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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 07 Issue 44
Volume 7, Issue 44 Atari Online News, Etc. October 28, 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
To subscribe to A-ONE, change e-mail addresses, or unsubscribe,
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0744 10/28/05
~ Web Users Less Trusting ~ People Are Talking! ~ New AtarICQ Release!
~ CCAG 2005 Rescheduled! ~ AntiSpyware Guidelines ~ New Hatari Version!
~ ICANN, VeriSign Settle! ~ Open Source Is Alive! ~ eBay Fraud in UK!
~ Microsoft Chided Again! ~ EmuTOS Is Upgraded! ~ MS Takes On Spam!
-* CallerID Coming For E-Mail? *-
-* OpenOffice 2.0 Has Eye On Microsoft *-
-* New Web Software A Challenge To Microsoft! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Imagine....a new record season for tropical storms and hurricanes. We're
still a month away from the end of the season, and we've already used up all
of the available names, plus one. It's been one heckuva couple of months.
The rain and wind this past week, along with the resulting destruction along
the east coast, has been amazing. It just goes to show you how destructive
nature really can be.
The weather being as it has these past few weeks has made a mess around
here. We haven't been able to keep up with our seasonal fall clean-up; it's
pretty tough clearing leaves and branches from the yard! Last weekend I
managed to dodge the raindrops and get the lawn mowed (after three weekends
of rain). The other good thing was our siding contractor finally decided
that they had time to do our siding and gutter repair - after almost six
months of waiting!
So, here we are, Halloween only days away. Turkey Day is rapidly
approaching (visions of Dana & Joe smacking lips in anticipation!). So, now
that I've completely got visions of turkey in my mind, I'd better get moving
along. Remember to watch out for the little ghosts and goblins (and who
knows what else!) roaming the streets on Monday!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Hatari, Version 0.80
Version 0.80 of the Atari ST emulator Hatari has been released:
- Hatari now supports STE hardware emulation (including STE palette, STE
shifter with horizontal fine scrolling and split screen effects, DMA
sound and STE joypads).
- Hatari can now emulate up to 14 MiB ST RAM instead of only 4 MiB.
- Support for parallel port joysticks.
- Improved GEMDOS HD emulation (added Fattrib() call).
- Adding and removing a GEMDOS or ACSI hard disk should now work
correctly.
- The screen conversion functions have been rewritten.
- Improved manual: Now with screenshots of the options dialogs.
URL: http://hatari.sourceforge.net/
EmuTOS, Version 0.8.1
EmuTOS version 0.8.1 has been released. EmuTOS is an open source
replacement for the TOS image files that are needed for Atari ST
emulators. This version mainly fixes some annoying bugs from the 0.8
release:
- Fixed stupid bug that prevented window dragging
- Fixed some unreadable dialog texts
- Fixed bug in GEMDOS Pterm function
- Implemented VDI calls vs_color and vq_color (for ST/STE)
- Finnish translation and keyboard mapping
- Support for swiss german keyboard mapping
URL: http://emutos.sourceforge.net/en/
AtarICQ 0.165 Is Released
Hi all,
This time the changes aren't that many, but I thought I better get a
new version released before I start changing things that will require
lots of time to finish :)
Go here to download the new version: http://www.ataricq.org
Recent changes:
* Added icons for 256 colour mode (Not all icons have 256 colour data)
* Changing online status can timeout now, if server is not responding.
AtarICQ interprets this as if we lost the connection.
* The keep_alive call is reimplemented, and sent to the icq server once
every 2 minutes. This may perhaps prevent aICQ from dropping the
connection.
* In preferences for contact list, you can now decide whether you wish
a selected contact to be indicated with a dotted box or by inverting the
nick.
Have fun.
Regards,
/Joakim
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE User Group Notes! - Meetings, Shows, and Info!
"""""""""""""""""""""""
CCAG Show Rescheduled
Show Rescheduled to December 4, 2005!
As some of you may be aware, we are allowed the use of the National Guard
Armory in Lorain, Ohio because one of our committee members is a member of
the National Guard. This allows us to hold this event very inexpensively
and free to vendors and attendees. In order for us to hold CCAG at the
National Guard Armory in Lorain, he must attend the event. Unfortunately,
Hurricane Rita activated the National Guard unit that he is in which meant
he was unavailable for the now previously scheduled event date of
October 22, 2005.
We have rescheduled the show to December 4, 2005, and have announced it via
our email mailing lists and on this website: http://ccagshow.com/
Again, we apologize for late change in plans but it simply couldn't be
helped. It's just one of the non-monetary costs of a free show.
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. I don't know about you, but I think that,
instead of putting my money into CDs or Money Market funds, I'm going
to squirrel it away in pharmaceutical and petroleum stocks.
Exxon/Mobil posted an almost 10 BILLION dollar profit this quarter.
That's three months, folks. Now, there are certain key times when a
corporation makes a profit either despite or because of hard times.
That, in and of itself, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
My problem with the whole thing is that we've been paying these prices
because someone told us that it was necessary. Now, granted that I'm
not a economist, but it seems to me that there are really only two
circumstances that should raise prices like we've seen: Either
increased costs to the supplier or a shortage of product. That old
"supply and demand" chestnut.
While we've heard of the possibilities of shortages, we haven't seen
any. That could mean that they're simply doing a terrific job of
keeping ahead of demand, or it could mean that they're... ummm... well,
sticking it to us. No matter which it turns out to be, there is one
undeniable fact... the amount of energy we demand is growing at a
faster rate than our resources are.
At any rate, we're all along for the ride, and I'm guessing it's going
to get worse before it gets better.
Of course, if you live in a country other than the United States, you're
probably chuckling and shaking your head right now, because you've been
paying higher prices for gasoline/petrol for years. Take comfort in the
fact that we're in the same boat now.
I'm going to warn you now... it's going to be a short column this week.
There haven't been a huge number of posts, and I'm running out of
things to rant about. <G>
Well, let's get to the news, hints, tips and info from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Ronald Hall asks about his CT60 and an RGB monitor:
"Hey gang. I was just wondering...doesn't the CT60 work with RGB (as in
SC1224 monitors)?
Reason I'm asking is, I was playing with some older demos, seeing which
ones still work and which ones don't. I was running at first with the
CT60 turned *off*. Some demos work, some don't - so I can only assume
its because of the motherboard mod thats done. Termfin runs, Beams
runs, Hmm runs, but none of the Douglas Litte (of Black Scorpion fame)
demos like Speeder work.
Anyway, I ran beams from ST low, no auto/acc/cpx stuff at all. It runs,
and says it found no CT60, no Centurbo, no...well, you get the idea. It
seems it detects some of these upgrades so I thought I'd boot up with
the CT60 *on*, hooked up to an SC1224 monitor, in st-low, no
auto/accs/cpxs and see what it would do.
Except that I can't even boot up. The screen goes garbled up color crazy
and thats it. Nothing. Nada.
Am I missing (as per my usual practice <grin>) something obvious here?"
'Chris' tells Ronald:
"I had similar problems when I clocked the bus with nemesis years ago.
Some games didn't work at all, the screen was just garbage and rolling
like mad, worked fine on a unclocked falcon... actually got tired of it
after a few games and ripped the thing out... I have CT60, and needless
to say i've not boosted any buses up... only one that might be worth
doing is the dsp clock..... I just overall get the feeling that people
haven't tested these bus upgrades out properly as indeed it causes
stuff to mess up... even know of some falcons which have been killed
due to overclocking, seems the videl gives up or something like
that.... i'm staying well clear of all that stuff now! not worth gaining
a few mhz at the risk of killing a falcon!!!!!"
Ronald tells Chris:
"I had the Nemesis accelerator in my first Falcon. It was very
compatible for me. All the demos, games, and apps that I used worked
just
fine.
Don't know what's different about the motherboard mod for the CT60 but it
is. About 1/3 of the demos I've tried so far don't work (this is with
the CT60 itself turned off). Some apps, such as Videomaster Falcon
apparently as well. I can't even boot up with an SC1224 monitor with
the CT60 on and the motherboard mods, although I can boot up with the
CT60 turned off. Are the motherboard mods active all the time, even
with the CT60 turned off?
Since you don't have the motherboard mod, can you tell me if you can
play MP3s with the CT60 alone with Aniplayer? Just curious..."
Chris replies:
"I think its down to video modes used, IMHO when the bus is running
20/25mhz some screen modes refuse to work correctly. I know half the
apps I used didn't work so just gave up in the end.
I am pretty sure aniplayer works in CT60 mode, but I have never been
able to solve my CT60 problems yet, I am lucky to get even to the
desktop let alone running any apps. I'm waiting for the CTCM module,
going to try underclocking the CT60 to like 40mhz and see if it runs
more stable then... my falcon has been in bits for like 2 years now,
even sent my falcon to rodolphe for testing and he said it works fine,
I don't see how as I can't even get to the desktop without it
crashing... ah well, old story now... hoping I can get some boost out
of the CT60 so I can at least put the lid back on my falcon!
FWIW, I can't play a mp3 in 030 mode, not very well, CPU flatlines and
mp3 starts stuttering, I think in CT60 mode it uses about 50%... really
can't remember now, half given up tbh."
Rodolphe Czuba jumps in and tells Chris:
"I'm always disappointed to read such bad things!
If you sent me your mb + CT and I told you that it was running fine for
me, you can be sure it was running fine...
NOW, you should think what are the peripherals you do not send me,
because there is a big chance that one of these (the HDD and the
software on it) is the problem!
When I receive mb + CT to test, I connect them on MY PSU and my HDD that
contains a good version of HD Driver (7.60). My HDD is a Quantum
Fireball 3.2 GB.
Even if you do not boost the mb, you can get some HDD problems because
of a HDD timing problem itself or a software driver problem !!
Think to that : HD Driver may run fine on 100% of HDD models on a 030
CPU and run on 95% of the HDD models with a so faster CPU like 060.
It is a timing problem (software timing, not hardware because MFP is the
same !)."
Last week someone asked about changing the icon background color on the
THING desktop. Someone recommended TeraDesk. Djordje Vukovic posts
this:
"TeraDesk simply the AES function rsrc_load() to read the icons file and
then uses objc_draw()/_add()/_change()/_hide()... to draw and
manipulate them. So the most elegant way to provide transparent icon
labels would be that an AES somehow provide that capability.
Alternative code might be created to provide enhanced rendering of the
icons, e.g. like transparent labels, or proper drawing of 'disabled'
icons (nice for for hidden files), but probably that would be more
trouble than it would be useful. On the other hand, if someone wishes
to contribute a piece of very small (up to a couple of hundred bytes)
and fast piece of icon-rendering code (treating icons as progdef'd
objects), it may get included in TeraDesk...
A new release of TeraDesk (V3.63) can be expected in a couple of weeks
or so-a number corrections has been made, some of which which may be
considered more as improvements of the functionality of certain
features. See new.txt on TeraDesk's home page.
I must admit that I do not understand this fascination with very long
filenames ;) OK, the 8+3 of FAT filesystem is really very limiting,
but extremely long names are boring to type, difficult to identify, and
make directory listings almost unreadable. IMO about 10-20 characters
should be enough- the useful content is supposed to be -in- the files,
not in their names.
Btw. TeraDesk can handle filenames up to 128 characters long and
complete paths can be up to 255 characters long, (but in some
situations the complete path may be limited to about 130 characters).
Bbtw. it is possible to change maximum name/path length in TeraDesk by
changing only three parameters in the source code- so a user should be
able to easily recompile the program with this feature set to his
liking (recently a user wished for filenames up to at least 1024
characters long...).
People have contacted me with very useful remarks about features which
did not work as declared, or missing features which would be useful.
Some of those suggestions have since been implemented in TeraDesk- so,
if you have some specific objections, please let me know, and maybe
something can be done about them."
Derrick Chapman asks for help with a hard drive:
"Hello all, can anyone help me? I have a 1 gig ex microsoft hard drive
which I want to connect to my Atari 1040st. I can't find any software
which will recognize the hard drive. Can any one tell me where I can
get icd software from?"
Ronald Hall tells Derrick:
"ICDs stuff is okay, but I'd heartily recommend Uwe Seimets' HDDriver
software. Its commercial, but worth every single penny."
Dr. Uwe Seimet, author of HD Driver, tells Derrick:
"In order to test if your drive is recognized the demo version
(http://www.seimet.de/hddriver_english.html) of HDDRIVER is sufficient.
In case your drive is not recognized by the ID check of the HDDRUTIL
tool the drive may not be jumpered correctly, or is not correctly
terminated, or it requires a SCSI feature called Initiator
Identification, which the ICD Link does not support."
Edward Baiz jumps in and adds his opinion:
"If you have the ICD Link 2, then I would get HDDriver. I have a Link2
in my STe and HDDriver works great with it."
Melvin Stoten asks:
"Which SyQuest SCSI parallel drives work with an Atari ST?"
Greg Goodwin tells Melvin:
"I don't know. However, the SyQuest EZ135 I own came with a parallel
cable adapter that I don't use. What do you mean by "SCSI parallel"?"
Melvin replies:
"Although SyQuest SCSI drives are old tech, I am new to them.
So, my understanding comes only from what I have been told.
I may be wrong about using "parallel." What I need to find out
is which SyQuest SCSI drives will work with a 1040ST with
4MB memory or a Mega 2. I now know from you that a SyQuest
EZ135 will work. Thanks much."
Ronald Hall adds:
"Oh, you threw me off when you asked about parallel. :-)
I've got both the EZ135 and EZ200. They both work just fine."
Well folks, that's it for this time around. Tune in again next week,
same time, same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying
when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Florida Goes After Violent Game Sales!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Slow Start for New Xbox?
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Florida Bill Aims to Curb Violent Video Game Sales
A Florida state senator has introduced a bill that would ban the sale or
rental of violent video games to minors, an aide to the lawmaker said on
Thursday.
Introduced on October 25 by state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a
Republican from Miami, the bill is a near clone of legislation recently
signed into law by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - Hollywood's
"Terminator" - who is portrayed in several video games based on his action
film roles.
Bills aimed at restricting sales of violent games to minors are the latest
salvo in a long campaign by detractors and some parent groups to limit
access to games with adult content.
Critics cite research suggesting that violent games can increase aggressive
behavior in young boys. Game makers and retailers counter that video games
carry ratings similar to those found on films, and many store clerks ask
for identification from young gamers to make sure they are not buying
titles aimed at older audiences.
The battle over controversial video game content flared anew this summer
when game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pulled its
blockbuster title "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" from store shelves
following the discovery of hidden sex scenes in its code.
Trade groups representing the $10 billion U.S. video game industry have
sued to strike down the new California law and are fighting similar battles
in Michigan and Illinois.
Courts already have blocked such legislation in Washington State, the city
of Indianapolis and St. Louis County in Missouri, finding that the laws
violated free speech guarantees in the U.S. Constitution.
Video game industry groups already have Diaz de la Portilla's bill in their
sights.
"The Senator's proposal is clearly unconstitutional," Gail Markels, senior
vice president and general counsel of the Entertainment Software
Association, said in a statement.
But lawmakers, who grab headlines for taking on the makers of violent
games, are undaunted and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton is leading a battle on
the federal front.
Take-Two's high-profile and best-selling "Grand Theft Auto" titles are a
lightning rod for critics of violent games - but they are not alone.
The upcoming title "25 to Life" has been dubbed a "cop killer" game by U.S.
Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York. Delayed until next year, it
was developed by Avalanche Studios and is being published by Eidos.
"50 Cent: Bulletproof" - inspired by the rapper and self-admitted former
crack cocaine dealer 50 Cent - has attracted stinging criticism for its
depictions of the underworld drug scene. Set for a November debut, the
game's developer is Genuine Games. Vivendi Universal Games has signed on as
its distributor.
New Xbox Set for Slow Start
Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox 360 video game console may get off to a slower
start than initially expected, but the software giant's plan to keep
production steady and expectations low may help it win against rival Sony
Corp., analysts said on Friday.
Current-generation Xbox sales have slowed ahead of the launch and Microsoft
cautioned that early Xbox 360 sales would not be as high as expected,
sparking an initial sell-off in the company's shares.
The world's largest software maker, in its quarterly earnings announcement
on Thursday, said that it expects revenue in the last three months of 2005
to be $11.9 billion to $12.0 billion, slightly lower than the average
analyst revenue forecast of $12.26 billion in the December quarter.
The shares have recovered after analysts noted that Microsoft would benefit
from avoiding a big sales spike after the November 22 launch. Disgruntled
customers were a problem for Sony when it launched its best-selling
PlayStation 2 console in 2000.
"They want to have more of a constant supply," said Matt Rosoff, analyst at
Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm.
"They don't want a huge spike in December and then a slump in January and
February," Rosoff said, "They're trying to avoid that."
Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said there wouldn't be a
big initial spike and promised that the software giant would be able to
ship between 4.5 and 5.5 million Xbox 360 consoles by the end of the
business year to June 2006.
For the launch in a month, analysts expect Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft to ship between 1.5 million and 2 million consoles.
Microsoft is expected to have another factory producing Xbox 360 consoles
in January, which will also increase supply ahead of Sony's spring launch
of its next-generation PlayStation 3 console.
"It's much more important longer term to get production up and running,"
said Shawn Milne analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey.
Console makers such as Nintendo Co. Ltd., Sony and Microsoft initially lose
money on each console and make that up in game title royalties. Only after
hardware costs come down do console makers reach break-even and make a
profit on the machines.
"Given the business model for the consoles the more Microsoft can backload
those hardware sales, the better it is for them financially," said Rosoff.
Most analysts agreed that Microsoft's fiscal year-end Xbox unit sales
target was achievable, and most expect sales to reach 6 million.
"What's clear is that the annual numbers are fine for the Xbox," said
Charles Di Bona, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
More important, said Milne, is for Microsoft to have a library of popular
game titles for Xbox 360. Because there aren't any clear game hits to spur
console sales, Microsoft won't need to ramp up product ion too
aggressively, Milne said.
Electronic Arts Inc., the world's biggest video game publisher, is set to
launch five new video game titles for the Xbox 360 launch, including "Need
for Speed Most Wanted" and "FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup".
But the third iteration of the "Halo" hit video game franchise developed by
Microsoft's in-house gaming studio, which was credited for driving sales of
the first Xbox after it debuted in 2001, isn't expected until at least the
second half of 2006.
The three companies contracted by Microsoft to build the Xbox 360 are
Flextronics International Ltd., Wistron Inc. and Celestica Inc. The
Celestica plant is expected to come online in early 2006.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Caller ID for Your E-Mail
When the telephone rings, most people check the caller ID window before
answering. If they see the name or phone number of a family member, friend,
or business associate, the conversation begins without fear or
inconvenience.
The telephone equipment cannot be tricked. Even when the caller ID window
displays "out of area" or "name blocked" messages, telephone users do not
have to worry about risking their identity or placing personal information
at risk if they decline to answer.
But this is not the case with e-mail. Malefactors can easily spoof the
sender's address to trick the recipient into opening the message.
Tricksters often make the subject line so inviting that the user cannot
wait to click on a message that, once opened, might contain harmful
computer code that installs ID-sniffing components or makes the computer
susceptible to more unwanted e-mails, otherwise known as spam.
A solution to this problem might soon be available. The computer industry
is fast-tracking a system called e-mail authentication, which will attempt
to do for e-mail what caller ID does for telephone calls. E-mail
authentication will assure the recipient that the sender actually is the
person identified in the message header.
"I have no lack of confidence that, given time, it will be fully
implemented, possibly within the next 18 months," said Tom Peterson, vice
president of technology for IronPort Systems, an e-mail security firm.
In addtion to being an annoyance to consumers, receiving unwanted e-mail
messages also is a worsening problem for businesses. But at the enterprise
level, companies have I.T. departments and third-party equipment to detect
spam and messages containing viruses and spyware.
Consumers, however, have neither the specialized equipment nor the training
to keep all unwanted e-mail from entering their home computers. So the
computer industry is aiming the fix at the sender level instead of at the
consumer level.
When the solutions are broadly adopted by Internet service providers
(ISPs), consumers will not have to do anything other than be aware of the
process because ISPs and e-mail gateway services are responsible for making
sure the mail they handle complies with the authentication policies.
However, even before these technologies come to market, consumers should
understand the implications of opening mail that is suspect. Also,
consumers who send larger-than-normal volumes of e-mail will run the risk
of having their messages blocked or delayed by e-mail-authentication
systems.
The crux of the authentication process is assigning a reputation score to
the sender.
And just like CIOs of larger companies, entrepreneurs will have to know
about reputation scores. Those who lack resources for I.T. consultants will
have to reach out to their ISPs or third-party mail gateway services to
ensure that their e-mail servers are not flagged with low or failing
reputation scores, Peterson said.
"The e-mail authentication process puts the burden on the consumer's ISP
and the enterprise's mail gateway," said George Bilbrey, vice president
and general manager of delivery assurance solutions for Return Path.
Outbound mailing applications make it easier for corporations to use the
authentication standards.
Consumers and small business owners might have to rely on software that
identifies the reasons why a message has failed to meet reputation
standards. For example, people who engage in more than casual e-mailing
might be treated as an offending bulk e-mailer, Bilbrey said.
Peterson is encouraged by the progress in the deployment of e-mail
authentication. But he expressed frustration that the adoption process is
not moving more quickly.
Full deployment of authentication is being slowed, Peterson said, because
some of the terminology is confusing and the industry has not yet solved
some ambiguity issues. Part of that confusion stems from having two
competing authentication systems: Domain Keys and Sender ID Framework.
Neither method attacks the cause of e-mail security issues -
vulnerabilities in the e-mail infrastructure itself. But many industry
leaders feel authentication will make a big dent in spoofing, phishing,
fraud, and, of course, spam.
Domain Keys, created by Yahoo, requires a two-part verification process of
the e-mail sender. The ISP or e-mail gateway service first authenticates
the message sender, and then the message sender receives a favorable
reputation score.
Sender ID Framework (SIDF), the second method, is a merger of proposals by
Microsoft and the developer of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) that requires
two levels of authentication before an e-mail message is delivered. The
message originator first registers for inclusion on a list that confirms
the sender's Internet Protocol (IP) address and then must gain mail-server
confirmation before sending.
Most security experts agree that the Domain Keys method is more rigorous
because it involves using encryption. But it also takes longer to
implement, making it easier for ISPs and mail gateway services to rely on
the less secure Domain Keys method.
Neither e-mail authentication system is fully implemented just yet. So far,
ISPs and popular e-mail services, such as America Online, Yahoo Mail,
Google Gmail, and Microsoft's Hotmail, have not done much to clue in users
to the verification process.
One thing consumers can do right now in anticipation of these schemes being
broadly adopted is to become more familiar with the elements of
authenticated mail. One way to do this is to take a look at e-mail headers.
Using Yahoo! Mail, for instance, an e-mail message's full header display
looks like this:
X-Apparently-To: username@yahoo.com via 208.190.38.220;
Sat, 01 Oct 2005 08:20:01 -0700
X-YahooFilteredBulk:70.103.249.130
X-Originating-IP:[70.103.249.130]
Return-Path:
Authentication-Results: mta112.mail.dcn.yahoo.com
from=piquaput.bigoar.net; domainkeys=neutral (no sig)
Received:from 70.103.249.130 (HELO
jocingistiregatundubekifi.ip-249-130.writhle.com) (70.103.249.130) by
mta112.mail.dcn.yahoo.com with SMTP;
Sat, 01 Oct 2005 08:20:00 -0700
From:"Foot Locker" Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: username@yahoo.com,
Subject:Sports Authority - Order Confirmation #501R-VBEC348
We altered some of the information to provide a fictional sample. Notice
the authentication results line. It shows the actual sender. Compare this
information to the from line below it.
See the difference? The sender appears to be a company whose name many
consumers recognize, the athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker. But a close
review of the full header details shows that the sender is not really that
merchant.
Also, the Domain Keys reference line in the header information gives the
sender a neutral rating.
Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Gmail, and other e-mail services are starting to
attach authentication verification messages to e-mails that are from
legitimate senders. For instance, on Yahoo! Mail a message from your bank
might display a notification message in gray print at the bottom that
verifies its authenticity.
Once e-mail authentication is fully deployed, consumers simply can delete
e-mail messages that do not display a "proof of sender" seal.
OpenOffice 2.0 Has Its Eye on Microsoft
OpenOffice.org has officially rolled out the second version of its
open-source productivity suite, and its backers are hoping that new
features and support from government agencies will give the application the
boost it needs to take on Microsoft Office.
The latest version, available for free, has been under development for two
years and is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Solaris. The software
takes advantage of open-source code developed by Sun Microsystems and first
released in 2000 as the OpenOffice.org project. The code also is behind
Sun's StarOffice 8, which is sold commercially.
Recent attention from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could give
OpenOffice.org a push. State officials, arguing that documents should be
based on open-source formats rather than proprietary ones, have become
staunch supporters of OpenOffice.org and the OpenDocument format.
But OpenOffice.org needs to provide people with a compelling reason to make
a shift from Microsoft, said Laura DiDio, a research fellow at Yankee
Group.
"Microsoft has been doing everything it can to ensure that customers are
comfortable with its product," DiDio says. "People need a reason to move
to a new product. They don't need a reason to stay with an old one."
New features of OpenOffice.org include a redesigned interface, a database
application, and wider compatibility with Microsoft Office document formats
and export-to-PDF components.
According to Didio, OpenOffice.org needs time to build up adequate
technical maintenance, service, and support systems, especially when it is
trying to replace a nearly ubiquitous product.
"Who do you call if you need a fix? With Microsoft you can call your
hardware manufacturer, who will be familiar with the product and any known
bugs and can then offer a fix," she said.
In the case of free software, DiDio said, warranties are not good and
seldom improve. Governments might be looking at getting out from under
Windows license agreements, but still they risk paying for similar
services, she said.
"Governments who think they can cut costs by switching to Linux and open
source distribution are not considering that this is a relatively immature
market that does not have as many applications built for it and is without
a structured mechanism through which users can receive help when the
technology goes south."
New Web Software a Challenge to Microsoft
A quiet revolution is transforming life on the Internet: New, agile
software now lets people quickly check flight options, see stock prices
fluctuate and better manage their online photos and e-mail.
Such tools make computing less of a chore because they sit on distant Web
servers and run over standard browsers. Users thus don't have to worry
about installing software or moving data when they switch computers.
And that could bode ill for Microsoft Corp. and its flagship Office suite,
which packs together word processing, spreadsheets and other applications.
The threat comes in large part from Ajax, a set of Web development tools
that speeds up Web applications by summoning snippets of data as needed
instead of pulling entire Web pages over and over.
"It definitely supports a Microsoft exit strategy," said Alexei White, a
product manager at Ajax developer eBusiness Applications Ltd. "I don't
think it can be a full replacement, but you could provide scaled-down
alternatives to most Office products that will be sufficient for some
users."
Ironically, Microsoft invented Ajax in the late 90s and has used it for
years to power an online version of its popular Outlook e-mail program.
Ajax's resurgence in recent months is thanks partly to its innovative use
by Google Inc. to fundamentally change online mapping. Before, maps were
static: Click on a left arrow, wait a few seconds as the Web page reloads
and see the map shift slightly to the left. Repeat. Repeat again.
"It's slow. It's frustrating," said frequent map user Fred Wagner, a
petroleum engineer in Houston. "We're all getting spoiled with wanting
things to happen."
So he sticks with Google Maps these days. There, he can drag the map over
any which way and watch new areas fill in instantly. He can zoom in quickly
using an Ajax slider.
No more World Wide Wait.
"Everybody went, `Ooooh, how did they do that?'" said Steve Yen, who runs
a company developing an Ajax spreadsheet called Num Sum. "It turns out the
technology's been there for awhile."
Jesse James Garrett, an Adaptive Path LLC usability strategist who publicly
coined the term `Ajax' 10 days after Google Maps launched in February, said
such examples "convinced a lot of Web designers to take another look at
something they may have previously dismissed as experimental."
Also contributing are faster Internet connections, more powerful computers
and better browsers able to handle Ajax, which is short for Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML.
Consider e-mail.
Until recently, Web mail meant sending forms back and forth online. Check
an item to delete and hit a button. A remote mail server receives
instructions and responds with an entirely new page, which is missing only
the one deleted item.
Enter Yahoo Inc. and an interface it is testing using technology from an
Ajax pioneer it bought, Oddpost. Delete an item this time, and Ajax
reconfigures the page immediately without waiting for a response.
Open a message to read, and the browser fetches only the message's body -
it already has the subject line and other header information and doesn't
have to waste time duplicating that data.
Yahoo also is developing an Ajax tool that instantly updates flight options
as travelers narrow their choices of airports, airlines and travel times.
This summer, Time Warner Inc.'s America Online Inc. started using Ajax to
let users rearrange, display and switch photo albums with fewer clicks.
And last week, Dow Jones & Co.'s MarketWatch began embedding news articles
with stock quotes updated several times a second, blinking green and red as
prices fluctuate.
"A Web page takes longer to load than that," said Jamie Thingelstad,
MarketWatch's chief technology officer. "Your computer would just be hung."
Microsoft, which uses Ajax in a new map offering and an upcoming Hotmail
upgrade, is even starting to build new tools to promote Ajax development -
even as it pushes a next-generation alternative.
The alternative technology, known as XAML, will permit even richer
applications over browsers. Alas, unlike Ajax, it will run only on
Microsoft's Windows computers - no Macs, no Linux.
Startups, meantime, are embracing Ajax for Office-like tools. Such
applications won't replace Office but could find a niche - parents
collaborating in a soccer league could jointly update a Num Sum spreadsheet
with scores, while users too poor to buy Office or students always on the
go could compose a letter from anywhere using Writely word processor.
Scott Guthrie, who oversees the Microsoft Ajax tools called Atlas, believes
Ajax has a future but not one at odds with Microsoft's.
"Ultimately when you want to write a word processing document or manage a
large spreadsheet, you are going to want the capabilities ... that are very
difficult to provide on the Web today," Guthrie said.
Computer-intensive applications like Adobe Systems Inc.'s Photoshop image
editor and high-end games won't come to browsers anytime soon.
Even Google had to create desktop mapping software, called Google Earth and
requiring a download, to permit 3-D and advanced features.
"Ajax cannot do everything," said Bret Taylor, who oversees Google's
mapping products. "Web applications have a way to go."
Other limitations are intentional. For security reasons, a browser cannot
seamlessly access files or other programs on a computer. And, of course,
Web applications require a persistent Internet connection - making work
difficult on airplanes.
Usability expert Jakob Nielsen also worries that loss of productivity - a
minute here, a minute there, multiplied by thousands of employees - will
offset any savings in installation costs.
"When you do a lot of transactions, you want something that's optimized for
the transaction, not something optimized for information browsing," he
said.
Among other criticisms, developer tools for Ajax aren't as mature as those
for one of its chief rivals, Macromedia Inc.'s Flash. And many Ajax
programs don't work well beyond Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's
Firefox browsers.
Yet Web-based applications are increasingly appealing at a time separate
computers for home, work and travel are common and people get used to
sharing calendars and other data with friends and relatives.
Ajax can make those experiences richer.
"There's a lot of power sitting on that Web browser ... that people are
just tapping into," said White of eBusiness Applications. Web developers
"are beginning to push its limits in terms of creative uses and new
applications."
eBay Fraudsters Jailed in Britain
Three Romanian fraudsters were jailed on Friday in London for their part in
a worldwide fraud carried out via Internet auction house eBay, which netted
at least 300,000 pounds ($533,000).
Some 3,000 victims from as far away as the United States and South Korea
were snared by the trio in the electronic scam that involved crime bosses
in Romania and which police fear continues to this day.
Judge Duncan Matheson sentenced Nicolae Cretanu, 30, to 3-1/2 years, his
wife Adriana Cretanu 23, and their accomplice George Titar, 26, to 30
months each.
"This was on any showing a major and sophisticated fraud," Matheson told
the Romanians as they stood in the dock at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court.
"It exploited perceived weaknesses in the eBay system."
Between 2003 and 2005 the three had played a major role in the fraud which
worked by operating bogus auctions for consumer goods ranging from scooters
to military memorabilia.
Unsuspecting eBayers who tried to buy the fictitious goods were contacted
and told their bid had been unsuccessful.
The disappointed bidders were then offered a second chance to buy similar
goods outside the eBay system which provides some security from fraud.
Through a variety of aliases and using a number of forged Belgian passports
the Romanians made hundreds of collections from Western Union money
transfer outlets in London.
They kept about 30 percent of the money they stole, the rest they passed
onto crime bosses in Romania.
Police officers are concerned the scam continues to be perpetuated by other
individuals who have not been arrested and convicted. British police
sources said in all likelihood the fraud had actually been far greater.
"The 300,000 pounds refers to the amount we could easily trace that they
had defrauded people of, but it is likely the real amount was far higher,"
one officer said.
Study Finds Less Trusting Internet Users
As identity theft has grown, so has fear of being victimized through
high-tech means. A new study finds some computer users are cutting back on
time spent surfing the Internet. Some have also stopped buying altogether
on the Web.
The report from Consumer Reports WebWatch finds nearly a third of those
surveyed say they've reduced their overall Web site use.
Some 80 percent of Internet users say they're at least somewhat concerned
someone could steal their identity from personal information on the
Internet. A majority of users asked say they've stopped giving out personal
information on the Web and a quarter say they've stopped buying online.
The survey was of 1,500 U.S. Web users aged 18 and older.
Anti-Spyware Group Publishes Guidelines
A coalition of anti-spyware vendors and consumer groups published
guidelines Thursday to help consumers assess products designed to combat
unwanted programs that sneak onto computers.
The Anti-Spyware Coalition released the guidelines for public comment and
also updated a separate document that attempted to craft uniform
definitions for "spyware" and "adware" in hopes of giving computer users
more control over their machines.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Internet users
have become more cautious online because of worries about spyware and
adware, which can bombard users with pop-up ads and drain processing power
to the point of rendering computers unusable.
Nearly half of adult online Americans have stopped visiting specific Web
sites that they fear might infect them with such unwanted programs, and a
quarter have ceased to use file-sharing software, which often comes bundled
with adware.
In addition, 43 percent of Internet users say they've been hit with
spyware, adware or both, with broadband users generally at greater risk.
The new guidelines from the coalition assign risk levels to various
practices common with spyware and adware.
High-risk practices include installation without a user's permission or
knowledge, interference with competing programs, interception of e-mail and
instant-messaging conversations and the display of ads without identifying
the program that generated them.
Changing a browser's home page or search engine setting is deemed a medium
risk, while using data files called cookies to collect information is
considered a low risk.
"Although all behaviors can be problematic if unauthorized, certain ones
tend to have a greater impact and are treated with more severity than
others," the guidelines say.
The idea is to agree on what practices consumers should worry most about.
Within the general rankings, individual vendors still have leeway to assign
their own weight to each behavior in deciding whether to quarantine or
remove a program when detected.
The coalition also offers similar rankings on consent.
High marks go to programs that are distributed as separate downloads in
clearly labeled packages, while those that try to bury what they do in
legalese are given low ratings.
The commenting period on the guidelines ends Nov. 27.
The guidelines could encourage industry "best practices" that developers
of adware and other programs could follow to avoid getting flagged by
anti-spyware vendors.
However, the coalition has yet to set a timetable for defining such
practices, said Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology,
which led the coalition.
Nonetheless, Schwartz said, Thursday's announcements represent a start
toward long-term improvements in anti-spyware tools and consumer education.
"There won't be as much gray area, and we'll have more transparency out
there," he said.
A separate coalition document defining spyware and related terms changed
little from the draft issued in July.
The updated definitions document, reflecting nearly 400 comments received
from the public, still flags as potential threats - an umbrella definition
that includes spyware, adware and other categories such as "hijackers" and
"cookies" - programs that:
_impair users' control over their systems, including privacy and security;
_impair the use of system resources, including what programs are installed
on their computers; and/or
_collect, use and distribute personal or otherwise sensitive information.
But by classifying "adware" as falling under the umbrella term, "Spyware
and Other Potentially Unwanted Technologies," the coalition avoided a key
dispute that has led to lawsuits by adware developers against anti-spyware
vendors: Is adware a form of spyware or are the two separate?
Microsoft Takes On the Spam Kings
Faced with a growing number of more sophisticated Internet spammers,
Microsoft is fighting back. The company is taking on those creating and
exploiting "zombie" computers to deliver mass e-mail and launch phishing
expeditions against unsuspecting computer users.
This company's most recent effort was prompted by a test in which the
software giant set up its own zombie machine and tracked all Internet
traffic on it for 20 days last summer. During that time, the infected
computer received some five million connection requests from spammers who
used the machine to send out over 18 million spam messages advertising more
than 13,000 individual Web sites.
The company had quarantined the machine, so these spam messages never went
out to the Internet at large. With evidence gathered from this test, the
company filed a federal lawsuit against 13 different spamming operations.
The zombie investigation also gave the company new insight into how to
combat spam and zombies, as well as how to fight the perpetrators in court.
Microsoft was able to uncover the Internet Protocol addresses of the
computers sending spamming requests to the quarantined zombie, along with
the addresses of the Web sites advertised in the spam. To prove these
requests were not isolated examples, Microsoft compared the Web sites
advertised in the quarantined zombie's spam to those listed in spam in the
MSN Hotmail trap accounts.
"Spammers are constantly changing their tactics, seeking new techniques to
remain hidden as governments and individuals take steps to stop them," said
Aaron Kornblum, an Internet safety enforcement attorney with Microsoft.
"What they are doing now is sending e-mail through other people's computers
using proxy malware."
With hundreds of thousands of PCs running around the clock on broadband
connections, spammers can use master lists of vulnerable machines to wreak
havoc in short time, said Kornblum. "What we saw last summer was
astonishing, and that was with only one computer. There are tens of
millions of infected machines out there."
Consequently, Microsoft has joined forces with the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) and Consumer Action to target those profiting from spam
and educate consumers on how to protect themselves.
The FTC, a federal consumer-protection agency, has launched "Operation
Spam Zombies" with 35 government partners from more than 20 countries to
prod Internet service providers (ISPs) into improving their security.
And because zombie computers show few recognizable signs of infection, it
is critical that users protect their systems. An ounce of prevention does
indeed go a long way, and that includes installing a firewall, obtaining
security updates (or turning on the Windows automatic-update feature), and
using current antivirus and antispyware software.
"As always, people should be smart about opening any attachment or
downloading files, and never open attachments from unknown sources,"
Kornblum said.
Coalition Outlines Strategies To Fight Spyware
The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC), an alliance of I.T. firms and
public-interest groups, has finalized its definition of spyware, which will
serve as the foundation for the group's ongoing efforts to combat the
growing Internet threat.
The first of those efforts is a "risk modeling" document that outlines the
objective criteria antispyware vendors use to determine whether to identify
a piece of software as spyware.
The document provides technical details about behaviors that make certain
technologies risky, helps users better understand how the products that
protect their computers work, and offers guidelines for security companies.
The ultimate objective is to create industry-wide best practices in
fighting the spyware onslaught. To that end, the risk-modeling document is
open for public comment until the end of November on the ASC Web site.
As Internet users struggle to maintain control over their computers, many
find themselves in a cyclical battle against software that installs itself
surreptitiously, opens security holes, and reinstalls itself after being
deleted.
According to the ASC, the worst of these programs enable Internet
criminals to obtain sensitive personal information through keylogging,
while other spyware can be used to deliver Internet worms or launch
denial-of-service attacks.
"The alliance wants to eliminate the confusion regarding spyware and other
types of malware," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at
Sophos, whose company is a member of the group. One issue to address is
pop-up ads, which most people assume is spyware but typically is not, he
said.
"Adware is here to stay, and most of it is legitimate, but it has to be
monitored and we need to develop a consensus throughout the industry on
best practices for online advertising," said Cluley.
Spyware is becoming increasingly sophisticated, he noted, with
practitioners installing worms without any action by the user and enticing
people to visit Web sites that can exploit a browser vulnerability.
Computer and software makers are addressing the issue, and a growing
antispyware industry has created an array of tools to help consumers
identify and purge their computers of unwanted technology. "We need to
understand the threats and raise awareness of what can be done to combat
spyware," Cluley said.
This week the ASC has provided a formal definition of spyware, a glossary
that offers clear definitions for terms commonly used in discussions about
spyware, and a set of common industry guidelines that outlines the steps
antispyware companies should take in responding to complaints from software
vendors who contend that their products have been improperly flagged as
spyware.
The ASC membership includes the Center for Democracy and Technology,
Computer Associates, F-Secure, McAfee, Microsoft, Sophos, Symantec, Dell,
Yahoo, and Hewlett-Packard.
Microsoft Chided Over Exclusive Music Idea
The federal judge overseeing Microsoft Corp.'s business practices scolded
the company Wednesday over a proposal to force manufacturers to tether
iPod-like devices to Microsoft's own music player software.
Microsoft abandoned the idea after a competitor protested.
In a rare display of indignation, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly demanded an explanation from Microsoft's lawyers and told
them, "This should not be happening."
Legal and industry experts said Microsoft's demands probably would have
violated a landmark antitrust settlement the same judge approved in 2002
between the company and the Bush administration. The government and
Microsoft disclosed details of the dispute in a court document last week.
The judge said Microsoft's music-player proposal - even though it was
abandoned 10 days later - "maybe indicates a chink in the compliance
process." She made her remarks during a previously scheduled court hearing
to review the adequacy of the settlement.
The disputed plan, part of a marketing campaign known as "easy start,"
would have affected portable music devices that compete with Apple Computer
Inc.'s popular iPod. It would have precluded makers of those devices from
distributing to consumers music software other than Microsoft's own Windows
Media Player, in exchange for Microsoft-supplied CDs.
"I do want to know how this happened," the judge said. "It seems to me at
this late date, we should not have this occur." She did not indicate she
plans to punish Microsoft, but her comments were remarkable because she
generally praises efforts by the company and government under the
settlement.
A Microsoft lawyer, Charles "Rick" Rule, blamed the proposal on a newly
hired, "lower-level business person" who did not understand the company's
obligations under the antitrust settlement. The agreement constrains
Microsoft's business practices through late 2007.
"This is an issue that Microsoft is concerned showed up," Rule said. He
added that Microsoft regrets the proposal ever was sent to music-player
manufacturers and that the company was "looking at it to make sure this is
a lesson learned."
Responding to related complaints by Microsoft's competitors, the European
Union ordered the company last year to sell a version of its dominant
Windows operating system without the built-in media player software.
Microsoft appealed the decision, which included a $613 million fine, but
now sells a Windows version in Europe without its music software.
A Justice Department lawyer, Renata Hesse, said the government will discuss
with Microsoft its legal training for employees about antitrust rules. The
government previously said the incident was "unfortunate" but said lawyers
decided to drop it because Microsoft pulled back.
"I think we, like you, believe it should not be happening at this point,"
Hesse told the judge.
Microsoft wants consumers to use its media software to transfer songs onto
their portable music players from Internet subscription services, such as
those from Napster Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. Each company
currently offers its own media software.
Microsoft and others have struggled to match the runaway success of Apple's
iPod player and iTunes music service.
Open Source Is Alive and Well with Commercial Developers
Open-source programming, a concept started nearly a decade ago by
developers seeking an alternative marketing outlet, is becoming a staple
for many software companies. Open-source code is now the basis of many
popular products, some of which are distributed for free.
An open-source environment enables programmers to read, redistribute, and
modify the source code for a piece of software. The Open Source Initiative
(OSI) is a clearinghouse for license and marketing agreements involving
open-source programs.
Alan Shimel, chief strategy officer for StillSecure, said his company is a
huge supporter of open source. "This kind of software brings a much-needed
grassroots movement that is pushing the software envelope. We try to
leverage this in our products," he said.
The appeal of open source to software developers is that it allows them to
improve, modify, or adopt according to their own needs, saving time that
might be wasted on the paths traditionally used by commercial developers.
"The trend is for a company like ours to take an open-source engine and
build a proprietary product around it," Shimel said.
Open-source products have spanned the three main software categories:
operating systems, Internet browsers, and programming tools. Some of these
products are so well known that computer users do not associate them with
open-source technology.
Consider, for instance, the operating system Linux. It is found in devices
from handheld computers to standard PCs. Linux is the most-used Unix-like
operating system available, according to the OSI.
There are several versions of Linux, many of them modified and packaged
with specific enhancements. Perhaps the most well-known version of Linux is
Red Hat.
Other popular Linux-based programs are FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD, which
are all based on the Berkeley Systems Distribution of Unix developed at the
University of California at Berkeley. Another BSD-based open-source
project, Darwin, was developed for Apple Computer's OS X.
Open-source coding is built into many of the router boxes and root Domain
Name Servers (DNS) that power the Internet. A majority of these programs
are rooted in a version of BSD or Linux. BIND is the open-source software
providing the DNS service for the Internet.
Open-source programs also are found running on top of many operating
systems. The open-source based Apache, for instance, runs over half of
the world's Web servers.
One prominent e-mail delivery system, Sendmail, is an open-source product.
Even Mozilla Organization's Firefox Web browser, which has eroded more than
10-percent of Microsoft's Internet Explorer user base, is open-source
programming.
Many companies use OpenSSL to handle encrypted communications over the
Internet. The bulk of TCP/IP DNS, SSL, and e-mail servers are products
drawn from open-source coding as well. The most popular open-source
programming languages for Internet applications include Perl, Zope, Python,
Ruby, and Tcl/Tk.
GNU and tools such as GCC, Make, Autoconf, and Automake are among the most
flexible and popular open-source compilers developed. OSI claims most
programmers use them as their primary development tools.
Shimel stressed the distinction between open source and open standards: The
former is the use of nonproprietary programming available for anyone, while
the latter is viewed best as an industry-wide coding practice.
Using open standards enables program components to communicate with other
programs, he said. Examples of open-standard, or industry-recognized
programming, include XML, Java, and PHP.
Shimel noted that using open-source products is not about getting something
for nothing. "It's about getting interoperability," he said.
"Unlike commercial software, there is no one owner who controls the
program. With open-source programming, more than one person is involved
with the program's concept," he said.
That has advantages, Shimel said. Buying a commercial product always comes
with the risk of the company going out of business, but there is less of a
risk with open source because the code is developed by a community of
programmers who keep the product intact, he said.
Internet Body in Settlement With VeriSign
The Internet's key oversight agency said Monday it had tentatively agreed
to settle a longstanding legal dispute with VeriSign Inc., a company that
exerts significant control over how people find Web sites and send e-mail.
VeriSign's accord with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers could pave the way for the revival - after an outside review - of
a controversial search service the company created in late 2003 for guiding
Internet users who mistype Web addresses.
After VeriSign launched the service, called Site Finder, for ".com" and
".net" names, critics complained that it interfered with spam filters and
other key Internet tools while giving VeriSign an unfair competitive
advantage in search.
With Site Finder, Web surfers who entered addresses that don't exist got,
instead of an
error message, suggestions on where they might have wanted
to go. VeriSign considered that a benefit for users but because VeriSign
sometimes got money for directing traffic to those sites critics termed the
service an abuse of power.
VeriSign controls the computers with master lists of domain name suffixes,"
such as ".com." It also runs the core directories for the two most popular
suffixes, ".com" and ".net." As a result, Internet computers intersect with
VeriSign's millions of times daily to find out how to route e-mail and
other traffic.
Under pressure from ICANN, VeriSign agreed to suspend Site Finder shortly
after it was introduced. The company sued ICANN months later, arguing that
the agency's actions, including the decision on Site Finder, impeded
VeriSign's efforts to offer new, moneymaking services.
ICANN later countersued.
The proposed settlement, which ICANN's board unanimously agreed Monday to
send to the Internet community for public comment, revises the definition
of "registry service" so that Site Finder is clearly covered and thus
requires prior ICANN approval.
It also establishes a formal review process for new services, such as Site
Finder, in which ICANN would have 90 days to address any security,
stability and competitive concerns.
VeriSign has in the past complained that ICANN takes too long to make
decisions and is often inconsistent when it does.
Any settlement needs final approval from the board of both ICANN and
VeriSign along with the Commerce Department, which in 1998 gave ICANN its
authority to oversee domain names and other Internet addressing policies.
The settlement terms would be included in a revised contract agreement for
the ".com" suffix. Earlier this year, VeriSign won a contract extension for
".net," so similar terms already were included there.
As part of the deal, the ".com" contract scheduled to expire in 2007 would
be extended to 2012.
Although the settlement does not call for any monetary damages, ICANN chief
executive Paul Twomey said the agency would receive contributions from
VeriSign to cover legal and other fees, starting with an initial payment of
$1.25 million. He said legal costs reached several million dollars.
VeriSign, however, termed the payments a surcharge and said it would merely
be passing on to ICANN a 37-cents-per-name fee imposed on resellers on
domain names.
Mark McLaughlin, general manager of VeriSign's naming and directory
services unit, said the company got "business clarity on what new services
could be introduced and how it could be introduced."
The company said it was reluctant to make major investments without knowing
it could quickly offer new services to recoup costs.
For ICANN and the Internet community, Twomey said, "this is a framework and
an agreement that will ensure no more ... unilateral controversial
introduction of registry services."
Michael D. Gallagher, assistant secretary for communications and
information at the Commerce Department, termed the proposed deal "a
positive step towards the smooth future management of the domain."
McLaughlin said VeriSign has not yet made any decisions on if and when it
would seek ICANN's approval for Site Finder.
"The market has moved substantially in the two-plus years since we had the
service in the market," he said. "We have to go back and look at the
viability of it."
VeriSign was silent on what other services it was considering, but just
this month, it acquired two companies involved with aggregating and sorting
online news and Web journals and with notifying users about them.
=~=~=~=
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