The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

Hello, friends !
Wedneysday edition was delayed because, well, there's no Microsoft IE available that runs under Linux. So back to the old Windows NT.

Microsoft wants a few good drivers
Microsoft wants bad drivers off the Windows highway. With the next version of its consumer Windows operating system, Microsoft is trying to make computers less daunting and prone to crashes. To reach that goal, Microsoft not only needs to clean up its own code, but also all the third-party drivers, little bits of software that help the system communicate with peripherals and other add-ons.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...080326,00.html

Metallica complains - Napster's failing
Heavy metal band Metallica has complained to the U.S. District Court in San Francisco that Napster has failed to block access to its music as ordered under the court's injunction, the band's lawyer said on Wednesday. <I>Poor, poor Metallica </I>
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...702289,00.html

Windows Media 8 shrinks the streams
Microsoft released Windows Media version 8 Wednesday, a compression technology that lets companies encode high-quality audio and video into smaller packages. Promising 30 percent improved quality, Windows Media 8 lets content providers present near-DVD quality film at a bit rate as low as 500 kilobits, and near-CD quality audio at a bit rate as low as 48 kilobits, the company said.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...080304,00.html

Free hardware design library proposed
A cadre of hardware developers is trying to bring concepts from the open-source software world to the hardware business. Engineers around the world, connected via the Internet, are seeking to develop a vast library of freely available hardware designs, similar to how Linux developers and other open-source programmers share intellectual property.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...080214,00.html

Who will serve as Napster police?
Facing the prospect of a post-Napster world, tension is starting to build between copyright holders and Internet service providers over who should police other file-swapping networks that are poised to step in as replacements.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...080218,00.html

Napster crawls through the loopholes
Is Napster in contempt of court? More than two weeks have passed since U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel issued her modified ruling on the injunction in the RIAA v. Napster lawsuit. Instead, she ordered to allow Napster to continue operation if they remove from their peer-to-peer exchange all songs on a list compiled by the plaintiff recording companies. Enter Aimster, Pig Latin, alternate spellings and a handful of other encoders and schemes, and it appears that Judge Patel's order has not only had little effect on Napster's operations, but may have created a monster.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/co...700952,00.html

Can your PC run Windows XP?
PC enthusiasts looking to grab an early copy of Windows XP may be in for a big surprise: Many will need more computing horsepower to run the operating system. Microsoft on Monday released the second test version of the new version of Windows, also launching a preview version for the public. But those spending $19.95 for the preview may be forced to buy additional memory or upgrade their processor to run the software.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...080226,00.html

Sales of MP3 players expected to boogie
The market for digital-audio players is booming, according to a new study. Market researcher IDC's study forecasts that worldwide shipments of digital-audio players will grow from 3.3 million last year to 26 million in 2005. The bulk of these shipments will take place in the United States. IDC expects that U.S. shipments will grow from 2.8 million in 2000 to 18 million in 2005.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Supreme Court weighs copyright question
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled at least some support for a group of freelance journalists who want compensation from publishers for electronic versions of stories that originally appeared in print. Several justices questioned contentions by the New York Times Co. and other companies that an electronic article is part of a revised version of a print publication--something allowed under the U.S. Copyright Act without specific author permission.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Lawmakers voice spam concerns
U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday that they have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to immediately look into corporate practices of sending spam to consumers.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Napster pushed to step up efforts
Napster's efforts to filter copyrighted music from its file-swapping network have failed, and the company must modernize its screening system or transform its trading system altogether, record companies told a federal court Tuesday.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,42677,00.html

Feds turn up heat on Net movie piracy
Federal investigators have nabbed a Washington state woman suspected of selling pirated movies and games on the Web. Jillann Reeves, 34, of Aberdeen, Wash., could face five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted. Reeves has been charged with criminal copyright violations in connection with selling and distributing pirated software.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Bluetooth demonstration flops
It was meant to be a crowning moment for a long-promised technology designed to create a wireless link among devices around the home or office. But instead, the Bluetooth demonstration at the world's biggest computer and electronics show turned into an embarrassing flop when 100 transmitters equipped with the short-range radio technology failed to transform a convention hall into a wireless data network for visitors with handheld computers.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Oscar Goes to ... Duke Nukem?
Gaming isn't just for, well, gaming anymore. Now more than ever, video games are leaving the confines of the PC and game consoles and winding up on the big screen. Last week, Duke Nukem joined its brethren as the latest video game to be headed for the big screen when Dimension Film green-lighted the project. Duke will follow on the footsteps of Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy, successful gaming franchises that each have a movie premiering this year.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42666,00.html

Congress Again Cool to Napster
Napster shouldn't expect any help from Congress anytime soon. The chairman of the House Judiciary committee, which oversees copyright law, said Wednesday that any legislation that could help the increasingly embattled firm will wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,42702,00.html

Saving that up, stay tuned

[Dawn]

Hi newsman!!!! I was wondering where you were this morning.

Thanks for the paper!

[greatdj1]

Walker!

Great Paper! Check your PM

[walktalker]

I was just around the corner, as usual, twodogspeople

Bush Budget Would Hurt Research
A government grant that funds high-risk, but big-payoff, technology research will be suspended if President Bush's budget is approved. The Advanced Technology Program was instituted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to fund projects that companies couldn't afford on their own, and would be too risky to venture capitalists.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,42696,00.html

What Is Art If Not Provocative?
The venerable Ars Electronica digital arts festival, buffeted by criticism last year for its exploration of cutting-edge science topics, will shift its main focus back to art and artists for this fall's gathering. The theme this year: "Takeover -- Who's doing the art of tomorrow?"
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42607,00.html

How Secure Is Digital Hospital?
Not content to merely make healthcare history with its all-digital, completely automated hospital, HealthSouth also hopes the Alabama facility it will build is going to encourage all medical institutions to improve patient care by using cutting-edge technology.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,42656,00.html

Microsoft storm warning
Within a few years the advent of the desktop computer meant those guys were on their way out. Personal computing was a fine thing in its own right -- but I've always thought that it won a lot of converts among people who'd just had enough of the Control Room guys and wanted a little revenge. Well, the Control Room is back -- in the guise of Microsoft's new HailStorm initiative.
http://salon.com/tech/col/rose/2001/...orm/index.html

Market For 'Intelligent Appliances' May Be Ripe
More than 230 companies are battling for a piece of market share of what might be the next hot technology product - the "Intelligent Appliance." According to a new study from brokerage firm Bear Stearns, the future of Intelligent Appliances, or iAppliances, is bright.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163795.html

Net Usage Tracker Goes After Rivals
Having just settled a patent lawsuit with PC Data, Internet measurement company Jupiter Media Metrix has set the lawyers on rivals NetRatings Inc. and NetValue. Jupiter Media Metrix alleges NetRatings and NetValue use measurement techniques that infringes on computer usage tracking technology it has patented.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163794.html

Napster's Million Download March
With rare exceptions, congressional hearings are staid affairs, populated by septuagenarian legislators in bad suits and witnesses who dutifully recite their prepared statements. In other words, they're decidedly not-exciting places to spend your morning. Napster hopes to change all that. (from the unpublished yesterday's edition)
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/news.php3?id=03282001b

First ‘Napster-proof’ CD set to burn
If all goes as planned, Charley Pride will make music history in April. After selling more than 70 million records, Pride — one of the last great figures from the pre-Garth, twang-box radio glory days of country music — is set to release America’s first copy-protected compact disk. A tribute to singer Jim Reeves, who died in a plane crash in 1964, Pride’s CD will incorporate technology that, in theory, will stop listeners from ripping its tracks into MP3s. If it works — a hotly disputed question — copy protection will change the terms of the battle over online music.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/news.php3?id=03272001b
Feedback from people: http://www.salon.com/tech/letters/20...cds/index.html

RealNetworks pays $20M for baseball audio rights
RealNetworks has a crackerjack plan to pump up its sagging bottom line: take America out to the ballgame. The digital media software and services company announced its second professional sports broadcasting deal in three months this morning, saying it will add audio broadcasts of Major League Baseball games to its GoldPass Web subscription service and become the exclusive streaming technology provider for Major League Baseball's own audio webcasting service.
http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/digi...y?id=3ac0f4827

Microsoft Takes Aim at MP3 and RealNetworks With Its New Media Format
Although many companies have tried to pioneer an audio format to rival good ol' MP3, the Web's de facto standard, none have dislodged it from popularity. But now Microsoft is renewing its quest to become the media delivery system of choice with the Windows Media Audio and Video 8 format.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?arti...27216&pod_id=9

Saving that up, hold on

[walktalker]

Watch a hacker work the system
Claims of six figure "salaries" earned without ever leaving the bedroom. A hearty supply of "free" computer hardware and a never-ending e-mail inbox full of victims. Credit card accounts "phished" from fake porn sites, or clever e-mails promising "You’ve got Pictures" that ask for AOL user names and passwords. What do computer criminals do all day? Work the system — and reap the rewards. In this MSNBC.com exclusive, you’ll get a chance to peek inside the daily life of two computer criminals, and see how the system works to their advantage.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/550567.asp

IE bug exposes e-mail and files
A newly discovered bug in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser could let malicious hackers read the e-mail and computer files of some unsuspecting people.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/551312.asp

Net via radio for schools group has govt ear after all
UBC Media's chief executive Simon Cole tells us that contrary to what Department of Education flaks tell us, meetings have taken place with mandarins on providing schools with Internet access via Digital Radio. The Sunday Times reported that negotiations between the MXR consortium and the Department of Education were taking place, although a couple of days ago, our own enquiries drew a blank.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/17970.html

French industry minister rejects patents, backs Linux
The French government has lined up against software patents. The minister in charge of patent policy, industry secretary Christian Pierret, last week stated that he opposed them, and that they "would kill innovation and promote judicial terrorism" by multinational companies against startups.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/17960.html

Fatal Attraction revenge on the Net
What do you do when your ex-love turns into a bunny boiler? How about posting their rantings on the Net? That's what one Dallas man decided to do after he dumped his girlfriend of eight months. He claims that the woman called him incessantly (50 voicemail calls on his mobile phone, with 25 in just one night), so he registered the URL psychoexgirlfriend.com, and stuck her messages on the site.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/17954.html

Napster blocks 275,000 tracks
Napster has claimed it has prevented 275,000 songs, hidden behind over 1.6 million filenames - ie. nearly six filenames for each song - from being downloaded since it introduced its court-imposed filtering software earlier this month.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/17936.html

The Garfield comic strip of the day !
The Dilbert strip of the day !
The Boondocks strip of the day !

[relic]

this thread isn't official until the bumper has gotten ahold of it

(pretty soon I will be using a 'bumping' image for my bumps, that was provided by rebel_mom

[TankGirl]

Originally posted by aaacbada
this thread isn't official until the bumper has gotten ahold of it

I knew I could trust The Bumper!

Thanks for The Bumper and thanks for The Newsman!

- tg