The Newspaper Shop -- Thursday edition

[walktalker]

My loyal readers

Worms evolving into complex beasts
The next generation of computer worms will be stealthier, more targeted and harder to defend against, a security expert predicted at the Black Hat Security Briefings Wednesday. "They are adaptive; they are evolving," Jose Nazario, a researcher for computer-security group Crimelabs, said of worms, malicious, self-replicating programs that have become a favorite tool of online vandals. Nazario, who is doing doctoral work in biochemistry at Case Western University, called today's viral code the equivalent of "primordial ooze." While malicious code -- such as the Love Bug, Hybris, Ramen and 1i0n -- has successfully spread widely, such programs are essentially less evolved than single-celled organisms.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...094015,00.html

Wireless networks lure hackers
A new way to attack wireless networks underscores the lack of security for PC owners using the airwaves to connect their computers, said security experts speaking at the Black Hat Briefings conference. On Thursday, Tim Newsham, a researcher for security firm @Stake, presented the details of weaknesses in the password system of wireless networks that could lead to a break in security in less than 30 seconds. The flaw is the third to be uncovered in the so-called Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, protocol that supposedly secures wireless networks. "WEP is inherently insecure," said Newsham. "So using WEP is essentially just throwing another barrier -- and a small one -- in front of the attacker." That barrier can be overcome in 5 to 30 seconds in certain cases, he said.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...094057,00.html

A Linux desktop is on the way
Is it hype or fiction that the Linux desktop is already dead? Some believe that because Eazel, Corel and a few other Linux companies couldn't make it that the desktop Linux is simply dead. Wouldn't this be like saying that the automobile is dead because American Motors couldn't cut it? Do you see Ford or Chevy closing up shop? Companies come and go. These companies simply had poor business plans that didn't pay off. And in this harsh financial environment, it isn't always the best companies that will survive. So what of the Gnome, KDE and hundreds of other developers out there? Should they start packing up their bags and go home? Did they all miss something while they were happily using their computers that never seem to crash and work the way they want? No, instead we should look at the desktop Linux like a fine wine, if you uncork it too early it will be bitter and unformed and hard to swallow. Similarly, desktop Linux will take time to mature.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/co...769502,00.html

Microsoft gives itself lots of wiggle room
Microsoft may have loosened its Windows licensing requirements with PC makers, but some legal experts contend the company has made a hollow concession. Microsoft on Wednesday said it will allow PC makers to remove Internet Explorer icons from the Windows Start menu and to block access to Internet Explorer in the new Windows XP operating system. The company also will extend this to Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000. Though the more lax licensing requirements may seem a monumental shift from previous restrictions, Microsoft has left plenty of room to retract the changes through other arrangements, such as co-marketing deals for promoting Windows XP.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...094074,00.html
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201...html?tag=cd_mh

Librarians targeted in latest copyright battles
Gone are the days when a librarian's worst offense was hushing patrons one too many times. In this digital age, the custodians of published works are at the center of a global copyright controversy that casts them as villains simply for doing their job: letting people borrow books for free. Their leading opponents are the very people who supply the books that fill their shelves--the publishers. And now that the high-stakes battle over copyrights has moved beyond music and movies to books, librarians are finding themselves the subject of rhetoric usually reserved for terrorists or revolutionaries.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...784614,00.html

Intel considers boosting handheld memory
Intel is betting that consumers want handheld computers stuffed with 500MB of memory. On Wednesday, the chipmaker described the search for what it calls the "Holy Grail" of mobile memory, with a new technology that will pack hundreds of megabytes of storage into mobile devices at a low cost. A typical handheld, for example, now has 2MB to 64MB of flash memory. In Intel's vision, the next-generation memory should combine high density -- which translates into greater storage capacity -- with high performance and the ability to be easily integrated with other types of memory. The new memory must also be non-volatile like a PC hard drive, meaning that data stored inside is not erased once the power on the device is turned off.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...094037,00.html

Judge orders Napster to stay offline
Letting even one copyrighted song slip through Napster's file-sharing system is unacceptable, according to a federal judge on the landmark copyright case. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel during a closed-door session Wednesday ordered Napster to remain offline until it can show that it is able to effectively block access to all copyrighted works on its network. According to a transcript of the session between Napster and the record industry, Patel also said the company would have to get authorization from the court before it resumes service. Napster said it would appeal the ruling.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/ne...094039,00.html

Microsoft to offer online music service
Microsoft jumped into the online music fray Thursday with a deal to offer Pressplay, an online service formed by music giants Vivendi Universal and Sony, on its MSN network. The deal caps months of negotiations between the three giants, making content from two of the world's largest music companies, Vivendi Universal and Sony, available to MSN's approximately 5 million subscribers. Terms were not disclosed. Company officials said the deal with Microsoft is similar to its affiliate deal with Yahoo that will enable users to stream music and eventually download it. Pressplay is expected to launch its music subscription joint venture later this summer.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Online Advertising: It's Just the Beginning
Welcome to the new world of Internet advertising. It's cutting-edge. It's sexy. And despite countless rumors to the contrary, it's anything but dead. BMW spent tens of millions of dollars to develop its five-minute gems -- and Nielsen Net Ratings reports that BMW Films.com had 1.1 million visitors in June. Moreover, it isn't only funky films that marketers are experimenting with. In 2000, U.S. advertisers spent $8.2 billion online, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, up from zero as recently as 1994. While spending is expected to stagnate or even slip this year, $8.2 billion is serious money even by traditional standards.
http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...010712_790.htm

The Do-It-Yourself Supercomputer
Cooperation can produce significant achievements, even from meager, seemingly insignificant contributions. Researchers are now using a similar cooperative strategy to build supercomputers, the powerful machines that can perform billions of calculations in a second. Most conventional supercomputers employ parallel processing: they contain arrays of ultrafast microprocessors that work in tandem to solve complex problems such as forecasting the weather or simulating a nuclear explosion. Made by IBM, Cray and other computer vendors, the machines typically cost tens of millions of dollars -- far too much for a research team with a modest budget. So over the past few years, scientists at national laboratories and universities have learned how to construct their own supercomputers by linking inexpensive PCs and writing software that allows these ordinary computers to tackle extraordinary problems.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/20...1hargrove.html

Oracle behind the wheel of wired cars
Oracle is going on a road trip. Chief Executive Larry Ellison on Thursday announced Oracle has formed an alliance with telematics company Wingcast, which is expected to outfit the 2003-model Fords with wireless communication devices and services including the ability to access e-mail or the Internet. Wingcast is a joint venture between Ford Motor and Qualcomm. The two companies will establish a research facility in San Diego to develop the applications that some believe will make telematics a $42 billion industry by 2010, Ellison said. The announcement is Oracle's jump into the field of telematics, or wiring automobiles to receive wireless communications.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=mn_hd

Counting wireless Web surfers a hard call
The struggling wireless Web has a new worry: Nobody really knows how many people are using it. Whether for bragging rights, ways to entice advertisers, ways to attract the best content, or a combination of all three, wireless industry players want to know who is using the budding medium. One way to find this out is to use traffic reports, through which the number of visitors to a Web site is measured. Although these reports are a regular part of the wired Internet, the same type of research is proving difficult, and unreliable, when it comes to the wireless Web.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Standards group ignites common-code war
Web standards advocates are declaring victory in their battle over browsers, but as they turn up the heat on their next adversary it's clear that their longstanding crusade on behalf of elegant design principles is far from over. After years spent goading Netscape Communications and Microsoft into complying with guidelines recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), standards proponents say they are turning their attention to companies that make Web authoring tools. Topping the hit list now are the likes of Macromedia and its popular Dreamweaver authoring tool; Adobe Systems and its GoLive product; and Microsoft again, for its low-end but widely used FrontPage software.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_pr

Tech words redefine Oxford dictionary
The technology bubble may have burst on the world's trading floors, but the industry's stock is still rising in the "Concise Oxford Dictionary." The latest revision of the dictionary, launched Thursday by Oxford University Press, has such high-tech words as "MP3" for the music file, "e-book," for a paperless book and "i-Mode" for Japan's wireless Internet service. If those additions look like alphabet soup, you may want to look up "digital divide," a new entry defined as "the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet and those who do not."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=cd_mh

Senate weighs Net privacy proposals
A Senate committee waded into the online privacy debate Wednesday, leaving little doubt that it intends to establish stronger privacy protections for Internet users. In a marked contrast to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, members of the Senate Commerce Committee hardly questioned whether an Internet privacy bill was necessary, instead focusing on what shape that bill should take. "I remain convinced, Mr. Chairman, that a federal law is needed," former committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., told Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., the new head since Democrats assumed control of the Senate in June.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Bertelsmann works on new Napster venture
BeMusic, the music services group owned by Germany's Bertelsmann, unveiled a new structure and management team on Tuesday that will oversee the group's joint venture with Napster. Bertelsmann's e-commerce arm, which agreed to an alliance last year to help build a legitimate version of online rebel Napster, said its chief executive officer, Andreas Schmidt, would take the top post at BeMusic, home to the world's largest music club and online CD retailer. Bertelsmann is developing BeMusic as a one-stop music shop, bringing together its online music store CDNow, music club division BMG Direct, recently acquired online song-storage company Myplay and its alliance with Napster.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200...html?tag=ch_mh

Sony to tap European hunger for DVD
Sony is the latest Japanese electronics manufacturer to try to capitalize on the growing popularity of DVD players in Europe, opening a production line in Hungary. Sony said the plant was set to begin operation Wednesday as part of an already existing audio-equipment plant and has a target of 50,000 units per month. "We are aiming for about a 25 percent share in the global DVD market," a Sony spokesman said. The global DVD market is expected to grow by 65 percent to 28 million units in the 2001 to 2002 fiscal year, industry sources say.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200...html?tag=cd_mh

More news later on