The Newspaper Shop -- Friday edition

[walktalker]

Sun slams MS with antitrust suit
Sun Microsystems filed a private antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft on Friday seeking damages that could top $1 billion partly over the software giant's handling of Sun's Java software. The suit, which had been rumored, also seeks to force Microsoft to release the underlying source code for Internet Explorer, and to release interfaces between Windows and higher-level Microsoft software. In addition, the suit seeks preliminary injunctions to require Microsoft to ship Java with Windows XP and Internet Explorer.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-855723.html

Court agrees to Microsoft hearing delay
A federal judge said Friday that she will grant Microsoft a one-week delay in the start of hearings on antitrust sanctions that a group of states is seeking against the software giant. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said at a court hearing that Microsoft should get the extra time to study last-minute changes to the sanctions proposed by the nine states that have rejected a settlement of the case. The hearings were originally due to begin next week. "There are some significant changes," Kollar-Kotelly said.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-855501.html

Alan Cox: Linux battles for the desktop
Linux Kernel hacker Alan Cox explains why the world needs open source software on the desktop and why Linux was perfect for Iceland. Alan Cox is generally referred to in the open-source developer community as a "kernel hacker" -- someone whose programming responsibilities cover the Linux kernel, or core, itself. His role of organizing and applying improvements is vital.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-855444.html

The Net without sex and violence?
A Congressional panel gave the nod Thursday to a bill that would set up a kid-friendly zone on the Internet free of violence, pornography or other material deemed inappropriate for children. The bill would direct the operator of the ".us" Internet domain to set up a ".kids" subdomain for Web sites targeted at children under 13 years old. Parents would find it easier to screen out sex or violence online by setting their browsers to only view Web sites with addresses ending in ".kids.us," said Rep. Fred Upton, whose telecommunications subcommittee unanimously approved the bill.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-855350.html

U.S., EU clash over tracking satellites
The European Union Friday rejected fresh criticism from Washington of a proposed EU network of navigation satellites that would rival the U.S. military Global Position System. The State Department said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. government saw no compelling need for Galileo, the European project, because GPS would meet the world's needs for the foreseeable future. Chief European Commission spokesman Jonathan Faull retorted that it was none of Washington's business and "we don't like monopolies, as you know."
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-855298.html

Napster sheds staff as talks lag
File-swapping company Napster laid off 10 percent of its staff this week, as it struggles to stay afloat without significant sources of revenue. The company had hoped to settle its long-running copyright battles with the major record labels by now, paving the way for it to launch its subscription service this month. Instead, negotiations have proved rocky, and the company is back in court without a clear path to settlement in sight.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-855890.html

Tech firms applaud stimulus package
Tech companies are cheering a new economic stimulus package that would provide tax breaks for computer equipment purchase and extend unemployment benefits for some workers, saying it could help pave the road for recovery. The Senate passed H.R. 3090 in an 85-9 vote Friday. The House approved the bill Thursday after a hard-fought battle over competing economic stimulus measures in the narrowly divided Congress. The compromise measure is a much slimmer version of earlier proposals, the result of trade-offs between those seeking more unemployment aid for axed workers and those seeking tax breaks for ailing companies. President Bush is expected to endorse it.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-855765.html

Hacking with a Pringles tube
Empty cans of Pringles crisps could be helping malicious hackers spot wireless networks that are open to attack. Security company i-sec has demonstrated that a directional antenna made with a Pringles can significantly improves the chances of finding the wireless computer networks being used in London's financial district. An informal survey carried out by i-sec using the homemade antenna has found that over two-thirds of networks were doing nothing to protect themselves.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/1860241.stm

Credible health sites not always accurate
The quality of health information on the Web varies from the accurate and credible to the personal beliefs of unqualified people, researchers said Friday. Consumers, who are taking more responsibility for their health, cannot always spot the difference. In research reported in the British Medical Journal, Pandolfini and her colleagues at the Institute of Pharmacology Research found that data on the information superhighway has improved in the past four years but still has a long way to go.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-855530.html?tag=cd_mh

Retail confab to debate Net music
A trade association comprised of music stores such as Tower Records and Best Buy is gathering Friday to shine a spotlight on the growing problems retailers face in the new world of digital music. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) annual convention and trade show will unfold in San Francisco in the next few days. It will feature some influential players in the ongoing online music debates: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will present a keynote Monday; other speakers and panelists include representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Microsoft and Capitol Records.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-856041.html?tag=cd_mh

SEC tackles get-rich-quick Web schemes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced crackdowns this week in two separate cases dealing with alleged Internet investment schemers. The agency has stepped up its enforcement against get-rich-quick scams in recent years as the Web has made it easier for scammers to trick people looking for easy money. In one case, the SEC won a temporary restraining order against Harral Dunbar Jr., operator of the Ghost International Web site. A federal judge for the Middle District of Louisiana ordered Dunbar to stop collecting money from investors, who were promised returns of as much as $100,000 on a $200 investment, the SEC said Thursday.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-855457.html?tag=cd_mh

Holes found in Sony's online game plan
Sony's plans to bring online access to its PlayStation 2 console met with skepticism Thursday, with analysts saying the company still needs to work on the business plan for online gaming. Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) executives announced that a PS2 network adapter, with an Ethernet port for broadband Internet and a modem for dial-up access, will go on sale in August, along with games from Sony and third-party publishers that support online play.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-855039.html?tag=cd_mh

Live Longer With the DNA Diet
An apple a day may be replaced by obscure molecular compounds and amino acids to stave off disease, thanks to a new focus of genetic research: nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics looks at the effect of nutrition on a molecular, genetic level. Forget the RDA (recommended daily allowance), those general guidelines designed for the entire population. New genetic research will ultimately provide diets tailored to your genetic make-up.
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,50879,00.html

Do OS Vendors Sell Lemons?
Government Web intrusions mainly occur because vendors sell systems with security holes, a researcher told a federal advisory panel on Thursday. Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, presented his findings to a National Institute of Standards and Technology body that was meeting to discuss minimum cybersecurity standards for the U.S. government.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50931,00.html

Smile, You're on Bootleg Camera
One should never underestimate the inventiveness of the criminal mind. After last week's story about a teenager who used his iPod to copy software from a demonstration computer at CompUSA, it has emerged that there are myriad clever ways to steal software from computer stores. Wired News readers submitted dozens of tawdry tales involving built-in CD burners, digital cameras and even the Internet, which was used to send software from inside an Apple store.
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,50910,00.html

Universe: Beige, not Turquoise
The color of the universe is not an intriguing pale turquoise, as astronomers recently announced. It's actually beige and a rather ordinary beige at that. Two Johns Hopkins University astronomers said in January they had averaged all the colors from the light of 200,000 galaxies and concluded that if the human eye could see this combined hue, it would be a sprightly pale green. That, they said, was the color of the universe.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,50930,00.html

Milk the Cow, and Udder Fun Games
Macromedia announced a shiny new version of its Flash software this week, one that the company says will make it easier for designers to create "rich" content for PCs, PDAs, Internet appliances, and whatever other electronic devices are soon to come along. This new Flash, called MX, is sure to enchant Web designers who are looking for ever more wondrous ways to make their sites stand out. But Ferry Halim -- a 28-year-old accountant from Fresno, a central California city that's pretty much in the middle of nowhere -- doesn't need the latest version of Flash for his website to stand out. He doesn't even need the current version, Flash 5.
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,50786,00.html

Frankenfish Debate Heating Up
The battle over genetically modified food has expanded from land to sea. An application to sell Atlantic salmon with super-growth genes now sits before federal regulators, who must decide if Frankenfish -- as its legions of critics call it -- is safe for the dinner table. A Food and Drug Administration ruling is expected to influence the fate of dozens of other animals such as cows, chickens and pigs that could be cloned and genetically engineered in laboratories across the country.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50928,00.html

Digging Deep for the Real Mars
The Canadian Space Agency has unveiled new technology that could one day see boring Canadians on Mars. It's a prototype drill that would form part of a still yet-to-be-developed robot that would bore 33 feet below the Mars surface, grab core samples, bring them back to the surface, and then identify each of the samples. The robotic system would process the samples for examination, slicing them into thin pieces, or polishing or grinding them before handing them off for analysis.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,50903,00.html

High-speed mobile Net access is on the way
It’s a mobile webhead’s dream. Instead of hooking a laptop up to a cellular modem, paying extra fees and draining cell phone minutes to download data at a snail’s pace, soon it may be possible to turn that laptop on anywhere and connect to the Internet at speeds comparable to those of digital subscriber line or cable modem services, thanks to a new wireless broadband system from San Bruno, CA-based IPWireless.
http://www.techreview.com/articles/innovation60302.asp

Dying stars hide behind a sunscreen shield
The centuries-old mystery of why dying red giant stars dim and gradually disappear, only to reappear months later, has been solved, say US scientists. Computer modeling shows titanium oxide, the white pigment found in sunscreens, periodically forms in the atmosphere of the stars. So-called Mira variable stars can dim to one thousandth of their maximum brightness. "That dimming is like exchanging a bank of stadium lights for a single night-light," says Mark Reid at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US, who was involved in the new research.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992018

MPAA's Valenti gloats over movie profits
Today we hear from Good Valenti, the guy who happily leads the cheers for his constituents, which is basically his job. According to a story by MSNBC, Good Valenti is delighted to report that Hollywood raked in record revenues on the domestic market in 2001. Theater admissions were the highest since 1959, we're told; and revenues are higher than ever in human history. An incredible eighty-two per cent of moviegoers attended at least twelve films, one a month, last year. Production costs per flick have fallen from $54.8 million in 2000 to $47.7 in 2001. And there are fewer screens in operation, meaning better margins for theater operators.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24335.html

Hong Kong 'Smart' ID Card To Capture Fingerprints
The Hong Kong government said a new "smart" identity card to be carried by all Hong Kong residents will contain a copy of the cardholder's fingerprints, or thumbprints to be more precise. Hong Kong is set to introduce one of the world's most advanced ID cards to replace existing national IDs held by all Hong Kong residents. The new ID card - already controversial because of concerns over individual privacy - is set to be introduced in phases from mid-2003 until 2007.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175056.html

More news later on