The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

Microsoft given Java deadline
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Microsoft to begin shipping Sun Microsystems' Java with the Windows operating system within 120 days, after the companies fought over implementing a ruling he made last month. U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz summoned lawyers for both sides in the private antitrust suit to a special hearing on their failure to agree on the exact terms of a preliminary injunction. "I can't sit here hearing after hearing," Motz said. "I want this done in 120 days." Motz ruled on Dec. 23, 2002, that Sun had a good chance of winning its antitrust case against Microsoft, and said he would grant a preliminary injunction forcing Microsoft to include Java in its Windows computer operating system.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-980886.html

Hackers attack new smart phones
Microsoft and U.K. carrier Orange are investigating whether hackers are sending rogue software to cell phones using Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 operating system. Instructions about avoiding the security catches inside the smart phone, which Orange sells and calls the SPV, were made public the last few days, Orange spokesman Stuart Jackson said Wednesday. The SPV is the only wireless device on sale that uses Microsoft's operating system for advanced phones. A source familiar with the situation said most SPV owners won't know whether they have been affected. To launch the rogue programs, an SPV owner will have to know how to "unlock" a cell phone, a difficult process that sometimes involves taking the phone apart. "It's not something that my granny is about to do," said the source who requested anonymity.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-980803.html

ACLU: Surveillance devices multiply
When it comes to snooping on Americans, Big Brother has a lot more gadgets at his disposal. In its new study, "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society," the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) blames the unchecked use of technological tracking features for an increase in surveillance by both the government and the private sector. "The explosion of computers, cameras, sensors, wireless communications, GPS (Global Positioning System) biometrics and other technologies in just the last 10 years is feeding a surveillance monster that is growing silently in our midst," the authors wrote.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-980964.html

Intel makes adjustments for Linux
Intel announced on Tuesday new software to help programmers speed up Linux programs running on Intel Xeon and Pentium 4 processors. Intel's $699 VTune software lets programmers zero in on the parts of a software package that consume large amounts of computing resources such as memory. A Windows version of VTune could remotely monitor Linux programs, but customers had asked Intel for a native version that would run directly on Linux computers, Intel spokesman Scott McLaughlin said. While much of Intel's business is closely tied to Microsoft, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker has been boosting the fortunes of the Linux operating system as well. In 1998, Intel became one of the first computing industry investors in Linux seller Red Hat.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-980836.html

Mandrake Linux files for bankruptcy
MandrakeSoft, the financially strapped creator of the Mandrake version of Linux, said Wednesday it filed for the French equivalent of bankruptcy protection from creditors. In a statement on the company's Web site, the Paris-based company said its financial liabilities prompted it to file for "declaration de cessation des paiements," the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move allows the company to take court-overseen actions such as renegotiating its debt while continuing its operations. MandrakeSoft last month issued a plea asking customers to boost the company's revenue by buying products and subscribing to Mandrake clubs. The company also has been creating products that expand into corporate markets.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-980819.html

Old hard drives yield data bonanza
Two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate students have uncovered a treasure trove of personal and corporate information on used disk drives. Simson Garfinkel and Abbi Shelat, students at MIT’s Laboratory of Computer Science, said Wednesday that they bought 158 disk drives for less than $1,000 on the Web and at swap meets. Scavenging through the drives, they found more than 5,000 credit card numbers, medical reports, detailed personal and corporate financial information, and several gigabytes worth of personal e-mail and pornography. Their findings, titled "Remembrance of Data Passed: A Study of Disk Sanitation," are being published in the January/February 2003 issue of IEEE Security and Privacy, a journal published by the IEEE Computer Society.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-980824.html

PlayStation 2 shipments top 50 million
Sony announced Thursday that worldwide shipments of its PlayStation 2 video game console have surpassed 50 million units, broadening the electronics giant's lead over rivals Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony said that since the console was introduced in Japan in March 2000, it has shipped 21.5 million units to North America, 16 million to Europe and 12.5 million in Japan. Nintendo has projected that worldwide sales of its GameCube console will hit 16 million by March 30, the end of its current fiscal year. Microsoft projects sales of 9 million to 11 million Xbox consoles by the end of its current fiscal year on June 30. Both rival consoles arrived on the market a full year after PlayStation 2.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-980966.html?tag=fd_top

Calif. top court may weigh in on Sex.com
California's high court could rule on whether a domain name can be considered property, as part of a long-running dispute over the Sex.com domain. In an order issued earlier this month, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asked the California Supreme Court to rule on the question. The appellate court said it was asking the state's highest court to decide the matter because the case "raises a new and substantial issue of state law in an arena that will have broad application." The case involves the hijacking of the Sex.com domain, registered by Gary Kremen in 1994. In 1995, defendant Stephen Cohen forged a letter to registrar Network Solutions and convinced that company to transfer the domain to him. In 1998, Kremen sued Cohen and Network Solutions, which is now owned by VeriSign, to get the domain back and asked for damages.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-980960.html?tag=fd_top

PC shipments inch up in EuropePC shipments for Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 6 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, but any recovery is still a long way off, according to a new report. Continued growth in the popularity of notebook computers led the resurgence, market researcher Gartner Dataquest said Thursday. For the year, PC shipments in the region grew 3 percent over the previous year. The industry has been hunting for any sign that the two-year slump in PC shipments is coming to an end. The year-over-year increase is significant, but the market, particularly in Western Europe, may never revert to its double-digit growth days of the late 1990s, Gartner Dataquest warned.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-980953.html?tag=fd_top

Asia's online gamers trounce shoppers
Online gaming has beat out Internet shopping for popularity in the Asia-Pacific region, according to market researcher IDC. A recent survey of more than 3,600 Internet users across six Asian countries shows that the boom is especially evident in China and Malaysia where the number of online gamers outnumber shoppers two to one. In China, for example, 43 percent of those surveyed said they play games online, compared with 16 percent who said they shop over the Net. This sea change is also mirrored in Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Of the six countries surveyed, however, India showed the lowest penetration of Internet use with 15 percent saying they play games online and 13 percent saying they shop.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-980946.html?tag=fd_top

Decrypting the secret to strong security
Is open-source software better for security than proprietary software? The open-source movement argues that it's better because "lots of eyes can look at it and find the bugs." Those who favor proprietary software offer two counterarguments: The first is that a lot of hostile eyes can also look at open-source code -- which, they say, is likely to benefit attackers more than anyone else. The second point is that a few expert eyes are better than several random ones; a dedicated organization with responsibility for the software is a better custodian than the many eyes of the open-source community. There is probably some truth to the notion that giving programmers access to a piece of software doesn't guarantee they will study it carefully. But there is a group of programmers who can be expected to care deeply: Those who either use the software personally or work for an enterprise that depends on it.
http://news.com.com/2010-1071-980462.html?tag=fd_nc_1

Desire: Connecting With What Customers Want
Call it what you will: the Information Economy. The Networked Economy. The defining reality of competition and marketing is that companies are in the Overload Economy. Sure, the stock market is down and growth is sputtering. But there's still too much of everything. Almost every industry is struggling with overcapacity: too many goods chasing too few customers. Almost every customer is struggling with overcommunication: too many ads targeting a limited attention span. So how do firms stand out from the crowd, break through the clutter -- and connect with what customers truly desire? Melinda Davis, founder and CEO of the Next Group, is working on the answers.
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/67/desire.html

Transmedia Storytelling
Several years ago, I asked a leading producer of animated features how much creative control his team exerted over the games, toys, comics, and other products that deployed their characters. I was reassured that the distribution company handled all such ancillary materials. I saw the movement of content across media as an enhancement of the creative process. He saw it as a distraction or corruption. This past month, I attended a gathering of top creatives from Hollywood and the games industry, hosted by Electronic Arts; they were discussing how to collaboratively develop content that would play well across media. This meeting reflected a growing realization within the media industries that what is variously called transmedia, multiplatform, or enhanced storytelling represents the future of entertainment. Let’s face it: we have entered an era of media convergence that makes the flow of content across multiple media channels almost inevitable.
http://www.technologyreview.com/arti...kins011503.asp

Courting Trial Technology
Consumers are often amazed at the speed at which technology changes their daily routines. Global-positioning satellites plotting the course while one drives a car, retinal scanners in high-security areas and even grocery store bar codes and checkout scanners all change the way people go through the day. Litigators are no exception. Technology may change the trial as we know it. From the banks of the Thames to the banks of the Mississippi, courts are experimenting with new technology, transforming the art of litigation into the science of litigation. This tour of high-tech courts provides a glimpse of some of the changes already in progress.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1042568650292

Tech's future -- smart dust and ratbots
These technologies are far from being household names. And they're not exactly tripping off the tongues of most IT market researchers, either. But they could one day be as significant as the microprocessor or the mouse, according to a report issued Wednesday by research firm IDC. "We looked at technologies that were beyond the radar screen of normal market research," said John Gantz, IDC chief research officer. "These are technologies not technically covered by IDC on a usual basis." Gantz and David Emberley, an IDC senior research analyst, identified nine technologies that have backing from universities and major national laboratories and offer the potential to change lives.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-980843.html?tag=cd_mh

Governments to see Windows code
Microsoft will share the source code underlying its Windows operating system with several international governments, a move designed to address concerns about the security of the OS. The Redmond, Wash.-based company, which dominates the market for desktop software, has signed deals or expects to do so shortly with 10 countries and organizations, Salah DanDan, worldwide Government Security Program manager, said in an interview. "The GSP is the global initiative announced today that seeks to provide governments with access to source code and information that governments need to be confident in the security of the Microsoft platform," DanDan said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-980666.html?tag=cd_mh

Mainframes get open-source database
MySQL, the Swedish company that sells the open-source database of the same name, has released a version of its software for IBM's mainframe line. The MySQL database made its way to IBM's zSeries mainframes via Linux, an operating system that now can be run on the high-end machines. The new version of MySQL is now available for download, and MySQL will show the product next week at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in New York. Linux has breathed new life into the zSeries line, a decades-old, venerable family, but not one that's attracting new software the way Windows, Linux and Unix are. That new vitality stands to benefit not just IBM but also mainframe-software companies such as Computer Associates, BMC and StorageTek. IBM's Linux push also provided a route to mainframes for companies such as Veritas that previously weren't interested in moving their software to the systems.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-980663.html?tag=cd_mh

Police nab fugitive in eBay fraud case
Federal authorities say they've finally found a fugitive who was indicted more than two years ago on charges related to the auction of a fake Richard Diebenkorn painting on eBay. Kenneth Fetterman was arrested Saturday by Sedgwick County sheriff's deputies in Wichita, Kan., on charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license. He was initially pulled over for driving with a broken windshield. Sheriff's deputies identified Fetterman as the eBay fugitive through fingerprinting and detained him. Federal prosecutors in California are seeking to bring him to the state capital Sacramento, where he originally faced criminal fraud charges related to the eBay bidding.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-980601.html?tag=cd_mh

More consumers hooked on broadband
Broadband Internet use in U.S. homes surged 59 percent in 2002, fueled by consumer defections from slower dial-up connections, according to a study. The spike in broadband use came at a cost for slower narrowband access, which declined 10 percent in the United States between December 2001 and December 2002, according to Internet measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Still, more Americans access the Web using narrowband connections vs. broadband, a difference of 74.4 million to 33.6 million users, respectively. The study adds fuel to what many Internet companies have been predicting for years; mainstream Web users are embracing faster speeds to conduct their daily online tasks. Much of this growth was stimulated by consumers' greater comfort in surfing the Web and downloading multimedia content. But the biggest driver of home broadband use is a matter of dollars and cents.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-980737.html

Senators add Wi-Fi to broadband debate
Two U.S. senators are proposing Wi-Fi networks as an alternative to digital subscriber lines and cable modems for getting broadband Internet access to rural areas and small cities. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and George Allen, R-Va., on Tuesday proposed the Jumpstart Broadband Act, which would allocate additional radio spectrum for unlicensed use by wireless broadband devices. The two senators had been promoting the legislation as a means of bringing broadband access to the masses. The bill proposes the use of an additional 255MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 5GHz band. Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11b, is a technology that allows the creation of wireless networks with a radius of around 300 feet.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-980890.html?tag=cd_mh

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