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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 12 Issue 29
Volume 12, Issue 29 Atari Online News, Etc. July 16, 2010
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2010
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:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1229 07/16/10
~ MySpace Seeking Users! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Suit for Facebook!
~ Spy Worked at Microsoft ~ Two Jailed for Kid Porn ~ Haunted House Lives!
~ China: Less Anonymity ~ "Honour Code" for Web? ~ Use Linux, Dump MS!
~ Video Game Sales Slump! ~ Spam: Europe Now Tops! ~ Picnik in Picasa!
-* Worrying About Online Privacy *-
-* Facebook Launches Child Safety App! *-
-* Obscenity Lawsuit Filed in Massachusetts! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
There are heat waves, and there are Heat Waves, and there are HEAT WAVES!
Eleven days in a row with temperatures at least 90 degrees, in my neck of
the woods. Skip a day, and we're back on track for another long run. I
have to tell ya, this weather is doing me in! I was never a big fan of
air conditioning because it used to leave the air dry and stale, but in
recent years, I've become a huge fan (no pun intended) of it. I don't
think that I could live without them available.
After my recent health issues, my cardiologist decided that it was time
for me to get a complete physical. That happened this week, with the usual
battery of tests, including some poking and prodding. I've been having
some pains in my legs and one foot, so I started to have some tests for
those, as well. Hopefully those issues can be easily resolved, but there's
potential for some surgery. Not looking forward to that possibility!
Otherwise, I feel great, other than the effects of this heat and humidity
that just doesn't want to abate!
So, again this week I'm going to seek refuge under the AC as soon as I can
put this issue to bed for another week. I know, I know, I promised some
words of wisdom for this week. Well, I'll cheat for a bit and just offer
these few words of wisdom: drink plenty of fluids and stay cool!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Another week has come and gone, and it
finally seems that there's a little bit of 'good' to talk about where the
BP/Gulf Oil Spill is concerned.
After dumping something more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into
the Gulf, it looks like they may have finally staunched the flow.
Now, as you've no doubt heard, this is not the permanent fix, and to tell
you the truth I was quite nervous as they began shutting down the various
outlets on this new cap. As has been reported all over the place, it is
possible that the pressure inside the pipe will rupture it, causing either
another explosive release or, if it is below the sea floor, pushing the
crude oil into the bedrock, where it could sit in wait for who knows what
to push it up through the ocean floor and into the Gulf.
Let's hope that pipe holds up under the pressure (8,000 to 9,000 psi is
what they're looking for). If that puppy cuts loose, I don't know what
they can do. I mean, it's one thing if the well "busts a seam" someplace
where they can get to it and either seal it or cut into the pipe before it
and divert or stop the flow, but if it's down deep where there's nothing
to do but flood mud and hope it stops, this could get real ugly, real
fast. Well, let's say uglier, faster. And this time, there's even less of
a chance that filling the pipe with mud and golf balls will stop the leak.
So far, as I'm writing this, the news is all good. Everything's holding
and it's looking like this could finally work.
I guess the law of averages has finally caught up with BP.
But the fact that there's no oil gushing from this puppy doesn't mean it's
over. In fact they've got to be more vigilant now than ever. If the
pressure spikes, it could rupture the pipe, or it could "blow out" deep
below the ocean floor, neither of which is good. Of course, that's just
half of what they have to watch for. The other half is a pressure drop.
In that case, it's probably already too late, since lower pressure would
mean that the oil is "going somewhere". I don't know what the would/could
do, and I don't know if THEY have any idea either. Most of this stuff is
new to everybody.
So while BP execs and former Coast Guard Admirals cross their fingers,
fishermen and everyone else who makes their living from the bounty of the
Gulf watch the tarballs ride in on the tide, hoping that they don't settle
in the oyster beds, the marshes and the wetlands, and the beaches where
the rich folks have their summer homes. Of course, there will be federal
money for relief... there always is... and I wouldn't be at all surprised
if some of the people who get money as reparation for damaged beach front
property are some of the same people who had a hand in CAUSING the mess in
the first place. Meanwhile, people who used to depend on the Gulf for
their livelihoods will have to dig and scratch, uproot their families,
move away to where there are jobs or families that can help them out.
And that says nothing of the ecosystem that's being savaged by this. Will
the bluefin tuna survive? Dolphins? Sea turtles? Sperm whales? How about
the any of the creatures that live in the watercolumn, from the surface
down to the sea floor? My guess is that we'll be seeing endangered species
due to this disaster for decades to come, and there will be much arguing
and gnashing of teeth and little will be done... because, after the fact,
there's probably very little that CAN be done. There's 2,000,000 gallons
of oil out there somewhere, floating around in the gulf, and it ain't all
just floating on top like warm salad dressing. If fate is kind to us (for
a change), we may be able to get this 'cleaned up' in a decade. But that
still doesn't undo the damage that's been done already. There's already
talk that the oil (and gas) might be keeping all kinds of things from
happening. Everything from disrupting the carbon cycle to oxygenation of
the water to causing all manner of illnesses in wildlife, local residents
and relief/cleanup workers. This IS a catastrophe, folks. Even if there's
not another drop of oil lost to the Gulf waters, it's a disaster, and one
that I don't think we've yet fully grasped. It'd be nice if I was wrong.
Let's hope, huh?
Meanwhile, one of the pillars of the technology world, Apple, has a
problem on its hands with its new iPhone4. It seems that you can disrupt
the antenna by touching the edge of the phone in a certain place, and
people aren't happy about paying all that money for a phone that drops
calls at a touch. Granted, it could come in handy for difficult
conversations with bosses and ex-wives, but it's not something any of us
usually look for in a cell phone. The thing that gets me is that Apple
sold millions of these things in the first week. What happened to
reviewers? Did they all spend time playing Pacman via Google on these
things instead of actually putting them through their paces? Were they so
wowed by the 'sexiness' of the gadget that they neglected to actually test?
True, Consumer Reports seem to have done its job, but it was actually too
little too late. Add to that the fact that Apple spent time trying to
figure out some way that it wasn't their fault, and you've got the makings
of a real Silicon Valley soap opera. "Oh, there's nothing wrong with the
phone, it's they way they're HOLDING them!" Yeah, that worked out well,
didn't it?
I've got to admit that I am among the geeks who wait semi-patiently for
new gadgets to come out so I can 'ooooh and ahhhh' over them. I never buy
any of them, but I love to check them out and ogle over the
specifications and abilities. But for me, a cell phone should do one thing
well... be a phone. I've got a computer to surf the web, and a spiffy
digital camera to take pictures. All I really want from a phone is to not
have to say "Huh?... What? I can't hear you! What did you say? Your
seamstress turned ninety? Ohhh... you see stress turn what?... nevermind,
I'll call you from a land line."
Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we just flood the oil pipe sticking out
of the ocean floor with mud and defective iPhone4s? Let's kill two birds
with one stone and see if that works!
Well, that's it for this week, friends and neighbors. Let's hope that
things continue to improve in the Gulf. In the grand scheme of things, the
iPhone isn't even a ripple. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but not
holding my breath.
Till next week, keep your ears open so that you'll hear what they're
saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Atari's Iconic Haunted House Lives Again!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Video Game Sales Slump!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Atari's Iconic Haunted House Lives Again!
Enter the Haunted House, if you dare. Atari's classic groundbreaking game
has returned with more chills, cool new unlockables and plenty of spooky
new enemies. The terrifying fun that lies within Graves Mansion is back as
Atari, one of the world's most recognized publishers and producers of
interactive entertainment, scares up its legendary classic, Haunted House
re-imagined for a new generation of gamers in celebration of the title's
30th anniversary. Haunted House will take control of Wii, Xbox LIVE Arcade
for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and
Windows PC Download this fall, with suspense filled challenges, new
chilling environments and more frightful enemies than ever before.
Haunted House pays homage to the classic favorite as players fight
for their lives in Graves Mansion as the grandchildren of the original
character that disappeared without a trace in the evil mansion over 30
years ago. Chased by pesky poltergeists, haunted by scary skeletons and
exhausted from battles with creepy creatures, players are in a
goosebump-educing fight to explore the dark and creepy depths of Graves
Mansion in search of the four lost pieces of the magical urn. The
player's goal is to reassemble the urn and defend their family's legacy
with the aid of mystical tomes, powerful light sources and multiple keys.
"The glowing eyes and mysterious urn of Haunted House still
resonates with gamers who made the original franchise a blockbuster
hit," says Jim Wilson, President of Atari. "Atari looks forward to
introducing a new generation of gamers to the fun and suspense of Graves
Mansion and bringing families together with the magic that is Haunted
House."
The pick up-and-play arcade-style adventure allows players to jump right
in and begin battling for their family's legacy and explore the dark and
mysterious levels. An eerie, 3D rich environment of towers, basements
and catacombs draws players into the haunted world and cursed story.
Find hidden treasures, solve puzzles, fight bosses, and navigate through
the spooky mansion and multiple levels on the way to a showdown with
Zachary Graves.
Video Game Sales Slump as Xbox 360 Sales Surge
Retail video game sales fell slightly in June, dragged under by anemic
handheld hardware and software sales, but bolstered by strong console
unit growth. Helped by new model sales, the Xbox 360 topped the Wii for the
first time in months, pulling ahead of Nintendo's console by roughly 30,000
units, and Sony's PS3 by a comfortable 147,000 unit spread.
But industry sales were down overall, dropping from $1.17 billion in
June 2009 to $1.10 billion, year-on-year.
"Unfortunately, the industry realized a decline versus the same time
period last year, driven by decreases in sales of portable hardware and
console and portable software," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier, singling
out the console hardware unit sales increase--35 percent overall--as "a
bright spot."
Look for total U.S. annual revenue to slide in somewhere between $18 and
$21 billion, predicts Frazier, highlighting Microsoft and Sony's motion
controllers (Kinect and Move, respectively) and "the strong slate of
content still to come," by which she probably means games like Metroid:
Other M, Mafia 2, L.A. Noire, Brink, Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, EA's
football lineup (NCAA, Madden), Sonic 4, Medal of Honor, Fallout: New
Vegas, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Fable III, Final Fantasy XIV,
Gran Turismo 5, and Call of Duty: Black Ops (not to mention PC biggies
like StarCraft II, Elemental: War of Magic, DC Universe Online, and
Civilization V).
June 2010 video game hardware sales, with growth compared to June 2009:
511k - Nintendo DS (-33%)
452k - Xbox 360 (+88%)
423k - Wii (+17%)
305k - PlayStation 3 (+85%)
121k - PSP (-26%)
In addition to across the board year-on-year console growth, Frazier
noted hardware sales were up slightly from May 2010 in average sales per
week. The Xbox 360 had it second largest non-holiday showing since Halo
3 launched back in September 2007, and the PS3 continued its unbroken
upward sales streak--11 months of consecutive year-on-year increases.
June 2010 video game software sales:
583k - Read Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
548k - Super Mario Galazy 2 (Wii)
380k - Read Dead Redemption (PS3)
201k - New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
175k - Just Dance (Wii)
Wii Fit Plus w/Balance Board, Toy Story 3 (DS), UFC 2010: Undisputed
(Xbox 360), LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii), and UFC 2010: Undisputed
(PS3) slotted 6 through 10, respectively, but NPD didn't offer sales
figures at time of publication.
Red Dead Redemption notched its second consecutive month at the top of
the software sales chart, and Frazier says it's now the top holder for
year-to-date sales.
While software sales slumped were down overall, Frazier said the top 10
titles actually sold comparably to June 2009's top 10 list, noting that
"game sales are more concentrated this year" in terms of top-sellers.
But it was bad news for the new Tiger Woods game (guesses why abound),
which only sold 32 percent of last year's total. The game didn't even
make the top 10.
Time for a new feature golfer, EA?
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Facebook Launches Child Safety Application
Social networking website Facebook has agreed to adopt an application aimed
at improving the online safety of its younger users, a child protection
group said on Monday.
The application, which follows a long campaign by the Child Exploitation
and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), appears on a user's profile page
when they add or bookmark it and allows children and teenagers to report
suspicious or inappropriate behavior.
Particularly aimed at users aged 13 to 18, it also provides help, advice
and support about staying safe online.
"We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could
protect young people online," said Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP,
adding that the application should provide reassurance to parents whose
teenagers use the site.
An automatic message will appear on the Facebook homepage of all teenage
users, inviting them to add the application.
Pressure to introduce such measures intensified toward the end of last
year after 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall was kidnapped, raped and murdered
by a man posing as a teenager whom she had met through Facebook.
"Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stay safe
online," Joanna Shields, Facebook's vice president for Europe,
Middle-East and Africa, said of the link-up.
"It is only through the constant and concerted efforts of the industry,
police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe
online."
Groups Sue Massachusetts Over Newly Expanded Obscenity Law
A coalition of booksellers and Internet content providers on Tuesday filed
a federal lawsuit challenging an expansion of Massachusetts' obscenity law
to include electronic communications that may be harmful to minors.
Supporters say the new law, which went into effect Monday, closes a
loophole that prompted the state's highest court to overturn the conviction
of a man accused of sending sexually explicit instant messages to someone
he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
The Supreme Judicial Court, ruling in a case in February, found that the
state's obscenity law didn't apply to instant messages. The new law,
passed quickly by the state Legislature after the ruling, added instant
messages, text messages, e-mail and other electronic communications to
the old law.
The changes amount to "a broad censorship law that imposes severe
content-based restrictions" on the dissemination of constitutionally
protected speech, the lawsuit argues.
The plaintiffs include the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts,
the Association of American Publishers, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
and other groups. They argue that the expanded law effectively bans from
the Internet anything that may be considered "harmful to minors," including
material adults have a First Amendment right to view, including information
about contraception, pregnancy, sexual health, literature and art.
"For most communications over the Internet, it is not possible for a
person sending or posting the communication to ensure that the
communication will not be read or seen by a minor," the lawsuit states.
The law is written in such a way that it encompasses "all Internet
communications - such as postings on websites and through listservs, which
might be read or seen by a minor - and not merely those communications
directed to a specific minor."
Supporters of the law said the change will help protect children from
online sexual predators. Penalties include to up to five years in prison
or a fine of as much as 10,000 for a first offense.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, names Massachusetts Attorney
General Martha Coakley and district attorneys around the state as
defendants, citing their authority to prosecute violations of the law.
A spokeswoman for Coakley said the lawsuit was being reviewed.
Half of Social Networkers Worried About Privacy
Half of Americans who have a profile on social networking sites such as
Facebook and MySpace are worried about their privacy, according to a new
poll.
The Marist survey showed that people over 60 are the most worried about
privacy, and women are more concerned than men.
"We're in an era of information. Some people are concerned, reluctant
and skittish about the extent of online information. There's a privacy
element that some people feel is getting lost," said Dr. Lee Miringoff,
director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
Privacy on social networking sites is an ongoing issue. Facebook
recently changed its policies to give users more control over how much
information from their profiles is public following protests from
privacy watchdogs and consumers about the difficulty in changing default
account settings.
"It doesn't take much to increase the concern factor and when headlines
start blaring about breakdowns in privacy, that goes a long way to
raising people's concerns," Miringoff added.
The poll showed that 27 percent of the 1,004 people who took part in the
survey were concerned about privacy on social networking websites, and a
further 23 percent were very concerned.
Older Americans are more worried about privacy, he said, because social
networking websites do not come as naturally to them as to younger
people who have a more carefree attitude about the sites and privacy.
Overall, 43 percent of Americans said they keep in touch via social
networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Forty
percent of men, and 45 percent of women, said they had a profile on a
networking site.
German Minister Calls for Internet 'Honour Code'
Germany's consumer minister, who vowed to delete her Facebook account in
protest at the networking site's privacy policies, called Monday for an
Internet "honour code" to protect personal data.
"We need an honour code... 10 golden rules - short, sharp and clear," Ilse
Aigner told Die Welt daily in an interview.
"Such rules can only come from the Internet community. It would be good if
users themselves made suggestions. We could base them on social networks
that already have a 'netiquette'.
"The Internet could become the pillory of the 21st century. The trend is
worrying," added the minister.
Last month, Aigner, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives,
said she would remove her page from Facebook after failing to receive
assurances from the US firm that her private data were secure.
"Anyone who visits a social networking site should know that it's a
business model. The service is not free. We users pay for it with our
private data," Aigner said.
She launched another broadside at Facebook saying she had become a member
of other social sites with better privacy controls.
With these sites, "I can decide to open doors and windows and I can better
control what personal information I share with others," she said.
"On Facebook, the reverse is true: I have to go through the cumbersome
process of changing my security setting to close these doors and windows
and protect my privacy.
"Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has indicated that in principle, he does
not want to change anything. In contrast, his firm wants to use members'
private profiles for commercial purposes," the minister added.
Partly for historical reasons, Germany is particularly sensitive about
privacy issues, with campaigners bristling at plans by US Internet giant
Google to launch its "Street View" service in Germany later this year.
"Street View" allows Internet users to view panoramic still photographs
at street level from spots around the world, with images taken from
specially equipped vehicles.
Officials and campaigners in Germany called the service an invasion of
privacy and a potential security risk.
China Seeks To Reduce Internet Users' Anonymity
A leading Chinese Internet regulator has vowed to reduce anonymity in
China's portion of cyberspace, calling for new rules to require people to
use their real names when buying a mobile phone or going online, according
to a human rights group.
In an address to the national legislature in April, Wang Chen, director
of the State Council Information Office, called for perfecting the
extensive system of censorship the government uses to manage the
fast-evolving Internet, according to a text of the speech obtained by
New York-based Human Rights in China.
China's regime has a complicated relationship with the freewheeling
Internet, reflected in its recent standoff with Google over censorship
of search results. China this week confirmed it had renewed Google's
license to operate, after it agreed to stop automatically rerouting
users to its Hong Kong site, which is not subject to China's online
censorship.
The Internet is China's most open and lively forum for discussion,
despite already pervasive censorship, but stricter controls could
constrain users. The country's online population has surged past 400
million, making it the world's largest.
Chen's comments were reported only briefly when they were made in April.
Human Rights in China said the government quickly removed a full
transcript posted on the legislature's website. But the group said it
found an unexpurgated text and the discrepancies show that Beijing is
wary that its push for tighter information control might prove unpopular.
Wang said holes that needed to be plugged included ways people could
post comments or access information anonymously, according to the
transcript published this week in the group's magazine China Rights Forum.
"We will make the Internet real name system a reality as soon as
possible, implement a nationwide cell phone real name system, and
gradually apply the real name registration system to online interactive
processes," the journal quoted Wang as saying.
As part of that Internet "real name system," forum moderators would have
to use their real names as would users of online bulletin boards, and
anonymous comments on news stories would be removed, Wang is quoted as
saying.
The State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to a
faxed request asking whether certain sections of Wang's address to the
legislature were altered in the official transcript.
Wang's comments are in line with recent government statements that
indicate a growing uneasiness toward the multitude of opinions found
online. A Beijing-backed think tank this month accused the U.S. and
other Western governments of using social-networking sites such as
Facebook to spur political unrest and called for stepped-up scrutiny.
China has blocked sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, although
technologically savvy users can easily jump the so-called "Great
Firewall" with proxy servers or other alternatives. Websites about human
rights and dissidents are also routinely banned.
Europe Overtakes Asia To Become Top Producer of Email Spam
Europe has overtaken Asia as the biggest source of email spam worldwide
with Britain a major culprit, a report said Thursday.
Europe produced over a third of the world's total junk emails in the
second quarter of 2010, slightly more than Asia, information technology
security firm Sophos said. Asia had been ahead of Europe in the first
quarter.
In terms of countries, it singled out Britain as a major contributor to
Europe being given the dubious honour.
"The UK... saw a significant rise in the proportion of spam it relayed.
With a total output of 4.6 percent of the world's spam, this puts the UK
in fourth place overall compared with ninth earlier this year," the
report said.
A steady increase in spam generation from France, Italy and Poland were
also contributing factors leading to Europe's rise, it said.
Asian countries' rankings in the "hall of shame" generally fell, with
both Vietnam and China dropping five places to tenth and twentieth,
respectively.
The United States remained the world's single biggest generator of junk
emails, accounting for 15.2 percent of total spam sent in the second
quarter, up from 13.1 percent in the previous three months.
India came in second (7.7 percent) and Brazil took third place (5.5
percent).
South Korea (4.2 percent) came after Britain to be the world's fifth
largest source of spam, followed by France (4.1 percent), Germany (4
percent), Italy (3.5 percent) and Russia (2.8 percent).
Sophos also said spam emails constituted 97 percent of all emails
received by business email servers, "putting a strain on network
resources and wasting a huge amount of time to lost productivity".
"It's an uphill struggle educating users about the dangers of clicking
on links or attachments in spam mails, and that their computers may
already be under the control of cybercriminals," said Sophos senior
technology consultant Graham Cluley.
"Spam will continue to be a global problem for as long as it makes money
for the spammers. It makes commercial sense for the criminals to
continue if even a tiny proportion of recipients clicks on the links."
Microsoft: Alleged Spy Worked as a Software Tester
The 12th person detained for allegedly spying for Russia worked as an
entry-level software tester at Microsoft for nine months, the company
confirmed Wednesday.
Alexey Karetnikov was deported to Russia on Tuesday after he admitted to
an immigration judge to being in the U.S. illegally, according to a
report in the Washington Post, citing anonymous federal law enforcement
officials.
Microsoft then issued a short statement confirming the status of
Karetnikov's employment.
One law enforcement official told the Post there was insufficient evidence
to charge Karetnikov with a crime. The Russian had "just set up shop" and
was in the early stages of his mission.
A Facebook profile for a person named Alexey V. Karetnikov says he
graduated last year from St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University and
is married. His current employer is listed as Microsoft, with a previous
job as a senior developer at a company called Neobit.
Karetnikov was apparently not connected with 10 other Russians accused
of acting as unregistered agents for the Russian government. The 10
suspects pleaded guilty last week in a New York court to various
actions, including secretly communicating with Russia and facilitating
money transfers.
A judge then expelled them from the country. The U.S. and Russia agreed
to a spy swap in Vienna, and a day later the 10 agents were handed over
to Russia in exchange for four people accused of spying for the U.S.,
bringing an apparent end to a highly publicized case.
Two U.S. Men Jailed Up to 38 Years for Child Pornography
Two US men have been jailed for up to 38 years for their roles in an online
child pornography ring involving some 500 people worldwide, many of whom
personally abused children, officials said Friday.
Thomas Attebury, 40, was sentenced Thursday to 38 years in prison for
using "a sophisticated, password-protected Internet bulletin board
group, which existed to allow members to meet like-minded individuals
with a sexualized interest in children, to discuss that interest and to
trade images of child pornography," according to the US Department of
Justice.
David Williams, 46, was sentenced to 25 years, while both were also ordered
to undergo lifetime supervised release after their prison terms.
"Both defendants pleaded guilty on previous dates to one count of
conspiracy to advertise child pornography, one count of conspiracy to
distribute child pornography, two counts of advertising child pornography
and two counts of distributing child pornography" before a judge in
Indianapolis, Indiana, the department said in a statement.
As part of his plea, "Attebury also admitted to the sexual abuse of three
minors, one of whom was under the age of 12."
Williams was convicted in 1996 on charges stemming from the sexual abuse
of a five-year-old child.
The men were nabbed by "Operation Nest Egg," an inter-agency US probe
launched in early 2008 which targeted 26 defendants in the state of Indiana
and another 500 located throughout the world for their involvement in the
online group.
Twenty-two of those charged in Indiana have been arrested while four remain
at large and are known only by their online identities.
Operation Nest Egg to date has led to more than 50 arrests and 39
convictions.
"Numerous members of the Internet-based bulletin board were found to
have been personally sexually abusing children, for example Attebury and
Williams," the Justice Department said.
Child pornography networks have proliferated with the rise of the Internet,
and governments across the world - notably in Europe and the United States
- have taken steps to crack down on abusers, remove child porn from the Web
and punish traders and end users of the illicit material.
Man Claims to Own 84 Percent of Facebook
A New York man has filed suit, claiming that he contractually owns 84
percent of Facebook.
In a court filing originally unearthed by The Wall Street Journal, Paul
Ceglia claimed that he entered into a contract with Mark Zuckerberg, owner
of TheFacebook.com and later chief executive of Facebook.com to buy 50
percent of the company for $1,000. According to the contract Ceglia alleges
Zuckerberg signed, the two agreed to pay Ceglia an additional 1 percent of
the company from that day until the Web site was completed.
In a statement to the Journal, Facebook called the suit "frivolous".
The suit, originally filed with the Supreme Court of Allegany County in
New York, includes a copy of the work for hire contract allegedly signed
by Zuckerberg. It details two business ventures: work performed for the
Streetfax database and the related programming language, as well as the
continued development and design of "The Face Book".
The contract is allegedly signed by both Ceglia and Zuckerberg.
The alleged contract would require that Ceglia, the purchaser, pay
Zuckerberg $1,000 for each of the ventures. In return, Ceglia would own
a 50 percent interest in the "software, programming language and
business interests derived from the expansion of the [Facebook] service
to a larger audience," and require Zuckerberg to perform the work for
the StreetFax database.
It also includes the stipulation that Ceglia would be due an additional
1 percent of the company for every day past the due date, Jan. 1, 2004,
that the Web site was delayed.
The filing also includes what appears to be a photocopy of a receipt for
a check made out to a "Mark Zucherberg" [sic] for $1,000.
Lawyers for Zuckerberg and Facebook have attempted to move the hearing
to the U.S. District Court in the Western District of New York.
Dump Microsoft, Use Linux to Save Money, U.K. Officials Suggest
U.K. government staff suggested replacing Microsoft Corp. operating systems
on computers with free alternatives in response to a call for ideas for
Prime Minister David Camerons cost-cutting drive.
Cameron asked the 600,000 government workers last month to make suggestions
on saving money as his administration seeks to cut Britains record budget
deficit. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne today published a
sample of the 56,000 submitted ideas, which including abandoning Microsoft,
switching office lights off and centralizing stationery procurement.
"In terms of spending less, what about migrating the whole of government
(the NHS, education etc.) from Microsoft products to Linux and open-source
software like Openoffice," read one of the suggestions displayed on the
Treasury website. Two of the 31 listed proposals, whose authors were not
named, suggested dropping Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft.
Open-source software such as Linux and Openoffice offers free or very
cheap alternatives to Microsofts Windows and Office, the worlds most
popular operating system and productivity software. Osborne said before the
Conservatives won power in the May 6 election that he favored the idea.
"We need to follow the example of businesses all over the world and take
advantage of open-source technology," Osborne wrote in The Times of London
in February 2009.
Osborne said today he is now asking the public to send in ideas about how
the government should save money to narrow the 155-billion-pound ($235
billion) budget shortfall.
Most U.S. States Seek Google's Fiber Network Help
Communities in every U.S. state but three - Delaware, Florida and South
Dakota - have applied to become test markets for Google's planned
high-speed broadband network.
Approximately 1,100 communities and 194,000 individuals responded to
Google's request for information about communities interested in getting
the network, Google said on a new website about the program.
The company launched the site this week and said it is designed to thank
people for their enthusiasm and share information about the project. The
site lists every county in each state and U.S. territory that applied to
become test markets.
In February, Google announced plans to build what it calls an
"ultra-high-speed" fiber network in one or more trial locations. It plans
to deliver 1 gigabit-per-second fiber connections to 50,000 to 500,000
people. End users will pay a "competitive price" for the access, Google
says. The company plans to choose where to build the network by the end
of this year.
The number of communities that expressed interest in the new network
indicates strong demand for better broadband services than what is
currently available. The U.S. ranks behind many developed countries in
terms of broadband services based on throughput. According to an October
2009 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,
the U.S. ranks 23rd in the world, behind Poland, Greece, the Czech
Republic and others, based on average advertised broadband download speed.
Google has noted that the strong interest in its program indicates demand.
"If one message has come through loud and clear, it's this: people across
the country are hungry for better and faster Internet access," James
Kelly, a Google product manager, wrote in a blog post earlier this year.
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP SP2 Reach End of Life
Microsoft on Tuesday released four security updates to fix flaws in
Windows XP, Windows 7, and Microsoft Office. Three of the security
bulletins are rated critical and the fourth is rated important.
Of the zero-day vulnerabilities patched Tuesday, Symantec is only seeing
one being exploited in the wild. In just the few weeks since the Help
and Support Center issue came to light, three public exploits have
surfaced -- all using different attack mechanisms, said Joshua Talbot,
security intelligence manager for Symantec Security Response. Symantec
saw attack activity increasing on June 21, but it has since leveled out.
"Microsoft didn't rate the Outlook SMB attachment vulnerability as
critical, but we think it's likely to be exploited," Talbot warned. "It
appears fairly simple for an attacker to figure out and create an
exploit for, which could cause executable file e-mail attachments, such
as malware, to slip past Outlook's list of unsafe file types. A user
would still have to double-click on the attachment to open it, but if
they do, the file would run without any warning."
Talbot offered a possible scenario that could involve a targeted attack
against an organization. In this scenario, he explained, a user could
get a socially engineered e-mail with a malicious attachment disguised
as something innocuous. Once convinced to click on the attachment,
nothing would appear to happen. The user might delete the message and
move on, assuming the file to be corrupted. In reality, he said, malware
was secretly installed.
As Oliver Lavery, director of security research and development for
nCircle, sees it, July's patches are pretty mundane. The most
interesting vulnerability for the enterprise is MS10-045, which lets an
attacker use a specially crafted UNC path in an Outlook attachment to
bypass Outlook's warning about opening potentially malicious attachments.
This is significant, Lavery said, because Operation Aurora and other
high-profile e-mail attacks over the last year have been highly successful.
"The only startling advisory is MS10-044, which involves remote code
execution via a Microsoft Access ActiveX control," Lavery added.
"ActiveX vulnerabilities have been an ongoing problem for the last
decade, and it's troubling that even though the technology is largely
obsolete, we're still seeing an ongoing negative impact on security."
Lavery's colleague, Tyler Reguly, senior security engineer for nCircle,
said the most interesting part of July's patch isn't an advisory - it's
Windows 2000 official end of life. Some Microsoft customers may continue
to get updates via Microsoft's custom support agreement, he explained,
but for most people, Tuesday was the end of the line.
"Another interesting patch is the one for cdd.dll, which had an advisory
released a couple of months ago," Reguly said. "A Google search for
cdd.dll and Windows 7 shows a number of gaming forums discussing a 'blue
screen' issue. As far as I'm aware, that was how this vulnerability came
to light. Only the 64-bit version of Windows 7 is affected, along with
Server 2008 R2."
Josh Abraham, security researcher at Rapid7, said it's important for IT
admins to keep in mind that Windows XP SP2 is now end of life. That
means organizations should be verifying - if they have not already done
so - that all their XP systems have been migrated to SP3.
"Customers should focus remediation efforts on MS10-042 and MS10-044 due
to the ease of exploitation. Keep in mind that user awareness training
is not a replacement for a solid patching process," Abraham added. "User
awareness training does reduce the likelihood of a successful attack,
but it does not mitigate it. An attacker only needs a single entry point
into the network and that system can be leveraged to gain access to
other devices."
Refreshed MySpace Desperately Seeks Users
MySpace is showing off today its new, polished look, which is a far cry
from the hodge-podge of textboxes featuring strippers and porn star
"friends." The "clean new profile" was announced by CEO Sean Percival who
revealed his profile page in stark black and white (although won't we kind
of miss that passionate purple?)
Like competitor Facebook, MySpace has put the profile on the left and
created a MySpace Stream, similar to Facebook's newsfeed, and uploads
Twitter status updates.
It makes more sense as to why MySpace is buying Threadbox, a social
messaging service that replaces email and instant messenger accounts, and
is incorporating it into their site. MySpace's heyday of 2007 is gone and
it seems to be a sinking ship of irrelevance against the onslaught of
Facebook, so it has to do something revolutionary to woo back a
generation.
MySpace began losing users in 2008, when Facebook started muscling in its
social network territory. By May 2009, Facebook's unique visitors
outstripped MySpace 70,278,000 to 70,255,000 and has never stopped,
according to d ata provided to PC World from comScore. As of June,
Facebook's numbers were double those of MySpace - 141,638,000 to
66,633,000. In other words, since last year when both social networks were
neck-and-neck, MySpace has dropped 5 percent while Facebook has grown 50
percent.
Shouldn't that be a sign the users have spoken?
While MySpace showed some slight upticks in a few months, most notably in
March 2010 when users jumped to 70,136,000 - likely due to its revamp and
"Discover and be Discovered" campaign, numbers slid back down in April and
still lower in May and June.
So far, user comments on the new interface have been positive, unless
you're one of those cynical folks who thinks that Percival might be
editing out the negative comments on his profile page:
* "How much longer do I have to wait to get this profile style. I don't
mind testing it!" net.xero wrote.
* "I like it. Less cluttered. Hope to see many more improvements," wrote
Hockey BLADES.
I expect Myspace's modern-looking user interface and may woo back more
visitors, but if history is any indicator, it's more likely that its
numbers will be another quick rise and settle into a slow but inevitable
sink.
Picnik in Picasa: Hands On
Google recently added some great new features to Picasa Web Albums, the
search giant's photo-sharing site, thanks to the company's recent
acquisition of the photo editing site Picnik. Picasa users can now tweak
images right inside their Web browser without leaving Picasa, using
Picnik's tools for functions like color correction, cropping, resizing,
adjusting the exposure, and adding frames.
If you're already a Picnik user, then the new features will be immediately
familiar; but if you've never seen Picnik before, here's a look at some of
the new things you can do inside Picasa Web Albums.
The first thing you have to do is open Picasa Web Albums in your browser
and select the photo you'd like to edit. chose a shot I took of the
Flatiron Building in New York City.
To call up the Picnik editing tools you can either select "Edit in Picnik"
from the Edit dropdown menu above your image, or click on the "Edit"
button to the right of your image. (Click on these screen caps to enlarge
them.)
Either method will bring up a pop-up window that contains the Picnik
editing tools and your photo. By default, you will see the Edit menu
that includes options to rotate, crop, or resize your image. You can
also adjust the photo for exposure, colors, sharpness, and red eye. On
the far left there is also an autocorrect feature that lets Picnik quickly
adjust the image for you.
Next to Edit, you'll see the Create tab where Picnik keeps its novelty
items like icons and frames, but you can also find options to airbrush
and fix blemishes, as well as play with the photo's color levels and
other advanced features.
Across the top of the window are options for changing your interface
language, and access to your Picnik account and premium features. The
advanced tools like adjusting color levels, as well as some of the
novelty items, are considered premium features that you can use for a
small monthly fee.
Most of the features under the Edit tab use basic sliders to adjust your
photo, and any changes you make will immediately be reflected in the
image below. My shot of the Flatiron Building was taken with a fairly
low-grade camera, so I decided to adjust the colors to make the image
stand out a little more.
I decided to crop my photo, and focus on the Flatiron. Then I switched
to the Create tab and added a sepia tone.
Again, Picnik gives you a simple slider to edit the photo, but for
certain effects such as the sepia tone Picnik also offers a palette you
can adjust for even greater control.
Using the Stickers and Frames options I was able to add a Creative
Commons icon to the lower right side of the photo. I also made the icon
a little bit transparent so that it wouldn't interfere too much with the
main focus of the image. As you can see, I also added a frame with
rounded edges. Again, all these effects were adjusted through slider
controls.
To save, just click the "Save to my album" button on the upper right
side, and select whether you want to replace your original or create a
new copy of your photo.
After Picnik finishes saving, it returns you to the regular Picasa
interface with your new photo. See my finished, edited image of the
Flatiorn Building below (click to enlarge the shot).
Picnik in Picasa is an added convenience for anyone who uses Picasa on
the Web, and overall the tools are helpful and simple to use.
The only downside I found was that, just like at Picnik.com, your photo
editing session will be interrupted from time to time with offers to
upgrade to a premium Picnik account. But if you can live with that, the
new Picasa-Picnik integration offers some great functionality to Picasa
Web. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comment section
below.
=~=~=~=
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