November 18th, 2009
admin
It’s been four months since the announcement of Google Chrome OS, a Web-centric operating system that is supposed to blur the line between OS and browser or so we were told, as the hasn’t been any decent information on the subject released by Google. Now it is almost clear that we won’t be seeing the official release of the Chrome OS this year, however Google will be offering the first real look at Google Chrome OS this Thursday, with technical demonstrations for the media. We might as well hear something about the release plans – we shall see where it goes.
City Council of Los Angeles approved a multimillion-dollar contract proposal to use Google Web services for government e-mail and other Internet services. Many city computer systems will be replaced with the so-called Google-apps. Under this deal Google will provide e-mail, calendar, online chatting and other services to more then 30000 city employees. The main problem with this contract was that Google places documents online rather then on individual computers under the city direct control, so the agreement was only reached when Google agreed to pay a preset penalty in case if a security breach occurs.
A 46-year-old Gregory William Fair of Falls Church, Virginia, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for selling counterfeit software using eBay auction system. In addition to this, Fair will have to pay $743,098 in restitution. Fair also forfeited $144,000 seized from a safety deposit box and residence, a Mercedes CL600, a Hummer H2, a BMW 525i and a 1969 Pontiac GTO as all the cars were purchased with funds from this counterfeit software operation as stated by the U.S. Department of Justice . Combined retail value of all the software Fair sold between 2001 and 2007 is more than $1 million. The case is part of the DOJ’s effort to combat pirated software and counterfeit goods sales through commercial Web sites and online auction sites.