[JackSpratts]

Readin n ritin n file sharin

MSU To Offer Short Course On Peer-To-Peer File Sharing

Michigan State University’s Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media is offering a unique class this spring on peer-to-peer file sharing.

Titled “Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Filesharing: From Download Nation to Collaborative Technology,” the class will meet on Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Topics covered in the course include the technology, policy, economics, management and user behavior associated with P2P systems. Fifty-five students have enrolled in this first-of-its-kind course.

A peer-to-peer system refers to a computer network where people can exchange individual files on their computer directly with each other, without having to upload them to a mediating server. Peer-to-peer software, such as the original Napster program and the now widely used KaZaa, makes it easy to share these files by indexing and enabling searches of all the files in all connected users' shared directories.

"Most of the attention given peer-to-peer systems has emphasized their use in the illegal trading of copyrighted digital information, particularly music file sharing through software such as KaZaa,” said Charles Steinfield, a professor of telecommunication, information studies and media at MSU. “In this course, we take a broader view, examining the underlying technology, the economic foundations and the policy implications of decentralized systems for file sharing.”

TISM faculty presenting in the class include Steve Wildman, Johannes Bauer, Tom Muth, Robert LaRose, Gary Reid, Dan Kim and Steinfield. A number of other MSU faculty and administrative staff will provide guest lectures, including David Gift, the vice provost for Computing, Libraries and Technology; Rich Wiggins of the MSU Computer Lab; Lorrie Hudson of the Office of Intellectual Property; and Peter Yu from the MSU-DCL College of Law.

The course will culminate with a symposium on April 15 on the future of P2P systems, featuring John King, dean of the School of Information at the University of Michigan; James Hilton, associate provost for Academic, Information and Instructional Technology at the U-M; and MSU’s Gift.
http://www.newsroom.msu.edu/site/ind...17/content.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legit P2P on Road to Reality
Brian Garrity

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The race is on to legitimize peer-to-peer technology.

Music business sources predict that commercial P2P services are coming by 2005 -- both as startup ventures and cleaned-up versions of existing networks.

John Frankenheimer, co-chairman of Loeb & Loeb, gave the boldest public P2P prediction to date at the recent Billboard Music & Money Symposium, when he said that he expects legitimate P2P services to be a reality within the next year.

Others in the industry are quietly seconding the forecast.

"It's within the realm of possibility," one major-label technology expert says of the timetable. "I think you'll see both happen."

Details are limited on which companies have an eye on the legitimate market. Nor is it clear what the business model of a legal P2P offering would be.

This much is known: The key to every commercial P2P distribution scenario is the inclusion of content-filtering technology.

Filtering will play an integral role, says Vance Ikezoye, CEO of Los Gatos, Calif.-based Audible Magic, a specialist in the field.

Filtering technologies are intended to keep unlicensed files out of P2P environments, track content consumption on the network and facilitate transactions.

The buzz surrounding filtering centers on two companies: Audible Magic and Snocap, a San Francisco startup from Napster creator Shawn Fanning.

Sony Music chairman/CEO Andrew Lack cited both in a February speech at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon in Los Angeles.

Audible Magic has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill with the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA), showcasing a technology designed to identify and block the distribution of files that run afoul of label copyrights.

Snocap has yet to launch, but the company is quietly demonstrating a similar solution to the major labels and others.

Snocap officials did not return calls for comment.

Sources familiar with Snocap say it also has a transaction engine. That indicates that Snocap would block illegal content on a P2P network but give users an opportunity to acquire the content legally.

Ikezoye says Audible Magic is also exploring transaction capabilities.

"You can easily envision to sell consumers legitimate content or other services," he says.

Different Strokes

Commercial P2P ideas under consideration range from free, sponsored services to more traditional pay-per-download and subscription models, label sources say.

But before the labels sign on for any commercial P2P concept, P2P network operators need to agree to rid their systems of unlicensed content.

Major-label sources say they are not interested in allowing their content to be sold through P2P networks unless the operators enforce filtering of unlicensed content and flood their services with commercial files.

P2P operators -- embroiled in copyright-infringement lawsuits with the recording industry -- long have held that they cannot control the flow of content through their networks. The argument is a key component in their defense.

P2P operators are also balking at suggestions that they build filtering technologies into their systems. The operators are concerned that such moves are the precursor to a legislative push by the entertainment industry to require P2P networks to use filtering technologies.

Adam Eisgrau, executive director of P2P United, the Washington, D.C.-based public relations/lobbying group representing Morpheus, Blubster and four other services, sent letters on March 10 to the heads of all five major labels, RIAA chairman Mitch Bainwol and Audible Magic's Ikezoye calling for independent testing of Audible Magic technology.

The labels and Audible Magic are adamant that filtering can work in a P2P environment.

"Legitimate peer-to-peer systems are possible today," Sony Music Entertainment chief technology officer Phil Wiser says. "It really just comes down to whether these services are truly interested in going legitimate and are willing to implement a solution that does that."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=4610246


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Putting Road Workers In The Groove
Martin LaMonica

After billions of dollars invested in PC "productivity applications" and a marketplace dominated by Microsoft, does the world need more software for so-called knowledge workers?

Ray Ozzie thinks so and, he says, macroeconomic forces are on his side.

The founder of Groove Networks argues that organizations are becoming increasingly decentralized. Instead of being tightly bound to corporate centers, workers are being unleashed, laptop in hand, to work in different locations or out of their homes. A globally connected economy allows corporations to outsource tasks from manufacturing to software programming. Independent contractors who work for several companies at once are on the rise as well.

For Ozzie, a collaboration software guru, those trends are placing demands on technology that aren't being addressed effectively today. Small groups of people need to team up on projects that can span different organizations and locations. He contends that Web applications have their limitations, as do other products, such as Lotus Notes, which Ozzie created in the mid-1980s.

As Groove prepares to beta test the third release of its software, which Ozzie calls an "inflection point" for the company, Ozzie sat down with CNET News.com to talk about how technology needs to adjust to changing work dynamics. In addition, the technology visionary talked about peer-to-peer computing and the company's close relationship with industry giant (and Groove investor) Microsoft.

Q: In your most recent Web log entry, you talked about how decentralization and peer- to-peer technology are having an impact on your government customers and on society. What has fundamentally changed since, say, your days at Lotus?
A: What collaboration software--and technology in general--is all about is reducing the cost of coordination in one way or another between entities who need to work with one another, whether those entities are individuals or organizations. When I started working on
The bleeding-edge customers using Notes were trying to use it with companies outside.
Notes back in 1982, and when we finally shipped in, like, 1989, I guess I had the changing nature of the organization on my mind. In the enterprise at that point in time--it is hard to imagine going back that far- -the concept of re-engineering a corporation had become a trend.

BPR (business process re-engineering), right?
Exactly, and the whole notion was the changing nature of the organization internally. Departments were supposed to work with one another as opposed to working in a "siloed" fashion internally. And that really drove the nature of what Notes was all about. And Notes worked very well for these big global enterprises in that zone. When we founded Groove in 1997, it was based on some things I saw happening in customers in the 1995- 1996 time frame. The bleeding-edge customers using Notes were trying to use it with companies outside. They were working with groups outside their corporate boundaries. And these were big companies--channel masters--and they were trying to force Notes out there, and in some cases, it worked. But it was tough.

Groove was really founded based on the changing nature of business in general--the fact that business would become more decentralized. What we saw happening in a limited form was going to happen more and more. Companies would be--I do not think that at the time I would have referred to it as outsourcing--partnering more and more with smaller companies. Supply chains would become important. Firewalls would be a big constraint. I think that we pretty much were right in reading that trend. It has happened more in some industries than others.

So what's changed since Groove launched in 2000?
What we have noticed during the last 18 or so months is that its focus has gone well beyond the changing nature of business--to the changing nature of work in general. It is not just how businesses are interacting with one another in a very decentralized fashion. It is how individuals and small groups of people--very small companies--are assembling into teams and doing things very dynamically in a very mobile and geographically dispersed fashion.

I never could have imagined when we started Groove that by this point in time, according to various statistics, more than half of what we in Groove refer to as information workers--people who use Microsoft Office--work from multiple locations. I am not saying that they do not have a job in a cube. They work from home significantly in addition to working in the office. They work on a client site. So Groove's latest release really tries to focus on are the things that really cater to the individual in this mode of having the need for a "virtual office." You know, to put what they would do in their physical office into their PCs so that by virtual means, they can essentially--and in a secure fashion--join a meeting with various people, and organize and file documents.

Wasn't the Web browser supposed to give people access to information everywhere?
The browser does indeed give people access to information. It is the ultimate access tool, but the browser is at odds with another trend. Leave Groove aside for a moment. One of the biggest subjects I think is not written about very much--but it is so obvious and it is going to be the story in a year or two-- are the trends around storage. The fact that right now we carry around, you know, 20-, 30-, 40-, 60- gigabyte hard disks. In two to three years, it is going to be 100-terabyte hard disks.

If you look at Apple Computer's iPod and look at digital video recorders, we are wrapping computers around hard disks now, and we want to carry more and more and more stuff around with us. No matter how pervasive networking becomes, there are security issues with respect to putting all your information on a server that can be attacked by a lot of people from the outside. There are big administrative burdens for corporations making all the information that is available inside the firewall available through the browser securely to subsets of people.

Isn't there the advantage of easier administration with centralized information and browser-based delivery?
Well, we believe that information technology organizations do need to manage things. But I think that is a separate question from whether they are managing something on a desktop or on a server. They need management capabilities, but it's just--this is a bit weird--software. You can build software that allows a central administrator to manage stuff on decentralized clients or on their servers.

With regard to doing things on a Web server versus doing things on a client, most really dynamic applications that involve teams of people use some mix of both centralized and decentralized systems. Most major organizations are not going to use Groove in a completely cutting-edge fashion, and most organizations realize that they cannot offer everything through a portal. They have to have some kind of mobility solution. Big vendors acknowledge that they need to embrace the rich client more in conjunction with Microsoft's SharePoint Portal. In IBM's case, they are asking, "How can we reinvigorate a rich client around our WebSphere Portal offering?" So, I just think it is ultimately a mix of finding the right mix for an enterprise of what you put in the center versus what you arm people at the edge.

The other thing is that there are constraints on the richness of what you can do in a browser. In most major enterprises, people might use browser-based e-mail occasionally through a browser when they are traveling, but browser-based e-mail is usually more of a consumer and educational thing. Most people use Outlook or Outlook Express or some other client software-- there is a reason people like it.

With so much focus on return on investment and demonstrating hard benefits, is selling software that improves productivity tougher than in previous years?
We do not really sell general productivity. I do not think there is a market for that right now and, arguably, I do not even know that there ever was a real market for general productivity, even though the industry might have thought a bit that way. An individual buys something, because it helps her do something in the context of her job or what she is dealing with. If you're a sales rep, you'll try to find software that helps you sell better or make your quota more effectively. It is not general productivity, per se; it is very specifically applied productivity to a task.

Your company has close ties to Microsoft, which is pinning a lot on Longhorn, the next version of Windows. Do you think that Microsoft has made the business case for Longhorn?
I do not think it has, and I would not really expect that it should have at this point. It should not be hurting the sales of what they have to sell right now. Currently, Longhorn is at the phase in which Microsoft needs to get developers signed up. It is a big challenge for any software vendor to essentially communicate its things in a way that it is relevant to customers from a business value standpoint. And in terms of an operating system, it is hard to really justify the massive cost of an upgrade unless you really can make that case. I look forward to hearing what that case will be, but I have not heard it.

Is there any concern that some features Microsoft is introducing with Longhorn might overlap with and therefore diminish the value of Groove?
They will overlap, and I am not concerned, because the focus that we have on this particular domain is so intense. Our experience is so intense in this domain that what they put in there will be useful, but we are more connected to the business value of it. Microsoft is very focused on what an enterprise does within its own boundaries, and I think that what you will see--if I could project based on what I know--will be really interesting things you can do with the desktop or across communication lines, if you have things configured a certain way.

It is not obvious to me that what Microsoft has done or is proposing to do will be designed to work seamlessly across regular firewall boundaries, enterprise boundaries, operating system boundaries and infrastructure boundaries. And that is what we are focused on: real-world collaboration needs. Am I aware of Microsoft's plans, and do I track it? Absolutely, but I am not concerned.

Do you think that the adoption of peer computing and more decentralized computing systems is speeding up?
I think decentralization in general is shaking things up in many sectors. It has shaken things up in the entertainment industry. Through Napster and MP3s in general, that industry has been rocked by it. It is about to shake up the movie industry in a big way. And the telecommunications industry--have you ever played with Sykpe?

The voice over Internet Protocol service?
That's right. It is very interesting, because the telecom industry historically is very centralized; the whole circuit-switching model is passed here. Skype will give you access to that switch. VoIP in general represents an inflection point, a slight disruptor for the incumbents, but Skype takes it all the way to the extreme and simply says, "No, if you have an Internet connection out there, you do not need to pay anything to anybody to do phone calls." So true decentralized rich-client software for telecom is really a disrupter, and we represent essentially what someone can do a productivity and communication stance--a collaborative productivity realm in decentralization.

When Groove launched in 2000, it was known as a peer-to-peer computing company, but you don't hear that from the company as much these days. Is that a deliberate shift?
I think that, oddly enough, what you will see over this year is that we will be talking about ourselves again a little bit more in that dimension. That term was used just more from a factual standpoint to help people understand. We felt a backlash for using it at a certain point, as IT managers were shutting down their networks in a very blanket fashion to P2P networks, because they were afraid of lawsuits.

Now, because of the telecom thing, in particular, it is kind of coming back in the conversation in terms of "Wait, you can really save money by using a peer-to-peer architecture for doing this, that and the others." We are not going to be out there, trying to create another peer-to-peer wave, but when somebody does understand that a peer-to-peer architecture can save the money, it is relevant.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5173378.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Groove Gets Into File-Sharing

Updated collaboration program enhances security, adds alerts, and provides new tools.
Liane Cassavoy

Groove Networks is updating its collaboration software this week, releasing a beta version of Groove 3.0. It is available to licensed users of Groove version 2.0 and higher, and the final version is expected to roll out in early summer.

Groove's software, which was first released in 2000, uses a peer-to-peer networking model to connect users. Groove Workspaces serve as virtual offices, where geographically dispersed coworkers can store files and folders, save threaded discussions, share calendars, track project information and timelines, meet online, share a whiteboard, and communicate through chat and instant messenger.

New in version 3.0 are secure file- and folder-sharing capabilities; a Groove LaunchPad for easier organization and navigation; and expanded user alerts. A new forms-building tool lets users easily create applications for capturing, tracking, and sharing information among users.

Groove's software, currently available in version 2.5, costs $69 per user for the Standard edition; $149 per user for the Professional edition, which adds a server capability; and $199 for the Project edition, which features project management tools from a Groove partner. As of July 1, 2004, the Professional edition will cost $179 per user and the Project edition will cost $229 per user. The price for the Standard edition will remain at $69.

File-Sharing Debuts

The new file-sharing feature in version 3.0 turns Windows Explorer into somewhat of a Groove Workspace. When Groove is installed on your desktop, you simply open a Windows folder that you have created to store files. The folder will display a Groove icon, showing that you can share that folder with a Groove contact. You give them access by entering their e-mail address. Groove sends a message offering access and when they accept, Groove creates a duplicate folder on their PC and sends them their own copies of all of the files yours contains.

Folders can be synchronized with any number of Groove users, and the contents are updated on each desktop when any user makes changes. Groove transfers files with 192-bit encryption for security, and the data can travel through firewalls.

When the final version of 3.0 is released, it will add a chat feature to this folder-sharing capability, according to Groove developers. This will let users chat with others within their desktop folders.

The file-sharing feature allows single users to run Groove, which has often involved a server and workgroup configuration. A $69 Standard version one-user license allows you to install Groove software on all of your PCs. This enables you to automatically synchronize common files and folders across PCs at, say, the office and at home. It can save you from repeatedly e-mailing files to yourself, or transferring data via a USB thumb drive.

If users are offline when changes are made, the updates are delivered as soon as they log on. Or, Groove can alert users as changes are made, or when they peruse Groove Workspaces. The Alerts feature, added in version 2.0, is much richer in version 3.0, says Andrew Mahon, director of strategic marketing for Groove Networks. You can choose to be notified when a certain user enters a Workspace and opens a certain item. What's more, the alert offers a link that will take you to that same Workspace and item, where you can chat with that fellow user.

Other New Features

Also new in version 3.0 is the LaunchPad, which gives users one starting place from which to view all of their Groove information. You can view workspaces and contacts, send messages, and create new Workspaces from the LaunchPad.

Groove version 3.0's added forms builder enables users--even those without developer skills--to create a custom business process application. A small-business user could, for example, create a customer-tracking application by dragging and dropping fields onto the form, Mahon says. Then, the user can share the forms with other Groove users.

In addition, version 3.0 provides Workspace templates for designing Groove Workspaces. Its enhanced performance will enable it to start up faster and require less bandwidth, Mahon says.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115184,00.asp


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VoIP Market Hotting Up As Skype Gathers More Funding
Matt Whipp

Skype has banked nearly $19mn of venture capital funding in round two.

The peer-to-peer IP telephony startup gathered in $18.8mn in second round funding led by venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurveston and Index Ventures.

Skype will use the funds to expand its global reach and add new functions to the service. Skype's CEO and co-founder Niklas Zennström said: 'While Skype will remain committed to a simple to use yet feature rich free offering, we will introduce an array of premium services at our first commercial launch later this year.'

Over and above free voice calls to other Skype users, the service already offers conference calling, a global directory, instant messaging and ring tones, the company is looking at paid-for services such as terminating Skype calls to fixed- line and mobile phones. After all, venture capital funding is a speculation to profit.

And the VoIP market is hotting up, with BT Yahoo! announcing it is to implement a new range of services including offering voice calls through its instant messenger service that can be routed to fixed lines at standard BT rates.

Yet Skype in its beta form is already approaching 9 million downloads.

Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurveston said: 'The Skype team boasts some of the world's great corporate innovators, and is the hottest viral marketing phenomenon since Hotmail.'

Indeed, although Zennström is best known as one of the founders of the popular KaZaA peer-to-peer file sharing system, he predicts that KaZaA will revolutionise communications industry with the same impact as email. Zennström said: 'Anyone using the Internet is a potential Skype user... Over the next few years, I expect to see something similar to the effect email had over fax. People used to fax things all the time, but now they generally use email instead.'
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/?http://www.p...y.php?id=54996


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linksys Speeds Up 802.11g Lineup
Peggy Wat

Linksys Group has released a line of 802.11g products aimed at small business and home users. The products are designed to give users more power for their wireless LANs.

The Wireless-G with SpeedBooster product line is backward compatible with existing 802.11b and 802.11g products, according to Linksys. The new line adds more security options, including parental control features for home users. Linksys claims its SpeedBooster technology can enhance network performance by up to 35 percent.

The SpeedBooster line, now available, includes a Wireless-G Router (model WRT54GS) priced at US$130; the PC Card (model WPC54GS), US$100; and PCI Adapter (model WMP54GS), also US$100.

The speed enhancement technology, SpeedBooster, is built on Broadcom's Afterburner technology, according to Linksys.

The company says it can increase by as much as 70 percent the aggregate throughput performance of a mixed wireless network that involves both 802.11b and 802.11g products, so the overall performance is enhanced no matter what wireless device is running. The boost comes partly because SpeedBooster products minimize overhead communication between data transmissions, Linksys representatives say.

Home networks typically don't hit the maximum throughput that most wireless networks are capable of. For example, 802.11g can connect wireless devices at up to 54 megabits per second; but most users see about 20 mbps to 25 mbps depending on the layout of their home or the materials used in the walls and floors.

In tests conducted by the company and by independent organizations, a wireless network using the new router and new plug-in cards was able to handle a bandwidth of about 34 mbps, says Mike Wagner, Linksys director of marketing. The company saw an increase in performance of about 20 percent if only one of the new products was used on a wireless network, he adds.

Linksys also emphasizes that the Broadcom technology follows a "good neighbor" approach designed to limit interference with other wireless networks nearby. The products stay within 20 MHz (on channel 6) of the 2.4-GHz frequency band to help limit potential interference with other devices in that band. Linksys notes that several countries restrict use of wireless products that exceed the 20 MHz rule.
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index....10&fp=2&fpid=1


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Corporation As ‘Psychopath’ To Be Debated At Theseus Alumni Conference

Documentary Co-Creator Joel Bakan to be Event Keynote
Press Release

Sophia Antipolis, FRANCE - The recently released and critically acclaimed documentary film ‘The Corporation’ will serve as the focal point of the annual Theseus International Management Institute Alumni (TIMIA) Conference on 2nd April 2004 at Theseus Institute, Sophia Antipolis, near Nice, in the south of France. Billed by critics as “the next ‘Bowling for Columbine,’” ‘The Corporation’ invites players, pawns and pundits on a graphic and engaging quest to reveal the corporation’s inner workings, curious history, controversial impact, and possible future.

Theseus Institute is the first business school to organize a conference around the film, which has been scooping up awards at major film festivals in Sundance, Amsterdam, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver since its premier screening in September 2003.

The feature documentary takes a look at the very nature of the corporation. The filmmakers view the corporation in the way that it is considered under the law, as a “person.” The question is then asked, “What kind of person is this?” The conclusion is that the corporation meets all the diagnostic criteria of a psychopath. ‘The Corporation’ questions the sanity of granting so much power to such a person, this institution with the legal obligation to serve the bottom line and no need to account for “human” values. The film uses dramatic case studies to explore the impacts the corporation has on our environment, our children, our health, our media, our democracy and even our genes – and what people are doing in response.

Following the screening of the film at the TIMIA Conference, University of British Columbia law professor and ‘The Corporation’ co-creator and writer Joel Bakan who is also author of the book upon which it is based “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power,” will lead conference delegates in a panel discussion about the film and its conclusions. As a TIMIA speaker, Bakan will join a select group of business academics including Theseus Institute’s Director General, Professor Ahmet Aykaç, CEOs, senior commentators from international business press and others taking part in the dialogue as ‘concerned citizens.’

Run as a learning workshop, the discussions will focus on questions raised by the film’s creators: Is there a cure for this pathological pursuit of profit-at-any-cost? Or can we only apply restraints? Will people regain control over the corporation? The conclusions of the discussions will be published following the conference.

While the Canadian documentary has yet to be released outside of North America, it is already having an impact on management education. Several reputable business schools in North America have approached the film’s creators about using its thesis, the concept of the corporation as “psychopath,” as the basis for new management courses. Theseus Professor Aykaç echoes this concern, “It is not at all obvious why corporations should have ‘rights’ and what this actually means and what its limits are – in particular if the ‘rights’ of these ‘moral persons’ start trampling on those of ‘physical persons’ and society at large. There have been revolutions based on the unacceptability of ‘taxation without representation’; yet corporations routinely make decisions that put burdens on the rest of society with no representation.”
http://www.categorynet.com/fr/cp/details.php?id=43156


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Heavy Turntable

And at £48,000.00, expensive too.

And DJ’s think the 1200 is weighty.

http://www.bluepearlaudio.co.uk/Default.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hackers Embrace P2P Concept

Experts Fear 'Phatbot' Trojan Could Lead to New Wave of Spam or Denial-of-Service Attacks
Brian Krebs

Computer security experts in the private sector and U.S. government are monitoring the emergence of a new, highly sophisticated hacker tool that uses the same peer-to-peer (P2P) networking abilities that power controversial file-sharing networks like Kazaa and BearShare.

By some estimates, hundreds of thousands of computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system have already been infected worldwide. The tool, a program that security researchers have dubbed "Phatbot," allows its authors to gain control over computers and link them into P2P networks that can be used to send large amounts of spam e-mail messages or to flood Web sites with data in an attempt to knock them offline.

The new hacker threat caught the attention of cyber-security officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, prompting the agency to send an alert last week to a select group of computer security experts. In the alert, the agency warned that Phatbot snoops for passwords on infected computers and tries to disable firewall and antivirus software.

A copy of the DHS alert was made available to washingtonpost.com by two sources at different companies who asked that their identities not be used because they did not want to risk losing access to future government alerts. Officials at the department and US-CERT -- a government-funded cyber-security monitoring agency -- confirmed that the message was genuine.

Phatbot is "a virtual Swiss Army knife of attack software," said Vincent Weafer, senior director of security response at Cupertino, Calif.- based Symantec Corp.

Joe Stewart, a researcher at the Chicago-based security firm Lurhq, has catalogued Phatbot's many capabilities in an online posting. Those capabilities include: the "ability to polymorph on install in an attempt to evade antivirus signatures as it spreads from system to system"; "steal AOL account logins and passwords"; "harvest emails from the web for spam purposes" and "sniff [Internet] network traffic for Paypal cookies."

Phatbot is a kind of "Trojan horse," a type of program named after the legendary stealth attack because it let hackers take quiet control of unsecured computers. Security firms have catalogued hundreds if not thousands of Trojan horse programs in recent years, but Phatbot has raised substantial concern because it represents a leap-forward in its sophistication and is proving much harder for law enforcement authorities and antivirus companies to eliminate.

Like traditional Trojan horse programs, Phatbot infects a computer through one of several routes, such as through security flaws in Microsoft's Windows operating system or through "backdoors" installed on machines by the recent "Mydoom" and "Bagle" Internet worms.

But because Phatbot links infected computers into a larger network, hackers can issue orders to the infected machines through many routes, and cyber-security officials can only effectively shut down a Phatbot attack if they track down every infected computer.

"The concern here is that the peer-to-peer like characteristics of these 'bot networks may make them more resilient and more difficult to shut down," said a cyber-security official at the Department of Homeland Security who asked not be identified because the agency is still considering whether to issue a more public alert about Phatbot.

"With these P2P Trojan networks, even if you take down half of the affected machines, the rest of the network continues to work just fine," said Mikko Hypponen, director of F-Secure, an antivirus software company based in Finland.

Most major antivirus products detect Phatbot, but as soon as the Trojan infects computers it disables many antivirus and firewall software tools.

Roger Lawson, director of computing and information technology at the University of Vermont in Burlington, said he quarantined more than 200 computers -- more than 5 percent of the machines on the school's network -- because of Phatbot infestations. None of the school's antivirus programs detected the Trojan, and attempts to delete it caused Phatbot to recreate and restart itself, he said.

Phatbot's ability to disable computer security software means that the estimated number of infected computers could rise to as high as "several hundred thousand," said F- Secure's Hypponen.

A few computer experts said the rate of infection is much higher.

Igor Ybema, a network administrator at the University of Twente in Enschede in The Netherlands, put the number between 1 million and 2 million computers. His conclusion was based on a Phatbot command that forces infected computers to test their Internet connection speed by sending a file to one of 22 specifically selected Web servers around the world -- one of them at Twente.

He said Twente began monitoring traffic from computers running the tests in mid-February, about the time that rival hacker gangs began an online turf war that resulted in a volley of new worms like Bagle and "Netsky." By early last week, Ybema said he was tracking an average of 200,000 to 300,000 Internet addresses running the speed test every day. Ybema believes such traffic indicates that attackers who have previously relied on less advanced remote-access Trojans are now using Phatbot.

The majority of the infections appeared to come from home user broadband connections and from colleges and universities in the United States and the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

Earlier this month, computer network engineers at University of California, Santa Cruz monitored the same type of speed testing traffic as Twente's Ybema observed. Mark Boolootian, the network engineer who discovered the activity, said one reason infected computers may be conducting the speed tests is to give Phatbot authors an idea of which infected computers would be the fastest in sending out large amounts of spam or data aimed at overwhelming a major Web site.

Security experts are divided on whether a full-force phatbot attack will result in ruin or simply a ruinous headache.

"If there are indeed hundreds of thousands of computers infected with Phatbot, U.S. e-commerce is in serious threat of being massively attacked by whoever owns these networks," said Russ Cooper, a chief scientist at Herndon, Va.-based TruSecure Corp.

There are several incidents in the past several years that show how hackers used multiple ensnared computers to cause damage. In February 2000, a Canadian juvenile commandeered high-speed computers at University of California, Santa Barbara to knock Amazon, eBay, CNN.com, and a host of other Web sites off-line for hours. In October 2002, hackers used an army of commandeered computers to assault the 13 root servers that serve as the roadmap for Internet traffic.

But Lurhq's Stewart said his analysis of Phatbot indicates that the Trojan is designed to link computers into groups no larger than 50 computers, which would significantly limit the Trojan's effectiveness as a denial-of-service tool.

As a result, he said, Phatbot-infected PCs will more likely be used as highly effective spamming machines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Mar17.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man Sues Distributor Of Kazaa File-Sharing Software Over Program Rights
Alex Veiga

A native of Romania who claims to have written the source code to the popular file-sharing software Kazaa is suing the program's distributor over the rights to the software and asking for $25 million in compensation.

Kazaa Media Desktop, which enables users to connect online over a so-called peer-to-peer network, is used by millions to swap music, movies, software and other files. The practice has drawn the ire of Hollywood film studios, recording companies and other copyright holders.

In the federal lawsuit, Fabian Toader, who now lives in Redmond, Wa., claims he wrote the computer code for the Kazaa program in 2000 while working in Romania on a freelance basis for Kazaa B.V., which sold the rights to the software in 2002 to Sharman Networks Ltd.

Toader claims he never signed a contract with Kazaa B.V. and asserts that, under copyright laws in the United States and Romania, he is the copyright owner of the program, and not Sharman Networks.

Toader, now a programmer for Microsoft, seeks a judgment confirming his rights to the program and $25 million in damages.

"Sharman has made millions using my software," Toader said in a statement Tuesday. "My code has made KMD one of the most popular programs ever. I just want to be fairly compensated for my contribution."

The latest version of Kazaa has been downloaded more than 335 million times from Download.com since it was uploaded to the site on Nov. 19, and was ranked Monday as the top download on the Web site.

A spokesman for Sydney, Australia-based Sharman disputed Toader's assertion that he owns the rights to the program.

"The work done by Fabian Toader on early versions of the Kazaa Media Desktop software was done under a work for hire agreement that expressly states that Kazaa B.V. owned all rights to any work related to the development of the software," said Rich Chernela, a Sharman spokesman.

The lawsuit, which was filed March 4 in Los Angeles, is only the latest volley of litigation between Toader and Sharman in recent months.

In August, Sharman sued Toader in Washington State Superior Court, alleging he tried to blackmail the company. The court granted Sharman an injunction against him, Chernela said.

"Sharman regards this recently filed Los Angeles law suit as nothing more than Mr. Toader's most recent shakedown effort," Chernela said.

Toader countersued later that month in federal court in Seattle, then opted to dismiss the case without prejudice in February and refiled it in Los Angeles, said attorney Marc Fenster.

Sharman has been the target of lawsuits and from entertainment companies bent on shutting down its operation, and file-sharing in general, which they say has resulted in millions in lost sales.

A federal case brought by the entertainment firms against Sharman in Los Angeles is pending the outcome of a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a ruling that cleared two other companies of liability for the unauthorized sharing of files by users of their software.

In February, investigators with the Australian recording industry raided the company's offices in Sydney and two executives' homes looking for evidence to support a copyright infringement case.

In December, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that Kazaa's Netherlands division cannot be held liable for copyright infringement of music or movies swapped using its free software.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...al/8202798.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ILN News Letter

Norwegian Court Acquits Napster.no Owner

A Norwegian appellate court has acquitted the proprietor of Napster.no. The court ruled that the site merely provided links to music and that the copyright infringement occurred by the uploading of the music, not through the provision of links. Norwegian coverage at http://www.digi.no/php/art.php?id=100878&utskrift=1

Site synopsis: A student (Frank Bruvik) who had run the website www.napster.no and who had earlier been ordered to pay 100.000 Norwegian crowns in a lower court was released in a higher court where he had taken the case. Mr. Bruvik is very glad over the result. (thanks to tankgirl for the translation – jack.)

Canadian Senate Committee Removes Copyright Extension Provision

As expected, a Canadian Senate committee considering Bill 8 - once described as the Lucy Maud Montgomery Copyright Term Extension Act for its effect on the term of copyright accorded to certain unpublished works, has removed the copyright term extension provisions. The works came into the public domain on January 1, 2004. Report at <http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/3/parlbus/c...p03mar04-e.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Telus, Shaw blast CRIA Over Song-Theft Fight
Keith Damsell

Toronto — Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. have attacked the music industry's bid to identify people it claims illegally distributed music via the Internet, arguing there's limited technical know-how and no evidence to support the pursuit of the alleged song swappers.

"This is a complicated and imperfect process at best," Telus lawyer Joel Watson told the Federal Court of Canada yesterday. "They want the identity of the user ..... the technology doesn't permit that."

The Canadian Recording Industry Association wants the court to order Telus and Shaw, along with BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Vidéotron Ltéeto hand over the identities of 29 so-called uploaders, Internet users who they allege posted hundreds of songs illegally on the Web. The industry claims song theft via the Internet is responsible for the sector's woes, including retail sales losses in Canada of more than $425-million since 1999.

The music industry claims three Telus customers infringed copyright laws when, under user names sweetydee11, fighting scurvy and jd, they posted thousands of songs on popular music sharing service Kazaa. Each user name is linked to a specific Internet protocol number that provides an on- ramp to the Internet. IP numbers are assigned to specific Internet service providers.

But tying an IP address to a computer user is near impossible, Mr. Watson said. IP addresses are dynamic and float from customer to customer as on-line sessions begin and end, he said.

"We don't have the key to the user," Mr. Watson told the court. "The information is not in a filing cabinet in Vancouver or Edmonton ..... what they're asking for we can't give."

But lawyers representing CRIA said it is possible to track down a user via an IP address. BCE has found all seven of its alleged uploading customers CRIA is targeting while Rogers has successfully contacted seven of nine accused song swappers.

"ISPs are the only practical source of the information," said CRIA lawyer Bruce Stratton. "It's not a technical impossibility, it's a case of looking at what they have."

Charles Scott, a lawyer representing Calgary-based Shaw, said CRIA's allegations rest on "crucial" evidence supplied by MediaSentry Inc. The New York-based Internet watchdog tracked Kazaa's traffic and provided hundreds of pages of data to CRIA. The evidence is filed under the name of Gary Millin, president of MediaSentry.

In earlier cross examination, Mr. Millin disclosed that the research was done by operational staff and he had no direct knowledge of the song files themselves, Mr. Scott said.

Mr. Millin "never listened to any of the files. That was somebody else's job. We don't even know where this information came from," Mr. Scott said, concluding that MediaSentry's data rests on "a number of frailties" and should be dismissed.

Mr. Scott alleged CRIA's case was a "fishing expedition" aimed at pursuing high-profile settlements and raising the profile of the song-theft issue.

MediaSentry's research is "direct evidence, reliable evidence" that supports the music industry's case, said CRIA's Mr. Stratton. He added that the act of putting a music file in a shared on-line directory "sanctions, permits and encourages" unlawful distribution and copyright infringement.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arguments Wrap Up In Music File-Sharing Case

TORONTO — The record industry's attempts to sue people who share music with others online threaten to change the widely held expectation that everyone's anonymous when surfing the Internet, lawyers representing the public interest argued Monday.

A ruling in favour of the Canadian Recording Industry Association would mean the loss of anonymity of anything shared using peer-to- peer software, including photos and text, for the 29 people named in the civil action, said Alex Cameron.

Cameron is representing the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic in the Federal Court case pitting the recording-industry association against high- speed Internet service providers.

"(The) effect of the order would be to strip away anonymity," said Cameron. "Those documents were shared on the assumption the sharing was done anonymously ...(if order is granted) people will perceive that online activities are no longer anonymous."

The recording industry took its first step towards lawsuits against so-called uploaders in early February. It filed a statement of claim against 29 unnamed people who allegedly shared songs with others using programs like KaZaA and iMesh.

But before it can recoup cash from the alleged copyright infringers, the association has to figure out the identities of the 29 people, currently known only by pseudonyms used online such as barracuda_ben, geekboy and sweetydee11.

It's hoped the courts will force Internet service providers Bell Canada, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, Videotron and Telus Corp. to translate those nicknames into real names and addresses.

Lawyers for the association have argued that contract agreements between individuals and their Internet service providers spell out instances where personal information may be disclosed.

But Howard Knopf, also of the Public Interest Clinic, accused the association of engaging in a "war against file sharing" searching for the "equivalent of weapons of mass distribution."

He said teenagers and parents without large sums of money to battle a team of lawyers will be forced to settle with the record industry out of monetary fears and limitations.

"These folks are civilians, not commercial pirates," said Knopf. "All defendants will have no practical choice but to settle with CRIA."

Knopf also argued that file sharing doesn't mean an individual is uploading songs with the intention of mass distribution. He continued to say programs like KaZaA allow people to download from each other, and since the Copyright Board has deemed downloading legal in Canada, there is little evidence the 29 John and Jane Does did anything wrong.

Arguments finished Monday. Justice Konrad von Finckenstein is expected to rule by week's end.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...=Entertainment


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indies Head to Texas To-Do
Katie Dean

The annual South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival begins on Wednesday, bringing thousands of music lovers and independent musicians to Austin, Texas, for five days of live music. It's also the biggest confab of artists who aren't afraid of the Web or new technologies and are eager to meet the fans who support them.

There are dozens of music festivals around the country, like the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Chicago Blues Festival and the Strictly Bluegrass Concert in San Francisco. But South by Southwest, or SXSW, has a special following among artists and fans who are interested in shaping the future of the media industry. The bands and artists who appear at SXSW don't have Britney's marketing budget, so they turn to the Net to attract attention and find new fans. In essence, these artists and fans are vanguards.

The festival hosts 1,280 acts on 60 stages in downtown Austin. Over 7,000 musicians, managers, industry and media professionals register for South by Southwest and another 14,000 people buy tickets. A new band takes the stage nearly every hour from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. for five days. Bands come from all ends of the musical spectrum, from alt country to bluegrass, electronic, metal, punk, rock and more.

"Indies used to harangue about their inability for independent labels to get on radio," said Andy Flynn, a panel coordinator for SXSW. "It was perceived as a bigger roadblock than it is these days. Now they can use the Web to reach their listeners."

"I think (file sharing) is absolutely wonderful. It's free publicity," said Keith Shepard, lead guitarist for Pilot Radio, a band out of Katy, Texas, that is returning to SXSW for the second time. "It's done more for the music industry than it has taken away."

Pilot Radio sells most of its CDs at its concerts. Internet sales, however, beat out sales from brick-and-mortar shops, Shepard said. The group is also selling tracks through BuyMusic.com and Audio Lunchbox.

Of course, musicians and fans are more apt to whoop it up than discuss business models.

"It's like a really big party, and I always see bands I've never heard of," said Mark Eitzel, a songwriter and singer for American Music Club, which recently re-formed after a 10-year break and is playing at this year's SXSW. "It's fucking great. There are 20 bands to see at one moment. It's like a candy store. I just want to survive with my liver intact."

Internet CD sales have helped American Music Club partially finance an upcoming album, which will likely be released in August. Though he loves creating and playing music, AMC's Eitzel has mixed feelings about how file sharing is affecting the music industry.

"We're back to the day now where musicians were in the 1920s, where they would never get credit for it and they'll never get paid for it," he said.

The industry is a far cry from the 1960s, Eitzel said, when artists could release four albums in one year and get paid, and when "what musicians said mattered."

"Now, (the music industry) is not about trusting artists or taking risks. I don't see a lot of people buying music to raise consciousness," Eitzel said. "I see people buying Celine Dion and 50 Cent records. People react more to marketing and mediocrity."

But others wholeheartedly embrace technology.

"It's mostly record companies who are frightened, not musicians," said Jamie Cullum, a musician from London who will perform at SXSW. "It makes us work harder and look after our fan base to inspire loyalty." He said real fans would support their favorite artists by buying albums, attending concerts and buying T-shirts. "I don't think there's anything wrong with sharing files."

In addition to music, the festival will host panel discussions on topics like the death of the record store and how to run successful independent record labels.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62694,00.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`Netizens' Go Too Far in Denouncing Impeachment
Byun Duk-kun

The National Election Commission (NEC) and the police on Tuesday vowed to punish Internet users going too far in slandering opposition party lawmakers for voting for the impeachment motion against President Roh Moo- hyun.

``We have secured a number of articles among those posted on the Internet to denounce the impeachment motion that may have violated the election law,’’ a police official was quoted as saying.

The NEC and the police are now trying to trace the original authors of the slanderous articles, according to the official.

The NEC based their decision on the premise that many Internet articles protesting the opposition-led impeachment of the president, such as the list of 193 opposition lawmakers who voted to oust President Roh, may be violating the election law, which prohibits pre- electioneering more than 17 days before an election day.

Still, the election commission and the police are having trouble locating the original writers of such articles, because a large number of Internet users simply copy the original article and then post it elsewhere.

The police said such an act of `reposting’ a slanderous article may also be subject to punishment according to the election law.

The only problem is that there are just too many.

Tens of thousands of people, online and offline, protested the National Assembly’s passage of the nation’s first impeachment motion filed against the president by the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and the minor opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

Opposition lawmakers have been subject to excessive slandering and even death threats by angry citizens and pro-Roh supporters.

Thousands of articles also filled major Internet sites such as Daum, Naver and Yahoo to denounce the opposition party lawmakers and their passage of the impeachment.

The NEC said such articles may also constitute a violation of the election law, as well as the criminal law, because they may be viewed as a blackballing movement against specific lawmakers and candidates in the April 15 National Assembly elections.

Writers of such articles may also be subject to libel suits, because their articles include slanderous accusations against the lawmakers without any proof, according to the police official.

The police also urged the people to use their computers more maturely and wisely.

One of the widespread articles against the opposition lawmakers on the Internet denounces the opposition lawmakers by depicting them as auction items, while providing the complete list of all 193 opposition lawmakers who voted to oust President Roh.

Some of the articles posted on some of the Internet cafes were mired in abusive language, while others were filled with more foul language and threats to ``kill’’ the opposition lawmakers and their leaders.

The entire or part of Internet homepages of opposition party leaders and lawmakers, including those of GNP chairman Choe Byung-yul, GNP floor leader Hong Sa-duk and the MDP chairman Chough Soon-hyung, were shut down shortly after the National Assembly endorsed the motion to impeach the president last Friday, and still remain closed due to thousands of angry netizens posting threat notes and protesting articles.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nati...9080411990.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sony To Deliver Personalized Radio Service To Mobile Phones
AP

Sony Corp. announced what it called the first "personalized radio" service for mobile phones.

Under the still-unnamed music streaming service, subscribers would not own any of the songs but could create a
customized channel to listen to the music they want, storing favorite tunes in personal playlists. Users would also be able to listen to music from a collection of predefined channels.

A "smart personalization" feature could also keep track of the subscriber's music preferences and make song suggestions.

Some mobile phone operators already offer music streaming services, but Sony said it is the first to let consumers tailor the music to their own tastes.

The service, introduced at the CeBIT electronics trade show in Hanover, Germany, will be first available in the second quarter in Finland for TeliaSonera mobile phone customers. Sony said the service will later expand across Europe with other mobile operators.

Sony officials were not immediately available to discuss whether the service would eventually be introduced in the United States or elsewhere.

Prices for the service were not disclosed.
http://www.alwayson-network.com/comm...d=3333_0_7_0_C

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MP3 Phone Patent Dispute Deepens
Kim Tae-gyu

The copyright row over MP3 phones is showing no signs of letting up as cell phone makers and the music industry continue to debate the legality of playing music files through handsets.

LG Electronics, the world's fifth-largest cell phone maker, last week started selling its LP3000 model, an MP3 phone that can save 16 music files at a time.

The local music industry, which has suffered setbacks of late due to piracy mainly in the form of song swapping over the Internet, responded by expressing strong concerns at free music files being played on the phones.

The Korea Association of Phonogram Producers (KAPP) claimed the rollout is against copyright law and said it will seek to block sales of the LP3000.

The organization of the music producers also stopped providing any phonograms to the LG-made MP3 phones starting March 12.

LG Electronics countered that it has incorporated digital rights management (DRM), solutions devised to prevent illegal play of music files, into the LP3000 phones.

However, the KAPP claimed that already back-door programs enabling free play of music files via the LP3000 are available on the Internet.

``It is LG's strategy to help its sister company LG Telecom, the smallest mobile operator, to gain ground in the local market,'' a KAPP official said.

The government stepped in to settle the dispute but mediation efforts headed by related ministers fell apart without tangible outcomes on March 12.

The Ministry of Information and Communication brought together cell phone makers and music industry officials again on Wednesday along with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

However, LG and the music industry failed to find middle ground regarding the already-sold phones, and disputes are likely to expand as other MP3 phones hit the market.

Following LG, the world's third-biggest cell phone maker Samsung Electronics also plans to release a similar phone within this month.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech...9131911810.htm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EU Plans Safer Net For Children
BBC

European Union officials are proposing to spend more than £30m to try to make the internet safer for children.

The four-year plan has been put forward by the European Commission.

The program, which needs to be approved by the EU governments comes at a time of growing concern over the potential dangers to children online.

"Children should have the right to use the internet freely, to chat, to learn or to play games," said Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen.

"But to move freely online, children must be protected from risks of being exploited or cheated by adults."

United front

The commission said there was a disturbing gap between what children did online and what their parents thought they were doing.

It said that several surveys had shown that European parents were seriously underestimating their children's daily exposure to harmful content and dangerous situations online.

A recent study by Cyberspace Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire found that children were still arranging face-to-face meetings with people they talk to online despite warnings about the dangers of internet chatrooms.

And the study showed that 60% of children did not know that people they chat to online might not be who they say they are.

To counter the problem, the commission urged EU states to join forces and raise awareness about harmful content online.

It proposed to fund development of effective net filters and promote their use among parents to prevent pornographic material reaching children.

The commission also suggested the EU pay for telephone hotlines so that people could report suspect sites targeted at children.

The 50m euro Safer Internet plus programme would launch next year and run until 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3506478.stm


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apple's iTunes Sales Hit 50 Million
Ina Fried

Apple Computer said Monday that it has sold 50 million songs through its iTunes Music Store, with about 2.5 million songs being downloaded each week.

Apple said the sales figure excludes the number of songs downloaded through a promotion with Pepsi, in which 100 million songs are being given away. It has been reported that the specially marked Pepsi bottles that contain iTunes codes have been slow to reach store shelves in some areas. Customers have also found a way to determine which bottles are winners, by tilting the bottles at a particular angle.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a goal of distributing 100 million songs by April--including those given away in the Pepsi promotion--when the company expanded the iTunes store in October to work with Windows-based computers. Apple reiterated the goal in December, when it announced that it had sold 25 million songs by that point.

In its announcement Monday, Apple did note that iTunes users are now downloading 2.5 million songs per week, which means that the company is now selling songs at a rate of 130 million per year.

"With over 50 million songs already downloaded and an additional 2.5 million songs being downloaded every week, it's increasingly difficult to imagine others ever catching up with iTunes," Jobs said in a statement.

In an interview Monday, Apple Vice President Rob Schoeben focused on the fact that Apple continues to hold a substantial lead in the music download market, despite the increased competition.

"People were predicting we were going to be in a horse race against all these scary competitors," Schoeben said. "This doesn't feel like a horse race. From our perspective, we are the dominant leader in that market."

Apple also noted that the rate of sales is increasing, now at about 2.5 million songs per week, up from a rate of 1.5 million downloads per week in December. The company was selling about 500,000 songs per week in September, when the service was still Mac-only.

As for the goal, Schoeben said it was hard for Apple to know the pace at which the market would develop and that the company has had to learn through experience about how quickly (and how many) songs would be redeemed through a promotion like the one with Pepsi. He declined to say how many songs have been redeemed from the promotion.

Despite being the leader in online music stores, Apple does face increasing competition from existing stores such as Roxio's Napster and MusicMatch, as well as a host of others looking to join the fray, including Microsoft and Virgin.

Meanwhile, Roxio said Monday that strong demand for Napster was leading the company to raise its sales forecast. The company said it now expects revenue for its Napster division to increase to about $5.5 million for the three months ending March 31. That compares with $3.6 million in the preceding quarter.

In February, Roxio said it had sold 5 million downloads, a fraction of Apple's tally.

Schoeben noted that Napster is finding a profitable niche in selling music subscriptions but that it's not grabbing a significant share of the download market.

"Subscriptions are a place they can hide and get a comfortable niche," he said. "Their ability to sell music has not borne out."
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5173115.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

European Regulators Back Proposed Microsoft Ruling
Paul Meller

European antitrust regulators are united behind Mario Monti, their top antitrust official, on his proposed finding that Microsoft has abused its dominant position in the software market, the European Commission said Monday.

Barring an 11th-hour settlement, the commission, the year-round administrative arm of the European Union, will rule as soon as March 24 that Microsoft is an abusive monopolist and will order the company to change the way it sells its software in its 15 member nations.

The essential elements of the proposal, though officially secret, have been widely leaked in the last two weeks. The commission is expected to demand that Microsoft sell two versions of its Windows operating system to personal computer makers, one with the Media Player function embedded as it is now and the other with Media Player stripped out.

It is also expected to order the company to disclose enough Windows code to rivals so they can design software that works smoothly with Windows. That provision is intended to restore competition in the market for server software. Servers link personal computers into networks.

Competition lawyers in Brussels speculate that Microsoft may agree to settle only the part of the case that concerns interoperability, while choosing to appeal a ruling against the bundling of Media Player to the European courts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/16/bu...ss/16soft.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Controversy over Project Gutenberg 2
posted by Jonathan

David Rothman writes in TeleRead of a new web venture called Project Gutenberg 2, offering access to ebooks in Adobe format on a paid membership basis. Some Gutenberg volunteers are concerned about the use of the PG name in such a context. "Over the weekend a Project Gutenberg volunteer list was buzzing with all kinds of questions for PG founder Michael Hart, who personally owns the Project Gutenberg trademark." For Rothman and others, the news raises questions about PG's ongoing commitment to the ideals of free distribution and nonproprietary formats.
http://www.lisnews.com/article.pl?sid=04/03/16/1018212


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lessig: IP Protection A Business, Not Cultural, Battleground
Chris Preimesberger

Stanford University law professor, author, and Creative Commons chairman Lawrence Lessig Tuesday sharpened the definition of the ongoing legal struggle to satisfy both proprietary and open source advocates through equitable intellectual property regulations. "Contrary to what many people see as a cultural war between conservative business types and liberal independents, this is not a 'commerce versus anything' conflict. It's about powerful (business) interests and if they can stop new innovators," Lessig said.

Lessig, one of the most outspoken and articulate scholars in the legalities of open source and intellectual property, was the keynote speaker on the opening day of the Genus Group's first Open Source Business Conference at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. The conference, which concludes Wednesday and was organized by Novell's Matt Asay, is well attended and stocked with some of the most knowledgeable experts in the business of open source software.

Lessig, who spoke on "The Creator's Dilemma: Open Source, Open Society, Open Innovation," noted that U.S. intellectual property and copyright laws were first recorded in the 19th century, and that even rules written in the late 20th century are already out of step with the needs of today's connected business world. "These laws require permission up front to use others' ideas for inspiration. Opportunities are being threatened by the mix and remix of culture," Lessig said.

Technology finds that it must fit itself to conform to last century's laws, rather than the laws fitting themselves to the technology, he said.

"These laws have become an insane and unintended burden on creators, because nobody had conceived of the Internet at the time, which has changed everything," he said. "Nobody had any idea of the new business opportunities and new businesses that were to be created by the Internet. This is why we need real reform now in intellectual property protection. Unfortunately, I don't see anybody taking the lead in Washington to do anything about this."
http://trends.newsforge.com/trends/0...id=137&tid=147


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toyota Joins Japan's Robot Technology Race With Trumpet-Playing Humanoid



AFP Photo


TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's top carmaker Toyota unveiled a trumpet-playing robot -- its first humanoid machine -- in a bid to catch up with robot technology frontrunners such as Honda and Sony.

Toyota Motor Corp. (news - web sites) showed off its walking and rolling virtuoso robots to the media at a Tokyo hotel as it announced the outline of its robot development project.

The 120-centimeter (48-inch) tall robot played "When you wish upon a star" with a trumpet as a presenter held a microphone up to the instrument, swaying naturally to the rhythm of the famous song from the Disney cartoon film Pinocchio.

The robot, with what appeared to be an artificial green leaf stuck behind its left 'ear', bowed to the audience and waved its arms to respond to applause following the brief performance.

The 35 kilogram (77 pound) as yet unnamed robot has artificial lips which can alter their position as subtly as human lips as air is forced through them, enabling it to play a trumpet as it presses the stops with its hands.

"We are determined to drive forward the Toyota Partner Robot project by putting together what we have cultivated in automotive development and production," Toyota president Fujio Cho told the news conference.

"I'm confident that this will be a symbol of Toyota Group's technology," Cho said.

Toyota plans to form a "robot band" to play music at the 2005 World Exposition at the carmaker's base in Aichi, central Japan, the president said.

Among its partners in the project are Japanese computer giant NEC Corp. and micro-motor maker Yasukawa Electric Corp., a Toyota official said, adding the company has no concrete plans to commercialise the project.

Toyota started humanoid robot development two and a half years ago, Cho said without mentioning costs.

The robot development race is highly competitive in Japan, the world's leader in the technology.

In 2000, its rival Honda Motor Co. (news - web sites) Ltd. unveiled ASIMO, the world's first two-legged walking robot, and Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). revealed its QRIO, the world's first jogging robot, in December.

Earlier this week QRIO appeared for a photo opportunity conducting the Tokyo Phiharmonic Orchestra as it performed part of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...5417&printer=1


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disposable Computer
W. David Gardner

A disposable paperboard computer has been developed and is already in use in Sweden. Developed by Cypak AB, the paperboard computer can collect, process, and exchange several pages of encrypted data, the company says.

“Initially, it will be used in industrial-specific applications as an enhanced and secure RFID device,” said Cypak marketing director Strina Ehrensvard in an email. “Today, in pharmaceutical and courier packaging as a data-collection device; tomorrow maybe for interactive books, lotteries, passports, and voting cards.”

With just 32 Kbytes of memory, the paperboard computer's functionality is somewhat limited at present, but the firm believes its future will be broad. Cypak has entered into an agreement in the U.S. with MeadWestvaco Healthcare Packaging, which has marketing rights to the product and technology in the Americas.

Ehrensvard said the device is currently in use in a trial sponsored by a Swedish university involving compliance monitoring of pharmaceutical packaging. The trial tracks when a medicine tablet has been taken out of a package; it is then placed on a Cypak scanner connected to a PC on which the information can be viewed and stored. Ehrensvard said the paperboard computer is being considered in another healthcare application, as well: doctors would use it to help authenticate the administration of pharmaceuticals.

The Cypak product utilizes RFID technology that is based on printable sensors and electronic modules. The components are integrated on a variety of products, ranging from packaging and plastic cards to adhesives. In healthcare applications, Cypak says the paperboard computer time-stamps medicine dosages, which can be integrated with a patient's electronic diary. It can deliver sound reminders, too.

Cypak has also developed a companion device--a smart card with an integrated numerical keypad. The firm expects this to be used initially in applications demanding high security. By entering a unique PIN on a card, a user can connect to the Internet and exchange data. Cypak says the card's encryption can't be copied or broken, enabling it to deliver “military-class security.”

“The paperboard computer concept and the PIN-on-Card are the same core technology--components integrated in different products,” Ehrensvard said. “They exchange information to a PC with the same reader.”

Cypak offers the components on an OEM basis for about $1 each. The firm added that OEM components for its readers are available for approximately the same price in large volumes.

The firm has developed a tamper-proof package technology with the Swedish Postal Service. Called SecurePak, the packaging technology stores sender and receiver relevant data and alerts receivers of any possible package tampering before the package is opened.

Cypak will demo the products at the CeBIT 2004 exposition, in Hannover, Germany, later this month.
http://www.quickdesigns.nl/cgi-bin/p...B20040304S0005


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tempest in a trojan

Experts Downplay Phatbot Danger
Paul Roberts

Security experts downplayed the danger of a Trojan horse program named Phatbot that uses peer to peer (P-to-P) technology to create a network of infected zombies for carrying out attacks or spreading malicious code.

Antivirus experts at two security companies said that Phatbot was a low level threat, one day after a Washington Post report warned of hundreds of thousands of infections from the program and cited an alert issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"I think there are a lot of people getting very excited about something that's not very important," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos PLC.

The DHS did not respond to a request for comment on Phatbot.

Trojan horse is a term used to describe malicious computer programs that hide inside other, benign software or run surreptitiously on a computer. Trojans can give remote attackers access to the machines on which they run or receive and respond to remotely issued commands.

Phatbot spreads by infecting computers running vulnerable versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Phatbot can spot machines with a number of high profile Windows holes, including the DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) vulnerability that spawned the Blaster worm. It can also find and infect machines that have an open "back door" created by the MyDoom worm, according to managed security services company Lurhq Corp.

When installed on infected machines, the Phatbot Trojan joins a P-to-P network similar to Kazaa or Gnutella. The network uses a specially developed communications protocol that allows infected computers to identify and communicate with each other, transmit commands and share infected files, said Joe Stewart, a senior security researcher at Lurhq.

The Phatbot software supports a long list of commands that can be used by remote attackers to cause infected machines to launch a denial of service attack, scan the Internet for vulnerable Windows computers to infect or update their Phatbot software. Phatbot-infected systems find each other using the same servers that clients running the Gnutella P-to-P software use, but use a different communications protocol and listen on a different communications port, which keeps them separate from the Gnutella clients, he said.

The remote control aspect of Phatbot makes it very similar to so-called "IRC bots," that use Internet Relay Chat software and servers to communicate, he said. However, unlike IRC bots, the Phatbot software does not rely on IRC servers to communicate with each other and coordinate their efforts, Stewart said.

"It gives [the Phatbot authors] the ability to be a little bit more discreet, because they don't have to connect to an IRC server where an administrator could notice and shut down their channel," he said.

In fact, Phatbot is just the latest generation of a long line of IRC bots known as "Agobot," or "Gaobot," Sophos and Lurhq said. "We've seen hundreds of versions of [Agobot] over the past few weeks," Cluley said, noting that Sophos, which assigns a letter to each new variant, recently identified Agobot "FG."

"That means we've been around the alphabet five times!" he said.

The Trojans, including P-to-P Trojans like Phatbot, are a nuisance and a threat to users running vulnerable versions of Windows, but are not a new threat, Cluley and Stewart agreed.

Contrary to reports of hundreds of thousands of infected hosts, Sophos has received only two or three reports from customers about Phatbot infections. Stewart said that he has joined the Phatbot network using an infected host and saw "around 1,000" infected hosts on the network in one hour. "It really wasn't a big deal. I'm surprised there's been so much attention to it," he said.

Regular operating system patching, antivirus updates and firewall software will prevent infections from Phatbot and similar threats, Cluley and Stewart said.
http://www.computerworld.com/securit...,91365,00.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oink!!

Keyboards 'Dirtier Than Toilets'
AFP

Keyboards, computer mice and telephone dials are more infested with microbes than toilet seats, according to United States researchers.

The University of Arizona study recommends that office workstations be regularly disinfected since they can on average contain 400 times as many germs as a toilet seat.

The study by Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist, found that telephones harboured up to 3,894 germs per square centimetre, keyboards 511 and computer mice 260.

The average office contains 3,249 germs per square centimetre.

"Desks are really bacteria cafeterias," he said.

"They are breakfast bars, lunch tables and everything else, as we spend more hours at the office.

"When someone is infected with a cold or flu bug, the surfaces they touch during the day become germ transfer points because some cold and flu viruses can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours - an office can become an incubator."

US health officials last month warned about the dissemination of germs during the flu season.

Officials reminded Americans to cover their nose and mouth while sneezing, wash their hands regularly and use disinfectant swabs to clean their office desks.
http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common...s/s1064322.htm
















Until next week,

- js.














~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Current Week In Review





Recent WiRs -

March 13th, March 6th, February 28th, February 21st, February 14th

Jack Spratt's Week In Review is published every Friday. Please submit letters, articles, and press releases in plain text English to jackspratts (at) lycos (dot) com. Include contact info. Submission deadlines are Wednesdays @ 1700 UTC.