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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 05 Issue 02
Volume 5, Issue 2 Atari Online News, Etc. January 10, 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:
Kevin Savetz
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0502 01/10/03
~ Digital Pics Shoebox! ~ People Are Talking! ~ New 5-ounce GameBoy!
~ Spam Assassin Renewed! ~ MS Web Services Lost! ~ Crystal Castles News!
~ New Virtual Community! ~ MacWorld Announcements ~ Emulator Ideas!
~ Xbox Hackers Resume! ~ Avril Lavigne Virus! ~ Microsoft Cases On!
-* Atari Explorer Site Launched *-
-* ST Emulator for Pocket PC Released! *-
-* White House Cyber-Security Plan Is Trimmed *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Okay, so just because the last few winters here in New England haven't been
too harsh, there's no reason to play catch-up now! It's been winter here,
with a vengeance! We've had about a foot and a half of that white stuff in
the past week; we could use a break for awhile! I'm ready for the golf
season to start up again!
Not much has been happening this past week. Things are starting to get back
to normal (whatever is considered "normal" these days) now that the holidays
are past us, and the new year is in full swing. I guess proof of that is
that my vacation is over and it's back to the daily grind again! <grin>
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Atari Explorer Launches
Karl at Atari Explorer has announced:
The sister site of the Atari Historical Society (www.atarimuseum.com)
has finally launched after a long absence. Some may remember the old
site, called the Atari Time Machine, well this is its long-time coming
replacement.
There is still much to do, but we hope you enjoy the work done so far.
Please feel free to call in on our forums, which we want to utilise for
historical discussions.
We would also welcome contributions in any way you fell you can. We
welcome your support.
http://www.atari-explorer.com/
New ST Emulator for PocketPC
Andrew Gower has announced:
After many many weeks of hard work by Schtruck and myself we are pleased
to announce that our ST emulator for the PocketPC is nearly ready for
release.
CastCE is a fully functional Atari ST emulator for the PocketPC with
support for literally hundreds of great games.
Now you can finally play all your old ST games in the palm of your hand!
Go to pocketinfinity.com for more info. The download will be posted on
pocketinfinity.com as soon as we think it's ready :-)
http://www.pocketinfinity.com
Original 8-bit Crystal Castles Discovered
Curt Vendel of the Atari Museum (http://www.atarimuseum.com/)
has released a version of Crystal Castles for the Atari 8-bit computers
that was programmed long before the XE version that was eventually
released in 1988. This version was actually programmed by Atari, Inc. in
1984, and amazingly the game is crammed into only 16K. The version of
Crystal Castles that was actually released was programmed by a
third-party company and was much larger in size. You can download the
original Crystal Castles binary here:
http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/roms/cc800-84.bin
and discuss this version with other AtariAge visitors in
AtariAge's Atari 8-bit Forum:
http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18526
[This news item courtesy of Atariage.com: http://www.atariage.com]
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has come and gone, and Mother
Nature is still messing with us here in the northeast.
No, this isn't a "re-run" column. Mother Nature really IS still messing
with us. It's been more of a change of pace than anything else so far,
but I'd be willing to bet that it would stop being charming and start
being a real nuisance if it keeps up throughout the winter.
That's one thing that's always amazed me... how our perceptions can
change so radically. A snowy back yard is charming once in a while. But
each successive snowfall seems to lose some of its charm. By the end of
the winter, most of us can't wait for the warmer temperatures and green lawns.
I'm a "winter person" by nature. I don't go in for skiing or skating or
anything, but I'm more comfortable in the cold weather. My wife is just
the opposite... she likes warm weather. She can't understand how I could
prefer being too cold to being too hot. I have a simple way of explaining
it. "You can always put on another sweater." She still can't see it.
Anyway, I've always found it interesting that people can have such
differing opinions. It's one of the things that makes our lives so
interesting. Sometimes difficult, yes, but always interesting. That's why
I'm constantly amazed that some people never get the idea that there are
opinions other than theirs. We're seeing it played out on the world stage
right now, and it's not limited to one side either.
Oops, I promised myself that I wasn't going to comment on politics or
religion. Well, there goes ANOTHER New Year's resolution.
Let's get to the news and stuff from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Boris Cahan asks about ST emulation:
"Are there any decent Atari emulators in English that are available?"
David Bolt tells Boris:
"ARAnyM, which is a Falcon emulator and runs under Windows and Linux,
STeem, WinSTon, TOSBox which I still use for a few things. There are
probably a few others as well, but these are the ones I use."
Don Wolfe adds:
"Also check out GEMULATOR 2000 I use it on my LAPTOP and it does it all.
it is now freeware....."
Since neither Don nor David provided URLs, Boris asks:
"Are they publicly available? can you tell me where?"
David provides the URLs:
"These are the
ARAnyM: <URL:http://sourceforge.net/projects/aranym/>
STeem: <URL:http://steem.atari.org>
WinSTon: <URL:http://www.atarigames.net/apps.htm>[0]
TOSBox: <URL:http://www.geocities.com/tosbox/>
[0] Also has STeem, PacifiST, TOSBox and STonX."
Martin Tarenskeen jumps in and posts:
"I have never tried running any Atari emulator, since my only computer is
a REAL Atari Falcon and I don't even own a PC or Mac.
But this might change in the future. I have had positive reports from
people running my YSEDITOR synth editor/librarian on a PC with STeem
successfully. On the other hand I'm not only a MIDI enthusiast, I've also
become a FreeMiNT lover lately. This makes me think that a Linux computer
running Aranym could be a serious option for me in the future. And it
would be nice to avoid Windoze completely. Can anyone tell me if Aranym
supports, or will support, the MIDI ports to be able to run Atari MIDI
apps?"
Martin Byttebier tells the other Martin:
"For the moment I own a Hades 060, Mac G3 and a pc 2.66 GHz.
Most work is still done on the Hades though.
So far I only have tried MagiCMac. Personally I really don't like it. For
me it's an emulator without a soul if you know what I mean. Under
MagiCMac I can't find back the joy I've when I work under freeMiNT/N_AES.
To avoid some misunderstanding (by some people) I don't say MagicMac
isn't good. It does its job pretty well but...
IMHO, Aranym is THE FUTURE. As soon as I find some spare time I'll install
Linux/Aranym on my pc."
Rob Jenkins asks about the proper way to uninstall programs:
"I do have a bit of an atari OS gripe. I bought neodesk 3 to give the
desktop a new look on my falcon, have decided it wasn't for me, and
have taken it off. Only thing is, when I boot up, neodesk still
attempts to load (even when all the program files have been deleted
from the auto folder, and from it's program folder. (when deleted, it
says it cannot find the folder it's trying to access)
How do I stop this happening - in windows on my PC (sorry to everyone
this offends) - I can just go into control panel, and do add/remove.
I tried putting neodesk 3 back on, and going to the install
application option, where I noticed a remove option, I try this,
delete everything, but it still tries to boot up neodesk after
rebooting."
Christopher Friend tells Rob:
"I the install application window, make sure the AUTO option isn't
highlighted. If it is, change it to normal, save the desktop, and then
try rebooting before you delete Neodesk again."
Boris Cahan, who asked about emulators earlier, now asks about installing
Gemulator:
"I am trying to install Gemulator 2000, and have attempted to install it,
according to the pages on the gemulator home page and also using the Atari
st emulator FAQ. it starts, gives me the white screen, tests the memory,
and does the wait thing (which does terminate when I hit any key) but
then just sits there. Taskinfo (a PC task monitor) shows that it is
running, but NOTHING HAPPENS! NADA! NICHTS! I cant get a mouse, no
desktop appears!
Anyone have any ideas???"
Greg Goodwin tells Boris:
"Gemulator appears to be hanging at the point where it looks for
drives. What drive settings/files are you using?"
Kenneth Medin adds:
"If using a HD image file check that it is not write protected. I had
similar problems to get Gemulator after copying everything from a CD-R.
The Windows operating system always sets the write protected flag when
copying files from a CD.
Jos van de Gruiter asks Boris:
"Do you have a TOS image installed in the right place?"
Boris replies:
"NOPE! Someone sent me some ROM image files but that didn't work! I have
to rename it to Magic_PC.os, or it wont find it! The US versions (both of
them) yield a mixed up screen full of an array of little boxes, the 206
UK gives the proper white screen, with the logo, show the ram check and
the spin-up bar, and then hangs! It isn't locking the computer, but there
is no mouse, no desktop, and I can only ctrl alt del to remove the ST!
The program is still doing SOMETHING, according to a task info program I
have on the PC, but nothing happens."
David Wade tells Boris:
"It is a little picky to get going. Try turning off all the advanced
features, disable sound etc. until you get it running. (some are on the
config, others on their own menus).. Then you can turn some on again till
it works..."
Lonny Pursell adds:
"Try the old DOS version. It even runs on my iMAC under Virtual PC."
Boris asks:
"But doesn't the dos version only emulate simpler versions? and without
Windows accessibility?
Does anyone know where the gemulator stores its values? after running (or
trying to run) a few times, it now does NOTHING, but crashed with a page
fault."
David tells Boris:
"The readme says GEM2000.INI which I think will be somewhere in the
Windows Directory..
I forgot most important thing. It seems to like to have
a copy of the TOS image file in the drive."
Our own Keeper of the Flame, TJ Andrews, asks about converting AtariWorks
spreadsheets:
"I have a number of AtariWorks spreadsheets I've been using over the
years. Now, I'd be just as happy to continue using them forever, but my
Mega STe probably won't last that long, and I know my Syquest 200 MB
carts won't. I've decided it might be best if I were to convert the
'sheets to a format my Linux/Windows PC can use, like Excel or
OpenOffice.org, because if the worst happens it'll be easier to replace
PC hardware than TOS-compatible hardware.
Is there a TOS, Windows, or Mandrake Linux program that can do this for
me, or will I be forced to work them out by hand all over again? I
thought of exporting them, but AtariWorks doesn't export the formulas in
cells, only the results. I'm not interested in the formatting
information, I can take care of that in the PC program I use. I AM
interested in the cell references and formulas.
Any help I can get to ease my tax preparation will be greatly appreciated."
Greg Goodwin tells TJ:
"Hmmm. I don't know the answer to your question, but here's a few
things I'd try:
1) Gnumeric -- Atari might have used an already existing format.
2) Aranym -- Virtual machines can be fun.
3) Study the file as a text file -- perhaps a conversion is fairly
simple.
I use Atariworks spreadsheets frequently, but never bothered to export
them anywhere. I'll play around with it next chance I get."
Don Schmidt tells TJ:
"I know the concern. I had to go to MS Windows because my Atari Mega STe
4 could no longer handle some of my VIP Professional spreadsheets. Just
before the files were too big to handle it was taking 5 minutes to load
the sheets and another 5 minutes to do a recalculation. I no longer have
the STe but do miss the uncluttered way Atari installed programs. Most of
the time a program consisted of less than 5 files, were all in one folder
and if you wanted to remove the program, just delete the folder. "Gaud,
how I love(d) it so! (George C Scott - Patton)
Getting back to those spreadsheets -
Because VIP Professional saved the files as WKS they were compatible with
Lotus 1-2-3 which I now use. I believe WKS files are compatible with MS
Works, probably Excel and others.
In those good ol days I was running the Bear Cavern BBS - It was a fun
hobby and even got a few calls from around the world. Australia, England,
Sweden, Germany... It added to the enjoyment seeing folks would call
very long distance to visit my Atari Mega ST 4 BBS. I had three computers
in those days, Mega ST4 for the BBS, Mega STe 4 for personal use and a
1040 ST for a spare.
Ah..... I'm babbling, us ol guys do that."
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 - New 5-Ounce GameBoy!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Xbox Hackers Resume Effort!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Nintendo Unveils New 5-Oz. GameBoy
The world's most popular video gaming gadget just got a tuneup. Nintendo
Co. unveiled the latest in its handheld GameBoy line on Tuesday, the
GameBoy Advance SP, a slick-looking device aimed at adult gamers that's
about as big as a wallet and weighs just five ounces.
"There's nothing kid about this system," said Nintendo spokesman Chris
Campbell.
The GameBoy Advance SP (the SP stands for 'special') looks more like an
executive plaything than a child's toy. But it handles all the roughly
1,000 games for the hit GameBoy, including the Advance model that went on
sale in June 2001.
More than 150 million GameBoy systems have been sold since 1989 and it has
no strong competitor in its size category, though users have long
complained that its display was too dim and power drained too quickly.
Sony's Playstation2, the fastest-selling console today, has sold more than
41 million units since its March 2000 release.
The new Nintendo handheld has the same CPU as the current GameBoy Advance
but opens and closes like a laptop and has a front-lit screen that allows
it to be played in darkness or in bright sunlight. It also has a
rechargeable lithium ion battery.
Nintendo plans to sell the GameBoy Advance SP for $99.95 in the United
States. The GameBoy Advance retails for $69.99 but Nintendo believes adults
won't mind the higher price.
"The $99 price point is really a magic number," said Michael Gartenberg,
an analyst with Jupiter Research. "They've kept it in reach of the masses."
Analysts expect the GameBoy to compete with cell phones that run games and
be popular among makers of aftermarket parts.
It can play video on its 2.9-inch screen and designers might develop
hardware that enables it to could be used for phone calls, said Richard
Doherty, research director of the Envisioneering Group.
Square in shape, the new unit is 3 1/2 inches long and an inch thick -
perfect, Nintendo says, to be dropped in a purse or briefcase. The battery
lasts for about 10 hours with the display illuminated or 18 hours with it
off.
GameBoy Advance SP is slated to hit stores March 23 in the United States
and five days after that in Europe.
Xbox Hackers Resume Effort
The Neo Project, a group of distributed computing enthusiasts, has
apparently resumed its attempt to crack an encryption key used to digitally
sign software for Microsoft's Xbox video game console.
The group had said on its Web site on January 7 that for legal reasons it
had abandoned its effort to crack the key, just four days after it began.
However, a different message appeared the next day.
"We're back and we're back strong," reports a statement now posted on the
Neo Project Web site. The message tells visitors to stay tuned and promises
that the group would have new client software available to continue what it
called the Xbox Challenge.
"With the recent media frenzy we stopped the project to research the legal
aspect before preceding (sic) any further," said the statement, which was
on the site at 5 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday.
The Neo Project was launched last July as an attempt to crack the $10,000
RSA-576 Factoring Challenge, sponsored by RSA Security. Then, the group
turned its attention in January to Microsoft's real-life application of
the same algorithm. The Neo project announced this week that it had solved
the RSA-576 challenge, posting the factors on its Web site.
In a series of messages on its Web site, first invited supporters to
donate their PC's idle time to help search for Microsoft's private
encryption key using distributed computing techniques. Then, it declared
it would drop the effort if the Xbox project was found to be illegal or
Microsoft threatened legal action. On January 7, a message declared The
Neo Project had withdrawn from the challenge and removed the code to crack
the Xbox key.
The organizers of The Neo Project have not been able to be reached for
comment since the initial announcement that they would ditch the project.
Many hackers are searching for ways to run other applications or their own
software on the Xbox, but have so far been thwarted by a security mechanism
in the console. Microsoft built in restrictions to permit applications to
run only if they are digitally signed with Microsoft's 2048-bit private
encryption key, according to one such group, the Xbox Linux Project.
That group has posted a version of Linux for Xbox, promising to turn the
device into a fully-featured PC.
The distribution for the Xbox is based on MandrakeSoft SA's Mandrake 9.0
Linux. It was developed by a German group called h07.org. It also requires
installation on the main circuit board of an extra chip known as a mod
chip. Microsoft says such a modification enables users to circumvent
copyright protection on games.
A $200,000 prize for the Xbox Linux Project contest was recently revealed
to have been contributed by Michael Robertson, founder and chief executive
officer of Lindows.com, a Microsoft rival being sued by the software giant.
The Xbox Linux project and similar efforts are based on the fact that the
Xbox hardware architecture is very similar to that of a PC. The console
has a 733-MHz Intel Pentium III, 64MB of RAM, and an 8GB hard disk.
Other cracking efforts are ongoing. In June, a student at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in June claimed to crack the Xbox's security
system, potentially allowing users to run any software on the system.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
White House Trims Cyber-Security Plan
The Bush administration has reduced by nearly half its initiatives to
tighten security for vital computer networks, giving more responsibility to
the new Homeland Security Department and eliminating an earlier plan to
consult regularly with privacy experts.
An internal draft of the administration's upcoming plan also eliminates a
number of voluntary proposals for America's corporations to improve
security, focusing instead on suggestions for U.S. government agencies,
such as a broad new study assessing risks.
"Governments can lead by example in cyberspace security," the draft said.
The draft, circulating among government offices and industry executives
this week, was obtained by The Associated Press. President Bush was
expected to sign the plan, called the National Strategy to Secure
Cyberspace, and announce the proposals within several weeks.
The new draft pares the number of security proposals from 86 to 49. Among
changes, the draft drops an explicit recommendation for the White House to
consult regularly with privacy advocates and other experts about how civil
liberties might be affected by proposals to improve Internet security.
The draft notes that "care must be taken to respect privacy interests and
other civil liberties," and it noted that the new Homeland Security
Department will include a privacy officer to ensure that monitoring the
Internet for attacks would balance privacy and civil liberties concerns.
"It's perplexing," said James X. Dempsey of the Washington-based Center
for Democracy and Technology. "This administration is constantly on the
receiving end of criticism on privacy issues. This looks like another
example of willfully raising privacy concerns. They should know better by
now."
An official for the White House cyber-security office declined to comment,
saying the latest draft hasn't yet been published.
The draft obtained by the AP puts the new Homeland Security Department
squarely in the role of improving Internet security, proposing to use it
to launch some test attacks against civilian U.S. agencies and to improve
the safety of automated systems that operate the nation's water, chemical
and electrical networks.
The new version also makes it more clear than ever that the Defense
Department can wage cyber warfare if the nation is attacked. The
administration said previously that government "should continue to reserve
the right to respond in an appropriate manner."
The new draft cautions that it can be difficult or even impossible to trace
an attack's source. But it warns that the government's response "need not
be limited to criminal prosecution. The United States reserves the right to
respond in an appropriate manner, including through cyber warfare," it
said.
The new version also puts new responsibilities on the CIA and FBI to
disrupt other countries from using cyber tactics to collect intelligence on
government agencies, companies and universities.
The administration published an early version of its plan in September -
weeks before Congress voted to create the Homeland Security Department -
with 86 recommendations for at home users, small businesses, corporations,
universities and government agencies.
Critics, even the InfraGard national organization of private security
experts established by the FBI, seized on the lack of new regulations that
would have mandated better security practices but could have required
America's largest corporations to spend millions for improvements.
"We felt that there was a significant security improvement that could be
made most easily through regulation," the InfraGard group wrote to the
White House. "In many cases the deeply held conclusion was that the same
result could not be reached in the absence of new regulation."
The draft, however, continues to refute the need for any new regulations,
saying mandates for private industry would violate the nation's
"traditions of federalism and limited government." It said broad
regulations would hamstring security by creating a "lowest
common-denominator approach" and could result in even worse security.
Judge Declines to Limit Microsoft Cases
A federal judge on Friday refused to dismiss antitrust charges filed
against Microsoft in separate cases by Sun Microsystems Inc. and two small
software companies.
Ruling simultaneously on suits by Be Inc. and Burst.com, U.S. District
Judge J. Frederick Motz said he would allow the cases to proceed.
"I am satisfied there are sufficient allegations as to federal antitrust
claims," Motz said in court after hearing arguments from the parties.
Motz also denied Microsoft's request that he throw out some of the charges
brought by Sun in its antitrust suit against the world's largest software
company.
Last month Motz sided with Sun, saying he would issue a preliminary
injunction ordering Microsoft to distribute Sun's Java programming language
in its Windows operating system.
Be, which dissolved as a company last year, has alleged it was excluded
from competing in the market for computer operating systems when Microsoft
pressured computer makers not to ship computers with two operating systems.
Be sold its operating system to handheld device maker Palm Inc. in 2001.
Burst, based in Santa Rosa, California, said Microsoft forced it out of the
market for video-streaming software by pressuring chip maker Intel Corp.
and RealNetworks Inc. not to support Burst technologies.
Attorneys for Microsoft said the Be and Burst cases should be thrown out,
saying not all Microsoft's tactics were anti-competitive and questioning
whether the two small companies were harmed.
Motz has been assigned cases arising from the landmark government antitrust
suit filed in 1998, including a private suit by AOL Time Warner and class
actions suits on behalf of consumers.
Two states, Massachusetts and West Virginia, have appealed as too weak a
settlement of the government case endorsed by U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar Kotelly in November.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in 2001, agreed
that Microsoft had illegally maintained its monopoly in the Windows
computer operating system but rejected breaking the company in two to
prevent future violations.
Microsoft on Friday argued that Motz should dismiss some of Sun's charges
that it was harmed by Microsoft illegally tying its Internet browser and
other software to Windows.
But Motz was not swayed, saying: "Obviously there are serious issues
related to the tying claim."
Both Microsoft and Sun told Motz they were having difficulty agreeing on
the exact terms of the preliminary injunction requiring Microsoft to
include Sun's Java software in Windows.
Sun attorney Rusty Day said that Microsoft had sent a lengthy counter
proposal in the early hours of Friday.
"I didn't think it was going to be that major a deal," said Motz, adding
he didn't want the case delayed and scheduled talks in his chambers on the
wording.
Computer Virus Fighter Targets Spam
Computer virus fighter Network Associates Inc. picked up a new weapon
Monday as the company wades into the battle against unsolicited e-mail
known as spam.
The Santa Clara-based company paid an undisclosed amount for privately held
Deersoft Inc., the maker of the "Spam Assassin" - software designed to stem
the tide of unwanted e-mail swamping corporate computer networks.
The Spam Assassin, developed by a team of five engineers at San
Mateo-based Deersoft, includes 750 different tests to root out spam.
Deersoft's tools will strengthen the anti-spam arsenal that Network
Associates has been developing to supplement its popular antivirus software
sold under the McAfee brand, said Zoe Lowther, a senior marketing manager
for McAfee.
"We are being asked every day by our customers for more anti-spam
technology," Lowther said.
To meet the demand, Network Associates will invest even more in anti-spam
and content filtering products, either through additional acquisitions or
internal research and development.
The sketchy diversification plans outlined Monday seemed to please
investors. Network Associates' shares rose $1.40, or more than 8 percent,
to close at $18.40 on the New York Stock Exchange.
"This is a smart move by Network Associates because there's such a huge
opportunity," said industry analyst Walter Pritchard of SoundView
Technology.
Spam accounted for about 40 percent of Internet e-mail during 2002, up from
8 percent in 2001, according to Brightmail Inc., which provides filtering
products for several major Internet service providers.
The rapid growth is distracting workers from their jobs as they spend more
time wading through their e-mail boxes.
And because so much spam contains unsavory images or words, many companies
are worried they could be sued for exposing workers to offensive material.
Companies also are forced to buy more storage and bandwidth space to cope
with the heavier e-mail volume spurred by spam.
Last year, spam cost U.S. businesses $8.9 billion and European businesses
$2.5 billion, according to a new study by Ferris Research.
Those financial headaches could turn into a boon for Network Associates if
it can include effective anti-spam filters on the antivirus software that
it already sells corporate customers.
Network Associates could charge an additional $5 to $10 per worker for a
variety of content filtering software, Pritchard estimated. Network
Associates also could make software that enables companies to prevent
workers from visiting unauthorized Web sites or forwarding confidential
memos.
Network Associates plans to include some of Deersoft's anti-spam tools in
a product that will hit the corporate market during the second quarter.
Millions Lose Access to Microsoft Web Services
An Internet routing error by AT&T effectively shut off access from around
40 percent of the Internet to several major Microsoft Web sites and
services on Thursday, Microsoft has said.
Access to Microsoft's Hotmail, Messenger, and Passport services as well as
some other MSN services was cut for more than an hour after AT&T made
routing changes on its backbone.
The changes were made in preparation for the addition of capacity between
AT&T and Microsoft that is meant to improve access to the services hit by
the outage, said Adam Sohn, a spokesperson for Microsoft.
"We are doing some work with AT&T to add more capacity and better route
traffic between AT&T's network and Microsoft's services," he said. "AT&T
made some changes in preparation for this and the effect was that traffic
was incorrectly directed causing some of our services to become unavailable
to 40 percent of Internet users at peak."
"Microsoft services were up and running but people could not get to them,"
he said.
Thursday's outage ran from 1:15 p.m. PST to 2:30 p.m. PST although problems
might have lingered for some users, said Sohn.
The problem is unrelated to an outage on Monday this week that left most of
MSN Messenger's 75 million users unable to access the service for around
five hours, said Sohn. "We had not started the work with AT&T on Monday."
Anti-Virus Vendors Warn of Avril Lavigne Virus
Anti-virus vendors are warning of a new worm in tribute to Canadian teen
singer Avril Lavigne.
The virus, known as Avril or Livra (W32/Avril-A) opens Microsoft Internet
Explorer on the singer's Web site on the 7th, 11th and 24th of the month,
and takes advantage of a year-old vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook, which
allows it to forward itself to all e-mail addresses in Outlook regardless
of whether the e-mail attachment is opened, said anti-virus vendor Sophos
in an e-mail Wednesday.
The subject lines for the e-mail include: "Fw: Avril Lavigne - the best."
Once the attachment is run, the worm attempts to disable the user's
anti-virus software. "It also behaves in the 80s film stereotype of
viruses, by taking over the screen with a series of colored ellipses,"
Sophos said.
Adobe Unveils 'Shoe Box' Software for Digital Pics
Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. on Monday will roll out Photoshop Album,
new software to help digital camera users edit, send and store photographs.
"In the old world it was about a shoe box, now it's about a digital shoe
box," Adobe Chief Executive Bruce Chizen told Reuters. In addition to
providing a way to easily store, search and organize digital photos, Chizen
said the software enables users to create and share slide shows and photo
albums via the Internet.
The software, which uses technology from Adobe's popular Photoshop
photo-editing and Acrobat document-sharing software, is for Windows-based
computers and sells for about $50.
Photoshop Album will compete with a variety of off-the-shelf software
products, including Picture It Digital Image Pro from industry giant
Microsoft Corp.
Chizen said Photoshop Album targets the growing number of digital camera
enthusiasts. The company also hopes the software will help build demand
for Photoshop products among hobbyists.
Photoshop, one of Adobe's best-selling products, is widely used by
publishers and professional photographers. The company's Photoshop Elements
image-editing software is also aimed at the nonprofessional market.
Apple Unveils Widescreen Laptop, New Web Browser
Apple Computer Inc. unveiled on Tuesday its biggest screen laptop yet, a
faster wireless technology and a Web browser to compete with Microsoft
Corp. as it tried to jumpstart sales by gaining new converts to its
computer line.
The announcements, made at its semi-annual Macworld exhibition, marked an
extension of its strategy of winning over Microsoft Windows users by
offering an array of software and technology dedicated to link music, video
and other electronic gadgets.
Apple unveiled an aluminum alloy-clad notebook computer with a 17-inch
screen, its biggest portable yet, as well as an Internet browser called
Safari that will compete with Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer.
The company also showcased fast wireless networking gear that works with
the current WiFi standard, widely used in homes and in burgeoning public
networks.
Apple has staked its strategy of building a "digital hub" for computers and
other electronics in part on the success of its new operating system, and
Chief Executive Steve Jobs said the software, OS X, was running on more
than 5 million Macs.
The Macworld conference is the company's preferred venue for introducing
new products and its most cutting edge technology.
Jobs rolled out the 17-inch PowerBook laptop computer, which will hit
retail shelves next month and cost $3,299, as well as a small PowerBook
with a 12-inch screen for $1,799.
He said the 17-inch screen was big enough so that Apple users could give
up their desktop computers, a comment reflecting a broad move toward
portable computers noted by the computer industry at large.
Apple failed to deliver on hopes for a souped up iPod music player with
video or mobile phone capabilities, but legions of Apple users gathered in
San Francisco enthusiastically applauded new hardware and software
releases.
"I read some of the rumor sites that said this is going to be the most
boring Macworld in history," Jobs told the audience. "I guess you shouldn't
believe everything you read."
The company also showed off new versions of its digital photo and DVD
authoring software.
Start-Up Launches New Virtual Community 'There'
Backed by Silicon Valley veteran executives and $33 million in funding, a
California start-up on Wednesday unveiled a test version of what it hopes
will become a thriving online world where users interact through
custom-tailored, digital stand-ins.
Menlo Park, California-based There Inc., which has been developing its
online community in secret for four years, said it had secured $33 million
in funding and opened a free public beta test of the site.
The launch comes just weeks after Electronic Arts Inc., the No. 1 video
game publisher, launched "The Sims Online," a subscription game with a
community with many of the features, like social interaction using
electronic characters, that There plans to offer to its members.
Both companies are aiming to exploit the same niche -- online chat with
friends in an environment richer and more interactive than standard instant
messaging programs.
For its part, There (http://www.there.com) aims to create a virtual world,
where members have "avatars," digital characters whose appearance they can
modify to suit their tastes.
Conversations are represented as thought bubbles, and group conversations
can take the form of events like a gathering around a campfire. The avatars
can display a full range of physical gestures, including smiles and yawns.
The company has a two-pronged approach to revenue: an undetermined monthly
membership fee and revenue from the sale of goods and services within the
game, such as Nike shoes and Levi Strauss jeans.
Already, it is recruiting for an "online sports activity coordinator" and
an "online fashion activity coordinator," people who the company said must
be experienced online users with a knack for making new members feel
welcome.
Players will be able to use virtual funds called "Therebucks," which they
can earn in various ways or purchase directly via credit card, to buy
clothes and other accessories for their avatars.
Among the company's investors are 3DO Co. founder Trip Hawkins, CNET
Networks Inc. co-founders Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, DoubleClick Inc.
Chief Executive Kevin Ryan and Wired magazine founder Louis Rosetto.
The company's board of directors includes Levi Strauss & Co. Chief
Executive Phil Marineau and Jim White, general partner of venture capital
firm Sutter Hill Ventures.
Its staff includes former senior employees of companies like eBay,
Electronic Arts, Cisco, Tickets.com and the CBS Internet Group.
There Inc. has also released development tools that will allow its members
to design, use and sell their own clothing, furniture and vehicles.
=~=~=~=
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