The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

Labels target CEOs over file swapping
Record companies and movie studios are turning an anti-piracy spotlight on corporate America, sending a letter to top CEOs this week warning of illegal file trading going on at "a surprising number of companies." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and songwriters' associations have drafted a letter expected to be sent Friday to the Fortune 1000 companies, cautioning executives that employees' song- or movie-swapping could put them at legal risk.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-963208.html

"Critical" Kerberos flaw revealed
Kerberos has lost some of its bite, according to the US government, which on Wednesday warned of a critical flaw that could allow hackers to circumvent the secure networking system. Kerberos was invented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is used by many large businesses as a way of keeping their networks secure. It uses strong encryption to verify the identity of any machine using a networked resource. On Wednesday, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) of the US government Department of Energy issued the warning, which originated at MIT. The flaw allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access to the key distribution center (KDC), which authenticates users, effectively compromising the security of the entire network.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-963250.html

Microsoft, Disney team against AOL
Microsoft on Thursday officially launched the latest version of its online service, MSN 8, teaming up with content partner Walt Disney as the company looks to gain on subscriber behemoth America Online. Joining Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates onstage in New York's Central Park was Disney CEO Michael Eisner -- accompanied by Mickey and Minnie Mouse sidekicks -- to announce a co-branded Internet service targeting families that will feature MSN 8 software with Disney content. While the MSN 8 launch is a clear assault on its main rival in the Internet access business, Microsoft has taken pains to emphasize the differences between its service and AOL's -- a point underscored by the Disney deal, one of Microsoft's highest-profile content partnerships to date.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-963222.html

Tiny IBM circuits inspired by dominos
Just as a falling apple spurred Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity, toppling dominoes have inspired researchers to build the world's smallest computer circuits. Scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., have built and operated working computer circuits at a nanoscale using an innovative approach in which individual molecules stream across an atomic surface like toppling dominoes. The new "molecule cascade" technique represents yet another experiment exploring the far reaches of science to find ways to harness the quirky behavior of atoms, molecules and quantum spins as an alternatives to silicon--the underlying element powering all commercial computing. A sense of urgency is permeating the semiconductor industry, which foresees reaching the computing limits of silicon in about 10 to 15 years.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-963207.html

Report: Web services a decade away
The ultimate promise of Web services -- delivering software as a service -- is at least a decade away from being fulfilled, according to a report from IDC. In the report, released Thursday, the market researcher said that Web services are proving their worth as corporations adopt the concept and plug disparate systems together, but that the changeover still has years to go to reach its high-water mark. IDC's report echoes what chief information officers have been saying for months: CIOs are hedging their bets amid multiple standards and looking for more agreement on key issues such as security -- the underpinning of Web services.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-963179.html

Real to release code, make corporate push
Thirteen weeks after its surprise announcement that it was releasing parts of its source code into open-source development, RealNetworks will make the first installment of that code available on Tuesday. The release will be accompanied by a Webcast at 11 a.m. PST during which RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser will speak about the company's attempt to reposition its server business, which Glaser termed "challenging" in this week's third-quarter earnings announcement. Tuesday's release will reveal the source code to the Helix DNA client, which will let consumer electronics makers and other third-party application providers license the source code under one of two licenses: a "community" license for commercial use, and a "public" license for noncommercial use.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-963118.html

Google bans controversial sites
Google, the world's most popular search engine, has quietly deleted more than 100 controversial sites from some search result listings. Absent from Google's French and German listings are Web sites that are anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi or related to white supremacy, according to a new report from Harvard University's Berkman Center. Also banned is Jesus-is-lord.com, a fundamentalist Christian site that is adamantly opposed to abortion. Google confirmed on Wednesday that the sites had been removed from listings available at Google.fr and Google.de. The removed sites continue to appear in listings on the main Google.com site.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-963132.html

It's Linux for IBM supercomputer project
Linux will be the main operating system for IBM's upcoming family of "Blue Gene" supercomputers -- a major endorsement for the operating system and the open-source computing model it represents. IBM's $100 million Blue Gene program is directed at creating, by late 2005 or early 2006, a new family of supercomputers that will be able to perform a quadrillion calculations per second (one petaflop). Blue Gene/L, the first member of the family, will contain 65,000 processors and 16 trillion bytes of memory. Due in 2004 or 2005, the system will be able to perform 200 trillion calculations per second. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will use the system for performing nuclear weapons simulations.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963285.html?tag=fd_top

Perspective: Waiting for the Net meltdown
Tuesday's attack on the Internet's root servers should serve as a warning: Something is seriously wrong with the organization that supposedly governs the Internet and is responsible for the maintenance of the root servers. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a moribund bureaucracy centered on a culture of exclusivity and control, as was its predecessor, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). It has no legitimate charter for its authority, except that of cultural momentum. With its roots reaching back to the beginning, it is in control, period. Over the years, ICANN, IANA and their methods have come in for criticism, but change has been slow.
http://news.com.com/2010-1071-963205.html?tag=fd_nc_1

A new era of molecular circuit chips
When it comes to predicting the future of technology, Stan Williams shows the traditional caution of a veteran computer scientist. But when it comes to the role silicon plays in the composition of computer circuitry, he is convinced that a major change is in the offing. That change is probably not around the corner. But within the next decade -- and definitely within the next 15 years -- it's all but certain that new substances will supplant silicon as the material of choice in computer chips, says Williams, who directs quantum science research at HP Labs. Williams is one of the architects of the molecular grid circuit. This new approach to building devices such as memory chips uses readily available materials to construct circuits that can be printed right on top of a silicon base.
http://news.com.com/2008-1082-963098.html

Government Web sites are for the people not incumbent office-holders
Quick, what do the Web sites of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors have in common? The answer: Both have been designed with a similar purpose in mind: to help keep the current holders of those offices in power. The same is true of a wide variety of U.S. government Web sites across the country, including those for school boards, community college districts, city councils and major state agencies. Few contain the basic data and user-friendly resources voters have a right to expect. Instead, it's more common to see them festooned with an appalling assortment of inappropriate material such as photos of incumbent office holders, self-serving bios and lists of claimed accomplishments. Meanwhile, information about the offices themselves, or features that encourage the new forms of public participation that the Internet makes possible, is usually far less conspicuous, if available at all.
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/beat/

Aust games developers target PS2 platform
Game developers looking to move into the PS2 market will benefit from an AU$250,000 scheme announced today by the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) and the Victorian Government. A PS2 development kit is essential for creating games for this platform, but normally costs around AU$30,000. This is a major barrier to entry for startups or small companies seeking to enter this part of the games market, according to Adam Lancman, GDAA president and managing director of Infogrames Melbourne House. The deal between the government, GDAA, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Metrowerks will see the purchase of ten kits at a reduced price, and they will be provided on six months free loan to selected developers.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/ebu...0269352,00.htm

Net attack flops, but threat persists
A widespread but unsophisticated attack on the computers that act as the address books for the Internet failed to cause any major problems, but experts warn that more security is necessary. Beginning Monday, a flood of data barraged the Internet's 13 domain-name service (DNS) root servers in what's known as a denial-of-service attack. But the simple nature of the attack, and the system's resiliency, allowed administrators to quickly block the data stream. According to security experts, a more sophisticated attack could have disrupted the root servers long enough to impair Net access. Had the attack prevented access to the servers for eight to 10 hours, the average computer user may have noticed slower response times, said Craig Labovitz, director of network security firm Arbor Networks.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963095.html?tag=cd_mh

Encryption method getting the picture
Researchers have created a new way to encrypt information in a digital image and extract it later without any distortion or loss of information. A team of scientists from Xerox and the University of Rochester said that the technique, called reversible data hiding, could be used in situations that require proof that an image has not been altered. Its uses could range from sensitive military and medical diagnostic images to legal documents and photographs of crime scenes. The technique could also be used to encode information within the image itself for cataloging and retrieving from databases. Concerns about the authenticity of Web-based tickets, receipts and signed contracts have hampered the development of some e-commerce applications.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963054.html?tag=cd_mh

Microsoft marks piracy hot spots in Asia
Microsoft said Wednesday that software piracy was on the rise worldwide and that China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia were the "hot spots" in Asia where major counterfeiting activities thrived. Katharine Bostick, Microsoft's senior corporate attorney, said penalties imposed by many governments were not tough enough, and the result is the growth of large-scale manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit products. "It involves organized crime," Bostick said at a technology conference here in Malaysia's software hub.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963027.html?tag=cd_mh

Stanford gives distributed computing an A
Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated tangible proof that scientific experiments can be conducted using thousands of low-end PCs wrangled together into loosely linked networks. A group of chemists, including Stanford assistant professor Vijay Pande, said they successfully predicted the folding rate of a protein using calculations worked out on a so-called distributed computing network. Their research, conducted last year, was published this week in the science journal Nature. In an interview, Pande said the demonstration was an important proof of concept for the use of distributed computing in the lab. Distributed computing involves spreading computing tasks across hundreds or thousands of computers on the Internet or private networks that would otherwise be sitting idle.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-963024.html?tag=cd_mh

AOL discs heat up on eBay auctions
AOL's program discs -- those persistent CDs that seem to never stop arriving in your mailbox -- are making the jump from junk to jewel. Touting the launch of version 8.0 of its online service, AOL has released a series of collectible discs sporting designs by celebrities such as movie star Tom Cruise and fashion designer Donna Karan. The discs -- and the original artwork behind them -- are now showing up on eBay and selling for $36 on up. But even AOL's plain-Jane discs are for sale on eBay, with one bidder offering $5.50 for a set of five sealed tins containing the program discs.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-963117.html?tag=cd_mh

Ultrawideband gets a break
A new study suggests a wireless technology called ultrawideband causes less interference for bandwidth neighbors than first believed. In fact, common household appliances like laptops or microwave ovens are more of an interference threat than ultrawideband (UWB), according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) study. The FCC approved UWB products for sale in the United States in February, setting limits on the signal's power to calm fears about possible interference with GPS (Global Positioning System). UWB product makers believe the limits were unnecessary and ultimately make UWB equipment less appealing to consumers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-963101.html?tag=cd_mh

Free speech feels Net copyright chill
Rick Sanchez thought the bright folks at Mensa International would agree that his Pets or Food Web site was a joke. He was sure that the site's offers of "freshly clubbed" frozen baby seal meat and "a dozen Doberman flank steaks for a Super Bowl party" were a dead giveaway. If not, then surely the site's frisky description of fictional CEO Sydney Zwibel -- a "former animal disposal technician," Mensa member and alternate member of the 1984 Olympic Fencing Team -- smacked of parody. So he was astonished to get a letter from Mensa this summer, addressed not to him but to his imaginary character, saying Zwibel's use of the group's trademark without permission could result in "civil and criminal penalties."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963122.html?tag=cd_mh

Listen to offer legal CD-burning
As it readies a new version of its online music subscription service, Listen.com plans to announce on Thursday agreements to allow consumers to burn CDs from digital files. It won't be the digital free-for-all seen in the popular file-swapping arenas, however. The company will charge consumers 99 cents per song, which means a full album of songs will cost only a few dollars less than the retail price. However, the deals are a sign that the major music labels are increasingly loosening their licensing policies for digital music. Several other companies, including major label-backed Pressplay and independent Full Audio, also have won limited rights to let consumers burn CDs from music acquired through paid subscription services. While none of the offers exactly match consumers' desires for complete, unrestricted rights to music, it's a critical step forward, analysts say.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963120.html?tag=cd_mh

Labels look to put digital files on CDs
Copy protection company Macrovision said Wednesday that it is working with record labels to enable them to bolster their CDs with digital audio files that can be copied onto computers and MP3 players. But don't expect unprotected MP3 files to be distributed with the next Madonna album. The new CDs will include Windows Media Audio files alongside the ordinary CD songs. Those new files can be loaded onto a computer, but consumers won't be able to burn them onto other discs or trade the files online. However, by enabling the record labels to include files that can be easily transferred to an MP3 player or PC, Macrovision hopes to help assuage consumers' fears that anti-copying technology on CDs is taking away their ability to use the music they've purchased in different ways.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963121.html?tag=cd_mh

Bush urges ban on "morphed" porn
President Bush warned parents of the perils the Internet may hold for their children on Wednesday and urged Congress to outlaw "morphed," or virtual, child pornography. Speaking in the Presidential Hall in the White House complex, Bush described undercover police as "true patriots." "The House passed a bill which makes it illegal for child pornographers to disseminate obscene, computer-generated images of children," Bush said. "It's an important piece of legislation. The Senate needs to act soon. The Senate needs to get moving and join the House in providing our prosecutors with the tools necessary to help shut down this obscenity, this crime."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963110.html?tag=cd_mh

P2P hacking bill may be amended
A proposal to let copyright owners hack into and disrupt peer-to-peer networks will be revised, a congressional aide said Wednesday. Alec French, an aide to bill author Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., defended his boss' ideas but acknowledged that some critics had made reasonable points about the controversial proposal. "He plans to significantly redraft the bill to accommodate reasonable concerns before reintroduction in the 108th (Congress)," French said during an afternoon event at the conservative Heritage Foundation. Introduced in July, the P2P Piracy Prevention Act says copyright holders would have the right to disable, interfere with, block or otherwise impair a peer-to-peer node that they suspect is distributing their intellectual property without permission.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963087.html?tag=cd_mh

iPods to hit Target
Apple Computer plans to start selling its iPod digital music player at Target stores, CNET News.com has learned. The Macintosh maker declined to comment on the move, but several Target stores confirmed that they had the devices -- both the Mac and the Windows varieties -- on hand. A corporate spokesperson for Target was not immediately available for comment. The move broadens Apple's distribution of its popular MP3 music player in time for this year's holiday shopping season. "It could sort of save the December quarter given the sorry state of home PC sales," said Needham analyst Charles Wolf, who owns Apple shares.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-963217.html

No Easy Money Suing Spammers
When Ken Pugh sued the Elizabeth Dole for Senate campaign last month for sending him spam, it wasn’t money that motivated him. Even if he wins, according to the North Carolina statute he’s suing under, Pugh stands to net a whopping $80. That's $10 for each of eight e-mails he received.No, it’s the principle of the thing, says Pugh, a computer consultant from Durham, North Carolina, who is claiming that the unwanted e-mails constituted an illegal computer trespass. "I would be happy if it was $1, because even at $80 I’m not exactly making up for my time," said Pugh, who filed the suit in small claims court in Rowan County, North Carolina. "What I’d like to do is send a message to someone who may be (the) next senator." He hopes the suit will alert federal legislators, particularly in his home state, of the need for more effective laws against spam. Pugh himself favors a federal anti-spam law that would include provisions for a national "do-not-send list" of e-mail addresses that are off limits to bulk senders.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,55927,00.html

Feds Pushing Toxic Anthrax Drug?
Many veterans advocates believe a certain anthrax vaccine to be a major cause of Gulf War sickness. The company manufacturing it has launched a massive lobbying campaign to persuade the Bush administration to stockpile the controversial drug so it can be administered to civilians. Armed with a report prepared by a panel of company-paid scientific guns for hire, Lansing, Michigan-based BioPort is urging Congress to create a "civilian equivalent of the U.S. military's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP)." BioPort cites anthrax-bearing letters received by Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) as evidence that the United States needs "an articulated preparedness plan for immediate immunizations of at-risk civilians (and) a strategic anthrax vaccination stockpile" of the company's BioThraxin (known as MDPH-PA or AVA before January 2000).
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,55964,00.html

Band Can't Sell Own Music on EBay
George Ziemann didn't have delusions of grandeur when it came to selling his band's CD. He just wanted to promote the album -- and hopefully sell a few copies -- on a higher-traffic site than his own. So he turned to eBay, the Net's largest marketplace. But the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a law meant to limit people from distributing content illegally over the Internet, foiled him. The reason? He used recordable CDs (CD-Rs) to distribute his albums. The discs allow people to record data files -- music and movies, for instance -- and they are often used to record and sell pirated wares. As a precaution against enabling thieves to sell stolen merchandise on the site, eBay launched its Verified Rights Owner program, which allows copyright holders to send eBay take-down notices for auctions that violate copyright laws.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,55926,00.html

Airlines set to install inflight e-mail
Airplane flights, perhaps the final refuge for travelers who want a break from their e-mails, are about to get connected. After years of ordering passengers to go offline upon takeoff, a number of airlines are set to make it possible to e-mail or even surf the Internet while mile-high. Early next year, Lufthansa will become the first airline to offer high-speed Internet access to passengers. British Airways will follow suit soon after. Both carriers will be using Connexion, a major new Boeing initiative. It should also help the beleaguered airlines boost revenues, since they typically get a cut from such services.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/825345.asp?0si=-

Fallout From The Bubble
At the kickoff event for Stanford University's new Center for E-Commerce, top valley lawyers Wednesday gave a scathing review of what the fallout from the dot-com bust -- and now national accounting scandals -- mean for tech companies: more legal headaches. The center is designed to be a forum where academics and business leaders can engage in debate on a number of the hottest issues facing technology companies, including copyright, privacy, corporate governance and patent issues. One of the issues vigorously debated Wednesday at the center's debut conference was the climate of pent-up investor anger over huge stock-market losses. Regulators, legislators and judges are showing little sympathy for business in the aftermath of the stock-market plunge and accounting scandals, said Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati partner Boris Feldman. He worried that "all restraint will be lost'' as they enact laws and rulings to rein in corporate behavior.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercuryne...ss/4356780.htm

Spore detector 'could spot anthrax attack'
A prototype device designed to prevent early warning of an anthrax attack has been developed by a NASA team. The device constantly sucks in air samples and will sound an alarm in response to a sudden increase in bacterial spores. "This allows constant unattended monitoring - just like a smoke detector, but for spores," says Adrian Ponce at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. A background level of spores are likely to be present in most locations, but sounding the alarm only if the level rises should prevent false alarms, he says: "You wouldn't expect to have a rapid increase in a spore count unless someone had deliberately released them." The detectors could be installed in mail sorting offices or public buildings, Ponce says.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992968

Small extrasolar planet revealed by 'dust clumps'
Telltale turbulence in the dust rings surrounding a distant star has revealed the presence of a small planet. This new technique for hunting for extrasolar planets offers the opportunity to track down the small planets, and those with wide orbits, that cannot be detected by current methods. Most of the 100 extra-solar planets found so far are Jupiter-sized gas giants, close to their stars. This is because the easiest way to detect an extra-solar planet is to monitor a star for the gravitational "wobble" the planet causes as it orbits. But the wobble will only be detectable if the planet is sufficiently massive and close to the star.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992966

All right, a free copy to the first to tell me who wrote the chorus below

We've got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We've got to move these refrigerators
We're got to move these color TVs