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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 08 Issue 36
Volume 8, Issue 36 Atari Online News, Etc. September 8, 2006
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2006
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:
Francois Le Coat
Stephen Moss
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To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
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http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0836 09/08/06
~ Atari Names New CEO! ~ People Are Talking! ~ MacAranym Alpha Out!
~ Xanga Settles With FTC ~ Facebook Privacy Issue ~ Firefox 2.0 Update!
~ XaAes Interview Open! ~ X-Debug Source Public! ~ JagFest UK 2006!
~ Windows Vista Pricing! ~ IE7 Anti-Phishing Tool ~ iMacs Get Intel Chip
-* Philly Goes High-Tech School *-
-* Google Offers News Archives Access! *-
-* Brazil Judge Orders Google To Disclose User *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Yes, another Labor Day weekend has come and gone, with a whimper. It was
almost a total washout around here. When it wasn't raining, the threat of
rain lingered. But, we managed to get the pool closed for yet another
season. It seems like yesterday that we opened it for the summer! It's
hard to imagine that I've been retired for four months now. It's been great
so far, but reality is starting to settle in. It's time to really start to
consider pension versus employment, or both. Retirement hasn't dampened my
appetite!
Only a couple of more small outdoor project remnants to complete - yea! The
indoor projects have started. It should be interesting! We had an
electrician over earlier in the week to take care of a few things that I
don't have experience doing. A new front door is on order. Once that's
installed I can finish up what I started doing with the front porch. And
then we continue inward and upward! Keeping busy is the name of the game!
And, I'm still finding some time for some golf - I'll break 80 before I put
the clubs up for the season. Getting closer!
I know, I'm way off target, as usual, but the world of Atari hasn't been as
active as it once was. But, this keeps me out of trouble (well, usually!).
I was going to say a little something this week pertaining to the fifth
anniversary of 9/11, but I have a feeling that we're all going to be deluged
with all kinds of television, radio, and newspaper coverage. I'm not sure
if that's a good thing or not, but I do see the significance of the events.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
MacAranym 0.9.4 Alpha
Hi here,
The MacOSX version of ARAnyM has been enhance thanks to the
work of Philipp Donzé, and every Mac user should have it :)
Especially if you're running on a laptop ! The updated version
is available :
<http://eureka.atari.org/MacAranym.zip>
Please comment. You're welcome ! It look like :
<http://eureka.atari.org/aranym.gif>
Regards,
-- Francois LE COAT
Author of Eureka 2.12 (2D Graph Describer, 3D Modeller)
http://eureka.atari.org
Sources for X-Debug Available
Hi all,
Sources for the programming utility X-Debug, written by Andy Pennel,
has been released to the public. This piece of software is a debugger
that mainly targets Lattice-C but may offer some functionality for
other languages as well. Thanks to being distributed under a very
generous legal license it seems that people are free to do whatever
they want with the sources.
Read more and download the sources here:
http://topp.atari-users.net
Regards,
/Joakim
http://topp.atari-users.net
http://xaaes.atariforge.net
http://www.ataricq.org
Interview With The Creator of XaAES - Craig Graham
Hi all,
The unofficial XaAES website has been extended with a new section:
articles. As a first addition to this section, a short interview with
the original programmer of XaAES, Craig Graham, has been uploaded. See
the website for more information.
http://xaaes.atariforge.net
Regards,
/Joakim
http://xaaes.atariforge.net
http://topp.atari-users.net
http://www.ataricq.org
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE User Group Notes! - Meetings, Shows, and Info!
"""""""""""""""""""""""
JagFest UK 2006
Just a reminder to all that this years JagFest UK has been moved north to
Glazebrook (near Warrington) and will be held on the 28th and 29th of
October.
For more information on who and what will be there visit the main website
at... http://www.jagfest.org/uk/JFK2006/index.shtml
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. What a week... Steve Irwin gets bellied
up by a damned stingray, a couple of tropical storms have come and
gone, and the California state legislature, despite the really
important issues like energy costs and fiscal solubility, instead
decided to deal with the important issue of Pluto's demotion from
Planet to Dwarf Planet.
Way to go guys and gals. They ought to dock your salaries for the time
wasted. I'm sure that Disney would make up the difference as a thank
you for the free advertising.
Let's get back to Steve Irwin for a few minutes. Since I'm one of those
"animal nuts", Steve Irwin has been known to me for quite a while.
Irwin was a master showman to be sure, but beneath it all, he loved
wildlife and understood how special it is. Hell, anyone who could hold
a crocodile by the face while saying, "what a beauty" MUST really love
critters. It strikes me as cosmically unfair
So another icon is gone and, as we always have, we'll move on and get
past it. I just hope that the lessons (both intentional and
unintentional) that The Crocodile Hunter taught us will stay with us
for a while.
Okay, let's get to the news, hints, tips and info available from the
UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Fred Horvat posts this about the ACEC Atari Swap Meet:
"Well folks, it is getting to that time of year again. The Atari
Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus are holding their annual Atari Swap
meet and Sale. It is going to be on Saturday September the 9th. It will
be at the same time and place as before. For further information please
go to
Link: " http://acec.atari.org/ "
Rodolphe Czuba tells Fred:
"Hum... nice but very short delay announce to let far people to organize
their travel. Should be announced at least 1 month before the date."
Fred replies:
"Yes I agree. I did not post to the Swap Meet on the Usenet until this
week but I did post it on Atari.org, Atariage, AONE, and other places
in July. I just didn't get it here on the Usenet until now. Mostly
because I kept forgetting and all last week my Usenet access did not
work with my ISP but mostly my bad."
Thomas Girsch looks for Atari collectors:
"I was doing some housecleaning, and found an SX-212 modem in the
original box. The documentation and the serial cable are missing, but
the power supply and modem are there (no earthly idea if they work,
especially since I don't have a cable), as well as all the original
packaging.
I know it's not worth anything other than maybe sentimental value to
someone, so if anyone out there wants it, drop me an e-mail, and I'll
send it to you for the cost of shipping."
'TPr' tells Thomas:
"Wow! I've NEVER seen one of those in my LIFE. What country are you in?"
Ronald Hall jumps in and adds:
"By the way, those have the added plus of being able to work with both
the Atari ST and Atari 8bits..."
'Sid Pacman' asks about Dayton-area ComputerFest:
"The Hara Arena (convention center) in Dayton, Ohio, says there
will be no Computerfest held there this year. Has anybody heard of
any other location where this show will be held? Or has it finally
died off (after more than 20 years)?"
Ronald Hall tells Sid:
"Don't know about that one, but here is a link to some others:
http://www.atariage.com/features/events/index.php
Hope this helps."
'Larry' adds:
"I started going to the Dayton Computerfest about 1985, and went almost
every year until around 2000. But (IMO) online computer sales and
auctions have killed off most of the business that the vendors
traveling the computer show circuit once enjoyed. Check the
announcement at: http://www.dma.org/
For maybe 8-10 years, DMA also had a spring computerfest, and I could
see it wither as the years went on. Then they dropped it. Other
computer shows that once were pervasive have suffered the same fate.
Just as the PC's crowded out the other platforms, the internet sales
have crowded out the shows. It is regrettable, but evidently there
were lots of people like me -- why travel to a show, fight the crowds,
and have an inferior selection/price as compared to what is available
as I surf the net? And if you are a seller, why not set up a site on
the internet instead of loading up equipment, driving, setting up, etc."
Fred Horvath jumps in and puts in his pitch for the swapmeet:
"Well this coming weekend September 9 is the ACEC Swap Meet. Though not
a very big event it's Atari themed. http://acec.atari.org/
Classic Computer and Video Game items for Sale/Trade
http://fmhcentral.freeservers.com/"
Lonny Pursell adds:
"I used to go every year back in the day when they had walls of atari
and commodore stuff. It should be called windowsfest. No wonder it's
cancelled. Who wants to go see a gazillion generic peecee's. Sure you
see the occasional BeOS box or some flavor of linux, but it's just not
fun anymore. I stopped going about 5 years ago.
HamVention is probably your next best option. Also at Hara Arena if
that is still going. I stopped going to that too. Last one I was at
was a lot smaller, also shrinking."
Phantomm asks about the STacy:
"On the STacy, well under it, is a small metal access door that
is held on by one screw. Under the door are 2 Socketed
chips.
Are these the TOS 1.4 chips or are these something else?
If they happen to be TOS chips, Can one plug in 2 TOS
2.06 chips?"
Jerome Mathevet tells Phantomm:
"Have a look here:
http://www.system-cfg.com/pages/atari_stacy.html
Further down the page, you can see 2 chips with adhesive tape. These are
the 2 EPROMS containing the TOS (not necessarily 1.4).
Upgrading to 2.06 (which is possible on the stacy, according to
http://gem.win.co.nz/hall/tos_206/guide206.zip) would be much easier
compared to doing so for an ST since you'd only have 2 chips to program
(presumably 2 27C1001 eproms or compatible).
One chip should hold the LSB and the other the MSB of TOS 2.06 (which is
which should be marked on the motherboard).
All you need is someone with the right EPROM programmer and the TOS roms
split over 2 files (LSB/MSB). Perhaps you need to configure jumpers so
that the machine knows of the bigger size EPROMs."
Rodolphe Czuba jumps in and corrects Jerome:
"This is bad information !!!
TOS 1.0 to 1.4 are running on $FC0000 to $FEFFFF (192 KB).
TOS 1.6, 2.6, 3.6 & 4.04 are running on $ E00000 to E7FFFF (512KB area :
256KB with shadow on all except Falcon)
Stacy is decoding TOS area on $FC, so the TOS 2.6 cannot run simply
plugging the two 1Mbits EPROMS !!
You need to add an address decoder to do that!!"
Simon Gornall asks about the VME ports on TTs and MegaSTEs:
"Has anyone got any in-depth technical information about how the TT/MSTE
and their VME bus interact ? I can find *some* stuff on the web (eg:
the 19/7/1991 Atari VME spec), but it's hardly comprehensive [grin]
Basically, if I want to create some VME hardware, I need to know things
like:
- how it'll interact with the OS
- It's supposed to be slave-only, so presumably can't initiate
DMA...
- what the startup sequence is
- card sends IRQ ?
- OS queries address and expects response ?
- When in the bootup-sequence all of this happens ?
... things like that
I've tried sending email to Mario Becroft (of the Galaxy card fame), and
I've even tried emailing the creators of a Sinclair QL VME-bus
implementation, but no answers back as yet."
Rodolphe Czuba tells Simon:
"YES it is SLAVE (A24/D16) and you can see on the schematics !
On schematics you can see too how are routed the VME INT and that the
SCU (System Control Unit) is managing the share between the INT from
the mb and the INT from the VME slot. You have info on this VME atari
1991 documentation that is extracted from TT/X documentation you
mean...
Have a look on my site web (museum area ?), there are some documents...
Have a look too on the CTLink Hardware Guide because I did a table will
all existing VME atari card and their INT level used !
I send you now by email this CTLink doc."
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 - PS3 Europe Launch Delayed!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" EA To Add Ads To Games!
Atari Names New CEO!
And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony Delays PlayStation 3 Launch in Europe
Gamers in Europe will have to wait a bit longer than expected to get their
hands on the PlayStation 3, with Sony announcing that production glitches
have pushed back the launch of its next-generation console until March
2007.
At the same time, the company said it remains on schedule to make the PS3
available in the U.S. and Japan in November, when it was supposed to debut
worldwide.
The revised launch date for Europe, Africa and the Middle East was
attributed to problems obtaining critical Blu-ray high-definition video
components in the PS3. Sony also cited difficulties in delivering consoles
that can communicate in the wide array of languages used in this region.
The Japanese electronics giant also noted that it still plans to deliver
six million new gaming machines by March 2007, although it appears that
only two million will available by the end of the year, instead of a
projected four million, due to the change in delivery for Europe.
Sony has a lot riding on the PS3, touted as a more powerful gaming console
with superior visuals and graphics, given the competition from Microsoft's
Xbox 360, which has been available for nearly a year. It's also up against
the forthcoming Nintendo Wii machine, which is expected to launch worldwide
in time for the holiday shopping season.
"This delay was not entirely unexpected, given ongoing concerns about
Sony's ability to get the parts needed to produce the four million PS3
units it promised by the end of the year," Forrester Research analyst Paul
Jackson said. "Production issues are common with manufacturers, and they
affect the entire supply chain."
But, he added, this decision means that shoppers in the UK, France and
other areas with large numbers of gaming fans will probably take a closer
look at the Xbox 360 and the Wii when the big shopping season rolls around.
"Microsoft is now two holiday seasons ahead of Sony in offering a
next-generation console, which is a distinct advantage," said Jackson. He
suggested that Sony may be able to close the gap by using its vast
developer network to deliver a selection of games that are more compelling
than those currently available for other consoles.
Pricing is another challenge for Sony, with the PS3 listing for about $500,
while the Xbox 360 starts at $300 and the Wii will sell for an estimated
$250.
Nintendo, too, has set its sights on shipping six million Wii systems
worldwide between its launch later this year and the end of March 2007. The
company also said it expects to sell 17 million Wii games during that
period.
While Sony is touting the superfast Cell processor and Blu-ray video
technology in the PS3, there has been debate about whether gaming
enthusiasts would shell out $500 for the basic PlayStation 3 unit. "Price
point is absolutely an issue for Sony," said Yankee Group analyst Michael
Goodman.
Nintendo, meanwhile, is taking a different approach by downplaying
eye-popping graphics in favor of player interaction offered by the Wii's
innovative motion-sensing controller. That selling point was somewhat
blunted, though, by a similar controller unveiled by Sony for the
PlayStation 3.
Atari Names New Chief Executive
Video game maker Atari Inc. said Tuesday it named David Pierce as its
president and chief executive, effective immediately.
Pierce takes the reins from Bruno Bonnell, who will remain the company's
chairman and chief creative officer. In his new post, Pierce will oversee
the operational management of Atari.
He has over two decades of executive management experience with major
entertainment companies including Universal Pictures, MGM, Sony Pictures
and Sony Music Entertainment.
Pierce held the post of executive vice president and general manager of
Sony Wonder, a division of SONY BMG Music Entertainment, where he led a
restructuring initiative, and was the senior vice president of Columbia
Tristar Home Video, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, from 1989
through 1994.
Electronic Arts Cuts Deals To Put Ads In Video Games
US video game powerhouse Electronic Arts (EA) announced deals to craft
updatable advertising into software for games made for personal computers
and Xbox 360 consoles.
Microsoft subsidiary Massive Incorporated will build "dynamic ads" into EA
titles, beginning with a car racing game titled "Need for Speed Carbon,"
the companies said in a release.
Independent in-game advertising network IGA Worldwide will design similar
ads into the yet-to-be-released futuristic war game Battlefield 2142 and
other titles, according to EA.
"Dynamic advertising opportunities in top EA titles represents an
unprecedented marketing opportunity for advertisers to target the youth
demographic in the most engaging medium," said Massive chief executive
Mitchell Davis.
Redwood City, California, based EA is a leader in the video game industry
with hit games including The Sims, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Madden Football,
and titles based on characters such as Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, and
James Bond.
"Consumers are increasingly gaming in deep, virtual worlds and advertisers
need adapted ways to reach these audiences," said EA vice president Frank
Sagnier.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the advertising deals
or complete lists of EA games slated to have ads displayed in scenes.
"EA entering this space right now is huge for the industry because of the
decline of consumers getting their ad information from television," IGA
spokeswoman Julie Fogerson told AFP.
"In-game advertising has been a small industry so far. Analysts have been
waiting to see what EA would do."
IGA and Massive's Video Game Network plan to tailor ads to fit naturally
into the increasingly lifelike scenes depicted in computer graphics.
"In places like a basketball court, football stadium, or roadside in a
racing game, advertising is not only nice to have but it is an essential
component to create the fiction of being there," said Chip Lange, EA vice
president of online commerce.
There would be a mix of permanent "static" ad and "dynamic ads" that could
be updated via Internet connections to the computers or Xbox 360 consoles.
IGA said it would avoid letting ads get stale and would keep them in
context with game themes, avoiding situations such as promoting today's car
models in futuristic battle or Old West gunfighter games.
"We try to make sure everything syncs up from the gamers' perspective and
it makes sense," Fogerson said.
"The really cool thing from a game developer's point of view is that they'd
have to make up something to put there anyway."
Game software can also provide the companies feedback to show advertisers
how much attention players give to ads.
"EA's strategic commitment to the space is one that many leading
advertisers have been waiting for," said IGA chief executive officer Justin
Townsend.
Dell Founder Sees Gaming In PC Industry Future
Dell Inc. founder and Chairman Michael Dell sees computer gaming becoming a
$4 billion-per-year industry by 2010 as consumers hook up to high-speed
Internet services to battle monsters on-line.
Dell told the Austin Game Conference on Thursday night that his company is
positioning itself to be a leader in computer gaming.
"Things like multi-core processors, acceleration engines for physics and
graphics, wide-screen displays, web cams: there are a lot of great things
happening on the hardware side that can really make the gaming experience
quite exciting," Dell said.
Dell Inc., the world's leading personal computer maker with $55.9 billion
in revenue last year, acquired Alienware, a Miami-based maker of gaming
systems, earlier this year. Alienware had $200 million in revenue in 2005.
Dell, a Texas native who has long admitted being a big fan of computer
games, says he attended the conference to determine what game architects
and designers want to see in computer hardware.
"I want to know what kinds of things they're looking for in hardware, and
they like to discover what's happening with hardware, new features and new
capabilities, so they can make sure they're enabled in next generation
games," he said.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Brazil Judge Orders Google To Disclose Users' Data
A Brazilian judge has ordered the local office of Web search company Google
to disclose the data of users of Google's social networking site Orkut
accused of crimes like racism or child pornography.
Federal judge Jose Lunardelli ruled late on Thursday that Google be given
15 days to disclose the information, including the Internet Protocol
addresses that can uniquely identify a specific computer on a network.
The judge set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($23,255) for each individual
case if Google refuses to reveal the data.
Brazilians account for 65 percent of Orkut's nearly 27 million users and
public prosecutors have recently been investigating Orkut communities set
up by Brazilians and dedicated to such subjects as racism, homophobia and
pedophilia.
Google officials in Brazil have said all clients' data is stored on a
server in the United States and is subject to U.S. laws, which makes it
impossible for them to reveal the data in Brazil. They also said the local
affiliate only deals in marketing and sales and has nothing to do with
Orkut.
"The fact that the data are stored in the United States has no relevance
as all the photographs and messages investigated by the prosecutors' office
were published by Brazilians using Internet connections on the national
territory," the judge said in his ruling.
He said Google's local office had shown a complacent attitude toward "the
serious crimes practiced on Orkut" and showed "profound disrespect for
national sovereignty."
Company representatives could not provide an immediate comment on the
ruling. Google lawyer Durval Goyos earlier called the case against the
company absurd.
Microsoft Sets Pricing for Windows Vista
Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the
long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on more than 90
percent of the world's personal computers.
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, also reconfirmed its plan
to target a general launch of the product in January after making it
available to large-volume business customers in November.
The software maker set the retail price for Vista at between $100 and $259
for users upgrading from older versions of Windows. The prices range from
the basic version of Vista to the top-end "ultimate" edition.
For consumers looking to buy Vista without an upgrade, the products will
cost between $199 to $399, Microsoft said.
Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by
Microsoft several times.
"Signs are good. Signs are positive in terms of our schedule, but we're
always going to be vigilant about the feedback we get," said Shanen
Boettcher, Microsoft's director of Windows product management.
Microsoft released on Friday a test version of Windows, dubbed Release
Candidate 1, and made it available to more than 5 million customers
worldwide.
Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund said the initial feedback on the test
version of Vista is encouraging.
"While substantial progress has been made with Vista, the timing is still
iffy in our view and feedback over the next few weeks will be critical,"
said Sherlund in a note to clients.
Boettcher said the company also plans to have a program in place, possibly
using coupons or rebates, to allow consumers to upgrade to Vista at a
discount if they buy a PC before the new operating system's release.
He declined to offer any specific details.
Microsoft has said it expects the Windows Vista Home Premium to be the
mainstream product with more entertainment options, allowing users to
record and watch high-definition television, burn and author DVDs and
perform other multimedia functions.
The Home Premium edition, which will be sold as an upgrade for $159, is
seen as a middle option for consumers, sandwiched between the Ultimate
version with business-oriented functions and a bare bones Basic edition
that comes without some of the system's flashy new interface features.
Mozilla Updates Firefox 2.0 Beta
Mozilla has released a new test version of Firefox 2.0, which will be the
next major version of its popular open-source browser.
Firefox 2.0 Beta 2, released yesterday, features an improved user interface
and a limited version of the phishing protection feature that Mozilla is
developing for the browser.
More information on the Beta 2 release can be found online.
Beta 2 also comes with improved search capabilities, a spellchecker for Web
forms, and jazzed-up tabbed browsing capabilities.
This second beta release will probably be the last beta version of Firefox
2.0. Developers are now planning to ship a nearly final "release candidate"
edition of the browser on September 19, with the finished product going out
the door by the end of October.
Mozilla had been hoping to have Firefox 2.0 finished by September, but that
date was pushed back recently to give developers more time to squash the
growing list of bugs in the beta code.
Both Mozilla and Microsoft are rushing to finish major updates to their
browser software. Late last week Microsoft posted the first
release-candidate version of Internet Explorer 7, and it is expecting to
ship the final version of the next-generation browser by year's end.
The release candidate can be found on Microsoft's Web site.
Research company OneStat.com estimates that about 13 percent of Web surfers
now use Firefox. The Netherlands-based company pegs IE users at 83 percent.
Microsoft Adds Anti-Phishing Tools to IE 7
Microsoft inked an agreement with whitelist specialist Digital Resolve on
Sept. 5 to help its next-generation Internet Explorer 7 Web browsing
software and Windows Live Toolbar application protect users against
fraudulent Web sites.
Under the terms of the deal, Digital Resolve, a unit of Digital Envoy, will
provide its Trusted Server data feed directly into the two Microsoft
products, promising to arm the programs with the latest information about
Web sites believed to be operating to support phishing schemes, which
typically aim to steal personal data in order to commit identity fraud.
The technology will be used as a source of information for Microsoft's own
Phishing Filter, already built into beta versions of IE 7 and Windows Live
Toolbar, and will also be utilized in Windows Internet Explorer 7 for
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and in Windows Vista, both of which are still
under development and expected to arrive in 2007.
Digital Resolve's software, which has generally been used by financial
services companies to validate their own Web sites and search for phishing
attempts launched in their likenesses, uses data mining tools to
continually scour the Web for phishing activity.
Once a site is determined by the program to be fraudulent, or even just
sufficiently suspicious, its URL is fed directly from Digital Resolve into
users' browsers.
When a user attempts to direct a browser toward a questionable Web site,
the software provides a warning prompt.
The Trusted Server tools in Microsoft's Phishing Filter will be turned on
as default protections in the products that carry them, company officials
confirmed.
While many traditional anti-phishing technologies use blacklists of
suspicious sites to help block user access to fraudulent URLs, Digital
Resolve's tools instead depend upon whitelists of authenticated pages. The
system also aims to replace the two-factor image-based authentication
technologies being used by banks and other companies with online operations
to help customers log onto their sites safely. Putting the onus on
businesses and users to protect themselves is unwieldy, and leaves people
open to more sophisticated phishing attacks, Digital Resolve executives
said.
The anti-phishing software maker has worked with Microsoft previously to
help safeguard users of Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming network from
outside attackers.
For advice on how to secure your network and applications, as well as the
latest security news, visit Ziff Davis Internet's Security IT Hub.
"Blacklists have been used for a long time, but this is something more
dynamic that was needed to help protect Windows users before fraudulent
sites are identified, as using a positive identifying indicators to
legitimate sites doesn't leave any room from a social engineering
standpoint," said David Helsper, vice president of engineering at Digital
Resolve, based in Norcross, Ga. "A lot of online vendors are trying to
address the authentication problem with images and shared secrets, but this
takes the burden away from the companies and end users and puts validation
directly onto the desktop."
Trusted Server specifically addresses so-called man-in-the-middle attacks,
an emerging form of phishing in which criminals use spyware or cross-site
scripting attacks to place themselves between users and legitimate Web
sites to steal personal data. As businesses have improved their site
defenses and end users have become more aware of phishing schemes,
man-in-the-middle attacks have begun to increase in number, Helsper said.
Another nascent form of phishing the software offers to protect against is
the type of attacks built around DNS cache poisoning, through which
fraudsters attempt to dupe Web servers into believing they are
communicating with legitimate sites when in fact they are being attacked.
"We were impressed with the quality of Digital Resolve's data feeds, and
they have become an important addition to our rich network of data provider
partners," said Alan Packer, product unit manager of the Anti-Phishing Team
at Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash. "This agreement underscores
Microsoft's goal of employing a broad range of data sources from both third
parties and end users to help protect customers from the threat of
phishing."
A study shows that eBay and PayPal remain the most popular phishing
targets.
Trusted Server could someday be augmented with an automatic malicious code
zapper being developed by Microsoft for future iterations of IE, the
world's most popular browser. Researchers at the software maker are touting
a prototype framework called BrowserShield that promises to allow IE to
intercept and remove, on the fly, malicious code hidden on Web pages,
instead showing users safe equivalents of those pages.
The BrowserShield project-an outgrowth of the company's Shield initiative
to block network worms, and the brainchild of Helen Wang, a project leader
in Microsoft Research's Systems and Networking Research Group-could one day
even become Microsoft's answer to zero-day browser exploits such as the WMF
(Windows Metafile) attack that spread like wildfire in December 2005.
Apple Updates iMacs With New Intel Chip
Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday updated its iMac line with Intel Corp.'s
latest microprocessors.
The Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which was launched by the world's largest
chip maker this summer, is faster than the Intel chips previously used in
the iMac and other Macintosh computers.
Also Wednesday, Apple unveiled a new version of its consumer desktop
computer - an iMac with a 24-inch screen. With a 2.16-gigahertz chip, the
high-end computer retails for $1,999.
Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product
marketing, said that every iMac will now have the Core 2 Duo chips.
Apple also bumped up the processing speeds of both models of its Mac mini
without raising the prices of $599 and $799. The book-sized computer, aimed
to be the company's entry-level offering, now features Intel's faster
dual-core chips, instead of single-core ones.
The product upgrades come as Apple is looking to gain market share against
its PC rivals that run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.
To better compete, Apple announced plans to switch from IBM Corp. and
Freescale Semiconductor Inc. chips in June 2005, and by January 2006 the
company unveiled two Intel-based computers - an iMac and a new laptop -
that were based on Intel's Core Solo processor. It has since switched its
entire line of computers to Intel.
Meanwhile, Windows-based PC makers are looking for Microsoft Corp.'s
upcoming Windows Vista operating system to boost sales. Release of the
consumer version of Vista has been pushed to January, however, and Apple
will be looking to capitalize on the delay.
"The holiday season should be a great one," Schiller said.
Philadelphia Opens High-Tech School of the Future
Philadelphia on Thursday opened a public high school where students work on
wireless laptops, teachers eschew traditional subjects for real-world
topics and parents can track their child's work on the Internet.
Called "The School of the Future" and created with help from software giant
Microsoft, it is believed to be the first in the world to combine
innovative teaching methods with the latest technology, all housed in an
environmentally friendly building.
The school, which cost the school district $63 million to build, is free
and has no entrance exams. The 170 students in the inaugural ninth-grade
class were selected by lottery from 1,500 applicants.
Three-quarters of the students come from the surrounding West Philadelphia
neighborhood; 95 percent of the students are black, and about 85 percent
come from low-income households, the school district said.
Philadelphia School District Chief Executive Paul Vallas told students they
would be scrutinized by other schools around the world.
"You have become instant role models," Vallas said. "People are going to
be ... watching you."
Student still sit in classrooms, but lessons rely heavily on information
found on the Internet and on interactive software. Students will be allowed
to learn at their own pace. Homework is done on computer and sent to the
teacher for grading and parents can access the school's network to read
teacher feedback on their child's progress.
Traditional education is obsolete and fails to teach students the skills of
problem-solving, critical thinking and effective communication, which they
need to succeed in the 21st century, principal Shirley Grover said in an
interview.
"It's not about memorizing certain algebraic equations and then
regurgitating them in a test," Grover said. "It's about thinking how math
might be used to solve a quality-of-water problem or how it might be used
to determine whether or not we are safe in Philadelphia from the avian
flu."
David Terry, 14, said he was hoping to "turn over a new leaf" after
discipline problems in his previous school left him with an "average to
really bad" academic record.
"This is a great opportunity for me," he said. "In other schools, I would
not get this kind of education."
Christopher Green said he was "ecstatic" that his daughter Meray was
selected to attend the school. "She's a cancer survivor, and this is her
second wind," he said.
The school's environmental enhancements include natural lighting, windows
made of photovoltaic glass that generates some of the building's power
supply, and cabinets made from trees removed from the site during
construction, officials said.
Microsoft, motivated by a combination of altruism and self-interest, was
closely involved in planning the school and providing its technology, said
Mary Cullinane, group manager for the company's Partners in Learning
program and the school's "technology architect."
"We have a vested interest because we need to hire the kids who are
graduating, and we want to make sure we have created a blueprint that other
folks will be able to use," she said.
Microsoft sees the project as a way to give the poor majority of the
world's population an education that is more relevant to the world of
work, said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer.
"If we want to continue to see the global economy expand, we need to find
a way to lift 5 billion people out of their poor environment," he said.
Google Offers Access to News Archives
Google plans to enhance its Google News service with a feature designed to
let users find articles with historical information on events and people.
Google News Archive Search is slated to go live today with an index of
links to articles mostly from newspapers and magazines.
Google built the service's index with links already in its general Web
search index, as well as with links it gained access to through
arrangements with publishers and news aggregators, said Jim Gerber,
Google's content partnerships director.
The service ranks results based on their level of relevance to the query,
and preference isn't given to links from Google partners, which include The
New York Times, Factiva, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.
The service covers roughly the history of the past 200 years and results
can be grouped in various ways, including by timelines, topics, and
publishers.
Google News Archive Search doesn't return links to multimedia content, nor
does it include links to reference material like books and encyclopedias,
said Anurag Acharya, a distinguished engineer at Google. It's not linked
with Google's Book Search service.
The links lead both to free and fee-based articles. Google merely provides
links and doesn't get involved in monetary transactions between users and
publishers for access to the articles. There is no integration with
Google's Checkout online payment system, he said.
The new service has no monetization model, and there is no financial
arrangement between Google and the publishers it is partnering with,
Acharya said.
Google News Archive Search is launching with a U.S. English-language
interface, although it contains content in other languages. The plan is to
make it more global through collaboration with international partners and
to launch it for other countries.
Google News Archive Search links will surface sometimes on Google.com
results.
Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Software Patents And Open Source
The opponents of proliferating software patents who see them as a threat
to open source software may finally get their day in court - the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The critics have been itching for this opportunity for years. But the
Supreme Court rarely reviews patent cases, which usually are decided by
federal appeals courts. The top court, however, has agreed to hear three
patent cases this fall, though only one relates to the impact of patents
on open source software.
The case involves two brake pedal manufacturers. The Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a legal advocacy group, has filed a friend of the court brief
in the case of KSR International v. Teleflex. The two parties will be
arguing whether Teleflex has patented the right to put electronic sensors
on brakes. The EFF has signed on to argue that the U.S. Patent Office's
increasingly loose grants of patents is hurting innovation in many fields,
such as electronic brake sensors, but that it's particularly worrisome for
open source code development.
Patents are meant to protect innovations that represent inventions and
breakthroughs, not steps that "a person of ordinary skill in the field
could consider obvious," says Corynne McSherry, an EFF attorney. Recent
decisions by the Circuit Court of Appeals have forced the U.S. Patent
Office to change its standards for patents, resulting in "a surge of
software patents" that often cover what McSherry says is commonplace
functionality. The EFF wants the Supreme Court to rule that the Patent
Office should use a stricter standard based on a 1966 decision, Graham v.
John Deere.
Not everyone agrees patent standards have gotten too loose. In June,
FireStar Software sued Red Hat after its acquisition of JBoss, charging in
a Texas court that JBoss' open source object/relational mapping software,
called Hibernate, violates its object/relational mapping patent. FireStar
asserts that it patented the entire concept of object/relational mapping,
not merely a specific method of doing so. But facing even a bad patent in
court can be costly. Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, was
deemed in violation of five NTP patents by a federal jury in 2002. With its
wireless e-mail technology at risk, RIM settled the case in March by
agreeing to pay NTP $612 million, a pact that stuck even though the Patent
Office a few days later overturned several NTP patents.
Open source advocate Bruce Perens claims FireStar illustrates how companies
keep their patent claims vague. "It's a practice to capture the maximum
range of possible infringement," he says.
Even more damaging, he says, is the potential of patent filers to scare off
would-be open source innovators by making claims against existing open
source projects and users of their code. A Berkeley physics teacher, Robert
Jacobsen, loves model railroads and built the Java Model Railroad Interface
as open source code for fellow hobbyists. In March, he received an invoice
for $203,000 from KAM Industries saying it had a patent on digital methods
of controlling a model railroad command station, and it was seeking payment
for all the times Jacobsen's code had been downloaded. Jacobsen is fighting
the invoice in court and asking that the KAM patent be voided.
Defending against such claims can put a small company out of business or
depress the stock price of a sizable one like Red Hat. It costs on average
$3 million to $5 million to mount a legal defense, according to the annual
survey of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. But Perens
is more worried about open source developers and small companies that base
their business on open source. "It's no longer possible to write a program
of complexity without infringing on what someone claims is their
established patent," he says.
As such claims mount, they will cast a chill over more open source
companies and probably the projects themselves. "As a society, it's a
terrible mistake to let that happen," Perens says. "We're going to kill the
golden goose."
Xanga Settles With FTC For $1 Million
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced its largest-ever
settlement involving the Children Online Privacy Protection Act.
New York-based Xanga.com and its principals, Marc Ginsburg and John Hiler,
will pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle accusations that the social
networking Web site collected, used and disclosed personal information
from children under the age of 13 without notifying and obtaining parental
consent first, according to the FTC.
The complaint charges that the defendants knew they were collecting and
disclosing personal information from children under 13 because over the
past five years, the site allowed 1.7 million visitors to create Xanga
accounts after they provided a birth date indicating they were under that
age, the FTC said.
The company, which in 2005 had about 25 million registered accounts, also
failed to notify the children's parents of their information practices or
provide the parents with access to and control over their children's
information, according to the FTC.
"COPPA requires all commercial Web sites, including operators of social
networking sites like Xanga, to give parents notice and obtain their
consent before collecting personal information from kids they know are
under 13," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras said in a statement. "A
million-dollar penalty should make that obligation crystal clear."
John Hiler, Xanga.com's chief executive, said the company has "instituted
a stronger, more comprehensive safety and compliance program." Xanga's new
program includes personnel whose sole responsibility is to act upon all
account deletion requests from parents, creating a system that allows users
to flag others who are underage or are posting material in violation of
Xanga's terms of service, and creating a ratings system for user-generated
content.
Xanga also does not allow instant messaging and chat, or allow profile
searches based on sex, age or gender, according to the company.
The FTC consent order does not constitute an admission of guilt. The order
does require Xanga to delete personal information collected and maintained
by the site that violated COPPA, and to provide links on some of their
sites to FTC consumer education materials for the next five years.
Other social networking sites include News Corp.'s MySpace, which has about
108 million users, and Facebook with fewer than 10 million. Facebook had
its own controversy this week when many users threatened to boycott the
site after it began delivering automated, customized alerts known as News
Feeds about users' closest friends, classmates and colleagues.
Nasty Bug Found in 'Classic' ICQ Client
AOL is advising users of its ICQ instant messaging service to update to the
latest version of the ICQ software following the discovery of a bug in an
older version of the product.
Security researchers at Core Security Technologies today reported that they
had discovered the flaw in ICQ Pro 2003b, a version of the ICQ client that
AOL still offers for download and bills as a "veteran version" for users
who prefer the earlier look and feel.
Although the bug doesn't affect more recent ICQ software like ICQ 5.1, it
could mean serious problems for ICQ Pro 2003b users, according to Max
Caceres, director of product management at Core, a vendor of penetration
testing software.
Core researchers have developed proof-of-concept code that causes ICQ Pro
2003b to crash, and they believe that this vulnerability could eventually
be exploited to run unauthorized software on a user's PC.
Hackers would attack a PC by sending a maliciously encoded instant message
to any ICQ Pro 2003b user connected to the service. Victims "don't have to
do anything at all," Caceres says. "Just by being there, someone can send
them a message, and they can be compromised."
Core has also discovered less-critical issues in AOL's ICQ Toolbar 1.3 for
Internet Explorer. These flaws could allow attackers to change the
toolbar's configuration settings or possibly even run scripting code by
sending victims maliciously encoded RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.
AOL says it is working to fix the bugs, but the company classifies them as
"minor and low-risk," according to spokesperson Andrew Weinstein. "Any
users who are concerned can simply upgrade to the latest version of ICQ or
not load suspicious RSS feeds," he said via instant message.
Web Social Site Facebook Hit By Privacy Protests
Facebook.com, the No. 2 U.S. social network site that is quickly expanding
beyond its college student base, has been met with a sudden privacy
backlash by users after it made design changes this week.
By late on Wednesday, more than 500,000 of Facebook's 9.5 million members
had signed an online petition calling for the company to back off a feature
called "News Feed" that instantly notifies members when friends update
their own sites.
On Monday, the Palo Alto, California-based company founded in 2004 by then
Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg, began automatically notifying
users whenever new photos were posted by friends. The site also makes it
easier to learn about people's political or social affiliations or dating
status.
Facebook differs from its bigger rival MySpace.com by giving members far
greater control over every detail they may publish on their individual
member profile pages.
Manifesting in record cyberspace time and scale, the protests have swept
across college campuses, taking on the form of proto-political actions
which are only possible in the age of instant electronic links and virtual
mob behavior.
"Calm. down. breathe. We hear you," Zuckerberg wrote in a note to users on
the Facebook site on Tuesday of the changes.
"We think they are great products, but we know that many of you are not
immediate fans, and have found them overwhelming and cluttered," he wrote.
"Other people are concerned that non-friends can see too much about them."
The sudden reaction follows a raft of U.S. privacy scares sparked over the
past year by the theft of key details on millions of credit card users and
by widespread reports of adult predators targeting teenage users of
MySpace.
By contrast, the Facebook reaction is fueled not because it revealed any
new personal data about its users. Rather, the change simply makes it
easier for friends to track one another. "Stalking is supposed to be hard,"
a Facebook user complained.
"News Feed is just too creepy, too stalker-esque, and a feature that has
to go," reads the petition of the newly formed "Students against Facebook
News Feed."
Nonetheless, the outrage mingled with tongue-in-cheek humor as evidenced
in the name of a related protest site: "The Coalition to Stop Facebook,
Stalker Edition." Both groups can be reached only by registered Facebook
members at: (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208288769).
Zuckerberg responded in his Tuesday blog post to members that, "We agree,
stalking isn't cool; but being able to know what's going on in your
friends' lives is."
"Nothing you do is being broadcast; rather, it is being shared with people
who care about what you do - your friends."
One of the many impromptu protest sites that have formed called for users
to boycott Facebook in a day of protest on September 12.
(http://daywithoutfacebook.blogspot.com/)
The threat of a boycott comes at a vulnerable time for Facebook, which was
bracing for a surge in subscribers as students return to school this month
at the roughly 2,100 colleges and 22,000 high schools that offer Facebook
accounts.
Facebook has roughly one-tenth the number of users of rival social
networking site MySpace.com, which accepts members of all ages and has
become a big hit among high-school age students. MySpace is a unit of News
Corp.
Privacy has been a selling point for Facebook, which took a more
disciplined approach to growth by restricting membership initially only to
Internet users with ".edu" e-mail addresses - which require affiliation
with an educational institution.
Four months ago, it began offering accounts to select organizations
including major companies, non-profit groups and members of the military.
So far 15,000 organizations have been added to the list of Web addressees
that qualify for Facebook.
"What we are trying to do is get people to share information - and to share
whatever they are comfortable doing," Zuckerberg told Reuters regarding the
changes.
=~=~=~=
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