As I have mentioned in my previous article, Gemalto and Lexar came up with the SEG USB device to provide secure mobility for SMBs and Enterprises, and presented it during this year’s CARTES tradeshow.
Gemalto, the world leader in digital security has also exposed its SConnect platform and browser agnostic technology, which allows web applications and services to connect to any smart card.
According to the company, SConnect is a paradigm shift in Web-based service delivery that let applications leverage smart cards for security and personalization.
For its innovation and the leadership in secure personal devices, user centric software and value added services, Gemalto has proudly announced that it has received the Best Software award at CARTES.
Gemalto is a large company with more than 85 offices in 40 countries and about 10,000 employees including 1,300 R&D engineers, its activity being focused on solutions designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.
The company is providing end-to-end digital security solutions, starting with the development of software applications through design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and tokens to the deployment of managed services for its customers.
Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, together with Lexar Media, a leader in advanced digital media and accessories, subsidiary of Micron Technology, have just launched a unique USB device called Smart Enterprise Guardian (SEG), which incorporates natively the industry standards for protecting digital identities and sensitive documents.
SEG is a combination between the .NET-based solution from Gemalto and hardware-based memory encryption technology from Lexar, in order to offer a better and secure mobility for SMBs and Enterprises.
The two companies are presenting the SEG at CARTES 2007 in Paris, November 13-15, the most popular event dedicated to digital security, smart card and identification.
According to the company, this USB device has an intuitive user interface and needs no software setup, being capable to provide the highest levels of security.
Its users will be able to access their enterprise Intranet, transfer sensitive files and exchange confidential e-mails from any location and from any PC.
As the data encryption is transparent for employees, the users don’t need to have advanced PC and security knowledge in order to easily use it, and on the other hand, the device is also highly interoperable with existing IT infrastructures, simplifying this way the IT management, reducing total cost of ownership for enterprises.
Chris Christiansen, Program Vice President for IDC's Security Products and Services group, said that “The ecosystem surrounding authentication and authorization for Personal Portable Security Device (PPSD)* has tremendous potential for innovation and adoption,†and “By adding secure portable data storage to PPSD, the SEG increases security for individuals’ identity and their personal information while on the move.â€
Farshid Tabrizi, general manager of USB products at Lexar Media, has also declared:
“We understand the Enterprise market’s need for secure mobility, which is why we are excited about our partnership with the leader in digital security. By combining Lexar’s secure Flash memory and Gemalto’s .NET Smartcard Technology the Smart Enterprise Guardian provides a unique solution for SMBs and Enterprises by insuring data integrity and security on the device in addition to digital identification capabilities supported natively in Windows Vista.â€
According to Gemalco, SEG is among the first PPSD (Personal Portable Security Device) devices that offer secure portable memory with AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption and strong authentication, with the use of Gemalto One-Time-Password or PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) services.
The native support for the SEG is built into Windows Vista but it is available also as a Microsoft update for Windows 2000 and XP.
ON Networks, the new media company focused on digital entertainment, providing original short-form, weekly shows for a variety of lifestyle interests, has started to offer new programs on iTunes for free download to the new iPhone owners from Europe, after the success with the users from US.
Now, the video content from ON Networks has the optimal resolution for the iPhone's video touchscreen, with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a higher resolution than the video iPod.
Kip McClanahan, CEO ON Networks, explains:
“With the iPhone consumers are clearly living in an on-demand, opt-in content world that gives them infinite choice of what to watch.
By making our shows available via iTunes, the Internet and other new services, we are delivering compelling content to consumers in whatever manner best suits their lifestyles.â€
The iPhone owners will be able to download high-definition TV shows from iTunes from the iTunes Store, by selecting Podcasts and finding ON Networks in the Featured Provider list.
After clicking on the company’s name, the users will have access to over 25 shows and 400 episodes, including:
- Backpack Picnic – Redefining how weird and hilarious sketch comedy can be;
- Comedyinsider – How to be a stand-up comic from the famed Gotham Comedy Club in New York City;
- Cocktails on the Fly – A quirky mixologist offers creative cocktail-making tips for drink enthusiasts and aperitif aficionados alike;
- Zen Living – A virtual guide that provides tips on how to make everyday living more balanced, natural and healthy;
- Golf Tips – High and low handicappers lower their scores with help from seasoned PGA professional Joe Beck;
- Stump the Chef – One award-winning chef faces down three random ingredients and three tough judges in this punchy cooking-game show;
- Proper Ollie – Pompous and witty master of manners takes viewers to virtual charm school, offering pointers on etiquette and all-things-refined.
As you know, the security technology has evolved and provides robust security while traveling laptops create security holes that jeopardize the security of the entire corporate network.
Yoggie Security Systems is a company lead by Shlomo Touboul, a smart guy that invented the Behavior Based Blocking Technology, has specialized in miniaturizing all the security appliances from the corporate server room into a credit-card size device that can be easily carried and connected to the notebook, daring this ay the impossible.
It took 2 years to the company to come up with this first miniature security appliance, called Yoggie Gatekeeper, a device which incorporates all the security solutions, designed as security hardware but that has the power of a 520 MHz Pentium III PC.
This security device has gathered many important awards and distinctions such as Winner of RSA Innovation Station 2007, Red Herring 100 Europe 2007, Personal Computer World Recommended, and was Techworld short listed and winner of the IDSA and Business Week Silver IDEA award.
Now the PC users have two security options.
If you are a parent and want to protect your child from specific content you may use the Yoggie Gatekeeper SOHO, which after plugged into the network router, allows you to filter the Internet content like e-mail phishing, spyware messages, and even porn sites.
In case your child tries to disable the Yoggie Gatekeeper SOHO, the PC will simply not connect to the Internet.
Another significant feature is that with this device you can protect up to 5 computers in your household and it provides 13 applications including firewall, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Phishing Anti-Spam and parental control, together with 3 the unique Yoggie patented applications.
The other security options is dedicated to gamers and it’s called Yoggie Gatekeeper Pro.
This device offers full protection against keyloggers, account hacking, viruses and the other security threats.
With the Pro you can connect the USB miniature personal security server that provides security to both desktop and notebook. Besides the 13 applications used, it also boosts the performance.
In conclusion, both Yoggie Gatekeeper SOHO and the Yoggie Gatekeeper Pro are part of Yoggie Security Systems stable of Personal Security Servers consisting of Linux-based 520 Mbps miniature computers, at the size of a credit card, having their own processors and 128 MB memory, that provide 13 layers of integrated security for the desktop PC or notebook.
I am not exaggerating but the level of security in these devices is established to be exactly as that employed by the FBI, and in short words it works like this: the Internet traffic is routed through these devices and cleansed before it gets to the host computer, unlike the traditional methods of filtering after the traffic reached the host computer.
This way, the computer performance is boosted, because it doesn’t need security software to run on it.
Also, the updated are installed automatically without the need for user interaction.
You can find the Yoggie Gatekeeper Pro at a retail price of $220 including the licensees for all 13 security applications for one year.
The Yoggie Gatekeeper SOHO is available at a retail price of $249, and you get also one year licensing for protecting up to five computers.
It seems that Art. Lebedev Studio is thinking very seriously in releasing this keyboard in the near future.
What you will see in the video are the 2 samples that will be presented this month at Wired's New York store.
Many of you have probably not heard of the Optimus Maximus Keyboard yet, so because at least the price caught your attention I will tell you the details and special features of this keyboard, and why it is worth $1564.
First of all, this device has a display in each key and they are dynamically adaptable to any keyboard layout including languages like Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, hiragana, and the rest, and also notes, numerals, special symbols, HTML codes, math functions, images and so on.
It actually can show absolutely any function it is currently associated with.
Optimus Maximus Keyboard is measuring 537/173/38mm (width/depth/height).
Each of its keys meausres 20.2x20.2mm and has OLED display technology with a resolution of 48x48 pixels, a visible area of 10.1x10.1mm, and a frame rate of 10 per second.
Each key display renders 65.536 colors and has a viewing angle of 160 degrees.
The buttons consisting of a microchip and a display are easy removable if you have to clean or replace them.
You will need to have a Windows XP/Vista or Mac OS X installed, a USB port, 20MB hard drive space, and minimum 256MB of RAM, in order to use the keyboard and its Optimus Configurator software that helps you set every button to reproduce a sequence of symbols and editing the image separately for each layout, for example for Photoshop, or Half-Life and Quare 3 Arena video games. Click on the images to see them larger.
Who wants to have this keyboard in white or black can pre-order it and wait for the late February to start shipping.
As not only I consider this keyboard a piece of art, I feel I have to mention the people that have worked together to create it and these are:
-Art Director and Designer:Artemy Lebedev;
-Industrial Designer:Timur Burbayev;
-Modeller:Alexander Pozdeev;
-Engineers:Maxim Pavlukhin and Grigori Annenkov;
-Programmers:Konstantin Morshnev,Vadim Kalinsky and Max Lukashenya;
-Configurator Designer:Anna Kleymenova;
-Other Collaborators:Sergey Aleinikov and Roma Voroneshski;
-Managers:Andrey Voronkov and Dmitri Tsoi.
As I have mentioned in my previous article, Gemalto and Lexar came up with the SEG USB device to provide secure mobility for SMBs and Enterprises, and presented it during this year’s CARTES tradeshow. 
Gemalto is a large company with more than 85 offices in 40 countries and about 10,000 employees including 1,300 R&D engineers, its activity being focused on solutions designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable. 
