The Newspaper Shop -- Tuesday edition

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One Newsman To Read Them All

Lirva worm attaches to Avril Lavigne
The popularity of singer Avril Lavigne has spread to the world of computer viruses. Lirva, also known as Naith, is a mass-mailing worm that is UPX-compressed to a file size of 32,766 and arrives via e-mail either announcing a new Microsoft patch or offering fan access to Avril Lavigne. Once active, Lirva will attempt to e-mail copies of itself to all contacts on an infected system, shut down all antivirus and firewall programs, and launch a Web browser to open the Avril Lavigne Web site on an infected user's desktop. Lirva uses the Iframe vulnerability, so on unpatched systems, the worm will automatically execute whether or not the attached file is opened. Antivirus vendor MessageLabs reports that parts of the Lirva worm code very look familiar, so Lirva may turn out to be a variant of a known virus family. Because this worm sends e-mail but is not considered destructive, it rates a 4 on the ZDNet Virus Meter.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-979475.html

MS takes digital media beyond Windows
Microsoft announced Tuesday its first-ever licensing fees for use of its media delivery software on non-Windows technology, a move designed to expand its reach in the market for digital media players. In addition, the Redmond, Wash.-based company is introducing new versions of technology in hopes of raising its profile in the market for the creation and playback of digital entertainment on PCs and consumer electronics. Among other products, Microsoft is releasing a final version of its Windows Media 9 Series software for the development, distribution and playback of digital audio and video files. By adding a license for the audio and video compression software, or codecs, of Windows Media 9, Microsoft is extending the technology beyond its Windows operating system, where the software is available for free.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-979398.html

SGI loads up on high-end Linux
SGI, a maker of high-end computers for technical tasks, has begun selling a new server running Linux on as many as 64 Itanium 2 processors, the company plans to announce Tuesday. The system -- which had been code-named SN2 and now is called the Altix 3000 series -- is geared for customers who need to make heavy-duty numerical calculations such as car-crash analysis or aircraft aerodynamics. It also comes with a price tag that can reach above $1 million for high-end configurations of the refrigerator-size machine. The Altix 3000 systems are essentially an adaptation of SGI's existing Origin 3000 systems, which use SGI-designed MIPS processors and Irix, its version of Unix. The Altix 3000 systems, though, use Itanium processors and Linux, a move that lets SGI benefit from others' research and development budgets and that weans SGI off its reliance on its in-house technology.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-979372.html

FCC may rewire broadband access
U.S. regulators plan to unveil a major overhaul in telecommunications policy in the coming weeks that could strengthen the hand of local phone monopolies in a number of key areas, including high-speed Internet access. At stake are arcane regulations governing how local phone companies must treat competitors seeking access to their lines and facilities. Those rules, set in 1996, were intended to be the cornerstone of a competitive marketplace for services that piggyback on the local phone networks. But some top policy-makers at the Federal Communications Commission have recently indicated that they believe consumers would do better if such rules were sharply curtailed. No decision has yet been publicly announced, although FCC officials have said they hope to complete the process by late February.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-979356.html

Survey uncovers cell phone static
U.S. cell phone users are frustrated by a host of service problems, including poor call quality, billing errors and difficulties placing calls to emergency services, a survey by Consumer Reports found. The influential magazine, published by not-for-profit group Consumers Union, said Monday that one-third of about 22,000 consumers it surveyed said they were considering changing their mobile provider, mainly because of service complaints. "The cell phone industry is great on gee-whiz gadgets and gizmos, but it's failing on the nuts and bolts of basic service that consumers need and depend on," Consumer Union Chief Executive James Guest said in a conference call Monday.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-979388.html

Same old song, different meaning for P2P
A difference between American and European copyright law threatens to carve out a free-swapping zone for popular decades-old music, hampering record companies' antipiracy efforts online. European and Canadian copyright protections for sound recordings last just 50 years, compared with 95 years in the United States. As reported earlier in The New York Times, that means that a boomlet in sales of bootlegs of 1950s artists, ranging from Miles Davis to Elvis Presley, is becoming perfectly legal. And it also means new headaches for record companies trying to shut down file-swapping services. As those popular older songs fall into the public domain overseas, people there are free to offer them on services such as Kazaa or Gnutella. Although it's still illegal to download the songs from the United States, it's much harder for copyright holders to find people who are downloading, as opposed to uploading, specific files online.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979532.html?tag=fd_top

Group ditches bid to crack Xbox code
A computing project has abandoned its effort to crack the main security code for Microsoft's Xbox video game console. An update on the home page for The Neo Project says the group is no longer working on the Xbox "due to legal reasons." Project founder Mike Curry said in an e-mail interview that he couldn't elaborate. "We cannot comment on anything that has happened in the last 24 hours; we can only say that we can no longer participate in the Xbox challenge," he said. Microsoft representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Neo Project is a group of computing enthusiasts devoted to cracking security challenges using distributed computing techniques, in which heavy-duty computing tasks are divvied up among a number of PCs. The group's initial software release focused on a $10,000 challenge from computer security firm RSA Security to crack a 576-bit encryption code.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979488.html?tag=fd_top

Nintendo switches on brighter Game Boy
Japanese video game giant Nintendo on Tuesday unveiled a sleek new version of the Game Boy Advance, its market-leading portable games player. The Game Boy Advance SP sports a two-piece design with an illuminated screen that flips up from the main body. The standard Game Boy Advance has a one-piece design with a built-in screen that uses no additional lighting. The dimly lit screen has been the most common complaint about the Game Boy Advance, inspiring legions of hardware hackers to concoct work-arounds. The new model also has built-in rechargeable batteries that provide 10 hours of use with the screen fully illuminated. The standard Game Boy Advance uses replaceable AA batteries.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979490.html?tag=fd_top

Spiritual Web draws U.S. holiday crowds
Web surfers caught the holiday spirit in record numbers during 2002, according to a new report on Internet habits. In addition, the Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that surfers were more likely to turn to the Web for matters of the spirit and society than they were for commercial activities during the holiday season. According to the study, which surveyed 1,220 U.S. Internet users during December 2002, more than three-quarters of surfers performed some type of holiday activity on the Web. Seventy-one percent used the Web to fulfill some spiritual or social need, while 53 percent either shopped or did research related to a purchase.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979468.html?tag=fd_top

Broadband users willing to pay online
Broadband users are more likely to pay for content online according to new research. A survey of European consumers by research firm Jupiter has found that a quarter of broadband users would be prepared to purchase music on the net. This compares to just 18% of dial-up users. 18% of broadband users said they would pay for video content compared to 11% of dial-up users. The changing attitudes of users who have experienced fast net services will be music to the ears of content providers, desperate to make money out of online services.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2632661.stm

Technology aids quest to unveil eye's secrets
With the help of the latest technologies, scientists are trying to unwrap the secrets of a precious gift -- the power of sight. Researchers can trace the physical workings of vision in great detail. But they haven't figured out how electrical and chemical processes in the eye and the brain produce vivid pictures in the mind. The relationship between the physical brain and the psychological mind is still a mystery. "To be brutally honest, scientists do not yet have even the remotest idea of how visual experience arises from physical events in the brain,'' said Stephen Palmer, director of the Visual Perception Laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/sil...al/4890175.htm

Microsoft Bails Out The PC Market
This summer, millions of businesspeople will be upgraded against their will. And no, we don't mean their flight plans. Microsoft will officially end technical support for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4 on June 30. The financial implications for Microsoft and others could be significant, even in the short term. Pacific Crest Equities estimates there are 300 million PCs worldwide running these older operating systems -- 195 million in corporations and 105 million in homes. Pacific analyst Brendan Barnicle believes that 25% of these enterprise customers and 17% of home PC buyers will replace their systems in the first half of this year.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/200...artner=newscom

Tech doctorates decline 7 percent
The number of science and engineering doctorate degrees awarded in the United States dropped by 7 percent from 1998 to 2001, according to a survey released Monday by the National Science Foundation. However, enrollment in science and engineering graduate programs rose in 1999 and 2000 -- the latest years for which data is available. The decline in doctorates awarded rekindles a debate over whether the U.S. education system produces enough brainpower for the technology industry. "The level of graduating Ph.D.s is concerning to us," said Pat Gelsinger, chief technology officer for Intel. "If we don't have the most talented people, we won't be the leaders long-term." A high point for both science and engineering doctorates and doctorates overall in the United States came in 1998.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-979385.html?tag=cd_mh

Norway teen cleared in DVD piracy case
A Norwegian teenager was cleared of DVD piracy charges on Tuesday in a landmark trial brought on behalf of major Hollywood studios. The court here said Jon Johansen, known in Norway as "DVD Jon," had not broken the law when he helped unlock a code and distribute a computer program enabling unauthorized copying of DVD movies. "Johansen is found not guilty," Judge Irene Sogn, flanked by two technical experts, told the court. "The verdict is unanimous." She said prosecutors could appeal the ruling. Prosecutors had asked for a 90-day suspended jail term for Johansen, 19, who developed the program when he was 15. The teenager has become a symbol for hackers worldwide who say making software such as Johansen's -- called DeCSS -- is an act of intellectual freedom rather than theft.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979414.html?tag=cd_mh

Apple releases its own Web browser
Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday unveiled a new Web browser and said software innovation has placed his company at the forefront of digital entertainment in the home. Speaking at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Jobs demonstrated an Apple-developed browser called Safari that he claimed is the fastest available. It's "three times faster than (Internet Explorer) on the Mac." Before the announcement, IE for the Mac had been the default Web browser on new Macs. The bundling began in 1997, when Apple cut a five-year technology agreement with Microsoft that expired last year.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979461.html?tag=cd_mh

Apple banks on digital media harvest
Apple Computer on Tuesday is expected to unveil a new portable product aimed at bolstering the company's strategy to make itself into a major player in home entertainment, sources and analysts said. The product, which is expected to be shown off during a keynote speech by CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld in San Francisco on Tuesday, will come with 802.11g and Bluetooth wireless capabilities and serve to make the Mac a more appealing "digital hub" than Windows XP PCs, according to sources. Machines with Windows XP Media Center Edition can be used to record TV shows, similar to digital video recorders (DVR) such as TiVo boxes, and catalog music and video.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-979204.html?tag=cd_mh

Music Biz: Compromise Is Key
As digital file sharing, webcasting and other new technologies proliferate, artists and industry officials meeting here said the music business is in jeopardy unless artists, record companies and consumers stop fighting and start compromising. "People are always looking for what side to be on, and there isn't just one side," said Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, which sponsored this week's policy summit. "I think we're looking for a kinder, gentler, more equitable model where more people can make a living off of this stuff," Toomey said. While consumers want easier access to music over the Internet and on multiple devices, artists and record companies are seeking compensation for use of their material.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57104,00.html

Laos Online: Pedal for Its Mettle
Imagine being asked to design an Internet-connected computer network that can function without telephone lines or electricity. The equipment will also be subjected to torrential rains every six months, and will have to cope with high temperatures and choking clouds of red dust for the rest of the year. Sounds like a system administrator's nightmare, but volunteer tech experts working with the Remote IT Village Project in rural Laos say that all it takes is some pedal-powered generators, a few wireless antennas and some rugged, Linux-powered computers. But despite the seemingly obvious geek appeal of the project, there has been some debate over whether Laos villagers really need Internet access right now. Critics suggest that technology shouldn't trump basic needs such as access to fresh water, food and real -- not virtual -- teachers.
http://www.wired.com/news/infostruct...,57061,00.html

'Fog City' Catches a Few Rays
A city known worldwide for its dense fog is tapping a vastly underused resource: the sun. Construction will soon begin on San Francisco's first major solar-power project -- a $7.4 million retrofit of the Moscone Convention Center that will include the rooftop installation of 5,000 solar panels. The Moscone project is part of the city's effort to transform itself into a center for "green" building. In November 2001, voters approved a municipal bond measure that allows the city to issue $100 million in revenue bonds for installing renewable-energy systems, including solar panels, wind turbines and energy-efficiency measures at public facilities. The measure, created by the Vote Solar Initiative, costs taxpayers nothing, since energy savings will be used to pay off the bonds.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,57046,00.html

This GameBoy Isn't for Boys
The world's most popular video-gaming gadget just got a tuneup. Nintendo unveiled its latest handheld GameBoy on Tuesday -- the Advance SP -- a slick-looking device aimed at adult gamers that's about as big as a wallet and weighs just five ounces. The GameBoy Advance SP (the SP stands for 'special') looks more like an executive plaything than a child's toy. But it handles all the roughly 1,000 games made for the GameBoy, including the Advance model that went on sale in June 2001. More than 150 million GameBoy systems have been sold since 1989 and it has no strong competitor in its size category, though users have long complained that its display was too dim and power drained too quickly. Sony's Playstation2, the fastest-selling console today, has sold more than 41 million units since its March 2000 release.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57113,00.html

Few Takers for CD Settlement Cash
Suppose someone was handing out $20 bills and almost nobody wanted one? That's roughly what's happening with a massive price-fixing settlement involving states and compact disc companies. The deal calls for payments of as much as $20 for customers who bought CDs between 1995 and 2000. But so far, only a few people have signed up, and officials fear the money will go begging. In September, the five top U.S. distributors of compact discs and three large music retailers agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs to settle allegations they cheated consumers by fixing prices.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57111,00.html