news Thursday

[gazdet]

saved for WT

Antitrust: DOJ, Microsoft close to deal
Microsoft and the Justice Department apparently have made headway toward settling the landmark antitrust case before a court-imposed Friday deadline. But reaching a final agreement could depend on whether both sides can agree on minute details that would restrict Microsoft's business practices in the consent decree that must be approved by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Some sources suggested that the agreement is quickly shaping up from a rough proposal to a serious settlement that both sides can sign off on. With a Friday deadline looming, both sides have incentive to quickly fill in the gaps.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp01

Court: DVD-cracking code is free speech
A California court has dealt a potentially serious setback to the movie industry's attempt to rid the online world of software that can help break through copy protections on DVDs. The appeals court released a decision Thursday overturning an earlier order that barred hundreds of people from publishing the code for a software program called "DeCSS" online. Posting the code is just like publishing other types of controversial speech and is protected by the constitution, the appellate judges said.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Windows XP rings up lackluster sales
Despite heavy marketing and lucrative rebates being offered by retailers, early results indicate that sales of Windows XP are trailing Windows 98 but running ahead of Windows Me. Fewer than 300,000 boxed copies of the new operating system were sold in the first several days of its availability, according to preliminary figures from NPD Intelect, which has polled roughly 80 percent of its retailers and mail-order clients about XP. Although some poll respondents indicated that demand was "healthy," NPD asserts that the final tally of first-week sales will likely be 20 percent to 25 percent lower than what Microsoft saw with Windows 98.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Rival browsers benefiting from MSN gaffe
Microsoft's blockage of competing Web browsers from MSN.com has been good news for some plucky rivals: They are experiencing record traffic and downloads, and a leading Internet authority is heaping scorn on the software giant. Last week, people who tried to visit MSN.com with a non-Microsoft browser found themselves locked out. Although Microsoft's own Internet Explorer easily accessed the popular site, other browsers -- such as Opera, Mozilla, Amaya and some versions of Netscape -- received error messages and recommended that people "upgrade" to Internet Explorer.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Sony's robot-dog gets hacked
Sony has forced a programmer to remove from his Web site code that changed the behavior of its Aibo robot dog. According to a report in New Scientist, the programs gave Aibo new functionality. One, called Disco Aibo, made the robotic canine dance to music. Sony protested, saying that the applications used proprietary and encrypted code. The Japanese company demanded the removal of the programs, along with details of Aibo's software protection. The anonymous enthusiast has complied but insists that he never published any specific details of how to break the security of Sony's Memory Stick storage media, which stores the programs that define Aibo's behavior.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Will face recognition keep airports safe?
As U.S. airports begin installing face-recognition systems to thwart terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, civil rights activists are rushing to decry the technology as ineffective and invasive. The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday derided the use of face-recognition software in airports, saying it doesn't work and "offers us neither order nor liberty." The report comes the same day that ADT Security Services, one of the largest security companies, with a growing presence in airports, agreed to use face-recognition systems from Visionics. Boston's Logan International Airport also announced plans earlier this week to install such technology.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

High-tech security may get $1 billion boost
A $20 billion stimulus package in the works by Senate Democrats may include $1 billion to bankroll an information-technology fund, CNET News.com has learned. As proposed by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the U.S. Office of Management and Budget would administer the fund and award money to projects that aim to further protect the United States' critical infrastructures, improve the security of government computer systems, or harden the nation's defenses against natural and manmade threats. Leslie Phillips, communications director for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee -- headed by Lieberman -- confirmed the fund is likely to be part of the economic stimulus proposal being created by Democratic senators.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Linux goes to the movies
Over the past year, the information technology elite have started to dismiss Linux as a flash in the pan that tried and failed to dominate in a world owned by Windows. Woebegone Linux and open-source companies are scattered across the landscape like so much shrapnel. The stock prices of IPO high fliers VA Linux and Red Hat currently trade near half of their pre-IPO offering prices. Meanwhile, Windows XP gets the press and the plaudits. But what's happening behind the scenes? In the early days of the open-source movement, Linux-based operating systems made their way into the business world through the back door, usually shepherded by an engineer who just wanted to get his or her job done in the most efficient way possible.
http://salon.com/tech/feature/2001/1...ood/index.html

Hotmail to junk inactive members
Microsoft has told members of its free Hotmail service that their e-mail accounts will be closed if they do not use them at least once a month. "Accounts reaching 30 days of inactivity are formally deactivated and all messages, folders, and contacts are permanently deleted," the software giant told Hotmail users in an e-mail Wednesday. The rule does not apply to its MSN Hotmail Extra Storage accounts, which cost $12.95 per year and provide five times more storage space, the company said.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Big portable MP3 player has style
What do you get when you cross a notebook-sized Firewire hard drive, a long-lasting rechargeable battery pack and hundreds of mp3s in one great looking, portable package? You get Apple’s iPod — a terrific device. Not perfect, but an instant classic. It’s a little heavier than it looks — 6.5 ounces — but that figure is no more than what some modern-day PDAs weigh — and amazing when you think of what’s crammed inside. The dimensions, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, allow the iPod to fit in my hand, not out of line with some other smaller-capacity mp3 players I’ve seen.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/651021.asp?0dm=C12LT

Eight States Using National Guard to Help Secure Reactors
At least eight states have called on National Guard troops to protect their nuclear reactors, part of the fallout from the terrorism fears that have prompted a nationwide alert this week. Though there have been no specific threats against any of the country's 103 nuclear power plants, nuclear facilities have been considered a prime target for terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A Justice Department warning about possible terrorist activity in the next few days has heightened tensions.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,37804,00.html

Firms Hurt By WTC Attacks Flooded With Discounts
Many small to mid-sized companies whose offices were damaged or destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks are just now starting to rebuild their internal computer and telecommunications networks. And, prices for such services have never been better, with literally hundreds of suppliers competing to offer discounted contracts and services. In the days following Sept. 11, local officials launched ReStart Central, a joint economic assistance effort by the New York City Mayor's Office, the Empire State Development Corporation, and the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171779.html

Microsoft's New Security Program Has Bugs
A new security initiative unveiled by Microsoft [NASDAQ:MSFT] last month is off to a rocky start, according to customers and security experts. Microsoft's Strategic Technology Protection Program drew praise when it was announced Oct. 3. But already the effort, positioned by the company as "an unprecedented mobilization of Microsoft's people and resources" to help customers secure their systems, has hit several snags. The first occurred on Oct. 18, when Microsoft released a security patch that caused some Windows 2000 systems to stop functioning properly.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171777.html

FDA Starts Online Cipro Crackdown
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned 11 foreign Internet sellers of the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin - or Cipro - that they may be breaking U.S. law by selling it to U.S. customers via the Internet. The FDA sent 11 e-mail messages to the companies that told them that if the Cipro was not made in accordance with U.S. specifications, they are engaging in illegal drug sales. Five other foreign-based Web sites continue to sell Cipro after being warned by the FDA that they could be violating U.S. regulations. The FDA also is working with the U.S. Customs Service to keep the drugs from entering the country.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171775.html

Drug Company Loses Second Chat Room Speech Case
A California court dismissed a second defamation lawsuit by a drug research firm against a stockholder who posted negative comments about the company on an Internet chat room. San Diego, Calif.-based Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals first alleged that Gregory Alcus defamed the company on a message board on the Yahoo Web site in November 2000. The company filed suit on Dec. 14, 2000, and Superior Court Judge Kevin Enright dismissed the case on March 28.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171773.html

Council Fights Terrorism With Technology
The Homeland Security Council is seeking recommendations from the nation’s top technology, intelligence and justice agencies for using advanced technology to enforce immigration laws and prevent terrorists from entering the United States. John Marburger, the new director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, George Tenet, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Attorney General John Ashcroft are to recommend ways government databases can be used to help detect, identify, locate and apprehend potential terrorists in the United States under a presidential directive issued Oct. 29. The use of advanced datamining software should also be addressed, the directive said.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171763.html

More news later on

[gazdet]

Author Walktalker

Congress Tables Stem Cell Issues
Lawmakers pulled controversial proposals on stem cell research and cloning Thursday after they threatened to gridlock a Senate hurrying to complete work on must-pass spending bills. Moderate Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter had included language in a labor and health spending bill that would have bent President Bush's new policy on stem cell research to allow couples to donate unused embryos from fertility clinics. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), an ardent abortion foe, rejected the stem cell language because "it goes further than the president's position." Brownback said he would counter the proposal with several amendments, including one on the contentious issue of banning human cloning.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,48070,00.html

The Politics of Enforcing DWY
Despite a shift in priorities since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New York officials still plan to enforce a law that prohibits driving while talking on a cell phone. But law enforcement authorities and talkative New Yorkers say the law, which takes effect Thursday and is the first statewide restriction of wireless phones in the country, won't curb driving while yakking (DWY) on mobile phones. Many New Yorkers already use headsets to talk on their cell phones -- allowed under the law -- while many police officers lack an efficient way to detect the law's violators.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,47972,00.html

News That's Fit to Download
Flipping through the pages of the daily newspaper is a ritual that many are reluctant to forgo, even if it arrives late, wet and ink-stained on the doorstep. But what if you could replicate the experience of reading the print edition electronically? Earlier this week, the venerable print icon The New York Times launched The New York Times Electronic Edition, an exact digital replica of its New York edition that is normally not available in print outside the metropolitan New York area.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,48051,00.html

Who's No. 1? Depends Who Counts
Whether it's ballots, beans or Internet traffic, the science of counting tends to follow the same principle: The more folks there are compiling the numbers, the more likely it is that disagreement will arise over whose figures are correct. That is a lesson many Americans learned in the recounting drama following last November's presidential election.
http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,48041,00.html

IndyMedia in a Snit With CNN
Apparently, CNN was "censoring" its chat rooms, Schlosser decided, because -- as he later wrote in an article that appeared on the Indymedia site -- the cable channel wanted to "protect its interests from the likes of nasty, decentralized, non-profit organizations like the Independent Media Center that are composed of regular, working people." To hear CNN tell the story, however, the folks at Indymedia are throwing around dangerous words like "censorship" and "bias" without being entirely truthful.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,48058,00.html

World's nuclear facilities vulnerable, warns UN agency
Nuclear plants are vulnerable to attacks by terrorists, according to a stark new warning by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Plutonium, uranium and even medical radiation sources are now much more likely to be targeted by terror groups seeking to cause mayhem, the IAEA believes. On the eve of a special meeting in Vienna on combating nuclear terrorism, the UN's normally cautious nuclear agency says the risk has risen sharply since the atrocities on the US on 11 September. It is asking its 132 member states to increase its $330 million annual budget by $30m to $50m to help meet the threat.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991506

Hacker 'Doctor Nuker' Claims FBI Fingered Wrong Person
A computer hacker who vandalized a pro-Israeli group's Web site said law enforcement officials have issued an arrest warrant for the wrong person. In an online interview today, a Pakistani hacker who calls himself Doctor Nuker said he was responsible for the Nov. 2000 attack on the Web site of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). But the hacker claimed a federal grand jury made a mistake last week in indicting Misbah Khan of Karachi on four computer crime-related counts.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171726.html

Berners-Lee slams 'blatant' MS browser tactics
Tim Berners-Lee, The father of the World Wide Web and director of the W3C standards organisation, has attacked Microsoft over last week's blocking of people with non-MS browsers from using its MSN.com site. In an email interview with CNET, Berners-Lee said: "Obviously this was a blatant attempt to use the leverage of some content to produce domination at the software layer." He continued: "I have fought since the beginning of the Web for its openness: that anyone can read Web pages with any software running on any hardware. This is what makes the Web itself. This is the environment into which so many people have invested so much energy and creativity. When I see any Web site claim to be only readable using particular hardware or software, I cringe - they are pining for the bad old days when each piece of information needed a different program to access it."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/22611.html

Whatever happened to fair use?
Like any college student, Tony Tran knows his rights. He has the right to sample music for free over the Internet. He has the right to download an entire CD to his computer's hard drive and listen to it for days to determine whether to buy it. And he has the right to make copies for his friends. "If I like it, I buy it. If I don't, I delete it,'' said Tran, an 18-year-old computer engineering student at San Jose State. "Obviously, the artists and record companies aren't worried about consumers like me. They're worried about the kids that download and don't buy.'' But record labels are indeed worried. Sharing music is a practice as old as cassette tapes and college dorms. But Internet song-swapping sites and technological advances in CD authoring turned what was once a limited campus pastime to pandemic. And the recording industry is determined to stop it.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/ne...ruse110101.htm

Digital Audio Revolution Speeding Toward Cars
Nearly four years ago, Microsoft Corp. honcho Bill Gates wowed the International Consumer Electronics Show with a new computer-powered car audio system called AutoPC. Some were impressed by the features, such as the voice-activated maps and address book. But others were stunned by the thought of people putting Windows in their cars. As it turns out, not many did. But Gates wasn't completely wrong--he just missed the target. "There is going to be a computer in the car," said Andrew Wolfe, chief technical officer of Sonicblue, "and the killer app is entertainment. It's not Web access."
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la...s%2Dtechnology

Who is Osama bin Laden?
The American readers who have put Yossef Bodansky's "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America" on bestseller lists across the nation are probably hoping that the book will tell them something about the inner Osama, the psychology of the man thought to be behind the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. As my mother asked when I told her what I was reading, "Does it explain what makes him so crazy?" But like all of the books and in-depth reports on bin Laden currently available, Bodansky's was written before the attacks and published by a small specialty press; it wasn't created with the demands of a general readership in mind.
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2...ner/index.html

More news later on

[walktalker]

Aren't aussies great people ?
Thanks a lot mate

[gazdet]

my pleasure Mr Newsman, we couldn't have the news missing now could we?

you can repost them in ur name if you like