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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 10 Issue 18
Volume 10, Issue 18 Atari Online News, Etc. May 2, 2008
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2008
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 #1018 05/02/08
~ Radio Free Europe DOS! ~ People Are Talking! ~ OLPC Controversy!
~ Spam: 30th Anniversary ~ Grand Theft Auto 4 Out ~ Warez Imprisonment!
~ Infogrames Buys Atari! ~ MS: XP Death Date Firm ~ China Plans To Spy!
~ Web Only in Infancy! ~ Microsoft Ups the Ante ~ Copyright Malware?
-* HP Lab Creates New Memristor *-
-* AMD Launches First Computer Brand! *-
-* Microsoft/Yahoo Deadline Passes, No Deal! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I must be getting old, or at least this body is! Between working out in
the yard and working at the golf course, I've got plenty of aches and
pains to last quite awhile! But I have to admit, the yard looks much
better than it did a few weeks ago! The grass is finally starting to
green and grow, now that we've had a little rain. Now some sun and
warmth will do wonders for it (okay, add some fertilizer and more seed!).
Are you as amused about the upcoming presidential election as I am? I
have to tell you, it's something else. The Democratic candidates bring
amusement on a daily basis. While I voted for one of them in the primary
(my original choice was out of the race), I'm not sure I could vote for
the same candidate now. Not that I'm enamored with the Republican choice,
either. None of the candidates is likely to back down from his/her
stance on the immigration amnesty issue - one issue I find to be an
important one. But, I don't want to dive into that, or other issues in
any depth. The reality of the political scene is all too well known,
even if it means a few months on the comedy circuit!
So, while I rest these weary bones and watch the television to see what
mischief Hillary and Obama are causing, I'll let you get on with this
week's issue! Unless, of course, you're getting your own dose of our
political comedy (or is that comedic politics?)!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Well, spring may be on its way, but you'd
never know it by looking out my window. It's chilly, damp and dreary
out there. Last week was just the opposite: Warm, dry, sunny and very
very spring-like. Of course, last week I decided that mowing the lawn
could wait for just "a couple more days". Well, now I've got tufts of
grass that will be hitting the foot-high mark before long... especially
if we continue to get the soft, light rain that we're getting right now.
Well, that's kind of the story of my life... when I zig, the Universe
zags. I often wonder, if I'd picked an IBM as my first computer, if
there'd be "IBM Orphan" forums on the internet, and if the ST would
have gained and retained world dominance. [grin]
On the political front, I don't do much better, by the way. Out of seven
Presidential elections I've participated in, I've only been on
the 'winning' side twice (three times, if you want to buck the Supreme
Court). Heck, if I were a ball player, I'd have been traded and kicked
down to the minor leagues ages ago.
I'm not going to get deep into politics today, so you can breathe a sigh
of relief. I just want to mention that it's getting dirtier and
dirtier. Now, if you've read this column for any amount of time, you
know that I'm a liberal democrat. I was shocked and horrified when John
Kerry was 'swiftboated'. I was not, however, surprised. This type of
tactic has been a part of the American political process since the
beginning, but it really found its niche under Richard Nixon, and has
been a mainstay of his party ever since.
Now don't you crotchety old conservatives jump up and shake your fists
too quickly. You don't want to tax your tiny little hearts. Take a deep
breath, count to ten, and repeat your party mantra "Watergate...
Iran/Contra... Big Oil... Recession... Patriot Act... Wire Taps...
Watergate... Iran/Contra... Big Oil... Recession... Patriot Act...
Wire Taps...".
There. Now don't you feel better?
One thing that has me scratching my head is people (conservative people)
referring to the Obamas as 'elitists'. These are people who grew up
without the benefit of huge family fortunes and without the prestige of
having "Hitler's American Banker" as a grandfather. They grew up
middle-class at best... just like you and I. Now, if you want to hold
it against them that they were intelligent, driven, dedicated and
focused then, yeah, I guess you could call them 'elite'.
I still remember the day Dan Quayle said that it was time to stop the
rule of the 'Intellectual Elite'. I thought to myself, "Yeah, let's let
a really dumb guy run the country for a change... If I'd only known...
It's going to be an interesting election, that's for sure. Voter
registration is through the roof... something unheard of this far from
November... and I'm guessing that we're going to see voter turnout for
the election that will put to shame the statistics for the past
half-decade.
Well, if you don't vote, you shouldn't complain. So I guess it's
possible that we've just got record numbers of people lining up to
complain. [grin]
Well, let's get to the news, hints, tips and info available from the
UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Didier Mequignon posts this about the Links web browser with SpeedoGDOS:
"Now Links can load and use external SpeedoGDOS fonts, it's faster, for
more informations for activate it:
http://aniplay.atari.org/links/index-e.htm
http://links2.atari.org is created but actually not active.
Direct link for the archive (sources, rsc and prg):
http://didier.mequignon.free.fr/files/links-2.1pre33.m68kgdos.tgz
This update works under MiNT and also under MagiC (screenshots are under
MagiC) since fork call are removed, but I cannot use get a connection
with MagiCNet.
VA protocol and drag & drop are supported.
Background window redraw faster.
"connection would bock" problems are fixed.
Icon bar redraws on multiple windows fixed. "
Frank Szymanski tells Didier:
"Thanks a lot for your efforts Didier. I am glad to have a browser on my
ATARI that is capable of Javascript and SSL. Unfortunately on my
Afterburner equipped Falcon with NOVA graphics card (1280x1024x256
resolution) both versions of Links are very slow. Especially
re-rendering when changing the window resolution takes a lot of time.
Perhaps I did something wrong or is it just the fact that the
Afterburner is so much slower compared to ct60?"
Phantomm continues a conversation from last week about the
program 'OutSide':
"If I remember correctly, I have version 3.20 of OutSide... I'm not at
my software storage at the moment, so that may be the wrong version
number. I'm actually outside at the moment.
Anyhow, When using OutSide on a Stock Atari such as a 1040STe or
Falcon 030, will the software keep up with software/hardware packages,
that allow Video and/or Sound Digitizing?
That's the main reason I'd like to use it, so that I can Grab very long
Video and Audio Clips."
Uwe Seimet tells Phantomm:
"The last version released and available for download on my website is
3.51.
This [speed] depends a lot on how this software actually works, you
should give it a try."
Last week, we talked a little bit about sockets for the 68000 chip in
1040STEs, and Phantomm mentioned that he thought he'd seen some adaptor
boards. This week he tells us:
"I found what I think will work.
I had forgotten that I bought several adapter boards a few years back.
Found them while looking at my Panther Graphic board adapters.
Which now I believe were made for the MegaST, due to the long
68000 empty socket on them with pins for a long 68000 socket
on the other side.
Adapter Boards...
On one side is a socket for the long 68000, and on the other are
pins configured just like a square 68000. 2 of these boards are from
Compo and the other 2 are GE Soft from Germany. All of them look the
same except for the color.
I have a Fast Tech. 16mhz upgrade (long 68000). That's switchable
between 8mhz/16mhz. But it does require a power source. Think it was
made for a Mega ST. So hopefully, I just have to plug them all together
in my 1040STe.
I suppose this is what these boards are for. Does anyone recall any
other hardware upgrades for the MegaST or etc., that connected over, or
in place of a long 68000?
Maybe using one of the adapter boards I could get a Panther working
in a 1040STe which would be nice. Of course the shielding would have
to be modified, but I think it will all squeeze in there."
'T Shadow' tells Phantomm:
"I had my MegaST4 socketed so it would accept an ICD AdSpeed and a TEC
card to add TOS 2.06. Connected the TEC card so TOS was switchable.
Geeze that was a long time ago. Seems like the AdSpeed was on the
original CPU and I didn't go to the socket until adding the TEC card.
I had a PC Ditto2 on the CPU for a while too. I was one of the lucky
ones that got it working. Unfortunately lost interest after discovering
it was only 4 color.
As far as I know everything was made to fit the CPU so they could be
used on the standard ST too. Megabus connector is still a virgin.
Could the boards be an adapter to use a square CPU in the MegaST/ST?
Seems like an adapter like that was made. Don't recall details or even
for sure."
Phantomm replies:
"It would probably be possible to do that with these boards, but they
would have to be modified/ fitted with a couple rows of pins and a
socket for a square CPU.
As is there is just a plain socket for the Long CPU and very small pins
for the Square CPU. It looks like one leaves the Square CPU in place
and inserts this board into the socket overtop the original CPU.
There are no components on the boards, not even a resistor.
According to the dates, they were made in 91/92.
Maybe they are just various project boards?"
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Grand Theft Auto 4 Is Out!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" GTA 4 Release Under Fire!
MADD Wants Higher Rating!
And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"Grand Theft Auto 4" Set To Entertain and Inflame
Beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, drunk driving and hookers. For
video game fans, it can only mean one thing: "Grand Theft Auto 4" is
here, with all the subtlety of a shotgun blast.
The latest chapter in the wildly popular and controversial criminal
action franchise from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc is poised to be
the biggest entertainment product of the year, with expected first-week
sales of up to $400 million - dwarfing Hollywood's biggest box-office
openings.
The handiwork of Take-Two's Rockstar game studio headed by British
brothers Sam and Dan Houser, "Grand Theft Auto 4," which will be launched
next Tuesday, promises to crank up the thuggish drama that made previous
installments the equivalent of "The Godfather" for Generation PlayStation.
"We also felt over the last few years there hadn't been a great standout
gangster movie. Maybe we could do something ourselves that would live
alongside that stuff," Rockstar's Dan Houser told Variety magazine in a
recent interview.
The gobs of processing power provided by Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 and
Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 gaming consoles allowed Rockstar to imbue even
background characters with personalities and unique behaviors.
"The game just feels like a movie now. The camera angles, the little
details and things you look for in a film are things they can do now,"
said Ricardo Torres, editor-in-chief of GameSpot, a leading gaming review
Web site.
Of course, it would not be a "Grand Theft Auto" game without controversy.
The series that gave gamers the freedom to shoot cops and hook up with
prostitutes before beating them up and stealing their money has added
drunk driving and lap dances to its repertoire of vicarious thrills.
"A lot of it is done just tongue-in-cheek. It has that same sense of humor
(as past games) that is very juvenile but at the same time is a parody of
American culture," said Crispin Boyer, senior executive editor of video
games for the 1UP Network.
Previous GTA games have been a lightning rod for criticism by
politicians. 2008 Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said in 2005 that
the series was demeaning to women.
The negative publicity has not stopped GTA from becoming one of the most
successful game franchises ever, having sold 70 million copies worldwide
and spawning legions of imitators.
The game may also determine the fate of Take-Two, which is resisting a $2
billion takeover offer from rival Electronic Arts Inc. If sales are
stronger than the already lofty expectations, it could force EA to pay
more.
A dystopian coming-to-America story, "Grand Theft Auto 4" revolves around
an Eastern European immigrant who ends up running illicit errands for
local mob bosses.
Yet the game is not without moral consequence. Players face tough
choices regarding who lives or dies and whether ambition is more
important than friendship, decisions that affect the outcome of the
story.
"Grand Theft Auto 3," debuted in 2001 and was seen as a new beginning for
the franchise because it defined a new genre of "open world" games that
gave players unprecedented freedom. Two unnumbered games in the series
have launched since, each with lots of sales, and lots of controversy.
"'Grand Theft Auto' really speaks to a new age of gaming. It's a type of
gaming that is culturally relevant," said Geoff Keighley, host of Spike
TV's GameTrailers TV show.
The game carries a Mature rating, meaning retailers are not supposed to
sell it those under 17 years old, but critics charge the industry rating
system is easily skirted and that children will end up playing the game
anyway.
"We are calling on all major retailers to reconsider any decisions to
sell this," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council,
a media content watchdog.
Rockstar, which declined requests for an interview with the Housers,
bristles at such suggestions. "If this was a movie or TV show and was the
best in its field, you'd give it loads of awards and put those awards
shows on television," Dan Houser told Variety.
Video Game's Release Under Fire
A best-selling video game series, Grand Theft Auto, is releasing a new
version Tuesday amid a firestorm of concern about the impact of violent
games on children.
The Chicago Transit Authority is pulling ads for the game off its buses.
The Parents Television Council is calling on retailers to keep it away
from children. The PTA has a campaign to explain ratings.
More than a dozen bids in five states and four in Congress would limit
sales of some games to children. Since 2005, nine states have passed laws
to restrict game sales but none survived court challenges.
"These games are patently offensive and violent," says Minnesota
Solicitor General Alan Gilbert, who is appealing a court ruling that
found no "incontrovertible" proof the games trigger violence in kids.
Rockstar Games, the series maker, declined to comment. The video game
industry has responded to critics by agreeing to restrict the advertising
and sale of M-rated games. Most major retailers say they won't sell them
to anyone under 17. Yet random checks by the Federal Trade Commission
found that 42% of retailers did.
Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, says
generational bias fuels the criticism: "People who haven't grown up with
games won't understand them."
A new book, Grand Theft Childhood, says games, even some violent ones,
may have social benefits.
"Video games are now a social tool for boys," who use them to interact
and build friendships, says co-author Lawrence Kutner, who is on the
Harvard medical school faculty. The games also teach kids to solve
problems, the book says.
A study for the book found Grand Theft Auto, rated "M" for "mature," was
the most popular game among boys and second among girls, whose favorite
was The Sims (rated "T" for "teen").
The Grand Theft Auto series, which has sold 30 million games since its
launch in 1997, includes the all-time PlayStation best seller San
Andreas. In the new version, an immigrant is dragged into a bloody
criminal underworld. The rating warns of "intense violence" and "strong
sexual content."
Despite benefits, the study found that kids who played M-rated games
were more likely to get into fights, damage property, steal from a store
and receive poor grades.
Studies show that "a heavy diet of these games puts kids at risk for
aggression" says David Walsh, president of the National Institute on
Media and the Family.
MADD Wants Higher Adults-Only Rating for GTA IV
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, founded in 1980 to combat drunk driving,
has urged the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to raise the
rating for Grand Theft Auto IV from Mature (17+) to Adults-Only. MADD
notes that GTA IV contains a module that allows players to simulate
driving drunk.
"Each year nearly 13,500 people die in drunk-driving crashes and another
half a million are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes," MADD
said. "Drunk driving is not a game and it is not a joke. Drunk driving is
a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable."
MADD also wants the game's manufacturers, Rockstar North and its parent
Take-Two, to consider halting distribution of the game, "if not out of
responsibility to society, then out of respect for the millions of
victims/survivors of drunk driving."
It's highly unlikely that Take-Two and Rockstar North will pull the game.
Despite some reports of technical difficulties, GTA IV is shattering
sales records. The Entertainment Leisure Software Publishers' Association
reported Thursday that GTA IV sold more than 600,000 copies in its first
24 hours in the United Kingdom, a full 20 percent above the record set by
Grand Theft: San Andreas in 2004.
In a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday, Rockstar North
dismissed the suggestion that the drunk-driving module would affect player
behavior in the real world.
"We have a great deal of respect for MADD's mission," the company said,
"but we believe the mature audience for Grand Theft Auto IV is more than
sophisticated enough to understand the game's content." The company went
on to say that GTA IV should not be judged "by a small aspect of the
game."
The line between a Mature (17+) and an Adults-Only (AO) rating may not be
much wider than a G-string, but it can mean millions of dollars for a
video-game manufacturer. Both Sony and Microsoft will not allow AO games
on their PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and virtually all the major
retailers refuse to carry AO games. From a marketing perspective, the net
effect of an AO rating is essentially the same as banning the game
outright.
According to the Web site for the ESRB, GTA IV's "Mature (17+)" rating
was based on the following content: "Intense Violence, Blood, Strong
Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Use of Drugs and
Alcohol."
By contrast, the ESRB slapped an AO rating on Take-Two's previous Grand
Theft release, San Andreas, due to its "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence,
Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs."
That decision, driven in part by criticism from Sen. Hillary Clinton,
was controversial because the "strong sexual content" was only visible
after applying a third-party modification called "Hot Coffee." However,
since the ratings change came some weeks after the game's release, it
did not materially affect its sales figures.
British Snap Up Ninetendo's Wii Fit Video Game
For a nation perhaps better known for a fitness regimen of darts and a
pint, the news from Elspa Ltd.'s Chart-Track was particularly startling.
The data-compilation service, which among other things tallies the sale of
software titles, announced that last week Nintendo's Wii Fit was the
top-selling title in the United Kingdom. The company's Mario Kart Wii
dropped to the number-two position.
Chart-Track said Wii Fit had the sixth-fastest-selling launch of any
software title, recording more than $32 million in sales in its first
seven days. Approximately one in 10 Wii owners in the United Kingdom
purchased Wii Fit, the company said. Only games from the industry's major
franchises - Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto and Halo - did better than
Wii Fit in their opening weeks.
The strong debut by Wii Fit was considered all the more remarkable because
of the higher cost for the title. The software is bundled with a
proprietary balance board used in game activities, including step
aerobics, jogging and even yoga. The board can measure a player's weight,
center of gravity, and body-mass index, and a suggestion has been made
that it could enable medical professionals to remotely assist patients
with rehabilitation activities.
Together, the Wii Fit software and balance board retail for E70 (US$138)
in England. A similar package is scheduled to debut in the U.S. on May 19
for $89.99. That is much more expensive than the general version of Grand
Theft Auto IV, which retails for $59.99, but Take-Two also offers a
"special edition" that costs $89.99.
The success of Wii Fit in the UK and its upcoming release in the U.S.,
where sales of the Wii console have been particularly strong, will only
add to what has been a terrific year for Nintendo.
Just a week ago, for instance, Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii racked up the
eighth-fastest launch in UK history. That same week, Nintendo announced
that net sales for the year ending March 31 were up 73 percent over the
previous year, and the company's net income of $2.5 billion was a 47
percent increase over its 2007 revenues.
The news marks a strong turnaround from just a few months ago, when
Nintendo was struggling to produce enough Wii consoles to meet demand over
the holiday season. But those problems appear to be resolved. Nintendo
says it has sold more than 18 million Wiis so far, and expects to move
another 25 million by next March.
Already, 26 software titles for the Wii have sold more than a million
copies, a total that Nintendo clearly expects to increase.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Infogrames To Buy Rest of Atari for $11 Million
Infogrames Entertainment plans to buy the rest of beleaguered video games
pioneer Atari for US$11 million, the companies said Wednesday.
Infogrames, based in Lyon, France, owns 51.4 percent of Atari's stock.
The merger will give Atari shareholders $1.68 per share in cash.
The deal must be approved by shareholders. Atari plans to call a special
meeting on the merger after July, the companies said. However, since
Infogrames owns a majority of shares, it could push the deal forward
without the approval of Atari's current shareholders.
Infogrames said the merger will allow it to have more control over
restructuring Atari to become a bigger player in the North American
market. It will also loan Atari $20 million to keep its operations going
until the deal is complete.
Atari dominated the video game console market in the late 1970s and early
1980s with classic games such as Pong, Asteroids and Space Invaders. But
game and console makers such as Nintendo and Sega later stole Atari's
crown. The company never fully recovered.
In May 2007, Atari said it would cut its workforce by 20 percent and
spend between $800,000 and $1.1 million on restructuring the company.
Since last October, Infogrames has been working with Atari to stabilize
and focus its distribution efforts. The Atari Group, which operates in
the U.S., Europe and Asia, produces games such as Alone in the Dark,
V-Rally, Test Drive, Backyard and licenses others such as Dragon Ball Z.
Those games are produced for a variety of platforms, including Sony's
PSP and PlayStations 2 and 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's DS,
Wii and GameBoy Advance.
In March, Jim Wilson, a video-game industry veteran, was appointed as
Atari's CEO. Wilson most recently worked as executive vice president and
general manager of Sony Wonder, part of Sony BMG's home entertainment
business.
Infogrames has owned the Atari name since 2001, and it has been releasing
games under the Atari moniker since then.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft/Yahoo Deadline Passes With No Deal
Yahoo failed to agree to an acquisition deal with Microsoft by Saturday,
the deadline Microsoft had set for wrapping up negotiations.
Now Microsoft must decide whether to pursue a hostile takeover via a proxy
fight or to drop the bid and seek other acquisition alternatives.
All along, Microsoft's management had indicated strongly that they would
pursue Yahoo via all available options, including the hostile route of
ousting the current board by proposing its own slate of director
candidates at the next Yahoo shareholders' meeting.
But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and CFO Chris Liddell softened that stance
in public comments last week, saying that giving up on the acquisition
would also be an option.
On Sunday, Yahoo declined to comment. Microsoft responded by pointing to
comments Liddell made on Thursday during Microsoft's earnings
announcement.
"Unless we make progress with Yahoo towards an agreement by this weekend,
we will reconsider our alternatives. We will provide updates as
appropriate next week, these alternatives clearly including taking an
offer to the Yahoo shareholders, or to withdraw our proposal and focus on
other opportunities, both organic and inorganic," Liddell said then.
Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that
Microsoft, Yahoo and their advisers have held talks in recent weeks but
didn't achieve enough progress to hammer out a deal by Saturday.
The process has clearly been frustrating for Microsoft's management, who
have maintained that their offer is fair and that they don't see a reason
to revise it. Ballmer and his team have shown signs of getting impatient
with the slow progress, not surprising considering Microsoft's urgency at
boosting its underperforming Internet business and competing better
against Google.
Launching a proxy fight would prolong even further the acquisition
process and make the fight even nastier. Even if Microsoft were to win,
it would not be a good start to what would be an arduous and lengthy
post-acquisition integration process.
In the meantime, Google would no doubt seek to capitalize on the internal
turmoil within Microsoft and Yahoo by trying to poach clients and
valuable employees.
As soon as Microsoft announced its bid for Yahoo on Feb. 1 - valued at
US$44.6 billion [b] at the time - Yahoo's management began seeking and
considering alternatives, while its stock began to rise from the latest
pre-bid price of $19.18.
By the time Yahoo's board formally rejected the unsolicited offer on
Feb. 11, saying it undervalued the company, Yahoo's stock price had risen
to $29.87, erasing the offer's premium. The next day, Microsoft hinted in
a letter to Yahoo that it wouldn't shy away from attempting a hostile
takeover.
Since the bid's announcement, Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang has held
conversations with various companies including Google, AOL, Disney and
News Corp., exploring alternative deals that would strengthen Yahoo's
business and relieve the pressure on it to be acquired.
On April 5, Microsoft, clearly impatient, threatened Yahoo's board of
directors with a proxy battle if it wouldn't agree to a buy-out in the
next three weeks. That's the deadline that lapsed on Saturday.
"The focus will be on Microsoft tomorrow [Monday] to make some statement
about its intentions," said industry analyst Greg Sterling from Sterling
Market Intelligence.
While there is still a reasonable chance that Microsoft will launch a
proxy fight, it also seems much more likely than it did three weeks ago
that Microsoft will drop its bid, Sterling said. Microsoft's management
was clearly expecting a much smoother acquisition process, he said.
"Microsoft's tone during the initial call [announcing the bid] was that
this was pretty much 'fait accompli' and that they were already looking
past the deal towards the integration process," Sterling said. "Microsoft
has been surprised to a degree and really frustrated by the resistance."
No alternative deal has materialized for Yahoo, except for a very
limited, albeit eyebrow-raising, test that saw Yahoo run Google ads along
with some search engine results on Yahoo.com. Observers speculated that
the test, announced on April 9, could lead to a full-blown outsourcing of
Yahoo's search ad business to Google, a move that financial analysts
believe could boost Yahoo's revenue.
Yahoo also has made overt maneuvers to buy itself time. For example, on
March 5, Yahoo lifted the following week's deadline for nominating
directors to its board, an attempt to discourage Microsoft from launching
a proxy fight to replace the current board with members willing to approve
its Yahoo acquisition bid. Yahoo hasn't yet set a date for its
shareholders' meeting.
On March 18, Yahoo kicked off a tour to investors by dusting off a
three-month-old financial plan to reinforce its contention that Yahoo is
worth much more than Microsoft offered to pay for it. The plan, originally
presented to Yahoo's board in December, predicts that Yahoo will double
its operating cash flow over the next three years from US$1.9 billion to
$3.7 billion. The plan also forecasts that, subtracting the commission
that Yahoo pays to sites in its advertising network, Yahoo will generate
$8.8 billion in revenue in 2010. Financial analysts agreed the plan is
highly optimistic.
Yahoo also has been in hyperactive mode with product and strategy
announcements since Microsoft's bid, always pointing out that each
initiative proved that it is able to improve its situation as an
independent company. For example, it acquired online video player Maven
Networks, announced its social network OneConnect mobile service,
re-launched its video site and introduced Yahoo Buzz, a social news site
that has been well received.
It also announced AMP, a new advertising management platform that it says
will greatly simplify buying and selling ads online, and that will roll
out in phases starting in 2008's third quarter and continuing into 2009.
Yahoo also added video to Flickr and joined Google's OpenSocial project
of common APIs for social networking applications.
Last week, it announced its most ambitious plan yet to take advantage of
the popularity of social networking. Yahoo Open Strategy calls for the
company to swing wide open the doors of its Web platforms to let outside
developers create applications across its network of sites, starting with
its search engine via a beta project called Search Monkey.
Also last week, Yahoo reported 2008 first quarter earnings that were
considered solid, although not stellar, and that Yang said prove the
company is in the rebound. Yahoo grew its revenue and net income and
exceeded Wall Street's expectations for both categories.
Of course, there have been also reminders of why Yahoo found itself an
acquisition target. The most concrete was on Feb. 12 when Yahoo, as it
had been planning to do, started laying off about 1,000 staffers, and
prominent executives like Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product
strategy, voluntarily gave up on the company and left, in Horowitz's
case to arch-rival Google.
Microsoft Ups Offer for Yahoo by 'Several Dollars'
Microsoft Corp. reportedly dangled a higher takeover bid in front of
Yahoo Inc. Friday, hoping to reach a friendly deal after weeks of saber
rattling.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker upped its offer "by several
dollars" per share, according to a New York Times report that cited
unnamed sources.
Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on the
negotiations, which were confirmed by a person familiar with the talks.
The person didn't want to be identified because of the talks are still
confidential.
Yahoo began pressing for a higher offer shortly after Microsoft made its
unsolicited bid in February, which was originally valued at $44.6
billion, or $31 per share.
That offer, which was made half in cash and half in stock, is currently
valued at $42.3 billion, or $29.40 per share, because Microsoft shares
have declined.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer had held firm with the original
offer, insisting it was fair in light of Yahoo's eroding profits during
the past two years. He threatened an attempt to oust Yahoo's board if the
10 directors, including Chief Executive Jerry Yang, didn't accept the
offer by April 26.
Now that Yahoo has forced the issue by letting the deadline pass, Ballmer
appears ready to put more money on the table.
Microsoft's board reportedly met earlier this week to consider raising
the bid as high as $33 per share. It wasn't clear whether Microsoft
presented that figure, which would translate to about $47.5 billion for
the deal, to Yahoo Friday.
Several of Yahoo's shareholders are reportedly looking to sell their
stakes for at least $35 per share, a price that would value the deal
about $50 billion.
Most analysts have predicted all along that Microsoft eventually would
buy Yahoo for $32 to $35 per share, so the news of Friday's negotiations
wasn't a major surprise.
"It's all going according to script," said Ken Marlin, a New York
investment banker specializing in technology deals.
AMD Launches First Computer Brand
Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Sunday unveiled its first computer brand,
aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, with design and sales help
from its major chip customers such as Dell Inc.
AMD Business Class desktop personal computers will be followed by
notebook PCs in the second half of this year.
AMD customers who plan to sell the computers include Acer, Dell,
Fujitsu-Siemens, Hewlett-Packard Co, and Lenovo, said Hal Speed, a
marketing architect for AMD based in Austin.
"It's not like retail," he said. "People are buying this for work and we
really tried to identify the nuggets (of technology for business desktop
PCs) that weren't being looked at."
The new product line is part of AMD's efforts to regain its competitive
edge against Intel Corp after a disastrous 2007. AMD has reported six
consecutive quarters of net losses as Intel has regained much of the
market share that it lost to AMD in 2005 and the first part of 2006.
AMD is also seeking to use the leverage it built with the success of its
Opteron microprocessors, which have made inroads into the server market
over the last few years against Intel, a larger company.
"AMD has tackled the consumer market, they've made significant inroads
into the mobile PC market, and they've made some inroads into the
business market," said Dean McCarron, an analyst at market research firm
In-Stat. "This is an important program for them."
AMD said Business Class is initially aimed at the small- and medium-size
business market, but is also designed to scale up to the biggest
corporate clients as well. The desktops include AMD Phenom X3
triple-core and AMD Phenom X4 quad-core processors as well as AMD
AthlonX2 dual-core processors.
PC makers can also choose AMD 780V chipsets or optional ATI Radeon HO
3000 series graphics chips, and the platform will also support non-AMD
graphics and chipsets, such as graphics chips from ATI rival Nvidia Corp.
Analysts said that big-business customers like a General Electric Co as
well as small and medium businesses want stability, longevity,
reliability, manageability and good performance in the PCs they buy for
their employees.
"Where AMD has been lacking is in business PCs with deployments in the
thousands of units," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint
Technologies Associates, a market research firm.
"Big companies replace thousands of PCs over the course of more than a
year and during that time they don't want what they are buying to change
in terms of configurations."
HP Lab Creates Revolutionary New Form of Memory
Computers that boot instantly to the exact place where you left off and
mobile devices that don't need recharging for weeks. These are only some
of the possibilities resulting from Hewlett-Packard research that proves
the existence of what the company described as "the fourth fundamental
circuit element in electrical engineering."
In a paper published in Wednesday's edition of Nature magazine, four
researchers from HP's Information and Quantum System Labs discussed their
creation of a mathematical model and physical example of what is called a
"memristor," a conjoined word formed from "memory" and "resistor."
The researchers said memristors can lead to computer systems with
memories that are not erased when power is lost, do not need to be booted
up, are very low-power, and, in another encroachment on the uniqueness of
humans, associate information "in a manner similar to that of the human
brain."
The possibility of such an electronic component was first theorized
nearly 40 years ago by Leon Chua, a professor in the electrical
engineering and computer sciences department at the University of
California, Berkeley.
Chua said there was a fourth fundamental circuit element, the memristor,
to accompany the existing three - resistor, capacitor and inductor. He
also theorized that its properties could not be obtained by any
combination of the other three. Like chemical elements, fundamental
circuit elements cannot be created from the others.
R. Stanley Williams, head of the HP team, said the research will make it
"possible for engineers to develop integrated circuit designs that could
dramatically improve the performance and energy efficiency" for PCs and
data centers.
The researchers also suggested that memristor-based computers could help
the momentum toward "cloud computing," in which applications and data
are stored throughout many servers in-house, or on the Internet.
Memristors could mean much less power to drive that infrastructure, and
a greater resiliency in a data center if power is interrupted.
Memristors could lead to a new kind of computer memory that could
complement or even replace the common DRAM (dynamic random-access
memory), which does not store information when power is turned off.
Memristor-based memory can also lead to fundamentally different ways of
using computer memory. The researchers said memristor technology can
recall and make associations between events that are similar to how a
human brain recognizes patterns.
In fact, Chua's original paper proposed that memristors would act in ways
that are similar to how synapses work in a brain. One of the ways is that
the more often a signal is sent to a synapse, which connects two neurons,
the stronger the synapse becomes.
The HP team has told news media that this enhanced ability to deal with
patterns could allow computers to makes decisions based on past data.
This might include, for instance, the development of a more intelligent
microwave that knows the heating times that you prefer for different
kinds of foods. But it won't happen overnight. The first commercial uses
are not expected for at least five years.
One Laptop Per Child Controversy Centers on Windows
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative wants more kinds of Sugar, and
some developers are not sweet on that idea. Sugar is the user interface
created for the low-cost laptop developed by a team headed by MIT Media
Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte. The XO laptop, originally intended
for a price point of $100 and incorporating an open-source Linux
operating system, is designed for use by children in third-world
countries.
This week, Negroponte indicated that Sugar is not only a great interface
for Linux, but for Windows as well. "Sugar is a very good idea, less than
perfectly executed," he wrote in a posting on an OLPC site. It needs to
be "disentangled," he said, from collaborative tools, power management,
and other functions, so it can be modularized and evolve more
efficiently.
He is also seeking to have it run on top of Windows, which has soured the
enthusiasm of some for the XO. The laptop, if sold in the tens of millions
worldwide as originally envisioned and if based on Linux, could become a
key driver in moving that open-source operating system toward popularity
on the desktop.
Negroponte has confirmed that OLPC has been in discussion for several
months with Microsoft about a dual-boot version of the XO. In October, a
Microsoft executive told news media that the company was spending "a
nontrivial amount of money" on adapting Windows for the XO.
Negroponte, in his e-mail, said "some purism has to morph into pragmatism"
as the organization reaches out to engage a wider community, and it is
"absurd" to suggest this "forsakes open source or redirects our mission."
Some of the developers upset about the current direction are inside OLPC.
On Wednesday, OLPC developer C. Scott Ananian posted a reply on the
organization's site, in which he publicly criticized Negroponte for not
providing the resources to accommodate Windows development for the XO.
OLPC "has not hired any Windows developers" and has not adjusted its time
line for such a port, he wrote. If you are serious about Sugar on
Windows, Ananian told Negroponte in his posting, you need to immediately
hire at least 10 Windows developers "and inform the deployment countries
that we are placing a hold on new development" for at least six months
while the port is completed.
Even with that effort, Ananian wrote, the result will be a new version of
Sugar that will run no better than the one on Linux. "From an IT
management perspective," he added, "this is madness."
The turbulence surrounding OLPC has not been calmed by the recent
departure of Walter Bender, who had been head of software and content. He
told news media that he left because of differences with Negroponte over
OLPC's positioning.
In his posting earlier this week, Bender questioned whether the goal of
OLPC was "simply to get laptops into the hands of as many children as
possible," rather than developing open-source software better suited for
third-world countries and for learning.
If it is simply getting as many laptops into children's hands as
possible, he asked, and "if others are making low-cost laptops that run
Windows," why don't those laptops fulfill the goal?
Mark Margevicius, a research director with industry research firm
Gartner, said OLPC's first mission has always been getting a laptop into
each child's hands, by any means necessary - and not to be an incubation
farm for new technology. The new technology, he said, was a means to an
end.
If success is measured by the "ability to move some of the industry's
giants, like Intel or Microsoft" to see the opportunity that awaited
them among third-world children, Margevicius said, then OLPC has been a
success. But if it's measured by the number of laptops it sells, he
added, "the jury is still out."
For 30 Years Now, You've Been Getting Spam
This week, the world will mark an anniversary that has changed the face -
and other anatomical regions - of email inboxes everywhere: the first
known spam email was sent 30 years ago on Saturday.
But the message sent on May 3, 1978 by a marketer for the now defunct DEC
computer company to around 400 people on the west coast of the United
States wasn't called spam, and the sender dispatched it without ill
intent.
How things have changed.
Spam got its name from a skit by the television show "Monty Python's
Flying Circus," in which a group of Vikings in a restaurant that serves
all of its food with Spam tinned meat sing a song repeating the word ad
nauseum, says Brad Templeton, who has thoroughly researched the subject.
"Thus, the meaning of the term at least: something that keeps repeating
and repeating to great annoyance," Templeton, who was dabbling in the
Internet in the 1970s - when it was still the US government-run Arpanet
- says on his website.
These days spamming is a sophisticated operation that affects millions
and jams ill-prepared email inboxes.
The percentage of spam sent to account holders on Gmail - the email
service offered by Google - quadrupled between 2004 and 2008, climbing
from 20 percent to around 80 percent.
"To give you some sense of scale, we have tens of millions of users
worldwide," Gmail's Jason Freidenfelds told AFP, adding that only about
one percent of spam gets through Gmail's spam-filtering system, according
to user feedback.
Spam methodology has also changed in the past 30 years.
Whereas the sender of the first spam had to type in each recipient's
address individually, today the job is often done remotely using
cyber-monsters called botnets.
Botnets have hijacked around 30 percent of personal and office computers
with inadequate security features and use them to dispatch thousands of
spams each day, Templeton told AFP.
"The recruited computers wait for commands that come through anonymous
channels and tell them to send spam email to 1,000 people, all
unbeknownst to their owners. The people who do this control millions of
computers around the world," Templeton said.
"Don't look to the guy to your left, don't look to the guy to your
right. It's you," he said ominously.
Spam content and motives have also evolved since the 1978 message, which
was an invitation to a product launch.
Spams today come from Nigerian "princes" or fictitious relatives of
deceased African dictators intent on hoodwinking email account holders
into parting with bank details or cash, in exchange for a slice of the
wealth stashed in an offshore account.
More vicious spammers last year shut down government and business
websites in European Union member Estonia by bombarding servers with
traffic, a technique also used by a new breed of spammer, the online
extortionist.
"The extortionist says, 'Lovely business you have, would be terrible if
something happened to it.' And if you don't pay protection money, they
get machines to just pound away at the web server all day so it can no
longer work," said Templeton.
But the most common form of spam remains the unsolicited message that
tries to sell you a replica Rolex, a miracle weight loss formula, or
medication to enlarge anatomical parts or enhance sexual prowess.
Twelve percent of Internet users have bought something offered to them
by spam, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at IT security
company Sophos, told AFP.
"Maybe these people are too embarrassed to go to their doctor or they
want to save some money, but we have to educate them to report spam,
delete spam, but absolutely never buy off spam," he said.
"A Brazilian model died after using weight loss pills she bought off
spam ... The person who spams does not have a strong ethical sense," he
warned.
Last year, 75 percent of Americans who were tricked by Internet
fraudsters into parting with 239.09 million dollars (152.5 million
euros) were ensnared through a spam message, according to a report by
the FBI.
But despite the warnings, the spammers still fish and people still bite.
"P.T Barnum was right when he said there's a sucker born every minute,"
said Templeton. "I'll expand it to say there's a sucker spammed every
second."
Radio Free Europe Says It's Under Cyber Attack
Several Web sites of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
have been attacked, the broadcaster said Monday, suggesting the Belarus
government could be responsible.
In the form of a denial-of-service attack that floods servers with fake
traffic so legitimate visitors cannot get through, the assault began
Saturday and continues, the network said in a statement.
The broadcaster said it is trying to restore its Web sites.
The attack is aimed mainly the site of Radio Free Europe's Belarus
service, but Web sites serving Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan,
Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Croatia also have been affected, the
network said.
Jeffrey Gedmin, the network's president, compared the attack to communist
countries jamming U.S.-backed broadcasts during the Cold War.
"Dictators are still trying to prevent the kind of unfiltered news and
information that (Radio Free Europe) provides from reaching their
people," Gedmin said. "They did not succeed in the last century and they
will not succeed now."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a private, nonprofit corporation that
receives funding from the U.S. government. It was established in 1949 to
spread pro-Western news and promote democratic values and institutions
in countries behind the Iron Curtain.
The head of the radio's Belarus service, Alexander Lukashuk, said the
attack began on the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe
in neighboring Ukraine. He said a similar attack took place the same day
one year ago but lasted only hours and did not hit services in other
languages.
"We have a large Internet audience (in Belarus) that was relying on us to
report live a rally of thousands of people protesting the plight of
uncompensated Chernobyl victims and a government decision to build a new
nuclear power station," he said.
The broadcaster suggested the government of authoritarian Belarus
President Alexander Lukashenko could be behind the attack.
"It's very hard to be certain in these cases but because the target was
the Belarus service it does look like it's coming from the Belarus
government," said Diane Zeleny, spokeswoman for the broadcaster.
"For our listeners in Belarus, it's quite dramatic," Zeleny said. "They
cannot reach us right now. This is a pretty massive attack."
"There was no immediate response from the Belarussian government."
The station moved its headquarters to Prague from Munich, Germany, in
1995, after the collapse of communism. It broadcasts in 28 languages to
21 countries, including Iran and Iraq since 1998, and Afghanistan since
2002.
Senator: China Plans To Spy on Olympic Hotel Guests
A U.S. senator accused the Chinese government on Thursday of ordering
U.S.-owned hotels in China to install Internet filters that can spy on
international visitors coming to see the summer Olympic games.
Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, made the charge at a Capitol Hill
news conference where he and other lawmakers denounced China's record of
human rights abuses and urged President Bush not to attend the Olympic's
opening ceremonies in Beijing.
"This is wrong, it's against international conventions, it's certainly
against the Olympic spirit," Brownback said. "The Chinese government
should remove that request and that order."
Brownback said he has seen the language of memos received by at least two
U.S.-owned hotels. He declined to name them, and said he obtained the
information from two "reliable but confidential sources" in the hope that
public pressure would persuade the Chinese government to back off the
demand.
The filters could enable the government to monitor Web sites viewed by
hotel guests and restrict Internet information coming in and out of
China, Brownback said.
The senator called China "the foremost enabler of human rights abuses
around the world" and said the Chinese government is turning the summer
games into "an Olympics of oppression."
A call Thursday to the Chinese embassy in Washington was not immediately
returned.
Beijing has said that its citizens' human rights are protected under the
Chinese constitution, and that it welcomed renewed dialogue on the issue.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao also has suggested
the U.S. politicians were biased in their views.
"We hope relevant people, congressmen, can view our progress made in
human rights objectively and take off their colored glasses. I believe
that would be beneficial to the development of Chinese human rights," he
said at a recent news conference in Beijing.
For years, critics in the U.S. Congress have taken China to task for what
they describe as unfair trade practices; currency manipulation; use of
the Internet to suppress dissidents; failure to use its leverage to stop
violence in Sudan's Darfur region; and a rapid, secretive military
buildup.
Other lawmakers at Brownback's news conference condemned the Chinese
government for supporting repressive governments in Sudan and Burma,
suppressing dissent in Tibet and forcibly returning North Korean refugees
who flee across the border, where they face imprisonment and torture.
"The number one accomplice of the genocide in Darfur is the Chinese
government," said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. "No official in the executive
branch, in the judicial branch and particularly in the congressional
branch ought to attend the opening ceremonies of this Olympics."
More than a dozen former North Korean refugees who escaped to China and
suffered beatings, imprisonment and other persecution at the hands of
Chinese officials attended the news conference to discuss their plight.
While China wants the Olympics to be a sign of the country's growing
prominence on the international stage, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said
the country's actions confirm that "the Chinese people still live under
an iron fist."
"The Chinese government was awarded the games on the understanding that
it would work to significantly improve it's human rights record,"
Menendez said. "Clearly, it has not."
Brownback said he would press his case for Bush not to attend the Olympic
opening ceremonies when the president visits tornado-damaged Greensburg,
Kan., on Sunday.
Thus far, Bush has given no indication he will skip the Beijing event.
US Man Gets 30 Months in Prison for 'Warez' Operation
A Woodbury, Connecticut, man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison
for operating Web sites where users could download unauthorized copies of
movies, music and software titles, the U.S. Department of Justice
announced.
David M. Fish, 26, was sentenced Monday on criminal copyright
infringement and circumvention charges in U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California in San Jose, the DOJ announced late
Tuesday. Prosecutors accused Fish of operating so-called warez sites
offering downloads of thousands of products protected by copyright. In
addition to a 30-month prison term, Judge Ronald Whyte sentenced Fish to
three years of probation following his prison term and the forfeiture of
computer and other equipment used in the copyright offenses.
Fish pleaded guilty on Feb. 27, 2006, to five counts, including four
counts in the Northern District of California case for conspiracy to
commit criminal copyright infringement; distribution of technology
primarily designed to circumvent encryption technology protecting a right
of a copyright owner and aiding and abetting; circumventing a
technological measure that protects a copyright work and aiding and
abetting; copyright infringement by electronic means and aiding and
abetting. On the same day, Fish also pleaded guilty to one count of
criminal infringement of a copyright on charges from the Southern
District of Iowa, the DOJ said.
The two cases involved separate investigations, but the charges were
prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of
California.
From about August 2004 to July 2005, Fish served as the operator,
equipment supplier and scripter for warez sites, according to the charges
in the California case. Fish also defeated technology measures designed
to protect DVDs that had been copyrighted, the DOJ said.
Fish participated in a separate warez site from January 2003 to April
2004, according to the Iowa charges. The warez site's server contained
about 13,000 pirated works, including movies, games, utility software
and music, the DOJ said. Transfer logs showed that Fish assisted in the
uploading of 131 software titles and the downloading of 373 software
titles to and from the warez FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server between
August 2003 and March 2004, the DOJ said.
The California case is part of Operation Copycat, an investigation by
the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office
targeting online warez groups. Operation Copycat has resulted in 40
convictions so far. The DOJ has been conducting Operation Copycat and
related investigations for more than two years.
Microsoft Insists XP Death Date Firm Despite Ballmer
Despite CEO Steve Ballmer's comments, Microsoft has no plans to continue
selling Windows XP after June 30, the company said Thursday. It added,
"Our plan for Windows XP availability is unchanged. We're confident
that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our
customers and partners."
Ballmer started a wave of speculation at a press conference in Belgium
when he suggested that the June 30 deadline could be changed. "If
customer feedback varies we can always wake up smarter, but right now we
have a plan for end-of-life for new XP shipments," he said, according to
Reuters.
A spokesperson from Microsoft's public-relations firm, Waggoner Edstrom,
told PC World that the company's research had led it to conclude that
"the dates are right." Microsoft believes "we've made the right
accommodations for customers in certain segments who may need more time
to transition to Windows Vista," she said. "But as Steve noted, we
maintain a constant stance of listening to our customers and our
partners. That's what is guiding our plan, and will continue to guide us
going forward."
The anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. More than 170,000 people have
signed an online petition spearheaded by InfoWorld magazine to "Save
XP." The petition calls for Microsoft to keep XP around "indefinitely.
Not just for another six months or a year but indefinitely." And
enterprise adoption of Windows Vista has so far been tepid.
"Ballmer's cryptic comments suggest that although they say they listen
to customers, they're hard of hearing," said Galen Gruman, the InfoWorld
editor who launched the petition, in an e-mail. "On one hand, Ballmer's
comments acknowledge a demand for XP beyond June 30, but then he
indicated that demand is trivial. I believe he's wrong."
Gruman foresees a rising chorus in favor of XP as the clock counts down
to the deadline. "I believe the voices for Microsoft to change will
only grow louder as we get into the final 60 days of XP sales, as more
and more people wake up to what is happening," he said.
One of Microsoft's "accommodations" is a downgrade option in which
organizations making volume purchases of Vista Business and Ultimate can
license XP instead. Microsoft is also continuing XP sales to
manufacturers of small-form, low-cost PCs like HP's new Mini-Note.
Dell recently announced it would take advantage of the program to offer
XP on several home PC models - not just on a CD for consumers to install
themselves but installed as the default operating system. "If Microsoft
wants to stick to its official June 30 deadline but let PC makers work
around it through the downgrade option so Microsoft can still claim a
Vista sale, well, that's better than completely killing XP," Gruman
said.
At the end of the day, despite Microsoft's current resolve, "end-of-life
scenarios are not written in stone," said Charles King, principal
analyst with Pund-IT, in a telephone interview. June 30 is an extension
of a
previous January deadline, and support for Windows NT was pushed
out several years, King noted.
While Microsoft can show gains in Vista simply because it will be
installed on all new computers, the critical question is business
adoption.
"Consumers just use what they get," King said, "but for businesses with
thousands or tens of thousands of users, if a new operating system is
not predictable and stable, if it's so different people have to take
time out of their days to learn how to use it, business will not adopt
it."
Microsoft will be watching Vista sales in the enterprise "very
carefully," King said. Ultimately, "if they produced a product that
doesn't resonate, you just have to heave a sigh that you made a mistake
and move on. You can't force customers to buy a product. If they look at
the market and believe Vista is endangering the goodwill they have with
customers, they'll do the right thing and walk away."
WWW Inventor Says Web Only in Infancy
The World Wide Web is still only in its infancy, its British inventor
said Wednesday, on the 15th anniversary of the web's effective launch.
Tim Berners-Lee told the BBC that the web, which started life in the CERN
physics laboratory on the Franco-Swiss border in the early 1990s, could
develop in unimaginable directions but above all should be a force for
good.
"What's exciting is that people are building new social systems, new
systems of review, new systems of governance," he said.
"My hope is that those will produce... new ways of working together
effectively and fairly which we can use globally to manage ourselves as
a planet."
The comments came on the anniversary of the announcement by CERN on
April 30, 1993 that the World Wide Web could be used by everyone, after
Berners-Lee and a colleague persuaded their bosses to provide the
programme code for free.
The web - of which the abbreviation www forms the start of all online
addresses - is now the ubiquitous network via which information is shared
on the Internet. An estimated 165 million websites now exist, the BBC
reported.
"The web has been a tremendous tool for people to do a lot of good even
though you can find bad stuff out there," said Berners-Lee, adding that
one day the web will put "all the data in the world" at the fingertips
of every user.
But "we have only started to explore the possibilities of (the web)," he
said, adding that it was "still in its infancy".
Robert Cailliau, who worked with Berners-Lee to open up the web, stressed
that not all the bosses at CERN were in favour of making the web
universally accessible.
"We had to convince them that this was going to take off and it was a
really big thing. And therefore CERN couldn't hold on to it and the best
thing to do was to give it away," he said.
Competing technologies - such as Gopher developed at the University of
Minnesota in the United States - were also offering a way of connecting
documents on the Internet, he said.
"If we had put a price on it like the University of Minnesota had done
with Gopher then it would not have expanded into what it is now.
"We would have had some sort of market share alongside services like AOL
and Compuserve, but we would not have flattened the world."
Criminals Try To "Copyright" Malware
Even criminal hackers want to protect their intellectual property, and
they've come up with a method akin to copyrighting - with an appropriate
dash of Internet thuggery thrown in.
Professional virus writers are now selling a suite of software on the
Internet with an unusual attachment: a detailed licensing agreement that
promises penalties for redistributing the malicious code without
permission.
"I just kind of chuckled - it's kind of humorous," said Zulfikar Ramzan,
senior principal security researcher with Symantec Corp.
Symantec researchers noticed a Russian-language example floating around
the Internet and wrote about it on the company's official blog this
week. They said it's the only example they've seen.
The software is used to infect computers and control them remotely. The
zombie machines can be used to pump out spam, launch more attacks or
steal personal information from their owners.
Networks of zombie machines - known as "bot nets" - can be extremely
lucrative, sometimes bringing millions of dollars in profit for their
authors and their distributors. To maximize that profit, the software
analyzed by Symantec's researchers contained the following rules:
* The customer can't resell the product, examine its underlying coding,
use it to control other bot nets or submit it to antivirus companies and
agrees to pay the seller a fee for product updates.
* The threat: Violate the terms, and we'll report you ourselves to the
antivirus companies by giving them information about how to dismantle
your bot network or prevent it from growing bigger.
While not legally binding, the terms amount to a novel way to protect
ill-gotten profits - except that by ratting out their customers, malware
authors risk drawing attention to their own enterprises and giving
antivirus makers clues on combatting them.
"We know they can't actually enforce it, and they probably wouldn't
try," Ramzan said. "What's funny is they put more effort into their
EULA (end-user license agreement) than traditional software companies
might."
The ultimate rub? Apparently the threat was not only hollow but
unheeded. Symantec said the program that's accompanied by the novel
rules is being traded freely online - and so far its authors haven't
called Symantec to make good on their threat.
=~=~=~=
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