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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 03 Issue 49
Volume 3, Issue 49 Atari Online News, Etc. December 7, 2001
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2001
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0349 12/07/01
~ W. Virginia Files Suit ~ People Are Talking! ~ E-Greetings? Pay!
~ States' Sanction Plan! ~ Cyber Security Boost! ~ iPod Issue Fixed!
~ Web Copyright Treaty! ~ Xbox Online Play Now? ~ Dutch Block PS Ones!
~ HP-Compaq Battle Rages ~ 'Goner' Worm Outbreak! ~ GameCube Sales Soar!
-* Excite@Home Rescued, Doomed! *-
-* Apple To Make MS Settlement Proposal*-
-* EU Ministers Back Unsolicited E-Mail Ban! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I realize that I'm always complaining how fast time goes by, but this is
ridiculous! How did we get from November to April so quickly? Did I fall
asleep and we went from fall to spring? Wait a minute! The calendar say
December! At least here in New England, you'd never know it by the weather!
The trees have buds, flowers are coming up, and the geese are flying north!!
This has been great. Record high temperatures almost every day this week.
You just know we're going to pay for this weather eventually!
I've been thinking about the proposed Microsoft settlement news lately, and
something about it just didn't feel right to me. Forget the fact that
Microsoft seems to be on the verge of getting away with just a slap on the
wrist. There was something else that I couldn't put my hands on, but I knew
that it was there, somewhere. Then I saw a few commentaries from a few
people online, and then another story this week from Apple.
This case came about due to Microsoft being accused of antitrust violations
and how it was becoming monopolistic. The Justice Department and a number
of states successfully proved that this was indeed occurring. Found guilty
and then got "off" on appeal. A new judge demanded a settlement. What
settlement is proposed/offered? Computers and Microsoft software for
thousands of needy schools! In and of itself, the offer is a noble one.
There are schools in need of computer equipment and software that might
otherwise not be able to afford buying it.
Now, being the ever-cynical person who thinks that "if something seems too
good to be true, it usually isn't" - I can picture this as yet another way
for Microsoft to continue to monopolize the industry by getting more of its
software embedded into another market - schools. What about Apple? The
school system is probably the last vestige that Microsoft doesn't have its
hooks into fully - it's Apple's niche market.
Now I believe in competition as much as the next guy. Let the better
company or product win on an even playing field. But this is not a
competitive move, it's a brilliant scheme on Microsoft's part! This is not
a settlement. It's not a charitable act. It's more of the same old
Microsoft finding a way to get deeper into the customer base and squashing
its competitors. What do you think?
Me, I'm going to find the suntan lotion and sit on the deck and catch a few
rays with a nice cold beer!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Remember a few weeks ago when I said
something to the effect of "well, winter is on its way"?
It seems that the reports of autumn's demise have been exaggerated. The
weather here in southern New England have been nothing short of
remarkable. The temperatures this week have been more indicative of
April than December.
Now I'm not going to start yelling about global warming or El Nino,
since I fully realize that this could well be nothing more than a
statistical aberration.
I remember way back in the dim mists of time when I was a kid. It seems
that we could always count on at least a couple of light snowfalls
between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Of course, I can remember my grandmother telling me that, when she was
a kid, they always had snow for Thanksgiving. How much is fact and how
much is our faulty memories is hard to tell, and I'm not at all sure
that what I remember is the way it actually was.
On another subject, I notice that there are several more trojans,
worms, and viruses out there preying on Windows machines. Windows is
kind of like having sex these days: If you're planning on having
Windows, you really should make sure you have protection. <grin>
Seriously though, if you "do email" on a Windows machine, get yourself
some anti-virus software and update it at least weekly.
To tell the truth, I'd love to be able to say that all of the virus
problems out there are the fault of Windows and Microsoft, but it just
ain't so.
Sure, Microsoft made some mistakes and left some security holes in
Windows, but it's these freaks who have nothing better to do than to
write these snippits of code. The fact that Windows is the target is
mostly because of its popularity. I wish I could say that it's Microsoft's
fault, but it isn't.
Well, let's get to the news and stuff from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Joe Zorin asks about installing a hard drive on his ST:
"I just bought from someone online a Mega ST4 and an Atari hard
drive, SH205. I'm having trouble with getting the hard drive
running.
First of all, I used several Atari computers from when they
first came out until when I bought my first IBM compatible PC in
94. Since then I've only used my old Atari to run certain
programs I created for my work and haven't yet ported to the PC.
My Atari's floppy stopped working which is why I bought a system
online. For my old Atari I had a hard drive custom built before
the Atari hard drives came out.
Anyway, the fellow who sold me the Atari said that he wiped the
hard drive clean but reinstalled the Atari hard drive software
so it should boot up, but it doesn't.
I'm not even sure I have the hard drive plugged in properly. It
has 2 ports on the back, one is "out" and one is "in". I presume
the "out" is the one to use. I vaguely remember that it is
necessary to first turn on the hard drive, let it come up, then
turn on the computer. What happens is that the computer's drive
"A" light stays on and the hard drive doesn't come up. If I put
a floppy in the drive, the light will go off but the computer
can't see the floppy complaining that the disc or floppy drive
is no good and I do not see an icon for the hard drive. If I
turn the computer on without the hard drive turned on, then the
computer successfully sees drive A.
The fellow who sold me the computer then emailed me what he says
is the Atari hard drive software. It consists of 2 folders. The
first is called Ahdi and in it are 2 files, Ahdi.prg and
Shdriv.sys. The other folder is Hdx and in it are Hdx.prg and
Hdx.rsc.
So, how do I install this hard drive software? What steps are
necessary as far as turning on the computer and hard drive and
what should be in the floppy? Do I need to remove those files
from the folders?
I used to be really good at Atari tech stuff and did a lot of
programming with Laser C. But, it's been almost 10 years since I
did any such tech stuff- and I don't have the hard drive
installation instructions.
I wouldn't be surprised the hard drive has the software already
installed but I must be doing something wrong."
'Pelcombe-Ilford' tells Joe:
"I suspect it might be a SCSI drive, in which case you might need to
connect the computer to the 'IN' port, and then connect a SCSI
terminator block to the 'OUT' port.
(This might just be a shot in the dark, since I'm not familiar with the
Atari built hard drives, I'm working from my experience with a System
Solutions external SCSI drive, which I operated with a ST+ SCSI adaptor
and a Falcon. I hope this information is useful though.)"
Peter West adds:
"I think the old Atari hard disks had DMA connections with an
internal host adapter. Most were of the old RLL or MSF type -
definitely not SCSI.
But, Joseph, you should connect his DMA lead to the IN socket! The
OUT was mainly for the Atari Laser, but could be used with a Link
or similar device to connect to SCSI drives. Also, try downloading
their demo version of HDDRIVER from Uwe's site. If it works, buy
the full version -it's the best Atari hard disk driver there is!
You can run HDDRIVER from the floppy - as you can AHDI - and install
it on the hard drive. Don't forget you have to add the partition icons
manually to the desktop, unless you have Thing or jinnee which will
install them all with one mouse click. With the Atari desktop, click
on one of the floppy icons, then 'Install Disk Drive' and type in 'C'
(capital!) for the drive and 'Hard Disk' for the name. If the disk has
several partitions, repeat this for each one, incrementing the letter
by one each time (it doesn't matter if you install too many - if the
partitions don't exist you will get a warning message when you try and
open them, so delete the surplus ones by dragging their icon(s) to the
wastebasket. Once you have icons for all partitions installed and
dragged to your preferred positions, don't forget to 'Save Desktop'."
Ken Kosut asks about CAB and PPP-Connect:
"I am having some problems connecting with PPP-Connect.
Falcon/Magic 6.01/HS-modem
I have DRVIN.PRG and SCC.PRG in the AUTO folder.
(also SOCKETS.PRG)
Is DRVIN necessary with Magic? Do I have to adjust DRVIN and SCC with
Setter?
I used ICONF.PRG to create a New set.
I got it to dial in one time, but it would not connect.
Local Code Reject NO
Remote Code Reject NO
Local Protocol Reject NO
Remote Protocol Reject NO
Remote Authentication Request NO
Remote Line Quality Report Request NO
Peer did not provide Local IP-address NO
DNS IP address NO
Timeout YES
I was told to leave the local IP address set to O. I put in a DNS IP,
but now the modem won't dial in. I would appreciate any suggestions."
Gerhard Stoll tells Ken:
"You can try to set the RBLS2 and TBLS2 to 8196 bytes or higher."
Derryck Croker adds:
"Yes, use DRVIN. Driver, scc and sockets in that order.
I think it should work as-is. English docs for HSModem are on my web
site by the way.
Make sure you set the port to Modem2, usual 8-N-1 for the other
settings, I've got a simple atz for the modem command.
Local IP address should be 0.0.0.0
Login - try just the "Done" entry, with PPP ticked
DNS - either enter the one that the ISP provides, or enter 0.0.0.0. It
will then be negotiated during connection. Failure to enter or
negotiate a DNS won't make a ha'porth's worth of difference to dialling
in, just that you won't be able to browse any web sites unless you know
their IP address."
You might find it's a problem with the running order in your Auto
folder, see above. If IConnect stalls during the "negotiation" stage,
then it's worth activating the terminal and responding to your ISP's
questions - you can use the results as a script. Usually the "Done"
entry is all you need, but the ISP I use now wants a little chat with a
script."
Ken makes some adjustments and tells us:
"I rearranged programs in Auto Folder (DRVIN, SCC and SOCKETS)
Went to Terminal Mode and Logged on Manually. After my ISP made an
adjustment, I was able to log on."
Klaus Seiner asks for info about replacing drives in his Stacys:
"I've got 2 Stacys (2 and 4).
How can I replace the floppy (has read errors all the time) and the HD
(is dead) and what to replace them with? (E.g. Which floppy drive/hard
disk - where can i get them etc.)"
Joshua Kaijankoski tells Klaus:
"Why don't you sell me one of the Stacys and I'll take care of it
<smile>
Any older SCSI drive should be ok on it. Keep in mind that TOS 1.04
can't support partitions that are too big. I forget the limit. I am
under the impression that any ST 720K drive will work on the Stacy."
Lyndon Amsdon adds:
"[They] Should accept either as long. I have a Sanyo laptop drive that
could be made to work on the Stacy as it has a cut down shugart
interface.
Basically it doesn't have as many GND pins. Problem would be making it
fit neatly, these aren't standard. Or did the Stacy have a standard
height drive, surely not!
I was actually talking about the floppy drive, but...
They take 3.5" scsi hds? no wonder they wasted batteries in minutes!!"
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same
time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Xbox Online Players Jump Gun!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GameCube Sales Reach 600,000!
Dutch Block PlayStation Ones!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Nintendo GameCube Sales Now Close to 600,000 Units
Nintendo Co Ltd said on Monday sales of its new GameCube video game console
had reached nearly 600,000 units in the 15 days since the console was
launched in the United States on November 18.
Nintendo said in a statement the sales figure pointed to an average of 27
GameCube consoles being bought every minute since the console made its
debut, three days after the launch of Microsoft Corp's Xbox gaming console.
Microsoft has not released sales figures of its rival Xbox console.
The Japanese game maker shipped a total of 740,000 of the $199 GameCube
consoles to North America for last month's launch, with about 80 percent of
that total going to U.S. retailers.
Nintendo has said it expects to sell 1.3 million GameCube consoles by
year-end, while Microsoft has said it expects to ship between one million
and 1.5 million units of its $299 Xbox console by year-end.
Dutch Government Blocks Sale of Sony Playstation Ones
The Dutch government said on Tuesday it had blocked the sale of more than
1.3 million Sony Corp. Playstation One consoles and accessories in November
because the cables contained too much cadmium.
Sony's new Playstation Two consoles were not involved.
The government said in a statement that Dutch customs and the state's
health inspection service IHM had discovered the consoles and 800,000
accessories -- estimated to be worth 400 million guilders ($162 million)
-- during an inspection of a distribution center in Tilburg, a town in the
south-central Netherlands.
The case would be studied by the Dutch public prosecution office, it said.
``The cables attached to devices belonging to the (consoles) contained
much too high values of cadmium... The cables, which were examined,
contained values of cadmium varying between three and more than 20 times
the allowed value," the government said.
A spokesman for the Dutch Ministry for Environment said that large
concentrations of cadmium were banned in the Netherlands -- in line with
European Union policy -- to prevent it from entering the food chain.
``Cadmium damages the kidneys," spokesman Joost Kehrer told Reuters.
Within the European Union no goods are allowed to be imported which
contain more than 0.01 percent cadmium, he said.
In reaction, Sony confirmed that the Playstation consoles had been
impounded by the Dutch government.
``But the health risk is for incorrect disposal (of the cable) only,"
David Reeves, Sony Computer Entertainment senior vice president of sales
and marketing Europe, said. ``We have reservations about the
interpretation of the law by the Dutch authorities," he added.
Reeves said that Sony was already replacing the peripherals and had
started to ship the Playstation One consoles again.
Sony Swaps PlayStation One Cables After Dutch Move
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc said on Wednesday it was replacing
peripheral cables for 1.3 million PlayStation One game consoles after the
Dutch government blocked sales of the machines on health and environmental
concerns.
The Dutch government said on Tuesday it had blocked shipment of the
consoles and 800,000 accessories bound for the European Union market in a
warehouse in the Netherlands in November because the cables contained too
much cadmium.
Sony Computer, the unit of Sony Corp that makes and sells PlayStation, said
on Wednesday it had already started replacing the cables. It hoped to
resume limited shipments of the consoles by mid-December, with full
supplies as soon as possible.
``Although we have reservations about the interpretation of the regulations
(by the Dutch authorities), we have begun replacing the cables," a Sony
Computer spokeswoman said.
Sony Computer said that its new PlayStation 2 consoles were not affected by
the ruling because they do not use the same peripheral cables.
The company would not replace cables for PlayStation One consoles sold in
countries outside Europe if they did not violate environmental regulations
in those nations, it said.
Sony Computer also said it would not recall any consoles already sold in
Europe as the amount of cadmium in the cables did not in its view pose a
health risk to users.
The cadmium contained in the cables only posed a risk if incorrectly
disposed of, in which case it could have long-term environmental effects,
Sony said.
Within the European Union no goods are allowed to be imported that contain
more than 0.01 percent cadmium. The Netherlands said the cables contained
between three and 20 times the allowed amount.
A spokesman for the Dutch environment ministry said on Tuesday that large
concentrations of cadmium were banned in the Netherlands -- in line with
European Union policy -- to prevent it from entering the food chain.
``Cadmium damages the kidneys," spokesman Joost Kehrer said.
Sony Computer did not say how much the cable replacement would cost the
company.
The consoles were sold at an average list price of about $89 in Europe,
with the price varying from country to country, it said.
The Dutch government on Tuesday estimated the 1.3 million consoles and
800,000 accessories to be worth $162 million.
Xbox Online Players Jump the Gun on Microsoft
Microsoft officials are so far not upset -- and apparently not inclined to
take pre-emptive action -- in response to non-sanctioned moves to take Xbox
games online before the company is ready to do so.
The software giant, which unveiled its Xbox console last month and is
planning to release online offerings for the games by summer 2002, calls
recent efforts by GameSpy Arcade and Xbox Gateway "an interesting science
experiment by and for hard-core gamers."
Microsoft also is calling on consumers and retailers to wait patiently for
its own online offerings, which it says will provide a superior gaming
experience with fewer glitches.
For those who cannot wait, the newest player on the scene is Xbox Gateway,
a Linux-based application that lets users play some Xbox games over the
Internet.
Developers of the Xbox Gateway make clear on their Web site that their
program has no official connection to or approval from Microsoft. The site
says the program is "just a temporary work-around until Microsoft releases
their own network service."
The gateway's developers, identified on their site only as "Rooty and
Tzar," could not be reached by TechExtreme for comment. According to the
site, the application works similarly to an Ethernet bridge, by splitting
game data into packets and distributing them to players online.
The program is for Xbox games that support multiplayer functions on local
area networks (LANs), usually denoted by the "System Link Play" option
under the games' multiplayer menu. The application requires a broadband
Internet connection, a PC and an Xbox console.
Users must have a Linux server or a PC with the developers' boot disk
installed on the same network as the Xbox.
So far, the gateway program has been tested only on the games Halo and
Tony Hawk 2X in system-link mode. Developers report that they were able to
connect two Xbox consoles on a cable modem with no time lag, but lag did
occur when a third box was added.
However, developers said they were able to connect four Xboxes via a DSL
connection with very little lag.
In recent weeks, the Web site GameSpy Arcade has been offering similar
software downloads, not based on Linux, to play preview or review versions
of Halo, Tony Hawk 2x and NASCAR Heat 2002 online.
Responding to these offerings, Jon Lenaway, a spokesperson for a Los
Angeles PR firm handling Microsoft's Xbox efforts, referred TechExtreme to
a section of the company's Web site geared to retailers.
"It's amazing and exciting to see the lengths that gamers will go to in
order to take their Xbox games online," Microsoft tells retailers. "The
GameSpy Arcade efforts are a strong indication that people want online
console game experiences."
Microsoft said these efforts "showcase the superiority of Xbox," which has
been designed to provide fast and secure play for an unlimited number of
gamers, eventually.
The company said its offerings will include voice capabilities,
downloadable content, tournaments and other features not currently viable
under the non-commissioned programs.
Microsoft said the independent offerings don't scale well beyond two
players in the online environment. The company added that its official
programs for Xbox online play will not require the presence of a PC.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
AT&T Web Network Switches Excite Customers
AT&T Corp. on Monday said it has moved to its own network nearly 40 percent
of its 850,000 customers who lost service this weekend when bankrupt
Web-access provider ExciteAtHome Corp. shut off service.
But, AT&T said Internet subscriber growth at its AT&T Broadband unit for
the fourth-quarter would be hurt by the uncertainty and disruptions
surrounding the Excite situation.
About 330,000 subscribers in Oregon, Washington, and the Dallas area have
been moved to the new AT&T Broadband network, the company said in a
statement. Customers in San Francisco and Illinois are scheduled to be
moved during the day on Monday, and by day's end it expects to have
switched 657,000 subscribers to its network.
The balance of its affected customers will be switched by Friday, it said.
About 850,000 AT&T Broadband Internet customers lost their service on
Saturday after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Friday ruled that Excite
could unplug cable-modem customers in order to negotiate a better
resolution to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. AT&T owns 23 percent
of Excite and would like to buy the remaining stake.
Excite@Home Wins Temporary Reprieve
A handful of major cable companies came to the temporary rescue of
beleaguered cable Internet provider Excite@Home with deals to extend the
company's life by infusing hundreds of millions of dollars over the next
several months.
Subject to approval by Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas E. Carlson, both
Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. and Cox Communications said Tuesday that
their separate three-month, US$160 million deals would ensure their
customers' uninterrupted Internet service until their own networks could be
built.
The deals will protect Comcast's 792,000 subscribers and Cox's 570,000
subscribers, while the $160 million per company would be paid to
Excite@Home in lieu of subscriber fees.
"Comcast's first priority is to provide reliable and high quality service
to our customers. To that end, we have been working around the clock to
make sure our customers receive uninterrupted high-speed Internet
service," said Steve Burke, president of Comcast Cable.
Toronto-based Rogers Communications and Insight Communications also arrived
at agreements with Excite@Home Tuesday designed to ensure uninterrupted
service to their 425,000 subscribers and 75,000 subscribers, respectively.
The move by the cable companies follows last week's bankruptcy court
decision that allowed Excite@Home to break contracts with cable partners
as early as December 1st. The split was intended to place the company in a
better position to negotiate its way through Chapter 11 bankruptcy
proceedings.
Excite@Home filed for bankruptcy protection in September.
By this weekend, Excite@Home had pulled the plug on hundreds of thousands
of AT&T subscribers after the two companies were unable to reach an
agreement.
News sources reported Tuesday that AT&T withdrew its $307 million offer to
purchase the cable assets of Excite@Home, which represented the only deal
pending to buy the broadband company.
After customers were without broadband service for several days, AT&T
announced Tuesday that it had connected 500,000 subscribers to the
company's own networks and would complete the transition by week's end.
Joe Laszlo, senior analyst for Jupiter Media Metrix, told NewsFactor
Network that the Excite@Home shutdown is part of an overall broadband
market shift from startup providers to major cable and telephone operators.
"Broadband is becoming more and more a service that is provided by the big
guys. Startups that grew up proving broadband only, like Excite@Home,
NorthPoint, Covad and Rhythms, are leaving the market, and you're left with
broadband providers being major cable operators or major telcos," said
Laszlo.
Laszlo noted, however, that the same was not true of the dialup ISP market,
and pointed out that the different economics of broadband may have sent
Excite@Home scrambling for cash.
"In the broadband market, the economics are different enough. When the
market went sour, it was hard to get capital financing to keep building out
these networks," explained Laszlo. "Suddenly companies that were pure
players found it really hard to shift to sustainable business models around
the customers they'd gotten."
Companies like Excite@Home, said Laszlo, that had diversified into the
content business and that were still pouring capital into expanding their
networks, were stuck.
"As the market for online advertising went bad, suddenly no one wanted to
do streaming advanced advertising. They were stuck with this very expensive
property they couldn't generate much revenue from," said Laszlo.
AT&T Terminates Pact to Buy ExciteAtHome Assets
AT&T Corp. on Tuesday backed out of an agreement to buy ExciteAtHome
Corp.'s high-speed Internet business, leaving the bankrupt company, once a
major dot-com force, with little choice but to wind down its operations and
close up shop.
ExciteAtHome had no immediate comment, but a lawyer representing the
company in its bankruptcy proceedings said it was not likely to find
another buyer.
``I think there probably will be no sale of the company's network," said
Robert White of O'Melveny & Myers. ``We'll end up after 90 days liquidating
the company."
This latest development is troubling for ExciteAtHome, whose value has
dropped from a high of several billion dollars to almost nothing.
Although the company filed for bankruptcy protection in September and
agreed to shut down many of its Internet content assets, it reached a deal
to sell its Internet access business to AT&T for $307 million in cash plus
the assumption of some debt, leaving hope that its creditors could recover
some of the money they were owed and some of its employees might keep their
jobs.
An AT&T spokesman said Tuesday the company had been prepared to hire about
300 ExciteAtHome employees as part of its purchase agreement.
A heavy debt load and a soft online advertising market have hurt
ExciteAtHome in recent years, but its high-speed Internet access business,
serving more than 3.6 million customers worldwide, had been considered a
valuable property.
That value diminished in recent weeks as a committee representing
ExciteAtHome's creditors resorted to hardball tactics to force
long-distance telephone and cable-television giant AT&T to pay a higher
price.
The creditor group maintained that the only way to get a fair price for the
business was to shut down the service and force its partners to pay to get
it reconnected.
But things did not go as planned when a bankruptcy judge last week approved
the shutdown of the ExciteAtHome Internet business. Hundreds of thousands
of AT&T customers had their online connections severed, leaving bad blood
between the two companies.
On Tuesday, AT&T said it was terminating its agreement to buy
ExciteAtHome's assets because of ``a number of significant breaches and
other violations of the agreement."
AT&T said it was rapidly transferring the affected customers onto its own
broadband network and expected 80 percent of them to have Internet access
by the end of the day on Tuesday.
An AT&T spokesman said the company could not elaborate on its decision to
back out of the deal, since it was focused on restoring service to all the
customers that had been cut off.
But his remarks suggested the animosity that had developed between the two
companies, which were once partners in building one of the United States'
largest high-speed Internet networks.
``Our primary goal had been to purchase AtHome's assets and we put a good
faith offer forward, in order to keep our customers from exactly the
situation they found themselves in over the weekend," said spokesman
Andrew Johnson.
He said it was too early to tell what the financial impact of the service
disruption would be, but said AT&T had clearly suffered.
``We certainly have to assume that we will lose some existing customers,
and we have no way of knowing the impact (of this disruption) on future
customers signing up," he said.
Other cable companies that partner with ExciteAtHome to deliver high-speed
Internet access are also rapidly severing relations and transferring
customers onto their own networks.
On Monday, Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. said they had reached
short-term agreements to continue their partnership with Excite to keep up
service to their subscribers until they have their own networks up and
running sometime in the next few months.
Robert White, the lawyer representing ExciteAtHome in bankruptcy, said
those two short-term deals will provide the company with lump-sum payments
totaling $355 million.
But he said they were inferior to the original deal to sell the business to
AT&T, which would have assumed some $84.5 million of liabilities. Now
ExciteAtHome must keep its business operating for three months and will use
up much of its cash doing so.
``I would guess that maybe it means that (AT&T's) bid was not too low,"
White said. ``It is very unusual to chase away a buyer when you don't have
any other buyers."
In a separate development, the Internet content business InfoSpace Inc.
last week agreed to buy certain Excite.com content assets for $10 million.
That represents a tiny fraction of what the Excite Internet portal was
valued at in 1999, when AtHome Corp. acquired it for $6.7 billion.
ExciteAtHome to Fold on February 28
In one of the high-tech world's most prominent flameouts, high-speed
Internet service provider ExciteAtHome will go out of business Feb. 28.
The bankrupt company secured $355 million from many of its remaining cable
customers in exchange for keeping its Internet access service running for
three more months. After that, ExciteAtHome and its 1,300 employees will
cease operations.
The announcement came late Tuesday, after AT&T Corp. withdrew a $307
million offer for ExciteAtHome's broadband business, saying ExciteAtHome
violated agreements by cutting off service to 850,000 AT&T customers. A
federal judge had authorized ExciteAtHome to cancel unprofitable deals with
its cable partners.
The cable companies paying Excite to stay around - Cox Communications Inc.,
Comcast Corp., Rogers Cable Inc., Insight Communications, MediaCom
Broadband and Mid Continent Communications - have said they need time to
develop their own cable Internet networks. The deals require ExciteAtHome
to forward e-mails sent to the expiring ``AtHome" addresses to
corresponding accounts on the new networks.
The agreements exclude Charter Communications Inc., Adelphia Communications
Corp. and several smaller cable companies collectively known as the At Home
Solutions Group. Internet service to those companies is being terminated,
ExciteAtHome spokeswoman Londonne Corder said.
The plans are scheduled to be reviewed Friday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Thomas Carlson in San Francisco.
AT&T withdrew its bid after its new cable Internet access network - built
this fall as protection against ExciteAtHome's woes - eliminated the need
for ExciteAtHome's system, said June Rochford, a spokeswoman for AT&T
Broadband. In turn, the other cable companies' ability to develop their own
networks sealed ExciteAtHome's fate.
ExciteAtHome was formed in 1999 with At Home Corp.'s $6.7 billion
acquisition of the Excite Web portal. Some analysts expected the company to
become a powerful Internet player that could challenge America Online.
But the company was beset by questionable management decisions, high
expenses and the drastic downturn in the online advertising market, even as
its cable access business grew well, from 331,000 subscribers in 1999 to
4.1 million before ExciteAtHome began canceling service last weekend.
Many assets associated with the Excite.com portal were bought for $10
million by InfoSpace Inc., which issued a statement Tuesday reminding users
that the popular Web site is not affected by the meltdown of the cable
access business.
AT&T owns 23 percent of ExciteAtHome, which uses a fiber-optic network
backbone leased from AT&T. AT&T surrendered its majority representation on
the company's board in October, hoping to avoid criticism it had engineered
the company's bankruptcy so it could buy the cable access network at a
steep discount.
Now ExciteAtHome bondholders, who are owed at least $1 billion, are
considering whether to seek damages from AT&T for allegedly engaging in
collusion in its bid for ExciteAtHome and then withdrawing the offer.
``There may be a lot of damages, frankly," bondholders' attorney Joseph
Allerhand told Judge Carlson on Tuesday.
AT&T's Rochford called the allegation ``ludicrous."
About 500,000 of the 850,000 AT&T Broadband customers who lost service had
been moved to AT&T's new network as of Tuesday, mainly people in Oregon,
Washington, Texas and San Francisco. Next in line were customers in
Illinois, Denver and Salt Lake City.
Customers in Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Michigan and the Rocky Mountains were
due to be plugged in on Wednesday and Thursday; people in Hartford, Conn.,
on Friday.
'Goner' Worm Hitting Corporate, Individual PCs
A new computer worm named "Goner" was spreading quickly through corporate
and personal e-mail inboxes on Tuesday, deleting system files and clogging
networks in what could be the biggest outbreak since last year's ``Love
Letter" virus, security software vendors said.
``Goner is one of the most incredibly fast moving and potentially dangerous
e-mail viruses we've seen," said Mark Sunner, chief technology officer of
MessageLabs Inc.
The worm, a virus that propagates itself to other computers through the
Internet or other networks, is affecting users of Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook
and Outlook Express, said Ian Hameroff, business manager of security
solutions at Computer Associates International Inc.
People using ICQ instant messenger and Internet Relay Chat also are
susceptible to the worm because files can be transferred across those
networks, Hameroff said.
The Goner worm arrives in an attachment masquerading as a screensaver, with
an e-mail subject line of ``Hi" and text that says: ``How are you? When I
saw this screen saver, I immediately thought about you I am in a harry
(sic), I promise you will love it!"
Once the attachment is clicked, the worm sends itself to everyone in the
user's e-mail address book, tries to close programs that are running and
deletes certain system files, including security software, said Hameroff.
Goner also tries to install a denial of service script on machines of IRC
users, said Symantec Corp.. That could turn PCs into launch pads for denial
of service attacks, which malicious hackers use to flood Web servers with
traffic from multiple PCs, effectively shutting down Internet sites to
legitimate traffic.
``This is at outbreak status, which is very rare," said April Goostree,
virus research manager at McAfee.com. ``The last outbreak we had was 'Love
Letter' in May 2000."
A virus is given outbreak status by McAfee.com if it is determined to be
spreading quickly and affecting large corporate networks as well as
individual computer users, Goostree said.
One of the nastier aspects of the virus is its attempt to disable antivirus
and firewall software, so that victims have to reinstall the software in
order to prevent future infections, said Sunner of MessageLabs.
UK-based e-mail security outsourcer MessageLabs Inc. said it was receiving
more than 100 copies of the worm a minute, totaling about 23,000 worldwide
since early Tuesday morning, with users in 17 countries hit.
Anti-virus software firm Trend Micro Inc. said it had recorded infections
in 17,000 work stations and 30,000 corporate e-mail accounts across Europe,
primarily in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The first report came from a French company on Tuesday afternoon, said
Raimund Genes, Trend Micro's European vice president of sales. The firm has
issued a ``high risk" warning on Goner, the same rating it assigned this
summer's virulent Code Red worm
``I expect by tomorrow morning we will see something in Asia, and then from
Asia, we'll see re-infections in Europe," Genes said.
The origin of the worm remained unclear. Trend Micro and McAfee.com said
they suspect it originated in France. But Mikko Hypponen, manager of
anti-virus research for Finland-based F-Secure, said he had his doubts, as
the first recorded infections came from the United States and South Africa.
Hypponen also said he thought it suspicious that some of the victims were
ICQ instant messenger and Internet Relay Chat users. ``It's most likely
written by a teenager targeting other teenagers," he said.
West Virginia Files Suit Against Microsoft
West Virginia's attorney general filed suit against Microsoft Corp. in
state court on Monday, alleging the company's business tactics violated
state antitrust and consumer protection laws.
State Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed the suit on behalf of West
Virginia consumers and state agencies, asking the court to impose
unspecified damages and sanctions against the company, an attorney
representing the state said.
West Virginia is one of nine states who have refused to join the Justice
Department in settling a federal case against Microsoft. The state lawsuit
filed on Monday would position the state to opt its 1.8 million residents
out of a separate but related class action settlement with the company,
according to one source familiar with the case.
The West Virginia lawsuit is based largely on the findings of U.S. District
Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled last year that Microsoft had
abused its monopoly in the market for personal computer operating systems.
It also cites two violations of West Virginia consumer protection law, one
that prohibits ``unfair and deceptive practices" and another that bars
companies from selling products below cost ``with the intent to destroy
competition," according to one source who has seen a copy of the lawsuit.
A spokesman for the company had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
But the impact of the state lawsuit could fall mainly on a related proposal
to settle more than 100 class action antitrust suits that have been filed
against Microsoft in the wake of Jackson's rulings.
Those cases are being reviewed by a federal judge in Baltimore. Under the
proposal, Microsoft would make amends for its antitrust violations by
spending more than $1 billion to put software and computers into some of
the poorest U.S. schools.
Microsoft, along with many of the class action attorneys in the suit,
contend the settlement is a creative solution that will put computers in
the hands of poor school children.
But class action attorneys from California have complained that the
proposal is a legal ruse that will further the company's dominant position
in the computer business. They argue the money should be returned directly
to consumers who purchased Microsoft software.
The dissenting attorneys, who have filed a case on behalf of California
consumers, will ask U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz to strike down the
settlement or allow their lawsuits to proceed separately in California.
``There's a pretty high level of dissatisfaction about (the settlement)
among the (state attorneys general)," said one source familiar with the
case.
By filing suit on behalf of West Virginia consumers on Monday, McGraw could
provide the basis to opt West Virginia consumers out of the class action
settlement.
Meanwhile, McGraw and eight other state attorneys general are still
pursuing the original, government case against Microsoft in U.S. District
Court in Washington.
On Nov. 2 the company reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department
designed to restore competition in the personal computer software market.
Nine of the 18 states involved in the case joined that pact within days.
But the remaining nine states are pressing ahead, insisting the sanctions
on Microsoft are not tough enough.
The remaining states are scheduled to file new documents with the district
court on Friday outlining their proposal for stricter remedies against the
company.
States To Sharpen Claws in Microsoft Case
A group of nine states plans to propose stiff sanctions against Microsoft
that could include further opening the Windows source code and could extend
to technologies not directly covered by the landmark antitrust case,
sources say.
The states are preparing to deliver a remedy proposal to U.S. District
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Friday to meet a court-imposed deadline.
Microsoft has until Dec. 12 to respond to the legal filing.
The remedy, if accepted, could go well beyond last month's settlement
between the company and the government, which includes the Justice
Department and half the states that were co-plaintiffs with the federal
agency.
The nine states and the District of Columbia--groups that didn't sign onto
the settlement deal--are taking aim at what they consider to be glaring
weaknesses in the agreement, which was widely considered to be a victory
for Microsoft.
One of their areas of focus, sources said, is middleware, which is
software such as Web browsers that runs atop an operating system to
perform specific tasks.
Microsoft's bundling of its Internet Explorer browser with its Windows 95
and 98 operating systems was one of the cornerstones of the Justice
Department case. Some of the state attorneys general believe that the
settlement almost completely ignored that issue, said sources familiar
with the matter.
The dissenting states also are looking at the possibility of extending
their remedy proposal to include Windows XP, streaming media and
Microsoft's .Net software-as-a-services strategy.
However, it remains to be seen just how strong the coalition of the
dissenting states will be. Some, including Iowa, which has been a leader
among the states in pursuing Microsoft on antitrust grounds, gave signs
last month that it would still be willing to settle with the software
maker under the right circumstances.
On Tuesday a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller would only say
that the proposal would be filed Friday.
Microsoft recently has made a number of gains in the antitrust cases
against it. Less than three weeks after reaching its settlement with the
Justice Department, it cut a deal that would dismiss more than 100 private
class-action antitrust cases with donations to public schools valued as
high as $1 billion. In both the federal and private cases, the proposed
settlements still have to be approved by a judge.
Also pending are hearings set for this month before the Senate's Judiciary
Committee and before a federal judge overseeing the private class-action
suits.
Even as the dissenting states finalize their remedy proposal, some members
of the group aren't waiting until Friday to take action against Microsoft.
On Monday, West Virginia sued the software giant, contending that the
company's business practices violate state consumer-protection laws.
The West Virginia lawsuit is largely an attempt to collect damages from
Microsoft, legal experts said, and other states may follow suit. The
Justice Department case did not include a monetary provision.
"With the settlement of the class-action lawsuits with what many people
regard as a pittance, more states will be encouraged to look at monetary
remedies. At the very least, there is the possibility of substantial
damages similar to the tobacco issue," said Glenn Manishin, an antitrust
attorney with Vienna, Va.-based Kelley Drye & Warren.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler declined to comment about what the
remaining states might or might not do.
"We believe we've reached a fair and reasonable compromise with the
Department of Justice and nine of the states," he said. "We feel that any
proceedings moving forward should use the narrowed liability of the Court
of Appeals decision as a road map."
The remedy proposal seems set to open another chapter in the long-running
antitrust saga, in which Microsoft has increasingly had the upper hand. In
June, a federal appeals court delivered the software giant an unexpected
defeat when it unanimously upheld eight separate antitrust violations
against the company. When Kollar-Kotelly joined the fray in late summer,
she indicated a desire to see the matter settled swiftly.
"Microsoft is very fortunate with what it has gotten in the government
case," said Jonathan Jacobson, an antitrust attorney with Akin, Gump,
Strauss, Hauer & Feld in New York. "Microsoft has gotten what has to be
viewed as a victory and is trying to lock it in."
California, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Iowa,
Utah and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia, are the
states that decided to continue with the litigation, which would lead to a
remedy hearing in March.
Brendan Sullivan, who is with the law firm of Williams & Connolly in
Washington, represents the states in the proceeding.
Academics, competitors and other parties consulting on the proposal are
expected to see parts of the rough document Tuesday. If the states stick
to their timetable, a near-final draft will be prepared Wednesday.
The states hope that their remedy proposal will close what they consider
to be loopholes in the settlement negotiated by other the other states and
the Justice Department, said sources familiar with the strategy. Signing
on to the settlement with the Justice Department were Illinois, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and
Wisconsin.
A main concern of the dissenting states appears to be application
programming interfaces, or APIs, which are essential to making sure
third-party software works well with an operating system. Although
Microsoft agreed in the settlement to open some software code, including
server operating system APIs as well as those for the desktop, some states
want to lock down what they consider to be loopholes in the agreement.
In an interview with CNET News.com late last month, Brad Smith,
Microsoft's incoming general counsel, made it clear that abiding by the
terms of the settlement will be a top priority for the company. Microsoft
wants to establish a "strong track record complying to this consent
decree," he said. "It's obviously of enormous importance to the company to
make this work well."
The Justice Department last week published the proposed settlement and
Competitive Impact Statement in the Federal Register, as part of a 60-day
period of public comment. This process, mandated by the Tunney Act, is
part of a stringent review process that must occur before a federal judge
can approve this kind of settlement.
The dissenting states could oppose the proposed settlement during the
Tunney Act process. But they have all but decided not to divide their
energies by opposing the larger settlement through the process defined by
that act and by simultaneously continuing with the litigation. Still,
sources familiar with the matter warned that the state attorneys general
are not in total agreement on this strategy.
The Senate's powerful Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, has scheduled a
hearing for Dec. 12 that could compel Assistant Attorney General Charles
James to justify the settlement, which many legal experts characterize as
favorable to Microsoft. Senators Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt.) and Orrin Hatch
(R.-Ut.) are expected to take center stage during the proceeding.
Microsoft competitors have operations in both senators' states--IBM in
Vermont and Novell in Utah--among other locations.
But the hearing ultimately could have very little impact on the Tunney Act
process, as the legislative branch of federal government would have no
jurisdiction over the judicial matter without passing a new law.
Microsoft competitors and trade groups representing them have worked
feverishly to influence the states' remedy proposal. The Software &
Information Industry Association ( SIIA) is among the groups offering the
states guidance on their remedy proposal. Microsoft quit the trade group
last year.
Although former federal antitrust head Joel Klein frequently conferred
with Microsoft competitors, his successor, James, met directly with only
AOL Time Warner, said sources familiar with the matter. James' former
firm, Jones Day, represented the media giant.
"It's not surprising Microsoft competitors regard this settlement as
bolstering Microsoft's market power and dominance," said Hillard Sterling,
an antitrust attorney with Gordon & Glickson in Chicago. "It's not
surprising they would not stand still for this agreement."
Competitors also are ramping up their campaign overseas, where the EU
continues its investigation of Microsoft. The company had been scheduled
later this month to defend allegations it had used dominance in desktop
operating systems to unfairly gain ground in server software. But in a
push for settlement, Microsoft pulled out of the Dec. 21-22 hearing.
The political and regulatory climate overseas is potentially more
favorable for Microsoft competitors hoping to influence the process, said
legal experts. Unlike the United Stteas, where antitrust laws are designed
more to protect consumers, the E'sU rules take into account the
competitive impact of a monopolist's busines psractices.
Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's
executive arm, said that a decision is expected "sometime next year." She
would not discuss Microsoft's settlement overture, but emphasized that the
"investigation would continue normally" regardless of the company's
decision to forgo the hearing.
"It is much too early at this stage to speculate on what the commission's
final decision would be," she added.
If the European Commission rules against Microsoft, the regulatory body
could slap the company with a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual
revenue, or about $2.5 billion.
One Brussels-based lawyer, who asked not to be identified, said that the
EU is not likely to settle simply because U.S. trustbusters did.
"The commission does not regard this investigation to be the same as the
other one in the States," he said. "Your case addressed browsers and the
desktop; the commission is looking at servers."
Apple Tells Judge to Take Microsoft Cash for Schools
Apple Computer Inc. said on Thursday it would urge a federal judge to take
cash -- not software -- from Microsoft Corp., which aims to settle a suit
by giving heavily to schools, one of Apple's top markets.
Apple will file a supplemental brief with a Maryland court, which must
approve a proposal that Microsoft settle suits alleging it overcharged for
software by giving more than $1 billion to schools.
Software could represent more than $500 million of that total, Microsoft
said, although Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement that
the software donation was valued by Microsoft at $830 million.
``We think people should know that the actual costs to Microsoft for this
donated software will likely be under $1 million," said Jobs, whose
biggest shareholder at Apple is Microsoft.
Apple has already filed a list of objections to the terms of the
settlement.
``We think a far better settlement is for Microsoft to give their proposed
$1 billion -- in cash -- to an independent foundation, which will provide
our most needy schools with the computer technology of their choice," Jobs
said.
Microsoft will make its pitch on Monday in a U.S. District court in
Baltimore. Apple said it would file will file its supplemental brief with
the court on Friday.
States Offer Alternative to Microsoft Settlement
States opposed to last month's settlement proposal in the Microsoft Corp.
antitrust case asked a judge on Friday to require a cheaper, stripped-down
version of the company's Windows operating system.
The nine state attorneys general also asked U.S. District Court Judge
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to close loopholes in the current settlement deal
and to do more to ensure Microsoft discloses key Windows code to other
software makers.
``This remedy request offers a powerful and compelling blueprint for
restoring competition and stopping Microsoft from abusing its monopoly
power," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told a conference
call with reporters.
The nine states are promoting their remedy over a settlement Microsoft
reached last month with the Justice Department and nine of the other states
who were party to the case.
Microsoft immediately criticized the new proposal as "extreme" and said
it was ``not commensurate with what is left of the case."
The Justice Department declined comment on the remedy proposal.
Under the proposal offered on Friday, Microsoft would be subject to even
more sanctions if it violated the terms of the remedy, including further
forced disclosure of its software code.
But the hold-out states made no demand to break up Microsoft, a remedy
ordered by the original trial judge in the case but struck down by an
appeals court.
The stripped-down version of Windows would come without Microsoft's
Internet Explorer browser, as well as its e-mail and media player software.
The provision is designed to allows computer makers to customize personal
computers to meet consumers' preferences. In addition to the bare-bones
version of Windows, the hold-out states want to ensure that Microsoft
Office, the popular business software, will be compatible with other
software platforms.
They also want to give competitors access to the inner workings of Internet
Explorer and allow them to sell their own customized version of the Web
browser.
The proposal requires Microsoft to include Sun Microsystems Inc.'s
Java programming language in its new Windows XP operating system.
Microsoft had included Java in its operating system for years but dropped
it from Windows XP because of legal problems with Sun Microsystems.
Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled a hearing for March to determine what, if any,
further sanctions should be imposed against the company.
Hearings will also have to be held on the proposed settlement with the
Justice Department.
Microsoft said it remained committed to the settlement reached with the
Department of Justice and nine other states, calling that pact a ``fair and
reasonable compromise that is good for consumers and will be good for the
economy."
In the settlement reached last month, Microsoft agreed to take steps to
give computer makers more freedom to feature rival software on their
machines. The deal also requires the company to share parts of the inner
workings of its Windows operating system with other software makers.
Under the settlement, the provisions would be enforced by a three-person
technical committee and would stay in effect for at least five years.
The department said the existing settlement terms are strong enough to stop
the company's monopolistic practices and would provide the most effective
and certain relief in the most timely manner.
Continuing to litigate could drag the case out for another two years, the
department has said.
But in their filing today, the hold-out states said the Justice Department
settlement does not go far enough.
``Unlike the previously announced settlement between the Department of
Justice and Microsoft, these remedies create a real prospect of achieving
what the DOJ said it intended to accomplish," the states said in their
filing with the court.
Proxy War Looms Over HP-Compaq Deal
Walter Hewlett has fired off another round in his budding proxy war with
Hewlett-Packard, this time highlighting the poor performance of HP and
Compaq Computer since the companies announced plans to merge.
Hewlett, the son of HP co-founder William Hewlett, said in an amendment
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that HP's
stock dropped 5.3 percent and Compaq's stock dropped 17.8 percent between
Aug. 31 and Nov. 30.
For that same time period, the Nasdaq gained 6.93 percent and the Dow
Jones industrial average fell 1 percent.
Hewlett recently said he plans to solicit proxy votes on behalf of
shareholders opposed to HP's planned acquisition of Compaq and has also
hired a proxy solicitation firm.
The Hewlett family, along with David Packard, has come out against the
deal. The family has been regularly filing amendments to its Nov. 16 proxy
statement.
HP announced plans to purchase Compaq for $25 billion in September.
Hewlett also draws attention to the decline in expectations for the
companies' future performance. The consensus estimates for Compaq's 2002
and 2003 earnings per share have fallen 77.3 percent and 60.2 percent,
respectively. Consensus estimates for HP have dropped as well.
As a result, Hewlett maintains, the price-to-earnings ratio that HP is
paying for Compaq has increased to 92.7 from 22.2 for fiscal 2002 and to
39.7 from 16.7 for fiscal 2003. The rising P/E ratio--a measure of how
expensive a stock is--means HP is getting less earnings bang for its buck.
Packard Foundation to Oppose HP-Compaq Merger
The Packard family foundation, holders of a 10 percent stake in
Hewlett-Packard Co., said on Friday it had made a preliminary decision to
vote against HP's acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp.
Analysts have said that support of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation
was crucial for the deal, which has been opposed by other Packard and
Hewlett family members with some 7 percent of HP stock, and criticized by
many investors.
The merger has also been seen as a referendum on the leadership of
Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, who has spearheaded the
plan.
The foundation characterized the decision as preliminary.
``The Board of Trustees understands the strategic considerations being
addressed by management, but after thorough study and analysis the Board
has preliminarily decided, on balance, that the best interests of the
Foundation would be better served by Hewlett-Packard not proceeding with
the proposed transaction," board chairman Susan Packard Orr, daughter of
founder Dave Packard, said in a short statement.
The decision puts the founding Hewlett and Packard families solidly against
the merger, creating a block of shares representing around 17 percent of HP
stock opposing the
deal.
EU Ministers Back Ban on Unsolicited E-Mail
European Union ministers stuck to a plan on Thursday for a pan-European ban
on unsolicited e-mail, fax and text messages, but introduced provisions to
ease the restriction in certain circumstances.
The proposal is part of broader legislation on protection of communications
and personal data in the digital era, an issue which has become more
sensitive in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The planned law, which still needs the approval of the European Parliament,
will forbid direct marketers from sending unsolicited mail without the
customer's prior consent throughout the EU.
It will allow business to send e-mails to individuals following a purchase
provided that the customer is allowed to opt out of the mailing list at any
time, free of charge.
``EU member states favor a harmonized approach toward opt-in, (except) in
cases where there is an existing relationship with a client," European
Commission spokesman Per Haugaard told reporters.
Internet users often see their system clogged by unsolicited e-mail --
known as spam -- sometimes carrying computer viruses or offensive messages.
The agreed text risks being rejected by the European Parliament, which
wants EU states to be free to decide whether they want an opt-in or opt-out
approach. Direct marketing associations are also in favor of an opt-out
approach.
Ministers also agreed to back away from an outright prohibition of
so-called ``cookies" as long as Internet users were made aware of their
presence in electronic systems.
Cookies are electronic tracking devices which can store data from the
Internet, sometimes without the user's knowledge.
``Cookies could be coming from anywhere," Joe McNamee, representing
Internet services provider group EuroISPA, told Reuters. ``Banning cookies
from EU sources is not in practice going to help privacy as much as you
would like."
This amendment is also at odds with the European Parliament, which wants to
eradicate cookies.
Separately, ministers amended the text to reinforce the right of
law-enforcement authorities to retain traffic data beyond the time needed
for billing purposes if there was a threat to national security.
This is a victory for Britain, which had been campaigning for more room to
maneuver on data retention.
Police authorities believe that access to electronic data would help them
track down terrorist activities.
The amended text does not specify how long data should be retained and
risks upsetting privacy advocates.
Web Users Pay Price to Send E-greetings
Procrastination on holiday cards could cost you this year: Some e-greeting
services that were once quick, free alternatives to envelopes and stamps
are starting to charge fees.
AmericanGreetings.com sent notices to members this week saying it will
charge $11.95 annually for access to its e-mail greeting card service. The
company is also charging the membership fee at its other sites, including
Egreetings Network and Blue Mountain Arts, which AmericanGreetings
acquired from Excite@Home in September for $35 million.
"To make sure that we can continue to bring you the best greetings and all
of the convenient features of AmericanGreetings.com for years to come, we
must now charge a very small membership fee," AmericanGreetings' notice
read. The company added that it would still offer a "special selection" of
everyday cards for free.
AmericanGreetings could not be immediately reached for comment.
Betty Yeh, an Internet analyst for Web site measurement firm
Nielsen/NetRatings, said sending online greetings is a "very significant
activity on the Web." In October, Flowgo.com received 12.96 million unique
visitors, followed by Blue Mountain with 12.95 million,
AmericanGreetings.com with 9.6 million, Hallmark.com with 3.3 million and
Egreetings with 2.3 million.
AmericanGreetings follows in the footsteps of other online sites, such as
Yahoo, Salon.com and Britannica.com, that have slowly evolved from purely
free services to ones that are paid. Yeh said that although
AmericanGreetings has brand-name connections with the paper-card business
as well as a loyal following with consumers, it remains to be seen whether
its paid service will be a success.
To entice paying customers, AmericanGreetings is letting members design
greetings, add photos, create an address book, and set e-mail reminders
for important events. As an added incentive, the company said it will
offer three accounts for the price of one so members can share their
membership with two other people.
"AmericanGreetings.com is sitting on a goldmine," said Yeh. "But whether
they can tap into that...may be tricky."
Web Copyright Treaty Set for March
A treaty that brings world copyright law into the digital age by protecting
authors on the Internet will take effect March 6, the United Nations said
Thursday.
``This is an important day in the history of copyright, making it better
equipped to meet the technological challenges of cyberspace," said Kamal
Idris, director-general of the U.N.'s World Intellectual Property
Organization.
The treaty, one of two accords negotiated by 160 nations five years ago to
protect against piracy on the Internet, received the necessary
ratifications from 30 countries.
The second treaty, which mirrors the other, is the first global accord to
protect the rights of recording artists and producers. With 28
ratifications it is close to crossing the 30-country threshold, said Idris.
The pair of treaties will let ``composers, artists, writers and others to
use the Internet with confidence to create, distribute and control the use
of their works within the digital environment," he said.
Negotiators said the treaties were essential in an age where digital copies
of music can be made almost instantaneously anywhere by computer.
IFPI, an organization representing the global recording industry, welcomed
the announcement as ``an important milestone," and said it hoped
ratification of the second treaty would follow shortly.
``By ratifying the WIPO Copyright Treaty, governments in 30 countries have
shown their commitment to ensuring the future success of the music industry
and many other creative sectors in the digital environment," said Jay
Berman, chairman of IPFI.
Among the countries that have ratified the copyright treaty are Japan and
the United States, but the 15 European Union members are still on the
outside because they have a provision that all must ratify together,
officials said. The 30th country ratifying the copyright treaty was Gabon.
Idris said that the treaties must become widely incorporated into national
law by countries in all regions of the world if they are to be effective.
``This will create the conditions necessary for the broad-based and
legitimate distribution of creative works and recordings on the Internet,"
he said.
Copyright gives authors the ability to control the exploitation of their
literary works. The so-called law of ``related rights" provides similar
protection for performers, producers and broadcasters.
The treaties forge links among different national laws, ensuring that
creators are also protected in countries other than their own, WIPO
officials said.
The treaties require ratifying countries to grant minimum rights to authors
from other countries as well as their own.
The first treaty protects ``literary and artistic works," which includes
books, computer programs, music, art and movies. It updates the Bern
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the major
international copyright treaty in the world today which was originally
adopted in 1886, and most recently revised in 1971.
The second treaty on sound recordings supplements the major ``related
rights" treaty, the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers,
Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, which was adopted
in 1961.
House Panel Boosts Funds for Cybersecurity Research
A House of Representatives panel voted to dramatically boost federal
spending on cybersecurity on Thursday, earmarking $880 million over five
years for research, scholarships and other incentives.
The House Science Committee also voted to increase spending on high-tech
research as a whole by 10 percent per year over the next five years, and
require government agencies to coordinate their research efforts.
In a brief session that featured no debate, the Science Committee
unanimously agreed to devote $105.7 million to new cybersecurity programs
in fiscal year 2003, increasing each year to $229 million in fiscal 2007.
The new funds would come on top of the roughly $60 million the federal
government currently devotes to network security.
The National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Standards
and Technology would hand out the money in the form of research grants,
fellowships and internships for students, and funds to improve
undergraduate and master's degree programs in network security.
The hijacking attacks of September 11 heightened concerns about the
vulnerability of the nation's telecommunications, Internet and other vital
networks to computer-based attack.
In several hearings this fall, experts told Congress that the nation needed
to spend more money to encourage long-term academic research in
cybersecurity to supplement efforts by commercial software companies.
``The cybersecurity threat is real and potentially devastating," said Rep.
Sherwood Boehlert, the New York Republican who chairs the committee.
Boehlert said he hoped the bill would come to a vote in the full House next
year. An aide said the bill has the backing of President Bush, but that
Boehlert had received no specific commitments from House leadership.
The committee also voted to beef up an existing program that provides
funding for broader high-tech research through several government agencies.
The bill, which also passed by a voice vote, would increase funding for
research into subjects like high-end computing and software design by 10
percent to $1.15 billion in fiscal 2003, up to $1.68 billion in fiscal
2007.
Apple Identifies and Corrects iPod Issue
Apple has identified an issue with some iPods that may not wake from sleep
when the battery reaches a low charge level.
The company has released an iPod firmware update (version 1.0.2) that fixes
this bug. Apple strongly recommends that all iPod customers download and
install the update.
In addition to fixing this issue, the firmware update also provides
additional quality enhancements and support for additional languages,
including Italian, Dutch and Spanish, according to Apple.
If you have already experienced this issue, Apple offers the following
steps:
Step One: Check that your hold switch is off by sliding the switch away
from the headphone jack.
Step Two: With the iPod connected to power using the iPod Adapter or a CPU
with an Apple Firewire port, perform a hard reset by doing the following:
Hold down the 'Menu' and 'Play/Pause' buttons simultaneously for
approximately 10 Seconds.
If the iPod turns on after performing Steps One or Two, please download the
most recent version of the iPod software using the link above.
If the iPod does not turn on, disconnect it from power and let it sit
unconnected for approximately 24 hours. After this time, repeat Step Two
above. If the unit turns on, download the latest version of the iPod
Software using the link above.
If your iPod is still unresponsive, go to the AppleCare iPod Support Page
to arrange for service.
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