The Newspaper Shop -- Wednesday edition

[walktalker]

Hiya, marvelous Napsterites

Bugbear virus finds IE hole
A new e-mail virus gained a greater foothold in unpatched Windows PCs on Tuesday, spurring antivirus companies to upgrade their estimate of the virus' danger. Known as W32.Bugbear or I-Worm.Tanatos, the mass-mailing computer virus started infecting computers via e-mail on Sunday. On Tuesday, it accounted for nearly 11,000 infected e-mail messages intercepted by e-mail service provider MessageLabs' gateway servers. That placed it second to Klez.h, which accounted for about 14,000 e-mail messages. "It is so hard to stay up with all the patches," said John Harrington, U.S. marketing director for MessageLabs. Harrington said most home users don't even realize they're missing a needed security fix.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-960365.html

Study: Software sales to pick up soon
While the PC hardware market continues to slump, software sales are headed for a mild upturn, market researcher IDC said Wednesday. Modest growth is expected next year in worldwide sales of packaged software, according to IDC. Shipments of package software — products like Microsoft’s Office productivity tools and IBM’s WebSphere application software -- are expected to grow in the 10 percent to 12 percent range annually by 2006, IDC said. In contrast, last month IDC forecasted worldwide PC shipments would grow a paltry 1.1 percent this year compared with 2001. "A slow (software) recovery will begin in late 2002, and we are optimistic about growth opportunities moving forward," IDC analyst Tony Picardi said in a statement.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-960471.html

AOL says no way to Lindows PC
AOL Time Warner has distanced itself from a deal announced last week which will see its Netscape 7.0 browser installed as the default Web software in the Lindows.com operating system, calling the announcement "misleading". Lindows.com's chief executive, Michael Robertson, said at the time that the company was targeting households with multiple AOL users who might want to "purchase their own 'AOL computer'". Lindows.com, like other "alternative" operating systems such as Mandrake Linux, is installed on inexpensive PCs from retailer Wal-Mart, which cost under $200. An AOL Time Warner spokesman said that it had "nothing to do with" Lindows.com's PC plans, explaining that the company had simply filled out a one-page form on Netscape.com to obtain a license to distribute the Netscape browser software.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-960470.html

Labels change tune with free downloads
In a fight to win back fans from the "gray zone" of online song-swapping services, the music industry is borrowing a trick from its nemeses: free music downloads. For one week beginning Thursday, music fans in Europe will be able to download, stream or burn onto their hard drives a selection of tracks from 6,000 artists including Coldplay, Dido and Elvis Presley. It is part of a marketing ploy called "Digital Download Day" devised by British firm OD2, a technology company specializing in digital music distribution and co-founded by recording artist Peter Gabriel. Backed by record labels and music retailers, a host of subscription download services have been hatched over the past year to tap into the consumer craze of downloading music.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-960475.html

Building a better mouse tap
A new user interface for the PC is beginning to stir. Pioneered by Norway's Opera Software, the "mouse gesture" is slowly winning converts among software developers who hope to simplify repetitive tasks in computer applications. The idea is to allow users to execute commands with a simple flick of the wrist, rather than navigate through complicated point-and-click toolbars and drop-down menus. In Opera's Web browser, for example, a person who wants to return to a previous page can simply hold down a button and slide the mouse to the left, rather than moving the cursor to the top of the screen and hitting the "back" button. Opera's solution first appeared about 18 months ago in Opera 5.11. It has won raves from some of its followers, and now others are closing in on similar versions for a range of other applications.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-960408.html

Mitnick selling notorious laptops
Crime may not pay, but an online auction of the two laptops used to hack major corporations could garner convicted cybercriminal Kevin Mitnick a tidy sum. In an effort to help finance a legal battle to regain his ham radio operator's license, the one-time hacker is auctioning on eBay the two Toshiba Satellite notebook computers seized by law enforcement officers. "These were the laptops used to hack into companies and (security researcher) Shimomura's computers," Mitnick told CNET News.com on Wednesday. Tsutomu Shimomura, a senior fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, helped track down Mitnick in 1995 after the hacker broke into the computer scientist's server the prior year. The two laptops definitely reflect their age and their tour through the court system.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960540.html?tag=fd_top

Linux heavies play version name game
Linus Torvalds and other central Linux programmers are debating whether the next version of the operating system should be numbered 2.6, or if its new features merit the grander designation 3.0. The debate began last week with a post to the Linux kernel mailing list by programmer Jeff Garzik. Amid a discussion of some storage-system features in the kernel, or core software, of Linux, Garzik asked, "Is it definitely to be named 2.6?" Torvalds, the founder of the Linux kernel effort and still its leader, replied that he saw "no real reason to call it 3.0," saying there aren't enough significant changes to warrant such a major new designation. Later, though, Torvalds opened the door for the loftier label. Version numbers, while in one sense mere labels, carry a message about the magnitude of improvements and changes from one version of software to the next.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-960573.html?tag=fd_top

DVRs -- are they hot or not?
Although the digital video recorder market is growing steadily, the sharp increase in shipments many had expected won't come to pass, according to a new report. In a report due out later this week, research firm The Yankee Group says DVR products will find their way into 1.8 million U.S. homes by year's end. That number will grow to 19.1 million homes by the end of 2006 -- last year, the firm had put that estimate at 18.6 million homes. When DVR technology began appearing in the late 1990s, the hype was enormous, with at least one analyst predicting DVRs would be the "hottest electronics category in history." But the new figures are still a far cry from those racked up by DVD (digital video, or versatile, disc) players, which are expected to sell 15 million to 20 million units this year. In fact, it's DVD players that have become the most popular consumer-electronics product ever.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960554.html?tag=fd_top

Internet 'best' for green news
The internet is the best place to go for news of the environment, according to an online poll. Most respondents said the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in South Africa had been valuable. Twice as many people were worried about the environment as the numbers concerned about terrorism. The poll, conducted for the Andreas Papandreou Foundation of Greece, involved more than 25,000 respondents in 175 countries. It was the brainchild of the Greek Foreign Minister, George Papandreou, and a US friend, Phil Noble, founder of the PoliticsOnline website. Mr Papandreou told journalists at the WSSD, where the poll was launched: "This poll gives citizens across the world the chance to express their views. "I think the democratic challenge in this globalising world will be one of the most important for humanity in the decades ahead, if not the most important of all."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2290380.stm

FBI names most wanted security flaws
With an eye toward taking the ease out of hacking, the FBI and a prestigious computer-security research group have announced the 20 most serious security vulnerabilities affecting both Windows and Unix systems. The two Top Twenty Internet Security Vulnerabilities for 2002 lists, announced Wednesday, outline the software features most often used by hackers to circumvent computer security and break into Windows and Unix systems. The FBI's partner in the venture is the SysAdmin, Audit, Networking and Security (SANS) Institute , a research and education organization made up of government, corporate and academic experts. As part of the announcement, the U.S.'s General Services Administration, the body that oversees the functioning of federal agencies, urged those agencies to test their networks for systems with any of the listed risks.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-960574.html?tag=cd_mh

Slump to squash flat-panel prices
Street prices on flat-panel displays are headed downhill again. Shipments of the slender monitors dipped during the second quarter, according to a new report, leading to an oversupply of components and sparking a new round of price cuts. DisplaySearch, which tracks the monitor market, said unit shipments of flat-panel displays slipped by 3 percent sequentially during that quarter to 7.3 million units. Flat-panel display prices rose dramatically during the first quarter, thanks to solid demand from consumers and businesses. But the second quarter saw an abrupt downturn in consumer PC sales, which strangled the relatively short-lived flat-panel rally. Since then display manufacturers have been enjoying lower prices on the LCD (liquid-crystal display) screens they use to manufacture flat-panel products, which they are now passing on in the form of lower prices for customers, an attempt to spur demand.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-960358.html?tag=cd_mh

Web shoppers' new option: Bill me later
Instead of paying for purchases with a credit card, some online consumers now have another option: a "bill me later" button. Some seven Internet merchants, including MyMusic.com, have been testing the new feature, which was developed by start-up company I4 Commerce, since earlier this year. On Tuesday, payment-processing company CyberSource announced that it has integrated the "bill me later" feature into its service and has begun marketing it to its merchant clients, which include Home Depot, Overstock.com and Nike. The service should attract customers who can't or won't use a credit card online and encourage them to return, said Steve Klebe, vice president of strategic alliances at CyberSource.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-960380.html?tag=cd_mh

Boombox satellite radio nears
Satellite radios, normally found in cars, will get a new life as boomboxes by December, an XM Satellite Radio representative said Monday. Called SkyFi, the new devices represent a next step for satellite radios: true mobility. Satellite radios are generally fixed to one place, whether on the dashboard of cars, where they debuted in 1998, or inside homes and offices. The SkyFi will consist of a radio receiver, a remote control and attachable speakers, which give the device a bow-tie shape. The battery-operated devices will also come with a standard power adapter. It will be able to plug into a car, with a $70 kit. The company did not give details on the type of batteries the SkyFi will take. It also has not released the weight or exact dimensions of the radio, but said that it's about the size of a keyboard, only thicker.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-960201.html?tag=cd_mh

Faint political voices rise from e-mail
If you want to get through to your mayor, you're still better off meeting in person than relying on e-mails. A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that although 88 percent of local elected officials use the Internet daily while working, just 14 percent consider constituent e-mails significant. Lawmakers tend to give much more credence to meetings, phone calls and letters than to electronic communications. Still, the study found that e-mails and the Web are slowly transforming the notoriously tech-adverse political world. About 32 percent of local elected officials said e-mail lobbying campaigns played a role in swaying their decisions on policies, and 73 percent said e-mail exchanges with constituents helped them understand public opinion. In addition, more than half said e-mail provided contact with citizens they had not heard from in the past.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960537.html?tag=cd_mh

UPS sues Gator for wrongful delivery
Yet another company is seeking to defang Gator, the online advertising start-up whose pop-ups let businesses pitch potential customers visiting rival Web sites. Shipping company UPS filed a lawsuit last week against Gator in the U.S. District Court of Atlanta, charging the online software provider with delivering unauthorized ads to visitors to its Web site. Gator's software, which PC users install to manage passwords, might display a Federal Express ad to people viewing UPS.com, for example. "The problem lies in that this software causes third-party ads to pop up on our Web site, so if you visit UPS.com, an ad featuring our competitors would come up, and that's unauthorized," said UPS spokeswoman Vanessa Smith. UPS is seeking a preliminary injunction against Redwood City, Calif.-based Gator to cease its practices. The two companies are currently in discussions.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960535.html?tag=cd_mh

New consumer-protection bill introduced
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., has finally introduced a long-promised bill that would outline how consumers can use electronic media, books and software in the digital age without running afoul of ever-stricter copyright laws. The Digital Choice and Freedom Act of 2002, unveiled Wednesday, would provide protections for consumers who give away or make backup copies of digital material they've purchased. The bill would also amend the divisive Digital Millennium Copyright Act so that consumers could bypass technical protections on copyrighted material if they plan to use the work legally. And it would place restrictions on shrink-wrap licenses.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960531.html?tag=cd_mh

Search firm caves in to privacy pressure
Fast Search and Transfer's AlltheWeb.com bowed to pressure from a consumer advocate this week by adding a first-ever privacy policy disclosing its data-sharing practices. The Internet search provider, based in Oslo, Norway, responded to a complaint filed with the Norwegian government in late September by Public Information Research (PIR), a consumer advocacy group. The complaint charged AlltheWeb with failing to notify visitors that it uses tiny electronic tags to monitor search queries and share the data with third parties, in violation of Norwegian laws. AlltheWeb posted a privacy policy, dated Tuesday, that outlines advertising partnerships with online portal Lycos and advertising company DoubleClick and describes their use of technology to track search queries.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960509.html?tag=cd_mh

Netscape loses privacy dispute
Netscape Communications customers suing the company for privacy invasion are not bound by an end-user license agreement forcing them into arbitration, a federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday. At least three groups of Netscape users have sued the company in recent years, alleging that the AOL Time Warner unit's SmartDownload software invaded people's privacy and violated laws prohibiting electronic surveillance by sending their personal information back to the company. AOL shuttered the tracking feature soon after it was sued. But AOL also argued that plaintiffs could not pursue their complaints in the courts because they were obligated to comply with an electronic agreement to resolve disputes via arbitration instead.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960388.html?tag=cd_mh

New life for Linux news site
LWN.net, a Linux news site nearly 5 years old, has decided not to throw in the towel just yet. The news site announced in July that it would shut its doors because it just didn't have enough money. But the outpouring of reader support -- and money -- convinced editors to try a subscription plan. "We will now try to transition LWN into a subscription-based publication, supported by the readers that benefit from it," editors wrote in a Sept. 26 posting on the site. "Back in July, we had come to the conclusion that LWN was not a sustainable operation and that it was time for us to move on to other endeavors. The result was an amazing and unexpected show of support from our readers, in the form of donations, that caused us to rethink things," the editors wrote. Subscriptions will cost $5 per month for access to the site's Weekly Edition feature when it's published; nonsubscribers will have to wait a week to see it. The front-page news will remain freely available.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960383.html?tag=cd_mh

Bill to delay Net radio fees pulled
The House of Representatives canceled a vote on Tuesday that would have postponed royalty payments for Internet radio broadcasts, after industry players said they could settle the issue on their own. The bill's sponsor pulled it from consideration after Internet Webcasters and the music industry promised they could settle a years-long dispute over royalty rates by the end of the week, those close to the negotiations said. "At the request of the parties involved, we pulled it," said a spokesman for Wisconsin Republican James Sensenbrenner, who had introduced the bill last week. An agreement could end years of bickering between the online broadcasters and the musicians and record labels whose songs they "stream" over the Internet.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960367.html?tag=cd_mh

Webcasters sound off on Net radio fees
With an Oct. 20 deadline for controversial new Webcasting fees fast approaching, Net radio broadcasters are pumping up the volume in a countdown protest. SaveInternetRadio.com will begin broadcasting at noon on Tuesday, featuring music from independent label Garageband Records and interviews with lawmakers and artists backing the industry. The program aims to raise awareness and money for the cause of Webcasters, who say they face extinction unless Webcasting royalty rates approved this summer are set aside. "These broadcasters are goldfish swimming in an ocean with sharks," said Kevin Shively, chairman of the International Webcasting Association Legislative Committee and business and Web development manager at classical music Net station Beethoven.com. "We want to continue to raise awareness of this issue. We're counting on Congress to act to save Net radio from going out of business."
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960336.html?tag=cd_mh

Professor posts digital device hit list
Could singing fish novelties be hooked by a proposed law requiring anti-copying technology in digital devices? Princeton professor Ed Felten thinks so. The computer scientist has launched a site, called Fritz's Hit List, that points out devices that could be forced to carry anti-copying technology if Sen. Fritz Hollings', D-S.C., Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA) passes. The bill, which is designed to thwart piracy, would restrict digital products that don't carry government-approved security technology. So far, Fritz's Hit List features a catalog of unlikely devices Felten said would be regulated under the law. They include common objects such as baby monitors and automobile navigation systems as well as seemingly innocuous toys such as the Shop With Me Barbie toy cash register, the Sony Aibo robot dog and Big Mouth Billy Bass.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960317.html?tag=cd_mh

School tool eyes students' Web habits
Software developer LanSchool on Tuesday unveiled a monitoring system that captures thumbnail screenshots of students' computers and displays them on the teacher's screen, allowing instructors to keep an eye on their pupils' Web habits. LanSchool Monitor works somewhat like a security camera system, the company said, letting teachers and librarians track students' Web habits instead of installing restrictive filters. Teachers can see up to 144 thumbnails on their computer at one time. The Orem, Utah-based company is touting the technology as an alternative or addition to filters, which have come under fire from federal judges, librarians and civil libertarians for both over- and under-blocking. Students are notified when they log on that they're being monitored.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960309.html?tag=cd_mh

Yahoo to run multimedia ads
Yahoo on Tuesday plans to introduce new display advertising for its Web portal, in a move to attract additional marketers and boost revenue. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company will introduce Yahoo AdVision, a full-page advertisement that lets marketers broadcast a commercial, display informational text and Web pages, and run surveys or online games from one browser window. The ads, developed by Yahoo, spring up when visitors click on a banner for the advertiser and hold up to 30 minutes of audio or video. Yahoo is making a bigger commitment to "rich media" technology for advertising with its newest ad format. In July, the company gave a nod to multimedia advertising by partnering with Eyeblaster, EyeWonder, PointRoll and Unicast, a company whose technology collectively incorporates streaming audio and video, floating or expandable ads, and other interactive units.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-960247.html?tag=cd_mh

Segway faces regulation in California
California's local governments will be allowed to regulate electric personal mobility devices, such as the Segway Human Transporter, under a bill approved over the weekend by Gov. Gray Davis. Senate Bill 1918 takes effect next March and will last until Jan. 1, 2008. Under the law, local governments will have the power to regulate the time, place and manner for using the scooter-like devices, including the power to outright ban them from certain areas. Senior citizens groups in California already oppose permitting people to ride Segways or similar devices on sidewalks. "This new and innovative means of individual transportation will allow people to move throughout urban environments without pollution, significant levels of noise, or massive parking areas," Davis said in statement.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960572.html?tag=cd_mh

Gaming stealing Hollywood's thunder
Most people think computer games developers are geeks hidden away in cubicles, gulping soda and munching fast food. Think again. At the trendy and spacious banana-shaped offices of industry giant Electronic Arts, programmers think of themselves as tech-savvy artists. Three-story glass doors facing a pond can be slid open to facilitate an al fresco gourmet lunch. The programmers might even sip a cappuccino. These are the new stars of a thriving industry that's poaching some of Hollywood's best talent. Located in a leafy neighborhood just outside London, EA's studios were designed by the celebrated architect Sir Norman Foster.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960506.html?tag=cd_mh

Kit morphs laptops into robots
It's time to take your laptop out for a little spin. Evolution Robotics announced Tuesday that it has begun selling the ER1, a kit that turns an average laptop into a rolling, seeing robot. First demonstrated last spring, the ER1 package consists of wheels and an aluminum frame for mounting a laptop onto a rolling platform, a Web camera for gathering visual information, a control module and software to make the whole thing work. Upcoming accessories will include a "gripper arm" that allows the robot to grasp and carry objects; in a popular demonstration of the arm, an ER1-outfitted laptop grabbed a beer from a refrigerator and brought it to the owner.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960321.html?tag=cd_mh