Microsoft offers $14.99 Windows 8 Upgrade

		Windows 7 PC Now. Windows 8 Pro Later. When your customers buy a Windows 7 PC now, they can get Windows 8 Pro later for just $14.99*. Windows 8—You may have already heard that it’s coming soon. But what you may not have heard is that your customers don’t have to wait to buy a new PC in order to get Windows 8 when it becomes available. Today’s Windows 7 PCs come out of the box with everything your customers need now and later—including an opportunity to move to Windows 8 Pro when it becomes available—at a great price. Microsoft is offering a great deal for savvy PC resellers: From June 2, 2012 through January 31, 2013, your customers buy a Windows 7 PC now or a copy of Microsoft OEM Windows 7 Pro, and they get Windows 8 Pro when it becomes available—for $14.99. Why wait? Now’s the time for your customers to get a head start with Windows 8 by taking advantage of this Windows 7 PC offer! *Offer valid June 2, 2012 through January 31, 2013. For complete details, visit www.windowsupgradeoffer.com.  er Microsoft Upgrade Offer DFORCE Core i3 and 3rd Gen Core i5 workstations

Flame Malware news, IPv6 kicks off Wednesday and Intel 3rd generation processors

Flame Malware
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/75281.html

As reported here over a year ago (Stuxnet worm), computer sabotage via clandestine means is ongoing between adversarial countries and intelligence agencies.  The latest threat, Flame reportedly may have been created by a nation state.  While not destructive as the Stuxnet worm which brought the Iranian centrifuges to a halt, the Flame malware appears to gather information reporting back to it's creators screen shots, audio recordings   The primary targets appear to be users in the Middle East.

While I am for restricting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, it gives pause to ponder that Governments can deliver stealthy code to monitor and report activity unbeknownst to the individual user.  While everyone says they have nothing to hide it is unnerving to know that your online activities could be monitored and tracked by organization who have the power and money to overwhelm IT departments and $59 antivirus software which is by design always a step behind.

Ultimately the code ends up in the hands of cyber criminals who then use it for their own means. The criminals will find it easier to hide after the shift from IPv4 to IPv6 which is scheduled to kick off tomorrow, 06/06/2012.

Shift to IPv6 set for Wednesday
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57445157-83/fbi-new-internet-addresses-could-hinder-police-investigations/

The formal shift from the old Internet numbering system, IPv4, and the new system, IPv6, is scheduled to kick off Wednesday, and not everyone will be sighing with relief about the Internet solving its dwindling IP address problem.
For the FBI, the new system's nearly unending number of IP addresses is just another step in what it's calling its "Going Dark" problem -- the steady decline of law enforcement's ability to see what criminal elements are doing.

New Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 and i7 Processors
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/pc_components/intel/3rd_generation_core_i7-3770k_cpu/422506

The code name is Ivy Bridge, but you'll end up knowing them better as Intel's 3rd generation Core CPUs. These are the CPUs that will appear in brand new desktop computers and high-end notebooks starting this month, and they will also make their way into Ultrabooks in a few months. We can tell you it will be worth the wait. The new CPUs offer better performance and power efficiency than their predecessors, which were already the best on the market. If you build your own PCs, then you can get a 3rd generation Core CPU right now [actually, from 29 April - Ed], with street prices varying from $240-300 for quad-core Core i5-3450, Core i5-3550 and Core i5-3570K models, and the Core i7-3770 costing $380. There are more models on the way.

The smaller process and the new 3D technology allows for more transistors to be packed in to a CPU, and packed in much closer, therefore boosting performance and power efficiency — for example, a 3rd generation Core i5 has a maximum thermal design power rating that is 18W lower (77W) than a 2nd generation Core i5 CPU (95W) at the same speed grade. Intel says the nature of the new 3D transistors has led to better control of the electrical current and it means the new transistors can switch between on and off states at a much greater rate than ever before.

What it all boils down to is this: a 3rd generation Intel Core CPU is a must-have for any new system. The Core i7-3770K that we looked at is a fast and efficient performer, but the Core i5 models should live up to expectations, too. Ultrabooks won't benefit from the new models until later on in the year, and many of the vendors we talked to at the time of writing hadn't announced 3rd generation Core systems yet, desktop or otherwise. If you want to be one of the first to give Ivy Bridge a go, you'll have to go down the do-it-yourself route, which to us is the most exciting route anyway.

Main features of 3rd generation Core i3 desktop CPUs

• Two cores
• Up to four threads (with Hyper-Threading)
• 3MB Smart Cache
• Intel HD 2500 or HD 4000 graphics
• Virtualisation technology
• Best matched to H61 chipset

Main features of 3rd generation Core i5 desktop CPUs

• Four cores
• Up to four threads (no Hyper-Threading)
• Turbo Boost 2.0
• 6MB Smart Cache
• Intel HD 2500 or HD 4000 graphics
• Virtualisation technology
• Best matched to H77 chipset

Main features of 3rd generation Core i7 desktop CPUs

• Four cores
• Eight threads (with Hyper-Threading)
• Turbo Boost 2.0
• 8MB Smart Cache
• Intel HD 4000 graphics
• Virtualisation
• Best matched to Z77 chipset