The Newspaper Shop -- Monday edition

[walktalker]

Real to steal Microsoft's media thunder?
RealNetworks on Monday will unveil a new open source version of its streaming media software that supports multiple file formats for audio and video, including those that use Microsoft's Windows Media technology. The new software package, dubbed "Helix," and first reported by The New York Times, is scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference at 10 a.m. PDT. The software includes tools such as Helix Universal Server and Helix Producer. RealNetworks is already hyping Helix. On its home page, the company touted "a major industry announcement" in a large font and urged site visitors to come back later. But the information was already available there: Details about Helix were discovered elsewhere on the RealNetworks site.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-945418.html

ElcomSoft uncovers Adobe flaw
Thumbing its nose at the company that landed one of its employees in jail, ElcomSoft is pointing out new flaws in Adobe Systems' eBook software. The flaws could allow someone to check out every copy of every book in Adobe's new electronic library for an unlimited amount of time by changing the values in the loan form. However, the bugs were discovered on an Adobe test Web site that demonstrates how the software could be used to set up a lending library -- not an actual site that offers books -- and ElcomSoft gives information about how to fix the flaws. The Russian software company reported the problem to the Bugtraq list without first telling Adobe about it because, it said, the company has been reluctant to fix other flaws.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-945468.html

Scripting flaw threatens Web servers
A flaw found in newer versions of the PHP Web server scripting language could allow attackers to crash, and in some cases control, computers over the Internet, an open-source developer group announced Monday. The vulnerability affects versions 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 of PHP, according to the PHP Group. The flaw compromises different computer architectures in different ways: Web servers running on Intel IA-32 hardware could crash, while other systems, including Sun Microsystems' Solaris, could allow the attacker to infiltrate the computer. The flaw occurs because of a problem in the way PHP handles the memory allocated for data recovered from customer forms on Web pages.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-945502.html

Applied's science: Building tinier chips
Applied Materials is harnessing the atom to build better chips.
The manufacturer of chipmaking equipment said Monday that its latest product will incorporate a technique called atomic layer deposition, which creates chips atom by atom. The new equipment, named the Endura Integrated Cu Barrier/Seed system, will add materials in layers one atom at a time during the manufacturing process. Depositing materials in such a way will be a requirement in building future chips with 65-nanometer features, the company said.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-945466.html

Scientist step toward next-gen Internet
British scientists on Monday announced the completion of one of the building blocks for large-scale data sharing over the Grid -- a proposed network of computers seen as the 21st century successor to the Internet. The project was carried out by scientists from the U.K.'s E-Science Centres and was co-funded by IBM and Oracle. The companies, rival powers in the database market, contributed both funding and the efforts of their own researchers. The specifications announced Monday pave the way for researchers to collaborate using quantities of data that are massive and growing exponentially each year, according to scientists.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-945485.html

IBM tests 'self healing' database software
IBM is taking aim at Oracle with new database management software that can anticipate problems and give database administrators advice on how to fix them. IBM is expected to release a test version of its latest DB2 database on Monday. IBM executives say the new version is faster and more reliable with improved support for emerging Web services, which are designed to help companies interact via the Internet. Version 8 of DB2 is IBM's latest weapon in trying to grab more market share from rival Oracle in the $12.7 billion annual market for databases, software that is crucial for businesses and Web sites because it stores, manages and retrieves large amounts of data.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-945360.html

China looks to replace Windows
News that a consortium of China's universities and commercial interests want to develop a Windows-like desktop operating system could indicate that its Government wants to squash software piracy in the country. CyberSource CEO, Con Zymaris, believes that China may want to stop looking the other way when it comes to software piracy in order to give its bid to enter the World Trade Organization more credibility. Zymaris, who has met and spoken with delegations from China's IT sector in the past, believes that Microsoft's Windows product line is simply too expensive for Chinese businesses and government organizations to use legally.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-945403.html

Do we need a national ID plan?
Brad Jansen, an analyst at the Free Congress Foundation, has long been a dogged opponent of national identification cards. In April, Jansen told a Senate panel that a national ID means "a massive bureaucracy that would limit our basic freedoms." In the past, he and the Free Congress Foundation have teamed with the American Civil Liberties Union, forming an ad hoc coalition to oppose federal standards for driver's licenses. So then why is Jansen applauding a new White House plan -- while the ACLU is screaming bloody murder?
http://news.com.com/2010-1079-945347.html?tag=fd_lede

Machine Chic
It isn't easy to stand out in a place like New York City, where outrageously dressed people are as common as pigeons. Even if you wear a nose ring and dye your hair purple, most of the locals won't give you a second glance. But I recently devised a plan to rise above my anonymous status and become the most sensational person in Manhattan, attracting stares of wonder and bewilderment every time I walked down the street. The secret to my new celebrity would be a device called the Poma, a computer that looks like a futuristic fashion accessory. Unlike the now pedestrian PDA (for personal digital assistant) -- the Palm, the Visor and so on -- the Poma is a portable device meant to be worn, not held.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...88EEDF&catID=2

Biotech's Cut-Rate Supercomputer
For years, small biotech companies have used Linux to manage a lot of data on the cheap. Now that looks like a big business opportunity. Biotechnology companies have been turning to clusters of computers running the Linux operating system to help them manage the weight of data generated by modern biology. Modern approaches to biology, like genomics, which looks for individual genes amidst the clutter of human DNA, or proteomics, which tries to describe some of the most complicated molecules in the body, require sifting through massive amounts of data. Linux provides a way to build these systems more cheaply than would otherwise be possible.
http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/19/071...artner=newscom

Satellite phones getting taste of cellular
Satellite phone companies are starting to merge their own telephone systems floating in the heavens with the cellular networks on earth. Globalstar Telecommunications believes it's the furthest along, having begun demonstrating a "satphone" that can also use a cellular telephone network. But cellular industry entrepreneur Craig McCaw's ICO Global Communications is also said to be working on a similar set of devices. Competitive pressure could force others, like Iridium Satellite, to do the same thing. The development -- which is supposed to improve a satellite phone's reception in dense urban areas -- will likely get satellite phone companies even more attention than they've been getting since the Sept. 11 collapses of the World Trade Center towers.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-945528.html?tag=cd_mh

Is Internet radio doomed?
If you have ever listened to your favorite radio station online or surfed one of the many Web-exclusive streaming audio sites around the world, you have probably experienced Internet radio. Web radio stations come in all shapes and sizes; some boast niche-specific playlists, others promote independent artists, and still others simply stream simulcasts of traditional radio programming. Broadcasting on the Web, or Webcasting, allows audio to be streamed in real time to the listener, eliminating the wait times for downloads. The audience can be international, since there is no signal strength constraint as there often is for terrestrial radio. Most sites require listeners to use special software such as RealPlayer, Windows Media Player or custom players to access the streaming content.
http://news.com.com/2009-1023-945156.html?tag=cd_mh

The National Record Buyers Study II
Nearly three-quarters of teens do not have an ethical issue over the downloading of music from the Internet, according to a national survey conducted by Edison Media Research for the trade publication Radio & Records. Some 74% of 12-17-year-olds answered in the negative when asked if “there is anything morally wrong about downloading music for free off the Internet.” Our data suggests that record labels haven’t framed the downloading issue in a manner that can change behavior.
http://www.edisonresearch.com/RecordBuyersIIPress.htm

More news later on