ElcomSoft verdict: Not guilty
A jury on Tuesday found a Russian software company not guilty of criminal copyright charges for producing a program that can crack antipiracy protections on electronic books. The case against ElcomSoft is considered a crucial test of the criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a controversial law designed to extend copyright protections into the digital age. The company faced four charges related to directly designing and marketing software that could be used to crack eBook copyright protections, plus an additional charge related to conspiring to do so. Jury foreman Dennis Strader said the jurors agreed ElcomSoft's product was illegal but acquitted the company because they believed the company didn't mean to violate the law.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-978176.html
Lindows heads for store shelves
Lindows, a start-up dedicated to creating an edition of Linux for average PC owners, released the first retail version of its software Monday. The company has enlisted retail partners to sell a spiffed-up version of its operating system, Lindows 3.0, which comes with e-mail and telephone tech support and a one-year subscription to the company's Click-N-Run Warehouse, a central resource for downloading open-source applications. "Expect to see Lindows OS on store shelves and in a multitude of new retail environments," company founder Michael Robertson said in a statement. Lindows was started last year by Robertson, founder of MP3.com, and quickly gained attention when it was sued by Microsoft for alleged trademark infringement.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-978065.html?tag=fd_top
DVD sales on fast-forward track
The rapid growth in sales of DVD players will remain strong in coming years, fueled in part by demand for DVD recorders, according to a recent study. Research firm In-Stat/MDR on Tuesday said that DVD player shipments grew by 61 percent in 2002, driven by consumers' attraction to the format's improved picture and audio quality as well as smaller discs. "The increased form factors and low prices are keeping interest in purchasing DVD players up, though the DVD player market is maturing and the worldwide shipment growth rate is slowing down," said Michelle Abraham, a senior analyst at In-Stat/MDR. The study showed that the DVD player market will hit 84 million units in 2006, spurred by the emergence in 2005 of units than can record as well as play DVDs. Shipments of DVD recorders will reach 32 million units in 2006, the study said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-978179.html?tag=fd_top
High-speed connections surge
Americans' love of high-speed Internet connections is reflected in a 70 percent jump in subscriber numbers during the past year, according to government figures released Tuesday. The Federal Communications Commission's biannual report said there were approximately 16.2 million broadband customers as of June 2002, up from 9.6 million a year earlier and 12.8 million six months before. Because the FCC generally counts a business or household as one customer, the actual number of Americans with broadband access at home or at work is far higher. The remarkable growth rate is due almost entirely to the increasing popularity of cable modems and DSL (digital subscriber line) connections, which together account for about 90 percent of broadband links and the vast majority of the increase. The remainder of the high-speed market is shared by ISDN, fiber, satellite, or fixed wireless connections, which have enjoyed a rate of growth in the single digits.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-978172.html?tag=fd_top
The Penguin Takes Flight
Five years ago, Miguel de Icaza had what most hackers would consider a comfortable gig. A 24-year-old dropout at the national university in Mexico City, he spent most of his time in a cramped room as a computer technician for the nuclear sciences department. He had free Internet access -- and the privacy to hack away at all hours. What little English Icaza knew (he taught himself through Internet chat rooms) was enough to communicate with a dedicated group of "free software" enthusiasts like himself, programmers who considered it a higher calling in life to create applications that anybody could use, change, or redistribute. Icaza had recently persuaded his counterparts to start pitching in their time, and hundreds of thousands of lines of new code, in service of an impossible über-task: creating a free, easy-to-use interface for Linux, the operating system that was quickly becoming the standard-bearer of free software.
http://www.business2.com/articles/ma...,45454,00.html
Australian Govt 'safe list' snubs Microsoft
Microsoft's products have been left off a list compiled by the Defence Signals Directorate that aims to evaluate and advise whether software is appropriate for use by Australian Government agencies. The Defence Signals Directorate Evaluated Product List provides a listing of products that have been deemed appropriate for use within the Australian Government for the protection of non-national security electronic information, according to the Directorate. "The reason that there are currently no Microsoft products on the EPL is that no Microsoft products have gone through evaluation in Australia," the DSD told ZDNet Australia in correspondence.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/sec...0270727,00.htm
Philanthropy meets technology in global Stanford program
In Laos, a boy pedals a stationary bicycle to charge batteries powering a computer that links rural villages with e-mail access and medical information. In India, a driver of a custom-designed Honda off-road motorcycle carrying a solar-powered laptop computer makes the rounds through remote countryside. The mission is to spread literacy and bring basic information to villagers. These scenarios exist somewhere between vision and reality, created by the Reuters Foundation's fledgling Digital Vision Fellowship Program at Stanford University. The projects are meant to be feasible, small-scale solutions to one of the most daunting challenges confronting philanthropic-minded technologists: making information technology accessible and relevant to those living in remote regions of developing nations.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...al/4756746.htm
Open-source group broadens its reach
The Eclipse development tools consortium gained momentum Monday with the announcement of 13 members to its board of stewards and the introduction of three new open-source projects. Spearheaded by IBM, the Eclipse project is a community of companies building software to integrate different types of development applications. Much as a Web portal presents several applications in a single Web browser, the Eclipse software lets programmers plug in different types of development tools while retaining the same presentation. For example, a developer could write a program that draws on collaboration software and a content management system from two separate software companies without having to learn the language for the two plug-in applications.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977953.html?tag=cd_mh
E-mail viruses double in 2002
E-mail viruses are now twice as prevalent as they were in 2001, with one e-mail in every 200 containing a virus. Virus-scanning company MessageLabs said it stopped 9.3 million viruses in 2 billion e-mails this year, which equated to one virus in every 215 e-mails. That compares with 1.8 million viruses stopped in 718 million e-mails in 2001, or one virus in every 398 e-mails. According to the company, which measured results up to the end of the second week of December, the most active virus this year was Klez.H, with 4.9 million copies stopped by MessageLabs. Yaha.E came second with 1.1 million copies, then it was Bugbear.A with 842,333, Klez.E with 380,937 and SirCam.A with 309,832. These figures represent only the numbers stopped by MessageLabs for its corporate customers. The actual numbers of these viruses are much higher.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977945.html?tag=cd_mh
How open is the new Office?
Microsoft says it's opening its Office desktop software by adding support for XML -- a move that should help companies free up access to shared information. But there's a catch: It has yet to disclose the underlying XML dialect. The software giant intends to make Extensible Markup Language (XML) a supported file format -- in addition to existing proprietary formats -- for its upcoming Office 11 desktop software, which is in the hands of about 12,000 beta testers. XML is a widely used standard for Web data exchange. With the Office 11 update, Microsoft is allowing files saved in the XML format to be viewable through any standard Web browser. That's a big change from the company's previous stance of using only proprietary file formats. But Office's XML support will allow larger companies to extract and use data from documents more efficiently, according to Microsoft.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977880.html?tag=cd_mh
IBM closer to improved chip process
IBM plans to announce Monday that it has passed another milestone on the road toward adopting an improved process for manufacturing semiconductors. The company will announce that it has begun work on its first 90-nanometer chip, a "field programmable gate array" processor that Big Blue will manufacture for chip designer Xilinx. Moving to a 90-nanometer chipmaking process means smaller transistors, which in turn means more transistors on a chip and better performing chips. IBM's current generation of semiconductors is built using a 130-nanometer manufacturing process -- the nanometer measurement refers to the average size of features inside chips, such as transistors and the interconnects that link them.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977894.html?tag=cd_mh
MasterCard tests high-tech payments
MasterCard is testing a new credit-card system designed to speed the payment process at check-out counters and replace cash transactions at places such as movie theaters and fast food restaurants. The system, called MasterCard PayPass, allows consumers with specially equipped credit cards to simply tap or wave their cards against a reader to make a payment, rather than having to swipe the card. If the value of the purchase is under a certain amount, the cardholder needn't sign a receipt. The cards come embedded with hidden computer chips and radio antennae, which transmit payment details wirelessly. The cards can also be used with traditional magnetic stripe readers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-977829.html?tag=cd_mh
Google searches out an e-tail niche
With holiday spending in full gear, Google is testing a new service that uses the company's search engine to help shoppers find products online. Dubbed Froogle, the new service lets people search by category or by simply typing a product description into the search window. The search results are provided using Google's spider technology, which scours merchant Web sites for relevant product data. Google came up with the product search service in response to customer feedback, said spokeswoman Eileen Rodriguez. "We've seen an interest from users to search for more commercial information," she said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-977042.html?tag=cd_mh
Fake eBay site shuts down
Scam artists trying to steal credit card information from eBay customers apparently set up a fake Web site that mimicked the online auctioneer, an Internet watchdog said Wednesday. The scam involved e-mails that asked recipients to log on to a Florida-based Web site, ebayupdates.com, and re-enter financial data for eBay, said Dean White, the Asia-Pacific coordinator of the U.S. group SANS Institute Internet Storm Center. Identity theft is not a new issue for eBay. Criminals are constantly trying new ways to steal people's personal information and defraud them. "Once you've got the credit card information, you can use it for everything,'' White said. The fake site sported the eBay logo and colors but did not appear to have any connection with California-based eBay, White said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-976862.html?tag=cd_mh
Tower Records site exposes data
A security hole on Tower Records' Web site exposed data on millions of U.S. and U.K. customers until it was closed late Wednesday. The glitch allowed anyone to peruse Tower Records' Web site to view its database of customer orders dating from 1996 through this week, including home and e-mail addresses, phone numbers and what music or video products were purchased. More than 3 million such records were exposed. "It was a technical error, and when we discovered it we were fairly horrified and we fixed it in a matter of hours," a Tower representative said on Thursday. No credit card numbers appear to have been revealed, the company said. Stephanie Wilbanks of Jonesboro, Ark., had her personal information exposed after she ordered a CD as a gift from Tower Records this week.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-976271.html?tag=cd_mh
Tech firms, Defense Dept. discuss Wi-Fi
Tech companies and the Department of Defense are working on solutions to promote wireless networking while preventing the technology from interfering with military radar. The Department of Defense is seeking limits on Wi-Fi wireless networking, saying it's necessary for national security reasons, according to a report Tuesday morning from The New York Times. Technology companies have been working with the department to address these concerns while at the same time continuing to push its growth. Wi-Fi is a technology that allows devices located within a 300-foot radius to communicate without wires. An Intel spokesman confirmed that the company has been working with the department and other tech companies to develop a solution that's fitting to both side's needs. Intel is developing chips to allow PCs using its processors to connect to Wi-Fi networks.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-978219.html?tag=cd_mh
Honeywell chips go on a space mission
Honeywell International is sending its newest chips to outer space. The industrial giant said on Thursday that it is partnering with Cypress Semiconductor to design a new generation of radiation-resistant chips for use in space vehicles. These new chips will be used in satellites to handle communications or control the satellites themselves. The chips could be used in other space-going vehicles or military equipment, Honeywell said in a statement. The satellite semiconductor industry is a profitable but small and slow-moving market due to the extensive testing of components that go into space-faring machines. Several other chipmakers, including Peregrine Semiconductor--which makes chips for satellites and networking gear--also are looking to get a hold on the sector.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-977113.html?tag=cd_mh
Microsoft unveils entertainment software
Microsoft will announce on Tuesday availability of new entertainment software for the Windows XP operating system, featuring fresh tools for handling music, movies and photos on the PC. The technology, called Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition for Windows XP and part of the Microsoft Plus product line, is designed to give people who own standard PCs more features for editing and playing with media files, without turning to entertainment-friendly Apple Computer iMacs or upgrading to more expensive systems like Microsoft's own Media Center PC. Microsoft said the software is a first for the company in that it doesn't just come shrink-wrapped. People can order and download it starting Jan. 7 from a number of Web retail outlets. It will sell for $19.95 and include a $5 rebate.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-978093.html?tag=cd_mh
New Netscape punctures pop-up ads
AOL Time Warner has released a version of its Netscape browser that lets Web surfers suppress pop-up ads, a further sign of declining fortunes for a widely hated marketing format. The new pop-up-stopping Netscape 7.01 was released Tuesday, offering a belated compromise for Web surfers increasingly buffeted by intrusive advertising. Netscape's decision to offer pop-up blocking comes as the advertising unit finds itself under siege by irate Web surfers and Web properties increasingly nervous about the format's use -- particularly America Online. AOL's popular proprietary online service recently revised its pop-up policies, ending sales of the format to third-party advertisers -- a move AOL said would cost it $30 million next year. The change comes as the company faces a dizzying decline in ad and e-commerce revenue, which are expected to drop 40 percent to 50 percent in 2003 on top of similar declines this year. The company is also saddled with declining subscriber growth rates.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-977767.html?tag=cd_mh
Begging for bucks online
Need to pay down credit card debt? Desperate for money for music lessons? Simply tired of working and too embarrassed to stand on the corner with a tin cup? Try "cyberbegging." For some, the clicks in their cyberpails are starting to add up. Karyn Bosnak, for example, paid off $20,000 in credit card debt -- accumulated from her life in New York -- last month, after Web strangers contributed more than $13,000 to her cause, according to her SaveKaryn.com Web site. Now that she has paid off her debt, Bosnak is passing the buck, and directing Web surfers to other cyberbeggars such as an aspiring opera singer trying to pay for voice lessons and college loans. Along the way, Bosnak has parlayed her newfound fame into talk show appearances and a reported book deal.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-977090.html?tag=cd_mh
FBI to cast Net over fugitive
The FBI on Wednesday said it plans to launch an online manhunt for an alleged Boston mob boss, in a novel crime-fighting experiment in partnership with Web portal Terra Lycos. As part of the effort, Terra Lycos has agreed to donate advertising space on its network carrying a likeness of James "Whitey" Bulger and messages alerting people to the $1 million reward for his capture. Bulger is on the FBI's list of the 10 most wanted fugitives. Bulger's photograph sits directly below that of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Previously, the FBI had carried information regarding its most wanted list only on its own Web site. In a release, the FBI said Bulger is a major organized crime figure in the Boston area. He is wanted for his alleged role in numerous murders committed from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s. He is also wanted for alleged drug dealing, extortion, money laundering and other mob-related activities.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-977007.html?tag=cd_mh
Will "Sims Online" alter gaming world?
The last time Will Wright had a bright idea for a computer game, he had to develop it in secret, behind the backs of doubtful coworkers and executives. This time, the whole world is paying attention as Wright -- creator of "SimCity" and "The Sims," the biggest selling computer game of all time, prepares to offer up "The Sims Online." The multiplayer version of "The Sims," set to debut Tuesday, has been hailed as the first major test of whether subscription-based online gaming can appeal to a mass audience. Executives at Electronic Arts, parent company of Wright's Maxis studio, have touted the game as vindication of the company's substantial investment in online gaming. And the 8 million or so people playing the offline version of "The Sims" have some pretty firm ideas about how the online version should work.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-977912.html
Philips hears sweet music for PCs
Philips Electronics is fine-tuning audio playback for PCs. The consumer-electronics giant announced Monday its Sound Agent 2 software, designed to play music files on computers at the best audio quality possible by analyzing the file type and hardware involved. The software is particularly effective in restoring sound quality to compressed audio files, such as MP3 files, according to Philips. Sound Agent 2 is available bundled with Philips' Dynamic Edge 4.1 and Sonic Edge 5.1 sound cards. The Dutch company is considering bundling the software with consumer-electronics devices as well as with PC hardware, said Dennis Johnson, a product marketing manager at Philips.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-978001.html?tag=cd_mh
TiVo: If music be the food of profit...
TiVo said Thursday that its television recording system will soon be able to play digital music and show pictures stored in personal computers. Data stored in file formats such as MP3 and JPEG will be accessible via televisions that are connected to a TiVo set-top box, company Chief Executive Michael Ramsey told investors at a Credit Suisse First Boston conference. TiVo will likely charge an additional fee for the premium service, which will be launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Association's CES conference in Las Vegas, Ramsey said. "There's a whole set of packages that we are doing, and the main theme is around broadband and home networking. It is our next big thing," Ramsey told Reuters after the presentation.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-977098.html?tag=cd_mh
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