The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

O sole news...

Sun's appliance of science
Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Scott McNealy originally opposed the idea of setting up Sun Labs 10 years ago, but the group has created the very products that have allowed the company to keep its prized independence. "Scott was against it," said Sun Labs leader Jim Mitchell, a Sun vice president who has been involved with the lab since its creation 10 years ago. McNealy, with an aggressive capitalistic bent, feared the research arm would be "a hole you'd throw money into (without) getting anything out," Mitchell said. But the labs have promoted another McNealy philosophy: independence. Sun's reliance on inventing its own technology has exposed the company to the risks of isolationism -- in particular not being able to tap into the cash cow of Microsoft-Intel computers.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp01

Microsoft has a new message for Win XP
Consumers are just getting their first look at Windows XP, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from preparing the first major update of the new operating system. Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said that starting Oct. 25, Microsoft plans to make available an upgrade to Windows Messenger, the communications console delivering instant messaging, videoconferencing and Internet phone calling, among other features. Windows XP is already available on PCs, but the boxed version comes out Oct. 25. The enhanced version of Windows Messenger packs new features kept under wraps during XP's development, including the first clear ties to Microsoft's forthcoming .Net software-as-a-service strategy.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Security experts leery of government Net
Network-security professionals supported the Bush Administration's idea of a separate government Internet but stressed that security on such a network will be elusive. Actions as simple as a government employee connecting a nonsecured computer to the network or loading data from a diskette could compromise the entire system, experts said. "It still is a really good idea," said Bruce Schneier, president of network-protection company Counterpane Internet Security. "But you really have to physically separate the networks." On Wednesday, Richard Clarke, the newly appointed presidential advisor for cyberspace security, and the General Services Administration called for industry leaders to help develop blueprints for a secure and separate government Internet.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Future chip choice -- silicon or plastic?
They're neighbors on the periodic table of elements, but carbon and silicon are pretty much strangers in the worlds of physics and technology. Carbon is the main building block of life, while silicon is the foundation for semiconductors. But several promising research efforts are under way to combine the two realms, using organic polymers as material for the production of microelectronics, including transistors and displays. Organic polymers are molecules that contain a long string of carbon atoms and make versatile plastics. Organic polymers that conduct electricity have been around since the 1970s -- last year's Nobel Prize for chemistry, for instance, went to the researchers who discovered plastic conductors, organic materials that have some resistance to the flow of electricity.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

IBM, Citizen set Linux watch ticking
IBM is working with Citizen Watch in an effort to bring a wristwatch computer to market. The watchmaker and computer giant on Thursday unveiled the WatchPad, the first prototype to come out of their collaboration. IBM researchers have come out with prototypes on their own over the past year and a half. Besides telling time, the WatchPad comes with calendar-scheduling software, a pager-like application for sending and receiving short messages, and a Bluetooth chip for wireless communication with notebooks, handheld computers and cell phones.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Linux hits a grand slam at home
Linux, the open-source operating system invented by Finn Linus Torvalds, made its first big splash at home Thursday when it was embraced by Finland's leading broadband Internet provider, Sonera Entrum. Sonera, which provides high-speed Internet access for 500,000 private and 70,000 corporate subscribers, said it has replaced 60 different Unix and Windows NT servers from different companies with a single computer containing 500 virtual servers running Linux software installed by Red Hat and SuSE. Linux is free, open-source software, which means that all code is public and can be adapted by companies and individuals.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Napster trial twist: Labels 'smell bad'
Record company attorneys seeking a quick end to their copyright suit against Napster on Wednesday instead found themselves fielding pointed questions from a federal judge over planned music subscription services. Prompted by arguments presented by Napster's legal team, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel grilled music industry lawyers about antitrust concerns related to MusicNet and Pressplay, joint ventures between two groups of major record labels to distribute their music online.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Security updates deliver a problem
A group of German hackers have exposed a new vulnerability in Symantec's LiveUpdate 1.4, which could be used to download and run hostile code from an unauthorized server. Symantec, which makes antivirus and security software, has confirmed that older versions of its virus definition software will allow the deployment of malware such as trojan application viruses, and the remote penetration of systems running LiveUpdate. The risk of unauthorized intrusion is lessened on systems running the latest version 1.6, but network degradation and outages could still be possible.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Hacker discloses data after demands unmet
An online gift certificate company said a hacker that blackmailed it for weeks after pilfering its customer information has apparently carried out threats of disclosing the data to its customers. Webcertificate.com customers reported getting an e-mail message that included their home and e-mail addresses. Webcertificate, a unit of electronic-payment company Ecount, was hacked Aug. 21, a representative said. Shortly afterward, the hacker, who also claimed to have stolen credit card numbers of 350,000 of the company's customers, contacted Philadelphia-based Ecount and tried to extort the company, said Matt Gillin, Ecount's chief executive. The caller demanded $45,000 in exchange for not disclosing the information.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Stability is the novelty in Windows XP
Windows XP is exactly what it should be: a solid step forward for the millions of personal computer users worldwide now working with earlier versions of Windows, a step worth taking despite some clumsy and easily avoidable attempts by Microsoft to extend its massive hand into your pocketbook. Even some of the harshest critics of Microsoft, including my colleague Dan Gillmor, agree that Windows XP is much more reliable than its predecessors. There are many ways to protest Microsoft's actions, if you're so inclined. But depriving yourself of a PC that is less likely to crash shouldn't be one of them.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/op...t/ml101101.htm

Navy joins open-source effort
Linux fans will have a chance to make the Village People song a reality and get "In the Navy" under a research program announced Wednesday. The U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, which relies on Linux for many of its information-gathering activities, has linked with the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) to study how the Navy might improve its use of open-source programs. A cooperative research and development agreement between the two organizations is designed both to produce a technical report and recommendations and to create links between the software industry and the Department of Defense. "This is an excellent opportunity for members of the open-source community to work with representatives of the Navy," OSSI chairman John Weathersby said in a statement.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Groups wipe security details from sites
Qualms about publishing data that could be used to plot terror attacks have prompted a leading secrecy foe to scrub its Web site -- joining a trend well under way among U.S. government agencies. The Federation of American Scientists, a staunch advocate of government openness, said Thursday it had yanked about 200 of its estimated half-million Web pages since Sept. 11 terror attacks killed some 5,500 people in the United States. The federation's site contains one of the Web's biggest archives of national security-related material, including detailed rundowns on U.S. weapons systems, spy satellites and nuclear plants.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Employees dive headfirst into Web streams
Almost 56 percent of U.S. office workers watched or listened to some streaming Internet media in September, an all-time high, according a report released Thursday. Audience measurement service Nielsen/NetRatings said more than 21 million people either watched streaming video or listened to streaming audio in September, up 21 percent from 17 million in the same period last year. Last year's figure represented the previous all-time high of 51 percent of U.S. office workers tuning into streaming Internet media, according to Nielsen.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Pacemaker transmits data remotely
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new type of pacemaker that is the first capable of sending information on a patient's heart via remote transmission. Biotronik's Home Monitoring System can help keep doctors informed about a patient's condition between office visits, the FDA said. Data from the pacemaker tells the doctor how the heart's electrical system is working and how hard the device has to work to help the heart function. The modified pacemaker includes a short-range radio frequency transmitter that sends data to a cell phone-like device that patients carry with them.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=cd_mh

TI chip to woo music lovers
Texas Instruments is trying to tap into a new market with a processor aimed at richer listening for music lovers and lower costs for manufacturers. The new digital signal processor (DSP) could help incorporate multiple channels to simulate concert-like sounds from audio systems, even in small rooms without additional speakers that would be needed otherwise, the company said Thursday. The chip, engineered at TI's center in Bangalore, India, was designed in about six months. It is called Malhar, a Hindi language term used in the naming of Indian classical music ragas.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Microsoft backtracks on Xbox hard drive
Microsoft giveth. Microsoft taketh away. After quietly revealing earlier this year that it was boosting the capacity of the hard drive on its upcoming Xbox video game console from 8GB to 10GB, Microsoft has even more quietly reverted to the original figure. A Microsoft representative confirmed Wednesday that the console will ship next month with an 8GB hard drive but would not explain the change other than to say it was unrelated to manufacturing issues.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=ch_mh

More news later on

[walktalker]

FBI Warns of 'Skyfall' Attack
In a brief but dramatic statement, the FBI warned Thursday that Americans should expect additional terrorist attacks. A two-sentence press release on FBI.gov said there "may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against U.S. interests overseas over the next several days." The content was disturbing enough, but even stranger was the Web address of the press release. Just what did the FBI mean by inserting the word "skyfall" into a description of a press release? Was it a reference to the 1970s-era disaster novel entitled Skyfall, or a hint that the bureau was remembering the children's tale in which Chicken Little warned of calamity -- but was not believed? A harried FBI spokeswoman who had been deluged with calls about "skyfall" said the answer was none of the above -- and the press release soon would be renamed.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47510,00.html

A Senator's Lonely Privacy Fight
Russ Feingold is fighting a lonely battle for privacy in the U.S. Senate. The 48-year-old Wisconsin Democrat is singlehandedly trying to add pro-privacy changes to an eavesdropping bill that would hand police unprecedented surveillance powers. His stand has been causing friction with his own party: This week Feingold refused to bow to a request from Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) for an immediate vote on the complex, 243-page bill. Daschle had asked senators to agree unanimously that it was time to move onto the anti-terrorism measure that was drafted in response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47490,00.html

After Bullets Fly: War of Words
High above Afghanistan, flying broadcast centers are reinforcing bombing runs and missile strikes with information assaults. These C-130E Commando Solo planes, airing pro-American radio and television messages, have seen action in almost every U.S. military operation since Vietnam. The aircraft could play an especially vital part in the current conflict, because there's no "Radio Free Afghanistan" to tell the United States' side of the news.
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47447,00.html

Fighting Evil Hackers With Bucks
Worried about the threat of terrorists-turned-hackers, members of a House panel spent Wednesday puzzling over how Congress could improve computer security. "What legislative and other steps are needed to increase the focus on computer security?" Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-New York), chairman of the House Science committee, asked at a "cybersecurity" hearing. Boehlert added: "We want to focus on real, concrete problems and develop specific solutions."
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47479,00.html

Bush Bounty: $5 Mil Per Terrorist
Reacting to the need for publicity to help thwart terrorism, President Bush on Wednesday announced a new list of 22 "most wanted" terrorists. Joined by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and the new Director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, Bush referenced the 22 photographs of the indicted terrorists. "The men on the wall here have put themselves on the list because of great acts of evil," Bush said. "They plan, promote and commit murder. They fill the minds of others with hate and lies. And by their cruelty and violence, they betray whatever faith they espouse."
http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,47470,00.html

U.S. Plans New Cellular System
The White House plans to give emergency crews and government officials priority on the nation's cellular telephone system in an effort to ensure service for authorities during a crisis. Cellular phone use overwhelmed wireless networks in the hours after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, and prevented some police and officials from making critical calls. Richard Clarke, the president's cybersecurity adviser, said Thursday he does not want that to happen again.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,47505,00.html

MS, Prosecutors Set for Talks
Under pressure from a judge to settle their antitrust case, Microsoft and the government have made little progress in private talks and face the intervention of a mediator, officials said Thursday. Despite two weeks of nonstop negotiations, the two sides had not moved close enough to a settlement by the Friday deadline set by the new judge in the case, according to government officials familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has told both sides she wants the case settled by Nov. 2, and that she would appoint a mediator this Friday if progress had not been made. Both sides have resisted having a mediator in recent weeks.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47503,00.html

Circuits That Bug Out Bugs
That cockroach skittering behind your computer may be after more than your sandwich crumbs: It could be looking for a home inside your PC. Entomologists are warning of the growing risks that insects pose to electronic hardware, but few electronics manufacturers in the United States are aware of the danger. It turns out cockroaches like to nest in the warmth and darkness that electronic equipment provides. And in everything from household appliances to network servers, their waste and rotting carcasses can corrode printed circuit boards and short out electronic components.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,47361,00.html

Anti-Terror Hackers Claim Arab National Bank Breach
Vigilante hackers apparently penetrated the security of a Saudi bank Wednesday, even as the hackers' own Web site was defaced by a notorious computer prankster, Fluffi Bunni. In an effort to locate financial information about terrorists, a member of a group called Yihat claims to have breached the defenses of an Internet-connected server operated by Arab National Bank. As proof, the hacker, who uses the nickname "Splices," provided Newsbytes with three spreadsheet files allegedly gleaned from the server. The files apparently contained records of accounts held by a handful of ANB customers.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171035.html

U.S. launches spy satellite
Roaring into orbit, an Atlas 2AS rocket illuminated the night sky over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday, carrying with it a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office, an agency that maintains spy satellites for the United States. As is customary for the NRO, no details were released about the satellite, but experts told Reuters news agency that the type of rocket being used for launch and the location of the launch pad indicated it was a relay satellite rather than one used to collect imagery. The rocket was launched by International Launch Services -- a joint venture of U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and Russian companies Khrunichev and Energia.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/1...hed/index.html

FBI closes 'pro-IRA' website
An American web site accused of supporting the Real IRA has been shut down at the request of the FBI as it cracks down on terrorist groups, it emerged today. The New York-based web site - iraradio.com - contained an archive of weekly radio programmes said to back the dissident republicans. Travis Towle, the owner, today claimed that the FBI asked his internet service provider to stop giving web space to the site or face having its assets seized as a backer of terrorism. "They just yanked us," Mr Towle told the New York Daily News.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetne...567864,00.html

High Court Hears Case on Phone Service Fees
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday about the fees powerful regional Bell phone companies can charge rivals to use their equipment to offer new local phone services. Analysts say the case's outcome could encourage greater competition for residential local phone service and cut prices, as well as speed the roll-out of more high-speed Internet service, video on demand, and even consumer-friendly phone bills that clearly explain billing charges.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la...s%2Dtechnology

Asteroids Named in Memory of Sept. 11 Terrorism Victims
An international group responsible for cataloguing space rocks has named three asteroids to honor victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center's Twin Towers and damaged the Pentagon. The names were chosen "to represent some of the most basic and universal human values," officials said. The names are Compassion, Solidarity and Magnanimity. The decision to name the asteroids was made unilaterally in a unanimous agreement among the 13 members of the International Astronomical Union's Committee for Small Body Nomenclature.
http://www.space.com/news/asteroid_setp11_011010.html

Economic package may thaw tech spending
President Bush's economic-stimulus plan could give a needed boost to the tech sector and information-technology spending, analysts say. Last week, Bush outlined a broad tax stimulus plan to help the economy recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One of the agreed-upon techniques to boost the economy is so-called enhanced expensing, which would allow companies to depreciate assets at a more rapid clip. For the tech sector, beset by layoffs and profit warnings, depreciation -- a reduction of earnings to write off the cost of an asset over its estimated useful life -- is no small matter. Technology executives have long griped that tax rules don't reflect reality in the sector, which is defined by 18-month product cycles.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=mn_hd

iomart cashes in on WTC tragedy
Scottish broadband provider and corporate spyware vendor iomart has joined the rapidly-growing list of tech companies seeking to exploit the World Trade Center atrocity for a fast buck. The company recently leaked some juicy titbits about being "called in" by "US authorities" (no agency named, naturally) to help in the /bin/laden hunt, and about finding Al Qaeda steganographic files on "the dark side of the Web". The publicity stunt was passed to Business A.M. columnist Victoria Masterson, who repeated it without challenge.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/22154.html

Inflatable loudspeakers could blow out roadies
Inflatable loudspeakers light enough for anyone to shift could mean rock stars' roadies have had their day. Loudspeakers come in heavy, cumbersome boxes that provide an air enclosure to absorb unwanted vibration and give a fuller sound. But now two companies, SoundTube Entertainment of Park City, Utah, and Ellula Sounds of Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK, reckon an inflatable box will do the job. Conventional speakers have a "driver", which converts electrical signals to back-and-forth movement and is connected to a cone-shaped diaphragm that vibrates the air. The driver sits on the front of a cabinet. To make loud or deep sounds you need big drivers mounted in giant boxes. So rock groups need roadies to hump and heave them onto the stage.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991415

How pretty faces light up the brain
The romantic saying "their eyes met across a crowded room" could have some scientific basis. It turns out that eye contact with a pretty face is enough to start the brain buzzing within seconds. British researchers have found that when someone sees an attractive face, their brain's "reward centre" lights up. The scientists believe bonding with attractive people has an evolutionary advantage and is hard-wired into the brain. As well as the more obvious rewards of finding a suitable mate, associating with attractive people perhaps enhances someone's social status.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1590847.stm

More news later on

[TankGirl]

Hey mr Newsman!

Thanks again for a great job... cheers!

- tg