Well, the pile of bad news continues for Microsoft as a result of the cyber attacks on Google by the Chinese government. It originally broke that this happened as a result of a security flaw in the Internet Explorer browser, which Google tried to sweep under the rug because this showed that their employees were not using Chrome or Firefox (the two browsers that they have supported). Now the German government is recommending to web users worldwide not to use the Internet Explorer browser due to security concerns.

A representative from the security firm Sophos told BBC News “The way to exploit this flaw has now appeared on the internet, so it is quite possible that everyone is now going to have a go”. Microsoft is claiming that “These were not attacks against general users or consumers” and “There is no threat to the general user, consequently we do not support this warning”. Unfortunately, despite Microsoft’s wish that this story would just disappear it does impact the general users when there is a guide showing how to exploit all recent versions of Internet Explorer (IE6, 7, and 8).

I don’t understand why anyone still uses Internet Explorer anyway, Firefox is far better with more plug-ins, functionality, and options while still consistently parsing JS faster than Internet Explorer can. My recommendation is that you take Germany’s advice and switch browsers, but unlike them I would recommend it permanently.

I am glad to hear about ATI finally getting down to business, for quite a while nVidia has been stealing the show. The new ATI Radeon HD 5670 has been released by AMD, and it looks like a great graphics card for the average Joe that isn’t trying to squeak out every last ounce of performance from their machine.

The “Redwood” GPU in this chip is more or less what you would find in the more upscale chips (5700 or 5800 series) with less processing units. There are 400 processing units, with a core clock speed of 775MHz and 1000MHz (Gbps) memory clock. There are two models, with a price difference of $15, one with 512MB graphics memory and the other with 1GB. For the extra $15 the 1GB card is an absolute steal.

What I feel will make this chip a success is the fact that it requires approximately the same amount of power as an integrated chip would. This means that you don’t need a gamer rig to support the ATI Radeon HD 5670, a standard desktop you bought from Best Buy or online should be able to support this card. On top of this, the card is only $99 on Newegg, putting it well within reach of the average consumer. Most people cannot go out and spend $300 on a graphics card nor do they have a 1000W power supply that many cards require these days. I have a feeling that this will become a very popular card, especially once the price drops down into the $70-80 range.

Unlike the Radeon HD 4770 or Radeon HD 4850 (or any nVidia card out there), it has full DirectX11 support. For the moment that is not a major issue, but just around the corner we will be seeing games that will force you to get a DirectX 11 capable card, so if you are in the market you might as well prepare early.

Overall I feel that the ATI Radeon HD 5670 will be a huge hit, and for good reason. It is debuting at only $99, DirectX 11 compatible, uses 61W at peak performance, and it will beat the daylights out of the integrated card that most computers come with.

Check it out on Newegg.com – ATI Radeon HD 5670

I saw an interesting video on CNBC – Wii Netflix Streaming which is an interview with Nintendo America president and NetFlix. This means that you can now get streaming content from NetFlix to your computer, Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii. You can watch unlimited movies on the streaming service as long as you have at least a $9 NetFlix subscription.

As 23.4 million Wii units have been sold, this should act as a huge platform for NetFlix to expand their business. Ever since Wii was released it has been stealing the show in terms of units sold, last month they sold approximately 3 million units. In order to use the service you have to put in a streaming media disc which NetFlix provides for free, and you will need a broadband connection. According to Nintendo this deal is a great fix because “we’ve always said we are an entertainment company”, and not just a video game company.

The thing that I find interesting is that Nintendo feels that the lack of HD capability will not hinder this deal. I think that is complete BS, I have a Wii and a PS3 and if I am going to have a NetFlix subscription and watch streaming movies, it would be on my PS3 not my Wii so that I can get high definition content. They try to make the comparison between their games and the NetFlix service by claiming that their customers don’t care about quality issues, and while that might be true for their games I can assure you that the guy with a 42″ HD television will not want to watch a fuzzy movie.

Nintendo said the following during the interview: “the vast majority of content for streaming is not HD content, so there is really no loss for the Wii consumer”. Which might be true considering it is a new service, but you can bet that within a couple months that will be changing. I think that in the end the decision not to beef up the Wii’s hardware will cost them, as well the decision to not have DVD playback functionality. Until I bought my PS3 I had a PS2 sitting around just because my Wii couldn’t play DVD’s.

Wii Netflix Streaming without an HD Option?  Child please.

If you haven’t heard the story yet, the Chinese government has been using Google’s “Gmail” service in China to monitor the communications of human rights activists. According to Google’s “A New Approach To China“, their servers were compromised for two accounts, although information gathered included only email creation dates, and subject lines (not the content of the emails). Dozens of other accounts globally were also accessed by third parties, most likely a result of malware or phishing scams.

As a result, Google has decided to fight back by removing their censorship filters allowing pictures of Tienanmen Square and other infamously censored content on Google.cn. While Google held approximately a 30% market share in China and they will surely miss that revenue, they are getting the best PR that a company could ever wish for in the Western world. The Obama administration is completely behind Google’s move and this attack by the Chinese is not sitting well with Secretary Clinton.

This is a blessing in disguise for Google, they stayed in China for longer than I expected. It was a huge story back in 2006 when they launched Google.cn that they were blocking iconic images of Tank Man of Tienanmen Square as part of a larger filtering system. That left a very bad taste in my mouth, given the Google motto of “Do no evil”; supporting an oppressive regime in a country that is growing in influence in our country fit under the evil category for me and many others.

China has tried to push new ways to censor internet connections such as the “Green Dam” filtering software that computer manufacturers such as Dell would have been forced to install on all computers sold within the country. Eventually the Chinese would have wanted to start forcing new restrictions on Google and rather than slowly complying with each regulation until it was no longer profitable, they are better off keeping the moral high ground.

Google is the first major business to basically give the Chinese government the finger in such a public way. They are getting a huge amount of support from the U.S. government, human rights groups, and internet users across the world that feel it should be an unrestricted medium. They are now the heroes protecting the civil rights of web citizens across the world rather than being seen as pandering to China as most other companies would have done in the same situation.

All I have to say is well played, Google. This will be a pivotal moment in company history as the public once again views Google as the company to be. Google chose morals over profit, and the business world clearly likes this new approach to international commerce. Take a look at their ticker symbol Goog and you will see that their stocks are already closing higher than before this news broke. They should hold a PR seminar some time, I would definitely like to learn from the master.

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