The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

Voting machine fails inspection
University researchers delivered a serious blow to the current crop of electronic voting systems in an analysis of one such system's source code in which they concluded that a voter could cast unlimited ballots without detection. Using an earlier version of the source code that powers machines manufactured by Diebold Election Systems, the security experts -- three from Johns Hopkins University and a colleague from Rice University -- performed an audit and found numerous security holes. "Our analysis shows that this voting system is far below even the most minimal security standards applicable in other contexts," said the researchers in a paper published Wednesday on the Internet, concluding that "as a society, we must carefully consider the risks inherent in electronic voting, as it places our very democracy at risk."
http://news.com.com/2100-1009_3-5054088.html?tag=fd_top

Web debate on photos of Hussein's sons
Photos of Saddam Hussein's dead sons quickly circulated across the Web on Thursday after the U.S. government released them, prompting debate at Web news sites about how and whether to display them. The graphic photos of the bloodied, bruised bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein appeared on sites ranging from The New York Times to Google News, from MSNBC to Al-Jazeera. The government said it released the photos in order to prove to skeptical Iraqis that the pair had been killed. Web sites presented the photos in a variety of ways. Some loaded them directly, while others let viewers choose whether they wanted to see the explicit images.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023_3-5053748.html?tag=fd_top

Linux group broadens membership
The Open Source Development Lab, a group dedicated to building high-end features into Linux, has taken its first step in a plan to expand its membership beyond the computing industry. Unilever, a company with $49 billion in sales of everything from Dove soap to Lipton tea, has become the lab's first member that doesn't sell computing equipment, OSDL said on Thursday. The lab has been trying to broaden its membership to include those who use technology instead of just those who create and sell it, part of an attempt to gain a better understanding of what features are needed in the open-source operating system, OSDL Chief Executive Stuart Cohen said in an earlier interview.
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5053745.html?tag=fd_top

Microsoft concessions prompt antitrust OK
Microsoft has made further licensing concessions to would-be competitors, satisfying for now the federal judge overseeing the settlement of the giant software company's landmark antitrust case. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly told a hearing on Thursday that Microsoft had allayed many of her concerns by making it cheaper and easier for rivals to license computer code needed to make server software work properly with its Windows operating system. "I'm pleased that at least there's been some progress in that area because I was very, very concerned about that," Kollar-Kotelly said after hearing presentations from Microsoft, the Justice Department and state attorneys general. As part of the settlement approved by Kollar-Kotelly last year, Microsoft had promised to license the code, or protocols, on "reasonable and nondiscriminatory" terms.
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5053632.html?tag=fd_top

Web sites unfazed by SCO threats
One important section of the Linux market, large companies, so far don't seem fazed by SCO Group's warnings that Linux violates its Unix intellectual property, according to a study released Thursday. In May, SCO Group sent about 1,500 large companies letters alleging that Linux illegally includes Unix intellectual property SCO owns. SCO went a step further Monday, saying companies could avoid potential legal action by paying a licensing fee. But a survey shows that large companies are increasingly using Linux for their Web sites. Web servers, typically lower-end machines that are used to dish up large numbers of Web pages, are a well-established market for Linux. The survey was conducted by research firm Netcraft. In the last two months, Linux had a net gain of 100 places among 24,000 Web sites run by 1,500 large companies across the globe, Netcraft said. Companies that have switched to Linux include Charles Schwab, Royal Sun Alliance, Deutsche Bank, SunGard and T-Online.
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5053636.html?tag=fd_top

Microsoft's Patent Problem
Last month, when Microsoft announced its bellwether decision to award employees restricted stock instead of options, it also made news in a federal courtroom — the kind of news you keep quiet about. Microsoft suffered utter defeat at a crucial pretrial hearing in what appears to be the highest-stakes patent litigation ever — one in which a tiny company called InterTrust Technologies claims that 85% of Microsoft's entire product line infringes its digital security patents. InterTrust's engineers developed and patented what they say are key inventions in two areas: so-called digital-rights management and trusted systems. The technologies are essential to the digital distribution of copyrighted music and movies, and to maintaining the security of e-commerce in general.
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/techn...466180,00.html

IT Myths: Does the 'Beast of Brussels' know everything about us?
"The Beast is here and it knows all about you. Satan must be here – and working in IT." At least that's what one reader told us in our quest to unearth the biggest IT myths. In fact quite a number of readers out there actually related to us the story of the 'Brussels Beast' and 'Beast 666' – a supercomputer allegedly based in Brussels that collects personal data on all European Union citizens. Admittedly we thought this one sounded a bit far fetched although with current concerns about the privacy implications of radio frequency ID tags that manufacturers and retailers want to put in to goods to track them, we thought there might be an element of truth somewhere. However this is one IT myth that silicon.com can firmly hit on the head, though the truth is probably a far more interesting tale than the myth itself. 'The Beast' is actually the invention of Christian fiction writer Joe Musser, who included it in his book Behold a Pale Horse in 1970.
http://www.silicon.com/news/500009-500001/1/5304.html

Intellectual Property Concerns Aren’t Keeping Firms Out of China
Protection of intellectual property remains the biggest challenge for foreign companies doing business in China, according to executives who spoke at Wharton’s China Business Forum. “If you asked me, ‘In your early trips to China, what was your standard theme with every government official you met,’ I would say it was the need for better intellectual property protection,” said Charles Holliday, chairman and chief executive of Wilmington, Del.-based E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. “Eventually, I realized that the laws there are pretty good but the enforcement mechanisms are less than perfect.” DuPont currently operates at 22 different sites in China and reports $1 billion a year in sales from these operations. Nor has theft of intellectual properties such as patents and trademarks prevented other companies from entering the Chinese market, especially since intellectual property protection has been improved recently because of more aggressive government crackdowns.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/a...4&homepage=yes

Libraries get a break on Net filters
Under a deadline set Thursday, libraries have an extra year to comply with a controversial law that says if they accept federal funds, they must install Internet filtering software. The Federal Communications Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the law, set the deadline of July 1, 2004, in a 49-page ruling released Thursday. Because the law, called the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), had been challenged in court, the FCC decided it was reasonable to give libraries time to comply. "Consistent with the implementation framework established by Congress, libraries receiving e-rate discounts for Internet access or internal connections shall have one year from July 1, 2003, which is the start of funding year 2003, to come into compliance with the filtering requirements of CIPA," the FCC said.
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5053614.html?tag=cd_mh

Movielink, Disney ink film download pact
Movielink and Walt Disney have agreed to a licensing pact under which the online movie service will offer Disney films for downloading, the companies said Wednesday. Financial details were not disclosed, but the pact gives Movielink films from six of Hollywood's seven major studios. Disney will supply new releases and some older films from its Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, Dimension and Miramax Films groups. Movies include recent Oscar winner "Chicago" as well as family films such as "Jungle Book 2." Jim Ramo, chief executive of Movielink, said the deal gives the company a more complete offering of titles. The only major studio now without a licensing agreement or affiliation with Movielink is 20th Century Fox, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. In April last year, Disney and Fox disbanded their own movie download service called Movies.com.
http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5053552.html?tag=cd_mh

Burners Sweat Over Package Prank
Burning Man participants are often borderline fundamentalist about the mores of their desert bacchanalia. Over the years, they have steadfastly insisted that organizers never consider opening the doors to anything corporate. So last week, when a message advertising an all-inclusive package tour of Burning Man spread like some out-of-control virus among the desert fest's regulars and their e-mail lists, a lot of people went ballistic. Supposedly sponsored by Travelocity and an unknown outfit called Burning Tours, the package promised prepared meals, an air-conditioned tent, free "Travelocity/Burning Man 'trading trinkets'" and front-row seating for the annual alternative art festival's signature spectacle, the torching of the 50-foot wooden Man.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59740,00.html

RIAA Leaning on Kids' Parents
Parents, roommates — even grandparents — are being targeted in the music industry's new campaign to track computer users who share songs over the Internet, bringing the threat of expensive lawsuits to more than college kids. "Within five minutes, if I can get hold of her, this will come to an end," said Gordon Pate of Dana Point, California, when told by The Associated Press that a federal subpeona had been issued over his daughter's music downloads. The subpoena required the family's Internet provider to hand over Pate's name and address to lawyers for the recording industry. Pate, 67, confirmed that his 23-year-old daughter, Leah, had installed file-sharing software using an account cited on the subpoena. But he said his daughter would stop immediately and the family didn't know using such software could result in a stern warning, expensive lawsuit or even criminal prosecution.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,59756,00.html

Star Wars Kid Files Lawsuit
The parents of the infamous "Star Wars Kid" are suing classmates who posted a humiliating video of their son on the Net, according to Canada's Globe and Mail. Quebec teenager Ghyslian Raza was the target of worldwide mockery when a private video he made of himself practicing his lightsaber moves was uploaded to the Net by kids at his school. Now his parents are claiming damages of $160,000 from the families of the four classmates who digitized and published the video. Ghyslain's parents claim their son was so humiliated, he is undergoing psychiatric care and may be marked for life by the experience.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59757,00.html

'Mommy, Where Did I Come From?'
Alastair MacDonald always knew he was special. Everybody told him so. But it wasn't until he was 10 years old that he figured out why. A news bulletin about the death of his Uncle Patrick with details about his friend Louise and her revolutionary birth were enough for the precocious youngster to piece together the puzzle. Uncle Patrick was Patrick Steptoe, one of the pioneers of in-vitro fertilization, and his friend was Louise Brown, the world's first test-tube baby. "There were too many coincidences. It just kind of clicked," the 24-year-old engineering graduate said recalling the event. "I went running to my mum and said, 'Now I know why you were always calling me special."' Alastair was the second IVF baby in the world and the first boy conceived through the ground-breaking technology.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,59754,00.html

Hi-tech tool against paedophiles unveiled
A computer database which can identify paedophiles and their victims within seconds has been unveiled by police. The Childbase system uses sophisticated software to compare the faces of people in new abusive images with those in pictures already investigated. If someone puts on weight or changes their hairstyle it can still recognise them and has already been able to identify the brothers and sisters of abuse victims. By using the system to check whether there is a new victim or abuser, police believe it will help them focus on the most urgent cases.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3091663.stm

Wheelchair moves at the speed of thought
Severely disabled people who cannot operate a motorised wheelchair may one day get their independence, thanks to a system that lets them steer a wheelchair using only their thoughts. Unlike previous thought-communication devices, the system does not use surgical implants. Instead a skullcap peppered with electrodes monitors the electrical activity of its wearer's brain. Early trials using a steerable robot indicate that with just two days training it is as easy to control the robot with the human mind as it is manually. "It's a very positive step," says Paul Smith, executive director of The Spinal Injuries Association in London. "The psychological benefits it would offer are huge." The current options to give freedom of movement to people who are quadriplegic are limited, says Smith.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993967

Brain machine 'improves musicianship'
The system - called neurofeedback - trains musicians to clear their minds and produce more creative brain waves. Research, to be published in the journal Neuroreport, indicates the technique helps musicians to improve by an average of 17% - the equivalent of one grade or class of honours. Some improved by as much as 50%. Students were assessed on two pieces of music before and after neurofeedback sessions. Neurofeedback monitors brain activity through sensors attached to the scalp which filter out the brainwaves. These filtered brainwaves are then 'fed back' to the individual in the form of a video game displayed on a screen. The participant learns to control the game by altering particular aspects of their brain activity. This alteration in brain activity can influence performance.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3091595.stm

Scientist to create 'haunted house'
A scientist is continuing his quest to find rational explanations for unusual beliefs - by creating his own "haunted house". Professor Richard Wiseman, a University of Hertfordshire psychologist who has previously researched luck, superstition and fake psychic phenomena, now hopes to use a house to explore the psychological effects of hauntings. As a former magician, Wiseman has a few tricks up his sleeve - including eerie lighting, odd electromagnetic fields, infrasound vibrations, changes in temperature and draughts. By manipulating these phenomena, he hopes to record visitors' responses to physical changes in their surroundings - testing his belief that "haunted" feelings are caused by responses to the environment, not ghosts. "I think people have genuinely strange experiences," he says. "They can be because of environmental factors and if the house is known to be haunted." Wiseman is known for his research into the more unusual aspects of psychology. He has previously studied reactions of people in Hampton Court Palace and Edinburgh Vaults, both notorious for creepy goings-on.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/high...005295,00.html

Web cafe fraud highlights public PC insecurity
A New York man has pleaded guilty to stealing bank details and other personal data from hundreds of people by installing clandestine keylogging software on public computer terminals. Experts say that the case highlights the risks involved with using public terminals for sensitive transactions. Juju Jiang admitted last week to installing software on computers in 14 Kinko convenience stores in the US in order to record every keystroke entered by unsuspecting users. He used a program called Invisible KeyLogger Stealth to capture more than 450 usernames and passwords, starting in February 2001. The program runs in the background on a PC to try to prevent detection. The keyboard strokes are stored in small binary file that can be retrieved at a later date. Keylogging software programs are advertised as a means of keeping a check on a child's web surfing. There are even hardware keyloggers that can be fitted between a keyboard cable and a computer.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993981

RIAA Begins Identifying Targets In Copyright Suits
The Recording Industry Association of America has started making available the names of potential defendants in hundreds of subpoenas the organization has begun filing with individual ISPs.
The list, available online through individual court documents available through the government's PACER electronic filing system, includes defendants who use Comcast, Charter Communications, SBC, and other carriers. According to court documents, the RIAA began collecting information on individual users who allegedly began illegally sharing copyrighted files around June 26 or 27, a day or two after the RIAA issued a public warning that it would target individual users. In each subpoena, the individual's username and IP address are named, as well as the time and date the alleged violations were discovered as well as several selected songs from RIAA-affiliated artists.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1202589,00.asp

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