The Newspaper Shop -- Friday edition

[walktalker]

I dedicate this paper to a special Napsterite

The week in review: High-tech piracy
High-tech pirates are exploring new territory, as new chips promise to defeat Xbox copy-protection features and an Eminem CD becomes a most-played hit way before it goes on sale. The Xtender, a "mod chip" intended to be added to the main circuit board of the Xbox, purportedly allows the console to play illegally copied game software. Will this inspire a Napster-like wave of copy infringement? Probably not, analysts say. For starters, using the mod chips requires disassembling the Xbox case and affixing the chip to the circuit board, a task that can require more than 20 soldering connections.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-929942.html

IBM scores $224M supercomputer deal
IBM has signed what it hopes will be its biggest supercomputer deal ever: a contract for up to $224 million to improve the National Weather Service's forecasting technology. IBM Global Services will operate the 2,572-processor machine, to be installed in an IBM facility in Gaithersburg, Md., IBM and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Friday. By July 2003, the system will completely take over the task of producing the National Weather Service forecasts distributed to Accuweather, the Weather Channel, and innumerable other media outlets.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-930016.html

Study: Open source poses security risks
A conservative U.S. think tank suggests in an upcoming report that open-source software is inherently less secure than proprietary software, and warns governments against relying on it for national security. The white paper, Opening the Open Source Debate, from the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (ADTI) will suggest that open source opens the gates to hackers and terrorists. "Terrorists trying to hack or disrupt U.S. computer networks might find it easier if the federal government attempts to switch to 'open source' as some groups propose," ADTI said in a statement released ahead of the report.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-929669.html

Red Hat defends patent applications
Linux distributor Red Hat has published a clarification of its policy on software patents, defending itself against criticism of the company's patents policy. Red Hat, which has the biggest market share of any Linux distributor, came under fire last week when it emerged that the software company had applied for two software patents. In its policy, Red Hat condemns software patents but argues that it must build up a patent portfolio of its own as a defensive measure. Open-source developers and companies such as Red Hat generally argue that software patents hinder innovation, since it is next to impossible to create software that does not use patented ideas.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-929695.html

Judges overturn library porn law
A federal court has struck down a law that would have required libraries to block children's access to offensive Web material or lose federal funds, handing a win to librarians and free-speech advocates. In a ruling Friday that blasted Web filtering technology for blocking both too much and too little on the Internet, a panel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) violated the First Amendment and urged libraries to adopt other means to protect children from inappropriate material.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-929553.html

Western firms break down China's walls
For Western companies looking to set up shop in China, it's often who you know. Although the country is rapidly moving from a planned to a free-market economy, bureaucrats and government officials still hold tremendous sway over economic development, say executives from international and local companies. By establishing close ties with them, companies can gain tax breaks and access to the best university graduates. Ignoring them can lead to delays and legal barriers.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-929878.html

Study: Net's software outlaws are thriving
Chances are, you're a software scofflaw. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group that represents the major software makers, says that more than half of all Web users have downloaded software they have not paid for. In a study of 1,026 Web users released Wednesday, the group found that 57 percent of respondents never or seldom pay for copyrighted works they download. And 12 percent admitted to pirating software.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-928581.html

Net telephony poised to take off?
Internet phone technology that dumps copper wires, circuit switches and phone jacks for all-digital systems has finally come of age, according to analysts. With more companies adopting these "voice-over-IP" (VoIP) systems and concerns about sound quality fading away, the technology is ready for mass adoption, according to several recent reports from equity research firm Merrill Lynch and technology consulting firm Aberdeen Group. At the same time, business customers such as Lehman Brothers are praising the digital phone technology, and IP phone makers like Cisco Systems are reporting booming sales.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-930014.html?tag=fd_top

EU body pushes spam guidelines
The European Parliament has signed off on sweeping guidelines for Internet regulation, including prohibiting spam and the use of cookies without the explicit permission from Web surfers. The directive, which the Parliament approved Thursday, calls for an "opt-in" system for e-mails, faxes and automated calling systems that requires marketers to receive permission from recipients before they make unsolicited commercial pitches. It also requires companies to provide computer users with "clear and precise information" regarding the use of cookies and prohibits them from placing cookies on an individual's computer without that person's permission.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-930019.html?tag=fd_top

Satellite radio is here, and it's looking for your business
The battle for control of your car radio has begun. The contestants are two satellite radio companies with big-name backers and deep pockets, hoping that every music- and talk-loving citizen will shell out $10 to $13 a month for their services. In one corner: XM Satellite Radio, on the streets since September. It's financed in part by familiar names like General Motors, American Honda Motor Co., Clear Channel Communications and DirecTV. In the other: Sirius Satellite Radio, the inventor of satellite radio technology, just now hitting the airwaves. It's financed in part by DaimlerChrysler AG and Ford Motor Co.
http://freep.com/money/tech/newman30_20020530.htm

Online film piracy cuts into industry profit
The release of the summer's first blockbuster movies has sparked an unprecedented frenzy of film piracy, sending nearly 10 million people online to download bootleg copies of "Spider-Man'' or "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones.'' Even as box-office sales soar -- with the top 12 movies grossing a record $193 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend -- Internet film piracy is growing even faster, according to a new report from Viant, a Boston-based researcher specializing in digital entertainment. As many as 400,000 to 600,000 illicit copies of films are downloaded every day -- a 20 percent increase over a year ago.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/b...gy/3369706.htm

IBM offers data storage alternative
IBM wants to know: Who needs a hard drive when you've got network storage? The company announced this week a new storage technology, called iBoot, that lets PCs and servers use computer networking to designate remote disk drives as their primary repository for data, instead of relying on internal hard drives. Aside from allowing access to greater storage capacity, IBM researchers say using centralized storage instead of internal drives can help companies cut PC maintenance costs, saving on procedures like software upgrades for PCs. And, they say, iBoot could eventually boost server performance by letting manufacturers build thinner, diskless servers that can be stacked more closely together in a rack. iBoot also lets companies remotely boot PCs, without making changes to Windows or Linux software.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-929107.html?tag=cd_mh

Taiwan schools suffused with Sun software
Sun Microsystems has donated more than $1.6 million worth of desktop productivity software to a university in Taiwan in an attempt to break into the country's education market. The company this week gave Chinese versions of StarOffice 6.0 to the National Cheng Kung University for use by teachers and students. Sun said it will also donate copies of the software to other universities, high schools and primary schools in Taiwan, although no time frame was provided. StarOffice 6.0, which carries a price tag of $76, represents Sun's effort to take on Microsoft's overwhelmingly dominant Office software suite.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-929480.html?tag=cd_mh

Openwave gets to the source
A wireless software maker with equipment in most of the world's telephone networks is releasing some of its source code. Openwave Systems is making the code available through SourceForge. The code is the essential software needed to access a library of information Openwave uses to route data like e-mails, short messages or Web pages to and from cell phones, according to Ron Mandel, general manager of developer services at Openwave. With the announcement, Openwave joins a growing number of wireless equipment makers beginning to pry open their own designs to the outside world. Nokia opened up some of its source codes as well, and device makers like Research In Motion have been licensing out their designs.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-929205.html?tag=cd_mh

World Cup sites swamped by flood of fans
Senegal's surprise victory over world champions France was not the only upset at the opening of the soccer World Cup, as millions of European office workers on Friday had trouble logging onto Internet sites to check the score. The official Web site for the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), hosted by U.S. Web portal Yahoo, slowed to a crawl, and two hours after the referee blew the final whistle there were still parts of the site saying the match had not yet started. Senegal won 1-0 with a 30th-minute goal by Pape Bouba Diop. Yahoo Europe was not immediately available for comment.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-929764.html?tag=cd_mh

Australian firm sues over spam complaint
An alleged Australian spammer is suing an anti-spam advocate after being blacklisted by a Web site that aims to prevent junk e-mail, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind. Direct-marketing company T3 Direct is seeking compensation of $24,600 (AU$43,750) from Joseph McNichol, who it alleges caused the company to be blacklisted on the Spews.org Web site. While several blacklisted companies have struck back with lawsuits against anti-spam groups, this is apparently the first time an individual has been sued for complaining about alleged spam.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-929761.html?tag=cd_mh

Media giant Disney plays modest mouse
Walt Disney, which just two years ago touted Go.com as its Web portal to the 21st century, has set more modest goals for its online unit in a new era of diminished expectations. Since laying off its staff of 400 people about a year ago, the once-hyped Go.com has become a shell of its former self, acting as an automated jump-off point for headlines and promotional material from ABC, ESPN and other Disney units. In its place, a leaner, more profit-oriented outfit has emerged in the North Hollywood, Calif., headquarters of Walt Disney Internet Group, which oversees content delivery for all of Disney's Web- and wireless-based initiatives.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-929661.html?tag=cd_mh

Google takes top prize in its own contest
Just weeks after inviting the public into its labs to try out experimental technologies, Google on Friday announced the winner of a $10,000 contest that brought in a small fortune in programming contributions. The winner of Google's first programming contest is Daniel Egnor, a New York programmer whose entry is designed to let searchers find Web pages within a designated geographical area. While Egnor, an employee of a New York investment bank he would not name, walks away from the contest with $10,000, Google may be the real winner, reserving for itself a "worldwide, perpetual, fully paid-up, nonexclusive license to make, sell or use the technology related thereto, including but not limited to the software, algorithms, techniques, concepts, etc., associated with the entry." Those broad rights apply not only to Egnor's winning entry, but to all the losing ones as well.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-831164.html

Creative ships tiny digital-amp speakers
Singapore-based Creative Technology has launched a portable speaker system with a built-in digital amplifier, which it claims can deliver powerful, high-quality sound in a small package. The size of a slim paperback at 154mm x 65mm x 50mm when unfolded, the Creative TravelSound weighs 320g with batteries. Four AA batteries can power the amplifier for 35 hours, according to Creative. "The TravelSound demonstrates Creative's superior ability to combine speaker innovation with audio quality," said Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-929396.html?tag=cd_mh

States Rebuffed Again in MS Trial
The federal judge hearing the Microsoft antitrust case said Friday she will not consider an internal Microsoft e-mail that advocated retaliation against "unfriendly" computer makers. This is the second time the nine states suing Microsoft have tried to use the memo. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly earlier had refused to let the states use the memo in questioning Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The states asked the judge last month to include the memo as part of the record as she decides whether Microsoft should face harsh antitrust sanctions.
http://www.wired.com/news/antitrust/...,52910,00.html

Game Controls Fit Like a Glove
Enemy planes circle overhead, looking to take out satellite installations at your base. Your defense system consists of a 360-degree gun turret armed with heat-seeking missiles and machine guns, which you control by a virtual targeting system that follows the movement of your hand. In theory, it's the game player's dream. A video game controlled by the mere wave of a hand, the twitch of a finger. With the new P5 glove controller, an updated answer to Nintendo's Power Glove, players do just that. It has a plastic shell that slips over your fingers. The movement of your hand, the signal of which is captured electronically by a base station, controls the movement of the character on the screen.
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,52855,00.html

A Challenge to Science and Nature
Only a handful of prestigious journals dominate the world of scholarly publishing. But only those who can afford to pay hefty subscription fees can gain access to research published in these journals. That may soon change. A new journal will challenge publishing behemoths such as Science, Nature and Cell by offering free access to research articles immediately upon publication on the Web.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52632,00.html

Your Boss May Know Where You Are
Your boss wants to talk to you, and pulls out a cell phone to retrieve a map of your location. The idea of someone -- especially your boss -- knowing where you are at the push of a button sounds dreadful, right? Not to a certain German company. Gate5, a software developer in Berlin, is selling its "People Finder" program to wireless carriers, which lets users of handheld devices pull up maps with the location of other cell-phone users. People must opt into the program, which works on handsets and personal digital assistants with short messaging and e-mail capabilities, the company said.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,52852,00.html

Europe Passes Snoop Measure
The European Parliament passed a controversial measure Thursday that would allow countries to force telecommunication companies to keep detailed records of customers' data for snooping purposes. The Parliament passed the Communications Data Protection Directive, 351 to 133, despite an aggressive campaign by civil liberties groups who say the measure would enable police to spy on citizens. Parliament members who voted for the directive say police need to access transmission data for e-mail, phone calls, Internet use, faxes, and pager messages to deter terrorist attacks.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,52882,00.html

US suffers broadband inflation
The cost of broadband is rising in the US and could dampen demand for high-speed Internet access. The warning comes from California-based ARS after it reported that charges for cable modem and ADSL services had risen on average in the first three months of the year. Cable broadband Internet service prices rose 4 per cent in Q1 2002, from an average of $43.21 a month in December 2001 to $44.95 a month in March 2002. The monthly price of bog standard ADSL increased 1.4 percent over the same time period, from an average of $51.09 in December 2001 to an average of $51.82 in March 2002.
http://www.theregus.com/content/6/25106.html

Just 2.5% of DNA turns mice into men
Mice and men share about 97.5 per cent of their working DNA, just one per cent less than chimps and humans. The new estimate is based on the comparison of mouse chromosome 16 with human DNA. Previous estimates had suggested mouse-human differences as high as 15 per cent. The new work suggests that neither genome has changed much since we shared a common ancestor 100 million years ago. "The differences are going to be few rather than many," says Richard Mural of Celera Genomics, the Maryland company that compared the mouse chromosome with human DNA.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992352

Oh, what's the meaning to take the risk to make anyone jealous or felling forgotten ? Therefore, I decide to dedicate that paper to EVERY napsterites, with no border of gender, sexual orientation, religion and the like (yup, that includes TankGirl, Sixxgunns and CornFlakeBoyee, I really said every Napsterites).

I love you all !!!

[goldie]

Originally posted by walktalker
I dedicate this paper to a special Napsterite
Study: Net's software outlaws are thriving
Chances are, you're a software scofflaw. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group that represents the major software makers, says that more than half of all Web users have downloaded software they have not paid for. In a study of 1,026 Web users released Wednesday, the group found that 57 percent of respondents never or seldom pay for copyrighted works they download. And 12 percent admitted to pirating software.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-928581.html

Online film piracy cuts into industry profit
The release of the summer's first blockbuster movies has sparked an unprecedented frenzy of film piracy, sending nearly 10 million people online to download bootleg copies of "Spider-Man'' or "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones.'' Even as box-office sales soar -- with the top 12 movies grossing a record $193 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend -- Internet film piracy is growing even faster, according to a new report from Viant, a Boston-based researcher specializing in digital entertainment. As many as 400,000 to 600,000 illicit copies of films are downloaded every day -- a 20 percent increase over a year ago.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/b...gy/3369706.htm

Of course, none of us would be considered thieves, pirates or gulp..........software outlaws now would we?

<-------Sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us.

Oh, what's the meaning to take the risk to make anyone jealous or felling forgotten ? Therefore, I decide to dedicate that paper to EVERY napsterites, with no border of gender, sexual orientation, religion and the like (yup, that includes TankGirl, Sixxgunns and CornFlakeBoyee, I really said every Napsterites).

I love you all !!!

Awe - such a sweetie you are

[TankGirl]

Thanks for the second copy, WT sweetie!

- tg

[Bronxie]

[Lowdown!]

Originally posted by Bronxie

Did you see the drunk baby with the cigar..hehehehehe

[GuessWhatChikenButt]

Walktalker is the bestest!

[Lowdown!]

Originally posted by GuessWhatChikenButt
Walktalker is the bestest!

Here in cali the flower around a guys head mean only one thing.....FLAMMER!