The Newspaper Shop -- Wednesday edition

[walktalker]

News time
Study: IT budgets to stay squeezed
.S. spending on information technology in 2001 fell more than expected, and the rebound in 2002 will be disappointing, according to scaled-back predictions from market researcher Giga. Before the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Giga predicted that year-over-year IT spending would drop by 3 percent in 2001. In a report released Wednesday, Giga now expects a drop of 5 percent. Giga will also pare down its previous forecast of 7 percent growth in 2002. The figures are in stark contrast to the voracious growth rates of more than 20 percent in 1999 and 2000.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

FBI warns of Windows XP holes
The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center has urged users of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system to disable a feature that could leave computers open to attacks from hackers. In a statement issued on Saturday, the FBI's NIPC, which usually leaves computer security warnings to the private sector, said it held technical discussions with Microsoft Corp. and other industry experts on Friday to identify ways to minimize the risk from security holes in the XP software, which was launched in late October. A Microsoft spokesman said he had no comment on Monday on the NIPC statement.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Jupiter: Some pop-up ads don't count
Internet researcher Jupiter Media Metrix said Wednesday it would exclude some "pop-up" advertisements from its Web site rankings as part of an overhaul in the way it reports traffic figures. Pop-up ads and so-called pop-under ads automatically spawn new Web browser windows while people are surfing the Web that link to specific sites. For example, a person clicking through various pages on a Web portal may see a new browser window automatically appear on their screen pointing them to an online casino or credit card company.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Video on demand the next killer app?
It's been the Next Big Thing for a decade -- but video on demand finally appears to be living up to at least some of its promise. An idea that has been hyped for years, video on demand -- the ability to call up a film or some other type of content through your television when you want and stop and start it -- is only now really starting to gain momentum, analysts said. It's happening, though, without much fanfare. Much of this progress arises from $50 billion in investments by cable companies to upgraded cable infrastructure in the United States during the last five years.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Net merchants celebrate holiday sales
Harry Potter has made more than a few people happy lately. Retailers say the boy wizard -- along with video game consoles PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox -- helped boost holiday sales and bring online shops a strong finish to what many saw as a precarious holiday season. Yahoo reported an 86 percent jump in sales volume between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared with last year, and BizRate, a comparison shopping site, said Wednesday that online retail sales this season are up about 36 percent.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

'Legacy' game systems still reign
There is nothing quite so incessant as the plea of a young child to his or her parent, desperate for the latest video game system, and especially now, with the three most powerful video game systems ever competing head-to-head on the market. But these systems are not necessarily inexpensive -- $199 to $299 -- at a time when the economy may or may not be coming out of a recession and unemployment is at five-year highs. What is a financially strapped parent to do?
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Ginger: Not your average scooter
Segway, maker of the newly, and now mundanely, christened Human Transporter, likens its forthcoming two-wheeled device to a pair of magic sneakers. But the machine's price tag may have many potential buyers saying they'd rather walk. Curious about whether the machine formerly known as Ginger lives up to its price and the tidal wave of prelaunch hype, and about what its inventor, Dean Kamen, has to say now that the long-secret machine is out in the open, CNET News.com sent me on a visit to Segway's headquarters here.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...100994,00.html

DOJ shines spotlight on Hollywood sites
The Justice Department has begun investigating two joint ventures run by major movie studios that plan to provide video-on-demand over the Web, sources familiar with the action said Friday. The DOJ may soon issue Civil Investigative Demands (CID) to film studios, requesting documents about the joint ventures to ensure they do not violate antitrust laws. The studios are split into two camps for ventures that deal with online movies on-demand. MovieFly, one of the upcoming services, is backed by AOL Time Warner, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Vivendi Universal, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The rival service, Movies.com, is a project from Walt Disney and News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...101009,00.html

TiVo's holiday sales appear strong
A new funding source and strong holiday sales could bring good tidings for digital video recording company TiVo. San Jose, Calif.-based TiVo is one of the pioneers of digital video recorder (DVR) technology, which allows TV viewers to record shows to a hard drive and to pause live programming. The company has reached an agreement to sell to up $14 million in common stock to Acqua Wellington North America Equities Fund over the next 14 months. TiVo can use the proceeds to raise cash as working capital.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Safety Net? Sites pick up insurance slack
When Laurie Anne Plax got laid off from her marketing job in November, she also lost her company health plan. Moreover, the COBRA federal health insurance program, for people who lose their company coverage, was going to cost a bundle -- $700 a month for her and her self-employed husband. Fortunately, the Chicago resident knew where to look for alternatives. "Thank God for the Internet," Plax said. And as it turns out, at least when it comes to health insurance, the Internet is practically synonymous with eHealthInsurance, a privately held firm that claims to handle 95 percent of all health policies purchased online.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=mn_hd

More news later on

[TankGirl]

Nice to see the shop open again - thanks for the first copy, WT!

- tg

[Dawn]

Thanks for the articles Newsman

[walktalker]

Heyyyyyyy, I'm not done yet !!
Bin Laden tape renews search effort
The hunt for Osama bin Laden, which seemed to have gone cold two weeks ago, came alive Wednesday when al-Jazeera television broadcast a videotape of the world's most wanted man made possibly this month. In the broadcast by al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based satellite television station that has shown previous bin Laden tapes, the Saudi-born fugitive indicates the tape was recorded in early to mid December.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Sony console games dominate
Video games for Sony's consoles outsold the titles for all its major rivals combined in the first half of December, according to a report released Wednesday. Games for Sony's PlayStation 2 console held eight of the top 20 sales spots and represented five of the 10 best-selling titles over that period, according to market researcher NPD Intelect. The top-selling game for the first half of December was "Grand Theft Auto 3," published by Take-Two Interactive Software for the PS2. "GTA 3" has been a smash hit despite controversy over its violence.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Holidays give Web sites the gift of traffic
Jupiter Media Metrix on Wednesday said the holidays boosted traffic to the Web sites of Amazon.com and eBay in November, while Microsoft logged the biggest increase in traffic among rivals AOL Time Warner and Yahoo. AOL Time Warner maintained the top spot in terms of traffic with 84 million unique visitors, or the number of users who visited the Web site at least once in the given month, up 33 percent year over year. But Microsoft showed the most momentum, growing 39 percent from a year earlier to 75 million users. Yahoo's traffic grew 31 percent from a year earlier to 72 million unique users.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Amnesty period for software pirates
Hoping to flush out Bay Area businesses using illegal copies of Windows, Photoshop and other software programs, a national technology trade group will hit local airwaves this week with the message: Turn yourself in now or face steep fines later. The Business Software Alliance, whose members include Microsoft, Apple and Adobe, will promote a monthlong "grace period" in January, encouraging companies using counterfeit software to comply with license agreements without fear of penalties for copyright infringement.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl....DTL&type=tech

New features planned for file swappers
In the midst of a potentially crippling lawsuit leveled by the recording and movie industries, peer-to-peer company MusicCity is planning a new, more powerful version of its popular file-swapping software. MusicCity, also known as StreamCast Networks, makes the Morpheus file-trading software application that has consistently been one of the most popular downloads online for the last several months.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

HP files Compaq merger plans with EU
Printer and computer maker Hewlett-Packard has officially informed European regulators of its plans to acquire Compaq Computer, HP said Friday, starting the last major review of antitrust statutes. U.S. regulators already are considering whether the deal, which would be the largest ever in the computer industry, would present competitive problems. Canada approved the deal Thursday. HP said in a statement filed with U.S. regulators that it had filed with the European Union on Thursday.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=cd_mh

U.S. may play online tax man for EU
Some U.S. online companies could soon be required to take on a new role: tax collectors for the European Union. The EU's Council of Economic and Finance Ministers agreed earlier this month to require companies outside the EU to collect taxes on the goods and services they deliver digitally to European consumers, such as music, videos and e-books. The agreement, expected to be approved in February and take effect in 2003, is another step toward ending the Internet's status as a largely duty-free zone, and it complicates the already controversial debate in America about whether to tax the Internet.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Wireless holiday messages spike in China
China embraced the holiday spirit this year, sending up to six times the average number of short messages over computers and cell phones, industry executives said on Wednesday. A flood of holiday greetings spelled out in Chinese characters caused a spike in China's airwaves on Christmas Eve, allowing Web portals and mobile carriers to cash in as bargain-conscious consumers celebrated the holiday. Internet users sent friends and family members five to six times more short text messages on the night before Christmas than on an average day, said Chen Tong, the Web site manager of China's popular Internet portal Sina.com.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Consumers face narrow broadband market
A curious paradox is at work in the high-speed Internet world: High-flying companies such as Excite@Home are collapsing in droves, but demand remains for their services. The result is awkward for the still-growing number of consumers seeking alternatives to the speedy connections they've grown used to, or those who are finally ready to give broadband a try. What they're finding is a world radically transformed from even a year ago, with the marketplace now dominated by the giant telephone and cable companies.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-201...html?tag=cd_mh

One in four looking for God on Net
God trumps money online, a study released Sunday found, as more adult Americans use the Internet for religious purposes than for gambling, banking or trading stocks. One out of four adult American Internet users, roughly 28 million, have sought out religious or spiritual information online, according to a study released Sunday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Each day, more than 3 million U.S. adults find religious information online, up from 2 million last year.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Music fans pan subscription services
Napster is grounded, digital music downloads are going "legit," and yet college students and corporate desk drones continue to get busted swapping songs on the Internet's gray market. This is bad news for the major music labels. They launched subscription download services MusicNet and Pressplay this month in an effort to combat the rise of music piracy on the Internet, which the labels claim is eating into CD sales. These subscription services have had a lackluster debut as music fans and product reviewers contend they are an inferior alternative to the illegal sites, which of course are free and have more music variety and features.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Buy a Star, But It's Not Yours
Winona Ryder got one for Johnny Depp. Nicole Kidman got one and named it "Forever Tom." Princess Diana has two, purchased for her after her death. And at least one widow of a fireman lost in the World Trade Center attack wanted to buy one in memory of her late husband. What these people have is a 12-by-16-inch certificate from the Illinois company International Star Registry (ISR), claiming that a star had been named for them or their loved one.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49345,00.html

IT: A Language From Beyond India
Information Technology was never supposed to come in conflict with culture in India, but they have become two improbable contestants in a political game that's threatening to get dirty. It was to earn much needed goodwill that the state government of Maharashtra, a prosperous state of India, decided to introduce IT as an optional subject for its junior college students (11th and 12th graders). Along with mainstream mandatory subjects like science, English and commerce, these students have the option to choose only one subject called "second language" from a group of 20 languages that include German and French apart from popular Indian languages.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,49274,00.html

2001 Was a Tough Read for E-Books
It's been a difficult year for e-publishing, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering it's been a difficult year for businesses in general, and particularly those having to do with the Internet. As 2001 comes to a close, Wired News asked 201 authors, publishers, retailers and other industry analysts to describe the high points and low points of the year, and to present a wish list for 2002. The answers were varied and often predictable.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,49297,00.html

Why Goldfish Might Turn Blue
Say goodbye to Birkenstock sandals and woolly jumpers -- tomorrow's eco-warrior will like nothing better than swimming naked in defense of cleaner oceans. That, at least, is the hope of researchers in Singapore, who are developing a breed of fish capable of detecting water pollutants by changing color.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49185,00.html

MP3.com Downloads Into Europe
Selling music and movies to an international audience online is now a local phenomenon, because Vivendi Universal launched music websites in several European countries. Vivendi's MP3.com has opened offices in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom to give a local flair to its music retail business. The move is an early step in the company's strategy to sell music and movies through its Internet operations.
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,49342,00.html

Hallmark Settles Online Greeting Card Lawsuit
Hallmark Cards settled a lawsuit filed against it by Tumbleweed Communications Corp., agreeing to license Tumbleweed's patented technology for delivering greeting cards online. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in a California federal court. Neither company made financial terms of the settlement available, and both Hallmark and Tumbleweed officials were unavailable for comment.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173225.html

Microsoft Browser Slips Up On SSL Certificates
With the online holiday-shopping rush already over, some consumers might be chagrined to learn now how easy it is for hackers to trick Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser into accepting bogus certificates for what should be secure access to e-commerce Web sites. Germany-based E-matters, a Web development company, announced Saturday that it had found a hole in IE's authentication of secure sockets layer (SSL) exchanges that allows Webmasters to use stolen or expired SSL certificates.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173217.html

Zoher Worm Gives Unwelcome Christmas PC Present
PC users returning to their machines after the Christmas break should take care to update their security software, after two antivirus firms issued warnings about the Zoher worm. F-Secure issued a level two security alert to users on its Radar security advisory service over the Christmas break. Level two is one of three alert levels. Level two means the virus is active in the wild and is technically sophisticated.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173214.html

Bertelsmann Scoops Up Pearson's RTL Stake For $1.35 Bil
Pearson, the publishing group that also owns the Financial Times, is selling its 22 percent stake in RTL to Germany's Bertelsmann for 1.5 billion euros ($1.35 billion). The deal, announced on Christmas Eve, will see Bertelsmann boost its stake in the RTL broadcasting group to 89 percent. Pearson plans to use the proceeds from the sale to cut its 2.4 billion British pound ($3.45 billion) debt once the deal is completed early in the New Year.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173208.html

Thailand - Parents Don't Know Kids' Internet Habits
Thai parents pay little attention to their children's Internet surfing habits or how much time they spend online, according to a new survey by the National Information Technology Committee Secretariat Office. The Secretariat Office is part of Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) and recently surveyed around 300 students and parents in schools with Internet access.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173229.html

110 Mil Europeans Banking Online By 2005
Despite the closure of Europe's First-e online banking operation in recent months, a newly published report says that e-banking is still attracting more than a million users a month across Europe. Forrester Research predicts that the e-banking market will continue to grow steadily over the next four years, pushing user numbers to 110 million Europeans by 2005.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/173223.html

More news later on