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Volume 9, Issue 7      In This Issue:   Windows 7 RTM: What you need to know   Best data loss prevention tools   Five technologies Iran is using to censor the Web   Gates leaves Facebook, says it's a hassle   The tech jobs that the cloud will eliminate   What's the best first language for a programmer?   Schmoozing 101: Tips for shy techies   Haptics: The feel-good technology of the year   12 workplace phrases you probably don't know…but should   Skilled [IT] immigrants on why they're leaving the U.S.   Microsoft's aggressive new pricing strategy   Windows 7 will give boost to PC hardware   The top 10 songs the Web brought back   YouTube, how much are you making off Jill and Kevin's wedding?   Living with a BlackBerry addict   Eleven ways to boost your energy Windows 7 RTM: What you need to know Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have reached the release to manufacturing milestone today. Here's what developers, IT pros and business users need to know as Microsoft and its OEMs take another step toward the Windows 7 finish line of public shipment. Microsoft made it official today: both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been released to manufacturing, following through on the software giant's promise to "RTM" Windows 7 in the second half of July. The RTM milestone is not earth-shattering news to consumers, as most of the end-user Windows 7 features have been on display in beta and release candidate form for months. But it is an important step for Microsoft partners and developers... Read the article.  Back to top Best data loss prevention tools Perimeter DLP tools require fine tuning to effectively block 'bad' data from escaping the network. Finding the right perimeter-based data loss prevention tool means striking a balance between speed, accuracy at detecting and blocking sensitive data from exiting the network, and adequate coverage across a broad range of rule-sets and protocols. Read Network World's DLP Buyers Guide. Test methodology. It's Time to Fix the Firewall: Download nowDLP products come in three categories: perimeter-based, client-based and those that take a combined approach. In this test, we evaluated perimeter-based appliances from Fidelis Security Systems, Palisade Systems, Code Green Networks and GTB Technologies... Read the article.  Back to top Five technologies Iran is using to censor the Web America's 10 most wanted botnets Government uses both blunt and surgical tools to stifle dissidents, hacker says. One month after a disputed presidential election sparked widespread unrest in Iran, the country's government has initiated a cyber-crackdown that is challenging hackers across the globe to find new ways to help keep Iranian dissidents connected to the Web. While the government's initial efforts to censor the Internet were blunt and often ineffective, it has started employing more sophisticated tools to thwart dissidents' attempts to communicate with each other and the outside world. Iranian dissidents are not alone in their struggle, however, as several sympathetic hacker groups have been working to keep them online. IDC Whitepaper: Manage and Control Your Network: Download nowOne such group is... Read the article.  Back to top Gates leaves Facebook, says it's a hassle Being Bill Gates isn't easy. The Microsoft founder recently revealed he had to manage over 10,000 friend requests during his time on the social networking site Facebook... Read the article.  Back to top The tech jobs that the cloud will eliminate Already under pressure, IT pros face new competition for their jobs from cloud services. Which jobs go, and which become more valuable? As if outsourcing, virtualization, utility computing, automation, hosted applications, and a recession weren't enough to stress out the average IT professional, there's the emerging threat of cloud computing to take away even more IT jobs. As time progresses, analyst firms foresee the cloud becoming more prevalent, absorbing functions traditionally done by IT. IDC predicts that worldwide IT spending on cloud services will grow almost threefold by 2012 to $42 billion. Gartner has even predicted that, for IT, cloud computing will become as influential as e-business has been. So exactly how -- and when -- will cloud computing reshape IT organizations and IT jobs? And what should the typical IT staffer do to protect his or her career?... Read the article.  Back to top What's the best first language for a programmer? For young developers learning programming for the first time, curiosity and enthusiasm are more important than rigor and discipline. The other day, my friend Ned's cousin asked Ned what he thought was the best first language for new programmers. The cousin didn't have much computing experience, but at 15 years old the future was looming fast, and he thought programming seemed interesting and that it might be something he could get into. "So naturally," Ned explained, "I told him to learn Scheme." Huh?! Scheme? When Ned first opened up the can o' worms of "which programming language is the best," it seemed like a fine opportunity for an argument, Monty Python style. He'd say Perl, someone else would say C++, a third would counter with Visual Basic, and from there we'd move right on to throwing rolls and upending furniture. But Scheme? This was a bait-and-switch I hadn't expected... Read the article.  Back to top Schmoozing 101: Tips for shy techies Too shy to network? Here are low-key ways to build relationships and boost your IT career. She made it part of her regular work schedule while an IT executive, and it's now part of her current job in academia. But Farnsley, a visiting professor at Purdue University's College of Technology in West Lafayette, Ind., says her networking skills didn't come easily. An introvert by nature, she says she was sick with nerves the first time she had to speak to the board of directors at one of her former employers. Nearly everyone has been unnerved at some time or another when meeting new people. But those who are introverted, shy or both usually have a more difficult time than others when faced with networking, says Naomi Karten, principal of Karten Associates in Randolph, Mass., and author of the e-book How to Survive, Excel and Advance as an Introvert. "In general, introverts are less likely to... Read the article.  Back to top Haptics: The feel-good technology of the year How 'high-fidelity haptics' from Immersion and Apple will transform the experience of using gadgets. The touch screen is taking over cell phones, and soon mobile computing and even desktop computing. Both Apple and Microsoft are working on a transition to touch-enabled versions of OS X and Windows. Touch screens are coming in, and keyboards and mice are on their way out. But if you dread the loss of physical keyboards and mice, with their reassuring physical clicking and movement, you should know that two Silicon Valley companies plan to artificially replicate the feel of at least keyboards on touch devices. But that's just the beginning. They also intend to create high-quality feedback for other on-screen objects, such as buttons, window edges and even video game action. Of course, haptics in the form of buzzing vibrations have been with us for a while and are already contributing to a much richer experience with devices of all kinds... Read the article.  Back to top 12 workplace phrases you probably don’t know…but should Getting along with people sometimes requires speaking their language, especially in the workplace. One of the ways employees try to emphasize their smartness is with specialized vocabulary. Due to the nature of a lot of people’s work, technical language and terminology often is necessary, but buzzwords tend to make you sound pretentious. On the other hand, if you are working on a team full of buzzword-addicted co-workers, you’ll need to fit in. Here are some explanations for not-so-common workplace lingo, so next time you are at the water cooler or in a meeting, you’ll understand what’s going on:... Read the article.  Back to top Skilled [IT] immigrants on why they're leaving the U.S. A long wait for a green card, coupled with the soft U.S. economy, is prompting an exodus of some of the best and brightest. Lured by the prospect of climbing to the top of his field, New Delhi native Swaroop Ganguly came to the U.S. 10 years ago and earned a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He became an expert in an emerging technology called spintronics, used to power semiconductors, and worked at several chip companies, including Freescale Semiconductor. But Ganguly, now 32, is moving back to India this summer. Although he has been doing postdoctoral work at the University of Texas, he figures his prospects for research and professional development are probably better in his home country. "I feel quite excited about going back," he says. Ganguly has already accepted a job as a professor of electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. The position will pay a fraction of the salary he had been earning in the private sector—about $15,000 compared with $100,000—but it will offer considerably more job security and the freedom to... Read the article.  Back to top Microsoft's aggressive new pricing strategy Microsoft: A Reality Check for Tech CEO Ballmer is increasingly willing to accept lower margins in exchange for higher overall profits. Microsoft has long enjoyed Olympian profit margins, using its monopoly power to maintain prices on its software even in tough times. But now, amid a terrible downturn and rising competition, CEO Steven A. Ballmer is shifting to a scrappier approach. He is cutting prices on a variety of fronts, from flagship Windows and Office products to newfangled Internet services. The idea is to accept lower margins in some businesses but boost overall earnings by going after a grab bag of growth opportunities. These range from... Read the article.  Back to top Windows 7 will give boost to PC hardware Windows 7: A great gaming platform? Windows 7 will be more than just a better interface. Under-the-hood changes will allow chips from Intel, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices to ratchet up Windows 7 performance above previous Microsoft operating systems. Microsoft on Wednesday said it has finalized the code for Windows 7, set to ship with new PCs starting October 22. Improvements will include how Windows handles multitasking, graphics acceleration, and solid-state drives. Microsoft is working closely with Intel, whose chips will power the vast majority of PCs running Windows 7. A July 22 post from Intel's Joakim Lialias, Alliance Manager responsible for Microsoft, described how Microsoft and Intel "saw unique opportunities to optimize Windows 7 for Intel processor technology" in the areas of performance, power management, and graphics. In his blog, Lialias focused on improvements to... Read the article.  Back to top The top 10 songs the Web brought back There's a lot to love about silly Internet memes and fads, and one reason is that they can dig up something old and make it cool again. Music is no exception: anything from a '70s rock anthem to a '90s one-hit wonder can be given new life if the YouTube or 4chan hordes get their hands on it. The complication is that, thanks to the rise of user-generated content, a song can suddenly become in-demand again without any kind of official marketing push (like placement on a movie soundtrack, for example). And that's an interesting issue for the music industry: When a song from decades ago starts to hit the ears of a generation that might not have been exposed to it before thanks to a grainy video of a tone-deaf guy eviscerating it at an open mic night, does the record label with the rights to the song embrace it as free publicity or flag it as unauthorized content? One thing's for sure. The sheer amount of content on the Web makes it tough for anything to break through from obscurity into the mainstream. But when something hits it big, it gets really big. You can go ask the guy we put at the top of this list... Read the article.  Back to top YouTube, how much are you making off Jill and Kevin's wedding? It's lifted up those who have been dumped by their one-eyed lovers. It's made married couples turn to each other and think: "Why in the blessed blazes did I marry you?" One can even imagine it will inspire those who are about to embark on one of life's more treacherous paths to reassess their mode of transport. Am I talking about the new health care bill? No, I'm talking about the latest and perhaps most inspirational video to have graced YouTube's library of life. When Jill Peterson and Kevin Hines set their wedding date in St. Paul, Minn., they decided to create a special entrance in the church: a loosely choreographed dance to Chris Brown's "Forever." Jill had been a dancer, you see. And, well, marching up the aisle to organ music is so 1939. Kevin told NBC's "Today Show" that he had only posted the video because Jill's dad had nagged him to YouTube it so that more distant family members could enjoy the amusement. (I especially loved the portly chap in the shades who looks just like Turtle from "Entourage.") Since last Sunday, almost 5 million people have watched the delightful wedding party dance. More than 2 million people laptopped it up between 10 p.m. PDT Friday and 10 a.m. PDT Saturday. But here's the thing. Unlike, for example, the Susan Boyle YouTube video--various versions of which have been watched by more than 100 million people--the wedding dance actually has ads around it... Read the article.  Back to top Living with a BlackBerry addict Meg Cadoux Hirshberg writes about how her husband, Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg, never lets his BlackBerry leave his side. Her name is Bond Girl. My husband, Gary, refers to her simply as his BlackBerry, but I know better. Bond Girl has become the awkward third wheel in our relationship. She sleeps on Gary's bed table and wakes us each morning. When he reaches to silence her, he can't resist scrolling down her sleek silver body to check for last night's e-mails. Bond Girl joins us when we dine and sits on the sidelines at our kids' soccer games, purring randomly. She knows all Gary's secrets and contains all his memories. She alone knows where he'll be today, tomorrow, and ever after. My normally calm husband turned quietly frantic when he misplaced Bond Girl a few months ago. She turned up after a 15-minute search, and I joked that it would be interesting to see just how long he could live without her. Not missing a beat, Gary replied, "I think you just did." Over the 25 years that Gary has been in business, we've marveled at each new technology. I remember my amazement at our first PC in 1985 and first fax machine in 1987. Then cell phones came along. But none of those affected the texture of our relationship the way Bond Girl has... Read the article.  Back to top Eleven ways to boost your energy In Depth: In Depth: Unhealthy Habits You Need To Ditch How to use nutrition, exercise, and stress relief to refuel your body and energize your mind. Fatigue is one of the biggest problems of modern life. But most of us deal with the problem in all the wrong ways. We want a magic bullet--an energy bar or supplement or tonic that will make us feel like a superhero. So is there an easy and quick solution to our energy crisis? Yes and no... Read the article.  Back to top Forward to a Friend: Do you have a friend that would like to receive TechWatchsm? Perhaps you know a peer within your organization, or associate at a partner company that would benefit from applying to receive this publication. Inviting a friend to experience the benefits of joining the BusinessWatch Network is easy! Just FW: this newsletter to the person you know who may have an interest and ask them to click here http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com Your friend will be glad you did! If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from TechWatchsm simply change your status, or send a letter requesting opt-off to: The BusinessWatch Network Privacy Mailbox, 1321, Marblehead, MA. 01945 DISCLAIMER: TechWatchsm and the BusinessWatch Networksm are service marks of DMS. 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