Facebook wants to become like Windows (an Internet version) by allowing new partners access to their 23 million registered users. In a press conference Thursday Facebook revealed their new strategy, which will kick-off by giving the users the possibility of uploading and share videos. This to compete against YouTube off course, one of Google’s latest acquisitions.

However, the second big news might be even more exciting. Mark Zuckerberg (CEO - Facebook) compares his new strategy with Microsoft’s in the last part of the 80’s.

Zuckerberg announced, like the rumours had said, a new strategy that will allow other companies to reach the users using their own applications served through the Facebook system (web).

It’s a very ambitious goal and is somewhat opposite of the way we are used to explore the Internet. Rather than jumping from one site to another Zuckerberg believes that the users (you and me) wants as many services gathered on the same service - which is Facebook off course.

So far the social networks have been closed platforms, but this is now coming to an end apparently.

Facebook has already recruited 65 software companies that wishes to add their applications/services to Facebook. Among the most known is Amazon who wants the users to write book reviews that will appear simultaneously on Facbook and Amazon.

When Mark Zuckerberg showed up in Palo Alto three years ago, he had no car, no house, and no job. Today, he’s at the helm of a smokin’-hot social-networking site, Facebook, and turning down billion-dollar offers. Can this kid be for real?

I’m just lucky to be alive.” Mark Zuckerberg, the 22-year-old founder and CEO of social-networking site Facebook, is talking about the time he came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. It was the spring of 2005, and he was driving from Palo Alto to Berkeley.

Who’s Mark Zuckerberg, and why is he interesting? Well if you’re into Facebook then you should probably catch up on the story about and behind the founder and CEO mentioned above. Fastcompany.com has written an interesting story/bio about Mark, which sheds some lights on one of the brilliant young guys making the Internet a more interesting and challenging place to visit.

Hype about Web 2.0 is making web firms neglect the basics of good design, web usability guru Jakob Nielsen has said.

He warned that the rush to make webpages more dynamic often meant users were badly served.

He said sites peppered with personalisation tools were in danger of resembling the “glossy but useless” sites at the height of the dotcom boom.

Research into website use shows that sites were better off getting the basics right, said Mr Nielsen.

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Last Friday on Symantec’s security blog Elia Florio described how malicious files/code like Trojans (detected as Downloader) was using an interesting technique to download files which involves a Windows component named “BITS” (Background Intelligent Transfer Service).

Currently there’s no fixes from MS yet, but hopefully they’ll take the matter seriously and provide a fix asap.

All details concerning this new Windows Update security issue are described here.

Marsu has reported a vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user’s system. SecurityFocus has provided a code example on their website.

The vulnerability is caused due to an error within the handling of Bitmap files (e.g. .BMP, .DIB, .RLE) and can be exploited to cause a stack-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted Bitmap file.

Successful exploitation allows execution of arbitrary code.

The vulnerability is reported in Adobe Photoshop CS2 and CS3. Other versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Do not open untrusted Bitmap files.