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Source: http://gizmodo.com/5626970/hp-holds-navy-network-hostage-for-33-billion

Someday, somehow, the U.S. Navy would like to run its networks – maybe even own its computers again.

After 10 years and nearly $10 billion, many sailors are tired of leasing their PCs, and relying on a private contractor to operate most of their data systems. Troops are sick of getting stuck with inboxes that hold 150 times less than a Gmail account, and local networks that go down for days while Microsoft Office 2007 gets installed … in 2010. But the Navy just can’t quit its tangled relationship with Hewlett-Packard. The admirals and the firm recently signed another $3.3 billion no-bid contract that begins Oct. 1st. It’s a final, five-year deal, both sides promise, to let the Navy gently wean itself from its reliance on HP. But that’s what they said the last time, and the time before that.

It’s become a Washington cliché that the military and the intelligence community rely too much on outside contractors. Everyone from President Obama to Defense Secretary Robert Gates has promised to cut back on Pentagon outsourcing. But the Navy’s ongoing inability to separate itself from Hewlett-Packard – after years of trying – shows how difficult that withdrawal is going to be.

Just to make sure its core networks keep running – to make sure marines and sailors can keep e-mailing each other on Oct. 1st – the Navy is paying Hewlett Packard $1.788 billion. (Booz Allen Hamilton, another outside contractor, handled the negotiations with Hewlett-Packard for the military.) The service will spend another $1.6 billion to buy from HP the equipment troops have worked on for years, and to license the network diagrams and configuration documents, so that the Navy can begin to plan for a future in which they’re not utterly reliant on HP for their most basic communications. In essence, the Navy is paying to look at the blueprints to the network it has been using for a decade.

“HP is holding the Navy hostage, and there isn’t a peep about it,” one Department of the Navy civilian tells Danger Room. “We basically had two recourses: pay, or send in the Marines.”

The initial idea behind the project, called the Navy Marine Corps Intranet, was to combine a hodgepodge of 15,000 different systems into a single, manageable network. A single IT company, Electronic Data Systems, would own all the gear – from the routers to the servers to the mice – and operate it all for the Navy. That way, the sailors wouldn’t need to count on the military’s Paleolithic purchasing system for their tech. And they’d get the benefit of a proven sysadmin who was smarter, faster, more efficient and more flexible than any lumbering government bureaucracy. Original cost: $4.1 billion for five years.

Since then, NMCI has grown to become the second largest network in the world, trailing only the internet itself. More than 700,000 sailors, marines and civilians on nearly 400,000 computers in 620 locations throughout the United States, Japan and Cuba are connected. NMCI’s 4,100 servers handle more than 2.3 petabytes of data. And, in some ways, the project has to be counted as a success: All those old networks have been merged into one, and that one centrally-controlled network is far easier to operate and secure than the tangled messes you find in most military commands.

But the flexibility the Navy hoped for? Well, let’s just say NMCI operates with all the agility and responsiveness you’d expect from a centrally-managed, self-policing monopoly.

“When our computers are not being crippled by updates, and as long as we don’t have to call the help desk for anything (i.e. we don’t have any computer problems) then NMCI has somewhat stabilized,” another Navy civilian e-mails Danger Room.

Worse, HP – which acquired Electronic Data Systems and its Navy contract in 2008 – still operates under performance metrics set a decade ago. A typical workstation on the network costs the Navy $2,490.72 per year. That includes an e-mail inbox with a 50-MB capacity (Gmail’s: 7,500 MB), and 700 MB of network storage (compared to Evernote’s unlimited, free plan). Anything above that is extra.

A year’s use of a “high-end graphics” workstation sets the Navy back $4,085.64. Extra applications on a laptop or desktop computer can run anywhere from $1,006.68 to $4,026.72 annually. A classified Ethernet port – $9,300 to $28,800 per year, depending on where it’s located.

What’s more, HP isn’t required to take security measures like hard disk encryption, threat heuristics, and network access control that are common today, but were exotic in 2000. “Anti-spam services” runs the Navy $2.7 million per year under the contract. Cleaning up a “data spillage” – classified information that got placed an unclassified network – costs $11,800 per incident. In 2008, the Navy paid about $5 million to wipe the data from 432 compromised computers. That’s “almost 10 times the cost of simply destroying the affected machines and replacing them with new ones,” the Washington Times reported.

HP executive director Randy Dove calls the project the “most secure, flexible and functional network within the Department of Defense.” Dove’s company claims 87.5 percent of NMCI users surveyed said they’re happy with the service. But among sailors and marines, NMCI’s many alternate acronyms tell a different story: “No More Contracted Infosystems,” “Non Mission-Capable Internet,” “Never Mind Crash Imminent.” Sailors and marines complained of long network down times, waits of hours and days for technical support – and even longer for pauses for BlackBerries and other gear.

The NMCI contract wasn’t supposed to last a whole decade, originally. But the job of consolidating networks and keeping up with the Navy’s wartime data needs kept getting bigger and more complex. And once the Navy started counting on an outside contractor to keep its information flowing, the harder it became to part ways – despite the complaints from the troops and from independent auditors.

Current program manager Capt. Captain Scott Weller insists that “the Navy always had full command and control over NMCI.” But Navy officials like retired Adm. John Gauss provides a different perspective. “We gave up far too much control under NMCI,” he admits.

Yet the NMCI contract was revamped over and over again, each time for more time and more money. “After investing about 6 years and $3.7 billion on NMCI, the Navy has yet to meet the program’s two strategic goals – to provide information superiority and to foster innovation,” the Government Accountability Office concluded in 2006 (.pdf). A few months earlier, the Navy decided to extend the contract through 2010.

In 2008, Navy officials declared their intention to finally assume day-to-day control of their networks. Then they quickly reconsidered. Military leaders wondered whether they had the expertise to manage such a complex IT project. Contractors working on the Navy’s behalf shared those concerns. The Navy might be able to build an aircraft carrier, say. But those ships take a decade or more to build. Something as fast moving as IT? That requires a different metabolism, a different workforce and a different set of skills.

Then there was the question of intellectual property. HP owned all of NMCI’s designs. Without that information, the Navy couldn’t really begin to plan for the Navy’s Next Generation Enterprise Network, or NGEN. (The new network had to be based on the old one, after all.) Which meant the military needed yet another agreement with Hewlett-Packard if they ever hoped to separate from the company. “Without access to the infrastructure and technical data associated with NMCI, we can’t hold an open competition,” Capt. Tim Holland, NGEN program manager, told an interviewer.

A Department of the Navy civilian is more blunt: “On Oct. 1st, NMCI becomes NGEN – provided we meet HP’s list of terrorist demands.”

With additional reporting by Zach Gottlieb

Photo: Navy

Wired.com has been expanding the hive mind with technology, science and geek culture news since 1995.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5626865/why-an-ipod-touch-with-cameras-would-be-a-serial-killer

A new iPod touch with the iPhone 4‘s dual cameras—specifically its awesome 5-megapixel shooter—is more than just another iPod touch. It’s a true killer gadget.

A friend of mine is moving to France for a year. Her contract with Verizon is up for renewal. She’s not a super dweeb, but she was considering getting a decent Android phone—the Incredible, or Droid X—and simply running it on Wi-Fi, using it as her ultra pocketable computer for music, web browsing, Facebook, email and importantly, an internet-connected camera alongside a cheap pay-as-you-go phone for basic service over there. The Verizon salesperson inexplicably told that wouldn’t work at all. I told her it simply wouldn’t be very good. What she needs, really, is an iPod touch with the iPhone 4′s retina display and dual cameras.

Inexplicably, there’s never been a credible iPod touch competitor. The Zune HD doesn’t run apps (the handful it’s got don’t count), so it’s limited in what it can do—it’s simply a very good music player. Android is still a miserable place to be when it comes to media, and on top of that, all of the Android “tablets” have been thoroughly mediocre. There’s nothing out there that’s remotely like the iPod touch. And obviously, there’s a demand for it, since it’s the only iPod whose sales are still growing.

An iPod touch with the iPhone 4′s remarkable-for-a-phone camera would be the gadget that’s effectively a ninja assassin squad against a whole range of other middling gadgets. A 32GB model would be $300, assuming Apple keeps the same pricing scheme as always. (They will.) A FlipHD is bulkier, shoots the same 720p video, and it’s about $150. The average cheapish point-and-shoot is around $150 too, and doesn’t shoot photos that are much better in the hands of a normie. An iPod touch with the iPhone 4′s excellent camera would replace both of them—with some superior capabilities, like easy uploading to Flickr or Facebook—while doing all of the other things an iPod touch is awesome at for a minimal amount of extra scratch.

The camera app is less flexible than a dedicated camera, this is true. There’s no white balance control, or exposure compensation, or other advanced controls you’d find on even middling point-and-shoots. But the people who could replace their point-and-shoot with an iPod touch are the kind of people who didn’t mess with that stuff anyway: They point. They shoot. And excellent imaging apps like Hipstamatic and Pano deliver the kinds of effects and fireworks the average person is looking for in their photos. Even I’ve semi-replaced my S90 with my iPhone 4, for 90 percent of the quick photos I take.

An iPod touch with a camera. It’s a powerful proposition. The fact that it can replace a camera makes it that much more powerful of a gadget, that much more of a threat to everything else—because that means it really can replace everything in a manbag or purse but the phone—iPod, camera, notepad, gaming device, the list goes on. And it’s everything that’s great about the iPhone 4, but without the technological venereal disease that is a two-year AT&T contract. It’s approachable, even to people who aren’t super tech savvy—they can keep their simple, reliable phone on any carrier and use the iPod touch right along with it. That’s a killer gadget.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5627132/internet+connected-tv-apps-system-renamed-to-smart-tv-by-lg

Seemingly, Smart TV is a rebrand of LG’s NetCast system—an internet-connected TV service with a home dashboard, displaying apps and widgets. Considering NetCast offered Skype, YouTube, Netflix, VUDU, and Yahoo Widgets, we shall expect more of the same.

Smart TV will be launching in early 2011, but there’s already a peripheral available today that will be able to support it—the Magic Wand remote, which we saw back at CES. LG described it then as “mirroring a “Wii-like” experience,” and by the looks of LG’s press release (below), it sounds like they intend on stepping on even more of Nintendo’s turf. Would you use the remote to color in a coloring book, or show you yoga positions? Maybe if you were too cheap to buy a Wii.

BERLIN, Sep. 1, 2010 – At this year’s IFA, LG Electronics (LG) is unveiling its debut contribution to the exciting new realm of SMART TVs with a set that mixes seamless connectivity to the Internet with exceptional ease of use. With an easy Home Dashboard, intuitive User Interface and User eXperience among other TV applications, LG intends to show just how convenient its SMART TV can be.

LG’s SMART TV exhibit at IFA features four main concepts: Easy, Fun, More and Better. As the name suggests, Easy is about convenience of use, which LG achieves through a convenient Home Dashboard that lets viewers use applications and access a range of premium content all on a single screen. Just like an internet portal, Home Dashboard helps viewers select their favorite content instantly without having to browse numerous websites.

At IFA 2010, LG will be making things even simpler still with its Magic Motion Remote Control, which enables viewers to find the content they want by merely pointing the controller at a list of onscreen options and clicking a single button. Used in conjunction with the Home Dashboard, the remote serves up a truly intuitive interface and experience, making the SMART TV LG’s most user-friendly home entertainment product yet.

Focusing on lifestyle-oriented content, Fun shows how LG’s SMART TVs can deliver entertainment value in real life through TV applications. Use the Magic Motion Remote Control to fill in the pages of a coloring book app or learn about first aid through simulated emergency situations. Alternatively, they can pick up helpful tips for relaxation and exercise through a yoga app.

More is about consuming digital content and using Media Link to transfer even more content to the SMART TV. Besides instant access to online videos and images, users can easily upload things they’ve created themselves. And with a smartphone, leaving the house doesn’t mean missing one’s favorite program because content can be delivered wirelessly. Whether connecting to an iPad, PCs, personal media players or home theater systems, LG is expanding the reach of entertainment to every part of people’s lives.

Showing how it will make TV Better, LG is showcasing its quick links to premium content that TV viewers are most likely to use, such as the YouTube, Maxdome, Orange and MLB. On this solid foundation, LG is building a vast selection of online content as it secures deals with some of the internet’s top service and content providers. LG is focusing on forming partnerships with major content providers for maximum entertainment value, including the possibility of Pay TV.

“With the introduction of our advanced SMART TV, LG is able to offer a ‘Total Home Entertainment Solution’ enabling consumers to enjoy practically any digital content on any smart device,” said Simon Kang, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. “For consumers who want full control over how and where they get their entertainment with maximum ease and comfort, the LG SMART TV solution may be all they need.”

LG’s advanced and easy SMART TV will launch in early 2011.

view movie service by end of 2010, says Financial Times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/29/youtube-courting-hollywood-for-pay-per-view-movie-service-by-end/

For all the stupid pet tricks, first-person confessionals, and clips from Conan O’Brien’s formative years that form YouTube‘s content, the one territory it doesn’t really venture is pay-per-view à la Apple, Amazon, and others. Well, it’ll be a Brave New World for the service — and parent company Google — if this Financial Times report is worth its weight in 3mm. According to the publication, the G-Men have been in talks with “Hollywood’s leading movie studios” for several months, touting its reach as one of the main draws for the players involved, for the launch of an international pay-per-view service by the end of this year. Some prices are also thrown around here, to the tune of about $5 for new titles (streaming, not download) available the same time as the DVD releases. The video site has been doing rentals on a trial basis since early this year, with just a smattering of indie titles. The thought of paying to watch Blockbuster titles in the same window we watched three dozen (if not more) remixes of Keyboard Cat is still a bit of a new concept, but hey, that’s the future for you.

YouTube courting Hollywood for pay-per-view movie service by end of 2010, says Financial Times originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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