Microsoft new tools aim to lure IBM's Lotus users

Microsoft on Tuesday said it plans to offer a variety of analytical and data transfer tools, aimed at luring customers of IBM's rival Lotus Notes e-mail software to its own system that allows business to collaborate on projects via the Web.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (17 January) that both Microsoft and IBM are vying for supremacy in the US$2.8 billion corporate messaging market which includes collaboration tools such as e-mail, Web publishing, electronic calendars and project management systems.

Each company wants to play a leading role in defining how Web services will work together in the future, according to Reuters.

The Reuters report says that analysts agree that Microsoft has captured the momentum in the more than decade-old battle between Exchanges and Lotus Notes to win the lion's share of the corporate e-mail market.

But IBM is seeking to redefine the competition by investing in a new set of web-based collaboration tools known as IBM Workplace that is attempting to recapture momentum among corporate users switching to Microsoft, according to Reuters.

To encourage customers to switch from their existing Lotus applications to Microsoft's platform, Microsoft said it would offer a tool to allow potential customers to identify and organise its most-used shared software.

In addition to 30 existing application templates, Microsoft also plans to offer three mew ones in its Windows SharePoint Services that are similar to popular applications in Lotus.

Reuters says that Gartner analyst Matt Cain said Microsoft has been gaining market share over the last few years by a few percentage points every year and he expects that trend to continue, given Microsoft's dominant position on the PC desktop.

{mospagebreaktitle=New technology boosts hard drive capacity}New technology boosts hard drive capacity

Seagate Technology has started shipping a notebook PC hard drive that overcomes an obstacle many feared would be a major roadblock to the further expansion of disk capacity -- and the overall growth of the storage industry.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (16 January) that the new approach that aligns bits of data vertically rather than horizontally enables Seagate -- and other drive vendors -- to further boost the density of drives without increasing the risk of scrambling data.

Since the first hard drive was introduced 1956, bits have been arranged in a flat, horizontal fashion on the spinning platters. To boost capacity, engineers reduced the size of the particles whose magnetic state is what actually remembers data.

However, AP reports that with some drives now topping out at 500 gigabytes, the miniaturisation is nearly at its limit. Made any smaller, the particles can begin to interfere with the magnetism of their neighbors. The result is disastrous for data. By storing bits in a vertical, or perpendicular, arrangement, engineers are able to boost capacity by taking advantage of the real estate that is freed up.

It's a major change that all drive makers are in the process of undertaking, said John Donovan, vice president at the research firm TrendFocus.

AP reports that Seagate's new drive, the Momentus 5400.3, was being shipped as of Monday, the company said. The shift to perpendicular recording allows it to bump up the maximum capacity of its notebook drive to 160 gigabytes from 120 gigabytes.

{mospagebreaktitle=Phishing fraudsters target Apple}Phishing fraudsters target Apple

Email fraudsters are targeting Apple fans in a change of tactic from standard phishing attacks.

The Register reports (17 January) that commonly bogus emails that form the basis of phishing attacks pose as security messages from online banks in an attempt to dupe a tiny proportion of recipients, who happen to be customers of the bank, into visiting a bogus site on handing over account information.

According to the report, eBay account details are also often targeted in a similar way but the latest scam emails, sent out last weekend, target Apple IDs. Armed with an Apple ID and password, fraudsters have access to user's iTunes Music Store account and their AppleStore account, information that might allow them to buy computers, software, peripherals under a false identity, says The Register.

The Register says that the Apple phishing emails are another example of how email fraudsters are widening their targets and developing more sophisticated scams. Recently fraudsters have begun targeting scam emails rather than sending them out indiscriminately. They've also used data from other sources to lend credibility to their claims.

{mospagebreaktitle=Companies push Linux partitioning effort}Companies push Linux partitioning effort

A push is under way to endow Linux with a virtual partitioning technology used by rival operating systems to make servers more efficient, according to a CNet report in The New York Times (16 January).

The CNet/NYT report says that SWsoft is trying to get OpenVZ made part of the mainstream Linux kernel--the software at the heart of the operating system--and a part of the major commercial Linux versions, said Kirill Korotaev, a project manager at the company.

According to CNet., in this, it has a major ally: Red Hat, the top seller of the open-source operating system, which plans to add the software to its free Fedora version of Linux for enthusiasts.

{mospagebreaktitle=Software patents loom large again}Software patents loom large again

Europe's Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy on Monday launched an initiative that could re-open the controversial software patents debate, according to a report in The Register (17 January).

The Register says that as part of the initiative McCreevy has unveiled a public consultation on how future action in patent policy to create an EU-wide patent system can take account of "stakeholders' needs." The Commissioner is also looking for feedback as to how to improve the patent system in Europe.

Both individuals and businesses are invited to contribute to the consultation which will run until 31 March. In launching the initiative McCreevy said that the European Commission wants to make the single market for patents "a reality." He urged individuals and businesses to give their views on how that could be achieved.

The Register reports that back in July 2005, the European Parliament voted by a huge majority to reject the Computer Implemented Inventions directive, which would have created a single EU-wide patent process for software-related inventions. The controversial directive had sparked bitter debates between big business and smaller software developers and technology firms.

The bill had been supported by the European pro-patent lobby, which included corporations such as Microsoft and Sun, who claimed that the directive would encourage investment in research and development in Europe, says The Register.

{mospagebreaktitle=Verizon brings music to cell phone}Verizon brings music to cell phone

In the US., telco Verizon, on Monday became the latest entrant into the growing number of music-download services, launching one that allows subscribers to bring music directly into selected cell phones as well as their personal computers.

The Mercury News reports (17 January) that for consumers, it turns out that turning a mobile phone into a music player isn't cheap. Verizon's V Cast Music service costs US$15 a month plus 99 cents or US$1.99 a song, depending on whether they're downloaded to computer or phone. A competing Sprint service charges a US$15 monthly fee plus US$2.50 per downloaded song.

According to The Mercury, spurred by the phenomenal success of Apple Computer's iTunes online music service and its iPod portable player, telecommunications companies have sought to exploit a gadget people carry nearly everywhere: their phone. But even the Rokr music phone, released by Motorola and Apple, has left consumers underwhelmed. So far, no company has duplicated the success of an iPod-iTunes tandem for mobile phones, according to the report in The Mercury.
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The Mercury News says that V Cast works with two kinds of phones, to which songs can be downloaded only in areas served by Verizon's network, which covers an estimated 150 million people in the United States. Music can also be obtained online then uploaded into the phone, which holds about 200 songs.

Industry analysts say it's too early to know whether consumers will bite and that it all depends on whether people are ready to adopt music on their mobile phones. A recent Gartner study found that fewer than 5 percent of US cell phone users take advantage of music and video downloads.

The Mercury News reports that last year, Cingular Wireless released the Rokr phone, which holds up to 100 songs -- uploaded from PCs using Apple's iTunes and a USB cable. But songs could not be downloaded directly to the phone.

 
{mospagebreaktitle=Livedoor denies wrongdoing}Livedoor denies wrongdoing

The outspoken head of Japanese internet company Livedoor denied wrongdoing Tuesday after prosecutors raided the company's offices to investigate suspected securities violations, and its shares plunged the maximum daily amount allowed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (18 January) that Livedoor shares fell 14.4 percent to 596 yen (US$5.18), the lowest allowed price for the day. Trades were virtually impossible because the sell orders of 255 million shares overwhelmed the buy orders of just 2.9 million.

AP reports that the company's 33-year-old chief executive, Takafumi Horie -- a celebrity in Japan for his iconoclastic style, bold buy-out attempts and frequent television appearances -- denied any wrongdoing.

''We are cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation,'' Horie told reporters at a news conference. ''We are continuing are efforts to expand our operations and conduct business as normal.''

AP says that the raid took place Monday evening, when about 20 officials walked into Livedoor's headquarters. The Tokyo prosecutors' office said that the company is suspected of violating securities laws in spreading false information, but refused to elaborate.

Livedoor offers various Internet services, including consulting, telecommunications, mobile sites and software development.

{mospagebreaktitle=Researcher: Sony BMG rootkit still widespread}Researcher: Sony BMG rootkit still widespread

Hundreds of thousands of networks across the globe, including many military and government networks, appear to still contain PCs with the controversial copy-protection software installed by music discs sold by media giant Sony BMG, a security researcher told attendees at the ShmooCon hacking conference last weekend, reports The Register.

The Register says that, building on previous research that suggested some 570,000 networks had computers affected by the software, infrastructure security expert Dan Kaminsky used a different address used by the copy protection software to estimate that, a month later, 350,000 networks - many belonging to the military and government - contain computers affected by the software.

According to the report in The Register, the latest research results comes as Sony BMG is attempting to finish up this particular embarrassing chapter in the company's use of digital-rights management software.

Earlier this month, reports The Register, a New York district court judge gave the nod to a settlement penned by Sony BMG and the attorneys for six class-action lawsuits in the state. More than 15 other lawsuits are pending against the media giant, according to court filings.

{mospagebreaktitle=Napster rejects restructure reports}Napster rejects restructure reports

Napster has denied claims the digital music company is on the verge of a major shake-up that could see large numbers of employees lose their jobs. It also rejected allegations that Napster's bosses are planning to sell the business - or shut it down.

The Register reports that the charges were made by sources at website Digital Music News, said to be "close to the situation".