While Congress is bogged down debating far-reaching and controversial immigration reform, a new bill proposing to raise the ceiling on the number of H-1B visas issued annually to technology and related professionals was introduced into the Senate on Tuesday.

But unlike those other bills that are part of more comprehensive immigration reform packages, the Skil Bill, introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-Tex.) is more narrowly focused on issues related to raising the annual H-1B visa cap and streamlining processes related to so-called EB green cards, or permanent residency.

Source: InformationWeek

An open-source security audit program funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has flagged a critical vulnerability in the X Window System which is used in Unix and Linux systems.

Coverity, the San Franciso-based company managing the project under a $1.25 million grant, described the flaw as the “biggest security vulnerability” found in the X Window System code since 2000.

The X Window System, also called X11 or X, provides the toolkit and protocol to build GUIs for Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It is used to provide windowing for bit-map displays.

It could be exploited to allow local users to execute code with root privileges, giving them the ability to overwrite system files or initiate denial-of-service attacks.

Coverity hailed the discovery as proof that its automated code scanning tool can discover serious flaws that the human eye might miss.

Source: Yahoo

Mozilla released a security update for the open source browser Firefox.

Firefox 1.5.0.3 is a security update that fixs a denial of service vulnerability.

Download Firefox 1.5.0.3

Microsoft Corp.’s long- awaited release of the upgrade to its flagship Windows operating system will likely be delayed again by at least three months, research group Gartner Inc. said on Tuesday.

The research note, released to clients on Monday, said the new Windows Vista operating system is too complex to be able to meet Microsoft’s targeted November release for volume license customers and January launch for retail consumers.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company disagreed with the Gartner report and it was still on track to meet its launch dates.

Source: Reuters

The EJB 3.0 specification (JSR-220) has passed its final approval ballot unanimously, clearing the way for implementations to solidify compliance, and also providing a stable target for programmers to use in development.

Source: TheServerSide

Video Gaming’s Leading Lady Makes Her Debut on the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance This Fall

Eidos Interactive announced further details of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend on Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Available this fall, the handheld versions will faithfully capture the detail and breadth of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the soon-to-be-released Nintendo GameCube version.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend on the Nintendo platforms will deliver the same level of gameplay and high production value experience that has helped the PlayStation2 and Xbox versions rise to the top of the sales charts all over North America and Europe. Nintendo fans will be able to experience Tomb Raider’s dynamic controls, Lara’s fluid movement system, engaging puzzles, and gorgeous environments.

Microsoft Corp. and Sperling’s BestPlaces today bestowed on the title of top video gaming city in the United States. edged out larger metropolitan areas such as , , and Washington, D.C., as the center of the interactive entertainment universe for both console and Microsoft Windows-based PC gaming in a survey analyzing select consumer behaviors in the gaming industry.

“The large amount of games played on Xbox Live and the high number of video games owned put Seattle at the top of list, but clearly the survey confirms that games are sweeping the U.S.,�? said Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling’s BestPlaces.

Sperling commissioned the survey based on the number of video game systems owned per household — Xbox 360, Xbox, Window-based PCs, PlayStation 2 and GameCube — number of games purchased, number of game rentals, and frequency of online gameplay via Xbox Live or Windows games, among other factors.

The top 10 U.S. gaming cities are as follows:

1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
3. Atlanta
4. Detroit
5. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
6. Washington, D.C.
7. St. Louis
8. Boston
9. San Diego
10. Philadelphia

Users of Sun Microsystems’ supported Solaris 10 operating system will finally get the new 128-bit ZFS (zettabyte file system), which brings virtually unlimited data capacity.

Sun executives will use the Network Computing event in Washington on May 2 to announce that the next company-supported version of Solaris 10, due in June, will include bug fixes and new features like ZFS 1.0, the file system that Sun’s engineers have been working on for a number of years.

Source: eWeek

Today, AMR Research released findings from a recent field study that revealed 68 percent of companies with more than $1 billion in revenues are not prepared for a pandemic, such as an avian flu outbreak. The survey highlights the fact that a majority of companies have not implemented a risk management strategy.

AMR Research identified several areas that companies could prepare and invest in order to lessen the effects of a pandemic. The following are brief descriptions of those strategies, as well as the percent of companies that have prepared for each strategy:

• Supply Risk Planning (22%) — How prepared are companies to re-source supplies and goods from other areas? Understanding and optimizing the nodes in the supply chain in case large geographies are more affected than others is vital.
• Home Bound (38%) — Companies must have the technology in place to support customers and employees that need to work from the safety of their own home.
• Self-Service (29%) – Allowing employees and customers to transact business remotely and to create workflow will limit exposure.
• Training (22%) – Workers should be trained in multiple jobs, similar to the military, so that there are many options should a colleague become disabled. Such cross-training not only helps in case of pandemic, but it also helps stem the ongoing brain-drain problem so many companies are having to deal with as skilled workers retire or leave for other jobs.
• Risk management (43%) – Evaluating scenarios for corporate-wide financial risk for the present, the near term, and the future.

“Large businesses play a key role in delivering critical supplies and services in a global economy. Evaluating their ability to do so is vital to their operations,” said Tony Friscia, president and CEO of AMR Research. “Ignoring the possibility of a pandemic or another low-probability, high-impact event is not a strategy — building a risk management framework is.”

The report highlights the need for a supply chain risk management strategy notwithstanding a pandemic. In recent history, businesses have experienced significant event risk in the form of port strikes, natural disasters, terrorism, and outbreaks such as SARS, in addition to increasingly constrained logistics, longer supply lead times, and more variable demand and supply. AMR Research has found that companies with an operational risk management strategy have seen a lower impact to business than competitors.

“Risk management is not just about creating a plan and sticking it in a binder on some executive’s shelf — it’s about putting a program in place to assess the risks that your supply chain may face, and building a plan for mitigating those risks,” said Mark Hillman, research director at AMR Research.

Security watchers are warning of a new worm that’s propagating over instant messenger networks run by both AOL and MSN. Nugache-A is also spreading (albeit modestly) as an infected email that uses a variety of well-known Windows exploits to infect vulnerable Windows PCs.

If successful, the worm opens a back door that leaves compromised PCs as zombies under the control of hackers. The command and control channel technique used by the worm is unusual. Instead of a static list, the worm connects to infected peers.

Source: The Register

Google is reaching out to the European software development community with its first Code Jam programming competition in Europe.

Starting on 1 May, European programmers can register at the Code Jam website, to be tested later on a programming language of their choice.

Competition begins on 23 May when contestants will be given a series of questions to answer in a given amount of time. Submissions will be judged by TopCoder and the best entries will move on to the next level.

By 29 June, after three rounds of competition, the remaining 50 contestants will be flown to Dublin to compete for €30,000 in cash and prizes.

Source: silicon.com

NVIDIA Gelato 2.0 software renders realistic 3D objects and environments for film, design, and architecture. This image, created by Ethan Summers and Shiew Yeu Low for an upcoming independent film, showcases Gelato 2.0 software’s powerful 3D rendering capabilities.

NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), announced it is making the process of high-quality rendering affordable with two new versions of Gelato software, the company’s premium rendering solution for digital content creation.

The new version comes in two flavors: Gelato 2.0 software, a no-cost version of the renderer and Gelato Pro 2.0 software, which offers advanced production-grade rendering functionality and comprehensive support, is available for purchase from NVIDIA and authorized regional resellers.

“Both the no-cost and the Pro versions of Gelato 2.0 software include advanced rendering features such as high-quality anti-aliasing, smooth motion blur, raytracing, global illumination and the inclusion of plug-ins for Autodesk’s Maya and 3ds Max software, all of which make Gelato software a powerful complement to any rendering pipeline,” said Larry Gritz, chief architect of Gelato software, NVIDIA. “Combine these features with the advanced functionality of Gelato Pro 2.0 software and we now offer a
version of Gelato software for every user.”

Gelato software is GPU-accelerated, final-frame software that renders high-quality computer-generated images. Originally developed to render film and broadcast visual effects and animation, Gelato software is well-suited for any 3D software application that requires advanced rendering, including game development, CAD, industrial design, and architecture.