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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 08 Issue 44
Volume 8, Issue 44 Atari Online News, Etc. November 3, 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:
Djordje Vukovic
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0844 11/03/06
~ Global Internet Forum! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Kazaa Deal Reached!
~ Office Live Next Month ~ Explosion At PayPal HQ ~ PS3 Preorder Scams!
~ New TeraDesk Released! ~ Sexist Urinals On eBay!~ Google Ad Sales Soar!
~ First $100 Laptops Due ~ Web GOP Outnumber Dems ~ Nintendo Woos AARP!
-* Too Much English On The Web? *-
-* Seagate Built-In Encryption Drives! *-
-* MacIT Convention Returns To MacWorld Expo! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, it's now been six months since I "retired" from my job. I really
cannot believe that it has been that long already. Wow! Here it is, now
Autumn. I have to admit that I've had a productive "off season" and
managed to get things done that I would never been able to find the time
to do while I was employed. And, I still have plenty of projects that
require my attention. But, I've decided that we still need two incomes
for awhile longer, so I'm on the hunt for work. I have made a number of
contacts and established quite a few working relationships with various
organizations over the years, so I'm still feeling pretty good at the
moment. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll still remain semi-retired.
I'm sure that Joe has mentioned it again this week, but I will also.
Here in America, Election Day is next Tuesday. I urge you all to get out
and vote. This is your opportunity to have a voice, so don't take it
lightly.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
TeraDesk 3.85 Released
Version 3.85 of TeraDesk open-source desktop for the 16-bit and 32-bit
lines of Atari computers is available at:
http://solair.eunet.yu/~vdjole/teradesk.htm
Beside the fixes for several bugs, this release contains some new features
that were supposed to be part of more comprehensive changes intended be
released as V3.90; however, because of the long time spent to find one of
the bugs, and also due to some other circumstances, there was not enough
progress made for a V3.90, and therefore this interim release.
See the history file for more information about latest changes and new
features.
Have fun.
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. It's going to be a short column this
week, but it's a sign of the times, I guess.
I did want to mention a couple of things to you though. First of all,
you know what I miss? Remember those old editorials and editorial
rebuttals that they used to do on television as a part of the local
news? I miss those. Nah, they didn't always deal with earthshaking
topics... sometimes no more that whether or not to expand the local
high school's gymnasium, or whether to plant marigolds or geraniums at
the town playground... but it was an outlet for people. A way to have a
voice. I'm left to wonder to myself if it was just a fad, or if we had
hit upon something that gave us a real voice and the ability to
disagree freely and, more importantly, civilly. Heck, even Archie
Bunker did an editorial rebuttal. And if it's good enough for Archie...
<grin>
The other thing I wanted to mention was about voting. I can't remember a
mid-term election where there was so much activity. I'm not sure if
that's a good thing or a bad thing, or who it might be a good or a bad
thing for. But one thing's for sure: It's your right, your privilege,
and your responsibility to vote. Take a hint from that old Nike
commercial and just do it.
Now let's get to the news, hints, tips and info from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Philipp Reichmuth asks about a demo version of MagiC:
"Is there a demo version of MagiC around? I wanted to try getting it to
run under ARAnyM, and I don't want to have to buy the full version. I
seem to recall there used to be a demo version during MagiX!/MagiC 2
times, but obviously it's not around anymore. Does anyone have a demo
version?"
'Saxer' tells Philipp:
"Look at this Link:
http://www.application-systems.de/atari/produktefuratari.html "
Philipp replies:
"That's the Application Systems Heidelberg homepage. No demo there. The
only demo available there is MagiC PC (and, incidentally, that doesn't
run under ARAnyM but gives four bombs).
Under Gemulator 2000, the Atari part of the MagiC PC demo apparently
runs. So I thought it maybe runs under ARAnyM, too. Apparently this
is not the case."
David Wade adds:
"As far as I can tell its only old versions that works. I can't get
either of my 5, 6 or 6.2 versions to work under gemulator..."
Tony Belding asks about running GFA BASIC with an emulator:
"I have an Atari ST emulator running on my Power Mac now, and I recently
got my hands on the GFA BASIC manual and "The GFA BASIC Book" tutorial
as published by Michtron. (That would be for GFA Basic 2, not 3.) The
problem is. . . I still don't have the GFA Basic 2 interpreter, and I
haven't been able to find anyplace where I can download it. I was
under the impression that GFA made GFA Basic 2 freely distributable
sometime after GFA Basic 3 hit the market, but I could be wrong about
that.
I would even buy it on a floppy disk, if I could find one. . . Except
that I don't have a floppy drive, and even I had one I wouldn't be sure
how to transfer the program from the floppy into the emulator. (The
instructions don't say anything about it being able to read a USB
floppy drive.) What should I do?"
'Rein' jumps in and says:
"Tony [can] contact me about the GFA files he needs.
Tony replies:
"Thank you for the offer! It is not needed anymore, since I found the
files on a magazine disk."
'Ryan' asks about which way the darned power cable goes on a MegaSTE's
floppy drive:
"I took apart my "new" MEGA STE case to see what it was like, and
disconnected the power cable from the floppy drive in the process. When
trying to reassemble, I discovered that the cable would physically fit
in either orientation, and now I'm afraid to reconnect it for fear I'll
do it the wrong way and blow it up. Can somebody with a MEGA STE confirm
the correct way that the cable is supposed to attach?"
Mark Duckworth tells Ryan:
"You said power cable and not data cable. Don't plug it in the
wrong way or you'll fry the drive. Done it once :-P The power
connector should have an indentation on one of the sides and a linear
bump on the other side offset near the middle. The bump side goes up,
the indentation side goes down."
'Jimmie' asks about mice for a 1040:
"will an amiga mouse work on the atari 1040st? if not and you have one
for sale (original will do fine) please let me know."
Peter Slegg tells Jimmie:
"The Mouse on my St has an Amiga/Atari switch on the bottom. I think it
swaps two of the wires in the 9pin connector but it may be more
complicated than that."
Rory McMahon asks about terminating the MegaE's internal SCSI hard
drive:
"I thought I had read somewhere that the internal drive should not have
termination resistors. Is this true? The Quantum 105S has the term packs
on the drive..."
Roger Burrows tells Rory:
"If I remember correctly, the internal drive on a Mega is connected via
an internal host adapter. So there is only one drive on the SCSI bus.
So, assuming the host adapter conforms to the SCSI spec, there should
be terminators on the host adaptor and on the drive. The bus itself is
not very long, so even if the host adapter is conformant, you may well
be able to get away with only one set of terminators (on the adapter).
But the spec says there ought to be terminators on both.
Unless it's broken, my advice is not to try to fix it."
Well folks, that's it for this week. See? I told you it was going to be
a short column. 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 - Sony Warns of PS3 Preorder Scams!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Anniversary!
Neverwinter Nights 2 Ships!
And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony Warns of PlayStation 3 Scams
Sony Corp. issued a warning Tuesday against false promotional offers for
its upcoming PlayStation 3 video game console.
A number of Web sites have been promoting pre-orders on discounted or bulk
shipments of the game system - without the cooperation of Sony, the
company stated.
Company representatives did not name the sites but suggested consumers can
avoid potential scams by purchasing PlayStation products only from
authorized retailers and resellers, which includes well-known stores such
as GameStop, EB Games, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
The PlayStation 3 system, with models priced between $500 and $600, is set
to go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 17, though only in limited quantities.
Some authorized stores began taking pre-orders on Oct. 10. At some
GameStop and EB Game locations, the orders were snapped up within
minutes.
Sony has said it plans to ship 6 million Playstation 3 machines in its
fiscal year through March 2007.
Nintendo Picks GameStop, Toys "R" Us for Wii Launch
Nintendo Co. said on Thursday that it chose GameStop Corp. and Toys "R" Us
as the U.S. retailers that will host the launch of its new Wii video game
console, which goes on sale on November 19.
GameStop and Toys "R" Us have already taken Wii "pre-orders," in which
customers are able to reserve a console in advance of the official launch.
With demand for the Wii already building, video game retailer GameStop
and toy store Toys "R" Us said they had quickly run through the supply of
consoles that they allotted for the early orders.
The Wii launch will take place two days after Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3
hits U.S. stores, marking the start of the holiday shopping season when
video game makers traditionally reap more than half of their annual sales.
In a repeat of Microsoft Corp's introduction of the XBox 360 last year,
the Wii and the PS3 are expected to be in short supply as demand outstrips
the companies' ability to turn out the new devices.
The Wii comes with a motion-sensing controller that lets players simulate
swinging a tennis racquet, hitting a golf ball or wielding a sword. Its
$249.99 price tag is a fraction of the cost of the PlayStation 3, which
is priced at $499.99 or $599.99 depending on features.
Toys "R" Us' flagship Times Square store in New York and GameStop's
Universal CityWalk store in Los Angeles will host the official launch
event.
While other consumer electronics retailers, such as Best Buy Co Inc. and
Circuit City may also start selling the unit at midnight on the 19th, the
partnership could mean that Toys "R" Us and GameStop may have access to
better Wii supplies.
A GameStop spokesman said the company was not releasing any Wii
allocation or reservations figures. A spokeswoman for Toys "R" Us said the
retailer "will be in a great stock position" for the midnight launch.
Even if GameStop and Toys "R" Us do not snag a better-than-average supply,
aligning themselves with Nintendo and the launch publicity could help boost
traffic in their stores, as customers come to them seeking the new system.
Toys "R" Us, which has struggled in recent years with difficult market
conditions for toy sellers, earlier this year installed a former Best Buy
executive as president of its U.S. business and has said it is looking to
expand relationships with electronics manufacturers as it tries to boost
sales.
The "official" Nintendo midnight launch events at Toys "R" Us and GameStop
will feature live music and entertainment, and a countdown to the moment
that the console goes on sale.
Eidos Celebrates with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Eidos Interactive Ltd., one of the world's leading publishers and
developers of entertainment software, today confirms that the next Tomb
Raider game will be entitled Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary and is
set for release on PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PC in
2007.
Inspired by the first Tomb Raider videogame, originally released in 1996,
LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: ANNIVERSARY is a totally new 2006 adventure for
Lara, faithfully preserving the elements which made the original Tomb
Raider such a classic, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. Using an
enhanced "Tomb Raider: Legend"; game engine, the graphics, technology,
physics and engine bring Lara's adventure and pursuit of a mystical
artefact known only as the Scion right up to today's technology standards
and will offer gamers a completely new gameplay experience.
"Over the years we have had literally thousands of requests to re-make the
original Tomb Raider for today's gamer, we have gone a step further, we
have taken the original story and made a completely new version for Tomb
Raider: Anniversary" said Kathryn Clements, Senior Brand Manager, Eidos.
"We are re-telling an incredible story using today&rsquo's technology,
we've taken all of the key moments from the original game and put them
into the context of a brand new Tomb Raider adventure which will make fans
of the franchise extremely happy but also attract a completely new
audience."
"We've captured the essence of what made the original game so special and
with today's technology, created a game that pushes the boundaries of the
current gaming consoles. Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a special celebration
of Lara's reign as videogaming's leading lady" said Ian Livingstone, Eidos.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary is currently in development by Crystal
Dynamics and will be available in 2007 on PlayStation 2, PSP and PC
Atari Ships Neverwinter Nights 2
Atari, Inc. and Obsidian Entertainment today announced that the
highly-anticipated Neverwinter Nights 2 has shipped to stores nationwide.
Neverwinter Nights 2, the sequel to BioWare Corp.'s best-selling and
genre-defining role-playing game, is set in the Dungeons & Dragons
Forgotten Realms(r) universe created by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary
of Hasbro, Inc., and will transport players back to the embattled city of
Neverwinter.
Dungeons & Dragons is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the
intellectual property development arm of Hasbro. Rated "T" for Teen,
Neverwinter Nights 2 is available for Windows platform at a suggested
retail price of $49.95.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Neverwinter Nights 2 features a new,
extensive single-player game with deep character development and a powerful
new toolset that provides players with unprecedented ability to create
their own universes, quests and storylines. A limited edition of
Neverwinter Nights 2 is also available at retailers nationwide for $59.95.
Neverwinter Nights 2 Limited Edition features a robust array of
collectibles including exclusive in-game content such as a powerful new feat
called Blessed of Waukeen that will grant a bonus to all saving throws, two
special items, access to a unique weapon, and a magical golden aura that
surrounds players' characters. A detailed cloth map showing in-game
locations, a book of art depicting characters and scenes from the game and
two silver antique rings (Good & Evil) are also included.
"Obsidian has delivered an outstanding sequel to one of the most beloved
RPGs of all time," said Nique Fajors, Vice President, Sales, Marketing,
Atari, Inc. "Neverwinter Nights 2 offers a deeply satisfying role-playing
experience and a robust toolset that together will extend the life of the
Neverwinter tales and bring more members to the community."
The Neverwinter Nights franchise has sold more than two million copies
worldwide, is translated into 10 languages, sold in more than 40 countries
and features one of the largest and most active fan communities in all of
gaming.
More information about Neverwinter Nights 2 can be found at www.nwn2.com,
which includes user forums, project news, development updates and more.
BattleZone for PSP System Ships
Atari, Inc. announced that BattleZone for the PSP system has shipped to
retail stores nationwide. A modern update to the 1980 classic arcade game,
BattleZone immerses players in an interactive world with relentless
onslaughts of quick, action-oriented battles. Developed by Paradigm
Entertainment, BattleZone for the PSP system is rated E10+ and is
available for a suggested retail price of $29.95.
Set in futuristic international military environments, BattleZone puts
players in control of highly maneuverable hover tanks, challenging them
in close combat scenarios against their rivals.
BattleZone features fast and furious gameplay, photo-realistic environments,
eight unique customizable team vehicles, an assortment of high-powered
weapons and multiplayer battles. The four-player wireless mode lets
players go head to head, while unlockable weapons, vehicles and upgrades
add even greater depth to the gameplay experience. In addition, extra game
content will be available through the BattleZone web site,
www.battlezonegame.com, offering gamers news, leader boards and an
exclusive online level builder tool that allows players to customize game
maps. The extra content can then be downloaded to the player's PSP system
through a local PC-USB connection.
"BattleZone for the PSP system is a modern day version of the immensely-
popular classic property," said Stephen Baer, Senior Product Manager,
Atari, Inc. "BattleZone is a fast-paced and addictive game that
capitalizes on all the PSP system offers. Just as the original set the
standard for combat action in the arcades, BattleZone for the PSP system
is armed to meet today's generation of gamers anywhere they go."
BattleZone provides players with six popular and well-known game modes,
including Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Team Deathmatch, Hotzone, Knockout,
and Fox and Hound. For casual gamers, the single player mode offers an
easy learning curve for pick-up and play gaming and a tournament
progression to win upgrades and enhancements.
Designed to take advantage of the PSP system's high quality display,
BattleZone's crisp environments depict military combat arenas from around
the world. Specific sights include abandoned cities of Russia, jungles of
China, desert canyons of the United States, Antarctica's frozen tundra and
the Canary Islands. Players can fight their way through the compelling
open play of ten worlds in BattleZone, two of which can be customized online
and transferred to their PSP system.
Computer Game Takes "Journalist's" View of Mideast
A computer game developed in Denmark is about to give high school students
outside the Middle East a new window into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Global Conflicts: Palestine," by Serious Games Interactive, will enable
players to become virtual journalists moving through Israel and the
Palestinian territories, where they can interview characters from both
sides - civilians, soldiers and militants.
Once players decide they have enough information, they write articles
relating to the conflict, which are then graded by the computer game.
"The goal for them is to recognize there are different perspectives, that
the story can be also be told in different perspectives," one of the
game's creators, Cophenhagen-based Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen, said in a
telephone interview.
He said he hopes to distribute the game to high schools in Europe in March
and perhaps take it worldwide.
At the start of the game, players choose one of six scenarios taken from
years of Israeli-Palestinian violence, such as suicide bombings, Israeli
raids in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza and tensions at Israeli army
checkpoints.
The virtual reporter does not have to try to be objective. Players can
choose to become a pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian or neutral journalist as
they navigate the scenes and "click" on characters.
Characters have pre-programmed answers, based on the journalist's
questions and declared sympathies.
A Palestinian militant, for example, would volunteer more information to a
declared pro-Palestinian journalist than to an Israeli reporter.
"You can steer the dialogue in the direction you want," Egenfeldt-Nielsen
said. "For a pro-Israeli story, focus on how the IDF (Israeli military)
perceives it. If you take a pro-Palestinian approach, you can dig deeper
- interview the suspect or his son."
The articles that players write receive scores based on the program's
assessment of the value of the information and quotes they gleaned.
"The scores are dependent on to what extent you are successful in writing
stories on the right angle," Egenfeldt-Nielsen said. "If you are
pro-Palestinian and you end up writing what we think is a pro-Israeli
story, you get a worse score."
The game has been tested among hundreds of high school students in
Denmark. It will be translated into five languages.
Many computer games centered on the Middle East have been launched in
the past 15 years, most involving violence.
A 1990 simulation game by Virgin Interactive called "Conflict in the
Middle East" allowed you to be prime minister of Israel and fend off
potential strikes by Muslim nations, such as Iran, through diplomacy or
even a nuclear attack.The new Danish game doesn't deal with victory or
defeat.
"There's no winning with regard to this conflict," Egenfeldt-Nielsen
said.
Nintendo at AARP Event to Court the Grayer Gamer
Nintendo has positioned Wii, its new video game console to be released on
Nov. 19, as a system that will appeal not just to hard-core gamers, but
also to older adults who may be more comfortable with Pong than Grand
Theft Auto.
Over the weekend, the company proved that it believed its own press
releases. For the first time, it took its products to Life@50+, an annual
event sponsored by AARP, and held this year in Anaheim, Calif. The event,
intended for those over 50, attracted more than 20,000 people and featured
a wide range of panel discussions, celebrities and exhibitors showcasing
products for older Americans.
"Nintendo has never gone after grandparents before," said Amber McCollom,
a senior manager of public relations for Nintendo. "We're targeting this
audience for themselves, not just their grandchildren."
Technology is playing an increased role at the Life@50+ events, said Bruce
Sanders, AARP's director of national events. He noted that 18 tech
companies were exhibiting this year, compared with 10 when the event was
held in Las Vegas in 2004 (the 2005 gathering in New Orleans was canceled
because of Hurricane Katrina).
Still, successfully promoting video games to an audience more used to card
games than video ones could be a struggle. Nintendo's booth was in unusual
company on the show floor, surrounded by those promoting the American
Academy of Audiology, Lighthouse International and the Southwest Lawn
Bowls Association.
In addition to Wii, Nintendo also promoted its Brain Age game for the
portable Nintendo DS, which includes a series of exercises that ostensibly
help to improve brain functioning. To entice visitors, Nintendo employees
walked the show floor wearing buttons that said, rather optimistically,
"Ask Me My Brain Age."
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Seagate Debuts New Hard Drives with Built-In Encryption
Seagate Technology will soon begin shipping its first hard drives with
special encryption chips that will make it impossible to read data off
the disk - or even boot up a PC - without some form of authentication.
The world's largest hard drive maker said its new DriveTrust Technology,
which is designed to encrypt data stored on the hard drive automatically,
will require users to have a key, or password, before being able to
access the drive.
The new Momentus 5400 FDE.2 (Full Disk Encryption 2), geared to notebook
computers, will come in several capacities, including 80 GB, 120 GB, and
160 GB.
Seagate said it expects to ship the drives early next year.
The world's first laptop hard disk with built-in encryption could help
reduce the impact of losing a laptop loaded with sensitive files.
Protecting data at the hard drive level - rather than just at the level
of the operating system - will offer another layer of defense against
thieves.
Easily transportable notebook computers have long caused businesses and
government agencies millions of dollars in damages and put sensitive
data - including financial and other personal information - at great
risk.
For many organizations, compliance with data security and privacy
regulations have increased the pressure to beef up security at all
levels.
Charles Kolodgy, research director of security products for analyst
group IDC, said that securing data on the hard drive is "an innovative
yet common-sense approach" that will help simplify security.
"As storage and security converge, solutions like Seagate's DriveTrust
Technology are leading the way by providing organizations with the strong,
easy-to-use security they need to protect their data assets," said
Kolodgy.
In its current form, the drive is unlocked with a password, but Seagate
said it expects notebook makers to develop other authentication
technologies - such as fingerprint and smart card readers - for use with
the built-in encryption technology.
So far there is no word yet on how much the drives will cost.
Microsoft To Release Office Live
Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday it plans to launch a set of Web services
next month aimed at helping small companies manage business contacts,
calendars and online communications.
After months of testing, the world's largest software maker plans to launch
Microsoft Office Live in the U.S. on November 15, the same day it will roll
out a test, or beta, version in France, Germany, Japan and the United
Kingdom. In a change from the test product it released in February, Office
Live will also include a feature to allow small business owners to buy
advertisements, tied to certain keywords, to appear alongside Microsoft's
Live Search results.
Microsoft, already dominant on computer desktops with its Windows operating
system and Office software suite, has been beefing up its Internet-based
services to better compete with rivals such as Google Inc. By making it
easier for small businesses to buy up keywords, Microsoft plans to peck
away at Google's lead in the online search advertising market.
The company will offer a free, ad-supported version of Office Live that
includes Web hosting, 25 company-branded e-mail accounts a shared calendar
and access to Microsoft's advertising platform.
There will two subscription-based versions at $19.95 a month and $39.95 a
month.
Both versions come with more storage and more e-mail accounts than in the
basic offering.
First $100 Laptops Due This Year
The first $100 laptop PCs for the One Laptop Per Child program will roll
off production lines by the end of this year, and mass production will
start in the first quarter of 2007, manufacturer Quanta Computer says.
The Taiwanese company, the largest contract notebook PC manufacturer in
the world, had previously estimated it would begin mass production of
the low-cost laptops in the second quarter of next year.
The company expects to ship 5 million to 10 million of the laptops next
year, and said orders to Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, and Thailand
have already been confirmed.
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative is aimed at ensuring school
children in developing countries keep up with their peers in modern
nations by putting a laptop PC able to wirelessly access the Internet
into their hands. The founders of the OLPC group hope the program keeps
people in poor nations from being left
behind in the digital age. The $100 laptop PC concept has also prompted
companies, including Intel, to start creating lower cost notebooks for
developing countries.
A number of academic and industry groups worked together on the $100
laptop design. The leader of the OLPC group, Nicholas Negroponte, is also
a cofounder of the MIT Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The group plans to offer the low-cost laptops to governments
and organizations worldwide as an educational tool.
The $100 machine will run the Linux OS on a 500MHz microprocessor from
Advanced Micro Devices, will be wireless broadband-ready, and contain
128MB of DRAM and 500MB of flash memory for storage. The only major
component missing will be a big hard disk, according to the group.
Global Internet Forum Closes With Call Against Online Repression
The world's first-ever UN forum on Internet governance logged off after
four days during which prominent Western corporations were accused of
helping Chinese authorities to suppress dissidents.
"We have not heard a public commitment from companies on human right
values," Erica Razook, a legal advisor to the rights group Amnesty
International told AFP.
"We're not telling them to get out of certain countries, but to take a
stand on human rights in those countries," she said on the sidelines of the
forum, which took place in the southern Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni.
Software and service providers Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Google and Yahoo!
have been criticized by human rights groups for either supplying the means
for, or facilitating, Chinese efforts to jail and monitor suspected
political opponents.
At the UN forum, Cisco was accused by the international group Reporters
Without Borders of selling surveillance equipment to the Chinese police.
Microsoft helped shut down the weblog of a Chinese New York Times
researcher on a request from Beijing, Amnesty said, while Google has been
accused of self-censoring its search engine to filter out terms deemed
subversive by Chinese authorities.
On the forum's closing day, Amnesty urged governments to stop suppressing
freedom of expression on the Internet, and on IT firms to cease supplying
repressive regimes with the technological means to carry out crackdowns.
"People have the right to seek and receive information and to express
their peaceful beliefs online without fear or interference," said Amnesty
programme director Dan McQuillian.
"I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of
expression on the Internet, and on companies to stop helping them do it,"
he said.
Amnesty presented a petition with its call, backed by 50,000 online
signatures. The IT corporations countered the criticism with arguments
that through their presence in China, over 130 million local users were
online today and had access to more information.
It was precisely this sort of debate that justified such a forum, even
though it had no decision-making mandate, its organisers said, pointing
to an attendance of over 1,200 participants from more than 90 countries.
They included national experts, IT firms and non-governmental
organisations or NGOs.
"Four years ago, many people assembled in this meeting room would not have
spoken to one another, (but) this is definitely changing," said Markus
Kummer, chairman of the United Nations working group on Internet
governance.
"The fact that the forum has no decision-making power means that nobody is
afraid of (it), and this is conducive to a free and open discussion," he
said. A number of countries, corporations and NGOs said they had formed
partnerships during the four-day series of meetings and planned to
cooperate on projects including privacy, online rights and gender advocacy
ahead of the next Internet governance forum, to be held next November in
Rio de Janeiro.
But there were also complaints from Iran and South Africa, which said they
had not been given an opportunity to adequately express their respective
views on ethical issues and connectivity cost concerns.
Originally formed as a last-minute compromise at a 2005 world summit in
Tunis to forestall a rift between the United States and the rest of the
world over control of the Internet, the IGF in Athens encouraged diverse
groups to talk to one another despite initial caution, said Nitin Desai,
special advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Internet governance.
"There is a culture problem, governments are used to a diplomatic
protocol... while NGOs are used to shout loudly to be heard," Desai said.
"If you want to work with somebody, you're not going to be able to if you
start calling them names...there is a little need for cultural adjustment
on all sides," he added.
New Delhi and Cairo have already agreed to host the coming editions of the
Internet governance forum after Rio, in 2008 and 2009.
On Thursday, Lithuania and Azerbaijan both expressed an interest in
hosting the forum in 2010.
Google Ad Sales Outpace All Comers
Cosmo Buono calls himself a technology "dinosaur." But look to this
longtime New York City piano teacher for insight on how Google keeps
setting financial records.
Buono wanted to find contestants for an international piano competition
he's staging. A student recommended that he advertise on the Google search
engine, so he went online to give it a try. Now, when anyone searches for
"piano competition" or "international piano competition" his ad appears near
the top of search results.
His budget: $50. His response: 35 new contestants, so far. "I was up and
running in 15 minutes," says Buono, 54. "For somebody like me who isn't
comfortable with the PC, it was quite a revelation."
Google set a record again this month with a 70% third-quarter revenue jump
that has Wall Street salivating. The stock hit new heights last week to
nearly $500 a share. Citibank analyst Mark Mahaney says it's poised to hit
$600.
Since it went public two years ago, its share of Internet searches has
nearly doubled, while its ad revenue continues to dwarf rivals such as
Yahoo and MSN.
How does Google do it? With millions of customers such as Buono, who use
its simple and ever-expanding search advertising program, AdWords, to
reach customers. Google is on a roll because it is "the best and most
used search engine," says Mahaney. "More people want to do searches on
Google than Yahoo."
AdWords works on a simple concept: Advertisers offer their wares for a fee
in the "sponsored search" section of search results, which appear on Google
as well as AOL, Ask.com and EarthLink. Clients bid on keywords - the phrases
people use when searching - and pay if someone clicks on an ad. Advertisers
can pay from a penny to more than $1 per click, and set a monthly budget.
"The entire process of signing up was really simple," says Buono. "If I can
do it, anyone can."
Google makes updates to AdWords every two weeks. The program has greatly
expanded beyond the simple search ad. What's new:
*Geo-targeting. Clients can choose which ZIP code they want their ad to
appear in, and can have the ad appear on Google Maps.
*Time-slot preference. Want your ad to run only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., when
people are at work? No problem. Advertisers can refine their campaigns down
to the hour.
*Starter edition. For folks who want a simpler, speedier way to get an ad
online. Google asks new advertisers to type in their ZIP code, website
address, a 10-word ad, monthly budget and keyword search terms. Click
"continue," and type in contact and payment information, and the ad is
online.
"We're trying to make the process less intimidating," says Richard Holden,
Google's director of product management.
Don't have a website? No problem. Google says 50% of small businesses don't
have one. It will create a bare-bones site for new clients, with a basic
listing that includes phone and e-mail contact, ad copy and a photo.
The companion to AdWords is AdSense, which expands the text ads across
hundreds of thousands of websites and blogs representing what Google says
is 80% of the Web. website owners share in revenues whenever an ad is
clicked.
Clients include tech sites such as Engadget and Macworld and big guns such
as MySpace, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Slate.
Last week, Google moved to increase the reach of AdSense with a tool to let
anyone create a narrow version of its search engine for a website or blog.
A blogger with a fan site devoted to Beyoncé could add a search tool
devoted to the singer. A wedding-planning site could tweak it to only have
results from florists, caterers and venues.
website owners get the service free in exchange for showcasing Google ads.
"In terms of potential earnings, this is the biggest one to look at," says
Chris Winfield, who runs 10e20, a New York firm that works with clients on
Google advertising campaigns. "Millions of people will put this on their
pages, and Google ads will be all over those pages."
This summer, Google began offering advertisers the ability to run video
ads on the AdSense network.
Businesses upload an ad - which can be created with consumer-level video
equipment and software - directly to Google. They choose the types of sites
they want to appear on, from general interest to those devoted to beauty
tips, entertainment or more.
"You walk into the buildings at Google, and can feel the blood flowing,"
says Rich Silverstein, of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners ad agency.
"Instead of saying "We can't do that,' they say, "Let's see if we can.'
" His agency created a video ad for automaker Saturn that ran on auto
enthusiast sites via Google. The ad begins in outer space and ends by
whisking the viewer to his or her local Saturn dealer. The ad was
"geo-targeted" by ZIP code, with each ad tailored for the local market.
"This is a relationship between the viewer and a company that's never
been done before," says Silverstein.
While Google popularized search ads, the form was invented by Goto.com
(later known as Overture), which Yahoo acquired. But Google has far
exceeded Yahoo in customers and revenue.
Yahoo is revamping its search ad program to make it easier to use and
more profitable. After several delays, it is to make its debut early next
year. Last week, Yahoo said its earnings fell 38%, due to softer ad sales.
Google's lead over Yahoo is bigger than Wall Street realized when Google
first was planning to go public in 2004, says Mahaney. "Yahoo is trying to
play catch-up, and they're finding just how difficult that is."
Microsoft recently introduced its own answer to AdWords, Microsoft
adCenter. But "MSN has 10% of searches, and Google has 50%," says
Winfield. "It's good traffic, just not enough of it."
Google has been criticized by Wall Street analysts for being a one-trick
pony. It makes all its money from search ads, while Yahoo has display
ads, subscription fees and partnerships with high-speed internet
providers. In search, says analyst Greg Sterling of researcher Sterling
Market Intelligence, it is not too late for Yahoo to catch up. "Local
advertising is a huge, $100 billion market, and advertisers want
multiple options," he says.
Explosive Device Shatters Window At Paypal HQ
An explosive device blew out a thick, plate-glass window Tuesday evening at
the Silicon Valley headquarters of PayPal, the online payments unit of
eBay Inc.. No injuries resulted when what local fire officials said was an
explosive device shattered a 6-foot-square window on the ground floor of the
four-story building in San Jose, California. The explosion occurred outside
a building exit.
Investigators were still trying to determine the nature of the device.
"Whatever it was, it disintegrated," San Jose Fire Department Capt.
Jose Guerrero said. "Whatever caused this was pretty strong."
About 45 employees were working in the PayPal offices when the explosion
occurred at 7:24 p.m., eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said. Most employees had
left the building early ahead of the Halloween holiday celebrations, he
said. "We have no reports concerning threats," Durzy said. "We are still
investigating and we are working with local and federal authorities."
The PayPal offices, where 1,900 employees work, were closed Wednesday
while police conducted an investigation. They are expected to reopen on
Thursday. No eBay or PayPal online services were interrupted by the
blast, the spokesman said.
Music Publishers Say Kazaa Deal Reached
The music publishing industry reached a tentative deal with operators of
the Kazaa file-sharing network over claims of copyright infringement, an
industry group said.
Publishers pursuing a class-action suit against Kazaa informed U.S.
District Court on Monday that the peer-to-peer network had agreed to pay
"a substantial sum" under the agreement, the National Music Publishers'
Association said in a statement.
The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. It is subject to final
approval by the association board.
The settlement "will be another key milestone of the ongoing transformation
of the digital music marketplace to one that will allow legal services to
thrive," NMPA President and Chief Executive David Israelite said in the
statement. Phil Armstrong, a spokesman for Sharman Networks Ltd., which
owns and distributes Kazaa, said he was not familiar with the lawsuit and
declined to comment.
Sharman Networks announced in July that it had settled copyright
infringement lawsuits with music labels and movie studios, agreeing to
redesign its software to block customers from downloading protected music
and movies and to pay more than $115 million in penalties.
The agreements are among a wave of legal settlements between file-sharing
networks and the entertainment industry since the Supreme Court ruled last
year that technology companies caught encouraging customers to steal music
and movies over the Internet could be sued.
Last month, a federal judge ruled against StreamCast Inc., the distributor
of the Morpheus online file-sharing software, finding the firm encouraged
computer users to share music, movies and other copyright works without
permission.
MacIT Conference Returns to Macworld Expo
IDG World Expo on Tuesday announced the schedule for the MacIT Conference
at Macworld Conference & Expo, which returns to San Francisco's Moscone
Center from January 8 - 12, 2007.
The three-day MacIT Conference provides in-depth training in client,
security and network management techniques. This year, IDG World Expo has
announced that Schoun Regan, long a fixture of the MacIT track and CEO of
ITInstruction.com, has been appointed the Conference Chair for the event.
The MacIT conference track features 45 different sessions broken into five
topics: System Imaging & Deployment; Mac OS X In the Enterprise Arena,
Service Solutions Using Mac OS X Server; Mac OS X Management and
Administration, and Securing Mac OS X.
New highlights of this year's MacIT conference schedule include 'The Mac
IT Kick-Off Forum,' featuring Regan, Josh Wisenbaker, Philip Rinehart
and others; Amit Singh's 'Taming Mac OS X File Systems' session;
'Managing Directory Services on Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server,' by Regan
and Nigel Kersten; 'Optimizing Mac OS X Server File Services,' from
Kersten; and 'Xserve and Leopard Server,' presented by Apple product
managers Doug Brooks and Eric Zelenka.
More details about these and other sessions for Macworld Expo are
available from the Web site.
Republicans Outnumber Democrats Online
Republicans outnumber Democrats on the Web, and the most common political
leaning is moderate, a Web research firm said Wednesday.
Fully, 36.6 percent of U.S. online adults are Republicans, 30.8 percent
are Democrats and 17.3 percent are Independents, Nielsen/NetRatings said.
The Web site with the highest concentration of Republicans is
RushLimbaugh.com, while BlackAmericaWeb.com had the highest percentage of
Democrats.
"The fact that the online population is more heavily composed of
Republicans than Democrats is principally a function of the Republican
party's higher composition within the overall electorate,"
Nielsen/NetRatings analyst Ken Cassar said in a statement. "This is
exacerbated by the fact that online penetration continues to be deeper
among affluent households, which have historically skewed Republican."
In its survey, Nielsen also found that 36.1 percent of respondents
identified themselves as "moderate," 32.5 percent as "conservative" or
"very conservative," and 19.8 percent as "liberal" or "very liberal."
Too Much English On Web 'Risks Crowding Out Other Cultures'
Experts at a UN forum on Internet governance have warned that the
predominant use of English on the worldwide web needs to be checked before
it crowds out other languages.
They fear forms of cultural knowledge accumulated over centuries of human
progress could be be lost for ever.
"Some 90 percent of 6,000 languages (at use today) are not represented on
the Internet," Yoshinori Imai of NHK, Japan's Broadcasting Corporation,
said Wednesday.
"These people could be left out in the desert of no information and no
knowledge," he said.
In countries such as Colombia and Senegal, oral tradition and cultural
heritage that could be used for research and education purposes may never
reach the broader world, sociologists and linguists told the four-day
forum, held in the southern Athens suburb of Vouliagmeni until November 2.
"A large part of the population are voiceless because they cannot share
the information," said Adama Samassekou, president of the African Academy
of Languages in Mali.
"Every time a language dies, a vision of the world disappears," he said.
"Even in the research field there's a linguistic bias, English is far and
away the dominant language," added Divina Frau-Meigs, a professor of media
sociology at the University of Sorbonne in Paris.
When it comes to creating sites with non-English content, users in many
countries face difficulty in that HTML - computer language through which
web pages are created - largely uses English words and abbreviations, said
Bernard Benhamou, senior lecturer on the information society at the
Political Sciences Institute in Paris.
"For (Westerners) this does not mean much, but for a user who doesn't
speak English it's a hell of a task," he told AFP.
In one case in Cambodia, the local Internet community developed its own
software in Khmer after being turned down by a software developer, said
Markus Kummer, chairman of the United Nations working group on Internet
governance.
For the time being, initiatives to diversify language use on the Internet
are undertaken by various countries at local level.
But the United Nations and other organisations such as ICANN, the
non-profit organisation that manages the Internet's technical root, are
mindful that fragmentation could occur if this issue is not adequately
addressed.
If that were ever to happen, experts say that typing an Internet address
would produce different links depending on the user's geographical
location, while email would get hopelessly lost en route.
"The risk of fragmentation today is low, but if were to occur it would be
really bad," said Patrick Faelstroem, a senior consulting engineer at
Cisco Systems and a member of the Swedish government's IT policy and
strategy group. "It would mean that if you send me an email from Greece,
I may not be able to even reply to you from Sweden," he added.
"Misogynist" Urinals Flushed Out To eBay
Four urinals shaped like a woman's lips went on sale on eBay Thursday
after being removed from a public toilet in Vienna following protests
from women's groups who said they were sexist.
Designed by Viennese artist Rudolf Scheffel for the "toilet-bar Vienna"
next to the National Opera, the urinals featured lips covered in red,
orange or blue lipstick, a bright red tongue and gleaming white teeth.
The urinals were in the toilets for three years but raised an outcry in
the run-up to Austria's October 1 parliamentary election when they were
used by political party supporters attending rallies nearby.
Women's rights campaigners described the urinals as sexist and misogynist.
They will be restored to their original condition before being sold, the
toilet's operator said on auction Web site eBay.
"Each urinal will, of course, be meticulously cleaned," the seller said.
"The artist himself will sandblast it, brush the mouth's teeth, and give
them a new varnish."
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