Nearly 80 percent of parents doubt future generation’s ability to manage finances
Gilroy – According to a national study commissioned by financial services firm Edward Jones, more than 600 parents, grandparents and guardians, nearly eight out of 10 Americans with children or grandchildren under 18 admitted they were concerned about the next generation’s personal finance skills now and into the future.
“These results clearly suggest that there is not enough being done to educate today’s youth about managing their finances,” said Tim Fortino, Edward Jones representative. “It is a common belief that the average American spends too much, saves too little and carries more debt than he or she should. To help mitigate these concerns, children need to be provided with a basic understanding of personal finance and a solid grasp of basic financial concepts like debt, credit and saving for retirement.”
Oracle lauches pricing attack on Red Hat Inc.
San Francisco – Having already vanquished some of his biggest rivals, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison on Wednesday launched a pricing attack on Linux software leader Red Hat Inc.
Ellison unveiled his plans to support Red Hat’s product line at sharply discounted prices before a packed audience of software customers and developers gathered at Oracle’s biggest convention of the year.
The initiative threatens to siphon substantial revenue from Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat, a leading provider of open-source software that runs on the Linux operating system. Product support accounts for most of Red Hat’s revenue, which totaled $278 million last year.
“I don’t think this will kill Red Hat,” Ellison said in response to a question from the audience. “This is capitalism. We are competing.”
Investors, though, are worried Red Hat will be hurt by the challenge from the world’s second largest software company.
Known for a combative style that has drawn comparisons to Genghis Khan, Ellison has overseen a $20 billion takeover spree during the last two years that devoured two of Oracle’s biggest rivals in the business software industry, PeopleSoft Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc.
BT buys security company Counterpane
San Jose – BT Group PLC, the former British telecom monopoly, said Wednesday it bought Silicon Valley-based Counterpane Internet Security Inc. to boost its computer security services for corporate customers.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition is the latest example of industry giants looking to beef up their security offerings.
Data storage provider EMC Corp. completed two deals with information security companies this year, buying RSA Security and Network Intelligence for a total of $2.3 billion. International Business Machines Corp. is set to soon close a $1.3 billion acquisition of network monitoring company Internet Security Systems Inc.
Counterpane monitors 550 computer networks worldwide for multinational and Fortune 100 customers to help them guard against hackers and other security threats. The privately held company, launched in 1999, had assets of $6.8 million at the beginning of last year, BT said in a statement.
One of Counterpane’s founders was Bruce Schneier, a leading cryptologist who in recent years has become a wide-ranging security guru and critic of national security practices.
Under the buyout, Schneier will continue in his role as Counterpane’s chief technology officer and Paul Stich will remain chief executive.
Hacker ‘DVD Jon’ claims to have cracked iPod, iTunes
San Jose – A hacker known for cracking the copy-protection technology in DVDs claims to have unlocked the playback restrictions of Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod and iTunes music products and plans to license his code to others.
The move by Jon Lech Johansen, also known as “DVD Jon,” could pit the 22-year-old against Apple’s lawyers, experts say, but if successful could free users from some restrictions Apple and its rivals place on digital music.
Today, songs purchased from Apple’s online iTunes Music Store can’t be played on portable devices made by other companies. Songs purchased from many other online music stores also won’t work on iPods because they similarly use a form of copy-protection that Apple doesn’t support.
Johansen said he has developed a way to get around those restrictions by creating code that mimics Apple’s copy-protection system.
But unlike his previous work, which he usually posts for free, the Norway native plans to capitalize on his efforts through his Redwood Shores-based DoubleTwist Ventures, said the company’s only other employee, managing director Monique Farantzos.
Johansen became a hero to hackers at age 15, when he posted software called DeCSS to unlock the Content Scrambling System, or CSS, the film industry used on DVD movies to prevent illegal copying. The act made Johansen, who was then living in Norway, a folk hero among hackers.
He has since become a strong advocate of the open-source philosophy of making software code freely available for inspection and sharing.
