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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 05 Issue 32
Volume 5, Issue 32 Atari Online News, Etc. August 8, 2003
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2003
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 #0532 08/08/03
~ ISPs Go After RIAA! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Cresus Update News!
~ Web Sales Tax In 2004? ~ AOL Launches E-mail! ~ Linux Advocates Fight
~ New Worm Exploits IE! ~ Forget Your Password? ~ Linux: User Friendly!
~ No to No Spam Services ~ DoS Attack On MS Site! ~ Wacky "Flash Mobs"!
-* AOL Changes Rollout Strategy *-
-* EU's Antitrust Proposals Cheered! *-
-* Nintendo Plays It Coy On New Game Product! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, contrary to last year's weather patterns over the summer, there's not
much of a chance that we'll have a drought this summer! I can't believe
this weather that we've been stuck in for the past seven days! They call it
a Bermuda Low. It's a low pressure system that just sucks moisture from the
sky and moves it up the mid-Atlantic and keeps swirling it around us. And
it's been stuck in this pattern. I keep saying it - it ain't the heat, it's
the humidity! We've been getting patterns of sudden cloudbursts of rain,
with a very rare glimpse of the sun. Thursday night, my wife was watching
the news. Every five minutes or so, there were severe weather reports of
rain, hail, and severe winds. The radar picture was ominous. Areas just
south and west of us were getting hail and five inches of rain an hour!
And, it was heading in our direction! Luckily, it died down a little and we
only caught the fading edge of it; it poured for a few minutes and moved on.
The lawn looks great - nice and lush and green. Too bad it hasn't been
mowed in two weeks! The vegetable garden is doing great also. Such is life
in New England!
Speaking of wacky weather, what's been hitting the state of California
lately? Weird weather or something odd in the drinking water! With this
latest spectacle of a so-called recall governor's election, I think it's
high-time California fell into the Pacific Ocean and be done with it! What
is it with these two-bit actors thinking that they have what it takes to be
governor?!? And all of the rest of the kooks trying to get on the ballot?!
Unbelieveable!
Not much going on these days. I'm just getting back in to "serious" mode
after ending my vacation this past Tuesday. I'll tell you, it's hard to get
back into the swing of things! Anyway, let's get right into the thick of
things with this week's issue.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Cresus, beta 5
Bonjour :)
Download on my homepage http://rajah.atari.org or directly at
http://membres.lycos.fr/nef/files/ -> cresusb5_uk.zip (~130 Kb)
If you use Cresus, make a backup before
If you do not know Cresus, it's a banks accounts manager.
New in the beta5 version:
- bug fixes:
- cents amount approximation.
- bad display if date transaction was modified.
- etc.
+ left space in popups.
+ English translation fixes and help by Derryck CROKER
+ TT-RAM used if present.
+ editable fields for date can use the format for display.
+ date reverse order display for transactions (need relaunch of the
program).
+ possible automatic save of the configuration when leaving.
+ if transaction is a transfer account, the amount is written in the
target account (careful, writes are not linked, so delete of a
transaction deletes NOT the one in the target account).
+ popup menu in transaction window: quick delete, check or uncheck
enabled correlated with the (multi)selection of transactions.
+ transaction search functionality (on the opened account)
+ jobs: automatic transactions
Forgot in the text file, but present in this release:
+ auto incrementation of check number (from last transaction with check)
+ calendar (double-click on date field)
Greetings and thanks to:
- Olivier VANONI
- Cyril 'Bibou' LEFEBVRE
- Jean-Marc STOCKLAUSEN
- Derryck CROKER
Hope you'll be satisfied by our work :)
Rajah Lone and Daroou of Renaissance
http://rajah.atari.org
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/daroou
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Well, I'm using up my final week of summer
vacation this week and, true to form, Mother Nature kicked me in the
butt. It's been cloudy, rainy, and humid all week. Oh well. At least it
ain't work.
I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to take a moment to give my opinion
about what's going on around the country and around the world today.
First, let's take a look at what's happening in California. I probably
should tell you that I'm not fond of California. I usually say that the
only difference between California and yogurt is that yogurt has a
healthy, active culture. <grin>
Okay, so California has massive money problems. The governor hasn't fixed
the problem. Therefore the public (the political machine, actually) had
what amounts to a no-confidence vote... without the vote. Hmmm... good
thing that isn't happening in Florida, huh? Those folks wouldn't even
have a ballot to mis-mark.
So now we have Arnold Schwarzenegger putting his hat in the ring. I've
always had a lot of respect for "Ah-nuld". He started out as a body
builder (yeah, like we had few enough of those that we had to import some
more, right?), but long before he made money as Conan the Barbarian, or
in Running Man or Total Recall or any of the other flicks he's been in,
he made millions in real estate.
Now, I know just enough about real estate to know that you've either got
to be very lucky or very good to make millions at it. Schwarzenegger was
very probably both lucky and good. I can live with that. I'd be one of
his biggest supporters, sitting there yelling "Go Arnold, go!"
But politics is another story all together. I've always been a little
confused by the propensity of the general population to be swayed by the
opinions of celebrities. It's one thing to have an actor hawking hair
care products. It's another thing entirely when they throw their
political opinions at us.
Celebrities are famous, by and large, because the are 'pretty' in one way
or another (with the exception of William F. Buckley, of course... I
STILL can't figure that one out), NOT because they are incredibly smart
or insightful.
Call me silly, but I really don't CARE what Alec Baldwin thinks about
California's economy. He's famous because he's 'pretty', not because he's
smart. Now, I agree with most of what Baldwin says, but that's
completely incidental.
Now, if Alan Greenspan were to become active in this thing, THAT would be
a clear-cut choice. He's an economist... this is right up his alley. But
it seems like a bad idea to elect an actor (no matter how intelligent and
well-meaning) when the state is in the middle of its biggest financial
crisis ever. It would be like sending your broken computer to a
restaurant for repair. Their food and service may always be good, but do
you really want them digging around in your computer?
To change direction a bit, let's think about the direction that politics
in general is currently taking. The democrats are currently in the
process of picking someone to run for president. There are, at the
moment, a rather large handful of choices, and just who will be chosen to
run when it's all over remains to be seen. I'll tell you flat-out that
I'm a democrat... or at least that I tend to be more liberal than
conservative... but that doesn't mean that I always 'tow the party line'.
Even though one of the 'hopefuls' is a senator from my state, I don't
see a clear-cut, hands-down, "best choice". I simply don't see any of
them as men (pardon the obvious gender bias) of vision. I see them as
sort of technicians. We don't need another political engineer, we need
someone with that industry and frugality trait while the other guy is
complaining about mis-underestimating subliminal advertising and the
French not having a word for entrepreneur.
Even though Franklin believed in the principles of industry and frugality,
he had no problem with making donations to worthy causes. And at the
time, there were no tax benefits to making donations. He didn't need a
catchy phrase like "a thousand points of light" to sell the idea. He
appealed to everyone's innate wish to do good, no matter how buried that
trait may be.
I've always believed that the law and government should be a shield, not a
sword; that the government is there, and is at its best when it
concentrates on helping its constituents... the very individuals who cast
votes to direct the course of the government. The Constitution says "We
the people", not "We the corporations". I've seen bad things happen in
all levels of government from local all the way up to the national level
when the needs/wants of a business or special interest are put ahead of
the needs/wants of the people themselves. While conservatives will argue
that the economy works because of businesses doing what they do, it
should be remembered that businesses do what they do for one reason: to
make money. There's nothing wrong with that, but ascribing a higher
purpose such as the common good or social equality or whatever is just
plain wrong. Like amending 'The Patriot Act' to protect drug companies
from litigation by families harmed by vaccination drugs. That's just
pork. And to make it worse, whoever appended that clause to the act
doesn't even have the intestinal fortitude to own up to it. The author or
the amendment remains unknown.
One of my heroes has always been Benjamin Franklin. That's right, the
"early to bed and early to rise" guy. He started out working in his
brother's print shop, and ended up guiding the course of the nation by
having input into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution,
not to mention having a hand in shaping the social, business, and
community climates of the country. He instituted the first lending
library, matching-fund grants, volunteer fire departments, and he shaped
the postal service... all while running several business of his own and
earning his reputation as scientist and inventor. Later on, he served the
country as ambassador to France. It's is probably due to his influence
that people like Rochambeau and Lafayette (names that are still spoken
with reverence and respect in my home town, by the way) were dispatched
to help a fledgling nation in its struggle for independence.
Franklin was of the opinion that there were two virtues that were most
likely to lead one to success: Industry and Frugality. He would often
cart rolls of paper to his shop in a wheelbarrow instead of having them
delivered so that not only would he be active in the lowest level of his
business, he would be SEEN to be industrious. He had no problem with
self-promotion, as long as there was real substance behind it.
These two virtues of Franklin's are in very short supply in politics these
days. What passes for industry is actually avarice. And what passes for
frugality is actually selfishness steeped in contempt. The real problem
is that we're starting to forget that there's a difference.
In closing, I'd like to make a prediction about what will happen in
California. No matter who wins this recall election, the next governor
will make a lot of noise about how things were allowed to get as bad as
they have gotten and, after about a year, they'll say that their plan
would have worked just dandy, but the situation was actually worse than
anyone had guessed. Tough decisions will be made, progress will come
slowly and, as the economy strengthens, the situation will improve not by
the deeds of the governor, but by the industry and frugality of the state
legislature and the public itself. I admit that you don't have to be
clairvoyant to make a prediction like this, but you don't have to be an
actor either. <grin>
Well, let's get on with the news, hints, tips, and info available from the
UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Mark Duckworth asks about using Magxdesk with MiNT:
"This may be a fight starter but I was just wondering if anyone ever
successfully ran Magxdesk under N.AES or XaAES. Reason being is that
contrary to what others might say I have always loved magxdesk. To me it
is clean, pretty and has the right features. I know there's a lot of
sticking points with that so I was wondering if anyone ever accomplished
it or even tried?"
Edward Baiz tells Mark:
"Yes, I tried it and it did not work mainly since Magxdesk is only
for Magic. I use Jinnee 2.5 for Mint/NAES."
Jo Evan Skarstein adds:
"I haven't even tried! It will most definitely not work. MagXdesk use
MagiC threads, these do not exist under any other AES.
I have to agree with you [about magxgesk]. A pity it's not a good
AV-server. But it's small, fast and simple."
Last week, someone asked about using a ZIP drive on a Falcon thusly:
"What do you need to connect a Falcon and an Iomega zip drive?
I have the hardware including a scsi cable to go between them but what do
I need in software? Did someone make an Iomega driver for the ST?"
This week Edward Baiz replies:
"You need HDDriver. I have it and it works great with my Iomega Jaz
drive."
James Haslam agrees:
"Seconded. I've never had to use a termination block when I've used the
Zip Drive as the last drive in the chain."
John Garone asks about upgrading HD Driver:
"Is it true that a hard drive (on a Hades) must be reformatted just to
upgrade from HDDriver 7.01 to 7.8 ? It doesn't sound logical to me but
that's what a Hades user told me!!!
If I remember correctly, whenever I upgraded, all I had to do was run
the new version and install with the corresponding utility app (8.04 now
on my Falcon and an old 1 gig Seagate)!"
Edward Baiz tells John:
"That is not the case for me. I never had to reformat any new
hard drive when I installed it. I also got a new 3 gig Seagate and
it worked fine when I first loaded it up. The only thing I have
had to reformat was one of my Jaz carts."
Dr. Uwe Seimet, author of HD Driver, adds:
"Even those do not have to be reformatted. As long as a medium is not
corrupted partitioning is always sufficient. "
Edward tells Uwe:
"True, but in this case it was formatted for a MAC and I could not
get it to work until I re-formatted it."
Uwe replies:
"Then you must have missed something. There is no special low-level format
for the Mac or any other platform. The only difference are the file
systems on the drive, which are created when partitioning. Partitioning
will effectively overwrite the old file system structure, regardless of
the platform it was created by.
Anyway, formatting does not harm, of course :-). Just takes time one can
better spend with other things."
Peter West asks about changing the double-click speed on an ST:
"My wife has some health problems and finds it difficult at times
to double-click fast enough on her 4 MB STFM for it to be
recognized as a double-click. She is using the General CPX with the
mouse d-c speed set to slowest, but it still isn't slow enough.
Is there a CPX or ACC that can be auto-loaded at boot-up that
allows either setting the d-c interval even longer, or - better -
to allow using the right button for double-clicking in all
programs, including 1st Word Plus? (I know it's out of date, but
she is used to it and it does all she needs). I can do the latter
on my Falcon under MagiC and Thing, but she is running TOS 1.04
with the Atari desktop; this is quite sufficient for what she uses
the machine for."
Dennis Vermeire tells Peter:
"Yep there is....
It's called WRAPMOUS, it's a CPX programmed by Richard Kurz in the early
90's. I'm left handed and thus like using the right button for double-
clicking also. This little gem can also drive a PC mouse on the serial
ports, let you use a joystick as alternative mouse, controls the d-c
intervals and lots more..."
Maurits van de Kamp adds:
"I don't know about changing the mouse buttons, but you can adjust the
doubleclick speed even in the ancient standard control panel that came
with the ST, and Xcontrol and Zcontrol also come with a CPX to do this."
Peter tells Maurits:
"I am already using Xcontrol and relevant CPX from Atari. I was wondering
whether other CPXs allowed a wider latitude - i.e. longer intervals."
"Rusty Nutt" adds:
"Sounds like your using the standard Atari mouse. Find a "Beetle
Mouse". Much easier to operate, and the clicks will seem faster.
My mom has arthritis (she is 74) and that mouse did wonders for her
navigation."
Well folks, that's it for this time around. 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 - Nintendo Plans New Game Product!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Xbox Live Gets Updated Soon!
3DO Auction Begins!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Microsoft Sets Upgrade Dates for Online Gaming
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday pegged Aug. 25 as the launch date for upgrades
to its Xbox Live online video game service.
On its Xbox Live Web site, Microsoft set the date for upgrades to the "Xbox
Dashboard," which will include a list of the player's friends who are also
online, as well as the ability to start a voice chat that does not require
subscribers to actually be playing a game.
Those service enhancements were first announced in May, at the industry's
annual E3 trade show.
As opposed to the two other leading game consoles - Sony Corp.'s
PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube - the Xbox's online
functions are centralized, with Microsoft operating all the servers and
charging a subscription fee for access.
From Xbox Live's launch last November, Microsoft has emphasized the
network's voice communication features, and the new game-independent voice
chat was said to be one of users' most-requested features.
Microsoft also said Thursday that starting this fall, some of its games
would be "Live Aware," meaning that they will not have online game play
capabilities but players would still be able to sign in to the Live service
and notify players when their friends come online.
More than 500,000 people worldwide have subscribed to Xbox Live, though
some game publishers have been reluctant to make Xbox Live games,
expressing concern about the revenue model and the control Microsoft would
have over their customers.
Nintendo Plans New Game Product, Coy on Details
Game Boy creator Nintendo Co Ltd said on Thursday it will reveal details of
a new game product next year but was coy on details, only saying it will be
a surprise.
"We are preparing a new product which will be surprising and unique,"
President Satoru Iwata told a news conference on the videogame maker's
business strategy.
Iwata, who took over in May last year from the charismatic Hiroshi
Yamauchi, said a poor explanation about Nintendo's mid-term business
strategy was partly to blame for a plunge in its share price after
archrival Sony Corp unveiled plans to launch its own handheld game device,
which will play music and movies, in 2004.
Still, Iwata said he could not give any specifics on the strategic product
because of competitive reasons.
"Basically Sony's multi-function handheld device will not have a big impact
on our business, but we are, whether Sony releases a new product or not,
preparing for our future...and we'll be able to tell you specifics next
spring," he said.
Asked if it would be a next-generation game console or software, Iwata
declined to specify. It was also unclear when the product would go on sale.
Iwata said creating a unique and easily playable product would enable
Nintendo to embark on a new growth path, but analysts said they were not
so convinced.
"Iwata regretted the poor disclosure of the firm's mid-term business plan,
but he still did not give any specifics. That was very typical of
Nintendo," said Eiji Maeda, senior analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.
"Overall, there was no surprise."
Some analysts suspect the new product could be some kind of peripheral
which would boost the functions of its handheld Game Boy Advance console
to stave off the challenge from Sony's new handheld, PSP.
Daiwa's Maeda said he would be impressed only if Nintendo came out with
some kind of new product, such as hardware that combined handheld and home
consoles, but he added that such a possibility was quite low.
CLintendo was developing a next-generation home videogame console and
aimed to launch it in 2005 or 2006, in a bid to restore its clout in the
lucrative videogame market. He did not elaborate on Thursday.
To revive slumping GameCube console demand, Iwata said Nintendo will
strengthen its marketing by introducing a points system similar to frequent
flier schemes for air travelers, in which consumers would accumulate points
by buying its software.
"We'll begin the new program in Japan and the United States by the end of
this year. We aim to have 300,000-500,000 users sign up for the program in
the first year," he told reporters.
Customers who buy new games can register in the program, called "Club
Nintendo," and accumulate points which can be used for items related to
Nintendo's games.
Iwata also said the company plans to reinforce its software development by
increasing collaborations with other software developers, but an
acquisition of a third-party game maker would not fit into the company's
strategy.
Kyoto-based Nintendo said earlier this week that it earned 11.45 billion
yen in net profit for the latest quarter to end-June, powered by solid
sales of its hand-held Game Boy Advance and its software, especially the
latest Pokemon games.
Combined sales of "Pokemon Ruby" and "Pokemon Sapphire" have topped 9.5
million units worldwide and would surpass 10 million within this business
year, Iwata said.
Microsoft, Ubi Soft File to Bid in 3DO Auction
Seven video game companies, including Microsoft Corp., Eidos Plc and Ubi
Soft Entertainment, have qualified to bid in the auction for the assets of
bankrupt publisher 3DO Co., according to court papers filed on Thursday.
In a notice filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, 3DO's
attorneys said Microsoft, Eidos, Ubi Soft, JoWooD Productions Software AG,
Namco Hometek Inc., Turbine Entertainment Software Corp. and Crave
Entertainment filed by Wednesday's deadline to bid in the Aug. 14 auction.
3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 28 and said it would
seek to sell its assets. The company had struggled with weak sales and
repeatedly sought financing from its founder and chief executive, long-time
video game industry executive Trip Hawkins.
The filing did not detail what assets the seven bidders were interested in,
or what they were offering to pay.
Microsoft entered the console games business two years ago with its Xbox
console, though it was in the PC games business for years beforehand.
Britain's Eidos is best known for the "Tomb Raider" franchise, while the
French Ubi Soft has had success of late with its "Splinter Cell" action
title.
Namco Hometek is a unit of Japan's Namco Ltd. and publishes games like
"MotoGP" and "Soul Calibur." Turbine was behind the "Asheron's Call" online
role-playing games. Germany's JoWooD is known for titles like "AquaNox,"
while Crave publishes games like "UFC: Throwdown."
According to the court order approving the sales procedures, bidders were
required to place deposits of anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 to bid on
the various asset groups, including the in-progress games "Street Racing
Syndicate" and "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Bidders interested in all
of the assets as a group were required to deposit $250,000.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft.com Suffers DoS Attack
Microsoft's main Web site was unreachable for almost two hours on Friday as
the Web server it is hosted on failed following a denial of service attack,
the company said Friday.
"I can confirm a DoS attack on the Microsoft.com Web site. It started at
1.21 p.m. Pacific time and lasted for roughly one hour and forty minutes,"
a Microsoft spokesperson said. "We have reported this to the appropriate
federal law enforcement authorities and they are investigating this
particular attack."
The denial of service attack was caused by "a malicious load of site
requests," the spokesperson said, but Microsoft has yet not determined
where the attack originated or who could be behind it. However, the company
has determined that its site did not go down as a result of a software
flaw, nor was a flaw in any Microsoft product involved in staging the
attack, the spokesperson said. "This is not a Microsoft software issue," he
said.
The attack hit only the Microsoft.com Web site, other Microsoft Web
properties such as MSN, Hotmail, and MSNBC were not affected, the
spokesperson said.
Microsoft's Web site is one of the most popular targets for attack on the
Web and has suffered outages in the past. The company's site has also been
attacked by exploiting unpatched software holes in Microsoft's own server
software.
Microsoft did quite well fielding this attack, as sites typically go down
for a longer period of time, according to Eric Siegel, principal Internet
analyst at Web performance management services firm Keynote Systems in San
Mateo, California.
"Usually DoS attacks are more catastrophic. Microsoft's performance in this
attack was quite good," he said. "Microsoft has gotten better at fending
off DoS attacks. I can see that the Microsoft systems were trying to
recover. They were fighting. A couple of years ago these attacks were
longer and the system would collapse completely."
Microsoft.com is part of Keynote's Business 40 index, which tracks
performance and availability of what Keynote considers the 40 most
important and well-connected business Web sites in the U.S. Data is
collected from 25 major U.S. metropolitan areas and various Internet
backbone providers.
Microsoft Warns About 'Worm' Virus
Microsoft Corp. is warning its customers about a computer worm that
exploits a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser.
A security bulletin on the company's Web site says Microsoft started
investigating a "mass mailer worm," dubbed W32/Mimail(at)MM, late Friday
morning.
The worm spreads through e-mail if recipients open an attached zip file -
used to condense information so it can move faster over the Internet - then
open an HTML file inside the zip file, the bulletin said.
The worm exploits a vulnerability the company addressed in a security
bulletin issued April 23, the bulletin said.
On Saturday, Microsoft spokesman Sean Sundwall downplayed the worm's
potential to cause major security problems.
If someone opens the e-mail, the zip file and the HTML file, the virus is
sent to all e-mail addresses the worm finds on that computer, Sundwall
said.
"The damage is simply an annoying e-mail," Sundwall said.
Microsoft's Web site directs customers to a security patch designed to fix
the problem.
Ante Up On Internet Sales
A system that will let states collect sales tax from online purchasers
should become operational next year. More than enough state legislatures
have passed laws this year to implement the Streamlined Sales Tax Project,
Dianne Hardt, project co-chair and Wisconsin's tax administrator, said last
week. Legislatures in 20 states, representing about a third of the
population of the 41 states participating in the project, have enacted laws
to conform with provisions of the tax-collection program. An agreement
approved by the states' tax officials last year calls for execution of the
sales-tax collection system once 10 states representing 20% of the
population of sales-tax-collecting states approve the project.
Microsoft Competitors Cheer EU's Antitrust Proposals
Microsoft Corp.'s rivals on Wednesday cheered the hard line taken by the
European Commission in a long-running antitrust case based on charges the
company has continued to abuse the dominance of its Windows computer
operating system.
Microsoft, which settled its antitrust trial with the U.S. government last
year on less punitive terms, could be made to share software with
competitors and could face possibly billions of dollars in fines when the
European Union makes it final decision at a later date.
"It is revealing that a government outside the United States sees the
social and economic benefits of competition," said Matthew Szulik, Chief
Executive of Red Hat Inc. which distributes the free Linux operating system
that competes with Microsoft's Windows.
"It's a far-reaching decision," Szulik said.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said it would order Redmond,
Washington-based Microsoft to open up the protocols for its server
software, which run the computers that host Web sites, manage e-mail and
handle financial transactions.
Microsoft, which was given an opportunity to appeal before a final decision
is made, said that it had already dealt with some of the commission's
concerns in remedies in its U.S. antitrust case. Legal experts expect a
settlement to the four-year-long case, possibly before the end of the year.
"We're not going to speculate on possible outcomes or the suggested
remedies of the commission," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler.
Better access to Microsoft's server protocols would allow rivals such as
Sun Microsystems Inc. and Linux developers create products that work as
well as Windows does with Microsoft's servers.
"We are pleased with the European Commission's decision," said Lee Patch,
Sun's vice president and counsel leading Sun's antitrust lawsuit against
Microsoft.
Santa Clara, California-based Sun filed suit in March 2002 seeking more
than $1 billion in damages and claiming its business was damaged by
Microsoft's abusive monopoly, which impeded the use of Sun's Java software
platform.
Sun, which has cooperated with the European Commission's case against
Microsoft, has complained that Microsoft had done little to curb its
"monopolistic and anti-competitive practices."
The commission also said that it will force Microsoft to unbundle its
Windows Media Player, used to play music and video on personal computers,
or to include rival media player software with its Windows operating
system.
RealNetworks Inc., which makes the biggest competitor to the Windows Media
Player, said that the EC's proposal was the most significant part of the
settlement.
"I think the EC has identified the importance of competition," said David
Stewart, deputy general counsel at RealNetworks, "The EC has identified
that they want to forward innovation and consumer choice...when there's
competition, consumers win."
Steve Kleynhans, a Meta Group analyst, said it was likely that Microsoft
would agree to removing the media player.
"They'll bite the bullet and do it," Kleynhans said.
Analysts were reluctant to speculate on the size of the commission's fine,
which would be capped at 10 percent of Microsoft's annual revenues, or
roughly equal to $3 billion.
Even if the commission were to impose the maximum fine, which is seen as
unlikely, it would only make a small dent in Microsoft's $49 billion cash
hoard.
ISP Answers RIAA Subpoena With Suit
The music industry's quest for ISPs to release names of customers who
allegedly download music files is hitting a backlash: A senator is
challenging the practice and a second major ISP has filed suit.
Senator Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, recently expressed concerns
about what he calls a "shotgun" approach by the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) in protecting its copyrights. The
organization has filed a number of administrative subpoenas authorized by
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). And last week, Pacific Bell
Internet Services, a subsidiary of SBC Communications, filed a lawsuit
against the RIAA and two other organizations after Pacific Bell received
more than 200 subpoenas asking for the identities of its customers.
The RIAA responded by statement to both actions, saying it will comply with
Coleman's request for information on the subpoenas. That response will
confirm the RIAA is acting within the law, the RIAA says.
The information "will demonstrate that our enforcement program, one part of
a multi-pronged strategy, is an appropriate and measured response to the
very serious problem of blatant copyright infringement confronting the
entire music community," according to the RIAA's statement.
The DMCA lets copyright holders subpoena ISPs for the names of people they
believe are using their copyrighted material without permission. These
subpoenas are issued by a court clerk without a judge's action, but Pacific
Bell and other critics have suggested the subpoenas could be abused by
anyone claiming to be a copyright holder, including criminals.
"We really believe that anyone who can take the time to fill out a form
letter can get it stamped by the court clerk and get the name of an
Internet user," said Larry Meyer, a SBC spokesperson. "The potential for
abuse is very great."
For the past year, Verizon Internet Services has fought two RIAA subpoenas,
and lost in court twice. Verizon released the names of the alleged
downloaders in early June, but promises to keep fighting the DMCA
subpoenas.
Pacific Bell's suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of California, asks the subpoenas be declared invalid, according to Meyer.
The company filed the lawsuit last week because several of the RIAA
subpoenas named a deadline for compliance last week, he said.
Pacific Bell is also fighting demands from copyright infringement tracker
MediaForce, and a subpoena from adult-themed entertainment company Titan
Media. MediaForce is demanding Pacific Bell cancel the subscriptions of
"thousands" of its customers, and Titan Media wants the names of 50 Pacific
Bell customers.
The MediaForce demands suggest the ISP should cancel customer accounts on
"their word alone," Meyer said. "This lawsuit is about protecting the
privacy rights of our customers," he added.
The RIAA called Pacific Bell's arguments against the subpoenas "old news."
The telecom company is "recycling many of the same arguments" already
rejected in the Verizon case, according to the RIAA.
"It's unfortunate that they have chosen to litigate this, unlike every
other ISP which has complied with their obligations under the law," an
RIAA statement says. "We had previously reached out to SBC to discuss this
matter, but had been rebuked. This procedural gambit will not ultimately
change the underlying fact that when individuals engage in copyright
infringement on the Internet, they are not anonymous and service providers
must reveal who they are."
Meanwhile, Coleman, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, wrote to the RIAA. He is asking for a copy of all its DMCA
subpoenas, a description of the methodology the RIAA uses to find evidence
of illegal file-sharing, and other information.
Coleman says in a statement that he does not support illegal file-trading,
but suggests there may be a "more circumspect and narrowly tailored method"
for the RIAA to go after file downloaders.
"The industry seems to have adopted a shotgun approach that could
potentially cause injury and harm to innocent people who may have simply
been victims of circumstance, or possessing a lack of knowledge of the
rules related to digital sharing of files," Coleman says in a statement.
"The RIAA subpoenas have snared unsuspecting grandparents whose
grandchildren have used their personal computers, individuals whose
roommates have shared their computers, as well as colleges and universities
across the United States."
Forget Your Password?
The majority of users mishandle their passwords and user IDs, forget their
passwords on a regular basis and then resort to calling their IT
departments for help when they can't log on to their PCs, according to a
new survey.
The results of the study, done by security vendor Rainbow Technologies Inc.
and released Tuesday, should come as no surprise to anyone in the IT world.
Most enterprise IT workers are painfully familiar with the poor security
habits of the users they support. However, the extent to which users drop
the ball and endanger their corporate networks is nonetheless
disconcerting.
"It surprised me how aware people were of how weak passwords are, and yet
they continue to rely on them," said Bernie Cowens, vice president of
security services at Rainbow. "You can see that they are really no security
at all. Passwords are a real problem, but we continue to keep our heads in
the sand and our fingers crossed."
In a survey of 3,000 administrators, managers and security specialists,
Rainbow found that 55 percent of users write their passwords down at least
once and that nine percent write down every password at some point. Even
worse, 40 percent of the respondents said their users share passwords with
co-workers or other people.
The survey also found that some of the security measures that companies
have put in place to strengthen passwords have actually backfired. A common
corporate policy is to require users to select passwords that either
include both letters and numbers or are simply a string of letters that
don't form a word. The idea is to defeat so-called dictionary attacks,
which use automated tools to try thousands of words until one matches the
user's password.
However, 80 percent of respondents to the survey said that this policy has
in fact increased the likelihood that users will either write down or
forget their passwords.
"It was clear from the survey that while the implementation of password
strengthening methods may make IT and business managers feel better about
the use of passwords, they may not result in stronger actual security," the
company said in its introduction to the survey results. "In fact the
security may be weaker, which represents a fundamental flaw in the password
paradigm."
But not all of the blame for the poor state of password management should
fall to users. Rainbow, based in Irvine, Calif., also found that almost 20
percent of respondents are not required to change their passwords on a
regular basis and only 38 percent have to switch passwords five or more
times each year.
"This is a very poor security policy to start with. Obviously, people
recognize today the weaknesses of passwords. It's hard to fathom that some
organizations don't require [password changes] at all," Cowens said.
'Do Not Spam' Lists Find Customers, Skeptics
Frustrated Internet users inundated with unwanted get-rich-quick schemes
and herbal Viagra offers may have noticed a new, unsolicited pitch
promising to reduce the amount of "spam" e-mail they receive.
Pointing to Web sites with names like remove.org and globalremoval.com, the
messages promise - for a nominal fee - to stop spam at its source by
placing their addresses on a "do not spam" registry.
The services say they have hit on a novel and cheap way to reduce spam, and
point to bulging customer lists as proof. Government and private-sector
experts say such "do not spam" services are not likely to work because
marketing firms are under no obligation to comply.
"It's probably not worth signing up. You can get plenty of spam for free,"
said Howard Beales, head of the Federal Trade Commission's
consumer-protection division.
Ironically, many of the do-not-spam services may have been inspired by an
FTC initiative - the telephone "do not call" list that promises to keep
most telemarketers at bay, starting in October.
The popularity of the anti-telemarketing list and the success of similar
state-level programs have prompted some to call for a "do not spam" list.
The FTC and many technology experts say a government-backed "do not spam"
list would do little good, as spammers, unlike telemarketers, often cloak
their identities and thus could easily escape punishment. Also, some
marketers might view the list as a tempting trove of valid e-mail addresses
to sell to other spammers.
While prospects for a federal do-not-spam list look doubtful, private
companies have stepped in to offer their own services, often through
unsolicited messages of their own.
Remove.org promises to rid members' inboxes of spam and protect their
children from unwanted pornography for $9.95 per year.
The company seeks to cut off Internet marketers who send unsolicited
messages to the list's 50,000 members by notifying their Internet providers
that the spammer may be violating their service contract, Remove.org
marketing director Charles David said.
Internet marketers who do not wish to generate consumer complaints or send
pornography to children can scrub their master lists of members' e-mail
addresses, he said - a key consideration as public anti-spam sentiment
mounts.
"I think they really see their days as potentially numbered, and the
current climate's given us that extra leverage," David said.
Another service, globalremoval.org, deputizes Internet marketers to seek
out those who are sick of spam. Consumers pay $5 for a lifetime membership
and the marketers get $1 for each Internet user they sign up. The list is
encrypted to keep it out of spammers' hands, and those who participate sign
a contract to be held accountable.
Company founder Tom Jackson said the system had proved its appeal, saying
"tens of thousands" had signed up in recent weeks, some in response
globalremoval.org's own e-mail campaign.
"If that message upsets people, then I say 'Either sign up with us or
pretend it was one more Viagra ad and get back to your spam diet, and we're
really sorry to have bothered you,"' Jackson said.
Several industry and technology experts say do-not-spam lists are unlikely
to succeed without a federal law.
"To the best of my knowledge, these private remove services are nothing but
scams," said Dave Brussin, chief technology officer of the ePrivacy Group,
which wants Congress to pass a national list.
Computer-security consultant Richard M. Smith says working with spammers to
cut spam is a conflict of interest. "Doesn't pass my smell test," he said.
"The whole concept is a little fishy," said Louis Mastria, a spokesman for
the Direct Marketing Association, which represents many Internet marketers.
"They have no power over these guys, so there's no real service that they
can guarantee or provide.
"You've spent your $10 and what do you get out of it?"
AOL Launches Advanced E-mail, Messaging Product
America Online on Tuesday launched stand-alone, advanced e-mail and instant
messaging software as the AOL Time Warner Inc. unit tries to offer more
choice in hopes of stemming subscriber defections.
The product launch comes as America Online also rolls out the latest
version of its Internet service, AOL 9.0 Optimized, and as it tries to
curtail the sharp decline in its dial-up subscriber base while trying to
woo high-speed users.
The company said the stand-alone product, AOL Communicator, can consolidate
e-mail from multiple accounts into a single application and offers more
flexible e-mail management and better spam filters. It will be free to AOL
subscribers.
The release comes at a time America Online faces federal probes into its
accounting of advertising deals, questions about discounted bulk sales of
Internet subscriptions to its marketing partners in 2001 and concerns about
its shrinking dial-up subscriber base.
The SEC recently requested documents related to the bulk deals, a person
close to the company said last week.
Analysts have been encouraged by early peeks at AOL 9.0, calling it one of
the biggest changes in the service in years and a step in the right
direction, but they said it is unlikely to be enough to offset the
company's near-term woes.
AOL Changes Strategy On Software Rollout
America Online is abandoning its strategy of making major changes to its
AOL software as part of a single annual release in favor of rolling out
fresh upgrades as soon as the new features are ready, company officials
said this week.
The change comes as AOL Time Warner Inc. seeks to stem the exodus of
subscribers to low-price competitors or to cable and phone firms providing
high-speed online access. By offering a steady stream of new improvements,
company officials hope to keep their subscribers interested in the service
and around longer.
Over the past week, America Online began making AOL 9.0 Optimized available
for download by high-speed subscribers. It is the third major software
release by the Dulles-based firm in 10 months.
"We are on a faster innovation cycle, and we get the product out the door
first to our members," said AOL spokesman Jim Whitney. "There is a real
commitment to innovating and constantly improving the product. If you look
at AOL today versus a year ago, this is different."
During a recent demonstration of the firm's newest offering, AOL 9.0,
Executive Vice President David Gang emphasized a variety of new features
in the company's signature online software, particularly fresh ways to
handle e-mail.
The firm, which released AOL 8.0 in October 2002, and 8.0 Plus this March,
is making AOL 9.0 available now, even though it works only with computers
running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, via high-speed connections. A more
complete version of the software to be released this fall will work with
both dial-up and high-speed connections, and also run on Windows 98 and
other operating systems.
One major new feature of AOL 9.0 - software to create blogs, the
increasingly popular electronic diaries written by individuals and shared
with others online - is not part of the AOL 9.0 released to subscribers
thus far. That feature is still being refined and will be distributed to
subscribers soon and to the public within a few months.
In addition to improving e-mail management, Gang, who oversaw development
of AOL 9.0, said other enhancements include more sophisticated spam
filtering; new ways to personalize the company's instant-messaging
software, including use of animated icons; and an interactive welcome
screen that can be tailored to individual interests.
Other new instant-messaging features include a photo-sharing service and
the potential to engage in real-time conversations with other users around
the world, provided subscribers have a PC microphone.
While the majority of AOL's roughly 25 million subscribers pay $23.90 a
month for dial-up access, the portion of the business that is growing, and
that is receiving the greatest management focus, is AOL for Broadband.
The broadband service, which offers users more features by taking advantage
of faster connection speeds, runs in conjunction with the access provided
by cable and telephone providers. This week, the firm formally released AOL
Communicator to its online subscribers, a companion piece of software that
gives users even greater control over their e-mail, such as the ability to
check multiple accounts, even if they are not AOL ones.
"Many AOL members, especially those using the AOL for Broadband service,
have expressed great interest in using more advanced e-mail features,"
Gang said. "For 'power' mail users, AOL Communicator [combines] powerful
e-mail, instant messaging, personalized and up-to-the-minute news and
content, and the hallmark ease of use AOL members have come to expect."
Other new features that are part of AOL 9.0 include shared family
calendars; a new AOL cash card that will allow children and teens (with
their parents' permission) to shop within designated areas of AOL and at
stores; online storage options for e-mail that do not take up space on a
computer's hard drive; improved firewall and virus protection; new parental
controls; and a beefed-up "Kids Only" area.
Linux Advocates Mount Attack Against SCO
In the high-stakes legal showdown between Linux users and SCO Group Inc.
over whether that company is owed unprecedented license fees, advocates for
the free software on Thursday showed no signs of blinking at their biggest
annual gathering.
SCO, which claims its blueprint for Unix software is embedded illegally in
versions of the free Linux operating system, is suing International
Business Machines Corp. for billions and has threatened companies that they
must pay to use Linux or face litigation.
But IBM and Linux distributor Red Hat Inc. fought back this week against
Lindon, Utah-based SCO with countersuits, drawing cheers from Linux
developers and users gathered in San Francisco this week for LinuxWorld.
"I'm not going to pay up until they show me proof," said Sterling Ball, who
runs Ernie Ball, maker of the popular "Slinky" electric guitar strings.
Ball switched to Linux and Sun Microsystems Inc.'s products several years
ago after a license audit by Microsoft Corp.
Linux, which can be copied and modified freely, has gained ground against
Microsoft Windows as a software standard for servers used to run the
Internet, handle financial transactions and even manage the U.S. nuclear
arsenal.
Many are drawn to Linux's open-source credo, which ensures that anyone can
access, copy and modify its underlying source code, or software blueprint.
A network of developers, hackers and users say the collaborative spirit
behind Linux makes it more reliable and innovative than proprietary
software.
"Is there any basis for this suit? No," said Frederick Berenstein,
Co-Chairman of Xandros, a distributor of Linux desktop software. "Is it
designed to keep SCO in business? Yes."
SCO, which had been struggling financially until launching its legal and
licensing campaign in March, said this week it will charge $699 for a
computer with a single central processor running Linux, a price set to
double at the end of an introductory period ending October 15.
Red Hat, the leading distributor providing Linux update and support
services, filed a formal complaint earlier this week claiming that SCO's
claims threaten to harm its business.
SuSE Linux AG, a German distributor and Red Hat competitor, said that it
was looking for ways to support Red Hat, an offer welcomed by Red Hat Chief
Executive Matthew Szulik.
IBM countersued on Thursday, saying that SCO had infringed on four IBM
patents and breached the Linux general public license.
SCO, for its part, has said that it had been approached by Linux users
seeking licenses to avoid any potential liability. Microsoft, whose server
software competes directly with Linux, has signed a multimillion dollar
licensing deal with SCO.
"SCO will remain on course to require customers to license infringing Linux
implementations as a condition of further use," SCO said in a statement,
"This is the best and clearest course for customers to minimize Linux
problems."
But many remain reluctant to pay up until SCO proves that Linux contains
proprietary software code. SCO has offered to show any interested parties
its code under a non-disclosure agreement so that Linux can't be modified
to remove any incriminating software code.
"I think a lot of people realize its a bluster up to this point," said Ian
Murdock, Chairman of Progeny, which creates customized versions of Linux
for companies, "If they were to come out with compelling evidence, then
people could consider it seriously."
Linux Earns User-Friendly Rating
Linux, once viewed as an operating system only computer geeks could
appreciate, is today a much more user-friendly software that companies,
public administrations, and consumers can master almost as easily as
Microsoft's Windows XP. That's the core finding of a study published on
Friday by Relevantive, a Berlin-based company specializing in consulting
companies on the usability of software and Web services.
The Relevantive usability study, which can be downloaded from the company's
Web site, comes as numerous government bodies and companies in Germany's
public and private sectors move to migrate their IT systems away from
Windows to the Linux operating system, while others are still debating the
pros and cons of such a move.
The independent study focuses on the use of Linux in companies and public
administrations, using SuSE Linux AG's Linux Professional 8.2 OS software
with the KDE 3.1.2 graphical interface.
The researchers studied how easily two groups of users could perform tasks
using the different operating systems. One group consisted of 60 users
between 25 and 55 with computer skills but no prior experience with Linux
or Windows XP. They tested the pre-configured open source software
according to various criteria, such as the ease of creating and
administrating new and existing files, copying CDs, and performing some
basic office tasks, such as composing a text and sending an e-mail.
The other group consisted of 20 users with the same qualifications who
performed the exact same tasks on Windows XP.
The study findings suggest that it is almost as easy to perform most major
office tasks using Linux as it is using Windows, which has a long history
in the consumer market.
Linux users, for example, needed 44.5 minutes to perform a set of tasks,
compared to 41.2 minutes required by the XP users. Furthermore, 80 percent
of the Linux users believed that they needed only one week to become as
competent with the new system as with their existing one, compared to 85
percent of the XP users.
But when it comes to the design of the desktop interface and programs,
Windows XP still has a strong edge: 83 percent of the Linux users said they
liked the design of the desktop and the programs, compared to 100 percent
of the Windows XP users.
'Flash Mobs' Stage Wacky Public Stunts
About 200 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, crowd into the card section
of the Harvard Coop bookstore, pretending to look for a card for "Bill."
On cue, they burst into spontaneous applause.
It's another "flash mob" strike, wherein a crowd, organized by e-mail lists
and Web sites, converges in pre-arranged location and performs a wacky,
harmless stunt for a few minutes in public.
The crowd then abruptly disappears, leaving bystanders befuddled.
Some participants consider these acts of swarming to be art. Others fancy
them social revolution. But for many it's just irreverent, silly fun.
The phenomenon, called smart flocking by some, is spreading across the
globe along with the portable digital devices that enable it.
After the original flash mob coalesced in Manhattan less than two months
ago, similar 21st century be-ins were staged from Minneapolis to Tokyo to
Vienna.
In June, flash-mobbers crowded into a Manhattan Macy's and surrounded a
large oriental rug, telling puzzled salespeople they all lived together and
wanted the $10,000 "Love Rug."
In Rome, hundreds flooded a bookstore, asking employees for imaginary books
and authors.
In San Francisco, a flock crossed a busy downtown crosswalk back and forth,
waving their arms in the air and spinning in circles, as tourists stared
agape.
The Cambridge crowd fascinated Melissa Krodman, a 24-year-old mobber.
"But to get the joke, you had to look at the woman there behind the
counter, the expression on her face" when the crown materialized out of
nowhere, Krodman said.
A flash mob is a lighthearted variation of the "smart mob" - people who use
digital technology to hastily mobilize, as activists did to protest the
U.S. invasion of Iraq or cell phone-equipped teenagers simply do to
organize their evening on the spur of the moment.
Futurist Howard Rheingold unwittingly inspired the flash-mobbers, with his
2002 book "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution," which examines how
technology redefines social interaction.
Often, anonymous flash mob organizers send out e-mails and post on online
"blogs" specifying a date and time for swarming. Word spreads quickly. And
before you know it, hundreds are in New York's Central Park, making bird
sounds.
"Everything makes a lot of sense nowadays, a bit too much sense. Then, for
10 minutes, you get to do something completely nonsensical. You get to be
a kid for a few minutes," said a 30-year-old organizer of the San Francisco
mob, who wanted to be known only as "The Governor."
Even friends who got his mob "summonses" didn't know he was the organizer,
he says - and that secrecy is part of what has people hooked.
Only organizers know the details. Participants are told to synchronize
their watches and gather in nearby bars, organized in clusters according
to their birth month.
Volunteers, who get cues only minutes prior by cell phone, hand out slips
of paper with instructions - the precise minute when the mob should appear
and disappear.
The slips must be hidden after memorizing instructions and everyone must
disperse no later than two minutes after it ends.
"It's all very 'spy novel,' very hush-hush," said 34-year-old New York City
flash-mobber Fred Hoysted.
Numerous web logs (blogs), chat rooms and Yahoo group lists are devoted to
the movement.
As soon as San Francisco blogger Sean Savage started recording flash mob
events on his Web site - www.cheesebikini.com - traffic skyrocketed from
350 visitors a day to more than 9,000, he said.
A recent mention on the popular techie site, Slashdot.org, brought even
more traffic, crashing Savage's server.
Savage, 31, says the phenomenon empowers citizens in a world controlled by
"Big Government and Big Corporation."
"This interests people - even if it's frivolous, totally for fun, and
doesn't have a label attached to it - because they see something can still
happen from the grassroots without any help from the government and
corporations," said Savage, a computer system designer and analyst at
Stanford University.
Rob Zazueta, who is creating an online meeting place - FlockSmart.com - for
organizers and wannabe participants, says the practice turns on its head
arguments that evolving digital communications tools like text messaging or
e-mail are depersonalizing.
"With smart mobs, these same tools that used to push us apart, are now
bringing us back together," he said.
Zazueta, 28, hopes to see more instant physical gatherings - not of
anonymous pranksters but rather of like minds. They could be at a coffee
shop to discuss anything from technology, to music to politics.
"It takes the concept of chat rooms," he said, "and brings it into the real
world."
=~=~=~=
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