Microsoft to disclose parts of Windows source code

In a bid to quell growing criticism from regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, Microsoft has said that it would disclose some of the innermost workings of Windows, its flagship operating system, to other companies.

The New York Times says that that the International Herald Tribune reports (25 January) that  Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, called the decision to license parts of the source code for Windows "a bold stroke" that should put to rest charges that the company is holding back clear and timely information from competitors. Mr. Smith also signaled a shift in the Microsoft business model, calling the decision "quite a substantial step, quite a significant change, from the steps we have made in the past."

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Mr. Smith said the move should enable the company to avoid daily fines of up to 2 million euros, or nearly US$2.5 million, that the European Union threatened to impose.

According to the newspaper report, he said Microsoft's disclosure of parts of the source code "addresses in a single stroke any lingering question anyone may have about whether developers will have access to the most accurate and complete technical information they need."

The NYT reports that the European Union already fined Microsoft 497 million euros in March 2004 for abusing antimonopoly laws by hindering rivals in the market for software that plays multimedia clips and for impeding rivals seeking to use software that runs vital print and security functions and allows computers to communicate on a network.

The overture from Microsoft is an attempt by the company to comply with European Union requirements aimed at opening up the market for networking software, although the union has never asked Microsoft to reveal its source code, says the report.

The newspaper reports that the office of the spokesman for the European Union's competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said it would study the announcement once it received the full details. The European Union said it still required a response to new objections raised in December, suggesting that the threat of new daily fines remained in place.

Microsoft previously shared its Window source code with some of its most valuable customers. But making the code available to rivals appears to be another sign that Microsoft, along with other technology companies that hold valuable intellectual property, are facing up to fast-changing regulatory and competitive landscapes that make sharing information even more important than keeping it under wraps, says the NYT.

{mospagebreaktitle=Version of Google in China won't offer e-mail, bogs}Version of Google in China won't offer e-mail, bogs

Google is bringing a special version of its powerful search engine to China, leaving behind two of its most popular features in the United States.

The New York Times reports (25 January) that in an effort to cope with China's increasingly pervasive internet controls, Google said Tuesday that it would introduce a search engine in Shanghai his week that excludes e-mail messaging and the ability to create blogs.

Google officials said the new search engine, Google.cn, was created partly as a way to avoid potential legal conflicts with the Chinese government, which has become much more sophisticated at policing and monitoring material appearing on the internet.

The newspaper says that web sites have exploded in popularity in a country eager for freer flow of information. But web portals and search engines trying to win Chinese users face a significant balancing act: they do not want to flout government rules and guidelines that restrict the spread of sensitive content, but they want to attract users with interesting content.

One result has been that search engines and web portals have censored their sites and cooperated with Chinese authorities, says the NYT. Indeed, adds the newspaper, the move to create a new site comes after Google itself, as well as Yahoo and Microsoft, have come under scrutiny over the last few years for cooperating with the Chinese government to censor or block online content.

According to the NYT., currently, people in China use Google by accessing its global engine, Google.com. But industry experts say that the site is often not accessible from inside China, possibly because it is blocked by Chinese authorities culling what is deemed to be sensitive or illegal information.

Google's new Chinese platform, which will not allow users to create personal links with Google e-mail or blog sites, will comply with Chinese law and censor information deemed inappropriate or illegal by the Chinese authorities. This approach might help the company navigate the legal thickets that competitors have encountered in China.

The NYT also says that foreign companies say they must abide by Chinese laws and pass personal information about users on to the Chinese government. In one case two years ago, Yahoo provided information that helped the government convict a Chinese journalist, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, on charges of leaking state secrets to a foreign Web site.

Another challenge, though, is trying to attract Chinese users to a censored engine, according to the newspaper, which adds that Google officials conceded that the company was struggling to balance the need to bolster its presence in the China market with the increasingly stringent regulations that govern Internet use here.

The NYT says that a year ago, when Google first started a Chinese-language version of its global service, the company filtered out and omitted some news sources that were already being blocked in China. The company said at the time: "There is nothing Google can do about it."

Now, Google officials say they hope they have struck the right compromise. The new site will improve access and speed up regular search engine service in a country where Internet traffic is skyrocketing, even if that service is limited in scope, the company said reports the newspaper.

China has more than 100 million internet users, making it second only to the United States in web surfers; and blogging, podcasting, playing online games and surfing the Web are wildly popular.

{mospagebreaktitle=77% of Google users don't know it records personal data}77% of Google users don't know it records personal data

More than three quarters of web surfers don't realise Google records and stores information that may identify them, results of a new opinion poll show.

The Register reports (24 January) that the phone poll, which sampled over 1000 internet users, was conducted by the Ponemon Institute following the DoJ subpoenas last week.

This suggests that the battle for internet privacy is far from over, according to The Register.

The publication reports that Google maintains a lifetime cookie that expires in 2038, and records the user's IP address. But more recently it has begun to integrate services which record the user's personal search history, email, shopping habits, and social contacts. After first promising not to tie its email service to its search service, Google went ahead and opted its users in anyway. It's all part of CEO Eric Schmidt's promise to create a "Google that knows more about you".

According to The Register, the conundrum for Google now is does it come clean with the data it stores about users, or does it simply hope that the majority of users don't care?

In the survey, 56 per cent of users said Google should not turn over information to the Government, and only 14 per cent were happy for Google to turn over information even in criminal cases.

{mospagebreaktitle=New program aimed at stamping out purveyors of malicious software}New program aimed at stamping out purveyors of malicious software

In an effort to stamp out what has become an epidemic of spyware, unwanted adware and other malicious software plaguing millions of computers and costing consumers billions of dollars each year, internet research centers at Harvard Law School and Oxford University plan today to unveil a program aimed at outing the shady companies that produce them.

The New York Times reports (25 January) that the project has received initial financing "in the seven figures" from several leading technology companies, including Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems, according to John G. Palfrey Jr., the executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard.

A top priority will be the development of a database of testimony from consumers on their experiences with malicious software, which they will be able to submit at the project's web site, StopBadware.org.

The newspaper reports that the site will also publicise the names of companies and the methods they use to get marketing and tracking software onto consumers' machines. Consumer Reports WebWatch, the internet integrity unit of the nonprofit Consumers Union, will play an advisory role.

According to the NYT., the spread of noxious code and the ease with which it can be deposited on unsuspecting users' machines has generally outpaced the ability of legislative and regulatory measures to grapple with the problem.

In the US., reports the NYT, a handful of bills are pending in Congress, and several states have passed tough laws intended to curb the deceptive practices that many companies use to get their software on consumers' machines and then use them to perform tasks that a user never agreed to.

Some 59 million American adults reported having adware or spyware infecting their computers last year, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a research group in Washington.

The NYT says that a report released in September by Consumer Reports indicated that American consumers spent US$3.5 billion over the preceding two years on computer repairs and replacements stemming from spyware problems alone - and this despite spending over US$2.6 billion in antivirus and antispyware protection software over the same period. The study estimated that almost 8 percent of all computer purchases by consumers during 2003 and 2004 were prompted by a surrender to some sort of malicious software.

The newspaper reports that the murky adware and spyware industry may be clearing billions in profits. Webroot Software, a major antispyware company based in Colorado, estimated last year, based on quarterly scans of its corporate and consumer clients, that spyware generates as much as US$2 billion in revenue annually, and that it could account for as much as a quarter of the online advertising market.

The report also says that the US Federal Trade Commission has begun taking aggressive steps against some spyware companies, and in September established a web site - OnGuardOnline.gov - as a clearinghouse for information on how to deal with spyware, as well as other hazards of online life.

{mospagebreaktitle=Washington AG, Microsoft file spyware scam suit}Washington AG, Microsoft file spyware scam suit

Washington state and Microsoft said on Wednesday they filed civil suits against a New York-based company for violating the state's anti-spyware law and called for cooperation between technology companies and government to crack down on Internet fraud.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (25 January) that Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna accused Secure Computer LLC and its associates of marketing software that falsely claims a computer is infected with spyware in order to sell a program to clean the PC when in fact the software makes the computer more susceptible to attacks.

The report says that malicious spyware can often track victims' internet activity, hijack their home pages and bombard them with pop-up ads.

The 16-count suit, filed on Tuesday in US District Court in Seattle, is the first lawsuit under Washington's new computer spyware act and represents the growing cooperation between the technology sector, lawmakers and regulators to limit unwanted tracking and advertising software.

Reuters reports that Microsoft said it referred this case to the attorney general's office and provided technical and forensic assistance. Microsoft also filed a parallel suit in federal court.

{mospagebreaktitle=US judge sets 24 Feb RIM injunction hearing}US judge sets 24 Feb RIM injunction hearing

A hearing on a possible injunction shutting down most US sales and service of the BlackBerry e-mail device has been scheduled for 24 February, according to a court notice posted on Wednesday.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (25 January) that US District Judge James Spencer listed the hearing date on the docket for the closely watched case in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to Reuters, the hearing could be the final legal step before Spencer decides whether to impose an injunction on the maker of the BlackBerry, Research In Motion Ltd.(RIM), which lost a patent infringement suit to US patent holding company NTP.

RIM issued a statement saying it would put up a strong argument against any injunction and disputing whether its existing customers should be subject to any injunction.

``There are compelling public interests against entry of an injunction and NTP can be fully compensated through ongoing royalty payments in lieu of an injunction,'' RIM's vice president of corporate marketing Mark Guibert said in a statement.

Reuters reports that Guibert reiterated in the statement that RIM has ''workaround'' software that it could install that would allow its devices to avoid infringing NTP's patents.

The report adds that at issue at the 24 February hearing will be whether a possible injunction and damages against RIM should be affected by an August 2005 appeals court ruling that struck down part of a jury's original findings but left standing several patent infringement rulings against RIM.

In briefs filed before Spencer on 17 January, RIM's lawyers argued that Spencer should refrain from imposing any injunction for a number of reasons, including an ``exceptional public interest'' in maintaining uninterrupted BlackBerry service for national security officials, among others, reports Reuters in the NYT.

In its statement on Wednesday, RIM said it would make the case for a longer grace period if any injunction were imposed.

{mospagebreaktitle=US report: identity thieves targeting children}US report: identity thieves targeting children

In the US., identity thieves are increasingly targeting children. Identity theft complaints involving youngsters under 18 have nearly doubled since 2003, up from 6,512 to more than 11,600 last year, the US Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times(26 January) that While they make up a small percentage -- about 5 percent -- of the total ID theft complaints, the FTC says young people are attractive to cons because they may not be as savvy about safeguarding personal information and could easily fall prey while surfing the internet.

Ap says that the report shows that the most victimised age group for identity theft was the 18-to-29 category. The FTC said that category registered 29 percent of the complaints, or more than 70,200.

The agency's annual report on consumer fraud complaints had identity theft again topping the list for the sixth consecutive year. The number of complaints filed with the FTC ticked up from 246,847 in 2004 to more than 255,500 last year.

{mospagebreaktitle='Botmaster' pleads guilty to computer crimes}'Botmaster' pleads guilty to computer crimes

In the US., a 20-year-old accused of using hundreds of thousands of hijacked computers, or ``bot nets,'' to damage systems and send massive waves of spam across the internet, has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Reuters reports in The New York Times that Jeanson James Ancheta, who prosecutors said was a well-known member of the ``Botmaster Underground'' -- a secret network of hackers skilled in ``bot'' attacks -- was arrested in November in what prosecutors said was the first such case of its kind.

The Los Angeles area man pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, damaging computers used by the US government and fraud. He had been scheduled to stand trial later this year on a 17-count indictment.

The Reuters reports says that Ancheta faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, although prosecutors say federal guidelines recommend between five and seven years.

``Mr. Ancheta was responsible for a particularly insidious string of crimes,'' U.S. Attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. ''He hijacked somewhere in the area of half a million computer systems. This not only affected computers like the one in your home, but it allowed him and others to orchestrate large scale attacks.''

The Reuters report says that a bot is a program that surreptitiously installs itself on a computer and is controlled by a hacker. A bot net is a network of such robot, or ``zombie,'' computers, which can harness their collective power to do considerable damage or send out huge amounts of junk e-mail.

Prosecutors say the case was unique because Ancheta was accused of profiting from his attacks by selling access to his ''bot nets'' to other hackers and planting adware, software that causes advertisements to pop up, into infected computers.

{mospagebreaktitle=Sexy "Booth Babes" face fines at video game show}Sexy "Booth Babes" face fines at video game show

The video game industry's 2006 E3Expo trade show in Los Angeles is getting a make-over -- banned are the swarms of sexy, semi-clad ``booth babes'' that in years past took the unveiling of new games and technology to titillating new levels, according to a Reuters report in The New York Times (24 January).

Reuters says that rules prohibiting the use of scantily clad young women to peddle video games are nothing new, but the handbook for this year's show in May outlines tough new penalties, including a US$5,000 fine on the spot for the booth owner if the ``booth babe'' is semi-clad.

``What's new in 2006 is an update and clarification of the enforcement policies; as we do from time to time, we have taken steps to ensure that exhibitors are familiar with the policy and how it will be enforced,'' Mary Dolaher, E3Expo show director, said in an e-mail.

Reuters says that the video game industry has come under fire from federal and local politiciansin the US., who want to limit sales of violent and sexually explicit games to minors.

{mospagebreaktitle=Sony Computer grants movie rights to 'Siren' game}Sony Computer grants movie rights to 'Siren' game

Sony Computer Entertainment, the game unit of Sony, said on Wednesday it granted movie rights to its Playstation 2 horror game ``Siren'' to Ghost House Pictures.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (25 January) that``Siren,'' launched in November 2003 in Japan and April 2004 in the United States, is a game in which the player must fight for survival in a fictional Japanese village where its inhabitants have been transformed into ``living dead.''

A sequel, ``Siren 2,'' will be launched for the Playstation 2 on 9 February in Japan.

{mospagebreaktitle=UN reports rise in cybersquatting}UN reports rise in cybersquatting

The UN copyright agency on Wednesday reported a 20 percent jump in ''cybersquatting'' complaints last year, coming mainly from top tech firms, trendy fashion brands, Hollywood stars and sports personalities.

According to The Associated Press in a New York Times report (25 January) the agency registered 1,456 complaints for cybersquatting -- or abusive registration of trademarks as internet domain names -- and the practice appears to be on the rise, said Francis Gurry, deputy director general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, or WIPO.

WIPO handles arbitration for over half of the world's cybersquatting disputes each year. Gurry said the rise highlighted the need for ''vigilance by intellectual property owners.''

The AP report says that most of last year's disputes have since been resolved, including cases brought by celebrities such as Morgan Freeman, Damien Hirst, Frank Gehry and Larry King, as well sports organizations including the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Italian soccer club Juventus and the English Premier League.

Web sites such as sony-ericsson.org and renaulttrucks.com, as well as fashion brands Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Armani and Calvin Klein, were also targeted. Cybersquatters often demand great amounts of money for the sale of internet sites to people or firms with registered trademarks, Gurry said.

AP says that anyone can register a domain name on the Internet for a few dollars, which has led to so-called ''cybersquatters.''

But, the report also says that the UN arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain name to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money. It costs about US$1,500 to file a claim at WIPO. The arbitration system cannot award financial penalties.

In total, WIPO has received over 8,000 complaints, nearly half of which were filed by people or companies based in the United States. US firms and individuals were also the targets of nearly half of all complaints.

{mospagebreaktitle=Jobs to become major Hollywood player}Jobs to become major Hollywood player

As the co-founder and CEO of both Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, Steve Jobs has long bridged the sometimes wide gap between content creators in Hollywood and Silicon Valley technology companies, says The Associated Press in a 24 January report in The New York Times.

According to AP., with Walt Disney's US$7.4 billion plan to purchase Pixar, Jobs will not only become a major Hollywood player but a bigger force in determining how content is distributed. Under the deal, Jobs will take a seat on Disney's board and become its biggest individual shareholder.

The computer pioneer is already credited with shaking up Hollywood with his landmark record licensing deals for music downloads and his more recent breakthrough deals to sell television content online, including shows from Disney's ABC network.

AP says that for a decade, Pixar has also dominated the world of animation with blockbuster films like ''Finding Nemo,'' partnering with Disney to distribute its computer-generated movies.

The news wire service says that Jobs' technology roots, reputed power of persuasion and an uncanny ability to forecast consumer trends will be handy for the Magic Kingdom as it sheds old trappings and tries to reach tech-savvy customers and a new generation of connected youth.

''His biggest impact will be to help guide Disney into the digital age and be the mediator of this major media company's content to the world of next-generation digital content delivery,'' said Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin, reports AP/

The love-hate relationship between Silicon Valley and Hollywood has only recently become a flirtatious courtship.

{mospagebreaktitle=Malaysia: poor work performance blamed on internet}Malaysia: poor work performance blamed on internet

About 20 percent of government staff in one Malaysian state use the internet for personal activities including downloading pornography, music and games, the national news agency has reported.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (24 January) that this was one of the main causes of poor work performance in Johor state, Bernama said quoting a top state official, Norsiah Harun, adding that large file downloads also considerably slowed the state government's computer system.

Norsiah said the government viewed the matter seriously and would enforce the relevant regulations soon. She reminded all department heads to be firm in tackling the problem and to remind their staff of their responsibilities, Bernama said.

{mospagebreaktitle=Dell Boss says open to using AMD chips}Dell Boss says open to using AMD chips

US computer maker Dell is open to the possibility of using chips made by AMD as well its traditional supplier Intel, Dell's chairman said on Wednesday.

``Sure. We do not have an exclusive relationship with Intel,'' Michael Dell said when asked about Dell using AMD chips, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland, reports Reuters in The New York Times (25 January).

The Reuters report says that Dell's chairman declined to say whether he had any current plans to use AMD chips, which might allow Dell to offer less expensive computers without hurting its financial results.

Dell also said the company, the world's biggest manufacturer of personal computers, was sticking to its target of 9-11 percent revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2005.

{mospagebeaktitle=Top five Dutch cable firms to oool phone networks}Top five Dutch cable firms to oool phone networks

The top five Dutch cable companies plan to connect their internet telephony networks, opening the door for free phone calls between their 450,000 phone subscribers, they have announced.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (25 January) that the companies plan to set up an exchange, eliminating the need to route such calls via the traditional phone network, said Sikko de Graaf, Chief Executive of CaiW Diensten, the services arm of one of the five cable firms.

While it would be up to the individual companies, which together cover virtually all Dutch households, how to price their voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) service, ``it will open the door for free...telephony and video,'' De Graaf said.

Reuters says that the move by the cable companies -- UPC Netherlands, Casema, Multikabel, Essent and CaiW -- is a further sign that Dutch telecoms group KPN faces stiff competition in its home market.

The five firms cover 95 percent of the Netherlands, have 7 million cable television customers and are adding 50,000 telephone subscribers a month. This would push the number of households using Internet telephony above 1 million by next year, De Graaf said.

Reuters adds that the internet telephony service offered by cable operators and increasingly by telecoms operators is different from completely free VoIP services such as Skype, which requires a computer connected to the internet.