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This is the world’s first national ID system based on contactless smart-card technology, according to the press release. The Direction Generale de la Securite Nationale (DGSN) has issued at least a million cards to date and plans to distribute 20 million more over the next four years.

The ID cards for artists, meanwhile, afford them a “more structured environment” in which to work and ensure “conditions necessary to promote creativity,” according to the Ministry. There also are unspecified “social benefits.”

(Credit:
Thales)

Moroccan citizens over 18 years old are required to carry the new ID, but on the upside; the card conveniently supplants birth certificates, certificate of residence, certificate of life, and certificate of nationality in “all procedures for which these documents must be provided.”

Artists, however, will continue to be issued a professional ID card by the Ministry of Culture.

The smart cards hold personal details and biometric data, and can be used as travel documents, as well as a way for the government to “control migration flows.” Naturally, no one besides the cardholder and authorized government entities will have access to the personal data in the bar code and on the microchip.

French aerospace giant Thales provided the system, which included the security software, document production equipment, and the “connectivity with the Automated Fingerprint Identification System which acquires digital fingerprints.”

Morocco’s national security service has begun issuing millions of “contactless,” biometric identification smart cards to simultaneously fight terrorism and guarantee respect for “citizens’ rights and liberty,” according to that North African government.

Cloud computing is getting its due these days, but let’s remember that Loudcloud first proved the viability of the concept.

In 2002, Loudcloud’s founders decided that it was in the best interest of the shareholders and the company’s longevity to jettison the managed-services business (fixed equipment costs played a huge part in this) and to move toward producing a data center automation software platform that would help enterprise customers run their own data centers efficiently. So they spun out a separate software company, Opsware, which Hewlett-Packard bought in 2007 for about $1.6 billion.

Those who remember the emergence of the Internet era as a mainstream venue (circa 1995 to 2000) may also recall a company called Loudcloud, founded by Netscape pioneer Marc Andreessen. It is my opinion that you can trace the road that led to the current cloud-computing era back to Loudcloud’s founding.

It started in 1999, when four visionaries who met while at Netscape–Marc Andreessen, Ben Horwitz, Tim Howes, and In Sik Rhee–saw a pressing problem facing Web-based start-ups. If these emerging companies wanted to establish a presence on the Internet, they were forced to buy a lot of expensive hardware, diverting precious resources that they otherwise might have been able to invest in their core businesses.

The formula was an instant success in a valley full of impatient Internet start-ups waiting to show what they could do. And all that changed when the dot-com bubble burst, and the names of many of the companies that had been hosted by Loudcloud started appearing in the pages of F***edCompany.com.

Be prepared to adapt and adopt. Loudcloud survived–and then thrived–as Opsware because it was able to refine its message to enterprise customers when the bubble burst.

Finally, cloud-computing companies have one thing that is going for them that Loudcloud didn’t have nine years ago: enterprises are now more “comfortable” with the concept of the Internet and the maturity of Web-enabled technologies, and that has made them more open and receptive to taking advantage of the flexibility, speed, and agility that cloud computing offers. So much so that the newly anointed federal chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, has embarked on a cloud-computing strategy for the federal government.

Being an employee at Loudcloud at that time gave me a ringside view of the company, as we tried to aggressively reinvent ourselves toward selling the concept of managed infrastructure to the bigger enterprises when the Internet economy collapsed. However, the idea met quite a bit of resistance from companies questioning the effectiveness of security controls in a managed infrastructure environment.

Other cloud-computing companies can learn a couple of valuable lessons from Loudcloud’s example.

This was not a valid reason then and is not the valid reason now. These enterprises resisted moving to a cloud environment out of fear that they would lose control over the data that was sacrosanct to them. Interestingly, many of these same customers were more interested in learning about the automation platform that ran our multiple data centers across Europe and North America.

Loudcloud thus started with the vision of various “clouds”–mail, database, network, application server clouds, etc.–so that any enterprise could fractionally rent out what it needed. Customers would pay based on what they rented and for how long.

Every time that I see an article touting how great cloud computing is, I always chuckle and think to myself, “been there, done that.”

Convincing an enterprise customer to let you host its crown jewels (business data) is going to be the last thing you should attempt. Instead, focus on applications that are important to an enterprise but not in their “critical” path–as the first wave of cloud-computing adoption has shown us (such as with Salesforce.com and NetSuite).

Editors’ note: This is a guest post.

(Credit:
Google)

Existing customers can try the feature by downloading it through Google Enterprise Labs.

The Google Search Appliance

“Many of our enterprise search customers have dozens of offices all over the world with tens of millions documents indexed in a host of different languages,” said Cyrus Mistry, Google’s enterprise product manager, in a blog post Thursday. “Cross-Language Enterprise Search instantly translates your Google Search Appliance query from one language to one or more other languages using Google’s best-in-class translation engine.”

Google has been toiling away on computer translation technology, part of its mission to bring more information to more people.

Google has begun experimenting with a new cross-language ability for its Search Appliance, a server customers can use to power their in-house search service.

Critics might say he should keep the cast on while he’s dancing. However, in an e-mail to his Facebook Support Group, the Woz said he told his doctors that he is determined to continue because he “loves being part of such a good and important thing.”

But, no. The Woz has been feeling pain in his foot. And an X-ray and an MRI have revealed that he has been struck with the injury curse that has already removed Jewel, the blonde singer, and Nancy O’Dell, the blonde presenter-type person, from the competition.

Oh, this thing is huge already. I just hope those Teletubby bones can take the strain.

The Woz is concerned that Internet voting may not be entirely on the up and up. He has heard of people’s Gmail accounts being stolen for nefarious voting purposes. He finds this “fairly disgusting.”

His professional partner, Karina Smirnoff, went with him to Cedars-Sinai hospital, worried that she had lost her partner. Instead, she has gained a cast member with a removable cast.

Yes, the Woz has a foot fracture.

(Credit: CC Jason Cartwright)

Will the Woz have to wear something like this? Will it match his pink boa?

He added: “But I assure all of you that I believe that I have the best, strongest, most dedicated and passionate fan base of any of the celebrity dancers this season, and that your efforts on my behalf will be duly noted and recorded. I believe that you will bring me many times more votes than anyone else. It may even be huge.”

He also showed that his sense of self has no fractures at all: “On another note, the show set a record, with 23 million viewers. I hope that the producers decide that it was largely due to my presence.”

But the Woz has not lost any of this morning’s fight for nerd credibility. He has vowed that next week’s performance will be “wild and fast, and all-over and crazy and fun, just like the first one.”

I didn’t want to worry anyone unduly. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak mentioned on his blog this morning that after his “Dancing with the Stars” exertions, mental, physical and comedic, he was off to see the doctor.

I couldn’t be sure what kind of doctor this was. A witch doctor to put a curse on the judges, I thought.

The doctor told the Woz that he can continue, as long as he’s careful and wears the cast as much as he can.

(Credit:
Fortinet)

Guillaume Lovet, senior manager of Fortinet’s security research team, told CNET News that Google sites were chosen because they have a well-regarded reputation and are unlikely to be blocked by spam or phishing filters. The Google page does not actually host the malware, only a link that connects the user with the malware host site.

A Google representative said, “Google works actively to detect and remove accounts that serve or link to malware. We’re investigating reports we’ve received on this issue and are committed to shutting down any accounts that violate our guidelines.”

Fortinet says you can tell the dialog box is from a Slavic country because of the lack of definite articles.

Researchers at Fortinet say you can't view this video because it's really a Trojan horse.

For example, clicking the video takes the visitor to a “player” on a non-Google page where a message about a missing codec is displayed. Unsuspecting viewers might be tempted to download it. The codec is actually a Trojan, Lovet said.

(Credit:
Fortinet)

In order to pull this off, the attackers had to register their own Google Reader accounts either by themselves, or through automated methods using phishing sites or so-called Captcha solvers. The Google pages, which were still live at press time, exist only to lead visitors to malicious sites.

For most Facebook users, it’s common to receive a message from a friend urging them to visit a page containing a video. But one video currently making the rounds appears on a Google page and will not play unless a new codec is downloaded and installed. The link provided on the Google page is not a video link, say researchers at Fortinet, but a link to a Trojan horse hosted on yet another server.

Lovet said the downloader currently does not include a copy of the worm. The only way at the moment to get infected is via the Facebook messages. He suspects that’s for a reason–that the attackers might try to sell the messages from Facebook to others to spread their own malware.

He said the Trojan being used in this attack is a downloader that includes Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) related to fake security software, or “scareware.” The scenario here is that users will see a virus warning on their computer, then a prompt that asks if they want to purchase some security product to remove the malware from the PC. The criminals take the users’ money, but the computer remains infected (or never was infected).

Me-trics is a lifestyle service that correlates your stress level with the other things going on in and around your life. You report on your stress, and also feed it your content feeds, and it tells what you’re doing that is causing you stress. Or what you do that reduces it.

(Credit:
Me-trics)

There’s an easy interface for mobiles that lets you tell the service how you’re feeling. On the input site, you feed Me-trics your financial data form Mint, your Twitter feed, and so on, and it will make the connections. Then if you notice that Twittering makes you stressed you, well, you just cut back.

Cute.

It could be more than cute, if the service would observe your stress other than requiring you to enter it manually. As the presenter said, the implants to feed into that database are not with us yet.

Are the members of the Facebook Politburo all highly ambitious six-foot heels? Couldn’t you just offer her a slap on the, um, wrist? Ask her to promise she won’t do it again, whatever it is that you think she did.

However, one of her 700 closest friends complained to Facebook. Suddenly, the clothes horse became a closed horse. Yes, Facebook barred the barcoded Toni.

Toni Ainsworth is a 21-year-old model who opened a Facebook account.

Because she is a model, she has a lot of pictures of herself taken. Like a fine businesswoman, wishing to extend her brand far and wide, she uploaded them onto her Facebook account.

No, this is not one of Toni's Photoshopped images. I just rather liked it.

Facebook, this is the woman who appears at half-time of the home games of the extremely low-class English soccer team called Accrington Stanley. She tries to entertain the fans by kicking the ball wearing highly ambitious six-inch heels.

She now fears she may lose lucrative modeling engagements.
“It’s made life very difficult as I have a lot of events coming up,” she told the Sun newspaper.

It is possible that she was not entirely clothed in all the shots. However, no doubt deeply wary of Facebook’s Areola Police, who monitor breast-feeding pictures with the latest microscopes, she doctored the pictures on Photoshop. She says she covered all her potentially controversial parts with a barcode–which surely shows a rare artistic bent.

I mean, these pictures were taken on a girls’ weekend shopping trip in Manchester. Have you ever been to Manchester? Everyone dresses down a little there.

(Credit: CC Riley Roxx)

Come on, people, it’s Valentine’s Day. Show a little peace, love, and understanding.

And on Thursday T-Mobile said it would expand its 3G coverage from 13 markets to 27 markets by the end of the year. The expansion will provide 3G access to more than two-thirds of T-Mobile’s current customer base, the company said. T-Mobile also plans to keep expanding coverage in 2009.

By mid-October, when the HTC Dream hits the market, the company will expand 3G coverage to additional markets including, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., Philadelphia, Sacramento, Calif., San Francisco, and Seattle. And by the end of the year, six more markets will get 3G: Birmingham, Ala., Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla.

The biggest problem for T-Mobile has been its nearly nonexistent 3G network. T-Mobile launched its 3G service in New York in May. Since then, it has added service in 12 other markets including, Austin,Texas, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., San Antonio, and San Diego.

Getting the 3G service up and running in as many markets as possible is key to T-Mobile’s overall strategy. But even with the planned network expansion, T-Mobile will still be woefully behind its competitors when it comes to its 3G coverage.

T-Mobile USA plans to have more than 20 markets lit with 3G coverage when it begins selling the first ever Google Android phone in October. But will it be enough to entice smartphone consumers to choose the HTC Dream over the
iPhone 3G or even the BlackBerry Bold?

Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have the largest 3G footprints. AT&T plans to have 3G deployed in 350 markets by the end of the year, but it has still been criticized for not having enough of its network covered with 3G to satisfy some iPhone 3G users. T-Mobile’s lack of 3G coverage could lead customers–even those who are hot to try an Android phone–willing to wait for a different Android handset on another carrier’s network.

Even though the Android-based HTC Dream hasn’t been officially announced, most people believe it will support 3G speeds when T-Mobile unveils it next week. And given the fact that it will compete head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone 3G and newer versions of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices, it really needs to be 3G.

The verdict is still out on that one.

What I find laughable is hearing DeWolfe say that MySpace Music isn’t competing with iTunes.

“I think (Apple is) focused on selling devices, and that’s why I don’t think they’re competitive to us,” DeWolfe said during a panel session at the Web 2.0 Summit on Thursday.

Courtney Holt, MTV’s chief of digital music, has told friends he will accept the job as MySpace Music’s new CEO, according to a source close to Holt.

What Holt brings with him to the job, if not a marquee name, is plenty of experience with digital music. Before moving to MTV, Holt was senior vice president of New Media & Strategic Marketing at Interscope Geffen and head of New Media at A&M Records. He’s well respected at the major labels…especially at Universal Music Group.

It’s interesting to note that both Interscope and A&M are owned by UMG, the largest recording company. Will Doug Morris, UMG’s CEO, have more influence over MySpace Music’s direction than the chiefs of the other labels?

“Anything can happen when there isn’t a signature, but it looks like he’s the new CEO,” said the music industry insider.

Yes, Apple has sold a lot of devices, but iTunes has also sold more than 5 billion songs. Fact: anyone selling digital music obtained from the major labels is competing with iTunes. The digital music store is the No. 1 music retailer in the country offline or on. Come on Chris, you’re guy Courtney isn’t leaving MTV just to take on iMeem. The brass ring in this contest is taking down iTunes, or more realistically, snatching away a few percentage points of market share.

DeWolfe said during the conference that MySpace interviewed about 40 people for the job and that the company made only one offer. He told the audience “We’re very confident that we’ll be able to make an announcement in the near future.”

I realize I’ve written the story of MySpace Music’s prolonged CEO search into the ground since reporting last week that Holt was offered the job. But here’s why: beyond MySpace Music, there doesn’t appear to be any serious iTunes challengers coming down the pike. None of iTunes previous challengers came from social networking or started out with an audience the size of MySpace’s. Holt appears to be the new CEO so we might as well start sizing up who he is and whether he has the vision to help develop an iTunes alternative.

His name is not yet on the dotted line, but Holt has given a verbal commitment to MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, said a music industry source. MySpace Music is the newly launched digital music service formed by News Corp. and the four largest recording companies. The service will sell downloads of unprotected Mp3s and offer ad-supported streaming music.

Whether you’re on a
Mac or a Windows machine, you’ll still need to install an executable file on your computer to view videos. The new plug-in sits on your desktop taskbar even when you’re not viewing the site, and apparently only begins to pipe data back and forth to other users when you’re watching Joost videos.

Software aside, I’m excited to see Joost hop onto the Web. There’s a lot of good content on there that you can’t find elsewhere, and experiencing it in your browser will seem like second nature for newcomers–that is as long as they’re willing to jump through a software hoop.

Noticeably gone from the new Joost (at least for now) is the user chat. You can still comment on a video and favorite it, but the feeling of a real-time experience has gone out the door. There’s also a feature called “shout it out” that lets you flag the video with various pop culture acronyms like LOL, HOT, PUKE, and the generally useful WTF. Clicking on any of these will play a canned sound clip and alert you of your flag, although it has no noticeable effect.

The Joost software sits in your taskbar, ready to serve up vintage Star Trek.

Like before, there are pre-roll ads, although I found them less intrusive and disjointed than Hulu’s experience. The only anti-user ad interference I stumbled across was when a pre-roll ad kept me from being able to scroll through content on a playlist. I had to wait about five seconds for the ad to run before I could get back to finding something to watch. Not cool.

Ultimately the Joost experience comes down to the content and the various ways to dig through it to find something good. While the existing playlists are very good for this, when you’re searching by TV network or content provider it’s still difficult to simply browse by shows. For instance, clicking on MTV took me to a player that randomly began playing Laguna Beach. Ideally, it would jump me to a list of shows where I could drill down a little deeper–like what was available before.

Joost's new channel guide is pretty straightforward, with a featured section and categories you can drill down into.

The new Joost player runs right in your browser as long as you've got a small peice of software running on your machine. (click to enlarge)

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

Joost on Friday finally took an important step forward by announcing that its desktop software would be getting phased out to make way for a Web watching experience. The only problem is that special software is in fact still required–and we’re not talking Adobe Flash.

You can find friends from existing networks by plugging in your account credentials.

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

More screens after the jump.

Joost's video player is on the simple side, and fades in and out with mouse movement. You also get a description of the show when it's in full screen mode.

The new version of the site will be available for beta testers in about two weeks time, although I’ve had the chance to nose around and watch a few videos on it today. Despite the need for software, it’s impressive. Videos start playing in just a few seconds and when toggled for full-screen, the quality scales up nicely.

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

(Credit:
CBS Interactive)

The biggest thing missing from the new Joost is the feeling of immersion. The Joost application, for all it’s faults, took you away from your desktop and everything else you were doing. Like up and comer Boxee, which runs off the core of
Xbox Media Center, it’s something that had personality and a really marvelous UI. The new version feels a tad sterile, although when it comes to browsing through episodes and series, there’s noticeably less lag, and hey, you can continue to get work done on your computer at the same time.