The Newspaper Shop -- Monday edition

[walktalker]

Apple: Forget XP, try the Mac
Apple Computer has a message for Windows users considering an upgrade to XP: Come back to the Mac. In the wake of a $1 billion Windows XP marketing campaign, all eyes would appear to be turned away from Mac OS X 10.1.1, the new operating system Apple significantly upgraded in September. But the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is convinced that Windows XP's endorsement of technologies that first appeared on Macs -- 802.11b wireless networking, CD burning, DVD playback, movie making, and easy retrieval of digital camera images, among others -- will help Apple system and software sales.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp01

OpenTV wins Web content delivery patent
Interactive TV software maker OpenTV announced Monday that it has been issued a patent covering the delivery of Internet content over cable and satellite networks to set-top boxes. The patent improves the management of bandwidth for cable and satellite operators, which will create a better experience for subscribers using Internet content and services via television. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company originally filed for the patent in 1996 and has been using technology based on the patent with satellite TV company EchoStar in the United States.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Microsoft admits IE security alert lapse
Microsoft has admitted that it knew about a security hole in Internet Explorer (IE) a full week before it accused a security firm of acting irresponsibly for publicly disclosing details of the exploit. Microsoft has retracted its earlier claim that the first it heard of the exploit was on 8 November -- the date of the public disclosure -- and now admits that it was actually notified a week earlier, on 1 November. Microsoft insists that two weeks were needed to investigate the alert properly, and maintains that no security breaches occurred through the delay.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Pentagon looks to civilian IT for clues
Video distribution technology that allows traders on the New York Stock Exchange floor to watch televised news programming was first developed for the U.S. Navy. Now, as the Department of Defense accelerates efforts to improve IT for 21st century warfare, the DOD is looking at ways traders use IT to improve battlefield applications. The pattern of military-developed technologies evolving into commercial products has come full circle: As the Pentagon hastens to develop tools for battling terrorism and fighting treacherous foes in dangerous environments, it is looking closely at advanced IT products developed for the private sector in the recent high-tech boom.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

MS: We'll always battle software piracy
Offering new evidence of the problem piracy poses to software giant Microsoft Corp., law-enforcement authorities announced Friday they had seized counterfeit goods valued at about $100 million, including about $60 million of fake Microsoft products, as part of an 18-month sting operation in Southern California. Microsoft trumpeted the bust as a victory in its intense campaign against piracy, but the company is struggling with the problem despite antipiracy features in new products such as its just-introduced Windows XP operating system.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Web ads watch the clock instead of clicks
Online publishers and advertisers are closely watching a new experiment in Web marketing that aims to replace discredited "impressions" and "clicks" with a more reliable measurement: time. Called "surround sessions," the new format lets advertisers target readers exclusively for the duration of a Web site visit. For example, a reader would see a series of related advertisements on each page he or she visits, starting by introducing a company and ending with an invitation to visit a Web site or receive more information about a product.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...kpt=zdnnp1tp02

Customers put kibosh on anti-copy CD
Complaints about anti-copying technology have forced a record label to issue CD replacements for angry consumers -- another setback for the music industry's stuttering campaign against record piracy. BMG Entertainment confirmed Monday that it has set up a hotline for consumers in the United Kingdom who are having trouble playing Natalie Imbruglia's latest CD in some CD and DVD players. The disc will be replaced by retailers or by the label itself, a company representative said. "Certain limitations of the protection technology were unforeseeable and only (emerged) when the CDs were released into the general public," said Regine Hofmann, a BMG spokeswoman. "We do need to respond."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

No cure for online privacy
About 65 million Americans have sought health information on the Internet, but many of their online activities are not protected by U.S. medical privacy rules, a report released Monday said. The Bush administration unveiled the first legal protections for medical information last April. The rules, which take full effect in April 2003, aim to give patients more control over who sees sensitive, personal information. Consumers should be aware, however, that the rules will not cover most purchases, searches or other actions on thousands of health-related Web sites, the report said.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Online anthrax remedies under fire
.S. authorities Monday warned about 40 Web sites to immediately stop marketing unproven treatments for anthrax or other products they falsely claim can protect against potential biological warfare agents. The Federal Trade Commission said the Internet site operators could face prosecution if they continue promoting the products. The action is part of a federal effort to crack down on Internet sites that aim to capitalize off Americans' worries about bioterrorism with bogus products.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Web services directory put to the test
Four major software makers will launch an updated test version of a public Web services directory that lets businesses list and find online services. IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and SAP on Monday are expected to launch the directory, which conforms to a budding specification called Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI). The new test directory is seen as a crucial step in making UDDI more widely understood and usable. The UDDI specification is the brainchild of IBM, Microsoft and Ariba and is supported by more than 220 companies, including Oracle, Intel, Sun Microsystems, Ford Motor and Nortel Networks.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Judge denies class status in Microsoft suit
A federal judge in Seattle denied class certification Friday for employees suing Microsoft over alleged racial and gender discrimination, ruling the software giant's managerial system was sound. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft had rejected charges that it gave current and former African-American and female employees subpar pay, promotions and evaluations. In a 26-page order, U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman concluded: "Microsoft's managerial system is not inherently flawed, and...the statistical data belies (sic) the existence of any class-wide pattern of discrimination."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Harry Potter bewitches Web sales
Harry Potter is sprinkling some magic on Net sales of movie tickets. Thousands of bewitched fans of the film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which opened in the U.S. Friday, are logging on to the Net to buy movie tickets to avoid frittering away hours standing in box-office lines. AOL's Moviefone.com, Movieticket.com and Fandango.com predict their combined ticket sales could top 1 million this weekend. Mitch Rubenstein, co-chief executive of privately held Movieticket.com, said his company has sold 300,000 tickets for "Harry Potter," eclipsing the company's previous best seller, "Pearl Harbor."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Episode II trailer entices "Star Wars" fans
Traffic to Starwars.com skyrocketed 115 percent this past week, as movie fans flocked to the site to check out previews for "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones." Starwars.com drew 342,000 unique visitors logging on at home during the week ended Nov. 11, compared with 159,000 visitors the previous week, according to Internet-audience measurement service Nielsen/NetRatings. The site attracted a predominantly male audience with an 82 percent to 18 percent gender split. Surfers spent more than 10 minutes at the site, with 57 percent of the total audience visiting the movie trailer section for "Episode II." The film is set to debut in theaters in May 2002.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

More news later on