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| | | November 2, 2003
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Sunday, November 2, 2003 |
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Microsoft allures developers to Longhorn
In a bid to spur excitement among software developers, Microsoft offered a first glimpse of the technologies and the new features of the next generation Windows operating system. At the giant's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) held this week in Los Angeles, senior company executives outlined the key objectives for the upcoming Windows release, codenamed and widely known as Longhorn.
Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said Longhorn will be the most important Windows update in the decade and the most radically changed version of the OS since Windows 95. At this point, Microsoft is focusing much of its efforts on four crucial areas: scalability and security, new graphic interface engine codenamed Avalon, new XML-based file storage system called WinFS (Windows Future Storage), and new web services and communications technologies.
Many attendees seemed impressed by Microsoft's promises and applauded the software maker's effort to limit Windows reboots during patch and third-party software installations.
The company did not set a timeline for Longhorn's release, but analysts are not expecting it to make its debut before early 2006.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 3 4 | CRN 1 2 3 4 | Computerworld 1 2 | InformationWeek | NewsFactor 1 2 | Reuters
Security watch: Severe flaws plague Apple's Mac OS
The final week of October was particularly difficult for Apple. The computer maker was hit by a host of software issues, ranging from data losses in its just released Panther OS to critical security holes in Jaguar and its predecessors.
After upgrading their systems to Mac OS X 10.3, also known as Panther, some Apple customers found their external FireWire hard drives were no longer being recognized by their systems and the data inside -- gone. Apple acknowledged problems with FireWire 800 drives that use Oxford 922 chipsets, but irate customers complained of data loss with other FireWire devices. Several manufacturers released patches for the glitch, but Apple advised users to disconnect external drives during the upgrade.
In the meantime, Massachusetts-based @Stake warned of serious vulnerabilities in Mac OS versions prior to Panther. Three security advisories issued by the company described situations where an attacker could crash Mac systems, obtain root access and gather sensitive information on other users. @Stake publicly announced the flaws after Apple did not make any moves towards a software fix for over a month. Later Apple confirmed it will release a patch, but advised customers to upgrade to the secure Panther version of its operating system.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 | EE Times | eWeek | InformationWeek | MacCentral | NewsFactor |
Wired News
Gator sloughs off corporate name
The highly controversial Gator Corporation has shed its name and now works to reposition itself as a well respected online advertising brand under the name Claria. The California-based company, which bundles its behavioral ad-serving product with popular software titles such as Kazaa and DivX, has faced a slew of criticism and numerous lawsuits over its business practices, including from high-profile media companies like The New York Times, The New York Post and Dow Jones.
Claria's Gator Advertising and Information Network (GAIN) software displays targeted pop-up and pop-under banner advertisements, relevant to the web sites' users visit. For example, a visitor to popular travel site Expedia.com, may be offered low-fare tickets from rival Orbitz.
In a statement, company executives described Gator's new name as better reflecting the breadth of its businesses. Still, critics saw the move as an attempt to distance the company from the term "spyware" -- surreptitious user activity tracking software -- with which its products are often associated.
Just recently, Gator won a libel lawsuit against anti-spyware software maker PC Pitstop and forced the company to strip its web pages of information dubbing Gator a spyware application.
More from: AdAge.com | CNET News.com 1 2 | InternetNews.com
In Other News...
 The New York Times reported Microsoft approached Internet search giant Google to discuss a possible partnership or even a merger with the company. Sources close to the talks, however, indicated that Microsoft was unable to make advances as Google expressed more interest in pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) next year.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed 80 additional lawsuits against online music-swappers on Thursday. Unlike the first wave of the group's litigation campaign that targeted 261 individuals, in early October RIAA notified the people against who the music industry was preparing copyright infringement lawsuits. Of those informed, 124 settled with the RIAA for approximately $3,000 each.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has officially asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reexamine and revoke a patent owned by a former University of California researcher that may cause "substantial economic and technical damage [to the] World Wide Web." Michael Doyle, founder of Chicago-based Eolas Technologies' recently won a patent-infringement lawsuit against Microsoft for illegally using a plug-in technology in its Internet Explorer browser.
As part of its multibillion lawsuit against IBM, The SCO Group directly challenged the General Public License (GPL) under which Linux and much of Linux-based software is being distributed. Answering a prior IBM court filing, SCO asserted that "the GPL violates the U.S. Constitution, together with copyright, antitrust and export control laws." The Free Software Foundation (FSF), which is charged with enforcing and promoting the GPL strongly refuted the claims.
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