM highlights how a modern file system ... can help directly address the specific needs of customers in the mobile industry."

The deal also offers a reminder that—oh, yes!—while Apple, Nokia, Motorola, Amazon and others announce products that will see them through the holiday shopping season, RIM continues to work on the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform and smartphones that it won't introduce until early 2013. Speaking with London's Telegraph in August, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins narrowed that timeline a bit, promising smartphones in January.

Heins stepped into the CEO role in January and soon after began remaking the company, cutting thousands of staff positions to save money, slimming down the executive staff—he replaced RIM's two CEOs and was one of at least two COOs at the company. Heins also announced that RIM would become a leaner, meaner company, focusing intently on exactly what it does best and leaving all the rest to partners.

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"I'm not going to develop games anymore, i'm not going to develop maps—there's a company out there that really can do it better than I can," Heins told eWEEK during a private interview Aug. 14. "So, I need to partner, I need to get [developers] on board, and I need to get them a great programming interface, and off we go."

Heins promised that in addition to RIM's expected enterprise features, BlackBerry 10 will also offer a very strong consumer experience—which is where exFAT may help out.

RIM's agreement with Microsoft seems one more example of the company knowing when to look beyond its Waterloo, Ontario, headquarters for help. Even when the help comes from a direct competitor.

RIM is said to be in competition with Microsoft and its largest handset partner, Nokia, for the coveted third position on the mobile podium—if such a thing exists. While analysts have reported that the wireless carriers want and will aggressively support a third mobile platform, against which they might balance the expenses of the Apple iPhone and high-end Android handsets—others say there's no longer room for a third party.

"Ninety-eight percent of [the mobile market] will be shared by Google's Android and Apple's iOS," Global Equities Research analysts wrote in a Sept. 13 research note. "There will not be any third spot left. Nokia, Microsoft and RIM will struggle in the remaining 2 percent of the market."

RIM, like Nokia, was once a dominant mobile player and is working to regain market share from Apple and Android.

Heins remarked on a Canadian radio program earlier this summer, "I am positive that when we launch BlackBerry 10, there will be huge support from our carrier partners, from our enterprise customers and that we will eemerge—specifically in the U.S. and in Canada—and a very strong player..."

Windows 8 'doesn't move the needle' on security, says Symantec

Symantec said Windows 8 "doesn't move the needle much" on security as it rolled out new versions of its antivirus software and promised to provide users with several so-called "Modern" apps for the new operating system.

On Wednesday, the security developer released new versions of its consumer titles Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security and Norton 360.

The new programs are optimized for Windows 8's traditional desktop environment -- the side of the new OS that looks much like Windows 7 -- said Gerry Egan, senior director, product management, in an interview. When Windows 8 ships in late October, Symantec will offer a trio of apps specific for the tile-based user interface (UI) once known as "Metro" and now often referred to as "Modern."

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Those apps, which have not yet been given final names, will include one that connects to Symantec's cloud-based back-end management system to give users a view into the security health of Windows and the hardware; another that uses the company's "whitelist" technology to sniff out suspicious data and files, including corrupted Modern apps; and a third that uses Internet Explorer 10's (IE10) engine inside a customized browser that Egan said will let customers "surf online securely."

The Modern apps will hit the Windows Store -- Microsoft's regulated app store for Windows 8 and Windows RT software -- on or just after the Oct. 26 debut of the operating system upgrade.

Initially, said Egan, those apps will be available free to everyone, hinting that at some point they could be restricted to customers who had purchased the traditional Norton desktop security software and had an up-to-date subscription to Symantec's services.

"It's a way to explore [the new UI], and introduce customers to our presence there," said Egan of Symantec's move into Modern.

"But we need to see where that [malware] flows, what the problems are for our customers, before we do more [on Modern]," Egan continued. "What we do will depend on the attack surfaces in Windows RT and Windows 8. Microsoft has laid down some very stringent guidelines on what's allowable [on Modern], which also ties our hands. So if there is more to do in the future, we may not be able to because it would infringe those guidelines."

Egan was mostly referring to policies set by Microsoft that "sandbox," or isolate, apps from each other and from the traditional desktop in Windows 8 to provide a more secure environment.

Microsoft is relying on sandboxing, as well as the curated Windows Store -- it reviews each app prior to approval, looking for everything from malware to undisclosed rights -- to secure the tiled side of Windows 8, and all of Windows RT, the touch-first, tablet-oriented spin-off.

Not surprisingly, Egan didn't think much of Microsoft's security moves in Windows 8 as he set up several "myths" about the new OS only to then knock each down.

"We're just not seeing any significant improvements in Windows 8 security ... it doesn't move the needle much," Egan said, ticking off everything from the new Secure Boot feature to a beefed-up Smart Screen anti-malware filter.

"It's partially true that Windows 8 is more secure," said Egan, pointing to the concept of the Windows Store and its approved apps. "But underneath is a traditional Windows-Intel desktop, which is backward compatible with both the good code and the bad."

Much of Egan's disparagement of Windows 8's security can be traced to Windows 8's bundling of Windows Defender, an old name for a heavily reworked product.

In Windows 8, Windows Defender combines characteristics of both the earlier anti-spyware program of the same name, and the free Security Essentials, the antivirus program that previously was offered as a separate download.

Windows Defender serves as the operating system's default protection against malware, and will switch itself off only if it detects an active third-party antivirus program that's receiving signature updates.

Although Security Essentials has stirred third-party antivirus vendors in the past to complain that Microsoft wasn't playing fair, the move to bundle Defender with Windows 8 hasn't prodded them to go public with similar beefs.

Egan argued that Symantec's software does a better job of protecting users than Windows Defender. "We believe we add so much more value over and above [Defender]," he said.

But John Pescatore, a Gartner analyst, said Symantec has bigger problems than Windows Defender.

"They're all going after a shrinking pool of machines," said Pescatore of stalled PC sales as smartphones and tablets consume discretionary dollars. "The percentage of devices running Windows is dropping. And there are more players going after that shrinking pool."

Symantec may play up the Windows 8 angle for its new titles, but the truth, said Pescatore, is that Microsoft's decision to mimic Apple and Google by offering an app store means traditional antivirus vendors have an unclear future.

"There's never been a market for security software on iOS," Pescatore observed. "So if Microsoft pushes the whitelist idea of an app store, there's less and less need for the [antivirus] commodity."

Egan's complaint that the hooks into the boot process -- dubbed "Early Load Anti-malware Driver," or ELAM -- doesn't allow software makers to deploy their full set of weapons is actually a good thing, Pescatore argued.

"It's better that the [Windows 8] platform doesn't let security software's root kits work, because that means it also cripples the bad guys' root kits," Pescatore said.

The 2013 editions of Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 are available at retail stores and from Symantec's online store. Norton AntiVirus costs $39.99 for a one-year license for a single PC; Norton Internet Security runs $79.99 for one year of protection for up to three Windows machines; and Norton 360 costs $89.99 for a three-PC, one-year.

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Highest paid engineers in mobile tech

Engineering salaries are still rising, but not as fast as in the good old days

WASHINGTON -- Engineers working on communications technology were paid a a median salary of $135,087 last year, the highest in the profession, according to new IEEE-USA survey data.

The lowest paid engineers, with a median salary of $107,820, specialize in energy and power engineering, the survey found.

This data was collected from more than 10,200 IEEE-USA members in an annual survey.

Overall, engineers in electrotechnology and IT, which includes electrical engineering, the survey had a median income of $120,000 last year, according to the survey.

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Ed Kirchner, who chairs the employment and career services committee at IEEE-USA, said "communications technology" label is broad and reflects the fusion of computers and mobile tech. "It is literally everybody who would fall under the umbrella of electrical or computer engineering," said Kirchner.

By job skills, the category would include circuit designers, software engineers, computer engineers and network engineers, he added.

"The breadth of engineers who can work in that technology has really spread out," said Kirchner, an IEEE-USA volunteer and works for a communications company as a project engineer and deputy program manager.

The growth of the smartphone industry has been explosive, said Kirchner, and engineering salaries are directly tied to the financial performance of the companies they work for.

Engineering and IT salaries increased by 1.7% last year, less than half the rate of the prior year, reports the IEEE-USA, in its latest salary survey.

"I think it's very good news that salaries are still rising. The fact they are rising at a smaller rate reflects the fact that raises are smaller, bonuses are smaller," said Kirchner.

In normal economic times, the raise budgets are more on the order of 6% or so, he said.

Some other median levels for engineering salaries include: circuits and devices, $129,000; signals and applications, $127,000; industrial applications, $110,000 and systems and control, $112,000.

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Certkingdom Releases Small Business Server 2012 Training

Certkingdom, Inc the global leader in professional computer training, announced the release of its new Small Business Server 2012 Training.

Just because a business is small, doesn’t mean it can get by without a business server. Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2012 offers small to medium size businesses an updated suite of powerful server software including Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Exchange 2010 and SharePoint Foundation 2010, all in a single package. Businesses that need a robust database server can add the Small Business Server 2012 Premium Add-On, which provides a SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business server license as well.

Microsoft’s SBS 2012 is a full-featured server environment for small businesses. SBS 2012 offers a lower cost server solution without the additional overhead and complexity of the company’s flagship Windows Server product.

Certkingdom’s SBS 2012 Training instructor Ed Liberman said, “SBS 2012 is a cost effective way to get a lot of services on a single server. It’s a great tool for making small businesses more efficient, as one administrator can handle all of the server tasks, whether it’s managing the network, Exchange or SharePoint.”

While Microsoft has done an admirable job of simplifying the installation and management of SBS 2012, software this powerful requires some technical knowledge to maximize its potential for small businesses. That is why Certkingdom’s first to market SBS 2012 training is so valuable.

Certkingdom’s Small Business Server 2012 Training course teaches network administrators and small business owners how to install, configure, manage and optimize an SBS 2012 environment. The SBS 2012 course also covers how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 or Small Business Server 2008. Students looking to prove their SBS 2012 competency will be glad to know that Certkingdom’s SBS 2012 training offers full coverage of Microsoft certification exam 70-169: Windows Small Business Server 2012 Standard, Configuring.

This Small Business Server training will help get a small business up and running with ease. The full level of coverage means that students can take advantage of the enormous potential provided by all of SBS’s eight Microsoft products in one package, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange Server 2010 Standard SP1, SharePoint Foundation 2010, SQL Server 2008 R2 Express, WSUS 3.0 SP2, Integrated Migration Prep Tool and Remote Web Access.

Matt Elias, Certkingdom’s Product Team Manager, said, “SBS 2012 is a collaboration of different Microsoft products that are designed to work together seamlessly. The product has really come a long way in the last decade and in our SBS 2012 training we show users how to take advantage of the complete SBS Package.”

The instructors for this course are networking and Windows Server expert Ed Liberman and SharePoint and Exchange expert J. Peter Bruzzese.

Ed Liberman has 18 years of experience and numerous industry certifications including MCSA, MCSE, MCT, MCTS, MCITP, CWNA, CWTS, CWNT. He has been a certified instructor since 1998 and has helped thousands of people advance their IT careers. While Liberman ensures students have the knowledge to pass a certification exam, his real focus is on helping students develop the skills needed to succeed in the real world.

J. Peter Bruzzese, who covers the SharePoint and Exchange topics in the SBS 2012 course, also has multiple certifications including a Triple-MCSE, MCT, MCSA, MCITP: Messaging and is a Microsoft MVP for Exchange. He has published numerous books including Exchange 2007 SP1 How-To, Server 2008 How-To and Windows 7 Unveiled, all from publisher Que. Bruzzese is also a regular contributor to Redmond Magazine, Windows IT Pro, Realtime and TechTarget, as well as being a regular speaker at Microsoft TechEd Conferences and IT 360 Tech Conferences in Canada.

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Gosia Niklinski, Certkingdom’s Product Development Specialist, said, “Our SBS 2012 training is perfect for beginners. Ed and Peter not only show you how to do everything, they explain in detail why you’re doing it. But the course is also great for those moving from previous versions of SBS as the migration steps from 2003 and 2008 are covered in detail.”

Certkingdom’s Small Business Server 2012 Training provides almost 16 hours of training broken down into 25 lessons. Students receive three DVDs in the mail, including two DVDs of video lessons and an additional content DVD. However, students don’t have to wait for their disks to arrive to get started. Certkingdom offers instant online access to all course materials, content and notes almost immediately after signing up.

Like all Certkingdom courses, all lessons come in multiple audio and video formats ensuring that students can access the training on virtually any device. In addition, all instructor notes are included in PDF format for reading on the go, or following along with the training videos.

Certkingdom’s Small Business Server 2012 Training is offered at just $397 and comes backed by a 90 Day Total Experience Guarantee.

About Certkingdom: Founded in 2002, Certkingdom provides computer-based “Total Experience” training that gives individuals the tools and confidence to tackle real-world challenges, pass their certification exam and succeed in today’s competitive global IT market.

Certkingdom offers a wide range of computer training packages covering Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, VMware, and Microsoft Office. In addition to its Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2010, and SQL Server 2008 courses, Certkingdom offers training for over fifty different training courses including: VMware vSphere training, Cisco CCNA training, Windows 7 training, and more.

A privately-held company, Certkingdom is based in Schaumburg, IL. For more information about Certkingdom, please visit http://www.certkingdom.com

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Japan gets first 'Mango' Windows Phone Aug. 25

The first phone equipped with the "Mango" update to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system will be available in Japan Aug. 25, Fujitsu has revealed. The Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T will have a massive 32GB of storage, a 13.2 megapixel camera, plus both water (IPX5/8) and dust (IP5X) resistance, according to the company.
The "Mango" Windows Phone update, first promised in February by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, enables application multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer, and fast application switching. Holding a phone's back button down will provide a card-like view (pictured) of all running applications.

On July 26, Microsoft said it had released Mango to manufacturing, putting it in the hands of phone manufacturers and carriers. (For extensive details on the upgrades included in Mango and the revised developer tools, see our previous coverage.)

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Observers immediately began to grumble, however, that carrier customization could delay the operating system upgrade's availability to end users until mid-September or later.

For example, responding to a July 26 "we can't wait to get it into your hands" posting on the Windows Phone Blog by Terry Myerson, a Microsoft vice president of Windows Phone Engineering, commenter "tsrbike" griped, "first the cell makers get to fiddle with it, then the providers get it. So even if the cell makers only take six weeks to 'optimize,' AT&T and others will likely test for another six-plus weeks, putting us into October at the earliest."

But now, Fujitsu and the Japanese carrier KDDI -- who on July 27 announced what was touted as the first phone that would come with Mango preinstalled -- have pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Instead of being offered in September as initially promised, the IS12T (below) will go on sale Aug. 25, the companies say.

The Fujitsu IS12T
(Click to enlarge)

The early launch of the IS12T is doubly surprising in that Nokia, thanks to its special relationship with Microsoft, was widely expected to be the first company to release a Mango-equipped phone. Back in June, Nokia Stephen Elop showed off a device code-named Sea Ray at a "private" meeting for employees that wound up being leaked on video.

Since then, though, Nokia still hasn't provided a Sea Ray announcement date or final name for its device. Microsoft and Nokia staged an Aug. 17 event at the GamesCom convention in Cologne, during which some had expected the phone to surface. Since it didn't, observers are now looking to the manufacturer's annual Nokia World conference in October for the Mango phone's final launch.

More about the IS12T

While the press release noting Aug. 25 availability for the IS12T came from Fujitsu, the phone appears to feature Toshiba logos and is described by KDII as the "Windows Phone IS12T by Toshiba." This branding ambiguity is the result of a 2010 agreement though which Fujitsu and Toshiba agreed to merge their mobile phone businesses, leaving Fujitsu as the majority shareholder in the new company.

Enjoying bragging rights as the first Mango device, the IS12T is also noteworthy for being one of the most lavishly equipped smartphones around. It comes with 32GB of built-in memory "and a 13.2 megapixel camera that is among the top of its class in smartphones," according to Fujitsu.

The IS12T will pack 32GB and a 13.2 megapixel camera
(Click to enlarge)

Fujitsu says the IS12T, capable of capturing HD video at 720p, will have a 3.7-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. Offered in yellow, pink, or black, the phone is claimed to be waterproof (IPX5/8) and dustproof (IP5X).

The IS12T features GSM and CDMA compatibility, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a FM receiver, according to Fujitsu. Other specifications released by the company include the following:

Dimensions -- 4.64 x 2.32 x 0.4 inches (118 x 59 x 10.6mm)
Weight, with battery -- 4 ounces (113g)
Standby time -- approx. 280 hours
Talk time -- approx. 400 minutes

The phone's CPU wasn't revealed by Fujitsu. According to reports by WPCentral and others, however, the device will feature a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor.

The initial crop of Windows Phone 7 devices, whose hardware specifications were tightly controlled by Microsoft, all featured Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 or 8650 processors. Both chipsets feature "Scorpion" application processors, but the QSD8250 supports only GSM, GPRS, EDGE and HSPA networks, whereas the QSD8650 supports both these and CDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO 0/A/B networks, according to the chipmaker.

A new Windows Phone 7 hardware specification unveiled at Microsoft's MIX11 conference in April added support for additional Snapdragon CPUs: the MSM7x30 and the MSM8x55. While still single-core devices, these processors allow OEMs to offer a wider range of clock speeds (from 800MHz on the MSM7x30 to 1.4GHz on the MSM8x55, according to Qualcomm), and they also provide Adreno 205 graphics -- said to offer over twice the performance of the Adreno 200 included with the earlier QSD8x50.

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MCITP: Enterprise Administrator

Earning a MCITP Enterprise Administrator certification in Windows 2008 is a definite step up for your career in the IT industry. This well recognised MCITP certification is held in high regard and will provide to your current and future employers that you have the skills and knowledge to implement and maintain a Windows Server 2008 network infrastructure. People who hold a MCITP Enterprise Administrator certification have one of the highest salaries on average compared to other MCITP certifications, if you wish you can view our comparison of the average MCITP salaries.

To gain MCITP: EA status you will need to gain a pass mark in 5 exams. Four of these are core exams and the last one is an elective which you get to choose.

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MCITP Enterprise Administrator core exams: (you need to pass all 4 these)
Exam 70-640 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Active Directory
Exam 70-642 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure
Exam 70-643 TS: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure
Exam 70-647 Pro: Enterprise Administrator, Windows Server 2008

MCITP Enterprise Administrator Elective exams: (you need to choose and pass 1 of these)
Exam 70-680 TS: Configuring Windows 7
Exam 70-681 TS: Deploying Windows 7 and Office 2010
Exam 70-620 TS: Configuring Microsoft Windows Vista Client
Exam 70-624 TS: Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System Desktops (retired)

The best place to start when studying to become a MCITP Enterprise Administrator is by getting yourself a copy of MCITP Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator Self-Paced Training Kit. This package below contains all the study material you need to pass all 4 core exams 70-640, 70-642, 70-643, and 70-647..

Windows 7 Upgrade: Isolated Problems, Not Disaster

Speed Up Windows XP With System Mechanic 10.8

System Mechanic 10.8 Put Through The Test

We've all seen those annoying television commercials that promise to speed up a slow computer, but do such solutions really work? The CRN Test Center put Iolo's System Mechanic 10.8 through its paces and was impressed with the results.

Our test subject was an old Pentium III-era PC running Windows XP so slowly that the machine was completely unusable. Just opening the Start menu easily took 20 seconds, opening an app required about a minute, and we could fix a steak-and-egg breakfast in the time it took to reboot this dinosaur.

But it was perfect for our purposes. We installed System Mechanic 10.8 and, after running a scan, the tool reported that the overall system status was poor and health and security were at alarming levels.

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As expected, the floodgates were opened last week on Windows 7 upgrades. From some of the histrionics on the blogosphere, one would almost surmise that an upgrade to Windows 7 was nothing short of a painful, abysmal failure. Much of the spotlight focused on upgrade problems with the Windows 7 Student edition -- one of the more understandable gripes about the upgrade process. Accusations about a host of glitches, such as endless loops of Windows 7 startup, abounded.

However, some of the outrages over Windows 7 upgrades are dubious, at best. As Channelweb.com's Kevin McLaughlin reported, many users are complaining that that they cannot do clean installs with Windows 7 upgrade media.

Say what? When has Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) ever made it an option for a user to do a from-scratch install with an upgrade CD? Legitimately, that is, without any workarounds?

It became a bit hard, during the course of last week, to separate justifiable gripes about the Windows 7 upgrade process from the lone freak incidents and overall general biases against Microsoft. However, upon a deeper dig into a disparate sampling of users all over the Internet recording their Windows 7 upgrade experiences, our verdict is that most problems were more incidental with third-party hardware drivers, line-of-business applications, and just random quirkiness.

We conducted our own independent tests on the upgrade process. What we found were very specific, yet irritating incidents that don't significantly undermine Microsoft's promise that "if it works in Vista, it will work in Windows 7." Furthermore, we did not find any issues in our testing that should render a business system inoperable. Note, all upgrades were done using 32-bit software.

In our initial test, we upgraded a Toshiba Portege 500 laptop from Vista SP2 to Windows 7 Ultimate. The full-blown version of Ultimate, and not an upgrade version, was used for the test. We first attempted to do a clean install over an upgrade, but Toshiba's native hard disk drive software prevented a complete wipe-out of the system. So, we moved on, doing just a plain old upgrade. The upgrade process was successful. There were no issues with drivers or any other preinstalled software.

One nuisance we noticed after upgrading to Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 was a persistence of IE8 to open new IE sessions and tabs at 150 percent zoom. Somewhere during the upgrade process, the previous settings for IE were adjusted, but that is probably more of an issue with the upgrade from IE7 to version 8.

Next, we upgraded a year-old Dell (NSDQ:Dell) XPS laptop, again, with Vista SP2 to Windows 7. There also were no issues with the upgrade process, save for a broken link to a shortcut we had on the Vista OS desktop to wireless networking.

An upgrade of a Dell Vostro 220 mini-tower also gave no problems. All shortcuts and drivers transitioned over to Windows 7 without incident.

This should be of some comfort to home users. From our testing, all of the major OEMs seem to really have prepared for the final release of Windows 7. For business users and those in the channel, it appears that the biggest headaches will be caused by incompatibility issues with LOB software and any other proprietary software or unique hardware. Of course, a solid testing plan along with backing up of mission-critical data and system registries should alleviate any major issues with a Windows 7 upgrade.

Our expectation is that most businesses will opt for clean installs anyway, or replace dated machines with preinstalled Windows 7 ones. It would seem that so far, the Windows 7 upgrade process is a relatively painless one and does not merit the drama it has seemed to attract.

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