The newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

IBM: Linux can take on the world
IBM, having embraced Linux, now is on a mission to convince others that the operating system is worthy of real-world use. To further its cause, IBM put on display at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo here four big-name Linux customers -- clothing retailer L.L. Bean, digital animation studio Pixar, department store chain Boscov's and financial services giant Salomon Smith Barney. "Linux readiness is far ahead of the world's perception of it," said Steve Solazzo, vice president of Linux operations at IBM.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-826983.html

Judge raises eyebrows on MS settlement
A federal judge has asked Microsoft and the Justice Department to file a joint status report on their proposed settlement and, in an unusual move, has asked if they're planning any changes to the settlement in response to public comments. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's order late Wednesday came two days after 60 days of public comment on the settlement ended. The Justice Department expected that thousands of comments would pour in, partly because of canvassing on the part of Microsoft through its Freedom to Innovate initiative and because of Microsoft competitors working through trade groups.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-827074.html

MusicMatch tunes in to Mac users
MusicMatch, which makes programs for creating and organizing digital music, has launched one of the first music subscription services for Macintosh computers. The San Diego, Calif.-based company said Wednesday that people using Mac OS 8.6 or higher can sign up for the $4.95 per month service, dubbed MusicMatch Radio MX, and receive access to ad-free streams of music. The service lets members create personal stations based on artists and listen to programmed stations.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-827387.html

Confab to focus on new face of security
Politicians, academics and technology executives will focus on biometrics and technology's role in homeland security during a Feb. 12 congressional briefing in Washington. Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., and Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Mike Doyle, D-Penn., and Melissa Hart, R-Penn., are co-sponsoring the afternoon briefing, one of several high-profile meetings about the merits and potential privacy concerns of face-recognition technology following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-827384.html

Will latest anti-spam plan make a dent?
Privacy seal group Truste on Thursday announced the launch of a new service to help police unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam. The nonprofit group has partnered with privacy consulting and technology company ePrivacy Group to introduce a certification and seal program for commercial e-mail, much like its Web site seal program. Under the new plan, e-mail sent by volunteer "trusted sender-certified" companies will contain a seal that signifies the message is compliant with Truste's privacy rules.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-826859.html

AOL shuts out users in battle over IM
People using the popular Trillian software may lose access to part of AOL Time Warner's instant messaging system. Firing another salvo in the battle over instant messaging, America Online is blocking people using the Trillian interface from linking to its AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) system. Trillian, which allows people to access multiple instant messaging programs from one screen, has attracted nearly a million people who are hoping to streamline their use of incompatible systems, including AOL's AIM and ICQ, Yahoo's Messenger and Microsoft's MSN Messenger.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-826707.html

Sonicblue to combine DVR, DVD player
Consumer electronics maker Sonicblue is hoping to fast-forward its digital video recorder strategy by adding DVD playback to its machines and creating a new low-cost lineup. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company announced the additions to its ReplayTV digital video recorders (DVRs) on Thursday. DVRs are similar to VCRs. But instead of recording TV shows to tape, DVRs store them on a hard drive. The devices can also pause live TV shows.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-827418.html

Microsoft to appoint security chief
Microsoft plans to appoint a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney to its top security position, company sources said Thursday. Scott Charney, currently the principal for digital risk management and forensics at PricewaterhouseCoopers, will become chief security strategist on April 1, overseeing the software giant's internal and product security policies. Microsoft refused to comment, as did Charney.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-827421.html?tag=cd_mh

Hewlett: Big computer marriages fail
Walter Hewlett brandished more weapons in his fight against Hewlett-Packard's proposed $25 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Wednesday with a report titled "Large Computing Mergers Have Consistently Failed." In the ongoing battle between the progeny of HP's founders and the current company, Hewlett, son of co-founder William Hewlett, has already launched an anti-merger Web site; HP has retaliated with its own pro-merger site.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-827006.html?tag=cd_mh

Cube mates cranky over cell phone calls
Late to work? Haven't bathed for a few days? Don't sweat it, as mobile phone rings have been voted the top workplace annoyance, according to a recent survey. With workers crammed into cardboard-segregated workstations and electronic communications ubiquitous, it's hard to find respite from ring tones in the office. A recent survey of 6,000 people by recruitment company TMP Worldwide found that irritating mobile phone rings are the top workplace nuisance, followed by malfunctioning equipment such as photocopiers, fax machines and printers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-826173.html?tag=cd_mh

Ford loses hyperlinking dispute
Hyperlinks should be excluded from domain name disputes, a U.S. judge said this week as Ford Motor lost its battle to stop the owner of an offensive Web address from linking to its site. Judge Robert Cleland of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan rejected claims that the automaker's trademark was being violated by a hyperlink that pointed the domain name F***edGeneralMotors.com at Ford's home page.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-827182.html?tag=cd_mh

DVD hacker to keep challenging ruling
Eric Corley, the central figure in the "DVD hacker" case who was barred by a court from posting online how to make copies of DVDs, vowed Wednesday to keep fighting the copyright law the ruling was based on, and which he says oppresses more and more people each day. "We have every intention of continuing to challenge this ruling because this is such a vital issue," Corley said. Corley's lawyers on Jan. 14 requested a rehearing by the full 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Court in New York after a three-judge panel ruled in November that Corley's publishing of the DVD descrambling software on his 2600 magazine Web site was not protected by free speech provisions.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-826710.html?tag=cd_mh

Judge drops Napster bombshell
Marilyn Hall Patel, the district court judge in the Napster case, has been having some very subversive thoughts recently, we learn from case transcripts unsealed this week. On January 16, the New York Times reports, Patel questioned if the record companies copyright extended to digital distribution of music, and granted Napster leave to explore whether the labels were colluding to prevent it licensing music for online distribution
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23906.html

BadTrans-B tops virus charts
BadTrans-B remains, two months after it was first released, the most infectious virus on the Internet. The mass-mailing email worm heads the monthly chart of virus reports compiled by antivirus vendor Sophos and accounts for 61.1 per cent of calls to its support centre this month. It was followed by MyParty-A (4.3 per cent), the short-lived mass mailing virus that caused flak earlier this week, and the Magistr-B (3.6 per cent).
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/56/23903.html

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