Police Wednesday said they arrested a 24-year-old Romanian man suspected of releasing a new version of the Blaster Internet worm, the second arrest of a copycat virus writer in the past week.
Meanwhile, the main culprit behind the original super-potent Blaster remains at large. The original worm, which also goes by the name "LovSan," surfaced last month, infecting hundreds of thousands of computers running Microsoft Windows.
InternetWeek
Prejudices and misconceptions about Microsoft make it hard to evalute the company's merits. The biggest myths about Microsoft are that its desktop products are overpriced, it doesn't respect its customers, and reliability and security are poor. And some think the company is downright evil.
In nearly two decades of studying Microsoft, I've been able to dig through the hype that the company generates, as well as the misconceptions its detractors create, to see more of the real company than most of you can ever experience.
Microsoft this month plans to launch a rebranded and redesigned Web conferencing service called Office Live Meeting--but key competitors say they aren't too worried. The launch of Office Live Meeting will be separate from the Office System 2003 launch on Oct. 21 because it is a service--not a product--and is on a separate development cycle, said one Microsoft spokesman.
The Microsoft service, formerly known as PlaceWare Conference Center, features a new Windows-like client and limited integration with the company's forthcoming Office 2003, including the ability to schedule live meeting seminars and meetings using Microsoft Outlook, the company said.
Companies with products that work on the Internet are slowly waking up to the broad implications of a recent judgement against software behemoth Microsoft Corp. in a patent infringement case.
That patent, U.S. number 5,838,906, was developed by Eolas president Michael Doyle at the University of California in San Francisco and covers technology that enables small computer programs, often referred to as "applets" or "plug-ins," to be embedded in Web pages and interacted with through Web browsers like Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
But technology and legal experts agree that the ruling could affect a wide range of technology companies with products that interact with Web browsers, or services that rely on customer interaction through Web browsers.
"Fundamentally, (the Eolas patent) describes a way of implementing plug-ins in a Web browser," said Richard Smith, an independent technology expert in Boston. "People who use plug-ins like (Macromedia Inc.'s) Flash or Java applets are covered by the Eolas patent," he said.
Macromedia, which distributes a free plug-in to view Macromedia Flash files, did not respond to requests for comment.
Real Software Inc., which makes multimedia software that can be played through Web browsers, said it could not immediately comment on the ruling.
Just got this from Ditto...
Dear Microsoft Beta Tester,
Welcome to the beta release of Windows Installer v3.0 (MSI 3.0). Please be sure that your contact information is up to date by visiting www.betaplace.com and selecting "Modify Contact Information".
NOTE: Please wait 24 hours from the time you receive this e-mail before trying to access the newsgroups and BetaPlace.
We will be providing support for the beta program through newsgroups and BetaPlace. BetaPlace is Microsoft's technical beta web community where you can:
To access BetaPlace, go to <http://www.betaplace.com>. Sign in using your Passport account. Beta participation is a personal invitation for you only. Please do not share your passport or your access to BetaPlace with others.
Microsoft private newsgroups will be available for technical support. Private newsgroups are accessed from a dedicated news server using your Beta ID and a Password. If you do not already have a password, you can create a newsgroup password on <http://www.betaplace.com> , under the "Modify Your Info/Modify Newsgroup Login Info". More detailed information about accessing the newsgroups is available on <http://www.betaplace.com>.
To access the NNTP private newsgroups you will need a newsreader program. The newsgroups can also be accessed via your Internet browser by connecting to
All newsgroups for this beta program begin with: microsoft.beta.[Newsgroup Name] Newsgroup Account Name:****** Newsgroup Password:
Note: If you forget the newsgroup password you create on BetaPlace, you will need to go to BetaPlace to create a new one.
Access to this specific program page on BetaPlace and its private newsgroups is limited to participants of this beta release. Microsoft will never request that you send your password information to us via email or any other method. Any attempt to obtain your password could indicate fraudulent activity and should be reported to us immediately via the email address below. Please do not share this account information beyond the scope of what is allowed under the License Agreement for this beta. In addition, please do not discuss this beta in newsgroups outside of this program, including other Microsoft newsgroups.
Before you continue, it is important to understand that the beta release of any product will not display the stability of a shipped Microsoft product. You may encounter problems with Microsoft Windows Installer that could possibly result in a loss or destruction of data. This release is not appropriate for production use, and we suggest that you back up your existing data before you install and run this software.
If you need assistance, please send e-mail to ******@microsoft.com.
Thank you for participating in this beta program. We look forward to your valuable feedback.
Windows Installer Group
RM client bits for a variety of Windows desktop releases are available for download. Microsoft has made available for download the first of several components of its forthcoming stable of rights-management software.
The Redmond software maker posted to its download center on Tuesday its rights-management client. The client runs atop Windows and is designed to allow rights-management-aware applications - like Office 2003 - to work with the forthcoming Windows Rights Management Services that will be layered on top of Windows Server 2003.
Get your checkbook ready, its time to pay the piper!
The SCO Group is turning up the heat in its attempt to impose Unix license fees for Linux use: It plans to begin sending invoices to companies before the month is out.
Sending invoices, while a more-aggressive move, still stops short of the kind of legal action the company has threatened before. In July, SCO Chief Executive Darl McBride described the licensing program as "a solution that...gets you square with the use of Linux, without having to go to the courtroom."
SCO argues that Linux contains intellectual property from Unix, an operating system to which SCO holds copyrights and which it licenses to companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. SCO argues that some Linux source code was copied directly from Unix. It also claims that other Linux source code stems from improvements made to Unix by IBM and others, which then illegally moved the changes to Linux.
Despite embracing the use of Linux on its computers, Dell Computer will not be offering its customers indemnification against lawsuits in the SCO Group's campaign against the open-source operating system.
"We have seen a change (in the Linux momentum) among really large customers," Dell said. He added that some large customers have asked for indemnification from Dell, should SCO file a lawsuit against them for using a Dell computer loaded with a Linux product.
But Dell said: "We don't offer it."
InfoWorld
Microsoft refreshed its mice and keyboard lineup on Wednesday, introducing three mice with a tilting wheel for horizontal scrolling and in new styles and colors, including black leather. Two of the mice are wireless and feature new battery-saving technology.
Microsoft gave a sneak preview of its mouse "Tilt Wheel Technology" last month. The wheel allows users to scroll left and right in addition to up and down without having to use the on-screen navigation bars, handy when navigating a spreadsheet or an unwieldy Web site. Users can also toggle between open windows by pressing down on the wheel.
WinNetMag
A new report by market researchers at International Data Corporation (IDC) says that unit shipments of machines based on Microsoft's server versions of Windows were up 21.7 percent in the most recent quarter, compared to the previous year, thanks to the release of Windows Server 2003. Likewise, the Windows server market grew almost 12 percent, year-over-year, the company says. IDC's figures are based on hardware sales, and the company noted that the report does not track Microsoft's earnings from Windows Server 2003 licenses.