The Newspaper Shop -- Monday Edition

[walktalker]

Don't forget to the newsdude

Win XP to debut on new PCs
The industry will soon find out whether Windows XP will encourage wary consumers to spend their money on new systems for home and office. On Monday, PC makers including Compaq Computer, Dell Computer and Gateway unveiled a host of new systems preloaded with the Microsoft operating system. The PCs bring together the new operating system with beefy hardware and attractive prices, with many desktops starting at about $750 sans monitor and with notebooks starting at $999. However, economic uncertainties may mean that the computer-buying public -- millions of PC owners whose machines have processors at 500MHz or slower -- could be browsing but not buying anything for now.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Win XP buyers face activation dance
Buyers of new PCs may have to grapple with Microsoft Product Activation, a controversial new Windows feature. Users who buy PCs with Microsoft Windows XP could find their setup disabled if they change or upgrade as few as three components. Details of the Microsoft Product Activation (MPA) technology, a copy-protection measure, are contained in a Microsoft document designed to debunk fears surrounding the technology. But some industry observers are predicting that the process could turn into a headache for users, as they may have to go through a relatively complicated telephone transaction or to rely on an Internet connection to activate their Windows XP software.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Pirated XP selling like 'hotcakes' in Malaysia
Fake copies of Windows XP are selling like hotcakes here in the Malaysian capital. And as if in tandem with the economic crisis, vendors have been dishing out huge discounts for these versions, some starting as low as US$1.50. Pirated software and bootleg movies usually cost around US$3. All this despite the Malaysian government's continuing clampdown on copyright infringement and Microsoft's controversial new product activation feature -- a key part of the software giant's crackdown on piracy. "Piracy is a tough nut to crack in Malaysia.... The root of the problem is, and always will be, corruption," said one industry watcher, who asked not to be named. He cited instances of a vendor, despite being raided several times, being back on the street in a matter of days. But one Microsoft executive blamed the situation on technology and not low-tech greed.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Music deal on the way for Napster?
Napster is close to announcing an agreement with music publishers that will help clear the way for its planned subscription service, sources said Monday. The fallen file-swapping company has been hunting for legitimacy for months, striking deals with record companies in an attempt to win rights to distribute music through its new service, which is slated to launch later this year. But publishers, part of the group still suing Napster for its file-trading past, have been left out of those discussions so far. Napster declined to comment on the possibility of a deal with publishers, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. The company has scheduled a conference call for later Monday to announce a "major agreement." A representative for the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) could not immediately be reached for comment.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Data recovery centers in motion after attacks
As rescue crews sorted through the rubble at the World Trade Center site, employees from retail brokerage Tucker Anthony were in the midst of moving to a bucolic setting 40 miles away in the woods of New York state. Tucker Anthony had about 300 employees in 1 World Financial Center, across the street from the two World Trade Center towers that were hit by hijacked airplanes on Sept. 11 and then collapsed, leaving a total of more than 6,500 people dead or missing. In the weeks following the disaster, the brokerage firm's ability to access critical data and rebuild its systems underscored the disaster recovery business's evolution from a simple insurance policy for back-up equipment to one focusing on highly orchestrated emergency services.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

RealNetworks turns up the volume
Internet media company RealNetworks on Monday will unveil a new service melding its two popular consumer programs, RealPlayer and RealJukebox, into a single digital media destination. The combination has been long expected and marks the latest step by RealNetworks toward the nuts and bolts of Web content delivery as well as its continued effort to compete with archrival Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The new product, called RealOne, fuses RealPlayer's audio and video streaming software with RealJukebox's software, which lets people record, organize and play music on PCs.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Attacks chill online ad market
Online and traditional media stocks were pounded last week as the United States declared an open-ended war on terrorism, but some advertisers and analysts say it's unclear whether the effects will delay a long-awaited recovery. Media companies including AOL Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney and Yahoo saw double-digit declines the week after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, when hijacked commercial airliners were used to destroy New York's World Trade Center and damage the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The attacks brought record audience numbers to online news outlets, but short-term revenues declined as some publishers and marketers temporarily suspended advertising.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=tp_pr

Laid-off techies swiping goods on way out
When a Cleveland-based business-to-business start-up failed several months ago, executives planned to follow a well-paved dot-com death pattern: Lay off workers, sell assets and reimburse creditors. Employees had a different plan. Between the layoffs and the asset auction, they stole $35,000 worth of laptops, handheld computers, monitors and laser printers. That left some executives, venture capitalists and other uninsured creditors in a financial lurch. "Ex-employees thought they were entitled to it," said Timothy Dimoff, head of SACS Consulting and Investigative Services. Executives at the failed start-up called the Akron, Ohio-based security company to protect the remainder of its assets -- larger items such as desks and office chairs that employees did not steal -- but much of the damage had already been done.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Nimda still a global threat
The multifaceted Nimda worm continued to spread over the weekend, hitting North America on average five times harder than any other region. Antivirus company Trend Micro's World Virus Tracking Center reported that 120,000 new infections were detected worldwide in a 24-hour period ending noon Monday PDT, bringing the total number of copies of the Nimda worm found by Trend Micro to 1.3 million. "With most of our corporate customers, we are really in cleanup mode," said Trend Micro spokeswoman Susan Orbuch, adding that the numbers indicate it's one of the largest epidemics that the antivirus firm had ever seen. "It's hard to explain the spike. Many corporations could be directing their end users to our (online) House Call service to clean their home PCs."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Upside shutters Web site
Technology news site UpsideToday said it will cease operations because of "insufficient funds," making it the latest casualty in the rapidly contracting world of New Economy publications. The site posted a notice Saturday informing visitors of the changes. However, the note said the company's print publication, Upside Magazine, will continue to publish on a monthly basis. "We have fought long and hard to stay afloat, but now we must say good-bye," read the message on the site. Publications, particularly those covering the Internet and technology industries, have come under the gun since the flurry of shutdowns among Internet start-ups drained online advertising dollars.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Aust mobiles could jump sky high following US attacks
Mobile phone sales have surged in the US since the September 11 terrorist attacks - a trend that looks likely to hit Australian shores too. Figures already released in the US show mobile phone sales around New York City have quadrupled in the two weeks since the tragic attack. After terrorists commanded passengers on board four US domestic flights to call loved ones on their mobile phones to tell them they were about to die, some market analysts said the surge in mobile phone sales that followed was directly connected to the attacks.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/com...0260656,00.htm

America: The end of liberty
The Department of Justice's bill introduces a host of surveillance and detention measures that have been immediately denounced by civil libertarians. The proposal includes intrusions on e-mail privacy, extensions of the government's ability to use information gathered by dubious means (such as torture) and the relaxation of safeguards against intrusive government surveillance. Some critics are accusing the Justice Department of taking opportunistic advantage of the national security crisis to push aside the judicial checks and balances that hold law enforcement accountable.
http://salon.com/tech/feature/2001/0...rty/index.html

It's Time for Clockless Chips
Megahertz, shmegahertz. A few iconoclasts are building computer chips that dispense with the traditional clock. But they face big barriers in bringing their idea into the mainstream. "We're replacing dictatorship with anarchy!" Karl Fant tells me emphatically. "Eventually every chip will be designed this way," he declares. "It's inevitable!" By throwing out the clock, the fundamental way that chips, since the dawn of the Computer Age, have organized and executed their work. Even those of us who know nothing about microprocessors know something about their clocks — Intel for years has used the clock speed of its microprocessors as a marketing tool, where faster is better.
http://www.techreview.com/magazine/oct01/tristram.asp

Storage giants make Internet headway
A group of storage industry companies announced the successful demonstration of a long-distance storage network that runs using Internet technologies. Eight companies, lead by Nishan Systems, played a role in making a storage network that was able to transmit data from Newark, N.J., to Sunnyvale, Calif., at speeds of 2.5 gigabits per second using Internet protocol (IP), the language used to carry information on the Internet. Storage networks primarily use the Fibre Channel protocol, which is fast and reliable but expensive and complex to build. The drawbacks have led several companies to work on replacing Fibre Channel with IP to make storage cheaper and capable of working better over long distances.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Satellite phones in demand after attacks
As the United States pursues terrorist networks in remote regions mostly in the Near East, demand is growing for handheld satellite phones -- giving an ailing industry a needed boost. Soldiers and intelligence agents are spreading across the globe, reporters are following, and businesses are building emergency communications networks in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We have been inundated with requests," said D. D'Ambrosio, executive vice president of Iridium Satellite, which last year bought a 66-satellite network from the failed Motorola spinoff Iridium.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Bush looks to stymie bin Laden's finances
President Bush is trying to choke off Osama bin Laden's money flow as the White House prepares for military action and steps up diplomatic efforts to build an international anti-terrorist coalition. An order to be signed by Bush on Monday will freeze the U.S. assets of terrorists and terrorist organizations and prohibit American companies from doing business with them. The order lists several individuals and organizations, including bin Laden and his al-Qaida network. The order will squeeze the lifeblood from bin Laden's organization and it "will ultimately not be able to function if it cannot have access to money," said Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Taliban claims bin Laden is missing Yeah, right
Faced with U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan's Taliban leadership claimed Sunday it has been unable to find the alleged terrorist mastermind and advise him of a recommendation to leave the country. American officials dismissed the claim, which came as a U.S. Defense Department team arrived in Pakistan to discuss military cooperation for a strike against bin Laden and his Taliban allies. The Taliban's ambassador to neighboring Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said the militia's chief, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had sent emissaries to inform bin Laden of a decision Thursday by Afghanistan's Muslim clergy that he should leave the country voluntarily at a time of his choosing.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh

More news later on