The Newspaper Shop -- Monday edition

[walktalker]

Ahaa !! Gotcha to read

MS warns of 'critical' flaws
Microsoft has released patches for two security holes in its Internet software that could allow hackers to read files off a user's computer or information in Web pages that they visit. The company also patched server glitches that could let attackers crash Web servers or take over computer networks attached to Microsoft Web servers. Three of the four alerts were classified by Microsoft as 'critical.'
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-844318.html

IBM neutral on Passport vs. Liberty
IBM is not going to choose between Sun and Microsoft's authentication technologies, says the company's e-business director. While the two companies wrangle, Big Blue's increasing alliances with Microsoft in the area of Web services are not a final decision, according to Bob Sutor, IBM's e-business director. "We're still neutral re: Passport and Liberty," Sutor told ZDNet UK. The Liberty Alliance is a group initially set up by Sun to encourage a standard method for computer users to identify themselves on the Internet, through passwords or authentication technology.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-844610.html

CIA bankrolls Web search profiles
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has invested in a software company that aims to help businesses manage data by searching documents and the Internet more intelligently. Stratify, founded by Indian-born technology experts in the United States, says its software ferrets out relevant documents by building up a profile of the user. For agents of the CIA, such software could be of use in tracking down vital information or studying patterns.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-844566.html

IBM's 210GHz transistors pump up chips
IBM will announce Monday that the fastest silicon transistors ever made are ready to appear on chips designed to speed up computer networks. The company's Semiconductor Division has combined many of its so-called 210GHz transistors into functioning circuits running at 110GHz or faster -- an important milestone toward commercial use. At the same time, the transistors hold the promise of greater energy efficiency in systems that incorporate them.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-844013.html

Talking high-tech trash
An international array of environmental groups is charging computer makers and their consumers, along with the United States government, with using Asian nations as a dumping ground for hazardous electronic waste. A report released Monday, Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia, says that "huge quantities" of so-called e-waste are being exported to China, Pakistan and India, where their subsequent handling presents a significant threat to human and environmental health.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-11-844313.html

Microsoft goodwill messenger steps down
Linda Stone, Microsoft's "ambassador" to Silicon Valley, is leaving the company less than two years after assuming the role of introducing the world to a kinder, gentler software titan. Stone's departure, revealed in an e-mail Sunday sent by CEO Steve Ballmer to Microsoft employees, comes at a critical juncture for the company as it prepares for a two-front showdown in its landmark antitrust trial.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-844172.html

Voyeurdorm sees major court win
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not hear a case involving an attempt to shut down an adult Web site by the city of Tampa, Fla. The city had tried to shut down exhibitionist site Voyeurdorm.com, which provides 24-hour live Webcasts of a residence full of women while they "study, work out, bathe and live the lives of college co-eds." The city said the Tampa residence violated city zoning ordinances regulating the location of sexually oriented businesses.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-844436.html

BEA touts 'Visual Basic for Java'
BEA Systems is taking a page out of Microsoft's playbook with its latest Java tools strategy. In a bid to widen its lead in the e-business software market, BEA is courting software developers with a new Java-based programming tool that company executives have dubbed a "Visual Basic for Java." Visual Basic is Microsoft's visual-oriented programming tool that revolutionized Windows development in 1991 because of its ease of use: Instead of writing all the software code by hand, developers dragged and dropped pre-built software code on their computer screens to build applications.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-844053.html

Ready for photos on your phone?
Sprint thinks its customers are ready to get the picture. The wireless telephone service provider plans to introduce a service later this year that will let people e-mail photographs or other types of images from their cell phones, sources said Monday. Sprint announced Monday that it had hired Santa Cruz, Calif.-based LightSurf Technologies to help run the service.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-844608.html

Composers play with game tunes
A new Web site is hoping to improve the quality of video game soundtracks by inviting fans to submit their own renditions of classics such as the theme to "Super Mario Bros." Launched last week, VGMix.com gives people a new venue to download and upload video game music arrangements. The site features a database of tunes from today's video games and from classics such as "Super Mario Bros.," Atari's "BallBlazer" and "Final Fantasy." The site encourages composers to post and trade music, and provides a section where people can offer critiques and discuss video game music.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-844684.html

Channel change: Global Sports eyes TV
Global Sports is getting too big for just games; now the company wants to make it big in television. The company, which made a name for itself building Web sites for traditional sporting goods stores, said Monday that a new division it launched will build e-commerce sites for television stations and cable channels. The King of Prussia, Pa.-based company said its new division, which will offer fulfillment, customer service and direct-marketing services, has already penned deals with Comedy Central, PAX TV, The Golf Channel and TV Land.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-844568.html

Terra Lycos joins paid search ranks
Terra Lycos on Monday became the latest Internet company to charge Web site owners for promoting their sites on its Internet search engines. The move comes as Internet companies such as Madrid-based Terra Lycos move toward paid search models to try to offset the sharp downturn in advertising spending. For a fee, Lycos will let Web site owners submit their sites for guaranteed inclusion in the Lycos Web index within 48 hours, beginning Monday. Lycos is the Waltham, Mass.-based search engine part of the Spanish Internet media giant.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-844266.html

MSN Music gets a makeover
Microsoft has redesigned its MSN Music site, adding a feature that allows certain music files to be downloaded and shared. The downloads section features songs being offered on a promotional basis that are only usable as long as the promotion is valid. MSN will also offer a subscription service where people can buy music through streaming media or by download. The site features links to Pressplay, an online subscription music service jointly owned by Sony and Vivendi Universal.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-844097.html

VoiceStream heeds text-messaging call
VoiceStream Wireless has become the third U.S. carrier this year that plans to let subscribers send text messages to cell phones supported by rival companies, sources said Monday. The first was AT&T Wireless, which announced the service late January. Cingular Wireless soon followed suit. Text messages sent over wireless networks to cell phones are similar to e-mail, but are generally limited to 150 characters and can't support attachments. In general, a wireless subscriber can receive a text message for free, but it costs between 4 cents and 10 cents to send a message.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-843900.html

Listen.com signs fourth label deal
Online music company Listen.com has won permission to include music from Warner Music Group in its new subscription service. The deal with the AOL Time Warner-owned record company temporarily gives Listen.com access to more music than its major label-backed rivals, MusicNet and Pressplay. All three are competing for a share of the nascent music subscription market. As yet, Listen.com hasn't made considerable strides in securing distributors for its service, having signed up only Internet service provider Speakeasy.net among its corporate customers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-843902.html?tag=cd_mh

Adobe updates Web, animation software
Adobe Systems on Monday will release new versions of its GoLive Web authoring application and LiveMotion animation software. One of the main selling points for the new version of GoLive is that it allows designers to quickly optimize content for a variety of formats, including handheld computers and mobile phones. GoLive and LiveMotion also integrate with other Adobe products, including Photoshop, the company's market-leading image-editing application.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-843986.html?tag=cd_mh

Eh. It's not over yet