Posts by happygeek

It's a spam/malware thing...

Really?

It's a commercial game (see http://www.metro2033game.com/en) so I would imagine it comes with support. Oh look, there is even a support forum (see http://www.metro2033forums.com/metro-2033-tech-support-15/).

If it doesn't work then return it to where you bought it and get a refund. I see you are located in the UK, so consumer protection laws apply.

You did buy it, didn't you?

I'm planning on inventing a device that would decapitate spammers automatically.

If I had spotted your question earlier I would have asked it earlier, but unfortunately I only read it for the first time this week I am afraid. It's impossible to read every post on DaniWeb, literally not enough hours in the day...

From that we can deduce that your question is 'should I join a knowledge process outsourcing (company) or keep looking for a job' which, to be honest, I am not sure how anyone here can really answer in any meaningful way. If you've searched for jobs in the subjects you are interested in and found none, but have been offered a job in another subject which you think you can handle, then take the job even if it is just until you find something which is better suited to your long term plans. Any work is better than none, all experience looks good on your CV.

Happy New Year to everyone (but NOT the spammers, hope their year is truly awful)

This brand new update to the ever popular TomTom for the iPhone app (which has featured in the Apple 'top grossing apps' list since it was first released 18 months ago) adds one highly requested feature: Map Share. Why the big hurrah over one additional feature? Simple, it's a hugely important part of the TomTom feature set and long overdue in iPhone form. What Map Share does, and does brilliantly it has to be said, is allow users of the iPhone app to make changes to their own maps as well as benefit from the changes and updates made by the community of TomTom users. Possible changes include editing of street names, setting driving directions, speed restrictions and so on.

The whole community editing of maps might sound a little dangerous, given the number of folk who might consider renaming major roads for a laugh, but actually TomTom has implemented the whole concept very well indeed. While the changes you make to your local maps are instantly reflected, changes by others are only rolled out in Map Share updates to the wider community after having been verified by TomTom itself. Having been a happy Map Share user of my standalone TomTom satnav devices for a couple of years now, I can confirm it works. As for the iPhone app implementation, well I've already let Map Share update the existing maps and the process is smooth and hassle free.

So you were just wasting our time and yours then? That's clever...

The iPhone 4 is one of the hot gifts for this festive season, and for good reason as Apple has managed to make the iPhone even better with the addition of a stunning 960 x 640 high resolution 'Retina display' screen with a pixel density of 326dpi (which is so high that it means your retinas are unable to distinguish individual pixels when held at the normal distance from your eyeballs), built-in gyroscope, a front facing camera as well as an uprated 5Mp main camera with LED flash, the multitasking (or should I say task-switching) capabilities of iOS 4 and a much more powerful processor to power it all.

But what's the point of having all this if you aren't using the right apps to show off the new functionality and power of the iPhone 4? Whether you are giving an iPhone 4 or one of the lucky ones on the receiving end, you'll need to know the very best apps out there which have been designed to take advantage of the Retina display, the front facing camera or uprated main camera, the multitasking or the added processing power. Which is where DaniWeb comes in with this round up of the Top Ten iPhone 4 Apps based upon their ability to exploit those new features.

Let's do this thing in reverse order starting at number ten and working our way up to the ultimate iPhone 4 showing off app:10. iTorch4 (Free)

That they would stop playing rubbish Xmas music on the radio and in the shops

That the 'festive weather' would just go away

That editors who are taking extended Xmas breaks did not think it reasonable to still expect me to meet a deadline which falls on December 24th or December 28th. Sheesh!

Yours truly, with bah humbug a-plenty, ScroogeGeek

Yes,actually DaniWeb not so active. I never get right answer whenever i posted thread about my problem in programming or any. Normally less replies; sometimes, 0 replies.
Seems not interesting my thread. I prefer whirlpool forum which is based in Aus.

Really?

Having worked for an Australian IT news organisation for a few years, I know Whirlpool well and it's mainly targeted at Internet/Telecoms stuff such as broadband issues. I would be very surprised if the couple of generic development and programming forums there were better populated and provided more specific expertise than DaniWeb to be honest with you.

As for never getting the right answers to your queries on DaniWeb, a quick check of your profile suggests otherwise. How about these ones for example:

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread331851.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread329017.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread328832.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread305785.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread298231.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread297969.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/post508336.html#post508336

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread115405.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread116421.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/post584619.html#post584619

While it is possible to look at the iPad as being a big apple (with a small 'a') and the Galaxy Tab a small apple, comparing the Streak to the iPad really is more like apples and oranges. Indeed, the two are so different in every regard that to try and make any sensible comparison is all but impossible so I'm not going to bother. Indeed, I think the more important question that needs to be asked is less whether the Streak is an iPad killer and more whether it is a tablet at all. With an overall size of 6 x 3.1 x 0.4 inches the truth is that it feels just too small to be considered a tablet. In fact it's much more sensible to compare it to a smartphone, albeit one heck of a big one. And there lies the rub, if it's not really a smartphone and it's certainly not a tablet, then just what is it? Dell calls it a "perfectly sized go-anywhere device" but then Dell would say that. Dell also says that the Streak "fits perfectly in your hands" which I wouldn't disagree with as it's not uncomfortable to hold if we are talking purely from the physical hardware dimensions perspective, and we are talking about holding it in a landscape fashion. Where things get a little complicated are when we consider putting it in your pocket or using it as a phone; in my opinion it's just a …

How did you make your donation? If I recall correctly you were asking some time back about sending a donation by post rather than paying online, is that correct? Anyway, I will ask Dani to check her records to see what has happened.

My apologies if my words sounded harsh, they just expressed my frustration at the difficulties you seem to be having despite the help that is being provided.

As I have said before, and will say again: slow down and let us tackle one problem at a time and things should become easier to resolve.

We are all trying to help you, including me! :)

I did donate by the way in November 5, 2010, but nothing has changed. Yet I haven't made a big deal about it, even though I paid over 3 months worth.

I want to thank all of you for your help. I'll be back tomorrow when I'm better rested. Harsh words hurt you know, especially since I admitted that I've never been to a forum and behind with the technologies. I'll be back tomorrow.

I still think the majority here at Dani-Web are awesome, helpful, and nice.:)

You seem to be intent on making a simple process as complex as possible.

In the message composition/reply box just type your response in plain text, with no code tags (including quote tags) attached and that's all that is required.

Your posting above is quite simply a mess. Why have you wrapped your own responses in quote tags for goodness sake?

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but my head is seriously starting to slowly melt...

Finally, here is my question ***My e-mail In-box is full of Dani-Webs, not the Dani-Web In-box. I'm almost at maximum capacity. Without deleting these Dani-Webs or unsubscribing to them; how do I keep them without going over the maximum capacity?*** I created a special folder for this, but have the same problem.

If you mean your Private Message inbox here at DaniWeb, then scroll to the bottom of the Inbox page and there is an option to download all your messages as XML, CSV or text - after which you can delete them all and have an empty mailbox once more.

The Swiftpoint Mouse is primarily designed with one purpose in mind, and that is to replace the touchpad on your laptop or netbook. Indeed, unlike any mouse I've ever used (and that includes the smallest of portable units) the Swiftpoint can be comfortably operated within the confines of the palmrest alongside the existing touchpad. Actually, it's even more amazing than that as I am currently using this clever bit of geek design quite comfortably on the very small area of palmrest next to the touchpad on my netbook - and that's an area of just a couple of square inches.

The efficiency with which the Swiftpoint works in such constrained circumstances is not just down to the small size of the device at just 57mm x 42mm and weighing less than an ounce, but also courtesy of the innovative design. Instead of holding it like a traditional mouse, or cradling it like a trackball, you grip the Swiftpoint as if it were a pen. Sure, it takes a while to get used to the idea of this (in fact it took me all of a couple of minutes to be perfectly comfortable working this way) but boy is it worth getting your head, and your fingers, around. A word of warning though, a left-handed friend of mine was totally unable to use the Swiftpoint so it's for right handed folk only.

Whether you measure the success of such a thing …

Actually, scrap that. I've just found the trail of spammed rubbish you've left all over DaniWeb under variations of your username.

Kindly go away...

Just click where it says 'Click to Expand/Collapse' and the quote will, erm, expand or collapse :)

I'm really sorry, but I simply do not understand what it is you are trying to ask about here?

Code Tags are used to properly format programming code when you need to post it, and nothing else.

Why you have all that in your signature is, to be honest, a mystery to me.

How do you collapse and expand what, exactly?

"Stigmata" - Ministry

There's only one iPad (discounting model variations) but there's a small army of Android tablets demanding your attention and your money. The question is, are any of them better than the market defining Apple? DaniWeb goes hands-on to find out...

If you think about tablet computing these days then the chances are what you actually mean is the Apple iPad vision of a slate-based device. That's not altogether surprising when you consider how long Microsoft, and others, had been trying to break this market only to falter and fail. The iPad, without doubt, energized a genre by pretty much redefining it. Of course, that energy is boosted by competition and nowhere is this stronger than the small army of Android-powered tablets that are now available for the seasonal shopper. But should you hang fire until the Spring and see what iPad 2 has to offer (most likely an improved screen, a front facing video camera, more grunt under the hood plus a thinner profile) or opt for an Android now? DaniWeb has been playing with some of the contenders for your Christmas cash in an attempt to see if any are truly deserving of the 'iPad beater' title.

Please note that all the tablets tested in this round-up were UK models, hence the UK pricing. Availability and pricing may vary in other markets, although the basic specs and design will likely be identical.

Archos 101 Internet Tablet

Price

From £260

Likes

Design

Archos has a …

I have a suggestion: go away, have a cup of tea and a long hard think, then come back and try writing that question again when it resembles something that makes some sense.

As it stands I really cannot see how anyone can help you when we have no idea what you are on about!

Well, starting a thread is just a matter of finding the right forum and then clinking on the big link that says: Click Here to Start a New Thread

Ancient Dragon has covered finding your posts.

Which just leaves the complaint that DaniWeb members are unfriendly, which I have to say is not something I would agree with. On the whole DaniWeb members are very friendly and very willing to help.

I have both Xbox 360 and a PS3, and the PS3 pretty much just sees use as a (pretty decent it has to be said) Blu-ray player these days. The Xbox has, in my opinion and that of my kids (10 and 12, boy and girl) the best games and by far the best online multiplayer experience.

Yes, Xbox Live Gold (which is what you need if you want to play online multiplayer stuff) is extra, you can buy a 12 month subscription card with an extra month thrown in (sometimes even two extra) for around £35 per account! Might sound steep, but you get what you pay for and I honestly think it is worth it if you want to play the online stuff such as Call of Duty MW2/Black Ops or Halo Reach for example.

Horses for courses though, and as with most things computery I'd say think about the software first. So if the games that your son wants to play are mainly PS3 specific, then your question is already answered as to which to go for.

As for Kinect, I seriously think it blows both Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move out of the water - and if I were looking to buy a console right now I'd be lined up for a Xbox/Kindle bundle to be frank.

Sorry, but you didn't specify non-commercial or free of registration requirements. Most of the reputable security specific sites online are one or the other. There is plenty of good security coverage within the more general IT publications online, of course, usually available under a 'security' tab. Most of these are registration free, so just pick the magazine which you like the style of and trust the writers from and then go search for security stuff there.

The coverage within broader appeal publications does not have to be so general that it becomes useless, although this is sometimes the case. However, and I'm blowing my own trumpet again here so apologies for that, I have won the UK 'IT Information Security Journalist of the Year' award three out of the four years it has been held, including the current year. On all three occasions this has been for a portfolio of work for PC Pro magazine here in the UK, where I write a monthly column on matters security. You can find these at the PC Pro website, and I don't believe they ask for user registration unless you want to leave comments.

Just a marketing tactic to make you click on the ad, and a pretty good one as I imagine plenty of folk would do just that. Whether the endpoint was selling you something or trying to infect you, well nobody here can really say, can they?

However, on the subject of advertising banners that work, my favourite from many years back was when a magazine I worked for at the time as Consulting Editor decided to place some banners on the more popular sites of the time (this was at least 10 years ago) which simply said, in big and black and bold letters: PLEASE CLICK HERE.

The click through rate on those ads eclipsed anything the magazine had ever tried before, or since for that matter. Not so sure it would still work today, given that people are a little (only a little, mind) more security aware.

Infosecurity and SearchSecurity get my recommendation, but then again (disclosure time) I do write for both of them.

First there was a year of hype surrounding Project Natal, but the reality that is Microsoft Kinect has been in my family home for a week now. Everyone from my 10 year old daughter to my retired mother-in-law have played with it, so what's the verdict? Is this the future of motion control gaming or just a flawed imitation of the Nintendo Wii?

Let's start at the beginning with what Kinect is not: it's most certainly not a Wii, nor a PlayStation Move for that matter, as it takes a quite different and truly unique approach to the whole motion control gaming genre. You will have seen the television ads by now, and if you haven't don't tell Microsoft or the marketing executives might burst into tears considering the half a billion dollar advertising budget, and so should be fed up to the back teeth with the 'you are the controller' message. Truth be told, though, that really does sum up the Kinect. A surprisingly bulky but not bad looking (if you are into vaguely robotic design) device containing a depth sensor (more precisely an infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor that enables Kinect to 'see' the room in 3-D rather than inferring the same from a 2-D image) and RGB VGA camera (for enabling facial recognition) both with a 640 x 480 resolution, a multi-array microphone and some brilliantly inventive circuitry which allows it to understand and map distance and motion …

You seem to have a lot of interest in finding passwords. Your requests elsewhere for code that will reveal user login/password details by inserting a USB thumb drive, now you have forgotten your admin password.

Please read the DaniWeb rules, especially the Keep It Legal section regarding asking for help with hacking activity.

OK, I will attempt to answer your questions (as best I understand them, anyway) and provide some advice at the same time:

1. Donations can be sent to our office address of DaniWeb LLC, 1140 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556 if you do not want to pay online.

2. Hijacking is defined at DaniWeb as asking a new question of your own within an existing thread by someone else, instead of starting a new thread. To start a new thread simply navigate to the appropriate forum and hit the bit towards the top which says "Click Here To Start A New Thread".

3. I have marked the old threads as solved, although they are long forgotten. The past is, indeed, the past and genuine mistakes are forgiven at DaniWeb.

4. You can give anyone reputation by tapping the up arrow to the right hand side of any of their postings, and add some comment as to why in the box that pops up.

5. Any posts that break the rules, or you find offensive, can be reported by using the 'Flag Bad Post' button to the left side of each posting, under the details of the user who posted it. This will open a box that lets you explain the problem, and thje posts is then flagged in a special forum where it can be seen by all the moderators and dealt with as soon as possible.

And now for the advice, …

If you have not used one of these 'universal' programmable remote control devices for a while then prepare yourself for a shock of stellar proportions: this thing is really easy to use. No, I mean it, really easy. One For All rightly claims that it is just a three button process. The first of those buttons is quite aptly labelled 'magic' because that's exactly what appears to happen.

Press the 'magic' button, select the type of device you want to control (TV, Set Top Box, DVD, AMP, MP3 or Games Console) and then enter the appropriate generic code for your device. Hold on a moment, I hear you screaming, so nothing has changed then. In the bad old days these things used different codes for every model of TV a manufacturer made, codes which often didn't work. The SmartControl takes a different approach to coding by using generic brand codes that cover most models they make and, amazingly, seem to just work. Magic, device, code and use: it really is as simple as that! I programmed a Sony Bravia HDTV and Sky HD set top box with just six button presses and, are you ready for this, in less than 60 seconds. What's more, both devices worked perfectly reliably with the remote control afterwards. Of course, the whole point of the SmartControl PS3 is that it can do something that other Infrared (IR) remotes cannot: it can control your Sony PlayStation 3 games console. The reason …

That's better, I get it now :)

Do you want to try that again, this time with a touch of making sense thrown in?

Rather than cover all the same ground again, may we take the liberty of referring you to our earlier review of System Mechanic 9.5 which provides all the basics of what the software is and what it does? In a nutshell though, System Mechanic is a collection of diagnostic, repair and optimization tools which have been engineered to work together in order to 'tune-up' your computer. It helps fix errors that can cause crashes and slow down performance, boost Internet speeds and Windows start times, clean out clutter and generally ensure your computer runs smoothly and speedily.

So what's new in System Mechanic 10 then? Well we feel we have to start the round up with the licensing deal, mainly because it's a real money saver for a change. Instead of imposing Draconian restrictions on the user, Iolo has instead opted to make things simple. How simple? How about this: one payment, one license, every PC in your household is covered. The Whole Home Licensing deal is that cool, especially for the bigger family with more that the arbitrary three computers which usually force them into either buying the software again to cover an additional laptop and netbook, or force them into becoming pirates and use the software outside the terms of the license.

When it comes to actually functionality, the news is generally just as good although there is one exception which we will come to in …

Obviously you are not suggesting, are you, that anyone did this to somehow get a free copy of a commercial/copyrighted music track otherwise you would be in breach of the 'keep it legal' rule: "Do not pursue any illegal activity within forum posts"

Get some different friends.

... as long at its entertaining (good gameplay + not infested by cheaters nor bots)

Not infested by cheaters, she says, advertising a WoW gold shop. Arf arf.

And if you have a sample give it to your doctor... :)

I kmow what you neam

Internet Explorer used to reign over the web browser client kingdom with a seemingly vice-like grip, but the latest statistics suggest that the Microsoft market share crown is slipping significantly. Although Chrome only has a 7.98 percent share according to one recent report, it has carved that out in a relatively small period of time. Firefox, on 22.96 percent continues to climb but Internet Explorer has slipped to 'just' 59.65 percent. OK, so that remains a pretty dominant position to be in, but when you consider that not so long ago Microsoft was looking at a browser market-share of 90 percent the need for Internet Explorer 9 to be a success on a playing field that is starting to even out somewhat becomes all too clear.

So just how likely is Microsoft to succeed in turning the browser client market-share tide? DaniWeb has been taking a close look at the latest Internet Explorer 9 Beta in order to find out.Performance matters...

Measuring the real world performance of a web browser client can be a tricky thing to accomplish, not least as there are so many varying metrics that can be applied. However, for most people you can safely say that speed and usability are the two things that carry the most weight in the performance arena: a browser is about as useful as a chocolate teapot if it isn't easy to live with, and can render most everything thrown at it both quickly and accurately.

With Internet Explorer 9 being acclaimed as the fastest ever browser client from Microsoft, DaniWeb decided to put it to the test against Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari and see just how quick it really is in a real world test of web browsing speed.

You can read our review of the Internet Explorer 9 Beta here .

A certain degree of nerdiness, no doubt, drives so many publications to take the microsecond benchmarking suite approach to testing. While we certainly do not dismiss these tests as pointless, measuring the speed of the browser JavaScript engine and core rendering speeds are important metrics in the scheme of things, we don't happen to think that most users really care too much about them. What users care about, and what we have been asked to produce as a result, is a measure of the real-world speed of browsers when faced with the average online content mixture facing an average user day in and day out. This was never intended on being a lab coat wearing scientifically benchmarked exercise, so please do not berate us for that. What it is, is an at-a-glance comparison of how the leading web browser clients stack up against each other in terms of real-world application when it comes to the single metric that is speed of use.

We fully appreciate that any shoot-out of web browser clients must come with a 'your mileage may vary' warning as far as the …

Wireless is, without doubt, a really great thing. Apart from when it doesn't work that is. If you live in a big old house, for example, then getting your WiFi signal to extend through a few thick walls from one end of the place to the other is not always easy. And before you utter the magic words 'repeater hub' I throw back the 'not always easy' incantation in your direction. I know all about the fun you can have with a less than optimal wireless signal, especially if you throw a few kids and an Xbox into the equation: Xbox Live gaming and a whole bucketful of lag really do not mix. And I've not even mentioned media streaming yet.

What you need in such circumstances is a wired connection, but who wants to start drilling through walls or laying Cat5 cable around crawlspace? OK, the hardcore geeks can sit down, I was talking to everyone else! Actually, what you need is a wired connection that has the portability benefits of wireless but the stability, speed and reassurance of Ethernet. What you need is HomePlug networking. To cut a very long and complex story short, HomePlug networking uses some very clever technology to establish a fully wired network using your existing electrical wiring without the electrical 'noise' impacting upon the transfer of data. If you've not encountered HomePlug networking before it sounds almost too good to be true, but as soon as you've seen it …

Anyone can play golf, but why would anyone want to? Good walk spoiled, and all that.

Now Rugby Union and Mixed Martial Arts, those are sports. I'm thinking of inventing a new sport which combines both, that would kick ass - literally.

It has been a long time coming, but the e-book reader had finally arrived. Oh, I appreciate that there have been many stabs at e-book hardware including the Nook and the efforts from Sony, not to mention the claims of iPad fans and Apple with that iBooks app and iTunes App Store integration. Oh, and not forgetting Amazon's own previous efforts with Kindles 1 and 2 of course. The trouble is, frankly, none of them have actually done the job well enough for me to take them seriously enough to consider replacing my paper book reading habit. Some have been too heavy, others strain the eyes too much or have text that disappears in sunlight, and that's before I even get onto the subject of buying e-books and loading them onto your device. Yet here I am, the author of more than twenty published books of the printed variety, a self-confessed bibliophile and now the owner of an Amazon Kindle 3.

The new Kindle has a lot going for it, from the 4GB of storage of which a little over 3GB is available to the user which equates to enough for storing some 3500 books, to the new e-ink 'pearl' display which is, quite simply, breathtaking. Not in a full colour, touch-screen swiping, video playing iPad kind of a way I grant you. But the Kindle has the advantage of not trying to be all things to all people, including an e-book reader, instead it concentrates …

The likes of Norton these days make much fuss about just how quick installing a security suite is, but you can forget all claims of being done in 60 seconds when it comes to Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security. Think less of speedy rocket-powered installations and more of slow and steady, with a certain degree of swimming through treacle wearing flippers thrown in. Having checked for any conflicting software (such as Norton) or even traces of such software left behind by other security suite uninstallation routines (hello Norton again) and then removing them, the Trend installer goes and fetches the latest updates before eventually getting on with the application installation itself. On our real world testing system the process took, including system restarts, a yawn-inducing 20 minutes from the get go to the got protected. So was it worth the wait?

There has definitely been a move in recent years to a less is more philosophy as far as the security software vendors are concerned, and that's most definitely a good thing. Many years ago now I attended a technical workshop hosted by Symantec at its Santa Monica base, and a senior firewall architect at the time was enthusiastic about what he referred to as 'the silent firewall' which essentially would perform all the blocking and filtering functions required to keep your computer secure, but without all the annoying 'you wanna let this do that' type prompts that were commonplace at the time. Trend Micro, …

According to the colophon the dog is a Newfoundland, 26-28 inches tall at the shoulder and weighing 100-150 pounds. O'Reilly always choose animals for the covers, and one assumes they went for a big powerful dog as the book is about developing big powerful applications. :)

Have you ever thought about measuring the Internet in terms if malware per minute? Me neither, but someone has and it makes for uncomfortable reading if you are a Microsoft Windows user.

How fast is the Internet? It depends on the metric being used, of course, but one new report published this week has an interesting new take on this old question. How does four malware apps per minute grab you? According to German security vendor G Data , the number of new malware applications has already hit a record for the first half of the year with more than a million recorded in just six months alone.

The 1,017,208 malware programs represent an increase of 50 percent compared to the same period last year, and security experts are now confidently predicting that by the end of 2010 we will have witnessed more than two million of them. Of that million or so malwares, 99.4 percent was written to target the Windows Operating System. Breaking it down further, 42.6 percent were Trojans, with downloaders and droppers representing 20.3 percent. Backdoor malware code makes up just 12 percent of the total, while worms represented just 5.27 percent of the total.

"The current numbers are alarming. The malware industry has published nearly four new viruses per minute in the first half of the year" so says Eddy Willems, G Data’s Security Evangelist, who added that the attackers are mainly targeting …

Everyone loves PHP these days it seems, and that includes the bad guys. So it should come as no surprise to learn that yet another remote access Trojan written using PHP has appeared. However, the fact that this particular bit of PHP backdoor code comes complete with a second, hidden, backdoor within it certainly was surprising to the security researcher who found it. DaniWeb has been talking to that researcher to find out more...

"Is there no honor among thieves anymore?" asks Andrew Brandt, the Lead Threat Analyst for security specialists Webroot, when disclosing the details of his PHP double backdoor discovery . It's a good question, albeit one that just begs an answer of 'was there ever?' to be fair. Being a threat analyst for a leading security vendor, Brandt spends a lot of time picking through exploit code. So it was not unusual for him to find himself examining the internal workings of a PHP remote access Trojan that loads into memory on a target computer when the victim strays upon the iframe which points to the PHP script sitting embedded in a web page. "The code is nicely appointed with such desirable features as the ability to execute shell commands on the host server, send a flood of data packets at another computer, and scan remote computers" Brandt reveals.

In fact, it's fairly standard bad guy stuff, albeit well written bad guy stuff. Until you start to dig a little deeper …

On the same day that UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has been explaining that Government sees "no justification for taxpayers' money being used to support research which is neither commercially useful nor theoretically outstanding" and that universities will be expected to "do more for less" an event has been showcasing the latest near-market products and technologies that have evolved from just such research.

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The 'Meerkats and Avatars' event held at the Hauser Forum and organized by St John's Innovation Centre, took place today and served as a great reminder that commercially viable science and technology innovation is most certainly not dead in the water. Of course, you would expect nothing less from Cambridge which has just been voted the number one university in the world , beating Harvard, Oxford and Yale.

Speaking at the event, Martin Graham, former Head of Markets at the London Stock Exchange proposed a new type of stock exchange that would increase liquidity into the market for growth businesses and help innovation drive society forward, arguing that "new products, services and technologies are key to economic recovery". Graham, founder of the CMX Capital Markets Exchange platform, admits is can be difficult for investors to identify early-stage businesses with real-world commercial potential and as a result more than half of those businesses getting short term 'Angel' support go under. "Short-term investment means that valuable time is spent chasing new sources of funding, rather than developing the business" he added.

David Gill, MD …

I honestly thought this was a device to give the writers some byline credits so they could use them to get real reporting jobs some day.

I guess I had better hand back my National Union of Journalists Press Card (held for 20 years now) and resign my post as Contributing Editor of PC Pro (biggest selling monthly print IT title in the UK, held for 15 years) not to mention give back the numerous journalism awards I have won over the years which happen to include one for security news reporting that was given for an investigative story that I broke right here on DaniWeb concerning the first virus to be found on a TomTom satnav device.

Seriously, you might not like the news coverage here but to insult the professionalism of the people writing them is juvenile in the extreme. :(