Clinton Looks to Allay Indian Tech-Trade Fears

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week pledged to work with Indian government and business officials to improve high-technology trade relations but offered no specifics about how that goal can be accomplished.

During a visit to India that ended early last week, Clinton agreed with officials there to continue talking, "with the objective of facilitating smoother trade in high technology between the two economies."

The talks have been dubbed the High Technology Cooperation Dialogue.

Clinton's statement appears to be an effort to lessen Indian concerns about U.S. protectionism that were triggered by a number of recent events. For instance, President Barack Obama in May commented that the U.S. has developed a tax code "that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, N.Y."

In an interview on Indian television, Clinton defended Obama, noting that he "has said we do not want a return to protectionism. Outsourcing is a concern for many communities and businesses in my country, so how we handle that is something that we're very focused on doing in a way that doesn't disrupt the great flow of trade and services that go between our countries."

Atul Vashistha, chairman of IT services consulting firm NeoIT Inc. in San Ramon, Calif., suggested that Clinton is trying to assure Indian officials and businesses that services export issues will be addressed in the talks. Indian IT companies want "all voices [to] be heard prior to any big decision," he added.

Vashistha said that India's IT leaders "believe that [Clinton's] comments make it clear that there is a push toward protectionism in the U.S. and that she'll be addressing it via [the] Dialogue."

U.S. officials must also mitigate fears among the Indian high-tech community that have been sparked by proposed U.S. legislation that would place a number of restrictions on overseas companies seeking H-1B visas, observers said.

The bill would also enable the U.S. Department of Labor to conduct random audits of employers that use H-1B visas and more closely investigate H-1B applications.

This version of this story originally appeared in Computerworld 's print edition.

Imagine Cup winners design software to solve global problems

Microsoft wrapped up its seventh annual Imagine Cup and announced the worldwide winners of the challenge Tuesday. At the four-day event in Cairo, Romania's Team SYTECH won the coveted software design award, South Korea's Team Wafree won for embedded development and Brazil's Team LEVV It won the game development contest.

This year's Imagine Cup challenged high school and university students to address the lofty United Nations Millennium goals, which include ending poverty and hunger, providing universal education and combating AIDs. Winning teams share up to US$25,000. A total of 444 students from 149 teams and 70 countries competed in nine categories that also included robotics and algorithm, photography and design.

The team from Romania built UpCity, a program that connects government agencies and cities by getting people involved at the grassroots level. The platform is planned to be used in the team's hometown of Iasi, Romania, and they hope to deploy it elsewhere soon. Adrian Buzgar, the team leader, said in a statement, "The project will be developed for the city hall of our city at the end of this month. Then we are going to try to build a company."

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, said students have been important for technology innovation, starting companies like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Facebook. "Students have an unbounded amount of energy. Students tend to be very idealistic. They look at the world how it is and see how'd they like to change it," he said at a press conference.

One of the teams representing the U.S. in Cairo had showcased a project called MultiPoint at the U.S. finals in May. It allows a computer to be used by several people simultaneously.

James Dickinson, the team leader and a student at Georgia State University, called it "a set of educational mini-games that allow multiple children to use the computer at the same time. It is also Web-based, and the advantage of it being Web-based is that you don't have to install anything," he said.

MultiPoint is built on Silverlight, but Microsoft's MultiPoint SDK did not support Silverlight or the Web, according to Dickinson. "We wrapped that in ActiveX and it communicates through Javascript directly to Silverlight," Dickinson said.

While the games are aimed at elementary school students and are somewhat basic, the team hopes that if the software gains traction, students and teachers will develop more content that can be shared with other users.

Organizers of the Imagine Cup hope it teaches students about more than just technology. "We focus on the business planning just as much as the technology. So it's those skills that we develop that they can use later on in their lives in addition to the competition element," Anthony Salcito, general manager of Microsoft's U.S. Education division, said during the U.S. finals.

The next Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals will be held next summer in Poland.

Debate heats up over Apple threat to disable iTunes sync with Palm Pre

A debate is heating up over Apple Inc.'s apparent threat to kill the iTunes sync feature on the new Palm Pre and other non-Apple digital media players.

Some Palm Pre owners said today they are disappointed by Apple's move but could also see how Apple wants to protect its iPhone and iPod technology.

"It's unfortunate what Apple's doing," said Richard Rosmarin, who bought his Pre on June 6, the first day the devices went on sale.

Rosmarin said he couldn't understand why Apple would allow iTunes to sync with a PC or to burn a CD, but would not allow iTunes to sync with a handheld device, such as the Pre, that's not made by Apple.

"I guess it's not a total surprise, given Apple's propensity to keep their world more closed than other vendors," he said.

Palm suggested today that if the iTunes sync with the Pre is stopped in a future version of iTunes, Pre users should simply stick with the current version of iTunes, use a direct cable connection to a desktop containing their music, or find another application to do the sync.

For several Pre owners, the iTunes sync was a nice feature, but wasn't the reason they bought the Pre.

If the sync is prevented, "it's not a life-changing event for me," said Anne-Marie Kenney, a Palm Pre owner who bought the device on the first day of sale and quickly synced hundreds of her iTunes songs to the device just in case the capability was stopped.

"It will be interesting to see when and if it happens, because I will still need to update my Pre with new songs," she said. Kenney said she would remain on the current iTunes version to update her Pre with new songs. She said staying with an older version of iTunes is not a big concern because most iTunes updates are not major.

Jeremy Hill, another Pre owner, also said he would stay with the current iTunes version to update his Pre's songs as well as his iPod Nano. "Unless I update, how will [Apple] remove the functionality?" Hill asked. "And as a registered Apple product owner [of the Nano], I can't really see [Apple] forcing me to update when what I have currently works."

Apple's sync comment on its support Web site has several Pre enthusiasts concerned about what other controls Apple might try to deploy for all kinds of competing devices.

"I guess I can rationalize what Apple is doing and why it makes a difference to them, because the Pre is using something they've created," Kenney added.

Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner Inc., took a harder stance against closed technologies in general. "I would have to take Palm's side on this [sync issue]," Dulaney said. Many closed systems don't work out for vendors and eventually fold, he said.

Still, Dulaney acknowledged Apple's situation. "Apple has built an environment and deserves to take it where they will. They are looking at the experience they provide their customers and don't want that to be compromised by third parties."

Kris Keilhack, associate editor for the Palm Infocenter Web site, has used Palm devices for years and was surprised when he heard weeks ago that iTunes would sync with the Pre, especially because Apple could be counted on to fight back. "I didn't want to get my hopes up because I would be disappointed" if the sync was threatened, he said.

"The possible loss or disruption of iTunes sync won't mean much to me, but the real question is whether this is the tip of the iceberg," he added, explaining that Apple could be squaring off with Palm on a number of technology areas where it doesn't want to compete.

Summer Reading for Security Pros: Schneier or Sagan?

In one of the more famous episodes of the original "Star Trek" series - "The Trouble With Tribbles" - Capt. Kirk confines Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott to his personal quarters for getting into a bar fight.

After a sheepish, "Yes, sir," Scotty's face lights up as he says, "Thank you, sir! That'll give me a chance to catch up on my technical journals."

That's how it is with some people. Even when given the chance to relax with a book, they choose something related to their craft.

In the case of a security practitioner, that might mean taking the works of Richard Clarke, Bruce Schneier or Gary McGraw on vacation.

But when CSOonline decided to conduct an informal poll on what security pros are reading these days, many mentioned a variety of non-security, non-technical authors and titles.

Sure, some can't help but enjoy the latest tome on Trojans and terabytes. Some might even unwind by reading an article from this site; perhaps a little light reading like our recent interview with Securosis frontman Rich Mogull [Security Analyst to DLP Vendors: Watch Your Language] or, for something even more uplifting, a story on how swine flu is a wake-up call for emergency planners.

Kidding aside, what follows is a rundown of what some security pros are reading these days, or what they would be reading if stranded on a desert island:

Security pro: Karen Worstell, co-founder and managing principal, W Risk Group

* The Bible, for faith

* "Constantine's Sword," because "I will need to be stranded on an island to finish that tome."

* Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, "Letters from Prison" for perspective

* "Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes" for something to do

* "Wilderness Survivors Guide: A Manual of Basic Survival Techniques for Scouts, Hunters, Campers, Hikers, Canoeists, Pilots, and All Others Unprepared to Meet the Challenge"

Security pro: Zach Lanier, senior network security analyst at Harvard Business School and ringleader of the Security Twits

* "The Art of Software Security Assessment" (Dowd, McDonald, Schuh): "This is, hands down, the most comprehensive security assessment book I've ever read (and had my eyes bleed at the end). It touches upon everything from gathering requirements for an application audit, reviewing code (and how not to review code), low-level issues to look for (think memory corruption, ASM, etc.), Web app vulns, Unix and Windows filesystem and process stuff, and, well, just a lot."

* "Security Engineering, Second Edition" (Anderson): Ross Anderson is one of the great titans of security, and this book proves it. Topics include things like security models, banking and bookkeeping, DRM, security economics, and, of course, specifics about security in operating systems and applications. Required reading, really."

* Lanier combines these two as one choice: "Neuromancer" (Gibson) and "Snow Crash" (Stephenson): "Neuromancer," what many might call a defining novel for the cyberpunk subculture, is a dystopic tale of where we're probably headed. "Snow Crash," on the other hand, is a semi-humorous tale much the same."

* "The Tao of Network Security Monitoring" (Bejtlich): "Though some of the choices of software are now *slightly* dated, the principles still apply - and Bejtlich's NSM model is by-and-large a respected, effective means of intelligently monitoring the security posture and health of a given network: culling data from IDS alerts [signature or pattern matching], network flows and sessions, statistical data, etc. to get a holistic view of intrusions (and even extrusions!)."

For good measure, Lanier throws in two more that aren't really books, but "should be considered so," he says:

* "The Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual" (Herzog; ISECOM): "The OSSTMM is a thorough, well-structured guide for assessing the security of a given organization, including the network, systems, people, processes, and more. I've relied on it in the past with great success, and it's been well-received by my clients that I've got something against which they can audit my testing procedure."

* "OWASP Testing Guide": "Short of the OSSTMM, I can't think of another open guide that's as meticulous about hitting so many points during a security assessment. The OWASP Testing Guide is the definitive source for how to perform security testing against a web application. Period."

Security pro: Mari Kirby Nichols, IT security administrator at Portfolio Recovery Associates

* The Bible

* "War and Peace"

* Homer's "Odyssey"

* "The Complete Worse Case Scenario Survival Guide"

* "Lady Chatterly's Lover"

"Personally," Nichols says, "I would like the literature over the technical" if trapped on a desert island.

Security pro: Kevin Nixon, owner and senior principal at KMN LLC and security editor at Information-Security-Resources.com

* "Multi-Service Field Manual 21-76-1 Survival Evasion and Recovery" (106 Pages) a step-by-step guide on how to survive in a hostile environment. "It's considered so important by the DOD that a copy of this book is always inside all branches of the military Aviator vests," Nixon says. "With Knowledge one can survive anything."

* "22 Radio and Receiver Projects for the Evil Genius" (264 Pages) by Thomas Petruzzellis, a book that explains how to cannibalize various electronic devices and reassemble them into a shortwave radio. Says Nixon: "I wouldn't choose to be stranded so I am making a logical and conditional cause for becoming stranded. Most likely some type of mechanical failure caused my stranding."

* "Herbal Remedies For Dummies" (348 pages) by Christopher Hobbs. Says Nixon: "I would probably want to know what herbs and plants could help with pain, wounds or coping with depression. If herbal remedies were effective for my grandma who lived to 101 years of age, then why argue with success?"

* "Crisis Communications" (408 Pages) by Kathleen Fearn-Banks, covers a multitude of case studies on how to communicate effectively in almost any situation, which Nixon says would serve as a resource for ideas that could be altered and used for rescue. "If I don't panic and have something to keep me thinking of solutions, rescue is feasible."

* "Disasters: Mental Health Interventions" (204 Pages, Crisis Management Series) by John D. Weaver. This book contains examples the author experienced while doing disaster event mental health intervention. These examples helped tie down the main concepts of the book as well as provide a clear picture of disaster services. "This is a great book for anyone who wants to volunteer or is in the middle of a disaster situations," Nixon says. "Coping with the stress and helping anyone else stranded with me to cope promotes a more successful survival."