Is the internet going down? Undersea sub-cables have just broken...

Breaking news: something's happening to the internet, right now. We're just not quite sure what.

Interoute, the internet networks company, reports that three of the four internet sub-cables that run from Asia to North America have been damaged.

These carry more than 75 per cent of traffic between the Middle East, Europe and America. It's hard to gather what this actually means - is it that the internet is down or (more likely) significantly slower than usual between the Middle East and America? (If you're reading this, let's face it, the internet has not shut down altogether)

But, according to the company, there is a domino effect taking place. Interoute says it is:

hearing that offices have lost their entire private network connectivity. As a result, users are unable to do their daily job over the internet and are turning to their mobile phones to communicate across the globe. This is having a knock on effect on the domestic voice networks, which are getting a surge of calls needing to be routed internationally. These calls need to be routed onto international gateways that pass voice traffic in longer directions around the world to avoid the cable breaks – causing more quality issues and risk more call failures, in turn causing more calls to be placed and increasing the pressure on local voice networks.

What (I think) this means is that companies' private internet services have gone down. So, if they can get access, they have had to go on the public internet and mobile phones, like the rest of us average joes, to get their work done. That results in more strain on mobile phone networks, which means more phone calls go down and the internet becomes slower.

Here's the big problem right now:

Finance companies [are] looking to settle trades on European and American exchanges. This cable outage means there is no real-time access to, for example, trading ticker services. This means branch offices are compromised when trying to place trades. As private networks are being affected, these organisations are forced to rely on public internet services that may have more latency and may not update as quickly. The loss of time even precious seconds is hugely important to trading exchanges. These public internet services are now struggling to cope with peak in demand – leading to increased latency, and further compromising the integrity of the trading data.

I'm told that these major sub-sea cables break once a year. So companies have developed a fall-back plan. If one sub-sea cable is out, traffic is re-routed onto a second cable. In theory, a dual break, where both cables go out at once, is incredibly rare. Prior to January this year, it had not happened before.

The problem with all of this is that it's hard to see the impact, or its significance, until something disastrous happens. So, we're keeping an eye on it and like we said, er, something's happening to the internet.

Fighting cybercrime in an economic downturn

Editor's note: This is part of a series of stories about the recession's effect on the tech industry.

Last month, McAfee cybercrime strategist Pamela Warren sat down with a senior executive at a Sydney bank to discuss the risks to the corporate network from workers using social networking.

After going over the trade-offs associated with allowing insiders to use social networks at work, his team confirmed that they would use data leak prevention technology to monitor the network traffic--balancing the desire to benefit from such new technologies while ensuring company secrets remain protected.

Warren had a similar meeting with a U.S. government agency last week to discuss strategies for dealing with public employees using Web apps at work and mobile devices, which can introduce viruses and other security problems into a corporate network. And she's been preparing for the launch early next year of McAfee's Cybercrime Response Unit, a site where consumers can go when they think they've been victimized by online scams.

She's sharpening her focus on protecting Internet users because malware attacks are up now that economic times are tough. Online scammers have been going into overdrive with phishing and other online schemes aimed at people confused about the banking consolidation or who are desperate because of a layoff or foreclosure. In fact, there are direct correlations between targeted cyberattacks on consumers and the stock market decline over the past few months.

"It's a ripe economy to take advantage of people," she said.

Consumers are being scammed in a variety of ways. People are receiving phishing e-mails asking them to provide their bank account information so as to avoid having their bank account closed in a merger. They provide their bank information and their account balance is plundered.

People also are getting e-mails and seeing ads on the Web for work-from-home "jobs" where all they have to do to become an "international sales rep" is open a bank account to receive money in and then wire the money to some international third party. In reality, the transaction is nothing more than a money-laundering move, known as a "cyber mule operation," to transfer money to another country and hide the trail in an illegal deal. Typically, the transaction is a payment for some kind of illegal activity such as the exchange of lists of credit card information or personal data that can be used for identity fraud. (McAfee published a report about the rise in cybercrime earlier this week.)

Ballmer to talk
Windows 7 at CES

December 10, 2008 12:49 PM PST

In his CES keynote, Microsoft's CEO will focus on Vista's successor, plus pushing Windows on Web and phone. But: No ZunePhone.

What can your genome tell you about yourself?

High school genetics taught me a thing or two: I would never have red-headed children, and that growth spurt I hoped would eventually happen was, at best, a remote possibility.

But it turns out our DNA can tell us more than just our hair color or height. A year and a half ago, my family took part in the Genographic Project, a nonprofit collaboration between National Geographic and IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ), aiming to discover the migratory patterns of human groups out of Africa. My cousin volunteered her genetic data, swiped her cheek with a cotton swab and sent it off to a lab for DNA analysis. I already knew my immediate ancestors were Roman Catholics from Spain. But it turned out they took a circuitous route to the Iberian Peninsula: from Eastern Europe to Scandinavia to probably France before settling near Barcelona.

Science has evolved rapidly since the Genographic Project launched in 2005. Now, you can simply spit into a vial and send it off to several genetic-testing start-ups, such as 23andme and the nonprofit Personal Genome Project. These companies will tell you some interesting stuff--not just the migratory patterns of your ancestors but your predispositions for certain diseases or why you don't like Brussels sprouts (a sliver of DNA that allows you to taste a bitter compound in vegetables).

"For science and individual health and identity, I think we're in a key time," says Mary Sue Kelly, a 63-year-old retired psychiatrist who has had her DNA analyzed by the Genographic Project and Navigenics, a disease-focused genetic-testing start-up. "I've made the analogy of when the first mirror was seen--that must have flipped out a whole bunch of people for a long time, or when the first camera came. I think this is as illuminating as that--the first time you saw yourself and just 'Oh my word, that's what I look like?' "

My results from the Genographic Project didn't quite rock my world, but they were surprising. "Guess what we are," my aunt exclaimed when the results came in. I had always thought, due to my grandmother's darker complexion, that I was descended from Arabs who had come to Spain during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. But I was wrong. "We're Jewish," my aunt said, as my grandmother shook her head incredulously in the seat across from us. "Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews." I briefly wondered if this explained my attraction for Jewish men, shrugged and went back to my book.

I recently, however, decided to dig a little deeper. A search on Ashkenazi Jews brings up some fascinating details--we're really smart, and we were heavily involved in the ostrich-feather trade. But Ashkenazi Jews are also susceptible to a host of scary-sounding genetic diseases, such as Fanconi anemia--associated with short stature (check); bone marrow failure (yikes, I hope not); a predisposition to leukemia and other cancers (my mother had cancer); and Cystic Fibrosis.

Since the Genographic Project is an anthropological study, it doesn't tell me what chance I have of developing any of these diseases. But other genetic-testing companies can, at least to some extent.

Samsung Omnia, Motorola Hint on tap

November 25 2008 - 1:56 pm ET | Phil Carson | RCR Wireless News

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The new Samsung Omnia touchscreen smartphone lands at Verizon Wireless for $250, after a $70 mail-in rebate, with a two-year service contract.

Carriers are putting the finishing touches on their portfolios this week as the traditionally hottest shopping day of the year draws close. That’s Black Friday, this Friday.

The new Samsung Omnia touchscreen smartphone will land at Verizon Wireless on Wednesday at $250, after a $70 mail-in rebate, with a two-year service contract.

The Omnia runs Windows Mobile 6.1, offers a virtual QWERTY keypad and customizable user interface. The device includes the Opera 9.5 mobile browser, a 5-megapixel camera, messaging options, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and access to Verizon’s data services.

Verizon Wireless also has added the $350 HTC Touch Pro device to its arsenal (it launched earlier this month at Sprint Nextel Corp. for $300) at a price point at the very high-end of most carrier-based portfolios.

Not to be outdone, AT&T Mobility has discounted two messaging devices to spark consumer interest. The Samsung Propel and Pantech Matrix, typically $80 apiece, can both be had in a two-for-one deal.

Motorola Inc. announced the launch of its Hint device, a “social messaging slider” with a QWERTY keyboard, which will go through Alltel Communications L.L.C. for $100 after a mail-in rebate, starting Nov. 28.

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless’ BlackBerry Storm is so popular at $200 — or supplies so limited — that the carrier’s Web site announced “limited availability” for the device, promising customers that new online orders will ship by Dec. 8. Stores on the East Coast are also sold out of the device, according to news reports.

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Nice design, lots of handy ports, great value

The Bad: Premium sleeves are a little gimmicky

As it turns out, Dell's (DELL) new Studio Hybrid PC has little in common with Toyota's (TM) thrifty Prius sedan. No high-end batteries. No carpool lane privileges. And I'm pretty sure it won't do much to improve fuel economy on your daily commute.

Instead, this "hybrid" PC is a small computer that puts a dual emphasis on energy efficiency and design. Dell is trying desperately to break from its past reputation as a maker of mind-numbingly beige PCs. The Studio Hybrid is one of its first products to have been styled by former Nike (NKE) design whiz Ed Boyd. (Read more about Boyd's efforts to make Dell cool (BusinessWeek, 11/6/08).)

Like all Dell computers, the Studio Hybrid is available in a dizzying array of configurations. The most basic model features a zippy Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, DVD burner, generous amounts of RAM and hard drive space, and it costs just $499. But while a wired Ethernet port is standard, that price doesn't include a wireless card, so plan on adding another $70 for that vital accessory.

As with similar small form factor computers such as Apple's (AAPL) Mac mini, ASUS's (AKCPF) Eee Box, and Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) Slimline series, the Studio Hybrid comes without a monitor. Such computers are generally aimed at college dorms, living rooms, or as second family computers. To that end, the Studio Hybrid is small enough to sit on a crowded desk or be tucked underneath a television. Lying flat, it's about the size of a Thomas Pynchon hardback.

Dell vs. Apple?

Still, when I first heard about the Studio Hybrid, I was a bit skeptical. Dell? Design? Yeah, right. But if Dell wants to swim in Apple's pool, so be it. Still, as a pretty dedicated Mac user, I was more than a little shocked to find that the Studio Hybrid gives the Mac a run for its money—both in terms of hardware and industrial design.

For the money, the Dell represents a better value than the Mini with more plentiful and up-to-date features. (Admittedly, the Mini is in desperate need of a refresh.) An HDMI port that allows the computer to plug into a high-definition television is a standard option, as is a 7-in-1 media reader for camera memory cards. Normally, feature-packed PCs like this look more like 80s-era boom boxes, overloaded with blinking lights and buttons. But taking a cue from Apple's design manual, Dell integrated these extra ports so that they disappear seamlessly into the black case.

The model I tested also included a slinky, removable bamboo sleeve, which is a $100 built-to-order option. Bamboo is the green material du jour for consumer electronics and therefore teetering on the brink of cliché. But in this instance the sleeve transforms an otherwise humdrum box into a distinctive, attractive case. Other premium shells made of brown or black leather also cost $100. Six significantly less interesting colored plastic sleeves are available for free.

ENERGY EFFICIENT

Dell says the hybrid moniker comes from the computer's use of some laptop components to help reduce its energy usage (it meets Energy Star 4.0 standard). The company also claims the Studio Hybrid uses about 70% less power than a typical desktop, while the power supply that plugs into the back of the PC is 87% more efficient than is usual. These savings won't really affect your energy bills; they simply help mitigate green guilt and supply bragging rights. What is useful is that Dell designers really thought about the physical design of the power supply too, turning out a slim, flat black box rather than the usual unseemly brick.

One of my favorite things about the Studio Hybrid is likely its least sexy feature, the packaging. Bucking the Apple-led trend to enshrine consumer electronics in intricate packaging, Dell ships the Studio Hybrid in a modest, minimalist brown box that would surely warm Al Gore's heart. Overall, the packaging is 95% recyclable and contains about 75% less printed materials than typical tower desktops. This is a significant feat considering Dell ships most of its PCs through the mail and its packaging meets rigorous standards—computers must survive repeated drops, bumps, and knocks, after all.

It would have been easy for Dell to check off one or two of these boxes and still label Studio Hybrid a green PC. But it really seems the computer maker's designers tried to think through every element of the computer to meet its green mission. For that and an overall handsome design, the Studio Hybrid is a compelling PC for those who must run Windows.

Apple's new OS X could force Microsoft to dump its beleaguered operating system.