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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 07 Issue 23
Volume 7, Issue 23 Atari Online News, Etc. June 3, 2005
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2005
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Kevin Savetz
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0723 07/03/05
~ Browser-Security Link! ~ People Are Talking! ~ XXX Web Address OK!
~ eBay Buys Shopping.com ~ Old Hard Drive Safety ~ EmuTOS Updated!
~ Bushnell Does It Again ~ Mytob, Bagle Variants! ~ Laptops More Popular
~ Microsoft Faces Fines! ~ Video Games Sale Ban! ~ E-mail Addiction!
-* Spyware Dubbed Ransom-Ware! *-
-* Anti-Spyware Bill Goes To Senate! *-
-* Can You Trust Your Spyware Protection Tool *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, it's officially the beginning of the unofficial summer season now that
the long Memorial Day weekend is over. The weather, finally, has started to
improve. The long weekend was okay, but not great. I did manage to finally
get the lawn cut, or more like a meadow. In between the raindrops, I did
get my vegetable gardens tilled, and my veggies planted. The flowers may
get planted over the next couple of weekends. But first, we're hoping to
get the swimming pool opened this weekend. We'll see.
While most of us were enjoying our holiday cookouts, many were celebrating
the true reason for this holiday - remembrance of our military veterans who
died during their service of their country. While I'm certainly no true
advocate of war - especially one in which we're involved (I'm from the
Vietnam War generation!) - I do support those who serve in the military.
Service in the armed forces is one thing, the ultimate service is another.
Remembering our friends, relatives, and neighbors who lost their lives while
protecting us, and others worldwide, is something that I hope all of us took
some time out from our holiday enjoyment to do.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
EmuTOS Version 0.8 Has Been Released
Thomas Huth has announced:
EmuTOS 0.8 --- May 30th, 2005
INTRODUCTION
EmuTOS is a single-user single-tasking operating system for the 32 bit
Atari computers and emulators. It can be used as a replacement for the TOS
images typically needed today for using emulators and it is also running on some
real hardware, like the Atari Mega STE. All the source code is open and
free, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
CHANGES SINCE LAST RELEASE
- Improved GEM desktop (more comfortable, many bugs fixed, ...)
- New translations: Spanish and Greek.
- Most parts of the VDI have been rewritten in C for better maintainability.
- Nearly all Line-A functions have been removed/disabled (deprecated API).
- EmuTOS can now be compiled with GCC 3.x, too.
- graf_shrinkbox() and graf_growbox() have been enabled again.
- form-alert boxes now also work in ST low resolution.
- The AES behave much closer to the original Atari AES than before, so much
more old programs are working now.
- And lots of other bug fixes and minor improvements
Have a look at the changelog.txt for more detailed information.
DESCRIPTION
EmuTOS is basically made up of six subsystems:
- The BIOS, which is the basic input output system
- The XBIOS, which provides the interface to the hardware
- The BDOS, which are the high level OS routines, what you know as GEMDOS
- The VDI, the virtual device interface - means the screen driver
- The AES, the application environment services or window manager
- The desktop, which is the graphical shell to the user
The BIOS and XBIOS code is our own development. It is really written from
scratch and implements nearly all of the TOS 1.0 BIOS functionality, and a
bit more, like e.g. hard disk access.
The GEMDOS part is based on Digital Research's GEMDOS sources, which were
made available under GPL licence in 1999 by Caldera.
The graphical parts like VDI and AES are now more or less fully
implemented. They work in all the graphics modes of the original Atari
ST. On some emulators EmuTOS can be patched to work with much bigger
screen resolutions without any problems.
The desktop is not as nice as the original one, but is pretty usable now
for a start. You are free to use a more advanced desktop replacement any
time, like Teradesk for example.
Since EmuTOS just implements the TOS's functionality, you might want to
use MiNT on it in order to run more modern software. EmuTOS is not an
alternative to MiNT. But EmuTOS is the only free base OS to boot MiNT.
HARDWARE
This is the currently supported hardware:
- CPU support for m68000, m68010, m68020, m68030, m68040
- FPU detected
- Memory controller (both ST and Falcon)
- Monitor type detection (mono or not)
- WD 1772 Floppy disk controller (write track not tested)
- DMA controller
- MFP
- PSG
- ST shifter
- STE shifter (partially)
- ACIAs, IKBD protocol, mouse
- MegaST Real-Time Clock (set clock not tested)
- NVRAM (including RTC)
- The native feature interface to some degree
AVAILABILITY
EmuTOS has its home at sourceforge:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/emutos/
A ready made EmuTOS image or the source can be downloaded from:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=36560
It is always available in source form from our CVS server at:
http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=36560
If you are just curious or would like to help us develop this nice little
OS, you are invited to subscribe to our Mailing list for developers at:
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=36560
We hope that you like EmuTOS. If you have any suggestions or comments, we
always appreciate to hear the good and also the bad things about it.
Your EmuTOS development team.
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has come and gone and, with
Memorial Day firmly behind us, the dog days of summer cannot be far
behind.
It's Memorial Day that I want to talk about a little bit this week. I
thought about mentioning it last week, but I didn't want to sound too
preachy. Talking about it AFTER the fact seems a bit more fitting.
First of all, I'd like to say that I'm happy to see the strong support
for our men and women who are currently serving in the military.
Perhaps we, as a country, have learned something in the past
half-century. Whether or not you agree with the current world
situation, it's important to remember that there's a difference between
the policy makers and the soldiers.
I don't know who coined it, but the phrase "All gave some, some gave
all" has always meant a lot to me. I've had many relatives who have
served in wars, police actions, and conflicts reaching back to World
War II and, while they didn't all return to happy endings... or at all
in some cases, they served honorably and well.
Not having served in the military in any capacity myself, I don't feel
that I can say anything about "walking the walk". What I do feel able
to say is that service is an almost sacred thing. We owe a great debt
to this long line of men and women.
Over and above the fact that they run the very real chance of grave
physical and/or psychological damage, they... serve. In my mind, it is
the service that is of paramount importance.
That brings me to my main point: Service is important. Military,
Policemen, Firemen? Yes, in my view, they all deserve our thanks and
our respect. Not respect for respect's sake, but for their dedication
and service to all of us. Politicians? I'm not quite ready to go there.
<Grin>
But let's extend the thought a little bit. How about teachers? I can't
think of a single profession that can match Education for importance to
our future. Can you?
In short, friends and neighbors, there are many, many people who deserve
our respect and thanks for their service. The trick, I think, is to
remember that, and to aspire to the same thing ourselves.
Okay, enough of that. Let's get to the news, hints, tips and info from
the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
'Alison C' asks about battery-backed clocks for STs:
"I was wondering if it was possible to keep the time by applying backup
power to the keyboard controller? Was also wondering if the ST booting
up would reset the thing (and the time).
At the moment thinking about a 40-pin DIL header plug trailing off to a
small board to hold the Hitachi PIC with a couple of NiMH 3.6v charging
while the ST is powered.
Any views or experience in this??"
Stephen Moss tells Alison:
"As far as I know, the time and date are only reset at switch on because
there is no backup clock, although I could be wrong, don't forget that
if you want the date to be correct you have two problems.
1st, you will have to use some kind of 2K fix program to patch the
date as the original clock memory space does not allow for dates
beyond that, its possible that those used with cartridge based battery
backed clocks will work.
2nd, even if you can patch the date for system display beyond the year
2000 the year shown on saved files may be either 00 or ** (I can't
remember which off hand) not the clock year although this may depend
on your TOS version. Anyone know of a software patch that can correct
this?
I looked at adding a battery back up to the keyboard controller but
abandoned it because I was looking at interrupting the power from the
Keyboard to motherboard cable and decided that the battery would end
up powering the entire keyboard PCB thus creating too large a drain on
the battery, plus the file save date problem really rendered the whole
thing useless.
Relocating the controller chip to another location is a much better
idea, don't know why I did not think of that unless it was because I
deemed it too difficult for people to fit themselves.
If the controller chip is in a socket thats not to bad but IIRC it is
soldered into the board and thus not easy to desolder without the
correct equipment. If you do manage to remove it have you considered
how you are going to ensure that only the controller chip receives the
battery power? If not you could use a diode with a low forward voltage
drop (Schottky) that take power form the main supply when the ST is on
(forward biased) but blocks the battery power when the main supply is
off as it will be reverse biased although a FET would be better as it
will have a lower voltage drop.
I was planning on using alkaline batteries in my design and so have
never tried to build a battery charger so I can't help you there but
you will have to look at this aspect carefully as charging them slowly
might not charge them enough and charging them quickly may draw to
much current from the main supply, plus you will ideally need some
charged circuit to stop them from being charge once they are at their
maximum capacity."
Alison replies:
"Oooooh Y2K, that old hat :-)
Following on from Phantom's post, Y2K seems to only affect the clock
cartridges that plug into the cartridge port. Well, the clocks have no
problem with Y2K but the software for the cartridges to transfer the
info to the system clock are where things fall foul.
There's a site out there where they were talking all about the different
TOS versions, saying Y2K affected TOS right up to version 3 or
something. Then some bright spark said it was the software for the
cartridges which was the problem.
Still haven't got round to getting the language disks and XCONTROL etc.
sourced yet so not tried with the system clock directly yet. Next
little job :-)
http://www.atarimagazines.com/v6n1/STProductNews.html "
David Bolt adds:
"It's not just the software for the clock cartridges that have a
problem.
It also affects any system doesn't have a built-in RTC, in other words
not MEGA STs/STEs, Falcons, and TTs."
Alison tells David:
"I would hope in the Sinclair Spectrum fashion
that TOS has been rewritten to accommodate? :-) By that I mean that
the Spectrum ROM's have been modified to include changes and slight
streamlines to the code.
In the meantime though, what I have dug out from the loft at my parents'
is the June 1988 edition of ST World which has 4 A4 pages of clock
write-ups, some cartridge based, some keyboard MCU power based.
Oh ok, I think I'll keep an eye out for a Mega ST to stop this in it's
tracks. With the Y2K thing and the requirement for a battery measuring
1inch x 3inches x 1inch we're about done. Well, until I start thinking
about it again."
Ludwig Maetzke asks about configuring Aranym (Atari Running on ANY
Machine, If I remember correctly):
"This emulator appears as a disaster, especially EmuTOS.
Meanwhile I have entered the TOS404.img into the config file but the tos
tries to store the desktop.inf on A: (floppy).
Then I entered into the config for C: and D: the corresponding folders
of the unix directory, but cannot access them from the Atari-Desktop.
Is this caused by the betaDOS missing? Where have I to enter the betaDOS
in this case?
And how can I setup a resolution of 800x600? And how switch off the RAM
test that is done when booting? And return to Linux without shutting
down the Atari?
I haven't found a documentation for the config file. Why can't I buy
aranym/Linux ready for use with legal TOS404 or TOS492?"
Patrice Mandin tells Ludwig:
"It's because you don't have hard disk images configured, so ARAnyM,
like a real Atari, saves to floppy by default.
Yes, [You need betaDOS] or with MiNT with the needed XFS driver.
BetaDOS must be configured to use the needed BOS/DOS driver.
You need FVDI and the needed driver [to deal with the resolutions].
Use a standard NVRAM Falcon configurator, like bootconf [to turn off the
RAM test].
Press shift+Pause [to switch back to Linux].
Some advice:
Subscribe to the ARAnyM user mailing list to post your questions. Few
people in this newsgroup know about ARAnyM, and more about real Atari:
http://bobek.sh.cvut.cz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aranym-user/
Try first by using the AFROS disk image:
http://aranym.sourceforge.net/download.html
All the ARAnyM documentation is here:
http://www.sophics.cz/cgi-bin/cvsweb/aranym/doc/ "
Ronald Hall asks about Atari videos:
"Hey gang. Is there anywhere on the 'Net that a person can download some
of the old Atari videos from? I mean like, old commercials, interviews,
announcements, things like that. I'd love to watch some of them again.
I just tried the Atari Historical Museum, and using Firefox, Galeon and
Konqeruor, I get "page not found or displayed" messages. You can't
download them either, you just get a 3.9kb file or something like that."
'Dave' tells Ronald:
"Try: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/Libarary's/tv_adverts_summary.htm "
'TW Brown' adds:
"You could also Google "computer cronicles" <sp?>. They have several
episodes with Atari featured,one has Jack and Leonard in it when the
St was first released."
Tero Säärelä asks about a way to check available memory:
"My friend got this 520 STE that he found for 1 euro from fleamarket. It
works fine although it is a little hard to use without a mouse.
I had some SIMM memory (absolutely no idea how much memory in those
combs) so we decided to throw those in the STE. We installed the SIMM
combs and put the STE back together to see whether it would still boot
up. The STE booted up nicely but there was no utility in GEM which
would tell how much memory there is. Is an external application only
way or is there any other way to check the amount of memory installed?"
Ronald Hall tells Tero:
"If you have the newer control panel, and the general setup CPX module,
then you can click on "status" and it will show the amount of free ST
Ram. It will give you an idea anyway."
Edward Baiz adds:
"I use a little program called memwatch. You just run it and it will
keep track and display how much free memory you have. It also displays
the total amount of memory. You can download it on the or net or just
email me and I will send it to you."
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 - Metal Gear Solid 4!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Bushnell Does It Again!
Destroy All Humans!
And much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Metal Gear Solid 4 Is Currently In Development For Playstation 3
Konami Digital Entertainment America, a division of Konami Digital
Entertainment, Inc., announced a new development team will be formed inside
Konami Corporation. On April 1, 2005, Konami Corporation merged and
consolidated its group companies. Accordingly, former Konami Computer
Entertainment Japan West Team, lead by creator Hideo Kojima (Corporate
Officer, Konami Corporation), embarks on a new era as "Kojima Productions"
inside Konami Corporation.
The newly formed Kojima Productions is proud to announce that Metal Gear
Solid 4 is currently in development for the Playstation 3 next-generation
computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Hideo
Kojima's masterpiece, the Metal Gear Solid series, is highly acclaimed
worldwide, with its breathtaking graphics, profound stories, intricate
human drama, original game design and superlative gameplay. Also under
development are two other exciting games in the Metal Gear series - Metal
Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment
system and Metal Gear Ac!d 2 for the PlayStation Portable handheld
entertainment system.
"Hideo Kojima's creations are world-renowned for their incredible high
quality," said Kazumi Kitaue, Executive Corporate Officer in charge of
America and Europe at Konami Corporation. "Konami Corporation constructed
Kojima Productions in order to further promote his creativity. Konami will
continue to develop new and exciting game content in order to offer
innovative, interactive entertainment for the next generation of game
consoles. Fans from all over the world will have their eyes focused on the
new adventures Hideo Kojima is creating in MGS4." From infiltrating enemy
compounds and man-made structures in MGS and MGS2, to the challenges of the
jungle environment in MGS3, MGS4 brings a totally new concept and
situation, resulting in the toughest Metal Gear infiltration mission ever
devised. The game is set after the events of MGS2 and players will reprise
the role of top secret agent Solid Snake with appearances by characters
throughout the MGS series. With the addition of online capability, MGS4 is
a leading product for "PS3" and will signal the dawn of a new gaming era
for the MGS series.
"Consolidation within the Konami Corporation has brought about a new
evolution for the Japan West Team," said Hideo Kojima, Corporate Officer at
Konami Corporation. "We will be making a fresh new start as 'Kojima
Productions.' We will emphasize creativity and deliver extremely high
quality productions. I believe that creating games that maximize
entertainment value is essential to the growth of the video game industry.
We hope you will look forward to Metal Gear Solid 4 as the first of many
new endeavors from Kojima Productions."
Kojima Productions combines the strengths of producer/director Hideo
Kojima, producer Kenichiro Imaizumi, director Shuyo Murata, and character
designer Yoji Shinkawa. Kojima Productions will concentrate its efforts and
experience to take full advantage of the hardware capabilities of SCEI's
next-generation console, infusing the world of Metal Gear Solid with
completely new game designs and concepts.
Tecmo Announces Dead Or Alive 4 As Launch Title For Xbox 360
At the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Tecmo announced that it's highly
anticipated next installment in its extremely popular Dead or Alive
fighting series, Dead or Alive 4, will be the premier launch title for the
next generation Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft
this holiday season. Taking advantage of the superior technology of the new
Xbox 360, Dead or Alive 4 will be the defining gaming experience on the
next generation console as it will encompass all that Xbox 360 has to
offer, giving players the most rewarding digital fighting experience to
date on any video game console.
Dead or Alive 4 will be the leader in fighting games as it once again
raises the bar in both online and offline fighting. By utilizing the
advanced technology of the new Xbox 360 hardware, Dead or Alive 4 will
redefine 3-D high definition graphics as the attention to detail is
astounding from each strand of the character's hair to each cherry blossom
falling from the sky, creating the most visually beautiful and realistic
looking video game to date.
Dead or Alive 4's unsurpassed online capabilities via Xbox Live will set
the stage for all online 3-D fighting games to follow as more players will
be able to play Dead or Alive 4 simultaneously online to compete in larger
more impressive Xbox Live tournaments around the globe. Dead or Alive 4's
online world will also include innovative and interactive online lobbies
featuring voice and text chat, detailed online scoreboards, and an exciting
feature that will allow DOA fans to form clans while playing Dead or Alive
4 on Xbox Live.
Dead or Alive 4 also boasts incredible new interactive stages, an all star
line-up of old and new favorite characters, and the most complex DOA
countering system yet, all adding up to the must-have video game to own
along with Xbox 360 this holiday season.
Dead or Alive 4 plans to dominate the fighting game genre as one of the top
launch titles for the new Xbox 360. Following-up this claim is the new
breathtaking high definition cinematic trailer which debuted at Microsoft's
annual press briefing on May 16, 2005 creating quite a stir among the
audience of gaming press with its dramatic new footage, jaw dropping
high-definition in-game graphics, and exciting new details into the world
of Dead or Alive. Both Tecmo and Microsoft will be displaying the new Dead
or Alive 4 trailer at their booths during all three days of E3 2005.
Destroy All Humans! To Ship
THQ Inc. announced the detection of paranormal online activity being
tracked at www.alien-army.com. The Web site appears to be recruiting humans
at an alarming rate in an effort to build awareness and understanding about
the Destroy All Humans! video game, scheduled for release on the
PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from
Microsoft, June 21, 2005, at the suggested retail price of $49.99.
Upon further investigation it appears the community of online brand
ambassadors for Destroy All Humans! is exercising the power of the internet
to create fan sites and blogs, participate in weekly contests, propagate
Destroy All Humans! banner placement and achieve other initiatives to
spread consciousness about the game to online hotspots visited by Alien
Army members.
"We're here to make sure our alien friends are not misunderstood or
misrepresented," said Wag, webmaster of AlienArmy.com. "I mean, sure the
game is called Destroy All Humans!, but I don't think they really mean it.
Why else would anyone who joins the Alien Army be granted access to the
mothership, instead of being left on Earth?"
"Destroy All Humans is one of the most anticipated titles of 2005 and is
another example of THQ's growing presence in the core gamer market," said
Peter Dille, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "The game has
a style and feel all its own, and we've been focused on delivering a
marketing campaign as original as the title itself."
In addition to the inside track to the invasion, consumers who enlist in
the Alien Army receives a personal e-mail account, exclusive game
information and opportunities to win gift cards, games and much more. For
more information on the video game or how to join the Alien Army, visit
http://www.destroyallhumansgame.com.
Japan State Bans 'Grand Theft Auto' Sales
A state in Japan has decided to ban a U.S. video game from being sold or
rented to minors, after officials deemed it harmful and capable of inciting
violence.
"Grand Theft Auto III," produced by U.S.-based Rockstar Games Inc., was
introduced in Japan in September 2003 and has sold about 350,000 copies.
It depicts random killing sprees in public places, cars being blown up and
other acts of violence that officials fear teens might try to mimic, said
Takahito Hayashi, a child welfare official.
The game will receive a "harmful" product label in Kanagawa prefecture, or
state, where retailers will be barred from selling or renting the game to
anyone under age 18. The game also will have to be displayed separately
from other titles, he said
While other products have faced similar restrictions due to explicit sexual
content, it is the first time Japan has placed such measures on game
software because of violence, Hayashi said.
Osaka-based Capcom Co. Ltd., which distributes the game in Japan, refused
to comment.
Kanagawa prefecture, just south of Tokyo, includes major cities like
Yokohama and Kawasaki.
Illinois Lawmakers Vote on Video Game Sales Ban
Lawmakers voted Saturday to ban the sale of violent or sexually explicit
video games to minors in Illinois, a move other states and cities have
tried but federal courts have repeatedly struck down.
The measure now goes to Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who proposed the
ban late last year after hearing about the video game "JFK Reloaded," which
puts the player in the role of President Kennedy's assassin.
"In today's world, parents face unprecedented challenges in monitoring and
protecting their children from harmful influences. This bill will make
their job easier," Blagojevich said, praising the House's 106-6 vote. The
state Senate approved the bill earlier this month.
Under the legislation, clerks who knowingly sell adult video games to
minors could be fined $1,000. They could defend themselves by showing they
did not know the buyer was a minor or that they followed the industry
ratings on the games.
The legislation leaves it to stores to determine which games are too
violent or sexually explicit for minors, and retailers have argued it turns
them into violence and sensitivity police.
A federal judge last summer struck down a Washington state ban as a
violation of free speech because it prohibited selling to minors video
games depicting violence against police officers but not other depictions
of violence. Federal courts have also struck down bans in Indianapolis and
St. Louis County, Mo., saying the measures encroach on the First Amendment.
The judge in Washington state also determined the ban was too broad because
it was unclear which games would be banned - something Illinois lawmakers
say could be a problem with the legislation now headed to Blagojevich's
desk.
"What we have is all we ever get - all fluff and no stuff," Republican Rep.
Bill Black said.
But supporters insisted the government has a duty to help parents shield
children from violence and sexuality. "Don't let them become the monsters
that we see in these violent games," Democratic Rep. Monique Davis said.
Push for California Violent Video Game Bill Stalls
A bill before the California Assembly to ban the sale of violent video
games has been shelved because of a lack of support, an aide to its author
said on Friday.
Assemblyman Leland Yee has deactivated his bill after failing to muster
enough votes for it to pass the full Assembly, said aide Adam Keigwin.
"We've put it in the inactive file," Keigwin said, noting there is a
possibility Yee may ask lawmakers to revive the bill in the state Senate
for a last-minute push this legislative session.
If not, Yee, a child psychologist, will bring his bill up for
reconsideration in the state's next legislative session, Keigwin said.
"Dr. Yee is committed to this issue, but he wants to build more support for
this bill," Keigwin said.
The Assembly's arts committee passed the bill early last month on a 6-4
vote after reconsidering it. The bill had previously failed to pass the
committee when it fell a vote short of the necessary six votes.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose Hollywood film career includes violent
movies, has not taken a position on the bill, which allows for $1,000 fines
for violators and requires violent video games to be labeled.
The video game industry bitterly contested the bill, and it expects it will
have to do so again. "I don't think the fight is over in California," said
Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association.
"We'll continue to wage this effort wherever we have to," Lowenstein added,
referring to similar bills in other state legislatures.
Video game developers and console makers say laws restricting game sales
are unnecessary because their $10 billion industry does a good job stopping
minors from buying "Mature"-rated games.
At This Restaurant, the Video Games Come With the Meal
Nolan K. Bushnell, the creator of the Pong video game and founder of the
Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, is innovating again. He is about to open
a restaurant where the servers will have novel attributes: triple
redundancy and backup batteries.
In this case, the servers will not be human waiters but powerful central
computers that will record food orders and display video games that
customers can play while they eat.
Mr. Bushnell calls the concept the Media Bistro, and he plans to open the
first one in West Los Angeles this fall. The point, he said, is to get
gamers out of the house.
Video games today "are about social isolation," Mr. Bushnell said. "There
needs to be a place that brings a little more balance and brings people
together."
In an interview last week, he described how the 300-seat restaurant and bar
would combine food and drink with ubiquitous interactive media.
Touch-screen monitors, installed at every table, booth and barstool, will
allow diners to place food orders, play some 70 different video and trivia
games, and even take instant pop culture polls.
The monitors at the tables will be two-sided, so that two people, or two
couples, will be able to play video games against each other. The
restaurant will be divided into two sections, one with more casual gaming
at the tables and another where games can be organized for large groups, as
in bingo halls.
Projected onto the walls of the restaurant will be digital images ranging
from movie previews to changing scenes, like snowfall in winter and clover
fields on St. Patrick's Day.
"There will be media everywhere, interactivity everywhere," said Mr.
Bushnell, who is 62. "This is not going to be candlelight dinner."
Some game industry analysts, however, find it hard to imagine that
consumers will want to combine a night out with playing video games, which
they can do at home.
"Do I need to marry those two things?" said Michael Pachter, an analyst
with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "It's like saying you're going to combine a
restaurant and a barbershop."
Others, like P. J. McNealy, a video game industry analyst with American
Technology Research, said the mass-market appeal of video games had led to
an intersection with other forms of entertainment, like movies. Combining
food and video games, Mr. McNealy said, "continues the trend of business
model experimentation."
Given Mr. Bushnell's successes as a serial entrepreneur and his experience
with video games and restaurants, industry analysts said they were
generally cautious about second-guessing his concept.
Even Mr. Pachter was quick to add that he would not have predicted the
success of Pong, an arcade game introduced in 1972 that helped usher in the
video game revolution. Nor, he said, would he have guessed the popularity
of Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theaters, a chain of 498 family restaurants
that feature a variety of arcade games. Mr. Bushnell began the business in
1976; today the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese is CEC Entertainment.
Mr. Bushnell has also had a hand in developing or founding nearly two dozen
companies, including Atari in 1972; Etak, a maker of in-car navigation
systems, which he started in 1982 and sold to Rupert Murdoch in 1989; and
Axlon, a toy company, in 1985.
Mr. Bushnell now runs a small public company called uWink, based in Los
Angeles, which develops short-form video games, like poker and trivia
games. He said the company had invested about $12 million in developing
software for Media Bistro. He said he hoped the restaurant would attract
21- to 35-year-olds.
He said he expected the restaurant to turn a profit by holding down costs.
Instead of waiters who take orders, it will have food runners who deliver
orders to the tables.
The restaurant will also have "tour directors" who will help diners choose
video games and use the screens, Mr. Bushnell said.
He also plans to generate revenue by using the touch-screens to test
commercials and conduct consumer surveys on behalf of corporations. Could
this be intrusive while people are relaxing?
"Beats me," Mr. Bushnell said. "If they don't like it, we'll stop it."
If the first restaurant succeeds, he said, he will add others, possibly in
states like Minnesota and Michigan, where cold weather increases demand for
indoor entertainment.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Time Running Out for Microsoft in EU Row
Time runs out for Microsoft this week after an antitrust ruling by the
European Commission: it must either comply or face possible fines up to
$5 million daily.
The Commission, which polices competition in the 25-nation European Union,
fined the U.S. software giant a record 497 million euros ($654.9 million)
on March 24, 2004, and ordered it to change the way it does business.
Microsoft went to court to try to put off the remedy but lost. By that time
Microsoft's time to comply had long run out but the company continued to
delay, to the increasing consternation and frustration of the Commission.
That all is supposed to change on June 1.
"The deadline is the end of this month and if it's not met then it's the
end of the game," European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said last
week in Madrid.
Microsoft must make its ubiquitous Windows operating system available
without Windows Media Player, so computer makers could buy alternative
software, to play films and music, from RealNetworks and Apple.
The company must also share information with rival makers of servers used
to run printers and retrieve files, an issue known as interoperability. The
company was also supposed to propose a trustee to monitor its compliance.
Kroes met Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in May and discussed the situation
with him.
"We made a deal that before the end of the month we would reach an
agreement. We are waiting for the Microsoft people to do their homework,"
Kroes told Reuters last week.
As a practical matter, that means that Microsoft must put in its final
proposal to comply with requirements by Wednesday and the Commission may
take some time to consider whether it complies.
The Commission could fine Microsoft up to $5 million daily for failure to
comply with the sanctions imposed on it. But that would require it to open
a special proceeding with charges and a decision by the Commission.
However, there is little to decide and the Commission has full authority
to judge whether its ruling is being followed.
Some experts speculate that the decision to fine could come by the August
recess of the Commission.
Microsoft has said it working hard to co-operate with the Commission.
Anti-Spyware Bills Pass House, Move to Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly passed two
separate anti-spyware bills, but as the measures now move to the Senate,
legislators will find most of the hard questions unresolved-a familiar
scenario in Congress, where similar House bills withered last year
following Senate inaction.
The SPY ACT (Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass), authored by
Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., takes the more active approach, requiring a
conspicuous notice to users before transmitting spyware.
The SPY ACT largely resembles the Senate's SPYBLOCK (Software Principles
Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) bill, sponsored by Sens.
Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. The
sponsors are awaiting a date for a committee hearing on the bill and hope
to have one before the end of the summer, an aide to Burns said.
Alternatively, the Internet Spyware Prevention Act, authored by Rep. Bob
Goodlatte, R-Va., focuses on penalties for fraudulent or deceptive behavior
without targeting any particular technology-an approach favored by the IT
industry.
Goodlatte's bill, which passed the House 395-1, makes it a crime to
intentionally access a computer without authorization by causing code to be
copied onto the computer and using it for malicious purposes.
From the industry's perspective, the Goodlatte approach avoids the
possibility of ensnaring legitimate software downloads, such as security
patches.
IT managers, who are employing a growing array of technologies to combat
spyware themselves, widely applaud the legislative initiatives as a
supplement to their own efforts.
Jeff Smestuen, network manager at Blue Bell Creameries L.P., in Brenham,
Texas, said spyware and other unwelcome traffic have increased
exponentially on his network in the past 18 months.
"Most of [the data mining programs] are crap software. They take up a lot
of resources on your machine, and they can take a machine down to a crawl,"
Smestuen said.
As for the legislative approach to reducing spyware, Smestuen said he
supports both a notice requirement and tough criminal penalties.
"The only way you should get those kinds of programs is if you agree,"
Smestuen said. "I think of spyware and spam as theft and an intrusion. It's
costing me money and productivity. The laws need to be strict, and the
penalties have to be severe."
Many Unaware of Browser-Security Link
Many American online computer users are unaware that choice of browser
affects Internet security, and few switch browsers even when they know the
risk, a Norwegian study said Monday.
The Oslo-based browser-maker Opera Software ASA, which touts its own
browser as being one of the most secure, released a survey of 2,835 online
users in the United States, which indicated that only 51 percent of what
it called the "adult online population" were aware that the type of browser
can affect a computer's vulnerability to malicious software, such as
viruses and spyware.
The poll, first released to The Associated Press, also showed that only 11
percent of those asked said they had switched browsers for security
reasons. The survey was conducted in March 25-29 by the Harris Interactive
polling group and had a margin of error of about 5 percentage points.
Malicious software often targets a specific type of browser, and generally
those that are the most widely used. The poll said that 49 percent of those
asked did not know that their choice of browser can make a difference,
including 17 percent who thought it had no effect.
Although a small percentage said they had switched browsers for security
reasons, 66 percent said they would consider a change if it would improve
security.
"Changing to a more secure browser is one of the simplest ways for Web
users to make surfing safer and minimize the risk of falling victim to
virus, spyware or 'phishing' attacks," said Opera's chief technical officer
Haakon Wium Lie, referring to various techniques of tricking Internet users
to hand over personal information, such as credit card numbers and
passwords.
The tiny Norwegian browser company claimed that Internet security upgrades
were a key part of its Opera 8 version, released last month. Among the
features is a special window that rates the security of the page visited
on a scale of one to three.
Opera commands less than 0.2 percent of the Windows market, far behind the
industry leading Internet Explorer from Microsoft Corp. and various
open-source browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox.
MSN Site Hacking Went Undetected for Days
Password-stealing software planted by hackers was active on Microsoft's
popular MSN Web site in South Korea for days before the world's largest
software company learned about the break-in and removed the computer code.
Police investigators and Microsoft specialists are continuing to search
for clues to the culprits behind this week's high-profile computer
break-in. More details emerged Friday about the hacking, which targeted
subscribers of an online game called "Lineage" that is popular in Asia.
Microsoft Corp. said it had cleaned the Web site, www.msn.co.kr, and
removed the software code that had been planted on its news page. It said
another company that operates the MSN Korea site apparently failed to apply
necessary software patches, leaving its server computers vulnerable.
Security researchers at San Diego-based Websense Inc. discovered the
break-in late Sunday during routine scans it makes against more than 250
million Web sites each week looking for sources of viruses and other
infections.
A previous inspection by Websense of the MSN Korea site the evening of May
27 did not detect the dangerous software.
"Our alarms went off (Sunday). We noticed it was infected," said Dan
Hubbard, its senior security director.
Hubbard said Websense researchers investigated further and quickly updated
protective software to keep its own corporate customers safe. It did not
successfully reach Microsoft officials to warn them about the break-in
until midday Tuesday, a day after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Microsoft said it removed the password-stealing software from the MSN site
hours later.
The chronology suggests the hackers could have harvested stolen passwords
from visitors to the MSN site for up to three days. But their target -
passwords to game accounts - lessened the significance of the break-in
since the hacker software appeared not to collect any network or banking
passwords.
The Lineage game and its successor boast more than 4 million subscribers,
mostly in Asia, who pay about $15 each month, said Mike Crouch, a spokesman
for the U.S. subsidiary of South Korea-based NCSoft Corp. Crouch said he
was unaware of any significant increase in complaints by subscribers about
stolen passwords tied to the Microsoft break-in.
South Korea is a leader in high-speed Internet users worldwide. Microsoft's
MSN Web properties - which offer news, financial advice, car- and
home-buying information and more - are among the most popular across the
Web.
A Microsoft spokesman, Adam Sohn, said the company was confident its
English-language Web sites were not vulnerable to the same type of attack.
Can You Trust Your Spyware Protection?
The next time you run a scan with your anti-spyware tool, it might miss
some programs. Several anti-spyware firms, including Aluria, Lavasoft, and
PestPatrol, have quietly stopped detecting adware from companies like
Claria and WhenU - a process called delisting. Those adware companies have
been petitioning anti-spyware firms to delist their software; other
companies have resorted to sending cease-and-desist letters that threaten
legal action.
In most cases it's difficult for customers to determine whether their
anti-spyware tool has delisted anything and, if so, which adware it skips.
"When a spyware program gets delisted, users won't be aware of its
presence," says Harvard law student and spyware researcher Ben Edelman. The
practice, he says, "offers spyware makers a new lease on life, letting them
keep users who otherwise would have removed their software."
Of course, some spyware apps are worse than others. One spyware program
may make severe changes to your computer's settings, while another merely
displays ads.
Claria and WhenU are making the case that their adware programs don't
resort to illegal tactics, such as exploiting security holes, to install
themselves. And though this software can be annoying, adware developers
argue that merely being listed in an anti-spyware scanner's database
tarnishes a company's reputation by linking its relatively benign adware
application with far more harmful and intrusive spyware programs.
According to Avi Naider of WhenU, though some other adware companies will
track your Web meanderings and sell that data, WhenU's privacy policy
doesn't permit it to track the search queries that users type or the Web
pages that they browse.
Each anti-spyware firm uses its own set of criteria to decide whether to
remove or detect a file or Registry key related to spyware. Usually even a
few bad behaviors suffice to red-tag a file as spyware or adware.
Peter Mackow of PCTools, maker of the Spyware Doctor anti-spyware program,
says that his company won't publish the entire list of its criteria for
fear that spyware companies will use the information to design a spyware
application that skirts every rule. That is a position shared by many
others who fight spyware.
"The spyware guys want a really rigid set of rules defining spyware so they
can then make an end run around [all of them]," says Eric L. Howes, who
tracks the spyware business for Spywarewarrior.com and consults for
anti-spyware software companies.
Experts recommend that you employ two--or even three--anti-spyware tools.
The more you use, the likelier they are to counter the individual biases
of each anti-spyware company.
It's unfair to permanently blacklist a company based on its past behavior,
so some delisting is inevitable. But delisting an adware application is a
dangerous proposition for anti-spyware developers. In the past, some
spyware and adware makers have changed their software enough to get
delisted only to resume the activity that got them flagged in the first
place.
As a result, the anti-spyware industry has developed a thick skin.
Delisting is rare because, Edelman says, anti-spyware firms "stand up to
strongly worded demand letters."
Adware companies also decry the word spyware itself as inherently negative,
so some anti-spyware firms have tried to create terms that mean essentially
the same thing, using more-neutral language: grayware, potentially unwanted
programs, or potentially unwanted software. But Webroot's CEO David Moll
argues that matters could get more confusing if the anti-spyware companies
try to refer to spyware by other names, just when many people are beginning
to understand what spyware can do.
Mytob, Bagle Variants on the Prowl
Security firms are reporting a jump in the number of variants of the Mytob
and Bagle e-mail viruses.
Mytob uses its own e-mail engine to mail itself to addresses in the contact
list of infected computers. Bagle downloads Trojan code from a variety of
Web sites and then uses that code to gather e-mail addresses from infected
computers.
Fortunately, neither virus is particularly damaging.
When new versions of viruses appear, said Thomas Kristensen, CTO of
security firm Secunia, they often contain enough code from the previous
versions that anti-virus software is able to detect them even if its virus
definition tables have not been updated.
Such is the case with Bagle. Its new iterations appear to be encountering
significant resistance from virus software currently in place on networks
and individual computers. Bagle currently has about 70 variants and has
been circulated on the Internet since January of 2004.
The new variants of Mytob, however, seem to be more successful. "Some of
the variants have been able to escape previous patterns," Kristensen said,
allowing them to spread more quickly than the new Bagle variants.
Both viruses depend on users who do what security experts for years have
been warning them not to do: Clicking on attachments in e-mails delivers
the payload for both viruses. "These are fairly normal virus outbreaks,"
said Kristensen.
"Socio-engineering" is the term used by experts to describe how writers of
malicious code trick users into launching viruses delivered via e-mail. In
the case of one of the new Bagle variants, the infected e-mails have no
subject line and no message text. An attached ZIP file retrieves the Trojan
code when opened.
Spyware Software Dubbed 'Ransom-ware'
An apparently bogus anti-spyware tool is the newest addition to the
expanding "ransom-ware" category of malware, Panda Software said Tuesday.
Ransom-ware, the term some have slapped on malicious code that infects a
PC, then demands money in return for cleaning up the machine or unlocking
suddenly-encrypted documents, is just another example of how hackers are
increasingly driven by greed, Luis Corrons, the director of Panda's
research lab, said in a press release. Now, said, Corrons, a purported
anti-spyware product, SpywareNo, joins the list of ransom-ware.
Surreptitiously downloaded when users visit certain porn or pirate Web
sites, SpywareNo exploits vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Internet Explorer
to get onto a PC. Once it installs itself, it creates an icon on the
desktop and displays a bogus warning that the system's infected with
spyware, Corrons said. (It also modifies the Windows Registry to guarantee
it runs every time the PC is started, even after the user thinks he's
managed to manually delete the program.)
The warnings are as fake as a $3 bill.
The on-screen alert invites users to purchase the full version ($20 for a
month's subscription, $60 for an annual plan); only those who pay the
ransom see the "threats" disappear.
"If users fail to register, this commercial software will 'detect' threats
that don't actually exist on the computer, and which will 'disappear' as
soon as users pay for the product," said Panda in its own warning.
In a release posted to the Spyware Warrior anti-spyware message forum,
someone claiming to be the public relations manager for SpywareNo took
exception with the ransom-ware categorization, and blamed the
drive-by-installs on out-of-control affiliates.
"The spyware removal software market is so overcrowded," wrote someone
identifying herself as Jessica Simmons. "The competition is very very hard.
That is why we direct all our efforts to development itself and have no
time and power to advertise our products effectively. We use affiliated
advertisers to do this. This is an easy way for us. This way is a very
dangerous though. It is a shame that some of our advertisers do not respect
the law, but unfortunately we are unable to check them all at the initial
stage."
The poster went on to say that SpywareNo "does not install silently or
without permission," and that any such instance is due to "those
unprincipled advertisers."
End-users commenting to the dslreports.com message forum, however, say
different. One said SpywareNo got installed "out of nowhere," while Eric
Howes, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, a contributor to
the Spyware Warrior site and list, noted "the [SpywareNo] scanner turned
up eight listed spyware programs, all 'high risk' in just two seconds. Even
a scan of the processes [running in Windows] takes five or six seconds.
That's a big red flag," he said. "SpywareNo wasn't actually scanning
anything at all.
"Within 48 hours of the first report we had of SpywareNo, we had reports
from all over the place," said Howes. "The fact that the reports came from
a number of different sources, at about the same time" indicate that it
had been seeded on multiple Web sites.
Phony spyware detection isn't a new tactic, said Howes, who compared
SpywareNo's approach to others, such as Spywiper and SpyWareAssassin, two
products which have been investigated by the Federal Trade Commission.
"They're guilty of unfair practices, just as was SpyWareAssassin," Howes
alleges. "But I think Panda is on to something by classifying it as
'ransom-ware.'
"SpywareNo has been irresponsible at best," he added. "I've stopped
listening to that 'our affiliates did it' excuse years ago. Even if its'
true, they're still responsible."
Attempts to contact SpywareNo, which according to the alleged public
relations spokeswoman, is based in Istanbul, were unsuccessful.
EBay to Acquire Shopping.com for $620M
EBay Inc. said Wednesday it would acquire comparison shopping and consumer
review site Shopping.com Inc. for about $620 million in cash.
Executives at the San Jose, Calif.-based online auction giant said the
purchase, expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2005, puts eBay
sellers in touch with a new set of potential buyers and boosts the number
of fixed-price sales listings, which are growing more popular with online
shoppers.
The deal also expands the auctioneer's efforts to provide more reviews and
customer feedback about products listed on the site. Brisbane, Calif.-based
Shopping.com controls Epinions, a site containing more than 400,000 amateur
reviews on items ranging from computer servers to mountain bikes.
"Shopping.coms comparison technology simplifies the online shopping
experience, and the Epinions community of reviewers is a great match with
our own," said Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America.
According to the terms of the deal, eBay will acquire all outstanding
shares of Shopping.com stock for $21 per share in cash, a premium over its
$17.44 close on NASDAQ Wednesday, before the deal was announced.
Laptops Now More Popular Than Desktops
In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have
for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar
month, the research firm Current Analysis says.
After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current
Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal
computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last
year.
San Diego-based Current Analysis does not follow worldwide personal
computer sales.
Spurring demand for notebooks is their overall price drop as quality has
improved, says Sam Bhavnani, senior analyst for Current Analysis. "Just a
few years ago, the performance of notebooks was nowhere near where it is
today," he said.
Notebook prices fell 17 percent during the past year while desktop prices
dipped only 4 percent. Some of the features common in most notebooks are
longer-lasting batteries, CD burners and wireless capability.
The computing crowd is increasingly requiring mobility.
Last year, 80 percent of notebooks offered wireless; this year, it's 95
percent, Current Analysis says.
"There used to be a time when people expected a reply to an e-mail within
a couple of days. Now they expect a response within 24 hours. People want
to stay connected wherever they are," said Bhavnani.
Notebooks will continue to grab bigger shares of the PC market, Bhavnani
predicted. "You're not going to see the desktop go away though."
Discarded Hard Drives Still Contain Data
A study commissioned by the German firm O&O Software, a developer of
hard-drive utilities, found that of 200 hard drives purchased through eBay,
71 percent had data that could be reconstructed.
The company did a similar study in 2004 and found that 88 of 100 disks
bought through the auction site contained easily recovered data.
"In 2005, the results show a small improvement," the report noted.
"However, even when the percentage of recoverable data on the tested hard
disks has fallen, the 'quality' of the recovered data has improved
dramatically."
The information that O&O was able to reconstruct from the drives included
legal correspondence from government agencies, credit ratings, and
documents related to a case of embezzlement.
On one disk, which the company nicknamed "the onion drive," information was
recovered from three previous owners who did not seem to be related
personally or professionally.
Although some of the drives belonged to home users, many were formerly
owned by companies.
"It is astounding to hear from administrators working in companies who
believe that since all of their data are saved on a central server, no
important data are stored locally," the report said.
Since the second-hand market is experiencing booming growth, O&O's study
should serve as a caution for CIOs seeking to offload equipment.
"Technology is changing very quickly, and more companies are eager to get
rid of their old equipment," said Kory Bostwick, president of PC Disposal,
a refurbishment company that has seen over 300 percent growth in the past
year.
"As companies get ready to clean their closets, though, drive cleansing
should be more than just an afterthought," he said. "Considering that trade
secrets or other sensitive information could be on the drives, the company
could be opening itself up for a lawsuit or identity theft if it's not
careful.
Are You Addicted to E-Mail?
U.S. residents are so hooked on e-mail that some check for messages in the
bathroom, in church, and while driving, a new survey sponsored by America
Online has found.
The average e-mail user in the U.S. has two or three e-mail accounts and
spends about an hour every day reading, sending, and replying to messages,
according to the survey, conducted by Opinion Research.
E-mail dependency is so strong for 41 percent of survey respondents that
they check their e-mail inbox right after getting out of bed in the
morning. The average user checks his inbox five times per day, according to
the survey, which polled 4012 respondents at least 18 years old in the
20 largest U.S. cities.
About a fourth of respondents acknowledged being so e-mailholic that they
can't go more than two or three days without checking for messages. That
includes vacations, during which 60 percent of respondents admitted logging
into their inbox.
Unsurprisingly, all that e-mail activity sometimes leads to regrets. Almost
half of respondents - 45 percent - indicated they would like to have the
ability to retrieve a message they have sent but that hasn't been read yet.
There is as well, it seems, some attachment anxiety to sent messages. A
significant portion of respondents - 43 percent - would like to be able to
track where their messages get forwarded.
Finally, areas in which it's more likely to find e-mail junkies are, in
descending order: Miami/Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New
York, and Houston.
Some tips for those interested in curbing their e-mail compulsion:
Resolve not to check e-mail after a certain hour of the night and respect
the curfew.Often the best way to close the loop on an ongoing e-mail
discussion is to pick up the phone and call the other person.The next time
you find yourself complaining about the volume of e-mail you receive, look
at yourself in the mirror and reflect on how many messages you send out.Act
on every e-mail you open by deleting it, forwarding it, responding to it or
filing it.Go without e-mail one day per week.
Internet Group OKs 'XXX' Web Addresses
The Internet's primary oversight body approved a plan Wednesday to create
a virtual red-light district, setting the stage for pornographic Web sites
to use new addresses ending
in "xxx."
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers said it would begin
negotiations with ICM Registry Inc., run by British businessman Stuart
Lawley, to iron out technical issues and prices for the new Web addresses.
Adult-oriented sites, a $12 billion industry, probably could begin buying
"xxx" addresses as early as fall or winter depending on ICM's plans, ICANN
spokesman Kieran Baker said. The new pornography suffix was among 10 under
consideration by the regulatory group, which also recently approved
addresses ending in "jobs" and "travel."
ICM contends the "xxx" Web addresses, which it plans to sell for $60 a
year, will protect children from online smut if adult sites voluntarily
adopt the suffix so filtering software used by families can more
effectively block access to those sites. The $60 price is roughly ten times
higher than prices other companies charge for dot-com names.
"It will further help to protect kids," said John Morris, staff counsel at
the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology. Morris predicted
some adult sites will choose to buy "xxx" Web addresses but others will
continue to use dot-com.
=~=~=~=
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