Attack code out for critical Kodak bug in Windows (InfoWorld)

Published in October 29th, 2007

San Francisco (IDGNS) - A hacker has released attack code that could be used to exploit a critical bug in some versions of the Windows operating system. ADVERTISEMENT

Microsoft the flaw, which affects older versions of Windows, on Oct. 9. When the Image Viewer tries to open a maliciously encoded TIFF file, it can be tricked into running unauthorized software on the PC. A sample of the exploit was posted Monday to the . The code has not yet been used in online attacks, according to Symantec, which issued an alert Monday. Symantec recommends that Windows users install the MS07-055 update as quickly as possible. Microsoft took the unusual step of issuing its own security update for Kodak's software, because the image viewer (formerly known as the Wang Image Viewer) had shipped in Windows 2000 systems by default. Still, many Windows users are not affected by the problem. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users should not have the software installed on their PCs, unless they downloaded it directly or upgraded from Windows 2000. Windows Vista users are not affected by the bug. Also, users would have to open the TIFF file using the Kodak Image Viewer for the attack to work. Because most PCs are set to automatically open TIFFs using some other piece of software, it is unlikely that an attack would succeed. "Its not a huge deal, though, we don't think," said Marc Maiffret, chief technology officer with eEye Digital Security, via instant message. "You probably have some other program that defaults to open TIFFs like QuickTime or Photoshop." The sample attack code affects the Korean language version of Windows, but it could be easily modified to affect other versions of the software, Maiffret said.

PeopleSoft Users Weigh Risks of Oracle’s Rapid Growth (PC Magazine)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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If Oracle is successful in its attempt to acquire BEA Systems, it will be the company's 37th acquisition since 2005, when it began its buying spree with the takeover of PeopleSoft. While Oracle isn't the most acquisitive company in the software pantheon—IBM and Infor have bought nearly as many companies in the same time frame—Oracle is by far the most tenacious in its approach. But outwardly it also takes a highly conciliatory approach to its acquired customer bases. ADVERTISEMENT

After early hints that it would acquire PeopleSoft's customer base and then kill the software, Oracle had a lot of customer fears to quell. And quell it did with an offer for unlimited applications support for PeopleSoft and JD Edwards users. But some PeopleSoft customers are expressing concern about Oracle's service quality. And this is raising questions about whether Oracle is as successful as it claims about integrating its many acquisitions. The situation with PeopleSoft could be a barometer for how BEA customers would fare under the Oracle aegis. Read more here about Oracle's efforts to buy BEA Systems for $17 per share. "We feel like there is risk in moving forward with PeopleSoft and we're trying to asses that risk," said George Muller, vice president and CIO at Imperial Sugar in Sugar Land, Texas, who is weighing an upgrade to PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 recently released by Oracle. "From my perspective there are a number of companies that have abandoned PeopleSoft and have gone in other directions." An active member of a number of PeopleSoft (and now Oracle) applications user groups, Muller said that he has seen a drastic reduction in the number of companies represented by at least one organization, Distributors and Manufacturers Users Group, that bills itself as a "product-specific users group comprised of all PeopleSoft customers that have licensed a PeopleSoft Distribution, Manufacturing and/or Supply Chain Product," according to the group's Web site. In April 2005, Muller said there were approximately 150 companies represented at DMUG's annual meeting in New Orleans. By October 2006, the group had dwindled to half, or about 75 companies represented. "In a year and a half what I witnessed was a 50 percent drop off in participation," said Muller. "They're either holding their own or they are going someplace else." At the October 2006 meeting, Oracle's PeopleSoft group made a pitch to the DMUG membership that amounted to "we're back," according to Muller. "Why would you have to sell that to me if you're really back, rather than demonstrating to me that you're back by making phone calls to me, by reaching out proactively to me, by addressing issues when I call the help desk?" said Muller. "When you step back and look at the acquisitions Oracle has made…how does any one organization absorb that much and still execute and service the customer?" Steve Canter, CIO of Berlin Packaging and the current president of DMUG, said that while he has seen as good or in some areas improved customer service under Oracle's watch of PeopleSoft applications, he believes the functionality upgrades are not what they used to be. "One of the things we are seeing is in many of the applications lines there is not as much going on in terms of product feature enhancements as there once was," said Canter in Chicago. "PeopleSoft had decided after the JD Edwards acquisition that they were going to put more marketing behind the JD Edwards line—for manufacturers—so as a result, if they were not going to be leading with PeopleSoft on their go-to-market strategy then there was not as much incentive to make enhancements," Canter said. Oracle appears to be continuing this trend with some of the other product lines, Canter said. Page 2: While Canter is staying on PeopleSoft for the foreseeable future because he believes it's too disruptive to move, he is seeing some disturbing trends at Oracle. For one, rather than integrating functionality that it acquires from other companies, as PeopleSoft would have done in the past, Oracle is pointing to its other product lines. While the strategy to leverage other lines makes sense from a business standpoint, for a midmarket CIO it's a tough pill to swallow. "We don't have the resources to support a lot of different stacks," said Canter. "And no matter how good application integration is, it's better to have everything under a single umbrella; it's one of the reasons we chose a single umbrella. But the world seems to be drifting away from that—led by Oracle." Customers also point to resources being moved away from core application development to Fusion development as the source for at least some of the issues with PeopleSoft's software. "I definitely have evidence to back this," said Canter. "A lot of strategy and development effort is going toward Fusion, and that can't help but take away from other product lines." Oracle's intended acquisition of BEA, which develops middleware, has brought Oracle's Fusion efforts into question. The recent departure of John Wookey as head of application development for Fusion Applications has heightened concern about the middleware's prospects. Imperial Sugar's Muller pointed out that after 30 years in the IT business, he's realized there is no perfect system, and Fusion Applications will be no exception to the rule. Click here to read more about "No matter how good your methodologies and processes are, putting something together and bundling something that massive is a huge undertaking and has R-I-S-K in capital letters written across the top." As the underpinning for Oracle's Fusion Applications, Fusion Middleware is a compilation of integration, business intelligence, business process management, development tools and other software that Oracle has said is its fastest growing product line. It has also pointed to growing market share over BEA given a superior technology stack. But there are those that question Oracle's tactics in seeking to acquire BEA. "I don't understand the whole BEA thing," said Canter. "If Fusion Middleware were as great as Oracle is saying, why yet another middleware [company]?" Andrew Albarelle, principal executive officer of Remy Corp., a consulting and executive search company that serves PeopleSoft, Oracle, Lawson and other Human Capital Management users, said that he is thrilled with Oracle's attempt to acquire BEA because it gives his company more continuity with its PeopleSoft implementation, which utilizes BEA's middleware (as do many other PeopleSoft implementations). Oracle's Fusion Middleware customers could also benefit from the BEA acquisition, according to Albarelle, given that Fusion Middleware's functionality isn't up to specs. "Everybody that's installed it hasn't used it yet," said Albarelle, referring to his customer base. "They didn't feel that it was up to speed for what they needed to do, so they didn't load it yet," said Albarelle. While the acquisition of BEA might benefit Oracle's bottom line by adding another technology stack and a blue chip customer roster, the PeopleSoft customer experiences naturally raise questions about how BEA customers will fare. "For BEA customers it's like going to a Halloween haunted house and every door you open there's PeopleSoft, Hyperion, Siebel—there are the skeletons, the cats, the jack-o-lanterns and the witches," Muller said. "As you walk through the haunted house there's the graveyard at the end with all the tombstones with the names of the customers with R.I.P on the tombstones," he said. Check out 's for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

Whois may be scrapped to break deadlock (AP)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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NEW YORK - Tech industry lawyer Mark Bohannon frequently taps a group of searchable databases called Whois to figure out who may be behind a Web site that distributes pirated software or tricks visitors into revealing passwords. ADVERTISEMENT

Like a “411″ for the Internet, Whois contains information such as names and phone numbers on the owners of millions of “.com” and other Internet addresses. Bohannon and his staff at the Software and Information Industry Association rely on the free databases daily in their efforts to combat theft and fraud. Law-enforcement officials, trademark lawyers and journalists, as well as spammers, also use it regularly. “The Whois database is in fact the best, most well-recognized tool that we have to be able to track down who in fact you are doing business with,” said Bohannon, the trade group’s general counsel, adding that alternatives such as issuing subpoenas to service providers take more time and cost money. Nonetheless, some privacy advocates are proposing scrapping the system entirely because they can’t agree with the people who use the system on how to give domain name owners more options when they register — such as designating third-party agents. Privacy advocates say individuals shouldn’t have to reveal personal information simply to have a Web site. The so-called “sunset” proposal is expected to come up Wednesday before a committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, a key Internet oversight agency. It will have a tough time winning approval — and could create chaos. But the fact that abandoning Whois is on the table before that committee underscores frustrations among privacy advocates that ICANN appears on the verge of launching new studies and deferring a decision yet again after some six years of debate. Ross Rader, a member of ICANN’s generic names council and the sunset proposal’s chief sponsor, said many negotiators are stalling because they prefer the status quo, which gives them the access to Whois that they desire. An executive with domain registration company Tucows Inc., Rader said he is just trying to break the deadlock and doesn’t necessarily want the databases to disappear. “What removing the status quo will do is force all of the actors to come together without the benefit of a status quo to fall back on and say, `We are now all screwed. What will we do?’” Rader said. “It will lead to better good-faith negotiations.” Think of it as saving the system by breaking it first. Marilyn Cade, a former AT&T executive who has been active on Whois advocacy, called the sunset proposal “an emotional overreaction that somehow got crystalized into an option. Everyone who has done the long hours of hard work to examine policy options thinks that they have a monopoly on what is best, but the facts are not yet there.” Cade is part of the camp that prefers further studies on the extent of any Whois abuse and the degree to which individuals are actually registering names for personal use — which could justify more privacy — rather than for businesses, nonprofit endeavors or domain name speculation. Those findings, she said, would help ICANN tailor new policies that address actual problems, even if it means delay. And the study option seems likelier than the sunset proposal to prevail Wednesday. When the current addressing system started in the 1980s, government and university researchers who dominated the Internet knew one another and didn’t mind sharing personal details to resolve technical problems. Since then, the use of Whois has changed greatly. Law-enforcement officials and Internet service providers use it to fight fraud and hacking. Lawyers depend on it to chase trademark and copyright violators. Journalists rely on it to reach Web site owners. And spammers mine it to send junk mailings for Web site hosting and other services. Internet users, meanwhile, have come to expect more privacy and even anonymity. The requirements for domain name owners to provide such details also contradict some European privacy laws that are stricter than those in the United States. There’s agreement that more could be done to improve the accuracy of Whois, as scammers and even legitimate individuals who want to remain anonymous can easily enter fake data. The disagreements are over “who gets to see it (and) how can we protect people’s privacy while at the same time making accurate information available to those who need it,” said Vint Cerf, ICANN’s chairman. ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization Council appeared to break a logjam in March when it formed a working group to consider letting domain name owners designate third-party agents in Whois listings. Currently, owners must provide their full names, organizations, postal and e-mail addresses and phone numbers. But when the working group started developing an implementation plan, the opposing sides quickly disagreed on the basics, including the level of detail required. “There were a number of parties that just would not compromise and could not accept that there are legitimate uses of Whois,” said Margie Milam, a working group member and general counsel of the brand-protection firm MarkMonitor. Approval of the sunset proposal, as drafted, would mean abolishing the current Whois requirements by late 2008. After that, individual registration companies would be able to decide whether to continue offering data on their customers, leading to gaps in the registration records. The threat of losing Whois would force serious negotiations before it happens, said Milton Mueller, a Syracuse University professor on the Whois working group. “The sense of shock that would settle around certain people would be rapid and immediate.”

Seagate to close N. Ireland plant (AP)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Seagate Technology, the world’s largest maker of hard drives, said Monday it is shuttering one of two manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland, resulting in a cut of 780 employees, about 1.5 percent of the company’s global work force. ADVERTISEMENT

When the company closes a 10-year-old plant in Limavady in County Londonderry that manufactures substrate materials used in disks for hard drives, 160 temporary workers also will be affected, Seagate spokesman Woody Monroy said. Monroy did not know how much money the company would save from the move, expected in the second half of next year, but he said it is part of Seagate’s ongoing effort to streamline operations. A larger plant in the city of Londonderry will not be affected. That location has 1,400 employees and manufactures the recording-head components for hard drives. Seagate expanded substrate manufacturing at its facilities in Singapore and Malaysia last year while external suppliers have lowered their costs, Monroy said. William O’Kane, manager of the Limavady factory, broke the news to workers in a tent set up beside the Limavady plant. Employees, among them spouses working together at the plant, left the meeting in tears. “We have made great efforts over the past few years to maintain the competitiveness of the Limavady facility, but recent increases in global substrate industry capacity together with our competitors’ lower labor costs have made the Limavady operation uncompetitive,” O’Kane said. Foreign exchange movement and shipping and utilities costs also contributed to the decision to close the plant, company officials said. Seagate spokesman Michael Hall also noted that wage costs were high in Northern Ireland in part because it uses the British pound, which is at a three-decade high versus the U.S. dollar right now. Strong demand for hard drives — in products ranging from computers to digital video recorders — has contributed to Seagate’s income growth this year. But its profit is tempered by competitive pricing. For its last fiscal quarter, which ended Sept. 28, Seagate’s earnings grew to $355 million, or 64 cents per share, more than 18 times the year-ago period’s earnings of $19 million, or 3 cents per share. For the current quarter, Seagate forecast a profit of 57 cents to 61 cents per share on revenue of $3.15 billion to $3.25 billion. Shares of Seagate rose 43 cents to $27.38 in midday trading. The company is based in the Cayman Islands but operates out of Scotts Valley, near Santa Cruz.

Tribune, Gannett join forces on Metromix (AP)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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CHICAGO - Newspaper publishers Tribune Co. and Gannett Co. have formed a joint venture to expand a national network of local entertainment Web sites, the companies said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT

Originally launched by the Chicago Tribune as a youth-oriented listings site, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary there. The new company, Metromix LLC, will focus on launching the Web site in 25 of the nation’s top 30 markets and in a total of more than 40 markets by the end of 2008. A guide to local restaurants, bars and clubs, events, concerts and movies, Metromix is available now in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and five other large Tribune markets on the East Coast. In cities where Gannett and Tribune do not currently have operations, Chicago-based Metromix LLC may partner with other media companies to serve as local affiliates. Metromix LLC will be co-owned equally by McLean, Va.-based Gannett and Tribune Interactive, a unit of Tribune Co. Other financial terms of the launch and operations were not disclosed. Tim Landon, president of Tribune Interactive, said Metromix needs to operate on a large scale in order to compete successfully. “You’ve got to have a broader platform than just Chicago,” he said. “We’ve done very well in Chicago, but in order to take the biz to the next level you need broader geographic distribution.” Advertisers also want an efficient buy across the top markets, he said. Shares in Tribune rose 37 cents to $30.02 in afternoon trading while Gannett shares slipped 7 cents to $41.86. Separately Monday, the Chicago Tribune said it is increasing distribution of its free tabloid RedEye to 200,000 from 150,000, a move that typifies the rapid growth of free alternative dailies nationwide. RedEye will be available at every Metra commuter rail stop throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, which puts it in competition with suburban papers. Brad Moore, RedEye general manager, said the increased distribution “gives us a chance to welcome new readers to RedEye and provide greater exposure for our growing advertiser base.” RedEye was founded five years ago and has expanded steadily since it became free in 2005. The tabloid increased its distribution to 150,000 from 100,000 and posted its first full-year profit last year.

Jazztel set for virtual deal with Orange (Reuters)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish broadband operator Jazztel said on Monday it was in exclusive talks to offer mobile phone services via France Telecom's Orange unit. ADVERTISEMENT

"The agreement … aims to launch Jazztel's mobile services in the coming months," Jazztel said without adding details. Virtual operators buy excess network capacity from existing mobile operators to offer their own services, usually at lower rates as they don't bear the hefty costs of building and maintaining their own networks.

Price of MIT professor’s “$100 laptop” hits $200 (Reuters)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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BOSTON (Reuters) - A computer developed for poor children around the world, dubbed 'the $100 laptop,' has reached a milestone: Its price tag is now $200. ADVERTISEMENT

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, founded by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte, has started offering the lime-green-and-white machines in lots of 10,000 for $200 apiece on its Web site (http://laptopfoundation.org/participate/givemany.shtml). Two weeks ago, a foundation executive confirmed recent estimates that the computer would cost $188, which was already higher than the $150 price tag in February and $176 in April. The laptops are scheduled to go into production next month at a factory in China, far behind their original schedule and in quantities that are a fraction of Negroponte's earlier projections. It is unclear when the machines will be ready for customers, as the Web site said version 1.0 of the software that runs the machine will not be ready until December 7. Foundation spokesman George Snell declined comment on the pricing or release schedule. When Negroponte said he could produce the laptops for $100, industry analysts said it had the potential to shake up the PC industry, ushering in an era of low-cost computing. He hoped to keep the price down by achieving unprecedented economies of scale for a start-up manufacturer, and in April, he told Reuters he expected to have orders for 2.5 million laptops by May, with production targeted to begin in September. But that has not panned out. So far the foundation has disclosed orders to three countries — Uruguay, Peru and Mongolia. It has not said how many machines they have ordered. Wayan Vota, an expert on using technology to promote economic development who publishes , a blog that monitors the group's activities, estimates orders at no more than 200,000 laptops. "One-hundred dollars was never a realistic price. By starting with an unrealistic price, he reduced his credibility selling the laptop," Vota said. Negroponte, a charismatic technologist who counts News Corp (NWSa.N) chief Rupert Murdoch and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim among his friends, has attracted a lot of attention for the foundation. He has met with leaders around the globe and promoted the introduction of computers into classrooms in the most impoverished regions of the world. As he has done that, big technology companies have boosted spending on similar efforts. The laptop features a keyboard that switches languages, a video camera, wireless connectivity and Linux software. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is trying to tailor Windows XP to work on the machine and recently said it is a few months away from knowing for sure whether it can accomplish that task. The display switches from color to black-and-white for viewing in direct sunlight — a breakthrough that the foundation is patenting and may license next year for commercial use. The laptop needs just 2 watts of power compared with a typical laptop's 30 to 40 watts and does away with hard drives. It uses flash memory and four USB ports to add memory and other devices. Earlier this year the foundation teamed up with Intel Corp (INTC.O), which is developing a rival machine. The two may work together on a second-generation laptop. This first machine runs on a microprocessor developed by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).

Panama to auction cellular licenses by March 2008 (Reuters)

Published in October 29th, 2007

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PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama will auction two new cellular phone licenses at a minimum price of $36 million each, in a bid to increase competition and encourage lower prices and improved services, the government said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT

Michael Mihalitsianos, the director of National Authority for Public Services, told a news conference the two new contracts will be awarded in March 2008, after a pre-qualification period, which is already under way. He said around half a dozen companies had expressed interest in the 20-year concessions, including Mexico's America Movil (AMX.N) (), Latin America's largest cell-phone company owned by billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim. Other interested companies include Orange, France Telecom's () mobile company and Bermuda-based Digicel, which already has operations in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador, as well as Panamanian company Cable Onda, and Mexico's Iusacell. Mihalitsianos declined to say whether the incumbents, Britain's Cable & Wireless (CW.L) and Spain's Telefonica (), under its mobile arm Movistar, will be able to bid for the new licenses, or if companies will be able to compete for more than one license. Those issues would be decided in coming weeks, he said. According to government figures, Panama currently has 2.4 million mobile phone users, including 200,000 new subscribers in the last year. Panama has just over 3 million inhabitants. Despite the rapid growth of the mobile-phone market in Panama, some industry watchers have expressed doubt that the market can support another two companies. Cable & Wireless is Panama's main mobile-phone provider. It has been operating in the country for 10 years and the local subsidiary is 49 percent owned by the state.

BEA Systems digs in for fight with Icahn (AP)

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SAN FRANCISCO - After shooing away Oracle Corp.’s $6.7 billion takeover bid, business software maker BEA Systems Inc. dug in its heels for a potentially disruptive battle with its largest shareholder, activist investor Carl Icahn. ADVERTISEMENT

In a letter sent to Icahn Monday, BEA’s board of directors reiterated it’s willing to sell the San Jose-based company for $21 per share — about $1.5 billion more than Oracle offered before retracting the bid late Sunday. BEA’s board hinted at talks with other suitors, assuring Icahn “we are currently exploring ways to maximize shareholder value, including the possible sale of the company.” Analysts have listed IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. as the two candidates besides Oracle most likely to try to buy BEA and its line of “middleware” — coding that helps business software applications interact with databases. Both IBM and HP have declined to comment on the speculation. But Monday’s letter didn’t respond to Icahn’s demands that BEA hold a public auction and then allow shareholders to decide whether any of the bids should be accepted. In a Friday letter, Icahn threatened to wield his 13.2 percent stake in BEA to lead a shareholder rebellion aimed at ousting the company’s directors unless the board budges from its $21-per-share asking price. Icahn didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The rebuff of Oracle already has driven BEA’s stock down from a recent five-year high of $18.94 reached earlier this month. The shares gained 12 cents to $16.62 during Monday’s late afternoon trading. By holding its ground, BEA now finds itself at odds with two billionaires — Icahn and Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison. Icahn began pushing for a sale of BEA last month, shortly after divulging he had accumulated a large stake in the slumping company. Ellison, who has been on the takeover prowl for the past three years, pounced on BEA nearly three weeks ago with an offer that represented a 25 percent premium above BEA’s stock price of $13.62 before the bid was revealed. BEA quickly rejected Oracle’s bid as inadequate, an opinion that Icahn initially shared before lashing out at the board last week for not doing more to keep Oracle’s offer on the table. With BEA refusing to discuss any offer below $21 per share, Oracle retracted its $6.7 billion bid Sunday and warned it might not be back. But many industry analysts believe Oracle is just biding its time in hopes of bagging BEA as cheaply as possible. Analysts have estimated Oracle could pay $20 to $27 per share for BEA and still make money off the deal. Ellison has argued BEA isn’t worth more than $6.7 billion because its sales have sagged and its books have been muddled by accounting problems caused by the mishandling of employee stock options. For now, Oracle appears to be encouraging Icahn to try to remove BEA’s directors. “If the BEA shareholders are unhappy with the behavior of the BEA board it is up to those shareholders, not Oracle, to take the appropriate action,” Oracle said after ending its $6.7 billion bid.

Men also avid players of casual video games: study (Reuters)

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Men are just as likely as women to play casual video games, but are less likely to admit it, according to an industry report that shatters a widely held industry belief that such games appeal mainly to women. ADVERTISEMENT

But women are more likely to buy casual games — a broad term referring to games that are easy to pick and play — than men, who are more determined to find a free version or try to thwart anti-piracy protections on games. Those were some of the findings in the first yearly market report by the Casual Games Association, an industry group aimed at promoting a fast-growing segment that accounts for about 10 percent of the $30 billion global video game market. "Everyone always thought that casual games were something that only appeal to women," Jessica Tams, managing director of the association, said in an interview. "We have always been obsessed about making games for women." Surveys of players showed that, while nearly three-fourths of people who bought casual games were women, the players of such games were split 50-50 between the sexes. The reason men have not been reflected in the data so far is because most males are fans of realistic "hardcore" games and many do not admit they like to play simpler games involving shiny gems or lines of colored balls. "It was really shocking for everybody. We knew these guys were playing these games," Tams said. "But the hardcore gamer who is playing 'Halo' with his buddies isn't going to brag that he just beat the next level of 'Zuma'." Such information could be useful to game developers, who are pouring money into the casual games segment amid growing popularity of devices such as mobile telephones with sharp color screens and Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii console. One emerging trend is the addition of casual games to social networking Web sites such as News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace and Facebook, Tams said. "You have these two big draws, Facebook and MySpace, but the big problem they've been having is that they haven't been able to monetize their consumers yet and video games are a way for them to monetize their consumers," Tams said. (Reporting by Scott Hillis)