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| | | July 6, 2003
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Sunday, July 6, 2003 |
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P2P players ready resistance to the recording industry
As millions of pirated audio, video and software files continue to flow through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and copyright holders' fights exacerbate, major file-swapping software companies prepare to face the challenges. Sharman Networks, the parent company of the most popular file-sharing application Kazaa, and its partner in digital content distribution Altnet formed the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA), aimed at working with industry groups, affected by Internet piracy.
Headed by veteran media executive Martin Lafferty, DCIA contends P2P file-swapping should be transformed into a legal platform for online distribution of digital materials. According to Mr. Lafferty, the association will invite other concerned parties to establish business practices, adopt standards and assist authorities in building working legislation to govern the process.
Trade groups and record labels had mixed reactions on DCIA's creation, but said they were willing to listen, if the opponents were prepared to respect the rights of the owners of intellectual property.
In a separate effort, Grokster announced it will establish its own lobbying group along with other file-swapping companies, aimed at exculpating peer-to-peer services from their glory as a rogue phenomenon. In late April, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that Grokster and Morpheus were developing legal applications since they were not directly involved in the distribution of infringing materials and had no ability to control the use of their products.
On Monday, however, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld an injunction against a similar company, Madster, explaining that its software should not include file-sharing mechanisms, which would deny Madster access to the shared files on its network. Madster developed encryption technology, which according to the court's ruling is an attempt to evade guilt.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 | NewsFactor | The Mercury News 1 2 3 | Reuters | The Washington Post
Oracle struggles in its fight for PeopleSoft
With two outright rejections of its hostile bids for business applications company PeopleSoft, Oracle still remains committed to its takeover strife. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice notified California-based Oracle it cannot give a green light to its buyout plans for PeopleSoft, unless a thorough regulatory review of the merger is completed. The Department requested additional information from the world's second largest software maker, which according to legal experts may require weeks, if not months to be gathered.
A PeopleSoft spokesman noted that the decision of the Justice Department vindicates the assessment of the company's management that an Oracle merger poses significant risks and prolonged delays due to regulatory antitrust scrutiny, but Oracle retorted that the request was highly anticipated and it expected the government to conclude the deal would not be anticompetitive.
PeopleSoft, meanwhile, reaffirmed its opposition to Oracle, pouring cold water on its hostile takeover proposal. In a filing with U.S. financial authorities, the company revealed details about its Customer Protection Program, designed as an anti-Oracle measure, which involves lavish monetary remedies to PeopleSoft clients, in the event of a takeover, or if customer support or future software upgrades are discontinued due to an acquisition.
The campaign was also organized as a response to the uncertainty Oracle brought among PeopleSoft customers and it has proven largely successful. On Wednesday, PeopleSoft announced that based on preliminary data it will beat earnings expectations for the second quarter. In the past several weeks, rampant speculation permeated the market that the company's clients were reluctant to close purchases due to the threat of a takeover from Oracle.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | eWeek 1 2 3 | InfoWorld | InternetNews.com 1 2 3 | NewsFactor | Reuters 1 2 3 | VNUNET.com 1 2 3 | The Washington Post
Hackers stage site defacements contest
IT professionals are bracing for a large-scale web site defacement contest, announced by unknown hackers earlier in the week. "Defacers' Challenge" promises prizes to the individual or the group, which compromises most web sites within a six-hour period on Sunday, July 6. Internet Security Systems (ISS) warned that this event does not appear to be a hoax and that significant disruptions in Internet performance could be caused during the contest.
According to the competition's web site, participants are awarded points for each defacement. The number of points range for each server platform: one point for Microsoft Windows, two points for Linux and UNIX, three points for IBM AIX, and five points for HP-UX and Apple. The winner will have to deface at least 6,000 web sites -- roughly a thousand servers an hour.
Although some analysts have expressed skepticism of the event, several security companies and even U.S. government agencies have warned IT staffers to check the security of their web servers and remain vigilant.
More from: CNET News.com | InformationWeek | InfoWorld | InternetNews.com | TechWeb | VNUNET.com
In Other News...
 Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, released version 7.1 of its browser suite. The update came just days after Netscape's founder, Marc Andreessen, told journalists in London browser innovation is dead and the current state of available products is an "embarrassment." Meanwhile, AOL-funded open-source group Mozilla released Mozilla 1.4. Mozilla provides the core browser code for Netscape.
DreamWorks Studios has created "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Sea" -- the first animated movie entirely created using the Linux platform. The team of animators used sophisticated technology on Hewlett-Packard workstations and servers running Red Hat Linux.
Microsoft fixed a new flaw in its Passport online identification service. The vulnerability, which affects only accounts created before August 1999, could let an attacker overtake a user account and get access to private data, including e-mail messages, credit card information and more.
The world's biggest chip makers, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), rolled out their latest 64-bit processors. Intel released its Itanium 2 chip, codenamed "Madison," while AMD expanded its Opteron product line with Opteron 800 and Opteron 100, working with multiple (four or eight) and single processor servers, respectively.
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