Waiting with bated breath ...
Here are the products Labs analysts can’t wait to get their hands on in 2008
AMD’s Puma notebook
platform
Dubbed the next generation in
Turion and going head-to-head
with Intel Centrino processors,
this new notebook platform—
currently code-named Puma—will
begin shipping with high-end,
executive-class notebooks in 2008.
The 64 X2 dual-core Griffin processor and the new RS780 mobile chip
set bring Advanced Micro Devices
one step closer to its long-standing goal of combining core and
graphics processing units on one
piece of silicon.
—Tiffany Maleshefski The Firefox 3 browser has many new and improved usability and security features.
Apple’s iPhone SDK ting more virtualization technology any system that directly connects
I’m not so much interested in test- into the hardware, and data centers to a federal network, and it applies
ing the iPhone SDK, due early this are putting more VMs online than to contractors as well as federal
year, but rather in reaping the benefits ever before. A target surface this big employees. I’ll be testing products
ofits invention. Perhaps—finally—I’ll makes investigating VM rootkits a that support scanning systems to
be able to instant-message, view Flash- tempting topic in 2008. ensure compliance.
based Web sites and store files on —Cameron Sturdevant —Cameron Sturdevant
my iPhone without having to hack it first. Federal Desktop Core Mozilla’s Firefox 3 —Andrew Garcia Configuration compliance Firefox 3 looks like it will be a
Blue Pill virtual machine apps nice upgrade to the popular open- rootkit Starting in February, general- source Web browser from Mozilla. purpose desktops and laptops run- Many of the new and improved
Putting an operating system in a ning Windows XP or Windows usability and security features will
virtual machine on the fly and with- Vista will be subject to the Fed- be welcome to most users. How-
out detection is the goal of security eral Desktop Core Configuration ever, the features in Firefox 3 that
researchers. This year, I can’t wait specification published by the make it truly intriguing are those
to do some independent lab work National Institute of Standards and that turn the browser into a kind
on these proof-of-concept rootkits Technology. This is a directive to of Web development platform,
to put the threat—and the inevitable secure user systems by controlling enabling everything from inte-
countermeasures to this threat—to password, user and administrator gration with Web applications to
the test. The raging debate in the accounts; default wireless settings; offline application access capabili-
research community revolves around and browser configurations. The ties. These features mark Firefox 3
detection. Intel and AMD are put- far-reaching standard applies to as one of the [CON TINUED ON PAGE 47]
