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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 08 Issue 08
Volume 8, Issue 8 Atari Online News, Etc. February 24, 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:
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0808 02/24/06
~ Mac User Sites Closed ~ People Are Talking! ~ eBay Looks Eastward!
~ Vista Preview Released ~ Another Nigerian Bust! ~ MySpace Gun Bust!
~ Dutch Busts 419 Scam! ~ AOL Prices See Change! ~ Razorback Shut Down!
~ More MS Complaints! ~ Lenovo Eyes US Market! ~ Sony PS3 Delayed!
-* PS3 Launch Is Still Unknown! *-
-* Microsoft Tests Parental Controls! *-
-* Flaw In Apple's Safari Browser Exploited! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's been another long and tiring week. I must be getting old, because
weeks like this never used to bother me as much a few years ago. Maybe it's
the weather, and I'm longing for spring. Maybe I've been at this job too
long. Who knows.
I recently received a bulletin from my old alma mater the other day, from
the people who publish our PR/Journalism news bulletin. There were a
couple of articles in there from two of my old professors (now retired, but
still with their hands in). Both articles were reflections of their
impressions of how the two fields (journalism and public relations) have
changed. Yes, I've seen the change over the years. When I was in college
in the early 70's, journalism was a craft, not a profession, according to my
journalism professor. There is no news reporting these days, at least like
I remember it (shades of Woodward and Bernstein). And, if you don't know
who those two journalists are, you likely have no idea what I'm talking
about. In those days, a journalist/broadcaster reported the news, not made
commentaries about it. Watergate was news; the vice president accidentally
shooting his friend during a hunting trip is not - at least for more than a
news filler piece. Today, journalists seek celebrity status and hope to
make it to a national network anchor desk. In "my day" a reporter hoped to
"scoop" the crosstown competition to a story. People don't read newspapers
much these days; their exposure to the "news" is more focused on what's in
the tabloids. Unbelievable. As much as I enjoy journalism and writing, I
am happy that I didn't choose to stay in the field. About the only way that
I'd get back in would be to do freelance work for a publication that
focused on one of my interests or hobbies. Or, if journalism somehow found
itself again, the passion might return.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. As I write this, I'm also watching
the women's figure skating 'long program' thingies. If you're in
the United States, you've probably noticed something that struck
me...
That Dick Button guy hasta shut the hell up!<grin>
Seriously, I normally love watching the skating events because the
idea of a nominally intelligent person not only placing trust in
those two steel blades between them and the cold, hard ice. The
grace and physical control involved simply amazes me.
Add to that the fact that they've got to actually jump up in the
air and twirl around, and you've got what must be one of the most
difficult regimens around.
This year, the sound of Dick Button dissecting the performance as
it's happening simply ruined it for me. More than once I found
myself yelling at the television, "I can SEE that she fell, you
moron! Now SHUT UP and let me watch!"
I know that I'm not the only one who's noticed this, since I heard
a radio DJ mention it too. She, however, noticed something that I
didn't. You can relieve a lot of tension with the way you
pronounce the commentator's name. She was right! I felt much
better when I put the emphasis on the first syllable of his name!
<grin>
I may have mentioned it before, but I'm amazed, impressed and
gratified that the Olympics have gone as smoothly as they have up
to this point. Despite everything that's going on in the world
right now, there are only cheers when Olympians of any nation take
center stage. No boos, no jeers, no tension, just applause. It
sort of redeems my faith in mankind. Now if we could get to the
point where we could act that way all the time...
Well, let's get to the news, hints, tips and info from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
'Marcelo' asks about uncompressing floppy disk images back onto
floppies:
"I would like to start this message saying that i'm really sorry
to ask something that i'm sure have been answered many times.
I'm completely blind in the Atari ST world. Been an Amiga user
all my life, and now I want to know the ST better.
I have an MegaST 4, and only few days ago I managed to get an
original keyboard. This machine is waiting for about 2 years for
this keyboard, so I can use it ! Now it's time to run some good
software.
The problem is my machine is very "vanilla". Just one disk
drive.
I have many ST disk images on CD, but I don't now how to make
real floppies out of them.
So I would like to know what's the best, easier, idiot proof
way to create these disks.
I tried some programs on the PC side, like the Makedisk, but
they doesn't work well on the ST. They refuse to boot. And when I
read them from the GEM desk, read errors are reported.
So I would like to know how can I do this from the ST side. Can
I use a null modem cable to access the disk images directly on my
PC, and then create them on the ST drive?
Is it possible to create a RAMDISK on the ST, without any extra
software, so I can put some images there, and then create the
disks? I'm really lost here."
Mike Freeman tells Marcelo:
"There is MSA (Magic Shadow Archiver?) on the Atari, as well as
ST2DISK. Both might work for you, but I'm not sure if they require
a Hard Disk or not. Then there's the problem of getting them from
CD to your ST...
PC formatted disks (as long as they are the same type as your ST
floppy drive - no 1.44mb disks) should be readable on the Atari,
but not necessarily the other way around.
You can download freeware RAMDISK programs on various Atari FTP
sites. This might work well for you, if you need it. Otherwise,
make sure you have 720k disks (not 1.44mb HD), and either use
MAKEDISK on the PC on them, if it will work, or transfer them on
the same floppies to the ST and use ST2DISK or MSA. You can also
use null-modem transfer, I believe, but I'm not sure how to do
this, as I've never needed it."
Ronald Hall adds:
"I believe its the Ghostlink software that you need for the
null-modem transfer, but like Mike, I've never actually used it
either."
Marcelo replies:
"I think the Ghostlink is what I was looking for to transfer
the image files to the Atari.
As I have 4MB of memory, I think that creating a Ramdisk I can
copy some imagefiles there, and then use the tools you guys
suggested to create the real disks from the imagefiles.
I can imagine how boring will be this task, but it's the only
option I can think of right now.
I remember reading somewhere on the Internet, when I was
looking for some info on Ghostlink, that you can read files located
on the PC harddrive, as if they where on the ST, even if you
cannot execute .prg files.
If this is true it's much easier to create the real disks this
way, I think. Hope that the Ghostlink transfer rates aren't too
much slow.
This weekend I'll try to create some disks, and then I'll
report back to you guys what I can achieve.
Thanks again for your invaluable help."
'Simon' tells Marcelo:
"I've been using Ghostlink for years and, except a few failures
from time to time, it worked great.
The transfer speed is rather slow, but you can access your PC drive
directly from any software. So you can ask your Atari software to
write back a file that you will select on the PC drive, then go
away and have a drink: the ST will transfer the file and write it,
you don't have to be there (of course d'ont forget to insert a
blank disk ;-)
Later I moved to SCSI Link with HDDriver and a Iomega Jaz drive,
much easier and faster... But not really cheap!"
'Phantomm' asks for help with using large hard drives:
"Have a question regarding using very large hard drives on Atari
Computers.
As far as I know, TOS 4.04 only allows around 1 gig per partition.
Which limits total usable space of around 15 gigs more or less.
Is there any use for a 80 Gig IDE or SCSI hard drive on any Atari?
In other words, can the extra room on such a large drive be used in
any way?"
Martin Byttebier tells Phantomm:
"FreeMint is your friend. Install it and you can use all the space
available.
===================quote===================
NEWFATFS
--------
(completely new written FAT filesystemdriver, support
FAT/VFAT/FAT32;
TOS, DOS and Windows compatible)
maximum partition size
FAT16 : 2 GB tested: 2 GB
FAT32 : > 16 TB tested: 10 GB
maximum file size : 2 GB tested: 2 GB
block size : 512 byte - 32 kb tested: 512 byte - 32
kb
===================unquote=================== "
Dr. Uwe Seimet, author of HD Driver, adds:
"Yes, by using FAT32 (MagiC or MiNT) or Linux ext2 (MiNT)
partitions. Even without FAT32 or ext2 you can use more than 14
FAT partitions with MiNT or MagiC (MiNT up to 31, MagiC up to
25)."
'Jammer' asks for help with his new Falcon:
"Just got a Falcon 030 (4mb no hard drive) and want to add some
storage and maybe a flat screen. I fancy a CF card solution as
they are quite cheap and quiet. I've an STE with an old Atari hard
drive thats too noisy. Is there anyway to connect that to the
Falcon? I've also got an STE with an internal IDE drive, would
that fit?
I remember seeing on eBay an adapter for using PC monitors with a
Falcon, anyone tried one of these?
One last thing, can I add the Falcon to my PC network?
I've just put up some pics of my Falcon on www.mevagissey.net/atari
Anyone able to tell me where the hard drive is usually mounted.
Is there a PDF version of the manual around anywhere?"
Ronald Hall tells Jammer:
"I don't know about a PDF version of the manual. Have you tried
googling for it? Might get lucky there. Otherwise, they are about
$20 or so from dealers."
Jammer does some looking around and posts:
"After some quick research, it looks like a 2 1/2" drive will do
the trick, it will just plug in and work, with a bit of formatting
I think. What height drive, is 9mm Ok ? and where can I get a
cable ? Also does size matter :) ? all the drives on eBay are 10Gb
plus. (I might just pinch the drive out of my STE)"
Uwe Seimet tells Jammer:
"Note that some old IDE drives may be damaged when formatting them.
As long as a drive has no bad sectors formatting does not make
sense anyway. The filesystem layout is what is important, and this
is created by partitioning, not by formatting. In other words:
Partitioning is usually all one needs, even when a drive was
formerly used with another operating system."
Ronald Hall adds:
"9mm I think will be okay. Do you know if you're Falcon has the
hard drive mounting hardware in place? If not, you may have to try
to pick it up. You should be able to get cables from just about
anyplace that sells HD stuff. Specifically, Best Electronics and
B&C Computervision are 2 Atari dealers that just rule.
You can use the 10 gig models no problem. At this point, I have to
recommend spending some dough on HDDriver. IMO, its the best hard
drive software for Atari computers. Uwe Seimet posts here often,
and gives great support. You're gonna have lots of fun."
Well folks, that's it for this time around. Tune in again next
week, same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they
are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Sony PS3 Launch Delayed?
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony PS3 Launch Could Be Delayed
Sony Corp.'s launch of its next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console
could be delayed if industry specifications for some of its technology are
not finalized soon, although it is still aiming for a spring rollout, it
said on Monday.
The launch of PlayStation 3 (PS3) has been the subject of heavy speculation
in the industry as expectations are high for the powerful machine, which
will feature cutting-edge technology in its DVD player, processors and
graphics.
PS3 will be competing with Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, which went on sale
last November, and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Revolution, which is expected later
this year.
"We're aiming for spring, but we haven't announced specific regions," a
spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment said, adding that it was
waiting for the final specifications on some of the technology it is using
in the PS3, such as that related to the Blu-ray DVD drive and to input and
output video and sound.
The specifications are decided by industry consortiums.
"We're waiting for them until the last possible minute, but the launch
could be pushed back if they're not decided soon," the spokeswoman said. If
the PS3 is not ready in time, the company will choose the next best timing
for the launch, she said.
Sony has been promising a spring launch but has been deliberately vague
about exactly when that would be. Analysts have said it could mean anytime
between March and the end of Japan's rainy season in June.
Sony's shares fell as much as 4.4 percent on Monday after Merrill Lynch
said in a research note last week that the PS3's launch might be delayed
by six to 12 months and the cost of production could initially approach
$900 per unit.
Manufacturers typically sell new game consoles at a loss initially to gain
market share so they can later make money by selling software - a $25
billion global market.
But the higher-than-expected cost estimate by Merrill means Sony will have
to take a much larger loss on each PS3 unit it sells or sacrifice market
share to Microsoft, which is selling its Xbox 360 for about $400.
Sony currently has about 70 percent of the global market for game consoles,
but some analysts have said it could lose as much as 20 percentage points
to Microsoft, which is making an aggressive push to increase its 15 percent
share.
Nintendo, which also has a 15 percent market share, is taking a different
strategy as it aims to increase the number of game players with a unique
console and original games.
Merrill Lynch also downgraded its rating on Sony to "sell" from "neutral,"
saying in its note that Sony could see its earnings decline in the business
year from April.
Most analysts took the report in stride as they already expected Sony to
launch the PS3 this summer in Japan, followed by a U.S. launch before the
Thanksgiving holiday in November. They expect a launch in Europe in early
2007.
"No one is seriously thinking a spring release is realistic any more," said
Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC Securities. "If I were Sony, I wouldn't
be that worried about releasing as soon as I possibly could."
Kamide said Sony may wait until it is fully prepared, especially after
seeing slow initial sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 even though it was
launched in time for the holidays.
Having led the worldwide console gaming market for the last decade, Sony
is counting on the new machine to dominate in all aspects of networked home
entertainment - games, movies, music and more.
Yuta Sakurai, a senior analyst at Nomura Securities, said the price of the
PS3 was more important than its timing.
"I don't think it matters when Sony launches in the U.S. as long as it's
in time for Christmas," Sakurai said. He expects Sony to try to launch the
PS3 in Japan in early summer, in time for the big selling season when
schools go on holiday in July.
Sakurai estimated that Sony could charge at most 50,000 yen ($420) for the
console.
Retail price estimates by analysts in Japan vary widely from about 40,000
yen to several times that much, primarily because of all of the technology
that is packed into the machine, which is expected to be the size of a
laptop computer.
The PS3, which can be played simultaneously by up to seven people, will be
powered by the "Cell" chip, which is significantly more powerful than Intel
Corp.'s Pentium 4, the most common chip for today's PCs and existing game
machine processors.
It will also feature a super-powerful graphics chip, a built-in Ethernet
port for high-speed Internet access, and Blu-ray, a next-generation DVD
format backed by Sony.
Analysts generally agree that Sony will do whatever it can to avoid missing
the key year-end holiday season this year, but many believe it will be
unable to make the PS3 in great volumes.
Game development for the PS3 is also seen being delayed because the
technology specifications have not been finalised.
"Game makers are developing games according to their guesses on what the
final specifications might be," said Takeshi Tajima, a BNP Paribas analyst.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft Releases Windows Vista Preview
Microsoft Corp. is giving businesses a preview of Vista, the next version
of its flagship Windows operating system.
Microsoft has invested heavily in adding features that will make it easier
and less expensive for companies to keep their computer networks secure and
working smoothly, said Brad Goldberg, general manager for Windows product
management.
In a conference call Wednesday, Goldberg said the new operating system
would allow people to log onto their office's system remotely without
needing to connect through a virtual private network, or VPN, which some
users find cumbersome.
Other improvements he noted include:
* Safer Web browsing with the inclusion of Internet Explorer version 7.
* Easier installation of software fixes, known as patches, to protect
computers from attacks.
* Improved user account control to let more workers do things like install
printer drivers without being set up for administrator access, thereby
limiting such access to those who truly need the higher-level functions.
It's harder for attacks to spread on computers that don't have
administrator access.
Goldberg said the test is being made available to about 500,000 select
customers, and the company plans to release the preview to a broader
consumer test audience in its next fiscal quarter, which begins in April.
The Redmond-based company remains on track to have Windows Vista in stores
in the second half of the year, Goldberg said. Last week, Microsoft
spokesman Lou Gellos said the company hopes to have it on store shelves in
time for the U.S. holiday season, which typically begins around
Thanksgiving.
Microsoft, the world's largest software company, is facing competitors such
as Google Inc., whose products threaten Microsoft both on and off the
desktop.
More companies are offering free online services that used to be available
most conveniently on the desktop, such as e-mail or word processing.
Analysts say those services could pose real problems for Microsoft.
Lenovo Eyes U.S. Market with Self-Branded PCs
Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo on Thursday took the wraps off of its
first self-branded PC products, targeting the small business and consumer
markets with inexpensive desktop and notebook machines.
The Lenovo 3000 product line marks a shift by the company away from its
connection with IBM following the $1 billion purchase of Big Blue's PC
business in May 2005.
While Lenovo has retained IBM's high-end ThinkPad and ThinkCentre
business-oriented brands, the new products are designed for more mass
appeal.
"This is a huge statement for the industry," said Frank Kardonski, product
manager for Lenovo's notebook PCs. "We are aggressively targeting the
growing small-to-midsize business market, which we believe we can serve
with our expertise in PC technology. And we have reached a milestone with
the first products offered outside of China."
Lenovo unveiled the C Series laptops - which offer wireless (Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth) connectivity and multimedia features - and the J Series desktop
models that are available with single-core Intel or AMD processors. Prices
for the J105 and J100 start at $349 and $499, respectively, with the C100
starting at $599.
Lenovo is providing product support through a collection of tools,
including automatic system updates and a system-recovery button for
diagnosing and repairing software failures caused by viruses and malware.
The company also is touting simplified connectivity for wired or wireless
configurations.
"Small business users have told us that these are the features that they
want," Kardonski said. "They also want value - not just on pricing but
with products that have the latest technology from a company with a solid
reputation."
The new product lines represent a significant first step in a market where
IBM has had little success, said Forrester Research analyst Simon Yates.
"The SMB space is a top priority for Lenovo because it represents about
two-thirds of all business PC sales. IBM had ceded that portion of the
market to Dell and HP, focusing on the enterprise," he said.
Lenovo now is making its move, he said, by shedding the negative baggage
associated with IBM's efforts to target SMBs and consumers while also
maintaining the well-known "Think" brand. "The new systems will be marketed
in a different way than the Think brand strategy, focusing on value and
worry-free computing, which is what SMB customers want," Yates said.
While Lenovo dominates on its home turf and in the broader Asia-Pacific
region, the company faces stiff competition from Dell, HP, and Acer in the
global arena. "There is an opportunity for them to gain some ground in the
SMB market, which is where most of the business PC growth will take place,"
Yates said.
eBay Looks Eastward for Growth
Online auction company eBay Inc said it expects the number of Asia-Pacific
users trading on its site to eventually outstrip that for the U.S. and
Europe as Internet penetration grows, but it also predicts imminent
competition.
More than 30 million of the company's 181 million registered users
worldwide are in the Asia-Pacific region, chief executive Meg Whitman said
on Thursday.
"These are still small markets but as Internet usage and broadband
penetration increase we see these markets growing bigger than our top
markets currently," she said.
And in markets like India, the company has seen a rise in high-value
transactions and encouraging growth in smaller towns.
"Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing user region with markets like India,
China and Korea leading the pack as Internet and broadband penetration
rise," Whitman told reporters.
"But we do foresee competition, as e-commerce is a growth area and we see
a lot of venture capital money coming," she said.
Rediff.com, the Times Group's indiatimes.com, and New Delhi Television's
ndtv.com are among India's biggest e-commerce sites, and there has been a
string of investments recently in online travel sites.
California-based eBay bought Indian online auction company baazee.com in
2004 for about $50 million. eBay India, the wholly-owned subsidiary, has 2
million users.
"India is still a small fraction of our global revenues, but in 5, 10, 15
years we hope India will be among our top markets," Whitman said.
India has nearly 39 million Internet users, according to industry
estimates, just a fraction of its billion-plus population, and equal to
less than half its mobile phone user base of more than 81 million. Credit
card holders number just 15 million.
About 45-50 percent of eBay India's current turnover comes from the top six
cities, but smaller towns are also driving growth due to a lack of modern
retailing, said Gautam Thakar, country manager of eBay India.
"I was stunned to learn that jewelry is sold every five minutes on the
site - and this is diamond jewelry," he said. Ethnic products like bell
anklets, Tibetan prayer wheels and hookah water-pipes have also found
buyers, he said.
On eBay India, a mobile handset sells every seven minutes, a digital camera
sells every 46 minutes, and a car or motorcycle sells every nine hours. The
western state of Maharashtra, India's richest state, makes up 28 percent of
its users.
Whitman defended the company's conservative earnings estimate for 2006,
which has raised concerns that its growth is slowing as it matures.
"We have a record of meeting our estimates, and we've had a remarkable Q4,
so we wanted to give Wall Street an estimate that we're comfortable with,"
she said.
eBay has forecast revenue will grow to between $5.7 billion and $5.9
billion in 2006, which is at the lower end of Wall Street expectations. The
average revenue estimate is $5.9 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Political Rivals Unite Against Paid E-Mail Plan
The two sides of the U.S. political spectrum have found an issue to unite
them: free e-mail.
A group of nonprofit organizations and small businesses will announce next
Tuesday the formation of a coalition aimed at putting a stop to America
Online and Yahoo's plans to charge fees to mass e-mailers. The coalition,
expected to be launched at a press event in New York, will be sponsored by
the digital rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, and it
will include two political adversaries: the liberal MoveOn.org and
conservative RightMarch.com political action committees.
"We have been putting together a rather large coalition of groups from
across the spectrum," said Cindy Cohn, legal director with the EFF. "They
are mainly nonprofit or political groups or small-business concerns....
They're all people who can't afford to pay to get their message across."
The coalition wants the two Internet giants to abandon plans to adopt an
e-mail certification system developed by Goodmail Systems that could
relegate some e-mail to second-class status, Cohn said.
"I think they need to abandon this plan," said Cohn. "The ISPs' view that
they can auction off preferred access to my e-mail box is really wrong....
It's not the ISPs' to sell."
AOL and Yahoo first signed on to use Goodmail's CertifiedEmail service
last October, but the service has come under scrutiny as the two companies
have come closer to deploying it. With CertifiedEmail, senders would agree
not to send unsolicited e-mail. They would pay a fee of between one-fourth
of a U.S. cent and 1 cent in order for their messages to receive
preferential treatment in AOL and Yahoo in-boxes.
AOL is expected to begin using the service "in the next month," and it will
be available to Yahoo users "shortly thereafter," a Goodmail spokesperson
said.
Earlier this week, two of the coalition members - political action
committees MoveOn.org and RightMarch.com - argued that the bulk e-mailer
fees would ultimately harm the free exchange of ideas.
"The very existence of online civic participation and the free Internet as
we know it are under attack by America Online," wrote the liberal
MoveOn.org in its alert, sent out to members Wednesday.
MoveOn.org has started an online petition calling for AOL to abandon the
service.
AOL has no intention of backing away from CertifiedEmail, which will be
rolled out within 30 days, according to AOL spokesperson Nicholas Graham.
Like the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail, the service simply gives
customers another choice in how to send and receive messages, he said. "We
are absolutely intent on using this as an additional tool to protect the
sanctity of the e-mail experience for our members."
Graham had no comment on EFF's coalition, saying that it would be
inappropriate to comment on it before its unveiling. "The only coalition
we care about... is our users," he said.
The conservative RightMarch.com, which was formed in response to
MoveOn.org's 2003 "Virtual March on Washington," this week called on its
members to contact AOL and Yahoo headquarters, "demanding that they abandon
their plans for a 'pay-to-speak' system."
"We spend thousands of dollars a month on e-mail delivery services to make
sure all of our members receive our alerts. And very soon, thanks to AOL
and Yahoo, we might not be able to afford sending them," said the
RightMarch.com alert.
By Thursday, RightMarch.com members had sent more than 28,000 e-mail
messages opposing the Goodmail service, said RightMarch.com president
William Greene.
Critics like Greene and the EFF are ignoring the consumer benefits that
CertifiedEmail provides by assuring recipients that their e-mail messages
are legitimate, said Goodmail chief executive officer Richard Gingras.
"It's a very important service that e-mail needs today," he said. AOL and
Yahoo have made similar claims in the past.
Goodmail plans to introduce a new pricing plan for nonprofits that wish to
use the service, Gingras said.
Gingras would not say what this new service will cost, but organizations
like RightMarch.com are concerned about any new e-mail costs.
RightMarch.com sends between 2 million and 3 million e-mail messages per
week, and one-third of its members use AOL or Yahoo e-mail addresses, said
RightMarch.com's Greene.
Mac-User Sites Shut for Possible Violation
Two busy Web sites that focus on Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X operating
system went silent Friday just days after they featured links to
information on how to hack the software and run it on non-Apple PCs.
The OSx86 Project Web site stated Apple had served it with a notice on
Thursday citing violations of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
and the site was reviewing all of its discussion forum postings as a
result. The site has always aimed to adhere to copyright laws and is
working with Apple to ensure no violations exist, according to a statement
by the site administrator.
The other Web site, Win2OSX.net, was completely shut down. Administrators
there could not be immediately reached for comment.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment Friday on the DMCA-based notices.
The federal law prohibits anyone from distributing software or hardware
that can circumvent copy protection mechanisms. The law has been criticized
at times as being unconstitutional and too broad.
Apple does not authorize the use of its Mac OS on machines other than its
own, and earlier this week, the sites posted links to the Web site of a
hacker who claimed his software patches could be used to run a version of
the Mac OS on a non-Apple machine.
The hacking endeavors are, for now, relegated to a small, technically savvy
set, but it underscores a risk Apple faces if a pirated, functional version
eventually becomes as accessible and straightforward as installing other
software on a computer.
It's a risk that became more apparent after Apple decided to make a
historic transition from Power PC chips to Intel Corp.-based chips, the
same type that its rivals use in predominant Windows-based PCs.
Apple so far has two Intel-based computers on the market and plans to
migrate the rest of its Macs to the Intel platform by the end of the year.
The Mac maker had anticipated some people would try to crack its new
Intel-compatible OS X operating system and deeply embedded some warnings
to would-be hackers in the software, including one written in the form of
a poem.
The OSx86 Project Web site, which was formed after Apple announced its
switch to Intel in June 2005, was among the many Mac-user sites that posted
a copy of the poetic warning earlier this week.
Netherlands Arrests 12 in Online Probe
Dutch authorities have arrested 12 suspects in two cities as part of a
joint U.S./Dutch investigation into a criminal gang operating the so-called
"419" e-mail scam.
The arrests took place during raids of seven houses in Amsterdam and
neighboring Zaandam this week, and authorities also seized computers and
about $30,000 in cash, Amsterdam police said. They said that Americans had
lost at least $2.4 million to the gang since the investigation began in
September "and likely many times more than that."
The police, in a statement, said the four chief suspects will likely be
sent to the United States for prosecution, with the rest to be prosecuted
in the Netherlands.
Names and personal details of the suspects were not released.
Under the "419" scam - named after the Nigerian legal code for fraud -
criminals send junk e-mail to thousands of unsuspecting people offering
them a share in a large fortune if they can only provide a smaller amount
of money up front. The criminal takes the money and then disappears.
"Despite repeated publicity and generally distributed warnings, people
still fall for these proposals," the police statement said.
The investigation was carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Postal
Service and the Dutch Economic and Financial Investigation Bureau.
Teen Arrested After MySpace.com Posting
A 16-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday after postings on the popular Web
site MySpace.com allegedly showed him holding handguns, authorities said.
The teen was being held at a juvenile detention center facing three
misdemeanor charges of juvenile possession of a handgun, said district
attorney spokeswoman Pam Russell. He is due in court Feb. 27.
Police searched the boy's home after receiving a tip from Evergreen High
School on Feb. 10, the same day he was suspended, officials said.
School spokesman Rick Kaufman said parents were calling with concerns and
some kept their children home after photographs posted on the boy's profile
on MySpace.com, a social networking Web site, began circulating through the
community.
One photo allegedly showed him lying on a floor surrounded by nine rifles
with the caption, "Angel o' death on wings o' lead."
"The photos were very disturbing, and while the content was not a direct
threat, we just felt it was important for us to take appropriate
disciplinary action," Kaufman said, adding the student could be expelled.
Evergreen High School is in the same district as Columbine High School,
where two teenage gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher before committing
suicide in 1999. One of the gunmen had posted a threat on the Internet
before the shootings.
Police Shut Down Major File-Sharing Server
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has claimed a major victory in the
ongoing war against digital content pirates, with law-enforcement officials
in Europe this week shutting down a primary server run by the popular
eDonkey file-sharing network.
Officials in Belgium and Switzerland put the Razorback 2 server out of
commission, the MPA said, noting that Razorback 2 linked to some 170
million copyright-protected files, including movies, software, games, and
TV shows. The site was visited regularly by people throughout world, with
the vast majority of them based in Europe.
"This is a major victory in our fight to cut off the supply of illegal
materials being circulated on the Internet via peer-to-peer networks," said
MPA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman in a statement.
Swiss authorities arrested the site's operator at his residence in that
country. At the same time, Belgian police seized the site's servers. The
Razorback 2 server had an estimated one million users, according to a
Reuters report.
Movie studios, record labels, and other content providers have taken an
aggressive stance against illegal file-sharing in an effort to stem the
flow of intellectual-property theft. The MPA estimates that the film
industry lost $3.5 billion to movie piracy in 2004, not including losses
due to Internet piracy. According to a study by Smith Barney, losses were
$5.4 billion in 2005, including Internet piracy.
Several lawsuits have been filed against P2P networks by content providers,
with favorable rulings in most recent cases, but it's a fight that will be
hard to win, given the plethora of file-sharing services.
In June 2005, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that file-sharing
service Grokster and StreamCast Networks, which operates the Morpheus
service, are responsible for their users' actions.
"The action against eDonkey will probably have a minimal impact on illegal
P2P operations because people will move on to a new service," said Yankee
Group analyst Michael Goodman. "It's like the proverbial iceberg - the film
and music industries can attack that 20 percent of file-sharing services
that is visible, but the other 80 percent is a lot harder to track down."
And, said Goodman, once the P2P software is widely distributed through
network operators such as eDonkey and BitTorrent, it is like trying to
stuff the genie back in the bottle.
The analyst also suggested that content providers must bite the bullet and
learn to leverage the power and influence of P2P networks, even though
such services are at odds with their current business models. "That would
be hard for the film and music industries to swallow, but they will never
eliminate illegal file sharing," he said.
The MPA late last year reached an agreement with BitTorrent in which the
P2P operator agreed to remove certain search-engine links that point users
to copies of pirated content owned by movie companies. That pact was hailed
not only as a victory for the film industry, but also as a major step
toward collaborating with technology providers on fighting film piracy.
In 2004, the MPA and other groups in Europe investigated more than 41,000
cases of piracy, assisting law-enforcement officials in conducting nearly
20,000 raids. These activities resulted in the seizure of millions of
pirated CDs and the initiation of more than 15,800 legal actions.
In addition to its moves on the legal front, the MPA also has made software
freely available to help crack down on illegal file-sharing. Called Digital
File Check, the software was developed by the International Federation of
the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) to identify file-sharing software and
remove copyright-protected music or video files from any computer.
Still, illegal content exchanges are a problem, with most attempted fixes
thus far having little impact on the amount of pirated content online. A
recent Yankee Group survey indicates an installed base in the U.S. of some
40 to 50 million users of file-sharing networks.
Zero-Day Exploit Turns Up Heat On Mac OS X
An exploit for the recenty-disclosed zero-day vulnerability in Apple
Computer's Mac OS X has gone public, security vendors said Thursday,
increasing the risk that the bug will be used by attackers.
Code has been posted to the Metasploit Project site, which rolls out
exploit modules for its Framework tool on a regular basis. The code targets
the so-called "Safe file" flaw in Apple's Safari browser.
The exploit, which was crafted by someone identified as "HD Moore," who has
been credited with other exploits posted for Metasploit's Framework, uses a
malicious ZIP file containing a shell script.
"[This] targets a vulnerability in the Safari Web browser 'Safe file'
feature, which will automatically open any file with one of the allowed
extensions," said Symantec in a warning to customers of its DeepSight
Threat Management System. "A malicious user may provide a crafted archive
file which contains shellcode to be executed on the browser's system."
Symantec repeated advice from earlier this week that Mac administrators
should disable the "Open Safe Files" feature in Safari.
On Tuesday, when the vulnerability first surfaced, an Apple spokesman
acknowledged the flaw, and said the Cupertino, Calif.-based developer was
working on a patch. He could not provide a timeline for a fix, however.
As of Thursday morning, Apple had not patched the Mac OS X vulnerability.
Microsoft Tests Windows Live Parental Controls
Microsoft is testing a new Web-based service that will allow parents to
control their children's online activity and block access to sites that are
not appropriate for kids.
Several Microsoft-watcher blogs, such as Liveside.net and Neowin.net have
reported that a service called Windows Live Family Safety Settings is
currently in beta. The service allows parents to monitor, control and
filter online activity by creating specific accounts for their children,
according to an e-mail invitation to the beta of the service posted on
Neowin.net.
Using the service, parents can create settings so certain PC accounts will
not have access to sites featuring content that pertains to subjects like
alcohol, bomb making or pornography, according to a screen shot of the new
service posted by Liveside.net. They also can create content filters and
view activity reports of where their children have been online.
In a statement through its public relations firm Waggener Edstrom on
Thursday, Microsoft confirmed that Family Safety Settings is in "early
testing," but declined to comment further on when it might be generally
available.
Microsoft introduced Windows Live as one of a set of Web-based services
the company plans to offer in an effort to compete with companies such as
Google and Yahoo, which use the Internet as a delivery platform for hosted
services. Windows Live allows users to aggregate content and services on a
customized home page. Both Windows Live and a small-business Web-site
hosting service, Office Live, are in beta now.
Microsoft also is using the brand "Windows Live" for other offerings that
are part of its larger Web-based services strategy. The company plans to
relaunch MSN Search as Windows Live Search soon, and the next generation
of MSN Messenger will be called Windows Live Messenger.
The Windows Live Family Safety Settings service is similar to a comparable
feature that will be a part of Windows Vista, which Microsoft has
demonstrated publicly. Bolstering security has been a major design goal for
Vista, and Microsoft already has already announced a host of new security
features that will be a part of the OS. In addition to the new parental
controls, Microsoft also will offer a new antiphishing tool in Internet
Explorer 7, the browser included in Vista, to help protect users from
e-mail scams.
AOL to Charge Same for Dial-Up, Broadband
America Online Inc., seeking to encourage its subscribers to sign up for
high-speed connections, is raising the price of its main dial-up plan to
equal that of its new broadband offerings.
That means most subscribers will pay $25.90 a month for either dial-up or
broadband beginning March 9, although AOL is offering discounts to dial-up
subscribers who commit to a year. AOL currently charges $23.90 a month for
unlimited dial-up access.
"We're doing this because a majority of AOL members will be able to get
high-speed connections and access the AOL service for this new price,"
spokeswoman Anne Bentley said Tuesday. "Hopefully it's an encouragement for
them to get high-speed connections."
Although AOL has been shifting its focus to providing free articles, video
and other materials on its ad-supported Web sites, the company sees paid
broadband accounts as key to making that strategy work.
AOL believes broadband will help boost usage and hence advertising.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, those with
broadband at home are 52 percent more likely than dial-up subscribers to
use the Internet on a given day, and the typical broadband user spends
about 23 percent more time online daily.
In recent weeks, AOL announced partnerships with leading broadband
providers to provide high-speed AOL subscription packages, which include
the Internet connection, AOL e-mail addresses with unlimited storage and
parental-control and security software.
The deals are with the four remaining Baby Bells - BellSouth Corp., Verizon
Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc.
- and with two leading cable providers - Time Warner Cable, which like AOL
is a unit of Time Warner Inc., and Charter Communications Inc.
AOL said most of its current customers will be served by at least one of
those companies.
Details vary, but the packages generally cost $25.90 a month, $29.90
through BellSouth. The Qwest plan is for the first year only.
With Verizon and Time Warner, it is a limited-speed,
768-kilobit-per-second offering. It is even slower - 384 kilobits - for
Charter. Dial-up is about 50 kilobits, while standard broadband lines
typically reach 1.5 megabits or higher.
Subscribers are being notified by e-mail that they can essentially get
high-speed for the same price as dial-up.
Those who can't get or don't want broadband can request lower-priced plans,
including an unadvertised offering of about $18 with a one-year commitment
(the broadband plans through the Baby Bells also require the year's
commitment).
But if they do nothing, they are kept on the dial-up plan and will be
charged $2 more a month.
Left unchanged are the $14.95 limited plan with 10 hours of dial-up and
the $239.40 annual prepaid plan, which works out to $19.95 a month and
allows subscribers to get a partial refund if they cancel early.
As of Dec. 31, AOL had about 19.5 million U.S. subscribers, down from a
peak of 26.7 million in September 2002. About 75 percent are on dial-up.
Microsoft Rivals File Antitrust Complaint
A group of Microsoft Corp.'s rivals filed a complaint with the European
Commission on Wednesday, alleging its business practices threatened to deny
real choice among competing software products.
The European Committee for Interoperable Systems - which includes
International Business Machines Corp., Oracle Corp., RealNetworks Inc.,
Nokia Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. - said it was asking EU regulators
to end practices that reinforced Microsoft's monopolies and extended its
market dominance into current and future products.
"We are at a crossroads," the group said in a statement. "Will one dominant
player be permitted to control those conditions, or will the rules that
guarantee competition on the merits prevail, to the benefit of all?"
Microsoft said the companies were responding to innovation with litigation.
"We have come to expect that as we introduce new products that benefit
consumers, particularly with the kind of breakthrough technologies in
Office 12 and Windows Vista, a few competitors will complain," it said.
ECIS did not make the complaint public, citing business confidentiality.
It mentions Microsoft's Office software suite, which packages word
processing, spreadsheet and office management tools, but ECIS lawyer Thomas
Vinje would not say if Microsoft's forthcoming operating system, Vista, was
part of the complaint.
The European Commission said it has already received another complaint
about Vista but has not yet decided to open a probe.
Microsoft described ECIS as a front for IBM and other rivals who constantly
tried to use regulatory complaints to their business advantage.
Vinje insisted the group had existed since 1989 as a "pretty central
player" on copyright and other software issues.
"This is a matter of great concern to a great swathe of the industry," he
said.
Several ECIS members - such as Novell Inc. and RealNetworks - have backed
away from openly supporting the EU as it defends itself from Microsoft's
legal challenge after striking deals with Microsoft, leaving broad industry
groups such as ECIS and the Software & Information Industry Association in
the ring.
"Microsoft is perhaps the most powerful company in the world," said Vinje.
"Companies have legitimate reasons to fear retribution for making their
concerns known."
The group also includes smaller software companies such as Norway's Opera
Software ASA, which makes a Web browser, and two Linux operating system
businesses - Red Hat Inc. and the upstart Linspire, which was forced to
change its name from Lindows after Microsoft sued for trademark
infringement.
ECIS' complaint targets areas not covered by the EU's 2004 antitrust
ruling, which found Microsoft had abused its position as a market leader by
bundling media software into its near-ubiquitous Windows desktop software
and squeezing rival media players out of the market.
Vinje said the group had sent the commission "lots of binders" detailing
evidence and analysis from prominent economists covering issues such as
bundling and Microsoft's refusal to supply interoperability information
needed to make rival products work with Windows.
The 2004 ruling primarily addressed media player and server software. Vinje
said the complaint was wide-ranging, covering both existing and future
products, but he would not elaborate beyond saying Office was among them.
"If Microsoft had complied with respect to the 2004 decision, we would not
have to file a complaint," he said. "They have replicated this behavior."
The group's chairman Simon Awde said strong antitrust law enforcement
seemed to the only way to stop "the sustained anticompetitive behavior of
Microsoft."
"The limits on Microsoft practices established in European antitrust law,
most notably by the Commission's 2004 decision, now need to be rapidly and
broadly enforced," he said in a statement.
In March 2004, the EU ordered Microsoft to offer a version of Windows
without the Media Player software, to share communications code with rivals
and pay a record 497 million euros ($613 million) fine.
Microsoft's legal challenge against the ruling will be heard by the Court
of First Instance, the EU's second-highest court, in late April.
12 Nigerians Arrested in Holland for Internet Scam
Dutch police said they had arrested 12 Nigerians in connection with an
Internet scam in which emails were sent to Americans tricking them into
investing in non-existent schemes.
The Nigerians were detained on suspicion of commiting fraud or involvement
in fraud in the scheme, which earned them a total two million dollars.
They were arrested Tuesday after raids on premises in Amsterdam and the
central city of Zaandam, during which police seized 25,000 euros in cash,
computers and fake travel documents.
Most of the victims of the scam were US citizens. Four of the men detained
were arrested on the request of US authorities, who cooperated in the
investigation.
The gang has posted some 100,000 emails to potential victims, police said.
Computer users across the world are reguarly bombarded by emails from
Nigerian crooks seeking to trick them into handing over bank details or
making advance payments on non-existent money-making schemes.
Experts say the so-called 419 fraudsters - named after the relevant section
in Nigeria's criminal code - steal hundreds of millions of dollars every
year from unsuspecting targets.
=~=~=~=
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